1.
Silver
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Silver is a metallic element with symbol Ag and atomic number 47. The symbol Ag stems from Latin argentum, derived from the Greek ὰργὀς, a soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. The metal is found in the Earths crust in the pure, free form, as an alloy with gold and other metals. Most silver is produced as a byproduct of copper, gold, lead, Silver is more abundant than gold, but it is much less abundant as a native metal. Its purity is measured on a per mille basis, a 94%-pure alloy is described as 0.940 fine. As one of the seven metals of antiquity, silver has had a role in most human cultures. Silver has long valued as a precious metal. Silver metal is used in many premodern monetary systems in bullion coins, Silver is used in numerous applications other than currency, such as solar panels, water filtration, jewelry, ornaments, high-value tableware and utensils, and as an investment medium. Silver is used industrially in electrical contacts and conductors, in specialized mirrors, window coatings, Silver compounds are used in photographic film and X-rays. Dilute silver nitrate solutions and other compounds are used as disinfectants and microbiocides, added to bandages and wound-dressings, catheters. Silver is similar in its physical and chemical properties to its two neighbours in group 11 of the periodic table, copper and gold. This distinctive electron configuration, with an electron in the highest occupied s subshell over a filled d subshell. Silver is a soft, ductile and malleable transition metal. Silver crystallizes in a cubic lattice with bulk coordination number 12. Unlike metals with incomplete d-shells, metallic bonds in silver are lacking a covalent character and are relatively weak and this observation explains the low hardness and high ductility of single crystals of silver. Silver has a brilliant white metallic luster that can take a polish. Protected silver has greater optical reflectivity than aluminium at all wavelengths longer than ~450 nm, at wavelengths shorter than 450 nm, silvers reflectivity is inferior to that of aluminium and drops to zero near 310 nm. The electrical conductivity of silver is the greatest of all metals, greater even than copper, during World War II in the US,13540 tons of silver were used in electromagnets for enriching uranium, mainly because of the wartime shortage of copper
2.
Edward I of England
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Edward I, also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. He spent much of his reign reforming royal administration and common law, through an extensive legal inquiry, Edward investigated the tenure of various feudal liberties, while the law was reformed through a series of statutes regulating criminal and property law. Increasingly, however, Edwards attention was drawn towards military affairs, the first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his fathers reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons. In 1259, he sided with a baronial reform movement. After reconciliation with his father, however, he remained throughout the subsequent armed conflict. After the Battle of Lewes, Edward was hostage to the rebellious barons, Montfort was defeated at the Battle of Evesham in 1265, and within two years the rebellion was extinguished. With England pacified, Edward joined the Ninth Crusade to the Holy Land, the crusade accomplished little, and Edward was on his way home in 1272 when he was informed that his father had died. Making a slow return, he reached England in 1274 and was crowned at Westminster on 19 August, after suppressing a minor rebellion in Wales in 1276–77, Edward responded to a second rebellion in 1282–83 with a full-scale war of conquest. After a successful campaign, Edward subjected Wales to English rule, built a series of castles and towns in the countryside, next, his efforts were directed towards Scotland. Initially invited to arbitrate a dispute, Edward claimed feudal suzerainty over the kingdom. In the war followed, the Scots persevered, even though the English seemed victorious at several points. At the same there were problems at home. In the mid-1290s, extensive military campaigns required high levels of taxation and these crises were initially averted, but issues remained unsettled. When the King died in 1307, he left to his son, Edward II, Edward I was a tall man for his era, hence the nickname Longshanks. He was temperamental, and this, along with his height, made him an intimidating man, nevertheless, he held the respect of his subjects for the way he embodied the medieval ideal of kingship, as a soldier, an administrator and a man of faith. The Edict remained in effect for the rest of the Middle Ages, Edward was born at the Palace of Westminster on the night of 17–18 June 1239, to King Henry III and Eleanor of Provence. Among his childhood friends was his cousin Henry of Almain, son of King Henrys brother Richard of Cornwall, Henry of Almain would remain a close companion of the prince, both through the civil war that followed, and later during the crusade. Edward was in the care of Hugh Giffard – father of the future Chancellor Godfrey Giffard – until Bartholomew Pecche took over at Giffards death in 1246, there were concerns about Edwards health as a child, and he fell ill in 1246,1247, and 1251
3.
Kingdom of England
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In the early 11th century the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, united by Æthelstan, became part of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, a personal union between England, Denmark and Norway. The completion of the conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1284 put Wales under the control of the English crown, from the accession of James I in 1603, the Stuart dynasty ruled England in personal union with Scotland and Ireland. Under the Stuarts, the kingdom plunged into war, which culminated in the execution of Charles I in 1649. The monarchy returned in 1660, but the Civil War had established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without the consent of Parliament and this concept became legally established as part of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. From this time the kingdom of England, as well as its state the United Kingdom. On 1 May 1707, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, the Anglo-Saxons referred to themselves as the Engle or the Angelcynn, originally names of the Angles. They called their land Engla land, meaning land of the English, by Æthelweard Latinized Anglia, from an original Anglia vetus, the name Engla land became England by haplology during the Middle English period. The Latin name was Anglia or Anglorum terra, the Old French, by the 14th century, England was also used in reference to the entire island of Great Britain. The standard title for all monarchs from Æthelstan until the time of King John was Rex Anglorum, Canute the Great, a Dane, was the first king to call himself King of England. In the Norman period Rex Anglorum remained standard, with use of Rex Anglie. The Empress Matilda styled herself Domina Anglorum, from the time of King John onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of Rex or Regina Anglie. In 1604 James VI and I, who had inherited the English throne the previous year, the English and Scottish parliaments, however, did not recognise this title until the Acts of Union of 1707. The kingdom of England emerged from the unification of the early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdoms known as the Heptarchy, East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Essex, Sussex. The Viking invasions of the 9th century upset the balance of power between the English kingdoms, and native Anglo-Saxon life in general, the English lands were unified in the 10th century in a reconquest completed by King Æthelstan in 927 CE. During the Heptarchy, the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms might become acknowledged as Bretwalda, the decline of Mercia allowed Wessex to become more powerful. It absorbed the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex in 825, the kings of Wessex became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England during the 9th century. In 827, Northumbria submitted to Egbert of Wessex at Dore, in 886, Alfred the Great retook London, which he apparently regarded as a turning point in his reign. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that all of the English people not subject to the Danes submitted themselves to King Alfred, asser added that Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, restored the city of London splendidly
4.
Kingdom of Ireland
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The Kingdom of Ireland was a client state of the Kingdom of England that existed on Ireland from 1542 until 1800. It came into being when the Parliament of Ireland passed the Crown of Ireland Act 1542, the territory of the Kingdom had previously had the status of a lordship of the Crown. The Parliament of Ireland passed the Acts of Union 1800 by which it abolished itself, the act was also passed by the Parliament of Great Britain. The act also had the effect of establishing the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on the first day of 1801 by uniting the Crowns of Ireland, in its early years, the Kingdom of Ireland had limited recognition. While some Protestant powers in Europe recognised Henry and his heir Edward as monarch of Ireland, Henrys daughter, Queen Mary I of England, was recognised as Queen of Ireland by Pope Paul IV in 1555. The papal bull Laudabiliter of Pope Adrian IV was issued in 1155 and it granted the Angevin King Henry II of England the title Dominus Hibernae. Laudabiliter authorised the king to invade Ireland, to bring the country into the European sphere, in return, Henry was required to remit a penny per hearth of the tax roll to the Pope. This was reconfirmed by Adrians successor Pope Alexander III in 1172, when Pope Clement VII excommunicated the king of England, Henry VIII, in 1533, the constitutional position of the lordship in Ireland became uncertain. Henry had broken away from the Holy See and declared himself the head of the Church in England and he had petitioned Rome to procure an annulment of his marriage to Queen Catherine. The Treason Act 1537 was passed to counteract this, following the failed revolt of Silken Thomas in 1534–35, Grey, the lord deputy, had some military successes against several clans in the late 1530s, and took their submissions. By 1540 most of Ireland seemed at peace and under the control of the kings Dublin administration, Henry was proclaimed King of Ireland by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542, an Act of the Irish Parliament. The new kingdom was not recognised by the Catholic monarchies in Europe, after the death of King Edward VI, Henrys son, the papal bull of 1555 recognised the Roman Catholic Queen Mary I as Queen of Ireland. The link of personal union of the Crown of Ireland to the Crown of England became enshrined in Catholic canon law, in this fashion, the Kingdom of Ireland was ruled by the reigning King of England. This placed the new Kingdom of Ireland in personal union with the Kingdom of England, in line with its expanded role and self-image, the administration established the Kings Inns for barristers in 1541, and the Ulster King of Arms to regulate heraldry in 1552. Proposals to establish a university in Dublin were delayed until 1592, in 1603 James VI King of Scots became James I of England, uniting the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland in a personal union. The political order of the kingdom was interrupted by the Wars of the Three Kingdoms starting in 1639, during the subsequent interregnum period, England, Scotland and Ireland were ruled as a republic until 1660. This period saw the rise of the loyalist Irish Catholic Confederation within the kingdom and, from 1653, the kingdoms order was restored 1660 with the restoration of Charles II. Without any public dissent, Charless reign was backdated to his fathers execution in 1649, Poynings Law was repealed in 1782 in what came to be known as the Constitution of 1782, granting Ireland legislative independence
5.
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
6.
Penny (English coin)
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The English Penny, originally a coin of 1.3 to 1.5 grams pure silver, was introduced around the year 785 by King Offa of Mercia. These coins were similar in size and weight to the continental deniers of the period, throughout the period of the Kingdom of England, from its beginnings in the 9th century, the penny was produced in silver. Pennies of the nominal value, one 240th of a pound sterling, were in circulation continuously until the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The name penny comes from the Old English pennige, sharing the root as the German pfennig. Its abbreviation d. comes from the Roman denarius and was used until decimalisation in 1971, Anglo-Saxon silver pennies were the currency used to pay the Danegeld, essentially protection money paid to the Vikings so that they would go away and not ravage the land. As an illustration of how heavy a burden the Danegeld was, in the reign of Ethelred the Unready, some 40 million pennies were paid to the Danes, while King Canute paid off his invasion army with another 20 million pennies. This adds up to about 2,800,000 troy ounces of silver, equivalent to £250,000 at the time, the penny initially weighed 20 to 22.5 modern grains. It was standardized to 32 Tower grains, 1/240th of a Tower pound, the alloy was set to sterling silver of 925/1000 in 1158 under King Henry II. The weight standard was changed to the Troy pound in 1527 under Henry VIII, as the purity and weight of the coin was critical, the name of the moneyer who manufactured the coin, and at which mint, often appeared on the reverse side of the coin. At the time of the 1702 London Mint Assay by Sir Isaac Newton, therefore, the value of the monetary pound sterling was equivalent to only 3.87 troy ounces of sterling silver. This was the standard from 1601 to 1816
7.
