1.
Annonay
–
Annonay is a French commune in the north of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department although it is not the capital which is the town of Privas. The commune consists of the city of Annonay and the hamlets of Vissenty, Chatinais, with residential development, these four entities have merged into one today. Further away is the hamlet of Toissieu, Annonay was built over several small hills at the confluence of the rivers Cance and Deûme. Annonay is a crossroads of routes, from the Rhône Valley to the region of Saint-Étienne. It is located 75 km south of Lyon,13 km south-west of Saint-Rambert-dAlbon, access to the commune is by the D121 from Davezieux in the north-east passing through the commune and the city and continuing to Villevocance in the south-west. There is also the D578 from the city to Quintenas in the south, there are also the D371 and the D370 in the east of the commune. The geology consists mainly of grey or light orange leucogranite and orthogneiss rich in biotite, sillimanite and cordierite with alternating bands of felsic and mafic material. The escarpment of Annonay is surrounded by plateaux and gentle hills used for cultivating cherries, apricots, apples, pears, a reservoir created by damming the Ternay River north-west of the town provides water for industrial and domestic use. The highest point of the town at 746 meters is located near a place called Sagne Ronde, the Montmiandon overlooking the city, rises to 679 meters above sea level. The origin of the name of the town has numerous hypotheses, one of these suggests that Annonay comes from Annoniacum meaning the domain of an Annonius, a rich Roman who lived there. Another explanation is that Annonay came from the presence of a store of the praefectus annonae. In any case, the site of the city has been occupied since antiquity, Roman coins and medals were found during the digging of the Rue Malleval in 1851. The first written mention of Annonay dates from 403, a chronicle of archives in Vienne characterized the city as a small town built by poor unclothed workers lost in the mountains of Haut-Vivarais. A charter of 790, confirmed in 805, extracted from the cartulary of the Church of Vienne, in the 13th and early 14th centuries the small town of Annonay was an important step on the road of pilgrimage to the Virgin of Puy-en-Velay. In witness to this hostelries for pilgrims, five including the Saint-Clair Convent, one Cordelier. The family de Roussillon dominated the region, one of its members, Guillaume de Roussillon, participated in the Crusades. From 1288 a charter was signed between the city and the Lord of Annonay and this granted some autonomy to the city, in particular the right to levy taxes
Annonay
–
Annonay, view from the Aygas rise.
Annonay
–
Bell Tower of the Trachin Chapel
Annonay
–
The Place Grenette
Annonay
–
The first flight of the Montgolfière balloon
2.
France
–
France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
France
–
One of the
Lascaux paintings: a horse –
Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC
France
–
Flag
France
–
The
Maison Carrée was a temple of the
Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day
Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the
Roman Empire.
France
–
With
Clovis ' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the
Frankish monarchy,
elective and
secular until then, became
hereditary and of
divine right.
3.
Switzerland
–
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
Switzerland
–
Founded in 44 BC by
Lucius Munatius Plancus,
Augusta Raurica was the first Roman settlement on the Rhine and is now among the most important archaeological sites in Switzerland.
Switzerland
–
Flag
Switzerland
–
The 1291 Bundesbrief (Federal charter)
Switzerland
–
The Old Swiss Confederacy from 1291 (dark green) to the sixteenth century (light green) and its associates (blue). In the other colors are shown the subject territories.
4.
Hot air balloon
–
A hot air balloon is a lighter than air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket, which carries passengers, the heated air inside the envelope makes it buoyant since it has a lower density than the colder air outside the envelope. As with all aircraft, hot air balloons cannot fly beyond the atmosphere, unlike gas balloons, the envelope does not have to be sealed at the bottom, since the air near the bottom of the envelope is at the same pressure as the surrounding air. In modern sport balloons the envelope is made from nylon fabric. The hot air balloon is the first successful human-carrying flight technology, the first hot-air balloon flown in the Americas was launched from the Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia on January 9,1793 by the French aeronaut Jean Pierre Blanchard. Hot air balloons that can be propelled through the air rather than simply drifting with the wind are known as thermal airships, early unmanned hot air balloons were used in China. Zhuge Liang of the Shu Han kingdom, during the Three Kingdoms era and these lanterns are known as Kongming lanterns. Later that same day, Pilatre de Rozier became the human to ascend into the air, reaching an altitude of 26 m. The first free flight with passengers was made a few weeks later. King Louis XVI had originally decreed that condemned criminals would be the first pilots, the first military use of a hot air balloon happened in 1794 during the battle of Fleurus, when the French used the balloon lEntreprenant for observation. Modern hot air balloons, with a heat source, were developed by Ed Yost, beginning during the 1950s, his work resulted in his first successful flight. The first modern hot air balloon to be made in the United Kingdom was the Bristol Belle, presently, hot air balloons are used primarily for recreation. Hot air balloons are able to fly to extremely high altitudes, on November 26,2005 Vijaypat Singhania set the world altitude record for highest hot air balloon flight, reaching 21,027 m. He took off from downtown Mumbai, India, and landed 240 km south in Panchale, the previous record of 19,811 m had been set by Per Lindstrand on June 6,1988, in Plano, Texas. With a volume of 74 thousand cubic meters, the envelope was the largest ever built for a hot air craft. Designed to fly in the jet streams, the Pacific Flyer recorded the fastest ground speed for a manned balloon at 245 mph. The longest duration record was set by Swiss psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard, Auguste Piccards grandson and it was the first nonstop trip around the world by balloon. The balloon left Château-dOex, Switzerland, on March 1,1999, the two men exceeded distance, endurance, and time records, traveling 19 days,21 hours, and 55 minutes
Hot air balloon
–
Hot air balloon in flight.
Hot air balloon
–
Hot air balloons shaped like bees.
Hot air balloon
–
Hot air balloon shaped as the
Abbey of Saint Gall
Hot air balloon
–
A
Kongming lantern, the oldest type of hot air balloon.
5.
