1.
William Kidd
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William Kidd, also Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd was a Scottish sailor who was tried and executed for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. Some modern historians deem his piratical reputation unjust, legends and fiction surround this character, his actual career, however, was punctuated by just a handful of skirmishes. Kidd was born in Dundee, Scotland, ca.22 January 1654, his father, Captain John Kyd, Kidd gave Greenock as his place of birth and his age as 41 in testimony under oath at the High Court of the Admiralty in October 1694 or 1695. A local society supported the Kyd family financially after the death of the father, others still hold the contrary view. Kidd later settled in the newly anglicized New York City, where he befriended many prominent colonial citizens, some published information suggests that he was a seamans apprentice on a pirate ship during this time, before partaking in his more famous seagoing exploits. There they renamed the ship Blessed William, and Kidd became captain either as a result of election by the crew, or by appointment of Christopher Codrington. The governor did not pay the sailors for their defensive services, Kidd and his men attacked the French island of Marie-Galante, destroying its only town and looting the area, and gathering for themselves something around 2,000 pounds Sterling. Later, during the War of the Grand Alliance, on commissions from the provinces of New York and Massachusetts Bay, in New York City, Kidd was active in the building of Trinity Church, New York. It would have viewed as disloyalty to the crown to turn down this request, carrying much social stigma. The request preceded the voyage which established Kidds reputation as a pirate, Kidd was presented with a letter of marque, signed personally by King William III of England. This letter reserved 10% of the loot for the Crown, Kidd and his acquaintance Colonel Robert Livingston orchestrated the whole plan and paid for the rest. Kidd had to sell his ship Antigua to raise funds, the new ship Adventure Galley was well suited to the task of catching pirates, weighing over 284 tons burthen and equipped with 34 cannon, oars, and 150 men. The oars were a key advantage, as they enabled Adventure Galley to manoeuvre in a battle when the winds had calmed, Kidd took pride in personally selecting the crew, choosing only those whom he deemed to be the best and most loyal officers. As the Adventure Galley sailed down the Thames, Kidd unaccountably failed to salute a Navy yacht at Greenwich, the Navy yacht then fired a shot to make him show respect, and Kidd’s crew responded with an astounding display of impudence — by turning and slapping their backsides in. Because of Kidds refusal to salute, the Navy vessels captain retaliated by pressing much of Kidds crew into naval service, thus short-handed, Kidd sailed for New York City, capturing a French vessel en route. To make up for the lack of officers, Kidd picked up replacement crew in New York, among Kidds officers was his quartermaster Hendrick van der Heul. The quartermaster was considered second in command to the captain in pirate culture of this era and it is not clear, however, if van der Heul exercised this degree of responsibility, because Kidd was nominally a privateer. Van der Heul is also noteworthy because he may have been African or of African descent, a contemporary source describes him as a small black Man
2.
Latin America
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Latin America is a group of countries and dependencies in the Americas where Romance languages are predominant. It is therefore broader than the terms Ibero-America or Hispanic America—though it usually excludes French Canada and it has an area of approximately 19,197,000 km2, almost 13% of the Earths land surface area. As of 2015, its population was estimated at more than 626 million and in 2014, Latin America had a combined nominal GDP of 5,573,397 million USD and a GDP PPP of 7,531,585 million USD. The term Latin America was first used in 1861 in La revue des races Latines, a further investigation of the concept of Latin America is by Michel Gobat in the American Historical Review. The term was first used in Paris in an 1856 conference by the Chilean politician Francisco Bilbao and this term was also used in 1861 by French scholars in La revue des races Latines, a magazine dedicated to the Pan-Latinism movement. Latin America is, therefore, defined as all parts of the Americas that were once part of the Spanish. By this definition, Latin America is coterminous with Ibero-America and this definition emphasizes a similar socioeconomic history of the region, which was characterized by formal or informal colonialism, rather than cultural aspects. As such, some sources avoid this oversimplification by using the phrase Latin America, the distinction between Latin America and Anglo-America is a convention based on the predominant languages in the Americas by which Romance-language and English-speaking cultures are distinguished. Latin America can be subdivided into several subregions based on geography, politics, demographics and it may be subdivided on linguistic grounds into Hispanic America, Portuguese America and French America. *, Not a sovereign state The concept of Latin America has been criticized by a number of intellectuals, the earliest known settlement was identified at Monte Verde, near Puerto Montt in Southern Chile. Its occupation dates to some 14,000 years ago and there is disputed evidence of even earlier occupation. Over the course of millennia, people spread to all parts of the continents, by the first millennium CE, South Americas vast rainforests, mountains, plains and coasts were the home of tens of millions of people. Some groups formed more permanent settlements such as the Chibcha and the Tairona groups and these groups are in the circum Caribbean region. The Chibchas of Colombia, the Quechuas and Aymaras of Bolivia, the region was home to many indigenous peoples and advanced civilizations, including the Aztecs, Toltecs, Maya, and Inca. The Aztec empire was ultimately the most powerful civilization known throughout the Americas, with the arrival of the Europeans following Christopher Columbus voyages, the indigenous elites, such as the Incas and Aztecs, lost power to the heavy European invasion. Hernándo Cortés seized the Aztec elites power with the help of local groups who had favored the Aztec elite, epidemics of diseases brought by the Europeans, such as smallpox and measles, wiped out a large portion of the indigenous population. Historians cannot determine the number of natives who died due to European diseases, due to the lack of written records, specific numbers are hard to verify. Many of the survivors were forced to work in European plantations, intermixing between the indigenous peoples and the European colonists was very common, and, by the end of the colonial period, people of mixed ancestry formed majorities in several colonies
3.
