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Geography of Spain
Spain is a country located in southwestern Europe occupying most (about 82 percent) of the Iberian Peninsula. It also includes a small exclave inside France called Llívia, as well as the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off northwest Africa, and five places of sovereignty ("plazas de soberanía") on and off the coast of North Africa: Ceuta, Melilla, Islas Chafarinas, Peñón de Alhucemas, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera.
The Spanish mainland is bordered to the south and east almost entirely by the Mediterranean Sea (except for the small British territory of Gibraltar); to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal. With a land area of in the Iberian peninsula, Spain is the largest country in Southern Europe, the second largest country in Western Europe (behind France), and the fourth largest country in the European continent (behind Russia, Ukraine, and France). It has an average altitude of 650 m.
Its total area including Spanish island territories is of which is land and is water. It has the 30th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of . Spain lies between latitudes 27° and 44° N, and longitudes 19° W and 5° E. Its Atlantic coast is long. The Pyrenees mountain range extends from the Mediterranean to the Bay of Biscay. In the extreme south of Spain's mainland lie the Straits of Gibraltar, which separate the Iberian peninsula and the rest of Europe from Ceuta and Morocco in North Africa.
Most of Spain's boundaries are water: the Mediterranean Sea along the east from the French border down to Gibraltar and the Strait of Gibraltar, which can be divided into the Balearic Sea along the northern stretch, and the Alboran Sea in the southern sector, and the Atlantic Ocean on the northwest and southwest (in the south as the "Golfo de Cádiz" or Gulf of Cádiz and in the north as the "Mar Cantábrico" or Bay of Biscay). The Spanish autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish enclaves lying in mainland Africa in territory claimed by Morocco, are located on the coast of the Alboran Sea, with Ceuta at the very mouth of the Strait of Gibraltar, and Melilla closer to the border with Algeria. The Canary Islands, geographically and geologically part of the African continent, are washed by the Atlantic Ocean.
Spain also shares land boundaries with France and Andorra along the Pyrenees in the northeast, with Portugal on the west, with the small British colonial Territory of Gibraltar near the southernmost tip, and with Morocco in its autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, and certain other small but uninhabited enclaves, mostly capes and small isles. The affiliation of Gibraltar has continued to be a contentious issue between Spain and Britain, whereas the sovereignty of Spain's enclaves, or "plazas de soberanía", on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco is disputed by Morocco.
Spain also has a small exclave inside France called Llívia, which is a mountain village in the historical "comarca" of La Cerdanya, forming part of the historical territories of Catalonia.
The majority of Spain's peninsular region consists of the Meseta Central, a highland plateau rimmed and dissected by mountain ranges. Other landforms include narrow coastal plains and some lowland river valleys, the most prominent of which is the Andalusian Plain in the southwest. The country can be divided into ten natural regions or subregions: the dominant Meseta Central, the Cantabrian Mountains (Cordillera Cantabrica) and the northwest region, the "Ibérico" region, the Pyrenees, the "Penibético" region in the southeast, the Andalusian Plain, the Ebro Basin, the coastal plains, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands. These are commonly grouped into four types: the Meseta Central and associated mountains, other mountainous regions, lowland regions, and islands.
The "Meseta Central" ("Inner Plateau") is a vast plateau in the heart of peninsular Spain, which has elevations that range from 610 to 760 m. Rimmed by mountains, the Meseta Central slopes gently to the west and to the series of rivers that form some of the border with Portugal. The Sistema Central, described as the "dorsal spine" of the Meseta Central, divides the Meseta into northern and southern subregions, the former higher in elevation and smaller in area than the latter. The Sistema Central rims the capital city of Madrid with peaks that rise to over 2,400 m within the Madrid region. South-west of Madrid, the Sistema Central shows its highest peak, Pico Almanzor, of 2,592 m. The mountains of the Sistema Central, which continue westward into Portugal, display some glacial features; the highest of the peaks are snow-capped for most of the year. Despite their height, however, the mountain system does not create a major barrier between the northern and the southern portions of the Meseta Central because several passes permit road and railroad transportation to the northwest and the northeast.
The southern portion of the Meseta () is further divided by twin mountain ranges, the Montes de Toledo running to the east with the Sierra de Guadalupe, to the west. Their peaks do not rise much higher than 1,500 m. With many easy passes, including those that connect the Meseta with the Andalusian Plain, the Montes de Toledo do not present an obstacle to transportation and communication. This chain of lower mountain ranges is separated from the Sistema Central to the north by the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula: the Tagus River.
The mountain regions that rim the Meseta Central and are associated with it are the Sierra Morena, the Cordillera Cantábrica, and the Sistema Ibérico. Forming the southern edge of the Meseta Central, the Sierra Morena merges in the east with the southern extension of the Sistema Iberico and reaches westward along the northern edge of the Rio Guadalquivir valley to join the mountains in southern Portugal. The massif of the Sierra Morena extends northward to the Río Guadiana, which separates it from the Sistema Central. Despite their relatively low elevations, seldom surpassing 1,300 m, the mountains of the Sierra Morena are rugged at their southern edge.
The Cordillera Cantábrica, a limestone formation, runs parallel to, and close to, the northern coast near the Bay of Biscay. Its highest points are the Picos de Europa, surpassing 2,600 m. The Cordillera Cantábrica extends 182 km and abruptly drops 1,500 m some 30 km from the coast. To the west lie the hills of the northwest region and to the east the Basque mountains that link them to the Pyrenees.
The Sistema Ibérico extends from the Cordillera Cantábrica southeastward and, close to the Mediterranean, spreads out from the Río Ebro to the Río Júcar. The barren, rugged slopes of this mountain range cover an area of close to 21,000 square kilometers. The mountains exceed 2,000 m in their northern region and reach a maximum height of over 2,300 m east of the headwaters of the Rio Duero. The extremely steep mountain slopes in this range are often cut by deep, narrow gorges.
The major lowland regions are the Andalusian Plain in the southwest, the Ebro Basin in the northeast, and the coastal plains. The Andalusian Plain is essentially a wide river valley through which the Río Guadalquivir flows. The river broadens out along its course, reaching its widest point at the Golfo de Cadiz. The Andalusian Plain is bounded on the north by the Sierra Morena and on the south by the Sistema Penibético; it narrows to an apex in the east where these two mountain chains meet. The Ebro Basin is formed by the Río Ebro valley, contained by mountains on three sides—the Sistema Ibérico to the south and west, the Pyrenees to the north and east, and their coastal extensions paralleling the shore to the east. Minor low-lying river valleys close to the Portuguese border are located on the Tagus and the Río Guadiana.
The Coastal Plains regions are narrow strips between the coastal mountains and the seas. They are broadest along the Golfo de Cádiz, where the coastal plain adjoins the Andalusian Plain, and along the southern and central eastern coasts. The narrowest coastal plain runs along the Bay of Biscay, where the Cordillera Cantábrica ends close to shore.
The remaining regions of Spain are the Balearic and the Canary Islands, the former located in the Mediterranean Sea and the latter in the Atlantic Ocean. The Balearic Islands, encompassing a total area of 5,000 square kilometers, lie 80 kilometers off Spain's central eastern coast. The mountains that rise up above the Mediterranean Sea to form these islands are an extension of the Sistema Penibetico. The archipelago's highest points, which reach 1,400 meters, are in northwestern Mallorca, close to the coast. The central portion of Majorca is a plain, bounded on the east and the southeast by broken hills.
The Canary Islands, ninety kilometers off the west coast of Africa, are of volcanic origin. The large central islands, Tenerife and Gran Canaria, have the highest peaks. Pico de Las Nieves, on Gran Canaria, rises to 1,949 meters, and the Teide, on Tenerife, to 3,718 meters. Teide, a dormant volcano, is the highest peak of Spain and the third largest volcano in the world from its base.
Of the roughly 1,800 rivers and streams in Spain, only the Tagus is more than 960 kilometers long; all but 90 extend less than 96 kilometers. These shorter rivers carry small volumes of water on an irregular basis, and they have seasonally dry river beds; however, when they do flow, they often are swift and torrential. Most major rivers rise in the mountains rimming or dissecting the Meseta Central and flow westward across the plateau through Portugal to empty into the Atlantic Ocean. One significant exception is the river with the most abundant flow in Spain, the Ebro, which flows eastward to the Mediterranean. Rivers in the extreme northwest and in the narrow northern coastal plain drain directly into the Atlantic Ocean. The northwestern coastline is also truncated by rias, waterbodies similar to fjords.
The major rivers flowing westward through the Meseta Central include the Duero, the Tagus, the Guadiana, and the Guadalquivir. The Rio Guadalquivir is one of the most significant rivers in Spain because it irrigates a fertile valley, thus creating a rich agricultural area, and because it is navigable inland, making Seville the only inland river port for ocean-going traffic in Spain. The major river in the northwest region is the Miño.
El Atazar Dam is a major dam built near Madrid to provide a water supply.
Certain Spanish regions can be considered vulnerable to both flooding and erosion.
Water stress or water lack, poses the greatest threat in Spain. Water scarcity is a significant issue in many regions throughout Spain and climate change may aggravate the problem, with longer periods of dry weather. Supply problems regularly occur in the Jucar basin during summer. In the Segura basin, water scarcity has resulted in an increase of the water prices by 30% for households. Overall, the regions in the south-east of Spain are particularly vulnerable to water shortages. Furthermore, large areas of the Mediterranean are affected by saltwater intrusion.
Three main climatic zones can be separated, according to geographical situation and orographic conditions:
Apart from these main types, other sub-types can be found, like the desertic climate in parts of southeastern Spain, like in coastal Almería. Humid continental, alpine and tundra climates in the Pyrenees and Sierra Nevada, and a typical subtropical climate in the Canary Islands, varying from humid subtropical climates to desertic climates in most of the islands, and a tropical hot semi-arid climate in coastal parts, such as Tenerife or Gran Canaria.
The largest metropolitan areas, based on 2007 population, were:
Islander population:
Natural resources:
coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, sepiolite, hydropower, arable land
Land use:
Irrigated land:
38,000 km2 (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
111.1 cubic metres (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Natural hazards:
periodic droughts, occasional flooding
Environment – Current Issues:
Environment – International Agreements: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27390 |
Demographics of Spain
As of 1 January 2020, Spain had a total population of 47,431,256, which represents a 0.9% increase since 2019. The CIA Factbook (2011) gives a racial description of "composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types" under "ethnic groups" instead of the usual breakdown of ethnic composition. This reflects the formation of the modern Kingdom of Spain by the accretion of several independent Iberian realms, like León, Castile, Navarre, the Crown of Aragon, and Granada, among others.
Spain's population peaked in 2019, surpassing for the first time in history 47 million inhabitants. As of January 2020, there were already 47,431,256 people living in Spain. Its population density, at , is lower than that of most Western European countries. With the exception of the capital Madrid, the most densely populated areas lie around the coast.
The population of Spain doubled during the twentieth century, but the pattern of growth was extremely uneven due to large-scale internal migration from the rural interior to the industrial cities, a phenomenon which happened later than in other Western European countries. No fewer than eleven of Spain's fifty provinces saw an absolute decline in population over the century.
The last quarter of the century saw a dramatic fall in birth rates. Spain's fertility rate of 1.47 (the number of children the average woman will have during her lifetime) is lower than the EU average, but has climbed every year since the late 1990s. The birth rate has climbed in 10 years from 9.10 births per 1000 people per year in 1996 to 10.9 in 2006.
The population of Spain doubled during the twentieth century as a result of the spectacular demographic boom in the 1960s and early 1970s. After that time, the birth rate plunged through the 1980s and Spain's population became stalled, its demographics showing one of the lowest sub replacement fertility rates in the world, only above Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Ukraine, and Japan.
Many demographers have linked Spain's very low fertility rate to the country's lack of any real family planning policy. Spain spends the least on family support out of all western European countries—0.5% of GDP. A graphic illustration of the enormous social gulf in this field is the fact that a Spanish family would need to have 57 children to enjoy the same financial support as a family with 3 children in Luxembourg.
In terms of emigration vs. immigration, after centuries of net emigration, Spain, has recently experienced large-scale immigration for the first time in modern history. According to the Spanish government there were 5,730,667 foreign residents in Spain as of January 2011. Of these, more than 860,000 were Romanian, and half 760,000 were Moroccan while the number of Ecuadorians was around 390,000. Colombian population amounted to around 300,000. There are also a significant number of British (359,076 as of 2011, but more than one million are estimated to live permanently in Spain) and German (195,842) citizens, mainly in Alicante, Málaga provinces, Balearic Islands and Canary Islands. Chinese number over 166,000. Immigrants from several sub-Saharan African countries have also settled in Spain as contract workers, although they represent only 4.08% of all the foreign residents in the country.
During the early 2000s, the mean year-on-year demographic growth set a new record with its 2003 peak variation of 2.1%, doubling the previous record reached back in the 1960s when a mean year-on-year growth of 1% was experienced. In 2005 alone, the immigrant population of Spain increased by 700,000 people.
The arrival of migrating young adults was the main reason for the slight increase in Spain's fertility rate. From 2002 through 2008 the Spanish population grew by 8%, of which 7% were foreign.
Notable events in modern Spanish demography:
Sources: Our World In Data and the United Nations.
1882-1950
1950-2015
Source: "UN World Population Prospects"
The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.
† = as of 1 January 2019.
In 2018 293,118 (79.4%) babies were born to mothers with Spanish nationality, 27,528 (7.4%) to mothers with an African nationality (including North Africa), 22,504 (6.1%) to mothers with a European nationality (both EU and non-EU countries of Europe), 19,309 (5.2%) to mothers with an American nationality (both North and South America) and 6,717 (1.8%) to mothers with an Asian nationality.
The following demographic statistics are from the World Population Review in 2019.
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.
"0-14 years:"
15.29% (male 3,879,229 /female 3,664,016)
"15-24 years:"
9.65% (male 2,458,486 /female 2,299,523)
"25-54 years:"
44.54% (male 11,208,598 /female 10,762,651)
"55-64 years:"
12.38% (male 2,980,206 /female 3,125,949)
"65 years and over:"
18.15% (male 3,833,601 /female 5,118,817) (2018 est.)
"0-14 years:"
15.3% (male 3,872,763/female 3,656,549)
"15-24 years:"
9.5% (male 2,424,352/female 2,267,429)
"25-54 years:"
44.9% (male 11,214,102/female 10,775,039)
"54-64 years:"
12.1% (male 2,899,088/female 3,044,111)
"65 years and over:"
17.9% (male 3,763,989/female 5,040,737) (2017 est.)
"0-14 years:"
14.4% (male 3,423,861/female 3,232,028)
"15-64 years:"
69.1% (male 16,185,575/female 15,683,433)
"65 years and over:"
16.5% (male 3,238,301/female 4,394,624) (2008 est.)
"at birth:"
1.07 male(s)/female
"under 15 years:"
1.06 male(s)/female
"15-64 years:"
1.01 male(s)/female
"65 years and over:"
0.72 male(s)/female
"total population:"
0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
"total population:"
82.4 years (Source: OECD 2013 "Health at a glance" report)
"male:"
78.8 years (Source: OECD 2013 "Health at a glance" report)
"female:"
85.2 years (Source: OECD 2013 "Health at a glance" report)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2016 est.)
"noun:"
Spaniard(s)
"adjective:"
Spanish
The largest metropolitan areas in 2007 were:
Islander population:
Definition of ethnicity or nationality in Spain is fraught politically. The term "Spanish people" ("pueblo español") is defined in the 1978 constitution as the political sovereign, i.e. the citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. The same constitution in its preamble speaks of "peoples and nationalities of Spain" ("pueblos y nacionalidades de España") and their respective cultures, traditions, languages and institutions.
The formerly nomadic Gitanos and Mercheros are distinctly marked by endogamy and discrimination but they are dispersed through the country.
The native Canarians are partly the descendants of the North African population of the Canary Islands prior to Spanish colonization in the 15th century although most Spaniards have varying levels of North African admixture as a result of the Islamic period.
Also included are many Spaniard citizens who are descendants of people from Spain's former colonies, mostly from Equatorial Guinea, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Morocco and the Philippines. There is also a sizable number of Spaniards of Eastern European, Maghrebian, Sub Saharan-African, South Asian and Middle Eastern descent.
Native-born Spanish citizens of all ethnic groups make up 85.7% of the total population, and 15.3% are immigrants or expats, both naturalized and foreign. Among the immigrants, around 45% of them come from Spain's former territories in America (primarily Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Colombia). The rest are predominantly North African, Eastern European and Western European. The majority of Western and Northern Europeans in Spain are retired expats living in coastal areas.
As of 2018, the region had a foreign population of 4,734,691. The largest groups of foreigners were those of Moroccan, Romanian, British, Chinese and Italian citizenship.
Meanwhile, Spain had a foreign-born population of 6,742,948, being those born in the Americas the largest group, and Europe being the second most common continent of origin after South America.
The Reconquista was the long process by which the Catholics reconquered Spain from Islamic rule by 1492. The Spanish Inquisition was established in 1478 to complete the religious orthodoxy of the Iberian Peninsula. In the centuries that followed, Spain saw itself as the bulwark of Catholicism and doctrinal purity, since them Catholicism has been the main religion in Spain.
Spanish missionaries carried Catholicism to the Americas and the Philippines, establishing various missions in the newly colonized lands. The missions served as a base for both administering colonies as well as spreading Christianity.
The Spanish Constitution of 1978 abolished Catholicism as the official state religion, but recognizing the role it plays in Spanish society.
From the end of the Francoist dictatorship to the present day, a secularization process has taken place that has meant a progressive decrease in religious practice, in the attendance at the different religious rites (baptisms, communions and Catholic marriages) and in the percentage of Spaniards who identify as Catholic, Consequently a majority of younger Spaniards today ignore Catholic doctrines on matters such as pre-marital sex, homosexuality and contraception. Despite the drop, Catholic identity nevertheless remains an important part of Spain's culture.
, 68.5% of the population define themselves as Catholic, 26.4% as non-believers or atheists, and 2.6% other religions according to the official Spanish Center for Sociological Research. Among believers, 59% assert they almost never go to any religious service, by contrast, 16.3% attend one or more religious service almost every week.
A study made by the Union of Islamic Communities of Spain demonstrated that there were about 1,700,000 inhabitants of Muslim background living in Spain , accounting for 3–4% of the total population of Spain. The vast majority was composed of immigrants and descendants originating from Morocco and other African countries. More than 514,000 (30%) of them had Spanish nationality.
"Others with no official status:"
Definition: people of age 15 and over can read and write. Amount of population ≥ 15 that can read and write: 97.7%.
About 70% of Spain's student population attends public schools or universities. The remainder attend private schools or universities, many of which are operated by the Catholic Church.
Compulsory education begins with primary school or general basic education for ages 6–16. It is free in public schools and in many private schools, most of which receive government subsidies. Following graduation, students attend either a secondary school offering a general high school diploma or a school of professional study in all fields – law, sciences, humanities, and medicine – and the technical schools offer programs in engineering and architecture. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27391 |
Politics of Spain
The politics of Spain takes place under the framework established by the Constitution of 1978. Spain is established as a social and democratic sovereign country wherein the national sovereignty is vested in the people, from which the powers of the state emanate.
The form of government in Spain is a parliamentary monarchy, that is, a social representative democratic constitutional monarchy in which the monarch is the head of state, while the prime minister—whose official title is "President of the Government"—is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the Government, which is integrated by the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers and other ministers, which collectively form the Cabinet, or Council of Ministers. Legislative power is vested in the Cortes Generales ("General Courts"), a bicameral parliament constituted by the Congress of Deputies and the Senate. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, administering justice on behalf of the King by judges and magistrates. The Supreme Court of Spain is the highest court in the nation, with jurisdiction in all Spanish territories, superior to all in all affairs except constitutional matters, which are the jurisdiction of a separate court, the Constitutional Court.
Spain's political system is a multi-party system, but since the 1990s two parties have been predominant in politics, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and the People's Party (PP). Regional parties, mainly the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV), from the Basque Country, and Convergence and Union (CiU) and the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), from Catalonia, have also played key roles in Spanish politics. Members of the Congress of Deputies are selected through proportional representation, and the government is formed by the party or coalition that has the confidence of the Congress, usually the party with the largest number of seats. Since the Spanish transition to democracy, there have not been coalition governments; when a party has failed to obtain absolute majority, minority governments have been formed.
Regional government functions under a system known as "the state of autonomies", a highly decentralized system of administration (systematically ranked 2nd in the world after Germany at the Regional Authority Index, since 1998). Initially framed as a kind of "assymmetrical federalism" for the regions styled as "historic nationalities", it has evolved in practice into an approach that gives way to a devolution of powers for all regions, widely known as "coffee for everyone". Exercising the right to self-government granted by the constitution, the "nationalities and regions" have been constituted as 17 autonomous communities and two autonomous cities. The form of government of each autonomous community and autonomous city is also based on a parliamentary system, in which executive power is vested in a "president" and a Council of Ministers, elected by and responsible to a unicameral legislative assembly.
The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Spain as a "full democracy" in 2016.
The Spanish monarch, currently, Felipe VI, is the head of the Spanish State, symbol of its unity and permanence, who arbitrates and moderates the regular function of government institutions, and assumes the highest representation of Spain in international relations, especially with those who are part of its historical community. His title is "King of Spain", although he can use all other titles of the Crown. The Crown, as a symbol of the nation's unity, has a two-fold function. First, it represents the unity of the State in the organic separation of powers; hence he appoints the prime ministers and summons and dissolves the Parliament, among other responsibilities. Secondly, it represents the Spanish State as a whole in relation to the autonomous communities, whose rights he is constitutionally bound to respect.
The King is proclaimed by the "Cortes Generales" — the Parliament — and must take an oath to carry out his duties faithfully, to obey the constitution and all laws and to ensure they are obeyed, and to respect the rights of the citizens, as well as the rights of the autonomous communities.
According to the Constitution of Spain, it is incumbent upon the King: to sanction and promulgate laws; to summon and dissolve the "Cortes Generales" (the Parliament) and to call elections; to call a referendum under the circumstances provided in the constitution; to propose a candidate for prime minister, and to appoint or remove him from office, as well as other ministers; to issue the decrees agreed upon by the Council of Ministers; to confer civil and military positions, and to award honors and distinctions; to be informed of the affairs of the State, presiding over the meetings of the Council of Ministers whenever opportune; to exercise supreme command of the Spanish Armed Forces, to exercise the right to grant pardons, in accordance to the law; and to exercise the High Patronage of the Royal Academies. All ambassadors and other diplomatic representatives are accredited by him, and foreign representatives in Spain are accredited to him. He also expresses the State's assent to entering into international commitments through treaties; and he declares war or makes peace, following the authorization of the "Cortes Generales".
In practical terms, his duties are mostly ceremonial, and constitutional provisions are worded in such a way as to make clear the strict neutral and apolitical nature of his role. In fact, the Fathers of the Constitution made careful use of the expressions "it is incumbent upon of the King", deliberately omitting other expressions such as "powers", "faculties" or "competences", thus eliminating any notion of monarchical prerogatives within the parliamentary monarchy. In the same way, the King does not have supreme liberty in the exercise of the aforementioned functions; all of these are framed, limited or exercised "according to the constitution and laws", or following requests of the executive or authorizations of the legislature.
The king is the commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed Forces, but has only symbolic, rather than actual, authority over the Spanish military. Nonetheless, the king's function as the commander-in-chief and symbol of national unity have been exercised, most notably in the military coup of 23 February 1981, where King Juan Carlos I addressed the country on national television in military uniform, denouncing the coup and urging the maintenance of the law and the continuance of the democratically elected government, thus defusing the uprising.
The Spanish Constitution, promulgated in 1978, established explicitly that Juan Carlos I is the legitimate heir of the historical dynasty. This statement served two purposes. First, it established that the position of the King emanates from the constitution, the source from which its existence is legitimized democratically. Secondly, it reaffirmed the dynastic legitimacy of the person of Juan Carlos I, not so much to end old historical dynastic struggles — namely those historically embraced by the Carlist movement — but as a consequence of the renunciation to all rights of succession that his father, Juan de Borbón y Battenberg, made in 1977. Juan Carlos I was constitutional king of Spain from 1978 to 2014. He abdicated in favor of his son Felipe VI.
The constitution also establishes that the monarchy is hereditary following a "regular order of primogeniture and representation: earlier line shall precede older; within the same line, closer degree shall precede more distant; within the same degree, male shall precede female; and within the same sex, older shall precede the younger". What this means in practice, is that the Crown is passed to the firstborn, who would have preference over his siblings and cousins; women can only accede to the throne provided they do not have any older or younger brothers; and finally "regular order of representation" means that grandchildren have preference over the deceased King's parents, uncles or siblings. Finally, if all possible rightful orders of primogeniture and representation have been exhausted, then the General Courts will select a successor in the way that best suits the interest of Spain. The heir presumptive or heir apparent holds the title of Prince or Princess of Asturias. The current heir presumptive is princess Leonor de Borbón.
Legislative power is vested in the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. (Literally "General Courts", but rarely translated as such. "Cortes" has been the historical and constitutional name used since Medieval Times. The qualifier "General", added in the Constitution of 1978, implies the nationwide character of the Parliament, since the legislatures of some autonomous communities are also labeled "Cortes"). The "Cortes Generales" are the supreme representatives of the Spanish people. This legislature is bicameral, integrated by the Congress of Deputies () and the Senate (). The General Courts exercise the legislative power of the State, approving the budget and controlling the actions of the government. As in most parliamentary systems, more legislative power is vested in the lower chamber, the Congress of the Deputies. The Speaker of Congress, known as "president of the Congress of Deputies" presides a joint-session of the "Cortes Generales".
Each chamber of the "Cortes Generales" meets at separate precincts, and carry out their duties separately, except for specific important functions, in which case they meet in a joint session. Such functions include the elaboration of laws proposed by the executive ("the Government"), by one of the chambers, by an autonomous community, or through popular initiative; and the approval or amendment of the nation's budget proposed by the prime minister.
The Congress of Deputies must be integrated by a minimum of 300 and a maximum of 400 deputies (members of parliament) — currently 350 — elected by universal, free, equal, direct and secret suffrage, to four-year terms or until the dissolution of the "Cortes Generales". The voting system used is that of proportional representation with closed party lists following D'Hondt method in which the province forms a constituency or electoral circumscription and must be assigned a minimum of 2 deputies; the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, are each assigned one deputy.
The Congress of Deputies can initiate legislation, and they also have the power to ratify or reject the decree laws adopted by the executive. They also elect, via a vote of investiture, the prime minister (the "president of the Government"), before he or she can be formally sworn to office by the King. The Congress of Deputies may adopt a motion of censure whereby it can vote out the prime minister by absolute majority. On the other hand, the prime minister may request at any time a vote of confidence from the Congress of Deputies. If he or she fails to obtain it, then the "Cortes Generales" are dissolved, and new elections are called.
The upper chamber is the Senate. It is nominally the chamber of territorial representation. Four senators are elected for each province, with the exception of the insular provinces, in which the number of senator varies: three senators are elected for each of the three major islands — Gran Canaria, Mallorca and Tenerife — and one senator for Ibiza-Formentera, Menorca, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, El Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma. The autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla each elect two senators.
In addition, the legislative assembly of each autonomous community designates one senator, and another for each one million inhabitants. This designation must follow proportional representation. For the 2011 elections, this system allowed for 266 senators, 208 of which were elected and 58 of which were designated by the autonomous communities. Senators serve for four-year terms or until the dissolution of the "Cortes Generales". Even though the constitution explicitly refers to the Senate as the chamber of territorial representation, as seen from the numbers before, only one-fifth of the senators actually represent the autonomous communities. Since the constitution allowed for the creation of autonomous communities, but the process itself was embryonic in nature — they were formed "after" the promulgation of the constitution, and the outcome was unpredictable — the constituent assembly chose the province as the basis for territorial representation.
The Senate has less power than the Congress of Deputies: it can veto legislation, but its veto can be overturned by an absolute majority of the Congress of Deputies. Its only exclusive power concerns the autonomous communities, thus in a way performing a function in line with its nature of "territorial representation". By an overall majority, the Senate is the institution that authorizes the Government to adopt measures to enforce an autonomous community's compliance with its constitutional duties when it has failed to do so.
For the first time ever, on Friday, 27 October 2017, the senate voted, by majority, to invoke article 155 of the constitution, which gave the central government the power to remove the government of the autonomous region of Cataluña for acting against the constitution of 1978 by having called an illegal referendum on 1 October.
At the national level, executive power in Spain is exercised only by "the Government". (The King is the head of state, but the constitution does not attribute to him any executive faculties). The Government is composed by a prime minister, known as the "president of the Government" (), one or more deputy prime ministers, known as "vice-presidents of the Government" () and all other ministers. The collegiate body composed by the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and all other ministers is called the Council of Ministers. The Government is in charge of both domestic and foreign policy, as well as defense and economic policies. As of 2 June 2018, the prime minister of Spain is Pedro Sánchez.
The constitution establishes that after elections, the King, after consulting with all political groups represented in the Congress of Deputies, proposes a candidate to the "presidency of the Government" or prime ministership through the Speaker of Congress. The candidate then presents the political program of his or her government requesting the Congress's confidence. If the Congress grants him confidence by absolute majority, the King then nominates him formally as "president of the Government"; if he or she fails to obtain absolute majority, the Congress waits 48 hours to vote again, in which case, a simple majority suffices. If he or she fails again, then the King presents other candidates until one gains confidence. However, if after two months no candidate has obtained it, then the King dissolves the "Cortes Generales" and calls for new elections with the endorsement of the Speaker of Congress. In practice, the candidate has been the leader of the party that obtained the largest number of seats in the Congress. Since the constitution of 1978 came into effect, there have not been any coalition governments, even if the party with the largest number of seats has failed to obtained absolute majority, though in such cases the party in government has had to rely on the support of minority parties to gain confidence and to approve the State's budgets.
After the candidate obtains the confidence of the Congress of Deputies, he is appointed by the King as prime minister in a ceremony of inauguration in which he is sworn at the Audience Hall of the Palace of Zarzuela — the residence of the King — and in presence of the Major Notary of the Kingdom. The candidate takes the oath of office over an open copy of the Constitution next to a Bible. The oath of office used is: ""I swear/promise to faithfully carry out the duties of the position of president of the Government with loyalty to the King; to obey and enforce the Constitution as the fundamental law of the State, as well as to keep in secret the deliberations of the Council of Ministers"".
The prime ministers proposes the deputy prime ministers and the other ministers, which are then appointed by the King. The number and the scope of competences of each of the Ministries is established by the prime minister. Ministries are usually created to cover one or several similar sectors of government from an administrative function. Once formed, the Government meets as the "Council of Ministers", usually every Friday at the Palace of Moncloa in Madrid, the official residence of the prime minister who presides over the meetings, even though, on exceptions they can be held in any other Spanish city. Also, on exceptions, the meeting can be presided by the King of Spain, by request of the prime minister, in which case, the Council informs the King of the State's affairs.
From 7 June 2018, the current government consists of the Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the Deputy Prime Minister, María del Carmen Calvo Poyato, and 17 ministers:
The constitution also established the Council of State, a supreme advisory council to the Spanish government. Though the body has existed intermittently since medieval times, its current composition and the nature of its work are defined in the constitution and subsequent laws that have been published, the most recent in 2004. It is currently composed by a president, nominated by the Council of Ministers, several ex officio councillors — former prime ministers of Spain, directors or presidents of the Royal Spanish Academy, the Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation, the Royal Academy of History, the Social and Economic Council, the Attorney General of the State, the Chief of Staff, the Governor of the Bank of Spain, the Director of the Juridical Service of the State, and the presidents of the General Commission of Codification and Law — several permanent councilors, appointed by decree, and no more than ten elected councilors in addition to the Council's Secretary General. The Council of State serves only as an advisory body, that can give non-binding opinions upon request and to propose an alternative solution to the problem presented.
The Judiciary in Spain is integrated by judges and magistrates who administer justice in the King's name. The Judiciary is composed of different courts depending on the jurisdictional order and what is to be judged. The highest ranking court of the Spanish judiciary is the Supreme Court (), with jurisdiction in all Spain, superior in all matters except in constitutional guarantees. The Supreme Court is headed by a president, nominated by the King, proposed by the General Council of the Judiciary. This institution is the governing body of the Judiciary, integrated by the president of the Supreme court, twenty members appointed by the King for a five-year term, among whom there are twelve judges and magistrates of all judicial categories, four members nominated by the Congress of Deputies, and four by the Senate, elected in both cases by three-fifths of their respective members. They are to be elected from among lawyers and jurists of acknowledged competence and with over 15 years of professional experience.
The Constitutional Court () has jurisdiction over all Spain, competent to hear appeals against the alleged unconstitutionality of laws and regulations having the force of law, as well as individual appeals for protection ("recursos de amparo") against violation of the rights and liberties granted by the constitution. It consists of 12 members, appointed by the King, 4 of which are proposed by the Congress of Deputies by three-fifths of its members, 4 of which are proposed by the Senate by three-fifths of its members as well, 2 proposed by the executive and 2 proposed by the General Council of the Judiciary. They are to be renowned magistrates and prosecutors, university professors, public officials or lawyers, all of them jurists with recognized competence or standing and more than 15 years of professional experience.
The second article of the constitution declares the Spanish nation is the common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards, which is integrated by nationalities and regions to which the constitution recognizes and guarantees the right to self-government. Since the constitution of 1978 came into effect, these nationalities and regions progressively acceded to self-government and were constituted into 17 autonomous communities. In addition, two autonomous cities were constituted on the coast of North Africa. This administrative and political territorial division is known as the "State of Autonomies". Though highly decentralized, Spain is not a federation since the nation — as represented in the central institutions of government — retains full sovereignty.
The State, that is, the central government, has progressively and asymmetrically devolved or transferred power and competences to the autonomous communities after the constitution of 1978 came into effect. Each autonomous community is governed by a set of institutions established in its own Statute of Autonomy. The Statute of Autonomy is the basic organic institutional law, approved by the legislature of the community itself as well as by the "Cortes Generales", the Spanish Parliament. The Statutes of Autonomy establish the name of the community according to its historical identity; the delimitation of its territory; the name, organization and seat of the autonomous institutions of government; and the competences that they assume and the foundations for their devolution or transfer from the central government.
All autonomous communities have a parliamentary form of government, with a clear separation of powers. Their legislatures represent the people of the community, exercising legislative power within the limits set forth in the constitution of Spain and the degree of devolution that the community has attained. Even though the central government has progressively transferred roughly the same amount of competences to all communities, devolution is still asymmetrical. More power was devolved to the so-called "historical nationalities" — the Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia. (Other communities chose afterwards to identify themselves as nationalities as well). The Basque Country, Catalonia and Navarre have their own police forces (Ertzaintza, Mossos d'Esquadra and the Chartered Police respectively) while the National Police Corps operates in the rest of the autonomous communities. On the other hand, two communities (the Basque Country and Navarre) are "communities of chartered regime", that is, they have full fiscal autonomy, whereas the rest are "communities of common regime", with limited fiscal powers (the majority of their taxes are administered centrally and redistributed among them all for fiscal equalization).
The names of the executive government and the legislature vary between communities. Some institutions are restored historical bodies of government of the previous kingdoms or regional entities within the Spanish crown — like the Generalitat of Catalonia — while others are entirely new creations. In some, both the executive and the legislature, though constituting two separate institutions, are collectively identified with a specific name. A specific denomination may not refer to the same branch of government in all communities; for example, "Junta" may refer to the executive office in some communities, to the legislature in others, or to the collective name of all branches of government in others.
The two autonomous cities have more limited competences. The executive is exercised by a president, which is also the major of the city. In the same way, limited legislative power is vested in a local Assembly in which the deputies are also the city councilors.
The constitution also guarantees certain degree of autonomy to two other "local" entities: the provinces of Spain (subdivisions of the autonomous communities) and the municipalities (subdivisions of the provinces). If the communities are integrated by a single province, then the institutions of government of the community replace those of the province. For the rest of the communities, provincial government is held by Provincial Deputations or Councils. With the creation of the autonomous communities, deputations have lost much of their power, and have a very limited scope of actions, with the exception of the Basque Country, where provinces are known as "historical territories" and their bodies of government retain more faculties. Except in the Basque Country, members of the Provincial Deputations are indirectly elected by citizens according to the results of the municipals elections and all of their members must be councilors of a town or a city in the province. In the Basque Country direct elections do take place.
Spanish municipal administration is highly homogenous; most of the municipalities have the same faculties, such as managing the municipal police, traffic enforcement, urban planning and development, social services, collecting municipal taxes, and ensuring civil defense. In most municipalities, citizens elect the municipal council, which is responsible for electing the mayor, who then appoints a board of governors or councilors from his party or coalition. The only exceptions are municipalities with under 50 inhabitants, which act as an open council, with a directly elected major and an assembly of neighbors. Municipal elections are held every four years on the same date for all municipalities in Spain. Councilors are allotted using the D'Hondt method for proportional representation with the exception of municipalities with under 100 inhabitants where block voting is used instead. The number of councilors is determined by the population of the municipality; the smallest municipalities having 5, and the largest — Madrid — having 57.
Spain is a multi-party constitutional parliamentary democracy. According to the constitution, political parties are the expression of political pluralism, contributing to the formation and expression of the will of the people, and are an essential instrument of political participation. Their internal structure and functioning must be democratic. The Law of Political Parties of 1978 provides them with public funding whose quantity is based on the number of seats held in the Cortes Generales and the number of votes received. Since the mid-1980s two parties dominate the national political landscape in Spain: the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party () and the People's Party ().
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) is a social democratic centre-left political party. It was founded in 1879 by Pablo Iglesias, at the beginning as a Marxist party for the workers' class, which later evolved towards social-democracy. Outlawed during Franco's dictatorship, it gained recognition during the Spanish transition to democracy period, when it officially renounced Marxism, under the leadership of Felipe González. It played a key role during the transition and the Constituent Assembly that wrote the Spanish current constitution. It governed Spain from 1982 to 1996 under the prime ministership of Felipe González. It governed again from 2004 to 2011 under the prime ministership of José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
The People's Party (PP) is a conservative centre-right party that took its current name in 1989, replacing the previous People's Alliance, a more conservative party founded in 1976 by seven former Franco's ministers. In its refoundation it incorporated the Liberal Party and the majority of the Christian democrats. In 2005 it integrated the Democratic and Social Center Party. It governed Spain under the prime ministership of José María Aznar from 1996 to 2004, and again from December 2011, and after much uncertainty caused by the inconclusive results of the 2015 general election and the 2016 election when the People's Party formed a minority government with confidence and supply support from conservative Ciudadanos (Cs) and the Canarian Coalition (CC), which passed due to the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) abstaining. A motion of no confidence in the Spanish government of Mariano Rajoy was held between 31 May and 1 June 2018, registered by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) after the People's Party(PP) was found to have profited from the illegal kickbacks-for-contracts scheme of the Gürtel case. The motion was successful and resulted in the PSOE leader Pedro Sánchez becoming the new Prime Minister of Spain until his 2019 state budget was rejected requiring him to call a snap election for April 28 of the same year.
The parties or coalitions represented in the "Cortes Generales" after the 20 December 2015 election are:
Other parties represented in Congress from 2011 to 2015 were:
In addition, the Aragonese Party, United Extremadura, and the Union of Navarrese People participated in the 2011 elections forming regional coalitions with the People's Party.
Suffrage is free and secret to all Spanish citizens of age 18 and older to all elections, and to residents who are citizens of all European Union countries only in local municipal elections and elections to the European Parliament.
Elections to the Cortes Generales are held every four years or before if the prime minister calls for an early election. Members of the Congress of Deputies are elected through proportional representation with closed party lists where provinces serve as electoral districts; that is, a list of deputies is selected from a province-wide list. Under the current system, sparsely populated provinces are overrepresented because more seats of representatives are allocated to the sparsely populated provinces than they would have if number of seats are allocated strictly according to the population proportion.
Not only provinces with small population are over-represented in Spain's election system, the system also tends to favors major political parties. Despite the use of proportional representation voting system, which in general encourages the development of a larger number of small political parties rather than a few larger ones, Spain has effectively a two-party system in which smaller and regional parties tend to be underrepresented. This is owing to various reasons:
In the Senate, each province, with the exception of the islands, select four senators using block voting: voters cast ballots for three candidates, and the four senators with the greatest number of votes are selected. The number of senators selected for the islands varies, depending on their size, from 3 to 1 senators. A similar procedure of block voting is used to select the three senators from the three major islands whereas the senators of the smaller islands or group of islands, are elected by plurality. In addition, the legislative assembly of each autonomous community designates one senator, and another for each additional one million inhabitants.
Electoral participation, which is not compulsory, has traditionally been high, peaking just after democracy was restored in the late 1970s, falling during the 1980s, but trending upwards in the 1990s. Since then, voting abstention rate has been around one-fifth to nearly one-third of the electorate.
The end of the Spanish Civil War put at end to the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939), after which a dictatorial regime was established, headed by general Francisco Franco. In 1947 he decreed, in one of the eight Fundamental Laws of his regime, the Law of Succession of the Head of State, that Spain was a monarchy with a vacant throne, that Franco was the head of State as general and caudillo of Spain, and that he would propose, when he deemed opportune, his successor, who would bear the title of King or Regent of Spain. Even though Juan of Bourbon, the legitimate heir of the monarchy, opposed the law, Franco met him in 1948, when they agreed that his son, Juan Carlos, then 10 years old, would finish his education in Spain — he was then living in Rome — according to the "principles" of the Francoist movement. In 1969, Franco finally designated Juan Carlos as his successor, with the title "Prince of Spain", bypassing his father Juan of Bourbon.
Francisco Franco died on 20 November 1975, and Juan Carlos was crowned King of Spain by the Spanish Cortes, the non-elected Assembly that operated during Franco's regime. Even though Juan Carlos I had sworn allegiance to "National Movement", the sole legal party of the regime, he expressed his support for a transformation of the Spanish political system as soon as he took office. Such an endeavor was not meant to be easy or simple, as the opposition to the regime had to ensure that nobody in their ranks would turn into extremism, and the Army had to resist the temptation to intervene to restore the "Movement". In 1976 he designated Adolfo Suárez as prime minister — "president of the Government" — with the task of convincing the regime to dismantle itself and to call for elections to a Constituent Assembly. He accomplished both tasks, and the first democratically elected Constituent "Cortes" since the Second Spanish Republic met in 1977. In 1978 a new democratic constitution was promulgated and approved by referendum. The constitution declared Spain a constitutional parliamentary monarchy with H.M. King Juan Carlos I as Head of State. Spain's transformation from an authoritarian regime to a successful modern democracy was a remarkable achievement, even creating a model emulated by other countries undergoing similar transitions.
Adolfo Suárez headed the prime ministership of Spain from 1977 to 1982, as the leader of the Union of the Democratic Center party. He resigned on 29 January 1981, but on 23 February 1981, day when the Congress of Deputies was to designate a new prime minister, rebel elements among the Civil Guard seized the "Cortes Generales" in an a failed coup that ended the day after. The great majority of the military forces remained loyal to the King, who used his personal and constitutional authority as commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed forces, to diffuse the uprising and save the constitution, by addressing the country on television.
In October 1982, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, led by Felipe González, swept both the Congress of Deputies and Senate, winning an absolute majority in both chambers of the "Cortes Generales". González headed the prime ministership of Spain for the next 13 years, during which period Spain joined NATO and the European Community. The government also created new social laws and large scale infrastructural buildings, expanding the educational system and establishing a welfare state. While traditionally affiliated with one of Spain's major trade unions, the General Union of Workers (UGT), in an effort to improve Spain's competitiveness in preparation for admission to the EC as well as for further economic integration with Europe afterwards, the PSOE distanced itself from trade unions. Following a policy of liberalization, González's government closed state corporations under the state holding company, the National Industry Institute (INI), and down-sized the coal, iron and steel industries. The PSOE implemented the single market policies of the Single European Act and the domestic policies consistent with the Maastricht Treaty EMU criteria. The country was massively modernized and economically developed in this period, closing the gap with other European Community members. There was also a significant cultural shift, into a tolerant contemporary open society.
In March 1996, José María Aznar, from the People's Party, obtained a relative majority in Congress. Aznar moved to further liberalize the economy, with a program of complete privatization of state-owned enterprises, labor market reform and other policies designed to increase competition in selected markets. Aznar liberalized the energy sector, national telecommunications and television broadcasting networks. To ensure a successful outcome of such liberalization, the government set up the Competition Defense Court (), an anti-trust regulator body entrusted with restricting monopolistic practices. During Aznar's government Spain qualified for the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union, and adopted the euro, replacing the peseta, in 2002. Spain participated, along with the United States and other NATO allies, in military operations in the former Yugoslavia. Spanish armed forces and police personnel were included in the international peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. Having obtained an absolute majority in the 2000 elections, Aznar, headed the prime ministership until 2004. Aznar supported transatlantic relations with the United States, and participated on the War on Terrorism and the invasion of Iraq. In 2004, he decided not to run as a candidate for the Popular Party, and proposed Mariano Rajoy, who had been minister under his government, as his successor as leader of the party.
In the aftermath of the terrorist bomb attacks in Madrid, which occurred just three days before the elections, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party won a surprising victory. Its leader, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, headed the prime ministership from 2004 to 2011, winning a second term in 2008. Under a policy of gender equality, his was the first Spanish Government to have the same number of male and female members in the Council of Ministers. During the first four years of his prime ministership the economy continued to expand rapidly, and the government ran budget surpluses. His government brought social liberal changes to Spain, promoting women's rights, changing the abortion law, and legalizing same-sex marriage, and tried to make the State more secular. The economic crisis of 2008 took a heavy toll on Spain's economy, which had been highly dependent on construction since the boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. When the international financial crisis hit, the construction industry collapsed, along with property values and several banks and "cajas" (savings banks) were in need of rescuing or consolidation. Economic growth slowed sharply and unemployment soared to over 20%, levels not seen since the late 1990s. In applying counter-cyclical policies during the beginning of the crisis, and the ensuing drop in State revenues, the government financing fell into deficit. During an 18-month period from 2010 to 2011, the government adopted severe austerity measures, cutting spending and laying off workers.
In March 2011, Rodríguez Zapatero made his decision not to lead the Socialist Party in the coming elections, which he called ahead of schedule for 20 November 2011. The People's Party, which presented Mariano Rajoy for the third time as candidate, won a decisive victory, obtaining an absolute majority in the Congress of Deputies. Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, first deputy prime minister during Rodríguez Zapatero's government and candidate for the Socialist Party in 2011, was elected secretary general of his party in 2012, and became the leader of the opposition in Parliament.
The elections of 20 December 2015 were inconclusive, with the People's Party remaining the largest party in Congress, but unable to form a majority government. The PSOE remained the second largest party, but the Podemos and Ciudadanos parties also obtained substantial representation; coalition negotiations were prolonged but failed to install a new government. This led to a further general election on 26 June 2016, in which the PP increased its number of seats in parliament, while still falling short of an overall majority. Eventually on 29 October, Rajoy was re-appointed as prime minister after the majority of the PSOE members abstained in the parliamentary vote rather than oppose him.
Spanish political developments since the early twentieth century have been marked by the existence of peripheral nationalisms and the debate of whether Spain can be viewed as a plurinational federation. Spain is a diverse country with different and contrasting polities showing varying economic and social structures, as well as different languages and historical, political and cultural traditions. Peripheral nationalist movements have been present mainly in the Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia, some advocating for a special recognition of their "national identity" within the Spanish nation and others for their right of self-determination or independence.
The Constituent Assembly in 1978 struck a balance between the opposing views of centralism, inherited from Franco's regime, and those who viewed Spain as a "nation of nations". In the second article, the constitution recognizes the Spanish nation as the common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards, integrated by nationalities and regions. In practice, and as it began to be used in Spanish jurisprudence, the term "nationalities" makes reference to those regions or autonomous communities with a strong historically constituted sense of identity or a recognized historical cultural identity, as part of the indivisible Spanish nation. This recognition, and the process of devolution within the "State of Autonomies" has led to the legitimation of the Spanish state among the "nationalities", and many of its citizens feel content within the current status quo. Nonetheless, tensions between peripheral nationalism and centralism continue, with some nationalist parties still advocating for a recognition of the other "nations" of the Spanish Kingdom or for a peaceful process towards self-determination. The 2014 Catalan self-determination referendum resulted in a vote of 80.76% for independence, with a turnout percentage of 37.0%, and it was supported by five political parties.
The Government of Spain has been involved in a long-running campaign against Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA), an armed secessionist organization founded in 1959 in opposition to Franco and dedicated to promoting Basque independence through violent means, though originally violence was not a part of their method. They consider themselves a guerrilla organization but are considered internationally as a terrorist organisation. Although the government of the Basque Country does not condone any kind of violence, their different approaches to the separatist movement are a source of tension between the Central and Basque governments.
Initially ETA targeted primarily Spanish security forces, military personnel and Spanish Government officials. As the security forces and prominent politicians improved their own security, ETA increasingly focused its attacks on the tourist seasons (scaring tourists was seen as a way of putting pressure on the government, given the sector's importance to the economy) and local government officials in the Basque Country. The group carried out numerous bombings against Spanish Government facilities and economic targets, including a car bomb assassination attempt on then-opposition leader Aznar in 1995, in which his armored car was destroyed but he was unhurt. The Spanish Government attributes over 800 deaths to ETA during its campaign of terrorism.
On 17 May 2005, all the parties in the Congress of Deputies, except the PP, passed the Government's motion giving approval to the beginning of peace talks with ETA, without making political concessions and with the requirement that it give up its weapons. PSOE, CiU, ERC, PNV, IU-ICV, CC and the mixed group —BNG, CHA, EA and NB— supported it with a total of 192 votes, while the 147 PP parliamentarians objected. ETA declared a "permanent cease-fire" that came into force on 24 March 2006 and was broken by Barajas T4 International Airport Bombings on 30 December 2006. In the years leading up to the permanent cease-fire, the government had had more success in controlling ETA, due in part to increased security cooperation with French authorities.
Spain has also contended with a Marxist resistance group, commonly known as GRAPO. GRAPO (Revolutionary group of 1 October) is an urban guerrilla group, founded in Vigo, Galicia; that seeks to overthrow the Spanish Government and establish a Marxist–Leninist state. It opposes Spanish participation in NATO and U.S. presence in Spain and has a long history of assassinations, bombings, bank robberies and kidnappings mostly against Spanish interests during the 1970s and 1980s.
In a June 2000 communiqué following the explosions of two small devices in Barcelona, GRAPO claimed responsibility for several attacks throughout Spain during the past year. These attacks included two failed armored car robberies, one in which two security officers died, and four bombings of political party offices during the 1999-2000 election campaign. In 2002, Spanish authorities were successful in hampering the organization's activities through sweeping arrests, including some of the group's leadership. GRAPO is not capable of maintaining the degree of operational capability that they once enjoyed. Most members of the groups are either in jail or abroad.
Spain is a member of AfDh, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, United Nations, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, Zangger Committee | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27392 |
Economy of Spain
The economy of Spain is the world's thirteenth-largest by nominal GDP as well as one of the largest in the world by purchasing power parity. The country is a member of the European Union, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Trade Organization. Spain has a capitalist mixed economy. The Spanish economy is the sixth-largest in Europe behind Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Russia as well as the fourth-largest in the eurozone based on nominal GDP statistics. In 2012, Spain was the twelfth-largest exporter in the world and the sixteenth-largest importer. Spain is listed 25th in the United Nations Human Development Index and 30th in GDP per capita by the World Bank, therefore it is classified as a high income economy and among the countries of very high human development. According to "The Economist", Spain has the world's 10th highest quality of life.
Following the financial crisis of 2007–2008, the Spanish economy plunged into recession, entering a cycle of negative macroeconomic performance. Compared to the EU's and US's average, the Spanish economy entered recession later (the economy was still growing by 2008), but it stayed there longer. The economic boom of the 2000s was reversed, leaving over a quarter of Spain's workforce unemployed by 2012. In aggregated terms, the Spanish GDP contracted by almost 9% during the 2009–2013 period. The economic situation started improving by 2013–2014. By then, the country managed to reverse the record trade deficit which had built up during the boom years, attaining a trade surplus in 2013 after three decades of running a trade deficit. The surplus kept strengthening during 2014 and 2015.
In 2015, the Spanish GDP grew by 3.2%, a rate not seen since 2007, the last year before the world financial crisis struck. This growth rate was the highest among larger EU economies that year. In just two years (2014–2015), the Spanish economy recovered 85% of the GDP lost during the 2009–2013 recession which got some international analysts to refer to Spain's current recovery as "the showcase for structural reform efforts". Strong GDP growth was registered also in 2016, with the country growing twice as fast as the eurozone average. In this regard, the Spanish economy is forecast to remain the best-performing major economy in the eurozone also in 2017. Spain's unemployment rate fell substantially from 2013 to 2017, although the real unemployment rate is much lower as there is an estimation of millions of people working in the grey market, people who count as unemployed or inactive yet still perform jobs. Although estimates of the hidden economy vary, the real Spanish GDP may be around 20% bigger as it is estimated that the underground economy of Spain moves annually 190 billion Euros (US$224 billion). Among high income European countries, only Italy and Greece are estimated to have larger underground economies than Spain. Thus Spain may have higher purchasing power as well as a smaller gini coefficient than shown in official numbers. In 2012, the Spanish government officially requested a credit from the European Stability Mechanism to restructure its banking sector in the face of a financial crisis. The ESM approved up to €100 billion in assistance, although, in the end, Spain only drew €41.3 billion. The ESM programme for Spain ended with the full repayment of the credit drawn eighteen months later.
When Spain joined the EEC in 1986 its GDP per capita was about 72% of the average of its members.
At the second half of the 1990s, the conservative government of former prime minister Jose María Aznar had worked successfully to gain admission to the group of countries joining the euro in 1999. Due to its own economic development and the EU enlargements to 28 members, by 2007 Spain had achieved a GDP per capita of 105% of European Union's average, which placed it slightly ahead of Italy (103%). Three regions were included in the leading EU group exceeding 125% of the GDP per capita average level: the Basque Country , Madrid, and Navarre. According to calculations by the German newspaper "Die Welt", Spain's economy had been on course to overtake countries like Germany in per capita income by 2011. Unemployment stood at 7.6% in October 2006, a rate that compared favorably to many other European countries, and especially with the early 1990s when it stood at over 20%. In the past, weak points of Spain's economy included high inflation and large underground economy.
The turn to growth during the 1997-2007 period produced a real estate bubble fed by historically low interest rates, massive rates of foreign investment (during that period Spain had become a favorite of other European investment banks) and an immense surge in immigration. At its peak in 2007, construction had expanded to 15% of the total gross domestic product (GDP) of the country and 12% of total employment. During that time Spain capital inflows –including short term speculative investment– financed a large trade deficit.
The downside of the real estate boom was a corresponding rise in the levels of private debt, both of households and of businesses; as prospective homeowners had struggled to meet asking prices, the average level of household debt tripled in less than a decade. This placed especially great pressure upon lower to middle income groups; by 2005 the median ratio of indebtedness to income had grown to 125%, due primarily to expensive boom time mortgages that now often exceed the value of the property.
Noticeable progress continued until early 2008, when the global financial crisis burst Spain's property bubble.
A European Commission forecast had predicted Spain would enter the world's late 2000s recession by the end of 2008. At the time, Spain's Economy Minister was quoted saying, "Spain is facing its deepest recession in half a century". Spain's government forecast the unemployment rate would rise to 16% in 2009. The ESADE business school predicted 20%. By 2017, Spain's GDP per capita had fallen back to 95% of the European Union's average.
Spain had continued on the path of economic growth when the ruling party changed in 2004, maintaining robust GDP growth during the first term of prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, even though some problems in the Spanish economy were becoming evident. According to the "Financial Times", Spain's rapidly growing trade deficit, had reached 10% of the country's GDP by the summer of 2008, the "loss of competitiveness against its main trading partners" and, also, as a part of the latter, an inflation rate which had been traditionally higher than the one of its European partners, back then especially affected by house price increases of 150% from 1998 and a growing family indebtedness (115%) chiefly related to the Spanish Real Estate boom and rocketing oil prices.
In 2011 the deficit reached a high of 8.5%. For 2016 the deficit objective of the government is around 4%, falling to 2.9% for 2017. The European Commission has demanded 3.9% for 2016 and 2.5% for 2017.
The Spanish government official GDP growth forecast for 2008 in April was 2.3%. This figure was revised down by the Spanish Ministry of Economy to 1.6. Studies by most independent forecasters estimate that the rate had actually dropped to 0.8% instead, below the strong 3% plus GDP annual growth rates during the 1997–2007 decade. During the third quarter of 2008 the national GDP contracted for the first time in 15 years in February 2009, it was confirmed that Spain, along other European economies, had officially entered recession.
In July 2009, the IMF worsened the estimates for Spain's 2009 contraction, to minus 4% of GDP for the year (close to the European average of minus 4.6%.) It estimated a further 0.8% contraction of the Spanish economy for 2010.
The adoption of the Euro in 2002 had driven down long-term interest rates, prompting a surge in mortgage lending that jumped more than fourfold from 2000 to its 2010 apex. The growth in the Spanish property market, which had begun in 1997, accelerated and within a few years had developed into a property bubble, financed largely by regional banks, known as "Cajas", which are regional savings banks under the oversight of regional governments, and fed by the historically low interest rates and a massive growth of immigration. Fueling this trend, the Spanish economy was being credited for having avoided the virtual zero growth rate of some of its largest partners in the EU in the months previous to the global Great Recession.
Spain's economy had created more than half of all the new jobs in the European Union over the five years ending 2005. At the top of its property boom, Spain was building more houses than Germany, France and the U.K. combined. Home prices soared by 71% between 2003 and 2008, in tandem with the credit explosion.
The bubble imploded in 2008, causing the collapse of Spain's large property related and construction sectors, causing mass layoffs, and a collapsing domestic demand for goods and services. Unemployment shot up.
At first, Spain's banks and financial services avoided the early crisis of their international counterparts. However, as the recession deepened and property prices slid, the growing bad debts of the smaller regional savings banks, the ""cajas"", forced the intervention of Spain's central bank and government through a stabilization and consolidation program, taking over or consolidating regional ""cajas"" and finally receiving a bank bailout from the European Central Bank in 2012 aimed specifically for the banking business and ""cajas"" in particular.
Following the 2008 peak, home prices then plunged by 31%, before bottoming out in late 2014.
By 2017, following several months of prices picking up, homeowners who had been renting during the economic slump had started to put their properties back on the sales market. In this regard, home sales are expected to return in 2017 to pre-crisis (2008) level.
In all, the Spanish real estate market is experiencing a new boom, this time in the rental sector. Out of 50 provinces and compared to May 2007, the National Statistics Institute has recorded higher rent levels in 48 provinces, with the 10 most populated accumulating rent inflation between 5% and 15% since 2007. The phenomenon is most visible in big cities such as Barcelona or Madrid, which are seeing new record average prices, partially fueled by short-term rentals to tourists.
In the first weeks of 2010, renewed anxiety about the excessive levels of debt in some EU countries and, more generally, about the health of the euro has spread from Ireland and Greece to Portugal, and to a lesser extent in Spain.
Many economists recommended a battery of policies to control the surging public debt caused by the recessionary collapse of tax revenues, combining drastic austerity measures with higher taxes. Some senior German policy makers went as far as to say that emergency bailouts should include harsh penalties to EU aid recipients such as Greece. It has been noted that the Spanish government budget was in surplus in the years immediately before the global financial crisis and that its debt was not considered excessive.
At the beginning of 2010, Spain's public debt as a percentage of GDP was still less than those of Britain, France or Germany. However, commentators pointed out that Spain's recovery was fragile, that the public debt was growing quickly, that troubled regional banks may need large bailouts, growth prospects were poor and therefore limiting revenue and that the central government has limited control over the spending of the regional governments. Under the structure of shared governmental responsibilities that has evolved since 1975, much responsibility for spending had been given back to the regions. The central government found itself in the difficult position of trying to gain support for unpopular spending cuts from the recalcitrant regional governments.
On 23 May 2010, the government announced further austerity measures, consolidating the ambitious plans announced in January.
As of September 2011, Spanish banks hold a record high of €142 billion of Spanish national bonds. December 2011 bond auctions are "very likely to be covered" according to JPMorgan Chase.
Till Q2 2012, Spanish banks were allowed to report real estate related assets in higher non-market price by regulators. Investors who bought into such banks must be aware. Spanish houses cannot be sold at land book value after being vacant over a period of years.
Even though the sheer size of Spain's underground economy masks to some extent the real situation, employment is a long term weakness of the Spanish economy. By 2014 the structural unemployment rate was estimated at 18%.
After having completed large improvements over the second half of the 1990s and during the 2000s, Spain attained in 2007 its record low unemployment rate, at about 8%, with a few regions on the brink of full employment. Then Spain suffered a severe setback from October 2008, when it saw its unemployment rate surge to 1996 levels. During the period October 2007 – October 2008 the unemployment surge exceeded that of past economic crises, including that of 1993. In particular, during the month of October 2008, Spain suffered its worst unemployment rise ever recorded.
By July 2009, it had shed 1.2 million jobs in one year. The oversized building and housing related industries were contributing greatly to the rising unemployment numbers. Since 2009 thousands of established immigrants began to leave, although some did maintain residency in Spain due to poor conditions in their country of origin. In all, by early 2013 Spain reached an unprecedented unemployment record at about 27%.
During the early 1990s, Spain experienced a period of economic crisis as a result of a larger, Europe-wide economic episode that led to a rise in unemployment rates. Many young adults in Spain found themselves trapped in a cycle of temporary jobs, which resulted in the creation of a secondary class of workers through reduced wages, job stability and advancement opportunities. As a result, many Spaniards, predominantly unmarried young adults, emigrated to other countries in order to pursue job opportunities and raise their standard of life, which left only a small amount of young adults living below the poverty line in Spain. Spain experienced another economic crisis during the 2000s, which also prompted a rise in Spanish citizens emigrating to neighboring countries with more job stability and better economic standings. Youth unemployment remains a concern in Spain, prompting researchers such as Anita Wölfl to suggest that Spain could decrease unemployment by making labor market programs and job-search assistance accessible to the most disadvantaged youth. She has also posited that this would improve Spain's weakened youth labor market, as issues with the school to work transition has made it difficult to find long-term employment. As a solution, Wölfl has suggested making improvements by matching their skills with businesses.
In May 2012 a radical labor reform made for a more flexible labor market, facilitating layoffs with a view to enhancing corporate's confidence. By the second quarter of 2014, the Spanish economy had reversed its negative trend and started creating jobs for the first time since 2008.
This started a trend of setting successive positive employment records. The second quarter reversal had been sudden and extraordinary considering that the number of jobs created set an absolute positive record since such quarterly employment statistics are maintained (the series starts in 1964). Labor reform seemed to play an important role; one piece of evidence cited was that Spain had started creating jobs at lower rates of GDP growth than before: in previous cycles, employment rose when growth hit 2%, this time the gain came during a year when GDP had expanded by just 1.2%.
On the other side, trade unions, left, and center-left parties criticize and want the reform to be revoked, on grounds that it tilts the balance of power too far towards employers. Besides, most new contracts are temporary.
Greater than expected GDP growth has paved the way for further declines in the unemployment rate. Since 2014 Spain has been registering steady annual fall in the official jobless figure. During 2016 unemployment in Spain experienced the steepest fall on record to date. By the end of that year, Spain had recovered 1.7m of the more than 3.5m jobs lost over the course of the recession. By Q4 2016 Spanish unemployment had fallen to 18.6%, the lowest rate in seven years. In April 2017 the country recorded its biggest drop in jobless claimants for a single month in the entire historical series to date. Job creation kept speeding up; in this regard, May 2017 was the best May to date in terms of social security affiliations since this record was started in 2001 and during that month jobless claims fell to the lowest figure since June 2009.
At 17.2% in the second quarter 2017, unemployment fell below 4 million for the first time since 2008, with the country experiencing its steepest quarterly decline in unemployment on record to date (series starts in 1964). In 2018, at 14.6% the unemployment rate did not exceed the 15% threshold for the first time since 2008 when the crisis began.
In 2019, Pedro Sánchez's socialist government increased the minimum wage by 22% in an attempt to boost hiring and encourage spending. Members of the opposition argued that this increase from €858 to €1050 a month would negatively affect 1.2 million workers due to their employers being unable to cover the aforementioned raise.
Capital contributions from the EU, which had contributed significantly to the economic empowerment of Spain since joining the EEC, have decreased considerably since 1990 due to the economic standardization in relation to other countries and the effects of the EU's enlargement. On the one hand, agricultural funds from the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union (CAP) are now spread across more countries.
On the other hand, with 2004's and 2007's enlargement of the European Union, less developed countries joined the EU, lowering the average income per capita (or GDP per capita), so that Spanish regions which were considered to be relatively less developed, became in the European average or even above it. Spain has gradually become a net contributor of funds for less developed countries of the Union as opposed to receiving funds.
With a 3.2% increase in 2015, the Spanish GDP growth was the highest among larger EU economies that year. In just two years (2014-2015) the Spanish economy had recovered 85% of the GDP lost during the 2009-2013 recession, which got some international analysts to refer to Spain's current recovery as "the showcase for structural reform efforts".
By Q2 2016 the Spanish economy had been accumulating 12 consecutive quarters of growth, managing to consistently outperform the rest of the Euro area. Such growth has continued, with the Spanish economy outperforming expectations and growing 3.2 per cent in 2016, almost twice as fast as the Euro zone average.
Subsequently, in the second quarter of 2017 Spain recovered all the GDP lost during the economic crisis, exceeding for the first time the output level that had been reached in 2008. The Spanish economy is forecast to remain the best-performing major economy in the Euro zone also in 2017.
One of the main drivers of economic recovery is international trade, in turn sparked by dramatic gains in labor productivity. During the economic downturn, Spain significantly reduced imports, increased exports and kept attracting growing numbers of tourists; as a result, after three decades of running a trade deficit the country attained in 2013 a trade surplus which has strengthened during 2014 and 2015. Exports have shot up, from around 25% (2008) to 33% of GDP (2016) on the back of an internal devaluation (the country's wage bill halved in the 2008-2016 period), a search for new markets and a recent mild recovery of the European economy.
The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2018. Inflation under 2% is in green.
Spanish private commercial banks played a central role in Spain's economic development, benefiting from their role as the state's creditor in the 19th century, from their ability to monetize public debt, and from state-sanctioned oligopolistic arrangements that lasted from the beginning of the 20th century until the late 1980s, when European rules forced a liberalization of the sector. It has been argued that the favorable treatment received by the main Spanish commercial banks and their close relationship to the Bank of Spain ("Banco de España") following the end of the Franco regime allowed for a public-private partnership to restructure the large commercial banks into two large banks (Santander and BBVA) with the purpose of preparing the private institutions for international competition and external expansion once the European banking market was integrated in 1992 Alongside this financial mercantilism benefiting the commercial banking sector, Spanish regulators also allowed for the vast expansion of not for profit savings banks sponsored by regional governments who became heavily exposed to the housing mortgage and real estate development sectors during the Spanish economic boom of 1999–2007.
Prior to 2010, the Spanish banking system had been credited as one of the most solid of all western banking systems in coping with the ongoing worldwide liquidity crisis, thanks to the country's conservative banking rules and practices. Banks were required to have high capital provisions and to demand various guarantees and securities from intending borrowers. This allowed the banks, particularly the geographically and industrially diversified large banks like BBVA and Santander, to weather the real estate deflation better than expected. Indeed, Spain's large commercial banks have been able to capitalize on their strong position to buy up distressed banking assets elsewhere in Europe and in the United States.
Nevertheless, with the unprecedented crisis of the country's real estate sector, smaller local savings banks ("Cajas"), had been delaying the registering of bad loans, especially those backed by houses and land, to avoid declaring losses. In June 2009 the Spanish government set its banking bailout and reconstruction fund, the "Fondo de reestructuración ordenada bancaria" (FROB), known in English as Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring. In the event, State intervention of local savings banks due to default risk was less than feared. On 22 May 2010, the "Banco de España" took over "CajaSur", as part of a national program to put the country's smaller banks on a firm financial basis. On December 2011, the Spanish central bank, Banco de España (equivalent of the US Federal Reserve), forcibly took over "Caja Mediterraneo", also known as CAM, (a regional savings bank) to prevent its financial collapse.
The international accounting firm, PriceWaterhouseCooper, estimated an imbalance between CAM's assets and debts of €3,500 million, not counting the industrial corporation. The troubled situation reached its peak with the partial nationalization of Bankia in May 2012. By then it was becoming clear that the mounting real estate losses of the savings banks were undermining confidence in the country's government bonds, thus aggravating a sovereign debt crisis.
In early June 2012, Spain requested European funding of €41 billion "to recapitalize Spanish banks that need it". It was not a sovereign bailout in that the funds were used only for the restructuring of the banking sector a full-fledged bailout for an economy the size of the Spanish would have reached ten or twelve times that amount).
In return for the credit line etended by the EMS, there were no tax or macroeconomic conditions.
As of 2017 the cost of restructuring Spain's bankrupt savings banks were estimated to have been €60.7 billion, of which nearly €41.8 billion was put up by the state through the FROB and the rest by the banking sector. The total cost will not be fully understood until those lenders still controlled by the State (Bankia and BMN) are newly privatized. In this regard, by early 2017 the Spanish government was considering a merger of both banks before privatizing the combined bank to recoup an estimated 400 million euros of their bailout costs.
During the course of this transformation period, most regional savings banks such as the CAM, Catalunya Banc, Banco de Valencia, Novagalicia Banco, Unnim Banc or Cajasur have since been absorbed by the bigger, more international, Spanish banks, which imposed better management practices.
Due to the lack of own resources, Spain has to import all of its fossil fuels. Besides, until the 2008 crisis, Spain's recent performance had shown an inflationary tendency and an inflationary gap compared to other EMU countries, affecting the country's overall productivity. Moreover, when Spain joined the euro zone, it lost the recourse of resorting to competitive devaluations, risking a permanent and cumulative loss of competitive due to inflation. In a scenario of record oil prices by the mid 2000s this meant much added pressure to the inflation rate. In June 2008 the inflation rate reached a 13-year high at 5.00%.
Then, with the dramatic decrease of oil prices that took place in the second half of 2008 plus the manifest bursting of the real estate bubble, concerns quickly shifted over to the risk of deflation, as Spain recorded in January 2009 its lowest inflation rate in 40 years, followed shortly afterwards, in March 2009 by a negative inflation rate for the first time since the gathering of these statistics started. Subsequently, apart from temporary minor oil shocks, the Spanish economy has generally oscillated between slightly negative to near-zero inflation rates during the 2009−early 2016 period. Analysts reckoned that this was not synonymous with deflation, due to the fact that GDP had been growing since 2014, domestic consumption had rebounded as well and, especially, because core inflation remained slightly positive.
Indeed, as the impact of cheaper fuel prices faded and economic recovery took hold, moderate inflation in the 1-2% region (in other words, still below the ECB's target) has made a comeback in 2017.
Since the 1990s some Spanish companies have gained multinational status, often expanding their activities in culturally close Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia. Spain is the second biggest foreign investor in Latin America, after the United States. Spanish companies have also expanded into Asia, especially China and India. This early global expansion gave Spanish companies a competitive advantage over some of Spain's competitors and European neighbors. Another contribution to the success of Spanish firms may have to do with booming interest toward Spanish language and culture in Asia and Africa, but also a corporate culture that learned to take risks in unstable markets.
Spanish companies invested in fields like biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, or renewable energy (Iberdrola is the world's largest renewable energy operator), technology companies like Telefónica, Abengoa, Mondragon Corporation, Movistar, Gamesa, Hisdesat, Indra, train manufacturers like CAF and Talgo, global corporations such as the textile company Inditex, petroleum companies like Repsol and infrastructure firms. Six of the ten biggest international construction firms specialising in transport are Spanish, lincluding Ferrovial, Acciona, ACS, OHL and FCC.
Spain is equipped with a solid banking system as well, including two global systemically important banks, Banco Santander and BBVA.
In the 2012–13 edition of the Global Competitiveness Report Spain was listed 10th in the world in terms of first-class infrastructure. It is the 5th EU country with best infrastructure and ahead of countries like Japan or the United States. In particular, the country is a leader in the field of high-speed rail, having developed the second longest network in the world (only behind China) and leading high-speed projects with Spanish technology around the world.
The Spanish infrastructure concession companies, lead 262 transport infrastructure worldwide, representing 36% of the total, according to the latest rankings compiled by the publication Public Works Financing. The top three global occupy Spanish companies: ACS, Global Vía and Abertis, according to the ranking of companies by number of concessions for roads, railways, airports and ports in construction or operation in October 2012. Considering the investment, the first world infrastructure concessionaire is Ferrovial-Cintra, with 72,000 million euros, followed closely by ACS, with 70,200 million. Among the top ten in the world are also the Spanish Sacyr (21,500 million), FCC and Global Vía (with 19,400 million) and OHL (17,870 million).
During 2013 Spanish civil engineering companies signed contracts around the world for a total of 40 billion euros, setting a new record for the national industry.
The port of Valencia in Spain is the busiest seaport in the Mediterranean basin, 5th busiest in Europe and 30th busiest in the world. There are four other Spanish ports in the ranking of the top 125 busiest world seaports (Algeciras, Barcelona, Las Palmas, and Bilbao); as a result, Spain is tied with Japan in the third position of countries leading this ranking.
During the boom years, Spain had built up a trade deficit eventually amounting a record equivalent to 10% of GDP (2007) and the external debt ballooned to the equivalent of 170% of GDP, one of the highest among Western economies. Then, during the economic downturn, Spain reduced significantly imports due to domestic consumption shrinking while – despite the global slowdown – it has been increasing exports and kept attracting growing numbers of tourists. Spanish exports grew by 4.2% in 2013, the highest rate in the European Union. As a result, after three decades of running a trade deficit Spain attained in 2013 a trade surplus. Export growth was driven by capital goods and the automotive sector and the forecast was to reach a surplus equivalent to 2.5% of GDP in 2014.
Exports in 2014 were 34% of GDP, up from 24% in 2009.
The trade surplus attained in 2013 has been consolidated in 2014 and 2015.
Despite slightly declining exports from fellow EU countries in the same period, Spanish exports continued to grow and in the first half of 2016 the country beat its own record to date exporting goods for 128,041 million euros; from the total, almost 67% were exported to other EU countries. During this same period, from the 70 members of the World Trade Organization (whose combined economies amount to 90% of global GDP), Spain was the country whose exports had grown the most.
In 2016, exports of goods hit historical highs despite a global slowdown in trade, making up for 33% of the total GDP (by comparison, exports represent 12% of GDP in the United States, 18% in Japan, 22% in China or 45% in Germany).
In all, by 2017 foreign sales have been rising every year since 2010, with a degree of unplanned import substitution -a rather unusual feat for Spain when in an expansive phase- which points to structural competitive gains. According to the most recent 2017 data, about 65% of the country's exports go to other EU members.
The Spanish benchmark stock market index is the IBEX 35, which as of 2016 is led by banking (including Banco Santander and BBVA), clothing (Inditex), telecommunications (Telefónica) and energy (Iberdrola).
Traditionally until 2008, most exports and imports from Spain were held with the countries of the European Union: France, Germany, Italy, UK and Portugal.
In recent years foreign trade has taken refuge outside the European Union. Spain's main customers are Latin America, Asia (Japan, China, India), Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Egypt) and the United States. Principal trading partners in Asia are Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan. In Africa, countries producing oil (Nigeria, Algeria, Libya) are important partners, as well as Morocco. Latin American countries are very important trading partners, like Argentina, Mexico, Cuba (tourism), Colombia, Brazil, Chile (food products) and Mexico, Venezuela and Argentina (petroleum).
After the crisis that began in 2008 and the fall of the domestic market, Spain (since 2010) it has turned outwards widely increasing the export supply and export amounts. It has diversified its traditional destinations and has grown significantly in product sales of medium and high technology, including highly competitive markets like the US and Asia.
During the last four decades Spain's foreign tourist industry has grown into the second-biggest in the world. A 2015 survey by the World Economic Forum proclaimed the country's tourism industry as the world's most competitive. The 2017 survey repeated this finding.
By 2015 the country remained the third most visited country in the world. With 75.3 million visitors, the country broke in 2016 its own tourism record for the seventh year in a row.
The size of the business has gone from approximately €40 billion in 2006 to about €77 billion in 2016. In 2015 the total value of foreign and domestic tourism came to nearly 5% of the country's GDP and provided employment for about 2 million people.
The headquarters of the World Tourism Organization are located in Madrid.
The automotive industry is one of the largest employers in the country. In 2015 Spain was the 8th largest automobile producer country in the world and the 2nd largest car manufacturer in Europe after Germany.
By 2016, the automotive industry was generating 8.7 percent of Spain's gross domestic product, employing about nine percent of the manufacturing industry. By 2008 the automobile industry was the 2nd most exported industry while in 2015 about 80% of the total production was for export.
German companies poured €4.8 billion into Spain in 2015, making the country the second-largest destination for German foreign direct investment behind only the U.S. The lion's share of that investment —€4 billion— went to the country's auto industry.
In 2008, Spanish electricity consumption was an average of 6,523 kWh/person. Spanish electricity usage constituted 88% of the EU15 average (EU15: 7,409 kWh/person), and 73% of the OECD average (8,991 kWh/person).
Spain is one of the world leaders in renewable energies, both as a producer of renewable energy itself and as an exporter of such technology. In 2013 it became the first country ever in the world to have wind power as its main source of energy.
Agribusiness has been another segment growing aggressively over the last few years. At slightly over 40 billion euros, in 2015 agribusiness exports accounted for 3% of GDP and over 15% of the total Spanish exports.
The boom was shaped during the 2004-2014 period, when Spain's agribusiness exports grew by 95% led by pork, wine and olive oil. By 2012 Spain was by far the biggest producer of olive oil in the world, accounting for 50% of the total production worldwide. By 2013 the country became the world's leading producer of wine; in 2014 and 2015 Spain was the world's biggest wine exporter. However, poor marketing and low margins remain an issue, as shown by the fact that the main importers of Spanish olive oil and wine (Italy and France, respectively) buy bulk Spanish produce which is then bottled and sold under Italian or French labels, often for a significant markup.
Spain is the largest producer and exporter in the EU of citrus fruit (oranges, lemons and small citrus fruits), peaches and apricots. It is also the largest producer and exporter of strawberries in the EU.
Between 1985 and 2018 around 23,201 deals have been announced where Spanish companies participated either as the acquirer or the target. These deals cumulate to an overall value of 1,935 bil. USD (1,571.8 bil. EUR).
Here is a list of the top 10 deals with Spanish participation: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27393 |
Transport in Spain
Transport in Spain is characterised by an extensive network of roads, railways (including the world's second longest high speed rail network), rapid transit, air routes, and ports. Its geographic location makes it an important link between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Major forms of transit generally radiate from the capital, Madrid, located in the centre of the country, to link with the capitals of the autonomous communities.
Spanish transit is marked by a high degree of integration between its long distance railway system and inner-city metro systems, although the historic use of broad gauge has limited integration with its neighbours. Spain is currently working to increase and improve linkage with the rail systems of France and Portugal, including the high-speed rail line between Madrid and Lisbon.
Spain's highway system is highly developed, with both tolled and free motorways.
Air traffic is routed through several international and regional airports, the largest of which is Barajas International Airport in Madrid.
Spanish railways date from 1848. The total route length in 2017 was 15,333 km, of which 9,699 km were electrified. Four different track gauges are used in Spain.
Most railways are operated by RENFE; narrow gauge lines are operated by FEVE and other carriers in individual autonomous communities. It is proposed to build or convert more standard gauge lines, including some dual gauging of broad gauge lines, especially where these lines link to adjacent countries.
A high-speed rail line (AVE) between Madrid and Seville was completed in 1992. In 2003, high-speed service was inaugurated on a new line from Madrid to Lleida and extended to Barcelona in 2008. The same year, lines from Madrid to Valladolid and from Córdoba to Málaga were inaugurated. In 2010, AVE line Madrid-Cuenca-Valencia was inaugurated.
In December 2003, Morocco and Spain agreed to explore the construction of an undersea rail tunnel across the Strait of Gibraltar, to connect their rail systems.
Alta Velocidad Española (AVE) is a high-speed rail service in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to 310 km/h (193 mph). The name is literally translated from Spanish "Alta Velocidad Españolas" (Spanish High Speed), but its initials are also a play on the word "ave", meaning "bird". As of December 2011, the Spanish AVE system is the longest HSR network in Europe with 2,665 km (1,656 mi) and the second in the world after China. AVE trains run on a network of dedicated high-speed rail track owned and managed by Adif. The first line was opened in 1992, connecting the cities of Madrid, Córdoba, and Sevilla. Unlike the rest of the Spanish broad gauge network, the AVE uses standard gauge, permitting direct connections outside Spain. Although AVE trains are operated by Renfe, the Spanish state railway company, private companies may be allowed to operate trains in the future using other brands, in accordance with European Union legislation. Some TGV-derived trains do run on the broad-gauge network at slower speeds, and these are branded separately as Euromed. On the line from Madrid to Seville, the service guarantees arrival within five minutes of the advertised time, and offers a full refund if the train is delayed further, although only 0.16% of trains have been so. In this regard, the punctuality of the AVE is exceptional compared to other non-long-distance RENFE services. On other AVE lines, this punctuality promise is more lax (15 minutes on the Barcelona line). A possible reason for this is that AVE services slow down to 200 km/h for the Sierra Morena section of the journey because of the tight curves and 250 km/h for the Córdoba-Seville section, possibly on account of medium-speed services running on the line, meaning that they have an easy means of recovering lost time if held up earlier in the journey.
The Ave connects the following cities:
Highways in Spain are divided into "autopista"s and "autovía"s, the former being controlled-access highways. As of 2015, Spain had 12,311 km of roads designated as part of the European comprehensive TEN-T network, of which 10,636 km are motorways. Bridges accounted for 220 km (1.8%) of this network and tunnels for a further 100 km (0.8%). There are also many national roads.
There are 1,045 km of waterways, but they have minor economic importance.
The most important ports and harbours are Algeciras, Barcelona, Valencia and Bilbao. Other major ports and harbours include Cádiz, Cartagena, Ceuta, Huelva, A Coruña, Las Palmas, Málaga, Melilla, Gijón, Palma de Mallorca, Saguntum, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Los Cristianos (Tenerife), Santander, Tarragona, Vigo, Motril, Almería, Seville, Castellón de la Plana, Alicante, Pasaia, Avilés, and Ferrol.
Domestic air transport is in fierce competition with the AVE. For example, the Madrid-Barcelona route was Europe's busiest air route prior to the opening of a high speed rail line in this corridor. Air traffic is also the main mode of transport linking the Balearic and Canary Islands to the mainland.
Main airports are Madrid, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Málaga, Gran Canaria, Alicante, and Tenerife South.
In 2009, there were 298 heliports. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27395 |
Foreign relations of Spain
After the return of democracy following the death of General Franco in 1975, Spain's foreign policy priorities were to break out of the diplomatic isolation of the Franco years and expand diplomatic relations, enter the European Community, and define security relations with NATO, later joining the organization in 1982.
Spain has established itself as a major participant in multilateral international security activities. Spain's European Union membership represents an important part of its foreign policy. Even on many international issues beyond Western Europe, Spain prefers to coordinate its efforts with its EU partners through the European political cooperation mechanisms.
Spain has maintained its special identification with its fellow Spanish-speaking countries. Its policy emphasizes the concept of an Ibero-American community, essentially the renewal of the historically liberal concept of "Hispano-Americanismo" (or Hispanic as it is often referred to in English), which has sought to link the Iberian peninsula to the Spanish-speaking countries in Central and South America through language, commerce, history and culture. Spain has been an effective example of transition from dictatorship to democracy, as shown in the many trips that Spain's King and Prime Ministers have made to the region.
Spain maintains economic and technical cooperation programs and cultural exchanges with Latin America, both bilaterally and within the EU. During José María Aznar's government, Spanish relations with some Latin-American countries like Mexico, Venezuela and Cuba worsened, but were exceptionally good with others like Colombia, Dominican Republic and several Central America republics. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's victory in the 2004 general elections changed this setting. Despite long-standing close linguistic, economic and cultural relations with most of Latin America, some aspects of Spanish foreign policy during this time, such as its support for the Iraq War, were not supported or widely favored.
Today, relations with Venezuela are quite good, which has caused some controversy with the United States, who have been in recent disagreements with Venezuela under Hugo Chávez and its growing relations with "Anti-American Nations", such as Cuba, China, Russia and several Islamic Middle Eastern countries. However, due to a notable public incident in 2007, Venezuelan-Spanish ties were briefly suspended, though were later re-established.
Spain has gradually begun to broaden its contacts with Sub-Saharan Africa. It has a particular interest in its former colony of Equatorial Guinea, where it maintains a large aid program. More recently, it has sought closer relation with Senegal, Mauritania, Mali and others to find solutions for the issue of illegal immigration to the Canary Islands. [""]
In the Middle East, Spain is known as a broker between powers. In its relations with the Arab world, Spain frequently supports Arab positions on Middle East issues. The Arab countries are a priority interest for Spain because of oil and gas imports and because several Arab nations have substantial investments in Spain. [""]
Spain has been successful in managing its relations with its three immediate European neighbours, France, Andorra, and Portugal. The accession of Spain and Portugal to the EU in 1986 has helped ease some of their periodic trade frictions by putting these into an EU context. Franco-Spanish bilateral cooperation has been enhanced by joint action against recurring violence by separatist Basque group ETA since the 1960s. Ties with the United Kingdom are generally good, although the question of Gibraltar remains a sensitive issue, especially since the UK vote on Brexit.
Today, Spain is trying to expand its still narrow relations with East Asian nations, with China, Japan and South Korea as its main points of interest in the region. [""] Thailand and Indonesia are Spain's main allies in the ASEAN region, having a considerable number of agreements and a very good relationship. In the recent years Spain has also been boosting its contacts, relations and investment in other Asian countries, most notably Vietnam and Malaysia. [""] Relations with the Philippines are, despite a very long colonial past, considerably weaker than the ones Spain has with other countries in the area, dealing mostly with cultural aspects and humanitarian assistance programs.
Whilst the disputed on Gibraltar with the United Kingdom is perhaps the best known territorial dispute of Spain, the country also has disputes with Portugal and Morocco.
Ever since it was captured in 1704 by Anglo-Dutch forces during the War of the Spanish Succession, Gibraltar has been the subject of a dispute between the United Kingdom and Spain. Situated at the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula, overseeing the Strait of Gibraltar which connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea, the territory has great strategic importance. Today, Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory and houses an important base of British Armed Forces.
The strategic position of the Strait of Gibraltar has left a legacy of a number of sovereignty disputes, including those with Morocco concerning the "five places of sovereignty" ("plazas de soberanía") on and off the coast of Morocco - the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which Morocco contests, as well as the islands of Peñon de Alhucemas, Peñon de Vélez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas. Spain maintains sovereignty over Ceuta, Melilla, Peñon de Velez de la Gomera, Alhucemas and the Chafarinas Islands (captured following the Christian reconquest of Spain) based upon historical grounds, security reasons and on the basis of the UN principle of territorial integrity. Spain also maintains that the majority of residents are Spanish. Morocco claims these territories on the basis of the UN principles of decolonisation, territorial integrity and that Spanish arguments for the recovery of Gibraltar substantiate Morocco's claim.
Olivenza (Spanish) or Olivença (Portuguese) is a town and seat of a municipality, on a disputed section of the border between Portugal and Spain, which is claimed "de jure" by both countries and administered "de facto" as part of the Spanish autonomous community of Extremadura. The population is 80% ethnic Portuguese and 30% of Portuguese language. Olivenza/Olivença was under continuous Portuguese sovereignty since 1297 until it was occupied by the Spanish in 1801 and formally ceded by Portugal later that year by the Treaty of Badajoz. Spain claims the "de jure" sovereignty over Olivenza/Olivença on the grounds that the Treaty of Badajoz still stands and has never been revoked. Thus, the border between the two countries in the region of Olivenza/Olivença should be as demarcated by that treaty. Portugal claims the "de jure" sovereignty over Olivenza/Olivença on the grounds that the Treaty of Badajoz was revoked by its own terms (the breach of any of its articles would lead to its cancellation) when Spain invaded Portugal in the Peninsular War of 1807.
Portugal further bases its case on Article 105 of the Treaty of Vienna of 1815, which Spain signed in 1817, that states that the winning countries are to ""endeavour with the mightiest conciliatory effort to return Olivenza/Olivença to Portuguese authority"". Thus, the border between the two countries in the region of Olivenza/Olivença should be as demarcated by the Treaty of Alcanizes of 1297. Spain interprets Article 105 as not being mandatory on demanding Spain to return Olivenza/Olivença to Portugal, thus not revoking the Treaty of Badajoz. Portugal has never made a formal claim to the territory after the Treaty of Vienna, but has equally never directly acknowledged the Spanish sovereignty over Olivenza/Olivença.
Portugal continues to claim Olivenza/Olivença, asserting that under the Vienna Treaty of 1815, Spain recognized the Portuguese claims as "legitimate". The historic disputes with Portugal over the Savage Islands in the Atlantic Ocean were resolved in recent times.
Spanish public opinion is not generally aware of the Portuguese claim on Olivenza/Olivença (in contrast to the Spanish claim on Gibraltar or the Moroccan claims on Ceuta, Melilla and the "Plazas de soberanía"). On the other hand, awareness in Portugal has been increasing under the efforts of pressure groups to have the question raised and debated in public. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27397 |
Spratly Islands
The Spratly Islands (, , , ("Nánshā Qúndǎo")), Dusun: "Kopulohon Dibut" are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed of islands, islets and cays and more than 100 reefs, sometimes grouped in submerged old atolls, the archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia, and southern Vietnam. Named after the 19th-century British whaling captain Richard Spratly who sighted Spratly Island in 1843, the islands contain less than of naturally occurring land area spread over an area of more than .
The Spratlys are one of the major archipelagos in the West Philippine Sea which complicate governance and economics in this part of Southeast Asia due to their location in strategic shipping lanes. The islands have no indigenous inhabitants, but offer rich fishing grounds and may contain significant oil and natural gas reserves, and as such are important to the claimants in their attempts to establish international boundaries. Some of the islands have civilian settlements, but of the approximately 45 islands, cays, reefs and shoals that are occupied, all contain structures that are occupied by military forces from Malaysia, Taiwan (ROC), China (PRC), the Philippines or Vietnam. Additionally, Brunei has claimed an exclusive economic zone in the southeastern part of the Spratlys, which includes the uninhabited Louisa Reef.
The Spratly Islands were, in 1939, coral islets mostly inhabited by seabirds. Despite the Spratly Islands naturally consisting of 19 islands "(see below)", according to a Chinese 1986 source, the Spratly Islands consist of 14 islands or islets, 6 banks, 113 submerged reefs, 35 underwater banks and 21 underwater shoals.
The northeast part of the Spratlys is known as Dangerous Ground and is characterised by many low islands, sunken reefs, and degraded sunken atolls with coral often rising abruptly from ocean depths greater than – all of which makes the area dangerous for navigation.
The islands are all of similar nature; they are cays (or keys): sand islands formed on old degraded and submerged coral reefs.
The Spratly Islands contain almost no significant arable land, have no indigenous inhabitants, and very few of the islands have a permanent drinkable water supply.
Natural resources include fish, guano, oil and natural gas. Economic activity has included commercial fishing, shipping, guano mining, oil and gas exploitation, and more recently, tourism. The Spratlys are located near several primary shipping lanes.
In 1987, China installed a small military structure on Fiery Cross Reef under the pretext of building an oceanic observation station and installing a tide gauge for the Global Sea Level Observing System. After a deadly skirmish with the Vietnamese Navy, China installed some military structures on more reefs in the vicinity of the Philippines and Vietnamese occupied islands and this led to escalating tensions between these countries and China over the status and "ownership" of reefs.
The islands and cays, listed in descending order of naturally occurring area, are:
The total area of the archipelago's naturally occurring islands is and with reclaimed land.
The Spratly Islands consist of islands, reefs, banks and shoals that consist of biogenic carbonate. These accumulations of biogenic carbonate lie upon the higher crests of major submarine ridges that are uplifted fault blocks known by geologists as horsts. These horsts are part of a series of parallel and en echelon, half-grabens and rotated fault-blocks. The long axes of the horsts, rotated fault blocks and half-grabens form well-defined linear trends that lie parallel to magnetic anomalies exhibited by the oceanic crust of the adjacent South China Sea. The horsts, rotated fault blocks, and the rock forming the bottoms of associated grabens consist of stretched and subsided continental crust that is composed of Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous strata that include calc-alkalic extrusive igneous rocks, intermediate to acid intrusive igneous rocks, sandstones, siltstones, dark-green claystones, and metamorphic rocks that include biotite–muscovite–feldspar–quartz migmatites and garnet–mica schists.
The dismemberment and subsidence of continental crust into horsts, rotated fault blocks and half-grabens that underlie the Spratly Islands and surrounding sea bottom occurred in two distinct periods. They occurred as the result of the tectonic stretching of continental crust along underlying deeply rooted detachment faults. During the Late Cretaceous and Early Oligocene, the earliest period of tectonic stretching of continental crust and formation of horsts, half-grabens, and rotated fault-blocks occurred in association the rifting and later sea-floor spreading that created the South China Sea. During the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene additional stretching and block faulting of continental crust occurred within the Spratly Islands and adjacent Dangerous Ground. During and after this period of tectonic activity, corals and other marine life colonised the crests of the horsts and other ridges that lay in shallow water. The remains of these organisms accumulated over time as biogenic carbonates that comprise the current day reefs, shoals and cays of the Spratly Islands. Starting with their formation in Late Cretaceous, fine-grained organic-rich marine sediments accumulated within the numerous submarine half-grabens that underlie sea bottom within the Dangerous Ground region.
The geological surveys show localised areas within the Spratly Islands region are favourable for the accumulation of economic oil and gas reserves. They include thick sequences of Cenozoic sediments east of the Spratly Islands. Southeast and west of them, there also exist thick accumulations of sediments that possibly might contain economic oil and gas reserves lie closer to the Spratly Islands.
In some cays in the Spratly Islands, the sand and pebble sediments form the beaches and spits around the island. Under the influence of the dominant wind direction, which changes seasonally, these sediments move around the island to change the shape and size of the island. For example, Spratly Island is larger during the northeast monsoon (about 700 × 300 meters), and smaller during the southwest monsoon (approximately 650 × 320 meters).
Some islands may contain fresh groundwater fed by rain. Groundwater levels fluctuate during the day with the rhythm of the tides.
Phosphates from bird faeces (guano) are mainly concentrated in the beach rocks by the way of exchange-endosmosis. The principal minerals bearing phosphate are podolite, lewistonite and dehonite.
Coral reefs are the predominant structures of these islands; the Spratly group contains over 600 coral reefs in total. In April 2015 the "New York Times" reported that China were using "scores of dredgers" to convert Fiery Cross Reef and several other reefs into military facilities.
Little vegetation grows on these islands, which are subject to intense monsoons. Larger islands are capable of supporting tropical forest, scrub forest, coastal scrub and grasses. It is difficult to determine which species have been introduced or cultivated by humans. Taiping Island (Itu Aba) was reportedly covered with shrubs, coconut, and mangroves in 1938; pineapple was also cultivated there when it was profitable. Other accounts mention papaya, banana, palm, and even white peach trees growing on one island. A few islands that have been developed as small tourist resorts had soil and trees brought in and planted where there was none.
A total of 2,927 marine species have been recorded in the Spratly Sea, including 776 benthic species, 382 species of hard coral, 524 species of marine fish, 262 species of algae and sea grass, 35 species of seabirds, and 20 species of marine mammals and sea turtles. Terrestrial vegetation in the islands includes 103 species of vascular plants of magnolia branches (Magnoliophyta) of 39 families and 79 genera. The islands that do have vegetation provide important habitats for many seabirds and sea turtles. Both the green turtle ("Chelonia mydas", endangered) and the hawksbill turtle ("Eretmochelys imbricata", critically endangered) formerly occurred in numbers sufficient to support commercial exploitation. These species reportedly continue to nest even on islands inhabited by military personnel (such as Pratas) to some extent, though it is believed that their numbers have declined.
Seabirds use the islands as resting, breeding, and wintering sites. Species found here include streaked shearwater ("Calonectris leucomelas"), brown booby ("Sula leucogaster"), red-footed booby ("S. sula"), great crested tern ("Sterna bergii"), and white tern ("Gygis alba"). Little information is available regarding the current status of the islands' seabird populations, though it is likely that birds may divert nesting sites to smaller, less disturbed islands. Bird eggs cover the majority of Southwest Cay, a small island in the eastern Danger Zone. A variety of cetaceans such as dolphins, orcas, pilot whales, and sperm whales are also present around the islands.
This ecoregion is still largely a mystery. Scientists have focused their research on the marine environment, while the ecology of the terrestrial environment remains relatively unknown.
Political instability, tourism and the increasing industrialisation of neighbouring countries has led to serious disruption of native flora and fauna, over-exploitation of natural resources, and environmental pollution. Disruption of nesting areas by human activity and/or by introduced animals, such as dogs, has reduced the number of turtles nesting on the islands. Sea turtles are also slaughtered for food on a significant scale. The sea turtle is a symbol of longevity in Chinese culture and at times the military personnel are given orders to protect the turtles.
Heavy commercial fishing in the region incurs other problems. Although it has been outlawed, fishing methods continue to include the use of bottom trawlers fitted with chain rollers. In 1994 a routine patrol by Taiwan's marine navy confiscated more than 200 kg of potassium cyanide solution from fishermen who had been using it for cyanide fishing. These activities have a devastating impact on local marine organisms and coral reefs.
Some interest has been taken in regard to conservation of these island ecosystems. J.W. McManus, professor of marine biology and ecology at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, has explored the possibilities of designating portions of the Spratly Islands as a marine park. One region of the Spratly Archipelago, named Truong Sa, was proposed by Vietnam's Ministry of Science, Technology, and the Environment (MOSTE) as a future protected area. The site, with an area of , is currently managed by the Khánh Hòa Provincial People's Committee of Vietnam.
Military groups in the Spratlys have engaged in environmentally damaging activities such as shooting turtles and seabirds, raiding nests and fishing with explosives. The collection of rare medicinal plants, collecting of wood, and hunting for the wildlife trade are common threats to the biodiversity of the entire region, including these islands. Coral habitats are threatened by pollution, over-exploitation of fish and invertebrates, and the use of explosives and poisons as fishing techniques.
A 2014 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report said: ""Sand is rarer than one thinks"".
The average price of sand imported by Singapore was US$3 per tonne from 1995 to 2001, but the price increased to US$190 per tonne from 2003 to 2005. Although the Philippines and China had both ratified the UNCLOS III, in the case of and Johnson South Reef, Hughes Reef, Mischief Reef, the PRC dredged sand for free in the EEZ the Philippines had claimed from 1978 arguing this is the "waters of China's Nansha Islands".
Although the consequences of substrate mining are hidden, they are tremendous. Aggregate particles that are too fine to be used are rejected by dredging boats, releasing vast dust plumes and changing water turbidity.
John McManus, a professor of marine biology and ecology at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, said: "The worst thing anyone can do to a coral reef is to bury it under tons of sand and gravel ... There are global security concerns associated with the damage. It is likely broad enough to reduce fish stocks in the world's most fish-dependent region." He explained that the reason "the world has heard little about the damage inflicted by the Peoples Republic of China to the reefs is that the experts can't get to them" and noted "I have colleagues from the Philippines, Taiwan, PRC, Vietnam and Malaysia who have worked in the Spratly area. Most would not be able to get near the artificial islands except possibly some from PRC, and those would not be able to release their findings."
Records show the islands as inhabited at various times in history by Chinese and Vietnamese fishermen. In 1888 the Central Borneo Company were granted a lease to work guano 'on Sprattly island and Amboyna Cay' During the Second World War troops from French Indochina and Japan were in occupation. However, there is no record of large settlements on the islands until 1956, when Filipino adventurer Tomás Cloma, Sr., decided to "claim" a part of Spratly islands as his own, naming it the "Free Territory of Freedomland".
Evidence of human presence in the region extends back nearly 50,000 years at Tabon Caves on Palawan. Therefore, it is difficult to say when humans first came upon this island group. Within historical times, several groups may have passed through or occupied the islands. Between 600 BC to 3 BC there was an east to west migration by members of the seafaring Sa Huỳnh culture. This may have led them through the Spratly Islands on their way to Vietnam. These migrants were the forebears of the Cham people, an Austronesian-speaking people that founded the Old Champa empire that ruled what was known for centuries as the Champa Sea.
In the Song Dynasty work "Zhu fan zhi" by Zhao Rugua, the name "Thousand Li Stretch of Sands" ("Qianli Changsha", ) and the "Ten-Thousand Li of Stone Pools/Beds" ("Wanli Shitang" , or "Wanli Shichuang" ) were given, interpreted by some to refer to Paracel and Spratly respectively. "Wanli Shitang" is also recorded in the "History of Yuan" to have been explored by the Chinese during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty and may have been considered by them to have been within their national boundaries. However, the Yuan also ruled over Korea, Mongolia, and parts of modern Russia. They are also referenced, sometimes with different names, in the Ming dynasty. For example, in the Mao Kun map dating from Zheng He's voyage of the early 15th century, "Shixing Shitang" () is taken by some to mean Spratly, however different authors interpret the identities of these islands differently. Another Ming text, "Haiyu" (海語, On the Sea), uses "Wanli Changsha" () for Spratly and noted that it is located southeast of "Wanli Shitang" (Paracels). When the Ming Dynasty collapsed, the Qing dynasty continued to include the territory in maps compiled in 1724, 1755, 1767, 1810, and 1817, but did not officially claim jurisdiction over these islands.
A Vietnamese map from 1834 also combines the Spratly and Paracel Islands into one region known as "Vạn Lý Trường Sa", a feature commonly incorporated into maps of the era () ‒ that is, the same as the aforementioned Chinese island name "Wanli Changsha". According to Hanoi, Vietnamese maps record Bãi Cát Vàng ("Golden Sandbanks", referring to both the Spratly and Paracel Islands), which lay near the coast of the central Vietnam, as early as 1838. In "Phủ Biên Tạp Lục" ("The Frontier Chronicles") by scholar Lê Quý Đôn, both Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa were defined as belonging to the Quảng Ngãi District. He described it as where sea products and shipwrecked cargoes were available to be collected. Vietnamese text written in the 17th century referenced government-sponsored economic activities during the Lê dynasty, 200 years earlier. The Vietnamese government conducted several geographical surveys of the islands in the 18th century.
Despite the fact that China and Vietnam both made a claim to these territories simultaneously, at the time, neither side was aware that its neighbour had already charted and made claims to the same stretch of islands.
An early European map, "A correct chart of the China Seas" of 1758 by William Herbert, left the Spratly Islands region (known then as the Dangerous Ground) as largely blank, indicating that region has yet to be properly surveyed, although some islands and shoals at its western edge were marked (one appears at the same place as Thitu Island). A number of maps of the South China Sea were later produced, but the first map that gives a reasonably accurate delineation of the Spratly Islands region (titled "[South] China Sea, Sheet 1") was only published in 1821 by the hydrographer of the East India Company James Horsburgh after a survey by Captain Daniel Ross. A later 1859 edition of the map named the Spratly Island as Storm Island. The islands were sporadically visited throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries by mariners from different European powers (including Richard Spratly, after whom the island group derives its most recognisable English name, who visited the group in the 1840s in his whaler "Cyrus"). However, these nations showed little interest in the islands. In 1883, German boats surveyed the Spratly and the Paracel Islands but eventually withdrew the survey, after receiving protests from the Guangdong government representing the Qing dynasty. China sent naval forces on inspection tours in 1902 and 1907 and placed flags and markers on the islands.
In the 1950s, a group of individuals claimed sovereignty over the islands in the name of Morton F. Meads, supposedly an American descendant of a British naval captain who gave his name to Meads Island (Itu Aba) in the 1870s. In an affidavit made in 1971, the group claimed to represent the Kingdom of Humanity/Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads, which they asserted was in turn the successor entity for a supposed Kingdom of Humanity established between the two world wars on Meads Island, allegedly by the son of the British captain. This claim to this would-be micronation fell dormant after 1972, when several members of the group drowned in a typhoon.
The following are political divisions for the Spratly Islands claimed by various area nations (in alphabetical order):
In the 19th century, Europeans found that Chinese fishermen from Hainan annually sojourned on the Spratly islands for part of the year, while in 1877 it was the British who launched the first modern legal claims to the Spratlys.
When the Spratlys and Paracels were surveyed by Germany in 1883, China issued protests against them. The 1887 Chinese-Vietnamese Boundary convention signed between France and China after the Sino-French War said that China was the owner of the Spratly and Paracel islands. China sent naval forces on inspection tours in 1902 and 1907 and placed flags and markers on the islands. The Qing dynasty's successor state, the Republic of China, claimed the Spratly and Paracel islands under the jurisdiction of Hainan.
In 1933, France asserted its claims to the Spratly and Paracel Islands on behalf of its then-colony Vietnam. It occupied a number of the Spratly Islands, including Taiping Island, built weather stations on two of the islands, and administered them as part of French Indochina. This occupation was protested by the Republic of China (ROC) government because France admitted finding Chinese fishermen there when French warships visited nine of the islands. In 1935, the ROC government also announced a sovereignty claim on the Spratly Islands. Japan occupied some of the islands in 1939 during World War II, and it used the islands as a submarine base for the occupation of Southeast Asia. During the Japanese occupation, these islands were called "Shinnan Shoto" (), literally the New Southern Islands, and together with the Paracel Islands (), they were put under the governance of the Japanese colonial authority in Taiwan.
Japan occupied the Paracels and the Spratlys from February 1939 to August 1945. Japan annexed the Spratlys via Taiwan's jurisdiction and the Paracels via Hainan's jurisdiction. Parts of the Paracels and Spratlys were again controlled by Republic of China after the 1945 surrender of Japan, since the Allied powers assigned the Republic of China to receive Japanese surrenders in that area, however no successor was named to the islands.
In November 1946, the ROC sent naval ships to take control of the islands after the surrender of Japan. It had chosen the largest and perhaps the only inhabitable island, Taiping Island, as its base, and it renamed the island under the name of the naval vessel as Taiping. Also following the defeat of Japan at the end of World War II, the ROC re-claimed the entirety of the Spratly Islands (including Taiping Island) after accepting the Japanese surrender of the islands based on the Cairo and Potsdam Declarations. The Republic of China then garrisoned Itu Aba (Taiping) island in 1946 and posted Chinese flags. The aim of the Republic of China was to block the French claims. The Republic of China drew up the map showing the U-shaped claim on the entire South China Sea, showing the Spratly and Paracels in Chinese territory, in 1947. Japan had renounced all claims to the islands in the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty together with the Paracels, Pratas and other islands captured from the Chinese, and upon these declarations, the government of the Republic of China reasserted its claim to the islands. The Chinese Kuomintang force withdrew from most of the Spratly and Paracel Islands after they retreated to Taiwan from the opposing Communist Party of China due to their losses in the Chinese Civil War and the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. Taiwan quietly withdrew troops from Taiping Island in 1950, but then reinstated them in 1956 in response to Tomás Cloma's sudden claim to the island as part of Freedomland. , Taiping Island is administered by Taiwan.
After pulling out its garrison in 1950 when the Republic of China evacuated to Taiwan, when the Filipino Tomas Cloma uprooted an ROC flag on Itu Aba laid claim to the Spratlys and, Taiwan again regarrisoned Itu Aba in 1956. In 1946, the Americans allegedly reminded the Philippines at its independence that the Spratlys was not Philippine territory, both to not anger Chiang Kai-shek in China and because the Spratlys were not part of the Philippines per the 1898 treaty Spain signed with the United States. However, no document was found to that effect. The Philippines then claimed the Spratlys in 1971 under President Marcos, after Taiwanese troops attacked and shot at a Philippine fishing boat on Itu Aba.
Taiwan's garrison from 1946 to 1950 and 1956-now on Itu Aba represents an "effective occupation" of the Spratlys. China established a coastal defence system against Japanese pirates or smugglers.
In 1958, China issued a declaration defining its territorial waters that encompassed the Spratly Islands. North Vietnam's prime minister, Phạm Văn Đồng, sent a formal note to Zhou Enlai, stating that the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) respected the Chinese decision regarding the limit of territorial waters. While accepting the 12-nmi principal with respect to territorial waters, the letter did not actually address the issue of defining actual territorial boundaries.
North Vietnam recognised China's claims on the Paracels and Spratlys during the Vietnam War as it was being supported by China. Only after winning the war and conquering South Vietnam did North Vietnam retract its recognition and admitted it recognised them as part of China to receive aid from China in fighting the Americans.
In 1988, the Vietnamese and Chinese navies engaged in a skirmish in the area of Johnson South Reef (also called Gạc Ma reef in Vietnam and Yongshu reef in China).
Under President Lee Teng-hui, Taiwan stated that "legally, historically, geographically, or in reality", all of the South China Sea and Spratly islands were Taiwan's territory and under Taiwanese sovereignty, and denounced actions undertaken there by Malaysia and the Philippines, in a statement on 13 July 1999 released by the foreign ministry of Taiwan. Taiwan and China's claims "mirror" each other; during international talks involving the Spratly islands, China and Taiwan have cooperated with each other since both have the same claims.
It was unclear whether France continued its claim to the islands after World War II, since none of the islands, other than Taiping Island, was habitable. The South Vietnamese government took over the Trường Sa administration after the defeat of the French at the end of the First Indochina War. "The French bestowed its titles, rights, and claims over the two island chains to the Republic of Vietnam (RoV) in accordance with the Geneva Accords", said Nguyen Hong Thao, Associate Professor at Faculty of Law, Vietnam National University.
In 1999, a Philippine navy ship (Number 57 – BRP "Sierra Madre") was purposely run aground near Second Thomas Shoal to enable establishment of an outpost. it had not been removed, and Filipino marines have been stationed aboard since the grounding.
Taiwan and mainland China are largely strategically aligned on the Spratly islands issue, since they both claim exactly the same area, so Taiwan's control of Itu Aba (Taiping) island is viewed as an extension of China's claim. Taiwan and China both claim the entire island chain, while all the other claimants only claim portions of them. China has proposed co-operation with Taiwan against all the other countries claiming the islands. Taiwanese lawmakers have demanded that Taiwan fortify Itu Aba (Taiping) island with weapons to defend against the Vietnamese, and both China and Taiwanese NGOs have pressured Taiwan to expand Taiwan's military capabilities on the island, which played a role in Taiwan expanding the island's runway in 2012. China has urged Taiwan to co-operate and offered Taiwan a share in oil and gas resources while shutting out all the other rival claimants. Taiwanese lawmakers have complained about repeated Vietnamese aggression and trespassing on Taiwan's Itu Aba (Taiping), and Taiwan has started viewing Vietnam as an enemy over the Spratly Islands, not China. Taiwan's state run oil company CPC Corp's board director Chiu Yi has called Vietnam as the "greatest threat" to Taiwan. Taiwan's airstrip on Taiping has irritated Vietnam. China views Taiwan's expansion of its military and airstrip on Taiping as benefiting China's position against the other rival claimants from southeast Asian countries. China's claims to the Spratlys benefit from legal weight because of Taiwan's presence on Itu Aba, while America on the other hand has regularly ignored Taiwan's claims in the South China Sea and does not include Taiwan in any talks on dispute resolution for the area.
Taiwan performed live fire military exercises on Taiping island in September 2012; reports said that Vietnam was explicitly named by the Taiwanese military as the "imaginary enemy" in the drill. Vietnam protested against the exercises as violation of its territory and "voiced anger", demanding that Taiwan stop the drill. Among the inspectors of the live fire drill were Taiwanese national legislators, adding to the tensions. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27401 |
History of Sri Lanka
The history of Sri Lanka is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of South Asia, Southeast Asia and Indian Ocean.
The earliest human remains found on the island of Sri Lanka date to about 125,000 years ago (Balangoda Man).
The proto-historical period begins roughly in the 3rd century, based on Prakrith chronicles like the Mahavamsa, Dipavamsa, and the Culavamsa. They describe the history since the arrival of Sinhalese from Northern India The earliest documents of settlement in the Island are found in these chronicles. These chronicles cover the period since the establishment of the Kingdom of Tambapanni in the 6th century BCE by the earliest ancestors of the Sinhalese. The first Sri Lankan ruler of the Anuradhapura Kingdom, Pandukabhaya, is recorded for the 4th century BCE. Buddhism was introduced in the 3rd century BCE by Arhath Mahinda (son of the Indian emperor Ashoka). The first Tamil ruler of the Anuradhapura Kingdom, Ellalan (Elara), an invader, is recorded for the 2nd century BCE.
The island was divided into numerous kingdoms over the following centuries, intermittently (between CE 993–1077) united under Chola rule. Sri Lanka was ruled by 181 monarchs from the Anuradhapura to Kandy periods.
From the 16th century, some coastal areas of the country were also controlled by the Portuguese, Dutch and British.
Between 1597 and 1658, a substantial part of the island was under Portuguese rule. The Portuguese lost their possessions in Ceylon due to Dutch intervention in the Eighty Years' War. Following the Kandyan Wars, the island was united under British rule in 1815.
Armed uprisings against the British took place in the 1818 Uva Rebellion and the 1848 Matale Rebellion. Independence was finally granted in 1948 but the country remained a Dominion of the British Empire until 1972.
In 1972 Sri Lanka assumed the status of a Republic. A constitution was introduced in 1978 which made the Executive President the head of state. The Sri Lankan Civil War began in 1983, including an armed youth uprising in 1971 and 1987–1989, with the 25-year-long civil war ending in 2009.
Evidence of human colonization in Sri Lanka appears at the site of Balangoda. Balangoda Man arrived on the island about 125,000 years ago and has been identified as Mesolithic hunter-gatherers who lived in caves. Several of these caves, including the well-known Batadombalena and the Fa Hien Cave, have yielded many artifacts from these people, who are currently the first known inhabitants of the island.
Balangoda Man probably created Horton Plains, in the central hills, by burning the trees in order to catch game. However, the discovery of oats and barley on the plains at about 15,000 BCE suggests that agriculture had already developed at this early date.
Several minute granite tools (about 4 centimetres in length), earthenware, remnants of charred timber, and clay burial pots date to the Mesolithic. Human remains dating to 6000 BCE have been discovered during recent excavations around a cave at Warana Raja Maha Vihara and in the Kalatuwawa area.
Cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka and has been found in Ancient Egypt as early as 1500 BCE, suggesting early trade between Egypt and the island's inhabitants. It is possible that Biblical Tarshish was located on the island. James Emerson Tennent identified Tarshish with Galle.
The protohistoric Early Iron Age appears to have established itself in South India by at least as early as 1200 BCE, if not earlier (Possehl 1990; Deraniyagala 1992:734). The earliest manifestation of this in Sri Lanka is radiocarbon-dated to c. 1000–800 BCE at Anuradhapura and Aligala shelter in Sigiriya (Deraniyagala 1992:709-29; Karunaratne and Adikari 1994:58; Mogren 1994:39; with the Anuradhapura dating corroborated by Coningham 1999). It is very likely that further investigations will push back the Sri Lankan lower boundary to match that of South India.
Archaeological evidence for the beginnings of the Iron Age in Sri Lanka is found at Anuradhapura, where a large city–settlement was founded before 900 BCE. The settlement was about 15 hectares in 900 BCE, but by 700 BCE it had expanded to 50 hectares. A similar site from the same period has also been discovered near Aligala in Sigiriya.
The hunter-gatherer people known as the Wanniyala-Aetto or Veddas, who still live in the central, Uva and north-eastern parts of the island, are probably direct descendants of the first inhabitants, Balangoda Man. They may have migrated to the island from the mainland around the time humans spread from Africa to the Indian subcontinent.
Later Indo Aryan migrants developed a unique hydraulic civilization named Sinhala. Their Achievements include the construction of the largest reservoirs and dams of the ancient world as well as enormous pyramid-like stupa (dāgaba in Sinhala) architecture. This phase of Sri Lankan culture may have seen the introduction of early Buddhism. -->
Early history recorded in Buddhist scriptures refers to three visits by the Buddha to the island to see the Naga Kings, snakes that can take the form of a human at will.
The earliest surviving chronicles from the island, the Dipavamsa and the Mahavamsa, say that Yakkhas (demon worshippers), Nagas (cobra worshippers) and Devas (god worshippers) inhabited the island prior to the migration of Indo Aryan Sinhalese.
The Pali chronicles, the Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa, Thupavamsa and the Chulavamsa, as well as a large collection of stone inscriptions, the Indian Epigraphical records, the Burmese versions of the chronicles etc., provide information on the history of Sri Lanka from about the 6th century BCE.
The Mahavamsa, written around 400 CE by the monk Mahanama, using the Deepavamsa, the Attakatha and other written sources available to him, correlates well with Indian histories of the period. Indeed, Emperor Ashoka's reign is recorded in the Mahavamsa. The Mahavamsa account of the period prior to Asoka's coronation, 218 years after the Buddha's death, seems to be part legend. Proper historical records begin with the arrival of Vijaya and his 700 followers. H. W. Codrington puts it, 'It is possible and even probable that Vijaya (`The Conqueror') himself is a composite character combining in his person...two conquests' of ancient Sri Lanka. Vijaya is an Indian prince, the eldest son of King Sinhabahu ("Man with Lion arms") and his sister Queen Sinhasivali. Both these Sinhalese leaders were born of a mythical union between a lion and a human princess. The Mahavamsa states that Vijaya landed on the same day as the death of the Buddha (See Geiger's preface to Mahavamsa). The story of Vijaya and Kuveni (the local reigning queen) is reminiscent of Greek legend and may have a common source in ancient Proto-Indo-European folk tales.
According to the Mahavamsa, Vijaya landed on Sri Lanka near Mahathitha (Manthota or Mannar), and named on the island of "Tambaparni" ("copper-colored sand"). This name is attested to in Ptolemy's map of the ancient world. The Mahavamsa also describes the Buddha visiting Sri Lanka three times. Firstly, to stop a war between a Naga king and his son in law who were fighting over a ruby chair. It is said that on his last visit he left his foot mark on "Siri Pada" ("Adam's Peak").
Tamirabharani is the old name for the second longest river in Sri Lanka (known as Malwatu Oya in Sinhala and Aruvi Aru in Tamil). This river was a main supply route connecting the capital, Anuradhapura, to Mahathitha (now Mannar). The waterway was used by Greek and Chinese ships traveling the southern Silk Route.
Mahathir was an ancient port linking Sri Lanka to India and the Persian Gulf.
The present day Sinhalese are a mixture of the Indo Aryans and the Indigenous The Sinhalese are recognized as a distinct ethnic group from other groups in neighboring south India based on the Indo-Aryan language, Culture,Theravada Buddhism,Genetics and the physical anthropology .
In the early ages of the Anuradhapura Kingdom, the economy was based on farming and early settlements were mainly made near the rivers of the east, north central, and north east areas which had the water necessary for farming the whole year round. The king was the ruler of country and responsible for the law, the army, and being the protector of faith. Devanampiya Tissa (250–210 BCE) was Sinhalese was friends with the King of the Maurya clan. His links with Emperor Asoka led to the introduction of Buddhism by Mahinda (son of Asoka) around 247 BCE. Sangamitta (sister of Mahinda) brought a Bodhi sapling via Jambukola (west of Kankesanthurai). This king's reign was crucial to Theravada Buddhism and for Sri Lanka.
The Mauryan-Sanskrit text "Arthashastra" referred to the pearls and gems of Sri Lanka.A kind of pearl , "kauleya(Sanskrit :कौलेय)" was referred in that text and also mentioned it collected from "Mayurgrām" of Sinhala. "Pārsamudra(पारसमुद्र) ,"a gem, was also being collected from Sinhala.
Ellalan (205–161 BCE) was a Tamil King who ruled "Pihiti Rata" (Sri Lanka north of the Mahaweli) after killing King Asela. During Ellalan's time Kelani Tissa was a sub-king of Maya Rata (in the south-west) and Kavan Tissa was a regional sub-king of Ruhuna (in the south-east). Kavan Tissa built Tissa Maha Vihara, Dighavapi Tank and many shrines in Seruvila. Dutugemunu (161–137 BCE), the eldest son of King Kavan Tissa, at 25 years of age defeated the South Indian Tamil invader Elara (over 64 years of age) in single combat, described in the Mahavamsa. The Ruwanwelisaya, built by Dutugemunu, is a dagaba of pyramid-like proportions and was considered an engineering marvel.
Pulahatta (or Pulahatha), the first of the Five Dravidians, was deposed by Bahiya. He in turn was deposed by Panaya Mara who was deposed by Pilaya Mara, murdered by Dathika in 88 BCE. Mara was deposed by Valagamba I (89–77 BCE) which ended Tamil rule. The Mahavihara Theravada "Abhayagiri" ("pro-Mahayana") doctrinal disputes arose at this time. The Tripitaka was written in Pali at Aluvihara, Matale. Chora Naga (63–51 BCE), a Mahanagan, was poisoned by his consort Anula who became queen. Queen Anula (48–44 BCE), the widow of Chora Naga and of Kuda Tissa, was the first Queen of Lanka. She had many lovers who were poisoned by her and was killed by Kuttakanna Tissa. Vasabha (67–111 CE), named on the Vallipuram gold plate, fortified Anuradhapura and built eleven tanks as well as pronouncing many edicts. Gajabahu I (114–136) invaded the Chola kingdom and brought back captives as well as recovering the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. A Sangam Period classic, "Manimekalai", attributes the origin of the first Pallava King from a liaison between the daughter of a Naga king of Manipallava named Pilli Valai (Pilivalai) with a Chola king, Killivalavan, out of which union was born a prince, who was lost in ship wreck and found with a twig ("pallava") of Cephalandra Indica ("Tondai") around his ankle and hence named "Tondai-man". Another version states "Pallava" was born from the union of the Brahmin Ashvatthama with a Naga Princess also supposedly supported in the sixth verse of the Bahur plates which states "From Ashvatthama was born the king named Pallava".
There was intense Roman trade with the ancient Tamil country (present day Southern India) and Sri Lanka, establishing trading settlements which remained long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
During the reign of Mahasena (274–301) the Theravada (Maha Vihara) was persecuted and the Mahayanan branch of Buddhism appeared. Later the King returned to the Maha Vihara. Pandu (429) was the first of seven Pandiyan rulers, ending with Pithya in 455. Dhatusena (459–477) "Kalaweva" and his son Kashyapa (477–495) built the famous Sigiriya rock palace where some 700 rock graffiti give a glimpse of ancient Sinhala.
In 993, when Raja Raja Chola sent a large Chola army which conquered the Anuradhapura Kingdom, in the north, and added it to the sovereignty of the Chola Empire. The whole or most of the island was subsequently conquered and incorporated as a province of the vast Chola empire during the reign of his son Rajendra Chola.
The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa was the second major Sinhalese kingdom of Sri Lanka. It lasted from 1055 under Vijayabahu I to 1212 under the rule of Lilavati. The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa came into being after the Anuradhapura Kingdom was invaded by Chola forces under Rajaraja I and led to formation of the Kingdom of Ruhuna, where the Sinhalese Kings ruled during Chola occupation.
Sadayavarman Sundara Pandyan I invaded Sri Lanka in the 13th century and defeated Chandrabanu the usurper of the Jaffna Kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. Sadayavarman Sundara Pandyan I forced Candrabhanu to submit to the Pandyan rule and to pay tributes to the Pandyan Dynasty. But later on when Candrabhanu became powerful enough he again invaded the Singhalese kingdom but he was defeated by the brother of Sadayavarman Sundara Pandyan I called Veera Pandyan I and Candrabhanu lost his life. Sri Lanka was invaded for the 3rd time by the Pandyan Dynasty under the leadership of Arya Cakravarti who established the Jaffna kingdom.
Also known as Aryacakravarthi, was the kingdom of the Jaffna Peninsula, which was known in ancient time as Naga Deepa.
After defeating Kalinga Magha III (A Pandyan Ruler), King Parakramabahu established his Kingdom in Dambadeniya. He built the Temple of The Sacred Tooth Relic in Dambadeniya.
It was established by king Buwanekabahu IV, he is said to be the son of Sawulu Vijayabahu. During this time, a Muslim traveller and geographer named Ibn Battuta came to Sri Lanka and wrote a book about it. The Gadaladeniya Viharaya is the main building made in the Gampola Kingdom period. The Lankatilaka Viharaya is also a main building built in Gampola.
After winning the battle, Parakramabahu VI sent an officer named Alagakkonar to check the new kingdom of Kotte.
The kingdom of Sithawaka lasted for a short span of time during the Portuguese era.
Vannimai, also called Vanni Nadu, were feudal land divisions ruled by Vanniar chiefs south of the Jaffna peninsula in northern Sri Lanka. Pandara Vanniyan allied with the Kandy Nayakars led a rebellion against the British and Dutch colonial powers in Sri Lanka in 1802. He was able to liberate Mullaitivu and other parts of northern Vanni from Dutch rule. In 1803, Pandara Vanniyan was defeated by the British and Vanni came under British rule.
The first Europeans to visit Sri Lanka in modern times were the Portuguese: Lourenço de Almeida arrived in 1505 and found that the island, divided into seven warring kingdoms, was unable to fend off intruders. The Portuguese founded a fort at the port city of Colombo in 1517 and gradually extended their control over the coastal areas. In 1592, the Sinhalese moved their capital to the inland city of Kandy, a location more secure against attack from invaders. Intermittent warfare continued through the 16th century.
Many lowland Sinhalese converted to Christianity due to missionary campaigns by the Portuguese while the coastal Moors were religiously persecuted and forced to retreat to the Central highlands. The Buddhist majority disliked the Portuguese occupation and its influences, welcoming any power who might rescue them. When the Dutch captain Joris van Spilbergen landed in 1602, the king of Kandy appealed to him for help.
Rajasinghe II, the king of Kandy, made a treaty with the Dutch in 1638 to get rid of the Portuguese who ruled most of the coastal areas of the island. The main conditions of the treaty were that the Dutch were to hand over the coastal areas they had captured to the Kandyan king in return for a Dutch trade monopoly over the island. The agreement was breached by both parties. The Dutch captured Colombo in 1656 and the last Portuguese strongholds near Jaffnapatnam in 1658. By 1660 they controlled the whole island except the land-locked kingdom of Kandy. The Dutch (Protestants) persecuted the Catholics and the remaining Portuguese settlers but left Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims alone. The Dutch levied far heavier taxes on the people than the Portuguese had done.
A legacy of the Dutch period in Ceylon are the Dutch Burghers, a people of mixed Dutch and local origin. A later definition of the Burgher people of Ceylon was handed down in 1883 by the Chief Justice of Ceylon, Sir Richard Ottley.
After the invasion of the Portuguese, Konappu Bandara (King Vimaladharmasuriya) intelligently won the battle and became the first king of the kingdom of Kandy. He built The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. The monarch ended with the death of the last king, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha in 1832.
During the Napoleonic Wars, Great Britain, fearing that French control of the Netherlands might deliver Sri Lanka to the French, occupied the coastal areas of the island (which they called Ceylon) with little difficulty in 1796. In 1802, the Treaty of Amiens formally ceded the Dutch part of the island to Britain and it became a crown colony. In 1803, the British invaded the Kingdom of Kandy in the first Kandyan War, but were repulsed. In 1815 Kandy was occupied in the second Kandyan War, finally ending Sri Lankan independence.
Following the suppression of the Uva Rebellion the Kandyan peasantry were stripped of their lands by the Crown Lands (Encroachments) Ordinance No. 12 of 1840 (sometimes called the Crown Lands Ordinance or the Waste Lands Ordinance), a modern enclosure movement, and reduced to penury. The British found that the uplands of Sri Lanka were very suitable for coffee, tea and rubber cultivation. By the mid-19th century, Ceylon tea had become a staple of the British market bringing great wealth to a small number of white tea planters. The planters imported large numbers of Tamil workers as indentured labourers from south India to work the estates, who soon made up 10% of the island's population. These workers had to work in slave-like conditions living in line rooms, not very different from cattle sheds.
The British colonialists favoured the semi-European Burghers, certain high-caste Sinhalese and the Tamils who were mainly concentrated to the north of the country. Nevertheless, the British also introduced democratic elements to Sri Lanka for the first time in its history and the Burghers were given degree of self-government as early as 1833. It was not until 1909 that constitutional development began, with a partly elected assembly, and not until 1920 that elected members outnumbered official appointees. Universal suffrage was introduced in 1931 over the protests of the Sinhalese, Tamil and Burgher elite who objected to the common people being allowed to vote.
Ceylon National Congress (CNC) was founded to agitate for greater autonomy, although the party was soon split along ethnic and caste lines. Historian K. M. de Silva has stated that the refusal of the Ceylon Tamils to accept minority status is one of the main causes of the break up of the Ceylon National congress. The CNC did not seek independence (or "Swaraj"). What may be called the independence movement broke into two streams: the "constitutionalists", who sought independence by gradual modification of the status of Ceylon; and the more radical groups associated with the Colombo Youth League, Labour movement of Goonasinghe, and the Jaffna Youth Congress. These organizations were the first to raise the cry of "Swaraj" ("outright independence") following the Indian example when Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu and other Indian leaders visited Ceylon in 1926. The efforts of the constitutionalists led to the arrival of the Donoughmore Commission reforms in 1931 and the Soulbury Commission recommendations, which essentially upheld the 1944 draft constitution of the Board of ministers headed by D. S. Senanayake. The Marxist Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), which grew out of the Youth Leagues in 1935, made the demand for outright independence a cornerstone of their policy. Its deputies in the State Council, N.M. Perera and Philip Gunawardena, were aided in this struggle by other less radical members like Colvin R. De Silva, Leslie Goonewardene, Vivienne Goonewardene, Edmund Samarkody and Natesa Iyer. They also demanded the replacement of English as the official language by Sinhala and Tamil. The Marxist groups were a tiny minority and yet their movement was viewed with great interest by the British administration. The ineffective attempts to rouse the public against the British Raj in revolt would have led to certain bloodshed and a delay in independence. British state papers released in the 1950s show that the Marxist movement had a very negative impact on the policy makers at the Colonial office.
The Soulbury Commission was the most important result of the agitation for constitutional reform in the 1930s. The Tamil organization was by then led by G. G. Ponnambalam, who had rejected the "Ceylonese identity". Ponnamblam had declared himself a "proud Dravidian" and proclaimed an independent identity for the Tamils. He attacked the Sinhalese and criticized their historical chronicle known as the Mahavamsa. One such conflict in Navalapitiya led to the first Sinhalese-Tamil riot in 1939. Ponnambalam opposed universal franchise, supported the caste system, and claimed that the protection of minority rights requires that minorities (35% of the population in 1931) having an equal number of seats in parliament to that of the Sinhalese (65% of the population). This "50-50" or "balanced representation" policy became the hall mark of Tamil politics of the time. Ponnambalam also accused the British of having established colonization in "traditional Tamil areas", and having favoured the Buddhists by the Buddhist temporalities act. The Soulbury Commission rejected the submissions by Ponnambalam and even criticized what they described as their unacceptable communal character. Sinhalese writers pointed to the large immigration of Tamils to the southern urban centres, especially after the opening of the Jaffna-Colombo railway. Meanwhile, Senanayake, Baron Jayatilleke, Oliver Gunatilleke and others lobbied the Soulbury Commission without confronting them officially. The unofficial submissions contained what was to later become the draft constitution of 1944.
The close collaboration of the D. S. Senanayake government with the war-time British administration led to the support of Lord Louis Mountbatten. His dispatches and a telegram to the Colonial office supporting Independence for Ceylon have been cited by historians as having helped the Senanayake government to secure the independence of Sri Lanka. The shrewd cooperation with the British as well as diverting the needs of the war market to Ceylonese markets as a supply point, managed by Oliver Goonatilleke, also led to a very favourable fiscal situation for the newly independent government.
Sri Lanka was a front-line British base against the Japanese during World War II. Sri Lankan opposition to the war led by the Marxist organizations and the leaders of the LSSP pro-independence group were arrested by the Colonial authorities. On 5 April 1942, the Indian Ocean raid saw the Japanese Navy bomb Colombo. The Japanese attack led to the flight of Indian merchants, dominant in the Colombo commercial sector, which removed a major political problem facing the Senanayake government. Marxist leaders also escaped to India where they participated in the independence struggle there. The movement in Ceylon was minuscule, limited to the English-educated intelligentsia and trade unions, mainly in the urban centres. These groups were led by Robert Gunawardena, Philip's brother. In stark contrast to this "heroic" but ineffective approach to the war, the Senanayake government took advantage to further its rapport with the commanding elite. Ceylon became crucial to the British Empire in the war, with Lord Louis Mountbatten using Colombo as his headquarters for the Eastern Theatre. Oliver Goonatilleka successfully exploited the markets for the country's rubber and other agricultural products to replenish the treasury. Nonetheless, the Sinhalese continued to push for independence and the Sinhalese sovereignty, using the opportunities offered by the war, pushed to establish a special relationship with Britain.
Meanwhile, the Marxists, identifying the war as an imperialist sideshow and desiring a proletarian revolution, chose a path of agitation disproportionate to their negligible combat strength and diametrically opposed to the "constitutionalist" approach of Senanayake and other ethnic Sinhalese leaders. A small garrison on the Cocos Islands manned by Ceylonese mutinied against British rule. It has been claimed that the LSSP had some hand in the action, though this is far from clear. Three of the participants were the only British colony subjects to be shot for mutiny during World War II.
Two members of the Governing Party, Junius Richard Jayawardene and Dudley Senanayake, held discussions with the Japanese to collaborate in fighting the British. Sri Lankans in Singapore and Malaysia formed the 'Lanka Regiment' of the anti-British Indian National Army.
The constitutionalists led by D. S. Senanayake succeeded in winning independence. The Soulbury constitution was essentially what Senanayake's board of ministers had drafted in 1944. The promise of Dominion status and independence itself had been given by the Colonial Office.
The Sinhalese leader Don Stephen Senanayake left the CNC on the issue of independence, disagreeing with the revised aim of 'the achieving of freedom', although his real reasons were more subtle. He subsequently formed the United National Party (UNP) in 1946, when a new constitution was agreed on, based on the behind-the-curtain lobbying of the Soulbury commission. At the elections of 1947, the UNP won a minority of seats in parliament, but cobbled together a coalition with the Sinhala Maha Sabha party of Solomon Bandaranaike and the Tamil Congress of G.G. Ponnambalam. The successful inclusions of the Tamil-communalist leader Ponnambalam, and his Sinhalese counterpart Bandaranaike were a remarkable political balancing act by Senanayake. The vacuum in Tamil Nationalist politics, created by Ponnamblam's transition to a moderate, opened the field for the Tamil "Arasu Kachchi" ("Federal party"), a Tamil sovereignty party led by S. J. V. Chelvanaykam who was the lawyer son of a Christian minister.
Dominion status followed on 4 February 1948 with military treaties with Britain, as the upper ranks of the armed forces were initially British, and British air and sea bases remaining intact. This was later raised to independence itself and Senanayake became the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. In 1949, with the concurrence of the leaders of the Ceylon Tamils, the UNP government disenfranchised the Indian Tamil plantation workers. This was the price that Senanayake had to pay to obtain the support of the Kandyan Sinhalese, who felt threatened by the demographics of the tea estates where the inclusion of the "Indian Tamils" would have meant electoral defeat for the Kandyan leaders. Senanayke died in 1952 after falling from a horse and was succeeded by his son Dudley Senanayake, the then minister of Agriculture. In 1953 he resigned following a massive "Hartal" ("general strike") by the Left parties against the UNP. He was followed by John Kotelawala, a senior politician and an uncle of Dudley Senanayke. Kotelawala did not have the enormous personal prestige or the adroit political acumen of D. S. Senanayake. He brought to the fore the issue of national languages that D. S. Senanayake had adroitly kept on the back burner, antagonising the Tamils and the Sinhalese by stating conflicting policies with regard to the status of Sinhala and Tamil as official languages. He also antagonized the Buddhist lobby by attacking politically active Buddhist Monks who were Bandaranaike's supporters.
In 1956, the Senate was abolished and Sinhala was established as the official language, with Tamil as a second language. Appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London were abolished and plantations were nationalised to fulfil the election pledges of the Marxist program and to "prevent the ongoing dis-investment by the owning companies".
In 1956, the Sinhala Only Act came into being. This established Sinhala as the first and preferred language in commerce and education.
The Act took effect immediately. As a consequence vast numbers of people mostly Burghers left the country to live abroad as they rightfully felt discriminated against.
In 1958, the first major riots between Sinhalese and Tamils flared up in Colombo as a direct result of the government's language policy.
The leftist Sinhalese Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna drew worldwide attention when it launched an insurrection against the Bandaranayake government in April 1971. Although the insurgents were young, poorly armed, and inadequately trained, they succeeded in seizing and holding major areas in Southern and Central provinces before they were defeated by the security forces. Their attempt to seize power created a major crisis for the government and forced a fundamental reassessment of the nation's security needs.
The movement was started in the late 1960s by Rohana Wijeweera, the son of a businessman from the seaport of Tangalla, Hambantota District. An excellent student, Wijeweera had been forced to give up his studies for financial reasons. Through friends of his father, a member of the Ceylon Communist Party, Wijeweera successfully applied for a scholarship in the Soviet Union, and in 1960 at the age of seventeen, he went to Moscow to study medicine at Patrice Lumumba University.
While in Moscow, he studied Marxist ideology but, because of his openly expressed sympathies for Maoist revolutionary theory, he was denied a visa to return to the Soviet Union after a brief trip home in 1964. Over the next several years, he participated in the pro-Beijing branch of the Ceylon Communist Party, but he was increasingly at odds with party leaders and impatient with its lack of revolutionary purpose. His success in working with youth groups and his popularity as a public speaker led him to organize his own movement in 1967. Initially identified simply as the New Left, this group drew on students and unemployed youths from rural areas, most of them in the sixteen-to-twenty-five-age-group. Many of these new recruits were members of minority so called 'lower' castes (Karava and Durava) who felt that their economic interests had been neglected by the nation's leftist coalitions. The standard program of indoctrination, the so-called Five Lectures, included discussions of Indian imperialism, the growing economic crisis, the failure of the island's communist and socialist parties, and the need for a sudden, violent seizure of power.
Between 1967 and 1970, the group expanded rapidly, gaining control of the student socialist movement at a number of major university campuses and winning recruits and sympathizers within the armed forces. Some of these latter supporters actually provided sketches of police stations, airports, and military facilities that were important to the initial success of the revolt. In order to draw the newer members more tightly into the organization and to prepare them for a coming confrontation, Wijeweera opened "education camps" in several remote areas along the south and southwestern coasts. These camps provided training in Marxism–Leninism and in basic military skills.
While developing secret cells and regional commands, Wijeweera's group also began to take a more public role during the elections of 1970. His cadres campaigned openly for the United Front of Sirimavo R. D. Bandaranaike, but at the same time they distributed posters and pamphlets promising violent rebellion if Bandaranaike did not address the interests of the proletariat. In a manifesto issued during this period, the group used the name Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna for the first time. Because of the subversive tone of these publications, the United National Party government had Wijeweera detained during the elections, but the victorious Bandaranaike ordered his release in July 1970. In the politically tolerant atmosphere of the next few months, as the new government attempted to win over a wide variety of unorthodox leftist groups, the JVP intensified both the public campaign and the private preparations for a revolt. Although their group was relatively small, the members hoped to immobilize the government by selective kidnapping and sudden, simultaneous strikes against the security forces throughout the island. Some of the necessary weapons had been bought with funds supplied by the members. For the most part, however, they relied on raids against police stations and army camps to secure weapons, and they manufactured their own bombs.
The discovery of several JVP bomb factories gave the government its first evidence that the group's public threats were to be taken seriously. In March 1971, after an accidental explosion in one of these factories, the police found fifty-eight bombs in a hut in Nelundeniya, Kegalla District. Shortly afterward, Wijeweera was arrested and sent to Jaffna Prison, where he remained throughout the revolt. In response to his arrest and the growing pressure of police investigations, other JVP leaders decided to act immediately, and they agreed to begin the uprising at 11:00 P.M. on 5 April.
The planning for the countrywide insurrection was hasty and poorly coordinated; some of the district leaders were not informed until the morning of the uprising. After one premature attack, security forces throughout the island were put on alert and a number of JVP leaders went into hiding without bothering to inform their subordinates of the changed circumstances. In spite of this confusion, rebel groups armed with shotguns, bombs, and Molotov cocktails launched simultaneous attacks against seventy- four police stations around the island and cut power to major urban areas. The attacks were most successful in the south. By 10 April, the rebels had taken control of Matara District and the city of Ambalangoda in Galle District and came close to capturing the remaining areas of Southern Province.
The new government was ill-prepared for the crisis that confronted it. Although there had been some warning that an attack was imminent, Bandaranaike was caught off guard by the scale of the uprising and was forced to call on India to provide basic security functions. Indian frigates patrolled the coast and Indian troops guarded Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayaka while Indian Air Force helicopters assisted the counteroffensive. Sri Lanka's all-volunteer army had no combat experience since World War II and no training in counterinsurgency warfare. Although the police were able to defend some areas unassisted, in many places the government deployed personnel from all three services in a ground force capacity. Royal Ceylon Air Force helicopters delivered relief supplies to beleaguered police stations while combined service patrols drove the insurgents out of urban areas and into the countryside.
After two weeks of fighting, the government regained control of all but a few remote areas. In both human and political terms, the cost of the victory was high: an estimated 10,000 insurgents- -many of them in their teens—died in the conflict, and the army was widely perceived to have used excessive force. In order to win over an alienated population and to prevent a prolonged conflict, Bandaranaike offered amnesties in May and June 1971, and only the top leaders were actually imprisoned. Wijeweera, who was already in detention at the time of the uprising, was given a twenty-year sentence and the JVP was proscribed.
Under the six years of emergency rule that followed the uprising, the JVP remained dormant. After the victory of the United National Party in the 1977 elections, however, the new government attempted to broaden its mandate with a period of political tolerance. Wijeweera was freed, the ban was lifted, and the JVP entered the arena of legal political competition. As a candidate in the 1982 presidential elections, Wijeweera finished fourth, with more than 250,000 votes (as compared with Jayewardene's 3.2 million). During this period, and especially as the Tamil conflict to the north became more intense, there was a marked shift in the ideology and goals of the JVP. Initially Marxist in orientation, and claiming to represent the oppressed of both the Tamil and Sinhalese communities, the group emerged increasingly as a Sinhalese nationalist organization opposing any compromise with the Tamil insurgency. This new orientation became explicit in the anti-Tamil riots of July 1983. Because of its role in inciting violence, the JVP was once again banned and its leadership went underground.
The group's activities intensified in the second half of 1987 in the wake of the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord. The prospect of Tamil autonomy in the north together with the presence of Indian troops stirred up a wave of Sinhalese nationalism and a sudden growth of antigovernment violence. During 1987 a new group emerged that was an offshoot of the JVP—the Patriotic Liberation Organization (Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya—DJV). The DJV claimed responsibility for the August 1987 assassination attempts against the president and prime minister. In addition, the group launched a campaign of intimidation against the ruling party, killing more than seventy members of Parliament between July and November.
Along with the group's renewed violence came a renewed fear of infiltration of the armed forces. Following the successful raid of the Pallekelle army camp in May 1987, the government conducted an investigation that resulted in the discharge of thirty-seven soldiers suspected of having links with the JVP. In order to prevent a repetition of the 1971 uprising, the government considered lifting the ban on the JVP in early 1988 and permitting the group to participate again in the political arena. With Wijeweera still underground, however, the JVP had no clear leadership at the time, and it was uncertain whether it had the cohesion to mount any coordinated offensive, either military or political, against the government.
The Socialist republic of Sri Lanka is established on 22 May 1972. By 1977, the voters were tired of Bandaranaike's socialist policies and elections returned the UNP to power under Junius Jayewardene, on a manifesto pledging a market economy and "a free ration of 8 seers (kilograms) of cereals". The SLFP and the left-wing parties were virtually wiped out in Parliament, although they garnered 40% of the popular vote, leaving the Tamil United Liberation Front led by Appapillai Amirthalingam as the official opposition. This created a dangerous ethnic division in Sri Lankan politics.
After coming to power, Jayewardene directed the rewriting of the constitution. The document that was produced, the new Constitution of 1978, drastically altered the nature of governance in Sri Lanka. It replaced the previous Westminster style, parliamentary government with a new presidential system modeled after France, with a powerful chief executive. The president was to be elected by direct suffrage for a six-year term and was empowered to appoint, with parliamentary approval, the prime minister and to preside over cabinet meetings. Jayewardene became the first president under the new Constitution and assumed direct control of the government machinery and party.
The new regime ushered in an era that did not augur well for the SLFP. Jayewardene's UNP government accused former prime minister Bandaranaike of abusing her power while in office from 1970 to 1977. In October 1980, Bandaranaike's privilege to engage in politics was removed for a period of seven years, and the SLFP was forced to seek a new leader. After a long and divisive battle, the party chose her son, Anura. Anura Bandaranaike was soon thrust into the role of the keeper of his father's legacy, but he inherited a political party torn apart by factionalism and reduced to a minimal role in the Parliament.
The 1978 Constitution included substantial concessions to Tamil sensitivities. Although TULF did not participate in framing the Constitution, it continued to sit in Parliament in the hope of negotiating a settlement to the Tamil problem. TULF also agreed to Jayewardene's proposal of an all-party conference to resolve the island's ethnic problems. Jayewardene's UNP offered other concessions in a bid to secure peace. Sinhala remained the official language and the language of administration throughout Sri Lanka, but Tamil was given a new "national language" status. Tamil was to be used in a number of administrative and educational circumstances. Jayewardene also eliminated a major Tamil grievance by abrogating the "standardization" policy of the United Front government, which had made university admission criteria for Tamils more difficult. In addition, he offered many top-level positions, including that of minister of justice, to Tamil civil servants.
While TULF, in conjunction with the UNP, pressed for the all-party conference, the Tamil Tigers escalated their terrorist attacks, which provoked Sinhalese backlash against Tamils and generally precluded any successful accommodation. In reaction to the assassination of a Jaffna police inspector, the Jayewardene government declared an emergency and dispatched troops, who were given an unrealistic six months to eradicate the terrorist threat.
The government passed the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act in 1979. The act was enacted as a temporary measure, but it later became permanent legislation. The International Commission of Jurists, Amnesty International, and other human rights organizations condemned the act as being incompatible with democratic traditions. Despite the act, the number of terrorist acts increased. Guerrillas began to hit targets of high symbolic value such as post offices and police outposts, provoking government counterattacks. As an increasing number of civilians were caught in the fighting, Tamil support widened for the "boys", as the guerrillas began to be called. Other large, well-armed groups began to compete with LTTE. The better-known included the People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam, Tamil Eelam Liberation Army, and the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization. Each of these groups had forces measured in the hundreds if not thousands. The government claimed that many of the terrorists were operating from training camps in India's Tamil Nadu State. The Indian government repeatedly denied this claim. With the level of violence mounting, the possibility of negotiation became increasingly distant.
In July 1983, communal riots took place due to the ambush and killing of 13 Sri Lankan Army soldiers by the Tamil Tigers using the voters list, which contained the exact addresses of Tamils. The Tamil community faced a backlash from Sinhalese rioters including the destruction of shops, homes, savage beatings and the burning of Jaffna library. A few Sinhalese kept Tamil neighbours in their homes to protect them from the rioters. During these riots the government did nothing to control the mob. Conservative government estimates put the death toll at 400, while the real death toll is believed to be around 3000. Also around 18,000 Tamil homes and another 5,000 homes were destroyed, with 150,000 leaving the country resulting in a Tamil diaspora in Canada, the UK, Australia and other western countries.
In elections held on 17 November 2005 Mahinda Rajapakse was elected President after defeating Ranil Wickremasinghe by a mere 180,000 votes. He appointed Wickremanayake as Prime Minister and Mangala Samaraweera as Foreign Minister. Negotiations with the LTTE stalled and a low-intensity conflict began. The violence dropped off after talks in February but escalated again in April and the conflict continued until the military defeat of the LTTE in May 2009.
The Sri Lanka government declared total victory on 18 May 2009. On 19 May 2009, the Sri Lankan military led by General Sarath Fonseka, effectively concluded its 26-year operation against the LTTE, its military forces recaptured all remaining LTTE controlled territories in the Northern Province including Killinochchi (2 January), the Elephant Pass (9 January) and ultimately the entire district of Mullaitivu.
On 22 May 2009, Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa confirmed that 6,261 personnel of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces had lost their lives and 29,551 were wounded during the Eelam War IV since July 2006. Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara added that approximately 22,000 LTTE fighters had died during this time. The war caused the death of 80 000-100 000 civilians. There are allegations that war crimes were committed by the Sri Lankan military and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers) during the Sri Lankan Civil War, particularly during the final months of the Eelam War IV phase in 2009. The alleged war crimes include attacks on civilians and civilian buildings by both sides; executions of combatants and prisoners by both sides; enforced disappearances by the Sri Lankan military and paramilitary groups backed by them; acute shortages of food, medicine, and clean water for civilians trapped in the war zone; and child recruitment by the Tamil Tigers.
Several International bodies including UNROW Human Rights Impact Litigation Clinic, Human Rights Watch and Permanent People's Tribunal have raised allegations on the Sri Lankan Government for genocide against Tamils. In December 10, 2013, Permanent People's Tribunal unanimously ruled Sri Lanka guilty of the crime of genocide against the Tamil people.
Presidential elections were completed in January 2010. Mahinda Rajapaksa won the elections with 59% of the votes, defeating General Sarath Fonseka who was the united opposition candidate. Fonseka was subsequently arrested and convicted by court martial.
In January 2015 presidential elections Mahinda Rajapaksa was defeated by the common candidate Maithripala Sirisena and Rajapaksa's attempted return was thwarted in the parliamentary election the same year by Ranil Wickremesinghe This resulted in a unity government between the UNP and SLFP | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27411 |
Geography of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, formerly called "Ceylon", is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, southeast of the Indian subcontinent, in a strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes. The nation has a total area of 65,610 km², with 62,705 km² of land and 2,905 km² of water. Its coastline is
Adam's Bridge, a land connection to the Indian mainland, is now mostly submerged with only a chain of limestone shoals remaining above sea level. According to temple records, this natural causeway was formerly complete, but was breached by a violent storm (probably a cyclone) in 1480. The formation is also known as "Rama's Bridge", as according to Hindu mythology, it was constructed during the rule of Lord Rama.
Sri Lanka's climate includes tropical monsoons: the northeast monsoon (December to March), and the southwest monsoon (June to October). Its terrain is mostly low, flat to rolling plain, with mountains in the south-central interior. The highest point is Pidurutalagala at . Natural resources include limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, and hydropower.
More than 90% of Sri Lanka's surface lies on Precambrian strata, some of it dating back 2 billion years. The granulite facies rocks of the Highland Series (gneisses, sillimanite-graphite gneisses, quartzite, marbles, and some charnockites) make up most of the island and the amphibolite facies gneisses, granites, and granitic gneisses of the Vinjayan Series occur in the eastern and southeastern lowlands. Jurassic sediments are present today in very small areas near the western coast and Miocene limestones underlie the northwestern part of the country and extend south in a relatively narrow belt along the west coast. The metamorphic rock surface was created by the transformation of ancient sediments under intense heat and pressure during mountain-building processes. The theory of plate tectonics suggests that these rocks and related rocks forming most of south India were part of a single southern landmass called Gondwanaland. Beginning about 200 million years ago, forces within the Earth's mantle began to separate the lands of the Southern Hemisphere, and a crustal plate supporting both India and Sri Lanka moved toward the northeast. About 45 million years ago, the Indian plate collided with the Asian landmass, raising the Himalayas in northern India, and continuing to advance slowly to the present time. Sri Lanka does not experience earthquakes or major volcanic events because it rides on the center of the plate.
The island contains relatively limited strata of sedimentation surrounding its ancient uplands. Aside from recent deposits along river valleys, only two small fragments of Jurassic (140 to 190 million years ago) sediment occur in Puttalam District, while a more extensive belt of Miocene (5 to 20 million years ago) limestone is found along the northwest coast, overlain in many areas by Pleistocene (1 million years ago) deposits. The northwest coast is part of the deep Cauvery (Kaveri) River Basin of southeast India, which has been collecting sediments from the highlands of India and Sri Lanka since the breakup of Gondwanaland.
Extensive faulting and erosion over time have produced a wide range of topographic features. Three zones are distinguishable by elevation: the Central Highlands, the plains, and the coastal belt.
The south-central part of Sri Lanka—the rugged Central Highlands—is the heart of the country. The core of this area is a high plateau, running north–south for approximately 65 kilometers. This area includes Sri Lanka's highest mountains. (Pidurutalagala is the highest at 2,524 m) At the plateau's southern end, mountain ranges stretch 50 kilometers to the west toward Adam's Peak (2,243 meters) and 50 kilometers to the east toward Namunakula (2,036 m). Flanking the high central ridges are two lower plateaus. On the west is the Hatton Plateau, a deeply dissected series of ridges sloping downward toward the north. On the east, the Uva Basin consists of rolling hills covered with grasses, traversed by some deep valleys and gorges. To the north, separated from the main body of mountains and plateaus by broad valleys, lies the Knuckles Massif: steep escarpments, deep gorges, and peaks rising to more than 1,800 meters. South of Adam's Peak lie the parallel ridges of the Rakwana Hills, with several peaks over 1,400 meters. The land descends from the Central Highlands to a series of escarpments and ledges at 400 to 500 meters above sea level before sloping down toward the coastal plains.
Most of the island's surface consists of plains between 30 and 200 meters above sea level. In the southwest, ridges and valleys rise gradually to merge with the Central Highlands, giving a dissected appearance to the plain. Extensive erosion in this area has worn down the ridges and deposited rich soil for agriculture downstream. In the southeast, a red, lateritic soil covers relatively level ground that is studded with bare, monolithic hills. The transition from the plain to the Central Highlands is abrupt in the southeast, and the mountains appear to rise up like a wall. In the east and the north, the plain is flat, dissected by long, narrow ridges of granite running from the Central Highlands.
A coastal belt about thirty meters above sea level surrounds the island. Much of the coast consists of scenic sandy beaches indented by coastal lagoons. In the Jaffna Peninsula, limestone beds are exposed to the waves as low-lying cliffs in a few places. In the northeast and the southwest, where the coast cuts across the stratification of the crystalline rocks, rocky cliffs, bays, and offshore islands can be found; these conditions have created one of the world's best natural harbors at Trincomalee on the northeast coast, and a smaller rock harbor at Galle on the southwestern coast.
Sri Lanka's rivers rise in the Central Highlands and flow in a radial pattern toward the sea. Most of these rivers are short. There are 16 principal rivers longer than 100 kilometers in length, with twelve of them carrying about 75% of the mean river discharge in the entire country. The longest rivers are the Mahaweli Ganga (335 km) and the Aruvi Aru (170 km). In the highlands, river courses are frequently broken by discontinuities in the terrain, and where they encounter escarpments, numerous waterfalls and rapids have eroded a passage. Once they reach the plain, the rivers slow down and the waters meander across flood plains and deltas. The upper reaches of the rivers are wild and usually unnavigable, and the lower reaches are prone to seasonal flooding. Human intervention has altered the flows of some rivers in order to create hydroelectric, irrigation, and transportation projects. In the north, east, and southeast, the rivers feed numerous artificial lakes or reservoirs (tanks) that store water during the dry season. During the 1970s and 1980s, large-scale projects dammed the Mahaweli Ganga and neighboring streams to create large lakes along their courses. Several hundred kilometers of canals, most of which were built by the Dutch in the 18th century, link inland waterways in the southwestern part of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka's climate can be described as tropical, and quite hot. Its position between 5 and 10 north latitude endows the country with year-round warm weather, moderated by ocean winds and considerable moisture. The average temperature ranges from a low of in Nuwara Eliya in the Central Highlands (where frost may occur for several days in the winter) to a high of in Trincomalee on the northeast coast (where temperatures may reach ). The average yearly temperature for the country as a whole ranges from . Day and night temperatures may vary by 4 to 7 °C (7.2 to 12.6 °F). January is the coolest month, especially in the highlands, where overnight temperatures may fall to . May, the hottest period, precedes the summer monsoon rains.
The rainfall pattern is influenced by the monsoon winds of the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal and is marked by four seasons. The first is from mid-May to October, when winds originate in the southwest, bringing moisture from the Indian Ocean. When these winds encounter the slopes of the Central Highlands, they unload heavy rains on the mountain slopes and the southwestern sector of the island. Some of the windward slopes receive up to of rain per month, but the leeward slopes in the east and northeast receive little rain. The second season occurs in October and November, the intermonsoonal months. During this season, periodic squalls occur and sometimes tropical cyclones bring overcast skies and rains to the southwest, northeast, and eastern parts of the island. During the third season, December to March, monsoon winds come from the northeast, bringing moisture from the Bay of Bengal. The northeastern slopes of the mountains may be inundated with up to of rain during these months. Another intermonsoonal period occurs from March until mid-May, with light, variable winds and evening thundershowers.
An increase in average rainfall coupled with heavier rainfall events has resulted in recurrent flooding and related damages to infrastructure, utility supply and the urban economy.
Humidity is typically higher in the southwest and mountainous areas and depends on the seasonal patterns of rainfall. At Colombo, for example, daytime humidity stays above 70% all year, rising to over 90% percent during the monsoon season in June. Anuradhapura experiences a daytime low of 60% during the intermonsoonal month of March, but a high of 79% during the November and December rains. In the highlands, Kandy's daytime humidity usually ranges between 70 and 79%.
The pattern of life in Sri Lanka depends directly on the availability of rainwater. The mountains and the southwestern part of the country, known as the "wet zone," receive ample rainfall (an annual average of 2500 millimeters). Most of the southeast, east, and northern parts of the country comprise the "dry zone, which receives between 1200 and 1900 mm of rain annually. Much of the rain in these areas falls from October to January; during the rest of the year there is very little precipitation, and all living creatures must conserve precious moisture. The arid northwest and southeast coasts receive the least amount of rain—600 to 1200 mm per year—concentrated within the short period of the winter monsoon.
The natural vegetation of the dry zone has adapted to the annual change from flood to drought. The typical ground cover is scrub forest, interspersed with tough bushes and cactuses in the driest areas. Plants grow very fast from November to February when rainfall is heavy, but stop growing during the hot season from March to August. Various adaptations to the dry conditions have developed. To conserve water, trees have thick bark; most have tiny leaves, and some drop their leaves during this season. Also, the topmost branches of the tallest trees often interlace, forming a canopy against the hot sun and a barrier to the dry wind. When water is absent, the plains of the dry zone are dominated by browns and grays. When water becomes available, either during the wet season or through proximity to rivers and lakes, the vegetation explodes into shades of green with a wide variety of beautiful flowers. Varieties of flowering acacias are well adapted to the arid conditions and flourish on the Jaffna Peninsula. Among the trees of the dry-land forests are some valuable species, such as satinwood, ebony, ironwood, and mahogany.
In the wet zone, the dominant vegetation of the lowlands is a tropical evergreen forest, with tall trees, broad foliage, and a dense undergrowth of vines and creepers. Subtropical evergreen forests resembling those of temperate climates flourish in the higher altitudes. Montane vegetation at the highest altitudes tends to be stunted and windswept.
Forests at one time covered nearly the entire island, but by the late 20th century lands classified as forests and forest reserves covered only one-fifth of the land. The southwestern interior contains the only large remnants of the original forests of the wet zone. The government has attempted to preserve sanctuaries for natural vegetation and animal life, however. Ruhunu National Park in the southeast protects herds of elephant, deer, and peacocks, and Wilpattu National Park in the northwest preserves the habitats of many water birds, such as storks, pelicans, ibis, and spoonbills. During the Mahaweli Ganga Program of the 1970s and 1980s in northern Sri Lanka, the government set aside four areas of land totalling 1,900 km² as national parks.
The dominant pattern of human settlement during the last 2,500 years has consisted of village farming communities. Even in the 1980s, the majority of people lived in small villages and worked at agricultural pursuits. Traditional farming techniques and life-styles revolve around two types of farming--"wet" and "dry"—depending upon the availability of water.
The typical settlement pattern in the rice-growing areas is a compact group of houses or neighborhood surrounding one or several religious centers that serve as the focus for communal activities. Sometimes the houses may be situated along a major road and include a few shops, or the village may include several outlying hamlets. The life-sustaining rice fields begin where the houses end and stretch into the distance. Some irrigated fields may include other cash crops, such as sugarcane, or groves of coconut trees. Palmyra trees grow on the borders of fields or along roads and paths. Individual houses also may have vegetable gardens in their compounds. During the rainy seasons and thereafter, when the fields are covered by growing crops, the village environment is intensely verdant.
The nature of agricultural pursuits in Sri Lanka has changed over the centuries and has usually depended upon the availability of arable land and water resources. In earlier times, when villagers had access to plentiful forests that separated settlements from each other, slash-and-burn agriculture was a standard technique. As expanding population and commercial pressures reduced the amount of available forestland, however, slash-and-burn cultivation steadily declined in favor of permanent cultivation by private owners. Until the 13th century, the village farming communities were mainly on the northern plains around Anuradhapura and then Polonnaruwa, but they later shifted to the southwest. In the 1970s, wide expanses of the northern and eastern plains were sparsely populated, with scattered villages each huddled around an artificial lake. The Jaffna Peninsula, although a dry area, is densely populated and intensively cultivated. The southwest contains most of the people, and villages are densely clustered with little unused land. In the Central Highlands around Kandy, villagers faced with limited flat land have developed intricately terraced hillsides where they grow rice. In the 1960s and 1970s, the wet cultivation area was expanding rapidly, as the government implemented large-scale irrigation projects to restore the dry zone to agricultural productivity. In the 1970s, the area drained by the Mahaweli Ganga changed from a sparsely inhabited region to a wet rice area similar to the southwest. Through such projects, the government of Sri Lanka has planned to recreate in the dry zone the lush, landscape associated with the irrigation works in ancient Sri Lanka.
Beginning in the 16th century and culminating during the British rule of the 19th and 20th centuries, the plantation economy came to dominate large sections of the highlands. Plantation farming resulted in a drastic reduction in the natural forest cover and the substitution of domesticated crops, such as rubber, tea, or cinnamon. It also brought about a changed life-style, as the last hunting-and-gathering societies retreated into smaller areas and laborers moved into the highlands to work on plantations. Through the late 20th century, workers on large plantations lived in villages of small houses or in "line rooms" containing ten to twelve units. The numerous plantations of small landholders frequently included attached hamlets of workers in addition to the independent houses of the plantation owners.
The coastal belt surrounding the island contains a different settlement pattern that has evolved from older fishing villages. Separate fishing settlements expanded laterally along the coast, linked by a coastal highway and a railway. The mobility of the coastal population during colonial times and after independence led to an increase in the size and number of villages, as well as to the development of growing urban centers with outside contacts. In the 1980s, it was possible to drive for many kilometers along the southwest coast without finding a break in the string of villages and bazaar centers merging into each other and into towns.
Land use:
"arable land:"
13.96%
"permanent crops:"
15.24%
"other:"
70.8% (2005)
Irrigated land:
5,700 km² (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
52.8 cubic km
Natural resources:
limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower
Natural hazards:
occasional cyclones and tornadoes
Environmental issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27412 |
Demographics of Sri Lanka
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Sri Lanka, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean, also called Ceylon and many other names. It is about the size of Ireland. It is about 28 kilometres (18 mi.) off the south-eastern coast of India with a population of about 20 million. Density is highest in the south west where Colombo, the country's main port and industrial center, is located. The net population growth is about 0.7%. Sri Lanka is ethnically, linguistically, and religiously diverse.
According to the 2012 census the population of Sri Lanka was 20,359,439, giving a population density of 325/km2. The population had grown by 5,512,689 (37.1%) since the 1981 census (the last full census), equivalent to an annual growth rate of 1.1%. 3,704,470 (18.2%) lived in urban sectors - areas governed by municipal and urban councils.
5,131,666 (25.2%) of the population were aged 14 or under whilst 2,525,573 (12.4%) were aged 60 or over, leaving a working age (15-59) population of 12,702,700. The dependency ratio was 60.2%. The mean age was 32 years and the median age was 31 years. The sex ratio was 94 males per 100 females. The fertility rate for married females aged 15 or over was 2.65 live births. There were 5,264,282 households of which 3,986,236 (75.7%) were headed by males and 1,278,046 (24.3%) were headed by females.
Of the 15,227,773 aged 15 or over, 10,322,105 (67.8%) were married, 3,927,602 (25.8%) were never married, 792,947 (5.2%) were widowed and 185,119 (1.2%) were divorced or separated.
Of those aged 15 or over, 7,857,370 (51.6%) were economically active, 4,199,558 (27.6%) did housework, 1,431,105 (9.4%) were students, 914,934 (6.0%) were unable to work and 346,084 (2.3%) were pensioners. 521,938 (6.6%) of the economically active were unemployed. 604,540 Sri Lankans were living aboard for more than six months but were intending to return to Sri Lanka, mostly in the Gulf states (373,050 61.7%).
The overall literacy rate for those aged 10 and over was 95.7% but amongst those living in the estate sector it was only 86.1%. Of the 18,615,577 aged 5 or over, 499,563 (2.7%) had received a higher education qualification, 2,293,841 (12.3%) had passed G.C.E. A/L, 3,159,402 (17.0%) had passed G.C.E. O/L and 700,419 (3.8%) had no formal schooling. The remaining 11,962,352 (64.3%) had left school with no qualifications or were currently at school.
Sri Lanka's population is aging faster than any other nation in South Asia and has the fifth highest rapidly growing population of older people in Asia after China, Thailand, South Korea and Japan. In 2015, Sri Lanka's population aged over 60 was 13.9%, by 2030 this will increase to 21% and by 2050 this number will reach 27.4%. Sri Lanka's rapidly growing older population has ignited concerns of the socio-economic challenges that the country will face because of this.
The Sinhalese make up 74.9% of the population (according to 2012 census) and are concentrated in the densely populated south-west and central parts of the island. The Sri Lanka Tamils, who live predominantly in the north and east of the island, form the largest minority group at 11.1% (according to the 2012 census) of the population.
The Moors, descendants of Arab traders that settled in Sri Lanka and married local women, form the third largest ethnic group at 9.3% of the population. They are mostly concentrated in urban areas in the southern parts of the island with substantial populations in the Central and Eastern provinces. During times of Portuguese colonization, Moors were persecuted, and many forced to retreat to the central highlands and the eastern coast.
There are also Indian Tamils who form a distinct ethnic group comprising 4.1% of the population. The British brought them to Sri Lanka in the 19th century as tea and rubber plantation workers, and they remain concentrated in the "tea country" of south-central Sri Lanka. The Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka were considered to be "stateless" and over 300 000 Indian Tamils were deported back to India, due to the agreement between Sri Lanka and India in 1964. Under the pact, India granted citizenship to the remainder, some 200,000 of whom now live in India. Another 75,000 Indian Tamils, who themselves or whose parents once applied for Indian citizenship, now wish to remain in Sri Lanka. The government has stated these Tamils will not be forced to return to India, although they are not technically citizens of Sri Lanka. By the 1990s most Indian Tamils had received Sri Lankan citizenship, and some even were not granted Sri Lankan citizenship until 2003.
Smaller minorities include the Malays who descend from Austronesian settlers, the Burghers, who are descendants of European colonists, principally from Portugal, the Netherlands and the UK and ethnic Chinese migrants who came to the island in the 18th and 19th centuries and a small population who are descended from Africa.
According to the 2012 census Buddhists make up 70.2% of the population, Hindus 12.6%, Muslims 9.7% and Christians 7.6%. Most Sinhalese are Buddhist; most Tamils are Hindu; and the Moors and Malays are mostly Muslim. Sizeable minorities of both Sinhalese and Tamils are Christians, most of whom are Roman Catholic. The Burgher population is mostly Roman Catholic or Presbyterian. The Veddahs have Animist and Buddhist practices. The 1978 constitution, while assuring freedom of religion, gives "the foremost place" to Buddhism.
Sinhala, an Indo-European language, is the first language of the Sinhalese. Tamil, a Dravidian language, is the first language of the Tamils. Tamil is also the first language the majority of Moors and the Indian Tamils - according to the 2012 census 98% of Moors could speak Tamil but only 59% could speak Sinhala.
Malays speak Sri Lanka Malay, a Creole language mixing Sinhala, Tamil and Malay. Many of the Burghers speak Sri Lankan Indo-Portuguese although its use has declined and the majority now speak Sinhala. The Veddahs speak Vedda, a Creole language closely based on Sinhala. Use of English has declined since independence, but it continues to be spoken by many in the middle and upper middle classes, particularly in Colombo. According to the 2012 census 24% of the population could speak English. The government is seeking to reverse the decline in the use of English, mainly for economic but also for political reasons. According to the constitution Sinhala and Tamil are official languages whilst English is the link language.
UN estimates:
Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):
Source: "UN World Population Prospects"
Provisional estimates (01/07/2013) :
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27413 |
Politics of Sri Lanka
Politics of Sri Lanka takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Sri Lanka is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and Parliament. For decades, the party system has been dominated by the socialist Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the conservative United National Party. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The Politics of Sri Lanka reflect the historical and political differences between the three main ethnic groups, the majority Sinhala and the minorities Tamils and Muslims, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island.
The President, directly elected for a five-year term, is head of state, head of government, and commander in chief of the armed forces. The election occurs under the Sri Lankan form of the contingent vote. Responsible to Parliament for the exercise of duties under the constitution and laws, the president may be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of Parliament with the concurrence of the Supreme Court.
The President appoints and heads a cabinet of ministers responsible to Parliament. The President's deputy is the prime minister, who leads the ruling party in Parliament. A parliamentary no-confidence vote requires dissolution of the cabinet and the appointment of a new one by the President.
The Parliament has 225 members, elected for a five-year term, 196 members elected in multi-seat constituencies and 29 by proportional representation.
The primary modification is that the party that receives the largest number of valid votes in each constituency gains a unique "bonus seat" ("see" Hickman, 1999). The president may summon, suspend, or end a legislative session and dissolve Parliament any time after it has served for one year. Parliament reserves the power to make all laws. Since its independence in 1948, Sri Lanka has remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
In August 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that Presidential Elections would be held in November 2005, resolving a long-running dispute on the length of President Kumaratunga's term. Mahinda Rajapaksa was nominated the SLFP candidate and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe UNP candidate. The Election was held on November 17, 2005, and Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected the fifth Executive President of Sri Lanka with a 50.3% of valid votes, compared to Ranil Wickremesinghe's 48.4%. Mahinda Rajapaksa took oath as President on November 19, 2005. Ratnasiri Wickremanayake was appointed the 22nd Prime Minister on November 21, 2005, to fill the post vacated by Mahinda Rajapaksa. He was previously Prime Minister from 2000 until 2001 .
Local government is divided into two parallel structures, the civil service, which dates to colonial times, and the provincial councils, which were established in 1987.
The country is divided into 25 districts, each of which has a district secretary (the GA, or Government Agent) who is appointed. Each district comprises 5–16 divisions, each with a DS, or divisional secretary, again, appointed. At a village level Grama Niladari (Village Officers), Samurdhi Niladari (Development Officers) and agriculture extension officers work for the DSs.
Under the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord of July 1987—and the resulting 13th amendment to the constitution—the Government of Sri Lanka agreed to devolve some authority to the provinces. Provincial councils are directly elected for 5-year terms. The leader of the council majority serves as the province's Chief Minister with a board of ministers; a provincial governor is appointed by the president.
The Provincial Councils have full statute making power with respect to the Provincial Council List, and shared statute making power respect to the Concurrent List. While all matters set out in the Reserved List are under the central government.
Below the provincial level are elected Municipal Councils and Urban Councils, responsible for municipalities and cities respectively, and below this level Pradeshiya Sabhas (village councils), again elected.
There are:
18 Municipal Councils: Sri Jayawardanapura Kotte, Kaduwela, Colombo, Kandy, Jaffna, Galle, Matara, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, Anuradhapura, Gampaha, Moratuwa, Ratnapura, Kurunegala, Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, Batticaloa, Kalmune, Negombo.
42 Urban Councils:
270 Pradeshiya Sabhas:
Sri Lanka's judiciary consists of a Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, and a number of subordinate courts. Sri Lanka's legal system reflects diverse cultural influences. Criminal law is fundamentally British. Basic civil law is Roman-Dutch, but laws pertaining to marriage, divorce, and inheritance are communal, known as respectively as Kandyan,
"Thesavalamai" (Jaffna Tamil) and Muslim (Roman-Dutch law applies to Low-country Sinhalese, Estate Tamils and others).
Sri Lanka generally follows a non-aligned foreign policy but has been seeking closer relations with the United States since December 1977. It participates in multilateral diplomacy, particularly at the United Nations, where it seeks to promote sovereignty, independence, and development in the developing world. Sri Lanka was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). It also is a member of the Commonwealth, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, and the Colombo Plan. Sri Lanka continues its active participation in the NAM, while also stressing the importance it places on regionalism by playing a strong role in SAARC.
Sri Lanka is member of the IAEA, IBRD, ADB, C, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO.
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The growing interest of other countries in making their claims to Sri Lanka’s strategic assets has been generating heated discussion among national and international circles. Worth noting, China, India and Japan's involvement in Sri Lankan seaport developments is a direct consequence of the ongoing tussle among these three nations to get a firm foothold in this very strategically located island state of Sri Lanka.
Civil society participation in decision-making and opinion-shaping is very poor in Sri Lanka. Professionals, civil society groups, media etc. do not play a significant role in Sri Lankan politics and, as a result, many aspects of the lives of ordinary citizens are politicized. In addition, the vacuum created by the silence and inactivity of civil society has let in radical groups such as the ethnic/religion-based groups, Trade Unions; and NGOs have taken lead roles as political pressure groups. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27414 |
Economy of Sri Lanka
The free-market economy of Sri Lanka is worth $92.111 billion by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and $321.856 billion by purchasing power parity (PPP). The country has experienced an annual growth of 6.4 percent from 2003 to 2012, well above its regional peers. With an income per capita of 12,811 PPP Dollars (2018 World Bank) or 4,103 nominal US dollars, Sri Lanka is an upper middle income nation. The main economic sectors of the country are tourism, tea export, apparel, textile, rice production and other agricultural products. In addition to these economic sectors, overseas employment contributes highly in foreign exchange.
Sri Lanka has met the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving extreme poverty and is on track to meet most of the other MDGs, outperforming other South Asian countries. Sri Lanka experienced a major decline in poverty between 2002 and 2009 – from 23 percent to 9 percent of the population which is lowest in South Asia. Despite this pockets of poverty continue to exist. An estimated 9 percent of Sri Lankans who are no longer classified as poor live within 20 percent of the poverty line and are, thus, vulnerable to shocks which could cause them to fall back into poverty. Since the end of the three-decade civil war, Sri Lanka has begun focusing on long-term strategic and structural development challenges as it strives to transition to an upper middle income country. Sri Lanka has one of the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in the world, and creating jobs for the bottom 40% has become a challenge. Sri Lanka also faces a challenges in social inclusion, governance and sustainability.
According to government policies and economic reforms stated by Prime Minister and Minister of National Policy and economic affairs Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lanka plans to create Western Region Megapolis a Megapolis in the western province to promote economic growth. The creation of several business and technology development areas island-wide specialised in various sectors, as well as tourism zones are also being planned. But Sri Lanka has recently been facing a danger of falling into economic malaise, with increasing debt levels and a political crisis which saw the country's debt rating being dropped.
Since becoming independent from Britain in February 1948, the economy of the country has been affected by natural disasters such as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and a number of insurrections, such as the 1971, the 1987–89 and the 1983–2009 civil war. Between 1977 and 1994 the country came under UNP rule in which under President J.R Jayawardana Sri Lanka began to shift away from a socialist orientation in 1977. Since then, the government has been deregulating, privatizing, and opening the economy to international competition. In 2001, Sri Lanka faced bankruptcy, with debt reaching 101% of GDP. The impending currency crisis was averted after the country reached a hasty ceasefire agreement with the LTTE and brokered substantial foreign loans. After 2004 the UPFA government has concentrated on mass production of goods for domestic consumption such as rice, grain and other agricultural products.
however twenty five years of civil war slowed economic growth, diversification and liberalisation, and the political group Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) uprisings, especially the second in the early 1980s, also caused extensive upheavals.
Following the quelling of the JVP insurrection, increased privatization, economic reform, and a stress on export-oriented growth helped improve the economic performance, increasing GDP growth to 7% in 1993.
Economic growth has been uneven in the ensuing years as the economy faced a multitude of global and domestic economic and political challenges. Overall, average annual GDP growth was 5.2% over 1991–2000.
In 2001, however, GDP growth was negative 1.4%--the first contraction since independence. The economy was hit by a series of global and domestic economic problems and affected by terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka and the United States. The crises also exposed the fundamental policy failures and structural imbalances in the economy and the need for reforms. The year ended in parliamentary elections in December, which saw the election of United National Party to Parliament, while Sri Lanka Freedom Party retained the Presidency.
During the short lived peace process from 2002 to 2004, the economy benefited from lower interest rates, a recovery in domestic demand, increased tourist arrivals, a revival of the stock exchange, and increased foreign direct investment (FDI). In 2002, the economy experienced a gradual recovery. During this period Sri Lanka has been able to reduce defense expenditures and begin to focus on getting its large, public sector debt under control. In 2002, economic growth reached 4%, aided by strong service sector growth. The agricultural sector of the economy staged a partial recovery. Total FDI inflows during 2002 were about $246 million
The Mahinda Rajapakse government halted the privatization process and launched several new companies as well as re-nationalising previous state owned enterprises, one of which the courts declared that privatizationis null and void. Some state-owned corporations became overstaffed and less efficient, making huge losses with series of frauds being uncovered in them and nepotism rising. During this time EU revoked GSP plus preferential tariffs from Sri Lanka due to alleged human rights violations, which cost about US$500 million a year.
The resumption of the civil-war in 2005 led to a steep increase defense expenditures. The increased violence and lawlessness also prompted some donor countries to cut back on aid to the country..
A sharp rise in world petroleum prices combined with economic fallout from the civil war led to inflation that peaked 20%. However, as the civil war ended in May 2009 the economy started to grow at a higher rate of 8.0% in the year 2010 and reached 9.1% in 2012 mostly due to the boom in non-tradable sectors. However the boom didn't last and the GDP growth for 2013 fell to 3.4% in 2013 and only slightly recovered to 4.5% in 2014.
In 2016 the government succeeded in lifting an EU ban on Sri Lankan fish products which resulted in fish exports to EU rising by 200% and in 2017 improving human rights conditions resulted in the European Commission proposing to restore GSP plus facility to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's tax revenues per GDP also increased from 10% in 2014 which was the lowest in nearly two decades to 12.3% in 2015 Despite reforms, Sri Lanka was listed among countries with the highest risk for investors by Bloomberg.
The chart below summarizes the trend of Sri Lanka's gross domestic product at market prices. by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of Sri Lankan Rupees.
For purchasing power parity comparisons, the US Dollar is exchanged at 113.4 Sri Lankan Rupees only.
The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2017.
In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution industrialisation policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade.
Sri Lanka's most dynamic industries now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking.
By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an annual average rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996.
The economy rebounded in 1997–98 with growth of 6.4% and 4.7% – but slowed to 3.7% in 1999. For the next round of reforms, the central bank of Sri Lanka recommends that Colombo expand market mechanisms in nonplantation agriculture, dismantle the government's monopoly on wheat imports, and promote more competition in the financial sector.
Pre 2009 there was a continuing cloud over the economy the civil war and fighting between the Government of Sri Lanka and LTTE. However the war ended with a resounding victory for the Sri Lankan Government on 19 May 2009 with the total elimination of LTTE.
"Last Updated on 24 June 2018"
2018E: 4.5%, 2019E: 4.8%
Following a real GDP expansion of 3.1% in 2017, the economy is however anticipated to be in the "negative output gap" territory in 2018E and 2019E (i.e. below its potential output of 5.25% - estimated by the IMF)
Global Environment not likely to assist in reducing the Negative Output Gap of Sri Lanka
Even though the CBSL tried to adopt a soft monetary policy by early April 2018 to reduce the output gap of the Sri Lankan economy, the chances of the Regulator opting for further policy interest rate cuts seem to be limited at this juncture, given hawkish approach of the FED in the near term (as there could be a potential capital flight from domestic markets as already seen with the domestic fixed income market's foreign holding). The expected FED rate (at least more than a couple in 2H2018E) hikes are anticipated to continue to reduce foreign participation in the domestic fixed income markets as seen during previous rate hikes of the FED.
Climatic Change Impact on South Asia to Hinder Agri allied output in the Short to Medium Term
Another reason why the Sri Lankan (real GDP) output is likely to be low in the near to medium term is low absolute output expected from Agriculture and Agri-allied manufacturing processes. There was a flood in May 2018 (followed by floods in May 2016 and May 2017), and based on the World Bank's recent Annual Reports, world climatic change related impact may likely result in annual floods and / or droughts for the South Asian region in the near to medium term (that includes Sri Lanka).
Investment Environment and Sustainable Revenue allied Limitations
Sri Lanka's investment to GDP ratio (average for past five years) hovers ~ 31% which is made up of 24% Private Sector Investment, 5% Public Investment (or Government Capex) and 2% via Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs). For an economy to reach a sustainable productive capacity (or real GDP growth rate) equivalent to 6% - 7%, the investment to GDP ratio has to at least increase to the level of ~34% - 35%, which requires an increase in the said investments level. Given Sri Lanka's natural savings rate of ~23% - 24%, private sector investment may continue to remain at 24% levels at least in the near term. Given Government of Sri Lanka's (GoSL) commitment to contain fiscal deficits in the near term, Public investment in GoSL' s best case will be at ~5% level in the short to medium term. This leaves room only for one area of focus in the near term, if Sri Lanka needs to increase its potential output level, which is FDIs. For this to improve, few indices like the "doing business index (Sri Lanka stood at 111 for 2018 which deteriorated its rank from 85th position during 2014)", the overall tariff structure & allied reforms and infrastructure project execution pace (to increase economic efficiency) play a key role. However, increasing FDI level to 5% - 6% in the medium term may require fast pacing the matters mentioned above.
From a sustainable revenue point of view, Sri Lanka has continued to perform low, given its declining Export to GDP ratio, which was at 33% in 2000, that deteriorated to 15% in 2014 which has now (by end of 2017) further deteriorated to 12%, emphasizing the fact that policies by the successive Governments during past few decades have not helped in increasing the country's sustainable revenue. A classic example for this is, during 1992, Sri Lanka's absolute Export Value was on par with countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh (at US$2bn), which has only grown to a shade below US$12bn by end of 2017 (compared to Vietnam's US$214bn and Bangladesh's US$36bn for 2017)
Head line CCPI and NCPI will hover at 6% by 30 June 2019
Even though the Government did not adopt the fuel pricing formula, the Government took action to increase domestically controlled Petrol and Diesel prices, that will eventually increase non-financial SOE gains (which were in the red zone up to 2015) in the near term. This reform (even though, it is a spot action) and the anticipated adoption of the electricity pricing reform or a similar adjustment to electricity prices by end of September 2018 (as agreed with IMF's reform agenda for Sri Lanka), may transfer Ceylon Petroleum Corporation - CPC and the Ceylon Electricity Board - CEB (two of the top three loss making SOEs – other being Sri Lankan air lines) in to the green zone (profits), in SOE financials.
These changes may however, result in upward inflationary pressures in the short to medium term which will also be further slightly stimulated by supply side shocks anticipated via adverse weather related mishaps in the near term.
However, given the tighter monetary approach in the world economy, commodity prices may likely ease at least commencing 2019, which will eventually help sustain imported inflation to the country. As a result, inflation in Sri Lanka could be possibly contained at around 6% by mid-2019.
12 Month T bill to be at 10% by 30 June 2019
The CBSL has reduced its T bill holding significantly from April 2017 to date reversing any monetary stimulated inflationary actions. Thus the resultant liquidity levels in the money market broadly reflects natural market conditions compared to the market that was there an year ago, which reflected more realistic banking sector interest rates as of June 2018.
Private sector credit growth declined from high levels of 29% YoY in July 2016 to 15% YoY levels in 1Q2018. One of the main features of this decline includes a significant reduction in the uptake of credit from the Corporates, which is depicted by the declining Prime - Net Interest Margins (Prime - NIMs) since September 2016. Prime - NIMs declined from 5.2% in Sep 2016 to 2.2% in May 2018, which is a 300bit/s reduction in corporate lending business for the local banking system. However, retail margins in the economy declined only 30bit/s to 5% during the same period, which confirms the tilt of credit towards less credit worthy from high credit rated corporates (pausing possible NPA threats for the banking system in the near term).
Given the changes taking place in the private credit space (i.e. the retail tilt), and provided the CBSL's recent policy rate cut in April 2018, credit growth may still continue to move either horizontally (i.e. at 15% level) or continue to reduce slightly given anticipated near term inflationary pressures, as the consumption led borrowings may also tend to decline on account of anticipated reduction in near term disposable income. This will however not add any excessive upward pressures on interest rates (including 12-month T bill yields) especially during 2H2018E. As a result, 12-month Treasury bill yields may in fact slightly decline from its June 2018 --> 9.4% to 9% levels by end of 2018E. However, given the International Sovereign Bond (ISB) bullet payments >US$3bn p.a. commencing from 2019E may likely add some upward pressure on interest rates, resulting in the 12-month T bill yields rising to at least 10% by 30 June 2019.
"The author of this segment (Sanjeewa Fernando) is a Lecturer at the University of Colombo for Master of Financial Economics"
In the recent past, the Sri Lankan Government has identified some key focal areas to address the external imbalances of the economy, especially with regard to reducing its high trade deficit (~15% of GDP for 2012) in order to make the economy comply with the Marshall–Lerner condition. Sri Lanka's oil import bill accounts for an estimated 27% of total imports while its pro-growth policies have resulted in an investment goods import component of 24% of total imports. These inelastic import components have led to Sri Lanka's Export goods price elasticity + Import goods price elasticity totalling less than 1, resulting in the country not complying with the Marshall–Lerner condition.
Some of the suggested proposals include:
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is the monetary authority of Sri Lanka and was established in 1950. The Central Bank is responsible for the conduct of monetary policy in the country and also has supervisory powers over the financial system.
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is the main stock exchange in Sri Lanka. It is one of the most modern exchanges in South Asia, providing a fully automated trading platform. The vision of the CSE is to contribute to the wealth of the nation by creating value through securities. The headquarters of the CSE have been located at the World Trade Center Towers in Colombo since 1995 and it also has branches across the country in Kandy, Matara, Kurunegala, Negombo and Jaffna. In 2009, after the 30 years long civil war came to an end, the CSE was the best performing stock exchange in the world.
Most Sri Lankan cities and towns are connected by the Sri Lanka Railways, the state-run railway operator. The Sri Lanka Transport Board is the state-run agency responsible for operating public bus services across the island.
The government has launched several highway projects to bolster the economy and national transport system, including the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway, the Colombo-Kandy (Kadugannawa) Expressway, the Colombo-Padeniya Expressway and the Outer Circular Highway to ease Colombo's traffic congestion. The government sponsored Road Development Authority (RDA) has been involved in several large-scale projects all over the island in an attempt to improve the road network in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's commercial and economic centres, primarily the capitals of the nine provinces are connected by the "A-Grade" roads which are categorically organised and marked. Furthermore, "B-Grade" roads, also paved and marked, connect district capitals within provinces. The grand total of A, B and E grade roads are estimated at 12,379.49 km.
The energy policy is governed by the Ministry of Power and Energy, while the production and retailing of electricity is carried out by the Ceylon Electricity Board. Policy recommendations and planning comes under the oversight of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka. Energy in Sri Lanka is mostly generated by hydroelectric power stations in the Central Province.
Sri Lanka has a well-established education system that has successfully created a vast supply of skilled labor. Sri Lanka's population has a literacy rate of 92%, higher than that expected for a third world country; it has the highest literacy rate in South Asia and overall, one of the highest literacy rates in Asia. Information technology literacy of the urban sector population is also satisfactory at 39.9 percent and people around the country use web-based job boards to find skilled employment together with other sources such as newspapers and government gazette. In Sri Lanka, all persons above age limit 15 years and above of either gender are identified as working-age population. In the fourth quarter of 2017, Sri Lanka had an unemployment rate of 4.2 percent and is shown to reduce gradually over the years.
Tourism is one of the main industries in Sri Lanka. Major tourist attractions are focused around the islands famous beaches located in the southern and the eastern parts of the country and ancient heritage sites located in the interior of the country and resorts located in the mountainous regions of the country. Also, due to precious stones such as rubies and sapphires being frequently found and mined in Ratnapura and its surrounding areas, they are a major tourist attraction.
The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and the past civil war have reduced the tourist arrivals, however the number of tourists visiting have been recently increasing, beginning in early 2008. March 2008 by 8.6% and Sri Lanka attracted 1,003,000 tourists in 2012 according to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka's 2013 roadmap.
