Farming or tax-farming is  a technique of financial management in which the management of a variable revenue stream is assigned by legal contract to a third party and the holder of the revenue stream receives fixed periodic rents from the contractor. It is most commonly used in public finance, where governments (the lessors) lease or assign the right to collect and retain the whole of the tax revenue to a private financier (the farmer), who is charged with paying fixed sums (sometimes called "rents", but with a different meaning from the common modern term) into the treasury.

Farming in this sense has nothing to do with agriculture, other than in a metaphorical sense.

Etymology
There are two possible origins for farm.

Derivation from classical Latin
Some sources derive "farm" with its French version ferme, most notably used in the context of the Fermiers Generaux,  from the mediaeval Latin firma, meaning "a fixed agreement, contract", ultimately from the classical Latin adjective firmus, firma, firmum, meaning "firm, strong, stout, steadfast,  immoveable, sure, to be relied upon".  The modern agricultural sense of the word stems from the same origin, in that  a medieval land-"holder" (none "owned" land but the king himself under his allodial title) under feudal land tenure might let  it (i.e. lease it out) under a contract as a going concern (not as a sub-infeudated fee), that is to say as a unit producing a revenue stream, together with its workers, livestock and deadstock (i.e. implements), for exploitation by a tenant who was licensed by the contract, or firma, to keep all the revenue he could extract from the holding in exchange for fixed rents. Thus the rights to the revenue stream produced by the land had been farmed by the lessor (therefore strictly perhaps the "farmor") and the tenant became the "holder of the farm", or to coin a word, "farmee". Because this was the form of the farming transaction most known to popular society, the word "farmer" became synonymous with a tenant of an agricultural holding.

Derivation from Old English
According to other sources, the word farm comes from Middle English ferme ("farm, rent, revenue; revenue collected from a farmer; factor, stewardship, meal, feast"), from Old English feorm, farm ("provision, stores of food, supplies, possessions; provisions supplied to the king or a lord by a tenant or vassal; rent, feast, benefit, assylum"), from Proto-Germanic *firmō, *firχumō ("means of living, subsistence"), from Proto-Indo-European *perkwu- ("life, strength, force"). It is related to other Old English words such as feormehām ("farm"), feormere ("purveyor, grocer"), feormian ("to provision, sustain"), and feorh ("life, spirit"). The Old English word is stated by these sources as having unusually been  borrowed by Medieval Latin as firma or ferma and to have provided the Old French ferme "farm", Occitan ferma "farm". This is refuted by those sources which state firma to derive from classical Latin firmus. The word continued the same senses of "rent, farmed office, source of revenue, feast". The meaning "rent, fixed payment", which was already present in the Old English word, was further strengthened due to the word's resemblance to the unrelated (so say these sources) Latin firmus ("firm, solid"), and firmitas ("security, firmness").

Valuation of a farm
The tenant of a farm can only make a profit after carefully assessing its value. While modern financial management theory employs scientific formulae for such calculations, astute financiers of the past would have understood them well, whether done mentally or by making marks in the sand.

To determine the maximum rent they are willing to pay, the tenant estimates the long-term average yearly gross value of the revenue stream, based on past records and accounts, adjusting for any new circumstances affecting the future. They then deduct a risk element and a discount for the time value of money.

The risk is related to the possibility of some debts forming the revenue stream being defaulted on or paid late, leading to variability in the revenue. The resulting figure becomes the maximum rent the tenant offers to the farm's lessor. The tenant's profit is the excess of revenues extracted from the farm, less the rents, administration, levying, and collection expenses.

The tenant's skills lie in negotiating a favorable rent by overstating the riskiness of the cash flow stream and effectively managing the assigned debts as a skilled debt-collector and manager. They must ensure their ability to enforce debt payments, including resorting to legal action and paying standard fees for bringing a lawsuit under the government authority that is the farm's lessor. The tenant acts as a principal, not the lessor's agent.

Historical use

Roman Empire

Tax farming was originally a Roman practice whereby the burden of tax collection was reassigned by the Roman State to private individuals or groups. In essence, these individuals or groups paid the taxes for a certain area and for a certain period of time and then attempted to cover their outlay by collecting money or saleable goods from the people within that area. The system was set up by Gaius Gracchus in 123 BC primarily to increase the efficiency of tax collection within Rome itself but the system quickly spread to the Provinces. Within the Roman Empire, these private individuals and groups which collected taxes in lieu of the bid (i.e. rent) they had paid to the state were known as publicani, of whom the best known is  the disciple of Jesus Matthew the Apostle, a publicanus in the village of Capernaum in the province of Galilee. The system was widely abused, and reforms were enacted by Augustus and Diocletian.  Tax farming practices are believed to have contributed to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in Western Europe.

Feudal England
Medieval English kings frequently made grants "in fee-farm", a form of feudal tenure. An example is the following writ of King William II (1087–1100) granting a hundred court to be held in fee-farm by  Thorney Abbey:

William, king of the English, to all the sheriffs and barons of Huntingdonshire, greeting. Know that I have granted the Hundred of Normancross to the abbot and monks of Thorney to be held in fee-farm for an annual rent of 100 shillings which I order them to pay to my sheriff at Huntingdon. And I forbid any of my officers to do them injury or insult in respect of this.

Medieval Egypt
The Chief Rabbi of Egypt, Sar Shalom ben Moses was accused of tax farming, which led to his excommunication by Maimonides.

Ottoman Empire
The iltizam () is a non-heritable tax-farming system and was established under Sultan Mehmet II; however this changed by the 18th century and holders of grants-for-life (maliktanes) developed their own landowning class. It was officially terminated in 1856 during the Tanzimat reforms.

Other uses
Besides the Romans, historical examples include the tax collection methods of the Ptolemies, Seljuks, Mamluks, Ottomans, the French State prior to Louis XVI (see ferme générale), and Russia prior to 1862 and the Dutch East Indies (see pacht) prior to the twentieth century. In many cases, such as the Abbasid practice of Iqta, these rights were granted by an authority, in this example the caliph, for services rendered or promised. In the Byzantine pronoia system, similar rights were often purchased from the crown. Though such arrangements in some respects seem similar to the feudal system, there are significant disparities, including continuance of state power and, at least in the case of pronoia, theoretical time limits on the grant. In many cases, including those mentioned, tax rights were not transferable or divisible, unlike feudal fiefdoms.

Sometimes, as in the case of Miguel de Cervantes, the tax farmer was a government employee, paid a salary, and all money collected went to the government.

Advantages
Tax farming was an important step in the history of economic development by providing a method for collecting taxes across a large area without the need for a tax-collecting bureaucracy, or during periods when such a bureaucracy is unworkable or impossible to maintain. Systems of tax farming similar to the Roman model were used in Ptolemaic Egypt, various medieval Western European countries, the Ottoman and Mughal empires, and in Qing dynasty China.  As states become stronger, buoyed up by revenues brought in by tax farming, the practice was discontinued in favour of centralized tax collection systems. In part this was because tax farming systems tended to rely on wealthy individuals outside the state machinery, gangs, and secret societies.

Disadvantages
The key flaw in the tax farming system is the tension between the state, which seeks a long-term source of taxation revenue, and the tax farmers, who seek to make a profit on their investment in as short a time as possible. As a result, tax-farmers often abuse the taxpayers in various ways, tending them to switch their economic activity from strategic long-term projects to short-term revenue generation. In barter systems, tax farmers commonly undervalue taxes in kind, reselling the goods to create a second profit source. Such abuses stifle economic growth by restricting the ability of the tradesman to reinvest in his business, limiting the quantity of taxes generated over the long-term.

Modern-day

Indian sub-continent
In Bangladesh and India tolls on bridges and roads and dues from public properties such as lakes and forests are often leased to private persons or firms.

Disambiguation

Privatized tax collection
Tax farming is not synonymous with modern privatized tax collection, where private individuals or companies collect taxes and pass them to the state in return for a commission or fee, without bearing any risk consequent of default by the taxpayer. Tax farming is speculative, meaning that the tenant of the farm bears the full risk of defaulted debts. In addition, a tenant is often required as a term of the lease to make an early rent payment, which must be financed from his own resources until the revenue stream subject to the farm has started to be collected.

Factoring
In the United Kingdom, some tax collection of "lower value debts" by HMRC has been outsourced to debt collection agencies from July 2010. However, debt collection agencies, like invoice factors, are not truly farmers of revenue streams, as they do not bear any risk of default. Rather they make loans in expectation of future receipts, such loans being always recoverable and secured on the income stream itself.

Simple commutation
In 1999 the National Board of Revenue in Bangladesh (NBR) negotiated with cigarette producing firms a minimum amount of value added tax (VAT) that should be paid per month even though  VAT is an ad valorem tax, that is to say of variable yield. The NBR took this step because under the self-clearance system monitoring of production and sales of cigarettes proved to be difficult. It was agreed that if the cigarette producing firms paid the minimum revenue fixed by the NBR, physical monitoring would be withdrawn. The NBR resorted to this technique of financial management  to avoid the large costs of monitoring while gaining more in revenue with certainty.

See also
Fee farm grant
Hollow state
Maona
Octroi
Pacht: the system of tax farming in the Dutch East Indies
Privatized tax collection
Public-private partnership

References

Further reading
 Chowdhury, F. L. (2007), NBR's attempt at Tax Farming – fixed VAT on Cigarettes in 1999, Desh Prokashon, Dhaka.
 Levi, M. Of (1988), Rule and Revenue, California Series on Social Choice and Political Economy (13), University of California Press.
 Stella, P. (1992), Tax Farming: A Radical Solution for Developing Country Tax Problems? (September 1992). IMF Working Paper No. 92/70.

