1.
Joshua Reynolds
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Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential eighteenth-century English painter, specialising in portraits. He promoted the Grand Style in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect and he was a founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts, and was knighted by George III in 1769. Reynolds was born in Plympton, Devon, on 16 July 1723 the third son of the Rev. Samuel Reynolds and his father had been a fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, but did not send any of his sons to the university. One of his sisters was Mary Palmer, seven years his senior, author of Devonshire Dialogue, in 1740 she provided £60, half of the premium paid to Thomas Hudson the portrait-painter, for Joshuas pupilage, and nine years later advanced money for his expenses in Italy. His other siblings included Frances Reynolds and Elizabeth Johnson, as a boy, he came under the influence of Zachariah Mudge, whose Platonistic philosophy stayed with him all his life. The work that came to have the most influential impact on Reynolds was Jonathan Richardsons An Essay on the Theory of Painting, having shown an early interest in art, Reynolds was apprenticed in 1740 to the fashionable London portrait painter Thomas Hudson, who had been born in Devon. Hudson had a collection of old master drawings, including some by Guercino, although apprenticed to Hudson for four years, Reynolds only remained with him until summer 1743. Having left Hudson, Reynolds worked for some time as a portrait-painter in Plymouth Dock and he returned to London before the end of 1744, but following his fathers death in late 1745 he shared a house in Plymouth Dock with his sisters. In 1749, Reynolds met Commodore Augustus Keppel, who invited him to join HMS Centurion, of which he had command, while with the ship he visited Lisbon, Cadiz, Algiers, and Minorca. From Minorca he travelled to Livorno in Italy, and then to Rome, while in Rome he suffered a severe cold, which left him partially deaf, and, as a result, he began to carry a small ear trumpet with which he is often pictured. Reynolds travelled homeward overland via Florence, Bologna, Venice, and he was accompanied by Giuseppe Marchi, then aged about 17. Apart from a brief interlude in 1770, Marchi remained in Reynolds employment as an assistant for the rest of the artists career. Following his arrival in England in October 1752, Reynolds spent three months in Devon, before establishing himself in London, where he remained for the rest of his life. He took rooms in St Martins Lane, before moving to Great Newport Street and he achieved success rapidly, and was extremely prolific. In 1760 Reynolds moved into a house, with space to show his works and accommodate his assistants. Alongside ambitious full-length portraits, Reynolds painted large numbers of smaller works, in the late 1750s, at the height of the social season, he received five or six sitters a day, each for an hour. By 1761 Reynolds could command a fee of 80 guineas for a full-length portrait, the clothing of Reynolds sitters was usually painted either by one of his pupils, his studio assistant Giuseppe Marchi, or the specialist drapery painter Peter Toms. Lay figures were used to model the clothes and he had an excellent vantage from his house, Wick House, on Richmond Hill, and painted the view in about 1780
2.
Sutton, Bedfordshire
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Sutton is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It is just over a mile south of Potton and near the towns of Sandy. At the 2001 Census, its population was 299, the first written record of the village is its listing in the Domesday Book. Sutton Castle was built c1220, though now an oval motte is all that remains, unusually, the castle is a long way from the village and church. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, son of King Edward III, a moat near the John OGaunt Golf Club, in Sutton Park, is said to be the site of his manor house. The present house is modern, but to the north of it is an earthen mound, said to be the site of the original house. It has been encircled by a ditch, and local tradition has it that the village was formerly near to it, Sutton was the birthplace of General John Burgoyne the British army officer, politician and dramatist best known for his role in the American War of Independence. He lived with his family at Sutton Park, in 1741, the Sutton Enclosure Act was passed. Such local Enclosure Acts allowed the major landowners in the area to reorganise their widely separated landholdings and this produced a larger estate for the Burgoynes. Sutton Park House was destroyed by a fire in 1825 and it was subsequently re-designed in 1876. There are monuments to the Burgoynes in All Saints Church, the tomb of Sir John Burgoyne, by Edward Stanton, is dated 1604. The monument to Sir Roger, who died in 1679, is by Grinling Gibbons The village pub, the pub was created from three 18th-century thatched cottages. Lower School, was opened in 1870, the Packhorse bridge is a small, double arch bridge beside the ford across Potton Brook, a tributary of the River Ivel. The bridge was built in the 14th or 15th century from local sandstone and it is thought to be the only surviving bridge of its type in Bedfordshire. The bridge was situated on an important trade route involving wool between the towns of Bedford and Dunstable, in 1941 Bedfordshire County Council assumed responsibility for the Packhorse bridge, and carried out repairs in 1986. The repairs later earnt the council a Civic Trust award in 1988, the Church of England parish church of All Saints has a barrel organ and was once under the control of the scandalous Reverend Edward Drax Free. A detailed study of the architecture was taken in 2003 and can be read at English Church Architecture
3.
Mayfair
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Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the east edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in London and the world, the area around Mayfair was originally part of the manor of Eia and remained largely rural in nature until the early 18th century. It became well known for the annual May Fair that took place from 1686 to 1764 in what is now Shepherd Market, the fair attracted an unpleasant, downmarket element and gradually became a public nuisance. The Grosvenor family, later to become the Dukes of Westminster, acquired land through marriage, the work included three major squares – Hanover Square, Berkeley Square and Grosvenor Square, all of which were surrounded by luxury homes, and the church of St George Hanover Square. By the end of the 18th century, most of Mayfair was built on with prestigious housing to suit the upper class, unlike some nearby areas of London, it has never lost its affluent status. There remains a substantial quantity of luxury property, upmarket shops and restaurants. Mayfairs prestigious status has been commemorated by being the most expensive property square on the London Monopoly board. The Mayfair area is in the London Borough of Westminster and mainly consists of the estate of Grosvenor, along with the estates of Albemarle, Berkeley, Burlington. It is bordered on the west by Park Lane, north by Oxford Street, east by Regent Street, beyond the bounding roads, to the north is Marylebone, to the east, Soho and to the southwest, Knightsbridge and Belgravia. Mayfair is surrounded by parkland, both Hyde Park and Green Park run along its boundary, the 8-acre Grosvenor Square is roughly in the centre of Mayfair, and is the centrepiece of the area, containing numerous expensive and desirable properties. There has been speculation that the Romans settled in the area before establishing Londinium, the proposal has been disputed owing to lack of archaeological evidence. This area was known as the manor of Eia in the Domesday Book and it was subsequently given to the Abbey of Westminster, who owned it until 1536 when it was taken over by Henry VIII. Mayfair was mainly open fields until development started in the Shepherd Market area around 1686-8 to accommodate the May Fair that had moved from Haymarket in St Jamess because of overcrowding. There were some buildings before 1686 – a cottage in Stanhope Row, dating from 1618, a 17th century English Civil War fortification was established in what is now Mount Street in Mayfair, and known as Olivers Mount by the 18th century. The May Fair was held every year at Great Brookfield from 1 –14 May and it was established during the reign of Edward I, where the area beyond St. James was open fields. The fair was recorded as Saint Jamess fayer by Westminster in 1560 and it was postponed briefly in 1603 because of plague, but otherwise continued throughout the 17th century. In 1686, the moved to what is now Mayfair. By the 18th, it had attracted various showmen, jugglers and fencers, popular attractions included bare-knuckle fighting, semolina eating contests and womens foot racing
4.
Westminster Abbey
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It is one of the United Kingdoms most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and, later, British monarchs. Between 1540 and 1556, the abbey had the status of a cathedral, since 1560, however, the building is no longer an abbey nor a cathedral, having instead the status of a Church of England Royal Peculiar—a church responsible directly to the sovereign. The building itself is the abbey church. According to a tradition first reported by Sulcard in about 1080, a church was founded at the site in the 7th century, at the time of Mellitus, construction of the present church began in 1245, on the orders of King Henry III. Since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066, all coronations of English and British monarchs have held in Westminster Abbey. There have been at least 16 royal weddings at the abbey since 1100, two were of reigning monarchs, although, before 1919, there had been none for some 500 years. The first reports of the abbey are based on a tradition claiming that a young fisherman called Aldrich on the River Thames saw a vision of Saint Peter near the site. This seems to be quoted to justify the gifts of salmon from Thames fishermen that the abbey received in later years, in the present was, the Fishmongers Company still gives a salmon every year. The proven origins are that in the 960s or early 970s, Saint Dunstan, assisted by King Edgar, between 1042 and 1052, King Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St Peters Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church. It was the first church in England built in the Romanesque style, the building was completed around 1090 and was consecrated on 28 December 1065, only a week before Edwards death on 5 January 1066. A week later, he was buried in the church, and, nine years later and his successor, Harold II, was probably crowned in the abbey, although the first documented coronation is that of William the Conqueror later the same year. The only extant depiction of Edwards abbey, together with the adjacent Palace of Westminster, is in the Bayeux Tapestry, construction of the present church was begun in 1245 by Henry III who selected the site for his burial. The abbot and monks, in proximity to the royal Palace of Westminster, the abbot often was employed on royal service and in due course took his place in the House of Lords as of right. The abbey built shops and dwellings on the west side, encroaching upon the sanctuary, the abbey became the coronation site of Norman kings. The Confessors shrine subsequently played a part in his canonisation. The work continued between 1245 and 1517 and was finished by the architect Henry Yevele in the reign of Richard II. Henry III also commissioned the unique Cosmati pavement in front of the High Altar, Henry VII added a Perpendicular style chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1503. Much of the came from Caen, in France, the Isle of Portland
5.
Kingdom of Great Britain
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The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm, the unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. Also after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the early years of the unified kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings which ended in defeat for the Stuart cause at Culloden in 1746. On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, the name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Edward IV of Englands daughter Cecily and James III of Scotlands son James. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be United into one Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain. However, both the Acts and the Treaty also refer numerous times to the United Kingdom and the longer form, other publications refer to the country as the United Kingdom after 1707 as well. The websites of the UK parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, additionally, the term United Kingdom was found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the state. The new state created in 1707 included the island of Great Britain, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a union in 1603. Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws and this disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800, legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the location in Westminster. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws. As a result of Poynings Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England, the Act was repealed by the Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782. The same year, the Irish constitution of 1782 produced a period of legislative freedom, the 18th century saw England, and after 1707 Great Britain, rise to become the worlds dominant colonial power, with France its main rival on the imperial stage
6.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
7.
