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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Mathematics.htm">Mathematics</a></h3>
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<p><b>Arithmetic</b> or <b>arithmetics</b> (from the <!--del_lnk--> Greek word <i>αριθμός</i> = number) is the oldest and most elementary branch of mathematics, used by almost everyone, for tasks ranging from simple daily counting to advanced <a href="../../wp/s/Science.htm" title="Science">science</a> and <a href="../../wp/b/Business.htm" title="Business">business</a> calculations. In common usage, the word refers to a branch of (or the forerunner of) <a href="../../wp/m/Mathematics.htm" title="Mathematics">mathematics</a> which records elementary properties of certain <i>operations</i> on <a href="../../wp/n/Number.htm" title="Number">numbers</a>. Professional <!--del_lnk--> mathematicians sometimes use the term <i>higher arithmetic</i> as a synonym for <!--del_lnk--> number theory, but this should not be confused with <a href="../../wp/e/Elementary_arithmetic.htm" title="Elementary arithmetic">elementary arithmetic</a>.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>The prehistory of arithmetic is limited by a very small number of small artifacts indicating a clear conception of addition and subtraction, the best-known being the <!--del_lnk--> Ishango Bone from <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>, dating from 18,000 BC.<p>It is clear that the <!--del_lnk--> Babylonians had solid knowledge of almost all aspects of elementary arithmetic circa 1850 BC, historians can only infer the methods utilized to generate the arithmetical results (see <!--del_lnk--> Plimpton 322). Likewise, a definitive <a href="../../wp/a/Algorithm.htm" title="Algorithm">algorithm</a> for multiplication and the use of <!--del_lnk--> unit fractions can be found in the <!--del_lnk--> Rhind Mathematical Papyrus dating from Ancient Egypt circa 1650 BC.<p>In the <!--del_lnk--> Pythagorean school, in the second half of the <!--del_lnk--> 6th century BC, arithmetic was considered one of the four quantitative or mathematical sciences (<i>Mathemata</i>). These were carried over in mediæval universities as the <i><!--del_lnk--> Quadrivium</i> which, together with the <i><!--del_lnk--> Trivium</i> of grammar, rhetoric and dialectic, constituted the <i>septem liberales artes</i> (seven liberal arts).<p>Modern algorithms for arithmetic (both for hand and electronic computation) were made possible by the introduction of <!--del_lnk--> Arabic numerals and <!--del_lnk--> decimal place notation for numbers. Although it is now considered elementary, its simplicity is the culmination of thousands of years of mathematical development. By contrast, the ancient mathematician <a href="../../wp/a/Archimedes.htm" title="Archimedes">Archimedes</a> devoted an entire work, <!--del_lnk--> The Sand Reckoner, to devising a notation for a certain large integer. The flourishing of algebra in the medieval Islamic world and in Renaissance Europe was an outgrowth of the enormous simplification of computation through decimal notation.<p><a id="Decimal_arithmetic" name="Decimal_arithmetic"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Decimal arithmetic</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Decimal notation constructs all real numbers from the basic digits, the first ten non-negative integers 0,1,2,...,9. A decimal numeral consists of a sequence of these basic digits, with the "denomination" of each digit depending on its <i>position</i> with respect to the decimal point: for example, 507.36 denotes 5 hundreds (10<sup>2</sup>), plus 0 tens (10<sup>1</sup>), plus 7 units (10<sup>0</sup>), plus 3 tenths (10<sup>-1</sup>) plus 6 hundredths (10<sup>-2</sup>). An essential part of this notation (and a major stumbling block in achieving it) was conceiving of 0 as a number comparable to the other basic digits.<p><!--del_lnk--> Algorism comprises all of the rules of performing arithmetic computations using a decimal system for representing numbers in which numbers written using ten symbols having the values 0 through 9 are combined using a place-value system (positional notation), where each symbol has ten times the weight of the one to its right. This notation allows the addition of arbitrary numbers by adding the digits in each place, which is accomplished with a 10 x 10 addition table. (A sum of digits which exceeds 9 must have its 10-digit carried to the next place leftward.) One can make a similar algorithm for multiplying arbitrary numbers because the set of denominations {...,10<sup>2</sup>,10,1,10<sup>-1</sup>,...} is closed under multiplication. Subtraction and division are achieved by similar, though more complicated algorithms.<p><a id="Arithmetic_operations" name="Arithmetic_operations"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Arithmetic operations</span></h2>
<p>The traditional arithmetic operations are <!--del_lnk--> addition, <!--del_lnk--> subtraction, <!--del_lnk--> multiplication and <!--del_lnk--> division, although more advanced operations (such as manipulations of <!--del_lnk--> percentages, <!--del_lnk--> square root, <!--del_lnk--> exponentiation, and <!--del_lnk--> logarithmic functions) are also sometimes included in this subject. Arithmetic is performed according to an <!--del_lnk--> order of operations. Any set of objects upon which all four operations of arithmetic can be performed (except <!--del_lnk--> division by zero), and wherein these four operations obey the usual laws, is called a <!--del_lnk--> field.<p><a id="Addition_.28.2B.29" name="Addition_.28.2B.29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Addition (+)</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Addition is the basic <!--del_lnk--> operation of arithmetic. In its simplest form, addition combines two <a href="../../wp/n/Number.htm" title="Number">numbers</a>, the <i>addends</i> or <i><!--del_lnk--> terms</i>, into a single number, the <i>sum</i>.<p>Adding more than two numbers can be viewed as repeated addition; this procedure is known as <!--del_lnk--> summation and includes ways to add infinitely many numbers in an <!--del_lnk--> infinite series; repeated addition of the number <!--del_lnk--> one is the most basic form of <!--del_lnk--> counting.<p>Addition is <!--del_lnk--> commutative and <!--del_lnk--> associative so the order in which the terms are added does not matter. The <!--del_lnk--> identity element of addition (the <!--del_lnk--> additive identity) is 0, that is, adding zero to any number will yield that same number. Also, the <!--del_lnk--> inverse element of addition (the <!--del_lnk--> additive inverse) is the opposite of any number, that is, adding the opposite of any number to the number itself will yield the additive identity, 0. For example, the opposite of 7 is (-7), so 7 + (-7) = 0.<p><a id="Subtraction_.28.E2.88.92.29" name="Subtraction_.28.E2.88.92.29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Subtraction (−)</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Subtraction is essentially the opposite of addition. Subtraction finds the <i>difference</i> between two numbers, the <i>minuend</i> minus the <i>subtrahend</i>. If the minuend is larger than the subtrahend, the difference will be positive; if the minuend is smaller than the subtrahend, the difference will be negative; and if they are equal, the difference will be <!--del_lnk--> zero.<p>Subtraction is neither commutative nor associative. For that reason, it is often helpful to look at subtraction as addition of the minuend and the opposite of the subtrahend, that is <i>a</i> − <i>b</i> = <i>a</i> + (−<i>b</i>). When written as a sum, all the properties of addition hold.<p><a id="Multiplication_.28.C3.97_or_.C2.B7.29" name="Multiplication_.28.C3.97_or_.C2.B7.29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Multiplication (× or ·)</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Multiplication is in essence repeated addition, or the sum of a list of identical numbers. Multiplication finds the <i>product</i> of two numbers, the <i>multiplier</i> and the <i>multiplicand</i>, sometimes both just called <i>factors</i>.<p>Multiplication, as it is really repeated addition, is commutative and associative; further it is <!--del_lnk--> distributive over addition and subtraction. The <!--del_lnk--> multiplicative identity is 1, that is, multiplying any number by 1 will yield that same number. Also, the <!--del_lnk--> multiplicative inverse is the <!--del_lnk--> reciprocal of any number, that is, multiplying the reciprocal of any number by the number itself will yield the multiplicative identity, 1.<p><a id="Division_.28.C3.B7_or_.2F.29" name="Division_.28.C3.B7_or_.2F.29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Division (÷ or /)</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Division is essentially the opposite of multiplication. Division finds the <i>quotient</i> of two numbers, the <i>dividend</i> divided by the <i>divisor</i>. Any dividend <!--del_lnk--> divided by zero is undefined. For positive numbers, if the dividend is larger than the divisor, the quotient will be greater than one, otherwise it will be less than one (a similar rule applies for negative numbers and negative one). The quotient multiplied by the divisor always yields the dividend.<p>Division is neither commutative nor associative. As it is helpful to look at subtraction as addition, it is helpful to look at division as multiplication of the dividend times the <!--del_lnk--> reciprocal of the divisor, that is <i>a</i> ÷ <i>b</i> = <i>a</i> × <sup>1</sup>⁄<sub><i>b</i></sub>. When written as a product, it will obey all the properties of multiplication.<p><a id="Examples" name="Examples"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Examples</span></h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="" style="background-color: transparent; width: 100%">
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" width="50%"><a id="Addition_table" name="Addition_table"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Addition table</span></h4>
<table class="wikitable">
<tr align="center">
<th>+</th>
<th>1</th>
<th>2</th>
<th>3</th>
<th>4</th>
<th>5</th>
<th>6</th>
<th>7</th>
<th>8</th>
<th>9</th>
<th>10</th>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>1</th>
<td>2</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>11</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>2</th>
<td>3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>11</td>
<td>12</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>3</th>
<td>4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>11</td>
<td>12</td>
<td>13</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>4</th>
<td>5</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>11</td>
<td>12</td>
<td>13</td>
<td>14</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>5</th>
<td>6</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>11</td>
<td>12</td>
<td>13</td>
<td>14</td>
<td>15</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>6</th>
<td>7</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>11</td>
<td>12</td>
<td>13</td>
<td>14</td>
<td>15</td>
<td>16</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>7</th>
<td>8</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>11</td>
<td>12</td>
<td>13</td>
<td>14</td>
<td>15</td>
<td>16</td>
<td>17</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>8</th>
<td>9</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>11</td>
<td>12</td>
<td>13</td>
<td>14</td>
<td>15</td>
<td>16</td>
<td>17</td>
<td>18</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>9</th>
<td>10</td>
<td>11</td>
<td>12</td>
<td>13</td>
<td>14</td>
<td>15</td>
<td>16</td>
<td>17</td>
<td>18</td>
<td>19</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>10</th>
<td>11</td>
<td>12</td>
<td>13</td>
<td>14</td>
<td>15</td>
<td>16</td>
<td>17</td>
<td>18</td>
<td>19</td>
<td>20</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" width="50%"><a id="Multiplication_table" name="Multiplication_table"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Multiplication table</span></h4>
<table class="wikitable">
<tr align="center">
<th>×</th>
<th>1</th>
<th>2</th>
<th>3</th>
<th>4</th>
<th>5</th>
<th>6</th>
<th>7</th>
<th>8</th>
<th>9</th>
<th>10</th>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>1</th>
<td>1</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>10</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>2</th>
<td>2</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>12</td>
<td>14</td>
<td>16</td>
<td>18</td>
<td>20</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>3</th>
<td>3</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>12</td>
<td>15</td>
<td>18</td>
<td>21</td>
<td>24</td>
<td>27</td>
<td>30</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>4</th>
<td>4</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>12</td>
<td>16</td>
<td>20</td>
<td>24</td>
<td>28</td>
<td>32</td>
<td>36</td>
<td>40</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>5</th>
<td>5</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>15</td>
<td>20</td>
<td>25</td>
<td>30</td>
<td>35</td>
<td>40</td>
<td>45</td>
<td>50</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>6</th>
<td>6</td>
<td>12</td>
<td>18</td>
<td>24</td>
<td>30</td>
<td>36</td>
<td>42</td>
<td>48</td>
<td>54</td>
<td>60</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>7</th>
<td>7</td>
<td>14</td>
<td>21</td>
<td>28</td>
<td>35</td>
<td>42</td>
<td>49</td>
<td>56</td>
<td>63</td>
<td>70</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>8</th>
<td>8</td>
<td>16</td>
<td>24</td>
<td>32</td>
<td>40</td>
<td>48</td>
<td>56</td>
<td>64</td>
<td>72</td>
<td>80</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>9</th>
<td>9</td>
<td>18</td>
<td>27</td>
<td>36</td>
<td>45</td>
<td>54</td>
<td>63</td>
<td>72</td>
<td>81</td>
<td>90</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<th>10</th>
<td>10</td>
<td>20</td>
<td>30</td>
<td>40</td>
<td>50</td>
<td>60</td>
<td>70</td>
<td>80</td>
<td>90</td>
<td>100</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Number_theory" name="Number_theory"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Number theory</span></h2>
<p>The term <i>arithmetic</i> is also used to refer to <!--del_lnk--> number theory. This includes the properties of integers related to <a href="../../wp/p/Prime_number.htm" title="Prime number">primality</a>, <!--del_lnk--> divisibility, and the <!--del_lnk--> solution of equations by integers, as well as modern research which is an outgrowth of this study. It is in this context that one runs across the <a href="../../wp/f/Fundamental_theorem_of_arithmetic.htm" title="Fundamental theorem of arithmetic">fundamental theorem of arithmetic</a> and <!--del_lnk--> arithmetic functions. <i>A Course in Arithmetic</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Serre reflects this usage, as do such phrases as <i>first order arithmetic</i> or <i>arithmetical algebraic geometry</i>. Number theory is also referred to as 'the higher arithmetic', as in the title of <!--del_lnk--> H. Davenport's book on the subject.<p><a id="Arithmetic_in_education" name="Arithmetic_in_education"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Arithmetic in education</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Primary education in mathematics often places a strong focus on algorithms for the arithmetic of <!--del_lnk--> natural numbers, <!--del_lnk--> integers, <!--del_lnk--> rational numbers (<!--del_lnk--> vulgar fractions), and <!--del_lnk--> real numbers (using the <!--del_lnk--> decimal place-value system). This study is sometimes known as <!--del_lnk--> algorism.<p>The difficulty and unmotivated appearance of these algorithms has long led educators to question this curriculum, advocating the early teaching of more central and intuitive mathematical ideas. One notable movement in this direction was the <!--del_lnk--> New Math of the 1960s and '70s, which attempted to teach arithmetic in the spirit of axiomatic development from set theory, an echo of the prevailing trend in higher mathematics .<p>Since the introduction of the electronic <!--del_lnk--> calculator, which can perform the algorithms far more efficiently than humans, an influential school of educators has argued that mechanical mastery of the standard arithmetic algorithms is no longer necessary. In their view, the first years of school mathematics could be more profitably spent on understanding higher-level ideas about what numbers are used for and relationships among number, quantity, measurement, and so on. However, most research mathematicians still consider mastery of the manual algorithms to be a necessary foundation for the study of algebra and computer science. This controversy was central to the "Math Wars" over California's primary school curriculum in the 1990s, and continues today .<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmetic"</div>
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<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Armadillos</b></th>
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<td><a class="image" href="../../images/4/470.jpg.htm" title="Nine-banded Armadillo"><img alt="Nine-banded Armadillo" height="130" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Armadillo.jpg" src="../../images/4/470.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small><!--del_lnk--> Nine-banded Armadillo</small></div>
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<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
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<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
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<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
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<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
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<td>Class:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">Mammalia</a><br />
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<td>Superorder:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Xenarthra<br />
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<td>Order:</td>
<td><b>Cingulata</b><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Illiger, <!--del_lnk--> 1811</small></td>
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<td>Family:</td>
<td><b>Dasypodidae</b><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Gray, 1821</small></td>
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<center><!--del_lnk--> Genera</center>
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<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Dasypus</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Jaspyrus</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Calyptophractus</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Chaetophractus</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Chlamyphorus</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Euphractus</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Zaedyus</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Cabassous</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Priodontes</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Tolypeutes</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Glyptodontidae</i> (extinct)</ul>
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<p><b>Armadillos</b> are small <!--del_lnk--> placental <a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">mammals</a> of the family <b>Dasypodidae</b>, known for having a bony <!--del_lnk--> armor shell. Their average length is about 75 <!--del_lnk--> centimeters (30 inches), including tail. All species are native to the <!--del_lnk--> Americas, where they inhabit a variety of environments. In the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, the sole resident armadillo is the Nine-banded Armadillo <i>(Dasypus novemcinctus)</i>, which is most common in the central southern states, particularly <!--del_lnk--> Texas.<p>Dasypodidae is the only surviving family in the order <b>Cingulata</b>. Until as recently as 1995, the family was placed in the order <!--del_lnk--> Xenarthra, along with the <a href="../../wp/a/Anteater.htm" title="Anteater">anteaters</a> and <!--del_lnk--> sloths. There are several species of Armadillo, some of which are distinguished by the number of bands on their armor.<p>
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</script><a id="Habitat_and_physiology" name="Habitat_and_physiology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Habitat and physiology</span></h2>
<p>Armadillos are prolific diggers, and many species use their sharp claws to dig for food such as <!--del_lnk--> grubs, and to dig dens. The Nine-banded Armadillo prefers to build burrows in moist soil near the creeks, streams and <!--del_lnk--> arroyos near which it lives and feeds. The diet of different armadillo species varies, but consists mainly of <a href="../../wp/i/Insect.htm" title="Insect">insects</a>, grubs and other <a href="../../wp/i/Invertebrate.htm" title="Invertebrate">invertebrates</a>. Some species, however, are almost entirely formicivorous (feeding mainly on ants).<p>Armadillos have poor vision but are not blind.<p>The armor is formed by plates of dermal bone covered in small, overlapping epidermal scales called "<!--del_lnk--> scutes". This armor-like skin appears to be the main defense of many armadillos, although most escape predators by fleeing (often into thorny patches, which their armor protects them from) or digging to safety. Armadillos have short legs but can move quickly, and have the ability to remain underwater for as long as six minutes. Only the <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South American</a> three-banded armadillos (<i><!--del_lnk--> Tolypeutes</i>) rely heavily on their armor for protection. When threatened by a <!--del_lnk--> predator, <i>Tolypeutes</i> species frequently roll up into a ball. (Other armadillo species cannot roll up because they have too many plates.) The North American <!--del_lnk--> Nine-banded Armadillo tends to jump straight in the air when surprised, and consequently often collides with the undercarriage of passing vehicles.<p><a id="Armadillos_and_science" name="Armadillos_and_science"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Armadillos and science</span></h2>
<p>Armadillos are often used in the study of <!--del_lnk--> leprosy, since they, along with <!--del_lnk--> mangabey <a href="../../wp/m/Monkey.htm" title="Monkeys">monkeys</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Rabbit.htm" title="Rabbits">rabbits</a> and <!--del_lnk--> mice (on their footpads), are among the few known non-human animal species that can contract the disease systemically. They are particularly susceptible due to their unusually low body temperature, which is hospitable to the <!--del_lnk--> leprosy bacterium. Wild armadillos can carry leprosy, but transmission to humans is rare.<p>The Nine-banded Armadillo also serves science through its unusual reproductive system, in which four identical quadruplets (all the same sex) are born in each clutch. Because they are always identical, the group of four young provides a good subject for scientific, behavioural or medical tests that need consistent biological and genetic makeup in the test subjects. This phenomenon of multiple identical birth, called <!--del_lnk--> polyembryony, only manifests in the genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Dasypus</i> and not in all armadillos, as is commonly believed.<p><a id="Armadillos_and_humans" name="Armadillos_and_humans"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Armadillos and humans</span></h2>
<p>The armadillo was, with some resistance, made the state small mammal of Texas<!--del_lnk--> , where it is considered a pest and is often seen dead on the roadside. In the state of Washington, it is illegal to own an armadillo.<p>Armadillos can be kept as pets, although they require moist ground in which to dig and catch insects. They are difficult to fully domesticate.<p>They first forayed into Texas across the Rio Grande from Mexico in the 1800s, eventually spreading across the southeast United States. They make common roadkill — jokingly described by some as "possums in a half shell" — and a burrowing nuisance to homeowners, cemetery caretakers and golf course superintendents.<p>Wildlife enthusiasts are using the northward march of the armadillo as an opportunity to educate others about the animals, which during the Great Depression were known as "Hoover Hogs" by down-on-their luck Americans who had to eat them instead of the "chicken in every pot" Herbert Hoover had promised as President.<p><b>Order <!--del_lnk--> Cingulata</b><ul>
<li><b>Family <!--del_lnk--> Pampatheriidae</b>: giant armadillos (extinct)<li><b>Family <!--del_lnk--> Glyptodontidae</b> (extinct) <ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Glyptodon</i> (extinct)</ul>
<li><b>Family <!--del_lnk--> Dasypodidae</b>: armadillos <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Pink Fairy Armadillo, <i>Chlamyphorus truncatus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Pichiciego, <i>Chlamyphorus retusus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Northern Naked-tailed Armadillo, <i>Cabassous centralis</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Chacoan Naked-tailed Armadillo, <i>Cabassous chacoensis</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Southern Naked-tailed Armadillo, <i>Cabassous unicinctus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Greater Naked-tailed Armadillo, <i>Cabassous tatouay</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Little Hairy Armadillo or Screaming Hairy armadillo, <i>Chaetophractus vellerosus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Hairy Armadillo, <i>Chaetophractus villosus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Andean Hairy Armadillo, <i>Chaetophractus nationi</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Nine-banded Armadillo or Long-nosed Armadillo, <i>Dasypus novemcinctus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Seven-banded Armadillo, <i>Dasypus septemcinctus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Southern Long-nosed Armadillo, <i>Dasypus hybridus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Llanos Long-nosed Armadillo, <i>Dasypus sabanicola</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Great Long-nosed Armadillo, <i>Dasypus kappleri</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Hairy Long-nosed Armadillo, <i>Dasypus pilosus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Six-banded Armadillo or Yellow Armadillo, <i>Euphractus sexcinctus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Giant Armadillo or <b>Tatou</b>, <i>Priodontes maximus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Southern Three-banded Armadillo, <i>Tolypeutes matacus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Brazilian Three-banded Armadillo, <i>Tolypeutes tricinctus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Pichi or Dwarf Armadillo, <i>Zaedyus pichiy</i></ul>
</ul>
<p><a id="Trivia" name="Trivia"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Trivia</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>In the <!--del_lnk--> Joe R. Lansdale novel <i>Captains Outrageous</i>, a <!--del_lnk--> Texan armadillo named Bob is kept as a pet by Leonard Pine, one of the central characters.<li>A stuffed armadillo plays an important role in <!--del_lnk--> John Irving's novel <i><!--del_lnk--> A Prayer for Owen Meany</i>.<li>Because of the weight of its armor, an armadillo will sink in water unless it inflates its stomach with air, which often doubles its size.<!--del_lnk--> <li>A number of towns in Texas hold beauty pageants for armadillos. <!--del_lnk--> <li><i><!--del_lnk--> Glyptotherium texanum</i> (extinct) was a close cousin of the armadillo, living in the tropical and subtropical regions of Florida, South Carolina and Texas. It had a six-foot-long carapace and weighed in at approximately 2,000 pounds (1 ton).<!--del_lnk--> <li>Armadillos are one of the few mammals that mate face-to-face.<li>German POWs in Texas would often refer to the armadillo as "panzer schwein" (armored pig).<li>Recorded to be the animal with the most dreams in sleep (that is, with the most observed <!--del_lnk--> REM sleep).<li>Armadillos are very agile in the water and have been known to swim for up to two miles without rest.<li>"Armadillo" is Spanish for "little armored one".<li>Judge Harry Stone from the 1980s television show <i><!--del_lnk--> Night Court</i> had a stuffed armadillo in his chambers.<li>The <!--del_lnk--> charango, a ten-<!--del_lnk--> string instrument related to the <a href="../../wp/g/Guitar.htm" title="Guitar">guitar</a> and native to <a href="../../wp/a/Andes.htm" title="Andes">Andean</a> <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South America</a>, is traditionally made from the shell of an armadillo.<li>An unused potential character from the video game <!--del_lnk--> Sonic the Hedgehog was an armadillo, <!--del_lnk--> Mighty the Armadillo.<li>Army the Armadillo was a character in the <!--del_lnk--> Donkey Kong Country SNES and N64 games. It was a three-banded armadillo that rolled when approached. It required two hits by Diddy in a ball, and one by Donkey. The boss in 64 had rockets out of its shoulders.<li>The armadillo serves as the mascot of the <!--del_lnk--> Snell-Hitchcock dormitory at the <a href="../../wp/u/University_of_Chicago.htm" title="University of Chicago">University of Chicago</a>.</ul>
<p><a id="External_links" name="External_links"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillo"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.People.Historical_figures.htm">Historical figures</a></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23322.jpg.htm" title="Cardinal Richelieu was the French chief minister from 1624 until his death."><img alt="Cardinal Richelieu was the French chief minister from 1624 until his death." height="362" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cardinal_Richelieu_%28Champaigne%29.jpg" src="../../images/233/23322.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p><b>Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu, Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu</b> (<!--del_lnk--> September 9, <!--del_lnk--> 1585 – <!--del_lnk--> December 4, <!--del_lnk--> 1642), was a <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">French</a> <!--del_lnk--> clergyman, <!--del_lnk--> noble, and <!--del_lnk--> statesman.<p>Consecrated as a <!--del_lnk--> bishop in 1607, he later entered <a href="../../wp/p/Politics.htm" title="Politics">politics</a>, becoming a <!--del_lnk--> Secretary of State in 1616. Richelieu soon rose in both the Church and the state, becoming a <!--del_lnk--> cardinal in 1622, and <!--del_lnk--> King Louis XIII's chief minister in 1624. He remained in office until his death in 1642; he was succeeded by <!--del_lnk--> Jules Cardinal Mazarin.<p>The Cardinal de Richelieu was often known by the title of the King's "Chief Minister." As a result, he is sometimes considered to be the world's first <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister, in the modern sense of the term. He sought to consolidate <a href="../../wp/m/Monarchy.htm" title="Monarchy">royal power</a> and crush domestic factions. By restraining the power of the nobility, he transformed France into a strong, <!--del_lnk--> centralized state. His chief <!--del_lnk--> foreign policy objective was to check the power of the <a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austro</a>-<a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spanish</a> <!--del_lnk--> Habsburg dynasty. Although he was a <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Roman Catholic</a> cardinal, he did not hesitate to make alliances with <!--del_lnk--> Protestant rulers in attempting to achieve this goal. His tenure was marked by the <!--del_lnk--> Thirty Years' War that engulfed <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>.<p>As an advocate for <!--del_lnk--> Samuel de Champlain and of the retention of <!--del_lnk--> Québec, he founded the <!--del_lnk--> Compagnie des Cent-Associés and saw the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye return Québec to French rule under Champlain, after the settlement had been captured by the <!--del_lnk--> Kirkes in 1629. This in part allowed the colony to eventually develop into the heartland of <!--del_lnk--> Francophone culture in <a href="../../wp/n/North_America.htm" title="North America">North America</a>.<p>Richelieu was also famous for his patronage of the <a href="../../wp/a/Art.htm" title="Art">arts</a>; most notably, he founded the <!--del_lnk--> Académie française, the <!--del_lnk--> learned society responsible for matters pertaining to the <a href="../../wp/f/French_language.htm" title="French language">French language</a>. Richelieu is also known by the <!--del_lnk--> sobriquet <i>l'Éminence rouge</i> ("the Red Eminence"), from the red shade of a cardinal's <!--del_lnk--> vestments and the <!--del_lnk--> style "eminence" as a <!--del_lnk--> cardinal. He is also a leading character in <!--del_lnk--> The Three Musketeers, by <!--del_lnk--> Alexandre Dumas.<p>
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<p>Richelieu was the fourth of five children and the last of three sons, born in <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a> in 1585. His family, although belonging only to the lesser nobility of <!--del_lnk--> Poitou, was somewhat prominent: his father, <!--del_lnk--> François du Plessis, seigneur de Richelieu, was a soldier and courtier who served as the Grand <!--del_lnk--> Provost of France; his mother, Susanne de La Porte, was the daughter of a famous jurist. When Armand was only five years old, his father died fighting in the <!--del_lnk--> French Wars of Religion, leaving the family in debt; with the aid of royal grants, however, the family was able to avoid financial difficulties. At the age of nine, young Richelieu was sent to the <!--del_lnk--> College of Navarre in Paris to study <a href="../../wp/p/Philosophy.htm" title="Philosophy">philosophy</a>. Thereafter, he began to train for a military career, following in his father's footsteps.<p><!--del_lnk--> King Henry III had rewarded Richelieu's father for his participation in the Wars of Religion by granting his family the <!--del_lnk--> bishopric of Luçon. The family appropriated most of the revenues of the bishopric for private use; they were, however, challenged by clergymen who desired the funds for <!--del_lnk--> ecclesiastical purposes. In order to protect the important source of revenue, Richelieu's mother proposed to make her second son, Alphonse, the bishop of Luçon. Alphonse, who had no desire to become a bishop, instead became a <!--del_lnk--> monk. Thus, it became necessary that Armand end his ambitions for a military career and instead join the clergy. Richelieu was not at all averse to the prospect of becoming a bishop; he was a frail and sickly child who preferred to pursue academic interests. He did not want to be a bishop but it was in his best interests.<p>In 1606, <!--del_lnk--> King Henry IV nominated Richelieu to become Bishop of Luçon. As Richelieu had not yet reached the official minimum age, it was necessary that he journey to <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a> to obtain a special dispensation from the <a href="../../wp/p/Pope.htm" title="Pope">Pope</a>. The agreement of the Pope having been secured, Richelieu was consecrated bishop in April 1607. Soon after he returned to his diocese in 1608, Richelieu was heralded as a reformer; he became the first bishop in France to implement the institutional reforms prescribed by the <!--del_lnk--> Council of Trent between 1545 and 1563.<p>At about this time, Richelieu became a friend of <!--del_lnk--> François Leclerc du Tremblay (better known as "<i>Père Joseph</i>" or "Father Joseph"), a <!--del_lnk--> Capuchin friar, who would later become a close confidant. Because of his closeness to Richelieu, and the grey colour of his robes, Father Joseph was also nicknamed <i><!--del_lnk--> l'Éminence grise</i> ("the Grey Eminence"). Later, Richelieu often used Father Joseph as an agent during diplomatic negotiations.<p><a id="Rise_to_power" name="Rise_to_power"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Rise to power</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23323.jpg.htm" title="The young King Louis XIII was only a figurehead during his early reign; power actually rested with his mother, Marie de Médicis."><img alt="The young King Louis XIII was only a figurehead during his early reign; power actually rested with his mother, Marie de Médicis." height="306" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Louis_XIII.jpg" src="../../images/233/23323.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p>In 1614, the clergymen of Poitou elected Richelieu as one of their representatives to the <!--del_lnk--> States-General. There, he was a vigorous advocate of the Church, arguing that it should be exempt from taxes and that bishops should have more political power. He was the most prominent clergyman to support the adoption of the decrees of the Council of Trent throughout France; the <!--del_lnk--> Third Estate (commoners) was his chief opponent in this endeavour. At the end of the assembly, the <!--del_lnk--> First Estate (the clergy) chose him to deliver the address enumerating its petitions and decisions. Soon after the dissolution of the States-General, Richelieu entered the service of King Louis XIII's wife, <!--del_lnk--> Anne of Austria, as her <!--del_lnk--> almoner.<p>Richelieu advanced politically by faithfully serving <!--del_lnk--> Concino Concini, the most powerful minister in the kingdom. In 1616, Richelieu was made Secretary of State, and was given responsibility for foreign affairs. Like Concini, the Bishop was one of the closest advisors of Louis XIII's mother, <!--del_lnk--> Marie de Médicis. Queen Marie had become Regent of France when the nine-year old Louis ascended the throne; although her son reached the legal age of majority in 1614, she remained the effective ruler of the realm. However, her policies, and those of Concini, proved unpopular with many in France. As a result, both Marie and Concini became the targets of intrigues at court; their most powerful enemy was <!--del_lnk--> Charles de Luynes. In April 1617, in a plot arranged by Luynes, King Louis XIII ordered that Concini be arrested, and killed should he resist; Concini was consequently assassinated, and Marie de Médicis overthrown. His patron having died, Richelieu also lost power; he was dismissed as Secretary of State, and was removed from the court. In 1618, the King, still suspicious of the Bishop of Luçon, banished him to <!--del_lnk--> Avignon. There, Richelieu spent most of his time writing; he composed a <!--del_lnk--> catechism entitled <i><!--del_lnk--> L'Instruction du chrétien</i>.<p>In 1619, Marie de Médicis escaped from her confinement in the <!--del_lnk--> Château de Blois, becoming the titular leader of an aristocratic rebellion. The King and the duc de Luynes recalled Richelieu, believing that he would be able to reason with the Queen. Richelieu was successful in this endeavour, mediating between Marie and her son. Complex negotiations bore fruit when the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Angoulême was ratified; Marie de Médicis was given complete freedom, but would remain at peace with the King. The Queen was also restored to the royal council.<p>After the death of the King's favourite, the duc de Luynes, in 1621, Richelieu began to rise to power quickly. Next year, the King nominated Richelieu for a <!--del_lnk--> cardinalate, which <!--del_lnk--> Pope Gregory XV accordingly granted on <!--del_lnk--> 19 April <!--del_lnk--> 1622. Crises in France, including a rebellion of the <!--del_lnk--> Huguenots, rendered Richelieu a nearly indispensable advisor to the King. After he was appointed to the royal council of ministers in April 1624, he intrigued against the chief minister, <!--del_lnk--> Charles, duc de La Vieuville. In August of the same year, La Vieuville was arrested on charges of corruption, and Cardinal Richelieu took his place as the King's principal minister.<p><a id="Chief_minister" name="Chief_minister"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Chief minister</span></h2>
<p>Cardinal Richelieu's policy involved two primary goals: centralization of power in France and opposition to the Habsburg dynasty (which ruled in both Austria and Spain). Shortly after he became Louis's principal minister, he was faced with a crisis in the <!--del_lnk--> Valtellina, a valley in <!--del_lnk--> Lombardy (northern <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a>). In order to counter Spanish designs on the territory, Richelieu supported the Protestant <a href="../../wp/s/Switzerland.htm" title="Switzerland">Swiss</a> <!--del_lnk--> canton of <!--del_lnk--> Grisons, which also claimed the strategically important valley. The Cardinal deployed troops to Valtellina, from which the Pope's garrisons were driven out. Richelieu's decision to support a Protestant canton against the Pope won him many enemies in predominantly Catholic France.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23324.jpg.htm" title="Cardinal Richelieu at the Siege of La Rochelle."><img alt="Cardinal Richelieu at the Siege of La Rochelle." height="230" longdesc="/wiki/Image:RichelieuRochelle.jpg" src="../../images/233/23324.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23324.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Cardinal Richelieu at the <!--del_lnk--> Siege of La Rochelle.</div>
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<p>In order to further consolidate power in France, Richelieu sought to suppress the influence of the feudal nobility. In 1626, he abolished the position of <!--del_lnk--> Constable of France and he ordered all fortified castles to be razed, excepting only those needed to defend against invaders. Thus, he stripped the princes, dukes, and lesser aristocrats of important defences that could have been used against the King's armies during rebellions. As a result, Richelieu was hated by most of the nobility.<p>Another obstacle to the centralization of power was religious division in France. The <!--del_lnk--> Huguenots, one of the largest political and religious factions in the country, controlled a significant military force, and were in rebellion. Moreover, the <a href="../../wp/l/List_of_monarchs_in_the_British_Isles.htm" title="List of monarchs in the British Isles">English king</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Charles_I_of_England.htm" title="Charles I of England">Charles I</a>, declared war on France in an attempt to aid the Huguenot faction. In 1627, Richelieu ordered the army to besiege the Huguenot stronghold of <!--del_lnk--> La Rochelle; the Cardinal personally commanded the besieging troops. English troops under the <!--del_lnk--> Duke of Buckingham led an expedition to help the citizens of La Rochelle, but failed abysmally. The city, however, remained firm for over a year before capitulating in 1628.<p>Although the Huguenots suffered a major defeat at La Rochelle, they continued to fight, led by <!--del_lnk--> Henri, duc de Rohan. Protestant forces, however, were defeated in 1629; Rohan submitted to the terms of the <!--del_lnk--> Peace of Alais. As a result, religious toleration for Protestants, which had first been granted by the <!--del_lnk--> Edict of Nantes in 1598, was permitted to continue; however, the Cardinal abolished their political rights and protections. Rohan was not executed (as were leaders of rebellions later in Richelieu's tenure); in fact, he later became a commanding officer in the French army.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23325.jpg.htm" title="On the "Day of the Dupes" in 1630, it appeared that Marie de Médicis had secured Richelieu's dismissal. Richelieu, however, survived the scheme, and Marie was exiled as a result."><img alt="On the "Day of the Dupes" in 1630, it appeared that Marie de Médicis had secured Richelieu's dismissal. Richelieu, however, survived the scheme, and Marie was exiled as a result." height="330" longdesc="/wiki/Image:MariadeMedici.jpg" src="../../images/233/23325.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23325.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> On the "Day of the Dupes" in 1630, it appeared that Marie de Médicis had secured Richelieu's dismissal. Richelieu, however, survived the scheme, and Marie was exiled as a result.</div>
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<p>Habsburg Spain exploited the French conflict with the Huguenots to extend its influence in northern Italy. It funded the Huguenot rebels in order to keep the French army occupied, meanwhile expanding its Italian dominions. Richelieu, however, responded aggressively; after La Rochelle capitulated, he personally led the French army to northern Italy to restrain Spain.<p>In the next year, Richelieu's position was seriously threatened by his former patron, Marie de Médicis. Marie believed that the Cardinal had robbed her of her political influence; thus, she demanded that her son dismiss the chief minister. Louis XIII was not, at first, averse to such a course of action, for his relations with the Cardinal were poor. The King disliked Richelieu, but the persuasive statesman was capable of convincing his master of the wisdom in his plans. On <!--del_lnk--> 11 November <!--del_lnk--> 1630, Marie de Médicis and the King's brother, <!--del_lnk--> Gaston, duc d'Orléans, secured the King's agreement for the dismissal. Cardinal Richelieu, however, was aware of the plan, and quickly convinced the King to repent. This day, known as the <!--del_lnk--> Day of the Dupes, was the only one on which Louis XIII took a step toward dismissing his minister. Thereafter, the King, although continuing to dislike Richelieu, was unwavering in his political support for him; the courtier was created <!--del_lnk--> duc de Richelieu and was made a <!--del_lnk--> Peer of France.<p>Meanwhile, the unsuccessful Marie de Médicis was exiled to <!--del_lnk--> Compiègne. Both Marie and the duc d'Orléans continued to conspire against Cardinal Richelieu, but their schemes came to nothing. The nobility, also, remained powerless. The only important rising was that of <!--del_lnk--> Henri, duc de Montmorency in 1632; Richelieu, ruthless in suppressing opposition, ordered the duke's execution. Richelieu's harsh measures were designed to intimidate his enemies. The Cardinal also ensured his political security by establishing a large network of <!--del_lnk--> spies in France as well as in other European countries.<p><a id="Thirty_Years.27_War" name="Thirty_Years.27_War"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Thirty Years' War</span></h2>
<p>Before Richelieu's ascent to power, most of Europe had become involved in the <!--del_lnk--> Thirty Years' War. In 1629, the Habsburg <!--del_lnk--> Holy Roman Emperor humbled many of his Protestant opponents in Germany, thereby greatly increasing his power. Cardinal Richelieu, alarmed by the Emperor <!--del_lnk--> Ferdinand II's influence, incited <a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a> to attack. He also agreed to aid King <!--del_lnk--> Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden with financial subsidies. France was not openly at war with the Empire, so aid was given secretly. In the meantime, France and Spain continued to remain hostile over the latter kingdom's ambitions in northern Italy. At that time Northern Italy was a major strategic asset in Europe's balance of powers, being a terrestrial link between the Habsburg's two branches in Germany and Spain. Had the imperial armies dominated this region, France's very existence would have been endangered, being circled by Habsburg territories. Spain was then aspiring for becoming a "universal monarchy", with support from the Pope. When, in 1630, French ambassadors in <!--del_lnk--> Regensburg agreed to make peace with Habsburg Spain, Richelieu refused to uphold them. The agreement would have prohibited French interference in the hostilities in Germany. Thus, Richelieu advised Louis XIII to refuse to ratify the treaty.<p>Because he openly aligned France with Protestant powers, Richelieu was denounced by many as a traitor to the Roman Catholic Church. Military hostilities, at first, were disastrous for the French, with many victories going to Spain and the Empire. Neither side, however, could obtain a decisive advantage, and the conflict lingered on until after Richelieu's death.<p>Military expenses put a considerable strain on the King's revenues. In response, Cardinal Richelieu raised the <!--del_lnk--> gabelle (a tax on <a href="../../wp/s/Salt.htm" title="Salt">salt</a>) and the <!--del_lnk--> taille (a tax on <a href="../../wp/l/Land_%2528economics%2529.htm" title="Land (economics)">land</a>). The <!--del_lnk--> taille was enforced to provide funds to raise armies and wage war. The clergy, nobility, and high bourgeoisie were either exempt or could easily avoid payment, so the burden fell on the poorest segment of the nation. To collect taxes more efficiently, and to keep corruption to a minimum, Richelieu bypassed local tax officials, replacing them with <i><!--del_lnk--> intendants</i>—officials in the direct service of the Crown. Richelieu's financial scheme, however, caused unrest amongst the peasants; there were several uprisings between 1636 and 1639. Cardinal Richelieu crushed the revolts violently, and dealt with the rebels harshly.<p><a id="Last_years" name="Last_years"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Last years</span></h2>
<p>Towards the end of his life, Richelieu managed to alienate many individuals, including the Pope. Richelieu was displeased by <!--del_lnk--> Pope Urban VIII's refusal to name him the <!--del_lnk--> papal legate in France; in turn, the Pope did not approve of the administration of the French church, or of French foreign policy. However, the conflict was largely healed when the Pope granted a cardinalate to <!--del_lnk--> Jules Mazarin, one of Richelieu's foremost political allies, in 1641. Despite troubled relations with the Roman Catholic Church, Richelieu did not support the complete repudiation of papal authority in France, as was advocated by the <!--del_lnk--> Gallicanists.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23326.jpg.htm" title="Jules Cardinal Mazarin succeeded Richelieu in office."><img alt="Jules Cardinal Mazarin succeeded Richelieu in office." height="322" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Mazarin.jpg" src="../../images/233/23326.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23326.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Jules Cardinal Mazarin succeeded Richelieu in office.</div>
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<p>As he neared his death, Cardinal Richelieu faced a plot that threatened to remove him from power. The cardinal had introduced a young man named <!--del_lnk--> Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, marquis de Cinq-Mars to Louis XIII's court. The Cardinal had been a friend of Cinq-Mars' father. More importantly, Richelieu hoped that Cinq-Mars would become Louis' favourite, so that he could indirectly exercise greater influence over the monarch's decisions. Cinq-Mars had become the royal favourite by 1639, but, contrary to Cardinal Richelieu's belief, he was not easy to control. The young marquis realised that Richelieu would not permit him to gain political power. In 1641, he participated in the <!--del_lnk--> comte de Soissons' failed conspiracy against Richelieu, but was not discovered. Next year, he schemed with leading nobles (including the King's brother, the duc d'Orléans) to raise a rebellion; he also signed a secret agreement with the King of Spain, who promised to aid the rebels. Richelieu's spy service, however, discovered the plot, and the Cardinal received a copy of the treaty. Cinq-Mars was promptly arrested and executed; although Louis approved the use of capital punishment, he grew more distant from Richelieu as a result.<p>In the same year, however, Richelieu's health was already failing. The Cardinal suffered greatly from eye strain and headaches, among other ailments. As he felt his death approaching, he named as his successor one of his most faithful followers, <!--del_lnk--> Jules Cardinal Mazarin. Although Mazarin was originally a representative of the <!--del_lnk--> Holy See, he had left the Pope's service to join that of the King of France. Mazarin succeeded Richelieu when the latter died on <!--del_lnk--> 4 December <!--del_lnk--> 1642. The Cardinal is <!--del_lnk--> interred at the church of the <!--del_lnk--> Sorbonne.<p><a id="Arts_and_culture" name="Arts_and_culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Arts and culture</span></h2>
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<div style="width:277px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23327.jpg.htm" title="Cardinal de Richelieu"><img alt="Cardinal de Richelieu" height="211" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kardinaal_de_Richelieu.jpg" src="../../images/233/23327.jpg" width="275" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23327.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Cardinal de Richelieu</div>
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<p>Cardinal Richelieu was a famous patron of the <!--del_lnk--> arts. Himself an author of various religious and political works (most notably his <i>Political Testament</i>), he funded the literary careers of many writers. He was a lover of the <a href="../../wp/t/Theatre.htm" title="Theatre">theatre</a>, which was not considered a respectable art form during that era. Among the individuals he patronised was the famous playwright <!--del_lnk--> Pierre Corneille. Richelieu was also the founder and patron of the <!--del_lnk--> Académie française, the pre-eminent French literary society. The institution had previously been in informal existence; in 1635, however, Cardinal Richelieu obtained official <!--del_lnk--> letters patent for the body. The Académie française includes forty members, promotes French literature, and continues to be the official authority on the French language. Richelieu served as the Académie's "protector"; since 1672, that role has been fulfilled by the French head of state.<p>In 1622, Richelieu was elected the <i>proviseur</i> or principal of the <!--del_lnk--> Sorbonne. He presided over the renovation of the college's buildings, and over the construction of its famous <!--del_lnk--> chapel, where he is now entombed. As he was Bishop of Luçon, his statue stands outside the Luçon cathedral.<p>Richelieu oversaw the construction of his own palace in Paris, the <!--del_lnk--> Palais-Cardinal. The palace, renamed the Palais Royal after Richelieu's death, now houses the <!--del_lnk--> French Constitutional Council, the Ministry of Culture, and the <!--del_lnk--> Conseil d'État. The architect of the Palais-Cardinal, <!--del_lnk--> Jacques Lemercier, also received a commission to build a château and a surrounding town in <!--del_lnk--> Indre-et-Loire; the project culminated in the construction of the Château Richelieu and the town of Richelieu. To the château, he added one of the largest art collections in Europe. Most notably, he owned <i><!--del_lnk--> Slaves</i> (sculptures by the Italian <!--del_lnk--> Michelangelo Buonarroti), as well as paintings by <a href="../../wp/p/Peter_Paul_Rubens.htm" title="Peter Paul Rubens">Peter Paul Rubens</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Nicolas Poussin and <!--del_lnk--> Titian.<p><a id="Legacy" name="Legacy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Legacy</span></h2>
<p>Richelieu's tenure was a crucial period of reform for France. Earlier, the nation's political structure was largely <!--del_lnk--> feudalistic, with powerful nobles and a wide variety of laws in different regions. Parts of the nobility periodically conspired against the King, raised private armies, and allied themselves with foreign powers. This haphazard system gave way to centralized power under Cardinal Richelieu. Local and even religious interests were subordinated to those of the whole nation, and of the embodiment of the nation—the King. Equally critical for France was Richelieu's foreign policy, which helped restrain Habsburg influence in Europe. Richelieu did not survive until the end of the Thirty Years' War however, the conflict ended in 1648, with France emerging in a far better position than any other power, and the Holy Roman Empire entering a period of decline.<p>Cardinal Richelieu's successes were extremely important to Louis XIII's successor, <a href="../../wp/l/Louis_XIV_of_France.htm" title="Louis XIV of France">King Louis XIV</a>. Louis XIV continued Richelieu's work of creating an absolute monarchy; in the same vein as the Cardinal, he enacted policies that further suppressed the once-mighty aristocracy, and utterly destroyed all remnants of Huguenot political power with the <!--del_lnk--> Edict of Fontainebleau. Moreover, Louis took advantage of his nation's success during the Thirty Years' War to establish French hegemony in continental Europe. Thus, Richelieu's policies were the requisite prelude to Louis XIV becoming the most powerful monarch, and France the most powerful nation, in all of Europe during the late seventeenth century.<p>Richelieu is also notable for the authoritarian measures he employed to maintain power. He censored the press, established a large network of internal spies, forbade the discussion of political matters in public assemblies such as the <!--del_lnk--> Parlement de Paris (a court of justice), and had those who dared to conspire against him prosecuted and executed. The Canadian historian and philosopher <!--del_lnk--> John Ralston Saul has referred to Richelieu as the "father of the modern nation-state, modern centralised power [and] the modern secret service." The Cardinal's motives are the focus of much debate among historians; some see him as a patriotic supporter of the monarchy, whilst others view him as a power-hungry cynic. (<a href="../../wp/v/Voltaire.htm" title="Voltaire">Voltaire</a> even argued that Richelieu started wars to make himself indispensable to the King.) The latter image gained further currency due to <!--del_lnk--> Alexandre Dumas's work of historical fiction, <i><!--del_lnk--> Les Trois Mousquetaires</i> (<i>The Three Musketeers</i>). The novel depicts Richelieu as a power-hungry and avaricious minister. Many adaptations of Dumas' story portray Richelieu even more negatively.<p>Despite such arguments, Richelieu remains an honoured personality in France, particularly for his stubborn refusal to let courtly intrigues and foreign interests dominate the government. He has given his name to a <!--del_lnk--> battleship and a <!--del_lnk--> battleship class. The French government planned to use his name for an <!--del_lnk--> aircraft carrier but the ship was finally named after <!--del_lnk--> Charles de Gaulle.<p>His legacy is also important for the world at large—his ideas of a strong nation-state and aggressive foreign policy helped create the modern system of international politics. The notions of national sovereignty and international law can be traced, at least in part, to the policies and theories of Richelieu, especially as enunciated in the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Westphalia that ended the <!--del_lnk--> Thirty Years' War.<p>One aspect of his legacy which has remained less renowned is his involvement with Samuel de Champlain, and his fledgling colony, along the St. Lawrence River. The retention and promotion of Québec under Richelieu allowed it — and through the settlement's strategic location, the St-Lawrence - Great Lakes gateway into the North American interior — to develop into a French empire in North America—parts of which would eventually become modern <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Louisiana.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armand_Jean_du_Plessis%2C_Cardinal_Richelieu"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Armenia</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Countries.htm">Countries</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Geography.European_Geography.European_Countries.htm">European Countries</a></h3><div class="soslink"> SOS Children works in Armenia. For more information see <a href="../../wp/a/Armenia_B.htm" title="SOS Children in Armenia">SOS Children in Armenia</a></div>
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<td align="center" class="mergedtoprow" colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; font-size:1.2em;"><b><span style="line-height:1.33em;">Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն<br /><i>Hayastani Hanrapetutyun</i></span></b><br /><b><span style="line-height:1.33em;">Republic of Armenia</span></b></td>
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<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><span style="border:1px solid #bbbbbb; display:table-cell;"><a class="image" href="../../images/3/309.png.htm" title="Flag of Armenia"><img alt="Flag of Armenia" height="63" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Armenia.svg" src="../../images/4/471.png" width="125" /></a></span></td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/4/472.png.htm" title="Coat of arms of Armenia"><img alt="Coat of arms of Armenia" height="82" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Armenia_coa.png" src="../../images/4/472.png" width="85" /></a></td>
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<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Flag</small></td>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Coat of arms</small></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Motto: <!--del_lnk--> Armenian: Մեկ Ազգ , Մեկ Մշակույթ<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Transliteration: Mek Azg, Mek Mshakouyt<br /> "One Nation, One Culture"</small></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Anthem: <i><!--del_lnk--> Mer Hayrenik</i><br /><small>("Our Fatherland")</small></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Patron saint:<br /><!--del_lnk--> St. Bartholomew the Apostle<br /><!--del_lnk--> St. Jude Thaddeus the Apostle</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 1em;">
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/4/473.png.htm" title="Location of Armenia"><img alt="Location of Armenia" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Europe_location_ARM.png" src="../../images/4/473.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Capital</th>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/4/474.gif.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Yerevan_coa.gif" src="../../images/4/474.gif" width="14" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Yerevan<sup>1</sup><br /><small><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 40°16′N 44°34′E</span></small></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Largest city</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Yerevan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> Official languages</span></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Armenian</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><b><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_countries_by_system_of_government.htm" title="List of countries by system of government">Government</a></b></td>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><!--del_lnk--> Unitary republic</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> President</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Robert Kocharian</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Andranik Markaryan</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Independence</th>
<td>from the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">USSR</a> </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Declared</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> August 23, <!--del_lnk--> 1990 </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Recognized</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> September 21, <!--del_lnk--> 1991 </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Finalized</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> December 25, <!--del_lnk--> 1991 </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <small>Traditional foundation<br /> of the <!--del_lnk--> Armenian nation</small></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> August 11, <!--del_lnk--> 2492 BC </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <small><!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Urartu established</small></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1000 BC </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <small><!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Armenia formed</small></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 600 BC </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <small><a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a> officially adopted</small></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 301 AD </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <small><!--del_lnk--> Democratic Republic<br /> of Armenia established</small></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> May 28, <!--del_lnk--> 1918 </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Area</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 29,800 km² (<!--del_lnk--> 141st)<br /> 11,506 sq mi </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Water (%)</td>
<td>4.71</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Population</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - 2005 estimate</td>
<td>3,215,800 (<!--del_lnk--> 136th<sup>2</sup>)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - 2001 census</td>
<td>3,002,594</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Density</td>
<td>101/km² (<!--del_lnk--> 98th)<br /> 262/sq mi</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> GDP (<!--del_lnk--> PPP)</th>
<td>2005 estimate</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td>$14.17 billion (<!--del_lnk--> 127th)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Per capita</td>
<td>$4,270 (<!--del_lnk--> 115th)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><b><!--del_lnk--> HDI</b> (2004)</th>
<td>0.768 (<font color="#FFCC00">medium</font>) (<!--del_lnk--> 80th)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a href="../../wp/c/Currency.htm" title="Currency">Currency</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Dram (<code><!--del_lnk--> AMD</code>)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> UTC (<!--del_lnk--> UTC+4)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Summer (<!--del_lnk--> DST)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> DST (<!--del_lnk--> UTC+5)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Internet TLD</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> .am</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Calling code</th>
<td>+374</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2"><small><sup>1</sup> Alternatively spelled as "Erevan", "Jerevan", or "Erivan".<br /><sup>2</sup> Rank based on 2005 UN estimate of <i>de facto</i> population.</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Armenia</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Armenian: <span style="font-family: Sylfaen, Arial Unicode MS;">Հայաստան</span> <i>Hayastan</i>, <span style="font-family: Sylfaen, Arial Unicode MS;">Հայք</span> <i>Hayq</i>), officially the <b>Republic of Armenia</b>, is a <!--del_lnk--> landlocked mountainous country in <!--del_lnk--> Eurasia between the <a href="../../wp/b/Black_Sea.htm" title="Black Sea">Black Sea</a> and the <a href="../../wp/c/Caspian_Sea.htm" title="Caspian Sea">Caspian Sea</a>, located in the <!--del_lnk--> Southern Caucasus. It shares borders with <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> to the west, <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a> to the north, <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a> to the east, and <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Nakhichevan <!--del_lnk--> exclave of Azerbaijan to the south. A former republic of the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a>, Armenia is a <!--del_lnk--> unitary, <!--del_lnk--> multiparty, <!--del_lnk--> democratic <!--del_lnk--> nation-state and one of the oldest and most historic civilizations in the world with a rich cultural heritage, as well as the first nation to adopt <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a> as its official religion. Although Armenia is constitutionally a secular state, the Christian faith plays a major role in both its history and the identification of the Armenian people.<p>Culturally, historically, and politically, Armenia is considered to be part of <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>. However, its location in the southern <!--del_lnk--> Caucasus means that it can also be considered to be at the arbitrary border between Europe and Asia: in other words, a <!--del_lnk--> transcontinental nation. However, both these classifications are entirely arbitrary, as there is no easily definable geographic difference between Asia and Europe.<p>Armenia is currently a member of more than 35 different international organizations including the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nations</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Council of Europe, <!--del_lnk--> Asian Development Bank, the <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Independent States, <a href="../../wp/w/World_Trade_Organization.htm" title="World Trade Organization">World Trade Organization</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. It is a Partnership for Peace (<!--del_lnk--> PfP) member of the <!--del_lnk--> North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and in a military alliance of <!--del_lnk--> CSTO. It is also an observer member of the <!--del_lnk--> Eurasian Economic Community, <!--del_lnk--> La Francophonie, and the <!--del_lnk--> Non-Aligned Movement. Armenian is also active in the international sports community with full membership in the <!--del_lnk--> Union of European Football Associations and <!--del_lnk--> International Ice Hockey Federation. The country is an emerging <a href="../../wp/d/Democracy.htm" title="Democracy">democracy</a> and because of its strategic location, it lies among both the <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russian</a> and <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">American</a> <!--del_lnk--> spheres of influence.<p>
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</script><a id="Etymology" name="Etymology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Etymology</span></h2>
<p>The modern <!--del_lnk--> Armenian name for the country was <i>Hayq</i>, later <i>Hayastan</i>. <!--del_lnk--> Hayasa, combined with the <!--del_lnk--> Persian suffix '<!--del_lnk--> -stan' (land). <!--del_lnk--> Haik was one of the great Armenian leaders after whom the <i>The Land of Haik</i> was named. According to legend, Haik was a great-great-grandson of <!--del_lnk--> Noah (son of <!--del_lnk--> Togarmah, who was a son of <!--del_lnk--> Gomer, who was a son of <!--del_lnk--> Japheth, who was a son of Noah), and according to an ancient Armenian tradition, a forefather of all <!--del_lnk--> Armenians. He is said to have settled at the foot of <!--del_lnk--> Mount Ararat, travelled to assist in building the <!--del_lnk--> Tower of Babel, and, after his return, defeated the <!--del_lnk--> Babylonian king Bel (believed by some researchers to be <!--del_lnk--> Nimrod) in <!--del_lnk--> 2492 BC near the mountains of <!--del_lnk--> Lake Van, in the southwestern part of historic Armenia (present-day eastern Turkey).<p>Hayq was given the name Armenia by the surrounding states, presumably as it was the name of the strongest tribe living in the historic Armenian lands, who called themselves <i>Armens</i> who were of <!--del_lnk--> Proto-Indo-European descent. It is traditionally derived from <i>Armenak</i> or <i>Aram</i> (the great-grandson of Haik's great-grandson, and another leader who is, according to Armenian tradition, the ancestor of all Armenians). Some Jewish and Christian scholars write that the name 'Armenia' was derived from <i>Har-Minni</i>, that is 'Mountains of Minni' (or <!--del_lnk--> Mannai). Pre-Christian accounts suggest that <i>Nairi</i>, meaning <i>land of rivers</i>, used to be an ancient name for the country's mountainous region, first used by <!--del_lnk--> Assyrians around <!--del_lnk--> 1200 BC; while the first recorded inscription bearing the name Armenia, namely the <a href="../../wp/b/Behistun_Inscription.htm" title="Behistun Inscription">Behistun Inscription</a> in <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a>, dates from <!--del_lnk--> 521 BC.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/475.png.htm" title="The Kingdom of Urartu during the time of Sarduris II in 743 BC."><img alt="The Kingdom of Urartu during the time of Sarduris II in 743 BC." height="143" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Urartu743.png" src="../../images/4/475.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/475.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Kingdom of <!--del_lnk--> Urartu during the time of <!--del_lnk--> Sarduris II in <!--del_lnk--> 743 BC.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Antiquity" name="Antiquity"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Antiquity</span></h3>
<p>Armenia has been populated since prehistoric times, and has been proposed as the site of the Biblical <!--del_lnk--> Garden of Eden. Armenia lies in the highlands surrounding the Biblical mountains of <!--del_lnk--> Ararat, upon which, as tradition states, <!--del_lnk--> Noah's Ark came to rest after the <a href="../../wp/d/Deluge_%2528mythology%2529.htm" title="Flood (mythology)">flood</a>. (Gen. 8:4). Archeologists continue to uncover evidence that the Armenia and <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Highlands were among the earliest sites of human civilization. From <!--del_lnk--> 4000 BC to <!--del_lnk--> 1000 BC, tools and trinkets of copper, bronze and iron were commonly produced in Armenia and traded in neighbouring lands where those metals were less abundant. During the ancient period of Armenia's history, several states flourished on its territory, including <!--del_lnk--> Aratta (3rd millennium BC), <!--del_lnk--> Mitanni and <!--del_lnk--> Hayasa-Azzi (15th - 12th cc BC), <!--del_lnk--> Nairi (12th - 9th cc BC), and the <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Urartu (9th - 6th cc BC), each participating in the ethnogenesis of the Armenian people. The Urartian language was closely related to the earlier <!--del_lnk--> Hurrian language of Syria and Anatolia, but it had no other certain relatives, and is not in the same language family as <!--del_lnk--> Armenian, which is in the <!--del_lnk--> Indo-European family. <!--del_lnk--> Yerevan, the modern capital of Armenia, was founded in <!--del_lnk--> 782 BC by the Urartian king <!--del_lnk--> Argishti I.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/476.gif.htm" title="Kingdom of Armenia at its greatest extent under Tigranes the Great."><img alt="Kingdom of Armenia at its greatest extent under Tigranes the Great." height="141" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Armenian_empire.gif" src="../../images/4/476.gif" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/476.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Kingdom of Armenia at its greatest extent under <!--del_lnk--> Tigranes the Great.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Around <!--del_lnk--> 600 BC, the <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Armenia was established under the <!--del_lnk--> Orontid Dynasty, which existed under several local dynasties till AD <!--del_lnk--> 428. The kingdom reached its height between 95 - 66 BC under <!--del_lnk--> Tigranes the Great, becoming one of the most powerful kingdoms of its time. Throughout its history, the kingdom of Armenia enjoyed periods of independence intermitted with periods of autonomy subject to contemporary empires. Armenia's strategic location between two continents has subjected it to invasions by many peoples, including the <!--del_lnk--> Assyrians, <!--del_lnk--> Greeks, <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Rome.htm" title="Ancient Rome">Romans</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Byzantines, <!--del_lnk--> Arabs, <!--del_lnk--> Mongols, <!--del_lnk--> Persians, <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman Turks</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Russians.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/477.jpg.htm" title="St. Gregory the Illuminator's influence led to the adoption of Christianity in Armenia in the year 301. He is the patron saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church."><img alt="St. Gregory the Illuminator's influence led to the adoption of Christianity in Armenia in the year 301. He is the patron saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church." height="268" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stgregoryilluminator.jpg" src="../../images/4/477.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/477.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> St. Gregory the Illuminator's influence led to the adoption of Christianity in Armenia in the year 301. He is the patron saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 301, Armenia became the first country in the world to adopt <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a> as its official <!--del_lnk--> state religion. There had been various <!--del_lnk--> pagan communities before Christianity, but they were converted by an influx of Christian missionaries. <!--del_lnk--> Tiridates III (AD 238-314) was the first ruler to officially Christianize his people, his conversion ten years before the Roman Empire granted Christianity official toleration under <!--del_lnk--> Galerius, and 36 years before <!--del_lnk--> Constantine was baptised.<p>After the fall of the Armenian kingdom in 428, most of Armenia was incorporated as a <!--del_lnk--> marzpanate within the Sassanid Empire, ruled by a <!--del_lnk--> marzpan. Following an <!--del_lnk--> Armenian rebellion in <!--del_lnk--> 451, Christian Armenians maintained their religions freedom, while Armenia gained autonomy and the right to be ruled by an Armenian marzpan unlike other territories of the empire where the marzpan was a Persian. The Marzpanate of Armenia lasted till 630s, when Sassanid Persia was destroyed by Arab Caliphate.<p>After the marzpanate period (428-636), Armenia emerged as an autonomous principality within the Arabic Empire, reuniting Armenian lands previously taken by the Byzantine Empire as well. The principality was ruled by the Prince of Armenia, recognized by the Caliph and the Byzantine Emperor. It was part of the administrative division/emirate <i>Arminiyya</i> created by the Arabs, which also included parts of Georgia and Caucasian Albania, and had its centre in the Armenian city <!--del_lnk--> Dvin. The Principality of Armenia lasted till <!--del_lnk--> 884, when it regained its independence from the weakened Arabic Empire.<p><a id="Medieval" name="Medieval"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Medieval</span></h3>
<p>The reemerged Armenian kingdom was ruled by the <!--del_lnk--> Bagratuni dynasty, and lasted till <!--del_lnk--> 1045. In time, several areas of the Bagratid Armenia separated as independent kingdoms and principalities such as the Kingdom of <!--del_lnk--> Vaspurakan ruled by the House of <!--del_lnk--> Artsruni, while still recognizing the supremacy of the Bagratid kings.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:181px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/478.gif.htm" title="Coat of Arms of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, given to Leo II of Armenia of the Rubenid Dynasty by Pope Celestine III of Rome"><img alt="Coat of Arms of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, given to Leo II of Armenia of the Rubenid Dynasty by Pope Celestine III of Rome" height="220" longdesc="/wiki/Image:RubenidCOA.gif" src="../../images/4/478.gif" width="179" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/478.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Coat of Arms of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, given to <!--del_lnk--> Leo II of Armenia of the <!--del_lnk--> Rubenid Dynasty by <!--del_lnk--> Pope Celestine III of Rome</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In 1045, the Byzantine Empire conquered Bagratid Armenia. Soon, the other Armenian states fell under Byzantine control as well. The Byzantine rule was short lived, as in <!--del_lnk--> 1071 Seljuk Turks defeated the Byzantines and conquered Armenia at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Manzikert, establishing the Seljuk Empire. To escape death or servitude at the hands of those who had assassinated his relative, <!--del_lnk--> Gagik II, King of <!--del_lnk--> Ani, an Armenian named <!--del_lnk--> Roupen with some of his countrymen went into the gorges of the <!--del_lnk--> Taurus Mountains and then into <!--del_lnk--> Tarsus of <!--del_lnk--> Cilicia. Here the Byzantine governor of the place gave them shelter where the <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia was eventually established.<p>The Seljuk Empire soon started to collapse. In the early 1100's, Armenian princes of the <!--del_lnk--> Zakarid noble family established a semi-independent Armenian principality in Northern and Eastern Armenia, known as Zakarid Armenia. The noble family of <!--del_lnk--> Orbelians shared control with the Zakarids in various parts of the country, especially in <!--del_lnk--> Vayots Dzor and <!--del_lnk--> Syunik. Southern parts of Armenia remained under control of <!--del_lnk--> Kurdish dynasties of <!--del_lnk--> Shaddadids and <!--del_lnk--> Ayyubids.<p><a id="Foreign_rule" name="Foreign_rule"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Foreign rule</span></h3>
<p>In 1230's Mongol <!--del_lnk--> Ilkhanate conquered the Zakaryan Principality, as well as the rest of Armenia. The Mongolian invasions were soon followed by those of other Central Asian tribes, which continued from 1200's till 1400's. After incessant invasions, each bringing destruction to the country, Armenia in time became weakened. In 1500s, the <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman Empire</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Safavid Persia divided Armenia among themselves. The <!--del_lnk--> Russian Empire later incorporated <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Armenia (consisting of the <!--del_lnk--> Erivan and <!--del_lnk--> Karabakh <!--del_lnk--> khanates within Persia) in 1813 and 1828.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/479.png.htm" title="The United States contributed a significant amount of aid to the Armenians during the Armenian Genocide. Shown here is a poster for the American Committee for Relief in the Near East vowing that they (the Armenians) "shall not perish.""><img alt="The United States contributed a significant amount of aid to the Armenians during the Armenian Genocide. Shown here is a poster for the American Committee for Relief in the Near East vowing that they (the Armenians) "shall not perish."" height="227" longdesc="/wiki/Image:They_Shall_Not_Perish.png" src="../../images/4/479.png" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/479.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> contributed a significant amount of aid to the Armenians during the <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Genocide. Shown here is a poster for the <i>American Committee for Relief in the Near East</i> vowing that they (the Armenians) "shall not perish."</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Under Ottoman rule, the Armenians were granted considerable autonomy within their own enclaves and lived in relative harmony with other groups in the empire (including the ruling Turks). However, as Christians under a strict Muslim social system, Armenians faced pervasive discrimination. When they began pushing for more rights within the <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman Empire</a>, Sultan <!--del_lnk--> ‘Abdu’l-Hamid II, in response, organized state-sponsored massacres against the Armenians between 1894 and 1896, resulting in an estimated death toll of 80,000 to 300,000 people. The <!--del_lnk--> Hamidian massacres, as they came to be known, gave Hamid international infamy as the "Red Sultan" or "Bloody Sultan."<p><a id="World_War_I" name="World_War_I"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">World War I</span></h3>
<p>As the empire began to collapse, the <!--del_lnk--> Young Turks overthrew the government of Sultan Hamid. Armenians living in the empire hoped that the Young Turk revolution would change their second-class status. However, with onslaught of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a> and the Ottoman Empire's assault on the <!--del_lnk--> Russian Empire, the new government began to look on the Armenians with distrust and suspicion. This was due to the fact that the Russian army contained a contingent of Armenian troops. On <!--del_lnk--> April 24, <!--del_lnk--> 1915, Armenian intellectuals were arrested by Ottoman authorities and eventually a large proportion of Armenians living in <!--del_lnk--> Anatolia perished as a result of the <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Genocide. The events of 1915 to 1917 are regarded by Armenians and the vast majority of Western historians to have been state-sponsored mass killings, or genocide. Despite overwhelming evidence of genocidal intent, Turkish authorities maintain that the deaths were the result of a <!--del_lnk--> civil war coupled with disease and <a href="../../wp/f/Famine.htm" title="Famine">famine</a>, with casualties incurred by both sides. Most estimates for the number of Armenians killed range from <!--del_lnk--> 650,000 to 1.5 million. Armenia and the Armenian diaspora have been campaigning for official recognition of the events as genocide for over 30 years. These events are traditionally commemorated yearly on April 24, the Armenian Christian Martyr Day, or the Day of the Armenian Genocide.<p>Although the Russian army succeeded in gaining most of Ottoman Armenia during World War I, their gains were lost with the <a href="../../wp/r/Russian_Revolution_of_1917.htm" title="Russian Revolution of 1917">Russian Revolution of 1917</a>. At this time, Russian-controlled <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Armenia, <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a>, and <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a> attempted to bound together in the <!--del_lnk--> Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. This federation, however, only lasted from February to May 1918, when all three parties decided to dissolve it. As a result, Eastern Armenia became independent as the <!--del_lnk--> Democratic Republic of Armenia (DRA) on <!--del_lnk--> May 28. Unfortunately, the DRA's short-lived independence was fraught with war, territorial disputes, a mass influx of refugees from Ottoman Armenia, spreading disease, and starvation. Still, the <!--del_lnk--> Entente Powers, appalled by the actions of the Ottoman government, sought to help the newly-found Armenian state through relief funds and other forms of support.<p>At the end of the war, it was decided to divide up the Ottoman Empire. Signed between the <!--del_lnk--> Allied and Associated Powers and <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman Empire</a> at <!--del_lnk--> Sèvres on <!--del_lnk--> August 10, <!--del_lnk--> 1920, the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Sèvres promised to maintain the existence of the DRA and to attach the former territories of Ottoman Armenia to it. Because the new borders of Armenia were to be drawn by <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> President <a href="../../wp/w/Woodrow_Wilson.htm" title="Woodrow Wilson">Woodrow Wilson</a>, Ottoman Armenia is also "referred to as "Wilsonian Armenia." There was even consideration of possibly making Armenia a mandate under the protection of the United States. The treaty, however, was rejected by the <!--del_lnk--> Turkish National Movement, and never came into effect. The movement, under <!--del_lnk--> Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, used the treaty as the occasion to declare itself the rightful government of Turkey, replacing the monarchy based in <a href="../../wp/i/Istanbul.htm" title="Istanbul">Istanbul</a> with a republic based in <!--del_lnk--> Ankara.<p><a id="Soviet_Armenia" name="Soviet_Armenia"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Soviet Armenia</span></h3>
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/480.png.htm" title="The Coat of Arms of Soviet Armenia."><img alt="The Coat of Arms of Soviet Armenia." height="151" longdesc="/wiki/Image:COA_Armenian_SSR.png" src="../../images/4/480.png" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/480.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Coat of Arms of <!--del_lnk--> Soviet Armenia.</div>
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<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1920, Armenia and Turkey engaged in the <!--del_lnk--> Turkish-Armenian War, a violent conflict that ended with the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Alexandropol in which the Armenians surrendered the bulk of their weapons and land to the Turks. Simultaneously, Armenia was invaded by the <!--del_lnk--> Red Army, which led to establishment of Soviet rule in Armenia in <!--del_lnk--> December of <!--del_lnk--> 1920. The treaty of Alexandropol, signed by deposed former Armenian officials after the establishment of Soviet rule, was never ratified by the new Communist government. In <!--del_lnk--> 1922, the country was incorporated into the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> as part of the short-lived <!--del_lnk--> Transcaucasian SFSR along with <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a>. The Treaty of Alexandropol was then superseded by the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Kars, between Turkey and the Soviet Union. In it, Turkey ceded the province of <!--del_lnk--> Ajara to the Soviet Union in return for sovereignty over the territories of <!--del_lnk--> Kars, <!--del_lnk--> Ardahan, and <!--del_lnk--> Iğdır. Because the Armenians did not have a say in the treaty, Armenia, to this day, does not recognize the treaty as legitimate and still holds claims to those provinces.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/203/20342.jpg.htm" title="Armenian soldiers firing against Azerbaijani forces from trenches in Nagorno-Karabakh."><img alt="Armenian soldiers firing against Azerbaijani forces from trenches in Nagorno-Karabakh." height="163" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ArmenianFighters1989.jpg" src="../../images/4/481.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/203/20342.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Armenian soldiers firing against Azerbaijani forces from trenches in <!--del_lnk--> Nagorno-Karabakh.</div>
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<p>The TSFR existed from <!--del_lnk--> 1922 to <!--del_lnk--> 1936, when it was divided up into three separate entities (<!--del_lnk--> Armenian SSR, <!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijan SSR, and <!--del_lnk--> Georgian SSR). Armenians enjoyed a period of relative stability under Soviet rule. They received medicine, food, and other provisions from Moscow, and communist rule proved to be a soothing balm in contrast to the turbulent final years of the Ottoman Empire. The situation was difficult for the church, which struggled under Soviet rule. After the death of <a href="../../wp/v/Vladimir_Lenin.htm" title="Vladimir Lenin">Vladimir Lenin</a>, <a href="../../wp/j/Joseph_Stalin.htm" title="Joseph Stalin">Joseph Stalin</a> took the reins of power and began an era of renewed fear and terror for Armenians. As with various other ethnic minorities who lived in the Soviet Union during Stalin's <!--del_lnk--> Great Purge, tens of thousands of innocent Armenians were either executed or deported. Fears decreased when Stalin died in <!--del_lnk--> 1953 and <!--del_lnk--> Nikita Khruschev emerged as the country's new leader.<p><a id="Independence" name="Independence"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Independence</span></h3>
<p>In the <a href="../../wp/m/Mikhail_Gorbachev.htm" title="Mikhail Gorbachev">Gorbachev</a> era of the <!--del_lnk--> 1980s, tension developed between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of <!--del_lnk--> Nagorno-Karabakh. In the same decade, Soviet Armenia suffered the devastating <!--del_lnk--> 1988 <!--del_lnk--> Leninakan Earthquake. In <!--del_lnk--> 1991, the Soviet Union broke apart and Armenia re-established its independence. Unfortunately, the early years of Armenia's independence were marred by the continued <a href="../../wp/n/Nagorno-Karabakh_War.htm" title="Nagorno-Karabakh War">confrontation with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh</a>. A Russian-brokered <!--del_lnk--> cease-fire was put in place in <!--del_lnk--> 1994. Since then, Armenia and her neighbour have held peace talks, mediated by the <!--del_lnk--> Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (or OSCE). The status over Karabakh has yet to be determined and the economies of both countries have been hurt in the absence of a complete resolution. Still, despite high unemployment, Armenia has managed to make some economic improvements. It has made a full switch to a <!--del_lnk--> market economy and as of 2006, remains the 27th most economically free nation in the world. Its relations with Europe, the Middle East, and the CIS states have allowed Armenia to increase trade. Gas, oil, and other supplies come through two vital routes: Iran and Georgia, both of whom Armenia has been maintaining cordial relations with<p><a id="Politics" name="Politics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Politics</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/482.jpg.htm" title="The façade of the National Assembly of Armenia in downtown Yerevan."><img alt="The façade of the National Assembly of Armenia in downtown Yerevan." height="146" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Armparlbuilding.jpg" src="../../images/4/482.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/482.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> façade of the <!--del_lnk--> National Assembly of Armenia in downtown Yerevan.</div>
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<p>Politics of Armenia takes place in a framework of a <!--del_lnk--> presidential <!--del_lnk--> representative democratic <!--del_lnk--> republic, whereby the President is the <!--del_lnk--> head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. <!--del_lnk--> Executive power is exercised by the government. <!--del_lnk--> Legislative power is vested in both the <a href="../../wp/g/Government.htm" title="Government">government</a> and parliament. The <!--del_lnk--> unicameral parliament (also called the <!--del_lnk--> National Assembly) is controlled by a coalition of three political parties: the conservative Republican party, the <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Revolutionary Federation, and the <!--del_lnk--> Country of Law party. The main opposition is composed of several smaller parties joined in the <!--del_lnk--> Justice Bloc. <!--del_lnk--> Robert Kocharian is the republic's current president.<p>The Armenian government's stated aim is to build a Western-style <!--del_lnk--> parliamentary democracy as the basis of its <!--del_lnk--> form of government. However, international observers have questioned the fairness of Armenia's parliamentary and presidential elections and constitutional referenda since <!--del_lnk--> 1995, citing polling deficiencies, lack of cooperation by the <!--del_lnk--> Electoral Commission, and poor maintenance of electoral lists and polling places. For the most part however, Armenia is considered one of the more pro-democratic nations in the <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Independent States. It has <!--del_lnk--> universal suffrage above the age of eighteen.<p><a id="Administrative_divisions" name="Administrative_divisions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Administrative divisions</span></h2>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/483.png.htm" title="Map of the administrative divisions of Armenia."><img alt="Map of the administrative divisions of Armenia." height="204" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Armenia_map_numbered.svg" src="../../images/4/483.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/483.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map of the administrative divisions of Armenia.</div>
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<p>Armenia is divided into 10 <i>marzes</i> (<!--del_lnk--> regions, sing. - <i>marz</i>) with the city of <!--del_lnk--> Yerevan (<span style="font-family: Sylfaen, Arial Unicode MS;">Երևան</span>) having special administrative status as the country's capital. The chief executive in each of 10 <i>marzes</i> is the <i>marzpet</i> (<i>marz</i> governor), appointed by the government of Armenia. In Yerevan, the chief executive is the mayor, appointed by the president.<ol>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Aragatsotn (<span style="font-family: Sylfaen, Arial Unicode MS;">Արագածոտն</span>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Ararat (<span style="font-family: Sylfaen, Arial Unicode MS;">Արարատ</span>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Armavir (<span style="font-family: Sylfaen, Arial Unicode MS;">Արմավիր</span>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Gegharkunik (<span style="font-family: Sylfaen, Arial Unicode MS;">Գեղարքունիք</span>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Kotayk (<span style="font-family: Sylfaen, Arial Unicode MS;">Կոտայք</span>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Lori (<span style="font-family: Sylfaen, Arial Unicode MS;">Լոռի</span>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Shirak (<span style="font-family: Sylfaen, Arial Unicode MS;">Շիրակ</span>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Syunik (<span style="font-family: Sylfaen, Arial Unicode MS;">Սյունիք</span>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Tavush (<span style="font-family: Sylfaen, Arial Unicode MS;">Տավուշ</span>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Vayots Dzor (<span style="font-family: Sylfaen, Arial Unicode MS;">Վայոց Ձոր</span>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Yerevan (<span style="font-family: Sylfaen, Arial Unicode MS;">Երևան</span>; special administrative status)</ol>
<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/484.png.htm" title="Map of Armenia"><img alt="Map of Armenia" height="193" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Armenia_map.png" src="../../images/4/484.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/484.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map of Armenia</div>
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<p><a id="Topography" name="Topography"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Topography</span></h3>
<p>Armenia is a <!--del_lnk--> landlocked country in the <!--del_lnk--> southern Caucasus. Located between the <a href="../../wp/b/Black_Sea.htm" title="Black Sea">Black</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Caspian_Sea.htm" title="Caspian Sea">Caspian Seas</a>, the country is bordered on the north and east by <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a>, and on the south and west by <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a> and <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a>. The Republic of Armenia, covering an area of 30 000 <!--del_lnk--> square kilometres (11,600 <!--del_lnk--> sq. mi), is located in the north-east of the <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Highland (covering 400 000 km² or 154,000 sq. mi), otherwise known as historic Armenia and considered as the original homeland of <!--del_lnk--> Armenians.<p>The terrain is mostly <!--del_lnk--> mountainous, with fast flowing <a href="../../wp/r/River.htm" title="River">rivers</a> and few <!--del_lnk--> forests. The climate is highland <!--del_lnk--> continental: hot summers and cold winters. The land rises to 4095 <!--del_lnk--> metres (13,435 <!--del_lnk--> ft) <!--del_lnk--> above sea-level at <!--del_lnk--> Mount Aragats, and no point is below 400 metres (1,312 ft) above sea level. <!--del_lnk--> Mount Ararat, regarded by the Armenians as a <!--del_lnk--> symbol of their land, is the highest mountain in the region and used to be part of Armenia until around <!--del_lnk--> 1915, when it was given to <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> under the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Kars.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/485.jpg.htm" title="Satellite image of Eastern part of the Armenian Highland (photo NASA, USA)"><img alt="Satellite image of Eastern part of the Armenian Highland (photo NASA, USA)" height="184" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Satellite_image_of_Armenia_in_May_2003.jpg" src="../../images/4/485.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/485.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Satellite image of Eastern part of the Armenian Highland (photo NASA, USA)</div>
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<p><a id="Environmental_problems" name="Environmental_problems"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Environmental problems</span></h3>
<p>Armenia is trying to address its <!--del_lnk--> environmental problems. It has established a Ministry of Nature Protection and introduced taxes for air and water pollution and solid waste disposal, whose revenues are used for environmental protection activities. Armenia is interested in cooperating with other members of the <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS, a group of 11 former <!--del_lnk--> Soviet republics) and with members of the international community on environmental issues. The Armenian Government is working toward closing its <!--del_lnk--> Nuclear Power Plant at Medzamor near <!--del_lnk--> Yerevan as soon as alternative energy sources are identified.<p><a id="Climate" name="Climate"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Climate</span></h3>
<p>The climate in Armenia is markedly continental. Summers are dry and sunny, lasting from June to mid-September. The temperature fluctuates between 22° and 36°C. However, the low humidity level mitigates the effect of high temperatures. Evening breezes blowing down the mountains provide a welcome refreshing and cooling effect. Springs are short, while falls are long. Autumns are known for their vibrant and colorful foliage. Winters are quite cold with plenty of snow, with temperatures ranging between -5° and -10°C. Winter sports enthusiasts enjoy skiing down the hills of <!--del_lnk--> Tsakhkadzor, located 30 minutes outside of Yerevan. Lake Sevan nestled up in the Armenian highlands, is the second largest lake in the world relative to its altitude, 1,900 meters above sea level.<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
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<p>Until independence, Armenia's economy was largely <a href="../../wp/i/Industry.htm" title="Industry">industry</a>-based – <!--del_lnk--> chemicals, <a href="../../wp/e/Electronics.htm" title="Electronics">electronics</a>, machinery, processed <a href="../../wp/f/Food.htm" title="Food">food</a>, <!--del_lnk--> synthetic rubber, and <a href="../../wp/t/Textile.htm" title="Textile">textile</a> – and highly dependent on outside resources. <a href="../../wp/a/Agriculture.htm" title="Agriculture">Agriculture</a> contributed only 20% of net material product and 10% of employment before the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. The republic had developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics in exchange for raw materials and energy. <p>Armenian mines produce <a href="../../wp/c/Copper.htm" title="Copper">copper</a>, <a href="../../wp/z/Zinc.htm" title="Zinc">zinc</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Gold.htm" title="Gold">gold</a>, and <a href="../../wp/l/Lead.htm" title="Lead">lead</a>. The vast majority of energy is produced with <!--del_lnk--> fuel imported from Russia, including <a href="../../wp/g/Gas.htm" title="Gas">gas</a> and nuclear fuel (for its one <!--del_lnk--> nuclear power plant); the main domestic energy source is <!--del_lnk--> hydroelectric. Small amounts of <a href="../../wp/c/Coal.htm" title="Coal">coal</a>, gas, and <a href="../../wp/p/Petroleum.htm" title="Petroleum">petroleum</a> have not yet been developed.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/486.jpg.htm" title="Downtown Yerevan in 2005. An ongoing construction boom has kept Armenia’s economic growth in double digits."><img alt="Downtown Yerevan in 2005. An ongoing construction boom has kept Armenia’s economic growth in double digits." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Downtownconstruction.JPG" src="../../images/4/486.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/486.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Downtown Yerevan in 2005. An ongoing construction boom has kept Armenia’s economic growth in double digits.</div>
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<p>Like other newly independent states of the former Soviet Union, Armenia's economy suffers from the legacy of a <!--del_lnk--> centrally planned economy and the breakdown of former Soviet trading patterns. Soviet investment in and support of Armenian industry has virtually disappeared, so that few major enterprises are still able to function. In addition, the effects of the 1988 <!--del_lnk--> Spitak Earthquake, which killed more than 25,000 people and made 500,000 homeless, are still being felt. The conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has not been resolved. The closure of Azerbaijani and Turkish borders has devastated the economy, because Armenia depends on outside supplies of energy and most raw materials. Land routes through Georgia and Iran are inadequate or unreliable. <!--del_lnk--> GDP fell nearly 60% from <!--del_lnk--> 1989 until <!--del_lnk--> 1992–<!--del_lnk--> 1993. The national currency, the dram, suffered hyperinflation for the first years after its introduction in 1993.<p>Nevertheless, the government was able to make wide-ranging economic reforms that paid off in dramatically lower inflation and steady growth. The <!--del_lnk--> 1994 cease-fire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has also helped the economy. Armenia has had strong economic growth since <!--del_lnk--> 1995, building on the turnaround that began the previous year, and inflation has been negligible for the past several years. New sectors, such as <!--del_lnk--> precious stone processing and <!--del_lnk--> jewelry making, <!--del_lnk--> information and <!--del_lnk--> communication technology, and even <a href="../../wp/t/Tourism.htm" title="Tourism">tourism</a> are beginning to supplement more traditional sectors in the economy, such as agriculture.<p>This steady economic progress has earned Armenia increasing support from international institutions. The <!--del_lnk--> International Monetary Fund (IMF), <!--del_lnk--> World Bank, <!--del_lnk--> European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and other international financial institutions (IFIs) and foreign countries are extending considerable grants and loans. Loans to Armenia since 1993 exceed $1.1 billion. These loans are targeted at reducing the budget deficit, stabilizing the currency; developing private businesses; energy; the agriculture, food processing, transportation, and health and education sectors; and ongoing rehabilitation in the earthquake zone. The government joined the <a href="../../wp/w/World_Trade_Organization.htm" title="World Trade Organization">World Trade Organization</a> on <!--del_lnk--> February 5, <!--del_lnk--> 2003. But one of the main sources of foreign direct investments remains the Armenian diaspora, which finances major parts of the reconstruction of infrastructure and other public projects. Being a growing democratic state, Armenia also hopes to get more financial aid from the Western World.<p>A liberal foreign investment law was approved in <!--del_lnk--> June 1994, and a Law on Privatization was adopted in <!--del_lnk--> 1997, as well as a program on state property privatization. Continued progress will depend on the ability of the government to strengthen its macroeconomic management, including increasing revenue collection, improving the investment climate, and making strides against corruption.<p>In the <!--del_lnk--> 2005 Transparency International CPI (<!--del_lnk--> Corruption Perception Index) chart, Armenia ranked 88 (in a range of 1 through 158), continuing to remain as one of the least corrupt states among former Soviet Republics. According to the 2005 UN Human Development Report, Armenia has a Human Development Index (<!--del_lnk--> HDI) of 83 (from a range of 1 through 177), the highest among the <!--del_lnk--> Transcaucasian republics. In the <!--del_lnk--> 2006 <!--del_lnk--> Index of Economic Freedom, Armenia ranked 27th best, tied with <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a> and ahead of countries like <a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norway</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a>. The rank puts Armenia in the category of "Mostly Free" countries, making it the most economically free state in the <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Independent States.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/487.jpg.htm" title="Engraving of an Armenian couple."><img alt="Engraving of an Armenian couple." height="270" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ArmenianLeHay.jpg" src="../../images/4/487.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/487.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Engraving of an Armenian couple.</div>
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<p>Armenia has a population of 3,215,800 (April 2006 est.) and is the second most densely populated of the former Soviet republics. There has been a problem of population decline due to elevated levels of <!--del_lnk--> emigration after the break-up of the <!--del_lnk--> USSR. The rates of emigration and population decline, however, have decreased drastically in the recent years, and a moderate influx of Armenians returning to Armenia have been the main reasons for the trend, which is expected to continue. In fact Armenia is expected to resume its positive population growth by <!--del_lnk--> 2010.<p>Ethnic <!--del_lnk--> Armenians make up 97.9% of the population. <!--del_lnk--> Yazidi <!--del_lnk--> Kurds make up 1.3%, and <!--del_lnk--> Russians 0.5%. There are smaller communities of <!--del_lnk--> Assyrians, <!--del_lnk--> Georgians, <!--del_lnk--> Greeks and <!--del_lnk--> Ukrainians. Most <!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijanis, once a sizable population, have left their homes since Armenia's independence.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/488.png.htm" title="Ethnic groups of Armenia and the South Caucasus in 1995. (See entire map)"><img alt="Ethnic groups of Armenia and the South Caucasus in 1995. (See entire map)" height="190" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Karabakh_ethnic_map.png" src="../../images/4/488.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/488.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Ethnic groups of Armenia and the South Caucasus in <!--del_lnk--> 1995. <small>(<!--del_lnk--> See entire map)</small></div>
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<p>Armenia has a very large <!--del_lnk--> diaspora (8 million by some estimates, greatly exceeding the 3 million population of Armenia itself), with communities existing across the globe, including <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a>, <a href="../../wp/l/Lebanon.htm" title="Lebanon">Lebanon</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> America. Approximately 120,000 Armenians now live in the disputed <!--del_lnk--> Nagorno-Karabakh region.<p>The predominant religion in Armenia is <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a>. The roots of the <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Church go back to the <a href="../../wp/1/1st_century.htm" title="1st century">1st century</a>. According to tradition, the <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Church was founded by two of Jesus' twelve <!--del_lnk--> apostles -- <!--del_lnk--> Thaddaeus and <!--del_lnk--> Bartholomew -- who preached Christianity in Armenia between 40-60 AD. Because of these two founding <!--del_lnk--> apostles, the official name of the <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Church is <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Apostolic Church. Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion, in <!--del_lnk--> 301. Over 93% of Armenian Christians belong to the <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Apostolic Church, a form of Oriental (Non-<!--del_lnk--> Chalcedonian) Orthodoxy, which is a very ritualistic, conservative church, roughly comparable to the <!--del_lnk--> Coptic and <!--del_lnk--> Syriac churches. Armenia also has a population of Catholics (both Roman and Mekhitarist - Armenian Uniate (180,000)), evangelical Protestants and followers of the Armenian traditional religion. The <!--del_lnk--> Yazidi <!--del_lnk--> Kurds, who live in the western part of the country, practise <!--del_lnk--> Yazidism. The <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Catholic Church is headquartered in <!--del_lnk--> Bzoummar, <a href="../../wp/l/Lebanon.htm" title="Lebanon">Lebanon</a>.<p>Ethnic <!--del_lnk--> Azeris and <!--del_lnk--> Kurds who lived in the country before the <!--del_lnk--> Karabakh conflict practised <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a>, but most Azeris fled out of Armenia into <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a> between <!--del_lnk--> 1988 and <!--del_lnk--> 1991 at the beginning of the conflict. During the same period, a large number of Armenians fled from Azerbaijan to Armenia.<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
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<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/489.jpg.htm" title="Carved ivory binding, front cover in five sections of Echmiadzin Gospel, Virgin and Child with scenes from her life, 6th century"><img alt="Carved ivory binding, front cover in five sections of Echmiadzin Gospel, Virgin and Child with scenes from her life, 6th century" height="216" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Echgospfrontcov.jpeg" src="../../images/4/489.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/489.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Carved ivory binding, front cover in five sections of <!--del_lnk--> Echmiadzin Gospel, Virgin and Child with scenes from her life, 6th century</div>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/490.jpg.htm" title="Mother Armenia (Mayr Hayastan) statue, located near Victory Park, in Yerevan."><img alt="Mother Armenia (Mayr Hayastan) statue, located near Victory Park, in Yerevan." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Mother_Armenia%2C_Yerevan%2C_Day.jpg" src="../../images/4/490.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/490.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Mother Armenia (Mayr Hayastan) statue, located near Victory Park, in Yerevan.</div>
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<p>Armenians have their own highly distinctive <!--del_lnk--> alphabet and <!--del_lnk--> language. The letters were invented by <!--del_lnk--> Mesrop Mashtots and consists of 36 letters. 96% of the people in the country speak Armenian, while 75.8% of the population additionally speaks <a href="../../wp/r/Russian_language.htm" title="Russian language">Russian</a> as a result of the Soviet language policy. The adult literacy rate in Armenia is 99%. Most adults in Yerevan can communicate in Russian, while <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> is increasing in popularity.<p>Armenian hospitality is legendary and stems from ancient tradition. Social gatherings focused around sumptuous presentations of course after course of elaborately prepared, well-seasoned (but not spicy-hot) food. The hosts will often put morsels on a guest's plate whenever it is empty or fill his or her glass when it gets low. After a helping or two it is acceptable to refuse politely or, more simply, just leave a little uneaten food. Alcohol such as cognac, vodka, and red wine are usually served during meals and gatherings. It is considered rare and unusual for one to go inside an Armenian household and not be offered coffee, pastry, food, or even water.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/491.jpg.htm" title="Although located in Turkey, Mount Ararat, here seen from Yerevan, is the national symbol of Armenia."><img alt="Although located in Turkey, Mount Ararat, here seen from Yerevan, is the national symbol of Armenia." height="133" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Yerewan_with_Ararat.jpg" src="../../images/4/491.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/491.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Although located in <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Mount Ararat, here seen from Yerevan, is the national symbol of Armenia.</div>
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<p>The weddings are usually quite elaborate and regal. The process begins by the man and woman becoming "promised". The man's immediate family (Parents, Grandparents, and often the Uncles and Aunts) go over to the woman's house to ask for permission from the woman's father for the relationship to continue and hopefully prosper. Once permission is granted by the father, the man gives the woman a "promise ring" to make it official. To celebrate the mutual family agreement, the woman's family opens a bottle of Armenian cognac. After being promised, most families elect to have a semi-large engagement party as well. The girl's family is the one who plans, organizes and pays for the party. There is very little involvement by the man's family. At the party, a priest is summoned to pray for the soon husband and wife to be and give his blessings. Once the words of prayer have concluded, the couple slide wedding bands on each other's right hands (the ring is moved to the left hand once a formal marriage ceremony is conducted by the Armenian church). The customary time to wait for the marriage is about one year. Unlike other cultures, the man and his family pay for the wedding. The planning and organization process is usually done by the bride and groom to be.<p>The National Art Gallery in Yerevan has more than 16,000 works that date back to the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_Ages.htm" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a>. It houses paintings by many <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="European">European</a> masters. The Modern Art Museum, the Children’s Picture Gallery, and the <!--del_lnk--> Martiros Saryan Museum are only a few of the other noteworthy collections of fine art on display in Yerevan. Moreover, many private galleries are in operation, with many more opening each year. They feature rotating exhibitions and sales.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/492.jpg.htm" title="Yerevan Opera House"><img alt="Yerevan Opera House" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Yerevan_Opera_House.jpg" src="../../images/4/492.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/492.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Yerevan Opera House</div>
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<p>The world-class <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra performs at the beautifully refurbished city Opera House, where you can also attend a full season of opera. In addition, several chamber ensembles are highly regarded for their musicianship, including the <!--del_lnk--> National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia and the <!--del_lnk--> Serenade Orchestra. Classical music can also be heard at one of several smaller venues, including the State Music Conservatory and the Chamber Orchestra Hall. <a href="../../wp/j/Jazz.htm" title="Jazz">Jazz</a> is popular, especially in the summer when live performances are a regular occurrence at one of the city’s many outdoor <!--del_lnk--> cafés.<p>Yerevan’s Vernisage (arts and crafts market), close to Republic Square, bustles with hundreds of vendors selling a variety of crafts, many of superb workmanship, on weekends and Wednesdays (though the selection is much reduced mid-week). The market offers woodcarving, antiques, fine lace, and the hand-knotted wool carpets and kilims that are a Caucasus specialty. Obsidian, which is found locally, is crafted into an amazing assortment of jewelry and ornamental objects. Armenian gold smithery enjoys a long and distinguished tradition, populating one corner of the market with a selection of gold items. Soviet relics and souvenirs of recent Russian manufacture—nesting dolls, watches, enamel boxes and so on, are also available at the Vernisage.<p>Across from the Opera House, a popular art market fills another city park on the weekends. Armenia’s long history as a crossroads of the ancient world has resulted in a landscape with innumerable fascinating archaeological sites to explore. <!--del_lnk--> Medieval, <a href="../../wp/i/Iron_Age.htm" title="Iron Age">Iron Age</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Bronze_Age.htm" title="Bronze Age">Bronze Age</a> and even <a href="../../wp/s/Stone_Age.htm" title="Stone Age">Stone Age</a> sites are all within a few hours drive from the city. All but the most spectacular remain virtually undiscovered, allowing visitors to view churches and fortresses in their original settings.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> American University of Armenia has graduate programs in Business and Law, among others. The institution owes its existence to the combined efforts of the Government of Armenia, the <!--del_lnk--> Armenian General Benevolent Union, USAID, and the Boalt Hall School of Law at the <!--del_lnk--> University of California, Berkeley.<p>The extension programs and the library at AUA form a new focal point for English-language intellectual life in the city. Many of the country’s most successful young entrepreneurs are graduates of this institution.<p><a id="Photo_Gallery" name="Photo_Gallery"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Photo Gallery</span></h2>
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<center><!--del_lnk--> Noravank, <!--del_lnk--> Vayots Dzor</center>
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<div class="thumb" style="padding: 28px 0;"><a href="../../images/4/494.jpg.htm" title="Image:Blick über den Sewansee3.jpg"><img alt="" height="90" src="../../images/4/494.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
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<p>A beach at <!--del_lnk--> Lake Sevan in <!--del_lnk--> Gegharkunik</div>
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<div class="thumb" style="padding: 33px 0;"><a href="../../images/4/495.jpg.htm" title="Image:Gyumrigeneralview.jpg"><img alt="" height="80" src="../../images/4/495.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
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<center><!--del_lnk--> Gyumri, <!--del_lnk--> Shirak is the second largest city in Armenia.</center>
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<center><!--del_lnk--> Mount Aragats in <!--del_lnk--> Aragatsotn</center>
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<p>Etchmiadzin Cathedral in <!--del_lnk--> Echmiadzin</div>
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<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/4/498.jpg.htm" title="Image:Yerewan architects monument.jpg"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/4/498.jpg" width="90" /></a></div>
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<center>Statue of <!--del_lnk--> Alexander Tamanian and the "Kaskad" monument in <!--del_lnk--> Yerevan</center>
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<div class="thumb" style="padding: 26px 0;"><a href="../../images/4/499.jpg.htm" title="Image:Armenia Garni side.jpg"><img alt="" height="94" src="../../images/4/499.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
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<center><!--del_lnk--> Garni, <!--del_lnk--> Kotayk</center>
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<center><!--del_lnk--> Geghard, Kotayk</center>
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<center>Statue of <!--del_lnk--> Saint Mesrop Mashtots, founder of the <!--del_lnk--> Armenian alphabet, in Yerevan</center>
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<div class="thumb" style="padding: 33px 0;"><a href="../../images/5/502.jpg.htm" title="Image:Dilijanhaghartsin.jpg"><img alt="" height="79" src="../../images/5/502.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
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<p>Haghartsin Monastery in <!--del_lnk--> Dilijan, <!--del_lnk--> Tavush</div>
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<center>Armenian <!--del_lnk--> Khachkars at Geghard, Kotayk</center>
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<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/5/504.jpg.htm" title="Image:Zvartnots img 6958.jpg"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/5/504.jpg" width="90" /></a></div>
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<center>Ruins of the <!--del_lnk--> Zvartnots Temple in <!--del_lnk--> Armavir</center>
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<center>The Sourb Arakelots (Ss Apostles) church and the Sourb Astvatsatsin (Holy Bearer-of-God) church near Lake Sevan</center>
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<div class="thumb" style="padding: 17px 0;"><a href="../../images/5/506.jpg.htm" title="Image:YerevanAnniversaryChurch.jpg"><img alt="" height="112" src="../../images/5/506.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
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<center><!--del_lnk--> St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in Yerevan. The Cathedral was completed in September 2001 in time for the celebration of the 1700th anniversary of Christianity in Armenia.</center>
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<div class="thumb" style="padding: 28px 0;"><a href="../../images/5/507.jpg.htm" title="Image:IMG 0825.JPG"><img alt="" height="90" src="../../images/5/507.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
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<center>View of <!--del_lnk--> Mount Ararat from the <!--del_lnk--> Khor Virap monastery in the <!--del_lnk--> Ararat Province</center>
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<div class="thumb" style="padding: 33px 0;"><a href="../../images/5/508.jpg.htm" title="Image:Armenian genocide-raffi kojian-P1001606.JPG"><img alt="" height="80" src="../../images/5/508.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
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<center>Thousands of Armenians commemorate the <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Genocide on <!--del_lnk--> April 24 at the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan</center>
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<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">External Data links</span></h2>
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<li><!--del_lnk--> Doing Business in Armenia<li><!--del_lnk--> Enterprise Surveys: Armenia<li><!--del_lnk--> Privatization Database: Armenia<li><!--del_lnk--> Infrastructure Projects: Armenia<li><!--del_lnk--> HyeTad - The Online Armenian Cause In English and Spanish</ul>
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<p><a id="Neighbouring_countries" name="Neighbouring_countries"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Neighbouring countries</span></h2>
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<br clear="all" />
<table class="toccolours" style="margin:0.5em auto; font-size:95%; text-align:center; width: 80%;">
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<td rowspan="5" style="text-align: center; !important" width="5%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/510.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="65" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Armillary_sphere.png" src="../../images/5/510.png" width="50" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%">
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<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/182/18223.png.htm" title="Flag of Georgia (country)"><img alt="Flag of Georgia (country)" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Georgia_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/511.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%">
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<td rowspan="5" style="text-align: center; !important" width="5%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/510.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="65" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Armillary_sphere.png" src="../../images/5/510.png" width="50" /></a></td>
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<td rowspan="3" style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/512.png.htm" title="Flag of Turkey"><img alt="Flag of Turkey" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Turkey.svg" src="../../images/5/512.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/513.png.htm" title="North"><img alt="North" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Template_CanadianCityGeoLocation_North.png" src="../../images/5/513.png" width="17" /></a></td>
<td rowspan="3" style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/514.png.htm" title="Flag of Azerbaijan"><img alt="Flag of Azerbaijan" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Azerbaijan.svg" src="../../images/5/514.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a></td>
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<td nowrap style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/515.png.htm" title="West"><img alt="West" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Template_CanadianCityGeoLocation_West.png" src="../../images/5/515.png" width="17" /></a> <b><a class="image" href="../../images/3/309.png.htm" title="Flag of Armenia"><img alt="Flag of Armenia" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Armenia.svg" src="../../images/3/309.png" width="22" /></a> <strong class="selflink">Armenia</strong></b> <a class="image" href="../../images/5/516.png.htm" title="East"><img alt="East" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Template_CanadianCityGeoLocation_East.png" src="../../images/5/516.png" width="17" /></a></td>
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<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/517.png.htm" title="South"><img alt="South" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Template_CanadianCityGeoLocation_South.png" src="../../images/5/517.png" width="17" /></a></td>
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<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%">
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/187/18780.png.htm" title="Flag of Iran"><img alt="Flag of Iran" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Iran.svg" src="../../images/5/518.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a></td>
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<td><a class="image" href="../../images/3/309.png.htm" title="Armenia Flag"><img alt="Armenia Flag" height="34" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Armenia.svg" src="../../images/5/519.png" width="67" /></a></td>
<th bgcolor="lightsteelblue" width="100%">
<center><!--del_lnk--> International ties of Armenia</center>
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<td><a class="image" href="../../images/3/309.png.htm" title="Armenia Flag"><img alt="Armenia Flag" height="34" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Armenia.svg" src="../../images/5/519.png" width="67" /></a></td>
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<td align="center" colspan="3"><b>Geographical and geopolitical:</b> <!--del_lnk--> Europe | <!--del_lnk--> Eurasia (<!--del_lnk--> Caucasus) | <!--del_lnk--> Asia (<!--del_lnk--> Western Asia)</td>
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<td align="center" colspan="3"><b>International organisations:</b> <!--del_lnk--> ADB • <!--del_lnk--> BSEC • <!--del_lnk--> CE • <!--del_lnk--> CIS • <!--del_lnk--> CSTO • <!--del_lnk--> EAPC • <!--del_lnk--> EBRD • <!--del_lnk--> ECE • <!--del_lnk--> EAEC (observer) • <!--del_lnk--> ESCAP • <!--del_lnk--> FAO • <!--del_lnk--> IAEA • <!--del_lnk--> IBRD • <!--del_lnk--> ICAO • <!--del_lnk--> ICFTU • <a href="../../wp/i/International_Red_Cross_and_Red_Crescent_Movement.htm" title="International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement">ICRM</a> • <!--del_lnk--> IDA • <!--del_lnk--> IFAD • <!--del_lnk--> IFC • <!--del_lnk--> IFRCS • <!--del_lnk--> ILO • <!--del_lnk--> IMF • <a href="../../wp/i/Interpol.htm" title="Interpol">Interpol</a> • <!--del_lnk--> IOC • <!--del_lnk--> IOM • <!--del_lnk--> ISO • <!--del_lnk--> ITU • <!--del_lnk--> LF (observer) • <!--del_lnk--> NACC • <!--del_lnk--> NAM (observer) • <!--del_lnk--> OPCW • <!--del_lnk--> OSCE • <!--del_lnk--> PACE • <!--del_lnk--> PFP • <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">UN</a> • <!--del_lnk--> UNCTAD • <!--del_lnk--> UNESCO • <!--del_lnk--> UNIDO • <!--del_lnk--> UPU • <!--del_lnk--> UNWTO • <a href="../../wp/w/World_Health_Organization.htm" title="World Health Organization">WHO</a> • <!--del_lnk--> WIPO • <!--del_lnk--> WMO • <a href="../../wp/w/World_Trade_Organization.htm" title="World Trade Organization">WTO</a></td>
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<div class="NavFrame" style="clear:both; margin: 0; padding: 2px; border: 1px solid #aaa; text-align: center; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 0.95em">
<div class="NavHead" style="background-color:#eee; height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em; position:relative"><b><!--del_lnk--> World Heritage Sites in <strong class="selflink">Armenia</strong></b></div>
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<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/3/309.png.htm" title="Flag of Armenia"><img alt="Flag of Armenia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Armenia.svg" src="../../images/5/520.png" width="30" /></a></span></div>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Monasteries of <!--del_lnk--> Haghpat and <!--del_lnk--> Sanahin · <!--del_lnk--> Cathedrals of <!--del_lnk--> Echmiadzin and <!--del_lnk--> Zvartnots · <!--del_lnk--> Geghard</div>
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<div class="NavHead" style="background-color:#eee; height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em; position:relative"><b><!--del_lnk--> Administrative divisions of <strong class="selflink">Armenia</strong></b></div>
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<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/3/309.png.htm" title="Flag of Armenia"><img alt="Flag of Armenia" height="25" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Armenia.svg" src="../../images/5/521.png" width="50" /></a></span></div>
<p><b>Capital</b>: <!--del_lnk--> Yerevan<p><b>Provinces</b> (marzer - մարզէր): <!--del_lnk--> Aragatsotn • <!--del_lnk--> Ararat • <!--del_lnk--> Armavir • <!--del_lnk--> Gegharkunik • <!--del_lnk--> Kotayk • <!--del_lnk--> Lori • <!--del_lnk--> Shirak • <!--del_lnk--> Syunik • <!--del_lnk--> Tavush • <!--del_lnk--> Vayots Dzor</div>
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<div class="NavHead" style="background-color:#eee; height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em; position:relative"><b>Historical regions of <strong class="selflink">Armenia</strong></b></div>
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<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/3/309.png.htm" title="Flag of Armenia"><img alt="Flag of Armenia" height="25" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Armenia.svg" src="../../images/5/521.png" width="50" /></a></span></div>
<p><b>The traditional 15 provinces of Historic Armenia:</b><p>1. <!--del_lnk--> Upper Armenia • 2. <!--del_lnk--> Sophene • 3. <!--del_lnk--> Aghdznik • 4. <!--del_lnk--> Turuberan • 5. <!--del_lnk--> Moxoene • 6. <!--del_lnk--> Corduene • 7. <!--del_lnk--> Parskahayk •<br /> 8. <!--del_lnk--> Vaspurakan • 9. <!--del_lnk--> Syunik • 10. <!--del_lnk--> Artsakh • 11. <!--del_lnk--> Paytakaran • 12. <!--del_lnk--> Utik • 13. <!--del_lnk--> Gugark • 14. <!--del_lnk--> Tayk • 15. <!--del_lnk--> Ayrarat<p><b>Other historical regions of Armenia:</b><p><!--del_lnk--> Karin • <!--del_lnk--> Taron • <!--del_lnk--> Commagene • <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Mesopotamia • <!--del_lnk--> Norshirakan • <!--del_lnk--> Lesser Armenia • <!--del_lnk--> Cilicia</div>
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<div class="NavHead" style="background-color:#eee; height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em; position:relative"><b><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_countries.htm" title="List of countries">Countries</a> of <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a></b></div>
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<p><span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/a/Albania.htm" title="Albania">Albania</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/a/Andorra.htm" title="Andorra">Andorra</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><strong class="selflink">Armenia</strong><sup><small>1</small></sup> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austria</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a><sup><small>2</small></sup> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/b/Belarus.htm" title="Belarus">Belarus</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/b/Bosnia_and_Herzegovina.htm" title="Bosnia and Herzegovina">Bosnia and Herzegovina</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/b/Bulgaria.htm" title="Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/c/Croatia.htm" title="Croatia">Croatia</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/c/Cyprus.htm" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a><sup><small>1</small></sup> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/c/Czech_Republic.htm" title="Czech Republic">Czech Republic</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/e/Estonia.htm" title="Estonia">Estonia</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/f/Finland.htm" title="Finland">Finland</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a><sup><small>2</small></sup> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greece</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/h/Hungary.htm" title="Hungary">Hungary</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/i/Iceland.htm" title="Iceland">Iceland</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_Ireland.htm" title="Republic of Ireland">Ireland</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/k/Kazakhstan.htm" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a><sup><small>2</small></sup> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/l/Latvia.htm" title="Latvia">Latvia</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/l/Liechtenstein.htm" title="Liechtenstein">Liechtenstein</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/l/Lithuania.htm" title="Lithuania">Lithuania</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/l/Luxembourg.htm" title="Luxembourg">Luxembourg</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_Macedonia.htm" title="Republic of Macedonia">Republic of Macedonia</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/m/Malta.htm" title="Malta">Malta</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/m/Moldova.htm" title="Moldova">Moldova</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/m/Monaco.htm" title="Monaco">Monaco</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/m/Montenegro.htm" title="Montenegro">Montenegro</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norway</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/r/Romania.htm" title="Romania">Romania</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a><sup><small>2</small></sup> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/s/San_Marino.htm" title="San Marino">San Marino</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/s/Serbia.htm" title="Serbia">Serbia</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/s/Slovakia.htm" title="Slovakia">Slovakia</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/s/Slovenia.htm" title="Slovenia">Slovenia</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/s/Switzerland.htm" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a><sup><small>2</small></sup> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/u/Ukraine.htm" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/v/Vatican_City.htm" title="Vatican City">Vatican City</a></span><p>(1) Entirely in <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a> but having socio-political connections with Europe. (2) Has <!--del_lnk--> significant territory in Asia.</div>
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<div class="NavHead" style="background-color:#eee; height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em; position:relative"><b><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_countries.htm" title="List of countries">Countries</a> of <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a></b></div>
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<p><span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/a/Afghanistan.htm" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><strong class="selflink">Armenia</strong> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a> <sup>1</sup> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/b/Bahrain.htm" title="Bahrain">Bahrain</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/b/Bangladesh.htm" title="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/b/Bhutan.htm" title="Bhutan">Bhutan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/b/Brunei.htm" title="Brunei">Brunei</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/c/Cambodia.htm" title="Cambodia">Cambodia</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">People's Republic of China</a> <sup>2</sup> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/c/Cyprus.htm" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/e/East_Timor.htm" title="East Timor">East Timor</a> <sup>3</sup> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a> <sup>1</sup> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a> <sup>3</sup> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/i/Iraq.htm" title="Iraq">Iraq</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/j/Jordan.htm" title="Jordan">Jordan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/k/Kazakhstan.htm" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a> <sup>1</sup> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/k/Kuwait.htm" title="Kuwait">Kuwait</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/k/Kyrgyzstan.htm" title="Kyrgyzstan">Kyrgyzstan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/l/Laos.htm" title="Laos">Laos</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/l/Lebanon.htm" title="Lebanon">Lebanon</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/m/Malaysia.htm" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/m/Maldives.htm" title="Maldives">Maldives</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/m/Mongolia.htm" title="Mongolia">Mongolia</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/m/Myanmar.htm" title="Myanmar">Myanmar</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/n/Nepal.htm" title="Nepal">Nepal</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/n/North_Korea.htm" title="North Korea">North Korea</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/o/Oman.htm" title="Oman">Oman</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/p/Pakistan.htm" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/q/Qatar.htm" title="Qatar">Qatar</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a> <sup>1</sup> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/s/Saudi_Arabia.htm" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/s/Singapore.htm" title="Singapore">Singapore</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/s/South_Korea.htm" title="South Korea">South Korea</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/s/Sri_Lanka.htm" title="Sri Lanka">Sri Lanka</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/s/Syria.htm" title="Syria">Syria</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/t/Tajikistan.htm" title="Tajikistan">Tajikistan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/t/Thailand.htm" title="Thailand">Thailand</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> <sup>1</sup> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/t/Turkmenistan.htm" title="Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/u/United_Arab_Emirates.htm" title="United Arab Emirates">United Arab Emirates</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/u/Uzbekistan.htm" title="Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/v/Vietnam.htm" title="Vietnam">Vietnam</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/y/Yemen.htm" title="Yemen">Yemen</a></span><p>For dependent and other territories, see <!--del_lnk--> Dependent territory and <!--del_lnk--> List of unrecognized countries.<p><sup>1</sup> Partly in Europe. <sup>2</sup> The <a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_China.htm" title="Republic of China">Republic of China (Taiwan)</a> not officially recognized by the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nations</a>; see <!--del_lnk--> Political status of Taiwan. <sup>3</sup> Partly or wholly reckoned in <a href="../../wp/o/Oceania.htm" title="Oceania">Oceania</a>.</div>
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<div class="NavHead" style="background-color:#eee; height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em; position:relative"><b><!--del_lnk--> Countries in <!--del_lnk--> Southwest Asia</b></div>
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<p><strong class="selflink">Armenia</strong> • <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a> • <a href="../../wp/b/Bahrain.htm" title="Bahrain">Bahrain</a> • <a href="../../wp/c/Cyprus.htm" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a> • <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a> • <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a> • <a href="../../wp/i/Iraq.htm" title="Iraq">Iraq</a> • <a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a> • <a href="../../wp/j/Jordan.htm" title="Jordan">Jordan</a> • <a href="../../wp/k/Kuwait.htm" title="Kuwait">Kuwait</a> <a href="../../wp/l/Lebanon.htm" title="Lebanon">Lebanon</a> • <a href="../../wp/o/Oman.htm" title="Oman">Oman</a> • <a href="../../wp/q/Qatar.htm" title="Qatar">Qatar</a> • <a href="../../wp/s/Saudi_Arabia.htm" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> • <a href="../../wp/s/Syria.htm" title="Syria">Syria</a> • <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> • <a href="../../wp/u/United_Arab_Emirates.htm" title="United Arab Emirates">United Arab Emirates</a> • <a href="../../wp/y/Yemen.htm" title="Yemen">Yemen</a></div>
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<div class="NavHead" style="background-color:#eee; height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em; position:relative"><b><!--del_lnk--> Black Sea Economic Cooperation</b></div>
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<p><a href="../../wp/a/Albania.htm" title="Albania">Albania</a> • <strong class="selflink">Armenia</strong> • <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a> • <a href="../../wp/b/Bulgaria.htm" title="Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a> • <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a> • <a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greece</a> • <a href="../../wp/m/Moldova.htm" title="Moldova">Moldova</a> • <a href="../../wp/r/Romania.htm" title="Romania">Romania</a> • <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a> • <a href="../../wp/s/Serbia.htm" title="Serbia">Serbia</a> • <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> • <a href="../../wp/u/Ukraine.htm" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a></div>
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<div class="NavHead" style="background-color:#eee; height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em; position:relative"><b><!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)</b></div>
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<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/5/522.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="25" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_CIS.svg" src="../../images/5/522.png" width="50" /></a></span></div>
<p><strong class="selflink">Armenia</strong> • <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a> • <a href="../../wp/b/Belarus.htm" title="Belarus">Belarus</a> • <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a> • <a href="../../wp/k/Kazakhstan.htm" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a> • <a href="../../wp/k/Kyrgyzstan.htm" title="Kyrgyzstan">Kyrgyzstan</a> • <a href="../../wp/m/Moldova.htm" title="Moldova">Moldova</a> • <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a> • <a href="../../wp/t/Tajikistan.htm" title="Tajikistan">Tajikistan</a> • <a href="../../wp/u/Ukraine.htm" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a> • <a href="../../wp/u/Uzbekistan.htm" title="Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a><p>Associate Member: <a href="../../wp/t/Turkmenistan.htm" title="Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a></div>
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<h2>SOS Children in Armenia</h2>
<img src="../../wp/a/Armenia_Sponsorship_Locations.gif" width="405" height="406" alt="Sponsorship sites in Armenia" class="left" /><p>A landlocked republic with Turkey to the west and Georgia to the north, Armenia has seen great changes since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. Once dubbed the Soviet 'silicon valley', Armenia's economy collapsed when its old markets disappeared. Poverty is widespread with more than 60 per cent of the population living below the poverty line. Families with children under-five comprise almost 60 per cent of the poor. Chronic malnutrition among children under-five rose from 12 per cent in 1998 to 14 per cent in 2000. </p><p>Following the devastating earthquake in Armenia in 1988, the charity constructed an SOS Children's community for children who had lost their parents in the town of Kotajak, just outside the area that had been destroyed and about 15 km from Yerevan. The first children were able to move into their new homes together with their SOS mothers in 1990. As there were no pre-school facilities in the area, a provisional SOS kindergarten was set up in one of the family houses. This was replaced by a purpose-built kindergarten in 1995. The same year, an SOS youth centre was set up in Yerevan for the young people who had grown up in the village. Here they are looked after until they can live on their own. The village has twelve family houses, the walls of which have been decorated with colourful paintings by the children with the themes of 1700 Years of Christianity in Armenia and 50 Years of SOS Children.</p><h3>Local Contacts</h3>
<img src="../../wp/a/Arminia.jpg" width="400" height="267" alt="SOS Children Arminia" class="right" /><p>SOS Children in Armenia </p><p>SOS Children's Villages Armenian Charity Foundation,<br />5a Tpagrichneri str., apt. 3<br />375010 Erevan / Armenia</p><p>tel +374/1 52 09 96<br />e-mail [email protected]</p><p><strong><a href="../../wp/s/Sponsor_A_Child.htm">Armenia Child Sponsorship</a></strong></p>
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<td align="left"><small><sup>1</sup><!--del_lnk--> PPS (socialists)</small></td>
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<td align="left"><small><sup>5</sup><!--del_lnk--> Bund and <!--del_lnk--> Hatzoar (Jewish left)</small></td>
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<td align="left"><small><sup>1</sup><!--del_lnk--> MR PPR-WRN and <!--del_lnk--> GL WRN</small></td>
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<td align="left"><small><sup>2</sup><!--del_lnk--> KB and <!--del_lnk--> BCh</small></td>
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<th style="background:#ccf; font-size:90%; border-bottom:1px solid; border-top:1px solid">See also:</th>
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<td align="center"><!--del_lnk--> History of Poland (1939–1945)</td>
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</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Armia Krajowa</b> (<i>Home Army</i>) or <b>AK</b> functioned as the dominant <!--del_lnk--> Polish resistance movement in World War II in <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">German</a>-<!--del_lnk--> occupied Poland, which was active in all areas of the country from September 1939 until its disbanding in January 1945. The Armia Krajowa, which was by far the largest underground resistance movement, with over 300 000 members during <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, formed the armed wing of what subsequently became known as the "<!--del_lnk--> underground state" (<i>państwo podziemne</i>).<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p><a id="Second_World_War" name="Second_World_War"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Second World War</span></h3>
<p>The <i>AK</i> originated from the <i><!--del_lnk--> Służba Zwycięstwu Polski</i> (Polish Victory Service), set up on <!--del_lnk--> 27 September <!--del_lnk--> 1939 by General <!--del_lnk--> Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski. On <!--del_lnk--> 17 November <!--del_lnk--> 1939 General <!--del_lnk--> Władysław Sikorski replaced this organization with the <i><!--del_lnk--> Związek Walki Zbrojnej</i> (Union for Armed Struggle), which after joining with the <i><!--del_lnk--> Polski Związek Powstanczy</i> (Polish Union of Resistance) became the AK on <!--del_lnk--> 14 February <!--del_lnk--> 1942. While those two were the founders of AK, other Polish resistance movements existed, yet most of them eventually joined AK: <i><!--del_lnk--> Narodowa Organizacja Wojskowa</i> (fall 1942/summer 1943, partially), <i><!--del_lnk--> Konfederacja Narodu</i> (fall 1943), <i><!--del_lnk--> Narodowe Siły Zbrojne</i> (summer 1944, partially), <i><!--del_lnk--> Bataliony Chłopskie</i> (partially), <i><!--del_lnk--> Gwardia Ludowa</i> (1943, partially). The most notable movement that did not join with AK was <i><!--del_lnk--> Armia Ludowa</i>.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/243/24307.jpg.htm" title="Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski."><img alt="Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski." height="252" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tadeusz_Bor_Komorowski.jpg" src="../../images/166/16646.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/243/24307.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Stefan Rowecki (pseudonym <i>Grot</i>, or "Arrowhead"), served as the AK's first commander until his arrest in 1943; <!--del_lnk--> Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski commanded from July 1943 until his capture in September 1944. <!--del_lnk--> Leopold Okulicki, pseudonym <i>Niedzwiadek</i> ("Bear Cub") led the organisation in its final days.<p>While the AK did not engender a general revolt, its forces did carry out intensive economic and armed sabotage in addition to engaging the occupying forces in guerilla attacks. In 1944 it acted on a broad scale, notably in initiating the <!--del_lnk--> Warsaw Uprising, which broke out on <!--del_lnk--> 1 August <!--del_lnk--> 1944 with the aim of liberating <a href="../../wp/w/Warsaw.htm" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a> before the arrival of the Soviet <!--del_lnk--> Red Army. While the insurgents released a few hundred prisoners from the Gesia St. <!--del_lnk--> concentration camp and carried out fierce street-fighting, the Germans eventually defeated the rebels and burned the city, finally quelling the Uprising only on <!--del_lnk--> 2 October <!--del_lnk--> 1944.<p>Throughout the period of its existence AK units carried out thousands of armed raids and daring intelligence operations, bombed hundreds of railway shipments, and participated in many <!--del_lnk--> partisan clashes and battles with German police and <!--del_lnk--> Wehrmacht units. AK also conducted retaliatory operations to assassinate <!--del_lnk--> Gestapo officials in response to Nazi terror tactics imposed on the civilian population of Poland.<p>There are some accusations of negative actions committed by the AK towards ethnic minorities, particularly the Lithuanians (see below).<p>Major military and sabotage operations included:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Operation Belt<li><!--del_lnk--> Operation Tempest<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Wilno Uprising<li><!--del_lnk--> Lwów Uprising<li><!--del_lnk--> Warsaw Uprising</ul>
</ul>
<p>Armia Krajowa supplied valuable <!--del_lnk--> intelligence information to the Allies, for example, <!--del_lnk--> about V-1 and V-2 flying bombs.<p>Axis casualties due to the actions of the Polish underground, of which AK formed the bulk of, are estimated at around 11,000<!--del_lnk--> -150,000.<p><a id="Postwar" name="Postwar"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Postwar</span></h3>
<p>The AK officially disbanded on <!--del_lnk--> 19 January <!--del_lnk--> 1945 to avoid armed conflict with the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviets</a> and a civil war. However, many units decided to continue their struggle under new circumstances.<p><a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Polish communists viewed the underground loyal to the <!--del_lnk--> Polish government in exile as a force which had to be removed before they could gain complete control over Poland. Future <!--del_lnk--> General Secretary of <!--del_lnk--> PZPR, <!--del_lnk--> Władysław Gomułka, is quoted as saying: "Soldiers of AK are a hostile element which must be removed without mercy". Another prominent Polish communist, <!--del_lnk--> Roman Zambrowski, said that AK had to be "exterminated".<p>The first AK structure designed primarily to deal with the Soviet threat was <!--del_lnk--> NIE, formed in the mid-1943. NIE's goals was not to engage the Soviet forces in combat, but rather to observe and conduct espionage while the Polish governent in exile decided how to deal with the Soviets; at that time the exiled government still believed that the solution could be found through negotiations. On <!--del_lnk--> 7 May 1945 NIE ("NO") was disbanded and transformed into <!--del_lnk--> Delegatura Sił Zbrojnych na Kraj ("Homeland Armed Forces Delegation"), this organization however lasted only until <!--del_lnk--> 8 August 1945, when the decision was made to disband the organization and stop partisan resistance on Polish territories.<p>The first Polish communist government, <!--del_lnk--> PKWN, formed in July 1944, declined jurisdiction over AK soldiers, therefore for more than a year it was the Soviet Union agencies like <!--del_lnk--> NKVD that took care of dealing with AK. By the end of the war approximately 60,000 soldiers of AK were arrested, 50,000 of them were deported to Soviet Union's <!--del_lnk--> Gulags and prisons; most of those soldiers were captured by Soviets during or in the aftermath of <!--del_lnk--> Operation Tempest, when many AK units tried to cooperate with the Soviets in a nationwide uprising against the Germans. Other veterans were arrested when they decided to approach the government officials after being promised <!--del_lnk--> amnesty. After such broken promises during the first few years of communist control, AK soldiers stopped trusting the government.<p>The third AK organization was <!--del_lnk--> Wolność i Niezawisłość ("Freedom and Sovereignty"). Again its primary goal was not combat. Rather, it was designed to help the AK soldiers in transition from the life of partisans into that of civilians; the secrecy and conspiracy were necessary in the light of increasing persecution of AK veterans by the communist government. WiN was however in much need of funds, to pay for false documents and to provide resources for the partisans, many of whom had lost their homes and entire life's saving in the war. Viewed as enemies of the state, starved of resources, and with a vocal faction advocating armed resistance against the Soviets and their Polish proxies, WiN was far from efficient. A significant victory for the NKVD and the newly created Polish secret police, <!--del_lnk--> Urząd Bezpieczeństwa, came in the second half of 1945, when they managed to convince several leaders of AK and WiN that they truly wanted to offer amnesty to AK members. In a few months they managed to gain information about vast numbers of AK/WiN resources and people. Several months later when the (imprisoned) AK and WiN leaders realised their mistake, the organization was crippled and thousands more of their members were arrested. WiN was finally disbanded in 1952.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16647.jpg.htm" title="Momunent to AK in Sopot."><img alt="Momunent to AK in Sopot." height="252" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Sopot_Pomnik_AK_k.jpg" src="../../images/166/16647.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16647.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Momunent to AK in <!--del_lnk--> Sopot.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>NKVD and UB were certainly not beyond using force. In Autumn of 1946 a group of 100-200 soldiers of <!--del_lnk--> NSZ group were lured into a trap and then massacred. By 1947 a colonel of the communist forces declared that "Terrorist and political underground has ceased to be a threatening force, although there are still man of the forests" that need to be dealt with.<p>The persecution of AK was only part of the big picture of <!--del_lnk--> stalinism in Poland. In the period of 1944-1956, approximately 2 million people were arrested, over 20 thousand, such as the hero of <!--del_lnk--> Auschwitz, <a href="../../wp/w/Witold_Pilecki.htm" title="Witold Pilecki">Witold Pilecki</a>, were executed or murdered in communist prisons, and 6 million Polish citizens (i.e. every third adult Pole) were classifed as a 'reactionary or criminal element' and subject to invigilation by state agencies. In 1956 an amnesty released 35,000 former AK soldiers from prisons: for the crime of fighting for their homeland they had spent sometimes over 10 years in prisons. Still, some partisans remained in the countryside, unwilling or simply unable to rejoin the community; they became known as the <i><!--del_lnk--> cursed soldiers</i>. <!--del_lnk--> Stanisław Marchewska "Ryba" was killed in 1957, and the last AK partisan, <!--del_lnk--> Józef Franczak "Lalek", was killed in 1963 - almost 2 decades after the Second World War ended. It was only four years later, in 1967, that <!--del_lnk--> Adam Boryczka, a soldier of AK and a member of the elite, Britain-trained <!--del_lnk--> Cichociemny ("The Silent and Hidden") intelligence and support group, was released from prison. Until the end of the <!--del_lnk--> People's Republic of Poland AK soldiers were under investigation by the secret police, and it was only in 1989, after the <!--del_lnk--> fall of communism, that the sentences of AK soldiers were finally declared invalid and annulled by the Polish courts.<p><a id="Structure_and_membership" name="Structure_and_membership"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Structure and membership</span></h2>
<p>In the summer of 1943 AK reached it's highest membership numbers, estimated at about 380,000. Estimates of AK membership in the first half of 1944 range from 250,000 to 350,000, with an average being over 300,000<!--del_lnk--> , including a cadre of more than 10,000 officers. Casualties during the war are estimated at about 34,000<!--del_lnk--> -100,000, plus about 20,000<!--del_lnk--> -50,000 after the war (casualties and imprisonment).<p>The executive branch of the AK was the operational command, composed of many units. Most of the other Polish underground armies became incorporated into the AK, including:<ul>
<li>The <i><!--del_lnk--> Konfederacja Narodu</i> (Confederation of the People) (1943).<li>The <i><!--del_lnk--> Bataliony Chłopskie</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Peasants' Battalions).<li>A large military organization of the <i><!--del_lnk--> Stronnictwo Ludowe</i> (People's Party).<li>The <i><!--del_lnk--> Socjalistyczna Organizacja Bojowa</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Socialist Fighting Organization), established by the <i><!--del_lnk--> Polska Partia Socjalistyczna</i> (Polish Socialist Party).<li>The <i><!--del_lnk--> Narodowa Organizacja Wojskowa</i> (National Military Organisation), established by the <i>Stronnictwo Narodowe</i> (National Party).<li>From March <!--del_lnk--> 1944, part of the extreme <!--del_lnk--> right-wing organization, the <i><!--del_lnk--> Narodowe Siły Zbrojne</i> (National Armed Forces).</ul>
<p>The largest group which refused to join AK was the pro-<!--del_lnk--> Soviet and <a href="../../wp/c/Communism.htm" title="Communist">communist</a> <!--del_lnk--> Armia Ludowa (AL), which at it's height in 1944 numbered 30,000 people<!--del_lnk--> .<p>The AK divided itself organizationally into sixteen regional branches, subdivided in turn into eighty-nine inspectorates, which further comprised 278 districts. The supreme command defined the main tasks of the AK as preparation for action and, after the termination of German occupation, general armed revolt until victory. At that stage plans envisaged the seizure of <!--del_lnk--> power in Poland by the <i><!--del_lnk--> delegatura</i> establishment, the representatives of the <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>-based <!--del_lnk--> Polish government in exile; and by the government-in-exile itself, which would return to Poland.<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 85%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: center;">
<tr>
<th>Area</th>
<th>Districts</th>
<th>Code-names</th>
<th>Sub-units</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Operation Tempest</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="3">Warsaw area<br /><a href="../../wp/w/Warsaw.htm" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a><br /><small>Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Łaszcz</i></small></td>
<td>Eastern<br /> Warsaw-<!--del_lnk--> Praga<br /><small>Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Szeliga</i></small></td>
<td>Struga (stream), Krynica (source), Gorzelnia (distillery)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 10th Infantry Division</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Western<br /> Warsaw<br /><small>Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Roman</i></small></td>
<td>Hallerowo (<!--del_lnk--> Hallertown), <!--del_lnk--> Hajduki, Cukrownia (Sugar factory)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 28th Infantry Division</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Northern<br /> Warsaw<br /><small>Lt. Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Kazimierz</i></small></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Olsztyn, <!--del_lnk--> Tuchola, <!--del_lnk--> Królewiec, Garbarnia (tannery)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 8th Infantry Division</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="3">South-Eastern area<br /><!--del_lnk--> Lwów<br /><small>Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Janka</i></small></td>
<td>Lwów<br /><!--del_lnk--> Lwów<br /><small>Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Luśnia</i></small></td>
<td>Dukat (ducat), Lira (lire), Promień (ray)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 5th Infantry Division</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Stanisławów<br /><!--del_lnk--> Stanisławów<br /><small>Capt. <i><!--del_lnk--> Żuraw</i></small></td>
<td>Karaś (<!--del_lnk--> crucian carp), Struga (stream), Światła (lights)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 11th Infantry Division</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Tarnopol<br /><!--del_lnk--> Tarnopol<br /><small>Maj. <!--del_lnk--> Zawadzki</small></td>
<td>Komar (mosquito), Tarcza (shield), Ton (tone)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 12th Infantry Division</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">Western area<br /><!--del_lnk--> Poznań<br /><small>Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Denhoff</i></small></td>
<td>Pomerania<br /><!--del_lnk--> Gdynia<br /><small>Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Piorun</i></small></td>
<td>Borówki (berries), Pomnik (monument)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Poznań<br /><!--del_lnk--> Poznań<br /><small>Col. <!--del_lnk--> Kowalówka</small></td>
<td>Pałac (palace), Parcela (lot)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="11">Independent areas</td>
<td>Wilno<br /><!--del_lnk--> Wilno<br /><small>Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Wilk</i></small></td>
<td>Miód (honey), Wiano (dowry)</td>
<td>"Kaunas Lithuania"</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Nowogródek<br /><!--del_lnk--> Nowogródek<br /><small>Lt.Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Borsuk</i></small></td>
<td>Cyranka (duck), Nów (new moon)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Zgrupowanie Okręgu AK Nowogródek</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Warsaw<br /> Warsaw<br /><small>Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Monter</i></small></td>
<td>Drapacz (sky-scraper), Przystań (harbour),<br /> Wydra (otter), Prom (shuttle)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Polesie<br /><!--del_lnk--> Pińsk<br /><small>Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Leśny</i></small></td>
<td>Kwadra (quarter), Twierdza (keep), Żuraw (crane)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 30th Infantry Division</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Wołyń<br /><!--del_lnk--> Równe<br /><small>Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Luboń</i></small></td>
<td>Hreczka (buckwheat), Konopie (hemp)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 27th Infantry Division</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Białystok<br /><!--del_lnk--> Białystok<br /><small>Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Mścisław</i></small></td>
<td>Lin (tench), Czapla (aigrette), Pełnia (full moon)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 29th Infantry Division</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Lublin<br /><!--del_lnk--> Lublin<br /><small>Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Marcin</i></small></td>
<td>Len (linnen), Salon (saloon), Żyto (rye)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 3rd Legions' Infantry Division<br /><!--del_lnk--> 9th Infantry Division</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Kraków<br /><!--del_lnk--> Kraków<br /><small>various commanders, incl. Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Róg</i></small></td>
<td>Gobelin, Godło (coat of arms), Muzeum (museum)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 6th Infantry Division<br /><!--del_lnk--> 106th Infantry Division<br /><!--del_lnk--> 21st Infantry Division<br /><!--del_lnk--> 22nd Infantry Division<br /><!--del_lnk--> 24th Infantry Division<br /><!--del_lnk--> Kraków Motorized Cavalry Brigade</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Silesia<br /><!--del_lnk--> Katowice<br /><small>various commanders, incl. Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Zygmunt</i></small></td>
<td>Kilof (pick), Komin (chimney), Kuźnia (foundry), Serce (heart)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Kielce-Radom<br /><!--del_lnk--> Kielce, <!--del_lnk--> Radom<br /><small>Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Mieczysław</i></small></td>
<td>Rolnik (farmer), <!--del_lnk--> Jodła (fir)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 2nd Legions' Infantry Division<br /><!--del_lnk--> 7th Infantry Division</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Łódź<br /><!--del_lnk--> Łódź<br /><small>Col. <i><!--del_lnk--> Grzegorz</i></small></td>
<td>Arka (ark), Barka (barge), Łania (bath)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 25th Infantry Division<br /><!--del_lnk--> 26th Infantry Division</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2">Foreign areas</td>
<td>Hungary<br /><a href="../../wp/b/Budapest.htm" title="Budapest">Budapest</a><br /><small>Lt.Col. <!--del_lnk--> Korkozowicz</small></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Liszt</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Reich<br /><a href="../../wp/b/Berlin.htm" title="Berlin">Berlin</a><br />
</td>
<td>Blok (block)</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>In another dimension the AK was divided into seven sections: Organizations, Information and Espionage, Operations and Training, Logistics, Communications, Information and Propaganda, and finances.<p>Other important Armia Krajowa sub-units included:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Kedyw (also known as 'special operations eight section')<li><!--del_lnk--> Wachlarz (part of Kedyw)</ul>
<p><a id="Weapons_and_equipment" name="Weapons_and_equipment"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Weapons and equipment</span></h2>
<p>As a clandestine army operating in a country occupied by the enemy, separated by over a thousand kilometers from any friendly territory, the AK faced unique challenges in acquiring arms and equipment. In a tremendous achievement, the AK was able to overcome these difficulties to some extent and put tens of thousands of armed soldiers into the field. Nevertheless, the difficult conditions meant that only infantry forces armed with light weapons could be fielded. Any use of artillery, armor or aviation was obviously out of the question (except for a few instances during the <!--del_lnk--> Warsaw Uprising, like the <!--del_lnk--> Kubuś <!--del_lnk--> armored car). Even these light infantry units were as a rule armed with a mixture of weapons of various types, usually in quantities sufficient to arm only a fraction of a unit's soldiers.<p>In contrast, their opponents - the German armed forces and their allies - were almost universally supplied with plenty of arms and ammunition, and could count on a full array of support forces. Unit for unit, its German opponents enjoyed a crushing material superiority over the AK. This severely restricted the kind of operations that it could successfully undertake.<p>The arms and equipment for Armia Krajowa mostly came from four sources: arms buried by the Polish armies on the battlefields after the <!--del_lnk--> Invasion of Poland in 1939, arms purchased or captured from the Germans and their allies, arms clandestinely manufactured by Armia Krajowa itself, and arms received from Allied air drops.<p>From the arms caches hidden in 1939, the AK obtained: 614 heavy machine guns, 1,193 light machine guns, 33,052 rifles, 6,732 pistols, 28 antitank light field guns, 25 antitank rifles and 43,154 hand grenades. However, because of inadequate preservation which had to be improvised in the chaos of the September campaign, most of these guns were in poor condition. Of those that were hidden in the ground and dug up in 1944 during preparation for Operation Tempest, only 30% were usable.<p>Sometimes arms purchases from German soldiers were conducted on a "grass roots" level. Purchases were made by individual units and sometimes by individual soldiers. As Germany's prospects for victory diminished and the morale in German units dropped, the number of soldiers willing to sell their weapons correspondingly increased and thus made this source more important. All such purchases were highly risky, as the <!--del_lnk--> Gestapo was well aware of this black market in arms and tried to check it by setting up sting operations. For the most part this trade was limited to personal weapons, but occasionally light and heavy machine guns could also be purchased. It was much easier to trade with Italian and Hungarian units stationed in Poland, which willingly sold their arms to the Polish underground as long as they could conceal this trade from the Germans.<p>The efforts to capture weapons from Germans also proved highly successful. Raids were conducted on trains carrying equipment to the front, as well as guardhouses and gendarmerie posts. Sometimes weapons were taken from individual German soldiers accosted in the street. During the Warsaw Uprising, the AK even managed to capture a few German armored vehicles.<p>Arms were clandestinely manufactured by the AK in its own secret workshops, and also by its members working in German armament factories. In this way the AK was able to procure submachine guns (copies of British <!--del_lnk--> Sten, indigenous <!--del_lnk--> Błyskawica and <!--del_lnk--> KIS), pistols (<!--del_lnk--> Vis), flamethrowers, explosive devices, road mines and hand grenades (<!--del_lnk--> Filipinka and <!--del_lnk--> Sidolówka). Hundreds of people were involved in this manufacturing effort.<p>The final source of supply were Allied air drops. This was the only way to obtain more exotic but highly useful equipment such as <!--del_lnk--> plastic explosives or antitank weapons (<!--del_lnk--> PIAT). During the war 485 Allied planes made air drops destined for the AK, delivering 600.9 tons of supplies. During these operations, 70 planes and 62 crews (of which 28 were Polish) were lost. Besides equipment, the planes also parachuted highly qualified instructors (the <i><!--del_lnk--> Cichociemni</i>), of whom 316<!--del_lnk--> were inserted into Poland during the war. Due to the large distance from bases in Britain and the Mediterranean, and lukewarm political support, the <!--del_lnk--> airdrops were only a fraction of those carried out in support of French or Yugoslavian resistance movements.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16652.png.htm" title="Kotwica, one of the symbols of the Armia Krajowa"><img alt="Kotwica, one of the symbols of the Armia Krajowa" height="125" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_PPP.png" src="../../images/166/16652.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16652.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Kotwica, one of the symbols of the Armia Krajowa</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Relations_with_other_forces" name="Relations_with_other_forces"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Relations with other forces</span></h2>
<p><a id="Relations_with_Jews" name="Relations_with_Jews"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Relations with Jews</span></h3>
<p>In February 1942, the Operational Command of the AK Information and Propaganda Office set up the Section for Jewish Affairs, directed by <!--del_lnk--> Henryk Woliński. This section collected data about the situation of the <a href="../../wp/j/Jew.htm" title="Jew">Jewish</a> population, drafted reports and sent information to London. It also centralized contacts between Polish and Jewish military organizations. The AK also organised financial aid for Jews (see <!--del_lnk--> Żegota). The AK accepted only a few Jews (about one thousand) into its own ranks: it generally turned down Jewish applicants, since they could be more easily identified by the Nazis.<p>One of AK members, <a href="../../wp/w/Witold_Pilecki.htm" title="Witold Pilecki">Witold Pilecki</a>, was the only person to volunteer for imprisonment in <!--del_lnk--> Auschwitz. The information he gathered proved crucial in convincing Western Allies about the fate of Jewish population.<p>The AK provided the <!--del_lnk--> Warsaw Ghetto with about sixty revolvers, several hundred hand grenades, and ammunition and explosives. During the <!--del_lnk--> Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943, AK units tried twice to blow up the ghetto wall, carried out holding actions outside the ghetto walls, and together with <!--del_lnk--> GL forces sporadically attacked German sentry units near the ghetto walls. <!--del_lnk--> Security Cadre (<i>Kadra Bezpieczeństwa</i> or KB), one of the organizations subordinate to the AK, under the command of <!--del_lnk--> Henryk Iwański took a direct part in fights inside the ghetto together with Jewish fighters from <!--del_lnk--> ŻZW and <!--del_lnk--> ŻOB.<p>Three out of seven members of the Collective Command of the AK (KG AK) had Jewish origins.<p>While most historians agree that AK was <i>largely untainted</i> in collaboration with Nazis in <a href="../../wp/t/The_Holocaust.htm" title="The Holocaust">the Holocaust</a>, the accusations of the complicity of single AK members or groups in anti-Jewish violence in Poland are frequently brought up to this day. The issue remains a controversial one and is subject to a difficult debate.<p><a id="Relations_with_Lithuanians" name="Relations_with_Lithuanians"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Relations with Lithuanians</span></h3>
<p>The issue of Polish and Lithuanian relations during the Second World War is a controversial issue, and some modern Lithuanian and Polish historians still differ in their interpretations of the related events, many of which are related to the operations of Armia Krajowa on territories inhabited by Lithuanians and Poles. In recent years a number of common <!--del_lnk--> academic conferences have started to bridge the gap between Lithuanian and Polish interpretations, but significant differences still remain.<p><a id="Conflicting_ideologies" name="Conflicting_ideologies"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Conflicting ideologies</span></h4>
<p>Relations between Lithuanians and Poles were strained during most of the <!--del_lnk--> interwar period due to conflicts over the <!--del_lnk--> Vilnius region and <!--del_lnk--> Suvalkai region, areas whose population was a mixture of Poles and Lithuanians. Germans relocated Lithuanian families to Vilnius region from Western parts of Lithuania by force, and this complicated situation. During the war these conflicts resulted in thousands of deaths, as groups on both sides used the opportunities offered by the war to commit violent acts against those they perceived as enemies.<p>Polish underground was an amalgam of all Polish prewar political currents, hence some portions of it associated with prewar nationalist circles held a very negative attitude towards Lithuanians and independent Lithuanian state. A significant number of Lithuanians started collaborating with the German occupiers <!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> , a prominent example being the <!--del_lnk--> Lithuanian Activist Front party, many members of whom came from the <!--del_lnk--> National Unionists whose pre-war slogan was 'Lithuania for Lithuanians'<!--del_lnk--> . The Lithuanian government, encouraged by the Germans, and who hoped that the Germans would grant Lithuania as much autonomy as it has granted <a href="../../wp/s/Slovakia.htm" title="Slovakia">Slovakia</a><!--del_lnk--> . Even through LAF faded after 1941, and Germans never granted the Lithuanians the autonomy they desired, elements within the Lithuanian government, collaborating with Germans, engaged in the program of ethnic and racial purification, targeting Jews, Poles and other non-Lithuanian ethnic minorities. <!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> . One of the most infamous series of incidents took place in the town of <!--del_lnk--> Ponary, where from 1941 to 1943 Germans and Lithuanians massacred thousands of Jews and Poles <!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> <p>An underground union of Polish leftist parties, the <!--del_lnk--> Democratic Union of Vilnius (<i>Wileńska Koncentracja Demokratyczna</i>), partly because of the pro-Nazi stance of Lithuanian authorities, and partly influenced by the nationalist stance of Polish <i><!--del_lnk--> endecja</i> parties, declared in March 1942 that Lithuanians were not ready for the independence and cannot be considered as equal partner of Poland . It stated a plan to occupy Lithuania, submit it under the rule of Polish General Commissariat and to re-educate "corrupt" Lithuanians. On <!--del_lnk--> 15 November, 1943, <!--del_lnk--> Council of Nationalities (<i>Rada Narodowościowa</i>) at envoy of Polish Underground Government in Warsaw decided that in the nearest future Lithuania would be annexed by Poland . In 1943 a representative of Polish Government for Vilnius region prepared a document containing a plan of dealing with Lithuania. Only two options were envisioned – annexation or formal independence of Lithuania, but under military dominance of Poland. In the second version of the document only the formal autonomy of Lithuania as part of Poland was planned. On March 1, 1944, <!--del_lnk--> Polish Convent of Political Parties issued declaration expressing preparation to fight for Eastern territories (Vilnius, <!--del_lnk--> Hrodna, <!--del_lnk--> Lviv, <!--del_lnk--> Lida, <!--del_lnk--> Navahradak, and <!--del_lnk--> Pinsk). It must be noted, however, that such declarations of local Polish politicians differed significantly from the official statement and actions of the <!--del_lnk--> Polish government in exile, which was the only country among the anti-<a href="../../wp/n/Nazism.htm" title="Nazi">Nazi</a> coalition which declared its support for the cause of Lithuanian independence post-war<!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> .<p>Although Lithuanian and Polish resistance movements had the same enemies - Nazi Germany and Soviet Union - they never became allies. The main obstacle in forming an alliance was the question of Vilnius - the <!--del_lnk--> Polish government in exile and the <!--del_lnk--> Polish resistance regarded Vilnius as part of Poland, while Lithuanian resistance regarded Vilnius as the capital of Lithuania and aimed for an independent Lithuania, which would include Vilnius. Lithuanian resistance saw Soviet Union as the main enemy and Nazi Germany as its secondary enemy. Polish resistance saw Nazi Germany as the main enemy and had no consensus on the Soviet Union. Only in 1944-1945, after the Soviet reoccupation, did Lithuanian and Polish resistance started cooperating in the fight against Soviet occupants and Soviet activists.<p><a id="Armed_conflict" name="Armed_conflict"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Armed conflict</span></h4>
<p>Lithuanian authorities had been aiding Germans in their actions against Poles since the very beginning of German occupation in 1941, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of Poles<!--del_lnk--> . In autumn 1943 Armia Krajowa started operations against the Lithuanian collaborative organization, the <!--del_lnk--> Lithuanian Secret Police, which has been aiding Germans in their operation since its very creation<!--del_lnk--> . Soon a significant proportion of AK operations became directed against Germany-allied Lithuanian Police and local Lithuanian administration. During the first half of 1944 AK killed hundreds of mostly Lithuanian policemen, members of self-defence units, servants of local administration, soldiers of <!--del_lnk--> Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force, teachers, foresters and farmers, who were judged to be collaborators with the Nazi regime<!--del_lnk--> . In responce, Lithuanian police, who had murdered hundreds of Polish civilians since 1941<!--del_lnk--> , increased it's operations against the Poles, executing many Polish civilians; this further increased the <!--del_lnk--> vicious circle and the previously simmering Polish-Lithuanian conflict over the Vilnius area deteriorated into a low-level <!--del_lnk--> civil war under German occupation<!--del_lnk--> .<p>In May of 1944, <!--del_lnk--> Aleksander Krzyżanowski, AK commander of Vilnius region, commanded over 9000 armed Armia Krajowa partisans. The relations between Lithuanians and Poles were bad. Thousands of Poles were killed by Lithuanian collaborators working with Nazis (like the German subordinated <!--del_lnk--> Lithuanian Security Police or the <!--del_lnk--> Local Lithuanian Detachment under the command of general <!--del_lnk--> Povilas Plechavičius, many more were deported into Germany as <!--del_lnk--> slave labour). In return, members of Armia Krajowa often terrorised or killed Lithuanians judged to be collaborators and looted their property in Vilnius region. From 1943 AK especially targeted Lithuanian elementary schools and already in 1943 successfully paralysed activity of schools<p>On <!--del_lnk--> June 23, 1944, in response to an earlier massacre on June 20 of 37 Polish villagers in <!--del_lnk--> Glitiškės (Glinciszki) by Lithuanian self defence battalion rogue AK troops acting against specific orders of Krzyżanowski which forbade reprisals against civilians but acting upon the order of commander of the <!--del_lnk--> 5th Vilnian Home Army Brigade <!--del_lnk--> Zygmunt Szendzielarz "Łupaszka" committed a massacre of Lithuanian civilians, at <!--del_lnk--> Dubingiai (Dubinki), where 27 Lithuanian civilians, including women and children were murdered. In total number of victims of Polish revenge action in the end of June of 1944 in Dubingiai and neighbouring towns of <!--del_lnk--> Joniškis, <!--del_lnk--> Inturkė, <!--del_lnk--> Bijutiškis, and <!--del_lnk--> Giedraičiai (town), was 70-100 Lithuanian civilians. Massacre at Dubingiai was the only known massacre carried out by units of AK, although even the connection of AK to that massacre is disputed as the involved Polish forces are considered extremists with connections to <!--del_lnk--> Narodowe Siły Zbrojne (although at that time closely allied to AK). AK forces in the region, in addition to "Łupaszka"'s group, consisted also of two other AK brigades, "Narocz" and "Brasławska", under <!--del_lnk--> Mieczysław Potocki "Węgielny", which Krzyżanowski recently ordered to enter the region to demonstrate their presence and discourage locals from any further anti-Polish actions.<p>The scale of other killings is a subject of disagreement. <!--del_lnk--> Tadeusz Piotrowski notes that thousands of Poles died at the hand of Lithuanian collaborators, and tens of thousands were deported. Polish historian <!--del_lnk--> Jarosław Wołkonowski, living in Lithuania, puts the number of the Lithuanians killed by rogue AK elements at under 100. An estimate by a Lithuanian investigator <!--del_lnk--> Rimas Bružas is that about 500 Lithuanian civilians were killed by Poles during the war. Estimates of <!--del_lnk--> Juozas Lebionka suggest even a higher number of 1000. On <!--del_lnk--> 14 July, 1993. The nationalist and extremist Lithuanian <!--del_lnk--> Vilnija organization claims that AK killed 4000 residents in ethnic Lithuanian lands. State commission was established by Government of Lithuania to evaluate activities of Armia Krajowa in Lithuania which had to present conclusions by <!--del_lnk--> 1 December, 1993. Commission published conclusions that Armia Krajowa was acting against integrity of Lithuania and in Eastern Lithuania committed <!--del_lnk--> crimes against humanity, terrorised and killed innocent civilians, mostly Lithuanians. Lithuanian General Prosecutor Office in 1999 established that "partisan units of AK, not recognising the return of Vilnius region in 1939, were performing genocide of the population of Lithuania, i.e. terrorised, robbed, murdered civilians of Lithuanian, Jewish and Russian ethnicities, hoping that these actions will help in the reoccupation of the area after the war."<i><sup></sup></i> . Investigation of General Prosecutor Office did not end yet and despite the accusations, not a single member of Armia Krajowa, many veterans of which live in Lithuania, have been charged with any crimes as of 2001. A Lithuanian historian <!--del_lnk--> Arūnas Bubnys admits that there were no <!--del_lnk--> mass murders carried by AK (with the only exception being Dubinki), but that AK was guilty of some war crimes against individuals or selected families; he also notes that any accusations of <!--del_lnk--> genocide are false and have an underlying political motive, among them a counteraction to the accusations of widespread German-Lithuanian collaboration and crimes committed by units such as the <!--del_lnk--> Lithuanian Secret Police.<p>Polish political and military underground cells were created all over Lithuania, Polish partisan attacks were usual not only in Vilnius region but across demarcation line as well.<p>In 1944 Polish underground published letter of AK commander of Vilnius region demanding all Lithuanians to leave region. During the battles for Vilnius, the fighting resulted in the death of many soldiers and civilians, including Lithuanians, Jews, Poles, Russians and Germans.<p>Another issue of the AK's operation in Lithuania is related to incidents of co-operation with Nazis against the common enemy, the <!--del_lnk--> Soviet partisans. During the negotiations between AK and Germans on 10-12 February, 1944, AK leadership agreed not to attack Germans and to help them fight Soviet partisans in Rūdninkai forest. Germans armed several AK units operating in the Lithuanian area, in order to encourage them to act against the Soviets, just as they did with such Lithuanian forces as the Local Lithuanian Detachment. Germans also did not allow <!--del_lnk--> Lithuanian Security Police to arrest known commanders of AK and often released arrested AK commanders from prison .<p>The conflict continiued until Soviets effectively destroyed Armia Krajowa in the fall of 1945.<p><a id="Postwar_developments" name="Postwar_developments"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Postwar developments</span></h4>
<p>The postwar assessment of AK's activities in Lithuania was a matter of controversy. In Communist Poland the actions of AK in general, and particularly the actions of commanders and units operating in Lithuania, were presented in a very negative light. The Communist regime executed or imprisoned commanders of the AK en masse after the war for political reasons, preventing any fair legal examination of crimes they may have committed during wartime. Thus <!--del_lnk--> Zygmunt Szendzielarz "Łupaszka", after several years in the postwar underground, was arrested by the Polish Communist authorities, sentenced to death and executed on <!--del_lnk--> February 8, <!--del_lnk--> 1951, in part for the crimes of his unit against civilians in the Vilnius region (thus including the massacre of Lithuanian civilians in <!--del_lnk--> Dubingiai) though the Communist indictment was much more broad and focused on his anti-communist activities. The assessment of his actions outside of Communist Poland was different, and in 1988 he was posthumously awarded the <a href="../../wp/v/Virtuti_Militari.htm" title="Virtuti Militari">Virtuti Militari</a>, the highest Polish military award, by the Polish government in exile. Similarly the Lithuanian general <!--del_lnk--> Povilas Plechavičius who was engaged in fighting the Polish and <!--del_lnk--> Soviet partisans received a medal from Lithuanian president. For these reasons, the AK, despite of its record in saving the Poles of Vilnius, are considered to be a controversial organisation in today's Lithuania in a manner somewhat similar to the view taken of <!--del_lnk--> Soviet partisans.<p>In 2004 veterans of AK and some veterans of Local Lithuanian Detachment signed a Declaration of Peace. Veterans of Local Lithuanian Detachment who signed the declaration did so without approval of <!--del_lnk--> Union of Soldiers of Local Lithuanian Detachment (<!--del_lnk--> Lithuanian: <span lang="lt" xml:lang="lt"><i>Lietuvos vietinės rinktinės karių sąjunga</i></span>).<p><a id="Relation_with_the_Soviets" name="Relation_with_the_Soviets"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Relation with the Soviets</span></h3>
<p>Armia Krajowa relations with the Soviets went proverbialy from bad to worse. Not only did the Soviet Union invade Poland together with Germany during the <!--del_lnk--> Invasion of Poland in 1939, but even after <!--del_lnk--> Germans invaded Soviet Union the Soviets saw Polish partisans loyal to the government in exile as more of an enemy to their plans to take control of post-war Poland then as a potential ally. As ordered by Moscow on June 22 1943 the Soviet partisans engaged Polish partisans in combat, and actually they attacked the Poles more often then they did the Germans. Similarly, the main forces of the <!--del_lnk--> Red Army and the <!--del_lnk--> NKVD conducted operations against the AK partisans, even during or directly after the Polish <!--del_lnk--> Operation Tempest which was designed by the Poles to be a joint Polish-Soviet action against the retreating Germans. <!--del_lnk--> Stalin's aim to ensure that an independent Poland would never reemerge in the postwar period.<p>In late 1943, the actions of Soviet partisans, who were ordered to liquidate the AK forces resulted in a limited amount of uneasy cooperation between some units of AK and the Germans. While AK still treated Germans as the enemy and conducted various operations against them, when Germans offered AK some arms and provisions to be used against the Soviet paristans, some Polish units in the <!--del_lnk--> Nowogródek and <!--del_lnk--> Wilno decided to accept them. However, any such arrangements were purely tactical and did not evidenced a type of ideological collaboration as shown by <!--del_lnk--> Vichy regime in France, <!--del_lnk--> Quisling regime in Norway or closer to the region, the <!--del_lnk--> Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. The Poles main motivation was to gain intelligence on German morale and preparedness and to acquire some badly needed weapons. There are no known joint Polish-German actions, and the Germans were unsuccessful in their attempt to turn the Poles toward fighting exclusively against Soviet partisans. Even so, most of such collaboration of local commanders with the Germans was condemned by AK High Command. <!--del_lnk--> Tadeusz Piotrowski quotes <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Rotschild saying "The Polish Home Army was by and large untained by collaboration" and adds that "the honour of AK as a whole is beyond reproach".<p>Soviet forces continued to engage the elements of AK <a href="#Postwar" title="">long after the war</a>.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armia_Krajowa"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Arnold Schwarzenegger</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.People.Producers_directors_and_media_figures.htm">Producers, directors and media figures</a></h3>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;"><b>Arnold Schwarzenegger</b></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/152/15251.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="249" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Arnold_Schwarzenegger_2004-01-30.jpg" src="../../images/152/15251.jpg" width="192" /></a><br />
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<td colspan="2">
<center><b>38<sup>th</sup> <!--del_lnk--> Governor of California</b></center>
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<center><b>Term of office:</b><br /><!--del_lnk--> November 17, <!--del_lnk--> 2003 – present</center>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> Lieutenant Governor:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Cruz Bustamante (2003- present)<br /><!--del_lnk--> John Garamendi (elected)</td>
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<th>Predecessor:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Gray Davis</td>
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<th>Successor:</th>
<td><i>Incumbent</i></td>
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<th>Born:</th>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> July 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1947 (age 59)</span><br /><!--del_lnk--> Thal bei Graz, <!--del_lnk--> Steiermark, <a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austria</a></td>
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<th>Political party:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Republican</td>
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<th>Profession:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Body Builder, <a href="../../wp/a/Actor.htm" title="Actor">Actor</a></td>
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<th>Spouse:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Maria Shriver</td>
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<th>Religion:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Roman Catholic</td>
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<p><b>Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger</b> (<a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a> pronunciation (<!--del_lnk--> IPA): <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[aɐnɔlt aloʏs ʃvaɐtsənɛgɐ]</span>) (born on <!--del_lnk--> July 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1947) is an <a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austrian</a>-<a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">American</a> <!--del_lnk--> bodybuilder, <a href="../../wp/a/Actor.htm" title="Actor">actor</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Republican <!--del_lnk--> politician, currently serving as the 38th <!--del_lnk--> Governor of California. He was elected on <!--del_lnk--> October 7, <!--del_lnk--> 2003 in a special <!--del_lnk--> recall election to replace then-Governor <!--del_lnk--> Gray Davis. Schwarzenegger was sworn in on <!--del_lnk--> November 17, <!--del_lnk--> 2003, to serve the remainder of Davis' term, which lasts until <!--del_lnk--> January 8, <!--del_lnk--> 2007. On <!--del_lnk--> September 16, <!--del_lnk--> 2005 he officially announced a re-election campaign to a full term in <!--del_lnk--> California's 2006 gubernatorial election — resulting in a re-election to another term on <!--del_lnk--> November 7, <!--del_lnk--> 2006.<p>Nicknamed "The Austrian Oak" in his body building days, and more recently "The Governator" (a <!--del_lnk--> portmanteau of <i>Governor</i> and <i>Terminator</i>, after the blockbuster film roles), Schwarzenegger as a young man gained widespread attention as a highly successful bodybuilder, and later gained worldwide fame as a <!--del_lnk--> Hollywood <!--del_lnk--> action film star. Perhaps his most famous film is <i><!--del_lnk--> The Terminator</i>, with other famous movies including <i><!--del_lnk--> Predator</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Terminator 2: Judgment Day</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> True Lies</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Kindergarten Cop</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Total Recall</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Junior</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Jingle All The Way</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Last Action Hero</i>, and his Hollywood breakthrough film <i><!--del_lnk--> Conan the Barbarian</i>.<p>
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</script><a id="Early_life" name="Early_life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Early life</span></h2>
<p><a id="Infancy_and_History" name="Infancy_and_History"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Infancy and History</span></h3>
<p>Schwarzenegger was born in <!--del_lnk--> Thal, Austria, a town bordering the <!--del_lnk--> Styrian capital, <!--del_lnk--> Graz, and christened Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger. His parents were the local <!--del_lnk--> police chief <!--del_lnk--> Gustav Schwarzenegger (1907 – 1972), and his wife, the former Aurelia Jadrny (1922 – 1998), who had been married on <!--del_lnk--> October 20, <!--del_lnk--> 1945, when he was 38 and she was a 23-year-old widow. Arnold had a good relationship with his mother and kept in touch with her until her death. <p>Gustav was a strict and demanding father, who generally favored the elder of his two sons, Meinhard. Meinhard died in a car accident in 1971, and Gustav died the following year. In <i><!--del_lnk--> Pumping Iron</i>, Schwarzenegger claimed his reason for not attending his father's funeral was that he was training for a bodybuilding contest, although both he and the film's producer later stated that this story was taken from another bodybuilder, for the purpose of showing the extremes that some would go to for their sport. Also to make himself more cold and machine like person, to help drum up the controversy for the film.<p><a id="Life_as_Boy" name="Life_as_Boy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Life as Boy</span></h3>
<p>As a boy, Schwarzenegger played many sports, but discovered his passion for <!--del_lnk--> bodybuilding when in his mid-teens, his <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Soccer">soccer</a> coach took the team for <a href="../../wp/w/Weight_training.htm" title="Weight training">weight training</a>. He attended a <!--del_lnk--> gym in Graz, where he also frequented the local <!--del_lnk--> cinemas, viewing his idols such as musclemen <!--del_lnk--> Reg Park, <!--del_lnk--> Steve Reeves, and <!--del_lnk--> Johnny Weissmuller on the big screen. He was so dedicated as a youngster that he was known to break into the local gym so that he could train on weekends when it was usually closed.<p><a id="Early_Adulthood" name="Early_Adulthood"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Early Adulthood</span></h3>
<p>Schwarzenegger served in the <!--del_lnk--> Austrian army in 1965, to fulfill the one-year service requirement expected at the time of all 18 year old Austrian males. During this year he sneaked off the base to compete in his first bodybuilding competition, the Mr. Junior Europe, where he won first place. He was punished for sneaking off, but the respect he gained from his superiors was obvious: his drill sergeant once yelled at a group of soldiers, "Why don't you be more like Schwarzenegger!"<p>Schwarzenegger made his first plane trip in 1966, attending the <!--del_lnk--> NABBA Mr. Universe competition being held in <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>. He arrived in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> knowing little English, and it was here he first started being referred to as "The Austrian Oak" (or "The Styrian Oak"), due to his large build and the story of him performing <!--del_lnk--> chin ups from the limb of an <!--del_lnk--> Oak tree on the banks of the river Thalersee, the lake of his hometown. He would come in second in the competition, but would win the title the next year, becoming the youngest ever Mr. Universe (at age 20).<p><a id="Going_to_US" name="Going_to_US"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Going to US</span></h3>
<p>Schwarzenegger moved to the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> in September of 1968, with little money or knowledge of the English language, and trained at <!--del_lnk--> Gold's Gym in <!--del_lnk--> Santa Monica under the <!--del_lnk--> patronage of <!--del_lnk--> Joe Weider. It is here where Schwarzenegger became good friends with <!--del_lnk--> professional wrestler, <!--del_lnk--> "Superstar" Billy Graham.<p><a id="Bodybuilding_career" name="Bodybuilding_career"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Bodybuilding career</span></h2>
<p><a id="Early_On" name="Early_On"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Early On</span></h3>
<p>Schwarzenegger first gained fame as a <!--del_lnk--> bodybuilder. One of the first competitions he won was Junior Mr. Europe in 1965. He would go on to compete in and win many bodybuilding (as well as some <!--del_lnk--> powerlifting) contests, including 5 Mr. Universe (4 - <!--del_lnk--> NABBA (England), 1 - <!--del_lnk--> IFBB (USA)) wins and 7 <!--del_lnk--> Mr. Olympia wins, a record which would remain until <!--del_lnk--> Lee Haney won his eighth straight Mr. Olympia title in 1991.<p>In 1967 Schwarzenegger won the Munich stone lifting contest in which a stone weighing 508 German pounds (254kg/560lbs) is lifted between the legs while standing on two foot rests. He broke the existing record, winning the contest. <p><a id="Mr._Olympia" name="Mr._Olympia"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Mr. Olympia</span></h3>
<p>Schwarzenegger's goal was to become the greatest bodybuilder in the world, which meant becoming Mr. Olympia. His first attempt was in 1969 where he lost to three-time champion <!--del_lnk--> Sergio Oliva. However Schwarzenegger came back in 1970 and convincingly won the competition.<p>Schwarzenegger continued his winning streak in the 1971, 1972, and 1973 competitions. In 1974, Schwarzenegger was once again in top form and won the title for the fifth consecutive time, besting <!--del_lnk--> Lou Ferrigno. After the 1974 Olympia, Schwarzenegger announced his retirement from professional bodybuilding.<p>However, George Butler and Charles Gaines convinced him to compete one more time so they could make the bodybuilding documentary called <i><!--del_lnk--> Pumping Iron</i>. Schwarzenegger had only three months to prepare for the competition after losing significant weight to appear in the film <i><!--del_lnk--> Stay Hungry</i> with <!--del_lnk--> Jeff Bridges. Ferrigno proved not to be a threat, and a lighter than usual Schwarzenegger convincingly won the 1975 Olympia. After being declared Mr. Olympia for a sixth consecutive time Schwarzenegger once again retired from competition. Pictures from this event were re-interpreted by prolific realism artist <!--del_lnk--> Luke Barabe.<p>Schwarzenegger came out of retirement once more to compete in the 1980 Mr. Olympia. Schwarzenegger was a late entry and won with only eight weeks of preparation. At the time, this lead to some controversy, some claiming that the Olympia had become a "popularity contest" rather than an objectively judged competition.<p>Schwarzenegger is considered among the most important figures in the history of bodybuilding, and his legacy is commemorated in the <!--del_lnk--> Arnold Classic annual bodybuilding competition. Schwarzenegger has remained a prominent face in the bodybuilding sport long after his retirement, in part due to his ownership of gyms and fitness magazines. He has presided over numerous contests and awards shows. For many years he wrote a monthly column for the bodybuilding magazines <!--del_lnk--> Muscle & Fitness and <i>Flex</i>. Shortly after being elected Governor, he was appointed <!--del_lnk--> executive editor of both magazines in a largely symbolic capacity. The magazines agreed to donate $250,000 a year to the Governor's various physical fitness initiatives. The magazine <i>MuscleMag International</i> has a monthly two page article on him and refers to him as "The King".<p><a id="Stats" name="Stats"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Stats</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>Nicknames: The Oak, The Austrian Oak, The Olympian, Oak, The King, Champ, Arnie, Schwazzie, Arnold Strong, Ahnuld<li>Height: 6'2"<li>Arms: 22"<li>Chest: 57"<li>Waist: 34"<li>Thighs: 28.5"<li>Calves: 20"<li>Off Season Weight: Around 260 lbs.<li>Competition Weight: Around 235 lbs.</ul>
<p><a id="Steroid_use" name="Steroid_use"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Steroid use</span></h3>
<p>It has been claimed that Schwarzenegger won his first of seven Mr. Olympia titles in 1970 with the help of <!--del_lnk--> Dianabol . He has admitted to using performance-enhancing <!--del_lnk--> anabolic steroids while they were legal, writing in 1977 that "steroids were helpful to me in maintaining muscle size while on a strict diet in preparation for a contest. I did not use them for muscle growth, but rather for muscle maintenance when cutting up." However, some bodybuilders who used the same steroid cocktails as Schwarzenegger in the 1970s dispute the notion that they were used merely for "muscle maintenance". Even Schwarzenegger has called the drugs "tissue building."<p>As recently as 2005, Schwarzenegger has been accused of tacit endorsement of steroid use, because the Arnold Classic competition to which he lends his name does not require testing of contestants. Most if not all contestants in the bodybuilding portion of the Arnold Classic display muscle mass that is not likely to occurr without chemical assistance.<p>In 1999, Schwarzenegger sued Dr. Willi Heepe, a German doctor who publicly predicted an early death for the bodybuilder based on a link between steroid use and later heart problems. Because the doctor had never examined him personally, Schwarzenegger collected a <!--del_lnk--> DM 20,000 ($12,000 USD) libel judgment against him in a German court. In 1999 Schwarzenegger also sued and settled with <i><!--del_lnk--> The Globe</i>, a U.S. tabloid which had made similar predictions about the bodybuilder's future health. As late as 1996, a year before <!--del_lnk--> open heart surgery to replace an <!--del_lnk--> aortic valve, Schwarzenegger publicly defended his use of anabolic steroids during his bodybuilding career.<p>Schwarzenegger was born with a <!--del_lnk--> bicuspid aortic valve; a normal aorta has three leaflets. According to a spokesperson, Schwarzenegger has not used anabolic steroids since 1990 when they were made illegal.<p><a id="Acting_career" name="Acting_career"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Acting career</span></h2>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; font-size:larger; background-color:#ed8; color:#000;"><b>Arnold Schwarzenegger</b></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"><a class="image" href="../../images/152/15254.jpg.htm" title=" "><img alt=" " height="306" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Arnoldandsonbutwithoutson.jpg" src="../../images/152/15254.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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<td style="text-align:left;"><b>Birth name</b></td>
<td>Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger</td>
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<td width="85px"><b>Born</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> July 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1947 (age 59)<br /><a class="image" href="../../images/7/793.png.htm" title="Austria"><img alt="Austria" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Austria.svg" src="../../images/7/793.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Thal, Austria</td>
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<td><b>Height</b></td>
<td>6'2' (188 cm) </td>
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<td><b>Official site</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> schwarzenegger.com</td>
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<td><b>Notable roles</b></td>
<td>The Terminator in<br /><i><!--del_lnk--> The Terminator</i><br /> Detective John Kimble in<br /><i><!--del_lnk--> Kindergarten Cop</i></td>
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<p>Arnold Schwarzenegger had long planned to move from bodybuilding into a career in acting, as had done many of his idols, such as <!--del_lnk--> Reg Park. Initially he had trouble breaking into films due to his long surname, "overly" large muscles, and foreign accent, but was eventually chosen to play the role of Hercules (as both Reg Park and <!--del_lnk--> Steve Reeves had done) in <i><!--del_lnk--> Hercules in New York</i> (1970).<p>Credited under the name "Arnold Strong", his accent in the film was so thick that his lines had to be <!--del_lnk--> dubbed after production. His second film appearance was as a <!--del_lnk--> deaf and <!--del_lnk--> mute hitman for the mob in director <!--del_lnk--> Robert Altman's <i><!--del_lnk--> The Long Goodbye</i> (1973), which was followed by a much more significant part in the film <i><!--del_lnk--> Stay Hungry</i> (1976), for which he was awarded a <!--del_lnk--> Golden Globe for Best New Male Star.<p>Schwarzenegger came to the attention of more people in the documentary <i><!--del_lnk--> Pumping Iron</i> (1977), elements of which were dramatized. In 1991, Schwarzenegger purchased the rights to this film, its outtakes, and associated still photography.<p>Arnold also appeared with Kirk Douglas and Ann Margaret in the comedy, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Villain</i> (1979). Schwarzenegger's breakthrough film was <i><!--del_lnk--> Conan the Barbarian</i> (1982), and this was cemented by a sequel, <i><!--del_lnk--> Conan the Destroyer</i> (1984). As an actor, he is best-known as the title character of director <!--del_lnk--> James Cameron's cyborg thriller <i><!--del_lnk--> The Terminator</i> (1984). Schwarzenegger's acting ability (described by one critic as having an emotional range that "stretches from A almost to B") has long been the butt of many jokes; he retains a strong Austrian accent in his speech at all times.<p>He also made a mark for injecting his films with a droll, often self-deprecating sense of humor, setting him apart from more serious action heroes such as <!--del_lnk--> Sylvester Stallone. (As an aside, his alternative-universe comedy/thriller <i><!--del_lnk--> Last Action Hero</i> featured a poster of the movie <i>Terminator 2: Judgment Day</i> which, in that alternate universe, had Sylvester Stallone as its star; a similar in-joke in <i><!--del_lnk--> Twins</i> suggested that the two actors might one day co-star, something which has yet to come to pass).<p>Following his arrival as a Hollywood superstar, he made a number of successful films: <i><!--del_lnk--> Commando</i> (1985), <i><!--del_lnk--> Raw Deal</i> (1986), <i><!--del_lnk--> The Running Man</i> (1987), and <i><!--del_lnk--> Red Heat</i> (1988). In <i><!--del_lnk--> Predator</i> (1987), another successful film, Schwarzenegger led a cast which included future <a href="../../wp/m/Minnesota.htm" title="Minnesota">Minnesota</a> <!--del_lnk--> Governor <!--del_lnk--> Jesse Ventura (Ventura also appears in <i>Running Man</i> as well as in the film "Batman and Robin" which Schwarzenegger also starred in) and future <!--del_lnk--> Kentucky <!--del_lnk--> Gubernatorial Candidate <!--del_lnk--> Sonny Landham. <i><!--del_lnk--> Twins</i>, (1988) a comedy with <!--del_lnk--> Danny DeVito, was a change of pace. <i><!--del_lnk--> Total Recall</i> (1990), at that time the most expensive film ever, netted Schwarzenegger $10 million and 15% of the gross, and was, although violent, a widely praised, thought-provoking science-fiction script (based on the <!--del_lnk--> Phillip K Dick short story <i><!--del_lnk--> We Can Remember It for You Wholesale</i>) behind his usual violent action. <i><!--del_lnk--> Kindergarten Cop</i> (1990) was another comedy.<p>Schwarzenegger had a brief foray into directing, first with a 1990 episode of the <!--del_lnk--> TV series <i><!--del_lnk--> Tales from the Crypt</i>, entitled <i><!--del_lnk--> The Switch</i>, and then with the 1992 <!--del_lnk--> telemovie <i><!--del_lnk--> Christmas in Connecticut</i>. He has not directed since.<p>Schwarzenegger's critical and commercial high-water mark was <i><!--del_lnk--> Terminator 2: Judgment Day</i> (1991). His next film project, the self-aware action comedy <i><!--del_lnk--> Last Action Hero,</i> (1993), had the misfortune to be released opposite <i><!--del_lnk--> Jurassic Park</i>, and suffered accordingly. Schwarzenegger's career never again achieved quite the same prominence, his aura of box-office invincibility suffering, although <i><!--del_lnk--> True Lies</i> (1994) was a highly popular sendup of spy films, and saw Schwarzenegger reunited with director <!--del_lnk--> James Cameron, whose own career had taken off with <i><!--del_lnk--> The Terminator</i>.<p>Shortly thereafter came <i><!--del_lnk--> Junior</i>, which brought Schwarzenegger his second <!--del_lnk--> Golden Globe nomination, this time for Best Actor - Musical or Comedy. It was followed by the popular, albeit by-the-numbers <i><!--del_lnk--> Eraser</i> (1996), and <i><!--del_lnk--> Batman & Robin</i> (1997), his final film before taking time to recuperate from a back injury. Following the failure of <i><!--del_lnk--> Batman & Robin</i> Schwarzenegger's film career and box office prominence went into decline.<p>Several film projects were announced with Schwarzenegger attached to star including the remake of <i><!--del_lnk--> Planet of the Apes</i>, a new film version of <i><!--del_lnk--> I Am Legend</i> and a World War II film scripted by <!--del_lnk--> Quentin Tarantino that would have seen Schwarzenegger finally play an Austrian.<p>Instead he returned with <i><!--del_lnk--> End of Days</i> (1999) - an unsuccessful and atypically dark attempt to broaden his acting range - <i><!--del_lnk--> The 6th Day</i> (2000) and <i><!--del_lnk--> Collateral Damage</i> (2002), none of which came close to recapturing his former prominence. In 2003 he reprised his role as the cyborg in <i><!--del_lnk--> Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines</i>, which went on to earn over $150 million domestically, but it still wasn't enough to revive his acting career.<p>His latest film appearances included a cameo appearance in <i><!--del_lnk--> The Rundown</i> with <!--del_lnk--> The Rock and the 2004 remake of <i><!--del_lnk--> Around the World in 80 Days</i>, notable for featuring him onscreen with action star <!--del_lnk--> Jackie Chan for the first time. His latest appearance was a cameo as "The Governator", a <!--del_lnk--> Hummer H1, in the 2006 Pixar film <i><!--del_lnk--> Cars</i>.<p>Arnold Schwarzenegger has stated in many interviews he never regrets doing a role and he feels really bad when he turns down a role. There are however conflicting reports<!--del_lnk--> that Schwarzenegger will be starring in the next Terminator installment - Terminator 4<!--del_lnk--> .<p><a id="Political_career" name="Political_career"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Political career</span></h2>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15256.jpg.htm" title="Vice President Dick Cheney meets with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for the first time at the White House."><img alt="Vice President Dick Cheney meets with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for the first time at the White House." height="196" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ARNOLDCHENEY.jpg" src="../../images/152/15256.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15256.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Vice President <!--del_lnk--> Dick Cheney meets with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for the first time at the <!--del_lnk--> White House.</div>
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<p>Schwarzenegger is a registered <!--del_lnk--> Republican. His first political appointment was to the <!--del_lnk--> President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, on which he served from 1990 to 1993. He was nominated by <a href="../../wp/g/George_H._W._Bush.htm" title="George H. W. Bush">George H. W. Bush</a>, who dubbed him "<!--del_lnk--> Conan the Republican". He later served as Chairman for the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under Governor <!--del_lnk--> Pete Wilson.<p>Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy in the <!--del_lnk--> 2003 California recall election for <!--del_lnk--> Governor of California on the <!--del_lnk--> August 6, <!--del_lnk--> 2003 episode of <!--del_lnk--> The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. As a candidate in the recall election, Schwarzenegger had the most name recognition in a crowded field of candidates, but he had never held public office and his political views were unknown to most Californians. His candidacy was immediate national and international news, with media outlets dubbing him the "Governator" (referring to <i><!--del_lnk--> The Terminator</i> movies, see above) and "The Running Man" (the name of another of his movies), and calling the recall election "Total Recall" (ditto) and "Terminator 4: Rise of the Candidate" (referring to his movie <i><!--del_lnk--> Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines</i>).<p>On <!--del_lnk--> October 7, <!--del_lnk--> 2003, the recall election resulted in Governor <!--del_lnk--> Gray Davis being removed from office with 55.4% of the <i>Yes</i> vote in favour of a recall. Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California under the second question on the ballot with 48.6% of the vote to choose a successor to Davis. Schwarzenegger defeated Democrat <!--del_lnk--> Cruz Bustamante, fellow Republican <!--del_lnk--> Tom McClintock, and others. In total, Schwarzenegger won the election by about 1.3 million votes. Under the regulations of the California Constitution, no runoff election was required.<p>Schwarzenegger's initial days in office were heady, infused with a number of faux pas statements that many attribute to his sense of overconfidence stemming from his entertainment industry clout. When asked whether he would seek bipartisan cooperation from the democrats in the State Senate, Schwarzenegger quipped that he saw no reason to "talk with losers". Building on a catch phrase from a Saturday Night Live sketch partly parodying his bodybuilding career, Schwarzenegger called the Democratic State politicians "<!--del_lnk--> girlie men," a reference from a <!--del_lnk--> Saturday Night Live skit called "<!--del_lnk--> Hans and Franz", in which Schwarzenegger guest-starred once.<p>Schwarzenegger later began to feel the backlash when powerful state unions began to oppose his various initiatives. Key among his reckoning with hubris was a <!--del_lnk--> special election he called in <!--del_lnk--> November 2005, in which four ballot measures he sponsored were defeated.<p>Schwarzenegger then bucked the advice of fellow Republican strategists and appointed a Democrat, <!--del_lnk--> Susan Kennedy, a lesbian, as his Chief of Staff. Schwarzenegger scrambled toward the political middle, determined to build a winning legacy with only a short time to go until the next gubernatorial election.<p>Schwarzenegger ran for re-election against <!--del_lnk--> Democrat <!--del_lnk--> Phil Angelides, the <!--del_lnk--> California State Treasurer, in the <!--del_lnk--> 2006 elections, held on <!--del_lnk--> November 7, <!--del_lnk--> 2006. Despite a poor year nationally for the Republican party, Schwarzenegger won re-election with 56.0% of the vote compared with 38.9% for <!--del_lnk--> Phil Angelides, a margin of well over one million votes. The election cemented his credentials as a <!--del_lnk--> bona fide politician.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15257.jpg.htm" title="Schwarzenegger is seen here with one of the only same gender couples who were a part of the "Californians for Schwarzenegger" team, Kevin Norte & Don Norte at the Log Cabin Republicans "The Courage To Lead" Dinner on June 29, 2006 in Hollywood, California. Since 2003, the Governor signed 21 GLBT friendly bills. Raw exit polling date indicated that the Governor suffered no voter erosion in that community & maintianed his 32% GLBT voter support in 2006 (the same as 2003)."><img alt="Schwarzenegger is seen here with one of the only same gender couples who were a part of the "Californians for Schwarzenegger" team, Kevin Norte & Don Norte at the Log Cabin Republicans "The Courage To Lead" Dinner on June 29, 2006 in Hollywood, California. Since 2003, the Governor signed 21 GLBT friendly bills. Raw exit polling date indicated that the Governor suffered no voter erosion in that community & maintianed his 32% GLBT voter support in 2006 (the same as 2003)." height="129" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Arnold.02.jpg" src="../../images/152/15257.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15257.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Schwarzenegger is seen here with one of the only same gender couples who were a part of the "Californians for Schwarzenegger" team, <!--del_lnk--> Kevin Norte & <!--del_lnk--> Don Norte at the <!--del_lnk--> Log Cabin Republicans "The Courage To Lead" Dinner on <!--del_lnk--> June 29, <!--del_lnk--> 2006 in Hollywood, California. Since 2003, the Governor signed 21 GLBT friendly bills. Raw exit polling date indicated that the Governor suffered no voter erosion in that community & maintianed his 32% GLBT voter support in 2006 (the same as 2003).</div>
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<p><a id="Other_aspects_of_Schwarzenegger.27s_life" name="Other_aspects_of_Schwarzenegger.27s_life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Other aspects of Schwarzenegger's life</span></h2>
<p><a id="Personal_life" name="Personal_life"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Personal life</span></h3>
<p>In 1977, Schwarzenegger's autobiography <i>Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder</i> was published. Also in 1977, Arnold Schwarzenegger declared, "Milk is for babies, when you grow up you drink beer" in <i>Pumping Iron</i>, the documentary about bodybuilders that launched the Austrian’s superstar career. He earned a <!--del_lnk--> B.A. from the <!--del_lnk--> University of Wisconsin-Superior, where he graduated with degrees in <!--del_lnk--> international marketing of fitness and <!--del_lnk--> business administration in 1979.<p>Schwarzenegger became a U.S. citizen in 1983, although he also retains his Austrian citizenship.<p>In 1986, Schwarzenegger married TV journalist <!--del_lnk--> Maria Shriver, niece of the past <a href="../../wp/p/President_of_the_United_States.htm" title="President of the United States">President of the United States</a> <a href="../../wp/j/John_F._Kennedy.htm" title="John F. Kennedy">John F. Kennedy</a>. The couple have four children: daughters Katherine (born <!--del_lnk--> December 13, <!--del_lnk--> 1989) and Christina (b. <!--del_lnk--> July 23, <!--del_lnk--> 1991), and sons Patrick (b. <!--del_lnk--> September 18, <!--del_lnk--> 1993) and Christopher (b. <!--del_lnk--> September 27, <!--del_lnk--> 1997).<p><a id="Business_career" name="Business_career"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Business career</span></h3>
<p>By the age of 30, Schwarzenegger was a millionaire, well before his career in Hollywood. His financial independence came from a series of successful business ventures and investments:<p>In 1968, Schwarzenegger and fellow bodybuilder <!--del_lnk--> Franco Columbu started a bricklaying business. The business flourished both because of the pair's marketing savvy and increased demand following a major Los Angeles earthquake in 1971.<p>Schwarzenegger and Columbu used profits from their bricklaying venture to start a mail order business, selling bodybuilding and fitness-related equipment and instructional tapes.<p>Schwarzenegger rolled profits from the mail order business and his bodybuilding competition winnings into his first real estate venture: an apartment building he purchased for $10,000. He would go on to invest in a number of real estate holding companies.<p><a id="Planet_Hollywood" name="Planet_Hollywood"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Planet Hollywood</span></h3>
<p>Arnold Schwarzenegger was a founding "celebrity investor" in the <!--del_lnk--> Planet Hollywood chain of international theme restaurants (modeled after the <!--del_lnk--> Hard Rock Cafe) along with <!--del_lnk--> Bruce Willis, <!--del_lnk--> Sylvester Stallone and <!--del_lnk--> Demi Moore. Schwarzenegger severed his financial ties with the business in 2000.<p><a id="Net_worth" name="Net_worth"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Net worth</span></h3>
<p>Schwarzenegger's net worth has been under-estimated by conservatively using the usual $100,000,000-$200,000,000 (USD) estimate.<p>However, over the years, he invested his bodybuilding and movie earnings in an array of stocks, bonds, privately controlled companies and real estate holdings in the US and worldwide, so his fortune is actually estimated at $800,000,000 (USD).<p><a id="Allegations_of_sexual_and_personal_misconduct" name="Allegations_of_sexual_and_personal_misconduct"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Allegations of sexual and personal misconduct</span></h3>
<p>During his initial campaign for Governor, allegations of sexual and personal misconduct were raised against Schwarzenegger (see <!--del_lnk--> Gropegate). Within the last five days before the election, news reports appeared in the <i><!--del_lnk--> Los Angeles Times</i> recounting allegations of sexual misconduct from several individual women, sixteen of whom eventually came forward with their personal stories.<p>Chronologically, they ranged from Elaine Stockton, who claimed that Schwarzenegger groped her breast at a <!--del_lnk--> Gold's Gym in 1975 (she was 19 at the time), to a 51 year old woman who said that he pinned her to his chest and spanked her shortly after she met him in connection with production of his film, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Sixth Day</i>, in 2000.<p>Schwarzenegger admitted that he has "behaved badly sometimes" and apologized, but also stated that "a lot of (what) you see in the stories is not true". This came after an interview in adult magazine Oui from 1977 surfaced, in which Schwarzenegger discussed attending sexual orgies and indulging in drugs like <!--del_lnk--> marijuana. Schwarzenegger is shown smoking a marijuana cigarette after winning <!--del_lnk--> Mr. Olympia in the 1977 documentary film <i><!--del_lnk--> Pumping Iron</i>.<p>British television personality <!--del_lnk--> Anna Ryder Richardson settled a libel lawsuit in August 2006 against Schwarzenegger and two of his top aides, Sean Walsh and publicist Sheryl Main. Richardson alleges that the California governor had groped her breast during a 2000 interview in <!--del_lnk--> London, England, to promote <i>The Sixth Day</i>, in which he had starred as an actor. Although, during his 2003 election campaign, Schwarzenegger had promised to respond to the allegations of sexual harassment by Richardson and several other women, he failed to do so after being elected. The groping followed Richardson's remark to Schwarzenegger that her breasts were "real", rather than the results of surgical breast augmentation. Main recalls the incident somewhat differently, claiming that she cupped one of her breasts and asked the actor-become-governor what he thought about them. According to information that Schwarzenegger has publicized, he has spent $600,000 in his legal defenses of himself and his aides against libel. <!--del_lnk--> .<p><a id="Allegations_of_Nazi_admiration_and_support_of_Kurt_Waldheim" name="Allegations_of_Nazi_admiration_and_support_of_Kurt_Waldheim"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Allegations of Nazi admiration and support of Kurt Waldheim</span></h3>
<p>Allegations printed on the front page of <i><!--del_lnk--> The Los Angeles Times</i>, based on selective quotation, which Schwarzenegger claimed not to recall, were also made that he at one time admired <a href="../../wp/a/Adolf_Hitler.htm" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a> and had praised him as a great propagandist. However, the full text of the statement from which the quotation was taken significantly reduces the credibility of the allegations. Although Schwarzenegger's parents were members of the <a href="../../wp/n/Nazism.htm" title="Nazi">Nazi</a> party (his father, <!--del_lnk--> Gustav Schwarzenegger, was also a member of the <!--del_lnk--> Sturmabteilung or SA), Schwarzenegger has been a strong supporter of various Jewish groups, and has denounced the principles of the fascist German regime, saying "I have always despised everything that Hitler stands for and what my history of my country stood for".<p>A March 1992 <!--del_lnk--> Spy Magazine article mentions a story confirmed by "a businessman and longtime friend of Schwarzenegger's" -- that in the '70s Arnold "enjoyed playing and giving away records of Hitler's speeches".<p>Schwarzenegger supported the campaign of his friend, <!--del_lnk--> Kurt Waldheim, former <!--del_lnk--> UN chief and a former Austrian politician who was accused of <!--del_lnk--> war crimes during World War II in <a href="../../wp/y/Yugoslavia.htm" title="Yugoslavia">Yugoslavia</a>, which resulted in both Waldheim, and his wife, Elisabeth, both of whom belonged to the Nazi Party, being excluded from entering the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>. Schwarzenegger's name remained on Waldheim's campaign posters, even after allegations of Waldheim's war crimes were brought to light. Waldheim was also invited to Arnold's wedding with <!--del_lnk--> Maria Shriver, but wisely declined. According to Wendy Leigh, author of "Arnold: An Unauthorized Biography", Schwarzenegger was said to have made a toast to his friend which that he would later regret, and which shocked many who were present: "My friends don't want me to mention Kurt's name because of all the recent Nazi stuff ... but I love him, and Maria does, too, and so thank you, Kurt." <p>These allegations were brought up mainly in the context of his campaign, but they continue to be occasionally used by some critics. <!--del_lnk--> Garry Trudeau, the <!--del_lnk--> cartoonist behind the <!--del_lnk--> comic strip <i><!--del_lnk--> Doonesbury</i>, combined the allegations by nicknaming Schwarzenegger "Herr Gröpenführer" (after the early paramilitary Nazi rank <!--del_lnk--> Gruppenführer) and depicting Schwarzenegger as a huge, groping hand in his artwork (Trudeau has a tradition of depicting prominent real-world politicians using symbolism, such as showing President <!--del_lnk--> George H.W. Bush as nothing, Vice President <!--del_lnk--> Dan Quayle as a feather, and President <a href="../../wp/b/Bill_Clinton.htm" title="Bill Clinton">Bill Clinton</a> as a "waffle(r)".<p><a id="Foreshadowing_his_political_life.3F" name="Foreshadowing_his_political_life.3F"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Foreshadowing his political life?</span></h2>
<p>The 1993 <!--del_lnk--> Sylvester Stallone film <i><!--del_lnk--> Demolition Man</i> jokingly referenced Schwarzenegger as President of the United States. In the film, a future America passed a constitutional amendment to allow <!--del_lnk--> naturalized Americans like Schwarzenegger to become <a href="../../wp/p/President_of_the_United_States.htm" title="President of the United States">President of the United States</a>, and that film referenced a "Schwarzenegger Presidential Library".<p>In addition, the official strategy guide for the <!--del_lnk--> 2000 video game <i><!--del_lnk--> Perfect Dark</i> includes a comic which points to Schwarzenegger as being a U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate in the year <!--del_lnk--> 2025.<p><a id="Trivia" name="Trivia"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Trivia</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>On <!--del_lnk--> January 8, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, while riding his <!--del_lnk--> Harley Davidson <!--del_lnk--> motorcycle, with his son in the sidecar, another driver backed into the street he was riding on causing him and his son to collide with the car at a low speed. While his son and the other driver were unharmed, the governor sustained a minor injury to his lip, forcing him to get 15 <!--del_lnk--> sutures. "No citations were issued" said officer Jason Lee, a police spokesman. Schwarzenegger, who famously rode motorcycles in <!--del_lnk--> the Terminator movies, has never actually obtained an M-1 or M-2 endorsement on his <a href="../../wp/c/California.htm" title="California">California</a> <!--del_lnk--> driver's license that would allow him to legally ride one on the street. Sunday morning, <!--del_lnk--> December 9, <!--del_lnk--> 2001, he broke six <!--del_lnk--> ribs and was hospitalised for four days after another motorcycle crash in L.A.</ul>
<ul>
<li>In honour of its most famous son, Schwarzenegger's home town of <!--del_lnk--> Graz had named its <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Soccer">soccer</a> stadium after him. The Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium, now officially titled <!--del_lnk--> UPC-Arena, is the home of both <!--del_lnk--> Grazer AK and <!--del_lnk--> Sturm Graz. Following the <!--del_lnk--> Stanley Tookie Williams execution and after street protests in his home town, several local politicians began a campaign to remove Schwarzenegger's name from the stadium. Schwarzenegger responded, saying that "to spare the responsible politicians of the city of Graz further concern, I withdraw from them as of this day the right to use my name in association with the Liebenauer Stadium", and set a tight deadline of just a couple of days to remove his name. Graz officials removed Schwarzenegger's name from the stadium in December 2005.</ul>
<ul>
<li>In tribute to Schwarzenegger in 2002, Forum Stadtpark, a local cultural association, proposed plans to build a 25-metre (82 foot) tall <i>Terminator</i> statue in a park in central Graz. Schwarzenegger reportedly said he was flattered, but thought the money would be better spent on social projects and the <!--del_lnk--> Special Olympics.</ul>
<ul>
<li>In 2005 <!--del_lnk--> Peter Pilz from the <!--del_lnk--> Austrian Green Party in parliament demanded to revoke Schwarzenegger's Austrian citizenship. This demand was based on article 33 of the Austrian citizenship act that states: <i>A citizen, who is in the public service of a foreign country, shall be deprived of his citizenship, if he heavily damages the reputation or the interests of the Austrian Republic</i>.</ul>
<dl>
<dd>Pilz claimed that Schwarzenegger's actions in support of the death penalty (prohibited in Austria under Protocol 13 of the <!--del_lnk--> European Convention on Human Rights) had indeed done heavy damage to Austria's reputation. Schwarzenegger justified his actions by referring to the fact that his only duty as Governor of California was to prevent an error in the judicial system. "Schwarzenegger has a lot of muscles, but apparently not much heart," said Julien Dray, spokesman for the Socialist Party in France, where the death penalty was abolished in 1981.</dl>
<ul>
<li>Because Schwarzenegger opted in 1997 for a replacement heart valve made of his own transplanted tissue, medical experts predict he will require repeated heart valve replacement surgery in the next two to eight years (as his current valve degrades). Schwarzenegger apparently opted against a mechanical valve, the only permanent solution available at the time of his surgery, because it would have sharply limited his physical activity and capacity to exercise.</ul>
<ul>
<li>He bought the first <!--del_lnk--> Hummer manufactured for <!--del_lnk--> civilian use in 1992, a model so large, 6,300 lb (2900 kg) and 7 feet (2.1 m) wide that it is classified as a large truck and U.S. fuel economy regulations do not apply to it. During the Gubernatorial Recall campaign he announced that he would convert one of his Hummers to burn hydrogen. The conversion was reported to have cost about $21,000 (USD). After the election, he signed an executive order to jumpstart the building of hydrogen refueling plants called the "California Hydrogen Highway Network", and gained a <!--del_lnk--> DOE grant to help pay for its projected $91,000,000 (USD) cost. California took delivery of the first H2H (Hydrogen Hummer) in October 2004.</ul>
<ul>
<li>His fellow bodybuilder and actor, <!--del_lnk--> Sven-Ole Thorsen, has collaborated with him in 15 movies so far.</ul>
<ul>
<li>He has appeared alongside his fellow actor from <i><!--del_lnk--> Around the World in 80 Days</i>, <!--del_lnk--> Jackie Chan, in a government advert to combat piracy.</ul>
<ul>
<li>In the spring of 2002, <!--del_lnk--> Chapman University awarded Schwarzenegger an honorary doctoral degree. The degree, <b>Doctor of Humane Letters</b>, is conferred upon individuals who have distinguished themselves through their accomplishments in or contributions to academia, community service, business and industry, or performance in the arts.</ul>
<ul>
<li>Schwarzenegger's official height has usually been reported as 6'2", though some observers debit him two inches. While campaigning for <a href="../../wp/g/George_W._Bush.htm" title="George W. Bush">George W. Bush</a> in Ohio in 2004, he appeared only about an inch taller than the 5'11" Bush. Schwarzenegger's weight while competing was in the 245 pound range; he now carries about 210 pounds. His height has been debated to such a high degree on internet message boards, that there is a now a website dedicated to it. Schwarzenegger himself maintains that this is his true height, remarking that most people do have to look "up" at him. </ul>
<ul>
<li>The name "Schwarzenegger" in German means, approximately, "Black Ploughman" or "Ploughman of the Black Earth" ("Schwarz" = "black", "Egge" = "plow" or "harrow").</ul>
<ul>
<li>Even though Schwarzenegger speaks German as his mother-tongue, all of his movies are <!--del_lnk--> dubbed by the German Thomas Danneberg for the German speaking markets in Central Europe - partly because Schwarzenegger's German shows a strong Austrian accent that doesn't fit with the type of most of his roles. </ul>
<ul>
<li>In 1985, Schwarzenegger appeared in <i><!--del_lnk--> Stop the Madness</i>,an anti-drug music video sponsored by the Reagan administration.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Mahathir on Arnold Schwarzenegger's election as governor of California, despite allegations about his past: "I think he had every right to contest. People do not grow up to think that, 'Ah, I'm going to be the next governor and therefore I must deny myself all the pleasures of life'." October 2003</ul>
<ul>
<li>Appeared on WWF (WWE)'s <i><!--del_lnk--> Smackdown!</i> in 1999 where was bestowed a replica of the "Attitude" era belt. He was involved in a segment handing a chair to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and eventually beating up <!--del_lnk--> Triple H.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> JibJab made a parody about Schwarzenegger's campaign to run for governor, "Ahnuld for Governor", during which he adresses himself as "Ahnuld" and talks of his plans to terminate <!--del_lnk--> Gray Davis, and trim the fat from the budgets "the same way I do from my rock hard body, every day".</ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schwarzenegger"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Arp2/3 complex</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.General_Biology.htm">General Biology</a></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16654.png.htm" title="Atomic structure of bovine Arp2/3 complex [1] (PDB code: 1k8k). Color coding for subunits: Arp3, orange; Arp2, marine (subunits 1 & 2 not resolved and thus not shown); p40, green; p34, ice blue; p20, dark blue; p21, magenta; p16, yellow."><img alt="Atomic structure of bovine Arp2/3 complex [1] (PDB code: 1k8k). Color coding for subunits: Arp3, orange; Arp2, marine (subunits 1 & 2 not resolved and thus not shown); p40, green; p34, ice blue; p20, dark blue; p21, magenta; p16, yellow." height="183" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Arp2_3_complex.png" src="../../images/166/16654.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p><b>Arp2/3 complex</b> is a seven-subunit <a href="../../wp/p/Protein.htm" title="Protein">protein</a> that plays a major role in the regulation of the <!--del_lnk--> actin <!--del_lnk--> cytoskeleton. Two of its subunits, the <i>A</i>ctin-<i>R</i>elated <i>P</i>roteins ARP2 and ARP3 closely resemble the structure of monomeric actin and serve as nucleation sites for new actin filaments. The complex binds to the sides of existing ("mother") filaments and initiates growth of a new ("daughter") filament at a distinctive 70 degree angle from the mother. Branched actin networks are created as a result of this nucleation of new filaments. The regulation of rearrangements of the actin cytoskeleton is important for processes like cell locomotion, <!--del_lnk--> phagocytosis, and intracellular motility of <a href="../../wp/l/Lipid.htm" title="Lipid">lipid</a> <!--del_lnk--> vesicles.<p>The Arp2/3 complex was first identified in <!--del_lnk--> <i>Acanthamoeba castellanii</i> and has since been found in every <!--del_lnk--> eukaryotic <a href="../../wp/o/Organism.htm" title="Organism">organism</a> studied.<p>
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</script><a id="Mechanisms_of_Actin_Polymerization_by_Arp2.2F3" name="Mechanisms_of_Actin_Polymerization_by_Arp2.2F3"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Mechanisms of Actin Polymerization by Arp2/3</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16655.png.htm" title="Side branching model of the Arp2/3 complex. Activated Arp2/3 complex binds to the side of a "mother" actin filament. Both Arp2 and Arp3 form the first two subunits in the new "daughter" filament."><img alt="Side branching model of the Arp2/3 complex. Activated Arp2/3 complex binds to the side of a "mother" actin filament. Both Arp2 and Arp3 form the first two subunits in the new "daughter" filament." height="98" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Arp23_side_branching_model.png" src="../../images/166/16655.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16655.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Side branching model of the Arp2/3 complex. Activated Arp2/3 complex binds to the side of a "mother" actin filament. Both Arp2 and Arp3 form the first two subunits in the new "daughter" filament.</div>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16656.png.htm" title="Barbed end branching model of the Arp2/3 complex. Activated Arp2/3 competes with capping proteins to bind to the barbed end of an actin filament. Arp2 remains bound to the mother filament, while Arp3 is outside. The two Arp subunits form the first subunits of each branch and the two branches continue to grow by addition of G-actin to each Arp"><img alt="Barbed end branching model of the Arp2/3 complex. Activated Arp2/3 competes with capping proteins to bind to the barbed end of an actin filament. Arp2 remains bound to the mother filament, while Arp3 is outside. The two Arp subunits form the first subunits of each branch and the two branches continue to grow by addition of G-actin to each Arp" height="110" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Arp23_barbed_end_branching_model.png" src="../../images/166/16656.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16656.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Barbed end branching model of the Arp2/3 complex. Activated Arp2/3 competes with capping proteins to bind to the barbed end of an actin filament. Arp2 remains bound to the mother filament, while Arp3 is outside. The two Arp subunits form the first subunits of each branch and the two branches continue to grow by addition of G-actin to each Arp</div>
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<p>Many actin-related molecules create a free barbed end for <!--del_lnk--> polymerization by uncapping or severing pre-existing filaments and using these as nucleation cores. However, the Arp2/3 complex stimulates actin polymerization by creating a new nucleation core. The nucleation core activity of Arp2/3 is activated by members of the <!--del_lnk--> Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome family protein (WASP, N-WASP, and WAVE proteins). The V domain of a WASP protein interacts with actin monomers while the CA region associates with the Arp2/3 complex to create a nucleation core. However, de novo nucleation followed by polymerization is not sufficient to form integrated actin networks, since these newly synthesized polymers would not be associated with pre-existing filaments. Thus, the Arp2/3 complex binds to pre-existing filaments so that the new filaments can grow on the old ones and form a functional actin cytoskeleton. Capping proteins limit actin polymerization to the region activated by the Arp2/3 complex, and the elongated filament ends are recapped to prevent depolymerization and thus conserve the actin filament.<p>The Arp2/3 complex simultaneously controls nucleation of actin polymerization and branching of filaments. Moreover, autocatalysis is observed during Arp2/3-mediated actin polymerization. In this process, the newly formed filaments activate other Arp2/3 complexes, facilitating the formation of branched filaments.<p>The mechanisms of actin polymerization by Arp2/3 has been the subject of dispute in the resent years. The question is where the complex binds the filament and how it nucleates a "daughter" filament. Historically two models have been proposed to describe the formation of branched filaments:<p><a id="Side_branching_model" name="Side_branching_model"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Side branching model</span></h3>
<p>In the side branching (or dendritic nucleation) model, the Arp2/3 complex binds to the side of pre-existing ("mother") filaments at a point different from the nucleation site. Arp2/3 thus has two actin-binding sites — one to bind to the pre-existing actin filament and the other for the nucleation of a branched filament. Recent research provides strong support for this model.<p><a id="Barbed_end_branching_model" name="Barbed_end_branching_model"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Barbed end branching model</span></h3>
<p>In the barbed end branching model, Arp2/3 associates at the barbed end of growing filaments, allowing for the elongation of the original filament and the formation of a branched filament. This model is mainly based on kinetic analysis rather than structural data, suggesting that branching is induced with Arp2 and Arp3 being incorporated in two different actin filaments.<p><a id="Cellular_Uses_of_Arp2.2F3" name="Cellular_Uses_of_Arp2.2F3"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Cellular Uses of Arp2/3</span></h2>
<p>The Arp2/3 complex appears to be important in a variety of specialized cell functions that involve the actin cytoskeleton. The complex is found in cellular regions characterized by dynamic actin filament activity; in macropinocytotic cups, in the leading edges of <!--del_lnk--> lamellipodia, and in motile actin patches in <a href="../../wp/y/Yeast.htm" title="Yeast">yeast</a>. In <a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">mammals</a> and the social <!--del_lnk--> amoeba <i>Dictyostelium discoideum</i> it is required for <!--del_lnk--> phagocytosis. The complex has also been shown to be involved in the establishment of cell polarity and the <!--del_lnk--> migration of <!--del_lnk--> fibroblast monolayers in a wound-healing model. Moreover, enteropathogenic organisms like <i><!--del_lnk--> Listeria monocytogenes</i> and <i>Shigella</i> use the Arp2/3 complex for actin-polymerization dependent rocketing movements. The Arp2/3 complex also regulates the intracellular motility of <!--del_lnk--> endosomes, <!--del_lnk--> lysosomes, pinocytic <!--del_lnk--> vesicles and <a href="../../wp/m/Mitochondrion.htm" title="Mitochondrion">mitochondria</a>. Moreover, recent studies show that the Arp2/3 complex is essential for proper polar cell expansion in <a href="../../wp/p/Plant.htm" title="Plant">plants</a>. Arp2/3 <!--del_lnk--> mutations in <i><!--del_lnk--> Arabidopsis</i> result in abnormal filament organization, which in turn affects the expansion of <!--del_lnk--> trichomes, pavement cells, <!--del_lnk--> hypocotyl cells, and <!--del_lnk--> root hair cells.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arp2/3_complex"</div>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.General_history.htm">General history</a></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16657.jpg.htm" title="Pride of the spirit is one of the five temptations of the dying man, according to Ars moriendi. Here, Demons tempt the dying man with crowns (a medieval allegory to earthly pride) under the disapproving gaze of Mary, Christ and God. Woodblock seven (4a) of eleven, Netherlands, circa 1460."><img alt="Pride of the spirit is one of the five temptations of the dying man, according to Ars moriendi. Here, Demons tempt the dying man with crowns (a medieval allegory to earthly pride) under the disapproving gaze of Mary, Christ and God. Woodblock seven (4a) of eleven, Netherlands, circa 1460." height="320" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ars.moriendi.pride.a.jpg" src="../../images/166/16657.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16657.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Pride of the spirit is one of the five temptations of the dying man, according to <i><b>Ars moriendi</b></i>. Here, <!--del_lnk--> Demons tempt the dying man with crowns (a <!--del_lnk--> medieval allegory to earthly pride) under the disapproving gaze of <!--del_lnk--> Mary, <!--del_lnk--> Christ and God. Woodblock seven (4a) of eleven, <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>, circa <!--del_lnk--> 1460.</div>
