The Vancouver Expedition (1791–1795) was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy. The British expedition circumnavigated the globe and made contact with five continents. The expedition at various times included between two and four vessels, and up to 153 men, all but 6 of whom returned home safely.

Origin
Several previous voyages of exploration including those of Ferdinand Magellan and James Cook, and the Spanish Manila-Acapulco galleons trade route active since 1565, had established the strategic and commercial value of exploring and claiming the Pacific Ocean access, both for its wealth in whales and furs and as a trade route to the "Orient". Britain was especially interested in improving its knowledge of the Southern Pacific whale fisheries, and in particular the location of the strategically positioned Australia, New Zealand, the legendary Isla Grande, and the Northwest Passage. A new ship was purchased, fitted out, and named  after one of Cook's ships. Her captain was Henry Roberts and Vancouver his 1st Lieutenant.

Plans changed when the adventurer John Meares reported that the Spanish had impounded his ship and seized hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of goods at Nootka Sound. Although it is now known that his claims of loss were somewhat exaggerated, Britain had recently waged war against Spain and seemed ready to resume hostilities; Parliament readied the fleet in the Nootka Crisis. Roberts and Vancouver left Discovery to serve in the Channel Fleet while Discovery became a depot ship for processing those taken in by the press gang. The Spanish backed down from their earlier stance in the Nootka Sound Convention, whose terms resulted in inconsistent instructions for the British and Spanish officers sent to implement them.

Vancouver returned to Discovery as the expedition's commander. Vancouver understood from the discussions he had with ministers and officials in London prior to his departure that his task was to receive back from the Spanish commander at Nootka Sound land and property that had been confiscated from the British fur traders in July 1789 and to establish a formal British presence there to support and promote the fur trade. Proposals to establish a British settlement on the Northwest Coast had been discussed in commercial and official circles in the 1780s, encouraged by the success of the similar project at Botany Bay and Norfolk Island. During the war scare with Spain that resulted from the arrest of the British fur traders at Nootka Sound, plans were made for a small party of convicts and marines to be sent from New South Wales to make a subsidiary settlement on the Northwest Coast: one of the ships to be used for this task was to have been the Discovery, which Vancouver afterwards commanded during his expedition. He believed that once he had accepted restitution of Nootka Sound and its associated territory he was to make preparations for founding a British colony there that, at least initially, would have had a close connection with the New South Wales colony. Supplies and materials for establishing the colony were sent on the Daedalus storeship. He was also instructed "to receive back in form a restitution of the territories on which the Spaniards had seized, and also to make an accurate survey of the coast, from the 30th degree of north latitude northwestward toward Cook's River; and further, to obtain every possible information that could be collected respecting the natural and political state of that country." These explorations were in part to discover water communication into the North American interior (whether a Northwest Passage or, more likely, navigable rivers existed) and to facilitate the research of the expedition's politically well-connected botanist, Archibald Menzies. A change to a more conciliatory British policy toward Spain after he left England in April 1791, a result of challenges arising from the French Revolution, was not communicated to Vancouver, leaving him in an embarrassing situation in his negotiations with the Spanish commander at Nootka. Although Vancouver and Bodega y Quadra were friendly with one another, their negotiations did not go smoothly. Spain desired to set the Spanish-British boundary at the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but Vancouver insisted on British rights to the Columbia River. Vancouver also objected to the new Spanish post at Neah Bay. Bodega y Quadra insisted on Spain retaining Nootka Sound, which Vancouver could not accept. In the end the two agreed to refer the matter to their respective governments.

Following the mutiny on the Bounty, the Admiralty had ordered the precaution that ships not make such long voyages alone; therefore the armed tender  was assigned to the expedition. The chartered merchant ship, Daedalus, would rendezvous at Nootka Sound a year later with supplies. The expedition was supposed to take two or three years.

The Muster
The Muster of the expedition lists 153 men.
Most were naval officers or sailors, many of whom would distinguish themselves in future service, including Peter Puget, Joseph Baker, Joseph Whidbey, William Broughton, Zachary Mudge, Thomas Manby, and Robert Barrie. There was a large detachment of Marines; whether these were to assist with exploration in hostile territory or to discourage mutiny is not recorded. Two 16-year-old aristocrats, the Honorable Thomas Pitt (nephew of the British Prime Minister, William Pitt The Younger) and the Honorable Charles Stuart (son of a Marquis), were brought aboard as able seamen; they proved troublesome.

Among the supernumeraries were Menzies (who kept a meticulous journal of the expedition) and his servant John Ewin (or Ewing).  A Hawaiian man named Towereroo, whom Captain Charles Duncan had brought to England, was put on Discovery that he might return home. Finally, the Muster includes a Widow's Man, rated able seaman, but in fact merely an accounting fiction.

1791
On 1 April 1791, Discovery and Chatham set sail. They reached Santa Cruz in Tenerife on 28 April; this was intended as a rest stop and opportunity to study the botany of the region, but ended in a drunken brawl in which several members of the crew were thrown into the bay or suffered injuries.

On 7 May, the two ships left Tenerife; Chatham arrived at Cape Town on 6 June and Discovery two days later. After more botanizing, socializing, and recruiting replacements for deserters, the ships left on 17 August. The surgeon took ill during an outbreak of dysentery (one sailor died); Menzies assumed his duties for the rest of the expedition.

On 29 September, they landed in Australia, at what Vancouver named King George the Third's Sound. They quickly surveyed the south coast of Australia and landed at Dusky Sound, New Zealand on 2 November for resupplying and botanising, before departing on 21 November. The ships proceeding separately, both discovered the sub-Antarctic Snares Islands (23 November) which Vancouver considered a severe shipping hazard (hence, the name). En route to Tahiti, the crew of Chatham furthermore discovered the Chatham Islands (29 November) before reaching Tahiti on 26 December; Discovery meanwhile discovered Rapa Iti (which Vancouver called "Oparo") and arrived at Tahiti on 30 December.

Putting in at Tahiti, Vancouver enforced rigid discipline to avoid the personal connections that had led to a mutiny on the Bounty. Pitt was flogged for exchanging a piece of ship's iron for the romantic favours of a lady. Towereroo, not subject to such discipline, decided he preferred the comforts of Tahiti and had to be made to leave.

1792

Proceeding to winter in Hawaii, Vancouver arrived in March 1792.
He had been a young midshipman on Cook's fatal landing 13 years earlier, so avoided coming ashore at Kealakekua Bay. He was disturbed by the frequent request for firearms, and tried to avoid escalating the ongoing civil war, spending the winter in Oahu, where, however, three of his men were killed in a skirmish (or possibly following it; taken to Puʻu o Mahuka Heiau to be ritually sacrificed).
He made arrangements for his tiny fleet to winter and re-supply in Hawaii for the duration of the expedition.

Discovery and Chatham proceeded to North America. On 16 April they made landfall at about 39°N and started a detailed survey northward. On 28 April, they encountered the American Captain Gray of the Columbia Rediviva with which they had a fruitful sharing of information; much of what Meares had told them about Gray's explorations, the latter said, was fiction.

In June 1792, Discovery and Lieutenant Broughton's Chatham lay anchored in a bay they named Birch Bay. Historians believe that HMS Chatham lost a 900 lb. anchor off Whidbey Island on 9 June 1792. In June 2014, an anchor was raised and will be assessed to see if it is actually the sole remaining relic of Vancouver's 1792 voyage into Puget Sound.

In the expectation of receiving from the Spanish at Nootka Sound title to a large tract of the coast and of forming a settlement to sustain the fur traders, on 4 June 1792, the King's Birthday, at Admiralty Inlet (the entrance to Puget Sound) Vancouver took formal possession, near Possession Point at the southern end of Whidbey Island, of all the coast and hinterland contiguous to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, including Puget Sound, under the name of New Georgia.

Vancouver had decided to use his ships' small boats for the detailed exploration and surveying of the region's complex and sometimes shallow waterways. On 12 June, Vancouver, along with Puget and some of the crew, sailed north from Birch Bay in Discovery's two smaller sailing yawls.  In four days they found and charted a number of points and inlets, such as Point Roberts, Point Grey, Burrard Inlet, Howe Sound, and the Jervis Inlet. On 13 June, near Point Roberts, Chatham encountered the Sutil and Mexicana, of the Spanish exploring expedition.

On 21 June 1792, dealing with poor weather and dwindling food supplies, Vancouver decided to head back to HMS Discovery some 84 miles away; on their return they encountered the Spanish ships under the respective commands of Capt. Galiano and Valdés (whom Lt. Broughton had already met), near present-day Vancouver, British Columbia. Both were exploring and mapping the Strait of Georgia, seeking a possible Northwest Passage and a determination of whether Vancouver Island was an island or part of the mainland. The two commanders established a friendly relationship and agreed to assist one another by dividing up the surveying work and sharing charts. They worked together in this way until 13 July, after which each resumed circumnavigating Vancouver Island separately. Galiano's ships reached Nootka Sound, completing the circuit, on 31 August. Vancouver's ships had arrived earlier. Thus Vancouver was the first European to prove the insularity of Vancouver Island (Meares' claims on the matter having been ignored), while Galiano was the first to circumnavigate it. Vancouver had not set out from Nootka but rather began at the Strait of Juan de Fuca, while Galiano began his circumnavigation at Nootka.

In August, while Vancouver was exploring in small boats to the north, Daedalus arrived in Nootka Sound and dispatched the brig HMS Venus with the news that her Captain, Richard Hergest, and William Gooch, sent as astronomer for the expedition, had been murdered on Oahu. Vancouver and Whidbey shared astronomer duties, which later led to friction over pay. On 11 August, the expedition sailed south, reaching Nootka Sound on 28 August, where they exchanged friendly 13-gun salutes with a Spanish frigate commanded by Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra.