Hydraulic ram
–
A hydraulic ram, or hydram, is a cyclic water pump powered by hydropower. It takes in water at one hydraulic head and flow rate, the device uses the water hammer effect to develop pressure that allows a portion of the input water that powers the pump to be lifted to a point higher than where the water originally started. The hydraulic ram is sometimes used in areas, where there is both a source of low-head hydropower and a need for pumping water to a destination higher in elevation than the source. In this situation, the ram is often useful, since it requires no outside source of other than the kinetic energy of flowing water.9 metres. In 1783, he installed another in Ireland and he did not patent it, and details are obscure, but it is known to have had an air vessel. The first self-acting ram pump was invented by the Frenchman Joseph Michel Montgolfier in 1796 for raising water in his mill at Voiron. His friend Matthew Boulton took out a British patent on his behalf in 1797, eastons firm, inherited by his son James, grew during the nineteenth century to become one of the more important engineering manufacturers in the United Kingdom, with a large works at Erith, Kent. They specialised in water supply and sewerage systems worldwide, as well as land drainage projects, eastons had a good business supplying rams for water supply purposes to large country houses, farms, and village communities. Some of their installations still survived as of 2004, one example being at the hamlet of Toller Whelme. The firm closed in 1909, but the ram business was continued by James R Easton, in 1929, it was acquired by Green & Carter of Winchester, Hampshire, who were engaged in the manufacturing and installation of Vulcan and Vacher Rams. The first US patent was issued to Joseph Cerneau and Stephen S. Hallet in 1809, US interest in hydraulic rams picked up around 1840, as further patents were issued and domestic companies started offering rams for sale. Toward the end of the 19th century, interest waned as electricity, by the end of the twentieth century interest in hydraulic rams has revived, due to the needs of sustainable technology in developing countries, and energy conservation in developed ones. A good example is AID Foundation International in the Philippines, who won an Ashden Award for their work developing ram pumps that could be maintained for use in remote villages. The hydraulic ram principle has been used in proposals for exploiting wave power. The venturi valve is configured as a ring section positioned around the inlet of the pump with the delivery outlet of the pump being directly in line. The elastomeric material and operation of these valves also allows them to self-return without weight or spring assistance, a pressure vessel installed on a tee connected to the delivery port of the pump provides the pulsed flow accumulation means. This unique technology and design dramatically reduced the weight, manufacturing cost, systems have also been developed and utilised for rainwater harvesting, water treatment and other water utility applications. The Papa hydraulic ram pump also has two moving parts
Hydraulic ram
–
Figure 1: A hydraulic ram that drives a fountain at the
Centre for Alternative Technology
Hydraulic ram
–
Hydraulic ram, System Lambach now at
Roscheider Hof Open Air Museum
6.
Vellum
–
Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane used as a material for writing on. Vellum is prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, vellum is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation and the quality of the skin. The manufacture involves the cleaning, bleaching, stretching on a frame, to create tension, scraping is alternated with wetting and drying. A final finish may be achieved by abrading the surface with pumice, modern paper vellum is a quite different synthetic material, used for a variety of purposes, including plans, technical drawings, and blueprints. In Europe, from Roman times, the vellum was used for the best quality of prepared skin, regardless of the animal from which the hide was obtained, calf, sheep. Although the term derives from the French for calf, animal vellum can include hide from virtually any other mammal. The best quality, uterine vellum, was said to be made from the skins of stillborn or unborn animals, there has long been, however, much blurring of the boundaries between these terms. In 1519, William Horman could write in his Vulgaria, That stouffe that we wrytte upon, modern scholars and custodians increasingly use only the safe if confusing term membrane. In the usage of modern practitioners of the crafts of writing, illuminating, lettering. Vellum is a translucent material produced from the skin, often split, the skin is washed with water and lime, but not together. It is then soaked in lime for several days to soften, once clear, the two sides of the skin are distinct, the side facing inside the animal and the hair side. The inside body side of the skin is usually the lighter, the hair follicles may be visible on the outer side, together with any scarring, made while the animal was alive. The membrane can also show the pattern of the animals vein network called the veining of the sheet, any remaining hair is removed and the skin is dried by attaching it to a frame. The skin is attached at points around the circumference with cords, to prevent tearing, the maker then uses a crescent shaped knife, to clean off any remaining hairs. Once the skin is dry, it is thoroughly cleaned and processed into sheets. The number of extracted from the piece of skin depends on the size of the skin. For example, the average calfskin can provide three and half sheets of writing material. This can be doubled when it is folded into two conjoint leaves, also known as a bifolium, historians have found evidence of manuscripts where the scribe wrote down the medieval instructions now followed by modern membrane makers
Vellum
–
The
Magna Carta written in Latin on vellum, held at the
British Library
Vellum
–
A vellum
deed dated 1638, with pendent
seal attached.
Vellum
–
A
portolan chart (map) by Jacobo Russo (Giacomo Russo) of Messina (1533)
Vellum
–
A Volume Of Treatises On Natural Science, Philosophy, And Mathematics (1300) Ink on vellum.
7.
