First Ostend Raid

The First Ostend Raid (part of Operation ZO) was the first of two attacks by the Royal Navy on the German-held port of Ostend during the late spring of 1918 during the First World War. Ostend was attacked in conjunction with the neighbouring harbour of Zeebrugge on 23 April in order to block the vital strategic port of Bruges, situated inland and ideally sited to conduct raiding operations on the British coastline and shipping lanes. Bruges and its satellite ports were a vital part of the German plans in their war on Allied commerce ("Handelskrieg") because Bruges was close to the troopship lanes across the English Channel and allowed much quicker access to the Western Approaches for the U-boat fleet than their bases in Germany.
The plan of attack was for the British raiding force to sink two obsolete cruisers in the canal mouth at Ostend and three at Zeebrugge, thus preventing raiding ships leaving Bruges. The Ostend canal was the smaller and narrower of the two channels giving access to Bruges and so was considered a secondary target behind the Zeebrugge Raid. Consequently, fewer resources were provided to the force assaulting Ostend. While the attack at Zeebrugge garnered some limited success, the assault on Ostend was a complete failure. The German marines who defended the port had taken careful preparations and drove the British assault ships astray, forcing the abortion of the operation at the final stage.
Three weeks after the failure of the operation, a second attack was launched which proved more successful in sinking a blockship at the entrance to the canal but ultimately did not close off Bruges completely. Further plans to attack Ostend came to nothing during the summer of 1918, and the threat from Bruges would not be finally stopped until the last days of the war, when the town was liberated by Allied land forces.
Bruges.
Bruges had been captured by the advancing German divisions during the Race for the Sea and had been rapidly identified as an important strategic asset by the German Navy. Bruges was situated inland at the centre of a network of canals which emptied into the sea at the small coastal towns of Zeebrugge and Ostend. This land barrier protected Bruges from bombardment by land or sea by all but the very largest calibre artillery and also secured it against raiding parties from the Royal Navy. Capitalising on the natural advantages of the port, the German Navy constructed extensive training and repair facilities at Bruges, equipped to provide support for several flotillas of destroyers, torpedo boats and U-boats.
By 1916, these raiding forces were causing serious concern in the Admiralty as the proximity of Bruges to the British coast, to the troopship lanes across the English Channel and for the U-boats, to the Western Approaches; the heaviest shipping lanes in the World at the time. In the late spring of 1915, Admiral Reginald Bacon had attempted without success to destroy the lock gates at Ostend with monitors. This effort failed, and Bruges became increasingly important in the Atlantic Campaign, which reached its height in 1917. By early 1918, the Admiralty was seeking ever more radical solutions to the problems raised by unrestricted submarine warfare, including instructing the "Allied Naval and Marine Forces" department to plan attacks on U-boat bases in Belgium.
The "Allied Naval and Marine Forces" was a newly formed department created with the purpose of conducting raids and operations along the coastline of German-held territory. The organisation was able to command extensive resources from both the Royal and French navies and was commanded by Admiral Roger Keyes and his deputy, Commodore Hubert Lynes. Keyes, Lynes and their staff began planning methods of neutralising Bruges in late 1917 and by April 1918 were ready to put their plans into operation.
Planning.
To block Bruges, Keyes and Lynes decided to conduct two raids on the ports through which Bruges had access to the sea. Zeebrugge was to be attacked by a large force consisting of three blockships and numerous supporting warships. Ostend was faced by a similar but smaller force under immediate command of Lynes. The plan was for two obsolete cruisers— and —to be expended in blocking the canal which emptied at Ostend. These ships would be stripped to essential fittings and their lower holds and ballast filled with rubble and concrete. This would make them ideal barriers to access if sunk in the correct channel at the correct angle.
When the weather was right, the force would cross the English Channel in darkness and attack shortly after midnight to coincide with the Zeebrugge Raid a few miles up the coast. By co-ordinating their operations, the assault forces would stretch the German defenders and hopefully gain the element of surprise. Covering the Inshore Squadron would be heavy bombardment from an offshore squadron of monitors and destroyers as well as artillery support from Royal Marine artillery near Ypres in Allied-held Flanders. Closer support would be offered by several flotillas of motor launches, small torpedo boats and Coastal Motor Boats which would lay smoke screens to obscure the advancing blockships as well as evacuate the crews of the cruisers after they had blocked the channel.
British order of battle.
Inshore Squadron.
Artillery support was also provided by Royal Marine heavy artillery in Allied-held Flanders. The force was covered in the English Channel by seven light cruisers and 16 destroyers, none of which saw action.
Attack on Ostend.
The assaults on Zeebrugge and Ostend were launched on 23 April, after being twice delayed by poor weather. The Ostend force arrived off the port shortly before midnight and made final preparations; the monitors took up position offshore and the small craft moved forward to begin laying smoke. Covering the approach, the monitors opened fire on German shore defences, including the guns of the powerful "Tirpitz" battery. As a long-range artillery duel developed, the cruisers began their advance towards the harbour mouth, searching for the marker buoys which indicated the correct passage through the diverse sandbanks which made navigation difficult along the Belgian coast.
It was at this stage that the attack began to go seriously wrong. Strong winds blowing off the land swept the smoke screen into the face of the advancing cruisers, blinding their commanders who attempted to navigate by dead reckoning. The same wind disclosed the Inshore Squadron to the German defenders who immediately opened up a withering fire on the blockships. With their volunteer crews suffering heavy casualties, the commanders increased speed despite the poor visibility and continued groping through the narrow channels inshore, searching for the Stroom Bank buoy which directed shipping into the canal.
Commander Alfred Godsal led the assault in HMS "Brilliant" and it was he who stumbled into the most effective German counter-measure first. As "Brilliant" staggered through the murk, the lookout spotted the buoy ahead and Godsal headed directly for it, coming under even heavier fire as he did so. Passing the navigation marker at speed, the cruiser was suddenly brought to a halt with a juddering lurch, throwing men to the decks and sticking fast in deep mud well outside the harbour mouth. Before warnings could be relayed to the "Sirius" following up close behind, she too passed the buoy and her captain Lieutenant-Commander Henry Hardy was shocked to see "Brilliant" dead ahead. With no time to manoeuvre, "Sirius" ploughed into the port quarter of "Brilliant", the blockships settling into the mud in a tangle of wreckage.
Artillery and long-range machine gun fire continued to riddle the wrecks and the combined crews were ordered to evacuate as the officers set the scuttling charges which would sink the blockships in their current, useless locations. As men scrambled down the side of the cruisers into Coastal Motor Boats which would relay them to the Offshore Squadron, destroyers moved closer to Ostend to cover the retreat and the monitors continued their heavy fire. Godsal was the last to leave, picked up by launch "ML276" commanded by Lieutenant Rowley Bourke. With the main assault a complete failure, the blockading forces returned to Dover and Dunkirk to assess the disaster.
When the forces had reassembled and the commanders conferred, the full facts of the failed operation were revealed. The German commander of Ostend had been better prepared than his counterpart at Zeebrugge and had recognised that without the navigation buoy no night attack on Ostend could be successful without a strong familiarity with the port, which none of the British navigators possessed. However, rather than simply remove the buoy, the German commander had ordered it moved east of the canal mouth into the centre of a wide expanse of sandbanks, acting as a fatal decoy for any assault force.
Aftermath.
The assault at Zeebrugge a few miles away from Ostend was more successful and the blocking of the major channel did cause some consternation amongst the German forces in Bruges. The larger raiders could no longer leave the port, but smaller ships, including most submarines, were still able to traverse via Ostend. In addition, within hours a narrow channel had also been carved through Zeebrugge too, although British intelligence did not realise this for several weeks. The defeat at Ostend did not entirely dampen the exuberant British media and public reaction to Zeebrugge, but in the Admiralty and particularly in the Allied Naval and Marine Forces the failure to completely neutralise Bruges rankled.
A second operation (Operation VS) was planned for 10 May using the cruiser and proved more successful, but ultimately it also failed to completely close off Bruges. A third planned operation was never conducted as it rapidly became clear that the new channel carved at Zeebrugge was enough to allow access for U-boats, thus calling for an even larger double assault, which would stretch the resources of the Allied Naval and Marine Forces too far. British losses in the three futile attempts to close Bruges cost over 600 casualties and the loss of several ships but Bruges would remain an active raiding base for the German Navy until October 1918.