The tea industry, operating under the Ministry of Public Estate Management and Development, is one of the main industries in Sri Lanka. It became the world's leading exporter in 1995 with a 23% share of global tea export, higher than Kenya's 22% share. The central highlands of the country have a low temperature climate throughout the year and annual rainfall and the humidity levels that are suitable for growing tea. The industry was introduced to the country in 1867 by James Taylor, a British planter who arrived in 1852.
Recently, Sri Lanka has become one of the countries exporting fair trade tea to the UK and other countries. It is believed that such projects could reduce rural poverty.
The apparel industry of the Sri Lanka mainly exports to the United States and Europe. There are about 900 factories throughout country serving companies such as Victoria's Secret, Liz Claiborne and Tommy Hilfiger. Textiles & Apparels, as categorized and reported by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, made up to around 44% of Sri Lankan merchandise exports, in the year 2017.
The agricultural sector of the country produces mainly rice, coconut and grain, largely for domestic consumption and occasionally for export. The tea industry which has existed since 1867 is not usually regarded as part of the agricultural sector, which is mainly focused on export rather than domestic use in the country.
Export revenue of Sri Lankan IT sector is estimated to be US$720 million in 2013.
Sri Lanka is known for producing a variety of gemstones, including chrysoberyl, corundum, garnet, ruby, spinel, and tourmaline, and is a leading producer of the Ceylon Blue sapphire. The best known areas for gemstone mining in Sri Lanka were Balangoda, Elahera, Kamburupitiya, Moneragala, Okkampitiya, and Ratnapura. In addition Sri Lanka has a variety of industrial minerals, which include ball clay, kaolin, and other clays, calcite, dolomite, feldspar, graphite, limestone, Ilmenite, mica, rutile mineral sands, phosphate rock, quartz, zircon, dolomite and silica sand. Pulmoddai beach sand deposit is the most important non-ferrous mineral reserve in Sri Lanka as well as one of the world's most richest mineral sand deposits with heavy mineral concentrates of 50% to 60% and contain manyminerals including titanium.
Sri Lanka is famous specially for its highly valued and high-purity vein graphite. As of 2014, graphite was produced at the two largest graphite mines in Sri Lanka, the Bogala and the Kahatagaha Mines. Major investors in graphite mining are Graphite Lanka Ltd., Bogala Graphite Lanka Plc, Bora Bora Resources Ltd. (BBR) of Australia, MRL Corp. Ltd. of Australia, and Saint Jean Carbon Inc. of Canada.
Sri Lanka has developed several multi-national companies and international brands. The most notable companies include:
Conglomerates
Cargills, JKH, Hayleys
MAS Holdings
LAUGFS Holdings
Aitken Spence
Dilmah
Ceylon Tobacco Company, Elephant House, DCSL, CBL, Maliban
Exports to the United States, Sri Lanka's most important market, were valued at $1.8 billion in 2002, or 38% of total exports. For many years, the United States has been Sri Lanka's largest market for garments, receiving more than 63% of the country's total garment exports. India is Sri Lanka's largest supplier, with imports worth $835 million in 2002. Japan, traditionally Sri Lanka's largest supplier, was its fourth-largest in 2002 with exports of $355 million. Other important suppliers include Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea. The United States is the 10th-largest supplier to Sri Lanka; US imports amounted to $218 million in 2002, according to Central Bank trade data.
A new port is being built in Hambantota in Southern Sri Lanka, funded by the Chinese government as a part of the Chinese aid to Sri Lanka. This will ease the congestion in Sri Lankan ports, particularly in Colombo. In 2009, 4456 ships visited Sri Lankan ports.
Sri Lanka had applied for credit ratings from international agencies in its efforts to apply for loans from international markets in 2005 after the election of Mahinda Rajapakse as president. Standard and Poor's has rated Sri Lanka a "B+" speculative rating, four grades below investment grade. Fitch has rated Sri Lanka with "BB-" which is three grades below investment grade. Standard and Poor's maintains Sri Lanka is constrained by providing widespread subsidies, a bloated public sector, transfers to loss-making state enterprises, and high interest local and international burdens . Standard and Poor's estimates public sector debt has reached 95% of GDP , in comparison to CIA estimates of 89% of GDP . Sri Lanka in mid-2007 sought to borrow $500 million from international markets to shore up the deteriorating exchange rate and reduce pressure on repayment of the domestic debt market . The head of the opposition UNP, Ranil Wickremasinghe has warned that such intense borrowing is unsustainable and will not repay these loans if elected to power .
Sri Lanka is highly dependent on foreign assistance, and several high-profile assistance projects were launched in 2003. The most significant of these resulted from an aid conference in Tokyo in June 2003; pledges at the summit, which included representatives from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Japan, the European Union and the United States, totalled $4.5 billion.
During the past few years, the country's debt has soared as it was developing its infrastructure to the point of near bankruptcy which required a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "Without an IMF loan, Sri Lanka would have been in a precarious position" in May 2016, according to Krystal Tan, an Asia economist at Capital Economics, who added "foreign exchange reserves only covered around 80 percent of short-term external debt." The IMF had agreed to provide a $1.5 billion bailout loan in April 2016 after Sri Lanka provided a set of criteria intended to improve its economy.
By the fourth quarter of 2016 the debt was estimated to be $64.9 billion. Additional debt had been incurred in the past by state-owned organizations and this was said to be at least $9.5 billion. Since early 2015, domestic debt has increased by 12 percent and external debt by 25 percent.
In late 2016 the World Bank provided US$100 million in financing and the Japan International Cooperation Agency provided a US$100M loan, both intended to "provide budget financing and to support reforms in competitiveness, transparency, public sector and fiscal management", according to the World Bank. The bank also reported that the country's government had agreed that there was a need for reforms "in the areas of fiscal operations, competitiveness and governance" and if fully implemented, "these could help the country reach Upper Middle Income status in the medium term" according to the bank.
In November 2016, the International Monetary Fund reported that it would disburse a higher amount than the US$150 million originally planned, a full US$162.6 million (SDR 119.894 million), to Sri Lanka. The agency's evaluation was cautiously optimistic about the future: "While inflation has abated, credit growth remains strong. The central bank indicates its readiness to tighten the monetary policy stance further if inflationary pressures resurge or credit growth persists. The authorities intend to continue building up reserves through outright purchases while allowing for greater exchange rate flexibility. The banking sector is currently well capitalized. Steps are being taken to find a resolution mechanism for the distressed financial institutions. Going forward, there is a need to strengthen the supervisory and regulatory framework, and identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in the financial sector, particularly with regard to non-banks and state-owned banks."
As part of the debt management program the Sri Lankan government carried out several reforms which included the implementation of a new Inland Revenue Act as well as an automatic fuel pricing formula. Tax reforms also increased VAT rates and narrowed exemptions and the third review by the IMF noted that performance was on track regarding fiscal consolidation, revenue mobilization, monetary policy management, and reserves accumulation. In the fourth review in June 2018 the IMF claimed that "Sri Lanka has made important progress under its Fund-supported program", but stressed the need of further progress with revenue-based fiscal consolidation and a prudent monetary policy with sustained efforts to build up international reserves. In 2018 China extended a loan of $1.25 billion consisting of a below-market-rate syndicated loan and smaller Panda bond to bail out Sri Lanka. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27415 |
Telecommunications in Sri Lanka
Telecommunications in Sri Lanka commenced in 1958 after the first telegraphic circuit between Colombo and Galle was commenced. The sector continues to grow in the modern times.
Landlines in use: 2,484,616 (December, 2018)
Mobile Phones in use: 32,528,104 (December, 2018)
Excellent domestic service in urban and semi urban areas. Inadequate service in rural and remote areas (2010), good international service (2010). The latest trend is the Fixed 4G LTE and 5G technologies, because of this technology many Sri Lankans who live in rural and remote areas can now access a good telephone and broadband internet service.
The national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay and fiber-optic links are now in use in the Colombo City and all major cities and towns
Two submarine cables to India and the Maldives; one Satellite earth stations - Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2009)
The history of the internet in Sri Lanka began with the launch of the Lanka Education and Research Network (LEARN) in 1992. The network was only made available to educational and research communities. In the 1985/1986 period with the use of an old TRS 80 model which ran Xenix, computer engineers and scholars were able to demonstrate a remote login from University of Moratuwa (UoM) which connected a computer in University of Colombo for the very first time.
Postal Service: Sri Lanka Post
Radio broadcast stations: AM 15, FM 54, SW 5
Television broadcast stations: 19 (2009)
Satellite Earth Stations located: Padukka and Colombo
Internet Service Providers: 9
Country code / Top-level domain: +94/LK
LIRNEasia's Telecommunications Regulatory Environment (TRE) index, which summarizes stakeholders’ perception on certain TRE dimensions, provides insight into how conducive the environment is for further development and progress. The most recent survey was conducted in July 2008 in eight Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines. The tool measured seven dimensions: i) market entry; ii) access to scarce resources; iii) interconnection; iv) tariff regulation; v) anti-competitive practices; and vi) universal services; vii) quality of service, for the fixed, mobile and broadband sectors.
In Sri Lanka, the mobile sector receives higher scores than the fixed sector for all dimensions excepting interconnection. The broadband sector lags behind both the fixed and mobile sectors in all but one of the parameters (regulation of anti-competitive practices). What also emerges in the
results illustrated above is that all the sectors – other than mobile sector USOs – fall below the 5.00 average performance level.
Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) Statistics | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27416 |
Transport in Sri Lanka
Transport in Sri Lanka is based on its road network, which is centred on the country's commercial capital Colombo. A rail network handles a portion of Sri Lanka's transport needs. There are navigable waterways, harbours and three international airports: in Katunayake, north of Colombo, in Hambantota, and in Jaffna.
Roads account for about 93 percent of Sri Lanka's land transport. In October 2013, there were of A- and B-class roads and of expressways.
Sri Lanka's roads are graded E, A, B and C.
The Colombo–Matara Expressway is a motorway linking Colombo, Galle and Matara which was built in 2011 to develop the economy of the Southern Province. Other expressways are under construction or proposed. The Colombo–Katunayake Expressway, Colombo-Kandy Expressway and Outer Circular Expressway (Colombo bypass road) are under construction, and a Colombo–Padeniya expressway has been proposed. The Sri Lankan government has proposed three elevated highways connecting the three main expressways:
Sri Lanka's national highways are graded A or B. A-Grade roads are subdivided as AA, AB or AC.
Road density is highest in the southwest, particularly the area around Colombo. Highways are in good condition, with a smooth bitumen surface and road markings; however, some rural roads are in poor condition. Heavily travelled roads are being upgraded and repaved. Public transport is widely available in many rural areas.
Buses are the principal mode of public transport. Service is provided by the state-run Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) and privately owned buses. The SLTB has urban and rural routes; in many rural areas, it provides service which would be unprofitable for private operators.
Colombo has an extensive, bus-based public transport system, with the Central Bus Stand in Pettah as its hub. The city's road network consists of radial links (or arterial routes), which link the city and district centres, and orbital links intersecting the arterial routes. Most bus routes are on the radial links, without dedicated bus lanes due to high peak traffic volume. A BRT system for Colombo has been proposed but not yet implemented.
Inter-city routes connect many of the country's major population centres. Some service is available on the E01 and E03 expressways, with modern Lanka Ashok Leyland buses.
In 2011, the SLTB began introducing new buses to replace part of its aging fleet. The Volvo 8400 buses, from Volvo India, run on major routes in Colombo. The most popular model is the Lanka Ashok Leyland Viking, which is operated by the SLTB and several private companies.
Rail transport in Sri Lanka consists of an intercity network connecting major population centres and commuter rail serving Colombo commuters. Sri Lanka Railways operates the country's railway network, which includes about of track. Colombo is its hub. Trains connect the main cities of the country's nine provinces.
Most of the railways were developed during the British colonial period, with the first line (from Colombo to Kandy) opening on 26 April 1867. The railway was introduced as an economical means of transporting goods produced on the tea, rubber and coconut plantations to the main port in Colombo. After 1950s, the Sri Lankan economy became focused on industry rather than plantation agriculture. The road network also grew; with the introduction of lorries, a faster means of transporting goods, the amount of goods transported by rail declined. Since their network is more focused on plantation areas than on population and service centres, the railways have generated large losses.
Their potential for expansion was demonstrated when Minister of Transport Leslie Goonewardene extended the coastal line from Puttalam to Aruvakalu in 1974 to serve the cement factory there. The railway is modernising and extending that line to facilitate faster trains and improved efficiency. Electrification of the network's busiest sections was proposed in 2010 to improve energy efficiency and sustainability, but no work was done. The railway is extending the coastal line from Matara to Kataragama via Hambantota.
The Sri Lankan rail network passes scenic landscapes—particularly the Colombo-Badulla main line, which hugs the country's steep highlands. The railways connect the cities of Kandy, Galle, Matara, Jaffna, Kankesanturai, Mannar, Anuradhapura, Gampaha, Negombo, Kurunegala, Avissawella, Kalutara, Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Badulla, Gampola, Nawalapitiya, Matale, Vavuniya, Puttalam and Chilaw with Colombo.
The narrow-gauge Kelani Valley Line, from Colombo to Avissawella, was converted to broad gauge. The other narrow-gauge lines, from Nanu Oya to Nuwara Eliya, Avissawella to Yatiyantota and Avissawella to Ratnapura and Opanayaka, were dismantled due to financial losses. In 2007, the Sri Lankan government announced plans for Matara-Kataragama (113 km), Padukka-Hambantota-Ratnapura (210 km), Kurunegala-Dambulla-Habarana (80 km) and Panadura-Horana (18 km) lines by 2014.
Sri Lanka's international airports include Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport, Jaffna International Airport, Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport and Ratmalana International Airport, which is being renovated.
SriLankan Airlines is the national airline. Founded in 1979 as Air Lanka, the airline changed its name when it received partial foreign ownership in 1998. It operates to Asia and Europe from its base at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo; the airline's main office is in the Airline Centre at the airport. The airline was scheduled to join the Oneworld alliance in 2013.
SriLankan flies to 62 destinations in 34 countries.
Bandaranaike International Airport is in Katunayake, 35 km (22 mi) north of Colombo. Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport is in Mattala, north of Hambantota. Jaffna International Airport became Sri Lanka's third international airport on 17 October 2019 when it was opened to public by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe. After its renovation, Ratmalana Airport will resume international flights after a half-century absence.
Flights connect the airport in Ratmalana to domestic destinations. Domestic operators are Deccan Aviation Lanka, Deccan Helicopters, FitsAir, Senok, Helitours and Cinnamon Air. Sri Lanka has 19 airports. Cinnamon Air actually flies from the main Katunayake Airport and from a lake near Colombo city centre, not from Ratmalana.
Sri Lanka has of inland waterways (primarily on rivers in the southwest), navigable by shallow-draught boats.
Sri Lanka has deep-water ports at Colombo, Hambantota, Galle and Trincomalee. Colombo has the highest cargo volume, with an estimated capacity of 5.7 million TEUs. The port began a large-scale expansion project at a cost of US$1.2 billion in 2008 to increase its capacity and capabilities. The project, headed by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and built by the Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company, was expected to be completed by 11 April 2012. It consists of four new terminals which can accommodate three berths each, alongside a depth of 18 m (59 ft) (which can be deepened to 23 m [75 ft]). The channel width of the harbour will be and its depth , with a harbour-basin depth of and a turning circle. The project was expected to increase the annual container-handling capacity to about 12 million TEUs and accommodate 12,000-TEU container vessels.
Construction of Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port (also known as the Port of Hambantota) began in January 2008. It will be Sri Lanka's second-largest port, after Colombo. The port will serve ships travelling along one of the world's busiest sea lanes: the east-west route running south of Hambantota. The first phase of the port will consist of two general-purpose berths, a bunkering berth and a small-craft berth. The port will also contain a bunkering facility and tank farm, which will include eight tanks for marine fuel and three tanks each for aviation fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). A 15-floor administrative complex will also be constructed as part of the project. Later phases will raise the port's annual capacity to 20 million TEUs, making it the largest port constructed on land in the 21st century.
The Dikkowitta Fishery Harbour, near Colombo in Wattala, Gampaha, Western Province, will cost an estimated $73 million and is projected to be Asia's largest fishing harbour. With unloading and packing facilities meeting the requirements of fish-importing countries (the EU, Japan and the US), it will be an alternative site for the Mutwal fishery harbour.
Facilities will include a southern basin for export-oriented fishing vessels, a northern basin for local fishing vessels, a service facility for boat repairs, cleaning and lifting and a fish-processing facility with three cold rooms.
The harbour at Kankesanturai, north of Jaffna, is navigable by ships of relatively shallow draught and was inactive during the civil war. The port is being restored and deepened with Indian aid.
In 2010, Sri Lanka had 21 ships ( or over), totalling 192,190 GT and (: four bulk carriers, 13 cargo ships, one chemical tanker, one container ship and two petroleum tankers.
In 1987, Sri Lanka had of pipelines for crude oil and petroleum products. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27417 |
Sudan
Sudan (; "as-Sūdān"), officially the Republic of the Sudan ( "Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān"), is a country in Northeast Africa. Bordered by Egypt to the north, Libya to the northwest, Chad to the west, the Central African Republic to the southwest, South Sudan to the south, Ethiopia to the southeast, Eritrea to the east, and the Red Sea to the northeast. Sudan has a population of 43 million (2018 estimate) and occupies 1,886,068 square kilometres (728,215 square miles), making it Africa's third-largest country and also the third-largest in the Arab world. It was the largest country in Africa and the Arab world by area before the 2011 South Sudan's secession.
Sudan's history goes back to the Pharaonic period, witnessing the kingdom of Kerma ( 2500 BC–1500 BC), the subsequent rule of the Egyptian New Kingdom ( 1500 BC–1070 BC) and the rise of the kingdom of Kush ( 785 BC–350 AD), which would in turn control Egypt itself for nearly a century. After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed the three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia, with the latter two lasting until around 1500. Between the 14th and 15th centuries much of Sudan was settled by Arab nomads. From the 16th–19th centuries, central and eastern Sudan were dominated by the Funj sultanate, while Darfur ruled the west and the Ottomans the far north. This period saw extensive Islamisation and Arabisation.
From 1820 to 1874 the entirety of Sudan was conquered by the Muhammad Ali dynasty. Between 1881 and 1885, the harsh Egyptian reign was eventually met with a successful revolt led by the self-proclaimed Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad, resulting in the establishment of the Caliphate of Omdurman. This state was eventually toppled in 1898 by the British, who would then govern Sudan together with Egypt.
The 20th century saw the growth of Sudanese nationalism and in 1953 Britain granted Sudan self-government. Independence was proclaimed on 1 January 1956. Since independence, Sudan has been ruled by a series of unstable parliamentary governments and military regimes. Under Jaafar Nimeiry, Sudan instituted Islamic law in 1983. This exacerbated the rift between the Islamic north, the seat of the government and the Animists and Christians in the south. Differences in language, religion, and political power erupted in a civil war between government forces, strongly influenced by the National Islamic Front (NIF), and the southern rebels, whose most influential faction was the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), eventually concluding in the independence of South Sudan in 2011. Between 1989 and 2019, Sudan experienced a 30-year-long military dictatorship led by Omar al-Bashir accused of widespread human rights abuses including torture, persecution of minorities and notably, ethnic genocide due to its role in the War in Darfur Region that broke out in 2003. Overall, the regime left 300,000–400,000 dead. Protests erupted in late 2018, demanding Bashir's resignation, which resulted in a successful coup d'état on April 11, 2019.
The country's name "Sudan" is a name given to a geographical region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western Africa to eastern Central Africa. The name derives from the Arabic "" (), or "the lands of the Blacks". The name is one of several toponyms sharing similar etymologies, ultimately meaning "land of the blacks" or similar meanings, in reference to the dark skin of the inhabitants. Initially, the term "Sudanese" had a negative connotation in Sudan due to its association with black Africans. The idea of "Sudanese" nationalism goes back to the 1930s and 1940s, when it was popularised by young intellectuals.
By the eighth millennium BC, people of a Neolithic culture had settled into a sedentary way of life there in fortified mudbrick villages, where they supplemented hunting and fishing on the Nile with grain gathering and cattle herding. Neolithic peoples created cemeteries such as R12. During the fifth millennium BC, migrations from the drying Sahara brought neolithic people into the Nile Valley along with agriculture. The population that resulted from this cultural and genetic mixing developed a social hierarchy over the next centuries which became the Kingdom of Kush (with the capital at Kerma) at 1700 BC. Anthropological and archaeological research indicate that during the predynastic period Nubia and Nagadan Upper Egypt were ethnically, and culturally nearly identical, and thus, simultaneously evolved systems of pharaonic kingship by 3300 BC.
The Kingdom of Kush was an ancient Nubian state centered on the confluences of the Blue Nile and White Nile, and the Atbarah River and the Nile River. It was established after the Bronze Age collapse and the disintegration of the New Kingdom of Egypt, centered at Napata in its early phase.
After King Kashta ("the Kushite") invaded Egypt in the eighth century BC, the Kushite kings ruled as pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt for a century before being defeated and driven out by the Assyrians. At the height of their glory, the Kushites conquered an empire that stretched from what is now known as South Kordofan to the Sinai. Pharaoh Piye attempted to expand the empire into the Near East but was thwarted by the Assyrian king Sargon II.
The Kingdom of Kush is mentioned in the Bible as having saved the Israelites from the wrath of the Assyrians, although disease among the besiegers was the main reason for the failure to take the city.
The war that took place between Pharaoh Taharqa and the Assyrian king Sennacherib was a decisive event in western history, with the Nubians being defeated in their attempts to gain a foothold in the Near East by Assyria. Sennacherib's successor Esarhaddon went further and invaded Egypt itself to secure his control of the Levant. This succeeded, as he managed to expel Taharqa from Lower Egypt. Taharqa fled back to Upper Egypt and Nubia, where he died two years later. Lower Egypt came under Assyrian vassalage but proved unruly, unsuccessfully rebelling against the Assyrians. Then, the king Tantamani, a successor of Taharqa, made a final determined attempt to regain Lower Egypt from the newly re-instated Assyrian vassal Necho I. He managed to retake Memphis killing Necho in the process and besieged cities in the Nile Delta. Ashurbanipal, who had succeeded Esarhaddon, sent a large army in Egypt to regain control. He routed Tantamani near Memphis and, pursuing him, sacked Thebes. Although the Assyrians immediately departed Upper Egypt after these events, weakened, Thebes peacefully submitted itself to Necho's son Psamtik I less than a decade later. This ended all hopes of a revival of the Nubian Empire, which rather continued in the form of a smaller kingdom centered on Napata. The city was raided by the Egyptian c. 590 BC and the Kushite resettled in Meroë.
During Classical Antiquity, the Nubian capital was still at Meroë. In ancient Greek geography, the Meroitic kingdom was known as Ethiopia (a term also used earlier by the Assyrians when encountering the Nubians). The civilization of Kush was among the first in the world to use iron smelting technology. The Nubian kingdom at Meroë persisted until the mid-fourth century AD.
On the turn of the fifth century the Blemmyes established a short-lived state in Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia, probably centered around Talmis (Kalabsha), but before 450 they were already driven out of the Nile Valley by the Nobatians. The latter eventually founded a kingdom on their own, Nobatia.
By the 6th century there were in total three Nubian kingdoms: Nobatia in the north, which had its capital at Pachoras (Faras); the central kingdom, Makuria centred at Tungul (Old Dongola), about south of modern Dongola; and Alodia, in the heartland of the old Kushitic kingdom, which had its capital at Soba (now a suburb of modern-day Khartoum). Still in the sixth century they converted to Christianity. In the seventh century, probably at some point between 628 and 642, Nobatia was incorporated into Makuria.
Between 639 and 641 the Muslim Arabs of the Rashidun Caliphate conquered Byzantine Egypt. In 641 or 642 and again in 652 they invaded Nubia but were repelled, making the Nubians one of the few who managed to defeat the Arabs during the Islamic expansion. Afterwards the Makurian king and the Arabs agreed on a unique non-aggression pact that also included an annual exchange of gifts, thus acknowledging Makuria's independence. While the Arabs failed to conquer Nubia they began to settle east of the Nile, where they eventually founded several port towns and intermarried with the local Beja.
From the mid 8th-mid 11th century the political power and cultural development of Christian Nubia peaked. In 747 Makuria invaded Egypt, which at this time belonged to the declining Umayyads, and it did so again in the early 960s, when it pushed as far north as Akhmim. Makuria maintained close dynastic ties with Alodia, perhaps resulting in the temporary unification of the two kingdoms into one state. The culture of the medieval Nubians has been described as ""Afro-Byzantine"", but was also increasingly influenced by Arab culture. The state organisation was extremely centralised, being based on the Byzantine bureaucracy of the 6th and 7th centuries. Arts flourished in the form of pottery paintings and especially wall paintings. The Nubians developed an own alphabet for their language, Old Nobiin, basing it on the Coptic alphabet, while also utilizing Greek, Coptic and Arabic. Women enjoyed high social status: they had access to education, could own, buy and sell land and often used their wealth to endow churches and church paintings. Even the royal succession was matrilineal, with the son of the king's sister being the rightful heir.
From the late 11th/12th century, Makuria's capital Dongola was in decline, and Alodia's capital declined in the 12th century as well. In the 14th and 15th centuries Bedouin tribes overran most of Sudan, migrating to the Butana, the Gezira, Kordofan and Darfur. In 1365 a civil war forced the Makurian court to flee to Gebel Adda in Lower Nubia, while Dongola was destroyed and left to the Arabs. Afterwards Makuria continued to exist only as a petty kingdom. After the prosperous reign of king Joel ( 1463–1484) Makuria collapsed. Coastal areas from southern Sudan up to the port city of Suakin was succeeded by the Adal Sultanate in the fifteenth century. To the south, the kingdom of Alodia fell to either the Arabs, commanded by tribal leader Abdallah Jamma, or the Funj, an African people originating from the south. Datings range from the 9th century after the Hijra ( 1396–1494), the late 15th century, 1504 to 1509. An alodian rump state might have survived in the form of the kingdom of Fazughli, lasting until 1685.
In 1504 the Funj are recorded to have founded the Kingdom of Sennar, in which Abdallah Jamma's realm was incorporated. By 1523, when Jewish traveller David Reubeni visited Sudan, the Funj state already extended as far north as Dongola. Meanwhile, Islam began to be preached on the Nile by Sufi holymen who settled there in the 15th and 16th centuries and by David Reubeni's visit king Amara Dunqas, previously a Pagan or nominal Christian, was recorded to be Muslim. However, the Funj would retain un-Islamic customs like the divine kingship or the consummation of alcohol until the 18th century. Sudanese folk Islam preserved many rituals stemming from Christian traditions until the recent past.
Soon the Funj came in conflict with the Ottomans, who had occupied Suakin around 1526 and eventually pushed south along the Nile, reaching the third Nile cataract area in 1583/1584. A subsequent Ottoman attempt to capture Dongola was repelled by the Funj in 1585. Afterwards, Hannik, located just south of the third cataract, would mark the border between the two states. The aftermath of the Ottoman invasion saw the attempted usurpation of Ajib, a minor king of northern Nubia. While the Funj eventually killed him in 1611/1612 his successors, the Abdallab, were granted to govern everything north of the confluence of Blue and White Niles with considerable autonomy.
During the 17th century the Funj state reached its widest extent, but in the following century it began to decline. A coup in 1718 brought a dynastic change, while another one in 1761–1762 resulted in the Hamaj regency, where the Hamaj (a people from the Ethiopian borderlands) effectively ruled while the Funj sultans were their mere puppets. Shortly afterwards the sultanate began to fragment; by the early 19th century it was essentially restricted to the Gezira.
The coup of 1718 kicked off a policy of pursuing a more orthodox Islam, which in turn promoted the Arabisation of the state. In order to legitimise their rule over their Arab subjects the Funj began to propagate an Umayyad descend. North of the confluence of the Blue and White Niles, as far downstream as Al Dabbah, the Nubians adopted the tribal identity of the Arab Jaalin. Until the 19th century Arabic had succeeded in becoming the dominant language of central riverine Sudan and most of Kordofan.
West of the Nile, in Darfur, the Islamic period saw at first the rise of the Tunjur kingdom, which replaced the old Daju kingdom in the 15th century and extended as far west as Wadai. The Tunjur people were probably Arabised Berbers and, their ruling elite at least, Muslims. In the 17th century the Tunjur were driven from power by the Fur Keira sultanate. The Keira state, nominally Muslim since the reign of Sulayman Solong (r. 1660–1680), was initially a small kingdom in northern Jebel Marra, but expanded west- and northwards in the early 18th century and eastwards under the rule of Muhammad Tayrab (r. 1751–1786), peaking in the conquest of Kordofan in 1785. The apogee of this empire, now roughly the size of present-day Nigeria, would last until 1821.
In 1821, the Ottoman ruler of Egypt, Muhammad Ali of Egypt, had invaded and conquered northern Sudan. Although technically the Vali of Egypt under the Ottoman Empire, Muhammad Ali styled himself as Khedive of a virtually independent Egypt. Seeking to add Sudan to his domains, he sent his third son Ismail (not to be confused with Ismaʻil Pasha mentioned later) to conquer the country, and subsequently incorporate it into Egypt. With the exception of the Shaiqiya and the Darfur sultanate in Kordofan, he was met without resistance. The Egyptian policy of conquest was expanded and intensified by Ibrahim Pasha's son, Ismaʻil, under whose reign most of the remainder of modern-day Sudan was conquered.
The Egyptian authorities made significant improvements to the Sudanese infrastructure (mainly in the north), especially with regard to irrigation and cotton production. In 1879, the Great Powers forced the removal of Ismail and established his son Tewfik Pasha in his place. Tewfik's corruption and mismanagement resulted in the 'Urabi revolt, which threatened the Khedive's survival. Tewfik appealed for help to the British, who subsequently occupied Egypt in 1882. Sudan was left in the hands of the Khedivial government, and the mismanagement and corruption of its officials.
During the Khedivial period, dissent had spread due to harsh taxes imposed on most activities. Taxation on irrigation wells and farming lands were so high most farmers abandoned their farms and livestock. During the 1870s, European initiatives against the slave trade had an adverse impact on the economy of northern Sudan, precipitating the rise of Mahdist forces. Muhammad Ahmad ibn Abd Allah, the "Mahdi" (Guided One), offered to the "ansars" (his followers) and those who surrendered to him a choice between adopting Islam or being killed. The Mahdiyah (Mahdist regime) imposed traditional Sharia Islamic laws.
From his announcement of the Mahdiyya in June 1881 until the fall of Khartoum in January 1885, Muhammad Ahmad led a successful military campaign against the Turco-Egyptian government of the Sudan, known as the Turkiyah. Muhammad Ahmad died on 22 June 1885, a mere six months after the conquest of Khartoum. After a power struggle amongst his deputies, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, with the help primarily of the Baggara of western Sudan, overcame the opposition of the others and emerged as unchallenged leader of the Mahdiyah. After consolidating his power, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad assumed the title of "Khalifa" (successor) of the Mahdi, instituted an administration, and appointed Ansar (who were usually Baggara) as emirs over each of the several provinces.
Regional relations remained tense throughout much of the Mahdiyah period, largely because of the Khalifa's brutal methods to extend his rule throughout the country. In 1887, a 60,000-man Ansar army invaded Ethiopia, penetrating as far as Gondar. In March 1889, king Yohannes IV of Ethiopia marched on Metemma; however, after Yohannes fell in battle, the Ethiopian forces withdrew. Abd ar Rahman an Nujumi, the Khalifa's general, attempted an invasion of Egypt in 1889, but British-led Egyptian troops defeated the Ansar at Tushkah. The failure of the Egyptian invasion broke the spell of the Ansar's invincibility. The Belgians prevented the Mahdi's men from conquering Equatoria, and in 1893, the Italians repelled an Ansar attack at Agordat (in Eritrea) and forced the Ansar to withdraw from Ethiopia.
In the 1890s, the British sought to re-establish their control over Sudan, once more officially in the name of the Egyptian Khedive, but in actuality treating the country as a British colony. By the early 1890s, British, French and Belgian claims had converged at the Nile headwaters. Britain feared that the other powers would take advantage of Sudan's instability to acquire territory previously annexed to Egypt. Apart from these political considerations, Britain wanted to establish control over the Nile to safeguard a planned irrigation dam at Aswan. Herbert Kitchener led military campaigns against the Mahdist Sudan from 1896 to 1898. Kitchener's campaigns culminated in a decisive victory in the Battle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898.
In 1899, Britain and Egypt reached an agreement under which Sudan was run by a governor-general appointed by Egypt with British consent. In reality, Sudan was effectively administered as a Crown colony. The British were keen to reverse the process, started under Muhammad Ali Pasha, of uniting the Nile Valley under Egyptian leadership and sought to frustrate all efforts aimed at further uniting the two countries.
Under the Delimitation, Sudan's border with Abyssinia was contested by raiding tribesmen trading slaves, breaching boundaries of the law. In 1905 Local chieftain Sultan Yambio reluctant to the end gave up the struggle with British forces that had occupied the Kordofan region, finally ending the lawlessness. The continued British administration of Sudan fuelled an increasingly strident nationalist backlash, with Egyptian nationalist leaders determined to force Britain to recognise a single independent union of Egypt and Sudan. With a formal end to Ottoman rule in 1914, Sir Reginald Wingate was sent that December to occupy Sudan as the new Military Governor. Hussein Kamel was declared Sultan of Egypt and Sudan, as was his brother and successor, Fuad I. They continued upon their insistence of a single Egyptian-Sudanese state even when the Sultanate of Egypt was retitled as the Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan, but it was Saad Zaghloul who continued to be frustrated in the ambitions until his death in 1927.
From 1924 until independence in 1956, the British had a policy of running Sudan as two essentially separate territories, the north and south. The assassination of a Governor-General of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in Cairo was the causative factor; it brought demands of the newly elected Wafd government from colonial forces. A permanent establishment of two battalions in Khartoum was renamed the Sudan Defence Force acting as under the government, replacing the former garrison of Egyptian army soldiers, saw action afterwards during the Walwal Incident. The Wafdist parliamentary majority had rejected Sarwat Pasha's accommodation plan with Austen Chamberlain in London; yet Cairo still needed the money. The Sudanese Government's revenue had reached a peak in 1928 at £6.6 million, thereafter the Wafdist disruptions, and Italian borders incursions from Somaliland, London decided to reduce expenditure during the Great Depression. Cotton and gum exports were dwarfed by the necessity to import almost everything from Britain leading to a balance of payments deficit at Khartoum.
In July 1936 the Liberal Constitutional leader, Muhammed Mahmoud was persuaded to bring Wafd delegates to London to sign the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, "the beginning of a new stage in Anglo-Egyptian relations", wrote Anthony Eden. The British Army was allowed to return to Sudan to protect the Canal Zone. They were able to find training facilities, and the RAF was free to fly over Egyptian territory. It did not, however, resolve the problem of Sudan: the Sudanese Intelligentsia agitated for a return to metropolitan rule, conspiring with Germany's agents.
Mussolini made it clear that he could not invade Abyssinia without first conquering Egypt and Sudan; they intended unification of Libya with Italian East Africa. The British Imperial General Staff prepared for military defence of the region, which was thin on the ground. The British ambassador blocked Italian attempts to secure a Non-Aggression Treaty with Egypt-Sudan. But Mahmoud was a supporter of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem; the region was caught between the Empire's efforts to save the Jews, and moderate Arab calls to halt migration.
The Sudanese Government was directly involved militarily in the East African Campaign. Formed in 1925, the Sudan Defence Force played an active part in responding to incursions early in World War Two. Italian troops occupied Kassala and other border areas from Italian Somaliland during 1940. In 1942, the SDF also played a part in the invasion of the Italian colony by British and Commonwealth forces. The last British governor-general was Robert George Howe.
The Egyptian revolution of 1952 finally heralded the beginning of the march towards Sudanese independence. Having abolished the monarchy in 1953, Egypt's new leaders, Mohammed Naguib, whose mother was Sudanese, and later Gamal Abdel Nasser, believed the only way to end British domination in Sudan was for Egypt to officially abandon its claims of sovereignty. In addition Nasser knew it would be difficult for Egypt to govern an impoverished Sudan after its independence. The British on the other hand continued their political and financial support for the Mahdist successor, Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi, whom it was believed would resist Egyptian pressure for Sudanese independence. Rahman was capable of this, but his regime was plagued by political ineptitude, which garnered a colossal loss of support in northern and central Sudan. Both Egypt and Britain sensed a great instability fomenting, and thus opted to allow both Sudanese regions, north and south to have a free vote on whether they wished independence or a British withdrawal.
A polling process was carried out resulting in composition of a democratic parliament and Ismail al-Azhari was elected first Prime Minister and led the first modern Sudanese government. On 1 January 1956, in a special ceremony held at the People's Palace, the Egyptian and British flags were lowered and the new Sudanese flag, composed of green, blue and yellow stripes, was raised in their place by the prime minister Ismail al-Azhari.
Dissatisfaction culminated in a second coup d'état on 25 May 1969. The coup leader, Col. Gaafar Nimeiry, became prime minister, and the new regime abolished parliament and outlawed all political parties. Disputes between Marxist and non-Marxist elements within the ruling military coalition resulted in a briefly successful coup in July 1971, led by the Sudanese Communist Party. Several days later, anti-communist military elements restored Nimeiry to power.
In 1972, the Addis Ababa Agreement led to a cessation of the north–south civil war and a degree of self-rule. This led to ten years hiatus in the civil war but an end to American investment in the Jonglei Canal project. This had been considered absolutely essential to irrigate the Upper Nile region and to prevent an environmental catastrophe and wide-scale famine among the local tribes, most especially the Dinka. In the civil war that followed their homeland was raided, looted, pillaged and burned. Many of the tribe were murdered in a bloody civil war that raged for over 20 years.
Until the early 1970s, Sudan's agricultural output was mostly dedicated to internal consumption. In 1972, the Sudanese government became more pro-Western, and made plans to export food and cash crops. However, commodity prices declined throughout the 1970s causing economic problems for Sudan. At the same time, debt servicing costs, from the money spent mechanizing agriculture, rose. In 1978, the IMF negotiated a Structural Adjustment Program with the government. This further promoted the mechanised export agriculture sector. This caused great hardship for the pastoralists of Sudan (see Nuba peoples). In 1976, the Ansars had mounted a bloody but unsuccessful coup attempt. But in July 1977, President Nimeiry met with Ansar leader Sadiq al-Mahdi, opening the way for a possible reconciliation. Hundreds of political prisoners were released, and in August a general amnesty was announced for all oppositionists.
On 30 June 1989, Colonel Omar al-Bashir led a bloodless military coup. The new military government suspended political parties and introduced an Islamic legal code on the national level. Later al-Bashir carried out purges and executions in the upper ranks of the army, the banning of associations, political parties, and independent newspapers, and the imprisonment of leading political figures and journalists. On 16 October 1993, al-Bashir appointed himself "President" and disbanded the Revolutionary Command Council. The executive and legislative powers of the council were taken by al-Bashir.
In the 1996 general election, he was the only candidate by law to run for election. Sudan became a one-party state under the National Congress Party (NCP). During the 1990s, Hassan al-Turabi, then Speaker of the National Assembly, reached out to Islamic fundamentalist groups, invited Osama bin Laden to the country. The United States subsequently listed Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism. Following Al Qaeda's bombing of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania the U.S. launched Operation Infinite Reach and targeted the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory which the U.S. government falsely believed was producing chemical weapons for the terrorist group. Al-Turabi's influence began to wane, others in favour of more pragmatic leadership tried to change Sudan's international isolation. The country worked to appease its critics by expelling members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and encouraging bin Laden to leave.
Before the 2000 presidential election, al-Turabi introduced a bill to reduce the President's powers, prompting al-Bashir to order a dissolution and declare a state of emergency. When al-Turabi urged a boycott of the President's re-election campaign signing agreement with Sudan People's Liberation Army, al-Bashir suspected they were plotting to overthrow the government. Hassan al-Turabi was jailed later the same year.
In February 2003, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) groups in Darfur took up arms, accusing the Sudanese government of oppressing non-Arab Sudanese in favor of Sudanese Arabs, precipitating the War in Darfur. The conflict has since been described as a genocide, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has issued two arrest warrants for al-Bashir. Arabic-speaking nomadic militias known as the Janjaweed stand accused of many atrocities.
On 9 January 2005, the government signed the Nairobi Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) with the objective of ending the Second Sudanese Civil War. The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) was established under the UN Security Council Resolution 1590 to support its implementation. The peace agreement was a prerequisite to the 2011 referendum: the result was a unanimous vote in favour of secession of South Sudan; the region of Abyei will hold its own referendum at a future date.
The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) was the primary member of the Eastern Front, a coalition of rebel groups operating in eastern Sudan. After the peace agreement, their place was taken in February 2004 after the merger of the larger Hausa and Beja Congress with the smaller Rashaida Free Lions. A peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the Eastern Front was signed on 14 October 2006, in Asmara. On 5 May 2006, the Darfur Peace Agreement was signed, aiming at ending the three-year-long conflict. The Chad–Sudan Conflict (2005–2007) had erupted after the Battle of Adré triggered a declaration of war by Chad. The leaders of Sudan and Chad signed an agreement in Saudi Arabia on 3 May 2007 to stop fighting from the Darfur conflict spilling along their countries' border.
In July 2007 the country was hit by devastating floods, with over 400,000 people being directly affected. Since 2009, a series of ongoing conflicts between rival nomadic tribes in Sudan and South Sudan have caused a large number of civilian casualties.
The Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile in the early 2010s between the Army of Sudan and the Sudan Revolutionary Front started as a dispute over the oil-rich region of Abyei in the months leading up to South Sudanese independence in 2011, though it is also related to civil war in Darfur that is nominally resolved. The events would later be known as the Sudanese Intifada, which would end only in 2013 after al-Bashir promised he would not seek re-election in 2015. He later broke his promise and sought re-election in 2015, winning through a boycott from the opposition who believed that the elections would not be free and fair. Voter turnout was at a low 46%.
On 13 January 2017 US president Barack Obama, signed an Executive Order that lifted many sanctions placed against Sudan and assets of its government held abroad. On 6 October 2017, the following US president Donald Trump lifted most of the remaining sanctions against the country and its petroleum, export-import, and property industries.
On 19 December 2018, massive protests began after a government decision to triple the price of goods at a time when the country was suffering an acute shortage of foreign currency and inflation of 70 percent. In addition, President al-Bashir, who had been in power for more than 30 years, refused to step down, resulting in the convergence of opposition groups to form a united coalition. The government retaliated by arresting more than 800 opposition figures and protesters, leading to the death of approximately 40 people according to the Human Rights Watch, although the number was much higher than that according to local and civilian reports. The protests continued after the overthrow of his government on 11 April 2019 after a massive sit-in in front of the Sudanese Armed Forces main headquarters, after which the chiefs of staff decided to intervene and they ordered the arrest of President al-Bashir and declared a three-month state of emergency. Over 100 people died on the third of June after security forces dispersed the sit-in using tear gas and live ammunition in what is known as the Khartoum massacre , resulting in Sudan's suspension from the African Union. Sudan's youth had been reported to be driving the protests. The protests came to an end when the Forces for Freedom and Change (an alliance of groups organizing the protests) and Transitional Military Council (the ruling military government) signed the July 2019 Political Agreement and the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration.
The transitional institutions and procedures included the creation of a joint military-civilian Sovereignty Council of Sudan as head of state, a new Chief Justice of Sudan as head of the judiciary branch of power, Nemat Abdullah Khair, and a new prime minister. The new Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, a 61-year-old economist who worked previously for the UN Economic Commission for Africa, was sworn in on 21 August. He initiated talks with the IMF and World Bank aimed at stabilising the economy, which was in dire straits because of shortages of food, fuel and hard currency. Hamdok estimated that US$10bn over two years would suffice to halt the panic, and said that over 70% of the 2018 budget had been spent on civil war-related measures. The governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had invested significant sums since Bashir's ouster. On 3 September, Hamdok appointed 14 civilian ministers, including the first female foreign minister and the first Coptic Christian, also a woman.
Sudan is situated in northern Africa, with an coastline bordering the Red Sea. It has land borders with Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Chad, and Libya. With an area of , it is the third-largest country on the continent (after Algeria and Democratic Republic of the Congo) and the sixteenth-largest in the world.
Sudan lies between latitudes 8° and 23°N. The terrain is generally flat plains, broken by several mountain ranges. In the west, the Deriba Caldera (), located in the Marrah Mountains, is the highest point in Sudan. In the east are the Red Sea Hills.
The Blue Nile and White Nile rivers meet in Khartoum to form the Nile, which flows northwards through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. The Blue Nile's course through Sudan is nearly long and is joined by the Dinder and Rahad Rivers between Sennar and Khartoum. The White Nile within Sudan has no significant tributaries.
There are several dams on the Blue and White Niles. Among them are the Sennar and Roseires Dams on the Blue Nile, and the Jebel Aulia Dam on the White Nile. There is also Lake Nubia on the Sudanese-Egyptian border.
Rich mineral resources are available in Sudan including asbestos, chromite, cobalt, copper, gold, granite, gypsum, iron, kaolin, lead, manganese, mica, natural gas, nickel, petroleum, silver, tin, uranium and zinc.
The amount of rainfall increases towards the south. The central and the northern part have extremely dry, desert areas such as the Nubian Desert to the northeast and the Bayuda Desert to the east; in the south, there are grasslands and tropical savanna. Sudan's rainy season lasts for about four months (June to September) in the north, and up to six months (May to October) in the south.
The dry regions are plagued by sandstorms, known as haboob, which can completely block out the sun. In the northern and western semi-desert areas, people rely on the scant rainfall for basic agriculture and many are nomadic, travelling with their herds of sheep and camels. Nearer the River Nile, there are well-irrigated farms growing cash crops. The sunshine duration is very high all over the country but especially in deserts where it could soar to over 4,000 h per year.
Desertification is a serious problem in Sudan. There is also concern over soil erosion. Agricultural expansion, both public and private, has proceeded without conservation measures. The consequences have manifested themselves in the form of deforestation, soil desiccation, and the lowering of soil fertility and the water table.
The nation's wildlife is threatened by poaching. As of 2001, twenty-one mammal species and nine bird species are endangered, as well as two species of plants. Critically endangered species include: the waldrapp, northern white rhinoceros, tora hartebeest, slender-horned gazelle, and hawksbill turtle. The Sahara oryx has become extinct in the wild.
The politics of Sudan formally took place within the framework of a federal representative democratic republic until April 2019, when President Omar al-Bashir's regime was overthrown in a military coup led by Vice President Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf. As an initial step he established the Transitional Military Council to manage the country's internal affairs. He also suspended the constitution and dissolved the bicameral parliament — the National Legislature, with its National Assembly (lower chamber) and the Council of States (upper chamber). Ibn Auf however, remained in office for only a single day and then resigned, with the leadership of the Transitional Military Council then being handed to Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. On 4 August 2019, a new Constitutional Declaration was signed between the representatives of the Transitional Military Council and the Forces of Freedom and Change, and on 21 August 2019 the Transitional Military Council was officially replaced as head of state by an 11-member Sovereignty Council, and as head of government by a civilian Prime Minister.
The legal system in Sudan is based on Islamic Sharia law. The 2005 Naivasha Agreement, ending the civil war between north and south Sudan, established some protections for non-Muslims in Khartoum. Sudan's application of Sharia law is geographically inconsistent.
Stoning remains a judicial punishment in Sudan. Between 2009 and 2012, several women were sentenced to death by stoning. Flogging is a legal punishment. Between 2009 and 2014, many people were sentenced to 40–100 lashes. In August 2014, several Sudanese men died in custody after being flogged. 53 Christians were flogged in 2001. Sudan's public order law allows police officers to publicly whip women who are accused of public indecency.
Crucifixion is a legal punishment. In 2002, 88 people were sentenced to death for crimes relating to murder, armed robbery, and participating in ethnic clashes, Amnesty International wrote that they could be executed by either hanging or crucifixion.
International Court of Justice jurisdiction is accepted, though with reservations. Under the terms of the Naivasha Agreement, Islamic law did not apply in South Sudan. Since the secession of South Sudan there is some uncertainty as to whether Sharia law will now apply to the non-Muslim minorities present in Sudan, especially because of contradictory statements by al-Bashir on the matter.
The judicial branch of the Sudanese government consists of a Constitutional Court of nine justices, the National Supreme Court, the Court of Cassation, and other national courts; the National Judicial Service Commission provides overall management for the judiciary.
Sudan has had a troubled relationship with many of its neighbours and much of the international community, owing to what is viewed as its radical Islamic stance. For much of the 1990s, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia formed an ad-hoc alliance called the "Front Line States" with support from the United States to check the influence of the National Islamic Front government. The Sudanese Government supported anti-Ugandan rebel groups such as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
As the National Islamic Front regime in Khartoum gradually emerged as a real threat to the region and the world, the U.S. began to list Sudan on its list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. After the US listed Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism, the NIF decided to develop relations with Iraq, and later Iran, the two most controversial countries in the region.
From the mid-1990s, Sudan gradually began to moderate its positions as a result of increased U.S. pressure following the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, in Tanzania and Kenya, and the new development of oil fields previously in rebel hands. Sudan also has a territorial dispute with Egypt over the Hala'ib Triangle. Since 2003, the foreign relations of Sudan had centered on the support for ending the Second Sudanese Civil War and condemnation of government support for militias in the war in Darfur.
Sudan has extensive economic relations with China. China obtains ten percent of its oil from Sudan. According to a former Sudanese government minister, China is Sudan's largest supplier of arms.
In December 2005, Sudan became one of the few states to recognise Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
In 2015, Sudan participated in the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen against the Shia Houthis and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was deposed in the 2011 uprising.
In June 2019, Sudan was suspended from the African Union over orders to violently confront pro-democracy protesters, which left over 100 civilians dead.
In July 2019, UN ambassadors of 37 countries, including Sudan, have signed a joint letter to the UNHRC defending China's treatment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region.
The Sudanese Armed Forces is the regular forces of Sudan and is divided into five branches: the Sudanese Army, Sudanese Navy (including the Marine Corps), Sudanese Air Force, Border Patrol and the Internal Affairs Defence Force, totalling about 200,000 troops. The military of Sudan has become a well-equipped fighting force; a result of increasing local production of heavy and advanced arms. These forces are under the command of the National Assembly and its strategic principles include defending Sudan's external borders and preserving internal security.
Since the Darfur crisis in 2004, safe-keeping the central government from the armed resistance and rebellion of paramilitary rebel groups such as the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) have been important priorities. While not official, the Sudanese military also uses nomad militias, the most prominent being the Janjaweed, in executing a counter-insurgency war. Somewhere between 200,000 and 400,000 people have died in the violent struggles.
Several UN agents are operating in Sudan such as the World Food Program (WFP); the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF); the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); the United Nations Mine Service (UNMAS), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Bank. Also present is the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Since Sudan has experienced civil war for many years, many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are also involved in humanitarian efforts to help internally displaced people. The NGOs are working in every corner of Sudan, especially in the southern part and western parts. During the civil war, international nongovernmental organisations such as the Red Cross were operating mostly in the south but based in the capital Khartoum. The attention of NGOs shifted shortly after the war broke out in the western part of Sudan known as Darfur. The most visible organisation in South Sudan is the Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) consortium. Some international trade organisations categorise Sudan as part of the Greater Horn of Africa
Even though most of the international organisations are substantially concentrated in both South Sudan and the Darfur region, some of them are working in the northern part as well. For example, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization is successfully operating in Khartoum, the capital. It is mainly funded by the European Union and recently opened more vocational training. The Canadian International Development Agency is operating largely in northern Sudan.
Since 1983, a combination of civil war and famine has taken the lives of nearly two million people in Sudan. It is estimated that as many as 200,000 people had been taken into slavery during the Second Sudanese Civil War.
Sudan ranks 172 of 180 countries in terms of freedom of the press according to Reporters Without Borders. More curbs of press freedom to report official corruption are planned.
Muslims who convert to Christianity can face the death penalty for apostasy, see Persecution of Christians in Sudan and the death sentence against Mariam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag (who actually was raised as Christian). According to a 2013 UNICEF report, 88% of women in Sudan had undergone female genital mutilation. Sudan's Personal Status law on marriage has been criticised for restricting women's rights and allowing child marriage. Evidence suggests that support for female genital mutilation remains high, especially among rural and less well educated groups, although it has been declining in recent years. Homosexuality is illegal and is a capital offense in Sudan.
A report published by Human Rights Watch in 2018 revealed that Sudan has made no meaningful attempts to provide accountability for past and current violations. The report documented human rights abuses against civilians in Darfur, southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile. During 2018, the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) used excessive force to disperse protests and detained dozens of activists and opposition members. Moreover, the Sudanese forces blocked United Nations-African Union Hybrid Operation and other international relief and aid agencies to access to displaced people and conflict-ridden areas in Darfur.
A letter dated 14 August 2006, from the executive director of Human Rights Watch found that the Sudanese government is both incapable of protecting its own citizens in Darfur and unwilling to do so, and that its militias are guilty of crimes against humanity. The letter added that these human-rights abuses have existed since 2004. Some reports attribute part of the violations to the rebels as well as the government and the Janjaweed. The U.S. State Department's human-rights report issued in March 2007 claims that ""[a]"ll parties to the conflagration committed serious abuses, including widespread killing of civilians, rape as a tool of war, systematic torture, robbery and recruitment of child soldiers."
Over 2.8 million civilians have been displaced and the death toll is estimated at 300,000 killed. Both government forces and militias allied with the government are known to attack not only civilians in Darfur, but also humanitarian workers. Sympathisers of rebel groups are arbitrarily detained, as are foreign journalists, human-rights defenders, student activists and displaced people in and around Khartoum, some of whom face torture. The rebel groups have also been accused in a report issued by the U.S. government of attacking humanitarian workers and of killing innocent civilians. According to UNICEF, in 2008, there were as many as 6,000 child soldiers in Darfur.
Sudan is divided into 18 states ("wilayat", sing. "wilayah"). They are further divided into 133 districts.
In addition to the states, there also exist regional administrative bodies established by peace agreements between the central government and rebel groups.
In 2010, Sudan was considered the 17th-fastest-growing economy in the world and the rapid development of the country largely from oil profits even when facing international sanctions was noted by "The New York Times" in a 2006 article. Because of the secession of South Sudan, which contained over 80 percent of Sudan's oilfields, Sudan entered a phase of stagflation, GDP growth slowed to 3.4 percent in 2014, 3.1 percent in 2015 and is projected to recover slowly to 3.7 percent in 2016 while inflation remained as high as 21.8% . Sudan's GDP fell from US$123.053 billion in 2017 to US$40.852 billion in 2018.
Even with the oil profits before the secession of South Sudan, Sudan still faced formidable economic problems, and its growth was still a rise from a very low level of per capita output. The economy of Sudan has been steadily growing over the 2000s, and according to a World Bank report the overall growth in GDP in 2010 was 5.2 percent compared to 2009 growth of 4.2 percent. This growth was sustained even during the war in Darfur and period of southern autonomy preceding South Sudan's independence.
Oil was Sudan's main export, with production increasing dramatically during the late 2000s, in the years before South Sudan gained independence in July 2011. With rising oil revenues, the Sudanese economy was booming, with a growth rate of about nine percent in 2007. The independence of oil-rich South Sudan, however, placed most major oilfields out of the Sudanese government's direct control and oil production in Sudan fell from around to under . Production has since recovered to hover around for 2014–15.
In order to export oil, South Sudan relies on a pipeline to Port Sudan on Sudan's Red Sea coast, as South Sudan is a landlocked country, as well as the oil refining facilities in Sudan. In August 2012, Sudan and South Sudan agreed a deal to transport South Sudanese oil through Sudanese pipelines to Port Sudan.
The People's Republic of China is one of Sudan's major trading partners, China owns a 40 percent share in the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company. The country also sells Sudan small arms, which have been used in military operations such as the conflicts in Darfur and South Kordofan.
While historically agriculture remains the main source of income and employment hiring of over 80 percent of Sudanese, and makes up a third of the economic sector, oil production drove most of Sudan's post-2000 growth. Currently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is working hand in hand with Khartoum government to implement sound macroeconomic policies. This follows a turbulent period in the 1980s when debt-ridden Sudan's relations with the IMF and World Bank soured, culminating in its eventual suspension from the IMF. The program has been in place since the early 1990s, and also work-out exchange rate and reserve of foreign exchange. Since 1997, Sudan has been implementing the macroeconomic reforms recommended by the International Monetary Fund.
Agricultural production remains Sudan's most-important sector, employing 80 percent of the workforce and contributing 39 percent of GDP, but most farms remain rain-fed and susceptible to drought. Instability, adverse weather and weak world-agricultural prices ensures that much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years.
The Merowe Dam, also known as Merowe Multi-Purpose Hydro Project or Hamdab Dam, is a large construction project in northern Sudan, about north of the capital, Khartoum. It is situated on the River Nile, close to the Fourth Cataract where the river divides into multiple smaller branches with large islands in between. Merowe is a city about downstream from the dam's construction site.
The main purpose of the dam will be the generation of electricity. Its dimensions make it the largest contemporary hydropower project in Africa. The construction of the dam was finished December 2008, supplying more than 90 percent of the population with electricity. Other gas-powered generating stations are operational in Khartoum State and other states.
According to the Corruptions Perception Index, Sudan is one of the most corrupt nations in the world. According to the Global Hunger Index of 2013, Sudan has an GHI indicator value of 27.0 indicating that the nation has an 'Alarming Hunger Situation.' It is rated the fifth hungriest nation in the world. According to the 2015 Human Development Index (HDI) Sudan ranked the 167th place in human development, indicating Sudan still has one of the lowest human development rates in the world. In 2014, 45% of the population lives on less than US$3.20 per day, up from 43% in 2009.
In Sudan's 2008 census, the population of northern, western and eastern Sudan was recorded to be over 30 million. This puts present estimates of the population of Sudan after the secession of South Sudan at a little over 30 million people. This is a significant increase over the past two decades, as the 1983 census put the total population of Sudan, including present-day South Sudan, at 21.6 million. The population of Greater Khartoum (including Khartoum, Omdurman, and Khartoum North) is growing rapidly and was recorded to be 5.2 million.
Aside from being a refugee-generating country, Sudan also hosts a large population of refugees from other countries. According to UNHCR statistics, more than 1.1 million refugees and asylum seekers lived in Sudan in August, 2019. The majority of this population came from South Sudan (858,607 people), Eritrea (123,413), Syria (93,502), Ethiopia (14,201), the Central African Republic (11,713) and Chad (3,100). Apart from these, the UNHCR report 1,864,195 Internally Displaced Persons (IDP's). Sudan is a party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
The Arab presence is estimated at 70% of the Sudanese population and they are mostly Arabized Nubians. Others include North Sudan Nubians, Zurga (South and West Sudan), and Copts.
Sudan has 597 groups that speak over 400 different languages and dialects. Sudanese Arabs are by far the largest ethnic group in Sudan. They are almost entirely Muslims; while the majority speak Sudanese Arabic, some other Arab tribes speak different Arabic dialects like Awadia and Fadnia tribes and Bani Arak tribes who speak Najdi Arabic; and Beni Ḥassān, Al-Ashraf and Rashaida who speak Hejazi Arabic. In addition, the Western province comprises various ethnic groups, while a few Arab Bedouin of the northern Rizeigat and others who speak Sudanese Arabic share the same culture and backgrounds of the Sudanese Arabs.
The majority of Arabised and indigenous tribes like the Fur, Zaghawa, Borgo, Masalit and some Baggara ethnic groups, who speak Chadian Arabic, show less cultural integration because of cultural, linguistic and genealogical variations with other Arab and Arabised tribes.
Sudanese Arabs of Northern and Eastern parts descend primarily from migrants from the Arabian Peninsula and intermarriages with the pre-existing indigenous populations of Sudan, especially the Nubian people, who also share a common history with Egypt. Additionally, a few pre-Islamic Arabian tribes existed in Sudan from earlier migrations into the region from Western Arabia, although most Arabs in Sudan are dated from migrations after the 12th century.
The vast majority of Arab tribes in Sudan migrated into the Sudan in the 12th century, intermarried with the indigenous Nubian and other African populations and introduced Islam.
Sudan consists of numerous other non-Arabic groups, such as the Masalit, Zaghawa, Fulani, Northern Nubians, Nuba, and the Beja people.
There is also a small, but prominent Greek community.
Approximately 70 languages are native to Sudan.
Sudanese Arabic is the most widely spoken language in the country. It is the variety of Arabic, an Afroasiatic language of the Semitic branch spoken throughout Sudan. The dialect has borrowed much vocabulary from local Nilo-Saharan languages (Nobiin, Fur, Zaghawa, Mabang). This has resulted in a variety of Arabic that is unique to Sudan, reflecting the way in which the country has been influenced by Nilotic, Arab, and western cultures. Few nomads in Sudan still have similar accents to the ones in Saudi Arabia. Other important languages include Beja (Bedawi) along the Red Sea, with perhaps two million speakers. It is the language from the Afroasiatic family's Cushitic branch that is today spoken in the territory. The second most spoken language in eastern Sudan is the Tigre language, spoken by the other portion of the Beja, the Bani-amir and by the Tigre people.
As with South Sudan, a number of Nilo-Saharan languages are also spoken in Sudan. Fur speakers inhabit the west (Darfur), with perhaps a million speakers. There are likewise various Nubian languages along the Nile in the north. The most linguistically diverse region in the country is the Nuba Hills area in Kordofan, inhabited by speakers of multiple language families, with Darfur and other border regions being second.
The Niger–Congo family is represented by many of the Kordofanian languages, and Indo-European by Domari (Gypsy) and English. Historically, Old Nubian, Greek, and Coptic were the languages of Christian Nubia, while Meroitic was the language of the Kingdom of Kush, which conquered Egypt.
Sudan also has multiple regional sign languages, which are not mutually intelligible. A 2009 proposal for a unified Sudanese Sign Language had been worked out, but was not widely known.
Prior to 2005, Arabic was the nation's sole official language. In the 2005 constitution, Sudan's official languages became Arabic and English.
At the 2011 division which split off South Sudan, over 97% of the population in the remaining Sudan adheres to Islam. Most Muslims are divided between two groups: Sufi and Salafi (Ansar Al Sunnah) Muslims. Two popular divisions of Sufism, the Ansar and the Khatmia, are associated with the opposition Umma and Democratic Unionist parties, respectively. Only the Darfur region has traditionally been bereft of the Sufi brotherhoods common in the rest of the country.
Long-established groups of Coptic Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Christians exist in Khartoum and other northern cities. Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox communities also exist in Khartoum and eastern Sudan, largely made up of refugees and migrants from the past few decades. The Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church also has membership.
Religious identity plays a role in the country's political divisions. Northern and western Muslims have dominated the country's political and economic system since independence. The NCP draws much of its support from Islamists, Salafis/Wahhabis and other conservative Arab Muslims in the north. The Umma Party has traditionally attracted Arab followers of the Ansar sect of Sufism as well as non-Arab Muslims from Darfur and Kordofan. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) includes both Arab and non-Arab Muslims in the north and east, especially those in the Khatmia Sufi sect.
Sudanese culture melds the behaviors, practices, and beliefs of about 578 ethnic groups, communicating in 145 different languages, in a region microcosmic of Africa, with geographic extremes varying from sandy desert to tropical forest. Recent evidence suggests that while most citizens of the country identify strongly with both Sudan and their religion, Arab and African supranational identities are much more polarising and contested.
Sudan has a rich and unique musical culture that has been through chronic instability and repression during the modern history of Sudan. Beginning with the imposition of strict Salafi interpretation of "sharia" law in 1989, many of the country's most prominent poets, like Mahjoub Sharif, were imprisoned while others, like Mohammed el Amin (returned to Sudan in the mid-1990s) and Mohammed Wardi (returned to Sudan 2003), fled to Cairo. Traditional music suffered too, with traditional Zār ceremonies being interrupted and drums confiscated . At the same time European militaries contributed to the development of Sudanese music by introducing new instruments and styles; military bands, especially the Scottish bagpipes, were renowned, and set traditional music to military march music. The march "March Shulkawi No 1", is an example, set to the sounds of the Shilluk. Northern Sudan listens to different music than the rest of Sudan. A type of music called Aldlayib uses a musical instrument called the Tambur. The Tambur has five strings and is made from wood and makes music accompanied by the voices of human applause and singing artists. This music has a perfect blend that gives the area of the Northern State a special character.
The cinema of Sudan began with cinematography by the British colonial presence in the early 20th century. After independence in 1956, a vigorous documentary film tradition was established, but financial pressures and serious constraints imposed by the Islamist government led to the decline of filmmaking from the 1990s onwards. Since the 2010s, several initiatives have shown an encouraging revival of filmmaking and public interest in film shows and festivals, albeit limited mainly to Khartoum.
The use of photography in Sudan goes back to the 1880s and the Anglo-Egyptian rule. As in other countries, the growing importance of photography for mass media like newspapers, as well as for amateur photographers led to a wider photographic documentation and use of photographs in Sudan during the 20th century and beyond. In the 21st century, photography in Sudan has undergone important changes, mainly due to digital photography and distribution through social media and the internet.
The most popular sports in Sudan are athletics (track and field) and football. Though not as successful as football, basketball, handball, and volleyball are also popular in Sudan. In the 1960s and 1970s, the national basketball team finished among the continent's top teams. Nowadays, it is only a minor force.
Sudanese football has a long history. Sudan was one of the four African nations – the others being Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa – which formed African football. Sudan hosted the first African Cup of Nations in 1956, and has won the African Cup of Nations once, in 1970. Two years later, the Sudan's National Football Team participated in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. The nation's capital is home to the Khartoum League, which is considered to be the oldest football league in Africa.
Sudanese football teams such as Al-Hilal, Al-Merrikh, and Abdelgadir Osman FC are among the nation's strongest teams. Other teams like Khartoum, El-Neel, Al-Nidal El-Nahud and Hay-Al Arab, are also starting to grow in popularity.
Most Sudanese wear either traditional or western attire. A traditional garb widely worn by Sudanese men is the galabiya, which is a loose-fitting, long-sleeved, collarless ankle-length garment also common to Egypt. The galabiya is often accompanied by a large turban and a scarf, and the garment may be white, colored, striped, and made of fabric varying in thickness, depending on the season of the year and personal preferences.
The most common dress for Sudanese women is the "thobe" or "thawb", pronounced "tobe" in Sudanese dialect. The thobe is a white or colorful long, one piece cloth that women wrap around their inner garments, usually covering their head and hair.
Due to a 1991 penal code ("Public Order Law"), women were not allowed to wear trousers in public, because it was interpreted as an "obscene outfit." The punishment for wearing trousers could be up to 40 lashes, but after being found guilty in 2009, one woman was fined the equivalent of 200 U.S. dollars instead.
Education in Sudan is free and compulsory for children aged 6 to 13 years, although more than 40% of children are not going to schools due to the economic situation. Environmental and social factors also increase the difficulty of getting to school, especially for girls. Primary education consists of eight years, followed by three years of secondary education. The former educational ladder 6 + 3 + 3 was changed in 1990. The primary language at all levels is Arabic. Schools are concentrated in urban areas; many in the west have been damaged or destroyed by years of civil war. In 2001 the World Bank estimated that primary enrollment was 46 percent of eligible pupils and 21 percent of secondary students. Enrollment varies widely, falling below 20 percent in some provinces. The literacy rate is 70.2% of total population, male: 79.6%, female: 60.8%.
Sudan has around 25–30 universities; instruction is primarily in Arabic. Education at the secondary and university levels has been seriously hampered by the requirement that most males perform military service before completing their education. In addition, the "Islamisation" encouraged by president Al-Bashir alienated many researchers: the official language of instruction in universities was changed from English to Arabic and Islamic courses became mandatory. Internal science funding withered. According to UNESCO, more than 3,000 Sudanese researchers left the country between 2002 and 2014. By 2013, the country had a mere 19 researchers for every 100,000 citizens, or 1/30 the ratio of Egypt, according to the Sudanese National Centre for Research. In 2015, Sudan published only about 500 scientific papers. For comparison, Poland, a country of similar population size, publishes on the order of 10,000 papers per year.
Sudan has a life expectancy of 65.1 years according to the latest data for the year 2019 from the macrotrends. Infant mortality in 2016 was 44.8 per 1,000.
UNICEF estimates that 87% of Sudanese women and girls between the ages of 15 to 49 have had female genital mutilation performed on them. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27421 |
History of Sudan
The history of Sudan includes that of both the territory that composes Republic of the Sudan, South Sudan as well as that of a larger region known by the term "Sudan". The term is derived from "bilād as-sūdān", or "land of the black people", and can be used more loosely of West and Central Africa in general, especially the Sahel.
The modern Republic of Sudan was formed in 1956 and inherited its boundaries from Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, established in 1899. For times predating 1899, usage of the term "Sudan" for the territory of the Republic of Sudan was somewhat anachronistic, and may have referred to the more diffuse concept of the Sudan.
The early history of the Kingdom of Kush, located along the Nile region in what is now northern Sudan, is intertwined with the history of ancient Egypt, with which it was politically allied over several ruling periods. By virtue of its proximity to Egypt, the Sudan participated in the wider history of the Near East, with the most popular episodes being the 25th dynasty and the Christianization of the three Nubian kingdoms Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia in the sixth century. As a result of Christianization, the Old Nubian language stands as the oldest recorded Nilo-Saharan language (earliest records dating to the eighth century) in an adaptation of the Coptic alphabet). While Islam was already present in the Sudanese Red Sea coast and the adjacent territories since the 7th century, the Nile Valley did not undergo formal Islamization until the 14th-15th century, following the decline of the Christian kingdoms. The kingdoms were succeeded by the Sultanate of Sennar in the early 16th century, which controlled large parts of the Nile Valley and the Eastern Desert, while the kingdoms of Darfur controlled the western part of Sudan. Two small kingdoms arose in the southern regions, the Shilluk Kingdom of 1490, and Taqali of 1750, near modern-day South Sudan, but both northern and southern regions were soon seized by Muhammad Ali of Egypt during the 1820s. Resentment toward the oppressive rule of Muhammad Ali and his immediate successors is credited for stirring up resentment toward the Turco-Egyptian rulers that contributed to the Sudanese struggle for independence led by Muhammad Ahmad in 1881.
Since its independence in 1956, the history of Sudan has been plagued by internal conflict, viz. the First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972), the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005), culminating in the secession of South Sudan on 9 July 2011, and the War in Darfur (2003–2010)
[[File:SabuJeddi4.jpg|thumb|260px|[[Sabu-Jaddi]] Rock Art site: Cattle]]
By the eighth millennium BCE, people of a [[Neolithic]] culture had settled into a sedentary way of life there in fortified [[mud-brick]] villages, where they supplemented [[hunting]] and [[fishing]] on the Nile with [[grain]] gathering and [[cattle]] herding. During the fifth millennium BCE, migrations from the drying Sahara brought neolithic people into the Nile Valley along with agriculture. The population that resulted from this cultural and genetic mixing developed social hierarchy over the next centuries become the [[Kingdom of Kush]] (with the capital at [[Kerma]]) at 1700 BCE. Anthropological and archaeological research indicate that during the pre-dynastic period [[Lower Nubia]] and Nagadan [[Upper Egypt]] were ethnically, and culturally nearly identical, and thus, simultaneously evolved systems of Pharaonic kingship by 3300 BCE. Together with other countries on [[Red Sea]], [[Sudan]] is considered the most likely location of the land known to the ancient [[Egyptians]] as "[[Land of Punt|Punt]]" (or "Ta Netjeru", meaning "God's Land"), whose first mention dates to the 25th century BCE.
In the eastern Sudan appears around 4000 the [[Butana Group]]. These people produced simple decorated pottery, lived in round huts and were most likely herdsmen, hunters, but also consumed land snails and there is evidence for some agriculture.
The [[Gash Group]] started around 3000 BC and is another prehistory culture known from several places. These people produced decorated pottery and lived from farming and cattle breeding. Mahal Teglinos was an important place about 10 hectare large. In the center were excavated mud brick built houses. Seals and seal impressions attest a higher level of administration. Burials in an elite cemetery were marked with rough tomb stones. In the second millennium followed the [[Jebel Mokram Group]]. They produced pottery with simple incised decoration and lived in simple round huts. Cattle breeding was most likely the economical base.
[[File:Su-map.png|thumb|250px|right|Sudan combines the lands of several ancient kingdoms.]]
Northern Sudan's earliest historical record comes from ancient Egyptian sources, which described the land upstream as Kush, or "wretched." For more than two thousand years the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt]] ([[Circa|c.]]2700–2180 BC), had a dominating and significant influence over its southern neighbour, and even afterward, the legacy of Egyptian cultural and religious introductions remained important.
Over the centuries, trade developed. Egyptian caravans carried grain to Kush and returned to Aswan with [[ivory]], [[incense]], [[hide (skin)|hides]], and [[carnelian]] (a stone prized both as [[jewellery]] and for [[arrowhead]]s) for shipment downriver. Egyptian governors particularly valued [[gold]] in Nubia and soldiers in the [[pharaoh]]'s army. Egyptian military expeditions penetrated Kush periodically during the Old Kingdom. Yet there was no attempt to establish a permanent presence in the area until the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] (c.2100–1720 BC), when Egypt constructed a network of forts along the Nile as far south as Samnah in [[Lower Egypt]] to guard the flow of gold from mines in Wawat, the area between the First and Second Cataracts.
[[File:Sudan Meroe Pyramids 2001.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Aerial view of the [[Nubian pyramids]] at [[Meroë]] (2001), capital of the [[Kingdom of Kush]]]]
Around 1720 BC, [[Canaan]]ite nomads called the [[Hyksos]] took over Egypt, ended the Middle Kingdom, severed links with Kush, and destroyed the forts along the Nile River. To fill the vacuum left by the Egyptian withdrawal, a culturally distinct indigenous Kushite kingdom emerged at [[Al-Karmah (Sudan)|al-Karmah]], near present-day [[Dongola]]. After Egyptian power revived during the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] (c.1570–1100 BC), the pharaoh [[Ahmose I]] incorporated Kush as an Egyptian ruled province governed by a [[viceroy]]. Although Egypt's administrative control of Kush extended only down to the Fourth Cataract, Egyptian sources list tributary districts reaching to the [[Red Sea]] and upstream to the confluence of the [[Blue Nile]] and [[White Nile]] rivers. Egyptian authorities ensured the loyalty of local chiefs by drafting their children to serve as pages at the pharaoh's court. Egypt also expected tribute in [[gold]] and [[slavery|workers]] from local Kushite chiefs.
Once Egypt had established political and military mastery over Kush, officials, priests, merchants, and artisans settled in the region. The [[Egyptian language]] became widely used in everyday activities. Many rich Kushites took to worshipping Egyptian gods and built temples for them. The temples remained centres of official religious worship until the coming of [[Christianity]] to the region during the sixth century. When Egyptian influence declined or succumbed to foreign domination, the Kushite elite regarded themselves as central powers and believed themselves as idols of Egyptian culture and religion.
By the 11th century BC, the authority of the New Kingdom dynasties had diminished, allowing divided rule in Egypt, and ending Egyptian control of Kush. With the withdrawal of the Egyptians, there ceased to be any written record or information from Kush about the region's activities over the next three hundred years. In the early eighth century BC, however, Kush emerged as an independent kingdom ruled from [[Napata]] by an aggressive line of monarchs who slowly extended their influence into Egypt. Around 750 BC, a Kushite king called [[Kashta]] conquered [[Upper Egypt]] and became ruler of [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] until approximately 740 BC. His successor, [[Piye]], subdued the [[Nile Delta]] and conquered Egypt, thus initiating the [[Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt|Twenty-fifth Dynasty]]. Piye founded a line of kings who ruled Kush and Thebes for about a hundred years. The dynasty's interference with [[Assyria]]'s sphere of influence in the Near East caused a confrontation between Egypt and the powerful Assyrian state, which controlled a vast empire comprising much of the [[Middle East]], [[Anatolia]], [[Caucasus]] and the Eastern [[Mediterranean Basin]] from their homeland in [[Upper Mesopotamia]].
[[Taharqa]] (688–663 BC), the last Kushite pharaoh, was defeated and driven out of the Near East by [[Sennacherib]] of Assyria. Sennacherib's successor [[Esarhaddon]] went further, launching a full-scale invasion of Egypt in 674 BC, defeating Taharqa and quickly conquering the land. Taharqa fled back to Nubia, and native Egyptian princes were installed by the Assyrians as vassals of Esarhaddon. However, Taharqa was able to return some years later and wrest back control of a part of Egypt as far as [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] from the Egyptian vassal princes of Assyria. Esarhaddon died in his capital [[Nineveh]] while preparing to return to Egypt and once more eject the Kushites.
Esarhaddon's successor [[Ashurbanipal]] sent a general with a small army which again defeated and ejected Taharqa from Egypt. Taharqa died in Nubia two years later. His successor, [[Tantamani]], attempted to regain Egypt. He successfully defeated [[Necho I]], the puppet ruler installed by Ashurbanipal, taking Thebes in the process. The Assyrians then sent a powerful army southwards. [[Tantamani]] was heavily routed, and the Assyrian army sacked Thebes to such an extent it never truly recovered. A native ruler, [[Psamtik I]] was placed on the throne, as a vassal of Ashurbanipal, thus ending the Kushite/Nubian Empire.
Egypt's succeeding dynasty failed to reassert full control over Kush. Around 590 BC, however, an Egyptian army sacked [[Napata]], compelling the Kushite court to move to a more secure location further south at [[Meroë]] near the Sixth Cataract. For several centuries thereafter, the Meroitic kingdom developed independently of Egyptian influence and domination, which passed successively under [[Iran]]ian, [[Ancient Greece|Greek]], and, finally, [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] domination. During the height of its power in the second and third centuries BC, Meroë extended over a region from the Third Cataract in the north to [[Soba (city)|Soba]], near present-day [[Khartoum]], in the south. An Egyptian-influenced pharaonic tradition persisted among a line of rulers at Meroë, who raised [[stela]]e to record the achievements of their reigns and erected [[Nubian pyramids]] to contain their tombs. These objects and the ruins of palaces, temples, and baths at Meroë attest to a centralized political system that employed [[artisan]]s' skills and commanded the labour of a large work force. A well-managed [[irrigation]] system allowed the area to support a higher population density than was possible during later periods. By the first century BC, the use of [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]] gave way to a [[Meroitic alphabet]] adapted for the [[Nubian languages|Nubian-related language]] spoken by the region's people.
Meroë's succession system was not necessarily hereditary; the [[Matrilineality|matrilineal]] royal family member deemed most worthy often became king. The [[kandake]] or queen mother's role in the selection process was crucial to a smooth succession. The crown appears to have passed from brother to brother (or sister) and only when no siblings remained from father to son.
Although Napata remained Meroë's religious centre, northern Kush eventually fell into disorder as it came under pressure from the [[Blemmyes]], predatory nomads from east of the Nile. However, the Nile continued to give the region access to the Mediterranean world. Additionally, Meroë maintained contact with [[Arabs|Arab]] and [[India]]n traders along the [[Red Sea]] coast and incorporated [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] and [[India]]n cultural influences into its daily life. Inconclusive evidence suggests that metallurgical technology may have been transmitted westward across the [[savanna]] belt to West Africa from Meroë's iron smelteries.
Relations between Meroë and Egypt were not always peaceful. As a response to Meroë's incursions into Upper Egypt, a [[Roman army]] moved south and razed [[Napata]] in 23 BC. The Roman commander quickly abandoned the area, however, deeming it too poor to warrant colonization.
In the second century AD, the [[Nobatia]] occupied the Nile's west bank in northern Kush. They are believed to have been one of several well-armed bands of horse- and camel-borne warriors who sold their skills to Meroë for protection; eventually they intermarried and established themselves among the Meroitic people as a military aristocracy. Until nearly the fifth century, [[ancient Rome|Rome]] subsidized the Nobatia and used Meroë as a buffer between Egypt and the Blemmyes.
Meanwhile, the old Meroitic kingdom contracted because of the expansion of the powerful [[Kingdom of Aksum]] to the east. By 350, King [[Ezana of Axum]] had captured and destroyed the capital of Meroë, ending the kingdom's independent existence and conquering its territory.
[[File:Christian Nubia.png|thumb|upright=0.9|The three Christian Nubian kingdoms. The northern border of [[Alodia]] is unclear, but it also might have been located further north, between the fourth and fifth [[Cataracts of the Nile|Nile cataract]].]]
On the turn of the fifth century, the [[Blemmyes]] established a short-lived [[Blemmye kingdom|state]] in Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia, probably centered around Talmis ([[Kalabsha]]), but before 450 they were already driven out of the Nile Valley by the Nobatians. The latter eventually founded a kingdom on their own, [[Nobatia]]. By the 6th century there were in total three Nubian kingdoms: Nobatia in the north, which had its capital at Pachoras ([[Faras]]); the central kingdom, [[Makuria]] centred at Tungul ([[Old Dongola]]), about south of modern [[Dongola]]; and [[Alodia]], in the heartland of the old Kushitic kingdom, which had its capital at [[Soba (city)|Soba]] (now a suburb of modern-day Khartoum). Still in the sixth century they converted to [[Christianity]]. In the seventh century, probably at some point between 628 and 642, Nobatia was incorporated into Makuria.
Between 639 and 641 the [[Islam|Muslim]] [[Arabs]] of the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] [[Muslim conquest of Egypt|conquered]] [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] Egypt. In [[First Battle of Dongola|641 or 642]] and again in [[Second Battle of Dongola|652]] they invaded Nubia but were repelled, making the Nubians one of the few who managed to defeat the Arabs during the [[Islamic expansion]]. Afterwards the Makurian king and the Arabs agreed on a [[Baqt|unique non-aggression pact that also included an annual exchange of gifts]], thus acknowledging Makuria's independence. While the Arabs failed to conquer Nubia they began to settle east of the Nile, where they eventually founded several port towns and intermarried with the local [[Beja people|Beja]].
[[File:Bischop of Faras.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.9|Nubian bishop and [[Virgin Mary]] on a wall painting from [[Faras]] (11th century)]]
From the mid 8th-mid 11th century Christian Nubia went through its [[Golden Age]], when its political power and cultural development peaked. In 747 Makuria invaded Egypt, which at this time belonged to the declining [[Umayyads]], and it did so again in the early 960s, when it pushed as far north as [[Akhmim]]. Makuria maintained close dynastic ties with Alodia, perhaps resulting in the temporary unification of the two kingdoms into one state. The culture of the Medieval Nubians has been described as ""Afro-Byzantine"", with the significance of the "African" component increasing over time. Increasing Arab influence has also been noted. The state organization was extremely centralized, being based on the [[Byzantine bureaucracy]] of the 6th and 7th centuries. Arts flourished in the form of pottery paintings and especially wall paintings. The Nubians developed an own alphabet for their language, [[Old Nubian|Old Nobiin]], basing it on the [[Coptic alphabet]], while also utilizing [[Medieval Greek|Greek]], [[Coptic language|Coptic]] and [[Arabic]]. Women enjoyed high social status: they had access to education, could own, buy and sell land and often used their wealth to endow churches and church paintings. Even the royal succession was [[matrilineal]], with the son of the king's sister being the rightful heir.
Since the late 11th/12th century, Makuria's capital Dongola was in decline, and Alodia's capital declined in the 12th century as well. In the 14th (the earliest recorded migration from Egypt to the Sudanese Nile Valley dates to 1324) and 15th century [[Bedouins|Bedouin]] tribes overran most of Sudan, migrating to the [[Butana]], the [[Gezira (Sudan)|Gezira]], [[Kordofan]] and [[Darfur]]. In 1365 a civil war forced the Makurian court to flee to Gebel Adda in [[Lower Nubia]], while Dongola was destroyed and left to the Arabs. Afterwards Makuria continued to exist only as a petty kingdom.
The last known Makurian king was [[Joel of Dotawo|Joel]], who is attested for the years 1463 and 1484 and under whom Makuria probably witnessed a brief renaissance. After his death the kingdom probably collapsed.
To the south, the kingdom of Alodia fell to either the Arabs, commanded by tribal leader Abdallah Jamma, or the [[Funj]], an African people originating from the south. Datings range from the [[Hijri year|9th century after the Hijra]] ( 1396–1494), the late 15th century, 1504 to 1509. An alodian rump state might have survived in the form of the [[kingdom of Fazughli]], lasting until 1685.
[[File:Sennar mosque (cropped).jpg|thumb|270px|The great mosque of [[Sennar]], built in the 17th century.]]
In 1504 the Funj are recorded to have founded the [[Funj Sultanate|kingdom of Sennar]], in which Abdallah Jamma's realm was incorporated. By 1523, when [[Judaism|Jewish]] traveller [[David Reubeni]] visited Sudan, the Funj state already extended as far north as Dongola. Meanwhile, Islam began to be preached on the Nile by [[Sufism|Sufi]] holymen who settled there in the 15th and 16th centuries and by David Reubeni's visit king [[Amara Dunqas]], previously a Pagan or nominal Christian, was recorded to be Muslim. However, the Funj would retain un-Islamic customs like the divine kingship or the consummation of alcohol until the 18th century. Sudanese [[Folk religion|folk Islam]] preserved many rituals stemming from Christian traditions until the recent past.
Soon the Funj came in conflict with the [[Ottoman empire|Ottomans]], who had occupied [[Suakin]] around 1526 and eventually pushed south along the Nile, reaching the third Nile cataract area in 1583/1584. A subsequent Ottoman attempt to capture Dongola was repelled by the Funj in 1585. Afterwards, [[Hannik]], located just south of the third cataract, would mark the border between the two states. The aftermath of the Ottoman invasion saw the attempted usurpation of [[Ajib the Great|Ajib]], a minor king of northern Nubia. While the Funj eventually killed him in 1611/12, his successors, the [[Abdallab]], were granted the authority to govern everything north of the confluence of Blue and White Niles with considerable autonomy.
During the 17th century the Funj state reached its widest extend, but in the following century it began to decline. A coup in 1718 brought a dynastic change, while another one in 1761-1762 resulted in the [[Hamaj Regency|Hamaj regency]], where the [[Hamaj]] (a people from the Ethiopian borderlands) effectively ruled while the Funj sultans were their mere puppets. Shortly afterwards the sultanate began to fragment; by the early 19th century it was essentially restricted to the Gezira.
[[File:Southern Sudan - 1800.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Southern Sudan in 1800]]
The coup of 1718 kicked off a policy of pursuing a more orthodox Islam, which in turn promoted the [[Arabization]] of the state. In order to legitimize their rule over their Arab subjects the Funj began to propagate an [[Banu Umayya|Umayyad descend]]. North of the confluence of the Blue and White Niles, as far downstream as [[Al Dabbah]], the Nubians would adopt the tribal identity of the Arab [[Ja'alin tribe|Jaalin]]. Until the 19th century Arabic had succeeded in becoming the dominant language of central riverine Sudan and most of Kordofan.
West of the Nile, in [[Darfur]], the Islamic period saw at first the rise of the [[Tunjur kingdom]], which replaced the old [[Daju kingdom]] in the 15th century and extended as far west as [[Wadai Empire|Wadai]]. The [[Tunjur people]] were probably Arabized [[Berbers]] and, their ruling elite at least, Muslims. In the 17th century the Tunjur were driven from power by the [[Fur people|Fur]] [[Sultanate of Darfur|Keira sultanate]]. The Keira state, nominally Muslim since the reign of [[Sulayman Solong]] (r. 1660–1680), was initially a small kingdom in northern [[Jebel Marra]], but expanded west- and northwards in the early 18th century and eastwards under the rule of [[Muhammad Tayrab of Darfur|Muhammad Tayrab]] (r. 1751–1786), peaking in the conquest of Kordofan in 1785. The apogee of this empire, now roughly the size of present-day [[Nigeria]], would last until 1821.
In 1820–21, an [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] force conquered and unified the northern portion of the country. The new government was known as the "[[Turkiyah]]" or Turkish regime. They were looking to open new markets and sources of natural resources. Historically, the pestilential swamps of the [[Sudd]] discouraged expansion into the deeper south of the country. Although Egypt claimed all of the present Sudan during most of the 19th century, and established a province [[Equatoria]] in southern Sudan to further this aim, it was unable to establish effective control over the area. In the later years of the Turkiyah, [[United Kingdom|British]] missionaries travelled from modern-day [[Kenya]] into the Sudan to convert the local tribes to Christianity.
[[File:1875 slave merchant Khartoum.jpeg|thumb|200px|A typical slave merchant of Khartoum, 1875]]
In 1881, a religious leader named [[Muhammad Ahmad]] proclaimed himself the [[Mahdi]] ("guided one") and began a war to unify the tribes in western and central Sudan. His followers took the name "[[Ansar (Sudan)|Ansar]]s" ("followers") which they continue to use today, in association with the single largest political grouping, the [[National Umma Party Sudan|Umma Party]] (once led by a descendant of the Mahdi, [[Sadiq al Mahdi]]). Taking advantage of conditions resulting from Ottoman-Egyptian exploitation and maladministration, the Mahdi led a nationalist revolt culminating in the fall of [[Khartoum]] on 26 January 1885. The interim governor-general of the Sudan, the British Major-General [[Charles George Gordon]], and many of the fifty thousand inhabitants of Khartoum were massacred.
The Mahdi died in June 1885. He was followed by [[Abdallahi ibn Muhammad]], known as the [[Caliph|Khalifa]], who began an expansion of Sudan's area into Ethiopia. Following his victories in eastern Ethiopia, he sent an army to invade Egypt, where it was defeated by the British at Toshky. The British become aware of the weakness of the Sudan.
An Anglo-Egyptian force under [[Horatio Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum|Lord Kitchener]] in 1898 was sent to Sudan. Sudan was proclaimed a [[condominium (international law)|condominium]] in 1899 under British-Egyptian administration. The [[Governor-General]] of the Sudan, for example, was appointed by "Khedival Decree", rather than simply by the British Crown, but while maintaining the appearance of joint administration, the British Empire formulated policies, and supplied most of the top administrators.
[[File:Flag of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.svg|thumb|Flag of the [[Anglo-Egyptian Sudan]] (1899–1956)]]
In 1896, a [[Belgium|Belgian]] expedition claimed portions of southern Sudan that became known as the [[Lado Enclave]]. The Lado Enclave was officially part of the [[Belgian Congo]]. An 1896 agreement between the [[United Kingdom]] and Belgium saw the enclave turned over to the British after the death of [[Leopold II of Belgium|King Leopold II]] in December 1909.
At the same time the [[France|French]] claimed several areas: [[Bahr el Ghazal (region of South Sudan)|Bahr el Ghazal]], and the Western Upper Nile up to [[Fashoda]]. By 1896 they had a firm administrative hold on these areas and they planned on annexing them to [[French West Africa]]. An international conflict known as the [[Fashoda incident]] developed between France and the United Kingdom over these areas. In 1899, France agreed to cede the area to the [[Anglo-Egyptian Sudan]].
From 1898, the United Kingdom and Egypt administered all of present-day Sudan as the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, but northern and southern Sudan were administered as separate [[province]]s of the [[History of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan|condominium]]. In the very early 1920s, the British passed the Closed Districts Ordinances which stipulated that passports were required for travel between the two zones, and permits were required to conduct business from one zone into the other, and totally separate administrations prevailed.
In the south, [[English language|English]], [[Dinka]], [[Bari language|Bari]], [[Nuer language|Nuer]], [[Latuko]], [[Shilluk language|Shilluk]], [[Azande]] and Pari (Lafon) were official languages, while in the north, [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and English were used as official languages. Islam was discouraged by the British in the south, where Christian missionaries were permitted to work. Condominium governors of south Sudan attended colonial conferences in East Africa, not in Khartoum, and the British hoped to add south Sudan to their East African colonies.
Most of the British focus was on developing the economy and infrastructure of the north. Southern political arrangements were left largely as they had been prior to the arrival of the British. Until the 1920s, the British had limited authority in the south.
In order to establish their authority in the north, the British promoted the power of Sayyid [[Ali al-Mirghani]], head of the [[Khatmiyya]] sect and Sayyid [[Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi]], head of the [[Ansar (Sudan)|Ansar]] sect. The Ansar sect essentially became the Umma party, and Khatmiyya became the [[Democratic Unionist Party (Sudan)|Democratic Unionist Party]].
In 1943, the British began preparing the north for self-government, establishing a North Sudan Advisory Council to advise on the governance of the six North Sudanese provinces: Khartoum, [[Kordofan]], [[Darfur]], and Eastern, Northern, and Blue Nile provinces. Then, in 1946, the British administration reversed its policy and decided to integrate north and south Sudan under one government. The South Sudanese authorities were informed at the [[Juba Conference]] of 1947 that they would in future be governed by a common administrative authority with the north. From 1948, 13 delegates, nominated by the British authorities, represented the south on the Sudan Legislative Assembly.
Many southerners felt betrayed by the British, because they were largely excluded from the new government. The language of the new government was Arabic, but the bureaucrats and politicians from southern Sudan had, for the most part, been trained in English. Of the eight hundred new governmental positions vacated by the British in 1953, only four were given to southerners.
Also, the political structure in the south was not as organized in the north, so political groupings and parties from the south were not represented at the various conferences and talks that established the modern state of Sudan. As a result, many southerners did not consider Sudan to be a legitimate state.
During February 1953, the [[United Kingdom]] and Egypt concluded an agreement providing for Sudanese self-government and self-determination. The transitional period toward independence began with the inauguration of the first parliament in 1954. On 18 August 1955 a revolt in the army in [[Torit]] Southern Sudan broke out, which although quickly suppressed, led to a low level guerrilla insurgency by former Southern rebels, and marked the beginning of the [[First Sudanese Civil War]]. On 15 December 1955 the Premier of Sudan [[Ismail al-Azhari]] announced that Sudan would unilaterally declare independence in four days time. On 19 December 1955 the Sudanese parliament, unilaterally and unanimously, declared Sudan's independence. The British and Egyptian Governments recognized the independence of Sudan on 1 January 1956. The [[United States]] was among the first foreign powers to recognize the new state. However, the [[Arab]]-led Khartoum government reneged on promises to southerners to create a [[Federal republic|federal]] system, which led to a mutiny by southern army officers that sparked seventeen years of civil war (1955–1972). In the early period of the war, hundreds of northern bureaucrats, teachers, and other officials, serving in the south were massacred.
The [[National Unionist Party]] (NUP), under Prime Minister [[Ismail al-Azhari]], dominated the first cabinet, which was soon replaced by a coalition of conservative political forces. In 1958, following a period of economic difficulties and political manoeuvring that paralysed public administration, Chief of Staff Major General [[Ibrahim Abboud]] overthrew the parliamentary regime in a bloodless [[coup d'état]].
Gen. Abboud did not carry out his promises to return Sudan to civilian government, however, and popular resentment against army rule led to a wave of riots and strikes in late October 1964 that forced the military to relinquish power.
The Abboud regime was followed by a provisional government until parliamentary elections in April 1965 led to a coalition government of the Umma and National Unionist Parties under Prime Minister [[Muhammad Ahmad Mahjoub]]. Between 1966 and 1969, Sudan had a series of governments that proved unable either to agree on a permanent constitution or to cope with problems of [[Political faction|factionalism]], economic stagnation, and ethnic dissidence. The succession of early post-independence governments were dominated by [[Arab Muslims]] who viewed Sudan as a Muslim Arab state. Indeed, the Umma/NUP proposed 1968 constitution was arguably Sudan's first Islamic-oriented constitution.
Dissatisfaction culminated in a second coup d'état on May 25, 1969. The coup leader, Col. [[Gaafar Nimeiry]], became prime minister, and the new regime abolished parliament and outlawed all political parties.
Disputes between [[Marxist]] and non-Marxist elements within the ruling military coalition resulted in [[1971 Sudanese coup d'état|a briefly successful coup in July 1971]], led by the [[Sudanese Communist Party]]. Several days later, anti-communist military elements restored Nimeiry to power.
In 1972, the [[Addis Ababa Agreement (1972)|Addis Ababa Agreement]] led to a cessation of the north–south civil war and a degree of self-rule. This led to ten years hiatus in the civil war.
Until the early 1970s, Sudan's agricultural output was mostly dedicated to internal consumption. In 1972, the Sudanese government became more pro-Western, and made plans to export food and [[cash crop]]s. However, commodity prices declined throughout the 1970s causing economic problems for Sudan. At the same time, debt servicing costs, from the money spent mechanizing agriculture, rose. In 1978, the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) negotiated a [[Structural Adjustment Program]] with the government. This further promoted the mechanized export agriculture sector. This caused great economic problems for the pastoralists of Sudan (See [[Nuba#Effect of private agriculture schemes|Nuba Peoples]]).
In 1976, the Ansars mounted a bloody but unsuccessful coup attempt. In July 1977, President Nimeiry met with Ansar leader Sadiq al-Mahdi, opening the way for reconciliation. Hundreds of political prisoners were released, and in August a general amnesty was announced for all opponents of Nimeiry's government.
Sudan relied on a variety of countries for its arms supplies. Since independence the army had been trained and supplied by the British, but relations were cut off after the Arab-Israel [[Six-Day War]] in 1967. At this time relations with the US and [[West Germany]] were also cut off. From 1968 to 1971, the [[Soviet Union]] and eastern bloc nations sold large numbers of weapons and provided technical assistance and training to Sudan. At this time the army grew from a strength of 18,000 to roughly 50,000 men. Large numbers of [[tank]]s, aircraft, and artillery were acquired at this time, and they dominated the army until the late 1980s. Relations cooled between the two sides after the coup in 1971, and the Khartoum government sought to diversify its suppliers. Egypt was the most important military partner in the 1970s, providing [[missile]]s, personnel carriers, and other military hardware.
Western countries began supplying Sudan again in the mid 1970s. The United States began selling Sudan a great deal of equipment around 1976. Military sales peaked in 1982 at US$101 million. The alliance with the United States was strengthened under the administration of [[Ronald Reagan]]. American aid increased from $5 million in 1979 to $200 million in 1983 and then to $254 million in 1985, mainly for military programs. Sudan thus becomes the second largest recipient of US aid to Africa (after Egypt). The construction of four air bases to house Rapid Deployment Force units and a powerful listening station for the CIA near Port Sudan is decided.[11]
In 1983, the civil war in the south was reignited following the government's Islamification policy which would have instituted [[Sharia|Islamic law]], among other things. After several years of fighting, the government compromised with southern groups. In 1984 and 1985; after a period of drought, several million people were threatened by famine, particularly in western Sudan. The regime is trying to hide the situation internationally.
In March 1985, the announcement of the increase in the prices of basic necessities, at the request of the IMF with which the regime was negotiating, triggered the first demonstrations. On April 2, eight unions called for mobilization and a "general political strike until the abolition of the current regime". On the 3rd, massive demonstrations shook Khartoum, but also the country's main cities; the strike paralysed institutions and the economy. On April 6, 1985, a group of military officers, led by Lieutenant General [[Abd ar Rahman Siwar adh Dhahab]], overthrew Nimeiri, who took refuge in Egypt. Three days later, Dhahab authorized the creation of a fifteen-man [[Transitional Military Council (1985)|Transitional Military Council]] (TMC) to rule Sudan.
In June 1986, [[Sadiq al Mahdi]] formed a coalition government with [[National Umma Party Sudan|Umma Party]], the [[Democratic Unionist Party (Sudan)|Democratic Unionist Party]] (DUP), the [[National Islamic Front]] (NIF), and four southern parties. Unfortunately, however, Sadiq proved to be a weak leader and incapable of governing Sudan. Party factionalism, corruption, personal rivalries, scandals, and political instability characterized the Sadiq regime. After less than a year in office, Sadiq al Mahdi dismissed the government because it had failed to draft a new penal code to replace the sharia, reach an agreement with the IMF, end the civil war in the south, or devise a scheme to attract remittances from Sudanese expatriates. To retain the support of the DUP and the southern political parties, Sadiq formed another ineffective coalition government.
In 1989, the government and southern rebels began to negotiate an end to the war, but a coup d'état brought a military junta into power which was not interested in compromise. The leader of the junta, [[Omar al-Bashir]], consolidated his power over the next few years, declaring himself president.
The civil war has displaced more than 4 million southerners. Some fled into southern cities, such as Juba; others trekked as far north as Khartoum and even into Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Egypt, and other neighbouring countries. These people were unable to grow food or earn money to feed themselves, and malnutrition and starvation became widespread. The lack of investment in the south resulted as well in what international humanitarian organizations call a "lost generation" who lack educational opportunities, access to basic health care services, and little prospects for productive employment in the small and weak economies of the south or the north.
In early 2003 a [[Darfur conflict|new rebellion]] of [[Sudan Liberation Movement/Army]] (SLM/A) and [[Justice and Equality Movement]] (JEM) groups in the western region of [[Darfur]] began. The rebels accused the central government of neglecting the Darfur region, although there is uncertainty regarding the objectives of the rebels and whether they merely seek an improved position for Darfur within Sudan or outright secession. Both the government and the rebels have been accused of atrocities in this war, although most of the blame has fallen on Arab militias ([[Janjaweed]]) allied with the government. The rebels have alleged that these militias have been engaging in [[ethnic cleansing]] in Darfur, and the fighting has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, many of them seeking refuge in neighbouring [[Chad]]. There are various estimates on [[Darfur Genocide#Mortality figures|the number of human casualties]], ranging from under twenty thousand to several hundred thousand dead, from either direct combat or starvation and disease inflicted by the conflict.
In 2004 Chad brokered negotiations in [[N'Djamena]], leading to the [[April 8 Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement]] between the Sudanese government, the JEM, and the SLA. However, the conflict continued despite the ceasefire, and the [[African Union]] (AU) formed a [[Ceasefire Commission]] (CFC) to monitor its observance. In August 2004, the African Union sent 150 [[Rwanda]]n troops in to protect the ceasefire monitors. It, however, soon became apparent that 150 troops would not be enough, so they were joined by 150 [[Nigeria]]n troops.
On September 18, 2004 [[United Nations Security Council]] issued [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1564|Resolution 1564]] declaring that the government of Sudan had not met its commitments, expressing concern at helicopter attacks and assaults by the [[Janjaweed]] militia against villages in Darfur. It welcomed the intention of the African Union to enhance its monitoring mission in Darfur and urged all member states to support such efforts. During 2005 the [[African Union Mission in Sudan]] force was increased to about 7,000.
The [[Chadian Civil War (2005–2010)|Chadian-Sudanese conflict]] officially started on December 23, 2004, when the [[government of Chad]] declared a [[Declaration of war|state of war]] with [[Sudan]] and called for the citizens of [[Chad]] to mobilize themselves against [[Rally for Democracy and Liberty]] (RDL) militants (Chadian rebels backed by the [[Sudan]]ese government) and Sudanese militiamen who attacked villages and towns in eastern Chad, stealing cattle, murdering citizens, and burning houses.
Peace talks between the southern rebels and the government made substantial progress in 2003 and early 2004, although skirmishes in parts of the south have reportedly continued. The two sides have agreed that, following a final peace treaty, southern Sudan will enjoy autonomy for six years, and after the expiration of that period, the people of southern Sudan will be able to vote in a referendum on independence. Furthermore, oil revenues will be divided equally between the government and rebels during the six-year interim period. The ability or willingness of the government to fulfil these promises has been questioned by some observers, however, and the status of three central and eastern provinces was a point of contention in the negotiations. Some observers wondered whether hard line elements in the north would allow the treaty to proceed.
A final peace treaty was signed on 9 January 2005 in [[Nairobi]]. The terms of the peace treaty are as follows:
The decade of the 1990s also saw a "top down" Islamisation of Sudan under the [[National Islamic Front]] and [[Hasan al-Turabi]]. Education was overhauled to focus on the glory of Arab and Islamic culture, and memorizing the Quran; school uniforms were replaced with combat fatigues and students engaged in paramilitary drills. Religious police in the capital ensured that women were veiled, especially in government offices and universities. A relaxed political culture became much harsher, with human rights groups alleging a proliferation of torture chambers known as "ghost houses" used by security agencies. The war against the non-Muslim south was declared a [[jihad]]. On state television, actors simulated "weddings" between jihad martyrs and heavenly virgins ([[houri]]s) on state television. Turabi also gave asylum and assistance to non-Sudanese jihadi, including [[Osama bin Laden]] and other [[Al Qaeda]] members.
On 31 August 2006, the United Nations Security Council approved [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1706|Resolution 1706]] to send a new peacekeeping force of 17,300 to Darfur. In the following months, however, [[UNMIS]] was not able to deploy to Darfur due to the Government of the Sudan's steadfast opposition to a peacekeeping operation undertaken solely by the United Nations. The UN then embarked on an alternative, innovative approach to try to begin stabilize the region through the phased strengthening of AMIS, before transfer of authority to a joint African Union/United Nations peacekeeping operation. Following prolonged and intensive negotiations with the Government of the Sudan and significant international pressure, the Government of the Sudan finally accepted the peacekeeping operation in Darfur.
In 2009 the [[International Criminal Court]] issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir, accusing him of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
In 2009 and 2010 a [[Sudanese nomadic conflicts|series of conflicts between rival nomadic tribes]] in [[South Kordofan]] caused a large number of casualties and displaced thousands.
[[File:The coming vote - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg|thumb|[[South Sudan]]ese independence referendum, 2011]]
An agreement for the restoration of harmony between Chad and Sudan, signed January 15, 2010, marked the end of a five-year war between them.
The Sudanese government and the JEM signed a ceasefire agreement ending the Darfur conflict in February, 2010.
In January 2011 [[Southern Sudanese independence referendum, 2011|referendum on independence for Southern Sudan]] was held, and the South voted overwhelmingly to secede later that year as the [[Republic of South Sudan]], with its capital at [[Juba, Southern Sudan|Juba]] and [[Kiir Mayardit]] as its first president. Al-Bashir announced that he accepted the result, but violence soon erupted in the disputed region of [[Abyei]], claimed by both the North and the South.
On June 6, 2011 [[South Kordofan conflict|armed conflict]] broke out in [[South Kordofan]] between the forces of Northern and [[Southern Sudan]], ahead of the scheduled independence of the South on July 9. This followed an agreement for both sides to withdraw from [[Abyei]]. On June, 20 of the parties agreed to demilitarize the contested area of Abyei where [[Ethiopia]]n peacekeepers will be deployed.
On July 9, 2011 South Sudan became an independent country.
[[Category:History of Sudan| ]] | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27422 |
Demographics of Sudan
Sudanese people () and the demographic features of the population of Sudan, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
In Sudan's 1993 census, the population was calculated at 30 million. No comprehensive census has been carried out since that time due to the civil war. Estimates of Sudan, including the population of South Sudan, ranged from 37 million (United Nations estimate) to 45 million (CIA estimate). Since the secession of South Sudan in July 2011, estimates place the current population of Sudan at about /1e6 round 0 million. The population of metropolitan Khartoum (including Khartoum, Omdurman, and Khartoum North) is growing rapidly and ranges from six to seven million, including around two million displaced persons from the southern war zone as well as western and eastern drought-affected areas.
The majority of the population of Sudan is a result of intermarriage between the indigenous Nubian inhabitants of the Nile Valley, and descendants of migrants from the Arabian Peninsula and mostly North Africa. Due to the process of Arabisation common throughout the rest of the Arab world, today Arab culture predominates in Sudan. The majority of ethnic groups of Sudan fall under Arabs, and the minority being African ethnic groups such as Nubians, Beja, Fur, Nuba, and Fallata. When counted as one people Sudanese Arabs are by far the largest ethnic group in Sudan, however African ethnic groups are a large minority if counted as one group. They are almost entirely Muslim; while the majority speak Sudanese Arabic; some other Arab tribes speak different Arabic dialects like Awadia and Fadnia and Bani Arak tribes who speak Najdi Arabic; Bani Hassan, Al-Ashraf, Kinanah and Rashaida who speak Hejazi Arabic. In addition, Arab tribes like the Baggara and other Darfurians, both who speak Chadian Arabic. Sudanese Arabs of northern and eastern parts descend primarily from migrants from the Arabian Peninsula and some of the pre-existing indigenous populations of Sudan, most predominately the Nubian people who also share a common history with Egypt. Additionally, a few pre-Islamic Arabian tribes existed in Sudan from earlier migrations into the region from Western Arabia, although most Arabs in Sudan are dated from migrations after the 12th century.
The vast majority of Arab tribes in Sudan migrated into the Sudan in the 12th century, intermarried with the indigenous African populations and introduced Islam.
Achieving good counts of the population is difficult in Sudan, because conducting a census has been difficult due to various conflicts and wars in the southern, eastern and western regions of Sudan over the past few decades. The government of South Sudan (led by the former SPLM resistance movement) has in the past accused Sudan of deliberately manipulating the census in oil-rich regions such as the Abyei district, on the border between Sudan and South Sudan. The population count is a determining factor for the share of wealth and power each part of Sudan receives after the secession of South Sudan (See: Naivasha Agreement). Another complication is the Southern Sudanese refugees present in the north, whose citizenship in Sudan after the secession of South Sudan is now in question. 250,000 refugees from Syria live in Sudan.
The vital statistics below include South Sudan.
The most widely spoken languages in Sudan are:
Before 2005, only Arabic was the official language. In the 2005 constitution, Sudan's official languages became Arabic and English:
The working constitution of the post-2019 Revolution transitional period specifies no national language.
97% of the population adheres to Islam, with the overwhelming majority being adherents of the Sunni Sufi branch and the Maliki school of Islamic jurisprudence. The remainder of the population follows either animist and indigenous beliefs or Christianity, especially in Khartoum and in southern regions of the country bordering South Sudan.
Christians in Sudan which are refugees or immigrants from the south belong to various churches including the Roman Catholic Church, small Melkite and Maronite communities in the north, as well as Anglicans followers in the Episcopal Church of Sudan and the recently formed Reformed Episcopal Church. There are significant but long-established groups of Coptic Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Christians in Khartoum and other northern cities.
There are also Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox communities in Khartoum and eastern Sudan, largely made up of refugees and migrants from the past few decades. Other Christian groups with smaller followings in the country include the Africa Inland Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Sudan Church of Christ, the Sudan Interior Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Sudan Pentecostal Church, the Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church (in the North).
Religious identity plays a role in the country's political divisions. Northern and western Muslims have dominated the country's political and economic system since independence. The NCP draws much of its support from Islamists, Salafis/Wahhabis and other conservative Arab Muslims in the north. The Umma Party has traditionally attracted Arab followers of the Ansar sect of Sufism as well as non-Arab Muslims from Darfur and Kordofan.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) includes both Arab and non-Arab Muslims in the north and east, especially those in the Khatmia Sufi sect.
Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.
The following demographic are from the CIA World Factbook unless otherwise indicated.
Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority
"noun:"
Sudanese (singular and plural)
"adjective:"
Sudanese
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
0–14 years:
1.03 male(s)/female
15–24 years:
1.06 male(s)/female
25–54 years:
0.94 male(s)/female
55–64 years:
1.1 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
1.19 male(s)/female
total population:
1.18 male(s)/female (2014 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27424 |
Politics of Sudan
Officially, the politics of Sudan takes place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic, representative democracy is a type of Indirect democracy consociationalist republic, where the President of Sudan is head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces in a multi-party system. Legislative power is vested in both the government and in the two chambers, the National Assembly (lower) and the Council of States (higher), of the bicameral National Legislature. The judiciary is independent and obtained by the Constitutional Court. However, following a deadly civil war and the still ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan was widely recognized as a totalitarian state where all effective political power was held by President Omar al-Bashir and the National Congress Party (NCP). However, al-Bashir and the NCP were ousted in a military coup which occurred on April 11, 2019. The government of Sudan was led by the "Transitional Military Council". On 20 August 2019, the TMC dissolved giving its authority over to the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, who are planned to govern for 39 months until 2022, in the process of transitioning to democracy.
The political system of the Republic of the Sudan was restructured following a military coup on 30 June 1989, when Omar al-Bashir, then a brigadier in the Sudanese Army, led a group of officers and ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi. Under al-Bashir's leadership, the new military government suspended political parties and introduced an Islamic legal code on the national level. He then became Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (a newly established body with legislative and executive powers for what was described as a transitional period), and assumed the posts of chief of state, prime minister, chief of the armed forces, and minister of defense. Further on, after institutionalizing Sharia law in the northern part of the country along with Hassan al-Turabi, al-Bashir issued purges and executions in the upper ranks of the army, the banning of associations, political parties, and independent newspapers and the imprisonment of leading political figures and journalists. In 1993, Sudan transformed into an Islamic totalitarian one-party state as al-Bashir abolished the Revolutionary Command Council and created the National Islamic Front (NIF) with a new parliament and government obtained solely by members of the NIF, and proclaimed himself President of Sudan. As a result, the Second Sudanese Civil War with the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) would only escalate in the following years.
From 1983 to 1997, the country was divided into five regions in the north and three in the south, each headed by a military governor. After the military coup in 1989, regional assemblies were suspended. With the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation abolished in 1993 and the ruling National Islamic Front (NIF) forming the National Congress Party (NCP), the new party included some non-Muslim members, mainly Southern Sudanese politicians, some of whom were appointed as ministers or state governors.
In 1997, the structure of regional administration was replaced by the creation of twenty-six states. The executives, cabinets, and senior-level state officials are appointed by the President, and their limited budgets are determined by and dispensed from Khartoum. The states, as a result, remain economically dependent upon the central government. Khartoum state, comprising the capital and outlying districts, is administered by a governor.
Following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 between the government of Omar al-Bashir and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), a Government of National Unity was installed in Sudan in accordance with the Interim Constitution whereby a co-Vice President position representing the south was created in addition to the northern Sudanese Vice President. This allowed the north and south to split oil deposits equally, but also left both the north's and south's armies in place.
Following the Darfur Peace Agreement, the office of senior Presidential advisor, the fourth highest constitutional post, was allocated to Minni Minnawi, a Zaghawa of the Darfur-based Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA). Executive posts were divided between the National Congress Party (NCP), the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), Eastern Front and factions of the Umma Party and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). This peace agreement with the SPLM/A granted Southern Sudan autonomy for six years, to be followed by a referendum about independence in 2011. According to the new 2005 constitution, the bicameral National Legislature is the official Sudanese parliament, and is divided between two chambers; the National Assembly, a lower house with 450 seats, and the Council of States, an upper house with 50 seats. Thus the parliament consists of 500 appointed members altogether, where all are indirectly elected by state legislatures to serve six-year terms.
Despite his international arrest warrant, Omar al-Bashir was re-elected in the 2010 Sudanese presidential election, the first democratic election with multiple political parties participating in nine years. His political rival was Vice President Salva Kiir Mayardit, current leader of the SPLA.
In December 1999, a power struggle climaxed between president Omar al-Bashir and Hassan al-Turabi, NIF founder, Islamist ideologue and speaker of parliament. Al-Turabi was stripped of his posts in the ruling party and the government, parliament was disbanded, the constitution suspended, and a state of national emergency declared by presidential decree. Parliament resumed in February 2001 after the December 2000 presidential and parliamentary elections, but the national emergency laws remain in effect. Around the same time the "", a manuscript by dissident Westerners detailing the domination of the northern peoples, was published. Al-Turabi was arrested in February 2001, and charged with being a threat to national security and the constitutional order for signing a memorandum of understanding with the SPLM/A. He was placed in a maximum-security prison until freed in 2005.
As part of the agreement ending the Second Sudanese Civil War, nine members of the SPLM/A and 16 members of the government were sworn in as Ministers on 22 September 2005, forming the first post war government of national unity. The inauguration was delayed over arguments over who would get various portfolios and as a result of the death of vice president John Garang. The National Congress Party kept control of the key energy, defense, interior and finance posts, while an SPLM appointee became foreign minister. Vice President Salva Kiir was reported to have backed down in the argument over who would have control of the vital Ministry of Energy and Mining, which handles the output of Sudan's oil fields.
On April 11, 2019, al-Bashir and his government were overthrown in a military coup lead by his First Vice President and Defense Minister, who then established the now ruling military junta. The next day Auf handed power to Lt. General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan.
and then
President al-Bashir's government was dominated by members of Sudan's National Islamic Front (NIF), a fundamentalist political organization formed from the Muslim Brotherhood in 1986; in 1998, the NIF founded the National Congress as its legal front; the National Congress/NIF dominates much of Khartoum's overall domestic and foreign policies; President al-Bashir named a new cabinet on April 20, 1996 which includes members of the National Islamic Front, serving and retired military officers, and civilian technocrats; on March 8, 1998, he reshuffled the cabinet and brought in several former rebel and opposition members as ministers; he reshuffled his cabinet again on January 24, 2000 but announced few changes. A government of national unity was sworn in on 22 September, with 16 members from the National Congress, nine from the SPLM and two from the northern opposition National Democratic Alliance, which left the seats vacant in protest over how the posts were allocated. The Darfur rebels were not represented.
Al-Bashir, as chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCC), assumed power on June 30, 1989 and served concurrently as chief of state, chairman of the RCC, prime minister, and minister of defense until 16 October 1993 when he was appointed president by the RCC; upon its dissolution on 16 October 1993, the RCC's executive and legislative powers were devolved to the president and the Transitional National Assembly (TNA), Sudan's appointed legislative body, which has since been replaced by the National Assembly elected in March 1996; on December 12, 1999 Bashir dismissed the National Assembly during an internal power struggle between the president and speaker of the Parliament Hasan al-Turabi
On April 11, 2019, al-Bashir was ousted in a coup led by Vice President and Defense Minister Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf, with his government then being dissolved afterwards. On April 12, 2019, Auf, who still serves as Minister of Defense, handed power to Lt. General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan, general inspector of the armed forces.
The country was recently in an interim (transitional) period following the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) on 9 January 2005 that officially ended the civil war between the Sudanese Government (based in Khartoum) and the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) rebel group. The newly formed National Legislature, whose members were chosen in mid-2005, had two chambers. The National Assembly ("Majlis Watani") consisted of 450 appointed members who represent the government, former rebels, and other opposition political parties. The Council of States ("Majlis Welayat") had 50 members who are indirectly elected by state legislatures. All members of the National Legislature served six-year terms. However, the National Legislature was dissolved during the April 2019 coup as well.
Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Court
The legal system is based on Islamic law; as of January 20, 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction, with reservations.
Sudan is divided into twenty-six states, each of which were governed by a governor and council of ministers, each member of each state of council of ministers were appointed by the president of the country. The elections of governors was different from others, the president picks three people who he decided will be running against each other, the one who wins at least 50% popular vote is the governor of that state. If no one wins at least 50% popular vote, the person with the fewest votes is disqualified from the campaign and they redo the election and then someone has to have at least 50% popular vote. The following are the states of Sudan. ("wilayat", singular "wilayah"): A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al Khartum, Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash Shamaliyah, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al Ghazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan, Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur, Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab.
However, state governments and their legislative councils were also dissolved during the April 2019 coup as well. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27425 |
Economy of Sudan
The economy of Sudan has boomed on the back of increases in oil production, high oil prices, and large inflows of foreign direct investment until the second half of 2002. GDP growth registered more than 10% per year in 2006 and 2007. From 1997 to date, Sudan has been working with the IMF to implement macroeconomic reforms, including a managed float of the exchange rate. Sudan began exporting crude oil in the last quarter of 1999.
Agricultural production remains important, because it employs 80% of the work force and contributes a third of GDP. The Darfur conflict, the aftermath of two decades of civil war in the south, the lack of basic infrastructure in large areas, and a reliance by much of the population on subsistence agriculture ensure much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years despite rapid rises in average per capital income. In January 2007, the government introduced a new currency, the Sudanese Pound, at an initial exchange rate of $1.00 equals 2 Sudanese Pounds.
Current GDP per capita of Sudan grew 46% in the 1960s, reaching a peak growth of 170% in the 1970s. But this proved unsustainable and growth consequently scaled back to 34% in the 1980s. Finally, it shrank by 26% in the 1990s.
Until the early 1970s Sudan's agricultural output was mostly dedicated to internal consumption. In 1972 the Sudanese government became more pro-Western, and made plans to export food and cash crops. However, commodity prices declined throughout the 1970s causing economic problems for Sudan. At the same time, debt servicing costs, from the money spent mechanizing agriculture, rose. In 1978 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) negotiated a Structural Adjustment Program with the government. This further promoted the mechanized export agriculture sector. This caused great economic problems for the pastoralists of Sudan.
During the late 1970s and 1980s, the IMF, World Bank, and key donors worked closely to promote reforms to counter the effect of inefficient economic policies and practices. By 1984, a combination of factors, including drought, inflation, and confused application of Islamic law, reduced donor disbursements and capital flight led to a serious foreign-exchange crisis and increased shortages of imported inputs and commodities. More significantly, the 1989 revolution caused many donors in Europe, the U.S., and Canada to suspend official development assistance, but not humanitarian aid.
However, as Sudan became the world's largest debtor to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund by 1993, its relationship with the international financial institutions soured in the mid-1990s and has yet to be fully rehabilitated. The government fell out of compliance with an IMF standby program and accumulated substantial arrearages on repurchase obligations. A 4-year economic reform plan was announced in 1988 but was not pursued.
An economic reform plan was announced in 1989 and began implementing a 3-year economic restructuring program designed to reduce the public sector deficit, end subsidies, privatize state enterprises, and encourage new foreign and domestic investment. In 1993, the IMF suspended Sudan's voting rights and the World Bank suspended Sudan's right to make withdrawals under effective and fully disbursed loans and credits. Lome Funds and EU agricultural credits, totaling more than one billion euros, also were suspended.
Sudan has a developed infrastructure comparable to most of Sub-Saharan Africa and many projects are taking place to develop it even further all across the country. Some parts of the country are better off—mainly in the northern states—due to oil productions and the wealth gained from it. The telephone system in Sudan is well equipped by regional standards, and is maintained by modern standards. One of Sudan's greatest projects was the Merowe Dam.
Khartoum was rewarded the Arab Capital of Culture in 2005. Modern buildings in Khartoum are on the rise due to the economic growth. However, since South Sudan independence a number of projects have been postponed due to economic recession after losing 75% of the oil. Transit fees of south Sudan will likely cut the loss greatly and the government economic emergency plan will end in 2015 bringing the economy back on track and after that, the economy will start developing rapidly with construction booms.
Khartoum has one of the largest open markets in the region, the Souq Al Arabi. The market is spread over several blocks in the center of Khartoum proper just south of the Great Mosque (Mesjid al-Kabir) and the minibus station. It is divided into separate sections, including one focused entirely on gold. Al Qasr Street and Al Jamhoriyah Street are considered the most famous high streets in Khartoum State.
In 2010, Sudan's first medium scale shopping mall opened, located in the southern suburb Arkeweet. The Afra Mall has a supermarket, retail outlets, coffee shops, a bowling alley, movie theaters, and a children's playground. In 2011, Sudan opened the Hotel Section and part of the food court of the new, Cornithia hotel Tower. The Mall/Shopping section is still under construction.
Sudan has 4,725 kilometers of narrow-gauge, single-track railroads that serve the northern and central portions of the country. The main line runs from Wadi Halfa on the Egyptian border to Khartoum and southwest to Al Ubayyid via Sannar and Kusti, with extensions to Nyala in Southern Darfur and Wau in Bahr al Ghazal.
Other lines connect Atbarah and Sannar with Port Sudan, and Sannar with Ad Damazin. A 1,400-kilometer line serves the al Gezira cotton-growing region. A modest effort to upgrade rail transport is currently underway to reverse decades of neglect and declining efficiency. Service on some lines may be interrupted during the rainy season.
Sudan is one of the largest Arab nations. It is rich in history dating back to the period of Sudanese Nubia and Ancient Egypt. There are many pyramids all over Sudan, attracting many tourists from Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and other Arab countries, as well as tourists from Western nations. Sudan was voted the 8th most popular Arab nation to visit by the Council of Arab Economic Unity. Sudan also has many modern hotels including the five star Corinthia Hotel Khartoum in Khartoum. The government of Sudan also pledge $1 billion a year to increase the tourist industry.
Primary resources are agricultural, including cotton, peanuts, gum arabic, and sesame seeds. Although the country is trying to diversify its cash crops, cotton and peanuts remain its major agricultural exports. Grain sorghum (dura) is the principal food crop, and wheat is grown for domestic consumption. Sesame seeds and peanuts are cultivated for domestic consumption and increasingly for export.
Three main agricultural sub-sectors are active in Sudan: pastoral livestock, cropping and fish production. Livestock production has vast potential, and many animals, particularly cows, sheep, and camels, are exported to Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. However, Sudan remains a net importer of food. Problems of investment finance, production and transportation remain the greatest constraints to a more dynamic agricultural economy. A major problem which has been growing for decades is the continual loss of open lands previously used for animal grazing to mechanized drylands and irrigated farming.
Sudan has 84 million hectares of arable land and less than 20% is cultivated. Major agricultural projects such as the Gezera Scheme in Gezira state are underway in order to make Sudan food self-sufficient. Sudan is one of the world's potential breadbaskets and Sudan is nicknamed as the Arab world food basket as it accounts for 45% of arable land in the Arab world.Agricultural products in total account for about 95 percent of the country's exports. In 1998 there was an estimated 16.9 million hectares (41.8 million acres) of arable land and approximately 1.9 million hectares (4.7 million acres) set aside for irrigation, primarily in the north of the country along the banks of the Nile and other rivers.
Cash crops (as of 1999) grown under irrigation in these areas include cotton and cottonseed, which is of primary importance to the economy with 172,000 tons and 131,000 tons produced annually respectively,sesame (220,000 tons), sugarcane (5,950,000 tons), peanuts (980,000 tons), dates (176,000 tons), citrus fruits, yams (136,000 tons), tomatoes (240,000 tons), mangoes, coffee, and tobacco. The main subsistence crops produced in Sudan are sorghum (3,045,000 tons), millet (1,499,000 tons), wheat (168,000 tons), cowpeas, beans, pulses, corn (65,000), and barley. Cotton is the principal export crop and an integral part of the country's economy and Sudan is the world's third largest producer of sesame after India and China.
Sudan's rapid industrial development consists of agricultural processing, electronics assembly, plastics manufacturing, furniture, tanning, sugar production, meat processing and various light industries located in any of the 10 Industrial areas in Khartoum. due to the many countries depending on Sudan for medicines and medical services, Sudan is now concentrating on becoming a hub for the medical industry in East Africa, providing facilities and concessions for medical investments and succeeding in covering about 70% of needs and exporting to many neighboring nations. In recent years, the Giad Industrial Complex in Al Jazirah state introduced the assembly of small autos and trucks, and some heavy military equipment such as armored personnel carriers and the “Bashir” and "Zubair" main battle tanks as well as handguns, light and heavy machineguns and howitzers and, recently, drone production. Sudan is reputed to have great mineral resources, and exploration has started extensively for gold, of which is produced nearly 30 tons annually providing a great boost to the foreign exchange reserves of the nation, with the participation of many investment companies from all over the world. Quantities of asbestos, chromium, mica, kaolin and copper are now exploited commercially, especially for export to China.
Sudan is seeking to expand its installed capacity of electricity generation of around 300 MW;of which 180 MW is hydroelectric and the rest thermal. European investors, considering the continuing U.S. economic, trade, and financial sanctions regime, are the most likely providers of technology for this purpose.
More than 70% of Sudan's hydropower comes from the Roseires Dam on the Blue Nile grid. Various projects are proposed to expand hydro-power, thermal generation, and other sources of energy, but so far the government has had difficulty arranging sufficient financing.
A new dam which is being established in Merowe which has been opened in 2008 and generates 125 MW of electricity.
Extensive petroleum exploration first began in Sudan in the mid-1970s. Significant finds were made in the Upper Nile region and commercial quantities of oil began to be exported in October 2000, reducing Sudan's outflow of foreign exchange for imported petroleum products. Today, oil is an important export industry in Sudan. Estimates suggest that oil accounts for between 70% and 90% of Sudan's total exports. The primary importers of Sudanese oil are Japan, China, South Korea, Indonesia, and India.
Most of Sudan's oil reserves are located in the Muglad and Melut rift basins in the south of the country. Oil fields in the south, such as those at Heglig and in the South Sudanese state of Unity, formerly part of Sudanese territory, are linked to the country's refineries via pipelines. The two largest oil pipelines are the Greater Nile Oil Pipeline, which travels 1,600 kilometres from the Unity oil field to Port Sudan on the Red Sea via Khartoum, and the PetroDar pipeline, which extends 1,380 kilometres from the Palogue oil field in the Melut Basin to Port Sudan.
Crude oil from the Muglad Basin is known as "Nile Blend" and is refined at the Khartoum crude oil refinery. In 2006, the China National Petroleum Corporation upgraded the Khartoum refinery, doubling its capacity to . Oil from the Melud Basin is known as "Dar Blend" and is refined at the Port Sudan Refinery, which has a capacity of . In 2005, the Sudanese government contracted Petronas to build a new refinery at Port Sudan.
Sudan crude oil output is predicted to peak in 2008, although current revenue levels may be sustained for a decade or more.
In September 2012, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir opened the country's first gold refinery and it is speculated to be one of the largest such constructions in Africa. The refinery will produce more than 328 tonnes of gold annually. Economic analysts say that the refinery is part of government's strategy to make up for lost oil revenue after the South Sudan split of 2011.
The refinery will also be able to process silver and its opening should reduce the amount of gold and silver smuggled to other markets. According to Reuters, Sudan hopes to double its gold revenues this year to $3 billion. In August 2012, the finance ministry of Sudan said that the export of gold ore from Sudan would be prohibited once the refinery was opened.
On 3 November 1997, the U.S. government imposed a trade embargo against Sudan and a total asset freeze against the Government of Sudan under Executive Order 13067. The U.S. believed the Government of Sudan gave support to international terrorism, destabilized neighboring governments, and permitted human rights violations. A consequence of the embargo is that U.S. corporations cannot invest in the Sudan oil industry, so companies in China, Malaysia and India are the major investors.
The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2017.
Historically, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) nations traditionally have supplied most of Sudan's economic assistance. Sudan's role as an economic link between Arab and African countries is reflected by the presence in Khartoum of the Arab Bank for African development. The World Bank had been the largest source of development loans. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27426 |
Telecommunications in Sudan
Telecommunications in Sudan includes fixed and mobile telephones, the Internet, radio, and television. Approximately 5 million out of 45 million people in Sudan uses internet.
Sudan had telecommunication services as early as 1897. All of the organizations established to deliver telecommunications services were government-owned. They were, for all practical purposes, entities with little or no operational and financial autonomy and little control over their own destiny. Despite many development plans and efforts, the state of telecommunication sector in the country remained extremely poor through 1994. At that time, Sudan had one of the lowest penetration rates (0.23%) even by regional standards.
The Three-Year Economic Salvation Programme (1990–1993), adopted by the Government of Sudan, emphasized the role of telecommunications in the socio-economic development process and called for the removal of the monopolistic environment in the sector and for the involvement of the private sector—whether local or foreign—in the telecommunication sector as well as in other sectors to overcome the persistent shortfalls in investment and performance. As an outcome of this programme, the structure of the telecommunication sector in the country at present is as follows:
The liberalization and privatization of the telecommunication sector, the policies, the regulations and plans adopted by the Government of the Sudan have created a capital–attracting, pro-competitive policy environment that have fostered the build–up of a modern, fully–digital infrastructure in the country and furnished a climate suited to enhance Information and communications technology (ITC) development nationwide. The transformation and achievements witnessed in the Sudanese Telecommunication sector coupled with the growing and diversifying use of the ITC services including those of the Internet and its applications have made Sudan to be widely held among the most developed in Africa, if not in the Middle East. But the market is still considered to be virgin and huge investment opportunities exist and shall explode with the full realization of peace and stability throughout the country.
No Internet services were available before 1996.
As of 2006 Internet services were available via:
Licensed providers of value-added services:
International and regional connectivity:
(*) One system equals 30 circuits.
Sudan was listed as engaged in substantial Internet filtering in the social and Internet tools areas, in selective filtering in the political area, and as no evidence of filtering in conflict/security area by the OpenNet Initiative in August 2009. Sudan openly acknowledges filtering content that transgresses public morality and ethics or threatens order. The state's regulatory authority established a special unit to monitor and implement filtration; this primarily targets pornography and, to a lesser extent, gay and lesbian content, dating sites, provocative attire, and many anonymizer and proxy Web sites.
The government monitors Internet communications, and the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) reads e-mail messages between private citizens. The National Telecommunications Corporation blocks some Web sites and most proxy servers deemed offensive to public morality. While there generally are no restrictions on access to news and information Web sites, authorities regularly block access to YouTube. During the June and July 2012 antigovernment demonstrations, authorities blocked access to several popular online discussion forums. Security agencies also arrested several bloggers during this period, and commentators speculated the government used social media to track and arrest protesters.
The interim national constitution provides for freedom of thought, expression, and of the press “as regulated by law”; however, the government severely restricts these rights. Individuals who criticize the government publicly or privately are subject to reprisal, including arrest. Journalists are subjected to arrest, harassment, intimidation, and violence due to their reporting. The government, including NISS, practices direct prepublication censorship of all forms of media. Journalists also practice self-censorship. NISS resorts to legal action against journalists, bringing libel lawsuits for stories critical of the government and security services. The Supreme Court in December 2011 overturned a lower court decision against several of the accused journalists, but NISS petitioned for a review of the higher court's decision. The Supreme Court rejected the NISS appeal in September 2012, but the security service continued to pursue defamation cases against several other journalists. The interim national constitution and law prohibit arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, but the government routinely violates these rights. Emergency laws in Darfur and Blue Nile states legalize interference in privacy, family, home, and correspondence. Security forces frequently conduct searches without warrants and target persons suspected of political crimes. The government monitors private communication and movement of individuals without due legal process.
An ICT Fund has been recently enacted to focus on the support the information society requisites and universal service objectives. Some of the programmes supported by this fund are:
In 2019, Internet services were blocked in Sudan from June 3 to July 7. The World Bankn estimated that the Sudanese people lost around 45M$/day during internet blockage
Radio and television broadcasting are operated by the government. Sudan Television operates three stations located in Omdurman, Al Jazirah, and Atbarah. The major radio station of the Sudan National Broadcasting Corporation is in Omdurman, with a regional station in Juba for the south. Some foreign shortwave radio broadcasts are available, and a private FM radio station continues to operate. The government restricts UN radio. In addition to domestic and satellite television services, there is a private cable network that directly rebroadcasts uncensored foreign news and other programs.
The government, including the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), continues to practice direct prepublication censorship of all forms of media. TV has a permanent military censor. The government directly controls radio and television and requires that both reflect government policies. Following the 1989 coup, the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCC-NS) dismissed several broadcasters from Sudan Television because their loyalty to the new government and its policies was considered suspect.
In opposition to the official broadcast network, the Sudan People's Liberation Army operated its own clandestine radio station, Radio SPLA, from secret transmitters within the country and facilities in Ethiopia. Radio SPLA broadcasts were in Arabic, English, and various languages of the south. In 1990, the National Democratic Alliance began broadcasts on Radio SPLA's frequencies.
Another clandestine radio station, Radio Dabanga, began broadcasting in December 2008 using shortwave transmitters of Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Government-run Radio Omdurman ran jamming signals to attempt to interfere with reception during Radio Dabanga's broadcast times, but these jamming efforts were ineffective, in part because Radio Dabanga used two shortwave frequencies. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27427 |
Transport in Sudan
Transport in Sudan during the early 1990s included an extensive railroad system that served the more important populated areas except in the far south, a meager road network (very little of which consisted of all-weather roads), a natural inland waterway—the Nile River and its tributaries—and a national airline that provided both international and domestic service. Complementing this infrastructure was Port Sudan, a major deep-water port on the Red Sea, and a small but modern national merchant marine. Additionally, a pipeline transporting petroleum products extended from the port to Khartoum.
Only minimal efforts had been expended through the early 1980s to improve existing and, according to both Sudanese and foreign observers, largely inefficiently operated transport facilities. Increasing emphasis on economic development placed a growing strain on the system. Beginning in the mid-1970s, a substantial proportion of public investment funds was allocated for transport sector development. Some progress toward meeting equipment goals had been reported by the beginning of the 1980s, but substantial further modernization and adequately trained personnel were still required. Until these were in place, inadequate transportation was expected to constitute a major obstacle to Sudan's economic development.
Sudan has 4,578 kilometers of narrow-gauge, single-track railroads that serve the northern and central portions of the country. The main line runs from Wadi Halfa on the Egyptian border to Khartoum and southwest to Al-Ubayyid via Sannar and Kusti, with extensions to Nyala in southern Darfur and Wau in Bahr al Ghazal. Other lines connect Atbarah and Sannar with Port Sudan, and Sannar with Ad Damazin. A 1,400-kilometer line serves the al Gezira state cotton-growing region. Modest efforts to upgrade rail transport were reported to be underway in 2013 and 2015 to reverse decades of neglect and declining efficiency. Service on some lines may be interrupted during the rainy season.
The main system, Sudan Railways, which was operated by the government-owned Sudan Railways Corporation (SRC), provided services to most of the country's production and consumption centers. The other line, the Gezira Light Railway, was owned by the Sudan Gezira Board and served the Gezira Scheme and its Manaqil Extension. In 1959 the railways made up 40% of the Sudanese gross domestic product but by 2009 only 6% of Sudan's traffic was carried by rail and since the 1970s competition from highways increased rapidly.
"Total:"
11,900 km
"Paved:"
4,320 km
"Unpaved:"
7,580 km (2000)
In 1990, Sudan's road system totaled between 20,000 and 25,000 kilometers, comprising an extremely sparse network for the size of the country. Asphalted, all-weather roads, excluding paved streets in cities and towns, amounted to roughly 3,000 to 3,500 kilometers, of which the Khartoum-Port Sudan road accounted for almost 1,200 kilometers. There were between 3,000 and 4,000 kilometers of gravel roads located mostly in the southern region where lateritic road-building materials were abundant. In general, these roads were usable all year round, although travel could be interrupted at times during the rainy season. Most of the gravel roads in southern Sudan have become unusable after being heavily mined by the insurgent southern forces of the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA). The remaining roads were little more than fair-weather earth and sand tracks. Those in the clayey soil of eastern Sudan, a region of great economic importance, were impassable for several months during the rainy season. Even in the dry season, earthen roads on the sandy soils found in various parts of the country were generally usable only by motor vehicles equipped with special tires.
Until the early 1970s, the government had favored the railroads, believing they better met the country's requirements for transportation and that the primary purpose of roads was to act as feeders to the rail system. The railroads were also a profitable government operation, and road competition was not viewed as desirable. In the mid-1930s, a legislative attempt had been made to prevent through-road transport between Khartoum and Port Sudan. The law had little effect, but the government's failure to build roads hindered the development of road transportation. The only major stretch of road that had been paved by 1970 was between Khartoum and Wad Madani. This road had been started under a United States aid program in 1962, but work had stopped in 1967 when Sudanese–United States relations were broken over the June 1967 Six-Day War. United States equipment was not removed, however, and was used by government workers to complete the road in 1970.
Disillusionment with railroad performance led to a new emphasis on roads in a readjustment of the Five-Year Plan in 1973—the so-called Interim Action Program—and a decision to encourage competition between rail and road transport as the best way to improve services. Paving of the dry-weather road between Khartoum and Port Sudan via Al Qadarif and Kassala was the most significant immediate step; this included upgrading of the existing paved Khartoum-Wad Madani section. From Wad Madani to Port Sudan, the road was constructed in four separate sections, each by different foreign financing and, in the case of the Wad Madani-Al Qadarif section, by direct participation of the Chinese. Other section contractors included companies from Italy, West Germany, and Yugoslavia. The last section opened in late 1980.
Other important road-paving projects of the early 1980s included a road from Wad Madani to Sannar and an extension from Sannar to Kusti on the White Nile completed in 1984. Since then the paved road has been extended to Umm Ruwabah with the intention to complete an all-weather road to Al Ubayyid. Paradoxically, most truckers in 1990 continued to pass from Omdurman to Al Ubayyid through the Sahelian scrub and the qoz to avoid the taxes levied to use the faster and less damaging paved road from Khartoum via Kusti.
A number of main gravel roads radiating from Juba were also improved. These included roads to the towns southwest of Juba and a road to the Ugandan border. In addition, the government built a gravel all-weather road east of Juba that reaches the Kenyan border. There it joined an all-weather Kenyan road to Lodwar connecting it to the Kenyan road system. However, all of these improvements radiating from Juba have been vitiated by the civil war, as the roads have been extensively mined by the SPLA and the bridges destroyed. Because roads have not been maintained, they have seriously deteriorated.
Small private companies, chiefly owner-operated trucks, furnished most road transport. The government has encouraged private enterprise in this industry, especially in the central and eastern parts of the country, and the construction of all weather roads has reportedly led to rapid increases in the number of hauling businesses. The Sudanese-Kuwaiti Transport Company, a large government enterprise financed largely by Kuwait, began operations in 1975 with 100 large trucks and trailers. Most of its traffic was between Khartoum and Port Sudan. Use of road transport and bus services is likely to increase as paved roads are completed south of Khartoum in the country's main agricultural areas. Most parts of the highways are dry land. After 2005 thousands of kilometres of new tarmac roads were built.
In 2008, a Canadian NGO, CAL BOMBAY MINISTRIES, through its Sudan partner, the Savannah Farmers Co-operative, purchased 2 Caterpillar track machines, for use on their farming efforts. Under the care of Canadian engineer James Ray Churchill, these machines were used to push a road through to Wudu, from the Ugandan border at Jale. Mr. Churchill and a Co-operative employee built a stable road base for the first 3 km, at which time one of the machines broke down. Churchill spent the next 3 1/2 months building the road alone, stationed at the compound of Ben Yengi. Fuel was provided by the Sudanese Government, through their Commissioner, Oliver Mule. A passable road was completed through to Wudu, by early April 2008. At that time it was necessary for Mr. Churchill to return to Canada, as he became the target for warring political factions, opponents of the World Bank, UNHCF, and other contributors of aid. There were repeated attempts by the Lord's Resistance Army to capture, and kidnap, Churchill. He escaped Sudan wrapped in a roll of carpet in the back of a pickup.
4,068 km navigable
The Nile River, traversing Sudan from south to north, provides an important inland transportation route. However, its overall usefulness has been limited by natural features, including a number of cataracts on the main Nile between Khartoum and the Egyptian border. The White Nile to the south of Khartoum has shallow stretches that restrict the carrying capacities of barges, especially during the low water period, and the river has sharp bends. Most of these southern impediments have been eliminated by Chevron who, as part of their oil exploration and development program, dredged the White Nile shoals and established navigational beacons from Kusti to Bentiu. A greater impediment has been the spread of the water hyacinth, which impedes traffic. Man-made features have also introduced restrictions, the most important of which was a dam constructed in the 1930s on the White Nile about forty kilometers upriver from Khartoum. This dam has locks, but they have not always operated well, and the river has been little used from Khartoum to the port of Kusti, a railroad crossing 319 kilometers upstream. The Sennar and Roseires dams on the Blue Nile are without locks and restrict traffic on that river.
In 1983 only two sections of the Nile had regular commercial transport services. The more important was the 1,436-kilometer stretch of the White Nile from Kusti to Juba (known as the Southern Reach), which provided the only generally usable transport connection between the central and southern parts of the country. Virtually all traffic, and certainly scheduled traffic, ended in 1984 during the second Sudanese civil war, when the SPLA consistently sank the exposed steamers from sanctuaries along the river banks. River traffic south of Kusti had not resumed in mid-1991 except for a few heavily armed and escorted convoys.
At one time, transport services also were provided on tributaries of the White Nile (the Bahr el Ghazal and the Jur River) to the west of Malakal. These services went as far as Wau but were seasonal, depending on water levels. They were finally discontinued during the 1970s because vegetation blocked waterways, particularly the fast-growing water hyacinth. On the main Nile, a 287-kilometer stretch from Kuraymah to Dunqulah, situated between the fourth and third cataracts and known as the Dunqulah Reach, also had regular service, although this was restricted during the low-water period in February and March. Transport facilities on both reaches were operated after 1973 by the parastatal (mixed government and privately owned company) River Transport Corporation (RTC). Before that they had been run by the SRC, essentially as feeders to the rail line. River cargo and passenger traffic have varied from year to year, depending in large part on the availability and capacity of transport vessels. During the 1970s, roughly 100,000 tons of cargo and 250,000 passengers were carried annually. By 1984, before the Southern Reach was closed, the number of passengers had declined to less than 60,000 per year and the tonnage to less than 150,000. Although no statistics were available, the closing of the Southern Reach had by 1990 made river traffic insignificant.
Foreign economists have characterized the RTC's operations as inefficient, a result both of shortages of qualified staff and of barge capacity. The corporation had a virtual monopoly over river transport, although the southern regional government had established river feeder transport operations, and private river transport services were reported to be increasing until the resumption of the civil war. Despite its favored position, the RTC and its predecessor (SRC) experienced regular losses that had to be covered by government appropriations. In the late 1970s, the corporation procured new barges, pusher-tugboats, and other equipment in an effort to improve services, but this attempt proved useless because of the warfare that had continued from 1983.
72 airports (2012), 15 with paved runways; 6 heliports
In mid-1991, scheduled domestic air service was provided by Sudan Airways, a government-owned enterprise operated by the Sudan Airways Company. The company began its operations in 1947 as a government department. It has operated commercially since the late 1960s, in effect holding a monopoly on domestic service. In 1991 Sudan Airways had scheduled flights from Khartoum to twenty other domestic airports, although it did not always adhere to its schedules. It also provided international services to several European countries, including: Britain, Germany, Greece, and Italy. Regional flights were made to North Africa and the Middle East as well as to: Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. The Sudan Airways fleet in 1991 consisted of thirteen aircraft, including five Boeing 707s used on international flights, two Boeing 737s and two Boeing 727s employed in domestic and regional services, and four Fokker F-27s used for domestic flights.
Sixteen international airlines provided regular flights to Khartoum. The number of domestic and international passengers increased from about 478,000 in 1982 to about 485,000 in 1984. Air freight increased from 6 million tons per kilometer in 1982 to 7.7 million tons per kilometer in 1984. As compared with the previous year, in 1989 passenger traffic on Sudan Airways fell by 32% to 363,181 people, reducing the load factor to 34.9%. By contrast, freight volume increased by 63.7% to 12,317 tons. At the end of 1979, Sudan Airways had entered into a pooling agreement with Britain's Tradewinds Airways to furnish charter cargo service between that country and Khartoum under a subsidiary company, Sudan Air Cargo. A new cargo terminal was built at Khartoum.
Sudan Airways's operations have generally shown losses, and in the early 1980s the corporation was reportedly receiving an annual government subsidy of about £Sd500,000. In 1987 the government proposed to privatize Sudan Airways, precipitating a heated controversy that ultimately led to a joint venture between the government and private interests. However, like the railroads and river transport operators Sudan Airways suffered from a shortage of skilled personnel, overstaffing, and lacked hard currency and credit for spare parts and proper maintenance.
In the early 1980s, the country's civilian airports, with the exception of Khartoum International Airport and the airport at Juba, sometimes closed during rainy periods because of runway conditions. After the 1986 drought, which caused major problems at regional airports, the government launched a program to improve runways, to be funded locally. Aeronautical communications and navigational aids were minimal and at some airports relatively primitive. Only Khartoum International Airport was equipped with modern operational facilities, but by the early 1990s, Khartoum and seven other airports had paved runways. In the mid-1970s, IDA and the Saudi Development Fund agreed to make funds available for construction of new airports at Port Sudan and Wau, reconstruction and improvement of the airport at Malakal, and substantial upgrading of the Juba airport; these four airports accounted for almost half of domestic traffic. Because the civil war had resumed, improvements were made only at Port Sudan. Juba airport runways were rebuilt by a loan from the European Development Fund, but the control tower and navigational equipment remained incomplete.
"Total:"
15
"over 3,047 m:"
3
"2,438 to 3,047 m:"
9
"1,524 to 2,437 m:"
2 (2012)
"Total:"
57
"2,438 to 3,046 m:"
1
"1,524 to 2,437 m:"
17
"914 to 1,523 m:"
27
"under 914 m:"
12 (2012)
In 1990, Sudan had only one operational deep-water harbor, Port Sudan, situated on an inlet of the Red Sea. The port had been built from scratch, beginning in 1905, to complement the railroad line from Khartoum to the Red Sea by serving as the entry and exit point for the foreign trade the rail line was to carry. It operated as a department of SRC until 1974 when it was transferred to the Sea Ports Corporation, a newly established public enterprise set up to manage Sudan's marine ports. Facilities at the port eventually included fifteen cargo berths, sheds, warehouses, and storage tanks for edible oils, molasses, and petroleum products. Equipment included quay, mobile, and other cranes, and some forklift trucks, but much of the handling of cargo was manual. There were also a number of tugboats, which were used to berth ships in the narrow inlet.
During the early 1970s, port traffic averaged about 3 million tons a year, compared with an overall capacity of about 3.8 million tons. Exports were somewhat more than 1 million tons and imports about 2 million tons; about half of the latter was petroleum and petroleum products. By the mid-1970s, stepped up economic development had raised traffic to capacity levels. However, in 1985, largely as a result of the civil war, exports were down to 663 thousand tons (down 51% from the previous year) and imports were 2.3 million tons (down 25% from the previous year). Physical expansion of the harbor and adjacent areas was generally precluded by natural features and the proximity of the city of Port Sudan. However, surveys showed that use could be increased considerably by modernization and improvement of existing facilities and the addition of further cargo-handling equipment. In 1978, with the assistance of a loan from the IDA, work began on adding deep-water berths and providing roll-on-roll-off container facilities. A loan to purchase equipment was made by a West German body. The first phase was completed in 1982, and the second phase began in 1983, aided by a US$25-million World Bank credit. One of the major improvements has been to make the port more readily usable by road vehicles. Developed almost entirely as a rail-serviced facility, the port had large areas of interlacing railroad tracks that were mostly not flush with surrounding surfaces, thereby greatly restricting vehicular movement. Many of these tracks have been removed and new access roads constructed. Much of the cleared area has become available for additional storage facilities.
In the early 1980s, the Nimeiri government announced a plan to construct a new deep-water port at Sawakin, about twenty kilometers south of Port Sudan. Construction of a new port had long been under consideration in response to the projected growth of port traffic in the latter part of the twentieth century. A detailed study for the proposed port was made by a West German firm in the mid-1970s, and plans were drawn up for three general cargo berths, including roll-on-roll-off container facilities, and an oil terminal. Major funding for the port, known as Sawakin, was offered in 1985 by West Germany's development agency Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau and the DFC. After the Nimeiri government repeatedly postponed work on the port, the German government allocated the funds instead for purchase of agricultural inputs. Once work resumed, however, Sawakin port opened in January 1991, and was capable of handling an estimated 1.5 million tons of cargo a year.
"Total:"
2 ships (1,000 GT or over) totaling 38,093 GT/
"Ships by type:"
cargo 2 (2010)
The national merchant marine, Sudan Shipping Line, was established in 1962 as a joint venture between the government and Yugoslavia. In 1967 it became wholly government owned. From the initial two Yugoslav-built cargo vessels, the line had grown by the mid-1970s to seven ships, totaling about 52,340 deadweight tons. During 1979 and early 1980, eight more ships were added, including six built in Yugoslavia and two in Denmark. In 1990 the merchant marine consisted of ten ships of 122,200 deadweight tons. The Yugoslav vessels were all multipurpose and included container transport features. The Danish ships were equipped with roll-on-roll-off facilities. Sailings, which had been mainly between Red Sea ports and northern Europe, were expanded in the late 1980s to several Mediterranean ports.
refined products 815 km
By the early 1970s, operational problems on the Port Sudan-Khartoum section of Sudan Railways had resulted in inadequate supplies of petroleum products reaching Khartoum and other parts of the country. In 1975 construction of an oil pipeline from the port to Khartoum was begun to relieve traffic pressure on the railroad. It was completed in mid-1976, but leaks were discovered and the 815-kilometer-long pipeline, laid generally parallel to the railroad, did not become operational until September 1977. As constructed, its capacity was 600,000 tons a year, but that throughput was only attained in mid-1981. In early 1982, steps were taken to add additional booster pumping stations to increase the rate to an annual throughput capacity of 1 million tons. The line carried only refined products, including gasoline, gas oil, kerosene, and aviation fuel obtained either from the refinery at the port or from import-holding facilities there. These fuels were moved in a continuous operation to storage tanks at Khartoum with some capacity offloaded at Atbarah. Rail tank cars released by the pipeline were reassigned to increase supplies of petroleum products in the western and southwestern regions of the country. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27428 |
Sudanese Armed Forces
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF; "Al-Quwwat al-Musallaha as-Sudaniyah") are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. During the 39-month transition to democracy that started in September 2019, the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration defines the Supreme Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces to be the mixed civilian–military Sovereignty Council. In 2011, IISS estimated the regular forces' numbers at personnel, while in 2016–2017, the Rapid Support Forces had members participating in the Yemeni Civil War (of which returned to Sudan by October 2019).
During the Omar al-Bashir era, the Sudanese armed forces consisted of the Land Forces, the Sudanese Navy, the Sudanese Air Force, and the Popular Defence Forces. They also previously had Joint Integrated Units formed together with rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Army. The Armed Forces operated under the authority of the People's Armed Forces Act 1986. In 1991, the Library of Congress used the term "Sudan People's Armed Forces" to refer to the entire armed forces, but by the late 2000s (decade), the "Sudanese Armed Forces" term was most widespread. In 2004, the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress estimated that the Popular Defence Forces, the military wing of the National Islamic Front, consisted of 10,000 active members, with 85,000 reserves. The Popular Defence Forces were deployed alongside regular army units against various rebel groups.
Article 10.(a) of the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration of the 2019 Sudanese transition to democracy states that the mixed civilian–military "Sovereignty Council is the head of state, the symbol of its sovereignty and unity, and the Supreme Commander of the armed forces, Rapid Support Forces, and other uniformed forces." Article 34.(a) states that the "armed forces and Rapid Support Forces are a national military institution that protect the unity and sovereignty of the nation" and Article 34.(b) states that the relationship between the military institution and executive authority is to be organised by the "Armed Forces Law and the Rapid Support Forces Law".
On 28 October 2019, the chair of the Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, issued a decree appointing a new military top-level command, called the "General Staff", including Lt. Gen. Mohamed Osmana al-Hassan as Chief of General Satff; Lt. Gen. Abdallah al-Matari Hamid, Inspector General of the Armed Forces; several Deputy Chiefs of Staff; Lt. Gen. Essam Mohamed-Hassan Karar as commander-in-chief of the land forces; Rear Admiral Mahjoub Bushra Ahmed Rahma as commander of the naval forces; Lt. Gen.l Essam al-Din Said Koko as commander-in-chief of the Air Force (and Major General Abdel Khair Abdallah Nasser Darjam as Commander of the Air Defense Forces). "Sudan Tribune" interpreted the changes in military leadership as a strategy by al-Burhan to "tighten his grip on the army after the removal of Islamist generals."
Sudan receives most of its military equipment from the People's Republic of China and Russia. Sudan has a weapons production company called the Military Industry Corporation.
The origins of the Sudanese Army can be traced to Sudanese soldiers recruited by the British during the reconquest of Sudan in 1898. Sudan officially became the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1899. The highest-ranking British officer in Egypt, known as the Sirdar, also served as Governor General of the Sudan. In 1922, after nationalist riots stimulated by Egyptian leader Saad Zaghloul, Egypt was granted independence by the United Kingdom. The Egyptians wanted more oversight in the Sudan and created specialized units of Sudanese auxiliaries within the Egyptian Army called Al-Awtirah. This became the nucleus of the modern Sudanese Army.
The British Army formed the Sudan Defence Force (SDF) as local auxiliaries in 1925. The SDF consisted of a number of separate regiments. Most were made up of Muslim soldiers and stationed in the north, but the Equatoria Corps in the south was composed of Christians. During World War II, the SDF augmented allied forces engaging Italians in Ethiopia. They also served during the Western Desert Campaign, supporting Free French and Long Range Desert Group operations at Kufra and Jalo oases in the Libyan Desert. "In 1947, the Sudanese military schools were closed, and the number of Sudanese troops was reduced to 7,570. In 1948, the first Arab-Israeli War broke out. Sudanese Colonel Harold Saleh Al-Malik selected 250 combat-seasoned soldiers who had seen action in World War II. They arrived in Cairo to participate in a parade and were then dispatched to various units of the Egyptian army. This was a grave mistake, for the Sudanese had fought together in World War II and this broke unit cohesion. The decision was indicative of Egyptian military planners of the period. Forty-three Sudanese were killed in action in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. In 1953, the British and the new Egyptian government reached an agreement that Sudan was to be put on the path of independence. General Ahmed Mohammed became Sudan's first army chief in August 1954. This is significant for the Sudanese, for it was the first time it had an independent army that was not governed by Britain or Egypt."
In March 1954 British troops in the Sudan consisted of one battalion stationed in Khartoum, reporting ultimately to the Governor-General. The Governor-General's military commander was the Major-General Commanding British Troops in the Sudan, who was also Commandant of the Sudan Defence Force. In this post from 1950 onward was Major General Reginald 'Cully' Scoons. The last British troops, 1st Battalion Royal Leicestershire Regiment, left the country on 16 August 1955. All of the British troops were gone by the end of August 1955.
The Equatoria Corps mutinied at Torit on 18 August 1955, just before independence, prompting the formation of the Anyanya guerilla movement and the First Sudanese Civil War. A company of the Equatoria Corps had been ordered to make ready to move to the north, but instead of obeying, the troops mutinied, along with other Southern soldiers across the South in Juba, Yei, Yombo, and Maridi.
On independence in 1956, the army was "regarded as a highly trained, competent, and apolitical force, but its character changed in succeeding years." It began expanding before independence, with a programme aiming at a three-fold expansion, J.M. Lee 1969, 104 levelling off at about 50,000 in 1972. After independence, the military -particularly the educated officer corps- lost much of its former apolitical attitude; soldiers associated themselves with parties and movements across the political spectrum." On November 17, 1958, the army's two senior generals, Major General Ibrahim Abboud, the armed forces commander, and Ahmad Abd al Wahab, seized power in a military coup. First writes that '..the coup in the Sudan, far from being a take-over.. by the army, was a hand-over to the army. It was a coup by courtesy.. in response to the demand for emergency measures by the head of government" (Abdallah Khalil). Abboud was forced to step down in 1964.
During 1969 the Sudanese Army consisted of about 26,500 men, four infantry brigades of four battalions each, three independent infantry battalions, one armoured regiment, a parachute regiment, an armoured regiment and three artillery regiments. There were 50 Alvis Saladins, 60 Ferret armoured cars, and 45 Commando armoured cars, about 50 25-pounders, 40 105-mm howitzers, 20 120-mm mortars, and 80 Bofors 40-mm guns.
On May 25, 1969, several young officers, led by Colonel Jaafar an Nimeiri, seized power, thus bringing the army into political control for the second time. From 1969 until 1971, a military government - the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), composed of nine young officers and one civilian - exercised authority over a largely civilian cabinet. The RCC represented only a faction within the military establishment. From 1971 Nimeiri led a more civilian-based government. The first civil war ended in a negotiated settlement in 1973. Sudan sent at least one infantry brigade to the Sinai peninsula as a reinforcement to the Egyptian forces during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. It arrived too late, on October 28, 1973 and saw no fighting.
The Second Sudanese Civil War broke out again in 1982 and continued until 2005.
By the time of the coup in 1989, over fifty percent of most Army units were staffed by soldiers and NCOs from the South. Most had little commitment or dedication to the government - they joined for the sugar and other rations given to soldiers, as well as the salary. Although they often acquitted themselves well in battle, generally surrendering only when their food and ammunition were depleted, they had little stomach for offensive operations.
The Land Forces were "basically a light infantry force in 1991, supported by specialized elements. Operational control extended from the headquarters of the general staff in Khartoum to the six regional commands (central, eastern, western, northern, southern, and Khartoum). Each regional command was organized along divisional lines. Thus, the Fifth Division was at Al-Ubayyid in Kurdufan (Central Command), the Second Division was at Khashm El Girba (Eastern Command), the Sixth Division was assigned to Al-Fashir in Darfur (Western Command), the First Division was at Juba (Southern Command), and the Seventh Armoured Division was at As Shajarah just south of Khartoum (Khartoum Command). The Airborne Division was based at Khartoum International Airport. The Third Division was located in the north, although no major troop units were assigned to it. Each division had a liaison officer attached to general headquarters in Khartoum to facilitate the division's communication with various command elements. This organisational structure did not provide an accurate picture of actual troop deployments. All of the divisions were understrength. The Sixth Division in Darfur was a reorganised brigade with only 2,500 personnel. Unit strengths varied widely. Most brigades were composed of 1,000 to 1,500 troops." Keegan, writing in 1983, indicated that the northern command was located at Shendi.
To reduce the pressure on the regular armed forces, the Sudanese government made extensive use of militias, such as the South Sudan Defence Forces. This largely symbolic coalition of seven groups was formed with the signing of the Khartoum Peace Agreement with the NIF in 1997. The SSDF was led by former Garang lieutenant Riek Machar.
In 2007 the IISS estimated that the SAF had 104,800 personnel supported by 17,500 paramilitary personnel.
Jane's Information Group said in May 2009 that 'There are a number of infantry divisions, divided among [the six] regional commands. The commander of each military region traditionally commanded the divisional and brigade commanders within his territory. It is understood that there are six infantry divisions and seven independent infantry brigades; a mechanised division and an independent mechanised infantry brigade; and an armoured division. Other elements are understood to include a Special Forces battalion with five companies; an airborne division and a border guard brigade. Support elements include an engineer division.' Jane's reported the army's strength as 100,000 plus militias.
Afdevinfo has reported that the 1st Division at Juba has been disbanded.
Jane's Sentinel reports that there are two engineer brigades supporting the 9th Airborne Division. Jane's Amphibious and Special Forces, 2010, lists the 9th Airborne Division headquartered in Khartoum which includes two airborne brigades and the 144th Special Forces Battalion, an anti-terrorist unit. It also mentions the two engineer brigades for special forces support.
It was reported that a Republican Guard exists as a presidential security unit, led by Major General Khalid Hamad.
The military and allied militias have fought in the Sudanese Civil War, the Darfur Conflict, the Sudan–SPLM-N conflict and the 2012 South Sudan-Sudan border conflict.
As part of the Yemeni Civil War, dozens of Sudanese soldiers were reported killed in an ambush by Houthis in Hajjah Governorate in April 2018.
The Military College at Wadi Sayyidna, near Omdurman, had been Sudan's primary source of officer training since it opened in 1948. A two-year program, emphasizing study in political and military science and physical training, led to a commission as a second lieutenant in the SPAF. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, an average of 120 to 150 officers were graduated from the academy each year. In the late 1950s, roughly 60 graduated each year, peaking to more than 500 in early 1972 as a result of mobilisation brought on by the first southern rebellion. Students from other Arab and African countries were also trained at the Military College, and in 1982 sixty Ugandans were graduated as part of a Sudanese contribution to rebuilding the Ugandan army after Amin's removal from power.
The modern Sudanese Armed Forces is equipped mainly with Soviet, Russian, Chinese, Ukrainian, and Sudanese manufactured weaponry. Significant data has been made available by the UN Experts' Groups on the Sudan on arms supplies to Sudanese forces.
The standard issue battle rifle is now an H&K G3 variant that is domestically manufactured by Military Industry Corporation - the Dinar.
The IISS reported in 2007 that the SAF had 200 T-54/55 main battle tanks and 70 Type 62 light tanks.
The IISS reported 218 armoured cars (6 French Panhard AML-90, 60 BRDM-2, 80 British Ferret, and 30 British Alvis Saladin) in 2007, alongside 15 Soviet BMP-2. Also reported were 42 US M-113, 19 US LAV-150/V-100 Commando, Soviet BTR-152/BTR-50, 20 Czech or Polish OT-62/OT-64. 104 Egyptian Walid were ordered in 1981-1986.
The IISS estimated in 2011 that Sudan had 778+ artillery pieces, including 20 US M-101, 16 D-30, Soviet D-74, Soviet M-30, and 75 Soviet 130mm M-46/Type-59-I. The IISS estimated in 2011 that the Army had 20 pieces of self-propelled artillery, including 10 Soviet 2S1 Gvozdika and 10 French (AMX) Mk F3. Multiple rocket launchers include Soviet 122mm BM-21 Grad and Type-81.
Also reported were Soviet M43 mortars (120mm). Anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons reported included a number of British-made Swingfire. 54 Soviet 9K32 Strela-2 (SA-7 Grail) were reported, and many anti-aircraft guns. According to a UN official document.
T-72 main battle tanks, FB-6A mobile air defense systems, 9K33 Osa mobile air defence systems, and ws1 and ws2 mrls have also been spotted with the Sudanese armed forces.
Armored vehicles are repaired and produced at the Elshaheed Ibrahim Shams el Deen Complex in Khartoum.
The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement which ended the second civil war, stated that '..there shall be formed Joint/Integrated Units during the Pre-Interim and Interim Period from the SAF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).' 'These shall form the nucleus of the future Sudanese National Armed Forces, should the result of the referendum.. confirm unity of the country, [otherwise] the JIUs shall dissolve with each component reverting to its mother Armed Forces.'
The JIUs were to consist of: (Chapter VI, Security Arrangements, Paragraphs 20.13.2.1 and 20.13.2.2)
According to the Catholic "Voice of Hope" radio station in Wau, the Salam Forces military of Major-General Eltom Elnur Daldoum, who has a Misseriya background and operated in the Deim Zubeir area, joined the Sudan Armed Forces and became part of the Joint Integrated Units in Wau during the interim period. The number of his fighters was estimated at 400.
After its formation, the Joint Defence Board (JDB) met for the first time in January 2006. The Board was jointly chaired by SAF and SPLA lieutenant generals. The National Assembly passed the Joint Integrated Units Act on 17 January 2006. The JIUs were commanded by SPLA Major General Thomas Cirillo Swaka. But in the face of high hopes, the three most serious breaches of the CPA’s permanent ceasefire resulted directly from the actions of JIU battalions and brigades. North/South distrust resulted in the JDB struggling to providing oversight and management of the JIUs.
With the dissolution of the JIUs following the Southern Sudanese independence referendum, 2011, the SPLA components were either integrated back into the SPLA or demobilised. The SPLA components however were seen as less of a concern than the SAF components. Many of the SAF JIU personnel were former militia ('Other Armed Groups' or OAGs) who were 'aligned' rather than being formally 'incorporated' within the Sudanese Army. 'Aside from regular SAF units in locations such as Malakal and Bor, many of the SAF elements of the JIUs hail from the areas where they are serving and have strong family ties in these locations. As with the SPLA components, integration into the SPLA or increased incentives to demobilize are the only options the SAF components are likely to consider—movement north being out of the question.'
The Sudanese Air Force operates a number of aircraft, including Mil Mi-24 attack helicopters, Karakuram K-8 trainer jets, MiG-29 fighters, Su-25, Su-24, F-5, and Q-5 'Fantan' .
A long-established training centre and airbase is at Wadi Sayyidna, where No. 2 Fighter-Attack Squadron SuAF operated J-7s for a period.
The Armed Forces have suffered significant numbers of senior personnel killed in several aircraft crashes, in 2001, and in August 2012.
"Jane's Fighting Ships" for 1999-2000 stated that the Sudanese navy was established in 1962 to operate on the Red Sea coast and the River Nile. In 1999, estimated naval strength was 1,300 officers and men. Reported bases were at Port Sudan and Flamingo Bay on the Red Sea and at Khartoum. The navy had two 70-ton, 75-foot, Kadir-class coastal patrol craft ("Kadir" [129] and "Karari" [130]), both transferred from Iran to Sudan in 1975, as well as sixteen inshore patrol craft and two supply ships:
The navy, according to 2004 estimates from the International Institute for Strategic Studies, now has 1,800 personnel, and a base at Marsa Gwayawi on the Red Sea. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27429 |
The Band
The Band were a roots rock group consisting of four Canadians and one American: Rick Danko (bass guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (keyboards, drums, vocals), Robbie Robertson (guitar, vocals), and Levon Helm (drums, vocals, mandolin, guitar). Between 1958 and 1963, they originally formed as The Hawks, a backing band for rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins. In the mid-1960s they gained recognition backing Bob Dylan, and the 1966 tour was notable as Dylan’s first with an electric band. After leaving Dylan and changing their name to the Band, they released several albums to critical and popular acclaim, highlighted by the songs "The Weight" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." According to AllMusic, "For roughly half-a-decade, from 1968 through 1975, The Band were one of the most popular and influential rock groups in the world." Their influence on several generations of musicians has been substantial: Roger Waters called their debut album, "Music from Big Pink", the second "most influential record in the history of rock and roll," and music journalist Al Aronowitz called its "country soul...a sound never heard before."
In 1964, they separated from Hawkins, after which they toured and released a few singles as Levon and the Hawks and the Canadian Squires. The next year, Bob Dylan hired them for his U.S. tour in 1965 and world tour in 1966. Following the 1966 tour, the group moved with help from Dylan and his manager, Albert Grossman, to Saugerties, New York, where they made the informal 1967 recordings that became "The Basement Tapes", the basis for their 1968 debut album, "Music from Big Pink". Because they were always "the band" to various frontmen and the locals in Woodstock, Helm said the name "the Band" worked well when the group came into its own. The group began performing as the Band in 1968 and went on to release ten studio albums. Dylan continued to collaborate with the Band over the course of their career, including a joint 1974 tour.
The original configuration of The Band ended its touring career in 1976 with an elaborate performance at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, California, that featured numerous musical celebrities of the era. This performance was filmed for Martin Scorsese's 1978 documentary "The Last Waltz". Although the members of the group intended to continue working on studio projects, they drifted apart after the release of "Islands" in March 1977.
The Band resumed touring in 1983 without Robertson, who had found success with a solo career and as a Hollywood music producer. As a result of their diminished popularity, they performed in theaters and clubs as headliners and took support slots in larger venues for onetime peers such as the Grateful Dead and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Following a 1986 concert, Manuel committed suicide in his hotel room. The remaining three members continued to tour and record albums with a succession of musicians filling Manuel's and Robertson's roles. The final configuration of the group included Richard Bell (piano), Randy Ciarlante (drums), and Jim Weider (guitar). Danko died of heart failure in 1999, after which the group broke up for good. Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998 and was unable to sing for several years but he eventually regained the use of his voice. He continued to perform and released several albums until he died in 2012.
The group was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2004 "Rolling Stone" ranked them No. 50 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time, and in 2008 they received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2004, "The Weight" was ranked 41st on "Rolling Stone"s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
In 2014, the Band was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.
The members of the Band gradually came together in the Hawks, the backing group for Toronto-based rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins: Helm, an original Hawk who journeyed with Hawkins from Arkansas to Ontario, then Robertson, Danko, Manuel, and finally Hudson. Hawkins's act was popular in and around Toronto and nearby Hamilton, and he had an effective way of eliminating his musical competition: when a promising band appeared, Hawkins would hire their best musicians for his own group; Robertson, Danko, and Manuel came under Hawkins's tutelage this way.
While most of the Hawks were eager to join Hawkins's group, getting Hudson to join was a different story. He had earned a college degree, planned on a career as a music teacher, and was interested in playing rock music only as a hobby. The Hawks admired his wild, full-bore organ style and asked him repeatedly to join. Hudson finally agreed, under the condition that the Hawks each pay him $10 per week to be their instructor and purchase a new state-of-the-art Lowrey organ; all music theory questions were directed to Hudson.
With Hawkins, they recorded a few singles in this period and became well known as the best rock group in the thriving Toronto music scene. Hawkins regularly convened all-night rehearsals following long club shows, with the result that the young musicians quickly developed great technical prowess on their instruments.
In late 1963, the group split from Hawkins over personal differences. They were tired of playing the same songs so often and wanted to perform original material, and they were wary of Hawkins's heavy-handed leadership. He would fine the Hawks if they brought their girlfriends to the clubs (fearing it might reduce the numbers of "available" girls who came to performances) or if they smoked marijuana.
Robertson later said, "Eventually, [Hawkins] built us up to the point where we outgrew his music and had to leave. He shot himself in the foot, really, bless his heart, by sharpening us into such a crackerjack band that we had to go on out into the world, because we knew what his vision was for himself, and we were all younger and more ambitious musically."
Upon leaving Hawkins, the group was briefly known as the Levon Helm Sextet, with sixth member sax player Jerry Penfound, and then as Levon and the Hawks after Penfound's departure. In 1965, they released a single on Ware Records under the name the Canadian Squires, but they returned as Levon and the Hawks for a recording session for Atco later that year. Also in 1965, Helm and the band met blues singer and harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson. They wanted to record with him, offering to become his backing band, but Williamson died not long after their meeting.
In late summer 1965, Bob Dylan was looking for a backup band for his first U.S. "electric" tour. Levon and the Hawks were recommended by blues singer John Hammond, Jr., who earlier that year had recorded with Helm, Hudson and Robertson on his Vanguard album "So Many Roads". Around the same time, one of their friends from Toronto, Mary Martin, was working as secretary to Dylan's manager, Albert Grossman. She told Dylan to visit the group at Le Coq d'Or Tavern, a club on Yonge Street, in Toronto—though Robertson recollects it was the Friar's Tavern, just down the street. Her advice to Dylan: "You "gotta" see these guys."
After hearing the band play and meeting with Robertson, Dylan invited Helm and Robertson to join his backing band. After two concerts backing Dylan, Helm and Robertson told Dylan of their loyalty to their bandmates and told him that they would continue with him only if he hired all of the Hawks. Dylan accepted and invited Levon and the Hawks to tour with him. The group was receptive to the offer, knowing it could give them the wider exposure they craved. They thought of themselves as a tightly rehearsed rock and rhythm and blues group and knew Dylan mostly from his early acoustic folk and protest music. Furthermore, they had little inkling of how internationally popular Dylan had become.
With Dylan, the Hawks played a series of concerts from September 1965 through May 1966, billed as Bob Dylan and the Band. The tours were marked by Dylan's reportedly copious use of amphetamines. Some, though not all, of the Hawks, joined in the excesses. Most of the concerts were met with heckling and disapproval from folk music purists. Helm was so affected by the negative reception that he left the tour after a little more than one month and sat out the rest of that year's concerts, as well as the world tour in 1966. Helm spent much of this period working on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.
During and between tours, Dylan and the Hawks attempted several recording sessions, but with less than satisfying results. Sessions in October and November yielded just one usable single ("Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?"), and two days of recording in January 1966 for what was intended to be Dylan's next album, "Blonde on Blonde", resulted in "One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)", which was released as a single a few weeks later and was subsequently selected for the album. On "One of Us Must Know", Dylan was backed by drummer Bobby Gregg, bassist Danko (or Bill Lee), guitarist Robbie Robertson, pianist Paul Griffin, and Al Kooper (who was more a guitarist than an organist) playing organ. Frustrated by the slow progress in the New York studio, Dylan accepted the suggestion of producer Bob Johnston and moved the recording sessions to Nashville. In Nashville, Robertson's guitar was prominent on the "Blonde on Blonde" recordings, especially "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat", but the other members of the Hawks did not attend the sessions.
During the European leg of their 1966 tour, Mickey Jones replaced Sandy Konikoff on drums. Dylan and the Hawks played at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester on May 17, 1966. The gig became legendary when, near the end of Dylan's electric set, an audience member shouted "Judas!" After a pause, Dylan replied, "I don't believe you. You're a liar!" He then turned to the Hawks and said, "Play it fucking loud!" With that, they launched into an acidic version of "Like a Rolling Stone".
The Manchester performance was widely bootlegged (and mistakenly placed at the Royal Albert Hall). In a 1971 review for "Creem" magazine, critic Dave Marsh wrote, "My response is that crystallization of everything that is rock'n'roll music, at its finest, was to allow my jaw to drop, my body to move, to leap out of the chair ... It is an experience that one desires simply to share, to play over and over again for those he knows thirst for such pleasure. If I speak in an almost worshipful sense about this music, it is not because I have lost perspective, it is precisely because I have found it, within music, yes, that was made five years ago. But it is there and unignorable." When it finally saw in 1998, critic Richie Unterberger declared the record "an important document of rock history."
On July 29, 1966, while on a break from touring, Dylan was injured in a motorcycle accident that precipitated his retreat into semi-seclusion in Woodstock, New York. For a while, the Hawks returned to the bar and roadhouse touring circuit, sometimes backing other singers, including a brief stint with Tiny Tim. Dylan invited the Hawks to join him in Woodstock in February 1967, and Danko, Manuel and Hudson rented a large pink house, which they named "Big Pink", in nearby West Saugerties, New York. The next month (initially without Helm) they commenced recording a much-bootlegged and influential series of demos, initially at Dylan's house in Woodstock and later at Big Pink, which were released partially on LP as "The Basement Tapes" in 1975 and . A track-by-track review of the bootleg was detailed by Jann Wenner in "Rolling Stone", in which the band members were explicitly named and given the collective name "the Crackers".
The sessions with Dylan ended in October 1967, with Helm having rejoined the group by that time, and the Hawks began writing their own songs at Big Pink. When they went into the recording studio, they still did not have a name for themselves. Stories vary as to the manner in which they ultimately adopted the name "the Band." In "The Last Waltz", Manuel claimed that they wanted to call themselves either "the Honkies" or "the Crackers" (which they used when backing Dylan for a January 1968 concert tribute to Woody Guthrie), but these names were vetoed by their record label; Robertson suggests that during their time with Dylan everyone just referred to them as "the band" and the name stuck. Initially they disliked the moniker, but eventually they grew to like it, thinking it both humble and presumptuous. In 1969, "Rolling Stone" referred to them as "the band from Big Pink."
Their first album, "Music from Big Pink" (1968) was widely acclaimed. The album included three songs written or co-written by Dylan ("This Wheel's on Fire", "Tears of Rage", and "I Shall Be Released") as well as "The Weight", the use of which in the film "Easy Rider" would make it one of their best-known songs. While a continuity ran through the music, the style varied by song.
After the success of "Music from Big Pink", the Band went on tour. Their first live appearance was at Stony Brook University in spring 1969. That summer they performed at the Woodstock Festival (their performance was not included in the famed "Woodstock" film because of legal complications), and later that year they performed with Dylan at the UK Isle of Wight Festival (several songs from which were subsequently included on Dylan's "Self Portrait" album). That same year, they left for Los Angeles to record their follow-up, "The Band" (1969). From their rustic appearance on the cover to the songs and arrangements within, the album stood in contrast to other popular music of the day. (Several other artists made similar stylistic moves about the same time, notably Dylan, on "John Wesley Harding", which was written during the "Basement Tapes" sessions, and the Byrds, on "Sweetheart of the Rodeo", which featured two "Basement Tapes" covers.) "The Band" featured songs that evoked old-time rural America, from the Civil War in "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" to the unionization of farm workers in "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)".
These first two records were produced by John Simon, who was practically a group member: he aided in arrangements in addition to playing occasional piano and tuba. Simon reported that he was often asked about the distinctive horn sections featured so effectively on the first two albums: people wanted to know how they had achieved such memorable sounds. Simon stated that, besides Hudson (an accomplished saxophonist), the others had only rudimentary horn skills, and achieved their sound simply by creatively utilizing their limited technique.
"Rolling Stone" lavished praise on the Band in this era, giving them more attention than perhaps any other group in the magazine's history; Greil Marcus's articles contributed to the Band's mystique. The Band was also featured on the cover of "Time" magazine (January 12, 1970), the first rock group after the Beatles, over two years earlier, to achieve this rare distinction. David Attie's unused photographs for this cover—among the very few studio portraits taken during the Band's prime—have only recently been discovered and seen.
A critical and commercial triumph, "The Band", along with works by the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, established a musical template (sometimes dubbed country rock) that paved the way to the Eagles. Both "Big Pink" and "The Band" also influenced their musical contemporaries. Eric Clapton and George Harrison cited the Band as a major influence on their musical direction in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Clapton later revealed that he wanted to join the group.
Following their second album, the Band embarked on their first tour as a lead act. The anxiety of fame was clear, as the group's songs turned to darker themes of fear and alienation: the influence on their next work is self-explanatory. "Stage Fright" (1970) was engineered by musician-engineer-producer Todd Rundgren and recorded on a theatre stage in Woodstock. As with their previous, self-titled record, Robertson was credited with most of the songwriting. Initial critical reaction was good but it was seen as a letdown from the previous two albums, because of the darker subject matter. But contemporary critics have reevaluated "Stage Fright" and found it equal to, if not different from, their first two albums.
After recording "Stage Fright", the Band was among the acts participating in the Festival Express, an all-star rock concert tour of Canada by train that also included Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and future Band member Richard Bell (at the time he was a member of Joplin's band). In the concert documentary film, released in 2003, Danko can be seen participating in a drunken jam session with Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Joplin while singing "Ain't No More Cane".
At about this time, Robertson began exerting greater control over the Band, a point of contention between Helm and Robertson. Helm charges Robertson with authoritarianism and greed, while Robertson suggests his increased efforts in guiding the group were largely because Helm, Danko and Manuel were becoming more unreliable due to their heroin usage. Robertson insists he did his best to coax Manuel into writing more songs, only to see him descend into addiction.
Despite mounting problems among the group members, the Band forged ahead with their next album, "Cahoots" (1971). "Cahoots" featured Bob Dylan's "When I Paint My Masterpiece," "4% Pantomime" (with Van Morrison), and "Life Is a Carnival," the last featuring a horn arrangement by Allen Toussaint. Toussaint's contribution was a critical addition to the Band's next project, and the group would later record two songs written by Toussaint: "Holy Cow" (on "Moondog Matinee") and "You See Me" (on "Jubilation).
In late December 1971, the Band recorded the live album "Rock of Ages", which was released in the summer of 1972. On "Rock of Ages", they were bolstered by the addition of a horn section, with arrangements written by Toussaint. Bob Dylan appeared on stage on New Year's Eve and performed four songs with the group, including a version of "When I Paint My Masterpiece".
In 1973, the Band released "Moondog Matinee", an album of old songs written by non-Band members. There was no tour in support of the album, which garnered mixed reviews. However on July 28, 1973, they played at the legendary Summer Jam at Watkins Glen, a massive concert that took place at the Grand Prix Raceway outside Watkins Glen, New York. The event, which was attended by over 600,000 music fans, also featured the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers Band. It was during this event that discussions began about a possible tour with Bob Dylan, who had —along with Robertson—moved to Malibu, California. By late 1973, Danko, Helm, Hudson and Manuel had joined them, and the first order of business was backing Dylan on the album "Planet Waves". The album was released concurrently with their joint 1974 tour, in which they played 40 shows in North America during January and February 1974. Later that year, the live album "Before the Flood" was released, which documents the tour.
During this time, the Band brought in "Planet Waves" producer Rob Fraboni to help design a music studio for the group. By 1975, the studio—known as Shangri-La—was completed. That year, the Band recorded and released "Northern Lights – Southern Cross", their first album of all-new material since 1971's "Cahoots". All eight songs were written exclusively by Robertson. Despite poor record sales, the album is favored by critics and fans alike. Levon Helm regards this album highly in his book, "": "It was the best album we had done since "The Band"." The album also produced more experimentation from Hudson, switching to synthesizers, showcased on "Jupiter Hollow".
By 1976, Robbie Robertson was weary of touring. After having to cancel tour dates due to Richard Manuel suffering a severe neck injury in a boating accident in Texas, Robertson urged the Band to retire from touring, and conceived of a massive "farewell concert" known as "The Last Waltz". Following an October 30th appearance on "Saturday Night Live", the event, including turkey dinner for the audience of 5,000, was held on November 25 (Thanksgiving Day) of 1976 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, California, and featured a horn section with arrangements by Allen Toussaint and a stellar list of guests, including Canadian artists Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. Two of the guests were fundamental to the Band's existence and growth: Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan. Other guests they admired (and in most cases had worked with before) included Muddy Waters, Dr. John, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Ron Wood, Bobby Charles, Neil Diamond, and Paul Butterfield. The concert was recorded by Robertson's friend, filmmaker Martin Scorsese.
In 1977, the Band released their seventh studio album "Islands", which fulfilled their record contract with Capitol so that a planned "Last Waltz" film and album could be released on the Warner Bros. label. "Islands" contained a mix of originals and covers, and was the last with the Band's original lineup. That same year, the group recorded soundstage performances with country singer Emmylou Harris ("Evangeline") and gospel-soul group the Staple Singers ("The Weight"); Scorsese combined these new performances—as well as interviews he had conducted with the group—with the 1976 concert footage. The resulting concert film–documentary was released in 1978, along with a three-LP soundtrack.
Helm later wrote about "The Last Waltz" in his autobiography, "This Wheel's on Fire", in which he made the case that it had been primarily Robbie Robertson's project and that Robertson had forced the Band's breakup on the rest of the group. Robertson offered a different take in a 1986 interview: "I made my big statement. I did the movie, I made a three-record album about it—and if this is only my statement, not theirs, I'll accept that. They're saying, 'Well, that was really his trip, not our trip.' Well, fine. I'll take the best music film that's ever been made, and make it my statement. I don't have any problems with that. None at all."
In 1983, the Band resumed touring, though without Robertson. Several musicians, mostly from the group's Ronnie Hawkins days, were recruited as touring personnel to replace Robertson. The reunited Band was generally well-received, but found themselves playing in smaller venues than during the peak of their popularity.
After a performance in Winter Park, Florida, on March 4, 1986, Manuel committed suicide, aged 42, in his motel room. He had suffered for many years from alcoholism and drug addiction, and had been clean and sober for several years beginning in 1978, but had begun drinking and using drugs again by 1984. Manuel's position as pianist was filled by old friend Stan Szelest (who died not long after), and then by Richard Bell. Bell had played with Ronnie Hawkins after the departure of the original Hawks, and was best known from his days as a member of Janis Joplin's Full Tilt Boogie Band.
The Band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 1989 Juno Awards, where Robertson was reunited with original members Danko and Hudson. With Canadian country rock superstars Blue Rodeo as a back-up band, "Music Express" called the 1989 Juno appearance a symbolic "passing of the torch" from the Band to Blue Rodeo.
The Band appeared at Bob Dylan's 30th anniversary concert in New York City in October 1992, where they performed their version of Dylan's "When I Paint My Masterpiece". In 1993, the group released their eighth studio album, "Jericho". Without Robbie Robertson as primary lyricist, much of the songwriting for the album came from outside of the group. Also that year, the Band, along with Ronnie Hawkins, Bob Dylan, and other performers, appeared at U.S. President Bill Clinton's 1993 "Blue Jean Bash" inauguration party.
In 1994, the Band performed at Woodstock '94. Later that year Robertson appeared with Danko and Hudson as the Band for the second time since the original group broke up. The occasion was the induction of the Band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Helm, who had been at odds with Robertson for years over accusations of stolen songwriting credits, did not attend. In February 1996, the Band with the Crickets recorded "Not Fade Away", released on the tribute album "Not Fade Away (Remembering Buddy Holly)". The Band released two more albums after "Jericho": "High on the Hog" (1996) and "Jubilation" (1998), the latter of which included guest appearances by Eric Clapton and John Hiatt.
The final song the group recorded together was their 1999 version of Bob Dylan's "One Too Many Mornings", which they contributed to the Dylan tribute album "Tangled Up in Blues". On December 10, 1999, Rick Danko died in his sleep at the age of 56. Following his death, the Band broke up for good. In 2002, Robertson bought all other former members' financial interests in the group, with the exception of Helm, giving him major control of the presentation of the group's material, including latter-day compilations. Richard Bell died of multiple myeloma in June 2007. The Band received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award on February 9, 2008,
but there was no reunion of all three living members. In honor of the event, Helm held a Midnight Ramble in Woodstock. On April 17, 2012, it was announced via Helm's official website that he was in the "final stages of cancer"; he died two days later.
In 1977, Rick Danko released his eponymous debut solo album, which featured the other four members of the Band on various tracks. In 1984, Danko joined members of the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and others in the huge touring company that made up "The Byrds Twenty-Year Celebration". Several members of the tour performed solo songs to start the show, including Danko, who performed "Mystery Train". Danko also released three solo albums in the 1990s, "In Concert", "Live on Breeze Hill" and "Times Like These" all three of these records were produced by Aaron L. Hurwitz and are on the Breeze Hill/Woodstock Records Label.
In the late 70s and 80s, Helm released several solo albums and toured with a band called Levon Helm and the RCO Allstars. He also began an acting career with his role as Loretta Lynn's father in "Coal Miner's Daughter". Helm received praise for his narration and supporting role opposite Sam Shepard in 1983's "The Right Stuff". In 1997 a CD by Levon Helm and the Crowmatix, "Souvenir", was released. Beginning sometime in the 1990s, Helm regularly performed Midnight Ramble concerts at his home and studio in Woodstock, New York, and toured. In 2007 Helm released a new album, an homage to his southern roots called "Dirt Farmer", which was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album on February 9, 2008. "Electric Dirt" followed in 2009 and won the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Americana Album. His 2011 live album "Ramble at the Ryman" was nominated in the same category and won.
After he left the Band, Robbie Robertson became a music producer and wrote film soundtracks (including acting as music supervisor for several of Scorsese's films) before beginning a solo career with his Daniel Lanois-produced eponymous album in 1987.