Avignon
–
Avignon is a commune in south-eastern France in the department of Vaucluse on the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 90,194 inhabitants of the city, about 12,000 live in the ancient town centre enclosed by its medieval ramparts. Between 1309 and 1377, during the Avignon Papacy, seven popes resided in Avignon. Papal control persisted until 1791 when, during the French Revolution, the town is now the capital of the Vaucluse department and one of the few French cities to have preserved its ramparts. The historic centre, which includes the Palais des Papes, the cathedral, the medieval monuments and the annual Festival dAvignon have helped to make the town a major centre for tourism. The commune has been awarded one flower by the National Council of Towns, the earliest forms of the name were reported by the Greeks, Аὐενιὼν = Auenion Άουεννίων = Aouennion. The Roman name Avennĭo Cavarum, i. e. Avignon of Cavares accurately shows that Avignon was one of the three cities of the Celtic-Ligurian tribe of Cavares, along with Cavaillon and Orange. The current name dates to a pre-Indo-European or pre-Latin theme ab-ên with the suffix -i-ōn This theme would be a hydronym - i. e. a name linked to the river, but perhaps also an oronym of terrain. The site of Avignon has been occupied since the Neolithic period as shown by excavations at Rocher des Doms and the Balance district. In 1960 and 1961 excavations in the part of the Rocher des Doms directed by Sylvain Gagnière uncovered a small anthropomorphic stele. Carved in Burdigalian sandstone, it has the shape of a tombstone with its face engraved with a stylized human figure with no mouth. On the bottom, shifted slightly to the right is an indentation with eight radiating lines forming a solar representation - a unique discovery for this type of stele. There were also some Chalcolithic objects for adornment and an abundance of Hallstatt pottery shards which could have been native or imported, the name of the city dates back to around the 6th century BC. The first citation of Avignon was made by Artemidorus of Ephesus, although his book, The Journey, is lost it is known from the abstract by Marcian of Heraclea and The Ethnics, a dictionary of names of cities by Stephanus of Byzantium based on that book. He said, The City of Massalia, near the Rhone and this name has two interpretations, city of violent wind or, more likely, lord of the river. Other sources trace its origin to the Gallic mignon and the Celtic definitive article, Avignon was a simple Greek Emporium founded by Phocaeans from Marseille around 539 BC. It was in the 4th century BC that the Massaliotes began to sign treaties of alliance with some cities in the Rhone valley including Avignon and Cavaillon, a century later Avignon was part of the region of Massaliotes or country of Massalia. Fortified on its rock, the city later became and long remained the capital of the Cavares, with the arrival of the Roman legions in 120 BC. the Cavares, allies with the Massaliotes, became Roman
Avignon
–
Palace of the Popes
Avignon
–
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Avignon
–
A small anthropomorphic stele discovered during an archaeological excavation on the Rocher des Doms
Avignon
–
Greek stele from Avignon, at the Lapidary Museum.
8.
Gibraltar
–
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 and shares its border with Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the landmark of the region. At its foot is a populated city area, home to over 30,000 Gibraltarians. An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession on behalf of the Habsburg claim to the Spanish throne, the territory was subsequently ceded to Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Today Gibraltars economy is based largely on tourism, online gambling, financial services, the sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians overwhelmingly rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum, under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the British government. The name Gibraltar is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq, earlier, it was known as Mons Calpe, a name of Phoenician origin and one of the Pillars of Hercules. The pronunciation of the name in modern Spanish is, evidence of Neanderthal habitation in Gibraltar between 28,000 and 24,000 BP has been discovered at Gorhams Cave, making Gibraltar possibly the last known holdout of the Neanderthals. Within recorded history, the first inhabitants were the Phoenicians, around 950 BC, subsequently, Gibraltar became known as one of the Pillars of Hercules, after the Greek legend of the creation of the Strait of Gibraltar by Heracles. The Carthaginians and Romans also established semi-permanent settlements, after the collapse of the Roman Empire, Gibraltar came briefly under the control of the Vandals. The area later formed part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania from 414 AD until the Islamic conquest of Iberia in 711 AD, in 1160, the Almohad Sultan Abd al-Mumin ordered that a permanent settlement, including a castle, be built. It received the name of Medinat al-Fath, on completion of the works in the town, the Sultan crossed the Strait to look at the works and stayed in Gibraltar for two months. The Tower of Homage of the Moorish Castle remains standing today, from 1274 onwards, the town was fought over and captured by the Nasrids of Granada, the Marinids of Morocco and the kings of Castile. In 1462, Gibraltar was finally captured by Juan Alonso de Guzmán, after the conquest, King Henry IV of Castile assumed the additional title of King of Gibraltar, establishing it as part of the comarca of the Campo Llano de Gibraltar. In 1501, Gibraltar passed back to the Spanish Crown, the occupation of the town by Alliance forces caused the exodus of the population to the surrounding area of the Campo de Gibraltar. As the Alliances campaign faltered, the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht was negotiated and ceded control of Gibraltar to Britain to secure Britains withdrawal from the war. Unsuccessful attempts by Spanish monarchs to regain Gibraltar were made with the siege of 1727 and again with the Great Siege of Gibraltar, during the American War of Independence
Gibraltar
–
View of the northern face of the
Moorish Castle 's Tower of Homage. Built in the 14th century, it is the only
Marinid construction outside Africa.
Gibraltar
–
Flag
Gibraltar
–
The last of Gibraltar, by
Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau.
Gibraltar
–
John Mackintosh Square entrance to the
Gibraltar Parliament.
9.
Taffeta
–
Taffeta is a crisp, smooth, plain woven fabric made from silk or cuprammonium rayons. The word is Persian in origin and means twisted woven and it is considered to be a high-end fabric, suitable for use in ball gowns, wedding dresses, and in interior decoration for curtains or wallcoverings. It is also used in the manufacture of corsets and corsetry. An extremely thin, crisp type of taffeta is called paper taffeta, there are two distinct types of silk taffeta, yarn-dyed and piece-dyed. Piece-dyed taffeta is often used in linings and is quite soft, yarn-dyed taffeta is much stiffer and is often used in evening dresses. Shot silk taffeta was one of the most sought-after forms of Byzantine silk, modern taffeta was first woven in Italy and France and until the 1950s in Japan. Warp-printed taffeta or chiné, mainly made in France from the century onwards, is sometimes called pompadour taffeta after Madame de Pompadour. Today most raw silk taffeta is produced in India and Pakistan, there, even in the modern period, handlooms were long widely used, but since the 1990s it has been produced on mechanical looms in the Bangalore area. From the 1970s until the 1990s, the Jiangsu province of China produced fine silk taffetas, these were less flexible than those from Indian mills, however, which continue to dominate production. Other countries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East also produce silk taffeta, the most deluxe taffetas, however, are still woven in France, Italy, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Taffeta has seen use for other than clothing fabric, including the following, On November 4,1782, taffeta was used by Joseph Montgolfier of France to construct a small. This was the beginning of many experiments using taffeta balloons by the Montgolfier brothers, synthetic fibre forms of taffeta have been used to simulate the structure of blood vessels. Quote from the movie Young Frankenstein when Elizabeth and Frederick were saying goodbye to each other at the station, Elizabeth, Taffeta. New York, Fairchild Publishing Company,1915, p.184 Google Books edition of Dictionary of Textiles
Taffeta
–
Detail of a c.1880 dress made of silk taffeta.