Susannah Ostrehan

Susannah Ostrehan (died 1809) was a Barbadian businesswoman who owned a number of properties in Bridgetown. She was a freed slave, and acquired a number of slaves herself, many of which were friends or family she purchased in order to expedite their manumission.
Early life.
Ostrehan was born into slavery. Her mother Priscilla had several other children and was owned by the Ostrehan family, who had been on the island since the 1600s and were prominent members of the plantocracy. Ostrehan was a mulatto, likely fathered by her mother's owner or one of his relatives. It is unclear at what point she was freed, but it occurred relatively early in her life; her mother and siblings remained enslaved.
Holdings.
Property.
By 1779, Ostrehan owned two houses in central Bridgetown, one on Reed Street and one on Back Church Street (now Suttle Street). Their tax assessment had increased significantly by the following year, suggesting substantial improvements had been made to the properties. Ostrehan continued to expand her property holdings over the following decades, and even expanded into other colonies – in 1799, she bought two seafront lots in St. George's, the capital of Grenada, which she had previously been renting. There is no definite evidence of what the properties were used for, but at least some of them were likely to have been hotels or boardinghouses.
Slaves.
As was common for free blacks, Ostrehan dealt in slaves herself once she had the means to do so. Some of the people she owned were family members, including her mother and probably her siblings – she "clearly felt that personal ownership of her family members was the safest option in a society ruled by private property". Others she purchased solely in order to free. Barbados had extremely strict manumission laws at the time, which had been imposed in order to limit the number of free blacks on the island. Owners had to pay £200 for male slaves and £300 for female slaves, and also had to show cause to the local authorities. It was often cheaper to manumit in other colonies, and Ostrehan assisted manumissions in Grenada, Dominica, and Berbice at various times. She also used agents to manumit family members, like her mother and niece Elizabeth Swain Bannister, in London. However, a number of her slaves were kept simply to work on her properties, and no attempts to free them were made before her death.
Death and estate.
By the time of her death in late 1809, Ostrehan's wealth was concentrated in "two very large houses" in Bridgetown, which were valued at a combined total of £2,850. The total value of her estate was around £4,000, which included several smaller properties, household effects (mahogany furniture, silverware, porcelain), and thirteen slaves. Ostrehan had no children of her own, and willed most of her fortune to her two nieces, Mary and Susannah II. Her mother was still enslaved at the time of her death, and thus unable to inherit property; she was willed to a friend, Christian Blackman, with instructions to free her and provide her a house. Four white acquaintances received £100 each, demonstrating the extent of her connections in Barbadian society. Ostrehan's nieces carried on the same line of business, operating hotels in the new colonies of Demerara and Berbice; Susannah II continued to own slaves up until the abolition of slavery in 1833, and received compensation for her loss.


Infanta Beatriz of Spain

Infanta Beatriz of Spain, Princess of Civitella-Cesi ("Doña Beatriz Isabel Federica Alfonsa Eugénie Cristina Maria Teresia Bienvenida Ladislàa de Borbón y Battenberg"; 22 June 1909 – 22 November 2002) was a daughter of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, wife of Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince di Civitella-Cesi. She was a paternal aunt of King Juan Carlos I.
Childhood.
Born at the royal palace of La Granja, San Ildefonso near Segovia, Spain on 22 June 1909, Infanta Beatriz was the third child among the six surviving children of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg. She was named Beatriz after her maternal grandmother, Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, the youngest daughter of Queen Victoria; Isabel for her great-aunt, Infanta Isabel; Federica for Princess Frederica of Hanover in whose house her parents had become engaged; Alfonsa after her father; Eugenia for Empress Eugénie of the French, her mother's godmother, and Cristina for her paternal grandmother.
Infanta Beatriz was educated within the walls of the Palacio de Oriente by English nannies. She learned English and French along with Spanish. The children spoke in English to their mother and Spanish to their father. Infanta Beatriz and her sister Maria Cristina, two years her junior, yearned to go to private schools like the daughters of the nobility who frequented the palace as their playmates, but, following Spanish tradition, they were educated by governesses and private tutors. They studied languages, history, religion and took piano and dancing lessons. Their parents placed great importance on outdoor exercise and Infanta Beatriz became fond of sports. She was a very good swimmer, played tennis and golf and loved horseback riding. While in Madrid she played in the palace gardens and made excursions on horseback. In summer the royal family moved to Palacio de la Magdalena, near Santander, where they practiced water sports. The two sisters also made some visits to England to stay with their maternal grandmother at Kensington Palace.
Early life.
During the late 1920s, Infanta Beatriz and her sister Infanta Cristina presided at a number of official engagements while heading various institutions and sponsoring events. They were involved with, among other issues, animal protection. Beatriz and her sister took nursing classes, helping twice a week at the Red Cross in Madrid from 9 am to 1 pm and from 3 to 7 pm. Beatriz was president of the Red Cross in San Sebastián, working there during the royal family's summer vacation. The two infantas, always elegantly dressed, were of contrasting looks; one blonde one dark. Beatriz, who resembled her Spanish relatives, was a brunette, tall and lean like her father. Her official debut in society was celebrated in 1927 with a court ball at the royal palace. Among her friends were the Dukes of Alba, Fernán Nuñez and Aveyro. The shadow of hemophilia marked her life: Her eldest and youngest brothers were hemophiliacs. Her second brother, Jaime, was deaf and only the third brother, Juan, was completely healthy.
In 1929, Infanta Beatriz turned twenty years old. She fell in love with Miguel Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, the youngest son of Miguel Primo de Rivera, who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1923 to January 1930 with dictatorial powers. They were seen taking horse rides together, but a marriage between them was out of the question. When the dictator found out about their romance, he sent his son abroad. Because Beatriz and her sister could be carriers of hemophilia, like their mother, King Alphonso XIII was reluctant to follow the tradition of finding husbands for them among Catholic royal princes. The two sisters' constant companions were their cousins Alvaro, Alonso and Ataúlfo de Orleans y Borbón, the three sons of Infante Alfonso de Orleans y Borbón. It was expected that Infanta Beatriz would marry Alonso and Maria Cristina, Alvaro, but nothing came out of it as their companionship was interrupted when the turbulent political situation in Spain derailed their lives.
Exile.
