James Laing (doctor)

James Laing (c.1749–1831) was a Scottish doctor and slave plantation owner in Dominica.
Life.
He was born in the parish of Crimond, c. 1748, the son of Alexander Laing and Jane Henderson. According to later testimony, he was resident as a young man in Dominica, by the later 1760s. There were other Scots of the same name in the Caribbean at this period, including Dr James Laing in Tobago, from Elgin, Moray.
Laing acquired lands in Scotland, at Haddo-Rattray, Buchan, in 1789. According to the "Topographical Dictionary of Scotland" (London, 1846), writing about Crimond, "There is an ancient seat called Haddo, and an elegant modern mansion has been built on the estate of Rattray." In that year Laing had given evidence on plantation life in Dominica to the Privy Council, later commented on by John Ranby, James Stephen and Eric Williams.
In 1793 Laing was Provost Marshal in Dominica. When a gift of £700 of plate was made to Henry Hamilton as Governor, for his efforts in repelling a French invasion of Dominica, Laing with Thomas Daniell was chosen for the formal presentation on 14 June 1796. In 1798 Laing was acting as Collector for the island.
In 1804 a parliamentary report recorded Laing as the owner of 51 enslaved people. During the 1805 French attack on Roseau, the island's capital, Laing was an eye-witness, and later gave testimony on it. In 1806, as Collector and member of the Dominica Council, he gave evidence to a committee of the House of Commons.
At the beginning of 1814, George Robert Ainslie was Governor of Dominica, and involved in a campaign against the island's Maroons. Laing was still holder of the position of Provost Marshal, but was in the United Kingdom on sick leave. Ainslie considered him old, and asked to have him replaced, by his own brother. He was rebuffed in March 1814 by Lord Bathurst, the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, who considered Laing fit for his duties. During trials of Maroons of that summer, Thomas Laing was acting Provost Marshal. In 1815 Sir Robert Heron, 2nd Baronet, whose wife was a relation of the dismissed Ainslie, spoke in defence of his conduct on Dominica, and incidentally mentioned Laing's 48 years of residence on the island.
In England, Laing was High Sheriff of Surrey in 1815, as James Laing of Streatham. He lived at Moor Park, Farnham; William Cobbett commented in the 1820s on the change of ownership as recent.
Laing died on 24 April 1831, at age 82.
Macoucherie estate.
A land grant was made in 1804 in the parish of St Joseph, Dominica to James Laing, John Lucas and Robert Reid. By 1804, Laing was an owner of the Macoucherie sugar estate (there are different spellings), with Robert Reid. A legal agreement of 1811 shows that there was a previous owner of this estate in St Joseph parish, John Mair. At that time there were three owners, with one of them, Thomas Lucas, disposing of his one-third share to Laing and Robert Reid. Laing is described as of Streatham. In his will, Laing left his one-half share to his younger son.
In 1822–3 Laing with George Henry Rose supported a Wesleyan Methodist mission to the slaves of the estates in Dominica; and he is mentioned in Rose's 1823 book on the conversion to Christianity of slaves. The missionary James Catts mentioned in 1823 that his colleague Thomas Harrison was visiting Laing's estates. The anonymous work "Sketches and Recollections of the West Indies" of 1828, by "a Resident", was dedicated to Laing. As well as being a personal account, it discussed slavery and its abolition, in terms of measures of amelioration and the need for compensation. The authorship was attributed by John Malcolm Bulloch to Hugh Gordon, a soldier involved in the defence of Roseau.
Some years after Laing's death, compensation was paid on the Macouchorie estate (tentative identification of claim), when slavery was abolished in the British Empire. Some of it went to the trustees for Laing, an amount that may have been equal going to Abraham Wildey Robarts. Elizabeth Stewart Hay, Laing's niece, was a counter-claimant. The daughter of David Stewart Hay of Perth, Scotland, she married the Rev. Thomas Maude, the poet.
The estate was sold by the government in 1938, and it was bought in 1943 by Howell Donald Shillingford, with a cane mill and rum distillery. In 1953 it was owned by H. Shillingford. It is still active and producing rum, the last such estate on Dominica.
Other estates and associations.
Details of the compensation claim for the Springfield estate on Dominica show two-thirds going to Allan Stewart Laing, and one-third to Robarts & Kendall. James Laing came to own or part own also the Union and York Valley estates on Dominica.
Laing was the uncle of William Bremner of the Aberdeen Estate coffee plantation, who married Jane Mary Laing. Bremner was a Scottish physician and sailed for Dominica in 1794, leaving in 1815 and leaving a memoir in manuscript. He bought the Dawn plantation in 1805, with Dr Johnstone, another physician with whom he was in practice; that partnership was dissolved in 1807. He then went into business with Thomas Laing & Co.
On 29 August 1808 John Laing died, at age 28, as acting Provost Marshal, a position he held when George Metcalfe was acting Governor (period 1805–8). James Laing was involved in land deals with Metcalfe. John Laing was the eldest son of Thomas Laing (Thomas Laing Esq. of Haddo).
Thomas Henderson (died 1816), an assembly member, was another nephew of Laing.
Will and legacy.
Under Laing's will, his estate at Haddo went to William John Laing, and the Union Estate on Dominica to Allan Stewart Laing. Laing's trustees were the solicitor Abel Jenkins, and Allan Stewart Laing.
Family.
Laing's wife Eliza (or Elizabeth) died in 1816, at age 61 (or 63). Their children included:


Bockenau

Bockenau is an "Ortsgemeinde" – a municipality belonging to a "Verbandsgemeinde", a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the "Verbandsgemeinde" of Rüdesheim, whose seat is in the municipality of Rüdesheim an der Nahe. Bockenau is a state-recognized tourism centre.
Geography.
Location.
Bockenau lies at the south edge of the Hunsrück in the Ellerbach valley at the 380 m-high Wingertsberg and is enclosed by the Soonwald foothills, whose highest elevation is the Ellerspring at 657 m above sea level, which is also where the Ellerbach, which passes through Bockenau, rises. The village thus lies geographically in the scenically interesting and to a great extent untouched Gauchswald (forest). As a whole, the countryside is known as the "Bockenauer Schweiz" ("Bockenau Switzerland"), as reflected in the name borne by the village’s sport and event centre. The municipal area measures 9.66 km².
Neighbouring municipalities.
Clockwise from the north, Bockenau’s neighbours are the municipality of Allenfeld, the municipality of Sponheim, the municipality of Burgsponheim, the municipality of Waldböckelheim, the municipality of Nußbaum, the municipality of Daubach, the municipality of Rehbach and the municipality of Winterburg.
Constituent communities.
Also belonging to Bockenau is the outlying homestead of Lindenhof.
History.
Beginning no later than the 12th century, Bockenau belonged to the County of Sponheim and was thereby one of its oldest landholds, and therefore lies today on the "Sponheimer Weg", an historically thematized hiking trail. Nevertheless, the village’s origins actually go much further back. When the new building zone “In der Bein” was opened, foundations of a Roman villa rustica from the 3rd century AD were found. This was proved by the coins that were also unearthed. On the lands of the campground called "Bockenauer Schweiz", lying within municipal limits, and the settlement of "Daubacher Brücke" (between Winterburg and Bockenau) once lay, in the Middle Ages, Nunkirchen, a homestead with a church that was owned by Jutta von Sponheim.
Population development.
Bockenau’s population development since Napoleonic times is shown in the table below. The figures for the years from 1871 to 1987 are drawn from census data.
Religion.
As at 31 August 2013, there are 1,241 full-time residents in Bockenau, and of those, 536 are Evangelical (43.191%), 477 are Catholic (38.437%), 2 are Greek Orthodox (0.161%), 32 (2.579%) belong to other religious groups and 194 (15.633%) either have no religion or will not reveal their religious affiliation.
Politics.
Municipal council.
The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected by majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
Mayor.
Bockenau’s mayor is Jürgen Klotz, and his deputies are Rolf Stangenberg and Manfred Hay.
Culture and sightseeing.
Buildings.
The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
Clubs.
Bockenau has an active club life manifested mainly at the new "Bockenauer Schweiz Halle".
Museums.
On the way out of the village to the south is found an open-air Kleinbahn museum. Visitors can discover – and even climb – two Krauss-Maffei narrow-gauge steam locomotives, one of them of the type ÖBB 998, together with a restored coach and a typical guard’s hut with a great signal tree from the same time period. The "Kreuznacher Kleinbahn" ran from 1896 to 1936 between Winterburg and Bad Kreuznach.
Economy and infrastructure.
Winegrowing.
Known countrywide is the 12.5 ha Schäfer-Fröhlich winery, which belongs to the "Verband Deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitätsweingüter".
Established businesses.
The firm HAY’s drop forge is with its newly expanded plant the biggest employer in the village and ensures together with its other location in nearby Bad Sobernheim more than 1,200 skilled jobs in the emergent region.
Education.
Bockenau has one primary school.
Transport.
Running to Bockenau’s south is "Bundesstraße" 41, which since 2008 has been a four-lane highway. Serving the neighbouring town of Bad Sobernheim is a railway station on the Nahe Valley Railway (Bingen–Saarbrücken) with direct service without transfer to Frankfurt am Main by Regional-Express train. Five kilometres to the northwest lies the disused Pferdsfeld military airfield, while 35 km farther on in that same direction is found Frankfurt-Hahn Airport.