Commander-in-chief
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A commander-in-chief is the person or body that exercises supreme operational command and control of a nations military forces or significant elements of those forces. In the latter case, the element is those forces within a particular region. Often, a given countrys commander-in-chief need not be or have been an officer or even a veteran. This follows the principle of civilian control of the military, the role of commander-in-chief derives from the Latin, imperator. Imperatores of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire possessed imperium powers, in its modern use, the term first applied to King Charles I of England in 1639. It continued to be used during the English Civil War, a nations head of state usually holds the nominal position of commander-in-chief, even if effective executive power is held by a separate head of government. Governors-general and colonial governors are also often appointed commander-in-chief of the forces within their territory. A commander-in-chief is sometimes referred to as commander, which is sometimes used as a specific term. The term is used for military officers who hold such power and authority, not always through dictatorship. The term is used for officers who hold authority over an individual military branch. According to the Constitution of Albania, The President of the Republic of Albania is the Commander-in-chief of Albanian Armed Forces, the incumbent Commander-in-chief is President Bujar Nishani. The Ministry of Defense is the government department that assists and serves the President in the management of the armed forces, the Minister for Defence and several subordinate ministers exercise this control through the Australian Defence Organisation. The Constitution states, in Article 80, that the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Armed Forces. e, the cabinet under the chairmanship of the Federal Chancellor, as defined in Article 69. The commander-in-chief is the president, although executive power and responsibility for national defense resides with the prime minister and he retired on 7 April 1972 and relinquished all authority and duties to the President of Bangladesh. Article 142 of the Brazilian Constitution of 1988 states that the Brazilian Armed Forces is under the command of the President of the Republic. The Sultan of Brunei is the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, the powers of command-in-chief over the Canadian Armed Forces are vested in the Canadian monarch, and are delegated to the Governor General of Canada, who also uses the title Commander-in-Chief. In this capacity, the general is entitled to the uniform of a general/flag officer, with the crest of the office. According to the National Defence Act, the Minister of National Defence is responsible and accountable to parliament for all related to national defence
8.
Seven Years' War
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The Seven Years War was a war fought between 1754 and 1763, the main conflict occurring in the seven-year period from 1756 to 1763. It involved every European great power of the time except the Ottoman Empire and spanned five continents, affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines. The conflict split Europe into two coalitions, led by the Kingdom of Great Britain on one side and the Kingdom of France on the other. Meanwhile, in India, the Mughal Empire, with the support of the French, faced with this sudden turn of events, Britain aligned herself with Prussia, in a series of political manoeuvres known as the Diplomatic Revolution. Conflict between Great Britain and France broke out in 1754–1756 when the British attacked disputed French positions in North America, meanwhile, rising power Prussia was struggling with Austria for dominance within and outside the Holy Roman Empire in central Europe. In 1756, the major powers switched partners, realizing that war was imminent, Prussia preemptively struck Saxony and quickly overran it. The result caused uproar across Europe, because of Austrias alliance with France to recapture Silesia, which had been lost in a previous war, Prussia formed an alliance with Britain. Reluctantly, by following the diet, most of the states of the empire joined Austrias cause. The Anglo-Prussian alliance was joined by smaller German states, Sweden, seeking to re-gain Pomerania joined the coalition, seeing its chance when virtually all of Europe opposed Prussia. Spain, bound by the Pacte de Famille, intervened on behalf of France, the Russian Empire was originally aligned with Austria, fearing Prussias ambition on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, but switched sides upon the succession of Tsar Peter III in 1762. Naples, Sicily, and Savoy, although sided with the Franco-Spanish alliance, like Sweden, Russia concluded a separate peace with Prussia. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris between France, Spain and Great Britain and the Treaty of Hubertusburg between Saxony, Austria and Prussia, in 1763. The Native American tribes were excluded from the settlement, a subsequent conflict, Prussia emerged as a new European great power. Although Austria failed to retrieve the territory of Silesia from Prussia its military prowess was noted by the other powers. The involvement of Portugal, Spain and Sweden did not return them to their status as great powers. France was deprived of many of its colonies and had saddled itself with heavy war debts that its inefficient financial system could barely handle. Spain lost Florida but gained French Louisiana and regained control of its colonies, e. g. Cuba and the Philippines, France and Spain avenged their defeat in 1778 when the American Revolutionary War broke out, with hopes of destroying Britains dominance once and for all. The Seven Years War was perhaps the first true world war, having taken place almost 160 years before World War I and it was characterized in Europe by sieges and the arson of towns as well as open battles with heavy losses
9.
American Revolutionary War
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From about 1765 the American Revolution had led to increasing philosophical and political differences between Great Britain and its American colonies. The war represented a culmination of these differences in armed conflict between Patriots and the authority which they increasingly resisted. This resistance became particularly widespread in the New England Colonies, especially in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. On December 16,1773, Massachusetts members of the Patriot group Sons of Liberty destroyed a shipment of tea in Boston Harbor in an event that became known as the Boston Tea Party. Named the Coercive Acts by Parliament, these became known as the Intolerable Acts in America. The Massachusetts colonists responded with the Suffolk Resolves, establishing a government that removed control of the province from the Crown outside of Boston. Twelve colonies formed a Continental Congress to coordinate their resistance, and established committees, British attempts to seize the munitions of Massachusetts colonists in April 1775 led to the first open combat between Crown forces and Massachusetts militia, the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Militia forces proceeded to besiege the British forces in Boston, forcing them to evacuate the city in March 1776, the Continental Congress appointed George Washington to take command of the militia. Concurrent to the Boston campaign, an American attempt to invade Quebec, on July 2,1776, the Continental Congress formally voted for independence, issuing its Declaration on July 4. Sir William Howe began a British counterattack, focussing on recapturing New York City, Howe outmaneuvered and defeated Washington, leaving American confidence at a low ebb. Washington captured a Hessian force at Trenton and drove the British out of New Jersey, in 1777 the British sent a new army under John Burgoyne to move south from Canada and to isolate the New England colonies. However, instead of assisting Burgoyne, Howe took his army on a campaign against the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia. Burgoyne outran his supplies, was surrounded and surrendered at Saratoga in October 1777, the British defeat in the Saratoga Campaign had drastic consequences. Giving up on the North, the British decided to salvage their former colonies in the South, British forces under Lieutenant-General Charles Cornwallis seized Georgia and South Carolina, capturing an American army at Charleston, South Carolina. British strategy depended upon an uprising of large numbers of armed Loyalists, in 1779 Spain joined the war as an ally of France under the Pacte de Famille, intending to capture Gibraltar and British colonies in the Caribbean. Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic in December 1780, in 1781, after the British and their allies had suffered two decisive defeats at Kings Mountain and Cowpens, Cornwallis retreated to Virginia, intending on evacuation. A decisive French naval victory in September deprived the British of an escape route, a joint Franco-American army led by Count Rochambeau and Washington, laid siege to the British forces at Yorktown. With no sign of relief and the situation untenable, Cornwallis surrendered in October 1781, Whigs in Britain had long opposed the pro-war Tory majority in Parliament, but the defeat at Yorktown gave the Whigs the upper hand
10.
Saratoga campaign
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The primary thrust of the campaign was planned and initiated by General John Burgoyne. Commanding a main force of some 8,000 men, he moved south in June from Quebec, boated up Lake Champlain to middle New York, then marched over the divide and he initially skirmished there with the Patriot defenders with mixed results. The elaborate plans drawn up in London all failed, Colonel Barry St. Leger had been assigned to move east through the Mohawk River valley on Albany, New York, but was forced to retreat during the siege of Fort Stanwix after losing his Indian allies. A last-minute effort to reinforce Burgoyne from New York City was made in early October, the American victory was an enormous morale boost to the fledgling nation. More important, it convinced France to enter the war in alliance with the United States, openly providing money, soldiers, and munitions, as well as fighting a naval war worldwide against Britain. In December 1776 General John Burgoyne met with Lord Germain, the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, on November 30,1776, Howe—the British commander-in-chief in North America—wrote to Germain, outlining an ambitious plan for the 1777 campaign. Howe said that if Germain sent him reinforcements, he could launch multiple offensives, including sending 10,000 men up the Hudson River to take Albany. Then, in the autumn, Howe could move south and capture the U. S. capital of Philadelphia, therefore, Howe decided that he would make the capture of Philadelphia the primary object of the 1777 campaign. Howe sent Germain this revised plan, which Germain received on February 23,1777, Burgoyne, seeking to command a major force, proposed to isolate New England by an invasion from Quebec into New York. This had already been attempted by General Carleton in 1776, although he had stopped short of a full-scale invasion due to the lateness of the season. Carleton was heavily criticized in London for not taking advantage of the American retreat from Quebec and this, combined with rival Henry Clintons failed attempt to capture Charleston, South Carolina, placed Burgoyne in a good position to get command of the 1777 northern campaign. Burgoyne presented a plan to Lord Germain on February 28,1777, Germain approved it. Both expeditions would converge upon Albany, where they would link up with troops from Howes army marching up the Hudson, control of the Lake Champlain-Lake George-Hudson River route from Canada to New York City would cut off New England from the rest of the American colonies. The last part of Burgoynes proposal, the advance by Howe up the Hudson from New York City, Germain approved Burgoynes plan after having received Howes letter detailing his proposed offensive against Philadelphia. Historian Robert Ketchum believes that Burgoyne would probably have been aware of the problems that lay ahead had he been notified of the Philadelphia plan. Whether Germain, Howe, and Burgoyne had the same expectations about the degree to which Howe was supposed to support the invasion from Quebec is also unclear, what is clear is that Germain either left his generals with too much latitude, or without a clearly defined overall strategy. In March 1777 Germain had approved of Howes Philadelphia expedition and did not include any express orders for Howe to go to Albany. Yet Germain also sent Howe a copy of his instructions to Carleton which plainly stated that the army was to make a junction with Howes army at Albany
11.
