1.
Governor of New South Wales
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The Governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the Governor is appointed by the queen on the advice of the Premier of New South Wales, for an unfixed period of time—known as serving At Her Majestys pleasure—though five years is the norm. The current Governor is retired General David Hurley, who succeeded Dame Marie Bashir on 2 October 2014, the office has its origin in the 18th-century colonial governors of New South Wales upon its settlement in 1788, and is the oldest continuous institution in Australia. The office of Governor is required by the New South Wales Constitution Act,1902, besides the administration of the oaths of office, there is no set formula for the swearing-in of a governor-designate. The sovereign will also hold an audience with the appointee and will at that time induct the governor-designate as a Companion of the Order of Australia. The incumbent will generally serve for at least five years, though this is only a convention. The premier may therefore recommend to the Queen that the remain in her service for a longer period of time. A governor may also resign and three have died in office, furthermore, if the Lieutenant Governor becomes incapacitated while serving in the office of Governor, the next most senior judge of the Supreme Court is sworn in as the Administrator. Between 1788 and 1957, all governors were born outside of New South Wales and were members of the Peerage. Taylor once noted that out and governing New South Wales became the British aristocracys abiding consolation. Coincidentally the first Australian-born Governor, Sir John Northcott on 1 August 1946, was also the first Australian-born Governor of any state, the first Governors were all military officers and the majority of governors since have come from a military background, numbering 19. Samuels was the first governor in New South Wales history without either a political, public service or military background, the first woman to hold this position is also the first Lebanese-Australian governor, Dame Marie Bashir. In this capacity, the governor will issue royal proclamations and sign orders in council, the Governor alone is constitutionally mandated to summon parliament. The governor grants Royal Assent in the Queens name, legally, if the governor withholds the Queens assent, the sovereign may within two years disallow the bill, thereby annulling the law in question. No modern viceroy has denied Royal Assent to a bill, with most constitutional functions delegated to Cabinet, the governor acts in a primarily ceremonial fashion. He or she will host members of Australias royal family, as well as foreign royalty, also as part of international relations, the governor receives letters of credence and of recall from foreign consul-generals appointed to Sydney. The governor is also tasked with fostering unity and pride, the governor also traditionally serves as Honorary and Regimental Colonel in the Royal New South Wales Regiment and as Honorary Air Commodore of No.22 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force. Since 1946, the governor has also always made the Chief Scout of New South Wales
2.
Leith
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Leith /ˈliːθ/, Scottish Gaelic, Lìte, is a district to the north of the city of Edinburgh at the mouth of the Water of Leith. The earliest surviving references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of Holyrood Abbey in 1128. The medieval settlements of Leith had grown into a burgh by 1833, historically part of Midlothian, Leith is sited on the coast of the Firth of Forth and lies within the council area of the City of Edinburgh. The port remains one of its most valuable enterprises, handling over 1.5 million tonnes of cargo a year in 2003, previous to the bridge being built in the late 15th century, Leith had settlements on either side of the river, lacking an easy crossing. South Leith was larger and was controlled by the lairds of Restalrig and it was based on trade and had many merchants houses and warehouses. This was where ships offloaded their cargoes at The Shore where they were collected by Edinburgh merchants, leithers were explicitly forbidden by statute to participate directly in the trade at the port, to ensure that landed goods were not sold elsewhere. North Leith was smaller but proportionately richer, coming under the jurisdiction of Holyrood Abbey and it was effectively a fishing village consisting of one street, now Sandport Street and Quayside Lane. Burgage plots ran down to the river from each house and this has traditionally been the shipbuilding side of Leith with several wet and dry docks built over time. The first dry dock in Scotland was built here in 1720, a small peninsula of land on the east bank also came under the same jurisdiction on what is now Sheriff Brae/Sheriff Bank. The first bridge to both banks of the river was built in 1493 by Abbot Bellenden, who controlled the church at North Leith. The bridge was a bridge, the revenue supplementing the churchs income. Reputedly Leiths oldest building, it was demolished in 1780 to allow ships to sail further upstream, the earliest evidence of settlement in Leith comes from several archaeological digs undertaken in the Shore area in the late 20th century. Amongst the finds were medieval wharf edges from the 12th century and this date fits with the earliest documentary evidence of settlement in Leith - the foundation charter of Holyrood Abbey. Leith has played a long and prominent role in Scottish history, as the major port serving Edinburgh, it has been the stage on which many significant events in Scottish history have taken place. Mary of Guise ruled Scotland from Leith in 1560 as Regent while her daughter, Mary, Mary of Guise moved the Scottish Court to Leith, to a site that is now Parliament Street, off Coalhill. According to the 18th-century historian William Maitland, her palace was situated on Rotten Row, now Water Street. Artifacts from the residence are held by the National Museum of Scotland. In June 1560, Mary of Guise died, and the Siege of Leith ended with the departure of the French troops in accordance with the Treaty of Leith, also known as the Treaty of Edinburgh
3.