Relations between Bodega y Quadra and Vancouver were very cordial and even friendly, but they could not reconcile their conflicting instructions and interpretations of the Nootka Convention. They agreed to meet again at the Royal Presidio of Monterey, California. On 21 September Bodega y Quadra left Nootka Sound and Salvador Fidalgo became the commandant of the establishment there. Vancouver sent Lieutenant Mudge back to England on the Portuguese-flagged merchantman Fenis and St. Joseph to get further instructions.

The captain of the trading ship  asked Vancouver to return two Hawaiians to Hawaii. Thus enlarged, the expedition moved south; Whidbey in Daedalus surveying Grays Harbor while the other two ships dared the bar of the Columbia River. The smaller Chatham made it over the bar and sent small boats upriver. Discovery, whose crew was beginning to suffer from scurvy, proceeded to northern Spanish Las Californias province, reaching the Golden Gate and the Royal Presidio of San Francisco on 14 November to a friendly and helpful reception from the Spanish. The other ships arrived by the 26th. Vancouver sailed south along the coast of Alta California, visiting Chumash villages at Point Conception and near Mission San Buenaventura.

Bodega y Quadra offered to facilitate another message via New Spain (Mexico) and the Atlantic route, however Vancouver sent Lt. Broughton.  Puget took his place as HMS Chatham'''s commander, angering Menzies who preferred his friend James Johnstone, sailing master of Chatham.

After resting and reprovisioning, the expedition returned to Hawaii to winter.

1793

During their winter in Hawaii, the Discovery sailed around the north side of the Island of Hawaii, and the Chatham the south, meeting at Kealakekua Bay.
Vancouver left some cattle, sheep, and more plants that Menzies had collected in California. He met the former British sailor John Young, now an advisor to Kamehameha who acted as an interpreter and helped negotiate with King Kamehameha (I). Vancouver conducted surveys of the islands while Menzies collected specimens. During the visit Vancouver met with Kamehameha and presented him with a Red Ensign. At this time Ireland was not part of a united kingdom which meant the union jack did not contain Saint Patrick's Cross. This version of the Red Ensign, as well as the current version which added the cross in 1801, was the unofficial flag of the Kingdom of Hawaii until 1816.

Over the winter, Vancouver ordered numerous improvements to the small boats that did the detailed survey work, to provide better shelter and supplies for the crew. These improvements would enable the crews to continue their survey of one of the most complex coasts in the world, proceeding as far north as 56°30'N on the west coast of North America, exploring until weather ended their 1793 survey season.

They reached Fitz Hugh Sound on 26 May, arriving at what Vancouver named Restoration Cove two days later. Vancouver, with two of the boats, explored Cascade, Cousins and Roscoe Inlets and Fisher and Dean Channels, while Johnstone explored Burke Channel and North and South Bentinck Arms. The former, in passing the north point of what he named King Island, proved its insular nature. The day before leaving Restoration Cove (10 June), Johnstone was again sent out to explore. The ships meanwhile sailed to the rendezvous east of Yeo Island, where Johnstone met them on 18 June, having explored Spiller and Mussel Inlets and Bullock, Spiller, Mathieson, and Finlayson Channels—in doing so sailing around Yeo, Pooley, Roderick, Susan, and Dowager Islands.

They left their anchorage on 19 June, proceeding up Finlayson and Princess Royal Channels along the east side of Princess Royal Island, anchoring two-thirds up its east coast two days later. From here, Johnstone and Barrie were dispatched to the north, returning on the 29th. They explored the northern reaches of Princess Royal Channel, as well as Whale and Squally Channels, circumnavigating Gil Island in the process—named by Jacinto Caamaño the previous year. The day after their return they sailed out of their cove to another one further north, where they awaited Whidbey's return, who had been sent out to survey the continental shore a day after Johnstone and Barrie. He returned 3 July, having circumnavigated what was named "Hawkesbury's Island" (which was really four islands: Gribbell, Loretta, Hawkesbury, and Maitland Islands) and explored Gardner Canal, Ursula, Devastation and Douglas Channels and Kitimat and Kildala Arms.

After dispatching Whidbey and Barrie to the north, the ships anchored off the north coast of Gil Island. They returned on the 15th, after having explored Gilttoyees Inlet and the length of Grenville Channel to the northwest point of Porcher Island. The same day the ships left, sailing up Principe Channel between Banks and Pitt Islands. On the 21st they were hit by a storm, only being saved by the timely arrival of a whaleboat sent out from the Butterworth of London, under William Brown, whose merchant squadron was safely anchored off the north coast of Stephens Island. From Brown they learned of a "large opening" to the north (Clarence Strait), which he had earlier investigated. With this news, the ships left the next day, reaching Salmon Cove, on the west side of Observatory Inlet, two days later. The same day (24 July), Johnstone and Barrie were sent out; the following day Vancouver left. While Vancouver explored to the heads of Portland Canal, Fillmore and Nakat Inlets, and Boca de Quadra and circumnavigated Revillagigedo Island (during which he was attacked by Tlingit near what was named Escape Point, having two of his men injured), Johnstone and Barrie explored the channels to the southeast, including Work Channel and Khutzeymateen and Quottoon Inlets.

They left Salmon Cove on 18 August, arriving in Port Stewart, just to the west of Revillagigedo Island, a few days later. From here, Johnstone went to the north, circumnavigating what was named "Duke of York's Island" (in reality three islands: Wrangell, Zarembo, and Etolin Islands), as well as sighting Mitkof Island and exploring to the head of Duncan Canal. On 6 September, a few days after his return, they weighed anchor, sailing to what was named Port Protection, on the northwest coast of Prince of Wales Island—which they reached a couple days later. The boats were once again sent out: Johnstone charted the south coast of Kupreanof Island, while Whidbey explored the southeast part of Kuiu Island, reaching the head of Affleck Canal. The latter returned on 21 September; the ships left Port Protection the next day.

Again, the expedition visited Nootka Sound (where there was no resolution of the conflicting orders), Spanish Alta California, and Hawaii.

1794
During the expedition's final winter in Hawaii, Baker accompanied Menzies, Midshipman George McKenzie and another man whose name is not recorded, on the first recorded ascent of Mauna Loa. They summitted on 16 February and, using a barometer, measured its height to within 50 feet of the modernly accepted value.

Vancouver continued to negotiate with Kamehameha; on 25 February, the King made a formal proclamation of accession, declaring that they were "Tanata no Britanee" (People of Britain). Vancouver's assistance to the King was helpful, particularly in lending tools and skilled workers for building him an armed 36-foot craft, the Britannia. The armaments may have aided Kamehameha's decisive victory at Battle of Nu'uanu, allowing him to unify the islands.

The expedition left Hawaii for the final time on 15 March 1794. They spent late April and early May charting the furthest reaches of what Vancouver renamed Cook Inlet; Vancouver himself reached the head of Knik Arm, while Whidbey reached the head of Turnagain Arm. The last days of May and the second half of June were spent charting Prince William Sound: Whidbey the western half to Bligh Island, and Johnstone from there east and southwards. From here the expedition worked its way eastward. The weather was often freezing, as a result of which not only their store of live turtles (kept for meat) but Menzies' quarterdeck greenhouse froze, killing all his plants. While at Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound, they traded with the Russian settlements and natives alike.

By 9 July, they had anchored in what was named Port Althorp, a cove on the northwest coast of Chichagof Island. Soon Whidbey was dispatched to survey the area. He returned on the 27th. Despite constant rain and more than one hostile encounter with a large group of Tlingits, he was able to explore up Lynn Canal to the heads of both Chilkat and Chilkoot Inlets, and follow the length of the west coast of what was later named Admiralty Island, rounding its southern point to spend a night near Point Townshend on its southeast coast.

They left Port Althorp a few days later, sailing south along the west coasts of Chichagof and Baranof Islands. On the morning of 2 August they reached a cove on the southeast coast of the latter island, which Vancouver later named Port Conclusion. Two boat parties under Whidbey and Johnstone were sent out the next morning; both returned on the 20th "in the midst of a deluge of rain". While Whidbey proceeded up Stephens Passage and completed the survey of the east coast of Admiralty Island (including Seymour Canal and Glass Peninsula) and the continental shore opposite it, Johnstone charted the west, north, and east coasts of Kuiu Island, proving its insularity; the two met each other off the northeast coast of Kupreanof Island, Whidbey having investigated the channel to the east of the island before being stopped by shoals. According to the diaries of several officers, with the completion of their survey, they felt great joy at realizing they could return home. A few days after their return they left Port Conclusion. Unfortunately, as they set out for Nootka, Isaac Wooden was lost in a boating accident off Cape Ommaney, one of the few to die on the expedition. The treacherous rocks off the Cape were accordingly named Wooden Rocks.

Vancouver advanced to post rank on 28 August 1794. Four days later, Discovery and Chatham put into Nootka; all were saddened to learn that Quadra had suddenly died. Brigadier General José Manuel de Álava, the new Governor of Nootka, was cooperative and friendly, but no instructions had arrived to enable the commanders to resolve the situation. Álava and Vancouver were on friendly terms, jointly conducting local explorations, including a large celebration with Maquinna. On 6 October, the survey ships departed for Monterey. Daedalus was sent back to England with the troublesome Mr. Pitt, who had worn out his welcome with multiple disciplinary infractions.

On 6 November, Discovery put into Monterey in Alta California, to learn that while negotiations had most likely been concluded in Europe, there were still no instructions. The expedition left on 2 December, reached the Tres Maria Islands on 17 December for provisions and botanizing, and spent Christmas at sea.

1795
Returning home, the expedition put in at the Cocos Island, Galapagos Islands and the Juan Fernández Islands, reprovisioning whenever possible but beginning to suffer from scurvy.

Although they had orders to avoid Spanish possessions in the Pacific, necessity required some refitting and they had, in addition, orders to survey as much of the coast as possible. Vancouver therefore put into Valparaiso in the Viceroyalty of Peru and present day Chile, on 25 March for five weeks of repairs with the help of the Spanish. The expedition's officers enjoyed an official visit to the Capitan General and Royal Governor of Chile, Don Ambrosio O'Higgins de Vallenar, at the capital Santiago.