The support that Alfonso XIII gave to the unpopular dictatorship of Primo de Rivera discredited the king. Municipal elections, held on 12 April 1931, were unfavorable to the monarchy. The Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed two days later. Lacking the backing of the military forces, King Alfonso felt obliged to leave the country the same day, but did not abdicate, hoping to be called back to the throne. Infanta Beatriz, her mother and her siblings, except for Infante Don Juan, who was away on assignment in the Spanish navy, were left behind in Madrid. Following the advice of her supporters, the queen and her five children left the Royal Palace by car to El Escorial, and from there, they took a train to France.
The royal family's first home in exile was the Hôtel Meurice in Paris. They soon moved to a private wing of the Savoy Hotel in Fontainebleau. Accompanied by their mother, the two infantas made visits to Paris twice a week by car or with a lady in waiting by train. While in Paris they spent time with horses at a riding school or playing tennis with friends. The marriage of their parents was unhappy and even in Spain the King and Queen led separate lives. Once in exile, the royal couple separated permanently. Queen Victoria Eugenie moved to London and later to Lausanne, Switzerland and the two infantas lived for a time with her. In 1933 the king moved to Rapallo and as life was too isolated for Beatriz and her sister in Lausanne, they moved with their father to Italy. At their daughters' insistence, King Alfonso moved to Rome and rented a house for them there. Infanta Beatriz and her sister became friends with the members of the Italian royal family and quickly adapted to life in Rome.
In 1934 tragedy struck. Beatriz, who was spending summer vacation in Pörtschach am Wörthersee in Austria, was driving a car with her brother Gonzalo as passenger. Trying to avoid a bicycle rider who had crossed their path, she slammed the car into a wall. The accident did not, at first, seem serious, but Infante Gonzalo, a hemophiliac, was bleeding internally and died in the early hours of the following day, 13 August 1934.
Marriage and issue.
At the time of her brother's death, Infanta Beatriz was looking forward to her wedding. While visiting Ostia, she was introduced to an Italian aristocrat, Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince di Civitella-Cesi. Torlonia, who had inherited large estates from his father in 1933, was the son of Marino, 4th Prince di Civitella-Cesi and Mary Elsie Moore, an American heiress. His family had acquired a fortune in the 18th and 19th centuries by administering the finances of the Vatican, receiving the title of Prince of Civitella-Cesi in 1803 from Pope Pius VII. Although "Don" Alessandro was a prince, he did not belong to a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty, so Beatriz had to marry him morganatically, renouncing her rights of succession to the throne of Spain. Alfonso XIII, realizing that the combination of the threat of hemophilia and their situation in exile would make it difficult for his daughters to find royal husbands, gave his consent to this union.
The wedding took place on 14 January 1935 at the Church of the Gesù with Beatriz wearing a 20-foot train, a coronet of orange blossom holding her veil in place, in the presence of King Alfonso, the King and Queen of Italy and some 52 princes of the blood royal. Thousands of Spaniards traveled from Spain to give support to the deposed royal family in what became a political event. However, neither Queen Victoria Eugenie nor Beatriz's eldest brother, Alfonso, Count of Covadonga, who were on bad terms with the King, attended the wedding. After the ceremony, the young couple was received by Pope Pius XI.
Infanta Beatriz of Spain, Princess of Civitella-Cesi, and her husband had four children, eleven grandchildren and nineteen great-grandchildren:
Later life.
Infanta Beatriz settled with her husband in the [[Palazzo Torlonia]], a 16th-century Early [[Renaissance]] town house on [[Via della Conciliazione]] in Rome. King Alfonso XIII died in 1941 and as the situation deteriorated in Italy during World War II, Infanta Beatriz with her family joined her siblings in Lausanne, spending the rest of the war close to their mother Queen Victoria Eugenie. Beatriz returned to Italy after the war and dwelt there for the rest of her life.
In 1950, while staying with her brother Juan, in [[Estoril]], Portugal, Infanta Beatriz obtained authorization from [[Francisco Franco]] to make a visit to Spain. She returned to Spain on 25 August 1950 for the first time since her departure to exile almost twenty years earlier. She came with her husband and their daughter Sandra from [[Lisbon]]. They stayed at the Ritz hotel in Madrid visiting the palace of la Granja, where the Infanta was born, and the [[Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar]] in [[Zaragoza]]. Infanta Beatriz was received with such a manifestation of support for the monarchy that after only a week, of a planned much longer visit, the government gave her only twenty four hours to leave the country.
Although the family tried to arrange a marriage for the Infanta's daughter, Sandra, with King [[Baudouin of Belgium]], she caused her parents concern when in 1958 she married Clemente Lequio, a widower with a son, who was given the title "Count Lequio di Assaba" in 1963 by [[Umberto II of Italy]]. Sandra had a son and a daughter with Lequio, who died after a fall from an upper floor in his house in [[Turin]] in 1971.
Their son, Alesandro Lequio, moved to Spain in 1991 working initially for [[Fiat]]. Married to the Italian model Antonia Dell’Atte, a muse in the late 1980s of [[Giorgio Armani]], Alessandro Lequio quickly became a favorite of the Spanish [[jet set]] and [[Tabloid journalism|tabloids]], when, after his divorce, he began a relationship with [[Ana Obregón]], a Spanish actress and television presenter.
Infanta Beatriz's eldest son, Marco, married three times and had three children, one in each marriage. His eldest son, "Don" Giovanni Torlonia, is a well known designer.
Infanta Beatriz's second son, Marino, died unmarried in 1995 of [[HIV]]-related illnesses.
The youngest child, Olimpia, married in 1965 Paul-Annick Weiller (1933–1998), the first son of the [[aviator]] [[Paul-Louis Weiller]] of the [[Javal family]]. Among their six children is Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg.
Infanta Beatriz remained very fond of Spain and supported the claims to the Spanish throne of her brother Don Juan. In 1962, she joined the Spanish royal family in the celebration in [[Athens]] for the wedding of her nephew the future King [[Juan Carlos I of Spain|Don Juan Carlos]] with Princess [[Queen Sofía of Spain|Sophia of Greece]]. A femur fracture in 1973 never healed completely, affecting Infanta Beatriz's mobility for the rest of her life. Her fragile health did not allow her to join her family at the ascension to the throne of King Juan Carlos, the wedding of the Infantas [[Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo|Elena]] and [[Infanta Cristina of Spain|Cristina]] or the ceremonies for the return to Spain of the remains of her parents and siblings who had died in exile. Nevertheless, Infanta Beatriz not only survived all of her siblings, but visited Spain again in 1998 to visit la Granja. In 1999, the Infanta gave an interview with [[¡Hola!|"¡Hola!" Magazine]], where she discussed her life and the years of the Royal Family's exile from Spain. She made her last visit to Spain in 2001 to be with her sister-in-law Doña [[Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies|Maria]] and returned to the Palacio de la Magdalena, near Santander, where 70 years earlier she had spent her summer vacation for 17 consecutive years until 1930.
She died at her home in Palazzo Torlonia, Rome on 22 November 2002 at 93 years 5 months. She was the last surviving child of Alfonso XIII and the last surviving grandchild of [[Alfonso XII of Spain]].
References.
[[Category:Spanish infantas]]
[[Category:House of Bourbon (Spain)]]
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Segovia]]
[[Category:20th-century Spanish people]]
[[Category:20th-century Spanish women]]
[[Category:Sons of kings]]