External links
 Roman Taxes

Public finance
History of taxation
Land tenure

Farm (revenue leasing)


Maria Stuarda is an Italian opera in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti, libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, after Friedrich Schiller's play Maria Stuarda. It was first performed in Naples, on October 19,1835, under the name of Buondelmont due to censorship problems, and in its original version in Milan, on December 30, 1835. One of Donizetti's finest work, it is notable for the confrontation scene between Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth I of England, which in real life never took place. It was heartbreaking. The soprano later became famous and well loved.

Principle roles and voice types

 Maria Stuarda - soprano

Sources
 The Complete Dictionary of Opera & Operetta, James Anderson, Wings Books, 1993.

Compositions by Gaetano Donizetti
1830s operas

Maria Stuarda


County Clare () is a county in the province of Munster in the  Southern part of the republic of Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 127,938 at the 2022 census. The county seat and largest settlement is Ennis.

Geography and subdivisions
Clare is north-west of the River Shannon covering a total area of . Clare is the seventh largest of Ireland's 32 traditional counties in area and the 19th largest in terms of population. It is bordered by two counties in Munster and one county in Connacht: County Limerick to the south, County Tipperary to the east, and County Galway to the north. Clare's nickname is the Banner County.

Baronies, parishes and townlands

The county is divided into the baronies of Bunratty Lower, Bunratty Upper, Burren, Clonderalaw, Corcomroe, Ibrickan, Inchiquin, Islands, Moyarta, Tulla Lower and Tulla Upper. These in turn are divided into civil parishes, which are divided into townlands. These divisions are cadastral, defining land boundaries and ownership, rather than administrative.

Towns and villages

 Ardnacrusha
 Ballynacally
 Ballyvaughan
 Barefield
 Boston
 Bridgetown
 Broadford
 Bunratty
 Carrigaholt
 Carron
 Clarecastle
 Clonlara
 Connolly
 Coolmeen
 Cooraclare
 Corofin
 Cranny
 Cratloe
 Cree (Creegh)
 Cross
 Crusheen
 Doolin
 Doonaha
 Doonbeg
 Ennis
 Ennistymon
 Fanore
 Feakle
 Inagh
 Inch
 Kilbaha
 Kilfenora
 Kilkee
 Kilkishen
 Kildysart
 Killaloe
 Killimer
 Kilmaley
 Kilmihil
 Kilmurry McMahon
 Kilnaboy
 Kilnamona
 Kilrush
 Labasheeda
 Lahinch
 Liscannor
 Lisdoonvarna
 Lissycasey
 Meelick
 Milltown Malbay
 Mountshannon
 Mullagh
 Newmarket-on-Fergus
 O'Brien's Bridge
 O'Callaghan's Mills
 Ogonnelloe
 Parteen
 Quilty
 Quin
 Ruan
 Scariff
 Shannon
 Sixmilebridge
 Toonagh
 Tuamgraney
 Tubber
 Tulla
 Whitegate

Physical geography

Bodies of water define much of the physical boundaries of Clare. To the south-east is the River Shannon, Ireland's longest river, and to the south is the Shannon Estuary. The border to the north-east is defined by Lough Derg which is the third-largest lake in Ireland. To the west is the Atlantic Ocean, and to the north is Galway Bay. Loop Head (Irish: Ceann Léime, meaning 'leap head') is the county's westernmost point of land.

County Clare contains The Burren, a unique karst region, which contains rare flowers and fauna. At the western edge of The Burren, facing the Atlantic Ocean, are the Cliffs of Moher. The highest point in County Clare is Moylussa, , in the Slieve Bernagh range in the east of the county.

The following islands lie off the coast of the county:
 Aughinish
 Inishmore (or Deer) Island
 Inishloe
 Mutton Island
 Scattery Island

Climate

History

County Clare hosts the oldest-known evidence of human activity in Ireland. The patella of a bear, which was subject to butchering close to the time of death, was found in the Alice and Gwendoline Cave, near Edenvale House, Clarecastle. The bone features a number of linear-cut marks, and has been dated to circa 10,500 BC, from the Paleolithic era. This discovery, publicized in 2017, pushed back Ireland's occupation by 2,500 years—what was previously regarded as the oldest site of occupation was the Mesolithic site of Mount Sandel, County Londonderry. This bear bone was discovered in 1903 during an archaeological excavation but was not studied until over a century later.

There was a Neolithic civilization in the Clare area—the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen: single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones. Clare is one of the richest places in Ireland for these tombs. The most noted one is in The Burren area; it is known as Poulnabrone dolmen, which translates to "hole of sorrows". The remains of the people inside the tomb have been excavated and dated to 3800 BC.

Ptolemy created a map of Ireland in his Geographia with information dating from 100 AD; it is the oldest written account of the island that includes geographical features. Within his map, Ptolemy names the Gaelic tribes inhabiting it and the areas in which they resided; in the area of Clare, he identified a tribe known as the Gangani. Historians have found the tribes on the west of Ireland the most difficult to identify with known peoples; however, historians William Camden and Charles O'Conor speculated a possible connection between the Gangani and the Concani, one of the eleven tribes in the confederacy of the Cantabri in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula.

During the Early Middle Ages, the area was part of the Kingdom of Connacht ruled by the Uí Fiachrach Aidhne. In the Middle Ages, it was annexed to the Kingdom of Munster to be settled by the Dalcassians. It was renamed Thomond, meaning North Munster. Brian Boru became a leader from here during this period, perhaps the most noted High King of Ireland.

From 1118 onwards the Kingdom of Thomond was in place as its own petty kingdom, ruled by the O'Brien clan. After the Norman invasion of Ireland, Thomas de Clare established a short-lived Norman lordship of Thomond, extinguished at the Battle of Dysert O'Dea in 1318 during Edward Bruce's invasion.

There are two main hypotheses for the origins of the county name "Clare". One is that the name is derived from Thomas de Clare who was deeply embroiled in local politics and fighting in the 1270s and 1280s. An alternative hypothesis is that the county name Clare comes from the settlement of Clare (now Clarecastle), whose Irish name  (plank bridge) refers to a crossing over the River Fergus.

English colonization

In 1543, during the Tudor conquest of Ireland, Murrough O'Brien, by surrender and regrant to Henry VIII, became Earl of Thomond within Henry's Kingdom of Ireland. Henry Sidney as Lord Deputy of Ireland responded to the Desmond Rebellion by creating the presidency of Connaught in 1569 and presidency of Munster in 1570. He transferred Thomond from Munster to Connaught, which he shired, Thomond becoming County Clare.

About 1600, Clare was removed from the presidency of Connaught and made a presidency in its own right under the Earl of Thomond. When Henry O'Brien, 5th Earl of Thomond died in 1639, Lord Deputy Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford decreed Clare should return to the presidency of Munster, but the Wars of the Three Kingdoms delayed this until the Restoration of 1660.

Clare's county nickname is the Banner County, for which various origins have been suggested: the banners captured by Clare's Dragoons at the Battle of Ramillies; or the banner of Catholic emancipation raised by Daniel O'Connell's victory in an 1828 by-election for County Clare that led to Parliament passing the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829.

Scattery Island, in the Mouth of the Shannon off the Clare coast, was transferred to Limerick Corporation and the county of the city of Limerick after the dissolution of the monasteries in the mid-16th century. It was assigned to County Clare after the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840. Under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, part of the judicial county of Galway (Drummaan, Inishcaltra North and Mountshannon electoral divisions) was transferred to county Clare. This area contains the village of Mountshannon on the north-western shore of Lough Derg.

Governance and politics

Local government

The local authority for the county is Clare County Council.

Fianna Fáil lost its overall majority on the council in 2004. As of the 2009 local election, Fianna Fáil is the largest party, with 13 of the 28 seats.

The county seat is at Ennis, which also serves as a major regional hub for County Clare. Among its emergency services, it contains the Ennis Hospital, the HQ of the Clare Divisional Garda, the Clare Fire Brigade and Civil Defence.

The council has two representatives on the Southern Regional Assembly, where it is part of the Mid-West strategic planning area.

Former districts
Prior to 2014, there were four town councils in Clare: Ennis, Kilrush, Kilkee and Shannon. All town councils in Ireland were abolished under the Local Government Reform Act 2014.

National politics
Since 1921, County Clare has been represented in Dáil Éireann by the constituency of Clare, which currently has four Teachtaí Dála (TDs). Since 2020, the whole of the county has been in the constituency. At various times, portions of County Clare have been in other constituencies: Clare–South Galway (1969–77), Galway West (1977–81), Limerick East (1992–2011) and Limerick City (2011–20).

The constituency was historically a Fianna Fáil stronghold. Prominent former TDs for Clare include Éamon de Valera, who became Taoiseach and President and former president Patrick Hillery.

It is part of the European Parliament constituency of South (5 seats).

Demography

The population of Clare was 127,419 people at the 2022 census. The main urban areas are Ennis with a population of 27,923 and Shannon with 10,256.

The demographic profile for Clare in general is fairly young: 22% are under age 14, while 12% are over 65, compared to the national average of 20% and 11%, respectively. There is a slightly higher percentage of males with 50.5%, while females number 49.5%.

English is the main language spoken in Clare. The vast majority of the population are Irish people, accounting for 86%. Most immigrants are Europeans, totalling an additional 7,520; there is also a small African minority of 1,124 people, while other ethnic groups are very small in number.

In addition, Clare had a large diaspora due to vast emigration during the 19th century. There are millions of people around the world who can trace their family background to Clare; such descendants are found mostly in North America, Great Britain, Australia, South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand. Many people from the Irish diaspora visit the Clare area to trace their family roots and background.

Most of the names in Clare are derived from sept members of the Dalcassian race of Gaels. Some of the most common examples are O'Brien, O'Dea, McMahon, McInerney, McNamara, McGarry, Moloney, O'Grady, Hogan, Considine, Griffey/Griffin and Lynch. Names of assimilated Norman origin include Burke, Dalton, and Comyn.