Hudson has released two acclaimed solo CDs, "The Sea to the North" in 2001, produced by Aaron (Professor Louie) Hurwitz, and "Live at the Wolf" in 2005, both featuring his wife, Maud, on vocals. He has also kept busy as an in-demand studio musician. He is featured extensively on recordings of the Call and country-indie star Neko Case. Hudson contributed an original electronic score to an off-Broadway production of "Dragon Slayers", written by Stanley Keyes and directed by Brad Mays in 1986 at the Union Square Theatre in New York, which was restaged with a new cast in Los Angeles in 1990. In 2010, Hudson released "Garth Hudson Presents: A Canadian Celebration of the Band", featuring Canadian artists covering songs that were recorded by the Band.
In 2012, Jim Weider launched the Weight Band, performing covers of the Band's music, alongside former members of the Levon Helm Band and Rick Danko Group. Recently, the Weight Band performed in a nationally broadcast PBS special, Infinity Hall Live, featuring new music. Following the show, the band announced a self-titled album of new music. The Weight Band also hosts Camp Cripple Creek, which celebrates the legacy of the Woodstock Sound. Past guests have included Jackie Greene, Music from Big Pink producer John Simon and John Sebastian.
Manuel had few projects outside the Band; he and the rest of the Band contributed to Eric Clapton's 1976 album "No Reason to Cry". It included an original composition by Manuel and featured his vocals and drumming on several tracks. Manuel later worked on several film scores with Hudson and Robertson, including "Raging Bull" and "The Color of Money".
The Band's music fused many elements: primarily old country music and early rock and roll, though the rhythm section often was reminiscent of Stax- or Motown-style rhythm and blues, and Robertson cites Curtis Mayfield and the Staple Singers as major influences, resulting in a synthesis of many musical genres. Singers Manuel, Danko, and Helm each brought a distinctive voice to the Band: Helm's Southern accent was prevalent in his raw and powerful vocals, Danko sang tenor with a distinctively choppy enunciation, and Manuel alternated between falsetto and a soulful baritone. The singers regularly blended in harmonies. Though the singing was more or less evenly shared among the three, both Danko and Helm have stated that they saw Manuel as the Band's "lead" singer.
Every member was a multi-instrumentalist. There was little instrument-switching when they played live, but when recording, the musicians could make up different configurations in service of the songs. Hudson in particular was able to coax a wide range of timbres from his Lowrey organ; on the choruses of "Tears of Rage", for example, it sounds like a mellotron. Helm's drumming was often praised: critic Jon Carroll declared that Helm was "the only drummer who can make you cry," while prolific session drummer Jim Keltner admits to appropriating several of Helm's techniques. Producer John Simon is often cited as a "sixth member" of the Band for producing and playing on "Music from Big Pink", co-producing and playing on "The Band", and playing on other songs up through the Band's 1993 reunion album "Jericho".
Robertson is credited as writer or co-writer of the majority of the Band's songs and, as a result, has received most of the songwriting royalties generated from the music. This would become a point of contention, especially for Helm. In his 1993 autobiography, "", Helm disputed the validity of the songwriting credits as listed on the albums and explained that the Band's songs were developed in collaboration with all members. Danko concurred with Helm: "I think Levon's book hits the nail on the head about where Robbie and Albert Grossman and some of those people went wrong and when The Band stopped being The Band... I'm truly friends with everybody but, hey—it could happen to Levon, too. When people take themselves too seriously and believe too much in their own bullshit, they usually get in trouble." Robertson denied that Helm had written any of the songs attributed to Robertson. Furthermore, looking at the songwriter credits, it's clear that the songs recorded by Levon Helm as a solo artist were almost entirely written by others. "Levon Helm" (1978), "American Son", "Levon Helm" (1982), "Dirt Farmer", and "Electric Dirt". He rarely participated in songwriting.
The Band has influenced numerous bands, songwriters and performers, including the Grateful Dead; Eric Clapton; George Harrison; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Led Zeppelin; Elvis Costello; Elton John; Phish; and Pink Floyd.
The album "Music from Big Pink", in particular, is credited with contributing to Clapton's decision to leave the supergroup Cream. In his introduction of the Band during the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert, Clapton announced that in 1968 he had heard the album, "and it changed my life." Nazareth took their name from "The Weight" - taken from the line "I pulled into Nazareth, feeling half past dead" Guitarist Richard Thompson has acknowledged the album's influence on Fairport Convention's "Liege and Lief", and journalist John Harris has suggested that the Band's debut also influenced the spirit of the Beatles' back-to-basics album "Let It Be" as well as the Rolling Stones' string of roots-infused albums that began with "Beggars Banquet". George Harrison said that his song "All Things Must Pass" was heavily influenced by the Band and that, while writing the song, he imagined Levon Helm singing it. Meanwhile, the "Music from Big Pink" song "The Weight" has been covered numerous times, and in various musical styles. In a 1969 interview, Robbie Robertson remarked on the group's influence, "We certainly didn't want everybody to go out and get a banjo and a fiddle player. We were trying to calm things down a bit though. What we're going to do now is go to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and record four sides, four psychedelic songs. Total freak-me songs. Just to show that we have no hard feelings. Just pretty good rock and roll."
In the nineties, a new generation of bands influenced by the Band began to gain popularity, including Counting Crows, the Wallflowers, and the Black Crowes. Counting Crows indicated this influence with their tribute to the late Richard Manuel, "If I Could Give All My Love (Richard Manuel Is Dead)", from their album "Hard Candy". The Black Crowes frequently cover songs by the Band during live performances, such as "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", which appears on their DVD/CD "Freak 'n' Roll into the Fog". They have also recorded at Helm's studio in Woodstock.
The inspiration for the classic rock-influenced band the Hold Steady came while members Craig Finn and Tad Kubler were watching "The Last Waltz". Rick Danko and Robbie Robertson are name-checked in the lyrics of "The Swish" from the Hold Steady's 2004 debut album "Almost Killed Me". Also that year, southern rock-revivalists Drive-By Truckers released the Jason Isbell penned track "Danko/Manuel" on the album "The Dirty South".
The Band also inspired Grace Potter, of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, to form the band in 2002. In an interview with the Montreal Gazette, Potter said, "The Band blew my mind. I thought if this is what Matt [Burr] meant when he said 'Let's start a rock 'n' roll band,' ... that was the kind of rock 'n' roll band I could believe in."
A tribute album, entitled "", released in January 2007, included contributions from My Morning Jacket, Death Cab for Cutie, Gomez, Guster, Bruce Hornsby, Jack Johnson and ALO, Lee Ann Womack, the Allman Brothers Band, Blues Traveler, Jakob Dylan, Rosanne Cash, and others.
Members of Wilco, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the Shins, Dr Dog, Yellowbirds, Ween, Furthur, and other bands staged The Complete Last Waltz in 2012 and 2013. Their performances included all 41 songs from the original 1976 concert in sequence, even those edited out of the film. Musical director Sam Cohen of Yellowbirds claims “the movie is pretty ingrained in me. I've watched it probably 100 times.“
A recent incarnation of the Band's legacy,The Weight Band, originated inside the barn of Levon Helm in 2012 when Jim Weider and Randy Ciarlante, both former members of the Band, were performing “Songs of the Band” with Garth Hudson, Jimmy Vivino and Byron Isaacs. In July 2017, PBS's Infinity Hall Live program began airing a televised performance by the Weight Band, featuring Band covers and new music by the band.
Every year on the Wednesday before and the Friday after Thanksgiving, Dayton, Ohio NPR affiliate WYSO and The Dayton Art Institute host a tribute to "The Last Waltz". Frequently selling out, the show features more than 30 local musicians.
The band are the subjects of the 2019 documentary film "", which premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.
The Band is the subject of an extensive historical podcast, "The Band: A History", currently covering the entire history of the group.
with Bob Dylan | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30965 |
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for "time") is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often using conventional Italian terms) and is usually measured in beats per minute (or bpm). In modern classical compositions, a "metronome mark" in beats per minute may supplement or replace the normal tempo marking, while in modern genres like electronic dance music, tempo will typically simply be stated in bpm.
Tempo may be separated from articulation and meter, or these aspects may be indicated along with tempo, all contributing to the overall texture. While the ability to hold a steady tempo is a vital skill for a musical performer, tempo is changeable. Depending on the genre of a piece of music and the performers' interpretation, a piece may be played with slight tempo rubato or drastic variances. In ensembles, the tempo is often indicated by a conductor or by one of the instrumentalists, for instance the drummer.
While tempo is described or indicated in many different ways, including with a range of words (e.g., "Slowly", "Adagio" and so on), it is typically measured in beats per minute (bpm or BPM). For example, a tempo of 60 beats per minute signifies one beat per second, while a tempo of 120 beats per minute is twice as rapid, signifying one beat every 0.5 seconds. The note value of a beat will typically be that indicated by the denominator of the time signature. For instance, in the beat will be a crotchet, or "quarter note".
This measurement and indication of tempo became increasingly popular during the first half of the 19th century, after Johann Nepomuk Maelzel invented the metronome. Beethoven was one of the first composers to use the metronome; in the 1810s he published metronomic indications for the eight symphonies he had composed up to that time.
Instead of beats per minute, some 20th-century classical composers (e.g., Béla Bartók, Alberto Ginastera, and John Cage) specify the total playing time for a piece, from which the performer can derive tempo.
With the advent of modern electronics, bpm became an extremely precise measure. Music sequencers use the bpm system to denote tempo. In popular music genres such as electronic dance music, accurate knowledge of a tune's bpm is important to DJs for the purposes of beatmatching.
The speed of a piece of music can also be gauged according to measures per minute (mpm) or bars per minute, the number of measures of the piece performed in one minute. This measure is commonly used in ballroom dance music.
In different musical contexts, different instrumental musicians, singers, conductors, bandleaders, music directors or other individuals will select the tempo of a song or piece. In a popular music or traditional music group or band, the bandleader or lead singer may select the tempo. In popular and traditional music, whoever is setting the tempo often counts out one or two bars in tempo. In some songs or pieces in which a singer or solo instrumentalist begins the work with a solo introduction (prior to the start of the full group), the tempo they set will provide the tempo for the group. In an orchestra or concert band, the conductor normally sets the tempo. In a marching band, the drum major may set the tempo. In a sound recording, in some cases a record producer may set the tempo for a song (although this would be less likely with an experienced bandleader).
In classical music it is customary to describe the tempo of a piece by one or more words, most commonly in Italian, in addition to or instead of a metronome mark in beats per minute. Italian is typically used because it was the language of most composers during the time these descriptions became commonplace. Some well-known Italian tempo indications include "Allegro" (English “Cheerful”), "Andante" (“Walking-pace”) and "Presto" (“Quickly”). This practice developed during the 17th and 18th centuries, the baroque and classical periods. In the earlier Renaissance music, performers understood most music to flow at a tempo defined by the tactus (roughly the rate of the human heartbeat). The mensural time signature indicated which note value corresponded to the tactus.
In the Baroque period, pieces would typically be given an indication, which might be a tempo marking (e.g. "Allegro"), or the name of a dance (e.g. "Allemande" or "Sarabande"), the latter being an indication both of tempo and of metre. Any musician of the time was expected to know how to interpret these markings based on custom and experience. In some cases, however, these markings were simply omitted. For example, the first movement of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 has no tempo or mood indication whatsoever. Despite the increasing number of explicit tempo markings, musicians still observe conventions, expecting a minuet to be at a fairly stately tempo, slower than a Viennese waltz; a perpetuum mobile quite fast, and so on. Genres imply tempos. Thus, Ludwig van Beethoven wrote "In tempo d'un Menuetto" over the first movement of his Piano Sonata Op. 54, though that movement is not a minuet.
Many tempo markings also indicate mood and expression. For example, "presto" and "allegro" both indicate a speedy execution ("presto" being faster), but "allegro" also connotes joy (from its original meaning in Italian). "Presto", on the other hand, simply indicates speed. Additional Italian words also indicate tempo and mood. For example, the "agitato" in the "Allegro agitato" of the last movement of George Gershwin's piano concerto in F has both a tempo indication (undoubtedly faster than a usual "Allegro") and a mood indication ("agitated").
Often, composers (or music publishers) name movements of compositions after their tempo (or mood) marking. For instance, the second movement of Samuel Barber's first String Quartet is an "Adagio".
Often a particular musical form or genre implies its own tempo, so composers need place no further explanation in the score. Popular music charts use terms such as "bossa nova", "ballad", and "Latin rock" in much the same way. Lead sheets and fake book music for jazz or popular music may use several terms, and may include a tempo term and a genre term, such as "slow blues", "medium shuffle" or "fast rock".
Here follows a list of common tempo markings. The beats per minute (bpm) values are very rough approximations for time.
These terms have also been used inconsistently through time and in different geographical areas. One striking example is that "Allegretto" hastened as a tempo from the 18th to the 19th century: originally it was just above "Andante", instead of just below "Allegro" as it is now. As another example, a modern "largo" is slower than an "adagio", but in the Baroque period it was faster.
From slowest to fastest:
Several composers have written markings in French, among them baroque composers François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau as well as Claude Debussy, Olivier Messiaen, Maurice Ravel and Alexander Scriabin. Common tempo markings in French are:
Erik Satie was known to write extensive tempo (and character) markings by defining them in a poetical and literal way, as in his Gnossiennes.
Many composers have used German tempo markings. Typical German tempo markings are:
One of the first German composers to use tempo markings in his native language was Ludwig van Beethoven. The one using the most elaborate combined tempo and mood markings was probably Gustav Mahler. For example, the second movement of his Symphony No. 9 is marked "Im Tempo eines gemächlichen Ländlers, etwas täppisch und sehr derb", indicating a slowish folk-dance-like movement, with some awkwardness and much vulgarity in the execution. Mahler would also sometimes combine German tempo markings with traditional Italian markings, as in the first movement of his sixth symphony, marked "Allegro energico, ma non troppo. Heftig, aber markig" (Energetically quick, but not too much. Violent, but vigorous).
English indications, for example "quickly", have also been used, by Benjamin Britten and Percy Grainger, among many others. In jazz and popular music lead sheets and fake book charts, terms like "fast", "laid back", "steady rock", "medium", "medium-up", "ballad", "brisk", "brightly" "up", "slowly", and similar style indications may appear. In some lead sheets and fake books, both tempo and genre are indicated, e.g., "slow blues", "fast swing", or "medium Latin". The genre indications help rhythm section instrumentalists use the correct style. For example, if a song says "medium shuffle", the drummer plays a shuffle drum pattern; if it says "fast boogie-woogie", the piano player plays a boogie-woogie bassline.
"Show tempo", a term used since the early days of Vaudeville, describes the traditionally brisk tempo (usually 160–170 bpm) of opening songs in stage revues and musicals.
Humourist Tom Lehrer uses facetious English tempo markings in his anthology "Too Many Songs by Tom Lehrer". For example, "National Brotherhood Week" is to be played "fraternally"; "We Will All Go Together" is marked "eschatologically"; and "Masochism Tango" has the tempo "painstakingly".
Tempo is not necessarily fixed. Within a piece (or within a movement of a longer work), a composer may indicate a complete change of tempo, often by using a double bar and introducing a new tempo indication, often with a new time signature and/or key signature.
It is also possible to indicate a more or less gradual change in tempo, for instance with an "accelerando" (speeding up) or "ritardando" ("rit"., slowing down) marking. Indeed, some compositions chiefly comprise "accelerando" passages, for instance Monti's "Csárdás", or the Russian Civil War song Echelon Song.
On the smaller scale, tempo rubato refers to changes in tempo within a musical phrase, often described as some notes 'borrowing' time from others.
Composers may use expressive marks to adjust the tempo:
While the base tempo indication (such as "Allegro") typically appears in large type above the staff, adjustments typically appear below the staff or, in the case of keyboard instruments, in the middle of the grand staff.
They generally designate a "gradual" change in tempo; for immediate tempo shifts, composers normally just provide the designation for the new tempo. (Note, however, that when "Più mosso" or "Meno mosso" appears in large type above the staff, it functions as a new tempo, and thus implies an immediate change.) Several terms, e.g., "assai", "molto", "poco", "subito", control how large and how gradual a change should be (see common qualifiers).
After a tempo change, a composer may return to a previous tempo in two ways:
These terms also indicate an immediate, not a gradual, tempo change. Although they are Italian, composers tend to employ them even if they have written their initial tempo marking in another language.
20th-century classical music introduced a wide range of approaches to tempo, particularly thanks to the influence of modernism and later postmodernism.
While many composers have retained traditional tempo markings, sometimes requiring greater precision than in any preceding period, others have begun to question basic assumptions of the classical tradition like the idea of a consistent, unified, repeatable tempo. Graphic scores show tempo and rhythm in a variety of ways. Polytemporal compositions deliberately utilise performers playing at marginally different speeds. John Cage's compositions approach tempo in diverse ways. For instance "4′33″" has a defined duration, but no actual notes, while As Slow as Possible has defined proportions but no defined duration, with one performance intended to last 639 years.
More extreme tempos are achievable at the same underlying tempo with very fast drum patterns, often expressed as drum rolls. Such compositions often exhibit a much slower underlying tempo, but may increase the tempo by adding additional percussive beats. Extreme metal subgenres such as speedcore and grindcore often strive to reach unusually fast tempo. The use of extreme tempo was very common in the fast bebop jazz from the 1940s and 1950s. A common jazz tune such as "Cherokee" was often performed at quarter note equal to or sometimes exceeding 368 bpm. Some of Charlie Parker's famous tunes ("Bebop", "Shaw Nuff") have been performed at 380 bpm plus.
In popular music genres such as disco, house music and electronic dance music, beatmatching is a technique that DJs use that involves speeding up or slowing down a record (or CDJ player, a speed-adjustable CD player for DJ use) to match the tempo of a previous or subsequent track, so both can be seamlessly mixed. Having beatmatched two songs, the DJ can either seamlessly crossfade from one song to another, or play both tracks simultaneously, creating a layered effect.
DJs often beatmatch the underlying tempos of recordings, rather than their strict bpm value suggested by the kick drum, particularly when dealing with high tempo tracks. A 240 bpm track, for example, matches the beat of a 120 bpm track without slowing down or speeding up, because both have an underlying tempo of 120 quarter notes per minute. Thus, some soul music (around 75–90 bpm) mixes well with a drum and bass beat (from 150–185 bpm). When speeding up or slowing down a record on a turntable, the pitch and tempo of a track are linked: spinning a disc 10% faster makes both pitch and tempo 10% higher. Software processing to change the pitch without changing the tempo is called pitch-shifting. The opposite operation, changing the tempo without changing the pitch, is called time-stretching.
Books on tempo in music:
Music dictionaries:
Examples of musical scores: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30967 |
Tommy James and the Shondells
Tommy James and the Shondells are an American rock band, formed in Niles, Michigan in 1964. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S., "Hanky Panky" (July 1966, their only RIAA Certified Gold record) and "Crimson and Clover" (February 1969), and also charted twelve other Top 40 hits, including five in the Hot 100's top ten: "I Think We're Alone Now", "Mirage", "Mony Mony", "Sweet Cherry Wine", and "Crystal Blue Persuasion".
The band The Echoes formed in 1959 in Niles, Michigan, then evolved into Tom and the Tornadoes, with 12-year-old Tommy James (then known as Tommy Jackson) as lead singer. While attending Niles Public High School in Niles MI the group released its first single, "Long Pony Tail", in 1962. In 1964 James renamed the band the Shondells because the name "sounded good" and in honor of singer Troy Shondell, famous for his 1961 release "This Time." At this time, the band included Tommy James (vocals and guitar), Larry Coverdale (lead guitar), Larry Wright (bass), Craig Villeneuve (keyboards) and Jim Payne (drums). In February 1964 the band recorded the Jeff Barry–Ellie Greenwich song "Hanky Panky" (originally a B-side by the Raindrops). Although he could often be found playing at Niles High School events, his popularity locally continued to grow. James's version of Hanky Panky sold respectably in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, but Snap Records had no national distribution. The band toured the eastern Midwest, but no other market took to the song. The single failed to chart nationally and the Shondells disbanded in 1965 after its members graduated from high school.
After first considering taking a job outside of music, James decided to form a new band, the Koachmen, with Shondells guitarist Larry Coverdale and members of a rival group called the Spinners (not the hit-making group from Detroit). The Koachmen played a circuit of clubs in the Midwest through the summer and fall of 1965 but returned to Niles in February 1966, after the gigs dried up, to plot their next move.
Meanwhile, in 1965, Pittsburgh dance promoter Bob Mack had unearthed the forgotten single "Hanky Panky", playing it at various dance parties, and radio stations there touted it as an "exclusive". Listener response encouraged regular play, and demand soared. Bootleggers responded by printing 80,000 black market copies of the recording, which were sold in Pennsylvania stores.
James first learned of all this activity in April 1966 after getting a telephone call from Pittsburgh disc jockey "Mad Mike" Metro to come and perform the song. James attempted to contact other members of the Shondells, but they had all moved away, joined the service or gotten married and left the music business altogether.
In April 1966, James went by himself to make promotional appearances for the Pittsburgh radio station in nightclubs and on local television. He recruited a quintet out of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, at the Thunderbird Lounge in Greensburg called the Raconteurs – Joe Kessler (guitar), Ron Rosman (keyboards), George Magura (saxophone), Mike Vale (bass), and Johnnie Hogg (drums) – as the new Shondells. "I had no group, and I had to put one together really fast," recalled James. "I was in a Greensburg, PA club one night, and I walked up to a group that was playing that I thought was pretty good and asked them if they wanted to be the Shondells. They said yes, and off we went."
With a touring group to promote the single, James went to New York City, where he sold the master of "Hanky Panky" to Roulette Records, at which time he changed his last name to James. With national promotion, the single became a No. 1 hit in July 1966. Before long, Kessler and Hogg were forced to leave after a dispute when planned monies were not paid to them by Roulette, a label closely associated with organized crime, and whose head, Morris Levy, was the inspiration for the Herman "Hesh" Rabkin character on The Sopranos. They were replaced by Eddie Gray (guitar) and Peter Lucia (drums); Magura departed as well.
At first, Tommy James and His Shondells played straightforward rock and roll, but soon became involved in the budding bubblegum music movement. In early 1967 songwriter Ritchie Cordell gave them the No. 4 hit "I Think We're Alone Now" and the No. 10 hit "Mirage". In 1968, James had a No. 3 hit with "Mony Mony". Co-written by James, Cordell, Cordell's writing partner Bo Gentry, and Bobby Bloom, "Mony Mony" reached No. 3 in the US and was a British No. 1 in 1968. The title was inspired by a flashing sign for Mutual Of New York visible from James's apartment balcony in New York. He followed it with the song "Do Something to Me". However, James was labeled as a bubblegum pop artist, which he hated. Therefore, he changed his style to psychedelic rock.
From late 1968, the group began writing their own songs, with James and Lucia penning the psychedelic tinged classic "Crimson and Clover". The song was recorded and mixed by Bruce Staple, with James tackling vocal duties and playing many of the instruments himself, and featured the creative use of studio effects such as delay and tremolo. The group had toured with Vice President Hubert Humphrey during his presidential campaign. Humphrey showed his appreciation by writing the liner notes for the "Crimson & Clover" album.
Further hits included "Sweet Cherry Wine", "Crystal Blue Persuasion", and "Ball of Fire", all from 1969. They also produced "Sugar on Sunday", later covered by the Clique. As the band embraced the sounds of psychedelia, they were invited to perform at the Woodstock concert but declined.
The group continued until 1970. At a concert in Birmingham, Alabama in March of that year, an exhausted James collapsed after coming off stage from a reaction to drugs and was actually pronounced dead. He recovered and decided to move to the country to rest and recuperate, and left the band. His four bandmates carried on for a short while under the name of Hog Heaven, recording two albums (one "self titled" on Roulette Records in 1970 and the 2nd (1971) unreleased until 2008), but disbanded soon afterwards.
In a 1970 side project, James wrote and produced the No. 7 hit single "Tighter, Tighter" for the group Alive N Kickin'. James launched a solo career in 1970 that yielded two notable hits over a 10-year span, "Draggin' the Line" (1971) and "Three Times in Love" (1980).
During the 1980s, the group's songbook produced major hits for three other artists: Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' version of "Crimson And Clover" (No. 7 in 1982), Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now" and Billy Idol's "Mony Mony" (back-to-back No. 1 singles in November 1987). Other Shondells covers have been performed by acts as disparate as psychobilly ravers the Cramps, new wave singer Lene Lovich, country music veteran Dolly Parton and the Boston Pops orchestra.
In the mid-1980s, Tommy James began touring in oldies packages with other acts from the 1960s sometimes billed as Tommy James & the Shondells, although he is the group's only original member. A Greenwich Village nightclub appearance was filmed and released as "Tommy James & the Shondells: Live! At The Bitter End". On January 6, 1987, original drummer Peter P. Lucia Jr. died of a heart attack while playing golf at the age of 39.
In 2008, Tommy James and The Shondells were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.
In 2009, James and the surviving Shondells, Gray, Vale and Rosman, reunited to record music for a soundtrack of a proposed film based on James' autobiography, "Me, the Mob, and the Music", released in February 2010. The group still gets together from time to time for special video/TV events and nostalgia shows.
In March 2011, the Tommy James song "I'm Alive" (co-written with Peter Lucia) became a top 20 hit in the Netherlands for UK singer Don Fardon after his version had been used in a Vodafone commercial. The song originally appeared on the Crimson & Clover LP.
In 2012, "Crystal Blue Persuasion" was used in the eighth episode of the fifth season of "Breaking Bad", "Gliding Over All", during a montage depicting the process involved to bring main character Walter White's methamphetamine operation and its signature blue crystal meth to an international level.
In 2015, Gray, Vale and Rosman decided to reunite and form their new group, The Crystal Blue Band. They recruited their longtime friend and drummer Mike Wilps to replace the late Peter Lucia. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30969 |
Tunnel in the Sky
Tunnel in the Sky is a juvenile science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, published in 1955 by Scribner's as one of the Heinlein juveniles. The story describes a group of students sent on a survival test to an uninhabited planet, who soon realise they are stranded there. The themes of the work include the difficulties of growing up and the nature of man as a social animal.
The novel is set in the future, when Malthusian overpopulation on Earth has been averted by the invention of teleportation, called the "Ramsbotham jump," which is used to send Earth's excess population to colonize other planets. However, the costs of operating the device mean that the colonies are isolated from Earth until they can produce something to justify two-way trade. Because modern technology requires a supporting infrastructure, the colonists employ technology from the frontier era (such as horses instead of tractors).
Rod Walker is a high school student who dreams of becoming a professional colonist. The final test of his Advanced Survival class is to stay alive on an unfamiliar planet for between two and ten days. Students may team up and equip themselves with whatever gear they can carry, but they are otherwise completely on their own. They are told only that the challenges are neither insurmountable nor unreasonable. On test day, student walk through the Ramsbotham portal and finds themselves alone on a strange planet but reasonably close to the pickup point. Rod, acting on his older sister's advice, takes hunting knives and basic survival gear, rather than high-tech weaponry, on the grounds that the latter could make him overconfident. The last advice that the students receive is to "watch out for stobor."
On the second day, Rod is ambushed and knocked unconscious by a thief. When he wakes up, all that he has left is a spare knife hidden under a bandage. In his desperate concentration on survival, he loses track of time. Eventually, he teams up with Jacqueline "Jack" Daudet, a student from another class whom he initially mistakes for a male. When she tells him that more than ten days have elapsed without contact, he realizes that something has gone wrong with the portal that was supposed to recover them and that they are stranded.
They start recruiting others to build a settlement for long term survival and Rod becomes the "de facto" leader of a community that eventually grows to around 75 people. Disagreements reveal the need to elect a government for the new town. Rod has no taste for politics or administration and is happy to have Grant Cowper, an older college student and born politician, elected mayor. Grant proves to be much better at talking than at getting things done. Despite disagreeing with many of Grant's policies, Rod supports him. Grant ignores Rod's warning that they are living in a dangerously hard-to-defend location and that they should move to a cave system that he has found. When a species that had been thought to be harmless suddenly changes its behavior and stampedes through their camp, the settlement is devastated and Grant is killed. Rod is put back in charge.
Heinlein tracks the social development of the frontier community of educated Westerners deprived of technology, followed by its abrupt dissolution when contact with Earth is reestablished. After nearly two years of isolation, the culture shock experienced by the survivors highlights for them and the reader the pain and uncertainty of becoming an adult by reversing the process abruptly. Each of the students returns from being a self-responsible member of an autonomous community to being regarded as a youth.
All of the students go back to Earth willingly except for Rod, who has great difficulty reverting from the status of head of a small but sovereign state to a teenager, who is casually brushed aside by the adult rescuers. However, his teacher (and now brother-in-law) and his sister persuade him to change his mind. His teacher also informs Rod that his warning against "stobor" ("robots" spelled backwards) was just a way of personalizing the dangers of an unknown planet to instill fear and caution in the students, as all students receive the same warning, regardless of the planet they are sent to for the final exam.
Years later, Rod is briefly depicted accomplishing his heart's desire. The novel's ending finds him preparing to lead a formal colonization party to another planet.
As in "Lord of the Flies", which had been published a year earlier, isolation reveals the true natures of the students as individuals, but it also demonstrates some of the constants of human existence as a social animal. Its underlying themes run counter to those in "Lord of the Flies", however, in that it shows a belief in the inherent strength of humans as proto-adults who can self-organize rather than descend into barbarism. Some of the students fall victim to their own foolishness, and others turn out to be thugs, but that is a part of human nature, just as the counter-trends take the group as a whole towards the beginnings of a stable society. The numerous political crises of the fledgling colony illustrate the need for legitimacy in a government appropriate for the society it administers, another common theme in Heinlein's books. In both its romanticization of the pioneer and its glorification of "Homo sapiens" as the toughest player in the Darwinian game, it presages themes developed further in books like "Time Enough for Love" and "Starship Troopers". Unusual for science fiction at the time, but quite typical of Heinlein's works, the novel portrays several competent and intelligent female characters.
Heinlein Society member and researcher Robert James has noted that Heinlein wrote a letter in which he "firmly states" that Rod Walker is black. According to James, "The most telling evidence is that everybody in 'Tunnel' expects Rod to end up with Caroline, who is explicitly described as black." In recognition of this, the cover illustration of a Full Cast Audio version of the work was revised to "show Rod with his correct ethnicity."
Rod is at one point referred to by character Jock McGowan as a "cholo", a derogatory term for someone of Latin American ancestry. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30971 |
Jupiter trojan
The Jupiter trojans, commonly called Trojan asteroids or simply Trojans, are a large group of asteroids that share the planet Jupiter's orbit around the Sun. Relative to Jupiter, each Trojan librates around one of Jupiter's stable Lagrange points: either ', lying 60° ahead of the planet in its orbit, or ', 60° behind. Jupiter trojans are distributed in two elongated, curved regions around these Lagrangian points with an average semi-major axis of about 5.2 AU.
The first Jupiter trojan discovered, 588 Achilles, was spotted in 1906 by German astronomer Max Wolf. A total of 7,040 Jupiter trojans have been found . By convention, they are each named from Greek mythology after a figure of the Trojan War, hence the name "Trojan". The total number of Jupiter trojans larger than 1 km in diameter is believed to be about , approximately equal to the number of asteroids larger than 1 km in the asteroid belt. Like main-belt asteroids, Jupiter trojans form families.
As of 2004, many Jupiter trojans showed to observational instruments as dark bodies with reddish, featureless spectra. No firm evidence of the presence of water, or any other specific compound on their surface has been obtained, but it is thought that they are coated in tholins, organic polymers formed by the Sun's radiation. The Jupiter trojans' densities (as measured by studying binaries or rotational lightcurves) vary from 0.8 to 2.5 g·cm−3. Jupiter trojans are thought to have been captured into their orbits during the early stages of the Solar System's formation or slightly later, during the migration of giant planets.
The term "Trojan Asteroid" specifically refers to the asteroids co-orbital with Jupiter, but the general term "trojan" is sometimes more generally applied to other small Solar System bodies with similar relationships to larger bodies: for example, there are both Mars trojans and Neptune trojans, as well as a recently discovered Earth trojan. The term "Trojan asteroid" is normally understood to specifically mean the Jupiter trojans because the first Trojans were discovered near Jupiter's orbit and Jupiter currently has by far the most known Trojans.
In 1772, Italian-born mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange, in studying the restricted three-body problem, predicted that a small body sharing an orbit with a planet but lying 60° ahead or behind it will be trapped near these points. The trapped body will librate slowly around the point of equilibrium in a tadpole or horseshoe orbit. These leading and trailing points are called the and Lagrange points. The first asteroids trapped in Lagrange points were observed more than a century after Lagrange's hypothesis. Those associated with Jupiter were the first to be discovered.
E. E. Barnard made the first recorded observation of a trojan, (identified as A904 RD at the time), in 1904, but neither he nor others appreciated its significance at the time. Barnard believed he had seen the recently discovered Saturnian satellite Phoebe, which was only two arc-minutes away in the sky at the time, or possibly an asteroid. The object's identity was not understood until its orbit was calculated in 1999.
The first accepted discovery of a trojan occurred in February 1906, when astronomer Max Wolf of Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory discovered an asteroid at the Lagrangian point of the Sun–Jupiter system, later named 588 Achilles. In 1906–1907 two more Jupiter trojans were found by fellow German astronomer August Kopff (624 Hektor and 617 Patroclus). Hektor, like Achilles, belonged to the swarm ("ahead" of the planet in its orbit), whereas Patroclus was the first asteroid known to reside at the Lagrangian point ("behind" the planet). By 1938, 11 Jupiter trojans had been detected. This number increased to 14 only in 1961. As instruments improved, the rate of discovery grew rapidly: by January 2000, a total of 257 had been discovered; by May 2003, the number had grown to 1,600. there are 4,601 known Jupiter trojans at and 2,439 at .
The custom of naming all asteroids in Jupiter's and points after famous heroes of the Trojan War was suggested by Johann Palisa of Vienna, who was the first to accurately calculate their orbits.
Asteroids in the leading () orbit are named after Greek heroes (the "Greek node or camp" or "Achilles group"), and those at the trailing () orbit are named after the heroes of Troy (the "Trojan node or camp"). The asteroids 617 Patroclus and 624 Hektor were named before the Greece/Troy rule was devised, resulting in a Greek spy in the Trojan node and a Trojan spy in the Greek node.
Estimates of the total number of Jupiter trojans are based on deep surveys of limited areas of the sky. The swarm is believed to hold between 160,000–240,000 asteroids with diameters larger than 2 km and about 600,000 with diameters larger than 1 km. If the swarm contains a comparable number of objects, there are more than Jupiter trojans 1 km in size or larger. For the objects brighter than absolute magnitude 9.0 the population is probably complete. These numbers are similar to that of comparable asteroids in the asteroid belt. The total mass of the Jupiter trojans is estimated at 0.0001 of the mass of Earth or one-fifth of the mass of the asteroid belt.
Two more recent studies indicate that the above numbers may overestimate the number of Jupiter trojans by several-fold. This overestimate is caused by (1) the assumption that all Jupiter trojans have a low albedo of about 0.04, whereas small bodies may have an average albedo as high as 0.12; (2) an incorrect assumption about the distribution of Jupiter trojans in the sky. According to the new estimates, the total number of Jupiter trojans with a diameter larger than 2 km is and in the L4 and L5 swarms, respectively. These numbers would be reduced by a factor of 2 if small Jupiter trojans are more reflective than large ones.
The number of Jupiter trojans observed in the swarm is slightly larger than that observed in . Because the brightest Jupiter trojans show little variation in numbers between the two populations, this disparity is probably due to observational bias. Some models indicate that the swarm may be slightly more stable than the swarm.
The largest Jupiter trojan is 624 Hektor, which has an mean diameter of 203 ± 3.6 km. There are few large Jupiter trojans in comparison to the overall population. With decreasing size, the number of Jupiter trojans grows very quickly down to 84 km, much more so than in the asteroid belt. A diameter of 84 km corresponds to an absolute magnitude of 9.5, assuming an albedo of 0.04. Within the 4.4–40 km range the Jupiter trojans' size distribution resembles that of the main-belt asteroids. Nothing is known about the masses of the smaller Jupiter trojans. The size distribution suggests that the smaller Trojans may be the products of collisions by larger Jupiter trojans.
Jupiter trojans have orbits with radii between 5.05 and 5.35 AU (the mean semi-major axis is 5.2 ± 0.15 AU), and are distributed throughout elongated, curved regions around the two Lagrangian points; each swarm stretches for about 26° along the orbit of Jupiter, amounting to a total distance of about 2.5 AU. The width of the swarms approximately equals two Hill's radii, which in the case of Jupiter amounts to about 0.6 AU. Many of Jupiter trojans have large orbital inclinations relative to Jupiter's orbital plane—up to 40°.
Jupiter trojans do not maintain a fixed separation from Jupiter. They slowly librate around their respective equilibrium points, periodically moving closer to Jupiter or farther from it. Jupiter trojans generally follow paths called tadpole orbits around the Lagrangian points; the average period of their libration is about 150 years. The amplitude of the libration (along the Jovian orbit) varies from 0.6° to 88°, with the average being about 33°. Simulations show that Jupiter trojans can follow even more complicated trajectories when moving from one Lagrangian point to another—these are called horseshoe orbits (currently no Jupiter Trojan with such an orbit is known).
Discerning dynamical families within the Jupiter trojan population is more difficult than it is in the asteroid belt, because the Jupiter trojans are locked within a far narrower range of possible positions. This means that clusters tend to overlap and merge with the overall swarm. By 2003 roughly a dozen dynamical families were identified. Jupiter-trojan families are much smaller in size than families in the asteroid belt; the largest identified family, the Menelaus group, consists of only eight members.
In 2001, 617 Patroclus was the first Jupiter trojan to be identified as a binary asteroid. The binary's orbit is extremely close, at 650 km, compared to 35,000 km for the primary's Hill sphere. The largest Jupiter trojan—624 Hektor— is probably a contact binary with a moonlet.
Jupiter trojans are dark bodies of irregular shape. Their geometric albedos generally vary between 3 and 10%. The average value is 0.056 ± 0.003 for the objects larger than 57 km, and 0.121 ± 0.003 (R-band) for those smaller than 25 km. The asteroid 4709 Ennomos has the highest albedo (0.18) of all known Jupiter trojans. Little is known about the masses, chemical composition, rotation or other physical properties of the Jupiter trojans.
The rotational properties of Jupiter trojans are not well known. Analysis of the rotational light curves of 72 Jupiter trojans gave an average rotational period of about 11.2 hours, whereas the average period of the control sample of asteroids in the asteroid belt was 10.6 hours. The distribution of the rotational periods of Jupiter trojans appeared to be well approximated by a Maxwellian function, whereas the distribution for main-belt asteroids was found to be non-Maxwellian, with a deficit of periods in the range 8–10 hours. The Maxwellian distribution of the rotational periods of Jupiter trojans may indicate that they have undergone a stronger collisional evolution compared to the asteroid belt.
In 2008 a team from Calvin College examined the light curves of a debiased sample of ten Jupiter trojans, and found a median spin period of 18.9 hours. This value was significantly higher than that for main-belt asteroids of similar size (11.5 hours). The difference could mean that the Jupiter trojans possess a lower average density, which may imply that they formed in the Kuiper belt (see below).
Spectroscopically, the Jupiter trojans mostly are D-type asteroids, which predominate in the outer regions of the asteroid belt. A small number are classified as P or C-type asteroids. Their spectra are red (meaning that they reflect more light at longer wavelengths) or neutral and featureless. No firm evidence of water, organics or other chemical compounds has been obtained . 4709 Ennomos has an albedo slightly higher than the Jupiter-trojan average, which may indicate the presence of water ice. Some other Jupiter Trojans, such as 911 Agamemnon and 617 Patroclus, have shown very weak absorptions at 1.7 and 2.3 μm, which might indicate the presence of organics. The Jupiter trojans' spectra are similar to those of the irregular moons of Jupiter and, to a certain extent, comet nuclei, though Jupiter trojans are spectrally very different from the redder Kuiper belt objects. A Jupiter trojan's spectrum can be matched to a mixture of water ice, a large amount of carbon-rich material (charcoal), and possibly magnesium-rich silicates. The composition of the Jupiter trojan population appears to be markedly uniform, with little or no differentiation between the two swarms.
A team from the Keck Observatory in Hawaii announced in 2006 that it had measured the density of the binary Jupiter trojan 617 Patroclus as being less than that of water ice (0.8 g/cm3), suggesting that the pair, and possibly many other Trojan objects, more closely resemble comets or Kuiper belt objects in composition—water ice with a layer of dust—than they do the main-belt asteroids. Countering this argument, the density of Hektor as determined from its rotational lightcurve (2.480 g/cm3) is significantly higher than that of 617 Patroclus. Such a difference in densities suggests that density may not be a good indicator of asteroid origin.
Two main theories have emerged to explain the formation and evolution of the Jupiter trojans. The first suggests that the Jupiter trojans formed in the same part of the Solar System as Jupiter and entered their orbits while it was forming. The last stage of Jupiter's formation involved runaway growth of its mass through the accretion of large amounts of hydrogen and helium from the protoplanetary disk; during this growth, which lasted for only about 10,000 years, the mass of Jupiter increased by a factor of ten. The planetesimals that had approximately the same orbits as Jupiter were caught by the increased gravity of the planet. The capture mechanism was very efficient—about 50% of all remaining planetesimals were trapped. This hypothesis has two major problems: the number of trapped bodies exceeds the observed population of Jupiter trojans by four orders of magnitude, and the present Jupiter trojan asteroids have larger orbital inclinations than are predicted by the capture model. Simulations of this scenario show that such a mode of formation also would inhibit the creation of similar trojans for Saturn, and this has been borne out by observation: to date no trojans have been found near Saturn. In a variation of this theory Jupiter captures trojans during its initial growth then migrates as it continues to grow. During Jupiter's migration the orbits of objects in horseshoe orbits are distorted causing the L4 side of these orbits to be over occupied. As a result, an excess of trojans is trapped on the L4 side when the horseshoe orbits shift to tadpole orbits as Jupiter grows. This model also leaves the Jupiter trojan population 3–4 orders of magnitude too large.
The second theory proposes that the Jupiter trojans were captured during the migration of the giant planets described in the Nice model. In the Nice model the orbits of the giant planets became unstable years after the Solar System's formation when Jupiter and Saturn crossed their 1:2 mean-motion resonance. Encounters between planets resulted in Uranus and Neptune being scattered outward into the primordial Kuiper belt, disrupting it and throwing millions of objects inward. When Jupiter and Saturn were near their 1:2 resonance the orbits of pre-existing Jupiter trojans became unstable during a secondary resonance with Jupiter and Saturn. This occurred when the period of the trojans' libration about their Lagrangian point had a 3:1 ratio to the period at which the position where Jupiter passes Saturn circulated relative to its perihelion. This process was also reversible allowing a fraction of the numerous objects scattered inward by Uranus and Neptune to enter this region and be captured as Jupiter's and Saturn's orbits separated. These new trojans had a wide range of inclinations, the result of multiple encounters with the giant planets before being captured. This process can also occur later when Jupiter and Saturn cross weaker resonances.
In a revised version of the Nice model Jupiter trojans are captured when Jupiter encounters an ice giant during the instability. In this version of the Nice model one of the ice giants (Uranus, Neptune, or a lost fifth planet) is scattered inward onto a Jupiter-crossing orbit and is scattered outward by Jupiter causing the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn to quickly separate. When Jupiter's semi-major axis jumps during these encounters existing Jupiter trojans can escape and new objects with semi-major axes similar to Jupiter's new semi-major axis are captured. Following its last encounter the ice giant can pass through one of the libration points and perturb their orbits leaving this libration point depleted relative to the other. After the encounters end some of these Jupiter trojans are lost and others captured when Jupiter and Saturn are near weak mean motion resonances such as the 3:7 resonance via the mechanism of the original Nice model.
The long-term future of the Jupiter trojans is open to question, because multiple weak resonances with Jupiter and Saturn cause them to behave chaotically over time. Collisional shattering slowly depletes the Jupiter trojan population as fragments are ejected. Ejected Jupiter trojans could become temporary satellites of Jupiter or Jupiter-family comets. Simulations show that the orbits of up to 17% of Jupiter trojans are unstable over the age of the Solar System. Levison et al. believe that roughly 200 ejected Jupiter trojans greater than 1 km in diameter might be travelling the Solar System, with a few possibly on Earth-crossing orbits. Some of the escaped Jupiter trojans may become Jupiter-family comets as they approach the Sun and their surface ice begins evaporating.
On 4 January 2017 NASA announced that Lucy was selected as one of their next two Discovery Program missions. Lucy is set to explore six Jupiter trojans. It is scheduled for launch in 2021 and will arrive at the Trojan cloud in 2027 after a fly-by of a main-belt asteroid. It will then return to the vicinity of Earth for a gravity assist to take it to Jupiter's Trojan cloud where it will visit 617 Patroclus.
The Japanese space agency has proposed the OKEANOS solar sail for the late 2020s to either analyse a Trojan asteroid "in situ" or to perform a sample-return mission. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30972 |
Theorem
In mathematics, a theorem is a non-self-evident statement that has been proven to be true, either on the basis of generally accepted statements such as axioms or on the basis of previously established statements such as other theorems. A theorem is hence a logical consequence of the axioms, with a proof of the theorem being a logical argument which establishes its truth through the inference rules of a deductive system. As a result, the proof of a theorem is often interpreted as justification of the truth of the theorem statement. In light of the requirement that theorems be proved, the concept of a theorem is fundamentally "deductive", in contrast to the notion of a scientific law, which is "experimental".
Many mathematical theorems are conditional statements, whose proof deduces the conclusion from conditions known as hypotheses or premises. In light of the interpretation of proof as justification of truth, the conclusion is often viewed as a necessary consequence of the hypotheses. Namely, that the conclusion is true in case the hypotheses are true—without any further assumptions. However, the conditional could also be interpreted differently in certain deductive systems, depending on the meanings assigned to the derivation rules and the conditional symbol (e.g., non-classical logic).
Although theorems can be written in a completely symbolic form (e.g., as propositions in propositional calculus), they are often expressed informally in a natural language such as English for better readability. The same is true of proofs, which are often expressed as logically organized and clearly worded informal arguments, intended to convince readers of the truth of the statement of the theorem beyond any doubt, and from which a formal symbolic proof can in principle be constructed.
In addition to the better readability, informal arguments are typically easier to check than purely symbolic ones—indeed, many mathematicians would express a preference for a proof that not only demonstrates the validity of a theorem, but also explains in some way "why" it is obviously true. In some cases, one might even be able to substantiate a theorem by using a picture as its proof.
Because theorems lie at the core of mathematics, they are also central to its aesthetics. Theorems are often described as being "trivial", or "difficult", or "deep", or even "beautiful". These subjective judgments vary not only from person to person, but also with time and culture: for example, as a proof is obtained, simplified or better understood, a theorem that was once difficult may become trivial. On the other hand, a deep theorem may be stated simply, but its proof may involve surprising and subtle connections between disparate areas of mathematics. Fermat's Last Theorem is a particularly well-known example of such a theorem.
Logically, many theorems are of the form of an indicative conditional: "if A, then B". Such a theorem does not assert "B"—only that "B" is a necessary consequence of "A". In this case, "A" is called the hypothesis of the theorem ("hypothesis" here means something very different from a conjecture), and "B" the conclusion of the theorem. Alternatively, "A" and "B" can be also termed the "antecedent" and the "consequent", respectively. The theorem "If "n" is an even natural number, then "n"/2 is a natural number" is a typical example in which the hypothesis is ""n" is an even natural number", and the conclusion is ""n"/2 is also a natural number".
In order for a theorem be proved, it must be in principle expressible as a precise, formal statement. However, theorems are usually expressed in natural language rather than in a completely symbolic form—with the presumption that a formal statement can be derived from the informal one.
It is common in mathematics to choose a number of hypotheses within a given language and declare that the theory consists of all statements provable from these hypotheses. These hypotheses form the foundational basis of the theory and are called axioms or postulates. The field of mathematics known as proof theory studies formal languages, axioms and the structure of proofs.
Some theorems are "trivial", in the sense that they follow from definitions, axioms, and other theorems in obvious ways and do not contain any surprising insights. Some, on the other hand, may be called "deep", because their proofs may be long and difficult, involve areas of mathematics superficially distinct from the statement of the theorem itself, or show surprising connections between disparate areas of mathematics. A theorem might be simple to state and yet be deep. An excellent example is Fermat's Last Theorem, and there are many other examples of simple yet deep theorems in number theory and combinatorics, among other areas.
Other theorems have a known proof that cannot easily be written down. The most prominent examples are the four color theorem and the Kepler conjecture. Both of these theorems are only known to be true by reducing them to a computational search that is then verified by a computer program. Initially, many mathematicians did not accept this form of proof, but it has become more widely accepted. The mathematician Doron Zeilberger has even gone so far as to claim that these are possibly the only nontrivial results that mathematicians have ever proved. Many mathematical theorems can be reduced to more straightforward computation, including polynomial identities, trigonometric identities and hypergeometric identities.
To establish a mathematical statement as a theorem, a proof is required. That is, a valid line of reasoning from the axioms and other already-established theorems to the given statement must be demonstrated. In general, the proof is considered to be separate from the theorem statement itself. This is in part because while more than one proof may be known for a single theorem, only one proof is required to establish the status of a statement as a theorem. The Pythagorean theorem and the law of quadratic reciprocity are contenders for the title of theorem with the greatest number of distinct proofs.
Theorems in mathematics and theories in science are fundamentally different in their epistemology. A scientific theory cannot be proved; its key attribute is that it is falsifiable, that is, it makes predictions about the natural world that are testable by experiments. Any disagreement between prediction and experiment demonstrates the incorrectness of the scientific theory, or at least limits its accuracy or domain of validity. Mathematical theorems, on the other hand, are purely abstract formal statements: the proof of a theorem cannot involve experiments or other empirical evidence in the same way such evidence is used to support scientific theories.
Nonetheless, there is some degree of empiricism and data collection involved in the discovery of mathematical theorems. By establishing a pattern, sometimes with the use of a powerful computer, mathematicians may have an idea of what to prove, and in some cases even a plan for how to set about doing the proof. For example, the Collatz conjecture has been verified for start values up to about 2.88 × 1018. The Riemann hypothesis has been verified for the first 10 trillion zeroes of the zeta function. Neither of these statements is considered proved.
Such evidence does not constitute proof. For example, the Mertens conjecture is a statement about natural numbers that is now known to be false, but no explicit counterexample (i.e., a natural number "n" for which the Mertens function "M"("n") equals or exceeds the square root of "n") is known: all numbers less than 1014 have the Mertens property, and the smallest number that does not have this property is only known to be less than the exponential of 1.59 × 1040, which is approximately 10 to the power 4.3 × 1039. Since the number of particles in the universe is generally considered less than 10 to the power 100 (a googol), there is no hope to find an explicit counterexample by exhaustive search.
The word "theory" also exists in mathematics, to denote a body of mathematical axioms, definitions and theorems, as in, for example, group theory (see mathematical theory). There are also "theorems" in science, particularly physics, and in engineering, but they often have statements and proofs in which physical assumptions and intuition play an important role; the physical axioms on which such "theorems" are based are themselves falsifiable.
A number of different terms for mathematical statements exist; these terms indicate the role statements play in a particular subject. The distinction between different terms is sometimes rather arbitrary and the usage of some terms has evolved over time.
There are other terms, less commonly used, that are conventionally attached to proved statements, so that certain theorems are referred to by historical or customary names. For example:
A few well-known theorems have even more idiosyncratic names. The division algorithm (see Euclidean division) is a theorem expressing the outcome of division in the natural numbers and more general rings. Bézout's identity is a theorem asserting that the greatest common divisor of two numbers may be written as a linear combination of these numbers. The Banach–Tarski paradox is a theorem in measure theory that is paradoxical in the sense that it contradicts common intuitions about volume in three-dimensional space.
A theorem and its proof are typically laid out as follows:
The end of the proof may be signaled by the letters Q.E.D. ("quod erat demonstrandum") or by one of the tombstone marks, such as "□" or "∎", meaning "End of Proof", introduced by Paul Halmos following their use in magazines to mark the end of an article.
The exact style depends on the author or publication. Many publications provide instructions or macros for typesetting in the house style.
It is common for a theorem to be preceded by definitions describing the exact meaning of the terms used in the theorem. It is also common for a theorem to be preceded by a number of propositions or lemmas which are then used in the proof. However, lemmas are sometimes embedded in the proof of a theorem, either with nested proofs, or with their proofs presented after the proof of the theorem.
Corollaries to a theorem are either presented between the theorem and the proof, or directly after the proof. Sometimes, corollaries have proofs of their own that explain why they follow from the theorem.
It has been estimated that over a quarter of a million theorems are proved every year.
The well-known aphorism, , is probably due to Alfréd Rényi, although it is often attributed to Rényi's colleague Paul Erdős (and Rényi may have been thinking of Erdős), who was famous for the many theorems he produced, the number of his collaborations, and his coffee drinking.
The classification of finite simple groups is regarded by some to be the longest proof of a theorem. It comprises tens of thousands of pages in 500 journal articles by some 100 authors. These papers are together believed to give a complete proof, and several ongoing projects hope to shorten and simplify this proof. Another theorem of this type is the four color theorem whose computer generated proof is too long for a human to read. It is among the longest known proofs of a theorem whose statement can be easily understood by a layman.
Logic, especially in the field of proof theory, considers theorems as statements (called formulas or well formed formulas) of a formal language. The statements of the language are strings of symbols and may be broadly divided into nonsense and well-formed formulas. A set of deduction rules, also called transformation rules or rules of inference, must be provided. These deduction rules tell exactly when a formula can be derived from a set of premises. The set of well-formed formulas may be broadly divided into theorems and non-theorems. However, according to Hofstadter, a formal system often simply defines all its well-formed formula as theorems.
Different sets of derivation rules give rise to different interpretations of what it means for an expression to be a theorem. Some derivation rules and formal languages are intended to capture mathematical reasoning; the most common examples use first-order logic. Other deductive systems describe term rewriting, such as the reduction rules for λ calculus.
The definition of theorems as elements of a formal language allows for results in proof theory that study the structure of formal proofs and the structure of provable formulas. The most famous result is Gödel's incompleteness theorems; by representing theorems about basic number theory as expressions in a formal language, and then representing this language within number theory itself, Gödel constructed examples of statements that are neither provable nor disprovable from axiomatizations of number theory.
A theorem may be expressed in a formal language (or "formalized"). A formal theorem is the purely formal analogue of a theorem. In general, a formal theorem is a type of well-formed formula that satisfies certain logical and syntactic conditions. The notation formula_2 is often used to indicate that formula_2 is a theorem.
Formal theorems consist of formulas of a formal language and the transformation rules of a formal system. Specifically, a formal theorem is always the last formula of a derivation in some formal system, each formula of which is a logical consequence of the formulas that came before it in the derivation. The initially-accepted formulas in the derivation are called its axioms, and are the basis on which the theorem is derived. A set of theorems is called a theory.
What makes formal theorems useful and interesting is that they can be interpreted as true propositions and their derivations may be interpreted as a proof of the truth of the resulting expression. A set of formal theorems may be referred to as a formal theory. A theorem whose interpretation is a true statement "about" a formal system (as opposed to "of" a formal system) is called a metatheorem.
The concept of a formal theorem is fundamentally syntactic, in contrast to the notion of a "true proposition," which introduces semantics. Different deductive systems can yield other interpretations, depending on the presumptions of the derivation rules (i.e. belief, justification or other modalities). The soundness of a formal system depends on whether or not all of its theorems are also validities. A validity is a formula that is true under any possible interpretation (for example, in classical propositional logic, validities are tautologies). A formal system is considered semantically complete when all of its theorems are also tautologies.
The notion of a theorem is very closely connected to its formal proof (also called a "derivation"). As an illustration, consider a very simplified formal system formula_4 whose alphabet consists of only two symbols { A, B }, and whose formation rule for formulas is:
The single axiom of formula_4 is:
The only rule of inference (transformation rule) for formula_4 is:
Theorems in formula_4 are defined as those formulas that have a derivation ending with it. For example,
is a derivation. Therefore, "ABBBAB" is a theorem of formula_9 The notion of truth (or falsity) cannot be applied to the formula "ABBBAB" until an interpretation is given to its symbols. Thus in this example, the formula does not yet represent a proposition, but is merely an empty abstraction.
Two metatheorems of formula_4 are: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30977 |
Tool (band)
Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up includes drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist since 1995, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour. Tool has won four Grammy Awards, performed worldwide tours, and produced albums topping the charts in several countries.
To date, the band has released five studio albums, one EP and one box set. They emerged with a heavy metal sound on their first studio album, "Undertow" (1993), and became a dominant act in the alternative metal movement with the release of their follow-up album "Ænima" in 1996. Their efforts to unify musical experimentation, visual arts, and a message of personal evolution continued with "Lateralus" (2001) and "10,000 Days" (2006), gaining critical acclaim and international commercial success. Their fifth studio album, "Fear Inoculum", their first in thirteen years, was released on August 30, 2019 to widespread critical acclaim. Prior to its release, the band had sold over 13 million albums in the US alone.
Due to Tool's incorporation of visual arts and very long and complex releases, the band is generally described as a style-transcending act and part of progressive rock, psychedelic rock, and art rock. The relationship between the band and today's music industry is ambivalent, at times marked by censorship, and the band's insistence on privacy.
During the 1980s, each of the future members of Tool moved to Los Angeles. Both Paul D'Amour and Adam Jones wanted to enter the film industry, while Maynard James Keenan found employment remodeling pet stores after having studied visual arts in Michigan. Danny Carey and Keenan performed for Green Jellÿ, and Carey played with Carole King and Pigmy Love Circus.
Keenan and Jones met through a mutual friend in 1989. After Keenan played a tape recording for Jones of his previous band project, Jones was so impressed by his voice that he eventually talked his friend into forming their own band. They started jamming together and were on the lookout for a drummer and a bass player. Carey happened to live above Keenan and was introduced to Jones by Tom Morello, an old high school friend of Jones and former member of Electric Sheep. Carey began playing in their sessions because he "felt kinda sorry for them," as other invited musicians were not showing up. Tool's lineup was completed when a friend of Jones introduced them to bassist D'Amour. Early on, the band fabricated the story that they formed because of the pseudophilosophy "lachrymology". Although "lachrymology" was also cited as an inspiration for the band's name, Keenan later explained their intentions differently: "Tool is exactly what it sounds like: It's a big dick. It's a wrench. ... we are ... your tool; use us as a catalyst in your process of finding out whatever it is you need to find out, or whatever it is you're trying to achieve."
After almost two years of practicing and performing locally in the Los Angeles area, the band was approached by record companies, and eventually signed a record deal with Zoo Entertainment. In March 1992, Zoo released the band's first effort, "Opiate". Described by the band as "slam and bang" heavy music and the "hardest sounding" six songs they had written to that point, the EP included the singles "Hush" and "Opiate". The band's first music video, "Hush", promoted their dissenting views about the then-prominent Parents Music Resource Center and its advocacy of the censorship of music. The video featured the band members naked with their genitalia covered by Parental Advisory stickers and their mouths covered by duct tape. The band began touring with Rollins Band, Fishbone, Rage Against the Machine, White Zombie, and Corrosion of Conformity, to positive responses, which Janiss Garza of "RIP Magazine" summarized in September 1992 as a "buzz" and "a strong start".
The following year, at a time when alternative rock and grunge were at their height, Tool released their first full-length album, "Undertow" (1993). It expressed more diverse dynamics than "Opiate" and included songs the band had chosen not to publish on their previous release, when they had opted for a heavier sound. The band began touring again as planned, with an exception in May 1993. Tool was scheduled to play at the Garden Pavilion in Hollywood but learned at the last minute that the venue belonged to the Church of Scientology, which was perceived as a clash with "the band's ethics about how a person should not follow a belief system that constricts their development as a human being." Keenan "spent most of the show baa-ing like a sheep at the audience."
Tool later played several concerts during the Lollapalooza festival tour, and were moved from the second stage to the main stage by their manager and the festival co-founder Ted Gardner. At the last concert of Lollapalooza in Tool's hometown Los Angeles, comedian Bill Hicks introduced the band. Hicks had become a friend of the band members and an influence on them after being mentioned in "Undertow"'s liner notes. He jokingly asked the audience of 10,000 people to stand still and help him look for a lost contact lens. The boost in popularity gained from these concerts helped "Undertow" to be certified gold by the RIAA in September 1993 and to achieve platinum status in 1995, despite being sold with censored album artwork by distributors such as Wal-Mart. The single "Sober" became a hit single by March 1994 and won the band Billboard's "Best Video by a New Artist" award for the accompanying stop motion music video.
With the release of Tool's follow-up single "Prison Sex", the band again became the target of censorship. The song's lyrics and video dealt with child abuse, which sparked controversial reactions; Keenan's lyrics begin with: "It took so long to remember just what happened. I was so young and vestal then, you know it hurt me, but I'm breathing so I guess I'm still alive ... I've got my hands bound and my head down and my eyes closed and my throat wide open." The video was created primarily by guitarist Adam Jones, who saw it as his "surrealistic interpretation" of the subject matter. While some contemporary journalists praised the video and described the lyrics as "metaphoric", the American branch of MuchMusic (which asked Keenan to represent the band in a hearing) deemed the music video too graphic and obscene, and MTV stopped airing it after a few showings.
In September 1995, the band started writing and recording their second studio album. At that time Tool experienced its only lineup change to date, with bassist D'Amour leaving the band amicably to pursue other projects. According to Carey, D'Amour left the band because he wanted to play guitar rather than bass. Justin Chancellor, a member of former tourmates Peach, eventually replaced D'Amour during the recording of the album, having been chosen over competitors such as Kyuss's Scott Reeder, Filter's Frank Cavanaugh, Pigmy Love Circus's E. Shepherd Stevenson, Jane's Addiction's Eric Avery and ZAUM's Marco Fox.
On September 17, 1996, Tool released their second full-length album, "Ænima" ("ON-ima"). The band enlisted the help of producer David Bottrill, who had produced some of King Crimson's albums, while Jones collaborated with Cam de Leon to create "Ænima"s Grammy-nominated artwork. The album was dedicated to stand-up comedian Bill Hicks, who died two and a half years earlier. The band intended to raise awareness about Hicks's material and ideas, because they felt that Tool and Hicks "were resonating similar concepts". In particular, "Ænima"'s final track "Third Eye" is preceded by a clip of Hicks' performances, and the lenticular casing of the "Ænima" album packaging as well as the chorus of the title track "Ænema" make reference to a sketch from Hicks's "Arizona Bay", in which he contemplates the idea of Los Angeles falling into the Pacific Ocean.
The first single, "Stinkfist", garnered limited airplay. It was shortened by radio programmers, MTV (U.S.) renamed the music video of "Stinkfist" to "Track No. 1" due to offensive connotations, and the lyrics of the song were altered. Responding to fan complaints about censorship, Matt Pinfield of MTV's "120 Minutes" expressed regret on air by waving his fist in front of his face while introducing the video and explaining the name change.
A tour began in October 1996, two weeks after "Ænima"'s release. Following numerous appearances in the United States and Europe, Tool headed for Australia and New Zealand in late March 1997. Eventually returning to the United States, Tool appeared at Lollapalooza '97 in July, this time as a headliner, where they gained critical praise from "The New York Times". "Ænima" eventually matched Tool's successful debut album in sales, and the progressive-influenced album landed the band at the head of the alternative metal genre. It featured the Grammy Award-winning "Ænema" and appeared on several "Best Albums of 1996" lists, with notable examples being those of "Kerrang!" and "Terrorizer". It was eventually certified triple platinum by the RIAA on March 4, 2003.
Two legal battles then began that interfered with the band's working on another release. Volcano Entertainment—the successor of Tool's by-then defunct label Zoo Entertainment—alleged contract violations by Tool and filed a lawsuit. According to Volcano, Tool had violated their contract when the band looked at offers from other record labels. After Tool filed a counter-suit stating that Volcano had failed to use a renewal option in their contract, the parties settled out of court. In December 1998 Tool agreed to a new contract, a three-record joint venture deal. Then in 2000, the band dismissed their long-time manager Ted Gardner, who then sued the band over his commission.During this time, Keenan joined the band A Perfect Circle, which was founded by long-time Tool guitar tech Billy Howerdel, while Jones joined The Melvins' Buzz Osborne and Carey drummed with Dead Kennedys' Jello Biafra on side projects. Although there were rumors that Tool was breaking up, Chancellor, Jones, and Carey were working on new material while waiting for Keenan to return. In 2000, the "Salival" box set (CD/VHS or CD/DVD) was released, effectively putting an end to the rumors. The CD contained one new original track, a cover of Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter", a live version of Peach's "You Lied", and revised versions of old songs. The VHS and the DVD each contained four music videos, plus a bonus music video for "Hush" on the DVD. Although "Salival" did not yield any singles, the hidden track "Maynard's Dick" (which dates back to the "Opiate" era) briefly found its way to FM radio when several DJs chose to play it on air under the title "Maynard's Dead".
In January 2001, Tool announced a new album, "Systema Encéphale", along with a 12-song track list containing titles such as "Riverchrist", "Numbereft", "Encephatalis", "Musick", and "Coeliacus". File-sharing networks such as Napster were flooded with bogus files bearing the titles' names. A month later, the band revealed that the new album was actually titled "Lateralus"; the name "Systema Encéphale" and the track list had been a ruse. "Lateralus" and the corresponding tours would take Tool a step further toward art rock and progressive rock territory. "Rolling Stone" wrote in an attempt to summarize the album that "Drums, bass and guitars move in jarring cycles of hyperhowl and near-silent death march ... The prolonged running times of most of "Lateralus" thirteen tracks are misleading; the entire album rolls and stomps with suitelike purpose." Joshua Klein of "The A.V. Club" expressed his opinion that "Lateralus", with its 79 minutes and relatively complex and long songs—topped by the ten-and-a-half-minute music video for "Parabola"—posed a challenge to fans and music programming alike.
The album became a worldwide success, reaching No.1 on the U.S. "Billboard" 200 albums chart in its debut week. Tool received their second Grammy Award for the best metal performance of 2001 for the song "Schism". During the band's acceptance speech, Carey stated that he would like to thank his parents (for putting up with him) and Satan, and bassist Chancellor concluded: "I want to thank my dad for doing my mom."
Extensive touring throughout 2001 and 2002 supported "Lateralus" and included a personal highlight for the band: a 10-show joint mini-tour with King Crimson in August 2001. Comparisons between the two were made, MTV describing the bands as "the once and future kings of progressive rock". Keenan stated of the minitour: "For me, being on stage with King Crimson is like Lenny Kravitz playing with Led Zeppelin, or Britney Spears onstage with Debbie Gibson." Although the end of the tour in November 2002 seemed to signal the start of another hiatus for the band, they did not become completely inactive. While Keenan recorded and toured with A Perfect Circle, the other band members released an interview and a recording of new material, both exclusive to the fan club. The "double vinyl four-picture disc" edition of "Lateralus" was first released as a limited autographed edition exclusively available to fan club members and publicly released on August 23, 2005. On December 20 the two DVDs were released, one containing the single "Schism" and the other "Parabola", a remix by Lustmord, and a music video with commentary by David Yow and Jello Biafra.
Fifteen years into the band's career, Tool had acquired what Dan Epstein of "Revolver" described as a devoted "cult" following, and as details about the band's next album emerged, such as the influence of "Lateralus" tourmates Fantômas and Meshuggah, controversy surrounding the new Tool album surfaced with speculation over song titles and pre-release rumors of leaked songs. Speculation over possible album titles was dismissed with a news item on the official Tool website, announcing that the new album's name was "10,000 Days". Nevertheless, speculation continued, with allegations that "10,000 Days" was merely a "decoy" album to fool audiences. The rumor was proven false when a leaked copy of the album was distributed via filesharing networks a week prior to its official release.
The album opener, "Vicarious", premiered on U.S. radio stations on April 17, 2006. The album premiered on May 2 in the U.S. and debuted at the top spots of various international charts. "10,000 Days" sold 564,000 copies in its opening week in the U.S. and was number one on the "Billboard" 200 charts, doubling the sales of Pearl Jam's self-titled album, its closest competitor. However, "10,000 Days" was received less favorably by critics than its predecessor "Lateralus" had been.
Prior to the release of "10,000 Days", a tour kicked off at Coachella on April 30. The touring schedule was similar to the "Lateralus" tour of 2001; supporting acts were Isis and Mastodon. During a short break early the next year, after touring Australia and New Zealand, drummer Carey suffered a biceps tear during a skirmish with his girlfriend's dog, casting uncertainty on the band's upcoming concerts in North America. Carey underwent surgery on February 21 and several performances had to be postponed. Back on tour by April, Tool appeared on June 15 as a headliner at the Bonnaroo Music Festival with a guest appearance from Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello on "Lateralus". Meanwhile, "Vicarious" was a nominee for Best Hard Rock Performance and "10,000 Days" won Best Recording Package at the 49th Grammy Awards. The music video for "Vicarious" was released on DVD on December 18. The band's 2009 summer tour began on July 18 in Commerce City, Colorado, at the Mile High Music Festival. They headlined Lollapalooza 2009 and a show on August 22 for the Epicenter Festival in Pomona, California.
Their Tool Winter Tour played dates across the U.S. and Canada in January and February 2012. The band played at Ozzfest Japan on May 12, 2013. On July 15, 2014, Carey and Jones informed "Rolling Stone" that family commitments and an ongoing lawsuit are the key reasons for the delayed fifth album. Carey said to the music publication that one untitled track is "pretty much done". In March 2015, Jones revealed that the lawsuit had been settled in the band's favor, and as such, the band was turning their focus towards recording the album. He said that he hoped the album would be finished before the end of 2015 but emphasized that the band would not rush their work to meet an arbitrary deadline. In January 2016, Tool undertook a tour of the United States. While it was reported in February 2017 that Keenan had entered the studio to work on vocals for the fifth Tool album, it was later reported that the album was not scheduled for release in 2017. Still, the band announced a North American tour starting in May. A month later, Chancellor revealed that the new Tool album was "about 90-percent there", while Carey claimed in separate interviews that it would "definitely" be released in 2018. In February 2018, Jones revealed that Keenan was working on lyrics for the album, and that the band would begin recording in March. In June 2018, during his acceptance speech for the Icon Award at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards, Keenan stated "I'll go on record now saying you're gonna see some new music next year."
On September 11, 2018, Keenan announced via Twitter that production on the record was progressing and that vocals had been written, before suggesting a 2019 release. In January 2019, Keenan announced that he had completed recording his vocals for the album "months ago." While Carey mentioned aiming for a mid-April release date, Keenan later explained that between May and July was a more realistic time frame to wrap up production and release the album. On May 5, 2019, the band debuted two new songs live at the Welcome to Rockville Festival in Jacksonville, Florida called "Descending" and "Invincible". Three days later, it was confirmed that the band's new album is scheduled to be released on August 30, 2019. On July 29, 2019, Keenan confirmed the album would be titled "Fear Inoculum". The album's title track was released as a single on August 7, the band's first release in 13 years.
On August 2, the entirety of Tool's discography (with the exception of "Salival") became available on digital streaming platforms. Tool was one of the last major holdouts to release their music digitally, as their record deal was signed before the rise in streaming and not revisited until before "Fear Inoculum". The release of the discography online resulted in every release re-charting on several international charts and the band breaking several "Billboard" chart records. "Fear Inoculum" was officially launched on August 30 and became their third U.S. number one.
On January 26, 2020 the band won the Best Metal Performance for their song "7empest" at the 62nd Grammy Awards Their other nomination, the song "Fear Inoculum" lost the Best Rock Song category to Gary Clark Jr.
In June 2020, the band announced that it will cancel its upcoming 2020 North American tour entirely, after initially postponing a handful of dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tool was described by Patrick Donovan of "The Age" as "the thinking person's metal band. Cerebral and visceral, soft and heavy, melodic and abrasive, tender and brutal, familiar and strange, western and eastern, beautiful and ugly, taut yet sprawling and epic, they are a tangle of contradictions." Tool has gained critical praise from the "International Herald Tribune"s C.B. Liddell for their complex and ever-evolving sound. Describing their general sound, AllMusic refers to them as "grinding, post-Jane's Addiction heavy metal", and "The New York Times" sees similarities to "Led Zeppelin's heaving, battering guitar riffs and Middle Eastern modes". Their 2001 work "Lateralus" was compared by Allmusic to Pink Floyd's "Meddle" (1971), but thirty years later and altered by "Tool's impulse to cram every inch of infinity with hard guitar meat and absolute dread". Tool had been labelled as post-metal in 1993 and 1996, as well as in 2006, after the term came into popularity.
A component of Tool's song repertoire relies on the use of unusual time signatures. For instance, Chancellor describes the time signature employed on the first single from "Lateralus", "Schism", as "six" and "six-and-a-half" and that it later "goes into all kinds of other times". Further examples include the album's title track, which also displays shifting rhythms, as do "10,000 Days": "Wings for Marie (Pt 1)" and "10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2)"."
Beyond this aspect of the band's sound, each band member experiments within his wide musical scope. "Bass Player" magazine described Chancellor's bass playing as having a "thick midrange tone, guitar-style techniques, and elastic versatility". As an example of this, the magazine mentioned the use of a wah effect by hammering "the notes with the left hand and using the bass's tone controls to get a tone sweep", such as on the song "The Patient", from "Lateralus".
Completing the band's rhythm section, drummer Carey uses polyrhythms, tabla-style techniques, and the incorporation of custom electronic drum pads to trigger samples, such as prerecorded tabla and octoban sounds.
Keenan's ability as a vocalist has been characterized more subjectively by the "Seattle Post-Intelligencer": After his performance during an Alice in Chains reunion concert in 2005, freelancer Travis Hay saw him as "a natural fit at replacing Layne Staley". Regarding his role in A Perfect Circle and Tool, "The New York Times" wrote that "both groups rely on Mr. Keenan's ability to dignify emotions like lust, anger and disgust, the honey in his voice adding a touch of profundity".
According to "Guitar Player" magazine, Jones does not rely on any one particular guitar-playing technique but rather combines many techniques. For example, Allmusic wrote that he "alternately utiliz[es] power chords, scratchy noise, chiming arpeggios, and a quiet minimalism" in "Sober". Additionally, the band uses forms of instrumental experimentation, like the use of a "pipe bomb microphone" (a guitar pickup mounted inside a brass cylinder) and a talk box guitar solo on "Jambi".
The band puts an emphasis on the sound of their songs and attempts to reduce the effect lyrics can have on the perception of songs by not releasing song lyrics with their albums, although they eventually released the lyrics for "Fear Inoculum" for that album's CD. Lyrical arrangements are often given special attention, such as in "Lateralus". The number of syllables per line in the lyrics to "Lateralus" correspond to an arrangement of the Fibonacci numbers and the song "Jambi" uses and makes a reference to the common metrical foot iamb. The lyrics on "Ænima" and "Lateralus" focus on philosophy and spirituality—specific subjects range from organized religion in "Opiate", to evolution and Jungian psychology in "Forty-Six & 2" and transcendence in "Lateralus". On "10,000 Days", Keenan wanted to explore issues more personal to him: the album name and title track refer to the twenty-seven years during which his mother suffered from complications of a stroke until her death in 2003.
The band has named the group Melvins as an influence on its development, but the most-publicized influence is progressive rock pioneer group King Crimson. Longtime King Crimson member Robert Fripp has downplayed any influence his band had on Tool. In an interview, Fripp touched on how the two bands relate to each other, stating "Do you hear the influence? There's just one figure where I hear an influence, just one. It was a piece we were developing that we dropped. And it's almost exactly the same figure: three note arpeggio with a particular accent from the guitar. So I do not think you could have heard it. That's the only thing." He also said, "I happen to be a Tool fan. The members of Tool have been generous enough to suggest that Crimson has been an influence on them. Adam Jones asked me if I could detect it in their music, and I said I couldn’t. I can detect more Tool influence in King Crimson than I can hear King Crimson in Tool." In describing their wide range of styles, critics have noted that they are "influenced as much by Pink Floyd as by the Sex Pistols." Other reported influences of the band include Rush, Helmet, Faith No More, and Jane's Addiction. In a 1993 interview, Adam Jones named Joni Mitchell, King Crimson, Depeche Mode, and country music as being among their influences.
Writers HP Newquist and Rich Maloof attribute to Tool an influence on modern metal in their book "The New Metal Masters". Sean Richardson of "The Boston Phoenix" sees System of a Down, Deftones, and Korn as examples of Tool's "towering influence" on the genre. Keenan's unique style of singing has been seen as heavily influencing artists such as Pete Loeffler of Chevelle, Benjamin Burnley of Breaking Benjamin, Will Martin of Earshot, and Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit.
Part of Tool's work as a band is to incorporate influences of other works of art in their music videos, live shows, and album packaging. Adam Jones doubles as the band's art director and director of their music videos. Another expression of this is an official website "dedicated to the arts and influences" on the band.
The band has released eight music videos but made personal appearances in only the first two, which the band states is to prevent people from "latching onto the personalities involved rather than listening to the music." With the exception of "Hush" and "Vicarious" all of Tool's music videos feature stop motion animation to some extent. The videos are created primarily by Adam Jones, often in collaboration with artists such as Chet Zar, Alex Grey, and Osseus Labyrint.
The "Sober" music video in particular attracted much attention. Jones explained that it does not contain a storyline, but that his intentions were to summon personal emotions with its imagery. "Rolling Stone" described this imagery as "evil little men dwell in a dark dungeon with meat coursing through pipes in the wall" and called it a "groundbreaking", "epic" clip. "Billboard" voted it "Best Video by a New Artist".
The video for "Vicarious" was released on DVD on December 18, 2007. The video is the first by Tool to be produced entirely through the use of CGI.
Jones is responsible for most of the band's artwork concepts. Their album "Undertow" features a ribcage sculpture by Jones on its cover and photos contributed by the band members. Later albums included artwork by collaborating artists: "Ænima" and "Salival" featured works by Cam de Leon; "Lateralus" and "10,000 Days" were created with the help of Alex Grey. The releases garnered positive critical reception, with a music journalist of the Associated Press attributing to the band a reputation for innovative album packaging.
Both "Ænima" and "10,000 Days" were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Recording Package, but while the former failed to win in 1997, the latter did win in 2007. Jones created packaging for "10,000 Days" that features a pair of stereoscopic lenses for viewing 3-D artwork and photos. Jones, a lifelong fan of stereoscopic photography, wanted the packaging to be unique and to reflect the 1970s artwork he appreciates. The CD packaging for "Fear Inoculum" included a rechargeable 4 inch HD video screen and a speaker which played a hidden track along with a video when opened and also included a 36-page booklet.
Following their first tours in the early 1990s, Tool has performed as a headline act in world tours and major festivals such as Lollapalooza (1997 and 2009), Coachella (1999 and 2006), Voodoo Fest (2001 and 2016), Download Festival (2006 and 2019), Roskilde (2001 and 2006), Big Day Out (2007 and 2011), Bonnaroo (2007), All Points West Music & Arts Festival (2009), and Epicenter (2009). They have been joined on stage by numerous artists such as Buzz Osborne and Scott Reeder on several occasions; Tom Morello and Zack de la Rocha during their 1991 tour; Layne Staley in Hawaii, 1993; Tricky, Robert Fripp, Mike Patton, Dave Lombardo, Brann Dailor of Mastodon, and experimental arts duo Osseus Labyrint during their 2001–02 "Lateralus" tour; and Kirk Hammett, Phil Campbell, Serj Tankian, and Tom Morello during their 2006–07 tour. They have covered songs by Led Zeppelin, Ted Nugent, Peach, Kyuss, the Dead Kennedys, and the Ramones.
Live shows on Tool's headline tour incorporate an unorthodox stage setting and video display. Keenan and Carey line up in the back on elevated platforms, while Jones and Chancellor stand in the front, toward the sides of the stage. Keenan often faces the backdrop or the sides of the stage rather than the audience. No followspots or live cameras are used; instead, the band employs extensive backlighting to direct the focus away from the band members and toward large screens in the back and the crowd. Breckinridge Haggerty, the band's live video designer, says that the resulting dark spaces on stage "are mostly for Maynard". He explains, "[a] lot of the songs are a personal journey for him and he has a hard time with the glare of the lights when he's trying to reproduce these emotions for the audience. He needs a bit of personal space, and he feels more comfortable in the shadows." The big screens are used to play back "looped clips that aren't tracked to a song like a music video. The band has never used any sort of timecode. They’ve always made sure the video can change on-the-fly, in a way that can be improvised. ... The show is never the same twice." During the "10,000 Days" tour, the video material consisted of over six hours of material, created by Jones, his wife Camella Grace, Chet Zar, Meats Meier, and Haggerty. Some of the material created by Zar has been released on his DVD "Disturb the Normal".
Current members
Former members
Grammy Awards | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30978 |
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. Austin has superhuman strength, speed, and vision due to bionic implants and is employed as a secret agent by a fictional U.S. government office titled OSI. The series was based on Martin Caidin's 1972 novel "Cyborg", which was the working title of the series during pre-production.
Following three television pilot movies, which all aired in 1973, "The Six Million Dollar Man" television series aired on the ABC network as a regular episodic series for five seasons from 1974 to 1978. Steve Austin became a pop culture icon of the 1970s.
A spin-off television series, "The Bionic Woman", featuring the lead female character Jaime Sommers, ran from 1976 to 1978. Three television movies featuring both bionic characters were also produced from 1987 to 1994.
When NASA astronaut USAF Colonel Steve Austin is severely injured in the crash of an experimental lifting body aircraft, he is "rebuilt" in an operation that costs $6 million (equivalent to $ million in ). His right arm, both legs and left eye are replaced with "bionic" implants that enhance his strength, speed and vision far above human norms: he can run at speeds of over , and his eye has a 20:1 zoom lens and infrared capabilities, while his bionic limbs all have the equivalent power of a bulldozer. He uses his enhanced abilities to work for the OSI (Office of Scientific Intelligence) as a secret agent.
Caidin's novel "Cyborg" was a best-seller when it was published in 1972. He followed it up with three sequels, "Operation Nuke", "High Crystal", and "Cyborg IV", respectively about a black market in nuclear weapons, a "Chariots of the Gods?" scenario, and fusing Austin's bionic hardware to a spaceplane.
In March 1973, "Cyborg" was loosely adapted as a made-for-TV movie titled "The Six Million Dollar Man" starring Majors as Austin. The producers first choice was Monte Markham. (When re-edited for the later series, it was re-titled "The Moon and the Desert, Parts I and II".) The adaptation was done by writer Howard Rodman, working under the pseudonym of Henri Simoun. The film, which was nominated for a Hugo Award, modified Caidin's plot, and notably made Austin a civilian astronaut rather than a colonel in the United States Air Force. Absent were some of the standard features of the later series: the electronic sound effects, the slow-motion running, and the character of Oscar Goldman. Instead, another character named Oliver Spencer, played by Darren McGavin, was Austin's supervisor, of an organization here called the OSO. (In the novels, "OSO" stood for Office of Special Operations. The CIA did have an Office of Scientific Intelligence in the 1970s.) The lead scientist involved in implanting Austin's bionic hardware, Dr. Rudy Wells, was played in the pilot by Martin Balsam, then on an occasional basis in the series by Alan Oppenheimer, and, finally, as a series regular, by Martin E. Brooks. Austin did not use the enhanced capabilities of his bionic eye during the first TV movie.
The first movie was a major ratings success and was followed by two more made-for-TV movies in October and November 1973 as part of ABC's rotating "Movie of the Week" series. The first was titled "The Six Million Dollar Man: "Wine, Women and War"", and the second was titled "The Six Million Dollar Man: "The Solid Gold Kidnapping"". The first of these two bore strong resemblances to Caidin's second "Cyborg" novel, "Operation Nuke"; the second, however, was an original story. This was followed in January 1974 by the debut of "The Six Million Dollar Man" as a weekly hour-long series. The last two movies, produced by Glen A. Larson, notably introduced a James Bond flavor to the series and reinstated Austin's status from the novels as an Air Force colonel; the hour-long series, produced by Harve Bennett, dispensed with the James Bond-gloss of the movies, and portrayed a more down-to-earth Austin. (Majors said of Austin, "[He] hates...the whole idea of spying. He finds it repugnant, degrading. If he's a James Bond, he's the most reluctant one we've ever had.")
The show was very popular during its run and introduced several pop culture elements of the 1970s, such as the show's opening catchphrase ("We can rebuild him; we have the technology," voiced over by Richard Anderson in his role of Oscar Goldman), the slow motion action sequences, and the accompanying "electronic" sound effects. The slow motion action sequences were originally referred to as ""Kung Fu" slow motion" in popular culture (due to its use in the 1970s martial arts television series).
In 1975, a two-part episode titled "The Bionic Woman", written for television by Kenneth Johnson, introduced the lead character Jaime Sommers (played by Lindsay Wagner), a professional tennis player who rekindled an old romance with Austin, only to experience a parachuting accident that resulted in her being given bionic parts similar to Austin. Ultimately, her body "rejected" her bionic hardware and she died. The character was very popular, however, and the following season it was revealed that she had actually survived, having been saved by an experimental cryogenic procedure, and she was given her own spin-off series, "The Bionic Woman". This spin-off ran until 1978 when both it and "The Six Million Dollar Man" were simultaneously cancelled, though the two series were on different networks when their final seasons aired.
Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers returned in three subsequent made-for-television movies: "The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman" (1987), "" (1989) which featured Sandra Bullock in an early role as a new bionic woman; and "Bionic Ever After?" (1994) in which Austin and Sommers finally marry. Majors reprised the role of Steve Austin in all three productions, which also featured Richard Anderson and Martin E. Brooks, and Lindsay Wagner reprising the role of Jaime Sommers. The reunion films addressed the partial amnesia Sommers had suffered during the original series, and all three featured Majors' son, Lee Majors II, as OSI agent Jim Castillian. The first two movies were written in the anticipation of creating new bionic characters in their own series, but nothing further was seen of the new characters introduced in those produced. The third TV movie was intended as a finale.
The dialogue spoken by actor Lee Majors during the opening credits is based upon communication prior to the M2-F2 crash that occurred on May 10, 1967: ("Flight com, I can't hold her! She's breaking up! She's break—"). Test pilot Bruce Peterson's lifting body aircraft hit the ground at approximately and tumbled six times, but survived what appeared to be a fatal accident, though he later lost an eye due to infection. In the episode "The Deadly Replay", Oscar Goldman refers to the lifting body aircraft in which Austin crashed as the HL-10, stating "We've rebuilt the HL-10." The HL-10 is the aircraft first seen in the original pilot movie prior to the accident flight. In the 1987 TV film "The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman", Austin refers to the craft as the "M3-F5", which was the name used for the aircraft that crashed in the original "Cyborg" novel.
In the opening sequence, a narrator (series producer Harve Bennett) identifies the protagonist, "Steve Austin, astronaut. A man barely alive." Richard Anderson, in character as Oscar Goldman, then intones off-camera, "Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will "be" that man. Better than he was before. Better...stronger...faster." During the first season, beginning with "Population: Zero", Anderson, as Goldman, intoned more simply, "We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better...stronger...faster." During the operation, when he is having his bionics fitted, a list of items and numbers is displayed and lists his power plant as "atomic".
Dusty Springfield, backed by Ron "Escalade" Piscina, sang the theme song written by Glen A. Larson, which was used in the opening and closing credits for the "Wine, Women & War" and "The Solid Gold Kidnapping" telefilms. The song was also used in the promotion of the series, but when the weekly series began the song was replaced by the instrumental theme by Oliver Nelson. The first regular episode, "Population: Zero", introduced a new element to the opening sequence: a voiceover by Oscar Goldman stating the rationale behind creating a bionic man. The first season narration was shorter than that used in the second and subsequent seasons.
To maintain the show's plausibility, producer Kenneth Johnson set very specific limits on Steve Austin's abilities. He elaborated, "When you’re dealing with the area of fantasy, if you say, ‘Well, they’re bionic so they can do whatever they want,’ then it gets out of hand, so you’ve got to have really, really tight rules. [Steve and Jaime] can jump up two stories but not three. They can jump down three stories but not four."
Austin's superhuman enhancements are:
The implants have a major flaw in that extreme cold interferes with their functions and can disable them given sufficient exposure. However, when Austin returns to a warmer temperature, the implants quickly regain full functionality. The first season also established that Austin's bionics malfunction in the micro-gravity of space, though Austin's bionics are later modified to rectify this. The bionic eye is vulnerable to ultrasonic attack, resulting in blindness and dizziness. It is not explained how Austin's organic body is able to withstand the stress of either bionic hardware weight or performance of superhuman feats.
To indicate to viewers that Austin was using his bionic enhancements, sequences with him performing superhuman tasks were presented in slow-motion and accompanied by an electronic "dit dit dit dit" sound effect. (This characteristic sound effect was actually first used in season 1 episode 4, "Day of the Robot", not during use of Austin's bionics but with the robotic clone of Major Fred Sloan, played by actor John Saxon, during the final fight scene.) When the bionic eye was used, the camera zoomed in on Austin's face, followed by an extreme close-up of his eye; his point of view usually included a crosshair motif accompanied by a beeping sound-effect. In early episodes, different ways of presenting Austin's powers were tested, including a heartbeat sound effect that predated the electronic sound, and in the three original made-for-TV movies, no sound effects or slow-motion were used, with Austin's actions shown at normal speed (except for his running, which used trick photography); the slow-motion portrayal was introduced with the first hour-long episode, "Population: Zero."
The series consists of three TV-movies, five seasons of episodes, and three more TV-movies.
Martin Caidin wrote four novels featuring his original version of Steve Austin beginning in 1972 with "Cyborg". Although several other writers such as Mike Jahn later wrote a number of novelizations based upon the TV series, in most cases these writers chose to base their character upon the literary version of Austin rather than the TV show version. As a result, several of the novelizations have entire scenes and in one case an ending that differed from the original episodes, as the cold-blooded killer of Caidin's novels handled things somewhat differently from his non-killing TV counterpart. For example, the Jahn book "International Incidents", an adaptation of the episode "Love Song for Tanya", ends with Austin using the poison dart gun in his bionic hand to kill an enemy agent; since the TV version of the character lacked this weapon, the villain was simply captured in the episode as broadcast.
Charlton Comics published both a color comic book and a black and white, illustrated magazine, featuring original adventures as well as differing adaptations of the original TV movie. While the comic book was closely based upon the series, and geared toward a young audience, the magazine was darker and more violent and seemed to be based more upon the literary version of the character, aimed at adult readers. Both magazines were cancelled around the same time the TV series ended. Artists Howard Chaykin and Neal Adams were frequent contributors to both publications. Steve Kahn, who had previously published magazines on the Beatles and the teen fan magazine FLiP, worked with MCA and Charlton in overseeing and publishing these books.
A British comic strip version was also produced, written by Angus P. Allan, drawn by Martin Asbury and printed in TV comic "Look-In". A series of standalone comic strips was printed on the packaging of a series of model kits by Fundimensions based upon the series. In Colombia, a black and white comic book series was published in the late 70s, with art and stories by Jorge Peña. This series was licensed by Universal studios to Greco (Grupo Editorial Colombiano), then known as Editora Cinco, now part of Grupo Editorial Televisa. In France, "Télé-Junior", a magazine devoted to comic book adaptations of all sorts of TV series and cartoons also featured a "Six Million Dollar Man" comic (under its French title, "L'Homme qui valait trois milliards") with art by Pierre Le Goff and stories by P. Tabet and Bodis. A tradepaperback reprinting several episodes from the magazine was released in October, 1980.
In 1996, a new comic book series entitled "Bionix" was announced, to be published by Maximum Press. The comic was to have been an updated version of both the "Six Million Dollar Man" and the "Bionic Woman" and feature new renditions of the two characters. Although the magazine was advertised in comic book trade publications, it was ultimately never published.
On August 24, 2011, Dynamite Comics published the first issue of "The Bionic Man", an adaptation written by Kevin Smith based upon a screenplay he'd written for a never-produced 1990s motion picture version of "The Six Million Dollar Man". After concluding the adaptation in the spring of 2012 the comic series moved on to original stories, as well as a re-imagining of the original TV series' "Secret of Bigfoot" storyline. A spin-off comic re-imagining "The Bionic Woman" followed a few months later, and in January 2013 Dynamite launched a crossover mini-series, "The Bionic Man vs. The Bionic Woman". The artwork in these series, covers and interiors, varies between Austin being rendered in the likeness of Lee Majors and not. As 2014 began, Dynamite discontinued its reboot titles and replaced them with a new ongoing series, "The Six Million Dollar Man Season 6", continuing the adventures of Austin from the conclusion of the 1977-78 season and featuring not only the likeness of Lee Majors, but also other recurring actors such as Richard Anderson, as well as Darren McGavin as Oliver Spencer from the first TV movie. Jaime Sommers was reintroduced from issue 3, with a spin-off comic series, "The Bionic Woman Season 4", announced in June 2014 with a scheduled launch in the fall of 2014.
Peter Pan Records and its sister company Power Records published several record albums featuring original dramatized stories (including an adaptation of the pilot film), several of which were also adapted as comic books designed to be read along with the recording. Three albums' worth of stories were released, one of which featured Christmas-themed stories. Individual stories were also released in other formats, including singles.
Universal Pictures developed a screenplay in 1995 with Kevin Smith, but the outing never materialized. In December 2001, it was announced that Universal had pacted with Dimension Films on the project after Dimension president Bob Weinstein saw its potential as a franchise. Universal retained film rights to the original TV show, while Dimension purchased the rights to the "Cyborg" novel, as well as Caidin's three other novels in the series: "Operation Nuke", "High Crystal" and "Cyborg IV". Larry Gordon and Scott Faye were going to produce with Paul Rosenberg's Collision Entertainment. Smith's screenplay was later adapted for "The Bionic Man", an ongoing comic book series launched in 2011 by Dynamite Comics.
In October 2002, Trevor Sands was hired to write a new screenplay, titled "The Six Billion Dollar Man", but Dimension scrapped it when actor Jim Carrey pitched a comedic take on the material for him to star in, with Scot Armstrong as writer and Todd Phillips as director/co-writer. Filming was expected to begin in 2004.
In a July 2006 interview at Comic Con, Richard Anderson (who played Oscar Goldman in the series) stated that he was involved with producing a movie of the series, but the rights were at the time in litigation between Miramax and Universal.
On November 6, 2014, it was announced that a feature film, tentatively titled "The Six Billion Dollar Man", would go into production. Mark Wahlberg was set to play Colonel Steve Austin, with Peter Berg as director. Filming was to begin in early 2015, for a theatrical release the following year. On November 2, 2015 it was reported that Berg had left the film and had been replaced by Damian Szifron, who will also write the film. Filming was to begin in September 2016 with a December 22, 2017 release date.
In December 2017, The Weinstein Company sold the film's rights to Warner Bros. As of January 2018, they hoped to start filming the movie in mid 2018. In April 2018, they set an early to mid 2019 release for the film. The film was moved to June 5, 2020 until "Wonder Woman 1984" took over the release date, and in April 2019, Travis Knight and Bill Dubuque replaced Szifron as director and writer.
In Brazil, under the military dictatorship, some important government officials – previously elected by direct suffrage – were appointed by the president, or elected indirectly, out of a shortlist picked by the president. These politicians were called "bionic" ("biônicos"), due to the series' popularity, and the association with the perceived extraordinary power and influence held by the appointed officials. Between 1964 and 1985, Brazil came to have "bionic" senators, governors and mayors. With the 1988 Constitution of Brazil, all "bionic" appointments were abolished.
In Israel, the series was retitled "The Man Worth Millions" since "six million" evoked memories of the Holocaust—specifically the most commonly quoted estimate of the number of Jewish victims.
In 2003, Lee Majors won TV Land's "Superest Superhero" award.
Universal Playback released the first two seasons of "The Six Million Dollar Man" on DVD in Region 2 and Region 4 in 2005–2006. The first three seasons were also released on the Italian market (Region 2) in late 2008. The season 1 release also features the three pilot movies that preceded the weekly series.
The Region 1 (North America) release, along with that of "The Bionic Woman" was one of the most eagerly awaited; its release had been withheld for many years due to copyright issues regarding the original novel. In fact, with the exception of a few episodes released in the DiscoVision format in the early 1980s and a single VHS release of the two-part "The Bionic Woman" storyline that same decade, the series as a whole had never been released in North America in any home video format.
On July 21, 2010 however, Time Life (under license from Universal) announced the release of a complete series box set of "The Six Million Dollar Man" on DVD in Region 1 for the first time on November 23, 2010. The 40-disc set features all 99 episodes of the series as well as the three pilot films and the three reunion TV-movies which also feature Jaime Sommers, along with several episodes of "The Bionic Woman" that were part of inter-series crossovers (i.e. part one aired on one series, and part two on another) in order to include complete storylines. In addition, the set features extensive bonus features including interviews and featurettes with all major cast members and the set comes encased in collectible packaging that includes a sound chip, activated when the box is opened, that plays back part of the first season opening credits dialogue. The release is available directly through Time-Life's "6mdm" website as well a through several third-party on-line vendors.
In November 2011, Universal Pictures began releasing individual season sets of the series on DVD, available in retail stores. It has subsequently released all five seasons. The fifth and final season was released on February 18, 2014.
Several episodes of "The Six Million Dollar Man" actually saw their North American DVD debut several weeks in advance of the box set, as Universal Home Video included the three "crossover" episodes that helped launch "The Bionic Woman" as bonuses on the October 19, 2010 DVD release of Season 1 of "The Bionic Woman".
On October 13, 2015, Universal Pictures released a retail version of "The Six Million Dollar Man- The Complete Series" on DVD in Region 1.
In Region 2, Fabulous Films acquired the rights to the series in 2012 and subsequently released seasons 3-5 on DVD on October 1, 2012. It also re-released the first two seasons on February 25, 2013. A 40-disc complete series boxset was released on April 2, 2012. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30979 |
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The Tory ethos has been summed up with the phrase "God, Queen, and Country". Tories generally advocate monarchism, and were historically of a high church Anglican religious heritage, opposed to the liberalism of the Whig faction.
The philosophy originates from the Cavalier faction, a royalist group during the English Civil War. The Tories political faction that emerged in 1681 was a reaction to the Whig-controlled Parliaments that succeeded the Cavalier Parliament. It also has exponents in other parts of the former British Empire, such as the Loyalists of British America, who opposed American secession during the American War of Independence. The loyalists that fled to the Canadas at the end of the American Revolution, the United Empire Loyalists, formed the support base for political cliques in Upper and Lower Canada. Toryism remains prominent in Canada and the United Kingdom. The British Conservative Party and Conservative Party of Canada, and their members, continue to be referred to as Tories.
The term Tory is used regardless of whether they are traditionalists. Adherents to traditional Toryism in contemporary times are referred to as High Tories. The terms Blue Tory and Red Tory have been used to describe the two different factions of the federal and provincial Conservative/Progressive Conservative parties in Canada. In addition, Pink Tory is used in Canadian politics as a pejorative term to describe a member of the Conservative/Progressive Conservative party who is perceived as liberal.
The word "Tory" derives from the Middle Irish word "tóraidhe"; modern Irish "tóraí"; modern Scottish Gaelic "Tòraidh": outlaw, robber or brigand, from the Irish word "tóir", meaning "pursuit", since outlaws were "pursued men". The term was initially applied in Ireland to the isolated bands of guerrillas resisting Oliver Cromwell's nine-month 1649–1650 campaign in Ireland, who were allied with Royalists through treaty with the Parliament of Confederate Ireland, signed at Kilkenny in January 1649; and later to dispossessed Catholics in Ulster following the Restoration. It was also used to refer to a Rapparee and later applied to Confederates or Cavaliers in arms. The term was thus originally a term of abuse, "an Irish rebel", before being adopted as a political label in the same way as "Whig".
Towards the end of Charles II's reign (1660–1685) there was some debate about whether his brother, James, Duke of York, should be allowed to succeed to the throne. "Whigs", originally a reference to Scottish cattle-drovers (stereotypically radical anti-Catholic Covenanters), was the abusive term directed at those who wanted to exclude James on the grounds that he was a Roman Catholic. Those who were not prepared to exclude James were labelled "Abhorrers" and later "Tories". Titus Oates applied the term "Tory", which then signified an Irish robber, to those who would not believe in his Popish Plot and the name gradually became extended to all who were supposed to have sympathy with the Catholic Duke of York.
The suffix "-ism" was quickly added to both "Whig" and "Tory" to make Whiggism and Toryism, meaning the principles and methods of each faction.
The term "Tory" was first used to designate the pre-Confederation British ruling classes of Upper Canada and Lower Canada, known as the Family Compact and the Château Clique, an elite within the governing classes and often members within a section of society known as the United Empire Loyalists. The United Empire Loyalists were American loyalists who resettled in British North America during or after the American Revolutionary War.
In post-Confederation Canada, the terms "Red Tory" and "Blue Tory" have long been used to describe the two wings of the Conservative and previously the Progressive Conservative (PC) parties. The dyadic tensions originally arose out of the 1854 political union of British-Canadian Tories, French-Canadian traditionalists and the monarchist and loyalist leaning sections of the emerging commercial classes at the time—many of whom were uncomfortable with the pro-American and annexationist tendencies within the liberal Clear Grits. Tory strength and prominence in the political culture was a feature of life in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Ontario and Manitoba.
By the 1930s, the factions within Canadian Toryism were associated with either the urban business elites, or with rural traditionalists from the country's hinterland. A "Red Tory" is a member of the more moderate wing of the party (in the manner of John Farthing and George Grant). They are generally unified by their adherence to British traditions in Canada.
Throughout the course of Canadian history, the Conservative Party was generally controlled by MacDonaldian Tory elements, which in Canada meant an adherence to the English-Canadian traditions of Monarchy, Empire-Commonwealth, parliamentary government, nationalism, protectionism, social reform and eventually acceptance of the necessity of the welfare state.
By the 1970s, the Progressive Conservative Party was a Keynesian-consensus party. With the onset of stagflation in the 1970s, some Canadian Tories came under the influence of neo-liberal developments in Great Britain and the United States, which highlighted the policies for privatization and supply-side interventions. In Canada, these tories have been labeled neoconservatives—which has a somewhat different connotation in the United States. By the early 1980s, there was no clear neoconservative in the Tory leadership cadre, but Brian Mulroney (who became leader in 1983) eventually came to adopt many policies from the Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan governments.
As Mulroney took the Progressive Conservative Party further in this direction, with policy initiatives in the areas of deregulation, privatization, free-trade and a consumption tax called the Goods and services tax (GST), many traditionally-minded Tories became concerned that a political and cultural schism was occurring within the party.
The 1986 creation of the Reform Party of Canada attracted some of the neo-liberals and social conservatives away from the Tory party and as some of the neoconservative policies of the Mulroney government proved unpopular, some of the provincial-rights elements moved towards Reform as well. In 1993, Mulroney resigned rather than fight an election based on his record after almost nine years in power. This left the Progressive Conservatives in disarray and scrambling to understand how to make Toryism relevant in provinces such as Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia that had never had a strong tory tradition and political culture.
Thereafter in the 1990s, the Progressive Conservatives were a small party in the House of Commons of Canada and could only exert legislative pressure on the government through their power in the Senate of Canada. Eventually, through death and retirements, this power waned. Joe Clark returned as leader, but the schism with the Reformers effectively watered down the combined Blue and Red Tory vote in Canada.
By the late 1990s, there was talk of the necessity of uniting the right in Canada, to deter further Liberal majorities. Many tories—both red and blue—opposed such moves, while others took the view that all would have to be pragmatic if there was any hope of reviving a strong party system. The Canadian Alliance party (as the Reform Party had become) and some leading tories came together on an informal basis to see if they could find common ground. While Progressive Conservative Leader Joe Clark rebuffed the notion, the talks moved ahead and eventually in December 2003, the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative parties voted to rejoin into a new party called the Conservative Party of Canada.
After the merger of the Progressive Conservatives with the Canadian Alliance in 2003, there was debate as to whether the "Tory" appellation should survive at the federal level. Although it was widely believed that some Alliance members would take offence to the term, it was officially accepted by the newly merged party during the 2004 leadership convention. Stephen Harper, former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and Prime Minister from 2006 to 2015, regularly refers to himself as a Tory and has suggested that the new party is a natural evolution of the conservative political movement in Canada. Dissident Red Tories who were against the merger went on to form the Progressive Canadian Party.
The Tory political faction originally emerged within the Parliament of England to uphold the legitimist rights of James II to succeed his brother Charles II to the thrones of the three kingdoms. James became a Roman Catholic at a time when the state institutions were fiercely independent from the Roman Catholic Church—this was an issue for the Exclusion Crisis supporting Patricians, the political heirs to the nonconformist Roundheads and Covenanters. During the Exclusion Crisis, the word Tory was applied in Kingdom of England as a nickname to the opponents of the bill, called the Abhorrers. The word "Tory" had connotations of Papist and outlaw derived from its previous use in Ireland.
There were two Tory ministries after James II came to the throne: the first led by the Earl of Rochester, the second by Lord Belasyse. A significant faction took part in the ousting of James II with the Whigs to defend the Church of England and definitive protestantism. A large but dwindling faction of Tories continued to support James in exile and his Stuart heirs to the throne, especially in 1714 after the accession of George I, the first Hanoverian monarch. Although only a minority of Tories gave their adhesion to the Jacobite risings, this was used by the Whigs to discredit the Tories and paint them as traitors. After the advent of the Prime Ministerial system under the Whig Robert Walpole, Lord Bute's premiership in the reign of George III marked a revival. Under the Corn Laws (1815–1846) a majority of Tories supported protectionist agrarianism with tariffs being imposed at the time for higher food prices, self-sufficiency and enhanced wages in rural employment.
English Tories from the time of the Glorious Revolution up until the Reform Act 1832 were characterised by strong monarchist tendencies, support for the Church of England and hostility to radical reform, while the Tory party was an actual organisation which held power intermittently throughout the same period.
Conservatism began to emerge in the late 18th century—it synthesised moderate Whig economic positions and many Tory social values to create a new political philosophy and faction in opposition to the French Revolution. Edmund Burke and William Pitt the Younger led the way in this. Interventionism and strong armed forces were to prove a hallmark of Toryism under subsequent Prime Ministers. As a predecessor party of the United Kingdom's Conservative and Unionist Party, its members, and the organization continue to be referred to as Tories.
The term Tory or "Loyalist" was used in the American Revolution for those who remained loyal to the British Crown. Since early in the 18th century, Tory had described those upholding the right of the King over Parliament. During the war of independence, particularly after the Declaration of Independence in 1776, this use was extended to cover anyone who remained loyal to the British Crown. About 80% of the Loyalists remained in the United States after the war. The 60,000 or so Loyalists who settled in Nova Scotia, Quebec, the Bahamas, or returned to Great Britain after the American War of Independence are known as United Empire Loyalists.
On February 12, 1798, Thomas Jefferson described the Federalist Party as "[a] political Sect [...] believing that the executive is the branch of our government which the most needs support, [who] are called federalists, sometimes aristocrats or monocrats, and sometimes Tories, after the corresponding sect in the English Government of exactly the same definition". However, that was clearly a hostile description by the Federalists' foes of whom Jefferson was one and not a name used by the Federalists themselves.
In Texas in 1832–1836, support for the Texas Revolution was not unanimous. The "Tories" were men who supported the Mexican government. The Tories generally were long-term property holders whose roots were outside of the lower south. They typically had little interest in politics and sought conciliation rather than war or they withheld judgment from both sides. The Tories preferred to preserve the economic, political and social gains that they enjoyed as citizens of Mexico and the revolution threatened to jeopardize the security of their world.
"Tory" has become shorthand for a member of the Conservative Party or for the party in general in Canada and the UK.
In Canada, a "Tory" typically refers to either a member of the Conservative Party of Canada, while the party as a whole are colloquially referred to as the "Tories". In addition to federal parties, the term has been used in Canada to refer to members of provincial Conservative/Progressive Conservative parties, or the provincial organization as a whole. It is also used to refer to the Conservative Party's predecessor parties, including the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. The term is used in contrast to "Grit", a shorthand for the Liberal Party of Canada. LGBTory is an advocacy group for LGBT supporters of the Conservative Party of Canada and provincial conservative parties.
In the United Kingdom, the Conservative and Unionist Party, along with its members, are often referred to as a Tory in the public, with the party frequently getting called the "Tories" by many media outlets. In Scotland, the term "Tory" is used predominantly in a derogatory way to describe members and supporters of the Conservative Party, or to accuse other parties of being insufficiently opposed to that party. For example, members and supporters of the Scottish Labour Party (especially those from the "Blairite" faction) may be referred to as "Red Tories" by traditional Labour members and advocates of an independent Scotland. Similarly, Labour supporters have referred to Scottish National Party members and supporters as being "Tartan Tories".
In Australia, "Tory" is occasionally used as a pejorative term by members of the Australian Labor Party to refer to conservative members of the Liberal Party of Australia and National Party of Australia parties (who are in a long-standing coalition). The term is not used anywhere near as often as in the UK and Canada, and it is rare – though not unheard of – for members of those parties to self-describe as "Tories". Chief Justice Garfield Barwick titled his memoir "A Radical Tory". A moderate faction of the Australian Greens has been pejoratively dubbed the "Tree Tories" by the hard left faction. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30980 |
Toronto Transit Commission
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers in the Greater Toronto Area, with numerous connections to systems serving its surrounding municipalities.
Established as the Toronto Transportation Commission in 1921, the TTC owns and operates four rapid transit lines with 75 stations, over 149 bus routes, and 11 streetcar lines. On an average weekday in 2019, 1.69million passengers made 2.76million unlinked trips on the TTC, with the number of trips about evenly divided between the subways (1.34million) and buses and streetcars (1.34million). The TTC also operates door-to-door paratransit service for the elderly and disabled, known as Wheel-Trans.
The TTC is the most heavily used urban mass transit system in Canada and the third largest in North America, after the New York City Transit Authority and Mexico City Metro.
Public transit in Toronto started in 1849 with a privately operated transit service. In later years, the city operated some routes, but in 1921 assumed control over all routes and formed the Toronto Transportation Commission to operate them. During this period, streetcars provided the bulk of the service. In 1954, the TTC adopted its present name, opened the first subway line, and greatly expanded its service area to cover the newly formed municipality of Metropolitan Toronto (which eventually amalgamated into the present City of Toronto). The system has evolved to feature a wide network of surface routes with the subway lines as the backbone. On February 17, 2008, the TTC made many service improvements, reversing more than a decade of service reductions and only minor improvements.
In addition to buses, streetcars, and subways, the TTC also operated the Toronto Island ferry service from 1927 to 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department (now Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation). The TTC also operated a suburban and regional intercity bus operator, Gray Coach Lines, from 1927 to 1990. Gray Coach used interurban coaches to link Toronto to points throughout southern Ontario. In addition, Gray Coach operated tour buses in association with Gray Line Tours. The main terminal was the Metropolitan Toronto Bus Terminal on Elizabeth Street north of Dundas Street, downtown. In 1954, Gray Coach expanded further when it acquired suburban routes from independent bus operators not merged with the TTC as it expanded to cover Metro Toronto. By the 1980s, Gray Coach faced fierce competition in the interurban service in the GTA. The TTC sold Gray Coach Lines in 1990 to Stagecoach Holdings, which split the operation between Greyhound Canada and the government of Ontario three years later.
The Gloucester subway cars, the first version of TTC subway cars, known as "red rockets" because of their bright red exterior, have been retired. The name lives on as the TTC uses the phrase to advertise the service, such as "Ride the Rocket" in advertising material, "Rocket" in the names of some express buses, and the new "Toronto Rocket" subway cars, which began revenue operation on July 21, 2011. Another common slogan is "The Better Way".
The TTC recovered 69.6% of its operating costs from the fare box in 2017. From its creation in 1921 until 1971, the TTC was self-supporting both for capital and operations (it had to pay property taxes until 1967). Through the Great Depression and World War II, it accumulated reserves that allowed it to expand considerably after the war, both with subways and major steady growth of its bus services into the suburbs. It was not until 1971 that the Metro Toronto government and the province started to provide operational subsidies, required primarily due to rising costs of delivering transit to low-density suburbs in Metro Toronto and large wage increases. Deficits and subsidies soared throughout the 1970s and 1980s, followed by service cuts and a period of ridership decline in the 1990s, partly attributable to recession.
In 1997, the Progressive Conservative government under Premier Mike Harris implemented the "Common Sense Revolution" which, among other things, cut in provincial financing support for the Eglinton West subway line, and cut $718million in municipal transit support, placing the entire burden of financing the system on municipalities and leaving the TTC with a $95.8million/year funding shortfall. The TTC cut back service with a significant curtailment put into effect on February 18, 1996. Since then, the TTC has consistently been in financial difficulties. Service cuts were averted in 2007, though, when Toronto City Council voted to introduce new taxes to help pay for city services, including the TTC. As a result, the TTC became the largest transit operator in Anglo-America not to receive provincial/state subsidies. The TTC has received federal funding for capital projects from as early as 2009. The TTC is also considered one of the costliest transit systems per fare price in North America. For the 2011 operating year, the TTC had a projected operating budget of $1.45billion. Revenue from fares covered approximately 70% of the budget, whereas the remaining 30% originated from the City. From 2009 through 2011, provincial and federal subsidies amounted to 0% of the budget. In contrast to this, the Société de transport de Montréal receives approximately 10% of its operating budget from the Quebec provincial government, and OC Transpo receives 9% of its funding from the province. The fairness of preferentially subsidizing transit in specific Canadian cities has been questioned by citizens.
Buses are a large part of TTC operations today. However, before about 1960, they played a minor role compared to streetcars. Buses began to operate in the city in 1921, and became necessary for areas without streetcar service. After an earlier experiment in the 1920s, trolley buses were used on a number of routes starting in 1947, but all trolley bus routes were converted to bus operation between 1991 and 1993. The TTC always used the term "trolley coach" to refer to its trackless electric vehicles. Hundreds of old buses have been replaced with the low-floor Orion VII, and the TTC has acquired many hybrid electric buses. The TTC's hybrid buses were first put on the road in 2006; these were followed by the newer 500 Orion VII Next Generation Hybrids in 2008. A new order will bring the total number of hybrids to over 500, second only to New York City. Older (2001–2006) TTC Orion VIIs feature the standard "breadbox" style, whereas newer (2007–) buses feature Orion's new, more stylish body. Although most of the bus fleet has already been replaced, a number of lift-equipped, high-floor buses are reaching the end of their useful lifespan, and another order of buses may be needed around 2012. With a total of 2,031 buses, the TTC is the third-largest transit bus operator in North America, behind the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City (more than 5,600) and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (2,911).
The TTC also runs Wheel-Trans, a paratransit service for the physically disabled with special low-floor buses designed to accommodate wheelchairs and to make boarding easier for ambulatory customers with limited mobility.
The TTC ordered 27 articulated buses with all newly ordered buses in service by January 2015. At long, the Nova LFS Artics hold about 112 passengers, compared with 65 on a standard bus.
The Toronto subway system consists of the Line 1 Yonge–University, a U-shaped mostly north–south line that was opened in 1954 and was last extended in 2017; Line 2 Bloor–Danforth, an east–west line that was opened in 1966 and was last extended in 1980; Line 3 Scarborough, a partly elevated light metro line that was opened in 1985 and continues from the Bloor–Danforth line's eastern terminus; and Line 4 Sheppard, which was opened in 2002.
The three subway lines are served by 678 cars grouped in trains of four cars on Line 4 Sheppard subway, and six cars on Line 1 Yonge–University and Line 2 Bloor–Danforth. The three subway lines share non-revenue track connections and use the same technology. The two versions of subway trains in use today are the new Toronto Rockets on Lines 1 and 4 and the T1s on Line 2. Line 3 Scarborough has a fleet of 28 S-series cars grouped into trains of four cars each, and is not compatible with other subway lines, given that the S-series cars use . It shares no track connections or equipment.
All subway lines provide service seven days a week from approximately 5:45 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. (the following day) (last train runs at approximately 1:45 in each direction) except for Sundays, in which the opening is delayed until approximately 8:00 a.m. During the overnight periods, the subway and its stations are closed to perform maintenance at track level and in the stations themselves. Overnight service is provided by buses and streetcars operating above ground. These overnight routes are issued numbers in the 300 series and are referred to as Blue Night routes, indicated by a typical TTC bus stop sign with a blue band added.
Toronto's streetcar system is one of the few in North America still operating along street-running tracks. It has been operating since the mid-19th century. Horsecar service started in 1861, and 600 V DC overhead electric service began in 1892. New TTC routes since the 1940s have generally been operated by other modes of transportation, and the less busy streetcar routes have also been converted. Streetcar routes are now focused on the downtown area, with none running farther north than St. Clair Avenue, from Lake Ontario.
Up until 1995, the TTC operated a fleet of 765 PCC-type streetcars, 540 of which it purchased new. The rest were purchased as other cities sold their PCC streetcar fleets.
From 1987 until September 2019, the TTC operated two-car Articulated Light Rail Vehicle (ALRV) streetcars, a longer version of the Canadian Light Rail Vehicle (CLRV) streetcars.
Following the retirement of the TTC's CLRV streetcars on December 29, 2019, the entire TTC streetcar fleet consists of the low-floor Flexity Outlook vehicles from Bombardier Transportation, the first of which entered service on the 510 Spadina route on August 31, 2014.
Line 5 Eglinton, which uses light rail vehicles, is under construction and is expected to open in 2021. It will run underground in the central part of the line between Keele Street and Laird Drive, with the remainder of the route travelling at-grade. The full route will span almost the entire length of the city, from Mt. Dennis in York to Scarborough. A planned extension would see it extended west to Renforth Gateway and Pearson International Airport by 2030 or 2031. If the west extension is completed, the line will travel through all six of Toronto's districts that were amalgamated in 1998 and bring the subway to Mississauga.
Line 6 Finch West is an , 18-stop light rail line under construction, extending west from Finch West station on Line 1 Yonge–University to the Humber College's North Campus. The line is forecast to provide approximately 14.6million rides a year, or 40,000 a day, by 2031. It is scheduled for completion in 2023, with an estimated cost of $1.2billion.
The Ontario Line, which is a proposed subway or light rail line and successor to the Relief Line, is expected to be completed by 2027. The Ontario government estimates the line's cost at $10.9 billion for the stretch from Ontario Place to Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue East at Science Centre station (part of the under-construction Line 5). It would be the largest single expansion in Toronto subway history.
The Yonge North subway extension is an extension of Line 1 Yonge–University proposed by the government of Ontario, nearly identical to the existing planned Yonge Subway Extension proposed by the City of Toronto, Metrolinx, and York Region. It would extend Line 1 into Richmond Hill in York Region. The line would travel north from Finch station to Richmond Hill Centre Terminal at Highway 7 and Yonge Street. The estimated cost for the project is $5.4billion, and it is projected to open after the Ontario Line has been completed.
The Line 2 Bloor–Danforth extension is a subway extension which will continue Line 2 east towards McCowan Road and north towards Scarborough City Centre and to a new terminal at Sheppard/McCowan. The $5.5-billion extension will replace the aging Line 3 Scarborough and is expected to be complete before 2030.
Since March 1, 2015, children 12 and under have been able to ride the TTC for free. The TTC accepts cash, concession tickets (for youths ages 13 to 19 and seniors 65 or older), tokens, Presto cards, Presto tickets and legacy physical day passes. As of January 1, 2019, TTC monthly passes and the 12-month pass are only available on Presto, following the phase-out of the TTC's own monthly Metropass and the Metropass discount plan (MDP). Since January 3, 2016, the adult cash fare has been $3.25 for a single trip. Since March 1, 2020, the cost of adult single fares using a Presto card has been $3.20. The Fair Pass program allows those eligible for the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) or Ontario Works to receive a discount when using a Presto card.
The Presto card is an electronic unified contactless smart card-based fare payment system, owned and managed by Metrolinx, for transit service providers throughout the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and Ottawa. The TTC also provides limited-use paper Presto tickets, mainly for occasional riders, which come in 1-ride, 2-ride and day pass varieties. Users tap their Presto card or ticket on a Presto reader as they enter a TTC station or vehicle. Either their fare is automatically paid through stored value, or a pass or two-hour transfer is validated. Their card or ticket then acts as proof-of-payment (POP) to present to TTC staff such as fare inspectors, who carry hand-held devices to verify Presto fare payments, upon request. , Presto readers are available at the entrances of all subway stations and on all buses and streetcars.
The Presto card can be used to pay the full-double fare required on the TTC's five downtown express routes as well as on all cross-boundary TTC bus routes which run into and from the city of Mississauga (operating on behalf of MiWay) and York Region (operating on behalf of York Region Transit).
Unlike the Presto card, the Presto ticket can only be used on TTC services (subway and surface vehicles within the City of Toronto). They are not reloadable and cannot be used on any other transit service providers that use Presto, including the TTC's cross-boundary buses that operate within the City of Mississauga or York Region.
On December 15, 2008, the TTC launched a new Next Vehicle Arrival System (NVAS) to indicate the time of arrival of the next vehicle along a given route. All TTC streetcars have been upgraded with Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers and now operate with NVIS.
Real-time route information can be accessed from the Next Vehicle Arrival System (NVAS) from the City of Toronto Open Data initiative via SMS by texting the stop number displayed on the bus/streetcar stop pole, to TXTTTC (898882), or with an app that uses NVAS data.
Route information can also be accessed through the TTC Info number (416) 393-INFO (393-4636). Individual route schedules are available online.
Additional TTC information is circulated by "What's On" and "Rocket Rider / TTC Customer News" pamphlets on some vehicles. Information can be accessed in person at the TTC head office (Davisville station at 1900 Yonge Street), as well as at a TTC Info Centre, which opened in 2018, at Union station. Twitter users can communicate with TTCHelps for inquiries.
Most subway stations are equipped with OneStop media screens that display the time until the next train, and other information. The next vehicle feature is available on LCD screens in all stations. Since mid-2011, all buses and streetcars have had the tracking feature enabled, accessible free online and by SMS for commuters.
On February 3, 2010, the TTC launched an online trip planner, which allows commuters to plan their routes and transfers on the TTC's website. However, since its launch, the trip planner has remained in beta mode with many bugs remaining to be fixed. In October 2010, the TTC integrated its trip planner with Google Maps. Transit information in Toronto has been available in Apple Maps since the release of iOS 9 in September 2015, when the company first launched support for public transit data.
The TTC connects with other transit systems of the Greater Toronto Area. GO Transit, MiWay, York Region Transit, Viva Rapid Transit, Brampton Transit, and Durham Region Transit are connected to the TTC via some of Toronto's subway stations, GO Transit's commuter rail stations, and other hubs like Toronto Pearson International Airport. In addition to Union Station, there are 6 other stations where the TTC subway network and GO Transit commuter rail lines intersect.
Some bus routes of the surrounding local transit agencies run on Toronto streets along with TTC buses, mainly to reach TTC subway stations. Examples of this include York Region Transit (YRT) and Viva buses plying Yonge Street en route to Finch Bus Terminal and MiWay buses plying various streets in Etobicoke en route to Islington station. However, by law, other local transit agencies are prohibited from carrying passengers wholly within the City of Toronto. Therefore, YRT and MiWay buses can only drop off passengers inbound and pick up passengers outbound while within the boundaries of Toronto. As these systems have separate fares from the TTC, regional buses that use fare-paid TTC bus terminals at subway stations drop off passengers on-street outside the stations. Boarding is done inside the terminals, and riders pay the suburban transit fare upon entering buses.
Via Rail and Amtrak connect with the TTC at Union Station, while Greyhound and Ontario Northland intercity coaches also connect with the TTC at the Toronto Coach, Scarborough Centre, , and Yorkdale bus terminals.
The communication system used by surface vehicles is called the Communications and Information System. It was piloted in the 1970s, implemented in 1991, and is now deployed on all TTC surface vehicles.
Wi-Fi service is provided at all TTC subway stations through the TCONNECT Wi-Fi network provided by BAI Communications. The service is supported by advertising and is free for users. , the Wi-Fi network was installed at all existing stations and will be available in all future stations.
From early December 2015 to late January 2016, commuters had to sign on to Twitter, through a sponsorship deal with the social media network, in order to use the subway stations' Wi-Fi network. This arrangement was resumed on an optional basis from July 2016 to late November/early December 2016.
On June 17, 2015, the TTC announced that Wind Mobile (later rebranded Freedom Mobile) customers could access cellular connectivity at some TTC subway stations. BAI Communications has built a shared Wi-Fi and cellular infrastructure for the TTC that allows any wireless carrier to sign on and provide underground cellular service to their customers. As of December 2017, BAI's cellular DAS is operational at all 75 TTC stations.
Freedom Mobile users also have Wi-Fi and cellular coverage in the tunnels between Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and Sheppard West stations and between Bloor–Yonge and St. George stations.
The Wheel-Trans door-to-door service has been available since the mid-1970s. Since the 1990s, the TTC has focused on providing accessible services on conventional bus routes, the RT and subway. 46 of the 75 stations on Lines 1, 2, and 3 are wheel-chair accessible are equipped with elevators, and all stations on Line 4 are fully accessible. In December 2011, all bus routes became accessible with the retirement of the commission's last inaccessible buses. On August 31, 2014, the commission launched its new fleet of low-floor Bombardier's Flexity Outlook streetcars. With the decommissioning of the last of the Commission's non-accessible high-floor CLRV vehicles on December 29, 2019, all TTC streetcar routes are now served by low-floor Flexity vehicles.
As per Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) guidelines, all surface vehicles and subway trains have been equipped with the on-board Automatic Next Stop Announcement System since February 2008. It operates over speakers indicating the next stop. A digital orange LED board on streetcars and buses as well as the Toronto Rocket subway trains display the name of the upcoming streets/stations as the vehicle progresses on its route.
All TTC revenue service vehicles are equipped with external speakers that play automated announcements of the route and destination of vehicle travel.
Most TTC surface routes terminate at loops, side streets or subway station complexes. The TTC system is one of the few mass transit systems in Canada where many surface routes can be accessed inside a paid-fare zone common to other routes or subway lines. This feature allows boarding via the back doors at terminals, reduces the usage of paper transfers, and the need of operators to check for proof-of-payment. However, if people are caught entering fare-paid terminals illegally from the street, they could be fined $500 for fare evasion.
The shelters in the system are installed and maintained under contracts with Astral Media (later became a part of by Bell Media) (with CBS Outdoor since 2006 and previously Viacom Media) and Toronto Transportation Services. Approximately 4,100 shelters are managed by Toronto Transportation. Some shelters are solar powered and include next vehicle arrival displays.
There are four versions of shelters found in the city:
There are ten sets (men and women) of public washrooms located on the TTC system, all at subway stations that are major transfer points, at the ends of subway lines, or former ends of lines. All (with the exception of and Vaughan Metropolitan Centre stations, which only connect with regional buses) are located within the fare paid area and thus available only to TTC passengers.
TTC buses and streetcars are operated out of a number of garages and carhouses located around the city and are serviced at several other facilities. The surface routes are divided into several divisions. Individual divisions have a manager, an on-duty mobile supervisor, a CIS communications centre, and a garage facility tasked with managing the division's vehicle fleet and routes.
TTC Head Office is in the William McBrien Building, located at 1900 Yonge Street at Davisville Avenue, which opened in 1957. The previous TTC Headquarters was at Yonge and Front Streets in the Toronto Board of Trade Building.
There are plans to relocate the HQ to a yet-to-be-built site at 4050 Yonge Street near York Mills Road. The site is a commuter parking lot with a TTC entrance to York Mills station. Build Toronto is charged with helping the commission relocate, but it is facing political opposition from many mayoral candidates.
The Toronto Parking Authority on behalf of the TTC operates 30 commuter parking lots, all at subway stations, with a total of 13,981 parking spaces. Effective April 1, 2009, it eliminated free parking for Metropass holders. All passengers using parking facilities during peak hours must now pay for the service. The rates vary by location from $2.00 to $7.00 between 5:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on weekdays, with lots offering discounted or free parking at other times. All TTC-owned lots are open (uncovered) parking lots; however, certain lots are located in covered garages, such as the Yorkdale lot, which is located in the namesake shopping centre's underground parking garage.
Safety features provided by the TTC include:
In June 2011, the TTC announced a new suicide prevention program called "Crisis Link" aimed at people who are in a station and in immediate danger of performing self-harm. Special speed dial buttons have been installed on pay phones in station Designated Waiting Areas that "link" the caller to a 24-hour crisis counselling service provided by Distress Centres of Toronto. Signage has also been placed in high risk areas of the station platform directing those at risk to use the service. The program includes 141 speed dial buttons on the system's payphones and 200 posters placed on station platforms.
In September 2017, the TTC created an iOS and Android app called ThisIsWhere that allows users to report harassment and other personal safety incidents to the TTC. The name was later changed to "SafeTTC" and launched on September 6, 2017.
From 1997 to 2011, the TTC employed Special Constables that were responsible for safety and security and had similar policing powers to Toronto Police Service officers. During the phase out of the Special Constables, the Toronto Police reinstated its Transit Patrol Unit, which had been cancelled in the mid-1990s. The Special Constables were replaced by bylaw enforcement officers known as Transit Enforcement Officers, as part of the TTC's Transit Enforcement Unit.
The negotiation between TTC and the Toronto Police Services Board took place in 2013 resulting in restored Special Constable Status and Peace Officer Authority.
The TTC's By-law No. 1 is a by-law governing the actions of passengers and employees while on Commission property. It can be enforced by a "proper authority" which is defined in the by-law as: "an employee or agent of the TTC wearing a TTC uniform; an employee or agent of the TTC carrying an identification card issued by the TTC; or a municipal police officer." The by-law covers rules regarding fare payment and conduct while in the system. Effective October 12, 2009, a revised version of the by-law has been issued. Revisions include the restriction of placing feet or "any object that may soil" on seats, the prohibition against using offensive language (including via the user-generated displays at Pioneer Village station, which are part of the public art installation "LightSpell", although the displays have not yet been activated), and the provision that one must give up their seat to a person with a disability or pregnancy in priority seating areas.
The TTC uses three primary voice and data communication systems. The first is the system used by Operations, Security and Maintenance. This system operates on five UHF conventional frequencies. Channels 1, 3, 4 and 5 are used for day-to-day operations, while Channel 2 is reserved for the Wheel-Trans service.
The second system, the Communications and Information System (CIS), is used by buses and streetcars, and employs transmission facilities throughout the city. Conceived in the late 1970s and fully implemented in 1991, it consists of a computer unit on board each bus and streetcar, called the Transit Radio Unified Microprocessor (TRUMP). This is attached to a transponder receiver, which allows CIS operators to track the location of the vehicle using a computational system known as dead reckoning. The TRUMP unit also allows vehicle and CIS operators to send and receive text messages for such things as short turns and route adjustments. There is also the option of voice-based communication between the vehicle and CIS operators. With the introduction of NextBus technology to provide real-time arrival information, the CIS has been updated to use a combination of GPS data and the previous dead reckoning (signpost-based) system. In the event that internally managed TTC communications are unavailable, the TRUMP unit operates on Bell Mobility's CDMA network to communicate with divisional operations and transit control.
In 2012, the TTC began research into transitioning from the outdated and antiquated CIS to a newer computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system. Utilizing this technology would help improve headways, provide more reliable communications and allow divisional supervisors to locate vehicles in real time (the current GPS system only sends location updates every 20 seconds). Implementation of the system, later named the Vehicle Information System & Integrated Operations Network (VISION), began in 2016, with the contract for associated equipment awarded to Clever Devices ULC. After extensive testing, deployment of VISION on vehicles in revenue service began in the summer of 2018, with plans to fully equip the entire bus and streetcar fleet by 2019.
The third system, known as the "wayside system", consists of UHF MPT-1327 Trunking radio sets used by the three heavy-rail subway lines. They replaced older devices which communicated by the third rail, and are divided into separate systems representing their respective subway lines. This trunking system allows Transit Control to communicate directly with a single train, a zone encompassing several trains, or the entire line. (Line 3 Scarborough uses a single channel UHF system, much the same as the system used by operations staff.)
All of these systems can be monitored by a scanner capable of the UHF Low band (406–430 MHz). Numeric codes—often referring to people or positions (299 Bloor – Subway Line mechanic at Bloor)—are also announced through the radio and the overhead paging system. The TTC also has several "Plans" ("Plan A" through "Plan G") that are used in emergencies but are not announced on the PA system and only referred to on the radio.
The TTC, in partnership with Pattison OneStop (formerly OneStop Media Group), have installed large LCD television screens in most subway stations throughout the system except on Line 3 Scarborough and at the Toronto–York Spadina Subway Extension ( to ) stations. The new media system replaced the old "Subway Online" system, which were decommissioned.
The signs feature advertising, news headlines and weather information. From its inception in 2005 until December 31, 2017, the news feed and advertising for television programs were supplied under a contract with Bell Media's 24-hour local television news service, CP24. Since January 1, 2018, the service has been provided by Global Television Network's Toronto television station CIII-DT 41, which is owned by Corus Entertainment. The signs also provide TTC-specific information regarding service changes and delays, information pertaining to using the system, and Toronto Police Service alerts about suspects. The system can also be used when an Amber alert is issued, which also may include announcements via the PA system.
In September 2008, Dundas station was the first to feature a "Next Train" announcement integrated into the signage. The system has been expanded to many other stations since its initial rollout. Since mid-July 2009, the majority of stations have been equipped with this service and since January 2018 – coinciding with a content provider switch from CP24 to Global News – the next train arrival time notices were also updated to provide the line number and the destination of the next train. The TYSSE stations have screens that display the arrival times for the next two or three trains. Unlike the older screens, these screens do not display news and weather headlines provided by Global News.
As an agency of the City of Toronto, the City has full authority over the TTC's mandate and structure. The TTC is responsible to Toronto City Council through its board, composed of members of council and citizens, led by the chair.
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto Act established the modern day "Toronto Transit Commission" from the "Toronto Transportation Commission" in 1954. When the "City of Toronto Act" was last updated in 2006, the TTC was continued under the updated act. Toronto Municipal Code, chapter 279 stipulates additional fiscal and policy requirements for the TTC, as well as sets out the requirements for the TTC board. The TTC itself regulates the use of its system through the TTC By-law No. 1.
The TTC Board of Directors, or Commission, consists of 10 members: 6 City Council members and 4 citizens. The citizen members are nominated through an independent public process by the Civic Appointments committee. City Council appoints the chair of the TTC, currently Jaye Robinson. The chair must be a member of City Council. The board elects a vice-chair from among its members.
The TTC has more than 12,000 employees. Most are operators, but the Commission also employs supervisors, custodians and a wide range of skilled trades people who work on vehicles and critical subway and surface infrastructure.
The day-to-day operations of the TTC are managed by the chief executive officer (formerly the chief general manager or CGM), currently Rick Leary, who succeeded Andy Byford in January 2018.
In 2013, the TTC assigned group station managers on most subway lines:
Unionized workers of the TTC workers have performed strike actions numerous times since 1952. At the request of Mayor Rob Ford and Toronto City Council, on March 30, 2011, the Province of Ontario passed legislation classifying the TTC an essential service, which removed the employees' right to strike.
In 2018, as a result of their involvement in a health insurance scam involving Healthy Fit, an orthotics shop, 223 employees were dismissed or forced to retire early, while ten faced criminal charges.
Beside the main transit operations, the TTC has subsidiaries: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30981 |
Testosterone
Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone and anabolic steroid. In male humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristics such as increased muscle and bone mass, and the growth of body hair. In addition, testosterone is involved in health and well-being, and the prevention of osteoporosis. Insufficient levels of testosterone in men may lead to abnormalities including frailty and bone loss.
Testosterone is a steroid from the androstane class containing a keto and hydroxyl groups at positions three and seventeen respectively. It is biosynthesized in several steps from cholesterol and is converted in the liver to inactive metabolites. It exerts its action through binding to and activation of the androgen receptor. In humans and most other vertebrates, testosterone is secreted primarily by the testicles of males and, to a lesser extent, the ovaries of females. On average, in adult males, levels of testosterone are about seven to eight times as great as in adult females. As the metabolism of testosterone in males is more pronounced, the daily production is about 20 times greater in men. Females are also more sensitive to the hormone.
In addition to its role as a natural hormone, testosterone is used as a medication in the treatment of low testosterone levels in men, transgender hormone therapy for transgender men, and breast cancer in women. Since testosterone levels decrease as men age, testosterone is sometimes used in older men to counteract this deficiency. It is also used illicitly to enhance physique and performance, for instance in athletes.
In general, androgens such as testosterone promote protein synthesis and thus growth of tissues with androgen receptors. Testosterone can be described as having virilising and anabolic effects (though these categorical descriptions are somewhat arbitrary, as there is a great deal of mutual overlap between them).
Testosterone effects can also be classified by the age of usual occurrence. For postnatal effects in both males and females, these are mostly dependent on the levels and duration of circulating free testosterone.
Effects before birth are divided into two categories, classified in relation to the stages of development.
The first period occurs between 4 and 6 weeks of the gestation. Examples include genital virilisation such as midline fusion, phallic urethra, scrotal thinning and rugation, and phallic enlargement; although the role of testosterone is far smaller than that of dihydrotestosterone. There is also development of the prostate gland and seminal vesicles.
During the second trimester, androgen level is associated with sex formation. Specifically, testosterone, along with anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) promote growth of the Wolffian duct and degeneration of the Müllerian duct respectively. This period affects the femininization or masculinization of the fetus and can be a better predictor of feminine or masculine behaviours such as sex typed behaviour than an adult's own levels. Prenatal androgens apparently influence interests and engagement in gendered activities and have moderate effects on spatial abilities. Among women with CAH, a male-typical play in childhood correlated with reduced satisfaction with the female gender and reduced heterosexual interest in adulthood.
Early infancy androgen effects are the least understood. In the first weeks of life for male infants, testosterone levels rise. The levels remain in a pubertal range for a few months, but usually reach the barely detectable levels of childhood by 4–7 months of age. The function of this rise in humans is unknown. It has been theorized that brain masculinization is occurring since no significant changes have been identified in other parts of the body. The male brain is masculinized by the aromatization of testosterone into estrogen, which crosses the blood–brain barrier and enters the male brain, whereas female fetuses have α-fetoprotein, which binds the estrogen so that female brains are not affected.
Before puberty effects of rising androgen levels occur in both boys and girls. These include adult-type body odor, increased oiliness of skin and hair, acne, pubarche (appearance of pubic hair), axillary hair (armpit hair), growth spurt, accelerated bone maturation, and facial hair.
Pubertal effects begin to occur when androgen has been higher than normal adult female levels for months or years. In males, these are usual late pubertal effects, and occur in women after prolonged periods of heightened levels of free testosterone in the blood. The effects include:
Growth of spermatogenic tissue in testicles, male fertility, penis or clitoris enlargement, increased libido and frequency of erection or clitoral engorgement occurs. Growth of jaw, brow, chin, and nose and remodeling of facial bone contours, in conjunction with human growth hormone occurs. Completion of bone maturation and termination of growth. This occurs indirectly via estradiol metabolites and hence more gradually in men than women. Increased muscle strength and mass, shoulders become broader and rib cage expands, deepening of voice, growth of the Adam's apple. Enlargement of sebaceous glands. This might cause acne, subcutaneous fat in face decreases. Pubic hair extends to thighs and up toward umbilicus, development of facial hair (sideburns, beard, moustache), loss of scalp hair (androgenetic alopecia), increase in chest hair, periareolar hair, perianal hair, leg hair, armpit hair.
Testosterone is necessary for normal sperm development. It activates genes in Sertoli cells, which promote differentiation of spermatogonia. It regulates acute HPA (hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis) response under dominance challenge. Androgen including testosterone enhances muscle growth. Testosterone also regulates the population of thromboxane A2 receptors on megakaryocytes and platelets and hence platelet aggregation in humans.
Adult testosterone effects are more clearly demonstrable in males than in females, but are likely important to both sexes. Some of these effects may decline as testosterone levels might decrease in the later decades of adult life.
Testosterone does not appear to increase the risk of developing prostate cancer. In people who have undergone testosterone deprivation therapy, testosterone increases beyond the castrate level have been shown to increase the rate of spread of an existing prostate cancer.
Conflicting results have been obtained concerning the importance of testosterone in maintaining cardiovascular health. Nevertheless, maintaining normal testosterone levels in elderly men has been shown to improve many parameters that are thought to reduce cardiovascular disease risk, such as increased lean body mass, decreased visceral fat mass, decreased total cholesterol, and glycemic control.
High androgen levels are associated with menstrual cycle irregularities in both clinical populations and healthy women.
Testosterone levels follow a nyctohemeral rhythm that peaks early each day, regardless of sexual activity.
There are positive correlations between positive orgasm experience in women and testosterone levels where relaxation was a key perception of the experience. There is no correlation between testosterone and men's perceptions of their orgasm experience, and also no correlation between higher testosterone levels and greater sexual assertiveness in either sex.
Sexual arousal and masturbation in women produce small increases in testosterone concentrations. The plasma levels of various steroids significantly increase after masturbation in men and the testosterone levels correlate to those levels.
Studies conducted in rats have indicated that their degree of sexual arousal is sensitive to reductions in testosterone. When testosterone-deprived rats were given medium levels of testosterone, their sexual behaviors (copulation, partner preference, etc.) resumed, but not when given low amounts of the same hormone. Therefore, these mammals may provide a model for studying clinical populations among humans suffering from sexual arousal deficits such as hypoactive sexual desire disorder.
Every mammalian species examined demonstrated a marked increase in a male's testosterone level upon encountering a "novel" female. The reflexive testosterone increases in male mice is related to the male's initial level of sexual arousal.
In non-human primates, it may be that testosterone in puberty stimulates sexual arousal, which allows the primate to increasingly seek out sexual experiences with females and thus creates a sexual preference for females. Some research has also indicated that if testosterone is eliminated in an adult male human or other adult male primate's system, its sexual motivation decreases, but there is no corresponding decrease in ability to engage in sexual activity (mounting, ejaculating, etc.).
In accordance with sperm competition theory, testosterone levels are shown to increase as a response to previously neutral stimuli when conditioned to become sexual in male rats. This reaction engages penile reflexes (such as erection and ejaculation) that aid in sperm competition when more than one male is present in mating encounters, allowing for more production of successful sperm and a higher chance of reproduction.
In men, higher levels of testosterone are associated with periods of sexual activity.
Men who watch a sexually explicit movie have an average increase of 35% in testosterone, peaking at 60–90 minutes after the end of the film, but no increase is seen in men who watch sexually neutral films. Men who watch sexually explicit films also report increased motivation, competitiveness, and decreased exhaustion. A link has also been found between relaxation following sexual arousal and testosterone levels.
Men's levels of testosterone, a hormone known to affect men's mating behaviour, changes depending on whether they are exposed to an ovulating or nonovulating woman's body odour. Men who are exposed to scents of ovulating women maintained a stable testosterone level that was higher than the testosterone level of men exposed to nonovulation cues. Testosterone levels and sexual arousal in men are heavily aware of hormone cycles in females. This may be linked to the "ovulatory shift hypothesis", where males are adapted to respond to the ovulation cycles of females by sensing when they are most fertile and whereby females look for preferred male mates when they are the most fertile; both actions may be driven by hormones.
Androgens may modulate the physiology of vaginal tissue and contribute to female genital sexual arousal. Women's level of testosterone is higher when measured pre-intercourse vs pre-cuddling, as well as post-intercourse vs post-cuddling. There is a time lag effect when testosterone is administered, on genital arousal in women. In addition, a continuous increase in vaginal sexual arousal may result in higher genital sensations and sexual appetitive behaviors.
When females have a higher baseline level of testosterone, they have higher increases in sexual arousal levels but smaller increases in testosterone, indicating a ceiling effect on testosterone levels in females. Sexual thoughts also change the level of testosterone but not level of cortisol in the female body, and hormonal contraceptives may affect the variation in testosterone response to sexual thoughts.
Testosterone may prove to be an effective treatment in female sexual arousal disorders, and is available as a dermal patch. There is no FDA approved androgen preparation for the treatment of androgen insufficiency; however, it has been used as an off-label use to treat low libido and sexual dysfunction in older women. Testosterone may be a treatment for postmenopausal women as long as they are effectively estrogenized.
Falling in love decreases men's testosterone levels while increasing women's testosterone levels. There has been speculation that these changes in testosterone result in the temporary reduction of differences in behavior between the sexes. However, it is suggested that after the "honeymoon phase" ends—about four years into a relationship—this change in testosterone levels is no longer apparent. Men who produce less testosterone are more likely to be in a relationship or married, and men who produce more testosterone are more likely to divorce; however, causality cannot be determined in this correlation. Marriage or commitment could cause a decrease in testosterone levels.
Single men who have not had relationship experience have lower testosterone levels than single men with experience. It is suggested that these single men with prior experience are in a more competitive state than their non-experienced counterparts. Married men who engage in bond-maintenance activities such as spending the day with their spouse and/or child have no different testosterone levels compared to times when they do not engage in such activities. Collectively, these results suggest that the presence of competitive activities rather than bond-maintenance activities are more relevant to changes in testosterone levels.
Men who produce more testosterone are more likely to engage in extramarital sex. Testosterone levels do not rely on physical presence of a partner; testosterone levels of men engaging in same-city and long-distance relationships are similar. Physical presence may be required for women who are in relationships for the testosterone–partner interaction, where same-city partnered women have lower testosterone levels than long-distance partnered women.
Fatherhood decreases testosterone levels in men, suggesting that the emotions and behavior tied to decreased testosterone promote paternal care. In humans and other species that utilize allomaternal care, paternal investment in offspring is beneficial to said offspring's survival because it allows the parental dyad to raise multiple children simultaneously. This increases the reproductive fitness of the parents, because their offspring are more likely to survive and reproduce. Paternal care increases offspring survival due to increased access to higher quality food and reduced physical and immunological threats. This is particularly beneficial for humans since offspring are dependent on parents for extended periods of time and mothers have relatively short inter-birth intervals.
While extent of paternal care varies between cultures, higher investment in direct child care has been seen to be correlated with lower average testosterone levels as well as temporary fluctuations. For instance, fluctuation in testosterone levels when a child is in distress has been found to be indicative of fathering styles. If a father's testosterone levels decrease in response to hearing their baby cry, it is an indication of empathizing with the baby. This is associated with increased nurturing behavior and better outcomes for the infant.
Testosterone levels play a major role in risk-taking during financial decisions.
Most studies support a link between adult criminality and testosterone. Nearly all studies of juvenile delinquency and testosterone are not significant. Most studies have also found testosterone to be associated with behaviors or personality traits linked with criminality such as antisocial behavior and alcoholism. Many studies have also been done on the relationship between more general aggressive behavior and feelings and testosterone. About half the studies have found a relationship and about half no relationship. Studies have also found that testosterone facilitates aggression by modulating vasopressin receptors in the hypothalamus.
Testosterone is significantly discussed in relation to aggression and competitive behavior. There are two theories on the role of testosterone in aggression and competition. The first one is the challenge hypothesis which states that testosterone would increase during puberty, thus facilitating reproductive and competitive behavior which would include aggression. It is therefore the challenge of competition among males of the species that facilitates aggression and violence. Studies conducted have found direct correlation between testosterone and dominance, especially among the most violent criminals in prison who had the highest testosterone levels. The same research also found fathers (those outside competitive environments) had the lowest testosterone levels compared to other males.
The second theory is similar and is known as "evolutionary neuroandrogenic (ENA) theory of male aggression". Testosterone and other androgens have evolved to masculinize a brain in order to be competitive even to the point of risking harm to the person and others. By doing so, individuals with masculinized brains as a result of pre-natal and adult life testosterone and androgens enhance their resource acquiring abilities in order to survive, attract and copulate with mates as much as possible. The masculinization of the brain is not just mediated by testosterone levels at the adult stage, but also testosterone exposure in the womb as a fetus. Higher pre-natal testosterone indicated by a low digit ratio as well as adult testosterone levels increased risk of fouls or aggression among male players in a soccer game. Studies have also found higher pre-natal testosterone or lower digit ratio to be correlated with higher aggression in males.
The rise in testosterone levels during competition predicted aggression in males but not in females. Subjects who interacted with hand guns and an experimental game showed rise in testosterone and aggression. Natural selection might have evolved males to be more sensitive to competitive and status challenge situations and that the interacting roles of testosterone are the essential ingredient for aggressive behaviour in these situations. Testosterone produces aggression by activating subcortical areas in the brain, which may also be inhibited or suppressed by social norms or familial situations while still manifesting in diverse intensities and ways through thoughts, anger, verbal aggression, competition, dominance and physical violence. Testosterone mediates attraction to cruel and violent cues in men by promoting extended viewing of violent stimuli. Testosterone specific structural brain characteristic can predict aggressive behaviour in individuals.
Testosterone might encourage fair behavior. For one study, subjects took part in a behavioral experiment where the distribution of a real amount of money was decided. The rules allowed both fair and unfair offers. The negotiating partner could subsequently accept or decline the offer. The fairer the offer, the less probable a refusal by the negotiating partner. If no agreement was reached, neither party earned anything. Test subjects with an artificially enhanced testosterone level generally made better, fairer offers than those who received placebos, thus reducing the risk of a rejection of their offer to a minimum. Two later studies have empirically confirmed these results. However men with high testosterone were significantly 27% less generous in an ultimatum game. The Annual NY Academy of Sciences has also found anabolic steroid use (which increases testosterone) to be higher in teenagers, and this was associated with increased violence. Studies have also found administered testosterone to increase verbal aggression and anger in some participants.
A few studies indicate that the testosterone derivative estradiol (one form of estrogen) might play an important role in male aggression. Estradiol is known to correlate with aggression in male mice. Moreover, the conversion of testosterone to estradiol regulates male aggression in sparrows during breeding season. Rats who were given anabolic steroids that increase testosterone were also more physically aggressive to provocation as a result of "threat sensitivity".
The brain is also affected by this sexual differentiation; the enzyme aromatase converts testosterone into estradiol that is responsible for masculinization of the brain in male mice. In humans, masculinization of the fetal brain appears, by observation of gender preference in patients with congenital diseases of androgen formation or androgen receptor function, to be associated with functional androgen receptors.
There are some differences between a male and female brain (possibly the result of different testosterone levels), one of them being size: the male human brain is, on average, larger. Men were found to have a total myelinated fiber length of 176 000 km at the age of 20, whereas in women the total length was 149 000 km (approx. 15% less).
No immediate short term effects on mood or behavior were found from the administration of supraphysiologic doses of testosterone for 10 weeks on 43 healthy men. A correlation between testosterone and risk tolerance in career choice exists among women.
Attention, memory, and spatial ability are key cognitive functions affected by testosterone in humans. Preliminary evidence suggests that low testosterone levels may be a risk factor for cognitive decline and possibly for dementia of the Alzheimer's type, a key argument in life extension medicine for the use of testosterone in anti-aging therapies. Much of the literature, however, suggests a curvilinear or even quadratic relationship between spatial performance and circulating testosterone, where both hypo- and hypersecretion (deficient- and excessive-secretion) of circulating androgens have negative effects on cognition.
Testosteone deficiency is associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and mortality, which are also sequelae of chronic inflammation. Testosterone plasma concentration inversely correlates to multiple biomarkers of inflammation including CRP, interleukin 1 beta, interleukin 6, TNF alpha and endotoxin concentration, as well as leukocyte count. As demonstrated by a meta-analysis, substitution therapy with testosterone results in a significant reduction of inflammatory markers. These effects are mediated by different mechanisms with synergistic action. In androgen-deficient men with concomitant autoimmune thyroiditis, substitution therapy with testosterone leads to a decrease in thyroid autoantibody titres and an increase in thyroid's secretory capacity (SPINA-GT).
Testosterone is used as a medication for the treatment of males with too little or no natural testosterone production, certain forms of breast cancer, and gender dysphoria in transgender men and non-binary individuals. This is known as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), which maintains serum testosterone levels in the normal range. Decline of testosterone production with age has led to interest in androgen replacement therapy. It is unclear if the use of testosterone for low levels due to aging is beneficial or harmful.
Testosterone is included in the World Health Organization's list of essential medicines, which are the most important medications needed in a basic health system. It is available as a generic medication. The price depends on the form of testosterone used. It can be administered as a cream or transdermal patch that is applied to the skin, by injection into a muscle, as a tablet that is placed in the cheek, or by ingestion.
Common side effects from testosterone medication include acne, swelling, and breast enlargement in males. Serious side effects may include liver toxicity, heart disease, and behavioral changes. Women and children who are exposed may develop virilization. It is recommended that individuals with prostate cancer not use the medication. It can cause harm if used during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
2020 guidelines from the American College of Physicians support the discussion of testosterone treatment in adult men with age-related low levels of testosterone who have sexual dysfunction. They recommend yearly evaluation regarding possible improvement and, if none, to discontinue testosterone; physicians should consider intramuscular treatments, rather than transdermal treatments, due to costs and since the effectiveness and harm of either method is similar. Testosterone treatment for reasons other than possible improvement of sexual dysfunction may not be recommended.
The effects of testosterone in humans and other vertebrates occur by way of multiple mechanisms: by activation of the androgen receptor (directly or as DHT), and by conversion to estradiol and activation of certain estrogen receptors. Androgens such as testosterone have also been found to bind to and activate membrane androgen receptors.
Free testosterone (T) is transported into the cytoplasm of target tissue cells, where it can bind to the androgen receptor, or can be reduced to 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by the cytoplasmic enzyme 5α-reductase. DHT binds to the same androgen receptor even more strongly than testosterone, so that its androgenic potency is about 5 times that of T. The T-receptor or DHT-receptor complex undergoes a structural change that allows it to move into the cell nucleus and bind directly to specific nucleotide sequences of the chromosomal DNA. The areas of binding are called hormone response elements (HREs), and influence transcriptional activity of certain genes, producing the androgen effects.
Androgen receptors occur in many different vertebrate body system tissues, and both males and females respond similarly to similar levels. Greatly differing amounts of testosterone prenatally, at puberty, and throughout life account for a share of biological differences between males and females.
The bones and the brain are two important tissues in humans where the primary effect of testosterone is by way of aromatization to estradiol. In the bones, estradiol accelerates ossification of cartilage into bone, leading to closure of the epiphyses and conclusion of growth. In the central nervous system, testosterone is aromatized to estradiol. Estradiol rather than testosterone serves as the most important feedback signal to the hypothalamus (especially affecting LH secretion). In many mammals, prenatal or perinatal "masculinization" of the sexually dimorphic areas of the brain by estradiol derived from testosterone programs later male sexual behavior.
Testosterone, via its active metabolite 3α-androstanediol, is a potent positive allosteric modulator of the GABAA receptor.
Testosterone has been found to act as an antagonist of the TrkA and p75NTR, receptors for the neurotrophin nerve growth factor (NGF), with high affinity (around 5 nM). In contrast to testosterone, DHEA and DHEA sulfate have been found to act as high-affinity agonists of these receptors.
Testosterone is an antagonist of the sigma σ1 receptor (Ki = 1,014 or 201 nM). However, the concentrations of testosterone required for binding the receptor are far above even total circulating concentrations of testosterone in adult males (which range between 10 and 35 nM).
Like other steroid hormones, testosterone is derived from cholesterol (see figure). The first step in the biosynthesis involves the oxidative cleavage of the side-chain of cholesterol by cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc, CYP11A1), a mitochondrial cytochrome P450 oxidase with the loss of six carbon atoms to give pregnenolone. In the next step, two additional carbon atoms are removed by the CYP17A1 (17α-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase) enzyme in the endoplasmic reticulum to yield a variety of C19 steroids. In addition, the 3β-hydroxyl group is oxidized by 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase to produce androstenedione. In the final and rate limiting step, the C17 keto group androstenedione is reduced by 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase to yield testosterone.
The largest amounts of testosterone (>95%) are produced by the testes in men, while the adrenal glands account for most of the remainder. Testosterone is also synthesized in far smaller total quantities in women by the adrenal glands, thecal cells of the ovaries, and, during pregnancy, by the placenta. In the testes, testosterone is produced by the Leydig cells. The male generative glands also contain Sertoli cells, which require testosterone for spermatogenesis. Like most hormones, testosterone is supplied to target tissues in the blood where much of it is transported bound to a specific plasma protein, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG).
In males, testosterone is synthesized primarily in Leydig cells. The number of Leydig cells in turn is regulated by luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). In addition, the amount of testosterone produced by existing Leydig cells is under the control of LH, which regulates the expression of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase.
The amount of testosterone synthesized is regulated by the hypothalamic–pituitary–testicular axis (see figure to the right). When testosterone levels are low, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is released by the hypothalamus, which in turn stimulates the pituitary gland to release FSH and LH. These latter two hormones stimulate the testis to synthesize testosterone. Finally, increasing levels of testosterone through a negative feedback loop act on the hypothalamus and pituitary to inhibit the release of GnRH and FSH/LH, respectively.
Factors affecting testosterone levels may include:
The plasma protein binding of testosterone is 98.0 to 98.5%, with 1.5 to 2.0% free or unbound. It is bound 65% to sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and 33% bound weakly to albumin.
Both testosterone and 5α-DHT are metabolized mainly in the liver. Approximately 50% of testosterone is metabolized via conjugation into testosterone glucuronide and to a lesser extent testosterone sulfate by glucuronosyltransferases and sulfotransferases, respectively. An additional 40% of testosterone is metabolized in equal proportions into the 17-ketosteroids androsterone and etiocholanolone via the combined actions of 5α- and 5β-reductases, 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, and 17β-HSD, in that order. Androsterone and etiocholanolone are then glucuronidated and to a lesser extent sulfated similarly to testosterone. The conjugates of testosterone and its hepatic metabolites are released from the liver into circulation and excreted in the urine and bile. Only a small fraction (2%) of testosterone is excreted unchanged in the urine.
In the hepatic 17-ketosteroid pathway of testosterone metabolism, testosterone is converted in the liver by 5α-reductase and 5β-reductase into 5α-DHT and the inactive 5β-DHT, respectively. Then, 5α-DHT and 5β-DHT are converted by 3α-HSD into 3α-androstanediol and 3α-etiocholanediol, respectively. Subsequently, 3α-androstanediol and 3α-etiocholanediol are converted by 17β-HSD into androsterone and etiocholanolone, which is followed by their conjugation and excretion. 3β-Androstanediol and 3β-etiocholanediol can also be formed in this pathway when 5α-DHT and 5β-DHT are acted upon by 3β-HSD instead of 3α-HSD, respectively, and they can then be transformed into epiandrosterone and epietiocholanolone, respectively. A small portion of approximately 3% of testosterone is reversibly converted in the liver into androstenedione by 17β-HSD.
In addition to conjugation and the 17-ketosteroid pathway, testosterone can also be hydroxylated and oxidized in the liver by cytochrome P450 enzymes, including CYP3A4, CYP3A5, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, and CYP2D6. 6β-Hydroxylation and to a lesser extent 16β-hydroxylation are the major transformations. The 6β-hydroxylation of testosterone is catalyzed mainly by CYP3A4 and to a lesser extent CYP3A5 and is responsible for 75 to 80% of cytochrome P450-mediated testosterone metabolism. In addition to 6β- and 16β-hydroxytestosterone, 1β-, 2α/β-, 11β-, and 15β-hydroxytestosterone are also formed as minor metabolites. Certain cytochrome P450 enzymes such as CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 can also oxidize testosterone at the C17 position to form androstenedione.
Two of the immediate metabolites of testosterone, 5α-DHT and estradiol, are biologically important and can be formed both in the liver and in extrahepatic tissues. Approximately 5 to 7% of testosterone is converted by 5α-reductase into 5α-DHT, with circulating levels of 5α-DHT about 10% of those of testosterone, and approximately 0.3% of testosterone is converted into estradiol by aromatase. 5α-Reductase is highly expressed in the male reproductive organs (including the prostate gland, seminal vesicles, and epididymides), skin, hair follicles, and brain and aromatase is highly expressed in adipose tissue, bone, and the brain. As much as 90% of testosterone is converted into 5α-DHT in so-called androgenic tissues with high 5α-reductase expression, and due to the several-fold greater potency of 5α-DHT as an AR agonist relative to testosterone, it has been estimated that the effects of testosterone are potentiated 2- to 3-fold in such tissues.
Total levels of testosterone in the body are 264 to 916 ng/dL in men age 19 to 39 years, while mean testosterone levels in adult men have been reported as 630 ng/dL. Levels of testosterone in men decline with age. In women, mean levels of total testosterone have been reported to be 32.6 ng/dL. In women with hyperandrogenism, mean levels of total testosterone have been reported to be 62.1 ng/dL.
Testosterone's bioavailable concentration is commonly determined using the Vermeulen calculation or more precisely using the modified Vermeulen method, which considers the dimeric form of sex-hormone-binding-globulin.
Both methods use chemical equilibrium to derive the concentration of bioavailable testosterone: in circulation testosterone has two major binding partners, albumin (weakly bound) and sex-hormone-binding-globulin (strongly bound). These methods are described in detail in the accompanying figure.
A testicular action was linked to circulating blood fractions – now understood to be a family of androgenic hormones – in the early work on castration and testicular transplantation in fowl by Arnold Adolph Berthold (1803–1861). Research on the action of testosterone received a brief boost in 1889, when the Harvard professor Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard (1817–1894), then in Paris, self-injected subcutaneously a "rejuvenating elixir" consisting of an extract of dog and guinea pig testicle. He reported in "The Lancet" that his vigor and feeling of well-being were markedly restored but the effects were transient, and Brown-Séquard's hopes for the compound were dashed. Suffering the ridicule of his colleagues, he abandoned his work on the mechanisms and effects of androgens in human beings.
In 1927, the University of Chicago's Professor of Physiologic Chemistry, Fred C. Koch, established easy access to a large source of bovine testicles — the Chicago stockyards — and recruited students willing to endure the tedious work of extracting their isolates. In that year, Koch and his student, Lemuel McGee, derived 20 mg of a substance from a supply of 40 pounds of bovine testicles that, when administered to castrated roosters, pigs and rats, remasculinized them. The group of Ernst Laqueur at the University of Amsterdam purified testosterone from bovine testicles in a similar manner in 1934, but isolation of the hormone from animal tissues in amounts permitting serious study in humans was not feasible until three European pharmaceutical giants—Schering (Berlin, Germany), Organon (Oss, Netherlands) and Ciba (Basel, Switzerland)—began full-scale steroid research and development programs in the 1930s.
The Organon group in the Netherlands were the first to isolate the hormone, identified in a May 1935 paper "On Crystalline Male Hormone from Testicles (Testosterone)". They named the hormone "testosterone", from the stems of "testicle" and "sterol", and the suffix of "ketone". The structure was worked out by Schering's Adolf Butenandt, at the "Chemisches Institut" of Technical University in Gdańsk.
The chemical synthesis of testosterone from cholesterol was achieved in August that year by Butenandt and Hanisch. Only a week later, the Ciba group in Zurich, Leopold Ruzicka (1887–1976) and A. Wettstein, published their synthesis of testosterone. These independent partial syntheses of testosterone from a cholesterol base earned both Butenandt and Ruzicka the joint 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Testosterone was identified as 17β-hydroxyandrost-4-en-3-one (C19H28O2), a solid polycyclic alcohol with a hydroxyl group at the 17th carbon atom. This also made it obvious that additional modifications on the synthesized testosterone could be made, i.e., esterification and alkylation.
The partial synthesis in the 1930s of abundant, potent testosterone esters permitted the characterization of the hormone's effects, so that Kochakian and Murlin (1936) were able to show that testosterone raised nitrogen retention (a mechanism central to anabolism) in the dog, after which Allan Kenyon's group was able to demonstrate both anabolic and androgenic effects of testosterone propionate in eunuchoidal men, boys, and women. The period of the early 1930s to the 1950s has been called "The Golden Age of Steroid Chemistry", and work during this period progressed quickly. Research in this golden age proved that this newly synthesized compound—testosterone—or rather family of compounds (for many derivatives were developed from 1940 to 1960), was a potent multiplier of muscle, strength, and well-being.
Testosterone is observed in most vertebrates. Testosterone and the classical nuclear androgen receptor first appeared in gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates). Agnathans (jawless vertebrates) such as lampreys do not produce testosterone but instead use androstenedione as a male sex hormone. Fish make a slightly different form called 11-ketotestosterone. Its counterpart in insects is ecdysone. The presence of these ubiquitous steroids in a wide range of animals suggest that sex hormones have an ancient evolutionary history. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30983 |
Toyota
Toyota is the global market leader in sales of hybrid electric vehicles, and one of the largest companies to encourage the mass-market adoption of hybrid vehicles across the globe. Toyota is also a market leader in hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Cumulative global sales of Toyota and Lexus hybrid passenger car models achieved the 15 million milestone in January 2020. Its Prius family is the world's top-selling hybrid nameplate with over 6 million units sold worldwide .
The company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937, as a spinoff from his father's company Toyota Industries, to create automobiles. Three years earlier, in 1934, while still a department of Toyota Industries, it created its first product, the Type A engine, and its first passenger car in 1936, the Toyota AA. Toyota Motor Corporation produces vehicles under five brands, including the Toyota brand, Hino, Lexus, Ranz, and Daihatsu. It also holds a 16.66% stake in Subaru Corporation, a 5.9% stake in Isuzu until 2018, a 5.5% stake in Mazda, a 4.9% stake in Suzuki, as well as joint-ventures with two in China (GAC Toyota and Sichuan FAW Toyota Motor), one in India (Toyota Kirloskar), one in the Czech Republic (TPCA), along with several "nonautomotive" companies. TMC is part of the Toyota Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Japan.
Toyota is listed on the London Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Toyota is headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi. The main headquarters of Toyota is located in a four-story building in Toyota. As of 2006, the head office has the "Toyopet" Toyota logo and the words "Toyota Motor". The Toyota Technical Center, a 14-story building, and the Honsha plant, Toyota's second plant engaging in mass production and formerly named the Koromo plant, are adjacent to one another in a location near the headquarters. Vinod Jacob from "The Hindu" described the main headquarters building as "modest". In 2013, company head Akio Toyoda reported that it had difficulties retaining foreign employees at the headquarters due to the lack of amenities in the city.
Its Tokyo office is located in Bunkyo, Tokyo. Its Nagoya office is located in Nakamura-ku, Nagoya. In addition to manufacturing automobiles, Toyota provides financial services through its Toyota Financial Services division, and also builds robots.
In 1981, Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. announced plans to merge with its sales entity Toyota Motor Sales Co., Ltd. Since 1950, the two entities had existed as separate companies as a prerequisite for reconstruction in postwar Japan. Shoichiro Toyoda presided over Toyota Motor Sales in preparation for the consummation of the merger that occurred in 1982. Shoichiro then succeeded his uncle Eiji as the president of the combined organization that then became known as Toyota Motor Corporation.
On June 14, 2013, Toyota Motor Corporation announced the appointment of external board members; this was a first for the corporation and occurred following approval from general shareholders at a meeting on the same day. Additionally, Vice Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada replaced Fujio Cho as chairman, as the latter became an honorary chairman while Toyoda remains in the post of president.
Toyota is publicly traded on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Sapporo exchanges under company code . In addition, Toyota is foreign-listed on the New York Stock Exchange under and on the London Stock Exchange under . Toyota has been publicly traded in Japan since 1949 and internationally since 1999.
As reported on its consolidated financial statements, Toyota has 606 consolidated subsidiaries and 199 affiliates.
Toyota, which earlier was the world's third-largest automotive manufacturer by production volume behind American General Motors and Ford, produced for the first time in history more vehicles than Ford in 2005, and in 2006 even more than General Motors and has been the world's largest automotive manufacturer by production volume since then, except in 2011 when, triggered by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, it fell to the number 3 position behind General Motors and German Volkswagen Group.
In 1924, Sakichi Toyoda invented the Toyoda Model G Automatic Loom. The principle of "jidoka", which means the machine stops itself when a problem occurs, became later a part of the Toyota Production System. Looms were built on a small production line. In 1929, the patent for the automatic loom was sold to the British company Platt Brothers, generating the starting capital for automobile development.
The production of Toyota automobiles was started in 1933 as a division of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works devoted to the production of automobiles under the direction of the founder's son, Kiichiro Toyoda. Its first vehicles were the A1 passenger car and the G1 truck in 1935. The Toyota Motor Company was established as an independent company in 1937
Vehicles were originally sold under the name "Toyoda" (トヨダ), from the family name of the company's founder, Kiichirō Toyoda. In April 1936, Toyoda's first passenger car, the Model AA, was completed. The sales price was 3,350 yen, 400 yen cheaper than Ford or GM cars.
In September 1936, the company ran a public competition to design a new logo. Of 27,000 entries, the winning entry was the three Japanese "katakana" letters for "Toyoda" in a circle. However, Rizaburo Toyoda, who had married into the family and was not born with that name, preferred "Toyota" () because it took eight brush strokes (a lucky number) to write in Japanese, was visually simpler (leaving off the diacritic at the end), and with a voiceless consonant instead of a voiced one (voiced consonants are considered to have a "murky" or "muddy" sound compared to voiceless consonants, which are "clear").
Since "toyoda" literally means "fertile rice paddies", changing the name also prevented the company from being associated with old-fashioned farming. The newly formed word was trademarked and the company was registered in August 1937 as the Toyota Motor Company.
The Japanese government supported the company by preventing foreign competitors Ford and General Motors from importing automobiles into Japan.
From September 1947, Toyota's small-sized vehicles were sold under the name "Toyopet" (トヨペット). The first vehicle sold under this name was the Toyopet SA, but it also included vehicles such as the Toyopet SB light truck, Toyopet Stout light truck, Toyopet Crown, Toyopet Master, and the Toyopet Corona. The word "Toyopet" () was a nickname given to the Toyota SA due to its small size, as the result of a naming contest the Toyota Company organized in 1947. However, when Toyota eventually entered the American market in 1957 with the Crown, the name was not well received due to connotations of toys and pets. The car was withdrawn from the American market in 1958, but continued in other markets until the mid-1960s.
The company continued to be supported by the state. In 1949 the Bank of Japan, the central bank of the country, bailed out the company.
By the early 1960s, the US had begun placing stiff import tariffs on certain vehicles. The so-called "chicken tax" of 1964 placed a 25% tax on imported light trucks. In response to the tariff, Toyota, Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. began building plants in the US by the early 1980s.
Toyota received its first Japanese Quality Control Award at the start of the 1980s and began participating in a wide variety of motorsports. Due to the 1973 oil crisis, consumers in the lucrative US market began turning to making small cars with better fuel economy. American car manufacturers had considered small economy cars to be an entry-level product, and their small vehicles employed a low level of quality to keep the price low. Conservative Toyota held on to rear-wheel-drive designs for longer than most; while a clear first in overall production they were only third in production of front-wheel-drive cars in 1983, behind Nissan and Honda. In part due to this, Nissan's Sunny managed to squeeze by the Corolla in numbers built that year.
In 1982, the Toyota Motor Company and Toyota Motor Sales merged into one company, the Toyota Motor Corporation. Two years later, Toyota entered into a joint venture with General Motors called the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc, NUMMI, operating an automobile-manufacturing plant in Fremont, California. The factory was an old General Motors plant that had been closed for two years. It is currently the site of Tesla, Inc.'s assembly plant. Toyota then started to establish new brands at the end of the 1980s, with the launch of their luxury division Lexus in 1989.
In the 1990s, Toyota began to branch out from producing mostly compact cars by adding many larger and more luxurious vehicles to its lineup, including a full-sized pickup, the T100 (and later the Tundra), several lines of SUVs, a sport version of the Camry, known as the Camry Solara. They would also launch newer iterations of their sports cars, namely the MR2, Celica, and Supra during this era.
With a major presence in Europe, due to the success of Toyota Team Europe, the corporation decided to set up Toyota Motor Europe Marketing and Engineering, TMME, to help market vehicles in the continent. Two years later, Toyota set up a base in the United Kingdom, TMUK, as the company's cars had become very popular among British drivers. Bases in Indiana, Virginia, and Tianjin were also set up. In 1999, the company decided to list itself on the New York and London Stock Exchanges.
In 2001, Toyota's Toyo Trust and Banking merged with two other banks to form UFJ Bank, which was accused of corruption by Japan's government for making bad loans to alleged Yakuza crime syndicates with executives accused of blocking Financial Service Agency inspections. The UFJ was listed among Fortune Magazine's largest money-losing corporations in the world, with Toyota's chairman serving as a director. At the time, the UFJ was one of the largest shareholders of Toyota. As a result of Japan's banking crisis, UFJ merged with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi to become the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
In 2002, Toyota managed to enter a Formula One works team and establish joint ventures with French motoring companies Citroën and Peugeot a year after Toyota started producing cars in France.
A youth-oriented marque for North America, Scion, was introduced in 2003.
Toyota ranked eighth on Forbes 2000 list of the world's leading companies for the year 2005 but slid to 55th for 2011. The company was number one in global automobile sales for the first quarter of 2008.
In 2007, Toyota released an update of its full-sized truck, the Tundra, produced in two American factories, one in Texas and one in Indiana. "Motor Trend" named the Tundra "Truck of the Year", and the 2007 Toyota Camry "Car of the Year" for 2007. It also began the construction of two new factories, one to build the RAV4 in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, and the other to build the Toyota Prius in Blue Springs, Mississippi, USA. This plant was originally intended to build the Toyota Highlander, but Toyota decided to use the plant in Princeton, Indiana, USA, instead. The company has also found recent success with its smaller models—the Corolla and Yaris.
In 2011, Toyota, along with large parts of the Japanese automotive industry, suffered from a series of natural disasters. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami led to a severe disruption of the supplier base and a drop in production and exports. Severe flooding during the 2011 monsoon season in Thailand affected Japanese automakers that had chosen Thailand as a production base. Toyota is estimated to have lost production of 150,000 units to the tsunami and production of 240,000 units to the floods.
On February 10, 2014, it was announced that Toyota would cease manufacturing vehicles and engines in Australia by the end of 2017. The decision was based on the unfavourable Australian dollar making exports not viable, the high cost of local manufacture and the high amount of competition in a relatively small local market. The company plans to consolidate its corporate functions in Melbourne by the end of 2017. The head office will remain in Port Melbourne and the Altona plant will be retained for other functions. The workforce is expected to be reduced from 3,900 to 1,300. Both Ford Motor Company and General Motors (Holden) followed suit, ending Australian production in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
The automaker narrowly topped global sales for the first half of 2014, selling 5.1 million vehicles in the six months ending June 30, 2014, an increase of 3.8% on the same period the previous year. Volkswagen AG, which recorded sales of 5.07 million vehicles, was close behind.
In August 2014, Toyota announced it would be cutting its spare-parts prices in China by up to 35%. The company admitted the move was in response to a probe foreshadowed earlier in the month by China's National Development and Reform Commission of Toyota's Lexus spare-parts policies, as part of an industry-wide investigation into what the Chinese regulator considers exorbitantly high prices being charged by automakers for spare parts and after-sales servicing.
In November 2015, the company announced that it would invest over the next 5 years into artificial intelligence and robotics research. In 2016, Toyota invested in Uber. The invested amount is not public information.
In March 2016, Toyota partnered with Yanmar to create a fiberglass pleasure boat using Yanmar outboard marine diesel engines or Toyota inboard engines.
On August 27, 2018, Toyota announced an investment of $500 Million in Uber's autonomous cars.
From November 2009 through 2010, Toyota recalled more than 9 million cars and trucks worldwide in several recall campaigns, and briefly halted production and sales. After pressure from the NHTSA, Toyota issued the recalls, after reports that several vehicles experienced unintended acceleration.
In October 2012, Toyota announced a recall of 7.43 million vehicles worldwide to fix malfunctioning power window switches, the largest recall since that of Ford Motor Company in 1996. The move came after a series of recalls between 2009 and 2011 in which it pulled back around 10 million cars amidst claims of faulty mechanics. In March 2014, Toyota agreed to pay a fine of for concealing information and misleading the public about the safety issues behind the recalls on Toyota and Lexus vehicles affected by unintended acceleration. Toyota never agreed to be at fault for the problem.
In early November 2014, Toyota USA enlisted a recall involving defective inflaters and propellant devices that may deploy improperly in the event of a crash, shooting metal fragments into vehicle occupants. More than 7 million vehicles are potentially affected in the United States. This recall only affects vehicles equipped with Takata airbags released after the year 2000 in North America. The airbags were manufactured by Takata automotive manufacturing. Toyota is offering a free repair to all affected vehicles worldwide. The fault in the Takata air bags also affected other North American automobile manufacturers as well as European and Japanese automobile manufacturers.
In December 2018, Toyota USA announced a recall of Toyota and Lexus vehicles with Takata airbags that had previously been replaced by the company. The recall affects specific Toyota Corollas, Sequoias, Tundras and Lexus vehicles made between 2002–2005. This recall was announced one year ahead of the initially scheduled recall in December 2019.
In May 2020, Toyota Vietnam recalls 32,527 cars in Vietnam for fuel pump issue.
In 1936, Toyota entered the passenger car market with its Model AA and held a competition to establish a new logo emphasizing speed for its new product line. After receiving 27,000 entries, one was selected that additionally resulted in a change of its moniker to "Toyota" from the family name "Toyoda". The new name was believed to sound better, and its eight-stroke count in the Japanese language was associated with wealth and good fortune. The original logo is no longer found on its vehicles but remains the corporate emblem used in Japan.
Still, no guidelines existed for the use of the brand name, so "TOYOTA", which was used throughout most of the world, led to inconsistencies in its worldwide marketing campaigns.
To remedy this, Toyota introduced a new worldwide logo in October 1989 to commemorate the 50th year of the company, and to differentiate it from the newly released luxury Lexus brand. The logo made its debut on the 1989 Toyota Celsior and quickly gained worldwide recognition. The three ovals in the new logo combine to form the letter "T", which stands for Toyota. The overlapping of the two perpendicular ovals inside the larger oval represents the mutually beneficial relationship and trust between the customer and the company while the larger oval surrounding both of these inner ovals represents the "global expansion of Toyota's technology and unlimited potential for the future".
The new logo started appearing on all printed material, advertisements, dealer signage, and most of the vehicles themselves in 1990.
In countries or regions using traditional Chinese characters, e.g. Hong Kong and Taiwan, Toyota is known as "豐田". In countries using simplified Chinese characters (e.g. China, Singapore), Toyota is written as "丰田" (pronounced as "Fēngtián" in Mandarin Chinese and "Hɔng Tshan" in Minnanese). These are the same characters as the founding family's name "Toyoda" in Japanese.
In Japan, Toyota currently maintains separate dealership sales channels. Toyota sought out to use a hierarchical marketing approach, similar to methods used in North America, but implemented it at all of its dealership chains, with some models being exclusive to particular locations.
The first sales channel established in 1946 is called "Toyota Store" (トヨタ店 "Toyota-ten") and offers large luxury sedans such as the Toyota Century and the Toyota Crown. In more recent years, the Toyota Store's line was expanded to include hybrid and alternate fuel vehicles. In 1955, the "Toyopet Store" (トヨペット店 "Toyopetto-ten") arrived, originally established to sell the Toyota Corona and the Toyopet ToyoAce truck, and currently features mid-range models. ( in Japanese.)
The "Toyota Publica Store" (トヨタパブリカ店 "Toyota Paburika-ten") was established in 1961 to sell the Toyota Publica. In 1966 it was renamed the "Toyota Corolla Store" (トヨタカローラ店 "Toyota Karōra-ten") to sell the Toyota Corolla. The dealership chain focuses on budget models.
The "Toyota Auto Store" (トヨタオート店 "Toyota Ōto-ten") sales network was established in 1967 to sell a Corolla clone called the Toyota Sprinter, and was renamed "Toyota Vista Store" (トヨタ・ビスタ) in 1980 to sell a Camry clone called called the Toyota Vista. "Vista Store" was replaced with two networks; "Netz Toyota" (ネッツトヨタ店 "Nettsu-Toyota-ten") in August 1998, and Lexus in 2004. Some former Vista Store models were rebranded as Lexus (レクサス "Rekusasu"), such as the Altezza and the Aristo, while other products have been taken over by the "Netz Toyota", which was already selling the Toyota ist and the Toyota RAV4. "Netz" is an acronym for "Network of Energetic Teams for Zenith", and targets young buyers.
Toyota previously operated a commercial dealership called (トヨタディーゼル店 "Toyota Dīzeru-ten") from 1957 until 1988 that sold various commercial platform trucks, buses, and forklifts, such as the Toyota Dyna and the Toyota Coaster. Hino products were sold at specific Hino locations and shared at Toyota Diesel Store locations after Toyota acquired the company in 1967. Starting in 1980, the Diesel Shop also sold the Starlet, Corolla, Corona, Vista, and Crown installed with diesel engines. When the Toyota Diesel Store was disbanded, commercial products were divided between Toyota Store and Toyopet Store locations.
In 2012, selected Japanese dealership locations were given a special designation called "Area 86" that resembled the North American Toyota network, called Scion, to sell the Toyota 86, building on the marketing approach started with WiLL branded products. As of 2017, the "Area 86" network was rebranded as "GR" for Gazoo Racing, sharing a similar approach to the performance division Toyota Racing Development or "TRD", providing various upgrades for the 86, Vitz, Prius, Mark X, Harrier, Noah and Voxy.
In the female idol group, AKB48, Toyota and AKS, has worked together to create a subunit named 'Team 8'. Team 8 is created with the idea, 'Idols who come to meet you'. They have a total of 47 members, each representing a prefecture of Japan.
Starting May 2020, vehicles that were exclusive to particular networks began to be shared within the larger network. This means that in Japan a customer can purchase any Toyota new from any of the four dealerships, while Lexus products remain exclusive to Lexus locations.
The following is a list of all past model, identified with a ☆ and present models identified with a ★ and where they were available at retail channels nationally. Most models were exclusive to particular retail chains, while some models, like the Prius, are available at all sales channels and are identified with a ◎. Retail chains in Tokyo, Osaka and Okinawa are different.
Century★◎, Crown Majesta☆, Crown★◎, Master☆, SAI☆, Mirai★◎, Prius★◎, Aqua★◎, Allion★◎, Succeed☆, Blade☆, Avensis☆, Sienta★◎, Corolla RunX☆, C-HR★◎, Porte★◎, Estima★◎, Isis☆, Roomy★◎, FJ Cruiser☆, Comfort☆, Japan Taxi★◎, Land Cruiser★◎, Hilux Surf★◎, Land Cruiser Prado★◎, Dyna★◎, Stout☆, Esquire★◎, Coaster★◎, QuickDelivery☆, 2000GT☆, Carina☆, Carina ED☆, GT-86★◎, Brevis☆, Gaia☆, Cavalier☆, Classic☆, MasterAce★◎, Hilux★◎, Mega Cruiser☆, Soarer☆, Origin☆, Caldina☆.
Mark X☆, SAI☆, Mirai★◎, Premio★◎, Prius★◎, Aqua★◎, Belta☆, Mark X ZiO☆, Succeed☆, Ractis☆, Auris☆, Blade☆, GT-86★◎, Porte★◎, Harrier☆, Vanguard★◎, Esquire★◎, Rush★◎, C-HR★◎, Avensis☆, Alphard☆, Comfort☆, HiAce◎, ToyoAce★◎, Tank★◎, Sienta★◎, Pixis Space★◎, Mark II-Mark II Qualis-Mark II Blit☆, Corona☆, Corona EXiV☆, Corona Coupe☆, Corsa☆, Opa☆, Avalon☆, Progrès☆, Cami☆, ist☆, Platz☆, Soarer☆, Hilux★◎, Cynos☆, Regius☆, Celsior☆, Origin☆, Caldina☆, Ipsum☆.
SAI☆, Camry★◎, Prius★◎, Aqua★◎, Corolla Axio★◎, GT-86★◎, Belta☆, Spade☆, Probox★◎, Corolla Rumion☆, C-HR★◎, Ractis★◎, Passo★◎, Corolla Verso☆, Sera☆, Vanguard★◎, Roomy★◎, Estima★◎, Noah★◎, Avensis☆, Sienta★◎, TownAce★◎, Pixis★◎, Publica☆, Tercel☆, Windom☆, Scepter☆, Corolla Ceres☆, Origin☆, Nadia☆, WiLL☆, RAV4★◎, Sports 800☆, Celica☆, Supra★◎, Corolla Levin☆, Celica XX☆, Celica Camry☆.
Vitz☆, Yaris★◎, SAI☆, Prius★◎, Aqua★◎, ist☆, Auris★◎, bB☆, Avensis☆, Raum☆, Spade★◎, Wish★◎, Voxy★◎, RAV4★◎, C-HR★◎, Kluger★◎, Vellfire★◎, iQ☆, Allex★◎, Tank★◎, Pixis★◎, Fun Cargo☆, Pronard☆, Altezza☆, Verossa☆, Curren☆, Aristo☆, MR-S☆, MR2☆, Starlet☆, Vista☆, Cresta☆, Sprinter☆, Voltz☆, Blizzard☆, Chaser☆, Sprinter Marino☆, Carib☆, Granvia☆, Sprinter Trueno☆, LiteAce★◎, Ipsum☆, GT-86★◎, WiLL (1999–2004)☆.
Toyota sponsored, and still sponsors several teams and has purchased naming rights for several venues, and even competitions, including:
, Toyota is an official sponsor of Cricket Australia, the England and Wales Cricket Board and the AFL. In March 2015, Toyota became a sponsor partner for the Olympic Games, in the form of supplying vehicles and communications between vehicles until 2024.
Toyota's management philosophy has evolved from the company's origins and has been reflected in the terms "Lean Manufacturing" and Just In Time Production, which it was instrumental in developing. Toyota's managerial values and business methods are known collectively as the Toyota Way. Many businesses worldwide have adopted a similar approach to manufacturing.
In April 2001, Toyota adopted the "Toyota Way 2001", an expression of values and conduct guidelines that all Toyota employees should embrace. Under the two headings of Respect for People and Continuous Improvement, Toyota summarizes its values and conduct guidelines with these five principles:
According to external observers, the Toyota Way has four components:
The Toyota Way incorporates the Toyota Production System.
Toyota has long been recognized as an industry leader in manufacturing and production. The result is the development of the Toyota Production System. Three stories of its origin have been found, one that they studied Piggly-Wiggly's just-in-time distribution system, one that they followed the writings of W. Edwards Deming, and one that they were given the principles from a WWII US government training program (Training Within Industry).
As described by external observers of Toyota, the principles of the Toyota Way are:
Toyota has grown from its origins in Japan during the 1930s to become a large multinational corporation. It displaced GM and became the world's largest automobile maker for the year 2008. It held the title of the most profitable automobile maker ( in 2006) along with increasing sales in, among other countries, the United States. The world headquarters of Toyota is located in its home country in Toyota City, Japan. Its subsidiary, Toyota Financial Services sells financing and participates in other lines of business. Toyota brands include Scion and Lexus and the corporation is part of the Toyota Group. Toyota also owns 51% of Daihatsu, and 16.7% of Fuji Heavy Industries, which manufactures Subaru vehicles. They also acquired 5.9% of Isuzu Motors Ltd. on November 7, 2006, and will be introducing Isuzu diesel technology into their products.
Toyota has introduced new technologies, including one of the first mass-produced hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles, the Prius, of which it has sold 2 million globally as of 2010, Advanced Parking Guidance System (automatic parking), a four-speed electronically controlled automatic with buttons for power and economy shifting, and an eight-speed automatic transmission. Toyota, and Toyota-produced Lexus and Scion automobiles, consistently rank near the top in certain quality and reliability surveys, primarily J.D. Power and Consumer Reports although they led in automobile recalls for the first time in 2009.
In 2005, Toyota, combined with its half-owned subsidiary Daihatsu Motor Company, produced 8.54 million vehicles, about 500,000 fewer than the number produced by GM that year. Toyota has a large market share in the United States, but a small market share in Europe. It also sells vehicles in Africa and is a market leader in Australia. Due to its Daihatsu subsidiary, it has significant market shares in several fast-growing Southeast Asian countries.
According to the 2017 Fortune Global 500, Toyota is the fifth largest company in the world. Since the recession of 2001, it has gained market share in the United States. Toyota's market share struggles in Europe where its Lexus brand has 0.3% market share, compared to nearly 2% market share as the US luxury segment leader.
In the first three months of 2007, Toyota together with its half-owned subsidiary Daihatsu reported number one sales of 2.348 million units. Toyota's brand sales had risen 9.2% largely on demand for Corolla and Camry sedans. The difference in performance was largely attributed to surging demand for fuel-efficient vehicles. In November 2006, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas added a facility in San Antonio. Toyota has experienced quality problems and was reprimanded by the government in Japan for its recall practices. In 2007, Toyota maintained over 16% of the US market share and was listed second only to GM in terms of volume. Toyota Century Royal is the official state car of the Japanese imperial family, namely for the current Emperor of Japan.
Toyota was hit by the global financial crisis of 2008 as it was forced in December 2008 to forecast its first annual loss in 70 years.
In January 2009, it announced the closure of all of its Japanese plants for 11 days to reduce output and stocks of unsold vehicles.
Akio Toyoda became the new president and CEO of the company on June 23, 2009, by replacing Katsuaki Watanabe, who became the new vice chairman by replacing Katsuhiro Nakagawa.
In 2018 Toyota was regarded as being behind in smart car technology and in need of innovation. The company invested $4 billion in a robotics and AI research institute to create safer vehicles. Alongside the robotics and AI centre, Toyota launched a $2.8 Billion dollar Self-Driving Car Company called Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development, or TRI-AD, with automotive supplier Aisin Seiki and Denso.