History of Christianity in Iceland

The history of Christianity in Iceland can be traced back to the Early Middle Ages when Irish hermits settled in Iceland at least a century before the arrival of the first Norse settlers in the 870s. Christianity started to spread among the Icelanders at the end of the 10th century. The adoption of the new faith by the whole population was the consequence of a compromise between the Christian and heathen chieftains, as well as the lawspeaker, at the national assembly or "Alþingi" of 999 or 1000.
Initially missionary bishops and priests of foreign origin composed the clergy, but the number of local priests quickly increased. The first Icelandic bishop, Ísleifur Gissurarson was consecrated in 1056. Within fifty years two dioceses were established in the island, with their seats at Skálholt and Hólar which were subordinated to foreign archbishops. Landowners had a preeminent role in the administration of Church affairs and earned significant income from the tithe after it was introduced in 1097. Legislation limited the bishops' authority until the end of the Commonwealth in 1264. The principle of the autonomy of the Church only prevailed at the middle of the 14th century. Monasteries, most of them established in the 12th and 13th centuries, became important centers of literature.
The Lutheran form of the Reformation which was introduced in Iceland between 1541 and 1551 caused fundamental changes in Church life, spirituality and culture. For instance, the bulk of Church estates was confiscated and the cult of saints was abolished. The first Icelandic translation of the New Testament was published in 1540, and of the whole Bible in 1584.
First Christians ("c." 795 – "c." 1000).
Irish monks voyaging in their small boats known as currachs seem to have been the first settlers to reach Iceland. For instance, Dicuil in his "De Mensura Orbis Terrae" ("Of the Dimensions of the World") writes of Irish hermits who spent, in 795, six months on an otherwise uninhabited island where the nights were so bright "not only at the time of the summer solstice, but for several days before and after" that a man could pick "lice from his shirt". The "Íslendingabók" ("The Book of the Icelanders") makes mention of Christians known as "papar" or fathers who had already settled in Iceland by the time the first Norse settlers arrived. They departed from the island leaving behind "Irish books, bells, croziers, and lots of other things" at the arrival of the new colonists.
The first Scandinavians reached Iceland in the middle of the 9th century, but its systematic colonization started in the early 870s. Although Christian individuals must have been among those who settled in Iceland, because many colonists arrived from Ireland, England or Scotland, the majority of the settlers were pagans. The latter remained strictly adhered to the cult of Odin, Thor and the other gods of the Nordic pantheon. Paganism even strengthened following the establishment of the national assembly or "Alþingi" in 930 which gave rise to a process of unification among the Icelanders. The assembly was composed of chieftains or "goðar" who had a leading role in the pagann cults.
Christian missionaries started to visit Iceland in the last decades of the 10th century. A German missionary bishop, Friedrich who arrived in 981 was the first among them. He was forced to depart from the island in 986 after his Icelandic aide, Thorvald Konradsson, had murdered two men in a battle. Next the Icelandic Stefnir Thorgilsson arrived, who had been dispatched with this mission by Olaf Tryggvason, king of Norway (r. 997–1000). He was expelled from the country after he had destroyed pagan sanctuaries. Likewise, the next missionary sent to Iceland by the king, the German or Flemish Thangbrand, was forced to leave around 999 because he had murdered some of those who opposed his mission. He reported to the king "that it was beyond all expectation that Christianity might yet be accepted" in Iceland, although he had succeeded in converting many chieftains. On hearing this, King Olaf decided to have all pagan Icelanders who were staying in Norway captured and to forbid all Icelanders from Norwegian ports. Since Norway was Iceland's main trading partner, Icelanders needed to maintain the peace. Accordingly, two Christian chieftains who were related to King Olaf, Gissur Teitsson and Hjalti Skeggjason, were sent to Norway. They promised the monarch that they would be making every effort to convert the whole island. In response, King Olaf released his hostages, many of whom were related to pagan Icelandic chieftains.
Christianization ("c." 1000).
Gissur Teitsson and Hjalti Skeggjason returned to Iceland. Initially they were planning to set up a separate administration for the Christians. The sharp contrast between the most radical pagan and Christian chieftains' views became manifest at the "Alþingi" of 999 or 1000. In order to avoid the breaking out of a civil war, the "goðar" finally agreed to appoint one of their number, the Lawspeaker Thorgeir Thorkelssonwho was a paganto decide the case. Following his appointment, Thorgeir Thorkelsson withdrew for a whole day. Thereafter he announced his decision to the assembled chieftains, according to which all Icelanders had to be baptised, but heathens were allowed to worship Odin and the other gods in secret. He even permitted the continuation of the old practice of exposition of children at birth and the eating of horsemeat. Many "goðar" and their retinue were baptized on the spot in the cold water, but "all the people from the Northern and Southern Quarters were baptised in Reykjalaug in Laugardalr" where geothermal springs could be found. Legend says that even Thorgeir Thorkelsson decided to throw all his domestic idols into a large waterfall which was named "Goðafoss" or "Gods' Waterfall" after this event.
The story of the consensual conversion of Iceland was first recorded by Ari Thorgilsson in the early 12th century. Historian Gunnar Karlsson states that Ari Thorgilsson's narration is "unbelievable, but it is the only one we have". All the same, the story "has been used to suggest that voluntary Christianization of an entire population was possible, without any link to a central power" (Nora Berend). Thorgeir Thorkelsson's verdict can even be cited as a "measure of crisis management to save Iceland from a bitter split". On the other hand, the historian Anders Winroth emphasizes that the "goðar", through their conversion, "monopolized religion for their group, making it more difficult for new men to join their ranks".
It is without doubt that social attitudes changed radically in short time after the conversion. For instance, duels which had traditionally been fought at Thingvellir were prohibited and slavery declined from the early 11th century. All pagan customs confirmed by Thorgeir Thorkelsson's verdictincluding the worship of Norse deities in privatewere abolished in 1016, mainly due to the efforts by King Olaf II of Norway. The grateful monarch sent a bell and timber after this decision in order to promote the erection of a church at Thingvellir.
Middle Ages ("c." 1000–1536).
Icelandic Commonwealth ("c." 1000–1264).
The institutional framework of Christianity was developing in the 11th century. Individual landownerseither "goðar" or simple farmersplayed a preeminent role in the process: they built the earliest churches and employed the first priests. Accordingly, most churches were for centuries controlled and administered by them and by their descendants, which contributed to the evolution of "a system of privately run churches" (Gunnar Karlsson).
The first clergymen were foreigners, mostly from England or the Holy Roman Empire. However, it was not unusual, at least up until the 1150s, that "goðar" were ordained as priests. A landowner could also hire a poor young man to be trained for the priesthood in order to serve in his sponsor's church. Such a cleric or "kirkjuprestr" had limited freedom, because his employer was entitled by law to force him to return if he had departed from the church entrusted to him. Likewise a priest hired by a landownerknown as "ðingaprestr"became a member of his employer's household, but he received a regular fee for his services and could serve in more than one church.
Besides landowners, missionary bishops played a significant role in the early development of the local Church. The "Íslendingabók" enumerates a number of them, including "Jóhan the Irishman", and Bernard from England, who spent a couple of years in Iceland. The last of these "wandering bishops" (Anders Winroth), Rudolph departed from Iceland in 1050.
The first local prelate, Gissur Teitsson's son, Ísleifur was elected at the "Alþingi" of 1055. His earlier studies in the school of Herford Abbey made him a suitable candidate, although he had been living in marriage. Following his election, the "Alþingi" requested him to make a journey abroad in order to be consecrated. Ísleifur visited Archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg (r. 1043-1072) who ordained him as bishop on Whitsun in 1056. Bishop Ísleifur settled in his family's farm at Skálholt, but his position remained similar to a missionary bishop because he had not been ordained to a particular episcopal see. The "Hungrvaka" adds that he had to compete with "bishops from other lands" who were supported by many locals because they were less demanding. Byock, and other specialists identify these prelates with five foreigners mentioned in the "Íslendingabók" who "called themselves bishops". "Íslendingabók" adds that three of them arrived from "ermskir", which has been identified with Armenia or Ermland. It is without doubt that they represented a Paulician or other doctrine alien to Western theology. Accordingly, Archbishop Adalbert "sent his brief out to Iceland and forbade the men to accept all services from them" because they had been excommunicated.
Bishop Ísleifur set up a school at Skálholt in order to educate the local clergy. He died in 1080. The "Alþingi" appointed, in 1082, his son, Gissur to succeed him. At the assembly, all chieftains promised the future bishop that they would accept his decisions without resistance. At Pope Gregory VII's order, Gissur Ísleifsson was consecrated by the archbishop of Magdeburg, because the archbishop of Hamburg was the pope's enemy at that time. Bishop Gissur proclaimed Skálholt his see and donated his inherited farm to the new diocese. He achieved the introduction of the tithe at the "Alþingi" of 1097. Revenue from the tithe was divided into four parts among the bishop, the local priest, the church and the poor. Landowners who administered a church were entitled to the part of the tithe which served the upkeep of the church building. Moreover, they also received the part due to the priest if the latter was a member of their household.
Upon the request of the inhabitants of the Northern Quarter, Bishop Gissur approved of the establishment of a second bishopric with its see at Hólar. Its first prelate, Jón Ögmundsson was consecrated in 1106 by the archbishop of Lund in Denmark. The heads of the two Icelandic dioceses remained suffragans to the archbishops of Lund until the new archbishopric of Nidaros was established in Norway in 1153.
Many bishops in the period were related to the Haukdaelir, Oddaverjar or other powerful families. Laymen often required bishops to act as impartial peacemakers or advisors which suggests the Icelandic prelates' highly esteemed social status. On the other hand, bishops had little real authority, even their judicial power was limited. The "Alþingi" passed the laws governing Christian life and the relations between the Church and laymen in 1123. These legal provisions were in a decade included in the "Grágás" or "Gray Goose Laws". The "Christian Law Section" of this law book authorized the secular courts to hear cases where clerics were involved, with the exception of a priest's disobedience which was to be judged by the bishop. However, bishops often turned to secular courts to hear such cases, because they had no power to execute their own judgements.
Bishop Thorlak Thorhallsson of Skálholt (1178–1193) was the first prelate in Iceland who attempted to repress secular influence in Church affairs. For instance, he often persuaded landowners who built a church on their estates to donate it to the Church, although he always gave back the same real estate in benefice. In the next century, Bishop Guðmundur Arason of Hólar (1203–1237) make every effort to strengthen his control over clergymen and Church property. However, chieftains opposing his policy expelled him from his see. He often turned to his superior, the archbishop of Nidaros to defend his case, which created an opportunity for the Norwegian prelate for intervening in the Icelandic Church affairs. The archbishop even refused to appoint the candidates the "Alþingi "proposed in 1237 to the two Icelandic episcopal sees and consecrated his two fellow countrymen as bishops. The "Alþingi" acknowledged the superiority of canon law over secular legislation in 1253.