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
4.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
5.
Church of St John-at-Hackney
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The Church of St John-at-Hackney is situated in the London Borough of Hackney. It was built in 1792, in a field, north east of Hackneys medieval parish church. Separated by the extension of Lower Clapton Road, it looks north to the late Georgian Clapton Square. The Church of St John-at-Hackney was designed by James Spiller and built in 1792, at this time, Hackney Parish was the largest in Middlesex. The vast and classical style building, on a Greek Cross plan, can hold around 2,000 people. The former churchyard is now a complex of gardens that was awarded Heritage Green Site status in 2008, the building is Grade II* listed and houses monuments dating from Tudor times – transferred from the former church – and other more recent memorials. From the 14th century the church was dedicated to Saint Augustine of Hippo until, after 1660, it was rededicated to Saint John the Baptist, in the 13th century much of the land around Hackney formed part of the possessions of the Knights Templar. When the order was disbanded its possessions were passed to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the Order of St John began with the First Crusade to the Holy Land in 1095. When the crusaders captured Jerusalem, the order founded a hospice, in 1113, the Pope recognised it as an independent religious order of monks and nuns, The Order of St John, whose special task was to care for the sick. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries the lands passed to the Crown and were parcelled amongst Tudor nobles, including Thomas Sutton, Hackneys proximity to the City of London and the royal court made it popular with courtiers, city merchants and businessmen. An increasing number of schools were established in some of the older houses. By 1789 the church capacity, with the addition of galleries, had reached 1,000. In 1779 a surveyor, Richard Jupp, proposed a rebuilding to increase the capacity to 1,480, by 1788 a committee found that the population of the parish had increased so much that the church should seek to seat 3,000. The appointed architect, William Blackburn, firmly rejected the idea of building on the old site, in April 1789 the committee put the matter to a parochial vote, winning their case by 313 votes to 70. A bill was put to the House of Commons, opponents of the proposal undertook yet another survey with a view to rebuilding on the old site. Finally a compromise was reached, the became an act empowering the trustees to acquire, for £875. The existing tenants, a butcher and corn chandler, were three months to move. A new church, tower and vestry room would be built three years of laying the foundation and the old church then demolished
6.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe
7.
Royal Navy
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The Royal Navy is the United Kingdoms naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the medieval period. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century, from the middle decades of the 17th century and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century it was the worlds most powerful navy until surpassed by the United States Navy during the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing the British Empire as the world power during the 19th. Due to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, following World War I, the Royal Navy was significantly reduced in size, although at the onset of the Second World War it was still the worlds largest. By the end of the war, however, the United States Navy had emerged as the worlds largest, during the Cold War, the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines, mostly active in the GIUK gap. The Royal Navy is part of Her Majestys Naval Service, which includes the Royal Marines. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord, the Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The strength of the fleet of the Kingdom of England was an important element in the power in the 10th century. English naval power declined as a result of the Norman conquest. Medieval fleets, in England as elsewhere, were almost entirely composed of merchant ships enlisted into service in time of war. Englands naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilisation of fleets when war broke out was slow, early in the war French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed the French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. Major fighting was confined to French soil and Englands naval capabilities sufficed to transport armies and supplies safely to their continental destinations. Such raids halted finally only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V. Henry VII deserves a large share of credit in the establishment of a standing navy and he embarked on a program of building ships larger than heretofore. He also invested in dockyards, and commissioned the oldest surviving dry dock in 1495 at Portsmouth, a standing Navy Royal, with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I England became involved in a war with Spain, the new regimes introduction of Navigation Acts, providing that all merchant shipping to and from England or her colonies should be carried out by English ships, led to war with the Dutch Republic. In the early stages of this First Anglo-Dutch War, the superiority of the large, heavily armed English ships was offset by superior Dutch tactical organisation and the fighting was inconclusive
8.