Toyota invested $500m in the driverless car company Uber with the ambition to build the combined technology into Toyota's Sienna minivans, to be used on Uber's ride-hailing network from 2021. In 2019 Toyota partnered with Chinese technology firm Cogobuy to build a Smart Car Ecosystem in the hopes of turning the company from manufacturing-oriented to intelligence-oriented.
In early 2019 it was announced that Japan is planning a moon landing for 2029 and wants its astronauts to explore the lunar surface in a vehicle built by Japanese automaker Toyota.
Toyota has factories in most parts of the world, manufacturing or assembling vehicles for local markets in Japan, Australia (until 2017), Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Canada, Indonesia, Poland, South Africa, Turkey, Colombia, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Brazil, Portugal, and more recently, Argentina, Czech Republic, Mexico (Tijuana), Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan, Egypt, China, Vietnam, Venezuela, the Philippines, and Russia.
Toyota's net revenue by geographical regions for the year ended March 31, 2007:
In 2002, Toyota initiated the Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicle project (IIMV) to optimize global manufacturing and supply systems for pickup trucks and multipurpose vehicles, and to satisfy market demand in more than 140 countries worldwide. IIMV called for diesel engines to be made in Thailand, gasoline engines in Indonesia, and manual transmissions in India and the Philippines, for supply to the countries charged with vehicle production. For vehicle assembly, Toyota would use plants in Thailand, Indonesia, Argentina, and South Africa. These four main IIMV production and export bases supply Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania, Latin America, and the Middle East with three vehicles: The Toyota Hilux (Vigo), the Fortuner, and the Toyota Innova.
Toyota Motor North America headquarters is located in Plano, Texas, and operates as a holding company in North America. Its production engineering and manufacturing headquarters is located in Georgetown, Kentucky.
Toyota Canada Inc. has been in production in Canada since 1983 with an aluminium wheel plant in Delta, British Columbia, which currently employs a workforce of roughly 260. Its first vehicle assembly plant, in Cambridge, Ontario, since 1988, now produces Corolla compact cars, Matrix crossover vehicles, and Lexus RX 350 luxury SUVs, with a workforce of 4,300 workers. Its second assembly operation in Woodstock, Ontario, began manufacturing the RAV4 late in 2008. In 2006, Toyota's subsidiary Hino Motors opened a heavy duty truck plant, also in Woodstock, employing 45 people and producing 2000 trucks annually.
Toyota has a large presence in the United States with six major assembly plants in Huntsville, Alabama, Georgetown, Kentucky, Princeton, Indiana, San Antonio, Texas, Buffalo, West Virginia, and Blue Springs, Mississippi. Toyota had a joint-venture operation with General Motors at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. in Fremont, California, which began in 1984 and ended in 2009. It had a joint venture with Subaru at Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. in Lafayette, Indiana, which started in 2006 and ended in May 2016. In these assembly plants, the Camry and the Tundra were manufactured, among others.
Toyota marketing, sales, and distribution in the US are conducted through a separate subsidiary, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. It has started producing larger trucks, such as the new Tundra, to go after the large truck market in the United States. Toyota is also pushing hybrid vehicles in the US such as the Prius, Camry Hybrid, Highlander Hybrid, and various Lexus products. Currently, Toyota has no plans to offer diesel motor options in its North American products, including the light-duty pickup trucks.
In 1963, Australia was one of the first countries to assemble Toyotas outside Japan. However, in February 2014, Toyota was the last of Australia's major automakers to announce the end of production in Australia. The closure of Toyota's Australian plant was completed on October 3, 2017, and had produced a total 3,451,155 vehicles. At its peak in October 2007, Toyota manufactured 15,000 cars a month. Before Toyota, Ford and GM's Holden had announced similar moves, all citing an unfavorable currency and attendant high manufacturing costs.
Toyota is the world's market leader in sales of hybrid electric vehicles, one of the largest companies to encourage the mass-market adoption of hybrid vehicles across the globe, and the first to commercially mass-produce and sell such vehicles, with the introduction of the Toyota Prius in 1997. The company eventually began providing this option on its main passenger cars such as Camry and later with the Lexus divisions, producing some hybrid luxury vehicles. It labeled such technology in Toyota cars as "Hybrid Synergy Drive" and in Lexus versions as "Lexus Hybrid Drive". Cumulative global sales of Toyota and Lexus hybrid passenger car models passed the 15 million milestone in January 2020. Its Prius family is the world's top-selling hybrid nameplate with almost 4 million units sold worldwide .
, Toyota Motor Corporation sells 44 Toyota and Lexus hybrid passenger car models and one plug-in hybrid in over 90 countries and regions around the world, and the carmaker expects to achieve annual sales of 1.5 million units, and cumulative sales of 15 million units by 2020. The Prius liftback is the world's top selling hybrid gasoline-electric car, its sales achieved the 3 million unit milestone in June 2013, and cumulative sales since 1997 totaled 3,984,600 units at the end of January 2017. The Prius liftback ranks as the top selling hybrid car in the U.S. market, and passed the 1 million milestone in April 2011. Cumulative sales of the Prius in Japan reached the 1 million mark in August 2011. , sales of the Prius liftback totaled over 1.8 million units in Japan and 1.75 million in the United States. Cumulative TMC hybrid sales since the Prius introduction in Europe in 2000 totaled 2.8 million units through April 2020.
Worldwide sales of hybrid vehicles produced by Toyota reached 1 million vehicles by May 31, 2007, and the 2 million mark was reached by August 2009, with hybrids sold in 50 countries. The 5 million hybrid sales milestone was reached in March 2013. During 2012, Toyota and Lexus hybrid models sold more than 1 million units a year for the first time, with 1.219 million units sold. During 2013, TMC sold 1.279 million units, and the 6 million sales milestone was achieved in December 2013, just nine months after its latest million unit milestone. The 7 million sales mark was reached in September 2014, again, selling one million hybrids in nine months, and the 8 million sales milestone was achieved in July 2015, just 10 months after the previous million-unit milestone. The 9 million sales mark was reached in April 2016, again, selling one million hybrids in just nine months, and the 10 million milestone in January 2017, one more time nine months later. The 15 million milestone was reached in January 2020. Toyota estimates that up to January 2020, its hybrids have emitted more than 120 million fewer tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than would have been emitted by gasoline-powered vehicles of similar size and driving performance.
, besides the four Prius liftback generations, Toyota's hybrid lineup includes the Prius α/Prius v/Prius +, Aqua/Prius c, Camry Hybrid (1st and 2nd generation), Toyota Highlander Hybrid (Kluger Hybrid in Japan), Toyota Avalon Hybrid, Toyota Auris Hybrid, Toyota Yaris Hybrid (Europe only), and the following models sold only in Japan: Alphard Hybrid/Vellfire Hybrid, Estima Hybrid, Toyota Sai, Toyota Harrier, Toyota Crown Hybrid, Toyota Crown Mild Hybrid, Toyota Crown Majesta, Corolla Axio, Corolla Fielder, Toyota Voxy/Noah/Esquire, Toyota Sienta, Toyota Corolla Hybrid, Toyota Levin Hybrid, and Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.
Beginning in 2011, TMC introduced three new members to the Prius family, the Prius v (Prius α in Japan and Prius + in Europe), the Prius c (Toyota Aqua in Japan), and the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, released in 2012 in Japan, the U.S., and Europe. With a total of 247,230 vehicles sold during the first quarter of 2012, the Toyota Prius family became the third top selling nameplate in the world in terms of total global sales after the Toyota Corolla (300,800 units) and the Ford Focus (277,000 units). Until September 2012, the Prius liftback was the top selling new car in Japan for 16 months in a row, until it was surpassed by the Toyota Aqua (Prius c) in October 2012. With 266,567 units sold in Japan in 2012, the Aqua is considered the most successful nameplate launch in the Japanese market in the last 20 years.
The Prius c/Aqua model, with global sales of 1,380,100 units through January 2017, is TMC's second best-selling hybrid after the Prius liftback, followed the Prius α/v/+ with 671,200 units, and the two generations of the Camry Hybrid, with 614,700 units sold worldwide, all through January 2017. For both Prius family variants, Japan is the top-selling market while the U.S. is the top-selling Camry market. Ranking next is the Auris with 378,000 units sold, with Europe as the top market with 354,600 units sold.
Lexus also has their own hybrid lineup, and , consist of the LS 600h/LS 600h L, GS 450h, RX 400h/RX 450h, Lexus HS 250h, Lexus CT 200h, Lexus ES 300h, Lexus IS 300h, Lexus NX 300h, and Lexus RC 300h. Global cumulative sales of Lexus brand hybrids reached the 500 thousand mark in November 2012. The 1 million sales milestone was achieved in March 2016. The Lexus RX 400h/RX 450h ranks as the top selling Lexus hybrid with 363,000 units delivered worldwide , followed by the Lexus CT 200h with 290,800 units, and the Lexus ES 300h with 143,200 units.
Toyota's plug-in hybrid electric vehicle project began in 2007, with road trials of the prototype vehicle in France and the UK in 2008. Toyota made 600 Prius plug-in demonstration vehicles for lease to fleet and government customers. 230 were delivered in Japan beginning in late December 2009, 125 models released in the U.S. by early 2010, and 200 units in 18 European countries in 2010. France, the UK, and Germany had the largest fleets with 150 PHEVs. Canada, China, Australia, and New Zealand also participated in the global demonstration program.
The production version of the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid was released in Japan in January 2012, followed by the United States in late February, and deliveries in Europe began in late June 2012. , global sales totaled 75,400 Prius PHVs since 2012, with North America as the leading regional market with 42,700 units, followed by Japan with about 22,100 units, Europe with 10,500 units, and only about 100 units in the rest of the world. The United States is the country market leader with 42,320 units delivered through April 2016. The leading European market is the Netherlands with 4,134 units registered .
During its first year in the market, a total of 27,279 Prius PHVs were sold worldwide, allowing the plug-in version to rank as the second most sold plug-in electric car for 2012. Accounting for cumulative sales since its inception, the Prius PHV was the world's all-time third best selling plug-in electric car by December 2014. Production of the first generation Prius Plug-in ended in June 2015. , the Prius Plug-in Hybrid ranked as the world's second top selling plug-in hybrid ever after the Volt/Ampera family. , the Prius plug-in ranking among the top selling plug-in cars fell to fifth place after the Tesla Model S and the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV.
The second generation Prius plug-in hybrid, named Toyota Prius Prime in the US, was unveiled at the 2016 New York International Auto Show, and was released in the U.S. in November 2016. Unlike the first generation model, it is available in all 50 states. Sales in Japan started on February 15, 2017.
The first generation Toyota RAV4 EV was leased in the United States from 1997 to 2003, and at the lessees' request, many units were sold after the vehicle was discontinued. A total of 1,484 were leased and/or sold in California to meet the state's CARB mandate for zero-emissions vehicles. As of mid-2012, there were almost 500 units still in use.
In May 2010, Toyota launched a collaboration with Tesla Motors to create electric vehicles. Toyota agreed to purchase of Tesla common stock subsequent to the closing of Tesla's planned initial public offering. Toyota, with the assistance of Tesla, built 35 converted RAV4s (Phase Zero vehicles) for a demonstration and evaluation program that ran through 2011. The lithium metal-oxide battery and other power train components were supplied by Tesla Motors. Four years later, Toyota, along with Daimler, began to unwind its position in Tesla. Toyota and Daimler made more than $1 bln from the investment.
The Toyota RAV4 EV Concept was released in September 2012. The RAV4 EV was assembled at Toyota's facility in Woodstock, Ontario along with the regular gasoline version. Tesla built the electric powertrain at its plant at Tesla Factory in Fremont, California, and then shipped them to Canada. The RAV4 EV was sold only in California, beginning with the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles/Orange County, and San Diego. Production was limited to 2,600 units during a three-year period. , a total of 2,340 RAV4 EVs were sold in the U.S. to retail customers. Production ended in September 2014.
A prototype of the Toyota iQ EV (Scion iQ EV in the US) was exhibited at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. The Scion iQ EV is the successor to the FT-EV II as an electric vehicle based on the Toyota iQ chassis. Toyota produced three generations of FT-EV concept cars, and the iQ EV is a production version of those concepts, incorporating the technological and design strengths of all three models. The exterior of the production version is based on the FT-EV III concept shown at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show.
The U.S. launch of the Scion iQ EV was announced for 2012, and according to Toyota, for the initial roll-out the iQ EV would not be available to individual consumers, instead, the carmaker decided to focus on fleet customers and car sharing programs. The iQ EV was scheduled to be produced at Toyota's Takaoka Plant in Toyota City beginning in August 2012 and the initial production was planned to be limited to 600 units, with 400 staying in Japan, 100 units destined to the U.S., and the other 100 for Europe. In September 2012, Toyota announced that due to customers' concerns about range and charging time, the production of the Scion iQ (Toyota eQ in Japan) will be limited to about 100 units for special fleet use in Japan and the U.S. only. The iQ EV/eQ was scheduled to be released in both countries in December 2012.
The first 30 iQ EVs were delivered in the U.S. to the University of California, Irvine in March 2013 for use in its Zero Emission Vehicle-Network Enabled Transport (ZEV-NET) carsharing fleet. Since 2002, the ZEV-NET program has been serving the transport needs of the Irvine community with all-electric vehicles for the critical last mile of commutes from the Irvine train station to the UC campus and local business offices.
In addition, Toyota announced that is backing away from fully electric vehicles. The company's vice chairman, Takeshi Uchiyamada, said: ""The current capabilities of electric vehicles do not meet society’s needs, whether it may be the distance the cars can run, or the costs, or how it takes a long time to charge"." Toyota's emphasis would be re-focused on the hybrid concept, and 21 new hybrid gas-electric models scheduled to be on the market by 2015.
Toyota's project called (Harmonious Mobility Network), is using the Toyota i-Road, an all-electric vehicle which combines the potential of both cars and motorbikes. The project is being run in Grenoble, France; Toyota City, Japan; and also Tokyo, Japan.
Toyota unveiled an electric 2-seater kei car in October 2019, named the Ultra-Compact Battery-Electric Vehicle (BEV). The range is estimated at 100 km (62 mi), and it has a top speed of 60 km/h (37 mph). It will formally debut at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show and will go on sale in Japan in late 2020.
In 2002, Toyota began a development and demonstration program to test the Toyota FCHV, a hybrid hydrogen fuel cell vehicle based on the Toyota Highlander production SUV. Toyota also built a FCHV bus based on the Hino Blue Ribbon City low-floor bus. Toyota has built several prototypes/concepts of the FCHV since 1997, including the Toyota FCHV-1, FCHV-2, FCHV-3, FCHV-4, and Toyota FCHV-adv. The Toyota FCV-R fuel cell concept car was unveiled at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. The FCV-R sedan seats four and has a fuel cell stack including a 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen tank, which can deliver a range of under the Japanese JC08 test cycle. Toyota said the car was planned for launch in about 2015.
In August 2012, Toyota announced its plans to start retail sales of a hydrogen fuel-cell sedan in California in 2015. Toyota expects to become a leader in this technology. The prototype of its first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will be exhibited at the November 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, and in the United States at the January 2014 Consumer Electronics Show.
Toyota's first hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to be sold commercially, the Toyota Mirai (Japanese for "future"), was unveiled at the November 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. In January 2015, it was announced that production of the Mirai fuel cell vehicle would increase from 700 units in 2015 to approximately 2,000 in 2016 and 3,000 in 2017. Sales in Japan began on December 15, 2014, at a price of (~). The Japanese government plans to support the commercialization of fuel-cell vehicles with a subsidy of (~). Retail sales in the U.S. began in August 2015 at a price of before any government incentives. Initially, the Mirai will only be available in California. The market release in Europe is slated for September 2015, and initially will be available only in the UK, Germany, and Denmark, followed by other countries in 2017. Pricing in Germany starts at (~) plus VAT ().
In 2015, Toyota released 5,600 patents for free use until 2020, hoping to promote global development of hydrogen fuel-cell technology.
As of 2009, Toyota officially lists approximately 70 different models sold under its namesake brand, including sedans, coupes, vans, trucks, hybrids, and crossovers. Many of these models are produced as passenger sedans, which range from the subcompact Toyota Yaris, compact Corolla, to mid-size Camry and full-size Avalon. Vans include the Previa/Estima, Sienna, and others. Several small cars, such as the xB and tC, were sold under the Scion brand.
Toyota crossovers range from the compact Matrix and RAV4, to midsize Venza and Kluger/Highlander. Toyota SUVs range from the midsize 4Runner to full-size Land Cruiser. Other SUVs include the Prado, C-HR, FJ Cruiser, Fortuner, and Sequoia.
Toyota first entered the pickup truck market in 1947 with the SB that was only sold in Japan and limited Asian markets. It was followed in 1954 by the RK (renamed in 1959 as the Stout) and in 1968 by the compact Hilux. With continued refinement, the Hilux (simply known as the Pickup in some markets) became famous for being extremely durable and reliable, and many of these trucks from as early as the late 1970s are still on the road today, some with over 300,000 miles. Extended- and crew-cab versions of these small haulers were eventually added, and Toyota continues to produce them today under various names depending on the market.
Riding on the success of the compact pickups in the US, Toyota decided to attempt to enter the traditionally domestic-dominated full-size pickup market, introducing the T100 for the 1993 US model year, with production ending in 1998. While having a bed at the traditional full-size length of 8 feet, the suspension and engine characteristics were still similar to that of a compact pickup. It proved to be as economical and reliable as any typical Toyota pickup, but sales never became what Toyota brass had hoped for. It was criticized as being too small to appeal to the traditional American full-size pickup buyer. Another popular full-size truck essential, a V8 engine, was never available. Additionally, the truck was at first only available as a regular cab, though Toyota addressed this shortcoming and added the Xtracab version in mid-1995.
In 1999 for the 2000 model year, Toyota replaced the T100 with the larger Tundra. The Tundra addressed criticisms that the T100 did not have the look and feel of a legitimate American-style full-size pickup. It also added the V8 engine that the T100 was criticized for not having. However, the Tundra still came up short in towing capacity as well as still feeling slightly carlike. These concerns were addressed with an even larger 2007 redesign. A stronger V6 and a second V8 engine among other things were added to the option list. As of early 2010, the Tundra has captured 16% of the full-size half-ton market in the US. The all-new Tundra was assembled in San Antonio, Texas, US. Toyota assembled around 150,000 Standard and Double Cabs, and only 70,000 Crew Max's in 2007. The smaller Tacoma (which traces its roots back to the original Hilux) was also produced at the company's San Antonio facility.
Outside the United States, Toyota produced the Hilux in Standard and Double Cab, gasoline and diesel engine, and 2WD and 4WD versions. The BBC's "Top Gear" TV show featured two episodes of a Hilux that was deemed "virtually indestructible".
As of 2009, the company sold nine luxury-branded models under its Lexus division, ranging from the LS sedan to RX crossover and LX SUV. Luxury-type sedans produced under the Toyota brand included the Century, Crown, and Crown Majesta. A limited-edition model produced for the Emperor of Japan was the Century Royal. Toyota-branded luxury vehicles tend to be Japan-only.
In 1997, building on a previous partnership with Yamaha Marine, Toyota created "Toyota Marine", building private ownership motorboats, currently sold only in Japan. A small network in Japan sells the luxury craft at 54 locations, called the "Toyota Ponam" series, and in 2017, a boat was labeled under the Lexus brand name starting May 26, 2017.
Toyota has been involved in many global motorsports series. They also represent their Lexus brand in other sports car racing categories. Toyota also makes engines and other auto parts for other Japanese motorsports including Formula Nippon, Super GT, Formula 3, and Toyota Racing Series. Toyota also runs a driver development programme known as the Toyota Young Drivers Program, which they made for funding and educating future Japanese motorsports talent. Toyota Motorsport GmbH, with headquarters in Cologne, Germany, has been responsible for Toyota's major motorsports development including the FIA Formula One World Championship, the FIA World Rally Championship, the Le Mans Series, and most recently the FIA World Endurance Championship. Toyota enjoyed success in all these motorsports categories. In , Toyota entered Formula One as a constructor and engine supplier; however, despite having experienced drivers and a larger budget than many other teams, they failed to match their success in other categories, with five second-place finishes as their best results. On November 4, 2009, Toyota announced they were pulling out of the sport due to the global economic situation. On the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans, Toyota finally won the race with the number 8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid driven by Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima, and Fernando Alonso.
Toyota's nationwide driver hunt of drivers for Etios Motor Racing Series ended up with selection of 25 drivers, who will participate in the race in 2013.
Toyota Racing Development (TRD) was brought about to help develop true high-performance racing parts for many Toyota vehicles. TRD has often had much success with their aftermarket tuning parts, as well as designing technology for vehicles used in different types of racing. TRD in the United States is also responsible for Toyota's involvement and development in other forms of motorsports which include NASCAR, NHRA, Indy Racing League, Formula Drift, etc. TRD also made Lexus's performance division "F-Sport".
Toyota is a minority shareholder in Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, having invested in the new venture which will produce the Mitsubishi Regional Jet, slated for first deliveries in 2017. Toyota has also studied participation in the general aviation market and contracted with Scaled Composites to produce a proof of concept aircraft, the TAA-1, in 2002.
Toyota supports a variety of philanthropic work in areas such as education, conservation, safety, and disaster relief.
Some of the organizations that Toyota has worked with in the US include the American Red Cross, the Boys and Girls Club, Leaders in Environmental Action for the Future (LEAF), and the National Center for Family Literacy.
The Toyota USA Foundation exists to support education in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
In addition, Toyota works with nonprofits to improve their processes and operations such as the Food Bank For New York City.
Toyota also supports a variety of work in Japan.
The Toyota Foundation takes a global perspective providing grants in the three areas of human and natural environments, social welfare, and education and culture.
Toyota established the Toyota Technological Institute in 1981, as Sakichi Toyoda had planned to establish a university as soon as he and Toyota became successful. Toyota Technological Institute founded the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago in 2003. Toyota is supporter of the Toyota Driving Expectations Program, Toyota Youth for Understanding Summer Exchange Scholarship Program, Toyota International Teacher Program, Toyota TAPESTRY, Toyota Community Scholars (scholarship for high school students), United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Internship Program, and Toyota Funded Scholarship. It has contributed to a number of local education and scholarship programs for the University of Kentucky, Indiana, and others.
In 2004, Toyota showcased its trumpet-playing robot. Toyota has been developing multitask robots destined for elderly care, manufacturing, and entertainment. A specific example of Toyota's involvement in robotics for the elderly is the Brain Machine Interface. Designed for use with wheelchairs, it "allows a person to control an electric wheelchair accurately, almost in real-time", with his or her mind. The thought controls allow the wheelchair to go left, right, and forward with a delay between thought and movement of just 125 milliseconds. Toyota also played a part in the development of Kirobo, a 'robotic astronaut'.
In 2017, the company introduced T-HR3, a humanoid robot with the ability to be remotely controlled. The robot can copy the motions of a connected person. The 2017 version used wires for the connection but the 2018 version used 5G from a distance up to 10 km.
Toyota invests in several small start-up businesses and partnerships in biotechnology, including:
Toyota developed an "oekaki"-style sewing machine called the Oekaki Renaissance, which, like others of its type, is designed to allow the user to be able to draw ideas directly onto fabric using the art of free-motion embroidery.
Toyota announced at CES 2020 that intends to build a "175-acre high tech, sensor laden metropolis" at the foot of Mt. Fuji. The projected is expected to break ground in 2021, and will be called "Woven City."
Toyota implemented its fifth Environmental Action Plan in 2005. The plan contains four major themes involving the environment and the corporation's development, design, production, and sales. The five-year plan is directed at the, "arrival of a revitalized recycling and reduction based society". Toyota had previously released its Eco-Vehicle Assessment System (Eco-VAS) which is a systematic life cycle assessment of the effect a vehicle will have on the environment including production, usage, and disposal. The assessment includes, "... fuel efficiency, emissions and noise during vehicle use, the disposal recovery rate, the reduction of substances of environmental concern, and emissions throughout the life cycle of the vehicle from production to disposal." 2008 marks the ninth year for Toyota's Environmental Activities Grant Program which has been implemented every year since 2001. Themes of the 2008 program consist of "Global Warming Countermeasures" and "Biodiversity Conservation."
Since October 2006, Toyota's new Japanese-market vehicle models with automatic transmissions are equipped with an Eco Drive Indicator. The system takes into consideration rate of acceleration, engine and transmission efficiency, and speed. When the vehicle is operated in a fuel-efficient manner, the Eco Drive Indicator on the instrument panel lights up. Individual results vary depending on traffic issues, starting and stopping the vehicle, and total distance traveled, but the Eco Drive Indicator may improve fuel efficiency by as much as 4%. Along with Toyota's eco-friendly objectives on production and use, the company plans to donate and five vehicles to the Everglades National Park. The money will be used to fund environmental programs at the park. This donation is part of a program which provides and 23 vehicles for five national parks and the National Parks Foundation. However, new figures from the United States National Research Council show that the continuing hidden health costs of the auto industry to the US economy in 2005 amounted to .
The United States EPA has awarded Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA) with an ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award in 2007, 2008, and 2009. In 2016, Toyota was recognized as the top company on the Carbon Clean 200 list of the world's largest clean energy companies.
In 2007, Toyota's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) fleet average of exceeded all other major manufacturers selling cars within the United States. Only sports-car manufacturer Lotus Cars, which sells the Elise and Exige models (both powered by Toyota's "2ZZ-GE" engine), did better with an average of . For the 2017 model year its CAFE for all vehicles was while Honda's was . In fact, Toyota was the only major manufacturer selling motor vehicles in America to have worse fuel economy and tailpipe carbon dioxide emissions per mile between the 2012 and 2017 model years.
In October 2019, Toyota backed the Trump Administration's proposal that federal authority should override California's ability to set its own emissions standards for automobiles. The proposal would reduce California's 2025 fuel efficiency standard from about 54.5 to 37 MPG.
Note:Japan production numbers 1937 to 1987. Global production since 1998, global and Japanese production, Japanese sales since 2001 consolidated include Daihatsu and Hino. Citations for years 2014-2016 are for total production and sales and Japan production and sales---U.S. sales figures are not included in these citations.
On February 9, 2002, Kenichi Uchino, aged 30 years, a quality control manager, collapsed then died at work.
On January 2, 2006, an unnamed chief engineer of the Camry Hybrid, aged 45 years, died from heart failure in his bed.
On June 21, 2010, a Chinese labor strike happened in Tianjin Toyoda Gosei Co, Tianjin. Toyoda Gosei Co supplies parts to Tianjin FAW Toyota Motor Co. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30984 |
Tabloid (newspaper format)
A tabloid is a newspaper with a compact page size smaller than broadsheet. There is no standard size for this newspaper format.
The term "tabloid journalism" refers to an emphasis on such topics as sensational crime stories, astrology, celebrity gossip and television, and is not a reference to newspapers printed in this format. Some small-format papers with a high standard of journalism refer to themselves as "compact" newspapers. Larger newspapers, traditionally associated with higher-quality journalism, are called broadsheets, even if the newspaper is now printed on smaller pages.
The word "tabloid" comes from the name given by the London-based pharmaceutical company Burroughs Wellcome & Co. to the compressed tablets they marketed as "Tabloid" pills in the late 1880s. The connotation of "tabloid" was soon applied to other small compressed items. A 1902 item in London's "Westminster Gazette" noted, "The proprietor intends to give in tabloid form all the news printed by other journals." Thus "tabloid journalism" in 1901 originally meant a paper that condensed stories into a simplified, easily absorbed format. The term preceded the 1918 reference to smaller sheet newspapers that contained the condensed stories.
Tabloid newspapers, especially in the United Kingdom, vary widely in their target market, political alignment, editorial style, and circulation. Thus, various terms have been coined to describe the subtypes of this versatile paper format. There are, broadly, two main types of tabloid newspaper: "red top" and "compact". The distinction is largely of editorial style; both red top and compact tabloids span the width of the political spectrum from socialism to capitalist conservatism, although red-top tabloids, on account of their historically working-class target market, generally embrace populism to some degree. Red top tabloids are so named due to their tendency, in British and Commonwealth usage, to have their mastheads printed in red ink; the term "compact" was coined to avoid the connotation of the word "tabloid", which implies a red top tabloid, and has lent its name to tabloid journalism, which is journalism after the fashion of red top reporters.
Red top tabloids, named after their distinguishing red mastheads, employ a form of writing known as tabloid journalism; this style emphasizes features such as sensational crime stories, astrology, gossip columns about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and junk food news. Celebrity gossip columns which appear in red top tabloids and focus on their sexual practices, misuse of narcotics, and the private aspects of their lives often border on, and sometimes cross the line of defamation.
Red tops tend to be written with a simplistic, straightforward vocabulary and grammar; their layout usually gives greater prominence to the picture than to the word. The writing style of red top tabloids is often accused of sensationalism and extreme political bias; red tops have been accused of deliberately igniting controversy and selectively reporting on attention-grabbing stories, or those with shock value. In the extreme case, red top tabloids have been accused of lying or misrepresenting the truth to increase circulation.
Examples of British red top newspapers include "The Sun", the "Daily Star" and the "Daily Mirror".
In contrast to red-top tabloids, compacts use an editorial style more closely associated with broadsheet newspapers. In fact, most compact tabloids formerly used the broadsheet paper size, but changed to accommodate reading in tight spaces, such as on a crowded commuter bus or train. The term "compact" was coined in the 1970s by the "Daily Mail", one of the earlier newspapers to make the change, although it now once again calls itself a tabloid. The purpose behind this was to avoid the association of the word "tabloid" with the flamboyant, salacious editorial style of the red top newspaper.
The early converts from broadsheet format made the change in the 1970s; two British papers that took this step at the time were the "Daily Mail" and the "Daily Express". In 2003, "The Independent" also made the change for the same reasons, quickly followed by "The Scotsman" and "The Times". On the other hand, "The Morning Star" had always used the tabloid size, but stands in contrast to both the red top papers and the former broadsheets; although "The Morning Star" emphasizes hard news, it embraces socialism and is circulated mostly among blue-collar labourers.
Compact tabloids, just like broadsheet- and Berliner-format newspapers, span the political spectrum from progressive to conservative and from capitalist to socialist.
In Morocco, "Maroc Soir", launched in November 2005, is published in tabloid format.
In South Africa, the Bloemfontein-based daily newspaper "Volksblad" became the first serious broadsheet newspaper to switch to tabloid, but only on Saturdays. Despite the format proving to be popular with its readers, the newspaper remains broadsheet on weekdays. This is also true of Pietermaritzburg's daily, "The Witness" in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
The "Daily Sun", published by Naspers, has since become South Africa's biggest-selling daily newspaper and is aimed primarily at the black working class. It sells over 500,000 copies per day, reaching approximately 3,000,000 readers. Besides offering a sometimes satirical view of the seriousness of mainstream news, the "Daily Sun" also covers fringe theories and paranormal claims such as tokoloshes (hob-goblins), ancestral visions and all things supernatural. It is also published as the "Sunday Sun".
In Mauritius, the afternoon popular newspaper, Le Mauricien, shifted from tabloid (1908-2008) to the Berliner format (2008-2013) and now adopts the compact format with 32 pages during the week and 48 pages on Saturday.
In Bangladesh, The Daily "Manabzamin" became the first and is now the largest circulated Bengali language tabloid in the world, in 1998. Published from Bangladesh, by renowned news presenter Mahbuba Chowdhury, the Daily Manab Zamin is ranked in the Top 500 newspaper websites, and in the Top 10 Bengali news site categories in the world, and is the only newspaper in Bangladesh which houses credentials with FIFA, UEFA, The Football Association, Warner Bros., and Sony Pictures Entertainment. The Daily "Manabzamin" is led by Editor-in-Chief Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, who is also the regional correspondent for Voice of America and political talkshow host in Bengali television stations Banglavision and "Channel i". The newspaper receives visitors from 179 countries, and hosts 770,000 unique IP visitors, every month.
In the People's Republic of China, Chinese tabloids have exploded in popularity since the mid-1990s and have tested the limits of press censorship by taking editorial positions critical of the government and by engaging in critical investigative reporting.
In Georgia, the weekly English-language newspaper "The Financial" switched to a compact format in 2005 and doubled the number of pages in each issue. Other Georgian-language newspapers have tested compact formats in the early 1990s.
Tabloid journalism is still an evolving concept in India's print media. The first tabloid, "Blitz" was started by Russi Karanjia on February 1, 1941 with the words "Our Blitz, India's Blitz against Hitler!". "Blitz" was first published in English and then branched out with Hindi, Marathi and Urdu versions. In 1974, Russi's daughter Rita founded the "Cine Blitz" magazine. In 2005, "Times of India" brought out a dedicated Mumbai tabloid newspaper "Mumbai Mirror" which gives prominence to Mumbai-related stories and issues. "Tehelka" started off as a news portal in 2000. It broke the story about match-fixing in Indian and International Cricket and the sting operation on defence deals in the Indian Army. In 2007, it closed shop and reappeared in tabloid form, and has been appreciated for its brand of investigative journalism. Other popular tabloid newspapers in English media are "Mid-Day", an afternoon newspaper published out of and dedicated to Mumbai and business newspapers like "MINT". There are numerous tabloids in most of India's official languages. There is an all youth tabloid by the name of TILT - The ILIKE Times.
In Indonesia, tabloids include Bola, "GO" (Gema Olahraga, defunct), "Soccer" (defunct), "Fantasy" (defunct), "Buletin Sinetron" (defunct), "Pro TV" (defunct), "Citra" (defunct), "Genie", "Bintang Indonesia (Indonesian Stars)", "Nyata", "Wanita Indonesia" (Women of Indonesia), "Cek and Ricek", and "Nova".
In Oman, "TheWeek" is a free, 48-page, all-colour, independent weekly published from Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman. Oman's first free newspaper was launched in March 2003 and has now gone on to gather what is believed to be the largest readership for any publication in Oman. Ms Mohana Prabhakar is the managing editor of the publication. "TheWeek" is audited by BPA Worldwide, which has certified its circulation as being a weekly average of 50,300.
In Pakistan, "Khabrain" is a tabloid newspaper popular within the lower middle class. This news group introduced a new paper, "Naya Akhbar" which is comparably more sensational. At the local level, many sensational tabloids can be seen but, unlike "Khabrain" or other big national newspapers, they are distributed only on local levels in districts.
Tabloids in the Philippines are usually written in local languages, like Tagalog or Bisaya, one of the listed top Tagalog tabloids is "Bulgar", but some are written in English, like the "People's Journal" and "Tempo". Like their common journalistic connotations, Philippine tabloids usually report sensationalist crime stories and celebrity gossip, and some tabloids feature topless photos of girls. Several tabloids are vernacular counterparts of English broadsheet newspapers by the same publisher, like "Pilipino Star Ngayon" ("The Philippine Star"), "Bandera" ("Philippine Daily Inquirer"), and "Balita" ("Manila Bulletin").
The Berliner format, used by many prominent European newspapers, is sized between the tabloid and the broadsheet. In a newspaper context, the term "Berliner" is generally used only to describe size, not to refer to other qualities of the publication. The biggest tabloid (and newspaper in general) in Europe, by circulation, is Germany's "Bild", with around 2.5 million copies (down from above 5 million in the 1980s). Although its paper size is bigger, its style was copied from the British tabloids.
In Denmark, tabloids in the British sense are known as 'formiddagsblade' (before-noon newspapers), the two biggest being "BT" and "Ekstra Bladet". The old more serious newspaper "Berlingske Tidende" shifted from broadsheet to tabloid format in 2006, while keeping the news profile intact.
In Finland, the biggest newspaper and biggest daily subscription newspaper in the Nordic countries "Helsingin Sanomat" changed its size from broadsheet to tabloid on 8 January 2013.
In France the "Nice Matin" (or "Le Dauphiné"), a popular Southern France newspaper changed from Broadsheet to Tabloid on 8 April 2006. They changed the printing format in one day after test results showed that 74% liked the Tabloid format compared to Broadsheet. But the most famous tabloid dealing with crime stories is "Le Nouveau Détective," created in the early 20th century. This weekly tabloid has a national circulation.
In the Netherlands, several newspapers have started publishing tabloid versions of their newspapers, including one of the major 'quality' newspapers, NRC Handelsblad, with "nrc•next" in 2006. Two free tabloid newspapers were also introduced in the early 2000s, 'Metro and Sp!ts, mostly for distribution in public transportation. In 2007 a third and fourth free tabloid appeared, 'De Pers' and 'DAG'. De Telegraaf, the Dutch newspaper that most closely resembles the style of British tabloid papers, comes in broadsheet but announced it will change to tabloid in April 2014.
In Norway, close to all newspapers have switched from the broadsheet to the tabloid format, which measures 280 x 400 mm. The three biggest newspapers are "VG", "Dagbladet", and "Aftenposten", the first the most sensationalist one and the last more serious.
In Poland, the newspaper "Fakt", sometimes "Super Express" is considered as tabloid.
In Russia and Ukraine, major English language newspapers like the "Moscow Times" and the "Kyiv Post" use a compact format.
In the United Kingdom, three previously broadsheet daily newspapers—"The Times", "The Scotsman" and "The Guardian"—have switched to tabloid size in recent years, and two—"Daily Express" and "Daily Mail"—in former years, although "The Times" and "The Scotsman" call the format "compact" to avoid the down-market connotation of the word "tabloid". Similarly, when referring to the down-market tabloid newspapers the alternative term "red-top" (referring to their traditionally red-coloured mastheads) is increasingly used, to distinguish them from the up- and middle-market compact newspapers. The Morning Star also comes in tabloid format; however, it avoids celebrity stories, and instead favours issues relating to labour unions.
In Canada many newspapers of Postmedia's "Sun" brand are in tabloid format including "The Province", a newspaper for the British Columbia market. The Canadian publisher Black Press publishes newspapers in both tabloid ( wide by deep) and what it calls "tall tab" format, where the latter is wide by deep, larger than tabloid but smaller than the broadsheets it also publishes.
In the United States, daily tabloids date back to the founding of the "New York Daily News" in 1919, followed by the "New York Daily Mirror" and the "New York Evening Graphic" in the 1920s. Competition among those three for crime, sex and celebrity news was considered a scandal to the mainstream press of the day. The tabloid format is used by a number of respected and indeed prize-winning American papers. Prominent U.S. tabloids include the "New York Post", the "Daily News" and "Newsday" in New York, the "San Francisco Examiner", "The Bakersfield Californian" and "La Opinión" in California, "The Jersey Journal" and "The Trentonian" in New Jersey, the "Philadelphia Daily News", the "Delaware County Daily Times" and "The Citizens' Voice", "The Burlington Free Press", the "Chicago Sun-Times", and the "Boston Herald". US tabloids that ceased publication include Denver's "Rocky Mountain News".
In Australia, tabloids include "The Advertiser", the "Herald Sun", "The Sun-Herald" , "The Daily Telegraph", "The Courier Mail", "The West Australian", "The Mercury", "the Hamilton Spectator", "The Portland Observer", "The Casterton News" and "The Melbourne Observer".
In Argentina, one of the country's two main newspapers, "Clarín", is a tabloid and in the Southern Philippines, a new weekly tabloid, "The Mindanao Examiner", now includes media services, such as photography and video production, into its line as a source to finance the high cost of printing and other expenses. It is also into independent film making.
In Brazil, many newspapers are tabloids, including sports daily "Lance!" (which circulates in cities such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo), most publications currently and formerly owned by Grupo RBS (especially the Porto Alegre daily "Zero Hora"), and, in March 2009, Rio de Janeiro-based "O Dia" switched to tabloid from broadsheet, though, several years later, it reverted to being a broadsheet. Its sister publication, "Meia Hora" has always been a tabloid, but in slightly smaller format than "O Dia" and "Lance!".
In Suriname, only Dagblad Suriname, one of the four newspaper in the country prints in tabloids, which circulates in whole the country. Dagblad Suriname started in 2002 under FAFAM publishing by Faried Pierkhan.
The more recent usage of the term 'tabloid' refers to weekly or semi-weekly newspapers in tabloid format. Many of these are essentially straightforward newspapers, publishing in tabloid format, because subway and bus commuters prefer to read smaller-size newspapers due to lack of space.
These newspapers are distinguished from the major daily newspapers, in that they purport to offer an "alternative" viewpoint, either in the sense that the paper's editors are more locally oriented, or that the paper is editorially independent from major media conglomerates.
Other factors that distinguish "alternative" weekly tabloids from the major daily newspapers are their less-frequent publication, and that they are usually free to the user, since they rely on ad revenue. As well, alternative weekly tabloids tend to concentrate on local- or even neighbourhood-level issues, and on local entertainment in the bars and local theatres.
Alternative tabloids can be positioned as upmarket (quality) newspapers, to appeal to the better-educated, higher-income sector of the market; as middle-market (popular); or as downmarket (sensational) newspapers, which emphasize sensational crime stories and celebrity gossip. In each case, the newspapers will draw their advertising revenue from different types of businesses or services. An upmarket weekly's advertisers are often organic grocers, boutiques, and theatre companies while a downmarket's may have those of trade schools, supermarkets, and the sex industry. Both usually contain ads from local bars, auto dealers, movie theaters, and a classified ads section. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30985 |
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also Indo-Tibetan Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet where it is the dominant philosophy. It is also found in the regions surrounding the Himalayas (such as Bhutan, Ladakh, and Sikkim), much of Central Asia, the Southern Siberian regions such as Tuva, as well as Mongolia.
Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism stemming from the latest stages of Indian Buddhism. It thus preserves "the Tantric status quo of eighth-century India," inclusive of native Tibetan developments and practices. In the pre-modern era, Tibetan Buddhism spread outside of Tibet primarily due to the influence of the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), founded by Kublai Khan, which ruled China, Mongolia and parts of Siberia. In the modern era, it has spread outside of Asia due to the efforts of the Tibetan diaspora.
Apart from classical Mahayana Buddhist practices like the six perfections, Tibetan Buddhism also includes Tantric practices, such as deity yoga and the Six Dharmas of Naropa. Its main goal is Buddhahood or rainbow body. The main language of scriptural study in this tradition is classical Tibetan.
Tibetan Buddhism has four major schools, namely Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug. The Jonang is a smaller school, and the Rimé movement is a recent nonsectarian movement which is a blend of the different schools. Each school is independent and has its own monastic institutions and leaders.
The native Tibetan term for Buddhism is "The Dharma of the insiders" ("nang chos") or "The Buddha Dharma of the insiders" ("nang pa sangs rgyas pa'i chos"). "Insider" means someone who seeks the truth not outside, but within the nature of mind. This is contrasted with other forms of organized religion, which are termed "chos lugs" (dharma system)"," for example, Christianity is termed "Yi shu'i chos lugs" (Jesus dharma system)"."
Westerners unfamiliar with Tibetan Buddhism initially turned to China for understanding. In Han buddhism, the term used is "Lamaism" (literally, "doctrine of the lamas": 喇嘛教 "lama jiao") to distinguish it from a then-traditional Han form (佛教 "fo jiao"). The term was taken up by western scholars including Hegel, as early as 1822. Insofar as it implies a discontinuity between Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, the term has been discredited.
In China, the new term is 藏传佛教 "zangchuan fojiao", literally Tibetan Buddhism.
Another term, "Vajrayāna" (Tibetan: "dorje tegpa") is occasionally used mistakenly for Tibetan Buddhism. More accurately, Vajrayāna signifies a certain subset of practices and traditions which are not only part of Tibetan Buddhism, but also prominent in other Buddhist traditions.
In the west, the term "Indo-Tibetan Buddhism" has become current, in acknowledgement of its derivation from the latest stages of Buddhist development in northern India.
While some stories depict Buddhism in Tibet before this period, the religion was formally introduced to Tibet during the Tibetan Empire (7th-9th century CE). Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures from India were first translated into Tibetan under the reign of the Tibetan king Songtsän Gampo (618-649 CE). This period also saw the development of the Tibetan writing system and classical Tibetan.
In the 8th century King Trisong Detsen (755-797 CE) established it as the official religion of the state, and commanded his army to wear robes and study buddhism. Trisong Detsen invited Indian Buddhist scholars to his court, including Padmasambhāva (8th century CE) and Śāntarakṣita (725–788), which are considered the founders of Nyingma ("The Ancient Ones)", the oldest tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The Nyingma school is decentralized, and a committee selected at the annual Nyingma Monlam looks after the welfare of the tradition.
Yeshe Tsogyal, the most important female in Nyingma Vajrayana lineage, was a member of Trisong Detsen's court and became Padmasambhava's student before gaining enlightenment. Trisong Deutsen also invited the Chan master Moheyan to transmit the Dharma at Samye Monastery. Some sources state that a debate ensued between Moheyan and the Indian master Kamalaśīla, but they disagree on the victor, and some scholars consider the event fictitious.
A reversal in Buddhist influence began under King Langdarma (r. 836-842), and his death was followed by the so-called "Era of Fragmentation", a period of disunity during the 9th and 10th centuries. During this era, the political centralization of the earlier Tibetan Empire collapsed and civil wars ensued.
In spite of this loss of state power and patronage however, Buddhism survived and thrived in Tibet. According to Geoffrey Samuel this was because "Tantric (Vajrayana) Buddhism came to provide the principal set of techniques by which Tibetans dealt with the dangerous powers of the spirit world... Buddhism, in the form of Vajrayana ritual, provided a critical set of techniques for dealing with everyday life. Tibetans came to see these techniques as vital for their survival and prosperity in this life." This includes dealing with the local gods and spirits ("sadak" and "shipdak)," which became a specialty of some Tibetan Buddhist lamas and lay ngagpas ("mantrikas", mantra specialists)"."
The late 10th and 11th centuries saw a revival of Buddhism in Tibet with the founding of "New Translation" ("Sarma") lineages as well as the appearance of "hidden treasures" ("terma") literature which reshaped the Nyingma tradition.
In 1042 the Bengali master Atiśa (982-1054) arrived in Tibet at the invitation of a west Tibetan king. His chief disciple, Dromton founded the Kadampa school of Tibetan Buddhism, one of the first "Sarma" schools.
The Sakya, the "Grey Earth" school, was founded by Khön Könchok Gyelpo (1034–1102), a disciple of the great Lotsawa, Drogmi Shākya. It is headed by the Sakya Trizin, and traces its lineage to the mahasiddha Virūpa.
Other influential Indian teachers include Tilopa (988–1069) and his student Naropa (probably died ca. 1040). Their teachings, via their student Marpa, are the foundations of the Kagyu, the "Oral lineage tradition," which focuses on the practices of Mahamudra and the Six Dharmas of Naropa. One of most famous Kagyu figures was the hermit Milarepa, an 11th-century mystic. The Dagpo Kagyu was founded by the monk Gampopa who merged Marpa's lineage teachings with the monastic Kadam tradition.
All the sub-schools of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism surviving today, including the Drikung Kagyu, the Drukpa Kagyu and the Karma Kagyu, are branches of the Dagpo Kagyu. The Karma Kagyu school is the largest of the Kagyu sub-schools and is headed by the Karmapa while a majority of its members recognize Ogyen Trinley Dorje as the Karmapa. A minority of lamas recognize Trinley Thaye Dorje. Ogyen Trinley Dorje has met with Trinley Thaye Dorje and both issued a joint statement to resolve the issues.
Tibetan Buddhism exerted a strong influence from the 11th century CE among the peoples of Inner Asia, especially the Mongols. The Mongols invaded Tibet in 1240 and 1244. They eventually annexed Amdo and Kham and appointed the great scholar and abbot Sakya Pandita (1182–1251) as Viceroy of Central Tibet in 1249.
In this way, Tibet was incorporated into the Mongol Empire, with the Sakya hierarchy retaining nominal power over religious and regional political affairs, while the Mongols retained structural and administrative rule over the region, reinforced by the rare military intervention. Tibetan Buddhism was adopted as the "de facto" state religion by the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) of Kublai Khan.
It was also during this period that the Tibetan Buddhist canon was compiled, primarily led by the efforts of the scholar Butön Rinchen Drup (1290–1364). A part of this project included the carving of the canon into wood blocks for printing, and the first copies of these texts were kept at Narthang monastery.
With the decline of the Yuan dynasty and the loose administration of the following (Han-Chinese) Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Central Tibet was ruled by successive local families from the 14th to the 17th century.
Jangchub Gyaltsän (1302–1364) became the strongest political family in the mid 14th century. During this period the reformist scholar Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419) founded the Gelug school which would have a decisive influence on Tibet's history. The Ganden Tripa is the nominal head of the Gelug school, though its most influential figure is the Dalai Lama.
Internal strife within the Phagmodrupa dynasty, and the strong localism of the various fiefs and political-religious factions, led to a long series of internal conflicts. The minister family Rinpungpa, based in Tsang (West Central Tibet), dominated politics after 1435.
In 1565 the Rinpungpa family was overthrown by the Tsangpa Dynasty of Shigatse which expanded its power in different directions of Tibet in the following decades and favoured the Karma Kagyu sect. They would play a pivotal role in the events which led to the rise of power of the Dalai Lama's in the 1640s.
In China, Tibetan Buddhism continued to be patronized by the elites of the Ming Dynasty. According to David M. Robinson, during this era, Tibetan Buddhist monks "conducted court rituals, enjoyed privileged status and gained access to the jealously guarded, private world of the emperors". The Ming Yongle Emperor (r. 1402–1424) promoted the carving of printing blocks for the Kangyur, now known as "the Yongle Kanjur", and seen as an important edition of the collection.
The Ming Dynasty also supported the propagation of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia during this period. Tibetan Buddhist missionaries also helped spread the religion in Mongolia. It was during this era that Altan Khan the leader of the Tümed Mongols, converted to Buddhism, and allied with the Gelug school, conferring the title of Dalai Lama to Sonam Gyatso in 1578.
During a Tibetan civil war in the 17th century, the chief regent of the 5th Dalai Lama, Sonam Choephel (1595–1657 CE) with the help of the Güshi Khan of the Khoshut Mongols, conquered and unified Tibet and established the "Ganden Phodrang" government. The "Ganden Phodrang" and the successive Gelug tulku lineages of the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas maintained regional control of Tibet from the mid-17th to mid-20th centuries.
The Qing dynasty (1644-1912) established a Chinese rule over Tibet after a Qing expeditionary force defeated the Dzungars (who controlled Tibet) in 1720, and lasted until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912. The Manchu rulers of the Qing dynasty supported Tibetan Buddhism, especially the Gelug sect, during most of their rule. The reign of the Qianlong Emperor was the high mark for this promotion of Tibetan Buddhism in China, with the visit of the 6th Panchen Lama to Beijing, and the building of temples in the Tibetan style, such as Xumi Fushou Temple, the Puning Temple and Putuo Zongcheng Temple (modeled after the potala palace).
This period also saw the rise of the Rimé movement, a 19th-century nonsectarian movement involving the Sakya, Kagyu and Nyingma schools of Tibetan Buddhism, along with some Bon scholars. Having seen how the Gelug institutions pushed the other traditions into the corners of Tibet's cultural life, scholars such as Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820-1892) and Jamgön Kongtrül (1813-1899) compiled together the teachings of the Sakya, Kagyu and Nyingma, including many near-extinct teachings. Without Khyentse and Kongtrul's collecting and printing of rare works, the suppression of Buddhism by the Communists would have been much more final. The Rimé movement is responsible for a number of scriptural compilations, such as the "Rinchen Terdzod" and the "Sheja Dzö".
During the Qing, Tibetan Buddhism also remained the major religion of the Mongols under Qing rule (1635–1912), as well as the state religion of the Kalmyk Khanate (1630–1771), the Dzungar Khanate (1634–1758) and the Khoshut Khanate (1642–1717).
In 1912, following the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Tibet became de facto independent under the 13th Dalai Lama government based in Lhasa, maintaining the current territory of what is now called the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
During the Republic of China (1912–1949), the "Chinese Tantric Buddhist Revival Movement" () took place, and important figures such as Nenghai (能海喇嘛, 1886–1967) and Master Fazun (法尊, 1902–1980) promoted Tibetan Buddhism and translated Tibetan works into Chinese. This movement was severely damaged during the cultural revolution, however.
After the Battle of Chamdo, Tibet was annexed by the Chinese People's Republic in 1950. In 1959 the 14th Dalai Lama and a great number of clergy fled the country, to settle in India and other neighbouring countries. The events of the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) saw religion as one of the main political targets of the Chinese Communist Party, and most of the several thousand temples and monasteries in Tibet were destroyed, with many monks and lamas imprisoned. During this time, private religious expression, as well as Tibetan cultural traditions, were suppressed. Much of the Tibetan textual heritage and institutions were destroyed, and monks and nuns were forced to disrobe. Outside of Tibet, however, there was a renewed interest in Tibetan Buddhism in places such as Nepal and Bhutan, while the spread of Tibetan Buddhism in the Western world was accomplished by many of the refugee Tibetan Lamas who escaped Tibet.
After the liberalization policies in China during the 1980s, the religion began to recover with some temples and monasteries being reconstructed. Tibetan Buddhism is now an influential religion among Chinese people, and also in Taiwan. However, the Chinese government retains strict control over Tibetan Buddhist Institutions in the PRC. Quotas on the number of monks and nuns are maintained, and their activities are closely supervised.
Within the Tibetan Autonomous Region, violence against buddhists has been escalating since 2008. Widespread reports document the arrests and disappearances of nuns and monks, while the Chinese government classifies religious practices as "gang crime". Reports include the demolition of monasteries, forced disrobing, forced reeducation, and detentions of nuns and monks, especially those residing at Yarchen Gar's center, the most highly publicized.
Today, Tibetan Buddhism is adhered to widely in the Tibetan Plateau, Mongolia, northern Nepal, Kalmykia (on the north-west shore of the Caspian), Siberia (Tuva and Buryatia), the Russian Far East and northeast China. It is the state religion of Bhutan. The Indian regions of Sikkim and Ladakh, both formerly independent kingdoms, are also home to significant Tibetan Buddhist populations, as are the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh (which includes Dharamshala and the district of Lahaul-Spiti), West Bengal (the hill stations of Darjeeling and Kalimpong) and Arunachal Pradesh. Religious communities, refugee centers and monasteries have also been established in South India.
The 14th Dalai Lama is the leader of the Tibetan government in exile which was initially dominated by the Gelug school, however, according to Geoffrey Samuel:The Dharamsala administration under the Dalai Lama has nevertheless managed, over time, to create a relatively inclusive and democratic structure that has received broad support across the Tibetan communities in exile. Senior figures from the three non-Gelukpa Buddhist schools and from the Bonpo have been included in the religious administration, and relations between the different lamas and schools are now on the whole very positive. This is a considerable achievement, since the relations between these groups were often competitive and conflict-ridden in Tibet before 1959, and mutual distrust was initially widespread. The Dalai Lama’s government at Dharamsala has also continued under difficult circumstances to argue for a negotiated settlement rather than armed struggle with China.
In the wake of the Tibetan diaspora, Tibetan Buddhism has also gained adherents in the West and throughout the world. Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and centers were first established in Europe and North America in the 1960s, and most are now supported by non-Tibetan followers of Tibetan lamas. Some of these westerners went on to learn Tibetan, undertake extensive training in the traditional practices and have been recognized as lamas. Fully ordained Tibetan Buddhist Monks have also entered Western societies in other ways, such as working academia.
Samuel sees the character of Tibetan Buddhism in the West as
Tibetan Buddhism upholds classic Buddhist teachings such as the four noble truths (Tib. "pakpé denpa shyi"), anatman (not-self, "bdag med"), the five aggregates ("phung po") karma and rebirth, and dependent arising ("rten cing ’brel bar ’byung ba"). They also uphold various other Buddhist doctrines associated with Mahāyāna Buddhism ("theg pa chen po") as well as the tantric Vajrayāna tradition.
The Mahāyāna goal of spiritual development is to achieve the enlightenment of Buddhahood in order to most efficiently help all other sentient beings attain this state. This motivation is called "bodhicitta" (mind of awakening) — an altruistic intention to become enlightened for the sake of all sentient beings. "Bodhisattvas" (Tib. "jangchup semba," literally "awakening hero") are revered beings who have conceived the will and vow to dedicate their lives with "bodhicitta" for the sake of all beings.
Widely revered Bodhisattvas in Tibetan Buddhism include Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri, Vajrapani, and Tara. The most important Buddhas are the five Buddhas of the Vajradhatu mandala as well as the Adi Buddha (first Buddha), called either Vajradhara or Samantabhadra.
Buddhahood is defined as a state free of the obstructions to liberation as well as those to omniscience ("sarvajñana"). When one is freed from all mental obscurations, one is said to attain a state of continuous bliss mixed with a simultaneous cognition of emptiness, the true nature of reality. In this state, all limitations on one's ability to help other living beings are removed. Tibetan Buddhism claims to teach methods for achieving Buddhahood more quickly (known as the Vajrayāna path).
It is said that there are countless beings who have attained Buddhahood. Buddhas spontaneously, naturally and continuously perform activities to benefit all sentient beings. However it is believed that one's "karma" could limit the ability of the Buddhas to help them. Thus, although Buddhas possess no limitation from their side on their ability to help others, sentient beings continue to experience suffering as a result of the limitations of their own former negative actions.
An important schema which is used in understanding the nature of Buddhahood in Tibetan Buddhism is the "Trikaya" (Three bodies) doctrine.
A central schema for spiritual advancement used in Tibetan Buddhism is that of the five paths (Skt. "pañcamārga"; Tib. "lam nga") which are:
The schema of the five paths is often elaborated and merged with the concept of the "bhumis" or the bodhisattva levels.
"Lamrim" ("stages of the path") is a Tibetan Buddhist schema for presenting the stages of spiritual practice leading to liberation. In Tibetan Buddhist history there have been many different versions of "lamrim", presented by different teachers of the Nyingma, Kagyu and Gelug schools. However, all versions of the "lamrim" are elaborations of Atiśa's 11th-century root text "A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment" ("Bodhipathapradīpa").
Atisha's "lamrim" system generally divides practitioners into those of "lesser", "middling" and "superior" scopes or attitudes:
Although "lamrim" texts cover much the same subject areas, subjects within them may be arranged in different ways and with different emphasis depending on the school and tradition it belongs to. Gampopa and Tsongkhapa expanded the short root-text of Atiśa into an extensive system to understand the entire Buddhist philosophy. In this way, subjects like karma, rebirth, Buddhist cosmology and the practice of meditation are gradually explained in logical order.
Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Vajrayāna ("Vajra vehicle"), "Secret Mantra" (Skt. "guhyamantra") or Buddhist Tantra, affirming the views espoused in the texts known as the Buddhist Tantras (dating from around the 7th century CE onwards).
Tantra (Tib. "rgyud") generally refers to forms of religious practice which emphasize the use of unique visualizations, ideas, symbols and rituals for inner transformation. The Vajrayana is seen by its adherents as the fastest and most powerful vehicle for enlightenment because it contains many skillful means ("upaya") and because it takes the effect (Buddhahood itself, or Buddha nature) as the path (and hence is sometimes known as the "effect vehicle", "phalayana").
An important element of Tantric practice are tantric deities and their mandalas. These deities come in peaceful ("shiwa") and fierce ("trowo") forms.
Tantric texts also generally affirm the use of sense pleasures and other defilements in Tantric ritual as a path to enlightenment, as opposed to non-Tantric Buddhism which affirms that one must renounce all sense pleasures. These practices are based on the theory of transformation which states that negative or sensual mental factors and physical actions can be cultivated and transformed in a ritual setting. As the Hevajra tantra states:
Those things by which evil men are bound, others turn into means and gain thereby release from the bonds of existence. By passion the world is bound, by passion too it is released, but by heretical Buddhists this practice of reversals is not known.
Another element of the Tantras is their use of transgressive practices, such as drinking taboo substances such as alcohol or sexual yoga. While in many cases these transgressions were interpreted only symbolically, in other cases they are practiced literally.
Madhyamaka, also called "Shunyavada" (the emptiness doctrine) is the dominant Buddhist philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism and is generally seen as the highest view, but is interpreted in various ways. Shunyata, the true nature of reality, or the emptiness of inherent existence ("svabhava") of all things, is traditionally propounded according to a hierarchical classification of four classical Indian philosophical schools.
While the classical tenets-system, as propagated by the Gelug school, is limited to four tenets (Vaibhāṣika, Sautrāntika, Yogācāra, and Madhyamaka), more complicated systems include also the "shentong"-view of the Jonang and the Kagyu, and also differentiates between the radical emptiness of the Gelugpa-school, and the experiential emptiness of the Nyingma and the Sakya.
Two tenets belong to the path referred to as the Hinayana, and are both Sarvastivada-subschools. They do not include Theravada, the only surviving of the 18 classical schools of Buddhism:
The other two tenets are Mahayana:
The tenet systems are used in monasteries and colleges to teach Buddhist philosophy in a systematic and progressive fashion, each philosophical view being seen as more subtle than its predecessor. Therefore, the four tenets can be seen as a gradual path from a rather easy-to-grasp, "realistic" philosophical point of view, to more and more complex and subtle views on the ultimate nature of reality, culminating in the philosophy of the Mādhyamikas, which is widely believed to present the most sophisticated point of view. Non-Tibetan scholars point out that historically, Madhyamaka predates Yogacara, however.
Study of major Buddhist Indian texts is central to the monastic curriculum in all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Memorization of classic texts as well as other ritual texts is expected as part of traditional monastic education. Another important part of higher religious education is the practice of formalized debate.
The canon was mostly finalized in the 13th century, and divided into two parts, the Kangyur (containing sutras and tantras) and the Tengyur (containing "shastras" and commentaries). The Nyingma school also maintains a separate collection of texts called the Nyingma Gyubum, assembled by Ratna Lingpa in the 15th century and revised by Jigme Lingpa.
Among Tibetans, the main language of study is classical Tibetan, however, the Tibetan Buddhist canon was also translated into other languages, such as Mongolian and Manchu.
During the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, many texts from the Tibetan canon were also translated into Chinese.
Numerous texts have also recently been translated into Western languages by Western academics and Buddhist practitioners.
Among the most widely studied sutras in Tibetan Buddhism are Mahayana sutras such as the perfection of wisdom or "Prajñāpāramitā" sutras, and others such as the "Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra," and the "Samādhirāja Sūtra."
The study of Indian Buddhist texts called "shastras" is central to Tibetan Buddhist scholasticism. Since the late 11th century, traditional Tibetan monastic colleges generally organized the exoteric study of Buddhism into "five great textual traditions" ("zhungchen-nga").
Also of great importance are the "Five Treatises of Maitreya" including the influential "Ratnagotravibhāga", a compendium of the "tathāgatagarbha" literature, and the "Mahayanasutralankara", a text on the Mahayana path from the Yogacara perspective, which are often attributed to Asanga. Practiced focused texts such as the "Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra" and Kamalaśīla's "Bhāvanākrama" are the major sources for meditation.
While the Indian texts are often central, original material by key Tibetan scholars is also widely studied and collected into editions called "sungbum". The commentaries and interpretations that are used to shed light on these texts differ according to tradition. The Gelug school for example, use the works of Tsongkhapa, while other schools may use the more recent work of Rimé movement scholars like Jamgon Kongtrul and Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso.
A corpus of extra-canonical scripture, the treasure texts ("terma") literature is acknowledged by Nyingma practitioners, but the bulk of the canon that is not commentary was translated from Indian sources. True to its roots in the "Pāla" system of North India, however, Tibetan Buddhism carries on a tradition of eclectic accumulation and systematisation of diverse Buddhist elements, and pursues their synthesis. Prominent among these achievements have been the Stages of the Path and mind training literature, both stemming from teachings by the Indian scholar Atiśa.
In Tibetan Buddhism, the Buddhist Tantras are divided into four or six categories, with several sub-categories for the highest Tantras.
In the Nyingma, the division is into "Outer Tantras" (Kriyayoga, Charyayoga, Yogatantra); and "Inner Tantras" (Mahayoga, Anuyoga, Atiyoga (Tib. Dzogchen)), which correspond to the "Anuttarayogatantra". For the Nyingma school, important tantras include the Guhyagarbha tantra, the Guhyasamaja tantra, the Kulayarāja Tantra and the 17 Dzogchen tantras.
In the Sarma schools, the division is:
It is important to note that the root tantras themselves are almost unintelligible without the various Indian and Tibetan commentaries, therefore, they are never studied without the use of the tantric commentarial apparatus.
There is a long history of oral transmission of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism. Oral transmissions by lineage holders traditionally can take place in small groups or mass gatherings of listeners and may last for seconds (in the case of a mantra, for example) or months (as in the case of a section of the Tibetan Buddhist canon). It is held that a transmission can even occur without actually hearing, as in Asanga's visions of Maitreya.
An emphasis on oral transmission as more important than the printed word derives from the earliest period of Indian Buddhism, when it allowed teachings to be kept from those who should not hear them. Hearing a teaching (transmission) readies the hearer for realization based on it. The person from whom one hears the teaching should have heard it as one link in a succession of listeners going back to the original speaker: the Buddha in the case of a "sutra" or the author in the case of a book. Then the hearing constitutes an authentic lineage of transmission. Authenticity of the oral lineage is a prerequisite for realization, hence the importance of lineages.
In Tibetan Buddhism, practices are generally classified as either Sutra (or "Pāramitāyāna") or Tantra ("Vajrayāna or Mantrayāna"), though exactly what constitutes each category and what is included and excluded in each is a matter of debate and differs among the various lineages. According to Tsongkhapa for example, what separates Tantra from Sutra is the practice of Deity yoga.
While it is generally held that the practices of Vajrayāna are not included in Sutrayāna, all Sutrayāna practices are common to Vajrayāna practice. Traditionally, Vajrayāna is held to be a more powerful and effective path, but potentially more difficult and dangerous and thus they should only be undertaken by the advanced who have established a solid basis in other practices.
The "Pāramitās" (perfections, transcendent virtues) is a key set of virtues which constitute the major practices of a bodhisattva in non-tantric Mahayana. They are:
The practice of "Dāna" (giving) while traditionally referring to offerings of food to the monastics can also refer to the ritual offering of bowls of water, incense, butter lamps and flowers to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas on a shrine or household altar. Similar offerings are also given to other beings such as hungry ghosts, dakinis, protector deities, local divinities etc.
Like other forms of Mahayana Buddhism, the practice of the five precepts and Bodhisattva vows is part of Tibetan Buddhist moral ("sila") practice. In addition to these, there are also numerous sets of Tantric vows, termed Samaya, which are given as part of Tantric initiations.
Compassion ("karuṇā") practices are also particularly important in Tibetan Buddhism. One of the foremost authoritative texts on the Bodhisattva path is the "Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra" by Shantideva. In the eighth section entitled "Meditative Concentration", Shantideva describes meditation on Karunā as thus:
A popular compassion meditation in Tibetan Buddhism is "Tonglen" (sending and taking love and suffering respectively). Practices associated with Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara), also tend to focus on compassion.
The 14th Dalai Lama defines meditation ("bsgom pa") as "familiarization of the mind with an object of meditation." Traditionally, Tibetan Buddhism follows the two main approaches to meditation or mental cultivation ("bhavana") as taught in all forms of Buddhism, śamatha (Tib. "Shine") and vipaśyanā ("lhaktong").
The practice of śamatha (calm abiding) is one of focusing one's mind on a single object such as a Buddha figure or the breath. Through repeated practice one's mind gradually becomes more stable, calm and happy. It is defined by Takpo Tashi Namgyal as "fixing the mind upon any object so as to maintain it without distraction...focusing the mind on an object and maintaining it in that state until finally it is channeled into one stream of attention and evenness." The nine mental abidings is the main progressive framework used for śamatha in Tibetan Buddhism. Once a meditator has reached the ninth level of this schema they achieve what is termed "pliancy" (Tib. "shin tu sbyangs pa", Skt. "prasrabdhi"), defined as "a serviceability of mind and body such that the mind can be set on a virtuous object of observation as long as one likes; it has the function of removing all obstructions." This is also said to be very joyful and blissful for the body and the mind.
The other form of Buddhist meditation is vipaśyanā (clear seeing, higher insight), which in Tibetan Buddhism is generally practiced after having attained proficiency in śamatha. This is generally seen as having two aspects, one of which is analytic meditation, thinking rationally about ideas and concepts in a scholarly or philosophical manner. As part of this process, entertaining doubts and engaging in internal debate over them is encouraged in some traditions. The other type of vipaśyanā is a non-analytical, "simple" yogic style called "trömeh" in Tibetan, which means "without complication".
A meditation routine may involve alternating sessions of vipaśyanā to achieve deeper levels of realization, and samatha to consolidate them.
Vajrayāna is believed by Tibetan Buddhists to be the fastest method for attaining Buddhahood but for unqualified practitioners it can be dangerous. To engage in it one must receive an appropriate initiation (also known as an "empowerment") from a lama who is fully qualified to give it. The aim of preliminary practices ("ngöndro") is to start the student on the correct path for such higher teachings. Just as Sutrayāna preceded Vajrayāna historically in India, so sutra practices constitute those that are preliminary to tantric ones. Preliminary practices include all "Sutrayāna" activities that yield merit like hearing teachings, prostrations, offerings, prayers and acts of kindness and compassion, but chief among the preliminary practices are realizations through meditation on the three principle stages of the path: renunciation, the altruistic bodhicitta wish to attain enlightenment and the wisdom realizing emptiness. For a person without the basis of these three in particular to practice Vajrayāna can be like a small child trying to ride an unbroken horse.
The most widespread preliminary practices include: taking refuge, prostration, Vajrasattva meditation, mandala offering and guru yoga.
The merit acquired in the preliminary practices facilitates progress in Vajrayāna. While many Buddhists may spend a lifetime exclusively on sutra practices, however, an amalgam of the two to some degree is common. For example, in order to train in calm abiding, one might use a tantric visualisation as the meditation object.
As in other Buddhist traditions, an attitude of reverence for the teacher, or guru, is also highly prized. At the beginning of a public teaching, a "lama" will do prostrations to the throne on which he will teach due to its symbolism, or to an image of the Buddha behind that throne, then students will do prostrations to the lama after he is seated. Merit accrues when one's interactions with the teacher are imbued with such reverence in the form of guru devotion, a code of practices governing them that derives from Indian sources. By such things as avoiding disturbance to the peace of mind of one's teacher, and wholeheartedly following his prescriptions, much merit accrues and this can significantly help improve one's practice.
There is a general sense in which any Tibetan Buddhist teacher is called a "lama". A student may have taken teachings from many authorities and revere them all as "lamas" in this general sense. However, he will typically have one held in special esteem as his own root guru and is encouraged to view the other teachers who are less dear to him, however more exalted their status, as embodied in and subsumed by the root guru.
One particular feature of the Tantric view of teacher student relationship is that in Tibetan Buddhist Tantra, one is instructed to regard one's guru as an awakened Buddha.
In Vajrayāna particularly, Tibetan Buddhists subscribe to a voluntary code of self-censorship, whereby the uninitiated do not seek and are not provided with information about it. This self-censorship may be applied more or less strictly depending on circumstances such as the material involved. A depiction of a mandala may be less public than that of a deity. That of a higher tantric deity may be less public than that of a lower. The degree to which information on Vajrayāna is now public in western languages is controversial among Tibetan Buddhists.
Buddhism has always had a taste for esotericism since its earliest period in India. Tibetans today maintain greater or lesser degrees of confidentiality also with information on the "vinaya" and emptiness specifically. In Buddhist teachings generally, too, there is caution about revealing information to people who may be unready for it.
Practicing tantra also includes the maintaining of a separate set of vows, which are called "Samaya (dam tshig)". There are various lists of these and they may differ depending on the practice and one's lineage or individual guru. Upholding these vows is said to be essential for tantric practice and breaking them is said to cause great harm.
There has been a "close association" between the religious and the secular, the spiritual and the temporal in Tibet. The term for this relationship is "chos srid zung 'brel." Traditionally Tibetan lamas have tended to the lay populace by helping them with issues such as protection and prosperity. Common traditions have been the various rites and rituals for mundane ends, such as purifying one's karma, avoiding harm from demonic forces and enemies, and promoting a successful harvest. Divination and exorcism are examples of practices a lama might use for this.
Ritual is generally more elaborate than in other forms of Buddhism, with complex altar arrangements and works of art (such as mandalas and thangkas), many ritual objects, hand gestures ("mudra"), chants, and musical instruments.
A special kind of ritual called an initiation or empowerment (Sanskrit: "Abhiseka", Tibetan: "Wangkur") is central to Tantric practice. These rituals consecrate a practitioner into a particular Tantric practice associated with individual mandalas of deities and mantras. Without having gone through initiation, one is generally not allowed to practice the higher Tantras.
Another important ritual occasion in Tibetan Buddhism is that of mortuary rituals which are supposed to assure that one has a positive rebirth and a good spiritual path in the future. Of central importance to Tibetan Buddhist "Ars moriendi" is the idea of the Bardo (Sanskrit: "antarābhava"), the intermediate or liminal state between life and death. Rituals and the readings of texts such as the Bardo Thodol are done to ensure that the dying person can navigate this intermediate state skillfully. Cremation and sky burial are traditionally the main funeral rites used to dispose of the body.
The use of (mainly Sanskrit) prayer formulas, incantations or phrases called mantras (Tibetan: "sngags") is another widespread feature of Tibetan Buddhist practice. So common is the use of mantras that Vajrayana is also sometimes called ""Mantrayāna"" (the mantra vehicle). Mantras are widely recited, chanted, written or inscribed, and visualized as part of different forms of meditation. Each mantra has symbolic meaning and will often have a connection to a particular Buddha or Bodhisattva. Each deity's mantra is seen as symbolizing the function, speech and power of the deity. Tibetan Buddhist practitioners repeat mantras in order to train the mind, and transform their thoughts in line with the divine qualities of the mantra's deity and special power.
Tibetan Buddhists see the etymology of the term mantra as meaning "mind protector", and mantras is seen as a way to guard the mind against negativity. According to Lama Zopa Rinpoche:
Mantras are effective because they help keep your mind quiet and peaceful, automatically integrating it into one-pointedness. They make your mind receptive to very subtle vibrations and thereby heighten your perception. Their recitation eradicates gross negativities and the true nature of things can then be reflected in your mind’s resulting clarity. By practising a transcendental mantra, you can in fact purify all the defiled energy of your body, speech, and mind.
Mantras also serve to focus the mind as a samatha (calming) practice as well as a way to transform the mind through the symbolic meaning of the mantra. In Buddhism, it is important to have the proper intention, focus and faith when practicing mantras, if one does not, they will not work. Unlike in Hinduism, mantras are not believed to have inherent power of their own, and thus without the proper faith, intention and mental focus, they are just mere sounds. Thus according to the Tibetan philosopher Jamgon Ju Mipham:
if a mantra is thought to be something ordinary and not seen for what it is, it will not be able to perform its intended function. Mantras are like non-conceptual wish-fulfilling jewels. Infusing one's being with the blessings of mantra, like the form of a moon reflected on a body of water, necessitates the presence of faith and other conditions that set the stage for the spiritual attainments of mantra. Just as the moon's reflection cannot appear without water, mantras cannot function without the presence of faith and other such factors in one's being.
Mantras are part of the highest tantric practices in Tibetan Buddhism, such as Deity Yoga and are recited and visualized during tantric sadhanas. Thus, Tsongkhapa says that mantra "protects the mind from ordinary appearances and conceptions". This is because in Tibetan Buddhist Tantric praxis, one must develop a sense that everything is divine.
In what is called "higher yoga tantra" the emphasis is on various yoga practices which allow the practitioner to realize the true nature of reality.
"Deity Yoga" (Tibetan: "lha'i rnal 'byor"; Sanskrit: "Devata-yoga") is a fundamental practice of Vajrayana Buddhism involving visualization of mental images consisting mainly of Buddhist deities such as Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and fierce deities, along mantra repetition. According to Geoffrey Samuel: If Buddhahood is a source of infinite potentiality accessible at any time, then the Tantric deities are in a sense partial aspects, refractions of that total potentiality. Visualizing one of these deities, or oneself identifying with one of them, is not, in Tibetan Tantric thought, a technique to worship an external entity. Rather, it is a way of accessing or tuning into something that is an intrinsic part of the structure of the universe — as of course is the practitioner him or herself.Deity yoga involves two stages, the generation stage and the completion stage. In the generation stage, one dissolves the mundane world and visualizes one's chosen deity ("yidam"), its mandala and companion deities, resulting in identification with this divine reality. In the completion stage, one dissolves the visualization of and identification with the yidam in the realization of sunyata or emptiness.
Completion stage practices can also include subtle body energy practices, as well as other practices such as the Six Yogas of Naropa.
The views and practices associated with Dzogchen and Mahamudra are often seen as the culmination of the tantric path. These practices focus on the very nature of reality and experience, termed "dharmakaya" or "rigpa".
Buddhist monasticism is an important part of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, all the major and minor schools maintain large monastic institutions based on the Mulasarvastivada Vinaya (monastic rule) and many religious leaders come from the monastic community. That being said, there are also many religious leaders or teachers (called "Lamas" and "Gurus") which are not celibate monastics. According to Geoffrey Samuel this is where "religious leadership in Tibetan Buddhism contrasts most strongly with much of the rest of the Buddhist world." Lamas are generally skilled and experienced tantric practitioners and ritual specialists in a specific initiation lineage and may be laypersons or monastics. They act not just as teachers, but as spiritual guides and guardians of the lineage teachings that they have received through a long and intimate process of apprenticeship with their Lamas.
Tibetan Buddhism also includes a number of lay clergy and lay tantric specialists, such as "Ngagpas" (Skt. "mantrī"), "Gomchens", "Serkyims", and "Chödpas" (practitioners of Chöd). According to Samuel, in the more remote parts of the Himalayas, communities were often led by lay religious specialists. Thus, while the large monastic institutions were present in the regions of the Tibetan plateau which were more centralized politically, in other regions they were absent and instead smaller "gompas" and more lay oriented communities prevailed.
Samuel outlines four main types of religious communities in Tibet:
In some cases a lama is the leader of a spiritual community. Some lamas gain their title through being part of particular family which maintains a lineage of hereditary lamas (and are thus often laypersons). One example is the Sakya family of Kon, who founded the Sakya school and another is the hereditary lamas of Mindrolling monastery.
In other cases, lamas may be seen as "Tülkus" ("incarnations"). Tülkus are figures which are recognized as reincarnations of a particular bodhisattva or a previous religious figure. They are often recognized from a young age through the use of divination and the use of the possessions of the deceased lama, and therefore are able to receive extensive training. They are sometimes groomed to become leaders of monastic institutions. Examples include the Dalai Lamas and the Karmapas, each of which are seen as key leaders in their respective traditions.
The system of incarnate lamas is popularly held to be a Tibetan alteration to Indian Buddhism.
Another title unique to Tibetan Buddhism is that of Tertön (treasure discoverer), who are considered capable of revealing or discovering special revelations or texts called Termas (lit. "hidden treasure"). They are also associated with the idea of "beyul" ("hidden valleys"), which are power places associated with deities and hidden religious treasures.
Women in Tibetan society, though still unequal, tended to have a relatively greater autonomy and power than in surrounding societies. This might be because of the smaller household sizes and low population density in Tibet. Women traditionally took many roles in Tibetan Buddhism, from lay supporters, to monastics, lamas and tantric practitioners.
There is evidence for the importance of female practitioners in Indian Tantric Buddhism and pre-modern Tibetan Buddhism. At least one major lineage of tantric teachings, the Shangpa Kagyu, traces itself to Indian female teachers and there have been a series of important female Tibetan teachers, such as Yeshe Tsogyal and Machig Labdrön. It seems that even though it might have been more difficult for women to become serious tantric yoginis, it was still possible for them to find lamas that would teach them high tantric practices.
Some Tibetan women become lamas by being born in one of the hereditary lama families such as Mindrolling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche and Sakya Jetsün Kushok Chimey Luding. There have also been cases of influential female lamas who were also tertöns, such as Sera Khandro, Tare Lhamo and Ayu Khandro.
Some of these figures were also tantric consorts ("sangyum, kandroma") with male lamas, and thus took part in the sexual practices associated with the highest levels of tantric practice.
While monasticism is practiced there by women, it is much less common (2 percent of the population in the 20th century compared to 12 percent of men). Nuns were also much less respected by Tibetan society than monks and may receive less lay support than male monastics.
Traditionally, Tibetan Buddhist nuns were also not "fully ordained" as bhikṣuṇīs (who take the full set of monastic vows in the Vinaya). When Buddhism traveled from India to Tibet, apparently the quorum of bhikṣuṇīs required for bestowing full ordination never reached Tibet. Despite an absence of ordination there, bhikṣuṇīs did travel to Tibet. A notable example was the Sri Lankan nun Candramāla, whose work with Śrījñāna () resulted in the tantric text "Śrīcandramāla Tantrarāja".
There are accounts of fully ordained Tibetan women, such as the Samding Dorje Phagmo (1422-1455), who was once ranked the highest female master and tulku in Tibet, but very little is known about the exact circumstances of their ordination.
In the modern era, Tibetan Buddhist nuns have taken full ordinations through East Asian Vinaya lineages. The Dalai Lama has authorized followers of the Tibetan tradition to be ordained as nuns in traditions that have such ordination.
Buddhist author Michaela Haas notes that Tibetan Buddhism is undergoing a sea change in the West, with women playing a much more central role.
Freda Bedi was a British woman who was the first Western woman to take ordination in Tibetan Buddhism, which occurred in 1966. Pema Chödrön was the first American woman to be ordained as a Buddhist nun in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
In 2010 the first Tibetan Buddhist nunnery in America, Vajra Dakini Nunnery in Vermont, was officially consecrated. It offers novice ordination and follows the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Buddhism. The abbot of the Vajra Dakini nunnery is Khenmo Drolma, an American woman, who is the first bhikṣuṇī in the Drikung lineage of Buddhism, having been ordained in Taiwan in 2002. She is also the first westerner, male or female, to be installed as an abbot in the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Buddhism, having been installed as the abbot of the Vajra Dakini Nunnery in 2004. The Vajra Dakini Nunnery does not follow The Eight Garudhammas.
In April 2011, the Institute for Buddhist Dialectical Studies (IBD) in Dharamsala, India, conferred the degree of geshe, a Tibetan Buddhist academic degree for monastics, on Kelsang Wangmo, a German nun, thus making her the world's first female geshe. In 2013 Tibetan women were able to take the geshe exams for the first time. In 2016 twenty Tibetan Buddhist nuns became the first Tibetan women to earn geshe degrees.
Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo gained international attention in the late 1980s as the first Western woman to be a His Holininess Penor Rinpoche enthroned tulku within the Nyingma Palyul.
The Tibetan Rime (non-sectarian) scholar Jamgon Kongtrul, in his "Treasury of Knowledge," outlines the "Eight Great Practice Lineages" which were transmitted to Tibet. His approach is not concerned with "schools" or sects, but rather focuses on the transmission of crucial meditation teachings. They are:
There are various schools or traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. The four main traditions ones overlap markedly, such that "about eighty percent or more of the features of the Tibetan schools are the same". Differences include the use of apparently, but not actually, contradictory terminology, opening dedications of texts to different deities and whether phenomena are described from the viewpoint of an unenlightened practitioner or of a Buddha. On questions of philosophy, there has historically been disagreement regarding the nature of Yogacara and Buddha-nature teachings (and whether these are of expedient meaning or ultimate meaning), which still colours the current presentations of "sunyata" (emptiness) and ultimate reality.
The 19th century Rimé movement downplayed these differences, as still reflected in the stance of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, who states that there are no fundamental differences between these schools. However, there are still philosophical disagreements between the different traditions, such as the debate regarding rangtong and shentong interpretations of Madhyamaka philosophy.
The four major schools are sometimes divided into the Nyingma "Old Translation," and Sarma "New Translation" traditions, which follow different canons of scripture (the Nyingma Gyubum along with Termas and the Tengyur-Kangyur respectively). Each school also traces itself to a certain lineage going back to India as well as certain important Tibetan founders. While all the schools share most practices and methods, each school tends to have a certain preferred focus (see table below).
Another common but trivial differentiation is into the Yellow Hat (Gelug) and Red Hat (non-Gelug) sects.
The features of each major school (along with one influential minor school, Jonang) is as follows:
"The Ancient Ones" is the oldest school of Tibetan Buddhism and the original order founded by Padmasambhava (8th century) and Śāntarakṣita (725–788). Whereas other schools categorize their teachings into the three yānas or "vehicles", Hīnayāna, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna, the Nyingma tradition classifies its teachings into Nine Yānas, among the highest of which is Dzogchen.
Terma "treasures" (revealed texts) are of particular significance to the Nyingma school. One of the most influential terma cycles is the Longchen Nyingthig which was revealed by Jigme Lingpa (1730–1798).
The "Grey Earth" school represents one of the first "Sarma" (new translation) scholarly traditions. Headed by the Sakya Trizin, this tradition was founded by Khön Könchok Gyelpo (, 1034–1102), a disciple of the great Lotsawa, Drogmi Shākya () and traces its lineage to the mahasiddha Virūpa. A renowned exponent, Sakya Pandita (1182–1251CE), was the great-grandson of Khön Könchok Gyelpo.
Sakyapa, the last one, was named because of the Sakya Monastery, of which the wall was painted into Red, White, and Cyan.
The Bodong school is one of the minor schools, being much smaller and less influential than the four main schools. This tradition was founded in 1049 by the Kadam teacher Mudra Chenpo, who also established the Bodong E Monastery. Its most famous teacher was Bodong Penchen Lénam Gyelchok (1376-1451) who authored over one hundred and thirty-five volumes.
This tradition is also known for maintaining a female tulku lineage of incarnated lamas called the Samding Dorje Phagmo.
Kagyu means "oral transmission" and consists of a series of lineages which all trace themselves back to Indian mahasiddhas like Saraha and Tilopa. Its most famous Tibetan exponent was Milarepa, an 11th-century mystic. It is often divided into the larger Dagpo Kagyu and the smaller Shangpa Kagyu lineage
The Dagpo Kagyu, encompasses those Kagyu schools that trace back to the Indian master Naropa via Marpa Lotsawa, Milarepa and Gampopa and consists of four major sub-sects: the Karma Kagyu, headed by a Karmapa, the Tsalpa Kagyu, the Barom Kagyu, and Pagtru Kagyu. There are a further eight minor sub-sects, all of which trace their root to Pagtru Kagyu's founder, Phagmo Drupa. The most notable of these are the Drikung and Drukpa Lineages.
The once-obscure Shangpa Kagyu, which was famously represented by the 20th century teacher Kalu Rinpoche, traces its history back to the Indian female siddhas Niguma and Sukhasiddhi, transmitted to Tibet via Khyungpo Naljor in the 11th century.
The Jonang is a minor school which can be traced to early 12th century master Yumo Mikyo Dorje, but was popularized by the influential master Dölpopa Shérap Gyeltsen (1292–1361).
The Jonang re-established their religio-political center in Golok, Nakhi and Mongol areas in Kham and Amdo centered at Dzamthang Monastery and have continued practicing uninterrupted to this day. The tradition was suppressed in 1650 in Gelug-controlled regions and subsequently banned and its monks and nuns converted to the Gelug school in 1658. An estimated 5,000 monks and nuns of the Jonang tradition practice today in these areas and at the edges of historic Gelug influence.
However, their teachings were limited to these regions until the Rimé movement of the 19th century encouraged the study of non-Gelug schools of thought and practice. In modern times it has been encouraged to grow by the 14th Dalai Lama, who installed the 9th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu as its head.
The "Way of Virtue" school was originally a reformist movement and is known for its emphasis on logic and debate. The order was founded in the 14th to 15th century by Je Tsongkhapa, renowned for both his scholarship and virtue. He was a prominent supporter of the Madhyamika philosophy and formalized the Svatantrika-Prasaṅgika distinction. Its spiritual head is the Ganden Tripa and its temporal one the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama is regarded as the embodiment of Avalokiteśvara. After the civil war in the 17th century and the Mongol intervention, the Gelugpa school dominated Tibetan Buddhism, and successive Dalai Lamas ruled Tibet from the mid-17th to mid-20th centuries.
Gelugpa is the youngest but largest sect of Tibetan Buddhism. People also call it the Yellow Sect due to the hat they wear is yellow color. The founder of Gelugpa is Tsongkhapa, a great master. The discipline of Gelugpa is very strict. Followers could not get married, could not eat meat, could not drink alcoholic beverages. Most of the famous monasteries in Tibet admire Gelugpa, such as Ganden Monastery, Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery in Lhasa, and Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse.
While Yungdrung Bon considers itself a separate religion with pre-Buddhist origins, and it is considered as non-Buddhist by the main Tibetan traditions, it shares so many similarities and practices with mainstream Tibetan Buddhism that some scholars such as Geoffrey Samuel see it as "essentially a variant of Tibetan Buddhism". It is much more related to Nyingma Buddhism, and includes Dzogchen teachings, similar deities, rituals and forms of monasticism.
Introductory books
"Insider" texts
Other books | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30988 |
Thermocouple
A thermocouple is an electrical device consisting of two dissimilar electrical conductors forming an electrical junction. A thermocouple produces a temperature-dependent voltage as a result of the thermoelectric effect, and this voltage can be interpreted to measure temperature. Thermocouples are a widely used type of temperature sensor.
Commercial thermocouples are inexpensive, interchangeable, are supplied with standard connectors, and can measure a wide range of temperatures. In contrast to most other methods of temperature measurement, thermocouples are self powered and require no external form of excitation. The main limitation with thermocouples is precision; system errors of less than one degree Celsius (°C) can be difficult to achieve.
Thermocouples are widely used in science and industry. Applications include temperature measurement for kilns, gas turbine exhaust, diesel engines, and other industrial processes. Thermocouples are also used in homes, offices and businesses as the temperature sensors in thermostats, and also as flame sensors in safety devices for gas-powered appliances.
In 1821, the German physicist Thomas Johann Seebeck discovered that when different metals are joined at the ends and there is a temperature difference between the joints, a magnetic field is observed. At the time, Seebeck referred to this consequence as thermo-magnetism. The magnetic field he observed was later shown to be due to thermo-electric current. In practical use, the voltage generated at a single junction of two different types of wire is what is of interest as this can be used to measure temperature at very high and low temperatures. The magnitude of the voltage depends on the types of wire being used. Generally, the voltage is in the microvolt range and care must be taken to obtain a usable measurement. Although very little current flows, power can be generated by a single thermocouple junction. Power generation using multiple thermocouples, as in a thermopile, is common.
The standard configuration for thermocouple usage is shown in the figure.
Briefly, the desired temperature "T"sense is obtained using three inputs—the characteristic function "E"("T") of the thermocouple, the measured voltage "V", and the reference junctions' temperature "T"ref.
The solution to the equation "E"("T"sense) = "V" + "E"("T"ref) yields "T"sense.
These details are often hidden from the user since the reference junction block (with "T"ref thermometer), voltmeter, and equation solver are combined into a single product.
The Seebeck effect refers to an electromotive force whenever there is a temperature gradient in a conductive material.
Under open-circuit conditions where there is no internal current flow, the gradient of voltage (formula_1) is directly proportional to the gradient in temperature (formula_2):
where formula_4 is a temperature-dependent material property known as the Seebeck coefficient.
The standard measurement configuration shown in the figure shows four temperature regions and thus four voltage contributions:
The first and fourth contributions cancel out exactly, because these regions involve the same temperature change and an identical material.
As a result, formula_5 does not influence the measured voltage.
The second and third contributions do not cancel, as they involve different materials.
The measured voltage turns out to be
where formula_15 and formula_16 are the Seebeck coefficients of the conductors attached to the positive and negative terminals of the voltmeter, respectively (chromel and alumel in the figure).
An integral does not need to be performed for every temperature measurement. Rather, the thermocouple's behaviour is captured by a characteristic function formula_17, which needs only to be consulted at two arguments:
In terms of the Seebeck coefficients, the characteristic function is defined by
The constant of integration in this indefinite integral has no significance, but is conventionally chosen such that formula_20.
Thermocouple manufacturers and metrology standards organizations such as NIST provide tables of the function formula_17 that have been measured and interpolated over a range of temperatures, for particular thermocouple types (see "External links" section for access to these tables).
To obtain the desired measurement of formula_8, it is not sufficient to just measure formula_23.
The temperature at the reference junctions formula_6 must be already known.
Two strategies are often used here:
In both cases the value formula_26 is calculated, then the function formula_17 is searched for a matching value. The argument where this match occurs is the value of formula_8.
Thermocouples ideally should be very simple measurement devices, with each type being characterized by a precise formula_17 curve, independent of any other details.
In reality, thermocouples are affected by issues such as alloy manufacturing uncertainties, aging effects, and circuit design mistakes/misunderstandings.
A common error in thermocouple construction is related to cold junction compensation. If an error is made on the estimation of formula_30, an error will appear in the temperature measurement. For the simplest measurements, thermocouple wires are connected to copper far away from the hot or cold point whose temperature is measured; this reference junction is then assumed to be at room temperature, but that temperature can vary. Because of the nonlinearity in the thermocouple voltage curve, the errors in formula_30 and formula_32 are generally unequal values. Some thermocouples, such as Type B, have a relatively flat voltage curve near room temperature, meaning that a large uncertainty in a room-temperature formula_30 translates to only a small error in formula_32.
Junctions should be made in a reliable manner, but there are many possible approaches to accomplish this.
For low temperatures, junctions can be brazed or soldered; however, it may be difficult to find a suitable flux and this may not be suitable at the sensing junction due to the solder's low melting point.
Reference and extension junctions are therefore usually made with screw terminal blocks.
For high temperatures, a common approach is a spot weld or crimp using a durable material.
A common myth regarding thermocouples is that junctions must be made cleanly without involving a third metal, to avoid unwanted added EMFs.
This may result from another common misunderstanding that the voltage is generated at the junction. In fact, the junctions should in principle have uniform internal temperature; therefore, no voltage is generated at the junction. The voltage is generated in the thermal gradient, along the wire.
A thermocouple produces small signals, often microvolts in magnitude. Precise measurements of this signal require an amplifier with low input offset voltage and with care taken to avoid thermal EMFs from self-heating within the voltmeter itself. If the thermocouple wire has a high resistance for some reason (poor contact at junctions, or very thin wires used for fast thermal response), the measuring instrument should have high input impedance to prevent an offset in the measured voltage. A useful feature in thermocouple instrumentation will simultaneously measure resistance and detect faulty connections in the wiring or at thermocouple junctions.
While a thermocouple wire type is often described by its chemical composition, the actual aim is to produce a pair of wires that follow a standardized formula_17 curve.
Impurities affect each batch of metal differently, producing variable Seebeck coefficients.
To match the standard behaviour, thermocouple wire manufacturers will deliberately mix in additional impurities to "dope" the alloy, compensating for uncontrolled variations in source material.
As a result, there are standard and specialized grades of thermocouple wire, depending on the level of precision demanded in the thermocouple behaviour.
Precision grades may only be available in matched pairs, where one wire is modified to compensate for deficiencies in the other wire.
A special case of thermocouple wire is known as "extension grade", designed to carry the thermoelectric circuit over a longer distance.
Extension wires follow the stated formula_17 curve but for various reasons they are not designed to be used in extreme environments and so they cannot be used at the sensing junction in some applications.
For example, an extension wire may be in a different form, such as highly flexible with stranded construction and plastic insulation, or be part of a multi-wire cable for carrying many thermocouple circuits.
With expensive noble metal thermocouples, the extension wires may even be made of a completely different, cheaper material that mimics the standard type over a reduced temperature range.
Thermocouples are often used at high temperatures and in reactive furnace atmospheres. In this case, the practical lifetime is limited by thermocouple aging. The thermoelectric coefficients of the wires in a thermocouple that is used to measure very high temperatures may change with time, and the measurement voltage accordingly drops. The simple relationship between the temperature difference of the junctions and the measurement voltage is only correct if each wire is homogeneous (uniform in composition). As thermocouples age in a process, their conductors can lose homogeneity due to chemical and metallurgical changes caused by extreme or prolonged exposure to high temperatures. If the aged section of the thermocouple circuit is exposed to a temperature gradient, the measured voltage will differ, resulting in error.
Aged thermocouples are only partly modified; for example, being unaffected in the parts outside the furnace. For this reason, aged thermocouples cannot be taken out of their installed location and recalibrated in a bath or test furnace to determine error. This also explains why error can sometimes be observed when an aged thermocouple is pulled partly out of a furnace—as the sensor is pulled back, aged sections may see exposure to increased temperature gradients from hot to cold as the aged section now passes through the cooler refractory area, contributing significant error to the measurement. Likewise, an aged thermocouple that is pushed deeper into the furnace might sometimes provide a more accurate reading if being pushed further into the furnace causes the temperature gradient to occur only in a fresh section.
Certain combinations of alloys have become popular as industry standards. Selection of the combination is driven by cost, availability, convenience, melting point, chemical properties, stability, and output. Different types are best suited for different applications. They are usually selected on the basis of the temperature range and sensitivity needed. Thermocouples with low sensitivities (B, R, and S types) have correspondingly lower resolutions. Other selection criteria include the chemical inertness of the thermocouple material and whether it is magnetic or not. Standard thermocouple types are listed below with the positive electrode (assuming formula_37) first, followed by the negative electrode.
Type E (chromel–constantan) has a high output (68 µV/°C), which makes it well suited to cryogenic use. Additionally, it is non-magnetic.
Wide range is −50 °C to +740 °C
and narrow range is −110 °C to +140 °C.
Type J (iron–constantan) has a more restricted range (−40 °C to +750 °C) than type K but higher sensitivity of about 50 µV/°C. The Curie point of the iron (770 °C) causes a smooth change in the characteristic, which determines the upper temperature limit. Note, the European/German Type L is a variant of the type J, with a different specification for the EMF output (reference DIN 43712:1985-01).
Type K (chromel–alumel) is the most common general-purpose thermocouple with a sensitivity of approximately 41 µV/°C. It is inexpensive, and a wide variety of probes are available in its −200 °C to +1350 °C (−330 °F to +2460 °F) range. Type K was specified at a time when metallurgy was less advanced than it is today, and consequently characteristics may vary considerably between samples. One of the constituent metals, nickel, is magnetic; a characteristic of thermocouples made with magnetic material is that they undergo a deviation in output when the material reaches its Curie point, which occurs for type K thermocouples at around 185 °C.
They operate very well in oxidizing atmospheres. If, however, a mostly reducing atmosphere (such as hydrogen with a small amount of oxygen) comes into contact with the wires, the chromium in the chromel alloy oxidizes. This reduces the emf output, and the thermocouple reads low. This phenomenon is known as "green rot", due to the color of the affected alloy. Although not always distinctively green, the chromel wire will develop a mottled silvery skin and become magnetic. An easy way to check for this problem is to see whether the two wires are magnetic (normally, chromel is non-magnetic).
Hydrogen in the atmosphere is the usual cause of green rot. At high temperatures, it can diffuse through solid metals or an intact metal thermowell. Even a sheath of magnesium oxide insulating the thermocouple will not keep the hydrogen out.
Green rot does not occur in atmospheres sufficiently rich in oxygen, or oxygen-free. A sealed thermowell can be filled with inert gas, or an oxygen scavenger (e.g. a sacrificial titanium wire) can be added. Alternatively, additional oxygen can be introduced into the thermowell. Another option is using a different thermocouple type for the low-oxygen atmospheres where green rot can occur; a type N thermocouple is a suitable alternative.
Type M (82%Ni/18%Mo–99.2%Ni/0.8%Co, by weight) are used in vacuum furnaces for the same reasons as with type C (described below). Upper temperature is limited to 1400 °C. It is less commonly used than other types.
Type N (Nicrosil–Nisil) thermocouples are suitable for use between −270 °C and +1300 °C, owing to its stability and oxidation resistance. Sensitivity is about 39 µV/°C at 900 °C, slightly lower compared to type K.
Designed at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) of Australia, by Noel A. Burley, type-N thermocouples overcome the three principal characteristic types and causes of thermoelectric instability in the standard base-metal thermoelement materials:
The Nicrosil and Nisil thermocouple alloys show greatly enhanced thermoelectric stability relative to the other standard base-metal thermocouple alloys because their compositions substantially reduce the thermoelectric instabilities described above. This is achieved primarily by increasing component solute concentrations (chromium and silicon) in a base of nickel above those required to cause a transition from internal to external modes of oxidation, and by selecting solutes (silicon and magnesium) that preferentially oxidize to form a diffusion-barrier, and hence oxidation-inhibiting films.
Type N thermocouples are suitable alternative to type K for low-oxygen conditions where type K is prone to green rot. They are suitable for use in vacuum, inert atmospheres, oxidizing atmospheres, or dry reducing atmospheres. They do not tolerate presence of sulfur.
Type T (copper–constantan) thermocouples are suited for measurements in the −200 to 350 °C range. Often used as a differential measurement, since only copper wire touches the probes. Since both conductors are non-magnetic, there is no Curie point and thus no abrupt change in characteristics. Type-T thermocouples have a sensitivity of about 43 µV/°C. Note that copper has a much higher thermal conductivity than the alloys generally used in thermocouple constructions, and so it is necessary to exercise extra care with thermally anchoring type-T thermocouples. A similar composition is found in the obsolete Type U in the German specification DIN 43712:1985-01
Types B, R, and S thermocouples use platinum or a platinum/rhodium alloy for each conductor. These are among the most stable thermocouples, but have lower sensitivity than other types, approximately 10 µV/°C. Type B, R, and S thermocouples are usually used only for high-temperature measurements due to their high cost and low sensitivity.
Type B (70%Pt/30%Rh–94%Pt/6%Rh, by weight) thermocouples are suited for use at up to 1800 °C. Type-B thermocouples produce the same output at 0 °C and 42 °C, limiting their use below about 50 °C. The emf function has a minimum around 21 °C, meaning that cold-junction compensation is easily performed, since the compensation voltage is essentially a constant for a reference at typical room temperatures.
Type R (87%Pt/13%Rh–Pt, by weight) thermocouples are used 0 to 1600 °C.
Type S (90%Pt/10%Rh–Pt, by weight) thermocouples, similar to type R, are used up to 1600 °C. Before the introduction of the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90), precision type-S thermocouples were used as the practical standard thermometers for the range of 630 °C to 1064 °C, based on an interpolation between the freezing points of antimony, silver, and gold. Starting with ITS-90, platinum resistance thermometers have taken over this range as standard thermometers.
These thermocouples are well suited for measuring extremely high temperatures. Typical uses are hydrogen and inert atmospheres, as well as vacuum furnaces. They are not used in oxidizing environments at high temperatures because of embrittlement. A typical range is 0 to 2315 °C, which can be extended to 2760 °C in inert atmosphere and to 3000 °C for brief measurements.
Pure tungsten at high temperatures undergoes recrystallization and becomes brittle. Therefore, types C and D are preferred over type G in some applications.
In presence of water vapor at high temperature, tungsten reacts to tungsten oxide, which volatilizes away, and hydrogen. Hydrogen then reacts with tungsten oxide, water is formed again. Such "water cycle" can lead to erosion of the thermocouple and eventual failure. In high temperature vacuum applications it is therefore desirable to avoid presence of traces of water.
An alternative to tungsten/rhenium is tungsten/molybdenum, but the voltage-temperature response is weaker and has minimum at around 1000 K.
The thermocouple temperature is limited also by other materials used. For example beryllium oxide, a popular material for high temperature applications, tends to gain conductivity with temperature; a particular configuration of sensor had the insulation resistance dropping from a megaohm at 1000 K to 200 ohms at 2200 K. At high temperatures, the materials undergo chemical reaction. At 2700 K beryllium oxide slightly reacts with tungsten, tungsten-rhenium alloy, and tantalum; at 2600 K molybdenum reacts with BeO, tungsten does not react. BeO begins melting at about 2820 K, magnesium oxide at about 3020 K.
(95%W/5%Re–74%W/26%Re, by weight) maximum temperature will be measured by type-c thermocouple is 2329 ℃.
In these thermocouples (chromel–gold/iron alloy), the negative wire is gold with a small fraction (0.03–0.15 atom percent) of iron. The impure gold wire gives the thermocouple a high sensitivity at low temperatures (compared to other thermocouples at that temperature), whereas the chromel wire maintains the sensitivity near room temperature. It can be used for cryogenic applications (1.2–300 K and even up to 600 K). Both the sensitivity and the temperature range depend on the iron concentration. The sensitivity is typically around 15 µV/K at low temperatures, and the lowest usable temperature varies between 1.2 and 4.2 K.
Type P (55%Pd/31%Pt/14%Au–65%Au/35%Pd, by weight) thermocouples give a thermoelectric voltage that mimics the type K over the range 500 °C to 1400 °C, however they are constructed purely of noble metals and so shows enhanced corrosion resistance. This combination is also known as Platinel II.
Thermocouples of platinum/molybdenum-alloy (95%Pt/5%Mo–99.9%Pt/0.1%Mo, by weight) are sometimes used in nuclear reactors, since they show a low drift from nuclear transmutation induced by neutron irradiation, compared to the platinum/rhodium-alloy types.
The use of two wires of iridium/rhodium alloys can provide a thermocouple that can be used up to about 2000 °C in inert atmospheres.
Thermocouples made from two different, high-purity noble metals can show high accuracy even when uncalibrated, as well as low levels of drift. Two combinations in use are gold–platinum and platinum–palladium. Their main limitations are the low melting points of the metals involved (1064 °C for gold and 1555 °C for palladium). These thermocouples tend to be more accurate than type S, and due to their economy and simplicity are even regarded as competitive alternatives to the platinum resistance thermometers that are normally used as standard thermometers.
HTIR-TC offers a breakthrough in measuring high-temperature processes. Its characteristics are: durable and reliable at high temperatures, up to at least 1700°C; resistant to irradiation; moderately priced; available in a variety of configurations - adaptable to each application; easily installed. Originally developed for use in nuclear test reactors, HTIR-TC may enhance the safety of operations in future reactors. This thermocouple was developed by researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL)
The table below describes properties of several different thermocouple types. Within the tolerance columns, "T" represents the temperature of the hot junction, in degrees Celsius. For example, a thermocouple with a tolerance of ±0.0025×"T" would have a tolerance of ±2.5 °C at 1000 °C.
The wires that make up the thermocouple must be insulated from each other everywhere, except at the sensing junction. Any additional electrical contact between the wires, or contact of a wire to other conductive objects, can modify the voltage and give a false reading of temperature.
Plastics are suitable insulators for low temperatures parts of a thermocouple, whereas ceramic insulation can be used up to around 1000 °C. Other concerns (abrasion and chemical resistance) also affect the suitability of materials.
When wire insulation disintegrates, it can result in an unintended electrical contact at a different location from the desired sensing point. If such a damaged thermocouple is used in the closed loop control of a thermostat or other temperature controller, this can lead to a runaway overheating event and possibly severe damage, as the false temperature reading will typically be lower than the sensing junction temperature. Failed insulation will also typically outgas, which can lead to process contamination. For parts of thermocouples used at very high temperatures or in contamination-sensitive applications, the only suitable insulation may be vacuum or inert gas; the mechanical rigidity of the thermocouple wires is used to keep them separated.
Temperature ratings for insulations may vary based on what the overall thermocouple construction cable consists of.
Note: T300 is a new high-temperature material that was recently approved by UL for 300 °C operating temperatures.
Thermocouples are suitable for measuring over a large temperature range, from −270 up to 3000 °C (for a short time, in inert atmosphere). Applications include temperature measurement for kilns, gas turbine exhaust, diesel engines, other industrial processes and fog machines. They are less suitable for applications where smaller temperature differences need to be measured with high accuracy, for example the range 0–100 °C with 0.1 °C accuracy. For such applications thermistors, silicon bandgap temperature sensors and resistance thermometers are more suitable.
Type B, S, R and K thermocouples are used extensively in the steel and iron industries to monitor temperatures and chemistry throughout the steel making process. Disposable, immersible, type S thermocouples are regularly used in the electric arc furnace process to accurately measure the temperature of steel before tapping. The cooling curve of a small steel sample can be analyzed and used to estimate the carbon content of molten steel.
Many gas-fed heating appliances such as ovens and water heaters make use of a pilot flame to ignite the main gas burner when required. If the pilot flame goes out, unburned gas may be released, which is an explosion risk and a health hazard. To prevent this, some appliances use a thermocouple in a fail-safe circuit to sense when the pilot light is burning. The tip of the thermocouple is placed in the pilot flame, generating a voltage which operates the supply valve which feeds gas to the pilot. So long as the pilot flame remains lit, the thermocouple remains hot, and the pilot gas valve is held open. If the pilot light goes out, the thermocouple temperature falls, causing the voltage across the thermocouple to drop and the valve to close.
Where the probe may be easily placed above the flame, a rectifying sensor may often be used instead. With part ceramic construction, they may also be known as flame rods, flame sensors or flame detection electrodes.
Some combined main burner and pilot gas valves (mainly by Honeywell) reduce the power demand to within the range of a single universal thermocouple heated by a pilot (25 mV open circuit falling by half with the coil connected to a 10–12 mV, 0.2–0.25 A source, typically) by sizing the coil to be able to hold the valve open against a light spring, but only after the initial turning-on force is provided by the user pressing and holding a knob to compress the spring during lighting of the pilot. These systems are identifiable by the "press and hold for x minutes" in the pilot lighting instructions. (The holding current requirement of such a valve is much less than a bigger solenoid designed for pulling the valve in from a closed position would require.) Special test sets are made to confirm the valve let-go and holding currents, because an ordinary milliammeter cannot be used as it introduces more resistance than the gas valve coil. Apart from testing the open circuit voltage of the thermocouple, and the near short-circuit DC continuity through the thermocouple gas valve coil, the easiest non-specialist test is substitution of a known good gas valve.
Some systems, known as millivolt control systems, extend the thermocouple concept to both open and close the main gas valve as well. Not only does the voltage created by the pilot thermocouple activate the pilot gas valve, it is also routed through a thermostat to power the main gas valve as well. Here, a larger voltage is needed than in a pilot flame safety system described above, and a thermopile is used rather than a single thermocouple. Such a system requires no external source of electricity for its operation and thus can operate during a power failure, provided that all the other related system components allow for this. This excludes common forced air furnaces because external electrical power is required to operate the blower motor, but this feature is especially useful for un-powered convection heaters. A similar gas shut-off safety mechanism using a thermocouple is sometimes employed to ensure that the main burner ignites within a certain time period, shutting off the main burner gas supply valve should that not happen.
Out of concern about energy wasted by the standing pilot flame, designers of many newer appliances have switched to an electronically controlled pilot-less ignition, also called intermittent ignition. With no standing pilot flame, there is no risk of gas buildup should the flame go out, so these appliances do not need thermocouple-based pilot safety switches. As these designs lose the benefit of operation without a continuous source of electricity, standing pilots are still used in some appliances. The exception is later model instantaneous (aka "tankless") water heaters that use the flow of water to generate the current required to ignite the gas burner; these designs also use a thermocouple as a safety cut-off device in the event the gas fails to ignite, or if the flame is extinguished.
Thermopiles are used for measuring the intensity of incident radiation, typically visible or infrared light, which heats the hot junctions, while the cold junctions are on a heat sink. It is possible to measure radiative intensities of only a few μW/cm2 with commercially available thermopile sensors. For example, some laser power meters are based on such sensors; these are specifically known as thermopile laser sensor.
The principle of operation of a thermopile sensor is distinct from that of a bolometer, as the latter relies on a change in resistance.
Thermocouples can generally be used in the testing of prototype electrical and mechanical apparatus. For example, switchgear under test for its current carrying capacity may have thermocouples installed and monitored during a heat run test, to confirm that the temperature rise at rated current does not exceed designed limits.
A thermocouple can produce current to drive some processes directly, without the need for extra circuitry and power sources. For example, the power from a thermocouple can activate a valve when a temperature difference arises. The electrical energy generated by a thermocouple is converted from the heat which must be supplied to the hot side to maintain the electric potential. A continuous transfer of heat is necessary because the current flowing through the thermocouple tends to cause the hot side to cool down and the cold side to heat up (the Peltier effect).
Thermocouples can be connected in series to form a thermopile, where all the hot junctions are exposed to a higher temperature and all the cold junctions to a lower temperature. The output is the sum of the voltages across the individual junctions, giving larger voltage and power output. In a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, the radioactive decay of transuranic elements as a heat source has been used to power spacecraft on missions too far from the Sun to use solar power.
Thermopiles heated by kerosene lamps were used to run batteryless radio receivers in isolated areas. There are commercially produced lanterns that use the heat from a candle to run several light-emitting diodes, and thermoelectrically-powered fans to improve air circulation and heat distribution in wood stoves.
Chemical production and petroleum refineries will usually employ computers for logging and for limit testing the many temperatures associated with a process, typically numbering in the hundreds. For such cases, a number of thermocouple leads will be brought to a common reference block (a large block of copper) containing the second thermocouple of each circuit. The temperature of the block is in turn measured by a thermistor. Simple computations are used to determine the temperature at each measured location.
A thermocouple can be used as a vacuum gauge over the range of approximately 0.001 to 1 torr absolute pressure. In this pressure range, the mean free path of the gas is comparable to the dimensions of the vacuum chamber, and the flow regime is neither purely viscous nor purely molecular. In this configuration, the thermocouple junction is attached to the centre of a short heating wire, which is usually energised by a constant current of about 5 mA, and the heat is removed at a rate related to the thermal conductivity of the gas.
The temperature detected at the thermocouple junction depends on the thermal conductivity of the surrounding gas, which depends on the pressure of the gas. The potential difference measured by a thermocouple is proportional to the square of pressure over the low- to medium-vacuum range. At higher (viscous flow) and lower (molecular flow) pressures, the thermal conductivity of air or any other gas is essentially independent of pressure. The thermocouple was first used as a vacuum gauge by Voege in 1906. The mathematical model for the thermocouple as a vacuum gauge is quite complicated, as explained in detail by Van Atta, but can be simplified to:
where "P" is the gas pressure, "B" is a constant that depends on the thermocouple temperature, the gas composition and the vacuum-chamber geometry, "V"0 is the thermocouple voltage at zero pressure (absolute), and "V" is the voltage indicated by the thermocouple.
The alternative is the Pirani gauge, which operates in a similar way, over approximately the same pressure range, but is only a 2-terminal device, sensing the change in resistance with temperature of a thin electrically heated wire, rather than using a thermocouple.
Thermocouple data tables: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30990 |
Thermistor
A thermistor is a type of resistor whose resistance is dependent on temperature, more so than in standard resistors. The word is a combination of "thermal" and "resistor". Thermistors are widely used as inrush current limiters, temperature sensors (negative temperature coefficient or NTC type typically), self-resetting overcurrent protectors, and self-regulating heating elements (positive temperature coefficient or PTC type typically).
Thermistors are of two opposite fundamental types:
Thermistors are generally produced using powdered metal oxides. With vastly improved formulas and techniques over the past 20 years, NTC thermistors can now achieve accuracies over wide temperature ranges such as ±0.1 °C or ±0.2 °C from 0 °C to 70 °C with excellent long-term stability. NTC thermistor elements come in many styles such as axial-leaded glass-encapsulated (DO-35, DO-34 and DO-41 diodes), glass-coated chips, epoxy-coated with bare or insulated lead wire and surface-mount, as well as rods and discs. The typical operating temperature range of a thermistor is −55 °C to +150 °C, though some glass-body thermistors have a maximal operating temperature of +300 °C.
Thermistors differ from resistance temperature detectors (RTDs) in that the material used in a thermistor is generally a ceramic or polymer, while RTDs use pure metals. The temperature response is also different; RTDs are useful over larger temperature ranges, while thermistors typically achieve a greater precision within a limited temperature range, typically −90 °C to 130 °C.
Assuming, as a first-order approximation, that the relationship between resistance and temperature is linear, then
where
Thermistors can be classified into two types, depending on the sign of formula_4. If formula_4 is positive, the resistance increases with increasing temperature, and the device is called a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistor, or posistor. If formula_4 is negative, the resistance decreases with increasing temperature, and the device is called a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor. Resistors that are not thermistors are designed to have a formula_4 as close to 0 as possible, so that their resistance remains nearly constant over a wide temperature range.
Instead of the temperature coefficient "k", sometimes the "temperature coefficient of resistance" formula_9 ("alpha sub T") is used. It is defined as
This formula_9 coefficient should not be confused with the formula_12 parameter below.
In practical devices, the linear approximation model (above) is accurate only over a limited temperature range. Over wider temperature ranges, a more complex resistance–temperature transfer function provides a more faithful characterization of the performance. The Steinhart–Hart equation is a widely used third-order approximation:
where "a", "b" and "c" are called the Steinhart–Hart parameters and must be specified for each device. "T" is the absolute temperature, and "R" is the resistance. To give resistance as a function of temperature, the above cubic equation in formula_14 can be solved, the real root of which is given by
where
The error in the Steinhart–Hart equation is generally less than 0.02 °C in the measurement of temperature over a 200 °C range. As an example, typical values for a thermistor with a resistance of 3 kΩ at room temperature (25 °C = 298.15 K) are:
NTC thermistors can also be characterised with the "B" (or "β") parameter equation, which is essentially the Steinhart–Hart equation with formula_18, formula_19 and formula_20,
where the temperatures are in kelvins, and "R"0 is the resistance at temperature "T"0 (25 °C = 298.15 K). Solving for "R" yields
or, alternatively,
where formula_24.
This can be solved for the temperature:
The "B"-parameter equation can also be written as formula_26. This can be used to convert the function of resistance vs. temperature of a thermistor into a linear function of formula_27 vs. formula_28. The average slope of this function will then yield an estimate of the value of the "B" parameter.
Many NTC thermistors are made from a pressed disc, rod, plate, bead or cast chip of semiconducting material such as sintered metal oxides. They work because raising the temperature of a semiconductor increases the number of active charge carriers it promotes them into the "conduction band". The more charge carriers that are available, the more current a material can conduct. In certain materials like ferric oxide (Fe2O3) with titanium (Ti) doping an "n-type" semiconductor is formed and the charge carriers are electrons. In materials such as nickel oxide (NiO) with lithium (Li) doping a "p-type" semiconductor is created, where holes are the charge carriers.
This is described in the formula
where
Over large changes in temperature, calibration is necessary. Over small changes in temperature, if the right semiconductor is used, the resistance of the material is linearly proportional to the temperature. There are many different semiconducting thermistors with a range from about 0.01 kelvin to 2,000 kelvins (−273.14 °C to 1,700 °C).
The IEC standard symbol for a NTC thermistor includes a "−t°" under the rectangle.
Most PTC thermistors are made from doped polycrystalline ceramic (containing barium titanate (BaTiO3) and other compounds) which have the property that their resistance rises suddenly at a certain critical temperature. Barium titanate is ferroelectric and its dielectric constant varies with temperature. Below the Curie point temperature, the high dielectric constant prevents the formation of potential barriers between the crystal grains, leading to a low resistance. In this region the device has a small negative temperature coefficient. At the Curie point temperature, the dielectric constant drops sufficiently to allow the formation of potential barriers at the grain boundaries, and the resistance increases sharply with temperature. At even higher temperatures, the material reverts to NTC behaviour.
Another type of thermistor is a silistor (a thermally sensitive silicon resistor). Silistors employ silicon as the semiconductive component material. Unlike ceramic PTC thermistors, silistors have an almost linear resistance-temperature characteristic.
Barium titanate thermistors can be used as self-controlled heaters; for a given voltage, the ceramic will heat to a certain temperature, but the power used will depend on the heat loss from the ceramic.
The dynamics of PTC thermistors being powered also is extremely useful. When first connected to a voltage source, a large current corresponding to the low, cold, resistance flows, but as the thermistor self-heats, the current is reduced until a limiting current (and corresponding peak device temperature) is reached. The current-limiting effect can replace fuses. In the degaussing circuits of many CRT monitors and televisions an appropriately chosen thermistor is connected in series with the degaussing coil. This results in a smooth current decrease for an improved degaussing effect. Some of these degaussing circuits have auxiliary heating elements to heat the thermistor (and reduce the resulting current) further.
Another type of PTC thermistor is the polymer PTC, which is sold under brand names such as "Polyswitch" "Semifuse", and "Multifuse". This consists of plastic with carbon grains embedded in it. When the plastic is cool, the carbon grains are all in contact with each other, forming a conductive path through the device. When the plastic heats up, it expands, forcing the carbon grains apart, and causing the resistance of the device to rise, which then causes increased heating and rapid resistance increase. Like the BaTiO3 thermistor, this device has a highly nonlinear resistance/temperature response useful for thermal or circuit control, not for temperature measurement. Besides circuit elements used to limit current, self-limiting heaters can be made in the form of wires or strips, useful for heat tracing. PTC thermistors 'latch' into a hot / high resistance state: once hot, they stay in that high resistance state, until cooled.
The effect can be used as a primitive latch/memory circuit, the effect being enhanced by using two PTC thermistors in series, with one thermistor cool, and the other thermistor hot.
The IEC standard symbol for a PTC thermistor includes a "+t°" under the rectangle.
When a current flows through a thermistor, it generates heat, which raises the temperature of the thermistor above that of its environment. If the thermistor is being used to measure the temperature of the environment, this electrical heating may introduce a significant error if a correction is not made. Alternatively, this effect itself can be exploited. It can, for example, make a sensitive air-flow device employed in a sailplane rate-of-climb instrument, the electronic variometer, or serve as a timer for a relay as was formerly done in telephone exchanges.
The electrical power input to the thermistor is just
where "I" is current, and "V" is the voltage drop across the thermistor. This power is converted to heat, and this heat energy is transferred to the surrounding environment. The rate of transfer is well described by Newton's law of cooling:
where "T"("R") is the temperature of the thermistor as a function of its resistance "R", formula_38 is the temperature of the surroundings, and "K" is the "dissipation constant", usually expressed in units of milliwatts per degree Celsius. At equilibrium, the two rates must be equal:
The current and voltage across the thermistor depend on the particular circuit configuration. As a simple example, if the voltage across the thermistor is held fixed, then by Ohm's law we have formula_40, and the equilibrium equation can be solved for the ambient temperature as a function of the measured resistance of the thermistor:
The dissipation constant is a measure of the thermal connection of the thermistor to its surroundings. It is generally given for the thermistor in still air and in well-stirred oil. Typical values for a small glass-bead thermistor are 1.5 mW/°C in still air and 6.0 mW/°C in stirred oil. If the temperature of the environment is known beforehand, then a thermistor may be used to measure the value of the dissipation constant. For example, the thermistor may be used as a flow-rate sensor, since the dissipation constant increases with the rate of flow of a fluid past the thermistor.
The power dissipated in a thermistor is typically maintained at a very low level to ensure insignificant temperature measurement error due to self-heating. However, some thermistor applications depend upon significant "self-heating" to raise the body temperature of the thermistor well above the ambient temperature, so the sensor then detects even subtle changes in the thermal conductivity of the environment. Some of these applications include liquid-level detection, liquid-flow measurement and air-flow measurement.
The first NTC thermistor was discovered in 1833 by Michael Faraday, who reported on the semiconducting behavior of silver sulfide. Faraday noticed that the resistance of silver sulfide decreased dramatically as temperature increased. (This was also the first documented observation of a semiconducting material.)
Because early thermistors were difficult to produce and applications for the technology were limited, commercial production of thermistors did not begin until the 1930s. A commercially viable thermistor was invented by Samuel Ruben in 1930. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30992 |
Thermometer
A thermometer is a device that measures temperature or a temperature gradient (the degree of hotness or coldness of an object) A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb of a mercury-in-glass thermometer or the pyrometric sensor in an infrared thermometer) in which some change occurs with a change in temperature; and (2) some means of converting this change into a numerical value (e.g. the visible scale that is marked on a mercury-in-glass thermometer or the digital readout on an infrared model). Thermometers are widely used in technology and industry to monitor processes, in meteorology, in medicine, and in scientific research. During the COVID-19 pandemic they were used by businesses to detect the fever brought on by the virus.
Some of the principles of the thermometer were known to Greek philosophers of two thousand years ago. The Italian physician Santorio Santorio ("Sanctorius," 1561-1636) is commonly credited with the invention of the first thermometer, but its standardisation was completed through the 17th and 18th centuries.
There are many types of thermometers used under Science, Geography etc
While an individual thermometer is able to measure degrees of hotness, the readings on two thermometers cannot be compared unless they conform to an agreed scale. Today there is an absolute thermodynamic temperature scale. Internationally agreed temperature scales are designed to approximate this closely, based on fixed points and interpolating thermometers. The most recent official temperature scale is the International Temperature Scale of 1990. It extends from to approximately .
Various authors have credited the invention of the thermometer to Hero of Alexandria. The thermometer was not a single invention, however, but a development.
Hero of Alexandria (10–70 AD) knew of the principle that certain substances, notably air, expand and contract and described a demonstration in which a closed tube partially filled with air had its end in a container of water. The expansion and contraction of the air caused the position of the water/air interface to move along the tube.
Such a mechanism was later used to show the hotness and coldness of the air with a tube in which the water level is controlled by the expansion and contraction of the gas. These devices were developed by several European scientists in the 16th and 17th centuries, notably Galileo Galilei and Santorio Santorio. As a result, devices were shown to produce this effect reliably, and the term "thermoscope" was adopted because it reflected the changes in sensible heat (the modern concept of temperature was yet to arise). The difference between a thermoscope and a thermometer is that the latter has a scale. Though Galileo is often said to be the inventor of the thermometer, there is no surviving document that he actually produced any such instrument.
The first clear diagram of a thermoscope was published in 1617 by Giuseppe Biancani (1566 – 1624): the first showing a scale and thus constituting a thermometer was Santorio Santorio in 1625. This was a vertical tube, closed by a bulb of air at the top, with the lower end opening into a vessel of water. The water level in the tube is controlled by the expansion and contraction of the air, so it is what we would now call an air thermometer.
The word thermometer (in its French form) first appeared in 1624 in "La Récréation Mathématique" by J. Leurechon, who describes one with a scale of 8 degrees. The word comes from the Greek words θερμός, "thermos", meaning "hot" and μέτρον, "metron", meaning "measure".
The above instruments suffered from the disadvantage that they were also barometers, i.e. sensitive to air pressure. In 1629, Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, a student of Galileo and Santorio in Padua, published what is apparently the first description and illustration of a sealed liquid-in-glass thermometer. It is described as having a bulb at the bottom of a sealed tube partially filled with brandy. The tube has a numbered scale. Delmedigo does not claim to have invented this instrument, nor does he name anyone else as its inventor. In about 1654 Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1610–1670), actually produced such an instrument, the first modern-style thermometer, dependent on the expansion of a liquid, and independent of air pressure. Many other scientists experimented with various liquids and designs of thermometer.
However, each inventor and each thermometer was unique—there was no standard scale. In 1665 Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695) suggested using the melting and boiling points of water as standards, and in 1694 Carlo Renaldini (1615–1698) proposed using them as fixed points on a universal scale. In 1701, Isaac Newton (1642–1726/27) proposed a scale of 12 degrees between the melting point of ice and body temperature.
In 1714 Dutch scientist and inventor Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit invented the first reliable thermometer, using mercury instead of alcohol and water mixtures. In 1724 he proposed a temperature scale which now (slightly adjusted) bears his name. He could do this because he manufactured thermometers, using mercury (which has a high coefficient of expansion) for the first time and the quality of his production could provide a finer scale and greater reproducibility, leading to its general adoption. In 1742, Anders Celsius (1701–1744) proposed a scale with zero at the boiling point and 100 degrees at the freezing point of water, though the scale which now bears his name has them the other way around. French entomologist René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur invented an alcohol thermometer and temperature scale in 1730 that ultimately proved to be less reliable than Fahrenheit's mercury thermometer.
The first physician that put thermometer measurements to clinical practice was Herman Boerhaave (1668–1738). In 1866, Sir Thomas Clifford Allbutt (1836–1925) invented a clinical thermometer that produced a body temperature reading in five minutes as opposed to twenty. In 1999, Dr. Francesco Pompei of the Exergen Corporation introduced the world's first temporal artery thermometer, a non-invasive temperature sensor which scans the forehead in about two seconds and provides a medically accurate body temperature.
Traditional thermometers were all non-registering thermometers. That is, the thermometer did not hold the temperature reading after it was moved to a place with a different temperature. Determining the temperature of a pot of hot liquid required the user to leave the thermometer in the hot liquid until after reading it. If the non-registering thermometer was removed from the hot liquid, then the temperature indicated on the thermometer would immediately begin changing to reflect the temperature of its new conditions (in this case, the air temperature). Registering thermometers are designed to hold the temperature indefinitely, so that the thermometer can be removed and read at a later time or in a more convenient place. Mechanical registering thermometers hold either the highest or lowest temperature recorded, until manually re-set, e.g., by shaking down a mercury-in-glass thermometer, or until an even more extreme temperature is experienced. Electronic registering thermometers may be designed to remember the highest or lowest temperature, or to remember whatever temperature was present at a specified point in time.
Thermometers increasingly use electronic means to provide a digital display or input to a computer.
Thermometers may be described as empirical or absolute. Absolute thermometers are calibrated numerically by the thermodynamic absolute temperature scale. Empirical thermometers are not in general necessarily in exact agreement with absolute thermometers as to their numerical scale readings, but to qualify as thermometers at all they must agree with absolute thermometers and with each other in the following way: given any two bodies isolated in their separate respective thermodynamic equilibrium states, all thermometers agree as to which of the two has the higher temperature, or that the two have equal temperatures. For any two empirical thermometers, this does not require that the relation between their numerical scale readings be linear, but it does require that relation to be strictly monotonic. This is a fundamental character of temperature and thermometers.
As it is customarily stated in textbooks, taken alone, the so-called "zeroth law of thermodynamics" fails to deliver this information, but the statement of the zeroth law of thermodynamics by James Serrin in 1977, though rather mathematically abstract, is more informative for thermometry: "Zeroth Law – There exists a topological line formula_1 which serves as a coordinate manifold of material behaviour. The points formula_2 of the manifold formula_1 are called 'hotness levels', and formula_1 is called the 'universal hotness manifold'." To this information there needs to be added a sense of greater hotness; this sense can be had, independently of calorimetry, of thermodynamics, and of properties of particular materials, from Wien's displacement law of thermal radiation: the temperature of a bath of thermal radiation is proportional, by a universal constant, to the frequency of the maximum of its frequency spectrum; this frequency is always positive, but can have values that tend to zero. Another way of identifying hotter as opposed to colder conditions is supplied by Planck's principle, that when a process of isochoric adiabatic work is the sole means of change of internal energy of a closed system, the final state of the system is never colder than the initial state; except for phase changes with latent heat, it is hotter than the initial state.
There are several principles on which empirical thermometers are built, as listed in the section of this article entitled "Primary and secondary thermometers". Several such principles are essentially based on the constitutive relation between the state of a suitably selected particular material and its temperature. Only some materials are suitable for this purpose, and they may be considered as "thermometric materials". Radiometric thermometry, in contrast, can be only slightly dependent on the constitutive relations of materials. In a sense then, radiometric thermometry might be thought of as "universal". This is because it rests mainly on a universality character of thermodynamic equilibrium, that it has the universal property of producing blackbody radiation.
There are various kinds of empirical thermometer based on material properties.
Many empirical thermometers rely on the constitutive relation between pressure, volume and temperature of their thermometric material. For example, mercury expands when heated.
If it is used for its relation between pressure and volume and temperature, a thermometric material must have three properties:
(1) Its heating and cooling must be rapid. That is to say, when a quantity of heat enters or leaves a body of the material, the material must expand or contract to its final volume or reach its final pressure and must reach its final temperature with practically no delay; some of the heat that enters can be considered to change the volume of the body at constant temperature, and is called the latent heat of expansion at constant temperature; and the rest of it can be considered to change the temperature of the body at constant volume, and is called the specific heat at constant volume. Some materials do not have this property, and take some time to distribute the heat between temperature and volume change.
(2) Its heating and cooling must be reversible. That is to say, the material must be able to be heated and cooled indefinitely often by the same increment and decrement of heat, and still return to its original pressure, volume and temperature every time. Some plastics do not have this property;
(3) Its heating and cooling must be monotonic. That is to say, throughout the range of temperatures for which it is intended to work,
At temperatures around about 4 °C, water does not have the property (3), and is said to behave anomalously in this respect; thus water cannot be used as a material for this kind of thermometry for temperature ranges near 4 °C.
Gases, on the other hand, all have the properties (1), (2), and (3)(a)(α) and (3)(b)(α). Consequently, they are suitable thermometric materials, and that is why they were important in the development of thermometry.
According to Preston (1894/1904), Regnault found constant pressure air thermometers unsatisfactory, because they needed troublesome corrections. He therefore built a constant volume air thermometer. Constant volume thermometers do not provide a way to avoid the problem of anomalous behaviour like that of water at approximately 4 °C.
Planck's law very accurately quantitatively describes the power spectral density of electromagnetic radiation, inside a rigid walled cavity in a body made of material that is completely opaque and poorly reflective, when it has reached thermodynamic equilibrium, as a function of absolute thermodynamic temperature alone. A small enough hole in the wall of the cavity emits near enough blackbody radiation of which the spectral radiance can be precisely measured. The walls of the cavity, provided they are completely opaque and poorly reflective, can be of any material indifferently. This provides a well-reproducible absolute thermometer over a very wide range of temperatures, able to measure the absolute temperature of a body inside the cavity.
A thermometer is called primary or secondary based on how the raw physical quantity it measures is mapped to a temperature. As summarized by Kauppinen et al., "For primary thermometers the measured property of matter is known so well that temperature can be calculated without any unknown quantities. Examples of these are thermometers based on the equation of state of a gas, on the velocity of sound in a gas, on the thermal noise voltage or current of an electrical resistor, and on the angular anisotropy of gamma ray emission of certain radioactive nuclei in a magnetic field."
In contrast, "Secondary thermometers are most widely used because of their convenience. Also, they are often much more sensitive than primary ones. For secondary thermometers knowledge of the measured property is not sufficient to allow direct calculation of temperature. They have to be calibrated against a primary thermometer at least at one temperature or at a number of fixed temperatures. Such fixed points, for example, triple points and superconducting transitions, occur reproducibly at the same temperature."
Thermometers can be calibrated either by comparing them with other calibrated thermometers or by checking them against known fixed points on the temperature scale. The best known of these fixed points are the melting and boiling points of pure water. (Note that the boiling point of water varies with pressure, so this must be controlled.)
The traditional way of putting a scale on a liquid-in-glass or liquid-in-metal thermometer was in three stages:
Other fixed points used in the past are the body temperature (of a healthy adult male) which was originally used by Fahrenheit as his upper fixed point ( to be a number divisible by 12) and the lowest temperature given by a mixture of salt and ice, which was originally the definition of . (This is an example of a Frigorific mixture). As body temperature varies, the Fahrenheit scale was later changed to use an upper fixed point of boiling water at .
These have now been replaced by the defining points in the International Temperature Scale of 1990, though in practice the melting point of water is more commonly used than its triple point, the latter being more difficult to manage and thus restricted to critical standard measurement. Nowadays manufacturers will often use a thermostat bath or solid block where the temperature is held constant relative to a calibrated thermometer. Other thermometers to be calibrated are put into the same bath or block and allowed to come to equilibrium, then the scale marked, or any deviation from the instrument scale recorded. For many modern devices calibration will be stating some value to be used in processing an electronic signal to convert it to a temperature.
The precision or resolution of a thermometer is simply to what fraction of a degree it is possible to make a reading. For high temperature work it may only be possible to measure to the nearest 10 °C or more. Clinical thermometers and many electronic thermometers are usually readable to 0.1 °C. Special instruments can give readings to one thousandth of a degree. However, this precision does not mean the reading is true or accurate, it only means that very small changes can be observed.
A thermometer calibrated to a known fixed point is accurate (i.e. gives a true reading) at that point. Most thermometers are originally calibrated to a constant-volume gas thermometer. In between fixed calibration points, interpolation is used, usually linear. This may give significant differences between different types of thermometer at points far away from the fixed points. For example, the expansion of mercury in a glass thermometer is slightly different from the change in resistance of a platinum resistance thermometer, so these two will disagree slightly at around 50 °C. There may be other causes due to imperfections in the instrument, e.g. in a liquid-in-glass thermometer if the capillary tube varies in diameter.
For many purposes reproducibility is important. That is, does the same thermometer give the same reading for the same temperature (or do replacement or multiple thermometers give the same reading)? Reproducible temperature measurement means that comparisons are valid in scientific experiments and industrial processes are consistent. Thus if the same type of thermometer is calibrated in the same way its readings will be valid even if it is slightly inaccurate compared to the absolute scale.
An example of a reference thermometer used to check others to industrial standards would be a platinum resistance thermometer with a digital display to 0.1 °C (its precision) which has been calibrated at 5 points against national standards (−18, 0, 40, 70, 100 °C) and which is certified to an accuracy of ±0.2 °C.
According to British Standards, correctly calibrated, used and maintained liquid-in-glass thermometers can achieve a measurement uncertainty of ±0.01 °C in the range 0 to 100 °C, and a larger uncertainty outside this range: ±0.05 °C up to 200 or down to −40 °C, ±0.2 °C up to 450 or down to −80 °C.
Thermometers utilize a range of physical effects to measure temperature. Temperature sensors are used in a wide variety of scientific and engineering applications, especially measurement systems. Temperature systems are primarily either electrical or mechanical, occasionally inseparable from the system which they control (as in the case of a mercury-in-glass thermometer). Thermometers are used in roadways in cold weather climates to help determine if icing conditions exist. Indoors, thermistors are used in climate control systems such as air conditioners, freezers, heaters, refrigerators, and water heaters. Galileo thermometers are used to measure indoor air temperature, due to their limited measurement range.
Such liquid crystal thermometers (which use thermochromic liquid crystals) are also used in mood rings and used to measure the temperature of water in fish tanks.
Fiber Bragg grating temperature sensors are used in nuclear power facilities to monitor reactor core temperatures and avoid the possibility of nuclear meltdowns.
Nanothermometry is an emergent research field dealing with the knowledge of temperature in the sub-micrometric scale. Conventional thermometers cannot measure the temperature of an object which is smaller than a micrometre, and new methods and materials have to be used. Nanothermometry is used in such cases. Nanothermometers are classified as luminescent thermometers (if they use light to measure temperature) and non-luminescent thermometers (systems where thermometric properties are not directly related to luminescence).
Thermometers used specifically for low temperatures.
Various thermometric techniques have been used throughout history such as the Galileo thermometer to thermal imaging.
Medical thermometers such as mercury-in-glass thermometers, infrared thermometers, pill thermometers, and liquid crystal thermometers are used in health care settings to determine if individuals have a fever or are hypothermic.
Thermometers are important in food safety, where food at temperatures within can be prone to potentially harmful levels of bacterial growth after several hours which could lead to foodborne illness. This includes monitoring refrigeration temperatures and maintaining temperatures in foods being served under heat lamps or hot water baths.
Cooking thermometers are important for determining if a food is properly cooked. In particular meat thermometers are used to aid in cooking meat to a safe internal temperature while preventing over cooking. They are commonly found using either a bimetallic coil, or a thermocouple or thermistor with a digital readout.
Candy thermometers are used to aid in achieving a specific water content in a sugar solution based on its boiling temperature.
Alcohol thermometers, infrared thermometers, mercury-in-glass thermometers, recording thermometers, thermistors, and Six's thermometers are used in meteorology and climatology in various levels of the atmosphere and oceans. Aircraft use thermometers and hygrometers to determine if atmospheric icing conditions exist along their flight path. These measurements are used to initialize weather forecast models. Thermometers are used in roadways in cold weather climates to help determine if icing conditions exist and indoors in climate control systems. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30993 |
Theravada
Theravāda (; Pāli, lit. "School of the Elders") is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed Theravādins, have preserved their version of Gautama Buddha's teaching in the Pāli Canon. The Pāli Canon is the only complete Buddhist canon surviving in a classical Indian language, Pāli, which serves as the school's sacred language and lingua franca. For over a millennium, theravādins have endeavored to preserve the "dhamma" as recorded in their school's texts. In contrast to Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna, Theravāda tends to be conservative in matters of doctrine and monastic discipline.
Modern Theravāda derives from the Mahāvihāra sect, a Sri Lankan branch of the Vibhajjavādins, a sub-sect of the Indian Sthavira Nikaya, which began to establish itself on the island from the 3rd century BCE onwards. It was in Sri Lanka that the Pāli Canon was written down and the school's commentary literature developed.
From Sri Lanka, the Theravāda Mahāvihāra tradition subsequently spread to the rest of Southeast Asia. It is the dominant religion in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand and is practiced by minorities in India, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, and Vietnam. The diaspora of all of these groups, as well as converts around the world, also practice Theravāda.
During the modern era, new developments have included Buddhist modernism, the Vipassana movement which reinvigorated Theravāda meditation practice and the Thai Forest Tradition which reemphasized forest monasticism.
The name Theravāda comes from Sthāvirīya, one of the early Buddhist schools from which Theravādins trace their school's descent. The Sthavira nikāya emerged from the first schism in the Buddhist sangha (literally "Community"). At issue was its adherents' desire to add new Vinaya rules tightening monastic discipline, against the wishes of the majority Mahāsāṃghika. According to its adherents' accounts, the Theravāda school derives from the Vibhajjavāda "doctrine of analysis" group, which was a division of the Sthāvirīya.
Damien Keown denies that there is historical evidence of the Theravāda school's existence before around two centuries after the Great Schism, which occurred at the Third Council. Theravadins' own accounts of their school's origins mention that it received the teachings that were agreed upon during the putative Third Buddhist council held around 250 BCE under the patronage of Indian Emperor Ashoka. These teachings were known as the Vibhajjavāda. Emperor Ashoka is supposed to have assisted in purifying the sangha by expelling monks who declined to agree to the terms of Third Council. The elder monk Moggaliputta-Tissa chaired the Third council and compiled the Kathavatthu ("Points of Controversy"), a refutation of various opposing views which is an important work in the Theravāda Abhidhamma.
Later, the Vibhajjavādins, in turn, is said to have split into four groups: the Mahīśāsaka, Kāśyapīya, Dharmaguptaka in the north, and the Tāmraparṇīya in South India. The Tambapaṇṇiya (later Mahāvihāravāsins), was established in Sri Lanka (at Anuradhapura) but active also in Andhra and other parts of South India (Vanavasa in modern Karnataka) and later across South-East Asia. Inscriptional evidence of this school has been found in Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda. According to Buddhist scholar A. K. Warder, the Theravāda.
Theravāda is said to be descended from the Tāmraparṇīya sect, which means "the Sri Lankan lineage". Missionaries sent abroad from India are said to have included Ashoka's son Mahinda (who studied under Moggaliputta-Tissa) and his daughter Sanghamitta. They were the mythical founders of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, a story which scholars suggest helps to legitimize Theravāda's claims of being the oldest and most authentic school. According to the Mahavamsa chronicle, they arrived in Sri Lanka during the reign of Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapura (307–267 BCE) who converted to Buddhism and helped build the first Buddhist stupas. According to S. D. Bandaranayake:
The first records of Buddha images come from the reign of the King Vasabha (65–109 CE), and after the 3rd century CE the historical record shows a growth of the worship of Buddha images as well as Bodhisattvas. In the 7th century, the Chinese pilgrim monks Xuanzang and Yijing refer to the Buddhist schools in Sri Lanka as "Shàngzuòbù" (), corresponding to the Sanskrit Sthavira nikāya and Pāli "Thera Nikāya". Yijing writes, "In Sri Lanka, the Sthavira school alone flourishes; the Mahasanghikas is expelled".
The school has been using the name "Theravāda" for itself in a written form since at least the 4th century, about one thousand years after the Buddha's death, when the term appears in the "Dīpavaṁsa".
Between the reigns of Sena I (833–853) and Mahinda IV (956–972), the city of Anuradhapura saw a "colossal building effort" by various kings during a long period of peace and prosperity, the great part of the present architectural remains in this city date from this period.
The Sri Lankan Buddhist Sangha initially preserved the Buddhist scriptures (the Tipitaka) orally as it had been traditionally done, however during the first century BCE, famine and wars led to the writing down of these scriptures. The Sri Lankan chronicle The Mahavamsa records: "Formerly clever monks preserved the text of the Canon and its commentaries orally, but then, when they saw the disastrous state of living beings, they came together and had it written down in books, that the doctrine might long survive."
Richard Gombrich remarks that this is "the earliest record we have of Buddhist scriptures being committed to writing anywhere". With few exceptions, surviving Theravādin Pāli texts derive from the Mahavihara (monastic complex) of Anuradhapura, the ancient Sri Lankan capital.
Later developments included the formation and recording of the Theravāda commentary literature (Atthakatha). Theravāda tradition holds that a tradition of Indian commentaries on the scriptures existed even during Mahinda's early days. Prior to the writing of the classic Theravādin Pāli commentaries, there were also various commentaries on the Tipitaka written in the Sinhala language, such as the Maha-atthakatha ("Great commentary"), the main commentary tradition of the Mahavihara monks.
Of great importance to the commentary, tradition is the work of the great Theravāda scholastic Buddhaghosa (4th–5th century CE), who is responsible for most of the Theravāda commentarial literature that has survived (any older commentaries have been lost). Buddhaghosa wrote in Pāli, and after him, most Sri Lankan Buddhist scholastics did as well. This allowed the Sri Lankan tradition to become more international through a lingua franca so as to converse with monks in India and later Southeast Asia.
Theravāda monks also produced other Pāli literature such as historical chronicles (e.g. Mahavamsa), hagiographies, practice manuals, summaries, textbooks, poetry, and Abhidhamma works such as the "Abhidhammattha-sangaha" and the "Abhidhammavatara". Buddhaghosa's work on Abhidhamma and Buddhist practice outlined in works such as the "Visuddhimagga" and the "Atthasalini" are the most influential texts apart from the Pāli Canon in the Theravādin tradition. Other Theravādin Pāli commentators and writers include Dhammapala and Buddhadatta. Dhammapala wrote commentaries on the Pāli Canon texts, which Buddhaghosa had omitted, and also wrote a commentary called the "Paramathamanjusa" on Buddhaghosa's "Visuddhimagga".
Over much of the early history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, there were three subdivisions of Theravāda, consisting of the monks of the Mahāvihāra, Abhayagiri vihāra and Jetavana, each of which were based in Anuradhapura. The Mahāvihāra was the first tradition to be established, while Abhayagiri Vihāra and Jetavana Vihāra were established by monks who had broken away from the Mahāvihāra tradition. According to A. K. Warder, the Indian Mahīśāsaka sect also established itself in Sri Lanka alongside the Theravāda, into which they were later absorbed. Northern regions of Sri Lanka also seem to have been ceded to sects from India at certain times.
When the Chinese monk Faxian visited the island in the early 5th century, he noted 5000 monks at Abhayagiri, 3000 at the Mahāvihāra, and 2000 at the Cetiyapabbatavihāra.
The Mahavihara ("Great Monastery") school became dominant in Sri Lanka at the beginning of the 2nd millennium CE and gradually spread through mainland Southeast Asia. It established itself in Myanmar in the late 11th century, in Thailand in the 13th and early 14th centuries, and in Cambodia and Laos by the end of the 14th century. Although Mahavihara never completely replaced other schools in Southeast Asia, it received special favor at most royal courts. This is due to the support it received from local elites, who exerted a very strong religious and social influence.
Abhayagiri Theravādins maintained close relations with Indian Buddhists over the centuries, adopting many of the latter's teachings, including many Mahāyāna elements, whereas Jetavana Theravādins adopted Mahāyāna to a lesser extent. Xuanzang wrote of two major divisions of Theravāda in Sri Lanka, referring to the Abhayagiri tradition's adherents as "Mahāyāna Sthaviras" and those of the Mahāvihāra tradition as "Hīnayāna Sthaviras". Xuanzang also wrote that the Mahāvihāravāsins reject Mahāyāna as heretical, whereas Abhayagirivihāravāsins study "both Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna".
Abhayagiri was an influential university and center for the study of Mahayana from the reign of Gajabahu I until the 12th century. It saw various important Buddhist scholars working in Sanskrit and Pāli. These include Upatissa (who wrote the "Vimuttimagga"), Kavicakravarti Ananda (authored the "Saddhammopåyana"), Aryadeva, Aryasura, and the tantric masters Jayabhadra, and Candramåli.
Akira Hirakawa notes that the surviving Pāli commentaries ("") of the Mahāvihāra school, when examined closely, also include a number of positions that agree with Mahāyāna teachings. Kalupahana notes the same for the "Visuddhimagga", the most important Theravāda commentary.
It is known that in the 8th century, both Mahāyāna and the esoteric Vajrayāna form of Buddhism were being practised in Sri Lanka, and two Indian monks responsible for propagating Esoteric Buddhism in China, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra, visited the island during this time. Abhayagiri Vihāra appears to have been a center for Theravādin Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna teachings.
The trend of the Abhayagiri Vihara being a dominant sect changed in the 12th century, when the Mahāvihāra sect gained the political support of Parakramabahu I (1153–1186), who completely abolished the Abhayagiri and Jetavanin traditions. The Theravāda monks of these two traditions were defrocked and given the choice of either returning to the laity permanently, or attempting reordination under the Mahāvihāra tradition as "novices" (""). Richard Gombrich writes:
It seems that part of the reason for these radical moves was that Parakramabahu I saw the Sangha as being divided, corrupt and in need of reform, especially the Abhayagiri. The "" laments that at this time Theravāda monks had "turned away in their demeanor from one another and took delight in all kinds of strife". This chronicle also claims that many monks in the Sri Lankan Sangha had even begun to marry and have children, behaving more like lay followers than monastics. Parākramabāhu's chief monastic leader in these reforms was Mahathera Kassapa, an experienced monk well versed in the Scriptures and the Monastic discipline.
Parakramabahu I is also known for rebuilding the ancient cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, restoring Buddhist stupas and Viharas (monasteries). He appointed a Sangharaja, or "King of the Sangha", a monk who would preside over the Sangha and its ordinations in Sri Lanka, assisted by two deputies. The reign of Parakkamabāhu also saw a flowering of Theravāda scholasticism with the work of prominent Sri Lankan scholars such as Anuruddha, Sāriputta Thera, Mahākassapa Thera of Dimbulagala Vihara and Moggallana Thera. They worked on compiling of subcommentaries on the Tipitaka, texts on grammar, summaries and textbooks on Abhidhamma and Vinaya such as the influential Abhidhammattha-sangaha of Anuruddha.
According to the "Mahavamsa", a Sri Lankan chronicle, after the conclusion of the Third Buddhist council, a mission was sent to Suvarnabhumi, led by two monks, Sona and Uttara. Scholarly opinions differ as to where exactly this land of Suvarnabhumi was located, but it is generally believed to have been located somewhere in the area of Lower Burma, Thailand, the Malay Peninsula, or Sumatra.
From the 8th to the 12th centuries Indian Buddhist traditions arrived in Southeast Asia via the Bay of Bengal from India. Before the 12th century, the areas of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia were dominated by Buddhist sects from India, and included the teachings of Mahāyāna Buddhism. In the 7th century, Yijing noted in his travels that in these areas, all major sects of Indian Buddhism flourished.
After the 12th century Buddhism mostly disappeared from India and Theravāda Buddhism came to dominate Southeast Asia.
Though there are some early accounts that have been interpreted as Theravāda in Myanmar, the surviving records show that most Burmese Buddhism incorporated Mahāyāna, and used Sanskrit rather than Pāli. After the decline of Buddhism in India, missions of monks from Sri Lanka gradually converted Burmese Buddhism to Theravāda, and in the next two centuries also brought Theravāda Buddhism to the areas of Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, where it supplanted previous forms of Buddhism.
The Mon and Pyu were among the earliest people to inhabit Myanmar. The oldest surviving Buddhist texts in the Pāli language come from Pyu city-state of Sri Ksetra. The text, which is dated from the mid 5th to mid 6th century, is written on twenty-leaf manuscript of solid gold. Peter Skilling concludes that there is firm evidence for the dominant presence of Theravāda in "the Irrawaddy and Chao Phraya basins, from about the 5th century CE onwards", though he adds that evidence shows that Mahāyāna was also present.
The Burmese slowly became Theravādin as they came into contact with and conquered the Pyu and Mon civilizations beginning in the 11th century during the reign of the Bamar king Anawrahta (1044–1077) of the Pagan Kingdom. He acquired the Pāli scriptures in a war against the Mon as well as from Sri Lanka and build stupas and monasteries at his capital of Bagan. Various invasions of Burma by neighboring states and the Mongol invasions of Burma (13th century) damaged the Burmese sangha and Theravāda had to be reintroduced several times into the country from Sri Lanka and Thailand.
The Khmer Empire (802–1431) centered in Cambodia was initially dominated by Hinduism; Hindu ceremonies and rituals were performed by Brahmins, usually only held among ruling elites of the king's family, nobles, and the ruling class. Tantric Mahayana Buddhism was also a prominent faith, promoted by Buddhist emperors such as Jayavarman VII (1181–1215) who rejected the Hindu gods and presented himself as a Bodhisattva King.
During his reign, King Jayavarman VII (c. 1181–1218) sent his son Tamalinda to Sri Lanka to be ordained as a Buddhist monk and study Theravāda Buddhism according to the Pāli scriptural traditions in the Mahavihara monastery. Tamalinda then returned to Cambodia and promoted Buddhist traditions according to the Theravāda training he had received, galvanizing and energizing the long-standing Theravāda presence, which had existed throughout the Angkor empire for centuries. During the 13th and 14th centuries, Theravādin monks from Sri Lanka continued introducing orthodox Theravāda Buddhism, which eventually became the dominant faith among all classes. Monastics replaced members of the local priestly classes, purveying religion, education, culture, and social service for Cambodian villages. This change in Cambodian Buddhism led to high levels of literacy among Cambodians.
In Thailand, Theravāda existed alongside Mahayana and other religious sects before the rise of Sukhothai Kingdom. During the reign of King Ram Khamhaeng (c. 1237/1247–1298) Theravāda was made the main state religion and promoted by the king as the orthodox form of Thai Buddhism.
Despite its success in Southeast Asia, Theravāda Buddhism in China has generally been limited to areas bordering Theravāda countries.
During the pre-modern era, Southeast Asian Buddhism included numerous elements which could be called tantric and esoteric (such as the use of mantras and yantras in elaborate rituals). The French scholar François Bizot has called this "Tantric Theravāda", and his textual studies show that it was a major tradition in Cambodia and Thailand. Some of these practices are still prevalent in Cambodia and Laos today.
Later Theravāda textual materials show new and somewhat unorthodox developments in theory and practice. These developments include what has been called the "Yogāvacara tradition" associated with the Sinhala Yogāvacara's manual (c. 16th to 17th centuries) and also Esoteric Theravāda also known as "Borān kammaṭṭhāna" ('ancient practices'). These traditions include new practices and ideas which are not included in classical orthodox Theravāda works like the Visuddhimagga, such as the use of mantras (such as "Araham"), the practice of magical formulas, complex rituals and complex visualization exercises. These practices were particularly prominent in the Siam Nikaya before the modernist reforms of King Rama IV (1851–1868) as well as in Sri Lanka.
In the 19th century began a process of mutual influence of both Asian Buddhists and Hinduists, and a Western audience interested in ancient wisdom. Theravāda was also influenced by this process, which lead to Buddhist modernism; especially Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott, founders of the Theosophical Society, had a profound role in this process in Sri Lanka. Simultaneously, "vipassana"-meditation was re-invented, and in Theravāda countries a lay vipassana practice developed. This took a high flight in East Asia from the 1950s onwards with the "vipassana"-movement, and from the 1970s also in the west, with western students who popularized "vipassana"-meditation in the west, giving way to the development and popularisation of mindfulness-practice.
Buddhist revivalism has also reacted against changes in Buddhism caused by colonialist regimes. Western colonialists and Christian missionaries deliberately imposed a particular type of Christian monasticism on Buddhist clergy in Sri Lanka and colonies in Southeast Asia, restricting monks' activities to individual purification and temple ministries. Prior to British colonial control, monks in both Sri Lanka and Burma had been responsible for the education of the children of lay people, and had produced large bodies of literature. After the British takeover, Buddhist temples were strictly administered and were only permitted to use their funds on strictly religious activities. Christian ministers were given control of the education system and their pay became state funding for missions.
Foreign, especially British, rule had an enervating effect on the Sangha. According to Walpola Rahula, Christian missionaries displaced and appropriated the educational, social, and welfare activities of the monks, and inculcated a permanent shift in views regarding the proper position of monks in society through their institutional influence upon the elite. Many monks in post-colonial times have dedicated themselves to undoing these changes. Movements intending to restore Buddhism's place in society have developed in both Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
One consequence of the reaction against Western colonialism has been a modernization of Theravāda Buddhism: Western elements have been incorporated, and meditation practice has opened to a lay audience. Modernized forms of Theravādan practice have spread to the West.
In Sri Lanka, Theravādins were looking to Western culture for means to revitalize their own tradition. Christian missionaries were threatening the Buddhist culture. As a reaction to this, Theravādins became active in spreading Buddhism and debating Christians. They were aided by the Theosophical Society, whose members were dedicated to searching for wisdom within ancient sources. Anagarika Dharmapala was one of the Theravāda leaders with whom the Theosophists sided. Dharmapala reached out to the middle classes, offering them religious practice and a religious identity, which were used to withstand the British cultural influence. As a result of Dharmapala's efforts, lay practitioners started to practise meditation and study Buddhism, which had been reserved specifically for the monks.
The Pali Text Society's translation and publication of the Pāli Canon improved its availability to lay audiences in the both the West and the East. The Theosophical Society promoted western-lay interest in Theravāda Buddhism, which endured until the beginning of the 20th century. Interest rose again during the 1970s, leading to a surge of Westerners searching for enlightenment, and republication of the Pāli Canon, first in print, and later on the Internet.
An influential modernist figure in Myanmar Buddhism was king Mindon Min (1808–1878). He promoted the Fifth Buddhist council (1871) and inscribed the Pali canon into marble slabs, creating the world's largest book in 1868. During his reign, various reformist sects came into being such as the Dwaya and the Shwegyin, who advocated a stricter monastic conduct than the mainstream Thudhamma tradition. During colonial Burma, there were constant tensions between Christian missionaries and Buddhist monks (which included one of the first Western convert monks, U Dhammaloka). After independence, Myanmar was also the place for the Sixth Buddhist council (Vesak 1954 to Vesak 1956), which was attended by monks from eight Theravāda nations to recite the Pāli Canon. The Council synthesized a new redaction of the Pāli texts ultimately transcribed into several native scripts. In Myanmar, this "Chaṭṭha Saṅgīti Piṭaka" (Sixth council Pitaka) was published by the government in 40 volumes.
Modern vipassanā meditation practice was re-invented in Myanmar in the 19th century. The "New Burmese method" was developed by U Nārada and popularized by his student Mahasi Sayadaw and Nyanaponika Thera. Another prominent teacher is Bhikkhu Bodhi, a student of Nyanaponika. The New Burmese Method strongly emphasizes vipassanā over samatha. It is regarded by traditionalists as a simplification of traditional Buddhist meditation techniques, suitable not only for monks but also for lay practitioners. The method has been popularized in the West by teachers of the vipassana movement such as Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Gil Fronsdal and Sharon Salzberg.
The Ledi lineage begins with Ledi Sayadaw. S. N. Goenka is a well-known teacher in the Ledi-lineage. According to S. N. Goenka, vipassana techniques are essentially nonsectarian in character, and have universal application. Meditation centers teaching the vipassanā popularized by S. N. Goenka exist now in India, Asia, North and South America, Europe, Australia, Middle East and Africa.
With the coming to power in 1851 of King Mongkut, who had been a monk himself for twenty-seven years, the sangha, like the kingdom, became steadily more centralized and hierarchical, and its links to the state more institutionalized. Mongkut was a distinguished scholar of Pāli Buddhist scripture. Moreover, at that time the immigration of numbers of monks from Burma was introducing the more rigorous discipline characteristic of the Mon sangha. Influenced by the Mon and guided by his own understanding of the Tipitaka, Mongkut began a reform movement that later became the basis for the Dhammayuttika Nikaya. Mongkut advocated a stricter adherence to the Vinaya (monastic discipline). He also emphasized study of the scriptures, and rationalism. His son King Chulalongkorn created a national structure for Buddhist monastics and established a nationwide system of monastic education.
In the early 1900s, Thailand's Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo and his student, Mun Bhuridatta, led the Thai Forest Tradition revival movement. In the 20th century notable practitioners included Ajahn Thate, Ajahn Maha Bua and Ajahn Chah. It was later spread globally by Ajahn Mun's students including Ajahn Thate, Ajahn Maha Bua and Ajahn Chah and several Western disciples, among whom the most senior is "Luang Por" Ajahn Sumedho.
Modern Buddhism in Cambodia was strongly influenced by Thai Buddhism. The Dhammayuttika Nikaya was introduced into the country during the reign of King Norodom (1834–1904) and benefited from royal patronage. The rule of the Khmer Rouge effectively destroyed Cambodia's Buddhist institutions by disrobing and killing monks and destroying temples. After the end of the regime the Sangha was re-established. An important figure of modern Cambodian Theravāda is Maha Ghosananda who promoted a form of engaged Buddhism to effect social change.
The following modern trends or movements have been identified.
According to Kate Crosby, for Theravāda, the Pāli Canon is "the highest authority on what constitutes the Dhamma (the truth or teaching of the Buddha) and the organization of the Sangha (the community of monks and nuns)."
The Sutta and Vinaya portion of the Tipitaka shows considerable overlap in content to the Agamas, the parallel collections used by non-Theravāda schools in India which are preserved in Chinese and partially in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Tibetan, and the various non-Theravāda Vinayas. On this basis, both these sets of texts are generally believed to be the oldest and most authoritative texts on pre-sectarian Buddhism by scholars. It is also believed that much of the Pāli Canon, which is still used in Theravādin communities, was transmitted to Sri Lanka during the reign of Ashoka. After being orally transmitted (as was the custom for religious texts in those days) for some centuries, the texts were finally committed to writing in the last century BCE, at what Theravādins usually reckon to be the fourth council, in Sri Lanka. Theravāda is one of the first Buddhist schools to commit its complete Canon to writing.
Much of the material in the Canon is not specifically "Theravādan", but the collection of teachings that this school's adherents preserved from the early, non-sectarian body of teachings. According to Peter Harvey: The Theravādans, then, may have "added" texts to the Canon for some time, but they do not appear to have tampered with what they already had from an earlier period.
The Pāli Tipitaka consists of three parts: the Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka. Of these, the Abhidhamma Pitaka is believed to be a later addition to the first two pitakas, which, in the opinion of many scholars, were the only two pitakas at the time of the First Buddhist Council. The Pāli Abhidhamma was not recognized outside the Theravāda school.
The Tipitaka is composed of 45 volumes in the Thai edition, 40 in the Burmese and 58 in the Sinhala, and a full set of the Tipitaka is usually kept in its own (medium-sized) cupboard.
According to Kate Crosby:Since much Sutta material overlaps with that found in the Sūtra collections of other Buddhist traditions, it is the Vinaya (monastic discipline) and Abhidhamma that are the most distinctive formal aspects of Theravāda Buddhism, unique to Theravāda.The Vibhajjavāda school (‘the analysts’), the branch of the Sthāvira school from which Theravāda is derived, differed from other early Buddhist schools on a variety of teachings. The differences resulted from the systematization of the Buddhist teachings, which was preserved in the Abhidharmas of the various schools. The unique doctrinal positions of the Theravāda school are expounded in what is known as the Abhidhamma-piṭaka, as well as in the later Pāli commentaries ("Aṭṭha-kathā") and sub-commentaries ("ṭīkā"). Because of the size of this canonical and commentarial literature the Pāli tradition developed a tradition of handbooks and doctrinal summaries, the most influential of which are the "Visuddhimagga" and the "Abhidhammaṭṭhasaṅgaha."
The Pāli Abhidhamma is "a restatement of the doctrine of the Buddha in strictly formalized language ... assumed to constitute a consistent system of philosophy". Its aim is not the empirical verification of Buddhist teachings, but "to set forth the correct interpretation of the Buddha's statements in the "Sutra" to restate his 'system' with perfect accuracy". Because Abhidhamma focuses on analyzing the internal lived experience of beings and the intentional structure of consciousness, the system has often been compared to a kind of phenomenological psychology by numerous scholars such as Nyanaponika, Bhikkhu Bodhi and Alexander Piatigorsky.
The Theravāda school has traditionally held the doctrinal position that the canonical Abhidhamma Pitaka was actually taught by the Buddha himself. Modern scholarship in contrast, has generally held that the Abhidhamma texts date from the 3rd century BCE. However some scholars, such as Frauwallner, also hold that the early Abhidhamma texts developed out of exegetical and catechetical work which made use of doctrinal lists which can be seen in the suttas, called "matikas."
In the 4th or 5th century Buddhaghosa Thera wrote the first Pāli commentaries to much of the Tipitaka (which were based on much older manuscripts, mostly in old Sinhala), including commentaries on the Nikayas and his commentary on the Vinaya, the "Samantapāsādikā". Buddhaghosa wrote as part of the Mahavihara tradition in Sri Lanka, a tradition which came to dominate the island and all of Theravāda after the 12th century.
After him many other monks wrote various texts, which have become part of Theravāda's heritage. These texts do not have the same authority as the Tipitaka does, though Buddhaghosas "Visuddhimagga" is a cornerstone of the commentarial tradition.
Another important genre of Theravādin literature is shorter handbooks and summaries, which serve as introductions and study guides for the larger commentarial works. Two of the more influential summaries are Sariputta Thera's "Pālimuttakavinayavinicchayasaṅgaha," a summary of Buddhaghosa's Vinaya commentary and Anuruddha's "Abhidhammaṭṭhasaṅgaha" (Manual of Abhidhamma).
The Pāli texts and language are symbolically and ritually important for many Theravādins; however, most people are likely to access Buddhist teachings though vernacular literature, oral teachings, sermons, art and performance as well as films and Internet media. According to Kate Crosby, "there is a far greater volume of Theravāda literature in vernacular languages than in Pāli."
An important genre of Theravādin literature, in both Pāli and vernacular languages are the Jataka tales, stories of the Buddha's past lives. They are very popular among all classes and are rendered in a wide variety of media formats, from cartoons to high literature. The Vessantara Jātaka is one of the most popular of these.
Theravāda Buddhists consider much of what is found in the Chinese and Tibetan Mahāyāna scriptural collections to be apocryphal, meaning that they are not authentic words of the Buddha.
The core of Theravāda Buddhist doctrine is contained in the Pāli Canon, the only complete collection of Early Buddhist texts surviving in a classical Indic language. These ideas are shared by other Early Buddhist schools as well as by Mahayana traditions. They include central concepts such as:
Theravāda has developed a systematic exposition of the Buddhist doctrine called the Theravāda Abhidhamma. In the Pāli Nikayas, the Buddha teaches through a method in which experience is explained using various conceptual groupings of physical and mental processes, which are called dhammas. This method is called an analytical method. Examples of lists of dhammas taught by the Buddha include the twelve sense 'spheres' or ayatanas, the five aggregates or khanda and the eighteen elements of cognition or dhatus.
Theravāda traditionally promotes itself as the "Vibhajjavāda" "teaching of analysis" and as the heirs to the Buddha's analytical method. Expanding this model, Theravāda Abhidhamma scholasticism concerned itself with analyzing "ultimate truth" ("paramattha-sacca") which it sees as being composed of "all possible" dhammas and their relationships. The central theory of the Pāli Abhidhamma is thus known as the "Dhamma theory". "Dhamma" has been translated as "factors" (Collett Cox), "psychic characteristics" (Bronkhorst), "psycho-physical events" (Noa Ronkin) and "phenomena" (Nyanaponika Thera).
According to Y. Karunadasa, a dhamma, which can be translated as "a 'principle' or 'element' ("dharma")", is "those items that result when the process of analysis is taken to its ultimate limits". However, this does not mean that they have an independent existence, for it is "only for the purposes of description" that they are postulated. Noa Ronkin defines dhammas as "the constituents of sentient experience; the irreducible ‘building blocks’ that make up one's world, albeit they are not static mental contents and certainly not substances." Thus, while in Theravāda Abhidhamma, dhammas are the ultimate constituents of experience, they are not seen as substances, essences or independent particulars, since they are empty ("suñña") of a self ("attā") and conditioned. This is spelled out in the "Patisambhidhamagga", which states that dhammas are empty of svabhava ("sabhavena suññam").
According to Ronkin, the canonical Pāli Abhidhamma remains pragmatic and psychological, and "does not take much interest in ontology" in contrast with the Sarvastivada tradition. Paul Williams also notes that the Abhidhamma remains focused on the practicalities of insight meditation and leaves ontology "relatively unexplored". Ronkin does note however that later Theravāda sub-commentaries ("ṭīkā") do show a doctrinal shift towards ontological realism from the earlier epistemic and practical concerns.
The Theravāda Abhidhamma holds that there is a total of 82 possible types of dhammas, 81 of these are conditioned ("sankhata"), while one is unconditioned, which is nibbana. The 81 conditioned dhammas are divided into three broad categories, consciousness ("citta"), associated mentality ("cetasika") and materiality, or physical phenomena ("rupa"). Since no dhamma exists independently, every single dhamma of consciousness, known as a citta, arises associated ("sampayutta") with at least seven mental factors ("cetasikas"). In Abhidhamma, all awareness events are thus seen as being characterized by intentionality and never exist in isolation. Much of Abhidhamma philosophy deals with categorizing the different consciousnesses and their accompanying mental factors as well as their conditioned relationships ("paccaya").
The doctrinal stances of the Theravāda school vis-a-vis other early Buddhist schools is presented in the Pāli text known as the Kathāvatthu, "Points of Controversy", which said to have been compiled by the scholar Moggaliputta-Tissa (c. 327–247 BCE). It includes several philosophical and soteriological matters.
Traditionally, the Theravāda school generally holds some of the following key doctrinal positions:
The modern era saw new developments in Theravāda scholarship due to the influence of Western thought. As Donald K Swearer writes: Although monastic education is still grounded in the study of Buddhist texts, doctrine, and the Pali language, the curricula of monastic colleges and universities also reflect subject matter and disciplines associated with Western education.Buddhist modernist trends can be traced to figures like Anagarika Dhammapala and King Mongkut. They promoted a form of Buddhism that was compatible with rationalism and science, and opposed to superstition. Walpola Rahula’s, What the Buddha Taught is seen by scholars as an introduction to modernist Buddhist thought and this book continues to be widely used in universities. Another phenomenon is Buddhist philosophers educated in the West, such as K. N. Jayatilleke (a student of Wittgenstein) and Hammalawa Saddhatissa, going on to write modern works on Buddhist philosophy ("Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge", 1963 and "Buddhist Ethics", 1987 respectively).
The colonial clash with Christianity also led to debates (such as the Panadura debate) and doctrinal works written in defense of Buddhism or attacking Christian ideas, such as Gunapala Dharmasiri's "A Buddhist critique of the Christian concept of God" (1988).
Another development has been modern literature promoting socially Engaged Buddhism and Buddhist economics from thinkers such as Buddhadasa, Sulak Sivaraksa, Prayudh Payutto, Neville Karunatilake and Padmasiri de Silva.
Modern scholarship by Western Buddhist monks such as Nyanaponika Thera was also a new development in the modern era.
In the Pāli Canon, the path ("magga") or way ("patipada") of Buddhist practice is described in various ways, one of the most widely used frameworks in Theravāda is the Noble Eightfold Path:
The Noble Eightfold Path can also be summarized as the Three Noble Disciplines of sīla (moral conduct or discipline), samādhi (meditation or concentration) and paññā (understanding or wisdom).
Theravāda orthodoxy takes the seven stages of purification as outlined in the "Visuddhimagga" as the basic outline of the path to be followed. The "Visuddhimagga", a Sinhala Theravāda doctrinal "summa" written in the fifth century by Buddhaghosa, became the orthodox account of the Theravāda path to liberation in Sri Lanka after the 12th century and this influence spread to other Theravāda nations. It gives the sequence of seven purifications, in three sections:
This basic outline is based on the threefold discipline. The emphasis is on understanding the three marks of existence, which removes ignorance. Understanding destroys the ten fetters and leads to nibbana.
Theravādins believe that every individual is personally responsible for achieving his or her own self-awakening and liberation, each being responsible for his or her own kamma (actions and consequences). Applying knowledge acquired through direct experience and personal realization is more heavily emphasized than beliefs about the nature of reality as revealed by the Buddha.
Sīla, meaning moral conduct, is mainly defined as right speech, right action, and right livelihood. It is primarily understood through the doctrine of kamma. In Theravāda, one's previous intentional actions strongly influence one's present experience. Whatever intended actions are carried out will have future consequences, whether in this life or subsequent lives. Intention is central to the idea of kamma. Actions done with good intentions, even if they have bad results, will not have negative kammic consequences.
Several sets of precepts or moral trainings ("sikkhāpada") guide right action. After taking refuge in the three jewels, lay Theravādins traditionally take the five precepts (whether for life or for a limited time) in the presence of a monastic. Laypeople also sometimes take an extended set of eight precepts, which includes chastity during special occasions such as religious holidays.
Performing good deeds is another important feature of Theravāda ethics. Doing so is said to make "merit" (puñña), which results in a better rebirth. The "ten wholesome actions" is a common list of good deeds:
Meditation (Pāli: "Bhāvanā," literally "causing to become" or cultivation) means the positive cultivation of one's mind.
Theravāda Buddhist meditation practice varies considerably in technique and objects. Currently, there are also various traditions of Theravāda meditation practice, such as the Burmese Vipassana tradition, the Thai Forest tradition, the esoteric "Borān kammaṭṭhāna" ('ancient practices'), the Burmese Weikza tradition, Dhammakaya meditation and the Western Insight Meditation movement.
Theravāda Buddhist meditation practices or bhavanas (cultivations) are categorized into two broad categories: Samatha bhavana (calming), and Vipassanā bhavana (investigation, insight). Originally these referred to effects or qualities of meditation, but after the time of Buddhaghosa, they also referred to two distinct meditation types or paths ("yāna").
"Samatha" ("calm") consists of meditation techniques in which the mind is focused on a single object, thought, or mantra, leading to "samadhi"'. In traditional Theravāda it is considered to be the base for "vipassanā" ("insght"). In the Theravāda-tradition, as early as the Pāli Nikayas, the four "jhānas" are regarded as a "samatha"-practice. The eighth and final step of the Eightfold Path, Right Samadhi, is often defined as the four jhanas. In the Pāli Nikayas, Jhānas are described as preceding the awakening insight of the Buddha, which turned him into an awakened being. Yet the interpretation of "jhana" as single-pointed concentration and calm may be a later re-interpretation in which the original aim of "jhana" was lost.
"Vipassana" ("insight", "clear seeing") refers to practices that aim to develop an inner understanding or knowledge of the nature of phenomena ("dhammas"), especially the characteristics of "dukkha", "anatta" and "anicca", which are seen as being universally applicable to all constructed phenomena ("sankhata-dhammas"). "Vipassana" is also described as insight into dependent origination, the five aggregates, the sense spheres and the four noble truths. It is the primary focus of the modernist Burmese Vipassana movement. In western countries it is complemented with the four divine abidings, the development of loving-kindness and compassion.
"Vipassana" practice begins with the preparatory stage, the practice of "sila", morality, giving up worldly thoughts and desires. The practitioner then engages in "anapanasati", mindfulness of breathing, which is described in the Satipatthana Sutta as going into the forest and sitting beneath a tree and then simply to watch the breath. If the breath is long, to notice that the breath is long, if the breath is short, to notice that the breath is short. In the "New Burmese Method" the practitioner pays attention to any arising mental or physical phenomenon, engaging in vitaka, noting or naming physical and mental phenomena ("breathing, breathing"), without engaging the phenomenon with further conceptual thinking. By noticing the arising of physical and mental phenomena the meditator becomes aware of how sense impressions arise from the contact between the senses and physical and mental phenomena, as described in the five "skandhas" and "paṭiccasamuppāda". The practitioner also becomes aware of the perpetual changes involved in breathing, and the arising and passing away of mindfulness. This noticing is accompanied by reflections on causation and other Buddhist teachings, leading to insight into dukkha, anatta, and anicca. When the three characteristics have been comprehended, reflection subdues and the process of noticing accelerates, noting phenomena in general without necessarily naming them.
According to Vajiranāṇa Mahathera, writing from a traditional and text-based point of view, in the Pāli Canon whether one begins the practice by way of samatha or by way of vipassanā is generally seen as depending on one's temperament. According to Vajiranāṇa Mahathera, it is generally held that there are two kinds of individuals. Those of a passionate disposition (or those who enter the path by faith) attain Arahatship through vipassanā preceded by samatha. Those of a skeptical disposition (or those who enter by way of wisdom or the intellect) achieve it through samatha preceded by vipassanā.
Traditionally, the ultimate goal of the practice is to achieve mundane and supramundane wisdom. Mundane wisdom is the insight in the three marks of existence. The development of this insight leads to four supramundane paths and fruits, these experiences consist a direct apprehension of Nibbana. Supramundane ("lokuttara)" wisdom refers to that which transcends the world of samsara.
Apart from nibbana, there are various reasons why traditional Theravāda Buddhism advocates meditation, including a good rebirth, supranormal powers, combating fear and preventing danger. Recent modernist Theravādins have tended to focus on the psychological benefits and psychological well being.
According to Theravāda doctrine, liberation is attained in four stages of enlightenment:
The practice of Theravāda meditation can be traced back to the 5th century exegete Buddhaghosa, who systematized the classic Theravāda meditation, dividing them into samatha and vipassana types and listing 40 different forms (known as ""kammaṭṭhānas"", "workplaces") in his magnum opus, the Visuddhimagga. This text has remained central for the study and practice of Theravāda meditation. Buddhaghosa's commentary on the "Satipatthana sutta" ("Bases of mindfulness discourse"), as well as the source text itself, are also another important source for meditation in this tradition. Buddhaghosa's work drew heavily on the Pali suttas as well as the Pali Abhidhamma. Kate Crosby notes that Buddhaghosa's work also "explicitly refers to the contemporaneous existence of secret meditation manuals but not to their content."
Regarding post Visuddhimagga Theravāda meditation, according to Kate Crosby, In the period between the Visuddhimagga and the present, there have been numerous meditation texts, both manuals and descriptive treatises. Many of the texts found in manuscript collections relate to meditation, some on a single, simple subject such as the recollection of the qualities of the Buddha, others more complex. Little research has been done to assess their variety. One difficulty is that meditation manuals as such are often in a mixture of a classical language, that is, Pali, and a vernacular that may or may not be a currently used language. Also, actual manuals often contain prompts or reminders rather than an in-depth explanation. In recent years it has emerged that there is still extant a relatively high number of manuals and related texts pertaining to a system of meditation called – among other things – borān kammaṭṭhāna or yogāvacara. Its core text, the Mūla-kammaṭṭhāna “original, fundamental or basic meditation practice,” circulated under a number of different titles, or without a title, throughout the Tai–Lao–Khmer and Sri Lankan Buddhist worlds. Some versions of this text are simple lists of kammaṭṭhāna and from that perspective look entirely in accord with the Visuddhimagga or Theravada Abhidhamma texts. Other versions contain extensive narratives, explanations of symbolism, and of the somatic locations involved in the practice that make it clear that we are dealing with techniques of practice not described in the Canon or Visuddhimagga.According to Crosby, the esoteric borān kammaṭṭhāna or yogāvacara meditation tradition was the dominant form of meditation in the Theravāda world during the 18th century, and may date as far back as the 16th century. Crosby notes that this tradition of meditation involved a rich collection of symbols, somatic methods and visualizations which included "the physical internalisation or manifestation of aspects of the Theravada path by incorporating them at points in the body between the nostril and navel." In spite of the novel elements in this meditation tradition, close study of borān kammaṭṭhāna texts reveals that they are closely connected to Theravada Abhidhamma and the works of Buddhaghosa. Modernist reforms which emphasized Pali Canon study, a shift in state support to other traditions and modern wars in Indochina led to this tradition's decline, and it now only survives in a few Cambodian and Thai temples.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the Theravāda world saw a modernist revival and reinvention of meditation practice, as exemplified by the Burmese Vipassana movement. According to Buswell "vipassana," "appears to have fallen out of practice" by the 10th century, due to the belief that Buddhism had degenerated, and that liberation was no longer attainable until the coming of "Maitreya". The practice was revived in Myanmar (Burma) in the 18th century by Medawi (1728–1816) and by later figures such as Ledi Sayadaw and Mahāsī Sayadaw during the 19th and 20th centuries. These Burmese figures re-invented "vipassana"-meditation and developed simplified meditation techniques, based on the "Satipatthana sutta", the "Visuddhimagga", and other texts, emphasizing "satipatthana" and bare insight. These techniques were globally popularized by the Vipassana movement in the second half of the 20th century.
Similar revival movements developed in Thailand, such as the Thai forest tradition and Dhammakaya meditation. These traditions are influenced by the older borān kammaṭṭhāna forms. Thailand and Cambodia also saw attempts to preserve and revive the ancient "borān kammaṭṭhāna" tradition of meditation. In Sri Lanka, the new Buddhist traditions of the Amarapura and Rāmañña Nikāyas developed their own meditation forms based on the Pali Suttas, the Visuddhimagga, and other manuals, while borān kammaṭṭhāna mostly disappeared by the end of the 19th century.
Though the "Vipassana movement" has popularised meditation both in traditional Theravāda countries among the laity, and in western countries, "meditation plays a minor if not negligible role in the lives of the majority of Theravāda monks." Meditation is especially popular laypersons, especially during special religious holidays or in their old age, when they have more free time to spend at the temple. Buddhist modernists tend to present Buddhism as rational and scientific, and this has also affected how Vipassana meditation has been taught and presented. This has led in some quarters to a playing down of older non-empirical elements of Theravāda, associated with 'superstition'. Strains of older, traditional Theravāda meditation known as "borān kammaṭṭhāna" still exist, but this tradition has mostly been eclipsed by the Buddhist modernist meditation movements.
Laypersons and monks also perform various types of religious practices daily or during Buddhist holidays. One of these is keeping a Buddhist shrine with a picture or statue of the Buddha for devotional practice in one's home, mirroring the larger shrines at temples. It is common to offer candles, incense, flowers and other objects to these shrine. Gestures of respect are also done in front of Buddha images and shrines, mainly the respectful salutation with the hands ("añjalikamma"), and the five-limb prostration ("pañc'anga-vandana").
Buddhist forms of chanting is also widely practiced by both monks and laypersons, who may recite famous phrases such as the taking of refuge, the metta sutta and the mangala sutta in front of their shrine. Chanting may also be part of the practice of recollection (anussati), which refers to contemplating various topics such as the sublime qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha or the five subjects for daily recollection. This may be done as part of a daily puja ritual.
Another important religious practice for the devout is the keeping of special religious holidays known as Uposatha which are based on a lunar calendar. Laypersons commonly take the eight precepts while visiting a temple or monastery and commit to focusing on Buddhist practice for the day.
Study ("ganthadhura") of the Buddhist texts and listening to Dhamma talks by monks or teachers are also important practices.
Traditionally, Theravāda Buddhism has observed a distinction between the practices suitable for a lay person and the practices undertaken by ordained monks (in ancient times, there was a separate body of practices for nuns). While the possibility of significant attainment by laymen is not entirely disregarded by the Theravāda, it generally occupies a position of less prominence than in the Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna traditions, with monastic life being hailed as a superior method of achieving Nirvana. The view that Theravāda, unlike other Buddhist schools, is primarily a monastic tradition has, however, been disputed.
This distinction between ordained monks and laypeople – as well as the distinction between those practices advocated by the Pāli Canon, and the folk religious elements embraced by many monks – have motivated some scholars to consider Theravāda Buddhism to be composed of multiple separate traditions, overlapping though still distinct. Most prominently, the anthropologist Melford Spiro in his work "Buddhism and Society" separated Burmese Theravāda into three groups: Apotropaic Buddhism (concerned with providing protection from evil spirits), Kammatic Buddhism (concerned with making merit for a future birth), and Nibbanic Buddhism (concerned with attaining the liberation of Nirvana, as described in the Tipitaka). He stresses that all three are firmly rooted in the Pāli Canon. These categories are not accepted by all scholars, and are usually considered non-exclusive by those who employ them.
The role of lay people has traditionally been primarily occupied with activities that are commonly termed "merit-making" (falling under Spiro's category of kammatic Buddhism). Merit-making activities include offering food and other basic necessities to monks, making donations to temples and monasteries, burning incense or lighting candles before images of the Buddha, and chanting protective or merit-making verses from the Pali Canon. Some lay practitioners have always chosen to take a more active role in religious affairs, while still maintaining their lay status. Dedicated lay men and women sometimes act as trustees or custodians for their temples, taking part in the financial planning and management of the temple. Others may volunteer significant time in tending to the mundane needs of local monks (by cooking, cleaning, maintaining temple facilities, etc.). Lay activities have traditionally not extended to study of the Pāli scriptures, nor the practice of meditation, though in the 20th century these areas have become more accessible to the lay community, especially in Thailand.
A number of senior monastics in the Thai Forest Tradition, including Buddhadasa, Ajahn Maha Bua, Ajahn Plien Panyapatipo, Ajahn Pasanno, and Ajahn Jayasaro, have begun teaching meditation retreats outside of the monastery for lay disciples. Ajahn Sumedho, a disciple of Ajahn Chah, founded the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in Hertfordshire, which has a retreat center specifically for lay retreats. Sumedho extended this to Harnham in Northumberland as Aruna Ratanagiri under the present guidance of Ajahn Munindo, another disciple of Ajahn Chah.
In Pāli the word for a male lay devotee is Upasaka and a female devotee is Upasika. One of the duties of the lay followers, as taught by the Buddha, is to look after the needs of the monk/nuns. They are to see that the monk/nuns do not suffer from lack of the four requisites: food, clothing, shelter and medicine. As neither monks nor nuns are allowed to have an occupation, they depend entirely on the laity for their sustenance. In return for this charity, they are expected to lead exemplary lives.
In Myanmar and Thailand, the monastery was and is still regarded as a seat of learning. In fact today about half of the primary schools in Thailand are located in monasteries. Religious rituals and ceremonies held in a monastery are always accompanied by social activities. In times of crisis, it is to the monks that people bring their problems for counsel. Traditionally, a ranking monk will deliver a sermon four times a month: when the moon waxes and wanes and the day before the new and full moons. The laity also have a chance to learn meditation from the monks during these times.
It is also possible for a lay disciple to become enlightened. As Bhikkhu Bodhi notes, "The Suttas and commentaries do record a few cases of lay disciples attaining the final goal of Nirvana. However, such disciples either attain Arahantship on the brink of death or enter the monastic order soon after their attainment. They do not continue to dwell at home as Arahant householders, for dwelling at home is incompatible with the state of one who has severed all craving."
In the modern era, it is now common for lay disciples to practice meditation, attend lay meditation centers and even aim for awakening. The impetus for this trend began in Myanmar and was supported by prime minister U Nu who himself established the International Meditation Center (IMC) in Yangon. Modern lay teachers such as U Ba Khin (who was also the Accountant General of the Union of Burma) promoted meditation as part of a laypersons daily routine. According to Donald K Swearer, another development in modern Theravāda is "the formation of lay Buddhist associations that have partially assumed the social service responsibilities formerly associated with the monastery". These include social service and activist organizations such as the Young Men's Buddhist Association of Colombo, the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress, the Sarvodaya Shramadana of A. T. Ariyaratne, the NGO's founded by Sulak Sivaraksa such as Santi Pracha.
Theravāda sources dating back to medieval Sri Lanka (2nd century BCE to 10th century CE) such as the Mahavamsa show that monastic roles in the tradition were often seen as being in a polarity between urban monks (Sinhala: , Pāli: "gamavasi") on one end and rural forest monks (Sinhala: , Pali: "araññavasi, nagaravasi", also known as "Tapassin") on the other. The ascetic focused monks were known by the names "Pamsukulikas" (rag robe wearers) and "Araññikas" (forest dwellers).
The Mahavamsa mentions forest monks associated with the Mahavihara. The Pāli Dhammapada Commentary mentions another split based on the "duty of study" and the "duty of contemplation". This second division has traditionally been seen as corresponding with the city – forest split, with the city monks focusing on the vocation of books ("ganthadhura") or learning ("pariyatti") while the forest monks leaning more towards meditation ("vipassanadhura") and practice ("patipatti"). However this opposition is not consistent, and urban monasteries have often promoted meditation while forest communities have also produced excellent scholars, such as the Island Hermitage of Nyanatiloka.
Scholar monks generally undertake the path of studying and preserving Theravāda's Pāli literature. Forest monks tend to be the minority among Theravāda sanghas and also tend to focus on asceticism ("dhutanga") and meditative praxis. They view themselves as living closer to the ideal set forth by the Buddha, and are often perceived as such by lay folk, while at the same time often being on the margins of the Buddhist establishment and on the periphery of the social order.
While this divide seems to have been in existence for some time in the Theravāda school, only in the 10th century is a specifically forest monk monastery, mentioned as existing near Anuradhapura, called "Tapavana". This division was then carried over into the rest of Southeast Asia as Theravāda spread.
Today there are forest based traditions in most Theravāda countries, including the Sri Lankan Forest Tradition, the Thai Forest Tradition as well as lesser known forest based traditions in Burma and Laos, such as the Burmese forest based monasteries ("taw"yar") of Pa Auk Sayadaw. In Thailand, forest monks are known as "phra thudong" (ascetic wandering monks) or "phra thudong kammathan" (wandering ascetic meditator).