Battle of Diu

The Battle of Diu was a naval battle fought on 3 February 1509 in the Arabian Sea, in the port of Diu, India, between the Portuguese Empire and a joint fleet of the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, and the Zamorin of Calicut with support of the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire.
The Portuguese victory was critical: the great Muslim alliance was soundly defeated, easing the Portuguese strategy of controlling the Indian Ocean to route trade down the Cape of Good Hope, circumventing the traditional spice route controlled by the Arabs and the Venetians through the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. After the battle, Portugal rapidly captured key ports in the Indian Ocean including Goa, Ceylon, Malacca, and Ormuz, crippling the Mamluk Sultanate and the Gujarat Sultanate, greatly assisting the growth of the Portuguese Empire and establishing its trade dominance for more than a century.
The Battle of Diu was a battle of annihilation similar to the Battle of Lepanto and the Battle of Trafalgar, and one of the most important of world naval history, for it marks the beginning of European dominance over Asian seas that would last until the Second World War.
Background.
Just two years after Vasco da Gama reached India by sea, the Portuguese realized that the prospect of developing trade such as that which they had practiced in West Africa had become an impossibility, due to the opposition of Muslim merchant elites in the western coast of India, who incited attacks against Portuguese "feitorias", ships, and agents, sabotaged Portuguese diplomatical efforts, and led the massacre of the Portuguese in Calicut in 1500.
Thus, the Portuguese signed an alliance with a sworn enemy of Calicut instead, the Raja of Cochin, who invited them to establish headquarters. The Zamorin of Calicut invaded Cochin in response, but the Portuguese were able to devastate the lands and cripple the trade of Calicut, which at the time served as the main exporter of spices back to Europe, through the Red Sea. In December 1504, the Portuguese destroyed the Zamorin's yearly merchant fleet bound to Egypt, laden with spices.
When King Manuel I of Portugal received news of these developments, he decided to nominate Dom Francisco de Almeida as the first viceroy of India with expressed orders not just limited to safeguarding Portuguese "feitorias", but also to curb hostile Muslim shipping. Dom Francisco departed from Lisbon in March 1505 with twenty ships and his 20-year-old son, Dom Lourenço, who was himself nominated "capitão-mor do mar da Índia" or captain-major of the sea of India.
Portuguese intervention was seriously disrupting Muslim trade in the Indian Ocean, threatening Venetian interests as well, as the Portuguese became able to undersell the Venetians in the spice trade in Europe.
Unable to oppose the Portuguese, the Muslim communities of traders in India as well as the sovereign of Calicut, the Zamorin, sent envoys to Egypt pleading for aid against the Portuguese.
The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt.
The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was, in the beginning of the 16th century, the main middleman between the spice producing regions of India, and the Venetian buyers in the Mediterranean, mainly in Alexandria, who then sold the spices in Europe at a great profit. Egypt was otherwise mostly an agrarian society with little ties to the sea. Venice broke diplomatic relations with Portugal and started looking for ways to counter its intervention in the Indian Ocean, sending an ambassador to the Mamluk court and suggested that "rapid and secret remedies" be taken against the Portuguese.
Mamluk soldiers had little expertise in naval warfare, so the Mamluk Sultan, Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri requested Venetian support, in exchange for lowering tariffs to facilitate competition with the Portuguese. Venice supplied the Mamluks with Mediterranean-type carracks and war galleys manned by Greek sailors, which Venetian shipwrights helped disassemble in Alexandria and reassemble on the Suez. The galleys could mount cannon fore and aft, but not along the gunwales because the guns would interfere with the rowers. The native ships (dhows), with their sewn wood planks, could carry only very light guns.
Command of the expedition was entrusted to a Kurdish Mamluk, former governor of Jeddah, Amir Hussain Al-Kurdi, "Mirocem" in Portuguese. The expedition (referred to by the Portuguese the generic term "the rumes") included not only Egyptian Mamluks, but also a large number of Turkish, Nubian and Ethiopian mercenaries as well as Venetian gunners Hence, most of the coalition's artillery were archers, whom the Portuguese could easily outshoot.
The fleet left Suez in November 1505, 1100 men strong. They were ordered to fortify Jeddah against a possible Portuguese attack and quell rebellions around Suakin and Mecca. They had to spend the monsoon season on the island of Kamaran and landed at Aden at the tip of the Red Sea, where they got involved in costly local politics with the Tahirid Emir, before finally crossing the Indian Ocean.
Hence only in September 1507 did they reach Diu, a city at the mouth of the Gulf of Khambhat, in a journey that could have taken as little as a month to complete at full sail.
Diu and Malik Ayyaz.
At the time of the arrival of the Portuguese in India, the Gujarati were the main long distance dealers in the Indian Ocean, and an essential intermediary in east–west trade, between Egypt and Malacca, mostly trading cloths and spices. In the 15th century, the Sultan of Gujarat nominated Malik Ayyaz, a former bowman and slave of possible Georgian or Dalmatian origin, as the governor of Diu. A cunning and pragmatic ruler, Malik Ayyaz turned the city into the main port of Gujarat (known to the Portuguese as "Cambaia") and one of the main entrepôts between India and the Persian Gulf, avoiding Portuguese hostility by pursuing a policy of appeasement and even alignment – up until Hussain unexpectedly sailed into Diu.
Malik Ayyaz received Hussain well, but besides the Zamorin of Calicut, no other rulers of the Indian subcontinent were forthcoming against the Portuguese, unlike what the Muslim envoys to Egypt had promised. Ayyaz himself realized the Portuguese were a formidable naval force whom he did not wish to antagonize. He could not, however, reject Hussain for fear of retaliation from the powerful Sultan of Gujarat – besides obviously Hussain's own forces now within the city. Caught in a double bind, Ayyaz decided to only cautiously support Hussain.
The Battle of Chaul.
In March 1508, Hussain's and Ayyaz's fleets sailed south and clashed with Portuguese ships in a three-day naval engagement within the harbour of Chaul. The Portuguese commander was the captain-major of the seas of India, Lourenço de Almeida, tasked with overseeing the loading of allied merchant ships in that city and escort them back to Cochin.
Although the Portuguese were caught off-guard (the distinctively European-like ships of Hussein were at first thought to belong to the expedition of Afonso de Albuquerque, assigned to the Arabian Coast), the battle ended as a Pyrrhic victory for the Muslims, who suffered too many losses to be able to proceed towards the Portuguese headquarters in Cochin. Despite fortuitously sinking the Portuguese flagship, the rest of the Portuguese fleet escaped, while Hussain himself barely survived the encounter because of the unwilling committal of Malik Ayyaz to the battle. Hussain was left with no other choice but to return to Diu with Malik Ayyaz and prepare for a Portuguese retaliation. Hussain reported this battle back to Cairo as a great victory; however, the "Mirat Sikandari", a contemporary Persian account of the Kingdom of Gujarat, details this battle as a minor skirmish.
Nevertheless, among the dead was the viceroy's own son, Lourenço, whose body was never recovered, despite the best efforts of Malik Ayyaz to retrieve it for the Portuguese viceroy.
Portuguese preparations.
Upon hearing in Cochin of the death of his only son, Dom Francisco de Almeida was heart-stricken, and retired to his quarters for three days, unwilling to see anyone. The presence of a Mamluk fleet in India posed a grave threat to the Portuguese, but the viceroy now sought to personally exact revenge for the death of his son at the hands of "Mirocem", supposedly having said that "he who ate the chick must also eat the rooster or pay for it".
Nevertheless, the monsoon was approaching, and with it the storms that inhibited all navigation in the Indian Ocean until September. Only then could the viceroy call back all available Portuguese ships for repairs in dry dock and assemble his forces in Cochin.
Before they could depart though, on 6 December 1508 Afonso de Albuquerque arrived in Cannanore from the Persian Gulf with orders from the King of Portugal to replace Almeida as governor. Dom Francisco had a personal vendetta against Albuquerque, as the latter had been assigned to the Arabian Coast specifically to prevent Muslim navigation from entering or leaving the Red Sea. Yet his intentions of personally destroying the Muslim fleet in retaliation of his son's death became such a personal issue that he refused to allow his appointed successor take office. In doing so, the viceroy was in official rebellion against royal authority, and would rule Portuguese India for another year as such.
On 9 December, the Portuguese fleet departed for Diu.
The "Armada da Índia" on the move.
From Cochin, the Portuguese first passed by Calicut, hoping to intercept the Zamorin's fleet, but it had already left for Diu. The armada then anchored in "Baticala", to quell a dispute between its king and a local Hindu privateer allied to the Portuguese, Timoja. In Honavar, the Portuguese met with Timoja himself, who informed the viceroy of enemy movements. While there, the Portuguese galleys destroyed a fleet of raiders belonging to the Zamorin of Calicut.
At Angediva, the fleet fetched freshwater and Dom Francisco met with an envoy of Malik Ayyaz, though the details of such rendezvous are unknown. While there, the Portuguese were attacked by oar ships of the city of Dabul, unprovoked.
Dabul.
From Angediva, the Portuguese set sail to Dabul, an important fortified port city belonging to the Sultanate of Bijapur. The captain of the galley "São Miguel", Paio de Sousa, decided to investigate the harbour and put to shore, but he was ambushed by a force of about 6,000 men and killed, along with other Portuguese. Two days later, the viceroy led his heavily armoured forces ashore and crushed the garrison stationed by the riverbank in an amphibious pincer attack. Dabul paid dearly for the act of provocation, as per the viceroy's orders the city was then razed, the surrounding riverside settlements devastated, and almost all their inhabitants killed, along with the cattle and even stray dogs in retaliation.
According to Fernão Lopes de Castanheda, the sack of Dabul gave rise to a 'curse' on the western coast of India, where one might say: "may the wrath of the franks befall you".
Chaul and Bombay.
From Dabul, the Portuguese called at Chaul, where Dom Francisco ordered the governor of the town to prepare a tribute to be collected on the return from Diu. Moving towards Mahim, close to Bombay, the Portuguese found the town deserted.
At Bombay, Dom Francisco received a letter from Malikk Ayyaz. Doubtlessly aware of the danger facing his city, he wrote to appease the viceroy, stating that he had the prisoners and how bravely his son had fought, adding a letter from the Portuguese prisoners stating that they were well treated. The viceroy answered Malik Ayyaz (referred to as Meliqueaz in Portuguese) with a respectful but menacing letter, stating his intention of revenge, that they had better join all forces and prepare to fight or he would destroy Diu:
Difficulties on the Muslim side.
In the ten months between the Battle of Chaul and Diu, important developments took place on the Muslim field: Hussain took the chance to careen his ships and recovered a straggled carrack with a reinforcement of 300 men. Notwithstanding, the relationship between Hussain and Ayyaz worsened, with Hussain now plainly aware of the duplicity of Ayyaz, who had taken custody of the Portuguese prisoners at Chaul – which Hussain apparently intended "to send back to Cairo stuffed". Unable to pay the remaining of his troops, Hussain was forced to pawn his own artillery pieces to Ayyaz himself. Presumably, only either the hope of fresh reinforcements or fear of the reaction of the Sultan now prevented him from returning to Egypt.
At this point, should Malik Ayyaz assist Amir Hussain, he risked his city and his life; should he choose to turn on Hussain, the Sultan might take Ayyaz' head. If Hussain stood his ground, he risked annihilation and should he retreat, risked being executed by the Sultan of Egypt.
Now in a quadruple bind, they faced the Portuguese forces.
The Battle of Diu.
On 2 February 1509, the Portuguese sighted Diu from atop the crow nests. As they approached, Malik Ayyaz withdrew from the city, leaving overall command to Hussain. He ordered the oar ships to sally out and harass the Portuguese fleet before they had time to recover from the journey, but they did not pass beyond the range of the fortress' cannon. As night fell the Muslim fleet retreated into the channel, while the viceroy summoned all his captains to decide on the course of action.
As day broke, the Portuguese could see that the Muslims had decided to take advantage of the harbour of Diu protected by its fort, latching their carracks and galleys together close to shore and await the Portuguese attack, thus relinquishing the initiative. Portuguese forces were to be divided in four: one group to board the Mamluk carracks after a preliminary bombardment, another to attack the stationary Mamluk galleys from the flank, a 'bombardment group' that would support the rest of the fleet, and the flagship itself, which would not participate in the boarding, but would position itself in a convenient position to direct the battle and support it with its firepower. The brigantine "Santo António" would ensure communications.
The brigantine "Santo António" then ran through the fleet delivering the viceroy's speech, in which he detailed the reasons for which they sought the enemy, and the rewards to be granted in case of victory: the right to the sack, knighthood to all soldiers, nobility to the knights, criminals banished from the realm would be pardoned and slaves would receive the condition of squires if they were freed within a year.
Battle starts.
As the wind turned by about 11:00 am, the royal banner was hoisted atop the "Flor do Mar" and a single shot fired, signaling the start of the battle. At the general cry of "Santiago!" the Portuguese began their approach, with the galley "São Miguel" at the head of the formation, probing the channel. A general bombardment between the two forces preceded the grapple, and within the calm waters of the harbour of Diu, the Portuguese employed an innovative gunnery tactic: by firing directly at the water, the cannonballs bounced like skipping stones. A broadside from the "Santo Espírito" hit one of the enemy ships by the waterline, sinking it instantly.
As the carracks made contact, Hussain's flagship was grappled by the "Santo Espírito". When their bowcastles crossed, a group of men led by Rui Pereira jumped onto the enemy bowcastle, and before the ships were secured, already the Portuguese had stormed all the way to midship. Before the flagship was dominated though, another Mamluk carrack came to its aid, boarding the "Santo Espírito" from the opposite side. Hussain had strengthened his forces with a great number of Gujarati soldiers, distributed across the ships, and the heavily armoured Portuguese infantry suddenly risked being overwhelmed. Rui Pereira was killed, but at this crucial moment, the "Rei Grande" slammed against the free side of Hussain's flagship, delivering direly needed reinforcements, which tipped the scales in favour of the Portuguese.
Up on the crow's nests, Ethiopian and Turkish bowmen proved their worth against Portuguese matchlock crews. Many of the other Muslim mercenaries "fled at the first sight of the Portuguese".
Hussain had expected the Portuguese to commit their entire forces to the grapple, so he kept the light oarships back within the channel, to attack the Portuguese from behind when they engaged the carracks. Comprehending the stratagem, João da Nova maneuvered the "Flor do Mar" to block the channel entrance and prevent the oarships from sallying out. The compact mass of oarships provided an ideal target for Portuguese gunners, who disabled many ships that then blocked the path of the ones following. Unable to break through, the Zamorin's boats turned around after a short exchange, and retreated to Calicut. Throughout the course of the battle, the "Flor do Mar" fired over 600 shots.
Meanwhile, the faster group of galleys and caravels grappled the flank of the stationary enemy galleys, whose guns were unable to respond. An initial Portuguese assault was repelled, but a Portuguese salvo set three of the galleys adrift.
Slowly but surely, the Portuguese secured most of the carracks, half-blinded by the smoke. Hussain's flagship was overpowered and many began jumping ship. The galleys were dominated, and the shallow caravels positioned themselves between the ships and the coast, cutting down any who attempted to swim ashore.
Eventually, only a single ship remained – a great carrack, larger than any other vessel in the battle, anchored too close to shore for most of the deep-draught Portuguese vessels to reach. Its reinforced hull was impervious to Portuguese cannonfire and it took a continuous bombardment from the whole fleet to finally sink it by dusk, thus marking the end of the Battle of Diu.
Aftermath.
The battle ended in victory for the Portuguese, with the Gujarat-Mamluk-Calicut coalition all but defeated. The Mamluks fought bravely to the very end, but were at a loss as to how to counter a naval force, the like of which they had never seen before. The Portuguese had modern ships crewed by seasoned sailors, better equipped infantry – with heavy plate armour, arquebuses, and a type of clay grenade filled with gunpowder – more cannon and gunners more proficient in an art the Mamluks could not hope to match.
After the battle, Malik Ayyaz returned the prisoners of Chaul, well dressed and fed. Dom Francisco refused to take over Diu, claiming that it would be expensive to maintain, but signed a trade agreement with Ayyaz and opened a "feitoria" in the city. The Portuguese would later seek ardently the construction of a fortress at Diu, but the Malik managed to postpone this for as long as he was governor.
The spoils of the battle included three galleys, three carracks, 600 bronze artillery pieces, and three royal flags of the Mamlûk Sultan of Cairo that were sent to Portugal to be displayed in the Convento de Cristo, in Tomar, headquarters of the Order of Christ, former Knights Templar, which Almeida was part of. The Viceroy extracted from the merchants of Diu (who funded the refitting of the Muslim fleet) a payment of 300,000 gold xerafins, 100,000 of which were distributed among the troops and 10,000 donated to the hospital of Cochin.
The treatment of the Mamluk captives by the Portuguese however, was brutal. The Viceroy ordered most of them to be hanged, burned alive, or torn to pieces, tied to the mouths of cannon, in retaliation for his son's death. Commenting in the aftermath of the battle, Almeida reported to King Manuel: "As long as you may be powerful at sea, you will hold India as yours; and if you do not possess this power, little will avail you a fortress on the shore." After handing over the Viceroy's post to Afonso de Albuquerque and leaving for Portugal in November 1509, Almeida was himself killed in December in a skirmish against the Khoikhoi tribe near the Cape of Good Hope, along with 70 other Portuguese – more than in the Battle of Diu. His body was buried on the beach.
Hussain survived the battle, and managed to flee Diu along with 22 other Mamluks on horseback. He returned to Cairo, and several years later was put in charge of another fleet with 3,000 men to be sent against the Portuguese, but he was murdered on the Red Sea, by his Turkish second-in-command – future Selman Reis of the Ottoman navy. The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt would collapse to an Ottoman invasion shortly after.
Of all the leading participants of the Battle of Diu, Malik Ayyaz would be the only one not to die a violent death; he died a wealthy man in his estate in 1522.
Legacy.
The Battle of Diu is considered as one of the most important battles in history. It marked the beginning of Western European dominance in the Indian Ocean. The author William Weir in his book "50 Battles That Changed the World", ranks this battle as the 6th most important in history, losing only to the Battle of Marathon, the Nika Rebellion, the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Battle of Arbela (Gaugamela) and the Battle of Hattin. He says: "When the 15th century began, Islam seemed about ready to dominate the world. That prospect sank in the Indian Ocean off Diu." The historian Rainer Daehnhardt says that this battle is compared only to the Battles of Lepanto and Trafalgar in terms of importance and legacy. According to the scholar "Michael Adas", this battle "established European Naval superiority in the Indian Ocean for centuries to come."