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<p><i><b>Ars moriendi</b></i> ("The Art of Dying") is the name of two related <a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a> texts dating from about <!--del_lnk--> 1415 and <!--del_lnk--> 1450 which offer advice on the protocols and procedures of a good <!--del_lnk--> death and on how to "die well", according to <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christian</a> <!--del_lnk--> precepts of the late <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_Ages.htm" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a>. It was written within the historical context of the effects of the macabre horrors of the <a href="../../wp/b/Black_Death.htm" title="Black Death">Black Death</a> 60 years earlier and consequent social upheavals of the <a href="../../wp/1/15th_century.htm" title="15th century">15th century</a>. It was very popular, translated into most West <!--del_lnk--> European languages, and was the first in a western literary tradition of guides to death and dying.<p>There was originally a "long version" and then a later "short version" containing eleven <!--del_lnk--> woodcut pictures as instructive images which could be easily explained and memorized.<p>
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</script><a id="Long_version" name="Long_version"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Long version</span></h2>
<p>The original "long version", called <i>Tractatus</i> (or <i>Speculum</i>) <i>artis bene moriendi</i>, was composed in <!--del_lnk--> 1415 by an anonymous <!--del_lnk--> Dominican friar, probably at the request of the <!--del_lnk--> Council of Constance (1414–1418, Germany). It was widely read and translated into most West European languages, and was very popular in England where a literary tradition based on it survived until the 17th century <i><!--del_lnk--> Holy Living and Holy Dying</i> which was the "artistic climax" of the consolatory death literature tradition that had begun with <i>Ars moriendi</i>. Other works in the English tradition include <i><!--del_lnk--> The Waye of Dying Well</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> The Sick Mannes Salve</i>. <i>Ars moriendi</i> was also among the first books printed with movable type and was widely circulated in nearly 100 editions before 1500, in particular in Germany. The long version survives in about 300 manuscript versions, only one illustrated.<p><i>Ars moriendi</i> consists of six chapters:<ol>
<li>The first chapter explains that dying has a good side, and serves to console the dying man that death is not something to be afraid of.<li>The second chapter outlines the five temptations that beset a dying man, and how to avoid them. These are lack of <!--del_lnk--> faith, <!--del_lnk--> despair, <!--del_lnk--> impatience, <!--del_lnk--> spiritual pride, and <!--del_lnk--> avarice.<li>The third chapter lists the seven questions to ask a dying man, along with consolation available to him through the redemptive powers of <!--del_lnk--> Christ's love.<li>The fourth chapter expressed the need to imitate Christ's life.<li>The fifth chapter addresses the friends and family, outlining the general rules of behaviour at the deathbed.<li>The sixth chapter includes appropriate <!--del_lnk--> prayers to be said for a dying man.</ol>
<p><a id="Short_version" name="Short_version"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Short version</span></h2>
<p>The "short version", whose appearance shortly precedes the introduction in the 1460's of <!--del_lnk--> block books (books printed from carved blocks of wood, both text and images on the same block), first dates to around 1450, from the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>. It is mostly an adaptation of the second chapter of the "long version", and contains eleven woodcut pictures. The first ten woodcuts are divided into 5 pairs, with each set showing a picture of the <!--del_lnk--> devil presenting one of the 5 temptations, and the second picture showing the proper remedy for that temptation. The last woodcut shows the dying man, presumably having successfully navigated the maze of temptations, being accepted into <!--del_lnk--> heaven, and the devils going back to <!--del_lnk--> hell in confusion.<p>The "short version" was as popular as the "long version", but there was no <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> translation. There are six extant manuscripts of the short version, most not illustrated, and over twenty extant <!--del_lnk--> blockbook illustrated editions, using 13 different sets of blocks.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16658.jpg.htm" title="Temptation of lack of Faith; engraving by Master ES c1450"><img alt="Temptation of lack of Faith; engraving by Master ES c1450" height="316" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Temptation_from_Faith.jpg" src="../../images/166/16658.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16658.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Temptation of lack of Faith; engraving by <!--del_lnk--> Master ES c1450</div>
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<p><a id="The_images" name="The_images"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The images</span></h2>
<p>As well as the thirteen different sets of <!--del_lnk--> blockbook <!--del_lnk--> woodcuts, there is a set by <!--del_lnk--> Master ES in <!--del_lnk--> engraving. The lengthy controversy over their respective dating and priority is now resolved by the discovery by Fritz Saxl of an earlier illuminated manuscript, of well before 1450, from whose tradition all the images in the printed versions clearly derive. Studies of the <!--del_lnk--> watermarks of the <!--del_lnk--> blockbooks by Allen Stevenson at the <!--del_lnk--> British Museum in the 1960's confirmed that none of them predated the 1460's, so <!--del_lnk--> Master ES's engravings are the earliest printed versions, dating from around 1450. The images remain largely the same in all media for the rest of the century.<p><a id="Significance" name="Significance"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Significance</span></h2>
<p>The need to prepare for one's death was well known in <a href="../../wp/m/Medieval_literature.htm" title="Medieval literature">Medieval literature</a> through death-bed scenes, but before the <a href="../../wp/1/15th_century.htm" title="15th century">15th century</a> there was no literary tradition on how to prepare to die, on what a good death meant, or on how to die well. The protocols, rituals and consolations of the death bed were usually reserved for the services of an attending priest. <i>Ars moriendi</i> was an innovative response by the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Church</a> to changing conditions brought about by the <a href="../../wp/b/Black_Death.htm" title="Black Death">Black Death</a> — the ranks of the clergy had been particularly hard hit, and it would take generations to replace them in both quantity and quality — the text and pictures provided the services of a "virtual priest" to the lay public, an idea that just 60 years earlier would have been an unthinkable intrusion on the powers of the church. <i>Ars moriendi</i> provided guidance to dying for those who experienced the macabre horrors of the <a href="../../wp/1/14th_century.htm" title="14th century">14th</a> and 15th centuries, in particular the Black Death; and for those who were looking for ways to distinguish themselves by doing the "proper" acts in a culture increasingly status conscious in a depopulated but consequently more prosperous <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>.<p><a id="Derivative_works" name="Derivative_works"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Derivative works</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><i>The Art of Dying</i> is the title of a <!--del_lnk--> 1970 song by <!--del_lnk--> Beatle <!--del_lnk--> George Harrison.<li><i>Ars Moriendi</i> is the name of a <!--del_lnk--> 1998 song by the <!--del_lnk--> rock band <!--del_lnk--> Mr. Bungle.<li><i>Ars moriendi eller de syv dødsmåter</i> (<i>Ars moriendi or the seven ways of dying</i>) is a collection of <a href="../../wp/p/Poetry.htm" title="Poetry">poems</a> by the <a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norwegian</a> writer <!--del_lnk--> Georg Johannesen.<li><i>Ars Moriendi</i> is the title of an oil painting by artist <!--del_lnk--> Peter Myer.<li><i>Ars Moriendi</i> is the title of a song by the black metal band <!--del_lnk--> Marduk, the first off the album "La Grande Danse Macabre"<li><i>Ars Moriendi</i> is the title of an album by the industrial band <!--del_lnk--> Memorandum, released in 1995 on Cold Meat Industry label<li><i>Ars Moriendi</i> is lithuanian doom metal band.</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ars_moriendi"</div>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Sports_teams.htm">Sports teams</a></h3>
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<td align="center" colspan="2" style="font-size:1.3em"><b>Arsenal</b></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="183" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Arsenal_FC.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="150" /></td>
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<td><b>Full name</b></td>
<td>Arsenal Football Club</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Nickname(s)</th>
<td>The Gunners</td>
</tr>
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<th>Founded</th>
<td>1886 as <i>Dial Square</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Ground</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Emirates Stadium<br /><!--del_lnk--> Holloway<br /><a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Capacity</th>
<td>60,432</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Chairman</th>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Peter Hill-Wood</td>
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<th>Head Coach</th>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="France"><img alt="France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Arsène Wenger</td>
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<th>League</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> FA Premier League</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> 2005–06</th>
<td>Premier League, 4th</td>
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<td class="toccolours" colspan="2" style="padding: 0; background: #ffffff; text-align: center;">
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<td bgcolor="#DD0000"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/528.png.htm" title="Team colours"><img alt="Team colours" height="59" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kit_body.png" src="../../images/5/528.png" width="38" /></a></td>
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<td colspan="3">　</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3"><b>Home colours</b></td>
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<td colspan="3">　</td>
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<td colspan="3"><b>Away colours</b></td>
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<p><b>Arsenal Football Club</b> (also known as <b>Arsenal</b>, <b>The Arsenal</b> or <b>The Gunners</b>) are an <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">English</a> professional <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">football</a> <!--del_lnk--> club based in north <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>. They play in the <!--del_lnk--> FA Premier League and are one of the most successful clubs in <!--del_lnk--> English football. Arsenal have won thirteen <!--del_lnk--> First Division and Premier League titles, ten <!--del_lnk--> FA Cups and in <!--del_lnk--> 2005–06 became the first London club to reach the <!--del_lnk--> UEFA Champions League final. Arsenal are also members of the <!--del_lnk--> G-14 group of leading <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">European</a> football clubs.<p>Arsenal were founded in <!--del_lnk--> Woolwich, south-east London, in 1886, but in 1913 they moved north across the city to <!--del_lnk--> Arsenal Stadium, <!--del_lnk--> Highbury. In May 2006 they left Highbury, moving to their current home, the <!--del_lnk--> Emirates Stadium in nearby Ashburton Grove, <!--del_lnk--> Holloway. Arsenal have a long-standing and fierce rivalry with neighbours <a href="../../wp/t/Tottenham_Hotspur_F.C..htm" title="Tottenham Hotspur F.C.">Tottenham Hotspur</a>, located four miles away in <!--del_lnk--> Tottenham, whom they play in the <!--del_lnk--> North London derby.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Arsenal were founded as <b>Dial Square</b> in 1886 by workers at the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Arsenal in <!--del_lnk--> Woolwich, but were renamed <b>Royal Arsenal</b> shortly afterwards. They renamed themselves again to <b>Woolwich Arsenal</b> after turning professional in 1891. The club joined the <!--del_lnk--> Football League in 1893, starting out in the <!--del_lnk--> Second Division, and won promotion to the <!--del_lnk--> First Division in 1904. However, the club's geographic isolation resulted in lower attendances than those of other clubs, which led to the club becoming mired in financial problems. In 1913, soon after relegation back to the Second Division, they moved across the <a href="../../wp/r/River_Thames.htm" title="River Thames">Thames</a> to the new <!--del_lnk--> Arsenal Stadium in <!--del_lnk--> Highbury, North London. They dropped "Woolwich" from their name the following year, thus becoming one of only two Football League teams not named after a place, the other being <!--del_lnk--> Port Vale. Arsenal only finished in fifth place in 1919, but nevertheless were elected to rejoin the First Division at the expense of local rivals <a href="../../wp/t/Tottenham_Hotspur_F.C..htm" title="Tottenham Hotspur F.C.">Tottenham Hotspur</a>, by reportedly dubious means.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/532.jpg.htm" title="Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira lifts the 2003–04 Premier League trophy."><img alt="Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira lifts the 2003–04 Premier League trophy." height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Trophy_presentation_Highbury_2004.JPG" src="../../images/5/532.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/532.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Arsenal captain <!--del_lnk--> Patrick Vieira lifts the <!--del_lnk--> 2003–04 <!--del_lnk--> Premier League trophy.</div>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/533.jpg.htm" title="Arsenal's players and fans celebrate their 2004 League title win with an open-top bus parade"><img alt="Arsenal's players and fans celebrate their 2004 League title win with an open-top bus parade" height="214" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Arsenal_open_top_bus_parade_2004.jpg" src="../../images/5/533.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/533.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Arsenal's players and fans celebrate their 2004 League title win with an open-top bus parade</div>
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<p>In 1925, Arsenal appointed the highly successful <!--del_lnk--> Herbert Chapman as manager. Chapman had won the league with <!--del_lnk--> Huddersfield Town in 1924 and 1925, and he brought Arsenal their first period of major success. His revolutionary tactics and training, along with the signings of star players such as <!--del_lnk--> Alex James and <!--del_lnk--> Cliff Bastin, laid the foundations of the club's domination of English football in the 1930s. Between 1930 and 1938, Arsenal won the First Division five times and the <!--del_lnk--> FA Cup twice, although Chapman did not live to see all of these achievements, as he died of <a href="../../wp/p/Pneumonia.htm" title="Pneumonia">pneumonia</a> in 1934; <!--del_lnk--> George Allison succeded him. In addition, Chapman was reportedly behind the 1932 renaming of the local <a href="../../wp/l/London_Underground.htm" title="London Underground">London Underground</a> station from "Gillespie Road" to "<!--del_lnk--> Arsenal", making it the only Tube station to be named specifically after a football club.<p>Following the suspension of English professional football during <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, under <!--del_lnk--> Tom Whittaker Arsenal won the league in 1948 and 1953, and the FA Cup in 1950. However, after that their fortunes waned; unable to attract players of the same calibre as they had in the 1930s, the club spent most of the 1950s and 1960s in trophyless mediocrity. Even former <!--del_lnk--> England captain <!--del_lnk--> Billy Wright could not bring the club any success as manager, in a stint between 1962 and 1966.<p>Arsenal's second successful era began with the surprise appointment of club <!--del_lnk--> physiotherapist <!--del_lnk--> Bertie Mee as manager in 1966. After losing two <!--del_lnk--> League Cup finals, they won the <!--del_lnk--> Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, their first European trophy, in 1970. This was followed by an even greater triumph: their first League and FA Cup <!--del_lnk--> double in 1971. However, the following decade was characterised by a series of near misses. Arsenal finished as First Division runners-up in 1973, lost three FA Cup finals (1972, 1978 and 1980) and lost the 1980 <!--del_lnk--> Cup Winners' Cup final on <!--del_lnk--> penalties. The club's only success during this time was an FA Cup win in 1979, with a last-minute 3–2 victory over <a href="../../wp/m/Manchester_United_F.C..htm" title="Manchester United F.C.">Manchester United</a> that is widely regarded as a classic.<p>The return of former player <!--del_lnk--> George Graham as manager in 1986 brought a third period of glory. Arsenal won the League Cup in 1987, Graham's first season in charge. This was followed by a League title win in 1989, won with a last-minute goal in the final game of the season against fellow title challengers <a href="../../wp/l/Liverpool_F.C..htm" title="Liverpool F.C.">Liverpool</a>. Graham's Arsenal won another title in 1991, losing only one match, the FA Cup and League Cup double in 1993 and a second European trophy, the <!--del_lnk--> Cup Winners' Cup, in 1994. However, Graham's reputation was tarnished when it was revealed that he had taken kickbacks from agent <!--del_lnk--> Rune Hauge for signing certain players, and he was sacked in 1995. His replacement, <!--del_lnk--> Bruce Rioch, lasted for only one season, leaving the club after a dispute over transfer funds.<p>The club's success in the late 1990s and 2000s owes a great deal to the appointment of manager <!--del_lnk--> Arsène Wenger in 1996. Wenger brought new tactics, a new training regime and several foreign players who complemented the existing English talent. Arsenal won a second league and cup double in 1998 and a third in 2002. In addition, the club reached the final of the 2000 <!--del_lnk--> UEFA Cup (losing on penalties to <!--del_lnk--> Galatasaray), were victorious in the 2003 and 2005 FA Cups, and won the Premier League in 2004 without losing a single match, which earned the side the nickname "<!--del_lnk--> The Invincibles"; in all, the club went 49 league matches unbeaten, a <!--del_lnk--> national record.<p>Arsenal have finished in either first or second place in the league in eight of Wenger's ten seasons at the club. They are one of only four teams (along with <a href="../../wp/m/Manchester_United_F.C..htm" title="Manchester United F.C.">Manchester United</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Blackburn Rovers and <a href="../../wp/c/Chelsea_F.C..htm" title="Chelsea F.C.">Chelsea</a>) to have won the Premier League since its formation in 1993, although they have failed to retain the title each time they have been champions. Until recently, Arsenal had never progressed beyond the <!--del_lnk--> Champions League quarter-finals; in <!--del_lnk--> 2005–06 however, they reached the competition's <!--del_lnk--> Final (the first club from London to do so in the competition's fifty year history), but were beaten 2-1 by <!--del_lnk--> FC Barcelona.<p><a id="Crest" name="Crest"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Crest</span></h2>
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<div style="width:162px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/534.png.htm" title="Arsenal's first crest from 1888"><img alt="Arsenal's first crest from 1888" height="94" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Arsenal_crest_1888.png" src="../../images/5/534.png" width="160" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/534.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Arsenal's first crest from 1888</div>
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<div style="width:162px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/535.png.htm" title="Arsenal's crest from c. 1949 to 2002"><img alt="Arsenal's crest from c. 1949 to 2002" height="199" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Arsenal_fc_old_crest_small.png" src="../../images/5/535.png" width="160" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/535.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Arsenal's crest from <i>c.</i> 1949 to 2002</div>
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<p>Royal Arsenal's first crest, unveiled in 1888, featured three <!--del_lnk--> cannon viewed from above, pointing northwards, similar to the crest of the <!--del_lnk--> Borough of Woolwich. These can sometimes be mistaken for <!--del_lnk--> chimneys, but the presence of a carved lion's head and a <!--del_lnk--> cascabel on each are clear indicators that they are cannon. In 1922, the club adopted its first single-cannon crest, featuring an eastward-pointing cannon. This crest was only used until 1925 when the cannon was reversed to point westward, its barrel was slimmed down and the club's nickname, <i>The Gunners</i>, was inscribed to the left of it. In 1949, the club unveiled a modernised crest featuring the same style of cannon, the club's name set in <!--del_lnk--> blackletter above the cannon, and a scroll inscribed with the club's newly adopted <a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a> <!--del_lnk--> motto, <i>Victoria Concordia Crescit</i> (meaning "victory comes from harmony"). For the first time, the crest was rendered in colour – red, green, and gold – which varied slightly over the crest's lifespan.<p>Because of the numerous revisions of the crest, Arsenal were unable to <!--del_lnk--> copyright it; although the club had managed to register the crest as a <!--del_lnk--> trademark, and had fought (and eventually won) a long legal battle with a local street trader who sold 'unofficial' Arsenal merchandise, Arsenal sought a more comprehensive legal protection. Therefore, in 2002 they introduced a new crest featuring more modern curved lines and a simplified style, which was copyrightable. The cannon once again faces east and the club's name is written in a <!--del_lnk--> sans-serif <!--del_lnk--> typeface above the cannon. Green was replaced by dark blue. The new crest received a mixed response from supporters; some claimed that it had ignored much of Arsenal's history and tradition with such a radical modern design, and that the club's fans had not been properly consulted on the issue.<p><a id="Colours" name="Colours"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Colours</span></h2>
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<td bgcolor="#7B1421"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/527.png.htm" title="Team colours"><img alt="Team colours" height="59" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kit_left_arm.png" src="../../images/5/527.png" width="31" /></a></td>
<td bgcolor="#7B1421"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/528.png.htm" title="Team colours"><img alt="Team colours" height="59" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kit_body.png" src="../../images/5/528.png" width="38" /></a></td>
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<td bgcolor="#242B31" colspan="3" style="border-bottom: 5px solid #FFFFFF;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/531.png.htm" title="Team colours"><img alt="Team colours" height="25" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kit_socks.png" src="../../images/5/531.png" width="100" /></a></td>
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<td style="font-size: 94%; line-height: 140%">Arsenal's original home colours. The team wore a similar kit (but with redcurrant socks) during the <!--del_lnk--> 2005–06 season.</td>
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<p>For much of Arsenal's history, their home colours have been bright red shirts with white sleeves and white shorts, though this has not always been the case. The choice of red is in recognition of a charitable donation from <!--del_lnk--> Nottingham Forest, soon after Arsenal's foundation in 1886. Two of Dial Square's founding members, <!--del_lnk--> Fred Beardsley and <!--del_lnk--> Morris Bates, were former Forest players who had moved to Woolwich for work. As they put together the first team in the area, no kit could be found, so Beardsley and Bates wrote home for help and received a set of kit and a ball. The shirt was redcurrant, a dark shade of red similar to burgundy, and was worn with white shorts and blue socks.<p>In 1933 Herbert Chapman, wanting his players to be more distinctly dressed, updated the kit, adding white sleeves and changing the shade to a brighter <!--del_lnk--> pillar box red. The origin of the white sleeves is not conclusively known, but two possible inspirations have been put forward. One story reports that Chapman noticed a supporter in the stands wearing a red sleeveless sweater over a white shirt; another was that he was inspired by a similar outfit worn by famous cartoonist <!--del_lnk--> Tom Webster, with whom Chapman played <!--del_lnk--> golf. Regardless of which story is true, the red and white shirts have come to define Arsenal and the team have worn the combination ever since, aside from two seasons. The first was <!--del_lnk--> 1966–67, when Arsenal wore all-red shirts; this proved unpopular and the white sleeves returned the following season. The second was <!--del_lnk--> 2005–06, the last season that Arsenal played at Highbury, when the team wore one-year commemorative redcurrant shirts similar to those worn in 1913, their first season in the stadium. The club reverted to their traditional colours at the start of the <!--del_lnk--> 2006–07 season.<p>Arsenal's home colours have been the inspiration for at least two other clubs. In 1909, <!--del_lnk--> Sparta Prague adopted a dark red kit like the one Arsenal wore at the time; in the 1930s, <!--del_lnk--> Hibernian adopted the design of the Arsenal shirt sleeves in their own green and white strip. Both teams still wear these designs to this day.<p>Arsenal's away colours are traditionally yellow and blue, although they wore a green and navy away kit for a short while in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s and the advent of the lucrative replica kit market, the away colours have been changed regularly; the general rule currently is that they are changed every season with the outgoing away kit becoming the third choice kit for the following season. Generally, the away colours have been either yellow and blue, or two-tone blue designs, although there was a metallic gold and navy strip for the <!--del_lnk--> 2001–02 season. However, many Arsenal fans feel that the blue shirts bring bad luck – all three of the club's recent Premier League titles have come in a season where the team wore yellow or gold away. The away colours for <!--del_lnk--> 2005–06 and <!--del_lnk--> 2006–07 are yellow and dark grey; this is an exception to the one-season rule to compensate for the short lifetime of the 2005-06 redcurrant commemorative home kit.<p>Arsenal's shirts have been <!--del_lnk--> sponsored since 1982, when the club agreed a deal with <!--del_lnk--> JVC, which lasted until 1999. Since then, the club shirts have advertised <!--del_lnk--> SEGA Dreamcast (1999–2002), <!--del_lnk--> O<sub>2</sub> (2002–06) and current sponsors <!--del_lnk--> Emirates (from 2006 until at least 2014). The shirts themselves have been manufactured by <!--del_lnk--> Nike since 1994; before that <!--del_lnk--> Umbro (1978–86) and <!--del_lnk--> Adidas (1986–94) were responsible for clothing the team.<p><a id="Stadiums" name="Stadiums"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Stadiums</span></h2>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/536.jpg.htm" title="The North Bank stand, Arsenal Stadium, Highbury."><img alt="The North Bank stand, Arsenal Stadium, Highbury." height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Arsenal_Stadium_interior_North_Bank.jpg" src="../../images/5/536.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/536.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The North Bank stand, <!--del_lnk--> Arsenal Stadium, <!--del_lnk--> Highbury.</div>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/537.jpg.htm" title="The Emirates Stadium filling up on the day of Dennis Bergkamp's testimonial."><img alt="The Emirates Stadium filling up on the day of Dennis Bergkamp's testimonial." height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SA400264.JPG" src="../../images/5/537.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/537.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Emirates Stadium filling up on the day of Dennis Bergkamp's testimonial.</div>
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<p>For the majority of their time in south-east London, Arsenal played at the <!--del_lnk--> Manor Ground in <!--del_lnk--> Plumstead, a three-year period at the nearby <!--del_lnk--> Invicta Ground between 1890 and 1893 excepted. The Manor Ground was initially just a field, but the club installed stands and terracing in time for their first Football League match in September 1893. They played there for the next twenty years, until the move to north London in 1913.<p><!--del_lnk--> Arsenal Stadium, widely referred to as Highbury, was Arsenal's home from September 1913 until May 2006. The original stadium was designed by the renowned football architect <!--del_lnk--> Archibald Leitch, and had a design common to many football grounds in the UK at the time, with a single covered stand and three open-air banks of <!--del_lnk--> terracing. In the 1930s, the entire stadium was given a massive overhaul, with new <!--del_lnk--> Art Deco East and West stands constructed, and roofs added to the North Bank and Clock End terraces. At its peak, Highbury could hold over 60,000 spectators, and had a capacity of 57,000 until the early 1990s. The <!--del_lnk--> Taylor Report and <!--del_lnk--> Premier League regulations forced Arsenal to convert Highbury into an all-seater in time for the <!--del_lnk--> 1993–94 season, reducing the capacity to just under 39,000 seated spectators. This capacity had to be reduced further during <!--del_lnk--> Champions League matches to accommodate additional <a href="../../wp/a/Advertising.htm" title="Advertising">advertising</a> hoardings, so much so that for two seasons (<!--del_lnk--> 1998–99 and <!--del_lnk--> 1999–00) Arsenal played Champions League home matches at <!--del_lnk--> Wembley, which could house more than 70,000 spectators.<p>Expansion of Highbury was restricted because the East Stand had been designated as a Grade II <!--del_lnk--> listed building and the other three stands were close to residential properties whose owners objected to expansion. These limitations have prevented the club from maximising the revenue that their domestic form could have brought in recent seasons. After considering various options, Arsenal decided in 1999 to build a new 60,000-seater stadium at Ashburton Grove (since renamed the <!--del_lnk--> Emirates Stadium), about 500 metres south-west of Highbury. The project was initially delayed by red tape and rising costs, but construction was completed in July 2006, in time for the start of the <!--del_lnk--> 2006–07 season. The stadium is named after its sponsors, the airline company <!--del_lnk--> Emirates, with whom the club signed the largest sponsorship deal in English football history, worth approximately £100 million; however some fans refer to the ground as Ashburton Grove, or the Grove, as they do not agree with corporate sponsorship of stadium names. The stadium will be officially known as Emirates Stadium until at least 2021, and the airline will be the club's shirt sponsor until the end of the 2013–14 season.<p><a id="Supporters" name="Supporters"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Supporters</span></h2>
<p>Arsenal have a large and generally loyal fanbase, with virtually all home matches selling out; in 2005-06, Arsenal had the sixth-highest average attendance in England (38,184). Arsenal fans often refer to themselves as "Gooners", the name being derived from the team's nickname, "The Gunners". The club's location, adjoining both wealthy areas such as <!--del_lnk--> Canonbury and <!--del_lnk--> Barnsbury, mixed areas such as <!--del_lnk--> Finsbury Park and <!--del_lnk--> Highbury, and largely working class areas such as <!--del_lnk--> Holloway and <!--del_lnk--> Stoke Newington has meant that Arsenal's supporters have come from across the usual class divides. Arsenal have the highest proportion (7.7%) of non-white attending supporters of any club in English football, possibly because of the high proportion of <!--del_lnk--> ethnic minorities in north London.<p>Like all major English football clubs, Arsenal have a number of domestic supporters' clubs, including the Official Arsenal Football Supporters Club, which is affiliated with the club, and the Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association, which maintains an independent line. The club's supporters also publish <!--del_lnk--> fanzines such as <i>The Gooner</i>, <i>Highbury High</i>, <i>Gunflash</i> and the less cerebral <i>Up The Arse!</i>. In addition to the usual English <!--del_lnk--> football chants, Arsenal's supporters sing "One-Nil to the Arsenal" (to the tune of "<!--del_lnk--> Go West") and "Boring, Boring Arsenal", which used to be a common taunt from opposition fans but is now sung ironically by Arsenal supporters when the team is playing well.<p>In recent times, a supporter's attachment to a football club has become less dependent on geography, and Arsenal now have many fans not just from London but all over England and the world. While there have always been small pockets of supporters abroad, Arsenal's support base has widened considerably with the advent of <!--del_lnk--> satellite television, and there are now significant supporters' clubs worldwide. A 2005 report by Granada Ventures, which owns a 9.9% stake in the club, estimated Arsenal's global fanbase at 27 million, the third largest in the world.<p>Arsenal's longest-running and deepest rivalry is with their nearest major neighbours, <a href="../../wp/t/Tottenham_Hotspur_F.C..htm" title="Tottenham Hotspur F.C.">Tottenham Hotspur</a>, with matches between the two being referred to as <!--del_lnk--> North London derbies. Matches against other London sides, such as <a href="../../wp/c/Chelsea_F.C..htm" title="Chelsea F.C.">Chelsea</a> and <!--del_lnk--> West Ham United are also <!--del_lnk--> derbies, but the rivalry is not as intense as that between Arsenal and Tottenham. In addition, Arsenal and <a href="../../wp/m/Manchester_United_F.C..htm" title="Manchester United F.C.">Manchester United</a> have had a strong on-pitch rivalry since the late 1980s, which has intensified in recent years when both clubs have been competing for the Premier League title.<p><a id="Ownership" name="Ownership"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Ownership</span></h2>
<p>Arsenal's parent company, Arsenal Holdings plc, operates as a non-<!--del_lnk--> quoted <!--del_lnk--> public limited company. Arsenal's ownership is considerably different from that of other football clubs. Only 62,000 shares in Arsenal have been issued, and they are not traded on a public exchange such as the <!--del_lnk--> FTSE or <!--del_lnk--> AIM; instead, they are traded infrequently on <!--del_lnk--> PLUS, a specialist market. As of September 2006, Arsenal's <!--del_lnk--> market capitalization value is £314m, and the club made a <!--del_lnk--> pre-tax <!--del_lnk--> profit of £15.9m in the year ending <!--del_lnk--> May 31, <!--del_lnk--> 2006.<p>Arsenal's board of directors hold the majority of the club's shares, controlling over 60% of share capital. Currently, the club's largest shareholders are <!--del_lnk--> Danny Fiszman (a London <a href="../../wp/d/Diamond.htm" title="Diamond">diamond</a> dealer) and <!--del_lnk--> Nina Bracewell-Smith (wife of the grandson of former chairman <!--del_lnk--> Sir Bracewell Smith), who hold 25.2% and 15.9% respectively. Vice-chairman <!--del_lnk--> David Dein holds 14.6% while club <!--del_lnk--> chairman <!--del_lnk--> Peter Hill-Wood owns less than 1%. In recent years, with Arsenal becoming a significant media asset, outside organisations have bought into the club. These include entertainment firm Granada Ventures (a subsidiary of <!--del_lnk--> ITV plc) (9.9%) and <!--del_lnk--> hedge fund Lansdowne Partners (2.7%); Lansdowne used to have a stake in <a href="../../wp/m/Manchester_United_F.C..htm" title="Manchester United F.C.">Manchester United</a> before selling it to <!--del_lnk--> Malcolm Glazer. In September 2006 an unknown investor bought 700 shares (just over 1% of the club), prompting speculation of a takeover bid.<p><a id="Arsenal_in_popular_culture" name="Arsenal_in_popular_culture"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Arsenal in popular culture</span></h2>
<p>As one of the most successful teams in the country, Arsenal have often featured when football is depicted in <!--del_lnk--> British culture and have appeared in a number of media "firsts". On <!--del_lnk--> January 22, <!--del_lnk--> 1927, their match at Highbury against <!--del_lnk--> Sheffield United was the first English League match to be broadcast live on <a href="../../wp/r/Radio.htm" title="Radio">radio</a>. A decade later, on <!--del_lnk--> September 16, <!--del_lnk--> 1937, an exhibition match between Arsenal's first team and the reserves was the first ever football match to be <a href="../../wp/t/Television.htm" title="Television">televised</a> live.<p>Arsenal also formed the backdrop to one of the earliest football-related <a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Film">films</a>, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Arsenal Stadium Mystery</i> (1939). The film is centred on a <!--del_lnk--> friendly match between Arsenal and an amateur side, one of whose players is poisoned whilst playing. Many Arsenal players appeared as themselves, although only manager George Allison was given a speaking part.<p>More recently, the book <i><!--del_lnk--> Fever Pitch</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Nick Hornby was an <!--del_lnk--> autobiographical account of Hornby's life and relationship with football and Arsenal in particular. Published in 1992, it formed part of, and may have played an active part in, the revival and rehabilitation of football in British society during the 1990s. The book was later made into a film starring <!--del_lnk--> Colin Firth, which centred on the club's <!--del_lnk--> 1988–89 title win. The book also inspired an <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">American</a> film adaptation, about a fan of <!--del_lnk--> Major League Baseball's <!--del_lnk--> Boston Red Sox.<p>Arsenal have often been stereotyped as a defensive and "boring" side, especially during the 1970s and 1980s; many comedians, such as <!--del_lnk--> Eric Morecambe, made jokes about this at the team's expense. The theme was repeated in the 1997 film <i><!--del_lnk--> The Full Monty</i>, in a scene where the lead actors move in a line and raise their hands, deliberately mimicking the Arsenal defence's <!--del_lnk--> offside trap, in an attempt to co-ordinate their <!--del_lnk--> stripping. Another film reference to the club's defence comes in the film <i><!--del_lnk--> Plunkett & Macleane</i>, in which there are two characters named Dixon and Winterburn, named after Arsenal's long serving full backs - the right-sided <!--del_lnk--> Lee Dixon and the left-sided <!--del_lnk--> Nigel Winterburn.<p>The club have also been mentioned in several <i><!--del_lnk--> Monty Python's Flying Circus</i> sketches, and in <a href="../../wp/d/Douglas_Adams.htm" title="Douglas Adams">Douglas Adams</a>' <i><a href="../../wp/t/The_Hitchhiker%2527s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy.htm" title="The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy">The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy</a></i>, where a barman remarks that the impending end of the world is a "lucky escape" for Arsenal. Additionally, in the 2004 film <i><!--del_lnk--> Ocean's Twelve</i>, the main characters don Arsenal tracksuits as a disguise, in order to escape from a hotel during one of their European heists.<p>Arsenal have featured in popular music as well; <!--del_lnk--> Joe Strummer wrote the song "<!--del_lnk--> Tony Adams", dedicated to the then Arsenal captain, which appeared on his 1999 album <i><!--del_lnk--> Rock Art and the X-Ray Style.</i> Strummer was also known to wear an Arsenal scarf during gigs. Additionally, Arsenal (along with arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur) receive a mention in <!--del_lnk--> The Pogues song "Billy's Bones", which appears on the band's second album, <i><!--del_lnk--> Rum, Sodomy and the Lash.</i><p><a id="Arsenal_Ladies" name="Arsenal_Ladies"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Arsenal Ladies</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Arsenal Ladies are the <!--del_lnk--> women's football club affiliated to Arsenal. Founded in 1987, they turned semi-professional in 2002 and are the most successful team in <!--del_lnk--> English women's football today. They are managed by <!--del_lnk--> Vic Akers, who is also kit manager for the men's side, and play in the <!--del_lnk--> FA Women's Premier League; Arsenal Ladies are currently reigning champions, having won their eighth title in 2006.<p>They also won the <!--del_lnk--> FA Women's Cup seven times, the <!--del_lnk--> Women's League Cup eight times, and in 2006-07 reached the final of the <!--del_lnk--> UEFA Women's Cup, the furthest any English women's club has ever got. While the men's and women's clubs are formally separate they have quite close ties; Arsenal vice-chairman <!--del_lnk--> David Dein is president of Arsenal Ladies, and they are entitled to play once a season at the Emirates Stadium (they usually play their home matches at <!--del_lnk--> Boreham Wood).<p><a id="Statistics_and_records" name="Statistics_and_records"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Statistics and records</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> David O'Leary holds the record for Arsenal appearances, having played 722 first-team matches between 1975 and 1993. Fellow <!--del_lnk--> centre half and former <!--del_lnk--> captain <!--del_lnk--> Tony Adams comes second, having played 668 times. The record for a <!--del_lnk--> goalkeeper is held by <!--del_lnk--> David Seaman, with 563 appearances.<p>Current Arsenal captain <!--del_lnk--> Thierry Henry is the club's top goalscorer with 220 goals in all competitions (as of <!--del_lnk--> October 25, <!--del_lnk--> 2006), having surpassed <!--del_lnk--> Ian Wright's total of 185 in October 2005. Wright's record had stood since 1997, a feat which overtook the longstanding total of 178 goals set by winger <!--del_lnk--> Cliff Bastin in 1939. Henry also holds the club record for goals scored in the League (169, as of <!--del_lnk--> October 25, <!--del_lnk--> 2006), a record that had been held by Bastin until February 2006.<p>Arsenal's record home attendance is 73,707, for a <!--del_lnk--> UEFA Champions League match against <!--del_lnk--> RC Lens on <!--del_lnk--> November 25, <!--del_lnk--> 1998 at <!--del_lnk--> Wembley Stadium, where Arsenal formerly played home European matches because of the limits on Highbury's capacity. The record attendance for an Arsenal match at Highbury is 73,295, for a 0-0 draw against <!--del_lnk--> Sunderland on <!--del_lnk--> 9 March <!--del_lnk--> 1935. The capacity of Emirates Stadium is 60,432, so it is unlikely that these records will be broken in the foreseeable future.<p>Arsenal have also set records in English football, most notably the most consecutive seasons spent in the top flight (80 as of 2006-07) and the longest run of unbeaten League matches (49 between May 2003 and October 2004). This included all 38 matches of the <!--del_lnk--> 2003–04 season, making Arsenal only the second club ever to finish a top-flight campaign unbeaten, after <!--del_lnk--> Preston North End (who played only 22 matches) in <!--del_lnk--> 1888–89.<p>Arsenal also set a UEFA Champions League record during the 2005-06 season by going ten matches without conceding a goal, beating the previous best of seven set by <!--del_lnk--> A.C. Milan. They went a record total stretch of 995 minutes without letting an opponent score; the streak finally ended in the final against Barcelona, when <!--del_lnk--> Samuel Eto'o scored Barcelona's equaliser in the 76th minute.<p><a id="Players" name="Players"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Players</span></h2>
<p><a id="Current_squad" name="Current_squad"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Current squad</span></h3>
<p><i>As of <!--del_lnk--> November 8, <!--del_lnk--> 2006.</i><table border="0">
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF" valign="top" width="48%">
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0">
<tr bgcolor="#AAD0FF">
<th width="1%">No.</th>
<th width="1%">
</th>
<th width="1%">Position</th>
<th width="75%">Player</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">1</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/538.png.htm" title="Germany"><img alt="Germany" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany.svg" src="../../images/5/538.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> GK</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Jens Lehmann</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">2</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="France"><img alt="France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> MF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Abou Diaby</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">4</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/539.png.htm" title="Spain"><img alt="Spain" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Spain.svg" src="../../images/5/539.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> MF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Cesc Fàbregas</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">5</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/540.png.htm" title="Côte d'Ivoire"><img alt="Côte d'Ivoire" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Cote_d%27Ivoire.svg" src="../../images/5/540.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> DF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kolo Touré</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">6</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/7/719.png.htm" title="Switzerland"><img alt="Switzerland" height="20" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Switzerland.svg" src="../../images/5/541.png" width="20" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> DF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Philippe Senderos</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">7</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/542.png.htm" title="Czech Republic"><img alt="Czech Republic" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/542.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> MF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Tomáš Rosický</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">8</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/188/18803.png.htm" title="Sweden"><img alt="Sweden" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Sweden.svg" src="../../images/5/543.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> MF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Fredrik Ljungberg</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">9</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/544.png.htm" title="Brazil"><img alt="Brazil" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Brazil.svg" src="../../images/5/544.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> MF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Júlio Baptista</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">10</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="France"><img alt="France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> DF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> William Gallas</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">11</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/545.png.htm" title="Netherlands"><img alt="Netherlands" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg" src="../../images/5/545.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> FW</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Robin van Persie</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">12</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/546.png.htm" title="Cameroon"><img alt="Cameroon" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Cameroon.svg" src="../../images/5/546.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> DF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Lauren</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">13</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/547.png.htm" title="Belarus"><img alt="Belarus" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Belarus.svg" src="../../images/5/547.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> MF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Aliaksandr Hleb</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">14</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="France"><img alt="France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> FW</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Thierry Henry <i>(<!--del_lnk--> captain)</i></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
<td width="1%">
</td>
<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF" valign="top" width="48%">
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0">
<tr bgcolor="#AAD0FF">
<th width="1%">No.</th>
<th width="1%">
</th>
<th width="1%">Position</th>
<th width="75%">Player</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">15</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/544.png.htm" title="Brazil"><img alt="Brazil" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Brazil.svg" src="../../images/5/544.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> MF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Denílson</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">16</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="France"><img alt="France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> MF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Mathieu Flamini</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">17</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/546.png.htm" title="Cameroon"><img alt="Cameroon" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Cameroon.svg" src="../../images/5/546.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> MF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Alexandre Song</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">19</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/544.png.htm" title="Brazil"><img alt="Brazil" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Brazil.svg" src="../../images/5/544.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> MF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Gilberto Silva <i>(<!--del_lnk--> vice-captain)</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">20</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/7/719.png.htm" title="Switzerland"><img alt="Switzerland" height="20" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Switzerland.svg" src="../../images/5/541.png" width="20" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> DF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Johan Djourou</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">21</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/548.png.htm" title="Estonia"><img alt="Estonia" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Estonia_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/548.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> GK</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Mart Poom</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">22</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="France"><img alt="France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> DF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Gaël Clichy</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">24</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/539.png.htm" title="Spain"><img alt="Spain" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Spain.svg" src="../../images/5/539.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> GK</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Manuel Almunia</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">25</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/549.png.htm" title="Togo"><img alt="Togo" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Togo.svg" src="../../images/5/549.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> FW</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Emmanuel Adebayor</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">27</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/540.png.htm" title="Côte d'Ivoire"><img alt="Côte d'Ivoire" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Cote_d%27Ivoire.svg" src="../../images/5/540.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> DF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Emmanuel Eboué</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">30</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="France"><img alt="France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> FW</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Jérémie Aliadière</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">31</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> DF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Justin Hoyte</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">32</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> FW</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Theo Walcott</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Players_out_on_loan" name="Players_out_on_loan"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Players out on loan</span></h3>
<table border="0">
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF" valign="top" width="48%">
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0">
<tr bgcolor="#AAD0FF">
<th width="1%">No.</th>
<th width="1%">
</th>
<th width="1%">Position</th>
<th width="75%">Player</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">29</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/188/18803.png.htm" title="Sweden"><img alt="Sweden" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Sweden.svg" src="../../images/5/543.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> MF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Sebastian Larsson <i>(at <!--del_lnk--> Birmingham City, until May 2007)</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">33</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> DF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Matthew Connolly <i>(at <!--del_lnk--> Bournemouth, until January 2007)</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">38</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> DF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kerrea Gilbert <i>(at <!--del_lnk--> Cardiff City, until May 2007)</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">––</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/550.png.htm" title="Denmark"><img alt="Denmark" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Denmark.svg" src="../../images/5/550.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> FW</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Nicklas Bendtner <i>(at <!--del_lnk--> Birmingham City, until May 2007)</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">––</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/551.png.htm" title="Italy"><img alt="Italy" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Italy.svg" src="../../images/5/551.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> FW</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Arturo Lupoli <i>(at <!--del_lnk--> Derby County, until May 2007)</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">––</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> MF</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Fabrice Muamba <i>(at <!--del_lnk--> Birmingham City, until May 2007)</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">––</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/539.png.htm" title="Spain"><img alt="Spain" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Spain.svg" src="../../images/5/539.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> FW</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> José Antonio Reyes <i>(at <!--del_lnk--> Real Madrid, until August 2007)</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">––</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/552.png.htm" title="Republic of Ireland"><img alt="Republic of Ireland" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Ireland_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/552.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> FW</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Anthony Stokes <i>(at <!--del_lnk--> Falkirk, until January 2007)</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right;">––</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/553.png.htm" title="Mexico"><img alt="Mexico" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Mexico.svg" src="../../images/5/553.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> FW</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Carlos Vela <i>(at <!--del_lnk--> Salamanca)</i></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Reserves" name="Reserves"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Reserves</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
<div class="dablink"><i>See <!--del_lnk--> Arsenal F.C. Reserves.</i></div>
</dl>
<p><a id="Notable_players" name="Notable_players"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Notable players</span></h3>
<p><a id="Managers" name="Managers"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Managers</span></h2>
<p><i>As of <!--del_lnk--> October 14, <!--del_lnk--> 2006. Only competitive matches are counted.</i><table class="wikitable" style="text-align: center">
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Name</th>
<th rowspan="2">Nat</th>
<th rowspan="2">From</th>
<th rowspan="2">To</th>
<th colspan="6">Record</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>P</th>
<th>W</th>
<th>D</th>
<th>L</th>
<th>F</th>
<th>A</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Sam Hollis</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left">August 1894</td>
<td align="left">July 1897</td>
<td>95</td>
<td>43</td>
<td>14</td>
<td>38</td>
<td>213</td>
<td>181</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Thomas Mitchell</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/528/52868.png.htm" title="Scotland"><img alt="Scotland" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Scotland.svg" src="../../images/5/554.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left">August 1897</td>
<td align="left">March 1898</td>
<td>26</td>
<td>14</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>66</td>
<td>46</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> George Elcoat</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left">March 1898</td>
<td align="left">May 1899</td>
<td>43</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>14</td>
<td>92</td>
<td>55</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Harry Bradshaw</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left">August 1899</td>
<td align="left">May 1904</td>
<td>189</td>
<td>96</td>
<td>39</td>
<td>54</td>
<td>329</td>
<td>173</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Phil Kelso</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/528/52868.png.htm" title="Scotland"><img alt="Scotland" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Scotland.svg" src="../../images/5/554.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left">July 1904</td>
<td align="left">February 1908</td>
<td>151</td>
<td>63</td>
<td>31</td>
<td>57</td>
<td>225</td>
<td>228</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> George Morrell</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/528/52868.png.htm" title="Scotland"><img alt="Scotland" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Scotland.svg" src="../../images/5/554.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left">February 1908</td>
<td align="left">May 1915</td>
<td>294</td>
<td>104</td>
<td>73</td>
<td>117</td>
<td>365</td>
<td>412</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Leslie Knighton</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left">May 1919</td>
<td align="left">June 1925</td>
<td>267</td>
<td>92</td>
<td>62</td>
<td>114</td>
<td>330</td>
<td>380</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Herbert Chapman</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left">June 1925</td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 6 January <!--del_lnk--> 1934</td>
<td>403</td>
<td>201</td>
<td>97</td>
<td>105</td>
<td>864</td>
<td>598</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Joe Shaw</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 6 January <!--del_lnk--> 1934</td>
<td align="left">June 1934</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>14</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>44</td>
<td>29</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> George Allison</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left">June 1934</td>
<td align="left">May 1947</td>
<td>283</td>
<td>131</td>
<td>75</td>
<td>77</td>
<td>543</td>
<td>333</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Tom Whittaker</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left">June 1947</td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 24 October <!--del_lnk--> 1956</td>
<td>428</td>
<td>202</td>
<td>106</td>
<td>120</td>
<td>797</td>
<td>566</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Jack Crayston</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 24 October <!--del_lnk--> 1956</td>
<td align="left">May 1958</td>
<td>77</td>
<td>33</td>
<td>16</td>
<td>28</td>
<td>142</td>
<td>142</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> George Swindin</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 21 June <!--del_lnk--> 1958</td>
<td align="left">May 1962</td>
<td>179</td>
<td>70</td>
<td>43</td>
<td>66</td>
<td>320</td>
<td>320</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Billy Wright</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left">May 1962</td>
<td align="left">June 1966</td>
<td>182</td>
<td>70</td>
<td>43</td>
<td>69</td>
<td>336</td>
<td>330</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Bertie Mee</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left">June 1966</td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 4 May <!--del_lnk--> 1976</td>
<td>539</td>
<td>241</td>
<td>148</td>
<td>150</td>
<td>739</td>
<td>542</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Terry Neill</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/555.png.htm" title="Northern Ireland"><img alt="Northern Ireland" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Northern_Ireland_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/555.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 9 July <!--del_lnk--> 1976</td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 16 December <!--del_lnk--> 1983</td>
<td>414</td>
<td>187</td>
<td>117</td>
<td>112</td>
<td>601</td>
<td>446</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Don Howe</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 16 December <!--del_lnk--> 1983</td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 22 March <!--del_lnk--> 1986</td>
<td>116</td>
<td>56</td>
<td>32</td>
<td>31</td>
<td>187</td>
<td>142</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Steve Burtenshaw</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/525.png.htm" title="England"><img alt="England" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_England_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/525.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 23 March <!--del_lnk--> 1986</td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 14 May <!--del_lnk--> 1986</td>
<td>11</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>15</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> George Graham</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/528/52868.png.htm" title="Scotland"><img alt="Scotland" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Scotland.svg" src="../../images/5/554.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 14 May <!--del_lnk--> 1986</td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 21 February <!--del_lnk--> 1995</td>
<td>460</td>
<td>225</td>
<td>133</td>
<td>102</td>
<td>711</td>
<td>403</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Stewart Houston</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/528/52868.png.htm" title="Scotland"><img alt="Scotland" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Scotland.svg" src="../../images/5/554.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 21 February <!--del_lnk--> 1995</td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 15 June <!--del_lnk--> 1995</td>
<td>19</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>29</td>
<td>25</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Bruce Rioch</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/528/52868.png.htm" title="Scotland"><img alt="Scotland" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Scotland.svg" src="../../images/5/554.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 15 June <!--del_lnk--> 1995</td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 12 August <!--del_lnk--> 1996</td>
<td>47</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>15</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>67</td>
<td>37</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Stewart Houston</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/528/52868.png.htm" title="Scotland"><img alt="Scotland" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Scotland.svg" src="../../images/5/554.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 12 August <!--del_lnk--> 1996</td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 15 September <!--del_lnk--> 1996</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>11</td>
<td>10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Pat Rice</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/555.png.htm" title="Northern Ireland"><img alt="Northern Ireland" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Northern_Ireland_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/555.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 16 September <!--del_lnk--> 1996</td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 30 September <!--del_lnk--> 1996</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Arsène Wenger</td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="France"><img alt="France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a></td>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> 1 October <!--del_lnk--> 1996</td>
<td align="left"><i>Present</i></td>
<td>567</td>
<td>328</td>
<td>139</td>
<td>100</td>
<td>1025</td>
<td>513</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Honours" name="Honours"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Honours</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> First Division and <!--del_lnk--> Premier League</b> <b>titles: 13</b><ul>
<li>1931, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1971, 1989, 1991, 1998, 2002, 2004</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> FA Cups: 10</b><ul>
<li>1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> League Cups: 2</b><ul>
<li>1987, 1993</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Charity Shields and <!--del_lnk--> Community Shields</b><b>: 12</b><ul>
<li>1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1991 (shared), 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1</b><ul>
<li>1970</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> European Cup Winners' Cup: 1</b><ul>
<li>1994</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> FA Youth Cups: 6</b><ul>
<li>1966, 1971, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2001</ul>
</ul>
<p>Arsenal's tally of thirteen League Championships is the third highest in English football, after <a href="../../wp/l/Liverpool_F.C..htm" title="Liverpool F.C.">Liverpool</a> and <a href="../../wp/m/Manchester_United_F.C..htm" title="Manchester United F.C.">Manchester United</a>, while the total of ten FA Cups is the second highest, after Manchester United. Arsenal have achieved three League and FA Cup "<!--del_lnk--> Doubles" (in 1971, 1998 and 2002), a joint record shared with Manchester United, and were the first side in English football to complete the FA Cup and League Cup double in 1993.<p>Arsenal have one of the best top-flight records in history, having finished below fourteenth only seven times. Arsenal also have the highest average league finishing position for the period 1900–1999, with an average league placing of 8.5. In addition, they are one of only five clubs to have won the FA Cup twice in succession, in 2002 and 2003.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenal_F.C."</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Arsenic</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Chemistry.Chemical_elements.htm">Chemical elements</a></h3>
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<td align="center"><span style="font-size:120%; font-weight:bold">33</span></td>
<td align="center" style="padding-left:2em"><span style="font-size: 95%"><a href="../../wp/g/Germanium.htm" title="Germanium">germanium</a></span> ← <span style="font-size: 120%">arsenic</span> → <span style="font-size: 95%"><a href="../../wp/s/Selenium.htm" title="Selenium">selenium</a></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><span style="font-size:95%"><a href="../../wp/p/Phosphorus.htm" title="Phosphorus">P</a></span><br /> ↑<br /><span style="font-size:120%; font-weight:bold">As</span><br /> ↓<br /><span style="font-size: 95%"><a href="../../wp/a/Antimony.htm" title="Antimony">Sb</a></span></td>
<td>
<table>
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<td>
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/5/558.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="73" longdesc="/wiki/Image:As-TableImage.png" src="../../images/5/558.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div align="center"><!--del_lnk--> Periodic Table - <!--del_lnk--> Extended Periodic Table</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background:#cccc99; color:black">General</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_elements_by_name.htm" title="List of elements by name">Name</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Symbol, <!--del_lnk--> Number</td>
<td>arsenic, As, 33</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Chemical series</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> metalloids</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Group, <!--del_lnk--> Period, <!--del_lnk--> Block</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 15, <!--del_lnk--> 4, <!--del_lnk--> p</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Color.htm" title="Color">Appearance</a></td>
<td>metallic gray<br /><a class="image" href="../../images/5/559.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="66" longdesc="/wiki/Image:As%2C33.jpg" src="../../images/5/559.jpg" width="125" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Atomic mass</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 74.92160<!--del_lnk--> (2) g/mol</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Electron configuration</td>
<td>[<a href="../../wp/a/Argon.htm" title="Argon">Ar</a>] 3d<sup>10</sup> 4s<sup>2</sup> 4p<sup>3</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/e/Electron.htm" title="Electron">Electrons</a> per <!--del_lnk--> shell</td>
<td>2, 8, 18, 5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background:#cccc99; color:black">Physical properties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/p/Phase_%2528matter%2529.htm" title="Phase (matter)">Phase</a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> solid</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Density (near <!--del_lnk--> r.t.)</td>
<td>5.727 g·cm<sup>−3</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Liquid <!--del_lnk--> density at <!--del_lnk--> m.p.</td>
<td>5.22 g·cm<sup>−3</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Melting point</td>
<td>1090 <!--del_lnk--> K<br /> (817 °<!--del_lnk--> C, 1503 °<!--del_lnk--> F)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Boiling point</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> subl. 887 <!--del_lnk--> K<br /> (614 °<!--del_lnk--> C, 1137 °<!--del_lnk--> F)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Critical temperature</td>
<td>1673 <!--del_lnk--> K</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Heat of fusion</td>
<td>(gray) 24.44 <!--del_lnk--> kJ·mol<sup>−1</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Heat of vaporization</td>
<td> ? 34.76 <!--del_lnk--> kJ·mol<sup>−1</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Heat capacity</td>
<td>(25 °C) 24.64 J·mol<sup>−1</sup>·K<sup>−1</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<caption><!--del_lnk--> Vapor pressure</caption>
<tr align="center">
<td><i>P</i>/Pa</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>100</td>
<td>1 k</td>
<td>10 k</td>
<td>100 k</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<td>at <i>T</i>/K</td>
<td>553</td>
<td>596</td>
<td>646</td>
<td>706</td>
<td>781</td>
<td>874</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background:#cccc99; color:black">Atomic properties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Crystal structure</td>
<td>rhombohedral</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Oxidation states</td>
<td>±<b>3</b>, 5<br /> (mildly <!--del_lnk--> acidic oxide)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Electronegativity</td>
<td>2.18 (Pauling scale)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="3" valign="top"><!--del_lnk--> Ionization energies<br /> (<!--del_lnk--> more)</td>
<td>1st: 947.0 <!--del_lnk--> kJ·mol<sup>−1</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2nd: 1798 kJ·mol<sup>−1</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3rd: 2735 kJ·mol<sup>−1</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Atomic radius</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 115 <!--del_lnk--> pm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Atomic radius (calc.)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 114 pm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Covalent radius</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 119 pm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Van der Waals radius</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 185 pm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background:#cccc99; color:black">Miscellaneous</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Magnetism.htm" title="Magnetism">Magnetic ordering</a></td>
<td>no data</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Electrical resistivity</td>
<td>(20 °C) 333 nΩ·m</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Thermal conductivity</td>
<td>(300 K) 50.2 W·m<sup>−1</sup>·K<sup>−1</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Young's modulus</td>
<td>8 GPa</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bulk modulus</td>
<td>22 GPa</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Mohs_scale_of_mineral_hardness.htm" title="Mohs scale of mineral hardness">Mohs hardness</a></td>
<td>3.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Brinell hardness</td>
<td>1440 MPa</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> CAS registry number</td>
<td>7440-38-2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background:#cccc99; color:black">Selected isotopes</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<caption>Main article: <!--del_lnk--> Isotopes of arsenic</caption>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> iso</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> NA</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> half-life</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> DM</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> DE <small>(<!--del_lnk--> MeV)</small></th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> DP</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2"><sup>73</sup>As</td>
<td rowspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> syn</td>
<td rowspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> 80.3 <a href="../../wp/d/Day.htm" title="Day">d</a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> ε</td>
<td>-</td>
<td><sup>73</sup><a href="../../wp/g/Germanium.htm" title="Germanium">Ge</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> γ</td>
<td>0.05<!--del_lnk--> D, 0.01D, <!--del_lnk--> e</td>
<td>-</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="4"><sup>74</sup>As</td>
<td rowspan="4"><!--del_lnk--> syn</td>
<td rowspan="4"><!--del_lnk--> 17.78 d</td>
<td>ε</td>
<td>-</td>
<td><sup>74</sup><a href="../../wp/g/Germanium.htm" title="Germanium">Ge</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> β<sup>+</sup></td>
<td>0.941</td>
<td><sup>74</sup><a href="../../wp/g/Germanium.htm" title="Germanium">Ge</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>γ</td>
<td>0.595, 0.634</td>
<td>-</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> β<sup>-</sup></td>
<td>1.35, 0.717</td>
<td><sup>74</sup><a href="../../wp/s/Selenium.htm" title="Selenium">Se</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><sup>75</sup>As</td>
<td>100%</td>
<td colspan="4">As is <!--del_lnk--> stable with 42 <a href="../../wp/n/Neutron.htm" title="Neutron">neutrons</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background:#cccc99; color:black"><!--del_lnk--> References</th>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Arsenic</b> (<!--del_lnk--> IPA: <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/ˈɑːsənɪk/</span>, <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/ˈɑɹsənɪk/</span>) is a <a href="../../wp/c/Chemical_element.htm" title="Chemical element">chemical element</a> in the <a href="../../wp/p/Periodic_table.htm" title="Periodic table">periodic table</a> that has the symbol <b>As</b> and <!--del_lnk--> atomic number 33. This is a notoriously poisonous <!--del_lnk--> metalloid that has many <!--del_lnk--> allotropic forms; yellow, black and gray are a few that are regularly seen. Arsenic and its compounds are used as <!--del_lnk--> pesticides, <!--del_lnk--> herbicides, <!--del_lnk--> insecticides and various <!--del_lnk--> alloys.<p>
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</script><a id="Notable_characteristics" name="Notable_characteristics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Notable characteristics</span></h2>
<p>Arsenic is very similar chemically to its predecessor <a href="../../wp/p/Phosphorus.htm" title="Phosphorus">phosphorus</a>, so much so that it will partly substitute for phosphorus in biochemical reactions and is thus <!--del_lnk--> poisonous. When heated rapidly it <!--del_lnk--> oxidizes to <!--del_lnk--> arsenic trioxide; the fumes from this reaction have an odour resembling <!--del_lnk--> garlic. Arsenic and some arsenic compounds can also <!--del_lnk--> sublimate upon heating, converting directly to a gaseous form. Elemental arsenic is found in two solid forms: yellow and gray/metallic, with <!--del_lnk--> specific gravities of 1.97 and 5.73, respectively.<p><a id="Applications" name="Applications"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Applications</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Lead hydrogen arsenate has been used, well into the 20th century, as an <!--del_lnk--> insecticide on <!--del_lnk--> fruit trees (sometimes resulting in <!--del_lnk--> brain damage to those working the sprayers), and <!--del_lnk--> Scheele's Green has even been recorded in the 19th century as a <!--del_lnk--> coloring agent in <!--del_lnk--> sweets. In the last half century, <!--del_lnk--> monosodium methyl arsenate (MSMA), a less toxic organic form of arsenic, has replaced lead arsenate's role in agriculture.<p>The application of most concern to the general public is probably that of <a href="../../wp/w/Wood.htm" title="Wood">wood</a> which has been treated with <!--del_lnk--> chromated copper arsenate ("CCA", or "<!--del_lnk--> Tanalith", and the vast majority of older "<!--del_lnk--> pressure treated" wood). CCA timber is still in widespread use in many countries, and was heavily used during the latter half of the 20th century as a structural, and outdoor <!--del_lnk--> building material, where there was a risk of <!--del_lnk--> rot, or <a href="../../wp/i/Insect.htm" title="Insect">insect</a> infestation in untreated timber. Although widespread bans followed the publication of studies which showed low-level leaching from in-situ timbers (such as children's <!--del_lnk--> playground equipment) into surrounding <a href="../../wp/s/Soil.htm" title="Soil">soil</a>, the most serious risk is presented by the burning of CCA timber. Recent years have seen fatal animal poisonings, and serious human poisonings resulting from the ingestion - directly or indirectly - of wood ash from CCA timber (the lethal human dose is approximately 20 grams of ash). Scrap CCA construction timber continues to be widely burnt through ignorance, in both commercial, and domestic fires. Safe disposal of CCA timber remains patchy, and little practiced, there is concern in some quarters about the widespread <!--del_lnk--> landfill disposal of such timber.<p>During the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, a number of arsenic compounds have been used as medicines, including <!--del_lnk--> arsphenamine (by <!--del_lnk--> Paul Ehrlich) and <!--del_lnk--> arsenic trioxide (by Thomas Fowler). Arsphenamine as well as <!--del_lnk--> Neosalvarsan was indicated for <!--del_lnk--> syphilis and <!--del_lnk--> trypanosomiasis, but has been superseded by modern <!--del_lnk--> antibiotics. Arsenic trioxide has been used in a variety of ways over the past 200 years, but most commonly in the treatment of <a href="../../wp/c/Cancer.htm" title="Cancer">cancer</a>. The <!--del_lnk--> Food and Drug Administration in 2000 approved this compound for the treatment of patients with <!--del_lnk--> acute promyelocytic leukemia that is resistant to <!--del_lnk--> ATRA. It was also used as <!--del_lnk--> Fowler's solution in <!--del_lnk--> psoriasis.<p>Copper acetoarsenite was used as a green <a href="../../wp/p/Pigment.htm" title="Pigment">pigment</a> known under many different names, including <!--del_lnk--> Paris Green and Emerald Green. It caused numerous <!--del_lnk--> arsenic poisonings.<p>Other uses;<ul>
<li>Various <a href="../../wp/a/Agriculture.htm" title="Agriculture">agricultural</a> insecticides and poisons.<li><!--del_lnk--> Gallium arsenide is an important <a href="../../wp/s/Semiconductor.htm" title="Semiconductor">semiconductor</a> material, used in <a href="../../wp/i/Integrated_circuit.htm" title="Integrated circuit">integrated circuits</a>. Circuits made using the compound are much faster (but also much more expensive) than those made in <a href="../../wp/s/Silicon.htm" title="Silicon">silicon</a>. Unlike silicon it is <!--del_lnk--> direct bandgap, and so can be used in <!--del_lnk--> laser diodes and <!--del_lnk--> LEDs to directly convert <a href="../../wp/e/Electricity.htm" title="Electricity">electricity</a> into <a href="../../wp/l/Light.htm" title="Light">light</a>.<li>Also used in <!--del_lnk--> bronzing and <!--del_lnk--> pyrotechny.</ul>
<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>The word <i>arsenic</i> is borrowed from the <!--del_lnk--> Persian word زرنيخ <i>Zarnikh</i> meaning "yellow <!--del_lnk--> orpiment". <i>Zarnikh</i> was borrowed by <!--del_lnk--> Greek as <i>arsenikon</i>. Arsenic has been known and used in <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Persia</a> and elsewhere since ancient times. As the symptoms of <!--del_lnk--> arsenic poisoning were somewhat ill-defined, it was frequently used for <!--del_lnk--> murder until the advent of the <!--del_lnk--> Marsh test, a sensitive chemical test for its presence. (Another less sensitive but more general test is the <!--del_lnk--> Reinsch test.) Due to its use by the ruling class to murder one another and its incredible potency and discreetness, arsenic has been called the <i>Poison of Kings and the King of Poisons</i>.<p>During the Bronze Age, arsenic was often included in the bronze (mostly as an impurity), which made the alloy harder.<p><!--del_lnk--> Albertus Magnus(Albert the Great, 1193-1280) is believed to have been the first to isolate the element in 1250. In 1649 <!--del_lnk--> Johann Schroeder published two ways of preparing arsenic.<p>The <a href="../../wp/a/Alchemy.htm" title="Alchemy">alchemical</a> symbol for arsenic is shown below.<div class="floatleft"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/5/560.png.htm" title="Alchemical symbol for arsenic"><img alt="Alchemical symbol for arsenic" height="66" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Arsenic-symbol.png" src="../../images/5/560.png" width="75" /></a></span></div>
<p>In the <!--del_lnk--> Victorian era, arsenic was mixed with <!--del_lnk--> vinegar and <!--del_lnk--> chalk and eaten by women to improve the <!--del_lnk--> complexion of their faces, making their skin more fair to show they did not work in the fields. Arsenic was also rubbed into the faces and arms of women to improve their complexion.<p><a id="Arsenic_in_drinking_water" name="Arsenic_in_drinking_water"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Arsenic in drinking water</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Arsenic contamination of groundwater has led to a massive epidemic of arsenic poisoning in <a href="../../wp/b/Bangladesh.htm" title="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a> and neighbouring countries. It is estimated that approximately 57 million people are drinking <!--del_lnk--> groundwater with arsenic concentrations elevated above the <a href="../../wp/w/World_Health_Organization.htm" title="World Health Organization">World Health Organization</a>'s standard of 10 <!--del_lnk--> parts per billion. The arsenic in the groundwater is of natural origin, and is released from the sediment into the groundwater due to the anoxic conditions of the subsurface. This groundwater began to be used after western <!--del_lnk--> NGOs instigated a massive tube <!--del_lnk--> well drinking-water program in the late <a href="../../wp/2/20th_century.htm" title="Twentieth century">twentieth century</a>. This program was designed to prevent drinking of bacterially-contaminated surface waters, but unfortunately failed to test for arsenic in the groundwater.(2) Many other countries in <!--del_lnk--> South East Asia, such as <a href="../../wp/v/Vietnam.htm" title="Vietnam">Vietnam</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Cambodia.htm" title="Cambodia">Cambodia</a>, and <a href="../../wp/t/Tibet.htm" title="Tibet">Tibet</a>, are thought to have geological environments similarly conducive to generation of high-arsenic groundwaters.<p>The northern United States, including parts of <!--del_lnk--> Michigan, <!--del_lnk--> Wisconsin, <a href="../../wp/m/Minnesota.htm" title="Minnesota">Minnesota</a> and the Dakotas are known to have significant concentrations of arsenic in ground water.<p>Arsenic can be removed from drinking water through co-precipitation of iron minerals by oxidation and filtering. When this treatment fails to produce acceptable results, adsorptive arsenic removal media may be utilized. Several adsorptive media systems have been approved for point of service use in a study funded by the United States <!--del_lnk--> Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.EPA) and the <!--del_lnk--> National Science Foundation (NSF).<p>Magnetic separations of arsenic at very low magnetic field gradients have been demonstrated in point-of-use water purification with high–surface area and monodisperse <!--del_lnk--> magnetite (Fe3O4) <!--del_lnk--> nanocrystals. Using the high specific surface area of Fe3O4 <!--del_lnk--> nanocrystals the mass of waste associated with arsenic removal from water has been dramatically reduced. <p><a id="Occurrence" name="Occurrence"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Occurrence</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/561.jpg.htm" title="Massive native arsenic"><img alt="Massive native arsenic" height="184" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Native_arsenic.jpg" src="../../images/5/561.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/561.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Massive native arsenic</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Arsenopyrite also called mispickel (<a href="../../wp/i/Iron.htm" title="Iron">Fe</a><a href="../../wp/s/Sulfur.htm" title="Sulfur">S</a>As) is the most common <a href="../../wp/m/Mineral.htm" title="Mineral">mineral</a> from which, on heating, the arsenic sublimes leaving ferrous sulfide. Other arsenic minerals include <!--del_lnk--> realgar, <!--del_lnk--> mimetite, <!--del_lnk--> cobaltite and <!--del_lnk--> erythrite.<p>The most important compounds of arsenic are <!--del_lnk--> white arsenic, <!--del_lnk--> orpiment, <!--del_lnk--> realgar, <!--del_lnk--> Paris Green, <!--del_lnk--> calcium arsenate, and <!--del_lnk--> lead hydrogen arsenate. Paris Green, calcium arsenate, and lead arsenate have been used as <a href="../../wp/a/Agriculture.htm" title="Agriculture">agricultural</a> <!--del_lnk--> insecticides and <!--del_lnk--> poisons. Orpiment and realgar were formerly used as painting pigments, though they have somewhat fallen out of use due to their toxicity and reactivity. It is sometimes found native, but usually combined with <a href="../../wp/s/Silver.htm" title="Silver">silver</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Cobalt.htm" title="Cobalt">cobalt</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/Nickel.htm" title="Nickel">nickel</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Iron.htm" title="Iron">iron</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Antimony.htm" title="Antimony">antimony</a>, or <a href="../../wp/s/Sulfur.htm" title="Sulfur">sulfur</a>.<p>In addition to the inorganic forms mentioned above, arsenic also occurs in various organic forms in the environment. Inorganic arsenic and its compounds, upon entering the <!--del_lnk--> food chain, are progressively metabolised to a less toxic form of arsenic through a process of <!--del_lnk--> methylation.<p><a id="Precautions" name="Precautions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Precautions</span></h2>
<div class="floatleft"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/3/324.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="80" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Skull_and_crossbones.svg" src="../../images/3/324.png" width="80" /></a></span></div>
<p>Arsenic and many of its compounds are especially potent poisons. Arsenic disrupts <a href="../../wp/a/Adenosine_triphosphate.htm" title="Adenosine triphosphate">ATP</a> production through several mechanisms including <!--del_lnk--> allosteric inhibition of the metabolic <!--del_lnk--> enzyme <!--del_lnk--> lipothiamide pyrophosphatase during <!--del_lnk--> glycolysis. At the level of the citric acid cycle, arsenic inhibits <!--del_lnk--> succinate dehydrogenase and by competing with phosphate it uncouples <!--del_lnk--> oxidative phosphorylation, thus inhibiting energy-linked reduction of <!--del_lnk--> NAD+, mitochondrial respiration, and ATP synthesis. Hydrogen peroxide production is also increased, which might form reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress. Arsenic kills by enzyme inhibtion because enzymes are the best documented targets of metals; in this case, it causes toxicity but can also play a protective role. These metabolic interferences lead to death from multi-system <!--del_lnk--> organ failure (see <!--del_lnk--> arsenic poisoning) probably from necrotic cell death, not <!--del_lnk--> apoptosis. A <!--del_lnk--> post mortem reveals brick red colored <!--del_lnk--> mucosa, due to severe <!--del_lnk--> haemorrhage.<p>Elemental arsenic and arsenic compounds are classified as "<!--del_lnk--> toxic" and "dangerous for the environment" in the <a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="European Union">European Union</a> under <!--del_lnk--> directive 67/548/EEC.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> IARC recognizes arsenic and arsenic compounds as <!--del_lnk--> group 1 carcinogens, and the EU lists <!--del_lnk--> arsenic trioxide, <!--del_lnk--> arsenic pentoxide and <!--del_lnk--> arsenate salts as category 1 <!--del_lnk--> carcinogens.<p>Arsenic is known to cause <!--del_lnk--> arsenicosis due to its manifestation in drinking water, “the most common species being arsenate [HAsO<sub>4</sub><sup>2-</sup> ; As(V)] and arsenite [H<sub>3</sub>AsO<sub>3</sub> ; As(III)]”. The ability of arsenic to oxidized between As(III) and As(V) makes its availability in the environment possible. According to Croal, Gralnick, Malasarn, and Newman, “[the] understanding [of] what stimulates As(III) oxidation and/or limits As(V) reduction is relevant for bioremediation of contaminated sites (Croal). The study of chemolithoautotrophic As(III) oxidizers and the heterotrophic As(V) reducers can help the understanding of the oxidation and/or reduction of arsenic.<p><a id="Compounds" name="Compounds"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Compounds</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Arsenic acid (H<sub>3</sub>AsO<sub>4</sub>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Arsenous acid (H<sub>3</sub>AsO<sub>3</sub>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Arsenic trioxide (As<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Arsine (Arsenic Trihydride AsH<sub>3</sub>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Cadmium arsenide (Cd<sub>3</sub>As<sub>2</sub>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Gallium arsenide (GaAs)<li><!--del_lnk--> Lead hydrogen arsenate (PbHAsO<sub>4</sub>)</ul>
<p><a id="Isotopes" name="Isotopes"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Isotopes</span></h2>
<p>Arsenic has been proposed as a "<!--del_lnk--> salting" material for <a href="../../wp/n/Nuclear_weapon.htm" title="Nuclear weapon">nuclear weapons</a> (<a href="../../wp/c/Cobalt.htm" title="Cobalt">cobalt</a> is another, better-known salting material). A jacket of As-75, irradiated by the intense high-energy neutron flux from an exploding thermonuclear weapon, would transmute into the radioactive isotope As-76 with a <!--del_lnk--> half-life of 1.0778 days and produce approximately 1.13 <!--del_lnk--> MeV of <!--del_lnk--> gamma radiation, significantly increasing the radioactivity of the weapon's <!--del_lnk--> fallout for several hours. Such a weapon is not known to have ever been built, tested, or used.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenic"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Art</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Art.Art.htm">Art</a></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23328.jpg.htm" title="The Bath, a painting by Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)."><img alt="The Bath, a painting by Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)." class="thumbimage" height="274" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cassatt_the_bath.jpg" src="../../images/233/23328.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23328.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>The Bath</i>, a painting by <!--del_lnk--> Mary Cassatt (1844-1926).</div>
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<p><b>Art</b> is that which is made with the intention of stimulating the human senses as well as the human <a href="../../wp/m/Mind.htm" title="Mind">mind</a> and/or <!--del_lnk--> spirit. There is no general agreed-upon definition of art, since defining the boundaries of "art" is subjective, but the <!--del_lnk--> impetus for art is often called human <!--del_lnk--> creativity.<p>An artwork is normally assessed in quality by the amount of stimulation it brings about. The impact it has on people, the number of people that can relate to it, the degree of their appreciation, and the effect or influence it has or has had in the past, all accumulate to the 'degree of art.' Most artworks that are widely considered to be "masterpieces" possess these attributes.<p>Something is not generally considered 'art' when it stimulates only the senses, or only the mind, or when it has a different primary purpose than doing so. However, some contemporary art challenges this idea.<p>As such, something can be deemed art in totality, or as an element of some object. For example, a painting may be a pure art, while a chair, though designed to be sat in, may include artistic elements. Art that has less functional value or intention may be referred to as <a href="../../wp/f/Fine_art.htm" title="Fine art">fine art</a>, while objects of artistic merit but serve a functional purpose may be referred to as <!--del_lnk--> craft. Paradoxically, an object may be characterized by the intentions (or lack thereof) of its creator, regardless of its apparent purpose; a cup (which ostensibly can be used as a container) may be considered art if intended solely as an ornament, while a painting may be deemed craft if mass-produced. In the 1800s, <b>art</b> was primarily concerned with ideas of "Truth" and "Beauty." There was a radical break in the thinking about art in the early 1900s with the arrival of <!--del_lnk--> Modernism, and then in the late 1900s with the advent of <!--del_lnk--> Postmodernism. <!--del_lnk--> Clement Greenberg's 1960 article "Modernist Painting" defined Modern Art as "the use of characteristic methods of a discipline to criticize the discipline itself." <p>Greenberg originally applied this idea to the Abstract Expressionist movement and used it as a way to understand and justify flat (non-illusionistic) abstract painting. "Realistic, naturalistic art had dissembled the medium, using art to conceal art; Modernism used art to call attention to art. The limitations that constitute the medium of painting -- the flat surface, the shape of the support, the properties of the pigment -- were treated by the Old Masters as negative factors that could be acknowledged only implicitly or indirectly. Under Modernism these same limitations came to be regarded as positive factors, and were acknowledged openly." <p>Though only originally intended as a way of understanding a specific set of artists, this definition of Modern Art underlies most of the ideas of art within the various art movements of the twentieth century and early twenty-first century. The art of <!--del_lnk--> Marcel Duchamp becomes clear when seen within this context; when submitting a urinal, titled fountain, to the Society of Independent Artists exhibit in 1917 he was critiquing the art exhibition using its own methods.<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/176/17632.jpg.htm" title="Fountain by Marcel Duchamp. 1917"><img alt="Fountain by Marcel Duchamp. 1917" class="thumbimage" height="247" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Duchamp_Fountaine.jpg" src="../../images/176/17632.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/176/17632.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Fountain</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Marcel Duchamp. <!--del_lnk--> 1917</div>
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<p><a href="../../wp/a/Andy_Warhol.htm" title="Andy Warhol">Andy Warhol</a> became an important artist through critiquing popular culture, as well as the <!--del_lnk--> art world, through the language of that popular culture. The later <!--del_lnk--> postmodern artists of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s took these ideas further by expanding this technique of self-criticism beyond "high art" to all cultural image-making, including fashion images, comics, billboards, pornography, etc.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Usage" name="Usage"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Usage</span></h2>
<p>The most common usage of the word "art," which rose to prominence after <!--del_lnk--> 1750, is understood to denote <!--del_lnk--> skill used to produce an <a href="../../wp/a/Aesthetics.htm" title="Aesthetics">aesthetic</a> result. <!--del_lnk--> Britannica Online defines it as "the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others." By any of these definitions of the word, artistic works have existed for almost as long as <a href="../../wp/h/Human.htm" title="Human">humankind</a>: from early <!--del_lnk--> pre-historic art to <!--del_lnk--> contemporary art.<p>Many books and journal articles have been written about "<strong class="selflink">art</strong>". In 1998, <!--del_lnk--> Walt Weaver claimed that "It is self-evident that nothing concerning art is self-evident anymore."<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/142/14281.jpg.htm" title="The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night, September 1888."><img alt="The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night, September 1888." class="thumbimage" height="226" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Vincent_Willem_van_Gogh_015.jpg" src="../../images/142/14281.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/142/14281.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i><!--del_lnk--> The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night</i>, September 1888.</div>
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<p>The first and broadest sense of "art" is the one that has remained closest to the older Latin meaning, which roughly translates to "skill" or "craft," and also from an <!--del_lnk--> Indo-European root meaning "arrangement" or "to arrange." In this sense, art is whatever is described as having undergone a deliberate process of arrangement by an agent. A few examples where this meaning proves very broad include <i>artifact, artificial, artifice, <!--del_lnk--> artillery, <a href="../../wp/m/Medicine.htm" title="Medicine">medical</a> arts,</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> military arts.</i> However, there are many other colloquial uses of the word, all with some relation to its <!--del_lnk--> etymology.<p>The second and more recent sense of the word "art" is an abbreviation for <i><b>creative art</b></i> or "<a href="../../wp/f/Fine_art.htm" title="Fine art">fine art</a>." Fine art means that a skill is being used to express the artist’s creativity, or to engage the audience’s aesthetic sensibilities, or to draw the audience towards consideration of the “finer” things. Often, if the skill is being used in a common or practical way, people will consider it a <!--del_lnk--> craft instead of art. Likewise, if the skill is being used in a commercial or industrial way, it will be considered <!--del_lnk--> Commercial art instead of art. On the other hand, crafts and <!--del_lnk--> design are sometimes considered <!--del_lnk--> applied art. Some art followers have argued that the difference between fine art and applied art has more to do with value judgments made about the art than any clear definitional difference. However, even fine art often has goals beyond pure creativity and self-expression. The purpose of works of art may be to communicate ideas, such as in politically-, spiritually-, or philosophically-motivated art; to create a sense of <!--del_lnk--> beauty (see <a href="../../wp/a/Aesthetics.htm" title="Aesthetics">aesthetics</a>); to explore the nature of perception; for pleasure; or to generate strong <a href="../../wp/e/Emotion.htm" title="Emotion">emotions</a>. The purpose may also be seemingly nonexistent.<p>The ultimate derivation of 'fine' in 'fine art' comes from the <a href="../../wp/p/Philosophy.htm" title="Philosophy">philosophy</a> of <a href="../../wp/a/Aristotle.htm" title="Aristotle">Aristotle</a>, who proposed four <i>causes</i> or explanations of a thing. The <!--del_lnk--> Final Cause of a thing is the purpose for its existence, and the term 'fine art' is derived from this notion. If the Final Cause of an artwork is simply the artwork itself, "art for art's sake," and not a means to another end, then that artwork could appropriately be called 'fine.' The closely related concept of <!--del_lnk--> beauty is classically defined as "that which when seen, pleases." Pleasure is the final cause of beauty and thus is not a means to another end, but an end in itself.<p>Art can describe several things: a study of creative skill, a process of using the creative skill, a product of the creative skill, or the audience’s experience with the creative skill. The creative arts (“art” as discipline) are a collection of disciplines ("arts") that produce <i><b>artworks</b></i> ("art" as objects) that are compelled by a personal drive (“art” as activity) and echo or reflect a message, mood, or symbolism for the viewer to interpret ("art" as experience). Artworks can be defined by purposeful, creative interpretations of limitless concepts or ideas in order to communicate something to another person. Artworks can be explicitly made for this purpose or interpreted based on images or objects.<p>Art is something that stimulates an individual's thoughts, emotions, beliefs, or ideas through the senses. It is also an expression of an idea and it can take many different forms and serve many different purposes.<p>Although the application of scientific theories to derive a new scientific theory involves skill and results in the "creation" of something new, this represents science only and is not categorized as art.<p><a id="Theories_of_art" name="Theories_of_art"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Theories of art</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Clement Greenberg's 1960 article "Modernist Painting" defined Modern Art as "the use of characteristic methods of a discipline to criticize the discipline itself." <p>Greenberg originally applied this idea to the Abstract Expressionist movement and used it as a way to understand and justify flat (non-illusionistic) abstract painting. "Realistic, naturalistic art had dissembled the medium, using art to conceal art; Modernism used art to call attention to art. The limitations that constitute the medium of painting -- the flat surface, the shape of the support, the properties of the pigment -- were treated by the Old Masters as negative factors that could be acknowledged only implicitly or indirectly. Under Modernism these same limitations came to be regarded as positive factors, and were acknowledged openly." <p>Though only originally intended as a way of understanding a specific set of artists, this definition of Modern Art underlies most of the ideas of art of within the various art movements of the twentieth century and early twenty-first century. The art of <!--del_lnk--> Marcel Duchamp becomes clear when seen within this context; when submitting a urinal, titled <i>Fountain</i>, to the Society of Independent Artists exhibit in 1917 he was critiquing the art exhibition using its own methods.<p><a id="Art_and_class" name="Art_and_class"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Art and class</span></h2>
<p>Art has been perceived as belonging to one social class and often excluding others. In this context, art is seen as an upper-class activity associated with wealth, the ability to purchase art, and the leisure required to pursue or enjoy it. For example, the <!--del_lnk--> palaces of Versailles or the <!--del_lnk--> Hermitage in <a href="../../wp/s/Saint_Petersburg.htm" title="St. Petersburg">St. Petersburg</a> with their vast collections of art, amassed by the fabulously wealthy royalty of Europe exemplify this view. Collecting such art is the preserve of the rich, in one viewpoint.<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23329.jpg.htm" title="Versailles: Louis Le Vau opened up the interior court to create the expansive entrance cour d'honneur, later copied all over Europe"><img alt="Versailles: Louis Le Vau opened up the interior court to create the expansive entrance cour d'honneur, later copied all over Europe" class="thumbimage" height="76" longdesc="/wiki/Image:VersaillesCourHonneur.jpg" src="../../images/233/23329.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23329.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Versailles: <!--del_lnk--> Louis Le Vau opened up the interior court to create the expansive entrance <i><!--del_lnk--> cour d'honneur,</i> later copied all over Europe</div>
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<p>Before the <a href="../../wp/1/13th_century.htm" title="13th century">13th century</a> in <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>, artisans were often considered to belong to a lower <!--del_lnk--> caste, however during the <a href="../../wp/r/Renaissance.htm" title="Renaissance">Renaissance</a> artists gained an association with high status. "Fine" and expensive goods have been popular markers of status in many cultures, and continue to be so today. At least one of the important functions of art in the <a href="../../wp/2/21st_century.htm" title="21st century">21st century</a> is as a marker of wealth and social status.<p><a id="Utility_of_art" name="Utility_of_art"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Utility of art</span></h2>
<p>One of the defining characteristics of fine art as opposed to applied art is the absence of any clear usefulness or <a href="../../wp/u/Utilitarianism.htm" title="Utilitarianism">utilitarian</a> value. However, this requirement is sometimes criticized as being class prejudice against labor and utility. Opponents of the view that art cannot be useful, argue that all human activity has some utilitarian function, and the objects claimed to be "non-utilitarian" actually have the function of attempting to mystify and codify flawed social hierarchies. It is also sometimes argued that even seemingly non-useful art is not useless, but rather that its use is the effect it has on the psyche of the creator or viewer.<p>Art is also used by art therapists, psychotherapists and clinical psychologists as <!--del_lnk--> art therapy. Art can also be used as a tool of <!--del_lnk--> Personality Test. The end product is not the principal goal in this case, but rather a process of healing, through creative acts, is sought. The resultant piece of artwork may also offer insight into the troubles experienced by the subject and may suggest suitable approaches to be used in more conventional forms of psychiatric therapy.<div class="center">
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:652px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/97.jpg.htm" title="Spray-paint graffiti on a wall in Rome."><img alt="Spray-paint graffiti on a wall in Rome." class="thumbimage" height="103" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Graffiti_Panorama_rome.jpg" src="../../images/0/97.jpg" width="650" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/0/97.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Spray-paint <!--del_lnk--> graffiti on a wall in Rome.</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Graffiti art and other types of <!--del_lnk--> street art are graphics and images that are <!--del_lnk--> spray-painted or <!--del_lnk--> stencilled on publicly viewable walls, buildings, buses, trains, and bridges, usually without permission. This type of art is part of various youth cultures, such as the US <!--del_lnk--> hip-hop culture. It is used to express political views and depict creative images.<p>In a social context, art can serve to boost the public's morale. Art is often utilized as a form of <a href="../../wp/p/Propaganda.htm" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a>, and thus can be used to subtly influence popular conceptions or mood. In some cases, artworks are appropriated to be used in this manner, without the creator having initially intended the art to be used as propaganda.<p>From a more anthropological perspective, art is often a way of passing ideas and concepts on to later generations in a (somewhat) universal language. The interpretation of this language is very dependent upon the observer’s perspective and context, and it might be argued that the very subjectivity of art demonstrates its importance in providing an arena in which rival ideas might be exchanged and discussed, or to provide a social context in which disparate groups of people might congregate and mingle.<p><a id="Classification_disputes_about_art" name="Classification_disputes_about_art"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Classification disputes about art</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/209/20920.jpg.htm" title="Prehistoric cave painting depicting Paleolithic fauna at Lascaux, France."><img alt="Prehistoric cave painting depicting Paleolithic fauna at Lascaux, France." class="thumbimage" height="144" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lascaux.jpg" src="../../images/209/20920.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/209/20920.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Prehistoric cave painting depicting Paleolithic fauna at <!--del_lnk--> Lascaux, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>.</div>
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<p>It is common in the <!--del_lnk--> history of art for people to dispute whether a particular form or work, or particular piece of work counts as art or not. In fact for much of the past century the idea of art has been to simply challenge what art is. <!--del_lnk--> Philosophers of Art call these disputes “classificatory disputes about art.” For example, Ancient Greek philosophers debated about whether or not <a href="../../wp/e/Ethics.htm" title="Ethics">ethics</a> should be considered the “art of living well.” Classificatory disputes in the 20th century included: <!--del_lnk--> cubist and <!--del_lnk--> impressionist paintings, <!--del_lnk--> Duchamp’s urinal, the <a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Movies">movies</a>, superlative imitations of <!--del_lnk--> banknotes, <a href="../../wp/p/Propaganda.htm" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a>, and even a crucifix immersed in urine. <!--del_lnk--> Conceptual art often intentionally pushes the boundaries of what counts as art and a number of recent conceptual artists, such as <!--del_lnk--> Damien Hirst and <!--del_lnk--> Tracy Emin have produced works about which there are active disputes. <!--del_lnk--> Video games and <!--del_lnk--> role-playing games are both fields where some recent critics have asserted that they do count as art, and some have asserted that they do not.<p>Philosopher David Novitz has argued that disagreement about the definition of art are rarely the heart of the problem. Rather, “the passionate concerns and interests that humans vest in their social life” are “so much a part of all classificatory disputes about art” (Novitz, 1996). According to Novitz, classificatory disputes are more often disputes about our values and where we are trying to go with our society than they are about theory proper. For example, when the <!--del_lnk--> Daily Mail criticized <!--del_lnk--> Hirst's and <!--del_lnk--> Emin’s work by arguing "For 1,000 years art has been one of our great civilising forces. Today, pickled sheep and soiled beds threaten to make barbarians of us all" they are not advancing a definition or theory about art, but questioning the value of Hirst’s and Emin’s work.<p>Famous examples of controversial European art of the 19th century include <!--del_lnk--> Theodore Gericault's "<!--del_lnk--> Raft of the Medusa" (1820), construed by many as a blistering condemnation of the French government's gross negligence in the matter, <!--del_lnk--> Edouard Manet's "<!--del_lnk--> Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe" (1863), considered scandalous not because of the nude woman, but because she is seated next to fully-dressed men, and <!--del_lnk--> John Singer Sargent's "<!--del_lnk--> Madame Pierre Gautreau (Madam X)", (1884) which caused a huge uproar over the reddish pink used to colour the woman's ear lobe, considered far too suggestive and supposedly ruining the high-society model's reputation.<p>In the 20th century, examples of high-profile controversial art include <a href="../../wp/p/Pablo_Picasso.htm" title="Pablo Picasso">Pablo Picasso</a>'s "<!--del_lnk--> Guernica" (1937), considered by most at the time as the primitive output of a madman, this the sole explanation for its 'hodgepodge of body parts' and <!--del_lnk--> Leon Golub's "<!--del_lnk--> Interrogation III" (1958), shocking the American conscience with a nude, hooded detainee strapped to a chair, surrounded by several ever-so-normal looking "cop" interrogators.<p>In 2001, <!--del_lnk--> Eric Fischl created "<!--del_lnk--> Tumbling Woman" as a memorial to those who jumped or fell to their death on 9/11. Initially installed at <!--del_lnk--> Rockefeller Centre in New York City, within a year the work was removed as too disturbing.<p><a id="Forms.2C_genres.2C_mediums.2C_and_styles" name="Forms.2C_genres.2C_mediums.2C_and_styles"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Forms, genres, mediums, and styles</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23331.jpg.htm" title="Detail of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, showing the painting technique of sfumato"><img alt="Detail of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, showing the painting technique of sfumato" class="thumbimage" height="206" longdesc="/wiki/Image:MonaLisa_sfumato.jpeg" src="../../images/233/23331.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23331.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Detail of <a href="../../wp/l/Leonardo_da_Vinci.htm" title="Leonardo da Vinci">Leonardo da Vinci</a>'s <a href="../../wp/m/Mona_Lisa.htm" title="Mona Lisa">Mona Lisa</a>, showing the painting technique of <i><!--del_lnk--> sfumato</i></div>
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<p>The creative arts are often divided into more specific categories, such as <!--del_lnk--> decorative arts, <!--del_lnk--> plastic arts, <!--del_lnk--> performing arts, or <a href="../../wp/l/Literature.htm" title="Literature">literature</a>. So for example <a href="../../wp/p/Painting.htm" title="Painting">painting</a> is a form of plastic art, and <a href="../../wp/p/Poetry.htm" title="Poetry">poetry</a> is a form of literature.<p>An <i><b>art form</b></i> is a specific form for artistic expression to take, it is a more specific term than art in general, but less specific than “genre.” Some examples include, but are by no means, limited to:<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/p/Painting.htm" title="Painting">painting</a><li><a href="../../wp/d/Drawing.htm" title="Drawing">drawing</a><li><a href="../../wp/p/Printmaking.htm" title="Printmaking">printmaking</a><li><a href="../../wp/s/Sculpture.htm" title="Sculpture">sculpture</a><li><!--del_lnk--> ceramics<li><!--del_lnk--> graphic design<li><!--del_lnk--> digital art<li><!--del_lnk--> mixed media<li><a href="../../wp/m/Music.htm" title="Music">music</a><li><a href="../../wp/p/Poetry.htm" title="Poetry">poetry</a><li><a href="../../wp/a/Architecture.htm" title="Architecture">architecture</a><li><a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Film">cinema</a><li><a href="../../wp/t/Theatre.htm" title="Theatre">theatre</a><li><a href="../../wp/p/Photography.htm" title="Photography">photography</a><li><!--del_lnk--> model making<li><!--del_lnk--> cartooning<li><!--del_lnk--> origami<li><a href="../../wp/m/Mosaic.htm" title="Mosaic">mosaic</a><li><!--del_lnk--> graffiti</ul>
<p>A <i><b>genre</b></i> is a set of conventions and styles for pursuing an art form. For instance, a painting may be a <!--del_lnk--> still life, an <a href="../../wp/a/Abstract_art.htm" title="Abstract art">abstract</a>, a <!--del_lnk--> portrait, or a <!--del_lnk--> landscape, and may also deal with <!--del_lnk--> historical or domestic subjects. The boundaries between form and genre can be quite fluid. So, for example, it is not clear whether song lyrics are best thought of as an art form distinct from poetry, or a genre within poetry. Is cinematography a genre of photography (perhaps “motion photography”) or is it a distinct form?<p>An artistic <!--del_lnk--> medium is the substance the artistic work is made out of. So for example stone and bronze are both mediums that sculpture uses sometimes. Multiple forms can share a medium (poetry and music, both use sound), or one form can use multiple media.<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23332.jpg.htm" title="The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760–1849), colored woodcut print"><img alt="The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760–1849), colored woodcut print" class="thumbimage" height="120" longdesc="/wiki/Image:GreatWave.jpg" src="../../images/233/23332.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23332.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika <!--del_lnk--> Hokusai (Japanese, 1760–1849), colored woodcut print</div>
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<p>An artwork or artist’s <i><b>style</b></i> is a particular approach they take to their art. Sometimes style embodies a particular artistic philosophy or goal. We might describe <!--del_lnk--> Joy Division as <!--del_lnk--> Minimalist in style, in this sense, for example. Sometimes style is intimately linked with a particular historical period, or a particular <!--del_lnk--> artistic movement. So we might describe Dali’s paintings as <!--del_lnk--> Surrealist in style in this sense. Sometimes style is linked to a technique used, or an effect produced, so we might describe a Roy Lichtenstein painting as <!--del_lnk--> pointillist, because of its use of small dots, even though it is not aligned with the original proponents of Pointillism. Lichtenstein used Ben-Day dots, which were used to color comic strips: they are evenly-spaced and create flat areas of color; pointillism employs dots that are spaced in a way to create variation in colour and depth.<p>Many terms used to describe art, especially recent art, are hard to categorize as forms, genres, or styles; or such categorizations are disputed. No one doubts there is such a thing as <!--del_lnk--> land art, but is it best thought of as a distinct form of art? Or, perhaps, as a genre of <a href="../../wp/a/Architecture.htm" title="Architecture">architecture</a>? Or perhaps as a style within the genre of <!--del_lnk--> landscape architecture? Are comics an art form, medium, genre, style, or perhaps more than one of these?<p><a id="Art_history" name="Art_history"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Art history</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23333.jpg.htm" title="Venus of Willendorf"><img alt="Venus of Willendorf" class="thumbimage" height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:VenusWillendorf.jpg" src="../../images/233/23333.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23333.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Venus of Willendorf</div>
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<p>Art predates history; sculptures, <!--del_lnk--> cave paintings, rock paintings, and <!--del_lnk--> petroglyphs from the <!--del_lnk--> Upper Paleolithic starting roughly 40,000 years ago have been found, but the precise meaning of such art is often disputed because so little is known about the cultures that produced them. The oldest art objects in the world: a series of tiny, drilled snail shells about 100000yrs old, were discovered in a South African cave, see <!--del_lnk--> Art of South Africa.<p>The great traditions in art have a foundation in the art of one of the great ancient civilizations: <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Egypt.htm" title="Ancient Egypt">Ancient Egypt</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Mesopotamia.htm" title="Mesopotamia">Mesopotamia</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Persia, <!--del_lnk--> India, <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Greece.htm" title="Ancient Greece">Greece</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Rome.htm" title="Ancient Rome">Rome</a> or <!--del_lnk--> Arabia (ancient <a href="../../wp/y/Yemen.htm" title="Yemen">Yemen</a> and <a href="../../wp/o/Oman.htm" title="Oman">Oman</a>). Each of these centers of early civilization developed a unique and characteristic style in their art. Because of the size and duration these civilizations, more of their art works have survived and more of their influence has been transmitted to other cultures and later times. They have also provided the first records of how <!--del_lnk--> artists worked. For example, this period of Greek art saw a veneration of the human physical form and the development of equivalent skills to show musculature, poise, beauty and anatomically correct proportions<p>In <!--del_lnk--> Byzantine and <!--del_lnk--> Gothic art of the Western <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_Ages.htm" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a>, art focused on the expression of Biblical and not material truths, and emphasized methods which would show the higher unseen glory of a heavenly world, such as the use of gold in paintings, or glass in mosaics or windows, which also presented figures in idealized, patterned (i.e. "flat" forms).<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:249px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23334.gif.htm" title="The stylized signature of Sultan Mahmud II of the Ottoman Empire was written in Arabic calligraphy. It reads Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious."><img alt="The stylized signature of Sultan Mahmud II of the Ottoman Empire was written in Arabic calligraphy. It reads Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious." class="thumbimage" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tugra_Mahmuds_II.gif" src="../../images/233/23334.gif" width="247" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">The stylized signature of <a href="../../wp/s/Sultan.htm" title="Sultan">Sultan</a> <!--del_lnk--> Mahmud II of the <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman Empire</a> was written in <!--del_lnk--> Arabic calligraphy. It reads <i>Mahmud Khan son of Abdulhamid is forever victorious</i>.</div>
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<p>The western <a href="../../wp/r/Renaissance.htm" title="Renaissance">Renaissance</a> saw a return to valuation of the material world, and the place of humans in it, and this paradigm shift is reflected in art forms, which show the corporeality of the human body, and the three dimensional reality of landscape.<div class="thumb tleft">
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<p>In the east, <!--del_lnk--> Islamic art's rejection of <!--del_lnk--> iconography led to emphasis on geometric patterns, <!--del_lnk--> Islamic calligraphy, and <!--del_lnk--> architecture. Further east, religion dominated artistic styles and forms too. India and Tibet saw emphasis on painted <!--del_lnk--> sculptures and <a href="../../wp/d/Dance.htm" title="Dance">dance</a> with religious painting borrowing many conventions from sculpture and tending to bright contrasting colors with emphasis on outlines. China saw many art forms flourish, jade carving, bronzework, pottery (including the stunning <!--del_lnk--> terracotta army of Emperor Qin), poetry, calligraphy, music, painting, drama, fiction, etc. Chinese styles vary greatly from era to era and are traditionally named after the ruling dynasty. So, for example, <!--del_lnk--> Tang Dynasty paintings are monochromatic and sparse, emphasizing idealized landscapes, but <a href="../../wp/m/Ming_Dynasty.htm" title="Ming Dynasty">Ming Dynasty</a> paintings are busy, colorful, and focus on telling stories via setting and composition. Japan names its styles after imperial dynasties too, and also saw much interplay between the styles of calligraphy and painting. <!--del_lnk--> Woodblock printing became important in Japan after the 17th century.<p>The western <a href="../../wp/a/Age_of_Enlightenment.htm" title="Age of Enlightenment">Age of Enlightenment</a> in the 18th century saw artistic depictions of physical and rational certainties of the clockwork universe, as well as politically revolutionary visions of a post-monarchist world, such as Blake’s portrayal of Newton as a divine geometer, or David’s propagandistic paintings. This led to <a href="../../wp/r/Romanticism.htm" title="Romanticism">Romantic</a> rejections of this in favour of pictures of the emotional side and individuality of humans, exemplified in the novels of <!--del_lnk--> Goethe. The late 19th century then saw a host of artistic movements, such as <!--del_lnk--> academic art, <!--del_lnk--> symbolism, <a href="../../wp/i/Impressionism.htm" title="Impressionism">impressionism</a> and <!--del_lnk--> fauvism among others.<p>By the 20th century these pictures were falling apart, shattered not only by new discoveries of relativity by <a href="../../wp/a/Albert_Einstein.htm" title="Einstein">Einstein</a> <!--del_lnk--> <i>Does time fly?</i> - Peter Galison's Empires of Time, a historical survey of Einstein and Poincaré, intrigues Jon Turney</ref> and of unseen psychology by <!--del_lnk--> Freud, but also by unprecedented technological development accelerated by the implosion of civilisation in two world wars. The history of twentieth century art is a narrative of endless possibilities and the search for new standards, each being torn down in succession by the next. Thus the parameters of <a href="../../wp/i/Impressionism.htm" title="Impressionism">Impressionism</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Expressionism.htm" title="Expressionism">Expressionism</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Fauvism, <a href="../../wp/c/Cubism.htm" title="Cubism">Cubism</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Dadaism, <!--del_lnk--> Surrealism, etc cannot be maintained very much beyond the time of their invention. Increasing <a href="../../wp/g/Globalization.htm" title="Globalization">global</a> interaction during this time saw an equivalent influence of other cultures into Western art, such as <a href="../../wp/p/Pablo_Picasso.htm" title="Pablo Picasso">Pablo Picasso</a> being influenced by <!--del_lnk--> African sculpture. Japanese woodblock prints (which had themselves been influenced by Western Renaissance draftsmanship) had an immense influence on Impressionism and subsequent development. Then African sculptures were taken up by Picasso and to some extent by <!--del_lnk--> Matisse. Similarly, the west has had huge impacts on Eastern art in 19th and 20th century, with originally western ideas like <a href="../../wp/c/Communism.htm" title="Communism">Communism</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Post-Modernism exerting powerful influence on artistic styles.<p><!--del_lnk--> Modernism, the idealistic search for truth, gave way in the latter half of the 20th century to a realization of its unattainability. Relativity was accepted as an unavoidable truth, which led to the period of <!--del_lnk--> contemporary art and <!--del_lnk--> postmodern criticism, where cultures of the world and of history are seen as changing forms, which can be appreciated and drawn from only with irony. Furthermore the separation of cultures is increasingly blurred and it is now more appropriate to think in terms of a global culture, rather than regional cultures.<p><a id="Characteristics_of_art" name="Characteristics_of_art"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Characteristics of art</span></h2>
<p>Here are some characteristics that art may display:<ul>
<li>encourages an intuitive understanding rather than a rational understanding, as, for example, with an article in a scientific journal;<li>was created with the intention of evoking such an understanding or an attempt at such an understanding in the audience;<li>was created with no other purpose or function other than to be itself (a radical, "pure art" definition);<li>is elusive, in that the work may communicate on many different levels of appreciation; For example, in the case of <!--del_lnk--> Gericault's <i><!--del_lnk--> Raft of the Medusa</i>, special knowledge concerning the shipwreck that the painting depicts, is not a prerequisite to appreciating it, but allows the appreciation of Gericault's political intentions in the piece.<li>may offer itself to many different interpretations, or, though it superficially depicts a mundane event or object, invites reflection upon elevated themes;<li>demonstrates a high level of ability or fluency within a medium; this characteristic might be considered a point of contention, since many modern artists (most notably, conceptual artists) do not themselves create the works they conceive, or do not even create the work in a conventional, demonstrative sense (one might think of <!--del_lnk--> Tracey Emin's controversial <i>My Bed</i>);<li>confers particularly appealing or aesthetically satisfying structures or forms upon an original set of unrelated, passive constituents.</ul>
<p><a id="Skill" name="Skill"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Skill</span></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23336.jpg.htm" title="Adam. Detail from Michelangelo's fresco in the Capella Sistina (1511)"><img alt="Adam. Detail from Michelangelo's fresco in the Capella Sistina (1511)" class="thumbimage" height="146" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Michelangelo_Buonarroti_017.jpg" src="../../images/233/23336.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23336.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Adam. Detail from <a href="../../wp/m/Michelangelo.htm" title="Michelangelo">Michelangelo</a>'s fresco in the <i><!--del_lnk--> Capella Sistina</i> (<!--del_lnk--> 1511)</div>
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<p>Art can connote a sense of trained ability or mastery of a <!--del_lnk--> medium. Art can also simply refer to the developed and efficient use of a <a href="../../wp/l/Language.htm" title="Language">language</a> to convey meaning with immediacy and or depth.<p>Basically, art is an act of expressing our feelings, thoughts, and observations. There is an understanding that is reached with the material as a result of handling it, which facilitates one's thought processes.<p>A common view is that the epithet “art”, particular in its elevated sense, requires a certain level of creative expertise by the artist, whether this be a demonstration of technical ability or an originality in stylistic approach such as in the plays of <a href="../../wp/w/William_Shakespeare.htm" title="Shakespeare">Shakespeare</a>, or a combination of these two. For example, a common contemporary criticism of some <!--del_lnk--> modern art occurs along the lines of objecting to the apparent lack of skill or ability required in the production of the artistic object. One might take <!--del_lnk--> Tracey Emin's <i><!--del_lnk--> My Bed</i>, or <!--del_lnk--> Hirst's <i>The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living</i>, as examples of pieces wherein the artist exercised little to no traditionally recognised set of skills, but may be said to have innovated by exercising skill in manipulating the <a href="../../wp/m/Mass_media.htm" title="Mass media">mass media</a> as a medium. In the first case, Emin simply slept (and engaged in other activities) in her bed before placing the result in a gallery. She has been insistent that there is a high degree of selection and arrangement in this work, which include objects such as underwear and bottles around the bed. The shocking mundanity of this arrangement has proved to be startling enough to lead others to begin to interpret the work as art. In the second case, Hirst came up with the conceptual design for the artwork. Although he physically participated in the creation of this piece, he has left the eventual creation of many other works to employed artisans. In this case the celebrity of Hirst is founded entirely on his ability to produce shocking concepts, the actual production is, as with most objects a matter of assembly. These approaches are exemplary of a particular kind of contemporary art known as <!--del_lnk--> conceptual art.<p><a id="Judgments_of_value" name="Judgments_of_value"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Judgments of value</span></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23337.jpg.htm" title="Aboriginal hollow log tombs. National Gallery, Canberra, Australia"><img alt="Aboriginal hollow log tombs. National Gallery, Canberra, Australia" class="thumbimage" height="270" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aboriginal_holllow_log_tomb.jpg" src="../../images/233/23337.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23337.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Aboriginal hollow log tombs. National Gallery, <a href="../../wp/c/Canberra.htm" title="Canberra">Canberra</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a></div>
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<p>Somewhat in relation to the above, the word <i>art</i> is also used to apply judgments of value, as in such expressions like "that meal was a work of art" (the cook is an artist), or "the art of deception," (the highly attained level of skill of the deceiver is praised). It is this use of the word as a measure of high quality and high value that gives the term its flavor of subjectivity.<p>Making judgments of value requires a basis for criticism. At the simplest level, a way to determine whether the impact of the object on the senses meets the criteria to be considered <i>art</i>, is whether it is perceived to be attractive or repulsive. Though perception is always colored by experience, and is necessarily subjective, it is commonly taken that that which is not aesthetically satisfying in some fashion cannot be art. However, "good" art is not always or even regularly aesthetically appealing to a majority of viewers. In other words, an artist's prime motivation need not be the pursuit of the aesthetic. Also, art often depicts terrible images made for social, moral, or thought-provoking reasons. For example, <a href="../../wp/f/Francisco_Goya.htm" title="Francisco Goya">Francisco Goya</a>'s painting depicting the Spanish shootings of <!--del_lnk--> 3rd of May <!--del_lnk--> 1808, is a graphic depiction of a firing squad executing several pleading civilians. Yet at the same time, the horrific imagery demonstrates Goya's keen artistic ability in composition and execution and his fitting social and political outrage. Thus, the debate continues as to what mode of aesthetic satisfaction, if any, is required to define 'art'.<p>The assumption of new values or the rebellion against accepted notions of what is aesthetically superior need not occur concurrently with a complete abandonment of the pursuit of that which is aesthetically appealing. Indeed, the reverse is often true, that in the revision of what is popularly conceived of as being aesthetically appealing, allows for a re-invigoration of aesthetic sensibility, and a new appreciation for the standards of art itself. Countless schools have proposed their own ways to define quality, yet they all seem to agree in at least one point: once their aesthetic choices are accepted, the value of the work of art is determined by its capacity to transcend the limits of its chosen medium in order to strike some universal chord, by the rarity of the skill of the artist, or in its accurate reflection in what is termed the <i><!--del_lnk--> zeitgeist</i>.<p><a id="Communicating_emotion" name="Communicating_emotion"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Communicating emotion</span></h3>
<p>Art appeals to many of the human emotions. It can arouse <!--del_lnk--> aesthetic or <!--del_lnk--> moral feelings, and can be understood as a way of communicating these feelings. <!--del_lnk--> Artists express something so that their audience is aroused to some extent, but they do not have to do so consciously. Art explores what is commonly termed as <i><!--del_lnk--> the human condition</i> that is essentially what it is to be human. Effective art often brings about some new insight concerning the human condition either singly or en-mass, which is not necessarily always positive, or necessarily widens the boundaries of collective human ability. The degree of skill that the artist has, will affect their ability to trigger an emotional response and thereby provide new insights, the ability to manipulate them at will shows exemplary skill and determination.<div class="thumb tright">
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<p>The artist's emotional intention may be very different from what the viewer experiences. For example, "Hands Resist Him" painted by Bill Stoneham in 1972 was inspired by a childhood memory but has been called haunted by some viewers. One owner put the painting up for auction on eBay because it so frightened her children. It is known as the <!--del_lnk--> eBay Haunted Painting. Although the story behind the painting is less sensational than Internet lore indicates, the emotional impact the painting and the story have had on people around the world is undeniable. Stoneham has received an outpouring of emotional correspondence since the eBay auction, that ranges from healthy self-examination to demented rantings.<div class="thumb tleft">
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<p><a id="Creative_impulse" name="Creative_impulse"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Creative impulse</span></h3>
<p>From one <!--del_lnk--> perspective, art is a generic term for any product of the <!--del_lnk--> creative impulse, out of which sprang all other human pursuits, such as <a href="../../wp/s/Science.htm" title="Science">science</a> via <a href="../../wp/a/Alchemy.htm" title="Alchemy">alchemy</a>. The term 'art' offers no true definition besides those based within the cultural, historical, and geographical context in which it is applied. Though to artists themselves, the impulse to create can be strong. One might compare <!--del_lnk--> Kandinsky's <!--del_lnk--> inner necessity to this popular view. It is because of the desire to create in the face of financial hardship, lack of recognition, or political opposition, that artists are sometimes thought of as misguided, or eccentric. However, the romantic myth of the starving artist in 'his' garret is a very rare occurrence.<p><a id="Symbols" name="Symbols"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Symbols</span></h3>
<p>Much of the development of individual artist deals with finding principles for how to express certain ideas through various kinds of <!--del_lnk--> symbolism. For example, <!--del_lnk--> Wassily Kandinsky developed his use of <a href="../../wp/c/Color.htm" title="Color">colour</a> in <a href="../../wp/p/Painting.htm" title="Painting">painting</a> through a system of stimulus response, where over time he gained an understanding of the <!--del_lnk--> emotions that can be evoked by color and combinations of colour. Contemporary artist <!--del_lnk--> ok bob, on the other hand, choses to use the medium of found natural objects and materials to arrange temporary sculptures.<p><a id="Cultural_traditions_of_art" name="Cultural_traditions_of_art"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Cultural traditions of art</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/607.jpg.htm" title="View of Mount Fuji from Satta Point in the Suruga Bay, woodcut by Hiroshige, published posthumously 1859."><img alt="View of Mount Fuji from Satta Point in the Suruga Bay, woodcut by Hiroshige, published posthumously 1859." class="thumbimage" height="270" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hiroshige_Fuji_23.jpg" src="../../images/6/607.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/607.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> View of Mount Fuji from Satta Point in the Suruga Bay, woodcut by Hiroshige, published posthumously <!--del_lnk--> 1859.</div>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23338.jpg.htm" title="Painting by Dong Yuan (934-962), Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, China"><img alt="Painting by Dong Yuan (934-962), Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, China" class="thumbimage" height="275" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Dong_Yuan_Mountain_Hall.jpg" src="../../images/233/23338.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23338.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Painting by <!--del_lnk--> Dong Yuan (934-962), <!--del_lnk--> Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, China</div>
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<p>Several genres of art are grouped by cultural relevance, examples can be found in terms such as:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Aboriginal art<li><!--del_lnk--> African art<li><!--del_lnk--> American craft<li><!--del_lnk--> Asian art as found in: <ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/b/Buddhist_art.htm" title="Buddhist art">Buddhist art</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Indian art<li><!--del_lnk--> Chinese art<li><!--del_lnk--> Korean art<li><!--del_lnk--> Japanese art<li><!--del_lnk--> Persian art<li><!--del_lnk--> Tibetan art<li><!--del_lnk--> Thai art<li><!--del_lnk--> Laotian art</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Islamic art<li><!--del_lnk--> Maya art<li><!--del_lnk--> Latin American art<li><!--del_lnk--> Papua New Guinea<li><!--del_lnk--> Visual arts of the United States<li><!--del_lnk--> Western art<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Italian art</ul>
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<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Arthropod</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.General_Biology.htm">General Biology</a></h3>
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</map></span><div style="position: relative;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><img alt="How to read a taxobox" height="16" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Information-silk.png" src="../../images/353/35309.png" usemap="#ImageMap_1" width="16" /></span></div><b>Arthropoda</b></th>
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<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/593.jpg.htm" title="Mexican redknee tarantulaBrachypelma smithi"><img alt="Mexican redknee tarantulaBrachypelma smithi" height="244" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Brachypelma_edit.jpg" src="../../images/5/593.jpg" width="250" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small><!--del_lnk--> Mexican redknee tarantula<br /><i>Brachypelma smithi</i></small></div>
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<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
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<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
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<td>Superphylum:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ecdysozoa<br />
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<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><b>Arthropoda</b><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Latreille, 1829</small></td>
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<center>Subphyla and Classes</center>
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<li><b>Subphylum <!--del_lnk--> Trilobitomorpha</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Trilobita - trilobites (extinct)</ul>
<li><b>Subphylum <!--del_lnk--> Chelicerata</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Arachnida - <a href="../../wp/s/Spider.htm" title="Spider">spiders</a>,<!--del_lnk--> scorpions, etc.<li><!--del_lnk--> Merostomata - <!--del_lnk--> horseshoe crabs, etc.<li><!--del_lnk--> Pycnogonida - sea spiders</ul>
<li><b>Subphylum <!--del_lnk--> Myriapoda</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Chilopoda - <!--del_lnk--> centipedes<li><!--del_lnk--> Diplopoda - <!--del_lnk--> millipedes<li><!--del_lnk--> Pauropoda<li><!--del_lnk--> Symphyla</ul>
<li><b>Subphylum <!--del_lnk--> Hexapoda</b><ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/i/Insect.htm" title="Insect">Insecta</a> - insects<li><!--del_lnk--> Collembola - springtails<li><!--del_lnk--> Diplura<li><!--del_lnk--> Protura</ul>
<li><b>Subphylum <a href="../../wp/c/Crustacean.htm" title="Crustacean">Crustacea</a></b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Branchiopoda – <!--del_lnk--> brine shrimp etc.<li><!--del_lnk--> Remipedia<li><!--del_lnk--> Cephalocarida – horseshoe shrimp<li><!--del_lnk--> Maxillopoda - <a href="../../wp/b/Barnacle.htm" title="Barnacle">barnacles</a>, <!--del_lnk--> fish lice, etc.<li><!--del_lnk--> Ostracoda – seed shrimp<li><!--del_lnk--> Malacostraca - <!--del_lnk--> lobsters, <!--del_lnk--> crabs, <!--del_lnk--> shrimp, etc.</ul>
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<p><b>Arthropods</b> (<a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Phylum</a> <b>Arthropoda</b>, from the <!--del_lnk--> Greek <!--del_lnk--> ἄρθρον, meaning <!--del_lnk--> joint and <!--del_lnk--> ποδός, meaning <!--del_lnk--> foot) are the largest <!--del_lnk--> phylum of <a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">animals</a> and include the <a href="../../wp/i/Insect.htm" title="Insect">insects</a>, <!--del_lnk--> arachnids, <a href="../../wp/c/Crustacean.htm" title="Crustacean">crustaceans</a>, and others. More than 80% of described living animal species are arthropods , with over a million modern species described and a <a href="../../wp/f/Fossil_record.htm" title="Fossil record">fossil record</a> reaching back to the late <!--del_lnk--> proterozoic era. Arthropods are common throughout marine, freshwater, terrestrial, and even aerial environments, as well as including various <!--del_lnk--> symbiotic and <!--del_lnk--> parasitic forms. They range in size from microscopic <!--del_lnk--> plankton (~¼ <!--del_lnk--> mm) up to forms several <!--del_lnk--> metres long. The largest living arthropod is the <!--del_lnk--> Japanese spider crab, with a leg span up to 3½ <!--del_lnk--> m (12 <!--del_lnk--> ft), and some prehistoric arthropods were even larger, such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Pterygotus</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Arthropleura</i>.<p>Arthropods are characterised by the possession of a <!--del_lnk--> segmented body with <!--del_lnk--> appendages on each segment. They have a <!--del_lnk--> dorsal heart and a <!--del_lnk--> ventral nervous system. All arthropods are covered by a hard <!--del_lnk--> exoskeleton made of <!--del_lnk--> chitin, a <!--del_lnk--> polysaccharide, which provides physical protection and resistance to <!--del_lnk--> desiccation. Periodically, an arthropod sheds this covering when it <!--del_lnk--> moults.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Basic_arthropod_structure" name="Basic_arthropod_structure"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Basic arthropod structure</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23484.jpg.htm" title="Blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), a crustacean"><img alt="Blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), a crustacean" class="thumbimage" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Blue_crab_on_market_in_Piraeus_-_Callinectes_sapidus_Rathbun_20020819-317.jpg" src="../../images/234/23484.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23484.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Blue crab (<i>Callinectes sapidus</i>), a crustacean</div>
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<p>The success of arthropods is related to their hard <b><!--del_lnk--> exoskeleton</b>, segmentation, and jointed <!--del_lnk--> appendages. The appendages are used for feeding, sensory reception, defense, and locomotion. The muscle system is more or less assisted by hydraulics originated from the blood pressure created by the heart . The hydraulic system in spiders is especially well developed.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/595.jpg.htm" title="Harpaphe haydeniana, a myriapod"><img alt="Harpaphe haydeniana, a myriapod" class="thumbimage" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Harpaphe_haydeniana_002.jpg" src="../../images/5/595.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/595.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i><!--del_lnk--> Harpaphe haydeniana</i>, a myriapod</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Aquatic arthropods use <!--del_lnk--> gills to exchange gases. These gills have an extensive <!--del_lnk--> surface area in contact with the surrounding water. <!--del_lnk--> Terrestrial arthropods have internal surfaces that are specialised for <!--del_lnk--> gas exchange. Insects and most other terrestrial species have <!--del_lnk--> tracheal systems: air sacs leading into the body from pores called <!--del_lnk--> spiracles in the epidermis <!--del_lnk--> cuticle. Others use <!--del_lnk--> book lungs, or <!--del_lnk--> gills modified for breathing air as seen in species like the <a href="../../wp/c/Coconut_crab.htm" title="Coconut crab">coconut crab</a>. Some areas of the legs of <!--del_lnk--> soldier crabs are covered with an oxygen absorbing membrane. The <!--del_lnk--> gill chambers in terrestrial crabs sometimes have two different structures: one that is gilled and used for breathing underwater, and another specially adapted to take up oxygen from the air (a pseudolung). Arthropods also have a complete digestive system with both a mouth and anus.<p>Arthropods have an <!--del_lnk--> open circulatory system. <!--del_lnk--> Haemolymph containing <!--del_lnk--> haemocyanin, a <a href="../../wp/c/Copper.htm" title="Copper">copper</a>-based oxygen-carrying protein (the copper makes the blood blue, unlike humans that use hemoglobin which uses iron that makes it red), is propelled by a series of hearts into the body cavity where it comes in direct contact with the tissues. Arthropods are <!--del_lnk--> protostomes. There is a <!--del_lnk--> coelom, but it is reduced to a tiny cavity around the reproductive and excretory organs, and the dominant body cavity is a <!--del_lnk--> haemocoel, filled with <!--del_lnk--> haemolymph which bathes the organs directly. The arthropod body is divided into a series of distinct segments, plus a pre-segmental <i>acron</i> which usually supports <!--del_lnk--> compound and simple eyes and a post-segmental <i><!--del_lnk--> telson</i>. These are grouped into distinct, specialised body regions called <i>tagmata</i>. Each segment, at least primitively, supports a pair of <!--del_lnk--> appendages.<p>The cuticle in arthropods forms a rigid <!--del_lnk--> exoskeleton, composed mainly of <!--del_lnk--> chitin, which is periodically shed as the animal grows. They contain an inner zone (procuticle) which is made of protein and chitin and is responsible for the strength of the exoskeleton. The outer zone (epicuticle) lies on the surface of the procuticle. It is nonchitinous and is a complex of <!--del_lnk--> proteins and <!--del_lnk--> lipids. It provides the moisture proofing and protection to the procuticle. The exoskeleton takes the form of plates called <i>sclerites</i> on the segments, plus rings on the appendages that divide them into segments separated by joints. This is in fact what gives arthropods their name — jointed feet — and separates them from their relatives, the <!--del_lnk--> Onychophora and <!--del_lnk--> Tardigrada, also called <!--del_lnk--> Lobopoda (and which is sometimes included in a group called <!--del_lnk--> Panarthropoda that also includes arthropods). The exoskeletons of arthropods strengthen them against attack by predators and are impermeable to water. In order to grow, an arthropod must shed its old exoskeleton and secrete a new one. This process, <!--del_lnk--> ecdysis, is expensive in terms of energy, and during the moulting period, an arthropod is vulnerable.<p><a id="Classification_of_arthropods" name="Classification_of_arthropods"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Classification of arthropods</span></h2>
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<td align="center" style="width:1.5em;border-bottom:1px solid black;" valign="bottom"><!--del_lnk--> Paradoxopoda </td>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Myriapoda</td>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Chelicerata</td>
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<td align="center" style="border-left:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black;" valign="bottom"><!--del_lnk--> Pancrustacea</td>
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<p><span style="background-color:pink;color:;"><!--del_lnk--> Cirripedia</span></td>
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<p><span style="background-color:pink;color:;"><!--del_lnk--> Pemipedia</span></td>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Collembola</td>
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<p><span style="background-color:Pink;color:;"><!--del_lnk--> Branchiopda</span></td>
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<p><span style="background-color:Pink;color:;"><!--del_lnk--> Cephalocarida</span></td>
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<p><span style="background-color:Pink;color:;"><!--del_lnk--> Malacostraca</span></td>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Insecta</td>
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<center><small>Phylogenetic relationships of the major extant arthropod groups, derived from <!--del_lnk--> mitochondrial DNA sequences . Taxa in pink are parts of the subphylum <!--del_lnk--> Crustacea.</small></center>
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<p>Arthropods are typically <a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">classified</a> into five <!--del_lnk--> subphyla, of which one is extinct :<ol>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Trilobites</b> are a group of formerly numerous marine animals that died in the <!--del_lnk--> mass extinction at the end of the <!--del_lnk--> Permian-Triassic extinction event.<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Chelicerates</b> include <a href="../../wp/s/Spider.htm" title="Spider">spiders</a>, <!--del_lnk--> mites, <!--del_lnk--> scorpions and related organisms. They are characterised by the presence of <!--del_lnk--> chelicerae.<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Myriapods</b> comprise <!--del_lnk--> millipedes and <!--del_lnk--> centipedes and their relatives and have many body segments, each bearing one or two pairs of legs. They are sometimes grouped with the hexapods.<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Hexapods</b> comprise <a href="../../wp/i/Insect.htm" title="Insect">insects</a> and three small orders of insect-like animals with six thoracic legs. They are sometimes grouped with the myriapods, in a group called <!--del_lnk--> Uniramia, though genetic evidence tends to support a closer relationship between hexapods and crustaceans.<li><b><a href="../../wp/c/Crustacean.htm" title="Crustacean">Crustaceans</a></b> are primarily marine (a notable exception being <!--del_lnk--> woodlice) and are characterised by having <!--del_lnk--> biramous appendages. They include <!--del_lnk--> lobsters, <!--del_lnk--> crabs, <a href="../../wp/b/Barnacle.htm" title="Barnacle">barnacles</a>, and many others.</ol>
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<br /> Aside from these major groups, there are also a number of fossil forms including <!--del_lnk--> anomalocarids and <!--del_lnk--> euthycarcinoids , mostly from the lower <a href="../../wp/c/Cambrian.htm" title="Cambrian">Cambrian</a>, which are difficult to place, either from lack of obvious affinity to any of the main groups or from clear affinity to several of them.<p>The phylogeny of the arthropods has been an area of considerable interest and dispute. The validity of many of the arthropod groups suggested by earlier authors is being questioned by recent studies; these include <!--del_lnk--> Mandibulata, <!--del_lnk--> Uniramia and <!--del_lnk--> Atelocerata. The most recent studies tend to suggest a <!--del_lnk--> paraphyletic Crustacea with different hexapod groups nested within it . The remaining clade of Myriapoda and Chelicerata is referred to as <!--del_lnk--> Paradoxopoda or <!--del_lnk--> Myriochelata.<p>Since the <!--del_lnk--> International Code of Zoological Nomenclature recognises no priority above the rank of family, many of the higher groups can be referred to by a variety of different names .<p><a id="Evolution" name="Evolution"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Evolution</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/597.jpg.htm" title="A velvet worm"><img alt="A velvet worm" class="thumbimage" height="162" longdesc="/wiki/Image:31-Velvet_Worm.JPG" src="../../images/5/597.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/597.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> velvet worm</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Tardigrada</td>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Arthropoda</td>
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<center><small>A phylogeny of the arthropods after Nielsen.</small></center>
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<p>Arthropods are thought to have branched from an ancestor of the segmented worms during the <!--del_lnk--> Pre-Cambrian era . <!--del_lnk--> Velvet worms (Onychophora) are a good example of what it is imagined that their ancestors looked like, and their similarity to caterpillars and millipedes is thought to be not entirely coincidental . The common ancestral arthropod, though, apparently happened to be one that had evolved not just chitinous mouthparts like other segmented worms, but also a chitinous structure all over its body; with all arthropods, the segments have become distinct (at least in larvae), each covered with one or more plate, and with legs, or limbs, one pair per segment.<p>At one point, it was believed that the different subphyla of arthropods had separate origins from segmented worms, and in particular that the <!--del_lnk--> Uniramia were closer to the Onychophora than to other arthropods. However, this is contradicted by genetic studies and is now rejected by most biologists.<p>Arthropods are grouped together with two similar phyla (<!--del_lnk--> Tardigrada and Onychophora) to form the monophyletic group <!--del_lnk--> Panarthropoda.<p>Traditionally the <!--del_lnk--> Annelida have been considered the closest relatives of these three phyla, on account of their common segmentation. More recently, however, this has been considered <!--del_lnk--> convergent evolution, and the arthropods and allies may be more closely related to certain <!--del_lnk--> pseudocoelomates such as <!--del_lnk--> roundworms that share with them growth by moulting, or <!--del_lnk--> ecdysis. These two possible lineages have been termed the <!--del_lnk--> Articulata and <!--del_lnk--> Ecdysozoa.<p>
<br />
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthropod"</div>
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<td colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> December 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1887 – <!--del_lnk--> January 31, <!--del_lnk--> 1966</td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/233/23340.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="346" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Arthur_Percival.jpg" src="../../images/233/23340.jpg" width="250" /></a><br /> GOC Malaya in December 1941.</td>
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<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Place of birth</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Aspenden, <!--del_lnk--> Hertfordshire</td>
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<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Allegiance</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> British Army</td>
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<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Years of service</th>
<td>1914-1946</td>
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<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Rank</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Lieutenant-General</td>
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<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Commands</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> General Officer Commanding <!--del_lnk--> Malaya</td>
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<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Battles/wars</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Russian Civil War<br /><!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Irish War<br /><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Malaya<br /><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Singapore</td>
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<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Awards</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/o/Order_of_the_Bath.htm" title="Order of the Bath">CB</a>, <!--del_lnk--> DSO and bar, <!--del_lnk--> OBE, <!--del_lnk--> MC</td>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Lieutenant-General <b>Arthur Ernest Percival</b>, <a href="../../wp/o/Order_of_the_Bath.htm" title="Order of the Bath">CB</a>, <!--del_lnk--> DSO and Bar, <!--del_lnk--> OBE, <!--del_lnk--> MC, <!--del_lnk--> OStJ, <!--del_lnk--> DL (<!--del_lnk--> December 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1887 - <!--del_lnk--> January 31, <!--del_lnk--> 1966) was a <!--del_lnk--> British Army officer and a <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a> hero. He built a successful military career between the wars but is most noted for his involvement in <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, when he commanded the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">British</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth army during the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Malaya and the subsequent <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Singapore.<p>Percival's surrender to the smaller invading <!--del_lnk--> Japanese Army is the largest capitulation in <!--del_lnk--> British military history and fatally undermined Britain's prestige as an imperial power in the Far East. However, the years of under-funding of Malaya's defences combined with the inexperienced, under-equipped nature of the British and Commonwealth army makes it possible to hold a more sympathetic view of his command.<p>
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</script><a id="Early_life" name="Early_life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Early life</span></h2>
<p><a id="Childhood_and_Employment" name="Childhood_and_Employment"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Childhood and Employment</span></h3>
<p>Arthur Ernest Percival was born on <!--del_lnk--> Boxing Day in Aspenden Lodge, <!--del_lnk--> Aspenden near <!--del_lnk--> Buntingford in <!--del_lnk--> Hertfordshire, the second son of Alfred Reginald and Edith Percival (née Miller). His father was the Land Agent of the Hamel's Park estate and his mother came from a <!--del_lnk--> Lancashire <a href="../../wp/c/Cotton.htm" title="Cotton">cotton</a> family.<p>Percival was initially schooled locally in <!--del_lnk--> Bengeo. Then in 1901 he was sent to <!--del_lnk--> Rugby with his more academically successful brother, where he was a boarder in School House. A moderate pupil, he studied <!--del_lnk--> Greek and <a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a> but was described by a teacher as "not a good classic". Percival's only qualification on leaving in 1906 was a higher school certificate. He was a more successful sportsman, playing <a href="../../wp/c/Cricket.htm" title="Cricket">cricket</a> and <a href="../../wp/t/Tennis.htm" title="Tennis">tennis</a> and running <!--del_lnk--> cross country. He also rose to <!--del_lnk--> colour sergeant in the school's Volunteer Rifle Corps. However, his military career began at a comparatively late age: although a member of Youngsbury Rifle Club, he was still working as a clerk for the iron-ore merchants, Naylor, Benzon & Company Limited in <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>, which he had joined in 1907 when the <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">Great War</a> broke out. But for this conflict, it seems certain that he would have remained a <!--del_lnk--> civilian.<p><a id="Enlistment_and_World_War_I" name="Enlistment_and_World_War_I"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Enlistment and World War I</span></h3>
<p>Percival enlisted on the first day of the war as a <!--del_lnk--> private in the <!--del_lnk--> Officer Training Corps of the <!--del_lnk--> Inns of court, aged 26, and was promoted after five weeks' basic training to acting <!--del_lnk--> second lieutenant. Nearly one third of his fellow recruits would be dead by the end of the war.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23720.jpg.htm" title="Near Thiepval, 7 August."><img alt="Near Thiepval, 7 August." height="141" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Wiltshire_Regiment_Thiepval_7_August_1916.jpg" src="../../images/233/23341.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23720.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Near <!--del_lnk--> Thiepval, <!--del_lnk--> 7 August.</div>
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<p>The following year Percival was dispatched to <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> with the newly formed 7th (Service) Battalion of the <!--del_lnk--> Bedfordshire Regiment, which became part of the 54th Brigade, <!--del_lnk--> 18th (Eastern) Division in February 1915. The first day of the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_the_Somme_%25281916%2529.htm" title="Battle of the Somme (1916)">Battle of the Somme</a> on <!--del_lnk--> 1 July <!--del_lnk--> 1916 left Percival unscathed, but he was badly hurt by shrapnel wounds in four places in September as he led his company in an assault on the <!--del_lnk--> Schwaben Redoubt beyond the ruins of <!--del_lnk--> Thiepval village and was awarded the <!--del_lnk--> Military Cross.<p>Percival took a regular commission as a <!--del_lnk--> captain with the <!--del_lnk--> Essex Regiment in October 1916, whilst recovering from his injuries in hospital. In 1917, he became battalion commander with the temporary rank of <!--del_lnk--> lieutenant-colonel. During <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Spring Offensive, Percival led a counter-attack that saved a unit of French artillery from capture, winning a <!--del_lnk--> Croix de Guerre. For a short period in May 1918, he acted as commander of the 54th Brigade. He was awarded the <!--del_lnk--> Distinguished Service Order, with his citation noting his "power of command and knowledge of tactics".He ended the war as a respected soldier, described as "very efficient" and was recommended for the <!--del_lnk--> Staff College.<p><a id="Between_the_Wars" name="Between_the_Wars"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Between the Wars</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23342.jpg.htm" title="Major Percival in Ireland"><img alt="Major Percival in Ireland" height="464" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Percival.jpg" src="../../images/233/23342.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23342.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><small>Major Percival in Ireland</small></div>
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<p><a id="Russia" name="Russia"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Russia</span></h3>
<p>Percival's studies were delayed in 1919 when he decided to volunteer for service with the <!--del_lnk--> Archangel Command of the British Military Mission during the <!--del_lnk--> North Russia Campaign of the <!--del_lnk--> Russian Civil War. Appointed <!--del_lnk--> brevet <!--del_lnk--> major and acting as second-in-command of the 46th <!--del_lnk--> Royal Fusiliers, he earned a bar to his DSO in August, when his attack in the Gorodok operation along the <!--del_lnk--> Dvina netted 400 <!--del_lnk--> Bolshevik prisoners.<p><a id="Ireland" name="Ireland"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Ireland</span></h3>
<p>More controversially, in 1920 Percival served as a company commander and later the <!--del_lnk--> intelligence officer of the 1st Battalion, the <!--del_lnk--> Essex Regiment in <!--del_lnk--> Kinsale, <!--del_lnk--> County Cork, <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Ireland</a> fighting the <!--del_lnk--> IRA during the <!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Irish War.<p>Percival was a successful counter-guerrila but he soon developed a reputation for brutality amongst the Irish people: following the murder of an <!--del_lnk--> RIC sergeant in church in July 1920, he captured <!--del_lnk--> Tom Hales, commander of the West Cork Brigade, and <!--del_lnk--> Patrick Harte, the brigade's quartermaster, and won an <!--del_lnk--> OBE. But there were allegations that these and other prisoners were maltreated whilst in custody and he was unable to jail <!--del_lnk--> Tom Barry in spite of once having the opportunity to interrogate him.<p>The IRA placed a bounty of £1,000 on Percival's head, seeing him as responsible for the "Essex Battalion Torture Squad", and a first attempted assassination was only foiled when Percival departed from his dinnertime routine. A second hit squad was dispatched to London in March 1921 but was forced to flee <!--del_lnk--> Liverpool Street Station when the <!--del_lnk--> police learned of their plans. Back in Ireland, Percival led a raid that killed one of the would-be hitmen.<p>Whilst in Ireland, <!--del_lnk--> Bernard Montgomery, who was serving in the same brigade, made Percival's acquaintance and they later exchanged letters on their experiences in this war. <!--del_lnk--> David Lloyd-George and <a href="../../wp/w/Winston_Churchill.htm" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a> also met Percival in 1921 when he was called as an expert witness during an inquiry into the Anglo-Irish War.<p><a id="Staff_officer" name="Staff_officer"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Staff officer</span></h3>
<p>Percival attended the <!--del_lnk--> Staff College, Camberley from 1923 to 1924, then commanded by General <!--del_lnk--> Edmund Ironside, where he was taught by <!--del_lnk--> J.F.C. Fuller, who was one of the few sympathetic reviewers of his book, <i>The War in Malaya</i>, twenty five years later. He impressed his instructors, who picked him out as one of eight students for accelerated promotion, and his fellow students who admired his cricketing skills. Following an appointment as major with the <!--del_lnk--> Cheshire Regiment, he spent four years with the <!--del_lnk--> Nigeria Regiment of the <!--del_lnk--> Royal West African Frontier Force in <!--del_lnk--> West Africa as a staff officer.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23343.jpg.htm" title="The Royal Naval College, where Percival studied in 1930"><img alt="The Royal Naval College, where Percival studied in 1930" height="118" longdesc="/wiki/Image:United_Kingdom_-_England_-_London_-_Greenwich_-_Old_Royal_Naval_College.jpg" src="../../images/233/23343.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23343.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><small>The Royal Naval College, where Percival studied in 1930</small></div>
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<p>In 1930, Percival spent a year studying at the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Naval College, Greenwich. From 1931 to 1932, Percival was General Staff Officer Grade 2, an instructor at the Staff College. The College's commandant General Sir <!--del_lnk--> John Dill, became Percival's mentor over the next 10 years, helping to ensure his protégé's advancement. Dill regarded Percival as a promising officer and wrote that "he has an outstanding ability, wide military knowledge, good judgement and is a very quick and accurate worker" but added "he has not altogether an impressive presence and one may therefore fail, at first meeting him, to appreciate his sterling worth". With Dill's support, Percival was appointed to command the 2nd Battalion, the Cheshire Regiment from 1932 to 1936, initially in <a href="../../wp/m/Malta.htm" title="Malta">Malta</a>. In 1935, he attended the <!--del_lnk--> Imperial Defence College.<p>Percival was made a full <!--del_lnk--> colonel and from 1936 to 1938 he was General Staff Officer Grade 1 in <!--del_lnk--> Malaya, the <!--del_lnk--> Chief of Staff to <!--del_lnk--> General <!--del_lnk--> Dobbie, the <!--del_lnk--> General Officer Commanding in Malaya. During this time, he recognised that Singapore was no longer an isolated fortress. He considered the possibility of the Japanese landing in <a href="../../wp/t/Thailand.htm" title="Thailand">Thailand</a> to "burgle Malaya by the backdoor and conducted an appraisal of the possibility of an attack being launched on Singapore from the North, which was supplied to the <!--del_lnk--> War Office, and which Percival subsequently felt was similar to the plan followed by the Japanese in 1941. He also supported Dobbie's unexecuted plan for the construction of fixed defences in Southern <!--del_lnk--> Johore. In March 1938, he returned to Britain and was promoted to <!--del_lnk--> brigadier on the General Staff, <!--del_lnk--> Aldershot Command.<p><a id="Family" name="Family"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Family</span></h3>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 27 July <!--del_lnk--> 1927 Percival married Margaret Elizabeth "Betty" MacGregor (who died in 1956) in the Holy Trinity Church, <!--del_lnk--> West Brompton. She was the daughter of Thomas MacGregor Greer of Tallylagan Manor, a <!--del_lnk--> protestant <!--del_lnk--> linen merchant from <!--del_lnk--> County Tyrone in <!--del_lnk--> Ulster. They had met during his tour of duty in Ireland and it had taken Percival several years to propose. They had two children. A daughter, Dorinda Margery, was born in Greenwich and became <!--del_lnk--> Lady Dunleath. Alfred James MacGregor, their son, was born in <a href="../../wp/s/Singapore.htm" title="Singapore">Singapore</a> and also served in the British Army. The family were well-to-do and Percival's estate on his death was valued at £102,515, a considerable sum in 1966.<p><a id="The_Second_World_War" name="The_Second_World_War"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Second World War</span></h2>
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<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23344.jpg.htm" title="Lieutenant-General Percival leaving a plane on his arrival in Singapore in 1941 as the new GOC Malaya "><img alt="Lieutenant-General Percival leaving a plane on his arrival in Singapore in 1941 as the new GOC Malaya " height="335" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lieutenant_General_Arthur_Percival.jpg" src="../../images/233/23344.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23344.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><small>Lieutenant-General Percival leaving a plane on his arrival in Singapore in 1941 as the new GOC Malaya</small></div>
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<p>Percival was appointed Brigadier, General Staff, of the <!--del_lnk--> I Corps, <!--del_lnk--> British Expeditionary Force, commanded by General Dill, from 1939 to 1940. He was then promoted to <!--del_lnk--> major general and in February 1940 briefly became General Officer Commanding <!--del_lnk--> 43rd (Wessex) Division. He was made Assistant <!--del_lnk--> Chief of the Imperial General Staff at the <!--del_lnk--> War Office in 1940 but asked for a transfer to an active command after the <!--del_lnk--> Dunkirk evacuation. Given command of the <!--del_lnk--> 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division, he spent 9 months organising the <!--del_lnk--> protection of 62 miles of the <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">English</a> coast from invasion. He was created Companion of the <a href="../../wp/o/Order_of_the_Bath.htm" title="Order of the Bath">Order of the Bath</a> (CB) in 1941.<p><a id="General_Officer_Commanding_.28Malaya.29" name="General_Officer_Commanding_.28Malaya.29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">General Officer Commanding (Malaya)</span></h3>
<p>In May 1941 Percival was given a temporary promotion to acting <!--del_lnk--> lieutenant-general and was appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) Malaya. This was a significant promotion for him as he had never commanded an army <!--del_lnk--> Corps. He left Britain in a <!--del_lnk--> Sunderland flying boat and embarked on an arduous two week, multi-stage flight via <a href="../../wp/g/Gibraltar.htm" title="Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Malta.htm" title="Malta">Malta</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Alexandria, where he was delayed by the <!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Iraqi War, <!--del_lnk--> Basra, <a href="../../wp/k/Karachi.htm" title="Karachi">Karachi</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Rangoon, where he was met by an <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Air_Force.htm" title="Royal Air Force">RAF</a> transport.<p>Percival had mixed feelings about his appointment, noting that "In going to Malaya I realised that there was the double danger either of being left in an inactive command for some years if war did not break out in the East or, if it did, of finding myself involved in a pretty sticky business with the inadequate forces which are usually to be found in the distant parts of our Empire in the early stages of a war."<p>For much of the inter-War period, Britain's defensive plan for Malaya had centred on the dispatch of a naval fleet to the newly built <!--del_lnk--> Singapore Naval Base. Accordingly, the army's role was to defend Singapore and Southern <!--del_lnk--> Johore. Whilst this plan had seemed adequate when the nearest Japanese base had been 1,700 miles away, the outbreak of war in <!--del_lnk--> Europe combined with the partial Japanese occupation of the Northern part of <!--del_lnk--> French Indochina and the signing of the <!--del_lnk--> Tripartite Pact in September 1940 had underlined the impossibility of a sea based defence. Instead it was proposed to use the RAF to defend Malaya, at least until reinforcements could be dispatched from Britain. This led to the building of airfields in Northern Malaya and along its East coast and the dispersal of the available army units around the peninsula to protect them.<p>On arrival Percival set about training his inexperienced army, with his Indian troops being particularly raw, with most of their experienced officers having been withdrawn to support the formation of new units as the Indian army expanded. Relying upon commercial aircraft or the Volunteer air force to overcome the shortage of RAF planes, he toured the peninsula and encouraged the building of defensive works around <!--del_lnk--> Jitra. A training manual, <i>Tactical Notes on Malaya</i>, approved by Percival was distributed to all units.<p>In July 1941 the Japanese occupied Southern Indochina and <!--del_lnk--> sanctions were invoked by Britain, the United States and the Netherlands, freezing financial assets and cutting Japan off from its supplies of <a href="../../wp/p/Petroleum.htm" title="Petroleum">oil</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Tin.htm" title="Tin">tin</a> and <!--del_lnk--> rubber. Given their on-going involvement in <!--del_lnk--> China, this put Japan in an unsustainable position. Both the Japanese navy and army were mobilised but for the moment an uneasy state of cold war persisted. British and Commonwealth reinforcements continued to trickle into Malaya. On <!--del_lnk--> 2 December, the <!--del_lnk--> battleship <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Prince of Wales</i> and the <!--del_lnk--> battle-cruiser <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Repulse</i>, escorted by four destroyers arrived in Singapore, the first time a battle fleet had been based there. The following day <!--del_lnk--> Rear-Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Spooner hosted a dinner attended by the newly arrived Commander-in-Chief <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Fleet <!--del_lnk--> Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Tom Phillips and Percival.<p><a id="The_Japanese_attack_and_the_British_surrender" name="The_Japanese_attack_and_the_British_surrender"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Japanese attack and the British surrender</span></h3>
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<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23345.jpg.htm" title="Malaya Command and the Japanese invasion"><img alt="Malaya Command and the Japanese invasion" height="185" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pacific_War_-_Malaya_1941-42_-_Map.jpg" src="../../images/233/23345.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23345.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><small>Malaya Command and the Japanese invasion</small></div>
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<p>On <!--del_lnk--> December 8, <!--del_lnk--> 1941 the <!--del_lnk--> Japanese 25th Army under the command of Lieutenant-General <!--del_lnk--> Tomoyuki Yamashita <!--del_lnk--> landed on the Malay Peninsula (one hour before the <a href="../../wp/a/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor.htm" title="Attack on Pearl Harbor">attack on Pearl Harbour</a>, the difference in date being because of the <!--del_lnk--> international date line). That night the first Japanese invasion force arrived at <!--del_lnk--> Kota Bharu on Malaya's East coast. This was just a diversionary force and the main landings took place the next day at <!--del_lnk--> Singora and <!--del_lnk--> Pattani on the south-eastern coast of <a href="../../wp/t/Thailand.htm" title="Thailand">Thailand</a>, with troops rapidly deploying over the border into Northern Malaya.<p>On 10 December, Percival issued a stirring, if ultimately ineffective, Special Order of the Day:<ul>
<li><i>In this hour of trial the General Officer Commanding calls upon all ranks Malaya Command for a determined and sustained effort to safeguard Malaya and the adjoining British territories. The eyes of the Empire are upon us. Our whole position in the Far East is at stake. The struggle may be long and grim but let us all resolve to stand fast come what may and to prove ourselves worthy of the great trust which has been placed in us</i>.</ul>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23346.jpg.htm" title="Royal Engineers prepare to blow up a bridge during the retreat"><img alt="Royal Engineers prepare to blow up a bridge during the retreat" height="134" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Royal_Engineers_prepare_to_blow_up_a_bridge_in_Malaya.jpg" src="../../images/233/23346.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23346.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><small><!--del_lnk--> Royal Engineers prepare to blow up a bridge during the retreat</small></div>
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<p>The Japanese advanced rapidly and on <!--del_lnk--> 27 January <!--del_lnk--> 1942 Percival ordered a general retreat across the <!--del_lnk--> Johore Strait to the island of <a href="../../wp/s/Singapore.htm" title="Singapore">Singapore</a> and organised a defence along the length of the island's 70 mile coast line. But the Japanese did not dawdle and on <!--del_lnk--> 8 February, Japanese troops landed on the northwest corner of Singapore island. After a week of fighting on the island, Percival held his final command conference at 9 am on <!--del_lnk--> 15 February in <!--del_lnk--> the Battle Box of <!--del_lnk--> Fort Canning. Having been told that ammunition and water would both run out by the following day, it was agreed to surrender.<p>The Japanese insisted that Percival himself, march under a <!--del_lnk--> white flag to the <!--del_lnk--> Old Ford Motor Factory in <!--del_lnk--> Bukit Timah to negotiate the surrender. A Japanese officer present noted that he looked "pale, thin and tired". After a brief disagreement, when Percival insisted that the British keep 1,000 men under arms in Singapore to preserve order, which Yamashita finally conceded, it was agreed at 6.10 pm that the British and Commonwealth troops would lay down their arms and cease resistance at 8.30 pm. This was in spite of instructions from <a href="../../wp/w/Winston_Churchill.htm" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a> for prolonged resistance. The <!--del_lnk--> Pacific War was just ten weeks old.<p>A common view holds that 138,708 <!--del_lnk--> Allied personnel surrendered or were killed by fewer than 30,000 Japanese. However, the former figure includes nearly 50,000 troops captured or killed during the Battle of Malaya, and perhaps 15,000 base troops. Many of the other troops were tired and under-equipped following their retreat from the Malayan peninsula. Conversely, the latter number represents only the front-line troops available for the invasion of Singapore. British and Commonwealth battle casualties since <!--del_lnk--> 8 December amounted to 7,500 killed and 11,000 wounded. Japanese losses totalled around 3,500 killed and 6,100 wounded.<p><a id="Culpability_for_the_fall_of_Singapore" name="Culpability_for_the_fall_of_Singapore"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Culpability for the fall of Singapore</span></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/188/18852.jpg.htm" title="Lieutenant-General Percival led by a Japanese officer, marches under a flag of truce to negotiate the capitulation of Allied forces in Singapore, on 15 February 1942. It was the largest surrender of British-led forces in history"><img alt="Lieutenant-General Percival led by a Japanese officer, marches under a flag of truce to negotiate the capitulation of Allied forces in Singapore, on 15 February 1942. It was the largest surrender of British-led forces in history" height="97" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Singaporesurrender.jpg" src="../../images/233/23347.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/188/18852.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><small>Lieutenant-General Percival led by a Japanese officer, marches under a flag of <!--del_lnk--> truce to negotiate the capitulation of Allied forces in Singapore, on <!--del_lnk--> 15 February <!--del_lnk--> 1942. It was the largest surrender of British-led forces in history</small></div>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23348.jpg.htm" title="Lt Gen Yamashita (seated, centre) thumps the table with his fist to emphasise his demand for unconditional surrender. Lt Gen Percival sits between his officers, his clenched hand to his mouth (Photo from Imperial War Museum)"><img alt="Lt Gen Yamashita (seated, centre) thumps the table with his fist to emphasise his demand for unconditional surrender. Lt Gen Percival sits between his officers, his clenched hand to his mouth (Photo from Imperial War Museum)" height="140" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BritishSurrender.jpg" src="../../images/233/23348.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23348.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><small>Lt Gen Yamashita (seated, centre) thumps the table with his fist to emphasise his demand for unconditional surrender. Lt Gen Percival sits between his officers, his clenched hand to his mouth (Photo from <!--del_lnk--> Imperial War Museum)</small></div>
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<p>Churchill viewed the fall of Singapore to be "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history". However, Britain, the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a> and the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> had all received higher priorities in the allocation of men and material, so the desired <!--del_lnk--> airforce strength of 300 to 500 aircraft was never reached and whereas the Japanese invaded with over two hundred <a href="../../wp/t/Tank.htm" title="Tanks">tanks</a> the British Army in Malaya did not have a single one.<p>In 1918, Percival had been described as "a slim, soft spoken man... with a proven reputation for bravery and organisational powers" but by 1945 this description had been turned on its head with even Percival's defenders describing him as "something of a damp squib". The fall of Singapore switched Percival's reputation to that of an ineffective "staff wallah", lacking ruthlessness and aggression, even though few doubted that he was a brave and determined officer. Over six feet in height and lanky, with a clipped moustache and two protruding teeth, Percival was an easy target for a caricaturist and decidedly unphotogenic, being described as "tall, bucktoothed and lightly built". . There was no doubt his presentation lacked impact as "his manner was low key and he was a poor public speaker with the cusp of a lisp" but it is equally clear that looks alone do not lose battles.<p>Percival's colleagues must share some of the responsibility. Air Chief Marshal Sir <!--del_lnk--> Robert Brooke-Popham, the <!--del_lnk--> Commander-in-Chief of the <!--del_lnk--> British Far East Command refused Percival permission to launch <!--del_lnk--> Operation Matador in advance of the Japanese landings in Thailand, not wishing to run any risk of provoking the coming war. Brooke-Popham also had a reputation for being "past it", falling asleep in meetings and not arguing forcefully for the air reinforcements required to defend Malaya. Whilst Admiral Tom Phillips was undoubtedly brave, his bold leadership of <!--del_lnk--> Force Z led to his demise and the <!--del_lnk--> destruction of the British fleet on <!--del_lnk--> 10 December 1941, early in the campaign.<p>Moreover, Percival had difficulties with his subordinates Sir <!--del_lnk--> Lewis "Piggy" Heath, commanding <!--del_lnk--> Indian III Corps, and the independent-minded <!--del_lnk--> Gordon Bennett, commanding the <!--del_lnk--> Australian 8th Division. The former officer had been senior to Percival prior to his appointment as GOC (Malaya) and found it difficult to serve under him. Bennett was full of confidence in his <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australian</a> troops, but many saw this as bravado with little basis in reality and he faced a mixed reaction in Australia when he escaped from Singapore immediately after its surrender.<p>That said, Percival was ultimately responsible for the men who served under him and with other officers, notably Major-General <!--del_lnk--> Murray-Lyon commander of the <!--del_lnk--> Indian 11th Infantry Division, he had shown a willingness to replace them when he felt their performance was not up to scratch. Perhaps his greatest mistake was to resist the building of fixed defences in either Johore or the north shore of Singapore, dismissing them in the face of repeated requests to start construction from his Chief Engineer, Brigadier <!--del_lnk--> Ivan Simson, with the comment "Defences are bad for morale - for both troops and civilians". In doing so, Percival threw away the potential advantages he could have derived from the 6,000 engineers under his command and perhaps missed his best chance to blunt the danger posed by the Japanese tanks. Percival also insisted on defending the North-Eastern shore of Singapore most heavily in spite of the wider Straits and against the advice of his new Commander-in-Chief <!--del_lnk--> General Wavell, perhaps fixed on his responsibilities for defending the Singapore Naval Base.<p><a id="Captivity" name="Captivity"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Captivity</span></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23349.jpg.htm" title="The signing of the Japanese surrender MacArthur (sitting), behind him are Generals Percival and Wainwright"><img alt="The signing of the Japanese surrender MacArthur (sitting), behind him are Generals Percival and Wainwright" height="129" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Douglas_MacArthur_signs_formal_surrender.jpg" src="../../images/233/23349.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23349.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><small>The signing of the Japanese surrender <!--del_lnk--> MacArthur (sitting), behind him are Generals Percival and Wainwright</small></div>
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<p>Percival himself was briefly held prisoner in <!--del_lnk--> Changi Prison, where "the defeated GOC could be seen sitting head in hands, outside the married quarters he now shared with seven brigadiers, a colonel, his ADC, cook-sergeant and batman. He discussed feelings with few, spent hours walking around the extensive compound, ruminating on the reverse and what might have been". In the belief that it would improve discipline, he reconsituted a Malaya Command, complete with staff appointments, and helped occupy his fellow prisoners with lectures on the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_France.htm" title="Battle of France">Battle of France</a>.<p>Along with the other senior British captives above the rank of colonel, Percival was removed from Singapore in August 1942. First he was imprisoned in <a href="../../wp/t/Taiwan.htm" title="Taiwan">Formosa</a> and then sent on to <!--del_lnk--> Manchuria, where he was held with several dozen other VIP captives including the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">American</a>, General <!--del_lnk--> Jonathan Wainwright in a <!--del_lnk--> prisoner-of-war camp near Hsian, about 100 miles to the north east of <!--del_lnk--> Mukden.<p>As the war drew to an end, an <!--del_lnk--> OSS team removed the prisoners from Hsian. Percival was then taken, along with Wainwright, to stand immediately behind General <!--del_lnk--> Douglas MacArthur as he confirmed the terms of the Japanese surrender onboard the <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Missouri</i> (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay on <!--del_lnk--> 2 September. Afterwards, MacArthur gave Percival one of the pens he had used to sign the treaty.<p>Percival and Wainwright then returned together to the <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a> to witness the surrender of the Japanese army there, which in a twist of fate was commanded by General Yamashita. The Tiger of Malaya was momentarily surprised to see his former captive at the ceremony. The flag carried by Percival's party on the way to Bukit Timah was also a witness to this reversal of fortunes, being flown when the Japanese formally surrendered Singapore back to Lord <!--del_lnk--> Louis Mountbatten.<p><a id="Later_life" name="Later_life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Later life</span></h2>
<p>Percival returned to Britain in September 1945 to write his dispatch at the <!--del_lnk--> War Office but this was revised by the Government and only published in 1948. He retired from the army in 1946 with the honorary rank of lieutenant-general but only the pension of a major-general. Thereafter, he held appointments connected with the county of Hertfordshire, where he lived at Bullards in <!--del_lnk--> Widford: he was Honorary Colonel of the 479th (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) H.A.A. Regiment <!--del_lnk--> T.A. from 1949-1954 and acted as one of the <!--del_lnk--> Deputy Lieutenants of Hertfordshire in 1951. He continued his relationship with the Cheshire Regiment being appointed Colonel of the Cheshire Regiment between 1950-1955; an association continued by his son, Brigadier James Percival who became Colonel of the Regiment between 1992 and 1999.<p>Whilst General Wainwright had become a public hero on his return to the United States, Percival found himself disparaged for his leadership in Malaya, even by Lieutenant-General Heath, his erstwhile subordinate. "The War in Malaya", Percival's memoir, published in 1949, did little to quell this criticism, being a restrained rather than self-serving account of the campaign. Unusually for a British lieutenant-general, Percival was not awarded a knighthood.<p>Percival was respected for the time he had spent as a Japanese <!--del_lnk--> prisoner-of-war. Serving as life president of the Far East Prisoners of War Association (FEPOW), he pushed for compensation for his fellow captives, eventually helping to obtain a token £5 million of frozen Japanese assets for this cause. This was distributed by the FEPOW Welfare Trust, which Percival served as Chairman. He led protests against the film the <!--del_lnk--> Bridge on the River Kwai, when it was released in 1957, obtaining the addition of on on-screen statement that the movie was a work of fiction. He also worked as President of the Hertfordshire <!--del_lnk--> British Red Cross and was made an Officer of the <!--del_lnk--> Order of St. John in 1964.<p>Percival died at the age of 78 on <!--del_lnk--> 31 January <!--del_lnk--> 1966, in King Edward VII's Hospital for Officers, Beaument Street in <!--del_lnk--> Westminster and was buried in Hertfordshire. <!--del_lnk--> Leonard Wilson, formerly the <!--del_lnk--> Bishop of Singapore gave the address at his memorial service, which was held in <!--del_lnk--> St Martin-in-the-Fields.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Ernest_Percival"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Arthur Sullivan</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.British_History.British_History_17501900.htm">British History 1750-1900</a>; <a href="../index/subject.People.Writers_and_critics.htm">Writers and critics</a></h3>
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<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/529/52928.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan</div>
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<p><b>Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan</b> (<!--del_lnk--> May 13, <!--del_lnk--> 1842 – <!--del_lnk--> November 22, <!--del_lnk--> 1900) was an English composer best known for his <!--del_lnk--> operatic <!--del_lnk--> collaborations with <!--del_lnk--> librettist <!--del_lnk--> W. S. Gilbert. His artistic output included 23 operas, 13 orchestral works, 8 choral or oratorio works, 2 ballets, incidental music to several plays, and numerous hymns and other church pieces, songs, parlour ballads, part songs, carols, and piano and chamber pieces.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Life_and_career" name="Life_and_career"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Life and career</span></h2>
<p><a id="Beginnings" name="Beginnings"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Beginnings</span></h3>
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<p>Sullivan was born in <!--del_lnk--> Lambeth, now part of <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>. His father was a military bandmaster, and Arthur was proficient with all the instruments in the band by age eight. Following a stay at private school in <!--del_lnk--> Bayswater, he was admitted to the choir of the <!--del_lnk--> Chapel Royal, attending its school in <!--del_lnk--> Cheyne Walk. While there, he began to compose <!--del_lnk--> anthems and songs. In 1856, he received the first Mendelssohn prize and went to study at the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Academy of Music until 1858. He then continued his studies at <!--del_lnk--> Leipzig, Germany, at the <!--del_lnk--> Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre where he also took up <!--del_lnk--> conducting. There, he was influenced by <a href="../../wp/f/Felix_Mendelssohn.htm" title="Felix Mendelssohn">Felix Mendelssohn</a>'s musical style.<p>Sullivan credited his Leipzig period with tremendous musical growth. His graduation piece, completed in 1861, was a set of <!--del_lnk--> incidental music to <a href="../../wp/w/William_Shakespeare.htm" title="William Shakespeare">Shakespeare's</a> <i><!--del_lnk--> The Tempest</i>. Revised and expanded, it was performed at <!--del_lnk--> the Crystal Palace in 1862, a year after his return to London, and was an immediate sensation. He began building a reputation as England's most promising young composer.<p>Sullivan's early major works were those typically expected of a serious composer. In 1866, he premiered the <i><!--del_lnk--> Irish Symphony</i> (though he may have completed it by 1863) and the <i><!--del_lnk--> Concerto for Cello and Orchestra</i>, his only works in each genre. In the same year, his <i><!--del_lnk--> Overture In C (In Memoriam)</i>, written in grief shortly after the death of his father, was a commission from the Norwich Festival, and during his lifetime it was one of his most successful works for orchestra. His single most successful work for orchestra, the <i><!--del_lnk--> Overture di Ballo</i>, satisfied a commission from the Birmingham Festival in 1870.<p>His long association with works for the voice began early. Significant commissions for chorus and orchestra included <i><!--del_lnk--> The Masque at Kenilworth</i> (Birmingham Festival, 1864); an <!--del_lnk--> oratorio, <i>The Prodigal Son</i> (Three Choirs Festival, 1869); a dramatic <!--del_lnk--> cantata, <i><!--del_lnk--> On Shore and Sea</i> (Opening of the London International Exhibition, 1871); the <i>Festival <!--del_lnk--> Te Deum</i> (Crystal Palace, 1872); and another oratorio, <i>The Light of the World</i> (Birmingham Festival, 1873). His only <!--del_lnk--> song cycle came during this period: <i><!--del_lnk--> The Window; or, The Song of the Wrens</i> (1871), to a text of eleven poems by <!--del_lnk--> Tennyson.<p>Sullivan's affinity for theatrical works also began early. During a stint as organist at <!--del_lnk--> Covent Garden, he composed his first ballet, <i>L'Île Enchantée</i>. In the nineteenth century, straight plays were often accompanied by live incidental music, and Sullivan composed play scores on numerous occasions. Early examples included <i><a href="../../wp/t/The_Merchant_of_Venice.htm" title="The Merchant of Venice">The Merchant of Venice</a></i> (Prince's Theatre, Manchester, 1871), <i><!--del_lnk--> The Merry Wives of Windsor</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Gaiety Theatre, London, 1874), and <i><!--del_lnk--> Henry VIII</i> (Theatre Royal, Manchester, 1877). (His earlier <i>Tempest</i> incidental music, although adaptable for this purpose, was originally composed for the concert hall.)<p>These commissions were not sufficient to keep Sullivan afloat. He worked as a church organist and composed some 72 <!--del_lnk--> hymns, most of them in the period 1861–75. The most famous of these are "<!--del_lnk--> Onward, Christian Soldiers" (<!--del_lnk--> 1872, lyrics by <!--del_lnk--> Sabine Baring-Gould) and "<!--del_lnk--> Nearer, my God, to Thee" (the "Propior Deo" version). He also turned out over 80 popular songs and <!--del_lnk--> parlour ballads – again, most of them written before the late 1870s. The best known of these is "<!--del_lnk--> The Lost Chord" (<!--del_lnk--> 1877, lyrics by <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide Anne Procter), written in sorrow at the death of his brother <!--del_lnk--> Fred, who had premiered the roles of The Learned Judge in <i><!--del_lnk--> Trial by Jury</i> and <a href="../../wp/a/Apollo.htm" title="Apollo">Apollo</a> in <i><!--del_lnk--> Thespis</i>.<p>In the autumn of <!--del_lnk--> 1867, he travelled with <!--del_lnk--> Sir George Grove to <a href="../../wp/v/Vienna.htm" title="Vienna">Vienna</a>, returning with a treasure-trove of rescued <a href="../../wp/f/Franz_Schubert.htm" title="Franz Schubert">Schubert</a> scores, including the music to <i><!--del_lnk--> Rosamunde</i>.<p><a id="First_operas" name="First_operas"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">First operas</span></h3>
<p>Sullivan's first attempt at opera, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Sapphire Necklace</i> (1863–64, libretto by <!--del_lnk--> Henry F. Chorley) was not produced, and is now lost, although the overture and two songs from the work were separately published.<p>His first surviving opera, <i><!--del_lnk--> Cox and Box</i> (1866), was originally written for a private performance. It then received charity performances in both London and Manchester, and it was later produced at the <!--del_lnk--> Gallery of Illustration, where it ran for an extremely successful 264 performances. A freelance journalist named W. S. Gilbert, writing on behalf of a humour magazine called <i><!--del_lnk--> Fun</i>, pronounced the score superior to <!--del_lnk--> F. C. Burnand's libretto. The first Sullivan-Burnand collaboration was sufficiently successful to spawn a two-act opera, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Contrabandista</i> (1867; revised and expanded as <i><!--del_lnk--> The Chieftain</i> in 1894), which did not achieve great popularity.<p><a id="The_collaboration_with_Gilbert" name="The_collaboration_with_Gilbert"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The collaboration with Gilbert</span></h3>
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<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1871, John Hollingshead commissioned Sullivan to work with W. S. Gilbert to create the <!--del_lnk--> burlesque <i><!--del_lnk--> Thespis</i> for the Gaiety Theatre. Conceived specifically as a Christmas entertainment, it ran through to Easter 1872. The work was produced rather quickly, after which Gilbert and Sullivan went their separate ways, with the exception of two parlour ballads in late 1874 and early 1875.<p>In 1875, theatre manager <!--del_lnk--> Richard D'Oyly Carte needed a short piece to fill out a bill with <!--del_lnk--> Offenbach's <i><!--del_lnk--> La Périchole</i> for the <!--del_lnk--> Royalty Theatre. Remembering <i>Thespis</i>, Carte reunited <!--del_lnk--> Gilbert and Sullivan, and the result was the one-act <!--del_lnk--> comic opera <i><!--del_lnk--> Trial by Jury</i>. The success of this piece launched Gilbert and Sullivan on their famous partnership, which produced an additional twelve comic operas. However, Sullivan was not yet exclusively hitched to Gilbert. Soon after the successful opening of <i>Trial</i>, Sullivan wrote <i><!--del_lnk--> The Zoo</i>, another one-act comic opera, with a libretto by <!--del_lnk--> B. C. Stephenson. But the new work was not a big hit, and Sullivan collaborated on operas only with Gilbert for the next 15 years.<p>Sullivan's next opera with Gilbert, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Sorcerer</i> (1877), was a success by the standards of the day, but <i><!--del_lnk--> H.M.S. Pinafore</i> (1878), which followed it, turned Gilbert and Sullivan into an international phenomenon. Indeed, <i>Pinafore</i> was so succeessful that over a hundred unauthorised productions sprang up in America alone. Gilbert, Sullian and Carte tried for many years to control the American performance copyrights over their operas, without success. <i>Pinafore</i> was followed by another hit, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Pirates of Penzance</i> in (1879), and then <i><!--del_lnk--> Patience</i> (1881). Later in 1881, <i>Patience</i> transferred to the new <!--del_lnk--> Savoy Theatre, where the remaining Gilbert and Sullivan joint works were produced, as a result of which they are sometimes known as the "<!--del_lnk--> Savoy Operas." <i><!--del_lnk--> Iolanthe</i> (1882) was the first of their works to premiere at the new theatre.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1883, during the run of <i>Iolanthe</i>, Sullivan was <!--del_lnk--> knighted by <a href="../../wp/v/Victoria_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Victoria of the United Kingdom">Queen Victoria</a>. Although it was the operas with Gilbert that had earned him the broadest fame, the honour was conferred for his services to serious music. The musical establishment, and many critics, believed that this should put an end to his career as a composer of comic opera — that a musical <!--del_lnk--> knight should not stoop below oratorio or <!--del_lnk--> grand opera.<p>Sullivan too, despite the financial security of writing for the Savoy, increasingly viewed his work with Gilbert as unimportant, beneath his skills, and also repetitious. Furthermore, he was unhappy that he had to simplify his music to ensure that Gilbert's words could be heard. But paradoxically, just before the production of <i>Iolanthe</i>, Sullivan had signed a five-year agreement with Gilbert and Carte, compelling him to produce a new comic opera on six months' notice. Having agreed to this, Sullivan suddenly felt trapped.<p><i><!--del_lnk--> Princess Ida</i> (1884, the duo's only three-act, <!--del_lnk--> blank verse work) was noticeably less successful than its predecessors, although Sullivan's score was praised. With box office receipts lagging, Carte gave the contractual six months' notice for a new opera. Gilbert proposed a libretto in which the plot depended on the agency of a magic lozenge. Sullivan pronounced it overly mechanical and too similar to their earlier work and asked out of the partnership. The impasse was finally resolved when Gilbert proposed a plot that did not depend on any supernatural device. The result was Gilbert and Sullivan's most successful work, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Mikado</i> (1885).<p><i><!--del_lnk--> Ruddygore</i> (1887, renamed <i>Ruddigore</i>) followed. It had a respectable nine-month run, but by Gilbert and Sullivan's standards, it was not a great success. When Gilbert again proposed a version of the "lozenge" plot for their next opera, Sullivan reiterated his desire to leave the partnership. Finally, Gilbert proposed a comparatively serious opera, which Sullivan immediately accepted. Although not a grand opera, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Yeomen of the Guard</i> (1888) provided Sullivan with the opportunity to write his most ambitious score to date. After <i>Yeomen</i> and another brief impasse over the choice of a subject, Gilbert offered a scenario set in Venice, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Gondoliers</i> (1889). This was their last great success together.<p>The partnership suffered a serious breach during the run of <i>The Gondoliers</i>, when Gilbert questioned Carte over the cost of new carpeting for the Savoy lobby. Sullivan, who was already planning a grand opera, <i><!--del_lnk--> Ivanhoe</i>, under Carte's management at another theatre, considered the dispute petty and sided with Carte. The resulting quarrel took several years to work out. Sullivan would collaborate with Gilbert twice more, on <i><!--del_lnk--> Utopia Limited</i> (1893) and <i><!--del_lnk--> The Grand Duke</i> (1896), but they were unable to recreate the success of their earlier collaborations.<p><a id="Serious_music_from_1875_to_1890" name="Serious_music_from_1875_to_1890"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Serious music from 1875 to 1890</span></h3>
<p>During the years of Sullivan's most successful work with Gilbert, his career as a conductor and educator continued in parallel. Between 1875 and 1890, however, Sullivan wrote only two substantial compositions that were not comic opera, and both were oratorios for the triennial Leeds Festival, for which Sullivan was appointed conductor starting in 1880. For the 1880 Leeds Festival, Sullivan was commissioned to write a sacred choral work. For a source text, Sullivan settled on <!--del_lnk--> Henry Hart Milman's 1822 dramatic poem based on the life of <!--del_lnk--> Saint Margaret the Virgin. Sullivan found the poem unwieldy for his purposes. His operatic collaborator, W. S. Gilbert, adapted the text, altering Milman's metrical scheme in three of the work's sixteen numbers, and advising on selected abridgements in many of the others.<p>Described as "A Sacred Musical Drama," <i><!--del_lnk--> The Martyr of Antioch</i> had a successful premiere on the morning of <!--del_lnk--> October 15, <!--del_lnk--> 1880. As thanks for Gilbert's help, Sullivan presented his collaborator with an engraved silver cup. Gilbert replied, "Pray believe that of the many substantial advantages that have resulted to me from our association, this last is, and always will be, the most highly prized." Sullivan dedicated the work to the <!--del_lnk--> Princess of Wales.<p>In 1886, Sullivan once again supplied a large-scale choral work for the Leeds Festival, this time selecting <!--del_lnk--> Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem <i><!--del_lnk--> The Golden Legend</i> to set as an oratorio of the same title. Outside of the comic operas with Gilbert, this oratorio was Sullivan's most successful large-scale work. It was performed hundreds of times in Sullivan's lifetime, and at one point the composer even declared a moratorium on its performance, fearing that the work would become over-exposed. It remained in the repertory until about the 1920s, but since then it has been seldom performed. Recent Sullivan scholarship and the first professional recording in 2001 have revived interest in the work.<p><a id="Later_works" name="Later_works"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Later works</span></h3>
<p>In the late 1880s, Sullivan resumed composing incidental music to plays, producing <i><a href="../../wp/m/Macbeth.htm" title="Macbeth">Macbeth</a></i> (1888) for the <!--del_lnk--> Lyceum Theatre, with <!--del_lnk--> Henry Irving in the title role; Tennyson's <i><!--del_lnk--> The Foresters</i> (1892) for Daly's Theatre in New York; and J. Comyns Carr's <i>King Arthur</i> (1895), again at the Lyceum.<p>As early as 1883, Sullivan was under pressure from the musical establishment to write a grand opera, but he did not finally get around to it until 1891. The composer asked Gilbert to supply the libretto, but the latter declined, saying that in grand opera the librettist's role is subordinate to that of the composer. Sullivan turned, instead, to Julian Sturgis, who was recommended by Gilbert. <i><!--del_lnk--> Ivanhoe</i>, based on Sir <a href="../../wp/w/Walter_Scott.htm" title="Walter Scott">Walter Scott</a>'s <i><!--del_lnk--> novel</i>, opened at Carte's new Royal English Opera House on <!--del_lnk--> 31 January <!--del_lnk--> 1891. Although the opera itself was a success, it passed into virtual obscurity after the opera house failed. Sullivan did not seriously consider writing grand opera again.<p>Apart from <i>Ivanhoe</i>, Sullivan collaborated with no other librettists besides Gilbert from 1875 until their partnership collapsed following <i>The Gondoliers</i>. Richard D'Oyly Carte still had the Savoy Theatre to run, and he turned to other librettists to provide material for new comic operas by Sullivan, while scheduling Gilbert & Sullivan revivals and works by other composers when no Sullivan work was available.<p>Sullivan's first comic opera after the breakup with Gilbert, <i><!--del_lnk--> Haddon Hall</i> (1892, libretto by <!--del_lnk--> Sydney Grundy), enjoyed a modest success. Although still comic, the tone and style of the work was considerably more serious and romantic than most of the operas with Gilbert. After another Gilbert opera (<i>Utopia Limited</i>, 1893), Sullivan teamed up again with his old partner, F. C. Burnand. <i><!--del_lnk--> The Chieftain</i> (1894), a heavily revised version of their earlier two-act opera, <i>The Contrabandista</i>, flopped. After <i>The Grand Duke</i> (1896) also failed, Gilbert and Sullivan were finished working together for good.<p>In May 1897, Sullivan's full-length ballet, <i><!--del_lnk--> Victoria and Merrie England</i>, opened at the <!--del_lnk--> Alhambra Theatre to celebrate the Queen's <!--del_lnk--> Diamond Jubilee. The work's seven scenes portrayed events from English history. Its six-month run was considered a great success.<p><i><!--del_lnk--> The Beauty Stone</i> (1898, libretto by <!--del_lnk--> Arthur Wing Pinero and J. Comyns Carr) was another opera more serious than Sullivan or the Savoy were accustomed to, and it failed miserably. Finally, in <i><!--del_lnk--> The Rose of Persia</i> (1899, libretto by <!--del_lnk--> Basil Hood), Sullivan returned to his comic roots, producing his most successful full-length opera apart from Gilbert. Another opera with Hood quickly went into preparation.<p><a id="Death" name="Death"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Death</span></h3>
<p>Sullivan, who had suffered from ill health throughout his life, succumbed to <a href="../../wp/p/Pneumonia.htm" title="Pneumonia">pneumonia</a> at the age of 58 at his flat in <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a> on <!--del_lnk--> November 22, <!--del_lnk--> 1900. He left his last opera, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Emerald Isle</i>, to be completed by <!--del_lnk--> Edward German. His <i>Te Deum</i> for the end of the <a href="../../wp/s/Second_Boer_War.htm" title="Second Boer War">Boer War</a> was performed posthumously.<p>A monument in the composer's memory was erected in the <!--del_lnk--> Victoria Embankment Gardens (London) and is inscribed with W. S. Gilbert's words from <i><!--del_lnk--> The Yeomen of the Guard</i>: "<i>Is life a boon? If so, it must befall that Death, whene'er he call, must call too soon</i>". Sullivan wished to be buried in <!--del_lnk--> Brompton Cemetery with his parents and brother, but, by order of the Queen, he was buried in <!--del_lnk--> St. Paul's Cathedral.<p><a id="Personal_life" name="Personal_life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Personal life</span></h2>
<p>Although Sullivan never married, he had many love affairs. His first serious affair was with Rachel Scott Russell (1845–1882). Precisely when it began is uncertain, but Sullivan and his friend, <!--del_lnk--> Frederic Clay, were frequent visitors at the Scott Russell home beginning in 1864, and by 1866 the affair was in full bloom. Rachel's parents did not approve of a possible union to a young composer with uncertain financial prospects. After Rachel's mother discovered the relationship in 1867, the two continued to see each other covertly. At some point in 1868, Sullivan started a simultaneous affair with Rachel's sister Louise (1841–1878). He eventually cooled on both girls, and the affairs were over by 1870. Some two hundred love letters from the two girls have survived. They are excerpted in detail in Wolfson (1984).<p>Sullivan's longest love affair was with an American, Mary Frances ("Fanny") Ronalds <i>née</i> Carter, born <!--del_lnk--> August 23, <!--del_lnk--> 1839, a woman three years Sullivan's senior. He met her in Paris around 1867, and the affair began in earnest at some point not long after she moved to London permanently around 1870–1. A contemporary account described Fanny Ronalds this way:<dl>
<dd>Her face was perfectly divine in its loveliness, her features small and exquisitely regular. Her hair was a dark shade of brown – <i>châtain foncé</i> [deep chestnut] – and very abundant... a lovely woman, with the most generous smile one could possibly imagine, and the most beautiful teeth (quoted in Jacobs 1992, p. 88).</dl>
<p>Fanny was separated from her husband, but she was never divorced. Social conventions of the time compelled Sullivan and Fanny to keep their relationship private. In his diaries, he would refer to her as "Mrs. Ronalds" when he saw her in a public setting, but "L. W." (for "Little Woman") or "D. H." (possibly "Dear Heart") when they were alone together, often with a number in parentheses indicating the number of sexual acts completed (Jacobs, p. 161). It is thought that Fanny was pregnant, or believed herself pregnant, on at least two occasions (Jacobs, pp. 178, 203–204), and procured an <!--del_lnk--> abortion on at least one occasion. In the 1999 <!--del_lnk--> biographical film <i><!--del_lnk--> Topsy-Turvy</i>, Sullivan and Fanny discuss an abortion at around the time of the production of <i><!--del_lnk--> The Mikado</i>.<p>Sullivan had a roving eye, and the diary records the occasional quarrel when his other liaisons were discovered, but he always returned to Fanny. She was a constant companion (and was well known for performing some of Sullivan's songs) up to the time of Sullivan's death, but around 1889 or 1890, the sexual relationship seems to have ended. He started to refer to her in the diary as "Auntie" (Jacobs, p. 295), and the tick marks indicating sexual activity were no longer there, although similar notation continued to be used for his relationships with other women who have not been identified, and who were always referred to by their initials. In 1896, Sullivan proposed marriage to the 20-year-old Violet Beddington, but she refused him.<p>Some books and websites claim or speculate that Sullivan was <!--del_lnk--> homosexual or <!--del_lnk--> bisexual. Brahms (1975, p. 46) says that Sullivan had a relationship with the <!--del_lnk--> Duke of Edinburgh. It is undisputed that Sullivan and the Duke were friends, but the only evidence cited for a sexual relationship is unspecified "Victorian cartoonists." <i>The Gay Book of Days</i> (Carol Publishing Corporation, 1985) and <i>The Alyson Almanac</i> (Alyson Publications, 1990) both list Sullivan as a gay composer, again not stating the source.<p>Sullivan was devoted to his parents, his brother Fred, and Fred's children. After Fred died, Sullivan did his best to provide for Fred's family, and he left the bulk of his estate to Fred's children.<p><a id="Compositional_style" name="Compositional_style"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Compositional style</span></h2>
<p><a id="Orchestration" name="Orchestration"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Orchestration</span></h3>
<p>Sullivan's orchestra for the Savoy Operas was typical of any other pit orchestra of his era: 2 <a href="../../wp/f/Flute.htm" title="Flute">flutes</a> (+ <!--del_lnk--> piccolo), <!--del_lnk--> oboe, 2 <a href="../../wp/c/Clarinet.htm" title="Clarinet">clarinets</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Bassoon.htm" title="Bassoon">bassoon</a>, 2 <!--del_lnk--> horns, 2 <!--del_lnk--> cornets, 2 <!--del_lnk--> trombones, <!--del_lnk--> timpani, <!--del_lnk--> percussion, and strings. Sullivan had argued hard for an increase in the pit orchestra's size, and starting with <i>Yeomen</i> the operas all included the usual complement plus second bassoon and bass trombone.<p><a id="Musical_Quotations" name="Musical_Quotations"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Musical Quotations</span></h3>
<p>To the delight of his generally well educated Savoy Theatre audiences, Sullivan often quoted or imitated famous themes and passages from well-known composers or popular tunes.<p>He also liked to evoke familiar musical styles, such as his "<!--del_lnk--> madrigals" in <i>The Mikado</i>, <i>Ruddigore</i> and <i>Yeomen</i>, "<!--del_lnk--> glees" in <i>H.M.S. Pinafore</i> and <i>The Mikado</i> and "<!--del_lnk--> gavottes" in <i>Ruddigore</i> and <i>The Gondoliers</i>. The exotic sounds of the Far East are evoked in <i>The Mikado</i>, with the composer even trying to replicate a popular war song in "Miya Sama". In <i>The Sorcerer</i>, there is a country dance and folksy duet between the men and women's chorus in "If You'll Marry Me." In several of the operas, the style of a hornpipe or sea chanty is woven into the music, or the military sound of the fife and drum is quoted.<p>In early pieces, Sullivan took a page out of the Offenbach playbook in spoofing the idioms of Italian opera, such as in the operas of <!--del_lnk--> Bellini, <!--del_lnk--> Donizetti, and <a href="../../wp/g/Giuseppe_Verdi.htm" title="Giuseppe Verdi">Verdi</a>. Later, the influences of <!--del_lnk--> Handel, <a href="../../wp/f/Franz_Schubert.htm" title="Franz Schubert">Schubert</a> and especially <a href="../../wp/f/Felix_Mendelssohn.htm" title="Felix Mendelssohn">Mendelssohn</a> can be heard in Sullivan's work.<p>In the Major-General's Act II song "Sighing softly to the river" from <i>The Pirates of Penzance</i>, Sullivan imitates Schubert’s partsongs for male voices. The chorus "With catlike tread" from the same opera is an imitation of Verdi's "<!--del_lnk--> Anvil Chorus" from <i><!--del_lnk--> Il Trovatore</i>. Sullivan also quotes the theme of Schubert’s song "<!--del_lnk--> Der Wanderer" in the choral entry of the family ghosts in Act II of <i>Ruddigore</i>.<p>In <i>Iolanthe</i>, Sullivan imitates a <a href="../../wp/j/Johann_Sebastian_Bach.htm" title="Johann Sebastian Bach">Bach</a> <!--del_lnk--> fugue; this occurs on three occasions when the Lord Chancellor enters, including at the beginning of his "Nightmare" <!--del_lnk--> patter song. Likewise, in <i>Iolanthe</i> there is a <a href="../../wp/r/Richard_Wagner.htm" title="Wagner">Wagnerian</a> style in the Fairy Queen's music in the finale of Act I ("All the most terrific thunders in my armoury of wonders"), as well as the fairies' music during Iolanthe's self-revelation. Iolanthe enters to an oboe solo quoting "Die alte Weise" from <i><!--del_lnk--> Tristan und Isolde</i>. The strings over Phyllis' "heart that's aching" passage play virtually the same notes as the theme of desire (sometimes called "yearning") from <i>Tristan</i>.<p>In <i>Princess Ida</i>, there is a strong Handelian flavour to Arac's song in Act III, and in <i>The Gondoliers</i>, there is a <!--del_lnk--> Mozartean quintet, "Try we lifelong". Also in <i>The Gondoliers</i>, there is the Spanish <!--del_lnk--> cachucha, the Italian <!--del_lnk--> saltarello and <!--del_lnk--> tarantella, and the Venetian <!--del_lnk--> barcarolle. In "My Object All Sublime," when the Mikado mentions "Bach interwoven with <!--del_lnk--> Spohr and <!--del_lnk--> Beethoven," the bassoon quotes from the fugue subject of Bach's <i>Fantasia and Fugue in G minor</i>, BWV 542 (the subject is itself evidently a quote from <!--del_lnk--> Reincken).<p>More generally, beyond his use of particular styles or the quotation of actual compositions, Sullivan also gave each opera, or elements in each opera, a thematic core style, <!--del_lnk--> motif or mood using particular orchestrations, key sequencing and rhythmic settings. For instance, in <i>The Yeomen of the Guard</i>, a strong rhythmic brass figure usually evokes the <a href="../../wp/t/Tower_of_London.htm" title="Tower of London">Tower of London</a>. In <i>The Pirates of Penzance</i>, the policemen always enter to a signature theme. <i>The Sorcerer</i> is filled with lyrical, pastoral string and woodwind figures appropriate to a country manor setting. <i>Princess Ida'</i>s two settings are contrasted, with the militaristic men's court separated from the dreamy, fairytale setting of the women's university. Likewise, in both <i>Iolanthe</i> and <i>Patience</i>, military or government officers march to a far different beat than that of aesthetically etherealized women or fairies, and so forth.<p><a id="Overtures" name="Overtures"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Overtures</span></h3>
<p>The overtures from Sullivan's comic operas remain popular, and there are many recordings of them. Most of them are structured as a <i>potpourri</i> of tunes from the operas. They are generally well orchestrated, but not all of them were composed by Sullivan. However, even those delegated to his assistants were probably based on an outline he provided, and in many cases incorporated his suggestions or corrections. One can certainly presume that he approved of them, since he invariably conducted on opening night.<p>Those Sullivan wrote himself include <i><!--del_lnk--> Cox and Box</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Thespis</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Iolanthe</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Princess Ida</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Yeomen of the Guard</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Gondoliers</i>, and <i><!--del_lnk--> The Grand Duke</i>. Sullivan's authorship of the overture to <i><!--del_lnk--> Utopia Limited</i> cannot be verified with certainty, as his autograph score is now lost, but it is likely attributable to him, as it consists of only a few bars of introduction, followed by a straight copy of music heard elsewhere in the opera (the Drawing Room scene). <i>Thespis</i> is now lost, but there is no doubt that it had an overture and that Sullivan wrote it.<p>Of those remaining, the overtures to <i><!--del_lnk--> H.M.S. Pinafore</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> The Pirates of Penzance</i> are by <!--del_lnk--> Alfred Cellier; to <i><!--del_lnk--> The Sorcerer</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Mikado</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Ruddigore</i> are by Hamilton Clarke (although <!--del_lnk--> Geoffrey Toye's 1920 <i>Ruddigore</i> overture has largely replaced Clarke's); and to <i><!--del_lnk--> Patience</i> is by <!--del_lnk--> Eugene d'Albert.<p>Most of the overtures are in three sections: a lively introduction, a slow middle section, and a concluding allegro in sonata form, with two subjects, a brief development, a recapitulation and a coda. However, Sullivan himself didn't always follow this pattern. The overtures to <i>Princess Ida</i> and <i>The Gondoliers</i>, for instance, have only an opening fast section and a concluding slow section. The overture to <i>Utopia Limited</i> is dominated by a slow section, with only a very brief original passage introducing it.<p>In the 1920s, the <!--del_lnk--> D'Oyly Carte Opera Company commissioned its musical director at the time, <!--del_lnk--> Geoffrey Toye, to write new overtures for <i>Ruddigore</i> and <i>The Pirates of Penzance</i>. Toye's <i>Ruddigore</i> overture entered the general repertory, and today is more often heard than the original overture by Clarke. Toye's <i>Pirates</i> overture, however, did not last long and is now lost.<p><!--del_lnk--> Sir Malcolm Sargent devised a new ending for the overture to <i>The Gondoliers</i>, adding the "cachucha" from the second act of the opera. This gave the <i>Gondoliers</i> overture the familiar fast-slow-fast pattern of most of the rest of the <!--del_lnk--> Savoy Opera overtures, and this version has competed for popularity with Sullivan's original version.<p><a id="Reputation_and_criticism" name="Reputation_and_criticism"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Reputation and criticism</span></h2>
<p><a id="Early_career" name="Early_career"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Early career</span></h3>
<p>When the young Arthur Sullivan returned to England after his studies in Leipzig, critics were struck by his potential. His incidental music to <i>The Tempest</i> received an acclaimed premiere at the <!--del_lnk--> Crystal Palace on <!--del_lnk--> April 5, <!--del_lnk--> 1862. The <i><!--del_lnk--> Athenaeum</i> wrote:<dl>
<dd>It was one of those events which mark an epoch in a man's life; and, what is of more universal consequence, it may mark an epoch in English music, or we shall be greatly disappointed. Years on years have elapsed since we have heard a work by so young an artist so full of promise, so full of fancy, showing so much conscientiousness, so much skill, and so few references to any model elect. (Quoted in Jacobs 1992, p. 28).</dl>
<p>His <i>Irish Symphony</i> of 1866 won similarly enthusiastic praise:<dl>
<dd>The symphony...is not only by far the most noticeable composition that has proceeded from Mr. Sullivan's pen, but the best musical work, if judged only by the largeness of its form and the number of beautiful thoughts it contains, for a long time produced by any English composer.... (<i>The Times</i>, quoted in Jacobs, p. 42).</dl>
<p>But as Jacobs notes, "The first rapturous outburst of enthusiasm for Sullivan as an orchestral composer did not last." A comment that may be taken as typical of those that would follow the composer throughout his career was that "Sullivan's unquestionable talent should make him doubly careful not to mistake popular applause for artistic appreciation" (Jacobs, p. 49).<p>Sullivan was also occasionally cited for a lack of diligence. For instance, of his early oratorio, <i>The Prodigal Son</i>, his teacher, <!--del_lnk--> John Goss, wrote:<dl>
<dd>All you have done is most masterly – Your orchestration superb, & your effects many of them original & first-rate.... Some day, you will, I hope, try another oratorio, putting out all your strength, but not the strength of a few weeks or months, whatever your immediate friends may say...only don't do anything so pretentious as an oratorio or even a Symphony without <i>all your power</i>, which seldom comes in one fit. (Letter of <!--del_lnk--> December 22, <!--del_lnk--> 1869, quoted in Allen 1975a, p. 32).</dl>
<p><a id="The_transition_to_opera" name="The_transition_to_opera"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The transition to opera</span></h3>
<p>By the mid-1870s, Sullivan had turned his attention mainly to works for the theatre, for which he was generally admired. For instance, after the first performance of <i>Trial by Jury</i> (1875), the <i>Times</i> said that "It seems, as in the great Wagnerian operas, as though poem and music had proceeded simultaneously from one and the same brain" (quoted in Allen 1975b, p. 30). But by the time <i>The Sorcerer</i> appeared, there were charges that Sullivan was wasting his talents in comic opera:<dl>
<dd>There is nothing whatever in Mr. Sullivan's score which any theatrical conductor engaged at a few pounds a week could not have written equally well.... We trust Mr. Sullivan is more proud of it than we can pretend to be. But we must confess to a sense of disappointment at the downward art course Mr. Sullivan appears to be now drifting into.... [He] has all the ability to make him a great composer, but he wilfully throws his opportunity away. A giant may play at times, but Mr. Sullivan is always playing.... He possesses all the natural ability to have given us an English opera, and, instead, he affords us a little more-or-less excellent fooling. (<i>Figaro</i>, quoted in Allen 1975b, pp. 49–50).</dl>
<p>Implicit in these comments was the view that comic opera, no matter how carefully crafted, was an intrinsically lower form of art. The <i>Athenaeum's</i> review of <i>The Martyr of Antioch</i> expressed a similar complaint:<dl>
<dd>It might be wished that in some portions Mr Sullivan had taken a loftier view of his theme, but at any rate he has written some most charming music, and orchestration equal, if not superior, to any that has ever proceeded from the pen of an English musician. And, further, it is an advantage to have the composer of <i>H.M.S. Pinafore</i> occupying himself with a worthier form of art. (<!--del_lnk--> October 25, <!--del_lnk--> 1880, quoted in Jacobs, p. 149).</dl>
<p>The operas with Gilbert themselves, however, garnered Sullivan high praise from the theatre reviewers. For instance, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Daily Telegraph</i> wrote, "The composer has risen to his opportunity, and we are disposed to account <i>Iolanthe</i> his best effort in all the Gilbertian series" (quoted in Allen 1975b, p. 176). Similarly, the <i>Theatre</i> would say that "the music of <i>Iolanthe</i> is Dr Sullivan's <i>chef d'oeuvre</i>. The quality throughout is more even, and maintained at a higher standard, than in any of his earlier works.... In every respect <i>Iolanthe</i> sustains Dr Sullivan's reputation as the most spontaneous, fertile, and scholarly composer of comic opera this country has ever produced." (William Beatty-Kingston, <i>Theatre</i>, <!--del_lnk--> January 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1883, quoted in Baily 1966, p. 246).<p><a id="Knighthood_and_maturity" name="Knighthood_and_maturity"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Knighthood and maturity</span></h3>
<p>Sullivan was knighted in 1883, and serious music critics renewed the charge that the composer was squandering his talent. The <i>Musical Review</i> of that year wrote:<dl>
<dd>Some things that Mr Arthur Sullivan may do, Sir Arthur ought not to do. In other words, it will look rather more than odd to see announced in the papers that a new comic opera is in preparation, the book by Mr W. S. Gilbert and the music by Sir Arthur Sullivan. A musical knight can hardly write shop ballads either; he must not dare to soil his hands with anything less than an anthem or a madrigal; oratorio, in which he has so conspicuously shone, and symphony, must now be his line. Here is not only an opportunity, but a positive obligation for him to return to the sphere from which he has too long descended. (Quoted in Baily, p. 250).</dl>
<p>In <i><!--del_lnk--> Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians</i>, Sir George Grove, who was an old friend of Sullivan's, recognised the artistry in the Savoy Operas while urging the composer to bigger and better things: "Surely the time has come when so able and experienced a master of voice, orchestra, and stage effect—master, too, of so much genuine sentiment—may apply his gifts to a serious opera on some subject of abiding human or natural interest" (quoted in Baily, p. 250).<p>The premiere of <i>The Golden Legend</i> at the Leeds Festival in 1886 finally brought Sullivan the acclaim for a serious work that he had previously lacked. For instance, the critic of the <i>Daily Telegraph</i> wrote that "a greater, more legitimate and more undoubted triumph than that of the new cantata has not been achieved within my experience" (quoted in Jacobs, p. 247). Similarly, Louis Engel in <i>The World</i> wrote that it was:<dl>
<dd>one of the greatest creations we have had for many years. Original, bold, inspired, grand in conception, in execution, in treatment, it is a composition which will make an "epoch" and which will carry the name of its composer higher on the wings of fame and glory. The effect it produced at rehearsal was enormous. The effect of the public performance was unprecedented. (Quoted in Harris, p. IV).</dl>
<p>Hopes for a new departure were evident in the <i>Daily Telegraph'</i>s review of <i>The Yeomen of the Guard</i>, Sullivan's most serious opera to that point:<dl>
<dd>The accompaniments...are delightful to hear, and especially does the treatment of the woodwind compel admiring attention. Schubert himself could hardly have handled those instruments more deftly, written for them more lovingly.... We place the songs and choruses in <i>The Yeomen of the Guard</i> before all his previous efforts of this particular kind. Thus the music follows the book to a higher plane, and we have a genuine English opera, forerunner of many others, let us hope, and possibly significant of an advance towards a national lyric stage. (Quoted in Allen 1975b, p. 312).</dl>
<p><a id="The_1890s" name="The_1890s"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The 1890s</span></h3>
<p>The advance the <i>Daily Telegraph</i> was looking for would come with <i>Ivanhoe</i> (1891), which opened to largely favourable reviews, but attracted some significant negative ones. For instance, J. A. Fuller-Maitland wrote in <i>The Times</i> that the opera's "best portions rise so far above anything else that Sir Arthur Sullivan has given to the world, and have such force and dignity, that it is not difficult to forget the drawbacks which may be found in the want of interest in much of the choral writing, and the brevity of the concerted solo parts." (Quoted in Jacobs, p. 331).<p>In the 1890s, Sullivan's successes were fewer and far between. The ballet <i><!--del_lnk--> Victoria and Merrie England</i> (1898) won praise from most critics:<dl>
<dd>Sir Arthur Sullivan's music is music for the people. There is no attempt made to force on the public the dullness of academic experience. The melodies are all as fresh as last year's wine, and as exhilarating as sparkling champagne. There is not one tune which tires the hearing, and in the matter of orchestration our only humorous has let himself run riot, not being handicapped with libretto, and the gain is enormous.... All through we have orchestration of infinite delicacy, tunes of alarming simplicity, but never a tinge of vulgarity, and a total absence of the cymbal-brassy combination which some ballets never do without. (Quoted in Tillett 1998, p. 26).</dl>
<p>After <i><!--del_lnk--> The Rose of Persia</i> (1899), the <i>Daily Telegraph</i> said that "The musician is once again absolutely himself," while the <i>Musical Times</i> opined that "it is music that to hear once is to want to hear again and again" (quoted in Jacobs, p. 397).<p>In 1899, Sullivan composed a popular song, "<a href="../../wp/t/The_Absent-Minded_Beggar.htm" title="The Absent-Minded Beggar">The Absent-Minded Beggar</a>", to a text by <a href="../../wp/r/Rudyard_Kipling.htm" title="Rudyard Kipling">Rudyard Kipling</a>, donating the proceeds of the sale to "the wives and children of soldiers and sailors" on active service in the Boer War. Fuller-Maitland disapproved in <i>The Times</i>, but Sullivan himself asked a friend, "Did the idiot expect the words to be set in cantata form, or as a developed composition with symphonic introduction, <!--del_lnk--> contrapuntal treatment, etc.?" (quoted in Jacobs, p. 396).<p><a id="Death_and_posthumous_reputation" name="Death_and_posthumous_reputation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Death and posthumous reputation</span></h3>
<p>If the musical establishment never quite forgave Sullivan for condescending to write music that was both comic and popular, he was, nevertheless, the nation's <i>de facto</i> composer laureate. Sullivan was considered the natural candidate to compose a <i>Te Deum</i> for the end of the Boer War, which he duly completed, despite serious ill-health, but did not live to see performed.<p>Gian Andrea Mazzucato would write this glowing summary of his career in <i>The Musical Standard</i> of <!--del_lnk--> December 16, <!--del_lnk--> 1899:<dl>
<dd>As regards music, the English history of the 19th century could not record the name of a man whose 'life work' is more worthy of honour, study and admiration than the name of Sir Arthur Sullivan, whose useful activity, it may be expected, will extend considerably into the <a href="../../wp/2/20th_century.htm" title="20th century">20th century</a>; and it is a debatable point whether the universal history of music can point to any musical personality since the days of <a href="../../wp/j/Joseph_Haydn.htm" title="Haydn">Haydn</a>, Mozart and Beethoven, whose influence is likely to be more lasting than the influence the great Englishman is slowly, but surely, exerting, and whose results shall be clearly seen, perhaps, only by our posterity. I make no doubt that when, in proper course of time, Sir Arthur Sullivan's life and works have become known on the continent, he will, by unanimous consent, be classed among the epoch-making composers, the select few whose genius and strength of will empowered them to find and found a national school of music, that is, to endow their countrymen with the undefinable, yet positive means of evoking in a man's soul, by the magic of sound, those delicate nuances of feeling which are characteristic of the emotional power of each different race. (Quoted in the <i>Sir Arthur Sullivan Society Journal</i>, No. 34, Spring 1992, pp. 11-12).</dl>
<p>Over the next decade, however, Sullivan's reputation sank considerably. Shortly after the composer's death, J. A. Fuller-Maitland took issue with the generally praiseworthy tone of most of the obituaries, citing the composer's failure to live up to the early praise of his <i>Tempest</i> music:<dl>
<dd>Among the lesser men who are still ranked with the great composers, there are many who may only have reached the highest level now and then, but within whose capacity it lies to attain great heights; some may have produced work on a dead-level of mediocrity, but may have risen on some special occasion to a pitch of beauty or power which would establish their claim to be numbered among the great. Is there anywhere a case quite parallel to that of Sir Arthur Sullivan, who began his career with a work which at once stamped him as a genius, and to the height of which he only rarely attained throughout life?....</dl>
<dl>
<dd>Though the illustrious masters of the past never did write music as vulgar, it would have been forgiven them if they had, in virtue of the beauty and value of the great bulk of their productions. It is because such great natural gifts – gifts greater, perhaps, than fell to any English musician since the time of <a href="../../wp/h/Henry_Purcell.htm" title="Henry Purcell">Purcell</a> – were so very seldom employed in work worthy of them.... If the author of <i>The Golden Legend</i>, the music to <i>The Tempest</i>, <i>Henry VIII</i> and <i>Macbeth</i> cannot be classed with these, how can the composer of "Onward Christian Soldiers" and "The Absent-Minded Beggar" claim a place in the hierarchy of music among the men who would face death rather than smirch their singing robes for the sake of a fleeting popularity? (Eden 1992, quoting <i>Cornhill</i> March 1901, pp. 301, 309).</dl>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Edward Elgar, to whom Sullivan had been particularly kind, rose to Sullivan's defence, branding Fuller-Maitland's obituary "the shady side of musical criticism... that foul unforgettable episode" (quoted in Young 1971, p. 264). In his <i>History of Music in England</i> (1907), however, Ernest Walker was even more damning of Sullivan:<dl>
<dd>After all, Sullivan is merely the idle singer of an empty evening; with all his gift for tunefulness, he could never raise it to the height of a real strong melody of the kind that appeals to cultured and relatively uncultured alike as a good folk-song does – often and often on the other hand (but chiefly outside the operas) it sunk to mere vulgar catchiness. He laid the original foundations of his success on work that as a matter of fact he did extremely well; and it would have been incalculably better for the permanence of his reputation if he had realised this and set himself, with sincerity and self-criticism, to the task of becoming – as he might easily have become – a really great composer of musicianly light music. But anything like steadiness of artistic purpose was never one of his endowments, and without that, a composer, whatever his technical ability may be, is easily liable to degenerate into a mere popularity-hunting trifler. (Walker 1907, quoted in Eden 1992).</dl>
<p>Fuller-Maitland would incorporate similar views in the second edition of <i>Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians</i>, which he edited, while Walker's <i>History</i> would be re-issued in 1923 and 1956 with his earlier verdict intact. As late as 1966, Frank Howes wrote:<dl>
<dd>Outside the Savoy operas, little enough of Sullivan has survived... Yet a post-mortem is a valuable form of inquest, not only to ascertain the cause of death, but to discover why Sullivan's music as a whole had not in it the seeds of the revival that was on the verge of taking place. The lack of sustained effort, that is artistic effort proved by vigorous self-criticism, is responsible for the impression of weakness, the streaks of poor stuff among the better metal, and the consequent general ambiguity that is left by his music. His contemporaries deprecated his addiction to high life, the turf, and an outward lack of seriousness. Without adopting the simplified morality of the women's magazines, it is possible to urge that his contemporaries were really right, in that such addiction implied a fundamental lack of seriousness towards his art. (Howes 1966, quoted in Eden 1992).</dl>
<p>Yet, there were other writers who rose to praise Sullivan. For example, in an entire chapter of his 1928 book, <i>Sullivan's Comic Operas</i>, titled "Mainly in Defence," Thomas F. Dunhill wrote:<dl>
<dd>It should not be necessary to defend a writer who is so firmly established in popular esteem that his best works are more widely known and more keenly appreciated over a quarter of a century after his death than they were at any period during his lifetime.</dl>
<dl>
<dd>But no critical appreciation of Sullivan can be attempted to-day which does not, from the first, adopt a defensive attitude, for his music has suffered in an extraordinary degree from the vigorous attacks which have been made upon it in professional circles. These attacks have succeeded in surrounding the composer with a kind of barricade of prejudice which must be sweat away before justice can be done to his genius. (Dunhill 1928, p. 13).</dl>
<p>Gervase Hughes (1959) would pick up the trail where Dunhill left off:<dl>
<dd>Dunhill's achievement was that of a pioneer, a preliminary skirmish in a campaign whose advance has yet to be implemented. Today there may be few musicians for whom — as for Ernest Walker — Sullivan is merely 'the idle singer of an empty evening'; there are many who, while acknowledging his great gifts, tend to take them for granted.... The time is surely ripe for a comprehensive study of his music as a whole, which, while recognising that the operettas 'for his chief title to fame' will not leave the rest out of account, and while taking note of his weaknesses (which are many) and not hesitating to castigate his lapses from good taste (which were comparatively rare) will attempt to view them in perspective against the wider background of his sound musicianship. (Hughes 1959, p. 6).</dl>
<p><a id="Recent_views" name="Recent_views"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Recent views</span></h3>