Surrender (military)
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Surrender, in military terms, is the relinquishment of control over territory, combatants, fortifications, ships or armament to another power. A surrender may be accomplished peacefully, without fighting, or it may be the result of defeat in battle, a sovereign state may surrender following defeat in a war, usually by signing a peace treaty or capitulation agreement. A battlefield surrender, either by individuals or when ordered by officers, normally, a surrender will involve the handing over of weapons, the commanding officer of a surrendering force symbolically offers his sword to the victorious commander. Flags and ensigns are hauled down or furled, and ships colors are struck or the raising of a flag to the masts signals a surrender. When the parties agree to terms, the surrender may be conditional, that is, the leaders of the surrendering group negotiate privileges or compensation for the time, expense and loss of life saved by the victor through the stopping of resistance. Alternatively, in a surrender at discretion, the victor makes no promises of treatment, an early example of a military surrender is the defeat of Carthage by the Roman Empire at the end of the Second Punic War. Over time, generally accepted laws and customs of war have developed for such a situation, most of which are laid out in the Hague Convention of 1907. Normally, a belligerent will agree to surrender only if completely incapable of continuing hostilities. Traditionally, a ceremony was accompanied by the honors of war. The Third Geneva Convention states that prisoners of war should not be mistreated or abused, US Army policy, for example, requires that surrendered persons should be secured and safeguarded while being evacuated from the battlefield. While not a military law, the Code of the US Fighting Force disallows surrender unless all reasonable means of resistance exhausted. Certain death the only alternative, the Code states, I will never surrender of my own free will, if in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist. False surrender is a type of perfidy in the context of war and it is a war crime under Protocol I of the Geneva Convention. False surrenders are usually used to draw the enemy out of cover to attack them off guard, accounts of false surrender can be found relatively frequently throughout history. One of the more infamous examples was the false surrender of British troops at Kilmichael. Capitulation, an agreement in time of war for the surrender to an armed force of a particular body of troops. Debellatio occurs when a war ends because of the destruction of a belligerent state. No quarter occurs when a victor shows no clemency or mercy, under the laws of war, it is especially forbidden
12.
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
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Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians, who are present or former members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords, the Council also holds the delegated authority to issue Orders of Council, mostly used to regulate certain public institutions. The Council advises the sovereign on the issuing of Royal Charters, which are used to grant special status to incorporated bodies, otherwise, the Privy Councils powers have now been largely replaced by the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The Judicial Committee consists of judges appointed as Privy Counsellors, predominantly Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The Privy Council of the United Kingdom was preceded by the Privy Council of Scotland, the key events in the formation of the modern Privy Council are given below, Witenagemot was an early equivalent to the Privy Council of England. During the reigns of the Norman monarchs, the English Crown was advised by a court or curia regis. The body originally concerned itself with advising the sovereign on legislation, administration, later, different bodies assuming distinct functions evolved from the court. The courts of law took over the business of dispensing justice, nevertheless, the Council retained the power to hear legal disputes, either in the first instance or on appeal. Furthermore, laws made by the sovereign on the advice of the Council, powerful sovereigns often used the body to circumvent the Courts and Parliament. During Henry VIIIs reign, the sovereign, on the advice of the Council, was allowed to enact laws by mere proclamation, the legislative pre-eminence of Parliament was not restored until after Henry VIIIs death. Though the royal Council retained legislative and judicial responsibilities, it became an administrative body. The Council consisted of forty members in 1553, but the sovereign relied on a smaller committee, by the end of the English Civil War, the monarchy, House of Lords, and Privy Council had been abolished. The remaining parliamentary chamber, the House of Commons, instituted a Council of State to execute laws, the forty-one members of the Council were elected by the House of Commons, the body was headed by Oliver Cromwell, de facto military dictator of the nation. In 1653, however, Cromwell became Lord Protector, and the Council was reduced to thirteen and twenty-one members, all elected by the Commons. In 1657, the Commons granted Cromwell even greater powers, some of which were reminiscent of those enjoyed by monarchs, the Council became known as the Protectors Privy Council, its members were appointed by the Lord Protector, subject to Parliaments approval. In 1659, shortly before the restoration of the monarchy, the Protectors Council was abolished, Charles II restored the Royal Privy Council, but he, like previous Stuart monarchs, chose to rely on a small group of advisers. Under George I even more power transferred to this committee and it now began to meet in the absence of the sovereign, communicating its decisions to him after the fact. Thus, the British Privy Council, as a whole, ceased to be a body of important confidential advisers to the sovereign and it is closely related to the word private, and derives from the French word privé
13.
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
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The House of Commons of the United Kingdom is the lower house of the countrys parliament. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster, officially, the full name of the house is, The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. The House is a body consisting of 650 members known as Members of Parliament. Members are elected to represent constituencies by first-past-the-post and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved, under the Parliament Act 1911, the Lords power to reject legislation was reduced to a delaying power. The Government is primarily responsible to the House of Commons and the prime minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support of a majority of its members. Although it does not formally elect the prime minister, the position of the parties in the House of Commons is of overriding importance, by convention, the prime minister is answerable to, and must maintain the support of, the House of Commons. Since 1963, by convention, the minister is always a member of the House of Commons. The Commons may indicate its lack of support for the Government by rejecting a motion of confidence or by passing a motion of no confidence, confidence and no confidence motions are sometimes phrased explicitly, for instance, That this House has no confidence in Her Majestys Government. Many other motions were considered confidence issues, even though not explicitly phrased as such, in particular, important bills that form a part of the Governments agenda were formerly considered matters of confidence, as is the annual Budget. Parliament normally sits for a term of five years. Subject to that limit, the minister could formerly choose the timing of the dissolution of parliament. By this second mechanism, the government of the United Kingdom can change without a general election. In such circumstances there may not even have been a party leadership election, as the new leader may be chosen by acclaim. A prime minister may resign if he or she is not defeated at the polls. In such a case, the premiership goes to whoever can command a majority in the House of Commons, in practice this is usually the new leader of the outgoing prime ministers party. Until 1965, the Conservative Party had no mechanism for electing a new leader, when Anthony Eden resigned as PM in 1957 without recommending a successor and it fell to the Queen to appoint Harold Macmillan as the new prime minister, after taking the advice of ministers. By convention, all ministers must be members of the House of Commons or of the House of Lords, a handful have been appointed who were outside Parliament, but in most cases they then entered Parliament either in a by-election or by receiving a peerage. Since 1902, all ministers have been members of the Commons
14.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
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It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories. Its head is the Sovereign of the United Kingdom and its seat is the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster, one of the boroughs of the British capital, the parliament is bicameral, consisting of an upper house and a lower house. The Sovereign forms the third component of the legislature, prior to the opening of the Supreme Court in October 2009, the House of Lords also performed a judicial role through the Law Lords. The House of Commons is an elected chamber with elections held at least every five years. The two Houses meet in separate chambers in the Palace of Westminster in London, most cabinet ministers are from the Commons, whilst junior ministers can be from either House. The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Treaty of Union by Acts of Union passed by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The UK parliament and its institutions have set the pattern for many throughout the world. However, John Bright – who coined the epithet – used it with reference to a rather than a parliament. In theory, the UKs supreme legislative power is vested in the Crown-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the advice of the Prime Minister, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created in 1801, by the merger of the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland under the Acts of Union. The principle of responsibility to the lower House did not develop until the 19th century—the House of Lords was superior to the House of Commons both in theory and in practice. Members of the House of Commons were elected in an electoral system. Thus, the borough of Old Sarum, with seven voters, many small constituencies, known as pocket or rotten boroughs, were controlled by members of the House of Lords, who could ensure the election of their relatives or supporters. During the reforms of the 19th century, beginning with the Reform Act 1832, No longer dependent on the Lords for their seats, MPs grew more assertive. The supremacy of the British House of Commons was established in the early 20th century, in 1909, the Commons passed the so-called Peoples Budget, which made numerous changes to the taxation system which were detrimental to wealthy landowners. The House of Lords, which consisted mostly of powerful landowners, on the basis of the Budgets popularity and the Lords consequent unpopularity, the Liberal Party narrowly won two general elections in 1910. Using the result as a mandate, the Liberal Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith, introduced the Parliament Bill, in the face of such a threat, the House of Lords narrowly passed the bill. However, regardless of the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949, the Government of Ireland Act 1920 created the parliaments of Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland and reduced the representation of both parts at Westminster
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House of Commons
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In the UK and Canada, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the respective upper house of parliament. The leader of the majority party in the House of Commons usually becomes the prime minister, since 2010 the House of Commons of the United Kingdom has had 650 elected members, and since 2015 the House of Commons of Canada has had 338 members. The Commons functions are to consider through debate new laws and changes to existing ones, authorise taxes and it has the power to give a Government a vote of no confidence. The House of Commons of the Kingdom of England evolved from an undivided parliament to serve as the voice of the subjects of the counties. Knights of the shire, elected from county, were usually landowners. These members represented subjects of the Crown who were not Lords Temporal or Spiritual, the House of Commons gained its name because it represented communities. After the Reformation, these bishops were those of the Church of England, since the 19th century, the British and Canadian Houses of Commons have become increasingly representative, as suffrage has been extended. Both bodies are now elected via universal adult suffrage, however, from the Middle Ages until the 18th century there was a tendency to limit the suffrage in various ways, creating by the 18th century a large number of rotten boroughs. Although it is common to associate the title of House of Commons with the Westminster system in general, in practice, only two states actually use the title
16.