Taffeta
–
Weaves
Taffeta
10.
Hessian (cloth)
–
Gunny cloth is similar in texture and construction. The second element, ~lap, means piece of cloth, hessian was first exported from India in the early 19th century. It was traditionally used as backing for linoleum, rugs and carpet, in Jamaica and certain parts of the Caribbean many enslaved Africans who used to work on the plantations were not often given pleasant materials with which to make clothes. Some had access to cotton which was spun, woven, cut, enslaved Africans used their resourcefulness to recycle discarded sacking and fashion them into garments that although fairly uncomfortable by all accounts provided protection from the heat and dust. For the rest of the population, it is used to make bags for carrying loads of coffee, hessian is often used to make sacks and bags to ship goods such as coffee beans and rooibos tea, these contrivances are known as gunny sacks. It is breathable and thus resists condensation and associated spoilage of contents, hessian is also commonly used to make effective sandbags, hessian sacks filled with sand are often used for flood mitigation in temporary embankments against floodwaters or field fortifications. Hessian is also used for the transportation of unprocessed dry tobacco. This material is used for much the same reasons as it would be used for coffee, hessian sacks in the tobacco industry hold up to 200 kg of tobacco, and due to hessians toughness, a hessian sack can have a useful life of up to three years. Hessian is used to wrap the exposed roots of trees and shrubs when transplanting, due to its coarse texture, it is not commonly used in modern apparel. Owing to its durability, open weave, naturally non-shiny refraction and fuzzy texture and it was also a popular material for camouflage scrim on combat helmets during World War II. Until the advent of the plastic leafy multi-color net system following the Vietnam War, burlap scrim was also woven onto shrimp, during the Great Depression in the U. S. cloth became relatively scarce in the largely agrarian parts of the country. Many farmers used burlap cloth to sew their own clothes, however, sensitive skins prolonged exposure to the material can cause rashes. Hessian has been used by artists as an alternative to canvas as a painting or working surface. In horror fiction, it is used as a mask. Hessian bags are deployed as sandbags as a temporary response to flooding. Because of their material, they can either be reused or can be composted after use, agencies like the State Emergency Service in Australia and Technisches Hilfswerk in Germany often deploy sandbags, and these are found in the majority of their emergency response vehicles. Hessian fabric is used as smoker fuel in beehive-tending because of its generous smoke generation
Hessian (cloth)
–
Rug making on burlap.
Hessian (cloth)
11.
Alum
–
Alum /ˈælum/ is both a specific chemical compound and a class of chemical compounds. The specific compound is the potassium aluminium sulfate with the formula KAl2·12H 2O. When the trivalent ion is aluminium, the alum is named after the monovalent ion, alums are useful for a range of industrial processes. They are soluble in water, have a taste, react acid to litmus. In alums each metal ion is surrounded by six water molecules, when heated, they liquefy, and if the heating is continued, the water of crystallization is driven off, the salt froths and swells, and at last an amorphous powder remains. The most important members - potassium, sodium, and ammonium - are produced industrially, typical recipes involve combining alumina, sulfuric acid, and the sulfate second cation, potassium, sodium, or ammonium. Potassium alum has been used at least since Roman times for purification of drinking water, Alum solution has the property of dissolving steels while not affecting aluminium or base metals, and can be used to recover workpieces made in these metals with broken toolbits lodged inside them. Alum in block form can be used as a blood coagulant, styptic pencils containing aluminium sulfate or potassium aluminium sulfate are used as astringents to prevent bleeding from small shaving cuts. Alum may be used in depilatory waxes used for the removal of hair or applied to freshly waxed skin as a soothing agent. In the 1950s, men sporting crewcut or flattop hairstyles sometimes applied alum to their hair as an alternative to pomade, when the hair dried, it would stay up all day. Alums antiperspirant and antibacterial properties contribute to its use as an underarm deodorant. It has been used for purpose in Europe, Mexico, Thailand, throughout Asia. Today, potassium or ammonium alum is sold commercially for this purpose as a deodorant crystal, Alum powder, found in the spice section of many grocery stores, may be used in pickling recipes as a preservative to maintain fruit and vegetable crispness. Alum is used as the component of some commercial baking powders. Alum was used by bakers in England during the 1800s to make bread whiter and this was thought by some, without adequate scientific grounds, to cause rickets. The Sale of Food and Drugs Act 1875 prevented this and other adulterations, solutions containing alum may be used to treat cloth, wood, and paper materials to increase their resistance to fire. Alum is used to water by neutralizing the electrical double layer surrounding very fine suspended particles. After flocculation, the particles will be enough to settle
Alum
–
Bulk alum.
Alum
–
An Alum Block sold as an
astringent in pharmacies in
India
Alum
–
Crystal of potassium alum
Alum
–
Alum crystal with small amount of
chrome alum to give a slight
violet color
12.