<p>In recent years, Sullivan's work outside of the Savoy Operas has begun to be re-assessed. It has only been since the late 1960s that a quantity of his non-Savoy music has been professionally recorded. The <i>Symphony in E</i> had its first professional recording in 1968; his solo piano and chamber music in 1974; the cello concerto in 1986; <i>Kenilworth</i> in 1999; <i>The Martyr of Antioch</i> in 2000; <i>The Golden Legend</i> in 2001. In 1992 and 1993, Naxos released four discs featuring performances of Sullivan's ballet music and his incidental music to plays. Of his operas apart from Gilbert, <i>Cox and Box</i> (1961 and several later recordings), <i>The Zoo</i> (1978), <i>The Rose of Persia</i> (1999), and <i>The Contrabandista</i> (2004) have had professional recordings.<p>In recent decades, several publishers have issued scholarly critical editions of Sullivan's works, including <!--del_lnk--> Ernst Eulenburg (<i>The Gondoliers</i>), Broude Brothers (<i>Trial by Jury</i> and <i>H.M.S. Pinafore</i>), <!--del_lnk--> Oxford University Press (<i>Ruddigore</i>), and <!--del_lnk--> R. Clyde (<i>Cox and Box</i>, <i>Overture "In Memoriam"</i>, <i>Overture di Ballo</i>, and <i>The Golden Legend</i>).<p>In a 2000 article for the <i>Musical Times</i>, Nigel Burton wrote:<dl>
<dd>We must assert that Sullivan has no need to be 'earnest' (though he could be), for he spoke naturally to all people, for all time, of the passions, sorrows and joys which are forever rooted in the human consciousness. He believed, deeply, in the moral expressed at the close of <!--del_lnk--> Cherubini's <i><!--del_lnk--> Les deux journées</i>: that the human being's prime duty in life is to serve humanity. It is his artistic consistency in this respect which obliges us to pronounce him our greatest Victorian composer. Time has now sufficiently dispersed the mists of criticism for us to be able to see the truth, to enjoy all his music, and to rejoice in the rich diversity of its panoply. Now, therefore, one hundred years after his death, let us resolve to set aside the `One-and-a-half-hurrahs' syndrome once and for all, and, in its place, raise THREE LOUD CHEERS.</dl>
<p><a id="Sullivan_on_recorded_music:" name="Sullivan_on_recorded_music:"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Sullivan on recorded music:</span></h2>
<p>After hearing a demonstration of Edison's wax cylinder recording technology on <!--del_lnk--> October 5, <!--del_lnk--> 1888, Sullivan wrote, "For myself, I can only say that I am astonished and somewhat terrified at the results of this evening's experiment -- astonished at the wonderful power you have developed, and terrified at the thought that so much hideous and bad music may be put on record forever."<!--del_lnk--> <p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Sullivan"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Arthur Upfield</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.People.Writers_and_critics.htm">Writers and critics</a></h3>
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<p><b>Arthur William Upfield</b> (<!--del_lnk--> 1 September <!--del_lnk--> 1890 - <!--del_lnk--> 13 February <!--del_lnk--> 1964 ) was an <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australian</a> writer, best known for his works of <!--del_lnk--> detective fiction featuring Detective Inspector <!--del_lnk--> Napoleon Bonaparte ('Bony') of the Queensland Police Force.<p>
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</script><a id="Biography" name="Biography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Biography</span></h2>
<p>Upfield was born in <!--del_lnk--> Gosport, <a href="../../wp/h/Hampshire.htm" title="Hampshire">Hampshire</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a> on 1 September 1890. His father was a draper. In <!--del_lnk--> 1910, after doing poorly in examinations towards becoming a <!--del_lnk--> real estate agent, Upfield was sent to Australia by his father.<p>For most of the next twenty years he travelled throughout the <!--del_lnk--> outback working at a number of jobs. He learnt much of Aboriginal culture, later to be used in his books.<p>With the outbreak of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>, he joined the <!--del_lnk--> First Australian Imperial Force on 23 August 1914. Upfield sailed from <a href="../../wp/b/Brisbane.htm" title="Brisbane">Brisbane</a> on the <!--del_lnk--> HMAT Anglo Egyptian on <!--del_lnk--> 24 September 1914 to Melbourne. At the time of sailing he had the rank of <!--del_lnk--> Driver and was with the <!--del_lnk--> 1st <!--del_lnk--> Light horse Brigade Train (5 Company ASC [Army Service Corps]). In Melbourne he was at a camp for several weeks before sailing to Egypt. He fought at <!--del_lnk--> Gallipoli and in <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, and married an Australian nurse, Ann Douglass, in Egypt in 1915. He was discharged in England on 15 October 1919. He worked as a private secretary to an army officer. In 1921 he returned to Australia with his wife and their son.<p>Upfield created the character of Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, based on a man known as 'Tracker Leon' whom he had met in his travels. Leon Wood was a <!--del_lnk--> half-caste <!--del_lnk--> Aborigine who was employed as a <!--del_lnk--> tracker by the <!--del_lnk--> Queensland Police.The novels featuring 'Bony', as the character was also known, were far more successful than other Upfield writings.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15259.jpg.htm" title="3 Jasmine Street, Bowral, the house where Upfield spent his last years and died "><img alt="3 Jasmine Street, Bowral, the house where Upfield spent his last years and died " height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bowral3JasmineStreet.jpg" src="../../images/152/15259.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15259.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 3 Jasmine Street, Bowral, the house where Upfield spent his last years and died</div>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15260.jpg.htm" title="Snowy Rowles, convicted for The Murchison Murders, standing beside the car of James Ryan, photographed by Arthur Upfield. Ryan was one of the victims."><img alt="Snowy Rowles, convicted for The Murchison Murders, standing beside the car of James Ryan, photographed by Arthur Upfield. Ryan was one of the victims." height="173" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SnowyRowles.jpg" src="../../images/152/15260.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15260.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Snowy Rowles, convicted for <!--del_lnk--> The Murchison Murders, standing beside the car of James Ryan, photographed by Arthur Upfield. Ryan was one of the victims.</div>
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<p>Late in life Upfield became a prominent member of the <!--del_lnk--> Australian Geological Society, involved in scientific expeditions. In particular he led a major expedition in 1948 to northern and western parts of Australia in 1948, including the <!--del_lnk--> Wolfe Creek crater. The Wolfe Creek crater was a setting for his novel <i>The Will of the Tribe</i> published in 1962.<p>After living at <!--del_lnk--> Bermagui, New South Wales, Upfield moved to Jasmine Street, <!--del_lnk--> Bowral, New South Wales. Upfield died at Bowral on 13 February, 1964. His last work, <i>The Lake Frome Monster</i>, published in 1966, was completed by J.L. Price and Dorothy Stange.<p>In 1957, his lifelong companion, Jessica Hawke, published a biography of the author entitled <i>Follow My Dust!</i>. It is generally held however, that this was written by Upfield himself.<p><a id="Works" name="Works"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Works</span></h2>
<p>Upfield's novels were held in high regard by some fellow writers. In 1987, <!--del_lnk--> H.R.F. Keating included <i>The Sands of Windee</i> (1931) in his list of the 100 best crime and mystery books ever published. <!--del_lnk--> J.B. Priestley wrote of Upfield: "If you like detective stories that are something more than puzzles, that have solid characters and backgrounds, that avoid familiar patterns of crime and detection, then Mr Upfield is your man." Others have found Upfield's prose stilted. Much of the appeal of Arthur Upfield's stories lies in the depiction of outback Australian life in the 1930s through into the 1950s.<p>In <i>The Sands of Windee</i>, a story about a "perfect murder", Upfield invented a method to destroy carefully all evidence of the crime. Upfield's "Windee method" was used in a true-life crime, <!--del_lnk--> The Murchison Murders.<p>Upfield's novels were very popular in America (originally because so many American servicemen stationed out there during WW2 read them and brought copies back), England and translated into <a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a>.<p>From 1972 - 1973 a 26-episode television series was produced by Fauna Productions (the folks who brought you "Skippy The Bush Kangaroo"). After a long search for a half-white, half-Aborigine actor, the producers chose English actor Jon Finch for the role of Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte. When he suddenly became unavailable, Fauna's John McCallum flew to London in panic, and was lucky enough to audition New Zealand actor <!--del_lnk--> James Laurenson on his last day there. Offered the lead role, Laurenson hurriedly flew to Australia, reading "Bony" books all the way over. The series was called <i>Boney</i>, partly to make the pronunciation of the name more obvious, and partly because that had been Upfield's original intention - a publisher's misprint on the first novel had renamed the character! Most of the episodes were based directly on one of the novels, but there were some adaptations. Two original scripts were not directly based on any novel; five novels were not adapted for television, effectively ‘reserving’ them in case a third series eventuated. At the time, many of the books were reprinted with the spelling altered to ‘Boney’ on the covers (although retaining the original in the text), and featuring a photo from the relevant episode.<!--del_lnk--> <p><a id="Table_of_books" name="Table_of_books"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Table of books</span></h3>
<table class="wikitable">
<tr bgcolor="#EFEFEF">
<th>Name of book</th>
<th>Setting</th>
<th>English language publication </th>
<th>Title of German translation and date of publication</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The House of Cain</i></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>Hutchinson, London, n.d. [1928]; <p>1st U.S. Edition: Dorrance, Philadelphia, 1929; 2nd US Edition: (pirated) Dennis McMillan, San Francisco, 1983.</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The Barrakee Mystery</i></td>
<td>Near <!--del_lnk--> Wilcannia, New South Wales</td>
<td>Hutchinson, London, n.d. [1929]; <p>2nd UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1965; 1st US Edition: Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1965 - as <i>The Lure of the Bush</i>.</td>
<td><i>Bony und der Bumerang</i>, 1966</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The Beach of Atonement</i></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Dongara, Western Australia</td>
<td>Hutchinson, London, n.d. [1930].</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The Sands of Windee</i></td>
<td>'Windee' is a fictional sheep station near <!--del_lnk--> Milparinka<!--del_lnk--> _, a hundred and fifty miles (240 km) north of <!--del_lnk--> Broken Hill. Windee covered 1 300 000 acres (5,300 km²) of land and ran 70 000 sheep.</td>
<td>Hutchinson, London, n.d. [1931]; <p>1st Australian Edition: Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1958; 2nd UK Edition: Angus & Robertson, London, 1959.</td>
<td><i>Ein glücklicher Zufall</i>, 1961</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>A Royal Abduction</i></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>Hutchinson, London, [1932]; <p>1st US Edition: (pirated) Dennis McMillan, Miami Beach, 1984.</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>Gripped by Drought</i></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>Hutchinson, London, n.d. [1932]</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The Murchison Murders</i></td>
<td>Upfield's own account of the <!--del_lnk--> murders in the <!--del_lnk--> Murchison region of Western Australia</td>
<td>Midget Masterpiece Publishing, Sydney, n.d. [1934]; <p>1st US Edition: (pirated) Dennis McMillan, Miami Beach, 1987.</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>Wings Above the Diamantia</i></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Lake Eyre region</td>
<td>Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1936; 2nd Australian Edition: Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1940 <p>1st UK Edition: Hamilton, London, n.d. [1937] - as <i>Winged Mystery</i> 1st US Edition: Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1943 - as <i>Wings Above the Claypan</i></td>
<td><i>Das rote Flugzeug</i>, 1991</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>Mr. Jelly's Business</i></td>
<td>Takes place at <!--del_lnk--> Burracoppin and <!--del_lnk--> Merredin east of <a href="../../wp/p/Perth%252C_Western_Australia.htm" title="Perth, Western Australia">Perth</a> in the Wheat Belt of <!--del_lnk--> Western Australia along the <!--del_lnk--> Rabbit-proof fence. The railway station in the story map and the water pipe have changed little since Upfield's day (he worked clearing brush in Burracoppin).</td>
<td>Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1937; 2nd Australian Edition: Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1964 <p>1st UK Edition: Hamilton, London, 1938 1st US Edition: Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1943 - as <i>Murder Down Under</i></td>
<td><i>Mr. Jellys Geheimnis</i>, 1965</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>Winds of Evil</i></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Silverton, New South Wales and the nearby <!--del_lnk--> Barrier Range which is north and east of <!--del_lnk--> Broken Hill</td>
<td>Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1937; 2nd Australian Edition: Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1961 <p>1st UK Edition Hutchinson, London, n.d. [1939] 1st US Edition: Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1944</td>
<td><i>Bony stellt eine Falle</i>, 1962</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The Bone is Pointed</i></td>
<td>"Opal Town" or <!--del_lnk--> Opalton, Queensland in the <!--del_lnk--> Channel Country of the <!--del_lnk--> Diamantina River</td>
<td>Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1938; 2nd Australian Edition: Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1966 <p>1st UK Edition: Hamilton, London, 1939 1st US Edition: Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1947; US Book Club Edition: Unicorn Mystery Book Club, New York, 1946</td>
<td><i>Todeszauber</i>, 1965</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The Mystery of Swordfish Reef</i></td>
<td>Takes place from <!--del_lnk--> Bermagui, New South Wales; the reef extends from <!--del_lnk--> Montague Island. The plot is based on the <!--del_lnk--> 1880 disappearance of the geologist <!--del_lnk--> Lamont Young near <!--del_lnk--> Mystery Bay, New South Wales.</td>
<td>Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1939; Aust. Book Club Edition:Readers Book Club, Melbourne, 1963 <p>1st UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1960; UK Book Club Edition: The Companion Book Club, London, 1963; 2nd UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1971 1st US Edition: Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1943</td>
<td><i>Der Kopf im Netz</i>, 1959</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>Bushranger of the Skies</i></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1940; 2nd Australian Edition: Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1963 <p>1st US Edition: Doubleday/Crime Book Club, New York, 1944 - as <i>No Footprints in the Bush</i></td>
<td><i>Bony und die Todesotter</i>, 1965</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>Death of a Swagman</i></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Lake Mungo in south-western <!--del_lnk--> New South Wales</td>
<td>1st Australian Edition: Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1947; 2nd Australian Edition: Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1962 <p>1st UK Edition: Aldor, London, 1946 Doubleday/Crime Book Club, New York, 1945; US Book Club Edition: Unicorn Mystery Book Club, New York, 1946</td>
<td><i>Bony wird verhaftet</i>, 1964</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The Devil's Steps</i></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>1st Australian Edition: Invincible Press, Sydney, n.d. [1950-1953]; 2nd Australian Edition: Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1965 <p>1st UK Edition: Aldor, London, 1948 Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1946; US Book Club Edition: Unicorn Mystery Book Club, New York, 1946</td>
<td><i>Der Pfad des Teufels</i>, 1992</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>An Author Bites the Dust</i></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1948 <p>1st US Edition: Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1948; US Book Club Edition: Unicorn Mystery Book Club, New York, 1948</td>
<td><i>Die Leute von nebenan</i>, 1959</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The Mountains Have a Secret</i></td>
<td>Set mostly in the <!--del_lnk--> Grampians mountain range in western Victoria.</td>
<td>1st UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1952; 2nd UK Edition: Heinemann, London, (date not identified) <p>Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1948; US Book Club Edition: Unicorn Mystery Book Club, New York, 1948</td>
<td><i>Tödlicher Kult</i>, 1990</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The Widows of Broome</i></td>
<td>Set in <!--del_lnk--> Broome, Western Australia</td>
<td>1st UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1951; 2nd UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1967 <p>Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1950; US Book Club Edition: Dollar Mystery Guild, New York, 1950</td>
<td><i>Die Witwen von Broome</i>, 1958</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The Bachelors of Broken Hill</i></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Broken Hill, New South Wales</td>
<td>1st Australian Edition: Invincible Press, Sydney, between 1950 and 1953 <p>1st UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1958; 2nd UK Edition: Heinemann, London, (date not identified); Large Print Edition: Ulverscroft, Leicester, 1974 Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1950; US Book Club Edition: Detective Book Club, New York, 1951</td>
<td><i>Die Junggesellen von Broken Hill</i>, 1960</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The New Shoe</i></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Aireys Inlet; The Split Point Lighthouse and Broken Rock</td>
<td>1st UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1952; 2nd UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1968 <p>Doubleday/Crime Book Club, New York, 1951</td>
<td><i>Der neue Schuh</i>, 1960</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>Venom House</i></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>1st UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1953; 2nd UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1970 <p>Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1952; US Book Club Edition: Unicorn Mystery Club, New York, 1952</td>
<td><i>Die Giftvilla</i>, 1959</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>Murder Must Wait</i></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>1st UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1953; 2nd UK Edition: Heinemann, London, (date not identified) <p>Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1953; US Book Club Edition: Detective Book Club, New York, 1953</td>
<td><i>Viermal bei Neumond</i>, 1960</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>Death of a Lake</i></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>Heinemann, London, 1954 <p>1st US Edition: Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1954</td>
<td><i>Der sterbende See</i>, 1959</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>Sinister Stones</i></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kimberley region of Western Australia</td>
<td>1st UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1955 - as <i>Cake in the Hat Box</i>; 2nd UK Edition: Heinemann, London, (date not identified) <p>Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1954</td>
<td><i>Der schwarze Brunnen</i>, 1960</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The Battling Prophet</i></td>
<td>The <a href="../../wp/m/Murray_River.htm" title="Murray River">Murray River</a></td>
<td>Heinemann, London, 1956; 2nd UK Edition: Heinemann, London, (date not identified)</td>
<td><i>Der streitbare Prophet</i>, 1960</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The Man of Two Tribes</i></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>1st UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1956 - as <i>Man of Two Tribes</i>; 2nd UK Edition: Heinemann, London, (date not identified) <p>Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1956</td>
<td><i>Höhle des Schweigens</i>, 1961</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The Bushman Who Came Back</i></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>1st UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1957 - as <i>Bony Buys a Woman</i><p>Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1957</td>
<td><i>Bony kauft eine Frau</i>, 1960</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>Follow My Dust!</i></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>Heinemann, London, 1957</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>Bony and the Black Virgin</i>; also published as <i>The Torn Branch</i></td>
<td>"Lake Jane", a fictional lake in the <!--del_lnk--> Murray-Darling Basin</td>
<td>1st UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1959; 2nd UK Edition: Heinemann, London, (date not identified)</td>
<td><i>Bony und die schwarze Jungfrau</i>, 1962</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>Journey to the Hangman</i></td>
<td>"Daybreak", a fictional mining town 150 miles from <!--del_lnk--> Laverton, Western Australia</td>
<td>1st UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1959 - as <i>Bony and the Mouse</i>; 2nd UK Edition: Heinemann, London, (date not identified) <p>Doubleday/Crime Club, New York. 1959</td>
<td><i>Bony und die Maus</i>, 1961</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>Valley of Smugglers</i></td>
<td>Possibly set in a town and valley similar to <!--del_lnk--> Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales not far from <!--del_lnk--> Bowral where Upfield lived for the last years of his life. However, <!--del_lnk--> Robertson on the top of the escarpment, which is known for its potatoes, is also possible. <p>The waterfall may be <!--del_lnk--> Fitzroy Falls in <!--del_lnk--> Morton National Park.<p>Narrates some episodes of the <!--del_lnk--> Ned Kelly true history.</td>
<td>1st UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1960 - as <i>Bony and the Kelly Gang</i>; 2nd UK Edition: Heinemann, London, (date not identified) <p>Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1960; US Book Club Edition: Detective Book Club, New York, n.d. [1960]</td>
<td><i>Fremde sind unerwünscht</i>, 1963</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The White Savage</i></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>1st UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1961 - as <i>Bony and the White Savage</i>; 2nd UK Edition: Heinemann, London, (date not identified) <p>Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1961</td>
<td><i>Bony und die weiße Wilde</i>, 1962</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The Will of the Tribe</i></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Wolfe Creek crater</td>
<td>First UK Edition: Heinemann, London, 1962 <p>Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1962</td>
<td><i>Wer war der zweite Mann?</i>, 1963</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>Madman's Bend</i></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>Heinemann, London, 1963 <p>1st US Edition: Doubleday/Crime Club, New York, 1963 - as <i>The Body at Madman's Bend</i></td>
<td><i>Bony übernimmt den Fall</i>, 1964</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The Lake Frome Monster</i><p><small>[Note: This posthumously published work was based on an unfinished manuscript and detailed notes left by Upfield. It was completed by J L Price and Mrs Dorothy Strange.]</small></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>Heinemann, London, 1966; 2nd UK Edition: Heinemann, London, (date not identified)</td>
<td><i>Gefahr für Bony</i>, 1967</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>Breakaway House</i></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1987</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>The Great Melbourne Cup Mystery</i></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>ETT Imprint, Watson's Bay, Sydney, 1996</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Upfield"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.British_History.British_History_17501900.htm">British History 1750-1900</a>; <a href="../index/subject.People.Military_People.htm">Military People</a></h3>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size:140%;"><b>The Duke of Wellington</b></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/529/52949.jpg.htm" title="Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington"><img alt="Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington" height="193" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Field_Marshal_Arthur_Wellesley_KG_CCB_GCH_CoR_1st_Duke_of_Wellington.jpg" src="../../images/166/16659.jpg" width="160" /></a><br />
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<div style="background:lavender;"><a href="../../wp/p/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Prime Minister of the United Kingdom</a></div>
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<td colspan="2" style="border-bottom:none; text-align:center;"><b>In office</b><br /><!--del_lnk--> 22 January <!--del_lnk--> 1828 – <!--del_lnk--> 16 November <!--del_lnk--> 1830<br /><!--del_lnk--> 17 November <!--del_lnk--> 1834 – <!--del_lnk--> 9 December <!--del_lnk--> 1834</td>
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<th>Preceded by</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> The Viscount Goderich<br /><!--del_lnk--> The Viscount Melbourne</td>
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<th>Succeeded by</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> The Earl Grey<br /><a href="../../wp/r/Robert_Peel.htm" title="Robert Peel">Sir Robert Peel, Bt</a></td>
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<th>Born</th>
<td>c. <!--del_lnk--> 1 May <!--del_lnk--> 1769<br /> Possibly <a href="../../wp/d/Dublin.htm" title="Dublin">Dublin</a> or <!--del_lnk--> County Meath</td>
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<th>Died</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 14 September <!--del_lnk--> 1852<br /><!--del_lnk--> Walmer, <!--del_lnk--> Kent</td>
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<th>Political party</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Tory</td>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Field Marshal <b>Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington</b>, <a href="../../wp/o/Order_of_the_Garter.htm" title="Order of the Garter">KG</a>, <a href="../../wp/o/Order_of_the_Bath.htm" title="Order of the Bath">GCB</a>, <!--del_lnk--> GCH, <a href="../../wp/p/Privy_Council_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Privy Council of the United Kingdom">PC</a>, <!--del_lnk--> FRS (<!--del_lnk--> c. <!--del_lnk--> 1 May <!--del_lnk--> 1769 – <!--del_lnk--> 14 September <!--del_lnk--> 1852) was an <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Irish</a>-born <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">British</a> soldier and statesman, widely considered one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century. Commissioned an <!--del_lnk--> ensign in the <!--del_lnk--> British Army, he rose to prominence in the <a href="../../wp/n/Napoleonic_Wars.htm" title="Napoleonic Wars">Napoleonic Wars</a>, eventually reaching the rank of <!--del_lnk--> field marshal.<p>As a general Wellington is often compared to the <!--del_lnk--> 1st Duke of Marlborough, with whom he shared many characteristics, chiefly a transition to politics after a highly successful military career. He served as a <!--del_lnk--> Tory <a href="../../wp/p/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Prime Minister of the United Kingdom</a> on two separate occasions, and was one of the leading figures in the <a href="../../wp/h/House_of_Lords.htm" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a> until his retirement in 1846.<p>
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</script><a id="Early_life_and_marriage" name="Early_life_and_marriage"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Early life and marriage</span></h2>
<p>Wellington was born <b>The Honourable Arthur Wesley</b> at either his family's <!--del_lnk--> social season <a href="../../wp/d/Dublin.htm" title="Dublin">Dublin</a> residence, <!--del_lnk--> Mornington House, or at his family seat, Dangan Castle near <!--del_lnk--> Trim, County Meath, <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Ireland</a>. He was the third son of <!--del_lnk--> Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington. His exact date of birth is uncertain. All that exists is a church register of the event marked a few days after it must have occurred. The most likely date is <!--del_lnk--> 1 May 1769. His family legally changed their surname to <b>Wellesley</b> in March 1798.<p>He came from a titled family long settled in Ireland. His father was the <!--del_lnk--> Earl of Mornington, his eldest brother (who inherited his father's earldom) became <!--del_lnk--> Marquess Wellesley, and two of his other brothers were raised to the <!--del_lnk--> peerage as <!--del_lnk--> Baron Maryborough and <!--del_lnk--> Baron Cowley.<p>As a member of the Protestant British squirearchy ruling Ireland, he was touchy about his Irish origins. When in later life an enthusiastic Gael commended him as a famous Irishman, he replied "A man can be born in a stable, and yet not be an animal."<p>Wesley was educated at <!--del_lnk--> Eton from 1781 to 1785, but a lack of success there, combined with a shortage of family funds, led to a move to <a href="../../wp/b/Brussels.htm" title="Brussels">Brussels</a> in <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a> to receive further education.<p>Until his early twenties, Wesley showed no signs of distinction. His mother placed him in the army, saying "What can I do with my Arthur?" He became a nobleman playboy, carousing and gambling. He fell in love with the daughter of a fellow Anglo-Irish peer, Miss Kitty Pakenham, and proposed marriage, but was rejected by her family for having no prospects. It seems likely that, at least in part, the shock of rejection caused him to reform all his bad habits: he minimized his drinking, stopped gambling and even burned his beloved fiddle. He also began a rigid course of self-education in military science, something that would be taught by no professional academy for another decade. He volunteered for service in the Netherlands and India, and achieved spectacular success, rising in a decade to the rank of general, never losing a battle, and winning prize money from grateful rajahs. On returning to Ireland he immediately renewed his marriage proposal to Miss Pakenham, before even meeting her again, and possibly without even having corresponded with her for ten years. This time her family accepted him, but he seems to have quickly regretted his decision on seeing how Kitty had grown old in his absence. However a promise was a promise; their marriage lasted the rest of her life, producing two sons but a great deal of loveless anguish.<p><a id="Early_career" name="Early_career"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Early career</span></h3>
<p>In 1787 his mother and his brother Richard purchased for Wesley a commission as an <!--del_lnk--> ensign in the <!--del_lnk--> 73rd Regiment of Foot. After receiving military training in England he attended the Military Academy of <!--del_lnk--> Angers in <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>. His first assignment was as <!--del_lnk--> aide-de-camp to two successive <!--del_lnk--> Lords Lieutenant of Ireland (1787–1793). He was promoted to <!--del_lnk--> lieutenant in 1788. Two years later he was elected as an independent <!--del_lnk--> member of Parliament for <!--del_lnk--> Trim in the <!--del_lnk--> Irish House of Commons, a position he held for seven years. He gained rapid promotion (largely by purchasing his ranks, which was common in the British Army at the time), becoming <!--del_lnk--> lieutenant colonel in the <!--del_lnk--> 33rd Regiment of Foot in 1793. He participated in the unsuccessful campaign against the French in the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a> between 1794 and 1795, and was present at the Battle of <!--del_lnk--> Boxtel.<p>In 1796, after a promotion to <!--del_lnk--> colonel, he accompanied his division to <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>. The next year his elder brother <!--del_lnk--> Richard was appointed <!--del_lnk--> Governor-General of India, and when the <!--del_lnk--> Fourth Anglo-Mysore War broke out from 1798 against the Sultan of <!--del_lnk--> Mysore, <!--del_lnk--> Tipoo Sultan, Arthur Wellesley commanded a division of his own. While serving in that capacity, he was appointed Governor of <!--del_lnk--> Seringapatam and of Mysore, positions he held until 1805. He defeated the robber chieftain Dhundia Wagh (who had escaped from prison in Seringapatam during the last battle of the <!--del_lnk--> Mysore War). In the <!--del_lnk--> Maratha War of 1803, Wellesley commanded the outnumbered British army at <!--del_lnk--> Assaye and <!--del_lnk--> Argaum, and stormed the fortress at <!--del_lnk--> Gawilghur. On one occasion he outran the Mysore soldiers pursuing him and avoided being killed. Through his own skill as a commander, and the bravery of his British and Sepoy troops, the Indians were defeated at every engagement. Following the successful conclusion of that campaign he was appointed to the supreme military and political command in the <!--del_lnk--> Deccan. In 1804 he was created a <a href="../../wp/o/Order_of_the_Bath.htm" title="Order of the Bath">Knight of the Bath</a>, the first of numerous <!--del_lnk--> honours he received throughout his life. When his brother's term as <!--del_lnk--> Governor-General of India ended in 1805, the brothers returned together to England, where they were forced to defend their imperialistic (and expensive) employment of the British forces in India. India taught him to abandon the then-common British habit of infrequent bathing. Lord Wellington is usually credited with popularizing the custom of daily bathing in his own country.<p>Wellesley served in the abortive Anglo-Russian expedition to north Germany in 1805. After Austerlitz, the forces went home having accomplished nothing. He was elected <!--del_lnk--> Tory member of Parliament for <!--del_lnk--> Rye for six months in 1806. A year later he was elected MP for <!--del_lnk--> Newport on the <a href="../../wp/i/Isle_of_Wight.htm" title="Isle of Wight">Isle of Wight</a>, a constituency he would represent for two years. In April 1807 he became a <a href="../../wp/p/Privy_Council_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Privy Council of the United Kingdom">privy counsellor</a>. He served as <!--del_lnk--> Chief Secretary for Ireland for two years. However his political life came to an abrupt halt when he sailed to Europe to participate in the <a href="../../wp/n/Napoleonic_Wars.htm" title="Napoleonic Wars">Napoleonic Wars</a>.<p><a id="Napoleonic_Wars" name="Napoleonic_Wars"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Napoleonic Wars</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16660.jpg.htm" title="Portrait of the Duke of Wellington by Francisco de Goya, 1812-14."><img alt="Portrait of the Duke of Wellington by Francisco de Goya, 1812-14." height="222" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Duke_of_Wellington_2.jpg" src="../../images/166/16660.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16660.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Portrait of the Duke of Wellington by <!--del_lnk--> Francisco de Goya, 1812-14.</div>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16661.jpg.htm" title="33rd Regiment of Foot Wellingtons Redcoats who fought in the Napoleonic Wars between 1812 - 1816 here showing the standard line 8th Company"><img alt="33rd Regiment of Foot Wellingtons Redcoats who fought in the Napoleonic Wars between 1812 - 1816 here showing the standard line 8th Company" height="130" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Wellingtons33rd.jpg" src="../../images/166/16661.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16661.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 33rd Regiment of Foot Wellingtons Redcoats who fought in the Napoleonic Wars between 1812 - 1816 here showing the standard line 8th Company</div>
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<p>It was in the following years that Wellesley won his place in history. Since 1789, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> had been embroiled in the <a href="../../wp/f/French_Revolution.htm" title="French Revolution">French Revolution</a>, and after seizing the government in 1799, Napoleon had reached the heights of power in Europe.<p>Junior command in an expedition to <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a> in 1807 soon led to Wellesley's promotion to <!--del_lnk--> lieutenant general. In 1808 he was preparing to command an expedition to Venezuela, when the Spanish revolt in the <!--del_lnk--> Iberian peninsula began the <!--del_lnk--> Peninsular War. Wellesley defeated the French at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Roliça and the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Vimeiro in 1808. Unfortunately, Wellesley was superseded in command of the British army. General Dalrymple insisted on connecting the available government minister to the controversial <!--del_lnk--> Convention of Sintra, which stipulated that the British <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Navy.htm" title="Royal Navy">Royal Navy</a> would transport the <!--del_lnk--> French army out of <a href="../../wp/l/Lisbon.htm" title="Lisbon">Lisbon</a> with all their loot. Wellesley was recalled to Britain to face a Court of Enquiry. He had agreed to sign the preliminary Armistice, but had not signed the Convention, and was cleared.<p>Meanwhile, Napoleon himself went to Spain with his veteran troops, and the new commander of the British forces in the peninsula, <!--del_lnk--> Sir John Moore, died during the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Corunna.<p>Although the war was not going particularly well, it was the one place where the <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portuguese</a> and the British had managed to put up a fight against France and her allies. (The disastrous <!--del_lnk--> Walcheren expedition was typical of the mismanaged British expeditions of the time.) Wellesley submitted a memorandum to <!--del_lnk--> Lord Castlereagh on the defence of Portugal. Castlereagh appointed him head of the British forces in Portugal and raised their number from 10,000 men to 26,000.<p>Quickly reinforced, Wellesley took the offensive in April 1809. First, he crossed the <!--del_lnk--> Douro river in a brilliant daylight <i><!--del_lnk--> coup de main</i>, and routed the French troops in <!--del_lnk--> Porto. He then joined with a Spanish army under Cuesta. They meant to attack Victor, but Napoleon's brother <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Bonaparte reinforced Victor, and the French attacked and lost at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Talavera de la Reina. For this, he was <!--del_lnk--> ennobled as Viscount Wellington of Talavera and of <!--del_lnk--> Wellington. (His brother Richard selected the name Wellington for its similarity to the family name of Wellesley.) With Soult threatening his rear, the British were compelled to retreat to Portugal. Deprived of supplies promised by the Spanish throughout the campaign and not told of Soult's movement, Wellington never again relied on Spanish promises or resources.<p>In 1810 the French army under Marshal <!--del_lnk--> André Masséna invaded Portugal. Wellington first slowed them down at <!--del_lnk--> Busaco, then blocked them from taking the Lisbon peninsula by his magnificently constructed earthwork <!--del_lnk--> Lines of Torres Vedras coupled with the support of the Royal Navy. The baffled and starving French invasion forces retreated after six months. Wellington followed and in several skirmishes, drove them out of Portugal, except for a small garrison at Almeida which was placed under siege.<p>In 1811, Masséna returned to Portugal to relieve Almeida, but Wellington narrowly defeated the French at the battles of <!--del_lnk--> Fuentes de Oñoro. Meanwhile, Wellington's subordinate,<!--del_lnk--> Viscount Beresford, fought <!--del_lnk--> Marshal Soult's 'Army of the South' to a bloody standstill at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Albuera. In May, he was promoted to <!--del_lnk--> general for his services. Almeida fell, but the French retained the twin fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, the 'Keys' guarding the roads into Portugal throughout the year.<p>In 1812, Wellington finally captured Ciudad Rodrigo by moving as the French went into winter quarters and storming it before they could react. Moving south quickly, he stormed the fortress of Badajoz in one bloody night. the <!--del_lnk--> Storming of Badajoz is famous as the only time he ever lost his composure, breaking down and crying at the sight of British dead in the breaches.<p>His army now was a British force reinforced in all divisions by units of the resurgent Portuguese army, rebuilt by Beresford. Campaigning in Spain, he routed the French at <!--del_lnk--> Salamanca, proving he could attack as well defend. (This was the first time a French army of 50,000 had been routed since 1799.) The victory liberated the Spanish capital of <a href="../../wp/m/Madrid.htm" title="Madrid">Madrid</a>. In this year he was created Earl and then Marquess of Wellington and given command of all Allied armies in Spain.<p>He attempted to take the vital fortress of Burgos, but failed due to a lack of siege equipment. The French abandoned Andalusia, and converged that and other armies to put the British forces in a precarious position. Wellington skillfully withdrew his army and joining with the smaller corps commanded by <!--del_lnk--> Rowland Hill, retreated to Portugal. Still, his victory at Salamanca had forced the French to withdraw from southern Spain, and the temporary loss of Madrid irreparably damaged the pro-French puppet government.<p>In 1813, Wellington led a new offensive against the French line of communication. He struck through the hills north of Burgos, and unexpectedly drew his supplies from Santander (on Spain's north coast), rather than from Portugal. He personally led a small force in a feint against the French centre, while the main army (commanded by <!--del_lnk--> Sir Thomas Graham) looped around the French right, leading to the French abandoning Madrid and Burgos. Continuing to outflank the French lines, Wellington brought the French to battle at <!--del_lnk--> Vitoria, for which he was promoted to <!--del_lnk--> field marshal. (However, the British troops broke discipline to loot the abandoned French wagons instead of pursuing the beaten foe. Wellington, in his official after-battle report, furiously and famously called them "the scum of the earth, enlisted only for drink".)<p>A few months later, after taking the small fortresses of Pamplona and San Sebastián, Wellington invaded France and defeated the French army under <!--del_lnk--> Marshal Soult at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Toulouse. (Ironically, this occurred four days after Napoleon had already surrendered in the East.) Napoleon was then exiled to the island of <!--del_lnk--> Elba in 1814.<p>Hailed as the conquering hero, Wellington was created Duke of Wellington, a title still held by his descendants. (Since he had not returned to England during the entire <!--del_lnk--> Peninsular War, he was awarded all his patents of nobility in a remarkable ceremony lasting an entire day.) He was soon appointed ambassador to France, then took <!--del_lnk--> Lord Castlereagh's place as First Plenipotentiary to the <!--del_lnk--> Congress of Vienna, where he strongly advocated allowing France to keep its place in the European balance of power. On <!--del_lnk--> 2 January <!--del_lnk--> 1815, the title of his Knighthood of the Bath was converted to <a href="../../wp/o/Order_of_the_Bath.htm" title="Order of the Bath">Knight Grand Cross</a> upon the expansion of that order.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 26 February <!--del_lnk--> 1815, Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to France. Regaining control of the country by May, he faced a renewed alliance against him. Wellington left Vienna to command the Anglo-Allied forces during the <!--del_lnk--> Waterloo Campaign. He arrived in <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a> to take command of the British army and the allied Dutch-Belgians, alongside the <!--del_lnk--> Prussian forces of <!--del_lnk--> Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. The French defeated the <!--del_lnk--> Prussians at Ligny, and fought an indecisive battle at <!--del_lnk--> Quatre Bras, compelling the British army to retreat to a ridge on the Brussels road, just south of the small town of <!--del_lnk--> Waterloo. Two days later, on <!--del_lnk--> 18 June, came the titanic <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Waterloo. After an all-day fight, with the French discomfited by the unexpected arrival of Blücher's Prussian army, the French <!--del_lnk--> Imperial Guard was dramatically repulsed by British volley fire, routing Napoleon's army. On <!--del_lnk--> 22 June, the French Emperor abdicated once again, and was transported by the British to distant <a href="../../wp/s/Saint_Helena.htm" title="Saint Helena">St Helena</a>.<p><a id="Wellington_as_soldier" name="Wellington_as_soldier"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Wellington as soldier</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16662.jpg.htm" title="The Iron Duke in bronze by John Steell with the Balmoral Hotel in the background."><img alt="The Iron Duke in bronze by John Steell with the Balmoral Hotel in the background." height="173" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Wellington_Statue.jpg" src="../../images/166/16662.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16662.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Iron Duke in bronze by <!--del_lnk--> John Steell with the <!--del_lnk--> Balmoral Hotel in the background.</div>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16663.jpg.htm" title="1st Duke of Wellington astride Copenhagen his charger in Matthew Wyatt's statue on Round Hill, Aldershot"><img alt="1st Duke of Wellington astride Copenhagen his charger in Matthew Wyatt's statue on Round Hill, Aldershot" height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Wellingtonstatue.jpg" src="../../images/166/16663.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16663.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 1st Duke of Wellington astride Copenhagen his charger in <!--del_lnk--> Matthew Wyatt's statue on Round Hill, <!--del_lnk--> Aldershot</div>
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<p>Despite frequently cited similarities between <a href="../../wp/n/Napoleon_I_of_France.htm" title="Napoleon I of France">Napoleon Bonaparte</a> and Wellington, the strategies and tactics employed by them were diametrically opposed. Perhaps the main reason that Napoleon stands in many history texts above Wellington is that Napoleon offered radical changes in warfare in every respect, whereas Wellington's contribution to warfare lay more in his brilliant use of the old ways.<p>Napoleon's tactics were typified by massive conscript armies who advanced in tight columns to rout opposing forces. This tactic originated with <!--del_lnk--> Frederick the Great, and was soon adopted by nearly every major participant in the war, with the chief exception of the British, and the Portuguese and Spanish troops they trained. In almost every engagement, the tight-packed French columns (in which only the first two ranks and outer edges could fire) would advance, apparently unheeding of casualties. Against the ill-trained and panic-prone armies of the Austrians and the other allied powers, it was spectacularly successful. Against the disciplined and trained British regulars who stood in line in two ranks (thus permitting every man in line to fire), the column was a dramatic failure. Despite the demonstrated helplessness of the French columns against the British line, the French commanders in Iberia continued to attack in column. (Indeed, column attacks were used even at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Waterloo.) Thus, in many instances, a single British <!--del_lnk--> battalion would defeat an entire French <!--del_lnk--> division.<p>Wellington is often viewed as a defensive general, despite the fact that many of his greatest victories (<!--del_lnk--> Assaye, <!--del_lnk--> Porto, <!--del_lnk--> Salamanca, <!--del_lnk--> Vitoria, <!--del_lnk--> Toulouse), were offensive battles. In fact, when on the defensive Wellington actually made mistakes, most famously at the battle of <!--del_lnk--> Fuentes de Oñoro, where his disastrous misplacement of a division was only retrieved by his quick thinking and the steadiness of the British and Portuguese troops in retreating under fire.<p>Strategically, Wellington also appears somewhat anachronistic, with the Peninsular War revolving partly around the possession and besieging of fortified strongholds. Conventional military wisdom of the era, especially under Napoleon, dictated that the opposing field army was to be eliminated at any price, before disease and wastage could reduce the attacking force to nothing. In pursuit of this aim, desperate measures would be taken, such as winter battles, forced marches, and privation alleviated only by foraging. Wellington's campaigns instead were marked by carefully planned offensives, supported by a magnificent supply train, and tempered by subsequent consolidation of gains.<p>In other strategic areas however, Wellington seemed to foresee the tide of the future. His construction of the fortifications near Torres Vedras, and the subsequent attritional campaign which ensued, seems to typify the evolution of warfare in the following century. He also cooperated closely with the British navy, a necessity for success on the water-bound <!--del_lnk--> Iberian Peninsula.<p>Tactically, Wellington capitalized on the reforms of <!--del_lnk--> Sir John Moore and the <!--del_lnk--> Duke of York by creating large units of independent infantry, often armed with rifles, who fought in both regular and irregular fashion. His relationship with his cavalry arm — as well as his cavalry commanders — was infamously stern and demanding. Wellington was never satisfied with the performance of his cavalry, and he continued to consider them undisciplined in the charge stating:<blockquote>
<p>"...a trick our officers have acquired of galloping at everything and then galloping back as fast as they galloped on the enemy. They never consider their situation, never think of manoeuvring before an enemy - so little that one would think they cannot manoeuvre except on Wimbledon Common; and when they use their arm as it ought to be used, viz. offensively, they never keep nor provide for a reserve." (Redcoat, p. 225)</blockquote>
<p>However, Wellington and commanders such as <!--del_lnk--> Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey and <!--del_lnk--> John Gaspard le Marchant made the cavalry arm among the most effective in the army, producing decisive results at Assaye, Salamanca, and Waterloo. The latter saw the <!--del_lnk--> Earl of Uxbridge's use of two cavalry <!--del_lnk--> brigades to rout an entire French <!--del_lnk--> corps, though the cavalry's lack of discipline immediately after its magnificent charge destroyed its effectiveness for the rest of the day.<p>Wellington should also be considered a model for multi-national leadership. He efficiently coordinated the efforts of Portuguese, Spanish, and a multitude of other foreign units, as well as negotiating with a home government not always sympathetic to his military concerns. It is a testament to Wellington's ability that he successfully integrated and commanded British, Spanish, Portuguese, Hanoverian, Saxon, Prussian, Swiss, Indian, Dutch, and Belgian troops; a retinue probably only Napoleon himself could match. In command of these forces, he was almost always outnumbered, and succeeded by the merits of his attention to detail and tactical foresight.<p>An important point when comparing Wellington and Napoleon is that whereas Napoleon was supreme commander of the armed forces of his Empire, Wellington was merely a general in the field, with little or no influence on the organisation or administration of the <!--del_lnk--> British Army as a whole. He was driven to exasperation on several occasions, for example by the fact that his artillery and engineers were administered separately from the infantry and cavalry, and by the quality of some of the commanders and staff officers foisted on him by the <!--del_lnk--> Commander-in-Chief, the <!--del_lnk--> Duke of York. (For example, General Erskine was appointed second in command of the cavalry; Wellington considered him both incompetent and mad, and only Erskine's suicide finally removed him from the scene.)<p>However, when Wellington himself became commander-in-chief, he made no major changes to the Army's policies, maintaining practices such as purchase of commissions and <!--del_lnk--> flogging for disciplinary offences unchanged for almost forty years. He is often criticised for being 'brutal' in this respect, but it must be remembered that, good or bad, this was typical and accepted practice in the British armed forces at the time.<p><a id="Later_life" name="Later_life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Later life</span></h2>
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<div style="width:315px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16664.jpg.htm" title="The Duke of Wellington in later life"><img alt="The Duke of Wellington in later life" height="476" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Arthur_Wellesley%2C_1st_Duke_of_Wellington_-_Project_Gutenberg_13103.jpg" src="../../images/166/16664.jpg" width="313" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">The Duke of Wellington in later life</div>
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<p>Politics beckoned once again in 1819, when Wellington was appointed <!--del_lnk--> Master-General of the Ordnance in the <!--del_lnk--> Tory government of <!--del_lnk--> Lord Liverpool. In 1827, he was appointed <!--del_lnk--> Commander-in-Chief of the British Army. Along with <a href="../../wp/r/Robert_Peel.htm" title="Robert Peel">Robert Peel</a>, Wellington became one of the rising stars of the Tory party, and in 1828 he became <a href="../../wp/p/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Prime Minister</a>.<p>During his first seven months as Prime Minister he chose not to live in the official residence at <!--del_lnk--> 10 Downing Street, finding it too small. He only relented and moved in because his own home, <!--del_lnk--> Apsley House, required extensive renovations.<p>As Prime Minister, Wellington was the picture of the arch-conservative, fearing that the anarchy of the French Revolution would spread to England. Oddly enough, the highlight of his term was <!--del_lnk--> Catholic Emancipation, the granting of almost full civil rights to Catholics in the United Kingdom. The change was forced by the landslide <!--del_lnk--> by-election win of <!--del_lnk--> Daniel O'Connell, a Catholic proponent of emancipation, who was elected despite not being legally allowed to sit in Parliament. <!--del_lnk--> Lord Winchilsea accused the Duke of having "treacherously plotted the destruction of the Protestant constitution". Wellington responded by immediately challenging Winchilsea to a <!--del_lnk--> duel. On <!--del_lnk--> 21 March <!--del_lnk--> 1829, Wellington and Winchilsea met on <!--del_lnk--> Battersea fields. When it came time to fire, the Duke deliberately aimed wide and Winchilsea fired into the air. He subsequently wrote Wellington a grovelling apology. In the <a href="../../wp/h/House_of_Lords.htm" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a>, facing stiff opposition, Wellington spoke for Catholic emancipation, giving one of the best speeches of his career <!--del_lnk--> . He had grown up in Ireland, and later governed it, so he knew firsthand of the misery of the Catholic masses there. The <!--del_lnk--> Catholic Relief Act 1829 was passed with a majority of 105. Many of the Tories voted against the Act, and it passed only with the help of the <!--del_lnk--> Whigs.<p>The epithet "Iron Duke" originates from his period of Prime Minister, during which he experienced an extremely high degree of personal and political unpopularity. His residence at Apsley House was the constant target of window-smashers and iron shutters were installed to mitigate the damage. It was this rather than his characteristic, resolute constitution, that earned him the epithet of "The Iron Duke".<p>Wellington's government fell in 1830. In the summer and autumn of that year, a wave of riots (the <!--del_lnk--> Swing Riots) swept the country. The Whigs had been out of power for all but a few years since the 1770s, and saw political reform in response to the unrest as the key to their return. Wellington stuck to the Tory policy of no reform and no expansion of the <a href="../../wp/s/Suffrage.htm" title="Suffrage">franchise</a>, and as a result lost a vote of no confidence on <!--del_lnk--> 15 November <!--del_lnk--> 1830. He was replaced as Prime Minister by <!--del_lnk--> Earl Grey.<p>The Whigs introduced the first <!--del_lnk--> Reform Act, but Wellington and the Tories worked to prevent its passage. The bill passed in the <a href="../../wp/b/British_House_of_Commons.htm" title="British House of Commons">House of Commons</a>, but was defeated in the <a href="../../wp/h/House_of_Lords.htm" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a>. An election followed in direct response, and the Whigs were returned with an even larger majority. A second Reform Act was introduced, and defeated in the same way, and another wave of near insurrection swept the country. During this time, Wellington was greeted by a hostile reaction from the crowds at the opening of the <a href="../../wp/l/Liverpool_and_Manchester_Railway.htm" title="Liverpool and Manchester Railway">Liverpool and Manchester Railway</a>, and eventually the bill was passed after the Whigs threatened to have the House of Lords packed with their own followers if it were not. Though it passed, Wellington was never reconciled to the change; when Parliament first met after the first election under the widened franchise, Wellington is reported to have said "I never saw so many shocking bad hats in my life". During this time Wellington was gradually superseded as leader of the Tories by <a href="../../wp/r/Robert_Peel.htm" title="Robert Peel">Robert Peel</a>. When the Tories were brought back to power in <!--del_lnk--> 1834 Wellington declined to become prime minister, and Peel was selected instead. Unfortunately Peel was in Italy, and for three weeks in November and December 1834, Wellington acted as a caretaker, taking the responsibilities of Prime Minister and most of the other ministries. In Peel's first cabinet (1834–1835), Wellington became <!--del_lnk--> Foreign Secretary, while in the second (1841–1846) he was a <!--del_lnk--> Minister without Portfolio and <!--del_lnk--> Leader of the House of Lords.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16665.jpg.htm" title="The Duke's funeral procession passing through Trafalgar Square."><img alt="The Duke's funeral procession passing through Trafalgar Square." height="170" longdesc="/wiki/Image:EmilySDrummondWellingtonFuneral1852.jpg" src="../../images/166/16665.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16665.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Duke's funeral procession passing through <a href="../../wp/t/Trafalgar_Square.htm" title="Trafalgar Square">Trafalgar Square</a>.</div>
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<p>Wellington retired from political life in 1846, although he remained <!--del_lnk--> Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, and returned briefly to the spotlight in 1848 when he helped organize a military force to protect London during that year of European revolution. He died in 1852 at <!--del_lnk--> Walmer Castle (his honorary residence as <!--del_lnk--> Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, which he enjoyed and at which he hosted <!--del_lnk--> Queen Victoria). Although in life he hated travelling by rail, his body was then taken by train to <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>, where he was given a <!--del_lnk--> state funeral - one of only a handful of British subjects to be honoured in that way (other examples are <!--del_lnk--> Nelson and <a href="../../wp/w/Winston_Churchill.htm" title="Churchill">Churchill</a>) - and was buried in a <!--del_lnk--> sarcophagus of <!--del_lnk--> luxulyanite in <a href="../../wp/s/St_Paul%2527s_Cathedral.htm" title="St Paul's Cathedral">St Paul's Cathedral</a>.<p><a id="Legacy" name="Legacy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Legacy</span></h2>
<p>In 1838 a proposal to build a statue of Wellington resulted in the building of a giant statue of him on his horse Copenhagen, placed above the <!--del_lnk--> Arch at <!--del_lnk--> Constitution Hill in London directly outside <!--del_lnk--> Apsley House, his former London home. Completed in 1846, the enormous scale of the 40 ton, 30 feet high monument resulted in its removal in 1883, and the following year it was transported to <!--del_lnk--> Aldershot where it still stands near the Royal Garrison Church.<p>The capital city of <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a> is named <a href="../../wp/w/Wellington.htm" title="Wellington">Wellington</a> in honour of Wellington. The city has a private preparatory school named <i>Wellesley College</i> and a private club, <i>Wellesley Club</i>. The city of <a href="../../wp/a/Auckland.htm" title="Auckland">Auckland</a>, New Zealand, has a central city road named Wellesley Street after Arthur Wellesley.<p><!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Iron Duke</i>, named after Wellington, was the flagship of <!--del_lnk--> Admiral Sir John Jellicoe at the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Jutland.htm" title="Battle of Jutland">Battle of Jutland</a> in <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>.<p><!--del_lnk--> Wellington Street in <a href="../../wp/o/Ottawa.htm" title="Ottawa">Ottawa</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a> is named after Wellington. It is the street upon which the <!--del_lnk--> Parliament Buildings, Canada's seat of government are located.<p><a id="Titles_and_honours" name="Titles_and_honours"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Titles and honours</span></h2>
<p><a id="Peerage_of_the_United_Kingdom" name="Peerage_of_the_United_Kingdom"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Peerage of the United Kingdom</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>Baron Douro, of Wellington in the County of <!--del_lnk--> Somerset (4 September 1809)<li>Viscount Wellington, of Talavera and of Wellington in the County of Somerset (4 September 1809)<li>Earl of Wellington, in the County of Somerset (28 February 1812)<li>Marquess of Wellington, in the County of Somerset (3 October 1812)<li>Marquess Douro (11 May 1814)<li><!--del_lnk--> Duke of Wellington, in the County of Somerset (11 May 1814)</ul>
<p><a id="British_and_Irish_honours" name="British_and_Irish_honours"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">British and Irish honours</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/o/Order_of_the_Bath.htm" title="Order of the Bath">Knight of the Bath</a> (1804)<li><a href="../../wp/p/Privy_Council_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Privy Council of the United Kingdom">Privy Councillor</a> of <a href="../../wp/g/Great_Britain.htm" title="Great Britain">Great Britain</a> (8 April 1807)<li><!--del_lnk--> Privy Councillor of Ireland (28 April 1807)<li><a href="../../wp/o/Order_of_the_Garter.htm" title="Order of the Garter">Knight of the Garter</a> (4 March 1813)<li><a href="../../wp/o/Order_of_the_Bath.htm" title="Order of the Bath">Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath</a> (1815)<li><!--del_lnk--> Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire (1820)<li><!--del_lnk--> Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (1829)<li>Peninsular Cross <!--del_lnk--> medal with nine bars for all campaigns — the only one so issued. Displayed at <!--del_lnk--> Apsley House along with a Waterloo Medal.<li><!--del_lnk--> Fellow of the Royal Society (1847)<li><!--del_lnk--> Chancellor of Oxford University (1834-1852)</ul>
<p><a id="International_honours_and_titles" name="International_honours_and_titles"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">International honours and titles</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>Conde de <!--del_lnk--> Vimeiro (18 October 1811, <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a>)<li>Duque de <!--del_lnk--> Ciudad Rodrigo (January 1812, <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Grandee of the First Class (January 1812, Spain)<li>Marquês de <!--del_lnk--> Torres Vedras (August 1812, Portugal)<li>Duque da Vitória (Duke of the Victory) (18 December 1812, Portugal)<li><!--del_lnk--> Knight of the Golden Fleece (1812, Spain)<li><!--del_lnk--> Prins van Waterloo (18 July 1815, <!--del_lnk--> The Netherlands)<li><!--del_lnk--> Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Hanover (1816, <!--del_lnk--> Hanover)<li><!--del_lnk--> Field Marshal batons from 12 countries. These can be seen at <!--del_lnk--> Apsley House.</ul>
<p>The Duke of Wellington stood as <!--del_lnk--> godfather to <a href="../../wp/v/Victoria_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Victoria of the United Kingdom">Queen Victoria</a>'s seventh child, <!--del_lnk--> Prince Arthur, in 1850. The Duke of Wellington and his godson shared the same birthday, and as a toddler, young Arthur was encouraged to remind people that the Duke of Wellington was his godfather.<p><a id="Styles" name="Styles"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Styles</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> The Hon. Arthur Wesley (birth–7 March 1787)<li>Ensign The Hon. Arthur Wesley (7 March 1787–25 December 1787)<li>Lieutenant The Hon. Arthur Wesley (25 December 1787–30 June 1791)<li>Captain The Hon. Arthur Wesley (30 June 1791–30 April 1793)<li>Major The Hon. Arthur Wesley (30 April 1793–30 September 1793)<li>Lieutenant-Colonel The Hon. Arthur Wesley (30 September 1793–3 May 1796)<li>Colonel The Hon. Arthur Wesley (3 May 1796–19 May 1798)<li>Colonel The Hon. Arthur Wellesley (19 May 1798–29 April 1802)<li>Major-General The Hon. Arthur Wellesley (29 April 1802–1 September 1804)<li>Major-General The Hon. Sir Arthur Wellesley, KB (1 September 1804–8 April 1807)<li>Major-General <!--del_lnk--> The Rt Hon. Sir Arthur Wellesley, KB (8 April 1807–25 April 1808)<li>Lieutenant-General The Rt Hon. Sir Arthur Wellesley, KB (25 April 1808–4 September 1809)<li>Lieutenant-General The Rt Hon. The Viscount Wellington, KB, PC (4 September 1809–May 1811)<li>General The Rt Hon. The Viscount Wellington, KB, PC (May 1811–28 February 1812)<li>General The Rt Hon. The Earl of Wellington, KB, PC (28 February 1812–3 October 1812)<li>General <!--del_lnk--> The Most Hon. The Marquess of Wellington, KB, PC (3 October 1812–4 March 1813)<li>General The Most Hon. The Marquess of Wellington, KG, KB, PC (4 March 1813–21 June 1813)<li>Field Marshal The Most Hon. The Marquess of Wellington, KG, KB, PC (21 June 1813–11 May 1814)<li>Field Marshal His Grace The Duke of Wellington, KG, KB, PC (11 May 1814–2 January 1815)<li>Field Marshal His Grace The Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, PC (2 January 1815–14 September 1852)</ul>
<p><a id="Nicknames" name="Nicknames"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Nicknames</span></h2>
<p>Apart from giving his name to "<!--del_lnk--> Wellington boots", the Duke of Wellington also had several nicknames.<ul>
<li>The "<!--del_lnk--> Iron Duke", after an incident in 1830 in which he installed metal shutters to prevent rioters breaking windows at <!--del_lnk--> Apsley House<li>Officers under his command called him "The Beau", he being a fine dresser or "The Peer" after he was created a Viscount.<li>Regular soldiers under his command called him "Old Nosey" or "Old Hookey" because of his long nose.<li>Spanish and Portuguese troops called him "the Eagle" and "Douro" respectively.</ul>
<p><a id="Misattributed_quotations" name="Misattributed_quotations"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Misattributed quotations</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>The epigram "the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton" was never said by Wellington (it was invented by a French journalist), and could not have been: he remembered his days at Eton as lonely and unhappy, his only sport being solitary leaps across a local brook, and he almost never visited the school in after years despite being its most famous alumnus.</ul>
<ul>
<li>The exclamation "Publish and be damned!" is attributed to Wellington, as what he said after the courtesan <!--del_lnk--> Harriette Wilson threatened to publish her memoirs and his letters if he did not supply her financial demands.</ul>
<p><a id="Personality_traits" name="Personality_traits"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Personality traits</span></h2>
<p>Wellington set a gruelling pace of work. He rose early - he "couldn't bear to lie" in once awake - and usually slept six hours or less. Even when he returned to civilian life after 1815, he slept in a camp bed, reflecting his lack of regard for creature comforts.<p>Never much of a gourmet, he frequently drove his chef to frustration by his abstemious ways and general lack of interest in food, even eating a rotten egg on one occasion without realising it. Whilst on campaign he seldom ate anything between breakfast and dinner. During the retreat back to Portugal during 1811, he subsisted (to the despair of his staff who dined with him) on "cold meat and bread". He was however renowned for the excellent quality of the wine he drank and served (often drinking a bottle with his dinner - not a great quantity by the standards of his day).<p>Although by no means ostentatious, the Duke was renowned for his fine sartorial taste (which, as mentioned above, helped earn him the nickname of "The Beau"). He was particularly fond of trousers - only just entering the gentleman's wardrobe during his life time. On one occasion the Duke was turned away from the <!--del_lnk--> Almack's Assembly Rooms (a popular haunt of high society) for wearing trousers rather than the more conventional knee <!--del_lnk--> breeches. Despite his luminary status, he quietly left without a word of protest.<p>He was very fond of high-technology and mechanical gadgets.<p>He was very insistent that he was not interrupted during shaving (possibly because his unusually rapid growth of facial hair required him to shave twice a day).<p><a id="In_fiction" name="In_fiction"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">In fiction</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>Wellington is a recurring character in the <!--del_lnk--> Richard Sharpe novels by <!--del_lnk--> Bernard Cornwell. In the film versions he was played by <!--del_lnk--> David Troughton for the first two instalments and <!--del_lnk--> Hugh Fraser for the remainder of the 14 movie series.</ul>
<ul>
<li>He was memorably (if unflatteringly) portrayed by <!--del_lnk--> Stephen Fry in the "Duel and Duality" episode of the <!--del_lnk--> BBC One <!--del_lnk--> comedy <!--del_lnk--> television series <i><!--del_lnk--> Blackadder</i> as a shouting, blustering war maniac with a tendency of violence towards the lower orders (including the <!--del_lnk--> Prince Regent, who was at the time disguised as his own butler, <!--del_lnk--> Mr. E. Blackadder) and a penchant for duelling with <!--del_lnk--> cannon (because "only girls fight with swords these days"). Fry later reprised his role, this time in a more historically accurate manner, in <i><!--del_lnk--> Blackadder: Back & Forth</i>.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> C. S. Forester invented a younger sister, "Lady Barbara Wellesley", as a character in his <!--del_lnk--> Horatio Hornblower novels.</ul>
<ul>
<li>In <!--del_lnk--> Susanna Clarke's novel <i><!--del_lnk--> Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell</i>, Wellington appears as the British Army's commanding officer in Portugal and Spain. He employs <!--del_lnk--> Jonathan Strange to help defeat the French using magic. He also appears as himself in Clarke's collection of short stories, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Ladies of Grace Adieu</i>, in <i><!--del_lnk--> The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse</i>: Wellington follows his famous horse <a href="../../wp/c/Copenhagen.htm" title="Copenhagen">Copenhagen</a> into Faerie.</ul>
<ul>
<li>An 82 year old Wellington was portrayed by <!--del_lnk--> Ron Moody in the <a href="../../wp/d/Doctor_Who.htm" title="Doctor Who">Doctor Who</a> audio play <i><!--del_lnk--> Other Lives</i>, in which the Duke met the Doctor and his companions at the Great Exhibition of 1851.</ul>
<p><a id="The_Duke_of_Wellington.27s_Government.2C_January_1828_.E2.80.93_November_1830" name="The_Duke_of_Wellington.27s_Government.2C_January_1828_.E2.80.93_November_1830"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Duke of Wellington's Government, January 1828 – November 1830</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>The Duke of Wellington—<!--del_lnk--> First Lord of the Treasury and <!--del_lnk--> Leader of the House of Lords<li><!--del_lnk--> Lord Lyndhurst—<!--del_lnk--> Lord Chancellor<li><!--del_lnk--> Lord Bathurst—<!--del_lnk--> Lord President of the Council<li><!--del_lnk--> Lord Ellenborough—<!--del_lnk--> Lord Privy Seal<li><a href="../../wp/r/Robert_Peel.htm" title="Robert Peel">Robert Peel</a>—<!--del_lnk--> Secretary of State for the Home Department and <!--del_lnk--> Leader of the House of Commons<li><!--del_lnk--> Lord Dudley—<!--del_lnk--> Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs<li><!--del_lnk--> William Huskisson—<!--del_lnk--> Secretary of State for War and the Colonies<li><!--del_lnk--> Henry Goulburn—<!--del_lnk--> Chancellor of the Exchequer<li><!--del_lnk--> Charles Grant—<!--del_lnk--> President of the Board of Trade and <!--del_lnk--> Treasurer of the Navy<li><!--del_lnk--> Lord Melville—<!--del_lnk--> President of the Board of Control<li><!--del_lnk--> John Charles Herries—<!--del_lnk--> Master of the Mint<li><!--del_lnk--> Lord Aberdeen—<!--del_lnk--> Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster<li><!--del_lnk--> Lord Palmerston—<!--del_lnk--> Secretary at War</ul>
<p><b>Changes</b><ul>
<li>May-June, 1828—<!--del_lnk--> Sir George Murray succeeded Huskisson as Colonial Secretary. Lord Aberdeen succeeded Lord Dudley as Foreign Secretary. Aberdeen's successor at the Duchy of Lancaster was not in the cabinet. <!--del_lnk--> William Vesey-FitzGerald succeeded Grant as President of the Board of Trade and Treasurer of the Navy. Lord Palmerston left the Cabinet. His successor as Secretary at War was not in the cabinet.<li>September, 1828—<!--del_lnk--> Lord Melville became <!--del_lnk--> First Lord of the Admiralty. He was succeeded as President of the Board of Control by Lord Ellenborough, who also remained Lord Privy Seal<li>June, 1829—<!--del_lnk--> Lord Rosslyn succeeded Lord Ellenborough as Lord Privy Seal. Ellenborough remained at the Board of Control.</ul>
<p><a id="The_Duke_of_Wellington.27s_Caretaker_Government_November_1834_.E2.80.93_December_1834" name="The_Duke_of_Wellington.27s_Caretaker_Government_November_1834_.E2.80.93_December_1834"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Duke of Wellington's Caretaker Government November 1834 – December 1834</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>The Duke of Wellington—<!--del_lnk--> First Lord of the Treasury, <!--del_lnk--> Secretary of State for the Home Department, <!--del_lnk--> Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, <!--del_lnk--> Secretary of State for War and the Colonies and <!--del_lnk--> Leader of the House of Lords<li><!--del_lnk--> Lord Lyndhurst—<!--del_lnk--> Lord Chancellor<li><!--del_lnk--> Lord Denham—<!--del_lnk--> Chancellor of the Exchequer</ul>
<p>Other offices were in commission.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Wellesley%2C_1st_Duke_of_Wellington"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Arts and crafts</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Art.Art.htm">Art</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<p><b>Arts and crafts</b> comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one's own hands and skill. These can be sub-divided into <!--del_lnk--> handicrafts or "traditional crafts" (doing things the old way) and the rest. Some crafts have been practised for centuries, while others are modern inventions, or popularisations of crafts which were originally practiced in a very small geographic area.<p>Additionally, this term refers to the <b><!--del_lnk--> Arts and Crafts movement</b> which was a social revolution veiled in a design movement of the late 19th and early 20th century, whose proponents included <!--del_lnk--> William Morris and <!--del_lnk--> Edwin Lutyens. They believed that medieval craftsmen achieved a joy and fulfillment in the excellence of their work, which they strove to emulate.<p>These activities are called <i><!--del_lnk--> crafts</i> because originally many of them were professions under the <a href="../../wp/g/Guild.htm" title="Guild">guild</a> system. Adolescents were apprenticed to a master-craftsman, and they refined their skills over a period of years in exchange for low wages. By the time their training was complete, they were well-equipped to set up in trade for themselves, earning their living with the skill that could be traded directly within the community, often for goods and services. The <a href="../../wp/i/Industrial_Revolution.htm" title="Industrial Revolution">Industrial Revolution</a> and the increasing mechanisation of production processes gradually reduced or eliminated many of the roles professional craftspeople played, and today 'crafts' are most commonly seen as a form of <!--del_lnk--> hobby or art.<p>Most crafts require a combination of skill, speed, and patience, but they can also be learnt on a more basic level by virtually anyone. Many <!--del_lnk--> community centres and schools run evening or day classes and workshops offering to teach basic craft skills in a short period of time. Many of these crafts become extremely popular for brief periods of time (a few months, or a few years), spreading rapidly among the crafting population as everyone emulates the first examples.<p>The term <b>craft</b> also refers to the products of artistic production or creation that require a high degree of tacit knowledge, are highly technical, require specialized equipment and/or facilities to produce, involve <!--del_lnk--> manual labour or a <!--del_lnk--> blue-collar work ethic, are accessible to the general public and are constructed from materials with histories that exceed the boundaries of western art history, such as <!--del_lnk--> ceramics, <a href="../../wp/g/Glass.htm" title="Glass">glass</a>, <!--del_lnk--> textiles, <a href="../../wp/m/Metal.htm" title="Metal">metal</a> and <a href="../../wp/w/Wood.htm" title="Wood">wood</a>. These products are produced within a specific <!--del_lnk--> community of practice and while they differ from the products produced within the communities of art and design, the boundaries of such often overlap resulting in hybrid objects. Additionally, as the interpretation and validation of art is frequently a matter of context, an audience may perceive crafted objects as art objects when these objects are viewed within an art context, such as in a museum or in a position of prominence in one’s home.<p>The term can also refer to the useful <!--del_lnk--> rural crafts of the agricultural countryside. Craftmanship=plato's idea of specialization, onto which the lower society has a specific job in society<p>
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</script><a id="Types_of_arts.2Fcrafts" name="Types_of_arts.2Fcrafts"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Types of arts/crafts</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>There are almost as many variations on the theme of "arts and crafts" as there are crafters with time on their hands, but they can be broken down into a number of categories:</ul>
<p><a id="Crafts_involving_textiles" name="Crafts_involving_textiles"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Crafts involving <a href="../../wp/t/Textile.htm" title="Textile">textiles</a></span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Banner-making</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Canvas work<li><!--del_lnk--> Cross-stitch<li><!--del_lnk--> Crocheting<li><!--del_lnk--> Curve stitching<li><!--del_lnk--> Embroidery<li><!--del_lnk--> Knitting<li><!--del_lnk--> Lace-making<li><!--del_lnk--> Lucet<li><!--del_lnk--> Macrame<li><!--del_lnk--> Millinery<li><!--del_lnk--> Needlepoint<li><!--del_lnk--> Patchwork<li><!--del_lnk--> Quilting<li><!--del_lnk--> Ribbon embroidery<li><!--del_lnk--> Rug making<li><!--del_lnk--> Sewing<li><!--del_lnk--> Shoemaking<li><!--del_lnk--> Spinning (textiles)<li><!--del_lnk--> Spirelli (also see <!--del_lnk--> Scrapbooking)<li><!--del_lnk--> String art<li><!--del_lnk--> Tapestry<li><!--del_lnk--> Tatting<li><!--del_lnk--> Weaving<li><!--del_lnk--> T-shirt art</ul>
<p><a id="Crafts_involving_wood.2C_metal_or_clay" name="Crafts_involving_wood.2C_metal_or_clay"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Crafts involving <a href="../../wp/w/Wood.htm" title="Wood">wood</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Metal.htm" title="Metal">metal</a> or <a href="../../wp/c/Clay.htm" title="Clay">clay</a></span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Metalworking<li><!--del_lnk--> Jewelery<li><a href="../../wp/p/Pottery.htm" title="Pottery">Pottery</a><li><a href="../../wp/s/Sculpture.htm" title="Sculpture">Sculpture</a><li><a href="../../wp/w/Woodworking.htm" title="Woodworking">Woodworking</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Cabinet making<li><!--del_lnk--> Chip carving<li><!--del_lnk--> Marquetry<li><!--del_lnk--> Wood burning<li><!--del_lnk--> Wood turning<li><!--del_lnk--> Bamboo craft</ul>
<p><a id="Crafts_involving_paper_or_canvas" name="Crafts_involving_paper_or_canvas"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Crafts involving <!--del_lnk--> paper or <!--del_lnk--> canvas</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Bookbinding<li><a href="../../wp/c/Calligraphy.htm" title="Calligraphy">Calligraphy</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Cardmaking<li><!--del_lnk--> Collage<li><!--del_lnk--> Decoupage<li>Iris Folding<li><!--del_lnk--> Marbling<li><!--del_lnk--> Origami<li><!--del_lnk--> Papier-mâché<li><!--del_lnk--> Pergamano - parchment craft<li><!--del_lnk--> Quilling or Paper Filigree<li><!--del_lnk--> Scrapbooking<li><!--del_lnk--> Stamping<li>Teabag Folding</ul>
<p><a id="Crafts_involving_plants" name="Crafts_involving_plants"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Crafts involving plants</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Basket <!--del_lnk--> weaving<li><!--del_lnk--> Corn dolly making<li><!--del_lnk--> Pressed flower craft<li><!--del_lnk--> Straw Marquetry</ul>
<p><a id="Other_crafts" name="Other_crafts"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Other crafts</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Balloon animal<li><!--del_lnk--> Beadwork<li><!--del_lnk--> Doll making<li><!--del_lnk--> Dollhouse construction and furnishing<li><!--del_lnk--> Egg decorating<li><!--del_lnk--> Etching<li><!--del_lnk--> Lapidary<li><!--del_lnk--> Mosaics<li><!--del_lnk--> Pioneering<li><a href="../../wp/s/Stained_glass.htm" title="Stained glass">Stained glass</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Toy making</ul>
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| ['Guild', 'Industrial Revolution', 'Glass', 'Metal', 'Wood', 'Textile', 'Wood', 'Metal', 'Clay', 'Pottery', 'Sculpture', 'Woodworking', 'Calligraphy', 'Stained glass'] |
Aruba | <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Central_and_South_American_Geography.Central_and_South_American_Countries.htm">Central & South American Countries</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Countries.htm">Countries</a></h3>
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<table class="infobox geography" style="width:23em;">
<tr>
<td align="center" class="mergedtoprow" colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; font-size:1.2em;"><b>Aruba</b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td align="center" class="maptable" colspan="2" style="padding:0.4em 0.8em 0.4em 0.8em;">
<table style="margin:0 auto; background:none; text-align:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><span style="border:1px solid #bbbbbb; display:table-cell;"><a class="image" href="../../images/81/8169.png.htm" title="Flag of Aruba"><img alt="Flag of Aruba" height="83" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Aruba.svg" src="../../images/5/562.png" width="125" /></a></span></td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/563.png.htm" title="Coat of Arms of Aruba"><img alt="Coat of Arms of Aruba" height="102" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aruba_coa.png" src="../../images/5/563.png" width="85" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Flag</small></td>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Coat of Arms</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Anthem: <!--del_lnk--> Aruba Dushi Tera</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 1em;">
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/5/564.png.htm" title="Location of Aruba"><img alt="Location of Aruba" height="115" longdesc="/wiki/Image:LocationAruba.png" src="../../images/5/564.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<td><!--del_lnk--> <b>Capital</b><br /><!--del_lnk--> (and largest city)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Oranjestad</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> Official languages</span></th>
<td><a href="../../wp/d/Dutch_language.htm" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Papiamento</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><b><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_countries_by_system_of_government.htm" title="List of countries by system of government">Government</a></b></td>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><a href="../../wp/c/Constitutional_monarchy.htm" title="Constitutional monarchy">Constitutional monarchy</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Governor</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Fredis Refunjol</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Queen</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Beatrix</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Nelson O. Oduber</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Independence</th>
<td>from <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands_Antilles.htm" title="Netherlands Antilles">Netherlands Antilles</a> </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Date</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1 January <!--del_lnk--> 1986 </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Area</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 193 km²<br /> 74.5 sq mi </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Water (%)</td>
<td>negligible</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Population</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - 2006 estimate</td>
<td>102,695 (<!--del_lnk--> 195th)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Density</td>
<td>571/km² (<!--del_lnk--> 18th)<br /> 1479/sq mi</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> GDP (<!--del_lnk--> PPP)</th>
<td>2004 estimate</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td>$2.13 billion (<!--del_lnk--> 182nd)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Per capita</td>
<td>$21,800 (<!--del_lnk--> 32nd)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a href="../../wp/c/Currency.htm" title="Currency">Currency</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Aruban florin (<code><!--del_lnk--> AWG</code>)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> AST (<!--del_lnk--> UTC-4)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Internet TLD</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> .aw</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Calling code</th>
<td>+297</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Aruba</b> is a 32 km long <!--del_lnk--> island of the <!--del_lnk--> Lesser Antilles in the <a href="../../wp/c/Caribbean_Sea.htm" title="Caribbean Sea">Caribbean Sea</a>, 27 km north of the <!--del_lnk--> Paraguaná Peninsula, <!--del_lnk--> Falcón State, <a href="../../wp/v/Venezuela.htm" title="Venezuela">Venezuela</a>, and it forms a part of the <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of the Netherlands. Unlike much of the Caribbean region, it has a dry climate and an arid, cactus-strewn landscape. This climate has helped tourism as visitors to the island can reliably expect warm, sunny weather. It has a land area of <!--del_lnk--> 193 km².<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Discovered and claimed for <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a> in <!--del_lnk--> 1499, Aruba was conquered by the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Dutch</a> in <!--del_lnk--> 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries: <!--del_lnk--> gold mining, <a href="../../wp/p/Petroleum.htm" title="Petroleum">petroleum</a>, and <a href="../../wp/t/Tourism.htm" title="Tourism">tourism</a>.<p>Aruba seceded from the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands_Antilles.htm" title="Netherlands Antilles">Netherlands Antilles</a> on <!--del_lnk--> January 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1986, and became a separate, self-governing member of the <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence by <!--del_lnk--> 1996 was halted at Aruba's request in <!--del_lnk--> 1990.<p><a id="Politics" name="Politics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Politics</span></h2>
<p>Politics of Aruba, a constituent country of the <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of the Netherlands, takes place in a framework of a <a href="../../wp/p/Parliamentary_system.htm" title="Parliamentary system">parliamentary</a> <!--del_lnk--> representative democratic an eight-member Cabinet. The governor general is appointed for a six-year term by the monarch, and the prime minister and deputy prime minister are elected by the Staten for four-year terms. The legislature or Staten is made up of 21 members elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms.<p>Together with the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">European part of Netherlands</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Dutch Antilles, Aruba forms a <!--del_lnk--> federacy.<p><a id="Law" name="Law"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Law</span></h2>
<p>Legal jurisdiction lies with a <i>Gerecht in Eerste Aanleg</i> on Aruba, a <!--del_lnk--> Common Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba (<i>Gemeenschappelijk Hof van Justitie voor de Nederlandse Antillen en Aruba</i>) and the <!--del_lnk--> Supreme Court of Justice of the Netherlands.<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/565.png.htm" title="Map of Aruba."><img alt="Map of Aruba." height="215" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aruba_map.png" src="../../images/5/565.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/565.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map of Aruba.</div>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/566.jpg.htm" title="Natural bridge in Aruba."><img alt="Natural bridge in Aruba." height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aruba_landbridge.jpg" src="../../images/5/566.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/566.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Natural bridge in Aruba.</div>
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<p>One of the <!--del_lnk--> Lesser Antilles, specifically in the <!--del_lnk--> Leeward Antilles island arc, Aruba is a generally flat, <a href="../../wp/r/River.htm" title="River">riverless</a> island renowned for its white sand <a href="../../wp/b/Beach.htm" title="Beach">beaches</a>. Most of these are located on the western and southern coasts of the island, which are relatively sheltered from fierce ocean currents. The northern and eastern coasts, lacking this protection, are considerably more battered by the sea and have been left largely untouched by humans. The interior of the island features some rolling hills, the better two of which are called <!--del_lnk--> Hooiberg at 165 <!--del_lnk--> metres (541 <!--del_lnk--> ft) and <!--del_lnk--> Mount Jamanota, which is the highest on the island, at 188 metres (617 ft) above <!--del_lnk--> sea level. Oranjestad, the capital, is located at <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 12°19′N 70°1′W</span>.<p>As a separate member state of the <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of the Netherlands, the island/state has no administrative subdivisions. On the east are <!--del_lnk--> Curaçao and <!--del_lnk--> Bonaire, two island territories which form the southwest part of the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands_Antilles.htm" title="Netherlands Antilles">Netherlands Antilles</a>; Aruba and these two Netherlands Antilles islands are also known as the <!--del_lnk--> ABC islands.<p>The local <a href="../../wp/c/Climate.htm" title="Climate">climate</a> is a pleasant tropical marine climate. Little seasonal temperature variation exists, which helps Aruba to attract tourists all year round. Temperatures are almost constant at about 28 <!--del_lnk--> °C (82 <!--del_lnk--> °F), moderated by constant <!--del_lnk--> trade winds from the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a>. Yearly precipitation barely reaches 500 <!--del_lnk--> mm (20 <!--del_lnk--> in), most of it falling in late autumn.<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<p>Aruba enjoys one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean region, with low poverty and unemployment rates. About half of the Aruban <!--del_lnk--> Gross National Product is earned through <a href="../../wp/t/Tourism.htm" title="Tourism">tourism</a> or related activities. Most of the tourists are from <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>, the <a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="European Union">European Union</a> and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, which is the country's largest trading partner. Before the Status Aparte (Secession from the Neth. Antilles) oil processing was the dominant industry in Aruba, despite expansion of the tourism sector. Today, the influence of the oil processing business is minimal. The size of the agriculture and manufacturing industries remains minimal.<p><!--del_lnk--> Deficit spending has been a staple in Aruba's history, and modestly high inflation has been present as well, although recent efforts at tightening monetary policy may correct this. Aruba receives some <!--del_lnk--> development aid from the Dutch government each year. The Aruban florin is pegged to the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_dollar.htm" title="United States dollar">United States dollar</a> with a fixed exchange rate where 1.79 florin equals 1 U.S. dollar.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/567.png.htm" title="Population of Aruba, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands."><img alt="Population of Aruba, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands." height="177" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aruba-demography.png" src="../../images/5/567.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/567.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Population of Aruba, Data of <!--del_lnk--> FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.</div>
</div>
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<p>Having poor <a href="../../wp/s/Soil.htm" title="Soil">soil</a> and aridity, Aruba was saved from plantation economics and the <!--del_lnk--> slave trade. In 1515, the Spanish transported the entire population to <!--del_lnk--> Hispaniola to work in the <a href="../../wp/c/Copper.htm" title="Copper">copper</a> <a href="../../wp/m/Mining.htm" title="Mining">mines</a>; most were allowed to return when the mines were tapped out. The Dutch, who took control a century later, left the <!--del_lnk--> Arawaks to graze livestock, using the island as a source of meat for other Dutch possessions in the Caribbean. The Arawak heritage is stronger on Aruba than on most Caribbean islands. No full-blooded <!--del_lnk--> Aboriginals remain, but the features of the islanders clearly indicate their genetic heritage. The majority of the population is descended from Arawak, Dutch and Spanish ancestors. Recently there has been substantial immigration to the island from neighboring Latin American and Caribbean nations, attracted by the lure of well-paying jobs.<p>The two official languages are the Dutch language and the predominant, national language <!--del_lnk--> Papiamento. This <!--del_lnk--> creole language is formed primarily from 16th century <a href="../../wp/p/Portuguese_language.htm" title="Portuguese language">Portuguese</a>, and several other languages. Spanish and English are also spoken. Islanders can often speak four or more languages and are mostly <!--del_lnk--> Roman Catholic.<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
<p>The origins of the population and location of the island give Aruba a mixed culture. Dutch influence can still be seen, even though not much of the population is of Dutch origin. Tourism from the United States has recently also increased the visibility of American culture on the island. <!--del_lnk--> Queen Beatrix International Airport, located near <!--del_lnk--> Oranjestad, currently serves the whole island of Aruba. This airport has access to various cities across the eastern <!--del_lnk--> U.S., from <a href="../../wp/m/Miami%252C_Florida.htm" title="Miami, Florida">Miami</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Orlando, <a href="../../wp/h/Houston%252C_Texas.htm" title="Houston, Texas">Houston</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Atlanta%252C_Georgia.htm" title="Atlanta, Georgia">Atlanta</a>, <!--del_lnk--> New York and <a href="../../wp/b/Boston%252C_Massachusetts.htm" title="Boston, Massachusetts">Boston</a>. It also connects Aruba with Europe through <!--del_lnk--> Schiphol Airport in the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>.<p>The holiday of <!--del_lnk--> Carnival is an important one in Aruba, as it is in many Caribbean and Latin American countries. Carnival is usually held from the beginning of January until the end of February, with a large parade on the final Sunday of the festivities.<p><a id="Language" name="Language"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Language</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Language can be seen as an important part of island culture in Aruba. The cultural mixture has given way to a linguistic mixture known as <!--del_lnk--> Papiamento. However, islanders are known to speak many languages. Islanders often speak Papiamento, English, Dutch and Spanish. In recent years the government of Aruba has shown an increased interest in acknowledging the cultural and historical importance of its native language.<p><a id="Places_of_interest" name="Places_of_interest"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Places of interest</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Alto Vista Chapel<li><!--del_lnk--> Arikok National Park<li><!--del_lnk--> Ayo Rock Formations<li><!--del_lnk--> Bushiribana & Balashi<li><!--del_lnk--> California Lighthouse<li><!--del_lnk--> Frenchman's Pass<li><!--del_lnk--> Hooiberg<li>Lourdes Grotto<li><!--del_lnk--> Natural Bridge (Collapsed on September 2, 2005 <!--del_lnk--> )<li>Natural Pool<li>Palm Beach<li>Eagle Beach<li>Arashi<li><!--del_lnk--> Baby Beach, Aruba<li>Aruba Aloe Factory <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> The Butterfly Farm</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aruba"</div>
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| ['Dutch language', 'List of countries by system of government', 'Constitutional monarchy', 'Netherlands Antilles', 'Currency', 'Time zone', 'Caribbean Sea', 'Venezuela', 'Spain', 'Netherlands', 'Petroleum', 'Tourism', 'Netherlands Antilles', 'Parliamentary system', 'Netherlands', 'River', 'Beach', 'Netherlands Antilles', 'Climate', 'Atlantic Ocean', 'Tourism', 'Canada', 'European Union', 'United States', 'United States dollar', 'Soil', 'Copper', 'Mining', 'Portuguese language', 'Miami, Florida', 'Houston, Texas', 'Atlanta, Georgia', 'Boston, Massachusetts', 'Netherlands'] |
Arugula | <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Food_and_agriculture.htm">Food and agriculture</a></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/571.jpg.htm" title="Leafy arugula"><img alt="Leafy arugula" height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Arugula.jpg" src="../../images/5/571.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/571.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Leafy arugula</div>
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<p><b>Rocket</b>, also known as <b>arugula</b>, <b>garden rocket</b>, <b>rocket salad</b>, <b>rugola</b>, <b>rucola</b> and <b>roquette</b>, is a type of <!--del_lnk--> leaf vegetable, and although often mistaken for a sort of <a href="../../wp/l/Lettuce.htm" title="Lettuce">lettuce</a>, is in fact a <!--del_lnk--> herb, being a member of the <a href="../../wp/m/Mustard_plant.htm" title="Mustard plant">mustard</a> family. It is rich in <a href="../../wp/v/Vitamin_C.htm" title="Vitamin C">vitamin C</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/Iron.htm" title="Iron">iron</a>.<p><b>Rocket</b> has been grown as a <a href="../../wp/v/Vegetable.htm" title="Vegetable">vegetable</a> in the <a href="../../wp/m/Mediterranean_Sea.htm" title="Mediterranean">Mediterranean</a> area since <!--del_lnk--> Roman times, and was considered an <!--del_lnk--> aphrodisiac. Before the 1990s it was usually collected in the wild and was not cultivated on a large scale and not scientifically researched until the 1990s. Today, it is cultivated in various places, especially in <!--del_lnk--> Veneto, and available throughout the world.<p>
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</script><a id="Varieties" name="Varieties"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Varieties</span></h2>
<p>Scientifically, arugula consists of three species: <i><!--del_lnk--> Eruca sativa</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Diplotaxis tenuifolia</i> and <i>Diplotaxis muralis</i>.<p>Two main forms are found - wild rocket, with smaller, more peppery leaves, and wide leaved or cultivated rocket, with a less pronounced taste.<p><a id="Ecology" name="Ecology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Ecology</span></h2>
<p>Rocket is used as a food plant by the <!--del_lnk--> larvae of some <i><!--del_lnk--> Lepidoptera</i> species including <!--del_lnk--> Garden Carpet.<p><a id="Usage" name="Usage"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Usage</span></h2>
<p>Rocket is generally used in <!--del_lnk--> salads but also cooked as a vegetable with <!--del_lnk--> pastas or meats. In <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a>, it is often used in <!--del_lnk--> pizzas, added just before the baking period ends or immediately afterwards, so that it can wilt in the heat. It is sometimes used as an ingredient in <!--del_lnk--> pesto, either in addition to <a href="../../wp/b/Basil.htm" title="Basil">basil</a> or as a (non-traditional) substitute.<p><a id="Note" name="Note"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Note</span></h2>
<ol class="references">
<li id="_note-0"><b>^</b> The term <i>arugula</i> (from Italian dialect <i>arigola</i>) is found chiefly in the U.S.; both words <i>arugula</i> and <i>rocket</i> ultimately come from Latin <i>eruca</i>.</ol>
<p><a id="External_links" name="External_links"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arugula"</div>
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| ['Lettuce', 'Mustard plant', 'Vitamin C', 'Iron', 'Vegetable', 'Mediterranean', 'Italy', 'Basil'] |
Ascariasis | <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><i><b>Ascaris lumbricoides</b></i></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/573.jpg.htm" title="An adult female Ascaris worm."><img alt="An adult female Ascaris worm." height="198" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ascaris_lumbricoides_-_adult_-_CDC_Division_of_Parasitic_Diseases.JPG" src="../../images/5/573.jpg" width="250" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small>An adult female Ascaris worm.</small></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Nematoda<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Secernentea<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ascaridida<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ascarididae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Ascaris</i><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>A. lumbricoides</b></i></span><br />
</td>
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<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
</th>
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<td><i><b>Ascaris lumbricoides</b></i><br /><small><a href="../../wp/c/Carolus_Linnaeus.htm" title="Carolus Linnaeus">Linnaeus</a>, 1758</small></td>
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<table class="infobox" style="width: 20em; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<caption style="background: lightgrey; font-size: 95%;"><b>Ascariasis</b><br /><i>Classifications and external resources</i></caption>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> ICD-<!--del_lnk--> 10</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> B<!--del_lnk--> 77.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> ICD-<!--del_lnk--> 9</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 127.0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> DiseasesDB</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 934</td>
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<p><b>Ascariasis</b> is a <a href="../../wp/h/Human.htm" title="Human">human</a> <!--del_lnk--> disease caused by the <!--del_lnk--> parasitic <!--del_lnk--> roundworm <i><b>Ascaris lumbricoides</b></i>. Perhaps as many as one quarter of the world's people are infected<!--del_lnk--> , and ascariasis is particularly prevalent in <a href="../../wp/t/Tropics.htm" title="Tropics">tropical regions</a> and in areas of poor <!--del_lnk--> hygiene. Other <!--del_lnk--> species of the <!--del_lnk--> genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Ascaris</i> are parasitic and can cause disease in <!--del_lnk--> domestic animals.<p><!--del_lnk--> Infection occurs through ingestion of food contaminated with <!--del_lnk--> fecal matter containing Ascaris <!--del_lnk--> eggs. The <!--del_lnk--> larvae hatch, burrow through the <!--del_lnk--> intestine, reach the <!--del_lnk--> lungs, and finally migrate up the <!--del_lnk--> respiratory tract. From there they are then reswallowed and mature in the intestine, growing up to 30 <!--del_lnk--> cm (12 <!--del_lnk--> in.) in length and anchoring themselves to the intestinal wall.<p>Infections are usually asymptomatic, especially if the number of worms is small. They may however be accompanied by <!--del_lnk--> inflammation, <!--del_lnk--> fever, and <!--del_lnk--> diarrhea, and serious problems may develop if the worms migrate to other parts of the body.<p>
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</script><a id="Prevalence" name="Prevalence"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prevalence</span></h2>
<p>Roughly 1.5 billion individuals are infected with this worm<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_1"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span>. Ascariasis is endemic in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> including <!--del_lnk--> Gulf Coast and <!--del_lnk--> Ozark Mountains; in <a href="../../wp/n/Nigeria.htm" title="Nigeria">Nigeria</a> and in <!--del_lnk--> Southeast Asia. One study indicated that the prevalence of ascariasis in the United States at about 4 million (2%). In a survey of a rural <!--del_lnk--> Nova Scotia community, 28.1% of 431 individuals tested were positive for Ascaris, all of them being under age 20, while all 276 tested in metropolitan <!--del_lnk--> Halifax were negative<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_2"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span>.<p>Deposition of <!--del_lnk--> ova (eggs) in <!--del_lnk--> sewage hints at the degree of ascariasis incidence. A <!--del_lnk--> 1978 study showed about 75% of all sewage <!--del_lnk--> sludge samples sampled in United States urban catchments contained Ascaris ova, with rates as high as 5 to 100 eggs per litre. In <!--del_lnk--> Frankfort, <!--del_lnk--> Indiana, 87.5% of the sludge samples were positive with Ascaris, <!--del_lnk--> Toxocara, <a href="../../wp/t/Trichinosis.htm" title="Trichinosis">Trichuris</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> hookworm. In <!--del_lnk--> Macon, <!--del_lnk--> Georgia, one of the 13 soil samples tested positive for Ascaris. Municipal wastewater in <a href="../../wp/r/Riyadh.htm" title="Riyadh">Riyadh</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Saudi_Arabia.htm" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> detected over 100 eggs per litre of wastewater <span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_3"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> and in <!--del_lnk--> Czechoslovakia was as high as 240-1050 eggs per litre <span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_4"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span>.<p>Ascariasis sources can often be measured by examining food for ova. In one field study in <!--del_lnk--> Marrakech, <a href="../../wp/m/Morocco.htm" title="Morocco">Morocco</a>, where raw sewage is used to fertilize crop fields, Ascaris eggs were detected at the rate of 0.18 eggs/kg in potatoes, 0.27 eggs/kg in turnip, 4.63 eggs/kg in mint, 0.7 eggs/kg in carrots, and 1.64 eggs/kg in radish<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_5"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span>. A similar study in the same area showed that 73% of children working on these farms were infected with <!--del_lnk--> helminths, particularly Ascaris, probably as a result of exposure to the raw sewage.<p><a id="Life_cycle" name="Life_cycle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Life cycle</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:437px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/574.gif.htm" title="Adult worms (1) live in the lumen of the small intestine. A female may produce approximately 200,000 eggs per day, which are passed with the feces (2). Unfertilized eggs may be ingested but are not infective. Fertile eggs embryonate and become infective after 18 days to several weeks (3), depending on the environmental conditions (optimum: moist, warm, shaded soil). After infective eggs are swallowed (4), the larvae hatch (5), invade the intestinal mucosa, and are carried via the portal, then systemic circulation to the lungs . The larvae mature further in the lungs (6) (10 to 14 days), penetrate the alveolar walls, ascend the bronchial tree to the throat, and are swallowed (7). Upon reaching the small intestine, they develop into adult worms (8). Between 2 and 3 months are required from ingestion of the infective eggs to oviposition by the adult female. Adult worms can live 1 to 2 years."><img alt="Adult worms (1) live in the lumen of the small intestine. A female may produce approximately 200,000 eggs per day, which are passed with the feces (2). Unfertilized eggs may be ingested but are not infective. Fertile eggs embryonate and become infective after 18 days to several weeks (3), depending on the environmental conditions (optimum: moist, warm, shaded soil). After infective eggs are swallowed (4), the larvae hatch (5), invade the intestinal mucosa, and are carried via the portal, then systemic circulation to the lungs . The larvae mature further in the lungs (6) (10 to 14 days), penetrate the alveolar walls, ascend the bronchial tree to the throat, and are swallowed (7). Upon reaching the small intestine, they develop into adult worms (8). Between 2 and 3 months are required from ingestion of the infective eggs to oviposition by the adult female. Adult worms can live 1 to 2 years." height="443" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ascariasis_LifeCycle_-_CDC_Division_of_Parasitic_Diseases.gif" src="../../images/5/574.gif" width="435" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">Adult worms (1) live in the lumen of the small intestine. A female may produce approximately 200,000 eggs per day, which are passed with the feces (2). Unfertilized eggs may be ingested but are not infective. Fertile eggs embryonate and become infective after 18 days to several weeks (3), depending on the environmental conditions (optimum: moist, warm, shaded soil). After infective eggs are swallowed (4), the larvae hatch (5), invade the intestinal mucosa, and are carried via the portal, then systemic circulation to the lungs . The larvae mature further in the lungs (6) (10 to 14 days), penetrate the alveolar walls, ascend the bronchial tree to the throat, and are swallowed (7). Upon reaching the small intestine, they develop into adult worms (8). Between 2 and 3 months are required from ingestion of the infective eggs to oviposition by the adult female. Adult worms can live 1 to 2 years.</div>
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<p>First appearance of eggs in stools is 60-70 days. In larval ascariasis, symptoms occur 4-16 days after infection. The final symptoms are gastrointestinal discomfort, colic and vomiting, fever; observation of live worms in stools. Some patients may have pulmonary symptoms or neurological disorders during migration of the larvae. However there are generally few or no symptoms. A bolus of worms may obstruct the intestine; migrating larvae may cause pneumonitis and <!--del_lnk--> eosinophilia. <a id="Reservoir.2Fsource" name="Reservoir.2Fsource"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Diagnosis</span></h2>
<p>The diagnosis is usually incidental when the host passes a worm in the stool or vomit. Stool samples for ova and parasites will demonstrate Ascaris eggs. Larvae may be found in gastric or respiratory secretions in pulmonary disease. Blood counts may demonstrate peripheral <!--del_lnk--> eosinophilia. On <!--del_lnk--> X-ray, 15-35 cm long filling defects, sometimes with whirled appearance (bolus of worms).<p><a id="Symptoms" name="Symptoms"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Symptoms</span></h2>
<p>Patients can remain Asymptomatic for very long periods of time. As larval stages travel through the body, they may cause visceral damage, <!--del_lnk--> peritonitis and <!--del_lnk--> inflammation, enlargement of the <!--del_lnk--> liver or <!--del_lnk--> spleen, toxicity, and <a href="../../wp/p/Pneumonia.htm" title="Pneumonia">pneumonia</a>. A heavy worm infestation may cause nutritional deficiency; other complications, sometimes fatal, include obstruction of the bowel by a bolus of worms (observed particularly in children), obstruction of <!--del_lnk--> bile or <!--del_lnk--> pancreatic duct. More than 796 Ascaris lumbricoides worms weighing 550 <!--del_lnk--> g [19 ounces] were recovered at autopsy from a 2-year-old South African girl. The worms had caused torsion and gangrene of the <!--del_lnk--> ileum, which was interpreted as the cause of death<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_6"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span>.<p>Ascaris takes most of its nutrients from the partially digested host food in the <!--del_lnk--> intestine. There is limited evidence that it can also pierce the intestinal mucous membrane and feed on blood, but this is not its usual source of nutrition.<!--del_lnk--> As a result, Ascaris infection does not produce the <a href="../../wp/a/Anemia.htm" title="Anemia">anaemia</a> associated with some other <!--del_lnk--> roundworm infections.<p><a id="Treatment" name="Treatment"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Treatment</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Native Americans have traditionally used <a href="../../wp/e/Epazote.htm" title="Epazote">epazote</a> (<i>Chenopodium ambrisioides</i>) for treatment, which was not as powerful as pharmaceutical compounds, but spontaneous passage of Ascarids provided some proof of efficacy.<p>Some recent studies exist in the medical literature suggesting that sun-dried <!--del_lnk--> papaya and watermelon seeds may reduce infections by a large factor. The adult dosage is one tablespoon of the seed powder in a glass of <a href="../../wp/s/Sugar.htm" title="Sugar">sugar</a> water once a week for two weeks. The sugar makes the bitter taste palatable and acts as a <!--del_lnk--> laxative.<p>Pharmaceutical treatments include:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Mebendazole (Vermox) (C<sub>16</sub>H<sub>13</sub>N<sub>3</sub>O<sub>2</sub>). Causes slow immobilization and death of the worms by selectively and irreversibly blocking uptake of glucose and other nutrients in susceptible adult intestine where helminths dwell. Oral dosage is 100 <!--del_lnk--> mg 12 hourly for 3 days.<li><!--del_lnk--> Piperazine (C<sub>4</sub>H<sub>10</sub>N<sub>2</sub>.C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>10</sub>O<sub>4</sub>). A flaccid paralyzing agent that causes a blocking response of ascaris muscle to acetylcholine. The narcotizing effect immobilizes the worm, which prevents migration when treatment is accomplished with weak drugs such as thiabendazole. If used by itself it causes the worm to be passed out in the feces. Dosage is 75 mg/kg (max 3.5 g) as a single oral dose.<li><!--del_lnk--> Pyrantel pamoate (Antiminth, Pin-Rid, Pin-X) (C<sub>11</sub>H<sub>14</sub>N<sub>2</sub>S.C<sub>23</sub>H<sub>16</sub>O<sub>6</sub>) Depolarizes ganglionic block of nicotinic neuromuscular transmission, resulting in spastic paralysis of the worm. Spastic (tetanic) paralyzing agents, in particular pyrantel pamoate, may induce complete intestinal obstruction in a heavy worm load. Dosage is 11 mg/kg not to exceed 1 g as a single dose.<li><!--del_lnk--> Albendazole (C<sub>12</sub>H<sub>15</sub>N<sub>3</sub>O<sub>2</sub>S) A broad-spectrum antihelminthic agent that decreases <a href="../../wp/a/Adenosine_triphosphate.htm" title="Adenosine triphosphate">ATP</a> production in the worm, causing energy depletion, immobilization, and finally death. Dosage is 400 mg given as single oral dose (contraindicated during pregnancy and children under 2 years).<li><!--del_lnk--> Thiabendazole. This may cause migration of the worm into the <!--del_lnk--> esophagus, so it is usually combined with piperazine.</ul>
<p>Also, <!--del_lnk--> corticosteroids can treat some of the symptoms, such as inflammation.<p><a id="Prevention" name="Prevention"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prevention</span></h2>
<p>Prevention includes; use of <!--del_lnk--> toilet facilities; safe excreta disposal; protection of food from dirt and soil; thorough washing of produce; hand washing; and common-sense sanitary measures.<p>Food dropped on the floor should never be eaten without washing or cooking, particularly in endemic areas. Vegetables originating from third-world countries should always be washed thoroughly before consumption.<p><a id="Animal_models_for_Ascaris_infestation" name="Animal_models_for_Ascaris_infestation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Animal models for Ascaris infestation</span></h2>
<p>There are two animal models for studying Ascaris infection:<ul>
<li>Mouse-<i><!--del_lnk--> Ascaris suum</i> test model. (Howes HL Jr. J Parasitol. 1971 Jun; 57(3): 487-93.)<li><i>Ascaris suum</i> in experimentally infected pigs. (Lichtensteiger CA et al; 1999)</ul>
<p><a id="Trivia" name="Trivia"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Trivia</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>Ascariasis may result in <!--del_lnk--> allergies to <!--del_lnk--> shrimp and <!--del_lnk--> dustmites due to the shared <!--del_lnk--> antigen, <!--del_lnk--> tropomyosin.<li>Worm infestation, including ascaris lumbricoides, may provide some protection against developing <a href="../../wp/a/Asthma.htm" title="Asthma">asthma</a>.<li>Ascaris have an aversion to some general anesthetics and may exit the body, sometimes through the mouth. <!--del_lnk--> </ul>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Asia</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geography_of_Asia.htm">Geography of Asia</a></h3>
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<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/429.png.htm" title="World map showing the location of Asia."><img alt="World map showing the location of Asia." height="142" longdesc="/wiki/Image:LocationAsia.png" src="../../images/5/575.png" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/4/429.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> World map showing the location of Asia.</div>
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<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/576.jpg.htm" title="Two-point equidistant projection of Asia."><img alt="Two-point equidistant projection of Asia." height="209" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Two-point-equidistant-asia.jpg" src="../../images/5/576.jpg" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p><b>Asia</b> is the largest and most populous <a href="../../wp/c/Continent.htm" title="Continent">continent</a> or region, depending on the definition. It covers 8.6% of the <a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">Earth</a>'s total surface area, or 29.4% of its <!--del_lnk--> land area, and it contains more than 60% of the world's <!--del_lnk--> human population.<p>Asia is traditionally defined as part of the <!--del_lnk--> landmass of <!--del_lnk--> Africa-Eurasia – with the western portion of the latter occupied by <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a> – lying east of the <a href="../../wp/s/Suez_Canal.htm" title="Suez Canal">Suez Canal</a>, east of the <!--del_lnk--> Ural Mountains, and south of the <!--del_lnk--> Caucasus Mountains and the <a href="../../wp/c/Caspian_Sea.htm" title="Caspian Sea">Caspian</a> and <a href="../../wp/b/Black_Sea.htm" title="Black Sea">Black Seas</a>.<p>
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<p>The word <i>Asia</i> entered English, via <a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a>, from <!--del_lnk--> Ancient Greek Ασία (<i>Asia</i>; see also <!--del_lnk--> List of traditional Greek place names). This name is first attested in <a href="../../wp/h/Herodotus.htm" title="Herodotus">Herodotus</a> (about 440 BC), where it refers to <!--del_lnk--> Anatolia; or, for the purposes of describing the <!--del_lnk--> Persian Wars, to the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persian Empire</a>, in contrast to <a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greece</a> and <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a>. Herodotus comments that he is puzzled as to why three women's names are used to describe one land mass (<!--del_lnk--> Europa, Asia and <a href="../../wp/l/Libya.htm" title="Libya">Libya</a>, referring to Africa), stating that most Greeks assumed that Asia was named after the wife of <!--del_lnk--> Prometheus but that the <!--del_lnk--> Lydians say it was named after <!--del_lnk--> Asias, son of <!--del_lnk--> Cotys who passed the name on to a tribe in <!--del_lnk--> Sardis.<p>Even before Herodotus, <a href="../../wp/h/Homer.htm" title="Homer">Homer</a> knew of a <!--del_lnk--> Trojan ally named <!--del_lnk--> Asios, son of <!--del_lnk--> Hyrtacus, a ruler over several towns, and elsewhere he describes a marsh as ασιος (Iliad 2, 461). The Greek term may be derived from <!--del_lnk--> Assuwa, a 14th century BC confederation of states in Western <!--del_lnk--> Anatolia. <!--del_lnk--> Hittite <i>assu-</i> = "good" is probably an element in that name.<p>Alternatively, the ultimate <!--del_lnk--> etymology of the term may be from the <!--del_lnk--> Akkadian word <i><span class="Unicode">(w)aṣû(m)</span></i>, which means "to go out" or "to ascend", referring to the direction of the <a href="../../wp/s/Sun.htm" title="Sun">sun</a> at sunrise in the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a>, and also likely connected with the Phoenician word <i>asa</i> meaning east. This may be contrasted to a similar etymology proposed for <i>Europe</i>, as being from <!--del_lnk--> Semitic <i>erēbu</i> "to enter" or "set" (of the sun). However, this etymology is considered doubtful, because it does not explain how the term "Asia" first came to be associated with Anatolia, which is <i>west</i> of the Semitic-speaking areas, unless they refer to the viewpoint of a <!--del_lnk--> Phoenician sailor sailing through the straits between the <a href="../../wp/m/Mediterranean_Sea.htm" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean Sea</a> and the <a href="../../wp/b/Black_Sea.htm" title="Black Sea">Black Sea</a>.<p><a id="Definition_and_boundaries" name="Definition_and_boundaries"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Definition and boundaries</span></h2>
<p>Medieval <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europeans</a> considered Asia as a continent – a distinct landmass. The European concept of the three continents in the <!--del_lnk--> Old World goes back to <!--del_lnk--> Classical Antiquity, but during the Middle Ages was notably due to <!--del_lnk--> Isidore of Sevilla (see <!--del_lnk--> T and O map). The demarcation between Asia and <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a> is the <!--del_lnk--> Isthmus of <a href="../../wp/s/Suez_Canal.htm" title="Suez Canal">Suez</a> and the <a href="../../wp/r/Red_Sea.htm" title="Red Sea">Red Sea</a>. The boundary between Asia and <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a> is commonly considered to run through the <!--del_lnk--> Dardanelles, the <!--del_lnk--> Sea of Marmara, the <!--del_lnk--> Bosporus, the Black Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, the Caspian Sea, the <!--del_lnk--> Ural River to its source, and the Ural Mountains to the <!--del_lnk--> Kara Sea near Kara, <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>. While this interpretation of tripartite continents (i.e., of Asia, Europe, and Africa) remains common in modernity, discovery of the extent of Africa and Asia have made this definition somewhat anachronistic. This is especially true in the case of Asia, which would have several regions that would be considered distinct landmasses if these criteria were used (for example, <!--del_lnk--> Southern Asia and <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Asia).<p>Generally, geologists and physical geographers do not consider Asia and Europe to be separate continents. Physiographically, Asia is the major eastern constituent of the continent of <!--del_lnk--> Eurasia – with Europe being a northwestern <!--del_lnk--> peninsula of the landmass – or of <!--del_lnk--> Africa-Eurasia: geologically, Asia, Europe, and Africa comprise a single continuous landmass (save the <a href="../../wp/s/Suez_Canal.htm" title="Suez Canal">Suez Canal</a>) and share a common <!--del_lnk--> continental shelf. Almost all of Europe and most of Asia sit atop the <!--del_lnk--> Eurasian Plate, adjoined on the south by the <!--del_lnk--> Arabian and <!--del_lnk--> Indian Plates, and with much of <!--del_lnk--> Siberia situated on the <!--del_lnk--> North American Plate.<p>In geography, there are two schools of thought. One school follows historical convention and treats Europe and Asia as different continents, categorizing <!--del_lnk--> subregions within them for more detailed analysis. The other school equates the word "continent" with a geographical <!--del_lnk--> region when referring to Europe, and use the term "region" to describe Asia in terms of physiography. Since, in linguistic terms, "continent" implies a distinct landmass, it is becoming increasingly common to substitute the term "region" for "continent" to avoid the problem of disambiguation altogether.<p>Given the scope and diversity of the landmass, it is sometimes not even clear exactly what "Asia" consists of. Some definitions exclude <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a>, the Middle East, Central Asia and Russia while only considering the Far East, Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent to compose Asia. The term is sometimes used more strictly in reference to the <!--del_lnk--> Asia-Pacific region, which does not include the Middle East or Russia, but does include islands in the <a href="../../wp/p/Pacific_Ocean.htm" title="Pacific Ocean">Pacific Ocean</a> — a number of which may also be considered part of <!--del_lnk--> Australasia or <a href="../../wp/o/Oceania.htm" title="Oceania">Oceania</a> although Pacific Islanders are commonly not considered Asian.<p><a name=".27Asian.27_as_a_demonym"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">'Asian' as a demonym</span></h3>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> demonym '<!--del_lnk--> Asian' often refers to a category of people from a <!--del_lnk--> subregion of Asia instead of being used as a mere <!--del_lnk--> adjective for anyone from the (Asian) continent. In <a href="../../wp/b/British_English.htm" title="British English">British English</a>, 'Asian' usually refers to South Asian, but may also refer to other Asian groups. In the <a href="../../wp/a/American_English.htm" title="American English">United States</a>, '<!--del_lnk--> Asian American' is usually taken to mean <!--del_lnk--> East Asian Americans due to the historical and cultural influences of <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a> and <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a> on the U.S. up to the 1960s and in preference to the terms '<!--del_lnk--> Oriental' and '<!--del_lnk--> Asiatic'; however, the term is increasingly taken to include <!--del_lnk--> Korean Americans, <!--del_lnk--> Southeast Asian Americans, and <!--del_lnk--> South Asian Americans due to the increasing demographics of these groups.<p><a id="Territories_and_regions" name="Territories_and_regions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Territories and regions</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/577.png.htm" title="Regions of Asia: ██ Northern Asia ██ Central Asia ██ Western Asia ██ Southern Asia ██ Eastern Asia ██ Southeastern Asia"><img alt="Regions of Asia: ██ Northern Asia ██ Central Asia ██ Western Asia ██ Southern Asia ██ Eastern Asia ██ Southeastern Asia" height="176" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Location-Asia-UNsubregions.png" src="../../images/5/577.png" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/577.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Regions of Asia: <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#0000E0; color:#0000E0;">██</span> <!--del_lnk--> Northern Asia</span> <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#E000E0; color:#E000E0;">██</span> <!--del_lnk--> Central Asia</span> <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#00E000; color:#00E000;">██</span> <!--del_lnk--> Western Asia</span> <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#E00000; color:#E00000;">██</span> <!--del_lnk--> Southern Asia</span> <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#FFFF20; color:#FFFF20;">██</span> <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Asia</span> <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#FFC000; color:#FFC000;">██</span> <!--del_lnk--> Southeastern Asia</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/578.png.htm" title="Physical map of Asia (excluding Southwest Asia)."><img alt="Physical map of Asia (excluding Southwest Asia)." height="292" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Asia-map.png" src="../../images/5/578.png" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/5/578.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Physical map of Asia (excluding Southwest Asia).</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="clear:both">
</div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border:1px solid #aaa; border-collapse:collapse">
<tr bgcolor="#ECECEC">
<th>Name of <!--del_lnk--> region and<br /> territory, with <!--del_lnk--> flag</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Area<br /> (km²)</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Population<br /> (<!--del_lnk--> 1 July <!--del_lnk--> 2002 est.)</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Population density<br /> (per km²)</th>
<th><a href="../../wp/c/Capital.htm" title="Capital">Capital</a></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="5" style="background:#eee;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Central Asia:</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/579.png.htm" title="Kazakhstan"><img alt="Kazakhstan" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Kazakhstan.svg" src="../../images/5/579.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/k/Kazakhstan.htm" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a></td>
<td align="right">2,346,927</td>
<td align="right">13,472,593</td>
<td align="right">5.7</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Astana</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/580.png.htm" title="Kyrgyzstan"><img alt="Kyrgyzstan" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Kyrgyzstan.svg" src="../../images/5/580.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/k/Kyrgyzstan.htm" title="Kyrgyzstan">Kyrgyzstan</a></td>
<td align="right">198,500</td>
<td align="right">4,822,166</td>
<td align="right">24.3</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bishkek</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/581.png.htm" title="Tajikistan"><img alt="Tajikistan" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Tajikistan.svg" src="../../images/5/581.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Tajikistan.htm" title="Tajikistan">Tajikistan</a></td>
<td align="right">143,100</td>
<td align="right">6,719,567</td>
<td align="right">47.0</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Dushanbe</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/582.png.htm" title="Turkmenistan"><img alt="Turkmenistan" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Turkmenistan.svg" src="../../images/5/582.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Turkmenistan.htm" title="Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a></td>
<td align="right">488,100</td>
<td align="right">4,688,963</td>
<td align="right">9.6</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ashgabat</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/583.png.htm" title="Uzbekistan"><img alt="Uzbekistan" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Uzbekistan.svg" src="../../images/5/583.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/Uzbekistan.htm" title="Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a></td>
<td align="right">447,400</td>
<td align="right">25,563,441</td>
<td align="right">57.1</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/t/Tashkent.htm" title="Tashkent">Tashkent</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="5" style="background:#eee;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Eastern Asia:</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/584.png.htm" title="People's Republic of China"><img alt="People's Republic of China" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg" src="../../images/5/584.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">People's Republic of China</a></td>
<td align="right">9,584,492</td>
<td align="right">1,384,303,705</td>
<td align="right">134.0</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Beijing.htm" title="Beijing">Beijing</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/585.png.htm" title="Hong Kong"><img alt="Hong Kong" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Hong_Kong.svg" src="../../images/5/585.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/h/Hong_Kong.htm" title="Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a></td>
<td align="right">1,092</td>
<td align="right">7,303,334</td>
<td align="right">6,688.0</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/h/Hong_Kong.htm" title="Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/586.png.htm" title="Japan"><img alt="Japan" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Japan_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/586.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a></td>
<td align="right">377,835</td>
<td align="right">126,974,628</td>
<td align="right">336.1</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/t/Tokyo.htm" title="Tokyo">Tokyo</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/587.png.htm" title="Macau"><img alt="Macau" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Macau.svg" src="../../images/5/587.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Macau.htm" title="Macau">Macau</a></td>
<td align="right">25</td>
<td align="right">461,833</td>
<td align="right">18,473.3</td>
<td>—</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/588.png.htm" title="Mongolia"><img alt="Mongolia" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Mongolia.svg" src="../../images/5/588.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Mongolia.htm" title="Mongolia">Mongolia</a></td>
<td align="right">1,565,000</td>
<td align="right">2,694,432</td>
<td align="right">1.7</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ulaanbaatar</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/589.png.htm" title="North Korea"><img alt="North Korea" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_North_Korea.svg" src="../../images/5/589.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/n/North_Korea.htm" title="North Korea">North Korea</a></td>
<td align="right">120,540</td>
<td align="right">22,224,195</td>
<td align="right">184.4</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/p/Pyongyang.htm" title="Pyongyang">Pyongyang</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/590.png.htm" title="South Korea"><img alt="South Korea" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_South_Korea_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/590.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/South_Korea.htm" title="South Korea">South Korea</a></td>
<td align="right">98,480</td>
<td align="right">48,324,000</td>
<td align="right">490.7</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/s/Seoul.htm" title="Seoul">Seoul</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/591.png.htm" title="Republic of China"><img alt="Republic of China" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Republic_of_China.svg" src="../../images/5/591.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_China.htm" title="Republic of China">Republic of China</a> (<a href="../../wp/t/Taiwan.htm" title="Taiwan">Taiwan</a>) </td>
<td align="right">35,980</td>
<td align="right">22,548,009</td>
<td align="right">626.7</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/t/Taipei.htm" title="Taipei">Taipei</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="5" style="background:#eee;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Northern Africa:</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/72/7234.png.htm" title="Egypt"><img alt="Egypt" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Egypt.svg" src="../../images/3/386.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a></td>
<td align="right">63,556</td>
<td align="right">1,378,159</td>
<td align="right">21.7</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Cairo.htm" title="Cairo">Cairo</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="5" style="background:#eee;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Northern Asia:</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/592.png.htm" title="Russia"><img alt="Russia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Russia_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/592.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a></td>
<td align="right">13,115,200</td>
<td align="right">39,129,729</td>
<td align="right">3.0</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Moscow.htm" title="Moscow">Moscow</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="5" style="background:#eee;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Southeastern Asia:</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/593.png.htm" title="Brunei"><img alt="Brunei" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Brunei.svg" src="../../images/5/593.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Brunei.htm" title="Brunei">Brunei</a></td>
<td align="right">5,770</td>
<td align="right">350,898</td>
<td align="right">60.8</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bandar Seri Begawan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/594.png.htm" title="Cambodia"><img alt="Cambodia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Cambodia.svg" src="../../images/5/594.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Cambodia.htm" title="Cambodia">Cambodia</a></td>
<td align="right">181,040</td>
<td align="right">12,775,324</td>
<td align="right">70.6</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Phnom Penh</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/595.png.htm" title="Indonesia"><img alt="Indonesia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Indonesia_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/595.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a></td>
<td align="right">1,419,588</td>
<td align="right">227,026,560</td>
<td align="right">159.9</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/j/Jakarta.htm" title="Jakarta">Jakarta</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/596.png.htm" title="Laos"><img alt="Laos" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Laos.svg" src="../../images/5/596.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/l/Laos.htm" title="Laos">Laos</a></td>
<td align="right">236,800</td>
<td align="right">5,777,180</td>
<td align="right">24.4</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Vientiane</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/597.png.htm" title="Malaysia"><img alt="Malaysia" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Malaysia.svg" src="../../images/5/597.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Malaysia.htm" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a></td>
<td align="right">329,750</td>
<td align="right">22,662,365</td>
<td align="right">68.7</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/k/Kuala_Lumpur.htm" title="Kuala Lumpur">Kuala Lumpur</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/598.png.htm" title="Myanmar"><img alt="Myanmar" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Myanmar.svg" src="../../images/5/598.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Myanmar.htm" title="Myanmar">Myanmar (Burma)</a></td>
<td align="right">678,500</td>
<td align="right">42,238,224</td>
<td align="right">62.3</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Naypyidaw</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/599.png.htm" title="Philippines"><img alt="Philippines" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Philippines.svg" src="../../images/5/599.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a></td>
<td align="right">300,000</td>
<td align="right">84,525,639</td>
<td align="right">281.8</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Manila.htm" title="Manila">Manila</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/37/3716.png.htm" title="Singapore"><img alt="Singapore" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Singapore_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/6/600.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Singapore.htm" title="Singapore">Singapore</a></td>
<td align="right">693</td>
<td align="right">4,452,732</td>
<td align="right">6,425.3</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/s/Singapore.htm" title="Singapore">Singapore</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/601.png.htm" title="Thailand"><img alt="Thailand" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Thailand.svg" src="../../images/6/601.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Thailand.htm" title="Thailand">Thailand</a></td>
<td align="right">514,000</td>
<td align="right">62,354,402</td>
<td align="right">121.3</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Bangkok.htm" title="Bangkok">Bangkok</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/602.png.htm" title="East Timor"><img alt="East Timor" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_East_Timor.svg" src="../../images/6/602.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Timor-Leste (East Timor)</td>
<td align="right">15,007</td>
<td align="right">952,618</td>
<td align="right">63.5</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Dili</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/603.png.htm" title="Vietnam"><img alt="Vietnam" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Vietnam.svg" src="../../images/6/603.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/v/Vietnam.htm" title="Vietnam">Vietnam</a></td>
<td align="right">329,560</td>
<td align="right">81,098,416</td>
<td align="right">246.1</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/h/Hanoi.htm" title="Hanoi">Hanoi</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="5" style="background:#eee;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Southern Asia:</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/604.png.htm" title="Afghanistan"><img alt="Afghanistan" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Afghanistan.svg" src="../../images/6/604.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/a/Afghanistan.htm" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a></td>
<td align="right">647,500</td>
<td align="right">27,755,775</td>
<td align="right">42.9</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kabul</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/605.png.htm" title="Bangladesh"><img alt="Bangladesh" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Bangladesh.svg" src="../../images/6/605.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Bangladesh.htm" title="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a></td>
<td align="right">144,000</td>
<td align="right">133,376,684</td>
<td align="right">926.2</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Dhaka</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/606.png.htm" title="Bhutan"><img alt="Bhutan" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Bhutan.svg" src="../../images/6/606.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Bhutan.htm" title="Bhutan">Bhutan</a></td>
<td align="right">47,000</td>
<td align="right">2,094,176</td>
<td align="right">44.6</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Thimphu</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/179/17939.png.htm" title="India"><img alt="India" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_India.svg" src="../../images/6/607.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a></td>
<td align="right">3,287,590</td>
<td align="right">1,045,845,226</td>
<td align="right">318.2</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/n/New_Delhi.htm" title="New Delhi">New Delhi</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/187/18780.png.htm" title="Iran"><img alt="Iran" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Iran.svg" src="../../images/5/518.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a></td>
<td align="right">1,648,000</td>
<td align="right">68,467,413</td>
<td align="right">41.5</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/t/Tehran.htm" title="Tehran">Tehran</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/608.png.htm" title="Maldives"><img alt="Maldives" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Maldives.svg" src="../../images/6/608.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Maldives.htm" title="Maldives">Maldives</a></td>
<td align="right">300</td>
<td align="right">320,165</td>
<td align="right">1,067.2</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Malé</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/609.png.htm" title="Nepal"><img alt="Nepal" height="20" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Nepal.svg" src="../../images/6/609.png" width="16" /></a> <a href="../../wp/n/Nepal.htm" title="Nepal">Nepal</a></td>
<td align="right">140,800</td>
<td align="right">25,873,917</td>
<td align="right">183.8</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kathmandu</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/610.png.htm" title="Pakistan"><img alt="Pakistan" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Pakistan.svg" src="../../images/6/610.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/p/Pakistan.htm" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a></td>
<td align="right">803,940</td>
<td align="right">147,663,429</td>
<td align="right">183.7</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Islamabad</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/182/18224.png.htm" title="Sri Lanka"><img alt="Sri Lanka" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Sri_Lanka.svg" src="../../images/6/611.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Sri_Lanka.htm" title="Sri Lanka">Sri Lanka</a></td>
<td align="right">65,610</td>
<td align="right">19,576,783</td>
<td align="right">298.4</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Colombo.htm" title="Colombo">Colombo</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="5" style="background:#eee;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Western Asia:</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/3/309.png.htm" title="Armenia"><img alt="Armenia" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Armenia.svg" src="../../images/3/309.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/a/Armenia.htm" title="Armenia">Armenia</a></td>
<td align="right">29,800</td>
<td align="right">3,330,099</td>
<td align="right">111.7</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Yerevan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/514.png.htm" title="Azerbaijan"><img alt="Azerbaijan" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Azerbaijan.svg" src="../../images/5/514.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a></td>
<td align="right">41,370</td>
<td align="right">3,479,127</td>
<td align="right">84.1</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Baku</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/3/399.png.htm" title="Bahrain"><img alt="Bahrain" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Bahrain_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/3/399.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Bahrain.htm" title="Bahrain">Bahrain</a></td>
<td align="right">665</td>
<td align="right">656,397</td>
<td align="right">987.1</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Manama</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/612.png.htm" title="Cyprus"><img alt="Cyprus" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Cyprus_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/6/612.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Cyprus.htm" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a></td>
<td align="right">9,250</td>
<td align="right">775,927</td>
<td align="right">83.9</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Nicosia</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/613.png.htm" title="Palestinian National Authority"><img alt="Palestinian National Authority" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Palestinian_flag.svg" src="../../images/6/613.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/g/Gaza_Strip.htm" title="Gaza Strip">Gaza</a></td>
<td align="right">363</td>
<td align="right">1,203,591</td>
<td align="right">3,315.7</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Gaza</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/182/18223.png.htm" title="Georgia (country)"><img alt="Georgia (country)" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Georgia_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/511.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a></td>
<td align="right">20,460</td>
<td align="right">2,032,004</td>
<td align="right">99.3</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Tbilisi</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/3/387.png.htm" title="Iraq"><img alt="Iraq" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Iraq.svg" src="../../images/3/387.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/i/Iraq.htm" title="Iraq">Iraq</a></td>
<td align="right">437,072</td>
<td align="right">24,001,816</td>
<td align="right">54.9</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Baghdad.htm" title="Baghdad">Baghdad</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/614.png.htm" title="Israel"><img alt="Israel" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Israel_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/6/614.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a></td>
<td align="right">20,770</td>
<td align="right">6,029,529</td>
<td align="right">290.3</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/j/Jerusalem.htm" title="Jerusalem">Jerusalem</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/72/7232.png.htm" title="Jordan"><img alt="Jordan" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Jordan.svg" src="../../images/3/388.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/j/Jordan.htm" title="Jordan">Jordan</a></td>
<td align="right">92,300</td>
<td align="right">5,307,470</td>
<td align="right">57.5</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Amman</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/3/397.png.htm" title="Kuwait"><img alt="Kuwait" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Kuwait.svg" src="../../images/3/397.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/k/Kuwait.htm" title="Kuwait">Kuwait</a></td>
<td align="right">17,820</td>
<td align="right">2,111,561</td>
<td align="right">118.5</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/k/Kuwait_City.htm" title="Kuwait City">Kuwait City</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/615.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Lebanon.svg" src="../../images/6/615.png" width="20" /></a> <a href="../../wp/l/Lebanon.htm" title="Lebanon">Lebanon</a></td>
<td align="right">10,400</td>
<td align="right">3,677,780</td>
<td align="right">353.6</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Beirut.htm" title="Beirut">Beirut</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/514.png.htm" title="Azerbaijan"><img alt="Azerbaijan" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Azerbaijan.svg" src="../../images/5/514.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Naxçivan (<a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a>)</td>
<td align="right">5,500</td>
<td align="right">365,000</td>
<td align="right">66.4</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Naxçivan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/4/401.png.htm" title="Oman"><img alt="Oman" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Oman_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/4/401.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/o/Oman.htm" title="Oman">Oman</a></td>
<td align="right">212,460</td>
<td align="right">2,713,462</td>
<td align="right">12.8</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Muscat%252C_Oman.htm" title="Muscat, Oman">Muscat</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/56/5654.png.htm" title="Qatar"><img alt="Qatar" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Qatar_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/4/400.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/q/Qatar.htm" title="Qatar">Qatar</a></td>
<td align="right">11,437</td>
<td align="right">793,341</td>
<td align="right">69.4</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/d/Doha.htm" title="Doha">Doha</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/3/390.png.htm" title="Saudi Arabia"><img alt="Saudi Arabia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg" src="../../images/3/390.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Saudi_Arabia.htm" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a></td>
<td align="right">1,960,582</td>
<td align="right">23,513,330</td>
<td align="right">12.0</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/r/Riyadh.htm" title="Riyadh">Riyadh</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/41/4115.png.htm" title="Syria"><img alt="Syria" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Syria.svg" src="../../images/3/391.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Syria.htm" title="Syria">Syria</a></td>
<td align="right">185,180</td>
<td align="right">17,155,814</td>
<td align="right">92.6</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/d/Damascus.htm" title="Damascus">Damascus</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/512.png.htm" title="Turkey"><img alt="Turkey" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Turkey.svg" src="../../images/5/512.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a></td>
<td align="right">756,768</td>
<td align="right">57,855,068</td>
<td align="right">76.5</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ankara</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/0/12.png.htm" title="United Arab Emirates"><img alt="United Arab Emirates" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg" src="../../images/0/12.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/United_Arab_Emirates.htm" title="United Arab Emirates">United Arab Emirates</a></td>
<td align="right">82,880</td>
<td align="right">2,445,989</td>
<td align="right">29.5</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Abu_Dhabi.htm" title="Abu Dhabi">Abu Dhabi</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/613.png.htm" title="Palestinian National Authority"><img alt="Palestinian National Authority" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Palestinian_flag.svg" src="../../images/6/613.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/w/West_Bank.htm" title="West Bank">West Bank</a></td>
<td align="right">5,860</td>
<td align="right">2,303,660</td>
<td align="right">393.1</td>
<td>—</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/187/18743.png.htm" title="Yemen"><img alt="Yemen" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Yemen.svg" src="../../images/3/392.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/y/Yemen.htm" title="Yemen">Yemen</a></td>
<td align="right">527,970</td>
<td align="right">18,701,257</td>
<td align="right">35.4</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Sanaá</td>
</tr>
<tr style="font-weight:bold;">
<td>Total</td>
<td align="right">43,810,582</td>
<td align="right">3,902,404,193</td>
<td align="right">86.8</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<table align="right" class="wikitable" style="width:300px;">
<caption><big><b>Economy of Asia</b></big><br /><small>During 2003 unless otherwise stated</small></caption>
<tr>
<td>Population:</td>
<td>3,958,768,100 (2006 Estimate)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> GDP (<!--del_lnk--> PPP):</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> US$18.077 trillion</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> GDP (<!--del_lnk--> Currency):</td>
<td>$8.782 trillion</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>GDP/capita (<!--del_lnk--> PPP):</td>
<td>$4,518</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>GDP/capita (<!--del_lnk--> Currency):</td>
<td>$2,195</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Annual growth of<br /> per capita GDP:</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Income of top 10%:</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Millionaires:</td>
<td>2.0 million (0.05%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Unemployment</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Estimated female<br /><!--del_lnk--> income</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2"><small>Most numbers are from the <!--del_lnk--> UNDP from 2002, some numbers exclude certain countries for lack of information.</small></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2"><small>See also: <!--del_lnk--> Economy of the world - <a href="../../wp/e/Economy_of_Africa.htm" title="Economy of Africa">Economy of Africa</a> - <!--del_lnk--> Economy of Asia - <!--del_lnk--> Economy of Europe - <!--del_lnk--> Economy of North America - <!--del_lnk--> Economy of Oceania - <!--del_lnk--> Economy of South America</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>In terms of <!--del_lnk--> gross domestic product (<!--del_lnk--> PPP), the largest national economy within Asia is that of the <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">People's Republic of China</a>. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the economies of China and <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a> have been growing rapidly, both with an average annual growth rate of more than 7%. China has the world's second-largest economy after the United States, followed by <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>.<p>However, in terms of <!--del_lnk--> exchange rates (nominal GDP), Japan has the largest economy in Asia and second-largest of any single nation in the world, after surpassing the Soviet Union (measured in <!--del_lnk--> net material product) in 1986 and Germany in 1968. (NB: A number of supernational economies are larger, such as the <a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="European Union">EU</a>, <!--del_lnk--> NAFTA or <!--del_lnk--> APEC). Economic growth in Asia since <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> to the 1990s had been concentrated in few countries of the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Rim, and has spread more recently to other regions.<p>In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Japan's economy was almost as large as that of the rest of the continent combined. In 1995, Japan's economy nearly equalled that of the USA to tie the largest economy in the world for a day, after the Japanese currency reached a record high of 79 <a href="../../wp/j/Japanese_yen.htm" title="Yen">yen</a>. But since then, Japan's currency has corrected and China has grown to be the second-largest Asian economy, followed by India, in terms of exchange rates. It is expected that China will surpass Japan in currency terms to have the largest nominal GDP in Asia within a decade or two.<p>Trade blocs:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation<li><!--del_lnk--> Asia-Europe Economic Meeting<li><!--del_lnk--> Association of Southeast Asian Nations<li><!--del_lnk--> Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement<li><!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Independent States<li><!--del_lnk--> South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation</ul>
<p>
<br />
<p><a id="Natural_resources" name="Natural_resources"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Manufacturing</span></h3>
<p>Manufacturing in Asia has traditionally been strongest in East and Southeast Asia, particularly in <!--del_lnk--> mainland China, <a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_China.htm" title="Republic of China">Taiwan</a>, <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Korea.htm" title="South Korea">South Korea</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Singapore.htm" title="Singapore">Singapore</a>. The industry varies from manufacturing cheap goods such as <a href="../../wp/t/Toy.htm" title="Toy">toys</a> to high-tech products such as <a href="../../wp/c/Computer.htm" title="Computer">computers</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/Automobile.htm" title="Automobile">cars</a>. Many companies from <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/North_America.htm" title="North America">North America</a>, and <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a> have significant operations in Asia's developing countries to take advantage of its abundant supply of cheap labour.<p>One of the major employers in manufacturing in Asia is the <a href="../../wp/t/Textile.htm" title="Textile">textile</a> industry. Much of the world's supply of clothing and footwear now originates in Southeast Asia.<p><a id="Financial_and_other_services" name="Financial_and_other_services"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Financial and other services</span></h3>
<p>Asia has three main financial centres: in <a href="../../wp/h/Hong_Kong.htm" title="Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Singapore.htm" title="Singapore">Singapore</a> and <a href="../../wp/t/Tokyo.htm" title="Tokyo">Tokyo</a>. <!--del_lnk--> Call centres and <!--del_lnk--> business process outsourcing (BPOs) are becoming major employers in <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a> and the <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a>, due to the availability of a large pool of highly skilled <!--del_lnk--> English speaking workforce. The rise of the business process <!--del_lnk--> outsourcing industry has seen the rise of India and China as other financial centres.<p><a id="Early_history" name="Early_history"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Early history</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/616.jpg.htm" title="Map of Asia published in 1892."><img alt="Map of Asia published in 1892." height="134" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Asia_1892_amer_ency_brit.jpg" src="../../images/6/616.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/616.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map of Asia published in 1892.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The history of Asia can be seen as the distinct histories of several peripheral coastal regions <!--del_lnk--> East Asia, <!--del_lnk--> South Asia, and the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a> linked by the interior mass of the <!--del_lnk--> Central Asian <!--del_lnk--> steppes.<p>The coastal periphery was home to some of the world's earliest known civilizations, each of them developing around fertile river valleys. The civilizations in <a href="../../wp/m/Mesopotamia.htm" title="Mesopotamia">Mesopotamia</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Indus Valley, and the <a href="../../wp/y/Yangtze_River.htm" title="Yangtze River">Yangtze</a> shared many similarities. These civilizations may well have exchanged technologies and ideas such as <a href="../../wp/m/Mathematics.htm" title="Mathematics">mathematics</a> and the wheel. Other innovations, such as writing, seem to have been developed individually in each area. Cities, states and empires developed in these lowlands.<p>The central steppe region had long been inhabited by horse-mounted nomads who could reach all areas of Asia from the steppes. The earliest postulated expansion out of the steppe is that of the <!--del_lnk--> Indo-Europeans, who spread their languages into the Middle East, India, and the borders of China, where the <!--del_lnk--> Tocharians resided. The northernmost part of Asia, including much of <!--del_lnk--> Siberia, was largely inaccessible to the steppe nomads, owing to the dense forests, climate, and <!--del_lnk--> tundra. These areas remained very sparsely populated.<p>The centre and the peripheries were mostly kept separated by mountains and deserts. The <!--del_lnk--> Caucasus and <a href="../../wp/h/Himalayas.htm" title="Himalaya">Himalaya</a> mountains and the <!--del_lnk--> Karakum and <!--del_lnk--> Gobi deserts formed barriers that the steppe horsemen could cross only with difficulty. While technologically and socially, the urban city dwellers were more advanced, in many cases they could do little in a military aspect to defend against the mounted hordes of the steppe. However, the lowlands did not have enough open grasslands to support a large horsebound force; for this and other reasons, the nomads who conquered states in China, India, and the Middle East often found themselves adapting to the local, more affluent societies.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/272/27210.jpg.htm" title="Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian Nobel laureate."><img alt="Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian Nobel laureate." height="242" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tagore3.jpg" src="../../images/6/617.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/272/27210.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian <!--del_lnk--> Nobel laureate.</div>
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</div>
<p><a id="Languages_and_literature" name="Languages_and_literature"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Languages and literature</span></h2>
<p>Asia is home to several <!--del_lnk--> language families and many <!--del_lnk--> language isolates. Most Asian countries have more than one language that is natively spoken. For instance, according to <!--del_lnk--> Ethnologue, more than 600 languages are spoken in <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a>, more than 415 languages spoken in <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>, and more than 100 are spoken in the <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a>. <a href="../../wp/k/Korea.htm" title="Korea">Korea</a>, however, is home to only one language.<p><a id="Nobel_prizes" name="Nobel_prizes"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Nobel prizes</span></h3>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> polymath <a href="../../wp/r/Rabindranath_Tagore.htm" title="Rabindranath Tagore">Rabindranath Tagore</a>, a <!--del_lnk--> Bengali <!--del_lnk--> poet, <a href="../../wp/d/Drama.htm" title="Drama">dramatist</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> writer from <!--del_lnk--> Santiniketan, now in <!--del_lnk--> West-Bengal, <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>, became in 1913 the first Asian <!--del_lnk--> Nobel laureate. He won his <!--del_lnk--> Nobel Prize in Literature for notable impact his prose works and poetic thought had on <!--del_lnk--> English, <!--del_lnk--> French, and other national literatures of <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Americas. He also wrote the <!--del_lnk--> Indian anthem<p>Other Asian writers who won Nobel Prizes include <!--del_lnk--> Yasunari Kawabata (<a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>, 1966), and <!--del_lnk--> Kenzaburo Oe (<a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>, 1994).<p><a id="Beliefs" name="Beliefs"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Beliefs</span></h2>
<p><a id="Mythology" name="Mythology"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Mythology</span></h3>
<p>The story of <a href="../../wp/d/Deluge_%2528mythology%2529.htm" title="Deluge (mythology)">Great Floods</a> find reference in most of the regions of Asia. The story is first found in <!--del_lnk--> Mesopotamian mythology, in the <i><a href="../../wp/e/Epic_of_Gilgamesh.htm" title="Epic of Gilgamesh">Epic of Gilgamesh</a></i>. <!--del_lnk--> Hindu mythology tells about an <!--del_lnk--> avatar of <!--del_lnk--> God Vishnu in the form of a <!--del_lnk--> fish who warned <!--del_lnk--> Manu of a terrible flood. In ancient <!--del_lnk--> Chinese mythology, <!--del_lnk--> Shan Hai Jing, the Chinese ruler <!--del_lnk--> Da Yu, had to spend 10 years to control a deluge which swept out most of ancient China and was aided by the goddess <!--del_lnk--> Nuwa who "fixed" the "broken" sky through which huge rains were pouring. The story is also found in the <!--del_lnk--> Tanakh, <a href="../../wp/b/Bible.htm" title="Bible">Bible</a> and <a href="../../wp/q/Qur%2527an.htm" title="Qur'an">Qur'an</a>.<p>List of mythologies native to Asia:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Arabian mythology<li><!--del_lnk--> Balinese mythology<li><!--del_lnk--> Buddhist mythology<li><!--del_lnk--> Chinese mythology<li><!--del_lnk--> Hindu mythology<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Vedic mythology</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Japanese mythology<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/s/Shinto.htm" title="Shinto">Shinto</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Oomoto</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Korean mythology<li><!--del_lnk--> Mesopotamian mythology<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Babylonian and Assyrian religion<li><!--del_lnk--> Babylonian mythology<li><!--del_lnk--> Chaldean mythology</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Canaanite mythology<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Canaanite religion<li><!--del_lnk--> Hittite mythology<li><!--del_lnk--> Sumerian mythology</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Persian mythology<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Yezidis (Modified indigenous Kurdish belief)<li><!--del_lnk--> Zoroastrianism</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Philippine mythology<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Anito<li><!--del_lnk--> Gabâ<li><!--del_lnk--> Kulam</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Turkic mythology<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Tatar mythology<li><!--del_lnk--> Tengriism (Indigenous Mongol, Tartar & Kazakh belief)</ul>
</ul>
<p><a id="Philosophy" name="Philosophy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Philosophy</span></h3>
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<p>Asian philosophical traditions originated in India and China and cover a large spectrum of philosophical thoughts and writings. <!--del_lnk--> Indian philosophy includes <!--del_lnk--> Hindu philosophy and <!--del_lnk--> Buddhist philosophy. They include elements of nonmaterial pursuits, whereas another school of thought from India, <!--del_lnk--> Carvaka, preached the enjoyment of material world.<p><a href="../../wp/t/Taoism.htm" title="Taoism">Taoism</a> was founded by Chinese philosopher <!--del_lnk--> Lao Zi, who lived 605-520 B.C. <a href="../../wp/b/Buddhism.htm" title="Buddhism">Buddhism</a> was founded by <!--del_lnk--> Siddhartha Gautama, who lived 563-483 B.C.<p>During the 20th century, in the two most populous countries of Asia, two dramatically different political philosophies took shape. <!--del_lnk--> Gandhi gave a new meaning to <!--del_lnk--> Ahimsa, and redefined the concepts of <!--del_lnk--> nonviolence and <!--del_lnk--> nonresistance. During the same period, <a href="../../wp/m/Mao_Zedong.htm" title="Mao Zedong">Mao Zedong</a>’s <a href="../../wp/c/Communism.htm" title="Communism">communist</a> <!--del_lnk--> philosophy was crystallized.<p><a id="Religions" name="Religions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Religions</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/618.jpg.htm" title="A stone image of the Buddha."><img alt="A stone image of the Buddha." height="270" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Buddha_image_-_white_stone.jpg" src="../../images/6/618.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/618.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A stone image of the <!--del_lnk--> Buddha.</div>
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</div>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Abrahamic religions of <a href="../../wp/j/Judaism.htm" title="Judaism">Judaism</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a> and the <a href="../../wp/b/Bah%25C3%25A1%2527%25C3%25AD_Faith.htm" title="Bahá'í Faith">Bahá'í Faith</a> originated in <!--del_lnk--> West Asia. The <!--del_lnk--> Dharmic religions of <a href="../../wp/h/Hinduism.htm" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Buddhism.htm" title="Buddhism">Buddhism</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Jainism and <a href="../../wp/s/Sikhism.htm" title="Sikhism">Sikhism</a> originated in <!--del_lnk--> South Asia. In <!--del_lnk--> East Asia, particularly in <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a> and <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Confucianism.htm" title="Confucianism">Confucianism</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Taoism.htm" title="Taoism">Taoism</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Zen Buddhism and <a href="../../wp/s/Shinto.htm" title="Shinto">Shinto</a> took shape. Other religions of Asia include the <!--del_lnk--> Zoroastrianism, <!--del_lnk--> Shamanism practiced in <!--del_lnk--> Siberia, and <!--del_lnk--> Animism practiced in the eastern parts of the <!--del_lnk--> Indian subcontinent and in <!--del_lnk--> Southeast Asia.<p>Today 30% of <!--del_lnk--> Muslims live in the <!--del_lnk--> South Asian regions of <a href="../../wp/p/Pakistan.htm" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a>, India and <a href="../../wp/b/Bangladesh.htm" title="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a>. The world's largest single Muslim community (within the bounds of one nation) is in <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a>. There are also significant Muslim populations in China, <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Malaysia.htm" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a>, the <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>, and most of West Asia and <!--del_lnk--> Central Asia.<p>In the Philippines and <a href="../../wp/e/East_Timor.htm" title="East Timor">East Timor</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion; it was introduced by the <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spaniards</a> and the <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portuguese</a>, respectively. In <a href="../../wp/a/Armenia.htm" title="Armenia">Armenia</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Orthodoxy is the predominant religion. Various <!--del_lnk--> Christian sects have adherents in portions of the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a>, as well as China and India.<p>A large majority of people in the world who practice a religious faith practice one founded in Asia.<p>Religions founded in Asia and with a majority of their contemporary adherents in Asia include:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Animism: Eastern India, Japan, Philippines,<li><a href="../../wp/b/Bah%25C3%25A1%2527%25C3%25AD_Faith.htm" title="Bahá'í Faith">Bahá'í Faith</a>: slightly more than half of all adherents are in Asia<li><!--del_lnk--> Bön: Tibet<li><a href="../../wp/b/Buddhism.htm" title="Buddhism">Buddhism</a>: Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar,Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, parts of northern, eastern, and western India, and parts of central and eastern Russia (Siberia). <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Mahayana Buddhism: Bhutan, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, parts of the Philippines.<li><!--del_lnk--> Theravada Buddhism: Cambodia, parts of China, Chittagong Hill Tracts, West Bengal, Laos, mainly northern parts of Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, as well as parts of Vietnam.<li><!--del_lnk--> Vajrayana Buddhism: Parts of China, Mongolia, Tibet, parts of northern and eastern India, parts of central, eastern Russia and Siberia.</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Daoism: China, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam.<li><a href="../../wp/h/Hinduism.htm" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a>: Bangladesh, <!--del_lnk--> Bali, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Singapore.<li><a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a>: Central Asia, South Asia, and Southwest Asia, Maritime Southeast Asia <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Shia Islam: largely to specific Iran, Azerbaijan, parts of Iraq, Bahrain, parts of Afghanistan, parts of India, parts of Pakistan.<li><!--del_lnk--> Sunni Islam: dominant in the rest of the regions mentioned above.</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Jainism: India<li><!--del_lnk--> Kejawen: Indonesia<li><!--del_lnk--> Qadiani: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan.<li><!--del_lnk--> Shamanism: Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Siberia.<li><a href="../../wp/s/Shinto.htm" title="Shinto">Shinto</a>: Japan<li><a href="../../wp/s/Sikhism.htm" title="Sikhism">Sikhism</a>: India, Malaysia, Hong Kong.<li><!--del_lnk--> Yezidi : Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey.<li><!--del_lnk--> Zikri: Pakistan, Iran.<li><!--del_lnk--> Zoroastrianism: Iran, India, Pakistan.</ul>
<p>Religions founded in Asia that have the majority of their contemporary adherents in other regions include:<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a>: Armenia, East Timor, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestinian territories, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Syria.<li><a href="../../wp/j/Judaism.htm" title="Judaism">Judaism</a>: slightly fewer than half of its adherents reside in Asia; Israel, India, Iran, Russia, Syria.</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia"</div>
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<h2>SOS Children in Asia</h2>
<p>In Asia SOS Children has 126 villages in 26 countries (not including five new villages being built for children orphaned by the tsunami)</p><img src="../../wp/a/Asia_Map.gif" width="405" height="282" alt=""usemap="#where_we_help_map">
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/637.jpg.htm" title="Vipera aspis"><img alt="Vipera aspis" height="226" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ViperaAspis_1469AE.jpg" src="../../images/6/637.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/637.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Vipera aspis</div>
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<p><b>Asp</b> is the modern/anglicized form of <i>aspis</i>. In <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_history.htm" title="Ancient history">antiquity</a> the name refers to a <!--del_lnk--> venomous snake of <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> from the <a href="../../wp/n/Nile.htm" title="Nile">Nile</a> delta region and generally assumed to refer to the Egyptian <!--del_lnk--> cobra, but a wide array of other snakes were called asps. Today the European asp, <i><!--del_lnk--> Vipera aspis</i>, is the only snake correctly referred to as an asp.<p>The asp was a symbol of royalty in dynastic and <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Rome.htm" title="Ancient Rome">Roman</a> Egypt. Extremely poisonous, the asp was often used as a means of execution for criminals who had attained a favoured status and were thought deserving of a death more dignified than typical executions. The <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Greece.htm" title="Ancient Greece">Greeks</a> also used them for executions.<p>According to <!--del_lnk--> Plutarch (quoted by <!--del_lnk--> Ussher), <a href="../../wp/c/Cleopatra_VII.htm" title="Cleopatra VII of Egypt">Cleopatra</a> tested various deadly poisons on condemned persons and animals for daily entertainment. She concluded that the bite of the asp was the best way to die. It brought a sleepiness and heaviness without spasms of pain. Later she may have used this method to kill herself. Yet some people think that Cleopatra was bitten by a <!--del_lnk--> horned viper.<p>In Shakespeare's play, Cleopatra kills herself by the bite of an asp after the death of her lover, <a href="../../wp/m/Mark_Antony.htm" title="Mark Antony">Mark Antony</a>.<blockquote>
<p>With thy sharp teeth this knot intrinsicate<br /> Of life at once untie: poor venomous fool<br /> Be angry, and dispatch.<dl>
<dd>—Cleopatra, Act V, scene II, <i><!--del_lnk--> Antony and Cleopatra</i> by <a href="../../wp/w/William_Shakespeare.htm" title="William Shakespeare">William Shakespeare</a></dl>
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<th style="background: lightgreen;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Asparagus</b></th>
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<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/639.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="345" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Asparagus_botanical.jpg" src="../../images/6/639.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<th style="background: lightgreen;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
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<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/p/Plant.htm" title="Plant">Plantae</a><br />
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<td>Division:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Magnoliophyta<br />
</td>
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<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Liliopsida<br />
</td>
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<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Asparagales<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Asparagaceae<br />
</td>
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<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Asparagus</i><br />
</td>
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<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>A. officinalis</b></i></span><br />
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<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
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<td><i><b>Asparagus officinalis</b></i><br /><small><a href="../../wp/c/Carolus_Linnaeus.htm" title="Carolus Linnaeus">L.</a></small></td>
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<p><b>Asparagus</b> is a type of <a href="../../wp/v/Vegetable.htm" title="Vegetable">vegetable</a> obtained from one species within the genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Asparagus</i>, specifically the young <!--del_lnk--> shoots of <i>Asparagus officinalis</i>. It has been used from very early times as a culinary vegetable, owing to its delicate flavour and <!--del_lnk--> diuretic properties. There is a <!--del_lnk--> recipe for cooking asparagus in the oldest surviving book of recipes, <!--del_lnk--> Apicius's 3rd century CE <i><!--del_lnk--> De re coquinaria,</i> Book III.<p>White asparagus is cultivated by denying the plants light and increasing the amount of ultraviolet light exposed to the plants while they are being grown.<p>The English word "asparagus" derives from classical <!--del_lnk--> Latin, but the plant was once known in English as <i>sperage</i>, from the <!--del_lnk--> Medieval Latin <i>sparagus</i>. This term itself derives from the <!--del_lnk--> Greek <i>aspharagos</i> or <i>asparagos</i>, and the Greek term originates from the <!--del_lnk--> Persian <i>asparag</i>, meaning "sprout" or "shoot." The original Latin name has now supplanted the English word. Asparagus was also corrupted in some places to "sparrow grass"; indeed, <!--del_lnk--> John Walker stated in <!--del_lnk--> 1791 that "<i>Sparrow-grass</i> is so general that <i>asparagus</i> has an air of stiffness and pedantry." It is commonly known in fruit retail circles as "Sparrows Guts", etymologically distinct from the old term "sparrow grass" showing convergent language evolution.<p>In their simplest form, the shoots are boiled or steamed until tender and served with a light sauce like <!--del_lnk--> hollandaise or melted butter or a drizzle of <a href="../../wp/o/Olive_oil.htm" title="Olive oil">olive oil</a> with a dusting of <!--del_lnk--> Parmesan cheese. A refinement is to tie the shoots into sheaves and stand them so that the lower part of the stalks are boiled, while the more tender heads are steamed. Tall cylindrical asparagus cooking pots have liners with handles and perforated bases to make this process foolproof.<p>Unlike most vegetables, where the smaller and thinner are the more tender, thick asparagus stalks have more tender volume to the proportion of skin. When asparagus have been too long in the market, the cut ends will have dried and gone slightly <!--del_lnk--> concave. The best asparagus are picked and washed while the water comes to the boil. Meticulous cooks scrape asparagus stalks with a vegetable peeler, stroking away from the head, and refresh them in ice-cold water before steaming them; the peel is often added back to the cooking water and removed only after the asparagus is done, this is supposed to prevent diluting the flavor. Small or full-sized stalks can be made into <!--del_lnk--> asparagus soup. <a href="../../wp/g/Guangzhou.htm" title="Guangzhou">Cantonese</a> restaurants in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> often serve asparagus stir-fried with <a href="../../wp/c/Chicken.htm" title="Chicken">chicken</a>, <!--del_lnk--> shrimp, or <!--del_lnk--> beef. Asparagus is one of few foods which is considered acceptable to eat with the hands in polite company, although this is more common in <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/641.jpg.htm" title="White asparagus (left) and green asparagus (right)"><img alt="White asparagus (left) and green asparagus (right)" height="184" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Asparagus_produce-1.jpg" src="../../images/6/641.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/641.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> White asparagus (left) and green asparagus (right)</div>
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<p>Some of the constituents of asparagus are <!--del_lnk--> metabolised and excreted in the <!--del_lnk--> urine, giving it a distinctive, mildly unpleasant <!--del_lnk--> odour. The smell is caused by various sulfur-containing degradation products (e.g. <!--del_lnk--> thiols and <!--del_lnk--> thioesters). Studies showed that about 40% of the test subjects displayed this characteristic smell; and a similar percentage of people are able to smell the odour once it is produced. There does not seem to be any correlation between peoples' production and detection of the smell. The speed of onset of urine smell is rapid, and has been estimated to occur within 15-30 minutes from ingestion.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> amino acid <!--del_lnk--> asparagine gets its name from asparagus, the asparagus plant being rich in this compound.<p>
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</script><a id="Nutrition" name="Nutrition"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Nutrition</span></h2>
<p>Asparagus is one of the more nutritionally valuable vegetables. It is the best vegetable provider of <a href="../../wp/f/Folic_acid.htm" title="Folic acid">folic acid</a>. Folic acid is necessary for blood cell formation and growth, as well as liver disease prevention. Folic acid is also important for pregnant women as it aids in the prevention of neural tube defects such as spina bifida in the developing fetus. Asparagus is also very low in calories; each stalk contains fewer than 4. It contains no fat or cholesterol, and is very low in sodium. Asparagus is a great source of potassium and fibre. Finally, the plant is a source of <!--del_lnk--> rutin, a compound that strengthens the walls of capillaries.<p><a id="Popularity" name="Popularity"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Popularity</span></h2>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/642.jpg.htm" title="Green asparagus on sale in New York City"><img alt="Green asparagus on sale in New York City" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:GoshThatsALotOfAsparagus.jpg" src="../../images/6/642.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/642.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Green asparagus on sale in New York City</div>
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<p><a href="../../wp/p/Peru.htm" title="Peru">Peru</a> is currently the world’s leading asparagus exporter, followed by <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a> and then <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico.htm" title="Mexico">Mexico</a> - <!--del_lnk--> <p>The top asparagus importers in 2004, by quantity, were the United States (92,405 tons), followed by the <a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="European Union">European Union</a>-25 (EU-25) (external trade) (18,565 tons), and <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a> (17,148 tons), according to Global Trade Atlas and <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Census Bureau statistics. The United States imported more than four times the amount than the EU-25, the next largest importer.<p>The United States production for 2005 was on 54,000 acres and yielded 90,200 tons making it the world's largest producer and consumer when import quantities are factored in. Production was concentrated in <a href="../../wp/c/California.htm" title="California">California</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Michigan & <!--del_lnk--> Washington states.<p>Importers in the United States import both green fresh asparagus and white fresh asparagus from Peru. While both green and white fresh asparagus from Peru are marketed in the United States, the colour requirements of the current U.S. Standards for Grades of Fresh Asparagus only provide for the grading of green asparagus.<p><a id="Other_plants_called_asparagus" name="Other_plants_called_asparagus"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Other plants called asparagus</span></h2>
<p>Many related and unrelated plants may be called "asparagus" or said to be "used as asparagus" when eaten for their shoots. In particular, the shoots of a distantly related plant, <i><!--del_lnk--> Ornithogalum pyrenaicum,</i> may be called "Prussian asparagus". See <!--del_lnk--> Category:Stem vegetables.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asparagus"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Asperger syndrome</h1>
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<table class="infobox" style="width: 20em; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<caption style="background: lightgrey; font-size: 95%;"><b>Asperger syndrome</b><br /><i>Classifications and external resources</i></caption>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> ICD-<!--del_lnk--> 10</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> F84.5</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> ICD-<!--del_lnk--> 9</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 299.8</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> OMIM</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 608638</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> DiseasesDB</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 31268</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> MedlinePlus</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 001549</td>
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<p><b>Asperger syndrome</b> — also referred to as <b>Asperger's syndrome</b>, <b>Asperger's</b>, or just <b>AS</b> — is one of five <!--del_lnk--> neurobiological <!--del_lnk--> pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) that is characterized by deficiencies in <!--del_lnk--> social and <!--del_lnk--> communication skills. It is considered to be part of the <!--del_lnk--> autistic spectrum and is differentiated from other PDDs and from high functioning autism (HFA) in that early development is normal and there is no language delay. It is possible for people with AS to have learning disabilities concurrently with Asperger syndrome. In these cases, differential diagnosis is essential to identify subsequent support requirements. Conversely, IQ tests may show normal or superior <!--del_lnk--> intelligence, and standard <!--del_lnk--> language development compared with classical <a href="../../wp/a/Autism.htm" title="Autism">autism</a>. The <!--del_lnk--> diagnosis of AS is complicated by the lack of adoption of a standardized diagnostic screen, and, instead, the use of several different screening instruments and sets of diagnostic criteria. The exact <!--del_lnk--> cause of AS is unknown and the <!--del_lnk--> prevalence is not firmly established, due partly to the use of differing sets of diagnostic criteria.<p>Asperger syndrome was named in honour of <!--del_lnk--> Hans Asperger (1906-1980), an <a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austrian</a> <!--del_lnk--> psychiatrist and <!--del_lnk--> pediatrician, by researcher <!--del_lnk--> Lorna Wing, who first used the <!--del_lnk--> eponym in a 1981 paper. In 1994, AS was recognized in the 4th edition of the <i><!--del_lnk--> Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</i> (DSM-IV) as <i>Asperger's Disorder</i>.<p>AS is often not identified in early childhood, and many individuals do not receive diagnosis until after puberty or when they are adults. Assistance for core symptoms of AS consists of therapies that apply behaviour management strategies and address poor communication skills, obsessive or repetitive routines, and physical clumsiness. Many individuals with AS can adopt strategies for coping and do lead fulfilling lives - being gainfully employed, getting married or having successful relationships, and having families. In most cases, they are aware of their differences and recognize when they need support to maintain an independent life. There are instances where adults do not realize that they have AS personalities until they are having difficulties with relationships and/or attending relationship counseling. Recognition of the very literal and logical thought processes that are symptomatic of AS can be a tremendous help to both partners in a close/family relationship.<p>
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</script><a id="Classification_and_diagnosis" name="Classification_and_diagnosis"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Classification and diagnosis</span></h2>
<p>AS correlates with <i>Asperger's Disorder</i> defined in section 299.80 of the <i>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</i> (DSM-IV) by six main criteria. These criteria define AS as a condition in which there is:<ol>
<li>Qualitative impairment in <!--del_lnk--> social interaction;<li>The presence of restricted, repetitive and stereotyped behaviors and interests;<li>Significant impairment in important areas of functioning;<li>No significant delay in <a href="../../wp/l/Language.htm" title="Language">language</a>;<li>No significant delay in <!--del_lnk--> cognitive development, self-help skills, or <!--del_lnk--> adaptive behaviors (other than social interaction); and,<li>The symptoms must not be better accounted for by another specific <!--del_lnk--> pervasive developmental disorder or <a href="../../wp/s/Schizophrenia.htm" title="Schizophrenia">schizophrenia</a>.</ol>
<p>AS is an <!--del_lnk--> autism spectrum disorder (ASD), one of five <!--del_lnk--> neurological conditions characterized by difference in language and communication skills, as well as repetitive or restrictive patterns of thought and behaviour. The four related disorders or conditions are <a href="../../wp/a/Autism.htm" title="Autism">Autism</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Rett syndrome, <!--del_lnk--> childhood disintegrative disorder, and <!--del_lnk--> PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified).<p>The diagnosis of AS is complicated by the use of several different screening instruments. The diagnostic criteria of the <i>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual</i> are criticized for being vague and subjective. Other sets of diagnostic criteria for AS are the <!--del_lnk--> ICD 10 <a href="../../wp/w/World_Health_Organization.htm" title="World Health Organization">World Health Organization</a> Diagnostic Criteria, <!--del_lnk--> Szatmari Diagnostic Criteria, <!--del_lnk--> Gillberg Diagnostic Criteria, and <!--del_lnk--> Attwood & Gray Discovery Criteria. The <!--del_lnk--> ICD-10 definition has similar criteria to the DSM-IV version. <i>Asperger's syndrome</i> had at different times been called <i>Autistic psychopathy</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Schizoid disorder of childhood</i>., although those terms are now understood as archaic and inaccurate, and therefore no longer accepted in common use.<p>Some doctors believe that AS is not a separate and distinct disorder, referring to it as <!--del_lnk--> high functioning autism (HFA). The diagnoses of AS or HFA are used interchangeably, complicating prevalence estimates: the same child can receive different diagnoses, depending on the screening tool the doctor uses, and some children will be diagnosed with HFA instead of AS, and vice versa. Many experienced clinicians apply the early onset on High Functioning Autism or the regressive pattern of development as the distinguishing factor in differentiating between AS and HFA. The current classification of the pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) is unsatisfying to many parents, clinicians, and researchers, and may not reflect the true nature of the conditions. Peter Szatmari, a Canadian researcher of PDD, feels that greater precision is needed to better differentiate between the various PDD diagnoses. The DSM-IV and ICD-10 focus on the idea that discrete biological entities exist within PDD, which leads to a preoccupation with searching for cross-sectional differences between PDD subtypes, a strategy which has not been very useful in classification or in clinical practice.<p><a id="Characteristics" name="Characteristics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Characteristics</span></h2>
<p>AS is characterized by:<ul>
<li>Limited interests or preoccupation with a subject to the exclusion of other activities;<li>Repetitive behaviors or rituals;<li>Peculiarities in speech and language;<li>Socially and emotionally inappropriate behaviour and interpersonal interaction;<li>Problems with <!--del_lnk--> nonverbal communication; and,<li><!--del_lnk--> Clumsy and uncoordinated motor movements.</ul>
<p>The most common and important characteristics of AS can be divided into several broad categories: <!--del_lnk--> social impairments, narrow but intense interests, and peculiarities of speech and language. Other features are commonly associated with this <!--del_lnk--> syndrome, but are not always regarded as necessary for diagnosis. This section mainly reflects the views of Attwood, Gillberg, and Wing on the most important characteristics of AS; the <!--del_lnk--> DSM-IV criteria represent a slightly different view. Unlike most forms of PDDs, AS is often camouflaged, and many people with the disorder blend in with those that do not have it. The effects of AS depend on how an affected individual responds to the syndrome itself.<p><a id="Social_differences" name="Social_differences"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Social differences</span></h3>
<p>Although there is no single feature that all people with AS share, difficulties with <!--del_lnk--> social behaviour are nearly universal and are one of the most important defining criteria. People with AS lack the natural ability to see the subtexts of social interaction, and may lack the ability to communicate their own emotional state, resulting in well-meaning remarks that may offend, or finding it hard to know what is "acceptable". The unwritten rules of social behaviour that mystify so many with AS have been termed the "<!--del_lnk--> hidden curriculum". People with AS must learn these social skills intellectually rather than intuitively.<p>Non-<!--del_lnk--> autistics are able to gather information about other people's <!--del_lnk--> cognitive and emotional states based on clues gleaned from the <!--del_lnk--> environment and other people's <!--del_lnk--> facial expression and <!--del_lnk--> body language, but, in this respect, people with AS are impaired; this is sometimes called <!--del_lnk--> mind-blindness.<p>A person with AS may have trouble understanding the emotions of other people: the messages that are conveyed by facial expression, eye contact and body language are often missed. They also might have trouble showing <!--del_lnk--> empathy with other people. Thus, people with AS might be seen as egotistical, selfish or uncaring. In most cases, these are unfair labels because affected people are neurologically unable to understand other people's emotional states. They are usually shocked, upset and remorseful when told that their actions are hurtful or inappropriate. It is clear that people with AS do not lack emotions. The concrete nature of emotional attachments they might have (i.e., to objects rather than to people), however, often seems curious or can even be a cause of concern to people who do not share their perspective.<p>Failing to show affection—or not doing so in conventional ways—does not necessarily mean that people with AS do not feel it. Understanding this can lead partners or care-givers to feel less rejected and to be more understanding. Increased understanding can also come from learning about AS and any <!--del_lnk--> comorbid disorders. Sometimes, the opposite problem occurs; the person with AS is unusually affectionate to significant others and misses or misinterprets signals from the other partner, causing the partner stress.<p><a id="Speech_and_language_differences" name="Speech_and_language_differences"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Speech and language differences</span></h3>
<p>People with AS typically have a highly <!--del_lnk--> pedantic way of speaking, using a far more <!--del_lnk--> formal register of language than appropriate for a context. A five-year-old child with this condition may regularly speak in language that could easily have come from a university textbook, especially concerning his or her special area of interest.<p>Literal interpretation is another common, but not universal hallmark of this condition. Attwood gives the example of a girl with AS who answered the telephone one day and was asked, "Is Paul there?" Although the Paul in question was in the house, he was not in the room with her, so after looking around to ascertain this, she simply said "no" and hung up. The person on the other end had to call back and explain to her that he meant for her to find him and get him to pick up the telephone.<p>Individuals with AS may use words <!--del_lnk--> idiosyncratically, including new <!--del_lnk--> coinages and unusual <!--del_lnk--> juxtapositions. This can develop into a rare gift for humor (especially <!--del_lnk--> puns, <!--del_lnk--> wordplay, <!--del_lnk--> doggerel and <!--del_lnk--> satire). A potential source of humor is the eventual realization that their literal interpretations can be used to amuse others. Some are so proficient at written language as to qualify as <!--del_lnk--> hyperlexic. Tony Attwood refers to a particular child's skill at inventing expressions, e.g., "tidying down" (the opposite of tidying up) or "broken" (when referring to a baby brother who cannot walk or talk).<p>Children with AS may show advanced abilities for their age in language, reading, mathematics, spatial skills, or music, sometimes into the 'gifted' range, but these talents may be counterbalanced by appreciable delays in the development of other cognitive functions. Some other typical behaviors are <!--del_lnk--> echolalia, the repetition or echoing of verbal utterances made by another person, and <!--del_lnk--> palilalia, the repetition of one's own words.<p>A 2003 study investigated the written language of children and youth with AS. They were compared to <!--del_lnk--> neurotypical peers in a standardized test of written language skills and legibility of handwriting. In written language skills, no significant differences were found between standardized scores of both groups; however, in hand-writing skills, the AS participants produced significantly fewer legible letters and words than the neurotypical group. Another analysis of written samples found that people with AS appear to be able to write quantitatively similarly to their neurotypical peers using grammatical rules, but have difficulty in producing qualitative writing.<p><!--del_lnk--> Tony Attwood states that a teacher may spend considerable time interpreting and correcting an AS child's indecipherable scrawl. The child is also aware of the poor quality of his or her handwriting and may be reluctant to engage in activities that involve extensive writing. Unfortunately for some children and adults, high school teachers and prospective employers may consider the neatness of handwriting as a measure of intelligence and personality. The child may require assessment by an <!--del_lnk--> occupational therapist and remedial exercises, but modern technology can help minimize this problem. A parent or teacher aide could also act as the child's scribe or proofreader to ensure the legibility of the child's written answers or homework.<p><a id="Narrow.2C_intense_interests" name="Narrow.2C_intense_interests"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Narrow, intense interests</span></h3>
<p>AS can involve an intense and obsessive level of focus on things of interest. Particularly common interests are: means of <a href="../../wp/t/Transport.htm" title="Transport">transport</a> (e.g., <a href="../../wp/t/Train.htm" title="Train">trains</a>), <a href="../../wp/c/Computer.htm" title="Computer">computers</a>, <!--del_lnk--> foreign languages, <a href="../../wp/m/Mathematics.htm" title="Mathematics">mathematics</a>, <!--del_lnk--> science fiction, <!--del_lnk--> fantasy, <a href="../../wp/a/Astronomy.htm" title="Astronomy">astronomy</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Geography.htm" title="Geography">geography</a>, <a href="../../wp/h/History.htm" title="History">history</a>, and <a href="../../wp/d/Dinosaur.htm" title="Dinosaur">dinosaurs</a>. Note that many of these are normal interests in ordinary children; the difference in children with AS is the unusual intensity of their interest. Some have suggested that these "obsessions" are essentially arbitrary and lacking in any real meaning or context, but recent research has suggested that this isn't usually the case.<p>Sometimes these interests are lifelong; in other cases, they change at unpredictable intervals. In either case, there are normally one or two interests at any given time. In pursuit of these interests, people with AS often manifest extremely sophisticated reasoning, an almost obsessive focus, and a remarkably good memory for trivial facts (occasionally even <!--del_lnk--> eidetic memory). Hans Asperger called his young patients "little professors" because he thought his patients had as comprehensive and nuanced an understanding of their field of interest as university professors.<p>Some clinicians do not entirely agree with this description. For example, Wing and Gillberg both argue that, in children with AS, these areas of intense interest typically involve more <!--del_lnk--> rote memorization than real understanding, despite occasional appearances to the contrary. Such a limitation is an artifact of the diagnostic criteria, even under Gillberg's criteria, however.<p>People with AS may have little patience for things outside these narrow interests. In school, they may be perceived as highly intelligent underachievers or overachievers, clearly capable of outperforming their peers in their field of interest, yet persistently unmotivated to do regular homework assignments (sometimes even in their areas of interest). Others may be hypermotivated to outperform peers in school. The combination of social problems and intense interests can lead to unusual behaviour, such as greeting a stranger by launching into a lengthy monologue about a special interest rather than introducing oneself in the socially-accepted way. However, in many cases adults can outgrow this impatience and lack of motivation and develop more tolerance to new activities and meeting new people.<p><a id="Other_differences" name="Other_differences"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Other differences</span></h3>
<p>Those affected by AS may show a range of other <!--del_lnk--> sensory, <!--del_lnk--> developmental, and physiological anomalies. Children with AS may evidence a slight delay in the development of fine <!--del_lnk--> motor skills. In some cases, people with AS may have an odd way of walking, and may display compulsive finger, hand, arm or leg movements, including <!--del_lnk--> tics and <!--del_lnk--> stims.<p>In general, orderly things appeal to people with AS. Some researchers mention the imposition of rigid routines (on self or others) as a criterion for diagnosing this condition. It appears that changes to their routines cause inordinate levels of <!--del_lnk--> anxiety for some people with this condition.<p>Some people with AS experience varying degrees of <!--del_lnk--> sensory overload and are extremely sensitive to <!--del_lnk--> touch, <!--del_lnk--> smells, <!--del_lnk--> sounds, <!--del_lnk--> tastes, and sights. They may prefer soft clothing, familiar scents, or certain foods. Some may even be <!--del_lnk--> pathologically sensitive to loud noises (as some people with AS have <!--del_lnk--> hyperacusis), strong smells, or dislike being touched; for example, certain children with AS exhibit a strong dislike of having their head touched or their hair disturbed while others like to be touched but dislike loud noises. Sensory overload may exacerbate problems faced by such children at school, where levels of noise in the classroom can become intolerable for them. Some are unable to block out certain repetitive stimuli, such as the constant ticking of a clock. Whereas most children stop registering this sound after a short time and can hear it only if they consciously attend to it, a child with AS can become distracted, agitated, or even (in cases where the child has problems with regulating emotions such as anger) aggressive if the sound persists. A study of parent measures of child temperament found that children with autism were rated as presenting with more extreme scores than typically-developing children.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>In 1944, an Austrian pediatrician named Hans Asperger observed four children in his practice who had difficulty integrating socially. Although their intelligence appeared normal, the children lacked nonverbal communication skills, failed to demonstrate empathy with their peers, and were physically clumsy. Their way of speaking was either disjointed or overly formal, and their all-absorbing interest in a single topic dominated their conversations. Dr. Asperger called the condition “autistic psychopathy” and described it as a condition primarily marked by social isolation. He also stated that "exceptional human beings must be given exceptional educational treatment, treatment which takes into account their special difficulties. Further, we can show that despite abnormality, human beings can fulfill their social role within the community, especially if they find understanding, love and guidance".<p>Hans Asperger and <!--del_lnk--> Leo Kanner identified essentially the same population, although the group identified by Asperger was perhaps more "socially functional" than Kanner's. Traditionally, Kannerian autism is characterized by significant cognitive and communicative deficiencies, including delays in or lack of language. A person with AS will not show delays in language, however.<p>Asperger’s observations, published in German, were not widely known until 1981, when an English doctor named <!--del_lnk--> Lorna Wing published a series of case studies of children showing similar symptoms, which she called “Asperger’s” syndrome. Wing’s writings were widely published and popularized. In 1992, the tenth published edition of the World Health Organization’s diagnostic manual and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) included AS, making it a distinct diagnosis. Later, in 1994, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) and the <!--del_lnk--> American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic reference book also added AS.<p>Uta Frith (an early researcher of Kannerian autism) wrote that people with AS seem to have more than a touch of autism to them. Others, such as Lorna Wing and Tony Attwood, share Frith's assessment. Dr. Sally Ozonoff, of the <!--del_lnk--> University of California at Davis's <!--del_lnk--> MIND Institute, argues that there should be no dividing line between "high-functioning" autism and AS, and that the fact that some people do not start to produce speech until a later age is no reason to divide the two groups because they are identical in the way they need to be treated.<p><a id="Clinical_perspective" name="Clinical_perspective"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Clinical perspective</span></h2>
<p><a id="Research" name="Research"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Research</span></h3>
<p>Some research is to seek information about symptoms to aid in the diagnostic process. Other research is to identify a cause, although much of this research is still done on isolated symptoms. Many studies have exposed base differences in areas such as brain structure. To what end is currently unknown; research is ongoing, however.<p><!--del_lnk--> Peter Szatmari suggests that AS was promoted as a diagnosis to spark more research into the syndrome: "It was introduced into the official classification systems in 1994 and has grown in popularity as a diagnosis, even though its validity has not been clearly established. It is interesting to note that it was introduced not so much as an indication of its status as a 'true' disorder, but more to stimulate research ... its validity is very much in question."<p><a id="Research_into_causes" name="Research_into_causes"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Research into causes</span></h4>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The direct <!--del_lnk--> cause(s) of AS is unknown. Even though no consensus exists for the cause(s) of AS, it is widely accepted that AS has a hereditary factor. It is suspected that multiple genes play a part in causing AS, since the number and severity of symptoms vary widely among individuals. Studies regarding the <!--del_lnk--> mirror neurons in the <!--del_lnk--> inferior parietal cortex have revealed differences which may underlie certain cognitive anomalies such as some of those which AS exhibits (e.g., understanding actions, learning through imitation, and the simulation of other people's behaviour). Non-neurological factors such as <a href="../../wp/p/Poverty.htm" title="Poverty">poverty</a>, lack of <a href="../../wp/s/Sleep.htm" title="Sleep">sleep</a>, <!--del_lnk--> substance abuse by the mother during <!--del_lnk--> pregnancy, <!--del_lnk--> discrimination, <!--del_lnk--> trauma during early childhood, and <!--del_lnk--> abuse may also contribute.<p>Other possible causative mechanisms include a <!--del_lnk--> serotonin dysfunction and <!--del_lnk--> cerebellar dysfunction. <!--del_lnk--> Simon Baron-Cohen proposes a model for autism based on his empathising-systemising (E-S) theory. The <!--del_lnk--> E-S theory holds that the female brain is predominantly hard-wired for empathy, while the male brain is predominantly hard-wired for understanding and building systems, and that AS is an extreme of the male brain.<p><a id="Other_research" name="Other_research"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Other research</span></h4>
<p>There are several studies linking autism with differences in brain-volumes such as enlarged <!--del_lnk--> amygdala and <!--del_lnk--> hippocampus. Current research points to structural abnormalities in the brain as a cause of AS. These abnormalities impact neural circuits that control thought and behaviour. Researchers suggest that gene/environment interactions cause some genes to turn on or turn off, or turn on too much or too little in the wrong places, and this interferes with the normal migration and wiring of embryonic brain cells during early development.<p>Other finds include brain region differences, such as decreased <!--del_lnk--> gray matter density in portions of the <!--del_lnk--> temporal cortex which are thought to play into the <!--del_lnk--> pathophysiology of ASDs (particularly in the integration of visual stimuli and affective information), and differing neural connectivity. Research on infants points to early differences in reflexes, which may be able to serve as an "early detector" of AS and <a href="../../wp/a/Autism.htm" title="Autism">autism</a>.<p>Some professionals believe AS is not necessarily a disorder and thus should not be described in medical terms.<p><a id="Treatment" name="Treatment"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Treatment</span></h3>
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<p>Treatment coordinates therapies that address the core symptoms of AS: poor communication skills, obsessive or repetitive routines, and physical clumsiness. AS and <!--del_lnk--> high-functioning autism may be considered together for the purpose of clinical management.<p>A typical treatment program generally includes:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> social skills training, to teach the skills to more successfully interact with others;<li><!--del_lnk--> cognitive behavioural therapy, to help in better managing emotions that may be explosive or anxious, and to cut back on obsessive interests and repetitive routines;<li><!--del_lnk--> medication, for co-existing conditions such as depression and anxiety;<li><!--del_lnk--> occupational or <!--del_lnk--> physical therapy, to assist with <!--del_lnk--> sensory integration problems or poor motor coordination;<li>specialized <!--del_lnk--> speech therapy, to help with the trouble of the "give and take" in normal conversation; and,<li>parent training and support, to teach parents behavioural techniques to use at home.</ul>
<p>Many studies have been done on early behavioural interventions. Most of these are single case with one to five participants. The single case studies are usually about controlling non-core autistic problem-behaviors like <!--del_lnk--> self-injury, aggression, noncompliance, <!--del_lnk--> stereotypies, or spontaneous language. Packaged interventions such as those run by <!--del_lnk--> UCLA or <!--del_lnk--> TEACCH are designed to treat the entire syndrome and have been found to be somewhat effective.<p>Unintended side effects of medication and intervention have largely been ignored in the literature about treatment programs for children or adults, and there are claims that some treatments are <!--del_lnk--> not ethical and do more harm than good.<p><a id="Prognosis" name="Prognosis"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Prognosis</span></h3>
<p>Persons with AS appear to have normal <!--del_lnk--> lifespans, but have an increased prevalence of comorbid <!--del_lnk--> psychiatric conditions such as <!--del_lnk--> depression, <!--del_lnk--> mood disorders, and <!--del_lnk--> obsessive-compulsive disorder.<p>Children with AS can learn to manage their differences, but they may continue to find social situations and personal relationships challenging. Many adults with AS are able to work successfully in mainstream jobs, although they may continue to need encouragement and moral support to maintain an independent life.<p>Individuals with AS may make great intellectual contributions: published case reports suggest an association with accomplishments in computer science, mathematics, and physics. The deficits associated with AS may be debilitating, but many individuals experience positive outcomes, particularly those who are able to excel in areas less dependent on social interaction, such as <a href="../../wp/m/Mathematics.htm" title="Mathematics">mathematics</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Music.htm" title="Music">music</a>, and the <a href="../../wp/s/Science.htm" title="Science">sciences</a>.<p><a id="Epidemiology" name="Epidemiology"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Epidemiology</span></h3>
<p>The prevalence of AS is not well established, but conservative estimates using the DSM-IV criteria indicate that two to three of every 10,000 children have the condition, making it rarer than <a href="../../wp/a/Autism.htm" title="Autism">autistic disorder</a> itself. Three to four times as many boys have AS compared with girls. The universality of AS across races, and validity of epidemiologic studies to date, is questioned.<p>A 1993 <!--del_lnk--> broad-based population study in Sweden found that 36 per 10,000 school-aged children met Gillberg's criteria for AS, rising to 71 per 10,000 if suspected cases are included. The estimate is convincing for Sweden, but the findings may not apply elsewhere because they are based on a homogeneous population. The Sweden study demonstrated that AS may be more common than once thought and may be currently underdiagnosed. Gillberg estimates 30-50% of all persons with AS are undiagnosed. A survey found that 36 per 10,000 adults with an <!--del_lnk--> IQ of 100 or above may meet criteria for AS.<p>Leekam et al. documented significant differences between Gillberg's criteria and the ICD-10 criteria. Considering its requirement for "normal" development of cognitive skills, language, curiosity and self-help skills, the ICD-10 definition is considerably more narrow than Gillberg's criteria, which more closely matches Hans Asperger's own descriptions.<p>Like other <!--del_lnk--> autism spectrum disorders, AS prevalence estimates for males are higher than for females, but some <!--del_lnk--> clinicians believe that this may not reflect the actual incidence rates. Tony Attwood suggests that females learn to better compensate for their impairments due to gender differences in the handling of <!--del_lnk--> socialization. The Ehlers & Gillberg study found a 4:1 male to female ratio in subjects meeting Gillberg's criteria for AS, but a lower 2.3:1 ratio when suspected or borderline cases were included.<p>The prevalence of AS in adults is not well understood, but <!--del_lnk--> Baron-Cohen et al. documented that 2% of adults score higher than 32 in his <!--del_lnk--> Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) questionnaire, developed in 2001 to measure the extent to which an adult of normal intelligence has the traits associated with autism spectrum conditions. All interviewed high-scorers met at least 3 DSM-IV criteria, and 63% met threshold criteria for an ASD diagnosis; a Japanese study found similar AQ Test results.<p><a id="Comorbidities" name="Comorbidities"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Comorbidities</span></h3>
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<p>Most patients presenting in clinical settings with AS have other <!--del_lnk--> comorbid psychiatric disorders. Children are likely to present with <a href="../../wp/a/Attention-deficit_hyperactivity_disorder.htm" title="Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder">attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder</a> (ADHD), while <!--del_lnk--> depression is a common diagnosis in adolescents and adults. A study of referred adult patients found that 30% presenting with ADHD had ASD as well.<p>Research indicates people with AS may be far more likely to have the associated conditions. People with AS symptoms may frequently be diagnosed with <!--del_lnk--> clinical depression, <!--del_lnk--> oppositional defiant disorder, <!--del_lnk--> antisocial personality disorder, <a href="../../wp/t/Tourette_syndrome.htm" title="Tourette syndrome">Tourette syndrome</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Attention-deficit_hyperactivity_disorder.htm" title="Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder">ADHD</a>, <!--del_lnk--> general anxiety disorder, <!--del_lnk--> bipolar disorder, <!--del_lnk--> obsessive compulsive disorder or <!--del_lnk--> obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. <!--del_lnk--> Dysgraphia, <!--del_lnk--> dyspraxia, <!--del_lnk--> dyslexia or <!--del_lnk--> dyscalculia may also be diagnosed.<p>The particularly high comorbidity with anxiety often requires special attention. One study reported that about 84 percent of individuals with a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) also met the criteria to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Because of the social differences experienced by those with AS, such as trouble initiating or maintaining a conversation or adherence to strict rituals or schedules, additional stress to any of these activities may result in feelings of anxiety, which can negatively affect multiple areas of one's life, including school, family, and work. Treatment of anxiety disorders that accompany a PDD can be handled in a number of ways, such as through medication or individual and group cognitive behavioural therapy, where relaxation or distraction-type activities may be used along with other techniques in order to diffuse the feelings of anxiety.<p><a id="Non-clinical_perspective" name="Non-clinical_perspective"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Non-clinical perspective</span></h2>
<p>Some professionals contend that, far from being a disease, AS is simply the pathologizing of neurodiversity that should be celebrated, understood and accommodated instead of "treated" or "cured".<p><a id="Shift_in_view" name="Shift_in_view"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Shift in view</span></h3>
<p>Autistic people have contributed to a shift in perception of autism spectrum disorders as complex syndromes rather than diseases that must be cured. Proponents of this view reject the notion that there is an 'ideal' brain configuration and that any deviation from the norm is <!--del_lnk--> pathological. They demand tolerance for what they call their neurodiversity in much the same way physically handicapped people have demanded tolerance. These views are the basis for the <!--del_lnk--> autistic rights and <!--del_lnk--> autistic pride movements. Researcher <!--del_lnk--> Simon Baron-Cohen has argued that high-functioning autism is a "difference" and is not necessarily a "disability." He contends that the term "difference" is more neutral, and that this small shift in a term could mean the difference between a diagnosis of AS being received as a family tragedy, or as interesting information, such as learning that a child is left-handed.<p><a id="Autistic_culture" name="Autistic_culture"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Autistic culture</span></h3>
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<p>People with AS may refer to themselves in casual conversation as "aspies", coined by <!--del_lnk--> Liane Holliday Willey in 1999, or as an "Aspergian". The term <i><!--del_lnk--> neurotypical</i> (NT) describes a person whose neurological development and state are typical, and is often used to refer to people who are non-autistic.<p>A <!--del_lnk--> <i>Wired</i> magazine article, <i>The Geek Syndrome</i>, suggested that AS is more common in the <!--del_lnk--> Silicon Valley, a haven for <!--del_lnk--> computer scientists and mathematicians. It posited that AS may be the result of assortative mating by <!--del_lnk--> geeks in mathematical and technological areas. AS can be found in all occupations, however, and is not limited to those in the math and science fields.<p>The popularization of the <a href="../../wp/i/Internet.htm" title="Internet">Internet</a> has allowed individuals with AS to communicate with each other in a way that was not possible to do offline due to the rarity and the geographic dispersal of individuals with AS. As a result of increasing ability to connect with one another, a subculture of "Aspies" has formed. Internet sites have made it easier for individuals to connect with each other.<p><a id="Social_impact" name="Social_impact"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Social impact</span></h3>
<p>AS may lead to problems in <!--del_lnk--> social interaction with peers. These problems can be severe or mild depending on the individual. Children with AS are often the target of <!--del_lnk--> bullying at school due to their <!--del_lnk--> idiosyncratic behaviour, language, interests, and impaired ability to perceive and respond in socially expected ways to <!--del_lnk--> nonverbal cues, particularly in interpersonal conflict. Children with AS may be extremely literal and may have difficulty interpreting and responding to <!--del_lnk--> sarcasm or <!--del_lnk--> banter.<p>The above problems can even arise in the <a href="../../wp/f/Family.htm" title="Family">family</a>; given an unfavourable family environment, the child may be subject to <!--del_lnk--> emotional abuse. A child or teen with AS is often puzzled by this mistreatment, unaware of what has been done incorrectly. Unlike other pervasive development disorders, most children with AS want to be social, but fail to socialize successfully, which can lead to later withdrawal and asocial behaviour, especially in adolescence. At this stage of life especially, they risk being drawn into unsuitable and inappropriate friendships and social groups. People with AS often get along a lot better with those considerably older or younger than them, rather than those their own age.<p>Children with AS often display advanced abilities for their age in language, <!--del_lnk--> reading, mathematics, <!--del_lnk--> spatial skills, and/or music—sometimes into the "gifted" range—but this may be counterbalanced by considerable delays in other developmental areas. This combination of traits can lead to problems with teachers and other <!--del_lnk--> authority figures. A child with AS might be regarded by teachers as a "problem child" or a "poor performer." The child’s extremely low tolerance for what they perceive to be ordinary and mediocre tasks, such as typical homework assignments, can easily become frustrating; a teacher may well consider the child <!--del_lnk--> arrogant, spiteful, and <!--del_lnk--> insubordinate. Lack of support and understanding, in combination with the child's anxieties, can result in problematic behaviour (such as severe tantrums, violent and angry outbursts, and withdrawal).<p>Although adults with AS may have similar problems, they are not as likely to be given treatment as a child would. They may find it difficult finding <a href="../../wp/e/Employment.htm" title="Employment">employment</a> or entering <!--del_lnk--> undergraduate or <!--del_lnk--> graduate schools because of poor <!--del_lnk--> interview skills or a low score on <!--del_lnk--> standardized or <!--del_lnk--> personality tests. They also may be more vulnerable to <a href="../../wp/p/Poverty.htm" title="Poverty">poverty</a> and <!--del_lnk--> homelessness than the general population, because of their difficulty finding (and keeping) employment, lack of proper <a href="../../wp/e/Education.htm" title="Education">education</a>, premature <!--del_lnk--> social skills, and other factors. If they do become employed, they may be misunderstood, taken advantage of, paid less than those without AS, and be subject to bullying and discrimination. Communication deficits may mean people at work have difficulty understanding the person with AS, and problems with authority figures continue as difficult, tense relations with bosses and supervisors become prevalent.<p>People with AS report a feeling of being unwillingly detached from the world around them. They may have difficulty finding a <!--del_lnk--> life partner or getting <!--del_lnk--> married due to poor social skills and poverty. In a similar fashion to school bullying, the person with AS is vulnerable to problems in their <!--del_lnk--> neighbourhood, such as <!--del_lnk--> anti-social behaviour and <!--del_lnk--> harassment. Due to social isolation, they can be seen as the '<!--del_lnk--> black sheep' in the community and thus may be at risk of wrongful suspicions and allegations from others. <p>On the other hand, some adults with AS do get married, get graduate degrees, become wealthy, and hold jobs. The intense focus and tendency to work things out logically often grants those people with AS a high level of ability in their field of interest. When these special interests coincide with a materially or socially useful task, the person with AS often can lead a profitable life. The child obsessed with <!--del_lnk--> naval architecture may grow up to be an accomplished <!--del_lnk--> shipwright. More research is needed on adults with AS.<p><a id="Adults_with_AS_as_parents" name="Adults_with_AS_as_parents"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Adults with AS as parents</span></h3>
<p>One area of study in which more of such research is sorely needed concerns adults with AS who do marry and subsequently become parents. AS adults who marry often find it difficult to stay married; some initial research puts the divorce rate at approximately eighty percent. The resulting split can be fraught with intense or "high" conflict or <!--del_lnk--> domestic violence. Custody cases, already often difficult affairs, are complicated when one or both parties has AS. The <!--del_lnk--> parenting skills of a person with AS may be inadequate to the task to the point of inflicting long-term psychological damage on children, <!--del_lnk--> neurotypical or otherwise, raised in such an environment. Such damage may be even more pronounced when the AS parent goes undiagnosed and fails to receive the intensive help s/he may need in developing and maintaining adequate parenting skills.<p>Even with support, AS parents simply may not be up to the enormous task. Raising a psychologically healthy child involves complex emotional interaction between parent and child, as well as the ability to avoid parental behaviors damaging to a child's well-being. Typical adult symptoms of AS include the inability to empathize with others, lack of comprehension of the emotions and motives of others, difficulty in holding conversations and actively listening to others, and poor ability to control feelings of <!--del_lnk--> anxiety and, importantly, <!--del_lnk--> anger and <!--del_lnk--> rage, especially in stressful situations. Sheila Jennings Linehan notes that these problems can at times be simply incompatible with successful parenting.<p>AS parents should <i>not</i>, however, be stereotyped or categorized as evil, uncaring, or intentionally abusive. As Australia's Better Health Channel puts it, "Because the affected person is neurologically unable to understand other people's emotional states, they are usually shocked, upset and remorseful when told their actions were hurtful or inappropriate." Jennings Linehan notes that "problems in parenting are linked directly to the core neuro-cognitive clinical features of Asperger's Syndrome itself", rather than to "character flaws" or "ill will" on the part of parents. Thus it seems clear that more research and better coping strategies are needed on the part of everyone involved in the welfare of a child who has a parent or parents with AS.<p><a id="Notable_cases" name="Notable_cases"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Notable cases</span></h3>
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<div style="width:102px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23351.jpg.htm" title="Albert Einstein may have had AS."><img alt="Albert Einstein may have had AS." height="132" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Albert_Einstein_1947.jpg" src="../../images/233/23351.jpg" width="100" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23351.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/a/Albert_Einstein.htm" title="Albert Einstein">Albert Einstein</a> may have had AS.</div>
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<p>AS is sometimes viewed as a syndrome with both advantages and disadvantages, and notable adults with AS or autism have achieved success in their fields. Prominent AS-diagnosed individuals include <!--del_lnk--> Nobel Prize-winning economist <!--del_lnk--> Vernon Smith, <!--del_lnk--> electropop rocker <!--del_lnk--> Gary Numan, <!--del_lnk--> Vines frontman <!--del_lnk--> Craig Nicholls, and <!--del_lnk--> Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of <!--del_lnk--> Pokémon. Colorado State University professor and author <!--del_lnk--> Temple Grandin was diagnosed with autism at a young age, and has used her autism to her advantage in her profession as an animal behaviorist specializing in livestock handling. <p>Some AS researchers speculate that well-known figures, including <a href="../../wp/a/Albert_Einstein.htm" title="Albert Einstein">Albert Einstein</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Isaac_Newton.htm" title="Isaac Newton">Isaac Newton</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Glenn Gould, <a href="../../wp/l/Ludwig_Wittgenstein.htm" title="Ludwig Wittgenstein">Ludwig Wittgenstein</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> Stanley Kubrick, had AS because they showed some AS-related tendencies or behaviors, such as intense interest in one subject, or social problems. Autistic rights activists use such speculative diagnoses to argue that it would be a loss to society if autism were cured. Speculative diagnoses, especially posthumous ones, remain controversial, however.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Assyria</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Ancient_History_Classical_History_and_Mythology.htm">Ancient History, Classical History and Mythology</a></h3>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/643.jpg.htm" title="Relief from Assyrian capital of Dur Sharrukin, showing transport of Lebanese cedar (8th c. BC)"><img alt="Relief from Assyrian capital of Dur Sharrukin, showing transport of Lebanese cedar (8th c. BC)" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Transport_of_cedar_Dur_Sharrukin.jpg" src="../../images/6/643.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<th style="background:#F6E6AE;"><b><a href="../../wp/m/Mesopotamia.htm" title="Mesopotamia">Ancient Mesopotamia</a></b></th>
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<td><a href="../../wp/e/Euphrates.htm" title="Euphrates">Euphrates</a> – <a href="../../wp/t/Tigris.htm" title="Tigris">Tigris</a></td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Assyriology</td>
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<th style="background:#F6E6AE;"><b>Cities / Empires</b></th>
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<td><b><a href="../../wp/s/Sumer.htm" title="Sumer">Sumer</a></b>: <!--del_lnk--> Uruk – <!--del_lnk--> Ur – <!--del_lnk--> Eridu</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Kish – <!--del_lnk--> Lagash – <!--del_lnk--> Nippur</td>
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<td><b><a href="../../wp/a/Akkadian_Empire.htm" title="Akkadian Empire">Akkadian Empire</a></b>: <!--del_lnk--> Akkad</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Babylon – <!--del_lnk--> Isin – <!--del_lnk--> Susa</td>
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<td><b><strong class="selflink">Assyria</strong></b>: <!--del_lnk--> Assur – <!--del_lnk--> Nineveh</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Dur-Sharrukin – <!--del_lnk--> Nimrud</td>
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<td><b><a href="../../wp/b/Babylonia.htm" title="Babylonia">Babylonia</a></b> – <b><!--del_lnk--> Chaldea</b></td>
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<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Elam</b> – <b><!--del_lnk--> Amorites</b></td>
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<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Hurrians</b> – <b><!--del_lnk--> Mitanni</b></td>
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<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Kassites</b> – <b><!--del_lnk--> Urartu</b></td>
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<th style="background:#F6E6AE;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Chronology</b></th>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Kings of Sumer</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Kings of Assyria</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Kings of Babylon</td>
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<th style="background:#F6E6AE;"><b>Language</b></th>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Cuneiform script</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Sumerian – <!--del_lnk--> Akkadian</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Elamite – <!--del_lnk--> Hurrian</td>
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<th style="background:#F6E6AE;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Mythology</b></th>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Enûma Elish</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Gilgamesh – <!--del_lnk--> Marduk</td>
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<p>In the earliest historical times, the term <b>Assyria</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Syriac: <big><big>ܐܬܘܖ̈</big></big>) referred to a region on the Upper <a href="../../wp/t/Tigris.htm" title="Tigris">Tigris</a> river, named for its original capital, the ancient city of <!--del_lnk--> Assur. Later, as a nation and Empire, it also came to include roughly the northern half of <a href="../../wp/m/Mesopotamia.htm" title="Mesopotamia">Mesopotamia</a> (the southern half being <a href="../../wp/b/Babylonia.htm" title="Babylonia">Babylonia</a>), with <!--del_lnk--> Nineveh as its capital.<p>Assyria proper was located in a mountainous region, extending along the Tigris as far as the high Gordiaean or Carduchian mountain range of <a href="../../wp/a/Armenia.htm" title="Armenia">Armenia</a>, known as the "Mountains of Ashur".<p>The Assyrian kings controlled a large kingdom at three different times in history. These are called the Old, Middle, and Neo-Assyrian kingdoms, or periods. The most powerful and best-known nation of these periods is the Neo-Assyrian kingdom, 911-612 BC.<p>
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</script><a id="Early_history" name="Early_history"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Early history</span></h2>
<p>The most important prehistoric (<!--del_lnk--> Neolithic) site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the centre of the <!--del_lnk--> Hassuna culture.<p>Of the early history of the kingdom of Assyria, little is positively known. According to some Judeo-Christian traditions, the city of Ashur (also spelled <!--del_lnk--> Assur or Aššur) was founded by Ashur the son of <!--del_lnk--> Shem, who was deified by later generations as the city's patron god.<p>The upper <a href="../../wp/t/Tigris.htm" title="Tigris">Tigris</a> River valley seems to have been ruled by Sumer, Akkad, and northern Babylonia in its earliest stages; once a part of <!--del_lnk--> Sargon the Great's empire, it was destroyed by <!--del_lnk--> barbarians in the <!--del_lnk--> Gutian period, then rebuilt, and ended up being governed as part of the Empire of the <!--del_lnk--> 3rd dynasty of Ur.<p><a id="Early_Assyrian_city-states_and_kingdoms" name="Early_Assyrian_city-states_and_kingdoms"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Early Assyrian city-states and kingdoms</span></h2>
<p>The first inscriptions of Assyrian rulers appear after 2000 BC. Assyria then consisted of a number of city states and small <!--del_lnk--> Semitic kingdoms. The foundation of the Assyrian monarchy was traditionally ascribed to <!--del_lnk--> Zulilu, who is said to have lived after Bel-kap-kapu (Bel-kapkapi or Belkabi, ca. <!--del_lnk--> 1900 BC), the ancestor of <!--del_lnk--> Shalmaneser I.<p><a id="City_state_of_Ashur" name="City_state_of_Ashur"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">City state of Ashur</span></h3>
<p>The city-state of Ashur had extensive contact with cities on the <!--del_lnk--> Anatolian plateau. The Assyrians established "merchant colonies" in <!--del_lnk--> Cappadocia, e.g., at <!--del_lnk--> Kanesh (modern <!--del_lnk--> Kültepe) circa <!--del_lnk--> 1920 BC–<!--del_lnk--> 1840 BC and <!--del_lnk--> 1798 BC–<!--del_lnk--> 1740 BC. These colonies, called <i><b>karum</b></i>, the Akkadian word for 'port', were attached to Anatolian cities, but physically separate, and had special tax status. They must have arisen from a long tradition of trade between Ashur and the Anatolian cities, but no archaeological or written records show this. The trade consisted of metal (perhaps lead or tin; the terminology here is not entirely clear) and textiles from Assyria, that were traded for precious metals in Anatolia.<p><a id="Kingdom_of_Shamshi-Adad_I" name="Kingdom_of_Shamshi-Adad_I"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Kingdom of Shamshi-Adad I</span></h3>
<p>The city of Ashur was conquered by <!--del_lnk--> Shamshi-Adad I (<!--del_lnk--> 1813 BC–<!--del_lnk--> 1791 BC) in the expansion of <!--del_lnk--> Amorite tribes from the <!--del_lnk--> Khabur river delta. He put his son <!--del_lnk--> Ishme-Dagan on the throne of nearby city Ekallatum, and allowed the former Anatolian trade to continue. Shamshi-Adad I also conquered the kingdom of <!--del_lnk--> Mari on the <a href="../../wp/e/Euphrates.htm" title="Euphrates">Euphrates</a> and put another of his sons, Yasmah-Adad on the throne there. Shamshi-Adad's kingdom now encompassed the whole of northern Mesopotamia. He himself resided in a new capital city founded in the Khabur valley, called <!--del_lnk--> Shubat-Enlil. Ishme-Dagan inherited the kingdom, but Yasmah-Adad was overthrown and Mari was lost. The new king of Mari allied himself with <a href="../../wp/h/Hammurabi.htm" title="Hammurabi">Hammurabi</a> of <!--del_lnk--> Babylon. Assyria now faced the rising power of Babylon in the south. Ishme-Dagan responded by making an alliance with the enemies of Babylon, and the power struggle continued for decades.<p><a id="Assyria_reduced_to_vassal_states" name="Assyria_reduced_to_vassal_states"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Assyria reduced to vassal states</span></h3>
<p>Hammurabi eventually prevailed over Ishme-Dagan, and conquered Ashur for Babylon. With Hammurabi, the various <i>karum</i> in Anatolia ceased trade activity — probably because the goods of Assyria were now being traded with the Babylonians' partners.<p>Assyria was ruled by vassal kings dependent on the Babylonians for a century. After Babylon fell to the <!--del_lnk--> Kassites, the <!--del_lnk--> Hurrians dominated the northern region, including Ashur.<p><a id="Middle_Assyrian_period" name="Middle_Assyrian_period"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Middle Assyrian period</span></h2>
<p>(Scholars variously date the beginning of the "Middle Assyrian period" to either the fall of the Old Assyrian kingdom of <!--del_lnk--> Shamshi-Adad I, or to when <!--del_lnk--> Ashur-uballit I ascended to the throne of Assyria.)<p><a id="Ashur-uballit_I" name="Ashur-uballit_I"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Ashur-uballit I</span></h3>
<p>In the <!--del_lnk--> 15th century BC, <!--del_lnk--> Saushtatar, king of "<i>Hanilgalbat</i>" (Hurrians of <!--del_lnk--> Mitanni), sacked Ashur and made Assyria a vassal. Assyria paid tribute to Hanilgalbat until Mitanni power collapsed from <!--del_lnk--> Hittite pressure, enabling <!--del_lnk--> Ashur-uballit I (<!--del_lnk--> 1365 BC–<!--del_lnk--> 1330 BC), to again make Assyria an independent and conquering power at the expense of <a href="../../wp/b/Babylonia.htm" title="Babylonia">Babylonia</a>; and a time came when the Kassite king in Babylon was glad to marry the daughter of Ashur-uballit, whose letters to <a href="../../wp/a/Akhenaten.htm" title="Akhenaten">Akhenaten</a> of <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> form part of the <!--del_lnk--> Amarna letters. This marriage led to disastrous results, as the Kassite faction at court murdered the Babylonian king and placed a pretender on the throne. Assur-uballit promptly marched into Babylonia and avenged his son-in-law, making <!--del_lnk--> Kurigalzu of the royal line king there.<p><a id="Assyrian_expansion" name="Assyrian_expansion"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Assyrian expansion</span></h3>
<p>Hanilgalbat was finally conquered under <!--del_lnk--> Adad-nirari I, who described himself as a "Great-King" (<i>Sharru rabû</i>) in letters to the Hittite rulers. Adad-nirari I's successor, <!--del_lnk--> Shalmaneser I (c. 1300 BC), threw off the pretense of Babylonian suzerainty, made <!--del_lnk--> Calah his capital, and followed up on expansion to the northwest, mainly at the expense of the Hittites, reaching as far as <!--del_lnk--> Carchemish and beyond.<p>Shalmaneser's son and successor, <!--del_lnk--> Tukulti-Ninurta I, deposed Kadashman-Buriash of Babylon and ruled there himself as king for seven years, taking on the old title "king of Sumer and Akkad". Following this, Babylon revolted against Tukulti-Ninurta, and later even made Assyria tributary during the reigns of the Babylonian kings Melishipak II and Marduk-apal-iddin I, another weak period for Assyria.<p><a id="Tiglath-Pileser_I_reaches_the_Mediterranean_Sea" name="Tiglath-Pileser_I_reaches_the_Mediterranean_Sea"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Tiglath-Pileser I reaches the Mediterranean Sea</span></h3>
<p>As the Hittite empire collapsed from onslaught of the <!--del_lnk--> Phrygians (called <!--del_lnk--> Mushki in Assyrian annals), Babylon and Assyria began to vie for <!--del_lnk--> Amorite regions, formerly under firm Hittite control. The Assyrian king <!--del_lnk--> Ashur-resh-ishi I defeated <!--del_lnk--> Nebuchadnezzar I of Babylon in a battle, when their forces encountered one another in this region.<p>Ashur-resh-ishi's son, <!--del_lnk--> Tiglath-Pileser I, may be regarded as the founder of the first Assyrian empire. In <!--del_lnk--> 1120 BC, he crossed the <a href="../../wp/e/Euphrates.htm" title="Euphrates">Euphrates</a>, capturing Carchemish, defeated the Mushki and the remnants of the Hittites—even claiming to reach the <a href="../../wp/b/Black_Sea.htm" title="Black Sea">Black Sea</a>—and advanced to the <a href="../../wp/m/Mediterranean_Sea.htm" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean</a>, subjugating <!--del_lnk--> Phoenicia, where he hunted wild bulls. He also marched into Babylon twice, assuming the old title "King of Sumer and Akkad", although he was unable to depose the actual king in Babylonia, where the old Kassite dynasty had now succumbed to an Elamite one.<p><a id="Society_in_the_Middle_Assyrian_period" name="Society_in_the_Middle_Assyrian_period"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Society in the Middle Assyrian period</span></h3>