On 5 May, Discovery and Chatham sailed from Valparaiso, planning to reunite at St. Helena should weather separate them. The onset of Southern Hemisphere's winter and the badly worn condition of the ships made further survey of the Chilean coast impractical and passage for Cape Horn hazardous. Nonetheless, Vancouver spent much time searching for the island of Isla Grande, previously reported at 46.40.S, and confirmed its nonexistence.

About this time, Lt. Broughton and Lt. Mudge left England in  to assist Vancouver; they reached Monterey long after the expedition made its final departure. Deciding (correctly) that Vancouver would not have left his surveying task unfinished, they departed to chart the coast of east Asia.

On 2 July, Discovery and Chatham put in at St. Helena and learned that the nation was at war; their battered ships were nearly the weakest vessels in the Atlantic. However, they captured a Dutch East Indiaman by surprise. This proved a mixed blessing; putting a crew on the prize required Vancouver to get additional hands where he could. During a storm, he ordered Menzies' servant to aid the crew, leaving Menzies' plants to be damaged; this further angered Menzies.

Off the Cape Verde Islands, Discovery caught up with a British convoy escorted by  and, in relative safety, arrived at Shannon. Vancouver departed the ship to report; Baker brought Discovery safely home to Long Reach on the Thames, completing her four-and-a-half-year mission on 20 October 1795.

Aftermath
The expedition returned to a Britain more interested in its ongoing war than in Pacific explorations.  Vancouver was attacked by the politically well-connected Menzies for various slights. Pitt challenged Vancouver to a duel and attempted to beat him on a London streetcorner. Vancouver was no match for the political opponents ranged against him, and he was dying as well. His massive cartographical work was a few hundred pages short of completion at his death on 10 May 1798, but finished by Puget.

Geopolitically, the expedition reduced Spanish influence in the Pacific Northwest and helped define the boundaries of the Oregon boundary dispute nearly a century later. It also assisted in the unification of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, which lasted until it was overthrown by pro-American elements in 1893. The expedition left the world hundreds, perhaps thousands, of place-names and plant species names.

Vancouver's accountA Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World, by George Vancouver. A 1798 edition of the work is available online in 3 volumes:
 Volume 1: Google Books: Vol. 1 (alternative link Vol 1); Internet Archive: Vol. 1,
 Volume 2: Google Books: Vol. 2; Internet Archive: Vol. 2,
 Volume 3: Google Books: Vol 3; Internet Archive: Vol. 3.

A modern edition (1984) by W. Kaye Lamb was renamed The Voyage of George Vancouver 1791–1795, and published by the Hakluyt Society of London, England.

See also
Robert Gray's Columbia River expedition
Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest

References

 The Captain Cook Encyclopaedia'', by Robson, John. London: Chatham Publishing, 2004. 1861762259. GBP 30.00. From Chatham Publishing

British explorers of North America
Explorers of British Columbia
Exploration of the Pacific Ocean
History of the West Coast of the United States
Pre-Confederation British Columbia
Pre-statehood history of Washington (state)
Pre-statehood history of Oregon
Pre-statehood history of California
Ancient Hawaii
Russian America
Explorers of the United States
1790s in Hawaii
1790s in North America

Vancouver Expedition


Many elements of Caribbean folklore (the orally transmitted beliefs, myths, tales, and practices of a group of people) are African in origin, given that slaves brought from Africa's West (or Gold) Coast made up a large majority of those brought to the region.

Characters

Very popular in terms of Caribbean story-telling, and a direct transfer from West Africa to the Caribbean are the Anancy Stories (Nancy Stories) told throughout the region. Ananse is the Asante word for spider. The trickster Anancy (also known as Ananci, Ananse, Anansi, Ananci Krokoko, and Brer Nancy), with his quick-witted intelligence and his knack for surviving the odds, often through trickery, is the most popular of this genre of African-Caribbean folk-tale characters, although there are other West African influences in folk story characters, including the hare (chief character in the Yoruba folktales) and the tortoise, which features in the stories of the Ibo people.

In addition to these stories, African religious figures also comprise a significant part of Caribbean folklore, many of the supernatural folklore figures possessing characteristics which are identical with those of African deities, and include:

"Papa Bois", who appears in many different forms, sometimes as a deer, or in old ragged clothes, sometimes hairy and though very old, extremely strong and muscular, with cloven hoofs and leaves growing out of his beard. As the guardian of the animals and the custodian of the trees, he is known to sound a cow's horn to warn his friends of the approach of hunters. He doesn't tolerate killing for killing's sake, and the wanton destruction of the forest.

"La Diablesse", the devil woman, is sometimes personified as an old crone, who steps forth with her cloven hoof from behind a tree on a lonely road, the sound of chains mingling with the rustle of her petticoat. Sometimes she takes the form of a beautiful woman, to lure some unsuspecting passerby to his death or perhaps to madness. Although she may appear young, she will be dressed in the ancient costume of these islands: a brilliant madras turban, chemise with half sleeves and much embroidery and lace, zepingue tremblant ("trembling pins of gold"), and all the finery of the by-gone days. Even when she appears beautiful, there is something that betrays her - she often has one hoof and a normal human foot or two hooves which she uses her long, flowing gown to hide.

"Mama Dlo" or "Mama Dglo" (known in West Africa today as Mammy Wata) whose name is derived from the French "maman de l'eau" which means "mother of the water" is akin to the mermaid figure of European folklore and represents West African water spirits and there is a spirit called a cocoya who feasts on children then eats them up - they also can change into different shapes.

The "Soucouyant", whose French-derived names comes from the word "to suck", is personified by a woman, often old, who sheds her skin at night and flies through the skies, sometimes as a ball of flame, to suck blood from her victims.

The "Ligahoo" or "Loup Garou" is a shape changer, a man who has power over nature and the capacity to change form to that of an animal. Or in Caribbean Myths the Loup-Garou is a man who made a deal with the devil, to have the ability to change form (to a werewolf) so that at night he could go around to kill without ever being caught.

Some contemporary Caribbean writers explore Afro-Caribbean folklore themes in their novels, including Nalo Hopkinson, Wayne Gerard Trotman and Marie-Elena John.

Bibliography and Further reading
 Abrahams, Roger D. (1985). African American Folktales: Stories from Black Traditions in the New World. Penguin.
 Elswit, Sharon Barcan (2017).  The Caribbean Story Finder: A Guide to 438 Tales from 24 Nations and Territories, Listing Subjects and Sources.  McFarland & Company, Inc.
 Wolkstein, Diane (1997). The Magic Orange Tree: and Other Haitian Folktales. Penguin Random House.

References

External links

Contemporary Writing based on Trinidad and Tobago folk characters
Contes créoles (Creole tales)
Traditions orales aux Antilles Françaises (Oral traditions in the French West Indies)

Caribbean culture
North American folklore
Folklore by country
Latin American folklore
Folklore by region

Caribbean folklore


Lüliang campaign (吕梁战役), also called Southwestern Shanxi campaign (晋西南战役), was a series of battles fought between the nationalists and the communists in Lüliang region in southwestern Shanxi during the Chinese Civil War in the post World War II era, and resulted in the communist victory.

Prelude
In early November 1946, Hu Zongnan, the commander-in-chief of the nationalist 1st War Zone in an attempt to concentrate nationalist force to attack the communist capital Yan'an, redeployed two nationalist reorganized divisions Shaanxi from southern Shanxi.  Only two nationalist divisions were left for the local defense of southern Shanxi, and in Lüliang region with a total of ten counties, there was only one regiment of the nationalist 2nd War Zone, assisted by local security brigades totaling ten thousand.  The communists decided to take this opportunity by taking the region and annihilating the nationalist garrison in the process.

Order of battle
Defenders: nationalist order of battle:
4 Divisions
Local Security Brigades
Attackers: communist order of battle:
The 4th Column of the communist Shanxi – Henan – Hebei – Shandong Military District
The 2nd Column of the communist Shanxi – Suiyuan Military District
8 regiments of the communist Taiyue (太岳) Military District, including the 24th Brigade

Campaign
On November 22, 1946, the campaign begun as the communist unleashed their attacks.  After a series of battles, the communists succeeded in taking nationalist strongholds including Daning (大宁), Forever Peace (Yonghe, 永 和), Pu (蒲) County, Stone Building (Shi Lou, 石楼), and heavily fortified towns Xi (隰) County and Middle Sun (Zhong Yang, 中阳).  Majority of the local nationalist garrison totaling more than five thousand were captured alive by the enemy, including the nationalist commander-in-chief of the western Shanxi region of the 2nd War Zone, Yang Dengyuan (杨澄源), while the rest were killed.  The rapid success of communist meant that a vast region bordered by the Yellow River in the west, the Datong – Pukou Railway in the east, Middle Sun (Zhong Yang, 中阳) in the north and the Ji (吉) County in the south had fallen into the enemy hands by December 12, 1946, and the rear of the nationalist units planned to attack Yan'an was gravely exposed, and thus seriously threatened by the enemy.  The two nationalist reorganized divisions deployed from southern Shanxi to Shaanxi to attack Yan'an were forced to abandon their original objective and redeployed back to southern Shanxi, and Hu Zongnan was also forced to order another two divisions to attack Daning (大宁) and Pu (蒲) County from Linfen and Ji (吉) County in an attempt to retake the territory lost to the enemy.