Zodiac
–
The zodiac is an area of the sky centered upon the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The paths of the Moon and visible planets also remain close to the ecliptic, within the belt of the zodiac, in western astrology and astronomy, the zodiac is divided into twelve signs, each sign occupying 30° of celestial longitude. Because the signs are regular, they do not correspond exactly to the boundaries of the twelve constellations after which they are named, the English word zodiac derives from zōdiacus, the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek zōidiakòs kýklos, meaning circle of little animals. Zōidion is the diminutive of zōion, the name reflects the prominence of animals among the twelve signs. The construction of the zodiac is described in Ptolemys vast 2nd century AD work, the term zodiac may also refer to the region of the celestial sphere encompassing the paths of the planets corresponding to the band of about eight arc degrees above and below the ecliptic. The zodiac of a planet is the band that contains the path of that particular body, e. g. the zodiac of the Moon is the band of five degrees above. By extension, the zodiac of the comets may refer to the band encompassing most short-period comets, the division of the ecliptic into the zodiacal signs originates in Babylonian astronomy during the first half of the 1st millennium BC. The zodiac draws on stars in earlier Babylonian star catalogues, such as the MUL. APIN catalogue, around the end of the 5th century BC, Babylonian astronomers divided the ecliptic into twelve equal signs, by analogy to twelve schematic months of thirty days each. Each sign contained thirty degrees of longitude, thus creating the first known celestial coordinate system. Because the division was made into equal arcs, 30° each, in Babylonian astronomical diaries, a planet position was generally given with respect to a zodiacal sign alone, less often in specific degrees within a sign. When the degrees of longitude were given, they were expressed with reference to the 30° of the zodiacal sign, in astronomical ephemerides, the positions of significant astronomical phenomena were computed in sexagesimal fractions of a degree. For daily ephemerides, the positions of a planet were not as important as the astrologically significant dates when the planet crossed from one zodiacal sign to the next. The Babylonian star catalogs entered Greek astronomy in the 4th century BC, Babylonia or Chaldea in the Hellenistic world came to be so identified with astrology that Chaldean wisdom became among Greeks and Romans the synonym of divination through the planets and stars. Hellenistic astrology derived in part from Babylonian and Egyptian astrology, horoscopic astrology first appeared in Ptolemaic Egypt. The Dendera zodiac, a dating to ca.50 BC, is the first known depiction of the classical zodiac of twelve signs. The earliest extant Greek text using the Babylonian division of the zodiac into 12 signs of 30 equal degrees each is the Anaphoricus of Hypsicles of Alexandria. Particularly important in the development of Western horoscopic astrology was the astrologer and astronomer Ptolemy, whose work Tetrabiblos laid the basis of the Western astrological tradition. Under the Greeks, and Ptolemy in particular, the planets, Houses, Ptolemy lived in the 2nd century AD, three centuries after the discovery of the precession of the equinoxes by Hipparchus around 130 BC
Zodiac
–
The Earth in its orbit around the
Sun causes the Sun to appear on the celestial sphere moving over the
ecliptic (red), which is tilted with respect to the equator (blue-white).
Zodiac
–
Wheel of the zodiac: This 6th century mosaic pavement in a synagogue incorporates Greek-Byzantine elements,
Beit Alpha,
Israel.
Zodiac
–
The 1st century BC
Dendera zodiac (19th-century engraving)
Zodiac
–
Angers Cathedral South Rose Window of Christ (centre) with elders (bottom half) and Zodiac (top half). Mediaeval stained glass by Andre Robin after the fire of 1451
13.
Folie Titon
–
Of Scottish origin, Évrard Titon du Tillet was the son of Maximilien Titon de Villegenon, seigneur dOgnon, a secretary of the King and general manager of the armories under Louis XIV. He studied law before his father obliged him to embrace a military career and he was already a captain of dragoons at the age of twenty, when unfortunately for him, the long-awaited peace prevented him from advancing his career. He then purchased the sinecure of maître dhôtel to the duchess of Burgundy. Alas, in 1712, the Dauphine died of measles, and he was, however, soon named a provincial commissioner of war. He worked with the sculptor Louis Garnier, a pupil of François Girardon, a maquette in bronze for the project was completed in 1718. He also ordered a drawing by the painter Nicolas de Poilly, the monument was to represent Mount Parnassus, ornamented with laurels and myrtle, with Louis XIV in the figure of Apollo at the summit, playing the lyre. On a slightly lower level the three Graces were represented with the features of Mmes des Houlières, de La Suze and de Scudéry. The expected expenditure, estimated at two million livres, forced him to terminate a project that had something to it of the character of a folly. In 1732, he published an edition and increased the notes on the lives of the poets. Two further supplements were published in 1743 and 1755, a confirmed bachelor, Titon du Tillet was a cordial man always surrounded by many friends, his interesting conversation provided numerous anecdotes. A passionate lover of arts and letters, Titon du Tillet supported ballets, Titon du Tillet died of a cold the day after Christmas,1762, in Paris, aged 85
Folie Titon
–
Titon du Tillet by
Nicolas de Largillière.
Folie Titon
–
Ascent of the
Montgolfière from the garden of the Folie Titon, Montreuil: contemporary engraving
14.