<p>Assyria had difficulties with keeping the trade routes open. Unlike the situation in the Old Assyrian period, the Anatolian metal trade was effectively dominated by the <!--del_lnk--> Hittites and the <!--del_lnk--> Hurrians. They also controlled the Mediterranean ports while the <!--del_lnk--> Kassites controlled the river route south to the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Gulf.htm" title="Persian Gulf">Persian Gulf</a>.<p>The Middle Assyrian kingdom was well organized and in the firm control of the king. The king also functioned as the High Priest of <!--del_lnk--> Ashur, the state god. He had certain obligations to fulfill in the cult, and had to provide resources for the temples. The priesthood became a major power in Assyrian society. Conflicts with the priesthood were probably behind the murder of king <!--del_lnk--> Tukulti-Ninurta I.<p>The population of Assyria was rather small, and the main cities were <!--del_lnk--> Ashur, <!--del_lnk--> Kalhu and <!--del_lnk--> Nineveh, all situated in the <a href="../../wp/t/Tigris.htm" title="Tigris">Tigris</a> river valley. All free male citizens were obliged to serve in the army for a time; this system was called the <i>ilku</i>-service. The Assyrian law code was compiled during this period. They are notable for a repressive attitude towards women in their society.<p><a id="Neo-Assyrian_Empire" name="Neo-Assyrian_Empire"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Neo-Assyrian Empire</span></h2>
<p><a id="Assyrian_empire-building" name="Assyrian_empire-building"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Assyrian empire-building</span></h3>
<p>After Tiglath-Pileser I, the Assyrians were in decline for nearly two centuries, a time of weak and ineffective rulers, wars with neighboring <!--del_lnk--> Urartu, and encroachments by Aramaean nomads. This long period of weakness ended with the accession in <!--del_lnk--> 911 BC of <!--del_lnk--> Adad-nirari II. He firmly subjugated the areas previously under nominal Assyrian vassalage, deporting populations in the north to far-off places. Apart from pushing the boundary with Babylonia slightly southward, he did not engage in actual expansion, and the borders of the empire he consolidated reached only as far west as the Khabur. He was succeeded by <!--del_lnk--> Tukulti-Ninurta II, who made some gains in the north during his short reign.<p>The next king, <!--del_lnk--> Ashurnasirpal II (<!--del_lnk--> 883 BC–<!--del_lnk--> 858 BC), embarked on a vast program of merciless expansion, first terrorizing the peoples to the north as far as Nairi, then conquering the Aramaeans between the <!--del_lnk--> Khabur and the <a href="../../wp/e/Euphrates.htm" title="Euphrates">Euphrates</a>. His harshness prompted a revolt that was crushed decisively in a pitched, two-day battle. Following this victory, he advanced without opposition as far as the Mediterranean and exacted tribute from <!--del_lnk--> Phoenicia. Unlike any before, the Assyrians began boasting in their ruthlessness around this time. Ashurnasirpal II also moved his capital to the city of Kalhu (<!--del_lnk--> Nimrud). The palaces, temples and other buildings raised by him bear witness to a considerable development of wealth and art.<div class="thumb tright">
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<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/644.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Assyrian Empire</div>
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<p>Ashurnasirpal's son, <!--del_lnk--> Shalmaneser III (858 BC–<!--del_lnk--> 823 BC), had a long reign of 34 years, when the Assyrian capital was converted into an armed camp. Each year the Assyrian armies marched out of it to plunder and destroy. Babylon was occupied, and Babylonia reduced to vassalage. He fought against Urartu, and marched an army against an alliance of Syrian states headed by <!--del_lnk--> Benhadad of <a href="../../wp/d/Damascus.htm" title="Damascus">Damascus</a>, and including <!--del_lnk--> Ahab, king of <!--del_lnk--> Israel, at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Qarqar in (<!--del_lnk--> 854 BC). Despite Shalmaneser's description of 'vanquishing the opposition', it seems that the battle ended in a deadlock, as the Assyrian forces were withdrawn soon afterwards.<p>Shalmaneser retook Carchemish in <!--del_lnk--> 849 BC, and in <!--del_lnk--> 841 BC marched an army against <!--del_lnk--> Hazael, King of Damascus, besieging and taking that city. He also brought under tribute <!--del_lnk--> Jehu of Israel, <!--del_lnk--> Tyre, and <!--del_lnk--> Sidon. His black <!--del_lnk--> obelisk, discovered at Kalhu, records many military exploits of his reign. <!--del_lnk--> The last few years of his life were disturbed by the rebellion of his eldest son that nearly proved fatal. Assur, Arbela and other places joined the pretender, and the revolt was quashed with difficulty by <!--del_lnk--> Shamshi-Adad V, Shalmaneser's second son, who soon afterwards succeeded him (824 BC).<p>In the following century, Assyria again experienced a relative decline, owing to weaker rulers (including Queen <!--del_lnk--> Semiramis) and a resurgence in expansion by Urartu. The notable exception was <!--del_lnk--> Adad-nirari III (<!--del_lnk--> 810 BC–<!--del_lnk--> 782 BC), who captured Damascus in 804, bringing Syria under tribute as far south as Samaria and <!--del_lnk--> Edom, and who advanced against the <!--del_lnk--> Medes, perhaps even penetrating to the <a href="../../wp/c/Caspian_Sea.htm" title="Caspian Sea">Caspian Sea</a>.<p><a id="Second_Assyrian_Empire" name="Second_Assyrian_Empire"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Second Assyrian Empire</span></h3>
<p>When <!--del_lnk--> Nabonassar began the neo-Babylonian dynasty in <!--del_lnk--> 747 BC Assyria was in the throes of a revolution. Civil war and pestilence were devastating the country, and its northern provinces had been wrested from it by Urartu. In 746 BC Kalhu joined the rebels, and on the 13th of <i>Iyyar</i> in the following year, a general named Pulu, who took the name of <!--del_lnk--> Tiglath-pileser III, seized the crown, and made sweeping changes to the Assyrian government, considerably improving its efficiency and security.<p>The conquered provinces were organized under an elaborate bureaucracy, with the king at the head — each district paying a fixed tribute and providing a military contingent. The Assyrian forces at this time became a standing army, that by successive improvements became an irresistible fighting machine; and Assyrian policy was henceforth directed toward reducing the whole civilized world into a single empire, throwing its trade and wealth into Assyrian hands. These changes are often identified as the beginning of the "Second Assyrian Empire".<p>When Tiglath-Pileser III had ascended the throne of Assyria, he went down to Babylonia and abducted the gods of Šapazza; the Assyrian-Babylonian Chronicle informs us (ABC 1 Col.1:5). After subjecting Babylon to tribute, severely punishing Urartu, and defeating the Medes and Hittites, Tiglath-Pileser III directed his armies into Syria, which had regained its independence, and the commercially successful Mediterranean seaports of Phoenicia. He took <!--del_lnk--> Arpad near <!--del_lnk--> Aleppo in <!--del_lnk--> 740 BC after a siege of three years, and reduced <!--del_lnk--> Hamath. Azariah (Uzziah) had been an ally of the king of Hamath, and thus was compelled by Tiglath-Pileser to do him homage and pay yearly tribute.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 738 BC, in the reign of <!--del_lnk--> Menahem, king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser III occupied <!--del_lnk--> Philistia and invaded Israel, imposing on it a heavy tribute (2 Kings 15:19). <!--del_lnk--> Ahaz, king of Judah, engaged in a war against Israel and Syria, appealed for help to this Assyrian king by means of a present of gold and silver (2 Kings 16:8); he accordingly "marched against Damascus, defeated and put Rezin to death, and besieged the city itself." Leaving part of his army to continue the siege, he advanced, ravaging with fire and sword the province east of the Jordan, Philistia, and <!--del_lnk--> Samaria; and in <!--del_lnk--> 732 BC took Damascus, deporting its inhabitants to Assyria. In 729 BC, Tiglath-Pileser III, went to Babylonian and captured Nabu-mukin-zeri, the king of Babylon (ABC 1 Col.1:21). He had himself crowned as "King Pul of Babylon".<p>Tiglath-Pileser III died in <!--del_lnk--> 727 BC, and was succeeded by <!--del_lnk--> Shalmaneser V, who reorganized the Empire into provinces, replacing troublesome vassal kings with Assyrian governors. However, King Hoshea of Israel suspended paying tribute, and allied himself with <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> against Assyria in <!--del_lnk--> 725 BC. This led Shalmaneser to invade Syria (2 Kings 17:5) and besiege Samaria (capital city of Israel) for three years. Shalmaneser ravaged Samaria, the capital of Israel (ABC 1 Col.1:27).<p><a id="Sargonid_.28dynasty.29" name="Sargonid_.28dynasty.29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sargonid (dynasty)</span></h3>
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<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/645.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Deportation of Jews from Judah by the Assyrian Empire</div>
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<p>Shalmaneser V died suddenly in <!--del_lnk--> 722 BC while laying siege to Samaria, and the throne was seized by <!--del_lnk--> Sargon, the <i>Tartan</i> (commander-in-chief of the army), who then quickly took Samaria, effectively ending the northern <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Israel and carrying 27,000 people away into captivity into the <!--del_lnk--> Israelite Diaspora. (2 Kings 17:1–6, 24; 18:7, 9). He also overran Judah, and besieged Jerusalem (Isa. 10:6, 12, 22, 24, 34), but did not capture it. Sargon II waged war in his second year against the king of Elam, Humban-Nikaš, who allied himself with Marduk-apla-iddina of Babylon, but was defeated as told in ABC 1 Col.1:31-37. In <!--del_lnk--> 721 BC, Babylon threw off the rule of the Assyrians, under the powerful Chaldean prince <!--del_lnk--> Merodach-baladan (2 Kings 20:12), and Sargon, unable to contain the revolt, turned his attention again to Urartu and Syria, taking <!--del_lnk--> Carchemish in 717, as well as the Medes, penetrating the Iranian Plateau as far as Mt. Bikni and building several fortresses. Assyria was belligerent towards Babylonia for ten years while Marduk-apla-iddina ruled Babylon (ABC 1 Col.1:41-42). In 710 BC, Sargon attacked Babylonia and defeated Marduk-apla-iddina, who fled to his allies in Elam (ABC 1 Col.2:1-3). Sargon also built a new capital at <!--del_lnk--> Dur Sharrukin ("Sargon's City") near Nineveh, with all the tribute Assyria had collected from various nations.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/646.jpg.htm" title="Assyrian warship, a bireme with pointed bow. 700 BC"><img alt="Assyrian warship, a bireme with pointed bow. 700 BC" height="219" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AssyrianWarship.jpg" src="../../images/6/646.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/646.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Assyrian warship, a <!--del_lnk--> bireme with pointed bow. 700 BC</div>
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<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 705 BC, Sargon was slain while fighting the <!--del_lnk--> Cimmerians, and was succeeded by his son <!--del_lnk--> Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:13; 19:37; Isa. 7:17, 18), who moved the capital to Nineveh and made the deported peoples work on improving Nineveh's system of irrigation canals. In <!--del_lnk--> 701 BC, Hezekiah of Judah formed an alliance with Egypt against Assyria, so Sennacherib accordingly marched toward Jerusalem, destroying 46 villages in his path. This is graphically described in Isaiah 10; exactly what happened next is unclear (the Bible says an Angel of the Lord smote the Assyrian army at Jerusalem; Sennacherib's account says Judah paid him tribute and he left); however what is certain is that Sennacherib failed to capture Jerusalem. Marduk-apla-iddina had returned to Babylonia during the reign of Sennacherib. The Assyrian king made battle with him in 703 BC outside Kish and defeated him. Sennacherib plundered Babylonia and pursued Marduk-apla-iddina through the land. At his return to Assyria Sennacherib installed Bel-ibni as king of Babylon (ABC 1 Col.2:12-23). Bel-ibni however committed hostilities, so Sennacherib returned to Babylon in 700 BC and captured him and his officers. Sennacherib instead installed his son Aššur-nadin-šumi on the throne of Babylon (ABC 1 Col.2:26-31).<p>Sennacherib launched a campaign against Elam in 694 BC and ravaged the land. In retaliation the king of Elam ordered to attack Babylonia. Aššur-nadin-šumi was captured and brought back to Elam and a new king called Nergal-ušezib was installed as ruler of Babylon (ABC 1 Col.2:36-45). The Assyrians returned the next year to Babylonia and plundered the gods of Uruk. Nergal-ušezib did battle against the army of Assyria, but was taken prisoner and transported to Assyria (ABC 1 Col.2:46- Col.3:6). Another native ruler, called Mušezib-Marduk, soon seized the throne of Babylon. He held it with help of his Elamite allies for four years until 689 BC, when the Assyrians retook the city (ABC 1 Col.3:13-24). Sennacherib responded swiftly by opening the canals around Babylon and flooding the outside of the city until it became a <!--del_lnk--> swamp, resulting in its destruction, and its inhabitants were scattered. In <!--del_lnk--> 681 BC, Sennacherib was murdered, most likely by one of his sons (according to 2 Kings 19:37, while praying to the god Nisroch, he was killed by two of his sons, Adramalech and Sharezer, and both of these sons subsequently fled to Armenia; repeated in Isaiah 37:38 and alluded to in 2 Chronicles 32:21).<p>Sennacherib was succeeded by his son <!--del_lnk--> Esarhaddon (<i>Ashur-aha-iddina</i>), who had been governor of Babylonia, and was campaigning in Urartu at the time of his father's murder, where he won a victory at <!--del_lnk--> Malatia (Milid). During the first year of Esarhaddon, a rebellion broke out in the south of Babylonia. Nabu-zer-kitti-lišir, a governor of the <i>mat Tamti</i>, laid siege to Ur. This governor did not capture the city, but fled to his kinsmen in Elam (<i>Hal-Tamti</i>); however, "the king of Elam took him prisoner and put him to the sword" (ABC 1 Col.3:39-42); also in (ABC 14 vs.1-4).<p>As king of Assyria, Esarhaddon immediately had Babylon rebuilt, and made it his capital. Defeating the Cimmerians and Medes (again penetrating to Mt. Bikni), but unable to maintain order in these areas, he turned his attention westward to Phoenicia—now allying itself with Egypt against him—and sacked Sidon in <!--del_lnk--> 677 BC. He also captured <!--del_lnk--> Manasseh of Judah and kept him prisoner for some time in Babylon (2 Chronicles 33:11). Having had enough of Egyptian meddling, Esarhaddon attempted to conquer Egypt in 673 BC, but was defeated (ABC 1 Col.4:16). Two years later he made a new attempt and was successful. The Babylonian Chronicle retells how Egypt "was sacked and its gods were abducted" (ABC 1 Col.4:25); also in ABC 14 vs.28-29. The <!--del_lnk--> pharaoh <!--del_lnk--> Tirhakah fled Egypt, and a stele commemorating the victory, and representing Tirhakah with black African features, was set up at Sinjirli (north of the Gulf of Antioch), and is now in the Berlin Museum.<p>Assyria was also at war with Urartu and <!--del_lnk--> Dilmun at this time. This was Assyria's greatest territorial extent. However, the Assyrian governors Esarhaddon had appointed over Egypt were obliged to flee the restive populace, so a new campaign was launched by Esarhaddon in 669 BC. He became ill on the way and died. His son Šamaš-šuma-ukin became king of Babylon and his son Aššur-bani-pal became king of Assyria; see ABC 1 Col.4:30-33 and ABC 14 vs.31-32, 37. Bel and the gods of Babylonia returned from their exile in Assur to Babylon in the first year of Šamaš-šuma-ukin, and the akitu festival could be celebrated for the first time in twenty years; ABC 1 14 vs.34-39 and ABC 1 Col.4:34-36.<p><!--del_lnk--> Assur-bani-pal or Ashurbanipal (<i>Ashurbanapli, Asnappar</i>), the son of <!--del_lnk--> Esarhaddon, succeeded him. He continued to campaign in Egypt, when not distracted by pressures from the Medes to the east, and Cimmerians to the north of Assyria. Unable to contain Egypt, he installed Psammetichus as a vassal king in <!--del_lnk--> 663 BC. However, after <!--del_lnk--> Gyges of Lydia's appeal for Assyrian help against the Cimmerians was rejected, Lydian mercenaries were sent to Psammetichus. By <!--del_lnk--> 652 BC, this vassal king was strong enough to declare outright independence from Assyria with impunity, especially as Ashurbanipal's older brother, <!--del_lnk--> Shamash-shum-ukin, governor of Babylon, began a civil war in that year. This rebellion lasted until <!--del_lnk--> 648 BC, when Babylon was sacked, and Shamash-shum-ukin set fire to the palace, killing himself. Elam was completely devastated in <!--del_lnk--> 646 BC and <!--del_lnk--> 640 BC, and its capital Susa completely leveled.<p><a id="Downfall_and_heritage" name="Downfall_and_heritage"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Downfall and heritage</span></h3>
<p>Ashurbanipal had promoted art and culture, and had a vast library of cuneiform tablets at Nineveh. However, his long struggle with Babylonia and Elam left Assyria maimed and exhausted. It had been drained of wealth and fighting population; the devastated provinces could yield nothing to supply the needs of the imperial exchequer, and it was difficult to find sufficient troops to garrison the conquered populations. Assyria, therefore, was ill-prepared to face the hordes of <!--del_lnk--> Scythians and Medes who now began to harass the frontiers to the east; Asia Minor too was infested by the Cimmerians.<p>Upon Ashurbanipal's death in <!--del_lnk--> 627 BC, the empire began to disintegrate rapidly. The Scythians, Cimmerians and <!--del_lnk--> Medes immediately penetrated the borders, marauding as far as Egypt, while Babylonia again became independent; Ashurbanipal's successor, <!--del_lnk--> Ashur-etil-ilani, seems to have exercised little real power. The Babylonian king <!--del_lnk--> Nabopolassar, along with <!--del_lnk--> Cyaxares the Mede, finally destroyed Nineveh in <!--del_lnk--> 612 BC, and Assyria fell. A general called <!--del_lnk--> Ashur-uballit II, with military support from the Egyptian Pharaoh <!--del_lnk--> Necho II, held out as a remnant of Assyrian power at <!--del_lnk--> Harran until <!--del_lnk--> 609 BC, after which Assyria ceased to exist as an independent nation.<p><a id="Language" name="Language"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Language</span></h2>
<p>The ancient people of Assyria spoke an Assyrian dialect of the <!--del_lnk--> Akkadian language, a branch of the <!--del_lnk--> Semitic languages. The first inscriptions, called Old Assyrian (OA), were made in the Old Assyrian period. In the Neo-Assyrian period the everyday language of Assyria was strongly influenced by the <!--del_lnk--> Aramaic language. The ancient Assyrians also used the <!--del_lnk--> Sumerian language in their literature.<p><a id="Assyrian_art" name="Assyrian_art"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Assyrian art</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/647.jpg.htm" title="An Assyrian winged bull."><img alt="An Assyrian winged bull." height="179" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Human_headed_winged_bull_facing.jpg" src="../../images/6/647.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/647.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An Assyrian winged bull.</div>
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<p>Assyrian art preserved to the present day predominantly dates to the Neo-Assyrian period. Art depicting battle scenes, and occasionally the impaling of whole villages in gory detail, was intended to show the power of the emperor, and was generally made for propaganda purposes. These stone reliefs lined the walls in the royal palaces where foreigners were received by the king. Other stone reliefs depict the king with different deities and conducting religious ceremonies. A lot of stone reliefs were discovered in the royal palaces at <!--del_lnk--> Nimrud (Kalhu) and <!--del_lnk--> Khorsabad (Dur-Sharrukin). A rare discovery of metal plates belonging to wooden doors was made at <!--del_lnk--> Balawat (Imgur-Enlil).<p>Assyrian sculpture reached a high level of refinement in the Neo-Assyrian period. One prominent example is the winged bull <i>Lamassi</i>, or <!--del_lnk--> shedu that guard the entrances to the king's court. These were apotropaic meaning they were intended to ward off evil. C. W. Ceram states in <i>The March of Archaeology</i> that <i>lamassi</i> were typically sculpted with five legs so that four legs were always visible, whether the image were viewed frontally or in profile.<p>Since works of precious gems and metals usually do not survive the ravages of time, we are lucky to have some fine pieces of Assyrian jewelry. These were found in royal tombs at Nimrud.<p><a id="Astronomy" name="Astronomy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Astronomy</span></h2>
<p>There is ongoing discussion among academics over the nature of the <!--del_lnk--> Nimrud lens, a piece of <!--del_lnk--> rock crystal unearthed by <!--del_lnk--> Austen Henry Layard in <!--del_lnk--> 1850, in the Nimrud palace complex in northern <a href="../../wp/i/Iraq.htm" title="Iraq">Iraq</a>. A small minority believe that it is evidence for the existence of ancient Assyrian telescopes, which could explain the great accuracy of Assyrian astronomy.<p><a id="Further_Reading" name="Further_Reading"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assyria"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Astatine</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Chemistry.Chemical_elements.htm">Chemical elements</a></h3>
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<td align="center"><span style="font-size:120%; font-weight:bold">85</span></td>
<td align="center" style="padding-left:2em"><span style="font-size: 95%"><a href="../../wp/p/Polonium.htm" title="Polonium">polonium</a></span> ← <span style="font-size: 120%">astatine</span> → <span style="font-size: 95%"><a href="../../wp/r/Radon.htm" title="Radon">radon</a></span></td>
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<td align="center"><span style="font-size:95%"><a href="../../wp/i/Iodine.htm" title="Iodine">I</a></span><br /> ↑<br /><span style="font-size:120%; font-weight:bold">At</span><br /> ↓<br /><span style="font-size: 95%">(<!--del_lnk--> Uus)</span></td>
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<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/6/648.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="75" longdesc="/wiki/Image:At-TableImage.png" src="../../images/6/648.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
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<div align="center"><!--del_lnk--> Periodic Table - <!--del_lnk--> Extended Periodic Table</div>
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<th colspan="2" style="background:#ffff99; color:purple">General</th>
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<td><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_elements_by_name.htm" title="List of elements by name">Name</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Symbol, <!--del_lnk--> Number</td>
<td>astatine, At, 85</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Chemical series</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> halogens</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Group, <!--del_lnk--> Period, <!--del_lnk--> Block</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 17, <!--del_lnk--> 6, <!--del_lnk--> p</td>
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<td><a href="../../wp/c/Color.htm" title="Color">Appearance</a></td>
<td>metallic (presumed)</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Atomic mass</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> (210) g/mol</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Electron configuration</td>
<td>[<a href="../../wp/x/Xenon.htm" title="Xenon">Xe</a>] 4f<sup>14</sup> 5d<sup>10</sup> 6s<sup>2</sup> 6p<sup>5</sup></td>
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<td><a href="../../wp/e/Electron.htm" title="Electron">Electrons</a> per <!--del_lnk--> shell</td>
<td>2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 7</td>
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<th colspan="2" style="background:#ffff99; color:black">Physical properties</th>
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<td><a href="../../wp/p/Phase_%2528matter%2529.htm" title="Phase (matter)">Phase</a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> solid</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Melting point</td>
<td>575 <!--del_lnk--> K<br /> (302 °<!--del_lnk--> C, 576 °<!--del_lnk--> F)</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Boiling point</td>
<td> ? 610 <!--del_lnk--> K<br /> (? 337 °<!--del_lnk--> C, ? 639 °<!--del_lnk--> F)</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Heat of vaporization</td>
<td>ca. 40 <!--del_lnk--> kJ·mol<sup>−1</sup></td>
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<caption><!--del_lnk--> Vapor pressure</caption>
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<td><i>P</i>/Pa</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>100</td>
<td>1 k</td>
<td>10 k</td>
<td>100 k</td>
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<td>at <i>T</i>/K</td>
<td>361</td>
<td>392</td>
<td>429</td>
<td>475</td>
<td>531</td>
<td>607</td>
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<th colspan="2" style="background:#ffff99; color:black">Atomic properties</th>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Crystal structure</td>
<td>no data</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Oxidation states</td>
<td>±1, 3, 5, 7</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Electronegativity</td>
<td>2.2 (Pauling scale)</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Ionization energies</td>
<td>1st: (est.) 920 <!--del_lnk--> kJ/mol</td>
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<th colspan="2" style="background:#ffff99; color:black">Miscellaneous</th>
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<td><a href="../../wp/m/Magnetism.htm" title="Magnetism">Magnetic ordering</a></td>
<td>no data</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Thermal conductivity</td>
<td>(300 K) 1.7 W·m<sup>−1</sup>·K<sup>−1</sup></td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> CAS registry number</td>
<td>7440-68-8</td>
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<th colspan="2" style="background:#ffff99; color:black">Selected isotopes</th>
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<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<caption>Main article: <!--del_lnk--> Isotopes of astatine</caption>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> iso</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> NA</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> half-life</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> DM</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> DE <small>(<!--del_lnk--> MeV)</small></th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> DP</th>
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<td rowspan="2"><sup>210</sup>At</td>
<td rowspan="2">100%</td>
<td rowspan="2">8.1 <!--del_lnk--> h</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> ε, <!--del_lnk--> β<sup>+</sup></td>
<td>3.981</td>
<td><sup>210</sup><a href="../../wp/p/Polonium.htm" title="Polonium">Po</a></td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> α</td>
<td>5.631</td>
<td><sup>206</sup><a href="../../wp/b/Bismuth.htm" title="Bismuth">Bi</a></td>
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<th colspan="2" style="background:#ffff99; color:black"><!--del_lnk--> References</th>
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<p><b>Astatine</b> (<!--del_lnk--> IPA: <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/ˈastətiːn/</span>) is a <a href="../../wp/c/Chemical_element.htm" title="Chemical element">chemical element</a> in the <a href="../../wp/p/Periodic_table.htm" title="Periodic table">periodic table</a> that has the symbol <b>At</b> and <!--del_lnk--> atomic number 85. This <!--del_lnk--> radioactive element occurs naturally from <a href="../../wp/u/Uranium.htm" title="Uranium">uranium</a>-235 and <a href="../../wp/u/Uranium.htm" title="Uranium">uranium</a>-238 decay; it is the heaviest of the <!--del_lnk--> halogens.<p>
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</script><a id="Notable_characteristics" name="Notable_characteristics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Notable characteristics</span></h2>
<p>This highly <!--del_lnk--> radioactive element has been confirmed by <!--del_lnk--> mass spectrometers to behave chemically much like other <!--del_lnk--> halogens, especially <a href="../../wp/i/Iodine.htm" title="Iodine">iodine</a> (it would probably accumulate in the <!--del_lnk--> thyroid gland like iodine). Astatine is thought to be more <a href="../../wp/m/Metal.htm" title="Metal">metallic</a> than iodine. Researchers at the <!--del_lnk--> Brookhaven National Laboratory have performed experiments that have identified and measured elementary reactions that involve astatine; however, chemical research into astatine is limited by its extreme rarity, which is a result of its extremely short <!--del_lnk--> half-life.<p>Astatine is the rarest naturally-occurring element, with the total amount in Earth's crust estimated to be less than 1 <!--del_lnk--> oz (28 g) at any given time; this amounts to less than one teaspoon of the element. The <!--del_lnk--> Guinness Book of Records has dubbed the element the rarest on Earth, stating: "Only around 0.9 oz (25 <!--del_lnk--> g) of the element astatine (At) occurring naturally"; <a href="../../wp/i/Isaac_Asimov.htm" title="Isaac Asimov">Isaac Asimov</a> wrote a 1955 essay on <!--del_lnk--> large numbers, <!--del_lnk--> scientific notation, and the size of the atom, in which he stated that the number of astatine atoms on Earth at any time was "only a <!--del_lnk--> trillion".<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>The existence of "eka-iodine" had been predicted by <!--del_lnk--> Mendeleev. Astatine (after <!--del_lnk--> Greek αστατος <i>astatos</i>, meaning "unsteady") was first synthesized in <!--del_lnk--> 1940 by <!--del_lnk--> Dale R. Corson, <!--del_lnk--> K. R. MacKenzie, and <!--del_lnk--> Emilio Segrè at the <!--del_lnk--> University of California, Berkeley by barraging <a href="../../wp/b/Bismuth.htm" title="Bismuth">bismuth</a> with <!--del_lnk--> alpha particles. An earlier name for the element was <i>alabamine</i> (Ab).<p><a id="Occurrence" name="Occurrence"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Occurrence</span></h2>
<p>Astatine is produced by bombarding <a href="../../wp/b/Bismuth.htm" title="Bismuth">bismuth</a> with energetic <!--del_lnk--> alpha particles to obtain relatively long-lived <sup>209</sup>At - <sup>211</sup>At, which can then be <!--del_lnk--> distilled from the target by heating in the presence of air.<p><a id="Compounds" name="Compounds"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Compounds</span></h2>
<p>Multiple <!--del_lnk--> compounds of astatine have been synthesized in microscopic amounts and studied as intensively as possible before their inevitable radioactive disintegration. These compounds are primarily of theoretical interest; however, they are also being studied for potential use in <!--del_lnk--> nuclear medicine.<p>
<br />
<p><a id="Isotopes" name="Isotopes"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Isotopes</span></h2>
<p>Astatine has 33 known <!--del_lnk--> isotopes, all of which are <!--del_lnk--> radioactive; the range of their mass numbers is from 191 to 223. There exist also 23 <!--del_lnk--> metastable <!--del_lnk--> excited states. The longest-lived isotope is <sup>210</sup>At, which has a <!--del_lnk--> half-life of 8.1 hours; the shortest-lived known isotope is <sup>213</sup>At, which has a half-life of 125 <!--del_lnk--> nanoseconds.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astatine"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Asteroid</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Physics.Space_Astronomy.htm">Space (Astronomy)</a></h3>
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<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/649.jpg.htm" title="253 Mathilde, a C-type asteroid."><img alt="253 Mathilde, a C-type asteroid." height="161" longdesc="/wiki/Image:%28253%29_mathilde.jpg" src="../../images/6/649.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/649.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> 253 Mathilde, a <!--del_lnk--> C-type asteroid.</div>
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<p><b>Asteroids</b>, also called minor planets or planetoids, are a class of <!--del_lnk--> astronomical object. The term asteroid is generally used to indicate a diverse group of small celestial bodies that drift in the <a href="../../wp/s/Solar_System.htm" title="Solar system">solar system</a> in orbit around the <a href="../../wp/s/Sun.htm" title="Sun">Sun</a>. <i>Asteroid</i> (Greek for "star-like") is the word used most in the English literature for <!--del_lnk--> minor planets, which has been the term preferred by the <!--del_lnk--> International Astronomical Union; some other languages prefer <i>planetoid</i> (Greek: "planet-like"), because it more accurately describes what they are. In late <!--del_lnk--> August 2006, the IAU introduced the term "<!--del_lnk--> small solar system bodies" (SSSBs), which includes most objects thusfar classified as minor planets, as well as <a href="../../wp/c/Comet.htm" title="Comet">comets</a>. At the same time they introduced the term <i><!--del_lnk--> dwarf planet</i> for the largest minor planets. This article deals specifically with the minor planets that orbit in the inner solar system (roughly up to the orbit of <!--del_lnk--> Jupiter). For other types of objects, such as <!--del_lnk--> comets, <!--del_lnk--> Trans-Neptunian objects, and <!--del_lnk--> Centaurs, see <!--del_lnk--> Small solar system body.<p>The first asteroid to be discovered, <a href="../../wp/1/1_Ceres.htm" title="1 Ceres">Ceres</a>, is the largest asteroid known to date and is now classified as a <!--del_lnk--> dwarf planet. All others are currently classified as <!--del_lnk--> small solar system bodies. The vast majority of asteroids are found within the main <!--del_lnk--> asteroid belt, with <!--del_lnk--> elliptical orbits between those of <!--del_lnk--> Mars and <a href="../../wp/j/Jupiter.htm" title="Jupiter">Jupiter</a>. It is thought that these asteroids are remnants of the <!--del_lnk--> protoplanetary disc, and in this region the incorporation of protoplanetary remnants into the planets was prevented by large gravitational perturbations induced by <a href="../../wp/j/Jupiter.htm" title="Jupiter">Jupiter</a> during the formative period of the solar system. Some asteroids have <!--del_lnk--> moons or are found in pairs known as <!--del_lnk--> binary systems.<p>
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</script><a id="Asteroids_in_the_solar_system" name="Asteroids_in_the_solar_system"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Asteroids in the solar system</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/650.png.htm" title="Left to right: 4 Vesta, 1 Ceres, Earth's Moon."><img alt="Left to right: 4 Vesta, 1 Ceres, Earth's Moon." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:4_Vesta_1_Ceres_Moon_at_20_km_per_px.png" src="../../images/6/650.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/650.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Left to right: <a href="../../wp/4/4_Vesta.htm" title="4 Vesta">4 Vesta</a>, <a href="../../wp/1/1_Ceres.htm" title="1 Ceres">1 Ceres</a>, Earth's <a href="../../wp/m/Moon.htm" title="Moon">Moon</a>.</div>
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<p>Hundreds of thousands of asteroids have been discovered within the solar system and the present rate of discovery is about 5000 per month. As of <!--del_lnk--> September 17, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, from a total of 341,328 registered minor planets, 136,563 have orbits known well enough to be given <!--del_lnk--> permanent official numbers. Of these, 13,479 have official names. The lowest-numbered but unnamed minor planet is <!--del_lnk--> (3708) 1974 FV1.; the highest-numbered named minor planet (other than the <!--del_lnk--> dwarf planet <b><!--del_lnk--> 136199 Eris</b>) is <!--del_lnk--> 135268 Haignere.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/651.jpg.htm" title="Location of the Main Belt asteroids"><img alt="Location of the Main Belt asteroids" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Asteroid_Belt.jpg" src="../../images/6/651.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/651.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Location of the Main Belt asteroids</div>
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<p>Current estimates put the total number of asteroids above 1 km in diameter in the solar system to be between 1.1 and 1.9 million. The largest asteroid in the inner solar system is <a href="../../wp/1/1_Ceres.htm" title="1 Ceres">1 Ceres</a>, with a diameter of 900-1000 km. Two other large inner solar system belt asteroids are <!--del_lnk--> 2 Pallas and <a href="../../wp/4/4_Vesta.htm" title="4 Vesta">4 Vesta</a>; both have diameters of ~500 km. Vesta is the only main belt asteroid that is sometimes visible to the naked eye (in some very rare occasions, a near-Earth asteroid may be visible without technical aid; see <!--del_lnk--> 99942 Apophis).<p>The mass of all the asteroids of the Main Belt is estimated to be about 3.0-3.6×10<sup>21</sup> kg, or about 4% of the mass of our moon. Of this, <a href="../../wp/1/1_Ceres.htm" title="1 Ceres">1 Ceres</a> comprises 0.95×10<sup>21</sup> kg, some 32% of the total. Adding in the next three most massive asteroids, <a href="../../wp/4/4_Vesta.htm" title="4 Vesta">4 Vesta</a> (9%), <!--del_lnk--> 2 Pallas (7%), and <!--del_lnk--> 10 Hygiea (3%), bring this figure up to 51%; while the three after that, <!--del_lnk--> 511 Davida (1.2%), <!--del_lnk--> 704 Interamnia (1.0%), and <a href="../../wp/3/3_Juno.htm" title="3 Juno">3 Juno</a> (0.9%), only add another 3% to the total mass. The number of asteroids then increases rapidly as their individual masses decrease.<p><a id="Asteroid_classification" name="Asteroid_classification"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Asteroid classification</span></h2>
<p>Asteroids are commonly classified into groups based on the characteristics of their orbits and on the details of the <!--del_lnk--> spectrum of sunlight they reflect.<p><a id="Orbit_groups_and_families" name="Orbit_groups_and_families"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Orbit groups and families</span></h3>
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<p>Many asteroids have been placed in groups and families based on their orbital characteristics. It is customary to name a group of asteroids after the first member of that group to be discovered. Groups are relatively loose dynamical associations, whereas families are much "tighter" and result from the catastrophic break-up of a large parent asteroid sometime in the past.<p>For a full listing of known asteroid groups and families, see <!--del_lnk--> minor planet and <!--del_lnk--> asteroid family.<p><a id="Spectral_classification" name="Spectral_classification"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Spectral classification</span></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/652.jpg.htm" title="This picture of 433 Eros shows the view looking from one end of the asteroid across the gouge on its underside and toward the opposite end. Features as small as 35 m across can be seen."><img alt="This picture of 433 Eros shows the view looking from one end of the asteroid across the gouge on its underside and toward the opposite end. Features as small as 35 m across can be seen." height="121" longdesc="/wiki/Image:433eros.jpg" src="../../images/6/652.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/652.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> This picture of <!--del_lnk--> 433 Eros shows the view looking from one end of the asteroid across the gouge on its underside and toward the opposite end. Features as small as 35 m across can be seen.</div>
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<p>In 1975, an asteroid <!--del_lnk--> taxonomic system based on <a href="../../wp/c/Color.htm" title="Colour">colour</a>, <!--del_lnk--> albedo, and <!--del_lnk--> spectral shape was developed by <!--del_lnk--> Clark R. Chapman, <!--del_lnk--> David Morrison, and <!--del_lnk--> Ben Zellner. These properties are thought to correspond to the composition of the asteroid's surface material. Originally, they classified only three types of asteroids:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> C-type asteroids - carbonaceous, 75% of known asteroids<li><!--del_lnk--> S-type asteroids - silicaceous, 17% of known asteroids<li><!--del_lnk--> M-type asteroids - metallic, 8% of known asteroids</ul>
<p>This list has since been expanded to include a number of other asteroid types. The number of types continues to grow as more asteroids are studied. See <!--del_lnk--> Asteroid spectral types for more detail or <!--del_lnk--> Category:Asteroid spectral classes for a list.<p>Note that the proportion of known asteroids falling into the various spectral types does not necessarily reflect the proportion of all asteroids that are of that type; some types are easier to detect than others, biasing the totals.<p><a id="Problems_with_spectral_classification" name="Problems_with_spectral_classification"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Problems with spectral classification</span></h4>
<p>Originally, spectral designations were based on inferences of an asteroid's composition:<ul>
<li>C - <!--del_lnk--> Carbonaceous<li>S - <!--del_lnk--> Silicaceous<li>M - <!--del_lnk--> Metallic</ul>
<p>However, the correspondence between spectral class and composition is not always very good, and there are a variety of classifications in use. This has led to significant confusion. While asteroids of different spectral classifications are likely to be composed of different materials, there are no assurances that asteroids within the same taxonomic class are composed of similar materials.<p>At present, the spectral classification based on several coarse resolution spectroscopic surveys in the 1990s is still the standard. Scientists have been unable to agree on a better taxonomic system, largely due to the difficulty of obtaining detailed measurements consistently for a large sample of asteroids (e.g. finer resolution spectra, or non-spectral data such as densities would be very useful).<p><a id="Asteroid_discovery" name="Asteroid_discovery"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Asteroid discovery</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/653.jpg.htm" title="243 Ida and its moon Dactyl, the first satellite of an asteroid to be discovered."><img alt="243 Ida and its moon Dactyl, the first satellite of an asteroid to be discovered." height="130" longdesc="/wiki/Image:243_ida.jpg" src="../../images/6/653.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/653.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> 243 Ida and its moon Dactyl, the first satellite of an asteroid to be discovered.</div>
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<p><a id="Historical_discovery_methods" name="Historical_discovery_methods"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Historical discovery methods</span></h3>
<p>Asteroid discovery methods have drastically improved over the past two centuries.<p>In the last years of the 18th century, Baron <!--del_lnk--> Franz Xaver von Zach organized a group of 24 astronomers to search the sky for the "missing planet" predicted at about 2.8 <!--del_lnk--> AU from the <a href="../../wp/s/Sun.htm" title="Sun">Sun</a> by the <!--del_lnk--> Titius-Bode law, partly as a consequence of the discovery, by Sir <!--del_lnk--> William Herschel in 1781, of the planet <!--del_lnk--> Uranus at the distance "predicted" by the law. This task required that hand-drawn sky charts be prepared for all stars in the <!--del_lnk--> zodiacal band down to an agreed-upon limit of faintness. On subsequent nights, the sky would be charted again and any moving object would, hopefully, be spotted. The expected motion of the missing planet was about 30 seconds of arc per hour, readily discernable by observers.<p>Ironically, the first asteroid, <a href="../../wp/1/1_Ceres.htm" title="1 Ceres">1 Ceres</a>, was not discovered by a member of the group, but rather by accident in 1801 by <!--del_lnk--> Giuseppe Piazzi, director of the observatory of <!--del_lnk--> Palermo in <!--del_lnk--> Sicily. He discovered a new star-like object in <!--del_lnk--> Taurus and followed the displacement of this object during several nights. His colleague, <a href="../../wp/c/Carl_Friedrich_Gauss.htm" title="Carl Friedrich Gauss">Carl Friedrich Gauss</a>, used these observations to determine the exact distance from this unknown object to the Earth. Gauss' calculations placed the object between the planets <!--del_lnk--> Mars and <!--del_lnk--> Jupiter. Piazzi named it after <!--del_lnk--> Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture.<p>Three other asteroids (<!--del_lnk--> 2 Pallas, <a href="../../wp/3/3_Juno.htm" title="3 Juno">3 Juno</a>, and <a href="../../wp/4/4_Vesta.htm" title="4 Vesta">4 Vesta</a>) were discovered over the next few years, with Vesta found in 1807. After eight more years of fruitless searches, most astronomers assumed that there were no more and abandoned any further searches.<p>However, <!--del_lnk--> Karl Ludwig Hencke persisted, and began searching for more asteroids in 1830. Fifteen years later, he found <!--del_lnk--> 5 Astraea, the first new asteroid in 38 years. He also found <!--del_lnk--> 6 Hebe less than two years later. After this, other astronomers joined in the search and at least one new asteroid was discovered every year after that (except the wartime year 1945). Notable asteroid hunters of this early era were <!--del_lnk--> J. R. Hind, <!--del_lnk--> Annibale de Gasparis, <!--del_lnk--> Robert Luther, <!--del_lnk--> H. M. S. Goldschmidt, <!--del_lnk--> Jean Chacornac, <!--del_lnk--> James Ferguson, <!--del_lnk--> Norman Robert Pogson, <!--del_lnk--> E. W. Tempel, <!--del_lnk--> J. C. Watson, <!--del_lnk--> C. H. F. Peters, <!--del_lnk--> A. Borrelly, <!--del_lnk--> J. Palisa, <!--del_lnk--> Paul Henry and Prosper Henry and <!--del_lnk--> Auguste Charlois.<p>In 1891, however, <!--del_lnk--> Max Wolf pioneered the use of <!--del_lnk--> astrophotography to detect asteroids, which appeared as short streaks on long-exposure photographic plates. This drastically increased the rate of detection compared with previous visual methods: Wolf alone discovered 248 asteroids, beginning with <!--del_lnk--> 323 Brucia, whereas only slightly more than 300 had been discovered up to that point. Still, a century later, only a few thousand asteroids were identified, numbered and named. It was known that there were many more, but most astronomers did not bother with them, calling them "vermin of the skies".<p><a id="Modern_discovery_methods" name="Modern_discovery_methods"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Modern discovery methods</span></h3>
<p>Until 1998, asteroids were discovered by a four-step process. First, a region of the sky was <!--del_lnk--> photographed by a wide-field <a href="../../wp/t/Telescope.htm" title="Telescope">telescope</a> (usually an <!--del_lnk--> Astrograph). Pairs of photographs were taken, typically one hour apart. Multiple pairs could be taken over a series of days. Second, the two <a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Film">films</a> of the same region were viewed under a <!--del_lnk--> stereoscope. Any body in orbit around the Sun would move slightly between the pair of films. Under the stereoscope, the image of the body would appear to float slightly above the background of stars. Third, once a moving body was identified, its location would be measured precisely using a digitizing microscope. The location would be measured relative to known star locations.<p>These first three steps do not constitute asteroid discovery: the observer has only found an <!--del_lnk--> apparition, which gets a <!--del_lnk--> provisional designation, made up of the year of discovery, a letter representing the week of discovery, and finally a letter and a number indicating the discovery's sequential number (example: 1998 FJ<sub>74</sub>).<p>The final step of discovery is to send the locations and time of observations to <!--del_lnk--> Brian Marsden of the <!--del_lnk--> Minor Planet Centre. Dr. Marsden has computer programs that compute whether an apparition ties together previous apparitions into a single orbit. If so, the object gets a number. The observer of the first apparition with a calculated orbit is declared the discoverer, and he gets the honour of naming the asteroid (subject to the approval of the <!--del_lnk--> International Astronomical Union) once it is numbered.<p><a id="Latest_technology:_detecting_hazardous_asteroids" name="Latest_technology:_detecting_hazardous_asteroids"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Latest technology: detecting hazardous asteroids</span></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/654.gif.htm" title=" 2004 FH is the centre dot being followed by the sequence; the object that flashes by during the clip is a satellite."><img alt=" 2004 FH is the centre dot being followed by the sequence; the object that flashes by during the clip is a satellite." height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Asteroid_2004_FH.gif" src="../../images/6/654.gif" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/654.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> 2004 FH is the centre dot being followed by the sequence; the object that flashes by during the clip is a satellite.</div>
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<p>There is increasing interest in identifying asteroids whose orbits cross <a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">Earth's</a> orbit, and that could, given enough time, collide with Earth (see <!--del_lnk--> Earth-crosser asteroids). The three most important groups of <!--del_lnk--> near-Earth asteroids are the <!--del_lnk--> Apollos, <!--del_lnk--> Amors, and the <!--del_lnk--> Atens. Various <!--del_lnk--> asteroid deflection strategies have been proposed.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> near-Earth asteroid <!--del_lnk--> 433 Eros had been discovered as long ago as 1898, and the 1930s brought a flurry of similar objects. In order of discovery, these were: <!--del_lnk--> 1221 Amor, <!--del_lnk--> 1862 Apollo, <!--del_lnk--> 2101 Adonis, and finally <!--del_lnk--> 69230 Hermes, which approached within 0.005 <!--del_lnk--> AU of the <a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">Earth</a> in 1937. Astronomers began to realize the possibilities of Earth impact.<p>Two events in later decades increased the level of alarm: the increasing acceptance of <!--del_lnk--> Walter Alvarez' theory of <!--del_lnk--> dinosaur extinction being due to an <!--del_lnk--> impact event, and the 1994 observation of <a href="../../wp/c/Comet_Shoemaker-Levy_9.htm" title="Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9">Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9</a> crashing into <!--del_lnk--> Jupiter. The U.S. military also declassified the information that its military satellites, built to detect nuclear explosions, had detected hundreds of upper-atmosphere impacts by objects ranging from one to 10 metres across.<p>All of these considerations helped spur the launch of highly efficient automated systems that consist of Charge-Coupled Device (<!--del_lnk--> CCD) cameras and computers directly connected to telescopes. Since 1998, a large majority of the asteroids have been discovered by such automated systems. A list of teams using such automated systems includes:<ul>
<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) team<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) team<li><!--del_lnk--> Spacewatch<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Lowell Observatory Near-Earth-Object Search (LONEOS) team<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Catalina Sky Survey (CSS)<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Campo Imperatore Near-Earth Objects Survey (CINEOS) team<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Japanese Spaceguard Association<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Asiago-DLR Asteroid Survey (ADAS)</ul>
<p>The LINEAR system alone has discovered 71,770 asteroids, as of <!--del_lnk--> November 9, <!--del_lnk--> 2006. Between all of the automated systems, 4286 near-Earth asteroids have been discovered including over 600 more than 1 km in diameter.<p><a id="Naming_asteroids" name="Naming_asteroids"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Naming asteroids</span></h2>
<p><a id="Overview:_naming_conventions" name="Overview:_naming_conventions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Overview: naming conventions</span></h3>
<p>A newly discovered asteroid is given a <!--del_lnk--> provisional designation consisting of the year of discovery and an alphanumeric code (such as <!--del_lnk--> 2002 AT<sub>4</sub>). Once its orbit has been confirmed, it is given a number, and later may also be given a name (e.g. <!--del_lnk--> 433 Eros). The formal naming convention uses parentheses around the number (e.g. <i>(433) Eros</i>), but dropping the parentheses is quite common. Informally, it is common to drop the number altogether, or to drop it after the first mention when a name is repeated in running text.<p>Asteroids that have been given a number but not a name keep their provisional designation, <i>e.g</i>. <!--del_lnk--> (29075) 1950 DA. As modern discovery techniques are discovering vast numbers of new asteroids, they are increasingly being left unnamed. The first asteroid to be left unnamed was for a long time <!--del_lnk--> (3360) 1981 VA, now <!--del_lnk--> 3360 Syrinx; as of November 2006, this distinction is now held by <!--del_lnk--> (3708) 1974 FV<sub>1</sub>. On rare occasions, an asteroid's <!--del_lnk--> provisional designation may become used as a name in itself: the still unnamed <!--del_lnk--> (15760) 1992 QB<sub>1</sub> gave its name to a group of asteroids which became known as <!--del_lnk--> cubewanos.<p><a id="Numbering_asteroids" name="Numbering_asteroids"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Numbering asteroids</span></h3>
<p>Asteroids are awarded with an official number once their orbits are confirmed. With the increasing rapidity of asteroid discovery, asteroids are currently being awarded six-figure numbers. The switch from five figures to six figures arrived with the publication of the <!--del_lnk--> Minor Planet Circular (MPC) of <!--del_lnk--> October 19, <!--del_lnk--> 2005, which saw the highest numbered asteroid jump from 99947 to 118161. This change caused a small "<!--del_lnk--> Y2k"-like crisis for various automated data services, since only five digits were allowed in most data formats for the asteroid number. Most services have now widened the asteroid number field. For those which did not, the problem has been addressed in some cases by having the leftmost digit (the ten-thousands place) use the alphabet as a digit extension. A=10, B=11,…, Z=35, a=36,…, z=61. A high number such as 120437 is thus cross-referenced as C0437 on some lists.<h3> <span class="mw-headline">Special naming rules</span></h3>
<p>Asteroid naming is not always a free-for-all: there are some types of asteroid for which rules have developed about the sources of names. For instance <!--del_lnk--> Centaurs (asteroids orbiting between Saturn and Neptune) are all named after mythological <!--del_lnk--> centaurs, <!--del_lnk--> Trojans after heroes from the <a href="../../wp/t/Trojan_War.htm" title="Trojan War">Trojan War</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> trans-Neptunian objects after underworld spirits.<p>Another well-established rule is that comets are named after their discoverer(s), whereas asteroids are not. One way to "circumvent" this rule has been for astronomers to exchange the courtesy of naming their discoveries after each other. A particular exception to this rule is <!--del_lnk--> 96747 Crespodasilva, which was named after its discoverer, <!--del_lnk--> Lucy d'Escoffier Crespo da Silva, because she sadly died shortly after the discovery, at age 22.<p><a id="Asteroid_symbols" name="Asteroid_symbols"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Asteroid symbols</span></h3>
<p>The first few asteroids discovered were assigned symbols like the ones traditionally used to designate Earth, the Moon, the Sun and planets. The symbols quickly became ungainly, hard to draw and recognise. By the end of 1851 there were 15 known asteroids, each (except one) with its own symbol. The first four's main variants are shown here:<dl>
<dd><a href="../../wp/1/1_Ceres.htm" title="1 Ceres">1 Ceres</a> <a class="image" href="../../images/230/23018.png.htm" title="Old planetary symbol of Ceres"><img alt="Old planetary symbol of Ceres" height="26" longdesc="/wiki/Image:1_Ceres_%280%29.png" src="../../images/6/655.png" width="15" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Variant symbol of Ceres" height="26" longdesc="/wiki/Image:1_Ceres_%281%29.png" src="../../images/20/2096.png" width="15" /> <!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Sickle variant symbol of Ceres" height="25" longdesc="/wiki/Image:1_Ceres_%282%29.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="15" /> <a class="image" href="../../images/230/23020.png.htm" title="Other sickle variant symbol of Ceres"><img alt="Other sickle variant symbol of Ceres" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:1_Ceres_%283%29.png" src="../../images/6/658.png" width="20" /></a><dd><!--del_lnk--> 2 Pallas <a class="image" href="../../images/6/659.png.htm" title="Old symbol of Pallas"><img alt="Old symbol of Pallas" height="23" longdesc="/wiki/Image:2Pallas_symbol.svg" src="../../images/6/659.png" width="15" /></a> <a class="image" href="../../images/6/660.png.htm" title="Variant symbol of Pallas"><img alt="Variant symbol of Pallas" height="24" longdesc="/wiki/Image:2_Pallas_%281%29.png" src="../../images/6/660.png" width="15" /></a><dd><a href="../../wp/3/3_Juno.htm" title="3 Juno">3 Juno</a> <!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Old symbol of Juno" height="25" longdesc="/wiki/Image:3_Juno_%280%29.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="15" /> <a class="image" href="../../images/6/662.png.htm" title="Other symbol of Juno"><img alt="Other symbol of Juno" height="26" longdesc="/wiki/Image:3_Juno_%281%29.png" src="../../images/6/662.png" width="15" /></a><dd><a href="../../wp/4/4_Vesta.htm" title="4 Vesta">4 Vesta</a> <a class="image" href="../../images/6/663.png.htm" title="Old symbol of Vesta"><img alt="Old symbol of Vesta" height="23" longdesc="/wiki/Image:4_Vesta_%280%29.png" src="../../images/6/663.png" width="15" /></a> <a class="image" href="../../images/6/664.jpg.htm" title="Old planetary symbol of Vesta"><img alt="Old planetary symbol of Vesta" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:100px-Simbolo_di_Vesta.jpg" src="../../images/6/664.jpg" width="15" /></a> <a class="image" href="../../images/6/665.png.htm" title="Modern astrological symbol of Vesta"><img alt="Modern astrological symbol of Vesta" height="21" longdesc="/wiki/Image:4_Vesta_%281%29.png" src="../../images/6/665.png" width="15" /></a></dl>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Johann Franz Encke made a major change in the <i>Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch</i> (BAJ, "Berlin Astronomical Yearbook") for 1854. He introduced encircled numbers instead of symbols, although his numbering began with <!--del_lnk--> Astraea, the first four asteroids continuing to be denoted by their traditional symbols. This symbolic innovation was adopted very quickly by the astronomical community. The following year (1855), Astraea's number was bumped up to 5, but Ceres through Vesta would be listed by their numbers only in the 1867 edition. A few more asteroids (<!--del_lnk--> 28 Bellona, <!--del_lnk--> 35 Leukothea, and <!--del_lnk--> 37 Fides) would be given symbols as well as using the numbering scheme.<p>The circle would become a pair of parentheses, and the parentheses sometimes omitted altogether over the next few decades.<p><a id="Asteroid_exploration" name="Asteroid_exploration"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Asteroid exploration</span></h2>
<p>Until the age of <!--del_lnk--> space travel, asteroids were merely pinpricks of light in even the largest telescopes and their shapes and terrain remained a mystery.<p>The first <!--del_lnk--> close-up photographs of asteroid-like objects were taken in 1971 when the <!--del_lnk--> Mariner 9 probe imaged <!--del_lnk--> Phobos and <!--del_lnk--> Deimos, the two small moons of <!--del_lnk--> Mars, which are probably captured asteroids. These images revealed the irregular, potato-like shapes of most asteroids, as did subsequent images from the <!--del_lnk--> Voyager probes of the small moons of the <a href="../../wp/g/Gas_giant.htm" title="Gas giant">gas giants</a>.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/666.jpg.htm" title="951 Gaspra, the first asteroid to be imaged in close up."><img alt="951 Gaspra, the first asteroid to be imaged in close up." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:951_Gaspra.jpg" src="../../images/6/666.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/666.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> 951 Gaspra, the first asteroid to be imaged in close up.</div>
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<p>The first true asteroid to be photographed in close-up was <!--del_lnk--> 951 Gaspra in 1991, followed in 1993 by <!--del_lnk--> 243 Ida and its moon <!--del_lnk--> Dactyl, all of which were imaged by the <!--del_lnk--> Galileo probe <i>en route</i> to <!--del_lnk--> Jupiter.<p>The first dedicated asteroid probe was <!--del_lnk--> NEAR Shoemaker, which photographed <!--del_lnk--> 253 Mathilde in 1997, before entering into orbit around <!--del_lnk--> 433 Eros, finally landing on its surface in 2001.<p>Other asteroids briefly visited by spacecraft <i>en route</i> to other destinations include <!--del_lnk--> 9969 Braille (by <!--del_lnk--> Deep Space 1 in 1999), and <!--del_lnk--> 5535 Annefrank (by <!--del_lnk--> Stardust in 2002).<p>In September 2005, the Japanese <!--del_lnk--> Hayabusa probe started studying <!--del_lnk--> 25143 Itokawa in detail and will return samples of its surface to earth. Following that, the next asteroid encounters will involve the European <!--del_lnk--> Rosetta probe (launched in 2004), which will study <!--del_lnk--> 2867 Šteins and <!--del_lnk--> 21 Lutetia in 2008 and 2010.<p><!--del_lnk--> NASA is planning to launch the <!--del_lnk--> Dawn Mission in 2007, which will orbit <a href="../../wp/1/1_Ceres.htm" title="1 Ceres">1 Ceres</a> and <a href="../../wp/4/4_Vesta.htm" title="4 Vesta">4 Vesta</a> in 2011-2015, with its mission possibly then extended to <!--del_lnk--> 2 Pallas.<p>It has been suggested that asteroids might be used in the future as a source of materials which may be rare or exhausted on earth (<!--del_lnk--> asteroid mining).<p><a id="Asteroids_in_fiction" name="Asteroids_in_fiction"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Asteroids in fiction</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
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<p>A common depiction of asteroids (and less often, of <!--del_lnk--> Comets) in fiction is as a threat, whose impact on Earth could result with incalculable damage and loss of life. This has a basis in scientific hypotheses regarding such impacts in the distant past as responsible for the extinction of the <a href="../../wp/d/Dinosaur.htm" title="Dinosaurs">Dinosaurs</a> and other past catastrophes —though, as they seem to occur within tens of millions of years of each other, there is no special reason (other than creating a dramatic story line) to expect a new such impact at any close millennium.<p>Another way in which asteroids could be considered a source of danger is by depicting them as a hazard to navigation, especially threatening to ships travelling from Earth to the outer parts of the Solar System and thus needing to pass the Asteroid Belt (or make a time- and fuel-consuming detour around it). In this context, asteroids serve the same role in space travel stories as reefs and underwater rocks in the older genre of sea-faring adventure stories. And like reefs and rocks in the ocean, asteroids as navigation hazards can also be used by bold outlaws to avoid pursuit. Representations of the Asteroid Belt in film tend to make it unrealistically cluttered with dangerous rocks. In reality asteroids, even in the main belt, are spaced extremely far apart.<p>Before colonization of the asteroids became an attractive possibility, a main interest in them was theories as to their origin - specifically, the theory that the asteroids are remnants of an exploded planet. This naturally leads to SF plotlines dealing with the possibility that the planet had been inhabited, and if so - that the inhabitants caused its destruction themselves, by war or gross environmental mismanagement. A further extension is from the past of the existing asteroids to the possible future destruction of Earth or other planets and their rendering into new asteroids.<p>When the theme of interplanetary colonization first entered SF, the Asteroid Belt was quite low on the list of desirable real estate, far behind such planets as <a href="../../wp/m/Mars.htm" title="Mars">Mars</a> and <a href="../../wp/v/Venus.htm" title="Venus">Venus</a> (often conceived as a kind of paradise planet, until probes in the 1960s revealed the appalling temperatures and conditions under its clouds). Thus, in many stories and books the Asteroid Belt, if not a positive hazard, is still a rarely-visited backwater in a colonized Solar System.<p>The prospects of colonizing the Solar System planets became more dim with increasing discoveries about conditions on them. Conversely, the potential value of the asteroids increased, as a vast accumulation of mineral wealth, accessible in conditions of minimal gravity, and supplementing Earth's dwindling resources. Stories of asteroid mining became more and more numerous since the late 1940s, with the next logical step being depictions of a society on terraformed asteroids —in some cases dug under the surface, in others having dome colonies and in still others provided with an atmosphere which is kept in place by an artificial gravity. An image developed and was carried from writer to writer, of "Belters" or "Rock Rats" as rugged and independent-minded individuals, resentful of all Authority (in some books and stories of the military and political power of Earth-bound nation states, in others of the corporate power of huge companies). As such, this sub-genre proved naturally attractive to writers with <!--del_lnk--> Libertarian tendencies. Moreover, depictions of the Asteroid Belt as The New Frontier clearly draw (sometimes explicitly) on the considerable literature of the Nineteenth-Century <!--del_lnk--> Frontier and the <!--del_lnk--> Wild West.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Asthma</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Health_and_medicine.htm">Health and medicine</a></h3>
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<table class="infobox" style="width: 20em; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<caption style="background: lightgrey; font-size: 95%;"><b>Bronchial Asthma</b><br /><i>Classifications and external resources</i></caption>
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<div class="floatnone"><span><!--del_lnk--> Image:Inhaler girl.png</span></div>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"><small>Young asthmatic girl using an <!--del_lnk--> inhaler attached to a <!--del_lnk--> spacer.</small></td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> ICD-<!--del_lnk--> 10</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> J<!--del_lnk--> 45.</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> ICD-<!--del_lnk--> 9</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 493</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> OMIM</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 600807</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> DiseasesDB</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1006</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> MedlinePlus</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 000141</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> eMedicine</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> med/177 <!--del_lnk--> emerg/43</td>
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<td><b><!--del_lnk--> MeSH</b></td>
<td colspan="2"><i><!--del_lnk--> C08.127.108</i></td>
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<p><b>Asthma</b> is a <!--del_lnk--> disease of the <!--del_lnk--> respiratory system in which the <!--del_lnk--> airways constrict, become inflamed, and are lined with excessive amounts of mucus, often in response to one or more "triggers," such as exposure to an environmental stimulant (or <!--del_lnk--> allergen), cold air, <!--del_lnk--> exercise, or emotional <!--del_lnk--> stress. In children, the most common triggers are viral illnesses such as those that cause the common cold. This airway narrowing causes <!--del_lnk--> symptoms such as <!--del_lnk--> wheezing, <!--del_lnk--> shortness of breath, chest tightness, and <!--del_lnk--> coughing, which respond to <!--del_lnk--> bronchodilators. Between episodes, most patients feel fine.<p>The disorder is a <!--del_lnk--> chronic or recurring <!--del_lnk--> inflammatory condition in which the <!--del_lnk--> airways develop increased responsiveness to various stimuli, characterized by <!--del_lnk--> bronchial hyper-responsiveness, <!--del_lnk--> inflammation, increased <!--del_lnk--> mucus production, and intermittent airway obstruction. The symptoms of asthma, which can range from mild to life threatening, can usually be controlled with a combination of <!--del_lnk--> drugs and environmental changes.<p>Public attention in the <!--del_lnk--> developed world has recently focused on asthma because of its rapidly increasing <!--del_lnk--> prevalence, affecting up to one in four urban children. Susceptibility to asthma can be explained in part by <a href="../../wp/g/Genetics.htm" title="Genetics">genetic</a> factors, but no clear pattern of <!--del_lnk--> inheritance has been found. Asthma is a complex disease that is influenced by multiple genetic, <!--del_lnk--> developmental, and environmental factors, which interact to produce the overall condition.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>The word <i>asthma</i> is derived from the <!--del_lnk--> Greek <i>aazein</i>, meaning "sharp breath." The word first appears in Homer's <i><!--del_lnk--> Iliad</i>; <a href="../../wp/h/Hippocrates.htm" title="Hippocrates">Hippocrates</a> was the first to use it in reference to the medical condition. Hippocrates thought that the spasms associated with asthma were more likely to occur in tailors, anglers, and metalworkers. Six centuries later, <!--del_lnk--> Galen wrote much about asthma, noting that it was caused by partial or complete bronchial obstruction. <!--del_lnk--> Moses Maimonides, an influential medieval <!--del_lnk--> rabbi, philosopher, and physician, wrote a treatise on asthma, describing its prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. In the 17th century, <!--del_lnk--> Bernardino Ramazzini noted a connection between asthma and <!--del_lnk--> organic dust. The use of <!--del_lnk--> bronchodilators started in 1901, but it was not until the 1960s that the inflammatory component of asthma was recognized, and <!--del_lnk--> anti-inflammatory medications were added to the regimen.<p><a id="Signs_and_symptoms" name="Signs_and_symptoms"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Signs and symptoms</span></h2>
<p>In some individuals asthma is characterized by chronic respiratory impairment. In others it is an intermittent illness marked by episodic symptoms that may result from a number of triggering events, including upper respiratory infection, airborne allergens, and exercise.<p>An acute exacerbation of asthma is referred to as an <i>asthma attack</i>. The clinical hallmarks of an attack are shortness of breath (<!--del_lnk--> dyspnea) and either <!--del_lnk--> wheezing or <!--del_lnk--> stridor. Although the latter is "often regarded as the <i><!--del_lnk--> sine qua non</i> of asthma," some victims present primarily with coughing, and in the late stages of an attack, air motion may be so impaired that no wheezing may be heard. When present the cough may sometimes produce clear <!--del_lnk--> sputum. The onset may be sudden, with a sense of constriction in the chest, breathing becomes difficult, and wheezing occurs (primarily upon expiration, but can be in both <!--del_lnk--> respiratory phases).<p><!--del_lnk--> Signs of an asthmatic episode or <!--del_lnk--> asthma attack are either <!--del_lnk--> stridor or <!--del_lnk--> wheezing, rapid breathing (<!--del_lnk--> tachypnea), prolonged expiration, a rapid heart rate (<!--del_lnk--> tachycardia), <!--del_lnk--> rhonchous lung sounds (audible through a <!--del_lnk--> stethoscope), and over-inflation of the chest. During a serious asthma attack, the accessory <!--del_lnk--> muscles of respiration (sternocleidomastoid and scalene muscles of the neck) may be used, shown as in-drawing of <!--del_lnk--> tissues between the ribs and above the <!--del_lnk--> sternum and <!--del_lnk--> clavicles, and the presence of a <!--del_lnk--> paradoxical pulse (a pulse that is weaker during inhalation and stronger during exhalation).<p>During very severe attacks, an asthma sufferer can turn blue from lack of oxygen, and can experience <!--del_lnk--> chest pain or even loss of <!--del_lnk--> consciousness. Severe asthma attacks may lead to respiratory arrest and death. Despite the severity of symptoms during an asthmatic episode, between attacks an asthmatic may show few signs of the disease.<p><a id="Diagnosis" name="Diagnosis"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Diagnosis</span></h2>
<p>In most cases, a physician can <!--del_lnk--> diagnose asthma on the basis of typical findings in a patient's clinical history and examination. Asthma is strongly suspected if a patient suffers from <!--del_lnk--> eczema or other <!--del_lnk--> allergic conditions—suggesting a general <!--del_lnk--> atopic constitution—or has a <!--del_lnk--> family history of asthma. While measurement of airway function is possible for adults, most new cases are diagnosed in children who are unable to perform such tests. Diagnosis in children is based on a careful compilation and analysis of the patient's <!--del_lnk--> medical history and subsequent improvement with an inhaled <!--del_lnk--> bronchodilator medication. In adults, diagnosis can be made with a <!--del_lnk--> peak flow meter (which tests airway restriction), looking at both the <!--del_lnk--> diurnal <!--del_lnk--> variation and any reversibility following inhaled <!--del_lnk--> bronchodilator <!--del_lnk--> medication.<p>Testing peak flow at rest (or baseline) and after exercise can be helpful, especially in young asthmatics who may experience only exercise-induced asthma. If the diagnosis is in doubt, a more formal <!--del_lnk--> lung function test may be conducted. Once a diagnosis of asthma is made, a patient can use <!--del_lnk--> peak flow meter testing to monitor the severity of the disease.<p><a id="Differential_diagnosis" name="Differential_diagnosis"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Differential diagnosis</span></h3>
<p>Before diagnosing someone as asthmatic, <!--del_lnk--> alternative possibilities should be considered. A physician taking a history should check whether the patient is using any known bronchoconstrictors (substances that cause narrowing of the airways, e.g., certain <!--del_lnk--> anti-inflammatory agents or <!--del_lnk--> beta-blockers).<p><!--del_lnk--> Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which closely resembles asthma, is correlated with more exposure to cigarette smoke, an older patient, less symptom reversibility after bronchodilator administration (as measured by <!--del_lnk--> spirometry), and decreased likelihood of family history of <!--del_lnk--> atopy.<p><!--del_lnk--> Pulmonary aspiration, whether <b>direct</b> due to <!--del_lnk--> dysphagia (swallowing disorder) or <b>indirect</b> (due to acid reflux), can show similar symptoms to asthma. However, with aspiration, fevers might also indicate <!--del_lnk--> aspiration pneumonia. Direct aspiration (dysphagia) can be diagnosed by performing a Modified Barium Swallow test and treated with feeding therapy by a qualified <!--del_lnk--> speech therapist. If the aspiration is indirect (from acid reflux) then treatment directed at this is indicated.<p>Only a minority of asthma sufferers have an identifiable <!--del_lnk--> allergy trigger. The majority of these triggers can often be identified from the history; for instance, asthmatics with <!--del_lnk--> hay fever or <!--del_lnk--> pollen allergy will have seasonal symptoms, those with allergies to <!--del_lnk--> pets may experience an abatement of symptoms when away from home, and those with occupational asthma may improve during leave from work. Occasionally, <!--del_lnk--> allergy tests are warranted and, if positive, may help in identifying avoidable symptom triggers.<p>After pulmonary function has been measured, radiological tests, such as a <!--del_lnk--> chest X-ray or <!--del_lnk--> CT scan, may be required to exclude the possibility of other lung diseases. In some people, asthma may be triggered by <!--del_lnk--> gastroesophageal reflux disease, which can be treated with suitable <!--del_lnk--> antacids. Very occasionally, specialized tests after inhalation of <!--del_lnk--> methacholine — or, even less commonly, <!--del_lnk--> histamine — may be performed.<p>Asthma is categorized by the United States <!--del_lnk--> National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute as falling into one of four categories: mild intermittent, mild persistent, moderate persistent and severe persistent. The diagnosis of "severe persistent asthma" occurs when symptoms are continual with frequent exacerbations and frequent nighttime symptoms, result in limited physical activity and when lung function as measured by PEV or FEV1 tests is less than 60% predicted with PEF variability greater than 30%.<p>There is no cure for asthma. Doctors have only found ways to prevent attacks and relieve the symptoms such as tightness of the chest and trouble breathing.<p><a id="Pathophysiology" name="Pathophysiology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Pathophysiology</span></h2>
<p><a id="Bronchoconstriction" name="Bronchoconstriction"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Bronchoconstriction</span></h3>
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<div style="width:452px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23352.png.htm" title="During an asthma episode, inflamed airways react to environmental triggers such as smoke, dust, or pollen. The airways narrow and produce excess mucus, making it difficult to breathe."><img alt="During an asthma episode, inflamed airways react to environmental triggers such as smoke, dust, or pollen. The airways narrow and produce excess mucus, making it difficult to breathe." height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Asthma_before-after.png" src="../../images/233/23352.png" width="450" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23352.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> During an asthma episode, inflamed <!--del_lnk--> airways react to environmental triggers such as smoke, dust, or pollen. The airways narrow and produce excess <!--del_lnk--> mucus, making it difficult to breathe.</div>
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<p>In essence, asthma is the result of an <!--del_lnk--> immune response in the <!--del_lnk--> bronchial airways.<p>The airways of asthmatics are "<!--del_lnk--> hypersensitive" to certain triggers, also known as <i>stimuli</i> (see below). In response to exposure to these triggers, the <!--del_lnk--> bronchi (large airways) contract into <!--del_lnk--> spasm (an "asthma attack"). <!--del_lnk--> Inflammation soon follows, leading to a further narrowing of the airways and excessive <!--del_lnk--> mucus production, which leads to coughing and other breathing difficulties.<p>There are several categories of stimuli:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> allergenic <a href="../../wp/p/Pollution.htm" title="Pollution">air pollution</a>, from nature, typically inhaled, which include waste from common household insects, such as the <!--del_lnk--> house dust mite and <!--del_lnk--> cockroach, <!--del_lnk--> grass pollen, <!--del_lnk--> mould spores and pet <!--del_lnk--> epithelial cells;<li><!--del_lnk--> medications, including <!--del_lnk--> aspirin and <!--del_lnk--> β-adrenergic antagonists (beta blockers);<li>Use of <a href="../../wp/f/Fossil_fuel.htm" title="Fossil fuel">fossil fuel</a> related <!--del_lnk--> allergenic <a href="../../wp/p/Pollution.htm" title="Pollution">air pollution</a>, such as <a href="../../wp/o/Ozone.htm" title="Ozone">ozone</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Smog.htm" title="Smog">Smog</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Summer smog, <!--del_lnk--> nitrogen dioxide, and <!--del_lnk--> sulfur dioxide, which is thought to be one of the major reasons for the high prevalence of asthma in <!--del_lnk--> urban areas;<li>various industrial compounds and other chemicals, notably <!--del_lnk--> sulfites; <a href="../../wp/c/Chlorine.htm" title="Chlorine">chlorinated</a> swimming pools generate <!--del_lnk--> chloramines—monochloramine (NH<sub>2</sub>Cl), dichloramine (NHCl<sub>2</sub>) and trichloramine (NCl<sub>3</sub>)—in the air around them, which are known to induce asthma.<li>early childhood <!--del_lnk--> infections, especially <a href="../../wp/v/Virus.htm" title="Virus">viral</a> <!--del_lnk--> respiratory infections. However, persons of any age can have asthma triggered by colds and other respiratory infections even though their normal stimuli might be from another category (e.g. pollen) and absent at the time of infection. 80% of asthma attacks in adults and 60% in children are caused by respiratory viruses.<li><!--del_lnk--> exercise, the effects of which differ somewhat from those of the other triggers;<li>(in some countries) - <!--del_lnk--> allergenic indoor <a href="../../wp/p/Pollution.htm" title="Pollution">air pollution</a> from <!--del_lnk--> Newsprint & other literature such as, <!--del_lnk--> junk mail leaflets & glossy <!--del_lnk--> magazines.<li><!--del_lnk--> emotional stress which is poorly understood as a trigger. Perhaps because crying might be a form of exercise or because being given an asthma attack may be distressing.</ul>
<p><a id="Bronchial_inflammation" name="Bronchial_inflammation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Bronchial inflammation</span></h3>
<p>The mechanisms behind allergic asthma—i.e., asthma resulting from an <!--del_lnk--> immune response to inhaled <!--del_lnk--> allergens—are the best understood of the causal factors. In both asthmatics and non-asthmatics, inhaled allergens that find their way to the inner <!--del_lnk--> airways are <!--del_lnk--> ingested by a type of cell known as <!--del_lnk--> antigen presenting cells, or APCs. APCs then "present" pieces of the allergen to other <!--del_lnk--> immune system cells. In most people, these other immune cells (<!--del_lnk--> T<sub>H</sub>0 cells) "check" and usually ignore the allergen molecules. In asthmatics, however, these cells <!--del_lnk--> transform into a different type of cell (T<sub>H</sub>2), for reasons that are not well understood. The resultant T<sub>H</sub>2 cells activate an important arm of the immune system, known as the <!--del_lnk--> humoral immune system. The humoral immune system produces <!--del_lnk--> antibodies against the inhaled allergen. Later, when an asthmatic inhales the same allergen, these antibodies "recognize" it and activate a <!--del_lnk--> humoral response. <!--del_lnk--> Inflammation results: chemicals are produced that cause the airways to constrict and release more mucus, and the cell-mediated arm of the immune system is activated. The inflammatory response is responsible for the clinical manifestations of an asthma attack. The following section describes this complex series of events in more detail.<p><a id="Pathogenesis" name="Pathogenesis"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Pathogenesis</span></h3>
<p>The fundamental problem in asthma appears to be <!--del_lnk--> immunological: young children in the early stages of asthma show signs of excessive inflammation in their airways. <!--del_lnk--> Epidemiological findings give clues as to the <!--del_lnk--> pathogenesis: the incidence of asthma seems to be increasing worldwide, and asthma is now very much more common in affluent countries.<p>In 1968 Andor Szentivanyi first described <i>The Beta Adrenergic Theory of Asthma</i>; in which blockage of the Beta-2 receptors of pulmonary smooth muscle cells causes asthma. Szentivanyi's Beta Adrenergic Theory is a citation classic and has been cited more times than any other article in the history of the Journal of Allergy.<p>In 1995 Szentivanyi and colleagues demonstrated that IgE blocks beta-2 receptors. Since overproduction of IgE is central to all atopic diseases, this was a watershed moment in the world of Allergy.<p>The Beta-Adrenergic Theory has been cited in the scholarship of such noted investigators as <!--del_lnk--> Richard F. Lockey (former President of The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology), Charles Reed (Chief of Allergy at Mayo Medical School), and Craig Venter (Human Genome Project).<p>One theory of <!--del_lnk--> pathogenesis is that asthma is a disease of hygiene. In nature, babies are exposed to <a href="../../wp/b/Bacteria.htm" title="Bacteria">bacteria</a> and other <!--del_lnk--> antigens soon after birth, "switching on" the T<sub>H</sub>1 <!--del_lnk--> lymphocyte cells of the <!--del_lnk--> immune system that deal with bacterial infection. If this stimulus is insufficient—as it may be in modern, clean environments—then T<sub>H</sub>2 cells predominate, and asthma and other allergic diseases may develop. This "<!--del_lnk--> hygiene hypothesis" may explain the increase in asthma in affluent populations. The T<sub>H</sub>2 lymphocytes and <!--del_lnk--> eosinophil cells that protect us against <!--del_lnk--> parasites and other infectious agents are the same cells responsible for the allergic reaction. The Charcot-Leyden crystals are formed when the crystalline material in eosinophils coalesce. These crystals are significant in sputum samples of people with asthma. In the developed world, these <!--del_lnk--> parasites are now rarely encountered, but the immune response remains and is wrongly triggered in some individuals by certain allergens.<p>Another theory is based on the correlation of <!--del_lnk--> air pollution and the incidence of asthma. Although it is well known that substantial exposures to certain industrial chemicals can cause acute asthmatic episodes, it has not been proven that air pollution is responsible for the development of asthma. In <!--del_lnk--> Western Europe, most atmospheric pollutants have fallen significantly over the last 40 years, while the prevalence of asthma has risen.<p>Finally, it has been postulated that some forms of asthma may be related to infection, in particular by <i><!--del_lnk--> Chlamydia pneumoniae</i>. This issue remains controversial, as the relationship is not borne out by meta-analysis of the research. The correlation seems to be not with the onset, but rather with accelerated loss of lung function in adults with new onset of non-atopic asthma. One possible explanation is that some asthmatics may have altered immune response that facilitates long-term chlamydia pneumonia infection. The response to targeting with <!--del_lnk--> macrolide antibiotics has been investigated, but the temporary benefit reported in some studies may reflect just their anti-inflammatory activities rather than their antimicrobic action.<p><a id="Asthma_and_sleep_apnea" name="Asthma_and_sleep_apnea"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Asthma and sleep apnea</span></h3>
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<dd>
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<p>It is recognized with increasing frequency, that patients who have both obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and bronchial asthma, often improve tremendously when the sleep apnea is diagnosed and treated. <!--del_lnk--> CPAP is not effective in patients with nocturnal asthma only.<p><a id="Asthma_and_gastro-esophageal_reflux_disease" name="Asthma_and_gastro-esophageal_reflux_disease"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Asthma and gastro-esophageal reflux disease</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
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<p>If gastro-esophageal reflux disease is present, the patient may have repetitive episodes of acid aspiration, which results in airway inflammation and "irritant-induced" asthma. GERD may be common in difficult-to-control asthma, but generally speaking, treating it does not seem to affect the asthma.<p><a id="Treatment" name="Treatment"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Treatment</span></h2>
<p>The most effective treatment for asthma is identifying triggers, such as pets or aspirin, and limiting or eliminating exposure to them. <!--del_lnk--> Desensitization to allergens has been shown to be a treatment option for certain patients.<p>As is common with respiratory disease, <a href="../../wp/t/Tobacco_smoking.htm" title="Tobacco smoking">smoking</a> adversely affects asthmatics in several ways, including an increased severity of symptoms, a more rapid decline of lung function, and decreased response to preventive medications. Asthmatics who smoke typically require additional medications to help control their disease. Furthermore, exposure of both nonsmokers and smokers to <!--del_lnk--> secondhand smoke is detrimental, resulting in more severe asthma, more <!--del_lnk--> emergency room visits, and more asthma-related hospital admissions. Smoking cessation and avoidance of secondhand smoke is strongly encouraged in asthmatics.<p>The specific medical treatment recommended to patients with asthma depends on the severity of their illness and the frequency of their symptoms. Specific treatments for asthma are broadly classified as relievers, preventers and emergency treatment. The <i>Expert panel report 2: Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma</i> (EPR-2) of the U.S. National Asthma Education and Prevention Program, and the <i>British guideline on the management of asthma</i> are broadly used and supported by many doctors. Bronchodilators are recommended for short-term relief in all patients. For those who experience occasional attacks, no other medication is needed. For those with mild persistent disease (more than two attacks a week), low-dose inhaled glucocorticoids or alternatively, an oral leukotriene modifier, a mast-cell stabilizer, or theophylline may be administered. For those who suffer daily attacks, a higher dose of glucocorticoid in conjunction with a long-acting inhaled β-2 agonist may be prescribed; alternatively, a leukotriene modifier or theophylline may substitute for the β-2 agonist. In severe asthmatics, oral glucocorticoids may be added to these treatments during severe attacks.<p>For those in whom exercise can trigger an asthma attack (<!--del_lnk--> exercise-induced asthma), higher levels of ventilation and cold, dry air tend to exacerbate attacks. For this reason, activities in which a patient breathes large amounts of cold air, such as skiing and running, tend to be worse for asthmatics, whereas swimming in an indoor, heated pool, with warm, humid air, is less likely to provoke a response.<p>Researchers at Harvard Medical School (HMS) have come up with convincing evidence that the answer to what causes asthma lies in a special type of natural "killer" cell. This finding means that physicians may not be treating asthma sufferers with the right kinds of drugs. For example, natural killer T cells seem to be resistant to the corticosteroids in widely used inhalers.<p>A novel therapeutic target currently under investigation is the A<sub>2B</sub> receptor, a cell surface G-protein coupled receptor expressed in the lungs and in inflammatory cells expressed in asthma. Several animal models have confirmed the a critical role for A<sub>2B</sub> antagonists in pulmonary inflammation, fibrosis and airway remodelling.<p><a id="Relief_medication" name="Relief_medication"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Relief medication</span></h3>
<p>Symptomatic control of episodes of wheezing and shortness of breath is generally achieved with fast-acting <!--del_lnk--> bronchodilators. These are typically provided in pocket-sized, metered-dose <!--del_lnk--> inhalers (MDIs). In young sufferers, who may have difficulty with the coordination necessary to use inhalers, or those with a poor ability to hold their breath for 10 seconds after inhaler use (generally the elderly), an <!--del_lnk--> asthma spacer (see top image) is used. The spacer is a plastic cylinder that mixes the medication with air in a simple tube, making it easier for patients to receive a full dose of the drug and allows for the active agent to be dispersed into smaller, more fully inhaled bits. A <!--del_lnk--> nebulizer—which provides a larger, continuous dose—can also be used. Nebulizers work by vaporizing a dose of medication in a saline solution into a steady stream of foggy vapour, which the patient inhales continuously until the full dosage is administered. There is no clear evidence, however, that they are more effective than inhalers used with a spacer. Nebulizers may be helpful to some patients experiencing a severe attack. Such patients may not be able to inhale deeply, so regular inhalers may not deliver medication deeply into the lungs, even on repeated attempts. Since a nebulizer delivers the medication continuously, it is thought that the first few inhalations may relax the airways enough to allow the following inhalations to draw in more medication.<p>Relievers include:<ul>
<li>Short-acting, selective <!--del_lnk--> beta<sub>2</sub>-adrenoceptor agonists, such as <!--del_lnk--> salbutamol (<i>albuterol</i> <!--del_lnk--> USAN), <!--del_lnk--> levalbuterol, <!--del_lnk--> terbutaline and <!--del_lnk--> bitolterol. <!--del_lnk--> Tremors, the major side effect, have been greatly reduced by inhaled delivery, which allows the drug to target the lungs specifically; oral and injected medications are delivered throughout the body. There may also be <!--del_lnk--> cardiac side effects at higher doses (due to Beta-1 agonist activity), such as elevated heart rate or blood pressure; with the advent of selective agents, these side effects have become less common. Patients must be cautioned against using these medicines too frequently, as with such use their efficacy may decline, producing <!--del_lnk--> desensitization resulting in an exacerbation of symptoms which may lead to refractory asthma and death.<li>Older, less selective <!--del_lnk--> adrenergic agonists, such as inhaled <!--del_lnk--> epinephrine and <!--del_lnk--> ephedrine tablets, are available over the counter in the US. Cardiac side effects occur with these agents at either similar or lesser rates to albuterol. When used solely as a relief medication, inhaled epinephrine has been shown to be an effective agent to terminate an acute asthmatic exacerbation. In emergencies, these drugs were sometimes administered by injection. Their use via injection has declined due to related adverse effects.<li><!--del_lnk--> Anticholinergic medications, such as <!--del_lnk--> ipratropium bromide may be used instead. They have no cardiac side effects and thus can be used in patients with heart disease; however, they take up to an hour to achieve their full effect and are not as powerful as the β<sub>2</sub>-adrenoreceptor agonists.</ul>
<p><a id="Prevention_medication" name="Prevention_medication"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Prevention medication</span></h3>
<p>Current treatment protocols recommend prevention medications such as an inhaled <!--del_lnk--> corticosteroid, which helps to suppress <!--del_lnk--> inflammation and reduces the swelling of the lining of the airways, in anyone who has frequent (greater than twice a week) need of relievers or who has severe symptoms. If symptoms persist, additional preventive drugs are added until the asthma is controlled. With the proper use of prevention drugs, asthmatics can avoid the complications that result from overuse of relief medications.<p>Asthmatics sometimes stop taking their preventive medication when they feel fine and have no problems breathing. This often results in further attacks, and no long-term improvement.<p>Preventive agents include the following.<ul>
<li>Inhaled <!--del_lnk--> glucocorticoids (<!--del_lnk--> ciclesonide, <!--del_lnk--> fluticasone, <!--del_lnk--> budesonide, <!--del_lnk--> beclomethasone, <!--del_lnk--> mometasone, <!--del_lnk--> flunisolide, and <!--del_lnk--> triamcinolone).<li><!--del_lnk--> Leukotriene modifiers (<!--del_lnk--> montelukast, <!--del_lnk--> zafirlukast, <!--del_lnk--> pranlukast, and <!--del_lnk--> zileuton).<li><!--del_lnk--> Mast cell stabilizers (<!--del_lnk--> cromoglicate (cromolyn), and <!--del_lnk--> nedocromil).<li>Antimuscarinics/anticholinergics (<!--del_lnk--> ipratropium, <!--del_lnk--> oxitropium, and <!--del_lnk--> tiotropium), which have a mixed reliever and preventer effect. (These are rarely used in preventive treatment of asthma, except in patients who do not tolerate beta-2-agonists.)<li>Methylxanthines (<!--del_lnk--> theophylline and <!--del_lnk--> aminophylline), which are sometimes considered if sufficient control cannot be achieved with inhaled glucocorticoids and long-acting β-agonists alone.<li><!--del_lnk--> Antihistamines, often used to treat allergic symptoms that may underlie the chronic inflammation. In more severe cases, <!--del_lnk--> hyposensitization ("allergy shots") may be recommended.<li><!--del_lnk--> Omalizumab, an <!--del_lnk--> IgE blocker; this can help patients with severe allergic asthma that does not respond to other drugs. However, it is expensive and must be injected.<li><!--del_lnk--> Methotrexate is occasionally used in some difficult-to-treat patients.<li>If chronic acid indigestion (<!--del_lnk--> GERD) contributes to a patient's asthma, it should also be treated, because it may prolong the respiratory problem.</ul>
<p><a id="Long-acting_.CE.B22-agonists" name="Long-acting_.CE.B22-agonists"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Long-acting β<sub>2</sub>-agonists</span></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23353.jpg.htm" title="A typical inhaler, of Serevent (salmeterol), a long-acting bronchodilator."><img alt="A typical inhaler, of Serevent (salmeterol), a long-acting bronchodilator." height="212" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AsthmaInhaler.jpg" src="../../images/233/23353.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23353.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A typical <!--del_lnk--> inhaler, of <!--del_lnk--> Serevent (salmeterol), a long-acting bronchodilator.</div>
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<p>Long-acting bronchodilators (LABD) give a 12-hour effect, and are used to give a smoothed symptomatic effect (used morning and night). While patients report improved symptom control, these drugs do not replace the need for routine preventers, and their slow onset means the short-acting dilators may still be required. In November of 2005, the American <!--del_lnk--> FDA released a health advisory alerting the public to findings that show the use of Long-acting β<sub>2</sub>-agonists could lead to a worsening of symptoms, and in some cases death.<p>Currently available <!--del_lnk--> long-acting beta<sub>2</sub>-adrenoceptor agonists include <!--del_lnk--> salmeterol, <!--del_lnk--> formoterol, <!--del_lnk--> bambuterol, and sustained-release oral <!--del_lnk--> albuterol. Combinations of inhaled steroids and long-acting bronchodilators are becoming more widespread; the most common combination currently in use is fluticasone/salmeterol (<!--del_lnk--> Advair in the United States, and <!--del_lnk--> Seretide in the UK).<p>A recent meta-analysis of the roles of long-acting beta-agonists may indicate a danger to asthma patients. "These agents can improve symptoms through bronchodilation at the same time as increasing underlying inflammation and bronchial hyper-responsiveness, thus worsening asthma control without any warning of increased symptoms," said Shelley Salpeter in a Cornel study. The study goes on to say that "Three common asthma inhalers containing the drugs salmeterol or formoterol may be causing four out of five U.S. asthma-related deaths per year and should be taken off the market".<p><a id="Emergency_treatment" name="Emergency_treatment"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Emergency treatment</span></h3>
<p>When an asthma attack is unresponsive to a patient's usual medication, other treatments are available to the physician or hospital:<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a> to alleviate the hypoxia (but not the asthma <i>per se</i>) that results from extreme asthma attacks;<li>nebulized <!--del_lnk--> salbutamol or <!--del_lnk--> terbutaline (short-acting beta-2-agonists), often combined with ipratropium (an anticholinergic);<li>systemic steroids, oral or intravenous (<!--del_lnk--> prednisone, <!--del_lnk--> prednisolone, <!--del_lnk--> methylprednisolone, <!--del_lnk--> dexamethasone, or <!--del_lnk--> hydrocortisone)<li>other bronchodilators that are occasionally effective when the usual drugs fail: <ul>
<li>nonspecific beta-agonists, injected or inhaled (<!--del_lnk--> epinephrine, <!--del_lnk--> isoetharine, <!--del_lnk--> isoproterenol, <!--del_lnk--> metaproterenol);<li>anticholinergics, IV or nebulized, with systemic effects (<!--del_lnk--> glycopyrrolate, <!--del_lnk--> atropine);<li>methylxanthines (<!--del_lnk--> theophylline, <!--del_lnk--> aminophylline);<li>inhalation anesthetics that have a bronchodilatory effect (<!--del_lnk--> isoflurane, <!--del_lnk--> halothane, <!--del_lnk--> enflurane);<li>the dissociative anaesthetic <!--del_lnk--> ketamine, often used in <!--del_lnk--> endotracheal tube induction<li><!--del_lnk--> magnesium sulfate, intravenous; and</ul>
<li>intubation and mechanical ventilation, for patients in or approaching respiratory arrest.</ul>
<p><a id="Alternative_and_complementary_medicine" name="Alternative_and_complementary_medicine"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Alternative and complementary medicine</span></h3>
<p>Many asthmatics, like those who suffer from other chronic disorders, use alternative treatments; surveys show that roughly 50% of asthma patients use some form of unconventional therapy. There are little data to support the effectiveness of most of these therapies. A <!--del_lnk--> Cochrane <!--del_lnk--> systematic review of acupuncture for asthma found no evidence of efficacy. A similar review of <!--del_lnk--> air ionisers found no evidence that they improve asthma symptoms or benefit lung function; this applied equally to positive and negative ion generators. A study of "manual therapies" for asthma, including <!--del_lnk--> osteopathic, <!--del_lnk--> chiropractic, <!--del_lnk--> physiotherapeutic and <!--del_lnk--> respiratory therapeutic maneuvers, found no evidence to support their use in treating asthma; these maneuvers include various osteopathic and chiropractic techniques to "increase movement in the rib cage and the spine to try and improve the working of the lungs and circulation"; chest tapping, shaking, vibration, and the use of "postures to help shift and cough up phlegm." On the other hand, one <!--del_lnk--> meta-analysis found that <!--del_lnk--> homeopathy has a potentially mild benefit in reducing symptom intensity; however, the number of patients involved in the analysis was small, and subsequent studies have not supported this finding. Several small trials have suggested some benefit from various <!--del_lnk--> yoga practices, ranging from integrated yoga programs —"yogasanas, Pranayama, <!--del_lnk--> meditation, and kriyas"—to <i>sahaja</i> yoga, a form of meditation.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Buteyko method, a Russian therapy based on breathing exercises, has been investigated with mixed degrees of effect shown. A randomized, controlled trial of just 39 patients in 1998, suggested that it may moderately reduce the need for beta-agonists among asthmatics, but found no objective improvement in lung function. Whilst a trial in New Zealand, 2003, showed reduced beta-agonist medication by 94% and inhaled steroid by 34% after just six weeks.<p>Given that some research has identified a negative association between helminth infection (hookworm) and asthma and hay fever, some have suggested that hookworm infestation, although not medically sanctioned, would cure asthma. There is anectdotal evidence to support this.<p>See also <i><!--del_lnk--> Complementary and alternative medicine</i>.<p><a id="Prognosis" name="Prognosis"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prognosis</span></h2>
<p>The prognosis for asthmatics is good, especially for children with mild disease. For asthmatics diagnosed during childhood, 54% will no longer carry the diagnosis after a decade. The extent of permanent lung damage in asthmatics is unclear. Airway remodelling is observed, but it is unknown whether these represent harmful or beneficial changes. Although conclusions from studies are mixed, most studies show that early treatment with glucocorticoids prevents or ameliorates decline in lung function as measured by several parameters. For those who continue to suffer from mild symptoms, corticosteroids can help most to live their lives with few <!--del_lnk--> disabilities. The mortality rate for asthma is low, with around 6000 deaths per year in a population of some 10 million patients in the United States. Better control of the condition may help prevent some of these deaths.<p><a id="Epidemiology" name="Epidemiology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Epidemiology</span></h2>
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<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23354.png.htm" title="The prevalence of childhood asthma has increased since 1980, especially in younger children."><img alt="The prevalence of childhood asthma has increased since 1980, especially in younger children." height="194" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Asthma_prevalence.png" src="../../images/233/23354.png" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23354.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> prevalence of childhood asthma has increased since 1980, especially in younger children.</div>
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<p>More than 6% of children in the United States have been diagnosed with asthma, a 75% increase in recent decades. The rate soars to 40% among some populations of urban children. Asthma is usually diagnosed in childhood. The risk factors for asthma include:<ul>
<li>a personal or family <a href="../../wp/h/History.htm" title="History">history</a> of asthma or <!--del_lnk--> atopy;<li>triggers (see <i><!--del_lnk--> Pathophysiology</i> above);<li>premature birth or low birth weight;<li>viral <!--del_lnk--> respiratory infection in early childhood;<li>maternal smoking;<li>being male, for asthma in prepubertal children; and<li>being female, for persistence of asthma into adulthood.</ul>
<p>There is a reduced occurrence of asthma in people who were breast-fed as babies. Current research suggests that the <!--del_lnk--> prevalence of childhood asthma has been increasing. According to the <!--del_lnk--> Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Health Interview Surveys, some 9% of US children below 18 years of age had asthma in 2001, compared with just 3.6% in 1980 (see figure). The <a href="../../wp/w/World_Health_Organization.htm" title="World Health Organization">World Health Organization</a> (WHO) reports that some 8% of the Swiss population suffers from asthma today, compared with just 2% some 25–30 years ago. Although asthma is more common in affluent countries, it is by no means a problem restricted to the affluent; the WHO estimate that there are between 15 and 20 million asthmatics in India. In the U.S., urban residents, Hispanics, and African Americans are affected more than the population as a whole. Globally, asthma is responsible for around 180,000 deaths annually.<p>On the remote South Atlantic island <!--del_lnk--> Tristan da Cunha, 50% of the population are asthmatics due to heredity transmission of a mutation in the gene CC16.<p><a id="Socioeconomic_factors" name="Socioeconomic_factors"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Socioeconomic factors</span></h3>
<p>The incidence of asthma is higher among low-income populations within a society (even though it is more common in developed countries than developing countries), which in the western world are disproportionately minority, and more likely to live near industrial areas. Additionally, asthma has been strongly associated with the presence of cockroaches in living quarters, which is more likely in such neighbourhoods.<p>The quality of asthma treatment varies along racial lines, likely because many low-income people cannot afford health insurance and because there is still a correlation between class and race. For example, black Americans are less likely to receive outpatient treatment for asthma despite having a higher prevalence of the disease. They are much more likely to have emergency room visits or hospitalization for asthma, and are three times as likely to die from an asthma attack compared to whites. The prevalence of "severe persistent" asthma is also greater in low-income communities compared with communities with better access to treatment.<p><a id="Asthma_and_athletics" name="Asthma_and_athletics"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Asthma and athletics</span></h3>
<p>Asthma appears to be more prevalent in athletes than in the general population. One survey of participants in the 1996 <!--del_lnk--> Summer Olympic Games showed that 15% had been diagnosed with asthma, and that 10% were on asthma medication. These statistics have been questioned on at least two bases. Persons with mild asthma may be more likely to be diagnosed with the condition than others because even subtle symptoms may interfere with their performance and lead to pursuit of a diagnosis. It has also been suggested that some professional athletes who do not suffer from asthma claim to do so in order to obtain special permits to use certain performance-enhancing drugs.<p>There appears to be a relatively high incidence of asthma in sports such as <!--del_lnk--> cycling, mountain biking, and long-distance <!--del_lnk--> running, and a relatively lower incidence in weightlifting and diving. It is unclear how much of these disparities are from the effects of training in the sport, and from self-selection of sports that may appear to minimize the triggering of asthma.<p>In addition, there exists a variant of asthma called <!--del_lnk--> exercise-induced asthma that shares many features with allergic asthma. It may occur either independently, or concurrent with the latter. Exercise studies may be helpful in diagnosing and assessing this condition.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asthma"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Astrology</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Recreation.htm">Recreation</a></h3>
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<p><b>Astrology</b> is a group of <!--del_lnk--> systems, <!--del_lnk--> traditions, and <!--del_lnk--> beliefs in which knowledge of the relative positions of <!--del_lnk--> celestial bodies and related information is held to be useful in understanding, interpreting, and organizing knowledge about <!--del_lnk--> personality, human affairs, and other terrestrial events. A practitioner of astrology is called an <b><!--del_lnk--> astrologer</b>, or, less often, an astrologist. Historically, the term <i>mathematicus</i> was used to denote a person proficient in astrology, <a href="../../wp/a/Astronomy.htm" title="Astronomy">astronomy</a>, and <a href="../../wp/m/Mathematics.htm" title="Mathematics">mathematics</a>.<p>Although the two fields share a <!--del_lnk--> common origin, modern astronomy is entirely distinct from astrology. While astronomy is the <a href="../../wp/s/Science.htm" title="Science">scientific</a> study of astronomical objects and phenomena, the practice of astrology is concerned with the correlation of heavenly bodies (which historically involved measurement of the celestial sphere) with earthly and human affairs. Astrology is variously considered by its proponents to be a <!--del_lnk--> symbolic language, a form of <a href="../../wp/a/Art.htm" title="Art">art</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Science.htm" title="Science">science</a>, or <!--del_lnk--> divination. The <!--del_lnk--> scientific community generally considers astrology to be a <!--del_lnk--> pseudoscience or <!--del_lnk--> superstition as it has failed empirical tests in controlled studies.<p>The word <i>astrology</i> is derived from the <!--del_lnk--> Greek αστρολογία, from άστρον (<i>astron</i>, "star") and λόγος (<i><!--del_lnk--> logos</i>, "word"). The -λογία suffix is written in <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> as <i><!--del_lnk--> -logy</i>, "study" or "discipline".<table align="right" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; border: 1px solid #aaaaaa; clear: both">
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<td align="center" style="background:#BBDDFF; padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px;"><b><strong class="selflink">Astrology</strong></b></td>
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<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/6/669.gif.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="122" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Astrology_Project.gif" src="../../images/6/669.gif" width="120" /></a></span></div>
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<th style="background:#b0c4de; font-size: 95%; border-top: 1px solid #aaaaaa; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; padding: 0 5px 0 5px;">Background</th>
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<td style="font-size: 90%; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background: #edf3fe;"><!--del_lnk--> History of astrology</td>
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<td style="font-size: 90%; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background: #edf3fe;"><!--del_lnk--> History of astronomy</td>
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<th style="background:#b0c4de; font-size: 95%; border-top: 1px solid #aaaaaa; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; padding: 0 5px 0 5px;">Traditions</th>
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<td style="font-size: 90%; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background: #edf3fe;"><!--del_lnk--> Babylonian astrology</td>
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<td style="font-size: 90%; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background: #edf3fe;"><!--del_lnk--> Egyptian astrology</td>
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<td style="font-size: 90%; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background: #edf3fe;"><!--del_lnk--> Hellenistic astrology</td>
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<td style="font-size: 90%; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background: #edf3fe;"><!--del_lnk--> Indian astrology</td>
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<td style="font-size: 90%; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background: #edf3fe;"><!--del_lnk--> Chinese astrology</td>
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<td style="font-size: 90%; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background: #edf3fe;"><!--del_lnk--> Persian-Arabic astrology</td>
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<td style="font-size: 90%; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background: #edf3fe;"><!--del_lnk--> Western astrology</td>
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<th style="background:#b0c4de; font-size: 95%; border-top: 1px solid #aaaaaa; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; padding: 0 5px 0 5px;">Main branches of <p><!--del_lnk--> horoscopic astrology</th>
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<td style="font-size: 90%; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background: #edf3fe;"><!--del_lnk--> Natal astrology</td>
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<td style="font-size: 90%; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background: #edf3fe;"><!--del_lnk--> Electional astrology</td>
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<td style="font-size: 90%; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background: #edf3fe;"><!--del_lnk--> Horary astrology</td>
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<td style="font-size: 90%; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background: #edf3fe;"><!--del_lnk--> Mundane astrology</td>
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<td style="font-size: 90%; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background: #edf3fe;"><!--del_lnk--> Astrologers</td>
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<td style="font-size: 90%; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background: #edf3fe;"><!--del_lnk--> Astrological factors</td>
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<td style="font-size: 90%; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; background: #edf3fe;"><!--del_lnk--> Astrology by type</td>
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</script><a id="Beliefs" name="Beliefs"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Beliefs</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/670.png.htm" title="Astrological glyphs for some of the planets of astrology, including the Sun, the Earth, the Moon, and Pluto."><img alt="Astrological glyphs for some of the planets of astrology, including the Sun, the Earth, the Moon, and Pluto." height="229" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Astrological_Glyphs.svg" src="../../images/6/670.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/670.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Astrological glyphs for some of the <!--del_lnk--> planets of astrology, including the <a href="../../wp/s/Sun.htm" title="Sun">Sun</a>, the <a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">Earth</a>, the <a href="../../wp/m/Moon.htm" title="Moon">Moon</a>, and <a href="../../wp/p/Pluto.htm" title="Pluto">Pluto</a>.</div>
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<p>The core beliefs of astrology were prevalent in most of the ancient world and are epitomized in the <!--del_lnk--> Hermetic maxim "as above, so below". <a href="../../wp/t/Tycho_Brahe.htm" title="Tycho Brahe">Tycho Brahe</a> used a similar phrase to justify his studies in astrology: <i>suspiciendo despicio</i>, "by looking up I see downward". Although the principle that events in the heavens are mirrored by those on Earth was once generally held in most traditions of astrology around the world, in the West there has historically been a debate among astrologers over the nature of the mechanism behind astrology and whether or not celestial bodies are only signs or portents of events, or if they are actual causes of events through some sort of force or mechanism.<p>While the connection between <!--del_lnk--> celestial mechanics and terrestrial <!--del_lnk--> dynamics was explored first by <a href="../../wp/i/Isaac_Newton.htm" title="Isaac Newton">Isaac Newton</a> with his development of a universal theory of <a href="../../wp/g/Gravitation.htm" title="Gravitation">gravitation</a>, claims that the gravitational effects of the celestial bodies are what accounts for astrological generalizations are not substantiated by the scientific community, nor are they advocated by most astrologers.<p>Many of those who practice astrology believe that the positions of certain celestial bodies either influence or correlate with human affairs. Most modern astrologers believe that the cosmos (and especially the <a href="../../wp/s/Solar_System.htm" title="Solar system">solar system</a>) acts as a single unit, so that any happening in any part of it inevitably is reflected in every other part. Skeptics dispute these claims, pointing to a lack of concrete evidence of significant influence of this sort.<p>Most astrological traditions are based on the relative positions and movements of various real or construed celestial bodies and on the construction of celestial patterns as seen at the time and place of the event being studied. These are chiefly the <a href="../../wp/s/Sun.htm" title="Sun">Sun</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Moon.htm" title="Moon">Moon</a>, the <a href="../../wp/p/Planet.htm" title="Planet">planets</a>, the <a href="../../wp/s/Star.htm" title="Star">stars</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> lunar nodes. The calculations performed in casting a <!--del_lnk--> horoscope involve <a href="../../wp/a/Arithmetic.htm" title="Arithmetic">arithmetic</a> and simple <a href="../../wp/g/Geometry.htm" title="Geometry">geometry</a> which serve to locate the apparent position of heavenly bodies on desired dates and times based on astronomical tables. The frame of reference for such apparent positions is defined by the <!--del_lnk--> tropical or <!--del_lnk--> sidereal <!--del_lnk--> zodiacal signs on one hand, and by the local <!--del_lnk--> horizon (<!--del_lnk--> ascendant) and <!--del_lnk--> midheaven on the other. This latter (local) frame is typically further divided into the twelve <!--del_lnk--> astrological houses.<p>In the past, astrologers often relied on close observation of celestial objects and the charting of their movements. Today astrologers use data provided by <!--del_lnk--> astronomers which are transformed to a set of astrological tables called <!--del_lnk--> ephemerides, showing the changing zodiacal positions of the heavenly bodies through time.<p><a id="Traditions" name="Traditions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Traditions</span></h2>
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<div style="width:362px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/671.png.htm" title="Zodiac signs, 16th century European woodcut"><img alt="Zodiac signs, 16th century European woodcut" height="283" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Zodiac_woodcut.png" src="../../images/6/671.png" width="360" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/671.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Zodiac signs, 16th century <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">European</a> woodcut</div>
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<p>There are many different traditions of astrology, some of which share similar features due to the transmission of astrological doctrines from one culture to another. Other traditions developed in isolation and hold completely different doctrines, although they too share some similar features due to the fact that they are drawing on similar astronomical sources.<p>Significant traditions of astrology include but are not limited to:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Babylonian astrology<li><!--del_lnk--> Horoscopic astrology and its specific subsets: <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Hellenistic astrology<li><!--del_lnk--> Jyotish or <!--del_lnk--> Vedic astrology<li><!--del_lnk--> Persian-Arabic astrology<li><!--del_lnk--> Medieval & Renaissance horoscopic astrology<li>Modern <!--del_lnk--> Western astrology and its subsets: <ul>
<li>Modern <!--del_lnk--> Tropical and <!--del_lnk--> Sidereal horoscopic astrology<li><!--del_lnk--> Hamburg School of Astrology<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Uranian astrology, subset of the Hamburg School</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Cosmobiology<li><!--del_lnk--> Psychological astrology or astropsychology</ul>
</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Chinese astrology<li><!--del_lnk--> Kabbalistic astrology<li><!--del_lnk--> Mesoamerican astrology<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Nahuatl astrology<li><!--del_lnk--> Maya astrology</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Tibetan astrology<li><!--del_lnk--> Celtic astrology<li><!--del_lnk--> Germanic Runic Astrology</ul>
<p><a id="Horoscopic_astrology" name="Horoscopic_astrology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Horoscopic astrology</span></h2>
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<p>Horoscopic astrology is a very specific and complex system that was developed in the <a href="../../wp/m/Mediterranean_Sea.htm" title="Mediterranean">Mediterranean</a> region and specifically <!--del_lnk--> Hellenistic Egypt sometime around the late 2nd or early 1st century BCE. The tradition deals with two-dimensional diagrams of the heavens created for specific moments in time. The diagram is then used to interpret the inherent meaning underlying the alignment of celestial bodies at that moment based on a specific set of rules and guidelines. One of the defining characteristics of this form of astrology that makes it distinct from other traditions is the computation of the degree of the Eastern horizon rising against the backdrop of the <!--del_lnk--> ecliptic at the specific moment under examination, otherwise known as the ascendant. Horoscopic astrology has been the most influential and widespread form of astrology across the world, especially in <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>, and the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a>, and there are several major traditions of horoscopic astrology including <!--del_lnk--> Indian, Hellenistic, Medieval, and most other modern Western traditions of astrology.<p><a id="The_horoscope" name="The_horoscope"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The horoscope</span></h3>
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<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/672.jpg.htm" title="A computer-generated Western natal chart, a type of horoscope created for the moment and location of a person's birth."><img alt="A computer-generated Western natal chart, a type of horoscope created for the moment and location of a person's birth." height="208" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Natal_Chart_--_Adam.jpg" src="../../images/6/672.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/672.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <a href="../../wp/c/Computer.htm" title="Computer">computer</a>-generated Western <!--del_lnk--> natal chart, a type of horoscope created for the moment and location of a person's birth.</div>
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<p>Central to horoscopic astrology and its branches is the calculation of the horoscope or astrological chart. This two-dimensional diagrammatic representation shows the celestial bodies' apparent positions in the heavens from the vantage of a location on Earth at a given time and place. In ancient Hellenistic astrology the ascendant demarcated the first celestial house of a horoscope. The word for the ascendant in Greek was <i>horoskopos</i> from which "horoscope" derives. In modern times, however, the word has come to refer to the astrological chart as a whole.<p><a id="The_tropical_and_sidereal_zodiacs" name="The_tropical_and_sidereal_zodiacs"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The tropical and sidereal zodiacs</span></h3>
<p>The path of the Sun across the heavens as seen from Earth during a full year is called the ecliptic. This, and the nearby band of sky followed by the visible planets, is called the zodiac.<p>The majority of Western astrologers base their work on the tropical zodiac which evenly divides the ecliptic into 12 segments of 30 degrees each. The Sun's position at the <!--del_lnk--> March equinox, zero degrees <!--del_lnk--> Aries, marks the beginning of the zodiac. The zodiacal signs in this system bear no relation to the <!--del_lnk--> constellations of the same name but stay aligned to the months and seasons. The tropical zodiac is used as a historical coordinate system in astronomy.<p>Practitioners of the Jyotish (<!--del_lnk--> Hindu) astrological tradition and a minority of Western astrologers use the sidereal zodiac. This zodiac uses the same evenly divided ecliptic but approximately stays aligned to the positions of the observable constellations with the same name as the zodiacal signs. The sidereal zodiac is computed from the tropical zodiac by adding an offset called <!--del_lnk--> ayanamsa. This offset changes with the <!--del_lnk--> precession of the equinoxes.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/673.jpg.htm" title="18th century Icelandic manuscript showing astrological houses and planetary glyphs."><img alt="18th century Icelandic manuscript showing astrological houses and planetary glyphs." height="239" longdesc="/wiki/Image:12_houses_of_heaven.jpg" src="../../images/6/673.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/673.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 18th century <a href="../../wp/i/Iceland.htm" title="Iceland">Icelandic</a> manuscript showing astrological houses and planetary glyphs.</div>
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<p><a id="Branches_of_horoscopic_astrology" name="Branches_of_horoscopic_astrology"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Branches of horoscopic astrology</span></h3>
<p>Traditions of horoscopic astrology can be divided into four branches which are directed towards specific subjects or purposes. Often these branches use a unique set of techniques or a different application of the core principles of the system to a different area. Many other subsets and applications of astrology are derived from these four fundamental branches.<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Natal astrology, the study of a person's natal chart in order to gain information about the individual and his/her life experience. This includes <!--del_lnk--> Judicial astrology.<li><!--del_lnk--> Katarchic astrology, which includes both <!--del_lnk--> electional and event astrology. The former uses astrology to determine the most auspicious moment to begin an enterprise or undertaking, and the latter to understand everything about an event from the time at which it took place.<li><!--del_lnk--> Horary astrology, used to answer a specific question by studying the chart of the moment the question is posed to an astrologer.<li><!--del_lnk--> Mundane or world astrology, the application of astrology to world events, including weather, earthquakes, and the rise and fall of empires or religions.</ul>
<p><a id="History_of_astrology" name="History_of_astrology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History of astrology</span></h2>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/674.jpg.htm" title="The anatomical-astrological human of antiquity showing believed correlations between areas of the body and astrological entities."><img alt="The anatomical-astrological human of antiquity showing believed correlations between areas of the body and astrological entities." height="260" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Anatomical_Man.jpg" src="../../images/6/674.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/674.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <a href="../../wp/a/Anatomy.htm" title="Anatomy">anatomical</a>-astrological human of antiquity showing believed correlations between areas of the body and astrological entities.</div>
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<p><a id="Origins" name="Origins"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Origins</span></h3>
<p>The origins of much of the astrological doctrine and method that would later develop in <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>, and the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a> are found among the ancient <!--del_lnk--> Babylonians and their system of celestial omens that began to be compiled around the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE. This system of celestial omens later spread either directly or indirectly through the Babylonians to other areas such as <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a>, and <a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greece</a> where it merged with pre-existing indigenous forms of astrology. This Babylonian astrology came to Greece initially as early as the middle of the 4th century BCE, and then around the late 2nd or early 1st century BCE after the <!--del_lnk--> Alexandrian conquests, this Babylonian astrology was mixed with the Egyptian tradition of decanic astrology to create horoscopic astrology. This new form of astrology, which appears to have originated in <!--del_lnk--> Alexandrian Egypt, quickly spread across the ancient world into Europe, the Middle East and India.<p><a id="Before_the_scientific_revolution" name="Before_the_scientific_revolution"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Before the scientific revolution</span></h3>
<p>From the classical period through the <!--del_lnk--> scientific revolution, astrological training played a critical role in advancing astronomical, mathematical, medical and psychological knowledge. Insofar as the interpretation of supposed astrological influences included the observation and long-term tracking of celestial objects, it was often astrologers who provided the first systematic documentation of the movements of the Sun, the Moon, the planets, and the stars. The differentiation between astronomy and astrology varied from place to place; they were indistinguishable in ancient Babylonia and for most of the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_Ages.htm" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a>, but separated to a greater degree in ancient Greece (see <!--del_lnk--> astrology and astronomy). Astrology was not always uncritically accepted before the modern era; it was often challenged by Hellenistic skeptics, church authorities and medieval thinkers.<p>The pattern of astronomical knowledge gained from astrological endeavours has been historically repeated across numerous cultures, from <!--del_lnk--> ancient India through the classical <a href="../../wp/m/Maya_civilization.htm" title="Maya civilization">Maya civilization</a> to medieval Europe. Given this historical contribution, astrology has been called a <!--del_lnk--> protoscience along with <!--del_lnk--> pseudosciences such as <a href="../../wp/a/Alchemy.htm" title="Alchemy">alchemy</a> (see "Western astrology and alchemy" below).<p>Many prominent scientists, such as <!--del_lnk--> Nicholas Copernicus, <a href="../../wp/t/Tycho_Brahe.htm" title="Tycho Brahe">Tycho Brahe</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Galileo_Galilei.htm" title="Galileo Galilei">Galileo Galilei</a>, <a href="../../wp/j/Johannes_Kepler.htm" title="Johannes Kepler">Johannes Kepler</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Carl Gustav Jung and others, practiced or significantly contributed to astrology.<p><a id="Effects_on_world_culture" name="Effects_on_world_culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Effects on world culture</span></h2>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/253/25329.jpg.htm" title="Zodiac in a 6th century synagogue at Beit Alpha, Israel."><img alt="Zodiac in a 6th century synagogue at Beit Alpha, Israel." height="305" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Beit_Alpha.jpg" src="../../images/6/675.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/253/25329.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Zodiac in a 6th century <!--del_lnk--> synagogue at Beit Alpha, <a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a>.</div>
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<p>Astrology has had a profound influence over the past few thousand years on Western and Eastern cultures. In the middle ages, when even the educated of the time believed in astrology, the system of heavenly spheres and bodies was believed to reflect on the system of knowledge and the world itself below.<p><a id="Language" name="Language"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Language</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Influenza, from medieval Latin <i>influentia</i> meaning influence, was so named because doctors once believed epidemics to be caused by unfavorable planetary and stellar influences. The word "disaster" comes from the Latin <i>dis-aster</i> meaning "bad star". Adjectives "lunatic" (Luna/<a href="../../wp/m/Moon.htm" title="Moon">Moon</a>), "mercurial" (<a href="../../wp/m/Mercury_%2528planet%2529.htm" title="Mercury (planet)">Mercury</a>), "venereal" (<a href="../../wp/v/Venus.htm" title="Venus">Venus</a>), "martial" (<a href="../../wp/m/Mars.htm" title="Mars">Mars</a>), "jovial" (<a href="../../wp/j/Jupiter.htm" title="Jupiter">Jupiter</a>/Jove), and "saturnine" (<a href="../../wp/s/Saturn.htm" title="Saturn">Saturn</a>) are all old words used to describe personal qualities said to resemble or be highly influenced by the astrological characteristics of the planet, some of which are derived from the attributes of the ancient Roman gods they are named after.<p><b>Desire</b>, from the Latin <i>desiderare</i> meaning to "long for, wish for," perhaps from the original sense "await what the stars will bring," from the phrase <i>de sidere</i> which translates to "from the stars," from <i>sidus</i> or <i>sideris</i> meaning "heavenly body, star, constellation".<!--del_lnk--> <p><a id="As_a_descriptive_language_for_the_mind" name="As_a_descriptive_language_for_the_mind"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">As a descriptive language for the mind</span></h3>
<p>Different astrological traditions are dependent on a particular culture's prevailing mythology. These varied mythologies naturally reflect the cultures they emerge from. Images from these mythological systems are usually understandable to natives of the culture they are a part of. Most classicists think that Western astrology is dependent on <a href="../../wp/g/Greek_mythology.htm" title="Greek mythology">Greek mythology</a>.<p>Many writers, notably <!--del_lnk--> Geoffrey Chaucer and <a href="../../wp/w/William_Shakespeare.htm" title="William Shakespeare">William Shakespeare</a>, used astrological symbolism to add subtlety and nuance to the description of their characters' motivation(s). Often, an understanding of astrological symbolism is needed to fully appreciate such literature. Some modern thinkers, notably Carl Jung, believe in its descriptive powers regarding the mind without necessarily subscribing to its predictive claims. Consequently, some regard astrology as a way of learning about one self and one's motivations. Increasingly, psychologists and historians have become interested in Jung's theory of the fundamentality and indissolubility of archetypes in the human mind and their correlation with the symbols of the horoscope.<p><a id="Western_astrology_and_alchemy" name="Western_astrology_and_alchemy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Western astrology and alchemy</span></h3>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/676.png.htm" title="Extract and symbol key from 17th century alchemy text."><img alt="Extract and symbol key from 17th century alchemy text." height="115" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Alchemy-Digby-RareSecrets.png" src="../../images/6/676.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/676.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Extract and symbol key from 17th century alchemy text.</div>
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<p>Alchemy in the <!--del_lnk--> Western World and other locations where it was widely practiced was (and in many cases still is) allied and intertwined with traditional Babylonian-Greek style astrology; in numerous ways they were built to complement each other in the search for <!--del_lnk--> hidden knowledge (knowledge that is not common i.e. the occult). Astrology has used the concept of <!--del_lnk--> classical elements from antiquity up until the present day today. Most modern astrologers use the four classical elements extensively, and indeed it is still viewed as a critical part of interpreting the astrological chart. Traditionally, each of the seven planets in the solar system as known to the ancients was associated with, held dominion over, and "ruled" a certain <a href="../../wp/m/Metal.htm" title="Metal">metal</a> (see also <!--del_lnk--> astrology and the classical elements).<p><a id="The_seven_liberal_arts_and_Western_astrology" name="The_seven_liberal_arts_and_Western_astrology"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The seven liberal arts and Western astrology</span></h3>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> medieval Europe, a <!--del_lnk--> university education was divided into seven distinct areas, each represented by a particular planet and known as the seven <!--del_lnk--> liberal arts.<p><a href="../../wp/d/Dante_Alighieri.htm" title="Dante">Dante Alighieri</a> speculated that these arts, which grew into the sciences we know today, fitted the same structure as the planets. As the arts were seen as operating in ascending order, so were the planets and so, in decreasing order of planetary speed, <!--del_lnk--> grammar was assigned to the Moon, the quickest moving celestial body, <!--del_lnk--> dialectic was assigned to Mercury, <!--del_lnk--> rhetoric to <a href="../../wp/v/Venus.htm" title="Venus">Venus</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Music.htm" title="Music">music</a> to the Sun, arithmetic to Mars, geometry to Jupiter and astrology/astronomy to the slowest moving body, Saturn.<p><a id="Astrology_and_science" name="Astrology_and_science"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Astrology and science</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/677.jpg.htm" title="The Ptolemaic system depicted by Andreas Cellarius, 1660/61"><img alt="The Ptolemaic system depicted by Andreas Cellarius, 1660/61" height="209" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cellarius_ptolemaic_system.jpg" src="../../images/6/677.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/677.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Ptolemaic system depicted by <!--del_lnk--> Andreas Cellarius, 1660/61</div>
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<p>By the time of <a href="../../wp/f/Francis_Bacon.htm" title="Francis Bacon">Francis Bacon</a> and the scientific revolution, newly emerging scientific disciplines acquired a method of systematic empirical induction validated by experimental observations, which led to the scientific revolution. At this point, astrology and astronomy began to diverge; astronomy became one of the central sciences while astrology was increasingly viewed as an occult science or superstition by natural scientists. This separation accelerated through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.<p>Within the contemporary scientific community, astrology is generally labeled as a pseudoscience, and it has been criticized as being unscientific both by scientific bodies and by individual scientists. In 1975, the <!--del_lnk--> American Humanist Association published one of the most widely known modern criticisms of astrology, characterizing those who continue to have faith in the subject as doing so "in spite of the fact that there is no verified scientific basis for their beliefs, and indeed that there is strong evidence to the contrary". Astronomer <a href="../../wp/c/Carl_Sagan.htm" title="Carl Sagan">Carl Sagan</a> did not sign the statement, noting that, while he felt astrology lacked validity, he found the statement's tone <!--del_lnk--> authoritarian. He suggested that the lack of a causal mechanism for astrology was relevant but not in itself convincing.<p>Although astrology has had no accepted scientific standing for some time, it has been the subject of much research among astrologers since the beginning of the twentieth century. In his landmark study of twentieth-century research into natal astrology, vocal astrology critic Geoffrey Dean noted and documented the burgeoning research activity, primarily within the astrological community.<p><a id="Claims_about_obstacles_to_research" name="Claims_about_obstacles_to_research"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Claims about obstacles to research</span></h3>
<p>Astrologers have argued that there are significant obstacles in carrying out scientific research into astrology today, including funding, lack of background in science and statistics by astrologers, and insufficient expertise in astrology by research scientists. There are only a handful of journals dealing with scientific research into astrology (i.e. astrological journals directed towards scientific research or <!--del_lnk--> scientific journals publishing astrological research). Some astrologers have argued that few practitioners today pursue scientific testing of astrology because they feel that working with clients on a daily basis provides a personal validation for them.<p>Another argument made by astrologers is that most studies of astrology do not reflect the nature of astrological practice and that existing experimental methods and research tools are not adequate for studying this complex discipline. Some astrology proponents claim that the prevailing attitudes and motives of many opponents of astrology introduce conscious or unconscious bias in the formulation of hypotheses to be tested, the conduct of the tests, and the reporting of results.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/29/2931.jpg.htm" title="Early 'science,' particularly geometry and astronomy/astrology, was connected to the divine for most medieval scholars. The compass in this 13th century manuscript is a symbol of God's act of Creation, as many believed that there was something intrinsically "divine" or "perfect" that could be found in circles"><img alt="Early 'science,' particularly geometry and astronomy/astrology, was connected to the divine for most medieval scholars. The compass in this 13th century manuscript is a symbol of God's act of Creation, as many believed that there was something intrinsically "divine" or "perfect" that could be found in circles" height="317" longdesc="/wiki/Image:God_the_Geometer.jpg" src="../../images/6/678.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/29/2931.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Early 'science,' particularly geometry and astronomy/astrology, was connected to the divine for most <!--del_lnk--> medieval scholars. The <!--del_lnk--> compass in this 13th century manuscript is a symbol of God's act of <!--del_lnk--> Creation, as many believed that there was something intrinsically "divine" or "perfect" that could be found in <!--del_lnk--> circles</div>
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<p><a id="Mechanism" name="Mechanism"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Mechanism</span></h3>
<p>Many critics claim that a central problem to astrology is the lack of evidence for a scientifically defined mechanism by which celestial objects can supposedly influence terrestrial affairs. Astrologers claim that a lack of an explanatory mechanism would not scientifically invalidate astrological findings. Though physical mechanisms are still among the <!--del_lnk--> proposed theories of astrology, few modern astrologers believe in a direct causal relationship between heavenly bodies and earthly events. Some have posited <!--del_lnk--> acausal, purely <!--del_lnk--> correlative, relationships between astrological observations and events, such as the theory of <!--del_lnk--> synchronicity proposed by Jung. <!--del_lnk--> Astrophysicist Victor Mansfield suggests that astrology should draw inspiration from <!--del_lnk--> quantum physics. Others have posited a basis in <!--del_lnk--> divination. Still others have argued that empirical correlations can stand on their own <!--del_lnk--> epistemologically, and do not need the support of any theory or mechanism. To some observers, these non-mechanistic concepts raise serious questions about the feasibility of validating astrology through scientific testing, and some have gone so far as to reject the applicability of the scientific method to astrology almost entirely. Some astrologers, on the other hand, believe that astrology is amenable to the scientific method, given sufficiently sophisticated analytical methods, and they cite pilot studies they claim support this view. Consequently, a number of astrologers have called for or advocated continuing studies of astrology based on statistical validation.<p><a id="Research_claims_and_counter-claims" name="Research_claims_and_counter-claims"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Research claims and counter-claims</span></h3>
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<div style="width:189px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/679.jpg.htm" title="The Mars effect: relative frequency of the diurnal position of Mars in the birth chart of eminent athletes."><img alt="The Mars effect: relative frequency of the diurnal position of Mars in the birth chart of eminent athletes." height="171" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Marseffect.jpg" src="../../images/6/679.jpg" width="187" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/679.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Mars effect: relative frequency of the <!--del_lnk--> diurnal position of Mars in the birth chart of eminent athletes.</div>
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<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/680.jpg.htm" title="An engraving by Albrecht Dürer featuring Mashallah, from the title page of the De scientia motus orbis (Latin version with engraving, 1504). As in many medieval illustrations, the compass here is an icon of religion as well as science, in reference to God as the architect of creation"><img alt="An engraving by Albrecht Dürer featuring Mashallah, from the title page of the De scientia motus orbis (Latin version with engraving, 1504). As in many medieval illustrations, the compass here is an icon of religion as well as science, in reference to God as the architect of creation" height="270" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Durer_astronomer.jpg" src="../../images/6/680.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/680.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An engraving by <a href="../../wp/a/Albrecht_D%25C3%25BCrer.htm" title="Albrecht Dürer">Albrecht Dürer</a> featuring <!--del_lnk--> Mashallah, from the title page of the <i>De scientia motus orbis</i> (Latin version with engraving, 1504). As in many medieval illustrations, the compass here is an icon of religion as well as science, in reference to God as the architect of creation</div>
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<p>Several individuals, most notably French psychologist and statistician <!--del_lnk--> Michel Gauquelin, claimed to have found correlations between some planetary positions and certain human traits such as vocations. Gauquelin's most widely known claim is known as the <!--del_lnk--> Mars effect, which is said to demonstrate a correlation between the planet Mars occupying certain positions in the sky more often at the birth of eminent sports champions than at the birth of ordinary people. Since its original publication in 1955, the Mars effect has been the subject of studies claiming to refute it, and studies claiming to support and/or expand the original claims, but neither the claims nor the counterclaims have received mainstream scientific notice.<p>Besides the claims of the Mars effect, astrological researchers claim to have found statistical correlations for physical attributes, accidents, personal and mundane events, social trends such as economics and large geophysical patterns. None of these claims, however, have been published in a mainstream scientific journal.<p>The scientific community, where it has commented, claims that astrology has repeatedly failed to demonstrate its effectiveness in numerous controlled studies. <!--del_lnk--> Effect size studies in astrology conclude that the mean accuracy of astrological predictions is no greater than what is expected by chance, and astrology's perceived performance has disappeared on critical inspection. When tested against <!--del_lnk--> personality tests, astrologers have shown a consistent lack of agreement with these tests. One such <!--del_lnk--> double-blind study in which astrologers attempted to match birth charts with results of a personality test, which was published in the reputable <!--del_lnk--> peer-reviewed scientific journal <i><!--del_lnk--> Nature</i>, claimed to refute astrologers' assertions that they can solve clients' personal problems by reading individuals' natal charts. The study concluded that astrologers had no special ability to interpret personality from astrological readings. Another study that used a personality test and a questionnaire contended that some astrologers failed to predict objective facts about people or agree with each other's interpretations. When testing for <!--del_lnk--> cognitive, <!--del_lnk--> behavioural, <!--del_lnk--> physical and other variables, one study of astrological "<!--del_lnk--> time twins" claimed that human characteristics are not molded by the influence of the Sun, Moon and planets at the time of birth. Skeptics of astrology also suggest that the perceived accuracy of astrological interpretations and descriptions of one's personality can be accounted for by the <!--del_lnk--> fact that people tend to exaggerate positive 'hits' and overlook whatever does not fit, especially when <!--del_lnk--> vague language is used. They also claim that statistical research is often wrongly seen as evidence for astrology due to uncontrolled artifacts.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrology"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Astronomy</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Physics.Space_Astronomy.htm">Space (Astronomy)</a></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/126/12638.jpg.htm" title="A giant Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant."><img alt="A giant Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant." height="249" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Crab_Nebula.jpg" src="../../images/6/681.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p><b>Astronomy</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Greek: αστρονομία = άστρον + νόμος, <i>astronomia</i> = <i>astron</i> + <i>nomos</i>, literally, <i>"<a href="../../wp/l/Law.htm" title="Law">law</a> of the <a href="../../wp/s/Star.htm" title="Star">stars</a>"</i>) is the <a href="../../wp/s/Science.htm" title="Science">science</a> of celestial objects (<i>e.g.</i>, stars, <a href="../../wp/p/Planet.htm" title="Planet">planets</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Comet.htm" title="Comet">comets</a>, and <a href="../../wp/g/Galaxy.htm" title="Galaxy">galaxies</a>) and <!--del_lnk--> phenomena that originate outside the <a href="../../wp/e/Earth%2527s_atmosphere.htm" title="Earth's atmosphere">Earth's atmosphere</a> (<i>e.g.</i>, <!--del_lnk--> auroras and <a href="../../wp/c/Cosmic_microwave_background_radiation.htm" title="Cosmic microwave background radiation">cosmic background radiation</a>). It is concerned with the evolution, <a href="../../wp/p/Physics.htm" title="Physics">physics</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Chemistry.htm" title="Chemistry">chemistry</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Meteorology.htm" title="Meteorology">meteorology</a>,and <a href="../../wp/m/Motion_%2528physics%2529.htm" title="Motion (physics)">motion</a> of celestial objects, as well as the <!--del_lnk--> formation and development of the universe.<p>Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. Astronomers of early civilizations performed methodical observations of the night sky, and astronomical artifacts have been found from much earlier periods. However, it required the invention of the <a href="../../wp/t/Telescope.htm" title="Telescope">telescope</a> before astronomy developed into a modern science.<p>Since the 20th century, the field of professional astronomy has split into <!--del_lnk--> observational astronomy and <!--del_lnk--> theoretical astrophysics. Observational astronomy is concerned with acquiring data, which involves building and maintaining instruments, as well as processing the results. Theoretical astrophysics is concerned with ascertaining the observational implications of computer or analytic models. The two fields complement each other, with theoretical astronomy seeking to explain the observational results. Astronomical observations can be used to test fundamental theories in physics, such as <!--del_lnk--> general relativity.<p>Historically, <!--del_lnk--> amateur astronomers have contributed to many important astronomical discoveries, and astronomy is one of the few sciences where amateurs can still play an active role, especially in the discovery and observation of transient phenomena.<p>Modern astronomy is not to be confused with <a href="../../wp/a/Astrology.htm" title="Astrology">astrology</a>, the belief system that claims human affairs are correlated with the positions of celestial objects. Although the <!--del_lnk--> two fields share a common origin, most thinkers in both fields believe they are now distinct.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
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<p>In early times, astronomy only comprised the observation and predictions of the motions of the naked-eye objects. In some locations, such as <a href="../../wp/s/Stonehenge.htm" title="Stonehenge">Stonehenge</a>, early cultures assembled massive artifacts that likely had some astronomical purpose. In addition to their ceremonial uses, these observatories could be employed to determine the seasons, an important factor in knowing when to plant crops, as well as the length of the year.<p>As civilizations developed, most notably <a href="../../wp/b/Babylonia.htm" title="Babylonia">Babylonia</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Persia, <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Egypt.htm" title="Ancient Egypt">Egypt</a>, <!--del_lnk--> ancient Greece, <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>, and <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a>, astronomical observatories were assembled and ideas on the nature of the universe began to be explored. Early ideas on the motions of the planets were developed, and the nature of the Sun, Moon and the Earth in the universe were explored philosophically. The Earth was believed to be the centre of the universe with the Sun, the Moon and the stars rotating around it. This is what is known as the geocentric model of the universe.<p>A few notable astronomical discoveries were made prior to the application of the telescope. For example, the <!--del_lnk--> obliquity of the ecliptic was estimated as early as 1,000 B.C by the Chinese. The <a href="../../wp/b/Babylonia.htm" title="Babylonia">Chaldeans</a> discovered that eclipses recurred in a repeating cycle known as a <!--del_lnk--> saros. In the second century B.C., the size and distance of the Moon were estimated by <!--del_lnk--> Hipparchus.<p>During the Middle Ages, observational astronomy was mostly stagnant in <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_Ages.htm" title="Middle Ages">medieval</a> Europe until the <a href="../../wp/1/13th_century.htm" title="13th century">13th century</a>. However, observational astronomy flourished in the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persian Empire</a> and other parts of the <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islamic</a> world. Islamic astronomers introduced many names that are now used for individual stars.<p><a id="Scientific_revolution" name="Scientific_revolution"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Scientific revolution</span></h3>
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<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/682.jpg.htm" title="Galileo's sketches and observations of the Moon revealed that the surface was mountainous."><img alt="Galileo's sketches and observations of the Moon revealed that the surface was mountainous." height="388" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Galileo_moon_phases.jpg" src="../../images/6/682.jpg" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/682.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Galileo's sketches and observations of the Moon revealed that the surface was mountainous.</div>
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<p>During the <a href="../../wp/r/Renaissance.htm" title="Renaissance">Renaissance</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/Nicolaus_Copernicus.htm" title="Nicolaus Copernicus">Nicolaus Copernicus</a> proposed a <!--del_lnk--> heliocentric model of the <a href="../../wp/s/Solar_System.htm" title="Solar System">Solar System</a>. His work was defended, expanded upon, and corrected by <a href="../../wp/g/Galileo_Galilei.htm" title="Galileo Galilei">Galileo Galilei</a> and <a href="../../wp/j/Johannes_Kepler.htm" title="Johannes Kepler">Johannes Kepler</a>. Galileo added the innovation of using telescopes to enhance his observations.<p>Kepler was the first to devise a system that described correctly the details of the motion of the planets with the Sun at the centre. However, Kepler did not succeed in formulating a theory behind the laws he wrote down. It was left to <!--del_lnk--> Newton's invention of <!--del_lnk--> celestial dynamics and his <a href="../../wp/g/Gravitation.htm" title="Gravity">law of gravitation</a> to finally explain the motions of the planets. Newton also developed the <!--del_lnk--> reflecting telescope.<p>Further discoveries paralleled the improvements in size and quality of the telescope. More extensive star calatogues were produced by <!--del_lnk--> Lacaille. The astronomer <!--del_lnk--> William Herschel made an extensive catalog of nebulosity and clusters, and in 1781 discovered the planet <a href="../../wp/u/Uranus.htm" title="Uranus">Uranus</a>, the first new planet found. The distance to a star was first announced in 1838 when the <!--del_lnk--> parallax of <!--del_lnk--> 61 Cygni was measured by <!--del_lnk--> Friedrich Bessel.<p>During the nineteenth century, attention to the <!--del_lnk--> three body problem by <a href="../../wp/l/Leonhard_Euler.htm" title="Leonhard Euler">Euler</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Clairaut and <!--del_lnk--> D'Alembert led to more accurate predictions about the motions of the Moon and planets. This work was further refined by <!--del_lnk--> Lagrance and <!--del_lnk--> Laplace, allowing the masses of the planets and moons to be estimated from their perturbations.<p>Significant advances in astronomy came about with the introduction of new technology, including the <!--del_lnk--> spectroscope and <a href="../../wp/p/Photography.htm" title="Photography">photography</a>. <!--del_lnk--> Fraunhofer discovered about 600 bands in the spectrum of the Sun in 1814-15, which, in 1859, <!--del_lnk--> Kirchhoff ascribed to the presence of different elements. Stars were proven to be similar to Earth's own sun, but with a wide range of <!--del_lnk--> temperatures, <!--del_lnk--> masses, and sizes.<p>The existence of Earth's galaxy, the <a href="../../wp/m/Milky_Way.htm" title="Milky Way">Milky Way</a>, as a separate group of stars was only proved in the <a href="../../wp/2/20th_century.htm" title="20th century">20th century</a>, along with the existence of "external" galaxies, and soon after, the expansion of the <a href="../../wp/u/Universe.htm" title="Universe">universe</a>, seen in the recession of most galaxies from us. Modern astronomy has also discovered many exotic objects such as <!--del_lnk--> quasars, <!--del_lnk--> pulsars, <!--del_lnk--> blazars and <!--del_lnk--> radio galaxies, and has used these observations to develop physical theories which describe some of these objects in terms of equally exotic objects such as <a href="../../wp/b/Black_hole.htm" title="Black hole">black holes</a> and <!--del_lnk--> neutron stars. <!--del_lnk--> Physical cosmology made huge advances during the 20th century, with the model of the <a href="../../wp/b/Big_Bang.htm" title="Big Bang">Big Bang</a> heavily supported by the evidence provided by astronomy and physics, such as the <a href="../../wp/c/Cosmic_microwave_background_radiation.htm" title="Cosmic microwave background radiation">cosmic microwave background radiation</a>, <a href="../../wp/h/Hubble%2527s_law.htm" title="Hubble's law">Hubble's law</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> cosmological abundances of elements.<p><a id="Astronomical_observations" name="Astronomical_observations"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Astronomical observations</span></h2>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> Babylon and ancient Greece, astronomy consisted largely of <!--del_lnk--> astrometry, measuring the positions of stars and planets in the sky. Later, the work of <!--del_lnk--> astronomers <a href="../../wp/j/Johannes_Kepler.htm" title="Johannes Kepler">Kepler</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/Isaac_Newton.htm" title="Isaac Newton">Newton</a> led to the development of <!--del_lnk--> celestial mechanics, and astronomy focused on mathematically predicting the motions of <a href="../../wp/g/Gravitation.htm" title="Gravity">gravitationally</a> interacting celestial bodies. This was applied to <a href="../../wp/s/Solar_System.htm" title="Solar system">solar system</a> objects in particular. Today, the motions and positions of objects are more easily determined, and modern astronomy concentrates on observing and understanding the physical nature of celestial objects.<p><a id="Methods_of_data_collection" name="Methods_of_data_collection"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Methods of data collection</span></h3>
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<p>In astronomy, <a href="../../wp/i/Information.htm" title="Information">information</a> is mainly received from the detection and analysis of light and other forms of <a href="../../wp/e/Electromagnetic_radiation.htm" title="Electromagnetic radiation">electromagnetic radiation</a>. Other <!--del_lnk--> cosmic rays are also observed, and several experiments are designed to detect <!--del_lnk--> gravitational waves in the near future. <!--del_lnk--> Neutrino detectors have been used to observe solar neutrinos, and neutrino emissions from <!--del_lnk--> supernovae have also been detected.<p>A traditional division of astronomy is given by the region of the <!--del_lnk--> electromagnetic spectrum observed. At the low frequency end of the spectrum, <!--del_lnk--> radio astronomy detects <!--del_lnk--> radiation of millimeter to dekameter <!--del_lnk--> wavelength. The <a href="../../wp/r/Radio_telescope.htm" title="Radio telescope">radio telescope</a> receivers are similar to those used in <a href="../../wp/r/Radio.htm" title="Radio">radio</a> broadcast transmission but much more sensitive. <!--del_lnk--> Microwaves form the millimeter end of the radio spectrum and are important for studies of the <a href="../../wp/c/Cosmic_microwave_background_radiation.htm" title="Cosmic microwave background radiation">cosmic microwave background radiation</a>.<p><!--del_lnk--> Infrared astronomy and <!--del_lnk--> far infrared astronomy deal with the detection and analysis of <!--del_lnk--> infrared radiation (wavelengths longer than red light). The most common tool is the telescope but using a detector which is sensitive to the infrared. Infrared radiation is heavily absorbed by atmospheric <!--del_lnk--> water vapor, so infrared observatories have to be located in high, dry places or in outer space. <!--del_lnk--> Space telescopes in particular avoid atmospheric thermal emission, atmospheric opacity, and the negative effects of <!--del_lnk--> astronomical seeing at infrared and other wavelengths. Infrared is particularly useful for observation of galactic regions cloaked by dust.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/684.jpg.htm" title="Because of the altitude and isolation, the Mauna Kea Observatory has some of the best observation conditions on Earth."><img alt="Because of the altitude and isolation, the Mauna Kea Observatory has some of the best observation conditions on Earth." height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:The_Keck_Subaru_and_Infrared_obervatories.JPG" src="../../images/6/684.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/684.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Because of the altitude and isolation, the <!--del_lnk--> Mauna Kea Observatory has some of the best observation conditions on Earth.</div>
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<p>Historically, most astronomical data has been collected through <!--del_lnk--> optical astronomy. This is the portion of the spectrum that uses optical components (mirrors, lenses, <!--del_lnk--> CCD detectors and <!--del_lnk--> photographic films) to observe <a href="../../wp/l/Light.htm" title="Light">light</a> from near infrared to near ultraviolet wavelengths. <!--del_lnk--> Visible light astronomy (using <!--del_lnk--> wavelengths that can be detected with the eyes, about <!--del_lnk--> 400 - 700 nm) falls in the middle of this range. The most common tool is the <a href="../../wp/t/Telescope.htm" title="Telescope">telescope</a>, with <!--del_lnk--> electronic imagers and <!--del_lnk--> spectrographs.<p>More energetic sources are observed and studied in <!--del_lnk--> high-energy astronomy, which includes <!--del_lnk--> X-ray astronomy, <!--del_lnk--> gamma ray astronomy, and extreme UV (<a href="../../wp/u/Ultraviolet.htm" title="Ultraviolet">ultraviolet</a>) astronomy, as well as studies of <!--del_lnk--> neutrinos and cosmic rays.<p>Optical and radio astronomy can be performed with ground-based <!--del_lnk--> observatories, because the Earth's atmosphere is transparent at the wavelengths being detected. The atmosphere is <!--del_lnk--> opaque at the wavelengths of <!--del_lnk--> X-ray astronomy, <!--del_lnk--> gamma-ray astronomy, <!--del_lnk--> UV astronomy and (except for a few wavelength "windows") <!--del_lnk--> far infrared astronomy, so observations must be carried out mostly from <!--del_lnk--> balloons or <!--del_lnk--> space observatories. Powerful gamma rays can, however be detected by the large <!--del_lnk--> air showers they produce, and the study of cosmic rays can also be regarded as a branch of astronomy.<p>Planetary astronomy has benefited from direct observation in the form of spacecraft and sample return missions. These include fly-by missions with remote sensors, landing vehicles that can perform experiments on the surface materials, impactors that allow remote sensing of buried materials, and sample return missions that allow direct laboratory examination.<p><a id="Astrometry_and_celestial_mechanics" name="Astrometry_and_celestial_mechanics"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Astrometry and celestial mechanics</span></h3>
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<p>One of the oldest fields in astronomy, and in all of science, is the measurement of the positions of celestial objects in the sky. Historically, accurate knowledge of the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets and stars has been essential in <!--del_lnk--> celestial navigation.<p>Careful measurement of the positions of the planets has led to a solid understanding of gravitational <!--del_lnk--> perturbations and an ability to determine past and future positions of the planets with great accuracy, a field known as <!--del_lnk--> celestial mechanics. More recently the tracking of <!--del_lnk--> near-Earth objects will allow for predictions of close encounters, and potential collisions, with the Earth.<p>The measurement of <!--del_lnk--> stellar parallax of nearby stars provides a fundamental baseline in the <!--del_lnk--> cosmic distance ladder that is used to measure the scale of the universe. Parallax measurements of nearby stars provides an absolute baseline for the properties of more distant stars, o.virginia.edu/~rjp0i/museum/engines.html | title = Hall of Precision Astrometry | publisher = University of Virginia Department of Astronomy | language = English | accessdate = 2006-08-10 }}</ref><p>During the <!--del_lnk--> 1990s, the astrometric technique of measuring the <!--del_lnk--> stellar wobble was <!--del_lnk--> used to detect large <a href="../../wp/e/Extrasolar_planet.htm" title="Extrasolar planet">extrasolar planets</a> orbiting nearby stars.<p><a id="Interdisciplinary_studies" name="Interdisciplinary_studies"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Interdisciplinary studies</span></h3>
<p>Astronomy has developed significant interdisciplinary links with other major scientific fields. These include:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Astrophysics: the study of the physics of the universe, including the physical properties (<!--del_lnk--> luminosity, <!--del_lnk--> density, <!--del_lnk--> temperature, <a href="../../wp/c/Chemistry.htm" title="Chemistry">chemical composition</a>) of astronomical objects.<li><!--del_lnk--> Astrobiology: the study of the advent and evolution of biological systems in the universe.<li><a href="../../wp/a/Archaeoastronomy.htm" title="Archaeoastronomy">Archaeoastronomy</a>: the study of ancient or traditional astronomies in their cultural context, utilising <a href="../../wp/a/Archaeology.htm" title="Archaeology">archaeological</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/Anthropology.htm" title="Anthropology">anthropological</a> evidence.<li><!--del_lnk--> Astrochemistry: the study of the <!--del_lnk--> chemicals found in outer space, usually in <!--del_lnk--> molecular gas clouds, and their formation, interaction and destruction. As such, it represents an overlap of the disciplines of astronomy and <a href="../../wp/c/Chemistry.htm" title="Chemistry">chemistry</a>.</ul>
<p><a id="Astronomical_objects" name="Astronomical_objects"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Astronomical objects</span></h2>
<p><a id="Solar_astronomy" name="Solar_astronomy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Solar astronomy</span></h3>
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<p>The most frequently studied star is the <a href="../../wp/s/Sun.htm" title="Sun">Sun</a>, a typical main-sequence <!--del_lnk--> dwarf star of <!--del_lnk--> stellar class G2 V, and about 4.6 Gyr in age. The Sun is not considered a <!--del_lnk--> variable star, but it does undergo periodic changes in activity known as the <!--del_lnk--> sunspot cycle. This is an 11-year fluctuation in <!--del_lnk--> sunspot numbers. Sunspots are regions of lower than average temperature that are associated with intense magnetic activity.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/685.jpg.htm" title="An ultraviolet image of the Sun's active photosphere as viewed by the TRACE space telescope. NASA photo."><img alt="An ultraviolet image of the Sun's active photosphere as viewed by the TRACE space telescope. NASA photo." height="250" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Uvsun_trace_big.jpg" src="../../images/6/685.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/685.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An <a href="../../wp/u/Ultraviolet.htm" title="Ultraviolet">ultraviolet</a> image of the Sun's active <!--del_lnk--> photosphere as viewed by the <!--del_lnk--> TRACE space telescope. <i><!--del_lnk--> NASA photo</i>.</div>
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<p>The Sun has steadily increased in luminosity over the course of its life, increasing by 40% since it first became a main-sequence star. The Sun has also undergone periodic changes in luminosity that can have a significant impact on the Earth. The <!--del_lnk--> Maunder minimum, for example, is believed to have caused the <!--del_lnk--> Little Ice Age phenomenon during the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_Ages.htm" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a>.<p>The visible outer surface of the Sun is called the <!--del_lnk--> photosphere. Above this layer is a thin region known as the <!--del_lnk--> chromosphere. This is surrounded by a transition region of rapidly increasing temperatures, then by the super-heated <!--del_lnk--> corona.<p>At the centre of the Sun is the core region, a volume of sufficient temperature and pressure for <!--del_lnk--> nuclear fusion to occur. Above the core is the <!--del_lnk--> radiation zone, where the plasma conveys the energy flux by means of radiation. The outer layers form a <!--del_lnk--> convection zone where the gas material transports energy primarily through physical displacement of the gas. It is believed that this convection zone creates the magnetic activity that generates sun spots.<p>A solar wind of plasma particles constantly streams outward from the Sun until it reaches the <!--del_lnk--> heliopause. This solar wind interacts with the <!--del_lnk--> magnetosphere of the <a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">Earth</a> to create the <!--del_lnk--> Van Allen radiation belts, as well as the <!--del_lnk--> aurora where the lines of the <!--del_lnk--> Earth's magnetic field descend into the <a href="../../wp/e/Earth%2527s_atmosphere.htm" title="Earth's atmosphere">atmosphere</a>.<p><a id="Planetary_science" name="Planetary_science"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Planetary science</span></h3>
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<p>This astronomical field examines the assemblage of <a href="../../wp/p/Planet.htm" title="Planet">planets</a>, <!--del_lnk--> moons, <!--del_lnk--> dwarf planets, <a href="../../wp/c/Comet.htm" title="Comet">comets</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Asteroid.htm" title="Asteroid">asteroids</a>, and other bodies orbiting the Sun, as well as <a href="../../wp/e/Extrasolar_planet.htm" title="Extrasolar planet">extrasolar planets</a>. The <a href="../../wp/s/Solar_System.htm" title="Solar system">solar system</a> has been relatively well-studied, initially through telescopes and then later by spacecraft. This has provided a good overall understanding of the formation and evolution of this planetary system, although many new discoveries are still being made.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/686.jpg.htm" title="The black spot at top is a dust devil climbing a crater wall on Mars. This moving, swirling column of Martian atmosphere (comparable to a terrestrial tornado) created the long, dark streak. NASA image."><img alt="The black spot at top is a dust devil climbing a crater wall on Mars. This moving, swirling column of Martian atmosphere (comparable to a terrestrial tornado) created the long, dark streak. NASA image." height="131" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Dust.devil.mars.arp.750pix.jpg" src="../../images/6/686.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/686.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The black spot at top is a <!--del_lnk--> dust devil climbing a crater wall on <!--del_lnk--> Mars. This moving, swirling column of <!--del_lnk--> Martian atmosphere (comparable to a terrestrial <a href="../../wp/t/Tornado.htm" title="Tornado">tornado</a>) created the long, dark streak. <i><!--del_lnk--> NASA image</i>.</div>
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<p>The solar system is subdivided into the inner planets, the <!--del_lnk--> asteroid belt, and the outer planets. The inner <!--del_lnk--> terrestrial planets consist of <a href="../../wp/m/Mercury_%2528planet%2529.htm" title="Mercury (planet)">Mercury</a>, <a href="../../wp/v/Venus.htm" title="Venus">Venus</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">Earth</a>, and <a href="../../wp/m/Mars.htm" title="Mars">Mars</a>. The outer <a href="../../wp/g/Gas_giant.htm" title="Gas giant">gas giant</a> planets are <a href="../../wp/j/Jupiter.htm" title="Jupiter">Jupiter</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Saturn.htm" title="Saturn">Saturn</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/Uranus.htm" title="Uranus">Uranus</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/Neptune.htm" title="Neptune">Neptune</a>.<p>The planets formed from a <!--del_lnk--> protoplanetary disk that surrounded the early Sun. Through a process that included gravitational attraction, collision, and accretion, the disk formed clumps of matter that with time became protoplanets. The <!--del_lnk--> radiation pressure of the <!--del_lnk--> solar wind then expelled most of the unaccreted matter, and only those planets with sufficient mass retained their gaseous atmosphere. The planets continued to sweep up or eject the remaining matter during a period of intense bombardment evidenced by the many <!--del_lnk--> impact craters on the Moon. During this period some protoplanets may have collided, the <!--del_lnk--> leading hypothesis for how the Moon was formed.<p>Once a planet reaches sufficient mass, the materials with different densities segregate within its interior during <!--del_lnk--> planetary differentiation. This process can form a stony or metallic core surrounded by a mantle and outer surface. The core may include solid and liquid regions, and some planetary cores generate their own <!--del_lnk--> magnetic field, which can protect its atmosphere from solar wind stripping.<p>A planet or moon's interior heat is produced from the collisions that created the body, radioactive materials (<i>e.g.</i> <a href="../../wp/u/Uranium.htm" title="Uranium">uranium</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Thorium.htm" title="Thorium">thorium</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> <sup>26</sup>Al), or <!--del_lnk--> tidal heating. Some planets and moons accumulate enough heat to drive geologic processes such as <!--del_lnk--> volcanism and tectonics. Those that accumulate or retain an <!--del_lnk--> atmosphere can also undergo surface <!--del_lnk--> erosion from wind or water. Smaller bodies without tidal heating cool more quickly and their geological activity ceases with the exception of impact cratering.<p><a id="Stellar_astronomy" name="Stellar_astronomy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Stellar astronomy</span></h3>
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<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/687.jpg.htm" title="The Ant planetary nebula. Ejecting gas from the dying central star shows symmetrical patterns unlike the chaotic patterns of ordinary explosions."><img alt="The Ant planetary nebula. Ejecting gas from the dying central star shows symmetrical patterns unlike the chaotic patterns of ordinary explosions." height="157" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ant.nebula.arp.600pix.jpg" src="../../images/6/687.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/687.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Ant planetary nebula. Ejecting gas from the dying central star shows symmetrical patterns unlike the chaotic patterns of ordinary explosions.</div>
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<p>The study of <a href="../../wp/s/Star.htm" title="Star">stars</a> and <!--del_lnk--> stellar evolution is fundamental to our understanding of the universe. The astrophysics of stars has been determined through observation, theoretical understanding and from computer simulations of the interior.<p><!--del_lnk--> Star formation occurs in dense regions of dust and gas, known as <!--del_lnk--> giant molecular clouds. When destabilized, cloud fragments can collapse under the influence of gravity to form a <!--del_lnk--> protostar. A sufficiently dense and hot core region will trigger <!--del_lnk--> nuclear fusion and it becomes a <!--del_lnk--> main-sequence star.<p>The characteristics of the resulting star depend primarily on its starting mass. The more massive the star, the greater its luminosity and the more rapidly it expends the hydrogen fuel in its core. Over time this hydrogen fuel is completely converted into helium and the star begins to <!--del_lnk--> evolve. Fusion of helium requires a higher core temperature, so the star both expands in size and increases in density at the core. The resulting <a href="../../wp/r/Red_giant.htm" title="Red giant">red giant</a> enjoys a brief life span before the helium fuel is in turn consumed. Very massive stars can also undergo a series of shorter and shorter evolutionary phases as they fuse increasingly heavier elements.<p>The final fate of the star depends on its mass, with stars of mass greater than 1.4 times the <a href="../../wp/s/Sun.htm" title="Sun">Sun</a> becoming <!--del_lnk--> supernovae, while smaller stars will form <a href="../../wp/p/Planetary_nebula.htm" title="Planetary nebula">planetary nebulae</a> and evolve into <!--del_lnk--> white dwarfs. The remnant of a supernova is a dense <!--del_lnk--> neutron star, or, if the stellar mass was at least three times that of the Sun, a <a href="../../wp/b/Black_hole.htm" title="Black hole">black hole</a>.<p><a id="Galactic_astronomy" name="Galactic_astronomy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Galactic astronomy</span></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/122/12286.png.htm" title="Observed structure of the Milky Way's spiral arms"><img alt="Observed structure of the Milky Way's spiral arms" height="218" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Milky_Way_Spiral_Arms.png" src="../../images/6/688.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/122/12286.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Observed structure of the Milky Way's spiral arms</div>
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<p>Our <a href="../../wp/s/Solar_System.htm" title="Solar system">solar system</a> orbits within the <a href="../../wp/m/Milky_Way.htm" title="Milky Way">Milky Way</a>, a <!--del_lnk--> barred spiral galaxy that is a prominent member of the <!--del_lnk--> Local Group of galaxies. It is a rotating mass of gas, dust, stars and other objects, held together by mutual gravitational attraction. As the Earth is located within the dusty outer arms, there are large portions of the Milky Way that are obscured from view.<p>In the centre of the Milky Way is the core region, a bar-shaped bulge with what is believed to be a <!--del_lnk--> supermassive black hole at the centre. This is surrounded by four primary arms that spiral out from the core. This is a region of active star formation that contains many younger, <!--del_lnk--> population II stars. The disk is surrounded by a <!--del_lnk--> spheroid halo of older, <!--del_lnk--> population I stars, as well as relatively dense concentrations of stars known as <a href="../../wp/g/Globular_cluster.htm" title="Globular cluster">globular clusters</a>.<p>Between the stars lies the <!--del_lnk--> interstellar medium, a region of sparse matter. In the densest regions, <!--del_lnk--> molecular clouds of <a href="../../wp/h/Hydrogen.htm" title="Hydrogen">molecular hydrogen</a> and other elements create <!--del_lnk--> star-forming regions. These begin as irregular <!--del_lnk--> dark nebulae, which concentrate and collapse (in volumes determined by the <!--del_lnk--> Jeans length) to form compact <!--del_lnk--> protostars.<p>As the more massive stars appear, they transform the cloud into an <a href="../../wp/h/H_II_region.htm" title="H II region">H II region</a> of glowing gas and plasma. The <!--del_lnk--> stellar wind and supernova explosions from these stars eventually serve to disperse the cloud, often leaving behind one or more young <a href="../../wp/o/Open_cluster.htm" title="Open cluster">open clusters</a> of stars. These gradually disperse to join the population of stars in the Milky Way.<p>Kinematic studies of matter in the Milky Way and other galaxies have demonstrated that there is more mass than can be accounted for by visible matter. A <!--del_lnk--> dark matter halo appears to dominate the mass, although the nature of this dark matter remains undetermined.<p><a id="Galaxies_and_clusters" name="Galaxies_and_clusters"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Galaxies and clusters</span></h3>
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<p>The study of objects outside our galaxy is a branch of astronomy concerned with the <!--del_lnk--> formation and evolution of Galaxies, their morphology and <!--del_lnk--> classification, the examination of <!--del_lnk--> active galaxies and the <!--del_lnk--> groups and clusters of galaxies. The later is important for the understanding of the <!--del_lnk--> large-scale structure of the cosmos.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/689.jpg.htm" title="This image shows several blue, loop-shaped objects that are multiple images of the same galaxy, duplicated by the gravitational lens effect of the cluster of yellow galaxies near the middle of the photograph. The lens is produced by the cluster's gravitational field that bends light to magnify and distort the image of a more distant object."><img alt="This image shows several blue, loop-shaped objects that are multiple images of the same galaxy, duplicated by the gravitational lens effect of the cluster of yellow galaxies near the middle of the photograph. The lens is produced by the cluster's gravitational field that bends light to magnify and distort the image of a more distant object." height="332" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Grav.lens1.arp.750pix.jpg" src="../../images/6/689.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/689.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> This image shows several blue, loop-shaped objects that are multiple images of the same galaxy, duplicated by the <!--del_lnk--> gravitational lens effect of the cluster of yellow galaxies near the middle of the photograph. The lens is produced by the cluster's gravitational field that bends light to magnify and distort the image of a more distant object.</div>
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<p>Most galaxies are organized into distinct shapes that allow for classification schemes. They are commonly divided into <!--del_lnk--> spiral, <!--del_lnk--> elliptical and <!--del_lnk--> Irregular galaxies.<p>As the name suggests, an elliptical galaxy has the cross-sectional shape of an <!--del_lnk--> ellipse. The stars move along <!--del_lnk--> random orbits with no preferred direction. These galaxies contains little or no interstellar dust, few star-forming regions and generally older stars. Elliptical galaxies are more commonly found at the core of galactic clusters and may be formed through mergers of large galaxies.<p>A spiral galaxy is organized into a flat, rotating disk, usually with a prominent bulge or bar at the centre, and trailing bright arms that spiral outward. The arms are dusty regions of star formation where massive young stars produce a blue tint. Spiral galaxies are typically surrounded by a halo of older stars. Both the <a href="../../wp/m/Milky_Way.htm" title="Milky Way">Milky Way</a> and the <a href="../../wp/a/Andromeda_Galaxy.htm" title="Andromeda Galaxy">Andromeda Galaxy</a> are spiral galaxies.<p>Irregular galaxies are chaotic in appearance, and are neither spiral nor elliptical in form. About a quarter of all galaxies are irregular, and their peculiar shape may be the result of gravitational interaction.<p>An active galaxy is a formation that is emitting a significant amount of its energy from a source other than stars, dust and gas. They are powered by a compact region at the core, usually thought to be a supermassive black hole that is emitting radiation from infalling material.<p>A <!--del_lnk--> radio galaxy is an active galaxy that is very luminous in the <a href="../../wp/r/Radio.htm" title="Radio">radio</a> portion of the spectrum, and is emitting immense plumes or lobes of gas. Active galaxies that emit high-energy radiation include <!--del_lnk--> Seyfert galaxies, <!--del_lnk--> Quasars, and <!--del_lnk--> Blazars. Quasars are believed to be the most consistently luminous objects in the known universe.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> large-scale structure of the cosmos is represented by groups and clusters of galaxies. This structure is organized in a hierarchy of groupings, with the largest being the <!--del_lnk--> superclusters. The collective matter is formed into <!--del_lnk--> filaments and walls, leaving large <!--del_lnk--> voids in between.<p><a id="Cosmology" name="Cosmology"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Cosmology</span></h3>
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<p>Observations of the <!--del_lnk--> large-scale structure of the <a href="../../wp/u/Universe.htm" title="Universe">universe</a>, a branch known as <!--del_lnk--> physical cosmology, have provided a deep understanding of the formation and evolution of the cosmos. Fundamental to modern cosmology is the well-accepted theory of the <!--del_lnk--> big bang, wherein our universe began at a single point in time and thereafter <a href="../../wp/m/Metric_expansion_of_space.htm" title="Metric expansion of space">expanded</a> over the course of 13.7 Gyr to its present condition. The concept of the big bang can be traced back to the discovery of the <a href="../../wp/c/Cosmic_microwave_background_radiation.htm" title="Cosmic microwave background radiation">microwave background radiation</a> in 1965.<p>In the course of this expansion, the universe underwent several evolutionary stages. In the very early moments, it is theorized that the universe underwent a very rapid <a href="../../wp/c/Cosmic_inflation.htm" title="Cosmic inflation">cosmic inflation</a>, which homogenized the starting conditions. Thereafter <!--del_lnk--> nucleosynthesis produced the elemental abundance of the early universe.<p>When the first atoms formed space became transparent to radiation; releasing the energy viewed today as the microwave background radiation. The expanding universe then underwent a dark age because of the lack of stellar energy sources.<p>A hierarchical structure of matter began to form from minute variations in the mass density. Matter accumulated in the densest regions, forming clouds of gas and the <!--del_lnk--> earliest stars. These massive stars triggered the <!--del_lnk--> reionization process and are believed to have created many of the heavy elements in the early universe.<p>Gravitational aggregations clustered into filaments, leaving voids in the gaps. Gradually organizations of gas and dust merged to form the first primitive galaxies. Over time these pulled in more matter, and were often organized into <!--del_lnk--> groups and clusters of galaxies, then into larger-scale <!--del_lnk--> superclusters.<p>Fundamental to the structure of the universe is the existence of <!--del_lnk--> dark matter and <!--del_lnk--> dark energy. These are now thought to be the dominant components, forming 96% of the density of the universe. So much effort is being spent to try and understand the physics of these components.<p><a id="Amateur_astronomy" name="Amateur_astronomy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Amateur astronomy</span></h2>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/690.jpg.htm" title="Amateur astronomers can build their own equipment and hold star parties and gatherings, such as Stellafane."><img alt="Amateur astronomers can build their own equipment and hold star parties and gatherings, such as Stellafane." height="389" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Telescope_trailer_22.jpg" src="../../images/6/690.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/690.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Amateur astronomers can build their own equipment and hold star parties and gatherings, such as <!--del_lnk--> Stellafane.</div>
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<p>Collectively, amateur astronomers observe a variety of celestial objects and phenomena sometimes with <!--del_lnk--> equipment they build themselves. Common targets of amateur astronomers include the Moon, planets, stars, comets, meteor showers, and a variety of <!--del_lnk--> deep sky objects such as star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae. One branch of amateur astronomy, amateur <!--del_lnk--> astrophotography, involves the taking of photos of the night sky. Many amateurs like to specialise in observing particular objects, types of objects, or types of events which interest them.<p>Most amateurs work at visible wavelengths, but a small minority experiment with wavelengths outside the visible spectrum. This includes the use of infrared filters on conventional telescopes, and also the use of radio telescopes. The pioneer of amateur radio astronomy was <!--del_lnk--> Karl Jansky who started observing the sky at radio wavelengths in the <!--del_lnk--> 1930s. A number of amateur astronomers use either homemade telescopes or use radio telescopes which were originally built for astronomy research but which are now available to amateurs (<i>e.g.</i> the <!--del_lnk--> One-Mile Telescope).<p>Amateur astronomers continue to make scientific contributions to the field of astronomy. Indeed it is one of the few scientific disciplines where amateurs can still make significant contributions. Amateurs can make occultation measurements that are used to refine the orbits of minor planets. They can also discover comets and perform regular observations of variable stars. Improvements in digital technology have allowed amateurs to make impressive advances in the field of astrophotography. <p><a id="Major_questions_in_astronomy" name="Major_questions_in_astronomy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Major questions in astronomy</span></h2>
<p>Although the scientific discipline of astronomy has made tremendous strides in understanding the nature of the universe and its contents, there remain some important unanswered questions. Answers to these may require the construction of new ground and space-based instruments, and possibly new developments in theoretical and experimental physics.<ul>
<li>Are there <!--del_lnk--> Earth-like planets around other stars? Astronomers have found massive stars and disks of debris around other stars. So the existence of smaller, terrestrial planets seems likely.<li>Is there other <a href="../../wp/e/Extraterrestrial_life.htm" title="Extraterrestrial life">life in the Universe</a>? Especially, is there other intelligent life? If so, what is the explanation for the <a href="../../wp/f/Fermi_paradox.htm" title="Fermi paradox">Fermi paradox</a>? The existence of life elsewhere has important scientific and philosophical implications.<li>What is the nature of dark matter and dark energy? These dominate the evolution and fate of the cosmos, yet we are still uncertain about their true nature.<li>Why did the universe come to be? Why, for example, are the physical constants so <!--del_lnk--> finely tuned that they permit the existence of life? Could they be the result of <!--del_lnk--> cosmological natural selection? What caused the <a href="../../wp/c/Cosmic_inflation.htm" title="Cosmic inflation">cosmic inflation</a> that produced our homogeneous universe?</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomy"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Astrophysics Data System</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Physics.Space_Astronomy.htm">Space (Astronomy)</a></h3>
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<p>The <!--del_lnk--> NASA <b>Astrophysics Data System</b> (usually referred to as <b>ADS</b>) is an online database of over 5,000,000 <a href="../../wp/a/Astronomy.htm" title="Astronomy">astronomy</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/Physics.htm" title="Physics">physics</a> papers from both <!--del_lnk--> peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed sources. <!--del_lnk--> Abstracts are available for free online for all articles, and full scanned articles are available in <!--del_lnk--> GIF and <!--del_lnk--> PDF format for older articles. New articles have links to electronic versions hosted at the journal's webpage, but these are typically available only by subscription (which most astronomy research facilities have).<p>ADS is an extremely powerful research tool, and has had a significant impact on the efficiency of astronomical research since it was launched in 1992. Literature searches which previously would have taken days or weeks can now be carried out in seconds, via the sophisticated ADS search engine, which is custom-built for astronomical needs. Studies have found that the benefit to astronomy of the ADS is equivalent to several hundred million <!--del_lnk--> US dollars annually, and the system is estimated to have tripled the readership of astronomical <!--del_lnk--> journals.<p>Use of ADS is almost universal among astronomers worldwide, and therefore ADS usage statistics can be used to analyse global trends in astronomical research. They have revealed that the amount of research an astronomer carries out is related to the <!--del_lnk--> GDP per capita of the country in which they are based and that the number of astronomers in a country is proportional to the GDP of that country, so the amount of research done in a country is proportional to the square of its GDP divided by its <!--del_lnk--> population.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>For many years, a growing problem in astronomical research was that the rising number of papers published in the major astronomical journals was increasing steadily, meaning astronomers were able to read less and less of the latest research findings. During the 1980s, astronomers saw that the nascent technologies which formed the basis of the <a href="../../wp/i/Internet.htm" title="Internet">Internet</a> could eventually be used to build an electronic indexing system of astronomical research papers which would allow astronomers to keep abreast of a much greater range of research.<p>The first suggestion of a database of journal paper abstracts was made at a conference on <i>Astronomy from Large Data-bases</i> held in <!--del_lnk--> Garching bei München in 1987. Initial development of an electronic system for accessing astrophysical abstracts took place during the following two years, and in 1991 discussions took place on how to integrate ADS with the <!--del_lnk--> SIMBAD database, which contains all available catalogue designations for objects outside the <a href="../../wp/s/Solar_System.htm" title="Solar system">solar system</a>, to create a system where astronomers could search for all the papers written about a given object.<p>An initial version of ADS, with a database consisting of 40 papers, was created as a <!--del_lnk--> proof of concept in 1988, and the ADS database was successfully connected with the SIMBAD database in the summer of 1993. This is believed to have been the first use of the Internet to allow simultaneous querying of transatlantic scientific databases. Until 1994, the service was available via proprietary network software, but was transferred to the nascent <a href="../../wp/w/World_Wide_Web.htm" title="World Wide Web">World Wide Web</a> early that year. The number of users of the service quadrupled in the five weeks following the introduction of the ADS web-based service.<p>At first, the journal articles available via ADS were <!--del_lnk--> scanned <!--del_lnk--> bitmaps created from the paper journals, but from 1995 onwards, the <i><!--del_lnk--> Astrophysical Journal</i> began to publish an on-line edition, soon followed by the other main journals such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Astronomy and Astrophysics</i> and the <i><!--del_lnk--> Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society</i>. ADS provided links to these electronic editions from their first appearance. Since about 1995, the number of ADS users has doubled roughly every two years. ADS now has agreements with almost all astronomical journals, who supply abstracts, and scanned articles from as far back as the early 19th century are available via the service, which now contains over five million documents. The service is now distributed worldwide, with twelve <!--del_lnk--> mirror sites in twelve countries on five continents, with the database synchronised by means of weekly updates using <!--del_lnk--> rsync, a mirroring utility which allows updates to only the portions of the database which have changed. All updates are triggered centrally, but they initiate scripts at the mirror sites which 'pull' updated data from the main ADS servers.<p><a id="Data_in_the_system" name="Data_in_the_system"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Data in the system</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/822.jpg.htm" title="1284 papers about M101 are available through ADS, from as long ago as 1850."><img alt="1284 papers about M101 are available through ADS, from as long ago as 1850." height="195" longdesc="/wiki/Image:M101_hires_STScI-PRC2006-10a.jpg" src="../../images/8/822.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/822.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 1284 papers about <!--del_lnk--> M101 are available through ADS, from as long ago as 1850.</div>
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<p>Papers are indexed within the database by their bibliographic record, containing the details of the journal they were published in and various associated <!--del_lnk--> metadata, such as author lists, <!--del_lnk--> references and <!--del_lnk--> citations. Originally this data was stored in <a href="../../wp/a/ASCII.htm" title="ASCII">ASCII</a> format, but eventually the limitations of this encouraged the database maintainers to migrate all records to an <!--del_lnk--> XML (Extensible Markup Language) format in 2000. Bibliographic records are now stored as an XML element, with sub-elements for the various metadata.<p>Since the advent of online editions of journals, abstracts are loaded into the ADS on or before the publication date of articles, with the full journal text available to subscribers. Older articles have been scanned, and an abstract is created using <!--del_lnk--> optical character recognition software. Scanned articles from before about 1995 are usually available for free, by agreement with the journal publishers.<p>Scanned articles are stored in <!--del_lnk--> TIFF format, at both medium and high <!--del_lnk--> resolution. The TIFF files are converted on demand into GIF files for on-screen viewing, and <!--del_lnk--> PDF or <!--del_lnk--> PostScript files for printing. The generated files are then <!--del_lnk--> cached to eliminate needlessly frequent regenerations for popular articles. As of 2000, ADS contained 250 <!--del_lnk--> GB of scans, which consisted of 1,128,955 article pages comprising 138,789 articles. By 2005 this had grown to 650 GB, and is expected to grow further, to about 900 GB by 2007.<p>The database initially contained only astronomical references, but has now grown to incorporate four database, covering astronomy, <!--del_lnk--> instrumentation and <!--del_lnk--> geophysics references as well as <!--del_lnk--> preprints of astronomical papers. The astronomy database is by far the most advanced and its use accounts for about 85% of the total ADS usage. Articles are assigned to the different databases according to the subject rather than the journal they are published in, so that articles from any one journal might appear in all three subject databases. The separation of the databases allows searching in each discipline to be tailored, so that words can automatically be given different <!--del_lnk--> weight functions in different database searches, depending on how common they are in the relevant field.<p>Data in the preprint archive is updated daily from the <!--del_lnk--> arXiv, the main repository of physics and astronomy preprints. The advent of preprint servers has, like ADS, had a significant impact on the rate of astronomical research, as papers are often made available from preprint servers weeks or months before they are published in the journals. The incorporation of preprints from the arXiv into ADS means that the search engine can return the most current research available, with the caveat that preprints may not have been peer reviewed or <!--del_lnk--> proofread to the required standard for publication in the main journals. ADS's database links preprints with subsequently published articles wherever possible, so that citation and reference searches will return links to the journal article where the preprint was cited.<p><a id="Software_and_hardware" name="Software_and_hardware"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Software and hardware</span></h2>
<p>The software which runs the system was written specifically for it, allowing for extensive customisation to astronomical needs which would not have been possible with general purpose <!--del_lnk--> database software. The scripts are designed to be as <!--del_lnk--> platform independent as possible, given the need to facilitate mirroring on different systems around the world, although the growing dominance of <a href="../../wp/l/Linux.htm" title="Linux">Linux</a> as the <!--del_lnk--> operating system of choice within astronomy has led to increasing optimisation of the scripts for installation on this platform.<p>The main ADS server is located at the Harvard-Smithsonian <!--del_lnk--> Centre for Astrophysics in <!--del_lnk--> Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is a single <!--del_lnk--> PC with two 3.6 <!--del_lnk--> GHz <a href="../../wp/c/Central_processing_unit.htm" title="Central processing unit">CPUs</a> and 6 GB of <!--del_lnk--> RAM, running the <a href="../../wp/f/Fedora_Core.htm" title="Fedora Core">Fedora Core</a> Linux distribution. Mirrors are located in <a href="../../wp/a/Argentina.htm" title="Argentina">Argentina</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Chile.htm" title="Chile">Chile</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>, <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Korea.htm" title="South Korea">South Korea</a> and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>.<p><a id="Indexing" name="Indexing"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Indexing</span></h2>
<p>ADS currently receive abstracts or tables of contents from almost two hundred journal sources. The service may receive data referring to the same article from multiple sources, and creates one bibliographic reference based on the most accurate data from each source. The common use of <a href="../../wp/t/TeX.htm" title="TeX">TeX</a> and <!--del_lnk--> LaTeX by almost all scientific journals greatly facilitates the incorporation of bibliographic data into the system in a standardised format, and importing <!--del_lnk--> HTML-coded web-based articles is also simple. ADS utilises <a href="../../wp/p/Perl.htm" title="Perl">Perl</a> scripts for importing, processing and standardising bibliographic data.<p>The apparently mundane task of converting author names into a standard <i><!--del_lnk--> Surname, <!--del_lnk--> Initial</i> format is actually one of the more difficult to automate, due to the wide variety of naming conventions around the world and the possibility that a given name such as Davis could be a <!--del_lnk--> first name, <!--del_lnk--> middle name or surname. The accurate conversion of names requires a detailed knowledge of the names of authors active in astronomy, and ADS maintains an extensive database of author names, which is also used in searching the database (see below).<p>For electronic articles, a list of the references given at the end of the article is easily extracted. For scanned articles, reference extraction relies on OCR. The reference database can then be 'inverted' to list the citations for each paper in the database. Citation lists have been used in the past to identify popular articles missing from the database; mostly these were from before 1975 and have now been added to the system.<p><a id="Coverage" name="Coverage"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Coverage</span></h2>
<p>The database now contains over four million articles. In the cases of the major journals of astronomy (<i><!--del_lnk--> Astrophysical Journal</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Astronomical Journal</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Astronomy and Astrophysics</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific</i> and the <i><!--del_lnk--> Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society</i>), coverage is complete, with all issues indexed from number 1 to the present. These journals account for about two-thirds of the papers in the database, with the rest consisting of papers published in over 100 other journals from around the world.<p>While the database contains the complete contents of all the major journals and many minor ones as well, its coverage of references and citations is much less complete. References in and citations of articles in the major journals are fairly complete, but references such as 'private communication', 'in press' or 'in preparation' cannot be matched, and author errors in reference listings also introduce potential errors. Astronomical papers may cite and be cited by articles in journals which fall outside the scope of ADS, such as <a href="../../wp/c/Chemistry.htm" title="Chemistry">chemistry</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Mathematics.htm" title="Maths">maths</a> or <a href="../../wp/b/Biology.htm" title="Biology">biology</a> journals.<p><a id="Search_engine" name="Search_engine"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Search engine</span></h2>
<p>Since its inception, the ADS has developed a highly sophisticated search engine to query the abstract and object databases. The search engine is tailor-made for searching astronomical abstracts, and the engine and its <!--del_lnk--> user interface assume that the user is well-versed in astronomy and able to interpret search results which are designed to return more than just the most relevant papers. The database can be queried for author names, <!--del_lnk--> astronomical object names, title words, and words in the abstract text, and results can be filtered according to a number of criteria. It works by first gathering synonyms and simplifying search terms as described above, and then generating an 'inverted file', which is a list of all the documents matching each search term. The user-selected logic and filters are then applied to this inverted list to generate the final search results.<p><a id="Author_name_queries" name="Author_name_queries"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Author name queries</span></h3>
<p>The system indexes author names by surname and initials, and accounts for the possible variations in spelling of names using a list of variations. This is common in the case of names including accents such as <!--del_lnk--> umlauts and transliterations from <!--del_lnk--> Arabic or <!--del_lnk--> Cyrillic script. An example of an entry in the author synonym list is:<dl>
<dd><i>AFANASJEV, V</i><dd><i>AFANAS’EV, V</i><dd><i>AFANAS’IEV, V</i><dd><i>AFANASEV, V</i><dd><i>AFANASYEV, V</i><dd><i>AFANS’IEV, V</i><dd><i>AFANSEV, V</i></dl>
<p><a id="Object_name_searches" name="Object_name_searches"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Object name searches</span></h3>
<p>The capability to search for papers on specific astronomical objects is one of ADS' most powerful tools. The system uses data from the <!--del_lnk--> SIMBAD, the <!--del_lnk--> NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database, the <!--del_lnk--> International Astronomical Union Circulars and the <!--del_lnk--> Lunar and Planetary Institute to identify papers referring to a given object, and can also search by object position, listing papers which concern objects within a 10 <!--del_lnk--> arcminute radius of a given <!--del_lnk--> Right Ascension and <!--del_lnk--> Declination. These databases combine the many catalogue designations an object might have, so that a search for the <a href="../../wp/p/Pleiades_%2528star_cluster%2529.htm" title="Pleiades (star cluster)">Pleiades</a> will also find papers which list the famous <a href="../../wp/o/Open_cluster.htm" title="Open cluster">open cluster</a> in <!--del_lnk--> Taurus under any of its other catalogue designations or popular names, such as M45, the Seven Sisters or Melotte 22.<p><a id="Title_and_abstract_searches" name="Title_and_abstract_searches"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Title and abstract searches</span></h3>
<p>The search engine first filters search terms in several ways. An M followed by a space or <!--del_lnk--> hyphen has the space or hyphen removed, so that searching for <!--del_lnk--> Messier catalogue objects is simplified and a user input of M45, M 45 or M-45 all result in the same query being executed; similarly, <!--del_lnk--> NGC designations and common search terms such as <a href="../../wp/c/Comet_Shoemaker-Levy_9.htm" title="Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9">Shoemaker Levy</a> and <!--del_lnk--> T Tauri are stripped of spaces. Unimportant words such as AT, OR and TO are stripped out, although in some cases <!--del_lnk--> case sensitivity is maintained, so that while <b>a</b>nd is ignored, <b>A</b>nd is converted to '<!--del_lnk--> Andromedae', and <b>H</b>er is converted to '<!--del_lnk--> Herculis' while <b>h</b>er is ignored.<p><a id="Synonym_replacement" name="Synonym_replacement"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Synonym replacement</span></h3>
<p>Once search terms have been pre-processed, the database is queried with the revised search term, as well as synonyms for it. As well as simple <!--del_lnk--> synonym replacement such as searching for both <!--del_lnk--> plural and <!--del_lnk--> singular forms, ADS also searches for a large number of specifically astronomical synonyms. For example, <!--del_lnk--> spectrograph and <!--del_lnk--> spectroscope have basically the same meaning, and in an astronomical context <!--del_lnk--> metallicity and <!--del_lnk--> abundance are also synonymous. ADS' synonym list was created manually, by grouping the list of words in the database according to similar meanings.<p>As well as <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English language</a> synonyms, ADS also searches for English translations of foreign search terms and vice versa, so that a search for the <a href="../../wp/f/French_language.htm" title="French language">French</a> word <i>soleil</i> retrieves references to <a href="../../wp/s/Sun.htm" title="Sun">Sun</a>, and papers in languages other than English can be returned by English search terms.<p>Synonym replacement can be disabled if required, so that a rare term which is a synonym of a much more common term (such as '<!--del_lnk--> dateline' rather than '<!--del_lnk--> date') can be searched for specifically.<p><a id="Selection_logic" name="Selection_logic"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Selection logic</span></h3>
<p>The search engine allows selection <a href="../../wp/l/Logic.htm" title="Logic">logic</a> both within fields and between fields. Search terms in each field can be combined with OR, AND, simple logic or <a href="../../wp/b/Boolean_logic.htm" title="Boolean logic">Boolean logic</a>, and the user can specify which fields must be matched in the search results. This allows very complex searches to be built up; for example, the user could search for papers concerning <!--del_lnk--> NGC 6543 OR <!--del_lnk--> NGC 7009, with the paper titles containing (radius OR velocity) AND NOT (abundance OR temperature).<p><a id="Result_filtering" name="Result_filtering"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Result filtering</span></h3>
<p>Search results can be filtered according to a number of criteria, including specifying a range of years such as '1945 to 1975', '2000 to the present day' or 'before 1900', and what type of journal the article appears in – non-peer reviewed articles such as <!--del_lnk--> conference proceedings can be excluded or specifically searched for, or specific journals can be included in or excluded from the search.<p><a id="Search_results" name="Search_results"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Search results</span></h2>
<p>Although it was conceived as a means of accessing abstracts and papers, ADS today provides a substantial amount of ancillary information along with search results. For each abstract returned, links are provided to other papers in the database which are referenced, and which cite the paper, and a link is provided to a preprint, where one exists. The system also generates a link to 'also-read' articles – that is, those which been most commonly accessed by those reading the article. In this way, an ADS user can determine which papers are of most interest to astronomers who are interested in the subject of a given paper.<p>Also returned are links to the SIMBAD and/or NASA Extragalactic Database object name databases, via which a user can quickly find out basic observational data about the objects analysed in a paper, and find further papers on those objects.<p><a id="Impact_on_astronomy" name="Impact_on_astronomy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Impact on astronomy</span></h2>
<p>ADS is an almost universally used research tool among astronomers, and its impact on astronomical research is considerable. Several studies have estimated quantitatively how much more efficient ADS has made astronomy; one estimated that ADS increased the efficiency of astronomical research by 333 full-time equivalent research years per year, and another found that in 2002 its effect was equivalent to 736 full-time researchers, or all the astronomical research done in France. ADS has allowed literature searches that would previously have taken days or weeks to carry out to be completed in seconds, and it is estimated that ADS has increased the readership and use of the astronomical literature by a factor of about three since its inception.<p>In monetary terms, this increase in efficiency represents a considerable amount. There are about 12,000 active astronomical researchers worldwide, so ADS is the equivalent of about 5% of the working population of astronomers. The global astronomical research budget is estimated at between 4,000 and 5,000 million USD, so the value of ADS to astronomy would be about 200–250 million USD annually. Its operating budget is a small fraction of this amount.<p>The great importance of ADS to astronomers has been recognised by the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nations</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> General Assembly of which has commended ADS on its work and success, particularly noting its importance to astronomers in the developing world, in reports of the <!--del_lnk--> United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. A 2002 report by a visiting committee to the Centre for Astrophysics, meanwhile, said that the service had 'revolutionized the use of the astronomical literature', and was 'probably the most valuable single contribution to astronomy research that the CfA has made in its lifetime'.<p><a id="Sociological_studies_using_ADS" name="Sociological_studies_using_ADS"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Sociological studies using ADS</span></h2>
<p>Because it is used almost universally by astronomers, ADS can reveal much about how astronomical research is distributed around the world. Most users of the system will reach from institutes of higher education, whose <!--del_lnk--> IP address can easily be used to determine the user's geographical location. Studies reveal that the highest per-capita users of ADS are France and <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>-based astronomers, and while more developed countries (measured by <!--del_lnk--> GDP per capita) use the system more than less developed countries; the relationship between GDP per capita and ADS use is not linear. The range of ADS uses per capita far exceeds the range of GDPs per capita, and basic research carried out in a country, as measured by ADS usage, has been found to be proportional to the square of the country's GDP divided by its population.<p>ADS usage statistics also suggest that astronomers in more developed countries tend to be more productive than those in less developed countries. The amount of basic research carried out is proportional to the number of astronomers in a country multiplied by the GDP per capita. Statistics also imply that astronomers in <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="European">European</a> cultures carry out about three times as much research as those in <!--del_lnk--> Asian cultures, perhaps implying cultural differences in the importance attached to astronomical research.<p>ADS has also been used to show that the fraction of single-author astronomy papers has decreased substantially since 1975 and that astronomical papers with more than 50 authors have become more common since 1990.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrophysics_Data_System"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Asunción</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Central_and_South_American_Geography.htm">Central & South American Geography</a></h3>
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<p><b>Asunción</b>, population 1,639,000 (<!--del_lnk--> 2002), is the <a href="../../wp/c/Capital.htm" title="Capital">capital</a> of <a href="../../wp/p/Paraguay.htm" title="Paraguay">Paraguay</a>. Its <!--del_lnk--> metropolitan area, named <i><!--del_lnk--> Gran Asunción</i>, includes the cities of <!--del_lnk--> San Lorenzo, <!--del_lnk--> Fernando de la Mora, <!--del_lnk--> Lambaré, <!--del_lnk--> Luque, <!--del_lnk--> Mariano Roque Alonso, <!--del_lnk--> Ñemby and <!--del_lnk--> Villa Elisa; having more than 1.5 <!--del_lnk--> million inhabitants. Asunción is located at <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 25°16′S 57°40′W</span> (-25.2667, -57.6667).<p>It is the seat of government, principal port and chief industrial and cultural centre of the country. Main outputs of the manufacturing industries include <!--del_lnk--> footwear, <!--del_lnk--> textiles, and <a href="../../wp/t/Tobacco.htm" title="Tobacco">tobacco</a> products.<p>The Spanish word <i>asunción</i> means <i>assumption</i> in English. It refers to the <!--del_lnk--> Assumption of Mary.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Asunción is one of the oldest cities in <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South America</a>, being known as "Mother of Cities". It was from here that the colonial expeditions departed to found other cities, including the second foundation of <a href="../../wp/b/Buenos_Aires.htm" title="Buenos Aires">Buenos Aires</a> and of other important cities such as <!--del_lnk--> Villarrica, <!--del_lnk--> Corrientes, <!--del_lnk--> Santa Fe and <!--del_lnk--> Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The site of the city may have been first visited by <!--del_lnk--> Juan de Ayolas, but the town, called <i>Nuestra Señora de la Asunción</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Our Lady of the Assumption), was founded on the feast day of the Assumption <!--del_lnk--> August 15, <!--del_lnk--> 1537, by <!--del_lnk--> Juan de Salazar and <!--del_lnk--> Gonzalo de Mendoza, relative of <!--del_lnk--> Pedro de Mendoza. Thus, the city became the centre of a large Spanish colonial province comprising part of Brazil, present-day Paraguay and northeastern Argentina: the <!--del_lnk--> Giant Province of the Indies. In 1603 Asunción was the seat of the <!--del_lnk--> First Synod of Asunción, which set guidelines for the <!--del_lnk--> evangelization of the natives in their <!--del_lnk--> lingua franca, <!--del_lnk--> Guaraní.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/693.jpg.htm" title="Construction of builidings in Asunción, 1892"><img alt="Construction of builidings in Asunción, 1892" height="164" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Asunci%C3%B3n_del_Paraguay_1892.jpg" src="../../images/6/693.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1731 an uprising under <!--del_lnk--> José de Antequera y Castro was one of the first rebellions against <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spanish</a> colonial rule. The uprising failed but it was the first sign of the independent spirit that was growing among the <!--del_lnk--> criollos, <a href="../../wp/m/Mestizo.htm" title="Mestizo">mestizos</a> and <!--del_lnk--> natives of Paraguay. The event influenced the independence of Paraguay, which then materialised in <!--del_lnk--> 1811. The secret reunions between the independence leaders to plan an ambush against the Spanish Governor in Paraguay <!--del_lnk--> Bernardo de Velasco were held at the home of <!--del_lnk--> Juana María de Lara, in downtown Asunción. On the night of <!--del_lnk--> May 14 and <!--del_lnk--> May 15 the rebels succeeded and were able to force the governor Velasco to surrender. Today, Lara's home is known as <!--del_lnk--> Casa de la Independencia (House of the Independence) and serves as a museum and historical building.<p>After Paraguay became independent, there was signifcant change in Asunción. Under the presidency of <!--del_lnk--> Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia roads were made throughout the city and the streets were named. However, it was during the presidency of <!--del_lnk--> Carlos Antonio López that Asunción (and Paraguay) progressed, as the new president implemented new economic policies. More than 400 schools, metallurgic factories and the first railroad service in <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South America</a> were built during the López presidency. After López died, his son <!--del_lnk--> Francisco Solano López became the new president and led the country through the disastrous <!--del_lnk--> War of the Triple Alliance that lasted for five years. After the <!--del_lnk--> War of the Triple Alliance (<!--del_lnk--> 1865-<!--del_lnk--> 70), Asunción was occupied by <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazilian</a> troops until <!--del_lnk--> 1876. <p>Many historians have claimed that this war has provoked the constant downfall of the city and country, since it massacred two thirds of the country's population. Progress has been tremendously slowed down ever since, and the economy has constantly found itself in stagnation.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
<p>Asunción's current population is approximately 539,000 people in the city proper. Roughly 30% of Paraguay's 6 million people live within Greater Asunción. Sixty-five percent of the total population in the city are under the age of 30.<p>The population has increased greatly during the last few decades as a consequence of internal <!--del_lnk--> migration from other <!--del_lnk--> Departments of Paraguay at first because of the economic boom in the 1970's, and later because of economic recession in the countryside. The adjacent cities in the Gran Asunción area like <!--del_lnk--> Luque, <!--del_lnk--> Lambaré, <!--del_lnk--> San Lorenzo, <!--del_lnk--> Fernando de la Mora and <!--del_lnk--> Mariano Roque Alonso have absorbed most of this influx due to the low cost of the land and easy access to Asuncion. These cities have also experienced significant economic growth and expansion, to the point that the boundaries between Asuncion and its adjacent cities has almost but disappeared.<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h2>
<p>Asunción is located between the <!--del_lnk--> parallels 25º 15' and 25º 20' of south <!--del_lnk--> latitude and between the meridians 57º 40' and 57º 30' of west <!--del_lnk--> longitude. The city sits on the left bank of the <!--del_lnk--> Paraguay River, which separates the city in the north-west from the Occidental Region of Paraguay and <a href="../../wp/a/Argentina.htm" title="Argentina">Argentina</a> in the south part of the city. The rest of the city is surrounded by the <!--del_lnk--> Central Department.<p><a id="Physical_setting" name="Physical_setting"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Physical setting</span></h3>
<p>Since the location is right next to the Paraguay River the city offers beautiful landscapes and spreads out on gentle hills in a pattern of rectangular blocks. Places like <!--del_lnk--> Cerro Lambaré (a hill) located in <!--del_lnk--> Lambaré offer a spectacular show in the spring because of the <!--del_lnk--> lapacho trees in the area. Parks like Parque Caballero and Parque Carlos Antonio López offer big areas of typical Paraguayan nature and are often frequented by tourists. There are several slightly elevated areas throughout the city (small hills) such as Cabará, Clavel, Tarumá, Cachinga, Tacumbú, among others.<p><a id="Climate" name="Climate"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Climate</span></h2>
<p>The climate of Asunción can be described as warm and humid for the most part of the year. The average temperature of the city is of 24°<!--del_lnk--> C (75.2 <!--del_lnk--> F). The average maxima is of 29.4ºC (84.92 F) and the average minima is of 19.2ºC (66.56 F). In 2002, the registered level of rain was of 1,420 milimeters. Usually October is the month with the most <!--del_lnk--> precipations, while September is the month with the least amount of precipitation.<p><a id="Neighbourhoods" name="Neighbourhoods"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Neighbourhoods</span></h2>
<p>The neighbourhoods of Asuncion, called "<!--del_lnk--> barrios" by its residents, are the territorial units established by law, and of which Asunción is subdivided into.<p>The city of Asunción is composed of the following neighbourhoods<table>
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<li><!--del_lnk--> Campo Grande<li><!--del_lnk--> Carlos A. López<li><!--del_lnk--> Catedral<li><!--del_lnk--> Ciudad Nueva<li><!--del_lnk--> Ricardo Brugada, also known as <!--del_lnk--> La Chacarita<li><!--del_lnk--> Dr. Francia<li><!--del_lnk--> El Palomar<li><!--del_lnk--> Gral. Díaz<li><!--del_lnk--> Herrera<li><!--del_lnk--> Hipódromo<li><!--del_lnk--> Itá Pytá Punta<li><!--del_lnk--> Itá Enramada<li><!--del_lnk--> Jara<li><!--del_lnk--> La Encarnación<li><!--del_lnk--> La Residenta<li><!--del_lnk--> Loma Pytá<li><!--del_lnk--> Las Carmelitas<li><!--del_lnk--> Las Lomas<li><!--del_lnk--> Las Mercedes<li><!--del_lnk--> Los Laureles<li><!--del_lnk--> Manora<li><!--del_lnk--> Mbocayaty<li><!--del_lnk--> Mburucuyá<li><!--del_lnk--> Madame Lynch<li><!--del_lnk--> Nazareth<li><!--del_lnk--> Barrio Obrero</ul>
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<li><!--del_lnk--> Pinoza<li><!--del_lnk--> Republicano<li><!--del_lnk--> Recoleta<li><!--del_lnk--> Roberto L. Petit<li><!--del_lnk--> Sajonia<li><!--del_lnk--> Salvador del Mundo<li><!--del_lnk--> San Antonio<li><!--del_lnk--> San Cristóbal<li><!--del_lnk--> San Jorge<li><!--del_lnk--> San Rafael<li><!--del_lnk--> San Roque<li><!--del_lnk--> San Pablo<li><!--del_lnk--> Santa Ana<li><!--del_lnk--> Santa María<li><!--del_lnk--> Santísima Trinidad<li><!--del_lnk--> Tablada Nueva<li><!--del_lnk--> Tacumbú<li><!--del_lnk--> Tembetary<li><!--del_lnk--> Tuyucuá<li><!--del_lnk--> Varadero<li><!--del_lnk--> Villa Antelco<li><!--del_lnk--> Villa Aurelia<li><!--del_lnk--> Villa Morra<li><!--del_lnk--> Villa Victoria<li><!--del_lnk--> Ytay<li><!--del_lnk--> Zeballos Cué</ul>
</td>
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<p><a id="Education" name="Education"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Education</span></h2>
<p>The literacy rate is of 95 percent, the highest in Paraguay. The amount of schools doubled since 1982 creating a big number of jobs for teachers. The amount of students nowadays also doubled, compared to 1962.<p><a id="Schools" name="Schools"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Schools</span></h3>
<p>The city has a large number of both public and private schools. The most known public schools are the <i>Colegio Nacional de la Capital</i> (which is one of the oldest schools in the city , founded after the Triple Alliance War in 1877), <i>Colegio Presidente Franco</i> and the <i>Colegio Nacional de Niñas</i> (a girls-only school). The most known private schools are <i>Internacional</i>, <i>Colegio San José</i> (catholic school), <!--del_lnk--> American School of Asuncion, <i>Colegio Dante Alighieri</i> (Italian school) and <i>Colegio Goethe</i> (German school).<p><a id="Universities" name="Universities"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Universities</span></h3>
<p>The main universities in the city are the <!--del_lnk--> Universidad Católica (private Catholic University) and the <!--del_lnk--> Universidad Nacional de Asunción (state-run). The Católica has a small campus in the downtown area next to the Cathedral and a larger campus in the adjoining city of <!--del_lnk--> Lambaré, while the Universidad Nacional has its main campus near the adjoining city of <!--del_lnk--> Paraguay. There are also a number of smaller privately run universities such as <!--del_lnk--> Universidad Americana and <!--del_lnk--> Universidad Autónoma de Asunción.<p><a id="Commerce_and_Industry" name="Commerce_and_Industry"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Commerce and Industry</span></h2>
<p>Since its foundation, Asunción has always been the centre of the economic activity in Paraguay. This is mainly due to the location of all the national politic governing bodies and because most of the industrial, diplomatic and economic activities are taken in the city. Most of the population concentrates on commerce and services, followed by the industry and construction sector. <a href="../../wp/a/Agriculture.htm" title="Agriculture">Agriculture</a> and <!--del_lnk--> animal husbandry is basically non-existent because Asunción is a strictly urban area.<p><a id="Transportation" name="Transportation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Transportation</span></h2>
<p>Because the <!--del_lnk--> Paraguay River runs right next to Asunción the city is served by a river terminal in the downtown area and in the Sajonia neighbourhood. Public transportation is used heavily and is served through buses that reach all the regions of the city. The main long-distance bus terminal is on the Republica Argentina Avenue and its bus services connect all of the <!--del_lnk--> Departments of Paraguay, as well as international routes to nearby countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Uruguay. Asunción is served by the <!--del_lnk--> Silvio Pettirossi International Airport located in the city of <!--del_lnk--> Luque.<p><a id="Tourist_attractions" name="Tourist_attractions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Tourist attractions</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/694.jpg.htm" title="Traditional buildings in Calle Palma"><img alt="Traditional buildings in Calle Palma" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Calle_palma_asuncion.jpg" src="../../images/6/694.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/694.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Traditional buildings in Calle Palma</div>
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<p>The city is home to the <!--del_lnk--> Godoy Museum and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (which contains old paintings from the XIX century), the <!--del_lnk--> Church of La Encarnación and the <!--del_lnk--> Cathedral, and the <!--del_lnk--> Panteón Nacional de los Héroes, a smaller version of <!--del_lnk--> Les Invalides in <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a>, where many of the nation's heroes are entombed. Other landmarks include the <!--del_lnk--> Palacio de López (presidential palace), the old Senate building (a modern building opened to house Congress in 2003), the Catedral Metropolitana and the <!--del_lnk--> Casa de la Independencia (one of the few examples of colonial architecture remaining in the city).<p><!--del_lnk--> Calle Palma is the main street in downtown where several historical building, plazas, shops, restaurants and cafes are located. The "Manzana de la Rivera", located in front of the presidential palace, is a series of old traditional homes that have been restaured that act as a museum and showcases the architectural evolution of the city. The old railway station still maintains the old trains that now are used in tourist trips to the cities of <!--del_lnk--> Luque and <!--del_lnk--> Areguá (see <!--del_lnk--> Rail transport in Paraguay).<p>Asunción also has luxurious malls that contain shops of the most well-known brands in the world. The biggest shopping malls are <!--del_lnk--> Shopping del Sol, which includes a Macys-style department store; Unicentro, <!--del_lnk--> Mariscal Lopez Shopping, Shopping Villa Morra in the central part of the city and the downtown-located Mall Excelsior.<p><a id="Sports_.26_Other_Entertainment" name="Sports_.26_Other_Entertainment"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Sports & Other Entertainment</span></h2>
<p><a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Soccer">Football</a> is the main sport in Paraguay, and Asunción is home to some of the most important and traditional football teams like <!--del_lnk--> Olimpia Asunción, <!--del_lnk--> Cerro Porteño and <!--del_lnk--> Club Libertad, <!--del_lnk--> Club Nacional, <!--del_lnk--> Club Guaraní, <!--del_lnk--> Club Sol de América, which have their own stadiums and sport facilities for affiliated members. The <!--del_lnk--> Defensores del Chaco stadium is the main football stadium of the country and is located in the neighbourhood of <!--del_lnk--> Sajonia, just a few minutes away from the centre of Asunción. Since it is a <!--del_lnk--> national stadium sometimes it is used for other activities such as <!--del_lnk--> rock concerts.<p>The nightlife revolves around two areas: one in the downtown part of the city and the other in the famous Brazilia Avenue, a strip full of <!--del_lnk--> nightclubs and bars.<p><a id="Sites_of_Interest" name="Sites_of_Interest"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Sites of Interest</span></h2>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asunci%C3%B3n"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Ateneo de Manila University</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Central_and_South_American_Geography.htm">Central & South American Geography</a></h3>
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<caption style="text-align: center; font-size: 12px;"><b>Ateneo de Manila University</b></caption>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ATENEO-SEAL.gif" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="150" /><hr />
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<th style="color:{{{label_color}}};"><!--del_lnk--> Motto</th>
<td style="color:{{{value_color}}};"><i>Lux in Domino</i> ("Light in the Lord")</td>
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<th style="color:{{{label_color}}};"><!--del_lnk--> Established</th>
<td style="color:{{{value_color}}};">1859</td>
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<th style="color:{{{label_color}}};">Type</th>
<td style="color:{{{value_color}}};"><!--del_lnk--> Private, <!--del_lnk--> Jesuit <a href="../../wp/u/University.htm" title="University">University</a></td>
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<th style="color:{{{label_color}}};"><!--del_lnk--> President</th>
<td style="color:{{{value_color}}};"><!--del_lnk--> Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, S.J.</td>
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<th style="color:{{{label_color}}};"><!--del_lnk--> Undergraduates</th>
<td>Approx. 7,500</td>
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<th style="color:{{{label_color}}};"><!--del_lnk--> Postgraduates</th>
<td>Approx. 3,000</td>
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<th style="color:{{{label_color}}};">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Quezon City, <!--del_lnk--> Metro Manila, <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a></td>
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<th style="color:{{{label_color}}};">Campus</th>
<td style="color:{{{value_color}}};">1.2 km² (Loyola Heights campus)</td>
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<th style="color:{{{label_color}}};">Hymn</th>
<td style="color:{{{value_color}}};"><!--del_lnk--> A Song for Mary</td>
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<th style="color:{{{label_color}}};"><!--del_lnk--> Colors</th>
<td style="color:{{{value_color}}};">Blue and white</td>
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<th style="color:{{{label_color}}};"><!--del_lnk--> Nickname</th>
<td style="color:{{{value_color}}};"><!--del_lnk--> Ateneo Blue Eagles</td>
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<th style="color:{{{label_color}}};"><!--del_lnk--> Mascot</th>
<td style="color:{{{value_color}}};"><!--del_lnk--> Blue Eagle</td>
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<th style="color:{{{label_color}}};"><!--del_lnk--> Website</th>
<td style="color:{{{value_color}}};"><!--del_lnk--> www.ateneo.edu</td>
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<p>The <b>Ateneo de Manila University</b> (also called "<b>Ateneo de Manila</b>" or simply "the <b>Ateneo</b>") is a private university run by the <!--del_lnk--> Society of Jesus in the <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a>. Its main campus is located at Loyola Heights in <!--del_lnk--> Quezon City, <!--del_lnk--> Metro Manila. It offers programs in the elementary, secondary, undergraduate, and graduate levels. Its academic offerings cover various fields, including the Arts, Humanities, Business, Law, the Social Sciences, Theology, and Pure and Applied Sciences. Aside from teaching, the Ateneo de Manila also engages in extensive research and social outreach work.<p>It is one of the only two universities in the Philippines to receive the Level IV accreditation--the highest possible level--from the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines and the <!--del_lnk--> PAASCU. It received its Level IV accreditation on June 2004.<p>
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</script><a id="Institution" name="Institution"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Institution</span></h2>
<p>The Ateneo de Manila University operates from several campuses in <!--del_lnk--> Metro Manila, with each campus housing different academic and research units. Several thousand faculty members serve a diverse student body of different ages in different academic levels, from elementary to postgraduate. The Loyola Schools have around 7,500 undergraduate students and around 3,000 graduate students making the Ateneo small, in terms of population, relative to many other Philippine universities.<p>The University began in <!--del_lnk--> 1859 when the City of <!--del_lnk--> Manila turned over the Escuela Municipal, a public primary school in <!--del_lnk--> Intramuros, to Spanish Jesuits. The school took on the name Ateneo when it began offering secondary education in 1865, and it has since grown into a university engaging in teaching, research, and social outreach. Its academic programs are geared toward research coupled with praxis and real-world output through which the university and its community engage social problems, especially in areas of national development.<p><a id="The_Ateneo_commitment" name="The_Ateneo_commitment"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Ateneo commitment</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16668.jpg.htm" title="The Church of the Gesu"><img alt="The Church of the Gesu" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Church_of_the_gesu.jpg" src="../../images/166/16668.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16668.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Church of the Gesu</div>
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<p>The Ateneo has grounded its vision and mission in Jesuit educational tradition. The university's vision-mission statement may be summarized as follows:<dl>
<dd><i>"A Filipino, Catholic, and Jesuit university, the Ateneo de Manila aims to form men and women for others who critically examine their world and pursue excellence and leadership in order to solve social problems and to drive sustainable, inclusive, and empowering human development in the Philippines and the world at large."</i></dl>
<p>Grounded on the Jesuit educational tradition of engagement with the world at large, the university is deeply involved with civic work. Social involvement is not merely extra-curricular, but a key part of Ateneo education.<p>Some of the Ateneo's social projects include the Ateneo-Mangyan Project for Understanding and Development (AMPUD) and Bigay Puso in grade school; and the Christian Service and Involvement Program, Damay Immersion, and Tulong Dunong program for senior students in high school. In college, social development is fostered by many programs of the Office of Social Concern and Involvement, including house-builds with Gawad Kalinga and the Labor Trials Program tied into junior Philosophy classes. Various student organizations and offices of the Loyola Schools also operate their own social involvement programs.<p>At the Ateneo Professional Schools, programs and units like the Graduate School of Business' Mulat-Diwa, the Leaders for Health Program, the Law School's Human Rights Centre and Legal Aid programs aim to form leaders for the frontlines.<p>Other Ateneo initiatives include Pathways to Higher Education, a comprehensive response to the problem faced by academically-gifted by financially-underprivileged youth who seek a college education; and the Ateneo Centre for Educational Development (ACED), which conducts highly effective national teacher and principal training programs.<p>The centerpiece social program of the university is its university-wide social action program, its partnership with <!--del_lnk--> Gawad Kalinga, which, to date, has helped build communities and schools in Payatas, <!--del_lnk--> Quezon City and in many <!--del_lnk--> Nueva Ecija municipalities. GK-Ateneo has also driven Kalinga Luzon, the massive rehabilitation effort for victims of the late 2004 Luzon typhoons, GK Youth-Ateneo, arguably the largest and most active student social program of the Ateneo, and Kalinga Leyte, an ongoing program which aims to provide long-term rehabilitation for the victims of the <!--del_lnk--> Southern Leyte landslide.<p><a id="Administration" name="Administration"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Administration</span></h3>
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<td><font color="#FFFFFF"><b>Presidents and Rectors of the<br /> Ateneo de Manila University</b></font></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Jose Fernandez Cuevas, S.J., 1859 – 1864</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Juan Bautista Vidal, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 30 July 1864 – 1868</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Pedro Bertran, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 11 June 1868 – 1872</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Jose Lluch, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 04 September 1871 – 1875</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Juan Bautista Heras, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 21 August 1875 – 1881</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Pablo Ramon, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 01 January 1881 – 1886</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Miguel Roses, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 06 February 1886 - 1894</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Miguel Sedarra Mata, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 11 February 1894 – 1901</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Jose Clos, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 09 June 1901 - 1905</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Joaquin Añon, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 11 December 1905 - 1910</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Joaquin Villalonga, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 31 October 1910 - 1916</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Marcial Sola, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 28 May 1916 - 1920</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Juan Villalonga, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 29 July 1920 - 1921</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Francis X. Byrne, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 15 June 1921 – 1925</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. James J. Carlin, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 24 July 1925 - 1927</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Richard A. O'Brien, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 11 August 1927 - 1933</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Henry C. Avery, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 30 July 1933 – 1937</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Carroll I. Fasy, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 26 February 1937 - 1941</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Francis X. Reardon, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 25 April 1941 – 1947</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. William F. Masterson, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 14 May 1947 – 1950</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. James J. McMahon, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 15 March 1950 - 1956</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Leo A. Cullum, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 31 July 1956 - 1959</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Francisco Araneta, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 15 June 1959 – 1965</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. James F. Donelan, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 02 July 1965 – 1969</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Pacifico A. Ortiz, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 01 May 1969 - 1970</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Francisco Araneta, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 15 November 1970 - 1972</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. Jose A. Cruz, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 12 August 1972 - 1984</b></td>