Great Britain in the Seven Years' War
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Great Britain was one of the major participants in the Seven Years War which lasted between 1756 and 1763. The war started poorly for Britain, which suffered many deaths from the plague and scurvy, and at the hands of France in North America during 1754–55, and in the loss of Minorca in 1756. The same year Britains major ally Austria switched sides and aligned itself with France, for the next seven years these two nations were ranged against a growing number of enemy powers led by France. In 1759 Britain enjoyed an Annus Mirabilis with success over the French on the continent, in North America, in 1761 Britain also came into conflict with Spain. The following year British forces captured Havana and Manila, the western and eastern capitals of the Spanish Empire, by this time the Pitt-Newcastle ministry had collapsed, Britain was short of credit and the generous peace terms offered by France and its allies were accepted. Through the crown, Britain was allied to the Electorate of Hanover and Kingdom of Ireland and it also directed the military strategy of its various colonies around the world including British America. In India British possessions were administered by the East India Company, by the early 1750s many saw another major war as imminent, and Austria was preparing its forces for an attempt to retake Silesia from Prussia. The British Prime Minister, the Duke of Newcastle, had acceded to the premiership in 1754 following the death of his brother Henry Pelham. Newcastle had thirty years experience as a Secretary of State and was a figure on the diplomatic scene. Despite enjoying a majority in the House of Commons he was extremely cautious and vulnerable to attacks led by men such as William Pitt. Newcastle fervently believed that peace in Europe was possible so long as the Old System, one of the major concerns for the British government of the era was colonial expansion. During the eighteenth century the British colonies in North America had become more populous, the territory most prized by the new settlers was the Ohio Country, which was also claimed by France. As well as having potential, it was considered strategically key. French control of territory would block British expansion westwards and eventually French territory would surround the British colonies. A number of delegations to London urged the government to take more decisive action in the Ohio dispute. The Ohio country located between Britains Thirteen Colonies and Frances New France saw France and Britain clash, in 1753 the French sent an expedition south from Montreal that began constructing forts in the upper reaches of the Ohio River. Washington and some native allies ambushed a company of French scouts at the Battle of Jumonville Glen in late May 1754, in the skirmish the French envoy Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville was left dead, leading to a diplomatic incident. The French responded in force from Fort Duquesne, and in July Washington was forced to surrender at the Battle of Fort Necessity, despite the conflict between them, the two nations were not yet formally at war
17.
Spanish invasion of Portugal (1762)
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It initially involved the forces of Spain and Portugal, before the French and British intervened in the conflict on the side of their respective allies. During the first invasion,22,000 Spaniards commanded by Nicolás de Carvajal, Marquis of Sarria, after occupying some fortresses, they were confronted with a national uprising. Near starvation, the Spaniards tried to conquer Oporto quickly, but were defeated in the battle of the Douro, after this failure, the Spanish commander was replaced by Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Count of Aranda. Meanwhile,7,104 British troops landed in Lisbon, leading a massive reorganization of the Portuguese army under the Count of Lippe, the Anglo-Portuguese also prevented the invaders from crossing the river Tagus and defeated them at Vila Velha. The Portuguese government also encouraged desertion among the invaders offering large sums to all deserters and defectors, the invaders had to choose between stay and starve or withdraw. During the third invasion of Portugal, the Spaniards attacked Marvão, the allied army left their winter quarters and chased the retreating Spaniards, taking some prisoners, and a Portuguese corps entered Spain taking more prisoners at Codicera. On 24 November, Aranda asked for a truce which was accepted and signed by Lippe on 1 December 1762, during the Seven Years War, a British fleet under Admiral Boscawen attacked a French fleet in Portuguese waters in front of Lagos, Algarve, in 1758. Three French ships were captured and two burned, Portugal, though an old ally of Britain, had stated her neutrality in this war and accordingly, the Portuguese prime minister Pombal demanded satisfaction from Great Britain. The British government apologized to the Portuguese king, José I, by sending a delegation to Lisbon, yet the captured vessels were not returned. The Portuguese government materially assisted the French garrisons that had taken refuge in Lagos after the battle, the French king, Louis XV, thanked José I for all the assistance given to the French sailors, although claiming for the navies. The case seemed settled, but Spain and France would use it as a pretext to invade Portugal four years later, however, the king and government of Portugal were strongly committed to keep the country out of the war. On their part, the French were increasingly pressing a reluctant Spain to enter the war on their side, both countries eventually signed the famous III Compact Family, a continental system mainly designed to isolate Britain in Europe. However, British ships intercepted official correspondence from Spain to France, the British anticipated Spain, declaring war first on 2 January 1762. Both Bourbon powers decided to force Portugal to join their Family Compact, Spain and France sent an ultimatum to Lisbon stating that Portugal had to, Terminate the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance replacing it with a new alliance with France and Spain. Close her ports to English ships and to all commerce with Great Britain both in Europe and within the Portuguese empire. Declare war on Great Britain Accept the occupation of Portuguese ports by a Spanish army, thus Portugal would be both protected and liberated from its British oppressors. Portugal was given four days to answer, after which the country would face an invasion by the forces of France, both Bourbon powers hoped to benefit by diverting British troops from Germany to Portugal, while Spain hoped to seize Portugal and its empire. The great Lisbon earthquake, tsunami and fire of 1755 had completely destroyed the Portuguese capital, killing tens of thousands and damaging most of the Portuguese fortresses
18.
Battles of Saratoga
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The Battles of Saratoga marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. Burgoyne fought two battles to break out. They took place eighteen days apart on the ground,9 miles south of Saratoga. Trapped by superior American forces, and with no relief in sight, Burgoyne retreated to Saratoga and his surrender, says historian Edmund Morgan, was a great turning point of the war because it won for Americans the foreign assistance which was the last element needed for victory. Burgoynes strategy to divide New England from the colonies had started well. He won a tactical victory over General Horatio Gates and the Continental Army in the September 19 Battle of Freemans Farm at the cost of significant casualties. His gains were erased when he attacked the Americans in the October 7 Battle of Bemis Heights. Burgoyne was therefore compelled to retreat, and his army was surrounded by the much larger American force at Saratoga and this battle also resulted in Spain joining France in the war against Britain. The first battle, on September 19, began when Burgoyne moved some of his troops in an attempt to flank the entrenched American position on Bemis Heights, Benedict Arnold, anticipating the maneuver, placed significant forces in his way. While Burgoyne did gain control of Freemans Farm, it came at the cost of significant casualties, skirmishing continued in the days following the battle, while Burgoyne waited in the hope that reinforcements would arrive from New York City. Militia forces continued to arrive, swelling the size of the American army, disputes within the American camp led Gates to strip Arnold of his command. Burgoyne attacked Bemis Heights again on October 7 after it became apparent he would not receive relieving aid in time, when the American Revolutionary War approached the two-year point, the British changed their plans. Giving up on the rebellious New England colonies, they decided to split the Thirteen Colonies and isolate New England from what the British believed to be the more loyal middle, the British command devised a grand plan to divide the colonies via a three-way pincer movement in 1777. The northern pincer was to proceed southward from Montreal, and the three forces were to meet in the vicinity of Albany, New York, severing New England from the other colonies. In June 1777 British General John Burgoyne, known as Gentleman Johnny for his manners, after his early capture of Fort Ticonderoga, his campaign had become bogged down in difficulties. Elements of the army had reached the upper Hudson as early as the end of July, one attempt to alleviate these difficulties failed when nearly 1,000 men were killed or captured at the August 16 Battle of Bennington. Furthermore, news reached Burgoyne on August 28 that St. Legers expedition down the Mohawk River valley had turned back after the failed Siege of Fort Stanwix. Faced with the need to reach defensible winter quarters, which would require either retreat back to Ticonderoga or advance to Albany, consequent to this decision he made two further crucial decisions
19.
Preston (UK Parliament constituency)
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Preston is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2000 by Mark Hendrick, a member of the Labour Party and of the Co-operative Party. 1295-1950 The seat was created for the Model Parliament and sent members until at least 1331 until a new grant of two members to Westminster followed, from 1529 extending unusually beyond the 19th century until the 1950 general election the seat had two-member representation. Party divisions tended to run stronger after 1931 before which two different parties candidates frequently came first and second at elections under the bloc vote system, consequently, he was selected to be elevated to a peerage as 1st Earl Jowitt. With no sons he was to be the last Earl and wrote the Dictionary of English Law, 1983-present The representatives since the seats revival after 33 years of being split between North and South seats have all been members of the Labour Party. The member from 1987-2000 was Audrey Wise, a member of the Socialist Campaign Group and reformer of maternity healthcare in opposition on the Select Committee. 1983-1997, The Borough of Preston wards of Ashton, Avenham, Brookfield, Central, Deepdale, Fishwick, Ingol, Larches, Moorbrook, Park, Ribbleton, St Johns, St Matthews, and Tulketh. 2010-present, The City of Preston wards of Ashton, Brookfield, Deepdale, Fishwick, Ingol, Larches, Moor Park, Ribbleton, Riversway, St George’s, St Matthew’s, Town Centre, Tulketh, and University. The composition of the Preston constituency was confirmed in time for the United Kingdom general election,2010 as part of the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. While it previously crossed the River Ribble to include Bamber Bridge and Walton-le-Dale from South Ribble District, in the late 19th Century the boundaries of the two-member Preston constituency were described as comprising. From the general election of 1950 to the 1983 Preston was divided into the constituencies of Preston North, in time for the 1983 general election, the boundaries on which the current seat is drawn were confirmed. The northern, Fulwood area, was divided between Fylde and Ribble Valley, the ward of Lea is within the constituency of Fylde. The wards of Preston Rural North, Preston Rural East and the Fulwood wards are within the constituency of Wyre, by the end of the review, the newly recommended Preston constituency had the smallest number of voters of an English constituency based on 2006 electorates. Representatives have sat in Parliament for Preston for nearly 800 years, with the suburban, middle class former Fulwood Urban District area within Ribble Valley, the southern portion has awarded MPs with much healthier and secure majorities. Almost all of Prestons representatives from 1915 to 1950, and since its recreation as a constituency in 1983, have been Labour candidates. Between 1918 and 1949, the constituency of Preston was formed by the County Borough of Preston. In 1997, Audrey Wise secured a majority of over 18,000, the collapse of the Conservative vote -10 percentage points down from 1992 - was firmly with the pattern of the Tory fortunes in that year. The death of Audrey Wise in 2000 triggered a by-election, at that Preston by-election, Mark Hendrick, former Member of the European Parliament for the Lancashire Central constituency with Preston at its heart, secured a victory with a 4,400 majority. The surprise of the night was the result of the fledgling Socialist Alliance, in real terms, all three main parties lost support from 1997 - Labour down by over 8,000 votes, Conservatives reduced by over 2,200 and LibDems 2,300 lower
20.
