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Edward set out on 5October on a , which was a large-scale mounted raid. The Anglo-Gascon force marched from Bordeaux to Narbonnealmost on the Mediterranean coast and deep in French-held territoryand back to Gascony. They devastated a wide swathe of French territory and sacked many French towns on the way. John, Count of Armagnac, who commanded the local French forces, avoided battle, and there was little fighting. While no territory was captured, enormous economic damage was done to France; the modern historian Clifford Rogers concluded "the importance of the economic attrition aspect of the can hardly be exaggerated." The expedition returned to Gascony on 2December having marched . 1356. The English troops resumed the offensive from Gascony after Christmas to great effect. More than 50 French-held towns or fortifications were captured during the following four months, including strategically important towns close to the borders of Gascony, and others more than away. Local French commanders did not attempt countermeasures. Several members of the local French nobility changed allegiance to the English; the Black Prince received homage from them on 24April 1356.
Money and enthusiasm for the war were running low in France. The modern historian Jonathan Sumption describes the French national administration as "fall[ing] apart in jealous acrimony and recrimination". A contemporary chronicler recorded "the King of France was severely hated in his own realm". The town of Arras rebelled and killed loyalists. The major nobles of Normandy refused to pay taxes. On 5April 1356 John arrested the notoriously treacherous CharlesII, king of Navarre, one of the largest landholders in Normandy and nine more of his more outspoken critics; four were summarily executed. The Norman nobles who had not been arrested turned to Edward for assistance. Seeing an opportunity, Edward III diverted an expedition planned for Brittany under Henry of Lancaster to Normandy in late June. Lancaster set off with 2,300 men and pillaged and burnt his way eastward across Normandy. King John moved to Rouen with a much stronger force, hoping to intercept Lancaster. After relieving and re-victualling the besieged fortifications of Breteuil and Pont-Audemer the English stormed and sacked the town of Verneuil. John pursued, but bungled several opportunities to bring the English to battle and they escaped. In three weeks the expedition had, with few casualties, seized a large amount of loot including many horses, cemented new alliances, and damaged the French economy and prestige. The French King returned to Breteuil and re-established the siege, where he continued to be distracted from the English preparations for a greater from south-west France.
Prelude. Manoeuvres. On 4August 1356 a combined force of 6,000 Gascon and English fighting men headed north from Bergerac. They were accompanied by approximately 4,000 non-combatants. All of the fighting men were mounted, including those who would always fight on foot, such as the archers. On 14August the Anglo-Gascon army separated into three divisions, which moved north abreast of each other and began to systematically devastate the countryside. There would be approximately between the flanking units, enabling them to devastate a band of French territory more than wide, yet be able to unite to face an enemy at approximately a day's notice. They advanced slowly, to facilitate their tasks of looting and destruction. The modern historian David Green describes the progress of the Black Prince's army as "deliberately destructive, extremely brutal... methodical and sophisticated." Several strong castles were assaulted and captured. The populaces of most towns fled, or surrendered at the first sight of Anglo-Gascon troops. Overall, there was little French resistance. If a French field army had been in the area, the Anglo-Gascon forces would have had to stay relatively close together, ready to support each other if attacked. The absence of any such French force enabled the Prince's formations to disperse widely to maximise their destructive effect on the French countryside.
The main French army remained in Normandy. Despite it being clear that Breteuil could be neither stormed nor starved, John felt unable to abandon its siege as this would undermine his prestige as a warrior-king. He declined to march against the Black Prince, declaring that the garrison of Breteuil posed a more serious threat. At some point in August an unusually large belfry, or mobile siege tower, was pushed up to the walls of Breteuil and a full-scale assault launched. The defenders set fire to the belfry and repulsed the attack. Sumption describes the French losses in this attack as "terrible" and the entire second siege as "a pointless endeavour". The historian Kenneth Fowler describes the siege as "magnificent but archaic". Eventually John had to give way to the pressure to do something to prevent the destruction being inflicted in south-west France. Sometime around 20August he offered the garrison of Breteuil free passage, a huge bribe and permission to take with them their valuables and goods, which persuaded them to vacate the town. The French army promptly marched south, as all available forces were concentrated against the Black Prince.
Hearing on 28August that John was marching on Tours and was prepared to give battle, the Black Prince moved his three divisions closer together and ordered them to move towards Tours. He was also willing to fight an open battle, if he could do so under the right circumstances. He still hoped to cross the Loire River, both to be able to come to grips with the French army and to link up with either Edward III's or Lancaster's army, if they were in the area. The French royal army from Breteuil had moved to Chartres, where it received reinforcements, particularly of men-at-arms. John sent home nearly all of the infantry contingents, which reduced the French wage bill and left an entirely mounted force that had the mobility and speed to match that of the Black Prince's all-mounted army. Two hundred Scottish picked men-at-arms under William, Lord of Douglas, joined John at Chartres. Once John felt he had an overwhelmingly strong force it set off south towards the Loire, and then south-west along its north bank. Early on 8September the Black Prince's army reached Tours, where he received news that Lancaster was not far to the east, on the other side of the Loire, and hoped to join him soon. The Anglo-Gascons prepared for battle and expected the imminent arrival of the French. But John had crossed the Loire at Blois, to the east of Tours, on 10September, where he was joined by the army of his son John, Count of Poitiers.
Meanwhile, the anticipated support from England failed to materialise. In early August an Aragonese galley fleet, which had sailed from Barcelona in April, arrived in the English Channel. The fleet hired by the French only contained nine galleys, but it caused panic among the English. Edward's attempts to raise an army to send to France were still underway and shipping was being assembled. The troops gathered were split up to guard the coast and the ships sailing to Southampton to transport the army were ordered to remain in port until the galleys had left. At some point in August Lancaster marched south from eastern Brittany with an army of 2,500 men or more. The unusual height of the Loire and the French control of its bridges meant Lancaster was unable to cross and effect a junction. In early September he abandoned the attempt to force a crossing at Les Ponts-de-Cé and returned to Brittany where he laid siege to its capital, Rennes. Strategy.
Movement to contact. Once he had crossed the Loire on 10September and been reinforced John moved to cut off the Anglo-Gascon line of retreat. Hearing of this, and losing hope that Lancaster would be able to join him, the Black Prince moved his army some south to Montbazon where he took up a fresh defensive position on 12September. The same day John's son and heir, Charles, the Dauphin, entered Tours, having travelled from Normandy with 1,000 men-at-arms, and Hélie de Talleyrand-Périgord, Cardinal of Périgord, arrived at the Black Prince's camp to attempt to negotiate a two-day truce on behalf of Pope Innocent VI. According to differing sources this was to be followed by peace negotiations or an arranged battle. The Black Prince dismissed Talleyrand and, happy to do battle, but concerned that a two-day delay would leave his army with its back to the Loire in an area with few supplies, marched hard and crossed the River Creuse at La Haye on 13September, to the south. John, aware he outnumbered the Anglo-Gascons, was also eager to wipe them out in battle and so similarly ignored Talleyrand. The French army continued to march south parallel to the English, rather than moving directly towards them, with the aim of cutting their lines of retreat and supply. On 14September the English marched south-west to Châtellerault on the Vienne.
At Châtellerault the Black Prince felt there were no geographical barriers against which the French could pin his army and that he was occupying an advantageous defensive position. He arrived there on 14September, the day Talleyrand had proposed for the two armies to engage in battle, and waited for the French to come to him. Two days later his scouts reported that John had bypassed his position and was about to cross the Vienne at Chauvigny. At this point the French had lost track of the Anglo-Gascon army and were unaware of its position, but were about to position themselves south of the Anglo-Gascons and directly in their path back to friendly territory. The Black Prince saw an opportunity to attack the French while they were on the march, or possibly even while crossing the Vienne, and so set off at first light on 17September to intercept them, leaving his baggage train behind to follow on as best it could. When the Anglo-Gascon vanguard reached Chauvigny most of the French army had already crossed and marched on towards Poitiers. A force of 700 men-at-arms of the French rearguard was intercepted near Savigny-Lévescault. Contemporary accounts note that they were not wearing helmets, suggesting they were completely unarmoured and not expecting battle. They were rapidly routed with 240 killed or captured, including 3 counts taken prisoner. Many Anglo-Gascons pursued the remaining, fleeing, French, although the Black Prince held back most of his army, not wishing to scatter it in the close vicinity of the enemy, and camped at Savigny-Lévescault. In response, John drew up his army outside Poitiers in battle order.
Negotiations. On 18September the Anglo-Gascons marched towards Poitiers arrayed for battle. They took up a strong, carefully selected position south of Poitiers on a wooded hill in the and began preparing it for a defensive battle: digging pits to impede the French advance (especially that of mounted troops) and trenches, and forming barricades to fight behind. They hoped that the French would launch an impromptu assault. Instead, Talleyrand rode up to negotiate. The Black Prince was initially disinclined to delay any battle. He was persuaded to discuss terms after Talleyrand pointed out that the two armies were now so close that if the French declined to attack, the Anglo-Gascons would find it almost impossible to withdraw. If they attempted to the French would attack, aiming to defeat them in detail, and if they stood their position they would run out of supplies before the French. The Anglo-Gascons had to stay concentrated in the presence of the French army, and several days' hard marching had reduced the opportunities to forage. Because of this, food was almost exhausted. Unknown to Talleyrand the Anglo-Gascons were already unable to find sufficient water for their horses.
After lengthy negotiations the Black Prince agreed extensive concessions in exchange for free passage to Gascony. However, they were dependent on the agreement being ratified by his father, EdwardIII. Unknown to Talleyrand or the French, Edward had given his son written permission to, in such circumstances, "help himself by making a truce or armistice, or in any other way that seems best to him." This has caused modern historians to doubt the Prince's sincerity. The French discussed these proposals at length, with John in favour. Several senior advisers felt it would be humiliating to, as they saw it, have at their mercy the Anglo-Gascon army which had devastated so much of France and to tamely allow it to escape. John was persuaded and Talleyrand informed the Black Prince he could expect a battle. Attempts to agree a site for the battle failed, as the French wished the Anglo-Gascons to move out of their strong defensive position and the English wished to remain there. At dawn on 19September Talleyrand again attempted to arrange a truce, but as his army's supplies were already running out the Black Prince rejected this.
Opposing forces. Anglo-Gascon army. The Anglo-Gascon army is generally considered by modern historians to have consisted of 6,000 men: 3,000 men-at-arms, 2,000 English and Welsh longbowmen and 1,000 Gascon infantry. The latter included many equipped with either crossbows or javelins, both classed as light infantry. Some contemporary accounts give lower numbers of 4,800 or 5,000. The division of the men-at-arms between English and Gascons is not recorded, but the previous year, when campaigning with a similarly sized army, 1,000 of the Prince's men-at-arms had been English. All of the Anglo-Gascons travelled on horses, but all or nearly all of them dismounted to fight. The men-at-arms of both armies were, broadly, knights or knights in training. They were drawn from the landed gentry and ranged from great lords to the relatives and attendants of minor landowners. They needed to be able to equip themselves with a full suit of armour and a warhorse. They wore a quilted gambeson under chain mail which covered the body and limbs. This was supplemented by varying amounts of plate armour on the body and limbs, more so for wealthier and more experienced men. Heads were protected by bascinets: open-faced military iron or steel helmets, with mail attached to the lower edge of the helmet to protect the throat, neck and shoulders. A moveable visor (face guard) protected the face. Heater shields, typically made from thin wood overlaid with leather, were carried. The English men-at-arms were all dismounted. The weapons they used are not recorded, but in similar battles they used their lances as pikes, cut them down to use as short spears, or fought with swords and battle-axes.
The longbow used by the English and Welsh archers was unique to them; it took up to ten years to master and an experienced archer could discharge up to ten arrows per minute well over . Computer analysis by Warsaw University of Technology in 2017 demonstrated that heavy bodkin point arrows could penetrate typical plate armour of the time at . The depth of penetration would be slight at that range; predicted penetration increased as the range closed or against armour of less than the best quality available at the time. At short range longbow arrows could pierce any practicable thickness of plate armour if they struck at the correct angle. Archers carried one quiver of 24 arrows as standard. There may have been a resupply of ammunition from the wagons to the rear during the battle to at least some longbowmen; the archers also ventured forward during pauses in the fighting to retrieve arrows.
