1.
Gustav I of Sweden
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Initially of low standing, Gustav rose to lead the rebel movement following the Stockholm Bloodbath, in which his father perished. As King, Gustav proved an administrator with a ruthless streak not inferior to his predecessors. He worked to raise taxes, end Feudalism and bring about a Swedish Reformation, replacing the prerogatives of local landowners, noblemen and clergy with centrally appointed governors and bishops. Due to a vibrant dynastic succession, his three sons, Erik, Johan and Karl IX, all held the kingship at different points, Gustav I has subsequently been labelled the founder of modern Sweden, and the father of the nation. Gustav liked to compare himself to Moses, whom he believed to have liberated his people. As a person, Gustav was known for ruthless methods and a bad temper and he founded one of the now oldest orchestras of the world, the Kungliga Hovkapellet. Royal housekeeping accounts from 1526 mention twelve musicians including wind players, today the Kungliga Hovkapellet is the orchestra of the Royal Swedish Opera. Gustav Eriksson, a son of Cecilia Månsdotter Eka and Erik Johansson Vasa, was born in 1496. The birth most likely place in Rydboholm Castle, northeast of Stockholm. The newborn got his name, Gustav, from Eriks grandfather Gustav Anundsson, Erik Johanssons parents were Johan Kristersson and Birgitta Gustafsdotter of the dynasties Vasa and Sture respectively, both dynasties of high nobility. Birgitta Gustafsdotter was the sister of Sten Sture the Elder, regent of Sweden, being a relative and ally of uncle Sten Sture, Erik inherited the regents estates in Uppland and Södermanland when the latter died in 1503. Although a member of a family with considerable properties since childhood, according to genealogical research, Birgitta Gustafsdotter and Sten Sture were descended from King Sverker II of Sweden, through King Sverkers granddaughter Benedikte Sunesdotter. One of King Gustavs great-grandmothers was a half-sister of King Charles VIII of Sweden, since the end of the 14th century, Sweden had been a part of the Kalmar Union with Denmark and Norway. The Danish dominance in this union led to uprisings in Sweden. During Gustavs childhood, parts of the Swedish nobility tried to make Sweden independent, Gustav and his father Erik supported the party of Sten Sture the Younger, regent of Sweden from 1512, and its struggle against the Danish King Christian II. Following the battle of Brännkyrka in 1518, where Sten Stures troops beat the Danish forces, it was decided that Sten Sture and King Christian would meet in Österhaninge for negotiations. To guarantee the safety of the king, the Swedish side sent six men as hostages to be kept by the Danes for as long as the negotiations lasted. However, Christian did not show up for the negotiations, violated the deal with the Swedish side, the six members of the kidnapped hostage were Hemming Gadh, Lars Siggesson, Jöran Siggesson, Olof Ryning, Bengt Nilsson – and Gustav Eriksson
2.
Bayinnaung
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Bayinnaung Kyawhtin Nawrahta was king of Toungoo Dynasty of Burma from 1550 to 1581. Although he is best remembered for his building, Bayinnaungs greatest legacy was his integration of the Shan states into the Irrawaddy-valley-based kingdoms. After the conquest of the Shan states in 1557–1563, the put in an administrative system that reduced the power of hereditary Shan saophas. It eliminated the threat of Shan raids into Upper Burma, a concern to Upper Burma since the late 13th century. His Shan policy was followed by Burmese kings right up to the fall of the kingdom to the British in 1885. He could not replicate this administrative policy everywhere in his far flung empire and his empire was a loose collection of former sovereign kingdoms, whose kings were loyal to him as the Cakkavatti, not the Kingdom of Toungoo. Indeed, Ava and Siam revolted just over two years after his death, by 1599, all the vassal states had revolted, and the Toungoo Empire completely collapsed. He is considered one of the three greatest kings of Burma, along with Anawrahta and Alaungpaya, some of the most prominent places in modern Myanmar are named after him. He is also known in Thailand as Phra Chao Chana Sip Thit. The future king was born Ye Htut on 16 January 1516 to Mingyi Swe, no extant contemporary records, including Hanthawaddy Hsinbyushin Ayedawbon, the extensive chronicle of the kings reign written two years before his death, mention his ancestry. It was only in 1724, some 143 years after the death that Maha Yazawin. According to Maha Yazawin, he was born to a family in Toungoo. He was descended from viceroys of Toungoo Tarabya and Minkhaung I from his fathers side, furthermore, Ye Htut was distantly related to then presiding ruler of Toungoo Mingyi Nyo and his son Tabinshwehti through their common ancestor, Tarabya of Pakhan. Later chronicles simply repeat Maha Yazawins account, in all, the chronicles neatly tie his ancestry to all the previous main dynasties that existed in Upper Burma, Ava, Sagaing, Myinsaing–Pinya and Pagan dynasties. To be sure, the chronicle and oral traditions need not be mutually exclusive since being a tree climber does not preclude his having royal ancestors. Whatever their origin and station in life may have been, both of his parents were chosen to be part of the staff to take care of the royal baby Tabinshwehti in April 1516. Ye Htuts mother was chosen to be the wet nurse of the prince, the family moved into the Toungoo Palace precincts where the couple had three more sons, the last of whom died young. Ye Htut had an elder sister Khin Hpone Soe, and three brothers, Minye Sithu, Thado Dhamma Yaza II, and the youngest who died young
3.