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<td><b>Fr. <!--del_lnk--> Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J., <!--del_lnk--> 01 April 1984 – 1993</b></td>
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<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, S.J. , <!--del_lnk--> 01 April 1993 - Present</b></td>
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<p>The Ateneo de Manila is governed by a Board of Trustees, currently chaired by alumnus Manuel V. Pangilinan. A central administration, led by the <!--del_lnk--> University President, <!--del_lnk--> Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, S.J. , oversees key initiatives related to academics, international programs, university development and alumni relations, personnel, security, and other university-wide concerns.<p>Individual units and departments are usually led by a vice president, with the exception of the basic education units, led by a director who oversees the leadership of both the High School's principal and the Grade School's headmaster. The Loyola Schools and Professional Schools are led by their respective vice presidents, who oversee school deans, who in turn oversee department chairs and program directors.<p><a id="Admissions_and_financial_aid" name="Admissions_and_financial_aid"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Admissions and financial aid</span></h3>
<p>Individual schools such as the Loyola Schools, the Ateneo Professional Schools, and the Ateneo Grade School and High School handle their own admissions. Admission into one unit does not guarantee admission into another unit.<p>The Ateneo receives thousands of applications from all over the country every year. Applications from foreigners to the college and graduate school programs are quite common. In 2005, the Loyola Schools admitted 2,023 freshmen, a figure larger than the projected average of 1,800 freshmen from recent years. 20% of the entering class was composed of valedictorians (83), salutatorians (62), and honorable mention graduates (277).<p>The university also extends financial aid to students. Scholarships are available in all academic units, with funding coming from the university, third parties, and donations made by alumni, the government, and the private sector. The Loyola Schools offer Merit Scholarships for the top scorers in the Ateneo College Entrance Test (ACET), and the San Ignacio Merit Scholarships are given to top ACET takers from public high schools.<p><a id="University_units" name="University_units"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">University units</span></h3>
<p>The Ateneo de Manila University is composed of school units and auxiliary units. Affiliated units contribute to the work of the different school and auxiliary units, facilitating the work of learning, teaching, research, and social involvement. Individual units enjoy a considerable amount of autonomy from the central administration.<p><a id="Professional_Schools" name="Professional_Schools"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Professional Schools</span></h4>
<p>The Ateneo Professional Schools (APS) is the main professional education division of Ateneo de Manila.<p>The Professional Schools offer degrees such as <!--del_lnk--> Master of Business Administration and <!--del_lnk--> Master of Arts, and the School of Law confers the <!--del_lnk--> Juris Doctor (JD) degree in lieu of the <!--del_lnk--> Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree. The Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health, which opens in 2007, will offer an integrated <!--del_lnk--> Doctor of Medicine and Master of Management program. The Professional Schools also confer certificates for short courses.<ul>
<li>AGSB-BAP Institute of Banking<li><!--del_lnk--> Ateneo Graduate School of Business<li><!--del_lnk--> Ateneo Information Technology Institute<li>Ateneo School of Government<li><!--del_lnk--> Ateneo School of Law<li>Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health<li><!--del_lnk--> Centre for Continuing Education</ul>
<p><a id="Loyola_Schools" name="Loyola_Schools"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Loyola Schools</span></h4>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16669.jpg.htm" title="Xavier Hall, the administration building"><img alt="Xavier Hall, the administration building" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Xavier_Hall.jpg" src="../../images/166/16669.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16669.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Xavier Hall, the administration building</div>
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<p>The Loyola Schools offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the arts and sciences. It is composed of four colleges, the School of Humanities, the John Gokongwei School of Management, the School of Science and Engineering, and the School of Social Sciences.<p>The current Vice-President for the Loyola Schools is Professor Ma. Assunta C. Cuyegkeng (PhD Chemistry, U. Regensburg). She replaced Professor Anna Miren Gonzales-Intal (PhD Psychology, <!--del_lnk--> Yale University), who will return to teaching. Vice-President Cuyegkeng assumed the post last April 1, 2006.<p>The Loyola Schools' programs are geared toward student-centeredness. The Ateneo was one of the first schools in the Philippines to enact a <a href="../../wp/m/Magna_Carta.htm" title="Magna Carta">Magna Carta</a> for Undergraduates.<p><a id="High_school" name="High_school"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">High school</span></h4>
<p>The Ateneo de Manila High School is a Catholic preparatory school for male students.<p>The campus features various facilities such as a library, the Instructional Technology Centre, the Tanghalang <!--del_lnk--> Onofre Pagsanghan (<!--del_lnk--> Dulaang Sibol), and a large athletics complex with one of the largest school-based covered courts facility in the country. In 2003, the High School opened a new building called the Centre for Math, Science and Technology (commonly known as "MST"), which contains the school's science and computer laboratories and the faculty room for the Science and Math teachers.<p>The High School is also known for religious formation programs, such as the Christian Service and Involvement Program (CSIP), which comprises the Dungaw-Exposure Trip for freshmen, Damá-Christian Service Program for sophomores, and the Damay Immersion and GK Programs for juniors. Other religious formation activities include the Tulong Dunong program for seniors, recollections and retreats. The Ateneo High School is notable for being the first school to hold sessions of <!--del_lnk--> Days with the Lord.<p>The current principal is Fr. Raymund Benedict Q. Hizon, S.J.. His assumption of the post marks the first time a Jesuit has held the position since <!--del_lnk--> Carmela C. Oracion was appointed principal from 1998-2006.<p><a id="Grade_school" name="Grade_school"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Grade school</span></h4>
<p>The Ateneo de Manila Grade School is an elementary school for boys with a current average population of 4000 students. It has facilities and classrooms for students from the preparatory level to the seventh grade. It is an integral part of the Ateneo de Manila University governed by its own by-laws and administrative set-up. Its current headmaster is Fr. Jose Moises T. Fermin, S.J.<p><a id="Auxiliary_units_and_Research_Centers" name="Auxiliary_units_and_Research_Centers"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Auxiliary units and Research Centers</span></h4>
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<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Ateneo Art Gallery<li>Ateneo Centre for Asian Studies<li>Ateneo Centre for Economic Research and Development<li>Ateneo Centre for Educational Development<li>Ateneo Centre for English Language Training<li>Ateneo Centre for Organization Research and Development<li>Ateneo Centre for Psychological and Educational Assessment<li>Ateneo Centre for Social Policy and Public Affairs<li>Ateneo Information Design Studio<li>Ateneo Institute of Literary Arts and Practices<li><!--del_lnk--> Ateneo Java Wireless Competency Centre<li>Ateneo Language Centre<li>Ateneo Macroeconomic Research Unit<li>Ateneo-PLDT Advanced Network Testbed<li>Ateneo Research Network for Development<li>Ateneo Teacher Centre<li><!--del_lnk--> Ateneo de Manila University Press<li>Ateneo Wellness Centre</ul>
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<td>
<ul>
<li>Centre for Communication Research and Technology<li>Centre for Community Services<li>Governor Jose B. Fernandez Ethics Centre for Business and Public Service<li><!--del_lnk--> Institute of Philippine Culture<li>John Gokongwei School of Management Business Accelerator (SOMBA)<li>John Gokongwei School of Management Business Resource Centre<li><!--del_lnk--> Konrad Adenauer Asian Centre for Journalism (ACFJ)<li><!--del_lnk--> National Chemistry Instrumentation Centre<li>Ninoy and Cory Aquino Centre for Leadership<li>Pathways to Higher Education-Philippines<li>Philippines-Australia Studies Network<li>Ricardo Leong Centre for Chinese Studies</ul>
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<p><a id="Affiliate_units" name="Affiliate_units"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Affiliate units</span></h4>
<p>Affiliate units are allied institutions which may or may not formally be part of the Ateneo de Manila, but which are based in an Ateneo campus, and support or augment the work of the university in various fields.<table width="100%">
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<ul>
<li>Arrupe International Residence<li>Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowships<li>Ateneo Union Office<li>Centre for Family Ministries Foundation (CEFAM)<li>Centre for Leadership & Change, Inc. (CLCI)<li>China Office<li>East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI)<li>Faculty Housing<li><!--del_lnk--> Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute (GZOPI)<li>Health Alternatives for Total Human Development Institute (HealthDEv Institute)<li><!--del_lnk--> Institute of Social Order (ISO)<li>Institute on Church and Social Issues (ICSI)<li>ISO Canteen<li>Jesuit Basic Education Commission<li><!--del_lnk--> Jesuit Communications Foundation (JesCom)<li><!--del_lnk--> Jesuit Music Ministry (JMM) <!--del_lnk--> <li>Jesuit Residence</ul>
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<td>
<ul>
<li>Jesuit Volunteers Philippines<li>Loyola House of Studies<li><!--del_lnk--> Loyola School of Theology<li><!--del_lnk--> Manila Observatory<li>Office of Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J.<li>Partnership of Philippine Support Agencies<li>Philippine Development NGOs for International Concern<li><!--del_lnk--> Philippine Institute of Pure and Applied Chemistry (PIPAC)<li>Program for Cultural Cooperation<li>San Jose Major Seminary<li>Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (SALIGAN)<li><!--del_lnk--> Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan<li>Social Service Centre<li>Society of Jesuit Social Apostolate (SJSA)<li>Ugnayan at Tulong para sa Maralitang Pamilya Foundation (UGAT Foundation)<li>Vietnam Service Office</ul>
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<p><a id="International_programs" name="International_programs"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">International programs</span></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16670.jpg.htm" title="A souvenir shop and cashiers at Xavier Hall"><img alt="A souvenir shop and cashiers at Xavier Hall" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Xavier_Hall_2.jpg" src="../../images/166/16670.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16670.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A souvenir shop and cashiers at Xavier Hall</div>
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<p>The Ateneo has growing international linkages with universities, institutions, and organizations from all over the world, particularly in Asia, Australia, North and South America, and Europe. Through these cooperative efforts, the university hosts visiting faculty and research fellows from institutions abroad, and in turn, Ateneo faculty members also engage in teaching, research, and study in institutions abroad.<p>International cooperation also includes active student exchange through Philippine immersion programs for a month or two for small groups of 15-18 students or full study programs wherein students from partner institutions abroad take regular courses.<p>The Loyola Schools also offers students an opportunity to study abroad under a student exchange program during their undergraduate or graduate years. Students engage in either semestral or yearly study or exchange programs in partner universities abroad. Students of the John Gokongwei School of Management and the Fine Arts Program of the School of Humanities can also sign up for the Junior Term Abroad program, wherein they will spend a semester in one of the Ateneo's partner schools for undergraduate business studies.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p><a id="Early_history" name="Early_history"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Early history</span></h3>
<p>The founding of the Ateneo de Manila University finds its roots in the history of the Society of Jesus as a teaching order in the Philippines.<p>The first Spanish Jesuits arrived in the Philippines in 1581 as missionaries. They were custodians of the <i>ratio studiorum</i>, the Jesuit system of education developed around 1559. Within a decade of their arrival, the Society, through Fr. Antonio Sedeño, founded the Colegio de Manila (also known as the Colegio de San Ignacio) in Intramuros in 1590. The San Ignacio formally opened in 1595, and was the first school in the Philippines.<p>In 1621, <!--del_lnk--> Pope Gregory XV, through the Archbishop of Manila, authorized the San Ignacio to confer degrees in theology and arts and elevated it into a university. In 1623, <!--del_lnk--> Philip IV of Spain confirmed the authorization, making the school both a pontifical and a royal university, and the very first university in the Philippines and in Asia.<p>However, by the mid-18th century, Catholic colonial powers, notably <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a>, and <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>, had grown hostile to the <!--del_lnk--> Society of Jesus because the <!--del_lnk--> Jesuits actively educated and empowered colonized people. The <!--del_lnk--> Society was particularly notorious for encouraging indigenous people to seek self-governance. Because of this, the colonial powers eventually expelled the Society, often quite brutally, from their realms.<p>In 1768, the Jesuits surrendered the San Ignacio to Spanish civil authorities following their <!--del_lnk--> suppression and expulsion from Spain and the rest of the Spanish realm, including the Philippines. Under pressure from Catholic royalty, Pope Clement XIV formally declared the dissolution of the Society of Jesus in 1773.<p><!--del_lnk--> Pope Pius VII reinstated the Society in 1814, after almost seven decades of persecution and over four decades of formal suppression. However, the Jesuits would not return to the Philippines until 1859, almost a century after their expulsion.<p><a name="19th_century"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">19th century</span></h3>
<p>Through an 1852 Royal Decree from Queen <!--del_lnk--> Isabella II, ten Spanish Jesuits arrived in Manila on <!--del_lnk--> 14 April <!--del_lnk--> 1859, nearly a century after the Jesuits left the Philippines. This Jesuit mission was sent mainly to do missionary work in <!--del_lnk--> Mindanao and <!--del_lnk--> Jolo.<p>Because of the Jesuits' entrenched reputation as educators among Manila’s leaders, on <!--del_lnk--> 5 August the <i>Ayuntamiento</i> or city council requested the Governor-General to found and finance a Jesuit school using public funds. On <!--del_lnk--> 1 October <!--del_lnk--> 1859, the Governor-General authorized the Jesuits to take over the Escuela Municipal, a small private school maintained for some 30 children of Spanish residents. Ten Spanish Jesuit priests and a Jesuit brother began operating the school on <!--del_lnk--> 10 December 1859. The Ateneo de Manila University considers this date its foundation day.<p>Partly subsidized by the <i>Ayuntamiento</i>, the Escuela was the only primary school in Manila at the time. The Escuela eventually changed its name to <i>Ateneo Municipal de Manila</i> in 1865, when it became accredited as an institution of secondary education. It began by offering the <i>bachillerato</i> or bachelor's degree, as well as courses leading to certificates in agriculture, surveying, and business.<p>After Americans occupied the Philippines in the early 1900s, the Ateneo de Manila lost its government subsidy from the city and became a private institution. The Jesuits removed the word <i>Municipal</i> from the school’s official name soon after, and it has since been known as the Ateneo de Manila.<p>In 1908, the American colonial government recognized the Ateneo de Manila's college status and licensed its offering the bachelor’s degee and certificates in various disciplines, including electrical engineering. The Ateneo campus also housed other Jesuit institutions of research and learning, such as the Manila Observatory and the San Jose Major Seminary.<p><a id="Early_20th_century" name="Early_20th_century"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Early 20th century</span></h3>
<p>American Jesuits took over Ateneo administration in 1912. Fr. Richard O’Brien, the third American rector, led the relocation of the San Jose Major Seminary in <!--del_lnk--> Padre Faura, <!--del_lnk--> Ermita after a fire destroyed the Intramuros campus in 1932.<p>Devastation hit the Ateneo campus once again during <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>. Only one structure remained standing – the statue of St. Joseph and the Child Jesus which now stands in front of the Jesuit Residence in the Loyola Heights campus. Ironwork and statuary salvaged from the Ateneo ruins have since been incorporated into various existing Ateneo buildings. Some examples are the Ateneo monograms on the gates of the Loyola Heights campus, the iron grillwork on the ground floor of Xavier Hall, and the statue of the <!--del_lnk--> Immaculate Conception displayed at the University Archives.<p>But even if the Ateneo campus had been destroyed, the university survived. Following the American liberation, the Ateneo de Manila reopened temporarily in Plaza Guipit in Sampaloc, Manila. The Padre Faura campus reopened in 1946 with <!--del_lnk--> Quonset huts serving as buildings among the campus ruins.<p>In 1952, the university, led by James Masterson, S.J., moved most of its units to its present Loyola Heights campus. Controversy surrounded the decision. An Ateneo Jesuit supposedly said that only the "children of Tarzan" would study in the new campus. But over the years, the Ateneo in Loyola Heights has become the centre of a dynamic community. The Padre Faura campus continued to house the professional schools until 1976.<p>Fr. Francisco Araneta, S.J. was appointed as the Ateneo de Manila's first Filipino Rector in 1958. In 1959, its centennial year, the Ateneo became a university.<p><a id="Late_20th_century" name="Late_20th_century"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Late 20th century</span></h3>
<p>The following decades saw escalating turbulence engulf the university as an active movement for Filipinization and a growing awareness of the vast gulf between rich and poor grip the entire nation. Throughout the 1960s, Ateneans pushed for an Ateneo which was more conversant with the Filipino situation and rooted more deeply in Filipino values. They pushed for the use of Filipino for instruction, and pushed the university to implement reforms that addressed the growing social problems of poverty and injustice. During that time, the Graduate School split into the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration, which eventually became the Graduate School of Business.<p>In 1965, Fr. <!--del_lnk--> Horacio de la Costa, became the first Filipino Provincial Superior of the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus. On September 25, 1969, Pacifico Ortiz, S.J., was installed as the first Filipino President of the Ateneo de Manila.<p>Ateneans also played a vital role as student activism rose in academe in the 1970s. Students faced university expulsion and violent government dispersal as they protested the dismissal of dissenting faculty and students, oppressive laws and price hikes, human rights violations, and other injustices. On September 21, 1972, Philippine President <!--del_lnk--> Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law. The university administration had great difficulty reconciling the promotion of social justice and keeping the university intact. They locked down on the more overt expressions of activism--violence and miltancy--and strived to maintain a semblance of normalcy as they sought to keep military men from being stationed on campus.<p>In 1973, Jesuit Superior General Fr. Pedro Arrupe called for Jesuit schools to educate for justice and to form "men and women for others." The Ateneo college opened its doors to its first female students in that same year.<p>The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences moved to Loyola Heights in 1976, and the Padre Faura campus finally closed in 1977 as the Graduate School of Business and the School of Law moved to H.V. de la Costa St. in Salcedo Village, Makati. That same year, the Ateneo, then the ‘winningest’ school in men's basketball, left the <!--del_lnk--> NCAA, which it co-founded, due to violence plaguing the league.<p>In February 1978, the Ateneo opened the Ateneo-Univac Computer Technology Center, one of the country’s pioneering computer centers. This later became the Ateneo Computer Technology Centre.<p>On August 21, 1983, Ateneo alumnus Senator <!--del_lnk--> Benigno Aquino, Jr. was assassinated upon his return from exile in the United States. Ateneans continued to work with sectors such as the poor, non-government organizations, and some activist groups in the dying years of the martial law era. On February 11, 1986, alumnus and Antique Governor <!--del_lnk--> Evelio Javier was gunned down. Two weeks later, Ateneans joined in the peaceful uprising at EDSA which ousted Ferdinand Marcos.<p><a id="Recent_history" name="Recent_history"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Recent history</span></h3>
<p>In 1987, nine years after the Ateneo joined the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the university went on to win its first crown in UAAP men’s basketball. The Blue Eagles won a second straight title in 1988.<p>In 1991, the Ateneo joined in relief operations to help the victims affected by the eruption of <!--del_lnk--> Mt. Pinatubo. That same year saw the School of Law phased out its <!--del_lnk--> Bachelor of Laws degree and conferring the <!--del_lnk--> Juris Doctor degree.<p>In 1994, the Ateneo was one of the first Philippine schools on the <a href="../../wp/i/Internet.htm" title="Internet">Internet</a>, and was part of the conference that connected the Philippines to the world wide web. In 1996 the Ateneo relaunched the Ateneo Computer Technology Centre as the Ateneo Information Technology Institute and established the Ateneo School of Government. In 1998, the Ateneo’s Rockwell campus, which would house the Graduate School of Business and the School of Law, rose in Bel-Air, Makati, while the Science Education Complex was completed in the Loyola Heights campus.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16671.jpg.htm" title="The Science Education Complex"><img alt="The Science Education Complex" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Science_Education_Complex.jpg" src="../../images/166/16671.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16671.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Science Education Complex</div>
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<p>In 2000, the School of Arts and Sciences which comprised the College and the Graduate School restructured into four Loyola Schools: the School of Humanities, the John Gokongwei School of Management, the School of Science and Engineering, and the School of Social Sciences. The completion of the Moro Lorenzo Sports Complex in Loyola Heights bolstered the sports program. Midway through the year, high school alumnus and Philippine President <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Estrada faced grave corruption charges. The Ateneo hosted KOMPIL II and other organizations and movements, as members of the university community gathered in force at the Jericho March at the Senate and other mass actions.<p>In 2001, after a second popular uprising at EDSA, Ateneo alumna and former Economics faculty member <!--del_lnk--> Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was sworn in as the 14th <!--del_lnk--> President of the Philippines, overthrowing Estrada. In May, she would face another uprising EDSA sparked by Estrada supporters, who protested his arrest on plunder charges. Arroyo quelled the uprising, but political uncertainty would continue to plague the nation throughout her administration.<p>In April 2002, the Office of the President established Pathways to Higher Education-Philippines with the help of the Ford and Synergeia Foundations. In July, on the feast of <!--del_lnk--> St. Ignatius, the University <!--del_lnk--> Church of the Gesù finally rose in the Loyola Heights campus, and was consecrated by <!--del_lnk--> Jaime Cardinal Sin. The year also saw the Blue Eagles end a 14-year drought in men's basketball.<p>In 2003, the Ateneo adopted its first formal, university-wide social action program, its partnership with <!--del_lnk--> Gawad Kalinga, a movement initiated by <!--del_lnk--> Couples for Christ that aims to eliminate poverty and build a new Philippines by building respectable homes and caring communities for the poor. In November 2004 typhoons and flooding devastated Luzon and the rest of the Philippines, even as tsunamis ravaged most of southeast Asia. In response, the Ateneo community launched its disaster relief program, Task Force Noah, which has continued to contribute to disaster relief and rehabilitation efforts in areas that include Calatagan in Mindoro and Guinsaugon in Southern Leyte. The Ateneo also earned the highest possible accreditation status, Level IV, from the <!--del_lnk--> Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines and the <!--del_lnk--> Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU). That same year, the Ateneo de Manila celebrated its 145th anniversary, and the 145th anniversary of the return of Jesuit education in the Philippines as it launched the countdown to its sesquicentennial, its 150th anniversary in 2009.<p>In January 2005, as typhoon relief efforts wound down, the Ateneo, Gawad Kalinga, and other partners launched <!--del_lnk--> Kalinga Luzon (KL). KL is a program dedicated to the long-term rehabilitation of typhoon-stricken communities in Luzon. 2005 also saw the rise of initiatives such as the Social Involvement Workshops and other fora, especially in light of the political crisis sparked by allegations of President Arroyo's cheating in the 2004 presidential elections. The Ateneo also established more tie-ups and foreign linkages, as well as prepared efforts leading to the development of the Leong Centre for Chinese Studies in the university.<p>In early 2006, members of the Ateneo de Manila University and affiliated Jesuit institutions continue to be at the forefront of movements calling for discernment, action, and sustainable solutions to the deeply divisive political issues that continue to rock Filipino society. The Ateneo de Manila University also intensified its social development efforts, launching Kalinga Leyte, a program for the long-term rehabilitation of Southern Leyte, with its GK partners. The Ateneo has also expanded the scope of its involvement with Gawad Kalinga and has begun to drive GK initiatives throughout Nueva Ecija, and in other provinces such as Cotobato and Quezon.<p><a id="Campuses" name="Campuses"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Campuses</span></h2>
<p><a id="Loyola_Heights_campus" name="Loyola_Heights_campus"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Loyola Heights campus</span></h3>
<p>Overlooking the <!--del_lnk--> Marikina Valley, the main campus is located in Loyola Heights, along the eastern side of Katipunan Avenue, and is south of and adjacent to the campus of <!--del_lnk--> Miriam College.<p>The Grade School, High School, and Loyola Schools are located in the Ateneo's Loyola Heights campus. Beside the Grade School is the Henry Lee Irwin Theatre, built in 1996 to house the school's formal events and productions. Complementing the old buildings of the <!--del_lnk--> Loyola Schools are the Science Education Complex, as well as the PLDT Convergent Technologies Centre-John Gokongwei School of Management Complex.<p>Within this campus is the <!--del_lnk--> Rizal Library, the main university library. The library houses one of the largest collections in the Philippines, and has among its holdings key collections such as the American Historical Collection, the <!--del_lnk--> Ateneo Library of Women's Writings, the <!--del_lnk--> Pardo de Tavera a large collection of Filipiniana and rare books, electronic materials, bound and electronic journals and periodicals, and an assortment of microfiche materials. Near Rizal Library are the University Archives.<p>Also located here are numerous units and research centers affiliated with the Ateneo, such as the <!--del_lnk--> Institute of Social Order, <!--del_lnk--> Institute of Philippine Culture, <!--del_lnk--> Institute on Church and Social Issues, <!--del_lnk--> Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowships, the <!--del_lnk--> Philippine Institute for Pure and Applied Chemistry, the <!--del_lnk--> Jesuit Communications Foundation, the <!--del_lnk--> Jesuit Basic Education Commission, and others. Also situated here are the <!--del_lnk--> East Asian Pastoral Institute, Loyola School of Theology, and San Jose Seminary, all Jesuit formation institutions all federated with the Ateneo de Manila University. The <!--del_lnk--> Manila Observatory is also located on campus.<p>Among the buildings in the southern part of the campus is the Loyola Centre, also known as the <!--del_lnk--> Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym, and at the north end stands the <!--del_lnk--> Moro Lorenzo Sports Centre (MLSC). The Ateneo Gym is one of the largest gymnasiums among the universities in <!--del_lnk--> Metro Manila while the MLSC is often used by the <!--del_lnk--> Philippine National Basketball Team as well as other professional teams for their training needs.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Church of the Gesu, completed in July 2002, overlooks the campus. The school's chapels include the <!--del_lnk--> St. Stanislaus Kostka chapel in the High School, the Chapel of the <!--del_lnk--> Immaculate Conception in the College complex's Gonzaga Hall, the chapel at the Loyola House of Studies, and the Chapel of the Holy Guardian Angels in the Grade School, among others. Though strictly speaking not a part of the University but standing on its campus, San Jose Major Seminary also has a chapel. Moreover, walking distance from the University Campus are two parish churches: the Our Lady of Pentecost Parish Church and the Madonna della Strada Parish Church. The latter parish includes the university in its territory.<p>The university has two on-campus dormitories for college students: <!--del_lnk--> Cervini Hall and <!--del_lnk--> Eliazo Hall. Located near the Loyola Schools, Cervini accommodates approximately two hundred male students, while Eliazo houses one hundred and sixty female students. Other dormitories which are also open to college and graduate school students are those of the Institute of Social Order, Arrupe International Residence, and the East Asian Pastoral Institute.<p>The Ateneo de Manila is also home to the largest Jesuit community in the Philippines, most of whom reside at the Jesuit Residence in the Loyola Heights campus. These Jesuits are involved in teaching, administration, and research within the University and others work with other affiliated units.<p><a id="Rockwell_Center_campus" name="Rockwell_Center_campus"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Rockwell Centre campus</span></h3>
<p>The Rockwell Center campus of the Ateneo de Manila University houses the Ateneo Professional Schools, namely the School of Law, Graduate School of Business, School of Government, AGSB-BAP Institute of Banking, and the Ateneo Centre for Continuing Education.<p>The campus was donated by the Lopez Group of Companies to the Ateneo de Manila University. The Rockwell structure houses the different faculty departments, classroom and teaching facilities, several research centers, a moot court facility, and the Ateneo Professional Schools Library.<p><a id="Salcedo_campus" name="Salcedo_campus"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Salcedo campus</span></h3>
<p>The Salcedo campus houses the different facilities of the former Ateneo Information Technology Institute (AITI) and the Ateneo Centre for Continuing Education (CCE).<p><a id="Ortigas_campus" name="Ortigas_campus"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Ortigas campus</span></h3>
<p>Opening in 2007 is the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health in Ortigas. The ASMPH will be working with an adjoining partner hospital, The Medical City.<p><a id="University_traditions" name="University_traditions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">University traditions</span></h2>
<p><a id="The_Ateneo_name" name="The_Ateneo_name"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Ateneo name</span></h3>
<p>The word and name <i>Ateneo</i> is the <a href="../../wp/s/Spanish_language.htm" title="Spanish language">Spanish</a> form of <i><!--del_lnk--> Athenæum</i>, which the Dictionary of Classical Antiquities defines as the name of "the first educational institution in <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a>" where "rhetoricians and poets held their recitations." <!--del_lnk--> Hadrian’s school drew its name from a <!--del_lnk--> Greek temple dedicated to <a href="../../wp/a/Athena.htm" title="Athena">Athena</a>, the goddess of wisdom. The said temple, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, was where "poets and men of learning were accustomed to meet and read their productions."<p><i>Athenæum</i> is also used in reference to schools and literary clubs. The closest English translation is <i>academy,</i> referring to institutions of secondary learning. The Escuela Municipal de Manila actually became the Ateneo Municipal only after it began offering secondary education in 1865.<p>The Society of Jesus in the Philippines established several other schools, all named Ateneo, since 1865, and over the years, the name "Ateneo" has become recognized as the official title of Jesuit institutions of higher learning in the Philippines.<p>When the United States withdrew subsidy from Ateneo in 1901, Father Rector Jose Clos, S.J. dropped the word <i>municipal</i> from the school name, which then became Ateneo de Manila, a name it keeps to this day. Since its university charter was granted in 1959, the school has officially been called the Ateneo de Manila University.<p><a id="Lux_in_Domino" name="Lux_in_Domino"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline"><i>Lux in Domino</i></span></h3>
<p>The Ateneo's motto is <i>Lux in Domino</i>, meaning "Light in the Lord". This is not the school's original motto. The Escuela Municipal's 1859 motto was "Al merito y a la virtud": "In Merit and in Virtue". This motto persisted through the school's renaming in 1865 and in 1901.<p>The motto Lux in Domino first appeared as part of the Ateneo seal introduced by Father Rector Joaquin Añon, S.J. for the 1909 Golden Jubilee. It comes from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians, 5.8: "For you were once in darkness, now you are light in the lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth."<p><a id="Seal" name="Seal"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Seal</span></h3>
<p>In 1859, the Escuela Municipal carried the coat of arms of the city of Manila, granted by King <a href="../../wp/p/Philip_II_of_Spain.htm" title="Philip II of Spain">Philip II of Spain</a>. By 1865, along with the change of name, the school's seal had evolved to include some religious images such as the Jesuit monogram "IHS" and some Marian symbols. A revision was introduced in the school's golden jubilee 1909 with clearer Marian symbols and the current motto, Lux in Domino. This seal was retained for 20 years.<p>Father Rector Richard O’Brien, S.J. introduced a new seal for Ateneo de Manila’s diamond jubilee in 1929. This seal abandons the arms of Manila and instead adopts a design that uses mostly Jesuit and Ignatian symbols. This is the seal currently used by Ateneo.<p>The seal is defined by two semi-circular ribbons. The crown (top) ribbon contains the school motto, "Lux-in-Domino", while the base (bottom) ribbon contains the school name, "Ateneo de Manila". These ribbons define a circular field on which rests the shield of Oñaz-Loyola: a combination of the arms of the paternal and maternal sides of the family of St. Ignatius.<p>In precise <a href="../../wp/h/Heraldry.htm" title="Heraldry">heraldic</a> terms, the Shield of Oñaz-Loyola may be described as: "Party per pale: Or, seven bendlets Gules; Argent, a two-eared pot hanging on a chain between two wolves rampant." In plain English, the shield is gold, and divided vertically. To the viewer's left is a field of gold with seven red bands. These are the arms of Oñaz, Ignatius' paternal family, which commemorates seven family heroes who fought with the Spaniards against 70,000 <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">French</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Navarese, and <!--del_lnk--> Gascons. To the viewer's right is a white or silver field with the arms of Loyola, Ignatius' maternal family. The arms consist of a two-eared pot hanging on a chain between two rampant wolves, which symbolize the nobility. The name "Loyola" is actually a contraction of lobos y olla (wolves and pot). The name springs from the family's reputation of being able to provide so well that they could feed even wild wolves.<p>Above the shield is a <!--del_lnk--> Basque sunburst, referring to <!--del_lnk--> Ignatius' Basque roots, and also representing a consecrated host. It bears the letters IHS, the first three letters of the Holy Name of Jesus in Greek, and an adaptation of the emblem of the <!--del_lnk--> Society of Jesus. Many erroneously believe that the Ateneo de Manila seal features the letters JHS. This stems from the peculiar rendering of the letters in the Ateneo de Manila seal. The letter I is drawn in a florid calligraphic style that conforms to the circle’s shape. It therefore appears similar to a J.<p>Both scalloped and unscalloped versions of the seal are extant. Since scallops are not formally a part of a seal's design in traditional heraldry, they are merely a decorative element applied for aesthetic or nostalgic purposes.<p>The seal’s colors are blue, white, red, and gold. In traditional <a href="../../wp/h/Heraldry.htm" title="Heraldry">heraldry</a>, white or silver (Argent) represents a commitment to peace and truth. Blue (Azure) represents fortitude and loyalty. Red (Gules) represens martyrdom, sacrifice, and strength. Gold (Or) represents nobility and generosity.<p>White and blue are also Ateneo’s school colors, the colors of Mary. Red and gold are the colors of Spain, home of Ignatius and the Ateneo’s Jesuit founders. Finally, these four tinctures mirror the tinctures of the Philippine flag, marking the Ateneo’s identity as a Filipino University.<p><a id="Marian_devotion" name="Marian_devotion"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Marian devotion</span></h3>
<p>Ateneans value symbols of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, <i>Maria Purissima</i>, Queen of the Ateneo. Among them are the rosary in the pocket, the October Medal (the Miraculous Medal of the Immaculate Conception with a blue ribbon), and the graduation hymn, "A Song for Mary."<p>In official Jesuit documents (<i>e.g.</i>, <i>Catalogus Provinciae Philippinae Societatis Jesu</i>), the Ateneo de Manila is also referred to as the "University of the Immaculate Conception BVM", the Immaculate Conception being the official patron of the University. This is why the eighth of December, the Solemn Feast of the Immaculate Conception is always a school holiday although the University community honours her liturgically a few days before or after the feastday itself.<p><a name=".22A_Song_for_Mary.22"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">"A Song for Mary"</span></h4>
<p>Before the Ateneo de Manila moved to Loyola Heights, the school anthem was "Hail Ateneo, Hail," a marching tune.<p>When the Ateneo moved from Padre Faura to Loyola Heights in the 1950s, the school adopted "A Song for Mary" as its graduation hymn. Fr. James Reuter wrote the lyrics, and Ateneo band moderator Captain Jose Campana composed the melody, adapted from the 1880 composition of <!--del_lnk--> Calixa Lavallée's hymn "<!--del_lnk--> O Canada," which Canada adopted as its national anthem in 1980.<p>Over the decades, the graduation hymn eventually supplanted "Hail Ateneo, Hail" and is now widely considered the Ateneo de Manila's alma mater song.<p><a id="Colors:_blue_and_white" name="Colors:_blue_and_white"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Colors: blue and white</span></h4>
<p>The Ateneo has adopted blue and white, the colors of its patron Mary, as its official school colors. Marian blue is traditionally ultramarine, a deep ocean blue tincture derived from lapis lazuli, which historically has been used to colour the vestments of Mary in paintings. But since Mary is honored as Stella Maris (Star of the Sea) and Queen of Heaven, various shades of blue, such as royal blue and sky blue are acceptable shades of Marian blue as well.<p><a id="Athletics" name="Athletics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Athletics</span></h2>
<div class="floatright"><span><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AteneoBlueEagles.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="150" /></span></div>
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<p>The Ateneo de Manila University is a member of the <!--del_lnk--> University Athletics Association of the Philippines, where it fields teams in all events. It was also a founding member of the <!--del_lnk--> National Collegiate Athletics Association in the 1920s. The Ateneo left the NCAA in 1978 due to the league-wide violence prevalent at the time, and then joined the UAAP in the same year.<p>Aside from the UAAP, the Ateneo also participates in the Father Martin Cup, the <!--del_lnk--> Home and Away tournament, and the <!--del_lnk--> Shakey's V-League. Different university units also field teams in leagues such as RIFA (football), PAYA and PRADA (basketball), the Inter-MBA Friendship Games, various inter-university golf tournaments, and so on. The Ateneo also fields teams to the Jesuit Athletic Meet, an athletic meet of the different Jesuit schools in the Philippines.<p><a id="Mascot:_The_Blue_Eagle" name="Mascot:_The_Blue_Eagle"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Mascot: The Blue Eagle</span></h3>
<p>Prior to the 1930s, Ateneo had no mascot. Meanwhile, Catholic Schools in the United States, particularly those named after saints, were distressed by the cheekiness with which they were mentioned in newspapers' sports pages. Headlines read "St. Michael’s Wallops St. Augustine’s", or "St. Thomas' Scalps St. Peter’s". It was then agreed that each school adopt a mascot, a symbol for the team which sportswriters could toss about with impunity.<p>The idea quickly caught on in the Philippines. By the 1930s, the Ateneo adopted Blue Eagle as a symbol, and had a live eagle accompany the basketball team.<p>The choice of the colour blue is clearly based on the Ateneo's colors. The choice of an eagle holds iconic significance. It is a reference to the "high-flying" basketball team which would "sweep the fields away" as a dominating force. Furthermore, there was some mythological— even political—significance to the eagle as a symbol of power.<p>In <i>On Wings of Blue</i>, a booklet of Ateneo traditions, songs, and cheers published in the 1950s, Lamberto Javellana writes:<p>"The Eagle — fiery, majestic, whose kingdom is the virgin sky, is swift in pursuit, terrible in battle. He is a king - a fighting king… And thus he was chosen—to soar with scholar’s thought and word high into the regions of truth and excellence, to flap his glorious wings and cast his ominous shadow below, even as the student crusader would instill fear in those who would battle against the Cross. And so he was chosen — to fly with the fleet limbs of the cinder pacer, to swoop down with the Blue gladiator into the arena of sporting combat and with him to fight — and keep on fighting till brilliant victory, or honorable defeat. And so he was chosen — to perch on the Shield of Loyola, to be the symbol of all things honorable, even as the Great Eagle is perched on the American escutcheon, to be the guardian of liberty. And so he was chosen—and he lives, not only in body to soar over his campus aerie, but in spirit, in the Ateneo Spirit… For he flies high, and he is a fighter, and he is King!"<p>The eagle also appears in the standards of many organizations, schools, and nations as a "guardian of freedom and truth." <a href="../../wp/d/Dante_Alighieri.htm" title="Dante">Dante</a> in his <!--del_lnk--> Divine Comedy uses the <a href="../../wp/e/Eagle.htm" title="Eagle">Eagle</a> as a symbol of the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a>, which used the bird as part of its standard. The ancient Romans considered the eagle sacred to Jupiter himself. The eagle is often seen as the bird of God, the only bird that can fly above the clouds and stare directly at the sun. This is also why it represents St. John the Evangelist, in honour of the "soaring spirit and penetrating vision of his gospel."<p>The national bird of the Philippines is, incidentally, <!--del_lnk--> an eagle.<p><a id="Cheering_tradition" name="Cheering_tradition"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Cheering tradition</span></h3>
<p>The Ateneo de Manila was rather successful in athletics even before the NCAA began. To help cheer the Ateneo squad on, the Jesuits decided that the Ateneo ought to have some sort of organization in its cheering. The Ateneo then introduced organized cheering to the country by fielding the first-ever cheering squad in the Philippines, which is now known as the Blue Babble Battalion.<p>The Ateneo was a proud pioneer, arguing about how the Ateneo’s brand of cheering is both unique and rooted in classical antiquity. In the 1959 Ateneo Aegis (the college yearbook), Art Borjal argues:<p><i>"It all started about 2,000 years ago along the Via Appia in Rome. The deafening cheers of Roman citizens, lined along the way, thundered in the sky as the returning victorious warriors passed by…The type of cheering that the Ateneo introduced was, in a way, quite different from that of the Romans. When the warriors came home in defeat, the citizens shouted in derision and screamed for the soldiers’ blood. To the Atenean, victory and defeat do not matter much. To cheer for a losing team that had fought fairly and well is as noble, if not nobler, than cheering for a victorious squad."</i><p>The words of some of the cheers seem incomprehensible or derived from an exotic language. Loud, rapid yells of "fabilioh" and "halikinu" to intimidate and confuse the enemy gallery. Meanwhile, fighting songs help inspire the team to "roll up a victory".<p><a id="Notable_alumni_and_professors" name="Notable_alumni_and_professors"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Notable alumni and professors</span></h2>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Historians_chroniclers_and_history_books.htm">Historians, chroniclers and history books</a>; <a href="../index/subject.People.Human_Scientists.htm">Human Scientists</a></h3>
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<th colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><big>Athanasius Kircher</big></th>
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<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/8/835.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Athanasius_Kircher.jpg" src="../../images/8/835.jpg" width="116" /></a></span></div>
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<div style="line-height:1.25em;">Portrait of Kircher from <i>Mundus Subterraneus</i>, 1664</div>
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<th align="right">Born</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> May 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1602<br /><!--del_lnk--> Geisa, Abbacy of <!--del_lnk--> Fulda</td>
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<th style="text-align:right;">Died</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 28 November <!--del_lnk--> 1680<br /><a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a></td>
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<p><b>Athanasius Kircher</b> (sometimes erroneously spelt <b>Kirchner</b>) (<!--del_lnk--> May 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1602–<!--del_lnk--> 28 November <!--del_lnk--> 1680) was a 17th century <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">German</a> <!--del_lnk--> Jesuit <!--del_lnk--> scholar who published around 40 works, most notably in the fields of <!--del_lnk--> oriental studies, <a href="../../wp/g/Geology.htm" title="Geology">geology</a> and <a href="../../wp/m/Medicine.htm" title="Medicine">medicine</a>. He made an early study of <!--del_lnk--> Egyptian hieroglyphs. One of the first people to observe microbes through a <a href="../../wp/m/Microscope.htm" title="Microscope">microscope</a>, he was thus ahead of his time in proposing that the <a href="../../wp/b/Black_Death.htm" title="Black Death">plague</a> was caused by an infectious <!--del_lnk--> microorganism and in suggesting effective measures to prevent the spread of the disease.<p>He has been compared to <a href="../../wp/l/Leonardo_da_Vinci.htm" title="Leonardo da Vinci">Leonardo da Vinci</a> for his inventiveness and the breadth and depth of his work. A scientific star in his day, towards the end of his life he was eclipsed by the <!--del_lnk--> rationalism of <a href="../../wp/r/Ren%25C3%25A9_Descartes.htm" title="René Descartes">René Descartes</a> and others. In the late 20th century, however, the <!--del_lnk--> aesthetic qualities of his work again began to be appreciated. One scholar, Edward W. Schmidt, has called him "the last <!--del_lnk--> Renaissance man".<p>
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</script><a id="Life" name="Life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Life</span></h2>
<p>Kircher was born on <!--del_lnk--> May 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1601 or 1602 (he himself did not know) in <!--del_lnk--> Geisa, <!--del_lnk--> Buchonia, near <!--del_lnk--> Fulda. From his birthplace he took the epithets <i>Bucho, Buchonius</i> and <i>Fuldensis</i> which he sometimes added to his name. He attended the Jesuit College in Fulda from 1614 to 1618, when he joined the order himself as a <!--del_lnk--> seminarian.<p>The youngest of nine children, Kircher was a precocious youngster who was taught <!--del_lnk--> Hebrew by a <!--del_lnk--> rabbi in addition to his studies at school. He studied <a href="../../wp/p/Philosophy.htm" title="Philosophy">philosophy</a> and <!--del_lnk--> theology at <!--del_lnk--> Paderborn, but fled to <a href="../../wp/c/Cologne.htm" title="Cologne">Cologne</a> in 1622 to escape advancing <!--del_lnk--> Protestant forces. On the journey, he narrowly escaped death after falling through the ice crossing the frozen <a href="../../wp/r/Rhine.htm" title="Rhine">Rhine</a>— one of several occasions on which his life was endangered. Later, travelling to <!--del_lnk--> Heiligenstadt, he was caught and nearly <!--del_lnk--> hanged by a party of Protestant soldiers. At Heiligenstadt, he taught <a href="../../wp/m/Mathematics.htm" title="Mathematics">mathematics</a>, Hebrew and <!--del_lnk--> Syrian, and produced a show of <!--del_lnk--> fireworks and moving scenery for the visiting <!--del_lnk--> Elector <!--del_lnk--> Archbishop of Mainz, showing early evidence of his interest in <!--del_lnk--> mechanical devices. He joined the <!--del_lnk--> priesthood in 1628 and became professor of <a href="../../wp/e/Ethics.htm" title="Ethics">ethics</a> and <a href="../../wp/m/Mathematics.htm" title="Mathematics">mathematics</a> at the <!--del_lnk--> University of Würzburg, where he also taught Hebrew and Syrian. From 1628, he also began to show an interest in Egyptian hieroglyphs.<p>Kircher published his first book (the <i>Ars Magnesia</i>, reporting his research on <a href="../../wp/m/Magnetism.htm" title="Magnetism">magnetism</a>) in 1631, but the same year he was driven by the continuing <!--del_lnk--> Thirty Years' War to the papal <!--del_lnk--> University of Avignon in <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>. In 1633, he was called to <a href="../../wp/v/Vienna.htm" title="Vienna">Vienna</a> by the <!--del_lnk--> emperor to succeed <a href="../../wp/j/Johannes_Kepler.htm" title="Johannes Kepler">Kepler</a> as Mathematician to the <!--del_lnk--> Habsburg court. On the intervention of <!--del_lnk--> Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, the order was rescinded and he was sent instead to <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a> to continue with his scholarly work, but he had already set off for Vienna. On the way, his ship was blown off-course and he arrived in Rome before he knew of the changed decision. He based himself in the city for the rest of his life, and from 1638 taught mathematics, <a href="../../wp/p/Physics.htm" title="Physics">physics</a> and <!--del_lnk--> oriental languages at the <!--del_lnk--> Collegio Romano for several years before being released to devote himself to research. He studied first <a href="../../wp/m/Malaria.htm" title="Malaria">malaria</a> and then the <a href="../../wp/b/Black_Death.htm" title="Black Death">plague</a>, and amassed a collection of <a href="../../wp/a/Archaeology.htm" title="Archaeology">antiquities</a> which he exhibited along with devices of his own creation in the <!--del_lnk--> Museum Kircherianum.<p>In 1661, Kircher discovered the ruins of a <!--del_lnk--> church said to have been constructed by <!--del_lnk--> Constantine on the site of <!--del_lnk--> Saint Eustace's vision of <a href="../../wp/j/Jesus.htm" title="Jesus Christ">Jesus Christ</a> in a stag's horns. He raised money to pay for the church’s reconstruction as the <i>Santuario della Mentorella</i>, and his heart was buried in the church on his death.<p><a id="Works" name="Works"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Works</span></h2>
<p>Kircher published a large number of substantial books on a very wide variety of subjects, such as <!--del_lnk--> Egyptology, <a href="../../wp/g/Geology.htm" title="Geology">geology</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> music theory. His <!--del_lnk--> syncretic approach paid no attention to the boundaries between disciplines which are now conventional: his <i>Magnes</i>, for example, was ostensibly a discussion of <a href="../../wp/m/Magnetism.htm" title="Magnetism">magnetism</a>, but also explored other forms of attraction such as <a href="../../wp/g/Gravitation.htm" title="Gravity">gravity</a> and <a href="../../wp/l/Love.htm" title="Love">love</a>. Perhaps Kircher's best-known work today is his <i><!--del_lnk--> Oedipus Aegyptiacus</i> (1652-54) a vast study of Egyptology and <!--del_lnk--> comparative religion. His books, written in <a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a>, had a wide circulation in the 17th century, and they contributed to the dissemination of scientific information to a broader circle of readers.<p><a id="Egyptology" name="Egyptology"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Egyptology</span></h3>
<p>Kircher was acknowledged as his era's greatest student of the mysteries of <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Egypt.htm" title="Ancient Egypt">Ancient Egypt</a>. While some of his notions are long discredited, portions of his work have been valuable to later scholars; Kircher helped pioneer Egyptology as a field of serious study.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/836.jpg.htm" title="The Coptic alphabet, from Prodromus coptus sive aegyptiacus"><img alt="The Coptic alphabet, from Prodromus coptus sive aegyptiacus" height="320" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kirchercopticalpha.jpg" src="../../images/8/836.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/836.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Coptic alphabet, from <i>Prodromus coptus sive aegyptiacus</i></div>
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<p>Kircher's interest in Egyptology began in 1628 when he became intrigued by a collection of hieroglyphs in the library at <!--del_lnk--> Speyer. He learned <!--del_lnk--> Coptic in 1633 and published the first grammar of that language in 1636, the <i>Prodromus coptus sive aegyptiacus</i>. In the <i>Lingua aegyptiaca restituta</i> of 1643, he argued correctly that <!--del_lnk--> Coptic was not a separate language, but the last development of <!--del_lnk--> ancient Egyptian. He also recognised the relationship between the <!--del_lnk--> hieratic and hieroglyphic scripts.<p>In <i>Oedipus Aegyptiacus</i> he argued, under the impression of the <i><!--del_lnk--> Hieroglyphica</i>, that <!--del_lnk--> ancient Egyptian was the language spoken by <!--del_lnk--> Adam and Eve, that <!--del_lnk--> Hermes Trismegistus was <!--del_lnk--> Moses, and that hieroglyphs were <!--del_lnk--> occult <!--del_lnk--> symbols which "cannot be translated by words, but expressed only by marks, characters and figures." This led him to translate simple hieroglyphic texts now known to read as <i><u>d</u>d W<u>s</u>r</i> ("Osiris says") as "The treachery of Typhon ends at the throne of Isis; the moisture of nature is guarded by the vigilance of Anubis." Kircher apparently fooled himself (as well as some contemporaries) into believing that he could read the hieroglyphics, but his "translations" were largely figments of his own imagination, having little to do with the actual text.<p>Although his approach to deciphering the texts was based on a fundamental misconception, he did pioneer serious study of hieroglyphs, and the data which he collected were later used by <!--del_lnk--> Champollion in his successful efforts to decode the script. Kircher himself was alive to the possibility of the hieroglyphs constituting an <a href="../../wp/a/Alphabet.htm" title="Alphabet">alphabet</a>: he included in his proposed system (incorrect) derivations of the <!--del_lnk--> Greek alphabet from 21 hieroglyphs. He was actively involved in the erection of Obeliscs on Roman squares, often adding fantastic "hieroglyphs" of his own design in the blank areas that are now puzzling modern scholars.<p><a id="Sinology" name="Sinology"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sinology</span></h3>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/837.jpg.htm" title="Map of China from China Monumentis"><img alt="Map of China from China Monumentis" height="230" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kircherchinamap.jpg" src="../../images/8/837.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/837.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map of China from <i>China Monumentis</i></div>
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<p>Kircher had an early interest in <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a>, telling his superior in 1629 that he wished to become a <!--del_lnk--> missionary to the country. His <i>China Monumentis</i> (1667) was an encyclopedia of China, which combined accurate <!--del_lnk--> cartography with mythical elements, such as <!--del_lnk--> dragons. The work emphasised the Christian elements of Chinese history, both real and imagined: he noted the early presence of <!--del_lnk--> Nestorians, but also claimed that the Chinese were descended from the sons of <!--del_lnk--> Ham, that <a href="../../wp/c/Confucius.htm" title="Confucius">Confucius</a> was Hermes Trismegistus/Moses and that the <!--del_lnk--> Chinese characters were corrupted hieroglyphs. In his system, <!--del_lnk--> ideograms were inferior to hieroglyphs because they referred to specific ideas rather than to mysterious complexes of ideas, while the signs of the <!--del_lnk--> Maya and <a href="../../wp/a/Aztec.htm" title="Aztec">Aztecs</a> were yet lower <!--del_lnk--> pictograms which referred only to objects. <!--del_lnk--> Umberto Eco comments that this idea reflected and supported the European attitude to the Chinese and native American civilisations;<p>"China was presented not as an unknown barbarian to be defeated but as a prodigal son who should return to the home of the common father". (p. 69)<p><a id="Geology" name="Geology"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Geology</span></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/143/14343.jpg.htm" title="Kircher's model of the Earth's internal fires, from Mundus Subterraneus"><img alt="Kircher's model of the Earth's internal fires, from Mundus Subterraneus" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kircherearthfires.jpg" src="../../images/8/838.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/143/14343.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Kircher's model of the <a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">Earth</a>'s internal fires, from <i>Mundus Subterraneus</i></div>
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<p>On a visit to <!--del_lnk--> southern Italy in 1638, the ever-curious Kircher was lowered into the <a href="../../wp/v/Volcano.htm" title="Volcano">crater</a> of <!--del_lnk--> Vesuvius, then on the brink of eruption, in order to examine its interior. He was also intrigued by the subterranean rumbling which he heard at the <!--del_lnk--> Strait of Messina. His geological and geographical investigations culminated in his <i>Mundus Subterraneus</i> of 1664, in which he suggested that the <a href="../../wp/t/Tide.htm" title="Tide">tides</a> were caused by water moving to and from a subterranean <a href="../../wp/o/Ocean.htm" title="Ocean">ocean</a>.<p>Kircher was also puzzled by <a href="../../wp/f/Fossil.htm" title="Fossil">fossils</a>. He understood that some were the remains of <a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">animals</a> which had turned to stone, but ascribed others to human invention or to the spontaneous generative force of the <a href="../../wp/s/Soil.htm" title="Soil">earth</a>. Not all the objects which he was attempting to explain were in fact fossils, hence the diversity of explanations.<p><a id="Medicine" name="Medicine"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Medicine</span></h3>
<p>Kircher took a notably modern approach to the study of <!--del_lnk--> diseases, as early as 1646 using a <a href="../../wp/m/Microscope.htm" title="Microscope">microscope</a> to investigate the <!--del_lnk--> blood of <a href="../../wp/b/Black_Death.htm" title="Black Death">plague</a> victims. In his <i>Scrutinium Pestis</i> of 1658, he noted the presence of "little worms" or "<!--del_lnk--> animalcules" in the blood, and concluded that the disease was caused by <!--del_lnk--> microorganisms. The conclusion was correct, although it is likely that what he saw were in fact <!--del_lnk--> red or <!--del_lnk--> white <!--del_lnk--> blood cells and not the plague agent, <!--del_lnk--> Yersinia pestis. He also proposed <!--del_lnk--> hygienic measures to prevent the spread of disease, such as isolation, <!--del_lnk--> quarantine, burning clothes worn by the infected and wearing <!--del_lnk--> facemasks to prevent the inhalation of <!--del_lnk--> germs.<p><a id="Display_of_screen_images" name="Display_of_screen_images"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Display of screen images</span></h3>
<p>In 1646, Kircher published <i>Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae</i>, on the subject of the display of images on a screen using an apparatus similar to the <!--del_lnk--> magic lantern as developed by <!--del_lnk--> Christian Huygens and others. Kircher described the construction of a "catotrophic lamp" that used reflection to project images on the wall of a darkened room. Although Kircher did not invent the device, he made improvements over previous models, and suggested methods by which exhibitors could use his device. Much of the significance of his work arises from Kircher rational approach towards the demystification of projected images . Previously such images had been used in Europe to mimic supernatural (Kircher himself cites the use of displayed images by the rabbis in the court of <!--del_lnk--> King Solomon). Kircher stressed that exhibitors should take great care to inform spectators that such images were purely naturalistic, and not magical in origin.<p><a id="Other" name="Other"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Other</span></h3>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/841.jpg.htm" title="Kircher's magnetic clock"><img alt="Kircher's magnetic clock" height="281" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kirchermagneticclock.jpg" src="../../images/8/841.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/841.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Kircher's magnetic clock</div>
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<p>Kircher constructed a <a href="../../wp/m/Magnetism.htm" title="Magnetism">magnetic</a> clock, the mechanism of which he explained in his <i>Magnes</i> (1641). The device had originally been invented by another Jesuit, Fr. Francis Line, and was described by an acquaintance of Line's in 1634. Kircher's patron Peiresc had claimed that the clock's motion supported the <!--del_lnk--> Copernican cosmological model, the argument being that the magnetic sphere in the clock was caused to rotate by the magnetic force of the <a href="../../wp/s/Sun.htm" title="Sun">sun</a>. Kircher's model disproved the theory, showing that the motion could be produced by a <!--del_lnk--> water clock in the base of the device.<p>Other machines designed by Kircher include an <!--del_lnk--> aeolian harp, <!--del_lnk--> automatons such as a statue which spoke and listened via a <!--del_lnk--> speaking tube, a <!--del_lnk--> perpetual motion machine, or a <!--del_lnk--> cat piano which would drive spikes into the tails of cats which yowled to specified <!--del_lnk--> pitches, although he is not known to have actually constructed the instrument. He wrote an early description of the <!--del_lnk--> magic lantern, and is therefore believed to have been its inventor.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/843.jpg.htm" title="An illustration from the discussion of hearing in Musurgia Universalis, showing the ears of a human, cow, horse, dog, leopard, cat, rat, pig, sheep and goose"><img alt="An illustration from the discussion of hearing in Musurgia Universalis, showing the ears of a human, cow, horse, dog, leopard, cat, rat, pig, sheep and goose" height="275" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kircherears.jpg" src="../../images/8/843.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/843.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An illustration from the discussion of hearing in <i>Musurgia Universalis</i>, showing the <!--del_lnk--> ears of a <a href="../../wp/h/Human.htm" title="Human">human</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Cattle.htm" title="Cow">cow</a>, <a href="../../wp/h/Horse.htm" title="Horse">horse</a>, <a href="../../wp/d/Dog.htm" title="Dog">dog</a>, <!--del_lnk--> leopard, <a href="../../wp/c/Cat.htm" title="Cat">cat</a>, <!--del_lnk--> rat, <a href="../../wp/p/Pig.htm" title="Pig">pig</a>, <!--del_lnk--> sheep and <a href="../../wp/g/Goose.htm" title="Goose">goose</a></div>
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<p>The <i>Musurgia Universalis</i> (1650) sets out Kircher's views on <a href="../../wp/m/Music.htm" title="Music">music</a>: he believed that the <!--del_lnk--> harmony of music reflected the proportions of the <a href="../../wp/u/Universe.htm" title="Universe">universe</a>. The book includes plans for constructing water-powered <!--del_lnk--> automatic organs, <!--del_lnk--> notations of <!--del_lnk--> birdsong and diagrams of <a href="../../wp/m/Musical_instrument.htm" title="Musical instrument">musical instruments</a>. One illustration shows the differences between the <!--del_lnk--> ears of humans and other animals.<p>Kircher wrote against the <!--del_lnk--> Copernican model in his <i>Magnes</i> (supporting instead that of <a href="../../wp/t/Tycho_Brahe.htm" title="Tycho Brahe">Tycho Brahe</a>), but in his later <i>Itinerarium extaticum</i> (1656, revised 1671) he presented several systems, including the Copernican, as alternative possibilities. In <i>Polygraphia nova</i> (1663) he proposed an artificial <!--del_lnk--> universal language.<p>Kircher received a copy of the <!--del_lnk--> Voynich Manuscript in 1666; it was sent to him by <!--del_lnk--> Johannes Marcus Marci in the hope of his being able to decipher it. The manuscript remained in the Collegio Romano until <!--del_lnk--> Victor Emmanuel II of Italy annexed the <!--del_lnk--> papal states in 1870.<p>In 1675, Kircher published <i>Arca Noë</i>, the results of his research on the biblical <!--del_lnk--> Ark of Noah— following the <!--del_lnk--> Counter-Reformation, <!--del_lnk--> allegorical interpretation was giving way to the study of the Old Testament as literal truth among Scriptural scholars. Kircher analyzed the dimensions of the Ark; based on the number of species known to him (excluding insects and other forms thought to <!--del_lnk--> arise spontaneously), he calculated that overcrowding would not have been a problem. He also discussed the logistics of the Ark voyage, speculating on whether extra livestock was brought to feed carnivores and what the daily schedule of feeding and caring for animals must have been.<p><a id="Influence" name="Influence"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Influence</span></h2>
<p>For most of his professional life, Kircher was one of the scientific stars of the world: according to historian Paula Findlen, he was "the first scholar with a global reputation". His importance was twofold: to the results of his own <!--del_lnk--> experiments and research he added information gleaned from his correspondence with over 760 scientists, physicians and above all his fellow Jesuits in all parts of the globe. The <i><a href="../../wp/e/Encyclop%25C3%25A6dia_Britannica.htm" title="Encyclopædia Britannica">Encyclopædia Britannica</a></i> calls him a "one-man intellectual clearing house". His works, illustrated to his orders, were extremely popular, and he was the first scientist to be able to support himself through the sale of his books. Towards the end of his life his stock fell, as the <!--del_lnk--> rationalist <a href="../../wp/r/Ren%25C3%25A9_Descartes.htm" title="René Descartes">Cartesian</a> approach began to dominate (Descartes himself described Kircher as "more quacksalver than savant").<p>Thereafter, Kircher was largely neglected until the late 20th century. One writer attributes his rediscovery to the similarities between his eclectic approach and <!--del_lnk--> postmodernism: "at the start of the 21st century Kircher's taste for <!--del_lnk--> trivia, deception and wonder is back”; "Kircher's postmodern qualities include his subversiveness, his <!--del_lnk--> celebrity, his <a href="../../wp/t/Technology.htm" title="Technology">technomania</a> and his bizarre <!--del_lnk--> eclecticism" <!--del_lnk--> . Because Kircher's science is now out of date, and as few of his works have been translated, the recent emphasis has been on their <!--del_lnk--> aesthetic qualities rather than their actual content, and a succession of exhibitions have highlighted the beauty of their illustrations. Historian Anthony Grafton has said that "the staggeringly strange dark continent of Kircher's work [is] the setting for a <a href="../../wp/j/Jorge_Luis_Borges.htm" title="Borges">Borges</a> story that was never written", while <!--del_lnk--> Umberto Eco has written about Kircher in his novel <i><!--del_lnk--> The Island of the Day Before</i>, as well as in his non-fiction works <i>The Search for the Perfect Language</i> and <i>Serendipities</i>.<h2> <span class="mw-headline">Texts</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>Fletcher, John E.: A brief survey of the unpublished correspondence of Athanasius Kircher S J. (1602-80), in: Manuscripta, XIII, St. Louis, 1969, pp. 150-60.<li>Fletcher, John E.: Johann Marcus Marci writes to Athanasius Kircher. Janus, Leyden, LIX (1972), pp. 97-118<li>Fletcher, John E.: Athanasius Kircher und seine Beziehungen zum gelehrten Europa seiner Zeit Wolfenbütteler Arbeiten zur Barockforschung, Band 17, 1988. -<li>Fletcher, J. "Johann Marcus Marci writes to Athanasius Kircher", Janus, 59 (1972), pp 95-118.<li>Fletcher, J. Athanasius Kircher : A Man Under Pressure. 1988<li>Fletcher, J. Athanasius Kircher And Duke August Of Brunswick-Lüneberg : A Chronicle Of Friendship. 1988<li>Fletcher, J. Athanasius Kircher And His Correspondence. 1988<li>Schmidt, Edward W. <i>The Last Renaissance Man: Athanasius Kircher, SJ</i>. Company: The World of Jesuits and Their Friends. 19(2), Winter 2001-2002.<li>Eco, Umberto. <i>Serendipities: Language and Lunacy</i>. Columbia University Press (1998). <!--del_lnk--> ISBN 0-231-11134-7.</ul>
<div class="references-small">
<ol class="references">
<li id="_note-0"><b>^</b> <cite class="book" id="Reference-Musser-1990" style="font-style:normal">Musser, Charles (1990). <i>The Emergence of Cinema: The American Screen to 1907</i>. University of California Press, 613. <!--del_lnk--> ISBN 0-520-08533-7.</cite></ol>
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<p><a id="External_links" name="External_links"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athanasius_Kircher"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Atheism</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Religion.Philosophy.htm">Philosophy</a></h3>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/696.jpg.htm" title="The 18th-century French author Baron d'Holbach was one of the first self-described "atheists"; he did not believe in the existence of any deities."><img alt="The 18th-century French author Baron d'Holbach was one of the first self-described "atheists"; he did not believe in the existence of any deities." height="222" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Paul_Heinrich_Dietrich_Baron_d%27Holbach.jpg" src="../../images/6/696.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/696.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The 18th-century French author <!--del_lnk--> Baron d'Holbach was one of the first self-described "atheists"; he did not believe in the existence of any <a href="../../wp/d/Deity.htm" title="Deity">deities</a>.</div>
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<p><b>Atheism</b> is the disbelief in the <!--del_lnk--> existence of God and other <a href="../../wp/d/Deity.htm" title="Deity">deities</a>. It is commonly defined as the positive denial of theism (ie. the assertion that deities do not exist), or the deliberate rejection of <!--del_lnk--> theism (i.e., the refusal to believe in the existence of deities). However, others—including most atheistic philosophers and groups—define <i>atheism</i> as the simple absence of belief in deities (cf. <!--del_lnk--> nontheism), thereby designating many <a href="../../wp/a/Agnosticism.htm" title="Agnosticism">agnostics</a>, and people who have never heard of gods, such as the <!--del_lnk--> unchurched or newborn children, as atheists as well. In recent years, some atheists have adopted the terms <!--del_lnk--> <i>strong</i> and <i>weak atheism</i> to clarify whether they consider their stance one of positive belief no gods exist, or of negative unbelief.<p>Many <!--del_lnk--> self-described atheists share common <!--del_lnk--> skeptical concerns regarding <a href="../../wp/e/Empiricism.htm" title="Empiricism">empirical</a> evidence for spiritual or <!--del_lnk--> supernatural claims. They cite a lack of evidence for the existence of deities. Other rationales for atheism range from the personal to the philosophical to the social to the historical. Additionally, while atheists tend to accept <!--del_lnk--> secular philosophies such as <a href="../../wp/h/Humanism.htm" title="Humanism">humanism</a>, <!--del_lnk--> naturalism and <!--del_lnk--> materialism, they do not necessarily adhere to any one particular <!--del_lnk--> ideology, nor does atheism have any institutionalized rituals or behaviors.<p>Atheism is very often equated with <!--del_lnk--> irreligion or nonspirituality in Western culture, but they are not the same. Some religious and spiritual beliefs, such as several forms of <!--del_lnk--> Buddhism, have been described by outside observers as conforming to the broader, negative definition of <i>atheism</i> due to their lack of any participating deities. Atheism is also sometimes erroneously equated with <!--del_lnk--> antitheism (opposition to theism) or <!--del_lnk--> antireligion (opposition to religion). Some philosophers and academics, such as philosopher <!--del_lnk--> Jurgen Habermas call themselves "<!--del_lnk--> methodological atheists" (also known as or methodological naturalism)<!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> to denote that whatever their personal beliefs, they do not include theistic presuppositions in their method.<p>
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</script><a id="Etymology" name="Etymology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Etymology</span></h2>
<p>In early <!--del_lnk--> Ancient Greek, the adjective <i>atheos</i> (from <!--del_lnk--> privative α- + θεος "god") meant "godless". The word acquired an additional meaning in the <!--del_lnk--> 5th Century BCE, severing relations with the gods; that is, "denying the gods, ungodly", with more active connotations than <i>asebēs</i>, or "impious". Modern translations of classical texts sometimes translate <i>atheos</i> as "atheistic". As an abstract noun, there was also <i>atheotēs</i> ("atheism"). <!--del_lnk--> Cicero transliterated <i>atheos</i> into <a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a>. The term found frequent use in the debate between early Christians and pagans, with each side attributing it, in the pejorative sense, to the other.<p>In <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>, the term <i>atheism</i> was adopted from the <a href="../../wp/f/French_language.htm" title="French language">French</a> <i>athéisme</i> in about <!--del_lnk--> 1587. The term <i>atheist</i> in the sense of "one who denies or disbelieves" predates atheism in English, being first attested in about <!--del_lnk--> 1571; the <!--del_lnk--> Italian <i>atheoi</i> is recorded as early as <!--del_lnk--> 1568. <i>Atheist</i> in the sense of practical godlessness was first attested in <!--del_lnk--> 1577. The French word is derived from <i>athée</i> ("godless, atheist"), which in turn comes from the <!--del_lnk--> Greek <i>atheos</i>. The words <i>deist</i> and <i>theist</i> entered English after <i>atheism</i>, being first attested in <!--del_lnk--> 1621 and <!--del_lnk--> 1662, respectively, and followed by <i><!--del_lnk--> theism</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> deism</i> in <!--del_lnk--> 1678 and <!--del_lnk--> 1682, respectively. <i>Deism</i> and <i>theism</i> changed meanings slightly around 1700, due to the influence of <i>atheism</i>. <i>Deism</i> was originally used as a synonym for today's <i>theism</i>, but came to denote a separate philosophical doctrine.<p>Originally simply used as a <!--del_lnk--> slur for "godlessness", <i>atheism</i> was first used to describe a self-avowed belief in late 18th-century Europe, specifically denoting disbelief in the <!--del_lnk--> monotheistic <!--del_lnk--> Judeo-Christian <a href="../../wp/g/God.htm" title="God">God</a>. In the 20th century, <a href="../../wp/g/Globalization.htm" title="Globalization">globalization</a> contributed to the expansion of the term to refer to disbelief in all deities, though it remains common in Western society to describe atheism as simply "disbelief in God". Additionally, in recent decades there has increasingly been a push in certain philosophical circles to redefine <i>atheism</i> negatively, as "absence of belief in deities" rather than as a belief in its own right; this definition has become popular in atheist communities, though it has not attained mainstream usage.<p><a id="Types_and_typologies_of_atheism" name="Types_and_typologies_of_atheism"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Types and typologies of atheism</span></h2>
<p>Many writers have disagreed on how best to define <i>atheism</i>, and much of the literature on the subject is erroneous or confusing. There are many discrepancies in the use of terminology between proponents and opponents of atheism, and even divergent definitions among those who share near-identical beliefs.<p>Throughout its history, opponents of atheism have frequently associated atheism with immorality and evil, often characterizing it as a willful and malicious repudiation of God or gods. This, in fact, is the original definition and sense of the word, but changing sensibilities and the normalization of non-religious viewpoints have caused the term to lose most of its pejorative connotations in general parlance.<p>Among proponents of atheism and neutral parties, there are three major traditions in defining atheism and its subdivisions. The first tradition understands atheism very broadly, as including both those who believe that gods don't exist (<i><!--del_lnk--> strong atheism</i>) and those who are simply not theists (<i><!--del_lnk--> weak atheism</i>). <!--del_lnk--> George H. Smith, <!--del_lnk--> Michael Martin, and <!--del_lnk--> Antony Flew fall into this tradition, though they do not use the same terminology. The second tradition understands atheism more narrowly, as the conscious rejection of theism, and does not consider absence of theistic belief or suspension of judgment concerning theism to be forms of atheism. <!--del_lnk--> Ernest Nagel, <!--del_lnk--> Paul Edwards and <!--del_lnk--> Kai Nielsen are prominent members of this camp. Using this definition of atheism, "implicit atheism", an absence of theism without the conscious rejection of it, may not be regarded as atheistic at all, and the umbrella term <i>non-theism</i> may be used in its place.<p>A third tradition, more common among people who are not atheists themselves, understands atheism even more narrowly than that. Here, atheism is defined in the strongest possible terms, as the positive belief that there are no deities. Under this definition, all weak atheism, whether implicit or explicit, may be considered non-atheistic. This definition is used by some atheists, however; philosopher and atheist Theodore Drange uses the narrow definition.<p><a id="Pejorative_definition:_immorality" name="Pejorative_definition:_immorality"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Pejorative definition: immorality</span></h3>
<p>The first attempts to define a typology of atheism were in religious <!--del_lnk--> apologetics. A diversity of atheist opinion has been recognized at least since <a href="../../wp/p/Plato.htm" title="Plato">Plato</a>, and common distinctions have been established between <i>practical atheism</i> and <i>speculative</i> or <i>contemplative atheism</i>. Practical atheism was said to be caused by moral failure, hypocrisy, willful ignorance and infidelity. Practical atheists were said to behave as though God, morals, ethics and social responsibility did not exist; they abandoned duty and embraced <!--del_lnk--> hedonism. <!--del_lnk--> Jacques Maritain's typology of atheism (1953, Chapter 8) proved influential in Catholic circles; it was followed in the <i>New Catholic Encyclopedia</i>. He identified, in addition to practical atheism, <i>pseudo-atheism</i> and <i>absolute atheism</i>, and subdivided theoretical atheism in a way that anticipated Flew.<p>According to the French Catholic philosopher Étienne Borne, "Practical atheism is not the denial of the existence of God, but complete godlessness of action; it is a moral evil, implying not the denial of the absolute validity of the moral law but simply rebellion against that law." <!--del_lnk--> Karen Armstrong notes that "During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the word 'atheist' was still reserved exclusively for <!--del_lnk--> polemic.... The term 'atheist' was an insult. Nobody would have dreamed of calling <i>himself</i> an atheist."<p>On the other hand, the existence of serious, speculative atheism was often denied. That anyone might <i>reason</i> their way to atheism was thought to be impossible. The existence of God was considered self-evident; this is why Borne finds it necessary to respond that "to put forward the idea, as some apologists rashly do, that there are no atheists except in name but only <i>practical atheists</i> who through pride or idleness disregard the <!--del_lnk--> Divine law, would be, at least at the beginning of the argument, a rhetorical convenience or an emotional prejudice evading the real question".<p>When denial of the existence of "speculative" atheism became unsustainable, atheism was nevertheless often repressed and criticized by narrowing definitions, applying charges of dogmatism, and otherwise misrepresenting atheist positions. One of the reasons for the popularity of euphemistic alternative terms like <i><!--del_lnk--> secularist</i>, <i><a href="../../wp/e/Empiricism.htm" title="Empiricism">empiricist</a></i>, <i><a href="../../wp/a/Agnosticism.htm" title="Agnosticism">agnostic</a></i>, or <i><!--del_lnk--> Bright</i> is that <i>atheism</i> still has pejorative connotations arising from attempts at suppression and from its association with practical atheism; like the word <i>godless</i>, it is sometimes still used as an abusive epithet today. J.C.A. Gaskin abandoned the term <i>atheism</i> in favour of <i>unbelief</i>, citing "the pejorative associations of the term, its vagueness, and later the tendency of religious apologists to define atheism so that no one could be an atheist". However, many atheists persist in using the term and seek to change its connotations.<p>In modern times, atheism continues to be conflated with such beliefs as <!--del_lnk--> nihilism, <!--del_lnk--> irreligion, and <!--del_lnk--> antitheism. Antitheism typically refers to a direct opposition to <!--del_lnk--> theism; however, antitheism is also sometimes used, particularly in religious contexts, to refer to opposition to <a href="../../wp/g/God.htm" title="God">God</a> or <!--del_lnk--> divinity, rather than to the belief in God. Under the latter definition, it may actually be necessary to be a theist in order to be an antitheist, to oppose God itself and not the idea of God. This position is seldom expressed, though opponents of atheism often claim that atheists <!--del_lnk--> hate God. Under the former definition, antitheists may be atheists who believe that theism is harmful to human progression, or simply ones who have little tolerance for views they perceive as <!--del_lnk--> irrational (cf. <!--del_lnk--> faith and rationality). A related stance is <i>militant atheism</i>, which is generally characterized by <!--del_lnk--> antireligious views.<p><a id="Positive_definition:_the_belief_that_no_deities_exist" name="Positive_definition:_the_belief_that_no_deities_exist"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Positive definition: the belief that no deities exist</span></h3>
<p>While it is rare to find a general-use dictionary that explicitly acknowledges "absence of theism" as a true form of atheism, numerous ones recognize the positive definition of atheism, as a "belief" or "doctrine". This reflects the general public's view of atheism as a specific ideological stance, as opposed to the simple <i>absence</i> of a belief.<p>In philosophical and atheist circles, however, this common definition is often disputed and even rejected. The broader, negative has become increasingly popular in recent decades, with many specialized textbooks dealing with atheism favoring it. One prominent atheist writer who disagrees with the broader definition of <i>atheism</i>, however, is Ernest Nagel, who considers atheism to be the <i>rejection</i> of theism (which George H. Smith labelled as <i>explicit atheism</i>, or <i>anti-theism</i>): "Atheism is not to be identified with sheer unbelief... Thus, a child who has received no religious instruction and has never heard about God, is not an atheist—for he is not denying any theistic claims."<p>Some atheists argue for a positive definition of <i>atheism</i> on the grounds that defining atheism negatively, as "the negation of theistic belief", makes it "parasitic on religion" and not an ideology in its own right. While most atheists welcome having atheism cast as non-ideological, in order to avoid potentially framing their view as one requiring "faith", writers such as <!--del_lnk--> Julian Baggini prefers to analyze atheism as part of a general philosophical movement towards <!--del_lnk--> naturalism in order to emphasize the explanatory power of a non-supernatural worldview. Baggini rejects the negative definition based on his view that it implies that atheism is dependant on theism for its existence: "atheism no more needs religion than atheists do". Harbour, Thrower, and Nielsen, similarly, have used philosophical naturalism to make a positive argument for atheism. <!--del_lnk--> Michael Martin notes that the view that "naturalism is compatible with nonatheism is true only if 'god' is understood in a most peculiar and misleading way", but he also points out that "atheism does not entail naturalism".<p><a id="Negative_definition:_the_absence_of_belief_in_deities" name="Negative_definition:_the_absence_of_belief_in_deities"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Negative definition: the absence of belief in deities</span></h3>
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<div style="width:232px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/697.png.htm" title="A chart showing the relationship between weak/strong and implicit/explicit atheism. Strong atheism is always explicit, and implicit atheism is always weak."><img alt="A chart showing the relationship between weak/strong and implicit/explicit atheism. Strong atheism is always explicit, and implicit atheism is always weak." height="137" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AtheismImplicitExplicit3.png" src="../../images/6/697.png" width="230" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/697.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A chart showing the relationship between weak/strong and implicit/explicit atheism. Strong atheism is always explicit, and implicit atheism is always weak.</div>
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<p>Among modern atheists, the view that atheism simply means "without theistic beliefs" has a great deal of currency. This very broad definition is often justified by reference to the etymology (cf. <!--del_lnk--> privative a), as well as to the consistent usage of the word by atheists. However, others have dismissed the former justification as an <!--del_lnk--> etymological fallacy and the latter on the grounds that majority usage outweighs minority usage.<p>Although this definition of atheism is frequently disputed, it is not a recent invention; two atheist writers who are clear in defining atheism so broadly that uninformed children are counted as atheists are d'Holbach (1772), who said that "All children are born Atheists; they have no idea of God", and George H. Smith (1979), who similarly argued:<blockquote>
<p>"The man who is unacquainted with theism is an atheist because he does not believe in a god. This category would also include the child without the conceptual capacity to grasp the issues involved, but who is still unaware of those issues. The fact that this child does not believe in god qualifies him as an atheist."</blockquote>
<p>Smith coined the terms <i>implicit atheism</i> and <i>explicit atheism</i> to avoid confusing these two varieties of atheism. Implicit atheism is defined by Smith as "the absence of theistic belief without a conscious rejection of it", while explicit atheism—the form commonly held to be the only true form of atheism—is an absence of theistic belief due to conscious rejection.<p>Many similar dichotomies have since sprung up to subcategorize the broader definition of <i>atheism</i>. Strong, or positive, atheism is the belief that gods do not exist. It is a form of explicit atheism. A strong atheist consciously rejects theism, and may even argue that certain deities logically cannot exist. Weak, or negative, atheism is either the absence of the belief that gods exist (in which case anyone who is not a theist is a weak atheist), or of both the belief that gods exist and the belief that they do not exist (in which case anyone who is neither a theist nor a strong atheist is a weak atheist). While the terms <i>weak</i> and <i>strong</i> are relatively recent, the concepts they represent have existed for some time. The terms <i>negative atheism</i> and <i>positive atheism</i> have been used in the philosophical literature and (in a slightly different sense) in Catholic apologetics.<p>Contrary to the common view of theological <a href="../../wp/a/Agnosticism.htm" title="Agnosticism">agnosticism</a>—the denial of knowledge or certainty of the existence of deities—as a "midway point" between theism and atheism, under this understanding of <i>atheism</i>, many agnostics may qualify as weak atheists (cf. <!--del_lnk--> agnostic atheism). However, others may be <!--del_lnk--> agnostic theists. Many agnostics and/or weak atheists are critical of strong atheism, seeing it as a position that is no more justified than theism, or as one that requires equal "faith".<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/27/2725.jpg.htm" title="Karl Marx's atheistic and antireligious views had a strong influence on 20th-century politics."><img alt="Karl Marx's atheistic and antireligious views had a strong influence on 20th-century politics." height="235" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Karl_Marx.jpg" src="../../images/6/698.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/27/2725.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/k/Karl_Marx.htm" title="Karl Marx">Karl Marx</a>'s atheistic and <!--del_lnk--> antireligious views had a strong influence on 20th-century politics.</div>
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<p>Although the term <i>atheism</i> originated in 16th-century <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, ideas that would be recognized today as atheistic existed before the advent of <!--del_lnk--> Classical antiquity. Eastern philosophy has a long history of nontheistic belief, starting with <a href="../../wp/l/Laozi.htm" title="Laozi">Laozi</a> and <a href="../../wp/g/Gautama_Buddha.htm" title="Gautama Buddha">Siddhartha Gautama</a> in the <!--del_lnk--> 6th Century BCE. Western atheism has its roots in ancient <!--del_lnk--> Greek philosophy, but did not emerge as a distinct world-view until the late <a href="../../wp/a/Age_of_Enlightenment.htm" title="Age of Enlightenment">Enlightenment</a>. The 5th-century BCE Greek philosopher <!--del_lnk--> Diagoras is known as the "first atheist", and strongly criticized religion and mysticism. <!--del_lnk--> Epicurus was an early philosopher to dispute many religious beliefs, including the existence of an <!--del_lnk--> afterlife or a <!--del_lnk--> personal deity.<p>Atheists have been subject to significant <!--del_lnk--> persecution and <!--del_lnk--> discrimination throughout history. Atheism has been a criminal offense in many parts of the world, and in some cases a "wrong belief" was equated with "unbelief" in order to condemn someone with differing beliefs as an "atheist". For example, despite having expressed belief in various divinities, <a href="../../wp/s/Socrates.htm" title="Socrates">Socrates</a> was called an <i>atheos</i> and ultimately <!--del_lnk--> sentenced to death for <!--del_lnk--> impiety on the grounds that he inspired questioning of the <!--del_lnk--> state gods. During the late <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a>, many Christians were executed for "atheism" because of their rejection of the Roman gods, and "<!--del_lnk--> heresy" and "godlessness" were serious capital offenses following the rise of Christianity.<p>Atheistic sentiment was virtually unknown in medieval Europe, but flourished in the <a href="../../wp/e/Empiricism.htm" title="Empiricism">empirical</a> <!--del_lnk--> Carvaka school of <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>. <!--del_lnk--> Criticism of religion became increasingly frequent in the 16th century, and the word <i>athéisme</i> originated as a slur—invariably denied by the accused—used against such critics, as well as against <!--del_lnk--> deists, scientists, and materialists. The first openly atheistic thinkers, such as <!--del_lnk--> Baron d'Holbach, appeared in the late 18th century, when expressing disbelief in God became a less dangerous position. Following the <a href="../../wp/f/French_Revolution.htm" title="French Revolution">French Revolution</a>, atheism rose to prominence under the influence of <!--del_lnk--> rationalistic and <!--del_lnk--> freethinking philosophies, and many prominent 19th-century German philosophers denied the existence of deities and were critical of religion, including <!--del_lnk--> Arthur Schopenhauer, <a href="../../wp/k/Karl_Marx.htm" title="Karl Marx">Karl Marx</a>, and <a href="../../wp/f/Friedrich_Nietzsche.htm" title="Friedrich Nietzsche">Friedrich Nietzsche</a> (see "<!--del_lnk--> God is dead").<p>In the 20th century, atheism, though still a minority view, became increasingly common in many parts of the world, often being spread as aspects of a wide variety of other, broader philosophies, such as <a href="../../wp/e/Existentialism.htm" title="Existentialism">existentialism</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Objectivism, <!--del_lnk--> secular humanism, <!--del_lnk--> nihilism, <!--del_lnk--> relativism, <!--del_lnk--> logical positivism, <a href="../../wp/m/Marxism.htm" title="Marxism">Marxism</a>, and the general <a href="../../wp/s/Science.htm" title="Science">scientific</a> and <!--del_lnk--> rationalist movement. In some cases, these philosophies became associated with atheism to the extent that atheists were vilified for the broader view, such as when the word <i>atheist</i> entered popular parliance in the United States as synonymous with being unpatriotic (cf. "<!--del_lnk--> godless commie") during the <a href="../../wp/c/Cold_War.htm" title="Cold War">Cold War</a>. Some "<!--del_lnk--> Communist states", such as the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a>, promoted <!--del_lnk--> state atheism and opposed religion, often by violent means; <!--del_lnk--> Enver Hoxha went further than most and officially banned religion in <a href="../../wp/a/Albania.htm" title="Albania">Albania</a>. These policies helped reinforce the negative associations of atheism, especially where anti-communist sentiment was strong, despite the fact that many prominent atheists, such as <!--del_lnk--> Ayn Rand, were anti-communist.<p>Other <!--del_lnk--> prominent atheists in recent times have included comedian <!--del_lnk--> Woody Allen, biologist <!--del_lnk--> Richard Dawkins, actress <!--del_lnk--> Katharine Hepburn, author <a href="../../wp/d/Douglas_Adams.htm" title="Douglas Adams">Douglas Adams</a>, philosopher <a href="../../wp/b/Bertrand_Russell.htm" title="Bertrand Russell">Bertrand Russell</a>, dictator <a href="../../wp/j/Joseph_Stalin.htm" title="Joseph Stalin">Joseph Stalin</a>, and activist <a href="../../wp/m/Margaret_Sanger.htm" title="Margaret Sanger">Margaret Sanger</a>.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/58/5831.png.htm" title="The percentage of people in European countries who said in 2005 that they believe in a god."><img alt="The percentage of people in European countries who said in 2005 that they believe in a god." height="183" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Europe_belief_in_god.png" src="../../images/6/699.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/58/5831.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The percentage of people in European countries who said in 2005 that they believe in a god.</div>
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<p>It is difficult to quantify the number of atheists in the world. Different people interpret "atheist" and related terms differently, and it can be hard to draw boundaries between <i>atheism</i>, non-religious beliefs, and non-theistic religious and spiritual beliefs. Furthermore, atheists may not report themselves as such, to prevent suffering from social stigma, <!--del_lnk--> discrimination, and <!--del_lnk--> persecution in certain regions.<p>Despite these problems, atheism is known to be more common in <!--del_lnk--> Western Europe, <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>, former and present Communist states, and to a lesser extent, the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>. A 1995 survey attributed to the <a href="../../wp/e/Encyclop%25C3%25A6dia_Britannica.htm" title="Encyclopædia Britannica">Encyclopædia Britannica</a> indicates that the non-religious make up about 14.7% of the world's population, and atheists around 3.8%.<p><a id="Atheist_organizations_and_gatherings" name="Atheist_organizations_and_gatherings"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Atheist organizations and gatherings</span></h2>
<p><a id="Organizations" name="Organizations"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Organizations</span></h3>
<p>Noteworthy organizations that are atheistic or have atheistic sympathies include:<table width="100%">
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<td width="50%">
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> American Atheists<li><!--del_lnk--> Brights movement<li><!--del_lnk--> Atheist Foundation of Australia<li><!--del_lnk--> Camp Quest<li><!--del_lnk--> Centre for Inquiry<li><!--del_lnk--> Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion (CSER)<li><!--del_lnk--> Council for Secular Humanism<li><!--del_lnk--> Danish Atheist Society<li><!--del_lnk--> Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations<li><!--del_lnk--> Freedom From Religion Foundation<li><!--del_lnk--> Internet Infidels<li><!--del_lnk--> V.T.V Atheists</ul>
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<td width="50%">
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers<li><!--del_lnk--> National Secular Society<li><!--del_lnk--> Rationalist International<li><!--del_lnk--> Secular Coalition for America<li><!--del_lnk--> Secular Student Alliance<li><!--del_lnk--> Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science<li><!--del_lnk--> Society of the Godless<li>Arab Infidels Forum <!--del_lnk--> <li>Arab Atheists Network <!--del_lnk--> </ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Many organizations that promote skepticism of paranormal claims have strong atheistic leanings but remain offically neutral on the existence of God. Examples include <!--del_lnk--> Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), <!--del_lnk--> The Skeptics Society, and the <!--del_lnk--> James Randi Educational Foundation. <!--del_lnk--> Martin Gardner, a noted member of the first two of these organizations, is a <!--del_lnk--> deist.<p><a id="Gatherings" name="Gatherings"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Gatherings</span></h3>
<p>In 2002, a group of people organized the "<!--del_lnk--> Godless Americans March on Washington". Though it was broadcast on <!--del_lnk--> C-SPAN, the march was not well attended and received little or no press coverage.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> James Randi Educational Foundation holds an annual conference, <!--del_lnk--> The Amaz!ng Meeting, typically in <!--del_lnk--> Las Vegas, casting a critical eye on various forms of supernatural phenomena, including religious ones.<p><!--del_lnk--> The Skeptics Society holds an annual conference at Caltech (<!--del_lnk--> California Institute of Technology) in <!--del_lnk--> Pasadena, California. Subjects of skepticism, including religion, are often discussed.<p>The CSER (<!--del_lnk--> Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion) questions the validity of religion at its annual conference.<p><a id="Atheism.2C_religion_and_morality" name="Atheism.2C_religion_and_morality"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Atheism, religion and morality</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/700.jpg.htm" title="Because of its lack of a personal God, Buddhism is commonly described as atheistic."><img alt="Because of its lack of a personal God, Buddhism is commonly described as atheistic." height="270" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lightmatter_buddha3.jpg" src="../../images/7/700.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/700.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Because of <!--del_lnk--> its lack of a <!--del_lnk--> personal God, <a href="../../wp/b/Buddhism.htm" title="Buddhism">Buddhism</a> is commonly described as atheistic.</div>
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<p>Although people who self-identify as being atheists are almost invariably assumed to be <!--del_lnk--> irreligious, there are many atheists who describe themselves as adhering to a certain religion, and even major religions that have been described as having atheistic leanings, particularly under the negative definition. <!--del_lnk--> Atheism in Hinduism, <!--del_lnk--> in Buddhism, and in other Eastern religions has an especially long history, but in recent years certain <!--del_lnk--> liberal religious denominations have accumulated a number of openly atheistic followers, such as <!--del_lnk--> Jewish atheists (cf. <!--del_lnk--> humanistic Judaism) and Christian atheists (cf. <!--del_lnk--> Unitarian Universalism).<p>As atheism does not entail any specific beliefs outside of disbelief in God, atheists can hold any number of spiritual beliefs. For the same reason, atheists can hold a wide variety of ethical beliefs, ranging from the <!--del_lnk--> moral universalism of <a href="../../wp/h/Humanism.htm" title="Humanism">humanism</a>, which holds that a moral code (such as <a href="../../wp/u/Utilitarianism.htm" title="Utilitarianism">utilitarianism</a>) should be applied consistently to all humans (cf. <a href="../../wp/h/Human_rights.htm" title="Human rights">human rights</a>), to <!--del_lnk--> moral nihilism, which holds that morality is meaningless.<p>However, throughout its history, atheism has commonly been equated with immorality, based on the belief that morality is directly derived from God, and thus cannot be intelligibly attained without appealing to God. Moral precepts such as "murder is wrong" are seen as <!--del_lnk--> divine laws, requiring a divine lawmaker and judge. However, many atheists argue that treating morality legalistically involves a <!--del_lnk--> false analogy, and that morality does not depend upon a lawmaker in the same way that laws do, based on the <!--del_lnk--> Euthyphro dilemma, which either renders God unnecessary or morality arbitrary. Atheists also assert that behaving ethically only because of divine mandate is not true ethical behaviour, merely blind obedience.<p>Some atheists, in fact, have argued that atheism is a superior basis for ethics than theism. It is argued that a moral basis external to religious imperatives is necessary in order to evaluate the morality of the imperatives themselves—to be able to discern, for example, that "thou shalt steal" is immoral even if one's religion instructs it—and that therefore atheists have the advantage of being more inclined to make such evaluations.<p>Atheists such as <!--del_lnk--> Richard Dawkins and <!--del_lnk--> Sam Harris have argued that Western religions' reliance on divine authority lends itself to <!--del_lnk--> authoritarianism and <!--del_lnk--> dogmatism. This argument, combined with historical events which are argued to demonstrate the dangers of religion, such as the <!--del_lnk--> inquisitions and <!--del_lnk--> witch trials, is often used by militant atheists to justify their <!--del_lnk--> antireligious views; however, theists have made very similar arguments against atheists based on the <!--del_lnk--> state atheism of <!--del_lnk--> communist states. In both cases, critics argue that the connection is a weak one based on the <!--del_lnk--> correlation implies causation and <!--del_lnk--> guilt by association fallacies.<p><a id="Reasons_for_atheism" name="Reasons_for_atheism"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Reasons for atheism</span></h2>
<p>Atheists assert various reasons for their position, including a lack of <!--del_lnk--> empirical evidence for deities, or the conviction that the non-existence of deities (in general or particular) is better supported rationally.<p><a id="Scientific_and_historical_reasons" name="Scientific_and_historical_reasons"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Scientific and historical reasons</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/701.png.htm" title="American Atheists represent atheism with an atom, symbolizing the importance of science to many atheists."><img alt="American Atheists represent atheism with an atom, symbolizing the importance of science to many atheists." height="168" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Atom_of_Atheism-Zanaq.svg" src="../../images/7/701.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/701.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> American Atheists represent atheism with an <a href="../../wp/a/Atom.htm" title="Atom">atom</a>, symbolizing the importance of <a href="../../wp/s/Science.htm" title="Science">science</a> to many atheists.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a href="../../wp/s/Science.htm" title="Science">Science</a> is based on the observation that the universe is governed by <!--del_lnk--> natural laws that can be tested and replicated through experiment. It serves as a reliable, rational basis for predictions and engineering (cf. <!--del_lnk--> faith and rationality, <!--del_lnk--> science and religion). Like <!--del_lnk--> scientists, <!--del_lnk--> scientific skeptics use <!--del_lnk--> critical thinking (cf. the <!--del_lnk--> true-believer syndrome) to decide claims. They do not base claims on faith or other <!--del_lnk--> unfalsifiable categories.<p>Most theistic religions teach that mankind and the universe were created by one or more deities and that this deity continues to act in the universe. Many people—theists and atheists alike—feel that this view conflicts with the discoveries of modern science (especially in <!--del_lnk--> cosmology, <a href="../../wp/a/Astronomy.htm" title="Astronomy">astronomy</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Biology.htm" title="Biology">biology</a> and <!--del_lnk--> quantum physics). Many believers in the validity of science, seeing such a contradiction, do not believe in the existence of a deity or deities actively involved in the universe.<p>Science presents a vastly different view of humankind's place in the universe from many theistic religions. <!--del_lnk--> Scientific progress has, some claim, continually eroded the basis for religion. Historically, many religions have involved supernatural entities and forces linked to unexplained physical phenomena. In <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Greece.htm" title="Ancient Greece">ancient Greece</a>, for instance, <!--del_lnk--> Helios was the god of the sun, <a href="../../wp/z/Zeus.htm" title="Zeus">Zeus</a> the god of thunder, and <!--del_lnk--> Poseidon the god of earthquakes and the sea. In the absence of a credible scientific <!--del_lnk--> theory explaining phenomena, people attributed them to supernatural forces. Science has since eliminated the need for appealing to supernatural explanations. The idea that the role of deities is to fill in the remaining "gaps" in scientific understanding has come to be known as the <!--del_lnk--> God of the gaps.<p>Some believe that religions have been <!--del_lnk--> socially constructed (see <!--del_lnk--> development of religion) and should be analyzed with an unbiased, historical viewpoint. Atheists often argue that nearly all cultures have their own <!--del_lnk--> creation myths and gods, and there is no apparent reason to believe that a certain god (e.g., <!--del_lnk--> Yahweh) has a special status above gods that are now accepted as myth (e.g., <a href="../../wp/z/Zeus.htm" title="Zeus">Zeus</a>), or that one culture's god is more correct than another's (indeed, it is apparent that most cultures 'pick and mix' the parts of their chosen religion they like, conveniently ignoring parts they disagree with). In the same way, all cultures have different, and often incompatible, religious beliefs, none any more likely to be true than another, making the selection of a single specific religion seemingly arbitrary.<p>However, when theological claims move from the specific and observable to the general and metaphysical, atheistic objections tend to shift from the scientific to the philosophical:<blockquote>
<p>"Within the framework of scientific <!--del_lnk--> rationalism one arrives at the belief in the nonexistence of God, not because of certain knowledge, but because of a sliding scale of methods. At one extreme, we can confidently rebut the personal Gods of <a href="../../wp/c/Creationism.htm" title="Creationism">creationists</a> on firm <a href="../../wp/e/Empiricism.htm" title="Empiricism">empirical</a> grounds: science is sufficient to conclude beyond reasonable doubt that there never was a worldwide flood and that the evolutionary sequence of the Cosmos does not follow either of the two versions of Genesis. The more we move toward a deistic and fuzzily defined God, however, the more scientific rationalism reaches into its toolbox and shifts from empirical science to <a href="../../wp/l/Logic.htm" title="Logic">logical</a> philosophy informed by science. Ultimately, the most convincing arguments against a deistic God are <!--del_lnk--> Hume's dictum and <!--del_lnk--> Occam's razor. These are philosophical arguments, but they also constitute the bedrock of all of science, and cannot therefore be dismissed as non-scientific. The reason we put our trust in these two principles is because their application in the empirical sciences has led to such spectacular successes throughout the last three centuries."</blockquote>
<p><a id="Philosophical_and_logical_reasons" name="Philosophical_and_logical_reasons"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Philosophical and logical reasons</span></h3>
<p>Many atheists will point out that in philosophy and science, the default position on any matter is a lack of belief. If reliable evidence or sound arguments are not presented in support of a belief, then the "<!--del_lnk--> burden of proof" remains upon believers, not nonbelievers, to justify their view Consequently, many atheists assert that they are not theists simply because they remain unconvinced by theistic arguments and evidence. As such, many atheists have argued against the most famous proposed proofs of God's existence, including the <!--del_lnk--> ontological, <!--del_lnk--> cosmological, and <!--del_lnk--> teleological arguments.<p>Other atheists base their position on a more active logical analysis, and subsequent rejection, of theistic claims. The <!--del_lnk--> arguments against the existence of God aim at showing that the traditional Judeo-Christian conception of God either is inherently meaningless, is internally inconsistent, or contradicts known scientific or historical facts, and that therefore a god thus described does not exist.<p>The most common of these arguments is the <!--del_lnk--> problem of evil, which Christian apologist <!--del_lnk--> William Lane Craig has called "atheism's killer argument". The argument is that the presence of evil in the world disproves the existence of any god that is simultaneously benevolent and omnipotent, because any benevolent god would want to eliminate evil, and any omnipotent god would be able to do so. Theists commonly respond by invoking <!--del_lnk--> free will to justify evil (cf. <!--del_lnk--> argument from free will), but this leaves unresolved the related <!--del_lnk--> argument from nonbelief, also known as the argument from divine hiddenness, which states that if an omnipotent God existed and wanted to be believed in by all, it would prove its existence to all because it would invariably be able to do so. Since there are unbelievers, either there is no omnipotent God or God does not want to be believed in.<p>Another such argument is <!--del_lnk--> theological noncognitivism, which holds that religious language, and specifically words like <i>God</i>, is not cognitively meaningful. This argument was popular in the early 20th century among <!--del_lnk--> logical positivists such as <!--del_lnk--> Rudolph Carnap and <!--del_lnk--> A.J. Ayer, who held that talk of deities is literally <!--del_lnk--> nonsense. Such arguments have since fallen into disfavor among philosophers, but continue to see use among <i><!--del_lnk--> ignostics</i>, who view the question of whether deities exist as meaningless or unanswerable, and <i><!--del_lnk--> apatheists</i>, who view it as entirely irrelevant. Similarly, the <!--del_lnk--> transcendental argument for the non-existence of God (TANG) is a rebuttal to the <!--del_lnk--> transcendental argument for the existence of God, which argues that logic, science and morality can only be justified by appealing to the theistic worldview, that argues that the reverse is true.<p><a id="Personal.2C_social.2C_and_ethical_reasons" name="Personal.2C_social.2C_and_ethical_reasons"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Personal, social, and ethical reasons</span></h3>
<p>Some atheists have found social, psychological, practical, and other personal reasons for their beliefs. Some believe that it is more conducive to living well, or that it is more ethical and has more <!--del_lnk--> utility than theism. Such atheists may hold that searching for explanations in <!--del_lnk--> natural science is more beneficial than seeking to explain phenomena <!--del_lnk--> supernaturally. Some atheists also assert that atheism allows—or perhaps even requires—people to take personal responsiblity for their actions. In contrast, they feel that many religions blame bad deeds on extrinsic factors and require threats of punishment and promises of reward to keep a person moral and <!--del_lnk--> socially acceptable.<p>Some atheists dislike the restrictions religious codes of conduct place on their personal <!--del_lnk--> freedoms. From their point of view, such morality is subjective and arbitrary. Some atheists even argue that theism can promote immorality. Much violence—e.g., <!--del_lnk--> warfare, executions, murders, and terrorism—has been brought about, condoned, or justified by religious beliefs and practices.<p>In areas dominated by certain Christian denominations, many atheists find it difficult to accept that <!--del_lnk--> faith could be more important than good works: While a murderer can go to heaven simply by accepting Jesus in some Christian sects, a farmer in a remote Asian countryside will go to hell for not hearing the "<!--del_lnk--> good news". Furthermore, some find <!--del_lnk--> Hell to be the epitome of <!--del_lnk--> cruel and unusual punishment, making it impossible that a good God would permit such a place's existence.<p>Just as some people of faith come to their faith based upon perceived spiritual or <!--del_lnk--> religious experiences, some atheists base their view on an absence of such an experience. Although they may not foreclose the possibility of a supernatural world, unless and until they believe through experience that such a world exists, they refuse to accept a metaphysical belief system based upon blind faith.<p>Additionally, some atheists grow up in environments where atheism is relatively common, just as people who grow up in a predominantly Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or Christian cultures tend to adopt the prevalent religion there. However, because of the relative uncommonness of atheism, a majority of atheists were not brought up in atheist households or communities.<p><a id="Criticism_of_atheism" name="Criticism_of_atheism"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Criticism of atheism</span></h2>
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<p>Atheism has received much criticism from theists. The most direct arguments against atheism are that it is simply untrue: <!--del_lnk--> arguments for the existence of God are thus considered arguments against atheism. However, many theists dismiss or object to atheism on other grounds.<p>Until recently, most theologians considered the existence of God so self-evident and universally-accepted that whether or not true atheism even existed was frequently disputed. This view is based on theistic <!--del_lnk--> innatism, the belief that all people believe in God from birth and that atheists are simply in <!--del_lnk--> denial. According to proponents of this view, atheists are quick to believe in God in times of crisis—that atheists will readily make <!--del_lnk--> deathbed conversions or that "there are no <!--del_lnk--> atheists in foxholes". This view has fallen into disfavor among most philosophers of religion.<p>When the existence of atheism is accepted, it is often criticized by agnostics, and some theists, on the grounds that atheism requires just as much <!--del_lnk--> faith as religious positions, making it no more likely to be true than theism. This is based on the view that because the existence of deities cannot be proven or disproven with certainty, it requires a <!--del_lnk--> leap of faith to conclude that deities do or do not exist. Common atheist responses to this argument include that it is <!--del_lnk--> equivocation to conflate <!--del_lnk--> religious faith with all unproven propositions; that <!--del_lnk--> weak atheism is not a positive claim, and thus requires no more faith than not accepting the existence of Santa Claus; and that the fact that God's existence cannot be proven or disproven with complete certainty does not make it equally <!--del_lnk--> likely that God does or doesn't exist.<p>Lastly, it is commonly argued that the lack of belief in a deity who administers justice may lead to poor morals or ethics (cf. <!--del_lnk--> secular ethics). It is also argued that atheism makes life <!--del_lnk--> meaningless and miserable: <a href="../../wp/b/Blaise_Pascal.htm" title="Blaise Pascal">Blaise Pascal</a> made this argument in 1670. Atheists generally dismiss these arguments as <!--del_lnk--> appeals to consequences with no bearing on whether God actually exists, and many disagree that atheism leads to amorality or misery, or even argue that the opposite is the case.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism"</div>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/844.jpg.htm" title="Helmeted Athena, of the Velletri type. Roman copy (1st century) of a Greek original by Kresilas, c. 430 BC"><img alt="Helmeted Athena, of the Velletri type. Roman copy (1st century) of a Greek original by Kresilas, c. 430 BC" height="267" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Athena_type_Velletri.jpg" src="../../images/8/844.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p>In <a href="../../wp/g/Greek_mythology.htm" title="Greek mythology">Greek mythology</a>, <b>Athena</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Greek: <span class="polytonic" lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">Ἀθηνᾶ</span>, <i>Athēnâ</i>, or <span class="polytonic" lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">Ἀθήνη</span>, <i>Athénē</i>; <!--del_lnk--> Doric: <span class="polytonic" lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">Ἀσάνα</span>, <i>Asána</i>) was the goddess of <a href="../../wp/c/Civilization.htm" title="Civilization">civilization</a>, specifically <!--del_lnk--> wisdom, <!--del_lnk--> weaving, and <!--del_lnk--> crafts . Athena's wisdom encompasses the technical knowledge employed in weaving, metal-working, but also includes the cunning intelligence (<i><!--del_lnk--> metis</i>) of such figures as <a href="../../wp/o/Odysseus.htm" title="Odysseus">Odysseus</a>. The <!--del_lnk--> owl and the <!--del_lnk--> olive tree are sacred to her.<p>She is attended by an owl, wears a goatskin breastplate called the <!--del_lnk--> Aegis given to her by her father, <a href="../../wp/z/Zeus.htm" title="Zeus">Zeus</a>, and is accompanied by the goddess of victory, <!--del_lnk--> Nike. She is often shown helmeted and with a shield bearing the <!--del_lnk--> Gorgon <!--del_lnk--> Medusa's head, a votive gift of <!--del_lnk--> Perseus. Athena is an armed warrior goddess, and appears in Greek mythology as a helper of many heroes, including <a href="../../wp/h/Heracles.htm" title="Heracles">Heracles</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Jason, and <a href="../../wp/o/Odysseus.htm" title="Odysseus">Odysseus</a>. She never had a consort or lover, and thus was often known as <i>Athena Parthenos</i> ("Athena the virgin"), hence her most famous temple, the <a href="../../wp/p/Parthenon.htm" title="Parthenon">Parthenon</a>, on the <!--del_lnk--> Acropolis in <a href="../../wp/a/Athens.htm" title="Athens">Athens</a>. In her role as a protector of the city, Athena was worshipped throughout the Greek world as <i>Athena Polias</i> ("Athena of the city"). She had a special relationship with <a href="../../wp/a/Athens.htm" title="Athens">Athens</a>, as is shown by the etymological connection of the names of the goddess and the city.<p>Athena is associated with <a href="../../wp/a/Athens.htm" title="Athens">Athens</a>, a plural name because it was the place where she presided over her sisterhood, the <i>Athenai</i>, in earliest times. Athena was probably already a goddess in the Aegean in prehistoric times. There is evidence that in early times, Athena was an <a href="../../wp/o/Owl.htm" title="Owl">owl</a> herself, or a <!--del_lnk--> bird goddess in general. In Book 3 of the <a href="../../wp/o/Odyssey.htm" title="Odyssey">Odyssey</a>, she takes the form of a <!--del_lnk--> sea-eagle. Her tasseled <!--del_lnk--> aegis may be the remnants of wings: she is depicted with wings on Archaic <!--del_lnk--> red-figure pottery.<p>In the <!--del_lnk--> Olympian pantheon, Athena was remade as the favorite daughter of Zeus, born fully armed from his forehead after he swallowed her mother, Metis. The story of her birth comes in several versions. In the one most commonly cited, Zeus lay with <!--del_lnk--> Metis, the goddess of crafty thought and wisdom, but immediately feared the consequences. It had been prophesied that Metis would bear children more powerful than the sire, even Zeus himself. In order to forestall these dire consequences, Zeus transformed Metis into a fly and swallowed her immediately after lying with her. He was too late: Metis had already conceived a child. Metis immediately began making a helmet and robe for her fetal daughter. The hammering as she made the helmet caused Zeus great pain and <!--del_lnk--> Prometheus, <!--del_lnk--> Hephaestus, <!--del_lnk--> Hermes or <!--del_lnk--> Palaemon (depending on the sources examined) cleaved Zeus's head with the double-headed Minoan axe (the <!--del_lnk--> labrys of the Great Goddess). Athena leaped from Zeus's head, fully grown and armed, and Zeus was none the worse for the experience.<p>Fragments attributed to the semi-legendary <!--del_lnk--> Phoenician historian <!--del_lnk--> Sanchuniathon, said to have written before the <!--del_lnk--> Trojan war, make Athena instead the daughter of <!--del_lnk--> Cronus, a king of <!--del_lnk--> Byblos who is said to have visited 'the inhabitable world' and bequeathed <!--del_lnk--> Attica to Athena.<p>
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</script><a id="Name.2C_etymology_and_origin" name="Name.2C_etymology_and_origin"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Name, etymology and origin</span></h2>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/845.jpg.htm" title="The Athena Giustiniani, a Roman copy of a Greek statue of Pallas Athena (Vatican Museums)"><img alt="The Athena Giustiniani, a Roman copy of a Greek statue of Pallas Athena (Vatican Museums)" height="347" longdesc="/wiki/Image:PallasGiustiniani.jpg" src="../../images/8/845.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p>Athena's name is possibly of <!--del_lnk--> Lydian origin. It may be a compound word derived in part from <!--del_lnk--> Tyrrhenian "ati", meaning "mother" and the name of the <!--del_lnk--> Hurrian Goddess "<!--del_lnk--> Hannahannah" shortened in various places to "Ana". In <!--del_lnk--> Mycenaean Greek, she possibly appears in a single inscription in the <!--del_lnk--> Linear B tablets: <i>A-ta-na-po-ti-ni-ja</i> <i>/Athana potniya/</i> appears on a text from the Late Minoan II-era "Room of the Chariot Tablets" in <!--del_lnk--> Knossos, the earliest Linear B archive anywhere. Though this phrase is often translated as "Mistress Athena", it literally means "the <i>potnia</i> of At(h)ana", which perhaps means "the Lady of Athens"; it is uncertain whether there is any connection to the city of Athens. We also find <i>A-ta-no-dju-wa-ja</i> <i>/Athana diwya/</i>, the final part being the Linear B spelling of what we know from ancient Greek as <i>Diwia</i> (Mycenaean <i>di-u-ja</i> or <i>di-wi-ja</i>) "divine" Athena was also a weaver and the god of crafts. (see <i><!--del_lnk--> dyeus</i>).<p>In his dialogue <i><!--del_lnk--> Cratylus</i>, <a href="../../wp/p/Plato.htm" title="Plato">Plato</a> gives the etymology of Athena's name based on the view of the ancient Athenians, from <i>A-theo-noa</i> (A-θεο-νόα) or <i>E-theo-noa</i> (H-θεο-νόα) meaning "the mind of God" (<i>Cratylus</i> 407b). <a href="../../wp/p/Plato.htm" title="Plato">Plato</a>, and also <a href="../../wp/h/Herodotus.htm" title="Herodotus">Herodotus</a>, noted that the Egyptian citizens of <!--del_lnk--> Sais in Egypt worshipped a goddess whose Egyptian name was <!--del_lnk--> Neith; they identified her with Athena. (<i><!--del_lnk--> Timaeus</i> 21e), (<i><!--del_lnk--> Histories</i> 2:170-175).<p><a id="Epithets_and_cult_titles" name="Epithets_and_cult_titles"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Epithets and cult titles</span></h2>
<p>In poetry from Homer onward, Athena's most common <!--del_lnk--> epithet is <i>glaukopis</i> (γλαυκώπις), which is usually translated "bright-eyed" or "with gleaming eyes". It is a combination of <i>glaukos</i> (γλαύκος, meaning "gleaming," "silvery," and later, "bluish-green" or "gray") and <i>ops</i> (ώψ, "eye," or sometimes, "face"). It is interesting to note that <i>glaux</i> (γλαύξ, "owl") is from the same root, presumably because of its own distinctive eyes. The bird which sees in the night is closely associated with the goddess of wisdom: in archaic images, she is frequently depicted with an owl perched on her head. In earlier times, Athena may well have been a <!--del_lnk--> bird goddess, similar to <!--del_lnk--> Lilitu and/or the goddess depicted with owls, wings and bird talons on the <!--del_lnk--> Burney relief, a Mesopotamian terracotta relief of the early second millennium BCE..<p>In the <i><!--del_lnk--> Iliad</i> (4.514), the <!--del_lnk--> Homeric Hymns and in <!--del_lnk--> Hesiod's <i><!--del_lnk--> Theogony</i>, she is given the curious epithet <i>Tritogeneia.</i> The meaning of this term is unclear. It seems to mean "<!--del_lnk--> Triton-born," perhaps indicating that the sea-god was her father according to some early myths,or, less likely, that she was born near Lake Triton in <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>. Another possible meaning is "triple-born" or "third-born," which may refer to her status as the third daughter of Zeus or the fact she was born from Metis, Zeus and herself; various legends list her as being the first child after Artemis and Apollo, though other legends identify her as Zeus' first child.<p>In her role as judge at <!--del_lnk--> Orestes' trial on the murder of his mother, <!--del_lnk--> Clytemnestra (which he won), Athena won the epithet <i>Athena Areia.</i><p>She was often referred to as Pallas Athena (Παλλάς Αθηνά). The epithet derived from an ambiguous figure named <!--del_lnk--> Pallas, sometimes male, sometimes female, never mentioned apart from Athena. The goddess killed Pallas, in some versions by mistake, for instance in a Pelasgian version of her birth myth Pallas was the playmate who Athena killed by mistake in a game battle, after that taking the name of Pallas as a sign of mourning . In the <!--del_lnk--> Homeric Hymn to Hermes, Pallas was the father of the moon goddess <!--del_lnk--> Selene. In other versions Pallas was one of the <!--del_lnk--> Gigantes killed by her in the Gigantomachy; forever after she wore the goatskin fringed with <!--del_lnk--> chthonic serpents of Pallas, as the protective <!--del_lnk--> aegis. She may have absorbed and supplanted Pallas more gently: Walter Burkert says "she is the Pallas of Athens, <i>Pallas Athenaie</i>, just as Hera of Argos is <i>Here Argeie</i>. For the Athenians, Burkert notes, she was simply "the Goddess", <i>he theos</i>, certainly an ancient title.<p>Athena was given many other cult titles. She had the epithet <i>Athena Ergane</i> as the patron of craftsmen and artisans. With the epithet <i><!--del_lnk--> Athena Parthenos</i> ("virgin"), Athena was worshipped on the <!--del_lnk--> Acropolis, especially in the festival of the <!--del_lnk--> Panathenaea. With the epithet <i>Athena Promachos</i> she led in battle. With the epithet <i>Athena Polias</i> ("of the city"), Athena was the protectress of Athens and its Acropolis, but also of many other cities, including <!--del_lnk--> Argos, <!--del_lnk--> Sparta, <!--del_lnk--> Gortyn, <!--del_lnk--> Lindos, and <!--del_lnk--> Larisa. In each of these cities her temple was frequently the major temple on the acropolis.<p>Athena was often equated with <!--del_lnk--> Aphaea, a local goddess of the island of <!--del_lnk--> Aegina, located near <a href="../../wp/a/Athens.htm" title="Athens">Athens</a>, once Aegina was under Athenian control.<p><a id="Athena_in_classical_art" name="Athena_in_classical_art"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Athena in classical art</span></h2>
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<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/846.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Athena depicted on the obverse side of a <a href="../../wp/c/Coin.htm" title="Coin">coin</a> of <a href="../../wp/a/Attalus_I.htm" title="Attalus I">Attalus I</a></div>
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<p>Athena is classically portrayed wearing full armor, with the helmet raised high on the forehead like a hat; she carries a spear and a shield with the head of the <!--del_lnk--> gorgon <!--del_lnk--> Medusa mounted on it. It is in this standing posture that she was depicted in <!--del_lnk--> Phidias's famous lost gold and ivory statue of her, 36 feet tall, the <!--del_lnk--> Athena Parthenos in the <a href="../../wp/p/Parthenon.htm" title="Parthenon">Parthenon</a>. Athena is also often depicted with an <a href="../../wp/o/Owl.htm" title="Owl">owl</a> (a symbol of wisdom) sitting on one of her shoulders. The <!--del_lnk--> Mourning Athena is a relief sculpture that dates around 460 BC and portrays a tired, emotional Athena. In earlier, archaic portraits of Athena in <!--del_lnk--> vase-paintings, the goddess retains some of her Minoan character, such as great birdwings.<p>Apart from her attributes, there seems to be a relative consensus in sculpture from the fifth century onward as to what Athena looked like. Most noticeable in the face is perhaps a high nose with a high bridge that seems like a natural extension of the forehead. The eyes are typically somewhat deeply set. The lips are usually full but the mouth is fairly narrow, usually just slightly wider than the nose. The neck is somewhat longish. The net result is a serene, somewhat aloof beauty.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p><a id="Birth" name="Birth"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Birth</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Hesiod's <i><!--del_lnk--> Theogony</i> gives the following account of Athena's birth: Metis (wisdom) was Zeus' first wife. It was fated that she would have a daughter as strong and powerful as her father and that she would then have a son destined to rule the gods. Zeus, fearing that his son would overthrow him, tricked Metis and swallowed her. He ingested her and therefore her wisdom so that she might advise him in matters. However the immortal child Metis was pregnant with was not harmed, and Athena was born from his head after he had married Hera. Giving birth to Athena required Hephaestus taking his hammer and chisel and carving open Zeus's skull, so Athena could spring forth from her father's head. Hera was so annoyed at this that she gave birth to Hephaestus by herself. The son was never born and Zeus stayed as supreme ruler of Mount Olympus.<p>A fuller version says: Zeus lay with Metis, the goddess of crafty thought, but immediately feared the consequences.It had been prophesied that Metis would bear children more powerful than the father, and this includes even Zeus himself. In order to forestall these dire consequences, Zeus played a game with Metis. She transformed into many creatures, big and small. When Metis transformed into a fly, Zeus swallowed her immediately after lying with her. He was too late: Metis was already pregnant. Metis immediately began making a helmet and robe for her fetal daughter. The hammering as she made the helmet caused Zeus great pain and Hephaestus cut open Zeus's skull with the double-headed Minoan axe (labrys). Athena leaped from Zeus's skull, fully grown and armed, and Zeus was none the worse for the experience.This is the most common version of her birth.<p>
<br /> Aside from Hesiod's account given above, there is another version of her birth of Pelasgian origin, accounting for her epithet <i>Tritoneia</i>; according this version Athena was born near the lagoon Tritonis in Libya and was raised by three nymphs. There are a very few references to her being the child of a giant named Pallas---hence her name "Pallas Athena"---but these are atypical. <p><a id="Erichthonius" name="Erichthonius"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Erichthonius</span></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/847.jpg.htm" title="Helmeted Athena with the cista and Erichthonius in his serpent form. Roman, 1st century (Louvre Museum)"><img alt="Helmeted Athena with the cista and Erichthonius in his serpent form. Roman, 1st century (Louvre Museum)" height="300" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Athena_ciste.jpg" src="../../images/8/847.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/847.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Helmeted Athena with the <i><!--del_lnk--> cista</i> and Erichthonius in his serpent form. Roman, 1st century (<!--del_lnk--> Louvre Museum)</div>
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<p>According to <!--del_lnk--> Apollodorus, <!--del_lnk--> Hephaestus attempted to <!--del_lnk--> rape Athena but was unsuccessful. His <!--del_lnk--> semen fell on the ground, and <!--del_lnk--> Erichthonius was born from the Earth, <!--del_lnk--> Gaia. Athena then raised the baby as a foster mother. Alternatively, the semen landed on Athena's leg, and she wiped it off with a piece of wool which she tossed on the ground. Erichthonius arose from the ground and the wool. Another version says that Hephaestus wanted Athena to marry him but she disappeared on his bridal bed; he ejaculated onto the ground instead. Athena left the baby to three sisters, <!--del_lnk--> Herse, <!--del_lnk--> Pandrosa and <!--del_lnk--> Aglaura in a small box and warned them never to open it. Aglaula opened the <i><!--del_lnk--> cista</i> which contained the infant and future-king, Erichthonius, in the form of a <!--del_lnk--> serpent The sight caused Herse and Pandrosa to go insane and they threw themselves off the <!--del_lnk--> Acropolis'.<p>An alternative version of the same story is that while Athena was gone to bring a mountain to use in the Acropolis, two of the willful sisters opened the box. A crow witnessed the opening and flew away to tell Athena, who fell into a rage and dropped the mountain (now <!--del_lnk--> Mt. Lykabettos) . The crow was not spared from her wrath, and it is believed Athena was the one who turned their feathers black. Herse and Pandrosa once again went insane and threw themselves to their deaths off a cliff. Jane Harrison (<i>Prolegomena</i>) finds these to be versions of a simple cautionary tale to discourage young girls from opening the <i><!--del_lnk--> cista</i> that they carried, not knowing its contents, in connection with the <!--del_lnk--> Thesmophoria.<p>Erichthonius later became <!--del_lnk--> King of Athens and implemented many beneficial changes to Athenian culture. During this time, Athena frequently protected him.<p><a id="Aglaura" name="Aglaura"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Aglaura</span></h3>
<p>There is another version of the myth, told in <!--del_lnk--> Ovid's <i><!--del_lnk--> Metamorphoses</i> in which Hermes falls in love with Herse. Herse, Aglaura and Pandrosa go to the temple to offer sacrifices to Athena. Hermes demands help from Aglaura to seduce Herse. Aglaura in exchange demands money from Hermes who gives her the money of sacrifice and seduces Herse. Athena in punishment for Aglaura's greed asks the Envy to corrupt her feelings. Envy obeyed her commands and she infested Herse. Aglaura turns to stone.<p><a id="Athens" name="Athens"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Athens</span></h3>
<p>Athena competed with <!--del_lnk--> Poseidon to be the patron deity of Athens, which was yet unnamed in this telling. They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and that the Athenians would choose the gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his <!--del_lnk--> trident and a spring sprung up; this gave them a means of trade and water, but it was salty and not very good for drinking. Athena, however, offered them the first domesticated <!--del_lnk--> olive tree. The Athenians (or their king, <!--del_lnk--> Cecrops) accepted the olive tree and along with it Athena as their patron, for the olive tree brought wood, oil and food. This is thought to commemorate a clash between the inhabitants during <!--del_lnk--> Mycenaean times and newer immigrants. It is interesting to note that Athens at its height was a significant sea power, defeating the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persian</a> fleet at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Salamis near <!--del_lnk--> Salamis Island in <!--del_lnk--> 480 BC. Athena was also the patron goddess of several other cities, notably <!--del_lnk--> Sparta. In an alternate version, Poseidon invents the first horse. Athena's gift is still chosen.<p><a id="Arachne" name="Arachne"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Arachne</span></h3>
<p>A woman named <!--del_lnk--> Arachne once boasted that she was a superior weaver to Athena, the goddess of weaving. Athena appeared to her disguised as an old woman and told Arachne to repent for her <!--del_lnk--> hubris but Arachne instead challenged Athena to a contest. Athena threw off her disguise and the contest began. Athena wove a depiction of the conflict with Poseidon over Athens, while Arachne wove a depiction making fun of Zeus and his many wives. Athena was furious at her skill (the contest was never decided) and her choice of subject (after all, she is Zeus's favorite daughter.) Enraged, she destroyed Arachne's work and transformed her into the first <a href="../../wp/s/Spider.htm" title="Spider">spider</a>, which forever weaves a <!--del_lnk--> silk web to catch its food.<p><a id="Perseus_and_Medusa" name="Perseus_and_Medusa"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Perseus and Medusa</span></h3>
<p>Athena guided <!--del_lnk--> Perseus in eliminating <!--del_lnk--> Medusa, a dangerous unreformed relic of the old pre-Olympian order, and she was awarded the grisly trophy that turned men to stone, for her shield.<p>She wears the aegis, a goatskin shield which had a fringe of snakes. When Perseus killed the gorgon Medusa, whose face turned men to stone, he gave the gorgon head to Athena, and the goddess placed it on her aegis. This is a protective measure, for the Medusa's head retained its petrifying power even after her death.<p>It was however Athena who made Medusa into what she was. Medusa was the only beautiful sister of the three Gorgons, but, Medusa had sex with — or was raped by — Poseidon in Athena's temple. Upon discovery of the desecration of her temple, Athena changed Medusa's form to match that of her sister Gorgons as punishment. Medusa's hair turned into snakes, meeting her gaze would turn all living creatures to stone, and Athena also caused her lower body to morph, as well as granting her the power of petrification as to hinder all chances of her ever having intimacy with a man.<p><a id="Heracles" name="Heracles"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Heracles</span></h3>
<p>Athena instructed <a href="../../wp/h/Heracles.htm" title="Heracles">Heracles</a> how to remove the skin from the <!--del_lnk--> Nemean Lion, by using the lion's own claws to cut through its thick hide. The lion's hide became Heracles' signature garment, along with the olive-wood club he used in the battle. Athena also assisted Heracles on a few other labors.<p>She also helped Heracles defeat the <!--del_lnk--> Stymphalian Birds, along with <!--del_lnk--> Hephaestus.<p><a id="Tiresias_and_Chariclo" name="Tiresias_and_Chariclo"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Tiresias and Chariclo</span></h3>
<p>In one version of the <!--del_lnk--> Tiresias myth, Athena blinded Tiresias after he stumbled onto her bathing naked. His mother, <!--del_lnk--> Chariclo, begged her to undo her curse, but Athena could not do so; she gave him the ability of prophecy instead.<p><a id="Odysseus" name="Odysseus"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Odysseus</span></h3>
<p><a href="../../wp/o/Odysseus.htm" title="Odysseus">Odysseus</a>' cunning and shrewd nature quickly won Athena's favour, though she is unable to help him during his journey home from Troy until he washes up on the shore of an island where Nausicaa is washing her clothes. She appears in Nausicaa's dreams to ensure the princess rescues Odysseus and eventually sends him to Ithaca. Athena, herself, appears in disguise to Odysseus upon his arrival. She initially lies and tells him Penelope, his wife, has remarried and Odysseus is believed to be dead, though Odysseus lies to her, seeing through her disguise. Pleased with his resolve and shrewdness, she reveals herself to him and tells him everything he needed to know in order to win back his kingdom. She disguises him as an elderly man so that he will not be noticed by the Suitors or Penelope and she helps Odysseus defeat his suitors and end the feud against their relatives.<p><a id="Athena_in_post-classical_culture" name="Athena_in_post-classical_culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Athena in post-classical culture</span></h2>
<p>Athena (Minerva) is the subject of the $50 1915-S Panama-Pacific <!--del_lnk--> commemorative coin. At 2.5 troy oz (78 g) gold, this is the largest (by <!--del_lnk--> weight) coin ever produced by the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Mint. This was the first $50 coin issued by the U.S. Mint and no higher was produced until the production of the $100 platinum coins in <!--del_lnk--> 1997. Of course, in terms of face-value in adjusted dollars, the <!--del_lnk--> 1915 is the highest denomination ever issued by the U.S. Mint.<p>A <!--del_lnk--> full-scale replica of the Parthenon has stood in <a href="../../wp/n/Nashville%252C_Tennessee.htm" title="Nashville, Tennessee">Nashville, Tennessee</a>, which is known as the Athens of the South, for over a century. In <!--del_lnk--> 1990, a great <!--del_lnk--> replica of Phidias' statue of the goddess was added, over 41 feet (12.5 m) tall and gilded.<p>The state <!--del_lnk--> seal of California features an image of Athena (or <!--del_lnk--> Minerva) kneeling next to a brown grizzly bear.[<!--del_lnk--> <p>The name Athena is used by two characters in both the <!--del_lnk--> original Battlestar Galactica and the <!--del_lnk--> reimagined series.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athena"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Athens</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.European_Geography.htm">European Geography</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<p><span class="plainlinksneverexpand" id="coordinates"><!--del_lnk--> Coordinates: <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 38°00′N 23°43′E</span></span><table class="infobox" style="width: 23em;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="font-size: larger; background-color: lightsteelblue;"><span style="float: left;"><a class="image" href="../../images/7/790.png.htm" title="Greece"><img alt="Greece" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Greece.svg" src="../../images/7/702.png" width="40" /></a></span> Athens <small>(Αθήνα)</small></th>
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<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2" style="vertical-align:middle;"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Seal of Athens" height="176" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Athens_seal.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="150" /></td>
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<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2" style="line-height:14px;"><small>Seal of Athens</small><hr />
</td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/7/704.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="204" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Athens_map.png" src="../../images/7/704.png" width="200" /></a><hr />
</td>
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<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Coordinates</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 38°00′ N 23°43′ E</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_countries.htm" title="List of countries">Country</a></td>
<td><a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greece</a></td>
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<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Periphery</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Attica</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Prefecture</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Attica</td>
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<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Population</td>
<td>4,200,000 <small>(2001)</small></td>
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<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Area</td>
<td>38 <!--del_lnk--> km²</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Metropolitan area</small></td>
<td>427 <!--del_lnk--> km²</td>
</tr>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Population density</td>
<td>19,619 /<!--del_lnk--> km²</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Elevation</td>
<td>70 <!--del_lnk--> m</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Postal code</td>
<td>10x xx, 11x xx, 120 xx</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Area code</td>
<td>210, 211, 212</td>
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<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Licence plate code</td>
<td>Yxx, Zxx, Ixx (excluding INx)</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Mayor</td>
<td>Nikitas Kaklamanis (by January 1, 2007)</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Website</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> www.cityofathens.gr</td>
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</table>
<p><b>Athens</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Greek: Αθήνα, <i>Athína</i> <!--del_lnk--> IPA: <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/a'θina/</span>) is the <a href="../../wp/c/Capital.htm" title="Capital">capital</a> and largest city of <a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greece</a>. Named after goddess <a href="../../wp/a/Athena.htm" title="Athena">Athena</a>, Athens is a cosmopolitan metropolis with a population of 3.7 million people. The Athens metropolitan area constitutes the center of economic, financial, industrial, cultural and political life in Greece. The city is also rapidly becoming a business centre in the <a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="European Union">European Union</a>.<p>Ancient <a href="../../wp/a/Athens.htm" title="Ancient Athens">Athens</a> was a powerful polis <!--del_lnk--> city-state and a renowned centre of learning, home of <a href="../../wp/p/Plato.htm" title="Plato">Plato</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Academy and <a href="../../wp/a/Aristotle.htm" title="Aristotle">Aristotle</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Lyceum. It is often referred to as the cradle of <!--del_lnk--> Western civilization, largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC on the rest of the then known European Continent. The classical era heritage is still evident in the city, portrayed through a number of ancient monuments and artworks, the most famous being the <a href="../../wp/p/Parthenon.htm" title="Parthenon">Parthenon</a> on the <!--del_lnk--> Acropolis. Athens was the host city of the <a href="../../wp/1/1896_Summer_Olympics.htm" title="1896 Summer Olympics">first modern-day Olympic Games</a> and, more recently, of the <!--del_lnk--> 2004 Summer Olympics.<p>
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</script><a id="Name" name="Name"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Name</span></h2>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> ancient <!--del_lnk--> Greek, the name of Athens was <b><span class="polytonic" lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">Ἀθῆναι</span></b>-<i>Athenai</i>, plural of <span class="polytonic" lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">Ἀθηνά</span>-<i>Athene</i>, the <!--del_lnk--> Attic name of the Goddess <a href="../../wp/a/Athena.htm" title="Athena">Athena</a>. The city's name may have been plural, like those of <span class="polytonic" lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">Θῆβαι</span>-<i>Thebai</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Thebes) and <span class="polytonic" lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">Μυκῆναι</span>-<i>Mykenai</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Mycenae), because it consisted of several parts. In the 19th century, this name was formally re-adopted as the city's name. Since the official abandonment of <!--del_lnk--> Katharevousa Greek in the 1970s, however, the popular form <i>Athína</i> has become the city's official name. See also a list of <!--del_lnk--> alternative names for Athens.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/705.jpg.htm" title="The Parthenon, a landmark of Western Civilization. Lykavittos Hill stands in the background (right side)."><img alt="The Parthenon, a landmark of Western Civilization. Lykavittos Hill stands in the background (right side)." height="195" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Acropolis-Athens34.jpg" src="../../images/7/705.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/705.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <a href="../../wp/p/Parthenon.htm" title="Parthenon">Parthenon</a>, a landmark of <!--del_lnk--> Western Civilization. <!--del_lnk--> Lykavittos Hill stands in the background (right side).</div>
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<p>Athens was the leading city in Greece during the greatest period of Greek civilization during the <!--del_lnk--> 1st millennium BC. During the "Golden Age" of Greece (roughly 500 BC to 323 BC) it was the world's leading cultural and intellectual centre. In 431 B.C, Athens went to <!--del_lnk--> war with another city-state, <!--del_lnk--> Sparta. Athens was defeated by Sparta, and its walls were pulled down (however, remnants of the original walls of the era are still to be found today, especially in the coastline of Piraeus). The schools of philosophy were closed in AD 529 by the Christian <a href="../../wp/b/Byzantine_Empire.htm" title="Byzantine Empire">Byzantine Empire</a>, which disapproved of the schools' <!--del_lnk--> pagan thinking. Athens gradually lost a great deal of status at this time.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/706.jpg.htm" title="The Propylaea of the University of Athens, part of the "Trilogy" of Theofil Hansen. The building now serves as both a ceremony hall and a rectory."><img alt="The Propylaea of the University of Athens, part of the "Trilogy" of Theofil Hansen. The building now serves as both a ceremony hall and a rectory." height="193" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Propylea-athens.JPG" src="../../images/7/706.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/706.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <i><!--del_lnk--> Propylaea</i> of the <!--del_lnk--> University of Athens, part of the "Trilogy" of <!--del_lnk--> Theofil Hansen. The building now serves as both a ceremony hall and a rectory.</div>
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<p>During the 11th and 12th centuries the Byzantine city experienced a revival. This period is considered the Golden Age of Byzantine art in Athens. Almost all of the most important Byzantine churches around Athens were built during these two centuries. Meanwhile, together with <!--del_lnk--> Corinth and Thebes, Athens was enriched by trade, and soon became an important and prosperous centre for the production of soaps and dyes. However, it faced a crushing blow between the 13th and 15th centuries, when the city was fought over by the Greek Byzantines and the 'French' and Italian <a href="../../wp/c/Crusades.htm" title="Crusaders">Crusaders</a>. In 1458 the city fell to the <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman Empire</a> under Sultan <!--del_lnk--> Mehmet II the Conqueror. As the Emperor entered the city, he was struck by the beauty of its ancient monuments and issued a <!--del_lnk--> firman (imperial decree) that Athens' ruins not be disturbed, on pain of death. The Parthenon was in fact converted into the city's principal <a href="../../wp/m/Mosque.htm" title="Mosque">mosque</a> and therefore preserved.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/707.jpg.htm" title="View of Syntagma Square and the acropolis in central Athens."><img alt="View of Syntagma Square and the acropolis in central Athens." height="195" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Athens-Centre1.JPG" src="../../images/7/707.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/707.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> View of <!--del_lnk--> Syntagma Square and the acropolis in central Athens.</div>
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<p>Despite the Sultan's good intentions to preserve Athens as a model Ottoman provincial capital, the city's population went into decline and conditions worsened as the Ottoman Empire declined from the late 17th Century. As time went by, the Ottoman administration slackened its care for Athens' old buildings; the Parthenon (or Mosque) was used as a warehouse for ammunition during the Venetian siege of Athens in 1687, and consequently the temple was severely damaged when a Venetian <!--del_lnk--> shell targeted the site and set off several casks of gunpowder stored inside the Parthenon. The Ottoman Empire relinquished control of Athens after the <a href="../../wp/g/Greek_War_of_Independence.htm" title="Greek War of Independence">Greek War of Independence</a> (1821–1831). The city was inhabited by just around 5,000 people at the time it was adopted as the capital of the newly established Kingdom of Greece on <!--del_lnk--> 18 September <!--del_lnk--> 1834. During the next few decades the city was rebuilt into a modern city adhering mainly to the <!--del_lnk--> Neoclassic style. In 1896 Athens became the first host city of the revived <a href="../../wp/1/1896_Summer_Olympics.htm" title="1896 Summer Olympics">1896 Summer Olympics</a>.The next large expansion occurred in the 1920s when suburbs were created to house Greek refugees from <!--del_lnk--> Asia Minor. During <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> the city was occupied by <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> and fared badly in the war's later years.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/708.jpg.htm" title="The statue of Theodoros Kolokotronis in Stadiou Street, central Athens. The Old Parliament stands tall behind it."><img alt="The statue of Theodoros Kolokotronis in Stadiou Street, central Athens. The Old Parliament stands tall behind it." height="195" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kolokotronis_statue_Athens.jpg" src="../../images/7/708.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/708.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> statue of <!--del_lnk--> Theodoros Kolokotronis in Stadiou Street, central Athens. The Old Parliament stands tall behind it.</div>
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<p>Athens grew rapidly in the years following <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> until ca.1980 and suffered from overcrowding and traffic congestion. Greek entry into the <!--del_lnk--> EEC in 1981 brought massive, unprecedented investment into the city along with problems of increasingly worsening industrial congestion and air pollution. Throughout the 1990s the city's authorities undertook a series of decisive measures in order to combat the smog which used to form over the city, particularly during the hottest days of the year. Those measures proved to be successful and nowadays smog or <i>nefos</i> in Greek is much less of an issue for Athens, even when temperatures soar above 40 C. The traffic congestion has also significantly improved in recent years. Part of this improvement is attributed both to the transformation of the once highly problematic Kiffissos Avenue into a modern, 8 lane <!--del_lnk--> urban motorway that stretches for more than 11 km along the ancient <!--del_lnk--> Kifissos River, linking many of Athens' western suburbs, from <!--del_lnk--> Peristeri to the port of <!--del_lnk--> Piraeus and to the construction of the <!--del_lnk--> Attiki Odos motorway.<div class="center">
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<div style="width:502px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/709.jpg.htm" title="The temple of an Olympian god, Zeus, in central Athens."><img alt="The temple of an Olympian god, Zeus, in central Athens." height="245" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Athenstemplezeus.jpg" src="../../images/7/709.jpg" width="500" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/709.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> temple of an Olympian god, <a href="../../wp/z/Zeus.htm" title="Zeus">Zeus</a>, in central Athens.</div>
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<p><a id="Settings_and_population" name="Settings_and_population"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Settings and population</span></h2>
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<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/710.jpg.htm" title="Zappeion Exhibition Hall and conference centre designed by Theofil Hansen"><img alt="Zappeion Exhibition Hall and conference centre designed by Theofil Hansen" height="195" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Zappeion.jpg" src="../../images/7/710.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/710.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Zappeion Exhibition Hall and conference centre designed by Theofil Hansen</div>
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<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/143/14371.jpg.htm" title="The Athens Academy, located in central Athens, was designed by Theofil Hansen and completed in 1885. It is flanked by the National Library and the University of Athens"><img alt="The Athens Academy, located in central Athens, was designed by Theofil Hansen and completed in 1885. It is flanked by the National Library and the University of Athens" height="178" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Mk01n101.jpg" src="../../images/7/711.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/143/14371.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Athens Academy, located in central Athens, was designed by Theofil Hansen and completed in 1885. It is flanked by the National Library and the University of Athens</div>
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<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/114/11438.jpg.htm" title="The restored stoa of Attalus"><img alt="The restored stoa of Attalus" height="195" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stoa_in_Athens.jpg" src="../../images/7/712.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/114/11438.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The restored <!--del_lnk--> stoa of <!--del_lnk--> Attalus</div>
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<p>Athens sprawls across the central plain of <!--del_lnk--> Attica, which is bound by Mount <!--del_lnk--> Aegaleo in the west, Mount <!--del_lnk--> Parnitha in the north, Mount <!--del_lnk--> Penteli in the northeast, Mount <!--del_lnk--> Hymettus in the east, and the <!--del_lnk--> Saronic Gulf in the southwest. Athens has expanded to cover the entire plain making future growth difficult. The geomorphology of Athens causes the so-called <!--del_lnk--> temperature inversion phenomenon, partly responsible for the air pollution problems the city has recently faced. (<a href="../../wp/l/Los_Angeles%252C_California.htm" title="Los Angeles, California">Los Angeles</a>, with similar geomorphology, has similar problems). Along with its numerous suburbs, Athens has an official population of about 3.2 million. The actual population, however, is believed to be quite higher, because during census (taking place once every 10 years) some Athenian residents travel back to their birthplaces and register as local citizens there. Also unaccounted for are an undefined number of unregistered immigrants originating mainly from <a href="../../wp/a/Albania.htm" title="Albania">Albania</a>. Therefore it is estimated that the actual figure reaches 3.7 million, representing approximately one-third of the total population of Greece. The ancient site of the city is centered on the rocky hill of the acropolis. In ancient times the port of <!--del_lnk--> Piraeus was a separate city, but it has now been absorbed into greater Athens. The rapid expansion of the city initiated in the 50's and 60's continues today, especially towards the East and North East (a tendency that is greatly related to the new Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport and Attiki Odos, the freeway that cuts across Attica). By this process, Athens has engulfed many former suburbs and villages in Attica and continues to do so.<p><a id="Climate" name="Climate"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Climate</span></h2>
<p>Athens enjoys a typical Mediterranean climate, with the greatest amounts of precipitation mainly occurring from mid-October to mid-April. The rest of the year remains largely rainless, making Athens one of the sunniest cities in the European continent. Sheltered by mountain barriers from the full force of the western, rain-bearing winds, Athens has a semi-arid climate and averages less than 500 mm of precipitation annually. Winters are generally mild, with comfortable daytime temperatures and cool nights, though light frosts may occur on infrequent occasions (it has to be noted however, that northern suburbs - that stand at a higher elevation - have a somewhat different microclimate, with cooler summers and colder winters with quite heavier average snowfall). Winter rainfall tends to occur in the form of short and sometimes heavy showers. Snow is relatively rare, although the city has experienced its share of blizzard-like conditions. The most recent examples include the blizzard of January 2002 as well as that of February 2004, all dumping heavy amounts of snow that literally blanketed the entire metropolitan area for days. Spring and autumn are considered ideal seasons for sightseeing and indeed for all kinds of outdoor activities. Summers can be particularly hot and at times prone to smog and pollution related conditions (admittedly, however, much less so compared to the past). The average summer daytime maximum temperature is 32 degrees Celsius (90°F). Heatwaves are not too common and mostly happen during the months of July and/or August, when hot air masses come to Greece from the south or the southwest. It is only on such days that temperature maxima shoot over 38°C. The all time high temperature for the metropolitan area of Athens is +45.0°C and was measured at the Nea Filadelfia suburb (July 2000, HNMS station); the equivalent all time low temperature record is -10.8°C and was measured at the Votanikos station. During the severe spell of cold weather, in February 2004, temperatures in Greater Athens dropped to -10.1°C at the Penteli station of the National Observatory of Athens.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:142px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/713.jpg.htm" title="Vertical panorama of part of central Athens from its Acropolis. In the background: the picturesque Anafiotika district and the Lykavittos Hill"><img alt="Vertical panorama of part of central Athens from its Acropolis. In the background: the picturesque Anafiotika district and the Lykavittos Hill" height="414" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Panorama_Athenes.jpg" src="../../images/7/713.jpg" width="140" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/713.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Vertical panorama of part of central Athens from its Acropolis. In the background: the picturesque Anafiotika district and the <!--del_lnk--> Lykavittos Hill</div>
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<p><a id="Tourist_attractions" name="Tourist_attractions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Tourist attractions</span></h2>
<p>Athens has been a popular <!--del_lnk--> destination for travellers since antiquity. Over the past decade, the infrastructure and social amenities of Athens have been radically improved, in part due to the city's successful bid to stage the <!--del_lnk--> 2004 Olympic Games. The Greek state, aided by the <a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="European Union">E.U.</a>, has poured money into major infrastructure projects such as the new, state-of-the-art <!--del_lnk--> "Eleftherios Venizelos" International Airport, the massive expansion of the <!--del_lnk--> Metro system, and the new <!--del_lnk--> Attiki Odos ring-road. Home to a vast number of 5 and 4 star hotels, the city is currently the 6th most visited capital in <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/714.jpg.htm" title="The historical and luxurious Grande Bretagne hotel in Syntagma Square"><img alt="The historical and luxurious Grande Bretagne hotel in Syntagma Square" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Athens-Grande1.jpg" src="../../images/7/714.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/714.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The historical and luxurious <b>Grande Bretagne</b> hotel in <!--del_lnk--> Syntagma Square</div>
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<p>Large parts of the city centre have been redeveloped under a masterplan called "Unification of Archaeological Sites of Athens" <!--del_lnk--> . Notably, the famous Dionysiou Aeropagitou street has been pedestrianised, forming a scenic route. The route starts from the <!--del_lnk--> Temple of Olympian Zeus at Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, continues under the southern slopes of its acropolis near <!--del_lnk--> Plaka and finishes just outside the <!--del_lnk--> temple of <!--del_lnk--> Hephaestus in <!--del_lnk--> Theseum. This route provides the visitors views of the Parthenon and the <!--del_lnk--> Agora (the meeting point of ancient Athenians), away from the busy city centre.<p>Syntagma Square (Constitution Square) is situated in central Athens and it is the site of the former Royal Palace, now the <!--del_lnk--> Greek Parliament and other 19th-century public buildings. The <!--del_lnk--> National Garden behind the Parliament and stretching to the <!--del_lnk--> Zappeion is a verdant oasis in the centre city. Syntagma is the <!--del_lnk--> largest square of the city and it is also home to a number of luxurious hotels, including the historic <i>Grande Bretagne</i>, Athens' first hotel. Syntagma is essentially the tourist core of the city, being in the centre of an area where most of the famous ancient monuments are located, all within a radius of 2 km. [<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/60/6023.jpg.htm" title="The Greek Parliament, located in Syntagma Square"><img alt="The Greek Parliament, located in Syntagma Square" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hellenic-Parliament3.JPG" src="../../images/7/715.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/60/6023.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Greek Parliament, located in Syntagma Square</div>
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<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/716.jpg.htm" title="Changing of the Guard Evzones in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma Square"><img alt="Changing of the Guard Evzones in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma Square" height="172" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Evzone.jpg" src="../../images/7/716.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/716.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Changing of the Guard<br /><!--del_lnk--> Evzones in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma Square</div>
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<p>Near Syntagma Square stands the <!--del_lnk--> Kallimarmaro Stadium, the place where the first modern <a href="../../wp/1/1896_Summer_Olympics.htm" title="1896 Summer Olympics">Olympic Games</a> took place in 1896. It is a replica of the ancient Athens Stadium. It is the only major stadium (60,000 spectators) made entirely of white marble from <!--del_lnk--> Penteli, the same as that used for the construction of the Parthenon. Athens features a number of hills. <!--del_lnk--> Lykavittos is one of the tallest hills of the city proper that, according to an ancient legend, was actually a boulder thrown down from the sky by the Goddess Athena. Located in the city centre, near <!--del_lnk--> Alexandras Avenue and <!--del_lnk--> Vassilissis Sofias Avenue, it offers views of sprawling Athens below. On top of it, stands St. George's church. Philopappos Hill is yet another famous hill, located just to the southwest of Acropolis.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/717.jpg.htm" title="The Panathinaiko Kallimarmaro Stadium, site of the 1896 Olympic Games."><img alt="The Panathinaiko Kallimarmaro Stadium, site of the 1896 Olympic Games." height="195" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Panathinaiko.jpg" src="../../images/7/717.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/717.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Panathinaiko <!--del_lnk--> Kallimarmaro Stadium, site of the <!--del_lnk--> 1896 Olympic Games.</div>
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<p>The city's classical museums include the <!--del_lnk--> National Archaeological Museum of Athens at Patission Street (which holds the world's greatest collection of <!--del_lnk--> Greek art), the Benaki Museum in Pireos Street (including its new Islamic Art branch) <!--del_lnk--> , the Byzantine Museum and the Museum of Cycladic Art in the central <!--del_lnk--> Kolonaki district (recommended for its collection of elegant white metamodern figures, more than 3,000 years old) <!--del_lnk--> . Most museums were renovated ahead of the 2004 Olympics. A new <b>Acropolis Museum</b> is being built <!--del_lnk--> in the Makriyanni district according to a design by Swiss-French architect <!--del_lnk--> Bernard Tschumi. The Athens <!--del_lnk--> Planetarium <!--del_lnk--> , located in <!--del_lnk--> Andrea Syngrou Avenue, is considered to be among the world's best.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/718.jpg.htm" title="National Gardens Designed by Amalia, the first Queen of Greece, it is an oasis in Central Athens"><img alt="National Gardens Designed by Amalia, the first Queen of Greece, it is an oasis in Central Athens" height="195" longdesc="/wiki/Image:National_Gardens.jpg" src="../../images/7/718.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/718.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> National Gardens<br /> Designed by Amalia, the first Queen of Greece, it is an oasis in Central Athens</div>
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<p>The old campus of the <!--del_lnk--> University of Athens, located in the middle section of <!--del_lnk--> Panepistimiou Street, is one of the finest buildings in the city. This combined with the adjacent National Library and the Athens Academy form the imposing "Athens Trilogy", built in the mid-19th century. However, most of the university's functions have been moved to a much larger, modern campus located in the eastern suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Zográfou. The second most significant academic institution of the city is the <!--del_lnk--> Athens Polytechnic School (<i>Ethniko Metsovio Politechnio</i>), located in Patission Street. More than 20 students were killed inside the School in <!--del_lnk--> November 17, <!--del_lnk--> 1973 during the <!--del_lnk--> Athens Polytechnic Uprising against the military junta that ruled the nation from <!--del_lnk--> April 21, <!--del_lnk--> 1967 until <!--del_lnk--> July 23, <!--del_lnk--> 1974.<div class="center">
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<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/719.jpg.htm" title="View of central Athens from its acropolis. In the foreground: The Theatre of Herodes Atticus"><img alt="View of central Athens from its acropolis. In the foreground: The Theatre of Herodes Atticus" height="232" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Theatre_of_Herodes_Atticus.jpg" src="../../images/7/719.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/719.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> View of central Athens from its acropolis. In the foreground: The <!--del_lnk--> Theatre of Herodes Atticus</div>
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<p><a id="Entertainment.2C_nightlife_and_shopping" name="Entertainment.2C_nightlife_and_shopping"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Entertainment, nightlife and shopping</span></h2>
<p><a id="Central_Athens" name="Central_Athens"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Central Athens</span></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/720.jpg.htm" title="The mid-section of the popular pedestrianized Ermou (Greek: Ερμου) Street in central Athens."><img alt="The mid-section of the popular pedestrianized Ermou (Greek: Ερμου) Street in central Athens." height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ermou-Street.jpg" src="../../images/7/720.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/720.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The mid-section of the popular pedestrianized Ermou (<!--del_lnk--> Greek: Ερμου) Street in central Athens.</div>
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<p>Athens is home to 148 theatrical stages, more than any other European city (including the famous ancient <!--del_lnk--> Herodes Atticus Theatre, home to the Athens Festival <!--del_lnk--> , which takes place from May to October each year). In addition to a large number of multiplexes, Athens features many romantic, open air garden cinemas. Athens also has a vast number of music venues including a state of the art <a href="../../wp/m/Music.htm" title="Music">music</a> hall known as the "Megaron Moussikis" <!--del_lnk--> that attracts world-famous artists all year round. The Psirri neighbourhood - aka Athens's "meat packing district" - features mainstream and trendy bars making it a hotspot for the city, and a number of live music restaurants called "rebetadika", after <!--del_lnk--> rebetiko, a unique kind of music that blossomed in <!--del_lnk--> Syros and Athens from the 1920's till the 1960's.<!--del_lnk--> Rebetiko is admired by many, therefore virtually every night rebetadika get crammed by people of all ages that will sing, dance and drink wine until dawn. <!--del_lnk--> Plaka remains the traditional top tourist destination, with many <!--del_lnk--> tavernas featuring traditional music, but the food, though exceptionally good, is often more expensive compared to other parts of the city. Plaka, lying just beneath the Acropolis, is famous for its numerous neoclassic buildings, making it one of the most scenic districts of Athens.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/60/6042.jpg.htm" title="Night view of part of central Athens and the port of Piraeus"><img alt="Night view of part of central Athens and the port of Piraeus" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Athens-night-view1.jpg" src="../../images/7/721.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/60/6042.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Night view of part of central Athens and the port of Piraeus</div>
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<p>Nearby <!--del_lnk--> Monastiraki, on the other hand, is famous for its string of small tourist shops as well as its crowded flea market and the tavernas that specialize in <!--del_lnk--> souvlaki. Another district notably famous for its student-crammed, stylish cafés is Theseum, lying just west of Monastiraki. Theseum, or Thission is home to the remarkable ancient temple of Hephaestus, standing on top of a small hill. The <!--del_lnk--> Gazi area, one of the latest in full redevelopment, is located around a historic gas factory, that has been converted into the <i>Technopolis</i> (Athens's new cultural multiplex) for all the family and has a number of expensive small clubs, bars and restaurants, as well as Athens's nascent "<!--del_lnk--> gay village". The relatively recent and rapid redevelopment of these areas has brought the - recently relatively forgotten - city centre back into the limelight.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/722.jpg.htm" title="Plaka by night"><img alt="Plaka by night" height="243" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Plaka_by_Night.jpg" src="../../images/7/722.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/722.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Plaka by night</div>
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<p>The chic <!--del_lnk--> Kolonaki area, near Syntagma Square, is full of boutiques catering to well-heeled customers by day and bars and luxurious restaurants by night. Ermou Street, an approximately 1 km pedestrian road connecting Syntagma Square to <!--del_lnk--> Monastiraki, has traditionally been considered a consumer paradise for both the Athenians and tourists. Full of fashion shops and shopping centres featuring most international brands, it has become one of the most expensive roads in <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>. Near there, the renovated Army Fund building in Panepistimiou Street includes the "Attica" department store and several high-class designer stores.<p><a id="Suburbs" name="Suburbs"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Suburbs</span></h3>
<p>The Athens Metropolitan Area consists of 54 densely populated municipalities, sprawling around the city of Athens to virtually all directions. According to their geographic location in relation to the city of Athens, the suburbs are divided into four zones namely the northern suburbs (including <!--del_lnk--> Ekali, <!--del_lnk--> Nea Erythrea, <!--del_lnk--> Agios Stefanos, <!--del_lnk--> Drosia, <!--del_lnk--> Kryoneri, Attica, <!--del_lnk--> Kifissia, <!--del_lnk--> Maroussi, <!--del_lnk--> Pefki, <!--del_lnk--> Vrilissia, <!--del_lnk--> Melissia, <!--del_lnk--> Pendeli, <!--del_lnk--> Halandri and <!--del_lnk--> Filothei), the southern suburbs (including <!--del_lnk--> Palaio Faliro, <!--del_lnk--> Elliniko, <!--del_lnk--> Glyfada, <!--del_lnk--> Alimos, <!--del_lnk--> Voula and the southernmost suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Vouliagmeni), the eastern suburbs (including <!--del_lnk--> Zographou, <!--del_lnk--> Vyrona, <!--del_lnk--> Kaisariani,<!--del_lnk--> Cholargos, <!--del_lnk--> Papagou and <!--del_lnk--> Aghia Paraskevi) and the western suburbs (including <!--del_lnk--> Peristeri, <!--del_lnk--> Ilion, <!--del_lnk--> Egaleo, <!--del_lnk--> Petroupoli and <!--del_lnk--> Nikaia). The northern and most of the southern suburbs are particularly affluent districts, resided primarily by middle-to-high and high incomers. The western suburbs are primarily resided by middle incomers with certain few areas resided by middle-to-low incomers and still others resided by middle-to-high incomers. Finally the eastern suburbs are primarily resided by middle and middle-to-high incomers.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/723.jpg.htm" title="Highway intersection in the northern suburb of Maroussi. On the left: The OTE headquarters."><img alt="Highway intersection in the northern suburb of Maroussi. On the left: The OTE headquarters." height="264" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Athens-Kiffisia-aerial.jpg" src="../../images/7/723.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/723.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Highway intersection in the northern suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Maroussi. On the left: The <!--del_lnk--> OTE headquarters.</div>
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<p>The Athens coastline, extending from the major commercial port of <!--del_lnk--> Piraeus to the southernmost suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Vouliagmeni for more than 25 km, is also connected to the city centre with a <!--del_lnk--> tram (which, although modern can be slow during rush hours) and it boasts a series of high class restaurants, cafes, exciting music venues and modern sports facilities. In addition, Athens is packed with trendy and fashionable bars and nightclubs that are literally crowded by the city's youth on a daily basis. Especially during the summer time, the southern elegant suburbs of <!--del_lnk--> Glyfada, <!--del_lnk--> Voula and <!--del_lnk--> Vouliagmeni become home to countless such meeting points, situated all along Poseidonos and Alkyonidon Avenues. In the winter time, the focus of the nightlife moves up into the city centre, in Piraeus as well as across the northern suburbs. In addition, "Bournazi" at the western suburb of Peristeri has also become eminent for its intense nightlife, becoming a hotspot, mainly for the residents of the western Athenian suburbs. In the northern districts, the classy suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Kifissia hosts a vast number of expensive restaurants, bars and cafés. <!--del_lnk--> The Mall Athens is a massive, American-style mall, located in the affluent northern suburb of Maroussi, that provides a vast number of selections.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/724.jpg.htm" title="The Athens Olympic Stadium; capacity: 76,000."><img alt="The Athens Olympic Stadium; capacity: 76,000." height="195" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Olympic_Stadium_of_Athens.jpg" src="../../images/7/724.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/724.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Athens Olympic Stadium; capacity: 76,000.</div>
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<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/725.jpg.htm" title="The Athens Olympic Velodrome, designed by Santiago Calatrava."><img alt="The Athens Olympic Velodrome, designed by Santiago Calatrava." height="182" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AthensOlympicVelodrome.jpg" src="../../images/7/725.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/725.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Athens Olympic Velodrome, designed by <!--del_lnk--> Santiago Calatrava.</div>
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<p>Nearby is the entirely new attraction of the massively upgraded main Olympic Complex (known by its Greek acronym OAKA). The whole area has been redeveloped under designs by the Spanish architect <!--del_lnk--> Santiago Calatrava with steel arches, landscaped gardens, fountains, futuristic passages and a landmark new blue glass roof which was added to the main Stadium. A second Olympic complex, next to the sea at the beach of <!--del_lnk--> Kallithea (Faliron), also boasts futuristic stadiums, shops and an elevated esplanade. Work is underway to transform the grounds of the old Athens Airport - named <!--del_lnk--> Hellinikon - in the southern suburbs into a massive landscaped park (considered to be the largest in Europe when ready). The major waste management efforts undertaken in the last decade (especially the plant built on the small island of Psytalia) have made pollution of the Saronic Gulf a thing of the past and now the coastal waters of Athens are a haven for swimmers. Athens has some of the cleanest and most pristine beaches in Europe. In fact many of Athens' elegant southern suburbs (such as <!--del_lnk--> Alimos, <!--del_lnk--> Palaio Faliro, <!--del_lnk--> Elliniko, <!--del_lnk--> Voula, <!--del_lnk--> Vouliagmeni and <!--del_lnk--> Vari) host a number of beautiful, sandy beaches, most of which are operated by the Greek National Tourism Organization <!--del_lnk--> . This means that one has to pay a fee in order to get in. Nonetheless, this fee is not expensive in most cases and it includes a number of related, convenient services like parking facilities, cocktail drinks and umbrellas. These beaches are extremely popular in the summer by both Athenians and foreign tourists.<p>The city is surrounded by four easily accessible mountains (Parnitha and Penteli to the north, Hemmettus to the southeast and Egaleo to the west). Mount Parnitha, in particular, is the tallest of all (1,453 m) and it has been declared a protected National Park. It has tens of well-marked paths, gorges, springs, torrents and caves and you may even meet deer or bears while exploring its dense forests. Hiking and mountain biking in all four mountains have been and still remain popular outdoor activities for many Athenians. Casinos operate on both Mount Parnitha, some 30 km from downtown Athens (accessible by car or cable car) and the nearby town of <!--del_lnk--> Loutraki (accessible by car via the Athens - Corinth National Highway or the suburban railway).<p>The nearby islands of <!--del_lnk--> Salamina, <!--del_lnk--> Aigina, <!--del_lnk--> Poros, <!--del_lnk--> Hydra and <!--del_lnk--> Spetses are also sites of spectacular natural beauty and historical architecture. The Athens municipality maintains a site of tourist interest: <!--del_lnk--> http://www.cityofathens.gr/<p><a id="The_transportation_system" name="The_transportation_system"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The transportation system</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/726.jpg.htm" title="Lower section of busy Patission Avenue in central Athens."><img alt="Lower section of busy Patission Avenue in central Athens." height="333" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Patission_Avenue.jpg" src="../../images/7/726.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/726.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Lower section of busy <b>Patission Avenue</b> in central Athens.</div>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/727.jpg.htm" title="Athens Suburban Railway."><img alt="Athens Suburban Railway." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Proastiakos.jpg" src="../../images/7/727.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/727.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Athens <!--del_lnk--> Suburban <!--del_lnk--> Railway.</div>
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<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Athens Mass Transit System is currently one of the most modern and efficient systems in Europe. It consists of a large <!--del_lnk--> bus fleet, a <!--del_lnk--> trolley fleet that mainly serves the downtown area, <!--del_lnk--> , the <!--del_lnk--> Athens Metro <!--del_lnk--> ,a <!--del_lnk--> tram line connecting the southern suburbs to the city centre<!--del_lnk--> and the Athens Suburban Railway <!--del_lnk--> services. It has to be noted, however, that the public transportation system is occasionally disrupted by the <!--del_lnk--> striking of its public employees. The Athens Metro is one of the most impressive underground Mass Transit systems in the world. It currently operates four lines, three of which are distinguished by the colors used in the relevant maps and signs (green, blue and red). The historic Green Line, which is the oldest and for the most part runs on the ground, connects the port of <!--del_lnk--> Piraeus to the northern suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Kifissia. It will be extended the next years to Drosia. The line is 25 km long and has 24 stations. The other two lines were constructed mainly during the 1990s and the first sections opened in January 2000. They run entirely underground. The Blue Line runs from the central <!--del_lnk--> Monastiraki district to <!--del_lnk--> Doukissis Plakentias avenue, in the eastern suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Halandri. The Blue Line then ascends on ground level and reaches <!--del_lnk--> Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, using the Suburban Railway rails. The Red Line runs from <!--del_lnk--> Aghios Antonios to <!--del_lnk--> Aghios Dimitrios. Extensions to both lines are under construction, most notably westwards to <!--del_lnk--> Egaleo, southwards to the Old Hellinikon Airport East Terminal (future Metropolitan Park) and eastwards towards the easternmost suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Aghia Paraskevi. The fourth line is the Athens Suburban Railway (<i><!--del_lnk--> Proastiakós</i>) which connects <!--del_lnk--> Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport to the city of <!--del_lnk--> Corinth, 80 km west of Athens, via the central Larissa Train Station. The metro network, Suburban Railway not included, has a current length of 91 km and it is expected to reach 124 km (72 stations) by the year 2009. It is managed by three different companies, namely ISAP <!--del_lnk--> , Attiko Metro (lines 2 & 3) and Proastiakós (line 4).<p>The bus service consists of a huge network of lines operated by normal buses, <!--del_lnk--> electric buses, and natural gas run buses (the largest fleet of natural gas run buses in Europe). There are plenty of bus lines serving the entire Athens Metropolitan Area.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/729.jpg.htm" title="Tramway of Athens."><img alt="Tramway of Athens." height="195" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tramway_Ath%C3%A8nes.JPG" src="../../images/7/729.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/729.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Tramway of Athens.</div>
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<p>The tram runs from Syntagma Square to the southwestern suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Palaio Faliro, where the line splits in two branches. The first branch runs all along the Athens coastline towards the southern suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Glyfada while the other one heads towards the <!--del_lnk--> Piraeus district of Neo Faliro. Both Syntagma - Palaio Faliro - Neo Faliro and the Syntagma - Glyfada lines opened on <!--del_lnk--> 19 July <!--del_lnk--> 2004. Further extensions are planned towards the major commercial port of <!--del_lnk--> Piraeus and the southernmost suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Vouliagmeni.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/730.jpg.htm" title="Exhibition of archaeological finds that came to light during the construction of the project displayed at the Syntagma Metro station."><img alt="Exhibition of archaeological finds that came to light during the construction of the project displayed at the Syntagma Metro station." height="234" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Metro_Athens_Syntagma_1.jpg" src="../../images/7/730.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/730.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Exhibition of archaeological finds that came to light during the construction of the project displayed at the <!--del_lnk--> Syntagma Metro station.</div>
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<p>There are many <!--del_lnk--> taxis in Athens. They are quite cheap and during rush hours it is even considered normal to flag a taxi even when another customer is already in (although, formally, this is forbidden); in that case, if the one flagging the taxi happens to go to the approximate direction as the customer already using it and the customer does not mind (seldom if ever is this an issue), he is also allowed in, and each one gives the fare they would normally give as if they were the only customer.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/731.jpg.htm" title="Check-in point in the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, "European Airport of the Year 2004"."><img alt="Check-in point in the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, "European Airport of the Year 2004"." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:El-Venizelos7.jpg" src="../../images/7/731.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/731.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Check-in point in the <!--del_lnk--> Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, "European Airport of the Year 2004".</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Athens is served, since March 2001, by the ultra modern <!--del_lnk--> Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport located near the town of <!--del_lnk--> Spata, in the eastern Mesoghia Plain, some 35 km east of Athens. There is an Express Bus service connecting the airport to the metro system and 2 express bus services connecting the airport to <!--del_lnk--> Piraeus port and the city centre respectively. Athens is also the hub of the Greek National Railway System. Ferries departing from the port of <!--del_lnk--> Piraeus connect the city to the <!--del_lnk--> Greek islands of the <!--del_lnk--> Aegean Sea. , westbound to <!--del_lnk--> Elefsina]]There are two main highways that travel both to the west, towards the city of <!--del_lnk--> Patra in <!--del_lnk--> Peloponessus (<!--del_lnk--> GR-8A, <!--del_lnk--> E94) and to the north, towards Greece's second largest city, <!--del_lnk--> Thessaloniki (<!--del_lnk--> GR-1, <!--del_lnk--> E75). In 2001-2004 a ring road toll-expressway (<!--del_lnk--> Attiki Odos) was gradually completed, extending from the western industrial city of <!--del_lnk--> Elefsina all the way to the Athens International Airport, after encircling the city from the north. The Ymittos Ringroad is a separate section of <!--del_lnk--> Attiki Odos connecting the eastern suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Kaisariani to the northeastern town of <!--del_lnk--> Glyka Nera and this is where it meets the main part of the ring-road. The total length of Attiki Odos is now approximately 70 km.<p><a id="Municipality" name="Municipality"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Municipality</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/733.jpg.htm" title="Arch of Hadrian in central Athens, with the Acropolis seen in the background."><img alt="Arch of Hadrian in central Athens, with the Acropolis seen in the background." height="333" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hadrian%27s_Arch.jpg" src="../../images/7/733.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/733.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Arch of Hadrian in central Athens, with the <!--del_lnk--> Acropolis seen in the background.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The modern city of Athens consists of what was formerly a conglomeration of distinct towns and villages that gradually expanded and merged into a single large metropolis; most of this expansion occurred during the second half of the 20th century. The Greater Athens area is now divided into 54 municipalities, the largest of which being the <b>Municipality of Athens</b> or <i>Dimos Athinaion</i>, with a population of approximately 750,000 people. The next largest municipalities are the <!--del_lnk--> Municipality of Piraeus, the <!--del_lnk--> Municipality of Peristeri and the <!--del_lnk--> Municipality of Kallithea. <i>Athens</i> can therefore refer either to the entire metropolitan area or to the Municipality of Athens. Each of these municipalities has an elected district council and a directly elected mayor. Mrs. <!--del_lnk--> Dora Bakoyanni of the conservative <!--del_lnk--> New Democracy party was the <!--del_lnk--> Mayor of Athens from <!--del_lnk--> 1 January <!--del_lnk--> 2003 until <!--del_lnk--> 15 February <!--del_lnk--> 2006, when she joined the Greek Cabinet as the Minister of Foreign affairs. She was the 76th Mayor of Athens and the first female ever to hold the post in the history of the city. She was replaced by Theodoros Behrakis. The next municipal elections are scheduled for October 2006.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/734.jpg.htm" title="Remains of the West Gate of the agora"><img alt="Remains of the West Gate of the agora" height="267" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ac.agora2.jpg" src="../../images/7/734.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/734.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Remains of the West Gate of the agora</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/735.jpg.htm" title="The Karyatides statues of the Erechtheion on its acropolis"><img alt="The Karyatides statues of the Erechtheion on its acropolis" height="166" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ath%C3%A8nes_Acropole_Caryatides.JPG" src="../../images/7/735.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/735.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Karyatides statues of the <!--del_lnk--> Erechtheion on its acropolis</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Municipality of Athens is divided into seven <i>municipal districts</i> or <i>demotika diamerismata</i>. The 7-district division, however, is mainly used for administrative purposes. For Athenians the most popular way of dividing the city proper is through its <i>neighbourhoods</i> (usually referred to as areas in English), each with its own distinct history and characteristics. Those include Pagrati, Ambelokipi, Exarhia, Ano and Kato (Upper and Lower) Patissia, Ilissia, Ano and Kato Petralona, Mets, Koukaki as well as Kypseli, world's second most densely populated urban area. For someone unfamiliar with Athens, getting to know these <i>neighbourhoods</i> can often come particularly handy in both exploring and understanding the city.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/736.jpg.htm" title="Its acropolis at dusk"><img alt="Its acropolis at dusk" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lightmatter_acropolis.jpg" src="../../images/7/736.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/736.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Its acropolis at <!--del_lnk--> dusk</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Sister_cities" name="Sister_cities"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Sister cities</span></h2>
<p>Athens has the following <!--del_lnk--> sister cities:<ul>
<li><a class="image" href="../../images/3/309.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Armenia.svg" src="../../images/7/737.png" width="23" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Yerevan, <a href="../../wp/a/Armenia.htm" title="Armenia">Armenia</a></ul>
<ul>
<li><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title="United States"><img alt="United States" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/6/695.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/l/Los_Angeles%252C_California.htm" title="Los Angeles, California">Los Angeles, California</a>, <!--del_lnk--> USA<li><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title="United States"><img alt="United States" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/6/695.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Chicago.htm" title="Chicago">Chicago, Illinois</a>, <!--del_lnk--> USA<li><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title="United States"><img alt="United States" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/6/695.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Washington, DC, <!--del_lnk--> USA<li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="France"><img alt="France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/187/18768.png.htm" title="Canada"><img alt="Canada" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg" src="../../images/7/738.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Montreal.htm" title="Montreal">Montreal</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a></ul>
<ul>
<li><a class="image" href="../../images/14/1446.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Serbia_%28state%29_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/7/739.png" width="23" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Belgrade, <a href="../../wp/s/Serbia.htm" title="Serbia">Serbia</a></ul>
<ul>
<li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/740.png.htm" title="Chile"><img alt="Chile" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Chile_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/7/740.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Santiago, <a href="../../wp/c/Chile.htm" title="Chile">Chile</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/539.png.htm" title="Spain"><img alt="Spain" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Spain.svg" src="../../images/5/539.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Madrid.htm" title="Madrid">Madrid</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/6/612.png.htm" title="Cyprus"><img alt="Cyprus" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Cyprus_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/6/612.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Nicosia, <a href="../../wp/c/Cyprus.htm" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/3/395.png.htm" title="Morocco"><img alt="Morocco" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Morocco.svg" src="../../images/3/395.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/r/Rabat.htm" title="Rabat">Rabat</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Morocco.htm" title="Morocco">Morocco</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/741.png.htm" title="Peru"><img alt="Peru" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Peru.svg" src="../../images/7/741.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Cusco, <a href="../../wp/p/Peru.htm" title="Peru">Peru</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/551.png.htm" title="Italy"><img alt="Italy" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Italy.svg" src="../../images/5/551.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/742.png.htm" title="Bulgaria"><img alt="Bulgaria" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Bulgaria_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/7/742.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Sofia, <a href="../../wp/b/Bulgaria.htm" title="Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/538.png.htm" title="Germany"><img alt="Germany" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany.svg" src="../../images/5/538.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Berlin.htm" title="Berlin">Berlin</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/592.png.htm" title="Russia"><img alt="Russia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Russia_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/592.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Moscow.htm" title="Moscow">Moscow</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/542.png.htm" title="Czech Republic"><img alt="Czech Republic" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/542.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/p/Prague.htm" title="Prague">Prague</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Czech_Republic.htm" title="Czech Republic">Czech Republic</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/743.png.htm" title="Romania"><img alt="Romania" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Romania.svg" src="../../images/7/743.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Bucharest.htm" title="Bucharest">Bucharest</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Romania.htm" title="Romania">Romania</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/744.png.htm" title="Poland"><img alt="Poland" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Poland_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/7/744.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/w/Warsaw.htm" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/745.png.htm" title="Ukraine"><img alt="Ukraine" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Ukraine.svg" src="../../images/7/745.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/k/Kiev.htm" title="Kiev">Kiev</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/Ukraine.htm" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title="United States"><img alt="United States" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/6/695.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Boston%252C_Massachusetts.htm" title="Boston">Boston</a>, <!--del_lnk--> USA<li><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title="United States"><img alt="United States" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/6/695.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Athens, Georgia <!--del_lnk--> USA<li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/746.png.htm" title="Albania"><img alt="Albania" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Albania.svg" src="../../images/7/746.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Tirana, <a href="../../wp/a/Albania.htm" title="Albania">Albania</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/6/615.png.htm" title="Lebanon"><img alt="Lebanon" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Lebanon.svg" src="../../images/3/389.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Beirut.htm" title="Beirut">Beirut</a>, <a href="../../wp/l/Lebanon.htm" title="Lebanon">Lebanon</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/182/18223.png.htm" title="Georgia (country)"><img alt="Georgia (country)" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Georgia_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/511.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Tbilisi, <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/584.png.htm" title="People's Republic of China"><img alt="People's Republic of China" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg" src="../../images/5/584.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Xi'an, <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">People's Republic of China</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/539.png.htm" title="Spain"><img alt="Spain" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Spain.svg" src="../../images/5/539.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Barcelona.htm" title="Barcelona">Barcelona</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/551.png.htm" title="Italy"><img alt="Italy" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Italy.svg" src="../../images/5/551.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Genova, <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/512.png.htm" title="Turkey"><img alt="Turkey" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Turkey.svg" src="../../images/5/512.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/i/Istanbul.htm" title="Istanbul">Istanbul</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/747.png.htm" title="Slovenia"><img alt="Slovenia" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Slovenia.svg" src="../../images/7/747.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Ljubljana, <a href="../../wp/s/Slovenia.htm" title="Slovenia">Slovenia</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/748.png.htm" title="Cuba"><img alt="Cuba" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Cuba.svg" src="../../images/7/748.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Havana, <a href="../../wp/c/Cuba.htm" title="Cuba">Cuba</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title="United States"><img alt="United States" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/6/695.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/p/Philadelphia.htm" title="Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Pennsylvania, <!--del_lnk--> USA<li><a class="image" href="../../images/6/613.png.htm" title="Palestinian National Authority"><img alt="Palestinian National Authority" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Palestinian_flag.svg" src="../../images/6/613.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Bethlehem, <!--del_lnk--> Palestinian Territories</ul>
<p>
<br clear="all" />
<p><a id="Professional_sports" name="Professional_sports"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Professional sports</span></h2>
<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th>Club</th>
<th>Sport</th>
<th>Founded</th>
<th>League</th>
<th>Venue</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> AEK Athens</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">Football</a></td>
<td>1924</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Super League Greece</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Athens Olympic Stadium</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Olympiacos</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">Football</a></td>
<td>1925</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Super League Greece</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Karaiskaki Stadium</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Panathinaikos</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">Football</a></td>
<td>1908</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Super League Greece</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Athens Olympic Stadium</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Panionios</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">Football</a></td>
<td>1890</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Super League Greece</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Nea Smyrni Stadium</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ionikos</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">Football</a></td>
<td>1910</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Super League Greece</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Nikaia Stadium</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Atromitos</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">Football</a></td>
<td>1950</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Super League Greece</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Peristeri Stadium</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Egaleo FC</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">Football</a></td>
<td>1930</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Super League Greece</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Egaleo Stadium</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Panathinaikos</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Basketball.htm" title="Basketball">Basketball</a></td>
<td>1908</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> A1 Ethniki</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Athens Olympic Stadium</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Olympiacos</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Basketball.htm" title="Basketball">Basketball</a></td>
<td>1925</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> A1 Ethniki</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Peace and Friendship Stadium</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> AEK Athens</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Basketball.htm" title="Basketball">Basketball</a></td>
<td>1924</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> A1 Ethniki</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Galatsi Centre</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Panionios</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Basketball.htm" title="Basketball">Basketball</a></td>
<td>1890</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> A1 Ethniki</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Helliniko Arena</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Maroussi BC</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Basketball.htm" title="Basketball">Basketball</a></td>
<td>1970</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> A1 Ethniki</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Maroussi Arena</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Spartakos Glyfadas</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Baseball.htm" title="Baseball">Baseball</a></td>
<td>1990</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> National Baseball League</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Helliniko Baseball Centre</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Maroussi 2004</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Baseball.htm" title="Baseball">Baseball</a></td>
<td>1990</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> National Baseball League</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Helliniko Baseball Centre</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Athinaikos</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Handball</td>
<td>1927</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> National Handball League</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Helliniko Arena</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Athens Rugby</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Rugby</td>
<td>1990</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> National Rugby League</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Athens Olympic Stadium</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Starbucks Rugby</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Rugby</td>
<td>1983</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> National Rugby League</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Athens Olympic Stadium</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Athens is home to some of the most prestigious clubs in Europe. <!--del_lnk--> Panathinaikos and <!--del_lnk--> AEK Athens which are both multisport clubs and <!--del_lnk--> Olympiacos in Piraeus. It also home to innumerable other clubs some of them listed above. <!--del_lnk--> Beach volleyball and <!--del_lnk--> windsurfing are both very popular in the area. Area <a href="../../wp/b/Beach.htm" title="Beach">beaches</a> are popular with <!--del_lnk--> surfers, who have created their own <!--del_lnk--> subculture. Athens has twice played host to the summer <a href="../../wp/o/Olympic_Games.htm" title="Olympic Games">Olympic Games</a>: in <a href="../../wp/1/1896_Summer_Olympics.htm" title="1896 Summer Olympics">1896</a> and in <!--del_lnk--> 2004. The <!--del_lnk--> 2004 Summer Olympics inspired the creation of the <!--del_lnk--> Athens Olympic Stadium, which has been called one of the best stadiums in the world. The city has also hosted the <!--del_lnk--> UEFA Champions League final twice, in 1994 and in 2007 . The Athens area contains all kinds of <!--del_lnk--> terrain, notably the <!--del_lnk--> hills and <!--del_lnk--> mountains rising around the <a href="../../wp/c/City.htm" title="City">metropolis</a> (it's the only major city in the Europe bisected by a <!--del_lnk--> mountain range); four mountain ranges extend into city boundaries. Thousands of miles of <!--del_lnk--> trails crisscross the city and neighboring areas, providing <!--del_lnk--> exercise and <!--del_lnk--> wilderness access on <!--del_lnk--> foot, <!--del_lnk--> bike, or <a href="../../wp/h/Horse.htm" title="Horse">horse</a>. Across the county a great variety of outdoor activities are available, such as <a href="../../wp/s/Skiing.htm" title="Skiing">skiing</a>, <!--del_lnk--> rock climbing, <!--del_lnk--> gold panning, <!--del_lnk--> hang gliding, and <!--del_lnk--> windsurfing. Numerous outdoor clubs serve these sports, including the Athens Chapter of the <!--del_lnk--> Sierra Club, which leads over 4,000 outings annually in the area. Athens also boasts a number of sports venues, most noticeably <!--del_lnk--> Athens Olympic Stadium and <!--del_lnk--> Karaiskaki Stadium, a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment complex that also hosts concerts and awards shows such as the Arions.<p><a id="The_2004_Olympic_Games" name="The_2004_Olympic_Games"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The 2004 Olympic Games</span></h2>
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<div style="width:342px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/749.jpg.htm" title="The olympic flame at the Opening Ceremony."><img alt="The olympic flame at the Opening Ceremony." height="243" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Olympic_flame_at_opening_ceremony.jpg" src="../../images/7/749.jpg" width="340" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p>Athens was awarded the <!--del_lnk--> 2004 Summer Olympics on <!--del_lnk--> September 5, <!--del_lnk--> 1997 in <!--del_lnk--> Lausanne, <a href="../../wp/s/Switzerland.htm" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a>, after having lost a previous bid to host the <!--del_lnk--> 1996 Summer Olympics, to <a href="../../wp/a/Atlanta%252C_Georgia.htm" title="Atlanta, Georgia">Atlanta</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">USA</a>. It would be the second time Athens would have the honour of hosting the <a href="../../wp/o/Olympic_Games.htm" title="Olympic Games">Olympic Games</a>, the first one being in 1896. After the unsuccessful bid of 1990, the 1997 bid was radically improved, and also included an appeal to Olympic history. In the last round of voting, Athens defeated <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a> with 66 <!--del_lnk--> votes to 41. Prior to this round, the cities of <a href="../../wp/b/Buenos_Aires.htm" title="Buenos Aires">Buenos Aires</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Stockholm.htm" title="Stockholm">Stockholm</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Cape_Town.htm" title="Cape Town">Cape Town</a> had already been eliminated from competition after having received fewer votes. During the first three years of preparations, the <!--del_lnk--> International Olympic Committee had repeatedly expressed some concerns over the status of progress in construction work of some of the new Olympic venues. In the year 2000 the Organising Committee's president was replaced by <!--del_lnk--> Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, who was the president of the Bidding Committee back in 1997. From that point on, preparations continued at a highly accelerated, almost frenzied pace. Although the heavy cost was criticized, as is usually the case with most Olympic cities, Athens was literally transformed into a more functional city that enjoys state-of-the-art technology both in transportation and in modern urban development. Some of the finest sporting venues in the world were created in the city, almost all of which were fully ready on schedule. The 2004 Games were adjudged a huge success, as both security and organization were exceptionally good and only a few visitors reported minor problems, mainly concerning transportation or accommodation issues. Essentially, the only notable problem was a somewhat sparse attendance of some preliminary events. Eventually, however, a total of more than 3.2 million tickets were sold, which was higher than any other Olympics with the exception of <a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a> (more than 5 million tickets were sold there in 2000).<p><a id="Photo_Gallery" name="Photo_Gallery"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Photo Gallery</span></h2>
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<p>Aerial view of portions of central Athens, the port of <!--del_lnk--> Piraeus, and some of the city's southern suburbs. The <!--del_lnk--> Saronic Gulf lies in the background.</div>
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<p>The imposing <!--del_lnk--> Greek Parliament on <!--del_lnk--> Syntagma Square is the former Royal Palace.</div>
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<p>View of part of central Athens and some of the city's southern suburbs from Lykavittos Hill</div>
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<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Cities nicknamed "Athens"</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>Athens of the East - <!--del_lnk--> Madurai, India<li>Athens of the West - <!--del_lnk--> Berkeley, California<li>Athens of the South - <a href="../../wp/n/Nashville%252C_Tennessee.htm" title="Nashville, Tennessee">Nashville, Tennessee</a><li>Athens of the North - <a href="../../wp/e/Edinburgh.htm" title="Edinburgh">Edinburgh, Scotland</a><li>Athens of America - <a href="../../wp/b/Boston%252C_Massachusetts.htm" title="Boston, Massachusetts">Boston, Massachusetts</a><li>Spree Athens - <a href="../../wp/b/Berlin.htm" title="Berlin">Berlin</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a><li>Athens on the Isar - <a href="../../wp/m/Munich.htm" title="Munich">Munich</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a><li>Athens of Cuba - <!--del_lnk--> Matanzas, <a href="../../wp/c/Cuba.htm" title="Cuba">Cuba</a><li>Athens of Latin America - <a href="../../wp/b/Bogot%25C3%25A1.htm" title="Bogotá">Bogotá</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Colombia.htm" title="Colombia">Colombia</a><li>Athens of Finland - <!--del_lnk--> Jyväskylä, <a href="../../wp/f/Finland.htm" title="Finland">Finland</a><li>Serbian Athens - <!--del_lnk--> Novi Sad, Serbia<li>Athens of the Bodrog – <!--del_lnk--> Sárospatak, <a href="../../wp/h/Hungary.htm" title="Hungary">Hungary</a><li>Lusa Athens - <!--del_lnk--> Coimbra, <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a><li>Brazilian Athens - <!--del_lnk--> São Luís, <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a><li>Athens of Minas Gerais - <!--del_lnk--> Juiz de Fora, <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a><li>Sardinian Athens - <!--del_lnk--> Nuoro, <!--del_lnk--> Sardinia, <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a></ul>
<p><a id="External_links" name="External_links"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Athletics (track and field)</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Sports.htm">Sports</a></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/756.jpg.htm" title="A women's 400 metre hurdles race on a typical outdoor red rubber track."><img alt="A women's 400 metre hurdles race on a typical outdoor red rubber track." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Naisten_400_m_aidat.jpg" src="../../images/7/756.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p><b>Athletics</b>, also known as <b>track and field</b> or <b>track and field athletics</b>, is a collection of <a href="../../wp/s/Sport.htm" title="Sport">sports</a> events that involve <!--del_lnk--> running, <!--del_lnk--> throwing and <!--del_lnk--> jumping. The name is derived from the <!--del_lnk--> Greek word "athlon" meaning "contest".<p>Some languages (e.g. German and Russian) refer to these sports as "light athletics" to distinguish them from "heavy athletics," like weight lifting, wrestling, etc.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Athletics was the original event at <!--del_lnk--> the first Olympics back in <!--del_lnk--> 776 BCE where the only event held was the stadium-length foot race or "stade".<p>There were several other "Games" held throughout Europe in the classical era:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Panhellenic Games: <ul>
<li><i>The <!--del_lnk--> Pythian Games</i> (founded <!--del_lnk--> 527 BCE) held in <!--del_lnk--> Delphi every four years<li><i>The <!--del_lnk--> Nemean Games</i> (founded <!--del_lnk--> 516 BCE) held in <!--del_lnk--> Argolid every two years<li><i>The <!--del_lnk--> Isthmian Games</i> (founded <!--del_lnk--> 523 BCE) held on the <!--del_lnk--> Isthmus of Corinth every two years (one year being that which followed the Olympics)</ul>
<li><i>The <!--del_lnk--> Roman Games</i> – Arising from Etruscan rather than purely Greek roots, the Roman Games deemphasized footraces and throwing. Instead, the Greek sports of chariot racing and wrestling, as well as the Etruscan sport of gladiatorial combat, took centre stage.</ul>
<p>Other peoples enjoyed athletic contests, such as the <!--del_lnk--> Celts, <!--del_lnk--> Teutons and <!--del_lnk--> Goths who succeeded the Romans. However, these were often related to <!--del_lnk--> combat training, and were not very well organized. In the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_Ages.htm" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a> the sons of noblemen would be trained in running, leaping and wrestling, in addition to riding, jousting and arms-training. Contests between rivals and friends may have been common on both official and unofficial grounds. Many athletic sports have found favour in Europe throughout the ages. However, in Britain they fell out of favour between the 13th and 16th centuries due to government restrictions on sports aiming to reduce the practice of <!--del_lnk--> archery. After this ban was lifted in the 17th century sports began to flourish once more, but it was not until the 19th century that organization began to appear. This included the incorporation of regular sports and exercise into school regimes. The <!--del_lnk--> Royal Military College, Sandhurst has claimed to be the first to adopt this in 1812 and 1825 but without any supporting evidence. The earliest recorded meeting was organised at <!--del_lnk--> Shrewsbury, <!--del_lnk--> Shropshire in 1840 by the Royal <!--del_lnk--> Shrewsbury School Hunt. There are details of the meeting in a series of letters written 60 years later by CT Robinson who was a pupil there from 1838 to 1841.<p>Modern athletic events are usually organized around a 400 metre running track, on which most of the running events take place. Field events (vaulting, jumping, and throwing) often take place in the field in the centre of the running track.<p>Many athletic events have an ancient origin and were already conducted in competitive form by the ancient <a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greeks</a>. Athletics was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been part of the program ever since, providing the backbone of the Olympics. Women were not allowed to participate in track and field events in the Olympics until 1928. An international governing body, the <!--del_lnk--> IAAF was founded in 1912. The IAAF established separate outdoor World Championships in 1983. Other major events include the <!--del_lnk--> World Indoor Championships and the <!--del_lnk--> European Championships. The sport has a very high profile during major championships, especially the Olympics, but otherwise ranks well down the list of sports by public interest in almost all countries. The leading regular circuit of events takes place in Europe each summer, and includes the <!--del_lnk--> Golden League events.<p>The AAU (<!--del_lnk--> Amateur Athletic Union) was the governing body in the United States until it collapsed under pressure from advancing <!--del_lnk--> professionalism in the late 1970s. A new governing body called The Athletics Congress (TAC) was formed, it was later renamed <!--del_lnk--> USA Track and Field (USATF or USA T&F). An additional, less structured organization, the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) also exists in the USA to promote road racing. Both organizations allow athletes to receive money for racing putting an end to the "<!--del_lnk--> shamateurism" that existed before.<p><a id="Indoor_track_and_field" name="Indoor_track_and_field"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Indoor track and field</span></h2>
<p>There are two seasons for track and field. There is an indoor season, run during the winter and an outdoor season, run during the spring and summer. Most indoor tracks are 200 meters, however, less frequently, there are smaller and larger tracks that measure from between 145 (11 laps to a mile) to 300 meters. The indoor track consists of four to six lanes instead of the eight to ten on an outdoor track. Often an indoor track will have banked turns to compensate for the tight bends.<p>In an indoor track meet athletes contest the same events as an outdoor meet with the exception of the 100 m and 110 m/100 m hurdles (replaced by the 60 m sprint and 60 m hurdles at most levels and sometimes the 55m sprint and 55m hurdles at the high school level), and the 10,000 m run and 3,000m steeplechase. Indoor meets also have the addition of a 3,000 m run normally at both the collegiate and elite level instead of the 10,000 m. The 5,000 m is the longest event commonly run indoors, although there are situations where longer distances have been raced. In the mid 20th century, there was a series of races 'duel races' at Madison Square Garden's (NY) indoor track, some of which featured two men racing a marathon (26.2 miles). However, this is an extremely rare occurrence, for obvious reasons. In some occasions, there may also be a 500 m race instead the open 400 m normally found outdoors, and in many collegiate championship races indoors both are contested.<p>In the field events, indoor meets only feature the high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump and shot put. The longer throws of javelin, hammer and discus are added only for outdoor meets, as there is normally not enough space in an indoor stadium to house these events.<p>Other events unique to indoor meets (especially in the United States) are the 300m, 600m, 1000m and 35 lb. weight throw. In some countries, notably Norway, standing long jump and standing high jump are also contested.<p>For multi-event athletes there is the Pentathlon for women (consisting of 60m hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump and 800m) and heptathlon for men (consisting of 60m, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1000m).<p><a id="Outdoor_track_and_field" name="Outdoor_track_and_field"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Outdoor track and field</span></h2>
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<p>The outdoor track and field season begins in the spring and may last through the summer. Usually the tracks are an oval shape track of 400 meters. However, some old tracks are still measured in yards, so they measure 440 yards. The track consists of 6-10 lanes and, for the bigger tracks, a steeplechase lane with a water pit. This can be inside or outside the track, making for a tighter turn or a wider turn. Often schools will place a playingfield in the middle of the track, usually <a href="../../wp/a/American_football.htm" title="American football">football</a>/<a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Soccer">soccer</a>/<!--del_lnk--> lacrosse, due to their size and shape. This inner field is usually known as the infield. Recently, some of these fields have been made out of <!--del_lnk--> AstroTurf or <!--del_lnk--> FieldTurf instead of grass.<p>Field events consist of the high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump and shot put. They also consist of the javelin, hammer and discus throws; however, often these are outside of the stadium because they take up a large amount of space and may damage grass fields. However, many tracks without a playing field in the middle use the infield for the throwing events.<p><a id="Events" name="Events"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Events</span></h2>
<p>There are other variations besides the ones listed below but races of unusual length (e.g. 300 m) are run much less often. The unusual races are typically held during indoor season because of the shorter 200m indoor track. With the exception of the mile run, races based on imperial distances are rarely run on the track anymore since most tracks have been converted from a quarter mile (402.3 m) to 400 meters; almost all recordkeeping for imperial distances has been discontinued. However, the IAAF record book still includes the mile world record (currently held by <!--del_lnk--> Hicham El Guerrouj of <a href="../../wp/m/Morocco.htm" title="Morocco">Morocco</a> for men and <!--del_lnk--> Svetlana Masterkova of <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a> for women) because of its worldwide historic significance.<p>Men and women do not compete against each other. Women generally run the same distances as men although hurdles and steeplechase barriers are lower and the weights of the shot, discus, javelin and hammer are less.<ul>
<li>Track events - running events conducted on a 400 meter track. <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Sprints: events up to and including 400 m. Common events are 60 m (indoors only), <!--del_lnk--> 100 metres, <!--del_lnk--> 200 metres and <!--del_lnk--> 400 metres.<li><!--del_lnk--> Middle distance: events from <!--del_lnk--> 800m to <!--del_lnk--> 3000 m, especially <!--del_lnk--> 800 metres, <!--del_lnk--> 1500 metres, <!--del_lnk--> mile and <!--del_lnk--> 3000m. In the United States (especially high schools), distance events include 800 m, 1600 m (mile), and 3200 m (2 miles). (1 mile=1609.344 meters) <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> steeplechase - a race (usually <!--del_lnk--> 3000 m) in which runners must negotiate barriers and water jumps.</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Long distance: runs over 5000 m. Common events are <!--del_lnk--> 5000 m and <!--del_lnk--> 10000 m. Less common are 6, 12, 24 hour races.<li><!--del_lnk--> Hurdling: <!--del_lnk--> 110 m high hurdles (100 m for women) and 400 m intermediate hurdles (300 m in some high schools).<li><!--del_lnk--> Relays: <!--del_lnk--> 4 x 100 metres relay, <!--del_lnk--> 4 x 400 metres relay, 4 x 200 m, 4 x 800 m, etc. Some events, such as medley relays, are rarely run except at large relay carnivals. Most American high schools run the 4x100 and 4x400, with the 4x400 being the finishing event to the meet.</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Road running: conducted on open roads, but often finishing on the track. Common events are half-marathon and <!--del_lnk--> marathon. The marathon is the only distance run in major international athletics championships such as the Olympics.<li><!--del_lnk--> Race walking: usually conducted on open roads. Common events are 10 km, 20 km and 50 km.<li>Field events <ul>
<li>Throwing events <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Shot put<li><!--del_lnk--> Hammer throw<li><!--del_lnk--> Javelin throw<li><!--del_lnk--> Discus throw</ul>
<li>Jumping events <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> High jump<li><!--del_lnk--> Long jump<li><!--del_lnk--> Pole vault<li><!--del_lnk--> Triple jump<li><!--del_lnk--> Standing high jump<li><!--del_lnk--> Standing long jump<li><!--del_lnk--> Standing triple jump</ul>
</ul>
<li>Combined or Multi events <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Pentathlon<li><!--del_lnk--> Heptathlon<li><!--del_lnk--> Decathlon</ul>
</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_%28track_and_field%29"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Atlanta, Georgia</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.North_American_Geography.htm">North American Geography</a></h3>
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<table class="infobox geography" style="width: 23em;">
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<td align="center" colspan="2" style="width:100%; font-size: 1.25em;"><b>Atlanta, Georgia</b></td>
</tr>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; padding: 0.7em 0.8em 0.7em 0.8em;;">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/7/758.jpg.htm" title="The Atlanta skyline at night"><img alt="The Atlanta skyline at night" height="175" longdesc="/wiki/Image:06ATL.JPG" src="../../images/7/758.jpg" width="250" /></a></span></div><small>The Atlanta skyline at night</small></td>
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<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<td align="center" class="maptable" colspan="2" style="padding: 0.4em 0.8em 0.4em 0.8em;">
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<center><span style="display: inline;"><span style="display: table-cell; border-collapse: collapse; border: solid 1px #ddd;"><a class="image" href="../../images/7/759.png.htm" title="Official flag of Atlanta, Georgia"><img alt="Official flag of Atlanta, Georgia" height="75" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Atlanta%2C_Georgia.png" src="../../images/7/759.png" width="125" /></a></span></span></center>
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<td style="vertical-align: middle;"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Official seal of Atlanta, Georgia" height="82" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Atlanta_city_seal.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="100" /></td>
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<td><small><b><!--del_lnk--> Flag</b></small></td>
<td><small><b><!--del_lnk--> Seal</b></small></td>
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<td align="center" colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Nickname: "<i>Hotlanta, The Big Peach, The ATL, A-Town</i>"</td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; padding: 0.7em 0.8em 0.7em 0.8em;">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/7/761.png.htm" title="Location in Fulton County in the state of Georgia"><img alt="Location in Fulton County in the state of Georgia" height="197" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Atlanta_FultonDeKalb.png" src="../../images/7/761.png" width="250" /></a></span></div><small>Location in <!--del_lnk--> Fulton County in the state of <!--del_lnk--> Georgia</small></td>
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<th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: smaller; padding-bottom: 0.7em;">Coordinates: <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> <span style="white-space:nowrap">33°45′18″N,</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap">84°23′24″W</span></span></th>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> Country</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a></td>
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<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> State</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Georgia</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> Counties</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Fulton, <!--del_lnk--> Dekalb</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> Mayor</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Shirley Franklin (<!--del_lnk--> D)</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> Area</th>
<th> </th>
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<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - City</th>
<td>343.0 <!--del_lnk--> km² (132.4 <!--del_lnk--> sq mi)</td>
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<th> - Land</th>
<td>341.2 km² (131.8 sq mi)</td>
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<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - Water</th>
<td>1.8 km² (0.7 sq mi)</td>
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<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Elevation</th>
<td>225-320 <!--del_lnk--> m</td>
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<th>Population</th>
<th> </th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - City (2005)</th>
<td>470,688</td>
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<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - <!--del_lnk--> Density</th>
<td>1,221/km²</td>
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<th> - <!--del_lnk--> Urban</th>
<td>4,708,297</td>
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<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - <!--del_lnk--> Metro</th>
<td>4,949,121</td>
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<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> EST (<!--del_lnk--> UTC-5)</td>
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<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><span style="white-space: nowrap;"> - Summer (<!--del_lnk--> DST)</span></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> EDT (<!--del_lnk--> UTC-4)</td>
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<td align="center" colspan="2"><b>Website:</b> <!--del_lnk--> http://www.atlantaga.gov/</td>
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</table>
<p><b>Atlanta</b> (<!--del_lnk--> IPA: <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/ˌætˈlɛ̃n.nə/</span> or <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/ˌɛtˈlɛ̃n.nə/</span>) is the <a href="../../wp/c/Capital.htm" title="Capital">capital</a> and the most populous city of the <!--del_lnk--> State of Georgia, and the central city of the ninth most populous metropolitan area in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>. It is the <!--del_lnk--> county seat of <!--del_lnk--> Fulton County, although a portion of the city extends into <!--del_lnk--> DeKalb County. According to the July 2005 <!--del_lnk--> census estimate, the city has a <!--del_lnk--> population of 470,688 and a <!--del_lnk--> metropolitan population of 4,917,717. As of <!--del_lnk--> July 1, <!--del_lnk--> 2005, Atlanta's <!--del_lnk--> combined statistical area (CSA) is estimated to have a population of 5,249,121.<p>A major city in its own right, Atlanta is considered a poster child for cities world wide experiencing rapid <!--del_lnk--> urban sprawl, economic development and growth. In the last decade, the Atlanta metropolitan area added over 1,150,000 residents – the fourth-largest gain in absolute numbers of any metropolitan area in the United States. Atlanta is recognized as one of the driving forces of the "New South," and has in recent years, along with <a href="../../wp/h/Houston%252C_Texas.htm" title="Houston, Texas">Houston</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Miami%252C_Florida.htm" title="Miami, Florida">Miami</a> and <a href="../../wp/d/Dallas%252C_Texas.htm" title="Dallas, Texas">Dallas</a>, undergone a transition from a city of regional commerce to a city of international influence.<p>During the <!--del_lnk--> Civil Rights Movement, Atlanta stood apart from Southern cities that supported segregation, and became known as the "City Too Busy to Hate." The city's progressive civil rights record made it increasingly popular as a relocation destination for <!--del_lnk--> African Americans, and the city's population became majority-black by <!--del_lnk--> 1972. African Americans soon became the dominant political force in the city; since <!--del_lnk--> 1974, all of the <!--del_lnk--> mayors of Atlanta have been African-American, as well as the majority of the city's fire chiefs, police chiefs, and other high-profile government officials. <!--del_lnk--> White flight occurred in the city in the 1970s and 1980s; the city's population dropped by more than 100,000 from 1970 to 1990. That trend has reversed itself, however, and with accelerating <!--del_lnk--> gentrification, the black majority has dropped from 69 percent in 1980 to 54 percent in 2005.<p>Common <!--del_lnk--> nicknames for the city include <i>A Town</i>, <i>The A-T-L</i> (derived from its <!--del_lnk--> IATA airport code), <i>the Big Peach</i>, and <i>Hotlanta</i>.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>The region where Atlanta and its suburbs were built was originally <!--del_lnk--> Creek and <!--del_lnk--> Cherokee <!--del_lnk--> Native American territory. The Creek land in the eastern part of the metro area (including Decatur) was opened to white settlement in 1823. In 1835, leaders of the Cherokee nation ceded their land to the government in exchange for land out west under the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of New Echota, an act that eventually led to the <!--del_lnk--> Trail of Tears.<p>In 1836 the <!--del_lnk--> Georgia General Assembly voted to build the <!--del_lnk--> Western and Atlantic Railroad to provide a trade route to the <!--del_lnk--> Midwest, with the area around Atlanta--then called <!--del_lnk--> Terminus--serving as the terminal. The terminus was originally planned for <!--del_lnk--> Decatur, but its citizens did not want it. Besides Decatur, several other suburbs of Atlanta predate the city by several years, including <!--del_lnk--> Marietta and <!--del_lnk--> Lawrenceville.<p>Terminus grew as a railroad town; later it was renamed <!--del_lnk--> Marthasville after then-Governor <!--del_lnk--> Wilson Lumpkin's daughter Martha. Marthasville was renamed Atlanta in 1845 (a feminized version of Atlantic suggested by <!--del_lnk--> J. Edgar Thomson) and was incorporated as such in 1847.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/762.jpg.htm" title="A slave auction house on Whitehall St."><img alt="A slave auction house on Whitehall St." height="174" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Atlanta1864.jpg" src="../../images/7/762.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/762.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A slave auction house on Whitehall St.</div>
</div>
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<p>In 1864, the city became the target of a <!--del_lnk--> major Union invasion (the subject of the 1939 film <i><a href="../../wp/g/Gone_with_the_Wind_%2528film%2529.htm" title="Gone with the Wind (film)">Gone with the Wind</a></i>). The area now covered by Atlanta was the scene of several battles, including the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Peachtree Creek, the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Atlanta, and the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Ezra Church. On <!--del_lnk--> September 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1864, <!--del_lnk--> Confederate General <!--del_lnk--> John Bell Hood evacuated Atlanta after a four-month siege mounted by Union General <a href="../../wp/w/William_Tecumseh_Sherman.htm" title="William Tecumseh Sherman">William T. Sherman</a> and ordered all public buildings and possible union assets destroyed. The next day, mayor <!--del_lnk--> James Calhoun surrendered the city, and on <!--del_lnk--> September 7 Sherman ordered the civilian population to evacuate. His forces occupied the city for several months, and he then ordered Atlanta burned to the ground on <!--del_lnk--> November 11 in preparation for his punitive march south. After a plea by Father Thomas O'Reilly of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Sherman did not burn the city's churches or hospitals. The remaining war resources were then destroyed in the aftermath and in <!--del_lnk--> Sherman's March to the Sea. The fall of Atlanta was a critical point in the Civil War, giving the North more confidence, and (along with the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Mobile Bay) leading to the re-election of <a href="../../wp/a/Abraham_Lincoln.htm" title="Abraham Lincoln">Abraham Lincoln</a> and the eventual surrender of the Confederacy.<p>The city emerged from the ashes – hence the city's symbol, the <!--del_lnk--> phoenix – and was gradually rebuilt. It soon became the industrial and commercial centre of the South. From 1867 until 1888, U.S. Army soldiers occupied McPherson Barracks (later renamed <!--del_lnk--> Fort McPherson) in southwest Atlanta to ensure <!--del_lnk--> Reconstruction era reforms. To help the newly freed slaves, the federal government set up a <!--del_lnk--> Freedmen's Bureau, which helped establish what is now <!--del_lnk--> Clark Atlanta University, one of several historically black colleges in Atlanta.<p>In 1868, Atlanta became the fifth city to serve as the state capital. <!--del_lnk--> Henry W. Grady, the editor of the <i><!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Constitution</i>, promoted the city to investors as a city of the "New South", by which he meant a diversification of the economy away from agriculture and a shift from the "<!--del_lnk--> Old South" attitudes of slavery and rebellion. As part of the effort to modernize the South, Grady and many others also supported the creation of the <!--del_lnk--> Georgia School of Technology (now the Georgia Institute of Technology), which was founded on the city's northern outskirts in 1885.<p>In 1880, Sister Cecilia Carroll, RSM, and three companions traveled from Savannah, Georgia to Atlanta to minister to the sick. With just 50 cents in their collective purse, the sisters opened the Atlanta Hospital, the first medical facility in the city after the Civil War. This later became known as Saint Joseph's Hospital.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/763.jpg.htm" title="In 1907, Peachtree Street, the main street of Atlanta, was busy with streetcars and automobiles."><img alt="In 1907, Peachtree Street, the main street of Atlanta, was busy with streetcars and automobiles." height="190" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Peachtree1907.jpg" src="../../images/7/763.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/763.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> In 1907, Peachtree Street, the main street of Atlanta, was busy with streetcars and automobiles.</div>