Africa
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Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.3 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earths total surface area and 20.4 % of its land area. With 1.2 billion people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the human population. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos and it contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states, nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. Africas population is the youngest amongst all the continents, the age in 2012 was 19.7. Algeria is Africas largest country by area, and Nigeria by population, afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster – with the earliest Homo sapiens found in Ethiopia being dated to circa 200,000 years ago. Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas, it is the continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. Africa hosts a diversity of ethnicities, cultures and languages. In the late 19th century European countries colonized most of Africa, Africa also varies greatly with regard to environments, economics, historical ties and government systems. However, most present states in Africa originate from a process of decolonization in the 20th century, afri was a Latin name used to refer to the inhabitants of Africa, which in its widest sense referred to all lands south of the Mediterranean. This name seems to have referred to a native Libyan tribe. The name is connected with Hebrew or Phoenician ʿafar dust. The same word may be found in the name of the Banu Ifran from Algeria and Tripolitania, under Roman rule, Carthage became the capital of the province of Africa Proconsularis, which also included the coastal part of modern Libya. The Latin suffix -ica can sometimes be used to denote a land, the later Muslim kingdom of Ifriqiya, modern-day Tunisia, also preserved a form of the name. According to the Romans, Africa lay to the west of Egypt, while Asia was used to refer to Anatolia, as Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of Africa expanded with their knowledge. 25,4, whose descendants, he claimed, had invaded Libya, isidore of Seville in Etymologiae XIV.5.2. Suggests Africa comes from the Latin aprica, meaning sunny, massey, in 1881, stated that Africa is derived from the Egyptian af-rui-ka, meaning to turn toward the opening of the Ka. The Ka is the double of every person and the opening of the Ka refers to a womb or birthplace
4.
Presidential sash
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A presidential sash is a cloth sash worn by presidents of many nations in the world. Such sashes are worn by presidents in Africa, Asia, Europe and, most notably, the sash is an important symbol of the continuity of the presidency, and is only worn by the president. Its value as a symbol of the office of the head of state can be compared to that of a crown in monarchies, when the president leaves office, he or she formally presents the sash to his or her successor as part of the official inauguration ceremony. Presidential sashes are usually colorful, and designed to resemble the nations flag. They are usually worn over the shoulder to the left side of the hip. The national coat of arms is usually placed on the sash. A national orders star or chain of office can also be worn, livery collar Presidential Sashes of the World
5.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
6.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
7.
Tricolour (flag)
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A tricolour or tricolor is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty or indeed revolution. One of the most famous tricolour, known as Le Tricolore, is the flag of France adopted in the French Revolution. The green-white-red tricolour remained a symbol of republicanism throughout the 19th century and was adopted as national flag by a number of following the Revolutions of 1848. It was also adopted by the Kingdom of Sardinia and this flag was a symbol of opposition against the German Kleinstaaterei and the desire for German Unification. It was at first illegal in the German Confederation, but was adopted as the flag at the Frankfurt Parliament of 1848/9. The flag of Belgium was introduced in a context, in 1831. The first national flag of the New World inspired by this symbolism was the flag of Mexico, the Pan-Arab colors adopted in Arab nationalism 1916 are a comparable concept, even though they combine four, not three, colours. The Indian independence movement in 1931 also adopted a tricolour in the symbolism of national unification and republican self-rule. In 1999, a red, green, and blue tricolour was proposed as the Flag of Mars, the design symbolizes liberty, and also the terraforming of Mars by humanity from a red planet to a green one, and eventually an Earth-like blue one. List of countries by style of national flags Fin flash on military aircraft, sometimes in a tricolor form Triband
8.