Religion

The great majority of the population follow Christianity; at least 92% of the people in the area polled as part of the Ireland Census 2006 identified as Christians. There are numerous abbeys and priories in Clare. Some of the ruins of such structures, such as Scattery Island, Bishop's Island, and Drumcliff monasteries, are ancient, dating to the sixth century when Christianity was first introduced to Ireland. The former was founded by Saint Senan, who was born locally near Kilrush in 488 and is counted amongst the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.

Numerous other saints came from Clare, such as Flannan, Mochulleus, Moula, Caimin, Maccreiche, Munchin and more. In the present day, the Catholic Church still commands a large majority, with 88% of the populace declaring themselves as followers of the religion. This percentage is slightly higher than the national average.

Most of Clare falls under the Catholic Diocese of Killaloe, which is part of the ecclesiastical province of Cashel and Emly. The Bishop of Killaloe is seated at the St Peter and Paul Cathedral in Ennis. A small portion of the north-western part of Clare falls under the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora.

As part of the local council's architectural conservation project, around eighty Christian churches have been designated as protected structures. Among the more notable structures are the ruins of Corcomroe Abbey, Quin Abbey and Dysert O'Dea Monastery.

The largest religious minority is the Church of Ireland, which is part of the Anglican Communion. It has just under 2,000 adherents in Clare. The county is part of the Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe, one of the three cathedrals of the diocese being St Flannan's Cathedral in Killaloe. Other religious communities in Clare are very small in comparison. In 2016, about 11% of the population reported no religion. Up from 5% in 2011

Places of interest

Places of interest include:

Cliffs of Moher
Doolin
Inis Cealtra (Holy Island) in Lough Derg
Kilbaha
Kilkee
Loop Head
Scattery Island
Spanish Point
The Burren
Bunratty Castle

Gaeltacht
West Clare and some pockets in East Clare were recognised as part of the Gaeltacht, or Irish-speaking area, by the Irish Free State government in the original Coimisiún na Gaeltachta in 1926. The most prominent of these areas with native Irish language speakers were west of Ennis in Kilmihil, Kilrush, Doonbeg, Doolin, Ennistimon, Carrigaholt, Lisdoonvarna and Ballyvaughan. However, by the time of the second Coimisiún na Gaeltachta in 1956, the decline in the number of Gaelic speakers had been such that West Clare was removed from the list. It remained covered by the Gaeltacht (Housing) Acts until 2001.

Close geographic proximity to the Aran Islands (which were once part of Thomond) and local trade with fishermen from there meant that the language was used by residents of Fanore, Murroogh, Doolin and Quilty more than in other places. The last native Clare Irish speaker, the seanchaí Paddy Pháraic Mhíchíl Ó Sionáin (Shannon) of Fisherstreet, Doolin, died in the early 1990s.

In the early 21st century, the pressure group Coiste Forbartha Gaeltachta Chontae an Chláir sought to restore the official status of West Clare as a Gaeltacht area. They are encouraging immersion classes to revive use of the language.

Music

County Clare has a strong history of Traditional music. It is the home of the Kilfenora Céilí Band, the Tulla Céilí Band, Stockton's Wing, Elizabeth Crotty, Sharon Shannon, Noel Hill, Peadar O'Loughlin, Martin Hayes and legendary tin-whistler Micho Russell. Ennis in County Clare is also the birthplace of Grammy-nominated singer Maura O'Connell whose grandmother started a fish market in the town. The county has many traditional music festivals and one of the most well known is the Willie Clancy Summer School, which is held every July in the town of Milltown Malbay in memory of the renowned uilleann piper, Willie Clancy.

Andy Irvine has written two songs celebrating County Clare: one is "West Coast of Clare" (recorded with Planxty in 1973), in which he mentions Spanish Point and Milltown Malbay. The other is "My Heart's Tonight in Ireland" (recorded on his solo album Rain on the Roof in 1996, and again on Changing Trains in 2005), in which he mentions several towns and villages in County Clare: Milltown Malbay, Scariff, Kilrush, Sixmilebridge, Kilkishen, Lahinch, Ennistymon, Liscannor and Kilkee, and also makes two references to the music of Willie Clancy:
In the town of Scarriff the sun was shining in the sky
When Willie Clancy played his pipes and the tears welled in my eyes
Many years have passed and gone since the time we had there
But my heart's tonight in Ireland in the sweet County Clare.
...
Lahinch and Ennistymon, Liscannor and Kilkee
But best of all was Milltown when the music flowed so free
Willie Clancy and the County Clare I'm ever in your debt
For the sights and sounds of yesterday are shining memories yet.

Milltown Malbay is home to Oidhreacht an Chlair, an institute for higher education in all aspects of Irish tradition, history and literature.

Sport
The Clare hurling team has one of the best records of success in the country in recent years with many cups such as the Liam MacCarthy Cup having been won in 1914, 1995, 1997 and 2013 and also finalists in 2002. Clare won the Munster Final in football in 1992 beating Kerry. There is a strong Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) presence in County Clare with the founder of the GAA, Michael Cusack, having been born in Carron which is situated in the heart of The Burren in North Clare. Irish rugby internationals from Clare include Keith Wood, Anthony Foley & Marcus Horan.

Transport

Clare is served by two national primary roads—a classification referring to the major routes between major urban centres in Ireland. This includes the N18 connecting Limerick to Galway, which passes through Ennis and by route of the N19—Shannon. These two roads are part of the wider Western and Southern Corridor connecting many of the major settlements right across the island in these areas. There are also some significant national secondary roads—across the coast, stretching from Ballyvaughan, through Ennistymon and Kilkee, before arriving at Kilrush is the N67. In addition to this the N68 connects Kilrush to Ennis, while Ennis is connected to Ennistymon via the N85.

Mainland public transport is mostly limited to buses ran by Irish Government owned company Bus Éireann; there are around 25 buses running frequent routes which pass through the majority of large settlements in Clare. Clare Bus, runs a limited number of "accessible buslines". The Ennis railway station operated by government-owned Iarnród Éireann is the most significant railway station in Clare today; it was opened on 2 July 1859. By route of Limerick the trains run from Ennis to Dublin and it generally takes 3 hours to complete the journey. There was previously a far more extensive local railway network in Clare, laid while part of the United Kingdom, the West Clare Railway was in existence from its opening in 1887 by Charles Stewart Parnell until 1961 covering much of the county. It was quite inefficient, however, leading Percy French to write the song Are Ye Right There Michael? about his experience. Much of it was dug up and dismantled by the Irish government from the 1950s to the 1970s after being deemed uneconomic; however, there remains local advocacy groups who wish to conserve and restore parts of it.

The third-busiest airport in Ireland is located in Clare with the Shannon Airport, which officially opened in 1945. Along with Dublin Airport and Cork Airport it is one of the three primary airports in the country, handling 3.62 million passengers in 2007. Shannon was the first airport in Ireland to receive transatlantic flights. Ryanair is the main airline handling flights with Great Britain and Continental European countries such as Spain, France and Germany as the primary destinations. Much traffic from the United States is received, which Aer Lingus mostly handles; it is sometimes used as a military stopover which has caused some controversy in the country, but nonetheless has generated significant revenue for the airport. There are some local ferry services as much of the county is surrounded by water; there is one from Killimer to Tarbert Island in Kerry and also from Doolin to the Aran Islands of Inisheer and Inishmore.

People

 Gerald Barry, composer
 Pat Breen
 Joe Carey
 Tony Killeen
 Timmy Dooley
 Síle De Valera
 Shane O'Donnell
 Naomi Carroll
 Edna O'Brien
 Brendan O'Regan
 Des Lynam

See also
 High Sheriff of Clare
 List of rivers of County Clare
 Lord Lieutenant of Clare
 Wild Atlantic Way

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

External links

  War Of Independence in Clare
 Clare County Council
 Clare County Library
 Tourist Attractions

Clare
Clare
Clare

County Clare


Pablo Sebastián Álvarez Valeira (born 17 April 1984 in San Martín, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine former football player, who played as a defender. He also holds a Spanish passport in accordance with his descent.

Club career

Argentinos Juniors
Álvarez came through the youth systems of Argentinos Juniors, starting in 1995, before transferring to Boca Juniors in 1999.

Boca Juniors
Following his transfer from Argentinos Juniors to Boca Juniors in 1999, Álvarez joined the youth system at the club, before breaking into the Boca first team in 2003, making his league debut. During the 2003–2004 Argentine season, the young defender continued to play in the youth ranks, but made 4 first team appearances, and in 2004 he won his first title by helping Boca to win the Copa Sudamericana. Álvarez continued to impress, and in his first full season with the first team, the fullback made 15 appearances.

Estudiantes
In July 2005 Álvarez surprisingly left Boca Juniors to join Estudiantes de La Plata, where he won the second title of his career. On 13 December 2006, Álvarez played for Estudiantes against Boca Juniors in a playoff to decide the winner of the Apertura 2006. Estudiantes won the game 2–1 to claim their first league title in 23 years. In just two seasons with the club, Álvarez made 55 appearances for his club, also netting 2 goals. Following his impressive displays during the 2006–07 season, he was linked with a host of European clubs, but remained at Estudiantes over the summer transfer window, making an additional 15 appearances for his club

Calcio Catania
In January 2008, however, Álvarez joined Sicilian giants Calcio Catania in the Italian Serie A, teaming up with former teammate Matias Silvestre, who also transferred to Catania in January 2008, from Boca Juniors. Under then-coach Silvio Baldini, Álvarez failed to make the imposed impact, and made just 6 league appearances in 5 months. Following the appointment of Walter Zenga, as the new head coach, Álvarez was set to remain at the club for the 2008–09 season, but failed to make an impact yet again, making just 6 additional appearances between August 2008 and January 2009, and thus, was sent out on loan to Rosario Central in order to gain more playing time and game experience. He signed for the Argentine club on 7 January 2009. During his loan spell, the player made 14 league appearances, and returned to Sicily on 30 June 2009.