Facing the nationalist counteroffensive, the communists formed a new command to better control all of the communist units in Lüliang region, and the three-men committee consisted of Chen Geng (陈赓), the commander-in-chief and Xie Fuzhi, the political commissar of the 4th Column of the communist Shanxi – Henan – Hebei – Shandong Military District, and Wang Zhen, the commander-in-chief of the 2nd Column of the communist Shanxi – Suiyuan Military District.  The communists of the 4th Column decided to maximize the terrain advantage in their next move, since the local landscape was a great obstacle for deploying mechanized force for fast mobile warfare which the nationalists were good at.  The communists planned to lure the enemy deeper into the hostile terrain and annihilate enemy one small portion at a time, and one communist brigade was sent out to penetrate deep behind the enemy line, successfully severed the nationalist supply line.  Meanwhile, eight regiments of the communist Taiyue (太岳) Military District took Yuanqu (垣曲) and Flank City (Yi Cheng, 翼城) in a coordinated attack.  Being attacked by the enemy from the front and rear, and as well as exhausting available supplies, the nationalists attacking Lüliang region were forced to withdraw.  On December 30, 1946, the communist 4th Column annihilated the nationalist rear guard, the 67th Brigade on the highway from the town of Pu (蒲) County to Danning (大宁), and following the success, concluded the campaign by taking the town of Pu (蒲) County on January 1, 1947, badly mauling the nationalist defenders in the process.

Outcome
The nationalists lost over 10,000 troops in this defeat, which disrupted the overall plan to attack the communist capital Yan'an, and the original offensive schedule had to be postponed, thus providing the enemy with ample time to evacuate.  Furthermore, the southwestern Shanxi was constantly under the enemy threat as a result of the nationalist defeat.  The lack of corporation among nationalists themselves was also an important contributor to the enemy's success:  the local Shanxi nationalist warlord Yan Xishan was always fearful of Chiang Kai-shek's takeover and thus refused to send out any of his own troops for reinforcement under the excuse of local areas would be threatened if his troops were sent to southwestern Shanxi to help Hu Zongnan.

See also
List of battles of the Chinese Civil War
National Revolutionary Army
History of the People's Liberation Army
Chinese Civil War

References

Zhu, Zongzhen and Wang, Chaoguang, Liberation War History, 1st Edition, Social Scientific Literary Publishing House in Beijing, 2000,  (set)
Zhang, Ping, History of the Liberation War, 1st Edition, Chinese Youth Publishing House in Beijing, 1987,  (pbk.)
Jie, Lifu, Records of the Liberation War: The Decisive Battle of Two Kinds of Fates, 1st Edition, Hebei People's Publishing House in Shijiazhuang, 1990,  (set)
Literary and Historical Research Committee of the Anhui Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Liberation War, 1st Edition, Anhui People's Publishing House in Hefei, 1987,
Li, Zuomin, Heroic Division and Iron Horse: Records of the Liberation War, 1st Edition, Chinese Communist Party History Publishing House in Beijing, 2004,
Wang, Xingsheng, and Zhang, Jingshan, Chinese Liberation War, 1st Edition, People's Liberation Army Literature and Art Publishing House in Beijing, 2001,  (set)
Huang, Youlan, History of the Chinese People's Liberation War, 1st Edition, Archives Publishing House in Beijing, 1992,
Liu Wusheng, From Yan'an to Beijing: A Collection of Military Records and Research Publications of Important Campaigns in the Liberation War, 1st Edition, Central Literary Publishing House in Beijing, 1993,
Tang, Yilu and Bi, Jianzhong, History of Chinese People's Liberation Army in Chinese Liberation War, 1st Edition, Military Scientific Publishing House in Beijing, 1993 – 1997,  (Volum 1), 7800219615 (Volum 2), 7800219631 (Volum 3), 7801370937 (Volum 4), and 7801370953 (Volum 5)

Conflicts in 1946
Conflicts in 1947
Campaigns of the Chinese Civil War
1946 in China
1947 in China
Military history of Shanxi

Lüliang Campaign


The oceanic crust is the part of Earth's lithosphere that is under the ocean basins.

Oceanic crust is primarily composed of mafic rocks, or sima which is named for its magnesium silicate minerals. It is thinner than continental crust, and is about 7-10 kilometers thick, however it is more dense, having a mean density of about 3.3 g/cm3.

Oceanic crust generally does not last longer than 200 million years. In the rock cycle, it is continuously created at oceanic ridges. At these ridges, hot magma rises into the crust and cools, pushing the crust apart at the ridge. The continuous formation of new oceanic crust pushes the older crust away from the mid-ocean ridge. As it moves away from the ridge, the crust becomes cooler and denser, while the sediment may build on top of it.

Related pages
Continental crust

References

Sources
Marshak, Stephen. (2005) Earth: Portrait of a Planet (41-87)

Other websites
Testing the Sea-Floor Spreading Hypothesis

Geology

Oceanic crust


Interstate 81 is a north-south interstate in the eastern United States. It runs from Dandridge, Tennessee in the south to Wellesley Island, New York in the north; for a total distance for about . It follows the Appalachian Mountains for nearly its entire length.

Interstate 81 begins in Tennessee at Interstate 40 in Dandridge. The route follows the Appalachian Mountains for much of its route through Tennessee and Virginia, serving such cities as the twin cities of Bristol, Tennessee and Bristol, Virginia, Roanoke, Blacksburg, Lexington, Staunton, Harrisonburg, and Winchester.  In Harrisonburg, I-81 cuts through the James Madison University campus. It follows its older counterpart, U.S. Route 11, for its entire length in Virginia.

Interstate 81 briefly enters the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, serving the city of Martinsburg. It then crosses the state of Maryland at one of its narrowest points, passing through the "Hub City" of Hagerstown where it crosses many other routes.

Interstate 81 forms a major north–south corridor through the state of Pennsylvania, serving the boroughs of Chambersburg and Carlisle, where it meets the Pennsylvania Turnpike. But I-81 does not directly interchange with it (motorists must use US 11 to connect). Around the state capital of Harrisburg, the route forms the northeastern section of Pennsylvania's Capital Beltway. The route then travels northeast toward the Wyoming Valley, where it serves the cities of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, then heads north through the Endless Mountains region toward the state line. Although it is signed as a north–south highway, it is distinctly northeast–southwest and occasionally east–west throughout the state.

Interstate 81 enters the state of New York near Binghamton. It follows U.S. Route 11 in a north–south direction, through much of the state. It serves the cities of Syracuse (where it intersects the New York State Thruway), and Watertown. The route ends at the Canadian border at the Thousand Islands Bridge, where it crosses the St. Lawrence River, continuing as a short connector, Highway 137, which serves the Thousand Islands Parkway and Highway 401.

The Interstate 81 Corridor Coalition, a six-state coalition, was organized to handle issues along Interstate 81, such as truck traffic and air pollution.  As of October 15, 2008, this commission has met twice.

Major intersections
 Interstate 40 near Dandridge, Tennessee, northeast of Knoxville, Tenn.
 Interstate 26 between the Tri-Cities, Tennessee
 Interstate 77 and Future Interstate 74 in Wytheville, Va.. They stay joined for about 10 miles (16 km), and go in opposite directions (i.e., this is a wrong-way concurrency, where I-81 North overlaps I-77 South, and vice versa).
 Interstate 64 in Lexington, Va.. They stay joined through Staunton, Va..
 Interstate 66 in Middletown, Va.
 Interstate 70 in Hagerstown, Mary.
 Interstate 76 in Middlesex Township, Pa. (near Carlisle, Pa.)
 Interstate 83 in Harrisburg, Pa.
 Interstate 78 near Jonestown, Pa.)

 Interstate 80  near Hazleton, Pa.)
 Interstate 476/PA Tpk NE Ext. in Dupont, Pennsylvania (near Pittston, Pa.)
 Interstate 84 and Interstate 380 in Dunmore, Pa. (near Scranton, Pa.) Throop Dunmore Interchange
 Interstate 476/PA Tpk NE Ext.(again) in Clarks Summit, Pa.
 Future Interstate 86/NY 17 in Binghamton, NY
 Interstate 88 in Binghamton, NY
 Interstate 690 in downtown Syracuse, NY
 Interstate 90/New York State Thruway in North Syracuse, NY

References

81

Interstate 81


The Water Music is a group of pieces for Baroque orchestra. The pieces were composed by George Frideric Handel. The Water Music is made up of three suites. These suites include minuets, hornpipes, bourrées, and other dances. In total, there are three suites (F major, D major, G major), made up of 22 individual pieces.

Legend says the three suites were first played on a trip taken by King George I of Great Britain up the Thames to Chelsea or Lambeth on 17 July 1717. The King had known Handel for a long time. For some reason though, he was angry with Handel.  The Water Music was Handel's way of appeasing the King. Fifty musicians floated alongside the King's barge playing the suites. The King was so pleased he ordered Water Music played three times.

Another legend has it that he played it for a party King George was having. It says he hired Handel to write a piece of music for him and his royal friends to listen to while sailing in the water; thus the name Water Music.

All the instruments in the Baroque orchestra were included in the composition, except the harpsichord and timpani. It would have been difficult to bring these instruments aboard a barge. The instruments in a complete performance are a flute, two recorders, two oboes, one bassoon, two horns, two trumpets, strings, and continuo.

Other websites

Compositions by George Frideric Handel
Suites

Water Music (Handel)


The Face Reader is South Korean movie released on September 11, 2013.  It was made by director Han Jae-rim and actor Song Kang-ho (who has also acted in the movie Snowpiercer) appears in the title role of the movie. It won six awards at the 50th Grand Bell Awards, including Best Film, Best Director for Han Jae-rim, and Best Actor for Song Kang-ho. Also, at The 33rd annual Korean Association of Film Critics Awards held on November 29, The Face Reader also won three awards for Best Male Actor, Best New Actor, and Best Music Score.

Historic background
King Munjong (1414–1452), the fifth King of the Joseon Dynasty, succeeded King Sejong in 1450 as the first son of him. However, two years later because of disease he died and was followed by his young son King Danjong. King Danjong ascend the thrown at the age of 12 and was forced to abdicate by his uncle, Grand Prince Suyang who became Sejo of Joseon, and exiled to Yeongwol County. Sejo produced a coup d'état and became the seventh king himself in 1455

Plot
The main character, Nae-gyeong, could not run for public office as the son of a disgraced yangban live in seclusion and works as a physiognomist. He is able to assess the personality, mental state and habits of a person by looking at his or her face. One day, Yeon- hong who is a famous gisaeng in Joseon dynasty visits him to suggest a partnership that reading the faces of Yeon-hong's guest and receiving money. As becoming famous at hanyang, a capital city of Joseon dynasty, he was called from the royal courts where he seeks out the talented person who can do work well. Meanwhile, King Munjong who has feeling of danger as his condition gets worse orders Nae-gyeong to identify the potential traitors who threaten his reign. After the death of Munjong, Nae-gyeong tries to keep his loyalty to the late King and help Kim Jongseo protect the young King which forces him into the biggest power struggle in the history of the Joseon dynasty.