Palace of Versailles
–
The Palace of Versailles, Château de Versailles, or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. Versailles is therefore not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime. First built by Louis XIII in 1623, as a lodge of brick and stone. The first phase of the expansion was designed and supervised by the architect Louis Le Vau and it culminated in the addition of three new wings of stone, which surrounded Louis XIIIs original building on the north, south, and west. After Le Vaus death in 1670, the work was taken over and completed by his assistant, charles Le Brun designed and supervised the elaborate interior decoration, and André Le Nôtre landscaped the extensive Gardens of Versailles. Le Brun and Le Nôtre collaborated on the fountains, and Le Brun supervised the design. During the second phase of expansion, two enormous wings north and south of the wings flanking the Cour Royale were added by the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart. He also replaced Le Vaus large terrace, facing the garden on the west, with became the most famous room of the palace. The Royal Chapel of Versailles, located at the end of the north wing, was begun by Mansart in 1688. One of the most baffling aspects to the study of Versailles is the cost – how much Louis XIV, owing to the nature of the construction of Versailles and the evolution of the role of the palace, construction costs were essentially a private matter. Initially, Versailles was planned to be a residence for Louis XIV and was referred to as the kings house. Once Louis XIV embarked on his campaigns, expenses for Versailles became more of a matter for public record. To counter the costs of Versailles during the years of Louis XIVs personal reign. Accordingly, all materials that went into the construction and decoration of Versailles were manufactured in France, even the mirrors used in the decoration of the Hall of Mirrors were made in France. While Venice in the 17th century had the monopoly on the manufacture of mirrors, to meet the demands for decorating and furnishing Versailles, Colbert nationalised the tapestry factory owned by the Gobelin family, to become the Manufacture royale des Gobelins. In 1667, the name of the enterprise was changed to the Manufacture royale des Meubles de la Couronne, the Comptes meticulously list the expenditures on the silver furniture – disbursements to artists, final payments, delivery – as well as descriptions and weight of items purchased. Entries for 1681 and 1682 concerning the silver used in the salon de Mercure serve as an example. 5 In anticipation, For the silver balustrade for the bedroom,90,000 livres II
Palace of Versailles
–
Aerial view of the Palace from above the
Gardens of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
–
Bust of Louis XIV by
Bernini in the
Diana Salon of the Palace of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
–
View of the Palace from the garden
Palace of Versailles
–
Marble Court
15.
Louis XVI of France
–
Louis XVI, born Louis-Auguste, was the last King of France and Navarre before the French Revolution, during which he was also known as Louis Capet. In 1765, at the death of his father, Louis, Dauphin of France, son and heir apparent of Louis XV of France, Louis XVI was guillotined on 21 January 1793. The first part of his reign was marked by attempts to reform France in accordance with Enlightenment ideas and these included efforts to abolish serfdom, remove the taille, and increase tolerance toward non-Catholics. The French nobility reacted to the reforms with hostility. Louis implemented deregulation of the market, advocated by his liberal minister Turgot. In periods of bad harvests, it would lead to food scarcity which would prompt the masses to revolt, from 1776, Louis XVI actively supported the North American colonists, who were seeking their independence from Great Britain, which was realized in the 1783 Treaty of Paris. The ensuing debt and financial crisis contributed to the unpopularity of the Ancien Régime and this led to the convening of the Estates-General of 1789. In 1789, the storming of the Bastille during riots in Paris marked the beginning of the French Revolution. Louiss indecisiveness and conservatism led some elements of the people of France to view him as a symbol of the tyranny of the Ancien Régime. The credibility of the king was deeply undermined, and the abolition of the monarchy, Louis XVI was the only King of France ever to be executed, and his death brought an end to more than a thousand years of continuous French monarchy. Louis-Auguste de France, who was given the title Duc de Berry at birth, was born in the Palace of Versailles. Out of seven children, he was the son of Louis, the Dauphin of France. His mother was Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, the daughter of Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, Prince-Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. A strong and healthy boy, but very shy, Louis-Auguste excelled in his studies and had a taste for Latin, history, geography, and astronomy. He enjoyed physical activities such as hunting with his grandfather, and rough-playing with his brothers, Louis-Stanislas, comte de Provence. From an early age, Louis-Auguste had been encouraged in another of his hobbies, locksmithing, upon the death of his father, who died of tuberculosis on 20 December 1765, the eleven-year-old Louis-Auguste became the new Dauphin. His mother never recovered from the loss of her husband, and died on 13 March 1767, throughout his education, Louis-Auguste received a mixture of studies particular to religion, morality, and humanities. His instructors may have also had a hand in shaping Louis-Auguste into the indecisive king that he became
Louis XVI of France
–
King Louis XVI by
Antoine-François Callet
Louis XVI of France
–
Marie Antoinette Queen of France with her three eldest children,
Marie-Thérèse,
Louis-Charles and
Louis-Joseph. By
Marie Louise Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun
Louis XVI of France
–
Louis XVI at the age of 20
Louis XVI of France
–
Louis-Charles, the dauphin of France and future Louis XVII. By
Marie Louise Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun.
16.
Marie Antoinette
–
Marie Antoinette (/ˈmæriˌæntwəˈnɛt/, /ˌɑ̃ːntwə-/, /ˌɑ̃ːtwə-/, US /məˈriː-/, French, born Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna, was the last Queen of France and Navarre before the French Revolution. She was born an Archduchess of Austria, and was the fifteenth and second youngest child of Empress Maria Theresa and Francis I, in April 1770, upon her marriage to Louis-Auguste, heir apparent to the French throne, she became Dauphine of France. After eight years of marriage, Marie Antoinette gave birth to a daughter, Marie-Thérèse Charlotte, the Diamond Necklace affair damaged her reputation further. On 10 August 1792, the attack on the Tuileries forced the family to take refuge at the Assembly. On 21 September 1792, the monarchy was abolished, after a two-day trial begun on 14 October 1793, Marie Antoinette was convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason, and executed by guillotine on Place de la Révolution on 16 October 1793. Maria Antonia was born on 2 November 1755, at the Hofburg Palace and she was the youngest daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, ruler of the Habsburg Empire, and her husband Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. Her godparents were Joseph I and Mariana Victoria, King and Queen of Portugal, Archduke Joseph, shortly after her birth, she was placed under the care of the Governess of the Imperial children, Countess von Brandeis. Maria Antonia was raised with her older sister Maria Carolina. As to her relationship with her mother, it was difficult, despite the private tutoring she received, results of her schooling were less than satisfactory. At the age of ten she could not write correctly in German or in any language used at court, such as French. Under the teaching of Christoph Willibald Gluck, Maria Antonia developed into a good musician and she learned to play the harp, the harpsichord and the flute. During the familys gatherings in the evenings, she would sing and she also excelled at dancing, had an exquisite poise, and loved dolls. Following the Seven Years War and the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756, Empress Maria Theresa decided to end hostilities with her longtime enemy, on 14 May she met her husband at the edge of the forest of Compiègne. Upon her arrival in France, she adopted the French version of her name, a further ceremonial wedding took place on 16 May 1770 in the Palace of Versailles and, after the festivities, the day ended with the ritual bedding. The lack of consummation of the marriage plagued the reputation of both Louis-Auguste and Marie Antoinette for the seven years. The initial reaction to the marriage between Marie Antoinette and Louis-Auguste was mixed, on the one hand, the Dauphine was beautiful, personable and well-liked by the common people. Her first official appearance in Paris on 8 June 1773 was a resounding success, on the other hand, those opposed to the alliance with Austria, and others, for personal reasons, had a difficult relationship with Marie Antoinette. Madame du Barry, for example, was Louis XVs mistress and had political influence over him
Marie Antoinette
–
Marie Antoinette with the Rose Portrait by
Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1783.