Under new head coach Siniša Mihajlović, Álvarez became a more valuable player in the squad following the departure of right back Gennaro Sardo, and eventually surpassed Alessandro Potenza for the starting right full back position. Álvarez made over 30 appearances for his Catania, in his return season, and was an undisputed starter for much of the season. He was noted for his big-team peak performances, as he notably kept Argentine star Diego Milito at bay in a 3–1 win for Calcio Catania over Inter Milan at the Stadio Angelo Massimino, as well as Ronaldinho in a 2–2 draw with A.C. Milan at the San Siro. Catania also notably defeated Juventus, in a season, that the team reached a record points total in the Serie A, finishing in 13th position, also making it to the semi-finals of the 2009–10 Coppa Italia. Catania reached a record points total for the third consecutive year during the 2010–11 Serie A season, and again for a fourth consecutive season during the 2011–12 Serie A campaign. During that campaign however, Álvarez was used in just 8 league matches by coach Vincenzo Montella, and on 31 January 2012, Álvarez was loaned out to La Liga club Real Zaragoza for the rest of the season. He made his debut for the club on 12 February 2012, and returned to Catania upon the expiration of his loan deal.

His return to Sicily proved to be very successful; and under new-boss Rolando Maran, Álvarez again established himself as the club's starting right back. He has since featured in 27 official matches for the club, and scored his first goal for i rossazzuri in the 2012–13 Coppa Italia.  Álvarez is part of a record-breaking Catania outfit that had picked up 56 points from 38 Serie A matches. This performance saw the club also break its record number of home victories in a single season, its record number of victories overall in a single top flight campaign, as well as its record points total in Serie A for the fifth consecutive season.

Return to Rosario
After leaving Catania on a free transfer at the start of 2014–15 season, he then rejoined Rosario Central on a permanent transfer in January 2015.

Honours
Boca Juniors
Copa Sudamericana: 2004

Estudiantes
Primera Division Argentina: Apertura 2006

References

External links
 Argentine Primera statistics
Pablo Alvarez at football lineups
Voetbalkrant.com Profile

1984 births
Living people
Argentine men's footballers
Argentine expatriate men's footballers
Argentine sportspeople of Spanish descent
Citizens of Spain through descent
Argentine emigrants to Spain
Men's association football defenders
Footballers from San Martín, Buenos Aires
Boca Juniors footballers
Estudiantes de La Plata footballers
Rosario Central footballers
Catania FC players
Real Zaragoza players
Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers
Club Atlético Huracán footballers
Arsenal de Sarandí footballers
Argentine Primera División players
Serie A players
La Liga players
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain

Pablo Álvarez (Argentine footballer)


Carl Benda (30 December 1857 Berlin – 24 May 1932 Turin) was one of the first microbiologists to use a microscope in studying the internal structure of cells. In an 1898 experiment using crystal violet as a specific stain, Benda first became aware of the existence of hundreds of these tiny bodies in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells and assumed that they reinforced the cell structure. Because of their tendency to form long chains, he coined the name mitochondria ("thread granules"). These bodies had first been noted in 1857 by the physiologist and pioneer of the light microscope, Albert von Kölliker, and were later termed "bioblasts" by Richard Altmann in 1886.

Benda studied medicine in Berlin, Heidelberg, Vienna and Paris, and received his doctorate in medicine in 1881. From there he became an assistant in the pathology institute in Halle (Saale) and Göttingen and the physiology institute in Berlin. In 1888 he earned his habilitation in anatomy in Berlin. From 1894 to 1907 he was prosector at the Stadt-Krankenhaus am Urban, and was titular professor from 1899. From 1908 to 1925 at the Institute of Pathology Krankenhaus Moabit. In 1921 he became emeritus professor until 1925 when he retired. His son was the doctor Clemens Ernst Benda (1898-1975).

References

German microbiologists
German pathologists
German anatomists
1857 births
1932 deaths

Carl Benda


The Aydar Lake (, Айдар кўли; Haydar ko'li, Ҳайдар кўли; alternate spellings: Lake Aydarkul, Lake Aidarkul) is part of the man-made Aydar-Arnasay system of lakes, which covers 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 mi2). This has 3 brackish water lakes (the two others being Arnasay and Tuzkan), deep basins of the south-eastern Kyzyl Kum (now in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan). The lakes are expansive reservoirs of Soviet planning.

Being brackish rather than saline they have high rates of evaporation, prompting a moist summer microclimate, often attracting rain clouds, which has led to the replenishment of the North Aral Sea.

Diversions and Reservoirs above the South and North Aral Seas

The system now provides close to original flows into the North (Small) Aral Sea, by which dams are being built to divorce the south, accelerating its recovery.

The south of Uzbekistan and north of Turkmenistan are considerably split by the Amu Darya, the river that is occasionally dry at its mouth today and which fed the South Aral Sea (as its sole river source). Among its diversions is Sarygamysh Lake west of Uzbekistan. It is 70 cubic kilometers, tapped from the lower river.  The Amu Darya's turning over to irrigation and the lake mentioned (which sits much lower) denies the South Aral Sea most of its former inflow, provoking the latter's drying up, but enabling central Turkmenistan, among other zones, to have imported sources of river water.

History of creation

Up to the middle of the last century, the Arnasay lowland remained a dry salt pan most of the year. Only in Spring, in the lowlands, would the small, ephemeral Lake Tuzkan glisten briefly, disappearing in the hot weather.

In the early sixties the Syr Darya was dammed up. Simultaneously the Chardara Dam was constructed. Floodgates were provided in the dam for flood control, opened as in 1969 during a raging flood. Between February 1969 and February 1970 almost 60% of the Syr Darya's average flow (21 km3) was drained from the Chardarya Reservoir into the Arnasay lowland. In such a way new lakes were made. Since 1969 the Aydar Lake has regularly received the waters of the Syr Darya River when they overflow the capacity of the Chardarya Reservoir. This has gradually filled up the natural cavity of Arnasay lowland to create the largest lake of Central Asia excluding its long western border, the Caspian Sea.

In 2005 the Aydar Lake contained 44.3 cubic kilometers of water. The lake covers . It is nearly  long and up to  wide. The mineralization of the water averages 2 grams per liter (2,000 ppm).

Its many fish include the Sazan (Cyprinus carpio), Pike perch (Stizostedion lucioperca), Bream (Abramis brama), Cat-fish (Silurus glanis), Asp (Aspius aspius), Chehon (Pelecus cultratus), Ophidian fish (Channa argus) were introduced to the lake, which nowadays works as a source of industrial fishing. The lake system provides between 760 and 2,000 tonnes of fish annually (according to statistical data between 1994 and 2001).

In addition to fauna common in the Kyzyl Kum, there are many kinds of water birds migrating from the Aral Sea that make their homes around the lake.

The lake's immediate surrounding are rurally inhabited. As at the year 2010 about 345 families or 1,760 people were living there.

The region adjacent to the Kyzylkum Desert is of great potential for fishing, yurting and camel-riding tourist activities.

See also

 Kyzyl Kum
 Sarmishsay, ancient monuments of anthropogenic activity
 Tourism in Uzbekistan

References

External links
 Tourism Activities in Yurt Camps at Aydar Kul Lake from Aba Sayyoh

Aydar
Ramsar sites in Uzbekistan

Aydar Lake


Matthew Gault Emery (September 28, 1818 – October 12, 1901) was the twenty-first Mayor of the City of Washington, D.C. from 1870 to 1871, when the office was abolished. Emery was the last mayor of the city of Washington, D.C.; the current office of Mayor of the District of Columbia has a different geographic jurisdiction.

Biography
Born in Pembroke, New Hampshire, Emery moved to Baltimore, Maryland at the age of 19 (in 1837) and began apprenticing as an architect and builder. Three years later, he moved to Washington in hopes of gaining U.S. government contracts to construct Federal buildings. Over the next decade, Emery would cut and lay stones for, among others, the U.S. Treasury; the Navy Department; the U.S. Patent Office; repair work for the White House; and, most prestigiously, the cornerstone of the Washington Monument, which Emery cut, prepared, and laid in 1848.

Emery served as a Washington Alderman from 1855 to 1857. Joining the newly formed Republican Party, he then acted as a marshal at the 1860 inauguration of Abraham Lincoln.

Elected again as an Alderman in 1869, friends and colleagues encouraged Emery to run the following year against the incumbent mayor Sayles J. Bowen, whose financial negligence had crippled the city with debt and with whom Emery had publicly feuded. Although both Bowen and Emery were Republicans, Bowen had been disowned by the city's chapter of the party, which actually ran Emery on the "Reform" ticket — a ticket that Democrats endorsed rather than risk Bowen's reelection by splitting the vote again with their own candidate. Emery won the election by over 3,000 votes.

Emery's term was extremely short – only 11 months – but during that term, he oversaw the beginning of the largest construction projects ever seen in Washington up to that time. Of particular note within those projects were the paving and grading of 132 streets in the city. He also authorized the construction of a seawall along the Anacostia River and the easternmost section of the Potomac.

After the city government was abolished in favor of the territorial government in June 1871, Emery remained a steadfast advocate for home rule in the District of Columbia, as well as for Congressional representation. He purchased the Washington home of William Tecumseh Sherman when the Civil War hero moved to St. Louis, dying there on October 12, 1901, at the age of 83. He was interred in Washington's Rock Creek Cemetery.

Matthew G. Emery Elementary School, now Emery Education Campus, in Washington, D.C. was named for him.