French army. The French army was made up of between 14,000 and 16,000 men: 10,000 to 12,000 were men-at-arms, 2,000 were crossbowmen and 2,000 were infantrymen who were not classed as men-at-arms. Although most or all of the French had travelled mounted, they all fought dismounted at Poitiers except for two small groups of mounted knights, totalling either 300 or 500. These were selected from the Frenchmen who had the best armour, especially on their horses; horse armour is known as barding and the use of plate armour for this was a recent innovation in Western Europe. Their riders were equipped as the dismounted men-at-arms, apart from the superior quality of their armour. They wielded wooden lances, usually ash, tipped with iron and approximately long; their dismounted colleagues retained their lances, but cut them down to in order to use them as short spears. The crossbowmen wore metal helmets, brigandines (thick leather jerkins with varying amounts of small pieces of plate armour sewn to them) and possibly chain-mail hauberks. Crossbowmen usually fought from behind pavisesvery large shields with their own bearers, behind each of which three crossbowmen could shelter. A trained crossbowman could shoot his weapon approximately twice a minute and had a shorter effective range than a longbowman of about .
The French army was divided into four battles. The foremost division was led by the constable of France, Walter, Count of Brienne. As well as a large core of French men-at-arms it included 200 Scottish men-at-arms under William Douglas, most of the French infantry and crossbowmen and all of their cavalry. The two small groups of cavalry were each led by one of the two marshals of France: Arnoul d'Audrehem and Jean de Clermont. The leading French were approximately from the English. Behind this was a division led jointly by John's 19-year-old son and heir and John's uncle: Charles, the Dauphin, and Peter, Duke of Bourbon, respectively; Charles was experiencing his first taste of war. This formation consisted entirely of dismounted men-at-arms, 4,000 of them. The third division was led by John's younger brother, Philip, Duke of Orléans, also inexperienced in war, and was made up of approximately 3,200 men-at-arms. The rearmost division, of 2,000 men-at-arms and an uncertain number of crossbowmen, was commanded by the king himself.
Battle. First attack. The English had slept in or near their defensive positions and just after dawnwhich would have been at 5:40 amthe French drew themselves up in battle order with their leading men about from the English positions. After the two armies had been facing each other for about two hours the French detected movement among the English, and believed the Black Prince's personal standard was withdrawing. There is modern debate as to what movement took place. Some scholars have proposed that the movement was of wagons, escorted by cavalry from Warwick's division; the wagons may have been empty and returning to their laager in the rear, or full and moving to a safer position away from the front line, or both and the start of a staged withdrawal by the English. If the latter their escort may have been most or all of Warwick's division and the movement of the standard was possibly his being mistaken for the Prince's or the Prince moving back as the second part of the disengagement. Another proposal is that the Black Prince deliberately had his troops move to simulate a withdrawal and provoke a French attack. The commanders of the leading French division took the movement to be a full-scale English withdrawal and ordered their men to advance, thinking this movement would effectively be a pursuit, thus starting the fighting.
Audrehem's cavalry attacked Warwick's division on the English left, while Clermont charged Salisbury's on the right. In both cases the French plan was that they clear away the English archers, while given fire support by their own crossbowmen. However, the archers in Warwick's division were positioned in the edge of a marsh and this terrain prevented the French cavalry from getting to grips with them. The archers in turn found that the French armour and barding prevented them from firing effectively. To get close enough to penetrate the French armour, the longbowmen would have had to leave the protection of the marsh, which would have exposed them to the risk of being ridden down by the French. Instead, they turned their fire on the supporting crossbowmen and, having a superior rate of fire, were able to suppress them. Oxford realised the French horses were mostly only barded on their forequarters. He led some of the archers along the edge of the marsh to a position from which they could shoot into the horses' unprotected hindquarters. The French cavalry took heavy casualties and withdrew; Audrehem was captured.
On the English right Clermont advanced more cautiously, not far ahead of Brienne's dismounted troops. He discovered that Salisbury's men were defending a thick hedge with a single passable gap, wide enough for four horses abreast. Already committed to the attack, the French attempted to smash through the men-at-arms defending the gap. The English archers positioned in trenches near and to the right of the hedge are calculated to have fired 50 arrows per second at Clermont's group of cavalry. Gascon crossbowmen joined in; although they had a much lower rate of fire, they could penetrate plate armour at longer ranges. Despite this fire, the cavalry were able to reach the gap in the hedge with few casualties. Here a fierce melee broke out. With the French now halted and at close range, the longbowmen were more effective against them. The French were also heavily outnumbered by the English men-at-arms and were forced back with heavy losses, including Clermont killed.
Second attack. There was no pursuit of the French survivors of the first attack as they retreated. The English were ordered to hold their positions and to take the opportunity to reform, as the next French division was already moving towards them. This, 4,000 strong, attacked vigorously. The French advanced against the steady fire of the English and Welsh archers, which caused many casualties, and were disordered by the retreating members of the first assault. The French had to force their way through the hedge the English were defending, which put them at a disadvantage, but they closed with the Anglo-Gascons in ferocious hand-to-hand fighting which went on for two hours. They massed against two gaps in the hedge, on one occasion succeeding in driving back their opponents and breaking through; a force of archers had been deployed to cover this position and their fire cut down the leading Frenchmen, giving the Anglo-Gascons the opportunity to counter-attack and reform their line. Suffolk, aged almost 60, rode behind the Anglo-Gascon line, shouting encouragement, directing reinforcements to threatened points and telling the archers where to direct their fire. Throughout the battle the experienced English and Gascon commanders were able to manoeuvre and redeploy their troops in a way the French were not. The French commanders, mostly, carried out their orders and their men fought with reckless bravery, but they were inflexible. The Anglo-Gascons were able to respond in the heat of battle to French threats. Sumption describes this as "remarkable", David Green refers to "an extremely flexible tactical response". The historian Peter Hoskins states that most of the Anglo-Gascons having served together for a year "contributed to the discipline that the Anglo-Gascons displayed" and suggests that the French attack was ineptly handled.
A contemporary French chronicler described this second attack as "more amazing, harder and more lethal than the others". An English account states "Man fought frenziedly against man, each one striving to bring death to his opponent so that he himself might live." As the fighting went on, the Black Prince was forced to commit almost all of his reserves to reinforce weak spots. Both sides suffered many casualties. Audley was noted for being wounded in the body, head and face, and fighting on for the English. One of the French joint commanders, Bourbon, was killed, and the Dauphin's standard-bearer was captured. The Dauphin was accompanied by two of his brothers, Louis and John, and the trio's advisers and bodyguards were perturbed by the intensity of the fighting in their vicinity and forced them to withdraw from the front line to a safer position. Seeing this, the rest of the division, exhausted after two hours fighting and already demoralised by the death of Bourbon and the loss of the Dauphin's standard, withdrew as well. There was no panic and the disengagement was orderly. The senior surviving commanders of the division confirmed the movement and the surviving men-at-arms marched away from the Anglo-Gascons.
It is unclear if the Anglo-Gascons pursued the French, and if so, to what extent. Some modern historians state that the Anglo-Gascons again remained in their positions, as they had after the repulse of the first French division. Others write of a limited pursuit by individuals breaking ranks or of a full-blooded one by Warwick's division causing many French casualties. In any event, most of the Anglo-Gascons stood their ground, tended their wounded, knifed the French wounded and stripped their bodies and those of the already dead, and recovered what arrows they could find in the immediate vicinity, including those impaling dead and wounded Frenchmen. There were many English and Gascons wounded or dead and those still standing were exhausted from three hours of ferocious and near-continuous fighting. Third attack. As the Dauphin's division recoiled there was confusion in the French ranks. The third French division contained 3,200 men-at-arms. Their commander, John's brother the Duke of Orléans, marched away from the battle with half of them and many of the survivors of the first two attacks. The contemporary sources contradict each other regarding the reasons for this. Orléans may have thought that the orderly withdrawal of the Dauphin's division marked a general retreat. There were official accounts after the battle that John had ordered Orléans to escort his four sons to safety, but these were widely disbelieved and rumoured to have been invented after the event to excuse the behaviour of Orléans and the men who had retreated with him. Three of John's four sons, including the Dauphin, did leave the field at this point; one, Philip, returned to his father's side and took part in the final attack. Of the 1,600 men who did not flee the scene, who included some from Orléans' inner circle, many joined the King's division behind. The rest advanced against the Anglo-Gascons and launched a feeble attack, which was repelled easily.
In the aftermath of this failure a number, possibly a large number, of men from Warwick's division left their positions and pursued the French. One motivation for this would have been their intention to take prisoners, the ransoming of whom could be extremely lucrative. Many of the English and Welsh archers again scavenged longbow arrows from the immediate vicinity. Of those men-at-arms who did not pursue, the majority were carrying wounds of varying degrees of severity and treating them was a preoccupation. Fourth attack. John's fourth French division had started the battle with 2,000 men-at-arms, including 400 picked men under his personal command. Many of the surviving men-at-arms of the first two attacks had rallied to the King, as had many of those from the third division who had not withdrawn with Orléans. Some survivors of the botched third assault also fell back to join the King. These reinforcements probably brought the number of men-at-arms in the division to about 4,000. John's division also had a large but unspecified number of crossbowmen attached to it, and they had been joined by many surviving crossbowmen from the first attack. Modern scholars differ as to whether the French or the Anglo-Gascons had more men at this stage of the battle. This very large division marched across the gap towards the by now exhausted Anglo-Gascons, again all as infantry. The King ordered the French sacred banner, the , to be unfurled, which signalled that no prisoners were to be taken, on pain of death.
It was normal for medieval armies to form up in three divisions; having overcome three French divisions, many in the Anglo-Gascon army thought the battle was over. The sight of a further major force, under the royal standard and with the flying, dispirited them. One chronicler reports the Black Prince prayed aloud as this last division approached. The Prince harangued his exhausted men in an attempt to stiffen their morale, but they remained doubtful of their ability to repulse the approaching force. The Anglo-Gascon command group conferred. It seemed probable that if they stood to face a fourth attack they would be defeated. They decided to attempt a stratagem. Perhaps remembering a similar ploy by a French force at the 1349 Battle of Lunalonge it was agreed to send a small mounted group under the Gascon lord Jean, the Captal de Buch, on a circuitous march around the French flank in an attempt to launch a surprise attack on the French rear. The account by one contemporary chronicler that all of the Anglo-Gascon men-at-arms remounted at this point is generally discounted by modern historians. Some modern sources have a force of volunteers led by the wounded Audley mounting and being tasked with launching an attack against King John personally once the two forces came to battleonly 4 men by some modern accounts, 400 in others. The modern historian Michael Jones describes this as a "suicide mission". Other modern sources maintain that other than the Captal de Buch's small force all of the Anglo-Gascons remained dismounted.
The sight of the Captal de Buch and his men making for the rear further disheartened the Anglo-Gascons, who believed that they were fearfully escaping an inevitable defeat. Some men fled. Concerned his army would break and rout in the face of the French assault, the Black Prince gave the order for a general advance. This bolstered Anglo-Gascon morale and shook the French. Discipline reasserted itself and the Anglo-Gascons moved forward, out of their defensive positions. The French crossbowmen advanced in front of their men-at-arms, and as the English longbowmen on the flanks of the Anglo-Gascon men-at-arms came within range they attempted to establish fire superiority. The French crossbow bolts are said to have "darkened the sky". The men firing them were able to shelter behind pavises and the English archers were running short of arrows after the desperate fighting of the morning. Nevertheless, the English were able to largely suppress this fire until the crossbowmen drew aside to let the French men-at-arms through for their final charge. As the English archers expended the last of their ammunition these 4,000 or so men-at-arms attempted to use their shields, ducked their heads against the arrows and charged home into the survivors of the 3,000 English and Gascon men-at-arms who had started the battle. The longbowmen threw their bows aside and joined the melee armed with swords and hand axes.