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<p>As Atlanta grew, ethnic and racial tensions mounted. The <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Race Riot of 1906 left at least 27 dead and over seventy injured. In 1913, <!--del_lnk--> Leo Frank, a Jewish supervisor at an Atlanta factory, was put on trial for raping and murdering a thirteen-year old white employee. After doubts about Frank's guilt led his death sentence to be commuted in 1915, riots broke out in Atlanta and Frank was <!--del_lnk--> lynched.<p>In the <!--del_lnk--> 1930s, the <!--del_lnk--> Great Depression hit Atlanta. With the city government nearing bankruptcy, the <!--del_lnk--> Coca-Cola Company had to help bail out the city's deficit. The federal government stepped in to help Atlantans by establishing <!--del_lnk--> Techwood Homes, the nation's first federal <!--del_lnk--> housing project in 1935. With the entry of the United States into <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, soldiers from around the <!--del_lnk--> Southeastern United States went through Atlanta to train and later be discharged at Fort McPherson. War-related manufacturing such as the <!--del_lnk--> Bell Aircraft factory in the suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Marietta helped boost the city's population and economy. Shortly after the war in 1946, the Communicable Disease Centre, later called the <!--del_lnk--> Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was founded in Atlanta from the old Malaria Control in War Areas offices and staff.<p>In 1951, the city received the <!--del_lnk--> All-America City Award, due to its rapid growth and high standard of living in the southern U.S.<p>In the wake of the landmark <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Supreme Court decision <i><!--del_lnk--> Brown v. Board of Education</i>, which helped usher in the <!--del_lnk--> Civil Rights Movement, racial tensions in Atlanta began to express themselves in acts of violence. For example, on <!--del_lnk--> October 12, <!--del_lnk--> 1958, <!--del_lnk--> a Reform Jewish temple on Peachtree Street was bombed. The "Confederate Underground" claimed responsibility. Many believed that Jews, especially those from the northeast, were advocates of the Civil Rights Movement.<p>In the 1960s, Atlanta was a major organizing centre of the <!--del_lnk--> US Civil Rights Movement, with <!--del_lnk--> Dr. Martin Luther King and students from Atlanta's historically black colleges and universities playing major roles in the movement's leadership. On <!--del_lnk--> October 19, <!--del_lnk--> 1960, a sit-in at the lunch counters of several Atlanta department stores led to the arrest of Dr. King and several students, drawing attention from the national media and from presidential candidate <a href="../../wp/j/John_F._Kennedy.htm" title="John F. Kennedy">John F. Kennedy</a>. Despite this incident, Atlanta's political and business leaders fostered Atlanta's image as "the city too busy to hate". In 1961, Mayor <!--del_lnk--> Ivan Allen Jr. became one of the few Southern white mayors to support desegregation of Atlanta's public schools. While the city mostly avoided confrontation, small race riots did occur in 1965 and in 1968.<p>In 1990, the <!--del_lnk--> International Olympic Committee selected Atlanta as the site for the Centennial Olympic Games <!--del_lnk--> 1996 Summer Olympics. Following the announcement, Atlanta undertook several major construction projects to improve the city's parks, sports facilities, and transportation. Former Mayor <!--del_lnk--> Bill Campbell allowed many "tent cities" to be built, creating a carnival atmosphere around the games. Atlanta became the third <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">American</a> city to host the Olympics, after <!--del_lnk--> St. Louis and <!--del_lnk--> Los Angeles, which hosted the <!--del_lnk--> 1904 games, <!--del_lnk--> 1932 games and the <!--del_lnk--> 1984 games. The games themselves were notable in the realm of sporting events, but they were marred by numerous organizational inefficiencies as well as the <!--del_lnk--> Centennial Olympic Park bombing, which resulted in the death of one person and injured several others. Much later it was determined that the bombing was carried out by North Carolinian <!--del_lnk--> Eric Robert Rudolph as an anti-government and pro-life protest.<p><a id="Geography_and_climate" name="Geography_and_climate"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography and climate</span></h2>
<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h3>
<p>According to the <!--del_lnk--> United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 343.0 km² (132.4 mi²). 341.2 km² (131.8 mi²) of it is land and 1.8 km² (0.7 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.51% water.<p>At about 1050 feet or 320 meters above mean sea level (the airport is 1010 feet), Atlanta sits atop a ridge south of the <!--del_lnk--> Chattahoochee River. Amongst the 25 largest <!--del_lnk--> MSAs, Atlanta is the fourth-highest in elevation, slightly lower than <!--del_lnk--> Pittsburgh (the city itself is higher than downtown Pittsburgh, however) and <!--del_lnk--> Phoenix, but significantly lower than <a href="../../wp/d/Denver%252C_Colorado.htm" title="Denver, Colorado">Denver</a> (1 mile or 1,600 m).<p>According to folklore, its central avenue, <!--del_lnk--> Peachtree Street, runs through the centre of the city on the <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Continental Divide. In actuality, the divide line enters Atlanta from the southwest, proceeding to downtown. From downtown, the divide line runs eastward along DeKalb Avenue and the <!--del_lnk--> CSX rail lines through Decatur. Rainwater that falls on the south and east side runs eventually into the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a> while rainwater on the north and west side of the divide runs into the <a href="../../wp/g/Gulf_of_Mexico.htm" title="Gulf of Mexico">Gulf of Mexico</a>.<p>The latter is via the <!--del_lnk--> Chattahoochee River, part of the <!--del_lnk--> ACF River Basin, and from which Atlanta and many of its neighbors draw most of their water. Being at the far northwestern edge of the city, much of the river's natural habitat is still preserved, in part by the <!--del_lnk--> Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. Downstream however, excessive water use during droughts and pollution during floods has been a source of contention and legal battles with neighboring states <!--del_lnk--> Alabama and <a href="../../wp/f/Florida.htm" title="Florida">Florida</a>.<p><a id="Cityscape" name="Cityscape"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Cityscape</span></h3>
<div class="thumb" style="margin: 5px; clear: both;">
<div style="overflow: auto; overflow-x: scroll; width: 100%;"><a class="image" href="../../images/7/764.jpg.htm" title="Panoramic view of the central Atlanta skyline, spanning Midtown (left) and Downtown (right)"><img alt="Panoramic view of the central Atlanta skyline, spanning Midtown (left) and Downtown (right)" height="202" longdesc="/wiki/Image:PanATL1.jpg" src="../../images/7/764.jpg" width="2000" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="thumbcaption" style="margin: 5px; font-size:90%">Panoramic view of the central Atlanta <!--del_lnk--> skyline, spanning <!--del_lnk--> Midtown (left) and <!--del_lnk--> Downtown (right)</div>
<p>Atlanta has a prominent skyline, punctuated with highrises and comprising buildings of modern and postmodern vintage. Its tallest landmark – the <!--del_lnk--> Bank of America Plaza – is the 20th-tallest building in the world at 1,023 feet, and the newest skyscraper in America to have been one of the ten tallest buildings on Earth.<p>The city centre actually contains two distinct skylines. The central business district, clustered around the <!--del_lnk--> Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel – the tallest building in Atlanta at the time of its completion in 1976 – also includes the newer <!--del_lnk--> 191 Peachtree Tower, <!--del_lnk--> SunTrust Plaza, <!--del_lnk--> Georgia-Pacific Tower, and the low-slung buildings of <!--del_lnk--> Peachtree Centre. <!--del_lnk--> Midtown Atlanta, farther north, developed rapidly after the completion of <!--del_lnk--> One Atlantic Centre in 1987 established the neighborhood as a centre of commercial development. The skylines meet at the Bank of America Plaza, which sits at the border of downtown and midtown on North Avenue.<p>The influx of business to Midtown has continued – the district's newest tower, <!--del_lnk--> 1180 Peachtree, opened in 2006 at a height of 645 feet, and won a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Award that year from the U.S. Green Building Council. Atlanta has been in the midst of a highrise construction and retail boom, with over 60 new highrise buildings either proposed or under construction as of April 19, 2006. October 2005 marked the opening of <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic Station, a former <!--del_lnk--> brownfield steel plant site redeveloped into a mixed-use urban district. In early 2006, Mayor Franklin set in motion a plan to make the 14-block stretch of <!--del_lnk--> Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta (nicknamed "Midtown Mile") a street-level shopping destination envisioned to rival Beverly Hills' <!--del_lnk--> Rodeo Drive or Chicago's <!--del_lnk--> Magnificent Mile. <p>In spite of civic efforts such as the opening of <!--del_lnk--> Centennial Olympic Park in downtown in 1996, Atlanta ranks near last in acreage of park land <i>per capita</i> among cities of similar population density, with 8.9 acres per thousand residents in 2005. The city has a reputation, however, as a "city of trees" or a "city in a forest"; beyond the central Atlanta and Buckhead business districts, the skyline gives way to a sometimes dense canopy of woods that spreads into the suburbs.<p>The city's northern section, <!--del_lnk--> Buckhead, is consistently ranked by the <i><!--del_lnk--> Robb Report</i> as one of the most affluent communities in the United States, comparable to Los Angeles' <!--del_lnk--> Bel-Air and <!--del_lnk--> Manhattan's <!--del_lnk--> Upper East Side. Since the opening of the intown segment of the <!--del_lnk--> Georgia 400 <!--del_lnk--> tollway linked the district to the city superhighway system in the early 1990s, Buckhead has developed a dense commercial district, clustered around the high-end retail centers at <!--del_lnk--> Lenox Square and <!--del_lnk--> Phipps Plaza and including a growing number of office buildings and residential highrises. Viewed from certain angles, the Buckhead skyline can blend into those of downtown and midtown to the south.<p>The edge cities clustered around <!--del_lnk--> Perimeter Mall and <!--del_lnk--> Cumberland Mall have distinct skylines of their own. The <!--del_lnk--> Concourse at Landmark Centre, located near Perimeter Mall in Sandy Springs, includes a pair of buildings that each measure 570 feet in total height.<p>The sprawling layout of the Atlanta region has resulted in serious traffic and air quality problems. The metro area has one of America's longest average daily commutes, and is one of the most car-dependent cities on the planet due both to suburban sprawl and underfunded mass transit systems. It also has a reputation as being one of the most dangerous for pedestrians, as far back as 1949 when <i><!--del_lnk--> Gone with the Wind</i> author <!--del_lnk--> Margaret Mitchell was struck by a speeding car and killed as she was crossing the street to the premiere of her movie at Lowe's Theatre.<p><a id="Climate" name="Climate"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Climate</span></h3>
<p>Atlanta has a <!--del_lnk--> humid subtropical climate, (Cfa) according to the <!--del_lnk--> Köppen classification, with hot, humid summers and mild winters by the standards of the United States.<p>The summers are hot and humid, with afternoon highs peaking at about 90°F (32°C) in late July. Temperatures can also exceed 100°F (38°C) in a major heat wave. The highest temperature recorded in the city is 105°F (40.6°C), reached on <!--del_lnk--> July 13 and <!--del_lnk--> July 17, <!--del_lnk--> 1980.<p>January is the coldest month, with an average high of 52°F (11°C), and low of 33°F (1°C). Warm fronts can bring springlike temperatures in the 60s in winter, and arctic air masses can drop temperatures into the low teens as well. An average year sees frost on 48 days; snowfall averages 2 <!--del_lnk--> inches (5 <!--del_lnk--> centimeters) annually. The heaviest single storm brought 10 inches on <!--del_lnk--> January 23, <!--del_lnk--> 1940. The lowest temperature recorded in the city is -9°F (-22°C), reached on <!--del_lnk--> 13 February <!--del_lnk--> 1899. A close second was -8°F on <!--del_lnk--> 21 January <!--del_lnk--> 1985. The frequent <!--del_lnk--> ice storms can cause more problems than snow; the most severe such storm may have occurred on <!--del_lnk--> January 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1973.<p>Like the rest of the Southeastern U.S., Atlanta receives abundant rainfall, which is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year. Average annual rainfall is 50.5 inches (127 centimeters).<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th height="17" style="background: #99CCCC; color: #000080">Month</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Jan</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Feb</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Mar</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Apr</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">May</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Jun</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Jul</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Aug</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Sep</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Oct</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Nov</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Dec</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Year</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Average high °F (°C)</th>
<td style="background: #FFFF99; color: black;">52 (11)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFF99; color: black;">57 (14)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC66; color: black;">65 (18)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC00; color: black;">73 (23)</td>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color: black;">80 (27)</td>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color: black;">87 (31)</td>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color: black;">89 (32)</td>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color: black;">88 (31)</td>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color: black;">82 (28)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC00; color: black;">73 (23)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC66; color: black;">63 (17)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFF99; color: black;">55 (13)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC00; color: black;">72 (22)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th height="16;" style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Average low °F (°C)</th>
<td style="background: #F8F0F0; color: black;">33 (1)</td>
<td style="background: #F8F0F0; color: black;">37 (3)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFFCC; color: black;">45 (7)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFF99; color: black;">50 (10)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFF99; color: black;">59 (15)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC66; color: black;">66 (19)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC00; color: black;">72 (22)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC66; color: black;">70 (21)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC66; color: black;">64 (18)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFF99; color: black;">54 (12)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFFCC; color: black;">45 (7)</td>
<td style="background: #F8F0F0; color: black;">34 (1)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFF99; color: black;">51 (11)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Average rainfall: inches (millimeters)</th>
<td style="background: #2288BB;">5.03 (127.8)</td>
<td style="background: #44AADD;">4.68 (118.9)</td>
<td style="background: #2288BB;">5.38 (136.7)</td>
<td style="background: #66CCFF;">3.62 (91.9)</td>
<td style="background: #66CCFF;">3.95 (100.3)</td>
<td style="background: #66CCFF;">3.63 (92.2)</td>
<td style="background: #2288BB;">5.12 (130.0)</td>
<td style="background: #66CCFF;">3.63 (92.2)</td>
<td style="background: #44AADD;">4.09 (103.9)</td>
<td style="background: #66CCFF;">3.11 (79.0)</td>
<td style="background: #44AADD;">4.10 (104.1)</td>
<td style="background: #66CCFF;">3.82 (97.0)</td>
<td style="background: #44AADD;">50.16 (1274)</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
<table class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left:3px;text-size:80%; text-align:right">
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="3"><b>Atlanta population</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Year</th>
<th>City<br /> proper</th>
<th>Metro<br /> area</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1850</td>
<td>2,572</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1860</td>
<td>9,554</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1870</td>
<td>21,789</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1880</td>
<td>37,409</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1890</td>
<td>65,533</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1900</td>
<td>89,872</td>
<td>419,375</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1910</td>
<td>154,839</td>
<td>522,442</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1920</td>
<td>200,616</td>
<td>622,283</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1930</td>
<td>270,366</td>
<td>715,391</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1940</td>
<td>302,288</td>
<td>820,579</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1950</td>
<td>331,314</td>
<td>997,666</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1960</td>
<td>487,455</td>
<td>1,312,474</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1970</td>
<td>496,973</td>
<td>1,763,626</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1980</td>
<td>425,022</td>
<td>2,233,324</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1990</td>
<td>394,017</td>
<td>2,959,950</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 2000</td>
<td>416,474</td>
<td>4,112,198</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 2005</td>
<td>470,688</td>
<td>4,926,611</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> census of 2000 states there are 416,474 people (470,688 in the July 2005 estimate), 168,147 households, and 83,232 families residing in the city. The <!--del_lnk--> population density is 1,221/km² (3,161/mi²). There are 186,925 housing units at an average density of 548/km² (1,419/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 61.39% <!--del_lnk--> Black, 33.22% <!--del_lnk--> White,1.93% <!--del_lnk--> Asian, 0.18% <!--del_lnk--> Native American, 0.04% <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Islander, 1.99% from <!--del_lnk--> other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. 4.49% of the population are <!--del_lnk--> Hispanic or <!--del_lnk--> Latino of any race. The city has one of the largest gay populations in the nation; according to Census 2000 both DeKalb and Fulton counties are among the ten most heavily gay counties in America.<p>There are 168,147 households out of which 22.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 24.5% are <!--del_lnk--> married couples living together, 20.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 50.5% are non-families. 38.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.30 and the average family size is 3.16.<p>In the city the population is spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 13.3% from 18 to 24, 35.2% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there are 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 97.6 males.<p>The median income for a household in the city is $51,482 and the median income for a family is $55,939. Males have a median income of $36,162 compared to $30,178 for females. The <!--del_lnk--> per capita income for the city is $29,772, and 24.4% of the population and 21.3% of families are below the <!--del_lnk--> poverty line. 38.8% of those under the age of 18 and 20.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.<p>In July 2006, several neighborhoods in South Fulton county voted to join the city of Atlanta, which would become effective October 30, 2006. If these applications for annexation are accepted, this could add another 17,000 or so residents to the city and increase the land area as well.<p>According to a 2000 daytime population estimate by the Census Bureau, over 250,000 more people commute to Atlanta on any given workday, boosting the city's estimated daytime population at the time to 676,431. This is an increase of 62.4 percent over Atlanta's resident population – the second-largest daytime population swing in America among cities with more than 250,000 residents.<p><a id="Law_and_government" name="Law_and_government"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Law and government</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/765.jpg.htm" title="Atlanta City Hall"><img alt="Atlanta City Hall" height="222" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Atlanta_City_Hall_from_HABS.jpg" src="../../images/7/765.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/765.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Atlanta City Hall</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:122px;"><!--del_lnk--> Image:Shirleyfranklin.jpg<div class="thumbcaption">Mayor of Atlanta: <!--del_lnk--> Shirley Franklin</div>
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</div>
<p>Atlanta is governed by a <!--del_lnk--> mayor and a city council. The city council consists of 15 representatives—one from each of the city's twelve districts and three at-large positions. The mayor may veto a bill passed by the council, but the council can override the veto with a two-thirds majority. The current mayor of Atlanta is <!--del_lnk--> Shirley Franklin.<p>Possibly owing to the city's <!--del_lnk--> African American majority, each mayor elected since 1973 has been black. The uninterrupted string of black mayors in excess of thirty years is a first for any metropolitan area in the country. <!--del_lnk--> Maynard Jackson served two terms and was succeeded by <!--del_lnk--> Andrew Young in 1982. Jackson returned for a third term in 1990 and was succeeded by <!--del_lnk--> Bill Campbell. In 2001, Shirley Franklin became the first woman to be elected Mayor of Atlanta. She was re-elected for a second term in 2005, winning 90 percent of the vote. Atlanta city politics during the Campbell administration suffered from a notorious reputation for corruption, and in 2006 a federal jury convicted former mayor <!--del_lnk--> Bill Campbell on three counts of tax evasion in connection with gambling income he received while Mayor during trips he took with city contractors.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/766.jpg.htm" title="The Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta"><img alt="The Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta" height="119" longdesc="/wiki/Image:GeorgiaCapitolBuilding.jpg" src="../../images/7/766.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/766.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta</div>
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</div>
<p>As the <!--del_lnk--> state capital, Atlanta is also the site of most of Georgia's state government, including the <!--del_lnk--> Georgia State Capitol (topped with gold from <!--del_lnk--> Dahlonega, Georgia)and constructed in 1886 houses the <!--del_lnk--> General Assembly. Atlanta is the residence of the <!--del_lnk--> Governor of Georgia in <!--del_lnk--> Buckhead. The "Governor's Mansion" is located on West Paces Ferry Road, in the heart of the up-scale residential community of Buckhead. Atlanta is also home to <!--del_lnk--> Georgia Public Broadcasting headquarters and <!--del_lnk--> Peachnet, and is the county seat of Fulton County, with which it shares responsibility for the <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System.<p><a id="Crime" name="Crime"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Crime</span></h3>
<p>For several decades, Atlanta had been among the most violent cities in North America but in recent years the city has reduced violent crime considerably. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual Uniform Crime Report, Atlanta recorded 90 homicides in 2005, down from 111 in 2004. Violent crime in 2005 was the lowest since 1969.<p>However, in 2005 Atlanta received media attention for the high-profile <!--del_lnk--> Brian Nichols manhunt, who became internationally known as the "Courthouse Killer". In addition, broadcast media focused attention on a standoff involving a murder suspect (not an Atlanta resident) who perched himself on top of a construction crane for several days in the upscale <!--del_lnk--> Buckhead district.<p><a id="Surrounding_cities" name="Surrounding_cities"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Surrounding cities</span></h3>
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<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/767.jpg.htm" title="The town square in downtown Marietta, a Cobb County suburb of Atlanta"><img alt="The town square in downtown Marietta, a Cobb County suburb of Atlanta" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:MariettaGeorgia.jpg" src="../../images/7/767.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/767.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The town square in downtown <!--del_lnk--> Marietta, a <!--del_lnk--> Cobb County suburb of Atlanta</div>
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</div>
<p>The population of the Atlanta region spreads across a metropolitan area of 8,376 <!--del_lnk--> square miles – a land area larger than that of six states. Because Georgia contains more counties than any other state east of the <a href="../../wp/m/Mississippi_River.htm" title="Mississippi River">Mississippi River</a> (an accident of history explained by the now-defunct <!--del_lnk--> county unit system of weighing votes in <!--del_lnk--> primary elections), area residents live under a heavily decentralized collection of governments. As of the 2000 census, only one in ten area residents lived inside Atlanta itself.<p>A 2006 survey by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce counted 140 cities and towns in the 28-county metropolitan statistical area in mid-2005. Three cities – one of them Atlanta's most populous suburb, Sandy Springs – have incorporated or won legislative approval for incorporation since then.<p>Atlanta's environs include the following suburbs, listed in order of population:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Sandy Springs: Pop. 85,781<li><!--del_lnk--> Roswell: Pop. 79,338<li><!--del_lnk--> Marietta: Pop. 58,748<li><!--del_lnk--> Smyrna: Pop. 40,999<li><!--del_lnk--> East Point: Pop. 39,595<li><!--del_lnk--> Alpharetta: Pop. 35,139<li><!--del_lnk--> Kennesaw: Pop. 30,522<li><!--del_lnk--> Forest Park: Pop. 21,447<li><!--del_lnk--> College Park: Pop. 20,382<li><!--del_lnk--> Decatur: Pop. 18,147</ul>
<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<p>Despite romantic associations in the public mind from <i><!--del_lnk--> Gone With the Wind</i> and other pop cultural touchstones, Atlanta has always been more a commercial city than a reflection of the region's <!--del_lnk--> antebellum past. It is the major centre of commerce in <!--del_lnk--> the South, and boasts an especially strong convention and trade-show business.<p>One of seven American cities classified as <!--del_lnk--> Gamma world cities, Atlanta ranks third in the number of <!--del_lnk--> Fortune 500 companies headquartered in its metropolitan area, behind New York City and Houston. Several major national and international companies are headquartered in Atlanta or its nearby suburbs, including four Fortune 100 companies: <!--del_lnk--> The Coca-Cola Company, <!--del_lnk--> Home Depot, <!--del_lnk--> BellSouth, and <!--del_lnk--> United Parcel Service in adjacent <!--del_lnk--> Sandy Springs. The headquarters of <!--del_lnk--> Cingular Wireless, the largest <!--del_lnk--> mobile phone service provider in the United States, can be found a short distance inside the Perimeter beside <!--del_lnk--> Georgia State Route 400. <!--del_lnk--> Newell Rubbermaid is one of the most recent companies to relocate to the metro area; in October 2006, it announced plans to move its headquarters to Sandy Springs. Over 75 percent of the <!--del_lnk--> Fortune 1000 companies have a presence in the Atlanta area, and the region hosts offices of about 1,250 multinational corporations.<p><!--del_lnk--> Delta Air Lines claims Atlanta as home, and employs thousands through its hub operations at <!--del_lnk--> Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The Delta hub, together with the hub of competing carrier <!--del_lnk--> AirTran Airways, has helped to make Hartsfield-Jackson the world's busiest airport, both in terms of passenger traffic and landings and takeoffs. The airport, since its construction in the 1950s, has served as a key engine of Atlanta's economic growth.<p>Much of the wealth created by local companies' growth has found itself reinvested in the region through <!--del_lnk--> philanthropy. Home Depot co-founder <!--del_lnk--> Bernie Marcus contributed more than $200 million dollars to build the new <!--del_lnk--> Georgia Aquarium near <!--del_lnk--> Centennial Olympic Park. Fellow Home Depot co-founder <!--del_lnk--> Arthur Blank purchased the <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Falcons in 2002, and has pledged $35 million for construction of the new <!--del_lnk--> Santiago Calatrava-designed <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Symphony Centre in Midtown. The late Coca-Cola executive <!--del_lnk--> Robert W. Woodruff established an Atlanta-based charitable foundation currently worth nearly $2 billion, and made a grant to <!--del_lnk--> Emory University in 1979 that at the time was the largest single contribution to a university endowment in American history. <!--del_lnk--> Roberto Goizueta also made substantial contributions to Emory University before his death; the business school there now bears his name.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/769.jpg.htm" title="Federal Reserve Bank in Midtown Atlanta."><img alt="Federal Reserve Bank in Midtown Atlanta." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Oct_5_005.jpg" src="../../images/7/769.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/769.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Federal Reserve Bank in <!--del_lnk--> Midtown Atlanta.</div>
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<p>While liberal banking laws in <!--del_lnk--> North Carolina permitted <!--del_lnk--> Charlotte to grow into the South's largest financial centre, Atlanta still has a sizable financial sector. <!--del_lnk--> SunTrust Banks, the ninth-largest bank by asset holdings in the United States, has its home office on Peachtree Street in downtown. The <!--del_lnk--> Federal Reserve System has a district headquarters in Atlanta; the <!--del_lnk--> Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, which oversees much of the <!--del_lnk--> deep South, relocated from downtown to midtown in 2001. <!--del_lnk--> Wachovia announced plans in August 2006 to place its new <!--del_lnk--> credit-card division in Atlanta, and city, state and civic leaders harbour long-term hopes of having the city serve as the home of the secretariat of a future <!--del_lnk--> Free Trade Area of the Americas.<p>The auto manufacturing sector in metropolitan Atlanta has suffered setbacks recently, including the planned closure of the <!--del_lnk--> General Motors <!--del_lnk--> Doraville Assembly plant in 2008, and the shutdown of <!--del_lnk--> Ford Motor Company's <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Assembly plant in <!--del_lnk--> Hapeville in 2006. Together the closures mean the loss of 6,000 to 8,000 jobs in the Atlanta region. <!--del_lnk--> Kia, however, has broken ground on a new assembly plant near <!--del_lnk--> West Point, Georgia.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/770.jpg.htm" title="The Downtown Connector"><img alt="The Downtown Connector" height="267" longdesc="/wiki/Image:13_Atlanta.jpg" src="../../images/7/770.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/770.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Downtown Connector</div>
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<p>The city is a major <!--del_lnk--> cable television programming centre. <!--del_lnk--> Ted Turner began the <!--del_lnk--> Turner Broadcasting System media empire in Atlanta, where he bought a UHF station that eventually became <!--del_lnk--> WTBS. Turner established the headquarters of the <!--del_lnk--> Cable News Network at <!--del_lnk--> CNN Centre, adjacent today to <!--del_lnk--> Centennial Olympic Park. As his company grew, its other channels – the <!--del_lnk--> Cartoon Network (see also <!--del_lnk--> Adult Swim) and companion channel <!--del_lnk--> Boomerang, <!--del_lnk--> TNT, <!--del_lnk--> Turner South, <!--del_lnk--> CNN International, <!--del_lnk--> CNN en Español, <!--del_lnk--> CNN Headline News, and <!--del_lnk--> CNN Airport Network – centered their operations in Atlanta as well. <!--del_lnk--> The Weather Channel, owned by <!--del_lnk--> Landmark Communications, has its offices in the nearby suburb of <!--del_lnk--> Marietta.<p><!--del_lnk--> Cox Enterprises – a privately held company controlled by billionaire siblings <!--del_lnk--> Barbara Cox Anthony and <!--del_lnk--> Anne Cox Chambers – has substantial media holdings in and beyond Atlanta. Its <!--del_lnk--> Cox Communications division is the nation's third-largest cable television service provider; the company also publishes over a dozen daily newspapers in the United States, including <i>The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</i>. <!--del_lnk--> WSB – the flagship station of Cox Radio – was the first <!--del_lnk--> AM radio station in the South; its call letters stand for "Welcome South, Brother."<p>Atlanta has also reached the city's second high-rise boom in its history. According to Emporis, 45 new high-rises are currently proposed for the city's Downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead Districts. 16 high-rises have been approved for construction, while 16 are currently under construction. Much of the development is due to recent residential growth, a shortage of office space, and inadequate hotel capacity.<p><a id="Education" name="Education"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Education</span></h2>
<p><a id="Colleges_and_universities" name="Colleges_and_universities"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Colleges and universities</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/771.jpg.htm" title="Georgia Tech Tower"><img alt="Georgia Tech Tower" height="264" longdesc="/wiki/Image:TechTower.jpg" src="../../images/7/771.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/771.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Georgia Tech Tower</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Atlanta has more than 30 institutions of <!--del_lnk--> higher education, among which <!--del_lnk--> Emory University, the <!--del_lnk--> Georgia Institute of Technology (popularly known as Georgia Tech), <!--del_lnk--> Georgia State University, and <!--del_lnk--> Oglethorpe University are prominent. <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta University Centre, a consortium of historically <!--del_lnk--> black colleges and universities, is also located in the city; members of the consortium include <!--del_lnk--> Clark Atlanta University, <!--del_lnk--> Morehouse College, <!--del_lnk--> Morehouse School of Medicine, <!--del_lnk--> Morris Brown College, and <!--del_lnk--> Spelman College. Adjoining the AUC schools, but independent from them, is the <!--del_lnk--> Interdenominational Theological Centre, a collection of seminaries and theological schools from a variety of denominations. The <!--del_lnk--> Reformed Theological Seminary is another Atlanta school. The <!--del_lnk--> Savannah College of Art and Design opened a Midtown, Atlanta, campus in 2005 and acquired the <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta College of Art shortly thereafter. <!--del_lnk--> John Marshall Law School is the city's only freestanding law school.<p>Institutions in the metropolitan area include <!--del_lnk--> Agnes Scott College, in <!--del_lnk--> Decatur; <!--del_lnk--> Columbia Theological Seminary, also in <!--del_lnk--> Decatur; <!--del_lnk--> Clayton State University, in <!--del_lnk--> Morrow; <!--del_lnk--> DeVry University, in <!--del_lnk--> Decatur; <!--del_lnk--> Georgia Perimeter College, with campuses in <!--del_lnk--> Alpharetta, <!--del_lnk--> Clarkston, <!--del_lnk--> Conyers, <!--del_lnk--> Covington (scheduled to open in January 2007), <!--del_lnk--> Decatur, <!--del_lnk--> Dunwoody, and <!--del_lnk--> Lawrenceville; <!--del_lnk--> Gwinnett University Centre (soon to be known as <!--del_lnk--> Georgia Gwinnett College, in <!--del_lnk--> Lawrenceville); <!--del_lnk--> Kennesaw State University, in <!--del_lnk--> Kennesaw; <!--del_lnk--> Mercer University, in <!--del_lnk--> Chamblee; <!--del_lnk--> Southern Polytechnic State University, in <!--del_lnk--> Marietta; and the <!--del_lnk--> University of West Georgia, in <!--del_lnk--> Carrollton.<p><a id="Public_schools" name="Public_schools"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Public schools</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/772.jpg.htm" title="Part of the Henry W. Grady High School Campus in Midtown Atlanta."><img alt="Part of the Henry W. Grady High School Campus in Midtown Atlanta." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Front_of_Grady.jpg" src="../../images/7/772.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/772.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Henry W. Grady High School Campus in <!--del_lnk--> Midtown Atlanta.</div>
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<p>The public school system (<!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Public Schools) is run by the Atlanta Board of Education with superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall. Currently, the system has an active enrollment of 51,000 students, attending a total of 85 schools: 59 elementary schools (three of which operate on a year-round calendar), 16 middle schools, 10 high schools, and 7 charter schools. The school system also supports two alternative schools for middle and/or high school students, two community schools, and an adult learning centre. The school system also owns and operates radio station <!--del_lnk--> WABE-FM 90.1 (the <!--del_lnk--> National Public Radio affiliate) and PBS television station WPBA 30.<p><a id="Private_schools" name="Private_schools"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Private schools</span></h3>
<p>Notable private schools in Atlanta include <!--del_lnk--> The Westminster Schools (Buckhead), <!--del_lnk--> Pace Academy (Buckhead), <!--del_lnk--> The Lovett School (Buckhead), The Paideia School (Druid Hills), <!--del_lnk--> The Galloway School (Chastain Park), <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta International School (Buckhead), Dar-un-Noor School, The Benjamin Franklin Academy, Killian Hill Christian School, Cliff Valley School, and the Atlanta Girls School.<p>Notable private schools near Atlanta include <!--del_lnk--> Woodward Academy (<!--del_lnk--> College Park), Bridgeway Christian Academy (<!--del_lnk--> Alpharetta), <!--del_lnk--> St. Pius X Catholic High School (<!--del_lnk--> Chamblee), Marist School (<!--del_lnk--> Dunwoody in uninc. <!--del_lnk--> DeKalb County), Holy Innocents' Episcopal School (<!--del_lnk--> Sandy Springs) and Wesleyan School (<!--del_lnk--> Norcross, Georgia).<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
<p><a id="Attractions.2C_events.2C_and_recreation" name="Attractions.2C_events.2C_and_recreation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Attractions, events, and recreation</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/773.gif.htm" title="The Sweet Auburn district is preserved as the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site."><img alt="The Sweet Auburn district is preserved as the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site." height="86" longdesc="/wiki/Image:King_Tomb.gif" src="../../images/7/773.gif" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/773.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Sweet Auburn district is preserved as the <a href="../../wp/m/Martin_Luther_King%252C_Jr..htm" title="Martin Luther King, Jr.">Martin Luther King, Jr.</a> National Historic Site.</div>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/774.jpg.htm" title="The Varsity has been an Atlanta landmark for over 75 years."><img alt="The Varsity has been an Atlanta landmark for over 75 years." height="103" longdesc="/wiki/Image:TheVarsity_Atlanta-GA.jpg" src="../../images/7/774.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/774.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> The Varsity has been an Atlanta landmark for over 75 years.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/775.jpg.htm" title="The Georgia Aquarium."><img alt="The Georgia Aquarium." height="124" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Georgia_Aquarium_Jan_2006.jpg" src="../../images/7/775.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/775.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Georgia Aquarium.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/776.jpg.htm" title="Atlanta's Piedmont Park is the city's largest park. A portion of the park is seen here with the Midtown Atlanta Skyline."><img alt="Atlanta's Piedmont Park is the city's largest park. A portion of the park is seen here with the Midtown Atlanta Skyline." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Piedmont_Park_04.jpg" src="../../images/7/776.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/776.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Atlanta's <!--del_lnk--> Piedmont Park is the city's largest park. A portion of the park is seen here with the <!--del_lnk--> Midtown Atlanta Skyline.</div>
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<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/777.jpg.htm" title="The Fox Theatre at night."><img alt="The Fox Theatre at night." height="183" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Fox_Theater_night.jpg" src="../../images/7/777.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/777.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Fox Theatre at night.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Atlanta boasts a variety of museums on subjects ranging from history to fine arts, natural history, and beverages. Prominent among them are sites honoring Atlanta's participation in the civil rights movement. Reverend Dr. <a href="../../wp/m/Martin_Luther_King%252C_Jr..htm" title="Martin Luther King, Jr.">Martin Luther King, Jr.</a> was born in the city, and his boyhood home on Auburn Avenue in the Sweet Auburn district is preserved as the <!--del_lnk--> Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. Meetings with other civil rights leaders, including Hosea Williams and current <!--del_lnk--> Congressman <!--del_lnk--> John Lewis, often happened at Paschal's, a diner and motor inn which was a favorite for "colored" people, banned from "white" restaurants in an era of racial segregation and intolerance. King's final resting place is in the tomb at the center of the reflecting pool at the King Centre.<p>Other history museums and attractions include the <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta History Centre; the <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum (a huge painting and <!--del_lnk--> diorama in-the-round, with a rotating central audience platform, that depicts the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Atlanta in the Civil War); the <!--del_lnk--> Carter Centre and Presidential Library; historic house museum <!--del_lnk--> Rhodes Hall; and the <!--del_lnk--> Margaret Mitchell House and Museum.<p>The arts are represented by several theaters and museums, including the <!--del_lnk--> Fox Theatre. The <!--del_lnk--> Woodruff Arts Centre is home to the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony, <!--del_lnk--> High Museum of Art, and Atlanta College of Art. The Atlanta Contemporary Art Centre is the city's home for challenging contemporary art and education geared toward working artists and collectors of art. Museums geared specifically towards children include the <!--del_lnk--> Fernbank Science Centre and Imagine It! Atlanta's Children's Museum. The High Museum of Art is the city's major fine/visual arts venue, with a significant permanent collection and an assortment of traveling exhibitions. The <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Opera, which was founded in 1979 by members of two struggling local companies, is arguably the most important opera company in the southeastern United States and enjoys a growing audience and international reputation.<p>Atlanta features the world's largest aquarium, the <!--del_lnk--> Georgia Aquarium, which officially opened to the public on <!--del_lnk--> November 23, <!--del_lnk--> 2005. The aquarium features over 100,000 specimens in tanks holding approximately eight million gallons of water. One unique museum is the <!--del_lnk--> World of Coca-Cola featuring the history of the world famous soft drink brand and its well-known advertising. Adjacent is <!--del_lnk--> Underground Atlanta, a historic shopping and entertainment complex situated under the streets of downtown Atlanta. In addition the <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic Station, a huge new urban renewal project on the northwestern edge of Midtown Atlanta, officially opened in October of 2005. While not a museum per se, <!--del_lnk--> The Varsity is the main branch of the long-lived fast food chain, featured as the world's largest drive-in restaurant.<p>The heart of the city's festivals is <!--del_lnk--> Piedmont Park. In 1887, a group of prominent Atlantans purchased 189 acres (0.76 km²) of farmland to build a horse racing track, later developed into the site of the Cotton States International Exposition of 1895. In 1904, the city council purchased the land for <!--del_lnk--> US$99,000, and today it is the largest park in metro Atlanta, with more than 2.5 million visitors each year. The grounds were part of the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Peachtree Creek – a Confederate division occupied the northern edge on <!--del_lnk--> July 20, <!--del_lnk--> 1864 as part of the outer defense line against Sherman's approach. Next to the park is the <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Botanical Garden. <!--del_lnk--> Zoo Atlanta, with a <!--del_lnk--> panda exhibit, is in <!--del_lnk--> Grant Park.<p>Just east of the city, <!--del_lnk--> Stone Mountain is the largest piece of exposed <a href="../../wp/g/Granite.htm" title="Granite">granite</a> in the world. On its face are giant carvings of <!--del_lnk--> Jefferson Davis, <!--del_lnk--> Robert E. Lee, and <!--del_lnk--> Stonewall Jackson. It is also the site of impressive <!--del_lnk--> laser shows in the <a href="../../wp/s/Summer.htm" title="Summer">summer</a>. A few miles west of Atlanta on <!--del_lnk--> I-20 is the <!--del_lnk--> Six Flags Over Georgia Theme Park, which opened near the city in 1967, and was the second <!--del_lnk--> theme park in the <!--del_lnk--> Six Flags chain.<p>Popular annual cultural events include:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Dogwood Festival, a Spring arts and crafts festival at <!--del_lnk--> Piedmont Park.<li><!--del_lnk--> Music Midtown - Three-day music festival in early summer. (Now on hiatus)<li><!--del_lnk--> Screen on the Green - Outdoor classic movies in June in <!--del_lnk--> Piedmont Park.<li>Atlanta Gay Pride<li>Atlanta Jazz Festival – largest free jazz festival in the USA<li>Sweet Auburn SpringFest<li>Inman Park Festival<li>Virginia-Highlands Summerfest<li>Georgia Renaissance Festival<li>Greek Festival</ul>
<h3> <span class="mw-headline">Music</span></h3>
<p>Atlanta has a reputation as a highly musical city, especially well-known for <!--del_lnk--> hip-hop and <a href="../../wp/r/Rhythm_and_blues.htm" title="R&B">R&B</a> musicians. <!--del_lnk--> Jermaine Dupri's 2001 <a href="../../wp/h/Hip_hop_music.htm" title="Hip hop music">hip hop</a> single "Welcome to Atlanta" (feat. <!--del_lnk--> Ludacris) declares Atlanta the "new <!--del_lnk--> Motown", referencing the city of <a href="../../wp/d/Detroit%252C_Michigan.htm" title="Detroit, Michigan">Detroit, Michigan</a>, which was known for its contributions to popular music, fertile job market and affordable urban housing in the 1950's to 1980's. The <!--del_lnk--> Dirty South style of hip-hop emerged in part from Atlanta artists such as <!--del_lnk--> Outkast and <!--del_lnk--> Goodie Mob. More recently, rapper/producer <!--del_lnk--> Lil' Jon has been a driving force behind the party-oriented style known as <!--del_lnk--> crunk.<p><!--del_lnk--> Record Producers <!--del_lnk--> L.A. Reid and <!--del_lnk--> Babyface founded <!--del_lnk--> LaFace Records in Atlanta in the late-1980s; the label has eventually become the home to multi-platinum selling artists such as <!--del_lnk--> Toni Braxton, <!--del_lnk--> TLC, <!--del_lnk--> OutKast, <!--del_lnk--> Goodie Mob, <!--del_lnk--> Monica, <!--del_lnk--> Usher and <!--del_lnk--> Ciara, many of whom are Atlantans themselves. It is also the home of <!--del_lnk--> Jon Boii Productions & <!--del_lnk--> So So Def Records, a label founded by Jermaine Dupri in the mid-1990s, that signed acts such as <!--del_lnk--> Da Brat, <!--del_lnk--> Jagged Edge, <!--del_lnk--> Xscape, <!--del_lnk--> Bow Wow, and <!--del_lnk--> Dem Franchise Boyz. The success of LaFace and SoSo Def led to Atlanta as an established scene for record labels such as LaFace parent company <!--del_lnk--> Arista Records to set up satellite offices. Atlanta is also home to multi-platinum rappers <!--del_lnk--> Ludacris and <!--del_lnk--> T.I., among others. Artists such as <!--del_lnk--> B5, <!--del_lnk--> Phife Dawg, and <!--del_lnk--> Brian Littrell of the <!--del_lnk--> Backstreet Boys have moved to the city and made it their home. Atlanta is also a well known place for producers and artists trying to get into the music business.<p>Atlanta has also produced rock and pop music singers, such as <!--del_lnk--> The Black Crowes, alternative metal band <!--del_lnk--> Sevendust, rock bands <!--del_lnk--> Collective Soul and <!--del_lnk--> Third Day, the folk-pop <!--del_lnk--> Indigo Girls, <!--del_lnk--> Butch Walker, and was a proving ground for Connecticut-born pop-rock-blues musician <!--del_lnk--> John Mayer. Mayer, as well as Indie.Arie and Shawn Mullins, all performed pre-fame at Eddie's Attic, an independent club in the intown suburb of Decatur. The "Open Mic Shootout" at Eddie's Attic consistently draws singer-songwriter talent from across the nation, and is held every Monday night.<p>Atlanta's classical music scene includes well-renowned ensembles such as the <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Opera, <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Ballet, period-instrument ensemble <!--del_lnk--> New Trinity Baroque, <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Boy Choir, and many others. Classical musicians include renowned conductors such as the late <!--del_lnk--> Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony's <!--del_lnk--> Robert Spano.<p>The city has a well-known and active live music scene, though recently rapid gentrification and early venue closing times have hurt small clubs and other music venues. In the early 1980s, Atlanta was the home of a thriving <!--del_lnk--> new wave music scene featuring such bands as <!--del_lnk--> The Brains and <!--del_lnk--> The Producers, closely linked to the new wave scenes in <!--del_lnk--> Athens, Georgia and other college towns in the southeast.<p><!--del_lnk--> Video Concert Hall, precursor to <!--del_lnk--> MTV, was founded in Atlanta.<p><a id="Sports" name="Sports"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sports</span></h3>
<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th>Club</th>
<th>Sport</th>
<th>League</th>
<th>Venue</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Falcons</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/American_football.htm" title="American Football">American Football</a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> National Football League</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Georgia Dome</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Braves</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Baseball.htm" title="Baseball">Baseball</a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Major League Baseball, <!--del_lnk--> NL</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Turner Field</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Hawks</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Basketball.htm" title="Basketball">Basketball</a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> National Basketball Association</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Philips Arena</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Thrashers</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ice Hockey</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/n/National_Hockey_League.htm" title="National Hockey League">National Hockey League</a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Philips Arena</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Atlanta Rollergirls</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Roller Derby</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Women's Flat Track Derby Association</td>
<td>All American Skating Centre</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Silverbacks</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Soccer (Football)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> USL First Division</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Silverbacks Park</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Georgia Force</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Arena Football</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Arena Football League</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Philips Arena</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Vision</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Basketball.htm" title="Basketball">Basketball</a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> ABA:<!--del_lnk--> Blue Conference</td>
<td>The Sampson's Centre</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/778.jpg.htm" title="Turner Field"><img alt="Turner Field" height="120" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Turner_field_Braves.jpg" src="../../images/7/778.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/778.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Turner Field</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Atlanta has a rich sports history, including the oldest on-campus Division I football stadium, <!--del_lnk--> Bobby Dodd Stadium, built in 1913 by the students of <!--del_lnk--> Georgia Tech. Atlanta also played host to the second intercollegiate football game in the South, <!--del_lnk--> Auburn University vs. <!--del_lnk--> University of Georgia in 1892. This game is often considered the Oldest Rivalry in the South. Currently it hosts college football's annual <!--del_lnk--> Chick-fil-A Bowl and the <!--del_lnk--> Peachtree Road Race, the world’s largest 10 km race. Atlanta was the host city for the Centennial <!--del_lnk--> 1996 Summer Olympics. <!--del_lnk--> Centennial Olympic Park, built for 1996 Summer Olympics, sits adjacent to <!--del_lnk--> CNN Centre and <!--del_lnk--> Philips Arena. It is now operated by the <!--del_lnk--> Georgia World Congress Centre Authority.<p>The city is also host to <!--del_lnk--> four different major league sports. The <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Braves <a href="../../wp/b/Baseball.htm" title="Baseball">baseball</a> team has been the <!--del_lnk--> Major League Baseball franchise of Atlanta since 1966; the franchise was previously known as the Boston Braves (1912-1952), and the Milwaukee Braves (1953-1965). The team was founded in 1871 in <a href="../../wp/b/Boston%252C_Massachusetts.htm" title="Boston, Massachusetts">Boston, Massachusetts</a> as a National Association club, making it the oldest continuously operating sports franchise in North American sports. The Braves won the <!--del_lnk--> World Series in 1995 and had a recently ended unprecedented run of 14 straight divisional championships from 1991 to 2005. Before the Braves moved to Atlanta, the <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Crackers were Atlanta's professional baseball team from 1901 until their last season in 1965. They won 17 league championships in the minor leagues. The <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Black Crackers were Atlanta's <!--del_lnk--> Negro League team from around 1921 until 1949.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Falcons <a href="../../wp/a/American_football.htm" title="American football">American football</a> team plays at the <!--del_lnk--> Georgia Dome. They have been Atlanta's <!--del_lnk--> National Football League franchise since 1966. They have won the division title three times, and a conference championship once, only to go on to lose to the <!--del_lnk--> Denver Broncos in <!--del_lnk--> Super Bowl XXXIII. <!--del_lnk--> Super Bowl XXVIII and <!--del_lnk--> XXXIV were held in the city. In the <!--del_lnk--> Arena Football League, The <!--del_lnk--> Georgia Force has been Atlanta's team since the franchise relocated from <!--del_lnk--> Nashville in 2002. The 2005 National Conference champions currently play in <!--del_lnk--> Philips Arena.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Hawks <a href="../../wp/b/Basketball.htm" title="Basketball">basketball</a> team has been the <!--del_lnk--> National Basketball Association franchise of Atlanta since 1969; the team was previously known as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1946-1951), <!--del_lnk--> Milwaukee Hawks (1951-55), <!--del_lnk--> St. Louis Hawks (1955-68). Their only NBA championship was in 1958, when they were the St. Louis Hawks.<p>From 1992 to 1996 Atlanta was home to the short-lived <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Knights, an <!--del_lnk--> International Hockey League team. Their inaugural season was excellent for a new team, and was only bested by their sophomore season in which they won the championship Turner Cup. In 1996 they moved to <!--del_lnk--> Quebec City and became the <!--del_lnk--> Quebec Rafales. In 1999 the <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Thrashers <a href="../../wp/i/Ice_hockey.htm" title="Ice hockey">hockey</a> team became Atlanta's <a href="../../wp/n/National_Hockey_League.htm" title="National Hockey League">National Hockey League</a> franchise. They replaced the <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Flames which had departed for <a href="../../wp/c/Calgary.htm" title="Calgary">Calgary</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Alberta in 1980, becoming the <!--del_lnk--> Calgary Flames. The Thrashers have yet to make it to the playoffs. Both the Thrashers and the Hawks play in <!--del_lnk--> Philips Arena.<p>In golf, the final event of the <!--del_lnk--> PGA Tour season, <!--del_lnk--> THE TOUR Championship, is played annually at East Lake Golf Club. This golf course is used because of its connection to the great amateur golfer <!--del_lnk--> Bobby Jones, an Atlanta native.<p>From 2001 to 2003 Atlanta hosted the <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Beat <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">soccer</a> team of the defunct <!--del_lnk--> Women's United Soccer Association. They appeared in two of the three Founders Cup championships held, losing to the <!--del_lnk--> Bay Area CyberRays in 2001, and the <!--del_lnk--> Washington Freedom team in 2003. Currently, Atlanta is the home of the <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Silverbacks of the <!--del_lnk--> United Soccer Leagues First Division (Men) and W-League (Women)<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Kookaburras are a successful <a href="../../wp/a/Australian_rules_football.htm" title="Australian rules football">Australian rules football</a> club that compete in mens and women's divisions in the <!--del_lnk--> MAAFL and <!--del_lnk--> SEAFL and <!--del_lnk--> USAFL National Championships.<p>Other nearby sports facilities include <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.5 mile (2.4 km) NASCAR race track in <!--del_lnk--> Hampton, Georgia. <!--del_lnk--> Road Atlanta is another famous local race track, located in <!--del_lnk--> Braselton, Georgia.<p><a id="Religion" name="Religion"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Religion</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/780.jpg.htm" title="An example of Christianity in Atlanta."><img alt="An example of Christianity in Atlanta." height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ATL%2C_Methodist_Church.jpg" src="../../images/7/780.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/780.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An example of Christianity in Atlanta.</div>
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<p>There are over 1,000 churches and other places of worship within the city of Atlanta. A large majority of Atlantans profess to following a Protestant Christian faith. A number of African-American <!--del_lnk--> megachurches are located in the Atlanta area, including <!--del_lnk--> New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, led by Bishop <!--del_lnk--> Eddie Long, and <!--del_lnk--> World Changers Ministries, led by <!--del_lnk--> Creflo Dollar. In addition to nearly 50 nonsectarian private schools listed in Fulton and DeKalb counties, there are over 80 religiously-affiliated private schools.<p>Atlanta is also home to a large, vibrant Jewish community estimated by the Jewish Federation of Atlanta's Jewish Community Study to include 120,000 individuals in 61,300 households (study by the Ukeles Associates, 2006). This study places Atlanta's Jewish population as the 11th largest in the United States, up from 17th largest in 1996. The Temple <!--del_lnk--> synagogue, located on Peachtree Street, and its then-rabbi, Alvin Sugarman, were featured in the film <i><!--del_lnk--> Driving Miss Daisy</i>.<p>As the see of the <!--del_lnk--> Catholic <!--del_lnk--> Archdiocese of Atlanta, Atlanta serves as the <!--del_lnk--> Provincial See for the Province of Atlanta. It is currently the second fastest growing diocese in the United States.<p>The city is also a major <!--del_lnk--> Southern Baptist centre.<p>Atlanta is also the see of the <!--del_lnk--> Episcopal <!--del_lnk--> Diocese of Altanta, one of the largest in the country, both in number of member parishes and in individual worshipers. The Diocese is headquartered at <!--del_lnk--> Saint Philip's Cathedral and is currently lead by the <!--del_lnk--> Right Reverend <!--del_lnk--> J. Neil Alexander whose powerful and influential voice within the Church made him a candidate for <!--del_lnk--> Primacy at the 2006 <!--del_lnk--> General Convention.<p>The city is also the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta, with Annunciation Cathedral and Metropolitan Alexios presiding. In total, there are eleven <a href="../../wp/e/Eastern_Orthodox_Church.htm" title="Eastern Orthodox Church">Orthodox</a> parishes in Atlanta, including Greek, <!--del_lnk--> Orthodox Church in America, <!--del_lnk--> Antiochian, <!--del_lnk--> Serbian, Ukrainian and <!--del_lnk--> Romanian.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Southeast Conference, United Church of Christ, is also headquartered in Atlanta and serves the states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and central and eastern Tennessee. There are eight <!--del_lnk--> United Church of Christ congregations in the Atlanta metro area.<p><a id="Transportation" name="Transportation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Transportation</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/781.jpg.htm" title="MARTA provides public transportation in Atlanta"><img alt="MARTA provides public transportation in Atlanta" height="120" longdesc="/wiki/Image:MARTA_-_N3_Station.jpg" src="../../images/7/781.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/781.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> MARTA provides public transportation in Atlanta</div>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/782.jpg.htm" title="The Downtown Connector, with the downtown skyline in the background"><img alt="The Downtown Connector, with the downtown skyline in the background" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Atlanta_75.85.jpg" src="../../images/7/782.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/782.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Downtown Connector, with the <!--del_lnk--> downtown skyline in the background</div>
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<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/783.jpg.htm" title="A MARTA bus"><img alt="A MARTA bus" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Midtown_MARTA_Bus.jpg" src="../../images/7/783.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/783.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A MARTA bus</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (<!--del_lnk--> IATA: <b>ATL</b>, <!--del_lnk--> ICAO: <b>KATL</b>), the world's busiest airport as measured by <!--del_lnk--> passenger traffic and by <!--del_lnk--> aircraft traffic, provides air service between Atlanta many national and international destinations. Situated 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown, the airport covers most of the land inside a wedge formed by <!--del_lnk--> Interstates <!--del_lnk--> 75, <!--del_lnk--> 85, and <!--del_lnk--> 285. The MARTA rail system has a station within the airport terminal, and provides direct service to downtown Atlanta, midtown, <!--del_lnk--> Buckhead and <!--del_lnk--> Sandy Springs. The major <!--del_lnk--> general aviation airports near the city proper are <!--del_lnk--> DeKalb-Peachtree Airport (<!--del_lnk--> IATA: <b>PDK</b>, <!--del_lnk--> ICAO: <b>KPDK</b>) and <!--del_lnk--> Brown Field (<!--del_lnk--> IATA: <b>FTY</b>, <!--del_lnk--> ICAO: <b>KFTY</b>). See <!--del_lnk--> List of airports in the Atlanta area for a more complete listing.<p>With a comprehensive network of freeways that radiate out from the city, Atlantans rely on their cars as the dominant mode of transportation in the region – a fact that leads some to call the city "the Los Angeles of the South." Atlanta is mostly encircled by <!--del_lnk--> Interstate 285, a <!--del_lnk--> beltway locally known as "the Perimeter" which has come to mark the boundary between the interior of the region and its surrounding <!--del_lnk--> suburbs. Terms such as ITP (<b>I</b>nside <b>T</b>he <b>P</b>erimeter) and OTP (<b>O</b>utside <b>T</b>he <b>P</b>erimeter) have arisen to describe area neighborhoods, residents, and businesses. The Perimeter plays a social and geographical role in Atlanta similar to that of <!--del_lnk--> the Capital Beltway around <a href="../../wp/w/Washington%252C_D.C..htm" title="Washington, D.C.">Washington, D.C.</a><p>Three major <!--del_lnk--> interstate highways converge in Atlanta; <!--del_lnk--> I-20 runs east to west across town, while <!--del_lnk--> I-75 runs from northwest to southeast, and I-85 runs from northeast to southwest. The latter two merge to form the <!--del_lnk--> Downtown Connector through the centre of the city; the combined highway carries more than 340,000 vehicles per day. The Connector is considered one of the ten most congested segments of interstate highway in the United States.<p>Interstate 75 just north of the Windy Hill Road interchange in Cobb County carries 17 lanes, making it one of the widest expressways on Earth. The intersection of I-85 and I-285 in <!--del_lnk--> Doraville – officially called the <!--del_lnk--> Tom Moreland Interchange, but known to most residents as <!--del_lnk--> Spaghetti Junction – contains some of the tallest <!--del_lnk--> overpasses in the eastern United States. Metropolitan Atlanta is crisscrossed by thirteen freeways (in addition to the aforementioned interstates, I-575, Georgia 400, Georgia 141, I-675, Georgia 316, I-985, Stone Mountain Freeway (US 78), and Langford Parkway (SR 166)). One of the most notable features of Atlanta's roads are the sheer number of them named <!--del_lnk--> Peachtree Street or some variation thereof.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is Atlanta's <!--del_lnk--> public-transit system, operating the <!--del_lnk--> rail and <!--del_lnk--> bus system within Fulton and Dekalb Counties. Clayton, Cobb, and Gwinnett counties each operate separate, autonomous transit authorities, using buses but no trains. However, many commuters in Atlanta and the surrounding suburbs use private <a href="../../wp/a/Automobile.htm" title="Automobile">automobiles</a> as their primary transportation. (This may be partly because Georgia has had one of the lowest excise taxes on gasoline in the United States. Such taxes in Georgia have risen, however, in recent years: for example, in July 2002, Alaska was the only state with a tax lower than Georgia's 30.6 cents per gallon, but, by August 2005, Georgia's tax had risen by 34.6%, to 41.2 cents per gallon, and 21 states and the District of Columbia had taxes lower than Georgia's.) This results in heavy <!--del_lnk--> traffic during rush hour and contributes to Atlanta's <!--del_lnk--> air pollution. In recent years, the Atlanta metro area has ranked at or near the top of the longest average commute times in the U.S. In 2001, a group of transit riders joined to form Citizens for Progressive Transit, an organization dedicated to increasing the reach and improving the quality of public transportation in metro Atlanta.<p>The proposed <!--del_lnk--> Beltline would create a greenway and public transit system in a circle around the city from a series of mostly abandoned rail lines. This rail <!--del_lnk--> right-of-way would also accommodate multi-use <!--del_lnk--> trails connecting a string of existing and new parks. In addition, there is a proposed <!--del_lnk--> streetcar project that would create a streetcar line along Peachtree from downtown to Buckhead as well as possibly another East-West line.<p>Atlanta began as a railroad town and still serves as a major rail junction, with several freight lines belonging to <!--del_lnk--> Norfolk Southern and <!--del_lnk--> CSX intersecting below street level in downtown. Long-distance passenger service is provided by <a href="../../wp/a/Amtrak.htm" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Crescent train, which connects Atlanta with <a href="../../wp/b/Baltimore%252C_Maryland.htm" title="Baltimore, Maryland">Baltimore</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Maryland; <!--del_lnk--> Birmingham, <!--del_lnk--> Alabama; <!--del_lnk--> Charlotte, <!--del_lnk--> North Carolina; <!--del_lnk--> New Orleans, <!--del_lnk--> Louisiana; <a href="../../wp/n/New_York_City.htm" title="New York City">New York</a>, <!--del_lnk--> New York; <a href="../../wp/p/Philadelphia.htm" title="Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Pennsylvania; and <a href="../../wp/w/Washington%252C_D.C..htm" title="Washington, D.C.">Washington, D.C.</a> The Amtrak station at 1688 Peachtree Street, N.W., known as Brookwood Station (leased to Amtrak by Norfolk Southern), is several miles north of downtown, however, and lacks a connection to the MARTA rail system. An ambitious, long-standing proposal would create a Multi-Modal Passenger Terminal downtown, adjacent to Philips Arena and the Five Points MARTA station, which would link, in a single facility, MARTA bus and rail, intercity bus services, proposed commuter rail services to other Georgia cities, and Amtrak.<p><!--del_lnk--> Greyhound Lines provides intercity bus service between Atlanta and many locations throughout the United States and Canada. The Greyhound terminal is situated at 232 Forsyth Street, on the southern edge of the downtown area and directly beneath MARTA's Garnett rail station.<p><a id="Sister_cities" name="Sister_cities"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Sister cities</span></h2>
<p>Atlanta has nineteen <!--del_lnk--> sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):<ul>
<li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/784.png.htm" title="Belgium"><img alt="Belgium" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg" src="../../images/7/784.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Brussels.htm" title="Brussels">Brussels</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/743.png.htm" title="Romania"><img alt="Romania" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Romania.svg" src="../../images/7/743.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Bucharest.htm" title="Bucharest">Bucharest</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Romania.htm" title="Romania">Romania</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/785.png.htm" title="Australia"><img alt="Australia" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Australia.svg" src="../../images/7/785.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Canberra.htm" title="Canberra">Canberra</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/786.png.htm" title="Benin"><img alt="Benin" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Benin.svg" src="../../images/7/786.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Cotonou, <a href="../../wp/b/Benin.htm" title="Benin">Benin</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/590.png.htm" title="South Korea"><img alt="South Korea" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_South_Korea_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/590.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Daegu, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Korea.htm" title="South Korea">South Korea</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/586.png.htm" title="Japan"><img alt="Japan" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Japan_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/586.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Fukuoka, <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/787.png.htm" title="Nigeria"><img alt="Nigeria" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Nigeria.svg" src="../../images/7/787.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/l/Lagos.htm" title="Lagos">Lagos</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/Nigeria.htm" title="Nigeria">Nigeria</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/788.png.htm" title="Jamaica"><img alt="Jamaica" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Jamaica.svg" src="../../images/7/788.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Montego Bay, <a href="../../wp/j/Jamaica.htm" title="Jamaica">Jamaica</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title="United Kingdom"><img alt="United Kingdom" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/7/789.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/n/Newcastle_upon_Tyne.htm" title="Newcastle upon Tyne">Newcastle upon Tyne</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/538.png.htm" title="Germany"><img alt="Germany" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany.svg" src="../../images/5/538.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Nuremberg (Nürnberg), <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/790.png.htm" title="Greece"><img alt="Greece" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Greece.svg" src="../../images/7/790.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Ancient Olympia, <a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greece</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/791.png.htm" title="Trinidad and Tobago"><img alt="Trinidad and Tobago" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Trinidad_and_Tobago.svg" src="../../images/7/791.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Port of Spain, <a href="../../wp/t/Trinidad_and_Tobago.htm" title="Trinidad and Tobago">Trinidad and Tobago</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/6/614.png.htm" title="Israel"><img alt="Israel" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Israel_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/6/614.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Ra'anana, <a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/544.png.htm" title="Brazil"><img alt="Brazil" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Brazil.svg" src="../../images/5/544.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/r/Rio_de_Janeiro.htm" title="Rio de Janeiro">Rio de Janeiro</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/792.png.htm" title="Dominican Republic"><img alt="Dominican Republic" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Dominican_Republic.svg" src="../../images/7/792.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Salcedo, <a href="../../wp/d/Dominican_Republic.htm" title="Dominican Republic">Dominican Republic</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/793.png.htm" title="Austria"><img alt="Austria" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Austria.svg" src="../../images/7/793.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Salzburg, <a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austria</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/591.png.htm" title="Republic of China"><img alt="Republic of China" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Republic_of_China.svg" src="../../images/5/591.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Taipei.htm" title="Taipei">Taipei</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_China.htm" title="Republic of China">Taiwan</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/182/18223.png.htm" title="Georgia (country)"><img alt="Georgia (country)" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Georgia_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/511.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Tbilisi, <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="France"><img alt="France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Toulouse, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a></ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta%2C_Georgia"</div>
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Atlantic_Coast_Line_Railroad | <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Atlantic Coast Line Railroad</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Design_and_Technology.Railway_transport.htm">Railway transport</a></h3>
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<table class="infobox bordered" style="width: 23em; text-align: left; font-size: 90%">
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<th bgcolor="#CC9966" colspan="2" style="font-size: large; text-align:center"><b>Atlantic Coast Line Railroad</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="logo" height="139" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ACL_logo.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="138" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Reporting marks</th>
<td>ACL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Locale</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic Coast</td>
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<th>Dates of operation</th>
<td>1840 – <!--del_lnk--> July 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1967</td>
</tr>
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<th>Successor line</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Seaboard Coast Line</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> Track gauge</th>
<td>4 <!--del_lnk--> ft 8½ <!--del_lnk--> in (1435 <!--del_lnk--> mm) (<!--del_lnk--> standard gauge)</td>
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<th>Headquarters</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Jacksonville, FL</td>
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</table>
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<dd><i>There is also an <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic Coast Line in <!--del_lnk--> Cornwall, <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a>.</i></dl>
<p>The <b>Atlantic Coast Line Railroad</b> (<!--del_lnk--> AAR <!--del_lnk--> reporting mark <b>ACL</b>) was an <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">American</a> railroad that existed between 1898 and <!--del_lnk--> July 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1967, when it merged with the <!--del_lnk--> Seaboard Air Line Railroad, its long-time rival, to form the <!--del_lnk--> Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. The company was headquartered in <!--del_lnk--> Jacksonville, Florida (<!--del_lnk--> Wilmington, North Carolina before 1961). After several more mergers and consolidations, the former ACL is now part of <!--del_lnk--> CSX Transportation, also headquartered in Jacksonville.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16682.jpg.htm" title="1914 map"><img alt="1914 map" height="327" longdesc="/wiki/Image:1914_ACL.jpg" src="../../images/166/16682.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16682.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 1914 map</div>
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<p>The <b>Atlantic Coast Line Company</b> was organized on <!--del_lnk--> May 29, <!--del_lnk--> 1889 as a <!--del_lnk--> holding company for a system of railroads from <!--del_lnk--> Richmond and <!--del_lnk--> Norfolk, Virginia south and southwest to <!--del_lnk--> Augusta, Georgia.<p><a id="North_Carolina" name="North_Carolina"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">North Carolina</span></h3>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad was chartered in 1835, opening in 1840 from <!--del_lnk--> Wilmington, North Carolina north to <!--del_lnk--> Weldon, where the <!--del_lnk--> Petersburg Railroad continued to <!--del_lnk--> Petersburg, Virginia. The name was changed in 1855 to the <!--del_lnk--> Wilmington and Weldon Railroad.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Wilmington and Manchester Railroad was chartered in 1846 and opened in 1853 from Wilmington west to <!--del_lnk--> Camden Crossing, South Carolina on the <!--del_lnk--> South Carolina Railroad's branch to <!--del_lnk--> Camden. After the <a href="../../wp/a/American_Civil_War.htm" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a>, the company was reorganized in 1870 as the <!--del_lnk--> Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad, opening an extension west to <!--del_lnk--> Columbia in 1873 but never reaching <!--del_lnk--> Augusta, Georgia.<p>In 1872 the <!--del_lnk--> Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad leased the <!--del_lnk--> Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, forming a continuous line through Wilmington, which was advertised as the <b>Atlantic Coast Line</b>. That lease was cancelled in 1878 due to the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta's <!--del_lnk--> bankruptcy; that company was sold in 1879 and reorganized in 1880 under the same name.<p>Over the years, the Wilmington and Weldon bought many other lines. Most notable among those was the <!--del_lnk--> Wilson and Fayetteville Railroad, built as a cutoff from near <!--del_lnk--> Wilson to the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta at <!--del_lnk--> Pee Dee, South Carolina. This was chartered in South Carolina as the <!--del_lnk--> Florence Railroad.<p><a id="South_Carolina" name="South_Carolina"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">South Carolina</span></h3>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16683.jpg.htm" title="1885 map, when it was a loose system of affiliated lines"><img alt="1885 map, when it was a loose system of affiliated lines" height="266" longdesc="/wiki/Image:1885_ACL_map.jpg" src="../../images/166/16683.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16683.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 1885 map, when it was a loose system of affiliated lines</div>
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<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Northeastern Railroad was chartered in 1851 and opened in 1856 from <!--del_lnk--> Charleston north to the <!--del_lnk--> Wilmington and Manchester Railroad at <!--del_lnk--> Florence. The <!--del_lnk--> Central Railroad, connecting this line at <!--del_lnk--> Lane northwest to the <!--del_lnk--> Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad at <!--del_lnk--> Sumter, was chartered in 1881 and opened in 1882. From opening it was leased by both railroads in connected to.<p>The <b>Atlantic Coast Line Railroad of South Carolina</b> was formed on <!--del_lnk--> July 18, <!--del_lnk--> 1898 as a consolidation of the <!--del_lnk--> Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad and <!--del_lnk--> Northeastern Railroad with several other lines:<ul>
<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Florence Railroad was chartered in 1882, continuing the <!--del_lnk--> Wilson and Fayetteville Railroad from the <!--del_lnk--> North Carolina state line south-southwest to the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta at <!--del_lnk--> Pee Dee. This was part of a shorter route avoiding <!--del_lnk--> Wilmington, North Carolina.<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Cheraw and Darlington Railroad was chartered in 1849 and opened in 1853, running from <!--del_lnk--> Florence north via <!--del_lnk--> Darlington to <!--del_lnk--> Cheraw. The Cheraw and Darlington acquired the <!--del_lnk--> Cheraw and Salisbury Railroad, an extension north to <!--del_lnk--> Wadesboro, North Carolina, in 1892.<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Manchester and Augusta Railroad was chartered in 1875, and built a line from <!--del_lnk--> Sumter southwest to <!--del_lnk--> Denmark. On <!--del_lnk--> June 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1899, the ACL opened a continuation west-southwest to the <!--del_lnk--> Charleston and Western Carolina Railway at <!--del_lnk--> Robbins.</ul>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Central Railroad stayed separate, leased but not merged.<p>Also involved in this was the <!--del_lnk--> Charleston, Sumter and Northern Railroad, a failed plan to build a main line from <!--del_lnk--> Charleston through <!--del_lnk--> Sumter into <!--del_lnk--> North Carolina. That company went <!--del_lnk--> bankrupt in 1892, and the bridge over the <!--del_lnk--> Santee River burned down. In 1895 the ACL bought and reorganized it as the <!--del_lnk--> Charleston and Northern Railroad to prevent it from being used by a competitor. The short <!--del_lnk--> Wilson and Summerton Railroad acquired a section south of Sumter, the <!--del_lnk--> Manchester and Augusta Railroad obtained the southernmost section (cut from the rest by the burned bridge) and the line from Sumter northeast to <!--del_lnk--> Darlington, extending the M&A's line to Darlington, and the <!--del_lnk--> Cheraw and Darlington Railroad was assigned the rest of the line, from Darlington north to <!--del_lnk--> Gibson, North Carolina. All but the Wilson and Summerton became part of the ACL in 1898. That company was renamed to the <!--del_lnk--> Northwestern Railroad in 1899, and with help from the ACL built an extension northwest from Sumter to <!--del_lnk--> Camden, opened in 1901.<p>In August 1899 the ACL acquired a half interest in the <!--del_lnk--> Georgia Railroad and Banking Company, fully owned by the <!--del_lnk--> Louisville and Nashville Railroad since 1898. This gave the ACL access to <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta and <!--del_lnk--> Macon, Georgia via the former <!--del_lnk--> Manchester and Augusta Railroad and the Georgia Railroad.<p>By 1899 the ACL also owned the <!--del_lnk--> Charleston and Western Carolina Railway, running from <!--del_lnk--> Port Royal, South Carolina at the south orner of the state northwest into the northwest part of the state, with lines ending at <!--del_lnk--> Anderson, <!--del_lnk--> Greenville and <!--del_lnk--> Spartanburg.<p><a id="Virginia" name="Virginia"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Virginia</span></h3>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Petersburg Railroad was chartered in 1830 and opened in 1833, running from <!--del_lnk--> Petersburg, Virginia south to <!--del_lnk--> Garysburg, North Carolina, from which it ran to <!--del_lnk--> Weldon via <!--del_lnk--> trackage rights over the <!--del_lnk--> Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad (later eliminated with a new alignment). The <!--del_lnk--> Richmond and Petersburg Railroad was chartered in 1836 and opened in 1838, continuing north from Petersburg to <!--del_lnk--> Richmond.<p>In March 1898, the Petersburg Railroad was merged into the Richmond and Petersburg, which was renamed to the <b>Atlantic Coast Line Railroad of Virginia</b> on <!--del_lnk--> November 21.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Norfolk and Carolina Railroad was chartered in 1887 as the <!--del_lnk--> Chowan and Southern Railroad and renamed in 1889, opening in 1890 as a connection from the <!--del_lnk--> Wilmington and Weldon Railroad's branch to <!--del_lnk--> Tarboro, North Carolina northeast to <!--del_lnk--> Pinner's Point, Virginia, serving the <!--del_lnk--> Hampton Roads area.<p><a id="Florida_and_Georgia" name="Florida_and_Georgia"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Florida and Georgia</span></h3>
<p>The <b>Plant System</b> was a system of <!--del_lnk--> railroads and <!--del_lnk--> steamboats in the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. South, founded by Florida's west coast developer <!--del_lnk--> Henry B. Plant. After his death in 1899, the Plant system was taken over by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The original line of the system, named after its owner, Henry Plant, was the <b>Savannah, Florida and Western Railway</b>, running across southern <!--del_lnk--> Georgia.<p>
<br />
<p><a id="forming_the_ACL_by_mergers_and_later_history" name="forming_the_ACL_by_mergers_and_later_history"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">forming the ACL by mergers and later history</span></h3>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16684.jpg.htm" title="1914 map of the lines through Florida"><img alt="1914 map of the lines through Florida" height="364" longdesc="/wiki/Image:1914_ACL_FL.jpg" src="../../images/166/16684.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16684.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 1914 map of the lines through Florida</div>
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<p>The <b>Atlantic Coast Line Railroad</b> was formed on <!--del_lnk--> April 21, <!--del_lnk--> 1900 as a merger of the two companies in Virginia and South Carolina, as well as the <!--del_lnk--> Wilmington and Weldon Railroad and <!--del_lnk--> Norfolk and Carolina Railroad.<p>In 1902 the ACL acquired the massive <!--del_lnk--> Plant System, stretching from <!--del_lnk--> Charleston, South Carolina southwest via <!--del_lnk--> Savannah, Georgia to <!--del_lnk--> Waycross, with lines branching out from there to <!--del_lnk--> Albany, Georgia, <!--del_lnk--> Montgomery, Alabama, and many points in <a href="../../wp/f/Florida.htm" title="Florida">Florida</a> (including the main line to <!--del_lnk--> Tampa). The <!--del_lnk--> Jacksonville and Southwestern Railroad was bought <!--del_lnk--> July 28, <!--del_lnk--> 1904, running from <!--del_lnk--> Jacksonville, Florida southwest to <!--del_lnk--> Newberry. Around this time, the ACL built a new line from <!--del_lnk--> High Springs south to <!--del_lnk--> Juliette, Florida, connecting two Plant System lines and forming a shortcut around <!--del_lnk--> Gainesville down the west side of Florida.<p>The ACL bought the large <!--del_lnk--> Louisville and Nashville Railroad system on <!--del_lnk--> November 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1902, but kept operations separate for its entire life.<p>A short branch from <!--del_lnk--> Climax, Georgia south to <!--del_lnk--> Amsterdam opened in 1903.<p>The ACL bought the <!--del_lnk--> Conway Coast and Western Railroad on <!--del_lnk--> July 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1912, giving it access to <!--del_lnk--> Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> October 15, <!--del_lnk--> 1913, the ACL acquired the <!--del_lnk--> Sanford and Everglades Railroad, a short line near <!--del_lnk--> Sanford, Florida.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Florida Central Railroad, bought <!--del_lnk--> February 27, <!--del_lnk--> 1915, provided a spur to <!--del_lnk--> Fanlew, Florida.<p>In July 1922 the ACL acquired the <!--del_lnk--> Rockingham Railroad, extending the former <!--del_lnk--> Charleston, Sumter and Northern Railroad from <!--del_lnk--> Gibson, North Carolina to <!--del_lnk--> Rockingham.<p>Also in 1922 the ACL leased the <!--del_lnk--> Virginia and Carolina Southern Railroad, running from <!--del_lnk--> Fayetteville, North Carolina south to <!--del_lnk--> Lumberton with a spur to <!--del_lnk--> Elizabethtown.<p>The ACL acquired the <!--del_lnk--> Moore Haven and Clewiston Railway on <!--del_lnk--> July 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1925, and the <!--del_lnk--> Deep Lake Railroad, a short line from the <a href="../../wp/g/Gulf_of_Mexico.htm" title="Gulf of Mexico">Gulf of Mexico</a> port of <!--del_lnk--> Everglades City north to <!--del_lnk--> Deep Lake, Florida, on <!--del_lnk--> December 8, <!--del_lnk--> 1928. These formed short parts of a new line from the main line at <!--del_lnk--> Haines City south to Everglades City, with a branch to <!--del_lnk--> Lake Harbour on <!--del_lnk--> Lake Okeechobee via <!--del_lnk--> Moore Haven and <!--del_lnk--> Clewiston.<p>Also in 1925, the ACL leased the <!--del_lnk--> Fort Myers Southern Railroad, which continued the line of the <!--del_lnk--> Florida Southern Railroad south from <!--del_lnk--> Fort Myers to <!--del_lnk--> Marco. That same year, the <!--del_lnk--> Tampa Southern Railroad was leased, running from <!--del_lnk--> Uceta Yard in eastern <!--del_lnk--> Tampa south via <!--del_lnk--> Sarasota to the Florida Southern at <!--del_lnk--> Fort Ogden.<p>In 1926 the ACL acquired the <!--del_lnk--> Columbia, Newberry and Laurens Railroad, running from the end of the old <!--del_lnk--> Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad at <!--del_lnk--> Columbia, South Carolina northwest to <!--del_lnk--> Laurens.<p>The ACL incorporated the <!--del_lnk--> Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad on <!--del_lnk--> November 22, <!--del_lnk--> 1926 as a reorganization of the <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway. This gave the ACL lines from <!--del_lnk--> Waycross to <a href="../../wp/a/Atlanta%252C_Georgia.htm" title="Atlanta, Georgia">Atlanta, Georgia</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Birmingham, Alabama, with a branch east to <!--del_lnk--> Brunswick<p>On <!--del_lnk--> May 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1927 the ACL leased the <!--del_lnk--> Washington and Vandemere Railroad, extending the old <!--del_lnk--> Wilmington and Weldon Railroad branch to <!--del_lnk--> Washington southeast to <!--del_lnk--> Vandemere.<p>In 1928 the <!--del_lnk--> Perry Cutoff was finished, providing a new shortcut from <!--del_lnk--> Thomasville, Georgia via <!--del_lnk--> Perry, Florida to <!--del_lnk--> Dunnellon, Florida, with a branch to <!--del_lnk--> Newberry, Florida. Additionally, the old <!--del_lnk--> Tampa and Thonotosassa Railroad line was extended northeast from <!--del_lnk--> Thonotosassa to <!--del_lnk--> Vitis, providing a shortcut between <!--del_lnk--> Tampa and the newly-important west Florida line.<p>The ACL acquired the <!--del_lnk--> East Carolina Railway at some point, running south from <!--del_lnk--> Tarboro to <!--del_lnk--> Hookerton.<p><a id="Seaboard_Coast_Line.2C_CSX_Transportation" name="Seaboard_Coast_Line.2C_CSX_Transportation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Seaboard Coast Line, CSX Transportation</span></h3>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> July 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1967 the ACL merged with the <!--del_lnk--> Seaboard Air Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the <!--del_lnk--> Seaboard Coast Line Railroad.<p><!--del_lnk--> CSX Transportation was formed on <!--del_lnk--> July 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1986 as a renaming of the <!--del_lnk--> Seaboard System Railroad, which had absorbed the former <strong class="selflink">Atlantic Coast Line Railroad</strong>, <!--del_lnk--> Louisville and Nashville Railroad and <!--del_lnk--> Seaboard Air Line Railroad, as well as several smaller subsidiaries. On <!--del_lnk--> August 31, <!--del_lnk--> 1987 the <!--del_lnk--> Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, which had absorbed the <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore and Ohio Railroad <!--del_lnk--> April 30 of that year, merged into CSX. The merger had been started in 1980 with the merger of <!--del_lnk--> Chessie System and <!--del_lnk--> Seaboard Coast Line Industries to form the <!--del_lnk--> CSX Corporation.<p><a id="Station_listing" name="Station_listing"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Station listing</span></h2>
<p>For stations on the main line (now <!--del_lnk--> CSX's "A" line), see the following articles:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Richmond and Petersburg Railroad, <a href="../../wp/r/Richmond%252C_Virginia.htm" title="Richmond, Virginia">Richmond, Virginia</a> to <!--del_lnk--> Petersburg, Virginia<li><!--del_lnk--> Petersburg Railroad, Petersburg to <!--del_lnk--> Weldon, North Carolina<li><!--del_lnk--> Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, Weldon to <!--del_lnk--> Wilson, North Carolina<li><!--del_lnk--> Wilson and Fayetteville Railroad, Wilson to North Carolina/South Carolina state line<li><!--del_lnk--> Florence Railroad, state line to <!--del_lnk--> Pee Dee, South Carolina<li><!--del_lnk--> Wilmington and Manchester Railroad, Pee Dee to <!--del_lnk--> Florence, South Carolina<li><!--del_lnk--> Northeastern Railroad, Florence to <!--del_lnk--> Charleston, South Carolina<li><!--del_lnk--> Plant System railroads: <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Ashley River Railroad, around Charleston<li><!--del_lnk--> Charleston and Savannah Railroad, Charleston to <!--del_lnk--> Savannah, Georgia<li><!--del_lnk--> Atlantic and Gulf Railroad, Savannah to <!--del_lnk--> Jesup, Georgia<li><!--del_lnk--> Folkston Cutoff, Jesup to <!--del_lnk--> Folkston, Georgia<li><!--del_lnk--> Waycross and Florida Railroad, Folkston to Georgia/Florida state line<li><!--del_lnk--> East Florida Railroad, state line to <!--del_lnk--> Jacksonville, Florida<li><!--del_lnk--> Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway, Jacksonville to <!--del_lnk--> Sanford, Florida<li><!--del_lnk--> South Florida Railroad, Sanford to <!--del_lnk--> Tampa, Florida</ul>
</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Coast_Line_Railroad"</div>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.General_Geography.htm">General Geography</a></h3>
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<th style="background: #BFD7FF; padding:0 1em;"><b><a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">Earth's</a> five <a href="../../wp/o/Ocean.htm" title="Ocean">oceans</a></b></th>
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<li><strong class="selflink">Atlantic Ocean</strong><li><a href="../../wp/a/Arctic_Ocean.htm" title="Arctic Ocean">Arctic Ocean</a><li><a href="../../wp/i/Indian_Ocean.htm" title="Indian Ocean">Indian Ocean</a><li><a href="../../wp/p/Pacific_Ocean.htm" title="Pacific Ocean">Pacific Ocean</a><li><a href="../../wp/s/Southern_Ocean.htm" title="Southern Ocean">Southern Ocean</a></ul>
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<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/7/796.png.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean"><img alt="Atlantic Ocean" height="328" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Atlantic_Ocean.png" src="../../images/7/796.png" width="328" /></a></span></div>
<p>The <b>Atlantic Ocean</b> is the second-largest <a href="../../wp/o/Ocean.htm" title="Ocean">ocean</a>, covering approximately one-fifth of the <a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">Earth</a>'s surface. The ocean's name, derived from <a href="../../wp/g/Greek_mythology.htm" title="Greek mythology">Greek mythology</a>, means the "<a href="../../wp/s/Sea.htm" title="Sea">Sea</a> of <!--del_lnk--> Atlas." The oldest known mention of this <!--del_lnk--> name is contained in <i><!--del_lnk--> The Histories</i> of <a href="../../wp/h/Herodotus.htm" title="Herodotus">Herodotus</a> around 450 BC (I 202).<p>This ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending in a north-south direction and is divided into the North Atlantic and South Atlantic by <!--del_lnk--> Equatorial Counter Currents at about 8° North <!--del_lnk--> latitude. Bounded by the <!--del_lnk--> Americas on the west and <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a> on the east, the Atlantic is linked to the <a href="../../wp/p/Pacific_Ocean.htm" title="Pacific Ocean">Pacific Ocean</a> by the <a href="../../wp/a/Arctic_Ocean.htm" title="Arctic Ocean">Arctic Ocean</a> on the north and the <!--del_lnk--> Drake Passage on the south. A man-made connection between the Atlantic and Pacific is provided by the <a href="../../wp/p/Panama_Canal.htm" title="Panama Canal">Panama Canal</a>. On the east, the dividing line between the Atlantic and the <a href="../../wp/i/Indian_Ocean.htm" title="Indian Ocean">Indian Ocean</a> is the 20° East meridian, running south from <!--del_lnk--> Cape Agulhas to <a href="../../wp/a/Antarctica.htm" title="Antarctica">Antarctica</a>. The Atlantic is separated from the Arctic by a line from <a href="../../wp/g/Greenland.htm" title="Greenland">Greenland</a> to northwestern <a href="../../wp/i/Iceland.htm" title="Iceland">Iceland</a> and then from northeastern Iceland to the southernmost tip of <!--del_lnk--> Spitsbergen and then to <!--del_lnk--> North Cape in northern <a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norway</a>.<p>Covering approximately 20% of Earth's surface, the Atlantic Ocean is second only to the Pacific in size. With its adjacent seas it occupies an area of about <!--del_lnk--> 106,400,000 <!--del_lnk--> square kilometres (41,100,000 <!--del_lnk--> sq mi); without them, it has an area of <!--del_lnk--> 82,400,000 square kilometres (31,800,000 sq mi). The land area that drains into the Atlantic is four times that of either the Pacific or Indian oceans. The volume of the Atlantic Ocean with its adjacent seas is <!--del_lnk--> 354,700,000 <!--del_lnk--> cubic kilometres (85,100,000 <!--del_lnk--> cu mi) and without them 323,600,000 cubic kilometres (77,640,000 cu mi).<p>The average depths of the Atlantic, with its adjacent seas, is 3,338 <!--del_lnk--> metres (10,932 <!--del_lnk--> ft); without them it is 3,926 metres (12,881 ft). The greatest depth, 8,605 metres (28,232 ft), is in the <!--del_lnk--> Puerto Rico Trench. The width of the Atlantic varies from <!--del_lnk--> 2,848 <!--del_lnk--> kilometres (1,770 mi) between <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a> and <a href="../../wp/l/Liberia.htm" title="Liberia">Liberia</a> to about <!--del_lnk--> 4,830 kilometres (3,000 mi) between the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> and northern Africa.<p>
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</script><a id="Ocean_bottom" name="Ocean_bottom"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Ocean bottom</span></h2>
<p>The principal feature of the bottom <!--del_lnk--> bathymetry (<!--del_lnk--> terrain) of the Atlantic Ocean is a submarine mountain range called the <!--del_lnk--> Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It extends from Iceland in the north to approximately 58° South latitude, reaching a maximum width of about 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi). A great <!--del_lnk--> rift valley also extends along the ridge over most of its length. The depth of water over the ridge is less than 2,700 m (8,900 ft) in most places, and several mountain peaks rise above the water and form islands. The South Atlantic Ocean has an additional submarine ridge, the <!--del_lnk--> Walvis Ridge.<p>The Mid-Atlantic Ridge separates the Atlantic Ocean into two large <!--del_lnk--> troughs with depths averaging between 3,700 and 5,500 metres (12,000 and 18,000 ft). Transverse ridges running between the continents and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge divide the ocean floor into numerous basins. Some of the larger basins are the Guiana, North American, Cape Verde, and Canaries basins in the North Atlantic. The largest South Atlantic basins are the Angola, Cape, Argentina, and Brazil basins.<p>The deep ocean floor is thought to be fairly flat, although numerous <!--del_lnk--> seamounts and some <!--del_lnk--> guyots exist. Several deeps or trenches are also found on the ocean floor. The Puerto Rico Trench, in the North Atlantic, is the deepest. The <!--del_lnk--> Laurentian Abyss is found off the eastern coast of <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>. In the South Atlantic, the <!--del_lnk--> South Sandwich Trench reaches a depth of 8,428 metres (27,651 ft). A third major trench, the <!--del_lnk--> Romanche Trench, is located near the <!--del_lnk--> equator and reaches a depth of about 7,454 metres (24,455 ft). The shelves along the margins of the continents constitute about 11% of the bottom topography. Several deep channels cut across the continental rise.<p>Ocean <!--del_lnk--> sediments are composed of terrigenous, pelagic, and authigenic material. Terrigenous deposits consist of sand, mud, and rock particles formed by erosion, weathering, and volcanic activity on land and then washed to sea. These materials are found mostly on the <!--del_lnk--> continental shelves and are thickest off the mouths of large rivers or off desert coasts. Pelagic deposits, which contain the remains of organisms that sink to the ocean floor, include red clays and <!--del_lnk--> Globigerina, <!--del_lnk--> pteropod, and siliceous oozes. Covering most of the ocean floor and ranging in thickness from 60 to 3,300 metres (200 to 11,000 ft), they are thickest in the convergence belts and in the zones of upwelling. Authigenic deposits consist of such materials as <!--del_lnk--> manganese nodules. They occur where <!--del_lnk--> sedimentation proceeds slowly or where currents sort the deposits.<p><a id="Water_characteristics" name="Water_characteristics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Water characteristics</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/797.jpg.htm" title="The Atlantic Ocean as seen from the west coast of Ireland on a fair day."><img alt="The Atlantic Ocean as seen from the west coast of Ireland on a fair day." height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ireland-AtlanticOceanwithAranIsland.jpg" src="../../images/7/797.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/797.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Atlantic Ocean as seen from the west coast of <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Ireland</a> on a fair day.</div>
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</div>
<p>On average, the Atlantic is the saltiest of the world's major oceans; the <!--del_lnk--> salinity of the surface waters in the open ocean ranges from 33 to 37 parts per thousand (3.3 - 3.7%) by mass and varies with latitude and season. Surface salinity values are influenced by evaporation, precipitation, river inflow, and melting of <!--del_lnk--> sea ice. Although the minimum salinity values are found just north of the equator (because of heavy tropical rainfall), in general the lowest values are in the high latitudes and along coasts where large rivers flow into the ocean. Maximum salinity values occur at about 25° north and south of the equator, in <!--del_lnk--> subtropical regions with low rainfall and high evaporation.<p>Surface water temperatures, which vary with latitude, current systems, and season and reflect the latitudinal distribution of solar energy, range from less than −2 °<!--del_lnk--> C to 29 °C (28 °<!--del_lnk--> F to 84 °F). Maximum temperatures occur north of the equator, and minimum values are found in the polar regions. In the middle latitudes, the area of maximum temperature variations, values may vary by 7 °C to 8 °C (13°F to 14°F).<p>The Atlantic Ocean consists of four major water masses. The North and South Atlantic central waters constitute the surface waters. The sub-Antarctic intermediate water extends to depths of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). The North Atlantic deep water reaches depths of as much as 4,000 metres (13,200 ft). The Antarctic bottom water occupies ocean basins at depths greater than 4,000 metres (13,200 ft).<p>Within the North Atlantic, ocean currents isolate a large elongated body of water known as the <!--del_lnk--> Sargasso Sea, in which the salinity is noticeably higher than average. The Sargasso Sea contains large amounts of <!--del_lnk--> seaweed and is also the spawning ground for the <!--del_lnk--> European eel.<p>Because of the <!--del_lnk--> Coriolis effect, water in the North Atlantic circulates in a clockwise direction, whereas water circulation in the South Atlantic is counter-clockwise. The south <a href="../../wp/t/Tide.htm" title="Tide">tides</a> in the Atlantic Ocean are semi-<!--del_lnk--> diurnal; that is, two high tides occur during each 24 lunar hours. The tides are a general wave that moves from south to north. In latitudes above 40° North some east-west oscillation occurs.<p><a id="Climate" name="Climate"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Climate</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/136/13680.gif.htm" title="Waves in the trade winds in the Atlantic Ocean—areas of converging winds that move along the same track as the prevailing wind—create instabilities in the atmosphere that may lead to the formation of hurricanes."><img alt="Waves in the trade winds in the Atlantic Ocean—areas of converging winds that move along the same track as the prevailing wind—create instabilities in the atmosphere that may lead to the formation of hurricanes." height="263" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Atlantic_hurricane_graphic.gif" src="../../images/7/798.gif" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">Waves in the trade winds in the Atlantic Ocean—areas of converging winds that move along the same track as the prevailing wind—create instabilities in the atmosphere that may lead to the formation of hurricanes.</div>
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<p>The climate of the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent land areas is influenced by the temperatures of the surface waters and water currents as well as the winds blowing across the waters. Because of the ocean's great capacity for retaining heat, maritime climates are moderate and free of extreme seasonal variations. <!--del_lnk--> Precipitation can be approximated from coastal weather data and air temperature from the water temperatures. The oceans are the major source of the atmospheric moisture that is obtained through evaporation. Climatic zones vary with latitude; the warmest climatic zones stretch across the Atlantic north of the equator. The coldest zones are in the high latitudes, with the coldest regions corresponding to the areas covered by sea ice. Ocean currents contribute to climatic control by transporting warm and cold waters to other regions. Adjacent land areas are affected by the winds that are cooled or warmed when blowing over these currents. The <!--del_lnk--> Gulf Stream, for example, warms the atmosphere of the British Isles and northwestern Europe, and the cold water currents contribute to heavy fog off the coast of northeastern Canada (the <!--del_lnk--> Grand Banks area) and the northwestern coast of Africa. In general, winds tend to transport moisture and warm or cool air over land areas. <a href="../../wp/t/Tropical_cyclone.htm" title="Tropical cyclone">Hurricanes</a> develop in the southern part of the North Atlantic Ocean.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>The Atlantic Ocean appears to be the second youngest of the world's oceans, after the <a href="../../wp/s/Southern_Ocean.htm" title="Southern Ocean">Southern Ocean</a>. Evidence indicates that it did not exist prior to 180 million years ago, when the continents that formed from the breakup of the ancestral supercontinent, <!--del_lnk--> Pangaea, were being rafted apart by the process of seafloor spreading. The Atlantic has been extensively explored since the earliest settlements were established along its shores. The <a href="../../wp/v/Viking.htm" title="Vikings">Vikings</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portuguese</a>, and <a href="../../wp/c/Christopher_Columbus.htm" title="Christopher Columbus">Christopher Columbus</a> were the most famous among its early explorers. After Columbus, European exploration rapidly accelerated, and many new trade routes were established. As a result, the Atlantic became and remains the major artery between Europe and the Americas (known as <!--del_lnk--> transatlantic trade). Numerous scientific explorations have been undertaken, including those by the German Meteor expedition, <!--del_lnk--> Columbia University's Lamont Geological Observatory, and the <!--del_lnk--> United States Navy <!--del_lnk--> Hydrographic Office.<p>Some important events in relation to the Atlantic:<ul>
<li>In 1858, the first <!--del_lnk--> transatlantic telegraph cable was laid by <!--del_lnk--> Cyrus Field.<li>On <!--del_lnk--> April 14th 1912 the <a href="../../wp/r/RMS_Titanic.htm" title="RMS Titanic">RMS Titanic</a> sank after hitting an iceberg with loss of 1,593 people.<li>In 1919, the American <!--del_lnk--> NC-4 became the first <!--del_lnk--> airplane to cross the Atlantic (though it made a couple of landings on islands along the way).<li>Later in 1919, a British airplane piloted by <!--del_lnk--> Alcock and Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight, from Newfoundland to Ireland.<li>In 1921, the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">British</a> were the first to cross the North Atlantic in an <a href="../../wp/a/Airship.htm" title="Airship">airship</a>.<li>In 1922, the Portuguese were the first to cross the South Atlantic in an airship.<li>The first transatlantic <a href="../../wp/t/Telephone.htm" title="Telephone">telephone</a> call was made on <!--del_lnk--> January 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1927.<li>In 1927, <!--del_lnk--> Charles Lindbergh made the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight in an airplane (between <a href="../../wp/n/New_York_City.htm" title="New York City">New York City</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a>).<li>In 1998, <!--del_lnk--> Ben Lecomte was the first person to swim across the Atlantic Ocean, stopping for only one week in the <!--del_lnk--> Azores.<li>After rowing for 81 days and 4,767 kilometres (2,962 mi), on <!--del_lnk--> December 3, <!--del_lnk--> 1999, <!--del_lnk--> Tori Murden became the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean by <!--del_lnk--> rowboat alone when she reached <a href="../../wp/g/Guadeloupe.htm" title="Guadeloupe">Guadeloupe</a> from the <!--del_lnk--> Canary Islands.</ul>
<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<p>The ocean has also contributed significantly to the development and economy of the countries around it. Besides its major transatlantic transportation and communication routes, the Atlantic offers abundant <a href="../../wp/p/Petroleum.htm" title="Petroleum">petroleum</a> deposits in the <!--del_lnk--> sedimentary rocks of the continental shelves and the world's richest fishing resources, especially in the waters covering the shelves. The major species of fish caught are <a href="../../wp/c/Cod.htm" title="Cod">cod</a>, <!--del_lnk--> haddock, <!--del_lnk--> hake, <!--del_lnk--> herring, and <!--del_lnk--> mackerel. The most productive areas include the Grand Banks of <!--del_lnk--> Newfoundland, the shelf area off <!--del_lnk--> Nova Scotia, <!--del_lnk--> Georges Bank off <!--del_lnk--> Cape Cod, the Bahama Banks, the waters around Iceland, the <a href="../../wp/i/Irish_Sea.htm" title="Irish Sea">Irish Sea</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Dogger Bank of the <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a>, and the Falkland Banks. <!--del_lnk--> Eel, <!--del_lnk--> lobster, and <a href="../../wp/w/Whale.htm" title="Whale">whales</a> have also been taken in great quantities. All these factors, taken together, tremendously enhance the Atlantic's great commercial value. Because of the threats to the ocean environment presented by oil spills, <!--del_lnk--> marine debris, and the incineration of toxic wastes at sea, various international treaties exist to reduce some forms of pollution.<p><a id="Terrain" name="Terrain"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Terrain</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/799.jpg.htm" title="Atlantic bathymetry"><img alt="Atlantic bathymetry" height="329" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Atlantic_bathymetry.jpg" src="../../images/7/799.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/7/799.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Atlantic <!--del_lnk--> bathymetry</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The surface is usually covered with sea ice in the <!--del_lnk--> Labrador Sea, <!--del_lnk--> Denmark Strait, and <a href="../../wp/b/Baltic_Sea.htm" title="Baltic Sea">Baltic Sea</a> from October to June. There is a clockwise warm-water <!--del_lnk--> gyre in the northern Atlantic, and a counter-clockwise warm-water gyre in the southern Atlantic. The ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin, first discovered by the <!--del_lnk--> Challenger Expedition.<p>The Atlantic Ocean has irregular coasts indented by numerous bays, gulfs, and seas. These include the <a href="../../wp/c/Caribbean_Sea.htm" title="Caribbean Sea">Caribbean Sea</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Gulf_of_Mexico.htm" title="Gulf of Mexico">Gulf of Mexico</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of St. Lawrence, <a href="../../wp/m/Mediterranean_Sea.htm" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean Sea</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Black_Sea.htm" title="Black Sea">Black Sea</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/English_Channel.htm" title="English Channel">English Channel</a> , <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Labrador Sea, <a href="../../wp/b/Baltic_Sea.htm" title="Baltic Sea">Baltic Sea</a> , <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of Maine , <!--del_lnk--> Bay of Fundy and <!--del_lnk--> Norwegian-<!--del_lnk--> Greenland Sea. Islands in the Atlantic Ocean include <a href="../../wp/f/Faroe_Islands.htm" title="Faroe Islands">Faroe Islands</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Greenland.htm" title="Greenland">Greenland</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Iceland.htm" title="Iceland">Iceland</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Rockall.htm" title="Rockall">Rockall</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Great_Britain.htm" title="Great Britain">Great Britain</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Ireland</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Fernando de Noronha, the <!--del_lnk--> Azores, the <!--del_lnk--> Madeira Islands, the <!--del_lnk--> Canaries, the <a href="../../wp/c/Cape_Verde.htm" title="Cape Verde">Cape Verde</a> Islands, <!--del_lnk--> Sao Tome e Principe, <!--del_lnk--> Newfoundland, <a href="../../wp/b/Bermuda.htm" title="Bermuda">Bermuda</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> West Indies, <!--del_lnk--> Ascension, <!--del_lnk--> St. Helena, <!--del_lnk--> Trindade, <!--del_lnk--> Martin Vaz, <!--del_lnk--> Tristan da Cunha, the <a href="../../wp/f/Falkland_Islands.htm" title="Falkland Islands">Falkland Islands</a>, and <a href="../../wp/s/South_Georgia_and_the_South_Sandwich_Islands.htm" title="South Georgia Island">South Georgia Island</a>.<p><a id="Elevation_extremes" name="Elevation_extremes"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Elevation extremes</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><i>lowest point:</i> <!--del_lnk--> Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench −8,605 metres (28,232 ft)<li><i>highest point:</i> sea level, 0 metres</ul>
<p><a id="Natural_resources" name="Natural_resources"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Natural hazards</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Icebergs are common in the <!--del_lnk--> Davis Strait, <!--del_lnk--> Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been spotted as far south as <a href="../../wp/b/Bermuda.htm" title="Bermuda">Bermuda</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Madeira Islands. Ships are subject to <!--del_lnk--> superstructure <!--del_lnk--> icing in extreme northern Atlantic from October to May. Persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September, as can hurricanes north of the equator (May to December).<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Bermuda Triangle is popularly believed to be the site of numerous aviation and shipping incidents because of unexplained and supposedly mysterious causes, but coast guard records do not support this belief.<p><a id="Current_environmental_issues" name="Current_environmental_issues"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Current environmental issues</span></h2>
<p>Endangered marine species include the <!--del_lnk--> manatee, seals, <!--del_lnk--> sea lions, <a href="../../wp/t/Turtle.htm" title="Turtle">turtles</a>, and whales. <!--del_lnk--> Drift net fishing is killing <a href="../../wp/d/Dolphin.htm" title="Dolphin">dolphins</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Albatross.htm" title="Albatross">albatrosses</a> and other seabirds (<!--del_lnk--> petrels, <!--del_lnk--> auks), hastening the decline of fish stocks and contributing to international disputes. There is municipal sludge pollution off the eastern <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, southern Brazil, and eastern <a href="../../wp/a/Argentina.htm" title="Argentina">Argentina</a>; oil pollution in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, <!--del_lnk--> Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; and industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> June 7, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, Florida's wildlife commission voted to take the manatee off of the state's endangered species list. Some environmentalists worry that this could erode safeguards for the popular sea creature.<p><a id="Major_ports_and_harbours" name="Major_ports_and_harbours"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Major ports and harbours</span></h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="" style="background-color: transparent; width: 100%">
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" width="33.33%"><a id="North_America" name="North_America"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">North America</span></h3><a id="United_States" name="United_States"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">United States</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/b/Baltimore%252C_Maryland.htm" title="Baltimore, Maryland">Baltimore, Maryland</a><li><a href="../../wp/b/Boston%252C_Massachusetts.htm" title="Boston, Massachusetts">Boston, Massachusetts</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Port Canaveral, Florida<li><!--del_lnk--> Charleston, South Carolina<li><!--del_lnk--> Corpus Christi, Texas<li><!--del_lnk--> Port Everglades<li><a href="../../wp/h/Houston%252C_Texas.htm" title="Houston, Texas">Houston, Texas</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Jacksonville, Florida<li><!--del_lnk--> Port of Miami-Dade<li><!--del_lnk--> Morehead City, North Carolina<li><!--del_lnk--> Nantucket, Massachusetts<li><!--del_lnk--> New Haven, Connecticut<li><!--del_lnk--> New London, Connecticut<li><!--del_lnk--> New Orleans, Louisiana<li><a href="../../wp/n/New_York_City.htm" title="New York City">New York, New York</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Newport News, Virginia<li><!--del_lnk--> Norfolk, Virginia<li><!--del_lnk--> Port of Palm Beach<li><!--del_lnk--> Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal<li><!--del_lnk--> Portland, Maine<li><!--del_lnk--> Portsmouth, New Hampshire<li><!--del_lnk--> Providence, Rhode Island<li><!--del_lnk--> Savannah, Georgia<li><!--del_lnk--> Tampa, Florida<li><!--del_lnk--> Wilmington, North Carolina</ul><a id="Canada" name="Canada"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Canada</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island<li><!--del_lnk--> Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador<li><!--del_lnk--> Digby, Nova Scotia<li><!--del_lnk--> Halifax, Nova Scotia<li><!--del_lnk--> Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador<li><!--del_lnk--> Saint John, New Brunswick<li><!--del_lnk--> Shelburne, Nova Scotia<li><!--del_lnk--> Sept-Îles, Quebec<li><!--del_lnk--> St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador<li><!--del_lnk--> Sydney, Nova Scotia<li><!--del_lnk--> Yarmouth, Nova Scotia<li><!--del_lnk--> Calgary, Alberta</ul><a id="Other_North_American_locales" name="Other_North_American_locales"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Other North American locales</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Puerto Cortés, <a href="../../wp/h/Honduras.htm" title="Honduras">Honduras</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles</ul>
</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" width="33.33%"><a id="Europe" name="Europe"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Europe</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/a/Aberdeen.htm" title="Aberdeen">Aberdeen</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a><li><!--del_lnk--> A Coruña, <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Ålesund, <a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norway</a><li><a href="../../wp/a/Amsterdam.htm" title="Amsterdam">Amsterdam</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a><li><a href="../../wp/a/Antwerp.htm" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Avilés, Spain<li><a href="../../wp/b/Belfast.htm" title="Belfast">Belfast</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Bergen, Norway<li><!--del_lnk--> Bilbao, Spain<li><!--del_lnk--> Bodø, Norway<li><!--del_lnk--> Bordeaux, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Bremen, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Brest, France<li><a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a>, United Kingdom<li><!--del_lnk--> Cadiz, Spain<li><!--del_lnk--> Cherbourg-Octeville, France<li><!--del_lnk--> Cork, <a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_Ireland.htm" title="Republic of Ireland">Republic of Ireland</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Dublin Port, Republic of Ireland<li><!--del_lnk--> Dunkirk, France<li><a href="../../wp/e/Edinburgh.htm" title="Edinburgh">Edinburgh</a>, United Kingdom<li><!--del_lnk--> Esbjerg, Denmark<li><a href="../../wp/f/Funchal.htm" title="Funchal">Funchal</a>, Portugal<li><!--del_lnk--> Galway, Republic of Ireland<li><!--del_lnk--> Gijón, Spain<li><a href="../../wp/g/Glasgow.htm" title="Glasgow">Glasgow</a>, United Kingdom<li><a href="../../wp/g/Gothenburg.htm" title="Gothenburg">Gothenburg</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Hafnarfjörður, <a href="../../wp/i/Iceland.htm" title="Iceland">Iceland</a><li><a href="../../wp/h/Hamburg.htm" title="Hamburg">Hamburg</a>, Germany<li><a href="../../wp/l/Las_Palmas_de_Gran_Canaria.htm" title="Las Palmas de Gran Canaria">Las Palmas de Gran Canaria</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Canary Islands<li><!--del_lnk--> Le Havre, France<li><a href="../../wp/l/Lisbon.htm" title="Lisbon">Lisbon</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a><li><a href="../../wp/l/Liverpool.htm" title="Liverpool">Liverpool</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a><li><a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>, United Kingdom<li><!--del_lnk--> Milford Haven, <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Nantes, France<li><!--del_lnk--> Narvik, Norway<li><a href="../../wp/n/Newcastle_upon_Tyne.htm" title="Newcastle upon Tyne">Newcastle upon Tyne</a>, United Kingdom<li><!--del_lnk--> Newport, United Kingdom<li><!--del_lnk--> Normandy, France<li><a href="../../wp/o/Oslo.htm" title="Oslo">Oslo</a>, Norway<li><!--del_lnk--> Ostend, Belgium<li><!--del_lnk--> Penzance, United Kingdom<li><!--del_lnk--> Peterhead, United Kingdom<li><!--del_lnk--> Porto, Portugal<li><a href="../../wp/p/Portsmouth.htm" title="Portsmouth">Portsmouth</a>, United Kingdom<li><!--del_lnk--> Reykjavík, Iceland<li><a href="../../wp/r/Rotterdam.htm" title="Rotterdam">Rotterdam</a>, Netherlands<li><!--del_lnk--> Saint-Nazaire, France<li><!--del_lnk--> Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands<li><!--del_lnk--> Santander, Spain<li><!--del_lnk--> Seville, Spain<li><!--del_lnk--> Sines, Portugal<li><a href="../../wp/s/Southampton.htm" title="Southampton">Southampton</a>, United Kingdom<li><!--del_lnk--> Stavanger, Norway<li><!--del_lnk--> Swansea, United Kingdom<li><!--del_lnk--> Tromsø, Norway<li><!--del_lnk--> Trondheim, Norway<li><!--del_lnk--> Tórshavn, <a href="../../wp/f/Faroe_Islands.htm" title="Faroe Islands">Faroe Islands</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Vigo, Spain</ul>
</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" width="33.33%"><a id="South_America" name="South_America"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">South America</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Quequen<!--del_lnk--> <a href="../../wp/a/Argentina.htm" title="Argentina">Argentina</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Bahia Blanca, <a href="../../wp/a/Argentina.htm" title="Argentina">Argentina</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Mar del Plata, <a href="../../wp/a/Argentina.htm" title="Argentina">Argentina</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Cayenne, <a href="../../wp/f/French_Guiana.htm" title="French Guiana">French Guiana</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Punta Arenas, <a href="../../wp/c/Chile.htm" title="Chile">Chile</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Puerto Williams, <a href="../../wp/c/Chile.htm" title="Chile">Chile</a><li><a href="../../wp/g/Georgetown%252C_Guyana.htm" title="Georgetown, Guyana">Georgetown, Guyana</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Iquitos, <a href="../../wp/p/Peru.htm" title="Peru">Peru</a> (via the <a href="../../wp/a/Amazon_River.htm" title="Amazon River">Amazon</a>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Pucallpa, Peru (via the Amazon)<li><!--del_lnk--> Yurimaguas, Peru (via the Amazon)<li><!--del_lnk--> Paramaribo, <a href="../../wp/s/Suriname.htm" title="Suriname">Suriname</a></ul><a id="Brazil" name="Brazil"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline"><a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a></span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Belém, <!--del_lnk--> Pará<li><!--del_lnk--> São Luís , <!--del_lnk--> Maranhão<li><!--del_lnk--> Fortaleza, <!--del_lnk--> Ceará<li><!--del_lnk--> Recife, <!--del_lnk--> Pernambuco<li><!--del_lnk--> Suape,Pernambuco<li><!--del_lnk--> Maceió, <!--del_lnk--> Alagoas<li><!--del_lnk--> Aratu, <!--del_lnk--> Bahia<li><!--del_lnk--> Salvador, Bahia<li><!--del_lnk--> Vitória, <!--del_lnk--> Espírito Santo<li><a href="../../wp/r/Rio_de_Janeiro.htm" title="Rio de Janeiro">Rio de Janeiro</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Rio_de_Janeiro.htm" title="Rio de Janeiro">Rio de Janeiro</a><li><!--del_lnk--> São Sebastião, <a href="../../wp/s/S%25C3%25A3o_Paulo.htm" title="São Paulo">São Paulo</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Santos, São Paulo<li><!--del_lnk--> Paranaguá, <!--del_lnk--> Paraná<li><!--del_lnk--> Itajaí, <!--del_lnk--> Santa Catarina<li><!--del_lnk--> São Francisco do Sul, Santa Catarina<li><!--del_lnk--> Porto Alegre, <!--del_lnk--> Rio Grande do Sul<li><!--del_lnk--> Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul</ul><a id="Africa" name="Africa"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Africa</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/a/Abidjan.htm" title="Abidjan">Abidjan</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/C%25C3%25B4te_d%2527Ivoire.htm" title="Côte d'Ivoire">Côte d'Ivoire</a><li><a href="../../wp/a/Accra.htm" title="Accra">Accra</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Ghana.htm" title="Ghana">Ghana</a><li><a href="../../wp/b/Banjul.htm" title="Banjul">Banjul</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/The_Gambia.htm" title="The Gambia">The Gambia</a><li><a href="../../wp/b/Bissau.htm" title="Bissau">Bissau</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Guinea-Bissau.htm" title="Guinea-Bissau">Guinea-Bissau</a><li><a href="../../wp/c/Cape_Town.htm" title="Cape Town">Cape Town</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Casablanca, <a href="../../wp/m/Morocco.htm" title="Morocco">Morocco</a><li><a href="../../wp/c/Conakry.htm" title="Conakry">Conakry</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Guinea.htm" title="Guinea">Guinea</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Cotonou, <a href="../../wp/b/Benin.htm" title="Benin">Benin</a><li><a href="../../wp/d/Dakar.htm" title="Dakar">Dakar</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Senegal.htm" title="Senegal">Senegal</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Douala, <a href="../../wp/c/Cameroon.htm" title="Cameroon">Cameroon</a><li><a href="../../wp/l/Lagos.htm" title="Lagos">Lagos</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/Nigeria.htm" title="Nigeria">Nigeria</a><li><a href="../../wp/l/Libreville.htm" title="Libreville">Libreville</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Gabon.htm" title="Gabon">Gabon</a><li><a href="../../wp/l/Lom%25C3%25A9.htm" title="Lomé">Lomé</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Togo.htm" title="Togo">Togo</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Luanda, <a href="../../wp/a/Angola.htm" title="Angola">Angola</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Malabo, <a href="../../wp/e/Equatorial_Guinea.htm" title="Equatorial Guinea">Equatorial Guinea</a><li><a href="../../wp/m/Monrovia.htm" title="Monrovia">Monrovia</a>, <a href="../../wp/l/Liberia.htm" title="Liberia">Liberia</a><li><a href="../../wp/n/Nouakchott.htm" title="Nouakchott">Nouakchott</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Mauritania.htm" title="Mauritania">Mauritania</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Port Harcourt, Nigeria<li><a href="../../wp/p/Porto-Novo.htm" title="Porto-Novo">Porto-Novo</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Benin.htm" title="Benin">Benin</a><li><a href="../../wp/p/Praia.htm" title="Praia">Praia</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Cape_Verde.htm" title="Cape Verde">Cape Verde</a><li><a href="../../wp/r/Rabat.htm" title="Rabat">Rabat</a>, Morocco<li><!--del_lnk--> Saldanah, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Tangier, Morocco<li><!--del_lnk--> Walvis Bay, <a href="../../wp/n/Namibia.htm" title="Namibia">Namibia</a></ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Note: This list of ports and harbors is very short. For instance, Panama alone has 30 ports.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Ocean"</div>
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Atlantic_herring | <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Atlantic herring</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Insects_Reptiles_and_Fish.htm">Insects, Reptiles and Fish</a></h3>
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<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Atlantic herring</b></th>
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<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/166/16685.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="98" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Herringkils.jpg" src="../../images/166/16685.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
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<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
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<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
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<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Chordata<br />
</td>
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<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Actinopterygii<br />
</td>
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<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Clupeiformes<br />
</td>
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<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Clupeidae<br />
</td>
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<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Clupea</i><br />
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<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>C. harengus</b></i></span><br />
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<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
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<td><i><b>Clupea harengus</b></i><br /><small><a href="../../wp/c/Carolus_Linnaeus.htm" title="Carolus Linnaeus">Linnaeus</a>, 1758</small></td>
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<p><b>Atlantic herring</b> <i>Clupea harengus</i> is the one of the most abundant species of <a href="../../wp/f/Fish.htm" title="Fish">fish</a> on the planet. They can be found on both sides of the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a> congregating together in large schools or (<b><!--del_lnk--> swarms</b>). They can grow up to <!--del_lnk--> 45 centimeters (approximately 18 inches) in length and weigh more than half a <!--del_lnk--> kilogram. They feed on <!--del_lnk--> copepods, <a href="../../wp/k/Krill.htm" title="Krill">krill</a> and small fish, their natural predators are <!--del_lnk--> seals, <a href="../../wp/w/Whale.htm" title="Whale">whales</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Cod.htm" title="Cod">cod</a> and other larger fish.<p>The Atlantic herring fishery has long been an important part of the economy of <!--del_lnk--> New England and the <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canadian</a> <!--del_lnk--> Maritime provinces, this is because the fish congregate relatively near to the coast in massive schools, notably in the cold waters of the semi-enclosed <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of Maine and <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of St. Lawrence. North Atlantic herring schools have been measured up to <!--del_lnk--> 4 cubic kilometers in size, containing an estimated 4 billion fish although as of late the stocks of this fishery are collapsing.<p>
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</script><a id="Morphology" name="Morphology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Morphology</span></h2>
<p>Atlantic herring have an elongated body that is fairly slender, a belly that is rounded (compared with that of a <!--del_lnk--> sprat, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sprattus sprattus</i>), they also have no <!--del_lnk--> adipose fin this feature distinguishes <!--del_lnk--> herrings from the Family of <!--del_lnk--> salmon. The Atlantic herring are distinguished from other herring (there are close to 200 species in the family clupeidae) by their relativley small size, they have <!--del_lnk--> scutes without a prominent <!--del_lnk--> keel and they have a <!--del_lnk--> pelvic] fin that is located behind the <!--del_lnk--> dorsal fin, the dorsal fin is located midway along their body. Atlantic herring can be further identified from that of other herring by their cluster of small teeth that are arranged in the shape of an oval at the roof of its mouth. This feature is particular to Atlantic herring.<p><a id="Ecological_importance" name="Ecological_importance"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Ecological importance</span></h2>
<p>Herring-like fish are the most important fish group on the planet, <i>Clupea harengus</i> the most frequent fish (<!--del_lnk--> Guinness Book of Records). They are the dominant converter of the enormous production of <!--del_lnk--> zooplankton, utilizing the biomass of <!--del_lnk--> copepods, <!--del_lnk--> mysids and <a href="../../wp/k/Krill.htm" title="Krill">krill</a> in the <!--del_lnk--> pelagial. They are on the other side a central prey item for higher trophic levels. The reasons for its success is still enigmatic; one speculation is attributing their dominance to the outstanding way of living in huge, extremely fast cruising schools.<p><a id="Geographical_distribution" name="Geographical_distribution"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geographical distribution</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16686.jpg.htm" title="Clupea harengus distribution on a NASA SeaWIFS image - the main concentrations are in the North Atlantic at the North Sea"><img alt="Clupea harengus distribution on a NASA SeaWIFS image - the main concentrations are in the North Atlantic at the North Sea" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Clupeaharengusdistkils.jpg" src="../../images/166/16686.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16686.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Clupea harengus</i> distribution on a <!--del_lnk--> NASA <!--del_lnk--> SeaWIFS image - the main concentrations are in the <!--del_lnk--> North Atlantic at the <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a></div>
</div>
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<p>Atlantic herring can be found on both sides of the Atlantic ocean. they have an extensive range that covers the North Atlantic waters such as the Gulf of Maine, the <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of St Lawrence, the <!--del_lnk--> Bay of Fundy, the <!--del_lnk--> Labrador Sea, the <!--del_lnk--> Davis Straits, the <!--del_lnk--> Beaufort Sea, the <!--del_lnk--> Denmark Straits, the <!--del_lnk--> Norwegian Sea, the <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a>, the <a href="../../wp/b/Baltic_Sea.htm" title="Baltic Sea">Baltic Sea</a>, the <a href="../../wp/e/English_Channel.htm" title="English Channel">English Channel</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Celtic Sea, and the <!--del_lnk--> Bay of Biscay. Although Atlantic herring are found in the northern waters sorrounding the <a href="../../wp/a/Arctic.htm" title="Arctic">Arctic</a> they are however, not considered to be an Arctic species.<p><a id="Biological_specialities" name="Biological_specialities"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Biological specialities</span></h2>
<p>Herring are amongst the most spectacular schoolers ("<!--del_lnk--> obligate schooler" under the old definitions), they aggregate together in groups that consist of thousands to hundreds of thousands of individuals these schools traverse the open oceans . A school of herring in general has a very precise arrangement thus allowing the school to maintain a relatively constant cruising speed. Schools that are made up of an individual stock generally travel in a triangular pattern between their spawning grounds e.g. Southern <a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norway</a>, their feeding grounds (<a href="../../wp/i/Iceland.htm" title="Iceland">Iceland</a>) and also their nursery grounds (Northern Norway). Such wide triangular journeys are probably important because herring feast efficiently on their own offspring. A school of herring can react very quickly to evade predators; they have excellent hearing. Around SCUBA divers and ROVs they can form a vacuole ("fountain effect"). The phenomenon of schooling is however, far from understood, especially the implications on swimming and feeding-energetics. Many hypotheses have been put forward to explain the function of schooling, such as predator confusion, reduced risk of being found, better orientation, and <!--del_lnk--> synchronized hunting. However, schooling can also have some disadvantages such as: oxygen- and food-depletion, excretion buildup in the breathing media. The school-array probably gives advantages in energy saving although this is a highly controversial and much debated field.<p>Schools of herring can on calm days sometimes be detected at the surface from more than a mile away by the little waves they form, or from a few meters at night when they trigger the <!--del_lnk--> bioluminescence of surrounding <!--del_lnk--> plankton ("firing"). All underwater recordings show herring constantly cruising with high speeds up to 108 cm per second, and much higher escape speeds.<p><a id="Habitat_requirements" name="Habitat_requirements"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Habitat requirements</span></h2>
<p>Atlantic herring are in general very tender and fragile fish. They have extraordinarly large and delicate <!--del_lnk--> gill surfaces, and upon contact with foreign matter they can lose their large scales. They have retreated from many of the <!--del_lnk--> estuaries worldwide due to high <a href="../../wp/p/Pollution.htm" title="Pollution">pollution</a> content within the water although in some of the estuaries that have been cleaned up herring have been observed returning. The appearance of their larvae is used as bioindicator for cleaner and better oxygenated waters.<p>Because of their feeding habits, cruising desire, collective behaviour and fragility they are only on display in very few <a href="../../wp/a/Aquarium.htm" title="Aquaria">aquaria</a> worldwide, this despite their natural abundance in the ocean. Even with the best facilities that these aquaria can offer they appear slim and slow compared to a quivering school in the wild.<p><a id="Life_history" name="Life_history"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Life history</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16687.jpg.htm" title="Transparent eggs with the eyes visible, one larva hatched. Observe the yolk."><img alt="Transparent eggs with the eyes visible, one larva hatched. Observe the yolk." height="148" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Clupeaharenguskils2.jpg" src="../../images/166/16687.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16687.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Transparent eggs with the eyes visible, one larva hatched. Observe the <!--del_lnk--> yolk.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>There is at least one herring stock spawning in any one month of the year, each race having a different spawning time and place (spring, summer, autumn and winter herrings) in 0 to 5 m off Greenland down to 200 m in autumn (bank) herrings of the North Sea. Eggs are laid on the sea bed, on rock, stones, gravel, sand or beds of algae. "...the fish were darting rapidly about, and those who have opportunity to see the fish spawning in more shallow water ... state that both males and females are in constant motion, rubbing against one another and upon the bottom, apparently by pressure aiding in the discharge of the eggs and milt" (Moore at Cross Island, Maine).<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16688.jpg.htm" title="Freshly hatched larvae in a drop of water besides a match to demonstrate how tiny the larvae are. The black eyes and the yolk are visible."><img alt="Freshly hatched larvae in a drop of water besides a match to demonstrate how tiny the larvae are. The black eyes and the yolk are visible." height="151" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Clupealarvamatchkils.jpg" src="../../images/166/16688.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16688.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Freshly hatched larvae in a drop of water besides a match to demonstrate how tiny the larvae are. The black eyes and the <!--del_lnk--> yolk are visible.</div>
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<p>A female herring may deposit from 20000 up to 40000 eggs, according to her age and size, averaging about 30000. In sexually mature herrings, the genital organs are so large just before spawning commences that they make up about one-fifth of the total weight of the fish.<p>The eggs sink to the bottom, where they stick in layers or clumps to gravel, seaweeds or stones, by means of their coating mucus, or to any other objects on which they chance to settle.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16689.jpg.htm" title="Juvenile herring. Length ca. 38 mm, ca. 3 months old (still transparent). Visible are the otoliths, the gut, the silvery swimbladder and the heart. Click twice into the image for high resolution."><img alt="Juvenile herring. Length ca. 38 mm, ca. 3 months old (still transparent). Visible are the otoliths, the gut, the silvery swimbladder and the heart. Click twice into the image for high resolution." height="124" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Herringjuvenilekils.jpg" src="../../images/166/16689.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16689.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Juvenile herring. Length ca. 38 mm, ca. 3 months old (still transparent). Visible are the <!--del_lnk--> otoliths, the gut, the silvery <!--del_lnk--> swimbladder and the heart. Click twice into the image for high resolution.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>If the layers get too thick they suffer from oxygen depletion and often die, entangled in a maze of <!--del_lnk--> fucus. They need a fair amount of water microturbulence, generally provided by wave action or coastal currents. Survival is highest in crevices and behind solid structures, because many predators feast on openly disposed eggs. The individual eggs are 1 to 1.4 mm in diameter, depending on the size of the parent fish and also on the local race. Incubation time is about 40 days at 3°C (38 F), 15 days at 7°C (45 F), 11 days at 10°C (50 F), they die at temperatures above 19°C (68 F).<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16690.jpg.htm" title="Very young larvae imaged in situ in the typical oblique swimming position. The animal in the upper right is in the classical S-shape of the beginning phase of an attack of probably a copepod. The remains of the yolk and the long gut are very well visible in the transparent animal in the middle."><img alt="Very young larvae imaged in situ in the typical oblique swimming position. The animal in the upper right is in the classical S-shape of the beginning phase of an attack of probably a copepod. The remains of the yolk and the long gut are very well visible in the transparent animal in the middle." height="158" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Clupeaharenguslarvaeinsitukils.jpg" src="../../images/166/16690.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16690.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Very young larvae imaged <i>in situ</i> in the typical oblique swimming position. The animal in the upper right is in the classical S-shape of the beginning phase of an attack of probably a <!--del_lnk--> copepod. The remains of the <!--del_lnk--> yolk and the long gut are very well visible in the transparent animal in the middle.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The larvae are 5 to 6 mm long at hatching, with a small yolk sac that is absorbed by the time a length of 10 mm is reached. Only the eyes are well pigmented (a camera works only with a black housing) the rest of the body is as transparent as possible, and virtually invisible under water and natural luminance conditions.<p>The dorsal fin is formed at 15 to 17 mm, the anal fin at about 30 mm - the ventral fins are visible and the tail becomes well forked at 30 to 35 mm - at about 40 mm the little fish begins to look like a herring.<p><b>Larvae diagnostics</b>: The larvae of the herring family are very slender and can easily be distinguished from all other young fish of their distribution range of similar form by the location of the vent, which is so far back that it lies close to the base of the tail. But it requires critical examination to distinguish several clupeoids one from another in their early stages, especially herring from sprats.<p>At the age of one year they are about 100 mm long, first spawning at 3 years.<br style="clear:both" />
<p><a id="Schooling" name="Schooling"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Schooling</span></h2>
<p>Atlantic herring are world famous for their huge schools, often numbering in the hundreds of thousands or even millions. One recorded enormous school covered 4 sq. km. in area and reportedly had more than 4 billion fish.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16691.jpg.htm" title="school of juvenile herring close to the surface"><img alt="school of juvenile herring close to the surface" height="116" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Fischool2.jpg" src="../../images/166/16691.jpg" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16691.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> school of juvenile herring close to the surface</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16692.gif.htm" title="Underwater video (looping) of a school on its migration to their spawning grounds in the Baltic Sea. With such high speed they can migrate over thousands of kilometers. In the North Atlantic they cruise between Norway and Greenland every year."><img alt="Underwater video (looping) of a school on its migration to their spawning grounds in the Baltic Sea. With such high speed they can migrate over thousands of kilometers. In the North Atlantic they cruise between Norway and Greenland every year." height="210" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Heringsschwarm.gif" src="../../images/166/16692.gif" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16692.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Underwater video (looping) of a school on its migration to their spawning grounds in the <a href="../../wp/b/Baltic_Sea.htm" title="Baltic Sea">Baltic Sea</a>. With such high speed they can migrate over thousands of kilometers. In the <!--del_lnk--> North Atlantic they cruise between <a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norway</a> and <a href="../../wp/g/Greenland.htm" title="Greenland">Greenland</a> every year.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>
<br style="clear:both" />
<p><a id="Feeding" name="Feeding"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Feeding</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16693.gif.htm" title="Slow motion macrophotography video (50% timelag, looping, each image shifted to compensate the rolling microturbulences from the waves) of feeding juvenile herring (38 mm) on copepods - the fish approach from below and catch each copepod individually. In the middle of the image a copepod escapes successfully to the left. Scanned with the ecoSCOPE"><img alt="Slow motion macrophotography video (50% timelag, looping, each image shifted to compensate the rolling microturbulences from the waves) of feeding juvenile herring (38 mm) on copepods - the fish approach from below and catch each copepod individually. In the middle of the image a copepod escapes successfully to the left. Scanned with the ecoSCOPE" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cc3s.gif" src="../../images/166/16693.gif" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16693.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Slow motion macrophotography video (50% timelag, looping, each image shifted to compensate the rolling microturbulences from the waves) of feeding juvenile herring (38 mm) on <!--del_lnk--> copepods - the fish approach from below and catch each copepod individually. In the middle of the image a copepod escapes successfully to the left. Scanned with the <!--del_lnk--> ecoSCOPE</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16694.gif.htm" title="In this sequence a herring attacks four times in a row (50% timelag, looping, each image shifted to compensate the rolling microturbulences from the waves). In the third attack the copepod is visible between the wide opened sides of the mouth. The opercula are spread wide open to compensate the pressure wave which would alert the copepod to trigger a jump."><img alt="In this sequence a herring attacks four times in a row (50% timelag, looping, each image shifted to compensate the rolling microturbulences from the waves). In the third attack the copepod is visible between the wide opened sides of the mouth. The opercula are spread wide open to compensate the pressure wave which would alert the copepod to trigger a jump." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cc8s.gif" src="../../images/166/16694.gif" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16694.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> In this sequence a herring attacks four times in a row (50% timelag, looping, each image shifted to compensate the rolling microturbulences from the waves). In the third attack the <!--del_lnk--> copepod is visible between the wide opened sides of the mouth. The <!--del_lnk--> opercula are spread wide open to compensate the pressure wave which would alert the copepod to trigger a jump.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Herring is a pelagic feeder - their prey consists of <!--del_lnk--> copepods, <!--del_lnk--> amphipods, larval <!--del_lnk--> snails, <!--del_lnk--> diatoms (only herring larvae below 20 mm), peridinians, molluscan larvae, fish eggs, <a href="../../wp/k/Krill.htm" title="Krill">euphausids</a>, <!--del_lnk--> mysids, small fishes, herring larvae, menhaden larvae, <!--del_lnk--> pteropods, <!--del_lnk--> annelids, <!--del_lnk--> tintinnids (only herring larvae below 45 mm), Haplosphaera, Calanus, Pseudocalanus, Acartia, Hyperia, Centropages, Temora, <!--del_lnk--> Meganyctiphanes norvegica.<p>Young herring capture copepods predominantly individually ("particulate feeding" or "raptorial feeding") (Kils 1992), a feeding method also used by adult herring on large prey items like euphausids.<p>If prey concentrations reach very high levels, as in microlayers, at fronts or directly below the surface, herring ram forwards with wide open mouth and far expanded opercula over several feet, then closing and cleaning the gill rakers for a few milliseconds ("sift feeding" or "filter feeding").<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16695.jpg.htm" title="Herring ram feeding on a school of copepods. All fish have the opercula wide open all at the same time (the red gills are visible) and the mouth wide open (click to enlarge). The fish swim in a grid with a distance of the jumplength of their prey, as indicated in the animation below."><img alt="Herring ram feeding on a school of copepods. All fish have the opercula wide open all at the same time (the red gills are visible) and the mouth wide open (click to enlarge). The fish swim in a grid with a distance of the jumplength of their prey, as indicated in the animation below." height="113" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Herringramkils.jpg" src="../../images/166/16695.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16695.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Herring ram feeding on a school of <!--del_lnk--> copepods. All fish have the opercula wide open all at the same time (the red gills are visible) and the mouth wide open (click to enlarge). The fish swim in a grid with a distance of the jumplength of their prey, as indicated in the animation below.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16696.gif.htm" title="Juvenile herring hunt for the very alert and evasive copepods in synchronization: The copepods can sense with their antennae the pressure-wave of the approaching herring and react with a fast escape jump. The length of the jump is quite similar. The fish arrange in a grid of this characteristic jumplength. The copepods can dart ca. 80 times before they tire out. It takes 60 milliseconds to spread out the antennae again, and this timeslot is utilized often by the herring to snap finally a copepod. A single juvenile herring would never be able to catch a large copepod ("Synchropredation" - results from in situ videos taken from the ATOLL laboratory)."><img alt="Juvenile herring hunt for the very alert and evasive copepods in synchronization: The copepods can sense with their antennae the pressure-wave of the approaching herring and react with a fast escape jump. The length of the jump is quite similar. The fish arrange in a grid of this characteristic jumplength. The copepods can dart ca. 80 times before they tire out. It takes 60 milliseconds to spread out the antennae again, and this timeslot is utilized often by the herring to snap finally a copepod. A single juvenile herring would never be able to catch a large copepod ("Synchropredation" - results from in situ videos taken from the ATOLL laboratory)." height="125" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Synchropredation.gif" src="../../images/166/16696.gif" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16696.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Juvenile herring hunt for the very alert and evasive <!--del_lnk--> copepods in synchronization: The copepods can sense with their <!--del_lnk--> antennae the pressure-wave of the approaching herring and react with a fast escape jump. The length of the jump is quite similar. The fish arrange in a grid of this characteristic jumplength. The copepods can dart ca. 80 times before they tire out. It takes 60 milliseconds to spread out the antennae again, and this timeslot is utilized often by the herring to snap finally a copepod. A single juvenile herring would never be able to catch a large copepod ("Synchropredation" - results from <i>in situ</i> videos taken from the <!--del_lnk--> ATOLL laboratory).</div>
</div>
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<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_herring"</div>
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<p>The <b>Atlantic slave trade</b>, started by the Portuguese, but soon dominated by the English, was the sale and exploitation of African slaves by Europeans that occurred in and around the Atlantic Ocean from the 15th century to the 19th century. Most slaves were transported from <!--del_lnk--> West Africa and <!--del_lnk--> Central Africa to the <!--del_lnk--> New World. While Europeans obtained most slaves through coastal trade with African trading states, some slaves were captured through raids and kidnapping. Some contemporary historians estimate that 12 million Africans <b>arrived</b> in the new world, making it one of the largest forced migrations in human history. However, some estimate that the number is as high as 25 to 40 million . The slave-trade is sometimes called the <!--del_lnk--> Maafa by African and <!--del_lnk--> African-American scholars, meaning "holocaust" or "great disaster" in <!--del_lnk--> Kiswahili. The <a href="../../wp/s/Slavery.htm" title="Slavery">slaves</a> were one element of a three-part <!--del_lnk--> economic cycle—the <!--del_lnk--> Triangular Trade and its <!--del_lnk--> Middle Passage—which ultimately involved four <a href="../../wp/c/Continent.htm" title="Continent">continents</a>, four <!--del_lnk--> centuries and millions of people.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Triangular_trade" name="Triangular_trade"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Triangular trade</span></h2>
<p>European colonists practiced <!--del_lnk--> Indian slavery, enslaving many of the natives of the New World. For a variety of reasons Africans replaced Indians as the main population of slaves in the Americas. In some cases, such as on some of the <!--del_lnk--> Caribbean Islands, disease and warfare eliminated the natives completely. In other cases, such as in South Carolina, Virginia, and New England, the need for alliances with native tribes coupled with the availability of African slaves at affordable prices (beginning in the early 18th century for these colonies) resulted in a shift away from Indian slavery. It is often falsely claimed that Indians made poor slaves compared to Africans, explaining the shift to using Africans. The reasons had more to do with economics and politics.<p>Research published in <!--del_lnk--> 2006 reports the earliest known presence of African slaves in the New World. A burial ground in <!--del_lnk--> Campeche, <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico.htm" title="Mexico">Mexico</a>, suggests slaves had been brought there not long after <a href="../../wp/h/Hern%25C3%25A1n_Cort%25C3%25A9s.htm" title="Hernán Cortés">Hernán Cortés</a> completed the subjugation of <a href="../../wp/a/Aztec.htm" title="Aztec">Aztec</a> and <a href="../../wp/m/Maya_civilization.htm" title="Maya civilization">Mayan</a> Mexico.<p>The first side of the triangle was the export of goods from Europe to Africa. A number of African kings and merchants took part in the trading of slaves from <!--del_lnk--> 1440 to about <!--del_lnk--> 1900. For each captive, the African rulers would receive a variety of goods from Europe. Many of them were confronted with the dilemma of trading with Europe or becoming slaves themselves. The second leg of the triangle exported enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to South America, the Carribean islands, and North America. Five times the number of slaves were transported to the Americas compared to those transports to Europe. This is because the slaves were exposed to new diseases and also because of malnutrition. The third and final part of the triangle was the return of goods to Europe from the Americas. The goods were the products of slave-labor plantations and included <a href="../../wp/c/Cotton.htm" title="Cotton">cotton</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Sugar.htm" title="Sugar">sugar</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Tobacco.htm" title="Tobacco">tobacco</a>, <!--del_lnk--> molasses and <!--del_lnk--> rum.<p><a id="Labour_and_slavery" name="Labour_and_slavery"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Labour and slavery</span></h2>
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<p>The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade originated as a <!--del_lnk--> shortage of labour in the American colonies and later the USA. The first slaves used by European colonizers were <!--del_lnk--> Indigenous peoples of the Americas 'Indian' peoples until African slaves were available in quantity at affordable prices. It was also difficult to get Europeans to emigrate to the colonies, despite incentives such as <!--del_lnk--> indentured servitude or even distribution of free land (mainly in the English colonies that became the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>). Massive amounts of labour were needed, initially for <a href="../../wp/m/Mining.htm" title="Mining">mining</a>, and soon even more for the plantations in the labour-intensive growing, harvesting and semi-processing of <a href="../../wp/s/Sugar.htm" title="Sugar">sugar</a> (also for rum and molasses), <a href="../../wp/c/Cotton.htm" title="Cotton">cotton</a> and other prized tropical crops which could not be grown profitably — in some cases, could not be grown at all — in the colder climate of Europe. It was also cheaper to import these goods from American colonies than from regions within the <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman Empire</a>. To meet this demand for labour European traders thus turned to <!--del_lnk--> Western Africa (part of which became known as 'the <!--del_lnk--> Slave Coast') and later <!--del_lnk--> Central Africa as the new source for slaves. <a id="African_slave_market" name="African_slave_market"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">African slave market</span></h2>
<p>Europeans usually bought slaves who were captured in wars between African kingdoms and chiefdoms, or from Africans who had made a business out of capturing Africans and selling them. Europeans provided a large new market for an already-existing trade, and while an African held in slavery in his own region of Africa might escape or be traded back to his own people, a person shipped away was sure never to return. Peoples living around the Niger River were transported from these markets to the coast and sold at European trading ports in exchange for <!--del_lnk--> muskets and manufactured goods such as cloth or alcohol.<p>Europeans rarely entered the interior of Africa, due to fear of disease and moreover fierce African resistance. They would be brought to coastal outposts where they would be traded for goods. Enslavement also became a major by-product of war in Africa as nation states expanded through military conflicts in many cases through deliberate sponsorship of benefiting European nations. During such periods of rapid state formation or expansion (<!--del_lnk--> Asante or <!--del_lnk--> Dahomey being good examples), slavery formed an important element of political life which the Europeans exploited: As Queen Sara's plea to the Portuguese courts revealed, the system became "sell to the Europeans or be sold to the Europerans". In Africa, convicted criminals could be punished by enslavement and with European demands for slaves, this punishment became more prevalent. Since most of these nations did not have a prison system, convicts were often sold or used in the scattered local domestic slave market. <p>The majority of European conquests occurred toward the end or after the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. One exception to this is the conquest of Ndongo in Angola where warriors, citizens and even nobility were taken into slavery after the fall of the state.<p>
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<p><a id="African_versus_European_slavery" name="African_versus_European_slavery"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">African versus European slavery</span></h3>
<p>See also <a href="../../wp/a/African_slave_trade.htm" title="African slave trade">African slave trade</a><p>"Slavery", as it is often referred to, in African cultures was generally more like indentured servitude: "slaves" were not made to be chattel of other men, nor enslaved for life. African "slaves" were paid wages and were able to accumulate property. They often bought their own freedom and could then achieve social promotion - just as <!--del_lnk--> freedmen in ancient Rome - some even rose to the status of rulers (e.g. <!--del_lnk--> Jaja of Opobo and <!--del_lnk--> Sunni Ali Ber). Similar arguments were used by western slave owners during the time of abolition, for example by John Wedderburn in <i><!--del_lnk--> Wedderburn v. Knight</i>, the case that ended legal recognition of slavery in <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a> in 1776. Regardless of the legal options open to slave owners, rational cost-earning calculation and/or voluntary adoption of moral restraints often tended to mitigate (except with traders, who preferred to weed out the worthless weak individuals) the actual fate of slaves throughout history.<p><a id="African_kingdoms_of_the_era" name="African_kingdoms_of_the_era"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">African kingdoms of the era</span></h3>
<p>There were over 173 city-states and kingdoms in the African regions affected by the slave trade between 1502 and 1853, when <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a> became the last Atlantic import nation to outlaw the slave trade. Of those 173, no fewer than 68 could be deemed "nation states" with political and military infrastructures that enabled them to dominate their neighbors. Nearly every present-day nation had a pre-colonial forbear with which European traders had to barter and eventually battle. Below are 38 nation states by country with populations that correspond to African-Americans:<ul>
<li>Mali: <!--del_lnk--> Bamana Empire, <!--del_lnk--> Kenedougou Kingdom and <!--del_lnk--> Songhai Empire<li>Burkina Faso: <!--del_lnk--> Mossi Kingdoms<li>Senegal: <!--del_lnk--> Jolof Empire, <!--del_lnk--> Denanke Kingdom, <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Fouta Tooro, <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Khasso and <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Saalum<li>Guinea-Bissau: <!--del_lnk--> Kaabu<li>Guinea: <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Fouta Djallon and <!--del_lnk--> Mali Empire<li>Sierra Leone: <!--del_lnk--> Koya Temne and <!--del_lnk--> Kpaa Mende<li>Cote d'Ivoire: <!--del_lnk--> Gyaaman Kingdom and <!--del_lnk--> Kong Empire<li>Ghana: <!--del_lnk--> Asante Confederacy and <!--del_lnk--> Mankessim Kingdom<li>Benin: <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Dahomey<li>Nigeria: <!--del_lnk--> Aro Confederacy, <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Benin, <!--del_lnk--> Igala, <!--del_lnk--> Nupe and <!--del_lnk--> Oyo<li>Cameroon Kingdoms: <!--del_lnk--> Bamun and <!--del_lnk--> Mandara kingdom<li>Gabon: <!--del_lnk--> Orungu<li>Equatorial Guinea: <!--del_lnk--> Otcho<li>Republic of Congo: <!--del_lnk--> Anziku and <!--del_lnk--> Loango<li>Democratic Republic of Congo: <!--del_lnk--> Kuba Kingdom, <!--del_lnk--> Luba Empire, <!--del_lnk--> Lunda Kingdom and <!--del_lnk--> Matamba<li>Angola: <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Kongo and <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Ndongo</ul>
<p>There were eight principal areas used by Europeans to buy and ship slaves to the Western Hemisphere.<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Senegambia: Present day <a href="../../wp/s/Senegal.htm" title="Senegal">Senegal</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Gambia, <a href="../../wp/g/Guinea-Bissau.htm" title="Guinea-Bissau">Guinea-Bissau</a>, and <a href="../../wp/g/Guinea.htm" title="Guinea">Guinea</a><li>Sierra Leone: Present day <a href="../../wp/s/Sierra_Leone.htm" title="Sierra Leone">Sierra Leone</a> and <a href="../../wp/l/Liberia.htm" title="Liberia">Liberia</a><li>The <!--del_lnk--> Windward Coast: Present day <!--del_lnk--> Cote d'Ivoire<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Gold Coast: Present-day <a href="../../wp/g/Ghana.htm" title="Ghana">Ghana</a><li>The <!--del_lnk--> Bight of Benin or the Slave Coast: <a href="../../wp/t/Togo.htm" title="Togo">Togo</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Benin.htm" title="Benin">Benin</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/Nigeria.htm" title="Nigeria">Nigeria</a> west of the <!--del_lnk--> Benue River<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Bight of Biafra: Nigeria south of the Benue River, <a href="../../wp/c/Cameroon.htm" title="Cameroon">Cameroon</a> and <a href="../../wp/e/Equatorial_Guinea.htm" title="Equatorial Guinea">Equatorial Guinea</a><li>Central Africa (sometimes called <!--del_lnk--> Kongo in slave ship logs): <a href="../../wp/g/Gabon.htm" title="Gabon">Gabon</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Democratic Republic of Congo) and <a href="../../wp/a/Angola.htm" title="Angola">Angola</a><li>Southeast Africa: <a href="../../wp/m/Mozambique.htm" title="Mozambique">Mozambique</a> and <a href="../../wp/m/Madagascar.htm" title="Madagascar">Madagascar</a>.</ul>
<p>The number of slaves sold to the new world varied throughout the slave trade. The minimum and least disputed number is 10 million. As for the distribution of slaves from regions of activity, the Senegambia provided about 5.8%, Sierra Leone 3.4%, Windward Coast 12.1%, Central Africa 14.4%, Bight of Benin 14.5%, Bight of Biafra 23%, Gold Coast 25% and Southeast Africa 1.8%.<p><a id="Ethnic_groups" name="Ethnic_groups"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Ethnic groups</span></h4>
<p>The different ethnic groups brought to the Americas closely corresponds to the regions of heaviest activity in the slave trade. Over 45 distinct ethnic groups were taken to the Americas during the trade. Of the 45, the ten most prominent according to slave documentation of the era are listed below.<ol>
<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Gbe speakers of Togo, Ghana and Benin (Adja, Mina, Ewe, Fon)<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Mbundu of Angola (includes Ovimbundu)<li>The <!--del_lnk--> BaKongo of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Igbo of Nigeria<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Yoruba of Nigeria<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Akan of Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Mandé speakers of Upper Guinea<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Wolof of Senegal<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Chamba of Nigeria<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Makua of Mozambique</ol>
<p><a id="Human_toll" name="Human_toll"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Human toll</span></h2>
<p>The trans-Atlantic slave trade resulted in a vast loss of life for African captives both in Africa and in America. Around 20 million Africans died during the brutal process, which turned human beings into property. The savage nature of the trade, where most of the slaves were procured during African wars, led to the destruction of individuals and cultures. For every African captive arriving in the <!--del_lnk--> New World two died during capture, storage, transport or "seasoning". The exact number of dead may never be known, but records of the period and modern research paint a grim picture. The following figures do not include deaths of African slaves as a result of their actual labor, slave revolts or diseases they caught while living among New World populations.<p><a id="African_conflicts" name="African_conflicts"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">African conflicts</span></h3>
<p>According to David Stannard's <i>American Holocaust</i>, 50% of African deaths (10 million) occurred in Africa as a result of wars between native kingdoms, which produced the majority of slaves. This includes not only those who died in battles, but also those who died as a result of forced marches from inland areas to slave ports on the various coasts. The practice of enslaving enemy combatants and their villages was widespread throughout Western and West Central Africa, although wars were rarely started to procure slaves. The slave trade was largely a by-product of tribal and state warfare as a way of removing potential dissidents after victory or financing future wars. However, some African groups proved particularly adept and brutal at the practice of enslaving such as <!--del_lnk--> Kaabu, <!--del_lnk--> Asanteman, <!--del_lnk--> Dahomey, the <!--del_lnk--> Aro Confederacy and the <!--del_lnk--> Imbangala war bands.<p><a id="Port_factories" name="Port_factories"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Port factories</span></h3>
<p>After being marched to the coast for sale, Africans waited in large forts called factories. The amount of time in factories varied, but Milton Meltzer's <i>Slavery: A World History</i> states this process resulted in 4.5% of deaths during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. In other words, around 900,000 Africans would have died in ports such as <!--del_lnk--> Benguela, <!--del_lnk--> Elmina and <!--del_lnk--> Bonny.<p><a id="Atlantic_shipment" name="Atlantic_shipment"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Atlantic shipment</span></h3>
<p>After being captured and held in the factories, slaves entered the infamous <!--del_lnk--> Middle Passage. Meltzer's research puts this phase of the slave trade's overall mortality at 12.5%. Around 2.5 million Africans died during these voyages where they were packed into tight, unsanitary spaces on ships for months at time. Measures were taken to stem the onboard mortality rate such as mandatory dancing above deck and the practice of force-feeding any slaves that attempted to starve themselves. The conditions on board also resulted in the spread of fatal diseases. Other fatalities were the result of suicides by jumping over board by slaves who could no longer endure the conditions .<p><a id="Seasoning_camps" name="Seasoning_camps"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Seasoning camps</span></h3>
<p>Meltzer also states that 33% of Africans would have died in the first year at seasoning camps found throughout the Caribbean. Many slaves shipped directly to North America bypassed this process; however most slaves (destined for island or South American plantations) were likely to be put through this ordeal. The slaves were tortured for the purpose of "breaking" them (like the practice of <!--del_lnk--> breaking horses) and conditioning them to their new lot in life. <a href="../../wp/j/Jamaica.htm" title="Jamaica">Jamaica</a> held one of the most notorious of these camps. All in all, 6.6 million Africans died in these camps reducing the final number of Africans to about 10 million.<p><a id="European_competition" name="European_competition"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">European competition</span></h2>
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<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/523/52313.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Reproduction of a handbill advertising a slave auction in <!--del_lnk--> Charleston, South Carolina, in 1769.</div>
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<p>The trade of enslaved Africans in the Atlantic has its origins in the explorations of Portuguese mariners down the coast of West Africa in the 15th century. Before that, contact with African slave markets was made to ransom portuguese that had been captured by the intense North African pirate attacks to the portuguese ships and costal villages, frequently leaving them depopulated. The first Europeans to use African slaves in the New World were the Spaniards who sought auxiliaries for their conquest expeditions and laborers on islands such as Cuba and Hispaniola (mod. Haiti-Dominican Republic) where the alarming decline in the native population had spurred the first royal laws protecting the native population (Laws of Burgos, 1512-1513). After Portugal had succeeded in establishing sugar plantations (engenhos) in northern Brazil ca. 1545, Portuguese merchants on the West African coast began to supply enslaved Africans to the sugar planters there. While at first these planters relied almost exclusively on the native Tupani for slave labor, a titantic shift toward Africans took place after 1570 following a series of epidemics which decimated the already destabilized Tupani communities. By 1630, Africans had replaced the Tupani as the largest contingent of labor on Brazilian sugar plantations, heralding equally the final collapse of the European medieval household tradition of slavery, the rise of Brazil as the largest single destination for enslaved Africans and sugar as the reason that roughly 84% of these Africans were shipped to the New World.<p>Merchants from various European nations were later involved in the Atlantic Slave trade: <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>, <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Holland. As Britain rose in naval power and settled continental north America and some islands of the <!--del_lnk--> West Indies, they became the leading slave traders, mostly operating out of <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a> and <a href="../../wp/l/Liverpool.htm" title="Liverpool">Liverpool</a>. By the late 17th century, one out of every four ships that left Liverpool harbour was a <!--del_lnk--> slave trading ship. Other British cities also profited from the slave trade. <a href="../../wp/b/Birmingham.htm" title="Birmingham">Birmingham</a>, the largest <!--del_lnk--> gun producing town in Britain at the time, supplied guns to be traded for slaves. 75% of all sugar produced in the plantations came to London to supply the highly lucrative <!--del_lnk--> coffee houses there.<p><a id="Slavery_and_Christianity" name="Slavery_and_Christianity"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Slavery and Christianity</span></h3>
<p><i></i><p>In general, early Christians, such as <!--del_lnk--> Paul, <!--del_lnk--> St. Augustine, or <!--del_lnk--> St. Thomas Aquinas did not oppose slavery. <!--del_lnk--> Pope Nicholas V even encouraged enslaving non-Christian Africans in his <!--del_lnk--> Papal Bull <i><!--del_lnk--> Romanus Pontifex</i> of 1454. Since then other popes stated that slavery was against Christian teachings, as is now generally held. Even earlier, in 1435, <!--del_lnk--> Pope Eugene IV condemned the enslavement of the inhabitants of the <!--del_lnk--> Canary Islands. A list of papal statements against slavery (and also claims that the popes nonetheless owned and bought slaves) is found in the discussion <!--del_lnk--> Christianity and Slavery.<p>Most Christian sects found some way to soothe the consciences of their slaveowning members. One notable exception was the <!--del_lnk--> Society of Friends (<!--del_lnk--> Quakers), who advocated the <!--del_lnk--> abolition of slavery from earliest times.<p><a id="New_World_destinations" name="New_World_destinations"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">New World destinations</span></h2>
<p>African slaves were brought to Europe and the Americas to supply cheap labour. Central America only imported around 200,000. Europe topped this number at 300,000, North America, however, imported 500,000. The Caribbean was the second largest consumer of slave labour at 4 million. South America, with Brazil taking most of the slaves, imported 4.5 million before the end of slavery.<p><a id="Economics_of_slavery" name="Economics_of_slavery"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economics of slavery</span></h2>
<p>Slavery was involved in some of the most profitable industries in history. 70% of the slaves brought to the new world were used to produce sugar, the most labour intensive crop. The rest were employed harvesting coffee, cotton, and tobacco, and in some cases in mining. The West Indian colonies of the European powers were some of their most important possessions, so they went to extremes to protect and retain them. For example, at the end of the <!--del_lnk--> Seven Years' War in 1763, France agreed to cede the vast territory of <!--del_lnk--> New France to the victors in exchange for keeping the minute Antillian island of <a href="../../wp/g/Guadeloupe.htm" title="Guadeloupe">Guadeloupe</a>.<p>Slave trade profits have been the object of many fantasies. Returns for the investors were not actually absurdly high (around 6% in France in the eighteenth century), but they were higher than domestic alternatives (in the same century, around 5%). Risks—maritime and commercial—were important for individual voyages. Investors mitigated it by buying small shares of many ships at the same time. In that way, they were able to diversify a large part of the risk away. Between voyages, ship shares could be freely sold and bought. All these made the slave trade a very interesting investment.<p>By far the most successful West Indian colonies in 1800 belonged to the United Kingdom. After entering the sugar colony business late, British naval supremacy and control over key islands such as <a href="../../wp/j/Jamaica.htm" title="Jamaica">Jamaica</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Trinidad, and <a href="../../wp/b/Barbados.htm" title="Barbados">Barbados</a> and the territory of <!--del_lnk--> British Guiana gave it an important edge over all competitors; while many British did not make gains, some made enormous fortunes, even by upper class standards. This advantage was reinforced when France lost its most important colony, <!--del_lnk--> St. Dominigue (western Hispaniola, now Haiti), to a slave revolt in 1791 and supported revolts against its rival Britain, after the 1793 French revolution in the name of liberty (but in fact opportunistic selectivity). Before 1791, British sugar had to be protected to compete against cheaper French sugar. After 1791, the British islands produced the most sugar, and the British people quickly became the largest consumers of sugar. West Indian sugar became ubiquitous as an additive to Indian tea. Products of American slave labour soon permeated every level of British society with tobacco, coffee, and especially sugar all becoming indispensable elements of daily life for all classes.<p><a id="Effects" name="Effects"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Effects</span></h2>
<p><a id="Effect_on_the_economy_of_Africa" name="Effect_on_the_economy_of_Africa"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Effect on the economy of Africa</span></h3>
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<p>No scholars dispute the harm done to the slaves themselves, but the effect of the trade on African societies is much debated due to the apparent influx of capital to Africans. Proponents of the slave trade, such as <!--del_lnk--> Archibald Dalzel, argued that African societies were robust and not much affected by the ongoing trade. In the 19th century, European <!--del_lnk--> abolitionists, most prominently Dr. <!--del_lnk--> David Livingston, took the opposite view arguing that the fragile local economy and societies were being severely harmed by the ongoing trade. This view continued with scholars until the 1960s and 70s such as <!--del_lnk--> Basil Davidson, who conceded it might have had some benefits while still acknowledging its largely negative impact on Africa. Historian <!--del_lnk--> Walter Rodney estimates that by c.1770, the King of <!--del_lnk--> Dahomey was earning an estimated £250,000 per year by selling captive African soldiers and even his own people to the European slave-traders. Most of this money was spent on British-made firearms (of very poor quality) and industrial-grade alcohol.<p><a id="Effects_on_Europe.E2.80.99s_Economy" name="Effects_on_Europe.E2.80.99s_Economy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Effects on Europe’s Economy</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Eric Williams has attempted to show the contribution of Africans on the basis of profits from the slave trade and slavery, and the employment of those profits to finance England’s industrialization process. He argues that the enslavement of Africans was an essential element to the <a href="../../wp/i/Industrial_Revolution.htm" title="Industrial Revolution">Industrial Revolution</a>, and that European wealth is a result of slavery. However, he argued that by the time of its abolition it had lost its profitability and it was in Britain's economic interest to ban it. Most modern scholars disagree with this view. Seymour Dreshcer and Robert Antsey have both presented evidence that the slave trade remained profitable until the end, and that reasons other than economics led to its cessation. Joseph Inikori has shown elsewhere that the British slave trade was more profitable than the critics of Williams would want us to believe. Nevertheless, the profits of the slave trade and of <!--del_lnk--> West Indian plantations amounted to less than 5% of the British economy at the time of the <a href="../../wp/i/Industrial_Revolution.htm" title="Industrial Revolution">Industrial Revolution</a>.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h3>
<p>The demographic effects of the slave trade are some of the most controversial and debated issues. Tens of millions of people were removed from Africa via the slave trade, and what effect this had on Africa is an important question. <!--del_lnk--> Walter Rodney argued that the export of so many people had been a demographic disaster and had left Africa permanently disadvantaged when compared to other parts of the world, and largely explains that continent's continued poverty. He presents numbers that show that Africa's population stagnated during this period, while that of Europe and Asia grew dramatically. According to Rodney all other areas of the economy were disrupted by the slave trade as the top merchants abandoned traditional industries to pursue slaving and the lower levels of the population were disrupted by the slaving itself.<p>Others have challenged this view. Joseph E. Inikori argues the history of the region shows that the effects were still quite deleterious. He argues that the African economic model of the period was very different from the European, and could not sustain such population losses. Population reductions in certain areas also led to widespread problems. Inikori also notes that after the suppression of the slave trade Africa's population almost immediately began to rapidly increase, even prior to the introduction of modern medicines. <i>Ideology versus the Tyranny of Paradigm: Historians and the Impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade on African Societies,</i> by Joseph E. Inikori <i>African Economic History.</i> 1994. Shahadah also states that the trade was not only of <!--del_lnk--> demographic significance, in <!--del_lnk--> aggregate population losses but also in the profound changes to settlement patterns, <!--del_lnk--> epidemiological exposure and reproductive and social development potential..<p><a id="Legacy_of_racism" name="Legacy_of_racism"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Legacy of racism</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Maulana Karenga states that the effects of slavery where 'the morally monstrous destruction of human possibility involved redefining African humanity to the world, poisoning past, present and future relations with others who only know us through this stereotyping and thus damaging the truly human relations among peoples.' He cites that it constituted the destruction of culture, language, religion and human possibility.<p><a id="End_of_the_Atlantic_slave_trade" name="End_of_the_Atlantic_slave_trade"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">End of the Atlantic slave trade</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/62/6277.jpg.htm" title="François-Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture"><img alt="François-Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture" class="thumbimage" height="285" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Toussaint_L%27Ouverture.jpg" src="../../images/523/52314.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/62/6277.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> François-Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture</div>
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<p>Virtually every major reform pertaining to the abolition of the slave trade and slavery took place in the immediate aftermath of a major armed rebellion and/or victory by enslaved or formerly enslaved Africans. Although in Britain, the U.S. and in other parts of Europe, moral, economic and political opposition developed against the slave trade, this was largely ineffective unless combined with the political factor of African rebellions. The single most significant event in the history of the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade and slavery was the <!--del_lnk--> Haitian Revolution, (<!--del_lnk--> 1791-<!--del_lnk--> 1804), led by <!--del_lnk--> Toussaint L'Ouverture and Jean-Jacques <!--del_lnk--> Dessalines (later <!--del_lnk--> Jacques I). Prior to the Haitian Revolution there were no major reversals in the centuries-old trend of an increasing trade in Africans across the Atlantic. After the Haitian Revolution, there was an immediate, terminal and rapid decline. This is because the Haitian Revolution and other uprisings created such significant military and political fears and costs for the European/American colonial powers that the continued importation of an African population became unsustainable, as the fears and costs outweighed stability and profitability.<p>In <a href="../../wp/g/Great_Britain.htm" title="Great Britain">Great Britain</a>, led by the <a href="../../wp/r/Religious_Society_of_Friends.htm" title="Religious Society of Friends">Religious Society of Friends</a> (Quakers) and establishment Evangelicals such as <a href="../../wp/w/William_Wilberforce.htm" title="William Wilberforce">William Wilberforce</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Abolitionist movement was joined by many and began to protest against the trade, but until the Haitian revolution, they were successfully opposed by the owners of the colonial holdings. <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a>, which had been very active in the slave trade, was the first country to ban the trade through legislation in <!--del_lnk--> 1792 - one year after the start of the victorious insurrection in <!--del_lnk--> Saint-Domingue (modern day <a href="../../wp/h/Haiti.htm" title="Haiti">Haiti</a>). Denmark's legislation only took effect in <!--del_lnk--> 1803, as the <!--del_lnk--> Haitian Revolution moved towards its final victory. Britain banned the slave trade in <!--del_lnk--> 1807], imposing stiff fines for any slave found aboard a British ship, just three years after the final victory of the <!--del_lnk--> slave rebellion in Haiti. The <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Navy.htm" title="Royal Navy">Royal Navy</a>, which then controlled the world's seas, moved to stop other nations from filling Britain's place in the slave trade and declared that slaving was equal to piracy and was punishable by death.<div class="thumb tright">
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<p>The <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> outlawed the importation of slaves on January 1, 1808, the earliest date permitted by <!--del_lnk--> the constitution for such a ban.<p>For the British to end the slave trade, significant obstacles had to be overcome. In the 18th century, the slave trade was an integral part of the <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic economy: the economies of the European colonies in the Caribbean, the American colonies, and Brazil required vast amounts of man power to harvest the bountiful agricultural goods. In <!--del_lnk--> 1790, the <!--del_lnk--> British West Indies islands such as Jamaica and <a href="../../wp/b/Barbados.htm" title="Barbados">Barbados</a> had a slave population of 524,000 while the French had 643,000 in their West Indian possessions. Other powers such as <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>, the Netherlands, and Denmark had many slaves in their colonies as well.<p>Despite these high populations more slaves were always required because harsh conditions and demographic imbalances left the slave population with fertility levels well below what was necessary to replenish or increase the labour force. Between 1600 and 1800, the English imported around 1.7 million slaves to their West Indian possessions. That there were well over a million fewer slaves in the British colonies than had been imported to them means that the African population of the British West Indian colonies had, in effect, declined by two-thirds during the slave-trading period. This not only illustrates the conditions which the African labourers endured, it also puts paid to the myth that Africans were somehow 'immune' to ill-treatment in comparison to the exterminated aboriginal population. The continued importation of Africans by the colonial powers was not the result of African 'immunity' to ill-treatment, but rather of the availability of a supply of abduction victims in Africa.<p><a id="British_influence" name="British_influence"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">British influence</span></h3>
<p>After the total victory of the <!--del_lnk--> Haitian Revolution in <!--del_lnk--> 1804, the British realised it was a military necessity to prevent the importation of potential African insurgents into the Caribbean. However, in order to maintain the economic competitiveness of their colonies, they were also compelled to induce other colonial and slave-trading powers to do the same. Therefore, the British campaign against the slave trade by other nations was an unprecedented foreign policy effort. Denmark, a small player in the international slave trade, and the United States (which also had a deep fear of African insurrection) banned the trade during the same period as Great Britain. Other small trading nations that did not have a great deal to give up, such as <a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a>, quickly followed suit, as did the Dutch, who were also by then a minor player.<p>Four nations objected strongly to surrendering their rights to trade slaves: Spain, <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a>, Brazil (after its independence), and France. Britain used every tool at its disposal to try to induce these nations to follow its lead. Portugal and Spain, which were indebted to Britain after the <a href="../../wp/n/Napoleonic_Wars.htm" title="Napoleonic Wars">Napoleonic Wars</a>, slowly agreed to accept large cash payments to first reduce and then eliminate the slave trade. By <!--del_lnk--> 1853, the British government had paid Portugal over three million pounds and Spain over one million pounds in order to end the slave trade. Portugal had abolished slavery on the <!--del_lnk--> February 12, <!--del_lnk--> 1761; from this date onwards any slave entering in Portugal would be given freedom. However, the banning of slavery in the Portuguese colonies faced much opposition by the plantation owners who would have their profits reduced, and the law that was being enforced in Portugal did not take effect in the colonies where it faced opposition. Brazil, however, even after its independence, did not agree to stop trading in slaves until Britain took military action against its coastal areas and threatened a permanent <!--del_lnk--> blockade of the nation's ports in <!--del_lnk--> 1852. Criminals from England, transported to Australia from 1788 as convicts, were used as slaves until they attained freedom at the end of their sentences.<p>For France, the British first tried to impose a solution during the negotiations at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, but <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austria</a> did not agree. The French people and government had deep misgivings about conceding to Britain's demands. Britain demanded that other nations ban the slave trade and that they had the right to police the ban with units such as the <!--del_lnk--> West Africa Squadron. The Royal Navy had to be granted permission to search any suspicious ships and seize any found to be carrying slaves, or equipped for doing so. It is especially these conditions that kept France involved in the slave trade for so long. While France formally agreed to ban the trading of slaves in <!--del_lnk--> 1815, they did not allow Britain to police the ban, nor did they do much to enforce it themselves. Thus a large illegal market in slaves continued for many years. While the French people had originally been as opposed to the slave trade as the British, it became a matter of national pride that they not allow their policies to be dictated to them by Britain. Also such a reformist movement was viewed as tainted by the conservative backlash after the <a href="../../wp/f/French_Revolution.htm" title="French Revolution">French Revolution</a>. The French slave trade thus did not end until <!--del_lnk--> 1848.<p><a id="Apologies" name="Apologies"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Apologies</span></h2>
<p>At the <!--del_lnk--> 2001 <!--del_lnk--> World Conference Against Racism in <!--del_lnk--> Durban <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a>, African nations demanded a clear apology for the slavery from the former slave-trading countries. Some EU nations were ready to express an apology, but the opposition, mainly from the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a>, and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> blocked attempts to do so. A fear of monetary compensation was one of the reasons for the opposition. Apologies on behalf of African nations, for their role in trading their countrymen into slavery, also remains an open issue, too uncomfortable and politically inconvenient to address.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> November 27<sup>th</sup>, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, Tony Blair made a partial apology for Britain's role in the African slavery trade. However African rights activists denounced it as "empty rhetoric" that failed to address the issue properly. They feel his apology stopped shy to prevent any legal retort.. Mr Blair again said sorry on <!--del_lnk--> March 14<sup>th</sup>, <!--del_lnk--> 2007<p>On <!--del_lnk--> February 24, 2007 the <!--del_lnk--> Virginia General Assembly passed <!--del_lnk--> House Joint Resolution Number 728 acknowledging "with profound regret the involuntary servitude of Africans and the exploitation of Native Americans, and call for reconciliation among all Virginians."<p>With the passing of this resolution, <!--del_lnk--> Virginia becomes the first of the 50 united states to acknowledge through the states governing body their states negative involvement in slavery. The passing of this resolution comes on the heels of the 400th anniversary celebration of the city of <!--del_lnk--> Jamestown, Virginia, which was the first permanent English colony in what would become the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> to survive, Jamestown is also recognized as one of the first slave ports of the <!--del_lnk--> American colonies.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Atlantis</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Religion.Myths.htm">Myths</a></h3>
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<p><b>Atlantis</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Greek: <span class="polytonic" lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος</span>, "Island of Atlas") is the name of an island first mentioned and described by the <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Greece.htm" title="Ancient Greece">classical Greek</a> <a href="../../wp/p/Philosophy.htm" title="Philosopher">philosopher</a> <a href="../../wp/p/Plato.htm" title="Plato">Plato</a>. According to him this island, lying "beyond the <!--del_lnk--> pillars of Hercules", was a naval power, having conquered many parts of <!--del_lnk--> western Europe and <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>. Soon after a failed invasion of <a href="../../wp/a/Athens.htm" title="Athens">Athens</a>, Atlantis sank in the waves "in a single day and night of misfortune" due to a natural catastrophe which happened 9,000 years before Plato's time.<p>As a story embedded in Plato's dialogues, Atlantis is mostly seen as a myth created by Plato to back up a previously invented theory with real facts. Some scholars express the opinion that Plato intended to tell real history. Although the function of the story of Atlantis seems to be clear to most scholars, they dispute whether and how much Plato's account was inspired by older traditions. Some scholars argue Plato drew upon memories of past events such as the <!--del_lnk--> Thera eruption or the <a href="../../wp/t/Trojan_War.htm" title="Trojan War">Trojan War</a>, while others insist that he took inspiration of contemporary events like the destruction of <!--del_lnk--> Helike in <!--del_lnk--> 373 BC or the failed <!--del_lnk--> Athenian invasion of Sicily in 415–413 BC.<p>The possible existence of Atlantis was actively discussed throughout the <!--del_lnk--> classical antiquity, but it was usually rejected and occasionally parodied. While basically unknown during the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_Ages.htm" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a>, the story of Atlantis was rediscovered by <!--del_lnk--> Humanists at the very beginning of modern times. Plato's description inspired the utopian works of several Renaissance writers, like <a href="../../wp/f/Francis_Bacon.htm" title="Francis Bacon">Francis Bacon's</a> "<!--del_lnk--> New Atlantis". More than ever, Atlantis inspires today's literature, from <!--del_lnk--> science fiction to <!--del_lnk--> comic books and <a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Film">movies</a>.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16697.gif.htm" title="Athanasius Kircher's map of Atlantis, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. From Mundus Subterraneus 1669. The map is oriented with south at the top."><img alt="Athanasius Kircher's map of Atlantis, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. From Mundus Subterraneus 1669. The map is oriented with south at the top." height="166" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Athanasius_Kircher%27s.gif" src="../../images/166/16697.gif" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/166/16697.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/a/Athanasius_Kircher.htm" title="Athanasius Kircher">Athanasius Kircher's</a> map of Atlantis, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. From <i>Mundus Subterraneus</i> <!--del_lnk--> 1669. The map is oriented with south at the top.</div>
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</script><a id="Plato.27s_account" name="Plato.27s_account"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Plato's account</span></h2>
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<div style="position:absolute; font-size:25px; overflow:hidden; line-height:25px; letter-spacing:25px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Atlantis"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Atlantis"><img alt="Atlantis" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/166/16698.png" width="25" /></a></div>
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<td><i>Then listen, <a href="../../wp/s/Socrates.htm" title="Socrates">Socrates</a>, to a tale which, though strange, is certainly true, having been attested by <!--del_lnk--> Solon, who was the wisest of the <!--del_lnk--> seven sages.</i></td>
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<div style="position:absolute; font-size:25px; overflow:hidden; line-height:25px; letter-spacing:25px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Atlantis"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Atlantis"><img alt="Atlantis" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/166/16699.png" width="25" /></a></div>
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<p style="font-size:smaller;line-height:1em;text-align: right"><cite style="font-style:normal;">—Critias to Socrates, according to Plato, <i>Timaeus</i> 20d. Translated by <!--del_lnk--> B Jowett.</cite></td>
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<p>Plato's account of Atlantis is written in the <!--del_lnk--> dialogues <i><!--del_lnk--> Timaeus</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Critias</i>, dated circa 360 BC. These works contain the earliest known references to Atlantis. The dialogue <i>Critias</i> was never completed by Plato for an unknown reason, however scholar <!--del_lnk--> Benjamin Jowett among others, argues that Plato originally planned a third dialogue titled <i><!--del_lnk--> Hermocrates</i>. <!--del_lnk--> John V. Luce assumes that Plato — after describing the origin of the world and mankind in <i>Timaeus</i> as well as the allegorical perfect society of ancient <a href="../../wp/a/Athens.htm" title="Athens">Athens</a> and its successful defense against an antagonistic Atlantis in <i>Critias</i> — would have made the strategy of the <a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Hellas">Hellenic civilisation</a> during their conflict with the <!--del_lnk--> barbarians a subject of discussion in the phantom dialog.<p>The four persons appearing in those two dialogues are the politicians <!--del_lnk--> Critias and <!--del_lnk--> Hermocrates as well as the philosophers <a href="../../wp/s/Socrates.htm" title="Socrates">Socrates</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Timaeus, although only Critias speaks of Atlantis. While most likely all of these people actually lived, these dialogues as recorded may have been the invention of Plato. In his written works, Plato makes extensive use of the <!--del_lnk--> Socratic dialogues in order to discuss contrary positions within the context of a supposition.<p>The <i>Timaeus</i> begins with an introduction, followed by an account of the creations and structure of the universe and ancient civilizations. In the introduction, <a href="../../wp/s/Socrates.htm" title="Socrates">Socrates</a> muses about the perfect society, described in Plato's <i>Republic</i>, and wonders if he and his guests might recollect a story which exemplifies such a society. Critias mentions an allegedly historical tale that would make the perfect example, and follows by describing Atlantis as is recorded in the <i>Critias</i>. In his account, ancient Athens seems to represent the "perfect society" and Atlantis its opponent, representing the very antithesis of the "perfect" traits described in the <i>Republic</i>. Critias claims that his accounts of ancient Athens and Atlantis stem from a visit to <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Egypt.htm" title="Ancient Egypt">Egypt</a> by the Athenian lawgiver <!--del_lnk--> Solon in the 6th century BC. In <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a>, Solon met a priest of <!--del_lnk--> Sais, who translated the history of ancient Athens and Atlantis, recorded on papyri in Egyptian hieroglyphs, into <!--del_lnk--> Greek. According to <!--del_lnk--> Plutarch the priest was named Sonchis, but because of the temporal distance between Plutarch and the alleged event, this identification is unverified.<p>According to <!--del_lnk--> Critias, the <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Greece.htm" title="Ancient Greece">Hellenic</a> gods of old divided the land so that each god might own a lot; <!--del_lnk--> Poseidon was appropriately, and to his liking, bequeathed the island of Atlantis. The island was larger than <!--del_lnk--> Libya and <!--del_lnk--> Asia Minor combined, but has since been sunk by an earthquake and became an impassable mud shoal, inhibiting travel between the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a> and the <a href="../../wp/m/Mediterranean_Sea.htm" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean Sea</a>. The Egyptians described Atlantis as an island approximately 700 kilometres (435 <!--del_lnk--> mi) across, comprising mostly mountains in the northern portions and along the shore, and encompassing a great plain of an oblong shape in the south "extending in one direction three thousand <i><!--del_lnk--> stadia</i> [about 600 km; 375 mi], but across the centre inland it was two thousand stadia [about 400 km; 250 mi]."<p>Fifty stadia inland from the middle of the southern coast was a "mountain not very high on any side." Here lived a native woman with whom Poseidon fell in love and who bore him five pairs of male <!--del_lnk--> twins. The eldest of these, <!--del_lnk--> Atlas, was made rightful king of the entire island and the ocean (now the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a>), and was given the mountain of his birth and the surrounding area as his <!--del_lnk--> fiefdom. Atlas's twin <!--del_lnk--> Gadeirus or <!--del_lnk--> Eumelus in Greek, was given the easternmost portion of the island. The other four pairs of twins — <!--del_lnk--> Ampheres and <!--del_lnk--> Evaemon, <!--del_lnk--> Mneseus and <!--del_lnk--> Autochthon, <!--del_lnk--> Elasippus and <!--del_lnk--> Mestor, and <!--del_lnk--> Azaes and <!--del_lnk--> Diaprepes — "were the inhabitants and rulers of divers islands in the open sea."<p>Poseidon carved the inland mountain where his love dwelt into a palace and enclosed it with three circular <!--del_lnk--> moats of increasing width, varying from one to three stadia and separated by rings of land proportional in size. The Atlanteans then built bridges northward from the mountain, making a route to the rest of the island. They dug a great canal to the sea, and alongside the bridges carved tunnels into the rings of rock so that ships could pass into the city around the mountain; they carved docks from the rock walls of the moats. Every passage to the city was guarded by gates and towers, and a wall surrounded each of the city's rings. The walls were constructed of red, white and black rock quarried from the moats, and were covered with <!--del_lnk--> brass, <a href="../../wp/t/Tin.htm" title="Tin">tin</a> and <!--del_lnk--> orichalcum, respectively.<p>According to Critias, 9,000 years before his lifetime a war took place between those outside the <!--del_lnk--> Pillars of Hercules- commonly considered to be the <!--del_lnk--> Strait of Gibraltar- and those who dwelt within them. The Atlanteans had conquered the Mediterranean as far east as Egypt and the continent into <!--del_lnk--> Tyrrhenia, and subjected its people to slavery. The Athenians led an alliance of resistors against the Atlantean empire and as the alliance disintegrated, prevailed alone against the empire, liberating the occupied lands. "But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared in the depths of the sea."<p><a id="Receptions" name="Receptions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Receptions</span></h2>
<p><a id="Ancient" name="Ancient"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Ancient</span></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/106/10609.jpg.htm" title="Detail of The School of Athens by Raphael, 1509, showing Plato (left) and Aristotle."><img alt="Detail of The School of Athens by Raphael, 1509, showing Plato (left) and Aristotle." height="236" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Sanzio_01_Plato_Aristotle.jpg" src="../../images/4/469.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/106/10609.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Detail of <!--del_lnk--> The School of Athens by <a href="../../wp/r/Raphael.htm" title="Raphael">Raphael</a>, 1509, showing Plato (left) and Aristotle.</div>
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<td><i>Its inventor caused it to disappear, just as did <a href="../../wp/h/Homer.htm" title="Homer">the Poet</a> the wall of the <!--del_lnk--> Achaeans.</i></td>
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<p style="font-size:smaller;line-height:1em;text-align: right"><cite style="font-style:normal;">—Alleged quote of <a href="../../wp/a/Aristotle.htm" title="Aristotle">Aristotle</a>, according to <!--del_lnk--> Strabo, <i>Geography</i> 2,3,6. Translated by <!--del_lnk--> HL Jones.</cite></td>
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<p>Other than Plato's <i>Timaeus</i> and <i>Critias</i> there is no primary ancient account of Atlantis, which means every other account on Atlantis relies on Plato in one way or another. To this day, no proof for a non-Platonic tradition of Atlantis has been found. However, the Greek <!--del_lnk--> logographer <!--del_lnk--> Hellanicus of Lesbos wrote a work (now lost), named <i>Atlantis</i> (or <i>Atlantias</i>), about the daughters of the titan <!--del_lnk--> Atlas (not the Atlas mentioned by Plato). However, it is unlikely that this work was an inspiration to Plato, since he named Atlantis after the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a> (ancient Greek: <span class="polytonic" lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">Ἀτλαντὶς θάλασσα</span>, "Sea of Atlas"), which already had this name in the time of Herodotus.<p>Many ancient philosophers viewed Atlantis as fiction. The most popular might be <a href="../../wp/a/Aristotle.htm" title="Aristotle">Aristotle</a>, who is allegedly quoted by <!--del_lnk--> Strabo with the above mentioned commentary on Atlantis.<p>However, in antiquity, there were also philosophers, geographers, and historians who believed that Atlantis was real. For instance, the philosopher <!--del_lnk--> Crantor, a student of Plato's student <!--del_lnk--> Xenocrates, tried to find proof of Atlantis' existence. His work, a comment on Plato's <i>Timaeus</i>, is lost, but another ancient historian, <!--del_lnk--> Proclus, reports that Crantor traveled to Egypt and actually found columns with the history of Atlantis written in <!--del_lnk--> hieroglyphic characters. However, Plato did not write that Solon saw the Atlantis story on a column but on a source that can be "taken to hand". Proclus' proof appears implausible.<p>Another passage from <!--del_lnk--> Proclus' 5th century <!--del_lnk--> AD commentary on the <i><!--del_lnk--> Timaeus</i> gives a description of the geography of Atlantis: "That an island of such nature and size once existed is evident from what is said by certain authors who investigated the things around the outer sea. For according to them, there were seven islands in that sea in their time, sacred to Persephone, and also three others of enormous size, one of which was sacred to Pluto, another to Ammon, and another one between them to Poseidon, the extent of which was a thousand stadia; and the inhabitants of it—they add—preserved the remembrance from their ancestors of the immeasurably large island of Atlantis which had really existed there and which for many ages had reigned over all islands in the Atlantic sea and which itself had like-wise been sacred to Poseidon. Now these things Marcellus has written in his <i>Aethiopica</i>". However, <!--del_lnk--> Heinz-Günther Nesselrath argues that this Marcellus — who is otherwise unknown — is probably not a historian but a novelist.<p>Other ancient historians and philosophers believing in the existence of Atlantis were <!--del_lnk--> Strabo and <!--del_lnk--> Posidonius (cf. Strabo 2,3,6).<p>Plato's account of Atlantis may have also inspired <!--del_lnk--> parodic imitation: writing only a few decades after the <i>Timaeus</i> and <i>Critias</i>, the historian <!--del_lnk--> Theopompus of <!--del_lnk--> Chios wrote of a land beyond the ocean known as <!--del_lnk--> Meropis. This description was included in Book 8 of his voluminous <i>Philippica</i>, which contains a dialogue between King <!--del_lnk--> Midas and <!--del_lnk--> Silenus, a companion of <!--del_lnk--> Dionysus. Silenus describes the Meropids, a race of men who grow to twice normal size, and inhabit two cities on the island of Meropis: <i>Eusebes</i> (<span class="polytonic" lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">Εὐσεβής</span>, "Pious-town") and <i>Machimos</i> (<span class="polytonic" lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">Μάχιμος</span>, "Fighting-town"). He also reports that an army of ten million soldiers crossed the ocean to conquer <!--del_lnk--> Hyperborea, but abandoned this proposal when they realized that the Hyperboreans were the luckiest people on earth. Heinz-Günther Nesselrath has argued that these and other details of Silenus' story are meant as imitation and exaggeration of the Atlantis story, for the purpose of exposing Plato's ideas to ridicule.<p>Somewhat similar is the story of <!--del_lnk--> Panchaea, written by philosopher <!--del_lnk--> Euhemerus. It mentions a perfect society on an island in the <a href="../../wp/i/Indian_Ocean.htm" title="Indian Ocean">Indian Ocean</a>. Zoticus, a <!--del_lnk--> Neoplatonist philosopher of the 3rd century AD, wrote an epic poem based on Plato's account of Atlantis.<p>The 4th century AD historian <!--del_lnk--> Ammianus Marcellinus, relying on a lost work by Timagenes, a historian writing in the 1st century BC, writes that the <!--del_lnk--> Druids of <!--del_lnk--> Gaul said that part of the inhabitants of <!--del_lnk--> Gaul had migrated there from distant islands. Ammianus' testimony has been understood by some as a claim that when Atlantis sunk into the sea, its inhabitants fled to western Europe; but Ammianus in fact says that “the Drasidae (Druids) recall that a part of the population is indigenous but others also migrated in from islands and lands beyond the <a href="../../wp/r/Rhine.htm" title="Rhine">Rhine</a>" (<i>Res Gestae</i> 15.9), an indication that the immigrants came to Gaul from the north and east, not from the Atlantic Ocean.<p><a id="Modern" name="Modern"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Modern</span></h3>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16700.jpg.htm" title="A map showing a supposed location of Atlantis. From Ignatius Donnelly's Atlantis: the Antediluvian World, 1882."><img alt="A map showing a supposed location of Atlantis. From Ignatius Donnelly's Atlantis: the Antediluvian World, 1882." height="184" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Atlantis_map_1882.jpg" src="../../images/167/16700.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16700.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A map showing a supposed location of Atlantis. From <!--del_lnk--> Ignatius Donnelly's <i>Atlantis: the Antediluvian World</i>, <!--del_lnk--> 1882.</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Francis Bacon's 1627 novel <i><!--del_lnk--> The New Atlantis</i> describes a utopian society, called Bensalem, located off the western coast of America. A character in the novel gives a history of Atlantis that is similar to Plato's, and places Atlantis in America. It is not clear whether Bacon means North or South America.<p>In middle and late <a href="../../wp/1/19th_century.htm" title="19th century">19<sup>th</sup> century</a>, several renowned <!--del_lnk--> Mesoamerican scholars, starting with <a href="../../wp/c/Charles_Etienne_Brasseur_de_Bourbourg.htm" title="Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg">Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg</a>, and including <!--del_lnk--> Edward Herbert Thompson and <!--del_lnk--> Augustus Le Plongeon proposed that Atlantis was somehow related to <a href="../../wp/m/Maya_civilization.htm" title="Maya civilization">Mayan</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/Aztec.htm" title="Aztec">Aztec</a> culture.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:92px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16701.jpg.htm" title="Ignatius Donnelly, American congressman, and writer on Atlantis."><img alt="Ignatius Donnelly, American congressman, and writer on Atlantis." height="112" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ignatius-Donnelly.jpg" src="../../images/167/16701.jpg" width="90" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16701.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Ignatius Donnelly, American <!--del_lnk--> congressman, and writer on Atlantis.</div>
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<p>The <!--del_lnk--> 1882 publication of <i><!--del_lnk--> Atlantis: the Antediluvian World</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Ignatius Donnelly stimulated much popular interest in Atlantis. Donnelly took Plato's account of Atlantis seriously and attempted to establish that all known <!--del_lnk--> ancient civilizations were descended from its high <!--del_lnk--> neolithic culture.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:92px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16702.jpg.htm" title="American psychic Edgar Cayce, 1910"><img alt="American psychic Edgar Cayce, 1910" height="121" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cayce_1910.jpg" src="../../images/167/16702.jpg" width="90" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16702.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> American psychic <!--del_lnk--> Edgar Cayce, 1910</div>
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<p>During the late 19<sup>th</sup> century, ideas about the legendary nature of Atlantis were combined with stories of other <!--del_lnk--> lost continents such as <!--del_lnk--> Mu and <!--del_lnk--> Lemuria by popular figures in the <!--del_lnk--> occult and the growing <!--del_lnk--> new age phenomenon. <!--del_lnk--> Helena Blavatsky, the "Grandmother of the New Age movement," writes in <i><!--del_lnk--> The Secret Doctrine</i> that the Atlanteans were cultural heroes (contrary to Plato who describes them mainly as a military threat), and are the fourth "<!--del_lnk--> Root Race", succeeded by the "<!--del_lnk--> Aryan race". <!--del_lnk--> Rudolf Steiner wrote of the cultural evolution of Mu or Atlantis. Famed psychic <!--del_lnk--> Edgar Cayce first mentioned Atlantis in a life reading given in 1923, and later gave its geographical location as the <!--del_lnk--> Caribbean, and proposed that <!--del_lnk--> Atlantis was an ancient, now-submerged, highly-evolved civilization which had ships and aircraft powered by a mysterious form of energy crystal. He also predicted that parts of Atlantis would rise in <!--del_lnk--> 1968 or <!--del_lnk--> 1969. The <!--del_lnk--> Bimini Road, a submarine geological formation just off <!--del_lnk--> North Bimini Island, discovered in 1968, has been claimed by some to be evidence of the lost civilization (among many other things) and is still being explored <!--del_lnk--> today.<p>Before the time of <!--del_lnk--> Eratosthenes about <!--del_lnk--> 250 BC, Greek writers located the <!--del_lnk--> Pillars of Hercules on the <!--del_lnk--> Strait of Sicily. This changed with <a href="../../wp/a/Alexander_the_Great.htm" title="Alexander the Great">Alexander the Great</a>’s eastward expansion and the Pillars were moved by Eratosthenes to Gibraltar. This evidence has been cited in some Atlantis <!--del_lnk--> theories, notably in <!--del_lnk--> Sergio Frau's work. His theory, supported by scholars and archaeologists, is still studied by the UNESCO<p><a id="Nationalist_and_Socialist_ideas_of_Atlantis" name="Nationalist_and_Socialist_ideas_of_Atlantis"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Nationalist and Socialist ideas of Atlantis</span></h4>
<p>Plato's Atlantis has been considered by some <a href="../../wp/s/Socialism.htm" title="Socialism">socialists</a> as an early socialist <!--del_lnk--> utopia. <!--del_lnk--> British nationalists identified the British isles with Atlantis.<p>The concept of Atlantis also attracted <a href="../../wp/n/Nazism.htm" title="Nazism">National Socialist</a> (Nazi) theorists. In <!--del_lnk--> 1938, <!--del_lnk--> Heinrich Himmler organized a search in <a href="../../wp/t/Tibet.htm" title="Tibet">Tibet</a> to find a remnant of the white Atlanteans. According to <!--del_lnk--> Julius Evola (<i><!--del_lnk--> Revolt Against the Modern World</i>, <!--del_lnk--> 1934), the Atlanteans were <!--del_lnk--> Hyperboreans -- Nordic <!--del_lnk--> supermen who originated on the <!--del_lnk--> North pole (see <!--del_lnk--> Thule). Similarly, <!--del_lnk--> Alfred Rosenberg (<i><!--del_lnk--> The Myth of the Twentieth Century</i>, <!--del_lnk--> 1930) spoke of a "Nordic-Atlantean" or "Aryan-Nordic" <!--del_lnk--> master race.<p><!--del_lnk--> Aleister Crowley has also written an esoteric history of Atlantis, although this may be intended more as <!--del_lnk--> metaphor than as fact.<p><a id="Recent_times" name="Recent_times"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Recent times</span></h4>
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<td><i>Atlantis, I take it, is a creation of Plato's own imagination.</i></td>
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<div style="position:absolute; font-size:25px; overflow:hidden; line-height:25px; letter-spacing:25px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Atlantis"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Atlantis"><img alt="Atlantis" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/166/16699.png" width="25" /></a></div>
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<p style="font-size:smaller;line-height:1em;text-align: right"><cite style="font-style:normal;">—JA Stewart, <i>The Myths of Plato</i>, p. 466.</cite></td>
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<p>As <!--del_lnk--> continental drift became more widely accepted during the <!--del_lnk--> 1950s, most "Lost Continent" theories of Atlantis began to wane in popularity. In response, some recent theories propose that elements of Plato's story were derived from earlier myths.<p>Plato scholar Dr <!--del_lnk--> Julia Annas (<!--del_lnk--> Regents Professor of <a href="../../wp/p/Philosophy.htm" title="Philosophy">Philosophy</a>, <!--del_lnk--> University of Arizona) has had this to say on the matter:<p>"The continuing industry of discovering Atlantis illustrates the dangers of reading Plato. For he is clearly using what has become a standard device of fiction - stressing the historicity of an event (and the discovery of hitherto unknown authorities) as an indication that what follows is fiction. <i>The idea is that we should use the story to examine our ideas of government and power</i>. We have missed the point if instead of thinking about these issues we go off exploring the sea bed. The continuing misunderstanding of Plato as historian here enables us to see why his distrust of imaginative writing is sometimes justified."<p><a id="Location_hypotheses" name="Location_hypotheses"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Location hypotheses</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/214/21439.jpg.htm" title="Satellite image of the islands of Santorini. This location is one of many sites purported to have been the location of Atlantis."><img alt="Satellite image of the islands of Santorini. This location is one of many sites purported to have been the location of Atlantis." height="186" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Santorini_Landsat.jpg" src="../../images/167/16703.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<td><i>To one degree or another, all these scenarios involve such a deal of reinterpretation (with violence) of Plato's actual words that the end result is ridiculous.</i></td>
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<div style="position:absolute; font-size:25px; overflow:hidden; line-height:25px; letter-spacing:25px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Atlantis"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Atlantis"><img alt="Atlantis" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/166/16699.png" width="25" /></a></div>
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<p style="font-size:smaller;line-height:1em;text-align: right"><cite style="font-style:normal;">—P Jordan, <i>The Atlantis Syndrome</i>, p. 40.</cite></td>
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<p><a id="Inside_the_Mediterranean" name="Inside_the_Mediterranean"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Inside the Mediterranean</span></h3>
<p>Since Donnelly's day, there have been dozens—perhaps hundreds—of locations proposed for Atlantis. Some are scholarly or archaeological works whilst others have been made by <!--del_lnk--> psychic or other <!--del_lnk--> pseudoscientific means. Many of the proposed sites share some of the characteristics of the Atlantis story (water, catastrophic end, relevant time period), but none have been proven conclusively to be the historical Atlantis. Most of the historically proposed locations are in or near the <a href="../../wp/m/Mediterranean_Sea.htm" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean Sea</a>, either islands such as <!--del_lnk--> Sardinia, <!--del_lnk--> Crete and <a href="../../wp/s/Santorini.htm" title="Santorini">Santorini</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Cyprus.htm" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Malta.htm" title="Malta">Malta</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> Ponza or as land based cities or states such as <!--del_lnk--> Troy, <!--del_lnk--> Tartessos or Tantalus (in the province of <!--del_lnk--> Manisa), <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a>, and the new theory of <a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a>-<!--del_lnk--> Sinai or <!--del_lnk--> Canaan as possible locations. The massive <!--del_lnk--> Thera eruption, dated either to the <!--del_lnk--> 17th or the <!--del_lnk--> 15th century BC, caused a massive <a href="../../wp/t/Tsunami.htm" title="Tsunami">tsunami</a> that experts hypothesize devastated the <a href="../../wp/m/Minoan_civilization.htm" title="Minoan civilization">Minoan civilization</a> on the nearby island of <!--del_lnk--> Crete, further leading some to believe that this may have been the catastrophe which inspired the story.<p><a id="Outside_the_Mediterranean" name="Outside_the_Mediterranean"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Outside the Mediterranean</span></h3>
<p>Locations as wide-ranging as <!--del_lnk--> Andalusia, <a href="../../wp/a/Antarctica.htm" title="Antarctica">Antarctica</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a>, underneath the <!--del_lnk--> Bermuda Triangle, and the <!--del_lnk--> Caribbean have been proposed as the true site of Atlantis. In the area of the <a href="../../wp/b/Black_Sea.htm" title="Black Sea">Black Sea</a> at least three locations have been proposed: <!--del_lnk--> Bosporus, <!--del_lnk--> Sinop and <!--del_lnk--> Ancomah (a legendary place near <!--del_lnk--> Trabzon). The nearby <!--del_lnk--> Sea of Azov was proposed as another site in <!--del_lnk--> 2003. In Northern <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a> (by <!--del_lnk--> Olof Rudbeck in "Atland", <!--del_lnk--> 1672-<!--del_lnk--> 1702), <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Ireland</a>, and the <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a> have been proposed (the Swedish geographer Ulf Erlingsson combines the North Sea and Ireland in a comprehensive hypothesis). Areas in the <a href="../../wp/p/Pacific_Ocean.htm" title="Pacific Ocean">Pacific</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/Indian_Ocean.htm" title="Indian Ocean">Indian Ocean</a> have also been proposed including <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Malaysia.htm" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a> or both (i.e. <!--del_lnk--> Sundaland) and stories of a lost continent off <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a> named "<!--del_lnk--> Kumari Kandam" have drawn parallels to Atlantis. Even <a href="../../wp/c/Cuba.htm" title="Cuba">Cuba</a> and the <a href="../../wp/t/The_Bahamas.htm" title="Bahamas">Bahamas</a> have been suggested. Some believe that Atlantis stretched from the tip of Spain to <!--del_lnk--> Central America. According to <!--del_lnk--> Ignatius Donnelly in his book <i><!--del_lnk--> Atlantis: The Antediluvian World</i>, there is a connection between Atlantis and <!--del_lnk--> Aztlan (the ancestral home of the Aztecs). He claims that the Aztecs pointed east to the Caribbean as the former location of Aztlan.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Canary Islands have also been identified as a possible location, West of the Straits of Gibraltar but in close proximity to the Mediterranean Sea. Various islands or island groups in the Atlantic were also identified as possible locations, notably the <!--del_lnk--> Azores (Mid-Atlantic islands which are a territory of <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a>), and even several <!--del_lnk--> Caribbean islands. The submerged island of <!--del_lnk--> Spartel near the Strait of Gibraltar would coincide with some elements of Plato's account, matching both the location and the date of submersion given in the <i>Critias</i>. Popular culture unceasingly places Atlantis in the Atlantic Ocean and perpetuates the original Platonic ideal.<p><a id="Atlantis_in_art.2C_literature_and_popular_culture" name="Atlantis_in_art.2C_literature_and_popular_culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Atlantis in art, literature and popular culture</span></h2>
<p>The legend of Atlantis is featured in many books, movies, television series, games, songs, and other creative works<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Atom</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Chemistry.General_Chemistry.htm">General Chemistry</a></h3>
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<th bgcolor="gray">Atom</th>
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<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/8/800.png.htm" title="Helium atom ground state"><img alt="Helium atom ground state" height="300" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Helium_atom_QM.png" src="../../images/8/800.png" width="300" /></a></span></div>
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<td align="center"><small>An accurate depiction of the atomic structure of the <a href="../../wp/h/Helium.htm" title="Helium">helium</a> atom. The darkness of the <a href="../../wp/e/Electron.htm" title="Electron">electron</a> <!--del_lnk--> cloud corresponds to the line-of-sight integral over the <!--del_lnk--> probability function of the 1s <!--del_lnk--> electron orbital. The magnified <!--del_lnk--> nucleus is schematic, showing <a href="../../wp/p/Proton.htm" title="Proton">protons</a> in pink and <a href="../../wp/n/Neutron.htm" title="Neutron">neutrons</a> in purple. In reality, the nucleus (and the wavefunction of each of the <!--del_lnk--> nucleons) is also spherically symmetric. (For more complex nuclei this is not the case.)</small></td>
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<th bgcolor="gray">Classification</th>
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<td>Smallest recognised division of a <a href="../../wp/c/Chemical_element.htm" title="Chemical element">chemical element</a></td>
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<th bgcolor="gray">Properties</th>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Mass :</td>
<td>≈ 1.67 × 10<sup><small>-27</small></sup> to 4.52 × 10<sup><small>-25</small></sup> <!--del_lnk--> kg</td>
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<td><a href="../../wp/e/Electric_charge.htm" title="Electric charge">Electric charge</a> :</td>
<td>zero(if the number of electrons equal of protons in an atom)</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Diameter : (approx.<br /> 100 pm =<br /> 1 Angstrom)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 100 pm(He) to <!--del_lnk--> 670 pm(Cs) <!--del_lnk--> </td>
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<p>In <a href="../../wp/c/Chemistry.htm" title="Chemistry">chemistry</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/Physics.htm" title="Physics">physics</a>, an <b>atom</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Greek <i>ἄτομος</i> or <i>átomos</i> meaning "indivisible") is the smallest particle of a <a href="../../wp/c/Chemical_element.htm" title="Chemical element">chemical element</a> that retains its chemical properties. (Since until the advent of <a href="../../wp/q/Quantum_mechanics.htm" title="Quantum mechanics">quantum mechanics</a> <!--del_lnk--> dividing a material object was invariably equated with cutting it, <i>átomos</i> is usually translated as "indivisible".) Where as the word <i>atom</i> originally denoted a particle that cannot be cut into smaller particles, the atoms of modern parlance are composed of <!--del_lnk--> subatomic particles:<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/e/Electron.htm" title="Electron">electrons</a>, which have a negative <a href="../../wp/e/Electric_charge.htm" title="Electric charge">charge</a> and are smallest of the three;<li><a href="../../wp/p/Proton.htm" title="Proton">protons</a>, which have a positive charge and are about 1836 times bigger than electrons; and<li><a href="../../wp/n/Neutron.htm" title="Neutron">neutrons</a>, which have no charge and are about 1839 times bigger than electrons.</ul>
<p>Protons and neutrons make up a dense, massive <!--del_lnk--> atomic nucleus, and are collectively called <!--del_lnk--> nucleons. The electrons form the much larger <!--del_lnk--> electron cloud surrounding the nucleus.<p>Atoms can differ in the number of each of the subatomic particles they contain. Atoms of the same <a href="../../wp/c/Chemical_element.htm" title="Chemical element">element</a> have the same number of protons (called the <!--del_lnk--> atomic number). Within a single element, the number of neutrons may vary, determining the <!--del_lnk--> isotope of that element. The number of electrons associated with an atom is most easily changed, due to the lower energy of binding of electrons. The number of protons (and neutrons) in the atomic nucleus may also change, via <!--del_lnk--> nuclear fusion, <a href="../../wp/n/Nuclear_fission.htm" title="Nuclear fission">nuclear fission</a> or <!--del_lnk--> radioactive decay, in which case the atom is no longer the same element it was.<p>Atoms are <a href="../../wp/e/Electric_charge.htm" title="Electric charge">electrically</a> neutral if they have an equal number of protons and electrons. Atoms which have either a deficit or a surplus of electrons are called <!--del_lnk--> ions. Electrons that are furthest from the nucleus may be transferred to other nearby atoms or shared between atoms. By this mechanism atoms are able to <!--del_lnk--> bond into <!--del_lnk--> molecules and other types of <!--del_lnk--> chemical compounds like ionic and covalent network crystals.<p>Atoms are the fundamental building blocks of <a href="../../wp/c/Chemistry.htm" title="Chemistry">chemistry</a>, and are <!--del_lnk--> conserved in <!--del_lnk--> chemical reactions.<p>
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</script><a id="Atoms_and_molecules" name="Atoms_and_molecules"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Atoms and molecules</span></h2>
<p>For gases and certain molecular liquids and solids (such as <a href="../../wp/w/Water.htm" title="Water">water</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Sugar.htm" title="Sugar">sugar</a>), molecules are the smallest division of matter which retains chemical properties; however, there are also many solids and liquids which are made of atoms, but do not contain discrete molecules (such as <a href="../../wp/s/Salt.htm" title="Salt">salts</a>, <!--del_lnk--> rocks, and liquid and solid <a href="../../wp/m/Metal.htm" title="Metal">metals</a>). Thus, while molecules are common on Earth (making up all of the atmosphere and most of the oceans), most of the mass of the Earth (much of the crust, and all of the mantle and core) is <i>not</i> made of identifiable molecules, but rather represents atomic matter in other arrangements, all of which lack the particular type of small-scale order that is associated with molecules.<p>Most molecules are made up of multiple atoms; for example, a molecule of water is a combination of two <a href="../../wp/h/Hydrogen.htm" title="Hydrogen">hydrogen</a> atoms and one <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a> atom. The term "molecule" in gases has been used as a synonym for the fundamental particles of the gas, whatever their structure. This definition results in a few types of gases (for example inert elements that do not form compounds, such as <a href="../../wp/h/Helium.htm" title="Helium">helium</a>), having "molecules" consisting of only a single atom.<p><a id="History_of_atomic_theory_and_discovery_of_atomic_structure" name="History_of_atomic_theory_and_discovery_of_atomic_structure"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History of atomic theory and discovery of atomic structure</span></h2>
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<p>Philosophical atomic ruminations date back to the ancient <!--del_lnk--> Greeks and <!--del_lnk--> Indians in the fifth and sixth centuries BCE. It was the <!--del_lnk--> Greeks (<!--del_lnk--> Democritus; <i>see below</i>) who coined the term <i>atomos</i>, which meant "uncuttable".<p>The first philosophical statements relating to an idea similar to atoms was developed by <!--del_lnk--> Democritus in Greece in the fifth century <!--del_lnk--> BCE around 450 <!--del_lnk--> BCE. The idea was lost for centuries until scientific interest was rekindled during the Renaissance Period.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/801.jpg.htm" title="Various atoms and molecules as depicted in John Dalton's A New System of Chemical Philosophy (1808)."><img alt="Various atoms and molecules as depicted in John Dalton's A New System of Chemical Philosophy (1808)." height="322" longdesc="/wiki/Image:A_New_System_of_Chemical_Philosophy_fp.jpg" src="../../images/8/801.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/801.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Various atoms and molecules as depicted in <!--del_lnk--> John Dalton's <i>A New System of Chemical Philosophy</i> (1808).</div>
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<p>In 1803, <!--del_lnk--> John Dalton used the concept of atoms to explain why elements always reacted in simple proportions, and why certain gases dissolved better in water than others. He proposed that each element consists of atoms of a single, unique type, and that these atoms could join up to form compound chemicals.<p>In 1897 <!--del_lnk--> JJ Thomson, through his work on cathode rays, discovered the electron and their subatomic nature, which destroyed the concept of atoms as being indivisible units. Thomson would also later discover the existence of isotopes through his work on ionized gases.<p>Thomson believed that the electrons were distributed evenly throughout the atom, balanced by the presence of a uniform sea of positive charge. However, in 1909, Rutherford's gold foil experiment suggested that the positive charge of an atom and most of its mass was concentrated in a nucleus at the centre of the atom, with the electrons orbiting it like planets around a sun. In 1913, Niels Bohr added quantum mechanics into this model, which now stated that the electrons were confined to clearly defined orbits and could not freely spiral in or out.<p>In 1926, <!--del_lnk--> Erwin Schrodinger proposed that electrons behave not like particles, but like waves. A consequence of this notion, pointed out by <!--del_lnk--> Werner Heisenberg a year later, is that it is mathematically impossible to obtain precise values for both the position and momentum of a particle at any point in time; this became known as the <!--del_lnk--> Uncertainty principle. Instead, for any given value of position you could only obtain a range of probable values for momentum, and vice versa. Thus, the planetary model of the atom was discarded in favour of one that described zones around the nucleus where a given electron is most likely to exist.<p><a id="Properties_of_the_atom_in_present_theory" name="Properties_of_the_atom_in_present_theory"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Properties of the atom in present theory</span></h2>
<p><a id="Subatomic_particles" name="Subatomic_particles"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Subatomic particles</span></h3>
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<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/802.png.htm" title="This model of a helium atom shows the electrons (yellow), the protons (grey), and the neutrons (pink). Also shown are the up quarks (red), and the down quarks (blue) that make up the nucleons as well as the gluons (black) which hold the quarks together."><img alt="This model of a helium atom shows the electrons (yellow), the protons (grey), and the neutrons (pink). Also shown are the up quarks (red), and the down quarks (blue) that make up the nucleons as well as the gluons (black) which hold the quarks together." height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:The_New_Atom.png" src="../../images/8/802.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/802.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> This model of a helium atom shows the electrons (yellow), the protons (grey), and the neutrons (pink). Also shown are the up quarks (red), and the down quarks (blue) that make up the nucleons as well as the gluons (black) which hold the quarks together.</div>
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<p>Although the name "atom" was applied at a time when atoms were thought to be indivisible, it is now known that the atom can be broken down into a number of smaller components. The first of these to be discovered was the negatively charged <a href="../../wp/e/Electron.htm" title="Electron">electron</a>, which is easily ejected from atoms during <!--del_lnk--> ionization. The electrons (or more specifically, electron clouds) orbit a small, dense body containing all of the positive charge in the atom, called the <!--del_lnk--> atomic nucleus. This nucleus is itself made up of <!--del_lnk--> nucleons: positively charged <a href="../../wp/p/Proton.htm" title="Proton">protons</a> and chargeless <a href="../../wp/n/Neutron.htm" title="Neutron">neutrons</a>.<p>Before 1961, the subatomic particles were thought to consist of only protons, neutrons and electrons. However, protons and neutrons themselves are now known to consist of still smaller particles called <a href="../../wp/q/Quark.htm" title="Quark">quarks</a>. In addition, the electron is known to have a nearly massless neutral partner called a <!--del_lnk--> neutrino. Together, the electron and neutrino are both <!--del_lnk--> leptons.<p>Ordinary atoms are composed only of quarks and leptons of the first <!--del_lnk--> generation. The proton is composed of two <!--del_lnk--> up quarks and one <!--del_lnk--> down quark, whereas the neutron is composed of one up quark and two down quarks. Although they do not occur in ordinary matter, two other heavier generations of quarks and leptons may be generated in <!--del_lnk--> high-energy collisions.<p>The subatomic <!--del_lnk--> force carrying particles (called <!--del_lnk--> gauge bosons) are also important to atoms. Electrons are bound to the nucleus by <a href="../../wp/p/Photon.htm" title="Photon">photons</a> carrying the <!--del_lnk--> electromagnetic force. Protons and neutrons are bound together in the nucleus by <!--del_lnk--> gluons carrying the <!--del_lnk--> strong nuclear force.<p>
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<p><a id="Electron_configuration" name="Electron_configuration"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Electron configuration</span></h4>
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<p>The nucleus of an atom is surrounded by a cloud of electrons, and it is primarily the interaction of these clouds that govern the chemical behaviour of atoms. A popular concept is that the electrons orbit the atom in neat circles like planets around a sun, but this is an obsolete model that is nonetheless still taught to schoolchildren because it is simpler and sufficient for school-level chemistry. In the true modern model of the atom, the positions of the electrons around the atom's nucleus are described through probabilities—that is, an electron can theoretically be found at any arbitrary position around the nucleus, but is more likely to be found in certain regions than others. This pattern is referred to as its <!--del_lnk--> atomic orbital and the shape of its orbital depends on its energy level (or, more specifically, its quantum state).<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:444px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/803.jpg.htm" title="The five atomic orbitals of a neon atom, separated and arranged in order of increasing energy. Each orbital holds up to two electrons, which exist for most of the time in the zones represented by the bubbles."><img alt="The five atomic orbitals of a neon atom, separated and arranged in order of increasing energy. Each orbital holds up to two electrons, which exist for most of the time in the zones represented by the bubbles." height="121" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Neon_orbitals.JPG" src="../../images/8/803.jpg" width="442" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">The five atomic orbitals of a neon atom, separated and arranged in order of increasing energy. Each orbital holds up to two electrons, which exist for most of the time in the zones represented by the bubbles.</div>