Hermann Eduard von Holst

Hermann Eduard von Holst (June 19, 1841 – January 20, 1904) was a German-American historian.
Biography.
Holst was a Baltic German born at Fellin, Russian Empire. (It is now Viljandi, Estonia.) He was the seventh of ten children of a Lutheran minister. His father died while he was in the Gymnasium (elite secondary school), and he had to teach and live frugally to stay in school.
He studied history at the universities of University of Dorpat now (Tartu) and Heidelberg, where he received a doctorate under Ludwig Häusser in 1865. In 1866, he settled in St. Petersburg, but in consequence of a pamphlet on an attempt on the life of the emperor, which he published at Leipzig while he was traveling abroad, his return to Russia was forbidden.
He decided to emigrate to the United States in July 1867. He settled in New York City, where he taught modern languages for a time in a small private school and made a number of political speeches in the runup to the 1868 election. In the autumn of 1869, he became assistant editor, under Alexander Jacob Schem, of the "Deutsch-Amerikanisches Conversations-Lexicon".
His work in German on Louis XIV, "Federzeichnung aus der Geschichte des Despotismus", appeared in Leipzig soon after he arrived to the US. He subsequently became a contributor to several American journals.
On April 23, 1872 in Manhattan, he married Annie Isabelle Hatt, the daughter of the Rev. Josiah Hatt (1821–1857), pastor of the Baptist Church in Hoboken, New Jersey, and his wife, Mary Thomas. Their son Hermann V. von Holst, the future architect, was born in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1874.
A call to a professorship of history in the newly reorganized University of Strasbourg brought him back to Germany in 1872. In 1874, he was given the chair of modern history at University of Freiburg in the Grand Duchy of Baden where he stayed until 1892. For ten years, he was a member of the Baden Herrenhaus, and he was vice president for four years. He revisited the United States in 1878 and 1879 and in 1884. In 1882 he was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society In 1892, he became head of the department of history at the University of Chicago. Retiring on account of ill-health in 1900, he returned to Germany and died at Freiburg in January 1904.
Von Holst's works are almost all on American topics. Through his books and his lectures at the University of Chicago, he exerted a powerful influence in encouraging American students to follow more closely the German methods of historical research.


Palatinate-Mosbach

Palatinate-Mosbach was a state of the Holy Roman Empire centred on Mosbach and Eberbach in the north of modern Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Palatinate-Mosbach was created in 1410 out of the partition of the Palatinate after the death of King Rupert III for his son Otto. In 1448 Otto inherited half of Palatinate-Neumarkt, purchased the other half, and renamed his state Palatinate-Mosbach-Neumarkt.