Scottish coinage
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From c.1124 until 1709 the coinage of Scotland was unique, and minted locally. A wide variety of coins, such as the plack, bodle, bawbee, dollar, for trading purposes of Northumbria and various other places had been used before that time, and since 1709 those of the Kingdom of Great Britain, and then of the UK. The earliest coins in Scotland were introduced by the Roman provinces of Britain that were obtained from trade with the westernmost outpost of the Roman Empire. Far from being isolated, the Celts of Caledonia, north of Hadrians Wall, developed trade to the benefit of the population. Roman coins appear over a range across the country, especially sites near the Antonine Wall. Hadrians Wall was also regarded as a means to regulate social traffic and trade north, Civil settlements arose along south of the wall with shops and taverns that facilitated trade between the Empire and free north. Other sites include coins from North Uist dating to the 4th century until recently was though to be beyond the sphere of trade routes. Other native sites include the Fairy Knowe broch Buchlyvie, and the broch, some sites include substantial silver treasure hoards most likely buried or abandoned in either Roman or native pots. Payments to chieftains are recorded in four areas, Edinburgh, Fife, Aberdeen and this may indicate such discoveries were deposited as votive offerings. Examples including coinage of Constantine II with over 20 such hoards found throughout Scotland, rare examples include a base silver coin of Ptolemy XIII of Egypt, 80–51 BC In AD410, trade ceased as the Roman Empire withdrew from the island of Albion. As the Roman Empire retreated from Britain, various kingdoms sprouted up to the south of Scotland, one of these, Northumbria, soon expanded into the north as far as the Kingdom of Strathclyde. Thus, it controlled the southern parts of what is now Scotland, and this coin was issued from 837–854. The first king of Scots to produce his own coinage was David I, in 1136 he captured Carlisle, including its English mint and nearby silver mines from Stephen, King of England. He struck silver pennies, which were similar to those Stephen struck for England, at Carlisle, Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Roxburgh and Berwick. For the next two centuries, the use of a profile, as opposed to the facing portrait, was about all that distinguished Scottish coins from their English counterparts. In particular, the types of Scottish coins followed the English Tealby, short cross. Moreover, Scottish coins followed English weight standards, allowing the two coinages to circulate alongside one another, David II of Scotland ended the parity between Scottish and English coins, resulting in an English proclamation banning the lower quality Scottish coins from their country in 1356. Robert III of Scotland continued to devalue Scottish coins, making them worth one-half of their English counterparts by 1392
8.
Shilling
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The shilling is a unit of currency formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, United States, and other British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, a term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, and from there back to Old Norse. Slang terms for the old shilling coins include bob and hog, while the derivation of bob is uncertain, John Camden Hotten in his 1864 Slang Dictionary says the original version was bobstick and wonders if it is connected with Sir Robert Walpole. One abbreviation for shilling is s, often it was represented by a solidus symbol, which may have originally stood for a long s or ſ, thus 1/9 would be one shilling and ninepence. A price with no pence was sometimes written with a slash, the solidus symbol is still used for the shilling currency unit in former British East Africa, rather than sh. During the Great Recoinage of 1816, the mint was instructed to coin one troy pound of silver into 66 shillings. This set the weight of the shilling, and its subsequent decimal replacement 5 new pence coin, at 87.2727 grains or 5.655 grams from 1816 until 1990, in the past, the English world has had various myths about the shilling. One myth was that it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere, a shilling was a coin used in England from the reign of Henry VII. The term shilling was in use in Scotland from early medieval times, the common currency created in 1707 by Article 16 of the Articles of Union continued in use until decimalisation in 1971. In the traditional pounds, shillings and pence system, there were 20 shillings per pound and 12 pence per shilling, three coins denominated in multiple shillings were also in circulation at this time. In the Irish Free State and Republic of Ireland the shilling was issued as scilling in Irish and it was worth 1/20th of an Irish pound, and was interchangeable at the same value to the British coin, which continued to be used in Northern Ireland. The coin featured a bull on the reverse side, the first minting, from 1928 until 1941, contained 75% silver, more than the equivalent British coin. The original Irish shilling coin ) was withdrawn from circulation on 1 January 1993, Australian shillings, twenty of which made up one Australian pound, were first issued in 1910, with the Australian coat of arms on the reverse and King Edward VII on the face. The coat of arms design was retained through the reign of King George V until a new head design was introduced for the coins of King George VI. This design continued until the last year of issue in 1963, in 1966, Australias currency was decimalised and the shilling was replaced by a ten cent coin, where 10 shillings made up one Australian dollar. The slang term for a coin in Australia was deener. The slang term for a shilling as currency unit was bob, after 1966, shillings continued to circulate, as they were replaced by 10-cent coins of the same size and weight. New Zealand shillings, twenty of which made up one New Zealand pound, were first issued in 1933, in 1967, New Zealands currency was decimalised and the shilling was replaced by a ten cent coin of the same size and weight
9.
Groschen
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Groschen was the name for a coin used in various German-speaking states as well as some non-German-speaking countries of Central Europe and the Danubian Principalities. The name, like that of the English groat, derives from the Italian denaro grosso, or large penny, via the Czech form groš. The Qirsh, Arabic, Ethiopian, Hebrew, Greek and Turkish names for currency denominations in, historically it was equal to between several and a dozen denarii. The type was introduced in 1271 by Duke Meinhard II of Tyrol in Merano, the 1286 example depicted here weighs 1. In Poland for example, since 1526 these included coins of 1⁄2 grosz,1 grosz and their weight gradually dropped to 1.8 grams of silver and since 1752 they were replaced by copper coins of the same name. The word has lost popularity with the introduction of the Euro, although it can still be heard on occasion, in Ukraine, grosh is still a slang term for the kopiyka, a 1⁄100 part of a hryvnia. The Ukrainian and Belarusian word for money, hroshi, ultimately derives from this term also, in Bulgaria, the grosh was used as a currency until the lev was introduced in the 19th century. In Palestine during the British Mandate, a grush was a coin with a hole in it and it was named after an Ottoman coin. When the pound was replaced by the lira after Israeli statehood in 1948, the name persisted for a while after the lira was replaced by the shekel in 1980, but it gradually lost its standing as the name of a certain coin. Now it is a slang for a small value. In Germany, the name Groschen replaced Schilling as the name for a 12 pfennig coin. In the 18th century it was used predominantly in the states as a coin worth 1⁄24 of a Reichsthaler. Following German unification and decimalisation, the Groschen was replaced by the 10 pfennig coin, for the same reason, the name Sechser remained in use regionally for the half-Groschen coin,5 Pfennigs. There is a Beethoven rondo for piano, opus 129 entitled Die Wut über den verlorenen Groschen, austria introduced the Groschen in 1924 as the subdivision of the schilling. It was restored, along with the schilling, in 1945, prague groschen Kraków grosz Guldengroschen Silbergroschen Neugroschen Die Dreigroschenoper, The Threepenny Opera Qirsh Kuruş Groat Venetian grosso
10.
County of Tyrol
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The Princely County of Tyrol, until 1493, County of Tyrol, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. Originally a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of the Counts of Tyrol, it was inherited by the Counts of Gorizia in 1253, today the territory of the historic crown land is divided between the Italian autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and the Austrian state of Tyrol. Both parts are today associated again in the Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino Euroregion, the German monarchs regularly travelled across Brenner or Reschen Pass on their Italian expeditions aiming at papal coronation or the consolidation of Imperial rule. In 1004 King Henry II of Germany separated the estates of Trent from the North Italian March of Verona, especially the Brixen bishops remained loyal supporters of the Salian rulers in the Investiture Controversy and in 1091 also received the Puster Valley from the hands of Emperor Henry IV. Documented from about 1140 onwards, the comital dynasty residing in Tyrol Castle near Meran held the office of Vogts in the Trent diocese and they extended their territory over much of the region and came to surpass the power of the bishops, who were nominally their feudal lords. After the deposition of the Welf duke Henry X of Bavaria in 1138, when Henry the Lion was again enfeoffed with the Bavarian duchy by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa at the 1154 Imperial Diet in Goslar, his possessions no longer comprised the Tyrolean lands. The Counts maintained that independence under the rising Bavarian Wittelsbach dynasty, in 1210, Count Albert IV of Tyrol also took over the Vogt office in the Bishopric of Brixen, prevailing against the rivalling Counts of Andechs. In 1253 Count Meinhard of Gorizia inherited the Tyrolean lands by his marriage to Adelheid, when their sons divided their estate in 1271, the elder Meinhard II took Tyrol, for which he was recognized as an immediate lordship. He supported the German king Rudolph of Habsburg against his rival King Ottokar II of Bohemia, in reward, he received the Duchy of Carinthia with the Carniolan march in 1286. In 1307 Meinhards son Henry was elected King of Bohemia, After his death, he had one surviving daughter, Margaret Maultasch, in 1342 she married Louis V of Wittelsbach, then Margrave of Brandenburg. Louis V died in 1361, followed by Margarets son Meinhard III two years later, lacking any descendants to succeed her, she bequeathed the county to Rudolph IV of Habsburg, Duke of Austria in 1363. He was recognized by the House of Wittelsbach in 1369, from that time onward, Tyrol was ruled by various lines of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty, who held the title of Count. After the Habsburg hereditary lands had been divided by the 1379 Treaty of Neuberg, after a second division within the Leopoldinian line in 1406, Duke Frederick IV of the Empty Pockets ruled them. In 1420 he made Innsbruck the Tyrolean residence, in 1490 his son and heir Sigismund renounced Tyrol and Further Austria in favour of his cousin German king Maximilian I of Habsburg. By then Maximilian I had re-united all Habsburg lands under his rule, in 1500 he also acquired the remaining Gorizia territories around Lienz and the Puster Valley. When Emperor Ferdinand I of Habsburg died in 1564, he bequeathed the rule over Tyrol, both territories thereafter fell to the younger sons of the Habsburg Emperors, Archduke Matthias in 1608 and Maximilian III in 1612. After the death of Archduke Sigismund Francis in 1665, all Habsburg lands were again under the rule of the Emperor Leopold I. From the time of Maria Theresa of Austria onward, Tyrol was governed by a government of the Habsburg Monarchy at Vienna in all matters of major importance
11.