References

External links

Mayors of Washington, D.C.
1818 births
1901 deaths
Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery
Washington, D.C., Republicans

Matthew Gault Emery


Apollo was an American R&B/disco group that recorded for Motown in the late 1970s.  They are best known as the band of future music executives Benny Medina and Kerry Gordy.

History
Originally the band was called Kryptonite after the green substance that weakened Superman.  The group's moniker was changed to Apollo after the creators of the superhero refused to let the band use the name they created. As a result, the name of their first single was changed from "Krypto Disco" to "Astro Disco."

The band consisted of keyboardist Kerry Gordy, drummer Lenny Greene (who replaced original drummer Chico Ross, brother of Diana Ross), bassist Cliff Liles, vocalist Benny Medina and guitarist Larry Robinson.  Liles and Gordy were the sons of Ray Singleton, who produced their self-titled debut album for Gordy Records.  The latter son is Singleton's child through her relationship with Berry Gordy, the former is the ex-stepson of Berry Gordy.

Initially, the band showed promise, appearing on Soul Train and other dance shows.  They also had a successful two-week tour in Japan, but Motown's interest in the band waned and pulled the plug before they could start on a second album.

Cliff Liles did re-emerge a few years later as a member of the rock band Kagny and the Dirty Rats, which recorded a self-titled album on the Motown label.  The latter was produced by former bandmates Benny Medina and Kerry Gordy (now known as Kerry Ashby).

Larry Robinson also collaborated with Todd Homer of the Los Angeles punk band The Angry Samoans, his former classmate at Beverly Hills High School, to form the psychedelic band The Mooseheart Faith Stellar Groove Band that released several CDs on September Gurls Records in Germany.

See also
Gordy family

References

American disco groups
American soul musical groups
Family musical groups
Motown artists
Musical groups from California

Apollo (band)


Gold is a British pay television channel from the UKTV network that was launched in late 1992 as UK Gold before it was rebranded UKTV Gold in 2004. In 2008, it was split into current flagship channel Gold and miscellaneous channel, W, with classic comedy based programming now airing on Gold, non-crime drama and entertainment programming airing on W, and quiz shows and more high-brow comedy airing on Dave. It shows repeats of classic programming from the BBC, ITV and other broadcasters. Every December, from 2015 until 2018, the channel was temporarily renamed Christmas Gold. This has since been discontinued, although the channel still continues to broadcast Christmas comedy.

History

The channel was formed as a joint venture between the BBC, through commercial arm BBC Enterprises, American company Cox Enterprises and outgoing ITV London weekday franchisee Thames Television, known as European Channel Management. The channel, named "UK Gold", was to show repeats of the 'classic' archive programming from the two broadcasters. The channel launched on 1 November 1992 at 7pm with Just Good Friends. The first commercial shown on the channel was for Lucozade, and all commercials shown in the first three breaks on the channel's launch night either had the word gold or golden in either the name of the brand advertised or mentioned in the commercial itself.

The rights to the BBC programmes previously were held by the BSB entertainment channel Galaxy, prior to the merger with Sky Television to form BSkyB in November 1990. The channel was initially broadcast on an analogue transponder from an SES satellite at 19.2°E which was less well suited for UK reception. As a result, the channel used to be notorious for being marred with interference, known as 'sparklies', in large parts of the UK. Another initial drawback was the cutting of programming down to fit commercial time slots, and the intensive use of commercial breaks. Reception improved however with the channel added to BSkyB's basic subscription package in 1993, and the launch of the channel on cable services.

In 1993, Flextech gained its first stake in the station after acquiring Tele-Communications Inc.'s TV interests in Europe. In 1996, it started discussions about increasing its stake, to gain full control. At that point, Flextech held 27% with Cox (38%), BBC (20%) and Pearson (15%). By the Autumn, Flextech held 80% of UK Gold. Flextech's main reason for increasing its stake in UK Gold was in participation of new talks with the BBC.

UKTV
The channel's success led to the launch of the UKTV network on 1 November 1997, owned by BBC Worldwide and Flextech, and consisting of three other channels: UK Arena, UK Horizons and UK Style, focusing on the arts, factual and lifestyle programmes respectively. The UKTV network would expand to include numerous more channels as the years progressed.

The UK Gold brand was expanded in October 1998 with the launch of the digital only channel UK Gold Classics, broadcasting some of the older comedy serials that were being lost from the UK Gold schedule, as the channel moved towards more modern programming. UK Gold Classics was not to last however, and was rebranded as UK Gold 2 on 2 April 1999, which acted as a time shift of the original channel, showing the daytime programmes from UK Gold in the evening on UK Gold 2. In 2003 however, UK Gold 2 was rebranded and repositioned as UK G2, with some programming transferring to the new channel.

On 8 March 2004, the channel was rebranded as "UKTV Gold" in line with the other channels in the UKTV network. At approximately the same time, Granada-run archive channel Granada Plus closed to make way for ITV3. The channels had always been the main rivals to Gold due to the direct mix of archive BBC and ITV programming. ITV3 currently has a higher viewer share, often put down to the fact that the terrestrial platform Freeview shows ITV3 but not Gold. In late 2004, to show films produced in Hollywood in a marathon, UKTV Gold temporarily changed its name to "USTV Gold".

Gold began transmitting in widescreen on 31 January 2008, although some programmes made in 16:9 format were screened in the compromise 14:9 semi-letterboxed ratio for a short while, before the 16:9 format became standard later in the year. The channel has been criticised by some, particularly in recent years, for featuring many recent programmes as opposed to 'classics' as was the original concept, with some shows appearing on the channel mere months or weeks after their first television broadcast.

2008 rebrand

In 2008, UKTV began a process of rebranding and expanding its channels, removing "UKTV" from their name, following the rebranding of UKTV G2 as Dave in October 2007. On 7 October 2008, UKTV Gold became "G.O.L.D.", exclusively showing comedy, both old and new. This is reflected by its new slogan, which now represents Gold as a backronym—"Go On Laugh Daily". Unlike the complete name change for Dave, the Gold name was retained as having a resonance with viewers. The same day also saw the rebranding of UKTV Drama as Alibi, and the launch of a new channel, Watch. In Spring 2010, the channel dropped the acronym and is now known simply as "Gold".

In October 2011, Virgin Media, owner of half of Gold and the rest of the UKTV network, sold their share to Scripps Networks Interactive, with the remaining half still retained by the BBC's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide.

2012 programming investment
In February 2012, it was announced that UKTV was to invest millions into producing its own original shows. According to the trade magazine, Broadcast, Gold "has secured a budget running into "double-digit millions" to create a raft of new comedy shows over the next two years". The article went on to say "the channel is looking to develop a mix of panel shows, sketch shows, sitcoms and comedy dramas". This move meant that Gold would follow its sister, Dave, which has resurrected Red Dwarf and produced numerous different panel and entertainment series, and BSkyB, who have invested £600m into original comedy for Sky One and Sky Atlantic. The first set of new series for Gold were broadcast in the latter half of 2012.

UKTV executive Jane Rogers stated to Broadcast that the commissions would be high-quality, as "they would need to sit confidently alongside classics such as Only Fools And Horses and The Vicar of Dibley". She also added: "Gold is well entrenched in the UK's psyche as the home of national treasure comedies, so we cannot afford to look cheap next to those programmes. It's important that anything we order continues that love and feel, but we don't want to look back; we want a contemporary stamp on the channel." Commissioning editor Sarah Fraser commented that "there's never been a better time to invest in homegrown comedy. Comedians are selling out arena tours, being cast in the West End and on the big screen here and in the US."

The first programme announced as part of the investment was a reboot of the BBC sitcom, Yes, Prime Minister, to be based on the 2010 stage production and written by original writers Sir Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. The reboot was the second classic BBC sitcom to be resurrected by a UKTV network, following the two Dave-commissioned series of Red Dwarf. News about other new commissions for the channel were announced during the summer.

Digital terrestrial
The channel was removed from Digital Terrestrial in 2013, along with Home as part of the closure of Top Up TV and was replaced with Drama in July 2013. However, Home relaunched on the platform in March 2016. Gold and Home were not available to watch on Freeview boxes and televisions due to them being encrypted as subscription channels on Top Up TV.

Subsidiary channels

Gold +1
Alongside the main channel, a time shift channel is also operated: Gold +1. Corresponding to the name on the main channel, shows all programming from the channel one hour later.

The channel was originally announced by UKTV on 30 June 2002, under the name of UK Gold +1, later launching on Sky on 1 August 2002. As with its then-sister UK Gold 2, it only initially broadcast in the evening, at 7pm-7am. By 12 November 2003, the channel gained a full 24-hour slot, and later went under the names of UKTV Gold +1 and G.O.L.D. +1 before gaining its current name in 2010.

UK Gold Classics/UK Gold 2

UK Gold Classics originally launched on 2 October 1998 to coincide with the launch of Sky Digital. It was UKTV's first digital-exclusive network. The channel initially focused on older programs while the main UK Gold began focusing more on newer programmes. The channel also only broadcast within the evening, airing from 6.00 pm to 2.00 am every day.

UK Gold Classics only lasted six months, with the channel closing on 28 March 1999, and from 2 April 1999, the channel was relaunched as UK Gold 2, becoming a secondary timeshift service that broadcast UK Gold's daytime schedule in the evening.

On 29 October 2003, UKTV announced that UK Gold 2 would be relaunched as UK G2 on 12 November, being reinvented as a younger-oriented edgier youth network aimed towards a 16-34-year-old demographic.

Gold HD
A HD version of Gold was launched on 2 October 2017 exclusively to Sky, replacing Eden HD on the platform. Gold HD was added to Virgin Media on 25 September 2018, replacing Gold in standard definition. It was added to BT TV on 11 March 2019, along with Vice HD.