Arnold, Lord of IJsselstein

Arnold, Lord of IJsselstein (also known as "Arnoud", 1304 – 12 February 1363) was the second Lord of IJsselstein and Stoutenburg and Schout of Amersfoort and the Eem Valley.
Life.
He was a son of Gijsbrecht, Lord of IJsselstein and Bertha of Heukelom. From 1312, he is mentioned as a knight. Between 1314 and 1325, he held various offices in the Bishopric of Utrecht, such as Schout of Amersfoort and the Eem Valley.
In 1344, he succeeded his father as Lord of IJsselstein. His position was confirmed by Count William IV of Holland. He acted as a councillor for the Count of Holland between 1345 and 1348 and again from 1354 to 1357. He tried to remain neutral during the Hook and Cod wars. Arnold was particularly interested in the medical science and founded the medical library of the hospital in IJsselstein
He was married to Maria of Avenes, a daughter of bishop Guy of Utrecht. They had a daughter named Guida, who married John I, Lord of Egmond. Guida succeeded Arnold as Lady of IJsselstein.
Arnold died in 1363 and was buried in the Saint Nicholas church in IJsselstein.


Vardarski Rid

Vardarski Rid is an archaeological site in Gevgelija, North Macedonia of a town dating from Early Antiquity. Archaeological excavations reveal the architectural layout of the monumental stoa, an acropolis, and other segments from the settlement. Vardarski Rid is also used today as a picnic spot.
Geography.
Vardarski Rid is located in the central part of the Lower Vardar Valley. It is located at a dominant strategic position above the Gevgelija Plain, Gevgelija, and the Vardar River. The Vardar River surrounds the ancient town's northern and eastern border. The lowlands of the Gevgelija Plain stretch west and south of Vardarski Rid. The site consists of two hills, one hill is taller and steeper, and the other is shorter.
Museum.
Parts of the excavations are exhibited in the municipal museum, Gevgelija.


Builth Wells Urban District

Builth Wells Urban District, in Brecknockshire was in existence 1894-1974. It was succeeded by Brecknock.
Further information, including details of the archives here .


Oliver Kahn

Oliver Rolf Kahn (; born 15 June 1969) is a German former football goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team in 1975. Twelve years later, Kahn made his debut match in the professional squad. In 1994, he was transferred to Bayern Munich for the fee of DM 4.6 million, where he played until the end of his career in 2008. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most successful goalkeepers of all-time. His commanding presence in goal and aggressive style earned him nicknames such as "Der Titan" (, ) from the press and "Vol-kahn-o" ("volcano") from fans.
Kahn is one of the most successful German players in recent history, having won eight Bundesliga titles, six DFB-Pokals, the UEFA Cup in 1996, the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup, both achieved in 2001. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, his individual contributions have earned him a record four consecutive UEFA Best European Goalkeeper awards, as well as three IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper awards, and two German Footballer of the Year trophies. At the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Kahn became the only goalkeeper in the tournament's history to win the Golden Ball. Kahn placed fifth in both the IFFHS Best Goalkeeper of the 21st Century and Best Goalkeeper of the Past 25 Years elections.
From 1994 to 2006, Kahn was part of the German national team, in which he played as a starter after the retirement of Andreas Köpke, he was an unused member of the squad that won the 1996 UEFA European Championship. In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, although Germany were not among the tournament favourites, Kahn's prowess in goal was key to reaching the final, where Germany lost 0–2 to Brazil and Kahn made a mistake on Brazil's first goal; nonetheless, he received the Golden Ball as player of the tournament.
Club career.
Karlsruher SC.
At the age of six, Kahn joined Karlsruher SC, where his father Rolf had played from 1962 to 1965. He started as an outfield player before becoming goalkeeper. Kahn was included in the team's professional squad in the 1987–88 season of the first Bundesliga division, at first being the reserve goalkeeper behind Alexander Famulla. On 27 November 1987, Kahn made his league debut in a 4–0 away defeat to 1. FC Köln. However, not until 1990 did manager Winfried Schäfer decide to start him over Famulla. In the following years, Kahn established himself as the team's starting goalkeeper. He was considered a key player and a motivator in the Karlsruher squad which reached the semi-finals in the 1993–94 UEFA Cup. During the round of sixteen the team accomplished a 7–0 rout of Valencia at its home field after losing the first match 1–3 at the Mestalla Stadium. The game was nicknamed the "Miracle at Wildparkstadion" by the German media. The team was defeated by SV Austria Salzburg in the semi-final.
Bayern Munich.
Kahn's performance for Karlsruher SC prompted Bayern Munich to express interest in acquiring him. The team signed him as a replacement for Raimond Aumann at the beginning of the 1994–95 season, for the at that time record fee of DM4.6 million (€2.385 million) for his position, and was established as Bayern's starting goalkeeper. Although suffering a rupture of his cruciate ligament, which kept him off the field for almost six months, Kahn made his debut match for the German national team two months after his return. Bayern defeated Bordeaux 3–1 in the 1996 UEFA Cup Final. In the 1996–97 Bundesliga season, Kahn achieved his first German championship with Bayern Munich, the German League Cup, and was named German Goalkeeper of the Year for the second time in his career (the first in 1994).
In 1999, Bayern Munich reached the 1999 Champions League Final, facing Manchester United at Camp Nou. Although Bayern Munich player Mario Basler scored an early goal in the sixth minute of the game, two goals by Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær in injury time led to United's victory. The same year, he was named World Goalkeeper of the Year by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics.
Kahn was sent off in an incident against Hansa Rostock on 3 March 2001. With his Bayern Munich team losing 2–3 in the final minutes, he sneaked into the area during a corner kick, jumped up, and punched the ball into the opponent's net. He immediately received a red card, which dismissed him from the game. He was named man of the match when he was part of the squad which played the 2001 Champions League title against Valencia. He played an important role in the penalty shoot-out held after the teams remained tied 1–1 after extra time, making three saves. He also received the UEFA Fair Play Award for this match, after he walked up to a disappointed Santiago Cañizares, the opposition goalkeeper, after the penalty shoot-out and attempted to comfort him. The same year, Bayern Munich won the Intercontinental Cup at Tokyo's National Stadium against the Argentine team Boca Juniors. But the team failed to win the UEFA Super Cup a couple of months earlier.
By Kahn's account, injuries, personal problems and a lack of motivation were responsible for his game going into a rapid decline during the 2002–03 season. This culminated with Kahn allowing a seemingly soft shot by Roberto Carlos into the net against Real Madrid in the first knockout-round of the 2003–04 Champions League season, contributing to the elimination of his team from the competition. Bayern Munich won the next Bundesliga season with Kahn.
Prior to a 2006 match against Arminia Bielefeld in Munich, Michael Rensing peppered Kahn with practice shots. One shot hit Kahn squarely in the eye, causing enough swelling and discoloration to keep him from playing. With Rensing in goal, Bayern Munich won the match 2–0.
Kahn announced his intention to honour his contract and play through the 2007–08 season. As of 2021, he is the joint all time clean sheet leader in the history of the Bundesliga with Manuel Neuer, with 204. On 2 September 2007, aged 38, he played his 535th Bundesliga match, becoming the league's all-time leader among goalkeepers in matches played. Kahn made his final European appearance for Bayern in a 4–0 defeat to Zenit Saint Petersburg in the UEFA cup semi-final on 1 May 2008. His last Bundesliga game was the 4–1 victory against Hertha Berlin on 17 May. It was his 557th appearance in the German top-flight.
After a twenty-year career, of which he played fourteen with Bayern, he had his professional farewell in a testimonial match versus the select Germany XI on 2 September 2008, which ended 1–1. His last appearance for Bayern Munich was on 27 May 2008 at the Salt Lake Stadium (Yuvabharati Krirangan), Kolkata in a friendly against Mohun Bagan of India during Bayern's Asian tour of 2008. Around 120,000 people turned up for the match. The match ended 0–3 in favour of Bayern and Michael Rensing substituted him in the 55th minute.
International career.
Kahn was initially called for the German national team as a late back-up for the 1994 FIFA World Cup; however he made his first international appearance on 23 June 1995 in a 2–1 victory against Switzerland, two months after recovering from his cruciate ligament injury. Along with Oliver Reck, Kahn was a reserve keeper of the squad, which won the 1996 UEFA European Football Championship in England.
Kahn spent the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France on the bench, and it was not until Andreas Köpke announced his retirement at the end of the tournament that Kahn became the starting goalkeeper. Two years after the 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, in which defending champions Germany made an embarrassing exit in the group stage, Kahn received the squad's captaincy, succeeding the striker Oliver Bierhoff.
Kahn experienced one of his worst performances in his international career against England in Munich in 2001. Germany were favoured to win as they had beaten England 1–0 in 2000 at the Wembley Stadium. However, they were routed 5–1, including a hat-trick by Michael Owen. Despite the defeat, Germany qualified for the World Cup after winning a playoff against Ukraine, and Kahn remained as Germany's number one for the upcoming Cup. Kahn was named the best goalkeeper in the world by IFFHS for the second time in his career.
Despite Germany's comparatively low expectations when for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the team advanced to the finals; Kahn conceded only three goals in the course of the competition, two of which were in the Final. Playing the final match with torn ligaments in his right ring finger, Kahn conceded the first goal by fumbling a rebounded shot from Rivaldo to the feet of striker Ronaldo in the 67th minute. Once the game was over with Brazil as the new champion, he stood alone and disappointed in his goal; nevertheless he refused to blame his injury for his mistake. The FIFA Technical Study Group awarded him with the Lev Yashin Award for the best goalkeeper of the tournament, while also edging out tournament top scorer Ronaldo to receive the Golden Ball for the best individual performance. Kahn is the only goalkeeper in World Cup history to win the Golden Ball, and also became the first German goalkeeper to keep five clean sheets in a World Cup tournament.
Kahn maintained his number one spot for the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, but Germany were once again eliminated in the group stage. Oliver Kahn gave up his captaincy to Michael Ballack after the tournament.
Germany's new manager Jürgen Klinsmann, who replaced Rudi Völler, adopted the strategy of rotating the number one spot between Kahn and his longtime competitor, Jens Lehmann of Arsenal, to stimulate competition between the two. On 7 April 2006, after two years of dispute for the position Klinsmann announced Lehmann was his first-choice goalkeeper for the 2006 World Cup. Kahn decided to stay on as a backup for the competition; despite their acrimonious pre-tournament battle for Germany's starting role, Kahn openly accepted Klinsmann's decision. Kahn and Lehmann embraced and shook hands as the former offered words of encouragement before the quarter-final penalty shoot-out against Argentina. In the postgame conference, Kahn publicly praised Lehmann for his two decisive penalty saves.
After Germany was eliminated in the semi-finals by Italy, Kahn was given the start for the third place play-off held on 8 July 2006, which Germany won 3–1 against Portugal. In what was his last international appearance for Germany, he also received the captaincy of the team in the absence of the injured Michael Ballack. Although overshadowed by Bastian Schweinsteiger's game-winning performance in the match, Kahn played to a high standard, pulling off several saves. Kahn deflected a shot by Portuguese forward Pauleta after he beat the German defence, and later saved Deco's shot made from just inside the penalty area. Following the match, Oliver Kahn announced his retirement from the German National Team. Throughout his international career he earned 86 caps for Germany, including 49 as team captain. He never won a World Cup, but finished as runner-up in 2002 and third in 2006.
Media.
Due to his performances during the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, Kahn gained popularity in Asia. He was depicted in several television commercials, including one for the Shinkin bank. In 2008, his wax figure in the Berlin branch of the Madame Tussaud museum was inaugurated. Kahn is the subject of the song "Olli Kahn" by the German pop group Die Prinzen.
In 2015, the arcade game company Konami announced that Kahn would feature in their football video game "Pro Evolution Soccer 2016" as one of the new myClub Legends.
Television career.
After the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, he joined the ZDF sports team as an analyst for the German national team's games. In 2009, he was part of the jury of a China Central Television reality show, which aimed to find China's best young goalkeeper. As of 2011, he started negotiations with television channel Sat.1 to introduce the same format to German television under the name "Never give up – The Kahn Principle", in which the winner would receive a contract to play for a Bundesliga club.
Personal life.
Kahn was born in Karlsruhe. He is partly of Latvian descent; his father Rolf was born in Liepāja in 1943, where he remains well-known, to a Latvian mother, Ērika (née Alksnis), and a Baltic German father, also named Rolf. Rolf briefly played professionally for Karlsruher SC, as did his son Axel, Oliver Kahn's older brother.
In 2009, he was offered the position of manager for the FC Schalke 04, which he turned down. Two years thereafter, in April 2011, a German court fined Kahn €125,000 ($182,223) for tax evasion after failing to declare more than €6,000 of luxury clothing he bought on a trip to Dubai.
He supports the Munich street-football league "Bunt kickt gut", which is considered a pioneer project of organised street-football and a Germany and Europe-wide model of intercultural understanding, education values and prevention; the Sepp-Herberger foundation, which promotes football in schools, clubs, and prisons; and the Justin Rockola Association, whose goal is the protection of young people against violence, alcohol and drugs.
He received his coaching licence in 2010. After having studied business at the Privatuniversität Schloss Seeburg Kahn obtained a Master of Business Administration degree in 2012. His thesis topic was "Strategic management in Germany's professional soccer".
Relationships.
In 1999, Kahn married Simone, with whom he has two children: Katharina-Maria (born 28 December 1998) and David (born 7 March 2003). The couple separated in 2003 and Kahn thereafter had a highly publicised relationship with Verena Kerth from 2003 to 2008. Kahn and Simone briefly reconciled in 2009, before divorcing the same year.
On 8 July 2011, Kahn married his girlfriend Svenja in Munich. The couple has a son, Julian (born 1 February 2011).
Style of play.
Regarded as one of the greatest and most successful goalkeepers of all-time, in addition to his goalkeeping technique, agility, reflexes, distribution, command of his area, and shot-stopping abilities, Kahn is widely admired for the stamina, mental strength, and composure he showed to overcome the stresses and pressures of his career. His profile on the Bayern Munich website lists his attributes as "impatient, disciplined, ambitious".
Known for his eccentricity and charismatic leadership from the back, which often saw him call out his defenders whenever they made errors, due to the formidable presence, commanding influence, and aggressive playing style that he showed in goal during his professional career, Kahn's epithet is "The Titan"; he was also frequently nicknamed "King Kahn" throughout his career.
Honours.
Club.
Karlsruher SC II
Bayern Munich
Source:
International.
Source:
Individual.
Source:


Eberhard of Franconia

Eberhard III (c. 885 – 2 October 939), a member of the Conradine dynasty, was Duke of Franconia, succeeding his elder brother, King Conrad I, in December 918. From 926 to 928, he also acted as ruler of Lotharingia.
Life.
Eberhard was the second son of Conrad the Elder and his wife Glismut (d. 924), probably an illegitimate daughter of the Carolingian emperor Arnulf of Carinthia. The Conradines, counts in the Franconian Lahngau region, had been loyal supporters of the Carolingians. At the same time, they competed vigorously for predominance in Franconia with the sons of the Babenbergian duke Henry of Franconia at Bamberg Castle. In 906 the two parties battled each other near Fritzlar. Conrad the Elder was killed, as were two of the three Babenberg brothers. The Babenberg feud ended, when King Louis the Child took the Conradines' side and Conrad the Younger became the undisputed duke of all Franconia.
Upon the early death of King Louis in 911, the Saxon, Swabian and Bavarian princes elected Conrad the Younger King of East Francia. Under the rule of his brother, Eberhard from 913 appeared as count in the Franconian Hessengau and Persgau, 913 and 928 als as count in the Upper Lahngau. He supported his brother against the rivalling dukes Arnulf of Bavaria and Henry of Saxony (Henry the Fowler). In 914 he assumed the office of a Franconian margrave; nevertheless, unable to assert his claims, he had to witness Henry's conquest of the Thuringian lands of late Duke Burchard.
On his deathbed in Forchheim, in December 918, King Conrad assembled the German princes to arrange his succession. According to the medieval chronicler Widukind of Corvey, he persuaded Eberhard to forgo any ambition for the German crown and to urge the Prince-electors of the Empire to choose his former rival, the Ottonian duke Henry the Fowler, as his successor. Eberhard was assigned to personally hand over the royal insignia to Henry at the Imperial Diet, which was held in May 919 in Fritzlar. Conrad considered this to be the only way to end the long-standing feud between Saxons and Franks and to prevent the dissolution of the Empire into smaller states based on the German stem duchies.
Eberhard succeeded his brother as Duke of Franconia and remained a loyal supporter of the new king Henry I. After Henry had reconquered the troubled and restless Duchy of Lotharingia, he also conferred to him the office of a regent in 926. Eberhard quickly stabilized the Lotharingian lands and ruled until in 928 King Henry enfeoffed his son-in-law Gilbert, the husband of his daughter Gerberga.
After Henry's death, however, Eberhard soon came into conflict with the king's son and successor Otto I, who aimed at strengthening the royal authority. In 937 the Franconian duke invested Helmern castle near Peckelsheim, located near the Saxon border and garrisoned by a Saxon burgrave who refused to swear fealty to any non-Saxon. King Otto called the feuding parties to a royal court at Magdeburg, where Eberhard was ordered to pay a fine and his lieutenants were sentenced to carry dead dogs in public, a particularly dishonouring punishment. Infuriated, Eberhard joined Otto's opponents, raising a rebellion in 938 with Otto's half-brother Thankmar and the new Duke Eberhard of Bavaria, the late Duke Arnulf's son. The revolt was soon suppressed; Thankmar was assassinated at Eresburg Castle, and Eberhard of Bavaria was replaced by his uncle Berthold as duke (ruled 938–945).
Following a brief reconciliation with King Otto, Eberhard then allied himself with Duke Gilbert of Lorraine, Archbishop Frederick of Mainz, and Henry, Otto's younger brother, in a new uprising. Their united forces posed a serious threat to Otto's rule; nevertheless, on 2 October 939, the rebels were finally defeated in the Battle of Andernach. Eberhard of Franconia was killed, allegedly by his Conradine relative Count Odo of Wetterau, whereafter his duchy was seized and remained a direct Imperial possession until its dissolution in 1039.
References.
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Galloway Hills