Venice
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Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is also possible. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
12.
Holy Roman Empire
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The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
13.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
14.
Tornesel
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The tornesel, tornesol, or tornese was a silver coin of Europe in the late Middle Ages and the early modern era. It took its name from the denier Tournois, the denier of Tours, marco Polo referred to the tornesel in recounts of his travels to East Asia when describing the currencies of the Yuan Empire. His descriptions were based on the conversion of 1 bezant =20 groats =133 1/3 tornesel, the tornese was a subunit of the Neapolitan, Sicilian, and Two Sicilies ducats
15.
Tours
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Tours is a city located in the centre-west of France. It is the centre of the Indre-et-Loire department and the largest city in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. In 2012, the city of Tours had 134,978 inhabitants, Tours stands on the lower reaches of the River Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. The surrounding district, the province of Touraine, is known for its wines, for the alleged perfection of its local spoken French. The city is also the end-point of the annual Paris–Tours cycle race, in Gallic times the city was important as a crossing point of the Loire. Becoming part of the Roman Empire during the 1st century AD, the name evolved in the 4th century when the original Gallic name, Turones, became first Civitas Turonum then Tours. It was at time that the amphitheatre of Tours, one of the five largest amphitheatres of the Empire, was built. Tours became the metropolis of the Roman province of Lugdunum towards 380–388, dominating the Loire Valley, Maine, one of the outstanding figures of the history of the city was Saint Martin, second bishop who shared his coat with a naked beggar in Amiens. This incident and the importance of Martin in the medieval Christian West made Tours, and its position on the route of pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, a major centre during the Middle Ages. In the 6th century Gregory of Tours, author of the Ten Books of History, in the 9th century, Tours was at the heart of the Carolingian Rebirth, in particular because of Alcuin abbot of Marmoutier. The outcome was defeat for the Muslims, preventing France from Islamic conquest, in 845, Tours repulsed the first attack of the Viking chief Hasting. In 850, the Vikings settled at the mouths of the Seine, still led by Hasting, they went up the Loire again in 852 and sacked Angers, Tours and the abbey of Marmoutier. During the Middle Ages, Tours consisted of two juxtaposed and competing centres, in the west, the new city structured around the Abbey of Saint Martin was freed from the control of the City during the 10th century and became Châteauneuf. This space, organized between Saint Martin and the Loire, became the centre of Tours. Between these two centres remained Varennes, vineyards and fields, little occupied except for the Abbaye Saint-Julien established on the banks of the Loire, the two centres were linked during the 14th century. Tours became the capital of the county of Tours or Touraine and it was the capital of France at the time of Louis XI, who had settled in the castle of Montils, Tours and Touraine remained until the 16th century a permanent residence of the kings and court. The rebirth gave Tours and Touraine many private mansions and castles and it is also at the time of Louis XI that the silk industry was introduced – despite difficulties, the industry still survives to this day. At this time, the Catholics returned to power in Angers, the Massacre of Saint-Barthelemy was not repeated at Tours
16.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
17.
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
18.
Marco Polo
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He learned the mercantile trade from his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, who travelled through Asia and met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time, the three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa, Marco was imprisoned and dictated his stories to a cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a merchant, married. He died in 1324 and was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Venice, Marco Polo was not the first European to reach China, but he was the first to leave a detailed chronicle of his experience. This book inspired Christopher Columbus and many other travellers, there is a substantial literature based on Polos writings, he also influenced European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Fra Mauro map. Marco Polo was born in 1254 in Venice Republic and his exact date and place of birth are archivally unknown. Some historians mentioned that he was born on September 15 but that date is not endorsed by mainstream scholarship, Marco Polos birthplace is generally considered Venice, but also varies between Constantinople, and the island of Korčula. There is dispute as to whether the Polo family is of Venetian origin, the first recorded Polo is Venetian Domenico Polo who was mentioned in 971 regarding the prohibition of trade with the Arabs. Later other Polos were also mentioned in the service of the realm, whether they were related with the family of Marco Polo is uncertain, but this could indicate that his ancestors travelled between Venice and Dalmatia. Some of the first indications of where his family originated and were resident come from Venetian documents and manuscripts. Some scholars argued that this account could go along with the note from Il Milione that his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, the non-Venetian i. e. Sanuto also mentioned a captain from Korčula, Antonio di Polo. Moule cited two early 17th century Venetian manuscripts questi ueneno de dalmatia, Polo questi uene de Dalmatia, scholars etymologically argued that his family name derives from Latin Paulus, the name of a certain bird species, or like Albert tSerstevens considered - from Eastern origin. However, the habitat of the shorebird is non-existent on Korčula, the surname Polo seems related with other widespread Dalmatian surnames. The lack of evidence makes the Korčula theory as a specific birthplace strongly disputed, in 1168, his great-uncle, Marco Polo, borrowed money and commanded a ship in Constantinople. His grandfather, Andrea Polo of the parish of San Felice, had three sons, Maffeo, yet another Marco, and the travellers father Niccolò and this genealogy, described by Ramusio, is not universally accepted as there is no additional evidence to support it. His father, Niccolò Polo, a merchant, traded with the Near East, becoming wealthy, Niccolò and his brother Maffeo set off on a trading voyage before Marcos birth. In 1260, Niccolò and Maffeo, while residing in Constantinople, then the capital of the Latin Empire, foresaw a political change, they liquidated their assets into jewels and moved away. According to The Travels of Marco Polo, they passed through much of Asia, and met with Kublai Khan and their decision to leave Constantinople proved timely
19.
Yuan dynasty
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The Yuan dynasty, officially the Great Yuan, was the empire or ruling dynasty of China established by Kublai Khan, leader of the Mongolian Borjigin clan. His realm was, by point, isolated from the other khanates and controlled most of present-day China and its surrounding areas. Some of the Mongolian Emperors of the Yuan mastered the Chinese language, while others used their native language. The Yuan dynasty is considered both a successor to the Mongol Empire and an imperial Chinese dynasty and it was the khanate ruled by the successors of Möngke Khan after the division of the Mongol Empire. In official Chinese histories, the Yuan dynasty bore the Mandate of Heaven, following the Song dynasty, the dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, yet he placed his grandfather Genghis Khan on the imperial records as the official founder of the dynasty as Taizu. In addition to Emperor of China, Kublai Khan also claimed the title of Great Khan, supreme over the other khanates, the Chagatai, the Golden Horde. As such, the Yuan was also referred to as the Empire of the Great Khan. However, while the claim of supremacy by the Yuan emperors was at times recognized by the khans, their subservience was nominal. In 1271, Kublai Khan imposed the name Great Yuan, establishing the Yuan dynasty, dà Yuán is from the clause 大哉乾元 in the Commentaries on the Classic of Changes section regarding Qián. The counterpart in Mongolian language was Dai Ön Ulus, also rendered as Ikh Yuan Üls or Yekhe Yuan Ulus, in Mongolian, Dai Ön is often used in conjunction with the Yeke Mongghul Ulus, resulting in Dai Ön Yeke Mongghul Ulus, meaning Great Mongol State. Nevertheless, both terms can refer to the khanate within the Mongol Empire directly ruled by Great Khans before the actual establishment of the Yuan dynasty by Kublai Khan in 1271. Genghis Khan united the Mongol and Turkic tribes of the steppes and he and his successors expanded the Mongol empire across Asia. Under the reign of Genghis third son, Ögedei Khan, the Mongols destroyed the weakened Jin dynasty in 1234, Ögedei offered his nephew Kublai a position in Xingzhou, Hebei. Kublai was unable to read Chinese but had several Han Chinese teachers attached to him since his early years by his mother Sorghaghtani and he sought the counsel of Chinese Buddhist and Confucian advisers. Möngke Khan succeeded Ögedeis son, Güyük, as Great Khan in 1251 and he granted his brother Kublai control over Mongol held territories in China. Kublai built schools for Confucian scholars, issued paper money, revived Chinese rituals and he adopted as his capital city Kaiping in Inner Mongolia, later renamed Shangdu. Many Han Chinese and Khitan defected to the Mongols to fight against the Jin, two Han Chinese leaders, Shi Tianze, Liu Heima, and the Khitan Xiao Zhala defected and commanded the 3 Tumens in the Mongol army. Liu Heima and Shi Tianze served Ogödei Khan, Liu Heima and Shi Tianxiang led armies against Western Xia for the Mongols
20.
Bezant
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Bezant is a medieval term for a gold coin. Medievally originally it meant the gold produced by the government of the Byzantine Empire. The word was derived from the Greek Byzantion, later in the medieval era among the Latins the scope of the word was expanded to gold coins produced by Arabic governments. Gold coins were minted in early medieval Western Europe, up until the later 13th century, silver. Gold coins were almost continually produced by the Byzantines and medieval Arabs and these circulated in Western European trade in smallish numbers, originating from the coinage mints of the Eastern Mediterranean. In Western Europe, the coins of Byzantine currency were highly prized. These gold coins were commonly called bezants, the first bezants were the Byzantine solidi coins, later the name was applied to the hyperpyra, which replaced the solidi in Constantinople in the late 11th century. The name hyperpyron was used by the late medieval Greeks, while the name bezant was used by the late medieval Latin merchants for the same coin, the Italians also used the name perpero or pipero for the same coin. Medievally from the 12th century onward, the Western European term bezant also meant the gold coins minted by Islamic governments. The Islamic coins were modelled on the Byzantine solidus during the early years after the onset of Islam. The term bezant was used in the late medieval Republic of Venice to refer to the Egyptian gold dinar, marco Polo used the term bezant in the account of his travels to East Asia when describing the currencies of the Yuan Empire around the year 1300. His descriptions were based on the conversion of 1 bezant =20 groats = 133⅓ tornesel, although usually the medieval bezant was a gold coin, medieval Latin texts have also silver coin bezants. The silver bezants were often called white bezants, occasionally in Latin they were called miliaresion bezants | miliarense bezants. In heraldry, a roundel of a colour is referred to as a bezant. During the Fourth Crusade the city of Constantinople, was sacked by Western forces, during this sacking of the richest city of Europe, the gold bezant would have been very much in evidence, many of the knights no doubt having helped themselves very liberally to the booty. This event took place at the dawn of the widespread adoption of arms by the knightly class. When arms are strewn with bezants, the term bezantée or bezanty is used
21.