Battle was again joined, with fierce fighting. The impetus of the Anglo-Gascon charge was halted by the French, who slowly got the better of the struggle. Rogers is of the opinion that the French would have won this fight if no other factors had intervened. The Anglo-Gascon line was starting to break when it was reinforced by men of Warwick's division returning from their pursuit. This heartened the Anglo-Gascons and discouraged the French. If it occurred, it was at this point that Audley led a cavalry charge aimed directly at the French king. The fighting continued, with the French focused on the opponents in front of them. With the battle in the balance, the Captal de Buch's 160 men arrived undetected in the French rear. His 100 archers dismounted and opened an effective fire into the French reara contemporary account states they "greatly and horribly pierced" the Frenchand his 60 mounted men-at-arms charged into the rear of the French line. The 2,000 men who had originally made up John's division were all assigned to its front line when it advanced. Men who joined after their original divisions had been defeated in one of the previous three attacks filled in behind them. They were more tired than those in the front ranks and, having already having taken part in a failed assault, their morale was brittle. Dismayed by Warwick's reinforcement and shocked by the Captal de Buch's sudden arrival behind them, some started to run from the field. Once this movement had started others copied them and the division fell apart. Most of the first to run were able to reach their horses and escape, as the Anglo-Gascons concentrated on dealing with their enemies who were still fighting. These were pushed back as the Anglo-Gascons were reinvigorated by the prospect of victory. The French still fighting around their King were forced into a loop of the River Miosson, known as the Champ d'Alexandre. By now they had been surrounded and split into small groups.
Many of these men were the elite of the French army: John's personal bodyguards, senior nobles or members of the Order of the Star. (The latter had all sworn not to retreat from a battle.) The fighting was brutal as these men refused to surrender. Their cause was clearly hopeless and the Anglo-Gascons were eager to take them prisonerin order that they could be ransomedrather than kill them, so many were captured. The standard-bearer of the was killed and the sacred banner captured. Surrounded by enemies, John and his youngest son, Philip, surrendered. Mopping up. Frenchmen who had fled soon after the Captal de Buch's force arrived generally reached their horses and were able to escape. Once John's division was clearly retreating many Anglo-Gascons mounted and pursued. A large number pursued the Frenchmen fleeing towards what they thought was the safety of Poitiers. Its citizens, fearing the Anglo-Gascons, had closed the gates and manned the walls, and refused access. The mounted Anglo-Gascons caught the French soldiers as they milled outside the gate and slaughtered them. The lack of mention of any quarter being offered suggests that the French were common soldiers, rather than men-at-arms whom it would have been financially advantageous to capture in order to hold for ransom. The French camp was overrun by Anglo-Gascon cavalry. Elsewhere the Anglo-Gascons spread out in a helter-skelter chase. French men-at-arms who failed to reach their horses were captured or, occasionally, killed. Those who did mount were frequently pursued: some were caught and captured, some fought off their pursuers, while most escaped. It was evening before the last Anglo-Gascons returned to their camp with their prisoners.
Casualties. According to different modern sources 2,000 to 3,000 French men-at-arms and either 500 or 800 common soldiers were taken prisoner during the battle. As well as the King and his youngest son they included the archbishop of Sens, one of the two marshals of France, and the seneschals of Saintonge, Tours and Poitou. Approximately 2,500 French men-at-arms were killed, as were 3,300 common soldiers according to English accounts or 700 by French ones. Among the slain were the French King's uncle; the grand constable of France; the other marshal; the Bishop of Châlons; and John's standard bearer, Geoffroi de Charny. A contemporary opined that the French had suffered "a great harm, a great pity, and damage irreparable". The Anglo-Gascons suffered many wounded but reported a mere 40 to 60 killed, of whom only 4 were men-at-arms. Hoskins comments that these "seem improbably low". Modern sources estimate Anglo-Gascon fatalities at about 40 men-at-arms and an uncertain but much larger number of bowmen and other infantry.
Aftermath. March to Bordeaux. The French were concerned the victorious Anglo-Gascons would attempt to storm Poitiers or other towns, or continue their devastation. The Black Prince was more concerned with getting his army with its prisoners and loot safely back to Gascony. He was aware many Frenchmen had survived the battle, but unaware of their state of cohesion or morale. The Anglo-Gascons moved south on 20September and tended the wounded, buried the dead, paroled some of their prisoners, and reorganised their formations. On 21September the Anglo-Gascons continued their interrupted march south, travelling slowly, overladen as they were with plunder and prisoners. On 2 October they entered Libourne and rested while a triumphal entrance was arranged at Bordeaux. Two weeks later the Black Prince escorted John into Bordeaux amid ecstatic scenes. Peace.
In October 1359 Edward III led another campaign in northern France. It was unopposed by French forces but was unable to take any strongly fortified places. Instead the English army spread out and for six months devastated much of the region. Both countries were finding it almost impossible to finance continued hostilities, but neither was inclined to change their attitude to the proposed peace terms. On 13 April 1360, near Chartres, a sharp fall in temperature and a heavy hail storm killed many English baggage horses and some soldiers. Taking this as a sign from God, Edward reopened negotiations, directly with the Dauphin. By 8 May the Treaty of Brétigny had been agreed, which largely replicated the First Treaty of London or the Treaty of Guînes. By this treaty vast areas of France were ceded to England, to be personally ruled by the Black Prince, and John was ransomed for three million gold écu. Rogers states "Edward gained territories comprising a full third of France, to be held in full sovereignty, along with a huge ransom for the captive King Johnhis original war aims and much more." As well as John, sixteen of the more senior nobles captured at Poitiers were finally released with the sealing of this treaty. At the time it seemed this was the end of the war, but large-scale fighting broke out again in 1369 and the Hundred Years' War did not end until 1453, with a French victory which left only Calais in English hands.
Backbone cabal The backbone cabal was an informal organization of large-site news server administrators of the worldwide distributed newsgroup-based discussion system Usenet. It existed from about 1983 until around 1988. The cabal was created in an effort to facilitate reliable propagation of new Usenet posts. While in the 1970s and 1980s many news servers only operated during night time to save on the cost of long-distance communication, servers of the backbone cabal were available 24 hours a day. The administrators of these servers gained sufficient influence in the otherwise anarchic Usenet community to be able to push through controversial changes, for instance the Great Renaming of Usenet newsgroups during 1987. History. Mary Ann Horton recruited membership in and designed the original physical topology of the Usenet Backbone in 1983. Gene "Spaf" Spafford then created an email list of the backbone administrators, plus a few influential posters. This list became known as the Backbone Cabal and served as a "political (i.e. decision making) backbone". Other prominent members of the cabal were Brian Reid, Richard Sexton, Chuq von Rospach and Rick Adams. In internet culture. During most of its existence, the cabal (sometimes capitalized) steadfastly denied its own existence; those involved would often respond "There is no Cabal" (sometimes abbreviated as "TINC"'). The result of this policy was an aura of mystery, even a decade after the cabal mailing list disbanded in late 1988 following an internal fight.
Bongo (antelope) The bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus) is a large, mostly nocturnal, forest-dwelling antelope, native to sub-Saharan Africa. Bongos are characterised by a striking reddish-brown coat, black and white markings, white-yellow stripes, and long slightly spiralled horns. It is the only tragelaphid in which both sexes have horns. Bongos have a complex social interaction and are found in African dense forest mosaics. They are the third-largest antelope in the world. The western or lowland bongo, "T. e. eurycerus", faces an ongoing population decline, and the IUCN Antelope Specialist Group considers it to be Near Threatened on the conservation status scale. The eastern or mountain bongo, "T. e. isaaci", of Kenya, has a coat even more vibrant than that of "T. e. eurycerus". The mountain bongo is only found in the wild in a few mountain regions of central Kenya. This bongo is classified by the IUCN Antelope Specialist Group as Critically Endangered, with fewer individuals in the wild than in captivity (where it breeds readily).
In 2000, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in the USA (AZA) upgraded the bongo to a Species Survival Plan participant and in 2006 added the Bongo Restoration to Mount Kenya Project to its list of the Top Ten Wildlife Conservation Success Stories of the year. , these successes have been compromised by reports of possibly only 100 mountain bongos left in the wild due to logging and poaching. Taxonomy. The scientific name of the bongo is "Tragelaphus eurycerus", and it belongs to the genus "Tragelaphus" and family Bovidae. It was first described by Irish naturalist William Ogilby in 1837. The generic name "Tragelaphus" is composed of two Greek words: "trag-", meaning a goat; and "elaphos", meaning deer. The specific name "eurycerus" originated from the fusion of "eurus" (broad, widespread) and "keras" (an animal's horn). The common name "bongo" originated probably from the Kele language of Gabon. The first known use of the name "bongo" in English dates to 1861. Bongos are further classified into two subspecies: "T. e. eurycerus", the lowland or western bongo, and the far rarer "T. e. isaaci", the mountain or eastern bongo, restricted to the mountains of Kenya only. The eastern bongo is larger and heavier than the western bongo. Two other subspecies are described from West and Central Africa, but taxonomic clarification is required. They have been observed to live up to 19 years.
Appearance. Bongos are one of the largest of the forest antelopes. In addition to the deep chestnut colour of their coats, they have bright white stripes on their sides to help with camouflage. Adults of both sexes are similar in size. Adult height is about at the shoulder and length is , including a tail of . Females weigh around , while males weigh about . Its large size puts it as the third-largest in the Bovidae tribe of Strepsicerotini, behind both the common and greater eland by about , and above the greater kudu by about . Both sexes have heavy spiral horns; those of the male are longer and more massive. All bongos in captivity are from the isolated Aberdare Mountains of central Kenya. Coat and body. The bongo sports a bright auburn or chestnut coat, with the neck, chest, and legs generally darker than the rest of the body, especially in males. Coats of male bongos become darker as they age until they reach a dark mahogany-brown colour. Coats of female bongos are usually more brightly coloured than those of males. The eastern bongo is darker in color than the western and this is especially pronounced in older males which tend to be chestnut brown, especially on the forepart of their bodies.
The smooth coat is marked with 10–15 vertical white-yellow stripes, spread along the back from the base of the neck to the rump. The number of stripes on each side is rarely the same. It also has a short, bristly, brown ridge of dorsal hair from the shoulder to the rump; the white stripes run into this ridge. A white chevron appears between the eyes, with two large white spots on each cheek. Another white chevron occurs where the neck meets the chest. Bongos have no special secretion glands, so rely likely less on scent to find one another than do other similar antelopes. The lips of a bongo are white, topped with a black muzzle. Horns. Bongos have two heavy and slightly spiralled horns that slope over their backs. Bongo males have larger backswept horns, while females have smaller, thinner, and more parallel horns. The size of the horns range between . The horns of bongos are spiraled, and share this trait with those of the related antelope species of nyalas, sitatungas, bushbucks, kudus, and elands. The horns of bongos twist once.
Unlike deer, which have branched antlers shed annually, bongos and other antelopes have unbranched horns they keep throughout their lives. Like all other horns of antelopes, the core of a bongo's horn is hollow and the outer layer of the horn is made of keratin, the same material that makes up human fingernails, toenails, and hair. The bongo runs gracefully and at full speed through even the thickest tangles of lianas, laying its heavy spiralled horns on its back so the brush cannot impede its flight. Bongos are hunted for their horns by humans. Social organization and behavior. Like other forest ungulates, bongos are seldom seen in large groups. Males, called bulls, tend to be solitary, while females with young live in groups of six to eight. Bongos have seldom been seen in herds of more than 20. Gestation is about 285 days (9.5 months), with one young per birth, and weaning occurs at six months. Sexual maturity is reached at 24–27 months. The preferred habitat of this species is so dense and difficult to operate in, that few Europeans or Americans observed this species until the 1960s.
As young males mature and leave their maternal groups, they most often remain solitary, although rarely they join an older male. Adult males of similar size/age tend to avoid one another. Occasionally, they meet and spar with their horns in a ritualised manner and it is rare for serious fights to take place. However, such fights are usually discouraged by visual displays, in which the males bulge their necks, roll their eyes, and hold their horns in a vertical position while slowly pacing back and forth in front of the other male. They seek out females only during mating time. When they are with a herd of females, males do not coerce them or try to restrict their movements as do some other antelopes. Although mostly nocturnal, they are occasionally active during the day. However, like deer, bongos may exhibit crepuscular behaviour. Bongos are both timid and easily frightened; after a scare, a bongo moves away at considerable speed, even through dense undergrowth. Once they find cover, they stay alert and face away from the disturbance, but peek every now and then to check the situation. The bongo's hindquarters are less conspicuous than the forequarters, and from this position the animal can quickly flee.