HMS Sirius (1786)
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HMS Sirius was the flagship of the First Fleet, which set out from Portsmouth, England, in 1787 to establish the first European colony in New South Wales, Australia. In 1790, the ship was wrecked on the reef, south east of Kingston Pier, in Slaughter Bay, Sirius had been converted from the merchantman Berwick. There has been confusion over the history of Berwick. Berwick was likely built in 1780 by Christopher Watson and Co. of Rotherhithe, Berwick had a burthen of 511 83⁄94 tons and, after being burnt in a fire, was bought and rebuilt by the Royal Navy in November 1781, retaining her original name. The newly purchased vessel was fitted out and coppered at Deptford Dockyard between December 1781 and April 1782, for a sum of £6,152. 11s. 4d. When completed she carried 10 guns, four 6-pounder long guns and she was commissioned for service under her first commander, Lieutenant Bayntun Prideaux in January 1782, and went out to North America later that year. She spent the last part of the American War of Independence there, paid off in February 1785 she was initially laid up before being fitted for sea between September and December 1786 for service with the First Fleet. Sirius sailed under the command of Captain John Hunter and carried Captain Arthur Phillip and she also carried Major Robert Ross, commander of the Royal Marines who would be responsible for providing security for the colony. The surgeons on this ship were George Bouchier Worgan and Thomas Jamison, according to Sirius midshipman Daniel Southwell, she also carried Larcum Kendall K1 timekeeper used by Captain James Cook on his second and third voyages around the world. Sirius, with the ten vessels of the First Fleet, left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787 and arrived at Botany Bay on 20 January 1788. The 252-day voyage, which had gone via Rio de Janeiro and it soon became clear that Botany Bay was unsuitable for a penal settlement so Sirius helped move the colony farther north to Sydney Cove, Port Jackson on 26 January. While waiting to move, a gale arose preventing any sailing, during this period the French expeditionary fleet of Jean-François de Galaup. The British cordially received the French, siriuss captains, through their officers, offered assistance and asked if Lapérouse needed supplies. However the French leader and the British commanders never met personally, Lapérouse also took the opportunity to send his journals, some charts and some letters back to Europe with Sirius. After obtaining wood and fresh water, the French left on 10 March for New Caledonia, Santa Cruz, the Solomons, the Louisiades, the French fleet and all on board were never seen again. The documents carried by Sirius would be its only testament, Sirius left the colony at Port Jackson on 2 October 1788 when she was sent back to the Cape of Good Hope to get flour and other supplies. The complete voyage, which more than seven months to complete. Two years later, on 19 March 1790, Sirius was wrecked on a reef at Norfolk Island while landing stores, among those who witnessed the ships demise from shore was Thomas Jamison, the surgeon for the penal settlement
9.
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
10.