The Galloway Hills are part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland, and form the northern boundary of western Galloway. They lie within the bounds of the Galloway Forest Park, an area of some of largely uninhabited wild land, managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The unusual place names reflect a mixture of the Old Norse and Scottish Gaelic languages and hint at the range of influences which have acted on society within the area over the centuries.
Location.
The location of Galloway has been described as follows, "Galloway is contained by sea to the west (North Channel) and south (Solway Firth), the "Galloway Hills" to the north, and the River Nith to the east". So if we were to say "The hills of Galloway" we would be including all the hills within this area; but as the first sentence implies, the "Galloway Hills" is usually taken to mean a collection of ranges which lie mainly south of Loch Doon and which are not constrained by political boundaries. The boundary between Dumfries and Galloway Region and Ayrshire runs west to east over Kirriereoch hill, drops south of Mullwharchar to the shores of Loch Enoch, before heading northwards up the east shore of Loch Doon, and so runs more or less through what might well be considered the heart of the Galloway hills – around Loch Enoch.
Northern and western boundaries.
The northern limit of this hill area is around the small towns of Dalmellington and Straiton, both in Ayrshire. The B741 runs on an east/west line between these two towns on its way to the town of Girvan on the Firth of Clyde. The B741 could therefore be taken as the northern limit of the Galloway Hills area.
From Straiton a minor road runs south by Stinchar Bridge through the northwest corner of these hills to meet another minor road which runs from Glentrool village northwards towards Girvan and Maybole. This latter road forms the western boundary of the Galloway Hills. It follows the valley of Water of Minnoch and for most of its length it passes through the extensive forestry plantations which lie to the west of the hills.
Eastern boundary.
The A713 (Castle Douglas to Ayr road) forms the eastern boundary of these hills. As it heads south from Dalmellington it passes through the valley known as the Glenkens which separates the Galloway Hills from the Carsphairn and Scaur Hills hills to the east. There is an extensive hydro-electric scheme (commissioned 1935/36) with several dams and power stations that runs down through the Glenkens to end at Tongland Power Station near Kirkcudbright.
The A713 passes through Carsphairn on the Water of Deuch and St John's Town of Dalry on Water of Ken and also close to New Galloway at Kenbridge, at the northern end of Loch Ken. From New Galloway the A712 passes through the hills to Newton Stewart. This road passes Clatteringshaws Reservoir, the Queen's Way, Dunkitterick Cottage (the birthplace of Alexander Murray), a deer range, a wild goat park and Murray's Monument.
Southern boundary.
For most users of these hills, "the Galloway Hills" would mean the ranges which lie north of a line running eastwards along the north shores of Loch Trool, Loch Dee and Clatteringshaws Reservoir. This for them would be the notional true heartland of the Galloway Hills. The Southern Upland Way and the National Cycle Network Route Number Seven travel along this line. A slightly looser use of the phrase Galloway Hills would include the ranges which lie to the south of that line.
Outlying ranges to the south.
To the south of the A712, east of Clatteringshaws Reservoir is a hill called Cairnsmore of Dee or Black Craig of Dee (493 metres) which offers excellent views from the top over Clatteringshaws into the heart of the Galloway Hills. To the south of Murray's Monument is a range of hills around Cairnsmore of Fleet. The top of Cairnsmore of Fleet is over 2 km in length running almost north-south and it has tops at either end. To the south of this again is a group of small coastal hills around Cairnharrow just to the west of Gatehouse of Fleet. Immediately beyond that is the A75 road running close to the shore of the Solway Firth.
Hills named Cairnsmore.
Besides the two Cairnsmore Hills just mentioned there is a third "Cairnsmore" acting as a prominent sentinel around the borders of the Galloway hills. This is Cairnsmore of Carsphairn which lies some 5 km to the north east of Carsphairn and is the prominent hill to the east of the Rhinns of Kells ridge.
Three ridges.
As mentioned above the heartland of the Galloway Hills lies to the north of Loch Trool and many excellent walks into that particularly wild remote territory start from the extensive car park by Bruce's Stone. There are three ridges which run northwards from the Loch Trool/Loch Dee/Clatteringshaws area - The Awful Hand on the west, the Rhinns of Kells to the east, and the Dungeon Hills in between.
Range of the Awful Hand.
Taking the 'Awful Hand' from north to south are the following tops Shalloch on Minnoch, Tarfessock, Kirriereoch Hill, Merrick and Benyellary. Merrick is the highest hill in the south of Scotland though at less than 3000 feet it is not a Munro. These five hills have ridges running off them to the west making the hand shape, Benyellary being the thumb. This hand is best seen from near Waterhead on Minnoch as you head south from Stinchar Bridge towards Glentrool village. The Awful Hand ridge is 9 km in length as the crow flies; from the top of Shalloch on Minnoch to the top of Benyellary. Although sounding quite short, there are some stiff climbs along the route, especially around Kirriereoch Hill and the Merrick. Walkers also have at least a 3 km walk in to the two terminal tops from any road.
Rhinns of Kells.
Taking the Rhinns of Kells from north to south we start on Black Craig on the east bank of Loch Doon, followed by Coran of Portmark, Meaul, Carlin's Cairn, Corserine, Millfire, Milldown, Meikle Millyea, Little Millyea and Darrou. Darrou lies about half way between Loch Dee and Clatteringshaws. The Rhinns of Kells is 15.5 km as the crow flies from Black Craig to Darrou and the ridge has a double curve on it making it somewhat longer than that. It tends to be a gently undulating ridge along its length making for relatively easy walking.
Dungeon Hills.
Taking the Dungeon Hills from north to south, Craigmawhannal is just south of the south end of Loch Doon, followed by, Hoodens Hill, Mullwharchar, Dungeon Hill, Craignairny, Craignaw, Snibe Hill and Craiglee. Craiglee is to an extent an outlier from the main ridge lying as it does at the eastern end of the Rig of the Jarkness which runs east to west. Craiglee is just north of Loch Dee. The 'Dungeons' are 11 km from the top of Craigmawhannal to the top of Craiglee as the crow flies. None of these hills get to the same heights as some hills on the other two ridges. However, apart from Mullwharchar they are much more rocky and rugged and are therefore popular with climbers and scramblers.
A planning application was made in January 1978 to Kyle and Carrick District Council by the UKAEA to test drill on Mullwharchar for the purpose of dumping nuclear waste. On 24 October 1978, the Council rejected the application after considerable local protest.
Between the ridges.
There is relatively low ground between the Dungeons ridge and the other two ridges on either side of it and this lower ground passes through the whole hill area from north to south forming two corridors through the hills.
However, the surface of the highest loch in the corridor to the west of the Dungeons, Loch Enoch, is actually around 490 metres above sea level. With Loch Trool being about 70 m above sea level, this corridor rises significantly as it passes for about 5 km between the hills on either side.
The surface of Dry Loch of the Dungeon, the highest loch to the east of the Dungeons is around 330 metres above sea level and most of the Silver Flowe immediately to the south of it lies fairly level at about the 270 metres mark all the way back south to Loch Dee (around 225 metres above sea level). The explanation for this is that the Silver Flowe is a floating or blanket bog and is consequently flat in nature.
Lochs between the Awful Hand and the Dungeons.
There are two burns which feed into the eastern end of Loch Trool on its northern shore, the Buchan Burn (the more westerly) and the Gairland Burn, separated by a 3 km long ridge which runs north from Buchan Hill just north of Loch Trool to Craig Neldricken immediately south of Loch Enoch - the Buchan Ridge.
It is quite possible to use the Buchan Burn route to get to Loch Enoch, passing the Grey Man of the Merrick, on the left before Loch Enoch (OS ref. NX427842). The more popular route however, because of the scenic interest, is the Gairland Burn path which passes Loch Valley, Loch Neldricken and Loch Arron before reaching Loch Enoch. This is often called the "Loch's Route onto The Merrick" - though involves a 350-metre climb up Redstone Rig from Loch Enoch to the Merrick.
On the west side of Loch Neldricken is "Murder Hole", which name refers to an incident in Samuel Crockett's novel "The Raiders" - though it is claimed that the real murder hole is near Rowantree Bridge (OS Ref NX354907) on the Water of Minnoch where the bodies of waylaid, murdered travellers were dumped.
East of Loch Neldricken, access to Loch Enoch is gained by the Wolf Slock. Both of these latter named places figure prominently in the Crockett novel. The sharp granite sand on the beaches of Loch Enoch itself was at one time collected and sold for sharpening knives and scythes.
In McBain's book "The Merrick and Neighbouring Hills" there is a description of how McBain tried to find the depth of Loch Enoch by cutting a series of holes on its icy surface and dropping a weighted line into it - quite alone when he did so. He worked out a depth of 105 feet at what he reckoned was the deepest point. McBain was an intrepid hill walker/climber who was much devoted to these hills and his book exudes his love for the wild places.
Silver Flowe.
The Silver Flowe is a national nature reserve with a Blanket bog of international importance. It is part of the Merrick Kells Biosphere Reserve and is a Ramsar site for the quality of its peatlands and wetlands. The reserve is owned by Forest Enterprise but is managed through a lease by Scottish Natural Heritage.
Backhill of Bush.
Today Backhill of Bush is open as a bothy, having been renovated after a period of closure due to vandalism. Until around 1950 it was still in use as the home of a shepherd (or "Hird" in local parlance) working a part of the land known as the Dungeon of Buchan and was reckoned to be the loneliest such outpost in Galloway with the Silver Flowe to the west and the Rhinns of Kells to the east.
Soon after this the land was taken over by the Forestry Commission and the sheep grazings became dense forest, but not before the death of a 17-year-old shepherd called Ralph Furlow, an employee of the Department of Agriculture, whose job it was to cross the Rhinns of Kells to tend to the sheep still in the Dungeon area. On 27 January 1954 he was overwhelmed in a snow storm and his death is commemorated by a monument just below Millfire on its east side.
Access into the heart of the Galloway Hills from the East and West.
The route Ralph Furlow would have used to cross the Rhinns was that used by the former residents of Back Hill - going over the saddle between Corserine and Millfire (OS. Ref NX516863). In earlier times a funeral party taking a "hird's" wife's dead body over the Rhinns was caught in a snowstorm in this saddle and the body had to be left there for several days. Heading west from Back Hill for the Loch Enoch area the route taken was up the Nick of the Dungeon, a steep boulder-strewn climb west of the watery pools of the Silver Flowe.
Habitation in the Galloway Hills.
There are the remains of several other former buildings scattered around the Galloway hills area; notably at Glenhead (NX433800) close to the Southern Upland Way for example, and at Culsharg (NX416822) on the "tourist route" from Bruce's Stone to the Merrick. The latter can still be used as something of a shelter in bad weather, though it is far from MBA bothy standard. Buildings still in use are to be found around the periphery of the Galloway hills heartland but apart from forest tracks, there are neither public roads nor buildings in use in the heartland itself.
Minnigaff Hills.
The Minnigaff Hills lie just south of the east end of Loch Trool and they stretch to the shores of Clatteringshaws Reservoir. Their southern boundary is the A712 New Galloway to Newton Stewart road.
The battle which Bruce's Stone commemorates was actually fought (in 1307) at the south east end of Loch Trool where Muldonnoch falls steeply into it. South east of Muldonnoch is Lamachan Hill, the south west ridge of which leads to Larg Hill (676 metres) whilst another runs east over Bennanbrack to Curleywee. White Hill is 1.5km north of Curleywee whilst its 3.5km long southern ridge drop to the top of Black Benwee.
Some 2 km east of Loch Dee a ridge of hills runs from just south of Darrou in a south westerly direction; these hills are really a continuation of the line of the Rhinns of Kells. From north to south the hills are Cairngarroch, Cairnbaber, Millfore and Drigmorn Hill.
There is also a small range of hills just to the west of Clatteringshaws Reservoir. On Darnaw, the highest of these hills, there is a monument to those who died here in an air crash on 2 February 1937.
Air crash sites.
Besides the air crash site just mentioned on Darnaw there are many more crash sites (some with monuments) in the Galloway hills area. There is a monument on Cairnsmore of Fleet which lists 9 aircraft which have crashed there. There is a monument on Craignaw to the pilots of an F-111 which crashed there on 19 December 1979. During World War II, Dumfries and several other places in south west Scotland were heavily involved in the training of pilots etc. for the war effort and many of the crash sites date from this era.
Galloway Forest Park.
The whole area of hills falls within Galloway Forest Park, an area of of mixed landscape with three visitors' centres and offering many recreational facilities. On 15 November 2009, the park became the first Dark Sky Park in the United Kingdom.
Galloway Hills in Scottish history.
Like the Western Isles and the Northern Isles, Galloway had a long history under the Lords of Galloway (from the early 12th century until 1234) of being largely independent of the Scottish crown. Going back beyond that there is thought to have been a kingdom of Galloway perhaps going back to the aftermath of the expulsion of the Vikings from Dublin in 902 and the subsequent loss of control by the former Northumbrian masters of Galloway.
Galloway was long regarded as a wild and lawless place - somewhat other from the mainstream of Scottish culture, which was as much as anything to do with its remoteness and inaccessibility. The Galloway hills played an important part in this image especially as at various points in history it was a place of refuge for fugitives who did not fit into, or defied, the power structure of their times.
"Cradle of Independence" - A king as a fugitive.
Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scotland on 25 March 1306 little more than a month after he had been involved at Dumfries in the murder of John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, otherwise known as the Red Comyn, (a serious rival for the kingship of Scotland, as his mother was Eleanor Balliol who was the eldest daughter of John I de Balliol)
. Another branch of the Comyn family at his time was that of John Comyn Earl of Buchan. His father Alexander had been Sheriff of Wigtown (1263–1266) and a Guardian of Scotland (1286–89), and they held land in the south west of Scotland before being granted the lands in Buchan - which explains why there are place names with Buchan in them in the Galloway hills area like Buchan Hill and Dungeon of Buchan.
Bruce's army lost to Edward I's forces at the Battle of Methven in June 1306 and he became a fugitive hunted not only by the occupying forces of Edward but also by the Comyns and the Balliols. He escaped to Rathlin Island off the Irish coast but by February 1307 he was back in Scotland, in the Galloway hills, with a tiny handful of followers and totally encircled by his enemies - a king hunted like an animal. However, following a successful early raid on the English forces at Raploch Moss near Clatteringshaws, he had his first victory against the English forces at the battle of Glen Trool. Though this was probably more of a minor skirmish in the guerrilla mode of William Wallace, it was important from a propaganda point of view in the recruitment of men to Bruce's cause.
In 1929 on the 600th anniversary of Bruce's death, Bruce's Stone was placed high above the northern shore of Loch Trool from where legend has it that he had commanded the ambush which took place on the Steps of Trool on the other side of the loch. He lived for some 3 months as a fugitive in these hills before he was able to break out of his confinement and go on eventually to the much more significant victory at Bannockburn in 1314 which gave Scotland some relief in the first War of Independence and the near subjugation to the English Crown which had ensued after the death of King Alexander III on 19 March 1286.
Robert the Bruce's brother Edward who was later to become High King of Ireland had long since carried out a successful campaign against the Comyn/Balliol faction in the south west of Scotland before Bannockburn.
Covenanting fugitives.
Through most of the 17th century the Presbyterian Church in Scotland struggled against the will of the Stewart Kings in their attempts to impose Anglican and even (with James II) Catholic practices in the Scottish Church. The Presbyterian Church claimed that every man was equal in the eyes of God, could read and understand the Bible for himself and therefore needed no hierarchical form of priesthood, especially one which was appointed under the patronage of the most powerful people in the land, to act between them and their God. The covenanters believed that the reformation settlement in England had simply replaced the power of the Pope over the church with the power of the king over it and they would not have their religious freedom laid down for them by the crown.
In some ways their principles were political harbingers on the path towards later principles of democratic forms of government and were seen at the time as dangerous sedition by kings who still believed in the Divine right of kings. The National Covenant was drawn up in 1638 and it is from this that the Covenanters take their name - with reference beyond that to the Covenants of the Bible.The South West of Scotland was a particular hot bed of resistance to the will of the kings in religious matters and over time both sides in this conflict went to extreme ends to have their way.
Killing Times.
The full weight of the state was brought against the fanatical religious idealism of the Covenanters; most of whom were ordinary people. Over a protracted period of time they were hunted in the hills of Galloway much as Bruce had been and were prepared to risk summary and brutal execution for their beliefs if caught. Those suffering this fate were seen by their fellows as martyrs for the cause. Like the Bruce they were idealistic fugitives in the Galloway hills fighting for what they believed in and there were several battles between the covenanters and the crown forces in various parts of Scotland.
In their case however their struggles to survive in these hills and practice their beliefs there through conventicles are counted in years rather than months. Eighty two persons were summarily killed by the troops during the Killing Time (1684–85). Since these are only the ones which were witnessed and recorded the numbers could be much more. "All over the more desolate parts the Covenanters were being massacred by the soldiers and their bodies left to rot on the heather where they fell. No records were kept of such killings; the victims were simply regarded as 'missing' for none of their relatives or friends knew how or where they had died. For many years after the killing times shepherds were continually finding on hills and moors the bleached skeletons of covenanters who had been killed in this way". The matter was not resolved until after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 when under William of Orange presbyterianism was finally established as the faith of most Scots and the Presbyterian Church of Scotland was accepted by the authorities as the established church although, though even he, a fellow Calvinist, found the more fanatical Presbyterians hard to handle.
In the 18th century the stonemason Robert Paterson devoted his life to going round the country restoring the monuments of the covenanting martyrs and Walter Scott used this real life character as the model for "Old Mortality".
The Galloway author S.R.Crockett wrote several covenanting novels set around the Galloway Hills, including "The Men of the Moss Hags", and "Silver Sand".
Smugglers and gypsies.
The 18th century was the heyday of smuggling along the Solway coast - sitting as it does only around 20 miles (30 km) from the Isle of Man, the pathway for most contraband goods. The Galloway hills offered a refuge for these far from idealistic lawless rogues and ruffians - somewhere to retreat to in times of trouble and as a safe route for the strings of up to 200 laden horses which carried their goods to Glasgow or Edinburgh. "During the early 18th century Galloway was infested with gypsies,and it was no accident that Sir Walter Scott should have introduced Meg Merrilees and her tribe into his novel 'Guy Mannering' which is set in the Stewartry."
Gypsy or "Tinkler" clans were heavily involved in the trafficking side of smuggling - getting the contraband to its market. The most notorious of these gypsy smugglers was Billy Marshall (King of the Gypsies) who is said to have fought at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 at the age of 18 and died on 28 November 1792 – 120 years old and having married 17 times. He was also one of the leaders of the Levellers (not to be confused with the Levellers in England). The actions of the Galloway Levellers have been described as the "most significant agrarian rebellion" in 18th century Scotland. They knocked down dykes during the night as quickly as enclosing landlords built them during the day. The Galloway author S.R.Crockett uses the Levellers Rebellion as a sub-plot in his novel "The Dark o' the Moon", which is set in the Galloway Hills, especially around the Dungeon Range. Crockett wrote several other stories of Galloway smugglers and gypsies
Another story from west Galloway which helped to give an extra edge to the picture of lawlessness in the area was the legend of the extensive cannibal family of Sawney Bean.
Scotland's National Bard Robert Burns was an excise man in eastern Galloway at the time of his death in 1796.