Amazon River
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The Amazon River, usually abbreviated to Amazon, in South America is the largest river by discharge of water in the world and, according to some authors, the longest in length. Brazilians call this section the Solimões River above its confluence with the Rio Negro to form what Brazilians call the Amazon at the Meeting of Waters at Manaus, the rivers largest city. The Amazon basin is the largest drainage basin in the world, the portion of the rivers drainage basin in Brazil alone is larger than any other rivers basin. The Amazon enters Brazil with only one-fifth of the flow it finally discharges into the Atlantic Ocean, during what many archaeologists call the formative stage, Amazonian societies were deeply involved in the emergence of South Americas highland agrarian systems. Early human settlements were based on low-lying hills or mounds. Shell mounds were the earliest evidences of inhabitation, they represent piles of refuse and are mainly dated between 7500 and 4000 years BP. They are associated with ceramic age cultures, no preceramic shell mounds have been documented so far by archaeologists, artificial earth platforms for entire villages are the second type of mounds. They are best represented by the Marajoara culture, figurative mounds are the most recent types of occupation. There is ample evidence that the surrounding the Amazon River were home to complex and large-scale indigenous societies, mainly chiefdoms who developed large towns. Archeologists estimate that by the time the Spanish conquistador De Orellana travelled across the Amazon in 1541 and these pre-Columbian settlements created highly developed civilizations. For instance, pre-Columbian indigenous people on the island of Marajó may have developed social stratification, in order to achieve this level of development, the indigenous inhabitants of the Amazon rainforest altered the forests ecology by selective cultivation and the use of fire. Scientists argue that by burning areas of the forest repetitiously, the people caused the soil to become richer in nutrients. This created dark soil areas known as terra preta de índio, further research has hypothesized that this practice began around 11,000 years ago. Some say that its effects on forest ecology and regional climate explain the otherwise inexplicable band of rainfall through the Amazon basin. Many indigenous tribes engaged in constant warfare, james Stuart Olson wrote, The Munduruku expansion dislocated and displaced the Kawahíb, breaking the tribe down into much smaller groups. First came to the attention of Europeans in 1770 when they began a series of attacks on Brazilian settlements along the Amazon River. In March 1500, Spanish conquistador Vicente Yáñez Pinzón was the first documented European to sail up the Amazon River. Pinzón called the stream Río Santa María del Mar Dulce, later shortened to Mar Dulce, literally, sweet sea, because of its fresh water pushing out into the ocean
4.