Raid on Rochefort
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The Raid on Rochefort was a British amphibious attempt to capture the French Atlantic port of Rochefort in September 1757 during the Seven Years War. The raid pioneered a new tactic of descents on the French coast, after a number of delays the expedition reached the French coast, capturing the offshore island of Île dAix. With the army commander Sir John Mordaunt refusing to attempt a landing, the raid ended in failure, but it was followed by several similar operations in the subsequent years. In the wake of these losses, a new government including William Pitt came to office in July 1757. Pitt wanted a bold stroke that would force the French to detach large numbers of troops, planned to be used in their invasion of Germany and he also hoped to satisfy the public who clamoured for such a campaign. An urgent demand for such an expedition came from Britains only major ally Frederick the Great who saw it as vital to relieve pressure from an anticipated French offensive against Prussia. Frederick had suggested attacks on the French coast in the hope that it would provide relief to both his own armies and the Army of Observation under the Duke of Cumberland. Command of the forces was awarded to Sir John Mordaunt, with Edward Cornwallis. Edward Hawke was selected to command the naval contingent whose role was to escort Mordaunts force, land it on the French shore, james Wolfe was appointed as the expeditions Quartermaster General and the Armys chief of staff. The expedition was assembled on the Isle of Wight during July, there were soon a number of delays, which pushed back the departure date. Most of the spent their time in Newport. 8,000 troops were camped there, although all. On 7 September, a month after they had scheduled to depart. It arrived off Rochefort on the 20 September, but due to fog was unable to land for several days. Hawke and the officers were already extremely concerned about the worsening weather. Guided by Joseph Thierry, a Huguenot river pilot, two British warships approached the fort that dominated Île dAix, Wolfe observed the mainland from Ile dAix and he noted a battery of guns at Fort Fouras on the mainland, which guarded the mouth of the River Charente. The French were totally unprepared to resist an assault, and had been taken completely by surprise by the appearance of the British fleet. Wolfe advocated an immediate assault on Fort Fouras, and also a raid in the direction of nearby La Rochelle to confuse the French about the true intentions
11.
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
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The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years War. The culmination of a siege by the British, the battle lasted about 15 minutes. In the wake of the battle, the French evacuated the city, their military force in Canada. France ceded most of its possessions in eastern North America to Great Britain in the Treaty of Paris, the decisive success of the British forces and the subsequent capture of Quebec City formed part of what became known as the Annus Mirabilis in Great Britain. As the Seven Years War entered its later stages through 1758 and 1759, in 1758 after defeat in July at the Battle of Carillon, the British took Louisbourg in August, causing Atlantic Canada to fall into British hands, and opening the sea route to attack Quebec. Fort Frontenac fell to the British in the month, costing the French supplies for the Ohio Valley campaign. When some of the Indian supporters of the French made peace with the British, French leadership, specifically Governor de Vaudreuil and General Montcalm, were unsettled by the British successes. However, Quebec was still able to protect itself as the British prepared an attack for 1759. James Wolfe expected to lead 12,000 men, but was greeted by only approximately 7,000 regular troops,400 officers, Wolfes troops were supported by a fleet of 49 ships and 140 smaller craft led by Admiral Charles Saunders. In preparation for the approach to Quebec, James Cook surveyed a large portion of the river. Cooks ship was one of the first ships up the river, sounding the channel and guiding the fleet as it moved up, eventually landing Wolfe and his men on the Île dOrléans on 28 June. Despite an air of defeatism among the leadership, the professional French troops, prior to the arrival of the British, a small fleet of supply ships had arrived in Quebec with much needed supplies. Those supplies, along with 500 reinforcements, were likely behind the lengthened siege, in addition, a screen of trees along the Montmorency River made an approach on that route dangerous. On 31 July, the first serious attempt by Wolfes troops to land on the northern shore led to the Battle of Beauport, approximately 3,500 troops, supported by a heavy bombardment, attempted to land, but were caught under fire in the river shallows. Some French officers felt the Montmorency defeat would be the last British attack, Wolfe, I assure you, will make no progress… He contented himself with losing about five hundred of his best soldiers. He predicted another attack would come within days, others in the French camp felt the campaign was over. For the remainder of the summer, Wolfes focus changed, possibly due to frustration with Montcalms tactics and his troops, along with American Rangers, attacked and destroyed small French settlements along the St. Lawrence. An estimated 1,400 stone houses and manors were destroyed, the effort was likely an attempt to force Montcalms army out of its fortifications, but was unsuccessful
12.
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