Burgoyne baronets
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There have been two baronetcies created for members of the Burgoyne family, one in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. The Burgoyne family had acquired the two manors of Sutton in 1529 and 1544, the second Baronet sat as Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire in 1640 and between 1641 and 1648 and for Warwickshire between 1656 and 1658. The sixth Baronet was Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire between 1734 and 1747, the seventh Baronet was a Major-General in the Army. The ninth Baronet was High Sheriff of Bedfordshire 1852 and a Colonel in the Grenadier Guards, the tenth Baronet was a Lieutenant-General in the Grenadier Guards. The title became extinct on his death in 1921, the family seats were Sutton Park and Wroxall Priory The Burgoyne Baronetcy, of the Army, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom in 1856 for Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne. He was the son of General John Burgoyne, the title became extinct on Burgoynes death in 1871
21.
London Borough of Hackney
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The London Borough of Hackney is a North East London Borough within Inner London, United Kingdom. Southern and eastern parts of the borough are popularly regarded as being part of east London, the London Plan issued by the Greater London Authority assigns whole boroughs to sub-regions for statutory monitoring, engagement and resource allocation purposes. The most recent iteration of this plan assigns Hackney to the ‘East’ sub-region, while the 2008 and 2004 versions assigned the borough to ‘North’ and ‘East’ sub-regions respectively. Hackney is bounded by Islington to the west, Haringey to the north, Waltham Forest to the north-east, Newham to the east, Tower Hamlets to the south-east and the City of London to the south-west. Much of Hackney retains an inner-city character, but in places as Dalston large housing estates have been joined by newly developed gated communities. In South Hackney, near Victoria Park, terraced Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian housing still survives, the historical and administrative heart of Hackney is the area roughly extending north from Mare Street and surrounding the Church of St John-at-Hackney, known as Hackney Central. To the north of the borough are Upper Clapton and Lower Clapton, Stamford Hill, to the east is the large open space of Hackney Marshes and the districts of Hackney Wick and Homerton. Light industries in the area around the River Lea employ over 3,000 people, some of the area was used for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The borough was formed in 1965 from the area of the metropolitan boroughs of Hackney, Shoreditch. The shield is surmounted by a representation of St. Augustines Tower, the old metropolitan borough of Hackney was closely based on the unusually large ancient parish of the same name. The council displays, in Hackney Town Hall, a portrait of the Queen wearing the robes of the Most Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem, in the 13th century the name appears as Hackenaye or Hacquenye, but no certain derivation is advanced. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Place Names discusses the origin of the name, the first surviving records of the place name are as Hakney and Hakeneye. This was once a much wilder place than today, the Dictionary suggests that the ‘Hack’ element may also derive from, The Old English ‘Haecc’ meaning a hatch – an entrance to a woodland or common. Or alternatively from ‘Haca’ meaning a hook, and in this context, given the island context, the ‘hatch’ option is unlikely to be correct, so the favoured Hakas Island or the Island on the bend seem more likely. The place name will have originally referred to just the island or possibly both the island and the manor of the name based around it. Subsequently, the name Hackney was applied to the ancient parish of Hackney. At one time most of the area was covered with oak and hazel woodlands, with marshland around the rivers. In Roman times and for a time after, the River Lea was an estuary
22.
Illegitimate
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Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, illegitimacy is the status of a child born outside marriage, depending on the cultural context, legitimacy can affect a childs rights of inheritance to the putative fathers estate and the childs right to bear the fathers surname or title. Illegitimacy has also had consequences for the mothers and childs right to support from the putative father, in medieval Wales, a bastard was defined simply as a child not acknowledged by its father. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, that were acknowledged by the father enjoyed the legal rights. Englands Statute of Merton stated, regarding illegitimacy, He is a bastard that is born before the marriage of his parents and this definition also applied to situations when a childs parents could not marry, as when one or both were already married or when the relationship was incestuous. The Poor Law of 1576 formed the basis of English bastardy law and its purpose was to punish a bastard childs mother and putative father, and to relieve the parish from the cost of supporting mother and child. By an act of 1576, it was ordered that bastards should be supported by their putative fathers, if the genitor could be found, then he was put under very great pressure to accept responsibility and to maintain the child. Under English law, a bastard was unable to be an heir to real property, in contrast to the situation under civil law, a younger non-bastard brother would have no claim to the land. The Legitimacy Act 1926 of England and Wales legitimized the birth of a if the parents subsequently married each other. The Legitimacy Act 1959 extended the legitimization even if the parents had married others in the meantime, neither the 1926 nor 1959 Acts changed the laws of succession to the British throne and succession to peerage titles. The Family Law Reform Act 1969 allowed a bastard to inherit on the intestacy of his parents, in canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have also been considered legitimate. Since 2003 in England and Wales,2002 in Northern Ireland and 2006 in Scotland, still, children born out of wedlock may not be eligible for certain federal benefits unless the child has been legitimized in the appropriate jurisdiction. Many other countries have abolished by any legal disabilities of a child born out of wedlock. In France, legal reforms regarding illegitimacy began in the 1970s, the European Convention on the Legal Status of Children Born out of Wedlock came into force in 1978. Countries which ratify it must ensure that children born outside marriage are provided with legal rights as stipulated in the text of this Convention, the Convention was ratified by the UK in 1981 and by Ireland in 1988. Use of the illegitimate child is now rare, even in legal contexts. It has been stricken from passports and legal documents as needlessly insulting and stigmatizing to the child, terms such as extra-marital child, love child and child born out of wedlock are more commonly used. Also used in Britain and other English-speaking countries is bastard, though such as natural child are preferred in polite society
23.
Robert Benson, 1st Baron Bingley
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Robert Benson, 1st Baron Bingley, PC was an English politician of the 18th century. Robert Benson was born in Wakefield, the son of Robert Benson of Wrenthorpe and he went to school in London before studying at Christs College, Cambridge. He served as an alderman of the city of York and was elected Lord Mayor of York for 1707 and he was elected Member of Parliament for Thetford in Norfolk from 1702 to 1705, then becoming MP for York from 1705 to 1713. In 1711, he was sworn of the Privy Council and became Chancellor of the Exchequer until 1713 and he was a Director of the South Sea Company from July 1711 to February 1715. In 1713 he was ennobled as Baron Bingley, and became the British ambassador to Spain, Benson founded the stately home of Bramham Park, near Wetherby, Yorkshire. When he died in 1731 he was buried in Westminster Abbey and he had married Elizabeth, the daughter of Hon. Heneage Finch, and had a son and two daughters. It has often suggested that Bingley was also the real father of the British soldier, dramatist and politician John Burgoyne. The residue of his estate, including Bramham Park, went to his daughter Harriet who had married George Fox
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Godparent
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A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a childs baptism, although the term has also been used in a legal sense. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother, as early as the 2nd century AD, infant baptism had begun to gain acceptance among Christians for the spiritual purification and social initiation of infants. The requirement for some confession of faith necessitated the use of adults who acted as sponsors for the child and they vocalized the confession of faith and acted as guarantors of the child’s spiritual upbringing. Normally, these sponsors were the parents of a child, as emphasized in 408 by St. Augustine who suggested that they could, it seems exceptionally. Within a century, the Corpus Juris Civilis indicates that parents had been replaced in this role almost completely and this was clarified in 813 when the Council of Munich prohibited natural parents from acting as godparents to their own children. This pattern was marked by the creation of legal barriers to marriage that paralleled those for other forms of kin, as confirmation emerged as a separate rite from baptism from the 8th century, a second set of sponsors, with similar prohibitions, also emerged. Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin preserved infant baptism against the attacks of more radical reformers including Anabaptists, in 888, the Catholic Council of Metz attempted to limit the number to one, but proliferation seems to have continued. In early 14th-century Spain, as many as 20 godparents were being chosen, in England, the Synod of Worcester stipulated three sponsors, and this has remained the norm in the Church of England. The Council of Trent attempted to limit the numbers of godparents to one or two, but practice has differed across the Catholic world. They were abolished in 1644 by the Directory of Public Worship promulgated by the English Civil War Parliamentary regime, after the Restoration in 1660, they were reintroduced to Anglicanism, with occasional objections, but dropped by almost every dissenting church. There is some evidence that the institution had lost some of its social importance as well as its universality. At present, in the Church of England, relatives can stand as godparents, godparents should be both baptized and confirmed, but the requirement for confirmation can be waived. There is no requirement for clergy to baptize those from outside their parishes, as a result, individual clergy have considerable discretion over the qualifications of godparents. Many contemporary Anglican rites likewise require parents and godparents to respond on behalf of infant candidates, the Catholic institution of godparenthood survived the Reformation largely unchanged. Someone who belongs to another Christian church cannot become a godparent, a witness does not have any religious role recognized by the Church. Lutherans follow a similar theology of godparents as Roman Catholics and they believe that godparents help with their Christian upbringing, especially if they should lose their parents. Lutherans, like Roman Catholics, believe that a godparent must be both a baptized and confirmed Christian, some Lutherans also follow the Roman Catholic tradition that a Christian who is not affiliated with the Lutheran denomination may serve as a witness rather than a godparent. The Orthodox institution of godparenthood has been the least affected of the traditions by change
25.