David II of Scotland
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David II was King of Scots from 1329 until his death, and the last male of the House of Bruce. Although David spent long periods in exile or captivity, he managed to resist English attempts to annex his kingdom, David II was the elder and only surviving son of Robert I of Scotland and his second wife, Elizabeth de Burgh. He was born on 5 March 1324 at Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, in accordance with the Treaty of Northamptons terms, David was married on 17 July 1328 to Joan of the Tower, daughter of Edward II of England and Isabella of France, at Berwick-upon-Tweed. David became King of Scots upon the death of his father on 7 June 1329, aged 5 years,3 months, David and his wife were crowned at Scone on 24 November 1331. During Davids minority, Sir Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray was appointed Guardian of Scotland by the Act of Settlement of 1318. After Morays death, on 20 July 1332, he was replaced by Donald, Earl of Mar, only ten days later Mar fell at the Battle of Dupplin Moor. Sir Andrew Murray of Bothwell, who was married to Christian and he was taken prisoner by the English at Roxburgh in April 1333 and was thence replaced as Guardian by Archibald Douglas, who fell at Halidon Hill that July. By December, however, Balliol was forced to flee to England, following the victory of this force at the Battle of Halidon Hill in July 1333, David and his wife were sent for safety into France, reaching Boulogne on 14 May 1334. They were received graciously by King Philip VI. In 1346, under the terms of the Auld Alliance, David invaded England in the interests of the French, after initial success at Hexham, David was wounded, and his army soundly defeated at the Battle of Nevilles Cross on 17 October 1346. David was captured and taken prisoner by Sir John de Coupland, David was transferred to Windsor Castle in Berkshire upon the return of Edward III from France. The depiction of David being presented to King Edward III in the play The Reign of King Edward the Third is fictitious, David and his household were later moved to Odiham Castle in Hampshire. His imprisonment was not reputed a rigorous one, although he remained in England for eleven years and this was ratified by the Scottish Parliament at Scone on 6 November 1357. David returned at once to Scotland, but, after a few years, owing to the poverty of the kingdom, it was found impossible to raise the ransom installment of 1363. David then made for London and sought to get rid of the liability by offering to bequeath Scotland to Edward III or one of his sons in return for a cancellation of the ransom, David did this with the full awareness that the Scots would never accept such an arrangement. He remarried about 20 February 1364, Margaret Drummond, widow of Sir John Logie and he divorced her about 20 March 1370. Margaret, however, travelled to Avignon and made an appeal to the Pope to reverse the sentence of divorce which had been pronounced against her in Scotland. She was still alive in January 1375, from 1364, David governed with vigour, dealing firmly with recalcitrant nobles and wider baronial revolt, and continued to pursue the goal of final peace with England
22.
Elizabeth I of England
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Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, his second wife, who was executed two and a half years after Elizabeths birth. Annes marriage to Henry VIII was annulled, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate, edwards will was set aside and Mary became queen, deposing Lady Jane Grey. During Marys reign, Elizabeth was imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels, in 1558, Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister to the throne and set out to rule by good counsel. She depended heavily on a group of trusted advisers, led by William Cecil, one of her first actions as queen was the establishment of an English Protestant church, of which she became the Supreme Governor. This Elizabethan Religious Settlement was to evolve into the Church of England and it was expected that Elizabeth would marry and produce an heir to continue the Tudor line. She never did, despite numerous courtships, as she grew older, Elizabeth became famous for her virginity. A cult grew around her which was celebrated in the portraits, pageants, in government, Elizabeth was more moderate than her father and half-siblings had been. One of her mottoes was video et taceo, in religion, she was relatively tolerant and avoided systematic persecution. Elizabeth was cautious in foreign affairs, manoeuvring between the powers of France and Spain. She only half-heartedly supported a number of ineffective, poorly resourced military campaigns in the Netherlands, France, by the mid-1580s, England could no longer avoid war with Spain. Englands defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 associated Elizabeth with one of the greatest military victories in English history, Elizabeths reign is known as the Elizabethan era. Some historians depict Elizabeth as a short-tempered, sometimes indecisive ruler, towards the end of her reign, a series of economic and military problems weakened her popularity. Such was the case with Elizabeths rival, Mary, Queen of Scots, after the short reigns of Elizabeths half-siblings, her 44 years on the throne provided welcome stability for the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national identity. Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace and was named after both her grandmothers, Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Howard and she was the second child of Henry VIII of England born in wedlock to survive infancy. Her mother was Henrys second wife, Anne Boleyn, at birth, Elizabeth was the heir presumptive to the throne of England. She was baptised on 10 September, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the Marquess of Exeter, the Duchess of Norfolk, Elizabeth was two years and eight months old when her mother was beheaded on 19 May 1536, four months after Catherine of Aragons death from natural causes. Elizabeth was declared illegitimate and deprived of her place in the royal succession, eleven days after Anne Boleyns execution, Henry married Jane Seymour, who died shortly after the birth of their son, Prince Edward, in 1537
23.
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
24.
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
25.
Sterling silver
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Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5 by weight of silver and 7.5 by weight of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925 and these replacement metals include germanium, zinc and platinum, as well as a variety of other additives, including silicon and boron. Alloys such as argentium silver have red in recent decades, one of the earliest attestations of the term is in Old French form esterlin, in a charter of the abbey of Les Préaux, dating to either 1085 or 1104. The English chronicler Orderic Vitalis uses the Latin forms libræ sterilensium, the word in origin refers to the newly introduced Norman silver penny. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the most plausible etymology is derivation from a late Old English steorling, there are a number of obsolete hypotheses. One suggests a connection with starling, because four birds were depicted on a penny of Edward I, in 1260, Henry III granted them a charter of protection. Because the Leagues money was not frequently debased like that of England, English traders stipulated to be paid in pounds of the Easterlings, and land for their Kontor, the Steelyard of London, which by the 1340s was also called Easterlings Hall, or Esterlingeshalle. The Hanseatic League was officially active in the London trade from 1266 to 1597 and this etymology may have been first suggested by Walter de Pinchebek with the explanation that the coin was originally made by moneyers from that region. The claim has also made in Henry Spelmans glossary as referenced in Commentaries on the Laws of England. Yet another claim on this hypothesis is from Camden, as quoted in Chambers Journal of Popular Literature, Science and Arts. By 1854, the tie between Easterling and Sterling was well-established, as Ronald Zupko quotes in his dictionary of weights, the British numismatist Philip Grierson disagrees with the star etymology, as the stars appeared on Norman pennies only for the single three-year issue from 1077–1080. In support of this he cites the fact one of the first acts of the Normans was to restore the coinage to the consistent weight and purity it had in the days of Offa. This would have perceived as a contrast to the progressive debasement of the intervening 200 years. The sterling alloy originated in continental Europe and was being used for commerce as early as the 12th century in the area that is now northern Germany. A piece of sterling silver dating from Henry IIs reign was used as a standard in the Trial of the Pyx until it was deposited at the Royal Mint in 1843 and it bears the royal stamp ENRI. REX but this was added later, in the reign of Henry III and this is equivalent to a millesimal fineness of 926. In Colonial America, sterling silver was used for currency and general goods as well, between 1634 and 1776, some 500 silversmiths created items in the “New World” ranging from simple buckles to ornate Rococo coffee pots. Although silversmiths of this era were typically familiar with all precious metals, stamping each of their pieces with their personal makers mark, colonial silversmiths relied upon their own status to guarantee the quality and composition of their products
26.
Mass
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In physics, mass is a property of a physical body. It is the measure of a resistance to acceleration when a net force is applied. It also determines the strength of its gravitational attraction to other bodies. The basic SI unit of mass is the kilogram, Mass is not the same as weight, even though mass is often determined by measuring the objects weight using a spring scale, rather than comparing it directly with known masses. An object on the Moon would weigh less than it does on Earth because of the lower gravity and this is because weight is a force, while mass is the property that determines the strength of this force. In Newtonian physics, mass can be generalized as the amount of matter in an object, however, at very high speeds, special relativity postulates that energy is an additional source of mass. Thus, any body having mass has an equivalent amount of energy. In addition, matter is a defined term in science. There are several distinct phenomena which can be used to measure mass, active gravitational mass measures the gravitational force exerted by an object. Passive gravitational mass measures the force exerted on an object in a known gravitational field. The mass of an object determines its acceleration in the presence of an applied force, according to Newtons second law of motion, if a body of fixed mass m is subjected to a single force F, its acceleration a is given by F/m. A bodys mass also determines the degree to which it generates or is affected by a gravitational field and this is sometimes referred to as gravitational mass. The standard International System of Units unit of mass is the kilogram, the kilogram is 1000 grams, first defined in 1795 as one cubic decimeter of water at the melting point of ice. Then in 1889, the kilogram was redefined as the mass of the prototype kilogram. As of January 2013, there are proposals for redefining the kilogram yet again. In this context, the mass has units of eV/c2, the electronvolt and its multiples, such as the MeV, are commonly used in particle physics. The atomic mass unit is 1/12 of the mass of a carbon-12 atom, the atomic mass unit is convenient for expressing the masses of atoms and molecules. Outside the SI system, other units of mass include, the slug is an Imperial unit of mass, the pound is a unit of both mass and force, used mainly in the United States
27.
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
28.