Regalia
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Crown jewels is the traditional English term for the elements in metalwork or jewellery of the royal regalia of a particular former or current monarchy state. Though additions to them may be made, since medieval times the existing items are passed down unchanged as they symbolize the continuity of the monarchy. Many crown jewels are kept in a museum setting except when in use, several countries outside Europe have crown jewels that are either in traditional forms for the country, or a synthesis of European and local forms and styles. Mostly incorporated as part of the regalia of the monarchs of the succeeding Ethiopian Empire, when King Shamim and Queen Rita Ullah married, the traditional emblem of the Mwami was the Karyenda drum. These holy drums were kept at special drum-sanctuaries throughout the country and were out for special ceremonies only. One such place is in Gitega, location of the royal court. See Coronations in Africa, Emperor Bokassa, Central African Empire, following its fall, they were kept by the government of the newly restored republic as the property of the nation. Ancient Egypt The treasures of the Pharaohs can be seen in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Kingdom of Egypt Most of the Crown Jewels of the Mehmet Ali Dynasty are at the Museum at Abdin Palace in Cairo. The principal crowns worn by Ethiopian emperors and empresses regnant are unique in that they are made to be worn over a turban and they usually have the form of a cylinder of gold with a convex dome on the top with usually some form of cross on a pedestal. These gold cylinders/cubes are composed of openwork, filigree, medallions with images of saints in repoussé, some crowns also appear to have a semi-circular platform for additional ornaments attached to the lower front edge of the crown. Each of these seven ornaments was given to the emperor one of his seven anointing on his head, brow and shoulders with seven differently scented holy oils. This cape is apparently identical in form to that worn by the Patriarch, the empress consort also was crowned and given a ring at her husbands coronation, although formerly this took place at a semi-public court ceremony three days after the emperors coronation. Her scarlet imperial mantle has a shape and ornamentation very like that of the emperor, the crowns of empresses consort took a variety of different forms, that of Empress Menen was modelled on the traditional form of a European sovereigns crown. The Crown Jewels used at the coronation of Emperor Haile Selassie are kept at the museum in the National Palace in Addis Ababa. Ashanti Confederacy The symbol of the power and authority of the Asantehene or sovereign ruler of the Ashanti, is the sacred Golden Stool and it is used for the enthronement and symbolizes the very soul of the Ashanti as a people. It is kept alongside other royal artefacts at the Royal Palace in Kumasi, the crown of the Malagasy sovereign was made in France for Ranavalona I. It is a crown made from locally mined gold in c.1890 and is very heavy. The falcon is a symbol of the Malagasy sovereign
9.
Legion of Honour
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The Legion of Honour, full name National Order of the Legion of Honour, is the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits, established 1802 by Napoléon Bonaparte. The order is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction, Chevalier, Officier, Commandeur, Grand Officier and Grand-Croix. The orders motto is Honneur et Patrie and its seat is the Palais de la Légion dHonneur next to the Musée dOrsay, in the French Revolution, all French orders of chivalry were abolished, and replaced with Weapons of Honour. The Légion however did use the organization of old French orders of chivalry, the badges of the legion also bear a resemblance to the Ordre de Saint-Louis, which also used a red ribbon. Napoleon originally created this to ensure political loyalty, the organization would be used as a facade to give political favours, gifts, and concessions. The Légion was loosely patterned after a Roman legion, with legionaries, officers, commanders, regional cohorts, the highest rank was not a grand cross but a Grand Aigle, a rank that wore all the insignia common to grand crosses. The members were paid, the highest of them extremely generously,5,000 francs to an officier,2,000 francs to a commandeur,1,000 francs to an officier,250 francs to a légionnaire. Napoleon famously declared, You call these baubles, well, it is with baubles that men are led, do you think that you would be able to make men fight by reasoning. That is good only for the scholar in his study, the soldier needs glory, distinctions, rewards. This has been quoted as It is with such baubles that men are led. The order was the first modern order of merit, under the monarchy, such orders were often limited to Roman Catholics, and all knights had to be noblemen. The military decorations were the perks of the officers, the Légion, however, was open to men of all ranks and professions—only merit or bravery counted. The new legionnaire had to be sworn in the Légion and it is noteworthy that all previous orders were crosses or shared a clear Christian background, whereas the Légion is a secular institution. The jewel of the Légion has five arms, in a decree issued on the 10 Pluviôse XIII, a grand decoration was instituted. This decoration, a cross on a sash and a silver star with an eagle, symbol of the Napoleonic Empire, became known as the Grand Aigle. After Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French in 1804 and established the Napoleonic nobility in 1808, the title was made hereditary after three generations of grantees. Napoleon had dispensed 15 golden collars of the legion among his family and this collar was abolished in 1815. The Légion dhonneur was prominent and visible in the French Empire, the Emperor always wore it and the fashion of the time allowed for decorations to be worn most of the time
10.