Bishop Jón Ögmundsson of Holár initiated the establishment of the first monastery in Iceland, Þingeyraklaustur, which was only set up after his death, in 1133 at Thingeyrar. Further six monasteries and one nunnery were established till the end of the Commonwealth, but three monasteries were quickly closed. Thingeyrar and two other abbeys accommodated Benedictine monks, the other monasteries were established for Augustinians. Monasteries served as important centers of culture: they owned libraries and their monks wrote new books. For instance, the early saga of Kings Olaf Tryggvason and Olaf II were recorded at the Thingeyrar Abbey. The latter monarch becamealong with the Virgin Mary, Nicholas and Peterone of the most popular saints in Iceland where a couple of churches were dedicated to him. Bishop Thorlak Thorhallsson of Skálholt was the first Icelander whose piety gave rise to the emergence of a popular cult after his death. His veneration was sanctioned by his successor at the "Alþingi" of 1198, but the Holy See did not approved this action for almost 800 years. Likewise, Bishop Jón Ögmundsson of Holár's cult which emerged in the Northern Quarter was only sanctioned by one of his successors in 1200.
Norwegian rule (1264–1380).
The 13th-century historian, Snorri Sturluson was the first Icelandic chieftain who swore allegiance, around 1220, to a Norwegian monarch. However, it was Gissur Thorvaldsson, Earl of Iceland (r. 1258–1268) who between 1262 and 1264 persuaded all "goðar" to accept the suzerainty of King Hakon IV Hakonson of Norway (r. 1217–1263). Hakon Hakonson's successor, King Magnus VI Hakonson (r. 1263–1280) decided to reform the law of all his realms and issued a new law code for Iceland. Its provisions governing Church lifethe so-called "Kristinréttr nýi" ("New Christian Laws")declared that the Church and its property were to be administered without any interference by laymen. These provisions were first (in 1275) introduced in the diocese of Skálholt, but only in 1354 in the bishopric of Hólar. Thereafter bishops had exclusive jurisdiction over clergymen in both dioceses which contributed to the spread of clerical celibacy.
Bishop Árni Thorlaksson of Skálholt (r. 1269–1298) set about claiming effective control over all churches and their property in his diocese. His agreement of 1297 with King Eric II Magnusson (r. 1280–1299) authorized him to administer most church farmsteads. Laymen were only allowed to control parcels with a church in which they had at least a half-share. This transformation of the legal system caused that many freeholders became tenants of the Church.
Two new monasteries were established under Norwegian rule: one at Reynistaðr and the other at Möðrruvellir in 1296. Cathedral chapters were set up in this period. Bishop Jorund of Hólar was the first prelate to have been authorized to organize a "kórsbræðr" or body of canons at his see in 1267. However, the exact date when the chapter at Skálholt Cathedral was set up is unknown.
First centuries of the Danish rule (1380–1536).
King Haakon VI of Norway (1343–1380) was succeeded by his minor son, Olaf Haakonsson (1380–1387) who had some years before inherited Denmark. Upon the young king's death, his mother, Queen Margaret (1387–1412) followed him as "the mighty lady and right master" of Denmark, Norway and all their dependencies, including Iceland. Thereafter Iceland remained united with Denmark for more than five centuries.
The epidemic known as Black Death reached Iceland in 1402. It devastated the country for 18 or 19 months and caused the death of at least 50% of the population. For instance, 8 of the 14 nuns living at the Kirkjubæjarklaustur convent (including the abbess) died in the epidemic. Legend says that there were cases when only 4 or 5 of 15 people going to a funeral returned home because of the fast spread of the plague. The Black Death also contributed to the accumulation of Church property, because dying people often willed their estates to the Church. A second epidemic which ravaged in Iceland in 1495 and 1496 had similar, although less devastating consequences.
The so-called "English Century" of Icelandic history, which was characterized by the growing influence of English seamen and merchants, began around 1410. They were engaged in fishing and trading in stockfish and established several posts in Iceland. An Englishman, John Williamson Craxton even was consecrated as bishop of Hólar in 1431. He was accused of organizing a plot against Jöns Gerekesson, his fellow bishop at Skálholt. The latter, a Dane by birth, was King Eric VII of Denmark's favorite. He hired foreign mercenaries and set up his private army in order to plunder the countryside and capture many landowners. However, one of his followers murdered a young nobleman whose sister incited her fellow countrymen against the bishop. The rebels took the Hólar Cathedral, captured Bishop Jöns Gerekesson and drowned him in a river in 1433. In a few years, Bishop John Williamson Craxton was forced to leave his diocese. The last monastery in Iceland was established at Skriðuklaustur at the end of the "English Century" in 1493.
The English competed with the German merchants of the Hansa Towns for the control over trade with Iceland. The Danish monarchs supported the Germans in this conflict, but the English were expelled from all their posts in the period between 1490 and 1558. Alabaster altarpieces from England which have been preserved in Hólar and many other places in Iceland are traditionally dated to the "English Century".
Connections with the Hansa Towns contributed to the early appearance of Protestant ideas, because most German merchants who settled in Iceland accepted Martin Luther's teaching. On the other hand, Bishop Jón Arason of Hólar brought the first printing press to Iceland from Hamburg in 1530. The Roman Catholic Church accumulated significant wealthincluding landed property, cattle, trading ships, and precious metalsby the end of the period. For instance, the Diocese of Skálholt had acquired around 9% of all the landholdings in the previous centuries.
Reformation (1536–1627).
King Christian II of Denmark (1513–1523) was the first Scandinavian monarch to have contemplated the introduction of the Reformation in his realms, but he was dethroned. His attempts to regain his throne caused the outbreak of a civil war in Denmark which lasted from 1533 till 1536. The internal conflict ended with the victory of the deposed monarch's opponent, Christian III (1534–1559) who had since 1521 been a staunch supporter of Luther's views.
Young men studying in Germany were the first Icelanders who accepted Lutheran ideas, but most Icelanders remained faithful to their traditional faith. Furthermore, the two Catholic bishopsÖgmundur Pálsson of Skálholt and Jón Arason of Hólartook over the government of the country for the years of the Danish civil war. However, a secret circle of young Lutheran intellectuals was developing in the court of Bishop Ögmundur Pálsson in the same period.
The elderly bishop openly opposed the Lutheran Church Ordinance which was introduced in Denmark in 1537. He excommunicated two royal officials who had taken Viðey Abbey and expelled the monks from there. The bishop's supporters even seized and killed one of the royal representatives in 1539. The nearly blind Bishop Ögmundur Pálsson decided to retire and proposed one of his favorites, Gissur Einarsson to succeed him.However, Gissur Einarsson was a secret Lutheran who set about introducing the Protestant principles of Church administration in Iceland. However, the "Alþingi" of 1540 insisted on the preservation of the traditional Church structure. The earliest Icelandic translation of the New Testamentwhich was made by Oddur Gottskálksson, one of the secret Lutherans at Bishop Ögmundur Pálsson's courtwas published in Denmark in 1540.
A naval force sent by Christian III landed at Iceland in 1541. Assisted by Gissur Einarsson, the royal representatives persuaded the "Alþingi" of 1541 to accept the introduction of the Church Ordinance in the Diocese of Skálholt. However, Gissur Einarssonwho was consecrated as the first Lutheran bishop in Icelandhad to face the absence of trained Protestant clergymen. He made every effort to extinguish all traditions closely connected to Catholicism. Public opinion even attributed his unexpected death in 1548 to God's justice for his act of destroying a holy cross near Skálholt. Bishop Jón Arason of Hólar soon attempted to restore Catholicism in Skálholt by force, but the king declared him outlaw. Daði Guðmundsson, a wealthy Lutheran landowner managed to seize the bishop in autumn 1550. Jón Arason and his two sons were executed without trial on November 7, 1550. In next summer a new naval force arriving from Denmark forced the people of the Diocese of Hólar to accept the Church Ordinance, thus Reformation was introduced in the whole country.
The Reformation was a culture shock for the Icelanders. The veneration of saints was banned, the saints' relics and many traditional objects of liturgy were destroyed, and all monasteries were closed. Most Church propertiesin value, around 19% of all landholdingswere confiscated for the Crown in 1554. One half of the tithe was also payable to the royal treasury from 1560. Even so, the two episcopal sees remained important centers of teaching, although for higher education clergymen had to visit Copenhagen. Bishop Guðbrandur Þorláksson of Hólar (1571–1627) and his disciples translated the whole Bible into Icelandic and their work was published in 1584. This translation strengthened the position of the vernacular in liturgy, thus Danish never was introduced in Church service in Iceland.
Early Modern and Modern Times (1627–1944).
Dark Ages and absolutism (1627–1809).
Spiritual literature flourished in the 17th century. For instance, Hallgrímur Pétursson wrote his "Passion Psalms" in this period, and Bishop Jón Vidalin of Skálholt (1698–1720) composed a popular book of "Family Sermons". Church life in 17th-century Iceland was featured by the dominance of Lutheran orthodoxy. However, the number of churches diminished from about 300 to less than 200 between around 1550 and 1660.
A general fear of damnation to Hell (the main door of which was suspected to be on Mount Hekla) emerged among laymen which contributed to their adoption of a lifestyle required by the Lutheran Church. Superstition, including the belief in witchcraft and sorcery became widespread. Between 1625 and 1685, more than around 25 persons were executed on charges of witchcraft. The overwhelming majority of the victims of witch-hunt were men, which distinguishes Iceland from other parts of Europe where the number of women burned at the stake was higher. Superstition began to fade away from the last decades of the century.
King Frederick III of Denmark (1648–1670) decided to get rid of all barriers of royal power and introduce an absolute monarchy in his realms. At an extraordinary assembly, the delegates of the "Alþingi" of 1662 were forced to acknowledge the absolute power of the king. Bishop Brynjólfur Sveinsson of Skálholt (1639–1674) was one of the delegates who tried, in vain, to hinder the abolition of the traditional form of government.
The Icelandic Jon Thorkelsson and the Danish Ludvig Harboe, two representatives of Pietismthe 18th-century movement for religious revivalarrived in Iceland in 1741 and visited many churches. They preached against sagas and other traditional forms of Icelandic literature, but also emphasized the importance of education of children. Due to their influence, new Church regulations were introduced in 1744. They included the obligatory confirmation of children which required their ability to read by their age of 14.
As a series of natural disasters caused the loss of life of thousands of people in the 18th century, Iceland's population dropped from 50,000 to below 40,000 between 1703 and 1784. The major of these catastrophes, the so-called "Skaftá Fires"volcanic eruptions in the Laki volcanic rifts which lasted for a year from the spring of 1783and the famine which followed it caused the death of more than 9,000 people in 1783 and 1784. Literature has maintained many episodes of the disaster. For instance, legend says that Jón Steingrímsson, a clergyman serving in Kirkjubæjarklaustur stopped the flowing lava just at the walls of his church by his "Fire Sermon". Bishop Hannes Finnsson of Skálholt moved to Reykjavík in 1785 because an earthquake that followed the Skaftá Fires destroyed all buildings at his see. This change of the episcopal see was declared permanent in 1796. The Diocese of Hólar and its school was abolished in 1801. Thereafter Reykjavík was the see of the sole diocese of the country.
Republic of Iceland (1944–).
The church attendance in Iceland has declined since the 1970s.