The minimum age for ordaining as a Buddhist monk is 20 years, reckoned from conception. However, boys under that age are allowed to ordain as novices (sāmaṇera), performing a ceremony such as "shinbyu" in Myanmar. Novices shave their heads, wear the yellow robes, and observe the Ten Precepts. Although no specific minimum age for novices is mentioned in the scriptures, traditionally boys as young as seven are accepted. This tradition follows the story of the Buddha's son, Rahula, who was allowed to become a novice at the age of seven. Monks follow 227 rules of discipline, while nuns follow 311 rules.
In most Theravāda countries, it is a common practice for young men to ordain as monks for a fixed period of time. In Thailand and Myanmar, young men typically ordain for the retreat during Vassa, the three-month monsoon season, though shorter or longer periods of ordination are not rare. Traditionally, temporary ordination was even more flexible among Laotians. Once they had undergone their initial ordination as young men, Laotian men were permitted to temporarily ordain again at any time, though married men were expected to seek their wife's permission. Throughout Southeast Asia, there is little stigma attached to leaving the monastic life. Monks regularly leave the robes after acquiring an education, or when compelled by family obligations or ill health.
Ordaining as a monk, even for a short period, is seen as having many virtues. In many Southeast Asian cultures, it is seen as a means for a young man to "repay" his parents for their work and effort in raising him, because the merit from his ordination accrues to them as well. Thai men who have ordained as a monk may be seen as more fit husbands by Thai women, who refer to men who have served as monks with a colloquial term meaning "ripe" to indicate that they are more mature and ready for marriage. Particularly in rural areas, temporary ordination of boys and young men traditionally gave peasant boys an opportunity to gain an education in temple schools without committing to a permanent monastic life.
In Sri Lanka, temporary ordination is not practised, and a monk leaving the order is frowned upon. The continuing influence of the caste system in Sri Lanka plays a role in the taboo against temporary or permanent ordination as a bhikkhu in some orders. Though Sri Lankan orders are often organized along caste lines, men who ordain as monks temporarily pass outside of the conventional caste system, and as such during their time as monks may act (or be treated) in a way that would not be in line with the expected duties and privileges of their caste.
Men and women born in Western countries, who become Buddhists as adults, wish to become monks or nuns. It is possible, and one can live as a monk or nun in the country they were born in, seek monks or nuns which has gathered in a different Western country or move to a monastery in countries like Sri Lanka or Thailand. It is seen as being easier to live a life as a monk or nun in countries where people generally live by the culture of Buddhism, since it is difficult to live by the rules of a monk or a nun in a Western country. For instance, a Theravāda monk or nun is not allowed to work, handle money, listen to music, cook and so on, which are extremely difficult rules to live by in cultures which do not embrace Buddhism.
Some of the more well-known Theravādan monks are Mun Bhuridatta, Ajahn Chah, Ledi Sayadaw, Webu Sayadaw, Ajahn Plien Panyapatipo, Ajahn Sumedho, Ajahn Khemadhammo, Ajahn Brahm, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Buddhadasa, Mahasi Sayadaw, Nyanaponika Thera, Preah Maha Ghosananda, U Pandita, Ajahn Amaro, Ajahn Sucitto, Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Walpola Rahula, Henepola Gunaratana, Bhante Yogavacara Rahula and Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro.
The practices usually vary in different sub-schools and monasteries within Theravāda. But in the most orthodox forest monastery, the monk usually models his practice and lifestyle on that of the Buddha and his first generation of disciples by living close to nature in forest, mountains and caves. Forest monasteries still keep alive the ancient traditions through following the Buddhist monastic code of discipline in all its detail and developing meditation in secluded forests.
In a typical daily routine at the monastery during the 3 month vassa period, the monk will wake up before dawn and will begin the day with group chanting and meditation. At dawn the monks will go out to surrounding villages bare-footed on alms-round and will have the only meal of the day before noon by eating from the bowl by hand. Most of the time is spent on Dhamma study and meditation. Sometimes the abbot or a senior monk will give a Dhamma talk to the visitors. Laity who stay at the monastery will have to abide by the traditional eight Buddhist precepts.
The life of the monk or nun in a community is much more complex than the life of the forest monk. In the Buddhist society of Sri Lanka, most monks spend hours every day in taking care of the needs of lay people such as preaching "bana," accepting alms, officiating funerals, teaching "dhamma" to adults and children in addition to providing social services to the community.
After the end of the Vassa period, many of the monks will go out far away from the monastery to find a remote place (usually in the forest) where they can hang their umbrella tents and where it is suitable for the work of self-development. When they go wandering, they walk barefoot, and go wherever they feel inclined. Only those requisites which are necessary will be carried along. These generally consist of the bowl, the three robes, a bathing cloth, an umbrella tent, a mosquito net, a kettle of water, a water filter, razor, sandals, some small candles, and a candle lantern.
The monks do not fix their times for walking and sitting meditation, for as soon as they are free they just start doing it; nor do they determine for how long they will go on to meditate. Some of them sometimes walk from dusk to dawn whereas at other times they may walk from between two and seven hours. Some may decide to fast for days or stay at dangerous places where ferocious animals live in order to aid their meditation.
Those monks who have been able to achieve a high level of attainment will be able to guide the junior monks and lay Buddhists toward the four degrees of spiritual attainment.
A few years after the arrival of Mahinda, the bhikkhu Saṅghamittā, who is also believed to have been the daughter of Ashoka, came to Sri Lanka. She ordained the first nuns in Sri Lanka. In 429, by request of China's emperor, nuns from Anuradhapura were sent to China to establish the order there, which subsequently spread across East Asia. The prātimokṣa of the nun's order in East Asian Buddhism is the Dharmaguptaka, which is different than the prātimokṣa of the current Theravāda school; the specific ordination of the early Sangha in Sri Lanka not known, although the Dharmaguptaka sect originated with the Sthāvirīya as well.
The nun's order subsequently died out in Sri Lanka in the 11th century and in Burma in the 13th century. It had already died out around the 10th century in other Theravādin areas. Novice ordination has also disappeared in those countries. Therefore, women who wish to live as renunciates in those countries must do so by taking eight or ten precepts. Neither laywomen nor formally ordained, these women do not receive the recognition, education, financial support or status enjoyed by Buddhist men in their countries. These "precept-holders" live in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, and Thailand. In particular, the governing council of Burmese Buddhism has ruled that there can be no valid ordination of women in modern times, though some Burmese monks disagree. Japan is a special case as, although it has neither the bhikkhuni nor novice ordinations, the precept-holding nuns who live there do enjoy a higher status and better education than their precept-holder sisters elsewhere, and can even become Zen priests. In Tibet there is currently no bhikkhuni ordination, but the Dalai Lama has authorized followers of the Tibetan tradition to be ordained as nuns in traditions that have such ordination.
In 1996, 11 selected Sri Lankan women were ordained fully as Theravāda bhikkhunis by a team of Theravāda monks in concert with a team of Korean nuns in India. There is disagreement among Theravāda vinaya authorities as to whether such ordinations are valid. The Dambulla chapter of the Siam Nikaya in Sri Lanka also carried out a nun's ordination at this time, specifically stating their ordination process was a valid Theravādin process where the other ordination session was not. This chapter has carried out ordination ceremonies for hundreds of nuns since then. This has been criticized by leading figures in the Siam Nikaya and Amarapura Nikaya, and the governing council of Buddhism in Myanmar has declared that there can be no valid ordination of nuns in modern times, though some Burmese monks disagree with this.
In 1997 Dhamma Cetiya Vihara in Boston was founded by Ven. Gotami of Thailand, then a 10 precept nun; when she received full ordination in 2000, her dwelling became America's first Theravāda Buddhist bhikkhuni vihara.
A 55-year-old Thai Buddhist 8-precept white-robed maechee nun, Varanggana Vanavichayen, became the first woman to receive the going-forth ceremony of a novice (and the gold robe) in Thailand, in 2002. On February 28, 2003, Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, formerly known as Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, became the first Thai woman to receive bhikkhuni ordination as a Theravāda nun.
Dhammananda Bhikkhuni was ordained in Sri Lanka. The Thai Senate has reviewed and revoked the secular law passed in 1928 banning women's full ordination in Buddhism as unconstitutional for being counter to laws protecting freedom of religion. However Thailand's two main Theravāda Buddhist orders, the Mahanikaya and Dhammayutika Nikaya, have yet to officially accept fully ordained women into their ranks.
In 2009 in Australia four women received bhikkhuni ordination as Theravāda nuns, the first time such ordination had occurred in Australia. It was performed in Perth, Australia, on 22 October 2009 at Bodhinyana Monastery. Abbess Vayama together with Venerables Nirodha, Seri, and Hasapanna were ordained as Bhikkhunis by a dual Sangha act of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis in full accordance with the Pāli Vinaya.
In 2010, in the US, four novice nuns were given the full bhikkhuni ordination in the Thai Theravāda tradition, which included the double ordination ceremony. Henepola Gunaratana and other monks and nuns were in attendance. It was the first such ordination ever in the Western hemisphere.
The first bhikkhuni ordination in Germany, the ordination of German woman Samaneri Dhira, occurred on June 21, 2015 at Anenja Vihara.
In Indonesia, the first Theravāda ordination of bhikkhunis in Indonesia after more than a thousand years occurred in 2015 at Wisma Kusalayani in Lembang, Bandung in West Java. Those ordained included Vajiradevi Sadhika Bhikkhuni from Indonesia, Medha Bhikkhuni from Sri Lanka, Anula Bhikkhuni from Japan, Santasukha Santamana Bhikkhuni from Vietnam, Sukhi Bhikkhuni and Sumangala Bhikkhuni from Malaysia, and Jenti Bhikkhuni from Australia.
Theravāda monks typically belong to a particular "nikaya", variously referred to as monastic orders or fraternities. These different orders do not typically develop separate doctrines, but may differ in the manner in which they observe monastic rules. These monastic orders represent lineages of ordination, typically tracing their origin to a particular group of monks that established a new ordination tradition within a particular country or geographic area.
In Sri Lanka caste plays a major role in the division into nikayas. Some Theravāda Buddhist countries appoint or elect a sangharaja, or Supreme Patriarch of the Sangha, as the highest ranking or seniormost monk in a particular area, or from a particular nikaya. The demise of monarchies has resulted in the suspension of these posts in some countries, but patriarchs have continued to be appointed in Thailand. Myanmar and Cambodia ended the practice of appointing a sangharaja for some time, but the position was later restored, though in Cambodia it lapsed again.
Theravāda Buddhism is practiced in the following countries and by people worldwide:
Today, Theravādins number over 150 million worldwide, and during the past few decades Theravāda Buddhism has begun to take root in the West and in the Buddhist revival in India. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30994 |
Outline of theatre
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to theatre:
Theatre – the generic term for the performing arts and a collaborative form of fine art involving live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event (such as a story) through acting, singing, and/or dancing before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of speech, gesture, mime, puppets, music, dance, sound and spectacle — indeed any one or more elements of the other performing arts. Elements of design and stagecraft are used to enhance the physicality, presence and immediacy of the experience.
Theatre may be described as all of the following:
History of theatre
Chronological movements of the Western tradition include:
African theatre includes:
Asian theatre
There are a variety of genres that writers, producers and directors can employ in theatre to suit a variety of tastes:
There are a variety of theatrical styles used in theatre and drama. These include:
This is not the right things do not use as learning | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31001 |
Phenotypic trait
A phenotypic trait, simply trait, or character state is a distinct variant of a phenotypic characteristic of an organism; it may be either inherited or determined environmentally, but typically occurs as a combination of the two. For example, eye color is a character of an organism, while blue, brown and hazel are "traits".
A phenotypic trait is an obvious, observable, and measurable trait; it is the expression of genes in an observable way. An example of a phenotypic trait is a specific hair color. Underlying genes, which make up the genotype, determine the hair color, but the hair color observed is the phenotype. The phenotype is dependent on the genetic make-up of the organism, and also influenced by the environmental conditions to which the organism is subjected across its ontogenetic development, including various epigenetic processes. Regardless of the degree of influence of genotype versus environment, the phenotype encompasses all of the characteristics of an organism, including traits at multiple levels of biological organization, ranging from behavior and evolutionary history of life traits (e.g., litter size), through morphology (e.g., body height and composition), physiology (e.g., blood pressure), cellular characteristics (e.g., membrane lipid composition, mitochondrial densities), components of biochemical pathways, and even messenger RNA.
The inheritable unit that may influence a trait is called a gene. A gene is a portion of a chromosome, which is a very long and compacted string of DNA and proteins. An important reference point along a chromosome is the centromere; the distance from a gene to the centromere is referred to as the gene's locus or map location.
The nucleus of a diploid cell contains two of each chromosome, with homologous (mostly identical) pairs of chromosomes having the same genes at the same loci.
Different phenotypic traits are caused by different forms of genes, or alleles, which arise by mutation in a single individual and are passed on to successive generations.
A gene is only a DNA code sequence; the slightly different variations of that sequence are called alleles. Alleles can be significantly different and produce different product RNAs.
Combinations of different alleles thus go on to generate different traits through the information flow charted above. For example, if the alleles on homologous chromosomes exhibit a "simple dominance" relationship, the trait of the "dominant" allele shows in the phenotype.
Gregor Mendel pioneered modern genetics. His most famous analyses were based on clear-cut traits with simple dominance. He determined that the heritable units, what we now call genes, occurred in pairs. His tool was statistics.
The biochemistry of the intermediate proteins determines how they interact in the cell. Therefore, biochemistry predicts how different combinations of alleles will produce varying traits.
Extended expression patterns seen in diploid organisms include facets of incomplete dominance, codominance, and multiple alleles. Incomplete dominance is the condition in which neither allele dominates the other in one heterozygote. Instead the phenotype is intermediate in heterozygotes. Thus you can tell that each allele is present in the heterozygote. Codominance refers to the allelic relationship that occurs when two alleles are both expressed in the heterozygote, and both phenotypes are seen simultaneously. Multiple alleles refers to the situation when there are more than 2 common alleles of a particular gene. Blood groups in humans is a classic example. The ABO blood group proteins are important in
determining blood type in humans, and this is determined by different alleles of the one locus.
Schizotypy is an example of a psychological phenotypic trait found in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Studies have shown that gender and age influences the expression of schizotypal traits. For instance, certain schizotypal traits may develop further during adolescence, whereas others stay the same during this period. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31006 |
Trabant
The Trabant (, ; ) is an automobile which was produced from 1957 to 1990 by former East German car manufacturer VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. It is often seen as symbolic of the former East Germany and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in general. The Trabant had a duroplast body mounted on a one-piece steel chassis (a so-called unibody), front-wheel drive, a transverse engine, and independent suspension unusual features in 1957 but it remained much the same until 1989 when it acquired a (licensed) Volkswagen engine; its discontinuation followed in 1991. The 1980s model had no tachometer, no indicator for either the headlights or turn signals, no fuel gauge, no rear seat belts, no external fuel door, and drivers had to pour a mix of gasoline and oil directly under the bonnet/hood.
Called "a spark plug with a roof," 3,096,999 Trabants in a number of models were produced over nearly three decades with few significant changes in their basic design. Older models have been sought by collectors in the United States due to their low cost and fewer restrictions on the importation of antique cars. The Trabant also gained a following among car tuning and rally racing enthusiasts.
The German word "trabant", derived from the Middle High German "drabant", means "satellite" or "companion". The car's name was inspired by the Soviet Sputnik satellite. The cars are often referred to as "Trabbi" or "Trabi". Produced without major changes for nearly 30 years, the Trabant became the most common automobile in East Germany. It came to symbolize the country during the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, as images of East Germans crossing the border into West Germany were broadcast around the globe.
Being that its manufacturer was a state monopoly, it took ten years to acquire a Trabant. East German buyers were placed on a waiting-list of up to thirteen years. The waiting time depended on their proximity to Berlin, the capital. Official state price was 7,450 GDR marks and the demand to production ratio was forty three to one (1989). The free market price for a second-hand one was more than twice the price of a new one, and the average worker had to wait ten to thirteen years on a waiting list, or, if available, pay more than double for a second hand model.
The Trabant had a steel unibody frame, with the roof, trunk lid, hood, fenders and doors made of duroplast, a hard plastic made from recycled cotton waste from the Soviet Union and phenol resins from the East German dye industry. It was the second car with a body made of recycled material; the first was the AWZ P70 Zwickau, produced from 1955 to 1959. The material was durable, and the average lifespan of a Trabant was 28 years.
The Trabant's build quality was poor, reliability was terrible, closer inspection revealed "patchy assembly quality", with an atrocious maintenance record. According to automotive journalist Doug DeMuro, the Trabant was loud, slow, poorly designed, and badly built.
The car had four principal variants:
The engine for the 500, 600 and the original 601 was a small two-stroke engine with two cylinders, accounting for the vehicle's modest performance. Its curb weight was about . When it ceased production in 1989, the Trabant delivered from a displacement. It took 21 seconds to accelerate from zero to its top speed of .
The engine produced a very smoky exhaust and was a significant source of air pollution: nine times the hydrocarbons and five times the carbon-monoxide emissions of the average 2007 European car. Its fuel consumption was . Since the engine was two-stroke, oil had to be added to the fuel tank at a 50:1 (or 33:1) ratio of fuel to oil at each fill-up. Contemporary gas stations in countries where two-stroke engines were common sold a premixed gas-oil mixture at the pump. Because the Trabant had no fuel pump, its fuel tank was above the motor so fuel could reach the carburetor by gravity; this increased the risk of fire in front-end accidents. Earlier models had no fuel gauge, and a dipstick was inserted into the tank to determine how much fuel remained.
Known for its dull colour scheme and cramped, uncomfortable ride, the Trabant is an object of ridicule for many Germans and is regarded as symbolic of the fall of the Eastern Bloc. Known as a "spark plug with a roof" because of its small size, the car did gain public affection. Its design remained essentially unchanged from its introduction in the late 1950s, and the last model was introduced in 1990. In contrast, the West German Volkswagen Beetle received a number of updates (including improvements in efficiency) over a similar period.
The Trabant was the result of a planning process which had been intended to design a three-wheeled motorcycle. In German, "Trabant" is an astronomical term for a moon (or other natural satellite) of a celestial body.
The first of the Trabants left the VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau factory in Saxony on 7 November 1957. It was a relatively advanced car when it was formally introduced the following year, with front wheel drive, unitary construction and independent suspension. The Trabant's greatest shortcoming was its engine. By the late 1950s, many small West European cars (such as the Renault) had cleaner, more-efficient four-stroke engines, but budgetary constraints and raw-materials shortages mandated an outdated (but inexpensive) two-stroke engine in the Trabant. It was technically equivalent to the West German Lloyd automobile, a similarly sized car with an air-cooled, two-cylinder four-stroke engine. The Trabant had a front, transversely mounted engine and front-wheel drive in an era when many European cars were using rear-mounted engines or front-mounted engines with rear-wheel drive. Its greatest drawback was its largely unchanged production; the car's two-stroke engine made it obsolete by the 1970s, limiting exports to Western Europe.
The Trabant's air-cooled, engine—upgraded to in 1962–63—was derived from a pre-war DKW design with minor alterations during its production run. The first Saab car had a larger (764 cc), water-cooled, two-cylinder two-stroke engine. Wartburg, an East German manufacturer of larger sedans, also used a water-cooled, three-cylinder, , two-stroke DKW engine.
The original Trabant, introduced in 1958, was the P50. Trabant's base model, it shared a large number of interchangeable parts with the latest 1.1s. The 500 cc, P50 evolved into a version with a fully synchronized gearbox in 1960, and received a , engine in 1962 as the P60.
The updated P601 was introduced in 1964. It was essentially a facelift of the P60, with a different front fascia, bonnet, roof and rear and the original P50 underpinnings. The model remained nearly unchanged until the end of its production except for the addition of 12V electricity, rear coil springs and an updated dashboard for later models.
The Trabant's designers expected production to extend until 1967 at the latest, and East German designers and engineers created a series of more-sophisticated prototypes intended to replace the P601; several are displayed at the Dresden Transport Museum. Each proposal for a new model was rejected by the East German government due to shortages of the raw materials required in larger quantities for the more-advanced designs. As a result, the Trabant remained largely unchanged for more than a quarter-century. Also unchanged was its production method, which was extremely labour-intensive.
Production started from 34,000 in 1964, reached 100,000 in 1973, to a high of 150,000 in 1989.
The Trabant 1100 (also known as the P1100) was a 601 with a better-performing 1.05-liter (), VW Polo engine. With a more-modern look (including a floor-mounted gearshift), it was quieter and cleaner than its predecessor. The 1100 had front disc brakes, and its wheel assembly was borrowed from Volkswagen. It was produced from 1989 to 1991, in parallel with the two-stroke P601. Except for the engine and transmission, many parts from older P50s, P60s and 601s were compatible with the 1100.
In mid-1989, thousands of East Germans began loading their Trabants with as much as they could carry and drove to Hungary or Czechoslovakia en route to West Germany–the so-called "Trabi Trail". Many had to get special permission to drive their Trabants into West Germany. The cars did not meet West German emissions standards and polluted the air at four times the European average.
A licensed version of the Volkswagen Polo engine replaced the Trabant's two-stroke engine in 1989, the result of a trade agreement between East and West Germany. The model, the Trabant 1.1, also had minor improvements to its brake and signal lights, a renovated grille, and MacPherson struts instead of a leaf-spring-suspended chassis. When the 1.1 began production in May 1990, the two German states had already agreed to reunification.
By April 1991 3.7 million vehicles had been produced. However, it soon became apparent that there was no place for the Trabant in a reunified German economy. Its inefficient, labour-intensive production line survived on government subsidies.
The Trabant ceased production in 1991, and the Zwickau factory in Mosel (where the Trabant 1.1 was manufactured) was sold to Volkswagen AG; the rest of the company became HQM Sachsenring GmbH. Volkswagen redeveloped the Zwickau factory, which is a centre for engine production and produces some Volkswagen Golfs and Passats.
According to Richard Leiby, the Trabant had become "a symbol of the technological and social backwardness of the East German state." Trabants became a symbol of the GDR's serious flaws in the West after the fall of the Berlin Wall, when many were abandoned by their Eastern owners who migrated west. Unlike the Lada Niva, Škoda Estelle, Polski Fiat (design licensed from the Italian car manufacturer) and Yugo, the Trabant had negligible sales in Western Europe.
A Trabant could be bought for as little as a few Deutsche Marks during the early 1990s, and many were given away. Although prices recovered as they became collectors' items, they remain inexpensive cars. In her "Bodywork" project, performance artist Liz Cohen transformed a 1987 Trabant into a 1973 Chevrolet El Camino. The Trabant was planned to return to production in Uzbekistan as the Olimp during the late 1990s, but only one model was produced.
Former Bulgarian Foreign Minister and Atlantic Club of Bulgaria founding president Solomon Passy owned a Trabant which was blessed by Pope John Paul II in 2002 and which he took NATO Secretaries General Manfred Wörner, George Robertson, and Jaap de Hoop Scheffer for rides. In 2005, Passy donated the vehicle (which had become symbolic of Bulgaria's NATO accession) to the National Historical Museum of Bulgaria. In 1997, the Trabant was celebrated for passing the moose test without rolling over, as the Mercedes-Benz W168 had; a Thuringian newspaper's headline read, "Come and get us, moose! Trabi passes A-Class killer test".
The Trabant entered the world of diplomacy in 2007 when Steven Fisher, deputy head of mission at the British Embassy in Budapest, used a 1.1 (painted as close to British racing green as possible) as his diplomatic car. American Trabant owners celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall with the Parade of Trabants, an annual early-November rally held in Washington, D.C. The event, sponsored by the privately owned International Spy Museum, includes street tours in Trabants, rides, live German music and displays about East Germany.
The Herpa company, a Bavarian miniature-vehicle manufacturer, bought the rights to the Trabant name and showed a scale model of a "newTrabi" at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. Plans for production included a limited run, possibly with a BMW engine. A Trabant nT model was unveiled two years later in Frankfurt.
The Trabant nT consortium includes Herpa, the German specialized-auto-parts manufacturer IndiKar and the German automobile-engineering company IAV. The group was looking for investment, design and production in the Trabant's original hometown of Zwickau, with sales "in 2012". The Trabant nT electric car would be equipped with a asynchronous motor powered by a lithium-ion battery.
Dozens of prototypes have been created over the years that have not gone into mass production. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31010 |
There Is No Cabal
There Is No Cabal (abbreviated TINC) is a catchphrase and running joke found on Usenet. The journalist Wendy M. Grossman writes that its appearance on the "alt.usenet.cabal" FAQ reflects conspiracy accusations as old as the Internet itself. The anthropologist Gabriella Coleman writes that the joke reveals "discomfort over the potential for corruption by meritocratic leaders". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31011 |
Teletubbies
Teletubbies is a British children's television series created by Ragdoll Productions' Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport for BBC. The programme focuses on four multi-coloured creatures known as "Teletubbies", named after the television screens implanted in their abdomens. Recognised throughout popular culture for the uniquely shaped antenna protruding from the head of each character, the Teletubbies communicate through gibberish and were designed to bear resemblance to toddlers.
The series rapidly became a commercial success in Britain and abroad. It won multiple BAFTA awards and was nominated for two Daytime Emmys throughout its run. A single based on the show's theme song reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in December 1997 and remained in the Top 75 for 32 weeks, selling over a million copies. By October 2000, the franchise generated over £1billion () in merchandise sales.
Though the original run ended in 2001, sixty new episodes were ordered in 2014. They are currently aired on CBeebies in the United Kingdom and on Nick Jr. in the United States. Re-runs of the original 1997–2001 series continue to be shown on relevant television channels worldwide.
The original series returned to live TV in the US on Pluto TV on 1 May 2019 but the episodes are shown in the UK format instead of the US which is where the Pluto TV service is based in. The same error occurred with the series' availability on the NOGGIN app since 25 May 2016.
The programme takes place in a grassy, floral landscape populated by rabbits with bird calls audible in the background. The main shelter of the four Teletubbies is an earth house known as the "Tubbytronic Superdome" implanted in the ground and accessed through a hole at the top or an especially large semicircular door at the dome's foot. The Teletubbies co-exist with a number of strange contraptions such as the Noo-noo, the group's anthropomorphic blue vacuum cleaner, and the Voice Trumpets. The show's colourful, psychedelic setting was designed specifically to appeal to the attention spans of infants and unlock different sections of the mind while also educating young children of transitions that can be expected in life.
An assortment of rituals are performed throughout the course of every episode, such as the playful interactions between the Teletubbies and the Voice Trumpets, mishaps caused by the Noo-noo, the footage of children displayed on the screens in the Teletubbies' stomachs, and the magical event that occurs once per episode. The event differs each time; it is often caused inexplicably and is frequently strange yet whimsical. Each episode is closed by the Voice Trumpets and the narrator. The disappointed, reluctant, but eventually obedient Teletubbies bid farewell to the viewer as they go back to the Tubbytronic Superdome while the Sun Baby sets.
On 31 March 1997, the first episode of "Teletubbies" aired on BBC2 on the CBBC programming block. It filled a timeslot previously held by "Playdays". This schedule change initially received backlash from parents, but the show was not moved. The programme's unconventional format quickly received attention from the media, and it was attracting two million viewers per episode by August. In February 1998, "The Sydney Morning Herald" noted that it had "reached cult status" in less than a year on the air.
"Teletubbies" has been aired in over 120 countries in 45 different languages. In the United States, the series airs on Nickelodeon as part of the Nick Jr. block. Episodes are also released through the Nick Jr. mobile application and on-demand services. The original series is available as part of the Noggin subscription service in North America. It aired on PBS Kids in the United States from 6 April 1998 to 29 August 2008. BBC Worldwide channels carry the series in most of Africa, Asia and Poland. A Spanish dub airs on Clan in Spain. In Greece, the series airs on Nickelodeon Greece. NPO Zappelin carries the show in the Netherlands and MTVA airs it in Hungary. In Australia and New Zealand, the series airs on CBeebies Australia and ABC Kids. JimJam's Benelux feed airs the series and Ultra airs it in Serbia. "Teletubbies" also airs on SIC in Portugal and e-Junior in the Middle East.
The show was created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport after the BBC had requested their pitch for a show aimed at preschoolers. Inspired by Davenport's interest in astronauts and specifically the first Moon landing, as well as their concern about "how children were reacting to the increasingly technological environment of the late 1990s", the two put together a pitch which the BBC picked up.
Finding a suitable shooting location was a challenge as they wanted to film the production outside but couldn't find a suitable location "with a suitable bowl-like dip". They ended up filming on a farm in Wimpstone, Warwickshire where they had previously shot "Tots TV". Due to problems with a previous television show shooting at the location, the shooting was protested by the locals although they calmed down after being assured that "it was a low-key children's programme and no one would be aware of the filming". After the show took off, though, its popularity caused the land to be flooded by the press. According to Davenport, the press was particularly interested in getting photos of the actors in their Teletubby costumes without their heads on. Eventually the team took measures to secure their privacy including blindfolding visitors coming to the set as well as creating a tent for the actors to change in secret.
Golden Bear Toys distributed the first line of "Teletubbies" dolls shortly after the programme's debut. They were sold internationally, with talking toys available in multiple languages. Hasbro signed on to develop a new range of products in 1998. In 1999, Microsoft UK released a set of interactive "ActiMates" toys based on the characters. The Rasta Imposta company introduced "Teletubbies" costumes for children and adults in the same year. Two educational video games featuring the characters were also released throughout the series' run.
"Teletubbies" dolls were the top-selling Christmas toy in 1997. Demand outstripped supply at most retailers, reportedly prompting many shops to ration them to one per customer. In some cases, shoppers camped outside stores overnight in hopes of purchasing "Teletubbies" merchandise. Fights over the toys broke out among parents and collectors on occasion. Over one million dolls were sold in Britain by 25 December of that year, with Golden Bear representatives estimating that sales could have reached three million if supplies had been available. The plush toys were named "Toy of the Year" by the British Association of Toy Retailers in 1998.
Kids' meal tie-ins have been released at fast-food restaurants throughout North America. In May 1999, Burger King distributed a set of six "Teletubbies" plush toys. They also included chicken nuggets shaped like the characters on their menu for a brief period of time. Keychains modelled after the characters were available at McDonald's in April 2000. These promotions became controversial among adults who believed they were intended to attract toddlers to high-fat food. Psychiatrist Alvin Francis Poussaint considered the deals "troubling." He voiced his opinion on the matter publicly, but did not take action against the companies.
Two kiddie rides featuring the characters were manufactured by Jolly Roger. They were available at some amusement parks and arcades, such as Chuck E. Cheese's and Fantasy Island.
Overseas "Teletubbies" merchandise sales throughout the 1990s delivered €136 million in profits for the BBC. By the time of the programme's cancellation, "Teletubbies" toys had generated over £200 million in revenue for co-creator Anne Wood alone. In 2005, Chris Hastings and Ben Jones of "The Daily Telegraph" called "Teletubbies" "the most lucrative show in BBC television history."
To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the premiere of "Teletubbies", a series of events took place from March to April 2007. The characters headlined an invitation-only event in London on 21 March 2007. They appeared in New York City's Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, and Apollo Theater. They were also interviewed on NBC's "The Today Show" in an episode that included the first televised appearance of the actors without their costumes. A partnership was formed with Isaac Mizrahi in which Mizrahi designed Teletubbies-inspired bags to be auctioned off to benefit charities. A new line of clothing was launched at the Pop-Up Shop and other specialty stores. New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg announced 28 March 2007 "Teletubbies Day" and gave the key to the city to the Teletubbies. Following their show in New York, the Teletubbies went on their first live European tour, performing in London, Paris, Bremen, Darmstadt, Halle, Hamburg, Köln, and Hannover. The Teletubbies had a world premiere in 2015 to celebrate the release of the revival series and CBeebies presenter Cat Sandion hosted the event. The celebrity guests included were: Andrew Davenport, Kay Benbow, Fearne Cotton, Jess Smith, Berry, Berry’s mother, Grace Woodward, Jennifer Saunders, JB Gill, Chloe Tangney, Elaine Cassidy, Harry Hadden-Paton, Adele Silva, Vas J Morgan, Lauren Crace, Michael Stevenson, Tom Pellereau, Vanessa Feltz, Esther Rantzen, Ecowood Moves, Laura Carmichael, Dan Snow, Imogen Thomas, Laura Hamilton, Adam Horsley, Karen Hardy, Jasmine Harman, Harrison, Con and Bex from Kidzcoolit, a few other celebrities and regular people, with Jeremiah Krage (Tinky Winky), Nick Kellington (Dipsy), Rebecca Hyland (Laa-Laa), Rachelle Beinart (Po) and Victoria Jane (Noo-Noo) as the guests of honour at BFI Southbank in London. The Teletubbies also appeared on BBC Two's "Room 101" in 1999, "The Official BBC Children in Need Medley" with Peter Kay in 2009, Channel 4's "The Paul O'Grady Show" with Paul O'Grady and Jack Dee in 2009, ITV's "Good Morning Britain" with Susanna Reid and Laura Tobin in 2015, BBC Two's "" in 2015, BBC's "Children in Need 2015" with Harry Hill and Nadiya Hussain in 2015, BBC One's "Peter Pan Goes Wrong" TV movie in 2016, BBC One's "The One Show" in 2017 with Holly Willoughby, Michelle Ackerley and Matt Baker, ITV's "Lorraine" with Lorraine Kelly and Scott Eastwood in 2017, BBC's "BBC Breakfast" in 2017 with an interview that included the first televised appearance of the actors of Dipsy and Laa-Laa in the new series without their costumes, ITV's "This Morning" in 2019 were the Teletubbies performed their hit single Teletubbies say "Eh-oh!" causing presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby to dance along with the Teletubbies, Sky One's "Romesh’s Look Back To The Future" with Romesh Ranganathan in 2019, and "CBeebies: 18 Years and Counting" in 2020. The Teletubbies celebrated their 20th anniversary with a party hosted by CBeebies founder and former presenter Chris Jarvis featuring celebrity guests including: Andrew Davenport, Kay Benbow, Jess Smith, Berry, Charlotte Hawkins, Claire Sweeney, Kevin Eldon, Anna Acton, Nick Knowles, Kimberly Wyatt, Theo Walcott, Linda Robson, Tom Chambers, Ben Hull, Clare Harding, Leon Ockenden, Ariana Siena Horsley, Imogen Thomas, Jaxon Reilly, Edward Knowles, Suzanne Shaw, Corey MacKenzie Graham, Rafferty, Melanie Walcott, Finley Walcott, Willow Jane Rogers, Max Rogers, Jasmine Harman, Sam Greenfield, Katherine Parkinson, Hannah Waddingham, Bex and Emily from Kidzcoolit, a few other celebrities and regular people with Jeremiah Krage (Tinky Winky), Nick Kellington (Dipsy), Rebecca Hyland (Laa-Laa) and Rachelle Beinart (Po) as the guests of honour at BFI Southbank in London.
In January 2016, costumed "Teletubbies" characters appeared at the American International Toy Fair. In April 2016, the series' premiere on the Greek Nickelodeon channel was advertised with a series of appearances by the Teletubbies at malls throughout Athens. This began with a live show at Avenue Mall on 16 April, which featured both the Teletubbies and a host from the network. Throughout May 2016, the characters appeared on various breakfast television programmes to promote the upcoming series' debut on Nickelodeon in the United States.
The first Teletubbies live show/musical, titled "Teletubbies Live!", toured the UK beginning on the weekend of 17 November 2017. In October 2018, DHX Media announced a second, Christmas-themed, live show/musical, "Teletubbies Live! 2: The Christmas Show", to be performed at Hyde Park UK as part of their annual Winter Wonderland event, and to tour from Thursday 22 November 2018 until Sunday 6 January 2019.
Common Sense Media's Emily Ashby found that "while the show's examples of cooperative play, wonder, and simple joys are gentle and pleasing, the creatures can still be a little grating to parents watching along." Caryn James of "The New York Times" stated in her review that the episodes "offer a genuinely appealing combination: cute and slightly surreal."
Upon the show's release, some critics feared that the characters' use of babbling in place of complete sentences would negatively affect young viewers' ability to communicate. The "Daily Mirror" reported in 1997 that many parents objected to its "goo-goo style" and "said the show was a bad influence on their children." Marina Krcmar, a professor of communication at the Wake Forest University, told interviewers in 2007 that "toddlers learn more from an adult speaker than they do from a program such as "Teletubbies"." However, Paul McCann of "The Independent" defended this aspect of the show, stating that ""Teletubbies" upsets those who automatically assume that progressive and creative learning is trendy nonsense. Those who believe that education should be strictly disciplined and functional, even when you're 18 months old. Thankfully "Teletubbies" isn't for them. It's for kids."
A controversy began in 1999 related to Tinky Winky and his carrying a bag that looks much like a woman's handbag (although he was first "outed" by the academic and cultural critic Andy Medhurst in a letter of July 1997 to "The Face"). He aroused the interest of Jerry Falwell in 1999 when Falwell alleged that the character was a "gay role model". Falwell issued an attack in his "National Liberty Journal", citing a "Washington Post" "In/Out" column which stated that lesbian comedian Ellen DeGeneres was "out" as the chief national gay representative, while trendy Tinky Winky was "in". He warned parents that Tinky Winky could be a covert homosexual symbol, because "he is purple, the gay pride colour, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle: the gay pride symbol." The BBC made an official response, explaining that "Tinky Winky is simply a sweet, technological baby with a magic bag." Ken Viselman of Itsy-Bitsy Entertainment commented, "He's not gay. He's not straight. He's just a character in a children's series."
In May 2007, Polish Ombudsman for Children, Ewa Sowińska revisited the matter, and planned to order an investigation. "I noticed that he has a woman's handbag, but I didn't realise he's a boy," Sowińska said in a public statement. She asked her office's psychologists to look into the allegations. After the research in late 2007, she stated: "The opinion of a leading sexologist, who maintains that this series has no negative effects on a child's psychology, is perfectly credible. As a result I have decided that it is no longer necessary to seek the opinion of other psychologists."
Despite the objections, the "Independent on Sunday"s editors included Tinky Winky as the only fictional character in the 2008 inaugural "Happy List", alongside 99 real-life adults recognised for making Britain a better and happier place.
In April 1997, the episode titled "See-Saw" (season 1) aired and featured a sketch about a cut-out lion (voiced by Eric Sykes) chasing a cut-out bear (voiced by Penelope Keith). The sketch was criticised for its unsettling cinematography, music, and character design and was deemed inappropriate for children. It was subsequently banned in several countries. In 2000, a revised version of the sketch was aired with adjusted editing, sound design, and voice acting to improve the tone; both versions have been posted online several times.
Although the programme is aimed at children between the ages of one and four, it had a substantial cult following with older generations, mainly university and college students. The mixture of bright colours, unusual designs, repetitive non-verbal dialogue, ritualistic format, and occasional forays into physical comedy appealed to many who perceived the programme as having psychedelic qualities.
Adam Roberts suggests that "Teletubbies" constitutes an example of radical utopian fiction. In this reading, the Teletubbies are an advanced culture which has eliminated all need to work, worry, or struggle in any way, and regressed into a childlike state. Roberts positions the Teletubbies as the endpoint of the science-fictional idea of paradise based on infantilisation – a more extreme version of the future humans in Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" and the Eloi in H. G. Wells's "The Time Machine" (who are mentally childlike, but still physically and sexually adult). Following Sigmund Freud's insight that adult pleasure must mediate id and super-ego – gratification and anxiety – the only way to attain a completely stress-free life is to surrender the super-ego, including sex. It follows that the broadcasts shown on the Teletubbies' in-set televisions are historical documentaries suggesting infantile existence as the paradigm, with the baby in the sun likely being the society's central machine intelligence. Roberts concludes:
In other words, the toddler-oriented aspect of the show can be read not in clumsily production-intention terms (‘the show is designed to appeal to toddlers’), but as a commentary upon the necessary infantilisation implicit in any utopian fantasy. It poses a question: to achieve a total happiness for all on the planet, once technology has removed the practical barriers, how far along the road towards infantile consciousness will it be necessary to travel? Will we become like the citizens of Huxley’s Brave New World? Or more infantile, like Wells’s Eloi? Or will we go the whole hog, and subsume our angst-ridden adult consciousnesses completely in the bright colours and satisfying repetitions of Teletubbyland? The enduring appeal of the Teletubbies to adults suggests, perhaps, this latter."
In December 1997, BBC Worldwide released a CD single from the series, based on the show's theme song, called "Teletubbies say 'Eh-oh!'" It is the only single from "Teletubbies", making the characters a one-hit wonder in the United Kingdom. The song was written by Andrew McCrorie-Shand and Andrew Davenport, and produced by McCrorie-Shand and Steve James. The single reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in December 1997, and remained in the Top 75 for 32 weeks after its release.
In December 2017, "Teletubbies Play Time" was released worldwide for mobile devices by Built Games.
In 2018, a spin-off animated web series featuring the Tiddlytubbies characters debuted on the official Teletubbies YouTube channel. These shorts are animated by WildBrain Spark Studios, a subsidiary of WildBrain that produces content for the WildBrain Spark network. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31015 |
Terrestrial Time
Terrestrial Time (TT) is a modern astronomical time standard defined by the International Astronomical Union, primarily for time-measurements of astronomical observations made from the surface of Earth.
For example, the Astronomical Almanac uses TT for its tables of positions (ephemerides) of the Sun, Moon and planets as seen from Earth. In this role, TT continues Terrestrial Dynamical Time (TDT or TD), which in turn succeeded ephemeris time (ET). TT shares the original purpose for which ET was designed, to be free of the irregularities in the rotation of Earth.
The unit of TT is the SI second, the definition of which is currently based on the caesium atomic clock, but TT is not itself defined by atomic clocks. It is a theoretical ideal, and real clocks can only approximate it.
TT is distinct from the time scale often used as a basis for civil purposes, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). TT indirectly underlies UTC, via International Atomic Time (TAI). Because of the historical difference between TAI and ET when TT was introduced, TT is approximately 32.184 s ahead of TAI.
A definition of a terrestrial time standard was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1976 at its General Assembly, and later named "Terrestrial Dynamical Time" (TDT). It was the counterpart to Barycentric Dynamical Time (TDB), which was a time standard for Solar system ephemerides, to be based on a dynamical time scale. Both of these time standards turned out to be imperfectly defined. Doubts were also expressed about the meaning of 'dynamical' in the name TDT.
In 1991, in Recommendation of the General Assembly, the IAU redefined TDT, also renaming it "Terrestrial Time". TT was formally defined in terms of Geocentric Coordinate Time (TCG), defined by the IAU on the same occasion. TT was defined to be a linear scaling of TCG, such that the unit of TT is the SI second on the geoid (Earth surface at mean sea level). This left the exact ratio between TT time and TCG time as something to be determined by experiment. Experimental determination of the gravitational potential at the geoid surface is a task in physical geodesy.
In 2000, the IAU very slightly altered the definition of TT by adopting an exact value for the ratio between TT and TCG time, as (As measured on the geoid surface, the rate of TCG is very slightly faster than that of TT, see below, Relativistic relationships of TT).
TT differs from Geocentric Coordinate Time (TCG) by a constant rate. Formally it is defined by the equation
formula_1
where TT and TCG are linear counts of SI seconds in Terrestrial Time and Geocentric Coordinate Time respectively, formula_2 is the constant difference in the rates of the two time scales, and formula_3 is a constant to resolve the epochs (see below). formula_2 is defined as exactly (In 1991 when TT was first defined, formula_2 was to be determined by experiment, and the best available estimate was ).
The equation linking TT and TCG is more commonly seen in the form
formula_6
where formula_7 is the TCG time expressed as a Julian date (JD). This is just a transformation of the raw count of seconds represented by the variable TCG, so this form of the equation is needlessly complex. The use of a Julian Date specifies the epoch fully. The above equation is often given with the Julian Date for the epoch, but that is inexact (though inappreciably so, because of the small size of the multiplier formula_2). The value is exactly in accord with the definition.
Time coordinates on the TT and TCG scales are conventionally specified using traditional means of specifying days, carried over from non-uniform time standards based on the rotation of Earth. Specifically, both Julian Dates and the Gregorian calendar are used. For continuity with their predecessor Ephemeris Time (ET), TT and TCG were set to match ET at around Julian Date (1977-01-01T00Z). More precisely, it was defined that TT instant 1977-01-01T00:00:32.184 exactly and TCG instant 1977-01-01T00:00:32.184 exactly correspond to the International Atomic Time (TAI) instant 1977-01-01T00:00:00.000 exactly. This is also the instant at which TAI introduced corrections for gravitational time dilation.
TT and TCG expressed as Julian Dates can be related precisely and most simply by the equation
formula_9
where formula_10 is exactly.
TT is a theoretical ideal, not dependent on a particular realization. For practical purposes, TT must be realized by actual clocks in the Earth system.
The main realization of TT is supplied by TAI. The TAI service, running since 1958, attempts to match the rate of proper time on the geoid, using an ensemble of atomic clocks spread over the surface and low orbital space of Earth. TAI is canonically defined retrospectively, in monthly bulletins, in relation to the readings that particular groups of atomic clocks showed at the time. Estimates of TAI are also provided in real time by the institutions that operate the participating clocks. Because of the historical difference between TAI and ET when TT was introduced, the TAI realization of TT is defined thus:
formula_11
Because TAI is never revised once published, it is possible for errors in it to become known and remain uncorrected. It is thus possible to produce a better realization of TT based on reanalysis of historical TAI data. The BIPM has done this approximately annually since 1992. These realizations of TT are named in the form "TT(BIPM08)", with the digits indicating the year of publication. They are published in the form of table of differences from TT(TAI). The latest is TT(BIPM19).
The international communities of precision timekeeping, astronomy, and radio broadcasts have considered creating a new precision time scale based on observations of an ensemble of pulsars. This new pulsar time scale will serve as an independent means of computing TT, and it may eventually be useful to identify defects in TAI.
Sometimes times described in TT must be handled in situations where TT's detailed theoretical properties are not significant. Where millisecond accuracy is enough (or more than enough), TT can be summarized in the following ways:
Observers in different locations, that are in relative motion or at different altitudes, can disagree about the rates of each other's clocks, owing to effects described by the theory of relativity. As a result, TT (even as a theoretical ideal) does not match the proper time of all observers.
In relativistic terms, TT is described as the proper time of a clock located on the geoid (essentially mean sea level).
However,
TT is now actually defined as a coordinate time scale.
The redefinition did not quantitatively change TT, but rather made the existing definition more precise. In effect it defined the geoid (mean sea level) in terms of a particular level of gravitational time dilation relative to a notional observer located at infinitely high altitude.
The present definition of TT is a linear scaling of Geocentric Coordinate Time (TCG), which is the proper time of a notional observer who is infinitely far away (so not affected by gravitational time dilation) and at rest relative to Earth. TCG is used so far mainly for theoretical purposes in astronomy. From the point of view of an observer on Earth's surface the second of TCG passes in slightly less than the observer's SI second. The comparison of the observer's clock against TT depends on the observer's altitude: they will match on the geoid, and clocks at higher altitude tick slightly faster. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31016 |
The Vision of Escaflowne
The series follows a teenage high school girl named Hitomi, who finds herself pulled from Earth to the planet Gaea when a boy named Van appears on the high school track while battling a dragon. In Gaea, she is caught in the middle of a war as the Zaibach Empire attempts to take over Gaea. Van (King of Fanelia), with aid from Allen (an Asturian Knight), commands his mystical mech Escaflowne in the struggle to stop the Zaibach Empire. Hitomi's fortune telling powers blossom in Gaea as she becomes the key to awakening Escaflowne and to stopping Zaibach's plans.
While the anime series was in production, two very different manga retellings were also developed and released: a shōnen version of the story entitled "The Vision of Escaflowne" and a shōjo retelling titled "Hitomi — The Vision of Escaflowne". In addition, a second shōjo adaptation called "Escaflowne — Energist's Memories" was released as a single volume in 1997. The story was novelized in a series of six light novels by Yumiko Tsukamoto. A movie adaptation, entitled simply "Escaflowne", was released on June 24, 2000, but bears only a basic resemblance to the original series. Four CD soundtracks and a drama CD have also been released in relation to the series.
Gaea is an alternate dimension that was created from the combined wishes of the inhabitants of Atlantis when it started to sink into the ocean. Gaea has 100 different countries. On Gaea, Earth is known as the Mystic Moon. Gaea's size, mass, atmospheric composition, temperature belts, and even seasons are the same as Earth’s, although its gravity is lower, as implied by some of the jumps and acrobatic feats of some of the show's characters.
The series focuses on Hitomi Kanzaki and her adventures after she is transported to the world of Gaea, a mysterious planet where she can see Earth and its moon in the sky. Hitomi's latent psychic powers are enhanced on Gaea and she quickly becomes embroiled in the conflicts between the Zaibach Empire led by Emperor Isaac Dornkirk and the several peaceful countries that surround it. The conflicts are brought about by the Zaibach Empire's quest to revive the legendary power from the ancient city of Atlantis. As the series progresses, many of the characters' pasts and motivations, as well as the history of Atlantis and the true nature of the planet Gaea, are revealed.
Shoji Kawamori first proposed the series after a trip to Nepal, during which he visited the foggy mountain region and pictured a hidden world where an epic focusing on both fate and divination should be set. When he returned, he proposed the series to Bandai Visual and Sunrise. According to Kawamori, his pitch for the series was simple: "if "Macross" was robotic mecha and love songs, why not a story about robotic mecha and divining powers?"
He worked with Bandai producer Minoru Takanashi to finish fleshing out the original idea. They researched various mysteries for inspiration, particularly stories centered on the mythical land of Atlantis and the Bermuda Triangle. As the series began taking shape, they changed the lead character from a male, the norm for an action-mecha series, to a high school girl as the lead character. Nobuteru Yuki was hired as the character designer, and tasked with crafting a design for Hitomi and the rest of the cast. He would later state that Hitomi was his favorite character because it was the first one he'd ever designed completely from scratch rather than simply being adapted from an existing medium. Initially, Folken and Dilandau were a single enemy commander, but as the story was fleshed out, the creators felt the series would be more interesting if there were two with very different personalities.
Initially, the series was planned at thirty-nine episodes, with Yasuhiro Imagawa brought on board to direct. He is credited with coining the word "escaflowne", a Latin-based derivative of the word "escalation", that would be used in the title. Imagawa saw the series as being a typical "shōnen" series that was heavily male oriented and featuring a shapely heroine and dramatic battles. However, he left the project before actual production started to direct "Mobile Fighter G Gundam". Without a director, the series was put on hold and Kawamori left to work on other projects. After two years sitting on the shelf, Sunrise revisited the project and brought in relative newcomer Kazuki Akane as the new director. In order to broaden the potential audience, Akane decided to add more "shōjo", or girl-oriented, elements to the series. The suggestive elements were removed, several of the male characters were given more "bishōnen"—"beautiful boy"—appearances, and the plot element around the tarot cards were added. Akane also gave the character of Hitomi a complete make over, taking her from being a curvy, air-headed, long-haired girl with glasses to the slim, athletic, short-haired and more intelligent and confident girl seen in the final series.
With the series character designs finalized and the story set, Yoko Kanno was selected to write the songs for the series, including the background songs which she co-wrote with her then-husband Hajime Mizoguchi, with whom she had previously collaborated on the soundtrack for Please Save My Earth. Initially they found it difficult to score the series as the plot itself was still being reworked around the new concept, but the plot changes were finished in time for them to prepare the score and give the film the desired final "epic touch." 16-year-old Maaya Sakamoto, fresh from a small role in the anime adaptation of "Mizuiro Jidai", was selected not only as the voice of Hitomi, but also to sing the "Escaflowne" theme song. Kanno is noted as saying that Sakamoto is an ideal interpreter of her work. After this project, they continued to collaborate on many other works and some consider her work on "The Vision of Escaflowne" to be the launching point of Sakamoto's career.
As the series entered into production, the budget required it be cut down to twenty-six episodes before work began on the final scripts and the animation. Not wanting to cut out any of the characters or the already elaborately planned plot lines, the series was instead forced to fit into the shorter length and cover more of the story in each episode than originally planned. This can be seen some in the first episode, where in the credits were cut in favor of adding more exposition. In the retail Japanese video release, some of the deleted scenes were restored to the first seven episodes.
Twenty-six-episode run on September 24, 1996. Bandai Entertainment North American division, which licensed the series for home video distribution under its AnimeVillage label, first released the series with English subtitles, across eight VHS volumes, including a box set, from September 15, 1998 to December 15, 1998. In August 2000, Fox Kids began broadcasting the series in the United States. Produced by Saban Entertainment under license by Bandai Entertainment, these dubbed episodes were heavily edited to remove footage, add new "flashback" sequences to remind the audience of the events that just occurred, and to heavily downplay the role of Hitomi in the series. The first episode was skipped altogether, and the series soundtrack produced by Yoko Kanno was partially replaced with more techno rearrangements by Inon Zur. This modified version of the series was canceled after ten episodes due to "low ratings". Fox explained that they edited to meet their own target audience, to comply with broadcast standards, and to fit the allowed timeslot. The Canadian television channel YTV acquired Fox's dubbed version of the series for broadcast. Following Fox's planned broadcast schedule, they premiered the series on September 11, 2000 with the second episode. YTV aired all of the episodes Fox Kids dubbed, concluding with the series true first episode in February 2001. Bandai began releasing the dubbed version to VHS in 2000, discontinuing the releases in February 2001 after only four volumes had been released.
Bandai later released the entire series, unedited and in the original episode order, to Region 1 DVD. Spanning eight volumes, the releases include the original Japanese audio tracks with optional English subtitles, and the uncut English dubbed track. Bandai also later released the series in several different box sets, including a Limited Edition set released on July 23, 2002, a "Perfect Collection"—which included the "Escaflowne" feature-length movie—released October 26, 2004, and an "Anime Legends" box set on April 11, 2006. At Otakon 2013, Funimation had announced that they have acquired both licenses to "The Vision of Escaflowne" and the movie. On February 27, 2016, Funimation launched a Kickstarter campaign to re-dub the Escaflowne TV series using the HD materials from Sunrise, with the goal of $150,000.
Three pieces of theme music are used for the series. , performed by Maaya Sakamoto, is used for the series opening theme for the entire series, except the first episode in which no opening sequence is used. Performed by Hiroki Wada, "Mystic Eyes" is used for the ending theme for the first twenty-five episodes, while the final episode uses Yoko Kanno's instrumental piece .
"The Vision of Escaflowne" is the debut work of Maaya Sakamoto, who not only voiced the main character of Hitomi Kanzaki, but also performed the opening theme song "Yakusoku wa Iranai" and other songs from the series. Yoko Kanno and Hajime Mizoguchi composed and produced the series' musical themes and background, incorporating a variety of styles including contemporary, classical, and Gregorian chant.
Four CD soundtracks have been released in Japan by Victor Entertainment. "Escaflowne: Over the Sky" was released on June 5, 1996, with sixteen tracks, including the series' full opening and ending themes. The second CD, "Escaflowne Original Soundtrack 2", was released on July 24, 1996 and contained an additional seventeen tracks.
Released on September 28, 1996, "Escaflowne Original Soundtrack 3" contained an additional fifteen tracks. The fourth CD soundtrack, "The Vision of Escaflowne: Lovers Only", was released in on January 22, 1997 and contained twenty tracks, including the original TV length opening and ending themes and the ending theme used for the final episode of the series. Despite the relative popularity of the soundtracks, they were not licensed for release outside Japan for some time and were only available by importing them. However, all 4 soundtracks can now be currently purchased digitally via iTunes.
Three alternate retellings of "The Vision of Escaflowne" have been released in manga form, with first two manga series developed at the same time as the anime. Due to the radical changes in the anime series during production, these two manga series are very different from the original anime series and each other. The first series, also titled "The Vision of Escaflowne" was one of the first manga series to appear in the then new "Shōnen Ace" magazine from Kadokawa Shoten. Despite the anime series itself being on hold, Sunrise gave artist Katsu Aki the existing production and character designs, resulting in the first manga series having the heavy "shōnen" feel and curvaceous Hitomi that was originally planned for the anime series. Given free rein to change the story however he wanted, Aki's version is a violent saga focused primarily on fighting and has Hitomi transforming into a "curvaceous nymph" that is the power source of the mecha Escaflowne. The series premiered in "Shōnen Ace"'s first issue on October 24, 1994 and ran until November 26, 1997. The thirty-eight chapters were collected and published by Kadokawa across eight "tankōbon" volumes. It was licensed for released in North America by Tokyopop with the first volume released on July 10, 2003. The Tokyopop English editions were also imported for distribution in Australia by Madman Entertainment.
In 1996, with the premiere of the anime series, "Messiah Knight — The Vision of Escaflowne" was created. This "shōjo" oriented adaptation was written by Yuzuru Yashiro and serialized in "Asuka Fantasy DX" from April 8, 1996 through January 18, 1997. Unlike the first manga, it focused more on the interaction of the characters and severely toned down the violence to the point that the mecha are not used for battle at all and Escaflowne only appears near the end of the series. It was abruptly canceled after only 10 chapters and the end of the anime, due to the slowing popularity of the series. The individual chapters were released in two "tankōbon" volumes, at which time the series was retitled "Hitomi — The Vision of Escaflowne."
A final manga retelling, "Escaflowne — Energist's Memories," was a collaborative effort of various manga artist around Japan to create 15 "mini-stories" related to the anime series. The single volume manga was published in January 1997 under Kadokawa's "Asuka comics DX" shōjo imprint. Artist's who contributed to the volume include: Tammy Ohta, Yayoi Takeda, Kahiro Okuya, Daimoon Tennyo, Kazumi Takahashi, Masaki Sano, and Kyo Watanabe.
Yumiko Tsukamoto and Shoji Kawamori collaborated in the writing on a novelization of the "Vision of Escaflowne" anime series. The light novel chapters were originally serialized in "Newtype", and the illustrations were provided by Nobuteru Yuuki and Hirotoshi Sano. The individual chapters were collected and released in six individual volumes by Kadokawa under their "New Type Novels" label between June 1996 and August 1997.
is a ninety-eight-minute anime film released in Japan on June 24, 2000 that retells of the story in "The Vision of Escaflowne". The film was produced by Sunrise, animated by Studio BONES, and directed by Kazuki Akane. Featuring character re-designs by Nobuteru Yūki, the film focuses on the relationship between Van and Hitomi and their personal issues. The characters themselves are also given different personalities; in the film Hitomi changes from a cheerful girl in love to a depressed, suicidal schoolgirl who suffers from self-induced feelings of loneliness and alienation and Van is now a violent, hot-headed man. In the film the world of Gaea has a more Asian design than the heavily European-influenced television series.
Victor Entertainment released one drama CD for the series, "Escaflowne Original Drama Album", which was released on December 18, 1996.
A video game based on the series, also titled "The Vision of Escaflowne" was released to the PlayStation system by Bandai Games in 1997. A limited edition version came packaged with a small collector's book and 26 tarot cards. The action-adventure game had an altered plot line and featured additional characters.
Though well received, "The Vision of Escaflowne" was not as popular in Japan as producers hoped. Outside Japan, however, it was a worldwide hit. In the United States, it outsold "Gundam" on video tape, and the first volume of the English DVD release of "The Vision of Escaflowne" was the fourth best-selling anime DVD for the month of September 2000. The series aired in South Korea where it enjoyed consistently high ratings. Producers noted that it was the worldwide success that led to the eventual creation of the anime film, "Escaflowne".
Egan Loo, writing for "Animerica", considered it an "epic fantasy" with some of the "most dramatic music in any soundtrack, anime, or live-action", and a "breathless pacing" that result in its being an "acclaimed masterpiece." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31030 |
Protein tertiary structure
Protein tertiary structure is the three dimensional shape of a protein. The tertiary structure will have a single polypeptide chain "backbone" with one or more protein secondary structures, the protein domains. Amino acid side chains may interact and bond in a number of ways. The interactions and bonds of side chains within a particular protein determine its tertiary structure. The protein tertiary structure is defined by its atomic coordinates. These coordinates may refer either to a protein domain or to the entire tertiary structure. A number of tertiary structures may fold into a quaternary structure.
The science of the tertiary structure of proteins has progressed from one of hypothesis to one of detailed definition. Although Emil Fischer had suggested proteins were made of polypeptide chains and amino acid side chains, it was Dorothy Maud Wrinch who incorporated geometry into the prediction of protein structures. Wrinch demonstrated this with the "Cyclol" model, the first prediction of the structure of a globular protein. Contemporary methods are able to determine, without prediction, tertiary structures to within 5 Å (0.5 nm) for small proteins (<120 residues) and, under favorable conditions, confident secondary structure predictions.
A protein folded into its native state or native conformation typically has a lower Gibbs free energy (a combination of enthalpy and entropy) than the unfolded conformation. A protein will tend towards low-energy conformations, which will determine the protein's fold in the cellular environment. Because many similar conformations will have similar energies, protein structures are dynamic, fluctuating between a large these similar structures.
Globular proteins have a core of hydrophobic amino acid residues and a surface region of water-exposed, charged, hydrophilic residues. This arrangement may stabilise interactions within the tertiary structure. For example, in secreted proteins, which are not bathed in cytoplasm, disulfide bonds between cysteine residues help to maintain the tertiary structure. There is a commonality of stable tertiary structures seen in proteins of diverse function and diverse evolution. For example, the TIM barrel, named for the enzyme triosephosphateisomerase, is a common tertiary structure as is the highly stable, dimeric, coiled coil structure. Hence, proteins may be classified by the structures they hold. Databases of proteins which use such a classification include "SCOP" and "CATH".
Folding kinetics may trap a protein in a high-energy conformation, i.e. a high-energy intermediate conformation blocks access to the lowest-energy conformation. The high-energy conformation may contribute to the function of the protein. For example, the influenza hemagglutinin protein is a single polypeptide chain which when activated, is proteolytically cleaved to form two polypeptide chains. The two chains are held in a high-energy conformation. When the local pH drops, the protein undergoes an energetically favorable conformational rearrangement that enables it to penetrate the host cell membrane.
Some tertiary protein structures may exist in long-lived states that are not the expected most stable state. For example, many serpins (serine protease inhibitors) show this metastability. They undergo a conformational change when a loop of the protein is cut by a protease.
It is commonly assumed that the native state of a protein is also the most thermodynamically stable and that a protein will reach its native state, given its chemical kinetics, before it is translated. Protein chaperones within the cytoplasm of a cell assist a newly synthesised polypeptide to attain its native state. Some chaperone proteins are highly specific in their function, for example, protein disulfide isomerase; others are general in their function and may assist most globular proteins, for example, the prokaryotic GroEL/GroES system of proteins and the homologous eukaryotic heat shock proteins (the Hsp60/Hsp10 system).
Prediction of protein tertiary structure relies on knowing the protein's primary structure and comparing the possible predicted tertiary structure with known tertiary structures in protein data banks. This only takes into account the cytoplasmic environment present at the time of protein synthesis to the extent that a similar cytoplasmic environment may also have influenced the structure of the proteins recorded in the protein data bank.
The structure of a protein, for example an enzyme, may change upon binding of its natural ligands, for example a cofactor. In this case, the structure of the protein bound to the ligand is known as holo structure, of the unbound protein as apo structure.
The knowledge of the tertiary structure of soluble globular proteins is more advanced than that of membrane proteins because the former are easier to study with available technology.
X-ray crystallography is the most common tool used to determine protein structure. It provides high resolution of the structure but it does not give information about protein's conformational flexibility.
Protein NMR gives comparatively lower resolution of protein structure. It is limited to smaller proteins. However, it can provide information about conformational changes of a protein in solution.
Cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) can give information about both a protein's tertiary and quaternary structure. It is particularly well-suited to large proteins and symmetrical complexes of protein subunits.
Dual polarisation interferometry provides complementary information about surface captured proteins. It assists in determining structure and conformation changes over time.
The Folding@home project at Stanford University is a distributed computing research effort which uses approximately 5 petaFLOPS (≈10 x86 petaFLOPS) of available computing. It aims to find an algorithm which will consistently predict protein tertiary and quaternary structures given the protein's amino acid sequence and its cellular conditions.
A list of software for protein tertiary structure prediction can be found at
List of protein structure prediction software.
Protein aggregation diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease and prion diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy can be better understood by constructing (and reconstructing) disease models. This is done by causing the disease in laboratory animals, for example, by administering a toxin, such as MPTP to cause Parkinson's disease, or through genetic manipulation.
Protein structure prediction is a new way to create disease models, which may avoid the use of animals.
Matching patterns in tertiary structure of a given protein to huge number of known protein tertiary structures and retrieve most similar ones in ranked order is in the heart of many research areas like function prediction of novel proteins, study of evolution, disease diagnosis, drug discovery, antibody design etc. The CoMOGrad project at BUET is a research effort to device an extremely fast and much precise method for protein tertiary structure retrieval and develop online tool based on research outcome.
tertiary structure | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31032 |
Great Molasses Flood
The Great Molasses Flood, also known as the Boston Molasses Disaster or the Great Boston Molasses Flood, occurred on January 15, 1919, in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. A large storage tank filled with weighing approximately of molasses burst, and the resultant wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated , killing 21 and injuring 150. The event entered local folklore and residents claimed for decades afterwards that the area still smelled of molasses on hot summer days.
The disaster occurred at the Purity Distilling Company facility at 529 Commercial Street near Keany Square. Molasses can be fermented to produce ethanol, the active ingredient in alcoholic beverages and a key component in munitions. Purity used the harborside Commercial Street tank to offload molasses from ships and store it for later transfer by pipeline to the Purity ethanol plant situated between Willow Street and Evereteze Way in Cambridge. The molasses tank stood tall and in diameter and contained as much as .
On January 15, 1919, the temperature had risen above , climbing rapidly from the frigid temperatures of the preceding days, and the previous day a ship had delivered a fresh load of molasses, which was warmed to reduce its viscosity for transfer. Possibly due to the thermal expansion of the older cold molasses inside, the tank burst open and collapsed at approximately 12:30 pm. Witnesses reported that they felt the ground shake and heard a roar as it collapsed, a long rumble similar to the passing of an elevated train; others reported a tremendous crashing, a deep growling, "a thunderclap-like "bang!"", and a machine gun-like sound as the rivets shot out of the tank.
Molasses' density is about , 40% more dense than water, so it had a great deal of potential energy. The collapse translated this energy into a wave of molasses high at its peak, moving at . The wave was of sufficient force to drive steel panels of the burst tank against the girders of the adjacent Boston Elevated Railway's Atlantic Avenue structure and tip a streetcar momentarily off the El's tracks. Stephen Puleo describes how nearby buildings were swept off their foundations and crushed. Several blocks were flooded to a depth of . Puleo quotes a "Boston Post" report:
The "Boston Globe" reported that people "were picked up by a rush of air and hurled many feet". Others had debris hurled at them from the rush of sweet-smelling air. A truck was picked up and hurled into Boston Harbor. After the initial wave, the molasses became viscous, exacerbated by the cold temperatures, trapping those caught in the wave and making it even more difficult to rescue them. About 150 people were injured, and 21 people and several horses were killed. Some were crushed and drowned by the molasses or by the debris that it carried within. The wounded included people, horses, and dogs; coughing fits became one of the most common ailments after the initial blast. Edwards Park wrote of one child's experience in a 1983 article for "Smithsonian":
First to the scene were 116 cadets under the direction of Lieutenant Commander H. J. Copeland from USS "Nantucket", a training ship of the Massachusetts Nautical School (now the Massachusetts Maritime Academy) that was docked nearby at the playground pier. They ran several blocks toward the accident and entered into the knee-deep, sticky mess to pull out the survivors, while others worked to keep the curious from getting in the way of the rescuers. The Boston Police, Red Cross, Army, and Navy personnel soon arrived. Some nurses from the Red Cross dived into the molasses, while others tended to the injured, keeping them warm and feeding the exhausted workers. Many of these people worked through the night, and the injured were so numerous that doctors and surgeons set up a makeshift hospital in a nearby building. Rescuers found it difficult to make their way through the syrup to help the victims, and four days elapsed before they stopped searching; many of the dead were so glazed over in molasses that they were hard to recognize. Other victims were swept into Boston Harbor and were found three to four months after the disaster.
Local residents brought a class-action lawsuit against the United States Industrial Alcohol Company (USIA) which had bought Purity Distilling in 1917. It was one of the first class-action suits in Massachusetts and is considered a milestone in paving the way for modern corporate regulation. The company claimed that the tank had been blown up by anarchists because some of the alcohol produced was to be used in making munitions, but a court-appointed auditor found USIA responsible after three years of hearings, and the company ultimately paid out $628,000 in damages ($ in , adjusted for inflation). Relatives of those killed reportedly received around $7,000 per victim (equivalent to $ in ).
Cleanup crews used salt water from a fireboat to wash away the molasses and sand to absorb it, and the harbor was brown with molasses until summer. The cleanup in the immediate area took weeks, with several hundred people contributing to the effort, and it took longer to clean the rest of Greater Boston and its suburbs. Rescue workers, cleanup crews, and sight-seers had tracked molasses through the streets and spread it to subway platforms, to the seats inside trains and streetcars, to pay telephone handsets, into homes, and to countless other places. "Everything that a Bostonian touched was sticky."
Sources:
Several factors might have contributed to the disaster. The tank was constructed poorly and tested insufficiently, and carbon dioxide production might have raised the internal pressure due to fermentation in the tank. Warmer weather the previous day would have assisted in building this pressure, as the air temperature rose from over that period. The failure occurred from a manhole cover near the base of the tank, and a fatigue crack there possibly grew to the point of criticality.
The tank had been filled to capacity only eight times since it was built a few years previously, putting the walls under an intermittent, cyclical load. Several authors say that the Purity Distilling Company was trying to out-race prohibition, as the 18th amendment was ratified the next day (January 16, 1919) and took effect one year later. An inquiry after the disaster revealed that Arthur Jell, USIA's treasurer, neglected basic safety tests while overseeing construction of the tank, such as filling it with water insufficient to check for leaks, and ignored warning signs such as groaning noises each time the tank was filled. He had no architectural or engineering experience. When filled with molasses, the tank leaked so badly that it was painted brown to hide the leakage. Local residents collected leaked molasses for their homes. A 2014 investigation applied modern engineering analysis and found that the steel was half as thick as it should have been for a tank of its size, even with the lax standards of the day, and it also lacked manganese and was made more brittle as a result. The tank's rivets were also apparently flawed, and cracks first formed at the rivet holes.
In 2016, a team of scientists and students at Harvard University conducted extensive studies of the disaster, gathering data from many sources, including 1919 newspaper articles, old maps, and weather reports. The student researchers also studied the behavior of cold corn syrup flooding a scale model of the affected neighborhood. The researchers concluded that the reports of the high speed of the flood were credible.
Two days before the disaster, warmer molasses had been added to the tank, reducing the viscosity of the fluid. When the tank collapsed, the fluid cooled quickly as it spread, until it reached Boston's winter evening temperatures and the viscosity increased dramatically. The Harvard study concluded that the molasses cooled and thickened quickly as it rushed through the streets, hampering efforts to free victims before they suffocated.
United States Industrial Alcohol did not rebuild the tank. The property formerly occupied by the molasses tank and the North End Paving Company became a yard for the Boston Elevated Railway (predecessor to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority). It is now the site of a city-owned recreational complex, officially named Langone Park, featuring a Little League Baseball field, a playground, and bocce courts. Immediately to the east is the larger Puopolo Park, with additional recreational facilities.
A small plaque at the entrance to Puopolo Park, placed by the Bostonian Society, commemorates the disaster. The plaque, titled "Boston Molasses Flood", reads:
The accident has since become a staple of local culture, not only for the damage the flood brought, but also for the sweet smell that filled the North End for decades after the disaster. According to journalist Edwards Park, "The smell of molasses remained for decades a distinctive, unmistakable atmosphere of Boston."
On January 15, 2019, for the 100th anniversary of the event, a ceremony was held in remembrance. Ground-penetrating radar was used to identify the exact location of the tank from 1919. The concrete slab base for the tank remains in place approximately below the surface of the baseball diamond at Langone Park. Attendees of the ceremony stood in a circle marking the edge of the tank. The 21 names of those who died in, or as a result of, the flood were read aloud.
Many laws and regulations governing construction were changed as a direct result of the disaster, including requirements for oversight by a licensed architect and civil engineer.
One of the DUKW amphibious tourist vehicles operated by Boston Duck Tours has been named "Molly Molasses" in remembrance of the event, per the firm's practice of naming their DUKWs after famous Boston locations, events, and other bits of local culture.
The Great Molasses Flood was also the theme of the 2019 MIT Mystery Hunt.
A song called "The Great Molasses Disaster" appears on the album "The Dukes of Alhazred" by the rock band The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets.
A book called "I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919" by the author Lauren Tarshis.
The song, "All Hands", from the album, "Palimpsest" (2020), by Protest The Hero references the flood from the perspective of one of the victims. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31033 |
Ted Hughes
Edward James Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation, and one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1984 and held the office until his death. In 2008 "The Times" ranked Hughes fourth on their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".
Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath from 1956 until her death by suicide in 1963 at the age of 30. Some admirers of Plath and critics blamed him for her death after the revelation of letters written by Plath between 18 February 1960 and 4 February 1963, which mention that Hughes had beaten Plath two days before she had a miscarriage in 1961, and that he also told Plath he wished that she were dead. His last poetic work, "Birthday Letters" (1998), explored their relationship. These poems make reference to Plath's suicide, but none addresses directly the circumstances of her death. A poem discovered in October 2010, "Last Letter", describes his version of what happened during the three days before her death.
Hughes was born at 1 Aspinall Street, in Mytholmroyd in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to William Henry (1894–1981) and Edith (Farrar) Hughes (1898–1969), and raised among the local farms of the Calder Valley and on the Pennine moorland. Hughes's sister Olwyn Marguerite Hughes (1928–2016) was two years older and his brother Gerald (1920–2016) was ten years older. One of his mother's ancestors had founded the religious community at Little Gidding in Cambridgeshire. Most of the more recent generations of his family had worked in the clothing and milling industries in the area. Hughes's father, William, a joiner, was of Irish descent and had enlisted with the Lancashire Fusiliers and fought at Ypres. He narrowly escaped being killed when a bullet lodged in a pay book in his breast pocket. He was one of just 17 men of his regiment to return from the Dardanelles Campaign (1915–16). The stories of Flanders fields filled Hughes's childhood imagination (later described in the poem "Out"). Hughes noted, "my first six years shaped everything."
Hughes loved hunting and fishing, swimming and picnicking with his family. He attended the Burnley Road School until he was seven, when his family moved to Mexborough, then attending Schofield Street junior school. His parents ran a newsagent's and tobacconist's shop. In "Poetry in Making" he recalled that he was fascinated by animals, collecting and drawing toy lead creatures. He acted as retriever when his elder brother gamekeeper shot magpies, owls, rats and curlews, growing up surrounded by the harsh realities of working farms in the valleys and on the moors. During his time in Mexborough, he explored Manor Farm at Old Denaby, which he said he would come to know "better than any place on earth". His earliest poem "The Thought Fox", and earliest story "The Rain Horse" were recollections of the area. A close friend at the time, John Wholly, took Hughes to the Crookhill estate above Conisbrough where the boys spent great swathes of time. Hughes became close to the family and learnt a lot about wildlife from Wholly's father, a gamekeeper. He came to view fishing as an almost religious experience.
Hughes attended Mexborough Grammar School, where a succession of teachers encouraged him to write, and develop his interest in poetry. Teachers Miss McLeod and Pauline Mayne introduced him to the poets Hopkins and Eliot. Hughes was mentored by his sister Olwyn, who was well versed in poetry, and another teacher, John Fisher. Poet Harold Massingham also attended this school and was also mentored by Fisher. In 1946, one of Hughes's early poems, "Wild West", and a short story were published in the grammar school magazine "The Don and Dearne", followed by further poems in 1948. By 16, he had no other thought than being a poet.
During the same year, Hughes won an open exhibition in English at Pembroke College, Cambridge, but chose to do his National Service first. His two years of National Service (1949–51) passed comparatively easily. Hughes was stationed as a ground wireless mechanic in the RAF on an isolated three-man station in east Yorkshire, a time during which he had nothing to do but "read and reread Shakespeare and watch the grass grow". He learnt many of the plays by heart and memorised great quantities of W. B. Yeats's poetry.
In 1951, Hughes initially studied English at Pembroke College under M.J.C. Hodgart, an authority on balladic forms. Hughes felt encouraged and supported by Hodgart's supervision, but attended few lectures and wrote no more poetry at this time, feeling stifled by literary academia and the "terrible, suffocating, maternal octopus" of literary tradition. He wrote, "I might say, that I had as much talent for Leavis-style dismantling of texts as anyone else, I even had a special bent for it, nearly a sadistic streak there, but it seemed to me not only a foolish game, but deeply destructive of myself." In his third year, he transferred to anthropology and archaeology, both of which would later inform his poetry. He did not excel as a scholar. His first published poetry appeared in "Chequer". A poem, "The little boys and the seasons", written during this time, was published in "Granta", under the pseudonym Daniel Hearing.
After university, living in London and Cambridge, Hughes went on to have many varied jobs including working as a rose gardener, a nightwatchman and a reader for the British film company J. Arthur Rank. He worked at London Zoo as a washer-upper, a post that offered plentiful opportunities to observe animals at close quarters. On 25 February 1956, Hughes and his friends held a party to launch "St. Botolph's Review", which had a single issue. In it, Hughes had four poems. At the party, he met the American poet Sylvia Plath, who was studying at Cambridge on a Fulbright Scholarship. She had already published extensively, having won various awards, and had come especially to meet Hughes and his fellow poet Lucas Myers. There was a great mutual attraction but they did not meet again for another month, when Plath was passing through London on her way to Paris. She visited him again on her return three weeks later.
Hughes and Plath dated and then were married at St George the Martyr Holborn, on 16 June 1956, four months after they had first met. The date, Bloomsday, was purposely chosen in honour of James Joyce. Plath's mother was the only wedding guest and she accompanied them on their honeymoon to Benidorm on the Spanish coast. Hughes's biographers note that Plath did not relate her history of depression and suicide attempts to him until much later. Reflecting later in "Birthday Letters", Hughes commented that early on he could see chasms of difference between himself and Plath, but that in the first years of their marriage they both felt happy and supported, avidly pursuing their writing careers.
On returning to Cambridge, they lived at 55 Eltisley Avenue. That year they each had poems published in "The Nation", "Poetry" and "The Atlantic". Plath typed up Hughes's manuscript for his collection "Hawk In The Rain" which went on to win a poetry competition run by the Poetry centre of the Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association of New York. The first prize was publication by Harper, garnering Hughes widespread critical acclaim with the book's release in September 1957, and resulting in him winning a Somerset Maugham Award. The work favoured hard-hitting trochees and spondees reminiscent of middle English – a style he used throughout his career – over the more genteel latinate sounds.
The couple moved to America so that Plath could take a teaching position at her alma mater, Smith College; during this time, Hughes taught at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In 1958, they met Leonard Baskin, who would later illustrate many of Hughes's books, including "Crow". The couple returned to England, staying for a short while back in Heptonstall and then finding a small flat in Primrose Hill, London. They were both writing, Hughes working on programmes for the BBC as well as producing essays, articles, reviews and talks. During this time, he wrote the poems that would be published in "Wodwo" (1967) and "Recklings" (1966). In March 1960, "Lupercal" came out and won the Hawthornden Prize. He found he was being labelled as the poet of the wild, writing only about animals. He began to seriously explore myth and esoteric practices within as shamanism, Buddhism and alchemy, perceiving that imagination could heal dualistic splits in the human psyche and poetry was the language of the work.
Hughes and Plath had two children, Frieda Rebecca (b. 1960) and Nicholas Farrar (1962–2009) and, in 1961, bought the house Court Green, in North Tawton, Devon. In the summer of 1962, Hughes began an affair with Assia Wevill who had been subletting the Primrose Hill flat with her husband. Under a cloud of his affair, Hughes and Plath separated in the autumn of 1962 and she set up life in a new flat with the children.
In 2017, previously unpublished letters were described in which Plath accuses Hughes of physically abusing her months before she miscarried their second child in 1961.
Beset by depression and with a history of suicide attempts, Plath took her own life on 11 February 1963, although it is unclear whether she meant to ultimately succeed. Hughes dramatically wrote in a letter to an old friend of Plath's from Smith College, "That's the end of my life. The rest is posthumous." Some people argued that Hughes had driven Plath to suicide. Plath's gravestone was repeatedly vandalized by those aggrieved that "Hughes" is written on the stone and attempted to chisel it off, leaving only the name "Sylvia Plath." Plath's poem "The Jailer," in which the speaker condemns her husband's brutality, was included in the 1970 anthology "." Radical feminist poet Robin Morgan published the poem "Arraignment", in which she openly accused Hughes of the battery and murder of Plath. There were lawsuits, Morgan's 1972 book "Monster" which contained that poem was banned, and underground, pirated editions of it were published. Other radical feminists threatened to kill Hughes in Plath's name. In 1989, with Hughes under public attack, a battle raged in the letters pages of "The Guardian" and "The Independent". In "The Guardian" on 20 April 1989, Hughes wrote the article "The Place Where Sylvia Plath Should Rest in Peace":
In the years soon after [Plath's] death, when scholars approached me, I tried to take their apparently serious concern for the truth about Sylvia Plath seriously. But I learned my lesson early... If I tried too hard to tell them exactly how something happened, in the hope of correcting some fantasy, I was quite likely to be accused of trying to suppress Free Speech. In general, my refusal to have anything to do with the Plath Fantasia has been regarded as an attempt to suppress Free Speech... The Fantasia about Sylvia Plath is more needed than the facts. Where that leaves respect for the truth of her life (and of mine), or for her memory, or for the literary tradition, I do not know.
As Plath's widower, Hughes became the executor of Plath's personal and literary estates. He oversaw the publication of her manuscripts, including "Ariel" (1966). Some critics were dissatisfied by his choice of poem order and omissions in the book and some feminist critics of Hughes argued that he had essentially driven her to suicide and therefore should not be responsible for her literary legacy. He claimed to have destroyed the final volume of Plath's journal, detailing their last few months together. In his foreword to "The Journals of Sylvia Plath", he defends his actions as a consideration for the couple's young children.
Following Plath's suicide, he wrote two poems "The Howling of Wolves" and "Song of a Rat" and then did not write poetry again for three years. He broadcast extensively, wrote critical essays and became involved in running Poetry International with Patrick Garland and Charles Osborne in the hopes of connecting English poetry with the rest of the world. In 1966, he wrote poems to accompany Leonard Baskin's illustrations of crows, which became the epic narrative "The Life and Songs of the Crow", one of the works for which Hughes is best known.
On 23 March 1969, six years after Plath's suicide by asphyxiation from a gas stove, Assia Wevill died by suicide in the same way. Wevill also killed her child, Alexandra Tatiana Elise (nicknamed Shura), the four-year-old daughter of Hughes, born on 3 March 1965. Their deaths led to claims that Hughes had been abusive to both Plath and Wevill. Hughes did not finish the "Crow" sequence until the work "Cave Birds" was published in 1975.
In August 1970, Hughes married Carol Orchard, a nurse, and they remained together until his death. He bought the house Lumb Bank near Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, and maintained the property at Court Green. He began cultivating a small farm near Winkleigh, Devon called "Moortown", a name which became embedded in the title of one of his poetry collections. He later became President of the charity Farms for City Children, established by his friend Michael Morpurgo in Iddesleigh. In October 1970, "Crow" was published.
In 1970, he and his sister, Olwyn (26 August 1928 – 3 January 2016), set up the Rainbow Press, which published sixteen titles between 1971 and 1981, comprising poems by Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes, Ruth Fainlight, Thom Gunn and Seamus Heaney, printed by Daedalus Press, Rampant Lions Press and the John Roberts Press.
Hughes was appointed Poet Laureate in December 1984, following Sir John Betjeman. A collection of animal poems for children had been published by Faber earlier that year, "What is the Truth?", illustrated by R. J. Lloyd. For that work he won the annual Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a once-in-a-lifetime book award. Hughes wrote many works for children and collaborated closely with Peter Brook and the National Theatre Company. He dedicated himself to the Arvon Foundation which promotes writing education and runs residential writing courses at Hughes's home at Lumb Bank, West Yorkshire. In 1993, he made a rare television appearance for Channel 4, which included him reading passages from his 1968 novel "The Iron Man". He also featured in the 1994 documentary "Seven Crows A Secret".
In early 1994, Hughes became increasingly alarmed by the decline of fish in rivers local to his Devonshire home. This concern inspired him to become one of the original trustees of the Westcountry Rivers Trust, a charity set up to restore rivers through catchment-scale management and a close relationship with local landowners and riparian owners.
Hughes was appointed a member of the Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth II just before he died. He continued to live at the house in Devon, until suffering a fatal heart attack on 28 October 1998 while undergoing hospital treatment for colon cancer in Southwark, London. His funeral was held on 3 November 1998, at North Tawton church, and he was cremated in Exeter. Speaking at the funeral, fellow poet Seamus Heaney, said: "No death outside my immediate family has left me feeling more bereft. No death in my lifetime has hurt poets more. He was a tower of tenderness and strength, a great arch under which the least of poetry's children could enter and feel secure. His creative powers were, as Shakespeare said, still crescent. By his death, the veil of poetry is rent and the walls of learning broken."
Nicholas Hughes, the son of Hughes and Plath, committed suicide in his home in Alaska on 16 March 2009 after suffering from depression.
Carol Hughes announced in January 2013 that she would write a memoir of their marriage. "The Times" headlined its story "Hughes's widow breaks silence to defend his name" and observed that "for more than 40 years she has kept her silence, never once joining in the furious debate that has raged around the late Poet Laureate since the suicide of his first wife, the poet Sylvia Plath."
A memoir by Hughes's brother Gerald was published late in 2014, "Ted and I: A Brother's Memoir", which "Kirkus Reviews" calls "a warm recollection of a lauded poet".
In 2017, it was revealed that letters written by Plath between 18 February 1960 and 4 February 1963 outline how Hughes beat Plath two days before she had a miscarriage in 1961, and that Hughes told Plath he wished that she was dead. The letters were sent to Dr. Ruth Barnhouse (then Dr. Ruth Beuscher).
Hughes's first collection, "The Hawk in the Rain" (1957), attracted considerable critical acclaim. In 1959 he won the Galbraith prize, which brought $5,000. His most significant work is perhaps "Crow" (1970), which whilst it has been widely praised also divided critics, combining an apocalyptic, bitter, cynical and surreal view of the universe with what sometimes appeared simple, childlike verse. Crow was edited several times across Hughes' career. Within its opus he created a cosmology of the totemic Crow who was simultaneously God, Nature and Hughes' alter ego. The publication of Crow shaped Hughes' poetic career as distinct from other forms of English Nature Poetry.
In a 1971 interview with "The London Magazine", Hughes cited his main influences as including Blake, Donne, Hopkins and Eliot. He mentioned also Schopenhauer, Robert Graves's book "The White Goddess" and "The Tibetan Book of the Dead".
Hughes worked for 10 years on a prose poem, "Gaudete", which he hoped to have made into a film. It tells the story of the vicar of an English village who is carried off by elemental spirits, and replaced in the village by his enantiodromic double, a changeling, fashioned from a log, who nevertheless has the same memories as the original vicar. The double is a force of nature who organises the women of the village into a "love coven" in order that he may father a new messiah. When the male members of the community discover what is going on, they murder him. The epilogue consists of a series of lyrics spoken by the restored priest in praise of a nature goddess, inspired by Robert Graves's "White Goddess". It was printed in 1977. Hughes was very interested in the relationship between his poetry and the book arts, and many of his books were produced by notable presses and in collaborative editions with artists, for instance with Leonard Baskin.
In addition to his own poetry, Hughes wrote a number of translations of European plays, mainly classical ones. His "Tales from Ovid" (1997) contains a selection of free verse translations from Ovid's "Metamorphoses". He also wrote both poetry and prose for children, one of his most successful books being "The Iron Man", written to comfort his children after their mother Sylvia Plath's suicide. It later became the basis of Pete Townshend's rock opera of the same name, and of the animated film "The Iron Giant".
Hughes was appointed Poet Laureate in 1984 following the death of John Betjeman. It was later known that Hughes was second choice for the appointment. Philip Larkin, the preferred nominee, had declined, because of ill health and a loss of creative momentum, dying a year later. Hughes served in this position until his death in 1998. In 1992 Hughes published "Shakespeare and the Goddess of Complete Being", a monumental work inspired by Graves's "The White Goddess". The book, considered Hughes's key work of prose, had a mixed reception "divided between those who considered it an important and original appreciation of Shakespeare’s complete works, whilst others dismissed it as a lengthy and idiosyncratic appreciation of Shakespeare refracted by Hughes’s personal belief system". Hughes himself later suggested that the time spent writing prose was directly responsible for a decline in his health. Also in 1992, Hughes published "Rain Charm for the Duchy", collecting together for the first time his Laureate works, including poems celebrating important royal occasions. The book also contained a section of notes throwing light on the context and genesis of each poem.
In 1998, his "Tales from Ovid" won the Whitbread Book Of The Year Award. In "Birthday Letters", his last collection, Hughes broke his silence on Plath, detailing aspects of their life together and his own behaviour at the time. The book, the cover artwork for which was by their daughter Frieda, won the 1999 Whitbread Prize for poetry.
Hughes's definitive 1,333-page "Collected Poems" (Faber & Faber) appeared (posthumously) in 2003. A poem discovered in October 2010, "Last letter", describes what happened during the three days leading up to Plath's suicide. It was published in "New Statesman" on National Poetry Day, October 2010.
Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy told Channel 4 News that the poem was "the darkest poem he has ever written" and said that for her it was "almost unbearable to read."
In 2011, several previously unpublished letters from Hughes to Craig Raine were published in the literary review Areté. They relate mainly to the process of editing "Shakespeare and the Goddess of Complete Being", and also contain a sequence of drafts of letters in which Raine attempts to explain to Hughes his disinclination to publish Hughes's poem "The Cast" in an anthology he was editing, on the grounds that it might open Hughes to further attack on the subject of Sylvia Plath. "Dear Ted, Thanks for the poem. It is very interesting and would cause a minor sensation" (4 April 1997). The poem was eventually published in "Birthday Letters" and Hughes makes a passing reference to this then unpublished collection: "I have a whole pile of pieces that are all – one way or another – little bombs for the studious and earnest to throw at me" (5 April 1997).
Hughes's earlier poetic work is rooted in nature and, in particular, the innocent savagery of animals, an interest from an early age. He wrote frequently of the mixture of beauty and violence in the natural world. Animals serve as a metaphor for his view on life: animals live out a struggle for the survival of the fittest in the same way that humans strive for ascendancy and success. Examples can be seen in the poems "Hawk Roosting" and "Jaguar".
The West Riding dialect of Hughes's childhood remained a staple of his poetry, his lexicon lending a texture that is concrete, terse, emphatic, economical yet powerful. The manner of speech renders the hard facts of things and wards off self-indulgence.
Hughes's later work is deeply reliant upon myth and the British bardic tradition, heavily inflected with a modernist, Jungian and ecological viewpoint. He re-worked classical and archetypal myth working with a conception of the dark sub-conscious.
In 1965, he founded with Daniel Weissbort the journal "Modern Poetry in Translation", which involved bringing to the attention of the West the work of Czesław Miłosz, who would later go on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Weissbort and Hughes were instrumental in bringing to the English-speaking world the work of many poets who were hardly known, from such countries as Poland and Hungary, then controlled by the Soviet Union. Hughes wrote an introduction to a translation of "Vasko Popa: Collected Poems," in the "Persea Series of Poetry in Translation," edited by Weissbort. which was reviewed with favour by premiere literary critic John Bayley of Oxford University in "The New York Review of Books".
A memorial walk was inaugurated in 2005, leading from the Devon village of Belstone to Hughes's memorial stone above the River Taw, on Dartmoor, and in 2006 a Ted Hughes poetry trail was built at Stover Country Park, also in Devon.
On 28 April 2011, a memorial plaque for Hughes was unveiled at North Tawton by his widow Carol Hughes. At Lumb Bridge near Pecket Well, Calderdale is a plaque, installed by The Elmet Trust, commemorating Hughes's poem "Six Young Men", which was inspired by an old photograph of six young men taken at that spot. The photograph, taken just before the First World War, was of six young men who were all soon to lose their lives in the war. A Ted Hughes Festival is held each year in Mytholmroyd, led by the Elmet Trust, an educational body founded to support the work and legacy of Hughes.
In 2010, it was announced that Hughes would be commemorated with a memorial in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. On 6 December 2011, a slab of Kirkstone green slate was ceremonially placed at the foot of the memorial commemorating T. S. Eliot. Poet Seamus Heaney and actress Juliet Stevenson gave readings at the ceremony, which was also attended by Hughes's widow Carol and daughter Frieda, and by the poets Simon Armitage, Blake Morrison, Andrew Motion and Michael Morpurgo. Motion paid tribute to Hughes as "one of the two great poets of the last half of the last century" (the other being Philip Larkin). Hughes's memorial stone bears lines from "That Morning", a poem recollecting the epiphany of a huge shoal of salmon flashing by as he and his son Nicholas waded a stream in Alaska: "So we found the end of our journey / So we stood alive in the river of light / Among the creatures of light, creatures of light."
In October 2015, the BBC Two major documentary "Ted Hughes: Stronger Than Death" examined Hughes's life and work. The programme included contributions from poets Simon Armitage and Ruth Fainlight, broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, biographers Elaine Feinstein and Jonathan Bate, activist Robin Morgan, critic Al Alvarez, publicist Jill Barber, friend Ehor Boyanowsky, patron Elizabeth Sigmund, friend Daniel Huws, Hughes's US editor Frances McCullough and younger cousin Vicky Watling. His daughter Frieda spoke for the first time about her father and mother.
Hughes archival material is held by institutions such as Emory University, Atlanta and Exeter University. In 2008, the British Library acquired a large collection comprising over 220 files containing manuscripts, letters, journals, personal diaries and correspondence. The library archive is accessible through the British Library website.
There is also a Collection Guide available grouping together all of the Hughes material at the British Library with links to material held by other institutions. Inspired by Hughes's "Crow" the German painter Johannes Heisig created a large painting series in black and white which was presented to the public for the first time on the occasion of Berlin Museum Long Night in August 2011 at the SEZ Berlin.
In 2009, the Ted Hughes Award for new work in poetry was established with the permission of Carol Hughes. The Poetry Society notes "the award is named in honour of Ted Hughes, Poet Laureate, and one of the greatest twentieth century poets for both children and adults”. Members of the Poetry Society and Poetry Book Society recommend a living UK poet who has completed the newest and most innovative work that year, "highlighting outstanding contributions made by poets to our cultural life." The £5,000 prize was previously funded from the annual honorarium that former Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy received as Laureate from The Queen.
The Ted Hughes Society, founded in 2010, publishes a peer-reviewed on-line journal, which can be downloaded by members. Its website also publishes news, and has articles on all Hughes's major works for free access. The Society staged Hughes conferences in 2010 and 2012 at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and will continue to stage conferences elsewhere.
On 16 November 2013, Hughes's former hometown of Mexborough held a special performance trail, as part of its "Right Up Our Street" project, celebrating the writer's connection with the town. The free event included a two-hour ramble through Mexborough following the route of young Hughes's paper round. Participants visited some of the important locations which influenced the poet, with the trail beginning at Hughes's former home, which is now a furniture shop.
The Elmet Trust, founded in 2006, celebrates the life and work of Ted Hughes. The Trust looks after Hughes's birthplace in Mytholmroyd, which is available as a holiday let and writer's retreat. The Trust also runs Hughes-related events, including an annual Ted Hughes Festival.
Many of Ted Hughes's poems have been published as limited-edition broadsides. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31034 |
Thomas Wolsey
Thomas Wolsey (c. March 1473 – 29 November 1530) was an English archbishop, statesman and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the King's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered, and by 1514 he had become the controlling figure in virtually all matters of state. He also held important ecclesiastical appointments. These included the Archbishopric of York – the second most important role in the English church – and acting as papal legate. His appointment as a cardinal by Pope Leo X in 1515 gave him precedence over all other English clergy.
The highest political position Wolsey attained was Lord Chancellor, the King's chief adviser (formally, as his successor and disciple Thomas Cromwell was not). In that position, he enjoyed great freedom and was often depicted as an "alter rex" (other king). After failing to negotiate an annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Wolsey fell out of favour and was stripped of his government titles. He retreated to York to fulfil his ecclesiastical duties as archbishop, a position he nominally held but had neglected during his years in government. He was recalled to London to answer to charges of treason—a common charge used by Henry against ministers who simply fell out of favour and did not necessarily commit actual treason—but died on the way from natural causes.
Thomas Wolsey was born about 1473, the son of Robert Wolsey of Ipswich and his wife Joan Daundy. Widespread traditions identify his father as a butcher; his modest origin became a topic of criticism later, when he rose to amass wealth and power thought (by the critics) more befitting a member of the high nobility. Wolsey attended Ipswich School and Magdalen College School before studying theology at Magdalen College, Oxford. On 10 March 1498 he was ordained as a priest in Marlborough, Wiltshire, and remained in Oxford, first as the Master of Magdalen College School, before quickly being appointed the dean of divinity. Between 1500 and 1509 he held a living as rector of St Mary's church, Limington, in Somerset. In 1502, he became a chaplain to Henry Deane, archbishop of Canterbury, who died the following year. He was then taken into the household of Sir Richard Nanfan, who made Wolsey executor of his estate. After Nanfan's death in 1507, Wolsey entered the service of King Henry VII.
Wolsey benefitted from Henry VII's introduction of measures to curb the power of the nobility – the king was willing to favour those from more humble backgrounds. Henry VII appointed Wolsey royal chaplain. In this position Wolsey served as secretary to Richard Foxe, who recognised Wolsey's innate ability and dedication and appreciated his industry and willingness to take on tedious tasks. Thomas Wolsey's remarkable rise to power from humble origins testifies to his intelligence, administrative ability, industriousness, ambition for power, and rapport with the King. In April 1508, Wolsey was sent to Scotland to discuss with King James IV rumours of the renewal of the Auld Alliance.
Wolsey's rise coincided with the accession in April 1509 of Henry VIII, whose character, policies and attitude to diplomacy differed significantly from those of his father. In 1509 Henry appointed Wolsey to the post of Almoner, a position that gave him a seat on the Privy Council and gave him an opportunity for greater prominence and for establishing a personal rapport with the King. A factor in Wolsey's rise was the young Henry VIII's relative lack of interest in the details of government during his early years.
The primary counsellors whom King Henry VIII inherited from his father were Richard Foxe ( 1448–1528, Bishop of Winchester 1501–1528) and William Warham ( 1450–1532, Archbishop of Canterbury 1503–1532). These were cautious and conservative, advising the King to act as a careful administrator like his father. Henry soon appointed to his Privy Council individuals more sympathetic to his own views and inclinations. Until 1511, Wolsey was adamantly anti-war. However, when the King expressed his enthusiasm for an invasion of France, Wolsey adapted his views to those of the King and gave persuasive speeches to the Privy Council in favour of war. Warham and Foxe, who failed to share the King's enthusiasm for the French war which started in 1512, fell from power (1515/1516), and Wolsey took over as the King's most trusted advisor and administrator. When Warham resigned as Lord Chancellor in 1515, probably under pressure from the King and from Wolsey, Henry appointed Wolsey in his place.
Wolsey made careful moves to destroy or neutralise the influence of other courtiers. He helped cause the fall of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, in 1521; and in 1527 he prosecuted Henry's close friend William Compton and Henry's ex-mistress Anne Stafford, Countess of Huntingdon, through the ecclesiastical courts for adultery. In the case of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, Wolsey adopted a different strategy, attempting to win Suffolk's favour by his actions after the Duke secretly married Henry's sister Mary Tudor, Dowager Queen of France, much to the King's displeasure. Wolsey advised the King not to execute the newlyweds, but to embrace them; whether this was through care for the couple or on account of the threat they represented for his own safety remains unclear. The bride, both as sister to Henry and as Dowager Queen of France, had high royal status that could have potentially meant a threat to Wolsey should she have so chosen.
Wolsey's rise to a position of great secular power paralleled his increasing status in the Church. He became a Canon of Windsor in 1511. In 1514 he was made Bishop of Lincoln, and then Archbishop of York in the same year. Pope Leo X made him a cardinal in 1515, with the titular church of St Cecilia in Trastevere. Following the success of the English campaign in France and the peace negotiations that followed, Wolsey's ecclesiastical career advanced further: in 1523 he became additionally Bishop of Durham, a post with wide political powers, and thus became known as Prince-Bishop of Durham.
War against France in 1512–1514 gave Wolsey a significant opportunity to demonstrate his talents in the foreign-policy arena. A convenient justification for going to war came in 1511 in the form of a plea for help from Pope Julius II, who was beginning to feel threatened by France. England formed an alliance with the Pope, King Ferdinand V of Spain, and Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor against King Louis XII of France.
The first English campaign against France proved unsuccessful, partly due to the unreliability of the alliance with Ferdinand. Henry learned from the mistakes of the campaign and in 1513, still with papal support, launched a joint attack on France with Maximilian, successfully capturing two French cities and causing the French to retreat. Wolsey's ability to keep a large number of troops supplied and equipped for the duration of the war proved a major factor in the English success. Wolsey also had a key role in negotiating the Anglo-French treaty of 7 August 1514, which secured a temporary peace between the two nations. Under this treaty, the French king, Louis XII, would marry Henry's young sister, Mary. In addition England was able to keep the captured city of Tournai and to secure an increase in the annual pension paid by France.
Meanwhile, a turnover of rulers in Europe threatened to diminish England's influence. Peace with France in 1514 had been a true achievement for Wolsey and the King. With Henry's sister, Mary, married to the French King, Louis XII, on 9 October 1514, an alliance was formed, but Louis was not in good health. Less than three months later, Louis died (1 January 1515) and was succeeded by the young and ambitious King Francis I.
Queen Mary had allegedly secured a promise from Henry that if Louis died, she could marry whomever she pleased. Following Louis' death, she secretly married (3 March 15151) Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, with Francis I's assistance, which prevented another marriage alliance. As Mary was the only princess Henry could use to secure marriage alliances, this was a bitter blow. Wolsey then proposed an alliance with Spain and the Holy Roman Empire against France.
The death in 1516 of King Ferdinand of Spain, the father-in-law of Henry VIII, and England's closest ally, was a further blow. Ferdinand was succeeded by Charles V, who immediately proposed peace with France. On the death of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1519, Charles was elected in his stead; thus Charles ruled a substantial portion of Europe and English influence became limited on the continent.
Wolsey, however, managed to assert English influence through another means. In 1517, Pope Leo X sought peace in Europe to form a crusade against the Ottoman Empire. In 1518 Wolsey was made Papal Legate in England, enabling him to work for the Pope's desire for peace by organising the Treaty of London. The Treaty showed Wolsey as the arbiter of Europe, organising a massive peace summit involving twenty nations. This put England at the forefront of European diplomacy and drew her out of isolation, making her a desirable ally. This is well illustrated by the Anglo-French treaty signed two days afterwards. It was partly this peace treaty that caused conflict between France and Spain. In 1519, when Charles V ascended to the throne of the Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I, the King of France, was infuriated. He had invested enormous sums in bribing the electorate to elect him as emperor, and thus, he used the Treaty of London as a justification for the Habsburg-Valois conflict. Wolsey appeared to act as mediator between the two powers, both of whom were vying for England's support.
Another of his diplomatic triumphs was the Field of the Cloth of Gold, in 1520. Wolsey organised much of this grandiose meeting between Francis I of France and Henry VIII, accompanied by some five thousand followers and involving court activities more than military discussion. Though it seemed to open the door to peaceful negotiations with France, if that was the direction the King wished to go, it was also a chance for a lavish display of English wealth and power before the rest of Europe, through flamboyant celebrations and events such as jousting, where the two Kings personally competed against each other. With both France and Spain vying for England's allegiance, Wolsey could choose the ally that better suited his policies. Wolsey chose Charles mainly because England's economy would suffer from the loss of the lucrative cloth trade industry between England and the Netherlands had France been chosen instead.
Under Wolsey's guidance, the chief nations of Europe sought to outlaw war forever among Christian nations. Garrett Mattingly studied the causes of wars in that era, finding that treaties of nonaggression such as this one could never be stronger than the armies of their sponsors. When those forces were about equal, these treaties typically widened the conflict. That is, diplomacy could sometimes postpone war, but could not prevent wars based on irreconcilable interests and ambitions. What was lacking, Mattingly concludes, was a neutral power whose judgements were generally accepted either by impartial justice or by overwhelming force.
The Treaty of London is often regarded as Wolsey's finest moment, but it was abandoned within a year. Wolsey developed links with Charles in 1520 at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Later at the Calais Conference (1521) Wolsey signed the Secret Treaty of Bruges (1521) with Charles V, stating that they would join Spain in a war against France if France refused to sign the peace treaty; ignoring the Anglo-French treaty of 1518. Wolsey's relationship with Rome was also ambivalent. Despite his links to the papacy, Wolsey was strictly Henry's servant. Though the Treaty of London was an elaboration on Pope Leo's ambitions for European peace, it was seen in Rome as a vain attempt by England to assert her influence over Europe and steal some papal thunder. Furthermore, Wolsey's peace initiatives prevented a crusade to the Holy Land, which was the catalyst for the Pope's desire for European peace.
Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio, who represented the Pope at the Treaty of London, was kept waiting for many months in Calais before being allowed to cross the Channel and join the festivities in London; thereby, Wolsey was asserting his independence of Rome. An alternative hypothesis is that Campeggio was kept waiting until Wolsey received his legacy, thus asserting Wolsey's attachment to Rome.
Though the English gain from the wars of 1522–23 was minimal, their contribution certainly aided Charles V in his defeat of the French, particularly in 1525 at the Battle of Pavia, where Charles V's army captured the French king, Francis I. Henry then felt there was a realistic opportunity for him to seize the French crown, to which the kings of England had long laid claim. Parliament, however, refused to raise taxes. This led Wolsey to devise the Amicable Grant, which was met with even more hostility, and ultimately led to his downfall. In 1525, after Charles V had abandoned England as an ally, Wolsey began to negotiate with France, and the Treaty of the More was signed, during Francis I's captivity, with the Regent of France – his mother, Louise of Savoy.
The closeness between England and Rome can be seen in the formulation of the League of Cognac in 1526. Though England was not a part of it, the League was organised in part by Wolsey with papal support. Wolsey's plan was that the League of Cognac, composed of an alliance between France and some Italian states, would challenge Charles' League of Cambrai. This initiative was both a gesture of allegiance to Rome and an answer to growing concerns about Charles V's dominance over Europe.
The final blow to this policy came in 1529, when the French made peace with Charles V. Meanwhile, the French also continued to honour the "Auld Alliance" with Scotland, stirring up hostility on England's border. With peace between France and the Emperor, there was no-one to free the Pope from Charles V, who had effectively held Clement VII captive since the Sack of Rome in 1527. Therefore, there was little hope of securing Henry VIII an annulment from his marriage to Charles V’z aunt, Catherine of Aragon. Since 1527, Wolsey's foreign policy had been dominated by his attempts to secure an annulment for his master, and by 1529, none of his endeavours had succeeded.
Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon had produced no sons who survived infancy; the Wars of the Roses were still within living memory, leading to the fear of a power struggle after Henry's death. Henry felt the people would accept only a male sovereign, and not his daughter Mary. Henry believed God had cursed him for the sin of marrying the widow of his elder brother. He also believed that the papal dispensation for his marriage to Catherine was invalid because it was based upon the claim that Catherine was still a virgin after her first husband's death. Henry argued that Catherine's claim was not credible, and thus, the original papal dispensation must be withdrawn and their marriage annulled. Henry's motivation has been attributed to his determination to have a son and heir, and to his desire for Anne Boleyn, one of his wife's maids-of-honour. Catherine had no further pregnancies after 1519; Henry began annulment proceedings in 1527.
Catherine, however, maintained that she had been a virgin when she married King Henry. Because Catherine was opposed to the annulment and a return to her previous status as Dowager Princess of Wales, the annulment request became a matter of international diplomacy, with Catherine's nephew, Charles V, pressuring the Pope to not annul his aunt's marriage. Pope Clement VII was presented with a problem: he could either anger Charles or else anger Henry. He delayed announcing a decision for as long as possible; this infuriated Henry and Anne Boleyn, who began to doubt Wolsey's loyalty to the Crown over the Church.
Wolsey appealed to the Pope for an annulment on three fronts. Firstly, he tried to convince the Pope that the original papal dispensation was void as the marriage clearly went against instructions in the Bible, found in the book of Leviticus. Secondly, Wolsey objected to the original dispensation on technical grounds, and claimed it was incorrectly worded. (However, shortly afterwards, a correctly worded version was found in Spain.) Thirdly, Wolsey wanted the Pope to allow the final decision to be made in England, which of course, as papal legate, he would supervise.
In 1528 the Pope decided to allow two papal legates to decide the outcome in England: Wolsey and Cardinal Campeggio. Wolsey was confident of the decision. However, Campeggio took a long time to arrive, and when he finally did arrive he delayed proceedings so much, the case had to be suspended in July 1529, effectively sealing Wolsey's fate.
During his fourteen years of chancellorship, Cardinal Wolsey had more power than any other Crown servant in English history. However, this led to him being hated by much of the nobility who thought they should have the power. The King protected him from being attacked. Professor Sara Nair James says that in 1515–1529 Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, "would be the most powerful man in England except, possibly, for the king". As long as he was in the King's favour, Wolsey had a large amount of freedom within the domestic sphere, and had his hand in nearly every aspect of its ruling. For much of the time, Henry VIII had complete confidence in him, and as Henry's interests inclined more towards foreign policy, he was willing to give Wolsey a free hand in reforming the management of domestic affairs, for which Wolsey had grand plans. Historian John Guy explains Wolsey's methods:
Operating with the firm support of the king, and with special powers over the church given by the Pope as legate, Wolsey dominated civic affairs, administration, the law, the church, and foreign-policy. He was amazingly energetic and far-reaching. In terms of achievements, he built a great fortune for himself, and was a major benefactor of arts, humanities and education. He projected numerous reforms, with some success in areas such as finance, taxation educational provision and justice. However, from the king's perspective, his greatest failure was an inability to get a divorce when Henry VIII needed a new wife to give him a son who would be the undisputed heir to the throne. Historians agree that Wolsey was a man dogged by other men's failures and his own ambition. In the end, abandoned by the king, his enemies conspired against him and he died of natural causes before he could be beheaded.
Wolsey made significant changes to the taxation system, devising, with the treasurer of the Chamber, John Heron, the "Subsidy". This revolutionary form of tax was based upon accurate valuations of the taxpayer's wealth, where one shilling was taken per pound from the income. The old fixed tax of 15ths and 10ths had meant that those who earned very little money had to pay almost as much in tax as the wealthy. With the new income tax the poorer members of society paid much less. This more efficient form of taxation enabled Wolsey to raise enough money for the King's foreign expeditions, bringing in over £300,000. Wolsey was also able to raise considerable amounts of capital through other means, such as through "benevolences" and enforced loans from the nobility, which raised £200,000 in 1522.
As a legal administrator Wolsey reinvented the equity court, where the verdict was decided by the judge on the principle of "fairness". As an alternative to the Common Law courts, Wolsey re-established the position of the prerogative courts of the Star Chamber and the Court of Chancery. The system in both courts concentrated on simple, inexpensive cases, and promised impartial justice. He also established the Court of Requests (although this court was only given this name later on) for the poor, where no fees were required. Wolsey's legal reforms were popular, and overflow courts were required to attend to all the cases. Many powerful individuals who had felt themselves invincible under the law found themselves convicted; for example, in 1515, the Earl of Northumberland was sent to Fleet Prison and in 1516 Lord Abergavenny was accused of illegal retaining.
Wolsey also used his courts to tackle national controversies, such as the pressing issue of enclosures. The countryside had been thrown into discord by the entrepreneurial actions of landlords enclosing areas of land and converting from arable farming to pastoral farming, requiring fewer workers. The Tudors valued stability, and this mass urban migration represented a serious crisis. Wolsey conducted national enquires in 1517, 1518 and 1527 into the presence of enclosures. In the course of his administration he used the court of Chancery to prosecute two hundred and sixty-four landowners, including peers, bishops, knights, religious heads, and Oxford colleges. Enclosures were seen as directly linked to rural unemployment and depopulation, vagrancy, food shortages and, accordingly, inflation. This pattern was repeated with many of Wolsey's other initiatives, particularly his quest to abolish enclosure. Despite spending significant time and effort in investigating the state of the countryside and prosecuting numerous offenders, Wolsey freely surrendered his policy during the parliament of 1523 to ensure that Parliament passed his proposed taxes for Henry's war in France. Enclosures remained a problem for many years.
Wolsey used the Star Chamber to enforce his 1518 policy of "Just Price", which attempted to regulate the price of meat in London and other major cities. Those found to be charging excessive amounts were prosecuted by the Chamber. After the bad harvest of 1527, Wolsey took the initiative of buying up surplus grain and selling it off cheaply to the needy. This act of generosity greatly eased disorder and became common practice after a disappointing harvest.
In 1524 and 1527 Wolsey used his powers as papal legate to dissolve thirty decayed monasteries where monastic life had virtually ceased in practice, including monasteries in Ipswich and Oxford. However, he then used the income to found a grammar school in Ipswich (The King's School, Ipswich) and Cardinal College in Oxford (in 1532, after Wolsey's fall, the college was refounded as King Henry VIII's College by Henry VIII; it is now known as Christ Church). In 1528 he began to limit the benefit of clergy. He also attempted, as legate, to force reform on monastic orders like the Augustinian canons.
Wolsey died five years before Henry's dissolution of the monasteries began.
Wolsey's position in power relied solely on maintaining good relations with Henry. He grew increasingly suspicious of the "minions" – young, influential members of the Privy chamber – particularly after infiltrating one of his own men into the group. He attempted many times to disperse them from court, giving them jobs that took them to the Continent and far from the King. After the Amicable Grant failed, the minions began to undermine him once again. Consequently, Wolsey devised a grand plan of administrative reforms, incorporating the notorious Eltham Ordinances of 1526. This reduced the members of the Privy Council from twelve to six, removing Henry's friends such as Sir William Compton and Nicholas Carew.
One of Wolsey's greatest impediments was his lack of popularity amongst the nobles at court and in Parliament. Their dislikes and mistrusts partly stemmed from Wolsey's excessive demands for money in the form of the Subsidy or through Benevolences. They also resented the Act of Resumption of 1486, by which Henry VII had resumed possession of all lands granted by the crown since 1455. These lands had passed onto his heir, Henry VIII. Many nobles resented the rise to power of a low-born man, whilst others simply disliked that he monopolised the court and concealed information from the Privy Council.
When mass riots broke out in East Anglia, which should have been under the control of the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, Henry was quick to denounce the Amicable Grant, and began to lose faith in his chief minister. During the relatively peaceful period in England after the War of the Roses, the population of the nation increased. With more demand for food and no additional supply, prices increased. Landowners were forced to enclose land and convert to pastoral farming, which brought in more profit. Wolsey's quest against enclosure was fruitless in terms of restoring the stability of the economy.
The same can be said for Wolsey's legal reforms. By making justice accessible to all and encouraging more people to bring their cases to court, the system was ultimately abused. The courts became overloaded with incoherent, tenuous cases, which would have been far too expensive to have rambled on in the Common Law courts. Wolsey eventually ordered all minor cases out of the Star Chamber in 1528. The result of this venture was further resentment from the nobility and the gentry.
From 1515, when he became cardinal, until his death, Wolsey used art and architecture to underpin his positions. In fact, he initiated a building campaign on a scale that was not only unprecedented for an English churchman and Lord Chancellor, but also one that few English kings had exceeded. In so doing, he brought Italian Renaissance ideas, classical embellishments, and architectural models into the English architectural mindset. Scholars generally cite Somerset House in London (1547–52) as the first classical building in England – built for Edward Seymour, the first Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector to King Edward VI. Wolsey, however, embraced Italian-inspired classicism nearly a half century before Seymour, but in a manner more theoretical than visual. Wolsey's subsequent disgrace over his failure to garner papal approval of an annulment of Henry VIII's marriage to Katherine of Aragon has clouded the fact that he was not only the first high-profile patron in England to seek out and promote Italian classicism in art, architecture, and magnificence, but also that his contributions endured.
Among Wolsey's projects were lavish, classically-inspired additions to York Palace in London, the residence of the Archbishop of York. He supervised the grandiose temporary buildings at the Field of Cloth of Gold; and he renovated Hampton Court, which he later relinquished to the king. Wolsey's use of architecture as a symbol of power, along with his introduction of Italian classical ornamentation, set a trend continued by Henry VIII and others. Wolsey oversaw tombs for Henry's VIII's parents at Westminster Abbey and negotiated contracts for Henry VIII's tomb as well as one for himself. If these works had been completed as planned, they would be among the largest, most elaborate, and grandest tombs in Europe.
As well as his State duties, Wolsey simultaneously attempted to exert his influence over the Church in England. As cardinal and, from 1524, lifetime papal legate, Wolsey was continually vying for control over others in the Church. His principal rival was William Warham, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who made it more difficult for Wolsey to follow through with his plans for reform. Despite making promises to reform the bishoprics of England and Ireland, and, in 1519, encouraging monasteries to embark on a programme of reform, he did nothing to bring about these changes.
In spite of having many enemies, Cardinal Wolsey retained Henry VIII's confidence until Henry decided to seek an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. Wolsey's failure to secure the annulment directly caused his downfall and arrest.
It was rumoured that Anne Boleyn and her faction convinced Henry that Wolsey was deliberately slowing proceedings; as a result, he was arrested in 1529, and the Pope decided that the official decision should be made in Rome, not England.
In 1529 Wolsey was stripped of his government office and property, including his magnificently expanded residence of Hampton Court, which Henry took to replace the Palace of Westminster as his own main London residence. However, Wolsey was permitted to remain Archbishop of York. He travelled to Yorkshire for the first time in his career, but at Cawood in North Yorkshire, he was accused of treason and ordered to London by Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland. In great distress, he set out for the capital with his personal chaplain, Edmund Bonner. He fell ill on the journey, and died at Leicester on 29 November 1530, around the age of 57. Just before his death he reputedly spoke these words: I see the matter against me how it is framed. But if I had served God as diligently as I have done the King, he would not have given me over in my grey hairs.
In keeping with his practice of erecting magnificent buildings at Hampton Court, Westminster and Oxford, Wolsey had planned a magnificent tomb at Windsor by Benedetto da Rovezzano and Giovanni da Maiano, but he was buried in Leicester Abbey (now Abbey Park) without a monument. Henry VIII contemplated using the impressive black sarcophagus for himself, but Lord Nelson now lies in it, in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral. Henry often receives credit for artistic patronage that properly belongs to Wolsey.
Wolsey lived in a "non-canonical" marriage for around a decade with a woman called Joan Larke (born circa 1490) of Yarmouth, Norfolk. The edict that priests, regardless of their functions or the character of their work, should remain celibate had not been wholeheartedly accepted in England. Wolsey subsequently had two children, both born before he was made bishop. These were a son, Thomas Wynter (born circa 1510) and a daughter, Dorothy (born circa 1512), both of whom lived to adulthood. The son was sent to live with a family in Willesden and was tutored in his early years by Maurice Birchinshaw. He later married and had children of his own. Dorothy was adopted by John Clansey, and was in due course placed in the convent at Shaftesbury Abbey. Following the dissolution of the monasteries (under Thomas Cromwell) she was awarded a pension. Following his rapid promotion, Larke became a source of embarrassment to Wolsey who arranged for her marriage to George Legh of Adlington, in Cheshire, circa 1519. He himself provided the dowry. Henry VIII had a mansion built for Legh at Cheshunt Great House. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31035 |
Triode
A triode is an electronic amplifying vacuum tube (or "valve" in British English) consisting of three electrodes inside an evacuated glass envelope: a heated filament or cathode, a grid, and a plate (anode). Developed from Lee De Forest's 1906 Audion, a partial vacuum tube that added a grid electrode to the thermionic diode (Fleming valve), the triode was the first practical electronic amplifier and the ancestor of other types of vacuum tubes such as the tetrode and pentode. Its invention founded the electronics age, making possible amplified radio technology and long-distance telephony. Triodes were widely used in consumer electronics devices such as radios and televisions until the 1970s, when transistors replaced them. Today, their main remaining use is in high-power RF amplifiers in radio transmitters and industrial RF heating devices. In recent years there has been a resurgence in demand for low power triodes due to renewed interest in tube-type audio systems by audiophiles who prefer the sound of tube-based electronics.
The name "triode" was coined by British physicist William Eccles sometime around 1920, derived from the Greek τρίοδος, "tríodos", from "tri-" (three) and "hodós" (road, way), originally meaning the place where three roads meet.
Before thermionic valves were invented, Philipp Lenard used the principle of grid control while conducting photoelectric experiments in 1902.
The first vacuum tube used in radio was the thermionic diode or Fleming valve, invented by John Ambrose Fleming in 1904 as a detector for radio receivers. It was an evacuated glass bulb containing two electrodes, a heated filament and a plate (anode).
Triodes came about in 1906 when American engineer Lee De Forest and Austrian physicist Robert von Lieben independently patented tubes that added a third electrode, a grid, between the filament and plate to control current. Von Lieben's partially-evacuated three-element tube, patented in March 1906, contained a trace of mercury vapor and was intended to amplify weak telephone signals. Starting in October 1906 De Forest patented a number of three-element tube designs by adding an electrode to the diode, which he called Audions, intended to be used as radio detectors. The one which became the design of the triode, in which the grid was located between the filament and plate, was patented January 29, 1907. Like the von Lieben vacuum tube, De Forest's Audions were incompletely evacuated and contained some gas at low pressure. von Lieben's vacuum tube did not see much development due to his death seven years after its invention, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War.
De Forest's Audion did not see much use until its ability to amplify was recognized around 1912 by several researchers, who used it to build the first successful amplifying radio receivers and electronic oscillators. The many uses for amplification motivated its rapid development. By 1913 improved versions with higher vacuum were developed by Harold Arnold at American Telephone and Telegraph Company, which had purchased the rights to the Audion from De Forest, and Irving Langmuir at General Electric, who named his tube the "Pliotron", These were the first vacuum tube triodes. The name "triode" appeared later, when it became necessary to distinguish it from other kinds of vacuum tubes with more or fewer elements (e.g. diodes, tetrodes, pentodes, etc.). There were lengthy lawsuits between De Forest and von Lieben, and De Forest and the Marconi Company, who represented John Ambrose Fleming, the inventor of the diode.
The discovery of the triode's amplifying ability in 1912 revolutionized electrical technology, creating the new field of "electronics", the technology of active (amplifying) electrical devices. The triode was immediately applied to many areas of communication. Triode "continuous wave" radio transmitters replaced the cumbersome inefficient "damped wave" spark gap transmitters, allowing the transmission of sound by amplitude modulation (AM). Amplifying triode radio receivers, which had the power to drive loudspeakers, replaced weak crystal radios, which had to be listened to with earphones, allowing families to listen together. This resulted in the evolution of radio from a commercial message service to the first mass communication medium, with the beginning of radio broadcasting around 1920. Triodes made transcontinental telephone service possible. Vacuum tube triode repeaters, invented at Bell Telephone after its purchase of the Audion rights, allowed telephone calls to travel beyond the unamplified limit of about 800 miles. The opening by Bell of the first transcontinental telephone line was celebrated 3 years later, on January 25, 1915. Other inventions made possible by the triode were television, public address systems, electric phonographs, and talking motion pictures.
The triode served as the technological base from which later vacuum tubes developed, such as the tetrode (Walter Schottky, 1916) and pentode (Gilles Holst and Bernardus Dominicus Hubertus Tellegen, 1926), which remedied some of the shortcomings of the triode detailed below.
The triode was very widely used in consumer electronics such as radios, televisions, and audio systems until it was replaced in the 1960s by the transistor, invented in 1947, which brought the "vacuum tube era" introduced by the triode to a close. Today triodes are mostly used in high-power applications for which solid state semiconductor devices are unsuitable, such as radio transmitters and industrial heating equipment. However, more recently the triode and other vacuum tube devices have been experiencing a resurgence and comeback in high fidelity audio and musical equipment. They also remain in use as vacuum fluorescent displays (VFDs), which come in a variety of implementations but all are essentially triode devices.
All triodes have a hot cathode electrode heated by a filament, which releases electrons, and a flat metal plate electrode to which the electrons are attracted, with a grid consisting of a screen of wires between them to control the current. These are sealed inside a glass container from which the air has been removed to a high vacuum, about 10−9 atm. Since the filament eventually burns out, the tube has a limited lifetime and is made as a replaceable unit; the electrodes are attached to terminal pins which plug into a socket. The operating lifetime of a triode is about 2000 hours for small tubes and 10,000 hours for power tubes.
Low power triodes have a concentric construction "(see drawing right)", with the grid and anode as circular or oval cylinders surrounding the cathode. The cathode is a narrow metal tube down the center. Inside the cathode is a filament called the "heater" consisting of a narrow strip of high resistance tungsten wire, which heats the cathode red-hot (800 - 1000 °C). This type is called an "indirectly heated cathode". The cathode is coated with a mixture of alkaline earth oxides such as calcium and thorium oxide which reduces its work function so it produces more electrons. The grid is constructed of a helix or screen of thin wires surrounding the cathode. The anode is a cylinder or rectangular box of sheet metal surrounding the grid. It is blackened to radiate heat and is often equipped with heat-radiating fins. The electrons travel in a radial direction, from cathode through the grid to the anode. The elements are held in position by mica or ceramic insulators and are supported by stiff wires attached to the base, where the electrodes are brought out to connecting pins. A "getter", a small amount of shiny barium metal evaporated onto the inside of the glass, helps maintain the vacuum by absorbing gas released in the tube over time.
High-power triodes generally use a filament which serves as the cathode (a directly heated cathode) because the emission coating on indirectly heated cathodes is destroyed by the higher ion bombardment in power tubes. A thoriated tungsten filament is most often used, in which thorium in the tungsten forms a monolayer on the surface which increases electron emission. These generally run at higher temperatures than indirectly heated cathodes. The envelope of the tube is often made of more durable ceramic rather than glass, and all the materials have higher melting points to withstand higher heat levels produced. Tubes with anode power dissipation over several hundred watts are usually actively cooled; the anode, made of heavy copper, projects through the wall of the tube and is attached to a large external finned metal heat sink which is cooled by forced air or water.
A type of low power triode for use at ultrahigh frequencies (UHF), the "lighthouse" tube, has a planar construction to reduce interelectrode capacitance and lead inductance, which gives it the appearance of a "lighthouse". The disk-shaped cathode, grid and plate form planes up the center of the tube - a little like a sandwich with spaces between the layers. The cathode at the bottom is attached to the tube's pins, but the grid and plate are brought out to low inductance terminals on the upper level of the tube: the grid to a metal ring halfway up, and the plate to a metal button at the top. These are one example of "disk seal" design. Smaller examples dispense with the octal pin base shown in the illustration and rely on contact rings for all connections, including heater and D.C. cathode.
As well, high-frequency performance is limited by transit time: the time required for electrons to travel from cathode to anode. Transit time effects are complicated, but one simple effect is input conductance, also known as grid loading. At extreme high frequencies, electrons arriving at the grid may become out of phase with those departing towards the anode. This imbalance of charge causes the grid to exhibit a reactance that is much less than its low-frequency "open circuit" characteristic.
Transit time effects are reduced by reduced spacings in the tube. Tubes such as the 416B (a Lighthouse design) and the 7768 (an all-ceramic miniaturised design) are specified for operation to 4 GHz. They feature greatly reduced grid-cathode spacings in the order of 0.1 mm.
These greatly reduced grid spacings also give a much higher amplification factor than conventional axial designs. The 7768 has an amplification factor of 225, compared with 100 for the 6AV6 used in domestic radios and about the maximum possible for an axial design.
Anode-grid capacitance is not especially low in these designs. The 6AV6 anode-grid capacitance is 2 picofarads (pF), the 7768 has a value of 1.7 pF. The close electrode spacing used in microwave tubes "increases" capacitances, but this increase is offset by their overall reduced dimensions compared to lower-frequency tubes.
In the triode, electrons are released into the tube from the metal cathode by heating it, a process called thermionic emission. The cathode is heated red hot by a separate current flowing through a thin metal filament. In a few triodes, the filament itself is the cathode, while in most the filament heats a separate cathode electrode. Virtually all the air is removed from the tube, so the electrons can move freely. The negative electrons are attracted to the positively charged anode, and flow through the spaces between the grid wires to it, creating a current through the tube from cathode to anode.
The magnitude of this current can be controlled by a voltage applied between the cathode and the grid. The grid acts like a gate for the electrons. A more negative voltage on the grid will repel some of the electrons, so fewer get through to the anode, reducing the anode current. A positive voltage on the grid will attract more electrons from the cathode, so more reach the anode, increasing the anode current. Therefore, a low power varying (AC) signal applied to the grid can control a much more powerful anode current, resulting in amplification. Variation in the grid voltage will cause identical proportional variations in the anode current. By placing a suitable load resistance in the anode circuit, the varying current will cause a varying voltage across the resistance which can be much larger than the input voltage variations, resulting in voltage gain.
The triode is a normally "on" device; and current flows to the anode with zero voltage on the grid. The anode current is progressively reduced as the grid is made more negative relative to the cathode. Usually a constant DC voltage ("bias") is applied to the grid to set the DC current through the tube, and the varying signal voltage is superimposed on it. A sufficiently negative voltage on the grid (usually around 3-5 volts in small tubes such as the 6AV6, but as much as –130 volts in early audio power devices such as the '45), will prevent any electrons from getting through to the anode, turning off the anode current. This is called the "cutoff voltage". Since below cutoff the anode current ceases to respond to the grid voltage, the voltage on the grid must remain above the cutoff voltage for faithful (linear) amplification.
The triode is similar in operation to the n-channel JFET; it is normally on, and exhibits progressively lower and lower plate current as the grid/gate is pulled increasingly negative relative to the source/cathode. Cutoff voltage is equivalent to the JFET's pinch-off voltage (Vp) or VGS(off); i.e., the voltage point at which current stops flowing entirely. This similarity is limited, however. The triode's anode current is highly dependent on anode voltage as well as grid voltage, causing it to appear as a voltage source in circuit. The JFET's drain current is virtually unaffected by drain voltage, thus it appears as a constant-current device, similar in action to a tetrode or pentode tube. Both the JFET and tetrode/pentode valves offer much higher voltage gains than the triode.
Although S.G. Brown's Type G Telephone Relay (using a magnetic "earphone" mechanism driving a carbon microphone element) was able to give power amplification and had been in use as early as 1914, it was a purely mechanical device with limited frequency range and fidelity. It was suited only to a limited range of audio frequencies - essentially voice frequencies.
The triode was the first non-mechanical device to provide power gain at audio and radio frequencies, and made radio practical. Triodes are used for amplifiers and oscillators. Many types are used only at low to moderate frequency and power levels. Large water-cooled triodes may be used as the final amplifier in radio transmitters, with ratings of thousands of watts. Specialized types of triode ("lighthouse" tubes, with low capacitance between elements) provide useful gain at microwave frequencies.
Vacuum tubes are obsolete in mass-marketed consumer electronics, having been overtaken by less expensive transistor-based solid-state devices. However, more recently, vacuum tubes have been making somewhat of a comeback. Triodes continue to be used in certain high-power RF amplifiers and transmitters. While proponents of vacuum tubes claim their superiority in areas such as high-end and professional audio applications, the solid-state MOSFET has similar performance characteristics.
In triode datasheets, characteristics linking the anode current (Ia) to anode voltage (Va) and grid voltage (Vg) are usually given. From here, a circuit designer can choose the operating point of the particular triode.
In the example characteristic shown on the image, if an anode voltage Va of 200V and a grid voltage bias of −1 volt are selected, a plate (anode) current of 2.25mA will be present (using the yellow curve on the graph). Changing the grid voltage will change the plate current; by suitable choice of a plate load resistor, amplification is obtained.
In the class-A triode amplifier, an anode resistor would be connected between the anode and the positive voltage source. For example, with Ra = 10000 ohms, the voltage drop on it would be
VRa = Ia × Ra = 22.5V if an anode current of Ia = 2.25mA is chosen.
If the input voltage amplitude (at the grid) changes from −1.5V to −0.5V (difference of 1V), the anode current will change from 1.2 to 3.3mA (see image). This will change the resistor voltage drop from 12 to 33V (a difference of 21V).
Since the grid voltage changes from −1.5V to −0.5V, and the anode resistor voltage drops from 12 to 33 V, an amplification of the signal resulted. The amplification factor is 21: output voltage amplitude divided by input voltage amplitude. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31036 |
Flower Pot Men
Flower Pot Men was a British children's programme, produced by BBC television, first transmitted in 1952, and repeated regularly for more than twenty years. A reboot of the show called Bill and Ben was produced in 2001.
Originally, the programme was part of a BBC children's television series titled "Watch with Mother", with a different programme each weekday, most of them involving string puppets. The "Flower Pot Men" was the story of Bill and Ben, two little men made of flower pots who lived at the bottom of an English suburban garden. The characters were devised by Hilda Brabban. She wrote three original stories of the three characters (Bill, Ben and Little Weed) which she sold to the BBC for one guinea each, She also wrote many more for the BBC but were never sadly aired on tv, The stories were originally broadcast on the radio programme "Listen with Mother" in 1951.
The rights to the stories were later sold to Ben Productions which turned the radio programme into the hugely popular television show. The puppeteers were Audrey Atterbury and Molly Gibson. The voices and other noises were produced by Peter Hawkins, Gladys Whitred and Julia Williams. The narration for all episodes was done by Maria Bird.
The plot changed little in each episode. The programme always took place in a garden, behind a potting shed. The third character was Little Weed, of indeterminate species, somewhat resembling a sunflower or dandelion with a smiling face, growing between two large flowerpots. The three were also sometimes visited by a tortoise called Slowcoach, and in one particular episode, the trio meet a slightly mysterious character made out of potatoes called Dan the potato man. While the "man who worked in the garden" was away having his dinner the two Flower Pot Men, Bill and Ben, emerged from the two flowerpots. After a minor adventure a minor mishap occurs; someone is guilty. "Which of these two flower pot men, was it Bill or was it Ben?" the narrator trills, in a quavering soprano; the villain confesses; the gardener's footsteps are heard coming up the garden path; the Flower Pot Men vanish into their pots and the "Goodbye" screen shows. The final punch-line was, "and I think the little house knew something about it! Don't you?"
The Flower Pot Men spoke their own, highly inflected version of English, called Oddle Poddle, which was invented by Peter Hawkins (who also voiced the Daleks and Captain Pugwash). "Ickle-kickle" was an icicle, and Ben would say, "Flobabdob!" At the end of each adventure, they would say bye-bye to each other and to the Little Weed – "Babap, Ickle Weed!" – to which the Weed would inevitably reply with tremulous cadence, "Weeeeeeeeeeed!" This language, like that of the Teletubbies' in 1997, was criticised for hindering children from learning proper English.
Hilda Brabban, Based the characters on the antics of her two little brothers, Bill and Ben Wright, at their Castleford, West Yorkshire, home, She was supposed to appear on ITV's talk show Barrymore to talk about the show but was hit with a gagging order from solicitors acting on behalf for former BBC Children’s head and official creator Freda Lingstrom, who held the copyrights they said they would sue her if she did, Miss Lingstrom claimed she invented the TV programme, Hilda was recovering from a stroke at the time, Retired schoolteacher Hilda died in 2002 aged 88.
There is a piece about it in the "Yorkshire Evening Post", dated Saturday, 13 May 2017, Covering the article about the gagging order.
On 4 January 2001, a reboot named "Bill and Ben" began on CBBC on BBC Two, this time involving stop-motion animation, 35mm film style and full colour, and made by Cosgrove Hall Films with a team of ten animators. This reboot features the voices of John Thomson (who also serves as the narrator), Jimmy Hibbert, and Eve Karpf. The series aired in Ireland on RTEjr and formerly aired on CBeebies in 2002–2008.
Many additions were implemented:
The show was the basis for a comic strip of the same name in the children's magazine "Robin". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31038 |
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller.
In its simplest form a turboprop consists of an intake, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air is drawn into the intake and compressed by the compressor. Fuel is then added to the compressed air in the combustor, where the fuel-air mixture then combusts. The hot combustion gases expand through the turbine. Some of the power generated by the turbine is used to drive the compressor. Thrust is obtained by the combusting gases, pushing toward a (vectored) surface in front of the expanding gas.
The rest is transmitted through the reduction gearing to the propeller. Further expansion of the gases occurs in the propelling nozzle, where the gases exhaust to atmospheric pressure. The propelling nozzle provides a relatively small proportion of the thrust generated by a turboprop.
In contrast to a turbojet, the engine's exhaust gases do not generally contain enough energy to create significant thrust, since almost all of the engine's power is used to drive the propeller.
Exhaust thrust in a turboprop is sacrificed in favour of shaft power, which is obtained by extracting additional power (up to that necessary to drive the compressor) from turbine expansion. Owing to the additional expansion in the turbine system, the residual energy in the exhaust jet is low. Consequently, the exhaust jet typically produces around or less than 10% of the total thrust. A higher proportion of the thrust comes from the propeller at low speeds and less at higher speeds.
Turboprops can have bypass ratios up to 50-100 although the propulsion airflow is less clearly defined for propellers than for fans.
The propeller is coupled to the turbine through a reduction gear that converts the high RPM/low torque output to low RPM/high torque. The propeller itself is normally a constant-speed (variable pitch) propeller type similar to that used with larger aircraft reciprocating engines.
Unlike the small diameter fans used in turbofan jet engines, the propeller has a large diameter that lets it accelerate a large volume of air. This permits a lower airstream velocity for a given amount of thrust. As it is more efficient at low speeds to accelerate a large amount of air by a small degree than a small amount of air by a large degree, a low disc loading (thrust per disc area) increases the aircraft's energy efficiency, and this reduces the fuel use.
Propellers lose efficiency as aircraft speed increases, so turboprops are normally not used on high-speed aircraft above 0.6–0.7 Mach. However, propfan engines, which are very similar to turboprop engines, can cruise at flight speeds approaching 0.75 Mach. To increase propeller efficiency across a wider range of airspeeds, turboprops are typically equipped with constant-speed (variable-pitch) propellers. The blades of a constant-speed propeller increase pitch as aircraft speed increases, allowing for a wider range of airspeeds than a fixed-pitch propeller. Another benefit of this type of propeller is that it can also be used to generate negative thrust while decelerating on the runway. Additionally, in the event of an engine failure, the propeller can be feathered, thus minimizing the drag of the non-functioning propeller.
While most modern turbojet and turbofan engines use axial-flow compressors, turboprop engines usually contain at least one stage of centrifugal compressor which have the advantage of being simple and lightweight, at the expense of a streamlined shape.
While the power turbine may be integral with the gas generator section, many turboprops today feature a free power turbine on a separate coaxial shaft. This enables the propeller to rotate freely, independent of compressor speed. Residual thrust on a turboshaft is avoided by further expansion in the turbine system and/or truncating and turning the exhaust 180 degrees, to produce two opposing jets. Apart from the above, there is very little difference between a turboprop and a turboshaft.
Alan Arnold Griffith had published a paper on turbine design in 1926. Subsequent work at the Royal Aircraft Establishment investigated axial turbine designs that could be used to supply power to a shaft and thence a propeller. From 1929, Frank Whittle began work on centrifugal turbine designs that would deliver pure jet thrust.
The world's first turboprop was designed by the Hungarian mechanical engineer György Jendrassik. Jendrassik published a turboprop idea in 1928, and on 12 March 1929 he patented his invention. In 1938, he built a small-scale (100 Hp; 74.6 kW) experimental gas turbine. The larger Jendrassik Cs-1, with a predicted output of 1,000 bhp, was produced and tested at the Ganz Works in Budapest between 1937 and 1941. It was of axial-flow design with 15 compressor and 7 turbine stages, annular combustion chamber and many other modern features. First run in 1940, combustion problems limited its output to 400 bhp. In 1941, the engine was abandoned due to war, and the factory was turned over to conventional engine production. The world's first turboprop engine that went into mass production was designed by a German engineer, Max Adolf Mueller, in 1942.
The first mention of turboprop engines in the general public press was in the February 1944 issue of the British aviation publication "Flight", which included a detailed cutaway drawing of what a possible future turboprop engine could look like. The drawing was very close to what the future Rolls-Royce Trent would look like. The first British turboprop engine was the Rolls-Royce RB.50 Trent, a converted Derwent II fitted with reduction gear and a Rotol five-bladed propeller. Two Trents were fitted to Gloster Meteor "EE227" — the sole "Trent-Meteor" — which thus became the world's first turboprop-powered aircraft, albeit a test-bed not intended for production. It first flew on 20 September 1945. From their experience with the Trent, Rolls-Royce developed the Rolls-Royce Clyde, the first turboprop engine to be fully type certificated for military and civil use, and the Dart, which became one of the most reliable turboprop engines ever built. Dart production continued for more than fifty years. The Dart-powered Vickers Viscount was the first turboprop aircraft of any kind to go into production and sold in large numbers. It was also the first four-engined turboprop. Its first flight was on 16 July 1948. The world's first single engined turboprop aircraft was the Armstrong Siddeley Mamba-powered Boulton Paul Balliol, which first flew on 24 March 1948.
The Soviet Union built on German World War II development by Junkers Motorenwerke, while BMW, Heinkel-Hirth and Daimler-Benz also developed and partially tested designs. While the Soviet Union had the technology to create the airframe for a jet-powered strategic bomber comparable to Boeing's B-52 Stratofortress, they instead produced the Tupolev Tu-95 Bear, powered with four Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprops, mated to eight contra-rotating propellers (two per nacelle) with supersonic tip speeds to achieve maximum cruise speeds in excess of 575 mph, faster than many of the first jet aircraft and comparable to jet cruising speeds for most missions. The Bear would serve as their most successful long-range combat and surveillance aircraft and symbol of Soviet power projection throughout the end of the 20th century. The USA would incorporate contra-rotating turboprop engines, such as the ill-fated twin-turbine Allison T40 — essentially a twinned up pair of Allison T38 turboprop engines driving contra-rotating propellers – into a series of experimental aircraft during the 1950s, with aircraft powered with the T40, like the Convair R3Y Tradewind flying boat never entering U.S. Navy service.
The first American turboprop engine was the General Electric XT31, first used in the experimental Consolidated Vultee XP-81. The XP-81 first flew in December 1945, the first aircraft to use a combination of turboprop and turbojet power. The technology of the Allison's earlier T38 design evolved into the Allison T56, with quartets of the T56s being used to power the Lockheed Electra airliner, its military maritime patrol derivative the P-3 Orion, and the widely produced C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft. One of the most produced turboprop engines used in civil aviation is the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 engine.
The first turbine-powered, shaft-driven helicopter was the Kaman K-225, a development of Charles Kaman's K-125 synchropter, which used a Boeing T50 turboshaft engine to power it on 11 December 1951.
Compared to turbofans, turboprops are most efficient at flight speeds below 725 km/h (450 mph; 390 knots) because the jet velocity of the propeller (and exhaust) is relatively low. Modern turboprop airliners operate at nearly the same speed as small regional jet airliners but burn two-thirds of the fuel per passenger. However, compared to a turbojet (which can fly at high altitude for enhanced speed and fuel efficiency) a propeller aircraft has a lower ceiling.
Compared to piston engines, their greater power-to-weight ratio (which allows for shorter takeoffs) and reliability can offset their higher initial cost, maintenance and fuel consumption. As jet fuel can be easier to obtain than avgas in remote areas, turboprop-powered aircraft like the Cessna Caravan and Quest Kodiak are used as bush airplanes.
Turboprop engines are generally used on small subsonic aircraft, but the Tupolev Tu-114 can reach 470 kn (870 km/h, 541 mph). Large military aircraft, like the Tupolev Tu-95, and civil aircraft, such as the Lockheed L-188 Electra, were also turboprop powered. The Airbus A400M is powered by four Europrop TP400 engines, which are the second most powerful turboprop engines ever produced, after the Kuznetsov NK-12.
In 2017, the most widespread turboprop airliners in service were the ATR 42/72 (950 aircraft), Bombardier Q400 (506), De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100/200/300 (374), Beechcraft 1900 (328), de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter (270), Saab 340 (225). Less widespread and older airliners include the BAe Jetstream 31, Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner, Dornier 328, Saab 2000, Xian MA60, MA600 and MA700, Fokker 27 and 50.
Turboprop business aircraft include the Piper Meridian, Socata TBM, Pilatus PC-12, Piaggio P.180 Avanti, Beechcraft King Air and Super King Air. In April 2017, there were 14,311 business turboprops in the worldwide fleet.
Between 2012 and 2016, the ATSB observed 417 events with turboprop aircraft, 83 per year, over 1.4 million flight hours: 2.2 per 10,000 hours.
Three were "high risk" involving engine malfunction and unplanned landing in single‑engine Cessna 208 Caravans, four "medium risk" and 96% "low risk".
Two occurrences resulted in minor injuries due to engine malfunction and terrain collision in agricultural aircraft and five accidents involved aerial work: four in agriculture and one in an air ambulance. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31039 |
Trust law
A trust is a three-party fiduciary relationship in which the first party, the trustor or settlor, transfers ("settles") a property (often but not necessarily a sum of money) upon the second party (the trustee) for the benefit of the third party, the beneficiary.
A "testamentary trust" is created by a will and arises after the death of the settlor. An "inter vivos" trust is created during the settlor's lifetime by a trust instrument. A trust may be revocable or irrevocable; in the United States, a trust is presumed to be irrevocable unless the instrument or will creating it states it is revocable, except in California, Oklahoma and Texas, in which trusts are presumed to be revocable until the instrument or will creating them states they are irrevocable. An irrevocable trust can be "broken" (revoked) only by a judicial proceeding.
The trustee is the legal owner of the property in trust, as fiduciary for the beneficiary or beneficiaries who is/are the equitable owner(s) of the trust property. Trustees thus have a fiduciary duty to manage the trust to the benefit of the equitable owners. They must provide a regular accounting of trust income and expenditures. Trustees may be compensated and be reimbursed their expenses. A court of competent jurisdiction can remove a trustee who breaches his/her fiduciary duty. Some breaches of fiduciary duty can be charged and tried as criminal offences in a court of law.
A trustee can be a natural person, a business entity or a public body. A trust in the United States may be subject to federal and state taxation.
A trust is created by a settlor, who transfers title to some or all of his or her property to a trustee, who then holds title to that property in trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries. The trust is governed by the terms under which it was created. In most jurisdictions, this requires a contractual trust agreement or deed. It is possible for a single individual to assume the role of more than one of these parties, and for multiple individuals to share a single role. For example, in a living trust it is common for the grantor to be both a trustee and a lifetime beneficiary while naming other contingent beneficiaries.
Trusts have existed since Roman times and have become one of the most important innovations in property law. Trust law has evolved through court rulings differently in different states, so statements in this article are generalizations; understanding the jurisdiction-specific case law involved is tricky. Some U.S. states are adapting the Uniform Trust Code to codify and harmonize their trust laws, but state-specific variations still remain.
An owner placing property into trust turns over part of his or her bundle of rights to the trustee, separating the property's legal ownership and control from its equitable ownership and benefits. This may be done for tax reasons or to control the property and its benefits if the settlor is absent, incapacitated, or deceased. Testamentary trusts may be created in wills, defining how money and property will be handled for children or other beneficiaries.
While the trustee is given legal title to the trust property, in accepting title the trustee owes a number of fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries. The primary duties owed include the duty of loyalty, the duty of prudence, and the duty of impartiality. Trustees may be held to a very high standard of care in their dealings in order to enforce their behavior. To ensure beneficiaries receive their due, trustees are subject to a number of ancillary duties in support of the primary duties, including duties of openness and transparency, and duties of recordkeeping, accounting, and disclosure. In addition, a trustee has a duty to know, understand, and abide by the terms of the trust and relevant law. The trustee may be compensated and have expenses reimbursed, but otherwise must turn over all profits from the trust properties.
There are strong restrictions regarding a trustee with a conflict of interest. Courts can reverse a trustee's actions, order profits returned, and impose other sanctions if they find a trustee has failed in any of its duties. Such a failure is termed a breach of trust and can leave a neglectful or dishonest trustee with severe liabilities for its failures. It is highly advisable for both settlors and trustees to seek qualified legal counsel prior to entering into a trust agreement.
A possible early concept which later developed into what today is understood as a trust related to land. An ancient king (settlor) grants property back to its previous owner (beneficiary) during his absence, supported by witness testimony (trustee). In essence and in this case, the king, in place of the later state (trustor and holder of assets at highest position) issues ownership along with past proceeds to the original beneficiary:
Roman law had a well-developed concept of the trust ("fideicommissum") in terms of "testamentary trusts" created by wills but never developed the concept of the "inter vivos" (living) trusts which apply while the creator lives. This was created by later common law jurisdictions. Personal trust law developed in England at the time of the Crusades, during the 12th and 13th centuries. In medieval English trust law, the settlor was known as the "feoffor" to uses while the trustee was known as the "feoffee" to uses and the beneficiary was known as the "cestui que" use, or "cestui que" trust.
At the time, land ownership in England was based on the feudal system. When a landowner left England to fight in the Crusades, he conveyed ownership of his lands in his absence to manage the estate and pay and receive feudal dues, on the understanding that the ownership would be conveyed back on his return. However, Crusaders often encountered refusal to hand over the property upon their return. Unfortunately for the Crusader, English common law did not recognize his claim. As far as the King's courts were concerned, the land belonged to the trustee, who was under no obligation to return it. The Crusader had no legal claim. The disgruntled Crusader would then petition the king, who would refer the matter to his Lord Chancellor. The Lord Chancellor could decide a case according to his conscience. At this time, the principle of equity was born.
The Lord Chancellor would consider it "unconscionable" that the legal owner could go back on his word and deny the claims of the Crusader (the "true" owner). Therefore, he would find in favour of the returning Crusader. Over time, it became known that the Lord Chancellor's court (the Court of Chancery) would continually recognize the claim of a returning Crusader. The legal owner would hold the land for the benefit of the original owner and would be compelled to convey it back to him when requested. The Crusader was the "beneficiary" and the acquaintance the "trustee". The term "use of land" was coined, and in time developed into what we now know as a "trust".
The trust is widely considered to be the most innovative contribution of the English legal system. Today, trusts play a significant role in most common law systems, and their success has led some civil law jurisdictions to incorporate trusts into their civil codes. In Curaçao, for example, the trust was enacted into law on 1 January 2012; however, the Curaçao Civil Code only allows express trusts constituted by notarial instrument. France has recently added a similar, Roman-law-based device to its own law with the "fiducie", amended in 2009; the "fiducie", unlike a trust, is a contractual relationship. Trusts are widely used internationally, especially in countries within the English law sphere of influence, and whilst most civil law jurisdictions do not generally contain the concept of a trust within their legal systems, they do recognise the concept under the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition (partly only the extent that they are parties thereto). The Hague Convention also regulates conflict of trusts.
Although trusts are often associated with intrafamily wealth transfers, they have become very important in American capital markets, particularly through pension funds (in certain countries essentially always trusts) and mutual funds (often trusts).
Property of any sort may be held in a trust. The uses of trusts are many and varied, for both personal and commercial reasons, and trusts may provide benefits in estate planning, asset protection, and taxes. Living trusts may be created during a person's life (through the drafting of a trust instrument) or after death in a will.
In a relevant sense, a trust can be viewed as a generic form of a corporation where the settlors (investors) are also the beneficiaries. This is particularly evident in the Delaware business trust, which could theoretically, with the language in the "governing instrument", be organized as a cooperative corporation or a limited liability corporation, although traditionally the Massachusetts business trust has been commonly used in the US. One of the most significant aspects of trusts is the ability to partition and shield assets from the trustee, multiple beneficiaries, and their respective creditors (particularly the trustee's creditors), making it "bankruptcy remote", and leading to its use in pensions, mutual funds, and asset securitization as well protection of individual spendthrifts through the spendthrift trust.
Trusts may be created by the expressed intentions of the settlor (express trusts) or they may be created by operation of law known as implied trusts. An implied trust is one created by a court of equity because of acts or situations of the parties. Implied trusts are divided into two categories: resulting and constructive. A resulting trust is implied by the law to work out the presumed intentions of the parties, but it does not take into consideration their expressed intent. A constructive trust is a trust implied by law to work out justice between the parties, regardless of their intentions.
Common ways in which a trust is created include:
In some jurisdictions, certain types of assets may not be the subject of a trust without a written document.
The formalities required of a trust depends on the type of trust in question.
Generally, a private express trust requires three elements to be certain, which together are known as the "three certainties". These elements were determined in "Knight v Knight" to be intention, subject matter and objects. The certainty of intention allows the court to ascertain a settlor's true reason for creating the trust. The certainties of subject matter and objects allow the court to administer trust when the trustees fail to do so. The court determines whether there is sufficient certainty by construing the words used in the trust instrument. These words are construed objectively in their "reasonable meaning", within the context of the entire instrument. Despite intention being integral to express trusts, the court will try not to let trusts fail for the lack of certainty.
A trust may have multiple trustees, and these trustees are the legal owners of the trust's property, but have a fiduciary duty to beneficiaries and various duties, such as a duty of care and a duty to inform. If trustees do not adhere to these duties, they may be removed through a legal action. The trustee may be either a person or a legal entity such as a company, but typically the trust itself is not an entity and any lawsuit must be against the trustees. A trustee has many rights and responsibilities which vary based on the jurisdiction and trust instrument. If a trust lacks a trustee, a court may appoint a trustee.
The trustees administer the affairs attendant to the trust. The trust's affairs may include prudently investing the assets of the trust, accounting for and reporting periodically to the beneficiaries, filing required tax returns and other duties. In some cases dependent upon the trust instrument, the trustees must make discretionary decisions as to whether beneficiaries should receive trust assets for their benefit. A trustee may be held personally liable for problems, although fiduciary liability insurance similar to directors and officers liability insurance can be purchased. For example, a trustee could be liable if assets are not properly invested. In addition, a trustee may be liable to its beneficiaries even where the trust has made a profit but consent has not been given. However, in the United States, similar to directors and officers, an exculpatory clause may minimize liability; although this was previously held to be against public policy, this position has changed.
In the United States, the Uniform Trust Code provides for reasonable compensation and reimbursement for trustees subject to review by courts, although trustees may be unpaid. Commercial banks acting as trustees typically charge about 1% of assets under management.
The beneficiaries are beneficial (or 'equitable') owners of the trust property. Either immediately or eventually, the beneficiaries will receive income from the trust property, or they will receive the property itself. The extent of a beneficiary's interest depends on the wording of the trust document. One beneficiary may be entitled to income (for example, interest from a bank account), whereas another may be entitled to the entirety of the trust property when he attains the age of twenty-five years. The settlor has much discretion when creating the trust, subject to some limitations imposed by law.
The use of trusts as a means to inherit substantial wealth may be associated with some negative connotations; some beneficiaries who are able to live comfortably from trust proceeds without having to work a job may be jokingly referred to as "trust fund babies" (regardless of age) or "trustafarians".
Common purposes for trusts include:
Trusts go by many different names, depending on the characteristics or the purpose of the trust. Because trusts often have multiple characteristics or purposes, a single trust might accurately be described in several ways. For example, a living trust is often an express trust, which is also a revocable trust, and might include an incentive trust, and so forth.
Trusts originated in England, and therefore English trusts law has had a significant influence, particularly among common law legal systems such as the United States and the countries of the Commonwealth.
Trust law in civil law jurisdictions, generally including Continental Europe only exists in a limited number of jurisdictions (e.g. Curaçao, Liechtenstein and Sint Maarten). The trust may however be recognized as an instrument of foreign law in conflict of laws cases, for example within the Brussels regime (Europe) and the parties to the Hague Trust Convention. Tax avoidance concerns have historically been one of the reasons that European countries with a civil law system have been reluctant to adopt trusts.
Cyprus legislators enacted the Cyprus International Trusts Law of 2012 with an aim to facilitate the establishment of trusts by non-Cypriot residents. The Cyprus International Trust is based on common law principles however the Cyprus International Trusts Law of 2012 introduces certain conditions and requirements in order to for the trust to qualify under the same law. These conditions are:
In addition to above the common law principles of certainty must be present.
The Cyprus International Trust Law of 2012 also introduces certain settlor powers which if exercised will not invalidate the trust and or do not need to be inserted in the trust deed in order for the settlor to exercise them. The powers introduced are:
Cyprus does not limit the duration of an international trust and it may be formed for an unspecified duration.
In accordance with Section 7, a Cyprus International Trust may be formed for one or more of the following purposes:
The law includes specific confidentiality obligations over the trustee, the protector, enforcer or any other person to keep information and details of the trust confidential. This right is waived in the instances that law requires the disclosure of such information or if a judge before which a case is tried in issues a judgment to such effect. Nevertheless, with the changing times, public disclosure of trusts is required in Cyprus. Such public disclosures are required:
For a trust to be validly constituted it must be presented to the commissioner of stamp duty and a one-time payment of Euro 430 is made. The commissioner does not keep a copy of the document.
The regulation of the industry providing company and trust management functions (ASP) has also brought about the requirement to disclose to the regulator the existence of a Cyprus International Trust. Such obligation burdens the trust company and the information disclosed is the following:
For the avoidance of any doubt, the regulator does not require particulars of the Settlor, the Beneficiaries and details of the trusts. Neither does the regulator store in any way the trust deed. On the contrary, they rely on the regulated entity to collect, store and update this information
The Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law of 2007-2018 introduced mandatory disclosure requirements in respects to trusts. Generally known as the Cyprus Beneficial Ownership Register. Subject to this the following information will be required to be mandatory disclosed:
The actual implementation of this law still remains to be seen however the requirements above are expressly extracted from The Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law of 2007-2018.
Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) a Trustee and or a Trust may be classified as a Foreign Financial Institution (FFI) requiring registration with the IRS and disclosure of results on a yearly basis.
Under the Common Reporting Standard decree, a trust would in most cases classify as either a Reporting Financial Institution (FI) or a Passive Non-Financial Entity (Passive NFE). If the trust is an FI the trust or the trustee will have an obligation to report to its local tax authority in Cyprus in respects to the reportable accounts.
The income and profits derived within and outside of Cyprus are liable to every possible taxation imposed in Cyprus if the beneficiary is a resident of Cyprus in accordance with the Income Tax Laws of Cyprus.
If the beneficiaries are not Cyprus residents then any income and profit derived from Cypriot sources will be subject to tax.
Relevant to consider is what income is subject to taxation in Cyprus and the none domicile regime applicable in Cyprus.
In many ways trusts in South Africa operate similarly to other common law countries, although the law of South Africa is actually a hybrid of the British common law system and Roman-Dutch law.
In South Africa, in addition to the traditional living trusts and will trusts there is a "bewind trust" (inherited from the Roman-Dutch "bewind" administered by a "bewindhebber") in which the beneficiaries own the trust assets while the trustee administers the trust, although this is regarded by modern Dutch law as not actually a trust. "Bewind" trusts are created as trading vehicles providing trustees with limited liability and certain tax advantages.
In South Africa, minor children cannot inherit assets and in the absence of a trust and assets held in a state institution, the Guardian's Fund, and released to the children in adulthood. Therefore, testamentary (will) trusts often leave assets in a trust for the benefit of these minor children.
There are two types of living trusts in South Africa, namely vested trusts and discretionary trusts. In vested trusts, the benefits of the beneficiaries are set out in the trust deed, whereas in discretionary trusts the trustees have full discretion at all times as to how much and when each beneficiary is to benefit.
Until recently, there were tax advantages to living trusts in South Africa, although most of these advantages have been removed. Protection of assets from creditors is a modern advantage. With notable exceptions, assets held by the trust are not owned by the trustees or the beneficiaries, the creditors of trustees or beneficiaries can have no claim against the trust. Under the Insolvency Act (Act 24 of 1936), assets transferred into a living trust remain at risk from external creditors for 6 months if the previous owner of the assets is solvent at the time of transfer, or 24 months if he/she is insolvent at the time of transfer. After 24 months, creditors have no claim against assets in the trust, although they can attempt to attach the loan account, thereby forcing the trust to sell its assets. Assets can be transferred into the living trust by selling it to the trust (through a loan granted to the trust) or donating cash to it (any natural person can donate R100 000 per year without attracting donations tax; 20% donations tax applies to further donations within the same tax year).
Under South African law living trusts are considered tax payers. Two types of tax apply to living trusts, namely income tax and capital gains tax (CGT). A trust pays income tax at a flat rate of 40% (individuals pay according to income scales, usually less than 20%). The trust's income can, however, be taxed in the hands of either the trust or the beneficiary. A trust pays CGT at the rate of 20% (individuals pay 10%). Trusts do not pay deceased estate tax (although trusts may be required to pay back outstanding loans to a deceased estate, in which the loan amounts are taxable with deceased estate tax).
The taxpayer whose residence has been 'locked' into a trust has now been given another opportunity to take advantage of these CGT exemptions. The Taxation Law Amendment Act of 30 September 2009 commenced on 1 January 2010 and granted a 2-year window period from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2011, affording a natural person the opportunity to take transfer of the residence with advantage of no transfer duty being payable or CGT consequences. Whilst taxpayers can take advantage of this opening of a window of opportunity, it is not likely that it will ever become available thereafter.
In the United States, state law governs trusts. Trust law is therefore variable from state to state, though many states have adopted the Uniform Trust Code, and broad similarities exist among states' common law of trust as well. These similarities are summarized in the Restatements of the Law, such as the Restatement of Trusts, Third (2003−08). Additionally, as a practical matter, federal law considerations such as federal taxes administered by the Internal Revenue Service may affect the structure and creation of trusts.
In the United States the tax law allows trusts to be taxed as corporations, partnerships, or not at all depending on the circumstances, although trusts may be used for tax avoidance in certain situations. For example, the trust-preferred security is a hybrid (debt and equity) security with favorable tax treatment which is treated as regulatory capital on banks' balance sheets. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act changed this somewhat by not allowing these assets to be a part of (large) banks' regulatory capital.
Living trusts, as opposed to testamentary (will) trusts, may help a trustor avoid probate. Avoiding probate may save costs and maintain privacy and living trusts have become very popular. Probate is potentially costly, and probate records are available to the public while distribution through a trust is private. Both living trusts and wills can also be used to plan for unforeseen circumstances such as incapacity or disability, by giving discretionary powers to the trustee or executor of the will.
Negative aspects of using a living trust as opposed to a will and probate include upfront legal expenses, the expense of trust administration, and a lack of certain safeguards. The cost of the trust may be 1% of the estate per year versus the one-time probate cost of 1 to 4% for probate, which applies whether or not there is a drafted will. Unlike trusts, wills must be signed by two to three witnesses, the number depending on the law of the jurisdiction in which the will is executed. Legal protections that apply to probate but do not automatically apply to trusts include provisions that protect the decedent's assets from mismanagement or embezzlement, such as requirements of bonding, insurance, and itemized accountings of probate assets.
Living trusts generally do not shelter assets from the U.S. federal estate tax. Married couples may, however, effectively double the estate tax exemption amount by setting up the trust with a formula clause.
For a living trust, the grantor may retain some level of control to the trust, such by appointment as protector under the trust instrument. Living trusts also, in practical terms, tend to be driven to large extent by tax considerations. If a living trust fails, the property will usually be held for the grantor/settlor on resulting trusts, which in some notable cases, has had catastrophic tax consequences. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31043 |
Tone row
In music, a tone row or note row ( or '), also series or set"', is a non-repetitive ordering of a set of pitch-classes, typically of the twelve notes in musical set theory of the chromatic scale, though both larger and smaller sets are sometimes found.
Tone rows are the basis of Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique and most types of serial music. Tone rows were widely used in 20th-century contemporary music, like Dmitri Shostakovich's use of twelve-tone rows, "without dodecaphonic transformations."
A tone row has been identified in the A minor prelude from book II of J.S. Bach's "The Well-Tempered Clavier" (1742) and by the late eighteenth century, their use was a well-established technique, found in works such as Mozart's C major String Quartet, K. 157 (1772), String Quartet in E-flat major, K. 428, String Quintet in G minor, K. 516 (1790), and the Symphony in G minor, K. 550 (1788). Beethoven also used the technique but, on the whole, "Mozart seems to have employed serial technique far more often than Beethoven". Franz Liszt used a twelve-tone row in the opening of his "Faust" Symphony. Hans Keller claims that Schoenberg was aware of this serial practice in the classical period and that "Schoenberg repressed his knowledge of classical serialism because it would have injured his narcissism."
Tone rows are designated by letters and subscript numbers (e.g.: RI11, which may also appear as RI11 or RI-11). The numbers indicate the initial (P or I) or final (R or RI) pitch-class number of the given row form, most often with "c" = 0.
A twelve-tone composition will take one or more tone rows, called the "prime form", as its basis plus their transformations (inversion, retrograde, retrograde inversion, as well as transposition; see twelve-tone technique for details). These forms may be used to construct a melody in a straightforward manner as in Schoenberg's Piano Suite Op. 25 Minuet Trio, where P-0 is used to construct the opening melody and later varied through transposition, as P-6, and also in articulation and dynamics. It is then varied again through inversion, untransposed, taking form I-0. However, rows may be combined to produce melodies or harmonies in more complicated ways, such as taking successive or multiple pitches of a melody from two different row forms, as described at twelve-tone technique.
Initially, Schoenberg required the avoidance of suggestions of tonality—such as the use of consecutive imperfect consonances (thirds or sixths)—when constructing tone rows, reserving such use for the time when the dissonance is completely emancipated. Alban Berg, however, sometimes incorporated tonal elements into his twelve-tone works. The main tone row of his Violin Concerto hints at this tonality:
\override Score.TimeSignature
\override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
This tone row consists of alternating minor and major triads starting on the open strings of the violin, followed by a portion of an ascending whole tone scale. This whole tone scale reappears in the second movement when the chorale "Es ist genug" (It is enough) from J.S. Bach's cantata "O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort", BWV 60 is quoted literally in the woodwinds (mostly clarinet).
Some tone rows have a high degree of internal organization. An example is the tone row from Anton Webern's Concerto for Nine Instruments Op. 24, shown below.
\override Score.TimeSignature
\override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
In this tone row, if the first three notes are regarded as the "original" cell, then the next three are its retrograde inversion, the next three are retrograde, and the last three are its inversion. A row created in this manner, through variants of a trichord or tetrachord called the generator, is called a "derived row".
The tone rows of many of Webern's other late works are similarly intricate. The tone row for Webern's String Quartet Op. 28 is based on the BACH motif (B, A, C, B) and is composed of three tetrachords:
\override Score.TimeSignature
\override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
The "set-complex" is the forty-eight forms of the set generated by stating each "aspect" or transformation on each pitch class.
The all-interval twelve-tone row is a tone row arranged so that it contains one instance of each interval within the octave, 0 through 11.
The "total chromatic" (or "aggregate") is the set of all twelve pitch classes. An "array" is a succession of aggregates. The term is also used to refer to lattices.
An aggregate may be achieved through complementation or combinatoriality, such as with hexachords.
A "secondary set" is a tone row which is derived from or, "results from the reversed coupling of hexachords", when a given row form is immediately repeated. For example, the row form consisting of two hexachords:
when repeated immediately results in the following succession of two aggregates, in the middle of which is a new and complete aggregate beginning with the second hexachord:
A "weighted aggregate" is an aggregate in which the twelfth pitch does not appear until at least one pitch has appeared at least twice, supplied by segments of different set forms. It seems to have been first used in Milton Babbitt's String Quartet No. 4. An aggregate may be vertically or horizontally weighted. An "all-partition array" is created by combining a collection of hexachordally combinatorial arrays.
Schoenberg specified many strict rules and desirable guidelines for the construction of tone rows such as number of notes and intervals to avoid. Tone rows that depart from these guidelines include the above tone row from Berg's Violin Concerto which contains triads and tonal emphasis, and the tone row below from Luciano Berio's "Nones" which contains a repeated note making it a 'thirteen-tone row':
Igor Stravinsky used a five-tone row, chromatically filling out the space of a major third centered tonally on C (C-E), in one of his early serial compositions, "In memoriam Dylan Thomas".
In his twelve-tone practice Stravinsky preferred the inverse-retrograde (IR) to the retrograde-inverse (RI), as for example in his "Requiem Canticles":
Ben Johnston uses a "just tone row" (see just intonation) in works including String Quartets Nos. 6 and 7. Each permutation contains a just chromatic scale, however, transformations (transposition and inversion) produce pitches outside of the primary row form, as already occurs in the inversion of P0. The pitches of each hexachord are drawn from different otonality or utonality on A+ utonality, C otonality and utonality, and E- otonality, outlining a diminished triad.
A literary parallel of the tone row is found in Georges Perec's poems which use each of a particular set of letters only once.
"Tone row" may also be used to describe other musical collections or scales, such as in Arabic music. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31045 |
Time transfer
Time transfer is a scheme where multiple sites share a precise reference time. Time transfer solves problems such as astronomical observatories correlating observed flashes or other phenomena with each other, as well as cell phone towers coordinating handoffs as a phone moves from one cell to another.
Multiple techniques have been developed, often transferring reference clock synchronization from one point to another, often over long distances. Accuracy approaching one nanosecond worldwide is economically practical for many applications. Radio-based navigation systems are frequently used as time transfer systems.
In some cases, multiple measurements are made over a period of time, and exact time synchronization is determined retrospectively. In particular, time synchronization has been accomplished by using pairs of radio telescopes to listen to a pulsar, with the time transfer accomplished by comparing time offsets of the received pulsar signal.
In a one-way time transfer system, one end transmits its current time over some communication channel to one or more receivers. The receivers will, at reception, decode the message, and either just report the time, or adjust a local clock which can provide hold-over time reports in between the reception of messages. The advantage of one-way systems is that they can be technically simple and serve many receivers, as the transmitter is unaware of the receivers.
The principal drawback of the one-way time transfer system is that propagation delays of the communication channel remain uncompensated except in some advanced systems. Examples of a one-way time transfer system are the clock on a church or town building and the ringing of their time-indication bells; time balls, radio clock signals such as LORAN, DCF77 and MSF; and finally the Global Positioning System which uses multiple one-way time transfers from different satellites, with positional information and other advanced means of delay compensations to allow receiver compensation of time and position information in real time.
In a two-way time transfer system, the two peers will both transmit, and will also receive each other's messages, thus performing two one-way time transfers to determine the difference between the remote clock and the local clock. The sum of these time differences is the round trip delay between the two nodes. It is often assumed that this delay is evenly distributed between the directions between the peers. Under this assumption, half the round-trip delay is the propagation delay to be compensated. A drawback is that the two-way propagation delay must be measured and used to calculate a delay correction. That function can be implemented in the reference source, in which case the source capacity limits the number of slaves that can be served, or by software in each slave. The NIST provides a time reference service to computer users on the Internet, based on Java applets loaded by each slave. The two-way satellite time and frequency transfer (TWSTFT) system being used in comparison among some time laboratories uses a satellite for a common link between the laboratories. The Network Time Protocol uses packet-based messages over an IP network.
The time difference between two clocks may be determined by simultaneously comparing each clock to a common reference signal that may be received at both sites. As long as both end stations receive the same satellite signal at the same time, the accuracy of the signal source is not important. The nature of the received signal is not important, although widely available timing and navigation systems such as GPS or LORAN are convenient.
The accuracy of time transferred in this way is typically 1–10 ns.
Since the advent of GPS, highly precise, yet affordable timing is available from many commercial GPS receivers. Its initial system design expected general timing precision better than 340 nanoseconds using low-grade "coarse mode" and 200 ns in precision mode. A GPS receiver functions by precisely measuring the transit time of signals received from several satellites. These distances combined geometrically with precise orbital information identify the location of the receiver. Precise timing is fundamental to an accurate GPS location. The time from an atomic clock onboard each satellite is encoded into the radio signal; the receiver determines how much later it received the signal than it was sent. To do this, a local clock is corrected to the GPS atomic clock time by solving for three dimensions and time based on four or more satellite signals. Improvements in algorithms lead many modern low-cost GPS receivers to achieve better than 10-meter accuracy, which implies a timing accuracy of about 30 ns. GPS-based laboratory time references routinely achieve 10 ns precision. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31049 |
Trakehner
Trakehner is a light warmblood breed of horse, originally developed at the East Prussian state stud farm in the town of Trakehnen from which the breed takes its name. The state stud () was established in 1731 and operated until 1944, when the fighting of World War II led to the annexing of East Prussia by Russia, and the town containing the stud renamed as Yasnaya Polyana.
The Trakehner typically stands between . They can be any color, with bay, gray, chestnut and black being the most common, though the breed also includes few roan and tobiano pinto horses. It is considered to be the lightest and most refined of the warmbloods, due to its closed stud book which allows entry of only Trakehner, as well as few selected Thoroughbred, Anglo-Arabian, Shagya and Arabian bloodlines.
Owing to its Thoroughbred ancestry, the Trakehner is of rectangular build, with a long sloping shoulder, good hindquarters, short cannons, and a medium-long, crested and well-set neck. The head is often finely chiseled, narrow at the muzzle, with a broad forehead. It is known for its "floating trot" - full of impulsion and suspension. The Trakehner possesses a strong, medium-length back and powerful hindquarters.
Trakehners are athletic and trainable, with good endurance, while some are more spirited than horses of other warmblood breeds. Trakehners breed true to type, due to the purity of the bloodlines, making it valuable for upgrading other warmbloods.
Old Prussians and other Baltic people such as the Lithuanians were noted for their hardy horses and cavalry during the early Middle Ages. During their conquest of Old Prussians in the 13th Century Prussian crusade, the conquering Teutonic Knights named the Old Prussian horse a "Schwaikenpferd", a small primitive horse. Beginning in the 14th century, knights used it to breed their military horses, and descendants of the Schwaikenpferd were later used by Masovian and Ostsiedlung farmers for light utility work. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the people of Ducal Prussia, Brandenburg, and Royal Prussia used a wide variety of horses from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Crimean Tatars, Ottoman Turkey, Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania, Holy Roman Empire for their cavalry and stud horses, crossed on local animals.
In 1732 King Frederick William I of Prussia used these horses and other imports to establish the Trakehnen Stud at the East Prussian town Trakehnen (now Yasnaya Polyana, Russia). Soldiers cleared the forest at the River Pissa between Stallupönen and Gumbinnen. In 1739 the king gave it to crown prince Frederick II of Prussia, who often sold stallions to make money. After his death in 1786 it became state property, named "Königlich Preußisches Hauptgestüt Trakehnen".
Between 1817 and 1837 the stud added Arabian, Thoroughbred, and Hanoverian horse blood to their stock. One especially influential Thoroughbred was Perfectionist, by Persimmon, who won The Derby and the St Leger in 1896. He was to be the sire of the great Trakehner stallion Tempelhüter, and most modern Trakehners can be traced to these two stallions. The Arabian blood was added to offset possible flaws of the Thoroughbred.
East Prussian farmers were encouraged to bring their mares, by then known for their hardiness and quality, to Trakehnen's stallions. This enabled the rapid transformation of the breed into much sought-after army remounts: sure-footed, intelligent and athletic. By 1918 60,000 mares per year were bred to East Prussian stallions.
In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles limited Germany's army to 100,000 troops and so the breed's focus was again turned to producing horses suitable to farm duties. For this purpose, sires of heavier conformation (build) were used, the most successful being Ararad, Dampfross, Hyperion, Pythagoras and Tempelhüter. These stallions, while refined, possessed much substance and bone. Their influence is still seen on the modern Trakehner.
It was during the 1920s and 1930s that the breed was recognized for its performance abilities in competitive disciplines. Trakehners won gold and silver medals in two Olympics, including six Gold medals in Berlin in 1936, and won Czechoslovakia's notoriously challenging Velká pardubická steeplechase nine times. In the 1930s there were more than 10,000 breeders and 18,000 registered mares.
In the 1930s and early 1940s Hauptvorwerk Trakehnen and its 15 Vorwerke covered , of which were fields, meadows, forest, garden and other. Horses such as the Trakehner were used in World War II which, at the end, nearly destroyed the breed as Soviet troops advanced from the East, causing flight and expulsion of Germans during and after WWII. The main Stud and local residents were forced to evacuate between 20 January 1945 and March 1945. Their journey West, known as "Der Treck" ("The Flight"), sent the horses on a dangerous journey in frigid conditions across the frozen Vistula lagoon without proper rations or shelter. It is considered one of the toughest tests to which an entire breed of horses has been submitted.
Refugee convoys were bombed while on the ice by the Soviet airforce, so only a small number of horses made it to safety. 700 surviving horses were accounted for. The horses left behind in East Prussia became important in the breeding of Russian breeds such as the Kirov as well as the Polish Mazury (also known as the Masuren) and Pozan (or Poznan), which developed into the Wielkopolski. After the war, the breed, which once numbered tens of thousands was reduced to approximately 600 broodmares and 50 stallions in West Germany. The last original Trakehner was Keith, born there in 1941, who died in November 1976 in Gilten shortly before his 35th birthday. On 23 October 1947 the East Prussian Studbook Society was dissolved and the Association of Breeders and Friends of the Warmblood Horse of Trakehner Origin, known today as the "Trakehner Verband", was created. Among the greatest obstacles the organization faced was that unlike other German breeds, the Trakehner had no mother state and could not depend on government funding. The re-establishment of the breed originally depended on the determination of its members and the largesse of others.
True pure-bred Trakehner show the "Ostpreußische Elchschaufel" (East Prussian moose horn) branding (see Image above).
Today in Germany the breed is considered a federal responsibility, with its governance falling under both the Trakehner Verband and the Trakehner Gesellschaft mbH; the latter handling all business operations.
Stallion inspections are held in Neumünster, Germany, each October and approved stallions are required to complete extended performance tests, which rate the horses' gaits, temperament, jumping ability, and suitability over a cross country course, before being given full breeding licenses.
The Trakehner is used as a "refiner" of other breeds, allowing an infusion of Thoroughbred and Arabian blood without the risks often involved in first generation outcrosses. Influential stallions include Abglanz for the Hanoverian, Herbststurm who influenced the Oldenburg, Marco Polo for the Dutch Warmblood, the stallions Ibikus and Donauwind for the Danish Warmblood, and Polarstern for the Swedish Warmblood.
While Trakehners compete in nearly all equestrian disciplines, they are particularly prized as dressage mounts, due to their sensitivity, intelligence and way of going. Peron anchored the United States team to an Olympic Bronze in 1996 at Atlanta. Abdullah, by Donauwind, is particularly famous for his show jumping team gold and individual silver medals at the 1984 Olympics and 1985 World Cup win. Heuriger was the 1994 show jumping team silver medallist at the 1994 World Equestrian Games.
Due to their very light build, Trakehners tend to do better in the sport of eventing than most other warmblood breeds. One such example is USA 2004 Olympic team bronze medallist Windfall *PG* 2. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31052 |
Tempera
Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done in this medium. Tempera paintings are very long-lasting, and examples from the first century AD still exist. Egg tempera was a primary method of painting until after 1500 when it was superseded by the invention of oil painting. A paint consisting of pigment and binder commonly used in the United States as poster paint is also often referred to as "tempera paint", although the binders in this paint are different from traditional tempera paint.
The term "tempera" is derived from the Italian "dipingere a tempera" ("paint in distemper"), from the Late Latin "distemperare" ("mix thoroughly").
Tempera painting has been found on early Egyptian sarcophagi decorations. Many of the Fayum mummy portraits use tempera, sometimes in combination with encaustic.
A related technique has been used also in ancient and early medieval paintings found in several caves and rock-cut temples of India. High-quality art with the help of tempera was created in Bagh Caves between the late 4th and 10th centuries and in the 7th century in Ravan Chhaya rock shelter, Orissa.
The murals of the 3rd century Dura-Europos synagogue were created in tempera.
The art technique was known from the classical world, where it appears to have taken over from encaustic painting and was the main medium used for panel painting and illuminated manuscripts in the Byzantine world and Medieval and Early Renaissance Europe. Tempera painting was the primary panel painting medium for nearly every painter in the European Medieval and Early renaissance period up to 1500. For example, most surviving panel paintings attributed to Michelangelo are executed in egg tempera, an exception being his "Doni Tondo" which uses both tempera and oil paint.
Oil paint, which may have originated in Afghanistan between the 5th and 9th centuries and migrated westward in the Middle Ages eventually superseded tempera. Oil replaced tempera as the principal medium used for creating artwork during the 15th century in Early Netherlandish painting in northern Europe. Around 1500, oil paint replaced tempera in Italy. In the 19th and 20th centuries, there were intermittent revivals of tempera technique in Western art, among the Pre-Raphaelites, Social Realists, and others. Tempera painting continues to be used in Greece and Russia where it is the traditional medium for Orthodox icons.
Tempera is traditionally created by hand-grinding dry powdered pigments into a binding agent or "medium", such as egg yolk, milk (in the form of casein) and a variety of plant gums.
The most common form of classical tempera painting is "egg tempera". For this form most often only the contents of the egg yolk is used. The white of the egg and the membrane of the yolk are discarded (the membrane of the yolk is dangled over a receptacle and punctured to drain off the liquid inside). Egg yolk is rarely used by itself with pigment; it dries almost immediately and can crack when it is dry. Some agent is always added, in variable proportions. One recipe calls for vinegar, but only in small amounts. A few drops of vinegar will preserve the solution for a week. (1:3 , 3 parts water, 1 part yolk; other recipes suggest white wine (1 part yolk, 2 parts wine). Some schools of egg tempera use various mixtures of egg yolk and water.
Powdered pigment, or pigment that has been ground in distilled water, is placed onto a palette or bowl and mixed with a roughly equal volume of the binder. Some pigments require slightly more binder, some require less.
When used to paint icons on church walls, liquid myrrh is sometimes added to the mixture to give the paint a pleasing odor, particularly as worshipers may find the egg tempera somewhat pungent for quite some time after completion. The paint mixture has to be constantly adjusted to maintain a balance between a "greasy" and "watery" consistency by adjusting the amount of water and yolk. As tempera dries, the artist will add more water to preserve the consistency and to balance the thickening of the yolk on contact with air. Once prepared, the paint cannot be stored. Egg tempera is water-resistant, but not waterproof. Different preparations use the egg white or the whole egg for a different effect. Other additives such as oil and wax emulsions can modify the medium. Egg tempera is not a flexible paint and requires stiff boards; painting on canvas will cause cracks to form and chips of paint to fall off.
Adding oil in no more than a 1:1 ratio with the egg yolk by volume produces a water-soluble medium with many of the color effects of oil paint, although it cannot be painted thickly.
Some of the pigments used by medieval painters, such as cinnabar (contains mercury), orpiment (contains arsenic), or lead white (contains lead) are highly toxic. Most artists today use modern synthetic pigments, which are less toxic but have similar color properties to the older pigments. Even so, many (if not most) modern pigments are still dangerous unless certain precautions are taken; these include keeping pigments wet in storage to avoid breathing their dust.
Tempera paint dries rapidly. It is normally applied in thin, semi-opaque or transparent layers. Tempera painting allows for great precision when used with traditional techniques that require the application of numerous small brush strokes applied in a cross-hatching technique. When dry, it produces a smooth matte finish. Because it cannot be applied in thick layers as oil paints can, tempera paintings rarely have the deep color saturation that oil paintings can achieve because it can hold less pigment (lower pigment load). In this respect, the colors of an unvarnished tempera painting resemble a pastel, although the color deepens if a varnish is applied. On the other hand, tempera colors do not change over time, whereas oil paints darken, yellow, and become transparent with age.
Tempera adheres best to an absorbent ground that has a lower oil content than the tempera binder used (the traditional rule of thumb is ""fat over lean"", and never the other way around). The ground traditionally used is inflexible Italian gesso, and the substrate is usually rigid as well. Historically wood panels were used as the substrate, and more recently un-tempered masonite, later MDF (medium density fiber, but NO Formalin treated] and modern composite boards have been employed. Heavy paper is also used.
Apart from the traditional process of mixing pigment with egg yolk, new methods include egg tempera sold in tubes by manufacturers such as Sennelier and Daler-Rowney. These paints do contain a slight amount of oil to enhance durability within the container. Marc Chagall used Sennelier egg tempera tube paints extensively.
Although tempera has been out of favor since the Late Renaissance and Baroque eras, it has been periodically rediscovered by later artists such as William Blake, the Nazarenes, the Pre-Raphaelites, and Joseph Southall. The 20th century saw a significant revival of tempera. European painters who worked with tempera include Giorgio de Chirico, Otto Dix, Eliot Hodgkin, Pyke Koch, and Pietro Annigoni, who used an emulsion of egg yolks, stand oil and varnish.
Spanish surrealist painter, Remedios Varo, worked extensively in egg tempera.
The tempera medium was used by American artists such as the Regionalists Andrew Wyeth, Thomas Hart Benton and his student Roger Medearis; expressionists Ben Shahn, Mitchell Siporin and John Langley Howard, magic realists George Tooker, Paul Cadmus, Jared French, Julia Thecla and Louise E. Marianetti; Art Students League of New York instructors Kenneth Hayes Miller and William C. Palmer, Social Realists Kyra Markham, Isabel Bishop, Reginald Marsh, and Noel Rockmore, Edward Laning, Anton Refregier, Jacob Lawrence, Rudolph F. Zallinger, Robert Vickrey, Peter Hurd, and science fiction artist John Schoenherr, notable as the cover artist of "Dune".
In the early part of the 20th century, a large number of Indian artists, notably of Bengal school took up tempera as one of their primary media of expression. Artists such as Gaganendranath Tagore, Asit Kumar Haldar, Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Kalipada Ghoshal and Sughra Rababi were foremost. After the 1950s, artists such as Jamini Roy and Ganesh Pyne established tempera as a medium for the new age artists of India.
Other practicing tempera artists include Philip Aziz, Ernst Fuchs, Antonio Roybal, George Huszar, Donald Jackson, Tim Lowly, Altoon Sultan, Shaul Shats, Sandro Chia, Alex Colville, Robert Vickrey, Andrew Wyeth, Andrew Grassie, and Ganesh Pyne. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31053 |
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. The first stable line-up consisted of bandleader Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica, keyboards), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar, vocals), Bill Wyman (bass guitar), Charlie Watts (drums), and Ian Stewart (piano). Stewart was removed from the official line-up in 1963 but continued to work with the band as a contracted musician until his death in 1985. The band's primary songwriters, Jagger–Richards, assumed leadership after Andrew Loog Oldham became the group's manager. Jones left the band less than a month before his death in 1969, having already been replaced by Mick Taylor. Taylor left in 1974 and was replaced in 1975 by Ronnie Wood who has since remained. Since Wyman's departure in 1993, Darryl Jones has served as touring bassist. The Stones have not had an official keyboardist since 1963, but have employed several musicians in that role, including Jack Nitzsche (1965–1971), Nicky Hopkins (1967–1982), Billy Preston (1971–1981), Ian McLagan (1978–1981), and Chuck Leavell (1982–present).
The Rolling Stones were at the forefront of the British Invasion of bands that became popular in the United States in 1964 and were identified with the youthful and rebellious counterculture of the 1960s. Rooted in blues and early rock and roll, the band started out playing covers but found more success with their own material; songs such as "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and "Paint It Black" became international hits, and "Aftermath" (1966) – their first entirely original album – has been considered the most important of the band's formative records. After a short period of experimentation with psychedelic rock in the mid-1960s, the group returned to its "bluesy" roots with "Beggars Banquet" (1968), "Let It Bleed" (1969), "Sticky Fingers" (1971), and "Exile on Main St." (1972). It was during this period they were first introduced on stage as "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World".
The band continued to release commercially successful albums through the 1970s and early 1980s, including "Some Girls" (1978) and "Tattoo You" (1981), the two best-sellers in their discography. During the 1980s, the band infighting curtailed their output and they only released two more underperforming albums and did not tour for the rest of the decade. Their fortunes changed at the end of the decade, when they released "Steel Wheels" (1989), promoted by a large stadium and arena tour, the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour. Since the 1990s, new material has been less frequent. Despite this, the Rolling Stones continue to be a huge attraction on the live circuit. By 2007, the band had four of the top five highest-grossing concert tours of all time: Voodoo Lounge Tour (1994–1995), Bridges to Babylon Tour (1997–1998), Licks Tour (2002–2003) and A Bigger Bang (2005–2007). Musicologist Robert Palmer attributes the endurance of the Rolling Stones to their being "rooted in traditional verities, in rhythm-and-blues and soul music", while "more ephemeral pop fashions have come and gone".
The Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. "Rolling Stone" magazine ranked them fourth on the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" list and their estimated record sales is 240 million. They have released 30 studio albums, 23 live albums and numerous compilations. "Let It Bleed" (1969) marked the first of five consecutive No. 1 studio and live albums in the UK. "Sticky Fingers" (1971) was the first of eight consecutive No. 1 studio albums in the US. Their latest album, "Blue & Lonesome" (2016), became their twelfth UK number-one album. In 2008, the band were listed 10th on the "Billboard" Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists chart, and in 2019 "Billboard" magazine ranked them second in their list of the "Greatest Artists of All Time". In 2012, the band celebrated its 50th anniversary. The group continues to sell out venues, with their recent No Filter Tour running for two years and concluding in August 2019.