When in distress, the bongo emits a bleat. It uses a limited number of vocalisations, mostly grunts and snorts; females have a weak mooing contact-call for their young. Females prefer to use traditional calving grounds restricted to certain areas, while newborn calves lie in hiding for a week or more, receiving short visits by the mother to suckle. The calves grow rapidly and can soon accompany their mothers in the nursery herds. Their horns grow rapidly and begin to show in 3.5 months. They are weaned after six months and reach sexual maturity at about 20 months. Ecology. Distribution and habitat. Bongos are found in tropical jungles with dense undergrowth up to an altitude of in Central Africa, with isolated populations in Kenya, and these West African countries: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan. Historically, bongos are found in three disjunct parts of Africa: East, Central, and West. Today, all three populations' ranges have shrunk in size due to habitat loss for agriculture and uncontrolled timber cutting, as well as hunting for meat.
Bongos favour disturbed forest mosaics that provide fresh, low-level green vegetation. Such habitats may be promoted by heavy browsing by elephants, fires, flooding, tree-felling (natural or by logging), and fallowing. Mass bamboo die-off provides ideal habitat in East Africa. They can live in bamboo forests. Diet. Like many forest ungulates, bongos are herbivorous browsers and feed on leaves, bushes, vines, bark (bark and pith of rotting trees, grasses/herbs, roots, cereals, and fruits. Bongos require salt in their diets, and are known to regularly visit natural salt licks. Bongos are also known to eat burnt wood after a storm, as a rich source of salt and minerals. This behavior is believed to be a means of getting salts and minerals into their diets. This behavior has also been reported in the okapi. Another similarity to the okapi, though the bongo is unrelated, is that the bongo has a long prehensile tongue which it uses to grasp grasses and leaves. Suitable habitats for bongos must have permanent water available. As a large animal, the bongo requires an ample amount of food, and is restricted to areas with abundant year-round growth of herbs and low shrubs.
Population and conservation. Few estimates of population density are available. Assuming average population densities of 0.25 animals per km2 in regions where it is known to be common or abundant, and 0.02 per km2 elsewhere, and with a total area of occupancy of 327,000 km2, a total population estimate of around 28,000 is suggested. Only about 60% are in protected areas, suggesting the actual numbers of the lowland subspecies may only be in the low tens of thousands. In Kenya, their numbers have declined significantly and on Mount Kenya, they were within the last decade due to illegal hunting with dogs. Although information on their status in the wild is lacking, lowland bongos are not presently considered endangered. Bongos are susceptible to diseases such as rinderpest, which almost exterminated the species during the 1890s. "Tragelaphus eurycerus" may suffer from goitre. Over the course of the disease, the thyroid glands greatly enlarge (up to 10 x 20 cm) and may become polycystic. Pathogenesis of goiter in the bongo may reflect a mixture of genetic predisposition coupled with environmental factors, including a period of exposure to a goitrogen. Leopards and spotted hyenas are the primary natural predators (lions are seldom encountered due to differing habitat preferences); pythons sometimes eat bongo calves. Humans prey on them for their pelts, horns, and meat, with the species being a common local source for "bush meat". Bongo populations have been greatly reduced by hunting, poaching, and animal trapping, although some bongo refuges exist.
Although bongos are quite easy for humans to catch using snares, many people native to the bongos' habitat believed that if they ate or touched bongo, they would have spasms similar to epileptic seizures. Because of this superstition, bongos were less harmed in their native ranges than expected. However, these taboos are said no longer to exist, which may account for increased hunting by humans in recent times. Zoo programmes. An international studbook is maintained to help manage animals held in captivity. Because of its bright colour, it is very popular in zoos and private collections. In North America, over 400 individuals are thought to be held, a population that probably exceeds that of the mountain bongo in the wild. In 2000, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) upgraded the bongo to a Species Survival Plan participant, which works to improve the genetic diversity of managed animal populations. The target population for participating zoos and private collections in North America is 250 animals. Through the efforts of zoos in North America, a reintroduction to the population in Kenya is being developed.
At least one collaborative effort for reintroduction between North American wildlife facilities has already been carried out. In 2004, 18 eastern bongos born in North American zoos gathered at White Oak Conservation in Yulee, Florida for release in Kenya. White Oak staff members traveled with the bongos to a Mount Kenya holding facility, where they stayed until being reintroduced. Conservation. In the last few decades, a rapid decline in the numbers of wild mountain bongo has occurred due to poaching and human pressure on their habitat, with local extinctions reported in Cherangani and Chepalungu hills, Kenya. The Bongo Surveillance Programme, working alongside the Kenya Wildlife Service, have recorded photos of bongos at remote salt licks in the Aberdare Forests using camera traps, and, by analyzing DNA extracted from dung, have confirmed the presence of bongo in Mount Kenya, Eburru, and Mau forests. The programme estimate as few as 140 animals left in the wild – spread across four isolated populations. Whilst captive breeding programmes can be viewed as having been successful in ensuring survival of this species in Europe and North America, the situation in the wild has been less promising. Evidence exists of bongo surviving in Kenya. However, these populations are believed to be small, fragmented, and vulnerable to extinction.
Animal populations with impoverished genetic diversity are inherently less able to adapt to changes in their environments (such as climate change, disease outbreaks, habitat change, etc.). The isolation of the four remaining small bongo populations, which themselves would appear to be in decline, means a substantial amount of genetic material is lost each generation. Whilst the population remains small, the impact of transfers will be greater, so the establishment of a "metapopulation management plan" occurs concurrently with conservation initiatives to enhance "in situ" population growth, and this initiative is both urgent and fundamental to the future survival of mountain bongo in the wild. The western/lowland bongo faces an ongoing population decline as habitat destruction and hunting pressures increase with the relentless expansion of human settlement. Its long-term survival will only be assured in areas which receive active protection and management. At present, such areas comprise about 30,000 km2, and several are in countries where political stability is fragile. So, a realistic possibility exists whereby its status could decline to Threatened in the near future.
As the largest and most spectacular forest antelope, the western/lowland bongo is both an important flagship species for protected areas such as national parks, and a major trophy species which has been taken in increasing numbers in Central Africa by sport hunters during the 1990s. Both of these factors are strong incentives to provide effective protection and management of populations. Trophy hunting has the potential to provide economic justification for the preservation of larger areas of bongo habitat than national parks, especially in remote regions of Central Africa, where possibilities for commercially successful tourism are very limited. The eastern/mountain bongo's survival in the wild is dependent on more effective protection of the surviving remnant populations in Kenya. If this does not occur, it will eventually become extinct in the wild. The existence of a healthy captive population of this subspecies offers the potential for its reintroduction. Groups supporting bongo conservation in Kenya. In 2004, Dr. Jake Veasey, the head of the Department of Animal Management and Conservation at Woburn Safari Park and a member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums Population Management Advisory Group, with the assistance of Lindsay Banks, took over responsibility for the management and coordination of the European Endangered Species Programme for the eastern bongo. This includes some 250 animals across Europe and the Middle East.
Along with the Rothschild giraffe, the eastern bongo is arguably one of the most threatened large mammals in Africa, with recent estimates numbering less than 140 animals, below a minimum sustainable viable population. The situation is exacerbated because these animals are spread across four isolated populations. Whilst the bongo endangered species program can be viewed as having been successful in ensuring survival of this species in Europe, it has not yet become actively involved in the conservation of this species in the wild in a coordinated fashion. The plan is to engage in conservation activities in Kenya to assist in reversing the decline of the eastern bongo populations and genetic diversity in Africa, and in particular, applying population management expertise to help ensure the persistence of genetic diversity in the free ranging wild populations. To illustrate significance of genetic diversity loss, assume the average metapopulation size is 35 animals based on 140 animals spread across four populations (140/4=35). Assuming stable populations, these populations will lose 8% of their genetic diversity every decade. By managing all four populations as one, through strategic transfers, gene loss is reduced from 8% to 2% per decade, without any increase in bongo numbers in Kenya. By managing the European and African populations as one – by strategic exports from Europe combined with "in situ" transfers, gene loss is reduced to 0.72% every 100 years, with both populations remaining stable. If populations in Kenya are allowed to grow through the implementation of effective conservation, including strategic transfers, gene loss can be effectively halted in this species and its future secured in the wild.
The initial aims of the project are: If effective protection were implemented immediately and bongo populations allowed to expand without transfers, then this would create a bigger population of genetically impoverished bongos. These animals would be less able to adapt to a dynamic environment. Whilst the population remains small, the impact of transfers will be greater. For this reason, the 'metapopulation management plan' must occur concurrently with conservation strategies to enhance "in situ" population growth. This initiative is both urgent and fundamental to the future survival of the mountain bongo in the wild. In 2013, SafariCom telecommunications donated money to the Bongo Surveillance Programme to try to keep tabs on what are thought to be the last 100 eastern bongos left in the wild in the Mau Eburu Forest in central Kenya, whose numbers are still declining due to logging of their habitat and illegal poaching. Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy runs a bongo rehabilitation program in collaboration with the Kenya Wildlife Service. The Conservancy aims to prevent extinction of the bongo through breeding and release back into the wild.
Status. The IUCN Antelope Specialist Group considers the western or lowland bongo, "T. e. eurycerus", to be Lower Risk (Near Threatened) and the eastern or mountain bongo, "T. e. isaaci", of Kenya, to be Critically Endangered. These bongos may be endangered due to human environmental interaction, as well as hunting and illegal actions towards wildlife. CITES lists bongos as an Appendix III species, only regulating their exportation from a single country, Ghana. It is not protected by the US Endangered Species Act and is not listed by the USFWS.
Bunyip The bunyip is a creature from the aboriginal mythology of southeastern Australia, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. Name. The origin of the word "bunyip" has been traced to the Wemba-Wemba or Wergaia language of the Aboriginal people of Victoria, in South-Eastern Australia. The word "bunyip" is usually translated by Aboriginal Australians today as "devil" or "evil spirit". This contemporary translation may not accurately represent the role of the bunyip in pre-contact Aboriginal mythology or its possible origins before written accounts were made. Some modern sources allude to a linguistic connection between the bunyip and Bunjil, "a mythic 'Great Man' who made the mountains, rivers, man, and all the animals". The word "bahnyip" first appeared in the "Sydney Gazette" in 1812. It was used by James Ives to describe "a large black animal like a seal, with a terrible voice which creates terror among the blacks". Distribution. The bunyip is part of traditional Aboriginal beliefs and stories throughout Australia, while its name varies according to tribal nomenclature. In his 2001 book, writer Robert Holden identified at least nine regional variations of the creature known as the bunyip across Aboriginal Australia.
Characteristics. The bunyip has been described as amphibious, almost entirely aquatic (there are no reports of the creature being sighted on land), inhabiting lakes, rivers, swamps, lagoons, billabongs, creeks, waterholes, sometimes "particular waterholes in the riverbeds". Physical descriptions of bunyips vary widely. George French Angus may have collected a description of a bunyip in his account of a "water spirit" from the Moorundi people of the Murray River before 1847, stating it is "much dreaded by them ... It inhabits the Murray; but ... they have some difficulty describing it. Its most usual form ... is said to be that of an enormous starfish." The Challicum bunyip, an outline image of a bunyip carved by Aboriginal people into the bank of Fiery Creek, near Ararat, Victoria, was first recorded by "The Australasian" newspaper in 1851. According to the report, the bunyip had been speared after killing an Aboriginal man. Antiquarian Reynell Johns claimed that until the mid-1850s, Aboriginal people made a "habit of visiting the place annually and retracing the outlines of the figure [of the bunyip] which is about 11 paces long and 4 paces in extreme breadth". The outline image no longer exists. Robert Brough Smyth's "Aborigines of Victoria" (1878) devoted ten pages to the bunyip, but concluded "in truth little is known among the blacks respecting its form, covering or habits; they appear to have been in such dread of it as to have been unable to take note of its characteristics". Eugénie Louise McNeil recalled from her childhood memory in the 1890s that the bunyip supposedly had a snout like an owl ("a mopoke"), and was probably a nocturnal creature by her estimation.
The bunyips presumably seen by witnesses, according to their descriptions, most commonly fit one of two categories: 60% of sightings resemble seals or swimming dogs, and 20% of sightings are of long-necked creatures with small heads; the remaining descriptions are ambiguous beyond categorisation. The seal-dog variety is most often described as being between 4 and 6 feet long with a shaggy black or brown coat. According to reports, these bunyips have round heads resembling a bulldog, prominent ears, no tail, and whiskers like a seal or otter. The long-necked variety is allegedly between 5 and 15 feet long, and is said to have black or brown fur, large ears, small tusks, a head like a horse or emu, an elongated, maned neck about three feet long and with many folds of skin, and a horse-like tail. The bunyip has been described by natives as amphibious, nocturnal, reclusive, and inhabiting lakes, rivers, and swamps. Bunyips, according to Aboriginal mythology, can swim swiftly with fins or flippers, have a loud, roaring call, and feed on crayfish, though some legends portray them as bloodthirsty predators of humans, particularly women and children. As a result, Aboriginal People purposely avoided unfamiliar bodies of water lest there were bunyips lurking in the depths. Bunyip eggs are allegedly laid in platypus nests.