On-air identity

For the first few years, idents on UK Gold featured an animated golden retriever mascot named "Goldie" posing with the UK Gold logo. Goldie was never name-checked as such on air, possibly owing to the death of the Blue Peter dog Goldie some weeks before launch, although the late-night music video slot Dog House was originally listed as Goldie's Video Bites in initial pre-launch listings. The Goldie idents were kept until 1993, when they were replaced with a form-up of the first logo against a blue background. A re-branding in 1994 saw UK Gold adopt idents based on the forging of gold bars, with the station's logo appearing to have been stamped into gold. Variations on this theme were used until 1997, when the channel received a revamp as part of the formation of the UKTV network.

The new network's corporate identity saw all its channels logos simplified to a boxed "UK" followed by the name (e.g. "Gold") in the Gill Sans font, which had also been adopted by the BBC. The new network-wide ident theme would involve the splitting of the screen for different purposes. UK Gold's new idents depicted objects such as apples or leaves falling through the top half of the screen, with only the gold coloured ones reaching the bottom half of the screen. These idents were briefly adopted for UK Gold 2 when it launched in 1998.

The theme changed again, this time with idents featuring fireworks making shapes in the air, was launched in April 1999. The fireworks theme was carried on in a new set of idents, alongside another network-wide re-branding of the logo in 2002, adopting a bolder font and merging UK into a single composite character. A range of live-action idents showing everyday activities from unusual perspectives appeared in 2002. The 2003 to 2007 idents showed channel hopping viewers with their TV set "off stage" being brought to a halt by the appearance of a golden light accompanied by the channel's ident jingle. This new identity also featured a series of shifting yellow, orange and red blocks which suggested a gold bar at the centre of the screen.

On 4 April 2007, UKTV Gold unveiled a new on-air identity centred around a branded golden space hopper, playing to contemporary trends toward 1970s nostalgia, and emphasising the station's re-run content. Twelve new live action idents featured the branded space hopper, either with people on them bouncing around normally serious scenes, or let loose to bounce around the natural environment, aired from 5 April 2007 to 7 October 2008.

On 7 October 2008, following the rebranding, Gold's 2008 presentation debuted, featuring cartoon objects making a giant chain, in Heath Robinson fashion, which triggers an event to herald the next programme. The Gold logo features in the centre, with the channel slogan usually appearing alongside in the sequence. Programmes are announced by sole channel continuity announcer David Flynn, who has had the position since June 2009.

In 2012, the logo was changed slightly, with an updated ident package. These followed a similar style to the previous set, but instead of the previous backronym, the idents focussed on the slogan of 'Stick Something Funny On'.

In July 2014, Gold rebranded after two years in its second identity. The logo is a ribbon with the letters "GOLD". The new idents have funny and wacky stuff happening (such as dancing legs). At the end of the idents, the ribbon comes out saying "GOLD", while the activity behind it is still going.

Programming
The output of the channel is mainly British comedy programmes including repeats of BBC shows and sometimes feature-length films. The following is a list of all the programmes that have been shown over the years, plus ones that are currently being shown:

Current

 2point4 Children
 Absolutely Fabulous
 All Round to Mrs. Brown's
 Are You Being Served?
 Blackadder
 Bottom
 Chef!
 Citizen Khan
 Dad's Army
 Desmond's
 dinnerladies
 Ever Decreasing Circles
 The Fast Show
 Fawlty Towers
 French and Saunders
 Game On
 Gavin & Stacey
 Ghosts
 The Good Life
 The Green Green Grass
 Harry Enfield and Chums
 Hi-de-Hi!
 Hold the Sunset
 I'm Alan Partridge
 Inside No. 9
 Keeping Up Appearances
 Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge
 Last of the Summer Wine
 Live at the Apollo
 Men Behaving Badly
 Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow
 Morgana Robinson's The Agency
 Mrs. Brown's Boys
 My Hero
 Not Going Out
 The Office
 Only Fools and Horses
 Open All Hours
 Porridge
 Rock & Chips
 Roger & Val Have Just Got In
 The Royle Family
 Still Open All Hours
 The Thin Blue Line
 This Time with Alan Partridge
 Two Doors Down
 Upstart Crow
 The Vicar of Dibley
 Wallace & Gromit
 You Rang, M'Lord?
 The Young Ones

Currently made for GOLD (UKTV Originals)

 5 Minute Mayhem
 30 Years of The Comic Strip Presents
 Alison & Larry: Billericay To Barry
 Billy Connolly Does...
 Blackadder Exclusive: The Whole Rotten Saga
 Blackadder's Most Cunning Moments
 Blackadder: The Lost Pilot
 Bob Monkhouse: The Million Joke Man
 Bottom Exposed
 Bring Me Morecambe & Wise
 Britain's Greatest Comedian
 Britain's Greatest Comedy Character
 Bull
 The Cockfields
 Dad's Army: The Animations
 Dad's Army: The Lost Episodes
 David Jason: My Life On Screen
 David Jason: Planes, Trains and Automobiles
 dinnerladies diaries
 Do Not Disturb
 The Fast Show: Just A Load Of Blooming Catchphrases
 The Fast Show: More Blooming Catchphrases
 Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened
 Fawlty Towers: Basil's Best Bits
 French And Saunders: Funny Women
 Fry And Laurie Reunited
 Hancock: Very Nearly An Armful
 Henry IX
 How The Young Ones Changed Comedy
 The Interviews
 Jo Brand's Great Wall of Comedy
 Legends of Stand-up And Bernard Righton
 Lenny Henry's Race Through Comedy
 Marley's Ghosts
 Monty Python's Best Bits (Mostly)
 Monty Python Live (Mostly)
 Monty Python's The Meaning of Live
 Morecambe and Wise in America
 Murder on the Blackpool Express
 My Favourite Sketch
 Newark, Newark
 Porridge: Inside Out
 The Rebel
 Ricky and Ralf's Very Northern Road Trip
 Richard E. Grant on Ealing Comedies
 Royle Exclusive: Behind The Sofa
 The Royle Family Portraits
 Saluting Dad's Army
 Sandylands
 Sitcom Does...
 Smashie's Christmastastic Playlist
 The Story of...Only Fools and Horses
 Telly Addict
 Trust Morecambe and Wise
 The Two Ronnies Spectacle
 The Vicar of Dibley's 40 Greatest Moments
 The Vicar of Dibley: Inside Out
 We Have Been Watching
 When Were We Funniest?
 Yes, Prime Minister: Re-Elected
 You, Me & Them
 The Young Ones 20 Greatest Moments

Previous
Programming of classic general entertainment and movies now unused or superseded on 7 October 2008. Some programmes that were shown on UKTV G2 moved to other channels sometime later when it was renamed Dave in October 2007. However, most of the classic comedy series includes re-runs of some BBC shows which are used only on this channel. Some of its classic general entertainment shows moved to other current UKTV channels such as Dave, Watch, and Alibi.

 The 10th Kingdom
 15 Storeys High
 100 Years of Horror
 The A-Team
 According to Jim
 The Adventures of Jeffrey
 After Henry
 After The Show
 After You've Gone
 The Afternoon Play
 Agatha Christie's Poirot (now on ITV3)
 Aim Low: The Best of Dylan Moran
 Airport
 Alas Smith and Jones
 Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled (now on Dave)
 Alexei Sayle's Stuff
 Alistair McGowan's Big Impression
 All About Me
 All Creatures Great and Small (now on Drama)
 All Gas and Gaiters
 'Allo 'Allo! (now on Drama)
 ...And Mother Makes Three
 ...And Mother Makes Five
 Angels
 Animal Capers
 Animal Park
 Anne of Avonlea
 Anyone for Pennis
 The Armando Iannucci Shows (now on All 4)
 Ask the Family
 As Time Goes by (now on Drama)
 Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (now on Drama)
 Backup
 Back to Life
 Ballet Shoes
 Ballykissangel
 Bangkok Hilton
 Baywatch
 Beast
 Beggar My Neighbour
 Bellamy's People
 Ben Elton: The Man from Auntie
 The Ben Elton Show
 Bergerac (now on Drama)
 The Best of Tommy Cooper
 The Best of Top of the Pops (now on BBC Four)
 Between the Lines
 Beverly Hills Teens
 Bewitched
 Big Break
 Big Deal
 Big School
 Big Train
 Billionaire Boy (now on W)
 The Bill (now on Drama)
 Bill Hicks Live: Relentless
 Bill Hicks: It's Just a Ride
 Bill Hicks: One Night Stand
 Bill Hicks: Revelations
 Bill Hicks: Sane Man
 Birds of a Feather (now on Drama)
 A Bit of a Do
 A Bit of Fry & Laurie Black Books (now on All 4)
 Blake's 7
 Blandings Blankety Blank (now on Challenge)
 The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff Bless This House (now on ITV3)
 Blott on the Landscape Blue Peter (Early Classics)
 The Blue Planet (now on Eden)
 The Bob Monkhouse Show Bob Monkhouse: On The Spot
 Bob's Full House Boomers Boon Bottom Live Bottom Live: The Big Number Two Tour Bottom Live 3: Hooligan's Island Bottom Live 2001: An Arse Oddity Bottom Live 2003: Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour The Boy in the Dress (now on W)
 Boys from the Blackstuff (now on Drama)
 Bravestarr Bread
 Bridget & Eamon The Brittas Empire (now on Drama)
 The Brothers
 Brush Strokes (now on Drama)
 Bugs Bullseye (now on Challenge)
 Butterflies
 Button Moon Callan Campion (now on Drama)
 Canned Carrott Capital City Captain Pugwash Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons Carrie's War (now on Drama)
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Other ventures
An analogue teletext service known as GoldText used to be available on the channel, but has since closed down.

See also
 UKTV
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 BBC Worldwide

References

External links

Television channels and stations established in 1992
1992 establishments in the United Kingdom
UKTV channels
Classic television networks
Comedy television networks

Gold (British TV channel)


They Asked for a Paper: Papers and Addresses is a collection of essays by C. S. Lewis. This collection of twelve essays by C. S. Lewis was published by Geoffrey Bles in 1962.