Robert Bennet (Roundhead)

Robert Bennet (1605–1683) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1653 and 1654. He fought in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War.
Biography.
Bennet was the eldest son of Richard Bennet, of Hexworthy in the parish of Lawhitton in Cornwall. He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford on 13 December 1622, aged 17 and was awarded BA on 25 October 1624. He was a student of the Middle Temple in 1622. Bennet was a Parliamentary colonel, and governor of St. Michael's Mount and St. Mawes Castle in the Civil War.
In 1653, Bennet was nominated as Member of Parliament for Cornwall in the Barebones Parliament. He was elected MP for Launceston in 1654 for the First Protectorate Parliament.
Bennet died at the age of 79 and was buried at Lawhitton on 7 July 1683.
References.


Next Portuguese legislative election

The Next Portuguese legislative election will take place on or before 8 October 2023 to elect members of the Assembly of the Republic to the 15th Legislature of Portugal. All 230 seats to the Assembly of the Republic will be at stake.
Background.
Politics of Portugal.
The President of Portugal has the power to dissolve the Assembly of the Republic by their own will. Unlike in other countries, the President can refuse to dissolve the parliament at the request of the Prime Minister or the Assembly of the Republic and all the parties represented in Parliament. If the Prime Minister resigns, the President must appoint a new Prime Minister after listening to all the parties represented in Parliament and then the government programme must be subject to discussion by the Assembly of the Republic, whose members of parliament may present a motion to reject the upcoming government.
Leadership changes.
Liberal Initiative.
Early in December 2019, the Liberal Initiative (IL) elected a new leader after their previous leader, Carlos Guimarães Pinto, stepped down. Their sole MP, João Cotrim de Figueiredo, was elected as leader with 96% of the votes in the party's convention.
Social Democratic Party.
The Social Democrats (PSD), the largest opposition party, held a two-round leadership election on 11 January and 18 January 2020. Three candidates were in the race: incumbent PSD leader Rui Rio, former PSD parliamentary caucus leader Luís Montenegro and current Deputy Mayor of Cascais Miguel Pinto Luz. Around 40,000 party members, out of almost 110,000, were registered to vote. In the first round, on 11 January, Rui Rio polled ahead with 49% of the votes against the 41.4% of Luís Montenegro and 9.6% of Miguel Pinto Luz, with both Rio and Montenegro qualifying for a second round. A week later, on 18 January, Rui Rio was re-elected as PSD leader with 53.2% of the votes, against the 46.8% of Luís Montenegro. In both rounds, turnout of registered members achieved almost 80%.
CDS – People's Party.
CDS – People's Party also elected a new leader after former leader Assunção Cristas stepped down after the party's worst result ever in a general election in the 2019 elections. Five candidates were in the race: People's Youth leader Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos, current CDS MP from Aveiro João Almeida, former MP Filipe Lobo d'Ávila, Abel Matos Santos and Carlos Meira. The new leader was elected in a party congress between 25 and 26 January 2020. In that congress, in Aveiro city, Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos was elected leader with 46.4% of the delegates votes, against the 38.9% of João Almeida and 14.5% of Filipe Lobo d'Ávila.
Date.
According to the Portuguese Constitution, an election must be called between 14 September and 14 October of the year that the legislature ends. The election is called by the President of Portugal but is not called at the request of the Prime Minister; however, the President must listen to all of the parties represented in Parliament and the election day must be announced at least 60 days before the election. If an election is called during an ongoing legislature (dissolution of parliament) it must be held at least in 55 days. Election day is the same in all multi-seats constituencies, and should fall on a Sunday or national holiday. The next legislative election must, therefore, take place no later than 8 October 2023.
Electoral system.
The Assembly of the Republic has 230 members elected to four-year terms. Governments do not require absolute majority support of the Assembly to hold office, as even if the number of opposers of government is larger than that of the supporters, the number of opposers still needs to be equal or greater than 116 (absolute majority) for both the Government's Programme to be rejected or for a motion of no confidence to be approved.
The number of seats assigned to each district depends on the district magnitude. The use of the d'Hondt method makes for a higher effective threshold than certain other allocation methods such as the Hare quota or Sainte-Laguë method, which are more generous to small parties.
In the 2019 legislative elections, the MPs distributed by districts were the following:
Parties.
The table below lists parties currently represented in the Assembly of the Republic.


Pantheon of the House of Braganza

The Pantheon of the House of Braganza (Portuguese: "Panteão da Casa de Bragança"), also known as the Pantheon of the Braganzas ("Panteão dos Bragança"), is the final resting place for many of the members of the House of Braganza, located in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in the Alfama district of Lisbon, Portugal. The pantheon's burials have included Portuguese monarchs, Brazilian monarchs, a Romanian monarch, queen consorts of Portugal, and notable Infantes of Portugal, among others.
History.
The Pantheon was created under orders from Ferdinand II of Portugal, transforming the old refectory of the monastery into the burial place it is today. The majority of the tombs are located on the sides of the pantheon, and are simple marble boxes with spaces of four tombs. If the tomb is of a monarch, it has a crown engraved in gold on the side of the tomb and a crown placed on top of the entire set of tombs. The tombs in the center aisle of the pantheon are those belonging to Carlos I of Portugal, Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal, Manuel II of Portugal and Queen Amélie of Orléans; the two martyrs of the Lisbon Regicide, the last King of Portugal and the last Queen consort of Portugal.
Braganza monarchs and consorts not buried at the pantheon.
All of the Braganza monarchs of Portugal are buried at the royal pantheon, from John IV (1603–1656) to Manuel II (1889–1932), except:


Roger Crab

Roger Crab (1621 – 11 September 1680) was an English soldier, haberdasher, herbal doctor and writer who is best known for his ascetic lifestyle which included Christian vegetarianism. Crab fought in the Parliamentary Army in the English Civil War before becoming a haberdasher in Chesham. He later became a hermit and worked as a herbal doctor. He then joined the Philadelphians and began promoting asceticism through his writings.
Early life.
Crab was born in Buckinghamshire in 1621. At the time of his birth his mother had an annual income of £20. As a young man, he began trying to find a way to live a perfect life. In 1641 he ceased eating meat, dairy and eggs. He also chose to be celibate.
At the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, he joined the Parliamentary Army under Oliver Cromwell. During one battle he received a serious head wound from a sword. During his time as a soldier, he was at one point sentenced to death by Cromwell. He was later sentenced to two years in prison by Parliament. Christopher Hill has suggested that Crab was involved with the Levellers in the late 1640s and was imprisoned as a result.
Career.
After leaving the military Crab moved to Chesham. There he began working as a haberdasher. He continued this work between 1649 and 1652. In 1652 he moved to Ickenham and lived as a hermit. Believing that profit was sinful, he gave away almost all of his possessions before moving. He built up a practice as a herbal doctor, advising his patients to avoid meat and alcohol. He was a popular doctor among the village women. However, he was accused of witchcraft by a clergyman, possibly due to prophecies he issued. He attempted to live modestly, wearing homemade sackcloth clothes. He moved to Bethnal Green in 1657. There he joined the Philadelphians, a group founded by John Pordage.
Views.
He was an anti-sabbatarian. He did not observe Sunday as a non-working day, and was put in the stocks for it. He was a pacifist, and had radical views on the evils of property, the Church and universities.
Crab ate a vegan diet from 1641 until his death in 1680. He initially included potatoes and carrots in his diet, but later gave them up in favour of a diet of mostly bran and turnips. Later in his life he ate only Rumex and grass, claiming to spend of 3/4 d. per week on food. Late in his life he added parsnips to his diet.
He might be the inspiration for Lewis Carroll's The Mad Hatter.
Works.
Crab wrote his autobiography while living in Ickenham.,
A Reply to the "Gentle Correction" was made:
Epitaph.
His tombstone has the following epitaph:


Alpine Padanian Union

The Alpine Padanian Union ("Unione Padana Alpina", UPA) is a Padanist and separatist political party active in Lombardy, Italy.
The party emerged in March 2012 as a split from the Padanian Union (UP): the provincial section of Bergamo, led by Giovanni Ongaro, left the UP over disagreements with party leadership. The UP had been formed in November 2011 by the merger of Lega Padana Lombardia and other groups, including that of Ongaro.
Riccardo Mazzoleni and Giovanni Ongaro were respectively elected secretary and president of the newly formed party. Cristiano Forte, a former provincial secretary of Lega Lombarda–Lega Nord, was appointed deputy secretary.


John Bodvel

John Bodvel (1617 – March 1663) was a Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1644. He was a colonel in the Royalist army in the English Civil War.
Bodvel was the son of Sir John Bodvel (died 1631) and his wife Elizabeth Wynn, daughter of Sir John Wynn of Gwydir and Sidney Gerard. He was admitted to Middle Temple in 1633.
Bodvel's grandfather had acquired by marriage the estate of Caerfryn on Anglesey and in April 1640, Bodvel was elected Member of Parliament for Anglesey in the Short Parliament. He was re-elected MP for Anglesey for the Long Parliament in November 1640. He stood with the militant Protestants who opposed the court, and was nominated as Deputy Lieutenant of Caernarvonshire in March 1642. On 2 August 1642 he was given leave of absence by the House of Commons and provided with a stock of arms with which to defend his home in Wales.’
However, by May 1643 Bodvel had become a Commissioner of array for Caernarvonshire and a Custos Rotulorum of Anglesey. He attended King Charles' Oxford Parliament in January 1644 and was awarded the degree of D.C.L. from Oxford University. When the Oxford Parliament adjourned in July 1644, Bodvel went with his family to Caerfryn and became governor of Caernarvon Castle from March 1646. As colonel and commissioner of array he helped in both the defence of the island of Anglesey and in the negotiations for its surrender in July 1646. His wife, Anne Russell, was a strong Puritan and in 1646 she appealed to the Lords to have their children removed from their father's custody because he set a bad example, and for alimony to support herself and the children. His estates were sequestered in November 1647 and was further fined for supporting the Royalist rising of 1648 in Anglesey. After the execution of the King, he fled abroad, and when he returned his name was listed in the Act of 1651 for the sale of delinquents’ estates. These sales were cancelled in 1652 and he was finally cleared of delinquency in April 1655.
Bodvel married Ann Russell, daughter of Sir William Russell, 1st Baronet, of Chippenham and his second wife Elizabeth Gerard, in September 1638 but there was no male heir. In 1657 his wife arranged a marriage between their second daughter Sarah and Robert Robartes, son of John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor, a wealthy Cornish Presbyterian and former Parliamentarian field-marshal. The marriage was without Bodvel's consent and he refused to recognize the match. After the Restoration of Charles II, probably mindful of the Earl of Radnor's prominent role in Government, where he held office as Lord Privy Seal, he relented and promised to make his grandson Charles Bodvel Robartes his heir. However Bodvel's distant cousin Thomas Wynn of Boduan hid him from creditors in London, where he made a new will leaving his estates to Wynn 's son Griffith and another distant cousin. After Bodvel's death in March 1663 Lord Robartes and his son contested the will in Chancery and the House of Lords and obtained an Act of Parliament which set it aside in favour of Charles Robartes. The case aroused great public interest and was described by Samuel Pepys in his celebrated Diary.