References
http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/article/2328/critics-awards-snowpiercer-face-reader-both-win-3-awards-korean-film-critics-awards
http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/jsp/films/index/filmsMore.jsp?strMenuId=010401&movieCd=20126091

South Korean movies
2013 movies

The Face Reader


Salvation Boulevard is a 2011 comedy thriller film with religious satire undertones directed by George Ratliff and starring Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Greg Kinnear, Marisa Tomei, and Jim Gaffigan. It is based on the novel of the same name by Larry Beinhart.

Plot
Carl Vandermeer is a former Deadhead turned evangelical. He, his wife Gwen and his stepdaughter Angie attend a megachurch, the Church of the Third Millennium, run by the charismatic Pastor Dan Day, who is planning to expand his church into a large Christian community, "City on a Hill". At the start of the film, the Vandermeers attend a debate between Pastor Dan and Professor Paul Blaylock, an outspoken atheist. At the end of the debate, Pastor Dan is invited to Blaylock's college for a nightcap. He brings along Carl. At Blaylock's office, he reveals that he invited Pastor Dan over to propose that the two of them, both bestselling authors, collaborate on a book about their opposing worldviews and views on religion. During a discussion about morality without religion, Pastor Dan picks up an antique pistol and pulls the trigger on Blaylock, unaware that the gun is loaded and functional. The bullet hits Blaylock in the skull, apparently killing him. In a state of shock, Pastor Dan places the gun in Blaylock's hand to make it look like a suicide. He and Carl then drive home in silence, neither of them telling anyone what happened.

After getting a call from a stranger claiming to be his "friend", Pastor Dan approaches Carl's neighbor, videographer Jerry Hobson, and appears to confess to what happened. At the sermon the next day, Pastor Dan informs the congregation that Blaylock survived his "suicide", the bullet was removed and he is in a coma. After the sermon, Jerry takes Carl aside and gets into his car. During the drive, Jerry turns out to have been told by Pastor Dan that Carl was the one who pulled the trigger and tried to cover it up. Jerry drives Carl to a quarry and tries to execute him. He is distracted when Angie, who was asleep in the backseat of the car, interrupts the act, allowing Carl to knock Jerry out with a rock. Carl then meets with Gwen and her father, Jim Hunt, and tells them what happened with Pastor Dan and Jerry, but neither believes him, thinking it was a dream or an "acid flashback". Realizing they will tell Pastor Dan, Carl goes to Blaylock's college, where he runs into Honey Foster, a friend from his Deadhead days who became campus security and met him at the debate. He asks her to turn in the footage from a security camera that would have seen him and Pastor Day enter, but finds that the footage has been altered to erase them - apparently by Jerry, who worked at the campus as a video technician.

Meeting with Gwen and Jim, Pastor Day convinces them that Carl may be unstable and will react violently if he is caught by the police. Meanwhile, since most of the police are loyal to Pastor Dan, Honey lets Carl hide at her house until things blow over. While they are out driving, Carl's car is stopped by a group of armed men who kidnap him. He wakes up in the house of Jorge Guzman de Vaca, a Mexican crime lord who claims he is in Mexico. Guzman shows that he has a secret recording of Pastor Dan shooting Professor Blaylock. He makes Carl write down and sign two confessions. One tells the truth of what happened, but in the other Carl backs up Pastor Dan's story. Guzman, who has a large business in construction, plans to use the recording to blackmail Pastor Dan into giving him the contract to build City on a Hill, promising to keep Carl in the house until the project is done.

The next morning, when Guzman, revealed to be Pastor Day's mysterious "friend", leaves to make the deal, Carl escapes the house, which turns out to be in the same state as the church, with a DVD containing the footage hidden in a bible. He calls Gwen, asking her not to tell Pastor Dan and to call the police, and later sees a news report revealing that Professor Blaylock has woken up and can tell the truth. Carl is picked up by a detective, who turns out to be in league with Pastor Dan and Jerry, whom Gwen called instead. Jerry and the detective take a handcuffed Carl to an abandoned warehouse to burn him with gasoline, but discover that none of them have any matches or a lighter. When they try to light the gasoline with a stun gun, they bungle it and get set on fire themselves, allowing Carl to escape. Meanwhile, Pastor Dan meets with Guzman at the construction site of City on a Hill. Guzman tries to play the DVD of the shooting, but instead plays a sex tape he made with his wife. Offended, Pastor Dan starts hitting him, but is stopped when Guzman stabs him in the abdomen and leaves him in the trunk of a car. After a while, Carl arrives by foot and finds the bleeding Pastor Dan, who is hallucinating because of the blood loss and thinks he is at the Pearly Gates, and calls for help on a cell phone. Thinking Carl is an angel, Pastor Dan asks him if he is going to heaven. Out of sympathy, Carl tells him he is. As Carl waits for help to arrive, a bolt of lightning strikes the ground behind him, severing his handcuffs.

The credits reveal that Pastor Day survived, spent two years in jail, where he founded a new ministry inspired by his near-death experience, and became a real-estate broker in Arizona. Gwen divorced Carl citing irreconcilable differences, though Carl still has a good relationship with Angie. Jim started his own private investigation firm and went back to his old Episcopal church. Professor Blaylock continued his teachings against religion. Carl, on the other hand, left the church, began a relationship with Honey and became an "ex-ex-Deadhead."

Cast
Pierce Brosnan as Dan Day, the powerful leader of a church
Greg Kinnear as Carl Vandermeer, an ex-Deadhead and member of Pastor Dan's church
Jennifer Connelly as Gwen Vandermeer, Carl's wife
Marisa Tomei as Honey Foster, a pot-smoking campus security guard
Ed Harris as Dr. Paul Blaylock, an atheist professor who doesn't buy Dan's theories
Isabelle Fuhrman as Angie Vandermeer, Carl's stepdaughter
Jim Gaffigan as Jerry Hobson, Pastor Day's cameraman
Ciarán Hinds as Jim Hunt, Gwen's ex-Marine father
Yul Vazquez as Jorge Guzman De Vaca, a Mexican crime lord

Production
Filming took place in Michigan, particularly Ann Arbor and Dearborn, in April and June 2010.

Release
Salvation Boulevard premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2011, where it was acquired by IFC Films. It was given a limited release on July 15, 2011, in the United States. It  was released on DVD on September 18, 2012.

Reception
A.O. Scott of The New York Times wrote "there is the inkling of a strong, interesting idea here, about how some versions of modern religion are predicated on the systematic denial of reality, but Salvation Boulevard is itself too loosely tethered to the actual world to make the point with the necessary vigor or acuity". On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 23% based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 4.29/10.

References

External links

2011 films
2011 independent films
Films with atheism-related themes
Films shot in Michigan
American comedy-drama films
Films based on American novels
Films about evangelicalism
Films about religion
Films scored by George S. Clinton
2010s English-language films
2010s American films

Salvation Boulevard


The Misadventures of Merlin Jones is a 1964 Disney movie starring Tommy Kirk, Leon Ames, and Annette Funicello. It is a family-oriented comedy about a high school boy who experiments with hypnosis and creates a mind-reading machine. It was directed by Robert Stevenson.

This movie was the next to last Disney movie for both Kirk and Funicello. They would make The Monkey's Uncle for Disney in 1965 then sign with American International Pictures for their teen "beach party" movies.

1964 movies
Disney movies
English-language movies
Movies produced by American International Pictures

The Misadventures of Merlin Jones


Fort Abbas was formerly known as "Pholra". In 1927, Nawab Sir Sadiq Abbasi changed this name and gave it the name of his elder son, Muhammad Abbas.

History
Fort Abbas is a historic city of Bahawalnagar District in the Punjab Province of Pakistan. This city is on the border and the language is Punjabi. Fort Abbas is a largest tehsil by land area. It is one of the five tehsils of Bahawal Nagar district. It is connected with other parts of the country through road and railway track. One side is connected with the Pakistan/India border. Internet, telephone, and mobile are available.

Fort Abbas has forest, desert and agricultural land. Major crops are wheat, cotton and sugar cane.

Historically it's part of Abbasi state Bahawalpur. Once River Ghagra passed through and the city was on the bank of the river. Now nothing is there, even the city fort is demolished.

Agriculture
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, BWN Campus made a research study on climate and agricultural conditions in Fort Abbas. They found that a lot of the area is not appropriate for crops and vegetation. There are lot of reasons behind it:

desert
water supply is not enough
people do not have agricultural knowledge and formal education
lake of phosphoros and zinc in land of Fort Abbas

Tehsils of Punjab (Pakistan)
Bahawalnagar District

Fort Abbas


Mohawk Airlines Flight 405, a Fairchild Hiller FH-227 twin-engine turboprop airliner registered N7818M, was a domestic scheduled passenger flight operated by Mohawk Airlines that crashed into a house within the city limits of Albany, New York on March 3, 1972, on final approach to Albany County Airport (now Albany International Airport), New York, killing 17 people. The intended destination airport lies in the suburban Town of Colonie, about 4 miles north of the crash site.

Flight history
The flight, which originated in New York City, encountered problems during its final approach to runway 01 at Albany. The weather at the airport was reported to the flight crew as "ceiling indefinite, 1,200 feet obscured, 2 miles visibility in light snow, surface winds (from) 360 degrees (north) at 9 knots". As the Fairchild FH227B twin-engine turboprop reached 8.5 miles from the airport, the flight crew contacted Mohawk's operations center via radio and informed them that the left propeller was 'hung up' in the cruise pitch lock, which would prevent normal thrust reduction on that side, needed for landing. At about 5 miles out, the flight crew notified Albany Approach Control that they were trying to perform an emergency 'feathering' of the left propeller. As they continued to descend and struggle with the propeller, they advised the controller that they were going to "land short". The plane subsequently crashed into a house 3.5 miles south of the runway. Of the 3 crew members and 45 passengers, 2 crew members and 14 passengers were killed, as well as one occupant of the house.

Investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) launched a full investigation into the accident, which included a three-day public hearing in Albany on April 25 through April 27, 1972, and a deposition in Washington, D.C. on May 19, 1972. Both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder were recovered from the wreckage, and their recorded data was found to be intact and usable. The investigation revealed that as the flight crew attempted to reduce thrust on the left engine during the final approach, they were unable to remove the 'cruise pitch lock' mechanism that is used to maintain a cruise thrust setting. When they subsequently attempted to perform an emergency feathering and shutdown procedure on that engine, they were able to shut down the engine but unable to achieve a feathering of the propeller. This eventually resulted in the left propeller creating a high amount of asymmetric drag while windmilling; so much so, that the other engine operating at full power was not able to arrest the resulting uncontrollable descent.

The NTSB, despite investing substantial investigative resources trying to uncover the reasons behind the two unusual and seemingly separate propeller-related malfunctions, was unable to shed light on either one. It was not able to replicate the 'pitch lock stuck' malfunction, nor adequately explain why the crew subsequently failed to effect the standard feathering procedure to properly shut down and reduce the thrust and drag on the left side.

In effect, by not being able to properly secure the left engine, an unwanted asymmetric high thrust situation turned into an irreversible unwanted high asymmetric drag, which eventually resulted in an inevitable and premature descent and crash.

In its final report, issued on April 11, 1973, the Board determined the following Probable Cause for the accident:

The inability of the crew to feather the left propeller, in combination with the descent of the aircraft below the prescribed minimum altitudes for the approach. The Board is unable to determine why the left propeller could not be feathered.

The Board also found the following Contributing Factors:

Contributing causal factors for the nonstandard approach were the captain's preoccupation with a cruise pitch lock malfunction, the first officer's failure to adhere to company altitude awareness procedures, and the captain's failure to delegate any meaningful responsibilities to the copilot which resulted in a lack of effective task sharing during the emergency. Also, the Board was unable to determine why the propeller pitch lock malfunctioned during the descent.

In subsequent correspondence between the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), included in the final report, the NTSB questioned the then-available operating procedures and manuals for the aircraft. The NTSB found that there was insufficient guidance to pilots in the handling of "Cruise Pitch Lock Stuck" condition. For example, it was not clear based on existing instructions and guidelines whether a missed approach would be indicated and/or possible under these circumstances, and if so, what would be the recommended procedure to successfully execute the maneuver. Also, the condition of a shut down but unfeathered engine, i.e. windmilling propeller with high asymmetric drag and minimum control implications, which was encountered in this accident, was insufficiently covered, according to the NTSB.

Safety recommendations
As a result of its investigation into the accident and in light of its findings, the NTSB also issued the following safety recommendations:
That shoulder harnesses be provided to and worn by the flight crew
That flight attendant seats be designed for improved G-force tolerance
That emergency lighting switches be armed prior to every flight
That flight crew coordination procedures be reinforced during initial and recurrent training, so that especially during emergency situations, one crew member always flies the aircraft, and making appropriate altitude and airspeed callouts is always clearly assigned to one crew member

See also
List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft
Mohawk Airlines Flight 411

References

External links
 Airliners.net Photo of accident aircraft N7818M, one day prior to accident, on March 2, 1972 in La Guardia Airport, New York
 Aviation-Safety.net Photo of aircraft N7818M crash aftermath, on March 4, 1972 in Albany, New York
 Airlinecolors.com Images and historical overview
NTSB Report - See copy at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Summary NTSB Report
Carol DeMare, "Recalling scenes of death from the sky", Albany Times Union, May 1, 2006

Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error
Airliner accidents and incidents caused by mechanical failure
Airliner accidents and incidents caused by engine failure
Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1972
1972 in New York (state)
Mohawk Airlines accidents and incidents
Accidents and incidents involving the Fairchild F-27
Airliner accidents and incidents in New York (state)
History of Albany, New York
March 1972 events in the United States

Mohawk Airlines Flight 405


The Triple Alliance was a military alliance (agreement to fight together) between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, that lasted from 1880 until the start of World War I in 1914.  The three countries promised to help each other if another country attacked them.  Some Italian people were not happy about the agreement because Austria-Hungary was an old enemy.  In 1914, the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente (France, Russia and the United Kingdom) started World War I. In 1915, Italy left the alliance and fought against Austria-Hungary and Germany from 1916.

The triple Alliance had many strong points but also negative ones. The positive ones were: the Alliance included two very powerful countries which were industrialized but the negatives were that if war were to be declared they would be encircled by the Triple Entente (France, Russia, and Britain). That would mean that they would have to divide their troops in two which would make the Germans much weaker

Bismark was the man behind the formation of the Triple Alliance. It was started as a dual alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary because Germany had defeated the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871.

With the outbreak of war amongst all of Europe, the Ottoman Empire joined the Triple Alliance in a pursuit of protection and power.

German Empire
History of Austria
Treaties of Hungary
Treaties of Italy
Military alliances
World War I
1882 establishments in Europe
1914 disestablishments in Europe

Triple Alliance (1882)


The Vleeshal is a historical building dating from 1603 on the Grote Markt in Haarlem, the Netherlands.

History

Vleeshal means meat-hall, as it was the only place in Haarlem where fresh meat was allowed to be sold from 1604 to the 18th century; salted meat was instead sold in the Warmoesstraat, the street next to the building. This function is illustrated by the ox-heads on the front of the building.

It was designed in renaissance style by Lieven de Key. It was built from 1602 to 1603. Before that there was already a small Vleeshal on the crossing of the Spekstraat and the Warmoesstraat, but around 1600 it had become too small, and the meat had to be sold outside. The new building was a prestigious project; expensive materials and a beautiful design were used. It opened on November 1, 1604. There was room for 40 different meat merchants in the building.

The building was in use as meat-hall until 1840. Afterwards it was used by the National Archive (Rijksarchief) and the Haarlem Public Library.

Two Museums
Since 1950 the building has been in use as a gallery by the Frans Hals Museum, which holds art exhibitions there under the name "Frans Hals Museum - Hal". The entrance to that museum is through the house directly to the right of the building. The cellar of the Vleeshal is used by the Archaeological Museum Haarlem, which has a permanent exhibition on various aspects of the archeology of Haarlem, as well as a modest exhibition area for new finds. The entrance to that museum is through the small door on the left leading down into the cellar.

Replicas
The West End Collegiate Church on West End Avenue in Manhattan, New Amsterdam is modeled after the Vleeshal.

References

External links
 Website

Buildings and structures completed in 1603
Museums in Haarlem
History of Haarlem
Rijksmonuments in Haarlem
Frans Hals Museum
1603 establishments in the Dutch Republic

Vleeshal


A voltage-controlled filter (VCF) is an electronic filter whose operating characteristics (primarily cutoff frequency) can be set by an input control voltage. Voltage controlled filters are widely used in synthesizers.

A music synthesizer VCF allows its cutoff frequency, and sometimes its Q factor (resonance at the cutoff frequency), to be continuously varied. The filter outputs often include a lowpass response, and sometimes highpass, bandpass or notch responses.
Some musical VCFs offer a variable slope which determines the rate of attenuation outside the bandpass, often at 6 dB/octave, 12 dB/octave, 18 dB/octave or 24 dB/octave (one-, two-, three- and four-pole filters, respectively).
In modular analog synthesizers, VCFs receive signal input from signal sources, including oscillators and noise, or the output of other processors. By varying the cutoff frequency, the filter passes or attenuates partials of the input signal.

In some popular electronic music styles, "filter sweeps" have become a common effect. These sweeps are created by varying the cutoff frequency of the VCF (sometimes very slowly). Controlling the cutoff by means of a transient voltage control, such as an envelope generator, especially with relatively fast attack settings, may simulate the attack transients of natural or acoustic instruments.

Historically, musical VCFs have included variable feedback which creates a response peak (Q) at the cutoff frequency. This peak can be quite prominent, and when the filter's frequency is swept by a control, partials present in the input signal resonate. Some filters are designed to provide enough feedback to go into self-oscillation, and it can serve as a sine-wave source.

ARP Instruments made a multifunction voltage-controlled filter module capable of stable operation at a Q over 100; it could be shock-excited to ring like a vibraphone bar. Q was voltage-controllable, in part by a panel-mounted control. Its internal circuit was a classic analog computer state variable "loop", which provided outputs in quadrature.

A VCF is an example of an active non-linear filter. The characteristic musical sound of a particular VCF depends on both its linear (small-signal) frequency response and its non-linear response to larger amplitude inputs.

Synthesizer filter types
 Transistor ladder filter
 Diode ladder filter
 Sallen-Key filter
 OTA filter

See also
 Audio filter
 Electronic filter
 Electronic filter topology
 Non-linear filter
 Self oscillation
 Subtractive synthesis
 Voltage-controlled amplifier
 Voltage-controlled oscillator

References

External links
 Schematics and PCBs for building your own VCF

Nonlinear filters
Synthesiser modules

Voltage-controlled filter


Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) created by British chemist Stewart Adams.  It is used to stop pain, help reduce fevers, relieve arthritis pain, and acts as an inflammatory part. Ibuprofen is used to relieve pain from various conditions such as headache, dental pain, menstrual cramps, muscle aches, or arthritis. It is also used to reduce fever and to relieve minor aches and pain due to the common cold. If you are treating a chronic condition such as arthritis, ask your doctor about non-drug treatments and/or using other medications to treat your pain. See also Warning section.