The bunyip appears in Ngarrindjeri dreaming as a water spirit called the Mulyawonk, which would get anyone who took more than their fair share of fish from the waterways, or take children if they got too close to the water. The stories taught practical means of ensuring long-term survival for the Ngarrindjeri, embodying care for country and its people. Debate over origins. There have been various attempts to understand and explain the origins of the bunyip as a physical entity over the past 150 years. Writing in 1933, Charles Fenner suggested that it was likely that the "actual origin of the bunyip myth lies in the fact that from time to time seals have made their way up the Murray and Darling (Rivers)". He provided examples of seals found as far inland as Overland Corner, Loxton, and Conargo and reminded readers that "the smooth fur, prominent 'apricot' eyes, and the bellowing cry are characteristic of the seal", especially southern elephant seals and leopard seals. Another suggestion is that the bunyip may be a folk memory of extinct Australian marsupials such as the "Diprotodon", "Zygomaturus", "Nototherium", or "Palorchestes". This connection was first formally made by Dr George Bennett of the Australian Museum in 1871. In the early 1990s, palaeontologist Pat Vickers-Rich and geologist Neil Archbold also cautiously suggested that Aboriginal legends "perhaps had stemmed from an acquaintance with prehistoric bones or even living prehistoric animals themselves ... When confronted with the remains of some of the now extinct Australian marsupials, Aborigines would often identify them as the bunyip." They also note that "legends about the" mihirung paringmal" of western Victorian Aborigines ... may allude to the ... extinct giant birds the Dromornithidae."
In a 2017 "Australian Birdlife" article, Karl Brandt suggested Aboriginal encounters with the southern cassowary inspired the myth. According to the first written description of the bunyip from 1845, the creature laid pale blue eggs of immense size, possessed deadly claws, powerful hind legs, a brightly coloured chest, and an emu-like head, characteristics shared with the Australian cassowary. As the creature's bill was described as having serrated projections, each "like the bone of the stingray", this bunyip was associated with the indigenous people of Far North Queensland, renowned for their spears tipped with stingray barbs and their proximity to the cassowary's Australian range. Another association to the bunyip is the shy Australasian bittern ("Botaurus poiciloptilus"). During the breeding season, the male call of this marsh-dwelling bird is a "low pitched boom"; hence, it is occasionally called the "bunyip bird". Early accounts of European settlers. During the early settlement of Australia by Europeans, the notion became commonly held that the bunyip was an unknown animal that awaited discovery. Unfamiliar with the sights and sounds of the island continent's peculiar fauna, early Europeans believed that the bunyip described to them was one more strange Australian animal and they sometimes attributed unfamiliar animal calls or cries to it. Scholars suggest also that 19th-century bunyip lore was reinforced by imported European folklore, such as that of the Irish Púca.
A large number of bunyip sightings occurred during the 1840s and 1850s, particularly in the southeastern colonies of Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, as European settlers extended their reach. The following is not an exhaustive list of accounts: First written use of the word "bunyip", 1845. In July 1845, "The Geelong Advertiser" announced the discovery of fossils found near Geelong, under the headline "Wonderful Discovery of a new Animal". This was a continuation of a story on 'fossil remains' from the previous issue. The newspaper continued, "On the bone being shown to an intelligent black, he at once recognised it as belonging to the bunyip, which he declared he had seen. On being requested to make a drawing of it, he did so without hesitation." The account noted a story of an Aboriginal woman being killed by a bunyip and the "most direct evidence of all" – that of a man named Mumbowran "who showed several deep wounds on his breast made by the claws of the animal". The account provided this description of the creature:
Shortly after this account appeared, it was repeated in other Australian newspapers. This appears to be the first use of the word "bunyip" in a written publication. Australian Museum's bunyip of 1847. In January 1846, a peculiar skull was taken by a settler from the banks of Murrumbidgee River near Balranald, New South Wales. Initial reports suggested that it was the skull of something unknown to science. The squatter who found it remarked, "all the natives to whom it was shown called [it] a bunyip". By July 1847, several experts, including W. S. Macleay and Professor Owen, had identified the skull as the deformed foetal skull of a foal or calf. At the same time, the purported bunyip skull was put on display in the Australian Museum (Sydney) for two days. Visitors flocked to see it, and "The Sydney Morning Herald" reported that many people spoke out about their "bunyip sightings". Reports of this discovery used the phrase 'Kine Pratie' as well as Bunyip. Explorer William Hovell, who examined the skull, also called it a 'katen-pai'.
In March of that year, "a bunyip or an immense Platibus" (Platypus) was sighted "sunning himself on the placid bosom of the Yarra, just opposite the Custom House" in Melbourne. "Immediately a crowd gathered" and three men set off by boat "to secure the stranger" which "disappeared" when they were "about a yard from him". William Buckley's account of bunyips, 1852. Another early written account is attributed to escaped convict William Buckley in his 1852 biography of thirty years living with the Wathaurong people. His 1852 account records "in ... Lake Moodewarri [now Lake Modewarre] as well as in most of the others inland ... is a ... very extraordinary amphibious animal, which the natives call Bunyip." Buckley's account suggests he saw such a creature on several occasions. He adds, "I could never see any part, except the back, which appeared to be covered with feathers of a dusky grey colour. It seemed to be about the size of a full grown calf ... I could never learn from any of the natives that they had seen either the head or tail." Buckley also claimed the creature was common in the Barwon River and cites an example he heard of an Aboriginal woman being killed by one. He emphasized the bunyip was believed to have supernatural powers.
Stocqueler's sightings and drawings, 1857. In an article titled, 'The Bunyip', a newspaper reported on the drawings made by Edwin Stocqueler as he travelled on the Murray and Goulburn rivers: 'Amongst the latter drawings we noticed a likeness of the Bunyip, or rather a view of the neck and shoulders of the animal. Mr. Stocqueler informs us that the Bunyip is a large freshwater seal, having two small padules or fins attached to the shoulders, a long swan like neck, a head like a dog, and a curious bag hanging under the jaw, resembling the pouch of the pelican. The animal is covered with hair, like the platypus, and the colour is a glossy black. Mr. Stocqueler saw no less than six of these curious animals at different times; his boat was within thirty feet of one near M'Guire's punt on the Goulburn, and he fired at the Bunyip, but did not succeed in capturing him. The smallest appeared to be about five feet in length, and the largest exceeded fifteen feet. The head of the largest was the size of a bullock's head, and three feet out of water. After taking a sketch of the animal, Mr. Stocqueler showed it to several blacks of the Goulburn tribe, who declared that the picture was "Bunyip's brother," meaning a duplicate or likeness of the bunyip. The animals moved against the current, at the rate of about seven miles an hour, and Mr. Stockqueler states that he could have approached close to the specimens he observed, had he not been deterred by the stories of the natives concerning the power and fury of the bunyip, and by the fact that his gun had only a single barrel, and his boat was of a very frail description.'
The description varied across newspaper accounts: 'The great Bunyip question seems likely to be brought to a close, as a Mr. Stocqueler, an artist and gentleman, who has come up the Murray in a small boat, states that he saw one, and was enabled to take a drawing of this "vexed question," but could not succeed in catching him. We have seen the sketch, and it puts us in mind of an hybrid between the water mole and the great sea serpent.' 'Mr. Stocqueler, an artist, and his mother are on an expedition down the Murray, for the purpose of making some faithful sketches of the views on this fine stream, as well as of the creatures frequenting it. I have seen some of their productions, and as they pourtray localities with which I am well acquainted, can pronounce the drawings faithful representations. Mother and son go down the stream in a canoe. The lady paints flowers, &c.; the son devotes himself to choice views on the river's side. One of the drawings represents a singular creature, which the artist is unable to classify. It has the appearance in miniature of the famous sea-serpent, as that animal is described by navigators. Mr. Stocqueler was about twenty-five yards distant from it at first sight as it lay placidly on the water. On being observed, the stranger set-off, working his paddles briskly, and rapidly disappeared. Captain Cadell has tried to solve the mystery, but is not yet satisfied as to what the animal really is. Mr. Stocqueler states that there were about two feet of it above water when he first saw it, and he estimated its length at from five to six feet. The worthy Captain says, that unless the creature is the "Musk Drake" (so called from giving off a very strong odour of musk), he cannot account for the novelty.'
Stocqueler disputed the newspaper descriptions in a letter; stating that he never called the animal a bunyip, it did not have a swan like neck, and he never said anything about the size of the animal as he never saw the whole body. He went on to write that all would be revealed in his diorama as an 'almost life size portrait of the beast' would be included. The diorama took him four years to paint and was reputed to be a mile (1.6 km) long and made of 70 individual pictures. The diorama has long since disappeared and may no longer exist. Figure of speech and eponymy. By the 1850s, "bunyip" was also used as a "synonym for impostor, pretender, humbug and the like", although this use of the word is now obsolete in Australian English. The term "bunyip aristocracy" was first coined in 1853 to describe Australians aspiring to be aristocrats. In the early 1990s, Prime Minister Paul Keating used this term to describe members of the conservative Liberal Party of Australia opposition. The word "bunyip" can still be found in a number of Australian contexts, including place names such as the Bunyip River (which flows into Westernport Bay in southern Victoria) and the town of Bunyip, Victoria.
In popular culture and fiction. Numerous tales of the bunyip in written literature appeared in the 19th and early 20th centuries. One of the earliest known is a story in Andrew Lang's "The Brown Fairy Book" (1904), adapted from a tale collected and published in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute in 1899. The Australian tourism boom of the 1970s brought a renewed interest in bunyip mythology. Bunyip stories have also been published outside Australia. The Bunyip has been featured in films as well. In the 21st century, the bunyip has been featured in works around the world.
Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to:
Boone, North Carolina Boone is a town in and the county seat of Watauga County, North Carolina, United States. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, Boone is the home of Appalachian State University and the headquarters of the disaster and medical relief organization Samaritan's Purse. The population was 19,092 at the 2020 census. The town is named for famous American pioneer and explorer Daniel Boone, and every summer from 1952 has hosted an outdoor amphitheatre drama, "Horn in the West", portraying the British settlement of the area during the American Revolutionary War and featuring the contributions of its namesake. It is the largest community and the economic hub of the seven-county region of Western North Carolina known as the High Country. History. Boone took its name from the famous pioneer and explorer Daniel Boone, who on several occasions camped at a site generally agreed to be within the present city limits. Daniel's nephews, Jesse and Jonathan (sons of brother Israel Boone), were members of the town's first church, Three Forks Baptist, still in existence today.
Boone was served by the narrow-gauge East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (nicknamed "Tweetsie") until the flood of 1940. The flood washed away much of the tracks and it was decided not to replace them. Boone is the home of Appalachian State University, a constituent member of the University of North Carolina. Appalachian State is the sixth-largest university in the seventeen-campus system. Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute also operates a satellite campus in Boone. "Horn in the West" is a dramatization of the life and times of the early settlers of the mountain area. It features Daniel Boone as one of its characters, and has been performed in an outdoor amphitheater near the town every summer since 1952, except for when COVID-19 necessitated canceling the 2020 performances. The original actor in the role of "Daniel Boone" was Ned Austin. His "Hollywood Star" stands on a pedestal on King Street in downtown Boone. He was followed in the role by Glenn Causey, who portrayed the rugged frontiersman for 41 years, and whose image is still seen in many of the depictions of Boone featured in the area today.