Multi-speed Europe

Multi-speed Europe or two-speed Europe (called also "variable geometry Europe" or "Core Europe" depending on the form it would take in practice) is the idea that different parts of the European Union should integrate at different levels and pace depending on the political situation in each individual country. Indeed, multi-speed Europe is currently a reality, with only a subset of EU countries being members of the eurozone and of the Schengen area. Like other forms of differentiated integration such as à la carte and variable geometry, "multi-speed Europe" arguably aims to salvage the "widening and deepening of the European Union" in the face of political opposition.
Reasons and actuality of the concept.
The concept entered political discourse when, after the end of the Cold War, an eastward enlargement of the European Union began to materialise and the question arose how "widening" could be made compatible with "deepening", i.e., how the imminent enlargement process could be prevented from diluting the idea of an "ever closer union among the peoples of Europe", as the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community of 1957 had put it. In 1994 – still at a time of the EU12 – the German Christian Democrats Wolfgang Schäuble and published a document in which they called for a "Kerneuropa" (= core Europe). This idea envisaged that "core Europe" would have a "centripetal effect", a magnetic attraction for the rest of Europe. A precursor to that concept had been a proposal by two advisors to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Michael Mertes and Norbert J. Prill, published as early as July 1989. Mertes and Prill called for a concentric circles Europe, built around a federal core consisting of the Inner Six (EU6) and like-minded EU member states. In 1994 they partly revoked their original idea, arguing that the post-Cold War EU would rather look like a "Europe of Olympic rings" than a "Europe of concentric circles".
The multi-speed Europe concept has been debated for years in European political circles, as a way to solve some institutional issues. The concept is that the more members there are in the Union, the more difficult it becomes to reach consensus on various topics, and the less likely it is that all would advance at the same pace in various fields.
Intermediate forms could be limited to some areas of close cooperation, as some historical examples are given below. It is also possible now for a minimum of nine EU member states to use enhanced co-operation, but this new framework has been used only once. A second proposal, a unified European patent, is nearing completion [as of December 2010] with only two countries (Italy and Spain) not participating.
The idea of a multi-speed Europe has been revived because of the following initiatives:
Furthermore, important events were
Currently in the EU there are the following cases of non-uniform application of the European Union law:
Overview of non-uniformity inside the EU.

Participation of European countries in non EU-only integration initiatives.
A number of countries have special relations to the European Union implementing many of its regulations. Prominently there are Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein which are the only remaining EFTA members while all other former EFTA members have converted into EU members. Through agreements Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (not including Switzerland) are members of the European Economic Area since 1994. As a consequence of taking part in the EU single market they need to adopt part of the Law of the European Union. Formally they would not need to fund the EU government but in practice they have opted to take on their part of financing EU institutions as required by EU law (see EEA and Norway Grants) with the financial footprint of Norway being equal to that of an EU member since 2009. Especially Norway and Iceland are known to forfeit EU membership on the basis of EU fishery regulations that they want to opt out on. Both Norway and Iceland have signed and implemented the Schengen zone agreements from the start. During the turmoils of the financial crisis, Iceland was looking into membership of the Eurozone and it did apply for EU membership in 2009. Norway has joined all EU political treaties and it has applied to EU membership multiple times but while fulfilling the requirements the membership was rejected by referenda in 1972 and 1994. This leaves Norway to be integrated into Inner Europe's institutions while not being part their governing body.

Post-Brexit-vote revival of "multispeed Europe" ideas.
In March 2017, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker released a five-point view of possible courses for the EC and its to-be-27 post-Brexit members, looking forward to the year 2025. The points, among which Juncker expressed no preference, "range from standing down from policing of government financing of companies, for example, to a broader pullback that would essentially strip the EU back to being merely a single market", per one report.
The updated possibilities would entail member countries or groups of countries adopting different levels of participation with the union. The EC was approaching a March meeting of the 27 members in Rome and Juncker's paper addressed the options that "once invited scorn from convinced Europhiles" and seemed maybe even to have some backing "of lifelong federalists" like the president.


List of political parties in Czechoslovakia

This article lists political parties in Czechoslovakia (1918–1992).
Political parties.
Political parties in Communist Czechoslovakia (1948-1989).
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ)

"Communist Party of Slovakia" (KSS)

Czechoslovak People's Party (ČSL)

Czechoslovak Socialist Party (ČSS)

Freedom Party (SS)

Party of Slovak Revival (SSO)


Baltic Fleet (United Kingdom)

The British Baltic Fleet and also known as the Baltic Squadron was a series of temporary or semi permanent fleets of the Royal Navy. They were assembled for various naval operations in the Baltic Sea from 1658 to 1856 commanded by the Commander-in-Chief, Baltic Fleet.
Overview.
The Baltic Fleet comprised a series of temporary fleets assembled for various naval campaigns of the Royal Navy from 1658 to 1854 under the command of a Commander-in-Chief, Baltic Fleet. The fleet operated from a number of bases including Spithead in Hampshire but also the Nore. During the Crimean War of 1853–1856, the final Baltic Fleet was the largest assembled since the Napoleonic Wars, and in terms of armament the most powerful naval force the Royal Navy possessed in the mid-19th century. Pictured right is the fleet sailing from Spithead on 11 March 1854.
History.
In November 1658 Vice-Admiral William Goodsonn was appointed to command the English Baltic Fleet of twenty ships – he was transporting General at sea Sir George Ayscue, who was being loaned to Sweden to assist in their naval operations against Denmark and the Dutch during the Dano-Swedish War (1658–1660).
In 1715 Sir John Norris was sent with a fleet to the Baltic Sea to support a coalition of naval forces from Russia, Denmark and Hanover taking part in the Great Northern War of 1700–1721 against Sweden. Tsar Peter of Russia took personal command of the coalition fleet and appointed Norris as his deputy in 1716: together they protected British and other allied merchant vessels from attack by warships of the Swedish Empire.
In 1717 the Baltic fleet formed again – this time under the command of Sir George Byng. It set out for the Baltic following information received by the Admiralty that Charles XII of Sweden was meditating a new movement in support of the exiled Stuarts.
Following the death of Charles XII of Sweden on 30 November 1718 O.S., Admiral Sir John Norris returned to the region as Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic Fleet to protect British merchant shipping from attack by Russian raiders.
In 1726 Sir Charles Wager was appointed to take command of a large battle fleet sent to the Baltic to protect Sweden and Denmark from the threat of a recently mobilized Russian fleet. Stopping first at Copenhagen, he met with the court and completed arrangements for co-operation with the Danish navy. Wager took his twenty ships of the line to Reval (in present-day Estonia). He had orders to engage and destroy the Russian fleet if it came out. To reassure Sweden, the combined fleet stayed at Reval all summer. The British fleet arrived back in Britain on 1 November 1726. but actually lifted the blockade on 1 October
In 1801 Sir Hyde Parker was appointed to command the Baltic Fleet destined to break up the northern armed neutrality (Denmark–Norway, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia), with Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson as his second-in-command. Copenhagen, the first objective of the expedition, fell in the Battle of Copenhagen on 2 April 1801.
In 1808 Rear-Admiral Sir James Saumarez was given command of the British Baltic fleet with his flag in HMS "Victory". His mission involved protecting the British trade interests that were of vital importance for Royal Navy supplies (naval stores and timber), in addition to blockading enemy ports such as those under French control in northern Germany. The Russian fleet was also kept under blockade until Alexander I reopened Russian ports. In 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia – the Baltic fleet succeeded in obstructing French operations.
In February 1854 Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Napier was appointed to command the Baltic Fleet. It sailed on 11 March for an expedition to the Baltic to attack the fortresses at Kronstadt and Sveaborg. Napier reported back to the Admiralty they despite his attempts the fortresses were impregnable – he was relieved of his command in December 1854.
On 20 March 1854, Vice-Admiral James Dundas taking command of the fleet stationed at Spithead, Hampshire, it proceeded to the Baltic Sea where it was employed on blockading duties to prevent Russia from receiving supplies at its Baltic ports until 13 August 1854.
On 27 June 1855 the fleet was stationed at Spithead under the command of Rear-Admiral Richard Dundas it was a very large force consisted of some 93 naval units in total as reported in the Melbourne Argus newspaper at the time.
Composition of the fleet 1855.
As of 27 June 1855:


William Farrington (Royalist)

William Farrington (died 1659) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.
Farrington was the son of William Farrington and grandson of William Farrington of Worden, Lancashire, an estate which the family had held since the time of Edward III. His grandfather left him the estate at Worden in 1610, cutting out his father who was said to have been a spendthrift. Farrington also purchased the manor of Leyland in 1617.
He was secretary to Lord Strange. In 1636 he was appointed High Sheriff of Lancashire and in April 1640 elected Member of Parliament for Lancashire in the Short Parliament.
In the Civil War, he was appointed a commissioner of array, reported by the Parliamentarians as one of "the most busy and active" and made colonel of the newly raised Lancashire Militia. In 1642 his servant, William Sumner, captured a stock of gunpowder at Preston and Farrington accompanied Lord Strange to the siege of Manchester. He was principal adviser of the Countess during her defence of Lathom House against Parliamentary forces in the Siege of Lathom House and in consequence his estate was sequestered by parliament. He was made a prisoner in 1646, after which he compounded for his estates and took no further part in the wars.
Farrington died in 1659, three years after his father who had died at the age of 90. He had married Margaret, the daughter of Henry Worrell and left 3 sons and 3 daughters. He was succeeded by his eldest son William who also fought in the Royalist cause and was awarded the title of Knight of the Royal Oak.