Check the ingredients on the label even if you have used the product before. The manufacturer may have changed the ingredients. Also, products with similar names may contain different ingredients meant for different purposes. Taking the wrong product could harm you. If you are taking the over-the-counter product, read all directions on the product package before taking this medication. If your doctor has prescribed this medication, read the Medication Guide provided by your pharmacist before you start taking ibuprofen and each time you get a refill. If you have any questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Take this medication by mouth, usually every 4 to 6 hours with a full glass of water (8 ounces/240 milliliters) unless your doctor directs you otherwise. Do not lie down for at least 10 minutes after taking this drug. If you have stomach upset while taking this medication, take it with food, milk, or an antacid.

The dosage is based on your medical condition and response to treatment. To reduce your risk of stomach bleeding and other side effects, take this medication at the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time. Do not increase your dose or take this drug more often than directed by your doctor or the package label. For ongoing conditions such as arthritis, continue taking this medication as directed by your doctor.

When ibuprofen is used by children, the dose is based on the child's weight. Read the package directions to find the proper dose for your child's weight. Consult the pharmacist or doctor if you have questions or if you need help choosing a nonprescription product.

For certain conditions (such as arthritis), it may take up to two weeks of taking this drug regularly until you get the full benefit.

If you are taking this drug "as needed" (not on a regular schedule), remember that pain medications work best if they are used as the first signs of pain occur. If you wait until the pain has worsened, the medication may not work as well.

If your condition persists or worsens, or if you think you may have a serious medical problem, get medical help right away. If you are using the nonprescription product to treat yourself or a child for fever or pain, consult the doctor right away if fever worsens or lasts more than 3 days, or if pain worsens or lasts more than 10 days.

References

Analgesics
Carboxylic acids

Ibuprofen


There are various allegorical representations of Argentina or associated in any way with Argentina. There is not, however, a national personification with its own name, like Marianne from France, or Hispania from Spain, but sculptures and engravings representing liberty, republic, motherland or other concepts that have been used officially by the Argentine state.

Sculptures
Despite the absence of a character with fixed traits, the allegory of Argentina is usually a female figure dressed in robes and wearing a Phrygian cap, which also appears on the Argentine coat of arms. Figures such as these appear in dozens of engravings, reliefs, plaques, paintings, memorials and sculptures. Some of the memorials that include an allegorical representation of Argentina are the "Monumento Nacional a la Bandera" in Rosario, the "Monumento de los Españoles" in Palermo, the "Monumento al Guardacostas" in Puerto Madero, the "Monumento a la Gesta de Malvinas" in Quequén and the "Monumento al Ejército de Los Andes" in Mendoza, among others. An allegorical representation is also figurehead of the ARA Libertad, the flagship of the Argentine Navy. Allegories regularly appeared in official memorabilia for the Centenary celebrations, as well as a prominent decorative feature in state buildings and logos of government departments at the turn of the century.

May Pyramid
The May Pyramid was remodeled in 1856 under the artistic direction of Prilidiano Pueyrredón who commissioned the French artist Joseph Dubourdieu to build what the press of that period defined "a colossal statue of Liberty". Inaugurated a few days before the anniversary of May Revolution, the statue represents a figure very similar to the representation of the goddess Athena, crowned with a Phrygian cap, armed with a spear in one hand and an Argentine shield as a defense in the other one. Although most sources mention the statue as an allegory of Liberty, in a publication of the Historic and Numismatic Museum of the Central Bank of Argentina, is considered an allegory of the Republic.

Bust in the White Hall

Chairing the White Hall in the Casa Rosada, where traditional ceremonies and important announcements related to the executive branch are made, a bust of a woman with thick hair and the Coat of Arms of Argentina as a brooch in her chest is located. The work, done by Italian sculptor Ettore Ximenes, is entitled "The Republic", but others consider it a bust of "Motherland".

Mausoleum of General San Martín
In 1880, the remains of General José de San Martín were brought from France and placed in a mausoleum inside the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral. The black sarcophagus is guarded by three life-size female figures that represent Argentina, Chile and Peru, three of the regions freed by the General.

Monetary emissions
The first representation of an allegorical figure to appear on Argentine banknotes was the goddess Athena (historical symbol of Athenian democracy), commissioned by the National Bank of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata during the Cisplatine War. The Greek goddess also appeared in banknotes issued by the National Bank during the governorship of Juan Manuel de Rosas in the Buenos Aires Province. However, the first figure to transmit a sense of regionality is displayed in a series of banknotes printed by Britain and emitted by the Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires in 1867, where a young woman is seen holding a shovel in her left hand and a shepherd's crook in her right hand (representations of agriculture and animal husbandry, respectively).

In some of the first peso moneda nacional banknotes, various unidentified female figures showing her legs or her chest appear, "as the seductive image of a State that attracts citizens via women". The monetary reorganization, that begun during the first presidency of Julio Argentino Roca, imposed the use of designs which were developed as to have a greater permanence in time. Two allegorical figures present in the first unified issues of currency and banknotes, the Bust of Liberty and the Effigy of Progress, would be recurring in later releases.

Bust of Liberty

One of the most recurrent figures in Argentine currency is the Effigy of Liberty by the French artist Eugène André Oudiné, which shows the profile of a woman with a serene face, abundant hair loose to the wind and a Phrygian cap. Oudiné carved his Effigy of Liberty in 1881, by order of the engineer Eduardo Castilla, first president of the Casa de Moneda, to illustrate the reverse of the coins of the peso moneda nacional, whose creation was enacted that same year to unify the monetary system of country. The Liberty of Oudiné was present in monetary emissions without interruption until 1942, when it was replaced by a modern bust made in 1940 by French sculptor Lucien Bazor. However, it reappears in the emission of 1957, and is present in subsequent designs of peso ley, peso argentino and austral.

A slightly different version appears on the banknotes of fifty cents m$n,  in circulation between 1942 and 1960. This effigy can be compared with the design of Oudiné, and considered inspired by Liberty Leading the People. The Liberty of Oudiné also appears in the logo of the Central Bank of Argentina, and the former company Gas del Estado. It is also used in the seals of the Internal Revenue law present in cigarette packs.

Effigy of Progress

Another common allegorical figure, in this on banknotes, is an Effigy of Progress which features a woman sitting, holding an Argentine shield with one hand and a lighted torch with the other. The design, which is usually attributed to the French writer Louis-Eugène Mouchon was carried out for illustrating the front of the peso moneda nacional banknotes as a result of Act. 3505 of 1897, which authorized the Caja de Conversión to renew and unify all paper currencies in the period. The Effigy of Progress would be present in all series of banknotes by the Caja de Conversión from 1899 until 1935, when it was replaced by the Central Bank of Argentina, and will not be replaced until 1942, when the Central Bank made its first series of banknotes. The same figure, surrounded by laurels, reappears half a century later on the back of all austral banknotes.

Apart from being identified with Progress, whose formalization is posterior, the figure was initially interpreted as an Effigy of the Republic.

Bicentennial celebrations
During the festivities and celebrations of the Argentine bicentennial, the young actresses Josefina Torino and Ivanna Carrizo interpreted the figure of Motherland.  The artists were inspired by several sculptures, including the statue of the Republic on the frontispiece of the Museo Histórico Sarmiento. The production looked specifically for two actresses with mestizo features, as a way to include indigenous peoples in Argentina in the representation

Gallery

See also
National personification
Gaucho
Allegory of Hispania
Marianne
Liberty Leading the People

References

National personifications
Argentine culture
National symbols of Argentina

Allegorical representations of Argentina


Private equity is investment in shares outside a stock exchange.

Investors, often from institutions like funds, give a company money, and in turn buy part of that company. The most common types of private equity are: leveraged buyouts, venture capital, growth capital, distressed investments and mezzanine capital.

In leveraged buyouts, investors buy the majority control of a mature company. In venture capital or growth capital investment, investors give money to start-up companies.

Finance

Private equity


The Lady Southern Cross was a Lockheed Altair monoplane owned by Australian pioneer aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith.

In this aircraft, Kingsford Smith made the first eastward trans-Pacific flight from Australia to the United States, in October and November of 1934.

Delivery
In April 1934, Kingsford Smith ordered an aircraft from Lockheed for use in the MacRobertson Air Race in October of that year. The aircraft was rebuilt from a Lockheed Sirius originally built for George R. Hutchinson in 1930.

The aircraft was delivered by ship to Sydney, Australia in July 1934, bearing Kingsford Smith's requested blue livery and the name 'ANZAC'. However, before it could be flown in Australia, the Government objected to the commercial use of ANZAC (the use of which remains restricted in Australian law today), and Kingsford Smith was forced to remove it.

After finally getting the machine, now named Lady Southern Cross, out of Customs, Kingsford Smith and copilot Patrick Gordon Taylor set several speed records flying between Australian cities as they prepared to fly to England for the race.  With all paperwork finally complete, they began the flight to England on 29 September 1934, with a first leg planned to end in Darwin.  However, dust storms and stress failure of the engine cowling turned them back to Sydney, and they were forced to withdraw from the race. The race was subsequently won, and a new speed record set, by a British de Havilland DH.88 racing aircraft.

Trans-Pacific flight
Now in financial trouble, and with the Lady Southern Cross facing withdrawal of its airworthiness certificate if it did not leave Australia, Kingsford Smith decided to attempt the first eastward crossing of the Pacific Ocean by aircraft, from Australia to the United States.

Kingsford Smith and Taylor departed Archerfield Airport on 21 October 1934, for the reverse journey from that the Southern Cross had made in 1928; Brisbane-Fiji-Hawaii-Oakland.  Bad weather in Fiji and the need for extensive repairs to the fuel and oil systems in Hawaii meant the flight took considerably longer than the 1928 flight - 15 days vs 9 - despite the Altair being a much faster aircraft than the Fokker.

After arriving safely in Oakland on 4 November 1934, the Lady Southern Cross was left in the care of Lockheed at Burbank, California for repair, overhaul and storage.