Henry IV of England
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Henry IV, also known as Henry of Bolingbroke, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1399 to 1413, and asserted the claim of his grandfather, Edward III, to the Kingdom of France. Henry was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, one of Henrys elder sisters, Philippa of Lancaster, married John I of Portugal, and the other, Elizabeth, was the mother of John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter. His younger half-sister Catherine, the daughter of his fathers second wife and he also had four half-siblings by Katherine Swynford, originally his sisters governess, then his fathers longstanding mistress, and later his third wife. These four children were given the surname Beaufort after a castle their father held in Champagne, Henrys relationship with his stepmother, Katherine Swynford, was a positive one, but his relationship with the Beauforts varied. In youth he seems to have close to all of them. His brother-in-law Ralph Neville remained one of his strongest supporters, and so did his eldest half-brother John Beaufort, Thomas Swynford, a son from Katherines first marriage to Sir Hugh Swynford, was another loyal companion. Thomas was Constable of Pontefract Castle, where King Richard II is said to have died, Henrys half-sister Joan Beaufort through his fathers relationship with Katherine Swynford was the grandmother of Edward IV and Richard III. Joan had married Ralph Neville, the 1st Earl of Westmorland, when their daughter Cecily married Richard Plantagenet, the 3rd Duke of York, and had several offspring, including Edward IV and Richard III, Joan became the grandmother of two York kings of England. Henry experienced a rather more inconsistent relationship with King Richard II than his father had, first cousins and childhood playmates, they were admitted together to the Order of the Garter in 1377, but Henry participated in the Lords Appellants rebellion against the king in 1387. After regaining power, Richard did not punish Henry, although he did execute or exile many of the rebellious barons. In fact, Richard elevated Henry from Earl of Derby to Duke of Hereford, Henry spent the full year of 1390 supporting the unsuccessful siege of Vilnius by Teutonic Knights with his 300 fellow knights. During this campaign he bought 300 captured Lithuanian princes and then took them back to England. Henrys second expedition to Lithuania in 1392 illustrates the benefits to the Order of these guest crusaders. His small army consisted of over 100 men, including longbow archers and six minstrels, despite the efforts of Henry and his English crusaders, two years of attacks on Vilnius proved fruitless. In 1392–93 Henry undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he made offerings at the Holy Sepulchre, later he vowed to lead a crusade to free Jerusalem from the infidel, but he died before this could be accomplished. The relationship between Henry Bolingbroke and the king met with a second crisis, in 1398, a remark by Bolingbroke regarding Richard IIs rule was interpreted as treason by Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk. The two dukes agreed to undergo a duel of honour at Gosford Green near Caludon Castle, Mowbrays home in Coventry, yet before the duel could take place, Richard II decided to banish Henry from the kingdom to avoid further bloodshed. Mowbray himself was exiled for life, John of Gaunt died in 1399
29.
Edward IV of England
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Edward IV was the King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was the first Yorkist King of England, before becoming king, he was 4th Duke of York, 7th Earl of March, 5th Earl of Cambridge and 9th Earl of Ulster. He was also the 65th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, Edward of York was born at Rouen in France, the second son of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville. He was the eldest of the four sons who survived to adulthood and he bore the title Earl of March before his fathers death and his accession to the throne. Edwards father Richard, Duke of York, had been heir to King Henry VI until the birth of Henrys son Edward in 1453, Richard carried on a factional struggle with the kings Beaufort relatives. He established a dominant position after his victory at the First Battle of St Albans in 1455, in which his chief rival Edmund Beaufort, however, Henrys Queen, Margaret of Anjou, rebuilt a powerful faction to oppose the Yorkists over the following years. The Yorkist leaders fled from England after the collapse of their army in the confrontation at Ludford Bridge, the Duke of York took refuge in Ireland, while Edward went with the Nevilles to Calais where Warwick was governor. In 1460 Edward landed in Kent with Salisbury, Warwick and Salisburys brother William Neville, Lord Fauconberg, raised an army and this left Edward, now Duke of York, at the head of the Yorkist faction. He defeated a Lancastrian army at Mortimers Cross in Herefordshire on 2–3 February 1461 and he then united his forces with those of Warwick, whom Margarets army had defeated at the Second Battle of St Albans, during which Henry VI had been rescued by his supporters. Edwards father had restricted his ambitions to becoming Henrys heir, and he then advanced against the Lancastrians, having his life saved on the battlefield by the Welsh Knight Sir David Ap Mathew. He defeated the Lancastrian army in the exceptionally bloody Battle of Towton in Yorkshire on 29 March 1461, Edward had effectively broken the military strength of the Lancastrians, and he returned to London for his coronation. King Edward IV named Sir David Ap Mathew Standard Bearer of England, Lancastrian resistance continued in the north, but posed no serious threat to the new regime and was finally extinguished by Warwicks brother John Neville in the Battle of Hexham in 1464. Henry VI had escaped into the Pennines, where he spent a year in hiding, Queen Margaret fled abroad with the young Prince Edward and many of their leading supporters. Even at the age of nineteen, Edward exhibited remarkable military acumen and he also had a notable physique and was described as handsome and affable. His height is estimated at 6 feet 4.5 inches, making him the tallest among all English, Scottish, most of Englands leading families had remained loyal to Henry VI or remained uncommitted in the recent conflict. The new regime, therefore, relied heavily on the support of the Nevilles, however, the king increasingly became estranged from their leader the Earl of Warwick, due primarily to his marriage. Warwick, acting on Edwards behalf, made arrangements with King Louis XI of France for Edward to marry either Louis daughter Anne or his sister-in-law Bona of Savoy. He was humiliated and enraged to discover that, while he was negotiating, Edward had secretly married Elizabeth Woodville, Edwards marriage to Elizabeth Woodville has been criticised as an impulsive action that did not add anything to the security of England or the York dynasty
30.
Charles II of England
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Charles II was king of England, Scotland and Ireland. He was king of Scotland from 1649 until his deposition in 1651, Charles IIs father, Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War. Cromwell defeated Charles II at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651, Cromwell became virtual dictator of England, Scotland and Ireland, and Charles spent the next nine years in exile in France, the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands. A political crisis followed the death of Cromwell in 1658 resulted in the restoration of the monarchy. On 29 May 1660, his 30th birthday, he was received in London to public acclaim, after 1660, all legal documents were dated as if he had succeeded his father as king in 1649. Charless English parliament enacted laws known as the Clarendon Code, designed to shore up the position of the re-established Church of England, Charles acquiesced to the Clarendon Code even though he favoured a policy of religious tolerance. The major foreign policy issue of his reign was the Second Anglo-Dutch War. In 1670, he entered into the treaty of Dover. Louis agreed to aid him in the Third Anglo-Dutch War and pay him a pension, Charles attempted to introduce religious freedom for Catholics and Protestant dissenters with his 1672 Royal Declaration of Indulgence, but the English Parliament forced him to withdraw it. In 1679, Titus Oatess revelations of a supposed Popish Plot sparked the Exclusion Crisis when it was revealed that Charless brother, the crisis saw the birth of the pro-exclusion Whig and anti-exclusion Tory parties. Charles sided with the Tories, and, following the discovery of the Rye House Plot to murder Charles and James in 1683, Charles dissolved the English Parliament in 1681, and ruled alone until his death on 6 February 1685. He was received into the Roman Catholic Church on his deathbed, Charless wife, Catherine of Braganza, bore no live children, but Charles acknowledged at least twelve illegitimate children by various mistresses. He was succeeded by his brother James, Charles II was born in St Jamess Palace on 29 May 1630. His parents were Charles I and Henrietta Maria, Charles was their second son and child. Their first son was born about a year before Charles but died within a day, England, Scotland and Ireland were respectively predominantly Anglican, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic. At birth, Charles automatically became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay, at or around his eighth birthday, he was designated Prince of Wales, though he was never formally invested. During the 1640s, when Charles was still young, his father fought Parliamentary, by spring 1646, his father was losing the war, and Charles left England due to fears for his safety. Charles I surrendered into captivity in May 1646, at The Hague, Charles had a brief affair with Lucy Walter, who later falsely claimed that they had secretly married
31.
George II of Great Britain
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George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death. George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain, he was born, after the deaths of Sophia and Anne, Queen of Great Britain, in 1714, his father George I, Elector of Hanover, inherited the British throne. In the first years of his fathers reign as king, George was associated with opposition politicians, as king from 1727, George exercised little control over British domestic policy, which was largely controlled by the Parliament of Great Britain. As elector, he spent twelve summers in Hanover, where he had direct control over government policy. He had a relationship with his eldest son, Frederick. During the War of the Austrian Succession, George participated at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743, Frederick died unexpectedly in 1751, nine years before his father, and so George II was ultimately succeeded by his grandson, George III. For two centuries after George IIs death, history tended to him with disdain, concentrating on his mistresses, short temper. Since then, most scholars have reassessed his legacy and conclude that he held and exercised influence in foreign policy and military appointments. George was born in the city of Hanover in Germany, and was the son of George Louis, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, both of Georges parents committed adultery, and in 1694 their marriage was dissolved on the pretext that Sophia had abandoned her husband. She was confined to Ahlden House and denied access to her two children, George and his sister Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, who never saw their mother again. George spoke only French, the language of diplomacy and the court, until the age of four, after which he was taught German by one of his tutors, Johann Hilmar Holstein. In addition to French and German, he was schooled in English and Italian. Georges second cousin once removed, Queen Anne, ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1702, consequently, after his grandmother and father, George was third in line to succeed Anne in two of her three realms. England and Scotland united in 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, Georges father did not want his son to enter into a loveless arranged marriage as he had, and wanted him to have the opportunity of meeting his bride before any formal arrangements were made. Negotiations from 1702 for the hand of Princess Hedvig Sophia of Sweden, Dowager Duchess and regent of Holstein-Gottorp, the English envoy to Hanover, Edmund Poley, reported that George was so taken by the good character he had of her that he would not think of anybody else. A marriage contract was concluded by the end of July, on 22 August /2 September 1705O. S. /N. S. Caroline arrived in Hanover for her wedding, which was held the evening in the chapel at Herrenhausen. George was keen to participate in the war against France in Flanders, in early 1707, Georges hopes were fulfilled when Caroline gave birth to a son, Frederick
32.