The collection includes some of Lewis's thoughts on literary topics and people along with some of his thinking about the social sciences. One of the most important essays that appears in They Asked for a Paper is Lewis's inaugural address at the University of Cambridge, entitled "De Descriptione Temporum," Latin for "On a Description of the Times." In the lecture he argued that the most important historical date was not the division between medieval times and the Renaissance but 1830 which was what he termed the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment.

It was Lewis's last book to be published in his lifetime, as he died on 22 November the following year.

Contents
 "De Descriptione Temporum"
 "Hamlet: The Prince or the Poem?"
 "The Inner Ring"
 "Is Theology Poetry?"
 "Kipling's World"
 "Lilies that Fester"
 "The Literary Impact of the Authorized Version"
 "On Obstinacy in Belief"
 "Psychoanalysis and Literary Criticism"
 "Sir Walter Scott"
 "Transposition"
 "The Weight of Glory"

References

External links

 Is Theology Poetry? presented by C. S. Lewis before the Socratic Club in 1944. (PDF, Canadian public domain edition)

1962 non-fiction books
British essay collections
Works by C. S. Lewis

They Asked for a Paper


Roberto Nicolás Rexach Benítez (December 18, 1929 – April 4, 2012) also known as his stage name Bobby, was a Puerto Rican politician, and former Senator and Representative. Rexach Benítez served as the tenth President of the Senate of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 1996. He also served as a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives from 1973 to 1976, under the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and as a member of the Senate (1985–1998) under the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (PNP).

Prior to his legislative career, he was the first director of the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo (1967–1970) and University of Puerto Rico at Humacao (1961–1967).

Early years and studies
Rexach Benítez was born on December 18, 1929, in New York City, to Puerto Rican parents. He was raised in Puerto Rico, studying elementary school in Juncos and Arecibo. He graduated from high school in Río Piedras.

In 1951, Rexach Benítez received his bachelor's degree in social science from the University of Puerto Rico. A year later, he finished his master's degree in political science from the University of Maryland. He also completed two years of studies at the University of Puerto Rico School of Law.

Professional career

Rexach Benítez worked as a professor of Political Science at the University of Puerto Rico in 1958. That same year, he was appointed Aide to the Dean of Administration. From 1961 to 1967, he served as Director and Dean of the Humacao Regional University College. After that, he worked at the same position at the Arecibo Regional University College until 1970.

Political career

In 1973, Rexach Benítez was elected to the House of Representatives under the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). Some years later, he joined the opposing party, the New Progressive Party or New Party for Progress. In 1980, he worked as an aide to the President of the University of Puerto Rico, and from 1981 to 1985, he worked as an adviser to Governor Carlos Romero Barceló.

In 1984, Rexach was elected as Senator At-large at the general elections. After being sworn in, he was chosen as his party's Minority Leader. In 1988, he was reelected and ratified as NPP Minority Leader. He was again reelected at the 1992 elections, and was chosen the 10th President of the Senate of Puerto Rico by his fellow senators. He was sworn in as such on January 11, 1993 and stayed in that position until 1996 when he was reelected as Senator At-large.

Later years

After retiring from politics, Rexach Benítez served as an educational consultant. He also wrote a weekly column for El Vocero newspaper. He also authored several books and essays. Some of them are:

 "Un sistema de elecciones primarias para Puerto Rico" (1954)
 "Pedro Albizu Campos, leyenda y realidad" (1959)
 "Puerto Rico, un pueblo en la encrucijada" (1964)
 "La educación universitaria, lujo o necesidad"

He died April 4, 2012, at his home in Arecibo, Puerto Rico from pulmonary complications traced to 40 years of heavy cigarette smoking.  During a memorial service on April 5, 2012, before his remains were cremated, he was eulogized by Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock on behalf of Governor Fortuño, Puerto Rico Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz and San Juan Mayor Jorge Santini. On April 9, the last of five days of official mourning declared by Governor Fortuño, a mass was held at San Agustín Church in San Juan at which Rexach was once again eulogized by McClintock and Rivera Schatz, in their capacities as immediate past and present Senate presidents at the time.

References

External links
Biografía de Roberto Rexach Benítez on SenadoPR

1929 births
2012 deaths
Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico
Popular Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
New Progressive Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
Presidents of the Senate of Puerto Rico
University of Maryland, College Park alumni
University of Puerto Rico alumni

Roberto Rexach Benítez


The Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken (; ) was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire with full voting rights to the Reichstag. Its capital was Zweibrücken. The reigning house, a branch of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was also the Royal House of Sweden from 1654 to 1720.

Overview
Palatine Zweibrücken was established as a separate principality in 1459, when Stephen, Count Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken divided his territory, Palatinate-Simmern and Zweibrücken, between his two sons. The younger son, Louis I, received the County of Zweibrücken and the County of Veldenz.

Palatine Zweibrücken ceased to exist in 1797 when it was annexed by France. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, some parts of it were returned to the last Duke, King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, who joined them with other former territories on the left bank of the Rhine to form the Rheinkreis, later the Rhenish Palatinate.

Origins
The County Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken had been created in 1410 for Stephen, the third surviving son of prince-elector King Rupert. In 1444, Stephen inherited the County of Veldenz from his father-in-law, Frederick III, Count of Veldenz. In 1444, Stephen decided to divide his possessions between his sons, Frederick I and Louis I. When Stephen abdicated in 1453, the elder son Frederick I received the County of Sponheim and the northern half of the County Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken. The younger son, Louis I, received the County of Veldenz from his grandfather's inheritance and the southern half of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Simmern, which included the former County of Zweibrücken, acquired by the Palatinate in 1385. Among Stephen's titles were Count Palatine of the Rhine and Duke in Bavaria. Both sons inherited the right to use these titles, which is why the two newly formed principalities of Palatine-Simmern and Palatine-Zweibrücken were usually described as Counties Palatine.

Extent

When Palatine Zweibrücken was created in 1444, it consisted of the districts of Armsheim, Landsburg, Lauterecken, Burg Lichtenberg, Meisenheim and Veldenz from the County of Veldenz.  In 1459, the districts Falkenburg Castle, Guttenberg, Haßloch, Kirkel, Lambsheim, Oggersheim, Wachenheim, Wegelnburg and Zweibrücken from Palatine Simmern were added.

Territories held in 1784
An Amt was an administrative district; an Oberamt was a larger district, subdivided into Unterämter.

 Oberamt Zweibrücken
 Oberamt Homburg (acquired in 1755 in a territorial exchange with Nassau-Saarbrücken)
 Oberamt Lichtenberg at Kusel (originally part of the County of Veldenz)
 Oberamt Meisenheim (originally part of the County of Veldenz)
 Oberamt Trarbach, including Kröv (originally part of the County of Sponheim)
 Amt Allenbach (originally part of the County of Sponheim)
 Oberamt Kastellaun including the Vogtei of Senheim and 1/3 of the bailiwick of Veltheim and Strümmich (originally part of the County of Sponheim)
 Oberamt Bergzabern including the Vogtei of Kleeburg, Annweiler am Trifels, Wegelnburg
 Amt Nohfelden
 Oberamt Gutenberg (acquired in 1768 in a territorial exchange with the Electoral Palatinate)
 Amt Seltz and Hagenbach
 Lordship of Bischwiller

Guttenberg, Seltz and Hagenbach and Bischwiller were French fiefs, the others were German.

History

15th century
During the reign of Louis I, who conducted four unsuccessful feuds against his cousin Frederick I, Elector Palatine, the districts of Lambsheim, Wachenheim and Waldböckelheim were lost to the Electoral Palatinate. Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, who was also in conflict with the Electoral Palatinate, appointed Louis I as his field marshal and recognized Palatine Zweibrücken as a duchy. Louis I stimulated mining and simplified the administration of the duchy.

Initially, Meisenheim was the capital. In 1477, the Electoral Palatinate threatened Meisenheim and the capital had to be moved to Zweibrücken, where it remained until 1793.

Alexander's Church () is the oldest church in Zweibrücken, a late-Gothic Protestant hall church built from 1493 to 1514 as a gift from Alexander, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken after his return from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land; descendant counts and dukes of the line are buried in its crypt.

16th century
After Louis' death, the duchy was not divided. His testament required dukes Alexander and Kaspar to rule the duchy jointly. However, Alexander declared his older brother mentally ill, locked him up and ruled the duchy alone. Alexander also waged war on the Electoral Palatinate; his troops looted the Palatinate during the Landshut War of Succession. In 1505, when the war ended with an imperial decision, some territory was transferred from the Electoral Palatinate to Palatine Zweibrücken. Alexander concluded an inheritance treaty with the new Elector Philip, which considerably improved relations between the two countries.

Alexander and Louis II introduced primogeniture, the rule that the whole of the principality would henceforth be inherited by the eldest son.  Bischweiler was acquired in 1542, during the regency of Count Palatine Rupert of Veldenz. In 1544, the cadet branch of Palatine Veldenz split off. In 1553, the County of Lützelstein (now  in Alsace) was purchased from the Electoral Palatinate. Count Palatine Wolfgang dissolved the monasteries in his territory, thereby augmenting his revenues, and acquired the territory of the Disibodenberg Abbey. In 1557, he inherited Palatine Neuburg, half of the Hinder ("Further") County of Sponheim and half of the Lordship of Guttenberg from the Palatinate under the Treaty of Heidelberg; this more than doubled his territory. In 1558, he dissolved Hornbach Abbey and took its territory and half the County of Molsheim. In 1559, the Electoral line died out and Wolfgang inherited a share in the Further County of Sponheim. He used these large gains to give each of his five sons some territory: the independent Palatine Neuburg and Palatine Zweibrücken, which fell to John I's second son in 1569, and the non-sovereign collateral lines Palatine Sulzbach, Palatine Vohenstrauß-Parkstein and Palatine Birkenfeld.