John Rennie the Elder
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John Rennie FRSE FRS was a Scottish civil engineer who designed many bridges, canals, and docks. His older brother George remained to assist in the agricultural business. He seems to have employed his vacations in working as a millwright, at this early date the originality of his mind was exhibited by the introduction of cast iron pinions instead of wooden trundles. In 1784 he took a journey south for the purpose of enlarging his knowledge, visiting James Watt at Soho, the machinery was all designed by Rennie, a distinguishing feature being the use of iron instead of wood for the shafting and framing. About 1791 he started in business as an engineer on his own account in Holland Street, Blackfriars, whence he. In 1791, he moved to London and set up his own engineering business, having by then begun to expand into civil engineering, the Kennet and Avon Canal including the Dundas Aqueduct, Caen Hill Locks and Crofton Pumping Station occupied him between 1794 and 1810. In 1802 he revised the plans for the Royal Canal of Ireland from Dublin to the Shannon near Longford, for many years he was engaged in extensive drainage operations in the Lincolnshire and Norfolk fens, and in the improvement of the River Witham. The Eau Brink Cut, a new channel for the River Ouse, was completed just before his death and his later efforts in this line also show that he was a skilful architect, endowed with a keen sense of beauty of design. Waterloo Bridge was considered his masterpiece and was the most prestigious bridge project in England, the Italian sculptor Canova called it ‘the noblest bridge in the world’ and said that ‘it is worth going to England solely to see Rennie’s bridge. Southwark Bridge was built as three cast-iron spans over the river and he also designed the Old Vauxhall Bridge. He devoted much time to the preparation of plans for a government dockyard at Northfleet, Rennies last project was London Bridge, still under construction when he died in 1821 but completed by his son, also John Rennie. Dunleary harbour of Asylum was a difficult and important project. Rennie was responsible for the construction of Howth Harbour on the North side of Dublin bay a decade earlier and this was originally planned as the landing for the Holyhead packets, but it silted up to such an extent that it became unfit for purpose. An Act of Parliament of 1816 authorised the building of Dunleary harbour and he was correct as the sand has built up behind the west pier. The harbour once built was renamed The Royal Harbour of Kingstown in 1821 on the occasion of the visit of George IV, the material for the harbour is Dalkey Hill granite. The granite was provided by Richard Toucher at no cost to the construction team, the foundations of the piers are 300-0 wide and 24-0 below low water level. Many options were considered for the width of the space between the two pier heads, Rennie wrote to the Harbour Commissioners that the opening should be 430-0 wide with the pier heads turned into the harbour to control swells within the harbour. His demands were never met and the opening was built at 1
5.
St Mary's Church, Reculver
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From the early 9th century to the 10th the church was treated as essentially a piece of property, with ownership passing between kings of Mercia and Wessex and the archbishops of Canterbury. By the time of Domesday Book, completed in 1086, St Marys was serving as a parish church, the church was much altered and expanded during the Middle Ages, the last addition, in the 15th century, was of north and south porches leading into the nave. The churchs twin towers were preserved by the intervention of Trinity House, some materials from the structure were incorporated into a replacement church, also dedicated to St Mary, built at Hillborough in the same parish. Much of the rest was used for the building of a new harbour wall at Margate and these are now kept in Canterbury Cathedral, and are among the features that have led to the church being described as an exemplar of Anglo-Saxon church architecture and sculpture. The first church known to have existed at Reculver was founded in 669, the building formed a nave measuring 37. The arches were formed using Roman tiles, but the columns were made for the rather than being Roman in origin. The presence of a stone bench around the inside of the apse has been attributed to influence from the Syrian Church, the walls of the church were rendered inside and out, giving them a plain appearance and hiding the masonry. The grant was made at Reculver, and the charter in which it was recorded was written by a Reculver scribe. In 692 Reculvers abbot Berhtwald was elected Archbishop of Canterbury, from which position he probably offered Reculver patronage, such records also provide the names of other abbots of Reculver, namely Æthelmær, Bære, Æthelheah, Dudeman, Beornwine, Baegmund, Daegmund and Beornhelm. By the early 9th century the monastery had become extremely wealthy, in 811 control of the monastery appears to have been in the hands of Archbishop Wulfred of Canterbury, who is recorded as having deprived it of some of its land. In that year a monumental showdown began between Archbishop Wulfred and King Coenwulf over the control of monasteries, featuring Reculver and Minster-in-Thanet in particular, one copy of the record of this agreement was preserved either at Reculver or at Lyminge. An army of Vikings spent the winter of 851 on the Isle of Thanet, Reculver, like most of the Kentish monasteries, lay in an exposed coastal location, and would have presented an obvious target for Vikings in search of treasure. Reculver may have remained home to a religious community into the 10th century and it is possible that the abbot and community of Reculver took refuge from the Vikings in Canterbury, as the abbess and community of Lyminge did in 804. The Church in East Kent seems broadly to have preserved its primary, character against all the odds, but evidence for the monastery at Reculver is lacking, by the 11th century the monastery had dropped out of sight entirely. The last abbot is recorded as Wenredus, although it is unknown when he was abbot and this may have been nothing more than a temporary resurgence of communal life at Reculver, at least for a period in the earlier eleventh century. The old minster. was provided as a refuge for a body of foreign clerics, by 1066 the monastery had become a parish church, with no baptismal function, and its territory had become part of the endowment of the archbishops of Canterbury. Domesday Book records the annual income from Reculver in 1086 as £42. 7s. This value can be compared with, for example, the £20 due to him from the manor of Maidstone, by the 13th century Reculver parish provided an ecclesiastical benefice of exceptional wealth, which led to disputes between lay and Church interests
6.