Marie Antoinette
–
Archduchesses Maria Carolina (in blue dress) and Maria Antonia (in pink dress). Watercolor on ivory by Antonio Pencini, 1764. Vienna, Hofburg.
Marie Antoinette
–
Maria Antonia aged 12 by
Martin van Meytens, c. 1767-1768.
17.
Bois de Boulogne
–
The Bois de Boulogne is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. It was created between 1852 and 1858 during the reign of the Emperor Louis Napoleon and it is the second-largest park in Paris, slightly smaller than the Bois de Vincennes on the eastern side of the city. It covers an area of 845 hectares, which is two and a half times the area of Central Park in New York and slightly less than that of Richmond Park in London. The Bois de Boulogne is a remnant of the ancient oak forest of Rouvray, which included the forests of Montmorency, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Chaville. Dagobert, the King of the Franks, hunted bears, deer and his grandson, Childeric II, gave the forest to the monks of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, who founded several monastic communities there. Philip Augustus bought back the part of the forest from the monks to create a royal hunting reserve. In 1256, Isabelle de France, sister of Saint-Louis, founded the Abbey of Longchamp at the site of the present hippodrome. The Bois received its present name from a chapel, Notre Dame de Boulogne la Petite, in 1308, Philip made a pilgrimage to Boulogne-sur-Mer, on the French coast, to see a statue of the Virgin Mary which was reputed to inspire miracles. He decided to build a church with a copy of the statue in a village in the forest not far from Paris, the chapel was built after Philips death between 1319 and 1330, in what is now Boulogne-Billancourt. During the Hundred Years War, the forest became a sanctuary for robbers, in 1416-17, the soldiers of John the Fearless, the Duke of Burgundy, burned part of the forest in their successful campaign to capture Paris. Under Louis XI, the trees were replanted, and two roads were opened through the forest, in 1526, King Francis I of France began a royal residence, the Château de Madrid, in the forest in what is now Neuilly and used it for hunting and festivities. It took its name from a palace in Madrid, where Francis had been held prisoner for several months. The Chateau was rarely used by monarchs, fell into ruins in the 18th century. Despite its royal status, the forest remained dangerous for travelers, during the reigns of Henry II and Henry III, the forest was enclosed within a wall with eight gates. Henry IV planted 15,000 mulberry trees, with the hope of beginning a local silk industry, when Henry annulled his marriage to Marguerite de Valois, she went to live in the Château de la Muette, on the edge of the forest. In the early 18th century, wealthy and important women often retired to the convent of the Abbey of Longchamp, a famous opera singer of the period, Madmoiselle Le Maure, retired there in 1727 but continued to give recitals inside the Abbey, even during Holy Week. These concerts drew large crowds and irritated the Archibishop of Paris, Louis XVI and his family used the forest as a hunting ground and pleasure garden. In 1777, the Comte dArtois, Louis XVIs brother, built a miniature palace
Bois de Boulogne
–
The lower lake in the Bois de Boulogne
Bois de Boulogne
–
The Grand Cascade connects the two lakes in the Bois.
Bois de Boulogne
–
The Kiosk of the Emperor on the lower lake.
Bois de Boulogne
–
Winter scene in the Pré-Catelan.
18.
Paris
–
Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
Paris
–
In the 1860s Paris streets and monuments were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, making it literally "The City of Light."
Paris
Paris
–
Gold coins minted by the Parisii (1st century BC)
Paris
–
The
Palais de la Cité and
Sainte-Chapelle, viewed from the Left Bank, from the
Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (month of June) (1410)
19.
London Science Museum
–
The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and today is one of the major tourist attractions. Like other publicly funded museums in the United Kingdom, the Science Museum does not charge visitors for admission. Temporary exhibitions, however, may incur an admission fee and it is part of the Science Museum Group, having merged with the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester in 2012. It included a collection of machinery which became the Museum of Patents in 1858, and this collection contained many of the most famous exhibits of what is now the Science Museum. In 1883, the contents of the Patent Office Museum were transferred to the South Kensington Museum, in 1885, the Science Collections were renamed the Science Museum and in 1893 a separate director was appointed. The Art Collections were renamed the Art Museum, which became the Victoria. When Queen Victoria laid the stone for the new building for the Art Museum, she stipulated that the museum be renamed after herself. On 26 June 1909 the Science Museum, as an independent entity, the Science Museums present quarters, designed by Sir Richard Allison, were opened to the public in stages over the period 1919–28. This building was known as the East Block, construction of which began in 1913, as the name suggests it was intended to be the first building of a much larger project, which was never realized. It also contains hundreds of interactive exhibits, a recent addition is the IMAX 3D Cinema showing science and nature documentaries, most of them in 3-D, and the Wellcome Wing which focuses on digital technology. Entrance has been free since 1 December 2001, the museum houses some of the many objects collected by Henry Wellcome around a medical theme. The fourth floor exhibit is called Glimpses of Medical History, with reconstructions, the fifth floor gallery is called Science and the Art of Medicine, with exhibits of medical instruments and practices from ancient days and from many countries. The collection is strong in clinical medicine, biosciences and public health, the museum is a member of the London Museums of Health & Medicine. The Science Museum has a library, and until the 1960s was Britains National Library for Science, Medicine. It holds runs of periodicals, early books and manuscripts, and is used by scholars worldwide and it was, for a number of years, run in conjunction with the Library of Imperial College, but in 2007 the Library was divided over two sites. The Imperial College library catalogue search system now informs searchers that volumes formerly held there are Available at Science Museum Library Swindon Currently unavailable, a new Research Centre with library facilities is promised for late 2015 but is unlikely to have book stacks nearby. The Science Museums medical collections have a scope and coverage
London Science Museum
–
The Science Museum
London Science Museum
–
Strike action at the Science Museum in June 2008.