Mediterranean Division

The Mediterranean Division () was a division consisting of the battlecruiser and the light cruiser of the German "Kaiserliche Marine" (Imperial Navy) in the early 1910s. It was established in response to the First Balkan War and saw action during the First World War. It was disbanded after the ships were transferred to the Ottoman Empire four years after their pursuit by the British battlecruisers and and light cruisers and .
Service.
Pre-war.
When the First Balkan War broke out in October 1912, the German General Staff determined that a naval Mediterranean Division was needed to give Germany the ability to project power in the Mediterranean. Therefore, the staff dispatched the battlecruiser and the light cruiser to Constantinople. The two ships left Kiel on 4 November, and arrived on 15 November 1912. From April 1913, "Goeben" visited many Mediterranean ports, including Venice, Pola, and Naples, before sailing into Albanian waters, while the Mediterranean Division was reinforced with the arrival of the light cruisers and . Following this trip, "Goeben" returned to Pola and remained there from 21 August to 16 October for maintenance.
On 29 June 1913, the Second Balkan War broke out. As a result, the Mediterranean Division would need to remain in the area. The end of the war saw the withdrawal back to Germany of "Strassburg" and "Dresden", while on 23 October 1913, "Konteradmiral" Wilhelm Souchon assumed command of the squadron. "Goeben" and "Breslau" continued their activities in the Mediterranean, and visited some 80 ports before the outbreak of the First World War. The Navy intended on replacing "Goeben" with her sister in June 1914, but the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Bosnia on 28 June 1914 and the subsequent rise in tensions between the Great Powers made this impossible.
In the immediate aftermath of the assassination, Souchon correctly assessed that war was imminent between the Central Powers and the Triple Entente. As a result, he ordered his ships to make for Pola for repairs. Engineers came from Germany to work on the ship. "Goeben" had 4,460 boiler tubes replaced, among other repairs. Upon completion, the ships departed for the French ports Bone and Phillipville, which they shelled in the early hours of August 4. From there, they departed for Messina, where they would be coaled by German merchant ships. They arrived in the early hours of August 5, coaled for 36 straight hours, protected from the British due to Italy's neutrality.
The pursuit.
After their coaling, the ships decided to break out of Messina, although it had been surrounded by British warships, the battlecruisers and and the light cruisers and , under the overall command of Sir Archibald Berkeley Milne. Milne thought that the Germans, after coaling at Messina, would break out to the west and try to escape to the Atlantic. Therefore, he positioned both his battlecruisers and "Dublin" at the west end of the Strait of Messina. The French also moved their Mediterranean fleet to guard the Gibraltar Strait. On August 6 they broke out of Messina and steamed northwards, feigning a move to the Adriatic Sea to make the British fleet drop back. However, after 5 hours of steaming west, "Goeben" decided to turn east as her coal supply was running low.
"Goeben" radioed "Breslau" to drop back and delay the "Gloucester" which would allow "Goeben" to reach a collier off the coast of Greece. "Gloucester" engaged "Breslau" with minor damage, and then tried to attack "Goeben", but missed. "Breslau" was then able to continue on with "Goeben". The battlecruisers had been approaching, but stopped after they received a false announcement that Austria-Hungary had declared war on England. The squadron avoided action with a cruiser squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Ernest Troubridge, and on August 10, the ships reached Constantinople.
First World War.
After their arrival in Constantinople on 16 August 1914, the ships were transferred to the Turkish Navy, although they retained their German crews and captains. "Goeben" and "Breslau" were renamed and , respectively. Soon after their transfer, "Yavuz Sultan Selim" shelled the Russian ports of Sevastopol, Odessa and Novorossiysk and intercepted the Russian fleet at the Battle of Cape Sarych. This helped push Turkey into World War I on the side of the Central Powers. The division then started to escort coal convoys and bombard Entente positions during the Dardanelles Campaign until the Battle of Imbros in early 1918. There, "Midilli" came under air attack and sank. "Yavuz Sultan Selim" also hit three mines, and came under attack by British torpedo boats and light bombers, but was towed to safety. The ships were officially transferred to the Ottoman Navy on 2 November 1918, nine days before the Armistice ended the war.