Westminster School
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Westminster School is an English independent day and boarding school located within the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It has the highest Oxford and Cambridge university acceptance rates of any school or college in the world. With origins before the 12th century, the tradition of Westminster probably dates back as far as AD960. Boys are admitted to the Under School at age seven and to the school at age thirteen. The school has around 750 pupils, around a quarter are boarders, most of whom go home at weekends and it is one of the original seven public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868. Charging up to £7,800 per term for day pupils and £11,264 for boarders in 2014/15, Westminster is the 13th most expensive HMC day school and 10th most expensive HMC boarding school in the UK. In 1540, Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monasteries in England, including that of the powerful Abbots of Westminster, the Royal College of St. Peter carried on with forty Kings Scholars financed from the royal purse. By this point Westminster School had certainly become a public school, during Mary Is brief reign the Abbey was reinstated as a Roman Catholic monastery, but the school continued. Elizabeth I refounded the School in 1560, with new statutes to select 40 Queens Scholars from boys who had attended the school for a year. Queen Elizabeth frequently visited her scholars, although she never signed the statutes nor endowed her scholarships, Elizabeth I appointed William Camden as headmaster, and he is the only layman known to have held the position until 1937. Regardless of politics, he thrashed Royalist and Puritan boys alike without fear or favour, Busby also took part in Oliver Cromwells funeral procession in 1658, when Robert Uvedale, a Westminster schoolboy, succeeded in snatching the Majesty Scutcheon draped on the coffin. Busby remained in office throughout the Civil War and the Commonwealth, when the school was governed by Parliamentary Commissioners, and well into the Restoration. In 1679, a group of scholars killed a bailiff, ostensibly in defence of the Abbeys traditional right of sanctuary, dr Busby obtained a royal pardon for his scholars from Charles II and added the cost to the school bills. Until the 19th century, the curriculum was made up of Latin and Greek. After the Public Schools Act 1868, in response to the Clarendon Commission on the financial and other malpractices at nine pre-eminent public schools, the school began to approach its modern form. It was legally separated from the Abbey, although the organisations remain close, there followed a scandalous public and parliamentary dispute lasting a further 25 years, to settle the transfer of the properties from the Canons of the Abbey to the School. School statutes have been made by Order in Council of Queen Elizabeth II, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford and the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge are ex officio members of the schools governing body. Westminster Under School was formed in 1943 in the school buildings in Westminster
26.
Thomas Gage
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Thomas Gage was a British general best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as military commander in the early days of the American Revolution. After the fall of Montreal in 1760, he was named its military governor, during this time he did not distinguish himself militarily, but proved himself to be a competent administrator. From 1763 to 1775 he served as commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America, in 1774 he was also appointed the military governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, with instructions to implement the Intolerable Acts, punishing Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. His attempts to seize military stores of Patriot militias in April 1775 sparked the Battles of Lexington and Concord, after the Pyrrhic victory in the June Battle of Bunker Hill he was replaced by General William Howe in October 1775, and returned to Great Britain. Thomas Gage was born on 10 March 1718/19 and christened 31 March 1719 at Westminster St James, Middlesex, England, son of Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount Gage, Firle Place, Firle, Sussex, is where the Gage family had been seated since the 15th century. His father, Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount Gage, was a noted nobleman given titles in Ireland, Thomas Gage had three children, of whom Thomas was the second. The first son, William Hall Gage, 2nd Viscount Gage, was born 6 January 1717/18 and christened 29 January 1717/18, in 1728 Gage began attending the prestigious Westminster School where he met such figures as John Burgoyne, Richard Howe, Francis Bernard, and George Germain. Despite the familys history of Catholicism, Viscount Gage had adopted the Anglican Church in 1715. During his school years Thomas the younger became firmly attached to the latter church, after graduating from Westminster in 1736 there is no record of Gages activities until he joined the British Army, eventually receiving a commission as ensign. His early duties consisted of recruiting in Yorkshire, in January 1741 he purchased a lieutenants commission in the 1st Northampton Regiment, where he stayed until May 1742, when he transferred to Battereaus Regiment with the rank of captain-lieutenant. He saw further service in the Second Jacobite Uprising, which culminated in the 1746 Battle of Culloden, from 1747 to 1748, Gage saw action under Albemarle in the Low Countries. In 1748 he purchased a commission and transferred to the 55th Foot Regiment. The regiment was stationed in Ireland from 1748 to 1755, Gage was promoted to lieutenant colonel in March 1751. During his early years, he spent leisure time at Whites Club, where he was a member. He was a figure in the army and at the club. His friendships spanned class and ability, charles Lee once wrote to Gage, I respected your understanding, likd your manners and perfectly adord the qualities of your heart. In 1750, Gage became engaged to a lady of rank and fortune, the engagement was eventually broken, leaving Gage broken-hearted. In 1753, both Gage and his father stood for seats in Parliament, both lost in the April 1754 election, even though his father had been a Member of Parliament for some years prior
27.
Athlete
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An athlete or sportsman is a person who is good at a sport and competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed or endurance. The terms application to those who participate in activities, such as horse riding or driving, is somewhat controversial. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs, most professional athletes have particularly well-developed physiques obtained by extensive physical training and strict exercise accompanied by a strict dietary regimen. The word athlete is a romanization of the Greek, άθλητὴς, athlētēs, one who participates in a contest, from ἄθλος, áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, athletes involved in isotonic exercises have an increased mean left ventricular end-diastolic volume and are less likely to be depressed. Due to their strenuous physical activities, athletes are far more likely than the population to visit massage salons and pay for services from massage therapists. An all-around athlete is a person who competes in sports at a high level. Examples of people who played numerous sports professionally include Jim Thorpe, Lionel Conacher, Deion Sanders, Danny Ainge and Babe Zaharias. Others include Ricky Williams, Bo Jackson, and Damon Allen, japanese athletes such as Kazushi Sakuraba, Kazuyuki Fujita, Masakatsu Funaki and Naoya Ogawa have successfully competed in both professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. The title of Worlds Greatest Athlete traditionally belongs to the worlds top competitor in the decathlon and heptathlon in track and field. The decathlon consists of 10 events,100 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump,400 meters,110 m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, and 1500 m. The heptathlon consists of seven events, the 100 m hurdles, high jump, shot put,200 meters, long jump, javelin, and 800 meters. These competitions require an athlete to possess the whole spectrum of ability in order to be successful including speed, strength, coordination, jumping ability. Although the title Worlds Greatest Athlete seems a natural fit for these two events, its association with the decathlon/heptathlon officially began with Jim Thorpe. During the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, Thorpe won the medal in the Decathlon. Thorpe notably also competed professionally in soccer, baseball, American Football, and basketball, and competed collegiately in track and field, soccer, baseball, lacrosse, and did ballroom dancing. King Gustav V of Sweden, while awarding Thorpe the decathlon gold said, You and that title has become associated with the decathlon event ever since. Outdoor enthusiast Jock Athlete of the Year Suresh Joachim Multiple Guinness World Record holder
28.
James Smith-Stanley, Lord Strange
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James Smith-Stanley, Lord Strange was commonly known by that title, though neither he nor his father had any claim to it. James Stanley married Lucy daughter and coheir of Hugh Smith of Weald Hall, Essex and this marriage produced Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby and several other children, including Thomas Stanley. He died before his father, so that the earldom passed straight to his son and he attended Westminster School where he was friends with the future soldier and politician John Burgoyne who later married his sister. Lord Strange was a Member of Parliament for Lancashire from 1741 until his death and he was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the ministry of Lord North from 1762 and became a Privy Councillor at the same time. He is mentioned by Parkman as plenipotentiary to Paris and Choiseul, and advisor to Pitt, during the 1760s turbulence that attended the Treaty of Paris
29.
Troops of Horse Guards
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The Horse Guards comprised several independent troops raised initially on the three different establishments. In the late 1660s, there were thus three troops in England, one in Ireland, and two in Scotland of which one was ceremonial for attendance of Lord High Commissioner, in 1707, there were four troops of Horse Guards, and two troops of Horse Grenadiers. From 1658 to 1788, the Horse Guards existed as independent troops and they were placed on the English establishment in 1661, with the founding of the modern Regular British Army. Originally, as befitted their role as bodyguards to the Sovereign and they, therefore, had no non-commissioned officers, their brigadiers being commissioned and ranking as lieutenants, their sub-brigadiers ranking with cornets in the rest of the army. Although this no longer obtains, the officers of their successor regiment. 1658-1788 1st Troop of Horse Guards,1746 absorbed 3rd Troop, The Horse Guards. 1788 absorbed 1st Troop, The Horse Grenadier Guards and was reorganised to form the 1st Regiment of Life Guards 1659, nov 1659 re-modelled as Moncks Life Guards 1660-1661 3rd Troop of Horse Guards. 1661-1670 3rd Troop of Horse Guards, 1670-1788 2nd Troop of Horse Guards. 1788 absorbed 4th Troop, The Horse Guards,1788 On June 8 it absorbs the 2nd Troop, The Horse Grenadier Guards and on June 25 it is reorganised, to form the 2nd Regiment of Life Guards. 1658-1670 2nd Troop of Horse Guards 1670-1746 3rd Troop of Horse Guards 1746 absorbed by 1st Troop, 1686-1689 4th Troop of Horse Guards. 1599 raised on 30 April in Holland as a troop of horse and redesignated in 1665 as Garde du Corps van Zijne Majesteit, 1689-1699 Placed on English establishment in 1689 and returned to Dutch service in 1699 upon conclusion of the Nine Years War and the Treaty of Ryswick. During this period the Dutch troop was ranked as the 4th Troop of Life Guards, in literature this troop is sometimes confused with the Dutch Regiment of Horse Guards, known as Portlands Horse after its commander William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland. 1705 The troop lost its Guards status, 1661-1709 Scots Troop of Horse Guards 1709-1746 4th Troop of Horse Guards 1746 absorbed by 2nd Troop, The Horse Guards. Raised on the Scottish Establishment for attendance on the Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland
30.