Coastal erosion
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Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, drainage or high winds. The study of erosion and sediment redistribution is called coastal morphodynamics and it may be caused by hydraulic action, abrasion, impact and corrosion. On non-rocky coasts, coastal erosion results in rock formations in areas where the coastline contains rock layers or fracture zones with varying resistance to erosion. Softer areas become eroded much faster than harder ones, which result in landforms such as tunnels, bridges, columns. Over time the coast generally evens out, the softer areas fill up with sediment eroded from hard areas, and rock formations are eroded away. Also abrasion commonly happens in areas where there are strong winds, loose sand, the blowing of millions of sharp sand grains creates a sandblasting effect. This effect helps to erode, smooth and polish rocks, the definition of abrasion is grinding and wearing away of rock surfaces through the mechanical action of other rock or sand particles. A place where erosion of a cliffed coast has occurred is at Wamberal in the Central Coast region of New South Wales where houses built on top of the cliffs began to collapse into the sea. This is due to waves causing erosion of the sedimentary material on which the buildings foundations sit. Dunwich, the capital of the English medieval wool trade, disappeared over the period of a few due to redistribution of sediment by waves. The California coast, which has soft cliffs of sedimentary rock and is heavily populated, devils Slide, Santa Barbara, the coast just north of Ensenada, and Malibu are regularly affected. The Holderness coastline on the east coast of England, just north of the Humber Estuary, is one of the fastest eroding coastline in Europe due to its soft clay cliffs and powerful waves. Groynes and other measures to keep it under control has only accelerated the process further down the coast, because longshore drift starves the beaches of sand. The White Cliffs of Dover have also been affected, fort Ricasoli, a historic 17th century fortress in Malta is being threatened by coastal erosion, as it was built on a fault in the headland which is prone to erosion. A small part of one of the walls has already collapsed since the land under it has eroded. Hydraulic action occurs when striking a cliff face compress air in cracks on the cliff face. This exerts pressure on the rock, and can progressively splinter. Over time, the cracks can grow, sometimes forming a cave, the splinters fall to the sea bed where they are subjected to further wave action
7.
Anglo-Saxon architecture
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Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England, and parts of Wales, from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed using timber with thatch for roofing. No universally accepted example survives above ground, there are, however, many remains of Anglo-Saxon church architecture. At least fifty churches are of Anglo-Saxon origin with major Anglo-Saxon architectural features, with many claiming to be, although in some cases the Anglo-Saxon part is small. It is often impossible to distinguish between pre- and post-Conquest 11th century work in buildings where most parts are later additions or alterations. The round-tower church and tower-nave church are distinctive Anglo-Saxon types, all surviving churches, except one timber church, are built of stone or brick, and in some cases show evidence of re-used Roman work. In recent decades historians have become less confident that all undocumented minor Romanesque features post-date the Norman Conquest. Although once common, it has been incorrect for decades to use the plain term Saxon for anything Anglo-Saxon that is later than the initial period of settlement in Britain. Early Anglo-Saxon buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed using timber with thatch for roofing. Generally preferring not to settle within the old Roman cities, the Anglo-Saxons built small towns near their centres of agriculture, in each town, a main hall was in the centre, provided with a central hearth. The fall of Roman Britain at the beginning of the century, according to Bede, allowed an influx of invaders from northern Germany including the Angles. The Angles and the Saxons had their own religion, but Christianity was on its way, St Patrick, a Romano-British man, converted Ireland to Christianity, from where much of Western Scotland was converted and much of Northumbria was reconverted. The architecture though was initially influenced by Coptic monasticism, examples of this can be seen today in the form of rectangular dry-stone corbelled structures such as at Gallarus Oratory, Dingle and Illauntannig, Ireland. Christianity and Irish influence came to England through missionaries, in 635, a centre of Celtic Christianity was established at Lindisfarne, Northumbria, where St Aidan founded a monastery. In 597, the mission of Augustine from Rome came to England to convert the southern Anglo-Saxons, and founded the first cathedral and these churches consisted of a nave with side chambers. In 664 a synod was held at Whitby, Yorkshire, larger churches developed in the form of basilicas, for example at Brixworth. This was however, gradually elided by centuries of English dominance, subsequent Danish invasion marked a period of destruction of many buildings in Anglo-Saxon England, including in 793 the raid on Lindisfarne. Buildings including cathedrals were rebuilt, and the threat of conflict had an influence on the architecture of the time
8.