Palace of the Kings of Majorca

The Palace of the Kings of Majorca (French: "Palais des Rois de Majorque", Catalan: "Palau dels Reis de Mallorca"), is a palace and a fortress with gardens overlooking the city of Perpignan in Pyrenees-Orientales, France.
History.
The Kingdom of Majorca (1276-1349).
In 1276, King James II of Majorca made Perpignan the capital of the Kingdom of Majorca. He started to build a palace with gardens on the hill of Puig del rey on the south of the town, the architects were Ramon Pau, Pons Descoll, and Bernat Quer with completion in 1309.
Ending the Western Schism.
In 1415, the Holy Roman Emperor, Sigismund of Luxemburg, organised a European summit in Perpignan, to convince the Avignon Antipope Benedict XIII to resign his office and take to an end the Western Schism through the Council of Constance. On 20 September 1415, the Emperor met with Pope Benedict XIII at the palace with the King Ferdinand I of Aragon and the delegations of the Counts of Foix, Provence, Savoy, Lorraine, the embassy of the Roman church for the Council of Constance, and embassies from the Kings of France, England, Hungary, Castille and Navarre. The pope refused to resign and to recognise the Pope that the Council had chosen, clashing with the emperor who left Perpignan on 5 November.
The Franco-Spanish wars.
Part of the northern wing of the palace was destroyed in a siege in 1502.
Following the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, France gained Roussillon, and proceed to develop the defensive features of the palace.
The General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales bought the Palace and the gardens in 1958, to the Ministry of Defence who keeps the Vauban bastions and 19th century buildings and courts as a garrison.
Architecture.
The Palace of the Kings of Majorca is a fortified Palace in the Gothic style. It is organised around three courtyards 60 m square. The first foremen on the site were Ramon Pau and especially Pons Descoyl, very active in Perpignan and the Baleares.
It has two chapels, one above the other: the lower is the "Queen's Chapel", while the upper is "Holy Cross" with a pink marble door.
Here we have together in the “Great Hall“, the seat of political power, the chapel and the royal residence. The position of the chapel in the heart the royal apartments, opposite the throne room, indicates the importance of the spiritual over the temporal. The plan of the palace was inspired by those of Majorca, and the chapel is like that of the earlier Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.
The walls, built with uncut stones and bricks bound with mortar, were coated with lime and painted.
Doors, corridors, stairs, armatures and the main towers are all made of cut stone: ochre stone from Les Fonts, Baixas Blue, Sandstone, Red Marble from Villefranche-de-Conflent, White and Blue Marble from Ceret.
Activities.
Guitares au Palais.
The Guitares au Palais, a free three-day guitar music festival, is held in the last weekend of August in the Palace and the gardens.
The festival's art director is Pedro Soler and opens the stage to an eclectic stream of guitar enthusiasts with performances in traditional acoustic guitar, flamenco, classical music, gypsy music, pop music and jazz.
International guests includes the Rosenberg Trio, Tekamali and Paco Ibáñez in 2004, Montserrat Figueras, Rolf Lislevand and Manolo Sanlucar in 2005, The National and Sergio Lopez in 2006, Caetano Veloso in 2007, and the Rumberos Catalans, Bernardo Sandoval, Peter Finger and Aaron and Bryce Dessner in 2008.


Alexander Stewart, 2nd Earl of Buchan

Alexander Stewart, 2nd Earl of Buchan (died 1505) was the only son of James Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan, and Margaret Ogilvy. Alexander succeeded to the Earldom and the Barony of Kingedward and other lands, probably in 1499, as he got sasine of the Earldom on 23 January 1499/1500. On 21 January 1490/1491 he got from his father a Charter to himself and his first wife, Isobel Ogilvy, of the lands of the Barony of Kettins and others; and on 6 February 1499/1500, another of the same lands to himself and his second wife, Margaret Ruthven.
By his first wife, Isobel Ogilvy, who was alive in 1491, but dead before his accession to the Earldom, he seems to have had no family.
By his second wife, Margaret, daughter of William Ruthven, first Lord Ruthven, he had issue:
The Earl died in 1505.
His second wife survived him, and was married, secondly, before 21 June 1508, to Sir John Erskine, younger of Dun, who fell at the Battle of Flodden; thirdly, before 23 December 1518, to James Stewart of Ryland; and fourthly, to William Wood of Bonyton. She died in 1548.


Heimbach

Heimbach is a town in the district of Düren of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the river Rur, in the Eifel hills, approx. 20 km south of Düren. Heimbach has the smallest population of any town in North Rhine-Westphalia. The districts of the city are Blens (290 residents), Düttling (80 residents), Hasenfeld (1200 residents), Hausen (290 residents), Hergarten (600 residents) and Vlatten (1000 residents), which prior to 1972 were villages with their own administration. Between Hausen and Hergarten lies the hamlet of Walbig, and between Hasenfeld and Schmidt (City of Nideggen) is the hamlet of Buschfelder Hof, which formerly belonged to Blens.
Heimbach and the city's Hengebach Castle was the seat of the local noble family which inherited the County of Jülich in 1207, with Heimbach annexed to the County (later the Duchy) since 1237.
After the fire of 1687 the city of Heimbach was rebuilt to house the town's population; however, the castle of Hengebach was left a ruin until 1904 when restoration work began. Now restored, the castle is owned and operated as a tourist attraction by the city of Heimbach. The castle is located on a rocky outcrop in the middle of Heimbach. Today it is used as a restaurant and a location for public events. There are also castles in the villages of Blens, Hausen and Vlatten, now part of Heimbach.
Heimbach is an important town for pilgrims who visit the monastery of Mariawald and the statue of Mary in the church of Heimbach.
The Mayor of Heimbach is currently Bert Züll (CDU). The Council of Heimbach contains 11 members of the Christian Democratic Union, 3 members of the SPD, one member of the Green Party, 3 members of the FDP and 2 members of the UWV.
Heimbach is a popular town for tourists, particularly on day trips from the nearby cities of Cologne, Aachen and Düsseldorf but also from the Netherlands. The main attractions are the Eifel National Park, the Art Nouveau power station, the Rur dam, the monastery of Mariawald and the Hengebach castle. The renowned 'Spannungen' ('voltages' in English) concerts which take place in the power station are also popular and have attracted musicians such as Sharon Cam, Lars Vogt and Sabine Meyer.
The villages of Hausen and Blens, located in northern Heimbach, provide great views of rocky outcrops which are now part of a nature conservancy area. One of the many campgrounds around Heimbach lies in the shadow of these rocks.
Most residents of Heimbach are Roman Catholics, attending the churches in Heimbach (St. Clemens), Hausen (St. Nikolaus), Vlatten (St. Dinysius) and Hergarten (St. Martin) and chapels in Blens (St. Georg), Hasenfeld (St. Nepomuk), Düttling (St. Apollonia) and Vlatten (St. Michael).


Geilenkirchen

Geilenkirchen () is a town in the district Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx. 15 km (9.3 mi) north-east of Heerlen and 20 km (12.4 mi) north of Aachen.
It was the site of Operation Clipper in November 1944.
The town gives its name to nearby NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen. The base is home to 17 E-3A airborne early warning and control aircraft manned by crews from 14 nations.
On July 24, 2019 the highest temperature ever recorded in Germany was measured in Geilenkirchen with 40.5 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit) during a heat wave that affected much of Europe. The record was broken the following day when temperature in Lingen reached 42.6 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit).


Princess Catherine Beatrice of Savoy

Catherine Beatrice of Savoy (6 November 1636, Turin, Piedmont – 27 August 1637) was a Princess of Savoy by birth. She was the youngest daughter born to Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy, and his French consort, Princess Christine Marie of France.
Biography.
Born at the Castello del Valentino, the "country" residence of the Dukes of Savoy, she was the youngest of twins born to the Duke and Duchess. Her sister Princess Henriette Adelaide was the older of the two.
She died at the palace she was born, the Castello del Valentino. She was buried at the Basilica of Saint Andrew in Vercelli. Her father died a month after her death and her mother became ruler of Savoy as its Regent.


Ventnor railway station

Ventnor railway station was the terminus of the Isle of Wight Railway line from Ryde.
History.
The station occupied a ledge above sea level which had been quarried into the hill side. The station was at the end of a long tunnel through St Boniface Down. A turntable was used to allow steam engines to runaround their trains. In later years it was replaced by a three way switch. The tracks merged just before the tunnel and the locomotives had to enter the tunnel during runround manoeuvres.
The station had a platform connected to the station buildings and a narrow island platform. There was only one track between the side platform and the island platform. When this track was occupied, an incoming train arrived at the outer face of the island platform and passengers had to pass through the train on the inner track. When this train then departed, a temporary bridge that was a ship's gangway, as used on the Portsmouth to Ryde ferries was manually pushed across the intervening track to allow passenger access to the train on the outside of the island platform. Further away from the station buildings were goods sidings which mainly served coal merchants who operated from caves in the chalk sides of the station cutting.
The station closed to all traffic in April 1966, when the line south of fell victim to the Beeching Axe. The track was lifted by 1970 and the station subsequently demolished. The site is now an industrial park and Southern Water runs water pipes through the tunnel.
This station should not be confused with Ventnor West railway station.


Prosper Anton Josef von Sinzendorf

Count Prosper Anton Josef von Sinzendorf (May 30, 1700 – February 9, 1756) was an Austrian nobleman and courtier, Counsellor and Chamberlain at the Imperial Court in Vienna.
He came from the Sinzendorf noble family and married Countess Marie Philippine von Althann.
He possessed inter alia the manorial Estate Trpist-Triebel in Bohemia, where he built the Château Trpísty ("Schloss Trpist" in German, "Zámek Trpísty" in Czech) in 1729. His descendants continued to live there until the end of the 18th century.