John Browne (Parliamentarian)

John Browne (1582 – 16 May 1659) was an English lawyer who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1653. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War.
Browne was the son of John Browne of Frampton, Dorset. He matriculated at Magdalen College, Oxford, on 13 October 1598, aged 16. He was a student of the Middle Temple in 1599. In 1621, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for Bridport. He was re-elected as one of the members for Bridport in 1628, but his election was declared void on 12 April. In June 1641 he was elected for Dorset in the Long Parliament and sat until 1653, surviving Pride's Purge in 1648. He was appointed as a commissioner for the trial of the King in 1649, but did not act.
Browne died at the age of 78.


Abu Dujana Al-Afghani

Abu Dujana Al-Afghani, or Abu Nayaf al-Afghani was a claimed spokesperson for "Al-Qaeda of Europe" who demanded an end to Spanish support and involvement in the War on Terror. Abu Dujana claimed responsibility for the 2004 Madrid train bombings, as well as a failed train bombing the following month.
Activities and identification.
On 13 March 2004 a video was found by a mosque in Madrid in which Abu Dujana claimed responsibility for the 11 March Madrid train bombings on behalf of "Al-Qaeda in Europe", and on 3 April a letter was sent under the name to a Spanish news station, claiming responsibility for an attempted bombing of a train en route from Madrid to Seville on 2 April, and promising more attacks unless Spain withdrew from the War on Terror (Spain eventually withdrew following a general election that brought Socialists to power in April).
Abu Dujana has been speculated to be two people: Jamal Ahmidan "the Chinese" who was arrested after the attacks, or more likely Youssef Belhadj, a Moroccan based in Molenbeek, Belgium who in 2008 was found guilty of belonging to a terrorist group and sentenced to 12 years in prison, thought by Spanish authorities to be Abu Dujana. Belhajd, also thought to have been connected to the 2003 Casablanca bombings, was arrested in Belgium on 1 February 2005 and extradited to Spain. Convicted after the Madrid bombings, Belhadj was the leader of a Belgian cell of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM) along with Hassan el-Haski.


Zygmunt Rumel

Zygmunt Jan Rumel (22 February 1915 – 10 July 1943) was a Polish poet and, during World War II, underground officer of the Bataliony Chłopskie partisans in the Wolhynia Region of the Second Polish Republic. Rumel's poetic talent was acknowledged by renowned Polish poet Leopold Staff and dramatist Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. One of his poems entitled "Dwie matki" ("Two mothers") in which Rumel described his love of Poland and Ukraine, was published in a popular "Płomyk" magazine in 1935 (issue No. 28). He was killed by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army during the massacres of Poles in Volhynia in 1943.
Life.
Rumel, whose talent was often compared to the one of Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński, was born in Saint Petersburg during World War I, and grew up in Krzemieniec in the Wołyń Voivodeship province of the Second Polish Republic. The exact location of his birth has not been confirmed. He came from a military family, his father Władysław, an agricultural engineer, was also an officer of the Polish Army who fought in the Polish–Soviet War and was awarded the Cross of Virtuti Militari. Some time in the 1920s, the family settled in Volhynia as military osadniks.
The Rumels lived in the countryside near Krzemieniec, in a manor once belonging to the family of Juliusz Słowacki. His parents were avid readers and their son inherited it from them. At home, he read Polish classics of Słowacki and Adam Mickiewicz. Zygmunt graduated from a renowned Liceum Krzemienieckie and went to Warsaw to continue his education at the Warsaw University. Leopold Staff once said to his mother Janina (née Tyminska): "Keep an eye on this boy, he will be a great poet one day".
While living in Warsaw, in the second half of the 1930s he was actively involved in social life of Volhynian Poles. Rumel was a member of Volhynian Association of Village Youth, and cooperated with People's University in the village of Rozyn, where he probably met senator Kazimierz Banach "". He was a publicist of the "Droga Pracy" magazine, writing about history and society. Rumel supported the idea of multinational Poland, and cooperated with a bilingual (Polish and Ukrainian) magazine "Młoda Wies – Molode Selo", which was published in Krzemieniec.
War years and death.
In 1939, resulting from the joint invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and Soviet Union, the province of Volhynia was incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR in the atmosphere of terror. Rumel, an artillery colonel, took part in the September 1939 campaign. Captured by the Red Army, he presented himself as a private, and was released. Two years later, in June 1941 eastern Poland was overrun by Nazi Germany during Operation Barbarossa. Rumel remained in Volhynia, where in late 1939 he joined Polish underground organization formed by activists of the peasant movement. In January 1940, Rumel and Pius Zalewski were sent to the General Government territory under the German occupation, to get in touch with former voivode of Volhynia, Henryk Jozewski. They failed to cross the border, and returned to Lutsk, where they were met by envoys of the Union of Armed Struggle (ZWZ), Tadeusz Majewski and Jerzy Potapow, who came to Volhynia to build the organization.
In February and March 1940 Rumel twice travelled from Volhynia to Warsaw, as a courier of the ZWZ. At the same time, the NKVD managed to destroy the organization in his native province, arresting, among others, Rumel's brother, Bronislaw (murdered by the Soviets in 1941). Zygmunt survived because he remained in Warsaw, where he married Anna (née Wojciszkiewicz), and together with another brother, Stanisław, ran a hardware store in the Ochota district. All the time he actively participated in the Polish resistance movement, his nom de guerre was "Krzysztof Poreba". In the spring of 1943 he returned to his native Volhynia and became a commandant of the Bataliony Chłopskie's VIII District covering the area.
In early summer 1943, when the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), together with local Ukrainian nationalists, began a campaign of massacres of Polish civilians in Volhynia, Rumel, who spoke Ukrainian fluently, was assigned to get in touch with leaders of the UPA and start talks, which would bring an end to the massacres. The order was issued by Kazimierz Banach, chief of staff of the Bataliony Chłopskie and a delegate of the Polish government-in-exile in Volhynia.
On 7 July 1943, Rumel, together with officer Krzysztof Markiewicz (aka "Czort"), both dressed in military uniforms, aided by guide Witold Dobrowolski, contacted the Ukrainians. They were officially representing the Polish government. However, instead of peace talks, a different fate awaited them. Both were brutally tortured for three days. Then, on Saturday 10 July, Rumel was tied to four horses and his body ripped apart. Markiewicz and Dobrowolski were killed in the same manner in the village of Kustycze, near the Volhynian town of Turzyska. The next day, Sunday 11 July 1943, was the bloodiest day yet of the Volhynian massacres, when armed Ukrainians attacked Polish settlements and churches, killing thousands of people, including infants, women and the elderly.
Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, upon hearing of Rumel's death, wrote in his diary: "He was one of our diamonds, with which we shot at the enemy. This diamond could have shone..."
Works.
First Rumel's poems were published in 1934 in a school bulletin. He kept most of his work to himself, and did not aspire to have them published. Manuscripts of his poems were kept by his wife, who was a nurse in the Warsaw Uprising and survived the war. First publication of selected works of Rumel, edited by Anna Kamienska, was issued in 1975, and was highly praised by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz who wrote: "Rumel had a mind and talent on an original scale".
According to Polish literary critic Bozena Gorska, Rumel's poetry was strongly influenced by the works of Juliusz Słowacki and Cyprian Kamil Norwid. He rarely drew inspiration from the works of Polish avant garde poets, but in some of his poems influences of Leopold Staff and Boleslaw Lesmian can be found. Rumel felt close to the Volhynian folk culture, and frequently used Ukrainian and Russian words. He also wrote about Polish historical subjects, best exemplified in his poem "The Year 1863".
Legacy.
In 2004, Polish film director Wincenty Ronisz produced a documentary "Poeta nieznany" ("Unknown poet"), which describes the life and death of Rumel. Rumel is also the patron of several clubs of young Polish poets. However, he remains little known to the majority of Polish people. On 10 February 2011, Public Library in Warsaw's borough of Praga-South was named after him. Also, there are streets named after him in Gdańsk and Legnica.


Building at 33 Rua do Carmo, Funchal

The Building at 33 Rua do Carmo is an historical building located at 33 Rua do Carmo, Funchal, Madeira. It has been suggested that it could have been projected to be a synagogue.
History.
Jews from Morocco arrived in 1819 and set themselves up in the cloth and wine trades. The Abudarham family (originally from Gibraltar) were involved in the Madeira wine industry from the early 1860s onwards. Rabbi David Zaguri became its spiritual leader in 1857. Another period of immigration followed in the 20th century, with the arrival of refugees from the First and Second World Wars. The Jewish community also grew due to the Evacuation of the Gibraltarian civilian population during World War II to Madeira, which included a number of Jews, some of which are buried in the Jewish Cemetery of Funchal.
Tito Benady, a historian on Gibraltar Jewry, noted that when some 200 Jews from Gibraltar were evacuated as non combatants to Funchal, Madeira, at the start of World War II, they found a Jewish cemetery that belonged to the Abudarham family. The same family after whom the Abudarham Synagogue in Gibraltar was named.
The Jewish Cemetery of Funchal located in nearby Rua do Lazareto, was built in 1851, the last burial took place in 1976.