Boone is notable for being home to the Junaluska community. Located in the hills just north of Downtown Boone, a free black community has existed in the area since before the Civil War. Although integration in the mid-20th century led to many of the businesses in the neighborhood closing in favor of their downtown counterparts, descendants of the original inhabitants still live in the neighborhood. Junaluska is also home to one of the few majority-African American Mennonite Brethren congregations. Boone is a center for bluegrass musicians and Appalachian storytellers. Notable artists associated with Boone include the late Grammy Award-winning bluegrass guitar player Doc Watson and the late guitarist Michael Houser, one of the founding members of and the lead guitarist for the band Widespread Panic, as well as Old Crow Medicine Show, The Blue Rags, and Eric Church, all who are Boone natives. The Blair Farm, Daniel Boone Hotel, Jones House, John Smith Miller House, and US Post Office-Boone are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Geography and climate. Boone has an elevation of above sea level. An earlier survey gave the elevation as 3,332 ft and since then it has been published as . Boone has the highest elevation of any town of its size (over 10,000 population) east of the Mississippi River. As such, Boone features, depending on the isotherm used, a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen "Dfb"), a rarity for the Southeastern United States, bordering on an oceanic climate ("Cfb") and straddles the boundary between USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 6B and 7A; the elevation also results in enhanced precipitation, with of average annual precipitation. Compared to the lower elevations of the Carolinas, winters are long and cold, with frequent sleet and snowfall. The daily average temperature in January is , which gives Boone a winter climate more similar to coastal southern New England rather than the Southeast, where a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa)" predominates. Blizzard-like conditions are not unusual during winters. Summers are warm, but far cooler and less humid than lower regions to the south and east, with a July daily average temperature of . Boone receives on average nearly of snowfall annually, far higher than the lowland areas in the rest of North Carolina. On January 21, 1985, the temperature fell to .
Demographics. 2020 census. As of the 2020 United States census, there were 19,092 people, 5,905 households, and 1,641 families residing in the town. 2000 census. As of the census of 2000, there were 13,472 people, 4,374 households, and 1,237 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 4,748 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93.98% White, 3.42% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 1.19% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 1.64% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 4,374 households, out of which 9.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 21.0% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 71.7% were non-families. 38.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97 and the average family size was 2.63.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 5.8% under 18, 65.9% from 18 to 24, 12.1% from 25 to 44, 9.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females, there are 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $20,541, and the median income for a family was $49,762. The per capita income was $12,256. Males had a median income of $28,060 versus $20,000 for females. About 9.2% of families and 37.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under the age of 18 and 9.1% of those 65 and older. Media. Newspaper. Boone is mainly served by three local newspapers: A smaller newspaper, "The Appalachian", is Appalachian State University's campus newspaper; it is published once a week on Thursdays. In addition to the locally printed papers, a monthly entertainment pamphlet, "Kraut Creek Revival", has limited circulation and is funded by a Denver, North Carolina–based newspaper.
Law and government. Boone operates under a mayor–council government. The city council consists of five members. The mayor presides over the council and casts a vote in the event of a tie. , the Town Council members were Mayor Tim Futrelle and Councilors: Edie Tugman (Mayor Pro-Tem), Todd Carter, Virginia Roseman, Jon Dalton George, and Rebecca Nenow. Development. Industrial, commercial, and residential development in Boone is controversial due to its location in the mountains of Appalachia. On October 16, 2009, the town council accepted the "Boone 2030 Land Use Plan." The document is not in any way law, but is used by the town council, board of adjustment, and other committees to guide decision-making as to what types of development are appropriate. In 2009, the North Carolina Department of Transportation began widening 1.1 miles of U.S. 421 (King Street) to a 4-to-6-lane divided highway with a raised concrete median from U.S. 321 (Hardin Street) to east of N.C. 194 (Jefferson Road), including a new entrance and exit to the new Watauga High School, at a cost of $16.2 million. The widening has displaced 25 businesses and 63 residences east of King Street. The project was slated to be completed by December 31, 2011, but construction continued into 2012.
Sports. Boone is home to the Appalachian State Mountaineers, which field varsity teams in 17 sports, 7 for men and 10 for women. Appalachian State's football program has been successful with the Mountaineers winning three straight national championships in 2005, 2006, and 2007, the only team in North Carolina, public or private, to win an NCAA national championship in football. Aside from college sports, Boone also has local baseball and soccer teams. The Boone Bigfoots were formed in 2021 and compete in the Coastal Plain League, a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league. The Bigfoots play their home games at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. Boone's entry in the National Premier Soccer League is Appalachian FC, which plays home games at ASU Soccer Stadium in the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex. Sister city. Boone has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International:
Banshee A banshee ( ; Modern Irish , from , "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Her name is connected to the mythologically important tumuli or "mounds" that dot the Irish countryside, which are known as (singular ) in Old Irish. Description. Sometimes she has long streaming hair, which she may be seen combing, with some legends specifying she can only keen while combing her hair. She wears a grey cloak over a green dress, and her eyes are red from continual weeping. She may be dressed in white with red hair and a ghastly complexion, according to a firsthand account by Ann, Lady Fanshawe in her "Memoirs". Lady Wilde in her books provides others: In John O'Brien's Irish-English dictionary, the entry for Síth-Bhróg states:"hence "bean-síghe", plural "mná-síghe", she-fairies or women-fairies, credulously supposed by the common people to be so affected to certain families that they are heard to sing mournful lamentations about their houses by night, whenever any of the family labours under a sickness which is to end by death, but no families which are not of an ancient & noble Stock, are believed to be honoured with this fairy privilege".
Keening. In Ireland and parts of Scotland, a traditional part of mourning is the keening woman (), who wails a lament —in ('weeping'), pronounced in the Irish dialects of Munster and southern County Galway, in Connacht (except south Galway) and (particularly west) Ulster, and in Ulster, particularly in the traditional dialects of north and east Ulster, including County Louth. This keening woman may in some cases be a professional, and the best keeners would be in high demand. Irish legend speaks of a lament being sung by a fairy woman, or banshee. She would sing it when a family member died or was about to die, even if the person had died far away and news of their death had not yet come. In those cases, her wailing would be the first warning the household had of the death. The banshee is also a predictor of death. If someone is about to enter a situation where it is unlikely they will come out alive she will warn people by screaming or wailing, giving rise to a banshee also being known as a wailing woman. The banshee was also associated with the death coach, being said to either summon it with her keening or to travel in tandem with it.
When several banshees appear at once, it indicates the death of someone great or holy. The tales sometimes recounted that the woman, though called a fairy, was a ghost, often of a specific murdered woman, or a mother who died in childbirth. In some parts of Leinster, she is referred to as the ('keening woman') whose wail can be so piercing that it shatters glass. In Scottish folklore, a similar creature is known as the or ('little washerwoman') or ('little washer at the ford') and is seen washing the bloodstained clothes or armour of those who are about to die. In Welsh folklore, a similar creature is known as the cyhyraeth. Accounts reach as far back as 1380 to the publication of the "Cathreim Thoirdhealbhaigh" ("Triumphs of Torlough") by Sean mac Craith. Mentions of banshees can also be found in Norman literature of that time. Associated families. Some sources suggest that the banshee laments only the descendants of the "pure Milesian stock" of Ireland, with the original belief appearing to associate the folklore with a number of ancient Irish families. According to this tradition, a banshee would not lament or visit someone of Saxon or Norman descent or who came to Ireland later. Most, but not all, surnames associated with banshees have the "Ó" or "Mc/Mac" prefix – that is, surnames of Goidelic origin, indicating a family native to the Insular Celtic lands rather than those of the Norse, Anglo-Saxon, or Norman.
There are some exceptions to this lore, including that a banshee may lament a person who had been "gifted with music and song". For example, there are accounts of the Geraldines hearing a banshee – as they had reputedly become "more Irish than the Irish themselves" – and that the Bunworth Banshee, associated with the Rev. Charles Bunworth (a name of Anglo-Saxon origin), heralded the death of an Irish person who had been a patron to musicians. According to tradition, some families had their own banshee, with the Ua Briain banshee, named Aibell, being the ruler of 25 other banshees who would always be at her attendance.
Genetically modified maize Genetically modified maize (corn) is a genetically modified crop. Specific maize strains have been genetically engineered to express agriculturally-desirable traits, including resistance to pests and to herbicides. Maize strains with both traits are now in use in multiple countries. GM maize has also caused controversy with respect to possible health effects, impact on other insects and impact on other plants via gene flow. One strain, called Starlink, was approved only for animal feed in the US but was found in food, leading to a series of recalls starting in 2000. Marketed products. Herbicide-resistant maize. Corn varieties resistant to glyphosate herbicides were first commercialized in 1996 by Monsanto, and are known as "Roundup Ready Corn". They tolerate the use of Roundup. Bayer CropScience developed "Liberty Link Corn" that is resistant to glufosinate. Pioneer Hi-Bred has developed and markets corn hybrids with tolerance to imidazoline herbicides under the trademark "Clearfield" – though in these hybrids, the herbicide-tolerance trait was bred using tissue culture selection and the chemical mutagen ethyl methanesulfonate, not genetic engineering. Consequently, the regulatory framework governing the approval of transgenic crops does not apply for Clearfield.
As of 2011, herbicide-resistant GM corn was grown in 14 countries. By 2012, 26 varieties of herbicide-resistant GM maize were authorised for import into the European Union, but such imports remain controversial. Cultivation of herbicide-resistant corn in the EU provides substantial farm-level benefits. Insect-resistant corn. Bt maize/corn. / is a variant of maize that has been genetically altered to express one or more proteins from the bacterium "Bacillus thuringiensis" including Delta endotoxins. The protein is poisonous to certain insect pests. Spores of the bacillus are widely used in organic gardening, although GM corn is not considered organic. The European corn borer causes about a billion dollars in damage to corn crops each year. In recent years, traits have been added to ward off corn ear worms and root worms, the latter of which annually causes about a billion dollars in damages. The Bt protein is expressed throughout the plant. When a vulnerable insect eats the Bt-containing plant, the protein is activated in its gut, which is alkaline. In the alkaline environment, the protein partially unfolds and is cut by other proteins, forming a toxin that paralyzes the insect's digestive system and forms holes in the gut wall. The insect stops eating within a few hours and eventually starves.
In 1996, the first GM maize producing a Bt Cry protein was approved, which killed the European corn borer and related species; subsequent Bt genes were introduced that killed corn rootworm larvae. The Philippine Government has promoted Bt corn, hoping for insect resistance and higher yields. Approved Bt genes include single and stacked (event names bracketed) configurations of: Cry1A.105 (MON89034), CryIAb (MON810), CryIF (1507), Cry2Ab (MON89034), Cry3Bb1 (MON863 and MON88017), Cry34Ab1 (59122), Cry35Ab1 (59122), mCry3A (MIR604), and Vip3A (MIR162), in both corn and cotton. Corn genetically modified to produce VIP was first approved in the US in 2010. A 2018 study found that Bt-corn protected nearby fields of non-Bt corn and nearby vegetable crops, reducing the use of pesticides on those crops. Data from 1976 to 1996 (before Bt corn was widespread) was compared to data after it was adopted (1996–2016). They examined levels of the European corn borer and corn earworm. Their larvae eat a variety of crops, including peppers and green beans. Between 1992 and 2016, the amount of insecticide applied to New Jersey pepper fields decreased by 85 percent. Another factor was the introduction of more effective pesticides that were applied less often.
Sweet Corn. GM sweet corn varieties include "Attribute", the brand name for insect-resistant sweet corn developed by Syngenta and "Performance Series" insect-resistant sweet corn developed by Monsanto. Cuba. While Cuba's agriculture is largely focused on organic production, as of 2010, the country had developed a variety of genetically modified corn that is resistant to the palomilla moth. Drought-resistant maize. In 2013 Monsanto launched the first transgenic drought tolerance trait in a line of corn hybrids called DroughtGard. The MON 87460 trait is provided by the insertion of the cspB gene from the soil microbe "Bacillus subtilis"; it was approved by the USDA in 2011 and by China in 2013. Health Safety. In regular corn crops, insects promote fungal colonization by creating "wounds," or holes, in corn kernels. These wounds are favored by fungal spores for germination, which subsequently leads to mycotoxin accumulation in the crop that can be carcinogenic and toxic to humans and other animals. This can prove to be especially devastating in developing countries with drastic climate patterns such as high temperatures, which favor the development of toxic fungi. In addition, higher mycotoxin levels leads to market rejection or reduced market prices for the grain. GM corn crops encounter fewer insect attacks, and thus, have lower concentrations of mycotoxins. Fewer insect attacks also keep corn ears from being damaged, which increases overall yields.