London Science Museum
–
Replica of the
DNA model built by
Crick and
Watson in 1953.
London Science Museum
–
Old Bess, the oldest surviving steam engine, made by
James Watt, in 1777.
20.
Brazil
–
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. As the worlds fifth-largest country by area and population, it is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language. Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to wildlife, a variety of ecological systems. This unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries, Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing in 1500 of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, who claimed the area for the Portuguese Empire. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, in 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a state governed under a constitutional monarchy. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, the country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup détat. An authoritarian military junta came to power in 1964 and ruled until 1985, Brazils current constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. The federation is composed of the union of the Federal District, the 26 states, Brazils economy is the worlds ninth-largest by nominal GDP and seventh-largest by GDP as of 2015. A member of the BRICS group, Brazil until 2010 had one of the worlds fastest growing economies, with its economic reforms giving the country new international recognition. Brazils national development bank plays an important role for the economic growth. Brazil is a member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, Unasul, Mercosul, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States, CPLP. Brazil is a power in Latin America and a middle power in international affairs. One of the worlds major breadbaskets, Brazil has been the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years and it is likely that the word Brazil comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood, a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast. In Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil commonly given the etymology red like an ember, formed from Latin brasa and the suffix -il. As brazilwood produces a red dye, it was highly valued by the European cloth industry and was the earliest commercially exploited product from Brazil. The popular appellation eclipsed and eventually supplanted the official Portuguese name, early sailors sometimes also called it the Land of Parrots. In the Guarani language, a language of Paraguay, Brazil is called Pindorama
Brazil
–
Megaliths in the
Solstice Archaeological Park, in
Amapá, erected between 500 and 2000 years ago, probably to carry out
astronomical observations.
Brazil
–
Flag
Brazil
–
Representation of the landing of
Pedro Álvares Cabral in
Porto Seguro, 1500.
Brazil
–
Painting showing the arrest of
Tiradentes; he was sentenced to death for his involvement in the best known
movement for independence in Colonial Brazil.
21.
Portugal
–
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, to the west and south it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east and north by Spain. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 kilometres long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union, the republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The territory of modern Portugal has been settled, invaded. The Pre-Celts, Celts, Carthaginians and the Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigothic, in 711 the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Moors, making Portugal part of Muslim Al Andalus. Portugal was born as result of the Christian Reconquista, and in 1139, Afonso Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the worlds major economic, political and military powers. Portugal monopolized the trade during this time, and the Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in Asia. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories, Portugal has left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the globe and a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today. Portugal is a country with a high-income advanced economy and a high living standard. It is the 5th most peaceful country in the world, maintaining a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government and it has the 18th highest Social Progress in the world, putting it ahead of other Western European countries like France, Spain and Italy. Portugal is a pioneer when it comes to drug decriminalization, as the nation decriminalized the possession of all drugs for use in 2001. The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in South Western Europe, the name of Portugal derives from the joined Romano-Celtic name Portus Cale. Other influences include some 5th-century vestiges of Alan settlements, which were found in Alenquer, Coimbra, the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Neanderthals and then by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less region of the northern Iberian peninsula. These were subsistence societies that, although they did not establish prosperous settlements, neolithic Portugal experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing. Chief among these tribes were the Calaicians or Gallaeci of Northern Portugal, the Lusitanians of central Portugal, the Celtici of Alentejo, a few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements were also founded in the Algarve region by Phoenicians-Carthaginians. Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC, during the last days of Julius Caesar, almost the entire peninsula had been annexed to the Roman Republic. The Carthaginians, Romes adversary in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies and it suffered a severe setback in 150 BC, when a rebellion began in the north
Portugal
–
Citânia de Briteiros, in the
Minho Province, is the best preserved
Iron Age and
Castro culture site in Portugal.
Portugal
–
Flag
Portugal
–
The
Roman Temple of Évora, in the
Alentejo, is a symbol of
Lusitania, Roman rule in Portugal.
Portugal
–
Monument in Porto to
Vimara Peres, first ruler of the County of Portugal
22.
Jacques de Flesselles
–
Jacques de Flesselles was a French official and one of the early victims of the French Revolution. Jacques de Flesselles was born in Paris in 1730 of a family of middle-class origins and his father, also Jacques de Flesselles, was a financial official who had served as a royal adviser. The younger Jacques de Flesselles followed a career path. Following appointments as Intendant of Moulins in 1762 and of Rennes in 1765, motivated by a personal interest in scientific development, he sponsored a Montgolfier balloon in 1784, named the Flesselles in his honour. On 21 April 1789, de Flesselles became the last provost of the merchants of Paris, three months later he faced a chaotic situation as widespread disturbances broke out and the withdrawal of royal troops left a vacuum of authority in central Paris. On 13 July 1789, de Flesselles received demands for weapons to equip a citizens militia being organized to restore order, de Flesselles was shot dead by an unknown hand on the steps of the City Hall, while trying to justify his actions, and his body decapitated. De Flesselles was one of representatives of the ancien régime killed that day
Jacques de Flesselles
–
Portrait of Jacques de Flesselles by
Donat Nonnotte (Musée Carnavalet)
Jacques de Flesselles
–
Engraving, c.1789: French soldiers or militia hoisting the heads of Flesselles and the
marquis de Launay on pikes. The caption reads "Thus we avenge the traitors".
.jpg)