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<p>Each atomic orbital can hold up to two electrons. The orbitals are organized into shells and subshells, based on their overall energy and angular momentum. Generally speaking, higher energy shells can hold more electrons and are located farther from the nucleus. A shell can hold up to 2<i>n</i><sup>2</sup> electrons (where <i>n</i> is the shell number). The electrons in the outermost shell, called the <!--del_lnk--> valence electrons, have the greatest influence on chemical behaviour. Core electrons (those not in the outer shell) play a role, but it is usually in terms of a secondary effect due to screening of the positive charge in the atomic nucleus.<p>In the most stable <!--del_lnk--> ground state, an atom's electrons will fill up its orbitals in order of increasing energy. Under some circumstances an electron may be <!--del_lnk--> excited to a higher energy level (that is, it absorbs energy from an external source and leaps to a higher shell), leaving a space in a lower shell. An excited atom's electrons will <!--del_lnk--> spontaneously fall back to lower levels, emitting the energy it had gained as a photon. This behaviour is the root of a substance's <!--del_lnk--> absorption spectrum.<p><a id="Nucleon_properties" name="Nucleon_properties"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Nucleon properties</span></h4>
<p>The constituent <a href="../../wp/p/Proton.htm" title="Proton">protons</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/Neutron.htm" title="Neutron">neutrons</a> of the <!--del_lnk--> atomic nucleus are collectively called <!--del_lnk--> nucleons. The nucleons are held together in the nucleus by the <!--del_lnk--> strong nuclear force which is carried by <!--del_lnk--> gluons.<p>Nuclei can undergo transformations that affect the number of protons and neutrons they contain, a process called <!--del_lnk--> radioactive decay. When nuclei transformations take place spontaneously, this process is called <!--del_lnk--> radioactivity. Radioactive transformations proceed by a wide variety of modes, but the most common are <!--del_lnk--> alpha decay (emission of a <a href="../../wp/h/Helium.htm" title="Helium">helium</a> nucleus) and <!--del_lnk--> beta decay (emission of an electron). Decays involving electrons or <!--del_lnk--> positrons are due to the <!--del_lnk--> weak nuclear interaction.<p>In addition, like the electrons of the atom, the nucleons of nuclei may be pushed into <!--del_lnk--> excited states of higher energy. However, these transitions typically require thousands of times more energy than electron excitations. When an excited nucleus emits a photon to return to the <!--del_lnk--> ground state, the photon has very high energy and is called a <!--del_lnk--> gamma ray.<p>Nuclear transformations also take place in <!--del_lnk--> nuclear reactions. In <!--del_lnk--> nuclear fusion, two light nuclei come together and merge into a single heavier nucleus. In <a href="../../wp/n/Nuclear_fission.htm" title="Nuclear fission">nuclear fission</a>, a single large nucleus is divided into two or more smaller nuclei.<p><a id="Atom_size_and_speed" name="Atom_size_and_speed"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Atom size and speed</span></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/804.png.htm" title="depiction of a hydrogen atom showing the Van der Waals radius. (Image not to scale)"><img alt="depiction of a hydrogen atom showing the Van der Waals radius. (Image not to scale)" height="186" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hydrogen_atom.png" src="../../images/8/804.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/804.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> depiction of a hydrogen atom showing the <!--del_lnk--> Van der Waals radius. (Image not to scale)</div>
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<p>Atoms are much smaller than the <!--del_lnk--> wavelengths of <a href="../../wp/l/Light.htm" title="Light">light</a> that human vision can detect, so atoms cannot be seen in any kind of optical <a href="../../wp/m/Microscope.htm" title="Microscope">microscope</a>. However, there are ways of detecting the positions of atoms on the surface of a solid or a <!--del_lnk--> thin film so as to obtain images. These include: <!--del_lnk--> electron microscopes (such as in <!--del_lnk--> scanning tunneling microscopy (STM)), <!--del_lnk--> atomic force microscopy (AFM), <!--del_lnk--> nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and <!--del_lnk--> x-ray microscopy.<p>Since the <!--del_lnk--> electron cloud does not have a sharp cutoff, the size of an atom is not easily defined. For atoms that can form solid <a href="../../wp/c/Crystal.htm" title="Crystal">crystal</a> <!--del_lnk--> lattices, the distance between the centers of adjacent atoms can be easily determined by <!--del_lnk--> x-ray diffraction, giving an estimate of the atoms' size. For any atom, one might use the radius at which the electrons of the <!--del_lnk--> valence shell are most likely to be found. As an example, the size of a <a href="../../wp/h/Hydrogen.htm" title="Hydrogen">hydrogen</a> atom is estimated to be approximately 1.06×10<sup><small>-10</small></sup> m (twice the <!--del_lnk--> Bohr radius). Compare this to the size of the <a href="../../wp/p/Proton.htm" title="Proton">proton</a> (the only particle in the nucleus of the hydrogen atom), which is approximately 10<sup><small>-15</small></sup> m. So the ratio of the size of the hydrogen atom to its nucleus is about 100,000:1. If an atom were the size of a <!--del_lnk--> stadium, the nucleus would be the size of a <!--del_lnk--> marble. If an atom were the size of the United States, an electron would be 3cm long and wide. Nearly all the mass of an atom is in its nucleus, yet almost all the space in an atom is occupied by its electrons.<p>Atoms of different <a href="../../wp/c/Chemical_element.htm" title="Chemical element">elements</a> do vary in size, but the sizes (volumes) do not scale well with the mass of the atom. Heavier atoms do tend generally to be more dense. The diameters of atoms are roughly the same to within a factor of less than three for the heavier atoms, and the most noticeable effect on size with atomic mass is a reverse one: atomic size actually shrinks with increasing mass in each periodic table row <!--del_lnk--> . The reason for these effects is that heavy elements have large positive charge on their nuclei, which strongly attract the electrons to the centre of the atom. This contracts the size of the <!--del_lnk--> electron shells, so that more electrons may fit into a smaller volume. These effects may be striking: for example, atoms of the densest element <a href="../../wp/i/Iridium.htm" title="Iridium">iridium</a> (atomic weight about 192) are about the same size as <a href="../../wp/a/Aluminium.htm" title="Aluminum">aluminium</a> atoms (atomic weight about 27), and this contributes greatly to the density ratio of more than eight between these metals.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> temperature of a collection of atoms is a measure of the average energy of motion of those atoms above the minimum zero-point energy demanded by quantum mechanics; at 0 <!--del_lnk--> kelvins (<a href="../../wp/a/Absolute_zero.htm" title="Absolute zero">absolute zero</a>) atoms would have no extra energy above the minimum. As the temperature of the system is increased, the kinetic energy of the particles in the system is increased, and their speed of motion increases. At <!--del_lnk--> room temperature, atoms making up gases in the air move at an average speed of 500 m/s (about 1100 mph or 1800 km/h).<p><a id="Elements.2C_isotopes_and_ions" name="Elements.2C_isotopes_and_ions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Elements, isotopes and ions</span></h3>
<p>Atoms with the same atomic number Z share a wide variety of physical properties and exhibit almost identical <!--del_lnk--> chemical properties (for the closest instance to an exception to this principle, see <!--del_lnk--> deuterium and <!--del_lnk--> heavy water). Atoms are classified into chemical elements by their <!--del_lnk--> atomic number <i>Z</i>, which corresponds to the number of protons in the atom. For example, all atoms containing six protons (<i>Z</i> = 6) are classified as <a href="../../wp/c/Carbon.htm" title="Carbon">carbon</a>. The elements may be sorted according to the <a href="../../wp/p/Periodic_table.htm" title="Periodic table">periodic table</a> in order of increasing atomic number. When this is done, certain repeating cycles of regularities in chemical and physical properties are evident.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> mass number <i>A</i>, or nucleon number of an element is the total number of protons and neutrons in an atom of that element, so-called because each proton and neutron has a mass of about 1 <!--del_lnk--> amu. A particular collection of a certain number of protons Z, and neutrons <i>A</i>-<i>Z</i>, is called a <!--del_lnk--> nuclide.<p>Each element can have numerous different <!--del_lnk--> nuclides with the same Z (number of protons and electrons) but varying numbers of neutrons. Such a family of nuclides are called the <!--del_lnk--> isotopes of the element (isotope = "same place", because these nuclides share the same chemical symbol and place on the periodic table). When writing the name of a particular nuclide, the element name (which specifies the Z) is preceded by the mass number if written as a superscript, or else followed by the mass number if not a superscript. For example, the nuclide <!--del_lnk--> carbon-14, which may also be written <sup>14</sup>C, is one of the isotopes of carbon, and it contains 6 protons and 8 neutrons in each atom, for a total mass number of 14. For a complete table of known nuclides, including radioactive and stable nuclides, see <!--del_lnk--> isotope table (divided).<p>The atomic mass listed for each element in the periodic table is an average of the isotope masses found in nature, <!--del_lnk--> weighted by their <!--del_lnk--> abundance.<p>The simplest atom is the <a href="../../wp/h/Hydrogen.htm" title="Hydrogen">hydrogen</a> isotope <!--del_lnk--> protium, which has atomic number 1 and atomic mass number 1; it consists of one proton and one electron. The hydrogen isotope which also contains one neutron so is called <!--del_lnk--> deuterium or hydrogen-2; the hydrogen isotope with two neutrons is called <!--del_lnk--> tritium or hydrogen-3. Tritium is an unstable isotope which decays through a process called <!--del_lnk--> radioactivity. Many isotopes of each element are radioactive; the number which are <!--del_lnk--> stable varies greatly with the element (<a href="../../wp/t/Tin.htm" title="Tin">tin</a> has 10 stable isotopes; see <!--del_lnk--> list of stable isotopes). Lead (<i>Z</i> = 82) is the last element which has stable isotopes. The elements with atomic number 83 (<a href="../../wp/b/Bismuth.htm" title="Bismuth">bismuth</a>) and greater have no stable isotopes and are all radioactive.<p>Virtually all elements heavier than hydrogen and <a href="../../wp/h/Helium.htm" title="Helium">helium</a> were created through <!--del_lnk--> stellar nucleosynthesis and <!--del_lnk--> supernova nucleosynthesis. The solar system is thought to be formed of clouds of elements from many such supernovae, which date from more than 4.6 billion years ago. Most of the elements lighter than <a href="../../wp/u/Uranium.htm" title="Uranium">uranium</a> (<i>Z</i> = 92) have either stable isotopes, or else radioisotopes long-lived enough to occur naturally on <a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">Earth</a>. Two notable exceptions of light but short-lived radioactive elements are <a href="../../wp/t/Technetium.htm" title="Technetium">technetium</a> <i>Z</i> = 43 (although some technetium has been found on Earth, this occurred only after the element was first synthesized artificially), and <a href="../../wp/p/Promethium.htm" title="Promethium">promethium</a> <i>Z</i> = 61, which is found naturally only in stars where it was recently made. Several other short-lived heavy elements that do not occur on Earth have been found to be present in <a href="../../wp/s/Star.htm" title="Star">stars</a>. Elements not normally found in nature have been artificially created by <!--del_lnk--> nuclear bombardment; <!--del_lnk--> as of 2006, elements have been created through atomic number 116 (given the temporary name <a href="../../wp/u/Ununhexium.htm" title="Ununhexium">ununhexium</a>). These ultra-heavy elements are generally highly unstable and decay quickly.<p>Atoms that have lost or gained electrons to become electrically non-neutral, are called atomic <!--del_lnk--> ions. Ions are divided into <!--del_lnk--> cations with positive (+) electric charge; or <!--del_lnk--> anions with negative (-) charge.<p><a id="Valence_and_bonding" name="Valence_and_bonding"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Valence and bonding</span></h3>
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<p>The number of electrons in an atom's outermost shell (the <!--del_lnk--> valence shell) governs its bonding behaviour. Therefore, elements with the same number of valence electrons are <!--del_lnk--> grouped together in the columns of the <a href="../../wp/p/Periodic_table.htm" title="Periodic table">periodic table</a> of the elements. <!--del_lnk--> Alkali metals contain one electron on their outer shell; <!--del_lnk--> alkaline earth metals, two electrons; <!--del_lnk--> halogens, seven electrons; and various others.<p>Every atom is most stable with a full valence shell. This means that atoms with full valence shells (the <!--del_lnk--> noble gases) are very unreactive. Conversely, atoms with few electrons in their valence shell are more <!--del_lnk--> reactive. Alkali metals are therefore very reactive, with <a href="../../wp/c/Caesium.htm" title="Caesium">caesium</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Rubidium.htm" title="Rubidium">rubidium</a>, and <a href="../../wp/f/Francium.htm" title="Francium">francium</a> being the most reactive of all metals. Also, atoms that need only few electrons (such as the halogens) to fill their valence shells are reactive. <a href="../../wp/f/Fluorine.htm" title="Fluorine">Fluorine</a> is the most reactive of all elements.<p>Atoms may fill their valence shells by <!--del_lnk--> chemical bonding. This can be achieved one of two ways: an atom can either share electrons with other atoms (a <i><!--del_lnk--> covalent bond</i>), or it can remove electrons from (or donate electrons to) other atoms (an <i><!--del_lnk--> ionic bond</i>). The formation of a bond causes a strong attraction between two atoms, creating <!--del_lnk--> molecules or <!--del_lnk--> ionic compounds. Many other types of bonds exist, including:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> polar covalent bonds;<li><!--del_lnk--> coordinate covalent bonds;<li><!--del_lnk--> metallic bonds;<li><!--del_lnk--> hydrogen bonds; and<li><!--del_lnk--> van der Waals bonds.</ul>
<p><a id="Atomic_spectrum" name="Atomic_spectrum"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Atomic spectrum</span></h3>
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<p>Since each element in the <a href="../../wp/p/Periodic_table.htm" title="Periodic table">periodic table</a> consists of an atom in a unique configuration with different numbers of <a href="../../wp/p/Proton.htm" title="Proton">protons</a> and <a href="../../wp/e/Electron.htm" title="Electron">electrons</a>, each element can also be uniquely described by the <!--del_lnk--> energies of its <!--del_lnk--> atomic orbitals and the number of electrons within them. Normally, an atom is found in its lowest-energy <!--del_lnk--> ground state; states with higher energy are called <!--del_lnk--> excited states. An electron may move from a lower-energy orbital to a higher-energy orbital by absorbing a <a href="../../wp/p/Photon.htm" title="Photon">photon</a> with energy equal to the difference between the energies of the two levels. An electron in a higher-energy orbital may drop to a lower-energy orbital by emitting a photon. Since each element has a unique set of energy levels, each creates its own <a href="../../wp/l/Light.htm" title="Light">light</a> pattern unique to itself: its own spectral signature.<p>If a set of atoms is heated (such as in an <!--del_lnk--> arc lamp), their electrons will move into excited states. When these atoms fall back toward the ground state, they will produce an <!--del_lnk--> emission spectrum. If a set of atoms is illuminated by a <!--del_lnk--> continuous spectrum, it will only absorb specific <!--del_lnk--> wavelengths (energies) of photon that correspond to the differences in its energy levels. The resulting pattern of gaps is called the <!--del_lnk--> absorption spectrum.<p>In spectroscopic analysis, scientists can use a <!--del_lnk--> spectrometer to study the atoms in <a href="../../wp/s/Star.htm" title="Star">stars</a> and other distant objects. Due to the distinctive spectral lines that each element produces, they are able to tell the chemical composition of distant <a href="../../wp/p/Planet.htm" title="Planet">planets</a>, stars and <!--del_lnk--> nebulae.<p>Not all parts of the atomic spectrum are in visible light part of the <!--del_lnk--> electromagnetic spectrum. For example, the <!--del_lnk--> hyperfine transitions (including the important <!--del_lnk--> 21 cm line) produce low-energy <!--del_lnk--> radio waves. When electrons deep inside atoms of high atomic number are knocked out (for example by <!--del_lnk--> beta radiation), replacement electrons fall deep into the <!--del_lnk--> electric potential of the high-<i>Z</i> <!--del_lnk--> nucleus, producing high-energy <!--del_lnk--> x-rays.<p><a id="Exotic_atoms" name="Exotic_atoms"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Exotic atoms</span></h2>
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<p>An <!--del_lnk--> exotic atom is usually made from a normal matter atom with a substitution from abnormal or rarely encountered matter, such as <!--del_lnk--> antimatter, <!--del_lnk--> muons, <!--del_lnk--> mesons, or other objects. A few exotic atoms (such as atoms of antimatter) are not made of any normal atomic constituents at all. All exotic atoms (save antiatoms made from antinucleons and <!--del_lnk--> positrons), are highly unstable, decaying with lifetimes of a few microseconds or less. The antimatter counterparts of stable particles are also stable, but difficult to store for more than short periods, since they <!--del_lnk--> annihilate if allowed to contact ordinary matter.<p>The most familiar examples of exotic atoms are the antiatom <!--del_lnk--> antihydrogen (composed of an <!--del_lnk--> antiproton and positron) which has been produced in tiny quantities, and <!--del_lnk--> positronium, an analogue to the hydrogen atom in which a positron is substituted for the usual proton nucleus. <!--del_lnk--> Positronium is unstable; it is a common phase in the attraction between an electron and positron before the annihilation reaction in which the matter particles are destroyed and two <!--del_lnk--> gamma rays are emitted.<p><a id="Atoms_and_the_Big_Bang_Theory" name="Atoms_and_the_Big_Bang_Theory"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Atoms and the Big Bang Theory</span></h2>
<p>In models of the <a href="../../wp/b/Big_Bang.htm" title="Big Bang">Big Bang</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Big Bang nucleosynthesis predicts that within one to three minutes of the Big Bang almost all atomic material in the universe was created. During this process, <!--del_lnk--> nuclei of <a href="../../wp/h/Hydrogen.htm" title="Hydrogen">hydrogen</a> and <a href="../../wp/h/Helium.htm" title="Helium">helium</a> formed abundantly, but almost no elements heavier than <a href="../../wp/l/Lithium.htm" title="Lithium">lithium</a>. Hydrogen makes up approximately 75% of the atoms in the universe; helium makes up 24%; and all other elements make up just 1%. However, although nuclei (fully-<!--del_lnk--> ionized atoms) were created, neutral atoms themselves could not form in the intense heat.<p>Big Bang chronology of the atom continues to approximately 379,000 years after the Big Bang when the cosmic temperature had dropped to just 3,000 <!--del_lnk--> K. It was then cool enough to allow the nuclei to capture <a href="../../wp/e/Electron.htm" title="Electron">electrons</a>. This process is called <!--del_lnk--> recombination, during which the first neutral atoms took form. Once atoms become neutral, they only absorb <a href="../../wp/p/Photon.htm" title="Photon">photons</a> of a discrete <!--del_lnk--> absorption spectrum. This allows most of the photons in the universe to travel unimpeded for billions of years. These photons are still detectable today in the <!--del_lnk--> cosmic microwave background.<p>After Big Bang nucleosynthesis, no heavier elements could be created until the <!--del_lnk--> formation of the first stars. These stars <!--del_lnk--> fused heavier elements through <!--del_lnk--> stellar nucleosynthesis during their lives and through <!--del_lnk--> supernova nucleosynthesis as they died. The seeding of the <!--del_lnk--> interstellar medium by heavy elements eventually allowed the formation of <!--del_lnk--> terrestrial planets like the <a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">Earth</a>.<p><a id="Atom_size_comparisons" name="Atom_size_comparisons"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Atom size comparisons</span></h2>
<p>Various analogies have been used to demonstrate the minuteness of the atom:<ul>
<li>A human hair is about 1 million carbon atoms wide.<li>An <a href="../../wp/h/HIV.htm" title="HIV">HIV</a> virus is the width of 800 carbon atoms and contains about 100 million atoms total. An <!--del_lnk--> E. coli bacterium contains perhaps 100 billion atoms.<li>A speck of dust might contain 3x10<sup><small>12</small></sup> (3 trillion) atoms.<li>The number of atoms in 12 grams of charcoal (about 6 x 10<sup>23</sup>) is more than 1,400,000 times the age of the universe in seconds.</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Atonality</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Music.Musical_genres_styles_eras_and_events.htm">Musical genres, styles, eras and events</a></h3>
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<p><b>Atonality</b> describes <a href="../../wp/m/Music.htm" title="Music">music</a> not conforming to the system of <!--del_lnk--> tonal hierarchies, which characterizes the sound of <!--del_lnk--> classical European music between the <a href="../../wp/1/17th_century.htm" title="17th century">seventeenth</a> and <a href="../../wp/1/19th_century.htm" title="19th century">nineteenth</a> centuries. Atonality usually describes compositions written from about 1907 to the present day, where the hierarchy of tonal centers, in some cases, may not be used as the primary way to organize a work. Tonal centers gradually replaced <!--del_lnk--> modal organization starting in the 1500s and culminated with the establishment of the <!--del_lnk--> major-minor key system in the late 1600s and early 1700s.<p>The most prominent school to compose in this manner was the <!--del_lnk--> Second Viennese School of <!--del_lnk--> Arnold Schoenberg, <!--del_lnk--> Alban Berg, and <!--del_lnk--> Anton Webern. However, composers such as <!--del_lnk--> George Antheil, <!--del_lnk--> Béla Bartók, <!--del_lnk--> John Cage, <!--del_lnk--> Carlos Chávez, <!--del_lnk--> Aaron Copland, <!--del_lnk--> Roberto Gerhard, <!--del_lnk--> Alberto Ginastera, <!--del_lnk--> Alois Haba, <!--del_lnk--> Josef Matthias Hauer, <!--del_lnk--> Carl Ruggles, <!--del_lnk--> Luigi Russolo, <!--del_lnk--> Roger Sessions, <!--del_lnk--> Nikos Skalkottas, <!--del_lnk--> Toru Takemitsu, <!--del_lnk--> Edgard Varèse, and others, including <a href="../../wp/j/Jazz.htm" title="Jazz">jazz</a> artists such as <!--del_lnk--> Anthony Braxton, <!--del_lnk--> Ornette Coleman, <!--del_lnk--> John Coltrane, and <!--del_lnk--> Cecil Taylor (Radano 1993, 108-109), have written music that is described as atonal, and many traditional composers “flirted with atonality,” in the words of <!--del_lnk--> Leonard Bernstein.<p>
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</script><a id="History_of_atonality" name="History_of_atonality"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History of atonality</span></h2>
<p>While music without a tonal centre had been written previously, for example <!--del_lnk--> Franz Liszt's <i><!--del_lnk--> Bagatelle sans tonalité</i> of 1885, it is with the 20th century that the term <i>atonality</i> began to be applied to pieces, particularly those written by Arnold Schoenberg and The Second Viennese School.<p>Their music arose from what was described as the crisis of tonality between the late <a href="../../wp/1/19th_century.htm" title="19th century">19th century</a> and early <a href="../../wp/2/20th_century.htm" title="20th century">20th century</a> in <!--del_lnk--> classical music. It was described by composer <!--del_lnk--> Ferruccio Busoni as the “exhaustion of the major-minor key system” and by Schoenberg as the “inability of one tonal chord to assert dominance over all of the others” .<p>The first phase is often described as "free atonality" or "free chromaticism" and involved the conscious attempt to avoid traditional diatonic harmony. Works of this period include the opera <i><!--del_lnk--> Wozzeck</i> (1917-1922) by Alban Berg and <i><!--del_lnk--> Pierrot Lunaire</i> (1912) by Schoenberg.<p>The second phase, begun after <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>, was exemplified by attempts to create a systematic means of composing without tonality, most famously the method of composing with 12 tones or the <!--del_lnk--> twelve-tone technique. This period included Berg's <i><!--del_lnk--> Lulu</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Lyric Suite</i>, Schoenberg's <i><!--del_lnk--> Piano Concerto</i>, his opera <i><!--del_lnk--> Jacob's Ladder</i> and numerous smaller pieces, as well as his final string quartets. Schoenberg was the major innovator of the system, but his student, <!--del_lnk--> Anton Webern, then began linking dynamics and tone colour to the primary row as well, making the row not only of notes but other aspects of music as well. This, combined with the parameterization of <!--del_lnk--> Olivier Messiaen, would be taken as the inspiration for <!--del_lnk--> serialism.<p>Atonality emerged as a pejorative term to condemn music in which <!--del_lnk--> chords were organized seemingly with no apparent coherence. In <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a>, atonal music was attacked as "<!--del_lnk--> Bolshevik" and labeled as <!--del_lnk--> degenerate (<i>Entartete Musik</i>) along with other music produced by enemies of the Nazi regime. Many composers had their works banned by the regime, not to be played until after its collapse after <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>.<p>In the years that followed, atonality represented a challenge to many composers — even those who wrote more tonal music were influenced by it. The Second Viennese School, and particularly 12-tone composition, was taken by avant-garde composers in the 1950s to be the foundation of the New Music, and led to <!--del_lnk--> serialism and other forms of musical experimentation. Prominent post-World War II composers in this tradition are <!--del_lnk--> Pierre Boulez, <!--del_lnk--> Karlheinz Stockhausen, <!--del_lnk--> Luciano Berio, <!--del_lnk--> Krzysztof Penderecki, and <!--del_lnk--> Milton Babbitt. Many composers wrote atonal music after the war, even if before they had pursued other styles, including <!--del_lnk--> Elliott Carter and <!--del_lnk--> Witold Lutosławski. After Schoenberg's death, <a href="../../wp/i/Igor_Stravinsky.htm" title="Igor Stravinsky">Igor Stravinsky</a> began to write music with a mixture of serial and tonal elements. During this time, the <!--del_lnk--> chord progressions or <!--del_lnk--> successions designed to avoid a tonal centre were explored and named. A vocabulary described as <!--del_lnk--> musical set theory encompasses all pitch and pitch-class sets, whether used in tonal, atonal, modal, or other music. <!--del_lnk--> Iannis Xenakis generated pitch sets from mathematical formulae, and also saw the expansion of tonal possibilities as part a synthesis between sound and science which he saw also in the music of ancient Greece.<p>Atonal music continues to be composed, and many atonal composers of the late 20th century are still alive and active. However, serial atonal composition began to fade in the 1960s — where, on one hand, <!--del_lnk--> aleatoric music, <!--del_lnk--> spectral music, and electronic music demanded more and more attention and, on the other, musicians influenced by Eastern mysticism, modality, and <!--del_lnk--> Minimalism began writing music based on <!--del_lnk--> ostinato patterns.<p><a id="Controversy_over_the_term_itself" name="Controversy_over_the_term_itself"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Controversy over the term itself</span></h2>
<p>The appropriateness of the term "atonality" has been controversial. <!--del_lnk--> Schoenberg, whose music is generally used to define the term, was vehemently opposed to it, arguing that "The word 'atonal' could only signify something entirely inconsistent with the nature of tone. . . . [T]o call any relation of tones atonal is just as farfetched as it would be to designate a relation of colors aspectral or acomplementary. There is no such antithesis" (Schoenberg 1978, 432). For some, the term continues to carry negative connotations.<p>"Atonal" developed a certain vagueness in meaning as a result of its use to describe a wide variety of compositional approaches that deviated from traditional chords and chord progressions. Attempts to solve these problems by using terms such as "pan-tonal," "non-tonal," "free-tonal," and "without tonal centre" instead of "atonal" have not gained broad acceptance.<p><a id="Composing_atonal_music" name="Composing_atonal_music"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Composing atonal music</span></h2>
<p>Setting out to compose atonal music may seem complicated because of both the vagueness and generality of the term. Additionally <!--del_lnk--> George Perle (1962) explains that, "the 'free' atonality that preceded dodecaphony precludes by definition the possibility of self-consistent, generally applicable compositional procedures." (p.9) However, he provides one example as a way to compose atonal pieces, a pre-<!--del_lnk--> twelve tone technique piece by <!--del_lnk--> Anton Webern, which rigorously avoids anything that suggests tonality, to choose pitches that do not imply tonality. In other words, reverse the rules of the <!--del_lnk--> common practice period so that what was not allowed is required and what was required is not allowed. This is what was done by <!--del_lnk--> Charles Seeger in his explanation of <!--del_lnk--> dissonant counterpoint, which is a way to write atonal counterpoint.<p>Further, he agrees with Oster and Katz that, "the abandonment of the concept of a root-generator of the individual chord is a radical development that renders futile any attempt at a systematic formulation of chord structure and progression in atonal music along the lines of traditional harmonic theory." (p.31). Atonal compositional techniques and results "are not reducible to a set of foundational assumptions in terms of which the compositions that are collectively designated by the expression 'atonal music' can be said to represent 'a system' of composition." (p.1)<p>Perle also points out that structural coherence is most often achieved through operations on intervallic cells. A cell "may operate as a kind of microcosmic set of fixed intervallic content, statable either as a chord or as a melodic figure or as a combination of both. Its components may be fixed with regard to order, in which event it may be employed, like the twelve-tone set, in its literal transformations... Individual tones may function as pivotal elements, to permit overlapping statements of a basic cell or the linking of two or more basic cells." (pp.9-10)<p>Audio examples of the role of dissonance and tonality claimed as part of our own physiological make-up (the ear) may be heard in the following links (which also are examples of the interaction and effect of consonance and dissonance upon each other). Click here <!--del_lnk--> <i>The effect of context on dissonance</i>, and here: <!--del_lnk--> <i>The role of harmony in music</i>. An experiment easily done on any piano can be found here: <!--del_lnk--> <i>Experiment</i>. Scroll down or search page for "experiment". In the content of those audios and critical arguments, a reader or composer may judge whether these perceptions are learned only by conditioning or are physically based.<p><a id="Criticism_of_atonal_music" name="Criticism_of_atonal_music"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Criticism of atonal music</span></h2>
<p>Composer <!--del_lnk--> Anton von Webern held that "new laws asserted themselves that made it impossible to designate a piece as being in one key or another" (Webern 1963, 51), whereas musicologist Robert Fink has stated that all music is perceived as having a tonal centre .<p>Famous Swiss conductor, composer, and musical philosopher <!--del_lnk--> Ernest Ansermet, a critic of atonal music, wrote extensively on this in the book <i>Les fondements de la musique dans la conscience humaine</i> (Ansermet 1961) where he argued that <a href="../../wp/l/Ludwig_van_Beethoven.htm" title="Ludwig van Beethoven">Beethoven</a> was unique in presenting the eternal ideal of the hero, his struggling and victory (the <!--del_lnk--> Fifth Symphony) and the typical Western universal ideal of a community of all social and loving humans (the <!--del_lnk--> Ninth Symphony) so forcefully and clearly. For Ansermet, the classical musical language was a precondition for that with its clear, harmonious structures. Tonality based on relatively simple interval relations is absolutely necessary in Ansermet's opinion. So the incomprehensible (to Ansermet) modern atonal music, by choosing interval relations seemingly at random, could not achieve such an impact, ethos and catharsis for an audience. Influential critic <!--del_lnk--> Theodor Adorno argued, however, that one could express anything from tragedy to a smirk in atonality, provided one had compositional ability .<p>In the historical view, however, neither of the extremes of prediction have come about: atonality has neither replaced tonality, nor has it disappeared. There is, however, much agreement amongst many composers that atonal systems in the hands of less-talented composers will still sound weak expressively, and composers with a genuine tonal gift are capable of writing exquisite works using twelve-tone methods. In other words, both good and bad music can be created under any system, or without using one at all. Serialism itself has been taken up by a few tonal composers as a modest replacement for the common practice tendencies of certain traditional forms to conform to certain tonal expectations.<p>Composers of the American <!--del_lnk--> minimalist movement, such as <!--del_lnk--> Steve Reich, <!--del_lnk--> Philip Glass and <!--del_lnk--> John Adams, were reacting against what they saw as the stilted academicism of American university composition departments.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atonality"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Attack on Pearl Harbour</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.World_War_II.htm">World War II</a></h3>
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<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Attack on Pearl Harbour</th>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Theatre of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/148/14837.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="304" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Burning_ships_at_Pearl_Harbor.jpg" src="../../images/233/23355.jpg" width="260" /></a><br /> Ships burning in Pearl Harbour after the attack</td>
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<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> December 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1941</td>
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<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Pearl Harbour, <!--del_lnk--> Hawai<font face="Lucida Sans Unicode">ʻ</font>i</td>
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<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive Japanese victory,<br /> United States declares war on the <!--del_lnk--> Empire of Japan and enters <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> on side of <!--del_lnk--> Allies,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Nazi Germany declares war on the United States.</td>
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<th style="padding-right: 1em;"><i><!--del_lnk--> Casus belli</i></th>
<td>Oil and trade embargo by the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>.</td>
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<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
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<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1294.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:US_flag_48_stars.svg" src="../../images/12/1294.png" width="20" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><span style="display: inline;"><span style="display: table-cell; border-collapse: collapse; border: solid 1px #ddd;"><a class="image" href="../../images/13/1310.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Japan_-_variant.svg" src="../../images/13/1310.png" width="20" /></a></span></span> <!--del_lnk--> Empire of Japan</td>
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<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
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<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Husband Kimmel <small>(<!--del_lnk--> USN)</small>,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Walter Short <small>(<!--del_lnk--> USA)</small></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Chuichi Nagumo <small>(<a href="../../wp/i/Imperial_Japanese_Navy.htm" title="Imperial Japanese Navy">IJN</a>)</small>,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Mitsuo Fuchida <small>(<!--del_lnk--> IJNAS)</small></td>
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<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
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<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">8 battleships,<br /> 8 cruisers,<br /> 29 destroyers,<br /> 9 submarines,<br /> ~50 other ships,<br /> ~390 planes</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">6 aircraft carriers,<br /> 2 battleships,<br /> 3 cruisers,<br /> 9 destroyers,<br /> 8 tankers,<br /> 23 fleet submarines,<br /> 5 midget submarines,<br /> 441 planes</td>
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<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
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<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">2,335 military and 68 civilians killed,<br /> 1,143 military and 35 civilians wounded,<br /> 4 battleships sunk,<br /> 4 battleships damaged,<br /> 3 cruisers damaged,<br /> 3 destroyers sunk,<br /> 2 other ships sunk,<br /> 188 planes destroyed,<br /> 155 planes damaged</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">55 airmen, 9 submariners killed and 1 captured,<br /> 29 planes destroyed,<br /> 5 midget submarines sunk</td>
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<th>Pacific campaigns 1941-42</th>
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<td><strong class="selflink">Pearl Harbour</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> Thailand – <!--del_lnk--> Malaya – <!--del_lnk--> Wake – <!--del_lnk--> Hong Kong – <!--del_lnk--> Philippines – <!--del_lnk--> Dutch East Indies – <!--del_lnk--> New Guinea – <!--del_lnk--> Singapore – <!--del_lnk--> Australia – <!--del_lnk--> Indian Ocean – <!--del_lnk--> Doolittle Raid – <!--del_lnk--> Solomons – <!--del_lnk--> Coral Sea – <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Midway.htm" title="Battle of Midway">Midway</a></td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> Pacific Ocean campaign</th>
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<td><strong class="selflink">Pearl Harbour</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> Wake Island – <!--del_lnk--> Doolittle Raid – <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Midway.htm" title="Battle of Midway">Midway</a> – <!--del_lnk--> Aleutian Islands – <!--del_lnk--> Guadalcanal – <!--del_lnk--> Solomon Islands – <!--del_lnk--> Gilbert and Marshall Islands – <!--del_lnk--> Marianas and Palau – <!--del_lnk--> Volcano and Ryūkyū Islands</td>
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<p>The <b>Attack on Pearl Harbour</b> was a surprise attack on <!--del_lnk--> Pearl Harbour, <!--del_lnk--> O<font face="Lucida Sans Unicode">ʻ</font>ahu, <!--del_lnk--> Hawai<font face="Lucida Sans Unicode">ʻ</font>i, <!--del_lnk--> USA launched by <!--del_lnk--> 1st Air Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy<!--del_lnk--> on the morning of Sunday, <!--del_lnk--> December 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1941 (<!--del_lnk--> Hawai<font face="Lucida Sans Unicode">ʻ</font>i time). It was aimed at the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Fleet of the <!--del_lnk--> United States Navy and its defending <!--del_lnk--> Army Air Corps and <!--del_lnk--> Marine defensive squadrons as <!--del_lnk--> preemptive war intended to neutralize the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">American</a> forces in the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific in an impending <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>. Pearl Harbour, was actually only one of a number of military and naval installations which were attacked, including those on the other side of island.<p>The attack destroyed 8 American battleships, severely damaged 9 other <!--del_lnk--> warships, destroyed 188 <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft.htm" title="Aircraft">aircraft</a>, and killed 2,403 American servicemen and 68 civilians. However, the Pacific Fleet's three <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft_carrier.htm" title="Aircraft carrier">aircraft carriers</a> were not in port and so were undamaged, as were the base's vital oil tank farms, Navy Yard and machine shops, submarine base, and power station, as well as the Headquarters Building (home to the intelligence unit HYPO). These provided the basis for the Pacific Fleet's campaign during the rest of the War.<p>
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</script><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
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<p>After the <!--del_lnk--> Meiji Restoration, the <!--del_lnk--> Empire of Japan embarked on a period of rapid economic, political, and military expansion in an effort to achieve military, economic, and political parity with the <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">European</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/North_America.htm" title="North America">North American</a> powers. The expansion strategy included extending territorial and economic control to increase access to natural resources which were thought needed to sustain and accelerate growth.<p>As a result, Japan embarked on a number of projects which caused confrontations with many other countries. These included the <!--del_lnk--> war with China in 1894 in which Japan took control of <a href="../../wp/t/Taiwan.htm" title="Taiwan">Taiwan</a>, and the <!--del_lnk--> war with Russia in 1904 by which Japan gained territory in and around China and the <!--del_lnk--> Korean peninsula. After <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>, the <a href="../../wp/l/League_of_Nations.htm" title="League of Nations">League of Nations</a> awarded Japan custody of most of Imperial Germany's possessions and colonies in the Far East and Pacific waters. In 1931, Japan forcibly imposed a "puppet" state in <!--del_lnk--> Manchuria which they called <!--del_lnk--> Manchukuo.<p>From about 1910 through the 1930s Japan had been extensively militarized after considerable internal conflict (eg, assassinations of Opposition leaders) and built a large and modern <a href="../../wp/i/Imperial_Japanese_Navy.htm" title="Imperial Japanese Navy">Navy</a> (third largest in the world at the time) and <!--del_lnk--> Army. In 1937, Imperial Army officers staged a provocation at the <!--del_lnk--> Marco Polo Bridge, beginning a large-scale invasion of mainland China, involving attacks from Manchuria and several points along China's Pacific coast.<p><!--del_lnk--> The League of Nations, the U.S., the UK, Australia, and the Netherlands, which had territorial interests in <!--del_lnk--> Southeast Asia and the <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a>, disapproved of the Japanese attacks on China, condemning them and applying diplomatic pressure. Japan resigned from the League of Nations in response. In July 1939, the U.S. terminated the 1911 U.S./Japanese commerce treaty, which both showed official disapprobation and removed legal barriers to imposition of trade embargoes. Japan continued its military campaign in China and signed the <!--del_lnk--> Anti-Comintern Pact with <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a>, formally ending <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a> hostilities, and declaring common interests. In 1940, Japan signed the <!--del_lnk--> Tripartite Pact with Germany and <!--del_lnk--> Fascist Italy to form the <!--del_lnk--> Axis Powers.<p>These Japanese actions led the U.S. to <!--del_lnk--> embargo scrap metal and gasoline, and to close the <a href="../../wp/p/Panama_Canal.htm" title="Panama Canal">Panama Canal</a> to Japanese shipping. The situation worsened, and in 1941 Japan moved into northern <!--del_lnk--> Indochina. The U.S. response was to freeze Japan's assets in the U.S. and to declare a complete oil embargo. Oil was Japan's most crucial resource; her own supplies were very limited, and 80% of Japan's imports came from the U.S. The Imperial Navy relied entirely on imported bunker oil stocks.<p>There was considerable division in the Japanese high command. The Army wanted to "go south", intending to capture oil and mineral reserves in the <!--del_lnk--> Dutch East Indies. The Navy was certain this would bring the U.S. into the war. To forestall American interference, an attack on the Pacific Fleet was considered essential. (The certainty of American aid to Britain in the Pacific is far from clear, and was even at the time.)<p>Diplomatic negotiations with the U.S. climaxed with the <!--del_lnk--> Hull note of <!--del_lnk--> November 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, which Prime Minister <!--del_lnk--> Hideki Tojo described to his cabinet as an <!--del_lnk--> ultimatum. Japanese leaders felt they had to choose between complying with U.S. and UK demands — backing down from its actions in China and surrounding areas — and continuing expansion. Concerned about losing status and prestige in the international community ("<!--del_lnk--> loss of face") if compelled to comply, and with the perceived threat to national survival posed by the Western Powers, the Japanese leadership (under Emperor <a href="../../wp/h/Hirohito.htm" title="Hirohito">Hirohito</a>) decided to implement contingency plans, choosing war with the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>, and the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a> as a direct response.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> September 4, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, at the second of two Imperial Conferences attended by the Emperor considering an attack on Pearl Harbour, the Japanese <!--del_lnk--> Cabinet met to consider the attack plans prepared by <!--del_lnk--> Imperial General Headquarters. It was decided that:<blockquote>
<p>Our Empire, for the purpose of self-defence and self-preservation, will complete preparations for war ... [and is] ... resolved to go to war with the United States, Great Britain and the Netherlands if necessary. Our Empire will concurrently take all possible diplomatic measures vis-a-vis the United States and Great Britain, and thereby endeavor to obtain our objectives ... In the event that there is no prospect of our demands being met by the first ten days of October through the diplomatic negotiations mentioned above, we will immediately decide to commence hostilities against the United States, Britain and the Netherlands.</blockquote>
<p><a id="Japanese_preparations" name="Japanese_preparations"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Japanese preparations</span></h3>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/256/25689.png.htm" title="Ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force"><img alt="Ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force" height="133" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Naval_Ensign_of_Japan.svg" src="../../images/233/23356.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/256/25689.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy and <!--del_lnk--> Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force</div>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23357.jpg.htm" title="Fleet Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the implementer at the throne"><img alt="Fleet Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the implementer at the throne" height="270" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Admiral_Isoroku_Yamamoto.jpg" src="../../images/233/23357.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23357.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Fleet Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Isoroku Yamamoto, commander-in-chief of the <a href="../../wp/i/Imperial_Japanese_Navy.htm" title="Imperial Japanese Navy">Imperial Japanese Navy</a> and the implementer at the throne</div>
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<p>Several Navy officers had been impressed with Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Andrew Cunningham's Operation <i>Judgement</i> (the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Taranto), where 20 nearly-obsolete <!--del_lnk--> Fairey Swordfish, launched from an <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft_carrier.htm" title="Aircraft carrier">carrier</a> far from the main British base at <!--del_lnk--> Alexandria, disabled half the Italian battle fleet and forced its withdrawal from Mediterranean combat. Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Isoroku Yamamoto dispatched a naval study delegation to Italy, which concluded a larger and better-supported version of Cunningham's strike could force the U.S. <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Fleet to bases in California, allowing time and space for Japan to achieve the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" — shorthand for control of the resources (especially oil reserves) of Southeast Asia (including the <!--del_lnk--> Dutch East Indies), with a defensible depth buffer around them. Most importantly, the delegation returned to Japan with information about the shallow running torpedoes Cunningham's "boffins" had devised.<p>Additionally, some Japanese strategists may have been influenced by U.S. Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Harry Yarnell's approach in the 1932 joint Army-Navy exercises, which assumed an invasion of Hawai<font face="Lucida Sans Unicode">ʻ</font>i. Yarnell, as commander of the attacking force, placed his carriers northwest of O<font face="Lucida Sans Unicode">ʻ</font>ahu in rough weather and launched "attack" planes on the morning of Sunday, <!--del_lnk--> February 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1932. <!--del_lnk--> Umpires noted Yarnell's aircraft were able to inflict serious "damage" on the defenders, who were unable to locate his fleet for 24 hours after the attack. Conventional U.S. Navy doctrine of the time (and other naval opinion as well) believed any attacking force would be destroyed by the battleship force (the "battle line") and dismissed Yarnell's strategy as impractical in the real world.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:162px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/3/385.jpg.htm" title="Major General Minoru Genda"><img alt="Major General Minoru Genda" height="177" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Minoru_Genda.jpg" src="../../images/3/385.jpg" width="160" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/3/385.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Major General <!--del_lnk--> Minoru Genda</div>
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<p>Yamamoto began considering such an attack early in 1941 as a <!--del_lnk--> pre-emptive attack, and assigned <!--del_lnk--> Minoru Genda of the <!--del_lnk--> IJN to plan it. Genda developed the attack plan which used, and stressed that surprise would be essential given the expected balance of forces; with surprise, he evaluated the attack as "hard, but not impossible." Yamamoto understood Japan was not in a position to fight the U.S and it probable allies. After some pressure on Naval Headquarters (including a threat to resign), he managed to get permission to begin formal planning and training for the proposed attack. The events of the summer (see above) led to preliminary approval of the attack plan at an Imperial Conference (including the Emperor), then approval of the attack in another Conference (also including the Emperor) early in November.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23359.jpg.htm" title="Zuikaku"><img alt="Zuikaku" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Japanese.aircraft.carrier.zuikaku.jpg" src="../../images/233/23359.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23359.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Zuikaku</div>
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<div style="width:177px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23360.jpg.htm" title="The Japanese fleet steamed towards Pearl Harbor undetected."><img alt="The Japanese fleet steamed towards Pearl Harbor undetected." height="124" longdesc="/wiki/Image:PearlHarborCarrierChart.jpg" src="../../images/233/23360.jpg" width="175" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23360.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Japanese fleet steamed towards Pearl Harbour undetected.</div>
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<p>The intent of the attack on Pearl Harbour was to neutralize <!--del_lnk--> American naval power in the Pacific, if only temporarily, as part of a <!--del_lnk--> theatre-wide, near-simultaneous coordinated attack against several different countries. Yamamoto himself expected even a successful attack would gain (at best) only a year or so of freedom of action before the U.S. recovered enough to check Japan's advances. Preliminary planning for a Pearl Harbor attack in support of military advance elsewhere began in January 1941, and, after some Imperial Navy factional infighting, the project was finally judged worthy. Training for the mission was under way by mid-year. The planned attack depended primarily on torpedoes, but torpedoes of the time required deep water to function when air-launched. This was a critical problem because Pearl Harbour is shallow, except in dredged channels. Over the summer of 1941, Japan secretly created and tested aircraft torpedo modifications allowing successful shallow water drops. The effort resulted in the <!--del_lnk--> Type 95 torpedo which inflicted most of the damage to U.S. ships during the attack. Japanese weapons technicians also produced special armor-piercing bombs by fitting fins and release shackles to 14 and 16 inch (356 and 406mm) naval shells. These were able to penetrate the armored decks of battleships and cruisers from 10,000 feet (3000m).<p>On <!--del_lnk--> November 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, a fleet including six <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft_carrier.htm" title="Aircraft carrier">aircraft carriers</a>, two <!--del_lnk--> battleships, three <!--del_lnk--> cruisers, nine <!--del_lnk--> destroyers, eight <!--del_lnk--> tankers, 23 fleet <!--del_lnk--> submarines, five <!--del_lnk--> midget submarines, 441 <!--del_lnk--> planes commanded by Vice Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Chuichi Nagumo left <!--del_lnk--> Hitokappu Bay in the <!--del_lnk--> Kuril Islands bound for Hawai<font face="Lucida Sans Unicode">ʻ</font>i under strict <a href="../../wp/r/Radio.htm" title="Radio">radio</a> silence.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23361.jpg.htm" title="Aircraft carrier Hiryu"><img alt="Aircraft carrier Hiryu" height="149" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Japanese.aircraft.carrier.hiryu.jpg" src="../../images/233/23361.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23361.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Aircraft carrier <!--del_lnk--> Hiryu</div>
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<p>The aircraft carriers were: <!--del_lnk--> <i>Akagi</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Hiryū</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Kaga</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Shōkaku</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Sōryū</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Zuikaku</i>. Two fast <!--del_lnk--> battleships, 2 <!--del_lnk--> heavy cruisers, 1 <!--del_lnk--> light cruiser, 9 <!--del_lnk--> destroyers, and 3 <!--del_lnk--> fleet submarines provided escort for the task force. The carriers had a total of 423 planes, including <!--del_lnk--> Mitsubishi A6M (Type 0) <!--del_lnk--> fighters (Allied codename "Zeke", commonly called "Zero"), <!--del_lnk--> Nakajima B5N (Type 97) <!--del_lnk--> torpedo bombers (Allied codename "Kate"), and <!--del_lnk--> Aichi D3A (Type 99) <!--del_lnk--> dive bombers (Allied codename "Val"). Japan's task force, and its air group, were larger than any prior aircraft carrier-based strike force. Accompanying the force were eight <!--del_lnk--> oilers for refueling. In addition, the Advanced Expeditionary Force included 20 <!--del_lnk--> fleet submarines and five two-man <!--del_lnk--> <i>Ko-hyoteki</i>-class <!--del_lnk--> midget submarines which were to gather intelligence and sink any U.S. vessels that might try to flee Pearl Harbour during or after the attack. <a id="United_States_preparedness" name="United_States_preparedness"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">United States preparedness</span></h3>
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<div style="width:179px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23362.jpg.htm" title="Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, commander-in-chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet."><img alt="Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, commander-in-chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet." height="311" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Husband_Kimmel.jpg" src="../../images/233/23362.jpg" width="177" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23362.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Rear Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Husband E. Kimmel, commander-in-chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet.</div>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23363.jpg.htm" title="Battleship Row presented an attractive concentration of targets."><img alt="Battleship Row presented an attractive concentration of targets." height="220" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battleship_row.jpg" src="../../images/233/23363.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23363.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Battleship Row presented an attractive concentration of targets.</div>
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<p>U.S. civilian and military intelligence forces had, between them, good information suggesting additional Japanese aggression throughout the summer and fall before the attack. None of it specifically indicated an attack against Pearl Harbor. Public press reports during summer and fall, including Hawaiian newspapers, contained extensive reports on the growing tension and on developments in the Pacific. During November, all Pacific commands, including both the Navy and Army in Hawaii, were explicitly warned war with Japan was expected in the very near future, in the Philippines, Indochina, or Russia. The warnings were not specific to any area, noting only that war with Japan was considered likely in the short term and that all commands should act accordingly. Had any of these warnings produced an active alert status, the attack would have been resisted more effectively, and perhaps might have caused less death and damage. Conversely, recall of men to the ships might have led to still more being casualties, and closing watertight doors might have left more trapped in capsized ships. When the attack arrived, Pearl Harbour was unprepared: anti-aircraft weapons were not manned, ammunition was locked down, anti-submarine measures were not implemented (e.g., no submarine nets), combat air patrols not flying, available scouting aircraft not in the air at first light, aircraft parked wingtip to wingtip to lessen sabotage risks, and so on.<p>U.S. <!--del_lnk--> signals intelligence, through the Army's <!--del_lnk--> Signal Intelligence Service and the <!--del_lnk--> Office of Naval Intelligence's <!--del_lnk--> OP-20-G unit, had intercepted and decrypted considerable Japanese diplomatic and naval <!--del_lnk--> cipher traffic, though none of those decrypted carried significant tactical military information. Decryption and distribution of this intelligence was capricious and sporadic, and has been blamed on lack of manpower. At best, the information was fragmentary, contradictory, or insufficiently distributed. It was also incompletely understood by decision makers, and poorly unanalyzed. Nothing pointed directly to an attack at Pearl Harbor, and lack of awareness of the Imperial Navy's capabilities led to an underlying belief Pearl Harbour was safely out of harm's way. Only one Hawaiian message (6 December 1941), in a consular cipher, included mention of an attack on Pearl, and it was not decrypted until 8 December 1941. )<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:132px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23364.jpg.htm" title="Lieutenant General Walter C. Short, commanding general of the Army post at Pearl Harbor."><img alt="Lieutenant General Walter C. Short, commanding general of the Army post at Pearl Harbor." height="217" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Walter_Short.jpg" src="../../images/233/23364.jpg" width="130" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23364.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Lieutenant General <!--del_lnk--> Walter C. Short, commanding general of the Army post at Pearl Harbour.</div>
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<p>In 1924, General <!--del_lnk--> Billy Mitchell delivered a 324 page report to his superiors warning of a future war with Japan, possibly including an air-attack on Pearl Harbour; he was essentially ignored. Navy Secretary Knox had also appreciated the possibility in a written analysis shortly after taking office. American commanders had also been warned tests demonstrated shallow-water aerial torpedo launches were possible, but no one in charge in Hawai<font face="Lucida Sans Unicode">ʻ</font>i fully appreciated that fact. Nevertheless, believing Pearl Harbour had natural defenses against torpedo attack (e.g., the shallow water), the Navy failed to deploy torpedo nets or baffles, which they judged an interference with ordinary operations, and so a low priority. Due to a shortage of long-range aircraft (including Army Air Corps bombers, by a prewar arrangement), reconnaissance patrols were not being made as often as required for adequate coverage. The Navy had only 16 operational <!--del_lnk--> PBYs long range aircraft. General Short was low on the priority list for additional <!--del_lnk--> B-17s in the Pacific, as General MacArthur in the Philippines was calling for as many as could be made. At the time of the attack, Army and Navy air defence were both on training status rather than on alert. There was confusion about the Army's alert status as Short had changed the designations without keeping higher commands informed. Most of the Army's mobile anti-aircraft guns were secured, with ammunition locked down in separate armories. To avoid upsetting property owners, in keeping with Washington's admonitions not to alarm civil populations (eg, in the late November war warning messages from Navy and War Departments), officers did not keep guns dispersed around the navy base (i.e., on private property). As well, aircraft were parked on airfields to lessen against <!--del_lnk--> sabotage risks, not air attack.<p><a id="Breaking_off_negotiations" name="Breaking_off_negotiations"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Breaking off negotiations</span></h3>
<p>Part of the Japanese plan for the attack included breaking off negotiations with the United States 30 minutes before the attack began. Diplomats from the Japanese Embassy in <a href="../../wp/w/Washington%252C_D.C..htm" title="Washington, D.C.">Washington</a>, including the Japanese Ambassador, Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Kichisaburo Nomura, and special representative <!--del_lnk--> Saburo Kurusu, had been conducting extended talks with the <!--del_lnk--> State Department regarding the U.S. reactions to the Japanese move into <!--del_lnk--> Indochina in the summer (see above).<p>In the days before the attack, a long 14-part message was sent to the Embassy from the Foreign Office in <a href="../../wp/t/Tokyo.htm" title="Tokyo">Tokyo</a> (encoded with the <!--del_lnk--> PURPLE cryptographic machine), with instructions to deliver it to <!--del_lnk--> Secretary of State <!--del_lnk--> Cordell Hull at 1 p.m. Washington time (In fact, Japan halted all further communication with the U.S. 30 minutes before the attack was scheduled to begin). The last part arrived not long before the attack but, because of decryption and typing delays, and because Tokyo had neglected to inform them of the crucial necessity to deliver it on time, Embassy personnel failed to deliver the message at the specified time. The last part, breaking off negotiations<blockquote>
<p>Obviously it is the intention of the American Government to conspire with Great Britain and other countries to obstruct Japan's efforts toward the establishment of peace through the creation of a new order in East Asia ... Thus, the earnest hope of the Japanese government to adjust Japanese-American relations and to preserve and promote the peace of the Pacific through cooperation with the American Government has finally been lost</blockquote>
<p>was delivered to Secretary Hull several hours after the Pearl Harbour attack.<p>The <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> had decrypted the last part of the final message well before the Japanese Embassy managed to, and long before a fair typed copy of the decrypt was finished. It was decryption of the last part with its instruction for the time of delivery which prompted General <!--del_lnk--> George Marshall to send the famous warning message to Hawaii that morning. It was actually delivered, by a young <!--del_lnk--> Japanese-American cycle messenger, to Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Walter Short at Pearl Harbour several hours after the attack had ended. The delay was due to an inability to locate General Marshall after decryption and translation of the 14th part (he was out for a morning horseride), trouble with the Army's long distance communication system, a decision not to use Navy facilities to transmit it, and various troubles during its travels over commercial cable facilities. Somehow its "urgent" marking was misplaced during its travels and it was delayed by several additional hours.<p>Japanese records, admitted into evidence during Congressional hearings on the attack after the War, established that the Japanese government had not written any declaration of war until after they heard of the successful attack on <!--del_lnk--> Pearl Harbour. That two-line declaration of war was finally delivered to U.S. Ambassador <!--del_lnk--> Grew in <a href="../../wp/t/Tokyo.htm" title="Tokyo">Tokyo</a> about 10 hours after the attack was over. He was allowed to transmit it to the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> where it was received late Monday afternoon.<p><a id="The_attack" name="The_attack"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The attack</span></h2>
<p><a id="Japanese_tactics_for_attack" name="Japanese_tactics_for_attack"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Japanese tactics for attack</span></h3>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23365.jpg.htm" title="The two attack sorties of Imperial Japanese Navy approached from different directions. The U.S. radar which detected them 136 miles (218 km) away is at the top of this map."><img alt="The two attack sorties of Imperial Japanese Navy approached from different directions. The U.S. radar which detected them 136 miles (218 km) away is at the top of this map." height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pearl_Harbor_bombings_map.jpg" src="../../images/233/23365.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23365.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The two attack sorties of <a href="../../wp/i/Imperial_Japanese_Navy.htm" title="Imperial Japanese Navy">Imperial Japanese Navy</a> approached from different directions. The U.S. radar which detected them 136 miles (218 km) away is at the top of this map.</div>
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<p>Vice Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Chuichi Nagumo decided to implement, and carried out, two waves of air attack. A third attack was suggested by air officers, but Nagumo declined. The first wave of attack consisted of 49 <!--del_lnk--> level bombers, 51 <!--del_lnk--> dive bombers, <!--del_lnk--> 40 <!--del_lnk--> torpedo bombers and 43 <!--del_lnk--> fighter planes (a total of 183 planes) started from north of Oahu, led by <!--del_lnk--> Lieutenant-Commander <!--del_lnk--> Mitsuo Fuchida. The second wave consisted of 54 level bombers, 78 dive bombers and 35 fighter planes (a total of 167 airplanes), launched from much the same location. There were also supporting submarines and midget submarines assigned to engage US ships leaving the harbour. The location of the attack force remained unknown to the US until after they had left to return to the Eastern Pacific; they were not located and several searches were made to the south of Oahu. The total planes involved in the aerial attack were 350, and rest of the 91 were engaged in protection of <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft_carrier.htm" title="Aircraft carrier">aircraft carriers</a> and other ships during the attack.<p>The first attack wave was divided into six <!--del_lnk--> formations with one directed to <!--del_lnk--> Wheeler Field; the second wave was divided into four formations with one formation tasked to <!--del_lnk--> Kāne<font face="Lucida Sans Unicode">ʻ</font>ohe Marine Corps Base away from Pearl Harbour proper and the rest sent against the main naval base. The separate sections of the attacking aircraft arrived at the attack point almost simultaneously, from several directions. The most vulnerable <!--del_lnk--> torpedo bombers made the first attack followed by the dive and level bombers and fighters.<p><a id="The_battle" name="The_battle"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The battle</span></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23688.jpg.htm" title="Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo and commander of the 1st Air Fleet was the actual commander of the task force."><img alt="Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo and commander of the 1st Air Fleet was the actual commander of the task force." height="286" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Chuichi_Nagumo.jpg" src="../../images/233/23366.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23688.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Vice Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Chuichi Nagumo and commander of the 1st Air Fleet was the actual commander of the task force.</div>
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<p>Even before Nagumo began launching, at 04.30 <!--del_lnk--> Hawaiian Time, <!--del_lnk--> minesweeper <!--del_lnk--> USS Condor spotted a <!--del_lnk--> midget submarine outside the Harbour entrance and alerted <!--del_lnk--> destroyer <!--del_lnk--> <i>Ward</i>. <i>Ward</i> carried out a fruitless search. The <!--del_lnk--> first shots fired and the first casualties in the attack on Pearl Harbour occurred when <i>Ward</i> attacked and sank a midget submarine at 06:37. Five <!--del_lnk--> <i>Ko-hyoteki</i>-class midgets had been assigned to <!--del_lnk--> torpedo U.S. ships after the bombing started. None of these made it back safely, and only four out of the five have since been found. Of the ten sailors aboard the five submarines, nine died; the only survivor, <!--del_lnk--> Kazuo Sakamaki, was captured, becoming the first Japanese <!--del_lnk--> prisoner of war in World War II. Sakamaki's survival was considered traitorous by the Japanese, who referred to his dead companions as "The Nine Young Gods." <!--del_lnk--> United States Naval Institute photographic analysis conducted in 1999 indicates one entered the harbour and successfully fired a torpedo into the <!--del_lnk--> <i>West Virginia</i>, in what appears to have been the first shot by the attacking Japanese. The final disposition of this submarine is unknown. The <!--del_lnk--> 1st Air Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy attack was coordinated by <!--del_lnk--> Lieutenant-Commander <!--del_lnk--> Mitsuo Fuchida of the <!--del_lnk--> Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. He flew and led the first strike formation.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:62px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/3/388.jpg.htm" title="Lieutenant-Commander Mitsuo Fuchida"><img alt="Lieutenant-Commander Mitsuo Fuchida" height="75" longdesc="/wiki/Image:M_Fuchida.jpg" src="../../images/3/388.jpg" width="60" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/3/388.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Lieutenant-Commander <!--del_lnk--> Mitsuo Fuchida</div>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23368.jpg.htm" title="Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service bombers prepare to take off."><img alt="Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service bombers prepare to take off." height="247" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor_Japanese_planes_prepare.jpg" src="../../images/233/23368.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23368.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service bombers prepare to take off.</div>
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<p>On the morning of the attack, the Army's Opana Point station (an <!--del_lnk--> SCR-270 radar, located near the northern tip of Oahu), which had not entered official service, having long been in training mode, detected the Japanese planes, but the warning was confused by an untrained new officer (Lieutenant Kermit A. Tyler) at the new and only partially activated Intelligence Centre. Although the operators at Opana Point reported an aircraft sighting larger than anything they had ever seen, the watch officer assumed the pending, scheduled arrival of 6 B-17 bombers was the cause due to the direction from which the aircraft were coming, and because the radar operators had only seen the first element of incoming attackers. In addition, some commercial US shipping may have reported "unusual" radio traffic in the preceding days.<p>Several U.S. aircraft were shot down as the air attack approached land; one at least radioed a somewhat incoherent warning. Other warnings were still being processed, or awaiting confirmation, when the air raid began. It is not clear that these forewarnings would have had much effect even if they had been interpreted perfectly and much more promptly. The results the Japanese achieved in the Philippines were essentially the same as at Pearl Harbour, though there, <!--del_lnk--> MacArthur had nine hours of warning that the Japanese had attacked at Pearl (and specific orders to commence operations).<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16389.jpg.htm" title="Bombers from the IJN's aircraft carrier Shokaku prepare to take off"><img alt="Bombers from the IJN's aircraft carrier Shokaku prepare to take off" height="186" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Carrier_shokaku.jpg" src="../../images/163/16389.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/163/16389.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bombers from the IJN's aircraft carrier <!--del_lnk--> Shokaku prepare to take off</div>
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<p>.<p>The attack on Pearl Harbour began at 7:53 a.m. <!--del_lnk--> December 7 <!--del_lnk--> Hawaiian Time; this was 3:23 a.m. <!--del_lnk--> December 8 <!--del_lnk--> Japanese Standard Time. Japanese planes attacked in two waves; a total of 353 planes reached O<font face="Lucida Sans Unicode">ʻ</font>ahu. Vulnerable torpedo bombers led the first wave of 183 planes, exploiting the first moments of surprise to attack the most important ships (eg, aircraft carriers, battleships, etc), while dive bombers attacked U.S. air bases across O<font face="Lucida Sans Unicode">ʻ</font>ahu, starting with <!--del_lnk--> Hickam Field, the largest, and Wheeler Field, the principal fighter base. The 170 planes in the second wave attacked <!--del_lnk--> Bellows Field and <!--del_lnk--> Ford Island, a Marine and Naval air station in the middle of Pearl Harbour. The only significant air opposition came from a handful of <!--del_lnk--> P-36 Hawks and <!--del_lnk--> P-40 Warhawks that flew 25 <!--del_lnk--> sorties, and from naval <!--del_lnk--> anti-aircraft fire.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23369.jpg.htm" title="Wreck of a midget submarine."><img alt="Wreck of a midget submarine." height="243" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor_Japanese_minisub.jpg" src="../../images/233/23369.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23369.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Wreck of a midget submarine.</div>
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<p>Men aboard U.S. ships awoke to the sounds of bombs exploding and cries of "Away fire and rescue party" and "All hands on deck, we're being bombed." (The famous message, "Air raid Pearl Harbour. This is not a drill." was issued by Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Patrick Bellinger, commanding Navy air patrol squadrons, from his headquarters on Ford Island.) Despite the lack of preparation, which included locked ammunition lockers, aircraft parked wing to wing against sabotage, and a lack of heightened alert status, there were many American military personnel who served with distinction during the battle. Rear Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Isaac C. Kidd, and Captain <!--del_lnk--> Franklin Van Valkenburgh, commander of the <!--del_lnk--> <i>Arizona</i>, both rushed to the bridge to direct her defense, until both were killed by an explosion in the forward ammunition magazine, due to an armor piercing bomb hit next to one of the forward main turrets. Both were posthumously awarded the <a href="../../wp/m/Medal_of_Honor.htm" title="Medal of Honor">Medal of Honour</a>. Ensign <!--del_lnk--> Joe Taussig got his ship, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Nevada</i>, under way from a dead cold start during the attack. One of the destroyers got underway with only four officers aboard, all Ensigns, none with more than a year's sea duty. That ship operated for four days at sea before its commanding officer caught up with it. Captain <!--del_lnk--> Mervyn Bennion, commanding <!--del_lnk--> <i>West Virginia</i>, led his men until he was cut down by fragments from a bomb hit in <!--del_lnk--> <i>Tennessee</i>, moored alongside. The earliest aircraft kill credit went to submarine <!--del_lnk--> <i>Tautog</i>, which claimed the first attacker downed. Probably the most famous single defender is <!--del_lnk--> Doris "Dorie" Miller, an <!--del_lnk--> African-American cook aboard <i>West Virginia</i>, who went beyond the call of duty when he took control of an unattended <!--del_lnk--> anti-aircraft gun, on which he had no training, and used it to fire on attacking planes, downing at least one, even while bombs were hitting his ship. He was awarded the <!--del_lnk--> Navy Cross. In all, 14 sailors and officers were awarded the <a href="../../wp/m/Medal_of_Honor.htm" title="Medal of Honor">Medal of Honour</a>. A special <!--del_lnk--> military award, the <!--del_lnk--> Pearl Harbour Commemorative Medal, was later authorized to all military veterans of the attack.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23370.jpg.htm" title="Torpedo exploding into USS West Virginia, as seen from Japanese plane."><img alt="Torpedo exploding into USS West Virginia, as seen from Japanese plane." height="214" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor_Japanese_planes_view.jpg" src="../../images/233/23370.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23370.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Torpedo exploding into USS <i>West Virginia</i>, as seen from Japanese plane.</div>
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<p>Ninety minutes after it began, the attack was over. 2,403 Americans died (68 were civilians, many killed by American anti-aircraft shrapnel and shells landing in civilian areas, including Honolulu), a further 1,178 wounded. Eighteen ships were sunk, including five battleships.<p>Nearly half of the American fatalities — 1,102 men — were caused by the explosion and sinking of <!--del_lnk--> <i>Arizona</i>. She was destroyed when a modified 40 cm naval gun shell, dropped from a bomber, smashed through two armored decks and detonated in the forward main magazine. The hull of <i>Arizona</i> has become a <!--del_lnk--> memorial to those lost that day, most of whom remain within the ship. It continues to leak small amounts of fuel oil, nearly 70 years after the attack.<p><!--del_lnk--> <i>Nevada</i> attempted to exit the harbor, but was beached to avoid blocking the harbour entrance. Already damaged by a torpedo and on fire forward, <i>Nevada</i> was targeted by many Japanese bombers as she got underway, sustaining more hits from 250 lb (113 kg) bombs as it beached.<p><!--del_lnk--> <i>California</i> was hit by two bombs and two torpedoes. The crew might have kept her afloat, but were ordered to abandon ship just as they were raising power for the pumps. Burning oil from <i>Arizona</i> and <i>West Virginia</i> drifted down on her, and probably made the situation look worse than it was. The disarmed target ship <!--del_lnk--> <i>Utah</i> was holed twice by torpedoes. <!--del_lnk--> <i>West Virginia</i> was hit by seven torpedoes, the seventh tearing away the ship's rudder. <!--del_lnk--> <i>Oklahoma</i> was hit by four torpedoes, the last two above her side armor belt which caused it to <!--del_lnk--> capsize. <!--del_lnk--> <i>Maryland</i> was hit by two of the converted 40 cm shells, but neither caused serious damage.<p>Although the Japanese concentrated on battleships (the largest vessels present), they did not ignore other targets. The light cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Helena</i> was torpedoed, and the concussion from the blast capsized the neighboring minelayer <!--del_lnk--> <i>Oglala</i>. Two destroyers in dry dock were destroyed when bombs penetrated their fuel bunkers. The leaking fuel caught fire, flooding the dry dock with water made the oil and fire rise, and that burned out the ships. The light cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Raleigh</i> was hit by a torpedo and holed. The light cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Honolulu</i> was damaged but remained in service. The destroyer <!--del_lnk--> <i>Cassin</i> capsized, and destroyer <!--del_lnk--> <i>Downes</i> was heavily damaged. The repair vessel <!--del_lnk--> <i>Vestal</i>, moored alongside <i>Arizona</i>, was heavily damaged and beached. The seaplane tender <!--del_lnk--> <i>Curtiss</i> was also damaged.<p>Almost all of the 188 American aircraft in Hawaii were destroyed and 155 of those damaged were hit on the ground, where most had been parked wingtip to wingtip in central positions to minimize sabotage vulnerability. Attacks on barracks killed additional pilots and other personnel. Friendly fire brought down several U.S. planes (including at least one inbound from <!--del_lnk--> <i>Enterprise</i>).<p>Fifty-five Japanese airmen and nine submariners were killed in the action. Of Japan's 441 available planes (350 took part in the attack), 29 were lost during the battle (nine in the first attack wave, 20 in the second), another 74 were damaged by antiaircraft and machine gun fire from the ground. Over 20 of the aircraft that safely landed on their carriers could not be salvaged.<p><a id="Nagumo.27s_decision_to_withdraw_after_two_strikes" name="Nagumo.27s_decision_to_withdraw_after_two_strikes"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Nagumo's decision to withdraw after two strikes</span></h3>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23371.jpg.htm" title="The forward magazines of the USS Arizona exploded after it was hit by a bomb dropped by Tadashi Kusumi."><img alt="The forward magazines of the USS Arizona exploded after it was hit by a bomb dropped by Tadashi Kusumi." height="239" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pearlharborcolork13513.jpg" src="../../images/233/23371.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23371.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The forward magazines of the <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Arizona</i> exploded after it was hit by a bomb dropped by <!--del_lnk--> Tadashi Kusumi.</div>
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<p>Some senior officers and flight leaders urged Nagumo to attack with a third strike to destroy the oil storage depots, machine shops, and dry docks at Pearl Harbour. The United States had considered the vulnerability of the fuel oil storage tanks before the war and <!--del_lnk--> secretly started construction of the bomb resistant <!--del_lnk--> Red Hill fuel tanks before Japan's attack. Destruction of these facilities would have greatly increased the U.S. Navy's difficulties, as the nearest immediately usable fleet facilities would have been several thousand miles east of Hawai<font face="Lucida Sans Unicode">ʻ</font>i on America's West Coast. Some military historians have suggested that the destruction of oil tanks and repair facilities would have crippled the U.S. Pacific Fleet more seriously than the loss of several battleships. Nagumo decided to forgo a third attack in favour of withdrawing for several reasons:<ul>
<li>Anti-aircraft performance during the second strike was much improved over that during the first, and two-thirds of Japan's losses happened during the second wave, due in part to the Americans being alerted. A third strike could have been expected to suffer still worse losses.<li>The first two strikes had essentially used all the previously prepped aircraft available, so a third strike would have taken some time to prepare, perhaps allowing the Americans time to find and attack Nagumo's force. The location of the American carriers was and remained unknown to Nagumo.<li>The Japanese pilots had not practiced an attack against the Pearl Harbour <!--del_lnk--> shore facilities and organizing such an attack would have taken still more time, though several of the strike leaders urged a third strike anyway.</ul>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23372.jpg.htm" title="Fuel farm at left, Submarine Base (right center). October 1941."><img alt="Fuel farm at left, Submarine Base (right center). October 1941." height="233" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pearl_Harbor_submarine_base_and_adjacent_fuel_tank_farms.jpg" src="../../images/233/23372.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23372.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Fuel farm at left, Submarine Base (right centre). October 1941.</div>
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<ul>
<li>The bunker fuel situation did not permit remaining on station north of Pearl Harbour much longer. The Japanese force were acting at the limit of their logistical ability. To remain in those waters for much longer would have risked running unacceptably low on fuel.<li>The timing of a third strike would have been such that aircraft would probably have returned to their carriers after dark. Night operations from aircraft carriers were in their infancy in 1941, and neither Japan nor anyone else had developed reliable techniques and doctrine.<li>The second strike had essentially completed the entire mission: neutralization of the American Pacific Fleet.<li>There was the simple danger of remaining near one place for too long. Japan was very fortunate to have escaped detection during their voyage from the <!--del_lnk--> Inland Sea to Hawai<font face="Lucida Sans Unicode">ʻ</font>i. The longer they remained off Hawai<font face="Lucida Sans Unicode">ʻ</font>i, the more danger they were in from U.S. submarines and the absent American carriers.<li>The carriers were needed to support the main Japanese attack toward the "Southern Resources Area" (i.e., the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, Malaya, and Burma) which was intended to capture control of oil and other resources. Japanese leaders (especially the Army) had been reluctant to allow the attack at all as it took air cover from the southern thrust, and Nagumo was under strict orders not to risk his command any more than necessary. As the war games during the planning of the attack had predicted that from two to four carriers might be lost in the attack, Nagumo must have been very happy to suffer no losses and very probably did not want to push his luck.</ul>
<p><a id="Additional_U.S._losses_on_7_December_1941" name="Additional_U.S._losses_on_7_December_1941"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Additional U.S. losses on 7 December 1941</span></h3>
<p>The Japanese submarine <!--del_lnk--> <i>I-26</i> sank the <i>Cynthia Olson</i>, a U.S. Army chartered <!--del_lnk--> schooner, off the coast of San Francisco with a loss of 35 lives.<!--del_lnk--> <p><a id="Subsequent_attacks" name="Subsequent_attacks"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Subsequent attacks</span></h3>
<p>Later during the War several other, small-scale, attacks were also made on Pearl Harbour.<p>In March, 1942, in <b>Operation K-1</b>, a preparation for the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Midway.htm" title="Battle of Midway">Midway invasion</a>, two <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japanese</a> <!--del_lnk--> H8K flying-boats, based at Wotje in the <a href="../../wp/m/Marshall_Islands.htm" title="Marshall Islands">Marshall Islands</a>, were tasked with <!--del_lnk--> reconnaissance to see how repairs were progressing, and to bomb the important "Ten-ten" repair dock. The distance involved required refueling <i>en route</i>, and was done from submarines at <!--del_lnk--> French Frigate Shoals, 500 miles (800 km) north-west of Pearl Harbour. Poor visibility hampered the mission, and the bombs were dropped some miles from their target.<p>Five Japanese submarines supported the operation: <i>I-9</i> as a radio beacon; <!--del_lnk--> <i>I-19</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>I-15</i> and <i>I-26</i> to refuel the flying boats and <!--del_lnk--> <i>I-23</i> to provide weather reports. However, <i>I-23</i> was lost without trace.<p>American ships were posted to the Shoals thereafter, which precluded another attempt using the same approach.<h2> <span class="mw-headline">Rumors</span></h2>
<p>During the first days following the attack, rumors began to circulate. One of the most damaging was the claim that Japanese workers had cut arrows into the cane fields, thus pointing the way to Pearl Harbour for the Imperial pilots.<p>There was no truth to the rumor, and in fact was considered ludicrous by military officers (especially pilots), who knew that any force which could fly hundreds of miles to find O'ahu would have no difficulty finding the largest harbour in the Central Pacific.<p>However, this rumor was promoted by many who ignored the larger evidence of Japanese navigational skills, preferring to believe that the enemy was inept and would be easily defeated.<p><a id="Japanese_views_of_the_attack" name="Japanese_views_of_the_attack"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Japanese views of the attack</span></h3>
<p>Although the Imperial Japanese government had made some effort to prepare the general Japanese civilian population for war with the U.S. via anti-U.S. propaganda, it appears that most Japanese were surprised, apprehensive, and dismayed by the news that they were now at war with the U.S., a country that many Japanese admired, and its Allies. Nevertheless, the Japanese people living in Japan and its territories thereafter generally accepted their government's account of the attack and supported the war effort until their nation's surrender in 1945, Yamamoto was angry at Nagumo for not launching a third attack and for not destroying the aircraft carriers and the oil supply soon after the attack.<p>Japan's national leadership at the time appeared to believe that the war between the U.S. and Japan had been inevitable and Japanese-American relationship had already significantly deteriorated since the Japanese conquest of China, which the United States disapproved completely. In 1942, Saburo Kurusu, former Japanese ambassador to the United States, gave an address in which he traced the "historical inevitability of the war of Greater East Asia." He said that the war was a response to Washington's longstanding aggression toward Japan. According to Kurusu, the provocations began with the <!--del_lnk--> San Francisco School incident and the United States' racist policies on Japanese immigrants, and culminated in the "belligerent" <!--del_lnk--> scrap metal and oil boycott by the United States and Allied countries to contain or reverse the actions of the <!--del_lnk--> Empire of Japan whilst expanding its influence and interests throughout Asia. Of Pearl Harbour itself, he said that it came in direct response to a virtual ultimatum from the U.S. government, the <!--del_lnk--> Hull note, and that the surprise attack was not treacherous because it should have been expected since Japanese-American relationship already had hit the lowest point and their interests contradicted greatly.<p>Many Japanese today still feel that they were "pushed" or compelled to fight the U.S. due to threats to their national security and national interests from the U.S. and certain other European powers, and because of embargoes and uncooperation by certain Western powers against the Empire of Japan, particularly <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> and the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>. This embargo was mostly about oil that fueled the whole <!--del_lnk--> Imperial Japanese Military operations in its missions. For example, the <i><!--del_lnk--> Japan Times</i>, an English-language newspaper owned by one of the major news organizations in Japan (Asahi Shimbun), ran a number of columns in the early 2000s that echo Kurusu's comments in reference to Pearl Harbour. Putting Pearl Harbour into context, Japanese writers repeatedly contrast the thousands of U.S. servicemen killed in that attack with the hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians later killed by U.S. air attacks. not to mention the 1945 <!--del_lnk--> atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States.<p>However, in spite of the perceived inevitability of the war, many Japanese believe that the Pearl Harbour attack, although a tactical victory, was in reality part of a seriously flawed strategy for engaging in war with the U.S. As one columnist eulogizes the attack:<blockquote>
<p>The Pearl Harbour attack was a brilliant tactic, but part of a strategy based on the belief that a spirit as firm as iron and as beautiful as cherry blossoms could overcome the materially wealthy United States. That strategy was flawed, and Japan's total defeat would follow.</blockquote>
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<div style="width:142px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23375.jpg.htm" title="Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo"><img alt="Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo" height="202" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tojo2.jpg" src="../../images/233/23375.jpg" width="140" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23375.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister of Japan <!--del_lnk--> Hideki Tojo</div>
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<p>In 1991, the Japanese Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that in 1941 Japan had intended to make a formal <!--del_lnk--> declaration of war to the United States at 1 p.m. Washington time, 25 minutes before the attacks at Pearl Harbour were scheduled to begin. This officially acknowledged something which had been publicly known for years, that diplomatic communications had been coordinated well in advance with the attack, and had filed delivery by the intended time.<p>It appears that the Japanese government was referring to the "14-part message", which did not formally break off negotiations, let alone declare war, but which did in fact officially raise the issue. However, due to various delays, the Japanese ambassador was unable to make the declaration until well after the attack had begun. The Japanese government apologized for this delay. Imperial Japanese military leaders appear to have had mixed feelings about the attack. Yamamoto was unhappy about the botched timing of the breaking off of negotiations. He is rumored to have said, "<!--del_lnk--> I fear all we have done is awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with terrible resolve" . Even though this quote is unsubstantiated, the phrase seems to describe his feelings about the attack. He is on record as saying, in the previous year, that "I can run wild for six months ... after that, I have no expectation of success."<p>The first <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister of Japan during World War II <!--del_lnk--> Hideki Tojo later wrote that<blockquote>
<p>When reflecting upon it today, that the Pearl Harbour attack should have succeeded in achieving surprise seems a blessing from Heaven.</blockquote>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Fleet Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Isoroku Yamamoto had stated that, in the impending war with the United States,<blockquote>
<p>Should hostilities once break out between <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a> and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, it is not enough that we take <a href="../../wp/g/Guam.htm" title="Guam">Guam</a> and the <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a>, nor even <!--del_lnk--> Hawaii and <!--del_lnk--> San Francisco. We would have to march into <!--del_lnk--> Washington and sign the treaty in the <!--del_lnk--> White House. I wonder if our politicians (who speak so lightly of a Japanese-American war) have confidence as to the outcome and are prepared to make the necessary sacrifices?" <!--del_lnk--> </blockquote>
<p><a id="Longer-term_effects" name="Longer-term_effects"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Longer-term effects</span></h2>
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<div style="width:177px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23376.jpg.htm" title="Memorial Service for men killed during the Japanese attack on NAS Kaneohe."><img alt="Memorial Service for men killed during the Japanese attack on NAS Kaneohe." height="127" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Memorial_Service_PH.jpg" src="../../images/233/23376.jpg" width="175" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23376.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Memorial Service for men killed during the Japanese attack on NAS Kaneohe.</div>
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<div style="width:177px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23377.jpg.htm" title="The attack inflamed U.S. sentiments against Japan."><img alt="The attack inflamed U.S. sentiments against Japan." height="261" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor_US_Propaganda.jpg" src="../../images/233/23377.jpg" width="175" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23377.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The attack inflamed U.S. sentiments against Japan.</div>
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<p>A common view is that the Japan fell victim to <!--del_lnk--> victory disease due to the perceived ease of their first victories. Yet despite the perception of this battle as a devastating blow to America, only three ships were permanently lost to the U.S. Navy. These were the battleships <!--del_lnk--> <i>Arizona</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Oklahoma</i>, and the old battleship <!--del_lnk--> <i>Utah</i> (then used as a target ship); nevertheless, much usable material was salvaged from them, including the two aft main turrets from <i>Arizona</i>. Heavy casualties resulted due to <i>Arizona'</i>s magazine exploding and the <i>Oklahoma</i> capsizing. Four ships sunk during the attack were later raised and returned to duty, including the battleships <!--del_lnk--> <i>California</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>West Virginia</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Nevada</i>. <i>California</i> and <i>West Virginia</i> had an effective torpedo-defense system which held up remarkably well, despite the weight of fire they had to endure, enabling most of their crews to be saved. Many of the surviving battleships were heavily refitted, including the replacement of their outdated secondary battery of anti-surface 5" guns with a more useful battery of turreted DP guns, allowing them to better cope with Japan's threats. The destroyers <!--del_lnk--> <i>Cassin</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Downes</i> were constructive total losses, but their machinery was salvaged and fitted into new hulls, retaining their original names, while <i>Shaw</i> was raised and returned to service.<p>Of the 22 Japanese ships that took part in the attack, only one survived the war. As of 2006, the only U.S. ship still afloat that was in Pearl Harbour during the attack is the <!--del_lnk--> Coast Guard Cutter <i>Taney</i>.<p>In the long term, the attack on Pearl Harbour was a strategic <!--del_lnk--> blunder for Japan. Indeed, Admiral Yamamoto, who devised the Pearl Harbour attack, had predicted that even a successful attack on the U.S. Fleet could not win a war with the United States, because American productive capacity was too large. One of the main Japanese objectives was to destroy the three American <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft_carrier.htm" title="Aircraft carrier">aircraft carriers</a> stationed in the Pacific, but they were not present: <i><!--del_lnk--> Enterprise</i> was returning from Wake Island, <i><!--del_lnk--> Lexington</i> was near Midway Island, and <i><!--del_lnk--> Saratoga</i> was in San Diego following a refit at <!--del_lnk--> Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Putting most of the U.S. battleships out of commission was regarded—in both Navies and by most observers worldwide—as a tremendous success for Japan.<p>Though the attack was notable for large-scale destruction, the attack was not significant in terms of long-term loss. Had Japan destroyed the American carriers, the U.S. might have sustained significant damage to its Pacific Fleet for a year or so. As it was, the elimination of the battleships left the U.S. Navy with no choice but to put its faith in aircraft carriers and submarines—and these were the tools with which the U.S. Navy would halt and eventually reverse the Japanese advance. One particular flaw of Japanese strategic thinking was that the ultimate Pacific battle would be between battleships of both sides. As a result, Yamamoto hoarded his battleships for a decisive battle that would never happen.<p>Ultimately, targets that never made the list, the <!--del_lnk--> Submarine Base and the old Headquarters Building, were more important than any of them. It was submarines that brought Japan's economy to a standstill and crippled its transportation of oil, immobilizing heavy ships. And in the basement of the old Headquarters Building was the cryptanalytic unit, <!--del_lnk--> Station Hypo.<p><a id="Historical_significance" name="Historical_significance"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Historical significance</span></h2>
<p>This battle has had history-altering consequences. It only had a small strategic military effect due to the failure of the Japanese Navy to sink U.S. aircraft carriers, but even if the air carriers had been sunk, it may not have helped Japan in the long term. The attack firmly drew the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> and its massive industrial and service economy into <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, and the U.S. sent huge numbers of soldiers and a great amount of weapons and supplies to help the Allies fight Germany, Italy, and Japan, contributing to the utter defeat of the Axis powers by 1945. It also resulted in Germany declaring war on the United States four days later.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23378.jpg.htm" title="Damage to the headquarters building at Hickam Air Force Base, still visible."><img alt="Damage to the headquarters building at Hickam Air Force Base, still visible." height="121" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bullet_holes_at_headquarters_building_of_Hickam_Air_Force_Base.jpg" src="../../images/233/23378.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p>The United Kingdom's Prime Minister <a href="../../wp/w/Winston_Churchill.htm" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a>, on hearing that the attack on Pearl Harbour had finally drawn the United States into the war, wrote: "Being saturated and satiated with emotion and sensation, I went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved and thankful." The Allied victory in this war and the subsequent U.S. emergence as a dominant world power have shaped international politics ever since.<p>In terms of military history, the attack on Pearl Harbour marked the emergence of the <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft_carrier.htm" title="Aircraft carrier">aircraft carrier</a> as the centre of naval power, replacing the <!--del_lnk--> battleship as the keystone of the fleet. However, it was not until later battles, notably the <!--del_lnk--> Coral Sea and <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Midway.htm" title="Battle of Midway">Midway</a>, that this breakthrough became apparent to the world's naval powers.<p><a id="Mythical_status" name="Mythical_status"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Mythical status</span></h2>
<p>Pearl Harbour is a major event in American history marking the first time since the <!--del_lnk--> War of 1812 America was attacked on its <!--del_lnk--> home soil by another country. The event has assumed mythical status, and its prominence was vividly demonstrated sixty years later when the <a href="../../wp/s/September_11%252C_2001_attacks.htm" title="September 11, 2001 attacks">September 11, 2001 attacks</a> took place: the <!--del_lnk--> World Trade Centre and <!--del_lnk--> Pentagon attacks were instantly compared to Pearl Harbour.<p><a id="Cultural_impact" name="Cultural_impact"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Cultural impact</span></h2>
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<div style="width:142px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23379.jpg.htm" title="Anti-Japanese sentiment in the U.S. peaked during World War II. The government subsidized the production of propaganda posters using racial stereotypes. Shown here Adolf Hitler and Hideki Tojo of the Axis alliance"><img alt="Anti-Japanese sentiment in the U.S. peaked during World War II. The government subsidized the production of propaganda posters using racial stereotypes. Shown here Adolf Hitler and Hideki Tojo of the Axis alliance" height="182" longdesc="/wiki/Image:PropagandaHitlerTojo.jpg" src="../../images/233/23379.jpg" width="140" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23379.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Anti-Japanese sentiment in the U.S. peaked during World War II. The government subsidized the production of <a href="../../wp/p/Propaganda.htm" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a> posters using racial <!--del_lnk--> stereotypes. Shown here <a href="../../wp/a/Adolf_Hitler.htm" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Hideki Tojo of the <!--del_lnk--> Axis alliance</div>
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<p>The attack on Pearl Harbour and the ensuing war in the Pacific, fueled <!--del_lnk--> anti-Japanese sentiment. <!--del_lnk--> Japanese, <!--del_lnk--> Japanese-Americans and <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asians</a> having a similar <!--del_lnk--> physical appearance were regarded with suspicion, distrust and hostility. The attack was viewed as having been conducted in an underhanded way and also as a very "treacherous" or "sneaky attack". The fear of a Japanese-American <!--del_lnk--> Fifth column led to a massive detainment of this ethnic population since February 19, 1942 and its resulting <!--del_lnk--> Japanese American internment in both the <!--del_lnk--> United States and <!--del_lnk--> Canada.<p>The attacks on Pearl Harbour were depicted in the joint American-Japanese film <!--del_lnk--> <i>Tora! Tora! Tora!</i> (1970), the American film <!--del_lnk--> <i>Pearl Harbour</i> (2001) and in several Japanese productions.<p><a id="Recipients_of_the_Medal_of_Honor" name="Recipients_of_the_Medal_of_Honor"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Recipients of the Medal of Honour</span></h2>
<p>* Awarded posthumously.<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Mervyn S. Bennion *<li><!--del_lnk--> John William Finn<li><!--del_lnk--> Francis C. Flaherty *<li><!--del_lnk--> Samuel G. Fuqua<li><!--del_lnk--> Edwin J. Hill *<li><!--del_lnk--> Herbert C. Jones *<li><!--del_lnk--> Isaac C. Kidd *<li><!--del_lnk--> Jackson C. Pharris<li><!--del_lnk--> Thomas J. Reeves *<li><!--del_lnk--> Donald K. Ross<li><!--del_lnk--> Robert R. Scott *<li><!--del_lnk--> Peter Tomich *<li><!--del_lnk--> Franklin van Valkenburgh *<li><!--del_lnk--> James R. Ward *<li><!--del_lnk--> Cassin Young</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Attalus I</h1>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/846.jpg.htm" title="Coin struck during the reign of Attalus I, depicting the head of Attalus' great uncle Philetaerus on the obverse and seated Athena, Greek goddess of war and wisdom, on the reverse"><img alt="Coin struck during the reign of Attalus I, depicting the head of Attalus' great uncle Philetaerus on the obverse and seated Athena, Greek goddess of war and wisdom, on the reverse" height="379" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AttalusICorrected.jpg" src="../../images/8/846.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/846.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Coin struck during the reign of Attalus I, depicting the head of Attalus' great uncle <!--del_lnk--> Philetaerus on the obverse and seated <a href="../../wp/a/Athena.htm" title="Athena">Athena</a>, Greek goddess of war and wisdom, on the reverse</div>
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<p><b>Attalus I <i>Soter</i></b> (Greek: "Savior"; <!--del_lnk--> 269 BCE – <!--del_lnk--> 197 BCE) ruled <!--del_lnk--> Pergamon, a Greek <!--del_lnk--> polis in what is now <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a>, from <!--del_lnk--> 241 BCE to <!--del_lnk--> 197 BCE. He was the second cousin and the adoptive son of <!--del_lnk--> Eumenes I, whom he succeeded, and was the first of the <!--del_lnk--> Attalid dynasty to assume the title of king.<p>Attalus won an important victory over the <!--del_lnk--> Galatians, newly arrived <!--del_lnk--> Celtic tribes from <!--del_lnk--> Thrace, who had been, for more than a generation, plundering and exacting tribute throughout most of <!--del_lnk--> Asia Minor without any serious check. This victory, celebrated by the triumphal monument at Pergamon, famous for its <!--del_lnk--> Dying Gaul, and the liberation from the Gallic "terror" which it represented, earned for Attalus the name of "Soter", and the title of "king."<p>A courageous and capable general and loyal ally of <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Rome.htm" title="Ancient Rome">Rome</a>, he played a significant role in the first and second <!--del_lnk--> Macedonian Wars, waged against <!--del_lnk--> Philip V of Macedon. He conducted numerous naval operations, harassing Macedonian interests throughout the <!--del_lnk--> Aegean, winning honours, collecting spoils, and gaining for Pergamon possession of the Greek islands of <!--del_lnk--> Aegina during the first war, and <!--del_lnk--> Andros during the second, twice narrowly escaping capture at the hands of Philip.<p>He died in 197 BCE, shortly before the end of the second war, at the age of 72, having suffered an apparent <a href="../../wp/s/Stroke.htm" title="Stroke">stroke</a> while addressing a <!--del_lnk--> Boeotian war council some months before. He enjoyed a famously happy domestic life, shared with his wife and four sons. He was succeeded as king by his son <!--del_lnk--> Eumenes II.<p>
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</script><a id="Early_life" name="Early_life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Early life</span></h2>
<p>Little is known about Attalus' early life. He was the son of Attalus, and Antiochis.<p>The elder Attalus was the son of a brother (also called Attalus) of both <!--del_lnk--> Philetaerus, the founder of the <!--del_lnk--> Attalid dynasty, and Eumenes, the father of <!--del_lnk--> Eumenes I, Philataerus' successor; he is mentioned, along with his uncles, as a benefactor of <!--del_lnk--> Delphi. He won fame as a charioteer, winning at <!--del_lnk--> Olympia, and was honored with a monument at Pergamon. Attalus was a young child when his father died, sometime before 241 BCE, after which he was adopted by Eumenes I, the incumbent dynast.<p>Attalus' mother, Antiochis, was probably related to the <!--del_lnk--> Seleucid royal family (perhaps being the granddaughter of <!--del_lnk--> Seleucus I Nicator) with her marriage to Attalus' father likely arranged by Philetaerus to solidify his power. This would be consistent with the conjecture that Attalus' father had been Philetaerus' heir designate, but was succeeded by Eumenes, since Attalus I was too young when his father died.<p><a id="Defeat_of_the_Galatians" name="Defeat_of_the_Galatians"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Defeat of the Galatians</span></h2>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/848.jpg.htm" title="The Dying Gaul"><img alt="The Dying Gaul" height="244" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Dying_gaul.jpg" src="../../images/8/848.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/848.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <i>Dying Gaul</i></div>
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<p>According to <!--del_lnk--> Pausanias, "the greatest of his achievements" was the defeat of the "<!--del_lnk--> Gauls"(<span class="polytonic" lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">Γαλάται</span>). Pausanias was referring to the Galatians, immigrant Celts from <!--del_lnk--> Thrace, who had recently settled in <!--del_lnk--> Galatia in central <!--del_lnk--> Asia Minor, and whom the Romans and Greeks called Gauls, associating them with the Celts of what is now <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Switzerland.htm" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a>, and northern <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a>. Since the time of <!--del_lnk--> Philetaerus, the uncle of Eumenes I and the first Attalid ruler, the Galatians had posed a problem for Pergamon, indeed for all of Asia Minor, by exacting tributes to avoid war or other repercussions. Eumenes I had (probably), along with other rulers, dealt with the Galatians by paying these tributes. Attalus however refused to pay them, being the first such ruler to do so. As a consequence, the Galatians set out to attack Pergamon. Attalus met them near the sources of the river Caïcus and won a decisive victory, after which, following the example of <!--del_lnk--> Antiochus I, Attalus took the name of Soter, which means "savior", and claimed the title of king. The victory brought Attalus legendary fame. A story arose, related by Pausanias, of an oracle who had foretold these events a generation earlier:<dl>
<dd><i>Then verily, having crossed the narrow strait of the <!--del_lnk--> Hellespont,</i><dd><i>The devastating host of the Gauls shall pipe; and lawlessly</i><dd><i>They shall ravage Asia; and much worse shall God do</i><dd><i>To those who dwell by the shores of the sea</i><dd><i>For a short while. For right soon the son of <!--del_lnk--> Cronos</i><dd><i>Shall raise a helper, the dear son of a bull reared by <a href="../../wp/z/Zeus.htm" title="Zeus">Zeus</a></i><dd><i>Who on all the Gauls shall bring a day of destruction.</i></dl>
<p>Pausanius adds that by the "son of a bull" the oracle "meant Attalus, king of Pergamon, who was styled bull-horned". On the acropolis of Pergamon was erected a triumphal monument, which included the famous sculpture <!--del_lnk--> The Dying Gaul, commemorating this battle.<p><a id="Conquests_in_Seleucid_Asia_Minor" name="Conquests_in_Seleucid_Asia_Minor"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Conquests in Seleucid Asia Minor</span></h2>
<p>Several years after the first victory over the Gauls, Pergamon was again attacked by the Gauls together with their ally <!--del_lnk--> Antiochus Hierax, the younger brother of <!--del_lnk--> Seleucus II Callinicus, and ruler of Seleucid Asia Minor from his capital at <!--del_lnk--> Sardis. Attalus defeated the Gauls and Antiochus at the battle of Aphrodisium and again at a second battle in the east. Subsequent battles were fought and won against Antiochus alone: in Hellespontine Phrygia, where Antiochus was perhaps seeking refuge with his father-in law, <!--del_lnk--> Ziaelas the king of <!--del_lnk--> Bithynia; near Sardis in the spring of 228 BCE; and, in the final battle of the campaign, further south in <!--del_lnk--> Caria on the banks of the Harpasus, a tributary of the <!--del_lnk--> Maeander.<p>As a result of these victories, Attalus gained control over all of Seleucid Asia Minor north of the <!--del_lnk--> Taurus Mountains. He was able to hold onto these gains in the face of repeated attempts by <!--del_lnk--> Seleucus III Ceraunus, eldest son and successor of Seleucus II, to recover the lost territory, culminating in Seleucus III himself crossing the Taurus with his army, only to be assassinated in 223 BCE.<p><!--del_lnk--> Achaeus, who had accompanied Seleucus III, assumed control of the army. He was offered and refused the kingship in favour of Seleucus III's younger brother <!--del_lnk--> Antiochus III the Great, who then made Achaeus governor of Seleucid Asia Minor north of the Taurus. Within two years Achaeus had recovered all the lost Seleucid territories, "shut up Attalus within the walls of Pergamon," and assumed the title of king.<p>After a period of peace, in 218 BCE, while Achaeus was involved in an expedition to <!--del_lnk--> Selge south of the Taurus, Attalus, with some Thracian Gauls, recaptured his former territories. However Achaeus returned from victory in Selge in 217 BCE and resumed hostilities with Attalus.<p>Antiochus, under a treaty of alliance with Attalus, crossed the Taurus in 216 BCE, attacked Acheaus and besieged Sardis, and in 214 BCE, the second year of the siege, was able to take the city. However the citadel remained under Acheaus' control. Under the pretense of a rescue, Achaeus was finally captured and put to death, and the citadel surrendered By 213 BCE, Antiochus had regained control of all of his Asiatic provinces.<p><a id="First_Macedonian_War" name="First_Macedonian_War"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">First Macedonian War</span></h2>
<p>Thwarted in the east, Attalus now turned his attention westward. Perhaps because of concern for the ambitions of <!--del_lnk--> Philip V of Macedon, Attalus had sometime before 219 BCE become allied with Philip's enemies the <!--del_lnk--> Aetolian League, a union of Greek states in <!--del_lnk--> Aetolia in central Greece, having funded the fortification of Elaeus, an Aetolian stronghold in <!--del_lnk--> Calydonia, near the mouth of the river <!--del_lnk--> Achelous.<p>Philip's alliance with <!--del_lnk--> Hannibal of <!--del_lnk--> Carthage in 215 BCE also caused concern in <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a>, then involved in the <!--del_lnk--> Second Punic War. In 211 BCE, a treaty was signed between Rome and the Aetolian League, a provision of which allowed for the inclusion of certain allies of the League, Attalus being one of these. Attalus was elected one of the two <i><!--del_lnk--> strategoi</i> (generals) of the Aetolian League, and in 210 BCE his troops probably participated in capturing the island of <!--del_lnk--> Aegina, acquired by Attalus as his base of operations in Greece.<p>In the following spring (209 BCE), Philip marched south into Greece. Under command of Pyrrhias, Attalus' colleague as strategos, the allies lost two battles at <!--del_lnk--> Lamia. Attalus himself went to Greece in July and was joined on Aegina by the Roman <!--del_lnk--> proconsul <!--del_lnk--> P. Sulpicius Galba who wintered there. The following summer (208 BCE) the combined fleet of thirty-five Pergamene and twenty-five Roman ships failed to take <!--del_lnk--> Lemnos, but occupied and plundered the countyside of the island of Peparethos (Skopelos), both Macedonian possessions.<p>Attalus and Sulpicius then attended a meeting in <!--del_lnk--> Heraclea of the Council of the Aetolians, at which the Roman argued against making peace with Philip. When hostilities resumed, they sacked both <!--del_lnk--> Oreus, on the northern coast of <!--del_lnk--> Euboea and <!--del_lnk--> Opus, the chief city of eastern <!--del_lnk--> Locris.<p>The spoils from Oreus had been reserved for Sulpicius, who returned there, while Attalus stayed to collect the spoils from Opus. With their forces divided, Philip attacked Opus. Attalus, caught by surprise, was barely able to escape to his ships.<p>Attalus was now forced to return to Asia, for he had learned at Opus that, at the urging of Philip, <!--del_lnk--> Prusias I king of Bithynia, related to Philip by marriage, was moving against Pergamon. Soon after, the Romans also abandoned Greece to concentrate their forces against Hannibal, their objective of preventing Philip from aiding Hannibal having been achieved.<p>In 206 BCE the Aetolians sued for peace on conditions imposed by Philip. A treaty was drawn up at Phoenice in 205 BCE, formally ending the <a href="../../wp/f/First_Macedonian_War.htm" title="First Macedonian War">First Macedonian War</a>. The "Peace of Phoenice" also ended the war with Prusias, and Attalus retained Aegina.<p><a id="Macedonian_hostilities_of_201_BCE" name="Macedonian_hostilities_of_201_BCE"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Macedonian hostilities of 201 BCE</span></h2>
<p>Prevented by the treaty of Phoenice from expansion in the east, Philip set out to extend his power in the <!--del_lnk--> Aegean and in Asia Minor. In the spring of 201 BCE he took <!--del_lnk--> Samos and the <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Egypt.htm" title="Ancient Egypt">Egyptian</a> fleet stationed there. He then besieged <!--del_lnk--> Chios to the north.<p>These events caused Attalus, allied with <!--del_lnk--> Rhodes, <!--del_lnk--> Byzantium and <!--del_lnk--> Cyzicus, to enter the war. A large naval battle occurred in the strait between Chios and the mainland, just southwest of <!--del_lnk--> Erythrae. According to <!--del_lnk--> Polybius, fifty-three decked warships and over one hundred and fifty smaller warships, took part on the Macedonian side, with sixty-five decked warships and a number of smaller warships on the allied side. During the battle Attalus, having become isolated from his fleet and pursued by Philip, was forced to run his three ships ashore, narrowly escaping by spreading various royal treasures on the decks of the grounded ships, causing his pursuers to abandon the pursuit in favour of plunder.<p>Also during 201 BCE, Philip invaded Pergamon; although unable to take the easily defended city, in part due to precautions taken by Attalus to provide for additional fortifications, he demolished the surrounding temples and altars. Meanwhile, Attalus and Rhodes sent envoys to Rome, to register their complaints against Philip.<p><a id="Second_Macedonian_War" name="Second_Macedonian_War"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Second Macedonian War</span></h2>
<p>In 200 BCE, Attalus became involved in the <!--del_lnk--> Second Macedonian War. <!--del_lnk--> Acarnanians with Macedonian support invaded <!--del_lnk--> Attica, causing <a href="../../wp/a/Athens.htm" title="Athens">Athens</a>, which had previously maintained its neutrality, to seek help from the enemies of Philip. Attalus, with his fleet at Aegina, received an embassy from Athens, to come to the city for consultations. Informed that Roman ambassadors were also at Athens, Attalus went there in haste. His reception at Athens was extraordinary. Polybius writes:<dl>
<dd><i>… in company with the Romans and the Athenian magistrates, he began his progress to the city in great state. For he was met, not only by all the magistrates and the knights, but by all the citizens with their children and wives. And when the two processions met, the warmth of the welcome given by the populace to the Romans, and still more to Attalus, could not have been exceeded. At his entrance into the city by the gate Dipylum the priests and priestesses lined the street on both sides: all the temples were then thrown open; victims were placed ready at all the altars; and the king was requested to offer sacrifice. Finally they voted him such high honours as they had never without great hesitation voted to any of their former benefactors: for, in addition to other compliments, they named a tribe after Attalus, and classed him among their eponymous heroes.</i></dl>
<p>Sulpicius Galba, now <!--del_lnk--> consul, convinced Rome to declare war on Philip and asked Attalus to meet up with the Roman fleet and again conduct a naval campaign, harassing Macedonian possessions in the Aegean. In the spring of 199 BCE, the combined Pergamon and Roman fleets took <!--del_lnk--> Andros in the <!--del_lnk--> Cyclades, the spoils going to the Romans and the island to Attalus. From Andros they sailed south, made a fruitless attack on another Cycladic island, <!--del_lnk--> Kithnos, turned back north, scavenged the fields of <!--del_lnk--> Skiathos off the coast of <!--del_lnk--> Magnesia, for food, and continued north to <!--del_lnk--> Mende, where the fleets were wracked by storm. On land they were repulsed at <!--del_lnk--> Cassandrea, suffering heavy loss. They continued northeast along the Macedonian coast to <!--del_lnk--> Acanthus, which they sacked, after which they returned to Euboea, their vessels laden with spoils.<p>On their return, Attalus and the Roman commander went to Heraclea to meet with the Aetolians, who under the terms of their treaty asked Attalus for a thousand soldiers. Attalus refused, citing the Aetolians' own refusal to honour Attalus' request to attack Macedonia during Philip's attack on Pergamon two years earlier. Resuming operations, Attalus and the Romans attacked but failed to take Oreus and, deciding to leave a small force to invest it, attacked across the straight in <!--del_lnk--> Thessaly. When they returned to Oreus, they again attacked, this time successfully, the Romans taking the captives, Attalus the city. The campaigning season over, Attalus, after attending the <!--del_lnk--> Eleusinian Mysteries, returned to Pergamon after an absence of more than two years.<p>In the spring of 198 BCE, Attalus returned to Greece with twenty-three <!--del_lnk--> quinqueremes and joined a fleet of twenty decked Rhodian warships at Andros, to complete the conquest of Euboea begun the previous year. Soon joined by the Romans, the combined fleets took <!--del_lnk--> Eretria and later <!--del_lnk--> Carystus. Thus, the allies controlled all of Euboea except for <!--del_lnk--> Chalcis. After a failed attempt to take Corinth, the Romans left for <!--del_lnk--> Corcyra, while Attalus sailed for <!--del_lnk--> Piraeus.<p>Early in 197 BCE, <!--del_lnk--> Titus Quinctius Flamininus, the Roman consul, summoned Attalus to a <!--del_lnk--> Boeotian council in <!--del_lnk--> Thebes to discuss which side Boeotia would take in the war. Attalus was the first to speak in the council, but during his address he stopped talking and collapsed, with one side of his body paralyzed. Attalus was taken back to Pergamon, where he died the following fall, perhaps having heard of the news of the decisive Roman victory at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Cynoscephalae, bringing about the end of the Second Macedonian War.<p><a id="Family" name="Family"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Family</span></h2>
<p>Attalus married Apollonis, from <!--del_lnk--> Cyzicus. They had four sons, <!--del_lnk--> Eumenes, <!--del_lnk--> Attalus, Philetaerus and Athenaeus (after Apollonis' father). <!--del_lnk--> Polybius describes Apollonis as:<dl>
<dd><i>… a woman who for many reasons deserves to be remembered, and with honour. Her claims upon a favourable recollection are that, though born of a private family, she became a queen, and retained that exalted rank to the end of her life, not by the use of meretricious fascinations, but by the virtue and integrity of her conduct in private and public life alike. Above all, she was the mother of four sons with whom she kept on terms of the most perfect affection and motherly love to the last day of her life.</i></dl>
<p>The filial "affection" of the brothers as well as their upbringing is also remarked on by several ancient sources. A decree of <!--del_lnk--> Antiochus IV praises<dl>
<dd><i>… king Attalus and queen Apollonis … because of their virtue and goodness, which they preserved for their sons, managing their education in this way wisely and well.</i></dl>
<p>An inscription at Pergamon represents Apollonis as saying that<dl>
<dd><i>… she always considered herself blessed and gave thanks to the gods, not for wealth or empire, but because she saw her three sons guarding the eldest and him reigning without fear among those who were armed.</i></dl>
<p>Polybius, describing Attalus' life says:<dl>
<dd><i>… and what is more remarkable than all, though he left four grown-up sons, he so well settled the question of succession, that the crown was handed down to his children's children without a single dispute</i>.</dl>
<p>Attalus died in 197 BCE at the age of 72. He was succeeded by his son Eumenes II.<p><a id="Introduction_of_the_cult_of_the_Magna_Mater_to_Rome" name="Introduction_of_the_cult_of_the_Magna_Mater_to_Rome"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Introduction of the cult of the Magna Mater to Rome</span></h2>
<p>In 205 BCE, after the "Peace of Phoenice", Rome turned to Attalus, as its only friend in Asia, for help concerning a religious matter. An unusual number of meteor showers caused concern in Rome, and an inspection was made of the <!--del_lnk--> Sibylline Books, which discovered verses saying that if a foreigner were to make war on Italy, he could be defeated if the Magna Idaea, the Mother Goddess, associated with <!--del_lnk--> Mount Ida in <!--del_lnk--> Phrygia, were brought from Pessinus to Rome. M. Valerius Laevinus heading a distinguished delegation, was dispatched to Pergamon, to seek Attalus' aid. According to <!--del_lnk--> Livy, Attalus received the delegation warmly, "and conducted them to Pessinus in Phrygia" where he "handed over to them the sacred stone which the natives declared to be "the Mother of the Gods," and bade them carry it to Rome". In Rome the goddess became known as the <!--del_lnk--> Magna Mater.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attalus_I"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder</h1>
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<p><b>Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)</b> (sometimes referred to as <b>ADD</b> for those without hyperactivity) is thought to be a <!--del_lnk--> neurological disorder, which isn't always present from early childhood, which manifests itself with symptoms such as <!--del_lnk--> hyperactivity, <!--del_lnk--> forgetfulness, <!--del_lnk--> poor impulse control, and <!--del_lnk--> distractibility. In <!--del_lnk--> neurological <!--del_lnk--> pathology, ADHD is currently considered to be a <!--del_lnk--> chronic <!--del_lnk--> syndrome for which no medical cure is available. ADHD is believed to affect between 3-5% of the United States population, including both children and adults.<p>Much <!--del_lnk--> controversy surrounds the diagnosis of ADHD, such as whether or not the diagnosis denotes a <!--del_lnk--> disability in its traditional sense, or simply describes the neurological property of an individual. There is also a sizable minority of clinicians who believe that the condition is not biological, but psychological in origin. Those who believe that ADHD is a traditional disability or disorder often debate over how it should be treated, if at all. According to a majority of medical research in the United States, as well as other countries, ADHD is today generally regarded to be a non-curable neurological disorder for which, however, a wide range of effective treatments are available. Methods of treatment usually involve some combination of medication, <!--del_lnk--> psychotherapy, and other techniques. Some patients are able to control their symptoms over time, without the use of medication. Other individuals who meet the diagnostic criteria of ADHD do not consider themselves to be handicapped by the disorder and therefore may remain undiagnosed or, after a positive diagnosis, untreated.<p>ADHD is most commonly diagnosed in children and, over the past decade, has been increasingly diagnosed in adults. It is believed that around 60% of children diagnosed with ADHD retain the disorder as adults.<p>
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</script><a id="Definitions_and_Terminology" name="Definitions_and_Terminology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Definitions and Terminology</span></h2>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 20em; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<caption style="background: lightgrey; font-size: 95%;"><b>Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder</b><br /><i>Classifications and external resources</i></caption>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> ICD-<!--del_lnk--> 10</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> F<!--del_lnk--> 90.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> ICD-<!--del_lnk--> 9</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 314.00, <!--del_lnk--> 314.01</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> OMIM</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 143465</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> DiseasesDB</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 6158</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> MedlinePlus</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 001551</td>
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<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> eMedicine</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> med/3103 <!--del_lnk--> ped/177</td>
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</table>
<p>The most appropriate designation of ADHD is currently disputed; the terms below are known to be used to describe the condition. A difficulty in the condition's nomenclature arises when some scientific research suggests that certain behaviors are directly attributable to ADHD, while other research concludes that the same behaviors constitute disorders that need to be classified independently of ADHD.<p><a id="Diagnostic_and_Statistical_Manual_of_Mental_Disorders" name="Diagnostic_and_Statistical_Manual_of_Mental_Disorders"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline"><i>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</i></span></h3>
<p>The latest edition of the <i><!--del_lnk--> Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</i> (DSM-IV-TR) states that ADHD is a developmental disorder that presents during childhood, with at least some symptoms causing impairment before the age of seven. It is characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention and/or hyperactive-impulsive behaviour, with significant impairment occurring in at least two settings. Adults with ADHD are diagnosed under the same criteria, including the stipulation that their symptoms must have been present prior to the age of seven. The DSM-IV-TR divides ADHD into three subtypes: predominantly inattentive (sometimes referred to as ADD or <!--del_lnk--> Sluggish cognitive tempo), predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, and combined. Those presenting impairing symptoms of ADHD who do not fully fit the criteria for any of the three subtypes can be diagnosed with "ADHD Not Otherwise Specified".<p><a id="International_Statistical_Classification_of_Diseases_and_Related_Health_Problems" name="International_Statistical_Classification_of_Diseases_and_Related_Health_Problems"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline"><i>International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems</i></span></h3>
<p>In the tenth edition of the <i><!--del_lnk--> International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems</i> (ICD-10) the symptoms of ADHD are given the name "Hyperkinetic disorders". When a <!--del_lnk--> conduct disorder (as defined by ICD-10, <!--del_lnk--> F91) is present, the condition is referred to as "Hyperkinetic conduct disorder". Otherwise the disorder is classified as "Disturbance of Activity and Attention", "Other Hyperkinetic Disorders" or "Hyperkinetic Disorders, Unspecified". The latter is sometimes referred to as, "Hyperkinetic Syndrome". Because the editors of the ICD believe that the inability to pay attention constitutes a separate disorder, a person must be hyperactive in order to be diagnosed with a Hyperkinetic disorder.<p><a id="Other_Designations" name="Other_Designations"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Other Designations</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><b>Attention-deficit syndrome</b> (ADS): Equivalent to ADHD, but used to avoid the connotations of "disorder".<li><b>Minimal cerebral dysfunction</b> (MCD): Equivalent to ADHD, but largely obsolete in the United States, though still commonly used internationally.<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Deficits in Attention, Motor control and Perception</b> (DAMP): A name for ADHD in combination with <!--del_lnk--> dyspraxia that is recognized only in Denmark and Sweden.</ul>
<p><a id="Symptoms" name="Symptoms"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Symptoms</span></h2>
<p>The symptoms of ADHD fall into the following two broad categories:<p><b>Inattention:</b><ol>
<li>Failing to pay close attention to details or making careless mistakes when doing schoolwork or other activities<li>Trouble keeping attention focused during play or tasks<li>Appearing not to listen when spoken to<li>Failing to follow instructions or finish tasks<li>Avoiding tasks that require a high amount of mental effort and organization, such as school projects<li>Frequently losing items required to facilitate tasks or activities, such as school supplies<li>Excessive distractibility<li>Forgetfulness<li><!--del_lnk--> Procrastination, inability to begin an activity<li>Difficulties with household activities (cleaning, paying bills, etc.)</ol>
<p><b>Hyperactivity-impulsive behaviour</b><ol>
<li>Fidgeting with hands or feet or squirming in seat<li>Leaving seat often, even when inappropriate<li>Running or climbing at inappropriate times<li>Difficulty in quiet play<li>Frequently feeling restless<li>Excessive speech<li>Answering a question before the speaker has finished<li>Failing to await one's turn<li>Interrupting the activities of others at inappropriate times<li>Impulsive spending, leading to financial difficulties</ol>
<p>A positive diagnosis is usually only made if the person has experienced six of the above symptoms for at least three months. Symptoms must appear consistently in varied environments (e.g., not only at home or only at school) and interfere with function. One of the difficulties in diagnosis is the incidence of <!--del_lnk--> co-morbid conditions, especially the presence of <!--del_lnk--> bipolar disorder which is being reported at earlier ages than previously described.<p>Children who grow up with ADHD often continue to have symptoms as they grow into adulthood. Adults face some of their greatest challenges in the areas of self-control and self-motivation, as well as executive functioning (also known as <!--del_lnk--> working memory). If the patient is not treated appropriately, co-morbid conditions, such as <!--del_lnk--> depression, <!--del_lnk--> anxiety and self-medicating <!--del_lnk--> substance abuse may present as well. If a patient presents with such conditions as well, the co-morbid condition may be treated first, or simultaneously.<p><a id="Diagnosis" name="Diagnosis"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Diagnosis</span></h2>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that a diagnosis of ADHD should only be made by trained health care providers, as many of the symptoms may also be part of other conditions, such as bodily illness or other physical disorders, such as <!--del_lnk--> hyperthyroidism. Further, it is not uncommon that physically and mentally <!--del_lnk--> nonpathological individuals exhibit at least some of the symptoms from time to time. Severity and pervasiveness of the symptoms leading to prominent functional impairment across different settings (school, work, social relationships) are major factors in a positive diagnosis.<p><a id="Clinical_Testing" name="Clinical_Testing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Clinical Testing</span></h3>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> American Academy of Pediatrics Clinical Practice Guideline for children with ADHD emphasizes that a reliable diagnosis is dependent upon the fufillment of three criteria:<ol>
<li>The use of explicit criteria for the diagnosis using the <!--del_lnk--> DSM-IV-TR.<li>The importance of obtaining information about the child’s symptoms in more than one setting.<li>The search for coexisting conditions that may make the diagnosis more difficult or complicate treatment planning.</ol>
<p>The first criteria can be satisfied by using an ADHD-specific instrument such as the Conners Scale. The second criteria is best fulfilled by examining the individual's history. This history can be obtained from parents and teachers, or a patient's memory. The requirement that symptoms be present in more than one setting is very important because the problem may not be with the child, but instead with teachers or parents who are too demanding. The use of intelligence and psychological testing (to satisfy the third criteria) is essential in order to find or rule out other factors that might be causing or complicating the problems experienced by the patient.<p><a id="Analytical_Testing" name="Analytical_Testing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Analytical Testing</span></h3>
<p>Due to the lack of objectivity that surrounds the critical factors, there is some question as to the reliability of ADHD diagnosis. The <!--del_lnk--> American Academy of Pediatrics Clinical Practice has published guidelines to aid providers in making an objective diagnosis, but even if strictly adhered to, doubt still remains among some patients, as well as providers. Other diagnostic methods, such as those involving <!--del_lnk--> magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), may detect the presence of ADHD by analyzing images of the patient's brain, are usually not recommended (see <a href="#Brain_scans" title="">brain scans</a>). In a majority of cases, diagnosis is therefore dependent upon the observations and opinions of those who are close to the patient; in many patients, especially as they approach adulthood, self-diagnosis is not uncommon.<p><a id="Computerized_tests" name="Computerized_tests"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Computerized tests</span></h3>
<p>Computerized tests of attention are not especially helpful in providing a further independent assessment because they have a high rate of false negatives (real cases of ADHD can pass the tests 35% of the time or more), they do not correlate well with actual behavioural problems at home or school, and are not especially helpful in determining treatments. Both the <!--del_lnk--> American Academy of Pediatrics and <!--del_lnk--> American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry have recommended against the use of such computerized tests for now in view of their lack of appropriate scientific validation as diagnostic tools. In the USA, the process of obtaining referrals for such assessments is being promoted vigorously by the <!--del_lnk--> President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health.<p><a id="Brain_scans" name="Brain_scans"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Brain scans</span></h3>
<p>Currently, brain scans are able to detect only differences between groups with ADHD and groups without ADHD, not a difference in a single individual. However, <!--del_lnk--> FMRI, or <!--del_lnk--> SPECT scans may someday be able to provide a more objective diagnosis. An October 2005 <!--del_lnk--> meta-analysis by Alan Zametkin, M.D., with the <!--del_lnk--> NIMH, concluded that not enough scientific research has been done on the <!--del_lnk--> accuracy of these potential diagnostic methods for them to be used for diagnosis. They remain, however, useful research tools when studying groups of patients with ADHD.<p><a id="Epidemiology" name="Epidemiology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Epidemiology</span></h2>
<p>ADHD has been found to exist in every country and culture studied to date. While it is most commonly diagnosed in the United States, rates of diagnosis are rising in most industrialized countries as they become more aware of the disorder, its diagnosis, and its management. The prevalence among children is estimated to be in the range of 5% to 8% in children, and 4% to 8% in adults. 10% of males, and (only) 4% of females have been diagnosed. This apparent sex difference may reflect either a difference in susceptibility or that females with ADHD are less likely to be diagnosed than males.<p>
<br />
<p><a id="Possible_causes" name="Possible_causes"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Possible causes</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:317px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16704.gif.htm" title="An early PET scan study found that global cerebral glucose metabolism was 8.1% lower in ADHD patients. The image on the left illustrates glucose catabolism in the brain of a person without ADHD while doing an assigned auditory attention task. The image on the right illustrates the areas of activity of the brain of someone with ADHD when given that same task."><img alt="An early PET scan study found that global cerebral glucose metabolism was 8.1% lower in ADHD patients. The image on the left illustrates glucose catabolism in the brain of a person without ADHD while doing an assigned auditory attention task. The image on the right illustrates the areas of activity of the brain of someone with ADHD when given that same task." height="223" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Adhdbrain.gif" src="../../images/167/16704.gif" width="315" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">An early PET scan study found that global cerebral <!--del_lnk--> glucose metabolism was 8.1% lower in ADHD patients. The image on the left illustrates glucose catabolism in the brain of a person without ADHD while doing an assigned auditory attention task. The image on the right illustrates the areas of activity of the brain of someone with ADHD when given that same task.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The exact cause of ADHD remains unknown, but there is no shortage of speculation concerning its etiology, most of which centers around the brain.<p><a id="Hereditary_dopamine_deficiency" name="Hereditary_dopamine_deficiency"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Hereditary dopamine deficiency</span></h3>
<p>Research suggests that ADHD arises from a combination of various genes, many of which have something to do with <!--del_lnk--> dopamine transporters. Suspect genes include the 10-repeat allele of the DAT1 gene, the 7-repeat allele of the DRD4 gene, and the dopamine beta hydroxylase gene (DBH TaqI). Additionally, <!--del_lnk--> SPECT scans found people with ADHD to have reduced blood circulation, and a significantly higher concentration of <!--del_lnk--> dopamine transporters in the <!--del_lnk--> striatum which is in charge of planning ahead.<p><a id="Diet" name="Diet"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Diet</span></h3>
<p>It has long been suggested that ADHD could be the result of a nutritional problem. Recent studies have begun to find metabolic differences in these children, indicating that an inability to handle certain elements of one's diet might contribute to the development of ADHD, or at least ADHD-like symptoms. For example, in 1990 the English chemist, Neil Ward, showed that children with ADHD lose zinc when exposed to a food dye. Some studies suggest that a lack of fatty acids, specifically <!--del_lnk--> omega-3 fatty acids can trigger the development of ADHD. Support for this theory comes from findings that children who are breastfed for six or more months seem to be less likely to have ADHD than their bottlefed counterparts and until very recently, infant formula did not contain any omega-3 fatty acids at all. Time and further investigation will perhaps tell whether this correlation is reliable or merely a coincidence.<p>Despite the uncertainty of nutrition as a cause of ADHD it does play a role in the diagnosis and treatment of the disorder. Certain dietary issues, most commonly a moderate to severe protein deficiency, can cause symptoms consistent with ADHD.<p><a id="External_Factors" name="External_Factors"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">External Factors</span></h3>
<p>There is no compelling evidence that social factors alone can create ADHD. The few environmental factors implicated fall in the realm of biohazards including alcohol, tobacco smoke, and lead poisoning. Allergies (including those to artificial additives) as well as complications during pregnancy and birth--including premature birth--might also play a role.<p>It has been observed that women who smoke while pregnant are more likely to have children with ADHD. Since <!--del_lnk--> nicotine is known to cause <!--del_lnk--> hypoxia (lack of oxygen) <i>in utero</i>, smoking during pregnancy could increase the odds of a child having ADHD.<p>Head injuries can cause a person to present ADHD-like symptoms, possibly because of damage done to the patient's frontal lobes. Because symptoms were attributable to brain damage, the earliest designation for ADHD was "Minimal Brain Damage".<p><a id="Treatment" name="Treatment"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Treatment</span></h2>
<p>There are many options available to treat people diagnosed with ADHD. The options with the greatest scientific support include a variety of medications, <!--del_lnk--> behaviour modification, and educational interventions. The results of a large <!--del_lnk--> randomized controlled trial suggested that medication alone is superior to behavioral therapy alone, but that the combination of behavioural therapy and medication has a small additional benefit over medication alone.<p><a id="Mainstream_treatments" name="Mainstream_treatments"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Mainstream treatments</span></h3>
<p>The most frequently prescribed medications for ADHD are <!--del_lnk--> stimulants, which work by stimulating the areas of the brain responsible for focus, attention, and impulse control. The use of stimulants to treat a syndrome often characterized by hyperactivity is sometimes referred to as a <!--del_lnk--> paradoxical effect. But there is no real paradox in that stimulants activate brain inhibitory and self-organizing mechanisms permitting the individual to have greater self-regulation. Frequently prescribed stimulants are <!--del_lnk--> Methylphenidate (better known by the names Ritalin and Concerta), <!--del_lnk--> Amphetamines (<!--del_lnk--> Adderall) and <!--del_lnk--> dextroamphetamines (Dexedrine). A fourth stimulant, <!--del_lnk--> Cylert was used until the late 1980s when it was discovered that this medication could cause liver damage. In March 2005, the makers of Cylert announced that it would discontinue the medication's production. It is no longer available in the United States.<p>There are also several nonstimulant medications that are used either by themselves or in conjunction with the stimulants. Most prominent among these are <!--del_lnk--> Bupropion (Wellbutrin) and <!--del_lnk--> Atomoxetine (Strattera).<p>Because many of the medications used to treat ADHD are <!--del_lnk--> Schedule II under the U.S. <!--del_lnk--> Drug Enforcement Administration schedule system, and are considered powerful stimulants with a potential for <!--del_lnk--> abuse, there is controversy surrounding prescribing these drugs for children and adolescents. However, research studying ADHD sufferers who either receive treatment with stimulants or go untreated has indicated that those treated with stimulants are in fact much less likely to abuse any substance than ADHD sufferers who are not treated with stimulants.<p>Only recently, studies on the cost-effectiveness of ADHD treatment have begun to appear. To date valid information is limited, although a review presented at the 17th World Congress of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions(IACAPAP) in Melbourne, Victoria, September 10-14, 2006, identified 11 health technology assessments and cost-effectiveness analyses, all of which compared the economic merits of at least two treatment alternatives.<p><a id="Alternative_treatments" name="Alternative_treatments"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Alternative treatments</span></h3>
<p>Many alternative treatments have been proposed for ADHD. An example would be the homeopathic treatment "attend". There are few or no credible scientific studies to support these suggested interventions.<p><a id="Nutrition" name="Nutrition"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Nutrition</span></h4>
<p>As noted above there are indications that children with ADHD are metabolically different from others, and it has therefore been suggested that diet modification may play a role in the management of ADHD. Perhaps the best known of the dietary alternatives is the <!--del_lnk--> Feingold diet which involves removing <!--del_lnk--> salicylates, artificial colors and flavours, and certain synthetic preservatives from children's diets. In the <!--del_lnk--> 1980s <a href="../../wp/v/Vitamin.htm" title="Vitamin">vitamin</a> B<small><sub>6</sub></small> was promoted as a helpful remedy for children with learning difficulties including inattentiveness. Later, <a href="../../wp/z/Zinc.htm" title="Zinc">zinc</a> and <!--del_lnk--> multivitamins have been promoted as cures, and currently the addition of certain fatty acids such as <!--del_lnk--> omega-3 has been proposed as beneficial.<p>For some people with ADHD mild stimulants such as <!--del_lnk--> caffeine and <!--del_lnk--> theobromine have similar effects to the more powerful drugs commonly used in treating the disorder. Herbal supplements such as <!--del_lnk--> ginkgo biloba are also sometimes cited. There is some <!--del_lnk--> empirical data suggesting caffeine can improve the function of children suffering from ADHD.<p><a id="Other_alternatives" name="Other_alternatives"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Other alternatives</span></h4>
<p>Audio-visual <!--del_lnk--> entrainment uses light and sound stimulation to guide and change <!--del_lnk--> brainwave patterns. While safe for most, it cannot be used by those suffering from <!--del_lnk--> photosensitive epilepsy due to the risk of triggering a seizure.<p>Cerebellar stimulation assumes that by improving the patient’s cerebellar function, many ADHD symptoms can be reduced or even eliminated permanently. As noted <a href="#Possible_causes" title="">above</a>, several studies have shown that the <a href="../../wp/c/Cerebellum.htm" title="Cerebellum">cerebellums</a> of children with ADHD are notably smaller than their non-ADHD counterparts. Several programs of balance, coordination, eye and sensory exercises that specifically involve the functions of the cerebellum are used to treat ADHD, <!--del_lnk--> Asperger's syndrome, and many learning difficulties such as <!--del_lnk--> dyslexia and <!--del_lnk--> dyspraxia. Most prominent are the <i>DORE program</i>, the <i>Learning Breakthrough Program</i>, and the <i>Brain Gym</i>. No substantial body of research exists to support these treatment approaches.<p>Finally, a study by the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Centre has shown that people who suffer from ADD or ADHD may be more likely to start smoking. The study's author suggest that this may be true because patients use the nicotine in cigarettes as a form of treatment for ADD symptoms.<p><a id="Coaching" name="Coaching"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Coaching</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>ADD Coaching is a program where coaches work with ADHD individuals to help them prioritize, organize, and develop life skills. Coaching is aimed at helping clients to be more realistic in setting goals for themselves by learning about their individual challenges and gifts, and emphasizes spending more time in areas of strength, while minimizing time spent dealing with areas of difficulty.<p><a id="Controversy" name="Controversy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Controversy</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The ADHD diagnosis is controversial and has been questioned by some professionals, adults diagnosed with ADHD, and parents of diagnosed children. They point out the positive traits that people with ADHD have, such as "<!--del_lnk--> hyperfocusing." Others believe ADHD is a divergent or normal-variant human behaviour, and use the term <i><!--del_lnk--> neurodiversity</i> to describe it, emphasizing that there are an immense number of variations in genetics which could favour a greater or lesser ability to concentrate and/or to remain calm under varying circumstances.<p>Another source of controversy, especially in the United States, is the use of <!--del_lnk--> psychotropic medications to treat the disorder. In the United States outpatient treatment for ADHD has grown from 0.9 children per 100 (1987) to 3.4 per 100 (1997). However it has held steady since then.<p><a id="Skepticism_towards_ADHD_as_a_diagnosis" name="Skepticism_towards_ADHD_as_a_diagnosis"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Skepticism towards ADHD as a diagnosis</span></h3>
<p>The number of people diagnosed with ADHD in the U.S. and UK has grown dramatically over a short period of time. Critics of the diagnosis, such as Dan P. Hallahan and James M. Kauffman in their book <i>Exceptional Learners: Introduction to Special Education</i>, have argued that this increase is due to the ADHD diagnostic criteria being sufficiently general or vague to allow virtually anybody with persistent unwanted behaviors to be classified as having ADHD of one type or another, and that the symptoms are not supported by sufficient <!--del_lnk--> empirical data.<p>Publications that are designed to analyze a person's behaviour, such as the <!--del_lnk--> Brown Scale or the <!--del_lnk--> Conners Scale, for example, attempt to assist parents and providers in making a diagnosis by evaluating an individual on typical behaviors such as "Hums or makes other odd noises", "Daydreams" and "Acts 'smart'"; the scales rating the pervasiveness of these behaviors range from "never" to "very often". Connors states that, based on the scale, a valid diagnosis can be achieved; critics, however, counter Connors' proposition by pointing out the breadth with which these behaviors may be interpreted. This becomes especially relevant when family and cultural norms are taken into consideration; this premise leads to the assumption that a diagnosis based on such a scale may actually be more subjective than objective <i>(see <!--del_lnk--> cultural subjectivism)</i>.<p>Additionally, a recent study by Adam Rafalovich has found that many doctors are no more confident in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD than are many parents. Another source of skepticism is that most people with ADHD have no difficulties concentrating when they are doing something that interests them, whether it is educational or entertainment. However, these objections have been rejected by the <!--del_lnk--> American Psychiatric Association, the <!--del_lnk--> American Psychological Association, the <!--del_lnk--> American Medical Association, the <!--del_lnk--> American Academy of Pediatrics and the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Surgeon General.Moreover the fact that comorbidity is common, somewhere between 60 and 80% of children diagnosed with ADHD have a second diagnosis, indicates that the nuances of diagnosis have not been adequately described. Simple uncomplicated ADHD may well turn out to be different from ADHD with comorbid conduct disorder, and different again from ADHD with comorbid Tourette's or Asperger's syndrome to name but two of the conditions that commonly occur in conjunction with ADHD.<p><a id="Parental_role" name="Parental_role"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Parental role</span></h3>
<p>Many clinicians believe that attachments and relationships with caregivers and other features of a child's environment have profound effects on attentional and self-regulatory capacities. It is noteworthy that a study of foster children found that an inordinate number of them had symptoms closely resembling ADHD. <!--del_lnk--> What Keeps Children in Foster Care from Succeeding in School. An editorial in a special edition of <!--del_lnk--> Clinical Psychology in 2004 stated that "our impression from spending time with young people, their families and indeed colleagues from other disciplines is that a medical diagnosis and medication is not enough":<dl>
<dd>"In our clinical experience, without exception, we are finding that the same conduct typically labelled ADHD is shown by children in the context of violence and abuse, impaired parental attachments and other experiences of emotional trauma."</dl>
<p>
<br /> While no conclusive evidence has been offered that parenting methods can cause ADHD in otherwise normal children a sizable minority of clinicians believe this is the case. A different perspective holds that while evidence shows that parents of ADHD children experience more stress and give more commands, further research has suggested that such parenting behavior is in large part a reaction to the child's ADHD and related disruptive and oppositional behaviour, and to a minor extent the result of the parent's own ADHD.<p><a id="Positive_aspects" name="Positive_aspects"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Positive aspects</span></h2>
<p>Although ADHD is considered a disorder, some view it in a neutral or positive light. Rather than assuming that ADHD is inherently negative, some argue that ADHD is simply a different method of learning as opposed to an inferior one. "While the A students are learning the details of photosynthesis, the ADHD kids are staring out the window and pondering if it still works on a cloudy day" (Underwood). The aspects of ADHD which are generally viewed negatively can be a potential source of strength, such as willingness to take risks. "Impulsivity isn't always bad. Instead of dithering over a decision, they're willing to take risks" (Underwood). Both a proponent and an example of this point is <!--del_lnk--> JetBlue Airways founder <!--del_lnk--> David Neeleman. He considers ADHD one of his greatest assets and refuses to take medication. There has been little serious research into either the intellectual advantages it can provide, or into conditions which might be necessary for taking advantage of ADHD traits. Many professional counselors emphasize to persons diagnosed with ADHD and their families the perspective that the condition does not necessarily block, and may even facilitate, great accomplishments. Most frequently cited as potentially useful is the mental state of <!--del_lnk--> hyperfocus. Lists of famous persons either diagnosed with ADHD or suspected (but not necessarily known to have had ADHD) are numerous, such as <a href="../../wp/a/Albert_Einstein.htm" title="Albert Einstein">Albert Einstein</a>,<a href="../../wp/t/Thomas_Edison.htm" title="Thomas Edison">Thomas Edison</a>, and former <!--del_lnk--> Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame <!--del_lnk--> quarterback <!--del_lnk--> Terry Bradshaw, but currently lack scientific proof because ADHD was not a documented medical condition until its appearance in the <!--del_lnk--> DSM-III in 1980.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>There is considerable evidence to suggest that ADHD is not a recent phenomenon.<ul>
<li>493 BC, the great physician-scientist <a href="../../wp/h/Hippocrates.htm" title="Hippocrates">Hippocrates</a> described a condition that seems to be compatible with what we now know as ADHD. He described patients who had "quickened responses to sensory experience, but also less tenaciousness because the soul moves on quickly to the next impression". Hippocrates attributed this condition to an "overbalance of fire over water”. His remedy for this "overbalance" was "barley rather than wheat bread, fish rather than meat, water drinks, and many natural and diverse physical activities."<li>1845. ADHD was alluded to by Dr. <!--del_lnk--> Heinrich Hoffmann, a German physician who wrote books on medicine and psychiatry. Dr. Hoffmann was also a poet who became interested in writing for children when he couldn't find suitable materials to read to his 3-year-old son. The result was a book of poems, complete with illustrations, about children and their undesirable behaviours. "Die Geschichte vom Zappel-Philipp" (The Story of Fidgety Philip) in <i><!--del_lnk--> Der Struwwelpeter</i> was a description of a little boy who could be interpreted as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Alternatively, it may be seen as merely a moral fable to amuse young children at the same time as encouraging them to behave properly.<li>1902 – The English <!--del_lnk--> pediatrician George Still, in a series of lectures to the <!--del_lnk--> Royal College of Physicians in England, described a condition which some have claimed is analogous to ADHD. Still described a group of children with significant behavioural problems, caused, he believed, by an innate genetic dysfunction and not by poor child rearing or environment. Analysis of Still's descriptions by Palmer and Finger indicated that the qualities Still described are not "considered primary symptoms of ADHD".<li>The <!--del_lnk--> 1918–1919 influenza pandemic left many survivors with <!--del_lnk--> encephalitis, affecting their neurological functions. Some of these exhibited immediate behavioural problems which correspond to ADD. This caused many to believe that the condition was the result of injury rather than genetics.<li>1937 – Dr. Bradley in Providence RI reported that a group of children with behavioural problems improved after being treated with stimulant medication.<li>1957 – The stimulant <!--del_lnk--> methylphenidate (<!--del_lnk--> Ritalin) became available. It remains one of the most widely prescribed medications for ADHD in its various forms (Ritalin, Focalin, Concerta, Metadate, and Methylin).<li>1960 – Stella Chess described "Hyperactive Child Syndrome", introducing the concept of hyperactivity <i>not</i> being caused by brain damage.<li>By 1966, following observations that the condition existed without any objectively observed pathological disorder or injury, researchers changed the terminology from <i>Minimal Brain Damage</i> to <i>Minimal Brain Dysfunction</i>.<li>1973 – <!--del_lnk--> Dr Ben F. Feingold, Chief of Allergy at Kaiser Permanente Medical Centre in <!--del_lnk--> San Francisco, claimed that hyperactivity was increasing in proportion to the level of food additives.<li>1975 – <!--del_lnk--> Pemoline (Cylert) is approved by the FDA for use in the treatment of ADHD. While an effective agent for managing the symptoms, the development of liver failure in at least 14 cases over the next 27 years would result in the manufacturer withdrawing this medication from the market.<li>1980 – The name <i>Attention Deficit Disorder</i> (ADD) was first introduced in DSM-III, the 1980 edition.<li>1987 – The DSM-IIIR was released changing the diagnosis to "Undifferentiated Attention Deficit Disorder."<li>1994 – <!--del_lnk--> DSM-IV described three groupings within ADHD, which can be simplified as: mainly inattentive; mainly hyperactive-impulsive; and both in combination.<li>1996 – ADHD accounted for at least 40% of child psychiatry references.<li>1999 – New delivery systems for medications are invented that eliminate the need for multiple doses across the day or taking medication at school. These new systems include pellets of medication coated with various time-release substances to permit medications to dissolve hourly across an 8–12 hour period (Medadate CD, Adderall XR, Focalin XR) and an osmotic pump that extrudes a liquid methylphenidate sludge across an 8–12 hour period after ingestion (Concerta).<li>1999 – The largest study of treatment for ADHD in history is published in the <i><!--del_lnk--> American Journal of Psychiatry</i>. Known as the <i>Multimodal Treatment Study of ADHD</i> (MTA Study), it involved more than 570 children with ADHD at 6 sites in the United States and Canada randomly assigned to 4 treatment groups. Results generally showed that medication alone was more effective than psychosocial treatments alone, but that their combination was beneficial for some subsets of ADHD children beyond the improvement achieved only by medication. More than 40 studies have subsequently been published from this massive dataset.<li>2001 – The International Consensus Statement on ADHD is published and signed by more than 80 of the world's leading experts on ADHD to counteract periodic media misrepresentation that ADHD is a real disorder and that medications are justified as a treatment for the disorder. In 2005, another 100 European experts on ADHD added their signatures to this historic document certifying the validity of ADHD as a valid mental disorder.<li>2003 – <!--del_lnk--> Atomoxetine (Strattera), the first new medication for ADHD in 25 years, receives FDA approval for use in children, teens, and adults with ADHD.</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention-deficit_hyperactivity_disorder"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Attila the Hun</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.People.Historical_figures.htm">Historical figures</a>; <a href="../index/subject.People.Military_People.htm">Military People</a></h3>
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<table class="infobox" style="font-size: 90%;" width="280">
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<th align="center" colspan="3" style="color: #000000; background-color: #C1D8FF; font-size: 120%"><b>Attila the Hun</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="3"><i><!--del_lnk--> King of Huns</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Reign</b></td>
<td colspan="2">434 – 453</td>
</tr>
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<td><b>Born</b></td>
<td colspan="2">~406</td>
</tr>
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<td><b>Died</b></td>
<td colspan="2">453</td>
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<td><b>Predecessor</b></td>
<td colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Bleda</td>
</tr>
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<td><b>Successor</b></td>
<td colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Ellac</td>
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<p><b>Attila the Hun</b> (405–453), also sometimes known with the <!--del_lnk--> nickname as <b>Attila the Scourge of God (Flagellum Dei)</b> or simply <b>Attila</b> was the most powerful <!--del_lnk--> king of the <!--del_lnk--> Huns.<p>He reigned over what was then <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>'s largest <!--del_lnk--> empire, from 434 until his death. His empire stretched from <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> and the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a> to the <!--del_lnk--> Ural river and from the <a href="../../wp/d/Danube.htm" title="Danube">Danube River</a> to <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a> and <a href="../../wp/e/Estonia.htm" title="Estonia">Estonia</a>. During his rule, he was among the most dire of the Western and Eastern <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a>'s enemies: he invaded the <!--del_lnk--> Balkans twice and besieged <!--del_lnk--> Constantinople in the second invasion; he marched through <!--del_lnk--> Gaul (modern day <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>) as far as <!--del_lnk--> Orleans before being defeated at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Chalons; and he drove the western emperor <!--del_lnk--> Valentinian III from his <a href="../../wp/c/Capital.htm" title="Capital">capital</a> at <!--del_lnk--> Ravenna in 452. He was regarded as sacker of cities.<p>Though his empire died with him and he left no amazing <!--del_lnk--> legend, he has become a legendary figure in the <!--del_lnk--> history of Europe. In much of <!--del_lnk--> Western Europe, he is remembered as the epitome of cruelty and rapacity. In contrast, some histories lionize him as a great and noble king, and he plays major roles in three <!--del_lnk--> Norse sagas.<p>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23380.jpg.htm" title="The Huns, led by Attila (right, foreground), ride into Italy."><img alt="The Huns, led by Attila (right, foreground), ride into Italy." height="172" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Checa-HunCharge.jpg" src="../../images/233/23380.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23380.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Huns, led by Attila (right, foreground), ride into <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a>.</div>
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<p>The origin of the European <!--del_lnk--> Huns has been the subject of debate for centuries; however, it can be said with general agreement that they were a confederation of Eurasian tribes, most likely of diverse origin with a Turkic-speaking aristocracy, who appeared in Europe in the 4th century. They achieved military superiority over their rivals (most of them highly cultured and civilized) by their readiness for combat, unusual mobility, and weapons like the <!--del_lnk--> Hun bow.<p>Nothing is known about Attila's youth except for the day he was born. He first appears in the historical record when he becomes joint king of the Huns with his brother Bleda.<p><a id="Shared_kingship" name="Shared_kingship"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Shared kingship</span></h2>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23381.png.htm" title="The Hunnish empire stretched from the steppes of Central Asia into modern Germany, and from the Danube river to the Baltic Sea"><img alt="The Hunnish empire stretched from the steppes of Central Asia into modern Germany, and from the Danube river to the Baltic Sea" height="172" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Huns_empire.png" src="../../images/233/23381.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23381.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Hunnish empire stretched from the <!--del_lnk--> steppes of Central Asia into modern <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>, and from the Danube river to the Baltic Sea</div>
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<p>By 432, the Huns were united under <!--del_lnk--> Rugila. In 434, Rugila died, leaving his <!--del_lnk--> nephews Attila and <!--del_lnk--> Bleda, the sons of his brother <!--del_lnk--> Mundzuk, in control over all the united Hun tribes. At the time of their accession, the Huns were <!--del_lnk--> bargaining with <!--del_lnk--> Theodosius II's envoys over the return of several <!--del_lnk--> renegade tribes who had taken refuge within the <a href="../../wp/b/Byzantine_Empire.htm" title="Byzantine Empire">Byzantine Empire</a>. The following year, Attila and Bleda met with the imperial legation at Margus (present-day <!--del_lnk--> Požarevac) and, all seated on horseback in the Hunnic manner, negotiated a successful <!--del_lnk--> treaty: the Romans agreed not only to return the fugitive tribes (who had been a welcome aid against the <!--del_lnk--> Vandals), but also to double their previous tribute of 350 Roman pounds (ca. 114.5 kg) of gold, open their markets to Hunnish traders, and pay a ransom of eight <i><!--del_lnk--> solidi</i> for each Roman taken prisoner by the Huns. The Huns, satisfied with the treaty, decamped from the empire and departed into the interior of the <a href="../../wp/c/Continent.htm" title="Continent">continent</a>, perhaps to consolidate and strengthen their empire. Theodosius used this opportunity to strengthen the <!--del_lnk--> walls of Constantinople, building the city's first <!--del_lnk--> sea wall, and to build up his border defenses along the <a href="../../wp/d/Danube.htm" title="Danube">Danube</a>.<p>The Huns remained out of Roman sight for the next five years. During this time, they were conducting an <a href="../../wp/i/Invasion.htm" title="Invasion">invasion</a> of the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persian Empire</a>. However, in <a href="../../wp/a/Armenia.htm" title="Armenia">Armenia</a>, a Persian counterattack resulted in a defeat for Attila and Bleda, and they ceased their efforts to conquer Persia. In 440, they reappeared on the borders of the Roman Empire, attacking the merchants at the market on the north bank of the Danube that had been arranged for by the treaty. Attila and Bleda threatened further war, claiming that the Romans had failed to fulfill their treaty obligations and that the <!--del_lnk--> bishop of Margus (not far from modern <!--del_lnk--> Belgrade) had crossed the Danube to ransack and desecrate the royal Hun graves on the Danube's north bank. They crossed the Danube and laid waste to <!--del_lnk--> Illyrian cities and forts on the river, among them, according to <!--del_lnk--> Priscus, <!--del_lnk--> Viminacium, which was a city of the <!--del_lnk--> Moesians in Illyria. Their advance began at Margus, for when the Romans discussed handing over the offending bishop, he slipped away secretly to the Huns and betrayed the city to them...<p>Theodosius had stripped the river's defenses in response to the Vandal <!--del_lnk--> Geiseric's capture of <!--del_lnk--> Carthage in 440 and the <a href="../../wp/s/Sassanid_Empire.htm" title="Sassanid Empire">Sassanid</a> <!--del_lnk--> Yazdegerd II's invasion of <a href="../../wp/a/Armenia.htm" title="Armenia">Armenia</a> in 441. This left Attila and Bleda a clear path through Illyria into the Balkans, which they invaded in 441. The Hunnish army, having sacked Margus and Viminacium, took <!--del_lnk--> Singidunum (modern <!--del_lnk--> Belgrade) and <!--del_lnk--> Sirmium before halting its operations. A lull followed during 442, when Theodosius recalled his troops from <a href="../../wp/n/North_Africa.htm" title="North Africa">North Africa</a> and ordered a large new issue of coins to finance operations against the Huns. Having made these preparations, he thought it safe to refuse the Hunnish kings' demands.<p>Attila and Bleda responded by renewing their <!--del_lnk--> campaign in 443. Striking along the Danube, they overran the military centers of <!--del_lnk--> Ratiara and successfully besieged Naissus (modern <!--del_lnk--> Niš) with <!--del_lnk--> battering rams and rolling towers—military sophistication that was new in the Hun repertory—then pushing along the <!--del_lnk--> Nisava they took Serdica (<!--del_lnk--> Sofia), Philippopolis (<!--del_lnk--> Plovdiv), and <!--del_lnk--> Arcadiopolis. They encountered and destroyed the Roman force outside Constantinople and were only halted by their lack of <a href="../../wp/s/Siege.htm" title="Siege">siege equipment</a> capable of breaching the city's massive walls. Theodosius admitted defeat and sent the court official <!--del_lnk--> Anatolius to negotiate peace terms, which were harsher than the previous treaty: the Emperor agreed to hand over 6,000 Roman pounds (ca. 1,963 kg) of gold as punishment for having disobeyed the terms of the treaty during the invasion; the yearly tribute was tripled, rising to 2,100 Roman pounds (ca. 687 kg) in gold; and the ransom for each Roman prisoner rose to 12 <i>solidi</i>.<p>Their desires contented for a time, the Hun kings withdrew into the interior of their empire. According to <!--del_lnk--> Jordanes (following <!--del_lnk--> Priscus), sometime during the peace following the Huns' withdrawal from Byzantium (probably around 445), Bleda died (killed by his brother, according to the classical sources), and Attila took the throne for himself. Now undisputed lord of the Huns, he again turned towards the eastern Roman Empire.<p><a id="Sole_ruler" name="Sole_ruler"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Sole ruler</span></h2>
<p>Constantinople suffered major <a href="../../wp/n/Natural_disaster.htm" title="Natural disaster">natural</a> (and man-made) disasters in the years following the Huns' departure: bloody <!--del_lnk--> riots between the <!--del_lnk--> racing factions of the <!--del_lnk--> Hippodrome; <!--del_lnk--> plagues in 445 and 446, the second following a <a href="../../wp/f/Famine.htm" title="Famine">famine</a>; and a four-month series of <a href="../../wp/e/Earthquake.htm" title="Earthquake">earthquakes</a> which levelled much of the <!--del_lnk--> city wall and killed thousands, causing another <!--del_lnk--> epidemic. This last struck in 447, just as Attila, having consolidated his power, again rode south into the empire through <!--del_lnk--> Moesia. The <!--del_lnk--> Roman army, under the <!--del_lnk--> Gothic <i><!--del_lnk--> magister militum</i> <!--del_lnk--> Arnegisclus, met him on the river <!--del_lnk--> Vid and was defeated—though not without inflicting heavy losses. The Huns were left unopposed and rampaged through the Balkans as far as <!--del_lnk--> Thermopylae; Constantinople itself was saved by the intervention of the prefect <!--del_lnk--> Flavius Constantinus, who organized the citizenry to reconstruct the earthquake-damaged walls, and, in some places, to construct a new line of fortification in front of the old. An account of this invasion survives:<dl>
<dd><i>The barbarian nation of the Huns, which was in <!--del_lnk--> Thrace, became so great that more than a hundred cities were captured and Constantinople almost came into danger and most men fled from it. … And there were so many murders and blood-lettings that the dead could not be numbered. Ay, for they took captive the <!--del_lnk--> churches and <!--del_lnk--> monasteries and slew the monks and maidens in great numbers.</i><dl>
<dd>— Callinicus, in his <i>Life of Saint Hypatius</i></dl>
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<div style="width:277px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23382.jpg.htm" title="Mór Than's painting The Feast of Attila, based on a fragment of Priscus (depicted at right, dressed in white and holding his history): "When evening began to draw in, torches were lighted, and two barbarians came forward in front of Attila and sang songs which they had composed, hymning his victories and his great deeds in war. And the banqueters gazed at them, and some were rejoiced at the songs, others became excited at heart when they remembered the wars, but others broke into tears—those whose bodies were weakened by time and whose spirit was compelled to be at rest." "><img alt="Mór Than's painting The Feast of Attila, based on a fragment of Priscus (depicted at right, dressed in white and holding his history): "When evening began to draw in, torches were lighted, and two barbarians came forward in front of Attila and sang songs which they had composed, hymning his victories and his great deeds in war. And the banqueters gazed at them, and some were rejoiced at the songs, others became excited at heart when they remembered the wars, but others broke into tears—those whose bodies were weakened by time and whose spirit was compelled to be at rest." " height="187" longdesc="/wiki/Image:MorThanFeastofAttila.jpg" src="../../images/233/23382.jpg" width="275" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23382.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Mór Than's painting <i>The Feast of Attila</i>, based on a fragment of <!--del_lnk--> Priscus (depicted at right, dressed in white and holding his history):<br /><small>"When evening began to draw in, torches were lighted, and two barbarians came forward in front of Attila and sang songs which they had composed, hymning his victories and his great deeds in war. And the banqueters gazed at them, and some were rejoiced at the songs, others became excited at heart when they remembered the wars, but others broke into tears—those whose bodies were weakened by time and whose spirit was compelled to be at rest."</small></div>
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<p>Attila demanded, as a condition of peace, that the Romans should continue paying <!--del_lnk--> tribute in gold—and evacuate a strip of land stretching three hundred miles east from <!--del_lnk--> Singidunum (<!--del_lnk--> Belgrade) and up to a hundred miles south of the Danube. Negotiations continued between Roman and Hun for approximately three years. The <!--del_lnk--> historian <!--del_lnk--> Priscus was sent as emissary to Attila's encampment in 448, and the fragments of his reports preserved by Jordanes offer the best glimpse of Attila among his numerous wives, his <!--del_lnk--> Scythian fool, and his <!--del_lnk--> Moorish <!--del_lnk--> dwarf, impassive and unadorned amid the splendor of the courtiers:<dl>
<dd><i>A luxurious meal, served on <a href="../../wp/s/Silver.htm" title="Silver">silver</a> plate, had been made ready for us and the barbarian guests, but Attila ate nothing but meat on a wooden trencher. In everything else, too, he showed himself temperate; his cup was of wood, while to the guests were given goblets of gold and silver. His dress, too, was quite simple, affecting only to be clean. The sword he carried at his side, the latchets of his Scythian shoes, the bridle of his horse were not adorned, like those of the other Scythians, with gold or gems or anything costly.</i></dl>
<p>"The floor of the room was covered with woollen mats for walking on," Priscus noted.<p>During these three years, according to a legend recounted by Jordanes, Attila discovered the "Sword of Mars":<dl>
<dd><i>The historian Priscus says it was discovered under the following circumstances: "When a certain shepherd beheld one heifer of his flock limping and could find no cause for this wound, he anxiously followed the trail of blood and at length came to a sword it had unwittingly trampled while nibbling the grass. He dug it up and took it straight to Attila. He rejoiced at this gift and, being ambitious, thought he had been appointed ruler of the whole world, and that through the sword of Mars supremacy in all wars was assured to him.</i><dl>
<dd>— Jordanes, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Origin and Deeds of the Goths</i> ch. XXXV </dl>
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<p>Later scholarship would identify this legend as part of a pattern of sword worship common among the nomads of the <!--del_lnk--> Central Asian steppes.<p><a id="Attila_in_the_west" name="Attila_in_the_west"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Attila in the west</span></h2>
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<div style="width:216px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23383.jpg.htm" title="An inaccurate sketch of Attila the Hun, probably from the 19th century, depicts him as European, though the only extant description of his appearance by a Roman court historian suggests physical features common among Asians."><img alt="An inaccurate sketch of Attila the Hun, probably from the 19th century, depicts him as European, though the only extant description of his appearance by a Roman court historian suggests physical features common among Asians." height="172" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AttilaTheHun.jpg" src="../../images/233/23383.jpg" width="214" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">An inaccurate sketch of Attila the Hun, probably from the 19th century, depicts him as <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="European">European</a>, though the only extant description of his appearance by a Roman court historian suggests physical features common among <!--del_lnk--> Asians.</div>
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<p>As late as 450, Attila had proclaimed his intent to attack the powerful <!--del_lnk--> Visigoth kingdom of <!--del_lnk--> Toulouse in <!--del_lnk--> alliance with Emperor <!--del_lnk--> Valentinian III. He had previously been on good terms with the western Roman Empire and its <i><!--del_lnk--> de facto</i> ruler <!--del_lnk--> Flavius Aëtius—Aetius had spent a brief <!--del_lnk--> exile among the Huns in 433, and the troops Attila provided against the <!--del_lnk--> Goths and <!--del_lnk--> Bagaudae had helped earn him the largely honorary title of <i>magister militum</i> in the west. The gifts and diplomatic efforts of <!--del_lnk--> Geiseric, who opposed and feared the Visigoths, may also have influenced Attila's plans.<p>However Valentinian's sister <!--del_lnk--> Honoria, in order to escape her forced betrothal to a <!--del_lnk--> senator, had sent the Hunnish king a plea for help—and her <!--del_lnk--> ring—in the spring of 450. Though Honoria may not have intended a proposal of marriage, Attila chose to interpret her message as such; he accepted, asking for half of the western Empire as <!--del_lnk--> dowry. When Valentinian discovered the plan, only the influence of his mother <!--del_lnk--> Galla Placidia convinced him to exile, rather than kill, Honoria; he also wrote to Attila strenuously denying the legitimacy of the supposed marriage proposal. Attila, not convinced, sent an embassy to <!--del_lnk--> Ravenna to proclaim that Honoria was innocent, that the proposal had been legitimate, and that he would come to claim what was rightfully his.<p>Meanwhile, Theodosius having died in a horse riding accident, his successor <!--del_lnk--> Marcian cut off the Huns' tribute in late 450; and multiple invasions, by the Huns and by others, had left the Balkans with little to plunder. The king of the <!--del_lnk--> Salian Franks had died, and the succession struggle between his two sons drove a rift between Attila and Aetius: Attila supported the elder son, while Aetius supported the younger. <!--del_lnk--> J.B. Bury believes that Attila's intent, by the time he marched west, was to extend his kingdom—already the strongest on the continent—across <!--del_lnk--> Gaul to the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic</a> shore. By the time Attila had gathered his <!--del_lnk--> vassals—<!--del_lnk--> Gepids, <!--del_lnk--> Ostrogoths, <!--del_lnk--> Rugians, <!--del_lnk--> Scirians, <!--del_lnk--> Heruls, <!--del_lnk--> Thuringians, <!--del_lnk--> Alans, <!--del_lnk--> Burgundians, et al.—and begun his march west, he had declared intent of alliance both with the Visigoths and with the Romans.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23384.png.htm" title="The general path of the Hun forces in the invasion of Gaul, leading up to the Battle of Chalons."><img alt="The general path of the Hun forces in the invasion of Gaul, leading up to the Battle of Chalons." height="229" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Attila_in_Gaul_451CE.svg" src="../../images/233/23384.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23384.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The general path of the Hun forces in the invasion of Gaul, leading up to the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Chalons.</div>
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<p>In 451, his arrival in <!--del_lnk--> Belgica with an army exaggerated by Jordanes to half a million strong soon made his intent clear. On <!--del_lnk--> April 7, he captured <!--del_lnk--> Metz, and Aetius moved to oppose him, gathering troops from among the <a href="../../wp/f/Franks.htm" title="Franks">Franks</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Burgundians, and the <!--del_lnk--> Celts. A mission by <!--del_lnk--> Avitus, and Attila's continued westward advance, convinced the Visigoth king <!--del_lnk--> Theodoric I (Theodorid) to ally with the Romans. The combined armies reached <!--del_lnk--> Orleans ahead of Attila, thus checking and turning back the Hunnish advance. Aetius gave chase and caught the Huns at a place usually assumed to be near <!--del_lnk--> Châlons-en-Champagne. The two armies clashed in the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Chalons, whose outcome commonly, though erroneously, is attributed to be a victory for the Gothic-Roman alliance. Theodoric was killed in the fighting. Aetius failed to press his advantage, according to Gibbon because he feared the consequences of an overwhelming Visogothic triumph as much as he did a defeat. From Aetius' point of view, the best outcome was what occurred: Theodoric dead, Attila in retreat and disarray, and the Romans having the benefit of appearing victorious. Thus the alliance quickly disbanded. Attila withdrew but returned to continue his campaign against Italy the following year.<p>Perhaps Sir Edward Creasy best summarized Aetius's intentions at the Battle of Chalons:<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dd>It is probable that the crafty Aëtius was unwilling to be too victorious. He dreaded the glory which his allies the Visigoths had acquired, and feared that Rome might find a second Alaric in Prince Thorismund, who had signalized himself in the battle, and had been chosen on the field to succeed his father, Theodoric. He persuaded the young king to return at once to his capital, and thus relieved himself at the same time of the presence of a dangerous friend, as well as of a formidable though beaten foe.</dl>
</dl>
<p>Gibbon states the majority view also quite eloquently: "(Attila's) retreat across the Rhine confessed the last victory which was achieved in the name of the Western Roman Empire."<p><a id="Invasion_of_Italy_and_death" name="Invasion_of_Italy_and_death"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Invasion of Italy and death</span></h2>
<p>Attila returned in 452 to claim his marriage to Honoria anew, invading and ravaging <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a> along the way; his army sacked numerous cities and razed <!--del_lnk--> Aquileia completely, leaving no trace of it behind. Legend has it he built a castle on top of a hill north of <!--del_lnk--> Aquileia to watch the city burn - thus founding the town of <!--del_lnk--> Udine, where the castle can still be found. Valentinian fled from <!--del_lnk--> Ravenna to <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a>; Aetius remained in the field but lacked the strength to offer battle. Gibbon however says Aetius never showed his greatness more clearly in managing to harass and slow Attila's advance with only a shadow force. Attila finally halted at the <!--del_lnk--> Po, where he met an embassy including the <!--del_lnk--> prefect <!--del_lnk--> Trigetius, the <!--del_lnk--> consul <!--del_lnk--> Aviennus, and <!--del_lnk--> Pope Leo I. After the meeting, he turned his army back, having claimed neither Honoria's hand nor the territories he desired.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:277px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23385.jpg.htm" title="Raphael's The Meeting between Leo the Great and Attila shows Leo I, with Saint Peter and Saint Paul above him, going to meet Attila"><img alt="Raphael's The Meeting between Leo the Great and Attila shows Leo I, with Saint Peter and Saint Paul above him, going to meet Attila" height="155" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Leoattila-Raphael.jpg" src="../../images/233/23385.jpg" width="275" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23385.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Raphael's <i>The Meeting between Leo the Great and Attila</i> shows Leo I, with Saint Peter and Saint Paul above him, going to meet Attila</div>
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<p>Several explanations for his actions have been proffered. The <!--del_lnk--> plague and <a href="../../wp/f/Famine.htm" title="Famine">famine</a> which coincided with his invasion may have caused his army to weaken, or the troops that Marcian sent across the Danube may have given him reason to retreat, or perhaps both. <!--del_lnk--> Priscus reports that superstitious fear of the fate of <!--del_lnk--> Alaric—who died shortly after sacking Rome in 410—gave the Hun pause. <!--del_lnk--> Prosper of Aquitaine's pious "fable which has been represented by the pencil of <a href="../../wp/r/Raphael.htm" title="Raphael">Raphael</a> and the chisel of <!--del_lnk--> Algardi" (as <a href="../../wp/e/Edward_Gibbon.htm" title="Edward Gibbon">Gibbon</a> called it) says that the Pope, aided by <!--del_lnk--> Saint Peter and <a href="../../wp/p/Paul_of_Tarsus.htm" title="Paul of Tarsus">Saint Paul</a>, convinced him to turn away from the city.<p>Whatever his reasons, Attila left Italy and returned to his palace across the Danube. From there, he planned to strike at Constantinople again and reclaim the tribute which Marcian had cut off. However, he died in the early months of 453; the conventional account, from Priscus, says that on the night after a feast celebrating his latest marriage to the beautiful and young <!--del_lnk--> Ildico (if uncorrupted, the name suggests a Germanic origin) he suffered a severe <!--del_lnk--> nosebleed and choked to death in a stupor. An alternative to the nosebleed theory is that he succumbed to internal bleeding after heavy drinking. His warriors, upon discovering his death, mourned him by cutting off their hair and gashing themselves with their swords so that, says Jordanes, "the greatest of all warriors should be mourned with no feminine lamentations and with no tears, but with the blood of men." His horsemen galloped in circles around the silken tent when Attila lay in state, singing in his <!--del_lnk--> dirge, according to <!--del_lnk--> Cassiodorus and Jordanes, "Who can rate this as death, when none believes it calls for vengeance?" then celebrating a <i><!--del_lnk--> strava</i> over his burial place with great feasting. Legend says that he was laid to rest in a triple coffin—of gold, silver, and iron— along with some of the spoils of his conquests. His men diverted a section of the <!--del_lnk--> Duna, buried the coffin under the riverbed, and then were killed to keep the exact location a secret. After his death, he lived on as a legendary figure: the characters of <i>Etzel</i> in the <i><!--del_lnk--> Nibelungenlied</i> and <i>Atli</i> in both the <i><!--del_lnk--> Volsunga saga</i> and the <i><!--del_lnk--> Poetic Edda</i> were both loosely based on his life.<p>An alternate story of his death, first recorded 80 years after the fact by the Roman chronicler <!--del_lnk--> Count Marcellinus, reports: "<i>Attila rex Hunnorum Europae orbator provinciae noctu mulieris manu cultroque confoditur.</i>" ("Attila, King of the Huns and ravager of the provinces of Europe, was pierced by the hand and blade of his wife.") The <i>Volsunga saga</i> and the <i>Poetic Edda</i> claim that King Atli (Attila) died at the hands of his wife <!--del_lnk--> Gudrun. Most scholars reject these accounts as no more than romantic fables, preferring instead the version given by Attila's contemporary Priscus. The "official" account by Priscus, however, has recently come under renewed scrutiny by Michael A. Babcock. Based on detailed <!--del_lnk--> philological analysis, Babcock concludes that the account of natural death, given by Priscus, was an ecclesiastical "cover story" and that Emperor Marcian (who ruled the Eastern Roman Empire from 450-457) was the political force behind Attila's death.<p>His sons, <!--del_lnk--> Ellak (his appointed successor), <!--del_lnk--> Dengizich, and <!--del_lnk--> Ernakh, fought over the division of his legacy—"what warlike kings with their peoples should be apportioned to them by lot like a family estate" and, divided, were defeated and scattered the following year in the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Nedao by the Gepids, under <!--del_lnk--> Ardaric, whose pride was stirred by being treated with his people like chattel, and the Ostrogoths. Attila's empire did not outlast him.<p>Medieval culture was full of rulers who boasted having a highest and mightiest ancestry. Attila the Hun, despite being from Asia and a conqueror ("barbarian") received his share of medieval dynasties whose clan legends maintain them to descend from Attila. One of the most credible claims have been the tsars of <a href="../../wp/b/Bulgaria.htm" title="Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a>. Attila's many children and relatives are known by name and some even by deeds, but soon valid genealogical sources all but dry up, and there seems to be no verifiable way to trace Attila's descent. However, attempts have been made: <!--del_lnk--> Descent from Attila the Hun. Many genealogists attempted to reconstruct a <!--del_lnk--> valid line of descent from Attila to <a href="../../wp/c/Charlemagne.htm" title="Charlemagne">Charlemagne</a>, but no one succeeded in working out a generally accepted route. See more at <!--del_lnk--> Attila the Hun to Charlemagne.<p>It should be noted that the founding of the famous city of <!--del_lnk--> Venice can be directly attributed to Attila and the Huns. The residents would flee to small islands in the <!--del_lnk--> Venetian Lagoon when Attila would invade Italy. The people eventually built a city there.<p><a id="Appearance.2C_character.2C_and_name" name="Appearance.2C_character.2C_and_name"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Appearance, character, and name</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:272px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23386.jpg.htm" title="Attila. From an illustration to the Poetic Edda."><img alt="Attila. From an illustration to the Poetic Edda." height="426" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Atli.jpg" src="../../images/233/23386.jpg" width="270" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23386.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Attila.<br /> From an illustration to the <!--del_lnk--> Poetic Edda.</div>
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<p>The main source for information on Attila is <!--del_lnk--> Priscus, a historian who traveled with <!--del_lnk--> Maximin on an embassy from Theodosius II in 448. He describes the village the nomadic Huns had built and settled down in as the size of the great city with solid wooden walls. He described Attila himself as:<blockquote>
<p>"short of stature, with a broad chest and a large head; his eyes were small, his beard thin and sprinkled with gray; and he had a flat nose and a swarthy complexion, showing the evidences of his origin."</blockquote>
<p>Attila's physical appearance was most likely that of an <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Asian or more specifically a <!--del_lnk--> Mongol-related <!--del_lnk--> ethnicity, or perhaps a mixture of this type and the <!--del_lnk--> Turkic (peoples of <!--del_lnk--> Central Asia). Indeed, he probably exhibited the characteristic Eastern Asian facial features, which Europeans were not used to seeing, and so they often described him in harsh terms.<p>Attila is known in Western history and tradition as the grim "Scourge of God", and his name has become a byword for cruelty and <!--del_lnk--> barbarism. Some of this may arise from a conflation of his traits, in the popular imagination, with those perceived in later <!--del_lnk--> steppe warlords such as the <!--del_lnk--> Mongol <!--del_lnk--> Genghis <!--del_lnk--> Khan and <a href="../../wp/t/Timur.htm" title="Timur">Tamerlane</a>: all run together as cruel, clever, and sanguinary lovers of battle and pillage. The reality of his character may be more complex. The Huns of Attila's era had been mingling with Roman civilization for some time, largely through the Germanic <i><!--del_lnk--> foederati</i> of the border—so that by the time of Theodosius's embassy in 448, Priscus could identify <!--del_lnk--> Hunnic, <!--del_lnk--> Gothic, and <a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a> as the three common languages of the horde. Priscus also recounts his meeting with an eastern Roman captive who had so fully <!--del_lnk--> assimilated into the Huns' way of life that he had no desire to return to his former country, and the Byzantine historian's description of Attila's humility and simplicity is unambiguous in its admiration.<p>The name Attila could be of pre-<!--del_lnk--> Turkic (<!--del_lnk--> Altaic) origin (compare it with <!--del_lnk--> Atatürk and <i>Alma-Ata</i>, now called <a href="../../wp/a/Almaty.htm" title="Almaty">Almaty</a>). It most probably originates from <i>atta</i> ("father") and <i>il</i> ("land"), meaning "Land-Father". <!--del_lnk--> Atil was also the <!--del_lnk--> Altaic name of the present-day <!--del_lnk--> Volga river which may have given its name to Attila. Attila is a frequently occuring name in the Hungarian and Turkish languages. Some experts say that Attila signifies "steel", "acél" (a-ts-ae-l) is the Hungarian word denoting "steel"; and this is phonetically similar to Attila.<div style="clear: both">
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<p><a id="Later_literary_representations" name="Later_literary_representations"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Later literary representations</span></h2>
<p>The historical context of Attila's life played a large part in determining his later public image: in the waning years of the western Empire, his conflicts with Aetius (often called the "last of the Romans") and the strangeness of his culture both helped dress him in the mask of the ferocious barbarian and enemy of civilization, as he has been portrayed in any number of films and other works of art.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> the Divine Comedy, he appears in the seventh circle of Hell, immersed in a river of boiling blood, and is called "the scourge of Earth". Dante also charges him with the destruction of Florence, but this is a blunder by the author, who has him confused with the <!--del_lnk--> Ostrogoth warlord <!--del_lnk--> Totila.<p>The Germanic epics in which he appears offer more nuanced depictions: he is both a noble and generous ally, as <!--del_lnk--> Etzel in the <i>Nibelungenlied</i>, and a cruel miser, as Ætla in <!--del_lnk--> Widsith,as Atli in the <i>Volsunga Saga</i> and the <i>Poetic Edda</i>. Some national histories, though, always portray him favorably; in <a href="../../wp/h/Hungary.htm" title="Hungary">Hungary</a> and <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> the names of Attila (sometimes as Atilla in <!--del_lnk--> Turkish), his last wife Ildikó and his brother <!--del_lnk--> Bleda remain popular to this day. In a similar vein, the Hungarian author <!--del_lnk--> Géza Gárdonyi's novel <i>A láthatatlan ember</i> (published in English as <i>Slave of the Huns</i>, and largely based on Priscus) offered a sympathetic portrait of Attila as a wise and beloved leader. And he is a powerfully dominant, extraordinarily charismatic figure in William Napier's ongoing trilogy, <i>Attila</i>, volume one appearing in 2005.<p>The British writer <!--del_lnk--> Anthony Burgess wrote a biographical <!--del_lnk--> novella about Attila entitled <i>Hun</i> which was published in the story collection <!--del_lnk--> The Devil's Mode.<p>
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<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attila_the_Hun"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Auckland</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geography_of_Oceania_Australasia.htm">Geography of Oceania (Australasia)</a></h3>
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<td align="center" bgcolor="#F9F9F9" colspan="2"><big><b>Auckland</b></big></td>
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<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/233/23387.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="364" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auckland.PNG" src="../../images/233/23387.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
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<td>Population:</td>
<td>1,241,600<sup>1</sup></td>
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<td>Area:</td>
<td>1,086 km² (419 sq mi)</td>
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<td>Location:</td>
<td><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 36°51′S 174°47′E</span></td>
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<td>Mayor:</td>
<td>Multiple, including <!--del_lnk--> Dick Hubbard, Sir <!--del_lnk--> Barry Curtis, <!--del_lnk--> Bob Harvey, <!--del_lnk--> John Law, <!--del_lnk--> George Wood</td>
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<th align="center" bgcolor="#BFDFFF" colspan="2">Urban Area</th>
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<td>Extent:</td>
<td>North to Waiwera,<br /> northwest to <!--del_lnk--> Kumeu,<br /> east to Maraetai,<br /> south to <!--del_lnk--> Drury and Runciman;<br /> excludes <!--del_lnk--> Waitakere Ranges<br /> & <!--del_lnk--> Hauraki Gulf Islands</td>
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<th align="center" bgcolor="#BFDFFF" colspan="2">Territorial Authorities</th>
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<td>Names:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Auckland City<br /><!--del_lnk--> North Shore City<br />
<p>Urban parts of <!--del_lnk--> Waitakere City and <!--del_lnk--> Manukau City<br /><!--del_lnk--> Papakura District<br /> Some parts of <!--del_lnk--> Rodney District and <!--del_lnk--> Franklin District</td>
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<td>Regional Council:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Auckland</td>
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<th align="left" colspan="2"><small><sup>1</sup><!--del_lnk--> Statistics New Zealand estimated resident population, Auckland Urban Area, 30 June 2005.</small></th>
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<p>The <b>Auckland Metropolitan Area</b>, or <b>Greater Auckland</b>, in the <!--del_lnk--> North Island of <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a>, is the largest <!--del_lnk--> urban area in New Zealand. With over 1.2 million people it has over a quarter of the country's population, and demographics trends still cause it to grow faster than the rest of New Zealand.<p>It is a <!--del_lnk--> conurbation, made up of <!--del_lnk--> Auckland City (excluding the Hauraki Gulf islands), <!--del_lnk--> North Shore City, and the urban parts of <!--del_lnk--> Waitakere and <!--del_lnk--> Manukau cities, along with <!--del_lnk--> Papakura District and some nearby urban parts of <!--del_lnk--> Rodney and <!--del_lnk--> Franklin Districts. In <!--del_lnk--> Māori it bears the traditional name <b>Tāmaki Makau Rau</b> or the transcribed version of Auckland, <b>Ākarana</b>.<p>Auckland lies between the <!--del_lnk--> Hauraki Gulf of the <a href="../../wp/p/Pacific_Ocean.htm" title="Pacific Ocean">Pacific Ocean</a> to the east, the low <!--del_lnk--> Hunua Ranges to the south-east, the <!--del_lnk--> Manukau Harbour to the south-west, and the <!--del_lnk--> Waitakere Ranges and smaller ranges to the west and north-west. The central part of the urban area occupies a narrow <!--del_lnk--> isthmus between the <!--del_lnk--> Manukau Harbour on the <!--del_lnk--> Tasman Sea and the <!--del_lnk--> Waitemata Harbour on the <a href="../../wp/p/Pacific_Ocean.htm" title="Pacific Ocean">Pacific Ocean</a>. It is one of the few cities in the world to have harbours on two separate bodies of water.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p><a id="Early_M.C4.81ori_and_European_settlers" name="Early_M.C4.81ori_and_European_settlers"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Early Māori and European settlers</span></h3>
<p>The isthmus was first settled around 1350 and was valued for its rich and fertile land. Many <i><!--del_lnk--> pa</i> (fortified villages) were created, mainly on the volcanic peaks. Māori population is estimated to have peaked at 20,000 before the arrival of Europeans. This event - and the guns which they traded to local <!--del_lnk--> iwi - upset the local power balances. This resulted in extensive inter-tribal warfare, which together with some introduced plagues resulted in the area having relatively low numbers of Māori when European settlement in New Zealand started in earnest (there is however no indication that this was the result of a deliberate European policy).<p><a id="Birth_of_the_city" name="Birth_of_the_city"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Birth of the city</span></h3>
<p>After the signing of the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Waitangi in February 1840 the new Governor of New Zealand, <!--del_lnk--> William Hobson chose the area as his new capital. However, even in 1840, <!--del_lnk--> Port Nicholson (later <a href="../../wp/w/Wellington.htm" title="Wellington">Wellington</a>), was seen as a better choice for an administrative capital, due to its closeness to the <!--del_lnk--> South Island, which was being settled much faster.<p>Nonetheless, even after losing its status as capital in 1865, immigration to the new city stayed strong.<p><a id="Growth_up_to_today" name="Growth_up_to_today"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Growth up to today</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:272px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23388.png.htm" title="Schematic map of Auckland."><img alt="Schematic map of Auckland." height="321" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aucklandmap.png" src="../../images/233/23388.png" width="270" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23388.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Schematic map of Auckland.</div>
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<p>Becoming a base against the <!--del_lnk--> Māori King Movement in the early <!--del_lnk--> 1860s, and continued road building towards the south into the <!--del_lnk--> Waikato, enabled <!--del_lnk--> Pākehā (White New Zealanders) influence to spread out from Auckland. It also grew fairly rapidly, from 1,500 in 1841 to 12,423 by 1864. The growth occurred similarly to other <!--del_lnk--> mercantile-dominated cities, mainly around the port, and with many of the problems of overcrowding and pollution common to it.<p>Trams and railway lines shaped Aucklands rapid extension in the early first half of the 20th century, but soon after, the dominance of the motor vehicle emerged, and has not abated since, with aterial roads and motorways becoming a defining (and geographically dividing) feature of the urban landscape. They also allowed further massive expansion, resulting in the growth of associated urbanities like <!--del_lnk--> North Shore (especially after the construction of the <!--del_lnk--> Auckland Harbour Bridge, and <!--del_lnk--> Manukau City in the south.<p>To this day, a large percentage of Auckland is still dominated by a very <!--del_lnk--> suburban style of building, giving the city a very low <!--del_lnk--> population density: although it has not much more than a seventh of the population of London, it sprawls over a considerably larger area - a fact that serves to make public transport by Auckland's rail and bus systems unpopular and uneconomic (car usage costs fall slightly with decreasing urban density, while public transport costs rise sharply, even if less capital-intensive types like bus services are used in the less dense zones).<p><a id="Future_growth" name="Future_growth"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Future growth</span></h3>
<p>Aucklands problems with <!--del_lnk--> urban sprawl, due to rapid population growth and its automobile-centred transportation system, are now slowly being addressed in planning. As Auckland is set to grow to an estimated 2 million inhabitants by the year 2050, a Regional Growth Strategy was adopted, which sees limits on further subdivision and intensification of existing use as its main <!--del_lnk--> sustainability measures. <p><a id="Geography_and_climate" name="Geography_and_climate"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography and climate</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23389.jpg.htm" title="Nearing Rangitoto from Auckland."><img alt="Nearing Rangitoto from Auckland." height="301" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auckland_Rangitoto_n.jpg" src="../../images/233/23389.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23389.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Nearing <!--del_lnk--> Rangitoto from Auckland.</div>
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<p><a id="Volcanoes" name="Volcanoes"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Volcanoes</span></h3>
<p>Auckland straddles the <a href="../../wp/v/Volcano.htm" title="Volcano">volcanoes</a> of the <!--del_lnk--> Auckland Volcanic Field. The 50 volcanic vents in the field take the form of cones, lakes, lagoons, islands and depressions, and several have produced extensive lava flows. Most of the cones have been partly or completely quarried away. The volcanoes are all individually extinct, although the volcanic field itself is merely dormant.<p>The most recent and by far the largest volcano, <!--del_lnk--> Rangitoto Island, was formed within the last 1000 years, and its eruptions destroyed the Māori settlements on neighbouring <!--del_lnk--> Motutapu Island. Rangitoto's size, its symmetry, its position guarding the entrance to <!--del_lnk--> Waitemata Harbour and its visibility from many parts of the Auckland region make it Auckland's most iconic natural feature. It is eerily quiet as almost no birds and insects have settled on the island because of the rich acidic soil and type of flora that has adapted to grow out of the black broken rocky soil.<p><a id="Hauraki_Gulf_islands" name="Hauraki_Gulf_islands"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Hauraki Gulf islands</span></h3>
<p>Several islands of the <!--del_lnk--> Hauraki Gulf are administered as part of Auckland City, though they are not officially part of the Auckland metropolitan area. Parts of <!--del_lnk--> Waiheke Island effectively function as Auckland suburbs, however, while various smaller islands near Auckland are mostly recreational open space or nature sanctuaries.<p><a id="Isthmus_and_harbours" name="Isthmus_and_harbours"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Isthmus and harbours</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:272px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23390.jpg.htm" title="Auckland CBD seen from across Okahu Bay."><img alt="Auckland CBD seen from across Okahu Bay." height="176" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AucklandAcrossTheWater_2004_SeanMcClean.jpg" src="../../images/233/23390.jpg" width="270" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23390.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Auckland CBD seen from across Okahu Bay.</div>
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<p>Auckland lies on and around an <!--del_lnk--> isthmus, less than 2 kilometres wide at its narrowest point, between <!--del_lnk--> Mangere Inlet and the <!--del_lnk--> Tamaki River. There are two harbours in the Auckland urban area surrounding this isthmus, <!--del_lnk--> Waitemata Harbour to the north, which opens east to the <!--del_lnk--> Hauraki Gulf, and <!--del_lnk--> Manukau Harbour to the south, which opens west to the <!--del_lnk--> Tasman Sea.<p>Bridges span parts of both these harbours, most notably the <!--del_lnk--> Auckland Harbour Bridge crossing the Waitemata Harbour west of the Auckland CBD. The upper reaches of the Manukau and Waitemata Harbours are spanned by <!--del_lnk--> Mangere Bridge and the <!--del_lnk--> Upper Harbour Bridge respectively. In earlier times, <!--del_lnk--> portage paths connected both sides of the sea at the narrowest sections of the isthmus.<p><a id="Climate" name="Climate"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Climate</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:272px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23391.jpg.htm" title="View towards Auckland CBD from the top of the Mt Eden volcanic cone."><img alt="View towards Auckland CBD from the top of the Mt Eden volcanic cone." height="114" longdesc="/wiki/Image:View_of_Aukland_from_outside_city.JPG" src="../../images/233/23391.jpg" width="270" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23391.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> View towards Auckland CBD from the top of the <!--del_lnk--> Mt Eden volcanic cone.</div>
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<p>Auckland has a warm-temperate climate, with warm, humid summers and mild, damp winters. January temperatures average 21-24 <!--del_lnk--> °C. February can be warmer than January, but temperatures rarely exceed 30 °C July maximum temperatures average 14-16 °C. High levels of rainfall occur almost year-round (an average of 1249 mm per year), especially in winter. Climatic conditions vary in different parts of the city owing to geography such as hills, land cover and distance from the sea. On <!--del_lnk--> 27 July <!--del_lnk--> 1939 Auckland received its only snow fall in recorded history. This is unlike some <!--del_lnk--> South Island cities like <!--del_lnk--> Christchurch, which regularly gets snow down to sea level.<p>The unusual early morning calm on the isthmus during settled weather, before the sea breeze rises, was described as early as 1853: <i>"In all seasons, the beauty of the day is in the early morning. At that time, generally, a solemn stillness holds, and a perfect calm prevails..."</i> Many Aucklanders use this time of day to walk and run in parks. <p>As car ownership rates are very high, and emissions controls relatively weak in New Zealand, Auckland suffers from an elevated level of <!--del_lnk--> air pollution. This can sometimes be visible as <a href="../../wp/s/Smog.htm" title="Smog">smog</a>, especially on calm winter days. However, the maritime local climate ensures that most pollution is eventually dispersed, and thus the smog never reaches levels as seen, for example, in <!--del_lnk--> Los Angeles or <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico_City.htm" title="Mexico City">Mexico City</a>.<p><a id="People" name="People"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">People</span></h2>
<p><a id="Cultures" name="Cultures"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Cultures</span></h3>
<p>Auckland serves as a home to many cultures. The majority of inhabitants claim European - predominantly British - descent, but substantial <!--del_lnk--> Māori, <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Islander and <!--del_lnk--> Asian communities exist as well. Auckland has the largest <!--del_lnk--> Polynesian population of any city in the world.<p>A large proportion of the population is also made up of people of Asian origin (mainly <!--del_lnk--> East Asian and <!--del_lnk--> South Asian). This is due to New Zealand's world-leading level of immigration, which flows primarily into Auckland. Ethnic groups from all corners of the world have a presence in Auckland, making it by far the country's most <!--del_lnk--> cosmopolitan city. It is estimated that over 14 people from other countries immigrate to Auckland every day. This strong focus on Auckland has led the immigration services to award extra points towards immigration visa requirements for people intending to move to other parts of New Zealand.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:272px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23392.jpg.htm" title="Auckland CBD at night, with the 'Captain Cook Wharf' part of the port in the foreground."><img alt="Auckland CBD at night, with the 'Captain Cook Wharf' part of the port in the foreground." height="131" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auk_city_night.jpg" src="../../images/233/23392.jpg" width="270" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23392.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Auckland CBD at night, with the 'Captain Cook Wharf' part of the port in the foreground.</div>
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<p>The 2001 <!--del_lnk--> New Zealand Census showed that:<ul>
<li>66.9% of people in the Auckland Urban Area belong to <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="European">European</a> ethnic groups.<li>14.9% of people in the Auckland Urban Area belong to <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Island ethnic groups.<li>14.6% of people in the Auckland Urban Area belong to <!--del_lnk--> Asian ethnic groups.<li>11.5% of people in the Auckland Urban Area belong to the <!--del_lnk--> Māori ethnic group.<li>1.3% of people in the Auckland Urban Area belong to other ethnic groups.</ul>
<p>(These percentages do not add up to 100%, as some people belong to more than one ethnic group).<p><a id="Religion" name="Religion"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Religion</span></h3>
<p>Like the rest of the country, more than half of Aucklanders are nominally <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christian</a>, but fewer than 10% regularly attend church and almost 40% profess no religious affiliation (2001 census figures). The main denominations are <!--del_lnk--> Anglican, <!--del_lnk--> Presbyterian and <!--del_lnk--> Roman Catholic. <!--del_lnk--> Pentecostal and <!--del_lnk--> charismatic churches are the fastest growing. The charismatic and <!--del_lnk--> fundamentalist <!--del_lnk--> Destiny Church, headquartered in Auckland, has gained headlines because of its political activities. A higher percentage of <!--del_lnk--> Polynesian immigrants are regular churchgoers than other Aucklanders, although church attendance drops off in second- or third-generation Polynesian Aucklanders. Other immigrant cultures have added to the religious diversity of the city, adding faiths such as <a href="../../wp/b/Buddhism.htm" title="Buddhism">Buddhism</a>, <a href="../../wp/h/Hinduism.htm" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Sikhism.htm" title="Sikhism">Sikhism</a> to Auckland's religious landscape. There is also a small, long-established <a href="../../wp/j/Judaism.htm" title="Judaism">Jewish</a> community. There is an even smaller <!--del_lnk--> Rationalist group.<p><a id="Lifestyle" name="Lifestyle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Lifestyle</span></h2>
<p>Positive aspects of Auckland life are its mild climate, plentiful employment and educational opportunities, as well as numerous leisure facilities. Meanwhile, traffic problems (compared to other New Zealand cities), the lack of good public transport, and increasing housing costs have been cited by many Aucklanders as among the strongest negative factors of living there , together with crime (which is still low for a city of its size ). Nonetheless, Auckland currently ranks 5th behind <!--del_lnk--> Zurich and <a href="../../wp/g/Geneva.htm" title="Geneva">Geneva</a> in a survey of the quality of life of the world's top 55 cities . In 2006, Auckland also placed 23rd on the UBS list of the world's richest cities.<p><a id="Leisure" name="Leisure"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Leisure</span></h3>
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<div style="width:272px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23393.jpg.htm" title="City Of Sails - View over the Westhaven Marina."><img alt="City Of Sails - View over the Westhaven Marina." height="203" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auckland-CityOfSails.jpg" src="../../images/233/23393.jpg" width="270" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23393.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> City Of Sails - View over the Westhaven Marina.</div>
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<p>Auckland is popularly known as the "City of Sails" because the harbour is often dotted with hundreds of yachts and has more per capita than any other city in the world. <!--del_lnk--> Viaduct Basin hosted two <!--del_lnk--> America's Cup challenges, and its cafes, restaurants, and clubs add to Auckland's vibrant nightlife.<p>High Street, <!--del_lnk--> Queen Street, <!--del_lnk--> Ponsonby Road, and <!--del_lnk--> Karangahape Road are also very popular with urban socialites. <!--del_lnk--> Newmarket and Parnell are upmarket shopping centres. <!--del_lnk--> Otara's and <!--del_lnk--> Avondale's famous fleamarkets and <!--del_lnk--> Victoria Park Market are a colourful alternative shopping experience. There are major shopping malls at <!--del_lnk--> Sylvia Park, <!--del_lnk--> Botany Town Centre, <!--del_lnk--> Albany, and <!--del_lnk--> St Lukes.<p>The Auckland Town Hall and Aotea Centre host conferences and cultural events such as theatre, <!--del_lnk--> kapa haka, and opera. Many national treasures are displayed at the <!--del_lnk--> Auckland Art Gallery, such as the work of <!--del_lnk--> Colin McCahon.<p>Other significant cultural artefacts reside at the <!--del_lnk--> Auckland War Memorial Museum, the <!--del_lnk--> National Maritime Museum, and the <!--del_lnk--> Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT). Exotic creatures can be observed at the <!--del_lnk--> Auckland Zoo and <!--del_lnk--> Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World. Movies and rock concerts (notably, the "<!--del_lnk--> Big Day Out") are also well patronised.<p><a id="Parks_.26_Nature" name="Parks_.26_Nature"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Parks & Nature</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:602px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23394.jpg.htm" title="Panoramic view over Auckland from Mount Eden"><img alt="Panoramic view over Auckland from Mount Eden" height="86" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auckland_pan_view_from_mount_eden.jpg" src="../../images/233/23394.jpg" width="600" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23394.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Panoramic view over Auckland from Mount Eden</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Auckland Domain is one of the largest parks of the city, situated close to the <!--del_lnk--> CBD and having a good view of the bay and of <!--del_lnk--> Rangitoto island. Smaller parks also close to Queen Street are <!--del_lnk--> Victoria Park, <!--del_lnk--> Myers Park and <!--del_lnk--> Albert Park.<p>Most of the remaining volcanic cones are surrounded by parks, with notable examples including <!--del_lnk--> Mount Eden, <!--del_lnk--> Mount Victoria and <!--del_lnk--> One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie). <!--del_lnk--> Western Springs has a large park bordering on the MOTAT and the Zoo. The <!--del_lnk--> Auckland Botanical Gardens are well to the south of the main city.<p>Ferries provide transport to <!--del_lnk--> Devonport, <!--del_lnk--> Waiheke Island and <!--del_lnk--> Rangitoto Island. The <!--del_lnk--> Waitakere Ranges Regional Park to the west of the Region offers beautiful and relatively unspoiled 'bush' territory.<p><a id="Sport" name="Sport"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sport</span></h3>
<p>Auckland has its fair share of rugby and cricket grounds, and venues for motorsports, tennis, badminton, swimming, soccer, rugby league, and many other sports.<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Eden Park is the city's primary <!--del_lnk--> stadium and a frequent home for <a href="../../wp/a/All_Blacks.htm" title="All Blacks">All Blacks</a> <!--del_lnk--> rugby and <!--del_lnk--> Black Caps <a href="../../wp/c/Cricket.htm" title="Cricket">cricket</a> matches.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Mt Smart Stadium is used mainly for <!--del_lnk--> rugby league and <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">soccer</a> matches, but also used for concerts.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Western Springs Stadium is a natural <!--del_lnk--> amphitheatre used mainly for <!--del_lnk--> speedway races, <!--del_lnk--> rock and <!--del_lnk--> pop <!--del_lnk--> concerts.</ul>
<p>Waitemata Harbour has popular beaches at <!--del_lnk--> Mission Bay, <!--del_lnk--> Devonport, <!--del_lnk--> Takapuna, Long Bay and Maraetai, and the west coast has popular surf spots such as <!--del_lnk--> Piha and <!--del_lnk--> Muriwai. Many Auckland beaches are patrolled by <!--del_lnk--> surf lifesaving clubs which are part of <!--del_lnk--> Surf Life Saving Northern Region.<p>Popular annual sporting events include:<ul>
<li>The 'Cross Harbour Swim' from <!--del_lnk--> Devonport to the Auckland CBD is a yearly summer event.</ul>
<ul>
<li>The 'Round the Bays' <!--del_lnk--> fun-run, starting in the city and going 8.4 kilometres (5.2 miles) along the waterfront to the suburb of <!--del_lnk--> St Heliers. It attracts many tens of thousands of people and has been an annual March event since <!--del_lnk--> 1972.</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Auckland Marathon (and half-marathon), an annual competition for thousands of enthusiasts, with the course going over the Harbour Bridge from North Shore and ending in the Auckland CBD (with a detour to Mission Bay for those doing the full distance).</ul>
<p><a id="Work" name="Work"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Work</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23395.jpg.htm" title="The Sky Tower is the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere at 328 m."><img alt="The Sky Tower is the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere at 328 m." height="400" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auckland_tower.jpg" src="../../images/233/23395.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23395.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Sky Tower is the tallest free-standing structure in the <!--del_lnk--> Southern Hemisphere at 328 m.</div>
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<p>Every business day, many professional and other service workers commute from all points of the region to downtown Auckland, often enduring long commuting times, drawn by and making <!--del_lnk--> Auckland City one of the best-earning cities in New Zealand with a median personal income per year of NZ$ 22,300 (2001), behind only <!--del_lnk--> North Shore City (also part of the Greater Auckland area) and <a href="../../wp/w/Wellington.htm" title="Wellington">Wellington</a>. While office workers still account for a heavy part of the CBD commutes, large office developments in other parts of the city, for example in <!--del_lnk--> Takapuna, <!--del_lnk--> North Shore City, are becoming more common.<p>Most major international corporations have an Auckland office, as the city is seen as the economic capital of the nation - although many firms increasingly run their New Zealand operations from Australia. The most expensive office space is around lower Queen Street and the Viaduct Basin. A large proportion of the technical and trades workforce is based in the industrial zones of <!--del_lnk--> South Auckland.<p>The largest commercial and industrial areas of Greater Auckland are in the southeast of Auckland (City) as well as in the western parts of Manukau City, mostly in the areas oriented towards the <!--del_lnk--> Manukau Harbour and the <!--del_lnk--> Tamaki River estuary.<p><a id="Housing" name="Housing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Housing</span></h3>
<p>Housing varies considerably between some suburbs having state owned housing in the lower income neighbourhoods, to palatial waterfront estates. The most common residence of Aucklanders is a bungalow on a "<!--del_lnk--> quarter acre" (1,000 m²), with the resulting large urban sprawl and reliance on motor vehicles. The regional council is trying to curb this trend, with housing density strategies such as more townhouses and apartments, and prohibiting subdivision of properties on the city fringes.<p>In some areas, the Victorian <!--del_lnk--> villas are being increasingly torn down to make way for large plaster mansions with tennis courts and swimming pools. The rampant demolition of the older properties is being combatted by the Auckland City Council passing laws that cover heritage suburbs or streets.<p><a id="Transport" name="Transport"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Transport</span></h2>
<p><a id="Dominance_of_vehicle_transport" name="Dominance_of_vehicle_transport"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Dominance of vehicle transport</span></h3>
<p>Auckland is highly dependent on private vehicles as the main form of transportation, to a level unusual for such a large city. This results in substantial traffic congestion during peak times, especially for New Zealand levels, though comparable to many other cities worldwide.<p>With public transport usage declining heavily during the second half of the 20th century, and increased spending on roading and motorways, New Zealand (and specifically Auckland) now has the second-highest vehicle ownership rate in the world, with around 578 vehicles per 1000 people. This focus has been partly due to the low population density of the Auckland region (again, similar to New Zealand in general terms), making public transport less cost-effective when compared to denser urban centres in other parts of the world. Auckland thus suffers from associated problems such as chronic traffic congestion on the main routes, and vehicle-induced air pollution. Recent studies show that New Zealanders take less than 2% of all journeys by bus and only 1% of journeys by rail. <p><a id="Road_network" name="Road_network"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Road network</span></h3>
<p>The State Highway network connects the cities located in the Auckland urban area. The most frequently travelled being the Northern, Southern, Northwestern and Southwestern Motorways. The <!--del_lnk--> Western Ring Route is currently under construction. The <!--del_lnk--> Auckland Harbour Bridge is the main connection to <!--del_lnk--> North Shore City.<p>The main arterial roads within Greater Auckland are <!--del_lnk--> Great North Road and <!--del_lnk--> Great South Road, the main connections in those directions before the construction of the State Highway network.<p><a id="Other_modes_of_travel" name="Other_modes_of_travel"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Other modes of travel</span></h3>
<p>Public transport use is still very light in terms of the <!--del_lnk--> modal share, and remains widely unpopular and expensive in spite of recent increases in ridership and funding.<ul>
<li>Auckland has two main railway trunk lines, serving the general western and southern directions from the <!--del_lnk--> Britomart Transport Centre in downtown Auckland.</ul>
<ul>
<li>An integrated bus network has resulted in increased patronage and service, but service is still limited in comparison to other cities of the same size (and higher density). The services are mostly <!--del_lnk--> spoke-, as opposed to <!--del_lnk--> ring-routes, due to the location of Auckland within the narrow sections of the isthmus. Services rarely run late into the night.</ul>
<ul>
<li>Auckland CBD is connected to various outlying coastal suburbs and <!--del_lnk--> North Shore City via ferries. The same ferry terminal also services outlying islands for commuters and tourists.</ul>
<p>Auckland has various small regional airports as well as <!--del_lnk--> Auckland International Airport, the busiest of the country.<p><a id="Attractions_and_landmarks" name="Attractions_and_landmarks"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Attractions and landmarks</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:452px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23396.jpg.htm" title="360 degree panoramic view from Sky Tower, showing many landmarks in the CBD area"><img alt="360 degree panoramic view from Sky Tower, showing many landmarks in the CBD area" height="117" longdesc="/wiki/Image:View_from_Sky_Tower_Akl.jpg" src="../../images/233/23396.jpg" width="450" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23396.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 360 degree panoramic view from Sky Tower, showing many landmarks in the CBD area</div>
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<p>The following is a list of tourist attractions and landmarks in the Auckland Metropolitan Area:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Auckland Domain - one of the largest parks of the city, situated close to the <!--del_lnk--> CBD and having a good view of the bay and of <!--del_lnk--> Rangitoto island.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Auckland War Memorial Museum - a large multi-exhibition museum located in the <!--del_lnk--> Auckland Domain, also known for its impressive <!--del_lnk--> classicist style.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Aotea Square, and <!--del_lnk--> Queen Street - the hub of downtown Auckland, often the site of crafts markets, rallies or arts festivals.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Botany Town Centre, Howick - a complete shopping complex, one of the largest in Auckland includes a cinema, bowling alley, food court and many shops to visit.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Britomart Transport Centre - the downtown train and bus centre housed in a historical building.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Eden Park - the city's primary <!--del_lnk--> stadium and a frequent home for <a href="../../wp/a/All_Blacks.htm" title="All Blacks">All Blacks</a> <!--del_lnk--> rugby and <!--del_lnk--> Black Caps <a href="../../wp/c/Cricket.htm" title="Cricket">cricket</a> matches.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Harbour Bridge - connecting Auckland and the <!--del_lnk--> North Shore is an iconic symbol of Auckland.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Karangahape Road - known as <b>K' Road</b>, a street in upper central Auckland, famous for its bars, clubs and smaller shops.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World - a well-known Auckland aquarium in the eastern <!--del_lnk--> Mission Bay suburb, built in a set of former sewage storage tanks, and showing fish like <!--del_lnk--> Sharks.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> MOTAT - Aucklands Museum for Transport and Technology, with its main site at <!--del_lnk--> Western Springs.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Mount Eden - a <!--del_lnk--> volcanic cone with a grassy <!--del_lnk--> crater, it offers a nice view of Auckland and the surrounding area, being the highest point in Auckland and a famous tourist destination.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Mt Smart Stadium - a stadium used mainly for <!--del_lnk--> rugby league and <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">soccer</a> matches. Also used for concerts.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Mount Victoria, although slightly out-of-the-way for the casual tourist, offers a spectacular view of the city. A brisk walk from the Devonport Ferry terminal, the cone is steeped in history as is the nearby North Head.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie) - a volcanic cone which dominates the skyline in the southern, inner suburbs. It no longer has a tree on the summit, instead being crowned by an <!--del_lnk--> obelisk.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Ponsonby Road - a road (and suburb) west of central Auckland known for arts, cafes and culture.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Rangitoto Island - guards the entrance to Waitemata Harbour, and forms a prominent feature on the eastern horizon.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Sky Tower - the tallest free-standing structure in the <!--del_lnk--> Southern Hemisphere, stands 328 m tall.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Sylvia Park - a shopping complex in <!--del_lnk--> Mount Wellington opened in June 2006. Once completed it will become one of the largest malls in the southern hemisphere. It contains the largest <!--del_lnk--> Warehouse store in New Zealand.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Viaduct Basin - a marina in downtown Auckland, venue for the America's Cup regatta 2000 and 2003. It is now a thriving commercial centre and has many new upscale residential buildings.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Western Springs Stadium - a natural <!--del_lnk--> amphitheatre used mainly for <!--del_lnk--> speedway races, <!--del_lnk--> rock and <!--del_lnk--> pop <!--del_lnk--> concerts.</ul>
<p>
<br />
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Augusta, Lady Gregory</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Language_and_literature.Theatre.htm">Theatre</a>; <a href="../index/subject.People.Writers_and_critics.htm">Writers and critics</a></h3>
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<caption style="font-size: larger;"><b>Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory</b></caption>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/193/19335.jpg.htm" title=" "><img alt=" " height="329" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lady_gregory.jpg" src="../../images/233/23397.jpg" width="200" /></a><br /> Frontispiece to <i>Our Irish Theatre: A Chapter of Autobiography</i> (1913)</td>
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<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;">Born:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> March 15, <!--del_lnk--> 1852<br /> Roxborough, <!--del_lnk--> County Galway, <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Ireland</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;">Died:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> May 22, <!--del_lnk--> 1932<br /><!--del_lnk--> Coole Park, <!--del_lnk--> County Galway, <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Ireland</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;"><a href="../../wp/e/Employment.htm" title="Employment">Occupation(s)</a>:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Playwright, <!--del_lnk--> poet, <!--del_lnk--> folklorist</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;"><a href="../../wp/n/Nationality.htm" title="Nationality">Nationality</a>:</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/i/Irish_people.htm" title="Irish people">Irish</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;"><!--del_lnk--> Genre(s):</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/d/Drama.htm" title="Drama">Drama</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Mythology.htm" title="Mythology">mythology</a>, <!--del_lnk--> essay</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;">Subject(s):</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Irish mythology</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;"><!--del_lnk--> Literary movement:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Celtic Revival</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory</b> (<!--del_lnk--> 15 March <!--del_lnk--> 1852–<!--del_lnk--> 22 May <!--del_lnk--> 1932), née <b>Isabella Augusta Persse</b>, was an <!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Irish <!--del_lnk--> dramatist and <a href="../../wp/f/Folklore.htm" title="Folklore">folklorist</a>. With <a href="../../wp/w/William_Butler_Yeats.htm" title="William Butler Yeats">William Butler Yeats</a> and others, she co-founded the <!--del_lnk--> Irish Literary Theatre and the <a href="../../wp/a/Abbey_Theatre.htm" title="Abbey Theatre">Abbey Theatre</a>, and wrote numerous short works for both companies. She also produced a number of books of retellings of stories from <!--del_lnk--> Irish mythology. Born into a class that identified closely with <!--del_lnk--> British rule, her conversion to cultural nationalism, as evidenced in these writings, was emblematic of many of the changes to occur in Ireland during her lifetime.<p>However, Lady Gregory is mainly remembered for her role as an organiser and driving force of the <!--del_lnk--> Irish Literary Revival. Her home at <!--del_lnk--> Coole Park, <!--del_lnk--> County Galway served as an important meeting place for the leading Revival figures and her early work as a member of the board of the Abbey was at least as important for the theatre's development as her creative writings were. Her motto, taken from <a href="../../wp/a/Aristotle.htm" title="Aristotle">Aristotle</a>, was "To think like a wise man, but to express oneself like the common people."<p>
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</script><a id="Early_life_and_marriage" name="Early_life_and_marriage"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Early life and marriage</span></h2>
<p>Lady Gregory was born the youngest daughter of an <!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Irish landlord class family in Roxborough, <!--del_lnk--> County Galway. Her mother, Frances Barry, was related to <!--del_lnk--> Standish Hayes O'Grady, 1st Viscount Guillamore, and her family home, Roxborough, was a 6,000 acre (24 km²) estate that was later burnt down during the <!--del_lnk--> Irish Civil War. She was educated at home, and her future career was strongly influenced by the family nurse, Mary Sheridan, a Catholic and a native <!--del_lnk--> Irish speaker who introduced the young Isabella Augusta to the history and legends of the local area. This early introduction probably had a greater impact on her than it otherwise would because the house had no library and her mother, who was a strict <!--del_lnk--> evangelical <!--del_lnk--> Protestant, forbade her to read any <a href="../../wp/n/Novel.htm" title="Novel">novels</a> until she was 18.<p>She married Sir <!--del_lnk--> William Henry Gregory, a widower with an estate at Coole Park, near <!--del_lnk--> Gort, County Galway on <!--del_lnk--> 4 March <!--del_lnk--> 1880, at a Protestant church in <a href="../../wp/d/Dublin.htm" title="Dublin">Dublin</a>. As the wife of a knight, she became entitled to the style "Lady Gregory." Sir William Gregory, who was 35 years older than his bride, had just retired from his position of Governor of <!--del_lnk--> Ceylon, having previously served several terms as <!--del_lnk--> Member of Parliament for <!--del_lnk--> Galway County. He was a well-educated man with many literary and artistic interests, and the house at Coole Park housed a large library and extensive art collection, both of which his bride was eager to explore. He also had a house in <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>, and the couple spent a considerable amount of time there holding a weekly salon which was frequented by many of the leading literary and artistic figures of the day, including <!--del_lnk--> Robert Browning, <!--del_lnk--> Lord Tennyson, <!--del_lnk--> John Everett Millais and <a href="../../wp/h/Henry_James.htm" title="Henry James">Henry James</a>. Their only child, Robert Gregory, was born in 1881. He was killed while serving as a pilot during the <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">First World War</a>, an event that inspired Yeats's poems "An Irish Airman Forsees His Death" and "In Memory of Major Robert Gregory".<p><a id="Early_writings" name="Early_writings"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Early writings</span></h2>
<p>The Gregorys travelled in Ceylon, <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a> and <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a>. While in Egypt, Lady Gregory had an affair with the <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">English</a> <!--del_lnk--> poet <!--del_lnk--> Wilfrid Scawen Blunt during which she wrote a series of love poems, <i>A Woman's Sonnets</i>. Blunt later published these poems under his own name. Her earliest work to appear under her own name was <i>Arabi and His Household</i> (1882), a pamphlet (originally a letter to <i><!--del_lnk--> The Times</i> newspaper) in support of <!--del_lnk--> Ahmed Arabi Bey, the leader of an Egyptian nationalist revolt against the oppressive regime of the <!--del_lnk--> Khedives. She later said of this booklet, 'whatever political indignation or energy was born with me may have run its course in that Egyptian year and worn itself out'. Despite this, in 1893 she published <i>A Phantom’s Pilgrimage, or Home Ruin</i>, an anti-Nationalist pamphlet against <a href="../../wp/w/William_Gladstone.htm" title="William Gladstone">William Gladstone</a>'s proposed second <!--del_lnk--> Home Rule Act. She also did charitable work in the parish of St. Stephen’s, <!--del_lnk--> Southwark, London and wrote a pamphlet, <i>Over the River</i> (1887) about her experiences there.<p>She wrote more literary prose during the period of her marriage. In 1883/84, she worked on a series of memoirs of her childhood home with a view to publishing them under the title <i>An Emigrant's Notebook</i>, but this plan was abandoned. She also wrote a number of short stories in the years 1890 and 1891, although these also never appeared in print. A number of unpublished poems from this period have also survived.<p>When Sir William Gregory died in March 1892, Lady Gregory went into mourning and returned to Coole Park where she edited her husband's <!--del_lnk--> autobiography and had it published in 1894. She was to write later 'If I had not married I should not have learned the quick enrichment of sentences that one gets in conversation; had I not been widowed I should not have found the detachment of mind, the leisure for observation necessary to give insight into character, to express and interpret it. Loneliness made me rich - "full", as Bacon says.'<p><a id="Cultural_nationalism" name="Cultural_nationalism"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Cultural nationalism</span></h2>