Britannia
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It is a term still used to refer to the island today. In AD43 the Roman Empire began its conquest of the island, establishing a province they called Britannia, in the 2nd century, Roman Britannia came to be personified as a goddess, armed with a trident and shield and wearing a Corinthian helmet. After centuries of declining use, the Latin form was revived during the English Renaissance as an evocation of a British national identity. A British cultural icon, she was featured on all modern British coinage series until the redesign in 2008, in 2015 a new definitive £2 coin was issued, with a new image of Britannia. She is also depicted in the Brit Awards statuette, the British Phonographic Industrys annual music awards, the first writer to use a form of the name was the Greek explorer and geographer Pytheas in the 4th century BC. Pytheas referred to Prettanike or Brettaniai, a group of islands off the coast of North-Western Europe, in the 1st century BC, Diodorus Siculus referred to Pretannia, a rendering of the indigenous name for the Pretani people whom the Greeks believed to inhabit the British Isles. Following the Greek usage, the Romans referred to the Insulae Britannicae in the plural, consisting of Albion, Hibernia, Thule, over time, Albion specifically came to be known as Britannia, and the name for the group was subsequently dropped. The Roman conquest of the began in AD43, leading to the establishment of the Roman province known in Latin as Britannia. A southern part of what is now Scotland was occupied by the Romans for about 20 years in the mid-2nd century AD, people living in the Roman province of Britannia were called Britanni, or Britons. Ireland, inhabited by the Scoti, was never invaded and was called Hibernia, Thule, an island six days sail north of Britain, and near the frozen sea, possibly Iceland, was also never invaded by the Romans. She appeared on coins issued under Hadrian, as a more regal-looking female figure, Britannia was soon personified as a goddess, looking fairly similar to the goddess Minerva. Early portraits of the goddess depict Britannia as a young woman, wearing the helmet of a centurion. She is usually seated on a rock, holding a spear. Sometimes she holds a standard and leans on the shield, on another range of coinage, she is seated on a globe above waves, Britain at the edge of the world. Similar coin types were issued under Antoninus Pius. After the Roman withdrawal, the term Britannia remained in use in Britain, Latin was ubiquitous amongst native Brythonic writers and the term continued in the Welsh tradition that developed from it. Following the migration of Brythonic Celts, The term Britannia also came to refer to the Armorican peninsula. )The modern English, French, Breton and Gallo names for the area, all derive from a literal use of Britannia meaning land of the Britons. The two Britannias gave rise to the term Grande Bretagne to distinguish the island of Britain from the continental peninsula
33.
William III of England
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It is a coincidence that his regnal number was the same for both Orange and England. As King of Scotland, he is known as William II and he is informally known by sections of the population in Northern Ireland and Scotland as King Billy. William inherited the principality of Orange from his father, William II and his mother Mary, Princess Royal, was the daughter of King Charles I of England. In 1677, he married his fifteen-year-old first cousin, Mary, a Protestant, William participated in several wars against the powerful Catholic king of France, Louis XIV, in coalition with Protestant and Catholic powers in Europe. Many Protestants heralded him as a champion of their faith, in 1685, his Catholic father-in-law, James, Duke of York, became king of England, Ireland and Scotland. Jamess reign was unpopular with the Protestant majority in Britain, William, supported by a group of influential British political and religious leaders, invaded England in what became known as the Glorious Revolution. On 5 November 1688, he landed at the southern English port of Brixham, James was deposed and William and Mary became joint sovereigns in his place. They reigned together until her death on 28 December 1694, after which William ruled as sole monarch, Williams reputation as a staunch Protestant enabled him to take the British crowns when many were fearful of a revival of Catholicism under James. Williams victory at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 is still commemorated by the Orange Order and his reign in Britain marked the beginning of the transition from the personal rule of the Stuarts to the more Parliament-centred rule of the House of Hanover. William III was born in The Hague in the Dutch Republic on 4 November 1650, baptised William Henry, he was the only child of stadtholder William II, Prince of Orange, and Mary, Princess Royal. Mary was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland, eight days before William was born, his father died of smallpox, thus William was the Sovereign Prince of Orange from the moment of his birth. Immediately, a conflict ensued between his mother the Princess Royal and William IIs mother, Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, over the name to be given to the infant. Mary wanted to name him Charles after her brother, but her mother-in-law insisted on giving him the name William or Willem to bolster his prospects of becoming stadtholder. William II had appointed his wife as his sons guardian in his will, however, Williams mother showed little personal interest in her son, sometimes being absent for years, and had always deliberately kept herself apart from Dutch society. Williams education was first laid in the hands of several Dutch governesses, some of English descent, including Walburg Howard, from April 1656, the prince received daily instruction in the Reformed religion from the Calvinist preacher Cornelis Trigland, a follower of the Contra-Remonstrant theologian Gisbertus Voetius. The ideal education for William was described in Discours sur la nourriture de S. H. Monseigneur le Prince dOrange, in these lessons, the prince was taught that he was predestined to become an instrument of Divine Providence, fulfilling the historical destiny of the House of Orange. From early 1659, William spent seven years at the University of Leiden for a formal education, under the guidance of ethics professor Hendrik Bornius. While residing in the Prinsenhof at Delft, William had a personal retinue including Hans Willem Bentinck, and a new governor, Frederick Nassau de Zuylenstein
34.
Mary II of England
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Mary II was joint monarch of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William of Orange, from 1689 until her death. William became sole ruler upon her death in 1694, popular histories usually refer to their joint reign as that of William and Mary. Mary wielded less power than William when he was in England, ceding most of her authority to him and she did, however, act alone when William was engaged in military campaigns abroad, proving herself to be a powerful, firm, and effective ruler. Mary, born at St Jamess Palace in London on 30 April 1662, was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and his first wife, Anne Hyde. She was baptised into the Anglican faith in the Chapel Royal at St Jamess and her godparents included her fathers cousin, Prince Rupert of the Rhine. Although her mother bore eight children, all except Mary and her younger sister Anne died very young, consequently, for most of her childhood, Mary was second in line to the throne after her father. The Duke of York converted to Roman Catholicism in 1668 or 1669, Marys education, from private tutors, was largely restricted to music, dance, drawing, French, and religious instruction. Her mother died in 1671, and her father remarried in 1673, taking as his second wife Mary of Modena, from about the age of nine until her marriage, Mary wrote passionate letters to an older girl, Frances Apsley, the daughter of courtier Sir Allen Apsley. In time, Frances became uncomfortable with the correspondence, and replied more formally, at the age of fifteen, Mary became betrothed to her cousin, the Protestant Stadtholder of Holland, William of Orange. William was the son of the Kings late sister, Mary, Princess Royal, and thus fourth in the line of succession after James, Mary, and Anne. The Duke of York agreed to the marriage, after pressure from chief minister Lord Danby and the King, when James told Mary that she was to marry her cousin, she wept all that afternoon and all the following day. William and a tearful Mary were married in St Jamess Palace by Bishop Henry Compton on 4 November 1677, Mary accompanied her husband on a rough sea crossing back to the Netherlands later that month, after a delay of two weeks caused by bad weather. On 14 December, they made an entry to The Hague in a grand procession. Marys animated and personable nature made her popular with the Dutch people and she was devoted to her husband, but he was often away on campaigns, which led to Marys family supposing him to be cold and neglectful. She suffered further bouts of illness that may have been miscarriages in mid-1678, early 1679 and her childlessness would be the greatest source of unhappiness in her life. From May 1684, the Kings illegitimate son, James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, lived in the Netherlands, Monmouth was viewed as a rival to the Duke of York, and as a potential Protestant heir who could supplant James in the line of succession. William, however, did not consider him a viable alternative, upon the death of Charles II without legitimate issue in February 1685, the Duke of York became king as James II in England and Ireland and James VII in Scotland. Mary was playing cards when her husband informed her of her fathers accession, to Williams relief, Monmouth was defeated, captured and executed, but both he and Mary were dismayed by Jamess subsequent actions
35.
Royal Maundy
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Royal Maundy /ˈmɔːndi/ is a religious service in the Church of England held on Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday. At the service, the British monarch or a royal official ceremonially distributes small silver coins known as Maundy money as alms to elderly recipients. The coins are legal tender but do not circulate because of their silver content, a small sum of ordinary money is also given in lieu of gifts of clothing and food that the sovereign once bestowed on Maundy recipients. The name Maundy and the ceremony itself derive from an instruction, or mandatum, in the Middle Ages, English monarchs washed the feet of beggars in imitation of Jesus, and presented gifts and money to the poor. Over time, additional money was substituted for the clothing and other items that had once been distributed, beginning in 1699 the monarch did not attend the service, sending an official in his place. The custom of washing the feet did not survive the 18th century, in 1931 Princess Marie Louise was at Royal Maundy, and afterwards suggested that her cousin, King George V, make the distributions the following year, which he did, beginning a new royal custom. Traditionally, the service was held in or near London, in most years in the early 20th century at Westminster Abbey, today, Queen Elizabeth II almost always attends, and the service is held in a different church every year. Generally, recipients live in the diocese where the service is held, Maundy money is struck in denominations of one penny, two pence, three pence, and four pence. Until the 18th century the coins given were from the circulating coinage, the obverse design of the coins features the reigning monarch. The reverse, with a crowned numeral enclosed by a wreath, derives from a design first used during the reign of William and Mary, in most years there are fewer than 2,000 complete sets of Maundy money, they are highly sought after by collectors. The word Maundy derives from the command or mandatum by Christ at the Last Supper, the Gospels relate that on the eve of his Crucifixion, Jesus Christ ate a meal with his disciples. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done unto you, mandatum is the derivation of the word Maundy, and the Royal Maundy service evolved from Jesus command to his disciples. By the fourth or fifth century a ceremony had been developed following Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday, the ceremony, known as the pedilavium, was performed daily in some monasteries, in 992, Bishop Oswald of Worcester died during its performance. Few details of the 13th century Maundy survive, they are known to have existed from records which show the necessary for the gifts to the poor. The monarch was not alone in performing the rituals of the Maundy service, Henry IIIs children assisted him as part of their political and religious training. Henrys son, Edward I, was the first monarch to keep the Maundy only on or about Maundy Thursday, before Edward, attendance at a Maundy service became an obligation for all major European ruling houses. By 1363 the British monarch performed the pedilavium and also gave gifts, the ceremony was not always performed on Maundy Thursday, it could be postponed a day to Good Friday by royal command, as it was in 1510. With as manny Penys in every purse to as many men as his Lordshipe is Yeres of Aige
36.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
37.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
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British Guiana
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British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, since 1966 known as the independent nation of Guyana. Its indigenous people are the Arawak-speaking Lucayan, part of the Taino people, the first European to discover Guiana was Sir Walter Raleigh, an English explorer. The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle there, starting in the early 17th century, in 1796, Great Britain took over these three colonies during hostilities with the French, who had occupied the Netherlands. Britain returned control to the Batavian Republic in 1802, but captured the colonies a year later during the Napoleonic Wars, the colonies were officially ceded to the United Kingdom in 1814, and consolidated into a single colony in 1831. The colonys capital was at Georgetown, as the British developed the colony for sugarcane plantations, they imported many Africans as slave labour. The economy became more diversified since the late 19th century, but has relied on resource exploitation, Guyana became independent of the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966. The Dutch West India Company founded a colony, Demerara. During the French Revolutionary Wars of the late 18th century, when the Netherlands were occupied by the French, a British expeditionary force was dispatched from its colony of Barbados to seize the colonies from the French-dominated Batavian Republic. The colonies surrendered without a struggle, initially very little changed, as the British agreed to allow the long-established laws of the colonies to remain in force. In 1802 Britain returned the colonies to the Batavian Republic under the terms of the Treaty of Amiens, but, after resuming hostilities with France in the Napoleonic Wars in 1803, Britain seized the colonies again less than a year later. The three colonies were ceded to the United Kingdom in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814. The UK continued separate administration of the colonies until 1822. In 1831, the administration Essequibo-Demerara and Berbice was combined, the economy of British Guiana was completely based on sugarcane production until the 1880s, when falling cane sugar prices stimulated a shift toward rice farming, mining and forestry. However, sugarcane remained a significant part of the economy, under the Dutch, settlement and economic activity was concentrated around sugarcane plantations lying inland from the coast. Under the British, cane planting expanded to coastal lands. Until the abolition of slavery in the British Empire, sugar planters depended almost exclusively on slave labour to produce sugar, Georgetown was the site of a significant slave rebellion in 1823. In the 1880s gold and diamond deposits were discovered in British Guiana, bauxite deposits proved more promising and would remain an important part of the economy. The colony did not develop any significant manufacturing industry, other than sugar factories, rice mills, sawmills, the London-based Booker Group of companies dominated the economy of British Guiana
39.