Uniform
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A uniform is a type of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organizations activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in workplaces and schools. In some countries, some other officials also wear uniforms in their duties, for some public groups, such as police, it is illegal for non members to wear the uniform. Workers sometimes wear uniforms or corporate clothing of one nature or another, the use of uniforms by these organizations is often an effort in branding and developing a standard corporate image but also has important effects on the employees required to wear the uniform. Academic work on organizational dress by Rafaeli & Pratt referred to uniformity of dress as one dimension, and conspicuousness as a second. Employees all wearing black, for example, may appear conspicuous and thus represent the organization even though their attire is uniform only in the color of their appearance, not in its features. Pratt & Rafaeli, described struggles between employees and management about organizational dress as struggles about deeper meanings and identities that dress represents, and Pratt & Rafaeli described dress as one of the larger set of symbols and artifacts in organizations which coalesce into a communication grammar. Uniforms are required in many schools, school uniforms vary from a standard issue T-shirt to rigorous requirements for many items of formal wear at private schools. School uniforms are in place in public schools as well. The ties will usually be in a set pattern for the school, and jackets will usually carry a patch on the breast pocket with the name, coat of arms. Jackets are being replaced in many schools by sweatshirts bearing the school badge, children in many United Kingdom state primary schools will have a uniform jumper and/or polo shirt with the school name and logo. From about 1800 to after the Second World War, diplomats from most countries wore official uniforms at public occasions, such uniforms are now retained by only a few diplomatic services, and are seldom worn. A prison uniform is any uniform worn by individuals incarcerated in a prison, most, if not all, sports teams also wear uniforms, made in the teams distinctive colors. In individual sports like tennis and golf, players may choose any clothing design allowed by the competition rules, customarily, National Football League and National Hockey League teams wear their color uniforms for home games. By contrast, Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association teams wear their uniforms for home games. These rules are not strictly enforced, however, for any of the four professional sports leagues in North America. Some NFL teams, most notably the Dallas Cowboys, prefer to wear their white jerseys for home games, when Joe Gibbs was the head coach of the Washington Redskins — first from 1981-1992, and again from 2004-2007 — the Redskins exclusively wore white jerseys at home games. In the United Kingdom, especially in football, the kit or strip are more common
31.
Debt
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Debt is money owed by one party, the borrower or debtor, to a second party, the lender or creditor. The borrower may be a state or country, local government, company. The lender may be a bank, credit card company, payday loan provider, Debt is generally subject to contractual terms regarding the amount and timing of repayments of principal and interest. Loans, bonds, notes, and mortgages are all types of debt, the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value. For example, in Western cultures, a person who has been helped by a person is sometimes said to owe a debt of gratitude to the second person. Interest is the fee paid by the borrower to the lender, interest is calculated as a percentage of the outstanding principal, which percentage is known as an interest rate, and is generally paid periodically at intervals, such as monthly or semi-annually. Interest rates may be fixed or floating, in floating-rate structures, the rate of interest that the borrower pays during each time period is tied to a benchmark such as LIBOR or, in the case of inflation-indexed bonds, inflation. There are many different conventions for calculating interest, depending on the terms of the debt, compound interest may accumulate at a specific interval. In addition, different day count conventions exist, for example, sometimes each month is considered to have thirty days. The annual percentage rate is a way to calculate and compare interest rates on an annual basis. Quoting interest rates using APR is required by regulation for most loans to individuals in the United States, for some loans, the amount actually loaned to the debtor is less than the principal sum to be repaid. This may be because upfront fees or points are charged, or because the loan has been structured to be sharia-compliant, the additional principal due at the end of the term has the same economic effect as a higher interest rate. This is sometimes referred to as a dozen, a play on bakers dozen – owe twelve, receive a loan of eleven. Amortization structures are common in mortgages and credit cards, debtors of every type default on their debt from time to time, with various consequences depending on the terms of the debt and the law governing default in the relevant jurisdiction. If the debt was secured by collateral, such as a car or home. In more serious circumstances, individuals and companies may go into bankruptcy, riskier borrowers must generally pay higher rates of interest to compensate lenders for taking on the additional risk of default. Debt investors assess the risk of default prior to making a loan, for example through credit scores and corporate, common types of debt owed by individuals and households include mortgage loans, car loans, and credit card debt. For individuals, debt is a means of using anticipated income, commonly, people in industrialized nations use consumer debt to purchase houses, cars and other things too expensive to buy with cash on hand
32.
War of the Austrian Succession
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The War of the Austrian Succession involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresas succession to the Habsburg Monarchy. The war included King Georges War in British America, the War of Jenkins Ear, the First Carnatic War in India, the Jacobite rising of 1745 in Scotland, and the First and Second Silesian Wars. Austria was supported by Great Britain and the Dutch Republic, the enemies of France, as well as the Kingdom of Sardinia. France and Prussia were allied with the Electorate of Bavaria, the war ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, by which Maria Theresa was confirmed as Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary, but Prussia retained control of Silesia. But the peace was soon to be shattered, when Austrias desire to recapture Silesia intertwined with the political changes in Europe. In 1740, after the death of her father, Charles VI, Maria Theresa succeeded him as Queen of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria and Duchess of Parma. The complications involved in a female Habsburg ruler had been long foreseen, problems began when King Frederick II of Prussia violated the Pragmatic Sanction and invaded Silesia on 16 December 1740, using the 1537 Treaty of Brieg as a pretext. For much of the century, France approached its wars in the same way. It would let its colonies defend themselves, or would offer only minimal help, similarly, several long land borders made an effective domestic army imperative for any ruler of France. At the end of the war, France gave back its European conquests, the British—by inclination as well as for pragmatic reasons—had tended to avoid large-scale commitments of troops on the Continent. For the War of the Austrian Succession, the British were allied with Austria, by the time of the Seven Years War, they were allied with its enemy, Prussia. In marked contrast to France, Britain strove to prosecute the war in the colonies once it became involved in the war. The British pursued a strategy of naval blockade and bombardment of enemy ports. They would harass enemy shipping and attack enemy outposts, frequently using colonists from nearby British colonies in the effort and this plan worked better in North America than in Europe, but set the stage for the Seven Years War. Prince Frederick had been only 28 years of age on 31 May 1740 when his father, Frederick William I died, neither Frederick nor his father had ever been fond of Austria and its various snubs against Prussia. Emperor Charles VI had made provision for the succession of his daughter, in support of his invasion of Silesia, Frederick also used a questionable interpretation of a treaty between the Hohenzollerns and the Piasts of Brieg as pretext. In particular, Frederick feared that Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, was preparing to seize Silesia for himself to unite Saxony and Poland. The only recent combat experience of the Prussian Army was their participation in the War of the Polish Succession, accordingly, the Prussian Army had an uninspiring reputation and was counted as one of the many minor armies of the Holy Roman Empire
33.
1st The Royal Dragoons
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The Royal Dragoons was a mounted infantry and later a heavy cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1661 as the Tangier Horse and it served for three centuries and was in action during the First and the Second World Wars. It was amalgamated with the Royal Horse Guards to form The Blues and they were constituted in 1672 and, after Jones was killed during the siege of Maastricht in 1673 while serving with the Duke of Monmouth, command passed to the Duke. The regiment was ranked as the 1st Dragoons, the oldest cavalry regiment of the line, the regiment was recalled to England in 1678 with the expectation of fighting in a war against France. In early 1679, it was disbanded and then reformed in June of that year as Gerards Regiment of Horse, with most of the officers and men. The regiment was disbanded in late 1679 and three of its captains, John Coy, Thomas Langston and Charles Nedby, along with their troopers, when they returned in 1683, they joined what became a new permanent regiment of the Royal Dragoons. On their return to England in 1683, the three troops were joined with three newly raised troops and titled The Kings Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons, named for Charles II, in 1690, the regiment was renamed as simply The Royal Regiment of Dragoons. It fought at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690, the regiment also fought at the Battle of Beaumont in April 1794 and the Battle of Willems in May 1794 during the Flanders Campaign. The regiment also took part in the charge of the Union Brigade under the command of Major-General William Ponsonby at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815 during the Hundred Days Campaign. Captain Alexander Kennedy Clark, an officer in the regiment, captured the French Imperial Eagle of the 105th Line Infantry Regiment during the battle, the regiment next took part in the charge of the heavy brigade at the Battle of Balaclava in October 1854 during the Crimean War. Having been re-titled the 1st Dragoons in 1877, the regiment also saw action at the Battle of Abu Klea in January 1885 during the Mahdist War. In January 1900, during the Second Boer War, the regiment was part of a force that set out to discover the western flank of the Boer lines and it was able to ambush a column of about 200 Boers near Acton Homes and successfully trapped about 40 of them. It took part in the First Battle of Ypres in October 1914, the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915, the Battle of Loos in September 1915, the regiment retitled as the 1st The Royal Dragoons in 1921. It was deployed to Egypt in 1927, to Secunderabad in India in 1929, the regiment mechanised shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War and was transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps in 1940. It became the Reconnaissance Regiment for the 10th Armoured Division in September 1942, the regiment took part in the advance to the River Elbe and, after taking 10,000 enemy prisoners, liberated Copenhagen in May 1945. The regiment moved to Eutin in Schleswig-Holstein in November 1945 and to Dale Barracks in Chester in November 1950 and it deployed troops to Egypt in February 1951 and then moved to Combermere Barracks in Wesendorf in May 1954 and to Harewood Barracks in Herford in August 1957. It returned to the UK in September 1959 from where it deployed troops to Aden in November 1959, the regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, and was re-titled as The Royal Dragoons in 1961. It returned home in October 1962 and then deployed troops to Cyprus in February 1964 before transferring to Hobart Barracks in Detmold in January 1965 and it amalgamated with the Royal Horse Guards, to form The Blues and Royals in 1969. M
34.
Cornet (rank)
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Cornet was originally the third and lowest grade of commissioned officer in a British cavalry troop, after captain and lieutenant. It was abolished in the Cardwell Reforms of 1871 and replaced by sub-lieutenant and it is equivalent to a modern second lieutenant. The Blues and Royals and Queens Royal Hussars still use it to refer to their second lieutenants and this rank was also used in other countries, e. g. in the Russian Empire. The rank was in use by the time of the English Civil War, among famous cornets in that conflict were George Joyce, Robert Stetson, and Ninian Beall. It was abolished along with the purchase of commissions in the Army Reform Act of 1871, the ranks of ensign and cornet were abolished in the US Army in 1815. The rank also existed in other nations troops, such as those of Sweden and Imperial Russia. General Alexander Macomb was initially commissioned a cornet in a career in which he eventually became Commanding General of the United States Army and it is still used in the artillery and cavalry divisions of the Netherlands. The rank of veld-Cornet was used for the officer of a ward or sub-district in the independent republican states of the Transvaal. They were elected by the commandos of their ward for periods of three years, in the case of large wards, an assistant field cornet could also be chosen. The rank was reminiscent of the Dutch use in cavalry troops that the commandos most closely resembled, in apartheid-era South Africa, the rank of field cornet was used in the South African Army from 1960 to 1968. The subaltern rank of cornet was the equivalent of the contemporary infantry rank of ensign, the cornet carried the troop standard, known as a guidon
35.