Keith Richards and Mick Jagger became childhood friends and classmates in 1950 in Dartford, Kent. The Jagger family moved to Wilmington, Kent, away, in 1954. In the mid-1950s, Jagger formed a garage band with his friend Dick Taylor; the group mainly played material by Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Howlin' Wolf and Bo Diddley. Jagger met Richards again on 17 October 1961 on platform two of Dartford railway station. The Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records Jagger was carrying revealed a shared interest. A musical partnership began shortly afterwards. Richards and Taylor often met Jagger at his house. The meetings moved to Taylor's house in late 1961 where Alan Etherington and Bob Beckwith joined the trio; the quintet called themselves the Blues Boys.
In March 1962, the Blues Boys read about the Ealing Jazz Club in "Jazz News" newspaper, which mentioned Alexis Korner's rhythm and blues band, Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated. The group sent a tape of their best recordings to Korner, who was favourably impressed. On 7 April, they visited the Ealing Jazz Club where they met the members of Blues Incorporated, who included slide guitarist Brian Jones, keyboardist Ian Stewart and drummer Charlie Watts. After a meeting with Korner, Jagger and Richards started jamming with the group.
Jones, no longer in a band, advertised for bandmates in "Jazz Weekly", while Stewart found them a practice space; together they decided to form a band playing Chicago blues. Soon after, Jagger, Taylor and Richards left Blues Incorporated to join Jones and Stewart. The first rehearsal included guitarist Geoff Bradford and vocalist Brian Knight, both of whom decided not to join the band. They objected to playing the Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley songs preferred by Jagger and Richards. In June 1962 the addition of the drummer Tony Chapman completed the line-up of Jagger, Richards, Jones, Stewart and Taylor. According to Richards, Jones named the band during a phone call to "Jazz News". When asked by a journalist for the band's name, Jones saw a Muddy Waters LP lying on the floor; one of the tracks was "Rollin' Stone".
Jones, Jagger, Richards, Stewart, and Taylor played a gig billed as "the Rollin' Stones" on 12 July 1962, at the Marquee Club in London. Shortly afterwards, the band went on their first tour of the UK, which they called a "training ground" tour, because it was a new experience for all of them. Their material included the Chicago blues as well as Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley songs. The band's original rhythm section did not include bassist Bill Wyman, who joined in December 1962, or drummer Charlie Watts, who joined in January 1963. By 1963 they were finding their musical stride as well as popularity. In 1964 two unscientific opinion polls rated the band as Britain's most popular group, outranking even the Beatles. The band's name was changed shortly after their first gig to "The Rolling Stones". The group's then acting manager, Giorgio Gomelsky, secured a Sunday afternoon residency at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, London, in February 1963. He claimed this triggered an "international renaissance for the blues".
In May 1963, the Rolling Stones signed Andrew Loog Oldham as their manager. His previous clients, the Beatles, directed the former publicist to the band. Because Oldham was only nineteen and had not reached the age of majority—he was also younger than anyone in the band—he could not obtain an agent's licence or sign any contracts without his mother co-signing. By necessity he joined with booking agent Eric Easton to secure record financing and assistance booking venues. Gomelsky, who had no written agreement with the band, was not consulted. Initially, Oldham tried applying the strategy used by Brian Epstein, the Beatles' manager, and have the band members wear suits. He later changed his mind and imagined a band which contrasted with the Beatles, featuring unmatched clothing, long hair, and an unclean appearance. He wanted to make the Stones "a raunchy, gamy, unpredictable bunch of undesirables" and to "establish that the Stones were threatening, uncouth and animalistic". Stewart left the official line-up, but remained road manager and touring keyboardist. Of Stewart's decision, Oldham later said, "Well, he just doesn't look the part, and six is too many for [fans] to remember the faces in the picture." Later, Oldham reduced the band members' ages in publicity material to make them appear as teenagers.
Decca Records, which had declined to sign a deal with the Beatles, gave the Rolling Stones a recording contract with favourable terms. The band got three times a new act's typical royalty rate, full artistic control of recordings and ownership of the recording master tapes. The deal also let the band use non-Decca recording studios. Regent Sound Studios, a mono facility equipped with egg boxes on the ceiling for sound treatment, became their preferred location. Oldham, who had no recording experience but made himself the band's producer, said Regent had a sound that "leaked, instrument-to-instrument, the right way" creating a "wall of noise" that worked well for the band. Because of Regent's low booking rates, the band could record for extended periods rather than the usual three-hour blocks common at other studios. All tracks on the first Rolling Stones album, "The Rolling Stones", were recorded there.
Oldham contrasted the Rolling Stones' independence with the Beatles' obligation to record in EMI's studios, saying it made them appear as "mere mortals ... sweating in the studio for the man". He promoted the Rolling Stones as the nasty counterpoint to the Beatles by having the band pose unsmiling on the cover of their first album. He also encouraged the press to use provocative headlines such as: "Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone?" By contrast, Wyman says, "Our reputation and image as the Bad Boys came later, completely there, accidentally. ... [Oldham] never did engineer it. He simply exploited it exhaustively." In a 1972 interview, Wyman stated, "We were the first pop group to break away from the whole Cliff Richard thing where the bands did little dance steps, wore identical uniforms and had snappy patter."
A cover version of Chuck Berry's "Come On" was the Rolling Stones' first single, released on 7 June 1963. The band refused to play it at live gigs, and Decca bought only one ad to promote the record. With Oldham's direction, fan-club members bought copies at record shops polled by the charts, helping "Come On" rise to No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart. Having a charting single gave the band entree to play outside London, starting with a booking at the Outlook Club in Middlesbrough on 13 July, sharing the billing with the Hollies. Later in 1963 Oldham and Easton arranged the band's first big UK concert tour as a supporting act for American stars including Bo Diddley, Little Richard and the Everly Brothers. The tour gave the band the opportunity to hone their stagecraft. During the tour the band recorded their second single, a Lennon–McCartney-penned number entitled "I Wanna Be Your Man". The song was written and given to the Stones when John Lennon and Paul McCartney visited them in the studio as the two Beatles liked giving the copyrights to songs away to their friends. It reached No. 12 on the UK charts. The Beatles 1963 album, "With the Beatles", includes their version of the song. On 1 January 1964, the Stones' "I Wanna Be Your Man" was the first song ever performed on the BBC's "Top of the Pops". The third single by the Stones, Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away", reflecting Bo Diddley's style, was released in February 1964 and reached No. 3.
Oldham saw little future for an act that lost significant songwriting royalties by playing songs of what he described as "middle-aged blacks", limiting the appeal to teenage audiences. Jagger and Richards decided to write songs together. Oldham described the first batch as "soppy and imitative". Because the band's songwriting developed slowly, songs on their first album "The Rolling Stones" (1964; issued in the US as "England's Newest Hit Makers"), were primarily covers, with only one Jagger/Richards original—"Tell Me (You're Coming Back)"—and two numbers credited to Nanker Phelge, the pen name used for songs written by the entire group. The Rolling Stones' first US tour in June 1964 was "a disaster" according to Wyman. "When we arrived, we didn't have a hit record [there] or anything going for us." When the band appeared on the variety show "The Hollywood Palace", that week's guest host, Dean Martin, mocked both their hair and their performance. During the tour they recorded for two days at Chess Studios in Chicago, meeting many of their most important influences, including Muddy Waters. These sessions included what would become the Rolling Stones' first No. 1 hit in the UK, their cover version of Bobby and Shirley Womack's "It's All Over Now".
The Stones followed the Famous Flames, featuring James Brown, in the theatrical release of the 1964 film "T.A.M.I. Show", which showcased American acts with British Invasion artists. According to Jagger, "We weren't actually following James Brown because there was considerable time between the filming of each section. Nevertheless, he was still very annoyed about it ..." On 25 October the band appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show". Because of the pandemonium surrounding the Stones, Sullivan banned them from his show. However, he booked them for an appearance in the following year. Their second LP, "12 X 5", which was only available in the US, was released during the tour. During the early Stones' releases, Richards was typically credited as "Richard". The Rolling Stones' fifth UK single, a cover of Willie Dixon's "Little Red Rooster"—with "Off the Hook", credited to Nanker Phelge, as the B-side—was released in November 1964 and became their second No. 1 hit in the UK. The band's US distributors, London Records, declined to release "Little Red Rooster" as a single. In December 1964, the distributor released the band's first single with Jagger/Richards originals on both sides: "Heart of Stone", with "What a Shame" as the B-side; the single went to No. 19 in the US.
The band's second UK LP, "The Rolling Stones No. 2", was released in January 1965 and reached No. 1 on the charts. The US version, released in February as "The Rolling Stones, Now!", reached No. 5. The album was recorded at Chess Studios in Chicago and RCA Studios in Los Angeles. In January and February that year the band played 34 shows for around 100,000 people in Australia and New Zealand. The single "The Last Time", released in February, was the first Jagger/Richards composition to reach No. 1 on the UK charts; it reached No. 9 in the US. It was later identified by Richards as "the bridge into thinking about writing for the Stones. It gave us a level of confidence; a pathway of how to do it."
Their first international No. 1 hit was "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", recorded in May 1965 during the band's third North American tour. Richards recorded the guitar riff that drives the song with a fuzzbox as a scratch track to guide a horn section. Nevertheless, the final cut was without the planned horn overdubs. Issued in the summer of 1965, it was their fourth UK No. 1 and their first in the US where it spent four weeks at the top of the "Billboard" Hot 100. It was a worldwide commercial success for the band. The US version of the LP "Out of Our Heads", released in July 1965, also went to No 1; it included seven original songs, three Jagger/Richards numbers and four credited to Nanker Phelge. Their second international No. 1 single "Get Off of My Cloud" was released in the autumn of 1965, followed by another US-only LP, "December's Children".
The album "Aftermath", released in the late spring of 1966, was the first LP to be composed entirely of Jagger/Richards songs; it reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 2 in the US. On this album Jones' contributions expanded beyond guitar and harmonica. To the Middle Eastern-influenced "Paint It, Black" he added sitar; to the ballad "Lady Jane" he added dulcimer and to "Under My Thumb" he added marimbas. "Aftermath" also contained "Goin' Home", a nearly 12-minute-long song that included elements of jamming and improvisation.
The Stones' success on the British and American singles charts peaked during the 1960s. "19th Nervous Breakdown" was released in February 1966, and reached No. 2 in the UK and US charts; "Paint It, Black" reached No. 1 in the UK and US in May 1966. "Mother's Little Helper", released in June 1966, reached No. 8 in the US; it was one of the first pop songs to discuss the issue of prescription drug abuse. "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" was released in September 1966 and reached No. 5 in the UK and No. 9 in the US. It had a number of firsts for the group: it was the first Stones recording to feature brass horns and the back-cover photo on the original US picture sleeve depicted the group satirically dressed in drag. The song was accompanied by one of the first official music videos, directed by Peter Whitehead.
During their North American tour in June and July 1966, the Stones' high-energy concerts proved highly successful with young people while alienating local police tasked with controlling the often rebellious and physically exhausting crowds. According to the Stones historians Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon, the band's notoriety "among the authorities and the establishment seems to have been inversely proportional to their popularity among young people". In an effort to capitalise on this, London released the live album "Got Live If You Want It!" in December.
January 1967 saw the release of "Between the Buttons", which reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 2 in the US. It was Andrew Oldham's last venture as the Rolling Stones' producer. Allen Klein took over his role as the band's manager in 1965. Richards recalled, "There was a new deal with Decca to be made ... and he said he could do it." The US version included the double A-side single "Let's Spend the Night Together" and "Ruby Tuesday", which went to No. 1 in the US and No. 3 in the UK. When the band went to New York to perform the numbers on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in January, they were ordered to change the lyrics of the refrain of "Let's Spend the Night Together" to "let's spend some time together".
In early 1967, Jagger, Richards and Jones began to be hounded by authorities over their recreational drug use, after "News of the World" ran a three-part feature entitled "Pop Stars and Drugs: Facts That Will Shock You". The series described alleged LSD parties hosted by the Moody Blues attended by top stars including the Who's Pete Townshend and Cream's Ginger Baker, and alleged admissions of drug use by leading pop musicians. The first article targeted Donovan (who was raided and charged soon after); the second instalment (published on 5 February) targeted the Rolling Stones. A reporter who contributed to the story spent an evening at the exclusive London club Blaise's, where a member of the Rolling Stones allegedly took several Benzedrine tablets, displayed a piece of hashish and invited his companions back to his flat for a "smoke". The article claimed this was Mick Jagger, but it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity; the reporter had in fact been eavesdropping on Brian Jones. Two days after the article was published Jagger filed a writ for libel against the "News of the World".
A week later on 12 February, Sussex police, tipped off by the paper, which had been tipped off by his chauffeur raided a party at Keith Richards' home, Redlands. No arrests were made at the time, but Jagger, Richards and their friend art dealer Robert Fraser were subsequently charged with drug offences. Andrew Oldham was afraid of being arrested and fled to America. Richards said in 2003, "When we got busted at Redlands, it suddenly made us realize that this was a whole different ball game and that was when the fun stopped. Up until then it had been as though London existed in a beautiful space where you could do anything you wanted." On the treatment of the man responsible for the raid, he later added: "As I heard it, he never walked the same again."
In March 1967, while awaiting the consequences of the police raid, Jagger, Richards and Jones took a short trip to Morocco, accompanied by Marianne Faithfull, Jones' girlfriend Anita Pallenberg and other friends. During this trip the stormy relations between Jones and Pallenberg deteriorated to the point that she left Morocco with Richards. Richards said later: "That was the final nail in the coffin with me and Brian. He'd never forgive me for that and I don't blame him, but hell, shit happens." Richards and Pallenberg would remain a couple for twelve years. Despite these complications, the Rolling Stones toured Europe in March and April 1967. The tour included the band's first performances in Poland, Greece, and Italy.
On 10 May 1967, the day Jagger, Richards and Fraser were arraigned in connection with the Redlands charges, Jones' house was raided by police. He was arrested and charged with possession of cannabis. Three of the five Stones now faced drug charges. Jagger and Richards were tried at the end of June. Jagger received a three-month prison sentence for the possession of four amphetamine tablets; Richards was found guilty of allowing cannabis to be smoked on his property and sentenced to a year in prison. Both Jagger and Richards were imprisoned at that point but were released on bail the next day pending appeal. "The Times" ran the famous editorial entitled "Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?" in which conservative editor William Rees-Mogg surprised his readers by his unusually critical discourse on the sentencing, pointing out that Jagger had been treated far more harshly for a minor first offence than "any purely anonymous young man". While awaiting the appeal hearings, the band recorded a new single, "We Love You", as a thank you for their fans' loyalty. It began with the sound of prison doors closing, and the accompanying music video included allusions to the trial of Oscar Wilde. On 31 July, the appeals court overturned Richards' conviction, and reduced Jagger's sentence to a conditional discharge. Jones' trial took place in November 1967. In December, after appealing the original prison sentence, Jones received a £1,000 fine and was put on three years' probation, with an order to seek professional help.
The band released "Their Satanic Majesties Request", which reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 2 in the US, in December 1967. It drew unfavourable reviews and was widely regarded as a poor imitation of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". "Satanic Majesties" was recorded while Jagger, Richards and Jones were awaiting their court cases. The band parted ways with Oldham during the sessions. The split was publicly amicable, but in 2003 Jagger said: "The reason Andrew left was because he thought that we weren't concentrating and that we were being childish. It was not a great moment really—and I would have thought it wasn't a great moment for Andrew either. There were a lot of distractions and you always need someone to focus you at that point, that was Andrew's job." "Satanic Majesties" became the first album the Rolling Stones produced on their own. Its psychedelic sound was complemented by the cover art, which featured a 3D photo by Michael Cooper, who had also photographed the cover of "Sgt. Pepper". Bill Wyman wrote and sang a track on the album: "In Another Land", also released as a single, the first on which Jagger did not sing lead.
The band spent the first few months of 1968 working on material for their next album. Those sessions resulted in the song "Jumpin' Jack Flash", released as a single in May. The subsequent album, "Beggars Banquet", an eclectic mix of country and blues-inspired tunes, marked the band's return to their roots. It was also the beginning of their collaboration with producer Jimmy Miller. It featured the lead single "Street Fighting Man" (which addressed the political upheavals of May 1968) and "Sympathy for the Devil". Controversy over the design of the album cover, which featured a public toilet with graffiti covering the walls of a stall, delayed the album's release for nearly six months. It was well received at the time of release and reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 5 in the US. Richards said of the album:
There is a change between material on "Satanic Majesties" and "Beggars Banquet". I'd grown sick to death of the whole Maharishi guru shit and the beads and bells. Who knows where these things come from, but I guess [the music] was a reaction to what we'd done in our time off and also that severe dose of reality. A spell in prison ... will certainly give you room for thought ... I was fucking pissed with being busted. So it was, 'Right we'll go and strip this thing down.' There's a lot of anger in the music from that period.
"The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus", which originally began as an idea about "the new shape of the rock-and-roll concert tour", was filmed at the end of 1968. It featured John Lennon, Yoko Ono, the Dirty Mac, the Who, Jethro Tull, Marianne Faithfull, and Taj Mahal. The footage was shelved for twenty-eight years but was finally released officially in 1996, with a DVD version released in October 2004.
By the time of "Beggars Banquet"s release, Brian Jones was only sporadically contributing to the band. Jagger said that Jones was "not psychologically suited to this way of life". His drug use had become a hindrance, and he was unable to obtain a US visa. Richards reported that in a June meeting with Jagger, Watts and himself at Jones' house, Jones admitted that he was unable to "go on the road again", and left the band saying, "I've left, and if I want to I can come back." On 3 July 1969, less than a month later, Jones drowned under mysterious circumstances in the swimming pool at his home, Cotchford Farm, in Hartfield, East Sussex. The band auditioned several guitarists, including Paul Kossoff, as a replacement for Jones before settling on Mick Taylor, who was recommended to Jagger by John Mayall.
The Rolling Stones were scheduled to play at a free concert for Blackhill Enterprises in London's Hyde Park, two days after Jones' death; they decided to go ahead with the show as a tribute to him. Jagger began by reading an excerpt from Shelley's poem "Adonaïs", an elegy written on the death of his friend John Keats. They released thousands of butterflies in memory of Jones before opening their set with "I'm Yours and I'm Hers", a Johnny Winter number. The concert, their first with new guitarist Mick Taylor, was performed in front of an estimated 250,000 fans. A Granada Television production team filmed the performance, which was broadcast on British television as "The Stones in the Park". Blackhill Enterprises stage manager Sam Cutler introduced the Rolling Stones on to the stage by announcing: "Let's welcome the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World."
Cutler repeated the introduction throughout their 1969 US tour. The show also included the concert debut of "Honky Tonk Women", which had been released the previous day.
The Stones' last album of the sixties was "Let It Bleed" which reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 3 in the US. It featured "Gimme Shelter" with guest lead female vocals by Merry Clayton (sister of Sam Clayton, of the American rock band Little Feat). Other tracks include "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (with accompaniment by the London Bach Choir, who initially asked that their name be removed from the album's credits after apparently being "horrified" by the content of some of its other material, but later withdrew this request), "Midnight Rambler" as well as a cover of Robert Johnson's "Love in Vain". Jones and Taylor are both featured on the album.
Just after the US tour ended, the band performed at the Altamont Free Concert at the Altamont Speedway, about east of San Francisco. The Hells Angels biker gang provided security. A fan, Meredith Hunter, was stabbed and beaten to death by the Angels after they realised he was armed. Part of the tour, and the Altamont concert, was documented in Albert and David Maysles' film "Gimme Shelter". In response to the growing popularity of bootleg recordings (in particular "Live'r Than You'll Ever Be", recorded during the 1969 tour), the album "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!" was released in 1970. Critic Lester Bangs declared it the best ever live album. It reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 6 in the US.
At the end of the decade the band appeared on the BBC's review of the sixties music scene "Pop Go the Sixties", performing "Gimme Shelter", which was broadcast live on 31 December 1969. The following year, the band wanted out of contracts with both Klein and Decca, but still owed them a Jagger/Richards credited single. To get back at the label and fulfil their final contractual obligation, the band came up with the track "Schoolboy Blues"—deliberately making it as crude as they could in hopes of forcing Decca to keep it "in the vaults".
Amid contractual disputes with Klein, they formed their own record company, Rolling Stones Records. "Sticky Fingers", released in March 1971, the band's first album on their own label, featured an elaborate cover designed by Andy Warhol. It was an Andy Warhol photograph of a man from the waist down in tight jeans featuring a functioning zipper. When unzipped, it revealed the subject's underwear, imprinted with a saying— "This Is Not Etc." In some markets an alternate cover was released because of the perceived offensive nature of the original at the time.
In 1968, the Stones, acting on a suggestion by pianist Ian Stewart, put a control room in a van and created a mobile recording studio so they would not be limited to the standard 9–5 operating hours of most recording studios. The band lent the mobile studio to other artists, including Led Zeppelin, who used it to record "Led Zeppelin III" (1970) and "Led Zeppelin IV" (1971). Deep Purple immortalised the mobile studio itself in the song "Smoke on the Water" with the line "the Rolling truck Stones thing just outside, making our music there".
Following the release of "Sticky Fingers", the Rolling Stones left England after receiving advice from their financial manager Prince Rupert Loewenstein. He recommended they go into tax exile before the start of the next financial year. The band had learned, despite being assured that their taxes were taken care of, they had not been paid for seven years and the UK government was owed a relative fortune. The Stones moved to the South of France, where Richards rented the Villa Nellcôte and sublet rooms to band members and their entourage.
Using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, they held recording sessions in the basement. They completed the new tracks, along with material dating as far back as 1969, at Sunset Studios in Los Angeles. The resulting double album, "Exile on Main St.", was released in May 1972, and reached number one in both the US and the UK. Given an A+ grade by critic Robert Christgau and disparaged by Lester Bangs—who reversed his opinion within months—"Exile" is now accepted as one of the Stones' best albums. The films "Cocksucker Blues" (never officially released) and "" (released in 1974) document the subsequent highly publicised 1972 North American Tour.
The band's double compilation, "Hot Rocks 1964–1971", was released in 1971; it reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 4 in the US. It is certified Diamond in the US having sold over 12 million copies, and spent over 264 weeks on the Billboard album chart. In 1974 Bill Wyman was the first band member to release solo material, his album "Monkey Grip". As of 2018 Wyman has released five solo albums, with the most recent, "Back to Basics", released in 2015.
Members of the band set up a complex financial structure in 1972 to reduce the amount of their taxes. Their holding company, Promogroup, has offices in both The Netherlands and the Caribbean. The Netherlands was chosen because it does not directly tax royalty payments. The band have been tax exiles ever since, meaning they can no longer use Britain as their main residence. Due to the arrangements with the holding company, the band has reportedly paid a tax of just 1.6% on their total earnings of £242 million over the past 20 years.
In November 1972 the band began recording sessions in Kingston, Jamaica, for the album "Goats Head Soup"; it was released in 1973 and reached No. 1 in both the UK and US. The album, which contained the worldwide hit "Angie", was the first in a string of commercially successful but tepidly received studio albums. The sessions for "Goats Head Soup" also produced unused material, most notably an early version of the popular ballad "Waiting on a Friend", which was not released until the "Tattoo You" LP eight years later.
Another legal battle over drugs, dating back to their stay in France, interrupted the making of "Goats Head Soup". Authorities had issued a warrant for Richards' arrest and the other band members had to return briefly to France for questioning. This, along with Jagger's 1967 and 1970 convictions on drug charges, complicated the band's plans for their Pacific tour in early 1973: they were denied permission to play in Japan and almost banned from Australia. A European tour followed in September and October 1973, which bypassed France, coming after Richards' arrest in England on drug charges.
The 1974 album "It's Only Rock 'n Roll" was recorded in the Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany; it reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 1 in the US. Miller was not invited to return as the album's album producer because his "contribution level had dropped". Jagger and Richards produced the album credited as "the Glimmer Twins". Both the album and the single of the same name were hits.
Near the end of 1974, Taylor began to lose patience after years of feeling like a "junior citizen in the band of jaded veterans". The band's situation made normal functioning complicated, with members living in different countries, and legal barriers restricting where they could tour. In addition, drug use was starting to affect Taylor's and Richards' productivity, and Taylor felt some of his own creative contributions were going unrecognised. At the end of 1974, with a recording session already booked in Munich to record another album, Taylor quit the Rolling Stones. Taylor said in 1980,
I was getting a bit fed up. I wanted to broaden my scope as a guitarist and do something else ... I wasn't really composing songs or writing at that time. I was just beginning to write, and that influenced my decision ... There are some people who can just ride along from crest to crest; they can ride along somebody else's success. And there are some people for whom that's not enough. It really wasn't enough for me.
The Stones needed a new guitarist, and the recording sessions for the next album, "Black and Blue" (1976) (No. 2 in the UK, No. 1 in the US) in Munich provided an opportunity for some guitarists hoping to join the band to work while trying out. Guitarists as stylistically disparate as Peter Frampton and Jeff Beck were auditioned as well as Robert A. Johnson and Shuggie Otis. Both Beck and Irish blues rock guitarist Rory Gallagher later claimed they had played without realising they were being auditioned. American session players Wayne Perkins and Harvey Mandel also tried out, but Richards and Jagger preferred for the band to remain purely British. When Ronnie Wood auditioned, everyone agreed he was the right choice. He had already recorded and played live with Richards, and had contributed to the recording and writing of the track "It's Only Rock 'n Roll". He had declined Jagger's earlier offer to join the Stones, because of his commitment to the Faces, saying "that's what's really important to me". Faces' lead singer Rod Stewart went so far as to say he would take bets that Wood would not join the Stones.
Wood officially joined the Rolling Stones in 1975 for their upcoming Tour of the Americas, which was a contributing factor in the disbandment of the Faces. Unlike the other band members, however, Wood was a salaried employee, which remained the case until the early 1990s, when he finally joined the Stones' business partnership.
The 1975 Tour of the Americas kicked off in New York City with the band performing on a flatbed trailer being pulled down Broadway. The tour featured stage props including a giant phallus and a rope on which Jagger swung out over the audience. Jagger had booked live recording sessions at the El Mocambo, a club in Toronto, to produce a long-overdue live album, 1977's "Love You Live", the first Stones live album since "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!". It reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 5 in the US.
Richards' addiction to heroin delayed his arrival in Toronto; the other members had already arrived. On 24 February 1977, when Richards and his family flew in from London, they were temporarily detained by Canada Customs after Richards was found in possession of a burnt spoon and hash residue. Three days later, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, armed with an arrest warrant for Anita Pallenberg, discovered of heroin in Richards' room. He was charged with importing narcotics into Canada, an offence that carried a minimum seven-year sentence.
The Crown prosecutor later conceded that Richards had procured the drugs after his arrival. Despite the incident, the band played two shows in Toronto, only to cause more controversy when Margaret Trudeau, then-wife of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was seen partying with the band after one show. The band's shows were not advertised to the public. Instead, the El Mocambo had been booked for the entire week by April Wine for a recording session. 1050 CHUM, a local radio station, ran a contest for free tickets to see April Wine. Contest winners who selected tickets for Friday or Saturday night were surprised to find the Rolling Stones playing.
On 4 March, Richards' partner Anita Pallenberg pleaded guilty to drug possession and incurred a fine in connection with the original airport incident. The drug case against Richards dragged on for over a year. Ultimately, he received a suspended sentence and was ordered to play two free concerts for the CNIB in Oshawa; both shows featured the Rolling Stones and the New Barbarians, a group that Wood had put together to promote his latest solo album, which Richards also joined. This episode strengthened Richards' resolve to stop using heroin. It also ended his relationship with Pallenberg, which had become strained since the death of their third child, Tara. Pallenberg was unable to curb her heroin addiction as Richards struggled to get clean. While Richards was settling his legal and personal problems, Jagger continued his jet-set lifestyle. He was a regular at New York's Studio 54 disco club, often in the company of model Jerry Hall. His marriage to Bianca Jagger ended in 1977, although they had long been estranged.
Although the Rolling Stones remained popular through the early 1970s, music critics had begun to grow dismissive of the band's output, and record sales failed to meet expectations. By the mid-1970s, after punk rock became influential, many people had begun to view the Rolling Stones as an outdated band.
The group's fortunes changed in 1978, after the band released "Some Girls", which included the hit single "Miss You", the country ballad "Far Away Eyes", "Beast of Burden" and "Shattered". In part as a response to punk, many songs, particularly "Respectable", were fast, basic, guitar-driven rock and roll, and the album's success re-established the Rolling Stones' immense popularity among young people. It reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 1 in the US. Following the US Tour 1978, the band guested on the first show of the fourth season of the TV series "Saturday Night Live". Following the success of "Some Girls", the band released their next album "Emotional Rescue" in mid-1980. During recording sessions for the album, a rift between Jagger and Richards was slowly developing. Richards wanted to tour in the summer or autumn of 1980 to promote the new album. Much to his disappointment, Jagger declined. "Emotional Rescue" hit the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and the title track reached No.3 in the US.
In early 1981, the group reconvened and decided to tour the US that year, leaving little time to write and record a new album, as well as rehearse for the tour. That year's resulting album, "Tattoo You", featured a number of outtakes, including lead single "Start Me Up", which reached No.2 in the US and ranked No.22 on Billboard's Hot 100 year-end chart. Two songs ("Waiting on a Friend" (US No. 13) and "Tops") featured Mick Taylor's unused rhythm guitar tracks, while jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins played on "Slave", "Neighbours" and "Waiting on a Friend". The album reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 1 in the US.
The Rolling Stones reached No. 20 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in 1982 with "Hang Fire". Their American Tour 1981 was their biggest, longest and most colourful production to date. It was the highest-grossing tour of that year. It included a concert at Chicago's Checkerboard Lounge with Muddy Waters, in one of his last performances before his death in 1983. Some of the shows were recorded. This resulted in the 1982 live album "Still Life (American Concert 1981)" which reached No. 4 in the UK and No. 5 in the US, and the 1983 Hal Ashby concert film "Let's Spend the Night Together", filmed at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona and the Brendan Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands, New Jersey.
In mid-1982, to commemorate their 20th anniversary, the Rolling Stones took their American stage show to Europe. The European Tour 1982 was their first in six years and used a similar format to the American tour. The band were joined by former Allman Brothers Band keyboardist Chuck Leavell, who continues to perform and record with them. By the end of the year, the Stones signed a new four-album recording deal with a new label, CBS Records, for a reported $50 million, then the biggest record deal in history.
Before leaving Atlantic, the Rolling Stones released "Undercover" in late 1983. It reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 4 in the US. Despite good reviews and the Top Ten peak position of the title track, the record sold below expectations and there was no tour to support it. Subsequently, the Stones' new marketer/distributor CBS Records took over distributing their Atlantic catalogue.
By this time, the Jagger/Richards rift had grown significantly. To Richards' annoyance, Jagger signed a solo deal with CBS Records and spent much of 1984 writing songs for his first album. He also declared his growing lack of interest in the Rolling Stones. By 1985, Jagger was spending more time on solo recordings. Much of the material on 1986's "Dirty Work" was generated by Richards, with more contributions from Wood than on previous Rolling Stones albums. It was recorded in Paris, and Jagger was often absent from the studio, leaving Richards to keep the recording sessions moving forward.
In June 1985, Jagger teamed up with David Bowie for "Dancing in the Street", which was recorded for the Live Aid charity movement. This was one of Jagger's first solo performances, and the song reached No. 1 in the UK, and No 7 in the US. In December 1985, Stewart died of a heart attack. The Rolling Stones played a private tribute concert for him at London's 100 Club in February 1986. Two days later they were presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
"Dirty Work" was released in March 1986 to mixed reviews, reaching No. 4 in both the US and UK. It was the Stones first album for CBS with an outside producer, Steve Lillywhite. With relations between Richards and Jagger at an all-time low, Jagger refused to tour to promote the album and instead undertook a solo tour, where he performed some Rolling Stones' songs. As a result of their animosity, the Stones almost broke up. Jagger's solo records, "She's the Boss" (1985), which reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 13 in the US, and "Primitive Cool" (1987) which reached No. 26 in the UK and Number 41 in the US, met with moderate commercial success. In 1988, with the Rolling Stones mostly inactive, Richards released his first solo album, "Talk Is Cheap" which reached No. 37 in the UK and No. 24 in the US. It was well received by fans and critics, and certified Gold in the US. Richards has subsequently referred to this late-80s period, where the two were recording solo albums with no obvious reunion of the Stones in sight, as "World War III". The following year "", a documentary spanning the band's career was released for their 25th anniversary.
In early 1989, the Stones, including Mick Taylor and Ronnie Wood as well as Brian Jones and Ian Stewart (posthumously), were inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Jagger and Richards set aside their animosity and went to work on a new Rolling Stones album, "Steel Wheels". Heralded as a return to form, it included the singles "Mixed Emotions" (US No. 5), "Rock and a Hard Place" (US No. 23) and "Almost Hear You Sigh". The album also included "Continental Drift", which the Rolling Stones recorded in Tangier, Morocco in 1989 with the Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar, coordinated by Tony King and Cherie Nutting. Nigel Finch produced a BBC documentary film "The Rolling Stones in Morocco". The album reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 3 in the US.
The Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour was the band's first world tour in seven years and their biggest stage production to date. Opening acts included Living Colour and Guns N' Roses. Recordings from the tour include the 1991 concert album "Flashpoint", which reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 16 in the US, and the concert film "Live at the Max" released in 1991. The tour was Bill Wyman's last. After years of deliberation he decided to leave the band, although his departure was not made official until January 1993. He then published "Stone Alone", an autobiography based on scrapbooks and diaries he had kept since the band's early days. A few years later he formed Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings and began recording and touring again.
After the successes of the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tours, the band took a break. Watts released two jazz albums; Wood recorded his fifth solo album, the first in 11 years, called "Slide On This"; Wyman released his fourth solo album; Richards released his second solo album in late 1992, "Main Offender" and did a small tour including big concerts in Spain and Argentina. Jagger got good reviews and sales with his third solo album, "Wandering Spirit" which reached No. 12 in the UK and No. 11 in the US. The album sold more than two million copies worldwide, being certified Gold in the US.
After Wyman's departure, the Rolling Stones' new distributor/record label, Virgin Records, remastered and repackaged the band's back catalogue from "Sticky Fingers" to "Steel Wheels", except for the three live albums. They issued another hits compilation in 1993 entitled "", which reached No. 16 in the UK and No. 30 in the US. By 1993, the Stones were ready to start recording another studio album. Charlie Watts recruited bassist Darryl Jones, a former sideman of Miles Davis and Sting, as Wyman's replacement for 1994's "Voodoo Lounge". Jones continues to perform with the band as their touring and session bassist. The album met with strong reviews and sales, going double platinum in the US. Reviewers took note and credited the album's "traditionalist" sounds to the Rolling Stones' new producer Don Was. "Voodoo Lounge" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album at the 1995 Grammy Awards. It reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 2 in the US.
The accompanying Voodoo Lounge Tour lasted into the following year and grossed $320 million, becoming the world's highest-grossing tour at the time. Mostly acoustic numbers from various concerts and rehearsals made up "Stripped" which reached No. 9 in the UK and the US. It featured a cover of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone", as well as infrequently played songs like "Shine a Light", "Sweet Virginia" and "The Spider and the Fly". On 8 September 1994, the Stones performed their new song "Love Is Strong" and "Start Me Up" at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The band received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony.
The Rolling Stones were the first major recording artists to broadcast a concert over the Internet; a 20-minute video was broadcast on 18 November 1994 using the Mbone at 10 frames per second. The broadcast, engineered by Thinking Pictures and financed by Sun Microsystems, was one of the first demonstrations of streaming video; while it was not a true webcast, it introduced many to the technology.
The Rolling Stones ended the 1990s with the album "Bridges to Babylon" (UK 6; US 3), released in 1997 to mixed reviews. It reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 3 in the US. The video of the single "Anybody Seen My Baby?" featured Angelina Jolie as guest and met steady rotation on both MTV and VH1. Sales were roughly equal to those of previous records (about 1.2 million copies sold in the US). The subsequent Bridges to Babylon Tour, which crossed Europe, North America and other destinations, proved the band remained a strong live attraction. Once again, a live album was culled from the tour, "No Security", only this time all but two songs ("Live With Me" and "The Last Time") were previously unreleased on live albums. The album reached No. 67 in the UK and No. 34 in the US. In 1999, the Rolling Stones staged the No Security Tour in the US and continued the Bridges to Babylon tour in Europe.
In late 2001, Mick Jagger released his fourth solo album, "Goddess in the Doorway". It met with mixed reviews, reaching No. 44 in the UK and No. 39 in the US. A month after the September 11 attacks, Jagger, Richards and a backing band took part in The Concert for New York City, performing "Salt of the Earth" and "Miss You". In 2002, the Stones released "Forty Licks", a greatest hits double album, to mark forty years as a band. The collection contained four new songs recorded with the core band of Jagger, Richards, Watts, Wood, Leavell and Jones. The album has sold more than 7 million copies worldwide. It reached No. 2 in both the US and UK. The same year, "Q" magazine named the Rolling Stones one of the 50 Bands To See Before You Die, and the 2002–2003 Licks Tour gave people that chance. It included shows in small theatres. The Stones headlined the Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto concert in Toronto, Canada, to help the city—which they had used for rehearsals since the Voodoo Lounge tour—recover from the 2003 SARS epidemic. An estimated 490,000 people attended the concert.
On 9 November 2003, the band played their first concert in Hong Kong as part of the Harbour Fest celebration, in support of its SARS-affected economy. The same month, the band licensed the exclusive rights to sell the new four-DVD boxed set, "Four Flicks", recorded on their recent world tour, to the US Best Buy chain of stores. In response, some Canadian and US music retail chains (including HMV Canada and Circuit City) pulled Rolling Stones CDs and related merchandise from their shelves and replaced it with signs explaining why. In 2004, a double live album of the Licks Tour, "Live Licks", was released and certified gold in the US. It reached No. 2 in both the UK and US. In November 2004, the Rolling Stones were among the inaugural inductees into the UK Music Hall of Fame.
The band's first new album in almost eight years, "A Bigger Bang", was released on 6 September to strong reviews, including a glowing write-up in "Rolling Stone" magazine. The album reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 3 in the US. The single "Streets of Love" reached the top 15 in the UK. The album included the political "Sweet Neo Con", Jagger's criticism of American Neoconservatism. The song was reportedly almost dropped from the album because of objections from Richards. When asked if he was afraid of a political backlash like the Dixie Chicks had endured, Richards responded that the album came first saying, "I don't want to be sidetracked by some little political 'storm in a teacup'." The subsequent A Bigger Bang Tour began in August 2005, and included North America, South America and East Asia. In February 2006, the group played the half-time show of Super Bowl XL in Detroit, Michigan. By the end of 2005, the Bigger Bang tour set a record of $162 million in gross receipts, breaking the North American mark set by the band in 1994. On 18 February 2006 the band played a free concert to over one million people at the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro—one of the largest rock concerts of all time.
After performances in Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand in March/April 2006, the Stones' tour took a scheduled break before proceeding to Europe. During the break Keith Richards was hospitalised in New Zealand for cranial surgery after a fall from a tree on Fiji, where he had been on holiday. The incident led to a six-week delay in launching the European leg of the tour. In June 2006 it was reported that Ronnie Wood was continuing his alcohol abuse rehabilitation programme, but this did not affect the rearranged European tour schedule. Mick Jagger's throat problems forced the cancellation of two of the 21 shows scheduled for July–September 2006. The Stones returned to North America for concerts in September 2006, and returned to Europe on 5 June 2007. By November 2006, the Bigger Bang tour had been declared the highest-grossing tour of all time.
Martin Scorsese filmed the Stones performances at New York City's Beacon Theatre on 29 October and 1 November 2006 for the documentary film, "Shine a Light", released in 2008. The film features guest appearances by Buddy Guy, Jack White, and Christina Aguilera. An accompanying soundtrack, also titled "Shine a Light", was released in April 2008 and reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 11 in the US. The album's debut at No. 2 on the UK charts was the highest position for a Rolling Stones concert album since "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert" in 1970. At the Beacon Theater show, music executive Ahmet Ertegun fell and later died from his injuries.
The band toured Europe throughout June–August 2007. 12 June 2007 saw the release of the band's second four-disc DVD set: "The Biggest Bang", a seven-hour film featuring their shows in Austin, Rio de Janeiro, Saitama, Shanghai and Buenos Aires, along with extras. On 10 June 2007, the band performed their first gig at a festival in 30 years, at the Isle of Wight Festival, to a crowd of 65,000 and were joined onstage by Amy Winehouse. On 26 August 2007, they played their last concert of the Bigger Bang tour at the O2 Arena in London. At the conclusion of the tour, the band had grossed a record-setting $558 million and were listed in the latest edition of "Guinness World Records" which stated the record was for gross receipts of $437 million.
Mick Jagger released a compilation of his solo work called "The Very Best of Mick Jagger", including three unreleased songs, on 2 October 2007. It reached No. 57 in the UK and No. 77 in the US. On 12 November 2007, ABKCO released "" (UK 26), a double-CD remake of the 1975 compilation "Rolled Gold".
In July 2008 the Rolling Stones left EMI to sign with Vivendi's Universal Music, taking with them their catalogue stretching back to "Sticky Fingers". New music released by the band while under this contract was to be issued through Universal's Polydor label. Mercury Records was to hold the US rights to the pre-1994 material, while the post-1994 material was to be handled by Interscope Records (once a subsidiary of Atlantic).
During the autumn, Jagger and Richards worked with producer Don Was to add new vocals and guitar parts to ten unfinished songs from the "Exile on Main St." sessions. Jagger and Mick Taylor also recorded a session together in London where Taylor added lead guitar to what would be the expanded album's single, "Plundered My Soul". On 17 April 2010, the band released a limited edition 7-inch vinyl single of the previously unreleased track "Plundered My Soul" as part of Record Store Day. The track, part of the group's 2010 re-issue of "Exile on Main St.", was combined with "All Down the Line" as its B-side. The band appeared at the Cannes Festival for the premiere of the documentary "Stones in Exile" (directed by Stephen Kijak) about the recording of the album "Exile on Main St.". On 23 May, the re-issue of "Exile on Main St." reached No. 1 on the UK charts, almost 38 years to the week after it first occupied that position. The band became the first act to see a classic work return to No. 1 decades after it was first released. In the US, the album re-entered the charts at No. 2.
Loewenstein proposed to the band that they wind down their recording and touring activity and sell off their assets. The band disagreed, and that year Loewenstein parted from the band after four decades as their manager, later writing the memoir "A Prince Among Stones". Joyce Smyth, a lawyer who had long been working for the Stones, took over as their full-time manager in 2010. Smyth would go on to win Top Manager in the 2019 Billboard Live Music Awards.
In October 2010, the Stones released "" to cinemas and later on to DVD. A digitally remastered version of the film was shown in select cinemas across the United States. Although originally released to cinemas in 1974, it had never been available for home release apart from bootleg recordings. In October 2011, the Stones released "" to cinemas. A digitally remastered version of the film was shown in select cinemas across the US. This live performance was recorded during one show in Ft. Worth, Texas in support of their 1978 US Tour and their album "Some Girls". The film was released on (DVD/Blu-ray Disc) on 15 November 2011. On 21 November, the band reissued "Some Girls" as a 2 CD deluxe edition. The second CD included twelve previously unreleased tracks (except "So Young", which was a B-side to "Out of Tears") from the sessions with mostly newly recorded vocals by Jagger.
The Rolling Stones celebrated their 50th anniversary in the summer of 2012 by releasing the book "The Rolling Stones: 50". A new take on the band's lip-and-tongue logo, designed by Shepard Fairey, was also revealed and used during the celebrations. Jagger's brother Chris performed a gig at The Rolling Stones Museum in Slovenia in conjunction with the celebrations.
The documentary "Crossfire Hurricane", directed by Brett Morgen, was released in October 2012. He conducted approximately fifty hours of interviews for the film, including extensive interviews with Wyman and Taylor. This was the first official career-spanning documentary since "25x5: The Continuing Adventures of the Rolling Stones", filmed for their 25th anniversary in 1989. A new compilation album, "GRRR!", was released on 12 November. Available in four different formats, it included two new tracks, "Doom and Gloom" and "One More Shot", recorded at Studio Guillaume Tell in Paris, France, in the last few weeks of August 2012. The album went on to sell over two million copies worldwide. The music video for "Doom and Gloom" featuring Noomi Rapace was released on 20 November.
In November 2012, the Stones began their 50 & Counting... tour at London's O2 Arena, where they were joined by Jeff Beck. At their second show in London Eric Clapton and Florence Welch joined the group onstage. Their third anniversary concert took place on 8 December at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York. The last two dates were at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on 13 and 15 December. Bruce Springsteen and blues rock band the Black Keys joined the band on the final night. They also played two songs at "".
The Stones played nineteen shows in the U.S. in spring 2013, before returning to the UK. On 29 June, the band performed at the 2013 Glastonbury Festival. They returned to Hyde Park in July, though it was not free like the 1969 concert. They performed the same set list as their 1969 concert at the venue. "Hyde Park Live", a live album recorded at the two Hyde Park gigs on 6 and 13 July, was released exclusively as a digital download through iTunes later that month. A live DVD, "", was released on 11 November.
In February 2014, the band embarked on their 14 On Fire tour spanning the Middle East, Asia, Australia and Europe, scheduled to last through to the summer. On 17 March, Jagger's long-time partner L'Wren Scott died suddenly, resulting in the cancellation and rescheduling of the opening tour dates to October. On 4 June, the Rolling Stones performed for the first time in Israel. "Haaretz" described the concert as being "Historic with a capital H". In a 2015 interview with Jagger, when asked if retirement crosses his mind he stated, "Nah, not in the moment. I'm thinking about what the next tour is. I'm not thinking about retirement. I'm planning the next set of tours, so the answer is really, 'No, not really.'"
The Stones embarked on their Latin American tour in February 2016. On 25 March, the band played a bonus show, a free open air concert in Havana, Cuba. In June of that year, the Rolling Stones released, "Totally Stripped", an expanded and reconceived edition of "Stripped", in multiple formats. Their concert on 25 March 2016 in Cuba was commemorated in the film "". It premiered on 23 September for one night only in more than a thousand theatres worldwide. The film "", a documentary of their 2016 Latin America tour, was shown in cinemas on 12 December for one night only. "Olé Olé Olé: A Trip Across Latin America" came out on DVD and Blu-ray 26 May 2017. The Stones performed at the Desert Trip festival held in Indio, California, playing two nights, 7 and 14 October, the same nights as Bob Dylan.
The band released "Blue & Lonesome" on 2 December 2016. The album consisted of 12 blues covers of artists like Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Reed and Little Walter. Recording took place in British Grove Studios, London, in December 2015, and featured Eric Clapton on two tracks. The album reached No. 1 in the UK, the second-highest opening sales week for an album that year. It also debuted at No. 4 on the "Billboard" 200.
In July 2017, the "Toronto Sun" reported that the Stones were getting ready to record their first album of original material in more than a decade. The album "On Air", a collection of 18 recordings the band performed on the BBC between 1963 and 1965, was released in December 2017. The compilation featured eight songs the band had never recorded or released commercially.
In May 2017, the No Filter Tour was announced, with fourteen shows in twelve different venues across Europe in September and October of the same year. It was later extended throughout July 2018, adding fourteen new dates across the UK and Europe, making it the band's first UK tour since 2006. In November 2018, the Stones announced plans to bring the No Filter Tour to U.S. stadiums in 2019, with 13 shows set to run from April to June. In March 2019, it was announced that Jagger would be undergoing heart valve replacement surgery, forcing the band to postpone the 17-date North American leg of their No Filter Tour. On 4 April 2019, it was announced that Jagger had completed his heart valve procedure in New York, was recovering (in hospital) after a successful operation, and could be released in the following few days. On 16 May, the Rolling Stones announced that the No Filter Tour would resume on 21 June with the 17 postponed dates rescheduled up to the end of August. In March 2020, the No Filter Tour was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Rolling Stones – featuring Jagger, Richards, Watts, and Wood at their own homes – were one of the headline acts on Global Citizen's "One World: Together at Home" on-line and on-screen concert on 18 April 2020, a global event featuring dozens of artists and comedians to support frontline healthcare workers and the World Health Organization during the Covid-19 pandemic. On 23 April, Jagger announced through his Facebook page the release (the same day at 5pm BST) of the single "Living in a Ghost Town", a brand new Rolling Stones song recorded in LA and London in 2019 and finished in isolation (part of the new material that the band was recording in the studio prior to the Covid-19 lockdown), a song that the band "thought would resonate through the times we're living in" and their first original one since 2012.
The Rolling Stones have assimilated various musical genres into their own collective sound. Throughout the band's career, their musical contributions have been marked by a continual reference and reliance on musical styles including blues, psychedelia, R&B, country, folk, reggae, dance, and world music, exemplified by Jones' collaboration with the Master Musicians of Jajouka, as well as traditional English styles that use stringed instruments like harps. Brian Jones experimented with the use of non-traditional instruments such as the sitar and slide guitar in their early days. The group started out covering early rock 'n' roll and blues songs, and have never stopped playing live or recording cover songs.
Jagger and Richards had a shared admiration of Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf. Little Walter influenced Brian Jones. Richards recalls, "He was more into T-Bone Walker and jazz blues stuff. We'd turn him onto Chuck Berry and say, 'Look, it's all the same shit, man, and you can do it.'" Charlie Watts, a traditional jazz drummer, was also introduced to the blues through his association with the pair. "Keith and Brian turned me on to Jimmy Reed and people like that. I learned that Earl Phillips was playing on those records like a jazz drummer, playing swing, with a straight four." Jagger, recalling when he first heard the likes of Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Fats Domino, and other major American R&B artists, said it "seemed the most real thing" he had heard up to that point. Similarly, Keith Richards, describing the first time he listened to Muddy Waters, said it was the "most powerful music [he had] ever heard ... the most expressive". He also recalled, "when you think of some dopey, spotty seventeen year old from Dartford, who wants to be Muddy Waters—and there were a lot of us—in a way, very pathetic, but in another way, [it was] very ... heartwarming".
Despite the Rolling Stones' predilection for blues and R&B numbers on their early live set lists, the first original compositions by the band reflected a more wide-ranging interest. Critic Richie Unterberger described the first Jagger/Richards single, "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)", as a "pop rock ballad ... When [Jagger and Richards] began to write songs, they were usually not derived from the blues, but were often surprisingly fey, slow, Mersey-type pop numbers". "As Tears Go By", the ballad originally written for Marianne Faithfull, was one of the first songs written by Jagger and Richards and one of many written by the duo for other artists. Jagger said of the song, "It's a relatively mature song considering the rest of the output at the time. And we didn't think of [recording] it, because the Rolling Stones were a butch blues group." The Rolling Stones did later record a version which became a top five hit in the US.
Of their early writing experience, Richards said,
The amazing thing is that although Mick and I thought these songs were really puerile and kindergarten-time, every one that got put out made a decent showing in the charts. That gave us extraordinary confidence to carry on, because at the beginning songwriting was something we were going to do in order to say to Andrew [Loog Oldham], 'Well, at least we gave it a try ...'
Jagger said,
We were very pop-orientated. We didn't sit around listening to Muddy Waters; we listened to everything. In some ways it's easy to write to order ... Keith and I got into the groove of writing those kind of tunes; they were done in ten minutes. I think we thought it was a bit of a laugh, and it turned out to be something of an apprenticeship for us.
The writing of "The Last Time", the Rolling Stones' first major single, proved a turning point. Richards called it "a bridge into thinking about writing for the Stones. It gave us a level of confidence; a pathway of how to do it." The song was based on a traditional gospel song popularised by the Staple Singers, but the Rolling Stones' number features a distinctive guitar riff, played by Brian Jones. Prior to the emergence of Jagger/Richards as the Stones' songwriters, the band members occasionally were given collective credit under the pseudonym Nanker Phelge. Some songs attributed to Nanker Phelge have been re-attributed to Jagger/Richards.
Beginning with Jones and continuing with Wood, the Rolling Stones have developed what Richards refers to as the "ancient art of weaving" responsible for part of their sound – the interplay between two guitarists on stage. Unlike most bands, the Stones follow Richards' lead rather than the drummer's (Watts). Likewise, Watts is primarily a jazz player who was able to bring that genre's influences to the style of the band's drumming. The following of Richards' lead has led to conflicts between Jagger and Richards and they have been known to annoy one another, but they have both agreed it makes a better record; Watts in particular has praised Jagger's production skills. In the studio, the band have tended to use a fluid personnel for recordings and not use the same players for each song. Guest pianists were commonplace on recordings; several songs on "Beggars Banquet" are driven by Nicky Hopkins' piano playing. On "Exile on Main St.", Richards plays bass on three tracks while Taylor plays on four.
Richards started using open tunings for rhythm parts (often in conjunction with a capo), most prominently an open-E or open-D tuning in 1968. Beginning in 1969, he often used 5-string open-G tuning (with the lower 6th string removed), as heard on the 1969 single "Honky Tonk Women", "Brown Sugar" ("Sticky Fingers", 1971), "Tumbling Dice" (capo IV), "Happy" (capo IV) ("Exile on Main St.", 1972), and "Start Me Up" ("Tattoo You", 1981).
The feuds between Jagger and Richards originated in the 1970s when Richards was a heroin addict, resulting in Jagger managing the band's affairs for many years. When Richards got himself off heroin and became more present in decision making, Jagger was not used to it and did not like his authority diminished. This led to the period Richards has referred to as "World War III".
Musical collaboration between members of the band and supporting musicians was key, due to the fluid lineups typically experienced by the band in the studio, as tracks tended to be recorded "by whatever members of the group happened to be around at the time of the sessions". Over time, Jagger has developed into the template for rock frontmen and, with the help of the Stones, has, in the words of the "Telegraph", "changed music" through his contributions to it as a pioneer of the modern music industry.
Since their formation in 1962, the Rolling Stones have survived multiple feuds. They have released 30 studio albums, 23 live albums, 25 compilation albums and 120 singles. According to OfficialCharts.com, the Stones are ranked the fourth bestselling group of all time. Their top single is "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", regarded by many at the time as "the classic example of rock and roll". The Stones contributed to the blues lexicon, creating their own "codewords" and slang, such as "losing streak" for menstrual period, which they have used throughout their catalogue of songs. The band has been viewed as the musical "vanguard of a major transfusion" of various cultural attitudes, making them accessible to youth in both America and Britain. Muddy Waters was quoted as saying that the Rolling Stones and other English bands piqued the interest of American youth in blues musicians. After they came to the United States, sales of Waters' albums—and those of other blues musicians—increased public interest, thus helping to reconnect the country with its own music.
The Rolling Stones have sold over 240 million albums worldwide and have held over 48 tours of varying length, including three of the highest-grossing tours of all time: "Bridges to Babylon" Tour, "Voodoo Lounge" Tour, and "A Bigger Bang" Tour. In May 2013, "Rolling Stone" magazine declared them the "most definitional band that rock & roll has produced". "The Telegraph" called Mick Jagger "the Rolling Stone who changed music". The band has been the subject of numerous documentaries and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Pete Townshend in 1989. The Rolling Stones have inspired and mentored new generations of musical artists both as a band and individually. They are also credited with changing the "whole business model of popular music". In a review of the band's 2020 acoustic rendition of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" for Global Citizen's "One World: Together At Home" on-line and on-screen concert, "Billboard" stated that they are "still the masters of delivering unforgettable live performances."
The band has received, and been nominated for multiple awards during their 57 years together including: three Grammy awards (and 12 nominations), the Juno award for International Entertainer of the Year in 1991, U.K.'s Jazz FM Awards Album of the Year (2017) for their album "Blue & Lonesome", and "NME" ("New Musical Express") awards such as best live band and the NME award for best music film, for their documentary "Crossfire Hurricane".
On Jagger's 75th birthday, scientists named seven fossil stoneflies after present and former members of the band. Two species, "Petroperla mickjaggeri" and "Lapisperla keithrichardsi", were placed within a new family Petroperlidae. The new family was named in honour of the Rolling Stones, derived from the Greek "petra" that stands for "stone". The scientists referred to the fossils as "Rolling Stoneflies". This theme was continued when NASA named a rock disturbed by the thrusters of the Mars InSight Lander "Rolling Stones Rock", as announced by Robert Downey Jr. during the band's 22 August 2019 performance in Pasadena, California.
The Rolling Stones have performed more than two thousand concerts around the world. Their first concert was on 12 July 1962 at the Marquee Club in London. The most documented of the band's concerts is the Altamont Free Concert at the Altamont Speedway in 1969. The Hells Angels biker gang provided security. They stabbed and beat an audience member, Meredith Hunter to death. Albert and David Maysles documented part of the tour and the Altamont concert in their film "Gimme Shelter".
From small clubs and hotels in London with little room for Jagger to move around to selling out stadiums worldwide, Rolling Stones tours have changed significantly over the decades. The Stones' early setups were simple compared to what they became later in the band's career when elaborate stage designs, pyrotechnics and giant screens were used. By the time the Stones toured America in 1969, they began to fill large halls and arenas, such as The Forum in Inglewood, California. They were also using more equipment, including lighting rigs and better sound equipment than they had used in clubs. The 1969 tour is considered a "great watershed tour" by Mick Jagger because they "started hanging the sound and therefore hanging the lights". Attributing the birth of arena rock to the Stones 1969 US tour, "The Guardian" ranked it 19 on their list of the 50 key events in rock music history. Before this tour the loudest sound at large-capacity shows was often the crowd, so the Stones used lighting and sound systems that ensured they could be seen and heard in the biggest arenas. "The Guardian" commented that their "combination of front-of-house excellence and behind the scenes savvy took the business of touring to an entirely new level." During the 1972 tour, the Stones developed a complex light show which included giant mirrors that bounced the light off them.
During the 1975 Tour of the Americas, arena shows became an industry for the band, and the Stones hired a new lighting director, Jules Fisher. The props the band used on stage increased in both size and sophistication, similar to those on Broadway. They started to use multiple stages, from which they would select for a particular show. On this tour they had two versions of what Jagger referred to as the "lotus stage". One version had a large Venetian (cylindrical) curtain, and the other had leaves that began in a folded up position and opened during the beginning of the concert. This period also included a variety of props, including inflatable penises and other gimmicks, and incorporated a number of circus tricks.
During the 1981–1982 American tour, the Stones worked with Japanese designer Kazuhide Yamazari in constructing their stages for stadium-sized locations and audiences. During this period, stages increased in size to include runways and movable sections of the stage going out into the audience. This tour used coloured panels and was one of the last Stones tours to do so before switching to devices such as video screens. Stadium shows provided a new challenge for the band. The venues were large enough in size that the band became "like ants" to audience members. This resulted in Jagger having to project himself "over the footlights" and the band needing to use more gimmicks, such as pyrotechnics, lights and video screens.
As time went on, their props and stage equipment became increasingly sophisticated. When the Stones began to fill stadium-sized venues, or larger, they ran into the problem of the audience no longer being able to see them. This was particularly the case when they performed a free concert for an estimated 1.5 million people in Rio de Janeiro on the "A Bigger Bang" tour in 2006. The show required over 500 lights, hundreds of speakers, and a video screen almost in length. Due to the length of the beach on which the Stones performed, sound systems had to be set up in a relay pattern down the length of the beach, to keep the sound in sync with the music from the stage; for every of beach, the sound had to be delayed an additional second.
Studio albums | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31056 |
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 20 November 1750 – 4 May 1799), also known as "Tipu Sahab" or the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore and a pioneer of rocket artillery. He introduced a number of administrative innovations during his rule, including a new coinage system and calendar, and a new land revenue system which initiated the growth of the Mysore silk industry. He expanded the iron-cased Mysorean rockets and commissioned the military manual "Fathul Mujahidin". He deployed the rockets against advances of British forces and their allies during the Anglo-Mysore Wars, including the Battle of Pollilur and Siege of Seringapatam. He also embarked on an ambitious economic development program that established Mysore as a major economic power, with some of the world's highest real wages and living standards in the late 18th century.
Napoleon Bonaparte, the French commander-in-chief, sought an alliance with Tipu Sultan. Both Tipu Sultan and his father used their French-trained army in alliance with the French in their struggle with the British, and in Mysore's struggles with other surrounding powers, against the Marathas, Sira, and rulers of Malabar, Kodagu, Bednore, Carnatic, and Travancore. Tipu's father, Hyder Ali, rose to power capturing Mysore, and Tipu succeeded him as the ruler of Mysore upon his father's death in 1782. He won important victories against the British in the Second Anglo-Mysore War and negotiated the 1784 Treaty of Mangalore with them after his father died from cancer in December 1782 during the Second Anglo-Mysore War.
Tipu's conflicts with his neighbours included the Maratha–Mysore War which ended with the signing of the Treaty of Gajendragad. The treaty required that Tipu Sultan pay 4.8 million rupees as a one-time war cost to the Marathas, and an annual tribute of 1.2 million rupees in addition to returning all the territory captured by Hyder Ali.
Tipu remained an implacable enemy of the British East India Company, sparking conflict with his attack on British-allied Travancore in 1789. In the Third Anglo-Mysore War, he was forced into the Treaty of Seringapatam, losing a number of previously conquered territories, including Malabar and Mangalore. He sent emissaries to foreign states, including the Ottoman Empire, Afghanistan, and France, in an attempt to rally opposition to the British.
In the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, the imperial forces of the British East India Company were supported by the Marathas. They defeated Tipu, and he was killed on 4 May 1799 while defending his fort of Seringapatam.
In post-colonial Indian subcontinent, he is applauded as a secular ruler who fought against British colonialism However, he has been criticized for his repression of Hindus of Malabar and Christians of Mangalore for both religious and political reasons.
Tipu Sultan was born on 20 November 1750 (Friday, 20th Dhu al-Hijjah, 1163 AH) at Devanahalli, in present-day Bangalore Rural district, about north of Bangalore city. He was named "Tipu Sultan" after the saint Tipu Mastan Aulia of Arcot. Being illiterate, Hyder was very particular in giving his eldest son a prince's education and a very early exposure to military and political affairs. From the age of 17 Tipu was given independent charge of important diplomatic and military missions. He was his father's right arm in the wars from which Hyder emerged as the most powerful ruler of southern India.
Tipu's father, Hyder Ali, was a military officer in service to the Kingdom of Mysore who had become the "de facto" ruler of Mysore in 1761 while his mother Fatima Fakhr-un-Nisa was the daughter of Mir Muin-ud-Din, the governor of the fort of Kadapa. Hyder Ali appointed able teachers to give Tipu an early education in subjects like Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Kannada, Quran, Islamic jurisprudence, riding, shooting and fencing.
Tipu Sultan was instructed in military tactics by French officers in the employment of his father. At age 15, he accompanied his father against the British in the First Mysore War in 1766. He commanded a corps of cavalry in the invasion of Carnatic in 1767 at age 16. He also distinguished himself in the First Anglo-Maratha War of 1775–1779.
Alexander Beatson, who published a volume on the Fourth Mysore War entitled "View of the Origin and Conduct of the War with Tippoo Sultaun", described Tipu Sultan as follows: "His stature was about five feet eight inches; he had a short neck, square shoulders, and was rather corpulent: his limbs were small, particularly his feet and hands; he had large full eyes, small arched eyebrows, and an aquiline nose; his complexion was fair, and the general expression of his countenance, not void of dignity".
In 1779, the British captured the French-controlled port of Mahé, which Tipu had placed under his protection, providing some troops for its defence. In response, Hyder launched an invasion of the Carnatic, with the aim of driving the British out of Madras. During this campaign in September 1780, Tipu Sultan was dispatched by Hyder Ali with 10,000 men and 18 guns to intercept Colonel Baillie who was on his way to join Sir Hector Munro. In the Battle of Pollilur, Tipu decisively defeated Baillie. Out of 360 Europeans, about 200 were captured alive, and the sepoys, who were about 3800 men, suffered very high casualties. Munro was moving south with a separate force to join Baillie, but on hearing the news of the defeat he was forced to retreat to Madras, abandoning his artillery in a water tank at Kanchipuram.
Tipu Sultan defeated Colonel Braithwaite at Annagudi near Tanjore on 18 February 1782. Braithwaite's forces, consisting of 100 Europeans, 300 cavalry, 1400 sepoys and 10 field pieces, was the standard size of the colonial armies. Tipu Sultan seized all the guns and took the entire detachment prisoner. In December 1781 Tipu Sultan successfully seized Chittur from the British. Tipu Sultan had thus gained sufficient military experience by the time Hyder Ali died on Friday, 6 December 1782 – some historians put it at 2 or 3 days later or before, (Hijri date being 1 Muharram, 1197 as per some records in Persian – there may be a difference of 1 to 3 days due to the Lunar Calendar). Tipu Sultan realised that the British were a new kind of threat in India. He became the ruler of Mysore on Sunday, 22 December 1782 (The inscriptions in some of Tipu's regalia showing it as 20 Muharram, 1197 Hijri – Sunday), in a simple coronation ceremony.
He then worked on to check the advances of the British by making alliances with the Marathas and the Mughals. The Second Mysore War came to an end with the 1784 Treaty of Mangalore.
In 1780, Tipu crowned himself "Badshah" or Emperor of Mysore, and struck coinage.
The Maratha Empire, under its new Peshwa Madhavrao I, regained most of Indian subcontinent, twice defeating Tipu's father, who was forced to accept Maratha Empire as the supreme power in 1764 and then in 1767. In 1767 Maratha Peshwa Madhavrao defeated both Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan and entered Srirangapatna, the capital of Mysore. Hyder Ali accepted the authority of Madhavrao who gave him the title of Nawab of Mysore.
However Tipu Sultan wanted to escape from the treaty of Marathas and therefore tried to take some Maratha forts in Southern India, which were captured by Marathas in the previous war. Tipu also stopped the tribute to Marathas which was promised by Hyder Ali. This brought Tipu in direct conflict with the Marathas, leading to Maratha–Mysore War
Conflicts between Mysore (under Tipu) and Marathas:
Conflict ended with Treaty of Gajendragad in March 1787, as per which Tipu returned all the territory captured by Hyder Ali to Maratha Empire. Tipu agreed to pay four year arrears of tribute which his father Hyder Ali had agreed to pay to Maratha Empire (4.8 million rupees), The Marathas agreed to address Tipu sultan as "Nabob Tipu Sultan Futteh Ally Khan".
In 1766, when Tipu Sultan was just 15 years old, he got the chance to apply his military training in battle for the first time, when he accompanied his father on an invasion of Malabar. After the incident- Siege of Tellicherry in Thalassery in North Malabar, Hyder Ali started losing his territories in Malabar. Tipu came from Mysore to reinstate the authority over Malabar. After the Battle of the Nedumkotta (1789–90), due to the monsoon flood, the stiff resistance of the Travancore forces and news about the attack of British in Srirangapatnam he went back.
In 1789, Tipu Sultan disputed the acquisition by Dharma Raja of Travancore of two Dutch-held fortresses in Cochin. In December 1789 he massed troops at Coimbatore, and on 28 December made an attack on the lines of Travancore, knowing that Travancore was (according to the Treaty of Mangalore) an ally of the British East India Company. On account of the staunch resistance by the Travancore army, Tipu was unable to break through the Tranvancore lines and the Maharajah of Travancore appealed to the East India Company for help. In response, Lord Cornwallis mobilised company and British military forces, and formed alliances with the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad to oppose Tipu. In 1790 the company forces advanced, taking control of much of the Coimbatore district. Tipu counter-attacked, regaining much of the territory, although the British continued to hold Coimbatore itself. He then descended into the Carnatic, eventually reaching Pondicherry, where he attempted without success to draw the French into the conflict.
In 1791 his opponents advanced on all fronts, with the main British force under Cornwallis taking Bangalore and threatening Srirangapatna. Tipu harassed the British supply and communication and embarked on a "scorched earth" policy of denying local resources to the invaders. In this last effort he was successful, as the lack of provisions forced Cornwallis to withdraw to Bangalore rather than attempt a siege of Srirangapatna. Following the withdrawal, Tipu sent forces to Coimbatore, which they retook after a lengthy siege.
The 1792 campaign was a failure for Tipu. The allied army was well-supplied, and Tipu was unable to prevent the junction of forces from Bangalore and Bombay before Srirangapatna. After about two weeks of siege, Tipu opened negotiations for terms of surrender. In the ensuing treaty, he was forced to cede half his territories to the allies, and deliver two of his sons as hostages until he paid in full three crores and thirty lakhs rupees fixed as war indemnity to the British for the campaign against him. He paid the amount in two instalments and got back his sons from Madras.
In 1794, with the support of French Republican officers, Tipu helped found the Jacobin Club of Mysore for 'framing laws comfortable with the laws of the Republic'. He planted a Liberty Tree and declared himself Citizen Tipoo.
One of the motivations of Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt was to establish a junction with India against the British. Bonaparte wished to establish a French presence in the Middle East, with the ultimate dream of linking with Tippoo Sahib. Napoleon assured the French Directory that "as soon as he had conquered Egypt, he will establish relations with the Indian princes and, together with them, attack the English in their possessions." According to a 13 February 1798 report by Talleyrand: "Having occupied and fortified Egypt, we shall send a force of 15,000 men from Suez to India, to join the forces of Tipu-Sahib and drive away the English." Napoleon was unsuccessful in this strategy, losing the Siege of Acre in 1799 and at the Battle of Abukir in 1801.
Horatio Nelson defeated François-Paul Brueys D'Aigalliers at the Battle of the Nile in Egypt in 1798. Three armies marched into Mysore in 1799—one from Bombay and two British, one of which included Arthur Wellesley. They besieged the capital Srirangapatna in the Fourth Mysore War. There were more than 26,000 soldiers of the British East India Company, approximately 4,000 Europeans and the rest Indians. Thus, the soldiers in the British force numbered more outnumbered. Tipu Sultan had only about 30,000. The betrayal by Tipu Sultan's brother in law in working with the British and weakening the walls to make an easy path for the British.
The British broke through the city walls, and French military advisers told Tipu Sultan to escape via secret passages, but he refused.
Tipu Sultan was killed at the Hoally (Diddy) Gateway, which was located from the N.E. Angle of the Srirangapatna Fort. He was buried the next afternoon at the Gumaz, next to the grave of his father. Many members of the British East India Company believed that Nawab of Carnatic Umdat Ul-Umra secretly provided assistance to Tipu Sultan during the war and sought his deposition after 1799.
Tipu introduced a new calendar, new coinage, and seven new government departments, during his reign, and made military innovations in the use of rocketry.
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President of India, in his Tipu Sultan Shaheed Memorial Lecture in Bangalore (30 November 1991), called Tipu Sultan the innovator of the world's first war rocket. Two of these rockets, captured by the British at Srirangapatna, were displayed in the Royal Artillery Museum in London. According to historian Dr Dulari Qureshi Tipu Sultan was a fierce warrior king and was so quick in his movement that it seemed to the enemy that he was fighting on many fronts at the same time. Tipu managed to subdue all the petty kingdoms in the south. He was also one of the few Indian rulers to have defeated British armies. He is said to have started a new coinage, calendar, and a new system of weights and measures mainly based on the methods introduced by French technicians.
Tipu Sultan's father had expanded on Mysore's use of rocketry, making critical innovations in the rockets themselves and the military logistics of their use. He deployed as many as 1,200 specialised troops in his army to operate rocket launchers. These men were skilled in operating the weapons and were trained to launch their rockets at an angle calculated from the diameter of the cylinder and the distance to the target. The rockets had twin side sharpened blades mounted on them, and when fired "en masse", spun and wreaked significant damage against a large army. Tipu greatly expanded the use of rockets after Hyder's death, deploying as many as 5,000 rocketeers at a time. The rockets deployed by Tipu during the Battle of Pollilur were much more advanced than those the British East India Company had previously seen, chiefly because of the use of iron tubes for holding the propellant; this enabled higher thrust and longer range for the missiles (up to 2 km range).
British accounts describe the use of the rockets during the third and fourth wars. During the climactic battle at Srirangapatna in 1799, British shells struck a magazine containing rockets, causing it to explode and send a towering cloud of black smoke with cascades of exploding white light rising up from the battlements. After Tipu's defeat in the fourth war the British captured a number of the Mysorean rockets. These became influential in British rocket development, inspiring the Congreve rocket, which was soon put into use in the Napoleonic Wars.
In 1786 Tipu Sultan, again following the lead of his father, decided to build a navy consisting of 20 battleships of 72 cannons and 20 frigates of 62 cannons. In the year 1790 he appointed Kamaluddin as his "Mir Bahar" and established massive dockyards at Jamalabad and Majidabad. Tipu Sultan's board of admiralty consisted of 11 commanders in service of a "Mir Yam". A "Mir Yam" led 30 admirals and each one of them had two ships. Tipu Sultan ordered that the ships have copper-bottoms, an idea that increased the longevity of the ships and was introduced to Tipu by Admiral Suffren.
The peak of Mysore's economic power was under Tipu Sultan in the late 18th century. Along with his father Hyder Ali, he embarked on an ambitious program of economic development, aiming to increase the wealth and revenue of Mysore. Under his reign, Mysore overtook Bengal Subah as India's dominant economic power, with highly productive agriculture and textile manufacturing. Mysore's average income was five times higher than subsistence level at the time.
Tipu Sultan laid the foundation for the construction of the Kannambadi dam (present-day Krishna Raja Sagara or KRS dam) on the Kaveri river, as attested by an extant stone plaque bearing his name, but was unable to begin the construction. The dam was later built and opened in 1938. It is a major source of drinking water for the people of Mysore and Bangalore.
The Mysore silk industry was first initiated during the reign of Tipu Sultan. He sent an expert to Bengal Subah to study silk cultivation and processing, after which Mysore began developing polyvoltine silk.
Under Tipu Sultan, Mysore had some of the world's highest real wages and living standards in the late 18th century, higher than Britain, which in turn had the highest living standards in Europe. Mysore's average per-capita income was five times higher than subsistence level, i.e. five times higher than $400 (1990 international dollars), or $2,000 per capita. In comparison, the highest national per-capita incomes in 1820 were $1,838 for the Netherlands and $1,706 for Britain.
Tipu Sultan was considered as pioneer of road construction, especially in Malabar, as part of his campaigns, he connected most of the cities by roads.
Both Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan owed nominal allegiance to the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II; both were described as Nabobs by the British East India Company in all existing treaties. But unlike the Nawab of Carnatic, they did not acknowledge the overlordship of the Nizam of Hyderabad.
Immediately after his coronation as "Badshah", Tipu Sultan sought the investiture of the Mughal emperor. He earned the title ""Nasib-ud-Daula"" with the heavy heart of those loyal to Shah Alam II. Tipu was a selfdeclared "Sultan" this fact drew towards him the hostility of Nizam Ali Khan, the Nizam of Hyderabad, whom clearly expressed his hostility by dissuading the Mughal emperor and laying claims on Mysore. Disheartened, Tipu Sultan began to establish contacts with other Muslim rulers of that period.
Tipu Sultan was master of his own diplomacy with foreign nations, in his quest to rid India of the East India Company and to ensure the international strength of France. Like his father before him he fought battles on behalf of foreign nations which were not in the best interests of Shah Alam II.
After the eunuch Ghulam Qadir had Shah Alam II blinded on 10 August 1788, Tipu Sultan is believed to have broken into tears.
After the Fall of Seringapatam in 1799, the blind emperor did remorse for Tipu, but maintained his confidence in the Nizam of Hyderabad, whom had now made peace with the British.
After facing substantial threats from the Marathas, Tipu Sultan began to correspond with Zaman Shah Durrani, the ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, so they could defeat the British and Marathas. Initially, Zaman Shah agreed to help Tipu, but the Persian attack on Afghanistan's Western border diverted its forces, and hence no help could be provided to Tipu.
In 1787, Tipu Sultan sent an embassy to the Ottoman capital Constantinople, to the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid I requesting urgent assistance against the British East India Company. Tipu Sultan requested the Ottoman Sultan to send him troops and military experts. Furthermore, Tipu Sultan also requested permission from the Ottomans to contribute to the maintenance of the Islamic shrines in Mecca, Medina, Najaf and Karbala.
However, the Ottomans were themselves in crisis and still recuperating from the devastating Austro-Ottoman War and a new conflict with the Russian Empire had begun, for which Ottoman Turkey needed British alliance to keep off the Russians, hence it could not risk being hostile to the British in the Indian theatre.
Due to the Ottoman inability to organise a fleet in the Indian Ocean, Tipu Sultan's ambassadors returned home only with gifts from their Ottoman foes.
Nevertheless, Tipu Sultan's correspondence with the Ottoman Turkish Empire and particularly its new Sultan Selim III continued till his final battle in the year 1799.
Like his father before him, Tipu Sultan maintained friendly relations with Mohammad Ali Khan, ruler of the Zand Dynasty in Persia. Tipu Sultan also maintained correspondence with Hamad bin Said, the ruler of the Sultanate of Oman.
Both Hyder Ali and Tipu sought an alliance with the French, the only European power still strong enough to challenge the British East India Company in the subcontinent. In 1782, Louis XVI concluded an alliance with the Peshwa Madhu Rao Narayan. This treaty enabled Bussy to move his troops to the Isle de France (now Mauritius). In the same year, French Admiral De Suffren ceremonially presented a portrait of Louis XVI to Haidar Ali and sought his alliance.
Napoleon conquered Egypt in an attempt to link with Tipu Sultan. In February 1798, Napoleon wrote a letter to Tipu Sultan appreciating his efforts of resisting the British annexation and plans, but this letter never reached Tipu and was seized by a British spy in Muscat. The idea of a possible Tipu-Napoleon alliance alarmed the British Governor, General Sir Richard Wellesley (also known as Lord Wellesley), so much that he immediately started large scale preparations for a final battle against Tipu Sultan.
Tipu Sultan appoints Judges from both communities for Hindu and Muslim subjects. Qadi for Muslims and Pandit for Hindu in each province. Upper courts also having similar system.
Usage of liquor and prostitution were strictly prohibited in his administration. Usage and agriculture of drug such as Cannabis etc were also prohibited.
Polyandry in Kerala was prohibited by Tipu Sultan. He granted all women the permission to cover their breast, which were not possible earlier by system of Kerala in that era.
There is one decree from Tipu Sultan as follows,
On a personal level, Tipu was a devout Muslim, saying his prayers daily and paying special attention to mosques in the area. As a Muslim ruler of a predominantly Hindu country, some of his policies have evoked controversy. The mainstream view considers Tipu's administration to have been tolerant. Regular endowments were made during this period to about 156 Hindu temples, including the famed Ranganathaswami Temple at Srirangapatna.
His religious legacy has become a source of considerable controversy in India, with some groups proclaiming him a great warrior for the faith or "Ghazi", while others revile him as an intolerant ruler who massacred Hindus, Christians and even Muslims, for both religious and political reasons. On one hand, many sources mention the appointment of Hindu officers in Tipu's administration and his land grants and endowments to Hindu temples, which are cited as evidence for his religious tolerance. On the other hand, various sources describe the massacres, imprisonment and forced conversion of Hindus (Kodavas of Coorg, Nairs of Malabar) and Christians (Catholics of Mangalore), the destruction of churches and temples, and the clamping down on Muslims (Mappila of Kerala, the Mahadevi Muslims, the rulers of Savanur and the people of Hyderabad State), which are sometimes cited as evidence for his intolerance.
Historians such as Brittlebank, Hasan, Chetty, Habib, and Saletare, amongst others, argue that controversial stories of Tipu Sultan's religious persecution of Hindus and Christians are largely derived from the work of early British authors (who were very much against Tipu Sultan's independence and harboured prejudice against the Sultan) such as James Kirkpatrick and Mark Wilks, whom they do not consider to be entirely reliable and likely fabricated. A. S. Chetty argues that Wilks' account in particular cannot be trusted.
Irfan Habib and Mohibbul Hasan argue that these early British authors had a strong vested interest in presenting Tipu Sultan as a tyrant from whom the British had liberated Mysore. This assessment is echoed by Brittlebank in her recent work where she writes that Wilks and Kirkpatrick must be used with particular care as both authors had taken part in the wars against Tipu Sultan and were closely connected to the administrations of Lord Cornwallis and Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley.
One of contemporary French sources also mentions about cruelties of Tippu Sultan. The French were allies of Tipu Sultan. Francois Fidele Ripaud de Montaudevert, a French soldier who fought for Tippu, in his diary entry of 14 January 1799 writes: "I'm disturbed by Tipu Sultan's treatment of these most gentle souls, the Hindus. During the siege of Mangalore, Tipu's soldiers daily exposed the heads of many innocent Brahmins within sight from the fort for the Zamorin and his Hindu followers to see."
During his campaigns of clamping down on groups that helped the British, Tipu Sultan targeted several Muslim groups, including the Mappila Muslims of Malabar, the Mahadevi Muslims, and the Nawab of Savanur and Nizam.
Tipu Sultan's treasurer was Krishna Rao, Shamaiya Iyengar was his Minister of Post and Police, his brother Ranga Iyengar was also an officer, and Purnaiya held the very important post of "Mir Asaf". Moolchand and Sujan Rai were his chief agents at the Mughal court, and his chief "Peshkar", Suba Rao, was also a Hindu.
Editor of Mysore Gazettes spondence between his court and temples, and his having donated jewellery and deeded land grants to several temples, which he was compelled to do to make alliances with Hindu rulers. Between 1782 and 1799 Tipu Sultan issued 34 "Sanads" (deeds) of endowment to temples in his domain, while also presenting many of them with gifts of silver and gold plate. The Srikanteswara Temple in Nanjangud still possesses a jeweled cup presented by the Sultan. He also gave a greenish linga; to Ranganatha temple at Srirangapatna, he donated seven silver cups and a silver camphor burner. This temple was hardly a stone's throw from his palace from where he would listen with equal respect to the ringing of temple bells and the muezzin's call from the mosque; to the Lakshmikanta Temple at Kalale he gifted four cups, a plate and Spitoon in silver.
During the Maratha–Mysore War in 1791, a group of Maratha horsemen under Raghunath Rao Patwardhan raided the temple and "matha" of Sringeri "Shankaracharya". They killed and wounded many people, including Brahmins, plundered the monastery of all its valuable possessions, and desecrated the temple by displacing the image of goddess Sarada.
The incumbent "Shankaracharya" petitioned Tipu Sultan for help. A bunch of about 30 letters written in Kannada, which were exchanged between Tipu Sultan's court and the Sringeri Shankaracharya were discovered in 1916 by the Director of Archaeology in Mysore. Tipu Sultan expressed his indignation and grief at the news of the raid:
"People who have sinned against such a holy place are sure to suffer the consequences of their misdeeds at no distant date in this Kali age in accordance with the verse: "Hasadbhih kriyate karma rudadbhir-anubhuyate" (People do [evil] deeds smilingly but suffer the consequences crying)."
He immediately ordered the Asaf of Bednur to supply the Swami with 200 "rahati"s ("fanam"s) in cash and other gifts and articles. Tipu Sultan's interest in the Sringeri temple continued for many years, and he was still writing to the Swami in the 1790s.
In light of this and other events, historian B. A. Saletare has described Tipu Sultan as a defender of the Hindu dharma, who also patronised other temples including one at Melkote, for which he issued a Kannada decree that the Shrivaishnava invocatory verses there should be recited in the traditional form. The temple at Melkote still has gold and silver vessels with inscriptions indicating that they were presented by the Sultan. Tipu Sultan also presented four silver cups to the Lakshmikanta Temple at Kalale. Tipu Sultan does seem to have repossessed unauthorised grants of land made to Brahmins and temples, but those which had proper "sanads" (certificates) were not. It was a normal practice for any ruler, Muslim or Hindu, on his accession or on the conquest of new territory.
Noted for his persecution of Christians, historian Thomas Paul notes that Tipu had shifted his hatred for the British to Catholics of Mangalore and other Christian communities of South India. According to historian Praxy Fernandes, Tipu Sultan was "an enlightened monarch who followed a secular policy towards his subjects."
C. Hayavadana Rao wrote about Tipu in his encyclopaedic court history of Mysore. He asserted that Tipu's "religious fanaticism and the excesses committed in the name of religion, both in Mysore and in the provinces, stand condemned for all time. His bigotry, indeed, was so great that it precluded all ideas of toleration". He further asserts that the acts of Tipu that were constructive towards Hindus were largely political and ostentatious rather than an indication of genuine tolerance.
After Haider Ali was appointed the military chief of the Hindu Wadiyar dynasty of Mysore and led a coup, the Lingayats of Karnataka came under Islamic rule in the late 18th century. During this period, the followers of Lingayatism were persecuted.
Tipu got Runmust Khan, the "Nawab of Kurnool", to launch a surprise attack upon the Kodava Hindus who were besieged by the invading Muslim army. 500 were killed and over 40,000 Kodavas fled to the woods and concealed themselves in the mountains. Thousands of Kodavas were seized along with the Raja and held captive at Seringapatam. They were thought to be subjected to forcible conversions to Islam, death, and torture.
In Seringapatam, the young men were all forcibly circumcised and incorporated into the Ahmedy Corps, and were formed into eight "Risalas" or regiments. The actual number of Kodavas that were captured in the operation is unclear. The British administrator Mark Wilks gives it as 70,000, historian Lewis Rice arrives at the figure of 85,000, while Mir Kirmani's score for the Coorg campaign is 80,000 men, women and child prisoners.
Mohibbul Hasan, Prof. Sheikh Ali, and other historians cast great doubt on the scale of the deportations and forced conversions in Coorg in particular. Hassan says that it is difficult to estimate the real number of Coorgis captured by Tipu.
In a letter to Runmust Khan, Tipu himself stated:
Tipu sent a letter on 19 January 1790 to the Governor of Bekal (near Kasaragod), Budruz Zuman Khan. It says:
In 1788, Tipu entered into Malabar to quell a rebellion. Nairs were surrounded with offers of death or circumcision. Chirakkal's Nair Raja who was received with distinctions for surrendering voluntarily was later hanged. Tipu then divided Malabar into districts, with three officers in each district given the task of numbering productive trees, collecting revenue and giving religious orders to Nairs.
In 1788, Tipu ordered his governor in Calicut Sher Khan to begin the process of converting Hindus to Islam, and in July of that year, 200 Brahmins were forcibly converted.
Destruction of the Palace at Vittala:
In 1784, Tippu Sultan captured Achutha Heggade, king of Vittala. He beheaded him and set fire to the ancient royal palace of the Domba- Heggade kings of Vittala. It was an ancient and sacred palace of the dynasty whose age goes back to the period when the first kings settled in that area.
On the handle of the sword presented by Tipu to Marquess Wellesley was the following inscription:
During a search of his palace in 1795, some gold medals were found in the palace, on which the following was inscribed on one side in Persian: "Of God the bestower of blessings", and the other: "victory and conquest are from the Almighty". These were carved in commemoration of a victory after the war of 1780.
The following is a translation of an inscription on the stone found at Seringapatam, which was situated in a conspicuous place in the fort:
The "Mysore Gazetteer" states that this inscription should have been engraved after the Cornwallis Treaty, stating it showed his inveterate rancour and determined hostility to the English.
Tipu is considered to be anti-Christian by several historians. While Alan Machado in his book 'Slaves of Sultans', argues that by expelling Christian priests, Tipu was only following precedent set by European rivals. Historian J. B. Prashant More in his paper 'Tipu Sultan and the Christians' argues that Tipu's encounters and dealings with the Christians of both European and Indian origin were in accordance with the spirit of his times and also had a political dimension. The captivity of Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam, which began on 24 February 1784 and ended on 4 May 1799, remains the most disconsolate memory in their history.
The Barcoor Manuscript reports him as having said: "All Musalmans should unite together, and considering the annihilation of infidels as a sacred duty, labour to the utmost of their power, to accomplish that subject." Soon after the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784, Tipu gained control of Canara. He issued orders to seize the Christians in Canara, confiscate their estates, and deport them to Seringapatam, the capital of his empire, through the Jamalabad fort route. However, there were no priests among the captives. Together with Fr. Miranda, all the 21 arrested priests were issued orders of expulsion to Goa, fined Rupees 200,000, and threatened death by hanging if they ever returned.
Tipu ordered the destruction of 27 Catholic churches. Among them included the Church of Nossa Senhora de Rosario Milagres at Mangalore, Fr Miranda's Seminary at Monte Mariano, Church of Jesu Marie Jose at Omzoor, Chapel at Bolar, Church of Merces at Ullal, Imaculata Conceicão at Mulki, San Jose at Perar, Nossa Senhora dos Remedios at Kirem, Sao Lawrence at Karkal, Rosario at Barkur, Immaculata Conceição at Baidnur. All were razed to the ground, with the exception of The Church of Holy Cross at Hospet, owing to the friendly offices of the Chauta Raja of Moodbidri.
According to Thomas Munro, a Scottish soldier and the first collector of Canara, around 60,000 people, nearly 92 percent of the entire Mangalorean Catholic community, were captured; only 7,000 escaped. Francis Buchanan gives the numbers as 70,000 captured, from a population of 80,000, with 10,000 escaping. They were forced to climb nearly through the jungles of the Western Ghat mountain ranges. It was from Mangalore to Seringapatam, and the journey took six weeks. According to British Government records, 20,000 of them died on the march to Seringapatam. James Scurry, a British officer, who was held captive along with Mangalorean Catholics, said that 30,000 of them were forcibly converted to Islam. The young women and girls were forcibly made wives of the Muslims living there. The young men who offered resistance were disfigured by cutting their noses, upper lips, and ears. According to Mr. Silva of Gangolim, a survivor of the captivity, if a person who had escaped from Seringapatam was found, the punishment under the orders of Tipu was the cutting off of the ears, nose, the feet and one hand. "Gazetteer of South India" describes Tipu Sultan forcibly circumcising 30,000 West Coast Christians and deporting them to Mysore.
Tipu's persecution of Christians even extended to captured British soldiers. For instance, there were a significant number of forced conversions of British captives between 1780 and 1784. Following their disastrous defeat at the 1780 Battle of Pollilur, 7,000 British men along with an unknown number of women were held captive by Tipu in the fortress of Seringapatnam. Of these, over 300 were circumcised and given Muslim names and clothes and several British regimental drummer boys were made to wear "ghagra cholis" and entertain the court as "nautch" girls or dancing girls. After the 10-year-long captivity ended, James Scurry, one of those prisoners, recounted that he had forgotten how to sit in a chair and use a knife and fork. His English was broken and stilted, having lost all his vernacular idiom. His skin had darkened to the swarthy complexion of negroes, and moreover, he had developed an aversion to wearing European clothes.
During the surrender of the Mangalore fort which was delivered in an armistice by the British and their subsequent withdrawal, all the Mestizos and remaining non-British foreigners were killed, together with 5,600 Mangalorean Catholics. Those condemned by Tipu Sultan for treachery were hanged instantly, the gibbets being weighed down by the number of bodies they carried. The Netravati River was so putrid with the stench of dying bodies, that the local residents were forced to leave their riverside homes.
The Archbishop of Goa wrote in 1800, ""It is notoriously known in all Asia and all other parts of the globe of the oppression and sufferings experienced by the Christians in the Dominion of the King of Kanara, during the usurpation of that country by Tipu Sultan from an implacable hatred he had against them who professed Christianity.""
Tipu Sultan's invasion of the Malabar had an adverse impact on the Syrian Malabar Nasrani community of the Malabar coast. Many churches in the Malabar and Cochin were damaged. The old Syrian Nasrani seminary at Angamaly which had been the center of Catholic religious education for several centuries was razed to the ground by Tipu's soldiers. A lot of centuries old religious manuscripts were lost forever. The church was later relocated to Kottayam where it still exists to this date. The Mor Sabor church at Akaparambu and the Martha Mariam Church attached to the seminary were destroyed as well. Tipu's army set fire to the church at Palayoor and attacked the Ollur Church in 1790. Furthernmore, the Arthat church and the Ambazhakkad seminary was also destroyed. Over the course of this invasion, many Syrian Malabar Nasrani were killed or forcibly converted to Islam. Most of the coconut, arecanut, pepper and cashew plantations held by the Syrian Malabar farmers were also indiscriminately destroyed by the invading army. As a result, when Tipu's army invaded Guruvayur and adjacent areas, the Syrian Christian community fled Calicut and small towns like Arthat to new centres like Kunnamkulam, Chalakudi, Ennakadu, Cheppadu, Kannankode, Mavelikkara, etc. where there were already Christians. They were given refuge by Sakthan Tamburan, the ruler of Cochin and Karthika Thirunal, the ruler of Travancore, who gave them lands, plantations and encouraged their businesses. Colonel Macqulay, the British resident of Travancore also helped them.
During the storming of Srirangapatna by the British in 1799, thirteen murdered British prisoners were discovered, killed by either having their necks broken or nails driven into their skulls.
The coinage of Tipu Sultan is one of most complex and fascinating series struck in India during the 18th century. Local South India coinage had been struck in the area that became Mysore since ancient times, with the first gold coinage introduced about the 11th century (the elephant pagoda), and other pagodas continuing through the following centuries. These pagoda were always in the South Indian style until the reign of Haidar Ali (1761-1782), who added pagodas with Persian legends, plus a few very rare gold mohurs and silver rupees, always in the name of the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II plus the Arabic letter "ح" as the first letter of his name. His successor, Tipu Sultan, continued to issue pagodas, mohurs and rupees, with legends that were completely new. As for copper, the new large paisa was commenced by Haidar Ali in AH1195, two years before his death, with the elephant on the obverse, the mint on the reverse, and was continued throughout the reign of Tipu Sultan, who added other denominations. Tipu Sultan introduced a set of new Persian names for the various denominations, which appear on all of the gold and silver coins and on some of the copper. They were:
Copper: Qutb "قطب" for the 1/8 paisa (Persian for the pole star) -- Akhtar "اختر" for the 1/4 paisa (star) -- Bahram "بهرام" for the 1/2 paisa (the planet Mars) -- Zohra "زهره" for the paisa (the planet Venus) -- either Othmani "عثمانی" for the double-paisa (the third caliph of the Rashidun) or Mushtari "مشتری" (the planet Jupiter).
Silver: Khizri "خضری" for the 1/32 rupee (Khizr the prophet) -- Kazimi "کاظمی" for the 1/16 rupee (for Musa, the seventh Shi'ite Imam) -- Ja'fari "جعفری" for the 1/8 rupee (Ja'far al-Sadiq, the sixth Shi'ite Imam) -- Bâqiri "باقری" for the 1/4 rupee (Muhammad al-Baqir, the fifth Imam) -- Abidi "عبیدی" for the 1/2 rupee (Ali Zain al-'Abidin, the fourth Imam) -- Imami for the rupee (reference to the 12 Shi'ite Imams) -- Haidari "حیدری" for the double-rupee (lion, for Ali b. Abi Talib, who was both the fourth caliph and the first Shi'ite Imam).
Gold: Faruqi "فاروقی" for the pagoda (Umar al-Faruq, the second caliph) -- Sadîqi "صدیقی" for the double-pagoda (Abu Bakr al-Sadiq, the first caliph) -- Ahmadi "احمدی" for the four-pagoda ( "most praised ", one of the name of the Prophet Muhammad). During his first 4 years, the large gold coin was the mohur, with an average weight of about 10.95g (AH1197-1200), replaced with the four-pagoda of 13.74g with the calendar change to the Mauludi "مولودی" system (AM1215-1219).
The denomination does not appear on the Hijri dated gold coins, but was added on all the Mauludi dated pieces.
At the beginning of his first year, Tipu Sultan abandoned the Hijri dating system and introduced the Mauludi system (from the Arabic word "walad ", which means "birth "), based on the solar year and the birth year of the Prophet Muhammad (actually 571 AD, but for some perplexing reason reckoned as 572 by Tipu Sultan for his staff).
From the beginning of his reign, Tipu Sultan added the name of the Indian cyclic year on the large silver and gold coins, including this double-pagoda, together with his regnal year. Each of the names is Persian, though in several examples, the meaning of the names in India was different from the Iranian meaning (not indicated here). According to the Indian meanings, these are the cyclic years: Zaki "زکي" for cyclic 37, which corresponded to his year 1 ( "pure ") -- Azâl "أزل" for 38 ( "eternity ", year 2) -- Jalal "جَلال" for 39 ( "splendor ", year 3) -- Dalv "دَلو" for 40 (the sign of Aquarius, year 4) -- Shâ "شاه" for 41 ( "king ", year 5) -- Sârâ "سارا" for 42 ( "fragrant ", year 6) -- Sarâb "سراب" for 43 ( "mirage ", for year 7) -- Shitâ "شتا" for 44 ( "winter ", year 8) -- Zabarjad "زبرجد" for 45 ( "topaz ", year 9) -- sahar "سَحَر" ( "dawn ", year 10) -- Sâher "ساحِر" ( "magician ", year 11).
Assessments of Tipu Sultan have often been passionate and divided. Successive Indian National Congress governments have often celebrated Tipu Sultan's memory and monuments and relics of his rule while the Bharatiya Janata Party has been largely critical. School and college textbooks in India officially recognize him as a "freedom-fighter" along with many other rulers of the 18th century who fought European powers.
In 1990, a television series on him, "The Sword of Tipu Sultan" was directed by Bollywood actor Sanjay Khan based on a historical novel by Bhagwan Gidwani.
Tipu had several wives. One of his wives quite renowned for her beauty and intelligence was "Sindh Sahiba" whose grandson was "Sahib Sindh Sultan" also known as His Highness Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Ahmed Halim-az-Zaman Khan Sultan Sahib. Tipu Sultan's family was sent to Calcutta by the British. A descendant of one of Tipu Sultan's uncles, Noor Inayat Khan, was a British Special Operations Executive agent during the Second World War, murdered in the German Dachau concentration camp in 1944. Many other descendants continue to live in Kolkata.
Tipu Sultan had lost his sword in a war with the Nairs of Travancore during the Battle of the Nedumkotta (1789), in which he was forced to withdraw due to the severe joint attack from the Travancore army and British army. The Nair army under the leadership of Raja Kesavadas again defeated the army of Tipu near Aluva. The Maharaja, Dharma Raja, gave the famous sword to the Nawab of Arcot, from whom the sword was taken away forcibly by the British after annexing Arcot and sent to London. The sword was on display at the Wallace Collection, No. 1 Manchester Square, London.
Tipu was commonly known as the Tiger of Mysore and adopted this animal as the symbol ("bubri/babri") of his rule. It is said that Tipu Sultan was hunting in the forest with a French friend. They came face to face with a tiger there. The tiger first pounced on the French soldier and killed him. Tipu's gun did not work, and his dagger fell on the ground as the tiger jumped on him. He reached for the dagger, picked it up, and killed the tiger with it. That earned him the name "the Tiger of Mysore". He even had French engineers build a mechanical tiger for his palace. The device, known as Tipu's Tiger, is on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not only did Tipu place relics of tigers around his palace and domain, but also had the emblem of a tiger on his banners and some arms and weapons. Sometimes this tiger was very ornate and had inscriptions within the drawing, alluding to Tipu's faith - Islam. Historian Alexander Beatson reported that "in his palace was found a great variety of curious swords, daggers, fusils, pistols, and blunderbusses; some were of exquisite workmanship, mounted with gold, or silver, and beautifully inlaid and ornamented with tigers' heads and stripes, or with Persian and Arabic verses".
The last sword used by Tipu in his last battle, at Sri Rangapatnam, and the ring worn by him were taken by the British forces as war trophies. Till April 2004, they were kept on display at the British Museum London as gifts to the museum from Maj-Gen Augustus W.H. Meyrick and Nancy Dowager. At an auction in London in April 2004, Vijay Mallya purchased the sword of Tipu Sultan and some other historical artefacts, and brought them back to India.
In October 2013, another sword owned by Tipu Sultan and decorated with his "babri" (tiger stripe motif) surfaced and was auctioned by Sotheby's. It was purchased for £98,500 by a telephone bidder.
In 2015, the Government of Karnataka, under the leadership of then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah from the Congress party, began to celebrate Tipu's birth anniversary as the "Tipu Sultan Jayanti". The Congress regime declared it as an annual event to be celebrated on 20 November. It was officially celebrated in Karnataka initially by the Minority Welfare department, and later by the Kannada & Culture department. However, on 29 July 2019, the next Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa, who belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ordered the celebrations cancelled, saying: "Legislators from Kodagu had highlighted incidents of violence during Tipu Jayanti." The previous Congress government’s decision to organise the Jayanti was also seen as the party’s move to pander to the minorities. Objecting against the cancellation of the celebrations, the previous Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said: "BJP has cancelled it because of their hatred towards minorities. It’s a big crime. He [Tipu] was a king of Mysore and fought against the British [as] a freedom fighter. It was during his time when the foundation was laid for the Krishna Raja Sagara dam. He also tried to improve industry, agriculture and trade". The previous year, not a single JD(S) leader, including the then chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, attended the event, turning it into a fiasco. The Lok Sabha Congress leader, Mallikarjun Kharge, also earlier criticized BJP and RSS for their opposition against holding the celebrations, and asked: "When RSS can celebrate Nathuram Godse, can't we celebrate Tipu Sultan?” | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31058 |
Telnet
Telnet is an application protocol used on the Internet or local area network to provide a bidirectional interactive text-oriented communication facility using a virtual terminal connection. User data is interspersed in-band with Telnet control information in an 8-bit byte oriented data connection over the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP).
Telnet was developed in 1969 beginning with RFC 15, extended in RFC 855, and standardized as Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Internet Standard STD 8, one of the first Internet standards. The name stands for "teletype network".
Historically, Telnet provided access to a command-line interface on a remote host. However, because of serious security concerns when using Telnet over an open network such as the Internet, its use for this purpose has waned significantly in favor of SSH.
The term "telnet" is also used to refer to the software that implements the client part of the protocol. Telnet client applications are available for virtually all computer platforms. "Telnet" is also used as a verb. "To telnet" means to establish a connection using the Telnet protocol, either with a command line client or with a graphical interface. For example, a common directive might be: ""To change your password, telnet into the server, log in and run the passwd command."" In most cases, a user would be "telnetting" into a Unix-like server system or a network device (such as a router).
Telnet is a client-server protocol, based on a reliable connection-oriented transport. Typically, this protocol is used to establish a connection to Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) port number 23, where a Telnet server application (telnetd) is listening. Telnet, however, predates TCP/IP and was originally run over Network Control Program (NCP) protocols.
Even though Telnet was an ad hoc protocol with no official definition until March 5, 1973, the name actually referred to "Teletype Over Network Protocol" as the RFC 206 (NIC 7176) on Telnet makes the connection clear:
Many extensions were made for Telnet because of its negotiable options protocol architecture. Some of these extensions have been adopted as Internet standards, IETF documents STD 27 through STD 32. Some extensions have been widely implemented and others are proposed standards on the IETF standards track (see below)
Telnet is best understood in the context of a user with a simple terminal using the local Telnet program (known as the client program) to run a logon session on a remote computer where the user's communications needs are handled by a Telnet server program.
When Telnet was initially developed in 1969, most users of networked computers were in the computer departments of academic institutions, or at large private and government research facilities. In this environment, security was not nearly as much a concern as it became after the bandwidth explosion of the 1990s. The rise in the number of people with access to the Internet, and by extension the number of people attempting to hack other people's servers, made encrypted alternatives necessary.
Experts in computer security, such as SANS Institute, recommend that the use of Telnet for remote logins should be discontinued under all normal circumstances, for the following reasons:
These security-related shortcomings have seen the usage of the Telnet protocol drop rapidly, especially on the public Internet, in favor of the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol, first released in 1995. SSH has practically replaced Telnet, and the older protocol is used these days only in rare cases to access decades old legacy equipment that does not support more modern protocols. SSH provides much of the functionality of telnet, with the addition of strong encryption to prevent sensitive data such as passwords from being intercepted, and public key authentication, to ensure that the remote computer is actually who it claims to be. As has happened with other early Internet protocols, extensions to the Telnet protocol provide Transport Layer Security (TLS) security and Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL) authentication that address the above concerns. However, most Telnet implementations do not support these extensions; and there has been relatively little interest in implementing these as SSH is adequate for most purposes.
It is of note that there are a large number of industrial and scientific devices which have only Telnet available as a communication option. Some are built with only a standard RS-232 port and use a serial server hardware appliance to provide the translation between the TCP/Telnet data and the RS-232 serial data. In such cases, SSH is not an option unless the interface appliance can be configured for SSH.
Telnet is still used by hobbyists, especially among Amateur radio operators. The Winlink protocol supports packet radio via a Telnet connection.
IBM 5250 or 3270 workstation emulation is supported via custom telnet clients, TN5250/TN3270, and IBM servers. Clients and servers designed to pass IBM 5250 data streams over Telnet generally do support SSL encryption, as SSH does not include 5250 emulation. Under OS/400 (also known as IBM i), port 992 is the default port for secured telnet.
All data octets except 0xff are transmitted over Telnet as is.
Some use Telnet client applications to establish an interactive TCP session to a port other than the Telnet server port. Connections to such ports do not use IAC and all octets are sent to the server without interpretation. For example, a user could make an HTTP request by hand by using a command line version of the telnet client to a web server on TCP port 80 as follows:
$ telnet www.example.com 80
GET /path/to/file.html HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
Connection: close
However such services are implemented through "network virtual terminal" (NVT) rules and Telnet does not handle some of the other NVT requirements, such as the requirement for a bare carriage return character (CR, ASCII 13) to be followed by a NUL (ASCII 0) character.
There are other TCP terminal clients, such as netcat or socat on UNIX and PuTTY on Windows, which handle such requirements. Nevertheless, Telnet may still be used in debugging network services such as SMTP, IRC, HTTP, FTP or POP3, to issue commands to a server and examine the responses.
Another difference between Telnet and other TCP terminal clients is that Telnet is not 8-bit clean by default. 8-bit mode may be negotiated, but octets with the high bit set may be garbled until this mode is requested, as 7 bit is the default mode. The 8-bit mode (so named "binary option") is intended to transmit binary data, not ASCII characters. The standard suggests the interpretation of codes 0000–0176 as ASCII, but does not offer any meaning for high-bit-set "data" octets. There was an attempt to introduce a switchable character encoding support like HTTP has, but nothing is known about its actual software support.
57.9654 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31062 |
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the Defence of Fort M'Henry, a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large U.S. flag, with 15 stars and 15 stripes, known as the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the U.S. victory.
The poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London. "To Anacreon in Heaven" (or "The Anacreontic Song"), with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. This setting, renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", soon became a well-known U.S. patriotic song. With a range of 19 semitones, it is known for being very difficult to sing. Although the poem has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889, and by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 (, codified at ), which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.
Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of U.S. officialdom. "Hail, Columbia" served this purpose at official functions for most of the 19th century. "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", whose melody is identical to "God Save the Queen", the United Kingdom's national anthem, also served as a "de facto" national anthem. Following the War of 1812 and subsequent U.S. wars, other songs emerged to compete for popularity at public events, among them "America the Beautiful", which itself was being considered "before" 1931, as a candidate to become the national anthem of the United States.
On September 3, 1814, following the Burning of Washington and the Raid on Alexandria, Francis Scott Key and John Stuart Skinner set sail from Baltimore aboard the ship , flying a flag of truce on a mission approved by President James Madison. Their objective was to secure an exchange of prisoners, one of whom was William Beanes, the elderly and popular town physician of Upper Marlboro and a friend of Key's who had been captured in his home. Beanes was accused of aiding the arrest of British soldiers. Key and Skinner boarded the British flagship on September 7 and spoke with Major General Robert Ross and Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane over dinner while the two officers discussed war plans. At first, Ross and Cochrane refused to release Beanes but relented after Key and Skinner showed them letters written by wounded British prisoners praising Beanes and other Americans for their kind treatment.
Because Key and Skinner had heard details of the plans for the attack on Baltimore, they were held captive until after the battle, first aboard and later back on HMS "Minden". After the bombardment, certain British gunboats attempted to slip past the fort and effect a landing in a cove to the west of it, but they were turned away by fire from nearby Fort Covington, the city's last line of defense.
During the rainy night, Key had witnessed the bombardment and observed that the fort's smaller "storm flag" continued to fly, but once the shell and Congreve rocket barrage had stopped, he would not know how the battle had turned out until dawn. On the morning of September 14, the storm flag had been lowered and the larger flag had been raised.
During the bombardment, and HMS "Meteor" provided some of the "bombs bursting in air".
Key was inspired by the U.S. victory and the sight of the large U.S. flag flying triumphantly above the fort. This flag, with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, had been made by Mary Young Pickersgill together with other workers in her home on Baltimore's Pratt Street. The flag later came to be known as the Star-Spangled Banner and is today on display in the National Museum of American History, a treasure of the Smithsonian Institution. It was restored in 1914 by Amelia Fowler, and again in 1998 as part of an ongoing conservation program.
Aboard the ship the next day, Key wrote a poem on the back of a letter he had kept in his pocket. At twilight on September 16, he and Skinner were released in Baltimore. He completed the poem at the Indian Queen Hotel, where he was staying, and titled it "Defence of Fort M'Henry". It was first published nationally in "The Analectic Magazine".
Much of the idea of the poem, including the flag imagery and some of the wording, is derived from an earlier song by Key, also set to the tune of "The Anacreontic Song". The song, known as "When the Warrior Returns", was written in honor of Stephen Decatur and Charles Stewart on their return from the First Barbary War.
Absent elaboration by Francis Scott Key prior to his death in 1843, some have speculated more recently about the meaning of phrases or verses, particularly the phrase "the hireling and slave" from the third stanza. According to British historian Robin Blackburn, the phrase allude to the thousands of ex-slaves in the British ranks organized as the Corps of Colonial Marines, who had been liberated by the British and demanded to be placed in the battle line "where they might expect to meet their former masters." Mark Clague, a professor of musicology at the University of Michigan, argues that the "middle two verses of Key's lyric vilify the British enemy in the War of 1812" and "in no way glorifies or celebrates slavery." Clague writes that "For Key ... the British mercenaries were scoundrels and the Colonial Marines were traitors who threatened to spark a national insurrection." This harshly anti-British nature of Verse 3 led to its omission in sheet music in World War I, when the British and the U.S. were allies. Responding to the assertion of writer Jon Schwarz of "The Intercept" that the song is a "celebration of slavery," Clague said that: "The reference to slaves is about the use and in some sense the manipulation, of black Americans to fight for the British, with the promise of freedom. The American forces included African-Americans as well as whites. The term 'freemen,' whose heroism is celebrated in the fourth stanza, would have encompassed both."
Others suggest that "Key may have intended the phrase as a reference to the British Navy's practice of impressment (kidnapping sailors and forcing them to fight in defense of the crown), or as a semi-metaphorical slap at the British invading force as a whole (which also included a large number of mercenaries)."
Key gave the poem to his brother-in-law Joseph H. Nicholson who saw that the words fit the popular melody "The Anacreontic Song", by English composer John Stafford Smith. This was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London. Nicholson took the poem to a printer in Baltimore, who anonymously made the first known broadside printing on September 17; of these, two known copies survive.
On September 20, both the "Baltimore Patriot" and "The American" printed the song, with the note "Tune: Anacreon in Heaven". The song quickly became popular, with seventeen newspapers from Georgia to New Hampshire printing it. Soon after, Thomas Carr of the Carr Music Store in Baltimore published the words and music together under the title "The Star Spangled Banner", although it was originally called "Defence of Fort M'Henry". Thomas Carr's arrangement introduced the raised fourth which became the standard deviation from "The Anacreontic Song". The song's popularity increased and its first public performance took place in October when Baltimore actor Ferdinand Durang sang it at Captain McCauley's tavern. Washington Irving, then editor of the "Analectic Magazine" in Philadelphia, reprinted the song in November 1814.
By the early 20th century, there were various versions of the song in popular use. Seeking a singular, standard version, President Woodrow Wilson tasked the U.S. Bureau of Education with providing that official version. In response, the Bureau enlisted the help of five musicians to agree upon an arrangement. Those musicians were Walter Damrosch, Will Earhart, Arnold J. Gantvoort, Oscar Sonneck and John Philip Sousa. The standardized version that was voted upon by these five musicians premiered at Carnegie Hall on December 5, 1917, in a program that included Edward Elgar's "Carillon" and Gabriel Pierné's "The Children's Crusade". The concert was put on by the Oratorio Society of New York and conducted by Walter Damrosch. An official handwritten version of the final votes of these five men has been found and shows all five men's votes tallied, measure by measure.
The song gained popularity throughout the 19th century and bands played it during public events, such as Independence Day celebrations.
A plaque displayed at Fort Meade, South Dakota, claims that the idea of making "The Star Spangled Banner" the national anthem began on their parade ground in 1892. Colonel Caleb Carlton, post commander, established the tradition that the song be played "at retreat and at the close of parades and concerts." Carlton explained the custom to Governor Sheldon of South Dakota who "promised me that he would try to have the custom established among the state militia." Carlton wrote that after a similar discussion, Secretary of War Daniel S. Lamont issued an order that it "be played at every Army post every evening at retreat."
In 1899, the U.S. Navy officially adopted "The Star-Spangled Banner". In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered that "The Star-Spangled Banner" be played at military and other appropriate occasions. The playing of the song two years later during the seventh-inning stretch of Game One of the 1918 World Series, and thereafter during each game of the series is often cited as the first instance that the anthem was played at a baseball game, though evidence shows that the "Star-Spangled Banner" was performed as early as 1897 at opening day ceremonies in Philadelphia and then more regularly at the Polo Grounds in New York City beginning in 1898. In any case, the tradition of performing the national anthem before "every" baseball game began in World War II.
On April 10, 1918, John Charles Linthicum, U.S. congressman from Maryland, introduced a bill to officially recognize "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem. The bill did not pass. On April 15, 1929, Linthicum introduced the bill again, his sixth time doing so. On November 3, 1929, Robert Ripley drew a panel in his syndicated cartoon, "Ripley's Believe it or Not!", saying "Believe It or Not, America has no national anthem".
In 1930, Veterans of Foreign Wars started a petition for the United States to officially recognize "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem. Five million people signed the petition. The petition was presented to the United States House Committee on the Judiciary on January 31, 1930. On the same day, Elsie Jorss-Reilley and Grace Evelyn Boudlin sang the song to the Committee to refute the perception that it was too high pitched for a typical person to sing. The Committee voted in favor of sending the bill to the House floor for a vote. The House of Representatives passed the bill later that year. The Senate passed the bill on March 3, 1931. President Herbert Hoover signed the bill on March 4, 1931, officially adopting "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem of the United States of America. As currently codified, the United States Code states that "[t]he composition consisting of the words and music known as the Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem." Although the National Anthem officially comprises all four stanzas of the poem, only the first stanza is generally sung, and the other three are much lesser-known.
The song is notoriously difficult for nonprofessionals to sing because of its wide rangea 12th. Humorist Richard Armour referred to the song's difficulty in his book "It All Started With Columbus":
Professional and amateur singers have been known to forget the words, which is one reason the song is sometimes pre-recorded and lip-synced. Other times the issue is avoided by having the performer(s) play the anthem instrumentally instead of singing it. The pre-recording of the anthem has become standard practice at some ballparks, such as Boston's Fenway Park, according to the SABR publication "The Fenway Project".
"The Star-Spangled Banner" has been performed regularly at the beginning of NFL games since the end of WWII by order of NFL commissioner Elmer Layden. The song has also been intermittently performed at baseball games since after WWI. The National Hockey League and Major League Soccer both require venues in both the U.S. and Canada to perform both the Canadian and U.S. national anthems at games that involve teams from both countries (with the "away" anthem being performed first). It is also usual for both U.S. and Canadian anthems (done in the same way as the NHL and MLS) to be played at Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association games involving the Toronto Blue Jays and the Toronto Raptors (respectively), the only Canadian teams in those two major U.S. sports leagues, and in All Star Games on the MLB, NBA, and NHL. The Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League, which play in a city on the Canada–US border and have a substantial Canadian fan base, play both anthems before all home games regardless of where the visiting team is based.
Two especially unusual performances of the song took place in the immediate aftermath of the United States September 11 attacks. On September 12, 2001, Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom, broke with tradition and allowed the Band of the Coldstream Guards to perform the anthem at Buckingham Palace, London, at the ceremonial Changing of the Guard, as a gesture of support for Britain's ally. The following day at a St. Paul's Cathedral memorial service, the Queen joined in the singing of the anthem, an unprecedented occurrence.
During the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, the anthem was sung by protesters demonstrating outside the U.S. consulate-general in an appeal to the U.S. government to help them with their cause .
The 200th anniversary of the "Star-Spangled Banner" occurred in 2014 with various special events occurring throughout the United States. A particularly significant celebration occurred during the week of September 10–16 in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Highlights included playing of a new arrangement of the anthem arranged by John Williams and participation of President Barack Obama on Defender's Day, September 12, 2014, at Fort McHenry. In addition, the anthem bicentennial included a youth music celebration including the presentation of the National Anthem Bicentennial Youth Challenge winning composition written by Noah Altshuler.
The first popular music performance of the anthem heard by the mainstream U.S. was by Puerto Rican singer and guitarist José Feliciano. He created a nationwide uproar when he strummed a slow, blues-style rendition of the song at Tiger Stadium in Detroit before game five of the 1968 World Series, between Detroit and St. Louis. This rendition started contemporary "Star-Spangled Banner" controversies. The response from many in the Vietnam War-era U.S. was generally negative. Despite the controversy, Feliciano's performance opened the door for the countless interpretations of the "Star-Spangled Banner" heard in the years since. One week after Feliciano's performance, the anthem was in the news again when U.S. athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos lifted controversial raised fists at the 1968 Olympics while the "Star-Spangled Banner" played at a medal ceremony. Another famous instrumental interpretation is Jimi Hendrix's version, which was a set-list staple from autumn 1968 until his death in September 1970, including a famous rendition at the Woodstock music festival in 1969. Incorporating sonic effects to emphasize the "rockets' red glare", and "bombs bursting in air", it became a late-1960s emblem.
Marvin Gaye gave a soul-influenced performance at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game and Whitney Houston gave a soulful rendition before Super Bowl XXV in 1991, which was released as a single that charted at number 20 in 1991 and number 6 in 2001 (along with José Feliciano, the only times the national anthem has been on the "Billboard" Hot 100). In 1993, Kiss did an instrumental rock version as the closing track on their album, "Alive III". Roseanne Barr gave a controversial performance of the anthem at a San Diego Padres baseball game at Jack Murphy Stadium on July 25, 1990. The comedian belted out a screechy rendition of the song, and afterward, she mocked ballplayers by spitting and grabbing her crotch as if adjusting a protective cup. The performance offended some, including the sitting U.S. President, George H. W. Bush. Sufjan Stevens has frequently performed the "Star-Spangled Banner" in live sets, replacing the optimism in the end of the first verse with a new coda that alludes to the divisive state of the nation today. David Lee Roth both referenced parts of the anthem and played part of a hard rock rendition of the anthem on his song, "Yankee Rose" on his 1986 solo album, "Eat 'Em and Smile". Steven Tyler also caused some controversy in 2001 (at the Indianapolis 500, to which he later issued a public apology) and again in 2012 (at the AFC Championship Game) with a cappella renditions of the song with changed lyrics. In 2016, Aretha Franklin performed a rendition before the nationally-televised Minnesota Vikings-Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day game lasting more than four minutes and featuring a host of improvisations. It would be one of Franklin's last public appearances before her 2018 death. Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie gave a controversial performance of the anthem in 2018. Critics likened her rendition to a jazzy "sexed-up" version of the anthem, which was considered highly inappropriate, with her performance compared to that of Marilyn Monroe's iconic performance of Happy Birthday, Mr. President. Fergie later apologized for her performance of the song, citing that "I'm a risk taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn't strike the intended tone".
A version of Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Brad Whitford playing part of the song can be heard at the end of their version of "Train Kept A-Rollin'" on the "Rockin' the Joint" album. The band Boston gave an instrumental rock rendition of the anthem on their "Greatest Hits" album. The band Crush 40 made a version of the song as opening track from the album "Thrill of the Feel" (2000).
In March 2005, a government-sponsored program, the National Anthem Project, was launched after a Harris Interactive poll showed many adults knew neither the lyrics nor the history of the anthem.
Eighteen years after Key's death, and in indignation over the start of the American Civil War, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. added a fifth stanza to the song in 1861, which appeared in songbooks of the era.
In a version hand-written by Francis Scott Key in 1840, the third line reads "Whose bright stars and broad stripes, through the clouds of the fight". In honor of the 1986 rededication of the Statue of Liberty, Sandi Patty wrote her version of an additional verse to the anthem.
Several films have their titles taken from the song's lyrics. These include two films titled "Dawn's Early Light" (2000 and 2005); two made-for-TV features titled "By Dawn's Early Light" (1990 and 2000); two films titled "So Proudly We Hail" (1943 and 1990); a feature film (1977) and a short (2005) titled "Twilight's Last Gleaming"; and four films titled "Home of the Brave"
(1949, 1986, 2004, and 2006). A 1936 short titled "The Song of a Nation" from Warner Bros. Pictures shows a version of the origin of the song.
When the U.S. national anthem was first recognized by law in 1931, there was no prescription as to behavior during its playing. On June 22, 1942, the law was revised indicating that those in uniform should salute during its playing, while others should simply stand at attention, men removing their hats. The same code also required that women should place their hands over their hearts when the flag is displayed during the playing of the national anthem, but not if the flag was not present. On December 23, 1942, the law was again revised instructing men and women to stand at attention and face in the direction of the music when it was played. That revision also directed men and women to place their hands over their hearts only if the flag was displayed. Those in uniform were required to salute. On July 7, 1976, the law was simplified. Men and women were instructed to stand with their hands over their hearts, men removing their hats, irrespective of whether or not the flag was displayed and those in uniform saluting. On August 12, 1998, the law was rewritten keeping the same instructions, but differentiating between "those in uniform" and "members of the Armed Forces and veterans" who were both instructed to salute during the playing whether or not the flag was displayed. Because of the changes in law over the years and confusion between instructions for the Pledge of Allegiance versus the National Anthem, throughout most of the 20th century many people simply stood at attention or with their hands folded in front of them during the playing of the Anthem, and when reciting the Pledge they would hold their hand (or hat) over their heart. After 9/11, the custom of placing the hand over the heart during the playing of the national anthem became nearly universal.
Since 1998, federal law (viz., the United States Code ) states that during a rendition of the national anthem, when the flag is displayed, all present including those in uniform should stand at attention; Non-military service individuals should face the flag with the right hand over the heart; Members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are present and not in uniform may render the military salute; military service persons not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold the headdress at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart; and Members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are in uniform should give the military salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note. The law further provides that when the flag is not displayed, all present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed. Military law requires all vehicles on the installation to stop when the song is played and all individuals outside to stand at attention and face the direction of the music and either salute, in uniform, or place the right hand over the heart, if out of uniform. The law was amended in 2008, and since allows military veterans to salute out of uniform, as well.
The text of is suggestive and not regulatory in nature. Failure to follow the suggestions is not a violation of the law. This behavioral requirement for the national anthem is subject to the same First Amendment controversies that surround the Pledge of Allegiance. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses do not sing the national anthem, though they are taught that standing is an "ethical decision" that individual believers must make based on their "conscience."
The 1968 Olympics Black Power salute was a political demonstration conducted by African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their medal ceremony at the 1968 Summer Olympics in the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City. After having won gold and bronze medals respectively in the 200-meter running event, they turned on the podium to face their flags, and to hear the American national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner". Each athlete raised a black-gloved fist, and kept them raised until the anthem had finished. In addition, Smith, Carlos, and Australian silver medalist Peter Norman all wore human rights badges on their jackets. In his autobiography, "Silent Gesture", Smith stated that the gesture was not a "Black Power" salute, but a "human rights salute". The event is regarded as one of the most overtly political statements in the history of the modern Olympic Games.
Protests against police brutality and racism by kneeling on one knee during the national anthem began in the National Football League after San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt during the anthem, as opposed to the tradition of standing, in response to police brutality in the United States, before his team's third preseason game of 2016. Kaepernick sat during the first two preseason games, but he went unnoticed.
In November 2017, the California Chapter of the NAACP called on Congress to remove "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem. Alice Huffman, California NAACP president said: "it's racist; it doesn't represent our community, it's anti-black." The third stanza of the anthem, which is rarely sung and few know, contains the words, "No refuge could save the hireling and slave, From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:", which some interpret as racist. The organization was still seeking a representative to sponsor the legislation in Congress at the time of their announcement.
As a result of immigration to the United States and the incorporation of non-English speaking people into the country, the lyrics of the song have been translated into other languages. In 1861, it was translated into German. The Library of Congress also has record of a Spanish-language version from 1919. It has since been translated into Hebrew and Yiddish by Jewish immigrants, Latin American Spanish (with one version popularized during immigration reform protests in 2006), French by Acadians of Louisiana, Samoan, and Irish. The third verse of the anthem has also been translated into Latin.
With regard to the indigenous languages of North America, there are versions in Navajo and Cherokee. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31064 |
The Third Culture
The Third Culture: Beyond the Scientific Revolution is a 1995 book by John Brockman which discusses the work of several well-known scientists who are directly communicating their new, sometimes provocative, ideas to the general public. John Brockman has continued the themes of 'The Third Culture' in the website of the Edge Foundation, where leading scientists and thinkers contribute their thoughts in plain English.
The title of the book refers to Charles Percy Snow's 1959 work "The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution", which described the conflict between the cultures of the humanities and science.
23 people were included in the 1995 book:
The book influenced the reception of popular scientific literature in parts of the world beyond the United States. In Germany, the book inspired several newspapers to integrate scientific reports into their "Feuilleton" or "culture" sections (such as the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung"). At the same time, the assertions of the book were discussed as a source of controversy, especially the implicit assertion that "third culture thinking" is mainly an American development. Critics acknowledge that, whereas in the Anglo-Saxon cultures there is a large tradition of scientists writing popular books, such tradition was absent for a long period in the German and French languages, with journalists often filling the gap. However, some decades ago there were also scientists, like the physicists Heisenberg and Schrödinger and the psychologist Piaget, who fulfill the criteria Brockman named for "third culture." The German author Gabor Paal suggested that the idea of the "third culture" is a rather modern version of what Hegel called Realphilosophie ("philosophy of the real").
Also, already during the interwar period, Otto Neurath and other members of the Vienna Circle strongly propagated the need for both the unity of science and the popularization of new scientific concepts. With the rise of the Nazis in Germany and Austria, many of the Vienna Circle's members left for the United States where they taught in several universities, causing their philosophical ideas to spread in the Anglo-Saxon world throughout the 1930s-1940s. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31066 |
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament after its occupants, the Palace lies on the north bank of the River Thames in the City of Westminster, in central London, England.
Its name, which derives from the neighbouring Westminster Abbey, may refer to either of two structures: the "Old Palace", a medieval building-complex destroyed by fire in 1834, or its replacement, the "New Palace" that stands today. The palace is owned by the monarch in right of the Crown and, for ceremonial purposes, retains its original status as a royal residence. Committees appointed by both houses manage the building and report to the Speaker of the House of Commons and to the Lord Speaker.
The first royal palace constructed on the site dated from the 11th century, and Westminster became the primary residence of the Kings of England until fire destroyed much of the complex in 1512. After that, it served as the home of the Parliament of England, which had met there since the 13th century, and also as the seat of the Royal Courts of Justice, based in and around Westminster Hall. In 1834 an even greater fire ravaged the heavily rebuilt Houses of Parliament, and the only significant medieval structures to survive were Westminster Hall, the Cloisters of St Stephen's, the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, and the Jewel Tower.
In the subsequent competition for the reconstruction of the Palace, the architect Charles Barry won with a design for new buildings in the Gothic Revival style, specifically inspired by the English Perpendicular Gothic style of the 14th–16th centuries. The remains of the Old Palace (except the detached Jewel Tower) were incorporated into its much larger replacement, which contains over 1,100 rooms organised symmetrically around two series of courtyards and which has a floor area of . Part of the New Palace's area of was reclaimed from the River Thames, which is the setting of its nearly façade, called the River Front. Augustus Pugin, a leading authority on Gothic architecture and style, assisted Barry and designed the interior of the Palace. Construction started in 1840 and lasted for 30 years, suffering great delays and cost overruns, as well as the death of both leading architects; works for the interior decoration continued intermittently well into the 20th century. Major conservation work has taken place since then to reverse the effects of London's air pollution, and extensive repairs followed the Second World War, including the reconstruction of the Commons Chamber following its bombing in 1941.
The Palace is one of the centres of political life in the United Kingdom; "Westminster" has become a metonym for the UK Parliament and the British Government, and the Westminster system of government commemorates the name of the palace. The Elizabeth Tower, in particular, often referred to by the name of its main bell, Big Ben, has become an iconic landmark of London and of the United Kingdom in general, one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city, and an emblem of parliamentary democracy. Tsar Nicholas I of Russia called the new palace "a dream in stone".
The Palace of Westminster has been a Grade I listed building since 1970 and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
The Palace of Westminster site was strategically important during the Middle Ages, as it was located on the banks of the River Thames. Known in medieval times as Thorney Island, the site may have been first-used for a royal residence by Canute the Great during his reign from 1016 to 1035. St Edward the Confessor, the penultimate Anglo-Saxon monarch of England, built a royal palace on Thorney Island just west of the City of London at about the same time as he built Westminster Abbey (1045–1050). Thorney Island and the surrounding area soon became known as Westminster (a contraction of the words "West Minster"). Neither the buildings used by the Anglo-Saxons nor those used by William I survive. The oldest existing part of the Palace (Westminster Hall) dates from the reign of William I's successor, King William II.
The Palace of Westminster was the monarch's principal residence in the late Medieval period. The predecessor of Parliament, the "Curia Regis" (Royal Council), met in Westminster Hall (although it followed the King when he moved to other palaces). Simon de Montfort's parliament, the first to include representatives of the major towns, met at the Palace in 1265. The "Model Parliament", the first official Parliament of England, met there in 1295, and almost all subsequent English Parliaments and then, after 1707, all British Parliaments have met at the Palace.
In 1512, during the early years of the reign of King Henry VIII, fire destroyed the royal residential ("privy") area of the palace. In 1534, Henry VIII acquired York Place from Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a powerful minister who had lost the King's favour. Renaming it the Palace of Whitehall, Henry used it as his principal residence. Although Westminster officially remained a royal palace, it was used by the two Houses of Parliament and by the various royal law courts.
Because it was originally a royal residence, the Palace included no purpose-built chambers for the two Houses. Important state ceremonies were held in the Painted Chamber which had been originally built in the 13th century as the main bedchamber for King Henry III. In 1801 the Upper House moved into the larger White Chamber (also known as the Lesser Hall), which had housed the Court of Requests; the expansion of the Peerage by King George III during the 18th century, along with the imminent Act of Union with Ireland, necessitated the move, as the original chamber could not accommodate the increased number of peers.
The House of Commons, which did not have a chamber of its own, sometimes held its debates in the Chapter House of Westminster Abbey. The Commons acquired a permanent home at the Palace in St Stephen's Chapel, the former chapel of the royal palace, during the reign of Edward VI. In 1547 the building became available for the Commons' use following the disbanding of St Stephen's College. Alterations were made to St Stephen's Chapel over the following three centuries for the convenience of the lower House, gradually destroying, or covering up, its original mediaeval appearance. A major renovation project undertaken by Christopher Wren in the late 17th century completely redesigned the building's interior.
The Palace of Westminster as a whole began to see significant alterations from the 18th century onwards, as Parliament struggled to carry out its business in the limited available space and ageing buildings. Calls for an entirely new palace went unheeded as instead more buildings of varying quality and style were added. A new west façade, known as the Stone Building, facing onto St Margaret's Street was designed by John Vardy built in the Palladian style between 1755 and 1770, providing more space for document storage and committee rooms. The House of Commons Engrossing Office of Robert Gunnell (1724–1794) and Edward Barwell was on the lower floor beside the corner tower at the west side of Vardy's western façade. A new official residence for the Speaker of the House of Commons was built adjoining St Stephen's Chapel and completed in 1795. The neo-Gothic architect James Wyatt also carried out works on both the House of Lords and Commons between 1799 and 1801, including alterations to the exterior of St Stephen's Chapel and a much-derided new neo-Gothic building, referred to by Wyatt's critics as "The Cotton Mill" adjoining the House of Lords and facing onto Old Palace Yard.
The palace complex was substantially remodelled, this time by Sir John Soane, between 1824 and 1827. The medieval House of Lords chamber, which had been the target of the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, was demolished as part of this work in order to create a new Royal Gallery and ceremonial entrance at the southern end of the palace. Soane's work at the palace also included new library facilities for both Houses of Parliament and new law courts for the Chancery and King's Bench. Soane's alterations caused controversy owing to his use of neo-classical architectural styles, which conflicted with the Gothic style of the original buildings.
On 16 October 1834, a fire broke out in the Palace after an overheated stove used to destroy the Exchequer's stockpile of tally sticks set fire to the House of Lords Chamber. In the resulting conflagration both Houses of Parliament were destroyed, along with most of the other buildings in the palace complex. Westminster Hall was saved thanks to fire-fighting efforts and a change in the direction of the wind. The Jewel Tower, the Undercroft Chapel and the Cloisters and Chapter House of St Stephen's were the only other parts of the Palace to survive.
Immediately after the fire, King William IV offered the almost-completed Buckingham Palace to Parliament, hoping to dispose of a residence he disliked. The building was considered unsuitable for parliamentary use, however, and the gift was rejected. Proposals to move to Charing Cross or St James's Park had a similar fate; the allure of tradition and the historical and political associations of Westminster proved too strong for relocation, despite the deficiencies of that site. In the meantime, the immediate priority was to provide accommodation for the next Parliament, and so the Painted Chamber and White Chamber were hastily repaired for temporary use.
In 1835, following that year's General Election, the King permitted Parliament to make "plans for [its] permanent accommodation". Each house created a committee and a public debate over the proposed styles ensued.
The Lords Chamber was completed in 1847, and the Commons Chamber in 1852 (at which point architect Charles Barry received a knighthood). Although most of the work had been carried out by 1860, construction was not finished until a decade afterwards.
During the Second World War (see "The Blitz"), the Palace of Westminster was hit by bombs on fourteen separate occasions. One bomb fell into Old Palace Yard on 26 September 1940 and severely damaged the south wall of St Stephen's Porch and the west front. The statue of Richard the Lionheart was lifted from its pedestal by the force of the blast, and its upheld sword bent, an image that was used as a symbol of the strength of democracy, "which would bend but not break under attack".
The worst raid took place in the night of 10–11 May 1941, when the Palace took at least twelve hits and three people (two policemen and the Resident Superintendent of the House of Lords, Edward Elliott) were killed. An incendiary bomb hit the chamber of the House of Commons and set it on fire; another set the roof of Westminster Hall alight. The firefighters could not save both, and a decision was taken to try to rescue the Hall. In this they were successful; the abandoned Commons Chamber, on the other hand, was destroyed, as was the Members' Lobby. A bomb also struck the Lords Chamber, but went through the floor without exploding. The Clock Tower took a hit by a small bomb or anti-aircraft shell at the eaves of the roof, suffering much damage there. All the glass on the south dial was blown out, but the hands and bells were not affected, and the Great Clock continued to keep time accurately.
Following the destruction of the Commons Chamber, the Lords offered their own debating chamber for the use of the Commons; for their own sittings the Queen's Robing Room was converted into a makeshift chamber. The Commons Chamber was rebuilt after the war under the architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, in a simplified version of the old chamber's style. The work was undertaken by John Mowlem & Co., and construction lasted until 1950. The Lords Chamber was then renovated over the ensuing months; the Lords re-occupied it in May 1951.
As the need for office space in the Palace increased, Parliament acquired office space in the nearby Norman Shaw Building in 1975, and in the custom-built Portcullis House, completed in 2000. This increase has enabled all Members of Parliament (MP) to have their own office facilities.
The Palace of Westminster, which is a Grade 1 listed building, is in urgent need of extensive restoration to its fabric. A 2012 pre-feasibility report set out several options, including the possibility of Parliament moving to other premises while work is carried out. At the same time, the option of moving Parliament to a new location was discounted, with staying at the Westminster site preferred. An Independent Options Appraisal Report released in June 2015 found that the cost to restore the Palace of Westminster could be as much as £7.1 billion if MPs were to remain at the Palace whilst works take place. MPs decided in 2016 to vacate the building for six years starting in 2022. In January 2018, the House of Commons voted for both houses to vacate the Palace of Westminster to allow for a complete refurbishment of the building which may take up to six years starting in 2025. It is expected that the House of Commons will be temporarily housed in a replica chamber to be located in Richmond House in Whitehall and the House of Lords will be housed at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Parliament Square.
Sir Charles Barry's collaborative design for the Palace of Westminster uses the Perpendicular Gothic style, which was popular during the 15th century and returned during the Gothic revival of the 19th century. Barry was a classical architect, but he was aided by the Gothic architect Augustus Pugin. Westminster Hall, which was built in the 11th century and survived the fire of 1834, was incorporated in Barry's design. Pugin was displeased with the result of the work, especially with the symmetrical layout designed by Barry; he famously remarked, "All Grecian, sir; Tudor details on a classic body".
In 1839 Charles Barry toured Britain, looking at quarries and buildings, with a committee which included two leading geologists and a stonecarver. They selected Anston, a sand-coloured magnesian limestone quarried in the villages of Anston, South Yorkshire and Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire. Two quarries were chosen from a list of 102, with the majority of the stone coming from the former. A crucial consideration was transportation, achieved on water via the Chesterfield Canal, the North Sea, and the rivers Trent and Thames. Furthermore, Anston was cheaper, and "could be supplied in blocks up to four feet thick and lent itself to elaborate carving".
Barry's New Palace of Westminster was rebuilt using the sandy-coloured Anston limestone. However, the stone soon began to decay due to pollution and the poor quality of some of the stone used. Although such defects were clear as early as 1849, nothing was done for the remainder of the 19th century even after much studying. During the 1910s, however, it became clear that some of the stonework had to be replaced. In 1928 it was deemed necessary to use Clipsham stone, a honey-coloured limestone from Rutland, to replace the decayed Anston. The project began in the 1930s but was halted by the outbreak of the Second World War, and completed only during the 1950s. By the 1960s pollution had again begun to take its toll. A stone conservation and restoration programme to the external elevations and towers began in 1981, and ended in 1994.
, the north wall of Westminster Hall is undergoing restoration. The restoration of the inner courtyards is also ongoing. , four have been completed, including the two largest (Speaker's Court and Royal Court); the rest are scheduled to be completed by October 2016.
The Palace of Westminster has three main towers. Of these, the largest and tallest is Victoria Tower, which occupies the south-western corner of the Palace. Originally named "The King's Tower" because the fire of 1834 which destroyed the old Palace of Westminster occurred during the reign of King William IV, the tower was an integral part of Barry's original design, of which he intended it to be the most memorable element. The architect conceived the great square tower as the keep of a legislative "castle" (echoing his selection of the portcullis as his identifying mark in the planning competition), and used it as the royal entrance to the Palace and as a fireproof repository for the archives of Parliament. Victoria Tower was re-designed several times, and its height increased progressively; upon its completion in 1858, it was the tallest secular building in the world.
At the base of the tower is the Sovereign's Entrance, used by the monarch whenever entering the Palace to open Parliament or for other state occasions. The high archway is richly decorated with sculptures, including statues of Saints George, Andrew and Patrick, as well as of Queen Victoria herself. The main body of Victoria Tower houses the three million documents of the Parliamentary Archives in of steel shelves spread over 12 floors; these include the master copies of all Acts of Parliament since 1497, and important manuscripts such as the original Bill of Rights and the death warrant of King Charles I. At the top of the cast-iron pyramidal roof is a flagstaff, from which flies the Royal Standard (the monarch's personal flag) when the Sovereign is present in the Palace. On all other days the Union Flag flies from the mast.
At the north end of the Palace rises the most famous of the towers, Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben. At , it is only slightly shorter than Victoria Tower but much slimmer. Originally known simply as the Clock Tower (the name Elizabeth Tower was conferred on it in 2012 to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II), it houses the Great Clock of Westminster, built by Edward John Dent on designs by amateur horologist Edmund Beckett Denison. Striking the hour to within a second of the time, the Great Clock achieved standards of accuracy considered impossible by 19th-century clockmakers, and it has remained consistently reliable since it entered service in 1859. The time is shown on four dials in diameter, which are made of milk glass and are lit from behind at night; the hour hand is long and the minute hand . The Clock Tower was designed by Augustus Pugin and built after his death. Charles Barry asked Pugin to design the clock tower because Pugin had previously helped Barry design the Palace. In the 2012 BBC Four documentary, Richard Taylor gives a description of Pugin's Clock Tower: "It rises up from the ground in this stately rhythm, higher and higher, before you reach the clock face, picked out as a giant rose, its petals fringed with gold. Medieval windows above that and then it hits the grey cast iron roof, its greyness relieved by those delicate little windows again picked out in gold leaf. And then rises up again in a great jet of gold to the higher roof that curves gracefully upwards to a spire with a crown and flowers and a cross. It's elegant and grand and has fairy tale qualities."
Five bells hang in the belfry above the clock. The four quarter bells strike the Westminster Chimes every quarter-hour. The largest bell strikes the hours; officially called "The Great Bell of Westminster", it is generally referred to as "Big Ben", a nickname of uncertain origins which, over time, has been colloquially applied to the whole tower. The first bell to bear this name cracked during testing and was recast; the present bell later developed a crack of its own, which gives it a distinctive sound. It is the third-heaviest bell in Britain, weighing 13.8 tonnes. In the lantern at the top of Elizabeth Tower is the Ayrton Light, which is lit when either House of Parliament is sitting after dark. It was installed in 1885 at the request of Queen Victoria—so that she could see from Buckingham Palace whether the members were "at work"—and named after Acton Smee Ayrton, who was First Commissioner of Works in the 1870s.
The shortest of the Palace's three principal towers (at ), the octagonal Central Tower stands over the middle of the building, immediately above the Central Lobby. It was added to the plans on the insistence of Dr. David Boswell Reid, who was in charge of the ventilation of the new Houses of Parliament: his plan called for a great central chimney through which what he called "vitiated air" would be drawn out of the building with the heat and smoke of about four hundred fires around the Palace. To accommodate the tower, Barry was forced to lower the lofty ceiling he had planned for the Central Lobby and reduce the height of its windows; however, the tower itself proved to be an opportunity to improve the Palace's exterior design, and Barry chose for it the form of a spire in order to balance the effect of the more massive lateral towers. In the end, the Central Tower failed completely to fulfill its stated purpose, but it is notable as "the first occasion when mechanical services had a real influence on architectural design".
Apart from the pinnacles which rise from between the window bays along the fronts of the Palace, numerous turrets enliven the building's skyline. Like the Central Tower, these have been added for practical reasons, and mask ventilation shafts.
There are some other features of the Palace of Westminster which are also known as towers. St Stephen's Tower is positioned in the middle of the west front of the Palace, between Westminster Hall and Old Palace Yard, and houses the public entrance to the Houses of Parliament, known as "St Stephen's Entrance". The pavilions at the northern and southern ends of the river front are called Speaker's Tower and Chancellor's Tower respectively, after the presiding officers of the two Houses at the time of the Palace's reconstruction—the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Chancellor. Speaker's Tower contains Speaker's House, the official residence of the Speaker of the Commons.
There are a number of small gardens surrounding the Palace of Westminster. Victoria Tower Gardens is open as a public park along the side of the river south of the palace. Black Rod's Garden (named after the office of Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod) is closed to the public and is used as a private entrance. Old Palace Yard, in front of the Palace, is paved over and covered in concrete security blocks ("see security below"). Cromwell Green (also on the frontage, and in 2006 enclosed by hoardings for the construction of a new visitor centre), New Palace Yard (on the north side) and Speaker's Green (directly north of the Palace) are all private and closed to the public. College Green, opposite the House of Lords, is a small triangular green commonly used for television interviews with politicians.
The Palace of Westminster contains over 1,100 rooms, 100 staircases and of passageways, which are spread over four floors. The ground floor is occupied by offices, dining rooms and bars; the first floor (known as the "principal floor") houses the main rooms of the Palace, including the debating chambers, the lobbies and the libraries. The top-two floors are used as committee rooms and offices.
Some of the interiors were designed and painted by J. G. Crace, working in collaboration with Pugin and others. For example, Crace decorated and gilded the ceiling of the Chapel of St. Mary Undercroft.
Instead of one main entrance, the Palace features separate entrances for the different user groups of the building. The Sovereign's Entrance, at the base of the Victoria Tower, is located in the south-west corner of the Palace and is the starting point of the royal procession route, the suite of ceremonial rooms used by the monarch at State Openings of Parliament. This consists of the Royal Staircase, the Norman Porch, the Robing Room, the Royal Gallery and the Prince's Chamber, and culminates in the Lords Chamber, where the ceremony takes place. Members of the House of Lords use the Peers' Entrance in the middle of the Old Palace Yard front, which is covered by a stone carriage porch and opens to an entrance hall. A staircase from there leads, through a corridor, to the Prince's Chamber.
Members of Parliament enter their part of the building from the Members' Entrance in the south side of New Palace Yard. Their route passes through a cloakroom in the lower level of the Cloisters and eventually reaches the Members' Lobby directly south of the Commons Chamber. From New Palace Yard, access can also be gained to the Speaker's Court and the main entrance of the Speaker's House, located in the pavilion at the north-east corner of the Palace
St Stephen's Entrance, roughly in the middle of the building's western front, is the entrance for members of the public. From there, visitors walk through a flight of stairs to St Stephen's Hall, location of a collection of marbles, which includes Somers Mansfield, Hampden, Walpole, Pitt and Fox. Traversal of this hallway brings them to the octagonal Central Lobby, the hub of the Palace. This hall is flanked by symmetrical corridors decorated with fresco paintings, which lead to the ante-rooms and debating chambers of the two Houses: the Members' Lobby and Commons Chamber to the north, and the Peers' Lobby and Lords Chamber to the south. Another mural-lined corridor leads east to the Lower Waiting Hall and the staircase to the first floor, where the river front is occupied by a row of 16 committee rooms. Directly below them, the libraries of the two Houses overlook the Thames from the principal floor.
The grandest entrance to the Palace of Westminster is the Sovereign's Entrance beneath the Victoria Tower. It was designed for the use of the monarch, who travels from Buckingham Palace by carriage every year for the State Opening of Parliament. The Imperial State Crown, which is worn by the sovereign for the ceremony, as well as the Cap of Maintenance and the Sword of State, which are symbols of royal authority and are borne before the monarch during the procession, also travel to the Palace by coach, accompanied by members of the Royal Household; the regalia, as they are collectively known, arrive some time before the monarch and are exhibited in the Royal Gallery until they are needed. The Sovereign's Entrance is also the formal entrance used by visiting dignitaries, as well as the starting point of public tours of the Palace.
From there, the Royal Staircase leads up to the principal floor with a broad, unbroken flight of 26 steps made of grey granite. It is lined on state occasions by sword-wielding troopers of the two regiments of the Household Cavalry, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals; these are the only troops allowed to bear arms inside the Palace of Westminster, which officially remains a royal residence.
The staircase is followed by the Norman Porch, a square landing distinguished by its central clustered column and the intricate ceiling it supports, which is made up of four groin vaults with lierne ribs and carved bosses. The Porch was named for its proposed decorative scheme, based on Norman history. In the event, neither the planned statues of Norman kings nor the frescoes were executed, and only the stained-glass window portraying Edward the Confessor hints at this theme. Queen Victoria is depicted twice in the room: as a young woman in the other stained-glass window, and near the end of her life, sitting on the throne of the House of Lords, in a copy of a 1900 painting by Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant which hangs on the eastern wall. The sixteen plinths intended for the statues now house busts of prime ministers who have sat in the House of Lords, such as the Earl Grey and the Marquess of Salisbury. A double door opposite the stairs leads to the Royal Gallery, and another to the right opens to the Robing Room.
The Queen's Robing Room (usually referred to simply as "the Robing Room") lies at the southern end of the ceremonial axis of the Palace and occupies the centre of the building's south front, overlooking the Victoria Tower Gardens. As its name indicates, it is where the Sovereign prepares for the State Opening of Parliament by donning official robes and wearing the Imperial State Crown. The focus of this richly decorated room is the Chair of State; it sits on a dais of three steps, under a canopy adorned with the arms and floral emblems of England, Scotland and Ireland. A panel of purple velvet forms the backdrop to the chair, embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework with the royal arms, surrounded by stars and "VR" monograms. Edward Barry designed both the chair—the cushion and back of which are also embroidered—and the ornate marble fireplace across the room, which features gilded statuettes of Saint George and Saint Michael.
The decorative theme of the room is the legend of King Arthur, considered by many Victorians the source of their nationhood. Five frescos painted by William Dyce between 1848 and 1864 cover the walls, depicting allegorical scenes from the legend. Each scene represents a chivalric virtue; the largest, between the two doors, is entitled "Admission of Sir Tristram to the Round Table" and illustrates the virtue of Hospitality. Seven were originally commissioned but the remaining two paintings were not carried out due to the artist's death, and on the wallpapered panels flanking the Chair of State hang oil portraits of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert by Franz Xaver Winterhalter. Other decorations in the room are also inspired by the Arthurian legend, namely a series of 18 bas-reliefs beneath the paintings, carved in oak by Henry Hugh Armstead, and the frieze running below the ceiling, which displays the attributed coats of arms of the Knights of the Round Table. The ceiling itself is decorated with heraldic badges, as is the border of the wooden floor—which, as can be seen in the adjacent image, is left exposed by the carpeting.
The Robing Room was also briefly used as the House of Lords' meeting chamber while the House of Lords Chamber was occupied by the House of Commons, whose chamber had been destroyed by the Blitz in 1941.
Immediately north of the Robing Room is the Royal Gallery. At , it is one of the largest rooms in the Palace. Its main purpose is to serve as the stage of the royal procession at State Openings of Parliament, which the audience watch from temporary tiered seating on both sides of the route. It has also been used on occasion by visiting statesmen from abroad when addressing both Houses of Parliament, as well as for receptions in honour of foreign dignitaries, and more regularly for the Lord Chancellor's Breakfast; in the past it was the theatre of several trials of peers by the House of Lords. Documents from the Parliamentary Archives are on display in the Royal Gallery (including a facsimile of Charles I's death warrant), and the tables and seating offer a workspace for members of the Lords that is conveniently close to their debating chamber.
The decorative scheme of the Royal Gallery was meant to display important moments in British military history, and the walls are decorated by two large paintings by Daniel Maclise, each measuring : "The Death of Nelson" (depicting Lord Nelson's demise at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805) and "The Meeting of Wellington and Blücher after the Battle of Waterloo" (showing the Duke of Wellington meeting Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815). The murals deteriorated rapidly after their completion due to a range of factors, most importantly atmospheric pollution, and today they are almost monochrome. The rest of the planned frescos were cancelled, and the walls are filled with portraits of kings and queens from George I onwards. Another decorative element with military undertones are the eight statues of gilded Caen stone that flank the three doorways and the bay window of the Gallery, sculpted by John Birnie Philip. Each depicts a monarch during whose reign a key battle or war took place. They are: Alfred the Great and William the Conqueror; Richard I and Edward III; Henry V and Elizabeth I; William III and Anne. The panelled ceiling, above the floor, features Tudor roses and lions, and the stained-glass windows show the coats of arms of the Kings of England and Scotland.
The Prince's Chamber is a small anteroom between the Royal Gallery and the Lords Chamber, named after the room adjoining the Parliament Chamber in the Old Palace of Westminster. Thanks to its location, it is a place where members of the Lords meet to discuss business of the House. Several doors lead out of the room, to the division lobbies of the House of Lords and to a number of important offices.
The theme of the Prince's Chamber is Tudor history, and 28 oil portraits painted on panels around the room depict members of the Tudor dynasty. They are the work of Richard Burchett and his pupils, and their creation entailed extensive research, which contributed to the founding of the National Portrait Gallery in 1856. 12 bronze bas-reliefs are set into the wall below the portraits, executed by William Theed in 1855–1857. Scenes included are "The Field of the Cloth of Gold", "The Escape of Mary, Queen of Scots" and "Raleigh Spreading His Cloak As a Carpet for the Queen". Above the portraits, at window level, there are compartments intended for copies of six of the ten Armada tapestries, which hung in the chamber of the House of Lords until their destruction in the 1834 fire and depicted the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. The project was put on hold in 1861 (by which time only one painting had been completed), and was not revived until 2007; , all six paintings have been finished and are on display in the Royal Gallery. They are scheduled to be fixed in the Prince's Chamber in the following months.
The room also contains a statue of Queen Victoria, seated on a throne (itself placed on a pedestal) and holding a sceptre and a laurel crown, which show that she both governs and rules. This figure is flanked by allegorical statues of Justice and Clemency—the former with a bare sword and an inflexible expression and the latter showing sympathy and offering an olive branch. The sculptural ensemble, made of white marble and carved by John Gibson in 1855, reaches in height; its size has long been considered out of proportion with the fittings of the Prince's Chamber, and the flanking statues ended up in storage between 1955 and 1976. However, the size and location of the group, in the archway opposite the doors to the Royal Gallery (which are removed before State Openings of Parliament to facilitate the royal procession), indicate that it was meant to be seen from a distance, and to symbolically remind the monarch of their royal duties as they would walk down the Royal Gallery on their way to deliver their speech.
The Chamber of the House of Lords is located in the southern part of the Palace of Westminster. The lavishly decorated room measures . The benches in the Chamber, as well as other furnishings in the Lords' side of the Palace, are coloured red. The upper part of the Chamber is decorated by stained glass windows and by six allegorical frescoes representing religion, chivalry and law.
At the south end of the Chamber are the ornate gold Canopy and Throne; although the Sovereign may theoretically occupy the Throne during any sitting, he or she attends only the State Opening of Parliament. Other members of the Royal Family who attend the State Opening use Chairs of State next to the Throne, and peers' sons are always entitled to sit on the steps of the Throne. In front of the Throne is the Woolsack, an armless red cushion stuffed with wool, representing the historical importance of the wool trade, and used by the officer presiding over the House (the Lord Speaker since 2006, but historically the Lord Chancellor or a deputy). The House's mace, which represents royal authority, is placed on the back of the Woolsack. In front of the Woolsack is the Judges' Woolsack, a larger red cushion that used to be occupied during the State Opening by the Law Lords (who were members of the House of Lords), and prospectively by the Supreme Court Justices and other Judges (whether or not members), to represent the Judicial Branch of Government. The Table of the House, at which the clerks sit, is in front.
Members of the House occupy red benches on three sides of the Chamber. The benches on the Lord Speaker's right form the Spiritual Side and those to his left form the Temporal Side. The Lords Spiritual (archbishops and bishops of the established Church of England) all occupy the Spiritual Side. The Lords Temporal (nobles) sit according to party affiliation: members of the Government party sit on the Spiritual Side, while those of the Opposition sit on the Temporal Side. Some peers, who have no party affiliation, sit on the benches in the middle of the House opposite the Woolsack; they are accordingly known as crossbenchers.
The Lords Chamber is the site of nationally televised ceremonies, the most important of which is the State Opening of Parliament, which is held formally to open each annual parliamentary session, either after a General Election or in the autumn. At this occasion every constitutional element of the government is represented: the Crown (both literally, and figuratively in the person of the Sovereign), The Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and The Commons, (who together form the Legislature), the Judiciary (although no judges are members of either House of Parliament), and the Executive (both Government Ministers, and ceremonial military units in attendance on the Sovereign); and a large number of guests are invited to attend in the large Royal Gallery immediately outside the Chamber. The Sovereign, seated on the Throne, delivers the Speech from the Throne, outlining the Government's programme for the year and legislative agenda for the forthcoming parliamentary session. The Commons may not enter the Lords' debating floor; instead, they watch the proceedings from beyond the Bar of the House, just inside the door. A small purely formal ceremony is held to end each parliamentary session, when the Sovereign is merely represented by a group of Lords Commissioners.
Following the Blitz, which destroyed the chamber of the House of Commons, the Lords' chamber was occupied by the Commons. The Lords temporarily used the Robing Room during the reconstruction. The State Opening Of Parliament was carried out as normal, with the new rooms being used. Evidence can still be seen of this today, with damage clearly visible on one of the doors where they were struck by Black Rod.
Directly north of the Lords Chamber lies the Peers' Lobby, an antechamber where Lords can informally discuss or negotiate matters during sittings of the House, as well as collect messages from the doorkeepers, who control access to the Chamber. The Lobby is a square room measuring on each side and in height, and one of its main features is the floor centrepiece, a radiant Tudor rose made of Derbyshire marbles and set within an octagon of engraved brass plates. The rest of the floor is paved with encaustic tiles featuring heraldic designs and Latin mottoes. The walls are faced with white stone and each is pierced by a doorway; above the arches are displayed arms representing the six royal dynasties which ruled England until Queen Victoria's reign (Saxon, Norman, Plantagenet, Tudor, Stuart and Hanoverian), and between them there are windows stained with the arms of the early aristocratic families of England.
Of the doorways, the one to the south—which leads into the Lords Chamber—is the most magnificent, and sports much gilding and decoration, including the full royal arms. It is enclosed by the Brass Gates, a pair of elaborately pierced and studded doors together weighing 1.5 tonnes. The side doors, which feature clocks, open into corridors: to the east extends the Law Lords Corridor, which leads to the libraries, and nearby to the west lies the Moses Room, used for Grand Committees.
To the north is the vaulted Peers' Corridor, which is decorated with eight murals by Charles West Cope depicting historical scenes from the period around the English Civil War. The frescoes were executed between 1856 and 1866, and each scene was "specifically chosen to depict the struggles through which national liberties were won". Examples include "Speaker Lenthall Asserting the Privileges of the Commons Against Charles I when the Attempt was Made to Seize the Five Members", representing resistance against absolute rule, and "The Embarkation of the Pilgrim Fathers for New England", which illustrates the principle of freedom of worship.
Originally named "Octagon Hall" because of its shape, the Central Lobby is the heart of the Palace of Westminster. It lies directly below the Central Tower and forms a busy crossroads between the House of Lords to the south, the House of Commons to the north, St Stephen's Hall and the public entrance to the west, and the Lower Waiting Hall and the libraries to the east. Its location halfway between the two debating chambers has led constitutional theorist Erskine May to describe the Lobby as "the political centre of the British Empire", and allows a person standing under the great chandelier to see both the Royal Throne and the Speaker's Chair, provided that all the intervening doors are open. Constituents may meet their Members of Parliament here, even without an appointment, and this practice is the origin of the term "lobbying". The hall is also the theatre of the Speaker's Procession, which passes from here on its way to the Commons Chamber before every sitting of the House.
The Central Lobby measures across and from the floor to the centre of the vaulted ceiling. The panels between the vault's ribs are covered with Venetian glass mosaic displaying floral emblems and heraldic badges, and the bosses in the intersections of the ribs are also carved into heraldic symbols. Each wall of the Lobby is contained in an arch ornamented with statues of English and Scottish monarchs; on four sides there are doorways, and the tympana above them are adorned with mosaics representing the patron saints of the United Kingdom's constituent nations: Saint George for England, Saint Andrew for Scotland, Saint David for Wales and Saint Patrick for Ireland. The other four arches are occupied by high windows, under which there are stone screens—the hall's post office, one of two in the Palace, is located behind one of these screens. In front of them stand four bigger-than-life statues of 19th-century statesmen, including one of four-time Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. The floor on which they stand is tiled with Minton encaustic tiles in intricate patterns and includes a passage from written in Latin, which translates as follows: "Except the Lord build the House their labour is but lost that build it".
The East Corridor leads from the Central Lobby to the Lower Waiting Hall, and its six panels remained blank until 1910, when they were filled with scenes from Tudor history. They were all paid for by Liberal peers and each was the work of a different artist, but uniformity was achieved between the frescoes thanks to a common colour palette of red, black and gold and a uniform height for the depicted characters. One of the scenes is probably not historical: "Plucking the Red and White Roses in the Old Temple Gardens", depicting the origin of these flowers as emblems of the Houses of Lancaster and York respectively, was taken from Shakespeare's play "Henry VI, Part 1".
Continuing north from the Central Lobby is the Commons' Corridor. It is of almost identical design to its southern counterpart and is decorated with scenes of 17th-century political history between the Civil War and the Revolution of 1688. They were painted by Edward Matthew Ward and include subjects like "Monk Declaring for a Free Parliament" and "The Lords and Commons Presenting the Crown to William III and Mary II in the Banqueting Hall". Then, mirroring the arrangement at the Lords part of the Palace, is another antechamber, the Members' Lobby. In this room, Members of Parliament hold discussions or negotiations, and are often interviewed by accredited journalists, collectively known as "The Lobby".
The room is similar to the Peers' Lobby but plainer in design and slightly larger, forming a cube on all sides. After the heavy damage it sustained in the 1941 bombing, it was rebuilt in a simplified style, something most evident in the floor, which is almost completely unadorned. The archway of the door leading into the Commons Chamber has been left unrepaired as a reminder of the evils of war, and is now known as the Rubble Arch or Churchill Arch. It is flanked by bronze statues of Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George, the prime ministers who led Britain through the Second and First World War respectively; a foot of each is conspicuously shiny, a result of a long tradition of MPs rubbing them for good luck on their way in before their maiden speech. The Lobby contains the busts and statues of most 20th-century prime ministers, as well as two large boards where MPs can receive letters and telephone messages, designed for the use of the House and installed in the early 1960s.
The Chamber of the House of Commons is at the northern end of the Palace of Westminster; it was opened in 1950 after the Victorian chamber had been destroyed in 1941 and re-built under the architect Giles Gilbert Scott. The Chamber measures and is plainer in style than the Lords Chamber; the benches, as well as other furnishings in the Commons side of the Palace, are coloured green. Members of the public are forbidden to sit on the benches. Other parliaments in Commonwealth nations, including those of India, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, have copied the colour scheme under which the Lower House is associated with green, and the Upper House with red.
At the north end of the Chamber is the Speaker's Chair, a present to Parliament from the Commonwealth of Australia. The current British Speaker's Chair is an exact copy of the Speaker's Chair given to Australia, by the House of Commons, to celebrate the opening of Old Parliament House, Canberra. In front of the Speaker's Chair is the Table of the House, at which the clerks sit, and on which is placed the Commons' ceremonial mace. The Table was a gift from Canada. The dispatch boxes, which front-bench Members of Parliament (MPs) often lean on or rest notes on during Questions and speeches, are a gift from New Zealand. There are green benches on either side of the House; members of the Government party occupy benches on the Speaker's right, while those of the Opposition occupy benches on the Speaker's left. There are no cross-benches as in the House of Lords. The Chamber is relatively small, and can accommodate only 427 of the 650 Members of Parliament—during Prime Minister's Questions and in major debates MPs stand at either end of the House.
By tradition, the British Sovereign does not enter the Chamber of the House of Commons. The last monarch to do so was King Charles I, in 1642. The King sought to arrest five Members of Parliament on charges of high treason, but when he asked the Speaker, William Lenthall, if he had any knowledge of the whereabouts of these individuals, Lenthall famously replied: "May it please your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here." Since then, in the State Opening of Parliament, when Black Rod representing the monarch approaches the doors to the chamber of the House of Commons to make the summons, they are pointedly slammed in his or her face. Black Rod has to strike the door three times with a staff, to be admitted and issue the summons from the monarch to the MPs to attend. When repairs after the World War II bombing were completed, the rebuilt chamber was opened by King George VI on 26 October 1950 who was invited to an "unofficial" tour of the new structure by Commons leaders.
The two red lines on the floor of the House of Commons are apart, which, by apocryphal tradition, is intended to be just over two sword-lengths. It is said that the original purpose of this was to prevent disputes in the House from degenerating into duels. However, there is no record of a time when Members of Parliament were allowed to bring swords into the Chamber; historically only the Serjeant at Arms has been allowed to carry a sword as a symbol of their role in Parliament, plus Black Rod when summoning the Commons to the Lords, and there are loops of pink ribbon in the Members' cloakroom for MPs to hang up their swords before entering the Chamber. In the days when gentlemen carried swords, there were no lines in the Chamber. Protocol dictates that MPs may not cross these lines when speaking; a Member of Parliament who violates this convention will be lambasted by opposition Members.
Westminster Hall, the oldest existing part of the Palace of Westminster, was erected in 1097 by King William II ('William Rufus'), at which point it was the largest hall in Europe. The roof was probably originally supported by pillars, giving three aisles, but during the reign of King Richard II, this was replaced by a hammerbeam roof by the royal carpenter Hugh Herland, "the greatest creation of medieval timber architecture", which allowed the original three aisles to be replaced with a single huge open space, with a dais at the end. The new roof was commissioned in 1393. Richard's architect Henry Yevele left the original dimensions, refacing the walls, with fifteen life-size statues of kings placed in niches. The rebuilding had been begun by King Henry III in 1245, but by Richard's time had been dormant for over a century. In Westminster Hall, the favourite heraldic badge of Richard II – a white hart, chained, and in an attitude of rest – is repeated as many as eighty-three times, without any of them being an exact counterpart of another.
Westminster Hall has the largest clearspan medieval roof in England, measuring . Oak timbers for the roof came from royal woods in Hampshire and from parks in Hertfordshire and from that of William Crozier of Stoke D'Abernon, who supplied over 600 oaks in Surrey, among other sources; they were assembled near Farnham, Surrey, away. Accounts record the large number of wagons and barges which delivered the jointed timbers to Westminster for assembly.
Westminster Hall has served numerous functions. Until the 19th century, it was primarily used for judicial purposes, housing three of the most important courts in the land: the Court of King's Bench, the Court of Common Pleas and the Court of Chancery. In the reign of Henry II (1154-89) a royal decree established a fixed siting of judges in the Hall. In 1215, Magna Carta stipulated that these courts would sit regularly for the convenience of litigants. In 1875, the courts were amalgamated into the High Court of Justice, which continued to meet in Westminster Hall until it moved to the Royal Courts of Justice in 1882. In addition to regular courts, Westminster Hall also housed important trials, including impeachment trials and the state trials of King Charles I at the end of the English Civil War, William Wallace, Thomas More, Cardinal John Fisher, Guy Fawkes, the Earl of Strafford, the rebel Scottish lords of the 1715 and 1745 uprisings, and Warren Hastings. The St Stephen's Porch end of the Hall displays under the stained glass window the Parliamentary War Memorial listing on eight panels the names of Members and staff of both Houses of Parliament and their sons killed serving in the First World War; the window itself, installed in 1952, commemorates members and staff of both Houses who died in the Second World War. In 2012, a new stained glass window commemorating Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee was installed opposite this window, at the other end of the hall.
Westminster Hall has also served ceremonial functions. From the twelfth century to the nineteenth, coronation banquets honouring new monarchs were held here. The last coronation banquet was that of King George IV, held in 1821; his successor, William IV, abandoned the idea because he deemed it too expensive. The Hall has been used for lyings-in-state during state and ceremonial funerals. Such an honour is usually reserved for the Sovereign and for their consorts; the only non-royals to receive it in the twentieth century were Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts (1914) and Winston Churchill (1965). The most recent lying-in-state was that of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002.
The two Houses have presented ceremonial Addresses to the Crown in Westminster Hall on important public occasions. For example, Addresses were presented at Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee (1977), Golden Jubilee (2002) and Diamond Jubilee (2012), the 300th anniversary of the Glorious Revolution (1988), and the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War (1995).
It is considered a rare privilege for a foreign leader to be allowed to address both houses in Westminster Hall. Since the Second World War the only leaders to have done so have been French president Charles de Gaulle in 1960, South African president Nelson Mandela in 1996, Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, U.S. president Barack Obama in 2011 and Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2012. President Obama was the first US President to be allowed to use the Hall for an address to Parliament and Aung San Suu Kyi was the first non-head of state to be given the accolade of addressing MPs and peers in Westminster Hall.
Under reforms made in 1999, the House of Commons uses the Grand Committee Room next to Westminster Hall as an additional debating chamber. (Although it is not part of the main hall, the room is usually spoken of as such.) The seating is laid out in a U-shape, in contrast with the main Chamber, in which the benches are placed opposite each other. This pattern is meant to reflect the non-partisan nature of the debates held in Westminster Hall.
There are two suites of libraries on the Principal Floor, overlooking the river, for the House of Lords Library and House of Commons Library.
The Palace of Westminster also includes state apartments for the presiding officers of the two Houses. The official residence of the Speaker stands at the northern end of the Palace; the Lord Chancellor's apartments are at the southern end. Each day, the Speaker and Lord Speaker take part in formal processions from their apartments to their respective Chambers.
The Strangers' Bar is one of the numerous bars, cafeterias and restaurants in the Palace of Westminster, with differing rules regarding who is allowed to use their facilities; many of them never close while the House is sitting. There is also a gymnasium, and even a hair salon; and a rifle range. Parliament also has two souvenir shops, where items on sale range from House of Commons key-rings and china to House of Commons Champagne.
The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod oversees security for the House of Lords, and the Serjeant at Arms does the same for the House of Commons. These officers, however, have primarily ceremonial roles outside the actual chambers of their respective Houses. Security is the responsibility of the Parliamentary Security Director. Parliament has its own professional security force. Tradition still dictates that only the Serjeant at Arms may enter the Commons chamber armed.
With rising concern about the possibility that a vehicle full of explosives could be driven into the building, a series of concrete blocks was placed in the roadway in 2003. On the river, an exclusion zone extending from the bank exists, which no unauthorised vessels are allowed to enter.
The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 formerly made it illegal to hold a protest near the Palace, or anywhere else within a designated area extending up to from Parliament Square, without authorisation from the Metropolitan Police. The Act also restricted the operation of loudspeakers in the designated area. These provisions were repealed by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, which replaced them with a total ban on tents and sleeping bags in Parliament Square, as well as a prohibition on the use of loudspeakers in the Square without permission from the relevant local authority.
Members of the public continue to have access to the Strangers' Gallery in the House of Commons. Visitors pass through metal detectors and their possessions are scanned. Police from the Palace of Westminster Division of the Metropolitan Police, supported by some armed police from the Diplomatic Protection Group, are always on duty in and around the Palace.
The failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a conspiracy among a group of Roman Catholic gentry to re-establish Catholicism in England by assassinating the Protestant King James I and replacing him with a Catholic monarch. To this end, they placed large quantities of gunpowder beneath the House of Lords, which one of the conspirators, Guy Fawkes, would detonate during the State Opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605. If successful, the explosion would have destroyed the Palace, killing the King, his family and most of the aristocracy. However, the plot was discovered and most of the conspirators were either arrested or killed while trying to evade capture. The survivors were tortured in the Tower of London, tried for high treason in Westminster Hall, convicted and gruesomely executed by hanging, drawing and quartering. Since then, the cellars of the Palace have been searched by the Yeomen of the Guard before every State Opening of Parliament, a traditional precaution against any similar attempts against the Sovereign.
Sir Walter Raleigh was executed at the Palace of Westminster on 29 October 1618.
The previous Palace of Westminster was also the site of a prime-ministerial assassination on 11 May 1812. While in the lobby of the House of Commons, on his way to a parliamentary inquiry, Spencer Perceval was shot and killed by a Liverpool merchant adventurer, John Bellingham. Perceval remains the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated.
The New Palace became the target of Fenian bombs on 24 January 1885, along with the Tower of London. The first bomb, a black bag containing dynamite, was discovered by a visitor on the steps towards the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft. Police Constable (PC) William Cole attempted to carry it to New Palace Yard, but the bag became so hot that Cole dropped it and it exploded. The blast opened a crater in the floor in diameter, damaged the roof of the Chapel and shattered all the windows in the Hall, including the stained-glass South Window at St Stephen's Porch. Both Cole and PC Cox, a colleague who had joined him to offer assistance, were seriously injured. A second explosion followed almost immediately in the Commons Chamber, causing great damage—especially to its south end—but no injuries, as it was empty at the time. The incident resulted in the closure of Westminster Hall to visitors for several years; when visitors were re-admitted in 1889, it was under certain restrictions and never while the two Houses were sitting.
On 17 June 1974, a bomb planted by the Provisional IRA exploded in Westminster Hall. The explosion and the resulting fire, which was fed by a ruptured gas main, injured 11 people and caused extensive damage. Five years later, a car bomb claimed the life of Airey Neave, a prominent Conservative politician, while he was driving out of the Commons car park in New Palace Yard. The attack occurred on 30 March 1979, one day after the announcement of that year's general election; both the Irish National Liberation Army and the Provisional IRA claimed responsibility for Neave's assassination, but it is now accepted that the former were responsible.
The Palace has also been the scene of numerous acts of politically motivated "direct action", which often took place in the Chamber of the House of Commons. In July 1970, a man in the Strangers' Gallery threw two canisters of tear gas into the Chamber to protest against the use of such gas in Northern Ireland; an MP and two members of the House's staff were taken to hospital and the sitting was suspended for almost two hours. In 1978, activist Yana Mintoff and another dissident threw bags of horse manure, and in June 1996 demonstrators dropped leaflets. Concern about such attacks and a possible chemical or biological attack led to the installation of a glass screen across the Strangers' Gallery in early 2004.
The new barrier does not cover the gallery in front of the Strangers' Gallery, which is reserved for ambassadors, members of the House of Lords, guests of MPs and other dignitaries, and in May 2004 protesters from Fathers 4 Justice attacked Prime Minister Tony Blair with flour bombs from this part, after obtaining admission by bidding for a place in the visitors' gallery in a charity auction. Subsequently, rules on admission to the visitors' galleries were changed, and now individuals wishing to sit in the galleries must first obtain a written pass from a Member certifying that that individual is personally known to them. In September of the same year, five protesters opposed to the proposed ban on fox hunting disrupted the proceedings of the House of Commons by running into the Chamber, the first such occurrence since King Charles I's unauthorised entry in 1642, which triggered the English Civil War.
The House of Lords has also been targeted by protesters. On 2 February 1988, the House debated the Local Government Bill's controversial Clause 28, a measure to prohibit the promotion of homosexuality in schools. Following the division, in which the clause passed, a number of lesbian demonstrators in the public gallery started chanting slogans, and three of them tied ropes to the railing and climbed down onto the floor of the Chamber. Lord Monkswell, who had provided the women with passes to attend the debate, later apologised to the House for the incident but did not criticise the protest.
Similar actions have been carried out outside the Palace of Westminster. Early in the morning of 20 March 2004, two Greenpeace members scaled the Clock Tower to demonstrate against the Iraq War, raising questions about the security around such a likely target of terrorist attacks. In March 2007, another four members of Greenpeace made their way to the Palace's roof by means of a nearby crane, which was being used for repairs to Westminster Bridge. Once up, they unfurled a banner protesting against the British government's plans to update the Trident nuclear programme.
In February 2008, five campaigners from the Plane Stupid group gained admittance to the building as visitors and then moved up to the roof to demonstrate against the proposed expansion of Heathrow Airport; from there they hung two banners they had smuggled past security. MPs and security experts found it worrying that the protesters made it to the roof in spite of the heightened security measures, and the prosecution at the activists' trial argued that they may have received help from a House of Lords employee. In October 2009, at least forty Greenpeace activists climbed to the roof of Westminster Hall to call for the adoption of policies combating climate change. Some of them climbed down after nearly five hours, while the rest spent the night on the roof.
On 22 March 2017 an Islamist-related terror attack happened in which a man stabbed a police officer after ploughing into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge. Five people were killed, including the attacker and the police officer. In August 2018 there was another attack, treated by prosecutors as terrorism.
The Palace has accumulated many rules and traditions over the centuries.
Smoking has not been allowed in the chamber of the House of Commons since the 17th century. As a result, Members may take snuff instead and the doorkeepers still keep a snuff-box for this purpose. Despite persistent media rumours, it has not been permitted to smoke anywhere inside the Palace since 2005. Members may not eat or drink in the chamber; the exception to this rule is the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who may have a beverage of the Chancellors' choice while delivering the Budget statement. Traditionally this is an alcoholic beverage, but in recent times, some Chancellors have opted for water.
Men are expected to wear formal attire, women are expected to dress in business-like clothing and the wearing of T-shirts with slogans is not allowed. Hats must not be worn (although they used to be worn when a point of order was being raised), and Members may not wear military decorations or insignia. Members are not allowed to have their hands in their pocketsAndrew Robathan was heckled by opposing MPs for doing this on 19 December 1994.
The only animals allowed in the Palace of Westminster are guide dogs. Sniffer dogs and police horses are also allowed on the grounds.
Speeches may not be read out during debate in the House of Commons, although notes may be referred to. Similarly, the reading of newspapers is not allowed. Visual aids are discouraged in the chamber. Applause is also not normally allowed in the Commons, but it has since been tolerated in certain cases. Some notable exceptions to this were when Robin Cook gave his resignation speech in 2003; when Prime Minister Tony Blair appeared for the last time at Prime Minister's Questions; when Speaker Michael Martin gave his leaving speech on 17 June 2009; and after the resignation statement of Robert Rogers, Clerk of the House. At the start of the new parliament in May 2015, the large influx of new Scottish National Party MPs flouted the convention and repeatedly applauded their party leader, to the displeasure of the Speaker.
The status of the Palace as a royal palace raises legal questionsaccording to Halsbury's Laws of England, it is not possible to arrest a person within the "verges" of the Palace (the Palace itself and its immediate surroundings). However, according to a memorandum by the Clerk of the House of Commons, there is no prohibition on arrest within the Palace and such arrests have been effected in the past.
The exterior of the Palace of Westminsterespecially the Elizabeth Tower which houses the bell known as Big Ben, and its setting on the bank of the River Thames—is recognised worldwide, and is one of the most visited tourist attractions in London. Tsar Nicholas I called it "a dream in stone". The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) classifies the Palace of Westminster, along with neighbouring Westminster Abbey and St Margaret's, as a World Heritage Site. It is also a Grade I listed building.
Although there is no casual access to the interior of the Palace, there are several ways to gain admittance. UK residents may obtain tickets from an MP for a place in the viewing ("strangers") gallery of the House of Commons, or from a Lord for a seat in the gallery of the House of Lords. It is also possible for both UK residents and overseas visitors to queue for admission to them at any time of the day or night when either House is in session, but capacity is limited and there is no guarantee of admission. Either House may exclude "strangers" if it desires to sit in private. Members of the public can also queue for a seat in a committee session, where admission is free and places cannot be booked, or they may visit the Parliamentary Archives for research purposes. Booking an appointment is necessary in the latter case, along with a proof of identity.
Free guided tours of the Palace are held throughout the parliamentary session for UK residents, who can apply through their MP or a member of the House of Lords. The tours last about 75 minutes and include the state rooms, the chambers of the two Houses and Westminster Hall. Paid-for tours are available to both UK and overseas visitors during the summer recess and Saturdays throughout the year. Tours of the Elizabeth Tower have been suspended until 2021 while the tower undergoes refurbishment.
Architectural historian Dan Cruickshank selected the Palace as one of his five choices for the 2006 BBC television documentary series "Britain's Best Buildings".
The nearest London Underground station is Westminster, on the District, Circle and Jubilee lines.
In 2015, Parliament organised a year-long programme of events called "Parliament in the Making" to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta on 15 June, and the 750th anniversary of the first representative parliament on 20 January. Events were coordinated with Parliament Week. The BBC held events throughout the year including a "Democracy Day" on 20 January consisting of live discussions and debate in partnership with the Speaker's Office of the House of Commons, including broadcasts from inside the Palace of Westminster. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24170 |
Plautus
Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus. The word Plautine refers to both Plautus's own works and works similar to or influenced by his.
Not much is known about Titus Maccius Plautus' early life. It is believed that he was born in Sarsina, a small town in Emilia Romagna in northern Italy, around 254 BC. According to Morris Marples, Plautus worked as a stage-carpenter or scene-shifter in his early years. It is from this work, perhaps, that his love of the theater originated. His acting talent was eventually discovered; and he adopted the names "Maccius" (a clownish stock-character in popular farces) and "Plautus" (a term meaning either "flat-footed" or "flat-eared", like the ears of a hound). Tradition holds that he made enough money to go into the nautical business, but that the venture collapsed. He is then said to have worked as a manual laborer and to have studied Greek drama—particularly the New Comedy of Menander—in his leisure. His studies allowed him to produce his plays, which were released between c. 205 and 184 BC. Plautus attained such a popularity that his name alone became a hallmark of theatrical success.
Plautus's comedies are mostly adapted from Greek models for a Roman audience, and are often based directly on the works of the Greek playwrights. He reworked the Greek texts to give them a flavour that would appeal to the local Roman audiences. They are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature.
Plautus's epitaph read:
postquam est mortem aptus Plautus, Comoedia luget,
scaena est deserta, dein Risus, Ludus Iocusque
et Numeri innumeri simul omnes conlacrimarunt.
Since Plautus is dead, Comedy mourns,
The stage is deserted; then Laughter, Jest and Wit,
And all Melody's countless numbers wept together.
Plautus wrote around 130 plays, of which 20 have survived intact, making him the most prolific ancient dramatist in terms of surviving work. Only short fragments, mostly quotations by later writers of antiquity, survive from 31 other plays. Despite this, the manuscript tradition of Plautus is poorer than that of any other ancient dramatist, something not helped by the failure of scholia on Plautus to survive. The chief manuscript of Plautus is a palimpsest, known as the Ambrosian palimpsest (A), in which Plautus' plays had been scrubbed out to make way for Augustine's Commentary on the Psalms. The monk who performed this was more successful in some places than others. He seems to have begun furiously, scrubbing out Plautus' alphabetically arranged plays with zest before growing lazy, then finally regaining his vigor at the end of the manuscript to ensure not a word of Plautus was legible. Although modern technology has allowed classicists to view much of the effaced material, plays beginning in letters early in the alphabet have very poor texts (e.g. the end of "Aulularia" and start of "Bacchides" are lost), plays with letters in the middle of the alphabet have decent texts, while only traces survive of the play "Vidularia".
A second manuscript tradition is represented by manuscripts of the Palatine family, so called because two of its most important manuscripts were once kept in the library of the Elector Palatine in Heidelberg in Germany. The archetype of this family is now lost but it can be reconstructed from various later manuscripts, some of them containing either only the first half or the second half of the plays. The most important manuscript of this group is "B", of the 10th or early 11th century, now kept in the Vatican library.
Only the titles and various fragments of these plays have survived.
The historical context within which Plautus wrote can be seen, to some extent, in his comments on contemporary events and persons. Plautus was a popular comedic playwright while Roman theatre was still in its infancy and still largely undeveloped. At the same time, the Roman Republic was expanding in power and influence.
Plautus was sometimes accused of teaching the public indifference and mockery of the gods. Any character in his plays could be compared to a god. Whether to honour a character or to mock him, these references were demeaning to the gods. These references to the gods include a character comparing a mortal woman to a god, or saying he would rather be loved by a woman than by the gods. Pyrgopolynices from "Miles Gloriosus" (vs. 1265), in bragging about his long life, says he was born one day later than Jupiter. In "Curculio", Phaedrome says "I am a God" when he first meets with Planesium. In "Pseudolus," Jupiter is compared to Ballio the pimp. It is not uncommon, too, for a character to scorn the gods, as seen in "Poenulus" and "Rudens".
However, when a character scorns a god, it is usually a character of low standing, such as a pimp. Plautus perhaps does this to demoralize the characters. Soldiers often bring ridicule among the gods. Young men, meant to represent the upper social class, often belittle the gods in their remarks. Parasites, pimps, and courtesans often praise the gods with scant ceremony.
Tolliver argues that drama both reflects and foreshadows social change. It is likely that there was already much skepticism about the gods in Plautus' era. Plautus did not make up or encourage irreverence to the gods, but reflected ideas of his time. The state controlled stage productions, and Plautus' plays would have been banned, had they been too risqué.
The Second Punic War occurred from 218–201 BC; its central event was Hannibal's invasion of Italy. M. Leigh has devoted an extensive chapter about Plautus and Hannibal in his 2004 book, "Comedy and the Rise of Rome". He says that "the plays themselves contain occasional references to the fact that the state is at arms...". One good example is a piece of verse from the "Miles Gloriosus," the composition date of which is not clear but which is often placed in the last decade of the 3rd century BC. A. F. West believes that this is inserted commentary on the Second Punic War. In his article "On a Patriotic Passage in the "Miles Gloriosus" of Plautus", he states that the war "engrossed the Romans more than all other public interests combined". The passage seems intended to rile up the audience, beginning with "hostis tibi adesse", or "the foe is near at hand".
At the time, the general Scipio Africanus wanted to confront Hannibal, a plan "strongly favored by the plebs". Plautus apparently pushes for the plan to be approved by the senate, working his audience up with the thought of an enemy in close proximity and a call to outmaneuver him. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that Plautus, according to P. B. Harvey, was "willing to insert [into his plays] highly specific allusions comprehensible to the audience". M. Leigh writes in his chapter on Plautus and Hannibal that "the Plautus who emerges from this investigation is one whose comedies persistently touch the rawest nerves in the audience for whom he writes".
Later, coming off the heels of the conflict with Hannibal, Rome was preparing to embark on another military mission, this time in Greece. While they would eventually move on Philip V in the Second Macedonian War, there was considerable debate beforehand about the course Rome should take in this conflict. But starting this war would not be an easy task considering those recent struggles with Carthage—many Romans were too tired of conflict to think of embarking on another campaign. As W. M. Owens writes in his article "Plautus' "Stichus" and the Political Crisis of 200 B.C.", "There is evidence that antiwar feeling ran deep and persisted even after the war was approved." Owens contends that Plautus was attempting to match the complex mood of the Roman audience riding the victory of the Second Punic War but facing the beginning of a new conflict. For instance, the characters of the dutiful daughters and their father seem obsessed over the idea of "officium", the duty one has to do what is right. Their speech is littered with words such as "pietas" and "aequus", and they struggle to make their father fulfill his proper role. The stock parasite in this play, Gelasimus, has a patron-client relationship with this family and offers to do any job in order to make ends meet; Owens puts forward that Plautus is portraying the economic hardship many Roman citizens were experiencing due to the cost of war.
With the repetition of responsibility to the desperation of the lower class, Plautus establishes himself firmly on the side of the average Roman citizen. While he makes no specific reference to the possible war with Greece or the previous war (that might be too dangerous), he does seem to push the message that the government should take care of its own people before attempting any other military actions.
In order to understand the Greek New Comedy of Menander and its similarities to Plautus, it is necessary to discuss, in juxtaposition with it, the days of Greek Old Comedy and its evolution into New Comedy. The ancient Greek playwright who best embodies Old Comedy is Aristophanes. A playwright of 5th century Athens, he wrote works of political satire such as "The Wasps", "The Birds", and "The Clouds". Aristophanes' work is noted for its critical commentary on politics and societal values, which is the key component of Old Comedy: consciousness of the world in which it is written, and analysis of this world. Comedy and theater were means for the political commentary of the time—the public conscience.
Unlike Aristophanes, Plautus avoided discussion of current events (in a narrow sense of the term) in his comedies.
Greek New Comedy greatly differs from those plays of Aristophanes. The most notable difference, according to Dana F. Sutton, is that New Comedy, in comparison to Old Comedy, is "devoid of a serious political, social or intellectual content" and "could be performed in any number of social and political settings without risk of giving offense". The risk-taking for which Aristophanes is known is noticeably lacking in the New Comedy plays of Menander. Instead, there is much more of a focus on the home and the family unit—something that the Romans, including Plautus, could easily understand and adopt for themselves later in history.
One main theme of Greek New Comedy is the father–son relationship. For example, in Menander's "Dis Exapaton" there is a focus on the betrayal between age groups and friends. The father-son relationship is very strong and the son remains loyal to the father. The relationship is always a focus, even if it's not the focus of every action taken by the main characters. In Plautus, on the other hand, the focus is still on the relationship between father and son, but we see betrayal between the two men that wasn't seen in Menander. There is a focus on the proper conduct between a father and son that, apparently, was so important to Roman society at the time of Plautus.
This becomes the main difference and, also, similarity between Menander and Plautus. They both address "situations that tend to develop in the bosom of the family". Both authors, through their plays, reflect a patriarchal society in which the father-son relationship is essential to proper function and development of the household. It is no longer a political statement, as in Old Comedy, but a statement about household relations and proper behavior between a father and his son. But the attitudes on these relationships seem much different—a reflection of how the worlds of Menander and Plautus differed.
There are differences not just in how the father-son relationship is presented, but also in the way in which Menander and Plautus write their poetry. William S. Anderson discusses the believability of Menander versus the believability of Plautus and, in essence, says that Plautus' plays are much less believable than those plays of Menander because they seem to be such a farce in comparison. He addresses them as a reflection of Menander with some of Plautus' own contributions. Anderson claims that there is unevenness in the poetry of Plautus that results in "incredulity and refusal of sympathy of the audience."
The poetry of Menander and Plautus is best juxtaposed in their prologues. Robert B. Lloyd makes the point that "albeit the two prologues introduce plays whose plots are of essentially different types, they are almost identical in form..." He goes on to address the specific style of Plautus that differs so greatly from Menander. He says that the "verbosity of the Plautine prologues has often been commented upon and generally excused by the necessity of the Roman playwright to win his audience." However, in both Menander and Plautus, word play is essential to their comedy. Plautus might seem more verbose, but where he lacks in physical comedy he makes up for it with words, alliteration and paronomasia (punning). See also "jokes and wordplay" below.
Plautus is well known for his devotion to puns, especially when it comes to the names of his characters. In "Miles Gloriosus", for instance, the female concubine's name, Philocomasium, translates to "lover of a good party"—which is quite apt when we learn about the tricks and wild ways of this prostitute.