British West Indies
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The British West Indies, sometimes abbreviated to BWI, are now the British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, Anguilla, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands and Montserrat. Before the independence of many new nations, they included a number of islands in the region. It was hoped that the Federation would become independent as a nation, but it had limited powers, many practical problems. Consequently, the West Indies Federation was dissolved in 1962, the remainder are British overseas territories. He set up a General Assembly of the Leeward Islands in St. Kitts, Stapletons Federation was active between 1674 and 1685, during his term as governor, and the General Assembly met regularly until 1711. By the 18th century, each island had kept its own Assembly, the islands continued to share one Governor and one Attorney-General. Although unpopular, Stapletons Federation was never really dissolved but simply replaced by other arrangements, between 1816 and 1833, the Leewards were divided into two groups, St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla and Antigua-Barbuda-Montserrat, each with its own Governor. In 1833 all the Leeward Islands were brought together, and Dominica was added, in 1869, Governor Benjamin Pine was assigned to organise a federation of Antigua-Barbuda, Dominica, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands. St. Kitts and Nevis opposed sharing their government funds with Antigua and Montserrat, Governor Pine told the Colonial Office that the scheme had failed due to local prejudice and self-interest. His only achievement was to give the Leewards a single Governor, all laws and ordinances, however, had to be approved by each island council. In 1871 the British government passed the Leeward Islands Act, by all the islands were under one Governor. The Federal Colony was composed of all islands organised under Governor Pines previous attempt, each island was called Presidency under its own Administrator or Commissioner. Like earlier groupings, this federation was unpopular but it continued until 1956, in 1958 the Federation of the West Indies was organised, of which the Leeward Islands became a part. In 1833 the Windward Islands became a union called the Windward Islands Colony. In 1838, Trinidad and St. Lucia were brought into the Windward Islands Colony, in 1840 Trinidad left the Colony. The Windward Islands Colony was unpopular, Barbados wished to retain its identity and ancient institutions. The individual islands resisted British attempts at closer union, Barbados in particular fought to retain its own Assembly and left the union in 1884. Power for the union was then transferred to Grenada as overseer of the bloc, from 1885 to 1958, the Windward Islands Colony included Grenada and the Grenadines, St. Vincent and St. Lucia during the entire period
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Decimal
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This article aims to be an accessible introduction. For the mathematical definition, see Decimal representation, the decimal numeral system has ten as its base, which, in decimal, is written 10, as is the base in every positional numeral system. It is the base most widely used by modern civilizations. Decimal fractions have terminating decimal representations and other fractions have repeating decimal representations, Decimal notation is the writing of numbers in a base-ten numeral system. Examples are Brahmi numerals, Greek numerals, Hebrew numerals, Roman numerals, Roman numerals have symbols for the decimal powers and secondary symbols for half these values. Brahmi numerals have symbols for the nine numbers 1–9, the nine decades 10–90, plus a symbol for 100, Chinese numerals have symbols for 1–9, and additional symbols for powers of ten, which in modern usage reach 1072. Positional decimal systems include a zero and use symbols for the ten values to represent any number, positional notation uses positions for each power of ten, units, tens, hundreds, thousands, etc. The position of each digit within a number denotes the multiplier multiplied with that position has a value ten times that of the position to its right. There were at least two independent sources of positional decimal systems in ancient civilization, the Chinese counting rod system. Ten is the number which is the count of fingers and thumbs on both hands, the English word digit as well as its translation in many languages is also the anatomical term for fingers and toes. In English, decimal means tenth, decimate means reduce by a tenth, however, the symbols used in different areas are not identical, for instance, Western Arabic numerals differ from the forms used by other Arab cultures. A decimal fraction is a fraction the denominator of which is a power of ten. g, Decimal fractions 8/10, 1489/100, 24/100000, and 58900/10000 are expressed in decimal notation as 0.8,14.89,0.00024,5.8900 respectively. In English-speaking, some Latin American and many Asian countries, a period or raised period is used as the separator, in many other countries, particularly in Europe. The integer part, or integral part of a number is the part to the left of the decimal separator. The part from the separator to the right is the fractional part. It is usual for a number that consists only of a fractional part to have a leading zero in its notation. Any rational number with a denominator whose only prime factors are 2 and/or 5 may be expressed as a decimal fraction and has a finite decimal expansion. 1/2 =0.5 1/20 =0.05 1/5 =0.2 1/50 =0.02 1/4 =0.25 1/40 =0.025 1/25 =0.04 1/8 =0.125 1/125 =0.008 1/10 =0
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Chaplain
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The concepts of multifaith, secular, generic and/or humanist chaplaincy are also gaining increasing support, particularly within healthcare and educational settings. School chaplains are a fixture in religious and, more recently, in religious schools the role of the chaplain tends to be educational and liturgical. In secular schools the role of the chaplain tends to be that of a mentor, Chaplains provide care for students by supporting them during times of crisis or need. Many chaplains run programs to promote the welfare of students, staff and parents including programs to help deal with grief. Chaplains also build relationships with students by participating in extra activities such as breakfast programs, lunchtime groups. School chaplains can also liaise with external organisations providing support services for the school, with stagnant incomes and rising prices putting pressure on independent school budgets, cutting the post of school chaplain can seem an easy saving. In Australia chaplains in schools have, controversially, been funded by the federal government. Australian chaplains assist school communities to support the spiritual, social, Chaplaincy services are provided by non denominational companies. As of August 2013 there are 2339 chaplains working in Australian secular schools, similarly, in Scotland the focus of school chaplaincy is on welfare and building positive relationships joining students on excursions and sharing meals. Chaplains are also non-denominational and act as a link between the community and society. Like Australian chaplains it is expected that they will not proselytise, in Ireland chaplaincy takes a very different approach in which chaplains are expected to teach up to four hours of class instruction per week and are usually Catholic. Chaplaincy duties include visiting homes, religious services, retreats and celebrations, Chaplains often also oversee programs on campus that foster spiritual, ethical, religious, and political and cultural exchange, and the promotion of service. Each day communities respond to disasters or emergencies. Most often, these incidents are managed effectively at the local level, however, there are some incidents that may require a collaborative approach that includes personnel from,1. A combination of specialties or disciplines,3, Chaplain Fellowship Disaster Response certifies first responder chaplain for crisis and disaster response. At the scene of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, for example, New York City Fire Department Chaplain Fr. Judge was killed by flying debris from the South Tower when he re-entered the lobby of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, environmental chaplaincy is an emerging field within chaplaincy. Environmental chaplains provide spiritual care in a way that honors humanitys deep connection to the earth, environmental chaplains may also bear witness to the Earth itself and represent the merging of science and spirituality
42.