Captain (armed forces)
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The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to the command of a company of soldiers. The rank is used by some air forces and marine forces. Today, a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery, in the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army, a captain may also command a company, or be the second-in-command of a battalion. In NATO countries, the rank of captain is described by the code OF-2 and is one rank above an OF-1, the rank of captain is generally considered to be the highest rank a soldier can achieve while remaining in the field. The rank of captain should not be confused with the rank of captain or with the British-influenced air force rank of group captain. The term ultimately goes back to Late Latin capitaneus meaning chief, prominent, in Middle English adopted as capitayn in the 14th century, the military rank of captain was in use from the 1560s, referring to an officer who commands a company. The naval sense, an officer who commands a man-of-war, is earlier, from the 1550s. He would in turn receive money from another nobleman to serve as his lieutenant, the funding to provide for the troops came from the monarch or his government, the captain had to be responsible for it. If he was not, or was otherwise court-martialed, he would be dismissed, otherwise, the only pension for the captain was selling the right to another nobleman when he was ready to retire. In most countries, the air force is the junior service, many, such as the United States Air Force, use a rank structure and insignia similar to those of the army. However, the United Kingdoms Royal Air Force, many other Commonwealth air forces, a group captain is OF-5 and was derived from the naval rank of captain. In the unified system of the Canadian Forces, the air force rank titles are pearl grey, a variety of images illustrative of different forces insignia for captain are shown below, Captain Captain Senior captain Staff captain
36.
Edward Stanley, 11th Earl of Derby
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Edward Stanley, 11th Earl of Derby, known as Sir Edward Stanley, 5th Baronet, from 1714 to 1736, was a British nobleman, peer, and politician. Derby was the son of Sir Thomas Stanley, 4th Baronet, and Elizabeth Patten and this branch of the Stanley family, known as the Stanleys of Bickerstaffe, were descended from Sir James Stanley, younger brother of Thomas Stanley, 2nd Earl of Derby. He was appointed High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1723 and he later served as Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire from 1741 to 1757 and again from 1771 to 1776. Lord Derby married Elizabeth Hesketh, daughter of Robert Hesketh, in 1714 and he died in February 1776, aged 86, and was succeeded in the earldom by his grandson Edward, his son James Smith-Stanley, Lord Strange, having predeceased him. His daughter, Lady Charlotte Stanley, married General John Burgoyne and his great-great-grandson Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, was three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. New York, St Martins Press,1990
37.
Elopement
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To elope, most literally, means to run away and to not come back to the point of origin. Today the term elopement is used for any marriage performed in haste. Some couples elope because they wish to avoid objections from parents, in addition, the term elopement is used in psychiatric hospitals to refer to a patient leaving the psychiatric unit without authorization. The intention of this is to prevent bigamy or other unlawful marriages by giving fair warning to anybody who might have a right to object. In practice, however, it also gives warning to the couples parents, in the Philippines, elopement is called tanan. Tanan is a practice in Filipino culture when a woman leaves her home without her parents permission to live a life with her partner. Usually she will elope during the hours and is awaited by her lover nearby. The next morning, the parents are clueless to the whereabouts of their daughter. Tanan often occurs as a result of an arranged marriage or in defiance to parents dislike of a preferred suitor
38.
Continental Europe
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Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe, or, by Europeans, simply the Continent, is the continuous continent of Europe, excluding surrounding islands. This historical core of Carolingian Europe was consciously invoked in the 1950s as the historical basis for the prospective European integration. In both Great Britain and Ireland, the Continent is widely and generally used to refer to the mainland of Europe, an apocryphal British newspaper headline supposedly once read, Fog in Channel, Continent Cut Off. It has also claimed that this was a regular weather forecast in Britain in the 1930s. In addition, the word Europe itself is regularly used to mean Europe excluding the islands of Great Britain, Iceland. The term mainland Europe is also sometimes used, derivatively, the adjective continental refers to the social practices or fashion of continental Europe. Examples include breakfast, topless sunbathing and, historically, long-range driving often known as Grand Touring. Differences include electrical plugs, time zones for the most part, the use of traffic, and for the United Kingdom, currency. Britain is physically connected to continental Europe through the undersea Channel Tunnel and this route is popular with refugees and migrants seeking to enter the UK. Especially in Germanic studies, continental refers to the European continent excluding the Scandinavian peninsula, Britain, Ireland, and Iceland. The reason for this is that although the Scandinavian peninsula is attached to continental Europe, kontinenten is a vernacular Swedish expression that refers to the area excluding Sweden, Norway, and Finland but including Denmark and the rest of continental Europe. In Norway, similarly, one speaks about Kontinentet as an entity, usually referring to Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Benelux countries. Today, the Scandinavian peninsula is accessible by train and road with several bridge/tunnel structures connecting the Danish peninsula of Jutland to Scania in Sweden. The Continent may sometimes refer to the part of Italy, the continental part of Spain, the continental part of France. The term is used from the perspective of the residents of each country to describe the continental portion of their country or the continent as a whole. Continental philosophy Geopolitical divisions of Europe Geographical midpoint of Europe Mainland Western Europe Hajnal line
39.
Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is the ministry in the government of France that handles Frances foreign relations. Its headquarters are located on the Quai dOrsay in Paris, close to the National Assembly of France and its cabinet minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development is responsible for the foreign relations of France. The current minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, was appointed in February 2016, in 1547, secretaries to the King became specialized, writing correspondence to foreign governments, and negotiating peace treaties. The four French secretaries of state where foreign relations were divided by region, in 1589, the Ancien Régime position of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs became Foreign Minister around 1723, and was renamed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1791 after the French Revolution. All ministerial positions were abolished in 1794 by the National Convention, for a brief period in the 1980s, the office was retitled Minister for External Relations
40.
France in the Seven Years' War
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France was one of the leading participants in the Seven Years War which lasted between 1754 and 1763. France entered the war with the hope of achieving a victory against Prussia, Britain and their German allies. While the first few years of war proved successful for the French, in 1759 the situation reversed, in an effort to reverse their losses, France concluded an alliance with their neighbor, Spain, in 1761. In spite of this the French continued to suffer defeats throughout 1762 eventually forcing them to sue for peace, the 1763 Treaty of Paris confirmed the loss of French possessions in North America and Asia to the British. France also finished the war with very heavy debts, which struggled to repay for the remainder of the 18th century. The previous major conflict in Europe, the War of the Austrian Succession, France and Britain were engaged in an intensifying global rivalry after they superseded Spain as the leading colonial powers. Hoping to establish supremacy, both engaged in several minor wars in North America. French colonies in Louisiana, Illinois, and Canada had largely surrounded British colonies strung out in a strip along the coast. All the French needed to totally envelop the British was control of the Ohio Country, attempting to gain control of this territory, France built a complex system of alliances with the areas Native American tribes and brought them into conflict with Britain. In the mid-18th century, France was a monarchy, all power resided with the King. Louis XV was a weak personality easily manipulated by his advisors, chief amongst them was Madame Pompadour, his mistress who exercised enormous influence over appointments and matters of grand strategy. Other advisors rose and fell with rapid succession, continuing the lack of the stability which had plagued the monarchy in the early 18th century, while the war began in North America, in 1756 France became drawn into a major war in Europe. Allied to Austria, Sweden and Russia the French tried to defeat the Prussians who had only the British as major allies, despite repeated attempts between 1757 and 1762, the French and their allies failed to win the conclusive victory against Prussia despite a constant war of attrition. They were partly frustrated by a led by the Duke of Brunswick made up of British forces. France had opened the war against Britain in Europe by capturing Minorca, the British navy, however, had initiated a tight blockade of the French coast which prevented supplies and troops moving freely and sapped morale. He oversaw the construction of a fleet of transports to convey the troops during 1759. Defeats of the French navy at Lagos and Quiberon Bay put an end to these plans, a diversionary force under François Thurot had managed to land in Northern Ireland before he was hunted down and killed by the British navy. In the wake of the disaster at Quiberon, Thurot was lionised as a hero in France
41.
Portrait
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A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person, for this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the painter or photographer, nonetheless, many subjects, such as Akhenaten and some other Egyptian pharaohs, can be recognised by their distinctive features. The 28 surviving rather small statues of Gudea, ruler of Lagash in Sumeria between c.2144 -2124 BC, show a consistent appearance with some individuality. Some of the earliest surviving painted portraits of people who were not rulers are the Greco-Roman funeral portraits that survived in the dry climate of Egypts Fayum district. These are almost the only paintings from the world that have survived, apart from frescos, though many sculptures. Although the appearance of the figures differs considerably, they are considerably idealized, the art of the portrait flourished in Ancient Greek and especially Roman sculpture, where sitters demanded individualized and realistic portraits, even unflattering ones. During the 4th century, the portrait began to retreat in favor of a symbol of what that person looked like. In the Europe of the Early Middle Ages representations of individuals are mostly generalized, true portraits of the outward appearance of individuals re-emerged in the late Middle Ages, in tomb monuments, donor portraits, miniatures in illuminated manuscripts and then panel paintings. Moche culture of Peru was one of the few ancient civilizations which produced portraits and these works accurately represent anatomical features in great detail. The individuals portrayed would have been recognizable without the need for other symbols or a reference to their names. The individuals portrayed were members of the elite, priests, warriors. They were represented during several stages of their lives, the faces of gods were also depicted. To date, no portraits of women have been found, there is particular emphasis on the representation of the details of headdresses, hairstyles, body adornment and face painting. One of the portraits in the Western world is Leonardo da Vincis painting titled Mona Lisa. What has been claimed as the worlds oldest known portrait was found in 2006 in the Vilhonneur grotto near Angoulême and is thought to be 27,000 years old. Profile view, full view, and three-quarter view, are three common designations for portraits, each referring to a particular orientation of the head of the individual depicted. Such terms would tend to have greater applicability to two-dimensional artwork such as photography, in the case of three-dimensional artwork, the viewer can usually alter their orientation to the artwork by moving around it
Great Britain
British Army
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Stephens, Henry Morse (1885–1900). "Burgoyne, John (1722-1792)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
Stephens, Henry Morse (1885–1900). "