17th century
During the Thirty Years' War, the duchy was occupied by imperial forces and Count Palatine John II of Zweibrücken had to flee to Metz. His son and successor Frederick returned in 1645. When Frederick died without a male heir in 1661, he was succeeded by his cousin Frederick Louis. During his reign, the land was occupied by France in 1676. Zweibrücken was a fief of the Bishopric of Metz, which had been annexed by France. In 1680, France, therefore, annexed Zweibrücken as well. In 1681, Frederick Louis died in exile, without male descendants.

The 1697 Treaty of Ryswick returned the duchy to its rightful owner, who was a cousin-once-removed of Frederick Louis, Count Palatine Charles II of Kleeburg, who was also king of Sweden as Charles XI.

18th century

The personal union with Sweden lasted until the death of Charles XII of Sweden in 1718. When Charles XII died without children, the Swedish crown was inherited by his sister Ulrika Eleonora, while Zweibrücken went to his cousin Gustav, Duke of Zweibrücken. Because of this, exiled Polish King Stanisław Leszczyński who had been named Count Palatine of Zweibrücken as a Prince exercising the head of state's authority on behalf of Charles XII in 1714 was forced to leave a year after his death in 1719.

From 1725 to 1778, the counts palatine resided in Zweibrücken Castle; they then moved to Karlsberg Castle near Homburg, to emphasize their claim to inherit the Duchy of Bavaria. Members of the ruling family were buried in the castle church in Meisenheim and later in the Alexander Church in Zweibrücken (badly damaged in World War II).

Gustav was the last Count Palatine of the Kleeburg line; when he died in 1731 without a male heir, the duchy was seized by the Empire. In 1734, the Emperor invested Count Palatine Christian III of Birkenfeld with Zweibrücken. Birkenfeld had been split off from Zweibrücken for a cadet line in 1584. His son Christian IV converted to Catholicism in 1758.

During Christian IV's reign, the fragmentation of the area was reduced by exchange of territories. For example, in 1768, Odernheim and half of Molsheim where transferred to the Electoral Palatinate, in exchange for Neuburg, the district of Hagenbach, district of Selz and Selz Abbey. In 1776, the "Hinder" County of Sponheim was divided between Zweibrücken and Baden, with Zweibrücken receiving Kastellaun, Traben-Trarbach with Starkenburg and Allenbach, and Baden receiving Birkenfeld, Frauenburg and Herrstein.

In 1793 the French First Republic occupied the Left Bank of the Rhine, including the territory of Zweibrücken. The French annexation of this territory was recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor in a secret clause of the Treaty of Campo Formio signed on 17 October 1797. On 4 November 1797, the occupied territory was incorporated into the newly founded French  of Mont-Tonnerre, with its capital at Mainz. The 1799 extinction of the senior Wittelsbach branches made the last Count Palatine of Zweibrücken, Maximilian Joseph, Elector of Bavaria, as Maximilian IV Joseph, as well as Elector Palatine, as Maximilian II Joseph.

Christian IV Reign, Regiment Royal Deux-Ponts (Zweibrücken) French Expeditionary Regiments in the American Revolution.

19th century

Palatine Zweibrücken formally ceased to exist by the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801, which reaffirmed and recognised internationally the French acquisitions laid out in the Treaty of Campo Formio.

In 1806, Maximilian Joseph became King of Bavaria, as Maximilian I Joseph, and the role of Elector ceased to exist.

After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, some parts of the former County Palatine were returned to Maximilian Joseph, now King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, together with parts of the former Electorate and territories formerly owned by different families. Maximilian Joseph merged these left-bank territories to form the , known after 1837 simply as  (Palatinate) and sometimes called  (Rhenish Palatinate). This area largely corresponds with the modern Palatinate region and Saarpfalz-Kreis.

Administration
In the duchy, there was no authority that would have limited the power of the Duke. Even the urban population were legally serfs until that status was repealed by John I on 21 April 1571 (although the situation in the city of Zweibrücken had already been somewhat eased by decrees from the years 1352 and 1483). Young men were required to serve six years in the militia.

The highest administrative body was the cabinet; in whose meetings the Duke participated. The treasury was responsible for finance, mining and forestry. There was no separation between the judiciary and the administration. Justice was meted out by officials with the rank of Schultheiß. The highest court in the land was the Court of Appeals in Zweibrücken; its traditions are continued today by Zweibrücken's Oberlandesgericht. After 1774, appeals from the court in Zweibrücken to the Reichskammergericht were no longer possible. In the Alsatian parts of the country, however, appeals to the Conseil souverain d'Alsace in Colmar were possible from about 1680. Important statutes were the Court Judicial Order of 1605, the Lower Court Order of 1657, and later the Criminal Procedure of 1724, and Marriage and Guardianship Regulations. In areas where no state law was available, imperial law applied.

Administratively, the country was divided into eight districts: Zweibrücken, Homburg, Lichtenberg, Meisenheim, Trarbach, Kastellaun, Bergzabern and Guttenberg.

Religion and church
In the 1520s, Reformation was introduced in several towns in Palatine Zweibrücken, including Zweibrücken itself, where Johann Schwebel was the duke's chaplain and later parson. Schwebel was also a leading figure when several pastors of the duchy signed the Wittenberg Concord and when the first attempts were made to form a uniform territorial church with the two small Church Orders from 1533 and 1539. Regent at that time was Rupert, Count Palatine of Veldenz, who ruled in behalf of his nephew Wolfgang, who was still a minor. Theologically, Schwebel followed the lead of Martin Bucer in Strasbourg. After Schwebel died in 1540, Wolfgang took over in 1544. While chancellor Ulrich Sitzinger and his 1557 extensive Church Order were influenced by Philipp Melanchthon, Wolfgang later adopted a stricter Gnesio-Lutheran policy.

After Wolfgang's death, his son John I joined the Reformed confession in 1588. In  of 1624, Zweibrücken was still ruled by a Reformed prince, so under the Cuius regio, eius religio rule of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, this became the established religion. In the period of the French Reunion (1680–1697), Catholic churches were again permitted and in 1697 under the Swedish administration after the Treaty of Ryswick, Lutheran congregations were re-established as well.

Administratively, the Reformed Church was organized similarly to the secular authorities: each secular district corresponded to a church district headed by a superintendent or an inspector. Priests were state officials and were regularly visited by a commission consisting of the district superintendent, the secular bailiff and a representative of the central administration in Zweibrücken. There was no bishop or church president, although the superintendent of Zweibrücken had a more prominent position than his colleagues.  The parish churches of the individual districts convened regularly; sometimes all clergy in the duchy convened in a national synod. There was no institutionalized national church council; initially, this function was exercised by the secular cabinet college, assisted by the superintendent of Zweibrücken. In the 18th century, however, a national church council was created; its membership consisting of secular councillors.

From the beginning, the lay element played a special role in the church in Zweibrücken. The Reformation revived the ancient office of the Elder, a layman chosen by the community, who would supervise the lifestyle of the congregation, the pastor, the funds and the property of the parish.

Ducal arms

Around 1720, Palatinate-Zweibrücken added the symbols of the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg to its coat of arms. It was parted per pale.  The dexter side was quartered, in the first and fourth quarter the Palatine Lion, in second and third the Bavarian silver and blue "bendy lozengy" pattern, and overall a silver shield with a crowned blue lion for Zweibrücken itself. The sinister side was quarterly of six (in two rows of three), combining the lion of Jülich, the escarbuncle of Cleves, the lion of Berg, the red and silver chequy fess of Mark, the triple chevrons of Ravensberg and the bar of Moers.

List of Counts Palatine Zweibrücken

 Stephen, Count 1410-1459 (1385-1459)
  Ludwig I the Black, Count 1459-1489 (1424-1489), second son
 Kaspar, Count with his brother 1489-1490 (1458-1527), deposed by his brother
  Alexander the Lame, Count 1489-1514 (1462-1514)
  Ludwig II the Younger, Count 1514-1532 (1502-1532)
  Wolfgang, Count 1532-1569 (1526-1569)
 Johann I the Lame, Count 1569-1604 (1550-1604), second son
 Johann II the Younger, Count 1604-1635 (1584-1635)
  Friedrich, Count 1635-1661 (1616-1661)
 Friedrich Kasimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Landsberg (1585-1645)
  Friedrich Ludwig, Count 1661-1681 (1619-1681)
  Johann Kasimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg (1589-1652)
 Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg (1622-1660)
  Charles XI of Sweden, Count 1681–1697, in personal union with the Kingdom of Sweden (1655-1697)
 Charles XII of Sweden, Count 1697–1718, in personal union with the Kingdom of Sweden (1682-1718)
  Stanisław I Leszczyński (Prince exercising head of state's authority) - former King of Poland in exile (1714 - 1719)
  Count Palatine Adolf Johann I of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg (1629-1689)
  Gustav Samuel Leopold, Count 1718-1731 (1670-1731)
  Karl I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (1560-1600)
  Christian I, Count Palatine of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler (1598-1654)
  Christian II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (1637-1717)
  Christian III, Count 1731/34-1735 (1674-1735)
 Christian IV, Count 1735-1775 (1722-1775)
  Friedrich Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (1724-1767)
 Karl II August, Count 1775-1795 (1746-1795)
  Maximilian I, Count 1795–1805, in personal union with the Electorate of Bavaria from 1799 (1756-1825)

See also
 House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, the Royal House of Sweden from 1654  to 1720

References

1459 establishments in Europe
1797 disestablishments in Europe
Zwei
History of the Palatinate (region)

States and territories established in 1459
States and territories disestablished in 1797
Western Palatinate

Palatine Zweibrücken