Anglo-Saxon art
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By the time of the Conquest the move to the Romanesque style is nearly complete. Anglo-Saxon art survives mostly in illuminated manuscripts, Anglo-Saxon architecture, a number of very fine ivory carvings, Anglo-Saxon taste favoured brightness and colour, and an effort of the imagination is often needed to see the excavated and worn remains that survive as they once were. Perhaps the best known piece of Anglo-Saxon art is the Bayeux Tapestry which was commissioned by a Norman patron from English artists working in the traditional Anglo-Saxon style and these two styles mixed and developed together and by the following century the resulting Anglo-Saxon style had reached maturity. The final phase of Anglo-Saxon art is known as the Winchester School or style, though it was produced in many centres in the south of England, elements of this begin to be seen from around 900, but the first major manuscripts only appear around the 930s. The following lines revert to a style more typical of Frankish manuscripts of the period. It is, in the chronology, the last English manuscript in which developed trumpet spiral patterns are found. The Anglo-Saxon metalwork produced in the Salzburg area of modern Austria has a counterpart in the Cutbercht Gospels in Vienna. By the 10th century Insular elements were relegated to decorative embellishments in England, the first plant ornament, with leaves and grapes, was already seen in an initial in the Leningrad Bede, which can probably be dated to 746. The other large initial in the manuscript is the first historiated initial in the whole of Europe, for some long time scrolls, especially in metal, bone or ivory, are prone to have an animal head at one end and a plant element at the other. Several ambitious projects of illumination are unfinished, such as the Old English Hexateuch, the illustrations give Old Testament scenes an entirely contemporary setting and are valuable images of Anglo-Saxon life. Æthelstan promoted Dunstan, an illuminator, eventually to Archbishop of Canterbury, and also Æthelwold. Illumination in a new style appears in a manuscript of the biographies by Bede of St Cuthbert given by Æthelstan to the monastery in Chester-le-Street about 937. There is a portrait of the king presenting his book to the saint. This is the first real portrait of an English king, and heavily influenced by Carolingian style, however the initials in the text combine Carolingian elements with animal forms in inventive fashion. Anglo-Saxon culture was coming into increasing contact with, and exchanging influences with, decoration included cloisonné, in gold and garnet for high-status pieces. It was probably his work which brought into contact with the royal family. Even the imprecise details given, mostly by Goscelin, are valuable evidence of what Anglo-Saxon metalwork was like. One 11th century lay goldsmith was even a thegn, like Spearhafoc, Mannigs biography, with some precise details, is given in the chronicle maintained by his abbey
9.
Sicily
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Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous Region of Italy, along with surrounding minor islands, Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, the island has a typical Mediterranean climate. The earliest archaeological evidence of activity on the island dates from as early as 12,000 BC. It became part of Italy in 1860 following the Expedition of the Thousand, a revolt led by Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Italian unification, Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region after the Italian constitutional referendum of 1946. Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially regard to the arts, music, literature, cuisine. It is also home to important archaeological and ancient sites, such as the Necropolis of Pantalica, the Valley of the Temples, Sicily has a roughly triangular shape, earning it the name Trinacria. To the east, it is separated from the Italian mainland by the Strait of Messina, about 3 km wide in the north, and about 16 km wide in the southern part. The northern and southern coasts are each about 280 km long measured as a line, while the eastern coast measures around 180 km. The total area of the island is 25,711 km2, the terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly and is intensively cultivated wherever possible. Along the northern coast, the ranges of Madonie,2,000 m, Nebrodi,1,800 m. The cone of Mount Etna dominates the eastern coast, in the southeast lie the lower Hyblaean Mountains,1,000 m. The mines of the Enna and Caltanissetta districts were part of a leading sulphur-producing area throughout the 19th century, Sicily and its surrounding small islands have some highly active volcanoes. Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and still casts black ash over the island with its ever-present eruptions and it currently stands 3,329 metres high, though this varies with summit eruptions, the mountain is 21 m lower now than it was in 1981. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps, Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 with a basal circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of the three volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. In Greek Mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under the mountain by Zeus, Mount Etna is widely regarded as a cultural symbol and icon of Sicily. The Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the northeast of mainland Sicily form a volcanic complex, the three volcanoes of Vulcano, Vulcanello and Lipari are also currently active, although the latter is usually dormant