Royal Navy
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The Royal Navy is the United Kingdoms naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the medieval period. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century, from the middle decades of the 17th century and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century it was the worlds most powerful navy until surpassed by the United States Navy during the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing the British Empire as the world power during the 19th. Due to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, following World War I, the Royal Navy was significantly reduced in size, although at the onset of the Second World War it was still the worlds largest. By the end of the war, however, the United States Navy had emerged as the worlds largest, during the Cold War, the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines, mostly active in the GIUK gap. The Royal Navy is part of Her Majestys Naval Service, which includes the Royal Marines. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord, the Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The strength of the fleet of the Kingdom of England was an important element in the power in the 10th century. English naval power declined as a result of the Norman conquest. Medieval fleets, in England as elsewhere, were almost entirely composed of merchant ships enlisted into service in time of war. Englands naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilisation of fleets when war broke out was slow, early in the war French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed the French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. Major fighting was confined to French soil and Englands naval capabilities sufficed to transport armies and supplies safely to their continental destinations. Such raids halted finally only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V. Henry VII deserves a large share of credit in the establishment of a standing navy and he embarked on a program of building ships larger than heretofore. He also invested in dockyards, and commissioned the oldest surviving dry dock in 1495 at Portsmouth, a standing Navy Royal, with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I England became involved in a war with Spain, the new regimes introduction of Navigation Acts, providing that all merchant shipping to and from England or her colonies should be carried out by English ships, led to war with the Dutch Republic. In the early stages of this First Anglo-Dutch War, the superiority of the large, heavily armed English ships was offset by superior Dutch tactical organisation and the fighting was inconclusive
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Ship of the line
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However, the introduction of the ironclad frigate in about 1859 led swiftly to the decline of the steam-assisted ships of the line. The term ship of the line has fallen into disuse except in historical contexts, after warships, the heavily armed carrack, first developed in Portugal for either trade or war in the Atlantic Ocean, was the precursor of the ship of the line. Other maritime European states quickly adopted it in the late 15th and these vessels were developed by fusing aspects of the cog of the North Sea and galley of the Mediterranean Sea. Over time these castles became higher and larger, and eventually were built into the structure of the ship and this aspect of the cog remained in the newer-style carrack designs and proved its worth in battles like that at Diu in 1509. The Mary Rose was an early 16th century English carrack or great ship and she was heavily armed with 78 guns and 91 after an upgrade in the 1530s. Built in Portsmouth in 1510–1512, she was one of the earliest purpose-built men-of-war in the English navy and she was over 500 tons burthen, had a keel of over 32 m and a crew of 200 sailors,185 soldiers and 30 gunners. Although the pride of the English fleet, she sank during the battle of the Solent,19 July 1545. Henri Grâce à Dieu, nicknamed Great Harry, was another early English carrack, contemporary with Mary Rose, Henri Grâce à Dieu was 165 feet long, weighing 1, 000–1,500 tons and having a complement of 700–1,000. It is said that she was ordered by Henry VIII in response to the Scottish ship Michael, launched in 1511. She was originally built at Woolwich Dockyard from 1512 to 1514 and was one of the first vessels to feature gunports and had twenty of the new heavy bronze cannon, in all she mounted 43 heavy guns and 141 light guns. She was the first English two-decker, and when launched she was the largest and most powerful warship in Europe, but she saw little action. She was present at the Battle of the Solent against Francis I of France in 1545 but appears to have more of a diplomatic vessel. Indeed, the ships were almost as well known for their ornamental design as they were for the power they possessed. Carracks fitted for war carried large-calibre guns aboard, because of their higher freeboard and greater load-bearing ability, this type of vessel was better suited than the galley to gunpowder weapons. Because of their development for conditions in the Atlantic, these ships were more weatherly than galleys, the lack of oars meant that large crews were unnecessary, making long journeys more feasible. Their disadvantage was that they were reliant on the wind for mobility. Galleys could still overwhelm great ships, especially when there was wind and they had a numerical advantage. Another detriment was the forecastle, which interfered with the sailing qualities of the ship
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Spithead and Nore mutinies
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The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797. They were the first outbreaks of a significant increase in maritime radicalism in the Atlantic World, the mutinies were extremely concerning for Britain, because at the time the country was at war with Revolutionary France, and the Navy was the most significant component of the war effort. The mutiny at Spithead lasted from 16 April to 15 May 1797, on 26 April a supportive mutiny broke out on 15 ships in Plymouth, who sent delegates to Spithead to take part in negotiations. In recent years, pay raises had also granted to the army, militia. The Royal Navy had not made adjustments for any of these changes, finally, the new wartime quota system meant that crews had many landsmen from inshore who did not mix well with the career seamen, leading to discontented ships companies. Afterwards, the mutiny was to become nicknamed the breeze at Spithead, inspired by the example of their comrades at Spithead, the sailors at the Nore also mutinied, on 12 May 1797, when the crew of Sandwich seized control of the ship. Several other ships in the location followed this example, though others slipped away and continued to slip away during the mutiny. The mutineers had been unable to organise easily because the ships were scattered along the Nore, Richard Parker was elected President of the Delegates of the Fleet. According to him, he was nominated and elected without his knowledge, Parker was a former masters mate who was dis-rated and court-martialed in December 1793 and re-enlisted in the Navy as a seaman in early 1797, where he came to serve aboard the brig-sloop Hound. These demands infuriated the Admiralty, which offered nothing except a pardon in return for a return to duty. Parker was quickly convicted of treason and piracy and hanged from the yardarm of Sandwich, in the reprisals which followed,29 were hanged,29 were imprisoned, and 9 flogged, while others were sentenced to transportation to Australia. The majority of men involved in the mutiny were not punished at all, on 27 December, the crew of Marie Antoinette murdered their officers and took their ship into a French port in the West Indies. Other mutinies took place off the coast of Ireland and at the Cape of Good Hope, in the years following Spithead and the Nore, there was a significant increase in mutinies among European navies and merchant companies, approximately 500%. Scholars have linked it to the political ideologies developing in the transnational space of the Atlantic World. Both explanations have been the subject of extensive academic investigation, political analyses often emphasize the radical discourse and conduct of the Nore mutineers as evidence of their ideological motivation. Class analyses often emphasize the discipline and solely economic grievances of the Spithead mutineers as pointing to class solidarity, the father of the protagonist in Frederick Marryats The Kings Own was hanged for his part in the Nore mutiny. Herman Melvilles novel Billy Budd, and the 1951 opera based on it by Benjamin Britten, are set immediately after the main mutinies, the Floating Republic – An account of the Mutinies at Spithead and The Nore in 1797, by G. E. Manwaring and Bonamy Dobrée published by Frank Cass & Co.1935 is a history of these mutinies, in 1982, BBC Radio 4s Saturday Night Theatre broadcast a dramatised account of the book called The Floating Republic
45.
Ordinary seaman
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An ordinary seaman is a Naval rating of the deck department of a merchant ship. The position is an apprenticeship to become an Able seaman, and has been for centuries, in modern times, an OS is required to work on a ship for a specific amount of time, gaining what is referred to as sea time. For centuries, the ordinary seaman was used to refer to a seaman with between one and two years experience at sea, who showed enough seamanship to be so rated by their captain. An OS is generally not required to watch, but must pass examinations on watchstanding skills such as performing lookout duty. Thus an OS will often be found on a bridge after working hours taking a turn at the ships wheel or being familiarized with bridge equipment. During the apprenticeship, an OS performs a variety of duties concerned with the operation and upkeep of deck department areas and equipment. These duties vary with the type of ship, the type of voyage, the number of crewmembers, the weather, the supervisor, as an ordinary seaman, ones duties may include the following, On specialized vessels, an OS may have unique duties. For example, on research vessels, an OS may rig and operate hydrographic and other specialty winches, handle and stow oceanographic explosives, the next step on the career ladder for the ordinary seaman is to become an able seaman. This advancement is based on a number of laid out in the Code of Federal Regulations. The Code of Federal Regulations establishes in 46 CFR12.05 four categories of able seaman for the United States Merchant Marine, Able Seaman—Any Waters, requires three years service on deck on vessels operating on the oceans or the Great Lakes. Requires 18 months service on deck in vessels of 100 gross tons or more which operate in a service not exclusively confined to the rivers, requires 12 months service on deck on vessels operating on the oceans, or the navigable waters of the United States including the Great Lakes. Requires six months service on deck on vessels operating on the oceans, time served in certain training programs and school ships may be substituted for the time of service listed above. For the United States Merchant Marine, the Code of Federal Regulations establishes in 46 CFR12, the AB shall demonstrate ability to row by pulling an oar in the boat. The applicant shall also demonstrate knowledge of the knots, bends, splices. Seafarers professions and ranks Able Seaman STCW Merchant Mariners Document International Labour Organization
46.
Black pudding
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Black pudding is a type of blood sausage commonly eaten in Great Britain, Ireland and in other parts of Europe. It is generally made from pork fat or beef suet, pork blood, Black pudding pre-sliced may still have a plastic wrap around the circumference that must be removed before cooking. Black pudding is often grilled, fried, baked or boiled in its skin and it can be eaten cold as it is cooked in production. The Stornoway black pudding, made in the Western Isles of Scotland, has been granted Protected Geographical Indicator of Origin status, in the wake of this designation, butchers in Bury sought to demonstrate their history of manufacturing and selling the product. One such claim dates back to 1810, Black pudding is now part of the local cuisine of the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. In Scotland and the north of England, chip shops commonly sell black pudding battered and deep-fried, prepared in this way, it is eaten as a meal with chips, replacing the better-known battered fish. Novel culinary uses for black pudding include black pudding ice cream, Black pudding is a good source of protein, is low in carbohydrate and high in zinc and iron but is also high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Since the 1980s, the World Black Pudding Throwing Championships has been held in Ramsbottom, the humorous competition invokes the traditional Lancashire – Yorkshire rivalry, with participants throwing the black puddings at piles of Yorkshire puddings. It takes place annually in September, and draws thousands of competitors and spectators to the town, in past years the Bacup Food and Black Pudding Festival has been held in Bacup. The Manchester Egg is a variant of the Scotch egg. It features Lancashire black pudding encasing a pickled egg, list of sausages Pig blood curd White pudding
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Oat
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The oat, sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name. While oats are suitable for consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats. The wild ancestor of Avena sativa and the related minor crop. Genetic evidence shows the forms of A. sterilis grew in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East. Domesticated oats appear relatively late, and far from the Near East, oats, like rye, are usually considered a secondary crop, i. e. derived from a weed of the primary cereal domesticates wheat and barley. As these cereals spread westwards into cooler, wetter areas, this may have favored the oat weed component, oats are best grown in temperate regions. Oats are a plant, and can be planted either in autumn or in the spring. Oats have numerous uses in foods, most commonly, they are rolled or crushed into oatmeal, oatmeal is chiefly eaten as porridge, but may also be used in a variety of baked goods, such as oatcakes, oatmeal cookies and oat bread. Oats are also an ingredient in many cold cereals, in particular muesli, historical attitudes towards oats have varied. Oat bread was first manufactured in Britain, where the first oat bread factory was established in 1899, in Scotland, they were, and still are, held in high esteem, as a mainstay of the national diet. In Scotland, a dish was made by soaking the husks from oats for a week, so the fine, floury part of the meal remained as sediment to be strained off, boiled and eaten. Oats are also used there as a thickener in soups. Oats are also used as feed for horses when extra carbohydrates. The oat hull may be crushed for the horse to easily digest the grain. They may be given alone or as part of a food pellet. Cattle are also fed oats, either whole or ground into a coarse flour using a mill, burr mill. Winter oats may be grown as a groundcover and ploughed under in the spring as a green fertilizer. They also can be used for pasture, they can be grazed a while, then allowed to head out for grain production, Oat straw is prized by cattle and horse producers as bedding, due to its soft, relatively dust-free, and absorbent nature
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