Products in development. In 2007, South African researchers announced the production of transgenic maize resistant to maize streak virus (MSV), although it has not been released as a product. While breeding cultivars for resistance to MSV isn't done in the public, the private sector, international research centers, and national programmes have done all of the breeding. As of 2014, there have been a few MSV-tolerant cultivars released in Africa. A private company "Seedco" has released 5 MSV cultivars. Research has been done on adding a single "E. coli" gene to maize to enable it to be grown with an essential amino acid (methionine). Refuges. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations require farmers who plant Bt corn to plant non-Bt corn nearby (called a refuge), with the logic that pests will infest the non-Bt corn and thus will not evolve a resistance to the Bt toxin. Typically, 20% of corn in a grower's fields must be refuge; refuge must be at least 0.5 miles from Bt corn for lepidopteran pests, and refuge for corn rootworm must at least be adjacent to a Bt field. EPA regulations also require seed companies to train farmers how to maintain refuges, to collect data on the refuges and to report that data to the EPA. A study of these reports found that from 2003 to 2005 farmer compliance with keeping refuges was above 90%, but that by 2008 approximately 25% of Bt corn farmers did not keep refuges properly, raising concerns that resistance would develop.
Unmodified crops received most of the economic benefits of Bt corn in the US in 1996–2007, because of the overall reduction of pest populations. This reduction came because females laid eggs on modified and unmodified strains alike, but pest organisms that develop on the modified strain are eliminated. Seed bags containing both Bt and refuge seed have been approved by the EPA in the United States. These seed mixtures were marketed as "Refuge in a Bag" (RIB) to increase farmer compliance with refuge requirements and reduce additional work needed at planting from having separate Bt and refuge seed bags on hand. The EPA approved a lower percentage of refuge seed in these seed mixtures ranging from 5 to 10%. This strategy is likely to reduce the likelihood of Bt-resistance occurring for corn rootworm, but may increase the risk of resistance for lepidopteran pests, such as European corn borer. Increased concerns for resistance with seed mixtures include partially resistant larvae on a Bt plant being able to move to a susceptible plant to survive or cross pollination of refuge pollen on to Bt plants that can lower the amount of Bt expressed in kernels for ear feeding insects.
Resistance. Resistant strains of the European corn borer have developed in areas with defective or absent refuge management. In 2012, a Florida field trial demonstrated that army worms were resistant to Bt maize produced by Dupont-Dow; armyworm resistance was first discovered in Puerto Rico in 2006, prompting Dow and DuPont to voluntarily stop selling the product on the island. Regulation. Regulation of GM crops varies between countries, with some of the most-marked differences occurring between the US and Europe. Regulation varies in a given country depending on intended uses. Controversy. There is a scientific consensus that currently available food derived from GM crops poses no greater risk to human health than conventional food, but that each GM food needs to be tested on a case-by-case basis before introduction. Nonetheless, members of the public are much less likely than scientists to perceive GM foods as safe. The legal and regulatory status of GM foods varies by country, with some nations banning or restricting them, and others permitting them with widely differing degrees of regulation.
The scientific rigor of the studies regarding human health has been disputed due to alleged lack of independence and due to conflicts of interest involving governing bodies and some of those who perform and evaluate the studies. However, no reports of ill effects from GM food have been documented in the human population. GM crops provide a number of ecological benefits, but there are also concerns for their overuse, stalled research outside of the Bt seed industry, proper management and issues with Bt resistance arising from their misuse. Critics have objected to GM crops on ecological, economic and health grounds. The economic issues derive from those organisms that are subject to intellectual property law, mostly patents. The first generation of GM crops lose patent protection beginning in 2015. Monsanto has claimed it will not pursue farmers who retain seeds of off-patent varieties. These controversies have led to litigation, international trade disputes, protests and to restrictive legislation in most countries.
Introduction of Bt maize led to significant reduction of mycotoxin-related poisoning and cancer rates, as they were significantly less prone to contain mycotoxins (29%), fumonisins (31%) and thricotecens (37%), all of which are toxic and carcinogenic. Effects on nontarget insects. Critics claim that Bt proteins could target predatory and other beneficial or harmless insects as well as the targeted pest. These proteins have been used as organic sprays for insect control in France since 1938 and the USA since 1958 with no ill effects on the environment reported. While "cyt" proteins are toxic towards the insect order Diptera (flies), certain "cry" proteins selectively target lepidopterans (moths and butterflies), while other "cyt" selectively target Coleoptera. As a toxic mechanism, "cry" proteins bind to specific receptors on the membranes of mid-gut (epithelial) cells, resulting in rupture of those cells. Any organism that lacks the appropriate gut receptors cannot be affected by the "cry" protein, and therefore Bt. Regulatory agencies assess the potential for the transgenic plant to impact nontarget organisms before approving commercial release.
A 1999 study found that in a lab environment, pollen from Bt maize dusted onto milkweed could harm the monarch butterfly. Several groups later studied the phenomenon in both the field and the laboratory, resulting in a risk assessment that concluded that any risk posed by the corn to butterfly populations under real-world conditions was negligible. A 2002 review of the scientific literature concluded that "the commercial large-scale cultivation of current Bt–maize hybrids did not pose a significant risk to the monarch population". A 2007 review found that "nontarget invertebrates are generally more abundant in Bt cotton and Bt maize fields than in nontransgenic fields managed with insecticides. However, in comparison with insecticide-free control fields, certain nontarget taxa are less abundant in Bt fields." Gene flow. Gene flow is the transfer of genes and/or alleles from one species to another. Concerns focus on the interaction between GM and other maize varieties in Mexico, and of gene flow into refuges.
In 2009 the government of Mexico created a regulatory pathway for genetically modified maize, but because Mexico is the center of diversity for maize, gene flow could affect a large fraction of the world's maize strains. A 2001 report in "Nature" presented evidence that Bt maize was cross-breeding with unmodified maize in Mexico. The data in this paper was later described as originating from an artifact. "Nature" later stated, "the evidence available is not sufficient to justify the publication of the original paper". A 2005 large-scale study failed to find any evidence of contamination in Oaxaca. However, other authors also found evidence of cross-breeding between natural maize and transgenic maize. A 2004 study found Bt protein in kernels of refuge corn. In 2017, a large-scale study found "pervasive presence of transgenes and glyphosate in maize-derived food in Mexico" Food. The French High Council of Biotechnologies Scientific Committee reviewed the 2009 Vendômois "et al." study and concluded that it "presents no admissible scientific element likely to ascribe any haematological, hepatic or renal toxicity to the three re-analysed GMOs." However, the French government applies the precautionary principle with respect to GMOs.
A review by Food Standards Australia New Zealand and others of the same study concluded that the results were due to chance alone. A 2011 Canadian study looked at the presence of CryAb1 protein (BT toxin) in non-pregnant women, pregnant women and fetal blood. All groups had detectable levels of the protein, including 93% of pregnant women and 80% of fetuses at concentrations of 0.19 ± 0.30 and 0.04 ± 0.04 mean ± SD ng/ml, respectively. The paper did not discuss safety implications or find any health problems. FSANZ agency published a comment pointing out a number of inconsistencies in the paper, most notably that it "does not provide any evidence that GM foods are the source of the protein". In January 2013, the European Food Safety Authority released all data submitted by Monsanto in relation to the 2003 authorisation of maize genetically modified for glyphosate tolerance. Starlink corn recalls. StarLink contains Cry9C, which had not previously been used in a GM crop. Starlink's creator, Plant Genetic Systems, had applied to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to market Starlink for use in animal feed and in human food. However, because the Cry9C protein lasts longer in the digestive system than other Bt proteins, the EPA had concerns about its allergenicity, and PGS did not provide sufficient data to prove that Cry9C was not allergenic. As a result, PGS split its application into separate permits for use in food and use in animal feed. Starlink was approved by the EPA for use in animal feed only in May 1998.
StarLink corn was subsequently found in food destined for consumption by humans in the US, Japan, and South Korea. This corn became the subject of the widely publicized Starlink corn recall, which started when Taco Bell-branded taco shells sold in supermarkets were found to contain the corn. Sales of StarLink seed were discontinued. The registration for Starlink varieties was voluntarily withdrawn by Aventis in October 2000. Pioneer had been bought by AgrEvo which then became Aventis CropScience at the time of the incident, which was later bought by Bayer. Fifty-one people reported adverse effects to the FDA; US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which determined that 28 of them were possibly related to Starlink. However, the CDC studied the blood of these 28 individuals and concluded there was no evidence of hypersensitivity to the Starlink Bt protein. A subsequent review of these tests by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel points out that while "the negative results decrease the probability that the Cry9C protein is the cause of allergic symptoms in the individuals examined ... in the absence of a positive control and questions regarding the sensitivity and specificity of the assay, it is not possible to assign a negative predictive value to this."
The US corn supply has been monitored for the presence of the Starlink Bt proteins since 2001. In 2005, aid sent by the UN and the US to Central American nations also contained some StarLink corn. The nations involved, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala refused to accept the aid. Corporate espionage. On 19 December 2013 six Chinese citizens were indicted in Iowa on charges of plotting to steal genetically modified seeds worth tens of millions of dollars from Monsanto and DuPont. Mo Hailong, director of international business at the Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co., part of the Beijing-based DBN Group, was accused of stealing trade secrets after he was found digging in an Iowa cornfield.
Body substance isolation Body substance isolation is a practice of isolating all body substances (blood, urine, feces, tears, etc.) of individuals undergoing medical treatment, particularly emergency medical treatment of those who might be infected with illnesses such as HIV, or hepatitis so as to reduce as much as possible the chances of transmitting these illnesses. BSI is similar in nature to universal precautions, but goes further in isolating workers from pathogens, including substances now known to carry HIV. Place of body substance isolation practice in history. Practice of Universal precautions was introduced in 1985–88. In 1987, the practice of Universal precautions was adjusted by a set of rules known as body substance isolation. In 1996, both practices were replaced by the latest approach known as standard precautions (health care). Nowadays and in isolation, practice of body substance isolation has just historical significance. Body substance isolation went further than universal precautions in isolating workers from pathogens, including substances now currently known to carry HIV. These pathogens fall into two broad categories, bloodborne (carried in the body fluids) and airborne. The practice of BSI was common in Pre-Hospital care and emergency medical services due to the often unknown nature of the patient and his/her disease or medical conditions. It was a part of the National Standards Curriculum for Prehospital Providers and Firefighters.Types of body substance isolation included:
It was postulated that BSI precautions should be practiced in environment where treaters were exposed to bodily fluids, such as: Such infection control techniques that were recommended following the AIDS outbreak in the 1980s. Every patient was treated as if infected and therefore precautions were taken to minimize risk. Other conditions which called for minimizing risks with BSI: or any combination of the above.
Boudica Boudica or Boudicca (, from Brythonic * 'victory, win' + * 'having' suffix, i.e. 'Victorious Woman', known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as , ) was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She is considered a British national heroine and a symbol of the struggle for justice and independence. Boudica's husband Prasutagus, with whom she had two daughters, ruled as a nominally independent ally of Rome. He left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and to the Roman emperor in his will. When he died, his will was ignored, and the kingdom was annexed and his property taken. According to the Roman historian Tacitus, Boudica was flogged and her daughters raped. The historian Cassius Dio wrote that previous imperial donations to influential Britons were confiscated and the Roman financier and philosopher Seneca called in the loans he had forced on the reluctant Britons. In 60/61, Boudica led the Iceni and other British tribes in revolt. They destroyed Camulodunum (modern Colchester), earlier the capital of the Trinovantes, but at that time a for discharged Roman soldiers. Upon hearing of the revolt, the Roman governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus hurried from the island of Mona (modern Anglesey) to Londinium, the 20-year-old commercial settlement that was the rebels' next target. Unable to defend the settlement, he abandoned it. Boudica's army defeated a detachment of the Legio IX Hispana, and burnt both Londinium and Verulamium. In all, an estimated 70,000–80,000 Romans and Britons were killed by Boudica's followers. Suetonius, meanwhile, regrouped his forces, possibly in the West Midlands, and despite being heavily outnumbered, he decisively defeated the Britons. Boudica died, by suicide or illness, shortly afterwards. The crisis of 60/61 caused Nero to consider withdrawing all his imperial forces from Britain, but Suetonius's victory over Boudica confirmed Roman control of the province.