French Foreign Legion
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The French Foreign Legion is a military service branch of the French Army established in 1831, unique because it was created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces. Commanded by French officers, it is open to French citizens. This is a way to strengthen them enough to work as a team, although it is part of the French Military, it is the only unit of the military that does not swear allegiance to France, but to the Foreign Legion itself. Consequently, training is described as not only physically challenging. French citizenship may be applied for three years service. Additionally, any soldier who becomes injured during a battle for France immediately becomes a French citizen under a known as Français par le sang versé. As of 2008, members come from 140 countries, the French Foreign Legion was primarily used to protect and expand the French colonial empire during the 19th century. The Foreign Legion was initially stationed only in Algeria, where it took part in the pacification, in World War I, the Foreign Legion fought in many critical battles on the Western Front. It played a role in World War II than in World War I, though having a part in the Norwegian, Syrian. During the First Indochina War, the Foreign Legion saw its numbers swell, the FFL lost a large number of men in the catastrophic Battle of Dien Bien Phu. Notable operations during this period included the Suez Crisis, the Battle of Algiers and various offensives launched by General Maurice Challe including Operations Oranie, in 1990, the Foreign Legion was sent to the Persian Gulf as a part of Opération Daguet. In the 1990s, the Foreign Legion helped with the evacuation of French citizens and foreigners in Rwanda, Gabon, the Foreign Legion was also deployed in Cambodia, Somalia, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the mid- to late-1990s, the Foreign Legion was deployed in the Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, many other countries have tried to emulate the French Foreign Legion model. There have been composed of foreign recruits in China, Israel, the Netherlands, Rhodesia, Russia. The French Foreign Legion was created by Louis Philippe, the King of the French, recruits included soldiers from the recently disbanded Swiss and German foreign regiments of the Bourbon monarchy. The Royal Ordinance for the establishment of the new regiment specified that the foreigners recruited could only serve outside France, the French expeditionary force that had occupied Algiers in 1830 was in need of reinforcements and the Legion was accordingly transferred by sea in detachments from Toulon to Algeria. The Foreign Legion was initially divided into six national battalions, smaller national groups, such as the ten Englishmen recorded in December 1832, appear to have been placed randomly. In late 1831, the first legionnaires landed in Algeria, the country that would be the Foreign Legions homeland for 130 years, the Foreign Legions first service in Algeria came to an end after only four years, as it was needed elsewhere
11.
Spahi
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Spahis were light cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the indigenous populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, Senegal also maintains a mounted unit with spahi origins as a presidential escort, the Red Guard. The name is the French form of the Ottoman Turkish word sipahi, following the French occupation of Algiers in 1830, detachments of locally recruited irregular horsemen were attached to the regiments of light cavalry assigned to North African service. These auxiliaries were designated as chasseurs spahis, in 1834 they were organised into four squadrons of regular spahis. In 1841 the 14 squadrons by then in existence were brought together in a corps of spahis. Finally, in 1845 three separate Spahi regiments were created, the 1st of Algiers, the 2nd of Oran, a detachment of Spahis served as the personal escort of Marshal Jacques Leroy de Saint Arnaud in the Crimean War and were photographed there by Roger Fenton. A contingent of Spahis also participated in the North China campaign of 1860, a serious rising against French rule in Algeria during 1871–72 was sparked off by the mutiny of a squadron of Spahis who had been ordered to France to reinforce those units already there. Prior to 1914 there were four regiments of Spahis in the French Army, during their period as mounted cavalry the Spahis comprised for the most part Arab and Berber troopers commanded by French officers. This division was not absolute however and there were always a number of French volunteers in the ranks. About 20% of the rank and file were French and the remainder Arab or Berber, in addition, a fixed number of commissioned positions up to the level of captain were reserved for Muslim officers. NCOs were both French and Muslim, in contrast to the North African tirailleur units the mounted spahis were drawn from the big tents, i. e. the higher social classes of the Arab and Berber communities. This dated back to the establishment of the corps when Colonel Marey-Monge required that each recruit provide his own horse, as Spahi units were mechanized during World War II, the proportion of Frenchmen in the ranks increased. Spahis were sent to France at the outbreak of war in August 1914 and they saw service during the opening period of mobile warfare but inevitably their role diminished with the advent of trench warfare. During World War I the number of units increased with the creation of Moroccan Spahi regiments, by 1918 there were seven Spahi regiments then in existence, all having seen service on the Western Front, in addition a detached squadron had served in Palestine against the Ottoman Empire. By 1921 the Spahi regiments had been increased to twelve and this became the permanent establishment, during the 1920s mounted Spahi regiments saw extensive active service in the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, as well as in Morocco. They continued to perform policing and garrison duties in Algeria and Tunisia, although mechanisation began in the 1930s of the Chasseurs dAfrique and Foreign Legion cavalry, the Spahis remained an entirely mounted force until after 1942. In 1939 the Spahis comprised three independent brigades, each of two regiments and still horse mounted, each regiment was made up of four sabre squadrons with five officers and 172 troopers in each. Three regiments saw service in France in 1940
12.