England-Australia
With the Lady Southern Cross substantially repaired and rebuilt in Burbank, Kingsford Smith flew cross-country to New York in September 1935 and had the Lady Southern Cross put on a ship to England.  After obtaining a British airworthiness certificate, and having been turned back once by a hailstorm over Italy, Kingsford Smith and co-pilot Tommy Pethybridge left Croydon Airport in London on 6 November 1935 in an attempt to break the England to Australia speed record set during the MacRobertson Air Race.

Disappearance
Kingsford Smith and Pethybridge were flying the Lady Southern Cross overnight from Allahabad, India, to Singapore (c.2200 mi.), while attempting to break the England-Australia speed record, when they disappeared over the Andaman Sea in the early hours of 8 November 1935. Aviator C.J. Melrose claimed to have seen the Lady Southern Cross fighting a storm 150 miles from shore and 200 feet over the sea with fire coming from its exhaust.

Eighteen months later, Burmese fishermen found an undercarriage leg and wheel (with its tyre still inflated) which had been washed ashore at Aye Island in the Gulf of Martaban,  off the southeast coastline of Burma, some  south of Mottama (formerly known as Martaban). Lockheed confirmed the undercarriage leg to be from the Lady Southern Cross. Botanists who examined the weeds clinging to the undercarriage leg estimated that the aircraft itself lies not far from the island at a depth of approximately . The undercarriage leg is now on public display at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia.

In 2009 a Sydney film crew claimed they were 100% certain they found the Lady Southern Cross. The location of the claimed find was widely mis-reported as "in the Bay of Bengal" - the 2009 search was at the same location where the landing gear had been found in 1937, at Aye Island, in the Andaman Sea.  However, this claim was treated with scepticism by well-known businessman and pilot, Dick Smith, while Kingsford Smith's biographer, Ian Mackersey, described it as "complete nonsense".

See also
List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea
Southern Cross (aircraft)

References

External links
 Ian Mackersey
 Ron Cuskelly

1930s missing person cases
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1935
Individual aircraft
Missing aircraft
People lost at sea

Lady Southern Cross


George Butterworth (born London, 12 July 1885; died Pozières, France,  5 August 1916) was an English composer. He was killed while fighting in World War I.  He is best known for a group of songs which are settings of poems by  A. E. Housman.

Early years

Butterworth was born in London.  His father was a solicitor who later became the general manager of the North Eastern Railway.  The family moved to Yorkshire soon after George's birth. He had his first music lessons from his mother, who was a singer, He soon started to compose music. His father wanted him to be a solicitor and so he sent his son to Eton College.  From there he went to Trinity College, Oxford. At Oxford he became more and more involved with music, especially after he met the folk song collector Cecil Sharp and composer and folk song enthusiast Ralph Vaughan Williams. Butterworth and Vaughan Williams made several trips into the English countryside to collect folk songs.  Both of them were influenced by English folk songs when they were composing.   Butterworth was also a very good folk dancer.  He was particularly fond of Morris dancing.

Vaughan Williams and Butterworth became close friends. It was Butterworth who said to Vaughan Williams that it would be a good idea to turn the symphonic poem he was working on into his London Symphony. When the manuscript for that piece was lost in the post Butterworth and two other musicians helped Vaughan Williams to write it out again.   Vaughan Williams dedicated the piece to Butterworth's memory after his death.  When he left Oxford, Butterworth became a music critic for The Times as well as composing  and teaching at Radley College, Oxfordshire. He also studied at the Royal College of Music for a short time, working with people such as Hubert Parry and Charles Villiers Stanford.

First World War

Although Butterworth had lots of work he often felt that his life had no purpose.  When  World War I broke out, Butterworth felt that he could be useful so he joined the British Army.  He was killed by a sniper in 1916 at Pozières leading a raid during the Battle of the Somme. His body was not found, and his name appears on the Thiepval memorial, near the site of the Somme.  He was awarded the Military Cross, and a trench was named after him.

A Shropshire Lad

Butterworth did not write a great deal of music, and during the war he destroyed many of his compositions that he thought were not good enough.  Of those that survive, his works based on A. E. Housman's collection of poems A Shropshire Lad are the best known. Many English composers of Butterworth's time set Housman's poetry, including Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Butterworth wrote two song cycles on Housman's poems.  They include some of the best-loved English songs of the 20th century, especially Is My Team Ploughing? and  Loveliest of Trees.  He used this last song as the basis for his 1912 orchestral rhapsody, also called A Shropshire Lad.  It is full of soft, tender music as well as passion.

References
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie, 1980, .

Other websites
An essay on Butterworth's life and music

1885 births
1916 deaths
20th-century English composers
Romantic composers
British military personnel of World War I

George Butterworth


The frottola (plural: frottole) was the most popular kind of secular (non-religious) song in Italy during the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

Frottole were quite simple and fun.  They were often sung by small groups of singers.  They were not contrapuntal, but they had a tune in the top part while the other singers sang chords to accompany the tune.  Sometimes they might have been sung by a solo voice with a lute accompaniment.

The most famous composer of frottole was Bartolomeo Tromboncino.  The great composer Josquin also composed frottole, although that is not what he called them.  For example, there is a well-known one called El Grillo ( The Cricket) in which the singers try to sound like the chirping of a cricket in the grass.

About the year 1530 the frottola developed into the madrigal.

Song forms

Frottola


Improvisation is the art of performing without a script or rehearsal.

Music
In music, improvisation is the art of playing an instrument (or singing) in which the musician or musicians make up the music as they play.  Improvising is inventing at the same time as one does something.  Some musicians only play music when they have written music in front of them, but it can be great fun to improvise music.  It is a way of composing. Improvisation is common during a jam session.

In Baroque times, all musicians were taught to improvise because composers often did not bother to write all the notes down.  Musicians would have improvised lots of ornaments, and even whole sections.

Many great composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Liszt were famous for their keyboard improvisations.

Organists are often expected to improvise during a service.  In this way they can fill in gaps in the service when there would otherwise be silence, they can make a smooth link between one piece of music and the next, and they can create the right atmosphere.  In Baroque times, in the Lutheran church, organists would improvise a chorale prelude.  This was a piece of music which uses the melody of the chorale (hymn) that the congregation sang.  Bach was one of many composers who wrote many of his chorale preludes down.  In more recent times, some famous concert organists often finish an organ recital by playing an improvisation.  This might be quite a long piece with several linked movements, finishing with a fugue.  Somebody may give them the theme written on a piece of paper, so that it is quite unprepared. Charles Tournemire, Marcel Dupré, Pierre Cochereau, Pierre Pincemaille are known to be great organ improviser.

A lot of people who play folk music improvise.  Traditional folk music would not have been written down.

In traditional jazz the musicians usually improvise.  It is quite tricky when a group of people are improvising together.  They have to listen to one another and get ideas from one another.  It can be a very exciting way of making music.

Comedy
Improvisation also refers to a type of performance.  Improvisation (or improv for short) is often used in comedy.  Actors or Improvisers will create an entire show that they make up as they go along. They will often ask the audience for an idea or suggestion. They will then do a short performance based on the suggestion. This lets them do many different short performances during each night's show. This is called "Short-form improv".

musical performance techniques
Plays
Theatrical forms

Improvisation


The Abbey library of St. Galllen () is a library in St. Gallen, Switzerland. It was attached to the abbey of St. Gallen. This abbey had a great importance in the Middle Ages. Today, there are about 2,100 manuscripts from the Middle Ages, about 1 650 Inucabula (books and sheets printed before 1501) and early printings before 1520, as well as about 160,000 books. The library is the oldest library in Switzerland. The manuscript B of the Nibelungenlied is kept here.

Libraries in Europe
St. Gallen

Abbey library of St. Gallen


Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris (birth name), (6 October 1887 – 27 August 1965), known by the popular name of Le Corbusier, was an architect and writer born in Switzerland. In the 1930s, he became a French citizen. He is famous for his theories about modernism in architecture. His plans included the improvement of housing for people in large cities. This was because many people lived in poverty at that time. Many of his designs have been built across the world.

He also liked to paint and was skilled at designing furniture.

Early life

Le Corbusier grew up in La Chaux-de-Fonds, a small town in the north of Switzerland. In 1907, aged 19, he moved to the French city of Paris. He travelled across Europe, and learned a lot of new ideas. He learned to speak German and worked with famous architects, such as Peter Behrens.

The World War
During World War I, Le Corbusier went back to Switzerland and became a teacher. Soon, he opened his own architectural business with his cousin, and they worked together until 1940. It was in 1918 that he met a painter, Amédée Ozenfant, who would become a great friend. They combined their ideas to create a new type of art called Purism.

Post-World War
After the war, Le Corbusier concentrated on his art until 1922. After this, he began designing apartments that could be stacked on top of each other, to house people and meet their needs. This type of low-density housing was to deal with the problem of over-crowding in Paris. He said this transformation was needed, or a revolution could occur from the unhappy lower classes. He created a design for an ideal city (Ville Contemporaine) that was never built. It was a plan developed around a lot of skycrapers. He presented this plan to the French government, who refused it. This did raise their awareness of overcrowding in the city though.

1930s
Le Corbusier began to dislike capitalism, and said that people's house size should depend on the size of their family, and not by how rich they were.

Later life
Le Corbusier was not active in politics from 1942. Instead, he built smaller housing blocks around France.

His name
The name, Le Corbusier, is French. It is a different version of his grandmother's surname, Lecorbésier. The name translates in to English as "the crowlike one". He chose this name in 1920.

Famous ideas
 Le Corbusier said that buildings should be built with transportation, especially the car, in consideration. He was one of the first architects to suggest this, and now almost every city planner considers this when designing a building.

He considered speed in architecture by saying that house is a machine to live in. This machine's purpose is to speed up the activities of the people who live in it.
He introduced an idea of building a residence with just some slabs, columns, and, stairs. These three things can produce any kind of residence, for any class of people.

1887 births
1965 deaths
French architects
French writers
Swiss writers
Urban planners
People from La Chaux-de-Fonds

Le Corbusier