Plautus' characters—many of which seem to crop up in quite a few of his plays—also came from Greek stock, though they too received some Plautine innovations. Indeed, since Plautus was adapting these plays it would be difficult not to have the same kinds of characters—roles such as slaves, concubines, soldiers, and old men. By working with the characters that were already there but injecting his own creativity, as J.C.B. Lowe wrote in his article "Aspects of Plautus' Originality in the Asinaria", "Plautus could substantially modify the characterization, and thus the whole emphasis of a play."
One of the best examples of this method is the Plautine slave, a form that plays a major role in quite a few of Plautus' works. The "clever slave" in particular is a very strong character; he not only provides exposition and humor, but also often drives the plot in Plautus' plays. C. Stace argues that Plautus took the stock slave character from New Comedy in Greece and altered it for his own purposes. In New Comedy, he writes, "the slave is often not much more than a comedic turn, with the added purpose, perhaps, of exposition". This shows that there was precedent for this slave archetype, and obviously some of its old role continues in Plautus (the expository monologues, for instance). However, because Plautus found humor in slaves tricking their masters or comparing themselves to great heroes, he took the character a step further and created something distinct.
Of the approximate 270 proper names in the surviving plays of Plautus, about 250 names are Greek. William M. Seaman proposes that these Greek names would have delivered a comic punch to the audience because of its basic understanding of the Greek language. This previous understanding of Greek language, Seaman suggests, comes from the "experience of Roman soldiers during the first and second Punic wars. Not only did men billeted in Greek areas have opportunity to learn sufficient Greek for the purpose of everyday conversation, but they were also able to see plays in the foreign tongue." Having an audience with knowledge of the Greek language, whether limited or more expanded, allowed Plautus more freedom to use Greek references and words. Also, by using his many Greek references and showing that his plays were originally Greek, "It is possible that Plautus was in a way a teacher of Greek literature, myth, art and philosophy; so too was he teaching something of the nature of Greek words to people, who, like himself, had recently come into closer contact with that foreign tongue and all its riches."
At the time of Plautus, Rome was expanding, and having much success in Greece. W.S. Anderson has commented that Plautus "is using and abusing Greek comedy to imply the superiority of Rome, in all its crude vitality, over the Greek world, which was now the political dependent of Rome, whose effete comic plots helped explain why the Greeks proved inadequate in the real world of the third and second centuries, in which the Romans exercised mastery".
Plautus was known for the use of Greek style in his plays, as part of the tradition of the variation on a theme. This has been a point of contention among modern scholars. One argument states that Plautus writes with originality and creativity—the other, that Plautus is a copycat of Greek New Comedy and that he makes no original contribution to playwriting.
A single reading of the "Miles Gloriosus" leaves the reader with the notion that the names, place, and play are all Greek, but one must look beyond these superficial interpretations. W.S. Anderson would steer any reader away from the idea that Plautus' plays are somehow not his own or at least only his interpretation. Anderson says that, "Plautus homogenizes all the plays as vehicles for his special exploitation. Against the spirit of the Greek original, he engineers events at the end... or alter[s] the situation to fit his expectations." Anderson's vehement reaction to the co-opting of Greek plays by Plautus seems to suggest that they are in no way like their originals were. It seems more likely that Plautus was just experimenting putting Roman ideas in Greek forms.
One idea that is important to recognize is that of "contaminatio", which refers to the mixing of elements of two or more source plays. Plautus, it seems, is quite open to this method of adaptation, and quite a few of his plots seem stitched together from different stories. One excellent example is his "Bacchides" and its supposed Greek predecessor, Menander's "Dis Exapaton." The original Greek title translates as "The Man Deceiving Twice", yet the Plautine version has three tricks. V. Castellani commented that:
Plautus' attack on the genre whose material he pirated was, as already stated, fourfold. He deconstructed many of the Greek plays' finely constructed plots; he reduced some, exaggerated others of the nicely drawn characters of Menander and of Menander's contemporaries and followers into caricatures; he substituted for or superimposed upon the elegant humor of his models his own more vigorous, more simply ridiculous foolery in action, in statement, even in language.
By exploring ideas about Roman loyalty, Greek deceit, and differences in ethnicity, "Plautus in a sense surpassed his model." He was not content to rest solely on a loyal adaptation that, while amusing, was not new or engaging for Rome. Plautus took what he found but again made sure to expand, subtract, and modify. He seems to have followed the same path that Horace did, though Horace is much later, in that he is putting Roman ideas in Greek forms. He not only imitated the Greeks, but in fact distorted, cut up, and transformed the plays into something entirely Roman. In essence it is Greek theater colonized by Rome and its playwrights.
In Ancient Greece during the time of New Comedy, from which Plautus drew so much of his inspiration, there were permanent theaters that catered to the audience as well as the actor. The greatest playwrights of the day had quality facilities in which to present their work and, in a general sense, there was always enough public support to keep the theater running and successful. However, this was not the case in Rome during the time of the Republic, when Plautus wrote his plays. While there was public support for theater and people came to enjoy tragedy and comedy alike, no permanent theater existed in Rome until Pompey dedicated one in 55 BC in the Campus Martius.
The lack of a permanent space was a key factor in Roman theater and Plautine stagecraft. In their introduction to the "Miles Gloriosus," Hammond, Mack and Moskalew say that "the Romans were acquainted with the Greek stone theater, but, because they believed drama to be a demoralizing influence, they had a strong aversion to the erection of permanent theaters". This worry rings true when considering the subject matter of Plautus' plays. The unreal becomes reality on stage in his work. T. J. Moore notes that, "all distinction between the play, production, and 'real life' has been obliterated [Plautus' play "Curculio"]". A place where social norms were upended was inherently suspect. The aristocracy was afraid of the power of the theater. It was merely by their good graces and unlimited resources that a temporary stage would have been built during specific festivals.
Roman drama, specifically Plautine comedy, was acted out on stage during the "ludi" or festival games. In his discussion of the importance of the "ludi Megalenses" in early Roman theater, John Arthur Hanson says that this particular festival "provided more days for dramatic representations than any of the other regular festivals, and it is in connection with these "ludi" that the most definite and secure literary evidence for the site of scenic games has come down to us". Because the "ludi" were religious in nature, it was appropriate for the Romans to set up this temporary stage close to the temple of the deity being celebrated. S.M. Goldberg notes that ""ludi" were generally held within the precinct of the particular god being honored."
T. J. Moore notes that "seating in the temporary theaters where Plautus' plays were first performed was often insufficient for all those who wished to see the play, that the primary criterion for determining who was to stand and who could sit was social status". This is not to say that the lower classes did not see the plays; but they probably had to stand while watching. Plays were performed in public, for the public, with the most prominent members of the society in the forefront.
The wooden stages on which Plautus' plays appeared were shallow and long with three openings in respect to the scene-house. The stages were significantly smaller than any Greek structure familiar to modern scholars. Because theater was not a priority during Plautus' time, the structures were built and dismantled within a day. Even more practically, they were dismantled quickly due to their potential as fire-hazards.
Often the geography of the stage and more importantly the play matched the geography of the city so that the audience would be well oriented to the locale of the play. Moore says that, "references to Roman locales must have been stunning for they are not merely references to things Roman, but the most blatant possible reminders that the production occurs in the city of Rome". So, Plautus seems to have choreographed his plays somewhat true-to-life. To do this, he needed his characters to exit and enter to or from whatever area their social standing would befit.
Two scholars, V. J. Rosivach and N. E. Andrews, have made interesting observations about stagecraft in Plautus: V. J. Rosivach writes about identifying the side of the stage with both social status and geography. He says that, for example, "the house of the "medicus" lies offstage to the right. It would be in the forum or thereabouts that one would expect to find a "medicus"." Moreover, he says that characters that oppose one another always have to exit in opposite directions. In a slightly different vein, N.E. Andrews discusses the spatial semantics of Plautus; she has observed that even the different spaces of the stage are thematically charged. She states:
Plautus' "Casina" employs these conventional tragic correlations between
male/outside and female/inside, but then inverts them in order to establish an even more complex relationship among genre, gender and dramatic space. In the "Casina", the struggle for control between men and women... is articulated by characters' efforts to control stage movement into and out of the house.
Andrews makes note of the fact that power struggle in the "Casina" is evident in the verbal comings and goings. The words of action and the way that they are said are important to stagecraft. The words denoting direction or action such as "abeo" ("I go off"), "transeo" ("I go over"), "fores crepuerunt" ("the doors creak"), or "intus" ("inside"), which signal any character's departure or entrance, are standard in the dialogue of Plautus' plays. These verbs of motion or phrases can be taken as Plautine stage directions since no overt stage directions are apparent. Often, though, in these interchanges of characters, there occurs the need to move on to the next act. Plautus then might use what is known as a "cover monologue". About this S.M. Goldberg notes that, "it marks the passage of time less by its length than by its direct and immediate address to the audience and by its switch from "senarii" in the dialogue to "iambic septenarii". The resulting shift of mood distracts and distorts our sense of passing time."
The small stages had a significant effect on the stagecraft of ancient Roman theater. Because of this limited space, there was also limited movement. Greek theater allowed for grand gestures and extensive action to reach the audience members who were in the very back of the theater. However the Romans would have had to depend more on their voices than large physicality. There was not an orchestra available as there was for the Greeks and this is reflected in the notable lack of a chorus in Roman drama. The replacement character that acts as the chorus would in Greek drama is often called the "prologue".
Goldberg says that "these changes fostered a different relationship between actors and the space in which they performed and also between them and their audiences". Actors were thrust into much closer audience interaction. Because of this, a certain acting style became required that is more familiar to modern audiences. Because they would have been in such close proximity to the actors, ancient Roman audiences would have wanted attention and direct acknowledgement from the actors.
Because there was no orchestra, there was no space separating the audience from the stage. The audience could stand directly in front of the elevated wooden platform. This gave them the opportunity to look at the actors from a much different perspective. They would have seen every detail of the actor and hear every word he said. The audience member would have wanted that actor to speak directly to them. It was a part of the thrill of the performance, as it is to this day.
Plautus' range of characters was created through his use of various techniques, but probably the most important is his use of stock characters and situations in his various plays. He incorporates the same stock characters constantly, especially when the character type is amusing to the audience. As Walter Juniper wrote, "Everything, including artistic characterization and consistency of characterization, were sacrificed to humor, and character portrayal remained only where it was necessary for the success of the plot and humor to have a "persona" who stayed in character, and where the "persona" by his portrayal contributed to humor."
For example, in " Miles Gloriosus", the titular "braggart soldier" Pyrgopolynices only shows his vain and immodest side in the first act, while the parasite Artotrogus exaggerates Pyrgopolynices' achievements, creating more and more ludicrous claims that Pyrgopolynices agrees to without question. These two are perfect examples of the stock characters of the pompous soldier and the desperate parasite that appeared in Plautine comedies. In disposing of highly complex individuals, Plautus was supplying his audience with what it wanted, since "the audience to whose tastes Plautus catered was not interested in the character play," but instead wanted the broad and accessible humor offered by stock set-ups. The humor Plautus offered, such as "puns, word plays, distortions of meaning, or other forms of verbal humor he usually puts them in the mouths of characters belonging to the lower social ranks, to whose language and position these varieties of humorous technique are most suitable," matched well with the stable of characters.
In his article "The Intriguing Slave in Greek Comedy," Philip Harsh gives evidence to show that the clever slave is not an invention of Plautus. While previous critics such as A. W. Gomme believed that the slave was "[a] truly comic character, the devisor of ingenious schemes, the controller of events, the commanding officer of his young master and friends, is a creation of Latin comedy," and that Greek dramatists such as Menander did not use slaves in such a way that Plautus later did, Harsh refutes these beliefs by giving concrete examples of instances where a clever slave appeared in Greek comedy. For instance, in the works of Athenaeus, Alciphron, and Lucian there are deceptions that involve the aid of a slave, and in Menander's "Dis Exapaton" there was an elaborate deception executed by a clever slave that Plautus mirrors in his "Bacchides". Evidence of clever slaves also appears in Menander's "Thalis", "Hypobolimaios", and from the papyrus fragment of his "Perinthia". Harsh acknowledges that Gomme's statement was probably made before the discovery of many of the papyri that we now have. While it was not necessarily a Roman invention, Plautus did develop his own style of depicting the clever slave. With larger, more active roles, more verbal exaggeration and exuberance, the slave was moved by Plautus further into the front of the action. Because of the inversion of order created by a devious or witty slave, this stock character was perfect for achieving a humorous response and the traits of the character worked well for driving the plot forward.
Another important Plautine stock character, discussed by K.C. Ryder, is the "senex amator". A senex amator is classified as an old man who contracts a passion for a young girl and who, in varying degrees, attempts to satisfy this passion. In Plautus these men are Demaenetus ("Asinaria"), Philoxenus and Nicobulus ("Bacchides"), Demipho ("Cistellaria"), Lysidamus ("Casina"), Demipho ("Mercator"), and Antipho ("Stichus"). Periplectomenos ("Miles Gloriosus") and Daemones ("Rudens") are regarded as "senes lepidi" because they usually keep their feelings within a respectable limit. All of these characters have the same goal, to be with a younger woman, but all go about it in different ways, as Plautus could not be too redundant with his characters despite their already obvious similarities. What they have in common is the ridicule with which their attempts are viewed, the imagery that suggests that they are motivated largely by animal passion, the childish behavior, and the reversion to the love-language of their youth.
In examining the female role designations of Plautus's plays, Z.M. Packman found that they are not as stable as their male counterparts: a "senex" will usually remain a "senex" for the duration of the play but designations like "matrona", "mulier", or "uxor" at times seem interchangeable. Most free adult women, married or widowed, appear in scene headings as "mulier", simply translated as "woman". But in Plautus' "Stichus" the two young women are referred to as "sorores", later "mulieres", and then "matronae", all of which have different meanings and connotations. Although there are these discrepancies, Packman tries to give a pattern to the female role designations of Plautus. "Mulier" is typically given to a woman of citizen class and of marriageable age or who has already been married. Unmarried citizen-class girls, regardless of sexual experience, were designated "virgo". "Ancilla" was the term used for female household slaves, with "Anus" reserved for the elderly household slaves. A young woman who is unwed due to social status is usually referred to as "meretrix" or "courtesan". A "lena", or adoptive mother, may be a woman who owns these girls.
Like Packman, George Duckworth uses the scene headings in the manuscripts to support his theory about unnamed Plautine characters. There are approximately 220 characters in the 20 plays of Plautus. Thirty are unnamed in both the scene headings and the text and there are about nine characters who are named in the ancient text but not in any modern one. This means that about 18% of the total number of characters in Plautus are nameless. Most of the very important characters have names while most of the unnamed characters are of less importance. However, there are some abnormalities—the main character in "Casina" is not mentioned by name anywhere in the text. In other instances, Plautus will give a name to a character that only has a few words or lines. One explanation is that some of the names have been lost over the years; and for the most part, major characters do have names.
The language and style of Plautus are not easy or simple. He wrote in a colloquial style far from the codified form of Latin that is found in Ovid or Virgil. This colloquial style is the everyday speech that Plautus would have been familiar with, yet that means that most students of Latin are unfamiliar with it. Adding to the unfamiliarity of Plautine language is the inconsistency of the irregularities that occur in the texts. In one of his prolific word-studies, A.W. Hodgman noted that:
the statements that one meets with, that this or that form is "common," or "regular," in Plautus, are frequently misleading, or even incorrect, and are usually unsatisfying... I have gained an increasing respect for the manuscript tradition, a growing belief that the irregularities are, after all, in a certain sense regular. The whole system of inflexion—and, I suspect, of syntax also and of versification—was less fixed and stable in Plautus' time than it became later.
The diction of Plautus, who used the colloquial speech of his own day, is distinctive and non-standard from the point of view of the later, classical period. M. Hammond, A.H. Mack, and W. Moskalew have noted in the introduction to their edition of the "Miles Gloriosus" that Plautus was "free from convention... [and] sought to reproduce the easy tone of daily speech rather than the formal regularity of oratory or poetry. Hence, many of the irregularities which have troubled scribes and scholars perhaps merely reflect the everyday usages of the careless and untrained tongues which Plautus heard about him." Looking at the overall use of archaic forms in Plautus, one notes that they commonly occur in promises, agreements, threats, prologues, or speeches. Plautus's archaic forms are metrically convenient, but may also have had a stylistic effect on his original audience.
These forms are frequent and of too great a number for a complete list here, but some of the most noteworthy features which from the classical perspective will be considered irregular or obsolete are:
These are the most common linguistic peculiarities (from the later perspective) in the plays of Plautus, some of them being also found in Terence, and noting them helps in the reading of his works and gives insight into early Roman language and interaction.
There are certain ways in which Plautus expressed himself in his plays, and these individual means of expression give a certain flair to his style of writing. The means of expression are not always specific to the writer, i.e., idiosyncratic, yet they are characteristic of the writer. Two examples of these characteristic means of expression are the use of proverbs and the use of Greek language in the plays of Plautus.
Plautus employed the use of proverbs in many of his plays. Proverbs would address a certain genre such as law, religion, medicine, trades, crafts, and seafaring. Plautus' proverbs and proverbial expressions number into the hundreds. They sometimes appear alone or interwoven within a speech. The most common appearance of proverbs in Plautus appears to be at the end of a soliloquy. Plautus does this for dramatic effect to emphasize a point.
Further interwoven into the plays of Plautus and just as common as the use of proverbs is the use of Greek within the texts of the plays. J. N. Hough suggests that Plautus's use of Greek is for artistic purposes and not simply because a Latin phrase will not fit the meter. Greek words are used when describing foods, oils, perfumes, etc. This is similar to the use of French terms in the English language such as "garçon" or "rendezvous". These words give the language a French flair just as Greek did to the Latin-speaking Romans. Slaves or characters of low standing speak much of the Greek. One possible explanation for this is that many Roman slaves were foreigners of Greek origin.
Plautus would sometimes incorporate passages in other languages as well in places where it would suit his characters. A noteworthy example is the use of two prayers in Punic in "Poenulus", spoken by the Carthaginian elder Hanno, which are significant to Semitic linguistics because they preserve the Carthaginian pronunciation of the vowels. Unlike Greek, Plautus most probably did not speak Punic himself, nor was the audience likely to understand it. The text of the prayers themselves was probably provided by a Carthaginian informant, and Plautus incorporated it to emphasize the authenticity and foreignness of Hanno's character.
Plautus also used more technical means of expression in his plays. One tool that Plautus used for the expression of his "servus callidus" stock character was alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of sounds in a sentence or clause; those sounds usually come at the beginning of words. In the "Miles Gloriosus," the "servus callidus" is Palaestrio. As he speaks with the character, Periplectomenus, he uses a significant amount of alliteration in order to assert his cleverness and, therefore, his authority. Plautus uses phrases such as "falsiloquom, falsicum, falsiiurium" ("MG" l. 191). These words express the deep and respectable knowledge that Palaestrio has of the Latin language. Alliteration can also happen at the endings of words as well. For example, Palaestrio says, "linguam, perfidiam, malitiam atque audaciam, confidentiam,
confirmitatem, fraudulentiam" ("MG" ll. 188-9). Also used, as seen above, is the technique of
assonance, which is the repetition of similar-sounding syllables.
Plautus' comedies abound in puns and word play, which is an important component of his poetry. One well known instance in the "Miles Gloriosus" is Sceledre, "scelus." Some examples stand in the text in order to accentuate and emphasize whatever is being said, and others to elevate the artistry of the language. But a great number are made for jokes, especially riddle jokes, which feature a "knock knock - who's there?" pattern. Plautus is especially fond of making up and changing the meaning of words, as Shakespeare does later.
Further emphasizing and elevating the artistry of the language of the plays of Plautus is the use of meter, which simply put is the rhythm of the play. There seems to be great debate over whether Plautus found favor in strong word accent or verse ictus, stress. Plautus did not follow the meter of the Greek originals that he adapted for the Roman audience. Plautus used a great number of meters, but most frequently he used the trochaic septenarius. Iambic words, though common in Latin, are difficult to fit in this meter, and naturally occur at the end of verses. G.B. Conte has noted that Plautus favors the use of "cantica" instead of Greek meters. This vacillation between meter and word stress highlights the fact that Latin literature was still in its infancy, and that there was not yet a standard way to write verse.
The "servus callidus" functions as the exposition in many of Plautus' plays. According to C. Stace, "slaves in Plautus account for almost twice as much monologue as any other character... [and] this is a significant statistic; most of the monologues being, as they are, for purposes of humor, moralizing, or exposition of some kind, we can now begin to see the true nature of the slave's importance." Because humor, vulgarity, and "incongruity" are so much a part of the Plautine comedies, the slave becomes the essential tool to connect the audience to the "joke" through his monologue and direct connection "to" the audience. He is, then, not only a source for exposition and understanding, but connection—specifically, connection to the humor of the play, the playfulness of the play. The "servus callidus" is a character that, as McCarthy says, "draws the complete attention of the audience, and, according to C. Stace, 'despite his lies and abuse, claims our complete sympathy'". He does this, according to some scholarship, using monologue, the imperative mood and alliteration—all of which are specific and effective linguistic tools in both writing and speaking.
The specific type of monologue (or soliloquy) in which a Plautine slave engages is the "prologue". As opposed to simple exposition, according to N.W. Slater, "these...prologues...have a far more important function than merely to provide information." Another way in which the "servus callidus" asserts his power over the play—specifically the other characters in the play—is through his use of the imperative mood. This type of language is used, according to E. Segal, for "the forceful inversion, the reduction of the master to an abject position of supplication ... the master-as-suppliant is thus an extremely important feature of the Plautine comic finale". The imperative mood is therefore used in the complete role-reversal of the normal relationship between slave and master, and "those who enjoy authority and respect in the ordinary Roman world are unseated, ridiculed, while the lowliest members of society mount to their pedestals...the humble are in face exalted".
Intellectual and academic critics have often judged Plautus's work as crude; yet his influence on later literature is impressive—especially on two literary giants, Shakespeare and Molière.
Playwrights throughout history have looked to Plautus for character, plot, humor, and other elements of comedy. His influence ranges from similarities in idea to full literal translations woven into plays. The playwright's apparent familiarity with the absurdity of humanity and both the comedy and tragedy that stem from this absurdity have inspired succeeding playwrights centuries after his death. The most famous of these successors is Shakespeare—Plautus had a major influence on the Bard's early comedies.
Plautus was apparently read in the 9th century. His form was too complex to be fully understood, however, and, as indicated by the "Terentius et delusor", it was unknown at the time if Plautus was writing in prose or verse.
W. B. Sedgwick has provided a record of the "Amphitruo", perennially one of Plautus' most famous works. It was the most popular Plautine play in the Middle Ages, and publicly performed at the Renaissance; it was the first Plautine play to be translated into English.
The influence of Plautus's plays was felt in the early 16th century. Limited records suggest that the first known university production of Plautus in England was of "Miles Gloriosus" at Oxford in 1522–3. The "magnum jornale" of Queens College contains a reference to a "comoedia Plauti" in either 1522 or 1523. This fits directly with comments made in the poems of Leland about the date of the production. The next production of "Miles Gloriosus" that is known from limited records was given by the Westminster School in 1564. Other records also tell us about performances of the "Menaechmi." From our knowledge, performances were given in the house of Cardinal Wolsey by boys of St. Paul's School as early as 1527.
Shakespeare borrowed from Plautus as Plautus borrowed from his Greek models. C.L. Barber says that "Shakespeare feeds Elizabethan life into the mill of Roman farce, life realized with his distinctively generous creativity, very different from Plautus' tough, narrow, resinous genius."
The Plautine and Shakespearean plays that most parallel each other are, respectively, The "Menaechmi" and "The Comedy of Errors". According to Marples, Shakespeare drew directly from Plautus "parallels in plot, in incident, and in character," and was undeniably influenced by the classical playwright's work. H. A. Watt stresses the importance of recognizing the fact that the "two plays were written under conditions entirely different and served audiences as remote as the poles."
The differences between The "Menaechmi" and "The Comedy of Errors" are clear. In The "Menaechmi", Plautus uses only one set of twins—twin brothers. Shakespeare, on the other hand, uses two sets of twins, which, according to William Connolly, "dilutes the force of [Shakespeare's] situations". One suggestion is that Shakespeare got this idea from Plautus' "Amphitruo", in which both twin masters and twin slaves appear.
It can be noted that the doubling is a stock situation of Elizabethan comedy. On the fusion between Elizabethan and Plautine techniques, T. W. Baldwin writes, "..."Errors" does not have the miniature unity of "Menaechmi," which is characteristic of classic structure for comedy". Baldwin notes that Shakespeare covers a much greater area in the structure of the play than Plautus does. Shakespeare was writing for an audience whose minds weren't restricted to house and home, but looked toward the greater world beyond and the role that they might play in that world.
Another difference between the audiences of Shakespeare and Plautus is that Shakespeare's audience was Christian. At the end of "Errors," the world of the play is returned to normal when a Christian abbess interferes with the feuding. "Menaechmi," on the other hand, "is almost completely lacking in a supernatural dimension". A character in Plautus' play would never blame an inconvenient situation on witchcraft—something that is quite common in Shakespeare.
The relationship between a master and a clever servant is also a common element in Elizabethan comedy. Shakespeare often includes foils for his characters to have one set off the other. In Elizabethan romantic comedy, it is common for the plays to end with multiple marriages and couplings of pairs. This is something that is not seen in Plautine comedy. In the "Comedy of Errors," Aegeon and Aemilia are separated, Antipholus and Adriana are at odds, and Antipholus and Luciana have not yet met. At the end, all the couples are happily together. By writing his comedies in a combination of Elizabethan and Plautine styles, Shakespeare helps to create his own brand of comedy, one that uses both styles.
Also, Shakespeare uses the same kind of opening monologue so common in Plautus's plays. He even uses a "villain" in "The Comedy of Errors" of the same type as the one in "Menaechmi," switching the character from a doctor to a teacher but keeping the character a shrewd, educated man. Watt also notes that some of these elements appear in many of his works, such as "Twelfth Night" or "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and had a deep impact on Shakespeare's writing.
Later playwrights also borrowed Plautus's stock characters. One of the most important echoes of Plautus is the stock character of the parasite. Certainly the best example of this is Falstaff, Shakespeare's portly and cowardly knight. As J. W. Draper notes, the gluttonous Falstaff shares many characteristics with a parasite such as Artotrogus from "Miles Gloriosus." Both characters seem fixated on food and where their next meal is coming from. But they also rely on flattery in order to gain these gifts, and both characters are willing to bury their patrons in empty praise. Of course, Draper notes that Falstaff is also something of a boastful military man, but notes, "Falstaff is so complex a character that he may well be, in effect, a combination of interlocking types."
As well as appearing in Shakespearean comedy, the Plautine parasite appears in one of the first English comedies. In "Ralph Roister Doister," the character of Matthew Merrygreeke follows in the tradition of both Plautine Parasite and Plautine slave, as he both searches and grovels for food and also attempts to achieve his master's desires. Indeed, the play itself is often seen as borrowing heavily from or even being based on the Plautine comedy "Miles Gloriosus".
H. W. Cole discusses the influence of Plautus and Terence on the Stonyhurst Pageants. The Stonyhurst Pageants are manuscripts of Old Testament plays that were probably composed after 1609 in Lancashire. Cole focuses on Plautus' influence on the particular Pageant of Naaman. The playwright of this pageant breaks away from the traditional style of religious medieval drama and relies heavily on the works of Plautus. Overall, the playwright cross-references eighteen of the twenty surviving plays of Plautus and five of the six extant plays by Terence. It is clear that the author of the Stonyhurst Pageant of Naaman had a great knowledge of Plautus and was significantly influenced by this.
There is evidence of Plautine imitation in Edwardes' "Damon and Pythias" and Heywood's "Silver Age" as well as in Shakespeare's "Errors". Heywood sometimes translated whole passages of Plautus. By being translated as well as imitated, Plautus was a major influence on comedy of the Elizabethan era.
In terms of plot, or perhaps more accurately plot device, Plautus served as a source of inspiration and also provided the possibility of adaptation for later playwrights. The many deceits that Plautus layered his plays with, giving the audience the feeling of a genre bordering on farce, appear in much of the comedy written by Shakespeare and Molière. For instance, the clever slave has important roles in both "L'Avare" and "L'Etourdi", two plays by Molière, and in both drives the plot and creates the ruse just like Palaestrio in "Miles Gloriosus." These similar characters set up the same kind of deceptions in which many of Plautus' plays find their driving force, which is not a simple coincidence.
20th century musicals based on Plautus include "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove, book, Stephen Sondheim, music and lyrics).
"Roman Laughter: The Comedy of Plautus", a 1968 book by Erich Segal, is a scholarly study of Plautus' work.
The British TV sitcom "Up Pompeii" uses situations and stock characters from Plautus's plays. In the first series Willie Rushton plays Plautus who pops up on occasion to provide comic comments on what is going on in the episode. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24171 |
Pythagorean triple
A Pythagorean triple consists of three positive integers , , and , such that . Such a triple is commonly written , and a well-known example is . If is a Pythagorean triple, then so is for any positive integer . A primitive Pythagorean triple is one in which , and are coprime (that is, they have no common divisor larger than 1). A triangle whose sides form a Pythagorean triple is called a Pythagorean triangle, and is necessarily a right triangle.
The name is derived from the Pythagorean theorem, stating that every right triangle has side lengths satisfying the formula ; thus, Pythagorean triples describe the three integer side lengths of a right triangle. However, right triangles with non-integer sides do not form Pythagorean triples. For instance, the triangle with sides and is a right triangle, but is not a Pythagorean triple because is not an integer. Moreover, and do not have an integer common multiple because is irrational.
Pythagorean triples have been known since ancient times. The oldest known record comes from Plimpton 322, a Babylonian clay tablet from about 1800 BC, written in a sexagesimal number system. It was discovered by Edgar James Banks shortly after 1900, and sold to George Arthur Plimpton in 1922, for $10.
When searching for integer solutions, the equation is a Diophantine equation. Thus Pythagorean triples are among the oldest known solutions of a nonlinear Diophantine equation.
There are 16 primitive Pythagorean triples with :
Note, for example, that (6, 8, 10) is "not" a primitive Pythagorean triple, as it is a multiple of (3, 4, 5). Each of these low-c points forms one of the more easily recognizable radiating lines in the scatter plot.
Additionally these are all the primitive Pythagorean triples with :
Euclid's formula is a fundamental formula for generating Pythagorean triples given an arbitrary pair of integers "m" and "n" with . The formula states that the integers
form a Pythagorean triple. The triple generated by Euclid's formula is primitive if and only if "m" and "n" are coprime and not both odd. When both "m" and "n" are odd, then "a", "b", and "c" will be even, and the triple will not be primitive; however, dividing "a", "b", and "c" by 2 will yield a primitive triple when "m" and "n" are coprime and both odd.
"Every" primitive triple arises (after the exchange of "a" and "b", if "a" is even) from a "unique pair" of coprime numbers "m", "n", one of which is even. It follows that there are infinitely many primitive Pythagorean triples. This relationship of "a", "b" and "c" to "m" and "n" from Euclid's formula is referenced throughout the rest of this article.
Despite generating all primitive triples, Euclid's formula does not produce all triples—for example, (9, 12, 15) cannot be generated using integer "m" and "n". This can be remedied by inserting an additional parameter "k" to the formula. The following will generate all Pythagorean triples uniquely:
where "m", "n", and "k" are positive integers with , and with "m" and "n" coprime and not both odd.
That these formulas generate Pythagorean triples can be verified by expanding using elementary algebra and verifying that the result equals "c"2. Since every Pythagorean triple can be divided through by some integer "k" to obtain a primitive triple, every triple can be generated uniquely by using the formula with "m" and "n" to generate its primitive counterpart and then multiplying through by "k" as in the last equation.
Choosing "m" and "n" from certain integer sequences gives interesting results. For example, if "m" and "n" are consecutive Pell numbers, "a" and "b" will differ by 1.
Many formulas for generating triples with particular properties have been developed since the time of Euclid.
That satisfaction of Euclid's formula by "a, b, c" is sufficient for the triangle to be Pythagorean is apparent from the fact that for positive integers "m" and "n", "m" > "n", the "a, b," and "c" given by the formula are all positive integers, and from the fact that
A proof of the "necessity" that "a, b, c" be expressed by Euclid's formula for any primitive Pythagorean triple is as follows. All such triples can be written as ("a", "b", "c") where and "a", "b", "c" are coprime. Thus "a", "b", "c" are pairwise coprime (if a prime number divided two of them, it would be forced also to divide the third one). As "a" and "b" are coprime, one is odd, and one may suppose that it is "a", by exchanging, if needed, "a" and "b". This implies that "b" is even and "c" is odd (if "b" were odd, "c" would be even, and "c"2 would be a multiple of 4, while "a"2 + "b"2 would be congruent to 2 modulo 4, as an odd square is congruent to 1 modulo 4).
From formula_4 we obtain formula_5 and hence formula_6. Then formula_7. Since formula_8 is rational, we set it equal to formula_9 in lowest terms. Thus formula_10, being the reciprocal of formula_8. Then solving
for formula_13 and formula_14 gives
As formula_9 is fully reduced, "m" and "n" are coprime, and they cannot both be even. If they were both odd, the numerator of formula_17 would be a multiple of 4 (because an odd square is congruent to 1 modulo 4), and the denominator 2"mn" would not be a multiple of 4. Since 4 would be the minimum possible even factor in the numerator and 2 would be the maximum possible even factor in the denominator, this would imply "a" to be even despite defining it as odd. Thus one of "m" and "n" is odd and the other is even, and the numerators of the two fractions with denominator 2"mn" are odd. Thus these fractions are fully reduced (an odd prime dividing this denominator divides one of "m" and "n" but not the other; thus it does not divide "m"2 ± "n"2). One may thus equate numerators with numerators and denominators with denominators, giving Euclid's formula
A longer but more commonplace proof is given in Maor (2007) and Sierpiński (2003). Another proof is given in , as an instance of a general method that applies to every homogeneous Diophantine equation of degree two.
Suppose the sides of a Pythagorean triangle have lengths , , and , and suppose the angle between the leg of length and the hypotenuse of length is denoted as . Then formula_19 and the full-angle trigonometric values are formula_20, formula_21, and formula_22.
The following variant of Euclid's formula is sometimes more convenient, as being more symmetric in and (same parity condition on and ).
If and are two odd integers such that , then
are three integers that form a Pythagorean triple, which is primitive if and only if and are coprime. Conversely, every primitive Pythagorean triple arises (after the exchange of and , if is even) from a unique pair of coprime odd integers.
The properties of a primitive Pythagorean triple with (without specifying which of "a" or "b" is even and which is odd) include:
"Diophantine analysis," in second half of R. D. Carmichael, "The Theory of Numbers and Diophantine Analysis", Dover Publ., 1959.
In addition, special Pythagorean triples with certain additional properties can be guaranteed to exist:
Euclid's formula for a Pythagorean triple
can be understood in terms of the geometry of rational points on the unit circle .
In fact, a point in the Cartesian plane with coordinates belongs to the unit circle if . The point is "rational" if and are rational numbers, that is, if there are coprime integers such that
By multiplying both members by , one can see that the rational points on the circle are in one-to-one correspondence with the primitive Pythagorean triples.
The unit circle may also be defined by a parametric equation
Euclid's formula for Pythagorean triples means that, except for , a point on the circle is rational if and only if the corresponding value of is a rational number.
There is a correspondence between points on the unit circle with rational coordinates and primitive Pythagorean triples. At this point, Euclid's formulae can be derived either by methods of trigonometry or equivalently by using the stereographic projection.
For the stereographic approach, suppose that "P"′ is a point on the "x"-axis with rational coordinates
Then, it can be shown by basic algebra that the point "P" has coordinates
This establishes that each rational point of the "x"-axis goes over to a rational point of the unit circle. The converse, that every rational point of the unit circle comes from such a point of the "x"-axis, follows by applying the inverse stereographic projection. Suppose that "P"("x", "y") is a point of the unit circle with "x" and "y" rational numbers. Then the point "P"′ obtained by stereographic projection onto the "x"-axis has coordinates
which is rational.
In terms of algebraic geometry, the algebraic variety of rational points on the unit circle is birational to the affine line over the rational numbers. The unit circle is thus called a rational curve, and it is this fact which enables an explicit parameterization of the (rational number) points on it by means of rational functions.
A 2D lattice is a regular array of isolated points where if any one point is chosen as the Cartesian origin (0, 0), then all the other points are at ("x", "y") where "x" and "y" range over all positive and negative integers. Any Pythagorean triangle with triple ("a", "b", "c") can be drawn within a 2D lattice with vertices at coordinates (0, 0), ("a", 0) and (0, "b"). The count of lattice points lying strictly within the bounds of the triangle is given by formula_39 for primitive Pythagorean triples this interior lattice count is formula_40 The area (by Pick's theorem equal to one less than the interior lattice count plus half the boundary lattice count) equals formula_41 .
The first occurrence of two primitive Pythagorean triples sharing the same area occurs with triangles with sides (20, 21, 29), (12, 35, 37) and common area 210 . The first occurrence of two primitive Pythagorean triples sharing the same interior lattice count occurs with (18108, 252685, 253333), (28077, 162964, 165365) and interior lattice count 2287674594 . Three primitive Pythagorean triples have been found sharing the same area: (4485, 5852, 7373), (3059, 8580, 9109), (1380, 19019, 19069) with area 13123110. As yet, no set of three primitive Pythagorean triples have been found sharing the same interior lattice count.
By Euclid's formula all primitive Pythagorean triples can be generated from integers formula_42 and formula_43 with formula_44, formula_45 odd and formula_46. Hence there is a 1 to 1 mapping of rationals (in lowest terms) to primitive Pythagorean triples where formula_47 is in the interval formula_48 and formula_45 odd.
The reverse mapping from a primitive triple formula_50 where formula_51 to a rational formula_47 is achieved by studying the two sums formula_53 and formula_54. One of these sums will be a square that can be equated to formula_55 and the other will be twice a square that can be equated to formula_56. It is then possible to determine the rational formula_47.
In order to enumerate primitive Pythagorean triples the rational can be expressed as an ordered pair formula_58 and mapped to an integer using a pairing function such as Cantor's pairing function. An example can be seen at . It begins
Pythagorean triples can likewise be encoded into a square matrix of the form
A matrix of this form is symmetric. Furthermore, the determinant of "X" is
which is zero precisely when ("a","b","c") is a Pythagorean triple. If "X" corresponds to a Pythagorean triple, then as a matrix it must have rank 1.
Since "X" is symmetric, it follows from a result in linear algebra that there is a column vector such that the outer product
holds, where the "T" denotes the matrix transpose. The vector ξ is called a spinor (for the Lorentz group SO(1, 2)). In abstract terms, the Euclid formula means that each primitive Pythagorean triple can be written as the outer product with itself of a spinor with integer entries, as in ().
The modular group Γ is the set of 2×2 matrices with integer entries
with determinant equal to one: . This set forms a group, since the inverse of a matrix in Γ is again in Γ, as is the product of two matrices in Γ. The modular group acts on the collection of all integer spinors. Furthermore, the group is transitive on the collection of integer spinors with relatively prime entries. For if ["m" "n"]T has relatively prime entries, then
where "u" and "v" are selected (by the Euclidean algorithm) so that .
By acting on the spinor ξ in (), the action of Γ goes over to an action on Pythagorean triples, provided one allows for triples with possibly negative components. Thus if "A" is a matrix in Γ, then
gives rise to an action on the matrix "X" in (). This does not give a well-defined action on primitive triples, since it may take a primitive triple to an imprimitive one. It is convenient at this point (per ) to call a triple ("a","b","c") standard if and either ("a","b","c") are relatively prime or ("a"/2,"b"/2,"c"/2) are relatively prime with "a"/2 odd. If the spinor ["m" "n"]T has relatively prime entries, then the associated triple ("a","b","c") determined by () is a standard triple. It follows that the action of the modular group is transitive on the set of standard triples.
Alternatively, restrict attention to those values of "m" and "n" for which "m" is odd and "n" is even. Let the subgroup Γ(2) of Γ be the kernel of the group homomorphism
where SL(2,Z2) is the special linear group over the finite field Z2 of integers modulo 2. Then Γ(2) is the group of unimodular transformations which preserve the parity of each entry. Thus if the first entry of ξ is odd and the second entry is even, then the same is true of "A"ξ for all . In fact, under the action (), the group Γ(2) acts transitively on the collection of primitive Pythagorean triples .
The group Γ(2) is the free group whose generators are the matrices
Consequently, every primitive Pythagorean triple can be obtained in a unique way as a product of copies of the matrices "U" and "L".
By a result of , all primitive Pythagorean triples can be generated from the (3, 4, 5) triangle by using the three linear transformations T1, T2, T3 below, where "a", "b", "c" are sides of a triple:
In other words, every primitive triple will be a "parent" to three additional primitive triples.
Starting from the initial node with "a" = 3, "b" = 4, and "c" = 5, the operation T1 produces the new triple
and similarly T2 and T3 produce the triples (21, 20, 29) and (15, 8, 17).
The linear transformations T1, T2, and T3 have a geometric interpretation in the language of quadratic forms. They are closely related to (but are not equal to) reflections generating the orthogonal group of "x"2 + "y"2 − "z"2 over the integers.
Alternatively, Euclid's formulae can be analyzed and proven using the Gaussian integers. Gaussian integers are complex numbers of the form , where "u" and "v" are ordinary integers and "i" is the square root of negative one. The units of Gaussian integers are ±1 and ±i. The ordinary integers are called the rational integers and denoted as Z. The Gaussian integers are denoted as Z["i"]. The right-hand side of the Pythagorean theorem may be factored in Gaussian integers:
A primitive Pythagorean triple is one in which "a" and "b" are coprime, i.e., they share no prime factors in the integers. For such a triple, either "a" or "b" is even, and the other is odd; from this, it follows that "c" is also odd.
The two factors and of a primitive Pythagorean triple each equal the square of a Gaussian integer. This can be proved using the property that every Gaussian integer can be factored uniquely into Gaussian primes up to units. (This unique factorization follows from the fact that, roughly speaking, a version of the Euclidean algorithm can be defined on them.) The proof has three steps. First, if "a" and "b" share no prime factors in the integers, then they also share no prime factors in the Gaussian integers. (Assume "a" = "gu" and "b" = "gv" with Gaussian integers "g", "u" and "v" and "g" not a unit. Then "u" and "v" lie on the same line through the origin. All Gaussian integers on such a line are integer multiples of some Gaussian integer "h". But then the integer "gh" ≠ ±1 divides both "a" and "b".) Second, it follows that "z" and "z*" likewise share no prime factors in the Gaussian integers. For if they did, then their common divisor δ would also divide "z" + "z*" = 2"a" and "z" − "z*" = 2"ib". Since "a" and "b" are coprime, that implies that δ divides 2 = (1 + i)(1 − i) = i(1 − i)2. From the formula "c"2 = "zz*", that in turn would imply that "c" is even, contrary to the hypothesis of a primitive Pythagorean triple. Third, since "c"2 is a square, every Gaussian prime in its factorization is doubled, i.e., appears an even number of times. Since "z" and "z*" share no prime factors, this doubling is also true for them. Hence, "z" and "z*" are squares.
Thus, the first factor can be written
The real and imaginary parts of this equation give the two formulas:
For any primitive Pythagorean triple, there must be integers "m" and "n" such that these two equations are satisfied. Hence, every Pythagorean triple can be generated from some choice of these integers.
If we consider the square of a Gaussian integer we get the following direct interpretation of Euclid's formula as representing the perfect square of a Gaussian integer.
Using the facts that the Gaussian integers are a Euclidean domain and that for a Gaussian integer p formula_72 is always a square it is possible to show that a Pythagorean triple corresponds to the square of a prime Gaussian integer if the hypotenuse is prime.
If the Gaussian integer is not prime then it is the product of two Gaussian integers p and q with formula_72 and formula_74 integers. Since magnitudes multiply in the Gaussian integers, the product must be formula_75, which when squared to find a Pythagorean triple must be composite. The contrapositive completes the proof.
With reference to the figure and the definition of the foci of an ellipse, F1 and F2, for any point P on the ellipse, F1P + PF2 is constant.
As points A and B are both on the ellipse, F1A + AF2 = F1B + BF2. Due to symmetry, F1A + AF2 = F2A' + AF2 = AA' = 2 AC, and F1B + BF2 = 2 BF2. Hence, AC = BF2.
Thus, if BCF2 is a right-angle triangle with integral sides, the separation of the foci, linear eccentricity, minor axis and major axis are all also integers.
There are a number of results on the distribution of Pythagorean triples. In the scatter plot, a number of obvious patterns are already apparent. Whenever the legs ("a","b") of a primitive triple appear in the plot, all integer multiples of ("a","b") must also appear in the plot, and this property produces the appearance of lines radiating from the origin in the diagram.
Within the scatter, there are sets of parabolic patterns with a high density of points and all their foci at the origin, opening up in all four directions. Different parabolas intersect at the axes and appear to reflect off the axis with an incidence angle of 45 degrees, with a third parabola entering in a perpendicular fashion. Within this quadrant, each arc centered on the origin shows that section of the parabola that lies between its tip and its intersection with its semi-latus rectum.
These patterns can be explained as follows. If formula_76 is an integer, then ("a", formula_77, formula_78) is a Pythagorean triple. (In fact every Pythagorean triple ("a", "b", "c") can be written in this way with integer "n", possibly after exchanging "a" and "b", since formula_79 and "a" and "b" cannot both be odd.) The Pythagorean triples thus lie on curves given by formula_80, that is, parabolas reflected at the "a"-axis, and the corresponding curves with "a" and "b" interchanged. If "a" is varied for a given "n" (i.e. on a given parabola), integer values of "b" occur relatively frequently if "n" is a square or a small multiple of a square. If several such values happen to lie close together, the corresponding parabolas approximately coincide, and the triples cluster in a narrow parabolic strip. For instance, 382 = 1444, 2 × 272 = 1458,
3 × 222 = 1452, 5 × 172 = 1445 and 10 × 122 = 1440; the corresponding parabolic strip around "n" ≈ 1450 is clearly visible in the scatter plot.
The angular properties described above follow immediately from the functional form of the parabolas. The parabolas are reflected at the "a"-axis at "a" = 2"n", and the derivative of "b" with respect to "a" at this point is –1; hence the incidence angle is 45°. Since the clusters, like all triples, are repeated at integer multiples, the value 2"n" also corresponds to a cluster. The corresponding parabola intersects the "b"-axis at right angles at "b" = 2"n", and hence its reflection upon interchange of "a" and "b" intersects the "a"-axis at right angles at "a" = 2"n", precisely where the parabola for "n" is reflected at the "a"-axis. (The same is of course true for "a" and "b" interchanged.)
Albert Fässler and others provide insights into the significance of these parabolas in the context of conformal mappings.
The case "n" = 1 of the more general construction of Pythagorean triples has been known for a long time. Proclus, in his commentary to the 47th Proposition of the first book of Euclid's Elements, describes it as follows:
Certain methods for the discovery of triangles of this kind are handed down, one which they refer to Plato, and another to Pythagoras. (The latter) starts from odd numbers. For it makes the odd number the smaller of the sides about the right angle; then it takes the square of it, subtracts unity and makes half the difference the greater of the sides about the right angle; lastly it adds unity to this and so forms the remaining side, the hypotenuse.
...For the method of Plato argues from even numbers. It takes the given even number and makes it one of the sides about the right angle; then, bisecting this number and squaring the half, it adds unity to the square to form the hypotenuse, and subtracts unity from the square to form the other side about the right angle. ... Thus it has formed the same triangle that which was obtained by the other method.
In equation form, this becomes:
"a" is odd (Pythagoras, c. 540 BC):
"a" is even (Plato, c. 380 BC):
It can be shown that all Pythagorean triples can be obtained, with appropriate rescaling, from the basic Platonic sequence ("a", and ) by allowing "a" to take non-integer rational values. If "a" is replaced with the fraction "m"/"n" in the sequence, the result is equal to the 'standard' triple generator (2"mn", ,) after rescaling. It follows that every triple has a corresponding rational "a" value which can be used to generate a similar triangle (one with the same three angles and with sides in the same proportions as the original). For example, the Platonic equivalent of (56, 33, 65) is generated by "a" = "m"/"n" = 7/4 as ("a", ("a"2 –1)/2, ("a"2+1)/2) = (56/32, 33/32, 65/32). The Platonic sequence itself can be derived by following the steps for 'splitting the square' described in Diophantus II.VIII.
The equation,
is equivalent to the special Pythagorean triple,
There is an infinite number of solutions to this equation as solving for the variables involves an elliptic curve. Small ones are,
One way to generate solutions to formula_87 is to parametrize "a, b, c, d" in terms of integers "m, n, p, q" as follows:
Given two sets of Pythagorean triples,
the problem of finding equal products of a non-hypotenuse side and the hypotenuse,
is easily seen to be equivalent to the equation,
and was first solved by Euler as formula_93. Since he showed this is a rational point in an elliptic curve, then there is an infinite number of solutions. In fact, he also found a 7th degree polynomial parameterization.
For the case of Descartes' circle theorem where all variables are squares,
Euler showed this is equivalent to three simultaneous Pythagorean triples,
There is also an infinite number of solutions, and for the special case when formula_98, then the equation simplifies to,
with small solutions as formula_100 and can be solved as binary quadratic forms.
No Pythagorean triples are isosceles, because the ratio of the hypotenuse to either other side is , but cannot be expressed as the ratio of 2 integers.
There are, however, right-angled triangles with integral sides for which the lengths of the non-hypotenuse sides differ by one, such as,
and an infinite number of others. They can be completely parameterized as,
where {"x, y"} are the solutions to the Pell equation formula_104.
If "a", "b", "c" are the sides of this type of primitive Pythagorean triple (PPT) then the solution to the Pell equation is given by the recursive formula
This sequence of PPTs forms the central stem (trunk) of the rooted ternary tree of PPTs.
When it is the longer non-hypotenuse side and hypotenuse that differ by one, such as in
then the complete solution for the PPT "a", "b", "c" is
and
where integer formula_118 is the generating parameter.
It shows that all odd numbers (greater than 1) appear in this type of almost-isosceles PPT. This sequence of PPTs forms the right hand side outer stem of the rooted ternary tree of PPTs.
Another property of this type of almost-isosceles PPT is that the sides are related such that
for some integer formula_120. Or in other words formula_121 is divisible by formula_122 such as in
Starting with 5, every second Fibonacci number is the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle with integer sides, or in other words, the largest number in a Pythagorean triple. The length of the longer leg of this triangle is equal to the sum of the three sides of the preceding triangle in this series of triangles, and the shorter leg is equal to the difference between the preceding bypassed Fibonacci number and the shorter leg of the preceding triangle.
There are several ways to generalize the concept of Pythagorean triples.
Using the simple algebraic identity,
for arbitrary "x"0, "x"1, it is easy to prove that the square of the sum of "n" squares is itself the sum of "n" squares by letting "x"0 = "x"22 + "x"32 + ... + "x""n"2 and then distributing terms. One can see how Pythagorean triples and quadruples are just the particular cases "x"0 = "x"22 and "x"0 = "x"22 + "x"32, respectively, and so on for other "n", with quintuples given by
Since the sum "F"("k","m") of "k" consecutive squares beginning with "m"2 is given by the formula,
one may find values ("k", "m") so that "F"("k","m") is a square, such as one by Hirschhorn where the number of terms is itself a square,
and "v" ≥ 5 is any integer not divisible by 2 or 3. For the smallest case "v" = 5, hence "k" = 25, this yields the well-known cannonball-stacking problem of Lucas,
a fact which is connected to the Leech lattice.
In addition, if in a Pythagorean "n"-tuple ("n" ≥ 4) all addends are consecutive except one, one can use the equation,
Since the second power of "p" cancels out, this is only linear and easily solved for as formula_130 though "k", "m" should be chosen so that "p" is an integer, with a small example being "k" = 5, "m" = 1 yielding,
Thus, one way of generating Pythagorean "n"-tuples is by using, for various "x",
where "q = n"–2 and where
A set of four positive integers "a", "b", "c" and "d" such that is called a Pythagorean quadruple. The simplest example is (1, 2, 2, 3), since 12 + 22 + 22 = 32. The next simplest (primitive) example is (2, 3, 6, 7), since 22 + 32 + 62 = 72.
All quadruples are given by the formula
A generalization of the concept of Pythagorean triples is the search for triples of positive integers "a", "b", and "c", such that , for some "n" strictly greater than 2. Pierre de Fermat in 1637 claimed that no such triple exists, a claim that came to be known as Fermat's Last Theorem because it took longer than any other conjecture by Fermat to be proven or disproven. The first proof was given by Andrew Wiles in 1994.
Another generalization is searching for sequences of "n" + 1 positive integers for which the "n"th power of the last is the sum of the "n"th powers of the previous terms. The smallest sequences for known values of "n" are:
For the "n"=3 case, in which formula_135 called the Fermat cubic, a general formula exists giving all solutions.
A slightly different generalization allows the sum of ("k" + 1) "n"th powers to equal the sum of ("n" − "k") "n"th powers. For example:
There can also exist "n" − 1 positive integers whose "n"th powers sum to an "n"th power (though, by Fermat's last theorem, not for "n" = 3); these are counterexamples to Euler's sum of powers conjecture. The smallest known counterexamples are
A Heronian triangle is commonly defined as one with integer sides whose area is also an integer, and we shall consider Heronian triangles with "distinct" integer sides. The lengths of the sides of such a triangle form a Heronian triple ("a, b, c") provided "a" < "b" < "c".
Clearly, any Pythagorean triple is a Heronian triple, since in a Pythagorean triple at least one of the legs "a", "b" must be even, so that the area "ab"/2 is an integer. Not every Heronian triple is a Pythagorean triple, however, as the example (4, 13, 15) with area 24 shows.
If ("a", "b", "c") is a Heronian triple, so is ("ma", "mb", "mc") where "m" is any positive integer greater than one.
The Heronian triple ("a", "b", "c") is primitive provided "a", "b", "c" are pairwise relatively prime (as with a Pythagorean triple). Here are a few of the simplest primitive Heronian triples that are not Pythagorean triples:
By Heron's formula, the extra condition for a triple of positive integers ("a", "b", "c") with "a" < "b" < "c" to be Heronian is that
or equivalently
be a nonzero perfect square divisible by 16.
Primitive Pythagorean triples have been used in cryptography as random sequences and for the generation of keys. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24172 |
Pattern welding
Pattern welding is the practice in sword and knife making of forming a blade of several metal pieces of differing composition that are forge-welded together and twisted and manipulated to form a pattern. Often mistakenly called Damascus steel, blades forged in this manner often display bands of slightly different patterning along their entire length. These bands can be highlighted for cosmetic purposes by proper polishing or acid etching. Pattern welding was an outgrowth of laminated or piled steel, a similar technique used to combine steels of different carbon contents, providing a desired mix of hardness and toughness. Although modern steelmaking processes negate the need to blend different steels, pattern welded steel is still used by custom knifemakers for the cosmetic effects it produces.
Pattern welding developed out of the necessarily complex process of making blades that were both hard and tough from the erratic and unsuitable output from early iron smelting in bloomeries. The bloomery does not generate temperatures high enough to melt iron and steel, but instead reduces the iron oxide ore into particles of pure iron, which then weld into a mass of sponge iron, consisting of lumps of impurities in a matrix of relatively pure iron, which is too soft to make a good blade. Carburizing thin iron bars or plates forms a layer of harder, high carbon steel on the surface, and early bladesmiths would forge these bars or plates together to form relatively homogeneous bars of steel. This laminating process, in which different types of steel together produce patterns that can be seen in the surface of the finished blade, forms the basis for pattern welding.
Pattern welding dates at least back to the Romans.
By the 2nd and 3rd century AD, the Celts commonly used pattern welding for decoration in addition to structural reasons. The technique involves folding and forging alternating layers of steel into rods, then twisting the steel to form complex patterns when forged into a blade. By the 6th and 7th centuries, pattern welding had reached a level where thin layers of patterned steel were being overlaid onto a soft iron core, making the swords far better as the iron gave them a flexible and springy core that would take any shock from sword blows to stop the blade bending or snapping. Arguably the most famous group of pattern-welded Viking swords – and incidentally one of the first known examples of value being increased by the presence of a brand name – are the Ulfberht swords, of which 166 are known to exist. By the end of the Viking era, pattern welding fell out of use in Europe.
In medieval swords, pattern welding was more prevalent than commonly thought. However, the presence of rust makes detection difficult without repolishing.
During the Middle ages, Damascus steel was produced in India and brought back to Europe. The similarities in the markings led many to believe it was the same process being used, and pattern welding was revived by European smiths who were attempting to duplicate the Damascus steel. While the methods used by Damascus smiths to produce their blades was lost, recent efforts by metallurgists and bladesmiths (such as Verhoeven and Pendray) to reproduce steel with identical characteristics have yielded a process that does not involve pattern welding. However even these attempts have not been a huge success.
The ancient swordmakers exploited the aesthetic qualities of pattern welded steel. The Vikings, in particular, were fond of twisting bars of steel around each other, welding the bars together by hammering and then repeating the process with the resulting bars, to create complex patterns in the final steel bar. Two bars twisted in opposite directions created the common chevron pattern. Often, the center of the blade was a core of soft steel, and the edges were solid high carbon steel, similar to the laminates of the Japanese.
The American Bladesmith Society's Master Smith test, for example, requires a 300 layer blade to be forged. Large numbers of layers are generally produced by folding, where a small number of layers are welded together, then the blank is cut in half, stacked, and welded again, with each operation doubling the number of layers. Starting with just two layers, eight folding operations will yield 512 layers in the blank. A blade ground from such a blank will show a grain much like an object cut from a block of wood, with similar random variations in pattern. Some manufactured objects can be re-purposed into pattern welded blanks. "Cable Damascus", forged from high carbon multi-strand cable, is a popular item for bladesmiths to produce, producing a finely grained, twisted pattern, while chainsaw chains produce a pattern of randomly positioned blobs of color.
Some modern bladesmiths have taken pattern welding to new heights, with elaborate applications of traditional pattern welding techniques, as well as with new technology. A layered billet of steel rods with the blade blank cut perpendicular to the layers can also produce some spectacular patterns, including mosaics or even writing. Powder metallurgy allows alloys that would not normally be compatible to be combined into solid bars. Different treatments of the steel after it is ground and polished, such as bluing, etching, or various other chemical surface treatments that react differently to the different metals used can create bright, high-contrast finishes on the steel. Some master smiths go as far as to use techniques such as electrical discharge machining to cut interlocking patterns out of different steels, fit them together, then weld the resulting assembly into a solid block of steel. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24175 |
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (, , ; 25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. Regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is known for co-founding the Cubist movement, the invention of constructed sculpture, the co-invention of collage, and for the wide variety of styles that he helped develop and explore. Among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" (1907), and "Guernica" (1937), a dramatic portrayal of the bombing of Guernica by German and Italian airforces during the Spanish Civil War.
Picasso demonstrated extraordinary artistic talent in his early years, painting in a naturalistic manner through his childhood and adolescence. During the first decade of the 20th century, his style changed as he experimented with different theories, techniques, and ideas. After 1906, the Fauvist work of the slightly older artist Henri Matisse motivated Picasso to explore more radical styles, beginning a fruitful rivalry between the two artists, who subsequently were often paired by critics as the leaders of modern art.
Picasso's work is often categorized into periods. While the names of many of his later periods are debated, the most commonly accepted periods in his work are the Blue Period (1901–1904), the Rose Period (1904–1906), the African-influenced Period (1907–1909), Analytic Cubism (1909–1912), and Synthetic Cubism (1912–1919), also referred to as the Crystal period. Much of Picasso's work of the late 1910s and early 1920s is in a neoclassical style, and his work in the mid-1920s often has characteristics of Surrealism. His later work often combines elements of his earlier styles.
Exceptionally prolific throughout the course of his long life, Picasso achieved universal renown and immense fortune for his revolutionary artistic accomplishments, and became one of the best-known figures in 20th-century art.
Picasso was baptized Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso, a series of names honouring various saints and relatives. "Ruiz y Picasso" were included for his father and mother, respectively, as per Spanish tradition. Born in the city of Málaga in the Andalusian region of Spain, he was the first child of Don José Ruiz y Blasco (1838–1913) and María Picasso y López. Though baptized a Catholic, Picasso would later become an atheist.
The surname "Picasso" comes from Liguria, a coastal region of north-western Italy; its capital is Genoa. There was a painter from the area named (1794–1879), born in Recco (Genoa), of late neoclassical style portraiture, though investigations have not definitively determined his kinship with the branch of ancestors related to Pablo Picasso. The direct branch from Sori, Liguria (Genoa), can be traced back to Tommaso Picasso (1728–1813). His son Giovanni Battista, married to Isabella Musante, was Pablo's great-great-grandfather. Of this marriage was born Tommaso (Sori, 1787–Málaga, 1851). Pablo's maternal great-grandfather, Tommaso Picasso moved to Spain around 1807.
Picasso's family was of middle-class background. His father was a painter who specialized in naturalistic depictions of birds and other game. For most of his life, Ruiz was a professor of art at the School of Crafts and a curator of a local museum. Ruiz's ancestors were minor aristocrats.
Picasso showed a passion and a skill for drawing from an early age. According to his mother, his first words were "piz, piz", a shortening of "lápiz", the Spanish word for "pencil". From the age of seven, Picasso received formal artistic training from his father in figure drawing and oil painting. Ruiz was a traditional academic artist and instructor, who believed that proper training required disciplined copying of the masters, and drawing the human body from plaster casts and live models. His son became preoccupied with art to the detriment of his classwork.
The family moved to A Coruña in 1891, where his father became a professor at the School of Fine Arts. They stayed almost four years. On one occasion, the father found his son painting over his unfinished sketch of a pigeon. Observing the precision of his son's technique, an apocryphal story relates, Ruiz felt that the thirteen-year-old Picasso had surpassed him, and vowed to give up painting, though paintings by him exist from later years.
In 1895, Picasso was traumatized when his seven-year-old sister, Conchita, died of diphtheria. After her death, the family moved to Barcelona, where Ruiz took a position at its School of Fine Arts. Picasso thrived in the city, regarding it in times of sadness or nostalgia as his true home. Ruiz persuaded the officials at the academy to allow his son to take an entrance exam for the advanced class. This process often took students a month, but Picasso completed it in a week, and the jury admitted him, at just 13. As a student, Picasso lacked discipline but made friendships that would affect him in later life. His father rented a small room for him close to home so he could work alone, yet he checked up on him numerous times a day, judging his drawings. The two argued frequently.
Picasso's father and uncle decided to send the young artist to Madrid's Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, the country's foremost art school. At age 16, Picasso set off for the first time on his own, but he disliked formal instruction and stopped attending classes soon after enrollment. Madrid held many other attractions. The Prado housed paintings by Diego Velázquez, Francisco Goya, and Francisco Zurbarán. Picasso especially admired the works of El Greco; elements such as his elongated limbs, arresting colours, and mystical visages are echoed in Picasso's later work.
Picasso's training under his father began before 1890. His progress can be traced in the collection of early works now held by the Museu Picasso in Barcelona, which provides one of the most comprehensive records extant of any major artist's beginnings. During 1893 the juvenile quality of his earliest work falls away, and by 1894 his career as a painter can be said to have begun. The academic realism apparent in the works of the mid-1890s is well displayed in "The First Communion" (1896), a large composition that depicts his sister, Lola. In the same year, at the age of 14, he painted "Portrait of Aunt Pepa", a vigorous and dramatic portrait that Juan-Eduardo Cirlot has called "without a doubt one of the greatest in the whole history of Spanish painting."
In 1897, his realism began to show a Symbolist influence, for example, in a series of landscape paintings rendered in non-naturalistic violet and green tones. What some call his Modernist period (1899–1900) followed. His exposure to the work of Rossetti, Steinlen, Toulouse-Lautrec and Edvard Munch, combined with his admiration for favourite old masters such as El Greco, led Picasso to a personal version of modernism in his works of this period.
Picasso made his first trip to Paris, then the art capital of Europe, in 1900. There, he met his first Parisian friend, journalist and poet Max Jacob, who helped Picasso learn the language and its literature. Soon they shared an apartment; Max slept at night while Picasso slept during the day and worked at night. These were times of severe poverty, cold, and desperation. Much of his work was burned to keep the small room warm. During the first five months of 1901, Picasso lived in Madrid, where he and his anarchist friend Francisco de Asís Soler founded the magazine "Arte Joven" ("Young Art"), which published five issues. Soler solicited articles and Picasso illustrated the journal, mostly contributing grim cartoons depicting and sympathizing with the state of the poor. The first issue was published on 31 March 1901, by which time the artist had started to sign his work "Picasso". From 1898 he signed his works as "Pablo Ruiz Picasso", then as "Pablo R. Picasso" until 1901. The change does not seem to imply a rejection of the father figure. Rather, he wanted to distinguish himself from others; initiated by his Catalan friends who habitually called him by his maternal surname, much less current than the paternal Ruiz.
Picasso's Blue Period (1901–1904), characterized by sombre paintings rendered in shades of blue and blue-green, only occasionally warmed by other colours, began either in Spain in early 1901, or in Paris in the second half of the year. Many paintings of gaunt mothers with children date from the Blue Period, during which Picasso divided his time between Barcelona and Paris. In his austere use of colour and sometimes doleful subject matter – prostitutes and beggars are frequent subjects – Picasso was influenced by a trip through Spain and by the suicide of his friend Carles Casagemas. Starting in autumn of 1901 he painted several posthumous portraits of Casagemas, culminating in the gloomy allegorical painting "La Vie" (1903), now in the Cleveland Museum of Art.
The same mood pervades the well-known etching "The Frugal Repast" (1904), which depicts a blind man and a sighted woman, both emaciated, seated at a nearly bare table. Blindness is a recurrent theme in Picasso's works of this period, also represented in "The Blindman's Meal" (1903, the Metropolitan Museum of Art) and in the portrait of "Celestina" (1903). Other Blue Period works include "Portrait of Soler" and "Portrait of Suzanne Bloch".
The Rose Period (1904–1906) is characterized by a lighter tone and style utilizing orange and pink colours, and featuring many circus people, acrobats and harlequins known in France as saltimbanques. The harlequin, a comedic character usually depicted in checkered patterned clothing, became a personal symbol for Picasso. Picasso met Fernande Olivier, a bohemian artist who became his mistress, in Paris in 1904. Olivier appears in many of his Rose Period paintings, many of which are influenced by his warm relationship with her, in addition to his increased exposure to French painting. The generally upbeat and optimistic mood of paintings in this period is reminiscent of the 1899–1901 period (i.e. just prior to the Blue Period) and 1904 can be considered a transition year between the two periods.
By 1905, Picasso became a favourite of American art collectors Leo and Gertrude Stein. Their older brother Michael Stein and his wife Sarah also became collectors of his work. Picasso painted portraits of both Gertrude Stein and her nephew Allan Stein. Gertrude Stein became Picasso's principal patron, acquiring his drawings and paintings and exhibiting them in her informal "Salon" at her home in Paris. At one of her gatherings in 1905, he met Henri Matisse, who was to become a lifelong friend and rival. The Steins introduced him to Claribel Cone and her sister Etta who were American art collectors; they also began to acquire Picasso and Matisse's paintings. Eventually Leo Stein moved to Italy. Michael and Sarah Stein became patrons of Matisse, while Gertrude Stein continued to collect Picasso.
In 1907, Picasso joined an art gallery that had recently been opened in Paris by Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler. Kahnweiler was a German art historian and art collector who became one of the premier French art dealers of the 20th century. He was among the first champions of Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and the Cubism that they jointly developed. Kahnweiler promoted burgeoning artists such as André Derain, Kees van Dongen, Fernand Léger, Juan Gris, Maurice de Vlaminck and several others who had come from all over the globe to live and work in Montparnasse at the time.
Picasso's African-influenced Period (1907–1909) begins with his painting "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon". Picasso painted this composition in a style inspired by Iberian sculpture, but repainted the faces of the two figures on the right after being powerfully impressed by African artefacts he saw in June 1907 in the ethnographic museum at Palais du Trocadéro. When he displayed the painting to acquaintances in his studio later that year, the nearly universal reaction was shock and revulsion; Matisse angrily dismissed the work as a hoax. Picasso did not exhibit "Le Demoiselles" publicly until 1916.
Other works from this period include "Nude with Raised Arms" (1907) and "Three Women" (1908). Formal ideas developed during this period lead directly into the Cubist period that follows.
Analytic cubism (1909–1912) is a style of painting Picasso developed with Georges Braque using monochrome brownish and neutral colours. Both artists took apart objects and "analyzed" them in terms of their shapes. Picasso and Braque's paintings at this time share many similarities.
In Paris, Picasso entertained a distinguished coterie of friends in the Montmartre and Montparnasse quarters, including André Breton, poet Guillaume Apollinaire, writer Alfred Jarry and Gertrude Stein. In 1911, Picasso was arrested and questioned about the theft of the "Mona Lisa" from the Louvre. Suspicion for the crime had initially fallen upon Apollinaire due to his links to Géry Pieret, an artist with a history of thefts from the gallery. Apollinaire in turn implicated his close friend Picasso, who had also purchased stolen artworks from the artist in the past. Afraid of a conviction that could result in his deportation to Spain, Picasso denied having ever met Apollinaire. Both were later cleared of any involvement in the painting's disappearance.
Synthetic cubism (1912–1919) was a further development of the genre of cubism, in which cut paper fragments – often wallpaper or portions of newspaper pages – were pasted into compositions, marking the first use of collage in fine art.
Between 1915 and 1917, Picasso began a series of paintings depicting highly geometric and minimalist Cubist objects, consisting of either a pipe, a guitar or a glass, with an occasional element of collage. "Hard-edged square-cut diamonds", notes art historian John Richardson, "these gems do not always have upside or downside". "We need a new name to designate them," wrote Picasso to Gertrude Stein: Maurice Raynal suggested "Crystal Cubism". These "little gems" may have been produced by Picasso in response to critics who had claimed his defection from the movement, through his experimentation with classicism within the so-called return to order following the war.
After acquiring some fame and fortune, Picasso left Olivier for Marcelle Humbert, whom he called Eva Gouel. Picasso included declarations of his love for Eva in many Cubist works. Picasso was devastated by her premature death from illness at the age of 30 in 1915.
At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Picasso was living in Avignon. Braque and Derain were mobilized and Apollinaire joined the French artillery, while the Spaniard Juan Gris remained from the Cubist circle. During the war, Picasso was able to continue painting uninterrupted, unlike his French comrades. His paintings became more sombre and his life changed with dramatic consequences. Kahnweiler's contract had terminated on his exile from France. At this point Picasso's work would be taken on by the art dealer Léonce Rosenberg. After the loss of Eva Gouel, Picasso had an affair with Gaby Lespinasse. During the spring of 1916, Apollinaire returned from the front wounded. They renewed their friendship, but Picasso began to frequent new social circles.
Towards the end of World War I, Picasso became involved with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. Among his friends during this period were Jean Cocteau, Jean Hugo, Juan Gris, and others. In the summer of 1918, Picasso married Olga Khokhlova, a ballerina with Sergei Diaghilev's troupe, for whom Picasso was designing a ballet, Erik Satie's "Parade", in Rome; they spent their honeymoon near Biarritz in the villa of glamorous Chilean art patron Eugenia Errázuriz.
After returning from his honeymoon and in need of money, Picasso started his exclusive relationship with the French-Jewish art dealer Paul Rosenberg. As part of his first duties, Rosenberg agreed to rent the couple an apartment in Paris at his own expense, which was located next to his own house. This was the start of a deep brother-like friendship between two very different men, that would last until the outbreak of World War II.
Khokhlova introduced Picasso to high society, formal dinner parties, and other dimensions of the life of the rich in 1920s Paris. The two had a son, Paulo Picasso, who would grow up to be a motorcycle racer and chauffeur to his father. Khokhlova's insistence on social propriety clashed with Picasso's bohemian tendencies and the two lived in a state of constant conflict. During the same period that Picasso collaborated with Diaghilev's troupe, he and Igor Stravinsky collaborated on "Pulcinella" in 1920. Picasso took the opportunity to make several drawings of the composer.
In 1927, Picasso met 17-year-old Marie-Thérèse Walter and began a secret affair with her. Picasso's marriage to Khokhlova soon ended in separation rather than divorce, as French law required an even division of property in the case of divorce, and Picasso did not want Khokhlova to have half his wealth. The two remained legally married until Khokhlova's death in 1955. Picasso carried on a long-standing affair with Marie-Thérèse Walter and fathered a daughter with her, named Maya. Marie-Thérèse lived in the vain hope that Picasso would one day marry her, and hanged herself four years after Picasso's death.
In February 1917, Picasso made his first trip to Italy. In the period following the upheaval of World War I, Picasso produced work in a neoclassical style. This "return to order" is evident in the work of many European artists in the 1920s, including André Derain, Giorgio de Chirico, Gino Severini, Jean Metzinger, the artists of the New Objectivity movement and of the Novecento Italiano movement. Picasso's paintings and drawings from this period frequently recall the work of Raphael and Ingres.
In 1925 the Surrealist writer and poet André Breton declared Picasso as 'one of ours' in his article "Le Surréalisme et la peinture", published in "Révolution surréaliste". "Les Demoiselles" was reproduced for the first time in Europe in the same issue. Yet Picasso exhibited Cubist works at the first Surrealist group exhibition in 1925; the concept of 'psychic automatism in its pure state' defined in the "Manifeste du surréalisme" never appealed to him entirely. He did at the time develop new imagery and formal syntax for expressing himself emotionally, "releasing the violence, the psychic fears and the eroticism that had been largely contained or sublimated since 1909", writes art historian Melissa McQuillan. Although this transition in Picasso's work was informed by Cubism for its spatial relations, "the fusion of ritual and abandon in the imagery recalls the primitivism of the Demoiselles and the elusive psychological resonances of his Symbolist work", writes McQuillan. Surrealism revived Picasso's attraction to primitivism and eroticism.
During the 1930s, the minotaur replaced the harlequin as a common motif in his work. His use of the minotaur came partly from his contact with the surrealists, who often used it as their symbol, and it appears in Picasso's "Guernica". The minotaur and Picasso's mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter are heavily featured in his celebrated "Vollard Suite" of etchings.
Arguably Picasso's most famous work is his depiction of the German bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War – "Guernica". This large canvas embodies for many the inhumanity, brutality and hopelessness of war. Asked to explain its symbolism, Picasso said, "It isn't up to the painter to define the symbols. Otherwise it would be better if he wrote them out in so many words! The public who look at the picture must interpret the symbols as they understand them." "Guernica" was exhibited in July 1937 at the Spanish Pavilion at the Paris International Exposition, and then became the centerpiece of an exhibition of 118 works by Picasso, Matisse, Braque and Henri Laurens that toured Scandinavia and England. After the victory of Francisco Franco in Spain, the painting was sent to the United States to raise funds and support for Spanish refugees. Until 1981 it was entrusted to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, as it was Picasso's expressed desire that the painting should not be delivered to Spain until liberty and democracy had been established in the country.
In 1939 and 1940, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, under its director Alfred Barr, a Picasso enthusiast, held a major retrospective of Picasso's principal works until that time. This exhibition lionized Picasso, brought into full public view in America the scope of his artistry, and resulted in a reinterpretation of his work by contemporary art historians and scholars. According to Jonathan Weinberg, "Given the extraordinary quality of the show and Picasso's enormous prestige, generally heightened by the political impact of "Guernica" ... the critics were surprisingly ambivalent". Picasso's "multiplicity of styles" was disturbing to one journalist; another described him as "wayward and even malicious"; Alfred Frankenstein's review in "ARTnews" concluded that Picasso was both charlatan and genius.
During the Second World War, Picasso remained in Paris while the Germans occupied the city. Picasso's artistic style did not fit the Nazi ideal of art, so he did not exhibit during this time. He was often harassed by the Gestapo. During one search of his apartment, an officer saw a photograph of the painting "Guernica". "Did you do that?" the German asked Picasso. "No," he replied, "You did".
Retreating to his studio, he continued to paint, producing works such as the "Still Life with Guitar" (1942) and "The Charnel House" (1944–48). Although the Germans outlawed bronze casting in Paris, Picasso continued regardless, using bronze smuggled to him by the French Resistance.
Around this time, Picasso wrote poetry as an alternative outlet. Between 1935 and 1959 he wrote over 300 poems. Largely untitled except for a date and sometimes the location of where it was written (for example "Paris 16 May 1936"), these works were gustatory, erotic and at times scatological, as were his two full-length plays "Desire Caught by the Tail" (1941) and "The Four Little Girls" (1949).
In 1944, after the liberation of Paris, Picasso, then 63 years old, began a romantic relationship with a young art student named Françoise Gilot. She was 40 years younger than he was. Picasso grew tired of his mistress Dora Maar; Picasso and Gilot began to live together. Eventually they had two children: Claude Picasso, born in 1947 and Paloma Picasso, born in 1949. In her 1964 book "Life with Picasso", Gilot describes his abusive treatment and myriad infidelities which led her to leave him, taking the children with her. This was a severe blow to Picasso.
Picasso had affairs with women of an even greater age disparity than his and Gilot's. While still involved with Gilot, in 1951 Picasso had a six-week affair with Geneviève Laporte, who was four years younger than Gilot. By his 70s, many paintings, ink drawings and prints have as their theme an old, grotesque dwarf as the doting lover of a beautiful young model. Jacqueline Roque (1927–1986) worked at the Madoura Pottery in Vallauris on the French Riviera, where Picasso made and painted ceramics. She became his lover, and then his second wife in 1961. The two were together for the remainder of Picasso's life.
His marriage to Roque was also a means of revenge against Gilot; with Picasso's encouragement, Gilot had divorced her then husband, Luc Simon, with the plan to marry Picasso to secure the rights of her children as Picasso's legitimate heirs. Picasso had already secretly married Roque, after Gilot had filed for divorce. His strained relationship with Claude and Paloma was never healed.
By this time, Picasso had constructed a huge Gothic home, and could afford large villas in the south of France, such as Mas Notre-Dame-de-Vie on the outskirts of Mougins, and in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. He was an international celebrity, with often as much interest in his personal life as his art.
Picasso was one of 250 sculptors who exhibited in the 3rd Sculpture International held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in mid-1949. In the 1950s, Picasso's style changed once again, as he took to producing reinterpretations of the art of the great masters. He made a series of works based on Velázquez's painting of "Las Meninas". He also based paintings on works by Goya, Poussin, Manet, Courbet and Delacroix.
In addition to his artistic accomplishments, Picasso made a few film appearances, always as himself, including a cameo in Jean Cocteau's "Testament of Orpheus" (1960). In 1955, he helped make the film "Le Mystère Picasso" ("The Mystery of Picasso") directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot.
He was commissioned to make a maquette for a huge -high public sculpture to be built in Chicago, known usually as the "Chicago Picasso". He approached the project with a great deal of enthusiasm, designing a sculpture which was ambiguous and somewhat controversial. What the figure represents is not known; it could be a bird, a horse, a woman or a totally abstract shape. The sculpture, one of the most recognizable landmarks in downtown Chicago, was unveiled in 1967. Picasso refused to be paid $100,000 for it, donating it to the people of the city.
Picasso's final works were a mixture of styles, his means of expression in constant flux until the end of his life. Devoting his full energies to his work, Picasso became more daring, his works more colourful and expressive, and from 1968 to 1971 he produced a torrent of paintings and hundreds of copperplate etchings. At the time these works were dismissed by most as pornographic fantasies of an impotent old man or the slapdash works of an artist who was past his prime. Only later, after Picasso's death, when the rest of the art world had moved on from abstract expressionism, did the critical community come to see the late works of Picasso as prefiguring Neo-Expressionism.
Pablo Picasso died on 8 April 1973 in Mougins, France from pulmonary edema and heart failure, while he and his wife Jacqueline entertained friends for dinner. He was interred at the Château of Vauvenargues near Aix-en-Provence, a property he had acquired in 1958 and occupied with Jacqueline between 1959 and 1962. Jacqueline Roque prevented his children Claude and Paloma from attending the funeral. Devastated and lonely after the death of Picasso, Jacqueline Roque killed herself by gunshot in 1986 when she was 59 years old.
Picasso remained aloof from the Catalan independence movement during his youth despite expressing general support and being friendly with activists within it. He did not join the armed forces for any side or country during World War I, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II. As a Spanish citizen living in France, Picasso was under no compulsion to fight against the invading Germans in either world war. However, in 1940, he did apply for French citizenship, but it was refused on the grounds of his "extremist ideas evolving towards communism". This information was not revealed until 2003.
At the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Picasso was 54 years of age. Soon after hostilities began, the Republicans appointed him "director of the Prado, albeit in absentia", and "he took his duties very seriously", according to John Richardson, supplying the funds to evacuate the museum's collection to Geneva. The war provided the impetus for Picasso's first overtly political work. He expressed anger and condemnation of Francisco Franco and fascists in "The Dream and Lie of Franco" (1937), which was produced "specifically for propagandistic and fundraising purposes". This surreal fusion of words and images was intended to be sold as a series of postcards to raise funds for the Spanish Republican cause.
In 1944, Picasso joined the French Communist Party, attended the World Congress of Intellectuals in Defense of Peace in Poland, and in 1950 received the Stalin Peace Prize from the Soviet government. Party criticism in 1953 of his portrait of Stalin as insufficiently realistic cooled Picasso's interest in Soviet politics, though he remained a loyal member of the Communist Party until his death. His dealer, D-H. Kahnweiler, a socialist, termed Picasso's communism "sentimental" rather than political, saying "He has never read a line of Karl Marx, nor of Engels of course." In a 1945 interview with Jerome Seckler, Picasso stated: "I am a Communist and my painting is Communist painting. ... But if I were a shoemaker, Royalist or Communist or anything else, I would not necessarily hammer my shoes in a special way to show my politics." His commitment to communism, common among continental intellectuals and artists at the time, has long been the subject of some controversy; a notable demonstration thereof was a quote commonly attributed to Salvador Dalí (with whom Picasso had a rather strained relationship):
In the late 1940s, his old friend the surrealist poet and Trotskyist and anti-Stalinist André Breton was more blunt; refusing to shake hands with Picasso, he told him: "I don't approve of your joining the Communist Party nor with the stand you have taken concerning the purges of the intellectuals after the Liberation".
Picasso was against the intervention of the United Nations and the United States in the Korean War and he depicted it in "Massacre in Korea". The art critic Kirsten Hoving Keen says that it is "inspired by reports of American atrocities" and considers it one of Picasso's communist works.
In 1962, he received the Lenin Peace Prize. Biographer and art critic John Berger felt his talents as an artist were "wasted" by the communists. According to Jean Cocteau's diaries, Picasso once said to him in reference to the communists: "I have joined a family, and like all families, it's full of shit".
Picasso was exceptionally prolific throughout his long lifetime. The total number of artworks he produced has been estimated at 50,000, comprising 1,885 paintings; 1,228 sculptures; 2,880 ceramics, roughly 12,000 drawings, many thousands of prints, and numerous tapestries and rugs.
The medium in which Picasso made his most important contribution was painting. In his paintings, Picasso used colour as an expressive element, but relied on drawing rather than subtleties of colour to create form and space. He sometimes added sand to his paint to vary its texture. A nanoprobe of Picasso's "The Red Armchair" (1931) by physicists at Argonne National Laboratory in 2012 confirmed art historians' belief that Picasso used common house paint in many of his paintings. Much of his painting was done at night by artificial light.
Picasso's early sculptures were carved from wood or modelled in wax or clay, but from 1909 to 1928 Picasso abandoned modelling and instead made sculptural constructions using diverse materials. An example is "Guitar" (1912), a relief construction made of sheet metal and wire that Jane Fluegel terms a "three-dimensional planar counterpart of Cubist painting" that marks a "revolutionary departure from the traditional approaches, modeling and carving".
From the beginning of his career, Picasso displayed an interest in subject matter of every kind, and demonstrated a great stylistic versatility that enabled him to work in several styles at once. For example, his paintings of 1917 included the pointillist "Woman with a Mantilla", the Cubist "Figure in an Armchair", and the naturalistic "Harlequin" (all in the Museu Picasso, Barcelona). In 1919, he made a number of drawings from postcards and photographs that reflect his interest in the stylistic conventions and static character of posed photographs. In 1921 he simultaneously painted several large neoclassical paintings and two versions of the Cubist composition "Three Musicians" (Museum of Modern Art, New York; Philadelphia Museum of Art). In an interview published in 1923, Picasso said, "The several manners I have used in my art must not be considered as an evolution, or as steps towards an unknown ideal of painting ... If the subjects I have wanted to express have suggested different ways of expression I have never hesitated to adopt them."
Although his Cubist works approach abstraction, Picasso never relinquished the objects of the real world as subject matter. Prominent in his Cubist paintings are forms easily recognized as guitars, violins, and bottles. When Picasso depicted complex narrative scenes it was usually in prints, drawings, and small-scale works; "Guernica" (1937) is one of his few large narrative paintings.
Picasso painted mostly from imagination or memory. According to William Rubin, Picasso "could only make great art from subjects that truly involved him ... Unlike Matisse, Picasso had eschewed models virtually all his mature life, preferring to paint individuals whose lives had both impinged on, and had real significance for, his own." The art critic Arthur Danto said Picasso's work constitutes a "vast pictorial autobiography" that provides some basis for the popular conception that "Picasso invented a new style each time he fell in love with a new woman". The autobiographical nature of Picasso's art is reinforced by his habit of dating his works, often to the day. He explained: "I want to leave to posterity a documentation that will be as complete as possible. That's why I put a date on everything I do."
Picasso's influence was and remains immense and widely acknowledged by his admirers and detractors alike. On the occasion of his 1939 retrospective at MoMA, "Life" magazine wrote: "During the 25 years he has dominated modern European art, his enemies say he has been a corrupting influence. With equal violence, his friends say he is the greatest artist alive." In 1998, Robert Hughes wrote of him: "To say that Pablo Picasso dominated Western art in the 20th century is, by now, the merest commonplace. ... No painter or sculptor, not even Michelangelo, had been as famous as this in his own lifetime. ... Though Marcel Duchamp, that cunning old fox of conceptual irony, has certainly had more influence on nominally vanguard art over the past 30 years than Picasso, the Spaniard was the last great beneficiary of the belief that the language of painting and sculpture really mattered to people other than their devotees."
At the time of Picasso's death many of his paintings were in his possession, as he had kept off the art market what he did not need to sell. In addition, Picasso had a considerable collection of the work of other famous artists, some his contemporaries, such as Henri Matisse, with whom he had exchanged works. Since Picasso left no will, his death duties (estate tax) to the French state were paid in the form of his works and others from his collection. These works form the core of the immense and representative collection of the Musée Picasso in Paris. In 2003, relatives of Picasso inaugurated a museum dedicated to him in his birthplace, Málaga, Spain, the Museo Picasso Málaga.
The Museu Picasso in Barcelona features many of his early works, created while he was living in Spain, including many rarely seen works which reveal his firm grounding in classical techniques. The museum also holds many precise and detailed figure studies done in his youth under his father's tutelage, as well as the extensive collection of Jaime Sabartés, his close friend and personal secretary.
"Guernica" was on display in New York's Museum of Modern Art for many years. In 1981, it was returned to Spain and was on exhibit at the Casón del Buen Retiro of the Museo del Prado. In 1992, the painting was put on display in Madrid's Reina Sofía Museum when it opened.
In the 1996 movie "Surviving Picasso", Picasso is portrayed by actor Anthony Hopkins. Picasso is also a character in Steve Martin's 1993 play, "Picasso at the Lapin Agile". In "A Moveable Feast" by Ernest Hemingway, Hemingway tells Gertrude Stein that he would like to have some Picassos, but cannot afford them. Later in the book, Hemingway mentions looking at one of Picasso's paintings. He refers to it as Picasso's nude of the girl with the basket of flowers, possibly related to "Young Naked Girl with Flower Basket".
On 8 October 2010, "Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris," an exhibition of 150 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and photographs from the Musée National Picasso in Paris, opened at the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, US. The exhibition subsequently travelled to Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia: the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, California, US.; the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; and the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
, Picasso remained the top-ranked artist (based on sales of his works at auctions) according to the Art Market Trends report. More of his paintings have been stolen than any other artist's; in 2012, the Art Loss Register had 1,147 of his works listed as stolen. The Picasso Administration functions as his official Estate. The US copyright representative for the Picasso Administration is the Artists Rights Society.
Picasso is played by Antonio Banderas in the 2018 season of "Genius", which focuses on his life and art.
In the 1940s, a Swiss insurance company based in Basel had bought two paintings by Picasso to diversify its investments and serve as a guarantee for the insured risks. Following an air disaster in 1967, the company had to pay out heavy reimbursements. The company decided to part with the two paintings, which were deposited in the Kunstmuseum Basel. In 1968, a large number of Basel citizens called for a local referendum on the purchase of the Picassos by the Canton of Basel-Stadt, which was successful, making it the first time in democratic history that the population of a city voted on the purchase of works of art for a public art museum. The paintings therefore remained in the museum in Basel. Informed of this, Picasso offered three paintings and a sketch to the city and its museum and was later made an honorary citizen by the city.
Several paintings by Picasso rank among the most expensive paintings in the world. "Garçon à la pipe" sold for US$104 million at Sotheby's on 4 May 2004, establishing a new price record. "Dora Maar au Chat" sold for US$95.2 million at Sotheby's on 3 May 2006. On 4 May 2010, "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust" was sold at Christie's for $106.5 million. The 1932 work, which depicts Picasso's mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter reclining and as a bust, was in the personal collection of Los Angeles philanthropist Frances Lasker Brody, who died in November 2009. On 11 May 2015 his painting "Women of Algiers" set the record for the highest price ever paid for a painting when it sold for US$179.3 million at Christie's in New York.
On 21 June 2016, a painting by Pablo Picasso titled "Femme Assise" (1909) sold for £43.2 million ($63.4 million) at Sotheby's London, exceeding the estimate by nearly $20 million, setting a world record for the highest price ever paid at auction for a Cubist work.
On 17 May 2017, "The Jerusalem Post" in an article titled "Picasso Work Stolen By Nazis Sells for $45 Million at Auction" reported the sale of a portrait painted by Picasso, the 1939 "Femme assise, robe bleu", which was previously misappropriated during the early years of WWII. The painting has changed hands several times since its recovery, most recently through auction in May 2017 at Christie's in New York City.
In March 2018, his "Femme au Béret et à la Robe Quadrillée" (1937), a portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter, sold for £49.8m at Sotheby's in London.
Throughout his life Picasso maintained several mistresses in addition to his wife or primary partner. Picasso was married twice and had four children by three women:
Photographer and painter Dora Maar was also a constant companion and lover of Picasso. The two were closest in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and it was Maar who documented the painting of "Guernica".
The women in Picasso’s life played an important role in the emotional and erotic aspects of his creative expression, and the tumultuous nature of these relationships has been considered vital to his artistic process. Many of these women functioned as muses for him, and their inclusion in his extensive oeuvre granted them a place in art history. A largely recurring motif in his body of work is the female form. The variations in his relationships informed and collided with his progression of style throughout his career. For example, portraits created of his first wife, Olga, were rendered in a naturalistic style during his Neoclassical period. His relationship with Marie-Thérèse Walter inspired many of his surrealist pieces, as well as what is referred to as his “Year of Wonders.” An early lover, Fernande Olivier, may have inspired the switch from his “Blue Period” to his “Rose Period.”
Picasso has been commonly characterised as a womaniser and a misogynist, being quoted as having said to one of his mistresses, François Gilot, “Women are machines for suffering.” He later told her, “For me there are only two kinds of women: goddesses and doormats.” In her memoir, Picasso, My Grandfather, Marina Picasso writes of his treatment of women, “He submitted them to his animal sexuality, tamed them, bewitched them, ingested them, and crushed them onto his canvas. After he had spent many nights extracting their essence, once they were bled dry, he would dispose of them.”
Of the several important women in his life, two, Marie-Thèrése Walter, a mistress, and Jacqueline Roque, his second wife, committed suicide. Others, notably his first wife Olga Khokhlova, and his mistress Dora Maar, succumbed to nervous breakdowns. His son, Paulo, developed a fatal alcoholism due to depression. His grandson, Pablito, also committed suicide when he was barred by Jacqueline Roque from attending the artist’s funeral.
Picasso entrusted Christian Zervos to constitute the catalogue raisonné of his work (painted and drawn). The first volume of the catalogue, "Works from 1895 to 1906", published in 1932, entailed the financial ruin of Zervos, self-publishing under the name "Cahiers d'art", forcing him to sell part of his art collection at auction to avoid bankruptcy.
From 1932 to 1978, Zervos constituted the catalogue raisonné of the complete works of Picasso in the company of the artist who had become one of his friends in 1924. Following the death of Zervos, Mila Gagarin supervised the publication of 11 additional volumes from 1970 to 1978.
The 33 volumes cover the entire work from 1895 to 1972, with close to 16,000 black and white photographs, in accord with the will of the artist.
Further publications by Zervos | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24176 |
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy Week, the last week of the Christian solemn season of Lent that precedes the arrival of Eastertide.
In most liturgical churches Palm Sunday is celebrated by the blessing and distribution of palm branches or the branches of other native trees representing the palm branches the crowd scattered in front of Christ as he rode into Jerusalem. The difficulty of procuring palms in unfavorable climates led to their substitution with branches of native trees, including box, olive, willow, and yew. The Sunday was often named after these substitute trees, as in Yew Sunday, or by the general term Branch Sunday.
Many churches of mainstream Christian denominations, including the Lutheran, Catholic, Orthodox, Methodist, Anglican, Moravian and Reformed traditions, distribute palm branches to their congregations during their Palm Sunday liturgies. Christians take these palms, which are often blessed by clergy, to their homes where they hang them alongside Christian art (especially crosses and crucifixes) or keep them in their Bibles or devotionals. In the period preceding the next year's Lent, known as Shrovetide, churches often place a basket in their narthex to collect these palms, which are then ritually burned on Shrove Tuesday to make the ashes to be used on the following day, Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent.
In the accounts of the four canonical Gospels, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem takes place a week before his resurrection. Only the Gospel of John shows a timeline of the event, dated six days before the Passover ().
Before this, Jesus talked to two of his disciples, taking to himself the ancient Greek word of Lord (Κύριος, trasl. Kýrios, ; ; ; ) written with a capital letter in the original text, as a proper noun.
The raising of Lazarus is mentioned only by the Gospel of John, in the previous chapter. The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches which follows the Byzantine Rite, commemorate it on Lazarus Saturday, following the text of the Gospel. In fact, the Jewish calendar dates begin at sundown of the night beforehand, and conclude at nightfall.
Christian theologians believe that the symbolism is captured prophetically in the Old Testament: "The Coming of Zion's King – See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey", which is quoted in the Gospels. It suggests that Jesus was declaring he was the King of Israel, to the anger of the Sanhedrin.
According to the Gospels, Jesus Christ rode on a donkey into Jerusalem, and the celebrating people there laid down their cloaks and small branches of trees in front of him, singing part of – Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The symbolism of the donkey may refer to the Eastern tradition that it is an animal of peace, unlike the horse which is the animal of war. A king would have ridden a horse when he was bent on war and ridden a donkey to symbolize his arrival in peace. Jesus' entry to Jerusalem would have thus symbolized his entry as the Prince of Peace, not as a war-waging king. Thus there have been two different meanings (or more levels of biblical hermeneutics): an historical meaning, truly happening according to the Gospels, and a secondary meaning in the symbolism.
In as Jesus approaches Jerusalem, he looks at the city and weeps over it (an event known as "Flevit super illam" in Latin), foretelling his coming Passion and the suffering that awaits the city in the events of the destruction of the Second Temple.
In many lands in the ancient Near East, it was customary to cover in some way the path of someone thought worthy of the highest honour. The Hebrew Bible () reports that Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, was treated this way. Both the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John report that people gave Jesus this form of honour. In the synoptics the people are described as laying their garments and cut rushes on the street, whereas John specifies fronds of palm (Greek "phoinix)". In Jewish tradition, the palm is one of the Four Species carried for Sukkot, as prescribed for rejoicing at .
In the Greco-Roman culture of the Roman Empire, which strongly influenced Christian tradition, the palm branch was a symbol of triumph and victory. It became the most common attribute of the goddess Nike or Victoria. For contemporary Roman observers, the procession would have evoked the Roman triumph, when the "triumphator" laid down his arms and wore the toga, the civilian garment of peace that might be ornamented with emblems of the palm. Although the Epistles of Paul refer to Jesus as "triumphing", the entry into Jerusalem may not have been regularly pictured as a triumphal procession in this sense before the 13th century. In ancient Egyptian religion, the palm was carried in funeral processions and represented eternal life. The martyr's palm was later used as a symbol of Christian martyrs and their spiritual victory or triumph over death. In , the white-clad multitude stand before the throne and Lamb holding palm branches.
Palm Sunday, or the "Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem" as it may be called in Orthodox Churches, is one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the liturgical year. The day before Palm Sunday, Lazarus Saturday, believers often prepare palm fronds by knotting them into crosses in preparation for the procession on Sunday. The hangings and vestments in the church are changed to a festive color – most commonly green.
The Troparion of the Feast (a short hymn) indicates that the resurrection of Lazarus is a prefiguration of Jesus's own Resurrection:
In the Russian Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Catholic Church, Ruthenian Catholic Church, Polish, Bavarian and Austrian Roman Catholics, and various other Eastern European peoples, the custom developed of using pussy willow instead of palm fronds because the latter are not readily available that far north. There is no canonical requirement as to what kind of branches must be used, so some Orthodox believers use olive branches. Whatever the kind, these branches are blessed and distributed together with candles either during the All-Night Vigil on the Eve of the Feast (Saturday night), or before the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning. The Great Entrance of the Divine Liturgy commemorates the "Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem", so the meaningfulness of this moment is punctuated on Palm Sunday as everyone stands, holding their branches and lit candles. The faithful take these branches and candles home with them after the liturgy, and keep them in their icon corner as an "evloghia" (blessing).
In Russia, donkey walk processions took place in different cities, but most importantly in Novgorod and, from 1558 until 1693, in Moscow. These were prominently featured in testimonies by foreign witnesses and mentioned in contemporary Western maps of the city. The Patriarch of Moscow, representing Christ, rode on a "donkey" (actually a horse draped in white cloth); the Tsar of Russia humbly led the procession on foot. Originally, Moscow processions began inside the Kremlin and terminated at Trinity Church, now known as Saint Basil's Cathedral, but in 1658 Patriarch Nikon reversed the order of procession. Peter I in the 1720s, as a part of his nationalisation of the church, terminated the custom; it has been occasionally recreated in the 21st century.
In Oriental Orthodox churches, palm fronds are distributed at the front of the church at the sanctuary steps. In India the sanctuary itself is strewn with marigolds, and the congregation proceeds through and outside the church.
In ancient times, palm branches symbolized goodness and victory. They were often depicted on coins and important buildings. Solomon had palm branches carved into the walls and doors of the temple (). Again at the end of the Bible, people from every nation raise palm branches to honor Jesus ().
Palm Sunday commemorates the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem (), when palm branches were placed in his path, before his arrest on Holy Thursday and his crucifixion on Good Friday. It thus marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent.
In churches of many Christian denominations, members of the congregation, oftentimes children, are given palms that they carry as they walk in a procession around the inside of the church. In the Church of Pakistan, a united Protestant Church, the faithful on Palm Sunday carry palm branches into the church as they sing .
In the Roman Catholic Church, as well as among many Anglican and Lutheran congregations, palm fronds (or in colder climates some kind of substitutes) are blessed with an aspergillum outside the church building in an event called the "blessing of palms" if using palm leaves (or in cold climates in the narthex when Easter falls early in the year). A solemn procession also takes place, and often includes the entire congregation.
In the Catholic Church and the Episcopal Church, this feast now coincides with that of Passion Sunday, which is the focus of the Mass which follows the palms ceremony. The palms are saved in many churches to be burned on Shrove Tuesday the following year to make ashes used in Ash Wednesday liturgies. The Catholic Church considers the blessed palms to be sacramentals. The vestments for the day are deep scarlet red, the colour of blood, indicating the supreme redemptive sacrifice Christ was entering the city to fulfill: his Passion and Resurrection in Jerusalem.
In the Episcopal and many other Anglican churches and in Lutheran churches, as well, the day is nowadays officially called "The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday"; in practice, though, it is usually termed "Palm Sunday" as in the 1928 American Book of Common Prayer and in earlier Lutheran liturgies and calendars, to avoid undue confusion with the penultimate Sunday of Lent in the traditional calendar, which was "Passion Sunday".
In traditional usage of the Methodist Church, "The Book of Worship for Church and Home" (1965) provides the following Collect for Palm Sunday:
In Spanish, it is sometimes called "Pascua florida", and it was from this day in 1512 that the state of Florida received its name.
It is customary in many churches for worshippers to receive fresh palm leaves on Palm Sunday. In parts of the world where this has historically been impractical, substitute traditions have arisen.
In Hoegaarden, one of the last remaining Palm Sunday processions takes place every year. A fellowship of Twelve Apostles carries a wooden statue of Christ around the town, while children go door to door offering the palms (box) for coins.
In Bulgaria, Palm Sunday is known as "Tsvetnitsa" ("tsvete", "flower") or "Vrabnitsa" ("varba", "willow"), or Flower's Day. People with flower-related names (e.g., Lilia, Margarita, Nevena, Ralitsa, Rosa, Temenuzhka, Tsvetan, Tsvetana, Tsvetelin, Tsvetelina, Tsvetko, Violeta, Yavor, Zdravko, Zjumbjul, etc.) celebrate this day as their name day.
In the 15th through the 17th centuries in England, Palm Sunday was frequently marked by the burning of Jack-'o'-Lent figures. This was a straw effigy which would be stoned and abused on Ash Wednesday, and kept in the parish for burning on Palm Sunday. The symbolism was believed to be a kind of revenge on Judas Iscariot, who had betrayed Christ. The effigy could also have represented the hated figure of Winter, whose destruction prepares the way for Spring.
In the Coptic Orthodox Church and Orthodox Ethiopia, this holiday is referred to as Hosanna. Palm leaves will be blessed and distribute, they are used to create crucifixes, rings and other ornaments.
In Finland, it is popular for children to dress up as Easter witches and go door to door in neighborhoods and trade decorated pussy willow branches for coins and candy. This is an old Karelian custom called "virpominen".
It is customary for the children to chant, with some variation, "Virvon varvon tuoreeks, terveeks, tulevaks vuodeks, vitsa sulle, palkka mulle!" which translates as "I'm wishing you a fresh, healthy upcoming year, a branch for you, a prize for me!" The chant has been translated in Juha Vuorinen's novel "Totally Smashed!" as "Willow switch, I'm the Easter witch! I wish you health and a love that's rich! From me I bring some luck today, for this branch what will you pay?"
In most of the Catholic churches in India the palms are blessed by the priest on Palm Sunday and then distributed among the people after the holy mass. There is a tradition of folding palm fronds into palm crosses, which are kept at the altar till the next Ash Wednesday.
In the South Indian state of Kerala (and in Indian Orthodox, Church of South India (CSI), Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, and Syriac Orthodox Church (Jacobite) congregations elsewhere in India and throughout the West), flowers are strewn about the sanctuary on Palm Sunday during the reading of the Gospel, at the words uttered by the crowd welcoming Jesus, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who is come and is to come in the name of the Lord God". These words are read to the congregation thrice. The congregation then repeats, "Hosanna!", and the flowers are scattered. This is adapted from the older Hindu custom of scattering flowers on festive occasions, as well as the honour shown to Jesus upon his entry into Jerusalem.
Indian Orthodoxy traces its roots to the arrival in India of Saint Thomas the Apostle (traditionally dated to AD 52) and his evangelism among both the Brahmans of the Malabar Coast and the ancient Jewish community there. Its rites and ceremonies are both Hindu and Jewish, as well as Levantine Christian, in origin. In Syro-Malabar Catholic Church's palm leaves are blessed during Palm Sunday ceremony and a Procession takes place holding the palms.
In Italy, palm leaves are used along with small olive branches, readily available in the Mediterranean climate. These are placed at house entrances (for instance, hanging above the door) to last until the following year's Palm Sunday. For this reason, usually palm leaves are not used whole, due to their size; instead, leaf strips are braided into smaller shapes. Small olive branches are also often used to decorate traditional Easter cakes, along with other symbols of birth, like eggs.
In Latvia, Palm Sunday is called "Pussy Willow Sunday", and pussy willows – symbolizing new life – are blessed and distributed to the faithful. Children are often awakened that morning with ritualistic swats of a willow branch.
When Christianity came to Lithuania, the plants which sprouted earliest were honored during spring feasts. The name "Palm Sunday" is a misnomer; the "verba" or "dwarfed spruce" is used instead. According to tradition, on the Saturday before Palm Sunday the Lithuanians take special care in choosing and cutting well-formed branches, which the women-folk decorate with flowers. The flowers are meticulously tied onto the branches, making the "Verba".
In Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, Palm Sunday ("Shaa'nineh" in Arabic) Is perhaps the best-attended liturgy in the Christian Calendar, among the Orthodox, Catholic (Latin and Eastern), and Anglican Churches, perhaps because it is notably a family occasion. On this day, children attend church with branches from olive and palm trees. Also, there will be carefully woven crosses and other symbols made from palm fronds and roses and a procession at the beginning of the liturgy, during which at some point, the priest will take an olive branch and splash holy water on the faithful.
All the parishes of Malta and Gozo on Palm Sunday (Maltese: "Ħadd il-Palm") bless the palm leaves and the olive leaves. Those parishes that have the statues of Good Friday bless the olive tree they put on the statues of "Jesus prays in the Olive Garden" ("Ġesù fl-Ort") and the "Betrayal of Judas" ("il-Bewsa ta' Ġuda"). Also, many people take a small olive branch to their homes because it is a sacramental.
In the Saxon regions of the Netherlands, crosses are decorated with candy and bread, made in the form of a rooster. In the Diocese of Groningen-Leeuwarden, a great procession with oil lamps is held the night before Palm Sunday in honour of the Sorrowful Mother of Warfhuizen.
In the Philippines, a statue of Christ riding a donkey (the "Humenta"), or the presiding priest on horseback, is brought to the local church in a morning procession. Congregants line the route, waving "palaspás" (ornately woven palm branches) and spreading "tapis" (heirloom "aprons" made for this ritual) in imitation of the excited Jerusalemites. At the church parvise, a house, or the town plaza, children dressed as angels scatter flowers as they sing the day's antiphon "Hosanna Filio David" in the vernacular and to traditional tunes. The first Mass of the day then follows.
Once blessed, the "palaspás" are brought home and placed on altars, doorways, and windows. The Church teaches that this is a sign of welcoming Christ into the home, but folk belief holds that the blessed "palaspás" are apotropaic, deterring evil spirits, lightning, and fires. Another folk custom is to feed pieces of blessed "palaspás" to roosters used in "sabong" (cockfighting); this was strongly discouraged by the Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. In other provinces, the flowers strewn by the angels during the procession are added to the rice seeds being planted, in the belief that these will ensure a bountiful harvest.
Many Polish towns and villages (the best known are Lipnica Murowana in Lesser Poland and Łyse) organize artificial palm competitions. The biggest of those reach above 30 meters in length; for example, the highest palm in 2008 was 33.39 meters.
In Romania and Moldova, Palm Sunday is known as "Duminica Floriilor" or simply "Florii", translating "Flowers' Sunday".
In Spain, there is a tradition at the Palmeral of Elche (Europe's largest palm grove) in which local people cover palm leaves from the sun to allow them to whiten, and then they tie and braid them into intricate shapes.
A Spanish rhyming proverb states: "Domingo de Ramos, quien no estrena algo, se le caen las manos" ("On Palm Sunday, the hands drop off of those who fail to wear something new"). On Palm Sunday, it is customary to don new clothing or shoes.
In Syria, it is popular for children to dress up as Easter witches and go door to door in neighborhoods for coins and candy.
In southern Wales and nearby portions of England, 'Sul y Blodau' or 'Flowering Sunday' is a grave decoration tradition commonly observed on Palm Sunday, although historically Flowering Sunday grave decoration was also observed on other days as well. Today, the names Palm Sunday and Flowering Sunday are used interchangeably in those regions. In 1829 Thomas Wallace, of Llanbadoc, Monmouthshire, published a poem which contains the first known reference to the custom being practiced only on Palm Sunday.
Welsh cemetery cleaning and decoration traditions may have begun as an Easter celebration before becoming more commonly associated with Palm Sunday. As early as 1786, cleaning and flower decorations were attested by William Matthews during a tour of South Wales. Richard Warner attested in 1797 "the ornamenting of the graves of the deceased with various plants and flowers, at certain seasons, by the surviving relatives" and noted that Easter was the most popular time for this tradition. By 1803, Malkin's observations in "The Scenery, Antiquities, and Biography of South Wales from materials collected during two excursions in the year 1803" reflect the shift away predominantly associating the custom with Easter. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24178 |
Per Hasselberg
Per Hasselberg (1850-1894), until 1870 "Karl Petter Åkesson", was a Swedish sculptor. He has received critical acclaim mainly for his delicate and allegorical nudes, copies of which are widely distributed in public places and private homes in Sweden.
Hasselberg was born 1 January 1850 in the small village Hasselstad near Ronneby in the province of Blekinge in the south of Sweden.
He grew up as the sixth child in a poor family. His very religious father, Åke Andersson, was a small farmer, a construction worker for bridges, and a cabinet-maker.
Hasselberg finished school at the age of twelve and became a carpenter apprentice in Karlshamn, where he even got a training as ornamental sculptor. After this he moved to Stockholm in 1869, where he took several jobs as ornamental sculptor and visited evening and weekend courses at craft school.
In 1876 he got a scholarship from the Swedish National Board of Trade to travel to Paris, where he was accepted at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts the following year. There he studied for three years under the sculptor and academy professor François Jouffroy. He then worked as sculptor in Paris until 1890, when he returned to Stockholm to open a studio in Östermalm.
In 1885 he was taken in at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg because of aortic dissection. He recovered, but doctors told him he had only a few years to live. In 1894 his condition became serious again and he died 25 July in Stockholm at the hospital Sophiahemmet.
At the time of his death he had no debts and a book of orders of a total sum of about 30.000 Swedish Crowns, which is equivalent to about 250.000 US-Dollar in 2015. His will was that the large marble blocks, which were being shipped from Italy and which were destined for large copies of "Farfadern" and "Näckrosen", should be handed over to his sculptor colleague Christian Eriksson to do the job (which he also did).
The original French name was "La Perce-Neige" (snow breaker) and it was first made in plaster cast for the 1881 Salon in Paris. Hasselberg’s model was 16-year-old Italian. At her feet shows a small snowdrop, and the statue was understood as a symbol of new life breaking through the snow in springtime.
"Snöklocka" actually is not the ordinary Swedish name for the flower, which is "snödroppe". It is a rare poetic name that historically was derived from a literal translation of the ordinary German name "Schneeglöckchen" (little snowbell). Thus a musical connotation was added by using it for the statue, and her right hand is close to her right ear.
The Snowdrop was not only accepted at the 1881 Salon but even received a honorable mention, which no other Swedish work achieved that year. This success meant that he suddenly was a famous artist in Sweden, where the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm soon ordered a copy in marble. It was finished in 1883 and received a gold medal at the Salon in Paris the same year. In 1885 also the Gothenburg Museum of Art had its marble copy. The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen/Denmark has one since 1889. Copies in bronze at public places are on Maria Square (Mariatorget)/Stockholm, in Falun, Ronneby, and near Sunne (Rottneros park).
1,700 pieces in parian ware (marble imitation) with a height of 50 cm and 625 pieces in 60 cm were produced in 1887-1926 by Gustavsberg porcelain.
The more recent reception of the Snowdrop in Sweden in the 21st century presented a new additive in the form of certain feminist views. One author of the catalogue of the large Hasselberg retrospective in Stockhom 2010 claimed that the closed eyes of the statue were not a sign of just waking up but rather showed that Hasselberg had "“forced”" the "“body of the young woman”" into a "“state of unconsciousness”".
The original French name was "L'Aiëul" (The Grandfather) and it was first made in plaster cast 1886 in Paris and exhibited at the Palais de l'Industrie that year. The basic idea was to show nature’s cycle containing the poles of young and old. It had its origin during Hasselberg’s long treatment at university hospital in Gothenburg in 1885, after which he learned that he had only a few more years to live. He knew, therefore, that the planned work might be his last one and thus his artistic testament.
The idea became more definitive after he had seen an old man sitting with a naked sleeping boy on his knees on a boulevard in Paris. When it was finished his artist friends were enthusiastic about it, but the exhibition in Paris was no success.
The original copies in plaster cast by Hasselberg are lost, but a copy in bronze was placed near the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm 1896 and a copy in marble also from 1896 is today in the Gothenburg Museum of Art.
"Grodan" (French "La Grenouille", English "The Frog") was made in plaster cast for the Exposition Universelle (1889) in Paris and exhibited there. Between the knees of the girl there is a frog. Hasselberg reported that the concept of this piece had spontaneously come up when a model in his studio during a break sat on the floor in this position to rest.
The French word "grenouille" does not only mean "frog" but in slang also "street girl". It is unknown if Hasselberg was aware of this second meaning, but it was commented that by this statue he possibly wanted to express his time’s view of a tension between the noble and the less noble sides of youth.
Several copies in bronze are in public parks in Sweden and marble copies in museums. The most recent bronze copy from 2009 in Ulricehamn replaced a stolen copy from the 1940s. 230 pieces in parian ware (marble imitation) with a height of 38 cm and 241 pieces in 26 cm were produced in 1906-1926 by Gustavsberg porcelain.
"Näckrosen" was first exhibited in plaster cast at the Danish art society Kunstforeningen in Copenhagen 1892 and later that year in Gothenburg/Sweden. In 1893 it was exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
The statue shows a young woman lying on her back and floating on a large water lily leaf surrounded by water lilies and heads of old men symbolizing mermen. The first part of the flower's name "näck" in Scandinavia means water spirit. So a literal translation of "Näckrosen" would be "Water Spirit Rose". While this association is usually not present when talking about the flower, Hasselberg here made it unavoidable by the heads of old men in the water. On the backside of the statue there is a tree stump that holds a chain with a large padlock, apparently indicating that the large water lily leaf was put on chain. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24182 |
Parma, Michigan
Parma is a village in Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 769 at the 2010 census. The village is divided into three sections with boundaries in Parma Township and Sandstone Charter Township.
Parma was originally located a few miles east of its current location along the Michigan Central Railroad at a stop known as Gidley's Station. When it was moved to its current location, it was known as Groveland, after a noticeable grove of trees within the town. Part of this grove still exists where Grove St. curves around a copse of trees near its intersection with Westlawn St. in the eastern half of Parma. When the village was incorporated in 1847, its name was changed to Parma. In the early 1900s Parma was also known as Cracker Hill. A book was published called Cracker Hill Crumbs in 1976.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land. Parma is bisected by a township line; as a result, the town lies in both Parma and Sandstone townships.
As of the census of 2010, there were 769 people, 287 households, and 207 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 322 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.8% White, 0.4% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.5% of the population.
There were 287 households of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were married couples living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 27.9% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.01.
The median age in the village was 36.5 years. 29% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.6% were from 25 to 44; 26.7% were from 45 to 64; and 12.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 51.5% male and 48.5% female.
As of the census of 2000, there were 907 people, 310 households, and 233 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,541.2 per square mile (593.6/km²). There were 317 housing units at an average density of 538.7 per square mile (207.4/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.14% White, 0.55% African American, 0.88% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.66% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.65% of the population.
There were 310 households out of which 43.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.7% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.32.
In the village, the population was spread out with 33.7% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.3 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $39,531, and the median income for a family was $46,429. Males had a median income of $31,307 versus $24,432 for females. The per capita income for the village was $16,483. About 1.8% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.
Parma has two United Methodist churches: The North Parma United Methodist Church and the Parma United Methodist Church. North Parma serves the farming congregation to the north and the "Plain Parma" church serves the village congregation. North Parma is a white clapboard country church and "Plain Parma" is an orange brick church. Both churches were served by the same minister until the fall of 2005. Currently the minister assigned to the charge serves only North Parma. The two churches remained formally connected to a certain degree until 2006, when the charge was dissolved. The Parma UMC is now formally connected to the Trinity UMC in Jackson. As of 2007, North Parma remains independent, though this is not necessarily considered to be a permanent arrangement.
Spring Life Church, formerly Howe Wesleyan Church, was part of the Methodist branch in the area and was started in 1908. In October 1912, it united with the Wesleyan Methodist church and was connected with the Rives Circuit made up of Rives, Robinson and Howe schools. In 1968 it became a Wesleyan Church with the merger of the Wesleyan Methodist and Pilgrim Holiness denominations. In April 2007, the congregation voted to change its name to Spring Life Church to re-emphasize the mission of the church which is to "Cultivate, Plant, and Grow".
Other country churches in the community are Calvary Apostolic Church and Parma Baptist Church.
To the southeast is the community of Spring Arbor; northwest is the village of Springport; to the east is the city of Jackson and to the west is the city of Albion and beyond the cities of Marshall and Battle Creek, all in Calhoun County.
Parma is on Old US 12, which today is known as Michigan Avenue when it runs through Parma (and most of Southern Michigan). Today, the village has two exits on I-94, which replaced US 12 as the primary route from Detroit to Chicago when the Interstate highway system was built. The segment of I-94 that services Parma was originally part of the US 12 bypass, a freeway built prior to the Interstate system that allowed motorists to bypass Jackson and Parma. This is the oldest segment of I-94, beginning at Sargent Road in East Jackson and running west to Michigan Avenue outside of Parma. This older segment of the road is identifiable by its median, which is significantly narrower than the rest of I-94.
Parma is also located on the Michigan Central Railroad, which was historically the most significant and is currently the only railway from Detroit to Chicago. At one time Parma had a regular train station, but service was discontinued in 1954, and the old train station building was torn down.
An interurban trolley formerly ran between Parma and Jackson as well. On June 23, 1923, the train derailed and slammed into the jail, which was destroyed and never rebuilt. The scene, which is still remembered by some older residents, was commemorated in 1999 as part of the elaborate "History of Parma" section of the playground at Groner Park. The interurban station serves as the current library.
The Parma Union School District served the village and surrounding rural areas until 1957, when it consolidated with other school districts to form the Western School District. High school students from Parma therefore currently attend Western High School, which Parma shares with nearby Spring Arbor and the western edge of Jackson. The high school, along with the junior high and district administration, are located three miles (5 km) east of the village of Parma. One of the district's three elementaries, Parma Elementary School, is located on the south side of the village, near the site of the demolished Parma High School. The other two elementary schools are in the Spring Arbor area. When Parma Elementary was first built (in 1952), the Kindergarten class met in the Masonic Temple in Parma until the school was ready to open. The school opened mid year so the Kindergarten class of 1952 also attended the first half of First Grade in the Masonic Temple.
Spring Arbor University is located about six miles (10 km) away, while Albion College is nine miles (14 km) distant. Parma is also served by Jackson College.
Parma is historically and traditionally an agricultural community, and most of the surrounding area remains used for that purpose. During the last 20 years, the farming atmosphere has been eroded by hints of urban sprawl from the Jackson area, as well as a general decline in the viability of family farming.
There are a handful of small manufacturing concerns in the area, located mostly along the Michigan Avenue corridor. The community scored quite a coup In the early 1990s, Michigan Automotive Compressors, Inc., an auto parts plant run by a Japanese company, was constructed here. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24183 |
Infant baptism
Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. In theological discussions, the practice is sometimes referred to as paedobaptism, or pedobaptism, from the Greek "pais" meaning "child". This can be contrasted with what is called "believer's baptism" (or credobaptism, from the Latin word "credo" meaning "I believe"), which is the religious practice of baptising only individuals who personally confess faith in Jesus, therefore excluding underage children. Opposition to infant baptism is termed catabaptism. Infant baptism is also called christening by some faith traditions.
Most Christians belong to denominations that practice infant baptism. Branches of Christianity that practice infant baptism include Catholics, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, and among Protestants, several denominations: Anglicans, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and other Reformed denominations, Methodists, Nazarenes, and the Moravian Church.
The exact details of the baptismal ceremony vary among Christian denominations. Many follow a prepared ceremony, called a rite or liturgy. In a typical ceremony, parents or godparents bring their child to their congregation's priest or minister. The rite used would be the same as that denomination's rite for adults, i.e., by pouring holy water (affusion) or by sprinkling water (aspersion). Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic traditions practise total immersion and baptise babies in a font, and this practice is also the first method listed in the baptismal ritual of the Roman Catholic, although pouring is the standard practice within the Latin branch of Catholicism. Catholic and Orthodox churches that do this do not sprinkle. At the moment of baptism, the minister utters the words "I baptise you (or, 'The servant of God (name) is baptised') in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (see Matthew 28:19).
Although it is not required, many parents and godparents choose to dress the baby in a white gown called a christening gown for the baptism ceremony. Christening gowns often become treasured keepsakes that are used by many other children in the family and handed down from generation to generation. Traditionally, this gown is white or slightly off white and made with much lace, trim and intricate detail. In the past, a gown was used for both boys and girls; in the present day it has become more common to dress children in a baptismal outfit. Also normally made of white fabric, the outfit consists of a romper with a vest or other accessories.
These clothes are often kept as a memento after the ceremony.
It is a naval tradition to baptise children using the ship's bell as a baptismal font and to engrave the child's name on the bell afterwards. Tracking down and searching for an individual's name on a specific bell from a ship may be a difficult and time-consuming task. Christening information from the bells held by the Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt Museum has been entered into a searchable data archive that is accessible to any interested web site visitors.
Scholars disagree on the date when infant baptism was first practiced. Some believe that 1st-century Christians did not practice it, noting the lack of any explicit evidence of paedobaptism. Others, noting the lack of any explicit evidence of exclusion of paedobaptism, believe that they did, understanding biblical references to individuals "and [her] household" being baptised (, , ) as well as "the promise to you and your children" () as including young children.
The earliest extra-biblical directions for baptism, which occur in the Didache (c. 100), are taken to be about baptism of adults, since they require fasting by the person to be baptised. However, inscriptions dating back to the 2nd century which refer to young children as "children of God" may indicate that Christians customarily baptised infants too. The earliest reference to infant baptism was by Irenaeus (c. 130–202) in his work "Against Heresies". Due to its reference to Eleutherus as the current bishop of Rome, the work is usually dated . Irenaeus speaks of children being "born again to God." This reference has been described as "obscure." Three passages by Origen (185–c. 254) mention infant baptism as traditional and customary. While Tertullian writing c. 198–203 advises the postponement of baptism of little children and the unmarried, he mentions that it was customary to baptise infants, with sponsors speaking on their behalf. The Apostolic Tradition, sometimes attributed to Hippolytus of Rome (died 235), describes how to perform the ceremony of baptism; it states that children were baptised first, and if any of them could not answer for themselves, their parents or someone else from their family was to answer for them.
From at least the 3rd century onward Christians baptised infants as standard practice, although some preferred to postpone baptism until late in life, so as to ensure forgiveness for all their preceding sins.
In the 21st century, a number of incidents surrounding apparently particularly "rough", "aggressive" or even "violent" infant baptisms according to the Eastern Orthodox submersion or immersion rite have sparked controversies as to whether they constituted child abuse.
Based on their understanding of New Testament passages such as Colossians 2:11–12, paedobaptists believe that infant baptism is the New Testament counterpart to the Old Testament circumcision. In the Old Testament, all male converts to Judaism, male infants born to Jewish parents, and male servants were circumcised as ceremony of initiation into the Jewish community. Paedobaptists believe that baptism has replaced Old Testament circumcision and is the religious ceremony of initiation into the Christian community.
During the medieval and Reformation eras, infant baptism was seen as a way to incorporate newborn babies into the secular community as well as inducting them into the Christian faith.
Different Christian denominations who practice infant baptism attach different meanings to the sacrament and explain its efficacy in different ways.
The Roman Catholic Church considers baptism, even for an infant, so important that "parents are obliged to see that their infants are baptised within the first few weeks" and, "if the infant is in danger of death, it is to be baptised without any delay." It declares: "The practice of infant Baptism is an immemorial tradition of the Church. There is explicit testimony to this practice from the second century on, and it is quite possible that, from the beginning of the apostolic preaching, when whole 'households' received baptism, infants may also have been baptised". It notes that "when the first direct evidence of infant Baptism appears in the second century, it is never presented as an innovation", that 2nd-century Irenaeus treated baptism of infants as a matter of course, and that, "at a Synod of African Bishops, St. Cyprian stated that 'God's mercy and grace should not be refused to anyone born', and the Synod, recalling that 'all human beings' are 'equal', whatever be 'their size or age', declared it lawful to baptize children 'by the second or third day after their birth'". In the 17th and 18th centuries, many infants were baptised on the day of their birth as in the cases of Francoise-Athenais, Marquise de Montespan, Jeanne Du Barry and Marie Anne de Cupis de Camargo. Infant baptism is seen as showing very clearly that salvation is an unmerited favour from God, not the fruit of human effort. "Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin, children also have need of the new birth in Baptism to be freed from the power of darkness and brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of God, to which all men are called . . . The Church and the parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism shortly after birth".
The Church has no dogmatic official teaching regarding the fate of infants who die without baptism, and theologians of the Church hold various views (in particular, many have asserted that they go to Limbo). "The Church entrusts these infants to the mercy of God."
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued on 20 October 1980 an instruction on infant baptism, whose purpose was "to recall the principal points of doctrine in this field which justify the Church's constant practice down the centuries and demonstrate its permanent value in spite of the difficulties raised today". The document then indicated some general guidelines for pastoral action.
The document recalled that infant baptism has long been considered of apostolic origin and that the first direct evidence of its practice, dating from the 2nd century, does not present it as an innovation. It then responded to objections that baptism should follow faith, that the person baptised should consciously receive the grace of the sacrament, that the person should freely accept baptism, that infant baptism is unsuitable in a society marked by instability of values and conflicts of ideas, and that the practice is inimical to a missionary outlook on the part of the Church.
The instruction then gave guidelines for pastoral practice, based on two principles. The major principle is that baptism, as the sign and means of God's love that precedes any action on our part and that frees from original sin and communicates divine life, must not be delayed. The subordinate principle is that assurances must be given that the gift thus granted can grow by authentic education in the faith and Christian life. If these assurances are not really serious, there can be grounds for delaying baptism. If they are certainly absent, the sacrament should even be refused.
Accordingly, the rules for involvement on the part of practising Christian parents must be supplemented with other considerations in the case of "families with little faith or non-Christian families". If these request that a child of theirs be baptised, there must be assurances that the child will be given the benefit of the Christian upbringing required by the sacrament. Examples of such assurances are "the choice of godparents who will take sincere care of the child, or the support of the community". If there is satisfactory assurance, i.e., "any pledge giving a well-founded hope for the Christian upbringing of the children", then "the priest cannot refuse to celebrate the sacrament without delay, as in the case of children of Christian families". If there is insufficient assurance, "it will be prudent to delay baptism", while keeping contact with the parents in the hope of securing the required conditions for celebrating the sacrament. As a last resort, enrollment of the child in a course of catechetical instruction on reaching school age can be offered in lieu of immediate celebration of baptism. The possibility of delaying infant baptism in the case of non practicing or non believing parents raises a number of questions. How can we discern that there are guarantees of an authentic Christian education? Can a priest propose an alternative celebration in the case where baptism is to be delayed? In some German speaking countries, bishops have opened the door to a "two step baptism", i.e. two celebrations separated by a time of evangelization of the parents. In this case, the rite of baptism itself is to be performed in the second celebration, when parents are supposed to have enough maturity to raise the child in the Catholic faith.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "Since Baptism signifies liberation from sin and from its instigator the devil, one or more exorcisms are pronounced over the candidate". In the Roman Rite, the wording of the prayer of exorcism is: "Almighty and ever-living God, you sent your only Son into the world to cast out the power of Satan, spirit of evil, to rescue man from the kingdom of darkness and bring him into the splendour of your kingdom of light. We pray for this child: set him (her) free from original sin, make him (her) a temple of your glory, and send your Holy Spirit to dwell with him (her). Through Christ our Lord."
The Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy and the Assyrian Church of the East also insist on the need to have infants baptised as soon as is practicable after birth. Similar to the Roman Catholic Church, they teach that baptism is not merely a symbol but actually conveys grace. Baptism is a sacrament because it is an "instrument" instituted by Jesus Christ to impart grace to its recipients. Infants are traditionally baptised on the eighth day, recalling the biblical injunction to circumcise on the eighth day. However, this is not mandatory. In many of these churches, the Sacred Mystery of Chrismation (Confirmation) is administered by the priest immediately after baptism. Holy Communion, in the form of consecrated wine and bread, is also given to infants after they are baptised.
Lutherans practice infant baptism because they believe that God mandates it through the instruction of Jesus Christ, "Go and "make disciples of all nations", baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ()", in which Jesus does not set any age limit:
They also cite other biblical passages such as , , and in support of their position. For example, in the "Acts of the Apostles" Saint Peter's teachings on Pentecost included children in the promise of Baptism, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for "you and your children"".
For them baptism is a "means of grace" through which God creates and strengthens "saving faith" as the "washing of regeneration" () in which people are reborn (John 3:3–7): "baptismal regeneration". Since the creation of faith is exclusively God's work, it does not depend on the actions of the one baptised, whether infant or adult. Even though baptised infants cannot articulate that faith, Lutherans believe that it is present all the same. Because it is faith alone that receives these divine gifts, Lutherans confess that baptism "works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare". In the special section on infant baptism in his Large Catechism Luther argues that infant baptism is God-pleasing because persons so baptised were reborn and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Methodists contend that infant baptism has spiritual value for the infant. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, held that baptism is a means of grace, but that it was symbolic. Methodists view baptism in water as symbolic and believe that it does not regenerate the baptised nor cleanse them from sin.
Wesley's own views of infant baptism shifted over time as he put more emphasis on salvation by faith and new birth by faith alone. This has fueled much debate within Methodism over the purpose of infant baptism, though most agree it should be continued. Wesley and the Methodists would agree with the Reformed or Presbyterian denominations that infant baptism is symbolic.
Infant baptism is particularly illustrative of the Methodist doctrine of prevenient grace. The principle is that The Fall of Man ruined the human soul to such an extent that nobody "wants" a relationship with God. In order for humans to even want to be able to choose, God must empower their will (so that they may choose Christ) which he does by means of prevenient grace. Thus God takes the very first step in salvation, preceding any human effort or decision. Methodists justify infant baptism by this principle of prevenient grace, often arguing that infant baptism is God's promise or declaration to the infant that calls that infant to (eventually) believe in God's promises (God's Word) for salvation. When the individual believes in Jesus they will profess their faith before the church, often using a ritual called confirmation in which the Holy Spirit is invoked with the laying on of hands. Methodists also use infant baptism symbolically, as an illustration of God approaching the helpless. They see the ceremony additionally as a celebration of God's prevenient grace.
Wesley was an Anglican minister who held to Arminian theology, unlike most Anglicans who held to Reformed (Calvinist) theology as taught in the 39 Articles. Augustus Toplady, John Newton, and George Whitefield were all Anglican ministers and Calvinists. They interpreted the Anglican formularies of the 39 Articles of Religion, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, and the Second Book of the Anglican Homilies from a Calvinist perspective and would have been more in agreement with the Reformed churches and the Puritans on the issue of infant baptism. The Catechism in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer shows that baptism was an outward sign of an inward grace. Prevenient grace, according to the Calvinist Anglicans, referred to unconditional election and irresistible grace, which is necessary for conversion of the elect. Infants are to be baptised because they are children of believers who stand in surety for them until they "come of age" and are bound to the same requirements of repentance and faith as adults.
Presbyterian, Congregational and Reformed Christians believe that baptism, whether of infants or adults, is a "sign and seal of the covenant of grace", and that baptism admits the party baptised into the visible church. Being a member of the visible church does not guarantee salvation; though it does provide the child with many benefits, including that of one's particular congregation consenting to assist in the raising of that child in "the way he should go, (so that) when he is old he will not turn from it". Elect infants (those predestined for salvation) who die in infancy are by faith considered regenerate on the basis of God's covenant promises in the covenant of grace.
Presbyterian, Congregational and many Reformed Christians see infant baptism as the New Testament form of circumcision in the Jewish covenant (Joshua 24:15). Circumcision did not create faith in the 8-day-old Jewish boy. It merely marked him as a member of God's covenant people Israel. Likewise, baptism doesn't create faith; it is a sign of membership in the visible covenant community.
Presbyterian, Congregational and Reformed Christians consider children of professing Christians to be members of the visible Church (the covenant community). They also consider them to be full members of the local congregation where their parents are members and members of the universal Church (the set of all true believers who make up the invisible church) unless and until they prove otherwise. Baptism is the mark of membership in the covenant of grace and in the universal church, although regeneration is not inseparably connected with baptism.
The Unitarian and Free Christian Churches of Great Britain perform Baptisms (Christenings) and consider this to be an important rite of passage.
Christians disagree about infant baptism because they disagree about the nature of faith, the role of baptism, the means of salvation, the nature of grace, and the function of the sacraments. Pedobaptism and credobaptism are positions which bubble up from theological views at a more fundamental level of one's theological system.
Paedobaptists do not completely agree on the reasons for baptising infants, and offer different reasons in support of the practice. Among the arguments made in support of the practice are:
Some supporters of infant baptism argue that circumcision is the sign of the covenant God made with Abraham and should be received by all the members of his covenant. The children of members of Abraham's covenant are themselves members of Abraham's covenant. Christians are members of Abraham's covenant Therefore, the children of Christians are members of Abraham's covenant. Since baptism is the New Testament form of circumcision, the children of Christians should receive the sign of the covenant by being baptised.
Presbyterian, Congregationalists and Reformed Christians base their case for infant baptism on Covenant theology. Covenant theology is a broad interpretative framework used to understand the Bible. Reformed Baptists are in many ways Reformed yet, as their name suggests, adhere to Believers Baptism.
According to Covenant theology God makes two basic covenants, or agreements, with humans. The first one, the Covenant of Works is an agreement that bases man's relationship with God on human obedience and morality. The covenant was made with Adam in the Garden of Eden. Adam broke this covenant so God replaced it with a second more durable covenant—the Covenant of Grace. The Covenant of Grace is an agreement that bases man's relationship with God on God's grace and generosity. The Covenant of Works failed because it was based on human performance. The Covenant of Grace is durable because it is based on God's performance.
All the covenants that God makes with humans after the Fall, (e.g. with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David) all extend the Covenant of Grace to its logical conclusion in Jesus Christ. In Covenant theology, however, there is a long-standing understanding that the Mosaic Covenant is also a republication of the Covenant of Works, which required obedience to receive its benefits. The underlying Covenant of Grace extends through the whole Old Testament, which suggests that two covenants are in play throughout the history of Israel. Consequently, Covenant theologians see that the Church, or the people of God, existed in the Old Testament. These are the people who placed their faith in Christ in advance, and they are saved in the same way Christians are. Not every Israelite is in the Church (or elect), many exist under the Covenant of Works and its strict unattainable requirements, but not under the Covenant of Grace.
According to Presbyterian and Reformed Christians, this theological framework is important to the Biblical case for infant baptism because it provides a reason for thinking there is strong continuity between the Old and New Testaments. It provides a bridge linking the two Testaments together.
Covenant Theologians claim that the New Testament book of Hebrews demonstrates that much of Israel's worship has been replaced by the person and work of Christ. The result is that some important forms of worship in the Old Testament have New Testament equivalents. The Passover festival, for example, was replaced by the Lord's Supper (or Eucharist).
It is across the bridge of Covenant Theology that the sign of Abraham's covenant, circumcision, walks into the New Testament. The sign of the Covenant changes its external form to reflect new spiritual realities. It was a bloody sign in the Old Testament but because Christ has shed His blood, it has been transformed into a bloodless sign, i.e. washing with water. Passover was a bloody form of Old Testament worship and also transitions into the New Testament in the bloodless form of bread and wine.
Covenant theologians point out that the external sign of the covenant in the Old Testament was circumcision. Circumcision was performed upon the male children of Israelites to signify their external membership in God's people, not as a guarantee of true faith; the Old Testament records many Israelites who turned from God and were punished, showing that their hearts were not truly set on serving God. So while all male Israelites had the sign of the covenant performed on them in a once off ceremony soon after birth, such a signifier was external only and not a true indicator of whether or not they would later exhibit true faith in Yahweh.
In the New Testament, circumcision is no longer seen as mandatory for God's people. However, there is compelling evidence to suggest that the Old Testament circumcision rite has been replaced by baptism. For instance: "In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism." (Colossians 2:11–12a)
Some paedobaptists, then, think the analogy of baptism to circumcision correctly points to children, since the historic Israelite application of circumcision was to infants, not to adult converts, of which there were few. Covenant theology, then, identifies baptism less as a statement of faith than as an assumption of identity; that is to say that infant baptism is a sign of covenantal inclusion.
Paedobaptists point to a number of passages in the New Testament which seem to corroborate the above argument.
In the Old Testament, if the head of a household converted to Judaism, all the males in the house, even the infants, were circumcised. Some paedobaptists argue this pattern continues into the New Testament. Reference is made, for example, to baptising a person "and their whole household"—the households of Lydia, Crispus, and Stephanas are mentioned by name Acts 16:14–15, 18:8; 1 Cor 1:16.
Paedobaptists challenge credobaptists on this point: Why would a whole household be baptised just because the head of the house had faith? Shouldn't they baptise each member of the family as they come to individual faith? Household baptism implies that the rules for membership in Abraham's covenant have continued into the New Testament, the main difference is the sign of the covenant.
Credobaptists counter with verses such as John 4:53, Acts 16:34 and Acts 18:8 in which entire households are said to have "believed". As such, the paedobaptist assumption is that household baptisms mentioned in the Bible involved infants, presumably incapable of personal belief.
Paedobaptists also point to Psalm 51, which reads, in part, "surely I was sinful from birth", as indication that infants are sinful ("vid." original sin) and are thus in need of forgiveness that they too might have salvation.
Credobaptists agree that infants are in need of salvation, but paedobaptists push the point a step further arguing that it makes no theological sense for infants to need salvation but for God to make no provision for them to be saved (See 1 Cor 7:14 where Paul says that the children of a believer are holy—separated—and therefore, perhaps, would not need baptising even if baptism saved). Credobaptists recant that there is a provision through which God enables infants to be saved, belief on Jesus Christ (See Mark 9:42, John 3:14-21, John 11:25-26, Acts 2:21, Romans 10:1-21). Furthermore, credobaptists argue that paedobaptism is affirming believer's hereditary grace, a doctrine not found in scripture. Some credobaptists who agree to the Psalm 51 interpretation, argue that even though infants are sinful they are not accountable, because of the "age of accountability". Although many theologians would argue that an "age of accountability" is nowhere mentioned in the Bible.
An alternative viewpoint of some credobaptists is that since all Christians are predestined to salvation (John 15:16, 1 Cor.1:27, Eph.1:4, 1 Pt.2:4), God will not allow his elect to die before receiving their need, even if they are in old age (Luke 2:25–35), an argument whose relation to baptism whether of infants or adults is unclear, unless it means that infants who die without coming to explicit belief and baptism are not among God's elect.
Another Credobaptist position is called predispositionalism. This suggests that baptism is only a mature response to eternal life, and that infants generate their inner response to God's presence, i.e. those who warm to him would, if dying in infancy, be with him eternally; contra-wise those who chilled to him. This aligns to the idea of individual faith/welcome (Jhn.1:14). Its point of determinism predates the age of evangelism, which it holds is still valid in crystallizing predisposition into maturing faith in this life. It considers shades of meaning in the keyword salvation.
In John 3:5, Jesus says, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God," which, according to some religious groups, means that an infant who dies without being baptized cannot enter heaven and may go to limbo instead.
According to the Book of Acts, "Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptised, "every one of you", in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.'" (Acts 2:38–39, NIV–UK, emphasis added) The United Methodist Church argues that the phrase "every one of you" recalls the use of the same phrase in , where there is explicit mention of the "little ones" present; and it takes the phrase "and your children" to mean that Peter included children in the covenant community.
Credobaptists counter that only those who believe, and children who believe are recipients of the promise. Otherwise, all children of Adam would be saved.
Several early Church Fathers seem to have taught that infant baptism is proper; Origen states that the practice of baptising infants is of apostolic origin. The Didache, the earliest appearance of non-biblical baptismal instruction, speaks only of adult baptism.
Some opponents of paedobaptism point out that Jesus himself was baptised at the age of 30.
They also point to the two (out of five) Great Commission passages that speak of baptism. They see as giving exclusive instructions about who is to be baptised: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you" (verses 19–20, NKJV). They interpret this as referring to three successive stages, with baptism following on becoming a disciple (which is beyond the power of an infant), and instruction following on baptism, not preceding it.
The Great Commission passage speaks of believing: "He who believes and is baptised will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (verse 16, NKJV). This, they say, excludes infants, whom they see as incapable of believing.
If pedobaptists accept this text as canonical, they can still point out that the second clause mentions believing, but not baptism. Therefore, one could be baptised and still not be a believer. They argue that this may not exclude infant baptism, but rather corroborate it, since it indicates that one baptised as an infant who rejects the faith is not saved against their will. Pedobaptists who accept this passage may also point out that although belief and baptism are both mentioned, there is no order implied. In return, opposers declare that baptism is for those who already believe and are able to state their belief, which infants cannot do. In Peter's address to adults, "Repent and be baptised" , they see repentance as a prerequisite, and this requires a mature understanding of sin and a decision to turn away from sin. However, St. Peter was speaking to those who were already adults, not to infants. Pedobaptists claim that it would follow that his instructions are meant for adults and not for infants. Indeed, adult candidates for baptism are required by most branches that practice pedobaptism to make a confession of faith before baptism. Some point to or as evidence that each individual must make a mature decision regarding baptism. See Believer's Baptism.
Some oppose baptism of children as ostensibly incorporating them into the church without their own consent. This, however does not absolve the responsibility of biblical parents to raise their children in the training and admonition of the Lord within the cultural context of the church.
Denominations that do not accept infant baptism as valid generally require those who join them, after being baptised as infants elsewhere, to be "rebaptised," or rather to be baptised for the first time. They deny that they in fact rebaptise, saying that Christians are to be baptised only once, but as believers, and they reject the term "Anabaptist" (i.e. Rebaptiser) as a description of them.
Trinitarian Christian denominations that oppose infant baptism include the Assemblies of God, Association of Vineyard Churches, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), Calvary Chapel, Community Churches, Community of Christ, Elim Pentecostal Church, all Baptist denominations and including Independent Baptists, Gnostic Churches, the groups which originated out of the Restoration Movement (Churches of Christ, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and Christian Churches/Churches of Christ), as well as other nondenominational churches, International Churches of Christ, International Christian Church, Newfrontiers, Foursquare Gospel Church, Church of God in Christ, Church of God of Prophecy, Anabaptists (such as the Church of the Brethren, Mennonite, and Amish), Schwarzenau Brethren/German Baptists, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, some Methodists, and most Pentecostal denominations.
Several nontrinitarian religious groups also oppose infant baptism, including Oneness Pentecostals, Christadelphians, Jehovah's Witnesses, United Church of God, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Religious groups that oppose infant baptism have sometimes been persecuted by paedobaptist churches. During the Reformation, Anabaptists were persecuted by Lutheran, Calvinist, Anglican and Catholic regimes. The English government imposed restrictions on Baptists in Britain and Ireland during the 17th century. The Russian Orthodox Church repressed Baptists prior to the 1917 revolution, and sought restrictions on Baptists and Pentecostals after being re-established after the fall of Communism.
B.R. White describes the motivations behind persecution of the Anabaptists during the Reformation as follows:
Other Christians saw the baptism of each new-born baby into the secular parish community and close links between church and state as the divinely-ordained means of holding society together. Hence many other Christians saw the Anabaptists as subversive of all order. Consequently, from the earliest days, they were sharply persecuted and leaders were soon executed.
Note: Christian Scientists, Quakers, the Salvation Army, and Unitarians cannot be classified as specifically opposing "infant" baptism, since they generally do not observe baptism in any form.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) completely rejects infant baptism. Little children are considered both born without sin and incapable of committing sin. They have no need of baptism until age eight, when they can begin to learn to discern right from wrong, and are thus accountable to God for their own actions. However, the LDS Church performs a non-saving ordinance to name and bless children, customarily performed on infants.
For Roman Catholics, Confirmation is a sacrament that "confirms" or "strengthens" (the original meaning of the word "confirm") the grace of Baptism, by conferring an increase and deepening of that grace.
For some other Christians the ceremony of Confirmation is a matter not of "being confirmed" but of "confirming" the baptismal vows taken on one's behalf when an infant. This is the essential significance of the Lutheran non-sacramental ceremony called in German "Konfirmation", but in English "affirmation of baptism" (see Confirmation (Lutheran Church)).
In Eastern Christianity, including the Eastern Catholic Churches, the sacrament of Confirmation is conferred immediately after baptism, and there is no renewal of baptismal promises. In the Latin-Rite (i.e. Western) Catholic Church, the sacrament is to be conferred at about the age of discretion (generally taken to be about 7), unless the Episcopal Conference has decided on a different age, or there is danger of death or, in the judgement of the minister, a grave reason suggests otherwise (canon 891 of the Code of Canon Law). The renewal of baptismal promises by those receiving the sacrament in the Western Catholic Church is incidental to the rite and not essentially different from the solemn renewal of their baptismal promises that is asked of all members of this Church each year at the Easter Vigil service. Only in French-speaking countries has there been a development of ceremonies, quite distinct from the sacrament of Confirmation, for young Catholics to profess their faith publicly, in line with their age.
The Anglican Book of Common Prayer requires that all who are to be confirmed should first know and understand the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and be able to answer the other questions in the Church Catechism. Confirmation enables those who have been baptised as infants, when they are of age to do so, openly before the church, to take upon themselves and confirm the promises made on their behalf by their godparents.
Within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, confirmation or "the laying on of hands" is an essential part of the baptismal ordinance, and to receive baptism without confirmation is to leave the ordinance incomplete. Confirmation is the conferring of the gift of the Holy Ghost as a constant companion. To confirm means to "make more sure" and the ordinance of confirmation stands as a witness of the individual becoming a member of the LDS Church and not just an acceptance of Jesus.
According to legal professor and former Irish president Mary McAleese, as outlined in her doctoral thesis, infant baptism amounts to "enforced membership of the Catholic Church", which violates fundamental rights of children. These "infant conscripts (...) are held to lifelong obligations of obedience" without their understanding or consent. "Parents can guide and direct [their children] but they can't impose, and what the church has failed to do is to recognise that there has to be a point at which our young people, as adults who have been baptised into the church and raised in the faith, have the chance to say ‘I validate this’ or ‘I repudiate this’. You and I know, we live now in times where we have the right to freedom of conscience, freedom of belief, freedom of opinion, freedom of religion and freedom to change religion. The Catholic Church yet has to fully embrace that thinking." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24184 |
Pseudocode
In computer science, pseudocode is an informal high-level description of the operating principle of a computer program or other algorithm. It uses the structural conventions of a normal programming language, but is intended for human reading rather than machine reading. Pseudocode typically omits details that are essential for machine understanding of the algorithm, such as variable declarations, system-specific code and some subroutines. The programming language is augmented with natural language description details, where convenient, or with compact mathematical notation. The purpose of using pseudocode is that it is easier for people to understand than conventional programming language code, and that it is an efficient and environment-independent description of the key principles of an algorithm. It is commonly used in textbooks and scientific publications that are documenting various algorithms, and also in planning of computer program development, for sketching out the structure of the program before the actual coding takes place.
No standard for pseudocode syntax exists, as a program in pseudocode is not an executable program. Pseudocode resembles skeleton programs which can be compiled without errors. Flowcharts, drakon-charts and Unified Modeling Language (UML) charts can be thought of as a graphical alternative to pseudocode, but are more spacious on paper. Languages such as HAGGIS bridge the gap between pseudocode and code written in programming languages.
Textbooks and scientific publications related to computer science and numerical computation often use pseudocode in description of algorithms, so that all programmers can understand them, even if they do not all know the same programming languages. In textbooks, there is usually an accompanying introduction explaining the particular conventions in use. The level of detail of the pseudocode may in some cases approach that of formalized general-purpose languages.
A programmer who needs to implement a specific algorithm, especially an unfamiliar one, will often start with a pseudocode description, and then "translate" that description into the target programming language and modify it to interact correctly with the rest of the program. Programmers may also start a project by sketching out the code in pseudocode on paper before writing it in its actual language, as a top-down structuring approach, with a process of steps to be followed as a refinement.
Pseudocode generally does not actually obey the syntax rules of any particular language; there is no systematic standard form. Some writers borrow style and syntax from control structures from some conventional programming language, although this is discouraged. Some syntax sources include Fortran, Pascal, BASIC, C, C++, Java, Lisp, and ALGOL. Variable declarations are typically omitted. Function calls and blocks of code, such as code contained within a loop, are often replaced by a one-line natural language sentence.
Depending on the writer, pseudocode may therefore vary widely in style, from a near-exact imitation of a real programming language at one extreme, to a description approaching formatted prose at the other.
This is an example of pseudocode (for the mathematical game fizz buzz):
In numerical computation, pseudocode often consists of mathematical notation, typically from set and matrix theory, mixed with the control structures of a conventional programming language, and perhaps also natural language descriptions. This is a compact and often informal notation that can be understood by a wide range of mathematically trained people, and is frequently used as a way to describe mathematical algorithms. For example, the sum operator (capital-sigma notation) or the product operator (capital-pi notation) may represent a for-loop and a selection structure in one expression:
Normally non-ASCII typesetting is used for the mathematical equations, for example by means of markup languages, such as TeX or MathML, or proprietary formula editors.
Mathematical style pseudocode is sometimes referred to as pidgin code, for example "pidgin ALGOL" (the origin of the concept), "pidgin Fortran", "pidgin BASIC", "pidgin Pascal", "pidgin C", and "pidgin Lisp".
Here follows a longer example of mathematical-style pseudocode, for the Ford–Fulkerson algorithm:
Various attempts to bring elements of natural language grammar into computer programming have produced programming languages such as HyperTalk, Lingo, AppleScript, SQL, Inform and to some extent Python. In these languages, parentheses and other special characters are replaced by prepositions, resulting in quite talkative code. These languages are typically dynamically typed, meaning that variable declarations and other boilerplate code can be omitted. Such languages may make it easier for a person without knowledge about the language to understand the code and perhaps also to learn the language. However, the similarity to natural language is usually more cosmetic than genuine. The syntax rules may be just as strict and formal as in conventional programming, and do not necessarily make development of the programs easier.
An alternative to using mathematical pseudocode (involving set theory notation or matrix operations) for documentation of algorithms is to use a formal mathematical programming language that is a mix of non-ASCII mathematical notation and program control structures. Then the code can be parsed and interpreted by a machine.
Several formal specification languages include set theory notation using special characters. Examples are:
Some array programming languages include vectorized expressions and matrix operations as non-ASCII formulas, mixed with conventional control structures. Examples are: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24185 |
Pre-existence
Pre-existence, preexistence, beforelife, or premortal existence is the belief that each individual human soul existed before mortal conception, and at some point before birth enters or is placed into the body. Concepts of pre-existence can encompass either the belief that the soul came into existence at some time prior to conception or the belief that the soul is eternal. Alternative positions are traducianism and creationism, which both hold that the individual human soul does not come into existence until conception. It is to be distinguished from preformation, which is about physical existence and applies to all living things.
Ancient Greek thought and Islam affirm pre-existence, but it is generally denied in Christianity.
Plato believed in the pre-existence of the soul, which tied in with his innatism. He thought that we are born with knowledge from a previous life that is subdued at birth and must be relearned. He saw all attainment of knowledge not as acquiring new information, but as remembering previously known information. Before we were born, we existed in a perfect world where we knew everything.
The Baha'i Writings refer in a number of places to at least four key dimensions of pre-existence. Firstly, that the individual soul of a human being comes into being at the time of conception and only thereafter is eternal; in other words it is not pre-existent. Secondly, in distinction to the above, that the souls of the world’s greatest spiritual teachers, the founders of world religions, are pre-existent. Thirdly, that God, a reality which human consciousness can not comprehend, is pre-existent, that is he exists prior to time and to his creation. Fourthly, that the relationship between God and the phenomenal or contingent world is one of emanation, as the rays of the sun are to the sun. In other words, the pre-existent world of God remains separate from and does not descend into his creation.
A concept of pre-existence was advanced by Origen, a second and third-century church father. Origen believed that each human soul was created by God at some time prior to conception. Church Fathers Tertullian and Jerome held to traducianism and creationism, respectively, and pre-existence was condemned as heresy in the Second Council of Constantinople in AD 553.
Origen quoted Romans 9:11-14 as evidence for his position:
For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth; It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Origen argued that God could not love Jacob and hate Esau until Jacob had done something worthy of love and Esau had done something worthy of hatred, therefore, this passage only means that Jacob and Esau had not yet done good or evil "in this life" and their conduct "before" this life was the reason why Esau would serve Jacob. He rejected the position that God loves or hates a soul based on its inclination toward good or evil, before the soul actually commits a good or evil act. (God, being the creator of all souls and their inclinations, knows perfectly well each soul's inclination toward good or evil.)
Origen also quoted Jeremiah 1:5:
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Those who reject pre-existence, which would be every Christian denomination that accepts the conclusions of the Second Council of Constantinople (i.e., all Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians and many Protestants), simply see Jeremiah 1:5 as another passage about God's foreknowledge. This ecumenical Council explicitly stated "If anyone asserts the fabulous pre-existence of souls, and shall assert the monstrous restoration which follows from it: let him be anathema." This would make rejection of Origen's doctrine likely to be the majority Christian opinion to the present day.
The belief that human souls choose good or evil totally independently of God's will, which is most often found among the more extreme Arminian Christians, means that God does not ultimately determine the will of each soul. However, "ex nihilo" creation, a belief also commonly found among Arminians, means that God determined everything that exists, including the will of each soul, without drawing on anything but himself. The question is definitively resolved in Calvinism by asserting that all souls act according to God's sovereign will, and in Mormonism (see below) by asserting that human souls have always existed and are co-eternal with God.
The concept of premortal existence is an early and fundamental doctrine of Mormonism. In the faith’s eponymous text, the Book of Mormon, published on March 26, 1830, a pre-mortal Christ explains individuals were created in the beginning in the image of Christ. Further, a prophet named Jacob articulates the belief that our spirits participated in the conflict between God and Lucifer, “an angel of light,” and could have become evil “like unto him, and we become devils”. By inference, those born into life instead chose God as a pre-requisite to being born. This appears to be the justification for Jacob’s teaching that God’s atonement would redeem all those who died without knowledge of the law. Jacob and later writers in the Book of Mormon express the teaching that Christ’s sacrifice was intended to allow all mankind the possibility of return to that God who had given them life, presumably pre-mortal spiritual life. In 1833, early in the Latter Day Saint movement, its founder Joseph Smith taught that human souls are co-eternal with God the Father just as Jesus is co-eternal with God the Father, "Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be."
In 1844, Smith elaborated on this idea in his King Follett discourse:
...the soul—the mind of man—the immortal spirit. Where did it come from? All learned men and doctors of divinity say that God created it in the beginning; but it is not so: the very idea lessens man in my estimation...We say that God Himself is a self-existing being...Man does exist upon the same principles...[The Bible] does not say in the Hebrew that God created the spirit of man. It says, "God made man out of the earth and put into him Adam's spirit, and so became a living body." The mind or the intelligence which man possesses is co-equal with God himself...Is it logical to say that the intelligence of spirits is immortal, and yet that it has a beginning? The intelligence of spirits had no beginning, neither will it have an end. That is good logic. That which has a beginning may have an end. There never was a time when there were not spirits; for they are co-equal with our Father in heaven.
In the context of this core Latter Day Saint doctrine, the term "premortal existence" is a significantly more accurate term to describe the time before this mortal existence than "pre-existence", since pre-existence has a connotation of something existing before the beginning of existence, and Latter Day Saint doctrine specifically rejects "ex-nihilo" creation. Therefore, the term "premortal existence" is strongly preferred in the movement's largest denomination, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), to represent the time before this mortal life, however the term "pre-existence" is in widespread use.
After Smith's death, the doctrine of premortal existence was elaborated by some other leaders within the LDS Church. Although the mind and intelligence of humanity were still considered to be co-eternal with God, and not created, Brigham Young taught that the spirit was different from the mind or intelligence, resolving the seeming conflict between Book of Mormon verses indicating God was creator and Smith’s later teaching that all individuals were co-eternal with God. Young postulated that we each had a pre-spirit intelligence that later became part of a spirit body, which then eventually entered a physical body and was born on earth. In 1857, Young stated that every person was "a son or a daughter of [the Father]. In the spirit world their spirits were first begotten and brought forth, and they lived there with their parents for ages before they came here."
In the LDS Church the idea of spirit birth was described in its modern doctrinal form in 1909, when the church's First Presidency issued the following statement:
This description is widely accepted by modern Latter-day Saints as fundamental to the plan of salvation. However, there are differences of opinion as to the nature of the premortal existence in other Latter Day Saint denominations.
The LDS Church teaches that during the premortal existence, there was a learning process which eventually led to the next necessary step in the premortal spirits' opportunity to progress. This next step included the need to gain a physical body that could experience pain, sorrow and joy and "walk by faith." According to this belief, these purposes were explained and discussed in councils in heaven, followed by the War in Heaven where Satan rebelled against the plan of Heavenly Father.
In the Bhagavad Gita, considered by Hindus to be a most holy scripture, Krishna tells Arjuna; "Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be."
In Islam, all souls are believed to have been created in adult form (before earthly life) at the same time God created the father of mankind, Adam. The Quran recounts the story of when the descendants of Adam were brought forth before God to testify that God alone is the Lord of creation and therefore only he is worthy of worship so that on the Day of Judgement, people could not make the excuse that they only worshipped others because they were following the ways of their ancestors. Humans do not remember, as they are born with an undeveloped mind (leaving only an innate awareness that God exists and is one, known as the "Fitra") and he decreed at which point each and every human would be born into the physical world. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24186 |
Prussian Confederation
The Prussian Confederation (, ) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Marienwerder by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia, to oppose the arbitrariness of the Teutonic Knights. It was based on the basis of an earlier similar organization, the Lizard Union established in 1397 by Chełmno Land nobles.
In 1454, the leader of the Confederation, Johannes von Baysen (Jan Bażyński), formally asked King Casimir IV Jagiellon, to incorporate Prussia into the Kingdom of Poland as a fief. This marked the beginning of the Thirteen Years' War between the Order's State and Poland, with the Prussian cities financing the military costs of the latter.
According to the 1411 First Peace of Thorn which followed the Teutonic Knights' defeat in the Battle of Grunwald, the Teutonic Order had to pay high reparations to the Kingdom of Poland. The monastic state imposed high taxes on the cities to raise the funds as well as to re-arm for another war against Poland. In the 1420s, Grand Master Paul von Rusdorf brought stability to the Order and its relations, but fighting with Poland resumed in 1431, when the Knight's invasion into Poland during the Lithuanian Civil War sparked another Polish-Teutonic conflict.
After about three decades of growing discontent, the Prussian leaders (see Prussian estates) organized themselves to oppose the rule of the order more effectively. On 14 March 1440, a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 Prussian cities, under the leadership of the Hanseatic cities of Danzig (Gdańsk), Elbing (Elbląg), Thorn (Toruń) and Königsberg (Królewiec), founded the Prussian Confederation in Marienwerder (Kwidzyn). Several more towns joined on 3 April, although Bütow (Bytów) did not. In Danzig, the new members signed a document which was kept in the archives of Thorn.
After Grand Master Paul von Rusdorf died in 1441, his successor, Konrad von Erlichshausen, continued to negotiate a compromise until his own death in 1449. The confederation lobbied for support against the Teutonic Order within the Holy Roman Empire. Ludwig von Erlichshausen, Grand Master from 1450 to 1467, took a more aggressive stance towards the confederation. He filed a lawsuit at the court of Emperor Friedrich III (Frederick III), whose verdict of 1453 declared the confederation illegal.
In February 1454, the Prussian Confederation rose against the Teutonic Order's rule. Gabriel von Baysen and Johannes von Baysen, now leading the confederation with the support of Jan de Jani and Mikołaj Szarlejski, both of the Clan of Ostoja, requested the protection of King Casimir IV Jagiellon of Poland. They also asked for, and received, a guarantee of their continued city rights and privileges for the nobility.
The resulting Thirteen Years' War ended in the defeat of the Teutonic Order and the 1466 Second Peace of Thorn. The Order lost control of western Prussia. As Royal Prussia, it became a province of Poland, with some local rights of autonomy. Stibor de Poniec of the Clan of Ostoja become Lord of tregality of Malbork. The Teutonic Knights retained eastern Prussia, but only under the overlordship of the Polish king. The Prussian Confederation, with its members now practically divided, ceased to exist as such.
Both the Polish and Teutonic sides agreed to seek the confirmation of the Second Peace of Thorn from Emperor Frederick III and Pope Paul II, but they also agreed that this confirmation would not be needed for validation of the treaty. Soon after, however, a dispute about the status of the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia started a smaller conflict called the War of the Priests.
Towns which founded the Prussian Confederation on 14 March 1440:
Towns which joined the Prussian Confederation on 3 April 1440: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24187 |
Parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting (from French "Pari Mutuel", "mutual betting") is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets. In some countries it is known as the Tote after the totalisator, which calculates and displays bets already made.
The parimutuel system is used in gambling on horse racing, greyhound racing, jai alai, and all sporting events of relatively short duration in which participants finish in a ranked order. A modified parimutuel system is also used in some lottery games.
Parimutuel betting differs from fixed-odds betting in that the final payout is not determined until the pool is closed – in fixed odds betting, the payout is agreed at the time the bet is sold.
Parimutuel gambling is frequently state-regulated, and offered in many places where gambling is otherwise illegal. Parimutuel gambling is often also offered at "off track" facilities, where players may bet on the events without actually being present to observe them in person.
In a hypothetical event that has eight possible outcomes, in a country using a decimal currency such as dollars, each outcome has a certain amount of money wagered:
Thus, the total "pool" of money on the event is $1028.00. Following the start of the event, no more wagers are accepted. The event is decided and the winning outcome is determined to be Outcome 4 with $110.00 wagered. The "payout" is now calculated. First the "commission" or "take" for the wagering company is deducted from the pool. For example, with a commission rate of 14.25% the calculation is: $1028 × 0.1425 = $146.49. This leaves a remaining amount of $881.51. This remaining amount in the pool is now distributed to those who wagered on Outcome 4: $881.51 / $110.00 = 8.01 ≈ $8 per $1 wagered. This payout includes the $1 wagered plus an additional $7 profit. Thus, the odds on Outcome 4 are 7-to-1 (or, expressed as decimal odds, 8.01).
Prior to the event, betting agencies will often provide approximates for what will be paid out for a given outcome should no more bets be accepted at the current time. Using the wagers and commission rate above (14.25%), an approximates table in decimal odds and fractional odds would be:
In real-life examples, such as horse racing, the pool size often extends into millions of dollars with many different types of outcomes (winning horses) and complex commission calculations.
Sometimes, the amounts paid out are rounded down to a denomination interval—in the United States and Australia, 10¢ intervals are used. The rounding loss is sometimes known as "breakage" and is retained by the betting agency as part of the commission.
In horse racing, a practical example of this circumstance might be when an overwhelming favorite wins. The parimutuel calculation results might call for a very small winning payout (say, $1.02 or $1.03 on a dollar bet), but the legal regulation would require a larger payout (e.g., $1.10 on a dollar bet). In North America, this condition is usually referred to as a minus pool.
In an event with a set of "n" possible single-winner outcomes, with wagers the total pool of money on the event is
After the wagering company deducts a commission rate of from the pool, the amount remaining to be distributed between the successful bettors is . Those who bet on the successful outcome will receive a payout of for every dollar they bet on it.
When there are possible winners, such as a North American "place" bet which has winners, the total amount to be distributed is first divided into equal shares. If is one of the winners, those who bet on outcome will receive a payout of for every dollar they bet on it.
The parimutuel system was invented by Catalan impresario Joseph Oller in 1867.
The large amount of calculation involved in this system led to the invention of a specialized mechanical calculating machine known as a totalisator, "automatic totalisator" or "tote board", invented by the Australian engineer George Alfred Julius. The first was installed at Ellerslie Racecourse, Auckland, New Zealand in 1913, and they came into widespread use at race courses throughout the world. The U.S. introduction was in 1927, which led to the opening of the suburban Arlington Racetrack in Arlington Park, near Chicago and Sportsman's Park in Cicero, Illinois, in 1932.
Unlike many forms of casino gambling, in parimutuel betting the gambler bets against other gamblers, not the house, which necessarily implies that the bank cannot be broken. The science of predicting the outcome of a race is called handicapping.
Independent off-track bookmakers typically have a smaller take and thus offer better payoffs, but they are illegal in some countries. However, the introduction of Internet gambling led to "rebate shops". These off-shore betting shops promise to return some percentage of every bet made to the bettor. They may reduce their take from 15-18% to as little as 1 or 2%, while still generating a profit by operating with minimal overhead.
There may be several different types of bets, in which case each type of bet has its own pool. The basic bets involve predicting the order of finish for a single participant, as follows:
In Canada and the United States, the most common types of bet on horse races include:
Win, place and show wagers class as straight bets, and the remaining wagers as exotic bets. Bettors usually make multiple wagers on exotic bets. A box consists of a multiple wager in which bettors bet all possible combinations of a group of horses in the same race. A key involves making a multiple wager with a single horse in one race bet in one position with all possible combinations of other selected horses in a single race. A wheel consists of betting all horses in one race of a bet involving two or more races. For example, a 1-all daily double wheel bets the 1-horse in the first race with every horse in the second.
People making straight bets commonly employ the strategy of an "each way" bet. Here the bettor picks a horse and bets it will win, and makes an additional bet that it will show, so that theoretically if the horse runs third it will at least pay back the two bets. The Canadian and American equivalent is the bet across (short for "across the board"): the bettor bets equal sums on the horse to win, place, and show.
A parlay, accumulator or roll-up consists of a series of bets in which bettors stake the winnings from one race on the next in order until either the bettor loses or the series completes successfully.
In Australia, certain exotic bet types can be laid as "flexi" bets. Usually the price of an exotic bet is determined by a set multiple of the outcome, for example $60 for a five horse boxed trifecta at one unit ($1)—or $30 at half unit (50c). If the bet is successful, the bettor will get either the full winning amount shown on the board, or half the winning amount. Under a flexi system the bettor can nominate their desired total wager, and their percentage of payout is determined by this wager's relationship to the full unit price. Using a five horse box trifecta, the bettor may wish to lay only $20 on the outcome. Their percentage of winnings is now calculated as $20/$60 = 33.3%. If the bet is successful, the payout will be 33.3% of the winning amount for a full unit bet.
In recent times the "Roving Banker" variant for Trifecta and First4 betting is now offered. For a Roving Banker First4 the player selects one, two or three runners they believe will definitely finish 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th, and up to three selections as Roving Banker(s) with other runners to fill the remaining place(s). A Roving Banker Trifecta is where the player believes that one or two runners will definitely finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd. The bet can be placed by picking the player's favourite runner to finish in any place within the bet and complete the Trifecta with any number of other runners to fill the other placing(s).
The following pools are operated at meetings in mainland Britain:
Exotic wagers are usually made on horses running at the same track on the same program. In the United Kingdom, bookmakers also offer exotic wagers on horses at different tracks. Probably the Yankee occurs most commonly: in this the bettor tries to pick the winner of four races. This bet also includes subsidiary wagers on smaller combinations of the chosen horses; for example, if only two of the four horses win, the bettor still collects for their double. A Trixie requires trying to pick three winners, and a Canadian or Super Yankee trying to pick five; these also include subsidiary bets. There are also other bets which are large combinations of singles, doubles, trebles and accumulators some of them are called Lucky 15, Lucky 31, Heinz, Super Heinz, Goliath. The term nap identifies the best bet of the day.
Tote Ireland operates the following pools
Bet types for harness racing (trotting):
The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) operates the following common bet types and pools for horse racing.
In Japan, "Keiba" (競馬, horse racing), "Keirin" (競輪, professional cycling), "Kyōtei" (競艇, hydroplane racing), and "Auto Race" (オートレース, motorcycle racing) operate the following bet type. Wager must be a multiple of 100 yen except Each-way.
The following bet type are offered by the government-controlled betting agency Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU).
Tiercé, Quarté+ and Quinté+ bets are typically only offered on the largest race of the day. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24188 |
Possession (law)
In law, possession is the control a person intentionally exercises toward a thing. In all cases, to possess something, a person must have an intention to possess it. A person may be in possession of some property (although possession does not always imply ownership). Like ownership, the possession of anything is commonly regulated by country under property law.
An intention to possess (sometimes called "animus possidendi") is the other component of possession. All that is required is an intention to possess something for the time being. In common law countries, the intention to possess a thing is a fact. Normally, it is proved by the acts of control and surrounding circumstances.
It is possible to intend to possess something without knowing that it exists. For example, if you intend to possess a suitcase, then you intend to possess its contents, even though you do not know what it contains. It is important to distinguish between the intention sufficient to obtain possession of a thing and the intention required to commit the crime of possessing something illegally, such as banned drugs, firearms or stolen goods. The intention to exclude others from the suitcase and its contents does not necessarily amount to the guilty mind of intending to possess illegally.
When people possess places to which the public has access, it may be difficult to know whether they intend to possess everything within those places. In such circumstances, some people make it clear that they do not want possession of the things brought there by the public. For example, it is not uncommon to see a sign above the coat rack in a restaurant which disclaims responsibility for items left there.
Possession is one of the most important concepts in property law. There are three related and overlapping but not identical legal concepts: possession, right of possession and ownership.
In common law countries, possession is itself a property right. The owner of a property has the right of possession and may assign that right wholly or partially to another who may then also assign the right of possession to a third party. For example, an owner of residential property may assign the right of possession to a property manager under a property management contract who may then assign the right of possession to a tenant under a rental agreement. There is a rebuttable presumption that the possessor of property also has the right of possession, and evidence to the contrary may be offered to establish who has the legal right of possession to determine who should have actual possession, which may include evidence of ownership (without assignment of the right of possession) or evidence of a superior right of possession without ownership. Possession of a thing for long enough can become ownership by termination of the previous owner's right of possession and ownership rights. In the same way, the passage of time can bring to an end the owner's right to recover exclusive possession of a property without losing the ownership of it, as when an adverse easement for use is granted by a court.
In civil law countries, possession is not a right but a (legal) fact which enjoys certain protection by the law. It can provide evidence of ownership but it does not in itself satisfy the burden of proof. For example, ownership of a house is never proven by mere possession of a house. Possession is a factual state of exercising control over an object, whether owning the object or not. Only a legal (possessor has legal ground), bona fide (possessor does not know he has no right to possess) and regular possession (not acquired through force or by deceit) can become ownership over passage of time. A possessor enjoys certain judicial protection against third parties even if he is not the owner.
There may be varying degrees of rights to possession. For example, if you leave a book that belongs to you at a cafe and the waiter picks it up, you have lost possession. When you return to recover the book, even though the waiter has possession, you have a better right to possession and the book should be returned. This example demonstrates the distinction between ownership and possession: throughout the process you have not lost ownership of the book although you have lost possession at some point; or instead, the book may have been owned by a third party (such as a lending library) throughout, despite the changes in possession.
Possession requires both control and intention. It is obtained from the first moment that both those conditions exist simultaneously. Usually, intention precedes control, as when you see a coin on the ground and reach down to pick it up. Nevertheless, it is conceivable that a person might obtain control of a thing before forming the intention to possess it. If unknowingly sat on and therefore had control of a $10 note on the seat of a train, he or she could obtain possession by becoming aware of the note and forming the intention to possess it. People can also intend to possess things left, without their knowledge, in spaces they control.
Possession can be obtained by a one-sided act by which factual control is established. This can take the form of apprehension (taking an object not in someone's possession) or seizure (taking an object in someone's possession). It can also be obtained through a two-sided process of handing over the possession from one party to another. The party handing over possession must intend to do so.
Most property possessed is obtained with the consent of someone else who possessed it. They may have been purchased, received as gifts, leased, or borrowed. The transfer of possession of goods is called delivery. For land, it is common to speak of granting or giving possession.
A temporary transfer of possession is called a bailment. Bailment is often regarded as the separation of ownership and possession. For example, the library continues to own the book while you possess it and will have the right to possess it again when your right comes to an end. A common transaction involving bailment is a conditional sale or hire-purchase, in which the seller lets the buyer have possession of the thing before it is paid for. The buyer pays the purchase price in installments and, when it is fully paid, ownership of the thing is transferred from seller to buyer.
It is possible to obtain possession of a thing without anyone else's consent. First, you might take possession of something which has never been possessed before. This can occur when you catch a wild animal; or create a new thing, such as a loaf of bread. Secondly, you might find something which someone else has lost. Thirdly, you might take something from another person without their consent. Possession acquired without consent is a property right which the law protects. It gives rise to a right of possession which is enforceable against everyone except those with a better right to possession.
There are various forms of transferring possession. One can physically hand over the object (e.g. handing over a newspaper bought at the newsstand) but it is not always necessary for the party to literally grab the object for possession to be considered transferred. It is enough that the object is within the realm of factual control (e.g. leaving a letter in the letterbox). Sometimes it is enough for a symbol of the object which enables factual control to be handed over (e.g. handing over the keys to a car or a house). One may also choose to terminate possession, as one throws a letter in the trash. Possession includes having the opportunity to terminate possession.
Decker, John F. "Illinois Criminal Law." Newark, NJ: Matthew Bender & Co. 4th Ed. 2006. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24189 |
Pope Gregory II
Pope Gregory II (; 669 – 11 February 731) was the bishop of Rome from 19 May 715 to his death. His defiance of Emperor Leo III the Isaurian as a result of the iconoclastic controversy in the Eastern Empire prepared the way for a long series of revolts, schisms and civil wars that eventually led to the establishment of the temporal power of the popes.
Born into a noble Roman family in the year 669, Gregory was the son of Marcellus and Honesta. Gregory II was an alleged collateral ancestor to the Roman Savelli family, according to a 15th-century chronicler, but this is unattested in contemporary documents and very likely unreliable. The same was said of the seventh-century Pope Benedict II, but nothing certain is known about a kinship between the two of them.
As a young man, he was placed in the papal court, and was made a subdeacon and sacellarius of the Roman See during the pontificate of Sergius I (687 – 701). Later he was made a deacon and placed in charge of the Vatican Library. During Constantine's pontificate, Gregory was made a papal secretary, and accompanied the pope to Constantinople in 711 to deal with the issues raised by Rome’s rejection of the canons of the Quinisext Council. The actual negotiations on the contentious articles were handled by Gregory, with the result that Emperor Justinian II agreed that the papacy could disregard whichever of the council’s decisions it wished to.
After Constantine’s death on 9 April 715, Gregory was elected pope, and was consecrated as bishop of Rome on 19 May 715.
Almost immediately, Gregory began the task of repairing Rome's Aurelian Walls, beginning at the Porta Tiburtina. Work on this task was delayed in October 716 when the river Tiber burst its banks and flooded Rome, causing immense damage and only receding after eight days. Gregory ordered a number of litanies to be said to stem the floods, which spread over the Campus Martius and the so-called Plains of Nero, reaching the foot of the Capitoline Hill. The first year of his pontificate also saw a letter arrive from Patriarch John VI of Constantinople, who attempted to justify his support of Monothelitism, while at the same time seeking sympathy from the pope over the position he was in, with respect to the emperor. Gregory responded by sending a letter outlining the traditional Roman position against Monothelitism.
Then in 716, Gregory received an official visit from Duke Theodo of Bavaria to discuss the continuing conversion of his lands to Christianity. As a result of this meeting, Gregory gave specific instructions to his delegates who were to travel to Bavaria, coordinate with the duke, and establish a local church hierarchy, overseen by an archbishop. Gregory maintained an interest in Bavaria; in 726 he forced an unwilling Corbinian, after reviewing his appeal through a synod, to abandon his monastic calling, and become bishop of Freising in upper Bavaria.
Gregory next turned his attention to Germany. In 718, he was approached by an Anglo-Saxon missionary, Winfrid, who proposed undertaking missionary work in Germany. Gregory agreed, and after changing his name to Boniface, commissioned him in May 719 to preach in Germany. After hearing of the work that had been done so far, in 722 Gregory summoned Boniface back to Rome to answer rumours concerning Boniface’s doctrinal purity. At this face to face meeting, Boniface complained that he found Gregory’s Latin difficult to understand, a clear indication that Vulgar Latin had already started to evolve into the Romance languages. After examining Boniface’s written profession of faith, Gregory was satisfied enough that he made Boniface a bishop in November 722, and returned him to Germany to continue his mission. Continued successes saw Gregory write to Boniface in December 724 to offer his congratulations, followed in November 726 by a response to Boniface’s questions about how to structure the newly emergent churches in Germany.
Gregory also strengthened papal authority in the churches of Britain and Ireland. In 726 Gregory was visited by Ine, the former King of Wessex, who had abdicated the throne in order to undertake a pilgrimage to Rome and end his life there.
Gregory also concerned himself with establishing or restoring monasteries. He turned his family mansion in Rome into a monastery, St. Agatha in Suburra, endowing it with expensive and precious vessels for use at the altar, and also established a new church, dedicated to Sant'Eustachio. In 718 he restored Monte Cassino, which had not recovered from an attack by the Lombards in 584, and he intervened in a dispute at the Monastery of St. Vincent on the Volturno over the deposition of the abbot.
In 721, Gregory held a synod in Rome, for the purpose of fixing issues around illegitimate marriages. Then in 723, the longstanding dispute between the patriarchs of Aquileia and Grado flared up again. Upon the request of the Lombard king, Liutprand, Gregory had given the pallium to Bishop Serenus, granting him the patriarchate of Aquileia. Soon afterwards, however, Gregory received a letter from Donatus, Patriarch of Grado, complaining that Serenus had overstepped his authority, and was interfering within what was Grado’s ecclesiastical jurisdiction. At the same time, Gregory reprimanded Donatus for complaining about Gregory’s decision to grant the pallium to Serenus in the first place. Then in 725, upon Donatus’ death, the Grado patriarchate was usurped by Peter, the Bishop of Pola. Gregory responded by depriving Peter of both sees, and he wrote to the people of the diocese, reminding them to only elect bishops in accordance with church law, whereupon they elected Antoninus, with Gregory’s approval.
Gregory also mandated a number of practices within the Church. He decreed that in Lent, on the Thursdays, people should fast, just as they were required to do during the other days of the week. Apparently the practice had been frowned upon by popes of previous centuries, as pagans had fasted on Thursday as part of their worship of Jupiter. He also prescribed the offices to be said during church services on Thursdays in Lent, as prior to this, the Mass of the preceding Sunday was said on those Thursdays.
Gregory attempted to remain on good diplomatic terms with the Lombards, and especially with their king, Liutprand. In April 716 he managed to get Liutprand to agree not to retake the Cottian Alps, which had been granted to the Roman Church in the reign of Aripert II. However, the semi-independent Lombard Duchy of Benevento, under the expansionist duke Romuald II, resumed hostilities by capturing Cumae in 717, cutting Rome off from Naples. Neither threats of divine retribution nor outright bribery made an impression on Romuald, and so Gregory appealed to Duke John I of Naples, funding his campaign to successfully retake Cumae.
That same year saw the Lombard duke Faroald II of Spoleto, capture Classis, the port of Ravenna. Gregory brokered a deal with Liutprand, who forced Faroald to return it to the Exarch of Ravenna. Perceiving that the Lombard threat would continue to fester and they would take imperial territory in Italy a piece at a time, in around 721 Gregory appealed to the Franks, asking Charles Martel to intervene and drive out the Lombards. Charles however, did not respond to the request. Imperial weakness in Italy encouraged further Lombard incursions, and in 725, they captured the fortress of Narni.
Then in 727, with the Exarchate of Ravenna in chaos over the Byzantine Emperor’s iconoclast decrees (see below), the Lombards captured and destroyed Classis and overran the Pentapolis. Although Classis was retaken in 728, fighting continued between Byzantine forces and the Lombards until 729, when Gregory brokered a deal between Liutprand and the Byzantine exarch, Eutychius, bringing about a temporary ceasing of hostilities that held until Gregory’s death. Gregory and Liutprand met in 729 at the ancient city of Sutri. Here, the two reached an agreement, known as the "Donation of Sutri", whereby Sutri and some hill towns in Latium (see Vetralla) were given to the papacy. They were the first extension of papal territory beyond the confines of the Duchy of Rome, and in effect marked the beginning of the Papal States.
Tensions between Gregory and the imperial court began around 722, when emperor Leo III attempted to raise taxes on the papal patrimonies in Italy, draining the Papacy’s monetary reserves. Leo required this revenue to pay for the ongoing Arab war, while Gregory needed it to provide local foodstuffs for the city of Rome, thereby relieving Rome on its reliance upon the long-distance supply of grain. The result of which was, through refusing to pay the additional taxes, Gregory encouraged the Roman populace to drive the imperial governor of Rome from the city, and Leo was unable to impose his will upon Rome, as Lombard pressure kept the exarch of Ravenna from fielding an army to bring the pope to heel.
However, in 725, possibly at the emperor’s request, Marinus, who had been sent from Constantinople to govern the Duchy of Rome, encouraged a conspiracy to murder the pope. Involving a duke named Basil, the Chartoularios Jordanes, and a subdeacon named Lurion, the departure of Marinus paused the plot, only to see it resume with the arrival of the new exarch, Paul. However, the plot was uncovered, and the conspirators put to death.
Then in 726, Leo issued an iconoclast edict, condemning possession of any icon of the saints. Although Leo made no move to enforce this edict in the west beyond having it read in Rome and Ravenna, Gregory immediately rejected the edict. Upon hearing this, the Exarchate of Ravenna rose in revolt against the imperial imposition of iconoclasm. The armies of Ravenna and the Duchy of the Pentapolis mutinied, denouncing both Exarch Paul and Leo III, and overthrew those officers who remained loyal. Paul rallied the loyalist forces and attempted to restore order, but was killed. The armies discussed electing their own emperor and marching on Constantinople, but were dissuaded by Pope Gregory from acting against Leo. At the same time, the self described “duke” Exhilaratus and his son Hadrian rebelled in Naples, sided with the emperor and marched on Rome in order to kill Gregory, but were overthrown by the people and killed.
In 727, Gregory summoned a synod to condemn iconoclasm. According to Greek sources, principally Theophanes, it was at this point that Gregory excommunicated Leo. However, no western source, in particular the Liber pontificalis, confirms this act by Gregory. He then dispatched two letters to Leo, denying the Imperial right to interfere in matters of doctrine. He wrote:
"You say: ‘We worship stones and walls and boards.’ But it is not so, O Emperor; but they serve us for remembrance and encouragement, lifting our slow spirits upwards, by those whose names the pictures bear and whose representations they are. And we worship them not as God, as you maintain, God forbid!... Even the little children mock at you. Go into one of their schools, say that you are the enemy of images, and straightway they will throw their little tablets at your head, and what you have failed to learn from the wise you may pick up from the foolish... In virtue of the power which has come down to us from St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, we might inflict a punishment upon you, but since you have invoked one on yourself, have that, you and the counsellors you have chosen... though you have so excellent a high priest, our brother Germanus, whom you ought to have taken into your counsels as father and teacher. . . . The dogmas of the Church are not a matter for the emperor, but for the bishops."
In 728, Leo sent to Italy a new exarch, Eutychius, to try to retrieve the situation. Eutychius sent an emissary to Rome, with instructions to kill Gregory and the chief nobility in the city, but the plot was uncovered and foiled. Next, he attempted to turn the Lombard king and dukes against the pope, but they retained their ambivalent stance, not committing one way or the other. That same year Gregory wrote to Patriarch Germanus I of Constantinople, giving the patriarch his support, and when Germanus abdicated, Gregory refused to acknowledge the new patriarch, Anastasius, nor the iconoclast rulings of a council summoned by Leo.
In 729, Eutychius finally managed to bring about an alliance with the Lombard king, Liutprand, and both agreed to help the other deal with their rebellious subjects. After they had subjugated the dukes of Spoleto and Benevento, bringing them under Liutprand’s authority, they turned to Rome with the intent of bringing Gregory to heel. However, outside Rome, Gregory managed to break up the alliance against him, with Liutprand returning to Pavia. After this, Eutychius reached an uneasy truce with Gregory, and the pope in return forged a temporary truce between the Lombards and the Byzantines. Regardless, Gregory was still a devoted and vigorous defender of the empire. This was demonstrated in 730 when there arose another usurper, Tiberius Petasius, who raised a revolt in Tuscany. He was defeated by the exarch Eutychius, who received steady support from Pope Gregory.
Gregory died on 11 February 731, and was buried in St. Peter’s Basilica. The location of his tomb has since been lost. He was subsequently canonized and is commemorated as a saint in the Roman calendar and martyrology on 13 February, although some martyrologies list him under 11 February.
A miracle concerning Gregory II is linked to the victory over Muslim forces at the Battle of Toulouse (721). According to the "Liber Pontificalis", in 720 Pope Gregory sent to Odo, Duke of Aquitaine, "three blessed sponges/baskets of bread". The Duke kept these, and just before the battle outside of Toulouse, he distributed small portions of these to be eaten by his troops. After the battle, it was reported that no one who had eaten a part of the sponges/baskets of bread had been killed or wounded. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24193 |
Pope Gregory III
Pope Gregory III (; died 28 November 741) was the bishop of Rome from 11 February 731 to his death. His pontificate, like that of his predecessor, was disturbed by Byzantine iconoclasm and the advance of the Lombards, in which he invoked the intervention of Charles Martel, although ultimately in vain. He was the last pope to seek the consent of the Byzantine exarch of Ravenna for his election.
Gregory was the son of a Syrian named John. He was elected pope by popular acclamation on 11 February 731, but was not formally consecrated as bishop of Rome until 18 March, after having received the approval of the Byzantine exarch of Ravenna. He was the last pope to seek the exarch’s ratification of a papal election.
Immediately upon his accession, Gregory appealed to Emperor Leo III to moderate his position on the iconoclasm. When Gregory's representative was arrested on the orders of the emperor, Gregory called a synod in November 731, which condemned iconoclasm outright. Leo responded by trying to bring the pope under control, but the fleet he sent to enforce the imperial will was shipwrecked in the Adriatic Sea. He then proceeded to appropriate papal territories in Sicily and Calabria, and transferred ecclesiastical jurisdictions in the former praetorian prefecture of Illyricum to the patriarch of Constantinople. However, his attempt to force the duke of Naples to enforce an imperial decree to confiscate papal territory in the duchy failed, as the duke was supportive of the pope’s stand.
Gregory, in the meantime, demonstrated his opposition to iconoclasm by emphasising his veneration of icons and relics. He repaired or beautified numerous churches, which involved their decoration with icons and images of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints. He ordered to be erected in the heart of St. Peter’s Basilica an "iconostasis", situated between six onyx and marble columns which had been sent to Gregory as a gift from the exarch Eutychius. He built a new oratory in St. Peter's Basilica to house the relics of a number of saints, convoking a synod in 732 in order to regulate the prayers and masses to be said there. Gregory was an enthusiastic supporter of monasticism; he established the monastery of St. Chrysogonus and rebuilt the hospice of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, near St. Peter's, endowing it for the support of the poor.
A temporary lull in the conflict between the Byzantines and the Lombards allowed Gregory to deal with some longstanding internal issues, in particular the ongoing jurisdictional dispute between the patriarchs of Grado and Aquileia. Although the Synod of 731 had adjudicated in this matter in favour of Grado, Gregory was forced to reprimand the patriarch of Aquileia, Calixtus, who had attempted to gain possession of the island of Barbana from Grado’s jurisdiction. In 731, he approved the election of Tatwine as archbishop of Canterbury, after the latter came to Rome in person to ask for the pallium. Gregory approved of the election of his successor, Nothhelm, while in 735 he agreed to the request of King Ceolwulf of Northumbria that Bishop Egbert of York should be elevated to the rank of archbishop.
Gregory promoted the Church in northern Europe. He supported the continuing mission of Saint Boniface in Germany, elevating him to the rank of archbishop of Germany in 732; and, after a personal visit to Rome from Boniface in 737, where he was meant to attend a synod which does not appear to have been held, Gregory made Boniface a papal legate in Germany, and asked him to reorganize the episcopal sees in Germany. Gregory sent Boniface back to Bavaria with three letters. One commanded the bishops and higher ecclesiastical officers to provide Boniface with as much help as they could. A second was addressed to the nobles and people of Germany, urging them to obey Boniface. A third, addressed to the bishops in Alamannia and Bavaria, confirmed Boniface’s status as the papal vicar, ordering them to assemble in a council twice a year at Augsburg under Boniface’s authority. Gregory promoted the mission of Willibald in Germany.
In 732, Gregory banned the consumption of horse meat, both domestic and wild, anathematizing it as an "abomination" since it was associated with pagan ritual feasting.