Chasseurs d'Afrique
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The Chasseurs dAfrique were a light cavalry corps of chasseurs in the French Armée dAfrique. First raised in the 1830s from regular French cavalry posted to Algeria, for most of their history they were recruited from either French volunteers or French settlers in North Africa doing their military service. As such they were the equivalent of the French Zouave infantry. The other major element in the Armee dAfrique were the Spahis—recruited from the indigenous peoples of Algeria, Tunisia. In addition to campaigns in North Africa, these colorful regiments also served in the Crimean War, Franco-Prussian War, Indochina, Frances invasion of Mexico. DAf. distinguished themselves by securing the flank of Lord Cardigan during the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade, on this and other occasions they used their characteristic African tactic of advancing rapidly in open order, in contrast to the rigid lines of the Light Brigade. At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, six regiments of Chasseurs dAfrique were in existence, the 1er and 2e RCA had detached squadrons on active service in eastern Morocco while the four remaining regiments were on garrison duty in Algeria and Tunisia. Seven regiments of Chasseurs dAfrique were transferred to France between 1914 and 1918, the 1er and 4e RCA ended the war in the Middle East fighting against the Turks, while the 5e RCA detached squadrons to serve in the Balkans. In 1933 the regiments de chasseurs dAfrique began the process of conversion to mechanised units, the first vehicles adopted were White TBC armoured cars, followed by White-Laffly 50 AMs. Both models were obsolete for European warfare but suitable for colonial campaigning, other vehicles were provided for individual squadrons and in 1939 Hotchkiss H35 and H39 light tanks were received by the 1er RCA. In 1941, 6e and 7e RCA were created in the Levant, both were involved in heavy fighting against Allied forces in 1941 Operation Exporter, equipped with 90 tanks and a similar number of armoured cars. In the course of World War II the process of mechanisation was completed, the 3e and 5e RCA were equipped with M4 Sherman and M5 light tanks. The 5e RCA notably landed in Provence in August 1944, and was one of the first units to be operational for combat. It was engaged in battles during the taking of Toulon, in the Rhone valley, through Burgundy, Alsace. The regiment earned the Rhine and Danube badge, algerian independence brought an end to the corps through a series of disbandments and transfers between 1962 and 1964, after over a century of service. However one regiment was re-established in 1998 to preserve the traditions of this famous cavalry, the modern regiment is one of the mechanised units of the French Army. It is divided into one squadron and three combat squadrons and is equipped with approximately 45 armoured vehicles. The Chasseurs dAfrique were until 1914 clothed in light blue tunics tucked into a red sash, prior to 1873 the casquette dAfrique had been worn
Denmark : Order of the Elephant[9]
Iceland : Order of the Falcon [10]
Kingdom of Serbia : Order of the White Eagle[11]
United Kingdom : Order of the Garter
South Korea : Grand Order of Mugunghwa[13]
Thailand : Order of the Royal House of Chakri [14]
Federation of Malaysia
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Sultanate of Kedah
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Sultanate of Kelantan
Sultanate of Negeri Sembilan
Sultanate of Pahang
Sultanate of Perak
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Sultanate of Perlis
Sultanate of Selangor
Sultanate of Terengganu
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