Interest in these events was revived in the English Renaissance and led to Boudica's fame in the Victorian era and as a cultural symbol in Britain. Historical sources. The Boudican revolt against the Roman Empire is referred to in four works from classical antiquity written by three Roman historians: the "Agricola" () and "Annals" () by Tacitus; a mention of the uprising by Suetonius in his "Lives of the Caesars" (121); and the longest account, a detailed description of the revolt contained within Cassius Dio's history of the Empire (). Tacitus wrote some years after the rebellion, but his father-in-law Gnaeus Julius Agricola was an eyewitness to the events, having served in Britain as a tribune under Suetonius Paulinus during this period. Cassius Dio began his history of Rome and its empire about 140 years after Boudica's death. Much is lost and his account of Boudica survives only in the epitome of an 11th-century Byzantine monk, John Xiphilinus. He provides greater and more lurid detail than Tacitus, but in general his details are often fictitious.
Both Tacitus and Dio give an account of battle-speeches given by Boudica, though it is thought that her words were never recorded during her life. Although imaginary, these speeches, designed to provide a comparison for readers of the antagonists' demands and approaches to war, and to portray the Romans as morally superior to their enemy, helped create an image of patriotism that turned Boudica into a legendary figure. Whilst the vast majority of historians accept Boudica as a historical figure, a small minority have questioned whether she existed based on the lack of contemporary sources and archaeological evidence. Background. Boudica was the consort of Prasutagus, king of the Iceni, a tribe who inhabited what is now the English county of Norfolk and parts of the neighbouring counties of Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Lincolnshire. The Iceni produced some of the earliest known British coins. They had revolted against the Romans in 47 when the Roman governor Publius Ostorius Scapula planned to disarm all the peoples of Britain under Roman control. The Romans allowed the kingdom to retain its independence once the uprising was suppressed.
Events leading to the revolt. On his death in AD 60/61, Prasutagus made his two daughters as well as the Roman Emperor Nero his heirs. The Romans ignored the will, and the kingdom was absorbed into the province of Britannia. Catus Decianus, procurator of Britain, was sent to secure the Iceni kingdom for Rome. The Romans' next actions were described by Tacitus, who detailed pillaging of the countryside, the ransacking of the king's household, and the brutal treatment of Boudica and her daughters. According to Tacitus, Boudica was flogged and her daughters were raped. These abuses are not mentioned in Dio's account, who instead cites three different causes for the rebellion: the recalling of loans that were given to the Britons by Seneca; Decianus Catus's confiscation of money formerly loaned to the Britons by the Emperor Claudius; and Boudica's own entreaties. The loans were thought by the Iceni to have been repaid by gift exchange. Dio gives Boudica a speech to her people and their allies reminding them that life was much better before the Roman occupation, stressing that wealth cannot be enjoyed under slavery and placing the blame upon herself for not expelling the Romans as they had done when Julius Caesar invaded. The willingness of those seen as barbarians to sacrifice a higher quality of living under the Romans in exchange for their freedom and personal liberty was an important part of what Dio considered to be motivation for the rebellions.
Uprising. Attacks on Camulodunum, Londinium and Verulamium. The first target of the rebels was Camulodunum (modern Colchester), a Roman for retired soldiers. A Roman temple had been erected there to Claudius, at great expense to the local population. Combined with brutal treatment of the Britons by the veterans, this had caused resentment towards the Romans. The Iceni and the Trinovantes comprised an army of 120,000 men. Dio claimed that Boudica called upon the British goddess of victory Andraste to aid her army. Once the revolt had begun, the only Roman troops available to provide assistance, aside from the few within the colony, were 200 auxiliaries located in London, who were not equipped to fight Boudica's army. Camulodunum was captured by the rebels; those inhabitants who survived the initial attack took refuge in the Temple of Claudius for two days before they were killed. Quintus Petillius Cerialis, then commanding the Legio IX "Hispana", attempted to relieve Camulodunum, but suffered an overwhelming defeat. The infantry with him were all killed and only the commander and some of his cavalry escaped. After this disaster, Catus Decianus, whose behaviour had provoked the rebellion, fled abroad to Gaul.
Suetonius was leading a campaign against the island of Mona, off the coast of North Wales. On hearing the news of the Iceni uprising, he left a garrison on Mona and returned to deal with Boudica. He moved quickly with a force of men through hostile territory to Londinium, which he reached before the arrival of Boudica's army but, outnumbered, he decided to abandon the town to the rebels, who burned it down after torturing and killing everyone who had remained. The rebels also sacked the "municipium" of Verulamium (modern St Albans), north-west of London, though the extent of its destruction is unclear. Dio and Tacitus both reported that around 80,000 people were said to have been killed by the rebels. According to Tacitus, the Britons had no interest in taking the Roman population as prisoners, only in slaughter by "gibbet, fire, or cross". Dio adds that the noblest women were impaled on spikes and had their breasts cut off and sewn to their mouths, "to the accompaniment of sacrifices, banquets, and wanton behaviour" in sacred places, particularly the groves of Andraste.
Defeat and death. Suetonius regrouped his forces. He amassed an army of almost 10,000 men at an unidentified location, and took a stand in a defile (a narrow pass) with a wood behind. The Romans used the terrain to their advantage, launching javelins at the Britons before advancing in a wedge-shaped formation and deploying cavalry. The Roman army was heavily outnumbered — according to Dio the rebels numbered 230,000 — but Boudica's army was crushed, and according to Tacitus, neither the women nor the animals were spared. Tacitus states that Boudica poisoned herself; Dio says she fell sick and died, after which she was given a lavish burial. It has been argued that these accounts are not mutually exclusive. Name. "Boudica" may have been an honorific title, in which case the name by which she was known during most of her life is unknown. The English linguist and translator Kenneth Jackson concluded that the name "Boudica"—based on later developments in Welsh () and Irish ()—derives from the Proto-Celtic feminine adjective "boudīkā" 'victorious', which in turn is derived from the Celtic word "boudā" 'victory', and that the correct spelling of the name in Common Brittonic (the British Celtic language) is "", pronounced . Variations on the historically correct "Boudica" include "Boudicca", "Bonduca", "Boadicea", and "Buduica". The Gaulish version of her name is attested in inscriptions as "Boudiga" in Bordeaux, "Boudica" in Lusitania, and "Bodicca" in Algeria.
Boudica's name was spelt incorrectly by Dio, who used "Buduica". Her name was also misspelled by Tacitus, who added a second 'c.' After the misspelling was copied by a medieval scribe, further variations began to appear. Along with the second 'c' becoming an 'e,' an 'a' appeared in place of the 'u', which produced the medieval (and most common) version of the name, "Boadicea". The true spelling was totally obscured when "Boadicea" first appeared in around the 17th century. William Cowper used this spelling in his poem "Boadicea, an Ode" (1782), a work whose impact resulted in Boudica's reinvention as a British imperialistic champion. Early literature. One of the earliest possible mentions of Boudica (excluding Tacitus' and Dio's accounts) was the 6th-century work by the British monk Gildas. In it, he demonstrates his knowledge of a female leader whom he describes as a "treacherous lioness" who "butchered the governors who had been left to give fuller voice and strength to the endeavours of Roman rule." Both Bede's "Ecclesiastical History of the English People" (731) and the 9th-century work "Historia Brittonum" by the Welsh monk Nennius include references to the uprising of 60/61, but do not mention Boudica.
No contemporary description of Boudica exists. Dio, writing more than a century after her death, provided a detailed description of the Iceni queen (translated in 1925): "In stature she was very tall, in appearance most terrifying, in the glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh; a great mass of the tawniest hair fell to her hips; around her neck was a large golden necklace; and she wore a tunic of divers colours over which a thick mantle was fastened with a brooch. This was her invariable attire." Revival and the modern legend. 16th and 17th century literature. During the Renaissance the works of Tacitus and Cassius Dio became available in England, after which her status changed as it was interpreted by historians, poets and dramatists. Boudica appeared as 'Voadicia' in a history, "Anglica Historia", by the Italian scholar Polydore Vergil, and in the Scottish historian Hector Boece's "The History and Chronicles of Scotland" (1526) she is 'Voada'—the first appearance of Boudica in a British publication.
Boudica was called 'Voadicia' in the English historian Raphael Holinshed's "Chronicles", published between 1577 and 1587. A narrative by the Florentine scholar Petruccio Ubaldini in "The Lives of the Noble Ladies of the Kingdom of England and Scotland" (1591) includes two female characters, 'Voadicia' and 'Bunduica', both based on Boudica. From the 1570s to the 1590s, when Elizabeth I's England was at war with Spain, Boudica proved to be a valuable asset for the English. The English poet Edmund Spenser used the story of Boudica in his poem "The Ruines of Time", involving a story about a British heroine he called 'Bunduca'. A variation of this name was used in the Jacobean play "Bonduca" (1612), a tragicomedy that most scholars agree was written by John Fletcher, in which one of the characters was Boudica. A version of that play called "Bonduca, or the British Heroine" was set to music by the English composer Henry Purcell in 1695. One of the choruses, "Britons, Strike Home!", became a popular patriotic song in Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Depiction during the 18th and 19th centuries. During the late 18th century, Boudica was used to develop ideas of English nationhood. Illustrations of Boudica during this period—such as in Edward Barnard's "New, Complete and Authentic History of England" (1790) and the drawing by Thomas Stothard of the queen as a classical heroine—lacked historical accuracy. The illustration of Boudica by Robert Havell in Charles Hamilton Smith's "The Costume of the Original Inhabitants of the British Islands from the Earliest Periods to the Sixth Century" (1815) was an early attempt to depict her in an historically accurate way. Cowper's 1782 poem "Boadicea: An Ode" was the most notable literary work to champion the resistance of the Britons, and helped to project British ideas of imperial expansion. It caused Boudica to become a British cultural icon and be perceived as a national heroine. Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem (written in 1859, and published in 1864) drew on Cowper's poem. Depicting the Iceni queen as a violent and bloodthirsty warrior, the poem also forecasted the rise of British imperialism. Tennyson's image of Boudica was taken from the engraving produced in 1812 by Stothard. Another work, the poem "Boadicea" (1859) by Francis Barker, contained strongly patriotic and Christian themes.
A range of Victorian children's books mentioned Boudica; "Beric the Briton" (1893), a novel by G. A. Henty, with illustrations by William Parkinson, had a text based on the accounts of Tacitus and Dio. "Boadicea and Her Daughters", a statue of the queen in her war chariot, complete with anachronistic scythes on the wheel axles, was executed by the sculptor Thomas Thornycroft. He was encouraged by Prince Albert, who lent his horses for use as models. The statue, Thornycroft's most ambitious work, was produced between 1856 and 1871, cast in 1896, and positioned on the Victoria Embankment next to Westminster Bridge in 1902. 20th century – present. Boudica was once thought to have been buried at a place which lies now between platforms 9 and 10 in King's Cross station in London. There is no evidence for this and it is probably a post-World War II invention. At Colchester Town Hall, a life-sized statue of Boudica stands on the south facade, sculpted by L J Watts in 1902; another depiction of her is in a stained glass window by Clayton and Bell in the council chamber.
Boudica was adopted by the suffragettes as one of the symbols of the campaign for women's suffrage. In 1908, a "Boadicea Banner" was carried in several National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies marches. She appears as a character in "A Pageant of Great Women" written by Cicely Hamilton, which opened at the Scala Theatre, London, in November 1909 before a national tour, and she was described in a 1909 pamphlet as "the eternal feminine... the guardian of the hearth, the avenger of its wrongs upon the defacer and the despoiler". A "vocal minority" has claimed Boudica as a Celtic Welsh heroine. A statue of Boudica in the Marble Hall at Cardiff City Hall was among those unveiled by David Lloyd George in 1916, though the choice had gained little support in a public vote. It shows her with her daughters and without warrior trappings. Permanent exhibitions describing the Boudican Revolt are at the Museum of London, Colchester Castle Museum and the Verulamium Museum in St Albans. A long distance footpath called Boudica's Way passes through countryside between Norwich and Diss in Norfolk.
Borneo Borneo () is the third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda Islands, located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east of Sumatra. The island is crossed by the equator, which divides it roughly in half. The island is politically divided among three states. The sovereign state of Brunei in the north makes up 1% of the territory. Approximately 73% of Borneo is Indonesian territory, and in the north, the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak make up about 26% of the island. The Malaysian federal territory of Labuan is situated on a small island just off the coast of Borneo. Etymology. When the sixteenth-century Portuguese explorer Jorge de Menezes made contact with the indigenous people of Borneo, they referred to their island as "Pulu K'lemantang", which became the name for modern-day Indonesian Borneo. The term "kelamantan" is used in Sarawak to refer to a group of people who consume sago in the northern part of the island.

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