Conscious of the ongoing Lombard threat, Gregory undertook and completed the restoration of the Aurelian Walls during the early 730s. He also refortified Centumcellae, purchasing from Thrasimund II of Spoleto the fortress of Gallese along the Via Flaminia, which had been taken by the Lombards, interrupting Rome’s communications with the exarch at Ravenna. The return of the Lombard king Liutprand in 737 saw a renewal of the Lombard assault on the Exarchate of Ravenna.
Gregory's opposition to iconoclasm did not stop his lending support to the Eastern Empire to help in the recapture of Ravenna after it had fallen to the Lombards in around 738. In that same year, Liutprand demanded that the Lombard dukes of Spoleto and Beneventum ravage the area around the Duchy of Rome; but both refused, citing a treaty with the pope. Gregory then actively encouraged the rebellion of Thrasimund II of Spoleto, forcing Liutprand to temporarily abandon his attacks on the exarchate, turning his attention towards Spoleto, which Liutprand annexed. Thrasimund was forced to flee Spoleto, seeking refuge in Rome, where he was welcomed by Gregory.
By the middle of 739, Liutprand was encroaching once again on the Exarchate and threatening Rome. In desperation, Gregory sent ambassadors to Charles Martel, the Frankish mayor of the Palace, begging him to intervene on the pope’s behalf. Although Gregory stated that he was willing to give up his allegiance to the Eastern Empire and place himself under the protection of the Franks, Charles made no promise to assist, since he was fully occupied by the Umayyad invasion of Gaul. Gregory himself referred to these Saracen Muslims as "gens ferocissima" or "that most fierce nation". The Lombard capture of the towns of , Ortas, Polimartium and Blera once again caused Gregory to write to Charles, this time in even greater tones of despair, beseeching his aid:
"Our affliction moves us to write to you once again, trusting that you are a loving son of St. Peter and of us, and that, from respect for him, you will come and defend the Church of God and His peculiar people, who are now unable to endure the persecution and oppression of the Lombards. They have seized the very means set aside to furnish funds for the lights ever kept burning at St. Peter s tomb, and they have carried off offerings that have been made by you and by those who have gone before you. And because, after God, we have turned to you, the Lombards deride and oppress us. Hence the Church of St. Peter has been stripped and reduced to the last straits. We have put into the mouth of the bearer of this letter, your faithful servant all our woes, which he will be able to unfold to you. Please come at once, to show your love towards St. Peter, and us, his own people."
This time Charles Martel did send an embassy to Rome, and this implicit support, together with the beginnings of fever running through his troops, forced Liutprand to march back to Pavia by the end of August 739. Taking advantage of this withdrawal, Gregory agreed to support Thrasimund II's return to Spoleto. Thrasimund II forced his way back in by December 739 with Roman armed support, but refused to hand over the four captured towns he had promised in exchange for papal support. Learning that Charles Martel was sick, Liutprand once again returned to attacking the Exarchate in 740, forcing Gregory yet again to appeal to the Franks, who again refused to become involved.
Unsuccessful at stopping the Lombard advance, Gregory III died on 28 November 741. He was succeeded by Pope Zachary. He was buried in St. Peter’s Basilica, in the oratory he had built at the start of his pontificate. Gregory’s feast day is now celebrated on 10 December. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24194 |
Pope Gregory IV
Pope Gregory IV (; died 25 January 844) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from October 827 to his death. His pontificate was notable for the papacy’s attempts to intervene in the quarrels between Emperor Louis the Pious and his sons. It also saw the breakup of the Carolingian Empire in 843.
The son of a Roman patrician called John, Gregory was apparently an energetic but mild churchman, renowned for his learning. Consecrated a priest during the pontificate of Pope Paschal I, at the time of Pope Valentine’s death in 827, Gregory was the cardinal priest of the Basilica of St Mark in Rome. Like his predecessor, Gregory was nominated by the nobility, and the electors unanimously agreed that he was the most worthy to become the bishop of Rome. They found him at the Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damian where, despite his protestations, he was taken and installed at the Lateran Palace, after which he was enthroned as pope-elect sometime in October 827. Gregory’s elevation to the papal see is believed to represent a continuation of the attempts to control the local political situation in Rome which had begun during Pope Eugene II’s pontificate.
Gregory's consecration was delayed until 29 March 828, when he received notice of the Emperor Louis the Pious’ approval of his election. This delay was enforced by the imperial envoys, who insisted that the Constitution of 824 expressly forbid the consecration of any pope-elect until the emperor had satisfied himself of the validity of the election. It was said that the emperor reprimanded Gregory for attempting to have himself consecrated before receiving the approval of the emperor. Gregory complied with these demands of imperial supremacy, and in 828 and 829, the pope sent embassies to Louis for unspecified discussions.
In January 829, Gregory was involved in a dispute with Farfa Abbey over the ownership of local monastic land by the Roman church. In a court run by a bishop and a representative of the emperor, and in the presence of Gregory, Abbot Ingoald of Farfa claimed that the Frankish emperors had granted them the lands, and that Popes Adrian I and Leo III had taken possession of the land illegally. The imperial representative made a ruling in favour of the abbey, and that the lands were to be restored to the monastery. Although Gregory refused to accept the ruling, there is no evidence that he managed to get the decision overturned.
In 817, by a solemn deed, confirmed by Paschal I, Louis had made a division of the empire in favour of his three sons from his first marriage: the future emperor Lothair I, Pepin I of Aquitaine, and Louis the German. Over time, papal dependence on the Carolingian emperor was loosened through the quarrels of Louis the Pious and his sons. Louis’ decision to jettison the agreement of 817 regarding the division of the empire by assigning a kingdom to his youngest son, Charles the Bald, in 829 was criticized by Gregory in a letter to the Frankish bishops. The following year (October 830), after a brief rebellion and reconciliation between Louis and his sons, Gregory declared that Louis’ second wife, Judith, was to be released from the convent where she had been forced to take the veil, and to be returned to Louis.
When the war between father and sons resumed in Easter 833, Gregory was approached by Lothair, seeking his intervention to bring about reconciliation between Lothair and his father. He was convinced to leave Rome and travel up to join Lothair, in hopes that his intervention would promote peace, but in practice this action annoyed the Frankish bishops who followed Louis, who believed that Gregory was actively supporting Lothair. Suspicious of Gregory’s intent, they refused to obey the pope, and threatened to excommunicate him, were he to excommunicate them, and even to depose him as pope. Annoyed by their actions, Gregory's response was to insist upon the papal supremacy, the papacy being superior to the emperor. He stated:
”You professed to have felt delighted when you heard of my arrival, thinking that it would have been of great advantage for the emperor and the people; you added that you would have obeyed my summons had not a previous intimation of the emperor prevented you. But you ought to have regarded an order from the Apostolic See as not less weighty than one from the emperor. ...The government of souls, which belongs to bishops, is more important than the imperial, which is only concerned with the temporal. Your assertion that I have only come to blindly excommunicate is shameless, and your offer to give me an honourable reception if I should have come exactly in the way the emperor wanted me to is contemptuous. With regards to the oaths I have taken to the emperor, I will avoid perjury by pointing out to the emperor what he has done against the unity and peace of the Church and his kingdom. With regards to the bishops, in opposing my efforts in behalf of peace, what they threaten has not been done, from the beginning of the Church.”
Regardless of this claim, the vast bulk of the Frankish bishops maintained that the pope had no business interfering in the internal affairs of the kingdom, or in expecting the Frankish clergy to follow his lead in such matters. Their position was clear, that the equality of all the bishops outranked the leadership of the pope.
The armies of Louis and two of his sons met at Rotfeld, near Colmar, on June 24, 833. The sons persuaded Gregory to go to Louis's camp to negotiate, and initially Louis refused to treat Gregory with any honour. However, Gregory managed to convince Louis of his good faith, and returned to Lothair to arrange a peace. However, Gregory soon learned that he had been deceived by Lothair. Gregory was prevented from returning to the emperor, while Louis was deserted by his supporters and was forced to surrender unconditionally; Louis was deposed and humiliated at the Campus Mendacii, and Lothair was proclaimed emperor. Following these events, Gregory returned to Rome. A second fraternal quarrel resulted in Louis being restored in 834, but his position was sufficiently weakened that Lothair retained the Kingdom of Italy.
The emperor then sent a delegation to see Gregory, headed by Archbishop Ansgar of Hamburg-Bremen, to question the pope on the events which led to Louis’s removal from the throne by Lothair. Gregory swore an oath that his intentions were honourable, and that he had always sought to achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict between Louis and his sons. Accepting Gregory’s word, the envoys returned to Louis. After this failure in dabbling in imperial politics, Gregory by and large focused his attention for the rest of his pontificate in dealing with internal church matters.
In 836, Lothair, in his role as king of the Lombards, began stripping the possessions of the Roman church. After appealing to Louis, the emperor sent an imperial envoy to investigate the matter. Although Gregory was sick, he managed to advise the envoy of the situation, and asked him to take a letter to the emperor outlining Lothair’s attacks on the Church, which they managed to get past Lothair’s troops at Bologna. Then in 840, with Louis’ death and the accession of Lothair as emperor, war again erupted between the sons of Louis. Gregory made unsuccessful attempts to mediate in the conflict that ensued between the brothers, sending Archbishop George of Ravenna as his representative. According to Prudentius of Troyes, George faithfully tried to achieve his objective, but failed due to Lothair’s refusal to allow George to see Lothair’s brothers. However, according to Andreas Agnellus, George tried to bribe Lothair to make his archbishopric independent of Rome, and was captured at the Battle of Fontenoy. The subsequent Treaty of Verdun in 843 broke up the empire of Charlemagne, with Lothair retaining the imperial title and control of Italy.
Gregory repaired the Aqua Traiana, which had been damaged during the pontificate of Leo III. Sometime after 841 Gregory rebuilt and fortified parts of the port of Ostia against the attacks of Saracens, renaming it "Gregoriopolis". Around the same time he restored the colony of Galeria along the Via Portuensis, while also establishing a new colony, called Draco, along the left bank of the Tiber River, some eleven miles from Rome along the Via Ostiensis. This was the first clear example of land development undertaken by a pope within his own territory.
Gregory contributed to the architectural development of Rome. In 833, Gregory completely rebuilt St Mark’s Basilica in Rome, adorning the walls with Byzantine-style mosaics, as well as a number of other churches which he either repaired or rebuilt. He rebuilt the atrium of St. Peter’s Basilica, and within the newly decorated chapel within the basilica he transferred the body of Saint Gregory, and from the Catacombs of Rome, he moved Saint Sebastian, Saint Tiburtius, and Saint Gorgonius. He raised the altar in the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, and founded a monastery close to the church.
Gregory’s pontificate witnessed the end of the iconoclasm controversy in the Byzantine Empire, while Gregory himself promoted the celebration of the feast of All Saints within the Frankish kingdom on both sides of the Rhine River. Gregory is also known for his appointment of Ansgar as archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in 832, and as the apostolic legate to the northern and eastern parts of Europe. On March 31, 837, Gregory sent the Pallium to the archbishop of Salzburg; he also sent one to Venerius, the patriarch of Grado, in 828, in support of his claims to have jurisdiction over the bishops of Istria. When a synod awarded jurisdiction to Maxentius, the patriarch of Aquileia, Venerius appealed to Gregory, who supported him. Meanwhile, King Lothair backed Maxentius, who forced the bishops of Istria to obey him, while at the same time ignoring Gregory’s orders to cease. Gregory also supported the candidacy of John IV (Bishop of Naples).
Gregory was also asked to arbitrate during his journey to Francia in 833 the case against Aldric of Le Mans, who was being forced out of his see by partisans of Lothair. On July 8 833, Gregory wrote to the bishops of “Gaul, Europe and Germany” declaring that Aldric had every right to appeal to the pope, and that until the pope had issued a judgement one way or the other, no-one could pass a sentence against him. Further, that this mandate had to be obeyed in order to remain in communion with the Roman church. The letter together with the restoration of Louis allowed Aldric to remain in his see for some time.
Gregory was also asked by emperor Louis’s representative, Amalarius of Metz, to provide an antiphonary for use at church services at Metz, to which Gregory was forced to admit that he had none suitable for the emperor, as he had already given a number to Wala of Corbie, which he had already taken to Francia.
On January 25, 844, Gregory IV died, and was buried in St. Peter’s Basilica. He was succeeded by Sergius II. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24195 |
Pope Gregory VI
Pope Gregory VI (; died 1048), born John Gratian in Rome (), was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 May 1045 until his abdication at the Council of Sutri on 20 December 1046.
Gratian, the archpriest of St. John by the Latin Gate, was a man of great reputation for uprightness of character. He was also the godfather of Pope Benedict IX, who, at the age of twenty, was foisted on the papacy by his powerful family, the Theophylacti, counts of Tusculum. Benedict IX, wishing to marry and vacate the position into which he had been thrust by his family, consulted his godfather as to whether he could resign the pontificate. When he was convinced that he might do so, he offered to give up the papacy into the hands of his godfather if he would reimburse him for his election expenses. Desirous of ridding the See of Rome of such an unworthy pontiff, John Gratian paid him the money and was recognized as Pope in his stead.
The accession of Gratian, who took the name Gregory VI, did not bring peace, though it was hailed with joy even by such a strict upholder of the right as Peter Damian. When Benedict IX left the city after selling the papacy, there was already another aspirant to the Roman see in the field. John, bishop of Sabina, had been hailed as Pope Sylvester III by the faction of the nobility that had driven Benedict IX from Rome in 1044, and had then installed him in his place. Though Benedict IX soon returned, and forced Sylvester III to retire to his See of Sabina, Sylvester never gave up his claims to the papal throne, and through his political allies contrived apparently to keep some hold on a portion of Rome. To complicate matters, Benedict IX, unable to obtain the bride on whom he had set his heart, soon repented his resignation, claimed the papacy again, and in his turn is thought to have succeeded in acquiring dominion over a part of the city.
With an empty exchequer and a clergy that had largely lost the savour of righteousness, Gregory VI was confronted by an almost hopeless task. Nevertheless, with the aid of his "capellanus" or chaplain, Hildebrand, destined to be Pope Gregory VII, he tried to bring about civil and religious order. He strove to effect the latter by means of letters and councils, and the former by force of arms. But the factions of his rivals were too strong to be put down, and the confusion only increased.
Convinced that nothing could meet the challenges facing the Church except imperial intervention, a number of influential clergy and laity separated themselves from communion with Gregory VI or either of his two rivals and implored King Henry III of Germany to cross the Alps and restore order. Henry III responded to these pleas by descending into Italy in the autumn of 1046. Strong in the conviction of his innocence, Gregory VI went north to meet him. He was received by Henry III with all the honour due to a pope, and in accordance with the royal request, summoned a council to meet at Sutri.
Only Sylvester III and Gregory VI presented themselves at the Synod of Sutri, which was opened on 20 December 1046. The claims of Sylvester III and Benedict IX were quickly rejected, and the former was condemned to be confined in a monastery for the rest of his life. Gregory VI was accused of purchasing the papacy and freely admitted it; however, he disputed that this act, given the circumstances, constituted the crime of simony. However, the bishops of the synod impressed upon Gratian that this act was indeed simoniacal, regardless of his virtuous motivations for it, and called upon him to resign. Gregory VI, seeing that little choice was left to him, complied of his own accord and laid down his office.
Gregory VI was succeeded in the papacy by the German bishop of Bamberg, Suidger, who took the name Pope Clement II. Gregory was taken by Henry to Germany in May 1047, where he died in 1048, probably at Cologne. Gregory VI was accompanied by Hildebrand, who remained with him until his death. After about a year in Cluny, Hildebrand returned to Rome in January 1049 with the newly elected Pope Leo IX. And when Hildebrand himself was elected pope in 1073, he called himself Pope Gregory VII in order to proclaim his firm and loyal belief in the legitimacy of Gratian as Pope Gregory VI. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24197 |
Pope Gregory X
Pope Gregory X (; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. He was elected at the conclusion of a papal election that ran from 1268 to 1271, the longest papal election in the history of the Catholic Church.
He convened the Second Council of Lyon and also made new regulations in regards to papal conclaves. Though briefly annulled by Adrian V and John XXI, these regulations remained in force until the 20th century, when they were altered by Paul VI. Pope Clement XI beatified him in 1713 after the confirmation of his cultus.
Teobaldo Visconti, a member of the Visconti of Piacenza, was born in Piacenza around 1210.
It is said that he began his career by attaching himself to the household of the Cistercian Cardinal Giacomo de Pecorari, Bishop of Palestrina (1231-1244), who was also from Piacenza. He was attracted by the reputation of holiness which the Cardinal enjoyed; he had been elected abbot of the monastery of Trois-Fontaines in Champagne. Teobaldo became the Cardinal's Oeconomus or Majordomo, and was therefore in constant attendance. The Cardinal was Legate of Pope Gregory IX in Tuscany in 1235, in Lombardy in 1236-1237, and in Provence, France and Germany in 1239-1241. It was probably during the assignment in Provence that Teobaldo became known to important French clergy and laity. He was already Canon of the Basilica of S. Antonino in Piacenza when he returned to Piacenza on business of the Cardinal in 1239.
He then returned to the Cardinal, whose new assignment in France was actually to preach a crusade against Frederick II, the Hohenstaufen Emperor, who was again at war with Pope Gregory IX. Early in 1239, the Pope had again excommunicated the Emperor. Each had demanded an Ecumenical Council to settle their differences. The Pope was willing, but he planned that the council would meet under his auspices and in his territory. He would also bring to Rome all of the enemies of Frederick Hohenstaufen. It was at this point in 1240 that Teobaldo also became a Canon of the Cathedral of Lyons, at the request of the Canons made to Cardinal Giacomo de Pecorari when a vacancy in their number occurred. Pope Gregory's ecumenical council never took place, and he died on 22 August 1241.
The search for a successor to Gregory IX took more than two months. The new Pope, Celestine IV, who was old and ill, survived his election by only 17 days, dying on 10 November 1241. The second electoral assembly of 1241 did not take place for some time, however. The cardinals who were in Rome at the pope's death, having endured considerable mistreatment during the Vacancy of 22 August 1241 to 25 October 1241, which they did not want to endure again, scattered immediately. Only a half-dozen of the 12 cardinals remained in the city. It was not until June 1243 that all the Cardinals, assembled at Anagni and not in Rome, elected Cardinal Sinibaldo Fieschi of Genoa as Pope Innocent IV. In 1243, when the Bishop of Piacenza died, Innocent IV offered the position to Archdeacon Teobaldo, who declined, preferring to follow in the company of Cardinal Giacomo. Cardinal Giacomo, however, died in Rome on 25 June 1244.
Upon the death of his patron and spiritual model, Teobaldo decided not to remain any longer in the Curia, planning to travel to Paris, where he would study theology. When he reached Lyons, however, he was received by the Archbishop-elect, Philippe, and asked him to be the "dominus" and "magister" of the household. Teobaldo initially refused, but the Archbishop insisted and finally Teobaldo accepted the position.
In July 1244, Pope Innocent IV was forced by Frederick II Augustus to flee from Rome. He first travelled to his native Genoa, and then headed to Lyons, where the idea of an ecumenical council took shape. Teobaldo helped to organize the Ecumenical Council which met at Lyons in June and July 1245. During this period, Visconti became acquainted with people such as Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, Gui Foucois, Pierre de Tarentaise and Matteo Rubeo Orsini, all of whom were participants in the Council. Visconti was appointed Archdeacon of Heinault in the diocese of Liège on 9 September 1246, perhaps as a reward for his services. He was instructed by Pope Innocent IV (Sinibaldo Fieschi, 1243-1254) to preach the crusade for the recovery of the Holy Land. Such preaching had more of a financial character than one might think, since both Crusaders and Papacy were desperate to raise funds. Teobaldo was not able to do much more than preach, sacerdotally, since he still was not a priest.
Teobaldo's time in Liège was evidently not a happy one. The bishop whom he had come to know at the Council of Lyons, Robert de Thorete, died after a brief illness on 16 October 1246. There had been a struggle for the episcopal seat when he was appointed. The Provost of Utrecht, the candidate of Frederick II, had attempted to usurp the seat, and Cardinal Giacomo de Pecorari, Bishop of Palestrina had been ordered by the Pope to intervene and prohibit an election until the canons of the Cathedral could meet with him. But the vacancy of the papal throne occurred after the death of Pope Gregory XI, and lasted until June 1243. In that interval the squabbling electors came to an understanding, and on 30 October 1240, Robert, the brother of the Bishop of Verdun, was chosen. Another struggle between two candidates ensued on his death, and Cardinal Robert Capocci was sent to settle the election. Since Teobaldo was a canon as well as Archdeacon, he was directly involved. The successful candidate, on 10 October 1247, Henry of Gelders, was a worldly man, the brother of Otto III, Count of Gelders, and was not yet in Holy Orders. In fact, for the next twelve years, he was neither ordained priest nor consecrated bishop. The new Bishop-Elect and his Archdeacon immediately had problems about Teobaldo's conduct of his office while being absent in Paris, an issue which was not settled until the end of 1250.
Finally, in 1258, Henry of Gelders was consecrated. He also had himself elected Abbot of the famous Monastery of Stabulo (Stavelo). This did not mean, unfortunately, that he gave up his former dissolute military life. In 1262, he clashed with Archdeacon Teobaldo. During a Chapter meeting, he was roundly criticized by Teobaldo, who accused him of compromising the virtue of Berta, daughter of Conrardi de Coen le Frison, by force. The Bishop threatened to strike the Archdeacon. Consequently, few days later, Teobaldo was moved to leave Liège, and it is said that he undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He actually got as far as Paris, where he resumed his long-standing plan of studying Theology. During this time he became a friend of King Louis IX.
Visconti left Liège in 1267 for Paris at the behest of Pope Clement IV who sent him to England to assist Cardinal Ottobono Fieschi, who had been appointed Papal Legate in England in 1265, to support King Henry III in the rebellion of the barons, led by Simon de Montfort. It was during this assignment that Teobaldo became friends with Prince Edward of England (the future Edward I), with whom he went on Crusade. Cardinal Fieschi returned to Viterbo, and participated in the conclave of 1268-1271. Edward took the cross on 24 June 1268, followed Louis IX to Tunisia, and finally reached Acre on 9 May 1271.
Visconti was elected to succeeded Pope Clement IV on 1 September 1271 after the papal chair had been vacant for two years and nine months, due to divisions among the cardinals. The College of Cardinals, meeting in Viterbo where Pope Clement IV (1265-1268) had died, was equally divided between the French and Italian cardinals. The French wanted a pope from their own country, influenced by Charles of Anjou, the younger brother of King Louis IX of France, who had been invested with the throne of Sicily by Pope Clement IV (1265-1268). Charles had also successfully intrigued to have himself elected Senator of Rome, and he repeatedly intervened in the political affairs of the entire Italian peninsula. He had entered Rome on 23 May 1265 where he was made Senator and was proclaimed king of Sicily. On 6 January 1266, he was crowned in St. Peter's Basilica by Cardinals Riccardo Annibaldi, Raoul de Grosparmy, Ancher Pantaleoni, Matteo Orsini, and Goffredo da Alatri, with permission of Pope Clement IV, who did not dare to approach Rome himself due to the hostility of the Ghibelline government toward him.
The deadlock was not even broken when the citizens of Viterbo locked up the cardinals in the Episcopal palace where they were meeting, and finally tearing off part of the roof of the building. Finally, in August 1271, the Cardinals decided to appoint a committee, three of their number from each side, to negotiate a settlement (Election by Compromise). When the six could not agree, however, on the choice of one of the cardinals, they decided to look outside their ranks. They settled on Teobaldo Visconti, the Archdeacon of Liège. Their decision was ratified by all of the Cardinals on 1 September 1271. This was a victory, in fact, for the French-leaning faction, since Teobaldo had intimate connections with France, and his nephew, Vicedomino de Vicedomini, a native of Piacenza but Archbishop of Aix in Provence, had been a follower and advisor of Charles of Anjou ever since he came into Italy.
The election of Visconti, after a 2-year, 9-month struggle, came as a complete surprise to him, since it took place while he was engaged in the Ninth Crusade at Acre in Palestine with King Edward I of England. Not wanting to abandon his mission, his first action upon hearing of his election, was to send out appeals for aid to the Crusaders. At his final sermon at Acre just before setting sail for Italy, he famously remarked, quoting "Psalm 137", "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning". Nonetheless, he had to return to Italy immediately, since he had been summoned by the Cardinals in order to accept the election at their hands. On 1 January 1272, the Pope-Elect reached Brindisi, and he arrived in Viterbo, the site of the Election, where the Cardinals were waiting, in early February 1272. On some unknown date he completed the Election by accepting the Papacy; it was in Viterbo that he assumed the papal mantle. But he was still careful to call himself "Episcopus-electus". On 13 March 1272, he entered Rome with the entire Roman Curia. Since he was not in Holy Orders, he had to be ordained a priest, which took place on 19 March 1272. He was consecrated a bishop and crowned on 27 March 1272 at St. Peter's Basilica.
As soon as he was elected in 1271, Pope Gregory X received a letter from the Mongol Great Khan Kublai, remitted by Niccolò and Matteo Polo following their travels to his court in Mongolia. Kublai was asking for the dispatch of a hundred missionaries, and some oil from the lamp of the Holy Sepulcher. The new Pope could spare only two friars and some lamp oil. The friars turned back soon after the party left for Mongolia. The two Polos (this time accompanied by the young Marco Polo, who was then 17 years old) returned to the Mongol Empire and remitted the oil from the Pope to Kublai in 1275.
The Mongol Ilkhanate leader Abaqa sent a delegation with over a dozen members to the 1274 Council of Lyon, where plans were made for possible military cooperation between the Mongols and the Europeans. After the Council, Abaqa sent another embassy led by the Georgian Vassali brothers to further notify Western leaders of military preparations. Gregory X answered that his legates would accompany the Crusade, and that they would be in charge of coordinating military operations with the Il-Khan. However, these projects for a major new Crusade essentially came to a halt with the death of Gregory X on 10 January 1276. The money which had been saved to finance the expedition was instead distributed in Italy.
Sometime during his reign as pope, Gregory X wrote a letter against the charges of "blood libel" and persecution against the Jews. Mindful of the scandals attached to the conclave at Viterbo that had elected him, realizing that tighter controls on the entire process of election were needed, he produced the papal bull "Ubi periculum" which was subsequently ratified by the Council of Lyons on 16 July 1274 and incorporated into the Code of Canon Law.
On his arrival at Rome in 1272, his first act was to carry forward the wish of Gregory IX and summon a council. Two days after his coronation Gregory X sent a letter to King Edward I of England, inviting him to a general council to be held on the subject of the Holy Land, beginning on 1 May 1274. Pope Gregory X left Orvieto on 5 June 1273, and arrived in Lyons in the middle of November 1273. Not all of the cardinals followed him. Pope Gregory notes in a letter to King Edward dated 29 November 1273 that Cardinal Riccardo Annibaldi and Cardinal Giovanni Orsini were still in Rome and had been ordered to find a secure place of imprisonment for Guy de Montfort. The two cardinals were hereditary enemies and would be an effective check on each other. Neither was present at the opening of the Council of Lyons. Gregory himself had an immediate meeting with King Philip III of France, whom he had been cultivating vigorously since his accession. The meeting was evidently quite harmonious and successful, since Philip ceded to the Papacy the Comtat Venaissin. The Second Ecumenical Council met at Lyons, beginning on 1 May 1274 for the purpose of considering the East-West Schism, the condition of the Holy Land, and the abuses of the Catholic Church.
His main objective as pope was to convene the council, and he had a programme for that council:
The Pope's interests were not doctrinal in nature, but disciplinary.
In connection with the financing of the Crusade, Pope Gregory imposed on all clerics a six-year long tax of 10% of their income. This was a considerable increase in the tax rate, which, on previous occasions had been for three years, at a rate of 5%. 26 permanent tax districts were established, each having a Collector and a Sub-Collector.
His Constitution with respect to conclaves legislated a number of important points:
Pope Gregory's health had worsened after he left Lyons in April 1275. He was suffering from a hernia, and so he was forced to stop frequently on the way back toward Rome. He departed Vienne shortly after 30 September 1275 and arrived in Lausanne on 6 October 1275. In Lausanne, he met with the Emperor-elect Rudolph, King of the Romans, and on 20 October 1275, received his oath of fealty. On Tuesday, 12 November 1275, he was in Milan. His party reached Reggio Aemilia on 5 December 1275, and they were in Bologna on 11 December 1275. A severe rise in his temperature and the presence of the hernia forced him to a halt at Arezzo in time for Christmas of 1275. His condition rapidly declined following this and led to his death on 10 January 1276 in Arezzo. He is buried inside the Cathedral Church of Arezzo.
He was succeeded by the Dominican Peter of Tarantaise of Savoy (Pope Innocent V), a close collaborator of the pontiff throughout his pontificate.
Throughout his pontificate, Gregory X only canonized one individual. He confirmed the cultus of Franca Visalta in September 1273. She was a Cistercian nun from Piacenza, authoritarian and given to extreme forms of self-mortification. Having been eased out of a Benedictine convent, where she had been placed at the age of seven, she built her own convent, over which she ruled as Abbess.
He commenced the cause of canonization of King Louis IX of France in 1272, an act which bestowed on the king who had died in August 1270 the title of Servant of God.
He beatified Luchesius Modestini in 1274 with the confirmation of his cultus.
Writing in "L'Osservatore Romano", Agostino Paravicini Bagliani says that the popular belief that Pius V (1566–72) was the first Pope to wear the white cassock is inaccurate. Instead, writes Bagliani, the first document that mentions the Pope's white cassock dates from 1274. "The first pope to be solemnly invested with the red mantle immediately after his election was Gregory VII (1076)," the scholar added, noting that traditionally "from the moment of his election the Pope put on vestments of two colors: red (cope, mozzetta, shoes); and white (cassock, socks)."
Pope Clement XI beatified Teobaldo Visconti in 1713, and he was made a patron of the Diocese of Arezzo and of Franciscan tertiaries. His cause of canonization resumed in 1944 under Pope Pius XII and remains open, with the requirement of a miracle attributed to his intercession needed for his canonization.
"Teobaldo Visconti" is a central character in the 1982 American-Italian miniseries "Marco Polo", in which he is portrayed by American actor Burt Lancaster. He is also depicted by Irish actor Gabriel Byrne in the Netflix series "Marco Polo". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24199 |
Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; , , "praises"), commonly referred to simply as Psalms, the Psalter or "the Psalms", is the first book of the "Ketuvim" ("Writings"), the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and thus a book of the Christian Old Testament. The title is derived from the Greek translation, , meaning "instrumental music" and, by extension, "the words accompanying the music". The book is an anthology of individual psalms, with 150 in the Jewish and Western Christian tradition and more in the Eastern Christian churches. Many are linked to the name of David, but his authorship is not accepted by modern scholars.
The Book of Psalms is divided into five sections, each closing with a doxology (i.e., a benediction)—these divisions were probably introduced by the final editors to imitate the five-fold division of the Torah:
Many psalms (116 of the 150) have individual superscriptions (titles), ranging from lengthy comments to a single word. Over a third appear to be musical directions, addressed to the "leader" or "choirmaster", including such statements as "with stringed instruments" and "according to lilies". Others appear to be references to types of musical composition, such as "A psalm" and "Song", or directions regarding the occasion for using the psalm ("On the dedication of the temple", "For the memorial offering", etc.). Many carry the names of individuals, the most common (73 psalms—75 if including the two Psalms attributed by the New Testament to David) being "of David", and thirteen of these relate explicitly to incidents in the king's life. Others named include Asaph (12), the sons of Korah (11), Solomon (2), Moses (1), Ethan the Ezrahite (1), and Heman the Ezrahite (1). The LXX, the Peshitta (the Syriac Vulgate), and the Latin Vulgate each associate several Psalms (such as 111 and 145) with Haggai and Zechariah. The LXX also attributes several Psalms (like 112 and 135) to Ezekiel and Jeremiah.
Psalms are usually identified by a sequence number, often preceded by the abbreviation "Ps."
Numbering of the Psalms differs—mostly by one, see table—between the Hebrew (Masoretic) and Greek (Septuagint) manuscripts. Protestant translations (Lutheran, Anglican, Calvinist) use the Hebrew numbering, but other Christian traditions vary:
"For the remainder of this article, the Hebrew numbering is used, unless otherwise noted."
The variance between Masorah and Septuagint texts in this numeration is likely enough due to a gradual neglect of the original poetic form of the Psalms; such neglect was occasioned by liturgical uses and carelessness of copyists. It is generally admitted that Pss. 9 and 10 were originally a single acrostic poem; they have been wrongly separated by Massorah, rightly united by the Septuagint and Vulgate. Pss. 42 and 43 are shown by identity of subject (yearning for the house of Yahweh), of metrical structure and of refrain (cf. Heb. Ps. 42:6, 12; 43:5), to be three strophes of one and the same poem. The Hebrew text is correct in counting as one Ps. 146 and Ps. 147. Later liturgical usage would seem to have split up these and several other psalms. Zenner combines into what he deems were the original choral odes: Pss. 1, 2, 3, 4; 6 + 13; 9 + 10; 19, 20, 21; 56 + 57; 69 + 70; 114 + 115; 148, 149, 150. A choral ode would seem to have been the original form of Pss. 14 and 70. The two strophes and the epode are Ps. 14; the two antistrophes are Ps. 70. It is noteworthy that, on the breaking up of the original ode, each portion crept twice into the Psalter: Ps. 14 = 53, Ps. 70 = 40:14–18. Other such duplicated portions of psalms are Ps. 108:2–6 = Ps. 57:8–12; Ps. 108:7–14 = Ps. 60:7–14; Ps. 71:1–3 = Ps. 31:2–4. This loss of the original form of some of the psalms is allowed by the Biblical Commission (1 May 1910) to have been due to liturgical practices, neglect by copyists, or other causes.
The Septuagint, present in Eastern Orthodox churches, includes a Psalm 151; a Hebrew version of this was found in the "Psalms Scroll" of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some versions of the Peshitta (the "Bible" used in Syriac churches in the Middle East) include Psalms 152–155. There are also the Psalms of Solomon, which are a further 18 psalms of Jewish origin, likely originally written in Hebrew, but surviving only in Greek and Syriac translation. These and other indications suggest that the current Western Christian and Jewish collection of 150 psalms were selected from a wider set.
Hermann Gunkel's pioneering form-critical work on the psalms sought to provide a new and meaningful context in which to interpret individual psalms—not by looking at their literary context within the Psalter (which he did not see as significant), but by bringing together psalms of the same genre ("Gattung") from throughout the Psalter. Gunkel divided the psalms into five primary types:
"Hymns", songs of praise for God's work in creation or history. They typically open with a call to praise, describe the motivation for praise, and conclude with a repetition of the call. Two sub-categories are "enthronement psalms", celebrating the enthronement of Yahweh as king, and Zion psalms, glorifying Mount Zion, God's dwelling-place in Jerusalem. Gunkel also described a special subset of "eschatological hymns" which includes themes of future restoration (Psalm 126) or of judgment (Psalm 82).
"Communal laments", in which the nation laments some communal disaster. Both communal and individual laments typically but not always include the following elements:
In general, the individual and communal subtypes can be distinguished by the use of the singular "I" or the plural "we". However, the "I" could also be characterising an individual's personal experience that was reflective of the entire community.
"Royal psalms", dealing with such matters as the king's coronation, marriage and battles. None of them mentions any specific king by name, and their origin and use remain obscure; several psalms, especially Ps. 93–99, concern the kingship of God, and might relate to an annual ceremony in which Yahweh would be ritually reinstated as king.
"Individual laments" lamenting the fate of the particular individual who utters them. They are by far the most common type of psalm. They typically open with an invocation of God, followed by the lament itself and pleas for help, and often ending with an expression of confidence. A subset is the psalm of confidence, in which the psalmist expresses confidence that God will deliver him from evils and enemies.
"Individual thanksgiving psalms", the opposite of individual laments, in which the psalmist thanks God for deliverance from personal distress.
In addition to these five major genres, Gunkel also recognised a number of minor psalm-types, including:
The composition of the psalms spans at least five centuries, from Psalm 29, possibly an Israelite adaptation of an entire Canaanite hymn to Baal, to others clearly from the post-Exilic period (not earlier than the fifth century B.C.) The majority originated in the southern kingdom of Judah and were associated with the Temple in Jerusalem, where they probably functioned as libretto during the Temple worship. Exactly how they did this is unclear, although there are indications in some of them: "Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar," suggests a connection with sacrifices, and "Let my prayer be counted as incense" suggests a connection with the offering of incense.
The biblical poetry of Psalms uses parallelism as its primary poetic device. Parallelism is a kind of symmetry, in which an idea is developed by the use of restatement, synonym, amplification, grammatical repetition, or opposition. Synonymous parallelism involves two lines expressing essentially the same idea. An example of synonymous parallelism:
Two lines expressing opposites is known as antithetic parallelism. An example of antithetic parallelism:
Two clauses expressing the idea of amplifying the first claim is known as expansive parallelism. An example of expansive parallelism:
Many scholars believe the individual Psalms were redacted into a single collection in Second-Temple times. It had long been recognized that the collection bore the imprint of an underlying message or metanarrative, but that this message remained concealed, as Augustine of Hippo said, "The sequence of the Psalms seems to me to contain the secret of a mighty mystery, but its meaning has not been revealed to me." ("Enarr." on Ps. 150.1) Others pointed out the presence of concatenation, that is, adjacent Psalms sharing similar words and themes. In time, this approach developed into recognizing overarching themes shared by whole groups of psalms.
In 1985, Gerald H. Wilson's "The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter" proposed – by parallel with other ancient eastern hymn collections – that psalms at the beginning and end (or "seams") of the five books of Psalms have thematic significance, corresponding in particular with the placement of the royal psalms. He pointed out that there was a progression of ideas, from adversity, through the crux of the collection in the apparent failure of the covenant in Psalm 89, leading to a concert of praise at the end. He concluded that the collection was redacted to be a retrospective of the failure of the Davidic covenant, exhorting Israel to trust in God alone in a non-messianic future. Walter Brueggemann suggested that the underlying editorial purpose was oriented rather towards wisdom or sapiential concerns, addressing the issues of how to live the life of faith. Psalm 1 calls the reader to a life of obedience; Psalm 73 (Brueggemann's crux psalm) faces the crisis when divine faithfulness is in doubt; Psalm 150 represents faith's triumph, when God is praised not for his rewards, but for his being. In 1997, David. C. Mitchell's "The Message of the Psalter" took a quite different line. Building on the work of Wilson and others, Mitchell proposed that the Psalter embodies an eschatological timetable like that of Zechariah 9–14. This programme includes the gathering of exiled Israel by a bridegroom-king; his establishment of a kingdom; his violent death; Israel scattered in the wilderness, regathered and again imperilled, then rescued by a king from the heavens, who establishes his kingdom from Zion, brings peace and prosperity to the earth and receives the homage of the nations.
These three views—Wilson's non-messianic retrospective of the Davidic covenant, Brueggemann's sapiential instruction, and Mitchell's eschatologico-messianic programme—all have their followers, although the sapiential agenda has been somewhat eclipsed by the other two. Shortly before his untimely death in 2005, Wilson modified his position to allow for the existence of messianic prophecy within the Psalms' redactional agenda. Mitchell's position remains largely unchanged, although he now sees the issue as identifying when the historical beginning of the Psalms turns to eschatology.
The Psalms were written not merely as poems, but as songs for singing. More than a third of the psalms are addressed to the Director of Music. Some psalms exhort the worshipper to sing (e.g. Pss. 33:1-3; 92:1-3; 96:1-3; 98:1; 101:1; 150). Some headings denote the musical instruments on which the psalm should be played (Pss. 4, 5, 6, 8, 67). Some refer to singing at the "sheminit" or octave (Pss. 6, 12). And others preserve the name for ancient eastern modes, like "mut la-ben" (Death of the son; Ps. 9), "ayelet ha-shachar" (hind of the dawn; Ps. 22); "shoshanim" (Lilies; Ps. 45); or "alamoth" (Maidens?; Ps. 46).
Despite the frequently heard view that their ancient music is lost, the means to reconstruct it are still extant. Fragments of temple psalmody are preserved in ancient church and synagogue chant, particularly in the "tonus peregrinus" melody to Psalm 114. Cantillation signs, to record the melody sung, were in use since ancient times; evidence of them can be found in the manuscripts of the oldest extant copies of Psalms in the Dead Sea Scrolls and are even more extensive in the Masoretic text, which dates to the Early Middle Ages and whose Tiberian scribes claimed to be basing their work on temple-period signs. (See Moshe ben Asher's 'Song of the Vine' colophon to the Codex Cairensis).
Several attempts have been made to decode the Masoretic cantillation, but the most successful is that of Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura (1928–2000) in the last quarter of the 20th century. Although some have dismissed Haïk-Vantoura's system, Mitchell has repeatedly defended it, showing that, when applied to the Masoretic cantillation of Psalm 114, it produces a melody recognizable as the "tonus peregrinus" of church and synagogue. Mitchell includes musical transcriptions of the temple psalmody of Psalms 120–134 in his commentary on the Songs of Ascents.
Regardless of academic research, Sephardic Jews have retained a tradition in the Masoretic cantillation.
Most individual psalms involve the praise of God—for his power and beneficence, for his creation of the world, and for his past acts of deliverance for Israel. The psalms envision a world in which everyone and everything will praise God, and God in turn will hear their prayers and respond. The author wrestles with when God "hides his face" and refuses to respond, because deals with the relationship between God and prayer which is the underlying assumption of the Book of Psalms.
Some psalms are called "maskil" ("maschil") because in addition they impart wisdom. Most notable of these is Psalm 142 which is sometimes called the "Maskil of David", others include Psalm 32 and Psalm 78. The term derives from "maskil" meaning "enlightened" or "wise".
Individual psalms were originally hymns, to be used on various occasions and at various sacred sites; later, some were anthologised, and might have been understood within the various anthologies (e.g., ps. 123 as one of the Psalms of Ascent); finally, individual psalms might be understood within the Psalter as a whole, either narrating the life of David or providing instruction like the Torah. In later Jewish and Christian tradition, the psalms have come to be used as prayers, either individual or communal, as traditional expressions of religious feeling.
Some of the titles given to the Psalms have descriptions which suggest their use in worship:
Psalms are used throughout traditional Jewish worship. Many complete Psalms and verses from Psalms appear in the morning services ("Shacharit"). The "pesukei dezimra" component incorporates Psalms 30, 100 and 145–150. Psalm 145 (commonly referred to as "Ashrei", which is really the first word of two verses appended to the beginning of the Psalm), is read three times every day: once in "shacharit" as part of "pesukei dezimrah", as mentioned, once, along with Psalm 20, as part of the morning's concluding prayers, and once at the start of the afternoon service. On Festival days and Sabbaths, instead of concluding the morning service, it precedes the Mussaf service. Psalms 95–99, 29, 92, and 93, along with some later readings, comprise the introduction ("Kabbalat Shabbat") to the Friday night service. Traditionally, a different "Psalm for the Day"—"Shir shel yom"—is read after the morning service each day of the week (starting Sunday, Psalms: 24, 48, 82, 94, 81, 93, 92). This is described in the Mishnah (the initial codification of the Jewish oral tradition) in the tractate "Tamid". According to the Talmud, these daily Psalms were originally recited on that day of the week by the Levites in the Temple in Jerusalem. From Rosh Chodesh Elul until Hoshanah Rabbah, Psalm 27 is recited twice daily following the morning and evening services. There is a "Minhag" (custom) to recite Psalm 30 each morning of Chanukkah after Shacharit: some recite this in place of the regular "Psalm for the Day", others recite this additionally.
When a Jew dies, a watch is kept over the body and "tehillim" (Psalms) are recited constantly by sun or candlelight, until the burial service. Historically, this watch would be carried out by the immediate family, usually in shifts, but in contemporary practice this service is provided by an employee of the funeral home or "chevra kadisha".
Many Jews complete the Book of Psalms on a weekly or monthly basis. Each week, some also say a Psalm connected to that week's events or the Torah portion read during that week. In addition, many Jews (notably Lubavitch, and other Chasidim) read the entire Book of Psalms prior to the morning service, on the Sabbath preceding the calculated appearance of the new moon.
The reading of psalms is viewed in Jewish tradition as a vehicle for gaining God's favor. They are thus often specially recited in times of trouble, such as poverty, disease, or physical danger; in many synagogues, Psalms are recited after services for the security of the State of Israel. Sefer ha-Chinuch states that this practice is designed not to achieve favor, as such, but rather to inculcate belief in Divine Providence into one's consciousness, consistently with Maimonides' general view on Providence. (Relatedly, the Hebrew verb for prayer, "hitpalal" התפלל, is in fact the reflexive form of "palal" פלל, to judge. Thus, "to pray" conveys the notion of "judging oneself": ultimately, the purpose of prayer—"tefilah" תפלה—is to transform ourselves.)
New Testament references show that the earliest Christians used the Psalms in worship, and the Psalms have remained an important part of worship in most Christian Churches. The Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Presbyterian, Lutheran and Anglican Churches have always made systematic use of the Psalms, with a cycle for the recitation of all or most of them over the course of one or more weeks. In the early centuries of the Church, it was expected that any candidate for bishop would be able to recite the entire Psalter from memory, something they often learned automatically during their time as monks.
Paul the Apostle quotes psalms (specifically Psalms 14 and 53, which are nearly identical) as the basis for his theory of original sin, and includes the scripture in the Epistle to the Romans, chapter 3.
Several conservative Protestant denominations sing only the Psalms (some churches also sing the small number of hymns found elsewhere in the Bible) in worship, and do not accept the use of any non-Biblical hymns; examples are the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, the Presbyterian Reformed Church (North America) and the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing).
New translations and settings of the Psalms continue to be produced. An individually printed volume of Psalms for use in Christian religious rituals is called a Psalter.
Furthermore, psalms often serve as the inspiration for much of modern or contemporary Christian worship music in a variety of styles. Some songs are entirely based on a particular psalm or psalms, and many quote directly from the Book of Psalms (and other parts of the Bible).
Orthodox Christians and Greek-Catholics (Eastern Catholics who follow the Byzantine rite) have long made the Psalms an integral part of their corporate and private prayers. The official version of the Psalter used by the Orthodox Church is the Septuagint. To facilitate its reading, the 150 Psalms are divided into 20 "kathismata" (Greek: καθίσματα; Slavonic: каѳисмы, "kafismy"; lit. "sittings") and each "kathisma" (Greek: κάθισμα; Slavonic: каѳисма, "kafisma") is further subdivided into three "stases" (Greek: στάσεις, "staseis" lit. "standings", sing. στάσις, "stasis"), so-called because the faithful stand at the end of each "stasis" for the Glory to the Father ...
At Vespers and Matins, different "kathismata" are read at different times of the liturgical year and on different days of the week, according to the Church's calendar, so that all 150 psalms (20 "kathismata") are read in the course of a week. During Great Lent, the number of "kathismata" is increased so that the entire Psalter is read twice a week. In the twentieth century, some lay Christians have adopted a continuous reading of the Psalms on weekdays, praying the whole book in four weeks.
Aside from "kathisma" readings, Psalms occupy a prominent place in every other Orthodox service including the services of the Hours and the Divine Liturgy. In particular, the penitential Psalm 50 is very widely used. Fragments of Psalms and individual verses are used as "Prokimena" (introductions to Scriptural readings) and "Stichera". The bulk of Vespers would still be composed of Psalms even if the kathisma were to be disregarded; Psalm 119, "The Psalm of the Law", is the centerpiece of Matins on Saturdays, some Sundays, and the Funeral service. The entire book of Psalms is traditionally read out loud or chanted at the side of the deceased during the time leading up to the funeral, mirroring Jewish tradition.
Several branches of Oriental Orthodox and those Eastern Catholics who follow one of the Oriental Rites will chant the entire Psalter during the course of a day during the Daily Office. This practice continues to be a requirement of monastics in the Oriental churches.
The Psalms have always been an important part of Catholic liturgy. The Liturgy of the Hours is centered on chanting or recitation of the Psalms, using fixed melodic formulas known as psalm tones. Early Catholics employed the Psalms widely in their individual prayers also; however, as knowledge of Latin (the language of the Roman Rite) became uncommon, this practice ceased among the unlearned. However, until the end of the Middle Ages, it was not unknown for the laity to join in the singing of the Little Office of Our Lady, which was a shortened version of the Liturgy of the Hours providing a fixed daily cycle of twenty-five psalms to be recited, and nine other psalms divided across Matins.
The work of Bishop Richard Challoner in providing devotional materials in English meant that many of the psalms were familiar to English-speaking Catholics from the eighteenth century onwards. Challoner translated the entirety of the Little Office into English, as well as Sunday Vespers and daily Compline. He also provided other individual Psalms such as 129/130 for prayer in his devotional books. Bishop Challoner is also noted for revising the Douay–Rheims Bible, and the translations he used in his devotional books are taken from this work.
Until the Second Vatican Council the Psalms were either recited on a one-week or, less commonly (as in the case of Ambrosian rite), two-week cycle. Different one-week schemata were employed: most secular clergy followed the Roman distribution, while Monastic Houses almost universally followed that of St Benedict, with only a few congregations (such as the Benedictines of St Maur) following individualistic arrangements. The Breviary introduced in 1974 distributed the psalms over a four-week cycle. Monastic usage varies widely. Some use the four-week cycle of the secular clergy, many retain a one-week cycle, either following St Benedict's scheme or another of their own devising, while others opt for some other arrangement.
Official approval was also given to other arrangements by which the complete Psalter is recited in a one-week or two-week cycle. These arrangements are used principally by Catholic contemplative religious orders, such as that of the Trappists.
The "General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours", 122 sanctions three modes of singing/recitation for the Psalms:
Of these three the antiphonal mode is the most widely followed.
Over the centuries, the use of complete Psalms in the liturgy declined. After the Second Vatican Council (which also permitted the use of vernacular languages in the liturgy), longer psalm texts were reintroduced into the Mass, during the readings. The revision of the Roman Missal after the Second Vatican Council reintroduced the singing or recitation of a more substantial section of a Psalm, in some cases an entire Psalm, after the first Reading from Scripture. This Psalm, called the "Responsorial Psalm," is usually sung or recited responsorially, although the "General Instruction of the Roman Missal", 61 permits direct recitation.
Following the Protestant Reformation, versified translations of many of the Psalms were set as hymns. These were particularly popular in the Calvinist tradition, where in the past they were typically sung to the exclusion of hymns. John Calvin himself made some French translations of the Psalms for church usage, but the completed Genevan Psalter eventually used in church services consisted exclusively of translations by Clément Marot and Théodore de Bèze, on melodies by a number of composers, including Louis Bourgeois and a certain Maistre Pierre. Martin Luther's Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott is based on Psalm 46. Among famous hymn settings of the Psalter were the Scottish Psalter and the paraphrases by Isaac Watts. The first book printed in North America was a collection of Psalm settings, the Bay Psalm Book (1640).
By the 20th century, they were mostly replaced by hymns in church services. However, the Psalms are popular for private devotion among many Protestants and still used in many churches for traditional worship. There exists in some circles a custom of reading one Psalm and one chapter of Proverbs a day, corresponding to the day of the month.
Metrical Psalms are still very popular among many Reformed Churches.
Anglican chant is a method of singing prose versions of the Psalms.
In the early 17th century, when the King James Bible was introduced, the metrical arrangements by Thomas Sternhold and John Hopkins were also popular and were provided with printed tunes. This version and the "New Version of the Psalms of David" by Tate and Brady produced in the late seventeenth century (see article on Metrical psalter) remained the normal congregational way of singing psalms in the Church of England until well into the nineteenth century.
In Great Britain, the 16th-century Coverdale psalter still lies at the heart of daily worship in Cathedrals and many parish churches. The new Common Worship service book has a companion psalter in modern English.
The version of the psalter in the American Book of Common Prayer prior to the 1979 edition is the Coverdale psalter. The Psalter in the American Book of Common Prayer of 1979 is a new translation, with some attempt to keep the rhythms of the Coverdale psalter.
The Psalms are one of the most popular parts of the Bible among followers of the Rastafari movement. Rasta singer Prince Far I released an atmospheric spoken version of the psalms, "Psalms for I", set to a roots reggae backdrop from The Aggrovators.
Psalms have often been set as part of a larger work. The psalms feature large in settings of Vespers, including those by Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who wrote such settings as part of their responsibilities as church musicians. Psalms are inserted in Requiem compositions, such as Psalm 126 in "A German Requiem" of Johannes Brahms and Psalms 130 and 23 in John Rutter's "Requiem".
There are many settings of individual psalms, which are generally mentioned in the article devoted to the particular psalm. They include:
Johann Sebastian Bach used lines from psalms in several of his cantatas, often in the opening chorus:
Bach treated complete psalms in German paraphrasing as chorale cantatas:
Carl Nielsen set in "Tre Motetter" three verses from different psalms as motets for unaccompanied chorus, first performed in 1930. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24203 |
Philistines
The Philistines were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan between the 12th century BC and 604 BC when they were exiled to Mesopotamia by King Nebuchadnezzar II. They are known for their biblical conflict with the Israelites. The primary source of information about the Philistines is the Hebrew Bible, but they are first attested to in reliefs at the Temple of Ramses III at Medinet Habu, where they are called , accepted as cognate with Hebrew ; the parallel Assyrian term is , , or .
The first reference to Philistines in the Hebrew Bible is in the Table of Nations, where they are said to descend from Casluhim, son of Mizraim (Egypt). However, the Philistines of Genesis who are friendly to Abraham are identified by rabbinic sources as distinct from the warlike people described in Deuteronomistic history. Deuteronomist sources describe the "Five Lords of the Philistines" as based in five city-states of the southwestern Levant: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath, from Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north. This description portrays them at one period of time as among the Kingdom of Israel's most dangerous enemies. In contrast, the Septuagint uses the term () instead of "Philistines", which means simply "other nations".
Several theories are given about the origins of the Philistines. The Hebrew Bible mentions in two places that they originate from Caphtor (possibly Crete). The Septuagint also connects the Philistines to other biblical groups such as Caphtorim and the Cherethites and Pelethites, which have been identified with the island of Crete. This has led to the modern theory of Philistines having an Aegean origin. In 2016, a large Philistine cemetery was discovered near Ashkelon, containing more than 150 dead buried in oval-shaped graves. A 2019 genetic study found that, while all three Ashkelon populations derive most of their ancestry from the local Levantine gene pool, the early Iron Age population was genetically distinct due to a European-related admixture; this genetic signal is no longer detectable in the later Iron Age population. According to the authors, the admixture was likely due to a "gene flow from a European-related gene pool" during the Bronze to Iron Age transition, which supports the theory that a migration event occurred.
The English word "Philistine" comes from Old French , from Classical Latin , from Late Greek , from Hebrew ("Pəlištî", plural "Pəlištîm"), meaning person of ("Pəlešeth"); and there are cognates in Akkadian and Egyptian ; the term "Palestine" has the same derivation.
The Hebrew term occurs 286 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible (of which 152 times are in 1 Samuel). It also appears in the Samaritan Pentateuch. In secondary literature, the Aramaic "Visions of Amram" (4Q543-7) further mentions "Philistia". This is datable "prior to Antiochus IV and the Hasmonean revolt", possibly to the term of High Priest of Israel Onias II; Jubilees 46:1-47:1 might have used "Amram" as a source. In the Greek version of the Bible called Septuagint, the equivalent term "Phylistiim" occurs 12 times, again in the Pentateuch.
Outside of pre-Maccabean Israelite religious literature, evidence for the name and the origins of the Philistines is less abundant and less consistent. In the remainder of the Hebrew Bible, is attested at Qumran for 2 Samuel 5:17. In the Septuagint however 269 references instead use the term ("of another tribe").
The Philistines are the subject of research and speculation in biblical archaeology. Since 1846, scholars have connected the biblical Philistines with the Egyptian "" inscriptions, all five of which appear from 1150 BCE to 900 BCE just as archaeological references to "Kinaḫḫu" or "Ka-na-na" (Canaan) come to an end, and since 1873 comparisons were drawn between them and to the Aegean "Pelasgians". Archaeological research to date has been unable to corroborate a mass settlement of Philistines during the Ramesses III era.
A "Walistina" is mentioned in Luwian texts already variantly spelled Palistina. This implies dialectical variation, a phoneme ("f"?) inadequately described in the script, or both. Falistina was a kingdom somewhere on the 'Amuq plain, where the Amurru kingdom had held sway before it.
Another theory, proposed by Jacobsohn, is that the name derives from the attested Illyrian locality "Palaeste", whose inhabitants would have been called "Palaestīnī" according to normal grammatical practice.
Allen Jones suggests that the name "Philistine" represents a corruption of the Greek "phyle histia" ("tribe of the hearth", with the Ionic spelling of "hestia").
The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 states in Hebrew with regard to the descendants of Mizraim, the biblical progenitor of the Egyptians: ""ve-et Patrusim ve-et Kasluhim asher yats'u mi-sham Plištim ve-et Kaftorim."" Literally, it says that those whom "Mizraim" begat included "the Pathrusim, Casluhim (out of whom came the Philistines), and the Caphtorim." There is some debate among interpreters as to whether this verse was originally intended to signify that the Philistines themselves were the offspring of the Casluhim or the Caphtorim. While the Casluhim or the Caphtorim origin is widely followed by biblical scholars, other scholars such as Friedrich Schwally, Bernhard Stade, and Cornelis Tiele argued for a Semitic origin.
The Torah does not record the Philistines as one of the nations to be displaced from Canaan. In the Philistines are absent from the ten nations Abraham's descendants will displace as well as being absent from the list of nations Moses tells the people they will conquer, though the land in which they resided is included in the boundaries based on the locations of rivers described (, ). God also directed the Israelites away from the Philistines upon their Exodus from Egypt according to . In , Abraham agrees to a covenant of kindness with Abimelech, the Philistine king, and his descendants. Abraham's son Isaac deals with the Philistine king similarly, by concluding a treaty with them in chapter 26 ().
Unlike most other ethnic groups in the Bible, the Philistines are almost always referred to without the definite article in the Torah.
Rabbinic sources state that the Philistines of Genesis were different people from the Philistines of the Deuteronomistic history (the series of books from Joshua to 2 Kings). This differentiation was also held by the authors of the Septuagint, who translated (rather than transliterated) its base text as "allophuloi" (, "other nations") instead of "philistines" throughout the Books of Judges and Samuel. Throughout the Deuteronomistic history, Philistines are almost always referred to without the definite article, except on 11 occasions. On the basis of the LXX's regular translation into "allophyloi", Robert Drews states that the term "Philistines" means simply "non-Israelites of the Promised Land" when used in the context of Samson, Saul and David.
A few biblical texts, such as the Ark Narrative and stories reflecting the importance of Gath, seem to portray Late Iron I and Early Iron II memories. They are mentioned more than 250 times, the majority in the Deuteronomistic history, and are depicted as among the arch-enemies of the Israelites, a serious and recurring threat before being subdued by David.
The Bible paints the Philistines as the main enemy of the Israelites (prior to the rise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire between the 10th century BC and late 7th century BC) with a state of almost perpetual war between the two. The Philistine cities lost their independence to Assyria, and revolts in the following years were all crushed. They were subsequently absorbed into the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Achaemenid Empire, and disappeared as a distinct ethnic group by the late 5th century BC.
Amos in sets the Philistines / ἀλλοφύλοι at Ashdod and Ekron. In God is quoted asserting that, as he brought Israel from Egypt, he also (in the Hebrew) brought the Philistines from Caphtor. In the Greek this is, instead, bringing the ἀλλόφυλοι from Cappadocia.
The following is a list of battles described in the Bible as having occurred between the Israelites and the Philistines:
According to Joshua and , the land of the Philistines (or Allophyloi), called Philistia, was a pentapolis in the southwestern Levant comprising the five city-states of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath, from Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with no fixed border to the east.
Tell Qasile (a "port city") and Aphek were located on the northern frontier of Philistine territory, and Tell Qasile in particular may have been inhabited by both Philistine and non-Philistine people.
The location of Gath is not entirely certain, although the site of Tell es-Safi, not far from Ekron, is currently the most favoured.
The identity of the city of Ziklag, which according to the Bible marked the border between the Philistine and Israelite territory, remains uncertain.
In the western part of the Jezreel Valley, 23 of the 26 Iron Age I sites (12th to 10th centuries BCE) yielded typical Philistine pottery. These sites include Tel Megiddo, Tel Yokneam, Tel Qiri, Afula, Tel Qashish, Be'er Tiveon, Hurvat Hazin, Tel Risim, Tel Re'ala, Hurvat Tzror, Tel Sham, Midrakh Oz and Tel Zariq. Scholars have attributed the presence of Philistine pottery in northern Israel to their role as mercenaries for the Egyptians during their military administration of the land in the 12th century BCE. This presence may also indicate further expansion of the Philistines to the valley during the 11th century BCE, or their trade with the Israelites. There are biblical references to Philistines in the valley during the times of the judges. The quantity of Philistine pottery within these sites is still quite small, which means that even if the Philistines did settle the valley they were a minority that blended within the Canaanite population during the 12th century BCE. The Philistines seem to have been present in the southern valley during the 11th century, which may relate to the biblical account of their victory at the Battle of Gilboa.
Since Edward Hincks and William Osburn Jr. in 1846, biblical scholars have connected the biblical Philistines with the Egyptian "Peleset" inscriptions; and since 1873, both have been connected with the Aegean "Pelasgians". The evidence for these connections is etymological and has been disputed.
Inscriptions written by the Philistines have not yet been found or conclusively identified.
Based on the Peleset inscriptions, it has been suggested that the Casluhite Philistines formed part of the conjectured "Sea Peoples" who repeatedly attacked Egypt during the later Nineteenth Dynasty. Though they were eventually repulsed by Ramesses III, he finally resettled them, according to the theory, to rebuild the coastal towns in Canaan. Papyrus Harris I details the achievements of the reign of Ramesses III. In the brief description of the outcome of the battles in Year 8 is the description of the fate of some of the conjectured Sea Peoples. Ramesses claims that, having brought the prisoners to Egypt, he "settled them in strongholds, bound in my name. Numerous were their classes, hundreds of thousands strong. I taxed them all, in clothing and grain from the storehouses and granaries each year." Some scholars suggest it is likely that these "strongholds" were fortified towns in southern Canaan, which would eventually become the five cities (the Pentapolis) of the Philistines. Israel Finkelstein has suggested that there may be a period of 25–50 years after the sacking of these cities and their reoccupation by the Philistines. It is quite possible that for the initial period of time, the Philistines were housed in Egypt; only subsequently late in the troubled end of the reign of Ramesses III would they have been allowed to settle Philistia.
The "Peleset" appear in four different texts from the time of the New Kingdom. Two of these, the inscriptions at Medinet Habu and the Rhetorical Stela at Deir al-Medinah, are dated to the time of the reign of Ramesses III (1186–1155 BC). Another was composed in the period immediately following the death of Ramesses III (Papyrus Harris I). The fourth, the Onomasticon of Amenope, is dated to some time between the end of the 12th or early 11th century BC.
The inscriptions at Medinet Habu consist of images depicting a coalition of Sea Peoples, among them the Peleset, who are said in the accompanying text to have been defeated by Ramesses III during his Year 8 campaign. In about 1175 BC, Egypt was threatened with a massive land and sea invasion by the "Sea Peoples," a coalition of foreign enemies which included the Tjeker, the Shekelesh, the Deyen, the Weshesh, the Teresh, the Sherden, and the "PRST". They were comprehensively defeated by Ramesses III, who fought them in "Djahy" (the eastern Mediterranean coast) and at "the mouths of the rivers" (the Nile Delta), recording his victories in a series of inscriptions in his mortuary temple at Medinet Habu. Scholars have been unable to conclusively determine which images match what peoples described in the reliefs depicting two major battle scenes. A separate relief on one of the bases of the Osirid pillars with an accompanying hieroglyphic text clearly identifying the person depicted as a captive "Peleset" chief is of a bearded man without headdress. This has led to the interpretation that Ramesses III defeated the Sea Peoples, including Philistines, and settled their captives in fortresses in southern Canaan; another related theory suggests that Philistines invaded and settled the coastal plain for themselves. The soldiers were quite tall and clean-shaven. They wore breastplates and short kilts, and their superior weapons included chariots drawn by two horses. They carried small shields and fought with straight swords and spears.
The Rhetorical Stela are less discussed, but are noteworthy in that they mention the "Peleset" together with a people called the "Teresh", who sailed "in the midst of the sea". The "Teresh" are thought to have originated from the Anatolian coast and their association with the "Peleset" in this inscription is seen as providing some information on the possible origin and identity of the Philistines.
The Harris Papyrus, which was found in a tomb at Medinet Habu, also recalls Ramesses III's battles with the Sea Peoples, declaring that the "Peleset" were "reduced to ashes." The Papyrus Harris I, records how the defeated foe were brought in captivity to Egypt and settled in fortresses. The Harris papyrus can be interpreted in two ways: either the captives were settled in Egypt and the rest of the Philistines/Sea Peoples carved out a territory for themselves in Canaan, or else it was Ramesses himself who settled the Sea Peoples (mainly Philistines) in Canaan as mercenaries. Egyptian strongholds in Canaan are also mentioned, including a temple dedicated to Amun, which some scholars place in Gaza; however, the lack of detail indicating the precise location of these strongholds means that it is unknown what impact these had, if any, on Philistine settlement along the coast.
The only mention in an Egyptian source of the Peleset in conjunction with any of the five cities that are said in the Bible to have made up the Philistine pentapolis comes in the Onomasticon of Amenope. The sequence in question has been translated as: "Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gaza, Assyria, Shubaru [...] "Sherden", "Tjekker", "Peleset", "Khurma" [...]" Scholars have advanced the possibility that the other Sea Peoples mentioned were connected to these cities in some way as well.
In 2003, a statue of a king named Taita bearing inscriptions in Luwian was discovered during excavations conducted by German archeologist Kay Kohlmeyer in the Citadel of Aleppo. The new readings of Anatolian hieroglyphs proposed by the Hittitologists Elisabeth Rieken and Ilya Yakubovich were conducive to the conclusion that the country ruled by Taita was called Palistin. This country extended in the 11th-10th centuries BCE from the Amouq Valley in the west to Aleppo in the east down to Mehardeh and Shaizar in the south. Due to the similarity between Palistin and Philistines, Hittitologist John David Hawkins (who translated the Aleppo inscriptions) hypothesizes a connection between the Syro-Hittite Palistin and the Philistines, as do archaeologists Benjamin Sass and Kay Kohlmeyer. Gershon Galil suggests that King David halted the Arameans' expansion into the Land of Israel on account of his alliance with the southern Philistine kings, as well as with Toi, king of Ḥamath, who is identified with Tai(ta) II, king of Palistin (the northern Sea Peoples).
However, the relation between Palistin and the Philistines is much debated. Israeli professor Itamar Singer notes that there is nothing (besides the name) in the recently discovered archeology that indicates an Aegean origin to Palistin; most of the discoveries at the Palistin capital Tell Tayinat indicate a Neo-Hittite state, including the names of the kings of Palistin. Singer proposes (based on archeological finds) that a branch of the Philistines settled in Tell Tayinat and were replaced or assimilated by a new Luwian population who took the Palistin name.
Many scholars have interpreted the ceramic and technological evidence attested to by archaeology as being associated with the Philistine advent in the area as strongly suggestive that they formed part of a large scale immigration to southern Canaan, probably from Anatolia and Cyprus, in the 12th century BCE. However, scholars such as London, Brug, Bunimovitz, H. Weippert, and Noort, among others, have noted the "difficulty of associating pots with people", proposing alternative suggestions such as potters following their markets or technology transfer, and emphasize the continuities with the local world in the material remains of the coastal area identified with "Philistines", rather than the differences emerging from the presence of Cypriote and/or Aegean/ Mycenaean influences. The view is summed up in the idea that 'Kings come and go, but the pots remain', suggesting that the foreign Aegean elements in the Philistine population may have been a minority.
The proposed connection between Mycenaean culture and Philistine culture was further documented by finds at the excavation of Ashdod, Ekron, Ashkelon, and more recently Gath, four of the five Philistine cities in Canaan. The fifth city is Gaza. Especially notable is the early Philistine pottery, a locally made version of the Aegean Mycenaean Late Helladic IIIC pottery, which is decorated in shades of brown and black. This later developed into the distinctive Philistine pottery of the Iron Age I, with black and red decorations on white slip known as Philistine Bichrome ware. Also of particular interest is a large, well-constructed building covering , discovered at Ekron. Its walls are broad, designed to support a second story, and its wide, elaborate entrance leads to a large hall, partly covered with a roof supported on a row of columns. In the floor of the hall is a circular hearth paved with pebbles, as is typical in Mycenaean megaron hall buildings; other unusual architectural features are paved benches and podiums. Among the finds are three small bronze wheels with eight spokes. Such wheels are known to have been used for portable cultic stands in the Aegean region during this period, and it is therefore assumed that this building served cultic functions. Further evidence concerns an inscription in Ekron to PYGN or PYTN, which some have suggested refers to "Potnia", the title given to an ancient Mycenaean goddess. Excavations in Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath reveal dog and pig bones which show signs of having been butchered, implying that these animals were part of the residents' diet. Among other findings there are wineries where fermented wine was produced, as well as loom weights resembling those of Mycenaean sites in Greece.
Material culture evidence, primarily pottery styles, indicates that the Philistines originally settled in a few sites in the south, such as Ashkelon, Ashdod and Ekron. It was not until several decades later, about 1150 BC, that they expanded into surrounding areas such as the Yarkon region to the north (the area of modern Jaffa, where there were Philistine farmsteads at Tel Gerisa and Aphek, and a larger settlement at Tel Qasile). Most scholars, therefore, believe that the settlement of the Philistines took place in two stages. In the first, dated to the reign of Ramesses III, they were limited to the coastal plain, the region of the Five Cities; in the second, dated to the collapse of Egyptian hegemony in southern Canaan, their influence spread inland beyond the coast. During the 10th to 7th centuries BC, the distinctiveness of the material culture appears to have been absorbed with that of surrounding peoples.
The Leon Levy Expedition, consisting of archaeologists from Harvard University, Boston College, Wheaton College in Illinois and Troy University in Alabama, conducted a 30-year investigation of the burial practices of the Philistines, by excavating a Philistine cemetery containing more than 150 burials dating from the 11th to 8th century BCE Tel Ashkelon. The expedition withheld announcing the results of the excavations for three years, until their work was completed, concerned about the reaction of ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters, who are known to protest against excavations, arguing that such digging violates Jewish religious law, by potentially disturbing Jewish remains in the excavation area. In July 2016, the expedition finally announced the results of their excavation.
Archaeological evidence, provided by architecture, burial arrangements, ceramics, and pottery fragments inscribed with non-Semitic writing, indicates that the Philistines were not native to Canaan. Most of the 150 dead were buried in oval-shaped graves, some were interred in ashlar chamber tombs, while there were 4 who were cremated. These burial arrangements were very common to the Aegean cultures, but not to the one indigenous to Canaan. Lawrence Stager of Harvard University believes that Philistines came to Canaan by ships before the Battle of the Delta circa 1175 BCE. DNA was extracted from the skeletons for archaeogenetic population analysis.
The Leon Levy Expedition, which has been going on since 1985, helped break down some of the previous assumptions that the Philistines were uncultured people by having evidence of perfume near the bodies in order for the deceased to smell it in the afterlife.
A study carried out on skeletons at Ashkelon in 2019 by an interdisciplinary team of scholars from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the Leon Levy Expedition found that human remains at Ashkelon, associated with "Philistines" during the Iron Age, derived most of their ancestry from the local Levantine gene pool, but with a certain amount of Southern-European-related admixture. This confirms previous historic and archaeological records of a Southern-European migration event, but it did not leave a long-lasting genetic impact. After two centuries, the Southern-European genetic markers were dwarfed by the local Levantine gene pool, suggesting intensive intermarriage. The Philistine culture and peoplehood remained distinct from other local communities for six centuries. The DNA suggests an influx of people of European heritage into Ashkelon in the twelfth century BC. The individuals' DNA shows similarities to that of ancient Cretans, but the team warns that it is impossible to specify the exact place in Europe from where Philistines had migrated to Levant, due to limited number of ancient genomes available for study, "with 20 to 60 per cent similarity to DNA from ancient skeletons from Crete and Iberia and that from modern people living in Sardinia." The finding fits with an understanding of the Philistines as an "entangled" or "transcultural" group consisting of peoples of various origins, said Aren Maeir, an archaeologist at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. "While I fully agree that there was a significant component of non-Levantine origins among the Philistines in the early Iron Age," he said. "These foreign components were not of one origin, and, no less important, they mixed with local Levantine populations from the early Iron Age onward." Laura Mazow, an archaeologist at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., said the research paper supported the idea that there was some migration into the site from the west. She added that the findings "support the picture that we see in the archaeological record of a complex, multicultural process that has been resistant to reconstruction by any single historical model." "When we found the infants – infants that were too young to travel... these infants couldn't march or sail to get to the land around Ashkelon, so they were born on site. And their DNA revealed [that] their parents' heritage was not from the local population," Dr. Adam A. Aja, assistant curator of collections at the Harvard Semitic Museum and one of the Ashkelon Philistine cemetery archaeologists, explained, referring to the new genetic input from the direction of Southern Europe that was found in bone samples taken from infants buried under the floors of Philistine homes. Modern archaeologists agree that the Philistines were different from their neighbors: Their arrival on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean in the early 12th century B.C. is marked by pottery with close parallels to the ancient Greek world, the use of an Aegean—instead of a Semitic—script, and the consumption of pork.
The population of the area associated with Philistines is estimated to have been around 25,000 in the 12th century BC, rising to a peak of 30,000 in the 11th century BC. The Canaanite nature of the material culture and toponyms suggest that much of this population was indigenous, such that the migrant element would likely constitute less than half the total, and perhaps much less.
Nothing is known for certain about the language of the Philistines. Pottery fragments from the period of around 1500–1000 BCE have been found bearing inscriptions in non-Semitic languages, including one in a Cypro-Minoan script. The Bible does not mention any language problems between the Israelites and the Philistines, as it does with other groups up to the Babylonian occupation. Later, Nehemiah 13:23-24 writing under the Achaemenids records that when Judean men intermarried women from Moab, Ammon and Philistine cities, half the offspring of Judean marriages with women from Ashdod could speak only their mother tongue, "Ašdôdît", not Judean Hebrew ("Yehûdît"); although by then this language might have been an Aramaic dialect. There is some limited evidence in favour of the assumption that the Philistines were originally Indo-European-speakers, either from Greece or Luwian speakers from the coast of Asia Minor, on the basis of some Philistine-related words found in the Bible not appearing to be related to other Semitic languages. Such theories suggest that the Semitic elements in the language were borrowed from their neighbours in the region. For example, the Philistine word for captain, "seren", may be related to the Greek word "tyrannos" (thought by linguists to have been borrowed by the Greeks from an Anatolian language, such as Luwian or Lydian). Although most Philistine names are Semitic (such as Ahimelech, Mitinti, Hanun, and Dagon) some of the Philistine names, such as Goliath, Achish, and Phicol, appear to be of non-Semitic origin, and Indo-European etymologies have been suggested. Recent finds of inscriptions written in Hieroglyphic Luwian in Palistin substantiate a connection between the language of the kingdom of Palistin and the Philistines of the southwestern Levant.
The deities worshipped in the area were Baal, Astarte, and Dagon, whose names or variations thereof had already appeared in the earlier attested Canaanite pantheon.
Cities excavated in the area attributed to Philistines give evidence of careful town planning, including industrial zones. The olive industry of Ekron alone includes about 200 olive oil installations. Engineers estimate that the city's production may have been more than 1,000 tons, 30 percent of Israel's present-day production.
There is considerable evidence for a large industry in fermented drink. Finds include breweries, wineries, and retail shops marketing beer and wine. Beer mugs and wine kraters are among the most common pottery finds. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24204 |
Prometheus Award
The Prometheus Award is an award for libertarian science fiction novels given annually by the Libertarian Futurist Society. L. Neil Smith established the award in 1979, but it was not awarded regularly until the newly founded Libertarian Futurist Society revived it in 1982. The Society created a Hall of Fame Award (for classic works of libertarian science fiction, not necessarily novels) in 1983, and also presents occasional one-off Special Awards.
Some authors have won the award for best novel more than once:
A few authors have won the Prometheus Hall of Fame award more than once:
Books published in a given year are eligible (although books from the last few months of the previous year are also eligible if it is felt that they have been overlooked).
Step 2 happens in the first few months of the following year.
Step 3 happens in early summer of the following year.
The awards are given at the Annual Worldcon.
* Winners
+ No winner selected | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24205 |
Paavo Lipponen
Paavo Tapio Lipponen () (born 23 April 1941) is a Finnish politician and former reporter. He was Prime Minister of Finland from 1995 to 2003, and Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland from 1993 to 2005. He also served as Speaker of the Parliament of Finland from 2003 to 2007 and was his party's nominee in the 2012 Finnish presidential election but received only 6.7% of the votes, making it the biggest defeat the Social Democratic Party had ever received in Finnish Presidential elections at the time. Lipponen is currently the oldest living former Prime Minister of Finland.
Lipponen was born in Turtola (subsequently renamed Pello), son of Orvo Lipponen and his wife Hilkka Iisalo. Paavo's maternal grandparents were Jaakko Antero Ingman/Iisalo (a distant relative of Count Adolf Fredrik Munck af Fulkila and Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim) and his wife Siiri Törnroos. Paavo Lipponen spent his childhood and youth in Kuopio.
Receiving his gymnasium diploma from the Lyceum of Kuopio in 1959, he then studied philosophy and literature at Dartmouth College for one year on a Fulbright scholarship.
Soon after returning to Finland he moved to Helsinki where he eventually attained a master's degree in international relations from the University of Helsinki in 1971. He was the editor of the influential student newspaper "Ylioppilaslehti" 1963–1965 and a freelance reporter for the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) 1965–1967.
Lipponen made various controversial statements that angered groups such as Estonian refugees.
According to Alpo Rusi's book "Vasemmalta ohi", Lipponen began cooperation with the East German secret police Stasi in 1969. The book suggests that Lipponen is the code name Mungo XV/326/71 in the Rosenholz files. In a 2008 interview Lipponen said that he had been a "target of East German manipulation". It is rumored that Lipponen is on the so-called Tiitinen list. Alpo Rusi has also suggested that Lipponen had an alias, code, and operation in the KGB.
He held various posts in the Social Democratic Party organisation from 1967 to 1979. Lipponen's opinions were changed. In a speech in 1978 Lipponen asserted that he had lost his belief in socialism.
Lipponen first came into the political limelight when he was secretary to Prime Minister Mauno Koivisto from 1979 to 1982. Frequently having to substitute for the busy Prime Minister, Lipponen was soon dubbed "vara-Manu" ("deputy Manu" — "Manu" being short for Mauno).
Lipponen was a Member of the Parliament of Finland from 1983 to 1987 and also from 1991 until he retired in 2007.
In 1993 SDP chairman Ulf Sundqvist was suspected and later convicted of a large financial fraud. Lipponen was elected the new chairman in 1993, and he led the party to victory in the parliamentary election of 1995. Lipponen formed a cabinet of five parties including both rightist and leftist parties. Lipponen's economic policies were, however, dominated by the right-wing. The main task of the cabinet was to decrease the number of unemployed. Tight fiscal policies allowed the participation of Finland in the European Monetary Union, which resulted in the introduction of the Euro in 1999. Foreign trade increased above the European average 1995–1999. Laws for a new constitution were passed and it took effect on 1 March 2000.
Lipponen headed the SDP campaign in 1999 which resulted in losses, but the SDP remained the largest party in the parliament. The coalition formed in 1995 was renewed. During the second Lipponen cabinet, he headed Finland's six months in the EU presidency and pursued pro-integration and pro-expansion policies. Lipponen introduced the concept of a European constitution during a speech in Bruges in 2000.
He headed the SDP campaign of 2003, which led to victory for the SDP; however, the Center Party gained more seats, which marked the end for the succession of the cabinets of the SDP and the National Coalition Party. The chairman of the Center Party, Anneli Jäätteenmäki, formed a new cabinet, and Lipponen took the position of Speaker of Parliament. Lipponen retired from the party chairmanship in 2005 and was succeeded by Eero Heinäluoma. Lipponen left the parliament in 2007.
On 15 August 2008, during the 2008 South Ossetia war, Nord Stream, a Russian gas project, announced that it had signed a consulting contract with Lipponen. According to Nord Stream, he advises on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and permit applications in Finland. He provides independent consultations according to his expertise in Finnish administrative and decision-making procedures within the energy sector.
As a result of the scandal that followed, Lipponen relinquished his office in the parliament building and resigned from all of his duties in Finland except veteran activities.
In an article published in October 2008, Lipponen discussed the Russian response in Georgia and warned Europe of its dependence on Russian gas. Lipponen criticised the way many Finnish and German politicians were opposed to nuclear power and stated that their fundamentalism destroys both energy security and climate policy.
Poland reportedly blocked Lipponen's candidacy as EU foreign policy chief because of Lipponen's ties to Nord Stream.
Lipponen was his party's nominee in the 2012 Finnish presidential election. He was knocked out in the first round, receiving 6.7% of the vote.
Lipponen has declined the honour of being named a "Counselor of State", the highest honour in Finland, saying that no-one outside of Finland knows what a Valtioneuvos is and that he is satisfied with being "former Prime Minister".
Lipponen played water polo in his youth at the highest national level.
He lives currently with his second wife, Päivi Lipponen (formerly Hertzberg, maiden name Hiltunen), and has three children. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24206 |
Portsmouth
Portsmouth () is an English port city primarily built on Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire. It is also known as Pompey, a nickname shared with HMNB Portsmouth and the Portsmouth Football Club. The United Kingdom's only island city, it is south-west of London and south-east of Southampton. Portsmouth's population was 205,100 in the 2011 UK Census. The city is part of the South Hampshire metropolitan area, which also includes the city of Southampton and the towns of Gosport, Fareham, Waterlooville, Havant and Eastleigh.
Portsmouth's history can be traced back to Roman Britain. A significant naval port for centuries, it has the world's oldest dry dock. Portsmouth was England's first line of defence during the 1545 French invasion. By the early nineteenth century, the world's first mass-production line was set up in Portsmouth Dockyard's Block Mills; this made it the world's most industrialised site, and the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Portsmouth was the most heavily-fortified town in the world and was considered "the world's greatest naval port" at the height of the British Empire, during the "Pax Britannica". The Palmerston Forts were built around Portsmouth in 1859 in anticipation of another invasion from continental Europe.
King Richard I first granted Portsmouth market town status on 2 May 1194 with a royal charter and a coat of arms, "a crescent of gold on a shade of azure, with a blazing star of eight points".
On 21 April 1926, Portsmouth was elevated from town to city status. Its motto, "Heaven's Light Our Guide" (referring to the city's eight-pointed star and crescent-moon emblem), was registered in 1929. The 800th anniversary of the royal charter was celebrated on 2 May 1994. Portsmouth became a unitary authority on 1 April 1997, with its city council gaining the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council previously held by Hampshire County Council.
The city was extensively bombed in World War II's Portsmouth Blitz (which resulted in the deaths of 930 people), and was the pivotal embarkation point for the 6 June 1944 D-Day landings. In 1982, a large proportion of the task force dispatched to liberate the Falkland Islands deployed from the city's naval base. Her Majesty's Yacht "Britannia" left the city to oversee the 1997 transfer of Hong Kong which, for many, marked the end of the British Empire.
Portsmouth is one of the world's best-known ports; HMNB Portsmouth, considered the home of the Royal Navy, contains two-thirds of the UK's surface fleet. The city has a number of famous ships, including HMS "Warrior"; the Tudor carrack "Mary Rose", and Horatio Nelson's flagship HMS "Victory" (the world's oldest naval ship still in commission). The former HMS "Vernon" naval-shore establishment has been redeveloped as the Gunwharf Quays retail park. Portsmouth is among the few British cities with two cathedrals: the Anglican Cathedral of St Thomas and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St John the Evangelist. The waterfront and Portsmouth Harbour are dominated by the Spinnaker Tower, one of the United Kingdom's tallest structures at . Southsea is a seaside resort with an amusement arcade on Clarence Pier.
Portsmouth F.C., the city's professional football club, play their home games at Fratton Park in Milton. Portsmouth has several mainline railway stations which connect to Brighton, Cardiff, London Victoria and London Waterloo, and other lines in southern England. Portsmouth International Port is a commercial cruise-ship and ferry port for international destinations. The UK's second-busiest port (after Dover), it handles about three million passengers a year. The University of Portsmouth has a student population of 23,000. Portsmouth is the birthplace of author Charles Dickens, engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel and former Prime Minister James Callaghan.
The Romans built Portus Adurni, a fort, at nearby Portchester in the late third century. The city's Old English name, "Portesmuða", is derived from "port" (a haven) and "muða" (the mouth of a large river or estuary). In the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle", a warrior named Port and his two sons killed a noble Briton in Portsmouth in 501. Winston Churchill, in "A History of the English-Speaking Peoples", wrote that Port was a pirate who founded Portsmouth in 501.
England's southern coast was vulnerable to Danish Viking invasions during the eighth and ninth centuries, and was conquered by Danish pirates in 787. In 838, during the reign of Æthelwulf, King of Wessex, a Danish fleet landed between Portsmouth and Southampton and plundered the region. Æthelwulf sent Wulfherd and the governor of Dorsetshire to confront the Danes at Portsmouth, where most of their ships were docked. Although the Danes were driven off, Wulfherd was killed. The Danes returned in 1001 and pillaged Portsmouth and the surrounding area, threatening the English with extinction. They were massacred by the English survivors the following year; rebuilding began, although the town experienced further attacks until 1066.
Although Portsmouth was not mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book, "Bocheland" (Buckland), "Copenore" (Copnor), and "Frodentone" (Fratton) were. According to some sources, it was founded in 1180 by the Anglo-Norman merchant Jean de Gisors.
King Henry II died in 1189; his son, Richard I (who had spent most of his life in France), arrived in Portsmouth en route to his coronation in London. When Richard returned from captivity in Austria in May 1194, he summoned an army and a fleet of 100 ships to the port. Richard gave Portsmouth market-town status with a royal charter on 2 May, authorising an annual fifteen-day free-market fair, weekly markets and a local court to deal with minor matters, and exempted its inhabitants from an £18 annual tax. He granted the town the coat of arms of Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus, whom he had defeated during the Third Crusade in 1191: "a crescent of gold on a shade of azure, with a blazing star of eight points", reflecting significant involvement of local soldiers, sailors, and vessels in the holy war. The city's 800th anniversary was celebrated in 1994.
King John reaffirmed RichardI's rights and privileges, and established a permanent naval base. The first docks were begun by William of Wrotham in 1212, and John summoned his earls, barons, and military advisers to plan an invasion of Normandy. In 1229, declaring war against France, HenryIII assembled a force described by historian Lake Allen as "one of the finest armies that had ever been raised in England". The invasion stalled, and returned from France in October 1231. HenryIII summoned troops to invade Guienne in 1242, and EdwardI sent supplies for his army in France in 1295. Commercial interests had grown by the following century, and its exports included wool, corn, grain, and livestock.
Edward II ordered all ports on the south coast to assemble their largest vessels at Portsmouth to carry soldiers and horses to the Duchy of Aquitaine in 1324 to strengthen defences. A French fleet commanded by David II of Scotland attacked the English Channel, ransacked the Isle of Wight and threatened the town. EdwardIII instructed all maritime towns to build vessels and raise troops to rendezvous at Portsmouth. Two years later, a French fleet led by Nicholas Béhuchet raided Portsmouth and destroyed most of the town; only the stone-built church and hospital survived. After the raid, EdwardIII exempted the town from national taxes to aid its reconstruction. Edward died in 1377; his grandson RichardII was crowned, and the French landed in Portsmouth that year. Although the town was plundered and burnt, its inhabitants drove the French off to raid towns in the West Country.
Henry V built Portsmouth's first permanent fortifications. In 1416, a number of French ships blockaded the town (which housed ships which were set to invade Normandy); Henry gathered a fleet at Southampton, and invaded the Norman coast in August of that year. Recognising the town's growing importance, he ordered a wooden Round Tower to be built at the mouth of the harbour; it was completed in 1426. Henry VII rebuilt the fortifications with stone, assisted Robert Brygandine and Sir Reginald Bray in the construction of the world's first dry dock, and raised the Square Tower in 1494. He made Portsmouth a Royal Dockyard, England's only dockyard considered "national". Although King Alfred may have used Portsmouth to build ships as early as the ninth century, the first warship recorded as constructed in the town was the "Sweepstake" (built in 1497).
Henry VIII built Southsea Castle, financed by the Dissolution of the Monasteries, in 1539 in anticipation of a French invasion. He also invested heavily in the town's dockyard, expanding it to . Around this time, a Tudor defensive boom stretched from the Round Tower to Fort Blockhouse in Gosport to protect Portsmouth Harbour.
From Southsea Castle, Henry witnessed his flagship "Mary Rose" sink in action against the French fleet in the 1545 Battle of the Solent with the loss of about 500 lives. Some historians believe that the "Mary Rose" turned too quickly and submerged her open gun ports; according to others, it sank due to poor design. Portsmouth's fortifications were improved by successive monarchs. The town experienced an outbreak of plague in 1563, which killed about 300 of its 2,000 inhabitants.
In 1623, Charles I (then Prince of Wales) returned to Portsmouth from France and Spain. His unpopular military adviser, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, was stabbed to death in an Old Portsmouth pub by war veteran John Felton five years later. Felton never attempted to escape, and was caught walking the streets when soldiers confronted him; he said, "I know that he is dead, for I had the force of forty men when I struck the blow". Felton was hanged, and his body hained to a gibbet on Southsea Common as a warning to others. The murder took place in the Greyhound public house on High Street, which is now Buckingham House and has a commemorative plaque.
Most residents (including the mayor) supported the parliamentarians during the English Civil War, although military governor Colonel Goring supported the royalists. The town, a base of the parliamentarian navy, was blockaded from the sea. Parliamentarian troops were sent to besiege it, and the guns of Southsea Castle were fired at the town's royalist garrison. Parliamentarians in Gosport joined the assault, damaging St Thomas's Church. On 5 September 1642, the remaining royalists in the garrison at the Square Tower were forced to surrender after Goring threatened to blow it up; he and his garrison were allowed safe passage.
Under the Commonwealth of England, Robert Blake used the harbour as his base during the First Anglo-Dutch War in 1652 and the Anglo-Spanish War. He died within sight of the town, returning from Cádiz. After the end of the Civil War, Portsmouth was among the first towns to declare CharlesII king and began to prosper. The first ship built in over 100 years, , was launched in 1650; twelve ships were built between 1650 and 1660. After the Restoration, CharlesII married Catherine of Braganza at the Royal Garrison Church. During the late 17th century, Portsmouth continued to grow; a new wharf was constructed in 1663 for military use, and a mast pond was dug in 1665. In 1684, a list of ships docked in Portsmouth was evidence of its increasing national importance. Between 1667 and 1685, the town's fortifications were rebuilt; new walls were constructed with bastions and two moats were dug, making Portsmouth one of the world's most heavily-fortified places.
In 1759, General James Wolfe sailed to capture Quebec; the expedition, although successful, cost him his life. His body was brought back to Portsmouth in November, and received high naval and military honours. Two years later, on 30 May 1775, Captain James Cook arrived on after circumnavigating the globe. The 11-ship First Fleet left on 13 May 1787 to establish the first European colony in Australia, the beginning of prisoner transportation; Captain William Bligh of also sailed from the harbour that year. After the 28 April 1789 mutiny on the "Bounty", was dispatched from Portsmouth to bring the mutineers back for trial. The court-martial opened on 12 September 1792 aboard in Portsmouth Harbour; of the ten remaining men, three were sentenced to death. In 1789, a chapel was erected in Prince George's Street and was dedicated to St John by the Bishop of Winchester. Around this time, a bill was passed in the House of Commons on the creation of a canal to link Portsmouth to Chichester; however, the project was abandoned.
The city's nickname, Pompey, is thought to have derived from the log entry of Portsmouth Point (contracted "Po'm.P." – "Po"'rts"m"outh "P."oint) as ships entered the harbour; navigational charts use the contraction. According to one historian, the name may have been brought back from a group of Portsmouth-based sailors who visited Pompey's Pillar in Alexandria, Egypt, around 1781. Another theory is that it is named after the harbour's guardship, "Pompee", a 74-gun French ship of the line captured in 1793.
Portsmouth's coat of arms is attested in the early 19th century as "azure a crescent or, surmounted by an estoile of eight points of the last." Its design is apparently based on 18th-century mayoral seals. A connection of the coat of arms with the Great Seal of Richard I (which had a separate star and crescent) dates to the 20th century.
Marc Isambard Brunel established the world's first mass-production line at Portsmouth Block Mills, making pulley blocks for rigging on the navy's ships. The first machines were installed in January 1803, and the final set (for large blocks) in March 1805. In 1808, the mills produced 130,000 blocks. By the turn of the 19th century, Portsmouth was the largest industrial site in the world; it had a workforce of 8,000, and an annual budget of £570,000.
In 1805, Admiral Nelson left Portsmouth to command the fleet which defeated France and Spain at the Battle of Trafalgar. Before departing, Nelson told the crew of and workers in the dockyard that "England expects every man will do his duty". The Royal Navy's reliance on Portsmouth led to its becoming the most fortified city in the world. A network of forts, known as the Palmerston Forts, was built around the town as part of a programme led by Prime Minister Lord Palmerston to defend British military bases from an inland attack. The forts were nicknamed "Palmerston's Follies" because their armaments were pointed inland and not out to sea. The Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron, tasked with halting the slave trade, began operating out of Portsmouth in 1808.
In April 1811, the Portsea Island Company constructed the first piped-water supply to upper- and middle-class houses. It supplied water to about 4,500 of Portsmouth's 14,000 houses, generating an income of £5,000 a year. HMS "Victory"s active career ended in 1812, when she was moored in Portsmouth Harbour and used as a depot ship. The town of Gosport contributed £75 a year to the ship's maintenance. In 1818, John Pounds began teaching working-class children in the country's first ragged school. The Portsea Improvement Commissioners installed gas street lighting throughout Portsmouth in 1820, followed by Old Portsmouth three years later.
During the 19th century, Portsmouth expanded across Portsea Island. Buckland was merged into the town by the 1860s, and Fratton and Stamshaw were incorporated by the next decade. Between 1865 and 1870, the council built sewers after more than 800 people died in a cholera epidemic; according to a by-law, any house within of a sewer had to be connected to it. By 1871 the population had risen to 100,000, and the national census listed Portsmouth's population as 113,569. A working-class suburb was constructed in the 1870s, when about 1,820 houses were built, and it became Somerstown. Despite public-health improvements, 514 people died in an 1872 smallpox epidemic. On 21 December of that year, the "Challenger" expedition embarked on a circumnavigation of the globe for scientific research.
When the British Empire was at its height of power, covering a quarter of Earth's total land area and 458 million people at the turn of the 20th century, Portsmouth was considered "the world's greatest naval port". In 1900, Portsmouth Dockyard employed 8,000 people– a figure which increased to 23,000 during the First World War. On 1 October 1916, Portsmouth was bombed by a Zeppelin airship. Although the Oberste Heeresleitung (German Supreme Army Command) said that the town was "lavishly bombarded with good results", there were no reports of bombs dropped in the area. According to another source, the bombs were mistakenly dropped into the harbour rather than the dockyard. About 1,200 ships were refitted in the dockyard during the war, making it one of the empire's most strategic ports at the time.
Portsmouth was granted city status in 1926 after a long campaign by the borough council. The application was made on the grounds that it was the "first naval port of the kingdom". In 1929, the city council added the motto "Heaven's Light Our Guide" to the medieval coat of arms. Except for the celestial objects in the arms, the motto was that of the Star of India and referred to the troopships bound for British India which left from the port. The crest and supporters are based on those of the royal arms, but altered to show the city's maritime connections: the lions and unicorn have fish tails, and a naval crown and a representation of the Tudor defensive boom which stretched across Portsmouth Harbour are around the unicorn.
During the Second World War, the city (particularly the port) was bombed extensively by the Luftwaffe in the Portsmouth Blitz.
Portsmouth experienced 67 air raids between July 1940 and May 1944, which destroyed 6,625 houses and severely damaged 6,549. The air raids caused 930 deaths and wounded almost 3,000 people, many in the dockyard and military establishments. On the night of the city's heaviest raid (10 January 1941), the Luftwaffe dropped 140 tonnes of high-explosive bombs which killed 171 people and left 3,000 homeless. Many of the city's houses were damaged, and areas of Landport and Old Portsmouth destroyed; the future site of Gunwharf Quays was razed to the ground. The Guildhall was hit by an incendiary bomb which burnt out the interior and destroyed its inner walls, although the civic plate was retrieved unharmed from the vault under the front steps. After the raid, Portsmouth mayor Denis Daley wrote for the "Evening News":
Portsmouth Harbour was a vital military embarkation point for the 6 June 1944 D-Day landings. Southwick House, just north of the city, was the headquarters of Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower. A V-1 flying bomb hit Newcomen Road on 15 July 1944, killing 15 people.
Much of the city's housing stock was damaged during the war. The wreckage was cleared in an attempt to improve housing quality after the war; before permanent accommodations could be built, Portsmouth City Council built prefabs for those who had lost their homes. More than 700 prefab houses were constructed between 1945 and 1947, some over bomb sites. The first permanent houses were built away from the city centre, in new developments such as Paulsgrove and Leigh Park; construction of council estates in Paulsgrove was completed in 1953. The first Leigh Park housing estates were completed in 1949, although construction in the area continued until 1974. Builders still occasionally find unexploded bombs, such as on the site of the destroyed Hippodrome Theatre in 1984. Despite efforts by the city council to build new housing, a 1955 survey indicated that 7,000 houses in Portsmouth were unfit for human habitation. A controversial decision was made to replace a section of the central city, including Landport, Somerstown and Buckland, with council housing during the 1960s and early 1970s. The success of the project and the quality of its housing are debatable.
Portsmouth was affected by the decline of the British Empire in the second half of the 20th century. Shipbuilding jobs fell from 46 percent of the workforce in 1951 to 14 percent in 1966, drastically reducing manpower in the dockyard. The city council attempted to create new work; an industrial estate was built in Fratton in 1948, and others were built at Paulsgrove and Farlington during the 1950s and 1960s. Although traditional industries such as brewing and corset manufacturing disappeared during this time, electrical engineering became a major employer. Despite the cutbacks in traditional sectors, Portsmouth remained attractive to industry. Zurich Insurance Group moved their UK headquarters to the city in 1968, and IBM relocating their European headquarters in 1979. Portsmouth's population had dropped from about 200,000 to 177,142 by the end of the 1960s. Defence Secretary John Nott decided in the early 1980s that of the four home dockyards, Portsmouth and Chatham would be closed. The city council won a concession, however, and the dockyard was downgraded instead to a naval base.
On 2 April 1982, Argentine forces invaded two British territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The British government's response was to dispatch a naval task force, and the aircraft carriers and sailed from Portsmouth for the South Atlantic on 5 April. The successful outcome of the war reaffirmed Portsmouth's significance as a naval port and its importance to the defence of British interests. In January 1997, Her Majesty's Yacht "Britannia" embarked from the city on her final voyage to oversee the handover of Hong Kong; for many, this marked the end of the empire. She was decommissioned on 11 December of that year at Portsmouth Naval Base in the presence of the queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and twelve senior members of the royal family.
Redevelopment of the naval shore establishment HMS "Vernon" began in 2001 as a complex of retail outlets, clubs, pubs, and a shopping centre known as Gunwharf Quays. Construction of the Spinnaker Tower, sponsored by the National Lottery, began at Gunwharf Quays in 2003. The Tricorn Centre, called "the ugliest building in the UK" by the BBC, was demolished in late 2004 after years of debate over the expense of demolition and whether it was worth preserving as an example of 1960s brutalist architecture. Designed by Owen Luder as part of a project to "revitalise" Portsmouth in the 1960s, it consisted of a shopping centre, market, nightclubs, and a multistorey car park. Portsmouth celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005, with Queen Elizabeth II present at a fleet review and a mock battle. The naval base is home to two-thirds of Britain's surface fleet.
Portsmouth is by road from central London, west of Brighton, and east of Southampton. It is located primarily on Portsea Island and is the United Kingdom's only island city, although the city has expanded to the mainland. Gosport is a borough to the west. Portsea Island s separated from the mainland by Portsbridge Creek, which is crossed by three road bridges (the M275 motorway, the A3 road, and the A2030 road), a railway bridge, and two footbridges. Portsea Island, part of the Hampshire Basin, is low-lying; most of the island is less than above sea level. The island's highest natural elevation is the Kingston Cross road junction, at above ordinary spring tide.
Old Portsmouth, the city's oldest part, is in the south-west part of the island and includes Portsmouth Point (nicknamed Spice Island). The main channel entering Portsmouth Harbour, west of the island, passes between Old Portsmouth and Gosport. Portsmouth Harbour has a series of lakes, including Fountain Lake (near the harbour), Portchester Lake (south central), Brick Kiln Lake and Tipner (east), and Bombketch and Spider Lakes (west). Further northwest, around Portchester, are Wicor, Cams, and Great Cams Lakes.
The large tidal inlet of Langstone Harbour is east of the island. The Farlington Marshes, in the north off the coast of Farlington, is a 125-hectare (308-acre) grazing marsh and saline lagoon. One of the oldest local reserves in the county, built from reclaimed land in 1771, it provides habitat for migratory wildfowl and waders.
South of Portsmouth are Spithead, the Solent, and the Isle of Wight. Its southern coast was fortified by the Round Tower, the Square Tower, Southsea Castle, Lumps Fort and Fort Cumberland. Four sea forts were built in the Solent by Lord Palmerston: Spitbank Fort, St Helens Fort, Horse Sand Fort and No Man's Land Fort.
The resort of Southsea is south of the island, and Eastney is east. Eastney Lake covered nearly in 1626. North of Eastney is the residential Milton and an area of reclaimed land known as Milton Common (formerly Milton Lake), a "flat scrubby land with a series of freshwater lakes". Further north on the east coast is Baffins, with the Great Salterns recreation ground and golf course around Portsmouth College.
The Hilsea Lines are a series of defunct fortifications on the island's north coast, bordering Portsbridge Creek and the mainland. Portsdown Hill dominates the skyline in the north, and contains several large Palmerston Forts such as Fort Fareham, Fort Wallington, Fort Nelson, Fort Southwick, Fort Widley, and Fort Purbrook. Portsdown Hill is a large band of chalk; the rest of Portsea Island is composed of layers of London Clay and sand (part of the Bagshot Formation), formed principally during the Eocene.
Northern areas of the city include Stamshaw, Hilsea and Copnor, Cosham, Drayton, Farlington, and Port Solent. Other districts include North End and Fratton. The west of the city contains council estates, such as Buckland, Landport, and Portsea, which replaced Victorian terraces destroyed by Second World War bombing. After the war, the Leigh Park estate was built to address the chronic housing shortage during post-war reconstruction. Although the estate has been under the jurisdiction of Havant Borough Council since the early 2000s, Portsmouth City Council remains its landlord (the borough's largest landowner).
The city's main station, Portsmouth and Southsea railway station, is in the city centre near the Guildhall and the civic offices. South of the Guildhall is Guildhall Walk, with a number of pubs and clubs. Edinburgh Road contains the city's Roman Catholic cathedral and Victoria Park, a park which opened in 1878.
Portsmouth has a mild oceanic climate, with more sunshine than most of the British Isles. Frosts are light and short-lived and snow quite rare in winter, with temperatures rarely dropping below freezing. The average maximum temperature in January is , and the average minimum is . The lowest recorded temperature is . In summer, temperatures sometimes reach . The average maximum temperature in July is , and the average minimum is . The highest recorded temperature is . The city gets about of rain annually, with a minimum of of rain reported 103 days per year.
Portsmouth is the only city in the United Kingdom whose population density exceeds that of London. In the 2011 census, the city had 205,400 residents a population density of 5,100 per square kilometre (0.4 sq.mi.): eleven times the regional average of 440 per square kilometre and more than London, which has 4,900 people per square kilometre. The city was more densely populated, with the 1951 census showing a population of 233,545. In a reversal of that decrease, its population has been gradually increasing since the 1990s. With about 860,000 residents, South Hampshire is the fifth-largest urban area in England and the largest in South East England; it is the centre of one of the United Kingdom's most-populous metropolitan areas.
The city is predominantly white (91.8 percent of the population). However, Portsmouth's long association with the Royal Navy ensures some diversity. Some large, well-established non-white communities have their roots in the Royal Navy, particularly the Chinese community from British Hong Kong. Portsmouth's long industrial history with the Royal Navy has drawn many people from across the British Isles (particularly Irish Catholics) to its factories and docks. According to the 2011 census, Portsmouth's population was 84 percent White British, 3.8 percent other White, 1.3 percent Chinese, 1.4 percent Indian, 0.5 percent mixed race, 1.8 percent Bangladeshi, 0.5 percent other, 1.4 percent Black African, 0.5 percent white Irish, 1.3 percent other Asian, 0.3 percent Pakistani, 0.3 percent Black Caribbean and 0.1 percent other Black.
The city is administered by Portsmouth City Council, a unitary authority which is responsible for local affairs. Portsmouth was granted its first charter in 1194. In the early 20th century, its boundaries were extended to all of Portsea Island; they were further extended in 1920 and 1932, including areas of the mainland and adjacent villages such as Drayton and Farlington. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24207 |
Parasailing
Parasailing, also known as parascending or parakiting, is a recreational kiting activity where a person is towed behind a vehicle (usually a boat) while attached to a specially designed canopy wing that resembles a parachute, known as a parasail wing. The manned kite's moving anchor may be a car, truck, or boat. The harness attaches the pilot to the parasail, which is connected to the boat, or land vehicle, by the tow rope. The vehicle then drives off, carrying the parascender (or wing) and person into the air. If the boat is powerful enough, two or three people can parasail behind it at the same time. The parascender has little or no control over the parachute. The activity is primarily a fun ride, not to be confused with the sport of paragliding.
There are commercial parasailing operations all over the world. Land-based parasailing has also been transformed into a competition sport in Europe. In land-based competition parasailing, the parasail is towed to maximum height behind a 4-wheel-drive vehicle. The driver then releases the tow line; the parasailer flies down to a target area in an accuracy competition.
The sport was developed in the early 1980s and has been very popular ever since. The first international competitions were held in the mid-1980s and continue annually to this day. Over the years, the competitions have grown in scope as well as the number of participants.
Both the parachute and parasail can ascend and glide. The primary difference between the two is that the parasail is more stable and efficient during the ascent mode when being towed aloft with minimum or zero steering control by the parasailor. The parachute is not efficient when towed and is primarily used for skydiving where the parachutist can fully control the direction. In the descent mode, both are designed to slow the fall of a person during said descent at any given altitude.
The parachute/kite part is normally brightly colored to match to beach area in which it is used. Some people have kites with colors matching their favorite sports team or alma mater. Many parasail canopies that are designed for commercial use offering rides to tourists on vacation are bright in color and have designs ranging from flags, logos, smiley faces, and multiple color patterns.
The first ascending-gliding parachute was developed by Pierre-Marcel Lemoigne in 1962. The same year, Lemoigne established an Aeronautical Training Center to introduce his new ascending-gliding parachute as a training tool for parachutists. The technique allows parachutists to train more efficiently by towing the parachutist to a suitable altitude, then releasing them to practice landings. This training method proved cheaper than—and just as effective as—an airplane. In 1963 Jacques-André Istel from Pioneer Parachute Company bought a license from Lemoigne to manufacture and sell the 24-gore ascending-gliding parachute which was trade-named "parasail."
In 1974, Mark McCulloh invented the first self-contained parasail launch and recovery vessel that incorporated a hydraulic winch and canopy assist mast that collectively launched and retrieved the parasail canopy and parasailors to and from the vessel flight deck. McCulloh's invention was patented in 1976 and later referred to as a "WINCHBOAT" which the set the first parasail equipment industry standard that is utilized by all commercial parasail operations around the world.
In early 1976, Brian Gaskin designed, created, and tested the first 16-gore canopy design which he named "Waterbird". The Waterbird was revolutionary in its canopy design, its unique tow yoke harness arrangement, its construction, and the use of zero porosity fabrics which allowed it to be used over water safely. The majority of commercial parasail operators then moved to the 16-gore canopy arrangement. In 1976 Gaskin founded his company, Waterbird Parakites, which is still in operation today, producing commercial and recreational 16-gore parasails.
In April 2013, the first ASTM parasail weather standard was approved. With the help of the WSIA, and the chair of the parasail committee, Matthew Dvorak, owner and operator of Daytona Beach Parasail, Inc. the new standard was implemented. This is the first standard in the parasail industry with three more in the works to be approved later this year. This standard was the first step in bringing the otherwise unregulated industry into a more uniformed and safe industry!
In recent years, operators have moved from small (20-foot range) parachutes to large (30–40 feet) parachutes that utilize high-lift, low-drag designs enabling operators to fly higher payloads in lower (typically safer) winds. Most operators now offer double and triple flights using an adjustable side by side bar arrangement. The side-by-side bar is aluminum attached to the yoke of the chute, allowing two or three passenger harnesses to be attached side by side.
In the late 1990s, Waterbird Parakites codice_1 and Custom Chutes Inc, redesigned the original Gaskin design to allow parasails to carry more weight (double rides and triple rides), but still ensure they could operate in the same operating conditions. As a result, a completely new design, much larger in diameter but with much smaller increased air resistance, was born.
In 2014, the National Transportation Safety Board issued a press release in which it found the parasailing industry to be largely unregulated. The report identified a number of safety concerns which included vessel operators who continued to operate despite hazardous wind conditions, use of inadequate equipment and unserviceable gear, and compromised strength of rope tied to the parasail. In a period from 1998 to the third of July 2013, there were six parasailing fatalities in the Florida area. The great majority of deaths in parasail incidents have occurred when riders were unable to get out of their harness support system after an unplanned landing in water during high winds.
Prior to the release of the NTSB report, Florida passed the White-Miskell Act which added strict regulations parasailing companies must follow including obtaining an insurance policy, and restrictions on parasailing in inclement weather.
The leading trade associations for parasailing are: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24208 |
Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 to his death. He is known for issuing the "Decretales" and instituting the Papal Inquisition in response to the failures of the episcopal inquisitions established during the time of Pope Lucius III through his papal bull "Ad abolendam" issued in 1184.
The successor of Honorius III, he fully inherited the traditions of Gregory VII and of his own cousin Innocent III and zealously continued their policy of papal supremacy.
Ugolino (Hugh) was born in Anagni. The date of his birth varies in sources between c. 1145 and 1170. He received his education at the Universities of Paris and Bologna.
He was created Cardinal-Deacon of the church of Sant'Eustachio by his cousin Innocent III in December 1198. In 1206 he was promoted to the rank of Cardinal Bishop of Ostia e Velletri. He became Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1218 or 1219. Upon the special request of Saint Francis, in 1220, Pope Honorius III appointed him Cardinal Protector of the order of the Franciscans.
As Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, he cultivated a wide range of acquaintances, among them the Queen of England, Isabella of Angoulême.
Gregory IX was elevated to the papacy in the papal election of 1227. He took the name "Gregory" because he formally assumed the papal office at the monastery of Saint Gregory ad Septem Solia. That same year, in one of his earliest acts as pope, he expanded the Inquisition powers of Konrad von Marburg to encompass the investigation of heresy throughout the whole of Germany.
Gregory's Bull "Parens scientiarum" of 1231, after the University of Paris strike of 1229, resolved differences between the unruly university scholars of Paris and the local authorities. His solution was in the manner of a true follower of Innocent III: he issued what in retrospect has been viewed as the "magna carta" of the University, assuming direct control by extending papal patronage: his Bull allowed future suspension of lectures over a flexible range of provocations, from "monstrous injury or offense" to squabbles over "the right to assess the rents of lodgings".
In October 1232, after an investigation by legates, Gregory proclaimed a crusade against the Stedinger to be preached in northern Germany. In June 1233, he granted a plenary indulgence to those who took part.
In 1233 Gregory IX established the Papal Inquisition to regularize the persecution of heresy. The Papal Inquisition was intended to bring order to the haphazard episcopal inquisitions which had been established by Lucius III in 1184. Gregory's aim was to bring order and legality to the process of dealing with heresy, since there had been tendencies by mobs of townspeople to burn alleged heretics without much of a trial. In 1231 Pope Gregory IX appointed a number of Papal Inquisitors ("Inquisitores haereticae pravitatis"), mostly Dominicans and Franciscans, for the various regions of France, Italy and parts of Germany. The aim was to introduce due process and objective investigation into the beliefs of those accused to the often erratic and unjust persecution of heresy on the part of local ecclesiastical and secular jurisdictions.
Gregory was a remarkably skillful and learned lawyer. He caused to be prepared "Nova Compilatio decretalium", which was promulgated in numerous copies in 1234 (first printed at Mainz in 1473). This "New Compilation of Decretals" was the culmination of a long process of systematising the mass of pronouncements that had accumulated since the Early Middle Ages, a process that had been under way since the first half of the 12th century and had come to fruition in the "Decretum", compiled and edited by the papally commissioned legist Gratian and published in 1140. The supplement completed the work, which provided the foundation for papal legal theory.
In the 1234 Decretals, he invested the doctrine of "perpetua servitus iudaeorum" – perpetual servitude of the Jews – with the force of canonical law. According to this, the followers of the Talmud would have to remain in a condition of political servitude until Judgment Day. The doctrine then found its way into the doctrine of "servitus camerae imperialis", or servitude immediately subject to the Emperor's authority, promulgated by Frederick II. The Jews were thus suppressed from having direct influence over the political process and the life of Christian states into the 19th century with the rise of liberalism. In 1234, Gregory issued the papal bull "Rachel suum videns" calling for a new crusade to the Holy Land, leading to the Crusade of 1239.
In 1239, under the influence of Nicholas Donin, a Jewish convert to Christianity, Gregory ordered that all copies of the Jewish Talmud be confiscated. Following a public disputation between Christians and Jewish theologians, this culminated in a mass burning of some 12,000 handwritten Talmudic manuscripts on 12 June 1242, in Paris.
Gregory was a supporter of the mendicant orders which he saw as an excellent means for counteracting by voluntary poverty the love of luxury and splendour which was possessing many ecclesiastics. He was a friend of Saint Dominic as well as Clare of Assisi. On 17 January 1235, he approved the Order of Our Lady of Mercy for the redemption of captives. He appointed ten cardinals and canonized Saints Elisabeth of Hungary, Dominic, Anthony of Padua, and Francis of Assisi, of whom he had been a personal friend and early patron. He transformed a chapel to Our Lady in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome.
Gregory IX endorsed the Northern Crusades and attempts to bring Orthodox Slavic peoples in Eastern Europe (particularly Pskov Republic and the Novgorod Republic) under Papacy's fold. In 1232, Gregory IX requested the Livonian Brothers of the Sword to send troops to protect Finland, whose semi-pagan people were fighting against the Novgorod Republic in the Finnish-Novgorodian wars; however, there is no known information if any ever arrived to assist.
At the coronation of Frederick II in Rome, 22 November 1220, the emperor made a vow to embark for the Holy Land in August 1221. Gregory IX began his pontificate by suspending the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, for dilatoriness in carrying out the promised Sixth Crusade. Frederick II appealed to the sovereigns of Europe complaining of his treatment. The suspension was followed by excommunication and threats of deposition, as deeper rifts appeared. Frederick II went to the Holy Land and in fact managed to take possession of Jerusalem. Gregory IX distrusted the emperor, since Rainald, the imperial Governor of Spoleto, had invaded the Pontifical States during the emperor's absence. In June 1229, Frederick II returned from the Holy Land, routed the papal army which Gregory IX had sent to invade Sicily, and made new overtures of peace to the pope.
Gregory IX and Frederick came to a truce, but when Frederick defeated the Lombard League in 1239, the possibility that he might dominate all of Italy, surrounding the Papal States, became a very real threat. A new outbreak of hostilities led to a fresh excommunication of the emperor in 1239 and to a prolonged war. Gregory denounced Frederick II as a heretic and summoned a council at Rome to give point to his anathema. Frederick responded by trying to capture or sink as many ships carrying prelates to the synod as he could. Eberhard II von Truchsees, Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, in 1241 at the Council of Regensburg declared that Gregory IX was "that man of perdition, whom they call Antichrist, who in his extravagant boasting says, 'I am God, I cannot err'." He argued that the Pope was the "little horn" of Daniel 7:8:
A little horn has grown up with eyes and mouth speaking great things, which is reducing three of these kingdoms—i.e. Sicily, Italy, and Germany—to subserviency, is persecuting the people of Christ and the saints of God with intolerable opposition, is confounding things human and divine, and is attempting things unutterable, execrable.
The struggle was only terminated by the death of Gregory IX on 22 August 1241. He died before events could reach their climax; it was his successor Pope Innocent IV who declared a crusade in 1245 that would finish the Hohenstaufen threat. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24218 |
Pope Callixtus I
Pope Callixtus I, also called Callistus I, was the bishop of Rome (according to Sextus Julius Africanus) from c. 218 to his death c. 222 or 223. He lived during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus. Eusebius and the Liberian catalogue gave him five years of episcopate (217–222). In 217, when Callixtus followed Zephyrinus as Bishop of Rome, he started to admit into the church converts from sects or schisms. He was martyred for his Christian faith and is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church.
Callixtus I's contemporaries and enemies, Tertullian and Hippolytus of Rome, the author of "Philosophumena", relate that Callixtus, as a young slave from Rome, was put in charge of collected funds by his master Carpophorus, funds which were given as alms by other Christians for the care of widows and orphans; Callixtus lost the funds and fled from the city, but was caught near Portus. According to the tale, Callixtus jumped overboard to avoid capture but was rescued and taken back to his master. He was released at the request of the creditors, who hoped he might be able to recover some of the money, but was rearrested for fighting in a synagogue when he tried to borrow money or collect debts from some Jews.
"Philosophumena" claims that, denounced as a Christian, Callixtus was sentenced to work in the mines of Sardinia. He was released with other Christians at the request of Hyacinthus, a eunuch presbyter, who represented Marcia, the favourite mistress of Emperor Commodus. At this time his health was so weakened that his fellow Christians sent him to Antium to recuperate and he was given a pension by Pope Victor I.
In 199, Callixtus was ordained a deacon by Pope Zephyrinus and appointed superintendent of the Christian cemetery on the Appian Way. That place, which is to this day called the "Catacombs of St. Callixtus", became the burial-ground of many popes and was the first land property owned by the Church. Emperor Julian the Apostate, writing to a pagan priest, said:
In the third century, nine bishops of Rome were interred in the Catacomb of Callixtus, in the part now called the "Capella dei Papi". These catacombs were rediscovered by the archaeologist Giovanni Battista de Rossi in 1849.
In 217, when Callixtus followed Zephyrinus as Bishop of Rome, he started to admit into the church converts from sects or schisms who had not done penance. He fought with success the heretics, and established the practice of absolution of all sins, including adultery and murder. Hippolytus found Callixtus's policy of extending forgiveness of sins to cover sexual transgressions shockingly lax and denounced him for allowing believers to regularize liaisons with their own slaves by recognizing them as valid marriages. As a consequence also of doctrinal differences, Hippolytus was elected as a rival bishop of Rome, the first antipope.
The Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere was a "titulus" of which Callixtus was the patron. In an apocryphal anecdote in the collection of imperial biographies called the "Augustan History", the spot on which he had built an oratory was claimed by tavern keepers, but Alexander Severus decided that the worship of any god was better than a tavern, hence the structure's name. The 4th-century basilica of "Ss Callixti et Iuliani" was rebuilt in the 12th century by Pope Innocent II and rededicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The 8th-century "Chiesa di San Callisto" is close by, with its beginnings apparently as a shrine on the site of his martyrdom, which is attested in the 4th-century "Depositio martyrum" and so is likely to be historical.
It is possible that Callixtus was martyred around 222 or 223, perhaps during a popular uprising, but the legend that he was thrown down a well has no historical foundation, though the church does contain an ancient well. According to the apocryphal "Acts of Saint Callixtus", Asterius, a priest of Rome, recovered the body of Callixtus after it had been tossed into a well and buried Callixtus' body at night. Asterius was arrested for this action by the prefect Alexander and then killed by being thrown off a bridge into the Tiber River.
He was buried in the cemetery of Calepodius on the Aurelian Way and his anniversary is given by the 4th-century "Depositio Martirum" and by subsequent martyrologies on 14 October. The Catholic Church celebrates his optional memorial on 14 October. His relics were transferred in the 9th century to Santa Maria in Trastevere. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24219 |
Pope Callixtus II
Pope Callixtus II or Callistus II (c. 1065 – 13 December 1124), born Guy of Burgundy, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 1119 to his death in 1124. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy, which he was able to settle through the Concordat of Worms in 1122.
As son of Count William I of Burgundy, Guy was a member of and connected to the highest nobility in Europe. He became archbishop of Vienne and served as papal legate to France. He attended the Lateran Synod of 1112. He was elected pope at Cluny in 1119. The following year, prompted by attacks on Jews, he issued the bull "Sicut Judaeis" which forbade Christians, on pain of excommunication, from forcing Jews to convert, from harming them, from taking their property, from disturbing the celebration of their festivals, and from interfering with their cemeteries. In March 1123, Calixtus II convened the First Lateran Council which passed several disciplinary decrees, such as those against simony and concubinage among the clergy, and violators of the Truce of God.
Born the fourth son of Count William I of Burgundy, one of the wealthiest rulers in Europe, Guy was a member of the highest aristocracy in Europe. His family was part of a network of noble alliances. He was a cousin of Arduin of Ivrea, the king of Italy. One sister, Gisela, was married to Count Humbert II of Savoy and then to Renier I of Montferrat; another sister, Maud, was the wife of Duke Odo I of Burgundy. Another sister, Clementia, married Count Robert II of Flanders. His brother Raymond was married to Urraca, the queen of León, and fathered the future King Alfonso VII of León. His brother Hugh was archbishop of Besançon.
Guy first appears in contemporary records when he became the archbishop of Vienne in 1088. He held strong pro-papal views about the Investiture controversy. As archbishop, he was appointed papal legate to France by Pope Paschal II during the time that Paschal was induced under pressure from Holy Roman Emperor Henry V to issue the "Privilegium" of 1111, by which he yielded much of the papal prerogatives that had been so forcefully claimed by Pope Gregory VII in the Gregorian Reforms. These concessions were received with violent opposition and nowhere more so than in France, where the opposition was led by Guy, who was present at the Lateran Synod of 1112.
On his return to France, he immediately convened an assembly of French and Burgundian bishops at Vienne, where the imperial claim to a traditional lay investiture of the clergy was denounced as heretical and a sentence of excommunication was now pronounced against Henry V on the grounds that he had extorted the "Privilegium" from Paschal II by means of violence. These decrees were sent to Paschal II with a request for a confirmation, which they received on 20 October 1112.
Paschal does not seem to have been quite pleased with Guy's zeal in his attacks upon Henry V. During the violent confrontations between Henry V and Paschal II's successor, Pope Gelasius II, the pope was forced to flee from Rome, first to Gaeta, where he was crowned, then to the Cluny Abbey, where he died on 29 January 1119. Guy was elected at Cluny on 2 February 1119. Nine cardinals took part in the election. Most of the other cardinals were in Rome. He was crowned at Vienne on 9 February 1119 as Calixtus II.
At the outset, it appeared that the new pope was willing to negotiate with Henry V, who received the papal embassy at Strasbourg, and withdrew his support from the antipope he had proclaimed at Rome. It was agreed that pope and emperor should meet at the Château de Mousson, near Rheims, and in October the new Pope opened the council at Rheims attended by Louis VI of France with most of the barons of France and more than four hundred bishops and abbots. Henry V arrived for his personal conference at Mousson — not alone, as had been anticipated, but with an army of over thirty thousand men. Calixtus II, fearing that force was likely to be used to extract prejudicial concessions, remained at Rheims. There, Calixtus II busied himself ineffectively with attempting a reconciliation between the brothers Henry I of England and Robert II of Normandy, and the council dealt with disciplinary regulations and decrees against lay investiture, simony, and clerical concubines. Since there was no compromise coming from Henry V, it was determined on 30 October 1119 that the Emperor and his antipope should be solemnly excommunicated.
Returning to Italy, where antipope Gregory VIII was supported in Rome by imperial forces and Italian allies of the emperor, Calixtus II managed to gain the upper hand amid clear demonstrations of popular support. The Imperial candidate was obliged to flee to the fortress of Sutri, where he was taken prisoner through the intervention of Norman support from the Kingdom of Sicily. He was transferred from prison to prison first near Salerno, and afterwards at the fortress of Fumo. The imperial allies in Rome soon disbanded.
In 1120 Calixtus II issued the papal bull "Sicut Judaeis" (Latin: "As the Jews") setting out the official position of the papacy regarding the treatment of Jews. It was prompted by the First Crusade, during which over five thousand Jews were slaughtered in Europe. The bull was intended to protect Jews and echoed the position of Pope Gregory I that Jews were entitled to "enjoy their lawful liberty". The bull forbade Christians, on pain of excommunication, from forcing Jews to convert, from harming them, from taking their property, from disturbing the celebration of their festivals, and from interfering with their cemeteries. It was reaffirmed by popes Alexander III, Celestine III (1191-1198), Innocent III (1199), Honorius III (1216), Gregory IX (1235), Innocent IV (1246), Alexander IV (1255), Urban IV (1262), Gregory X (1272 & 1274), Nicholas III, Martin IV (1281), Honorius IV (1285-1287), Nicholas IV (1288–92), Clement VI (1348), Urban V (1365), Boniface IX (1389), Martin V (1422), and Nicholas V (1447).
Having established his power in Italy, the pope resolved to re-open negotiations with Henry V on the question of investiture. Henry V was anxious to put an end to a controversy which had reduced imperial authority in Germany — terminally so, as it appeared in the long run. An embassy of three cardinals was sent by Calixtus II to Germany, and negotiations for a permanent settlement of the investiture struggle were begun in October 1121 at Würzburg, where it was agreed that a general truce should be proclaimed in Germany, that the Church should have free use of its possessions, and that the lands of those in rebellion should be restored. These decrees were communicated to Calixtus II, who despatched the legate Lambert to assist at the synod that had been convoked at Worms, where, on 23 September 1122, the agreement known as the Concordat of Worms was concluded. On his side the Emperor abandoned his claim to investiture with ring and crosier, and granted freedom of election to episcopal sees. On the papal side, it was conceded that the bishops should receive investiture with the sceptre, that the episcopal elections should be held in the presence of the emperor or his representatives, that in case of disputed elections the emperor should, after the decision of the metropolitan and the suffragan bishops, confirm the rightfully elected candidate, and lastly, that the imperial investiture of the temporal properties connected to the sees should take place in Germany before the consecration. In Burgundy and in Italy the imperial investiture would take place after the consecration ceremony, while in the Papal States the pope alone had the right of investiture, without any interference on the part of the emperor. As a result of this Concordat, the emperor still retained in his hands the controlling influence in the election of the bishops in Germany, though he had abandoned much in regard to episcopal elections in Italy and Burgundy.
To secure the confirmation of this Concordat of Worms, Calixtus II convened the First Lateran Council on 18 March 1123. It solemnly confirmed the Concordat and passed several disciplinary decrees, such as those against simony and concubinage among the clergy. Decrees were also passed against violators of the Truce of God, church-robbers, and forgers of ecclesiastical documents. The indulgences already granted to the crusaders were renewed, and the jurisdiction of the bishops over the clergy, both secular and regular, was more clearly defined.
Calixtus II devoted his last few years to re-establishing papal control over the Roman Campagna and establishing the primacy of his former prince-archbishopric, the See of Vienne over the long-time rival See of Arles. He also affirmed the authority of the bishop of Lyons over the church at Sens in France, transferred the historic bishopric of Merida in Spain to Santiago de Compostela, and rebuilt the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome.
Calixtus died on 13 December 1124. A decade or two later, a French scholar (probably Aymeric Picaud) began composing a combination of miracle tales, liturgical texts and travelers guide relating to the increasingly popular pilgrimage route from southern France through northern Spain now called the Camino de Santiago. The work (published before 1173) was called the "Liber Sant Jacobi" ("Book of St. James") or the Codex Calixtinus, since a letter introduction attributed to this pope preceded each of the five chapters. Several of his authentic letters have also been preserved. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24220 |
Pope Callixtus III
Pope Callixtus III (31 December 1378 – 6 August 1458), also known as Alfonso de Borgia (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 April 1455 to his death. Borgia spent his early career as a professor of law at the University of Lleida; he later served as a diplomat for the kings of Aragon. He became a tutor for King Alfonso V's illegitimate son Ferdinand. After arranging a reconciliation between Alfonso and Pope Martin V, Borgia was made Bishop of Valencia. In 1444, Pope Eugene IV named him a cardinal, and Borgia became a member of the Roman Curia. During the Siege of Belgrade (1456), Callixtus initiated the custom that bells be rung at midday to remind the faithful to pray for the crusaders. The tradition of the noon bell still exists in some congregations. He was also responsible for the retrial of Joan of Arc that saw her vindicated. He appointed two nephews as cardinals, one of whom became Pope Alexander VI.
Alfonso de Borgia was born in La Torreta in 1378. La Torreta was at the time in the Señorío de Torre de Canals (but is now a neighborhood of Canals in Valencia). At the time he was born in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon. He was the eldest child of Juan Domingo de Borja y Doncel and Francina Llançol. His sister Isabel married Jofré Llançol i Escrivà (son of Rodrigo Gil de Borja y Fennolet), and become the mother of Pedro Luis de Borja and Pope Alexander VI. His other sister Catalina became of the mother of Luis de Milà y de Borja.
Alfonso was baptized at Saint Mary's Basilica in Xativa, where he is honored with a statue in his memory.
Borgia studied grammar, logic and the arts in Valencia and went in 1392 to the University of Lleida where he obtained a doctorate in both canon law and civil law. His early career was spent as a professor of law at the University of Lleida. Around 1411, he attended a sermon by Vincent Ferrer. Afterward, the Dominican said to the future pope: "My son, you one day will be called to be the ornament of your house and of your country. You will be invested with the highest dignity that can fall to the lot of man. After my death, I shall be the object of your special honour. Endeavor to persevere in a life of virtue." Later, as pope, Borgia canonized Ferrer on 3 June 1455.
Borgia was chosen as a delegate of the Diocese of Lerida to the Council of Constance in 1416, but did not partake in the proceedings as King Alfonso V of Aragon was opposed to the council. Because of this he went to Barcelona as a representative of his diocese in a synod. Borgia cared strongly for the reestablishment of the unity of the church and his influence with the Aragonese monarch was the factor that allowed for the conclusion of the accord between the king and the new pope.
In 1418 he was named as the rector of San Nicolas of Valencia. He was also the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lerida from 1420 to 1423. In 1424 he resigned his position and dedicated his service to the Aragonese king. In 1424 he was named as the apostolic administrator of the see of Mallorca. It was at that time that the king desired that he be made a Cardinal; Pope Martin V refused the request. During the Great Western Schism he supported Antipope Benedict XIII and was also the driving force behind Antipope Clement VIII's submission to Pope Martin V in 1429. He then served as a diplomat to the Kings of Aragon, especially during the Council of Basel (1431–1439).
Borgia was appointed Bishop of Valencia by Pope Martin V on 20 August 1429 and was consecrated on 31 August 1429. He authorized Pedro Llorens to take possession of the see in his name. Borgia also tutored Alfonso V's illegitimate son Ferrante.
Pope Eugene IV elevated him to the cardinalate on 2 May 1444 after he managed to reconcile the pope and King Alfonso V of Aragon. He was elevated as the Cardinal-Priest of Santi Quattro Coronati. He took up his official residence in Rome and was a member of the Roman Curia. He participated in the papal conclave of 1447 that saw the election of Pope Nicholas V. He was known for an austere and charitable life.
Borgia's coat of arms after he was consecrated featured a grazing ox. As pope it remained the same.
Borgia was elected pope at an advanced age as a "compromise candidate" in the conclave of 8 April 1455. He took the pontifical name Callixtus III. He was crowned on 20 April 1455 by Cardinal Protodeacon Prospero Colonna.
Not quite two years after the Fall of Constantinople, Callixtus was chiefly concerned with the organization of Christian Europe against an invasion by the Turks. An extensive building program under way in Rome was cancelled and the money funneled toward a crusade. Papal nuncios were dispatched to all the countries of Europe to beseech the princes to join once more in an effort to check the danger of a Turkish invasion. Missionaries were sent to England, France, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, and Aragon to preach the Crusade, and to engage the prayers of the faithful for the success of the enterprise. It was by order of Callixtus III that the bells were rung at midday to remind the faithful that they should pray for the welfare of the crusaders.
The princes of Europe were slow in responding to the call of the pope, largely due to national rivalries. England and France's Hundred Years' War had just ended in 1453. Forces led by John Hunyadi (), Captain-General of Hungary, met the Turks and defeated them at Belgrade (22 July 1456). Shortly after his victory, Hunyadi himself died of a fever. On 29 June 1456, Callixtus III ordered the church bells to be rung at noon (see noon bell) as a call to prayer for the welfare of those defending Belgrade. To commemorate this victory, Callixtus III ordered the Feast of the Transfiguration to be held annually on 6 August.
In 1456 the pope issued the papal bull "Inter Caetera" (not to be confused with "Inter Caetera" of 1493), reaffirming the earlier bulls "Dum Diversas" and "Romanus Pontifex" which recognized Portugal's trade rights in territories it had discovered along the West African coast. This confirmation of "Romanus Pontifex" also gave the Portuguese the military Order of Christ under Henry the Navigator. "Inter Caetera" of 1456 was in direct contradiction to the stance taken by Pope Eugene IV in the 1435 bull "Sicut Dudum", which prohibited capturing slaves in the Canary Islands.
Callixtus III ordered a new trial for Joan of Arc (c. 1412–1431), at which she was posthumously vindicated. Callixtus III canonized the following four saints during his pontificate: Vincent Ferrer (3 June 1455), Osmund (1 January 1457), Albert of Trapani (15 October 1457), and Rose of Viterbo (1457).
Callixtus III elevated nine new cardinals into the cardinalate in two consistories on 20 February 1456 and 17 December 1456, two of whom were cardinal nephews. The first of them was Rodrigo de Borgia who later became Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503), infamous for his corruption and immorality. The second was Luis Julian de Milà.
The pope approved of the establishment of the University of Greifswald that took place in 1456.
According to one story that first appeared in a 1475 posthumous biography and was subsequently embellished and popularized by Pierre-Simon Laplace, Callixtus III excommunicated the 1456 appearance of Halley's Comet, believing it to be an ill omen for the Christian defenders of Belgrade from the besieging armies of the Ottoman Empire. No known primary source supports the authenticity of this account. The 29 June 1456 papal bull of Callixtus III calling for a public prayer for the success of the crusade makes no mention of the comet. By 6 August, when the Turkish siege was broken, the comet had not been visible in either Europe or Turkey for several weeks.
Callixtus III died on 6 August 1458. His remains were transferred in 1586 and again in 1610 with the remains of his nephew Alexander VI to Santa Maria in Monserrato. His remains were transferred once more on 21 August 1889 in the chapel of San Diego. In his will he left 5000 ducati to establish a hospital.
Catholic historian Ludwig von Pastor opined: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24221 |
Public-key cryptography
Public-key cryptography, or asymmetric cryptography, is a cryptographic system that uses pairs of keys: "public keys", which may be disseminated widely, and "private keys", which are known only to the owner. The generation of such keys depends on cryptographic algorithms based on mathematical problems to produce one-way functions. Effective security only requires keeping the private key private; the public key can be openly distributed without compromising security.
In such a system, any person can encrypt a message using the receiver's "public key", but that encrypted message can only be decrypted with the receiver's "private key".
Robust authentication is also possible. A sender can combine a message with a private key to create a short "digital signature" on the message. Anyone with the sender's corresponding public key can combine the same message and the supposed digital signature associated with it to verify whether the signature was valid, i.e. made by the owner of the corresponding private key.
Public key algorithms are fundamental security ingredients in modern cryptosystems, applications and protocols assuring the confidentiality, authenticity and non-repudiability of electronic communications and data storage. They underpin various Internet standards, such as Transport Layer Security (TLS), S/MIME, PGP, and GPG. Some public key algorithms provide key distribution and secrecy (e.g., Diffie–Hellman key exchange), some provide digital signatures (e.g., Digital Signature Algorithm), and some provide both (e.g., RSA).
Before the mid-1970s, all cipher systems used symmetric key algorithms, in which the same cryptographic key is used with the underlying algorithm by both the sender and the recipient, who must both keep it secret. Of necessity, the key in every such system had to be exchanged between the communicating parties in some secure way prior to any use of the system – a secure channel. This requirement is never trivial and very rapidly becomes unmanageable as the number of participants increases, or when secure channels aren't available for key exchange, or when, (as is sensible cryptographic practice), keys are frequently changed. In particular, if messages are meant to be secure from other users, a separate key is required for each possible pair of users.
By contrast, in a public key system, the public keys can be disseminated widely and openly, and only the private key needs to be kept secure by its owner.
Two of the best-known uses of public key cryptography are:
One important issue is confidence/proof that a particular public key is authentic, i.e. that it is correct and belongs to the person or entity claimed, and has not been tampered with or replaced by a malicious third party. There are several possible approaches, including:
A public key infrastructure (PKI), in which one or more third parties – known as certificate authorities – certify ownership of key pairs. TLS relies upon this.
A "web of trust" which decentralizes authentication by using individual endorsements of the link between user and public key. PGP uses this approach, as well as lookup in the domain name system (DNS). The DKIM system for digitally signing emails also uses this approach.
The most obvious application of a public key encryption system is in encrypting communication to provide confidentiality – a message that a sender encrypts using the recipient's public key can be decrypted only by the recipient's paired private key.
Another application in public key cryptography is the digital signature. Digital signature schemes can be used for sender authentication.
Non-repudiation systems use digital signatures to ensure that one party cannot successfully dispute its authorship of a document or communication.
Further applications built on this foundation include: digital cash, password-authenticated key agreement, time-stamping services, non-repudiation protocols, etc.
Because asymmetric key algorithms are nearly always much more computationally intensive
than symmetric ones, in many cases it is common to exchange a key using a key-exchange algorithm, then transmit data using that key and a symmetric key algorithm. PGP, SSH, and the SSL/TLS family of schemes use this procedure, and are thus called "hybrid cryptosystems".
As with all security-related systems, it is important to identify potential weaknesses.
All public key schemes are in theory susceptible to a "brute-force key search attack". Such attacks are impractical, however, if the amount of computation needed to succeed – termed the "work factor" by Claude Shannon – is out of reach of all potential attackers. In many cases, the work factor can be increased by simply choosing a longer key. But other algorithms may have much lower work factors, making resistance to a brute-force attack irrelevant. Some special and specific algorithms have been developed to aid in attacking some public key encryption algorithms – both RSA and ElGamal encryption have known attacks that are much faster than the brute-force approach.
Major weaknesses have been found for several formerly promising asymmetric key algorithms. The "knapsack packing" algorithm was found to be insecure after the development of a new attack. As with all cryptographic functions, public-key implementations may be vulnerable to side-channel attacks that exploit information leakage to simplify the search for a secret key. Research is underway to both discover, and to protect against, new attacks.
Another potential security vulnerability in using asymmetric keys is the possibility of a "man-in-the-middle" attack, in which the communication of public keys is intercepted by a third party (the "man in the middle") and then modified to provide different public keys instead. Encrypted messages and responses must also be intercepted, decrypted, and re-encrypted by the attacker using the correct public keys for different communication segments, in all instances, so as to avoid suspicion.
A communication is said to be insecure where data is transmitted in a manner that allows for interception (also called "sniffing"). These terms refer to reading the sender's private data in its entirety. A communication is particularly unsafe when interceptions can't be prevented or monitored by the sender.
A man-in-the-middle attack can be difficult to implement due to the complexities of modern security protocols. However, the task becomes simpler when a sender is using insecure mediums such as public networks, the Internet, or wireless communication. In these cases an attacker can compromise the communications infrastructure rather than the data itself. A hypothetical malicious staff member at an Internet Service Provider (ISP) might find a man-in-the-middle attack relatively straightforward. Capturing the public key would only require searching for the key as it gets sent through the ISP's communications hardware.
In some advanced man-in-the-middle attacks, one side of the communication will see the original data while the other will receive a malicious variant. Asymmetric man-in-the-middle attacks can prevent users from realizing their connection is compromised. This remains true even when one user's data is known to be compromised because the data appears fine to the other user. This can lead to confusing disagreements between users such as "it must be on your end!" when neither user is at fault. Hence, man-in-the-middle attacks are only fully preventable when the communications infrastructure is physically controlled by one or both parties; such as via a wired route inside the sender's own building. In summation, public keys are easier to alter when the communications hardware used by a sender is controlled by an attacker.
One approach to prevent such attacks involves the use of a public key infrastructure (PKI); a set of roles, policies, and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute, use, store and revoke digital certificates and manage public-key encryption. However, this in turn has potential weaknesses.
For example, the certificate authority issuing the certificate must be trusted to have properly checked the identity of the key-holder, must ensure the correctness of the public key when it issues a certificate, must be secure from computer piracy, and must have made arrangements with all participants to check all their certificates before protected communications can begin. Web browsers, for instance, are supplied with a long list of "self-signed identity certificates" from PKI providers – these are used to check the "bona fides" of the certificate authority and then, in a second step, the certificates of potential communicators. An attacker who could subvert any single one of those certificate authorities into issuing a certificate for a bogus public key could then mount a "man-in-the-middle" attack as easily as if the certificate scheme were not used at all. In an alternate scenario rarely discussed , an attacker who penetrates an authority's servers and obtains its store of certificates and keys (public and private) would be able to spoof, masquerade, decrypt, and forge transactions without limit.
Despite its theoretical and potential problems, this approach is widely used. Examples include TLS and its predecessor SSL, which are commonly used to provide security for web browser transactions (for example, to securely send credit card details to an online store).
Aside from the resistance to attack of a particular key pair, the security of the certification hierarchy must be considered when deploying public key systems. Some certificate authority – usually a purpose-built program running on a server computer – vouches for the identities assigned to specific private keys by producing a digital certificate. Public key digital certificates are typically valid for several years at a time, so the associated private keys must be held securely over that time. When a private key used for certificate creation higher in the PKI server hierarchy is compromised, or accidentally disclosed, then a "man-in-the-middle attack" is possible, making any subordinate certificate wholly insecure.
Examples of well-regarded asymmetric key techniques for varied purposes include:
Examples of asymmetric key algorithms not widely adopted include:
Examples of notable – yet insecure – asymmetric key algorithms include:
Examples of protocols using asymmetric key algorithms include:
During the early history of cryptography, two parties would rely upon a key that they would exchange by means of a secure, but non-cryptographic, method such as a face-to-face meeting or a trusted courier. This key, which both parties kept absolutely secret, could then be used to exchange encrypted messages. A number of significant practical difficulties arise with this approach to distributing keys.
In his 1874 book "The Principles of Science", William Stanley Jevons wrote:
Can the reader say what two numbers multiplied together will produce the number 8616460799? I think it unlikely that anyone but myself will ever know.
Here he described the relationship of one-way functions to cryptography, and went on to discuss specifically the factorization problem used to create a trapdoor function. In July 1996, mathematician Solomon W. Golomb said: "Jevons anticipated a key feature of the RSA Algorithm for public key cryptography, although he certainly did not invent the concept of public key cryptography."
In 1970, James H. Ellis, a British cryptographer at the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), conceived of the possibility of "non-secret encryption", (now called public key cryptography), but could see no way to implement it. In 1973, his colleague Clifford Cocks implemented what has become known as the RSA encryption algorithm, giving a practical method of "non-secret encryption", and in 1974, another GCHQ mathematician and cryptographer, Malcolm J. Williamson, developed what is now known as Diffie–Hellman key exchange.
The scheme was also passed to the USA's National Security Agency. With a military focus and low computing power, the power of public key cryptography was unrealised in both organisations:
I judged it most important for military use ... if you can share your key rapidly and electronically, you have a major advantage over your opponent. Only at the end of the evolution from Berners-Lee designing an open internet architecture for CERN, its adaptation and adoption for the Arpanet ... did public key cryptography realise its full potential.
—Ralph Benjamin
Their discovery was not publicly acknowledged for 27 years, until the research was declassified by the British government in 1997.
In 1976, an asymmetric key cryptosystem was published by Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman who, influenced by Ralph Merkle's work on public key distribution, disclosed a method of public key agreement. This method of key exchange, which uses exponentiation in a finite field, came to be known as Diffie–Hellman key exchange. This was the first published practical method for establishing a shared secret-key over an authenticated (but not confidential) communications channel without using a prior shared secret. Merkle's "public key-agreement technique" became known as Merkle's Puzzles, and was invented in 1974 and published in 1978.
In 1977, a generalization of Cocks' scheme was independently invented by Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard Adleman, all then at MIT. The latter authors published their work in 1978, and the algorithm came to be known as RSA, from their initials. RSA uses exponentiation modulo a product of two very large primes, to encrypt and decrypt, performing both public key encryption and public key digital signature. Its security is connected to the extreme difficulty of factoring large integers, a problem for which there is no known efficient general technique.A description of the algorithm was published in the Mathematical Games column in the August 1977 issue of Scientific American.
Since the 1970s, a large number and variety of encryption, digital signature, key agreement, and other techniques have been developed in the field of public key cryptography, including the Rabin cryptosystem, ElGamal encryption, DSA - and elliptic curve cryptography. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24222 |
Plan 9 from Bell Labs
Plan 9 from Bell Labs is a distributed operating system, originating in the Computing Science Research Center (CSRC) at Bell Labs in the mid-1980s, and building on UNIX concepts first developed there in the late 1960s. The final official release was in early 2015.
Under Plan 9, UNIX's "everything is a file" metaphor is extended via a pervasive network-centric filesystem, and the cursor-addressed, terminal-based I/O at the heart of UNIX-like operating systems is replaced by a windowing system and graphical user interface without cursor addressing, although rc, the Plan 9 shell, is text-based.
The name "Plan 9 from Bell Labs" is a reference to the Ed Wood 1959 cult science fiction Z-movie "Plan 9 from Outer Space". The name of the project's mascot is “Glenda, the Plan 9 Bunny.” The system continues to be used and developed by operating system researchers and hobbyists.
Plan 9 from Bell Labs was originally developed, starting in the late 1980s, by members of the Computing Science Research Center at Bell Labs, the same group that originally developed Unix and the C programming language. The Plan 9 team was initially led by Rob Pike, Ken Thompson, Dave Presotto and Phil Winterbottom, with support from Dennis Ritchie as head of the Computing Techniques Research Department. Over the years, many notable developers have contributed to the project, including Brian Kernighan, Tom Duff, Doug McIlroy, Bjarne Stroustrup and Bruce Ellis.
Plan 9 replaced Unix as Bell Labs's primary platform for operating systems research. It explored several changes to the original Unix model that facilitate the use and programming of the system, notably in distributed multi-user environments. After several years of development and internal use, Bell Labs shipped the operating system to universities in 1992. Three years later, Plan 9 was made available for commercial parties by AT&T via the book publisher Harcourt Brace. With source licenses costing $350, AT&T targeted the embedded systems market rather than the computer market at large. Ritchie commented that the developers did not expect to do "much displacement" given how established other operating systems had become.
By early 1996, the Plan 9 project had been "put on the back burner" by AT&T in favor of Inferno, intended to be a rival to Sun Microsystems' Java platform.
In the late 1990s, Bell Labs' new owner Lucent Technologies dropped commercial support for the project and in 2000, a third release was distributed under an open-source license. A fourth release under a new free software license occurred in 2002.
A user and development community, including current and former Bell Labs personnel, produced minor daily releases in the form of ISO images. Bell Labs hosted the development. The development source tree is accessible over the 9P and HTTP protocols and is used to update existing installations. In addition to the official components of the OS included in the ISOs, Bell Labs also hosts a repository of externally developed applications and tools.
As Bell Labs has moved on to later projects in recent years, development of the official Plan 9 system has stopped. Unofficial development for the system continues on the 9front fork, where active contributors provide monthly builds and new functionality. So far, the 9front fork has provided the system Wi-Fi drivers, Audio drivers, USB support and built-in game emulator, along with other features. Other recent Plan 9-inspired operating systems include Harvey OS and Jehanne OS.
Plan 9 is a distributed operating system, designed to make a network of heterogeneous and geographically separated computers function as a single system. In a typical Plan 9 installation, users work at terminals running the window system rio, and they access CPU servers which handle computation-intensive processes. Permanent data storage is provided by additional network hosts acting as file servers and archival storage.
Its designers state that,
The first idea means that, unlike on most operating systems, processes (running programs) each have their own view of the "namespace", corresponding to what other operating systems call the file system; a single path name may refer to different resources for different processes. The potential complexity of this setup is controlled by a set of conventional locations for common resources.
The second idea means that processes can offer their services to other processes by providing virtual files that appear in the other processes' namespace. The client process's input/output on such a file becomes inter-process communication between the two processes. This way, Plan 9 generalizes the Unix notion of the filesystem as the central point of access to computing resources. It carries over Unix's idea of device files to provide access to peripheral devices (mice, removable media, etc.) and the possibility to mount filesystems residing on physically distinct filesystems into a hierarchical namespace, but adds the possibility to mount a connection to a server program that speaks a standardized protocol and treat its services as part of the namespace.
For example, the original window system, called 8½, exploited these possibilities as follows. Plan 9 represents the user interface on a terminal by means of three pseudo-files: , which can be read by a program to get notification of mouse movements and button clicks, , which can be used to perform textual input/output, and , writing to which enacts graphics operations (see bit blit). The window system multiplexes these devices: when creating a new window to run some program in, it first sets up a new namespace in which , and are connected to itself, hiding the actual device files to which it itself has access. The window system thus receives all input and output commands from the program and handles these appropriately, by sending output to the actual screen device and giving the currently focused program the keyboard and mouse input. The program does not need to know if it is communicating directly with the operating system's device drivers, or with the window system; it only has to assume that its namespace is set up so that these special files provide the kind of input and accept the kind of messages that it expects.
Plan 9's distributed operation relies on the per-process namespaces as well, allowing client and server processes to communicate across machines in the way just outlined. For example, the command starts a remote session on a computation server. The command exports part of its local namespace, including the user's terminal's devices (, , ), to the server, so that remote programs can perform input/output using the terminal's mouse, keyboard and display, combining the effects of remote login and a shared network filesystem.
All programs that wish to provide services-as-files to other programs speak a unified protocol, called 9P. Compared to other systems, this reduces the number of custom programming interfaces. 9P is a generic, medium-agnostic, byte-oriented protocol that provides for messages delivered between a server and a client. The protocol is used to refer to and communicate with processes, programs, and data, including both the user interface and the network. With the release of the 4th edition, it was modified and renamed 9P2000.
Unlike most other operating systems, Plan 9 does not provide special application programming interfaces (such as Berkeley sockets, X resources or ioctl system calls) to access devices. Instead, Plan 9 device drivers implement their control interface as a file system, so that the hardware can be accessed by the ordinary file input/output operations "read" and "write". Consequently, sharing the device across the network can be accomplished by mounting the corresponding directory tree to the target machine.
Plan 9 allows the user to collect the files (called "names") from different directory trees in a single location. The resulting "union directory" behaves as the concatenation of the underlying directories (the order of concatenation can be controlled); if the constituent directories contain files having the same name, a listing of the union directory ( or ) will simply report duplicate names. Resolution of a single path name is performed top-down: if the directories and are unioned into with first, then denotes if it exists, only if it exists "and does not exist", and no file if neither exists. No recursive unioning of subdirectories is performed, so if exists, the files in are not accessible through the union.
A union directory can be created by using the command:
In the example above, is mounted at , the contents of replacing the previous contents of . Acme's directory is then union mounted after , and Alice's personal directory is union mounted before. When a file is requested from , it is first looked for in , then in , and then finally in .
The separate process namespaces thus replace the notion of a search path in the shell. Where Unix shells have a list of directories to search for programs when given a command, the Plan 9 shell only looks in the directory ; adding commands is done by binding several directories together to appear as a single .
Furthermore, the kernel can keep separate mount tables for each process, and can thus provide each process with its own file system namespace. Processes' namespaces can be constructed independently, and the user may work simultaneously with programs that have heterogeneous namespaces. Namespaces may be used to create an isolated environment similar to chroot, but in a more secure way.
Plan 9's union directory architecture inspired 4.4BSD and Linux union file system implementations, although the developers of the BSD union mounting facility found the non-recursive merging of directories in Plan 9 "too restrictive for general purpose use".
Instead of having system calls specifically for process management, Plan 9 provides the file system. Each process appears as a directory containing information and control files which can be manipulated by the ordinary file IO system calls.
The file system approach allows Plan 9 processes to be managed with simple file management tools such as ls and cat; however, the processes cannot be copied and moved as files.
Plan 9 does not have specialised system calls or ioctls for accessing the networking stack or networking hardware. Instead, the file system is used. Network connections are controlled by reading and writing control messages to control files. Sub-directories such as and are used as an interface to their respective protocols.
To reduce the complexity of managing character encodings, Plan 9 uses Unicode throughout the system. The initial Unicode implementation was ISO 10646. Ken Thompson invented UTF-8, which became the native encoding in Plan 9. The entire system was converted to general use in 1992. UTF-8 preserves backwards compatibility with traditional null-terminated strings, enabling more reliable information processing and the chaining of multilingual string data with Unix pipes between multiple processes. Using a single UTF-8 encoding with characters for all cultures and regions eliminates the need for switching between code sets.
Though interesting on their own, the design concepts of Plan 9 were supposed to be most useful when combined together. For example, to implement a network address translation (NAT) server, a union directory can be created, overlaying the router's directory tree with its own . Similarly, a virtual private network (VPN) can be implemented by overlaying in a union directory a hierarchy from a remote gateway, using secured 9P over the public Internet. A union directory with the hierarchy and filters can be used to sandbox an untrusted application or to implement a firewall. In the same manner, a distributed computing network can be composed with a union directory of hierarchies from remote hosts, which allows interacting with them as if they are local.
When used together, these features allow for assembling a complex distributed computing environment by reusing the existing hierarchical name system.
As a benefit from the system's design, most tasks in Plan 9 can be accomplished by using ls, cat, grep, cp and rm utilities in combination with the rc shell (the default Plan 9 shell).
Factotum is an authentication and key management server for Plan 9. It handles authentication on behalf of other programs such that both secret keys and implementation details need only be known to Factotum.
Unlike Unix, Plan 9 was designed with graphics in mind. After booting, a Plan 9 terminal will run the rio windowing system, in which the user can create new windows displaying rc. Graphical programs invoked from this shell replace it in its window.
The plumber provides an inter-process communication mechanism which allows system-wide hyperlinking.
Sam and acme are Plan 9's text editors.
Plan 9 supports the Kfs, Paq, Cwfs, FAT, and Fossil file systems. The last was designed at Bell Labs specifically for Plan 9 and provides snapshot storage capability. It can be used directly with a hard drive or backed with Venti, an archival file system and permanent data storage system.
The distribution package for Plan 9 includes special compiler variants and programming languages, and provides a tailored set of libraries along with a windowing user interface system specific to Plan 9. The bulk of the system is written in a dialect of C (ANSI C with some extensions and some other features left out). The compilers for this language were custom built with portability in mind; according to their author, they "compile quickly, load slowly, and produce medium quality object code".
A concurrent programming language called Alef was available in the first two editions, but was then dropped for maintenance reasons and replaced by a threading library for C.
Though Plan 9 was supposed to be a further development of Unix concepts, compatibility with preexisting Unix software was never the goal for the project. Many command-line utilities of Plan 9 share the names of Unix counterparts, but work differently.
Plan 9 can support POSIX applications and can emulate the Berkeley socket interface through the ANSI/POSIX Environment (APE) that implements an interface close to ANSI C and POSIX, with some common extensions (the native Plan 9 C interfaces conform to neither standard). It also includes a POSIX-compatible shell. APE's authors claim to have used it to port the X Window System (X11) to Plan 9, although they do not ship X11 "because supporting it properly is too big a job". Some Linux binaries can be used with the help of a "linuxemu" (Linux emulator) application; however, it is still a work in progress. Vice versa, the vx32 virtual machine allows a slightly modified Plan 9 kernel to run as a user process in Linux, supporting unmodified Plan 9 programs.
In 1991, Plan 9's designers compared their system to other early nineties operating systems in terms of size, showing that the source code for a minimal ("working, albeit not very useful") version was less than one-fifth the size of a Mach microkernel without any device drivers (5899 or 4622 lines of code for Plan 9, depending on metric, vs. 25530 lines). The complete kernel comprised 18000 lines of code. (According to a 2006 count, the kernel was then some 150,000 lines, but this was compared against more than 4.8 million in Linux.)
Within the operating systems research community, as well as the commercial Unix world, other attempts at achieving distributed computing and remote filesystem access were made concurrently with the Plan 9 design effort. These included the Network File System and the associated vnode architecture developed at Sun Microsystems, and more radical departures from the Unix model such as the Sprite OS from UC Berkeley. Sprite developer Brent Welch points out that the SunOS vnode architecture is limited compared to Plan 9's capabilities in that it does not support remote device access and remote inter-process communication cleanly, even though it could have, had the preexisting UNIX domain sockets (which "can essentially be used to name user-level servers") been integrated with the vnode architecture.
One critique of the "everything is a file", communication-by-textual-message design of Plan 9 pointed out limitations of this paradigm compared to the typed interfaces of Sun's object-oriented operating system, Spring:
A later retrospective comparison of Plan 9, Sprite and a third contemporary distributed research operating system, Amoeba, found that
Plan 9 demonstrated that an integral concept of Unix—that every system interface could be represented as a set of files—could be successfully implemented in a modern distributed system. Some features from Plan 9, like the UTF-8 character encoding of Unicode, have been implemented in other operating systems. Unix-like operating systems such as Linux have implemented 9P, Plan 9's file system, and have adopted features of rfork, Plan 9's process creation mechanism. Additionally, in Plan 9 from User Space, several of Plan 9's applications and tools, including the sam and acme editors, have been ported to Unix and Linux systems and have achieved some level of popularity. Several projects seek to replace the GNU operating system programs surrounding the Linux kernel with the Plan 9 operating system programs. The 9wm window manager was inspired by 8½, the older windowing system of Plan 9; wmii is also heavily influenced by Plan 9.
In computer science research, Plan 9 has been used as a grid computing platform and as a vehicle for research into ubiquitous computing without middleware.
In commerce, Plan 9 underlies Coraid storage systems.
However, Plan 9 has never approached Unix in popularity, and has been primarily a research tool:
Other factors that contributed to low adoption of Plan 9 include the lack of commercial backup, the low number of end-user applications, and the lack of device drivers.
Plan 9 proponents and developers claim that the problems hindering its adoption have been solved, that its original goals as a distributed system, development environment, and research platform have been met, and that it enjoys moderate but growing popularity. Inferno, through its hosted capabilities, has been a vehicle for bringing Plan 9 technologies to other systems as a hosted part of heterogeneous computing grids.
Several projects work to extend Plan 9, including 9atom and 9front. These forks augment Plan 9 with additional hardware drivers and software, including an improved version of the Upas e-mail system, the go compiler, Mercurial version control system support, and other programs. Plan 9 was ported to the Raspberry Pi single-board computer. The Harvey project attempts to replace the custom Plan 9 C compiler with GCC, to leverage modern development tools such as GitHub and Coverity, and speed up development.
Inferno is a descendant of Plan 9, and shares many design concepts and even source code in the kernel, particularly around devices and the Styx/9P2000 protocol.
Inferno shares with Plan 9 the Unix heritage from Bell Labs and the Unix philosophy. Many of the command line tools in Inferno were Plan 9 tools that were translated to Limbo.
Starting with the release of Fourth edition on April 2002, the full source code of Plan 9 from Bell Labs is freely available under Lucent Public License 1.02, which is considered to be an open-source license by the Open Source Initiative (OSI), free software license by the Free Software Foundation, and it passes the Debian Free Software Guidelines.
In February 2014, the University of California, Berkeley, was authorized by the current Plan 9 copyright holder – Alcatel-Lucent – to release all Plan 9 software previously governed by the Lucent Public License, Version 1.02 under the GNU General Public License, Version 2. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24226 |
Pope Gregory XI
Pope Gregory XI (, born Pierre Roger de Beaufort; c. 1329 – 27 March 1378) was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1370 to his death in 1378. He was the seventh and last Avignon pope and the most recent French pope. In 1377, Gregory XI returned the Papal court to Rome, ending nearly 70 years of papal residency in Avignon, France. His death shortly after was followed by the Western Schism involving two Avignon-based antipopes.
Pierre Roger de Beaufort was born at Maumont, France, around 1330. His uncle, Pierre Cardinal Roger, Archbishop of Rouen, was elected pope in 1342 and took the name Clement VI. Clement VI bestowed a number of benefices upon his nephew and in 1348, created the eighteen-year-old a cardinal deacon. The young cardinal attended the University of Perugia, where he became a skilled canonist and theologian. He later held the position of protodeacon of the Sacred College.
After the death of Pope Urban V (December 1370), eighteen cardinals assembled at Avignon entered the conclave on 29 December. Cardinal Roger was unanimously elected on 30 December. He initially opposed his election but eventually accepted and took the name of Gregory XI. On 4 January 1371 he was ordained to the priesthood by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Guy de Boulogne, and on 5 January was consecrated Bishop of Rome and crowned by the new protodeacon Rinaldo Orsini in the cathedral Notre Dame des Doms in Avignon.
Immediately on his accession he attempted to reconcile the Kings of France and England, but failed. Gregory confirmed a treaty between Sicily and Naples at Villeneuve-lès-Avignon on 20 August 1372, which brought about a permanent settlement between the rival kingdoms, which were both papal fiefs.
Johannes Klenkok's "Decadicon", that he wrote against the Sachsenspiegel law-book was submitted to Pope Gregory XI in the early part of the 1370s by French canonist and cardinal of the Curia Pierre de la Vergne. Gregory formally condemned fourteen articles of the "Sachsenspiegel" in the papal bull "Salvator Humani Generis" in 1374 and nineteen propositions of John Wycliffe's " On Civil Dominion" in 1377. and 21 proposed reformation articles of Johannes Klenkok's " Decadicon "
He also made efforts towards the reunion of the Greek and Latin Churches, the undertaking of a crusade, and the reform of the clergy. Efforts were made to reform corrupt practices in the various monastic orders, such as collecting fees from persons visiting holy sites and the exhibiting of faux relics of saints. In 1373 he approved the Order of the Spanish Hermits of St. Jerome.
Soon, however, he had to give his entire attention to the turbulent affairs of Italy. Duke Bernabo Visconti of Milan, had, in 1371, made himself master of Reggio and other places that were feudatory to the Holy See. Gregory XI excommunicated him. Bernabo compelled the legates that brought him the Bull of excommunication to eat the parchment on which his excommunication was written. Hereupon Gregory XI declared war upon him in 1372. Success was at first on the side of Bernabo, but when Gregory XI obtained the support of the emperor, the Queen of Naples, and the King of Hungary, Bernabo sued for peace. By bribing some of the papal councillors he obtained a favourable truce on 6 June 1374.
Like the preceding popes of Avignon, Gregory XI made the fatal mistake of appointing Frenchmen, who did not understand the Italians and whom the Italians hated, as legates and governors of the ecclesiastical provinces in Italy. The Florentines, however, feared that a strengthening of the papal power in Italy would impair their own prestige in Central Italy and allied themselves with Bernabo in July 1375. Both Bernabo and the Florentines did their utmost to stir up an insurrection in the pontifical territory among all those that were dissatisfied with the papal legates in Italy. They were so successful that within a short time the entire Patrimony of St. Peter was up in arms against the pope. Highly incensed at the seditious proceedings of the Florentines, in 1376, Gregory XI put Florence under interdict, excommunicated its inhabitants, and outlawed them and their possessions. The financial loss which the Florentines sustained thereby was inestimable. They sent St. Catherine of Siena to intercede for them with Gregory XI, but frustrated her efforts by continuing their hostilities against the pope.
Gregory XI's decision to return to Rome has been attributed in part to the incessant pleas, demands, and threats of Catherine of Siena. Gregory's predecessor, Urban V, had tried to return as well, but the demands of the Hundred Years' War brought him north of the Alps again, and Avignon was still the seat of the bishop of Rome.
The return of the Curia to Rome began on 13 September 1376. Despite the protests of the French king and the majority of the cardinals, Gregory left Avignon on that day and made his way to Marseilles, where he boarded a ship on 2 October. Arriving at Corneto on 6 December, he decided to remain there until arrangements were made in Rome concerning its future government. On 13 January 1377, he left Corneto, landed at Ostia the next day, and from there sailed up the Tiber to the monastery of San Paolo. On 17 January he left the monastery to make a solemn entrance into Rome that same day.
But his return to Rome did not put an end to hostilities. The massacre at Cesena, which was ordered by Cardinal Robert of Geneva, embittered the Italians still more against the pope. Continuing riots induced Gregory to remove to Anagni towards the end of May 1377. He gradually quelled the commotion himself and went back to Rome on 7 November 1377, where he died while a congress of peace was in process at Sarzano.
Gregory XI was the last pope of French nationality. He was learned and pious, though not free from nepotism. He was so disgusted with the conditions at Rome that only death prevented him from returning to Avignon.
Gregory XI did not long survive this trip, dying in Rome on 27 March 1378. He was buried the following day in the church of Santa Maria Nuova. After his death the College of Cardinals was pressured by a Roman mob that broke into the voting chamber to force an Italian into the papacy. The Italians chose Urban VI. Soon after being elected, Urban gained the cardinals' enmity. The cardinals withdrew from Rome to Fondi, where they annulled their election of Urban and elected a French pope, Clement VII, before returning to Avignon in 1378.
Subsequently, the Western Schism created by the selection of rival popes forced Europe into a dilemma of papal allegiance. This schism was not resolved fully until the Council of Constance (1414–1418). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24227 |
Pope Gregory XIV
Pope Gregory XIV (; 11 February 1535 – 15 October 1591), born Niccolò Sfondrato or Sfondrati, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 December 1590 to his death in 1591.
Niccolò Sfondrati was born at Somma Lombardo, then part of the Duchy of Milan, in the highest stratum of Milanese society. His mother, of the house of Visconti, died in childbirth. His father Francesco Sfondrati, a senator of the ancient comune of Milan, was created Cardinal-Priest by Pope Paul III in 1544.
In his youth he was known for his modest lifestyle and stringent piety. He studied law at Perugia and Padua, was ordained a priest and swiftly appointed Bishop of Cremona, in 1560, in time to participate in the sessions of the Council of Trent from 1561 to 1563. Pope Gregory XIII made him a Cardinal-Priest of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere on 12 December 1583. Sfondrati was a close follower of Carlo Cardinal Borromeo, and when the cardinal died, he celebrated the Requiem Mass for Borromeo on 7 November 1584. Sfondrati was an intimate friend and a great admirer of Philip Neri, an Italian priest who died in 1595 and was canonised in 1622.
After the death of Pope Urban VII on 27 September 1590, the Spanish ambassador Olivares presented the conclave a list of the seven cardinals who would be acceptable to his master Philip II of Spain. On 5 December 1590, after two months of deadlock, Sfondrati, one of Philip II's seven candidates but who had not aspired to the office, was elected pope. Alessandro Cardinal Montalto came to Sfondrati's cell to inform him that the Sacred College had agreed on his election and found him kneeling in prayer before a crucifix.
On the day after he was elected Pope, Gregory XIV burst into tears and said to the cardinals: "God forgive you! What have you done?" In his bull of 21 March 1591, "Cogit nos", he forbade under pain of excommunication all betting concerning the election of a Pope, the duration of a pontificate, or the creation of new cardinals.
Gregory XIV's brief pontificate was marked by vigorous intervention in favour of the Catholic party in the French Wars of Religion. Instigated by the king of Spain and the duke of Mayenne, he excommunicated Henry IV of France on 1 March 1591, reiterating the 1585 declaration of Pope Sixtus V that as a heretic (Protestant) Henry of Navarre was ineligible to succeed to the throne of Catholic France and ordered the clergy, nobles, judicial functionaries, and the Third Estate of France to renounce him.
Gregory XIV levied an army for the invasion of France, and dispatched his nephew Ercole Sfondrati to France at its head. He also sent a monthly subsidy of 15,000 "scudi" to Paris to reinforce the Catholic League. By coming down solidly on the side of Spanish interests, in part because Gregory XIV was elected due to the influence of the Spanish cardinals, the recent papal policy of trying to maintain a balance between Spain and France was abandoned.
Gregory XIV created five cardinals, among whom was his nephew Paolo Emilio Sfondrati, his Secretary of State. He attempted to convince Philip Neri, a long-time friend, to accept the post of Cardinal, but Neri refused, saying that there were many more deserving of the honour than him.
In a decree dated 18 April 1591 (Bulla Cum Sicuti), Gregory XIV ordered reparations to be made by Catholics in the Philippines to the natives, who had been forced into slavery by Europeans, and he commanded under pain of excommunication of the owners that all native slaves in the islands be set free.
The biographers mention that Pope Gregory XIV had a nervous tendency to laughter, which occasionally became irresistible and even manifested itself at his coronation. Gregory XIV, who was in poor health before his election to the papacy, died due to a large gallstone and was succeeded by Innocent IX. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24228 |
Parma
Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. It is home to the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world.
Parma is divided into two parts by the stream of the same name. The district on the far side of the river is "Oltretorrente". Parma's Etruscan name was adapted by Romans to describe the round shield called "Parma".
The Italian poet Attilio Bertolucci (born in a hamlet in the countryside) wrote: "As a capital city it had to have a river. As a little capital it received a stream, which is often dry".
Parma was already a built-up area in the Bronze Age. In the current position of the city rose a terramare. The "terramare" (marl earth) were ancient villages built of wood on piles according to a defined scheme and squared form; constructed on dry land and generally in proximity to the rivers. During this age (between 1500 BC and 800 BC) the first necropolis (on the sites of the present-day Piazza Duomo and Piazzale della Macina) were constructed.
The city was most probably founded and named by the Etruscans, for a "parma" or "palma" (circular shield) was a Latin borrowing, as were many Roman terms for particular arms, and the names "Parmeal", "Parmni" and "Parmnial" appear in Etruscan inscriptions. Diodorus Siculus reported that the Romans had changed their rectangular shields for round ones, imitating the Etruscans. Whether the Etruscan encampment acquired its name from its round shape, like a shield, or from its metaphorical function as a shield against the Gauls to the north, remains uncertain.
The Roman colony was founded in 183 BC, together with Mutina (Modena); 2,000 families were settled. Parma had a certain importance as a road hub over the Via Aemilia and the Via Claudia. It had a forum, in what is today the central Garibaldi Square. In 44 BC the city was destroyed; subsequently Augustus rebuilt it. During the Roman Empire, it gained the title of "Julia" for its loyalty to the imperial house.
Attila sacked the city in 452,
and the Germanic king Odoacer later gifted it to his followers. During the Gothic War, however, Totila destroyed it. It was then part of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna (changing its name to "Chrysopolis", "Golden City", probably due to the presence of the imperial treasury) and, from 569, of the Lombard Kingdom of Italy. During the Middle Ages, Parma became an important stage of the Via Francigena, the main road connecting Rome to Northern Europe; several castles, hospitals and inns were built in the following centuries to host the increasing number of pilgrims who passed by Parma and Fidenza, following the Apennines via Collecchio, Berceto and the Corchia ranges before descending the Passo della Cisa into Tuscany, heading finally south toward Rome.
The city had a medieval Jewish community.
The Palatine Library houses the largest collection of Hebrew manuscripts in Italy, and the second-largest in the world after the Bodleian Library in Oxford
Under Frankish rule, Parma became the capital of a county in 774. Like most northern Italian cities, it was nominally a part of the Holy Roman Empire created by Charlemagne, but locally ruled by its bishops, the first being Guibodus. In the subsequent struggles between the Papacy and the Empire, Parma was usually a member of the Imperial party. Two of its bishops became antipopes: Càdalo, founder of the cathedral, as Honorius II; and Guibert, as Clement III. An almost independent commune was created around 1140; a treaty between Parma and Piacenza of 1149 is the earliest document of a "comune" headed by consuls. After the Peace of Constance in 1183 confirmed the Italian communes' rights of self-governance, long-standing quarrels with the neighbouring communes of Reggio Emilia, Piacenza and Cremona became harsher, with the aim of controlling the vital trading line over the Po River.
The struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines was a feature of Parma too. In 1213, her "podestà" was the Guelph Rambertino Buvalelli. Then, after a long stance alongside the emperors, the Papist families of the city gained control in 1248. The city was besieged in 1247–48 by Emperor Frederick II, who was however crushed in the battle that ensued.
Parma fell under the control of Milan in 1341. After a short-lived period of independence under the Terzi family (1404–1409), the Sforza imposed their rule (1440–1449) through their associated families of Pallavicino, Rossi, Sanvitale and Da Correggio. These created a kind of new feudalism, building towers and castles throughout the city and the land. These fiefs evolved into truly independent states: the Landi governed the higher Taro's valley from 1257 to 1682. The Pallavicino seignory extended over the eastern part of today's province, with the capital in Busseto. Parma's territories were an exception for Northern Italy, as its feudal subdivision frequently continued until more recent years. For example, Solignano was a Pallavicino family possession until 1805, and San Secondo belonged to the Rossi well into the 19th century.
Between the 14th and the 15th centuries, Parma was at the centre of the Italian Wars. The Battle of Fornovo was fought in its territory. The French held the city in 1500–1521, with a short Papal parenthesis in 1512–1515. After the foreigners were expelled, Parma belonged to the Papal States until 1545.
In that year the Farnese pope, Paul III, detached Parma and Piacenza from the Papal States and gave them as a duchy to his illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, whose descendants ruled in Parma until 1731, when Antonio Farnese, last male of the Farnese line, died. In 1594 a constitution was promulgated, the University enhanced and the Nobles' College founded. The war to reduce the barons' power continued for several years: in 1612 Barbara Sanseverino was executed in the central square of Parma, together with six other nobles charged of plotting against the duke. At the end of the 17th century, after the defeat of Pallavicini (1588) and Landi (1682) the Farnese duke could finally hold with firm hand all Parmense territories. The castle of the Sanseverino in Colorno was turned into a luxurious summer palace by Ferdinando Bibiena.
In the Treaty of London (1718) it was promulgated that the heir to the combined Duchy of Parma and Piacenza would be Elisabeth Farnese's elder son with Philip V of Spain, Don Carlos. In 1731, the fifteen-year-old Don Carlos became Charles I Duke of Parma and Piacenza, at the death of his childless great uncle Antonio Farnese. In 1734, Charles I conquered the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, and was crowned as the King of Naples and Sicily on 3 July 1735, leaving the Duchy of Parma to his brother Philip (Filippo I di Borbone-Parma). All the outstanding art collections of the duke's palaces of Parma, Colorno and Sala Baganza were moved to Naples.
Parma was under French influence after the Peace of Aachen (1748). Parma became a modern state with the energetic action of prime minister Guillaume du Tillot. He created the bases for a modern industry and fought strenuously against the church's privileges. The city lived a period of particular splendour: the Biblioteca Palatina (Palatine Library), the Archaeological Museum, the Picture Gallery and the Botanical Garden were founded, together with the Royal Printing Works directed by Giambattista Bodoni, aided by the Amoretti Brothers as skilled and inspired punchcutters.
During the Napoleonic Wars (1802–1814), Parma was annexed to France and made capital of the Taro Department. Under its French name, Parme, it was also created a "duché grand-fief de l'Empire" for Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance, the Emperor's Arch-Treasurer, on 24 April 1808 (extinguished in 1926).
After the restoration of the Duchy of Parma by the 1814–15 Vienna Congress, the Risorgimento's upheavals had no fertile ground in the tranquil duchy. In 1847, after Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma's death, it passed again to the House of Bourbon, the last of whom was stabbed in the city and left it to his widow, Luisa Maria of Berry. On 15 September 1859 the dynasty was declared deposed, and Parma entered the newly formed province of Emilia under Luigi Carlo Farini. With the plebiscite of 1860 the former duchy became part of the unified Kingdom of Italy.
The loss of the capital role provoked an economic and social crisis in Parma. It started to recover its role of industrial prominence after the railway connection with Piacenza and Bologna of 1859, and with Fornovo and Suzzara in 1883. Trade unions were strong in the city, in which a famous General Strike was declared from 1 May to 6 June 1908. The struggle with Fascism had its most dramatic moment in August 1922, when the regime officer Italo Balbo attempted to enter the popular quarter of Oltretorrente. The citizens organized into the "Arditi del Popolo" ("People's champions") and pushed back the squadristi. This episode is considered the first example of Resistance in Italy.
During World War II, Parma was a strong centre of partisan resistance. The train station and marshalling yards were targets for high altitude bombing by the Allies in the spring of 1944. Much of the Palazzo della Pilotta, situated not far (half a mile) from the train station, was destroyed. Along with it the Teatro Farnese and part of the Biblioteca Palatina were destroyed by Allied bombs; some 21,000 volumes of the library's collection were lost. Several other monuments were also damaged: Palazzo del Giardino, Steccata and San Giovanni churches, Palazzo Ducale, Paganini theater and the monument to Verdi. However, Parma did not see widespread destruction during the war. Parma was liberated from the German occupation (1943–1945) on 26 April 1945 by the partisan resistance and the Brazilian Expeditionary Force.
In Parma, the average annual high temperature is , the annual low temperature is , and the annual precipitation is .
The following data comes from the weather station located at the University in the city center. It is affected by the urban heat island phenomenon. Parma has a mid-latitude, four-season humid subtropical climate (Köppen : "Cfa") with heavy continental influences due to the city's inland position. Relatively nearby coastal areas like Genoa have far milder climates with cooler summers and milder winters, with the mountains separating Parma from the mediterranean acting as a barrier to the sea air.
On 1 January 2016 there were 192,836 resident citizens in Parma, of whom 47.64% were male and 52.36% were female. Minors (children aged 18 and younger) totalled 16.46% of the population compared to pensioners who numbered 22.64%. This compares with the Italian average of 17.45% and 22.04% respectively. In the fourteen years between 2002 and 2016, the population of Parma experienced 17.72% growth, while Italy as a whole grew by 6.45%. In the same period foreign born residents in Parma experienced +385.02% growth, while in Italy growth was of +274.75%. The current birth rate of Parma is 8.62 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 8.01 births.
, 84.09% of the population was Italian. The largest foreign group came from other parts of Europe (namely Moldova, Romania, Albania, and Ukraine: 6.45%), followed by Sub-Saharan Africa (namely Ghana, Nigeria and Ivory Coast: 1.81%), North Africa (namely Morocco and Tunisia: 1.46%) and the Philippines: 1.33.
Parma is famous for its food and rich gastronomical tradition: two of its specialties are Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (also produced in Reggio Emilia), and Prosciutto di Parma (Parma ham), both given Protected Designation of Origin status. Parma also claims several stuffed pasta dishes like "tortelli d'erbetta" and "anolini in brodo".
In 2004 Parma was appointed the seat of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and was appointed to the Creative Cities Network as UNESCO City of Gastronomy.
Parma also has two food multinationals, Barilla and Parmalat and a medium-large food tourism sector represented by Parma Golosa and Food Valley companies.
The comune (municipality) of Parma is subdivided into a number of frazioni:
Alberi, Baganzola, Bedonia, Beneceto, Borgo Val di Taro, Botteghino, Ca'Terzi, Calestano, Carignano, Carpaneto, Cartiera, Casalbaroncolo, Casalora di Ravadese, Casaltone, Case Capelli, Case Cocconi, Case Crostolo, Case Nuove, Case Rosse, Case Vecchie, Casino dalla Rosa, Casagnola, Castelletto, Castelnovo, Cervara, Chiozzola, Coloreto, Corcagnano, Eia, Fontanini, Fontanellato, Gaione, Ghiaiata Nuova, Il Moro, La Catena, La Palazzina, Malandriano, Marano, Marore, Martorano, Molino di Malandriano, Osteria San Martino, Panocchia, Paradigna, Pedrignano, Pilastrello, Pizzolese, Ponte, Porporano, Pozzetto Piccolo, Quercioli, Ravadese, Ronco Pascolo, Rosa, San Pancrazio, San Prospero, San Ruffino, San Secondo, Sissa, Soragna, Terenzo, Tizzano Val Parma, Valera, Viarolo, Viazza, Vicofertile, Vicomero, Vigatto, Vigheffio, Vigolante.
Parma Calcio 1913, founded in 2015, is a Serie A (first division) football club. It replaced Parma F.C., which went bankrupt in 2015. It plays in the city's Stadio Ennio Tardini, which opened in 1923 and seats up to 23,000.
Parma's other sport team is the rugby union club Zebre which competes in Pro14, one of the top rugby competitions in the world. Parma also is home to two rugby union teams in the top national division, Overmach Rugby Parma and SKG Gran Rugby.
Parma Panthers is the Parma American football team which provided the basis for John Grisham's book "Playing for Pizza". Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi is the ground of rugby and American football teams.
Pallavolo Parma and Parma Baseball are also popular teams in the city. Nino Cavalli Stadium is a baseball stadium located in Parma. It is the home stadium of Parma Baseball of the Italian Baseball League.
Parma railway station is on the Milan–Bologna railway system.
The Parma trolleybus system has been in operation since 1953. It replaced an earlier tramway network, and presently comprises four trolleybus routes.
Aeroporto Internazionale di Parma, Parma's airport, offers commercial flights to cities in a number of European countries.
Parma is twinned with: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24231 |
Biological anthropology
Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from an evolutionary perspective. This subfield of anthropology systematically studies human beings from a biological perspective.
As a subfield of anthropology, biological anthropology itself is further divided into several branches. All branches are united in their common orientation and/or application of evolutionary theory to understanding human biology and behavior.
Biological Anthropology looks different today than it did even twenty years ago. The name is even relatively new, having been 'physical anthropology' for over a century, with some practitioners still applying that term. Biological anthropologists look back to the work of Charles Darwin as a major foundation for what they do today. However, if one traces the intellectual genealogy and the culture back to physical anthropology's beginnings--going further back than the existence of much of what we know now as the hominin fossil record--then history focuses in on the field's interest in human biological variation. Some editors, see below, have rooted the field even deeper than formal science.
Attempts to study and classify human beings as living organisms date back to ancient Greece. The Greek philosopher Plato ( 428– 347 BC) placed humans on the "scala naturae", which included all things, from inanimate objects at the bottom to deities at the top. This became the main system through which scholars thought about nature for the next roughly 2,000 years. Plato's student Aristotle ( 384–322 BC) observed in his "History of Animals" that human beings are the only animals to walk upright and argued, in line with his teleological view of nature, that humans have buttocks and no tails in order to give them a cushy place to sit when they are tired of standing. He explained regional variations in human features as the result of different climates. He also wrote about physiognomy, an idea derived from writings in the Hippocratic Corpus. Scientific physical anthropology began in the 17th to 18th centuries with the study of racial classification (Georgius Hornius, François Bernier, Carl Linnaeus, Johann Friedrich Blumenbach).
The first prominent physical anthropologist, the German physician Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752–1840) of Göttingen, amassed a large collection of human skulls ("Decas craniorum", published during 1790–1828), from which he argued for the division of humankind into five major races (termed Caucasian, Mongolian, Aethiopian, Malayan and American). In the 19th century, French physical anthropologists, led by Paul Broca (1824-1880), focused on craniometry while the German tradition, led by Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902), emphasized the influence of environment and disease upon the human body.
In the 1830s and 1840s, physical anthropology was prominent in the debate about slavery, with the scientific, monogenist works of the British abolitionist James Cowles Prichard (1786–1848) opposing those of the American polygenist Samuel George Morton (1799–1851).
In the late 19th century, German-American anthropologist Franz Boas (1858-1942) strongly impacted biological anthropology by emphasizing the influence of culture and experience on the human form. His research showed that head shape was malleable to environmental and nutritional factors rather than a stable "racial" trait. However, scientific racism still persisted in biological anthropology, with prominent figures such as Earnest Hooton and Aleš Hrdlička promoting theories of racial superiority and a European origin of modern humans.
In 1951 Sherwood Washburn, a former student of Hooton, introduced a "new physical anthropology." He changed the focus from racial typology to concentrate upon the study of human evolution, moving away from classification towards evolutionary process. Anthropology expanded to include paleoanthropology and primatology. The 20th century also saw the modern synthesis in biology: the reconciling of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and Gregor Mendel’s research on heredity. Advances in the understanding of the molecular structure of DNA and the development of chronological dating methods opened doors to understanding human variation, both past and present, more accurately and in much greater detail. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24232 |
Power (physics)
In physics, power is the amount of energy transferred or converted per unit time. In the International System of Units, the unit of power is the watt, equal to one joule per second. In older works, power is sometimes called "activity". Power is a scalar quantity.
The output power of a motor is the product of the torque that the motor generates and the angular velocity of its output shaft. The power involved in moving a ground vehicle is the product of the traction force on the wheels and the velocity of the vehicle. The power of a jet-propelled vehicle is the product of the engine thrust and the velocity of the vehicle. The rate at which a light bulb converts electrical energy into light and heat is measured in watts—the electrical energy used per unit time.
Power is the rate with respect to time at which work is done; it is the time derivative of work:
where "P" is power, "W" is work, and "t" is time.
If a constant force F is applied throughout a distance x, the work done is defined as formula_2. In this case, power can be written as:
formula_3
If instead the force is variable over a three-dimensional curve C, then the work is expressed in terms of the line integral:
formula_4
Form the fundamental theorem of calculus, we know that formula_5. Hence the formula is valid for any general situation.
The dimension of power is energy divided by time. In the International System of Units (SI), the unit of power is the watt (W), which is equal to one joule per second. Other common and traditional measures are horsepower (hp), comparing to the power of a horse; one "mechanical horsepower" equals about 745.7 watts. Other units of power include ergs per second (erg/s), foot-pounds per minute, dBm, a logarithmic measure relative to a reference of 1 milliwatt, calories per hour, BTU per hour (BTU/h), and tons of refrigeration.
As a simple example, burning one kilogram of coal releases much more energy than does detonating a kilogram of TNT, but because the TNT reaction releases energy much more quickly, it delivers far more power than the coal.
If Δ"W" is the amount of work performed during a period of time of duration Δ"t", the average power "P"avg over that period is given by the formula:
It is the average amount of work done or energy converted per unit of time. The average power is often simply called "power" when the context makes it clear.
The instantaneous power is then the limiting value of the average power as the time interval Δ"t" approaches zero.
In the case of constant power "P", the amount of work performed during a period of duration "t" is given by:
In the context of energy conversion, it is more customary to use the symbol "E" rather than "W".
Power in mechanical systems is the combination of forces and movement. In particular, power is the product of a force on an object and the object's velocity, or the product of a torque on a shaft and the shaft's angular velocity.
Mechanical power is also described as the time derivative of work. In mechanics, the work done by a force F on an object that travels along a curve "C" is given by the line integral:
where x defines the path "C" and v is the velocity along this path.
If the force F is derivable from a potential (conservative), then applying the gradient theorem (and remembering that force is the negative of the gradient of the potential energy) yields:
where "A" and "B" are the beginning and end of the path along which the work was done.
The power at any point along the curve "C" is the time derivative:
In one dimension, this can be simplified to:
In rotational systems, power is the product of the torque τ and angular velocity ω,
where ω measured in radians per second. The formula_14 represents scalar product.
In fluid power systems such as hydraulic actuators, power is given by
where "p" is pressure in pascals, or N/m2 and "Q" is volumetric flow rate in m3/s in SI units.
If a mechanical system has no losses, then the input power must equal the output power. This provides a simple formula for the mechanical advantage of the system.
Let the input power to a device be a force "F"A acting on a point that moves with velocity "v"A and the output power be a force "F"B acts on a point that moves with velocity "v"B. If there are no losses in the system, then
and the mechanical advantage of the system (output force per input force) is given by
The similar relationship is obtained for rotating systems, where "T"A and "ω"A are the torque and angular velocity of the input and "T"B and "ω"B are the torque and angular velocity of the output. If there are no losses in the system, then
which yields the mechanical advantage
These relations are important because they define the maximum performance of a device in terms of velocity ratios determined by its physical dimensions. See for example gear ratios.
The instantaneous electrical power "P" delivered to a component is given by
where
If the component is a resistor with time-invariant voltage to current ratio, then:
where
is the resistance, measured in ohms.
In the case of a periodic signal formula_26 of period formula_27, like a train of identical pulses, the instantaneous power formula_28 is also a periodic function of period formula_27. The "peak power" is simply defined by:
The peak power is not always readily measurable, however, and the measurement of the average power formula_31 is more commonly performed by an instrument. If one defines the energy per pulse as:
then the average power is:
One may define the pulse length formula_34 such that formula_35 so that the ratios
are equal. These ratios are called the "duty cycle" of the pulse train.
Power is related to intensity at a radius formula_37; the power emitted by a source can be written as: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24236 |
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