<p>A trip to <!--del_lnk--> Inisheer in the <!--del_lnk--> Aran Islands in 1893 reawoke an interest the Irish language and in the folklore of the area in which she lived. She organised Irish lessons at the schoole at Coole and began collecting tales from the area around her home, especially from the residents of Gort <!--del_lnk--> workhouse. This activity led to the publication of a number of volumes of folk material, including <i>A Book of Saints and Wonders</i> (1906), <i>The Kiltartan History Book</i> (1909), and <i>The Kiltartan Wonder Book</i> (1910). She also produced a number of collections of Kiltartanese versions of Irish myths, including <i>Cuchulain of Muirthemne</i> (1902) and <i>Gods and Fighting Men</i> (1904). In his introduction to the former, Yeats wrote "I think this book is the best that has come out of Ireland in my time." <a href="../../wp/j/James_Joyce.htm" title="James Joyce">James Joyce</a> was to parody this claim in the Scyla and Charybdis chapter of his novel <i><!--del_lnk--> Ulysses</i>. <!--del_lnk--> Flann O'Brien would also parody the book in his <i><!--del_lnk--> At Swim-Two-Birds</i> with his overly literal versions of the myths of the <!--del_lnk--> Fenian cycle.<p>Towards the end of 1894, encouraged by the positive reception of the editing of her husband's autobiography, Lady Gregory turned her attention to another editorial project. She decided to prepare selections from Sir William Gregory's grandfather's correspondence for publication as <i>Mr Gregory’s Letter-Box 1813-30</i> (1898). This entailed researching Irish history of the period, and one outcome of this work was a shift in her own position from the 'soft' <!--del_lnk--> Unionism of her earlier writing on Home Rule to a definite support of <!--del_lnk--> Irish nationalism and what she was later to describe as 'a dislike and distrust of England'.<p><a id="Founding_of_the_Abbey" name="Founding_of_the_Abbey"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Founding of the Abbey</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23105.jpg.htm" title="A poster for the opening run at the Abbey Theatre from 27 December 1904, to 3 January 1905."><img alt="A poster for the opening run at the Abbey Theatre from 27 December 1904, to 3 January 1905." height="259" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Abbey1.jpg" src="../../images/233/23398.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/231/23105.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A poster for the opening run at the Abbey Theatre from <!--del_lnk--> 27 December <!--del_lnk--> 1904, to <!--del_lnk--> 3 January <!--del_lnk--> 1905.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Edward Martyn was a neighbour of Lady Gregory, and it was during a visit to his house in <!--del_lnk--> Tulira that she first met W. B. Yeats. Discussions between the three of them over the following year or so led to the founding of the Irish Literary Theatre in 1899. Lady Gregory undertook the fundraising, and the first programme consisted of Martyn’s <i>The Heather Field</i> and Yeats's <i>The Countess Cathleeen</i>. During this period, she effectively co-authored Yeats's early plays, including <i>The Countess Cathleeen</i>, specifically working on the passages of dialogue involving peasant characters.<p>The Irish Literary Theatre project lasted until 1901, when it collapsed due to lack of funding. In 1904, Lady Gregory, Martyn, Yeats, <a href="../../wp/j/John_Millington_Synge.htm" title="John Millington Synge">John Millington Synge</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Æ, <!--del_lnk--> Annie Elizabeth Fredericka Horniman and <!--del_lnk--> William and <!--del_lnk--> Frank Fay came together to form the <!--del_lnk--> Irish National Theatre Society.<p>The first performances staged by the society took place in a building called the Molesworth Hall. When the <!--del_lnk--> Hibernian Theatre of Varieties in Lower Abbey Street and an adjacent building in Marlborough Street became available, Horniman and William Fay agreed to their purchase and refitting to meet the needs of the society. On <!--del_lnk--> 11 May <!--del_lnk--> 1904, the society formally accepted Horniman's offer of the use of the building. As Horniman was not normally resident in Ireland, the Royal Letters Patent required were paid for by her but granted in the name of Lady Gregory. One of her own plays, <i>Spreading the News</i> was performed on the opening night, <!--del_lnk--> 27 December, 1904.<p>At the opening of Synge's <i>The Playboy of the Western World</i> in January 1907, a significant portion of the crowd rioted, causing the remainder of the play to be acted out in dumbshow. Lady Gregory did not think as highly of the play as Yeats did, but she defended Synge as a matter of principle. Her view of the affair is summed up in a letter to Yeats where she wrote of the riots; "It is the old battle, between those who use a toothbrush and those who don't."<p><a id="Later_career" name="Later_career"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Later career</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:151px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23399.jpg.htm" title="The cover of Lady Gregory's 1905 play The White Cockade"><img alt="The cover of Lady Gregory's 1905 play The White Cockade" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lady_gregory1.jpg" src="../../images/233/23399.jpg" width="149" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/233/23399.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The cover of Lady Gregory's 1905 play <i>The White Cockade</i></div>
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<p>She remained an active director of the theatre until ill health led to her retirement in 1928. During this time she wrote more than 40 plays, mainly for production at the Abbey. Many of these were written in an attempted transliteration of the <!--del_lnk--> Hiberno-English dialect spoken around Coole Park that became widely known as Kiltartanese, from the nearby village of <!--del_lnk--> Kiltartan. Her plays, which are rarely performed now, were not particularly popular at the time. Indeed, the Irish writer <!--del_lnk--> Oliver St John Gogarty once wrote "the perpetual presentation of her plays nearly ruined the Abbey". In addition to her plays, she wrote a two volume study of the folklore of her native area called <i>Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland</i> in 1920. She also played the lead role in three performances of <i>Cathleen Ni Houlihan</i> in 1919.<p>During her time on the board of the Abbey, Coole Park remained her home and she spent her time in <a href="../../wp/d/Dublin.htm" title="Dublin">Dublin</a> staying in a number of hotels. In these, she ate frugally, often on food she brought with her from home. She frequently used her hotel rooms to interview would-be Abbey dramatists and to entertain the company after opening nights of new plays. She spent many of her days working on her translations in the <!--del_lnk--> National Library of Ireland.<p>She also gained a reputation as being a somewhat conservative figure. For instance, when <!--del_lnk--> Denis Johnston submitted his first play <i>Shadowdance</i> to the Abbey, it was rejected by Lady Gregory and returned to the author with “The Old Lady says No” written on the title page. Johnson decided to rename the play, and <i>The Old Lady Says 'No'</i> was eventually staged by the <!--del_lnk--> Gate Theatre <!--del_lnk--> 1928.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23400.jpg.htm" title="Lady Gregory in later life"><img alt="Lady Gregory in later life" height="258" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Augusta%2C_Lady_Gregory_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_19028.jpg" src="../../images/234/23400.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23400.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Lady Gregory in later life</div>
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<p><a id="Retirement_and_death" name="Retirement_and_death"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Retirement and death</span></h2>
<p>When she retired from the Abbey board, Lady Gregory returned to Galway to live, although she continued to visit Dublin regularly. The house and <!--del_lnk--> demesne at Coole Park had been sold to the <!--del_lnk--> Irish Forestry Commission in 1927, with Lady Gregory retaining life tenancy. Her Galway home had long been a focal point for the writers associated with the Irish Literary Revival and this continued after her retirement. On a tree in what were the grounds of the now demolished house, one can still see the carved initials of Synge, Æ, Yeats and his artist brother <!--del_lnk--> Jack, <!--del_lnk--> George Moore, <!--del_lnk--> Sean O'Casey, <!--del_lnk--> George Bernard Shaw, <!--del_lnk--> Katharine Tynan and <!--del_lnk--> Violet Martin. Yeats wrote five poems about or set in the house and grounds: "The Wild Swans at Coole", "I walked among the seven woods of Coole", "In the Seven Woods", "Coole Park, 1929" and "Coole Park and Ballylee, 1931".<p>The woman Shaw once described as "the greatest living Irishwoman" died at home at the age of 80 from breast cancer, and is buried in the New Cemetery in <!--del_lnk--> Bohermore, <!--del_lnk--> County Galway. The entire contents of Coole Park were auctioned three months after her death and the house was demolished in 1941. Lady Gregory's plays fell out of favour after her death and are now rarely performed. She kept diaries and journals for most of her adult life, and many of these have been published since her death. They are a rich source of information on Irish literary history for the first three decades of the 20th century and her diaries covering the period of the founding of the Abbey are the only extant contemporary record of these events written by a major participant.<p><a id="Works" name="Works"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Works</span></h2>
<p><b>Selected plays</b><ul>
<li><i>Twenty Five</i> (1903)<li><i>Spreading the News</i> (1904)<li><i>Kincora: A Play in Three Acts</i> (1905)<li><i>The White Cockade: A Comedy in Three Acts</i> (1905)<li><i>Hyacinth Halvey</i> (1906)<li><i>The Doctor in Spite of Himself</i> (1906)<li><i>The Canavans</i> (1906)<li><i>The Rising of the Moon</i> (1907)<li><i>Dervorgilla (1907)</i><li><i>The Workhouse Ward</i> (1908)<li><i>The Rogueries of Scapin</i> (1908)<li><i>The Miser</i> (1909)<li><i>Seven Short Plays</i> (1909)<li><i>The Image: A Play in Three Acts</i> (1910)<li><i>The Deliverer</i> (1911)<li><i>Damer’s Gold</i> (1912)<li><i>Irish Folk History Plays</i> (First Series 1912, Second Series 1912)<li><i>McDonough’s Wife</i> (1913)<li><i>The Image and Other Plays</i> (1922)<li><i>The Dragon: A Play in Three Acts</i> (1920)<li><i>The Would-Be Gentleman</i> (1923)<li><i>An Old Woman Remembers</i> (1923)<li><i>The Story Brought by Brigit: A Passion Play in Three Acts</i> (1924)<li><i>Sancha’s Master</i> (1927)<li><i>Dave</i> (1927)</ul>
<p><b>Prose and translations</b><ul>
<li><i>Arabi and His Household</i> (1882)<li><i>Over the River</i> (1887)<li><i>A Phantom’s Pilgrimage, or Home Ruin</i> (1893)<li>ed., <i>Sir William Gregory, KCMG: An Autobiography</i> (1894)<li>ed., <i>Mr Gregory’s Letter-Box 1813-30</i> (1898)<li>ed., <i>Ideals in Ireland: A Collection of Essays written by AE and Others</i> (1901)<li><i>Cuchulain of Muirthemne: The Story of the Men of the Red Branch of Ulster arranged and put into English by Lady Gregory</i> (1902)<li><i>Ulster</i> (1902)<li><i>Poets and Dreamers: Studies and Translations from the Irish</i> (1903)<li><i>Gods and Fighting Men</i> (1904)<li><i>A Book of Saints and Wonders, put down here by Lady Gregory, according to the Old Writings and the Memory of the People of Ireland</i> (1906)<li><i>The Kiltartan History Book</i> (1909)<li><i>A Book of Saints and Wonders</i> (1906)<li><i>Our Irish Theatre: A Chapter of Autobiography</i> (1913)<li><i>Kiltartan Poetry Book, Translations from the Irish</i> (1919)<li><i>Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland</i> (1920)<li><i>Hugh Lane’s Life and Achievement, with some account of the Dublin Galleries</i> (1921)<li><i>Case for the Return of Sir Hugh Lane’s Pictures to Dublin</i> (1926)<li><i>Seventy Years</i> (1974).</ul>
<p><b>Journals</b><ul>
<li>Lennox Robinson, ed., <i>Lady Gregory’s Journals 1916-30</i> (1946)<li>Daniel Murphy, ed., <i>Lady Gregory’s Journals Vol. 1</i> (1978); <i>Lady Gregory’s Journals, Vol. II</i> (1987)<li>James Pethica, ed., <i>Lady Gregory’s Diaries 1892-1902</i> (1995),</ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusta%2C_Lady_Gregory"</div>
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<p><b>Augustan literature</b> is a <!--del_lnk--> style of <!--del_lnk--> English literature whose origins correspond roughly with the reigns of <a href="../../wp/a/Anne_of_Great_Britain.htm" title="Anne of Great Britain">Queen Anne</a>, <!--del_lnk--> King George I, and <!--del_lnk--> George II. In contemporary critical parlance, it refers to the literature of 1700 up to approximately 1760 (or, for some, 1789). It is a literary <!--del_lnk--> epoch that featured the rapid development of the <a href="../../wp/n/Novel.htm" title="Novel">novel</a>, an explosion in <!--del_lnk--> satire, the mutation of <a href="../../wp/d/Drama.htm" title="Drama">drama</a> from <!--del_lnk--> political satire into <!--del_lnk--> melodrama, and an evolution toward <a href="../../wp/p/Poetry.htm" title="Poetry">poetry</a> of personal exploration. In <a href="../../wp/p/Philosophy.htm" title="Philosophy">philosophy</a>, it was an age increasingly dominated by <a href="../../wp/e/Empiricism.htm" title="Empiricism">empiricism</a>, while in the writings of <a href="../../wp/p/Political_economy.htm" title="Political economy">political-economy</a> it marked the evolution of <a href="../../wp/m/Mercantilism.htm" title="Mercantilism">mercantilism</a> as a formal philosophy, the development of <a href="../../wp/c/Capitalism.htm" title="Capitalism">capitalism</a>, and the triumph of <!--del_lnk--> trade.<p>The chronological anchors of the era are generally vague, largely since the label's origin in <!--del_lnk--> contemporary 18th century criticism has made it a shorthand designation for a somewhat nebulous age of satire. This new <!--del_lnk--> Augustan period exhibited exceptionally bold <!--del_lnk--> political writings in all <!--del_lnk--> genres, with the satires of the age marked by an arch, ironic pose, full of nuance, and a superficial air of dignified calm that hid sharp criticisms beneath.<p>As <a href="../../wp/l/Literacy.htm" title="Literacy">literacy</a> (and <!--del_lnk--> London's population, especially) grew, literature began to appear from all over the <!--del_lnk--> kingdom. Authors gradually began to accept literature that went in unique directions rather than the formerly monolithic conventions and, through this, slowly began to honour and recreate various <a href="../../wp/f/Folklore.htm" title="Folklore">folk</a> compositions. Beneath the appearance of a placid and highly regulated series of writing modes, many developments of the later <!--del_lnk--> Romantic era were beginning to take place — while politically, philosophically, and literarily, <!--del_lnk--> modern <!--del_lnk--> consciousness was being hewn out of hitherto <!--del_lnk--> feudal and <!--del_lnk--> courtly notions of ages past.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23401.png.htm" title="William Hogarth's portrait of a Grub Street poet starving to death and trying to write a new poem to get money. The "hack" (hired) writer was a response to the newly increased demand for reading matter in the Augustan period."><img alt="William Hogarth's portrait of a Grub Street poet starving to death and trying to write a new poem to get money. The "hack" (hired) writer was a response to the newly increased demand for reading matter in the Augustan period." height="284" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hogarth-Distressd-Poet-1737.png" src="../../images/234/23401.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23401.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/w/William_Hogarth.htm" title="William Hogarth">William Hogarth</a>'s portrait of a <!--del_lnk--> Grub Street poet starving to death and trying to write a new poem to get money. The "hack" (hired) writer was a response to the newly increased demand for reading matter in the Augustan period.</div>
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</script><a id="Enlightenment.3F_The_historical_context" name="Enlightenment.3F_The_historical_context"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Enlightenment? The historical context</span></h2>
<p>"Augustan" derives from George I wishing to be seen as <!--del_lnk--> Caesar Augustus, for his given name was George Augustus. <!--del_lnk--> Alexander Pope, who had been imitating <!--del_lnk--> Horace, wrote an <i>Epistle to Augustus</i> that was to George II and seemingly endorsed the notion of his age being like that of Augustus, when poetry became more mannered, political and satirical than in the era of <a href="../../wp/j/Julius_Caesar.htm" title="Julius Caesar">Julius Caesar</a>. Later, <a href="../../wp/v/Voltaire.htm" title="Voltaire">Voltaire</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Oliver Goldsmith (in his <i>History of Literature</i> in 1764) used the term "Augustan" to refer to the literature of the 1720s and '30s. Outside of poetry, however, the Augustan era is generally known by other names. Partially because of the rise of empiricism and partially due to the self-conscious naming of the age in terms of <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Rome.htm" title="Ancient Rome">Ancient Rome</a>, two imprecise labels have been affixed to the age. One is that it is the age of <a href="../../wp/n/Neoclassicism.htm" title="Neoclassicism">neoclassicism</a>. The other is that it is the <!--del_lnk--> Age of Reason. Both terms have some usefulness, but both also obscure much. While neoclassical criticism from <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> was imported to English letters, the English had abandoned their strictures in all but name by the 1720s. As for whether the era was "the Enlightenment" or not, the critic Donald Greene wrote vigorously against it, arguing persuasively that the age should be known as "The Age of Exuberance," while <!--del_lnk--> T.H. White made a case for "The Age of Scandal." Most recently, <!--del_lnk--> Roy Porter attempted again to argue for the developments of science dominating all other areas of endeavor in the age unmistakably making it the Enlightenment (Porter 2000).<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23402.png.htm" title="An auctioneer sells books from the estate of a condemned doctor (an abortionist?), c. 1700, in Moorfields. The books contain pornography, medicine, and Classics. The print satirizes "new men" wanting to collect libraries without collecting learning."><img alt="An auctioneer sells books from the estate of a condemned doctor (an abortionist?), c. 1700, in Moorfields. The books contain pornography, medicine, and Classics. The print satirizes "new men" wanting to collect libraries without collecting learning." height="325" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Book-auctioneer.png" src="../../images/234/23402.png" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23402.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An auctioneer sells books from the estate of a condemned doctor (an <!--del_lnk--> abortionist?), <i>c.</i> 1700, in <!--del_lnk--> Moorfields. The books contain <!--del_lnk--> pornography, <a href="../../wp/m/Medicine.htm" title="Medicine">medicine</a>, and Classics. The print satirizes "new men" wanting to collect libraries without collecting learning.</div>
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<p>One of the most critical elements of the 18th century was the increasing availability of printed material, both for readers and authors. Books fell in price dramatically, and used books were sold at <!--del_lnk--> Bartholomew Fair and other fairs. Additionally, a brisk trade in <!--del_lnk--> chapbooks and <!--del_lnk--> broadsheets carried <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a> trends and information out to the farthest reaches of the kingdom. Not only, therefore, were people in <a href="../../wp/y/York.htm" title="York">York</a> aware of the happenings of <!--del_lnk--> Parliament and the court, but people in London were more aware than before of the happenings of York. Furthermore, in this age before <!--del_lnk--> copyright, pirate editions were commonplace, especially in areas without frequent contact with London. Pirate editions thereby encouraged booksellers to increase their shipments to outlying centers like <!--del_lnk--> Dublin, which increased, again, awareness across the whole realm.<p>All types of literature were spread quickly in all directions. Newspapers not only began, but they multiplied. Furthermore, the newspapers were immediately compromised, as the political factions created their own newspapers, planted stories, and bribed journalists. Leading clerics had their sermon collections printed, and these were top selling books. Since dissenting, Establishment, and Independent divines were in print, the constant movement of these works helped defuse any one region's religious homogeneity and fostered emergent <!--del_lnk--> latitudinarianism. <!--del_lnk--> Periodicals were exceedingly popular, and the art of essay writing was at nearly its apex. Furthermore, the happenings of the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Society were published regularly, and these events were digested and explained or celebrated in more popular presses. The latest books of scholarship had "keys" and "indexes" and "digests" made of them that could popularize, summarize, and explain them to a wide audience. The <!--del_lnk--> cross-index, now commonplace, was a novelty in the 18th century, and several persons created indexes for older books of learning, allowing anyone to find what an author had to say about a given topic at a moment's notice. Books of etiquette, of correspondence, and of moral instruction and hygiene multiplied. <a href="../../wp/e/Economics.htm" title="Economics">Economics</a> began as a serious discipline, but it did so in the form of numerous "projects" for solving England's (and Ireland's, and Scotland's) ills. Sermon collections, dissertations on religious controversy, and prophecies, both new and old and explained, cropped up in endless variety. In short, readers in the 18th century were overwhelmed by competing voices. True and false sat side by side on the shelves, and anyone could be a published author, just as anyone could quickly pretend to be a scholar by using indexes and digests.<p>The positive side of the explosion in information was that the 18th century was markedly more generally educated than the centuries before. Education was less confined to the upper classes than it had been in centuries, and consequently contributions to science, philosophy, economics, and literature came from all parts of the newly <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>. It was the first time when literacy and a library were all that stood between a person and education. It was an age of "enlightenment" in the sense that the insistence and drive for reasonable explanations of nature and mankind was a rage. It was an "age of reason" in that it was an age that accepted clear, rational methods as superior to tradition. However, there was a dark side to such literacy as well, a dark side which authors of the 18th century felt at every turn, and that was that nonsense and insanity were also getting more adherents than ever before. <!--del_lnk--> Charlatans and mountebanks were fooling more, just as sages were educating more, and alluring and lurid <!--del_lnk--> apocalypses vied with sober philosophy on the shelves. As with the <!--del_lnk--> world-wide web in the 21st century, the democratization of publishing meant that older systems for determining value and uniformity of view were both in shambles. Thus, it was increasingly difficult to trust books in the 18th century, because books were increasingly easy to make and buy.<p><a id="Political_and_religious_historical_context" name="Political_and_religious_historical_context"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Political and religious historical context</span></h3>
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<div style="width:146px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/520/52071.jpg.htm" title="A "sulkily stupid" Queen Anne."><img alt="A "sulkily stupid" Queen Anne." height="215" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Queen_anne_england.jpg" src="../../images/234/23403.jpg" width="144" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/520/52071.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A "sulkily stupid" Queen Anne.</div>
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<p>The Restoration period ended with the <!--del_lnk--> exclusion crisis and the <a href="../../wp/g/Glorious_Revolution.htm" title="Glorious Revolution">Glorious Revolution</a>, where Parliament set up a new rule for <!--del_lnk--> succession to the British throne that would always favour <!--del_lnk--> Protestantism over sanguinity. This had brought <a href="../../wp/w/William_and_Mary.htm" title="William and Mary">William and Mary</a> to the throne instead of <a href="../../wp/j/James_II_of_England.htm" title="James II of England">James II</a>, and was codified in the <!--del_lnk--> Act of Settlement 1701. James had fled to <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> from where his son <!--del_lnk--> James Francis Edward Stuart launched an attempt to retake the throne in 1715. Another attempt was launched by the latter's son <!--del_lnk--> Charles Edward Stuart in 1745. The attempted invasions are often referred to as "the 15" and "the 45". When William died, Anne Stuart came to the throne. Anne was reportedly immoderately stupid: <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Babbington Macaulay would say of Anne that "when in good humour, [she] was meekly stupid and, when in bad humour, was sulkily stupid." Anne's reign saw two wars and great triumphs by <!--del_lnk--> John Churchill, the <!--del_lnk--> Duke of Marlborough. Marlborough's wife, <!--del_lnk--> Sarah Churchill, was Anne's best friend, and many supposed that she secretly controlled the Queen in every respect. With a weak ruler and the belief that true power rested in the hands of the leading ministers, the two factions of politics stepped up their opposition to each other, and <!--del_lnk--> Whig and <!--del_lnk--> Tory were at each others' throats. This weakness at the throne would lead quickly to the expansion of the powers of the party leader in Parliament and the establishment in all but name of the <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister office in the form of <!--del_lnk--> Robert Walpole. When Anne died without issue, <!--del_lnk--> George I, Elector of Hanover, came to the throne. George I never bothered to learn the English language, and his isolation from the English people was instrumental in keeping his power relatively irrelevant. His son, <!--del_lnk--> George II, on the other hand, spoke some English and some more <!--del_lnk--> French, and his was the first full Hanoverian rule in England. By that time, the powers of Parliament had silently expanded, and George II's power was perhaps equal only to that of Parliament.<p>London's population exploded spectacularly. During the Restoration, it grew from around 30,000 to 600,000 in 1700 (<i>Old Bailey</i>) (<i>Millwall history</i>). By 1800, it had reached 950,000. Not all of these residents were prosperous. The <!--del_lnk--> enclosure act had destroyed lower-class farming in the countryside, and rural areas experienced painful poverty. When the <!--del_lnk--> Black Act was expanded to cover all protestors to enclosure, the communities of the country poor were forced to migrate or suffer (see Thompson, <i>Whigs</i>). Therefore, young people from the country often moved to London with hopes of achieving success, and this swelled the ranks of the urban poor and cheap labor for city employers. It also meant an increase in numbers of criminals, prostitutes and beggars. The fears of property crime, rape, and starvation found in Augustan literature should be kept in the context of London's growth, as well as the depopulation of the countryside.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23404.jpg.htm" title="William Hogarth's Gin Lane is not caricature, for in 1750, over a fourth of all houses in St Giles were gin shops, all unlicensed."><img alt="William Hogarth's Gin Lane is not caricature, for in 1750, over a fourth of all houses in St Giles were gin shops, all unlicensed." height="205" longdesc="/wiki/Image:GinLane.jpg" src="../../images/234/23404.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23404.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/w/William_Hogarth.htm" title="William Hogarth">William Hogarth</a>'s <i><!--del_lnk--> Gin Lane</i> is not caricature, for in 1750, over a fourth of all houses in <!--del_lnk--> St Giles were gin shops, all unlicensed.</div>
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<p>Partially because of these population pressures, property crime became a business both for the criminals and for those who fed off of the criminals. Major crime lords like <a href="../../wp/j/Jonathan_Wild.htm" title="Jonathan Wild">Jonathan Wild</a> invented new schemes for stealing, and the newspapers were eager to report crime. Biographies of the daring criminals became popular, and these spawned fictional biographies of fictional criminals. Cautionary tales of country women abused by sophisticated <!--del_lnk--> rakes and libertines in the city were popular fare, and these prompted fictional accounts of exemplary women abused (or narrowly escaping abuse).<p>The population pressure also meant that urban discontent was never particularly difficult to find for political opportunists, and London suffered a number of riots, most of them against supposed <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Roman Catholic</a> agent provocateurs. When highly potent, inexpensive distilled spirits were introduced, matters worsened, and authors and artists protested the innovation of <!--del_lnk--> gin (see, e.g. <a href="../../wp/w/William_Hogarth.htm" title="William Hogarth">William Hogarth</a>'s <i><!--del_lnk--> Gin Lane</i>). From 1710, the government encouraged distilling as a source of revenue and trade goods, and there were no licenses required for the manufacturing or selling of gin. There were documented instances of women drowning their infants to sell the child's clothes for gin, and so these facilities created both the fodder for riots and the conditions against which riots would occur (Loughrey and Treadwell, 14). <!--del_lnk--> Dissenters (those radical Protestants who would not join with the <a href="../../wp/c/Church_of_England.htm" title="Church of England">Church of England</a>) recruited and preached to the poor of the city, and various offshoots of the <!--del_lnk--> Puritan and "Independent" (<!--del_lnk--> Baptist) movements increased their numbers substantially. One theme of these ministers was the danger of the Roman Catholic Church, which they frequently saw as the <!--del_lnk--> Whore of Babylon. While Anne was <!--del_lnk--> high church, George I came from a far more <!--del_lnk--> Protestant nation than England, and George II was almost <!--del_lnk--> low church, as the events of the <!--del_lnk--> Bangorian Controversy would show. The <!--del_lnk--> convocation was effectively disbanded by George I (who was struggling with the <a href="../../wp/h/House_of_Lords.htm" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a>), and George II was pleased to keep it in abeyance. Additionally, both of the first two Hanoverians were concerned with <!--del_lnk--> James Francis Edward Stuart and <!--del_lnk--> Charles Edward Stuart who had considerable support in Scotland and Ireland, and anyone too high church was suspected of being a closet <!--del_lnk--> Jacobite, thanks in no small part to Walpole's inflating fears of Stuart sympathizers among any group that did not support him.<p><a id="History_and_literature" name="History_and_literature"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">History and literature</span></h3>
<p>The literature of the 18th century — particularly the early 18th century, which is what "Augustan" most commonly indicates — is explicitly political in ways that few others are. Because the professional author was still not distinguishable from the hack-writer, those who wrote poetry, novels, and plays were frequently either politically active or politically funded. At the same time, an aesthetic of artistic detachment from the everyday world had yet to develop, and the aristocratic ideal of an author so noble as to be above political concerns was largely archaic and irrelevant. The period may be an "Age of Scandal," for it is an age when authors dealt specifically with the crimes and vices of their world.<p>Satire, both in prose, drama, and poetry, was the genre that attracted the most energetic and voluminous writing. The satires produced during the Augustan period were occasionally gentle and non-specific—commentaries on the comically flawed human condition—but they were at least as frequently specific critiques of specific policies, actions, and persons. Even those works studiously non-topical were, in fact, transparently political statements in the 18th century. Consequently, readers of 18th-century literature today need to understand the history of the period more than most readers of other literature do. The authors were writing for an informed audience and only secondarily for posterity. Even the authors who criticized writing that lived for only a day (e.g. <!--del_lnk--> Jonathan Swift and <!--del_lnk--> Alexander Pope, in <i>The Dedication to Prince Posterity</i> of <i><a href="../../wp/a/A_Tale_of_a_Tub.htm" title="A Tale of a Tub">A Tale of a Tub</a></i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Dunciad</i>, among other pieces) were criticizing specific authors who are unknown without historical knowledge of the period. 18th-century poetry of all forms was in constant dialog: each author was responding and commenting upon the others. 18th-century novels were written against other 18th-century novels (e.g. the battles between <!--del_lnk--> Henry Fielding and <!--del_lnk--> Samuel Richardson and between <!--del_lnk--> Laurence Sterne and <!--del_lnk--> Tobias Smollett). Plays were written to make fun of plays, or to counter the success of plays (e.g. the reaction against and for <i>Cato</i> and, later, Fielding's <i><!--del_lnk--> The Authors Farce</i>). Therefore, history and literature are linked in a way rarely seen at other times. On the one hand, this metropolitan and political writing can seem like coterie or salon work, but, on the other, it was the literature of people deeply committed to sorting out a new type of government, new technologies, and newly vexatious challenges to philosophical and religious certainty.<p><a id="Prose" name="Prose"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prose</span></h2>
<p><i>Main article:</i> <!--del_lnk--> Augustan prose<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23405.png.htm" title="An engraved ticket for Francis Woods's circulating library in London from some time after mid-century."><img alt="An engraved ticket for Francis Woods's circulating library in London from some time after mid-century." height="287" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Nobles-library.png" src="../../images/234/23405.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23405.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An engraved ticket for Francis Woods's circulating library in <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a> from some time after mid-century.</div>
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<p>The <!--del_lnk--> essay, satire, and <!--del_lnk--> dialogue (in <a href="../../wp/p/Philosophy.htm" title="Philosophy">philosophy</a> and religion) thrived in the age, and the <!--del_lnk--> English novel was truly begun as a serious art form. Literacy in the early 18th century passed into the working classes, as well as the middle and upper classes (Thompson, <i>Class</i>). Furthermore, literacy was not confined to men, though rates of female literacy are very difficult to establish. For those who were literate, <a href="../../wp/l/Library.htm" title="Library">circulating libraries</a> in England began in the Augustan period. Libraries were open to all, but they were mainly associated with female patronage and novel reading.<p><a id="The_essay.2Fjournalism" name="The_essay.2Fjournalism"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The essay/journalism</span></h3>
<p>English essayists were aware of Continental models, but they developed their form independently from that tradition, and periodical literature grew between 1692 and 1712. Periodicals were inexpensive to produce, quick to read, and a viable way of influencing public opinion, and consequently there were many broadsheet periodicals headed by a single author and staffed by hirelings (so-called "Grub Street" authors). One periodical outsold and dominated all others, however, and that was <i><!--del_lnk--> The Spectator (1711)</i>, written by <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Addison and <!--del_lnk--> Richard Steele (with occasional contributions from their friends). <i>The Spectator</i> developed a number of pseudonymous characters, including "Mr. Spectator," <!--del_lnk--> Roger de Coverley, and "<!--del_lnk--> Isaac Bickerstaff", and both Addison and Steele created fictions to surround their narrators. The dispassionate view of the world (the pose of a spectator, rather than participant) was essential for the development of the English essay, as it set out a ground wherein Addison and Steele could comment and meditate upon manners and events. Rather than being <a href="../../wp/p/Philosophy.htm" title="Philosopher">philosophers</a> like <!--del_lnk--> Montesquieu, the English essayist could be an honest observer and his reader's peer. After the success of <i>The Spectator,</i> more political periodicals of comment appeared. However, the political factions and coalitions of politicians very quickly realized the power of this type of press, and they began funding newspapers to spread rumors. The Tory ministry of <!--del_lnk--> Robert Harley (1710–1714) reportedly spent over 50,000 pounds sterling on creating and bribing the press (Butt); we know this figure because their successors publicized it, but they (the Walpole government) were suspected of spending even more. Politicians wrote papers, wrote into papers, and supported papers, and it was well known that some of the periodicals, like <i>Mist's Journal,</i> were party mouthpieces.<p><a id="Philosophy_and_religious_writing" name="Philosophy_and_religious_writing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Philosophy and religious writing</span></h3>
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<div style="width:162px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23406.jpg.htm" title="A woodcut of Daniel Defoe."><img alt="A woodcut of Daniel Defoe." height="158" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Defoe-daniel.jpg" src="../../images/234/23406.jpg" width="160" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23406.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A woodcut of <!--del_lnk--> Daniel Defoe.</div>
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<p>The Augustan period showed less literature of controversy than the Restoration. There were Puritan authors, however, and one of the names usually associated with the novel is perhaps the most prominent in <!--del_lnk--> Puritan writing: <!--del_lnk--> Daniel Defoe. After the coronation of Anne, dissenter hopes of reversing the Restoration were at an ebb, and dissenter literature moved from the offensive to the defensive, from revolutionary to conservative. Defoe's infamous volley in the struggle between high and low church came in the form of <i>The Shortest Way with the Dissenters; Or, Proposals for the Establishment of the Church.</i> The work is satirical, attacking all of the worries of Establishment figures over the challenges of dissenters. It is, in other words, defensive. Later still, the most majestic work of the era, and the one most quoted and read, was <!--del_lnk--> William Law's <i>A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life</i> (1728). The <i>Meditations</i> of <a href="../../wp/r/Robert_Boyle.htm" title="Robert Boyle">Robert Boyle</a> remained popular as well. Both Law and Boyle called for revivalism, and they set the stage for the later development of <!--del_lnk--> Methodism and <!--del_lnk--> George Whitefield's sermon style. However, their works aimed at the individual, rather than the community. The age of revolutionary divines and militant evangelists in literature was over for a considerable time.<p>Also in contrast to the Restoration, when philosophy in England was fully dominated by <a href="../../wp/j/John_Locke.htm" title="John Locke">John Locke</a>, the 18th century had a vigorous competition among followers of Locke. <!--del_lnk--> Bishop Berkeley extended Locke's emphasis on perception to argue that perception entirely solves the <a href="../../wp/r/Ren%25C3%25A9_Descartes.htm" title="René Descartes">Cartesian</a> problem of subjective and objective knowledge by saying "to be is to be perceived." Only, Berkeley argued, those things that are perceived by a consciousness are real. For Berkeley, the persistence of matter rests in the fact that <a href="../../wp/g/God.htm" title="God">God</a> perceives those things that humans are not, that a living and continually aware, attentive, and involved God is the only rational explanation for the existence of objective matter. In essence, then, Berkeley's skepticism leads to faith. <a href="../../wp/d/David_Hume.htm" title="David Hume">David Hume</a>, on the other hand, took empiricist skepticism to its extremes, and he was the most radically empiricist philosopher of the period. He attacked surmise and unexamined premises wherever he found them, and his skepticism pointed out <!--del_lnk--> metaphysics in areas that other empiricists had assumed were material. Hume doggedly refused to enter into questions of his personal faith in the divine, but his assault on the logic and assumptions of <!--del_lnk--> theodicy and <!--del_lnk--> cosmogeny was devastating, and he concentrated on the provable and empirical in a way that would lead to <a href="../../wp/u/Utilitarianism.htm" title="Utilitarianism">utilitarianism</a> and <!--del_lnk--> naturalism later.<p>In social and political philosophy, economics underlies much of the debate. Bernard de Mandeville's <i>The Fable of the Bees</i> (1714) became a centre point of controversy regarding trade, morality, and social ethics. Mandeville argued that wastefulness, lust, pride, and all the other "private" vices were good for the society at large, for each led the individual to employ others, to spend freely, and to free capital to flow through the economy. Mandeville's work is full of paradox and is meant, at least partially, to problematize what he saw as the naive philosophy of human progress and inherent virtue. However, Mandeville's arguments, initially an attack on graft of the <a href="../../wp/w/War_of_the_Spanish_Succession.htm" title="War of the Spanish Succession">War of the Spanish Succession</a>, would be quoted often by economists who wished to strip morality away from questions of trade.<p>Adam Smith is remembered by lay persons as the father of <a href="../../wp/c/Capitalism.htm" title="Capitalism">capitalism</a>, but his <i>Theory of Moral Sentiments</i> of 1759 also attempted to strike out a new ground for moral action. His emphasis on "sentiment" was in keeping with the era, as he emphasized the need for "sympathy" between individuals as the basis of fit action. These ideas, and the psychology of <!--del_lnk--> David Hartley, were influential on the <!--del_lnk--> sentimental novel and even the nascent Methodist movement. If sympathetic sentiment communicated morality, would it not be possible to induce morality by providing sympathetic circumstances? Smith's greatest work was <i>An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations</i> in 1776. What it held in common with de Mandeville, Hume, and Locke was that it began by analytically examining the history of material exchange, without reflection on morality. Instead of deducing from the ideal or moral to the real, it examined the real and tried to formulate inductive rules.<p><a id="The_novel" name="The_novel"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The novel</span></h3>
<p>The ground for the novel had been laid by journalism, drama and satire. Long prose satires like Swift's <i><!--del_lnk--> Gulliver's Travels</i> (1726) had a central character who goes through adventures and may (or may not) learn lessons. However, the most important single satirical source for the writing of novels came from <a href="../../wp/m/Miguel_de_Cervantes.htm" title="Cervantes">Cervantes</a>'s <i><!--del_lnk--> Don Quixote</i> (1605, 1615). In general, one can see these three axes, drama, journalism, and satire, as blending in and giving rise to three different types of novel.<p><!--del_lnk--> Daniel Defoe's <i><a href="../../wp/r/Robinson_Crusoe.htm" title="Robinson Crusoe">Robinson Crusoe</a></i> (1719) was the first major novel of the new century. Defoe worked as a journalist during and after its composition, and therefore he encountered the memoirs of <!--del_lnk--> Alexander Selkirk, who had been stranded in <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South America</a> on an island for some years. Defoe took the actual life and, from that, generated a fictional life, satisfying an essentially journalistic market with his fiction. In the 1720s, Defoe interviewed famed criminals and produced accounts of their lives. In particular, he investigated <!--del_lnk--> Jack Sheppard and <a href="../../wp/j/Jonathan_Wild.htm" title="Jonathan Wild">Jonathan Wild</a> and wrote <i>True Accounts</i> of the former's escapes (and fate) and the latter's life. From his reportage on the prostitutes and criminals, Defoe may have become familiar with the real-life Mary Mollineaux, who may have been the model for Moll in <i>Moll Flanders</i> (1722). In the same year, Defoe produced <i>A Journal of the Plague Year</i> (1722), which summoned up the horrors and tribulations of 1665 for a journalistic market for memoirs, and an attempted tale of a working-class male rise in <i>Colonel Jack</i> (1722). His last novel returned to the theme of fallen women in <i>Roxana</i> (1724). Thematically, Defoe's works are consistently Puritan. They all involve a fall, a degradation of the spirit, a conversion, and an ecstatic elevation. This religious structure necessarily involved a <i><!--del_lnk--> bildungsroman</i>, for each character had to learn a lesson about him or herself and emerge the wiser.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23407.png.htm" title="A plate from the 1742 deluxe edition of Richardson's Pamela, or, Virtue Rewarded showing Mr. B intercepting Pamela's first letter home to her mother."><img alt="A plate from the 1742 deluxe edition of Richardson's Pamela, or, Virtue Rewarded showing Mr. B intercepting Pamela's first letter home to her mother." height="336" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pamela-1742.png" src="../../images/234/23407.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23407.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A plate from the 1742 deluxe edition of Richardson's <i><!--del_lnk--> Pamela, or, Virtue Rewarded</i> showing Mr. B intercepting Pamela's first letter home to her mother.</div>
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<p>Although there were novels in the interim, <!--del_lnk--> Samuel Richardson's <i><!--del_lnk--> Pamela, or, Virtue Rewarded</i> (1740) is the next landmark development in the English novel. Richardson's generic models were quite distinct from those of Defoe. Instead of working from the journalistic <!--del_lnk--> biography, Richardson had in mind the books of improvement that were popular at the time. Pamela Andrews enters the employ of a "Mr. B." As a dutiful girl, she writes to her mother constantly, and as a Christian girl, she is always on guard for her "virtue" (i.e. her virginity), for Mr. B lusts after her. The novel ends with her marriage to her employer and her rising to the position of <!--del_lnk--> lady. <i>Pamela</i>, like its author, presents a dissenter's and a Whig's view of the rise of the classes. The work drew a nearly instantaneous set of satires, of which <!--del_lnk--> Henry Fielding's <i><!--del_lnk--> Shamela, or an Apology for the Life of Miss Shamela Andrews</i> (1742) is the most memorable. Fielding continued to bait Richardson with <i><!--del_lnk--> Joseph Andrews</i> (1742), the tale of Shamela's brother, Joseph, who goes through his life trying to protect his own virginity, thus reversing the sexual predation of Richardson and satirizing the idea of sleeping one's way to rank. However, <i>Joseph Andrews</i> is not a parody of Richardson, for Fielding proposed his belief in "good nature," which is a quality of inherent virtue that is independent of class and which can always prevail. Joseph's friend Parson Adams, although not a fool, is a naïf and possessing good nature. His own basic good nature blinds him to the wickedness of the world, and the incidents on the road (for most of the novel is a travel story) allow Fielding to satirize conditions for the clergy, rural poverty (and squires), and the viciousness of businessmen.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:142px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23408.jpg.htm" title="A portrait of Henry Fielding."><img alt="A portrait of Henry Fielding." height="161" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Henry_Fielding.jpg" src="../../images/234/23408.jpg" width="140" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23408.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A portrait of <!--del_lnk--> Henry Fielding.</div>
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<p>In 1747 through 1748, Samuel Richardson published <i><!--del_lnk--> Clarissa</i> in serial form. Unlike <i>Pamela,</i> it is not a tale of virtue rewarded. Instead, it is a highly tragic and affecting account of a young girl whose parents try to force her into an uncongenial marriage, thus pushing her into the arms of a scheming <!--del_lnk--> rake named <!--del_lnk--> Lovelace. In the end, Clarissa dies by her own will. The novel is a masterpiece of <!--del_lnk--> psychological realism and emotional effect, and when Richardson was drawing to a close in the serial publication, even Henry Fielding wrote to him, begging him not to kill Clarissa. As with <i>Pamela,</i> Richardson emphasized the individual over the social and the personal over the class. Even as Fielding was reading and enjoying <i>Clarissa</i>, he was also writing a counter to its messages. His <i><!--del_lnk--> Tom Jones</i> of 1749 offers up the other side of the argument from <i>Clarissa.</i> <i>Tom Jones</i> agrees substantially in the power of the individual to be more or less than his or her birth would indicate, but it again emphasizes the place of the individual in society and the social ramifications of individual choices. Fielding answers Richardson by featuring a similar plot device (whether a girl can choose her own mate) but showing how family and village can complicate and expedite matches and felicity.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:142px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23409.jpg.htm" title="A portrait of Tobias Smollett."><img alt="A portrait of Tobias Smollett." height="173" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tobias_Smollett_c_1770.jpg" src="../../images/234/23409.jpg" width="140" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23409.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A portrait of <!--del_lnk--> Tobias Smollett.</div>
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<p>Two other novelists should be mentioned, for they, like Fielding and Richardson, were in dialog through their works. <!--del_lnk--> Laurence Sterne's and <!--del_lnk--> Tobias Smollett's works offered up oppositional views of the self in society and the method of the novel. The clergyman Laurence Sterne consciously set out to imitate Jonathan Swift with his <i><!--del_lnk--> Tristram Shandy</i> (1759–1767). Tristram seeks to write his <!--del_lnk--> autobiography, but like Swift's narrator in <i><a href="../../wp/a/A_Tale_of_a_Tub.htm" title="A Tale of a Tub">A Tale of a Tub</a>,</i> he worries that nothing in his life can be understood without understanding its context. For example, he tells the reader that at the very moment he was conceived, his mother was saying, "Did you wind the clock?" To explain how he knows this, he explains that his father took care of winding the clock and "other family business" on one day a month. To explain why the clock had to be wound then, he has to explain his father. In other words, the biography moves backward rather than forward in time, only to then jump forward years, hit another knot, and move backward again. It is a novel of exceptional energy, of multi-layered <!--del_lnk--> digressions, of multiple satires, and of frequent parodies. Journalist, translator, and historian <!--del_lnk--> Tobias Smollett, on the other hand, wrote more seemingly traditional novels. He concentrated on the <!--del_lnk--> picaresque novel, where a low-born character would go through a practically endless series of adventures. Sterne thought that Smollett's novels always paid undue attention to the basest and most common elements of life, that they emphasized the dirt. Although this is a superficial complaint, it points to an important difference between the two as authors. Sterne came to the novel from a satirical background, while Smollett approached it from journalism. In the 19th century, novelists would have plots much nearer to Smollett's than either Fielding's or Sterne's or Richardson's, and his sprawling, linear development of action would prove most successful.<p>In the midst of this development of the novel, other trends were taking place. The novel of sentiment was beginning in the 1760s and would experience a brief period of dominance. This type of novel emphasized sympathy. In keeping with the theories of Adam Smith and David Hartley (see above), the <!--del_lnk--> sentimental novel concentrated on characters who are quickly moved to labile swings of mood and extraordinary empathy. <!--del_lnk--> Sarah Fielding's <i>David Simple</i> outsold her brother Henry Fielding's <i>Joseph Andrews</i> and took the theory of "good nature" to be a sentimental nature. Other women were also writing novels and moving away from the old romance plots that had dominated before the Restoration. There were utopian novels, like <!--del_lnk--> Sarah Scott's <i>Millennium Hall</i> (1762), autobiographical women's novels like <!--del_lnk--> Frances Burney's works, female adaptations of older, male motifs, such as <!--del_lnk--> Charlotte Lennox's <i>The Female Quixote</i> (1752) and many others. These novels do not generally follow a strict line of development or influence. However, they were popular works that were celebrated by both male and female readers and critics.<p><a id="Historians_of_the_novel" name="Historians_of_the_novel"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Historians of the novel</span></h4>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Ian Watt's <i>The Rise of the Novel</i> (1957) still dominates attempts at writing a history of the novel. Watt's view is that the critical feature of the 18th-century novel is the creation of psychological realism. This feature, he argued, would continue on and influence the novel as it has been known in the 20th century. <!--del_lnk--> Michael McKeon brought a <a href="../../wp/m/Marxism.htm" title="Marxism">Marxist</a> approach to the history of the novel in his 1986 <i>The Origins of the English Novel.</i> McKeon viewed the novel as emerging as a constant battleground between two developments of two sets of world view that corresponded to Whig/Tory, Dissenter/Establishment, and Capitalist/Persistent Feudalist.<p><a id="Satire_.28unclassified.29" name="Satire_.28unclassified.29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Satire (unclassified)</span></h3>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/230/23068.jpg.htm" title="An illustration from Jonathan Swift's A Tale of a Tub showing the three "stages" of human life: the pulpit, the theatre, and the gallows. Click on the image for detail."><img alt="An illustration from Jonathan Swift's A Tale of a Tub showing the three "stages" of human life: the pulpit, the theatre, and the gallows. Click on the image for detail." height="338" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tale-stages.jpg" src="../../images/230/23068.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/230/23068.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An illustration from <!--del_lnk--> Jonathan Swift's <i><a href="../../wp/a/A_Tale_of_a_Tub.htm" title="A Tale of a Tub">A Tale of a Tub</a></i> showing the three "stages" of human life: the pulpit, the theatre, and the gallows. Click on the image for detail.</div>
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<p>A single name overshadows all others in 18th-century prose satire: <!--del_lnk--> Jonathan Swift. Swift wrote poetry as well as prose, and his satires range over all topics. Critically, Swift's satire marked the development of prose parody away from simple satire or burlesque. A burlesque or lampoon in prose would imitate a despised author and quickly move to <i>reductio ad absurdum</i> by having the victim say things coarse or idiotic. On the other hand, other satires would argue against a habit, practice, or policy by making fun of its reach or composition or methods. What Swift did was to combine <!--del_lnk--> parody, with its imitation of form and style of another, and satire in prose. Swift's works would pretend to speak in the voice of an opponent and imitate the style of the opponent and have the parodic work itself be the satire. Swift's first major satire was <i><a href="../../wp/a/A_Tale_of_a_Tub.htm" title="A Tale of a Tub">A Tale of a Tub</a></i> (1703–1705), which introduced an ancients/moderns division that would serve as a distinction between the old and new conception of value. The "moderns" sought trade, empirical science, the individual's reason above the society's, while the "ancients" believed in inherent and immanent value of birth, and the society over the individual's determinations of the good. In Swift's satire, the moderns come out looking insane and proud of their insanity, and dismissive of the value of history. In Swift's most significant satire, <i><!--del_lnk--> Gulliver's Travels</i> (1726), autobiography, allegory, and philosophy mix together in the travels. Thematically, <i>Gulliver's Travels</i> is a critique of human vanity, of pride. Book one, the journey to Liliput, begins with the world as it is. Book two shows that the idealized nation of Brobdingnag with a <!--del_lnk--> philosopher king is no home for a contemporary Englishman. Book four depicts the land of the Houyhnhnms, a society of horses ruled by pure reason, where humanity itself is portrayed as a group of "yahoos" covered in filth and dominated by base desires. It shows that, indeed, the very desire for reason may be undesirable, and humans must struggle to be neither Yahoos nor Houyhnhnms, for book three shows what happens when reason is unleashed without any consideration of morality or utility (i.e. madness, ruin, and starvation).<p>There were other satirists who worked in a less virulent way, who took a bemused pose and only made lighthearted fun. <!--del_lnk--> Tom Brown, <!--del_lnk--> Ned Ward, and <!--del_lnk--> Tom D'Urfey were all satirists in prose and poetry whose works appeared in the early part of the Augustan age. Tom Brown's most famous work in this vein was <i>Amusements Serious and Comical, Calculated for the Meridian of London</i> (1700). Ned Ward's most memorable work was <i>The London Spy</i> (1704–1706). <i>The London Spy,</i> before <i>The Spectator,</i> took up the position of an observer and uncomprehendingly reporting back. Tom D'Urfey's <i>Wit and Mirth: or Pills to Purge Melancholy</i> (1719) was another satire that attempted to offer entertainment, rather than a specific bit of political action, in the form of coarse and catchy songs.<p>Particularly after Swift's success, parodic satire had an attraction for authors throughout the 18th century. A variety of factors created a rise in political writing and political satire, and <!--del_lnk--> Robert Walpole's success and domination of <a href="../../wp/b/British_House_of_Commons.htm" title="British House of Commons">House of Commons</a> was a very effective proximal cause for polarized literature and thereby the rise of parodic satire. The parodic satire takes apart the cases and plans of policy without necessarily contrasting a normative or positive set of values. Therefore, it was an ideal method of attack for ironists and conservatives—those who would not be able to enunciate a set of values to change toward but could condemn present changes as ill-considered. Satire was present in all genres during the Augustan period. Perhaps primarily, satire was a part of political and religious debate. Every significant politician and political act had satires to attack it. Few of these were parodic satires, but parodic satires, too, emerged in political and religious debate. So omnipresent and powerful was satire in the Augustan age that more than one literary history has referred to it as the "Age of satire" in literature.<p><a id="Poetry" name="Poetry"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Poetry</span></h2>
<p><i>Main article</i> <!--del_lnk--> Augustan poetry<p>In the Augustan era, poets wrote in direct counterpoint and direct expansion of one another, with each poet writing satire when in opposition. There was a great struggle over the nature and role of the <!--del_lnk--> pastoral in the early part of the century, reflecting two simultaneous movements: the invention of the subjective self as a worthy topic, with the emergence of a priority on <i>individual</i> psychology, against the insistence on all acts of art being <i>performance</i> and public gesture designed for the benefit of society at large. The development seemingly agreed upon by both sides was a gradual adaptation of all forms of poetry from their older uses. <!--del_lnk--> Odes would cease to be encomium, <!--del_lnk--> ballads cease to be narratives, <!--del_lnk--> elegies cease to be sincere memorials, satires no longer be specific entertainments, parodies no longer be performance pieces without sting, <!--del_lnk--> song no longer be pointed, and the <!--del_lnk--> lyric would become a celebration of the individual rather than a lover's complaint. These developments can be seen as extensions of <!--del_lnk--> Protestantism, as <a href="../../wp/m/Max_Weber.htm" title="Max Weber">Max Weber</a> argued, for they represent a gradual increase in the implications of <a href="../../wp/m/Martin_Luther.htm" title="Martin Luther">Martin Luther</a>'s doctrine of the <!--del_lnk--> priesthood of all believers, or they can be seen as a growth of the power and assertiveness of the <!--del_lnk--> bourgeoisie and an echo of the displacement of the worker from the home in growing industrialization, as <!--del_lnk--> Marxists such as <!--del_lnk--> E.P. Thompson have argued. It can be argued that the development of the subjective individual against the social individual was a natural reaction to trade over other methods of economic production. Whatever the prime cause, a largely conservative set of voices argued for a social person and largely emergent voices argued for the individual person.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:183px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23410.png.htm" title="Alexander Pope, the single poet who most influenced the Augustan Age."><img alt="Alexander Pope, the single poet who most influenced the Augustan Age." height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Alexander_Pope_ca_1727.png" src="../../images/234/23410.png" width="181" /></a><div class="thumbcaption"><!--del_lnk--> Alexander Pope, the single poet who most influenced the Augustan Age.</div>
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<p>The entire Augustan age's poetry was dominated by <!--del_lnk--> Alexander Pope. His lines were repeated often enough to lend quite a few clichés and proverbs to modern English usage. Pope had few poetic rivals, but he had many personal enemies and political, philosophical, or religious opponents, and Pope himself was quarrelsome in print. Pope and his enemies (often called "the Dunces" because of Pope's successful satirizing of them in <i><!--del_lnk--> The Dunciad</i>) fought over central matters of the proper subject matter for poetry and the proper pose of the poetic voice.<p>There was a great struggle over the nature and role of the <!--del_lnk--> pastoral in the early part of the century. After Pope published his <i>Pastorals</i> of the four seasons in 1709, an evaluation in the <i>Guardian</i> praised <!--del_lnk--> Ambrose Philips's pastorals above Pope's, and Pope replied with a mock praise of Philips's <i>Pastorals</i> that heaped scorn on them. Pope quoted Philips's worst lines, mocked his execution, and delighted in pointing out his empty lines. Pope later explained that any depictions of shepherds and their mistresses in the pastoral must not be updated shepherds, that they must be icons of the <!--del_lnk--> Golden Age: "we are not to describe our shepherds as shepherds at this day really are, but as they may be conceived then to have been, when the best of men followed the employment" (Gordon). Philips's <i>Pastorals</i> were not particularly awful poems, but they did reflect his desire to "update" the pastoral. In 1724, Philips would update poetry again by writing a series of odes dedicated to "all ages and characters, from Walpole, the steerer of the realm, to Miss Pulteney in the nursery." <!--del_lnk--> Henry Carey was one of the best at satirizing these poems, and his <i><!--del_lnk--> Namby Pamby</i> became a hugely successful obliteration of Philips and Philips's endeavor. What is notable about Philips against Pope, however, is the fact that <i>both</i> poets were adapting the pastoral and the ode, both altering it. Pope's insistence upon a Golden Age pastoral no less than Philips's desire to update it meant making a political statement. While it is easy to see in Ambrose Philips an effort at modernist triumph, it is no less the case that Pope's artificially restricted pastoral was a statement of what the ideal should be.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23411.gif.htm" title="Portrait of John Gay from Samuel Johnson's Lives of the English Poets, the 1779 edition. Gay's gentle satire was a contrast with the harsher Pope and Swift."><img alt="Portrait of John Gay from Samuel Johnson's Lives of the English Poets, the 1779 edition. Gay's gentle satire was a contrast with the harsher Pope and Swift." height="309" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Gay-SJWorks-79.gif" src="../../images/234/23411.gif" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23411.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Portrait of <!--del_lnk--> John Gay from <!--del_lnk--> Samuel Johnson's <i>Lives of the English Poets</i>, the 1779 edition. Gay's gentle satire was a contrast with the harsher Pope and Swift.</div>
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<p>Pope's friend John Gay also adapted the pastoral. Gay, working at Pope's suggestion, wrote a parody of the updated pastoral in <i>The Shepherd's Week.</i> He also imitated the <!--del_lnk--> Satires of Juvenal with his <i><!--del_lnk--> Trivia</i>. In 1728, his <i>The Beggar's Opera</i> was an enormous success, running for an unheard-of eighty performances. All of these works have in common a gesture of compassion. In <i>Trivia,</i> Gay writes as if commiserating with those who live in London and are menaced by falling masonry and bedpan slops, and <i>The Shepherd's Week</i> features great detail of the follies of everyday life and eccentric character. Even <i>The Beggar's Opera,</i> which is a satire of Robert Walpole, portrays its characters with compassion: the villains have pathetic songs in their own right and are acting out of exigency rather than boundless evil.<p>Throughout the Augustan era the "updating" of Classical poets was a commonplace. These were not translations, but rather they were imitations of Classical models, and the imitation allowed poets to veil their responsibility for the comments they made. Alexander Pope would manage to refer to the King himself in unflattering tones by "imitating" Horace in his <i>Epistle to Augustus.</i> Similarly, <!--del_lnk--> Samuel Johnson wrote a poem that falls into the Augustan period in his "imitation of Juvenal" entitled <i>London.</i> The imitation was inherently conservative, since it argued that all that was good was to be found in the old classical education, but these imitations were used for progressive purposes, as the poets who used them were often doing so to complain of the political situation.<p>In satire, Pope achieved two of the greatest poetic satires of all time in the Augustan period. <i><!--del_lnk--> The Rape of the Lock</i> (1712 and 1714) was a gentle mock-heroic. Pope applies Virgil's heroic and epic structure to the story of a young woman (Arabella Fermor) having a lock of hair snipped by an amorous baron (Lord Petre). The <i>structure</i> of the comparison forces Pope to invent mythological forces to overlook the struggle, and so he creates an epic battle, complete with a <a href="../../wp/m/Mythology.htm" title="Mythology">mythology</a> of <!--del_lnk--> sylphs and <!--del_lnk--> metempsychosis, over a game of <!--del_lnk--> Ombre, leading to a fiendish appropriation of the lock of hair. Finally, a <!--del_lnk--> deux ex machina appears and the lock of hair experiences an <!--del_lnk--> apotheosis. To some degree, Pope was adapting Jonathan Swift's habit, in <i>A Tale of a Tub,</i> of pretending that metaphors were literal truths, and he was inventing a mythos to go with the everyday. The poem was an enormous public success.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23412.png.htm" title="One of the scabrous satirical prints directed against Pope after his Dunciad of 1727."><img alt="One of the scabrous satirical prints directed against Pope after his Dunciad of 1727." height="323" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pope-Alexander.png" src="../../images/234/23412.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23412.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> One of the scabrous satirical prints directed against Pope after his <i>Dunciad</i> of 1727.</div>
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<p>A decade after the gentle, laughing satire of <i>The Rape of the Lock,</i> Pope wrote his masterpiece of invective and specific opprobrium in <i><!--del_lnk--> The Dunciad.</i> The story is that of the goddess Dulness choosing a new <!--del_lnk--> avatar. She settles upon one of Pope's personal enemies, <!--del_lnk--> Lewis Theobald, and the poem describes the coronation and heroic games undertaken by all of the dunces of Great Britain in celebration of Theobald's ascension. When Pope's enemies responded to <i>The Dunciad</i> with attacks, Pope produced the <i>Dunciad Variorum,</i> with a "learned" commentary upon the original <i>Dunciad</i>. In 1743, he added a fourth book and changed the hero from Lewis Theobald to <a href="../../wp/c/Colley_Cibber.htm" title="Colley Cibber">Colley Cibber</a>. In the fourth book of the new <i>Dunciad</i>, Pope expressed the view that, in the battle between light and dark (enlightenment and the dark ages), <!--del_lnk--> Night and Dulness were fated to win, that all things of value were soon going to be subsumed under the curtain of unknowing.<p>John Gay and Alexander Pope belong on one side of a line separating the celebrants of the individual and the celebrants of the social. Pope wrote <i>The Rape of the Lock,</i> he said, to settle a disagreement between two great families, to laugh them into peace. Even <i>The Dunciad,</i> which seems to be a serial killing of everyone on Pope's enemies list, sets up these figures as expressions of dangerous and <i>antisocial</i> forces in letters. Theobald and Cibber are marked by vanity and pride, by having no care for morality. The hireling pens Pope attacks mercilessly in the heroic games section of the <i>Dunciad</i> are all embodiments of avarice and lies. Similarly, Gay writes of political society, of social dangers, and of follies that must be addressed to protect the greater whole. Gay's individuals are microcosms of the society at large. On the other side of this line were people who agreed with the <i>politics</i> of Gay and Pope (and Swift), but not in approach. They include, early in the Augustan Age, <!--del_lnk--> James Thomson and <!--del_lnk--> Edward Yonge. Thomson's <i><!--del_lnk--> The Seasons</i> (1730) are nature poetry, but they are unlike Pope's notion of the Golden Age pastoral. Thomson's poet speaks in the first person from direct observation, and his own mood and <!--del_lnk--> sentiment colour the descriptions of landscape. Unlike Pope's <i>Windsor Forest</i>, Thomson's seasons have no mythology, no celebration of Britain or the crown. <i>Winter,</i> in particular, is melancholy and meditative. Edward Yonge's <i>Night Thoughts</i> (1742–1744) was immediately popular. It was, even more than <i>Winter,</i> a poem of deep solitude, melancholy, and despair. In these two poets, there are the stirrings of the lyric as the <!--del_lnk--> Romantics would see it: the celebration of the private individual's idiosyncratic, yet paradigmatic, responses to the visions of the world.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:146px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23413.gif.htm" title="James Thomson, from the 1779 edition of Samuel Johnson's Lives of the English Poets."><img alt="James Thomson, from the 1779 edition of Samuel Johnson's Lives of the English Poets." height="144" longdesc="/wiki/Image:JThomson.gif" src="../../images/234/23413.gif" width="144" /></a><div class="thumbcaption"><!--del_lnk--> James Thomson, from the 1779 edition of <!--del_lnk--> Samuel Johnson's <i>Lives of the English Poets.</i></div>
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<p>These hints at the solitary poet were carried into a new realm with <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Gray, whose <i><!--del_lnk--> Elegy Written in a Country Church-Yard</i> (1750) set off a new craze for poetry of melancholy reflection. It was written in the "country," and not in or as opposed to London, and the poem sets up the solitary observer in a privileged position. It is only by being solitary that the poet can speak of a truth that is wholly individually realized. After Gray, a group often referred to as the <!--del_lnk--> Churchyard Poets began imitating his pose, if not his style. <!--del_lnk--> Oliver Goldsmith (<i>The Deserted Village</i>), <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Warton, and even <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Percy (<i>The Hermit of Warkworth</i>), each conservative by and large and Classicist (Gray himself was a professor of Greek), took up the new poetry of solitude and loss.<p>When the Romantics emerged at the end of the 18th century, they were not assuming a radically new invention of the subjective self themselves, but merely formalizing what had gone before. Similarly, the later 18th century saw a ballad revival, with Thomas Percy's <i><!--del_lnk--> Reliques of Ancient English Poetry.</i> The relics were not always very ancient, as many of the ballads dated from only the 17th century (e.g. the <!--del_lnk--> Bagford Ballads or <!--del_lnk--> The Dragon of Wantley in the <!--del_lnk--> Percy Folio), and so what began as an antiquarian movement soon became a folk movement. When this folk-inspired impulse combined with the solitary and individualistic impulse of the Churchyard Poets, Romanticism was nearly inevitable.<p><a id="Drama" name="Drama"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Drama</span></h2>
<p><i>Main article at</i> <!--del_lnk--> Augustan drama<p>The "Augustan era" is difficult to define chronologically in prose and poetry, but it is very easy to date its end in drama. The Augustan era's drama ended definitively in 1737, with the <!--del_lnk--> Licensing Act. Prior to 1737, however, the English stage was changing rapidly from the <a href="../../wp/r/Restoration_comedy.htm" title="Restoration comedy">Restoration comedy</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Restoration drama and their noble subjects to the quickly developing <!--del_lnk--> melodrama.<p><!--del_lnk--> George Lillo and <!--del_lnk--> Richard Steele wrote the trend-setting plays of the early Augustan period. Lillo's plays consciously turned from heroes and kings and toward shopkeepers and apprentices. They emphasized drama on a household scale, rather than a national scale, and the <!--del_lnk--> hamartia and <!--del_lnk--> agon in his tragedies are the common flaws of yielding to temptation and the commission of Christian sin. The plots are resolved with Christian forgiveness and repentance. Steele's <i>The Conscious Lovers</i> (1722) hinges upon his young hero avoiding fighting a <!--del_lnk--> duel. These plays set up a new set of values for the stage. Instead of amusing the audience or inspiring the audience, they sought to instruct the audience and ennoble it. Further, the plays were popular precisely because they seemed to reflect the audience's own lives and concerns.<p>Joseph Addison also wrote a play, entitled <i>Cato</i>, in 1713. <i>Cato</i> concerned the Roman <!--del_lnk--> statesman. The year of its première was important, for Queen Anne was in serious illness at the time, and both the Tory ministry of the day and the Whig opposition (already being led by Robert Walpole) were concerned about the succession. Both groups were contacting the <!--del_lnk--> Old Pretender about bringing the <!--del_lnk--> Young Pretender over. Londoners sensed this anxiety, for Anne had no heirs, and all of the natural successors in the Stuart family were Roman Catholic or unavailable. Therefore, the figure of Cato was a transparent symbol of Roman integrity, and the Whigs saw in him a champion of Whig values, while the Tories saw in him an embodiment of Tory sentiments. Both sides cheered the play, even though Addison was himself clearly Whig. <!--del_lnk--> John Home's play <i>Douglas</i> (1756) would have a similar fate to <i>Cato</i> in the next generation, after the Licensing Act.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23414.png.htm" title="A print by William Hogarth entitled A Just View of the British Stage from 1724 depicting the managers of Drury Lane (Robert Wilks, Colley Cibber, and Barton Booth) rehearsing a play comprised of nothing but special effects, while they used the scripts for Macbeth, Hamlet, Julius Caesar and The Way of the World for toilet paper. This battle of effects was a common subject of satire for the literary wits, including Pope in The Dunciad."><img alt="A print by William Hogarth entitled A Just View of the British Stage from 1724 depicting the managers of Drury Lane (Robert Wilks, Colley Cibber, and Barton Booth) rehearsing a play comprised of nothing but special effects, while they used the scripts for Macbeth, Hamlet, Julius Caesar and The Way of the World for toilet paper. This battle of effects was a common subject of satire for the literary wits, including Pope in The Dunciad." height="242" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hogarth-rehearsal.png" src="../../images/234/23414.png" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23414.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A print by <a href="../../wp/w/William_Hogarth.htm" title="William Hogarth">William Hogarth</a> entitled <i>A Just View of the British Stage</i> from 1724 depicting the managers of <!--del_lnk--> Drury Lane (<!--del_lnk--> Robert Wilks, <a href="../../wp/c/Colley_Cibber.htm" title="Colley Cibber">Colley Cibber</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> Barton Booth) rehearsing a play comprised of nothing but special effects, while they used the scripts for <i>Macbeth,</i> <i>Hamlet</i>, <i>Julius Caesar</i> and <i>The Way of the World</i> for toilet paper. This battle of effects was a common subject of satire for the literary wits, including Pope in <i><!--del_lnk--> The Dunciad</i>.</div>
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<p>As during the Restoration, economics drove the stage in the Augustan period. Under <a href="../../wp/c/Charles_II_of_England.htm" title="Charles II of England">Charles II</a> court patronage meant economic success, and therefore the Restoration stage featured plays that would suit the monarch and/or court. The drama that celebrated kings and told the history of Britain's monarchs was fit fare for the crown and courtiers. Charles II was a philanderer, and so Restoration comedy featured a highly sexualized set of plays. However, after the reign of William and Mary, the court and crown stopped taking a great interest in the playhouse. Theaters had to get their money from the audience of city dwellers, therefore, and consequently plays that reflected city anxieties and celebrated the lives of citizens drew and were staged.<p>Thus, there were quite a few plays that were, in fact, not literary that were staged more often than the literary plays. <!--del_lnk--> John Rich and <a href="../../wp/c/Colley_Cibber.htm" title="Colley Cibber">Colley Cibber</a> duelled over special theatrical effects. They put on plays that were actually just spectacles, where the text of the play was almost an afterthought. Dragons, whirlwinds, thunder, ocean waves, and even actual elephants were on stage. Battles, explosions, and horses were put on the boards. Rich specialized in <!--del_lnk--> pantomime and was famous as the character "Lun" in <!--del_lnk--> harlequin presentations. The plays put on in this manner are not generally preserved or studied, but their monopoly on the theaters infuriated established literary authors.<p>Additionally, <a href="../../wp/o/Opera.htm" title="Opera">opera</a> made its way to England during this period. Inasmuch as opera combined singing with acting, it was a mixed genre, and this violated all the strictures of <!--del_lnk--> neo-classicism. Further, high melodies would cover the singers' expressions of grief or joy, thus breaking "decorum." To add insult to injury, the casts and celebrated stars were foreigners, and, as with <!--del_lnk--> Farinelli, <!--del_lnk--> castrati. The satirists saw in opera the <i>non plus ultra</i> of invidiousness. As Pope put it in <i>Dunciad B</i>:<dl>
<dd>"Joy to Chaos! let Division reign:<dd>Chromatic tortures soon shall drive them [the muses] hence,<dd>Break all their nerves, and fritter all their sense:<dd>One Trill shall harmonize joy, grief, and rage,<dd>Wake the dull Church, and lull the ranting Stage;<dd>To the same notes thy sons shall hum, or snore,<dd>And all thy yawning daughters cry, <i>encore.</i>" (IV 55-60)</dl>
<p>John Gay parodied the opera with his satirical <i>Beggar's Opera</i> (1728) and offered up a parody of Robert Walpole's actions during the <!--del_lnk--> South Sea Bubble. Superficially, the play is about a man named Macheath who keeps being imprisoned by a thief named Peachum and who escapes prison over and over again because the daughter of the jailor, Lucy Lockitt, is in love with him. This is an obvious parallel with the case of <a href="../../wp/j/Jonathan_Wild.htm" title="Jonathan Wild">Jonathan Wild</a> (Peachum) and <!--del_lnk--> Jack Sheppard (Macheath). However, it was also the tale of Robert Walpole (Peachum) and the South Sea directors (Macheath). The play was a hit, and its songs were printed up and sold. However, when Gay wrote a follow up called <i>Polly,</i> Walpole had the play suppressed before performance.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23415.jpg.htm" title="Frontispiece to Fielding's Tom Thumb, a play satirizing plays (and Robert Walpole)."><img alt="Frontispiece to Fielding's Tom Thumb, a play satirizing plays (and Robert Walpole)." height="350" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Fielding-Thumb.jpg" src="../../images/234/23415.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23415.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Frontispiece to Fielding's <i>Tom Thumb</i>, a play satirizing plays (and <!--del_lnk--> Robert Walpole).</div>
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<p>Playwrights were therefore in straits. On the one hand, the playhouses were doing without plays by turning out hack-written pantomimes. On the other hand, when a satirical play appeared, the Whig ministry would suppress it. This antagonism was picked up by Henry Fielding, who was not afraid to fight Walpole. His <i>Tom Thumb</i> (1730) was a satire on all of the tragedies written before him, with quotations from all the worst plays patched together for absurdity, and the plot concerned the eponymous tiny man attempting to run things. It was, in other words, an attack on Robert Walpole and the way that he was referred to as "the Great Man." Here, the Great Man is made obviously deficient by being a midget. Walpole responded, and Fielding's revision of the play was in print only. It was written by "Scribblerus Secundus," its title page announced, and it was the <i>Tragedy of Tragedies,</i> which functioned as a clearly Swiftian parodic satire. Anti-Walpolean sentiment also showed in increasingly political plays, and the theaters began to stage them. A particular play of unknown authorship entitled <i>A Vision of the Golden Rump</i> was cited when Parliament passed the Licensing Act of 1737. (The "rump" in question is Parliament, on the one hand, and buttocks on the other.)<p>The Licensing Act required all plays to go to a censor before staging, and only those plays passed by the censor were allowed to be performed. The first play to be banned by the new Act was <i>Gustavus Vasa,</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Henry Brooke. <!--del_lnk--> Samuel Johnson wrote a Swiftian parodic satire of the licensers, entitled <i>A Complete Vindication of the Licensers of the English Stage</i>. The satire was, of course, not a vindication at all, but rather a <i>reductio ad absurdum</i> of the position for censorship. Had the licensers not exercised their authority in a partisan manner, the Act might not have chilled the stage so dramatically, but the public was well aware of the bannings and <!--del_lnk--> censorship, and consequently any play that <i>did</i> pass the licensers was regarded with suspicion by the public. Therefore, the playhouses had little choice but to present old plays and pantomime and plays that had no conceivable political content. In other words, <a href="../../wp/w/William_Shakespeare.htm" title="William Shakespeare">William Shakespeare</a>'s reputation grew enormously as his plays saw a quadrupling of performances, and sentimental comedy and melodrama were the only choices.<p>Very late in the Augustan period, Oliver Goldsmith attempted to resist the tide of sentimental comedy with <i><!--del_lnk--> She Stoops to Conquer</i> (1773), and <!--del_lnk--> Richard Brinsley Sheridan would mount several satirical plays after Walpole's death, but to a large degree the damage had been done and would last for a century.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustan_literature"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Auguste Rodin</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.People.Artists.htm">Artists</a></h3>
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<p><b>Auguste Rodin</b> (born François-Auguste-René Rodin; <!--del_lnk--> November 12, <!--del_lnk--> 1840 – <!--del_lnk--> November 17, <!--del_lnk--> 1917) was a <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">French</a> artist, most famous as a <a href="../../wp/s/Sculpture.htm" title="Sculpture">sculptor</a>. He was the preeminent French sculptor of his time, and remains one of the few sculptors with broad name recognition outside the visual arts community.<p>Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past. He was schooled traditionally in Paris's <i><!--del_lnk--> École des Beaux-Arts</i> system, took a craftsman-like approach to his work, and desired academic recognition. Sculpturally, he possessed a unique ability to model in <a href="../../wp/c/Clay.htm" title="Clay">clay</a> a complex, turbulent, deeply pocketed surface.<p>Many of Rodin's most notable sculptures were roundly criticized during his lifetime. They clashed with the predominant figure sculpture tradition, in which works were decorative, formulaic, or highly thematic. Rodin's most original work departed from traditional themes of <a href="../../wp/m/Mythology.htm" title="Mythology">mythology</a> and <!--del_lnk--> allegory, modelled the human body with high realism, and celebrated individual character and physicality. Rodin was sensitive to the controversy about his work, but did not change his style, and successive works brought increasing favour from the government and the artistic community.<p>From the unexpected realism of his first major figure—inspired by his 1875 trip to Italy—to the unconventional memorials whose commissions he later sought, Rodin's reputation grew. By 1900, he was a world-renowned artist. Wealthy private clients sought Rodin's work after his <!--del_lnk--> World's Fair exhibit, and he kept company with a variety of high-profile intellectuals and artists. His sculpture suffered a decline in popularity after his death in 1917, but within a few decades his legacy solidified.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Biography" name="Biography"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Biography</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/212/21287.jpg.htm" title="The Thinker (1879–1889) is among the most recognized works in all of sculpture."><img alt="The Thinker (1879–1889) is among the most recognized works in all of sculpture." class="thumbimage" height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:The_Thinker.jpg" src="../../images/212/21287.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/212/21287.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i><!--del_lnk--> The Thinker</i> (1879–1889) is among the most recognized works in all of sculpture.</div>
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<p>Rodin was born in 1840 into a working-class family in Paris, the son of Marie Cheffer and Jean-Baptiste Rodin, a police department clerk. He was largely self-educated, and began to draw at ten. From 14 to 17, he attended the <i>Petite École</i>, a school specializing in art and mathematics, where he studied drawing with de Boisbaudran and painting with Belloc. Rodin submitted a clay model of a companion to the <i><!--del_lnk--> Grand École</i> in 1857 in an attempt to win entrance; he did not succeed, and two further applications were also denied. Given that entrance requirements at the <i>Grand École</i> were not particularly high, the rejections were considerable setbacks. Rodin's inability to gain entrance may have been due to the judges' <!--del_lnk--> Neoclassical tastes, while Rodin had been schooled in light, 18th century sculpture. Leaving the <i>Petite École</i> in 1857, Rodin would earn a living as a craftsman and ornamenter for most of the next two decades, producing decorative objects and architectural embellishments.<p>Rodin's sister Maria, two years his senior, died of <!--del_lnk--> peritonitis in a convent in 1862. Her brother was anguished, and felt guilty because he had introduced Maria to an unfaithful suitor. Turning away from art, Rodin briefly joined a Christian order. Father <!--del_lnk--> Peter Julian Eymard recognized Rodin's talent and, sensing his lack of suitability for the order, encouraged Rodin to continue with his sculpture. He returned to work as a decorator, while taking classes with animal sculptor <!--del_lnk--> Antoine-Louis Barye. The teacher's attention to detail—his finely rendered musculature of animals in motion—significantly influenced Rodin.<p>In 1864, Rodin began to live with a young seamstress named Rose Beuret, with whom he would stay—with ranging commitment—for the rest of his life. The couple bore a son, Auguste-Eugène Beuret (1866–1934). That year, Rodin offered his first sculpture for exhibition, and entered the studio of <!--del_lnk--> Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, a successful mass producer of <i><!--del_lnk--> objects d'art</i>. Rodin worked as Carrier-Belleuse' chief assistant until 1870, designing roof decorations and staircase and doorway embellishments. With the arrival of the <!--del_lnk--> Franco-Prussian War, Rodin was called to serve in the National Guard, but his service was brief due to his <!--del_lnk--> near-sightedness. Decorators' work had dwindled because of the war, yet Rodin needed to support his family. Carrier-Belleuse soon asked Rodin to join him in <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a>, where they would work on ornamentation for <!--del_lnk--> Brussels' bourse.<p>Rodin spent the next six years abroad. Though his relationship with Carrier-Belleuse deteriorated, he found other employment in Brussels, and his companion Rose soon joined him there. Having saved enough money to travel, Rodin visited Italy for two months in 1875, where he was drawn to the work of <!--del_lnk--> Donatello and <a href="../../wp/m/Michelangelo.htm" title="Michelangelo">Michelangelo</a>. Their work had a profound effect on his artistic direction. Rodin said, "It is [Michelangelo] who has freed me from academic sculpture." Returning to Belgium, he began work on <i>The Age of Bronze</i>, a life-size male figure whose realism brought Rodin attention but led to accusations of sculptural cheating.<p><a id="Artistic_independence" name="Artistic_independence"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Artistic independence</span></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/212/21289.jpg.htm" title="Rodin's signature on The Thinker."><img alt="Rodin's signature on The Thinker." class="thumbimage" height="120" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auguste_Rodin_signature.jpg" src="../../images/212/21289.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/212/21289.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Rodin's signature on <i>The Thinker</i>.</div>
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<p>Rose Beuret and Rodin returned to Paris in 1877, moving into a small flat on the <!--del_lnk--> Left Bank. Misfortune surrounded Rodin: his mother, who had wanted to see her son marry, was dead, and his father was blind and senile, cared for by Rodin's sister-in-law, Aunt Thérèse. Rodin's eleven-year-old son Auguste, possibly developmentally delayed, was also in the ever-helpful Thérèse's care. Rodin had essentially abandoned his son for six years, and would have a very limited relationship with him throughout his life. Father and son now joined the couple in their flat, with Rose as caretaker. The charges of fakery surrounding <i>The Age of Bronze</i> continued. Rodin increasingly sought more soothing female companionship in Paris, and Rose stayed in the background.<p>Rodin earned his living collaborating with more established sculptors on public commissions, primarily memorials and <!--del_lnk--> neo-baroque architectural pieces in the style of Carpeaux. In competitions for commissions he submitted models of <!--del_lnk--> Denis Diderot, <a href="../../wp/j/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau.htm" title="Jean-Jacques Rousseau">Jean-Jacques Rousseau</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> Lazare Carnot, all to no avail. On his own time, he worked on studies leading to the creation of his next important work, <i>St. John the Baptist Preaching</i>.<p>In 1880, Carrier-Belleuse—now art director of the <!--del_lnk--> Sèvres national <!--del_lnk--> porcelain factory—offered Rodin a part-time position as a designer. The offer was in part a gesture of reconciliation, and Rodin accepted. That part of Rodin that appreciated 18th-century tastes was aroused, and he immersed himself in designs for vases and table ornaments that gave the factory renown across Europe. The artistic community appreciated his work in this vein, and Rodin was invited to Paris <!--del_lnk--> salons by such friends as writer <!--del_lnk--> Léon Cladel. During his early appearances at these social events, Rodin seemed shy; in his later years, as his fame grew, he displayed the loquaciousness and temperament for which he is better known. French statesman <!--del_lnk--> Leon Gambetta expressed a desire to meet Rodin, and when they met at another salon, the sculptor impressed him. In turn, Gambetta spoke of Rodin to several government ministers, likely including Edmund Turquet, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Fine Arts, whom Rodin eventually met.<p>Rodin's relationship with Turquet was rewarding: through him, he won the 1880 commission to create a <!--del_lnk--> portal for a planned museum of decorative arts. Rodin dedicated much of the next four decades to his elaborate <i><!--del_lnk--> Gates of Hell</i>, an unfinished portal for a museum that was never built. Many of the portal's figures became sculptures in themselves, including Rodin's most famous,<i><!--del_lnk--> The Thinker</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> The Kiss</i>. With the museum commission came a free studio, granting Rodin a new level of artistic freedom. Soon, he stopped working at the porcelain factory; his income came from private commissions.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/212/21291.jpg.htm" title="Rodin in 1893."><img alt="Rodin in 1893." class="thumbimage" height="149" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auguste_Rodin_1893_Nadar.jpg" src="../../images/212/21291.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/212/21291.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Rodin in 1893.</div>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:112px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/212/21294.jpg.htm" title="Camille Claudel (1864–1943)."><img alt="Camille Claudel (1864–1943)." class="thumbimage" height="156" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Camille_Claudel.jpg" src="../../images/212/21294.jpg" width="110" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/212/21294.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Camille Claudel (1864–1943).</div>
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<p>In 1883, Rodin agreed to supervise a course for sculptor <!--del_lnk--> Alfred Boucher in his absence, where he met the 18-year-old <!--del_lnk--> Camille Claudel. The two formed a passionate but stormy relationship and influenced each other artistically. Claudel inspired Rodin as a model for many of his figures, and she was a talented sculptor, assisting him on commissions.<p>Although busy with <i>The Gates of Hell</i>, Rodin won other commissions. He pursued an opportunity to create a monument for the French town of <!--del_lnk--> Calais depicting an important moment in the town's history. For a monument to French author <!--del_lnk--> Honoré de Balzac, Rodin was chosen in 1891. His execution of both sculptures clashed with traditional tastes, and met with varying degrees of disapproval from the organizations that sponsored the commissions. Still, Rodin was gaining support from diverse sources that continued his path toward fame.<p>In 1889, the Paris Salon invited Rodin to be a judge on its artistic jury. Though Rodin's career was on the rise, Claudel and Beuret were becoming increasingly impatient with Rodin's "double life". Claudel and Rodin shared an <!--del_lnk--> atelier at a small old castle, but Rodin refused to relinquish his ties to Beuret, his loyal companion during the lean years, and mother of his son. During one absence, Rodin wrote to Beuret, "I think of how much you must have loved me to put up with my caprices…I remain, in all tenderness, your Rodin." Claudel and Rodin parted in 1898, and Claudel's mental health deteriorated.<p><a id="Works" name="Works"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Works</span></h2>
<p>In 1864, Rodin submitted his first sculpture for exhibition, <i>The Man with the Broken Nose</i>, to the Paris Salon. The subject was an elderly neighbourhood street porter. The unconventional <!--del_lnk--> bronze piece was not a traditional <!--del_lnk--> bust, but instead the head was "broken off" at the neck, the nose was flattened and crooked, and the back of the head was absent, having fallen off the clay model in an accident. The work emphasized texture and the emotional state of the subject; it illustrated the "unfinishedness" that would characterize many of Rodin's later sculptures. The Salon rejected the piece.<p><a id="Early_figures:_the_inspiration_of_Italy" name="Early_figures:_the_inspiration_of_Italy"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Early figures: the inspiration of Italy</span></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:142px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/224/22446.jpg.htm" title="The Age of Bronze (1877)."><img alt="The Age of Bronze (1877)." class="thumbimage" height="259" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Rodin_The_bronze_age.jpg" src="../../images/224/22446.jpg" width="140" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/224/22446.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i><!--del_lnk--> The Age of Bronze</i> (1877).</div>
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<p>In Brussels, Rodin created his first full-scale work, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Age of Bronze</i>, having returned from Italy. Modelled by a Belgian soldier, the figure drew inspiration from Michelangelo's <i>Dying Slave</i>, which Rodin had observed at the <!--del_lnk--> Louvre. Attempting to combine Michelangelo's mastery of the human form with his own sense of human nature, Rodin studied his model from all angles, at rest and in motion; he mounted a ladder for additional perspective, and made clay models, which he studied by candlelight. The result was a life-size, well-proportioned nude figure, posed unconventionally with his right hand atop his head, and his left arm held out at his side, forearm parallel to the body.<p>In 1877, the work debuted in Brussels and then was shown at the <!--del_lnk--> Paris Salon. The statue's apparent lack of a theme was troubling to critics—it did not commemorate mythology nor a noble historical event—and it is not clear whether Rodin intended a theme. He first titled the work <i>The Vanquished</i>, in which form the left hand held a spear, but he removed the spear because it obstructed the torso from certain angles. After two more intermediary titles, Rodin settled on <i>The Age of Bronze</i>, suggesting the <a href="../../wp/b/Bronze_Age.htm" title="Bronze Age">Bronze Age</a>, and in Rodin's words, "man arising from nature". Later, however, Rodin said that he had in mind "just a simple piece of sculpture without reference to subject".<p>Its mastery of form, light, and shadow made the work look so realistic that Rodin was accused of <i>surmoulage</i>—having taken a cast from a living model. Rodin vigorously denied the charges, writing to newspapers and having photographs taken of the model to prove how the sculpture differed. He demanded an inquiry and was eventually exonerated by a committee of sculptors. Leaving aside the false charges, the piece polarized critics. It had barely won acceptance for display at the Paris Salon, and criticism likened it to "a statue of a sleepwalker" and called it "an astonishingly accurate copy of a low type". Others rallied to defend the piece and Rodin's integrity. The government minister Turquet admired the piece, and <i>The Age of Bronze</i> was purchased by the state for 2,200 <!--del_lnk--> francs—what it had cost Rodin to have it cast in bronze.<p>A second male nude, <i>St. John the Baptist Preaching</i>, was completed in 1878. Rodin sought to avoid another charge of <i>surmoulage</i> by making the statue larger than life: <i>St. John</i> stands almost 6'7'' (2 <!--del_lnk--> m). While the <i>The Age of Bronze</i> is statically posed, <i>St. John</i> gestures and seems to move toward the viewer. The effect of walking is achieved despite the figure having both feet firmly on the ground—a physical impossibility, and a technical achievement that was lost on most contemporary critics. Rodin chose this contradictory position to, in his words, "display simultaneously…views of an object which in fact can be seen only successively". Despite the title, <i>St. John the Baptist Preaching</i> did not have an obviously religious theme. The model, an Italian peasant who presented himself at Rodin's studio, possessed an idiosyncratic sense of movement that Rodin felt compelled to capture. Rodin thought of <!--del_lnk--> John the Baptist, and carried that association into the title of the work. In 1880, Rodin submitted the sculpture to the Paris Salon. Critics were still mostly dismissive of the work, but the piece finished third in the Salon's sculpture category.<p>Regardless of the immediate receptions of <i>St. John</i> and <i>The Age of Bronze</i>, Rodin had achieved a new degree of fame. Students sought him at his studio, praising his work and scorning the charges of <i>surmoulage</i>. The artistic community knew his name.<p><a id="The_Gates_of_Hell" name="The_Gates_of_Hell"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline"><i>The Gates of Hell</i></span></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/226/22643.jpg.htm" title="The Gates of Hell (unfinished), Musée Rodin."><img alt="The Gates of Hell (unfinished), Musée Rodin." class="thumbimage" height="293" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hoellentor.jpg" src="../../images/226/22643.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/226/22643.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i><!--del_lnk--> The Gates of Hell</i> (unfinished), <!--del_lnk--> Musée Rodin.</div>
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<p>A commission to create a <!--del_lnk--> portal for Paris' planned Museum of Decorative Arts was awarded to Rodin in 1880. Although the museum was never built, Rodin worked throughout his life on <i><!--del_lnk--> The Gates of Hell</i>, a monumental sculptural group depicting scenes from <a href="../../wp/d/Dante_Alighieri.htm" title="Dante Alighieri">Dante's</a> <i><!--del_lnk--> Inferno</i> in high relief. Often lacking a clear conception of his major works, Rodin compensated with hard work and a striving for perfection. He conceived <i>The Gates</i> with the <i>surmoulage</i> controversy still in mind: "…I had made the <i>St. John</i> to refute [the charges of casting from a model], but it only partially succeeded. To prove completely that I could model from life as well as other sculptors, I determined…to make the sculpture on the door of figures smaller than life."<p>Many of his best-known sculptures started as designs of figures for this monumental composition, such as <i><!--del_lnk--> The Thinker</i> (<i>Le Penseur</i>), <i>The Three Shades</i> (<i>Les Trois Ombres</i>), and <i><!--del_lnk--> The Kiss</i> (<i>Le Baiser</i>), and only later presented as separate and independent works.<p><i>The Thinker</i> (<i>Le Penseur</i>, originally titled <i>The Poet</i>, after Dante) was to become one of the most well-known sculptures in the world. The original was a 27.5 inch-high bronze piece created between 1879 and 1889, designed for the <i>Gates</i>' <!--del_lnk--> lintel, from which the figure would gaze down upon Hell. While <i>The Thinker</i> most obviously characterizes Dante, aspects of the Biblical <!--del_lnk--> Adam, the mythological <!--del_lnk--> Prometheus, and Rodin himself have been ascribed to him. Other observers stress the figure's rough physicality and emotional tension, and suggest that <i>The Thinker</i>'s renowned pensiveness is not intellectual.<p>Other well-known works derived from <i>The Gates</i> are the <i><!--del_lnk--> Ugolino</i> group, <i>Fugitive Love</i>, <i>The Falling Man</i>, <i>The <!--del_lnk--> Sirens</i>, <i>Fallen <!--del_lnk--> Caryatid Carrying her Stone</i>, <i>Damned Women</i>, <i>The Standing Fauness</i>, <i>The Kneeling Fauness</i>, <i>The Martyr</i>, <i>She Who Once Was the Beautiful Helmetmaker's Wife</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Glaucus</i>, and <i>Polyphem</i>.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/226/22658.jpg.htm" title="The Burghers of Calais (1884–c. 1889) in Victoria Tower Gardens, London, England."><img alt="The Burghers of Calais (1884–c. 1889) in Victoria Tower Gardens, London, England." class="thumbimage" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:The.burg.of.calais.london.arp.750pix.jpg" src="../../images/226/22658.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/226/22658.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i><!--del_lnk--> The Burghers of Calais</i> (1884–c. 1889) in <!--del_lnk--> Victoria Tower Gardens, London, England.</div>
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<p><a id="The_Burghers_of_Calais" name="The_Burghers_of_Calais"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline"><i>The Burghers of Calais</i></span></h3>
<p>The town of <!--del_lnk--> Calais had contemplated an historical monument for decades when Rodin learned of the project. He pursued the commission, interested in the medieval motif and patriotic theme. The mayor of Calais was tempted to hire Rodin on the spot upon visiting his studio, and soon the memorial was approved, with Rodin as its architect. It would commemorate the six townspeople of Calais who offered their lives to save their fellow citizens. During the <a href="../../wp/h/Hundred_Years%2527_War.htm" title="Hundred Years' War">Hundred Years' War</a>, the army of <!--del_lnk--> King Edward III besieged Calais, and Edward asked for six citizens to sacrifice themselves and deliver to him the keys to the city, or the entire town would be pillaged. <i><!--del_lnk--> The Burghers of Calais</i> depicts the men as they are leaving for the king's camp, carrying keys to the town's gates and citadel.<p>Rodin began the project in 1884, inspired by the chronicles of the siege by <!--del_lnk--> Jean Froissart. Though the town envisioned an <!--del_lnk--> allegorical, heroic piece centered on Eustache de Saint-Pierre, the eldest of the six men, Rodin conceived the sculpture as a study in the varied and complex emotions under which all six men were laboring. One year into the commission, the Calais committee was not impressed with Rodin's progress. Rodin indicated his willingness to end the project rather than change his design to meet the committee's conservative expectations, but Calais said to continue.<p>In 1889, <i>The Burghers of Calais</i> was first displayed to general acclaim. It is a bronze sculpture weighing two tons (1814 kg), and its figures are 2 metres tall. The six men portrayed do not display a united, heroic front; rather, each is isolated from his brothers, individually deliberating and struggling with his expected fate. Rodin soon proposed that the monument's high pedestal be eliminated, wanting to move the sculpture to ground level so that viewers could "penetrate to the heart of the subject". At ground level, the figures' positions lead the viewer around the work, and subtly suggest their common movement forward. The committee was incensed by the untraditional proposal, but Rodin would not yield. In 1895, Calais succeeded in having <i>Burghers</i> displayed in their preferred form: the work was placed in front of a public garden on a high platform, surrounded by a cast-iron railing. Rodin had wanted it located near the town hall, where it would engage the public. Only after damage during the First World War, subsequent storage, and Rodin's death was the sculpture displayed as he had intended. It is one of Rodin's most well-known and acclaimed works.<p><a id="Commissions_and_controversy" name="Commissions_and_controversy"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Commissions and controversy</span></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:142px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/226/22664.jpg.htm" title="Monument to Balzac (1891–1898)."><img alt="Monument to Balzac (1891–1898)." class="thumbimage" height="311" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AUGUST_RODIN_Balzac.jpg" src="../../images/226/22664.jpg" width="140" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/226/22664.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Monument to Balzac</i> (1891–1898).</div>
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<p>The <i>Société des Gens des Lettres</i>, a Parisian organization of writers, planned a monument to French novelist <!--del_lnk--> Honoré de Balzac immediately after his death in 1850. The society commissioned Rodin to create the memorial in 1891, and Rodin spent years developing the concept for his sculpture. Challenged in finding an appropriate representation of Balzac given the author's rotund physique, Rodin produced many studies: portraits, full-length figures in the nude, wearing a <!--del_lnk--> frock coat, or in a <!--del_lnk--> robe—a replica of which Rodin had requested. The realized sculpture displays Balzac cloaked in the drapery, looking forcefully into the distance with deeply gouged features. Rodin's intent had been to show Balzac at the moment of conceiving a work—to express courage, labor, and struggle.<p>When <i>Balzac</i> was exhibited in 1898, the negative reaction was not surprising. The <i>Société</i> rejected the work, and the press ran <!--del_lnk--> parodies. Criticizing the work, Morey (1918) reflected, "there may come a time, and doubtless will come a time, when it will not seem <i>outre</i> to represent a great novelist as a huge comic mask crowning a bathrobe, but even at the present day this statue impresses one as slang." A contemporary critic, indeed, indicates that <i>Balzac</i> is considered one of Rodin's masterpieces. The monument had its supporters in Rodin's day; a manifesto defending him was signed by <!--del_lnk--> Monet, <!--del_lnk--> Debussy, and future <!--del_lnk--> Premier <!--del_lnk--> Georges Clemenceau, among many others.<p>Rather than try to convince skeptics of the merit of the monument, Rodin repaid the <i>Société</i> his commission and moved the figure to his garden. After this experience, Rodin did not complete another public commission. Only in 1939 was <i>Monument to Balzac</i> cast in bronze.<p>Commissioned to create a monument to French writer <a href="../../wp/v/Victor_Hugo.htm" title="Victor Hugo">Victor Hugo</a> in 1889, Rodin dealt extensively with the subject of <i>artist and muse</i>. Like many of Rodin's public commissions, <i>Monument to Victor Hugo</i> met with resistance because it did not fit conventional expectations. Commenting on Rodin's monument to Victor Hugo, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Times</i> in 1909 expressed that "there is some show of reason in the complaint that [Rodin's] conceptions are sometimes unsuited to his medium, and that in such cases they overstrain his vast technical powers". The 1897 plaster model was not cast in bronze until 1964.<p><a id="Other_works" name="Other_works"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Other works</span></h3>
<p>The popularity of Rodin's most famous sculptures tends to obscure his total creative output. A prolific artist, he created thousands of busts, figures, and sculptural fragments over more than five decades. He painted in <a href="../../wp/o/Oil_painting.htm" title="Oil painting">oils</a> (especially in his thirties) and in <a href="../../wp/w/Watercolor_painting.htm" title="Watercolor painting">watercolors</a>. The Musée Rodin holds 7,000 of his drawings and prints, in <!--del_lnk--> chalk and <!--del_lnk--> charcoal, and 13 vigorous <!--del_lnk--> drypoints. He also produced a single <!--del_lnk--> lithograph.<p>Portraiture was an important component of Rodin's oeuvre, helping him to win acceptance and financial independence. His first sculpture was a bust of his father in 1860, and he produced at least 56 portraits between 1877 and his death in 1917. Early subjects included fellow sculptor <!--del_lnk--> Jules Dalou (1883) and companion <!--del_lnk--> Camille Claudel (1884). Later, with his reputation established, Rodin made busts of prominent contemporaries such as English politician <!--del_lnk--> George Wyndham (1905), Irish playwright <!--del_lnk--> George Bernard Shaw (1906), Austrian composer <!--del_lnk--> Gustav Mahler (1909), and French statesman <!--del_lnk--> Georges Clemenceau (1911).<p><a id="Aesthetic" name="Aesthetic"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Aesthetic</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/226/22666.jpg.htm" title="A famous "fragment": The Walking Man."><img alt="A famous "fragment": The Walking Man." class="thumbimage" height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Rodin_p1070095.jpg" src="../../images/226/22666.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/226/22666.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A famous "fragment": <i>The Walking Man</i>.</div>
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<p>Rodin was a naturalist, less concerned with monumental expression than with character and emotion. Departing with centuries of tradition, he turned away from the idealism of the Greeks, and the decorative beauty of the <a href="../../wp/b/Baroque.htm" title="Baroque">Baroque</a> and <!--del_lnk--> neo-Baroque movements. His sculpture emphasized the individual and the concreteness of flesh, and suggested emotion through detailed, textured surfaces, and the interplay of light and shadow. To a greater degree than his contemporaries, Rodin believed that an individual's character was revealed by his physical features.<p>Rodin's talent for surface modeling allowed him to let every part of the body speak for the whole. The male's passion in <i>The Kiss</i> is suggested by the grip of his toes on the rock, the rigidness of his back, and the differentiation of his hands. Speaking of <i>The Thinker</i>, Rodin illuminated his aesthetic: "What makes my Thinker think is that he thinks not only with his brain, with his knitted brow, his distended nostrils and compressed lips, but with every muscle of his arms, back, and legs, with his clenched fist and gripping toes."<p>Sculptural fragments to Rodin were autonomous works, and he considered them the essence of his artistic statement. His fragments—perhaps lacking arms, legs, or a head—took sculpture further from its traditional role of portraying likenesses, and into a realm where forms existed for their own sake. Notable examples are <i>The Walking Man</i>, <i>Meditation without Arms</i>, and <i>Iris, Messenger of the Gods</i>.<p>Rodin saw suffering and conflict as hallmarks of modern art. "Nothing, really, is more moving than the maddened beast, dying from unfulfilled desire and asking in vain for grace to quell its passion." <!--del_lnk--> Charles Baudelaire echoed those themes, and was among Rodin's favorite poets. Rodin enjoyed music, especially the opera composer <!--del_lnk--> Gluck, and wrote a book about <!--del_lnk--> French cathedrals. He owned a work by the as-yet-unrecognized <a href="../../wp/v/Vincent_van_Gogh.htm" title="Vincent van Gogh">Van Gogh</a>, and admired the forgotten <!--del_lnk--> El Greco.<p><a id="Method" name="Method"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Method</span></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/226/22668.jpg.htm" title="A plaster of The Age of Bronze."><img alt="A plaster of The Age of Bronze." class="thumbimage" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Age_of_bronze_plaster.jpg" src="../../images/226/22668.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/226/22668.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> plaster of <i><!--del_lnk--> The Age of Bronze</i>.</div>
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<p>Instead of copying traditional academic postures, Rodin preferred to work with amateur models, street performers, acrobats, strong men and dancers. In the <!--del_lnk--> atelier, his models moved about and took positions without manipulation. Very devoted to his craft, Rodin worked constantly but not feverishly. The sculptor made quick sketches in clay that were later fine-tuned, cast in plaster, and forged into bronze or carved in marble. Rodin was fascinated by dance and spontaneous movement. As France's best-known sculptor, he had a large staff of pupils, craftsmen, and stone cutters working for him, including the Czech sculptors Josef Maratka and Joseph Kratina. Through his method of <i><!--del_lnk--> marcottage</i> (layering), he used the same sculptural elements time and time again, under different names and in different combinations. Disliking the formality of <!--del_lnk--> pedestals, Rodin placed many of his subjects around rough rock to emphasize their immediacy and provide contrast.<p><a id="Later_years" name="Later_years"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Later years</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/226/22671.jpg.htm" title="A portrait of Rodin by his friend Alphonse Legros."><img alt="A portrait of Rodin by his friend Alphonse Legros." class="thumbimage" height="254" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Legros_-buste_de_Rodin_%28dessin%29.jpg" src="../../images/226/22671.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/226/22671.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A portrait of Rodin by his friend <!--del_lnk--> Alphonse Legros.</div>
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<p>By 1900, Rodin's artistic reputation was entrenched. Gaining exposure from a pavilion of his artwork set up near the 1900 <!--del_lnk--> World's Fair (<i>Exposition Universelie</i>) in Paris, he received requests to make busts of prominent people internationally, while his assistants at the <!--del_lnk--> atelier produced duplicates of his works. His income from portrait commissions alone totalled probably 200,000 francs a year. As Rodin's fame grew, he attracted many followers, including the German poet <!--del_lnk--> Rainer Maria Rilke, and authors <!--del_lnk--> Octave Mirbeau, <!--del_lnk--> Joris-Karl Huysmans, and <!--del_lnk--> Oscar Wilde. Rilke stayed with Rodin in 1905 and 1906, and did administrative work for him; he would later write a laudatory <!--del_lnk--> monograph on the sculptor. Rodin and Beuret's modest country estate in <!--del_lnk--> Meudon, purchased in 1897, was a host to such visitors as <a href="../../wp/e/Edward_VII_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Edward VII of the United Kingdom">King Edward</a>, dancer <!--del_lnk--> Isadora Duncan, and <!--del_lnk--> harpsichordist <!--del_lnk--> Wanda Landowska. Rodin moved to the city in 1908, renting the main floor of the <!--del_lnk--> Hôtel Biron, an 18th century townhouse. He left Beuret in Meudon, and began an affair with the American-born Duchesse de Choiseul.<p>After the turn of the century, Rodin was a regular visitor to Great Britain, where he developed a loyal following by the beginning of the First World War. He first visited England in 1881, where his friend, the artist <!--del_lnk--> Alphonse Legros, had introduced him to the poet <!--del_lnk--> William Ernest Henley. Given Henley's personal connections and enthusiasm for Rodin's art, he was most responsible for Rodin's reception in Britain. Through Henley, Rodin met <!--del_lnk--> Robert Louis Stevenson and <!--del_lnk--> Robert Browning, in whom he found further support. Encouraged by the enthusiasm of British artists, students, and high society for his art, Rodin donated a significant selection of his works to the nation in 1914.<p>In 1903, Rodin was elected president of the International Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers. He replaced its former president, <!--del_lnk--> James Abbott McNeill Whistler, upon Whistler's death. His election to the prestigious position was largely due to the efforts of Albert Ludovici, father of English philosopher <!--del_lnk--> Anthony Ludovici.<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:102px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/226/22673.jpg.htm" title="The Cathedral (1908)."><img alt="The Cathedral (1908)." class="thumbimage" height="186" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AUGUST_RODIN_-_A_catedral.jpg" src="../../images/226/22673.jpg" width="100" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/226/22673.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>The Cathedral</i> (1908).</div>
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<p>During his later creative years, Rodin's work turned increasingly toward the female form, and themes of more overt masculinity and femininity. He concentrated on small dance studies, and produced numerous <!--del_lnk--> erotic drawings, sketched in a loose way, without taking his pencil from the paper or his eyes from the model. Rodin met American dancer <!--del_lnk--> Isadora Duncan in 1900, attempted to seduce her, and the next year sketched studies of her and her students. In July 1906, Rodin was also enchanted by dancers from the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, and produced some of his most famous drawings from the experience.<p>Fifty-three years into their relationship, Rodin married Rose Beuret. The wedding was <!--del_lnk--> January 29, <!--del_lnk--> 1917, and Beuret died two weeks later, on <!--del_lnk--> February 16. Rodin was ill that year; in January, he suffered weakness from <!--del_lnk--> influenza, and on <!--del_lnk--> November 16 his physician announced that "[c]ongestion of the lungs has caused great weakness. The patient's condition is grave." Rodin died the next day, age 77, at his villa in <!--del_lnk--> Meudon, <!--del_lnk--> Île-de-France, on the outskirts of Paris. A cast of <i>The Thinker</i> was placed next to his tomb in Meudon; it was Rodin's wish that the figure serve as his <!--del_lnk--> headstone and <!--del_lnk--> epitaph.<p><a id="Legacy" name="Legacy"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Legacy</span></h2>
<p>Rodin willed to the state his studio and the right to make casts from his plasters. Because he encouraged the reproduction of his work, Rodin's sculptures are represented in many collections. The <!--del_lnk--> Musée Rodin was founded in 1919 at the <!--del_lnk--> Hôtel Biron, where Rodin had lived, and it holds the largest Rodin collection. The relative ease of making reproductions has also encouraged many forgeries: a survey of expert opinion placed Rodin in the top ten most-faked artists. To deal with unauthorized reproductions, the Musée in 1956 set twelve casts as the maximum number that could be made from Rodin's plasters and still be considered his work. (As a result of this limit, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Burghers of Calais</i>, for example, is found in 14 cities.)<p>In the market for sculpture, plagued by fakes, being able to prove the authenticity of a piece by its provenance increases its value significantly. A Rodin work with a verified history sold for US$4.8 million in 1999. Art critics concerned about authenticity have argued that taking a cast does not equal reproducing a Rodin sculpture—especially given the importance of surface treatment in Rodin's work.<p>During his lifetime, Rodin was compared to <a href="../../wp/m/Michelangelo.htm" title="Michelangelo">Michelangelo</a>, and was widely recognized as the greatest artist of the era. In the three decades following his death, his popularity waned with changing aesthetic values. Since the 1950s, Rodin's reputation has re-ascended; he is recognized as the most important sculptor of the modern era, and has been the subject of much scholarly work. The sense of incompletion offered by some of his sculpture, such as <i>The Walking Man</i>, influenced the increasingly abstract sculptural forms of the twentieth century. Though highly honoured for his artistic accomplishments, Rodin did not spawn a significant, lasting school of followers. His notable students included <!--del_lnk--> Antoine Bourdelle, <!--del_lnk--> Charles Despiau, the American <!--del_lnk--> Malvina Hoffman, and his mistress <!--del_lnk--> Camille Claudel, whose sculpture received praise in France. The French order <i><!--del_lnk--> Légion d'honneur</i> made him a Commander, and he received an <!--del_lnk--> honorary doctorate from the <!--del_lnk--> University of Oxford.<p>Rodin restored an ancient role of sculpture—to capture the physical and intellectual force of the human subject—and he freed sculpture from the repetition of traditional patterns, providing the foundation for greater experimentation in the twentieth century. His popularity is ascribed to his emotion-laden representations of ordinary men and women—to his ability to find the beauty and pathos in the human animal. His most popular works, such as <i>The Kiss</i> and <i>The Thinker</i>, are widely used outside the fine arts as symbols of human emotion and character.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_Rodin"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Augustine of Hippo</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.People.Religious_figures_and_leaders.htm">Religious figures and leaders</a></h3>
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<th colspan="2" style="background-color:gold;font-size:120%;"><i><b>Saint Augustine of Hippo</b></i></th>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;background-color:gold;"><b>Bishop and Doctor of the Church</b></td>
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<td><b>Born</b></td>
<td> in <!--del_lnk--> Tagaste, Algeria</td>
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<td><b>Died</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> August 28, <!--del_lnk--> 430 in Hippo</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> August 28</td>
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<td>child; dove; pen; shell, pierced heart</td>
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<td>brewers; printers; sore eyes; theologians<br />
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<p><b>Aurelius Augustinus</b>, <b>Augustine of Hippo</b>, or <b>Saint Augustine</b> (<!--del_lnk--> November 13, <!--del_lnk--> 354 – <!--del_lnk--> August 28, <!--del_lnk--> 430) was one of the most important figures in the development of <!--del_lnk--> Western Christianity. In <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Roman Catholicism</a>, he is a saint and pre-eminent <!--del_lnk--> Doctor of the Church, and the patron of the <!--del_lnk--> Augustinian religious order. Many <!--del_lnk--> Protestants, especially <!--del_lnk--> Calvinists, consider him to be one of the theological fountainheads of <!--del_lnk--> Reformation teaching on <!--del_lnk--> salvation and <!--del_lnk--> grace. Born in Africa as the eldest son of <!--del_lnk--> Saint Monica, he was educated and baptized in <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a>. His works—including <i><!--del_lnk--> The Confessions</i>, which is often called the first Western <!--del_lnk--> autobiography—are still read around the world.<p>
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</script><a id="Life" name="Life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Life</span></h2>
<p>Saint Augustine was born in <!--del_lnk--> 354 in <!--del_lnk--> Tagaste (present-day <!--del_lnk--> Souk Ahras, <a href="../../wp/a/Algeria.htm" title="Algeria">Algeria</a>), a provincial Roman city in <a href="../../wp/n/North_Africa.htm" title="North Africa">North Africa</a>. He was raised and went to primary school in Thagaste, today SOUK-Ahras, Lower Kabylie in modern Algeria. At age seventeen he went to <!--del_lnk--> Carthage to continue his education in rhetoric. His mother, Monica, was a devout catholic and his father <!--del_lnk--> Patricius a <!--del_lnk--> pagan, but Augustine followed the controversial <!--del_lnk--> Manichaean religion, much to the despair of his mother. As a youth Augustine lived a hedonistic lifestyle for a time, and in Carthage, he developed a relationship with a young woman who would be his <!--del_lnk--> concubine for over fifteen years. During this period he had a son, Adeodatus, with the young woman. His education and early career was in <a href="../../wp/p/Philosophy.htm" title="Philosophy">philosophy</a> and <!--del_lnk--> rhetoric, the art of persuasion and public speaking. He taught in Thagaste and Carthage, but desired to travel to Rome where he believed the best and brightest rhetoricians practiced. However, Augustine grew disappointed with the Roman schools, which he found apathetic. Once the time came for his students to pay their fees they simply fled. <!--del_lnk--> Manichaean friends introduced him to the prefect of the City of Rome, <!--del_lnk--> Symmachus, who had been asked to provide a professor of rhetoric for the imperial court at <a href="../../wp/m/Milan.htm" title="Milan">Milan</a>.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/113/11392.jpg.htm" title=""St Augustine and Monica" (1846), by Ary Scheffer."><img alt=""St Augustine and Monica" (1846), by Ary Scheffer." height="232" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Sainte_Monique.jpg" src="../../images/113/11392.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/113/11392.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> "St Augustine and Monica" (1846), by <!--del_lnk--> Ary Scheffer.</div>
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<p>The young provincial won the job and headed north to take up his position in late <!--del_lnk--> 384. At age thirty, Augustine had won the most visible academic chair in the Latin world, at a time when such posts gave ready access to political careers. However, he felt the tensions of life at an imperial court, lamenting one day as he rode in his carriage to deliver a grand speech before the emperor, that a drunken beggar he passed on the street had a less careworn existence than he.<p>His mother Monica pressured him to become a Catholic, but it was the bishop of Milan, <!--del_lnk--> Ambrose, who had most influence over Augustine. Ambrose was a master of rhetoric like Augustine himself, but older and more experienced. Prompted in part by Ambrose's <!--del_lnk--> sermons, and other studies, including a disappointing meeting with a key exponent of Manichaean theology, Augustine moved away from Manichaeism; but instead of becoming Catholic like Ambrose and Monica, he converted to a pagan <!--del_lnk--> Neoplatonic approach to truth, saying that for a time he had a sense of making real progress in his quest, although he eventually lapsed into skepticism.<p>Augustine's mother had followed him to Milan and he allowed her to arrange a society marriage, for which he abandoned his concubine (however he had to wait two years until his fiancée came of age; he promptly took up in the meantime with another woman). It was during this period Augustine of Hippo uttered his famous prayer, "Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet" [da mihi castitatem et continentiam, sed noli modo] (Conf., VIII. vii (17)).<p>In the summer of <!--del_lnk--> 386, after having read an account of the life of <!--del_lnk--> Saint Anthony of the Desert which greatly inspired him, Augustine underwent a profound personal crisis and decided to convert to Christianity, abandon his career in rhetoric, quit his teaching position in Milan, give up any ideas of marriage, and devote himself entirely to serving <a href="../../wp/g/God.htm" title="God">God</a> and the practices of <!--del_lnk--> priesthood, which included <!--del_lnk--> celibacy. Key to this conversion was the voice of an unseen child he heard at one point telling him in a sing-song voice to "tolle lege" ("take up and read") the Bible, at which point he opened the Bible at random and fell upon the <!--del_lnk--> Epistle to the Romans 13:13, which reads: "Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying" (KJV). He would detail his spiritual journey in his famous <i><!--del_lnk--> Confessions</i>, which went on to become a classic of both Christian theology and world literature. Ambrose baptized Augustine, along with his son, Adeodatus, on <!--del_lnk--> Easter Vigil in <!--del_lnk--> 387, and soon thereafter in <!--del_lnk--> 388 he returned to Africa. On his way back to Africa his mother died, as did his son soon after, leaving him relatively alone in the world without family.<p>Upon his return to north Africa he created a <!--del_lnk--> monastic foundation at <!--del_lnk--> Tagaste for himself and a group of friends. In <!--del_lnk--> 391 he was <!--del_lnk--> ordained a <!--del_lnk--> priest in <!--del_lnk--> Hippo Regius, (now <!--del_lnk--> Annaba, in <a href="../../wp/a/Algeria.htm" title="Algeria">Algeria</a>). He became a famous <!--del_lnk--> preacher (more than 350 preserved sermons are believed to be authentic), and was noted for combating the Manichaean heresy, to which he had formerly adhered.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 396 he was made <!--del_lnk--> coadjutor bishop of Hippo (assistant with the right of succession on the death of the current bishop), and remained as <!--del_lnk--> bishop in Hippo until his death in <!--del_lnk--> 430. He left his monastery, but continued to lead a monastic life in the episcopal residence. He left a Rule (<a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a>, <i>Regula</i>) for his monastery that has led him to be designated the "<!--del_lnk--> patron saint of <!--del_lnk--> Regular Clergy", that is, <!--del_lnk--> Clergy who live by a <!--del_lnk--> monastic rule.<p>Augustine died on <!--del_lnk--> August 28, <!--del_lnk--> 430, during the siege of Hippo by the <!--del_lnk--> Vandals. It is said that he died just as the Vandals were tearing down the city walls of Hippo. He is said to have encouraged its citizens to resist the attacks, primarily on the grounds that the Vandals adhered to the <!--del_lnk--> Arian heresy.<p><a id="Personality" name="Personality"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Personality</span></h2>
<p>Of all the teachers and thinkers of the early middle era, Augustine's personality is perhaps the best known because of the enormous volume of his surviving writings. He was conflicted personally; an individual of strong and driving passions. His early sexual dalliances, his concubine and his son whom he loved give an important context to the struggle he underwent to establish principles of consistency, justice and goodness. Manicheanism channelled this struggle, and to it he owed some degree of inner peace. Its vague, yet comfortable stoic doctrine enabled him to throw off the guilt he so often may have faced.<p>Augustine could not be considered a "moderate" in the modern sense of the word. His drive was for clarity and directness in teaching. Evaluated by modern methods, his views are not necessarily consistent nor integrated; yet his writing reveals an individual of his times who considered the important questions of meaning in life passionately and with intelligence. <a id="Influence_as_a_theologian_and_thinker" name="Influence_as_a_theologian_and_thinker"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Influence as a theologian and thinker</span></h2>
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<div style="width:272px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/850.jpg.htm" title="Detail of St. Augustine in a stained glass window by Louis Comfort Tiffany in the Lightner Museum, St. Augustine, Florida."><img alt="Detail of St. Augustine in a stained glass window by Louis Comfort Tiffany in the Lightner Museum, St. Augustine, Florida." height="203" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tiffany_Window_of_St_Augustine_-_Lightner_Museum.jpg" src="../../images/8/850.jpg" width="270" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/850.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Detail of St. Augustine in a <!--del_lnk--> stained glass window by <!--del_lnk--> Louis Comfort Tiffany in the <!--del_lnk--> Lightner Museum, <!--del_lnk--> St. Augustine, Florida.</div>
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<p>Augustine remains a central figure, both within Christianity and in the history of Western thought, and is considered by modern historian <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Cahill to be the first medieval man and the last classical man. In both his philosophical and theological reasoning, he was greatly influenced by <a href="../../wp/s/Stoicism.htm" title="Stoicism">Stoicism</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Platonism and <!--del_lnk--> Neoplatonism, particularly by the work of <!--del_lnk--> Plotinus, author of the <!--del_lnk--> Enneads, probably through the mediation of <!--del_lnk--> Porphyry and <!--del_lnk--> Victorinus (as <!--del_lnk--> Pierre Hadot has argued). His generally favorable outlook upon Neoplatonic thought contributed to the "baptism" of Greek thought and its entrance into the Christian and subsequently the <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="European">European</a> intellectual tradition. His early and influential writing on the <!--del_lnk--> human will, a central topic in <a href="../../wp/e/Ethics.htm" title="Ethics">ethics</a>, would become a focus for later philosophers such as <!--del_lnk--> Schopenhauer and <a href="../../wp/f/Friedrich_Nietzsche.htm" title="Friedrich Nietzsche">Nietzsche</a>. In addition, Augustine was influenced by the work of both Virgil (known for his teaching on language) and Cicero (known for his teaching on argument).<p>Augustine's concept of original sin was expounded in his works against the <!--del_lnk--> Pelagians. However, <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Orthodox theologians, while they believe all humans were damaged by the original sin of Adam and Eve, have key disputes with Augustine about this doctrine, and as such this is viewed as a key source of division between East and West.<p>Augustine's writings helped formulate the theory of <!--del_lnk--> the just war. He also advocated the use of force against the <!--del_lnk--> Donatists, asking "Why ... should not the Church use force in compelling her lost sons to return, if the lost sons compelled others to their destruction?" (<i>The Correction of the Donatists</i>, 22–24)<p>St. <a href="../../wp/t/Thomas_Aquinas.htm" title="Thomas Aquinas">Thomas Aquinas</a> took much from Augustine's theology while creating his own unique synthesis of Greek and Christian thought after the widespread rediscovery of the work of <a href="../../wp/a/Aristotle.htm" title="Aristotle">Aristotle</a>.<p>While Augustine's doctrine of divine <!--del_lnk--> predestination would never be wholly forgotten within the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Roman Catholic Church</a>, finding eloquent expression in the works of <!--del_lnk--> Bernard of Clairvaux, <!--del_lnk--> Reformation theologians such as <a href="../../wp/m/Martin_Luther.htm" title="Martin Luther">Martin Luther</a> and <a href="../../wp/j/John_Calvin.htm" title="John Calvin">John Calvin</a> would look back to him as the inspiration for their avowed capturing of the Biblical Gospel. Bishop John Fisher of Rochester, a chief opponent of Luther, articulated an Augustinian view of grace and salvation consistent with Church doctrine, thus encompassing both Augustine’s soteriology and his teaching on the authority of and obedience to the Catholic Church. Later, within the <!--del_lnk--> Catholic Church, the writings of <!--del_lnk--> Cornelius Jansen, who claimed heavy influence from Augustine, would form the basis of the movement known as <!--del_lnk--> Jansenism; some Jansenists went into <!--del_lnk--> schism and formed their own church.<p>Augustine was <!--del_lnk--> canonized by popular recognition and recognized as a <!--del_lnk--> Doctor of the Church in 1303 by <!--del_lnk--> Pope Boniface VIII. His <!--del_lnk--> feast day is <!--del_lnk--> August 28, the day on which he is thought to have died. He is considered the <!--del_lnk--> patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, sore eyes, and a number of cities and dioceses.<p>The latter part of Augustine's <i>Confessions</i> consists of an extended meditation on the nature of time. Catholic theologians generally subscribe to Augustine's belief that God exists <!--del_lnk--> outside of time in the "eternal present"; that time only exists within the created universe because only in space is time discernible through motion and change.<p>Augustine's meditations on the nature of time are closely linked to his consideration of the human ability of <!--del_lnk--> memory. <!--del_lnk--> Frances Yates in her <!--del_lnk--> 1966 study, <i>The Art of Memory</i> argues that a brief passage of the <i>Confessions</i>, X.8.12, in which Augustine writes of walking up a flight of stairs and entering the vast fields of memory <!--del_lnk--> (see text and commentary)clearly indicates that the ancient Romans were aware of how to use explicit spatial and architectural metaphors as a <!--del_lnk--> mnemonic technique for organizing large amounts of information. A few French philosophers have argued that this technique can be seen as the conceptual ancestor of the <!--del_lnk--> user interface <!--del_lnk--> paradigm of <!--del_lnk--> virtual reality.<p>According to <!--del_lnk--> Leo Ruickbie, Augustine's arguments against <!--del_lnk--> magic, differentiating it from <!--del_lnk--> miracle, were crucial in the early Church's fight against <!--del_lnk--> paganism and became a central thesis in the later denunciation of witches and <!--del_lnk--> witchcraft.<p>According to Professor Deepak Lal, Augustine's vision of the heavenly city has influenced the secular faiths of the Enlightenment, Marxism, Freudianism and Eco-fundamentalism.<p><a id="Influential_quotations_from_Augustine.27s_writings" name="Influential_quotations_from_Augustine.27s_writings"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Influential quotations from Augustine's writings</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>"Love the sinner and hate the sin " (<i>Cum dilectione hominum et odio vitiorum</i>) (Opera Omnia, vol II. col. 962, letter 211.), literally "With love for mankind and hatred of sins " <li>"Heart Speaks to heart" (<i>Cor ad cor loquitur</i>) <li>"Nothing conquers except truth and the victory of truth is love" (<i>Victoria veritatis est caritas</i>}<li>"To sing once is to pray twice" (<i>Qui cantat, bis orat</i>) literally "he who sings, prays twice" <li>"Lord, you have seduced me and I let myself be seduced" (quoting the prophet Jeremiah 20.7-9)<li>"Love, and do what you will" (<i>Dilige et quod vis fac</i>)(Sermon on 1 John 7, 8)<li>"Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet" (<i>da mihi castitatem et continentiam, sed noli modo</i>) (Conf., VIII. vii (17))<li>"God,oh lord, grant me the power to overcome sin. For sin is that which you gave to us when you granted us free choice of will. If I choose wrongly, then I shall be justly punished for it. Is that not true my Lord of whom I indebted for my temporal existence. Thank you lord for granting me the power to will my self not to sin.(Free Choice of the Will, Book One)"<li>"Christ is <!--del_lnk--> the teacher within us <li>"Hear the other side"( <i>Audi partem alteram</i>) De Duabus Animabus, XlV ii<li>"Rome has spoken; the case is concluded" (<i>Roma locuta est; causa finita est.</i>) (Sermons, Book I)<li>"Take it up and Read it" (<i>Tolle, lege</i>) Confessions, Book VIII, Chapter 12<li>"There is no salvation outside the church" (<i>Salus extra ecclesiam non est</i>) (De Bapt. IV, cxvii.24)<li>"To many, total abstinence is easier than perfect moderation." (<i>Multi quidem facilius se abstinent ut non utantur, quam temperent ut bene utantur.</i>) (On the Good of Marriage)<li>"We make ourselves a ladder out of our vices if we trample the vices themselves underfoot. (iii. De Ascensione)</ul>
<p><a id="Natural_knowledge_and_biblical_interpretation" name="Natural_knowledge_and_biblical_interpretation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Natural knowledge and biblical interpretation</span></h2>
<p>Augustine took the view that the Biblical text should not be interpreted literally if it contradicts what we know from science and our God-given reason. In an important passage on his "The Literal Interpretation of Genesis" (early <a href="../../wp/5/5th_century.htm" title="5th century">5th century</a>, AD), St. Augustine wrote:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
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<td>It not infrequently happens that something about the earth, about the sky, about other elements of this world, about the motion and rotation or even the magnitude and distances of the stars, about definite eclipses of the sun and moon, about the passage of years and seasons, about the nature of animals, of fruits, of stones, and of other such things, may be known with the greatest certainty by reasoning or by experience, even by one who is not a Christian. It is too disgraceful and ruinous, though, and greatly to be avoided, that he [the non-Christian] should hear a Christian speaking so idiotically on these matters, and as if in accord with Christian writings, that he might say that he could scarcely keep from laughing when he saw how totally in error they are. In view of this and in keeping it in mind constantly while dealing with the book of Genesis, I have, insofar as I was able, explained in detail and set forth for consideration the meanings of obscure passages, taking care not to affirm rashly some one meaning to the prejudice of another and perhaps better explanation." (<i>The Literal Interpretation of Genesis 1:19–20</i>, Chapt. 19 [AD 408]) <p>With the scriptures it is a matter of treating about the faith. For that reason, as I have noted repeatedly, if anyone, not understanding the mode of divine eloquence, should find something about these matters [about the physical universe] in our books, or hear of the same from those books, of such a kind that it seems to be at variance with the perceptions of his own rational faculties, let him believe that these other things are in no way necessary to the admonitions or accounts or predictions of the scriptures. In short, it must be said that our authors knew the truth about the nature of the skies, but it was not the intention of the Spirit of God, who spoke through them, to teach men anything that would not be of use to them for their salvation." (ibid, 2:9)</td>
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<p>A more clear distinction between "metaphorical" and "literal" in literary texts arose with the rise of the <!--del_lnk--> Scientific Revolution, although its source could be found in earlier writings, such as those of <a href="../../wp/h/Herodotus.htm" title="Herodotus">Herodotus</a> (5th century BC). It was even considered heretical to interpret the Bible literally at times (cf. Origen, St. Jerome).<p><a id="Creation" name="Creation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Creation</span></h2>
<p>In "<i>The Literal Interpretation of Genesis</i>" Augustine took the view that everything in the universe was created simultaneously by God, and not in seven calendar days like a plain account of Genesis would require. He argues that the six-day structure of creation presented in the book of Genesis represents a logical framework, rather than the passage of time in a physical way - it would bear a spiritual, rather than physical, meaning, which is no less literal. Augustine also doesn’t envisage <!--del_lnk--> original sin as originating structural changes in the universe, and even suggests that the bodies of Adam and Eve were already created mortal before the Fall. Apart from his specific views, Augustine recognizes that the interpretation of the creation story is difficult, and remarks that we should be willing to change our mind about it as new information comes up. <!--del_lnk--> <p>In "<i>The City of God</i>", Augustine also defended what would be called today as <!--del_lnk--> young Earth creationism. In the specific passage, Augustine rejected both the immortality of the human race proposed by pagans, and contemporary ideas of ages (such as those of certain Greeks and Egyptians) that differed from the Church's sacred writings:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
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<td>Let us, then, omit the conjectures of men who know not what they say, when they speak of the nature and origin of the human race. For some hold the same opinion regarding men that they hold regarding the world itself, that they have always been... They are deceived, too, by those highly mendacious documents which profess to give the history of many thousand years, though, reckoning by the sacred writings, we find that not 6000 years have yet passed." (Augustine, <!--del_lnk--> Of the Falseness of the History Which Allots Many Thousand Years to the World’s Past, <i>The City of God</i>, Book 12: Chapt. 10 [AD 419]).</td>
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<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Augustine of Hippo"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Augustine of Hippo"><img alt="Augustine of Hippo" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
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<p><a id="Doctrine_of_Original_Sin" name="Doctrine_of_Original_Sin"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Doctrine of Original Sin</span></h2>
<p>Augustine's theological views in the early middle era were revolutionary, perhaps none so much as his clear formulation of the doctrine of <!--del_lnk--> Original Sin that has substantially influenced Catholic theology.<p>His idea of <!--del_lnk--> predestination rest on the assertion that God has foreseen, from time immemorial, all the choices every person who would ever live on Earth would make, and whether they would cooperate with <!--del_lnk--> Grace or not. The number of the people God knows would be saved are the elect, the number who God knows will not be saved are the reprobate. God has chosen the elect certainly and gratuitously, without any previous merit (<i>ante merita</i>) on their part.<p>Yet Augustine also maintains firmly that it is God's will to save all men. God does not destroy human liberty and free choice, but preserves it, so that the elect would, potentially, have the full power to be damned and the non-elect full power to be saved.<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
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<td>According to Augustine, God, in his creative decree, has expressly excluded every order of things in which grace would deprive man of his liberty, every situation in which man would not have the power to resist sin, and thus Augustine brushes aside that predestinationism which has been attributed to him. Listen to him speaking to the Manichæans: "All can be saved if they wish"; and in his "Retractations" (I, x), far from correcting this assertion, he confirms it emphatically: "It is true, entirely true, that all men can, if they wish." But he always goes back to the providential preparation. In his sermons he says to all: "It depends on you to be elect" (In Ps. cxx, n. 11, etc.); "Who are the elect? You, if you wish it" (In Ps. Lxxiii, n. 5). But, you will say, according to Augustine, the lists of the elect and reprobate are closed. Now if the non-elect can gain heaven, if all the elect can be lost, why should not some pass from one list to the other? You forget the celebrated explanation of Augustine: When God made His plan, He knew infallibly, before His choice, what would be the response of the wills of men to His graces. If, then, the lists are definitive, if no one will pass from one series to the other, it is not because anyone cannot (on the contrary, all can), <i>it is because God knew with infallible knowledge that no one would wish to</i>. Thus I cannot effect that God should destine me to another series of graces than that which He has fixed, but, with this grace, if I do not save myself it will not be because I am not able, but because I do not wish to. <p>
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<p>Augustine's theory of predestination was misunderstood by both the <!--del_lnk--> Semipelagianists and <a href="../../wp/j/John_Calvin.htm" title="John Calvin">John Calvin</a> as teaching <!--del_lnk--> double predestination, ie. that God had already explicitly decided who would be saved and who would be damned and predestined them to this fate, in a way that does not leave room for free will, personal choice and cooperation with Grace.<p>Against the <!--del_lnk--> Pelagians Augustine also strongly stressed the importance of <!--del_lnk--> infant baptism. He believed that no one would be saved unless they have received baptism in order to be cleansed from <!--del_lnk--> Original Sin. He also maintained that unbaptized children were going to <!--del_lnk--> Hell, but this view was rejected by the Roman Catholic Church.<p><a id="Augustine_and_lust" name="Augustine_and_lust"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Augustine and lust</span></h2>
<p>Lust to Augustine was something that plagued his life. It was a sin independent of the will handed down by the sins of Adam. "The need of lust in sexual intercourse is a punishment for Adam's sin, but for which sex might have been divorced from pleasure." Augustine, begging for chastity in his early youth writes, "But I wretched, most wretched, in the very commencement of my early youth, had begged chastity of Thee, and said, "Give me chastity and continency, only not yet." . At sixteen Augustine moved to Carthage where again he was plagued by this "wretched sin":<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
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<td>Where there seethed all around me a cauldron of lawless loves. I loved not yet, yet I loved to love, and out of a deep-seated want, I hated myself for wanting not. I sought what I might love, in love with loving, and I hated safety... To love then, and to be beloved, was sweet to me; but more, when I obtained to enjoy the person I loved. I defiled, therefore, the spring of friendship with the filth of concupiscence, and I beclouded its brightness with the hell of lustfulness. </td>
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<p>Lust was also blind, as it even affected the barbarians who pillaged Rome. Augustine, while writing to the pious virgins who were raped during Rome's sack, spoke of chastity of mind, "Truth, another's lust cannot pollute thee." Chastity is "a virtue of the mind, and is not lost by rape, but is lost by the intention of sin, even if unperformed." <p>In short lust was an obstacle to the virtuous life for Augustine, something to be avoided, and one of the most miserable sins which deeply impacted his life.<p><a id="Augustine_and_the_Jews" name="Augustine_and_the_Jews"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Augustine and the Jews</span></h2>
<p>Against certain Christian movements rejecting the use of Hebrew Scriptures, Augustine countered that God had chosen the Jews as a special people, whilst he also deemed the scattering of Jews by the Roman empire as a fulfillment of certain Messianic prophecies. Augustine wrote:<p>"The Jews who slew <a href="../../wp/j/Jesus.htm" title="Jesus">Him</a>, and would not believe in Him, because it behooved Him to die and rise again, were yet more miserably wasted by the Romans, and utterly rooted out from their kingdom, where aliens had already ruled over them, and were dispersed through the lands (so that indeed there is no place where they are not), and are thus by their own Scriptures a testimony to us that we have not forged the prophecies about Christ."<p>Augustine also quotes part of the same prophecy that says "Slay them not, lest they should at last forget Thy law". Augustine argued that God had allowed the Jews to survive this dispersion as a warning to Christians, thus they were to be permitted to dwell in Christian lands. Augustine further argued that the Jews would be converted at the end of time.<p><a id="Books" name="Books"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Books</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> On Christian Doctrine,</i> <!--del_lnk--> 397-<!--del_lnk--> 426<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Confessions,</i> 397-<!--del_lnk--> 398<li><i><!--del_lnk--> The City of God,</i> begun ca. <!--del_lnk--> 413, finished 426<li><i>On the Trinity,</i> <!--del_lnk--> 400-<!--del_lnk--> 416<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Enchiridion</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Retractions</i>: At the end of his life (ca. <!--del_lnk--> 426-<!--del_lnk--> 428) Augustine revisited his previous works in chronological order and suggested what he would have said differently in a work titled the <i><!--del_lnk--> Retractions</i>, giving the reader a rare picture of the development of a writer and his final thoughts.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> The Literal Meaning of Genesis</i><li>On Free Choice</ul>
<p><a id="Letters" name="Letters"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Letters</span></h2>
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<li>On the Catechising of the Uninstructed<li>On Faith and the Creed<li>Concerning Faith of Things Not Seen<li>On the Profit of Believing<li>On the Creed: A Sermon to Catechumens<li>On Continence<li>On the Good of Marriage<li>On Holy Virginity<li>On the Good of Widowhood<li>On Lying<li>To Consentius: Against Lying<li>On the Work of Monks<li>On Patience<li>On Care to be Had For the Dead<li>On the Morals of the Catholic Church<li>On the Morals of the Manichaeans<li>On Two Souls, Against the Manichaeans<li>Acts or Disputation Against Fortunatus the Manichaean<li>Against the Epistle of Manichaeus Called Fundamental<li>Reply to Faustus the Manichaean<li>Concerning the Nature of Good, Against the Manichaeans<li>On Baptism, Against the Donatists</ul>
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<li>Answer to Letters of Petilian, Bishop of Cirta<li>The Correction of the Donatists<li>Merits and Remission of Sin, and Infant Baptism<li>On the Spirit and the Letter<li>On Nature and Grace<li>On Man's Perfection in Righteousness<li>On the Proceedings of Pelagius<li>On the Grace of Christ, and on Original Sin<li>On Marriage and Concupiscence<li>On the Soul and its Origin<li>Against Two Letters of the Pelagians<li>On Grace and Free Will<li>On Rebuke and Grace<li>The Predestination of the Saints/Gift of Perseverance<li>Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount<li>The Harmony of the Gospels<li>Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament<li>Tractates on the Gospel of John<li>Homilies on the First Epistle of John<li>Soliloquies<li>The Enarrations, or Expositions, on the Psalms<li>On the Immortality of the Soul</ul>
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<h2> <span class="mw-headline">In the arts</span></h2>
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<li><!--del_lnk--> Christian rock band <!--del_lnk--> Petra dedicated a song to St. Augustine called <i>"St. Augustine Pears"</i>. It's based on one of Augustine's writings in his book "Confessions" where he tells of how he stole some neighbour's pears without being hungry, and how that petty theft haunted him through his life.<!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> Jon Foreman, lead singer and song writer of the <a href="../../wp/a/Alternative_rock.htm" title="Alternative rock">alternative rock</a> band <!--del_lnk--> Switchfoot wrote a song called "Something More (Augustine's Confession)", based after the life and book, "Confessions", of Augustine.<li>For his 1993 album "<!--del_lnk--> Ten Summoner's Tales", <!--del_lnk--> Sting wrote a song entitled "Saint Augustine in Hell", although Augustine himself is not in fact mentioned in the lyrics.<li><a href="../../wp/b/Bob_Dylan.htm" title="Bob Dylan">Bob Dylan</a>, for his 1967 album <!--del_lnk--> John Wesley Harding penned a song entitled "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine". The song's opening lines ("I dreamed I saw Saint Augustine / Alive as you or me") are likely based on the opening lines of " I Dreamed I Saw <!--del_lnk--> Joe Hill Last Night", a song crafted in 1936 by <!--del_lnk--> Earl Robinson detailing the death of the famous American labor-activist who, himself, was an influential songwriter.<li><!--del_lnk--> Roberto Rossellini directed the film "Agostino d'Ippona" (Augustine of Hippo) for Italy's RAI-TV in 1972.<li>Indie Rock band, <!--del_lnk--> Band of Horses, wrote a song entitled "St. Augustine," that was included on their 2006 CD "Everything All the Time."</ul>
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<th align="center" colspan="3" style="color: #000000; background-color: #C1D8FF; font-size: 120%"><b>Augustus</b></th>
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<td align="center" colspan="3"><i><!--del_lnk--> Emperor of the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a></i></td>
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<td align="center" colspan="3"><a class="image" href="../../images/234/23416.jpg.htm" title="Bust of Caesar Augustus."><img alt="Bust of Caesar Augustus." height="312" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aug11_01.jpg" src="../../images/234/23416.jpg" width="250" /></a></td>
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<td><b>Reign</b></td>
<td colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> January 16, <!--del_lnk--> 27 BC–<!--del_lnk--> August 19 <!--del_lnk--> AD 14</td>
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<td><b>Full name</b></td>
<td colspan="2">Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus</td>
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<td><b>Born</b></td>
<td colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> September 23, <!--del_lnk--> 63 BC</td>
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<td colspan="2"><a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Roman Republic</td>
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<td><b>Died</b></td>
<td colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> August 19, <!--del_lnk--> AD 14</td>
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<td colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Nola, <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a></td>
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<td><b>Buried</b></td>
<td colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Mausoleum of Augustus</td>
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<td><b>Predecessor</b></td>
<td colspan="2">None</td>
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<td><b>Successor</b></td>
<td colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Tiberius, stepson by third wife and adoptive son</td>
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<td><b>Consort to</b></td>
<td colspan="2">1) <!--del_lnk--> Clodia Pulchra ?–40 BC<br /> 2) <!--del_lnk--> Scribonia 40 BC–38 BC<br /> 3) <!--del_lnk--> Livia Drusilla 38 BC to AD 14</td>
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<td><b>Issue</b></td>
<td colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Julia the Elder</td>
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<td><b>Royal House</b></td>
<td colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Julio-Claudian</td>
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<td><b>Father</b></td>
<td colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Gaius Octavius</td>
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<td><b>Mother</b></td>
<td colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Atia Balba Caesonia</td>
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<caption><big><big><b>Roman imperial dynasties<br /><!--del_lnk--> Julio-Claudian Dynasty</b></big></big></caption>
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<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="background:#f9f9f9; text-align:left;">
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<th align="center" style="background:#ccccff; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid #aaaaaa; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; padding: 0 5px 0 5px;"><strong class="selflink">Augustus</strong></th>
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<td><i><b>Children</b></i></td>
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<td> Natural - <!--del_lnk--> Julia the Elder</td>
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<td> Adoptive - <!--del_lnk--> Gaius Caesar, <!--del_lnk--> Lucius Caesar, <!--del_lnk--> Agrippa Postumus, <!--del_lnk--> Tiberius</td>
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<th align="center" style="background:#ccccff; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid #aaaaaa; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; padding: 0 5px 0 5px;"><!--del_lnk--> Tiberius</th>
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<td><i><b>Children</b></i></td>
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<td> Natural - <!--del_lnk--> Julius Caesar Drusus</td>
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<td> Adoptive - <!--del_lnk--> Germanicus</td>
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<th align="center" style="background:#ccccff; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid #aaaaaa; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; padding: 0 5px 0 5px;"><!--del_lnk--> Caligula</th>
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<td><i><b>Children</b></i></td>
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<td> Natural - <!--del_lnk--> Julia Drusilla</td>
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<td> Adoptive - <!--del_lnk--> Tiberius Gemellus</td>
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<th align="center" style="background:#ccccff; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid #aaaaaa; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; padding: 0 5px 0 5px;"><a href="../../wp/c/Claudius.htm" title="Claudius">Claudius</a></th>
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<td><i><b>Children</b></i></td>
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<td> Natural - <!--del_lnk--> Claudia Antonia, <!--del_lnk--> Claudia Octavia, <!--del_lnk--> Britannicus</td>
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<td> Adoptive - <!--del_lnk--> Nero</td>
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<th align="center" style="background:#ccccff; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid #aaaaaa; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; padding: 0 5px 0 5px;"><!--del_lnk--> Nero</th>
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<td><i><b>Children</b></i></td>
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<td> Natural - <!--del_lnk--> Claudia Augusta</td>
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<p><b>Augustus</b> (<a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a>: <small>IMP•CAESAR•DIVI•F•AVGVSTVS</small>; <!--del_lnk--> September 23, <!--del_lnk--> 63 BC–<!--del_lnk--> August 19, <!--del_lnk--> AD 14), known as <b>Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus</b> (English <b>Octavian</b>; <!--del_lnk--> Latin: <small>C•IVLIVS•C•F•CAESAR•OCTAVIANVS</small>) for the period of his life prior to 27 BC, was the first and among the most important of the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Emperors.<p>Although he preserved the outward form of the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Republic, he ruled as an <a href="../../wp/a/Autocracy.htm" title="Autocracy">autocrat</a> for 41 years, and his rule is the dividing line between the Republic and the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a>. He ended a century of <!--del_lnk--> civil wars and gave Rome an era of peace, prosperity, and imperial greatness, known as the <i><!--del_lnk--> Pax Romana</i>, or <i>Roman peace</i>.<p>
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</script><a id="Early_life" name="Early_life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Early life</span></h2>
<p>He was born in Rome (or <!--del_lnk--> Velletri) on <!--del_lnk--> September 23, <!--del_lnk--> 63 BC with the name <b>Gaius Octavius</b>. His father, also <!--del_lnk--> Gaius Octavius, came from a respectable but undistinguished family of the <!--del_lnk--> equestrian order and was governor of <!--del_lnk--> Macedonia. Shortly after Octavius's birth, his father gave him the <!--del_lnk--> cognomen of <b>Thurinus</b>, possibly to commemorate his victory at <!--del_lnk--> Thurii over a rebellious band of slaves. His mother, <!--del_lnk--> Atia, was the niece of <a href="../../wp/j/Julius_Caesar.htm" title="Julius Caesar">Julius Caesar</a>, soon to be Rome's most successful general and <!--del_lnk--> Dictator. He spent his early years in his grandfather's house near Veletrae (modern Velletri). In 58 BC, when he was four years old, his father died. He spent most of his childhood in the house of his stepfather, <!--del_lnk--> Lucius Marcius Philippus.<p>In 51 BC, aged eleven, Octavius delivered the funeral oration for his grandmother <!--del_lnk--> Julia, elder sister of Caesar. He donned the <i><!--del_lnk--> toga virilis</i> at fifteen, and was elected to the <!--del_lnk--> College of Pontiffs. Caesar requested that Octavius join his staff for his campaign in <!--del_lnk--> Africa, but Atia protested that he was too young. The following year, 46 BC, she consented for him to join Caesar in <!--del_lnk--> Hispania, where he planned to fight the forces of Pompey, but he fell ill and was unable to travel. When he had recovered, he sailed to the front, but was shipwrecked; after coming ashore with a handful of companions, he made it across hostile territory to Caesar's camp, which impressed his great-uncle considerably. Caesar and Octavius returned home in the same carriage, and Caesar secretly changed his will.<p><a id="Rise_to_power" name="Rise_to_power"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Rise to power</span></h2>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/525/52579.jpg.htm" title="Bronze statue of Augustus, Archaeological Museum, Athens."><img alt="Bronze statue of Augustus, Archaeological Museum, Athens." height="323" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Acaugustus.jpg" src="../../images/234/23417.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/525/52579.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bronze statue of Augustus, Archaeological Museum, Athens.</div>
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<p>When <!--del_lnk--> Caesar was assassinated on the <!--del_lnk--> Ides of March (the 15th) 44 BC, Octavius was studying in <!--del_lnk--> Apollonia, Illyria. Caesar's will revealed that, having no legitimate children, Caesar had adopted his great-nephew Octavius as his son and main heir. Owing to his <!--del_lnk--> adoption, Octavius assumed the name <i>Gaius Julius Caesar</i>. Roman tradition dictated that he also append the surname <i>Octavianus</i> (<i>Octavian</i>) to indicate his biological family; however, no evidence exists that he ever used that name. <a href="../../wp/m/Mark_Antony.htm" title="Mark Antony">Mark Antony</a> later charged that he had earned his adoption by Caesar through sexual favours, though <!--del_lnk--> Suetonius describes Antony's accusation as political slander.<p>Octavian recruited a small force in Apollonia. Crossing over to <!--del_lnk--> Italia, he bolstered his personal forces with Caesar's veteran legionaries, gathering support by emphasizing his status as heir to Caesar. He furthered his cause by emphasizing the fact that he was the son of a god, since Caesar had been Deified. Only eighteen years old, he was consistently underestimated by his rivals for power.<p>In Rome, he found Mark Antony and the <!--del_lnk--> Optimates led by <!--del_lnk--> Marcus Tullius Cicero in an uneasy truce. After a tense standoff, and a war in Cisalpine Gaul after Antony tried to take control of the province from <!--del_lnk--> Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, he formed an alliance with Mark Antony and <!--del_lnk--> Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Caesar's principal colleagues. The three formed a <a href="../../wp/m/Military_dictatorship.htm" title="Military dictatorship">junta</a> called the <!--del_lnk--> Second Triumvirate, an explicit grant of special powers lasting five years and supported by law, unlike the unofficial <!--del_lnk--> First Triumvirate of <!--del_lnk--> Gnaeus Pompey Magnus, <a href="../../wp/j/Julius_Caesar.htm" title="Julius Caesar">Julius Caesar</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Marcus Licinius Crassus.<p>The triumvirs then set in motion <!--del_lnk--> proscriptions in which 300 senators and 2,000 <i><!--del_lnk--> equites</i> were deprived of their property and, for those who failed to escape, their lives, going beyond a simple purge of those allied with the assassins, and probably motivated by a need to raise money to pay their troops.<p>Antony and Octavian then marched against <!--del_lnk--> Marcus Junius Brutus and <!--del_lnk--> Gaius Cassius, who had fled to Greece. After two <!--del_lnk--> battles at <!--del_lnk--> Philippi in <!--del_lnk--> Macedonia, the Caesarian army was victorious and Brutus and Cassius committed <!--del_lnk--> suicide (42 BC). After the battle, a new arrangement was made between the members of the Second Triumvirate: while Octavian returned to Rome, Antony went to <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> where he allied himself with Queen <a href="../../wp/c/Cleopatra_VII.htm" title="Cleopatra VII of Egypt">Cleopatra VII</a>, the former lover of Julius Caesar and mother of Caesar's infant son, <!--del_lnk--> Caesarion. Lepidus went on to govern <!--del_lnk--> Hispania and the <!--del_lnk--> province of Africa.<p>Octavian, governing in Italy, busied himself taking lands from Italians and giving them to triumvirate veteran soldiers. This caused political and social unrest, and when Octavian asked for a divorce from <!--del_lnk--> Clodia Pulchra, the daughter of Fulvia and her first husband Publius Clodius Pulcher. Octavian divorced Clodia to marry Scribonia, with whom he would have his only child, Julia. His marriage with Clodia was never consummated, he returned her to her mother with a letter informing her that he was returning her in "mint" condition. <!--del_lnk--> Fulvia, Antony's wife, decided to take action. Together with <!--del_lnk--> Lucius Antonius, Mark Antony's brother, she raised eight legions in Italy to fight for Antony's rights against Octavian. The army occupied Rome for a short time, but eventually retreated to <!--del_lnk--> Perusia (modern Perugia). Octavian besieged Fulvia and Lucius Antonius in the winter of <!--del_lnk--> 41–<!--del_lnk--> 40 BC, starving them into surrender. Fulvia was exiled to Sicyon, where she died of a sudden illness, while Antony was en route to meet her. To Scribonia and Octavian was born Octavian's only natural child, Julia, who was born the same day that he divorced Scribonia to marry Livia Drusilla.<p>While in Egypt, Antony had been conducting an affair with Cleopatra that resulted in three children, <!--del_lnk--> Alexander Helios, <!--del_lnk--> Cleopatra Selene, and <!--del_lnk--> Ptolemy Philadelphus. Aware of his deteriorating relationship with Octavian, Antony left Cleopatra. Fulvia's death allowed for the two triumvirs to effect a reconciliation. Octavian gave his sister, <!--del_lnk--> Octavia, in marriage to Antony in 40 BC. During their marriage, Octavia gave birth to two daughters, both named <!--del_lnk--> Antonia. In 37 BC, Antony deserted Octavia and went back to Egypt to be with Cleopatra. The Roman dominions were then divided between Octavian in the West and Antony in the East.<p>Whilst Antony occupied himself with military campaigns against the Parthians and a romantic affair with Cleopatra, Octavian built a network of allies in Rome, consolidated his power, and spread <a href="../../wp/p/Propaganda.htm" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a> implying that Antony was becoming less than Roman because of his preoccupation with Egyptian affairs and traditions. The situation grew more and more tense, and finally, in 32 BC, the senate officially declared war on "the Foreign Queen", to avoid the stigma of yet another civil war. It was quickly decided: in the bay of <!--del_lnk--> Actium on the western coast of Greece, after Antony's men began deserting, the fleets met in a great battle in which many ships were burned and thousands on both sides were slain. Octavian defeated his rivals who then fled to Egypt. He pursued them, and after another defeat, Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra also committed suicide after her upcoming role in Octavian's Triumph was "carefully explained to her", and <!--del_lnk--> Caesarion was "butchered without compunction". Octavian supposedly said "two Caesars are one too many" as he ordered Caesarion's death. This demonstrates a key difference between Julius Caesar and Octavian—while Caesar had demonstrated <!--del_lnk--> clemency in his victories, Octavian most certainly did not.<p><a id="Octavian_becomes_Augustus:_the_creation_of_the_Principate" name="Octavian_becomes_Augustus:_the_creation_of_the_Principate"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Octavian becomes Augustus: the creation of the Principate</span></h2>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23418.jpg.htm" title="Augustus as a magistrate."><img alt="Augustus as a magistrate." height="361" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Caesar_augustus.jpg" src="../../images/234/23418.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23418.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Augustus as a magistrate.</div>
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<p>The Western half of the Roman Republic territory had sworn allegiance to Octavian prior to Actium in 31 BC, and after Actium and the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra, the Eastern half followed suit, placing Octavian in the position of ruler of the Republic. Years of civil war had left Rome in a state of near-lawlessness, but the Republic was not prepared to accept the control of Octavian as a <!--del_lnk--> despot. At the same time, Octavian could not simply give up his authority without risking further civil wars amongst the Roman generals, and even if he desired no position of authority whatsoever, his position demanded that he look to the well-being of the City and provinces. Marching in to Rome, he forced the Roman Senate to name him <!--del_lnk--> consul; as such, though he had given up his personal armies, he was now legally in command of the legions of Rome.<p><a id="First_settlement" name="First_settlement"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">First settlement</span></h3>
<p>In 27 BC, Octavian officially returned power to the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Senate, and offered to relinquish his own military supremacy over <!--del_lnk--> Egypt.<p>Reportedly, the suggestion of Octavian's stepping down as consul led to rioting among the <!--del_lnk--> Plebeians in Rome. A compromise was reached between the Senate and Octavian's supporters, known as the First Settlement. Octavian was given proconsular authority over the Western half and <!--del_lnk--> Syria—the provinces that, combined, contained almost 70% of the Roman legions.<p>The Senate also gave him the titles <i><!--del_lnk--> Augustus</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Princeps</i>. <i>Augustus,</i> from the Latin word <i>Augere</i>, "to increase," was a title of religious rather than political authority. According to Roman religious beliefs, the title symbolized a stamp of authority over humanity, and in fact nature, that went beyond any constitutional definition of his status. Additionally, after the harsh methods employed in consolidating his control, the change in name would also serve to separate his benign reign as Augustus from his reign of terror as Octavian. <i>Princeps</i> translates to "first-citizen" or "first-leader". It had been a title under the Republic for those who had served the state well; for example, <!--del_lnk--> Pompey had held the title.<p>In addition, Augustus was granted the right to hang the <i>corona civica</i>, the "civic crown" made from oak, above his door, and have laurels drape his doorposts. This crown was usually held above the head of a Roman general during a <!--del_lnk--> Triumph, with the individual holding the crown charged to continually repeat, "Remember, thou art mortal," to the triumphant general. Additionally, laurel wreaths were important in several state ceremonies, and crowns of laurel were rewarded to champions of athletic, racing, and dramatic contests. Thus, both the laurel and the oak were integral symbols of Roman religion and statecraft; placing them on Augustus's doorposts was tantamount to declaring his home the capital. However, it must be noted that none of these titles, or the Civic Crown and laurels, granted Octavian any additional powers or authority; for all intents and purposes the new Augustus was simply a highly-honored Roman citizen, holding the consulship within the city and acting as proconsul in territories abroad.<p>These actions were highly abnormal from the Roman Senate, but this was not the same body of patricians that had assassinated Caesar. Both Antony and Octavian had purged the Senate of suspect elements and planted it with their loyal partisans. How free a hand the Senate had in these transactions, and what backroom deals were made, remain unknown.<p><a id="Second_settlement" name="Second_settlement"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Second settlement</span></h3>
<p>In 23 BC, Augustus renounced the consulship, but retained his consular <i><!--del_lnk--> imperium</i>, leading to a second compromise between Augustus and the Senate known as the Second Settlement. Augustus was granted the power of a <!--del_lnk--> tribune (<i>tribunicia potestas</i>), though not the title, which allowed him to convene the Senate and people at will and lay business before it, veto the actions of either the Assembly or the Senate, preside over elections, and the right to speak first at any meeting. Also included in Augustus' tribunician authority were powers usually reserved for the <!--del_lnk--> Roman censor; these included the right to supervise public morals and scrutinize laws to ensure they were in the public interest, as well as the ability to hold a <!--del_lnk--> census and determine the membership of the Senate. No Tribune of Rome ever had these powers, and there was no precedent within the Roman system for combining the powers of the Tribune and the Censor into a single position, nor was Augustus ever elected to the office of Censor. <a href="../../wp/j/Julius_Caesar.htm" title="Julius Caesar">Julius Caesar</a> had been granted similiar powers, wherein he was charged with supervising the morals of the state, however this position did not extend the Censor's ability to hold a census and determine the Senate's roster. Whether censorial powers were granted to Augustus as part of his <i>tribunician</i> authority, or he simply assumed these responsibilities, or, as Augustus indicates in his <!--del_lnk--> Res Gestae, he somehow retained consular authority, is still a matter of debate.<p>In addition to tribunician authority, Augustus was granted sole <i>imperium</i> within the city of Rome itself: all armed forces in the city, formerly under the control of the <!--del_lnk--> Prefects and consuls, were now under the sole authority of Augustus. Additionally, Augustus was granted <i>imperium proconsulare maius</i>, or "imperium over all the proconsuls", which translated to the right to interfere in any province and override the decisions of any governor. With <i>maius imperium</i>, Augustus was the only individual able to receive a triumph as he was ostensibly the head of every Roman army.<p>Many of the political subtleties of the Second Settlement seem to have evaded the comprehension of the Plebeian class. When, in 22 BC, Augustus failed to stand for election as consul, fears arose once again that Augustus, seen as the great "defender of the people", was being forced from power by the aristocratic Senate. In 22, 21, and 20 BC, the people rioted in response, and only allowed a single consul to be elected for each of those years, ostensibly to leave the other position open for Augustus. Finally, in 19 BC, the Senate voted to allow Augustus to wear the consul's insignia in public and before the Senate, with an act sometimes known as the Third Settlement. This seems to have assuaged the populace; regardless of whether or not Augustus was actually a consul, the importance was that he appeared as one before the people.<p>With these powers in mind, it must be understood that all forms of permanent and legal power within Rome officially lay with the Senate and the people; Augustus was given extraordinary powers, but only as a pronconsul and magistrate under the authority of the Senate. Augustus never presented himself as a king or autocrat, once again only allowing himself to be addressed by the title <i>princeps</i>. After the death of Lepidus in 13 BC, he additionally took up the position of <!--del_lnk--> pontifex maximus, the high priest of the collegium of the Pontifices, the most important position in Roman religion.<p>Later Roman Emperors would generally be limited to the powers and titles originally granted to Augustus, though often, in order to display humility, newly appointed Emperors would often decline one or more of the honorifics given to Augustus. Just as often, as their reign progressed, Emperors would appropriate all of the titles, regardless of whether they had actually been granted by the Senate. The Civic Crown (which later Emperors took to actually wearing), consular insignia, and later the purple robes of a Triumphant general (<i><!--del_lnk--> toga picta</i>) became the imperial insignia well into the <a href="../../wp/b/Byzantine_Empire.htm" title="Byzantine Empire">Byzantine</a> era, and were even adopted by many Germanic tribes invading the former Western empire as insignia of their right to rule.<p><a id="Succession" name="Succession"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Succession</span></h2>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23419.jpg.htm" title="Silver denarius of Augustus."><img alt="Silver denarius of Augustus." height="99" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Augustus_denarius.jpg" src="../../images/234/23419.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23419.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Silver denarius of Augustus.</div>
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<p>Almost immediately after the First Settlement, Augustus fell ill. By 26 BC, Augustus had become bedridden, and the problem of succession came to the forefront. Augustus himself passed his signet ring and government documents to his close friends, <!--del_lnk--> Marcus Agrippa and <!--del_lnk--> Maecenas respectively. While Augustus recovered enough to make short trips and public appearances by 24, and was certainly fully recovered by 23, his near death seems to have brought the issue to the forefront of Augustus's plans.<p>Noted Augustan historian <!--del_lnk--> Ronald Syme argues that indications pointed toward his sister's son <!--del_lnk--> Marcellus, who had been married to Augustus' daughter <!--del_lnk--> Julia the Elder. Other historians dispute this, instead indicating a preference for <!--del_lnk--> Marcus Agrippa, who was arguably the only one of Augustus's associates who could have controlled the legions. After the death of Marcellus in 23 BC, Augustus married his daughter to Agrippa. This union produced five children, three sons and two daughters: <!--del_lnk--> Gaius Caesar, <!--del_lnk--> Lucius Caesar, <!--del_lnk--> Vipsania Julia, <!--del_lnk--> Agrippina the Elder, and <!--del_lnk--> Postumus Agrippa, so named because he was born after Marcus Agrippa died. Shortly after the Second Settlement, Agrippa was granted tribunician power and seems to have administered the eastern half of the empire from <!--del_lnk--> Samos in the <!--del_lnk--> Cyclades.<p>Augustus' intent to make Gaius and Lucius Caesar his heirs was apparent when he adopted them as his own children, and personally ushered them into their political careers by serving as consul with each. Augustus also showed favour to his stepsons, Livia's children from her first marriage, <!--del_lnk--> Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus and <!--del_lnk--> Tiberius Claudius, granting them military commands and public office, and seeming to favour Drusus after granting him a triumph after subjugating a large portion of <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>.<p>After Agrippa died in 12 BC, Livia's son Tiberius was ordered to divorce his own wife and marry Agrippa's widow, Augustus's daughter. Tiberius shared in Augustus' tribune powers, but shortly thereafter went into retirement, reportedly wanting no further role in politics. A somewhat apocryphal tale tells of Augustus's various attempts to convince Tiberius to return, even going so far as to pretend to have fallen ill and be on his deathbed; Tiberius reportedly responded by anchoring his vessel off the coast of Ostia until word had reached him that Augustus would be well, then sailing straightway for Rhodes. After the early deaths of both Lucius and Gaius in <!--del_lnk--> 2 and <!--del_lnk--> 4 respectively, and the earlier death of his brother Drusus (9 BC), Tiberius was recalled to Rome, where he was adopted by Augustus on the condition that he, in turn, adopt Germanicus, continuing the tradition of presenting at least two generations of heirs to Augustus's powers.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> August 19, <!--del_lnk--> 14, Augustus died, and Tiberius was named his heir. The only other possible claimant, Postumus Agrippa, had been banished by Augustus, and was put to death around the same time. Who ordered his death is unknown, but the way was clear for Tiberius to assume the same powers that his stepfather had.<p><a id="Augustus.27_legacy" name="Augustus.27_legacy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Augustus' legacy</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23420.jpg.htm" title="The famous Augustus of Prima Porta"><img alt="The famous Augustus of Prima Porta" height="393" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Statue-Augustus.jpg" src="../../images/234/23420.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23420.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The famous <!--del_lnk--> Augustus of Prima Porta</div>
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</div>
<p>Augustus was deified soon after his death, and both his borrowed surname, Caesar, and his title <i>Augustus</i> became the permanent titles of the rulers of Rome for the next 400 years, and were still in use at <!--del_lnk--> Constantinople fourteen centuries after his death. In many languages, <i>caesar</i> became the word for <i>emperor</i>, as in German (<i><!--del_lnk--> Kaiser</i>) and in Russian (<i><!--del_lnk--> Tsar</i>). The cult of the Divine Augustus continued until the state religion of the Empire was changed to <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a> in the 4th century. Consequently, there are many excellent statues and busts of the first, and in some ways the greatest, of the emperors. <!--del_lnk--> Augustus' mausoleum also originally contained bronze pillars inscribed with a record of his life, the <i><!--del_lnk--> Res Gestae Divi Augusti</i>, which had also been disseminated throughout the empire during his lifetime.<p>Many consider Augustus to be Rome's greatest emperor; his policies certainly extended the empire's life span and initiated the celebrated <i>Pax Romana</i> or <i>Pax Augusta</i>. He was handsome, intelligent, decisive, and a shrewd politician, but he was not perhaps as charismatic as <a href="../../wp/j/Julius_Caesar.htm" title="Julius Caesar">Julius Caesar</a>, and was influenced on occasion by his 3rd wife, Livia (usually for the worst). Nevertheless, his legacy proved more enduring.<p>In looking back on the reign of Augustus and its legacy to the Roman world, its longevity should not be overlooked as a key factor in its success. As one ancient historian says, people were born and reached middle age without knowing any form of government other than the Principate. Had Augustus died earlier (in 23 BC, for instance), matters may have turned out differently. The attrition of the civil wars on the old Republican oligarchy and the longevity of Augustus, therefore, must be seen as major contributing factors in the transformation of the Roman state into a de facto monarchy in these years. Augustus' own experience, his patience, his tact, and his political acumen also played their parts. He directed the future of the empire down many lasting paths, from the existence of a standing professional army stationed at or near the frontiers, to the dynastic principle so often employed in the imperial succession, to the embellishment of the capital at the emperor's expense. Augustus' ultimate legacy was the peace and prosperity the empire enjoyed for the next two centuries under the system he initiated. His memory was enshrined in the political ethos of the Imperial age as a paradigm of the good emperor, and although every emperor adopted his name, Caesar Augustus, only a handful, such as <!--del_lnk--> Trajan, earned genuine comparison with him. His reign laid the foundations of a regime that lasted for 250 years.<p><a id="Revenue_Reforms" name="Revenue_Reforms"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Revenue Reforms</span></h3>
<p>Probably Augustus's most important legacy from the standpoint of its impact on the subsequent success of the Empire was his reform of Rome's public revenue system. Three of these reforms, in particular, are considered to have had substantial beneficial effects on both the fairness of the tax system and its effects on the Empire's economic prosperity.<p>The first reform was to bring a much larger portion of the Empire's expanded land base under consistent, direct taxation from Rome, instead of exacting varying, intermittent, and somewhat arbitrary tributes from each local province, as Augustus's predecessors had done. This reform greatly increased Rome's net revenue from its territorial acquisitions, stabilized its flow, and regularized the financial relationship between Rome and the provinces, rather than provoking fresh resentments with each new arbitrary exaction of tribute.<p>The second and equally important reform was the abolition of private tax farming and its replacement with salaried civil service tax collectors. The tax farmers had gained great infamy for their depredations, as well as great private wealth, by winning the right to tax local areas. Rome's revenue was the amount of the successful bids, and the tax farmers' profits consisted of any additional amounts they could forcibly wring from the populace with Rome's blessing. The more rapacious the tax farmer, the more he could afford to bid on the next area, and the more onerous the people's tax burdens became. Lack of effective supervision, combined with tax farmers' desire to maximize their profits, had produced a system of arbitrary exactions that was often barbarously cruel to taxpayers, widely (and accurately) perceived as unfair, and very harmful to investment and the economy. Its abolition was an enormous relief to the people, and perhaps more than any other factor explains not only the Empire's great prosperity for the next two centuries, but also Augustus's great personal popularity during his lifetime.<p>The third reform, the use of Egypt's immense land rents to finance the Empire's operations, resulted from Julius Caesar's conquest of Egypt and the shift under Augustus to an imperial form of government. As it was effectively considered first Julius's and then Augustus's private property, and became part of each succeeding emperor's patrimonium, the highly productive agricultural land of Egypt yielded enormous revenues that were available to Augustus and his successors to pay for public works and military expeditions, as well as bread and circuses for the population of Rome. The diversion of this land rent to Rome's coffers was probably even beneficial to the Egyptian economy and people, as Rome provided better infrastructure and public administration in return for the money than the pharoahs had ever done.<p><a id="Month" name="Month"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Month</span></h3>
<p>The month of August (Latin <i>Augustus</i>) is named after Augustus; until his time it was called <!--del_lnk--> Sextilis (the sixth month of the <!--del_lnk--> Roman calendar). Commonly repeated lore has it that August has 31 days because Augustus wanted his month to match the length of <a href="../../wp/j/Julius_Caesar.htm" title="Julius Caesar">Julius Caesar</a>'s July, but this is an invention of the 13th-century scholar <!--del_lnk--> Johannes de Sacrobosco. Sextilis in fact had 31 days before it was renamed, and it was not chosen for its length (see <!--del_lnk--> Julian calendar). A more widely held reason is that it was chosen since it was the month in which <a href="../../wp/c/Cleopatra_VII.htm" title="Cleopatra">Cleopatra</a> (<!--del_lnk--> Marc Antony's lover) committed suicide.<p><a id="Building_projects" name="Building_projects"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Building projects</span></h3>
<p>Augustus boasted that he 'found Rome brick and left it marble'. Although this did not apply to the <!--del_lnk--> Subura slums, which were still as rickety and fire-prone as ever, he did leave a mark on the monumental topography of the centre and of the <!--del_lnk--> Campus Martius, with the <!--del_lnk--> Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace) and monumental sundial, whose central gnomon was an <!--del_lnk--> obelisk taken from Egypt, the <!--del_lnk--> Temple of Caesar, the <!--del_lnk--> Forum of Augustus with its <!--del_lnk--> Temple of Mars Ultor, and also other projects either encouraged by him (eg <!--del_lnk--> Theatre of Balbus, Agrippa's construction of the <!--del_lnk--> Pantheon) or funded by him in the name of others, often relations (eg <!--del_lnk--> Portico of Octavia, <!--del_lnk--> Theatre of Marcellus). Even his own mausoleum was built before his death to house members of his family.<p><a id="Augustus_in_popular_culture" name="Augustus_in_popular_culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Augustus in popular culture</span></h2>
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<p><a id="Modern_archaeological_research" name="Modern_archaeological_research"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Modern archaeological research</span></h2>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> July <!--del_lnk--> 2006, archaeologists announced that they had discovered what they believed to be the <!--del_lnk--> birthplace of Augustus. Head archaeologist Clementina Panella stated that the team uncovered a section of corridor and other fragments under Rome's <!--del_lnk--> Palatine Hill, which she described on <!--del_lnk--> July 20 as "a very ancient aristocratic house", and stated that "the emperor was particularly fond of the area." <!--del_lnk--> <p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Australia</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Countries.htm">Countries</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geography_of_Oceania_Australasia.htm">Geography of Oceania (Australasia)</a></h3>
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<table class="infobox geography" style="width:23em;">
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<td align="center" class="mergedtoprow" colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; font-size:1.2em;"><b>Commonwealth of Australia</b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td align="center" class="maptable" colspan="2" style="padding:0.4em 0.8em 0.4em 0.8em;">
<table style="margin:0 auto; background:none; text-align:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><span style="border:1px solid #bbbbbb; display:table-cell;"><a class="image" href="../../images/7/785.png.htm" title="Flag of Australia"><img alt="Flag of Australia" height="63" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Australia.svg" src="../../images/8/805.png" width="125" /></a></span></td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/167/16714.png.htm" title="Coat of arms of Australia"><img alt="Coat of arms of Australia" height="64" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Australian_coat_of_arms_1912_edit.png" src="../../images/8/806.png" width="85" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><small><a href="../../wp/f/Flag_of_Australia.htm" title="Flag of Australia">Flag</a></small></td>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Coat of arms</small></td>
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</table>
</td>
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<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Motto: None</td>
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<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Anthem: <i><!--del_lnk--> Advance Australia Fair</i><br /><!--del_lnk--> Royal anthem: <i><!--del_lnk--> God Save the Queen</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 1em;">
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/8/807.png.htm" title="Location of Australia"><img alt="Location of Australia" height="110" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AustraliaWorldMap.png" src="../../images/8/807.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Capital</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Canberra.htm" title="Canberra">Canberra</a><br /><small><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 35°15′S 149°28′E</span></small></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Largest city</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> Official languages</span></th>
<td><a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> (<i>de facto</i> <sup>1</sup>)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><b><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_countries_by_system_of_government.htm" title="List of countries by system of government">Government</a></b></td>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><!--del_lnk--> Constitutional monarchy (federal)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Queen</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/e/Elizabeth_II_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom">Elizabeth II</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Governor-General</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Michael Jeffery</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/j/John_Howard.htm" title="John Howard">John Howard</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Independence</th>
<td>from the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">UK</a> </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Constitution</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1 January <!--del_lnk--> 1901 </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Statute of Westminster</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 11 December <!--del_lnk--> 1931 </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Australia Act</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 3 March <!--del_lnk--> 1986 </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Area</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 7,741,220 km² (<!--del_lnk--> 6th)<br /> 2,988,888 sq mi </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Water (%)</td>
<td>1</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Population</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - 2006 estimate</td>
<td>20,555,300<sup>2</sup> (<!--del_lnk--> 53rd)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - 2001 census</td>
<td>18,972,350</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Density</td>
<td>2.6/km² (<!--del_lnk--> 224th)<br /> 6.7/sq mi</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> GDP (<!--del_lnk--> PPP)</th>
<td>2006 estimate</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td>$674.9 billion (<!--del_lnk--> 17th)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Per capita</td>
<td>$32,220 (World Bank) (<!--del_lnk--> 14th)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><b><!--del_lnk--> HDI</b> (2006)</th>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/8/808.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Green_Arrow_Up.svg" src="../../images/8/808.png" width="10" /></a> 0.957 (<font color="#009900">high</font>) (<!--del_lnk--> 3rd)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a href="../../wp/c/Currency.htm" title="Currency">Currency</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Australian dollar (<code><!--del_lnk--> AUD</code>)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> various<sup>3</sup> (<!--del_lnk--> UTC+8 to +10)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Summer (<!--del_lnk--> DST)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> various<sup>3</sup> (<!--del_lnk--> UTC+8 to +11)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Internet TLD</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> .au</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Calling code</th>
<td>++61</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2"><small><sup>1</sup> English does not have <i>de jure</i> official status (<!--del_lnk--> source)<br /><sup>2</sup> mid-2006 population projection using Series B (medium variant) from <!--del_lnk--> <br /><sup>3</sup> There are minor variations from these three time zones, see <!--del_lnk--> Time in Australia.</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Australia</b>, officially the <b>Commonwealth of Australia</b>, is a country in the <!--del_lnk--> Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the world's smallest <a href="../../wp/c/Continent.htm" title="Continent">continent</a> and a number of islands in the <a href="../../wp/s/Southern_Ocean.htm" title="Southern Ocean">Southern</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Indian_Ocean.htm" title="Indian Ocean">Indian</a>, and <a href="../../wp/p/Pacific_Ocean.htm" title="Pacific Ocean">Pacific Oceans</a>. Neighbouring countries include <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/East_Timor.htm" title="East Timor">East Timor</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/Papua_New_Guinea.htm" title="Papua New Guinea">Papua New Guinea</a> to the north, the <a href="../../wp/s/Solomon_Islands.htm" title="Solomon Islands">Solomon Islands</a>, <a href="../../wp/v/Vanuatu.htm" title="Vanuatu">Vanuatu</a> and the <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">French</a> dependency of <a href="../../wp/n/New_Caledonia.htm" title="New Caledonia">New Caledonia</a> to the northeast, and <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a> to the southeast.<p>The mainland of the <!--del_lnk--> continent of Australia has been inhabited for as long as 60 000 years by <!--del_lnk--> Indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and by European explorers and merchants starting in the seventeenth century, the eastern half of the mainland was claimed by the <!--del_lnk--> British in 1770 and officially settled through <!--del_lnk--> penal transportation as the colony of <!--del_lnk--> New South Wales on <!--del_lnk--> 26 January <!--del_lnk--> 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely <!--del_lnk--> self-governing <!--del_lnk--> Crown Colonies were successively established over the course of the 19th century.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 1 January <!--del_lnk--> 1901, the six colonies became a <!--del_lnk--> Federation, and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since federation, Australia has maintained a stable <a href="../../wp/l/Liberal_democracy.htm" title="Liberal democracy">liberal democratic</a> political system and remains a <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth Realm. The capital city is <a href="../../wp/c/Canberra.htm" title="Canberra">Canberra</a>, located in the <!--del_lnk--> Australian Capital Territory. The current national population is around 20.6 million people, and is concentrated mainly in the large coastal cities of <a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Melbourne.htm" title="Melbourne">Melbourne</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Brisbane.htm" title="Brisbane">Brisbane</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Perth%252C_Western_Australia.htm" title="Perth, Western Australia">Perth</a>, and <a href="../../wp/a/Adelaide.htm" title="Adelaide">Adelaide</a>.<p>
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</script><a id="Origin_and_history_of_the_name" name="Origin_and_history_of_the_name"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Origin and history of the name</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/809.jpg.htm" title="View of Port Jackson, the site where Sydney was established, taken from the South Head. (From A Voyage to Terra Australis.)"><img alt="View of Port Jackson, the site where Sydney was established, taken from the South Head. (From A Voyage to Terra Australis.)" height="138" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flinders_View_of_Port_Jackson_taken_from_South_Head.jpg" src="../../images/8/809.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/809.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> View of <!--del_lnk--> Port Jackson, the site where <a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a> was established, taken from the South Head. (From <i>A Voyage to Terra Australis</i>.)</div>
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<p>The name Australia is derived from the <!--del_lnk--> Latin <i>Australis</i>, meaning <i>of the South</i>. Legends of an "unknown land of the south" (<i><!--del_lnk--> terra australis incognita</i>) dating back to Roman times were commonplace in mediaeval geography, but they were not based on any actual knowledge of the continent. The Dutch adjectival form <i>Australische</i> was used by Dutch officials in <a href="../../wp/j/Jakarta.htm" title="Jakarta">Batavia</a> to refer to the newly discovered land to the south as early as 1638. The first use of the word "Australia" in the English language was a 1693 translation of <i>Les Aventures de Jacques Sadeur dans la Découverte et le Voyage de la Terre Australe</i>, a 1692 French novel by <!--del_lnk--> Gabriel de Foigny under the pen name Jacques Sadeur. <!--del_lnk--> Alexander Dalrymple then used it in <i>An Historical Collection of Voyages and Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean</i> (1771), to refer to the entire South Pacific region. In 1793, <!--del_lnk--> George Shaw and <!--del_lnk--> Sir James Smith published <i>Zoology and Botany of New Holland</i>, in which they wrote of "the vast island, or rather continent, of Australia, Australasia or <!--del_lnk--> New Holland."<p>The name "Australia" was popularised by the 1814 work <i>A Voyage to Terra Australis</i> by the navigator <!--del_lnk--> Matthew Flinders, who was the first recorded person to circumnavigate Australia. Despite its title, which reflected the view of the <!--del_lnk--> British Admiralty, Flinders used the word "Australia" in the book, which was widely read and gave the term general currency. Governor <!--del_lnk--> Lachlan Macquarie of <!--del_lnk--> New South Wales subsequently used the word in his dispatches to <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a>. In 1817, he recommended that it be officially adopted. In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia.<p>The word "Australia" in <a href="../../wp/a/Australian_English.htm" title="Australian English">Australian English</a> is <!--del_lnk--> pronounced as <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/ə.ˈstɹæɪ.ljə/</span>, <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/ə.ˈstɹæɪ.liː.ə/</span> or <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/ə.ˈstɹæɪ.jə/</span>.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
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<p>The first human habitation of Australia is estimated to have occurred between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago. The first Australians were the ancestors of the current Indigenous Australians; they arrived via <!--del_lnk--> land bridges and short sea-crossings from present-day <!--del_lnk--> Southeast Asia. Most of these people were <!--del_lnk--> hunter-gatherers, with a complex <!--del_lnk--> oral culture and spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the <!--del_lnk--> Dreamtime. The <!--del_lnk--> Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically <!--del_lnk--> Melanesian, inhabited the <!--del_lnk--> Torres Strait Islands and parts of far-north <!--del_lnk--> Queensland; their cultural practices are distinct from those of the Aborigines.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/810.jpg.htm" title="Lieutenant James Cook charted the East coast of Australia on HM Bark Endeavour, claiming the land for Britain in 1770. This replica was built in Fremantle in 1988; photographed in Cooktown harbour where Cook spent seven weeks."><img alt="Lieutenant James Cook charted the East coast of Australia on HM Bark Endeavour, claiming the land for Britain in 1770. This replica was built in Fremantle in 1988; photographed in Cooktown harbour where Cook spent seven weeks." height="179" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Endeavour_replica_in_Cooktown_harbour.jpg" src="../../images/8/810.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/810.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Lieutenant <a href="../../wp/j/James_Cook.htm" title="James Cook">James Cook</a> charted the East coast of Australia on <!--del_lnk--> HM Bark <i>Endeavour</i>, claiming the land for Britain in 1770. This replica was built in <!--del_lnk--> Fremantle in 1988; photographed in <!--del_lnk--> Cooktown harbour where Cook spent seven weeks.</div>
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<p>The first undisputed recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland was made by the Dutch navigator <!--del_lnk--> Willem Janszoon, who sighted the coast of <!--del_lnk--> Cape York Peninsula in 1606. During the 17th century, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines of what they called <!--del_lnk--> New Holland, but made no attempt at settlement. In 1770, <a href="../../wp/j/James_Cook.htm" title="James Cook">James Cook</a> sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia, which he named <!--del_lnk--> New South Wales and claimed for Britain. The expedition's discoveries provided impetus for the establishment of a <!--del_lnk--> penal colony there.<p>The British <!--del_lnk--> Crown Colony of New South Wales started with the establishment of a settlement at <!--del_lnk--> Port Jackson by Captain <!--del_lnk--> Arthur Phillip on <!--del_lnk--> 26 January <!--del_lnk--> 1788. This date was later to become Australia's <!--del_lnk--> national day, <!--del_lnk--> Australia Day. <!--del_lnk--> Van Diemen's Land, now known as <!--del_lnk--> Tasmania, was settled in 1803 and became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the western part of Australia in 1829. Separate colonies were created from parts of New South Wales: <!--del_lnk--> South Australia in 1836, <!--del_lnk--> Victoria in 1851, and <!--del_lnk--> Queensland in 1859. The <!--del_lnk--> Northern Territory (NT) was founded in 1863 as part of the Province of South Australia. South Australia was founded as a "free province" — that is, it was never a penal colony. Victoria and Western Australia were also founded "free", but later accepted transported convicts. The transportation of convicts to Australia was phased out between 1840 and 1864.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/811.jpg.htm" title="Port Arthur, Tasmania was Australia's largest penal colony."><img alt="Port Arthur, Tasmania was Australia's largest penal colony." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Port_Arthur_Seeseite.jpg" src="../../images/8/811.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/811.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Port Arthur, Tasmania was Australia's largest penal colony.</div>
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<p>The Indigenous Australian population, estimated at about 350,000 at the time of European settlement, declined steeply for 150 years following settlement, mainly because of <!--del_lnk--> infectious disease combined with forced re-settlement and cultural disintegration. The <!--del_lnk--> removal of children, that some historians and Indigenous Australians have argued could be considered to constitute <!--del_lnk--> genocide by some definitions, may have made a contribution to the decline in the indigenous population. Such interpretations of Aboriginal history are disputed by some as being exaggerated or fabricated for political or ideological reasons. This debate is known within Australia as the <!--del_lnk--> History Wars. Following the <!--del_lnk--> 1967 referendum, the Federal government gained the power to implement policies and make laws with respect to Aborigines. Traditional ownership of land — <!--del_lnk--> native title — was not recognised until the <!--del_lnk--> High Court case <i><!--del_lnk--> Mabo v Queensland (No 2)</i> overturned the notion of Australia as <i><!--del_lnk--> terra nullius</i> at the time of European occupation.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/812.jpg.htm" title="The Last Post is played at an ANZAC Day ceremony in Port Melbourne, Victoria, 25 April 2005. Ceremonies such as this are held in virtually every suburb and town in Australia."><img alt="The Last Post is played at an ANZAC Day ceremony in Port Melbourne, Victoria, 25 April 2005. Ceremonies such as this are held in virtually every suburb and town in Australia." height="320" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Anzac1.JPG" src="../../images/8/812.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/812.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Last Post is played at an <!--del_lnk--> ANZAC Day ceremony in <!--del_lnk--> Port Melbourne, Victoria, <!--del_lnk--> 25 April <!--del_lnk--> 2005. Ceremonies such as this are held in virtually every suburb and town in Australia.</div>
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<p>A <!--del_lnk--> gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s, and the <!--del_lnk--> Eureka Stockade rebellion against mining licence fees in 1854 was an early expression of civil disobedience. Between 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gained <!--del_lnk--> responsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the <a href="../../wp/b/British_Empire.htm" title="British Empire">British Empire</a>. The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs, defence and international shipping. On <!--del_lnk--> 1 January <!--del_lnk--> 1901, <!--del_lnk--> federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation and voting, and the Commonwealth of Australia was born, as a <!--del_lnk--> Dominion of the <a href="../../wp/b/British_Empire.htm" title="British Empire">British Empire</a>. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was formed from New South Wales in 1911 to provide a location for the proposed new federal capital of Canberra (Melbourne was the capital from 1901 to 1927). The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the Commonwealth in 1911. Australia willingly participated in World War I; many Australians regard the defeat of the <!--del_lnk--> Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) at <!--del_lnk--> Gallipoli as the birth of the nation — its first major military action. Much like Gallipoli, the <!--del_lnk--> Kokoda Track Campaign is regarded by many as a nation-defining battle from <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended most of the constitutional links between Australia and the United Kingdom when Australia <!--del_lnk--> adopted it in 1942. The shock of the United Kingdom's defeat in Asia in 1942 and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia to turn to the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> as a new ally and protector. Since 1951, Australia has been a formal military ally of the US under the auspices of the <!--del_lnk--> ANZUS treaty. After World War II, Australia encouraged mass immigration from Europe; since the 1970s and the abolition of the <!--del_lnk--> White Australia policy, immigration from Asia and other parts of the world was also encouraged. As a result, Australia's demography, culture and image of itself were radically transformed. Final constitutional ties between Australia and the United Kingdom were severed in 1986 with the passing of the <!--del_lnk--> Australia Act 1986, ending any British role in the Australian States, and ending judicial appeals to the UK <!--del_lnk--> Privy Council Australian voters rejected a move to become a republic in 1999 by a 55% majority. Since the election of the <!--del_lnk--> Whitlam Government in 1972, there has been an increasing focus on the nation's future as a part of the <!--del_lnk--> Asia-Pacific region.<p><a id="Politics" name="Politics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Politics</span></h2>
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<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/813.jpg.htm" title="Parliament House in Canberra was opened in 1988 replacing the provisional Parliament House building opened in 1927."><img alt="Parliament House in Canberra was opened in 1988 replacing the provisional Parliament House building opened in 1927." height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:NewParliamentHouseInCanberra.jpg" src="../../images/8/813.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/813.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Parliament House in <a href="../../wp/c/Canberra.htm" title="Canberra">Canberra</a> was opened in 1988 replacing the <!--del_lnk--> provisional Parliament House building opened in 1927.</div>
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<p>The Commonwealth of Australia is a <a href="../../wp/c/Constitutional_monarchy.htm" title="Constitutional monarchy">constitutional monarchy</a> with a <a href="../../wp/p/Parliamentary_system.htm" title="Parliamentary system">parliamentary system</a> of government. <a href="../../wp/e/Elizabeth_II_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom">Queen Elizabeth II</a> is the <!--del_lnk--> Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the other <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth Realms. The Queen is nominally represented by the <!--del_lnk--> Governor-General at Federal level and by the Governors at State level. Although the <!--del_lnk--> Constitution gives extensive <!--del_lnk--> executive powers to the Governor-General, these are normally exercised only on the advice of the <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister. The most notable exercise of the Governor-General's <!--del_lnk--> reserve powers outside the Prime Minister's direction was the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in the <!--del_lnk--> constitutional crisis of 1975.<p>There are <!--del_lnk--> three branches of government:<ul>
<li>The legislature: the <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth Parliament, comprising the Queen, the Senate, and the House of Representatives; the Queen is represented by the Governor-General, who in practice exercises constitutional power only on the advice of the Prime Minister.<li>The executive: the <!--del_lnk--> Federal Executive Council (the Governor-General as advised by the Executive Councillors); in practice, the councillors are the Prime Minister and Ministers of State.<li>The judiciary: the <!--del_lnk--> High Court of Australia and other <!--del_lnk--> federal courts. The State courts became formally independent from the <!--del_lnk--> Judicial Committee of the Privy Council when the <i><!--del_lnk--> Australia Act</i> was passed in 1986.</ul>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> bicameral Commonwealth Parliament consists of the Queen, the <!--del_lnk--> Senate (the upper house) of 76 senators, and a <!--del_lnk--> House of Representatives (the lower house) of 150 members. Members of the lower house are elected from single-member constituencies, commonly known as 'electorates' or 'seats'. Seats in the House of Representatives are allocated to states on the basis of population. In the Senate, each state, regardless of population, is represented by 12 senators, while the territories (the ACT and the NT) are each represented by two. Elections for both chambers are held every three years; typically only half of the Senate seats are put to each election, because senators have overlapping six-year terms. The party with majority support in the House of Representatives forms Government, with its leader becoming Prime Minister.<p>There are three major political parties: the <!--del_lnk--> Labor Party, the <!--del_lnk--> Liberal Party and the <!--del_lnk--> National Party. Independent members and several minor parties — including the <!--del_lnk--> Greens and the <!--del_lnk--> Australian Democrats — have achieved representation in Australian parliaments, mostly in upper houses, although their influence has been marginal. Since the <!--del_lnk--> 1996 election, the <!--del_lnk--> Liberal/National Coalition led by the Prime Minister, <a href="../../wp/j/John_Howard.htm" title="John Howard">John Howard</a>, has been in power in Canberra. In the <!--del_lnk--> 2004 election, the Coalition won control of the Senate, the first time that a party (or coalition of governing parties) has done so while in government in more than 20 years. The Labor Party is in power in every state and territory. <!--del_lnk--> Voting is compulsory for all enrolled citizens 18 years and over in each state and territory and at the federal level.<p><a id="States_and_territories" name="States_and_territories"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">States and territories</span></h2>
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<p><a class="image" href="../../images/8/814.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="288" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Australia_location_map.png" src="../../images/8/814.png" width="400" /></a><div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:98px; top: 130px;"><!--del_lnk--> Western<br /> Australia</div>
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<div style="position: absolute; left:186px; top: 72px;"><!--del_lnk--> Northern<br /> Territory</div>
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<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:196px; top: 153px;"><!--del_lnk--> South<br /> Australia</div>
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<div style="position: absolute; left:255px; top: 103px;"><!--del_lnk--> Queensland</div>
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<div style="position: absolute; left:280px; top: 175px;"><!--del_lnk--> New<br /> South<br /> Wales</div>
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<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:322px; top: 211px;"><!--del_lnk--> Australian<br /> Capital<br /> Territory</div>
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<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:265px; top: 222px;"><!--del_lnk--> Victoria</div>
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<div style="position: absolute; left:280px; top: 266px;"><!--del_lnk--> Tasmania</div>
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<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:14px; top: 44px;"><a href="../../wp/i/Indian_Ocean.htm" title="Indian Ocean"><span style="font-style: italic; color: #48A3B5;">Indian Ocean</span></a></div>
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<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:146px; top: 13px;"><!--del_lnk--> <span style="font-style: italic; color: #48A3B5;">Timor<br /> Sea</span></div>
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<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:227px; top: 35px;"><!--del_lnk--> <span style="font-style: italic; color: #48A3B5;">Gulf of<br /> Carpentaria</span></div>
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<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:176px; top: 0px;"><!--del_lnk--> <span style="font-style: italic; color: #48A3B5;">Arafura Sea</span></div>
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<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:164px; top: 195px;"><!--del_lnk--> <span style="font-style: italic; color: #48A3B5;">Great<br /> Australian<br /> Bight</span></div>
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<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:344px; top: 247px;"><!--del_lnk--> <span style="font-style: italic; color: #48A3B5;">Tasman<br /> Sea</span></div>
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<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:274px; top: 249px;"><!--del_lnk--> <span style="font-style: italic; color: #48A3B5;">Bass Strait</span></div>
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<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:327px; top: 32px;"><!--del_lnk--> <span style="font-style: italic; color: #48A3B5;">Coral<br /> Sea</span></div>
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<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:70px; top: 187px;"><a href="../../wp/p/Perth%252C_Western_Australia.htm" title="Perth, Western Australia">●</a></div>
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<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:238px; top: 209px;"><a href="../../wp/a/Adelaide.htm" title="Adelaide">●</a></div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:284px; top: 230px;"><a href="../../wp/m/Melbourne.htm" title="Melbourne">●</a></div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:314px; top: 212px;"><a href="../../wp/c/Canberra.htm" title="Canberra">●</a></div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:329px; top: 201px;"><a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">●</a></div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:345px; top: 146px;"><a href="../../wp/b/Brisbane.htm" title="Brisbane">●</a></div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:361px; top: 75px;"><!--del_lnk--> <span style="font-style: italic; color: #48A3B5;">South<br /> Pacific<br /> Ocean</span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:62px; top: 267px;"><a href="../../wp/s/Southern_Ocean.htm" title="Southern Ocean"><span style="font-style: italic; color: #48A3B5;">Southern Ocean</span></a></div>
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<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:304px; top: 274px;"><!--del_lnk--> ●</div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:176px; top: 28px;"><!--del_lnk--> ●</div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 10px;">
<div style="position: absolute; left:301px; top: 52px;"><a href="../../wp/g/Great_Barrier_Reef.htm" title="Great Barrier Reef"><span style="font-style: italic; color: #48A3B5;">Great<br /> Barrier<br /> Reef</span></a></div>
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<p>Australia consists of six states, two major mainland territories, and other minor territories. The states are <!--del_lnk--> New South Wales, <!--del_lnk--> Queensland, <!--del_lnk--> South Australia, <!--del_lnk--> Tasmania, <!--del_lnk--> Victoria and <!--del_lnk--> Western Australia. The two major mainland territories are the <!--del_lnk--> Northern Territory and the <!--del_lnk--> Australian Capital Territory. In most respects, the territories function similarly to the states, but the Commonwealth Parliament can override any legislation of their parliaments. By contrast, federal legislation overrides state legislation only with respect to certain areas as set out in <!--del_lnk--> Section 51 of the <!--del_lnk--> Constitution; all residual legislative powers are retained by the state parliaments, including powers over hospitals, education, police, the judiciary, roads, public transport and local government.<p>Each state and territory has its own <!--del_lnk--> legislature (<!--del_lnk--> unicameral in the case of the Northern Territory, the ACT and Queensland, and bicameral in the remaining states). The <!--del_lnk--> lower house is known as the <!--del_lnk--> Legislative Assembly (<!--del_lnk--> House of Assembly in South Australia and Tasmania) and the <!--del_lnk--> upper house is known as the <!--del_lnk--> Legislative Council. The <!--del_lnk--> heads of the governments in each state and territory are called <!--del_lnk--> premiers and <!--del_lnk--> chief ministers, respectively. The Queen is represented in each state by a <!--del_lnk--> governor; an <!--del_lnk--> administrator in the Northern Territory, and the Governor-General in the ACT, have analogous roles.<p>Australia also has several minor territories; the federal government administers a separate area within New South Wales, the <!--del_lnk--> Jervis Bay Territory, as a naval base and sea port for the national capital. In addition Australia has the following, inhabited, external territories: <a href="../../wp/n/Norfolk_Island.htm" title="Norfolk Island">Norfolk Island</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Christmas_Island.htm" title="Christmas Island">Christmas Island</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Cocos_%2528Keeling%2529_Islands.htm" title="Cocos (Keeling) Islands">Cocos (Keeling) Islands</a>, and several largely uninhabited external territories: <!--del_lnk--> Ashmore and Cartier Islands, <!--del_lnk--> Coral Sea Islands, <a href="../../wp/h/Heard_Island_and_McDonald_Islands.htm" title="Heard Island and McDonald Islands">Heard Island and McDonald Islands</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Australian Antarctic Territory.<p><a id="Foreign_relations_and_the_military" name="Foreign_relations_and_the_military"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Foreign relations and the military</span></h2>
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<p>Over recent decades, <!--del_lnk--> Australia's foreign relations have been driven by a close association with the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, through the <!--del_lnk--> ANZUS pact and by a desire to develop relationships with <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a> and the Pacific, particularly through <!--del_lnk--> ASEAN and the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Islands Forum. In 2005 Australia secured an inaugural seat at the <!--del_lnk--> East Asia Summit following its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. Australia is a member of the <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Nations, in which the <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings provide the main forum for co-operation. Much of Australia's diplomatic energy is focused on international trade liberalisation. Australia led the formation of the <!--del_lnk--> Cairns Group and <!--del_lnk--> APEC, and is a member of the <!--del_lnk--> OECD and the <!--del_lnk--> WTO. Australia has pursued several major bilateral free trade agreements, most recently the <!--del_lnk--> Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement. Australia is a founding member of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nations</a>, and maintains an international aid programme under which some 60 countries receive assistance. The 2005 – 06 budget provides A$2.5 bn for development assistance; as a percentage of GDP, this contribution is less than that of the UN <!--del_lnk--> Millennium Development Goals.<p>Australia's armed forces — the <!--del_lnk--> Australian Defence Force (ADF) — comprise the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the <!--del_lnk--> Australian Army, and the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), numbering about 51,000 . All branches of the ADF have been involved in UN and regional peacekeeping (most recently in East Timor, the Solomon Islands and <a href="../../wp/s/Sudan.htm" title="Sudan">Sudan</a>), disaster relief, and armed conflict, including the <!--del_lnk--> 2003 Invasion of Iraq. The government appoints the chief of the Defence Force from one of the armed services; the current chief is Air Chief Marshal <!--del_lnk--> Angus Houston. In the 2006-07 Budget, defence spending is $19.6 billion.<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h2>
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<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/815.png.htm" title="Climatic zones in Australia."><img alt="Climatic zones in Australia." height="217" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Australia-climate-map_MJC01.png" src="../../images/8/815.png" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/815.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Climatic zones in Australia.</div>
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<p>Australia's 7,686,850 square kilometres (2,967,909 sq. mi) landmass is on the <!--del_lnk--> Indo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the <a href="../../wp/i/Indian_Ocean.htm" title="Indian Ocean">Indian</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Southern_Ocean.htm" title="Southern Ocean">Southern</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/Pacific_Ocean.htm" title="Pacific Ocean">Pacific</a> oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the <!--del_lnk--> Arafura and <!--del_lnk--> Timor seas. Australia has a total 25,760 kilometres (16,007 mi) of coastline and claims an extensive <!--del_lnk--> Exclusive Economic Zone of 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,057 sq. mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include the <!--del_lnk--> Australian Antarctic Territory.<p>The <a href="../../wp/g/Great_Barrier_Reef.htm" title="Great Barrier Reef">Great Barrier Reef</a>, the world's largest <!--del_lnk--> coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extends for over 2,000 kilometres (1,250 mi). The world's largest <!--del_lnk--> monolith, <!--del_lnk--> Mount Augustus, is located in Western Australia. At 2,228 metres (7,310 ft), <!--del_lnk--> Mount Kosciuszko on the <!--del_lnk--> Great Dividing Range is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland, although <!--del_lnk--> Mawson Peak on the remote Australian territory of <a href="../../wp/h/Heard_Island_and_McDonald_Islands.htm" title="Heard Island and McDonald Islands">Heard Island</a> is taller at 2,745 metres (9,006 ft).<p>By far the largest part of Australia is <!--del_lnk--> desert or <!--del_lnk--> semi-arid. Australia is the driest inhabited continent, the flattest, and has the oldest and least fertile soils. Only the south-east and south-west corners of the continent have a temperate climate. The majority of the population lives along the temperate south-eastern coastline. The northern part of the country, with a <a href="../../wp/t/Tropics.htm" title="Tropics">tropical climate</a>, has a vegetation consisting of rainforest, woodland, grassland, <!--del_lnk--> mangrove swamps and desert. Climate is highly influenced by ocean currents, including the <a href="../../wp/e/El_Ni%25C3%25B1o-Southern_Oscillation.htm" title="El Niño">El Niño</a> southern oscillation, which is correlated with periodic drought, and the seasonal tropical low pressure system that produces <!--del_lnk--> cyclones in northern Australia.<p><a id="Flora_and_fauna" name="Flora_and_fauna"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Flora and fauna</span></h2>
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<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/49/4944.jpg.htm" title="The koala and the eucalyptus forming an iconic Australian pair."><img alt="The koala and the eucalyptus forming an iconic Australian pair." height="236" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Koala_climbing_tree.jpg" src="../../images/8/816.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/49/4944.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> koala and the <i><!--del_lnk--> eucalyptus</i> forming an iconic Australian pair.</div>
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<p>Although most of Australia is semi-<!--del_lnk--> arid or <a href="../../wp/d/Desert.htm" title="Desert">desert</a>, it covers a diverse range of habitats, from alpine heaths to tropical <a href="../../wp/r/Rainforest.htm" title="Rainforest">rainforests</a>. Because of the great age and consequent low levels of fertility of the continent, its extremely variable weather patterns, and its long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's <!--del_lnk--> biota is unique and <a href="../../wp/b/Biodiversity.htm" title="Biodiversity">diverse</a>. About 85% of <!--del_lnk--> flowering plants, 84% of <a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">mammals</a>, more than 45% of <!--del_lnk--> birds, and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are <!--del_lnk--> endemic. Many of Australia's ecoregions, and the species within those regions, are threatened by human activities and <!--del_lnk--> introduced plant and animal species. The federal <i>Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999</i> is a legal framework used for the protection of threatened species. Numerous <!--del_lnk--> protected areas have been created under the country's <!--del_lnk--> Biodiversity Action Plan to protect and preserve Australia's unique ecosystems, 64 wetlands are registered under the <!--del_lnk--> Ramsar Convention, and 16 <a href="../../wp/w/World_Heritage_Site.htm" title="World Heritage Site">World Heritage Sites</a> have been established. Australia was ranked thirteenth in the World on the 2005 <!--del_lnk--> Environmental Sustainability Index.<p>Most Australian woody plant species are evergreen and many are adapted to fire and drought, including many <!--del_lnk--> eucalyptus and <!--del_lnk--> acacias. Australia has a rich variety of endemic <!--del_lnk--> legume species that thrive in nutrient-poor soils because of their symbiosis with <!--del_lnk--> Rhizobia bacteria and <!--del_lnk--> mycorrhizal fungi. Well-known Australian fauna include <!--del_lnk--> monotremes (the <a href="../../wp/p/Platypus.htm" title="Platypus">platypus</a> and <!--del_lnk--> echidna); a host of <!--del_lnk--> marsupials, including the <a href="../../wp/k/Kangaroo.htm" title="Kangaroo">kangaroo</a>, <!--del_lnk--> koala, <a href="../../wp/w/Wombat.htm" title="Wombat">wombat</a>; and birds such as the <a href="../../wp/e/Emu.htm" title="Emu">emu</a>, and <a href="../../wp/k/Kookaburra.htm" title="Kookaburra">kookaburra</a>. The <a href="../../wp/d/Dingo.htm" title="Dingo">dingo</a> was introduced by Austronesian people that traded with Indigenous Australians around 4000 <!--del_lnk--> BCE. Many plant and animal species became extinct soon after human settlement, including the <!--del_lnk--> Australian megafauna; others have become extinct since European settlement, among them the <!--del_lnk--> Thylacine.<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
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<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/817.jpg.htm" title="The Super Pit in Kalgoorlie, Australia's largest open cast gold mine"><img alt="The Super Pit in Kalgoorlie, Australia's largest open cast gold mine" height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kalgoorlie_The_Big_Pit_DSC04498.JPG" src="../../images/8/817.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/817.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> The Super Pit in <!--del_lnk--> Kalgoorlie, Australia's largest <!--del_lnk--> open cast gold mine</div>
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<p>Australia has a prosperous, Western-style <!--del_lnk--> mixed economy, with a per capita <!--del_lnk--> GDP slightly higher than the UK, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> and <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> in terms of <!--del_lnk--> purchasing power parity. The country was ranked third in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nations</a>' 2005 <!--del_lnk--> Human Development Index and sixth in <i><!--del_lnk--> The Economist</i> worldwide quality-of-life index 2005. In recent years, the Australian economy has been resilient in the face of global economic downturn. Rising output in the domestic economy has been offsetting the global slump, and business and consumer confidence remains robust. Current areas of concern to some economists include Australia's high <!--del_lnk--> current account deficit and also the high levels of net foreign debt owed by the private sector.<p>In the 1980s, the <!--del_lnk--> Hawke Government started the process of economic reform by <!--del_lnk--> floating the <!--del_lnk--> Australian dollar in 1983, and deregulating the financial system. Since 1996, the Howard government has continued the process of micro-economic reform, including <a href="../../wp/w/WorkChoices.htm" title="WorkChoices">partial deregulation of the labour market</a> and the privatisation of state-owned businesses, most notably in the <!--del_lnk--> telecommunications industry. Substantial reform of the indirect tax system was implemented in July 2000 with the introduction of a 10% <!--del_lnk--> Goods and Services Tax, which has slightly reduced the heavy reliance on personal and company income tax that still characterises Australia's tax system.<p>The Australian economy has not suffered a <!--del_lnk--> recession since the early 1990s. As of July 2006, unemployment was 4.8% with 10,223,300 persons employed. The service sector of the economy, including tourism, education, and financial services, comprises 69% of GDP. <!--del_lnk--> Agriculture and natural resources comprise 3% and 5% of GDP but contribute substantially to Australia's <!--del_lnk--> export performance. Australia's largest export markets include <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">China</a>, the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Korea.htm" title="South Korea">South Korea</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a>.<p>Traditionally, the absence of an export oriented manufacturing industry has been considered a key weakness of the Australian economy. More recently, rising prices for Australia's commodity exports and increasing tourism has to some extent alleviated this criticism. Nevertheless, Australia has developed the world's third largest current account deficit in absolute terms (in relative terms over 7% of GDP). This has been considered problematic by some economists, especially as it has coincided with high prices for Australia's exports and low interest rates which keeps the cost of servicing the foreign debt unusually low.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/818.jpg.htm" title="Most Australians live in urban areas; Sydney is the most populous city in Australia. The trend towards urbanisation is also stronger in Australia than many other parts of the world"><img alt="Most Australians live in urban areas; Sydney is the most populous city in Australia. The trend towards urbanisation is also stronger in Australia than many other parts of the world" height="148" longdesc="/wiki/Image:PortJackson_2004_SeanMcClean.jpg" src="../../images/8/818.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/818.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Most Australians live in urban areas; <a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a> is the most populous city in Australia. The trend towards <!--del_lnk--> urbanisation is also stronger in Australia than many other parts of the world</div>
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<p>Most of the estimated 20.6 million Australians are descended from nineteenth- and twentieth-century settlers, the majority from <a href="../../wp/g/Great_Britain.htm" title="Great Britain">Great Britain</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Ireland</a>. Australia's population has quadrupled since the end of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>, spurred by an ambitious <!--del_lnk--> immigration program. In 2001, the five largest groups of the 23.1% of Australians who were born overseas were from the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a>, <a href="../../wp/v/Vietnam.htm" title="Vietnam">Vietnam</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">China</a>. Following the abolition of the <!--del_lnk--> White Australia policy in 1973, numerous government initiatives have been established to encourage and promote racial harmony based on a policy of <a href="../../wp/m/Multiculturalism.htm" title="Multiculturalism">multiculturalism</a>.<p>The indigenous population — mainland <!--del_lnk--> Aborigines and <!--del_lnk--> Torres Strait Islanders — was 410,003 (2.2% of the total population) in 2001, a significant increase from the 1976 census, which showed an indigenous population of 115,953. Indigenous Australians have higher rates of imprisonment and unemployment, lower levels of education and life expectancies for males and females that are 17 years lower than those of other Australians. Perceived racial inequality is an ongoing political and <!--del_lnk--> human rights issue for Australians.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/819.jpg.htm" title="Fewer than 15% of Australians live in rural areas. This picture shows the Barossa Valley wine producing region of South Australia."><img alt="Fewer than 15% of Australians live in rural areas. This picture shows the Barossa Valley wine producing region of South Australia." height="131" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tanunda.jpg" src="../../images/8/819.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/819.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Fewer than 15% of Australians live in rural areas. This picture shows the <!--del_lnk--> Barossa Valley wine producing region of <!--del_lnk--> South Australia.</div>
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<p>In common with many other developed countries, Australia is experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. A large number of Australians (759,849 for the period 2002–03) live outside their home country. Australia has maintained one of the most active <!--del_lnk--> immigration programmes in the world to boost population growth. Most immigrants are skilled, but the immigration quota includes categories for family members and <!--del_lnk--> refugees.<p><a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> is the <!--del_lnk--> official language, and is spoken and written in a distinct variety known as <a href="../../wp/a/Australian_English.htm" title="Australian English">Australian English</a>. According to the 2001 census, <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> is the only language spoken in the home for around 80% of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home are <a href="../../wp/c/Chinese_language.htm" title="Chinese language">Chinese languages</a> (2.1%), <!--del_lnk--> Italian (1.9%) and <!--del_lnk--> Greek (1.4%). A considerable proportion of first- and second-generation migrants are <!--del_lnk--> bilingual. It is believed that there were between 200 and 300 <!--del_lnk--> Australian Aboriginal languages at the time of first European contact. Only about 70 of these languages have survived, and all but 20 of these are now <!--del_lnk--> endangered. An indigenous language remains the main language for about 50,000 (0.25%) people. Australia has a <!--del_lnk--> sign language known as <!--del_lnk--> Auslan, which is the main language of about 6,500 <!--del_lnk--> deaf people.<p>Australia has no <!--del_lnk--> state religion. The 2001 census identified that 68% of Australians call themselves Christian: 27% identifying themselves as <!--del_lnk--> Roman Catholic and 21% as <a href="../../wp/a/Anglican_Communion.htm" title="Anglican Communion">Anglican</a>. Australians who identify themselves as followers of non-Christian religions number 5%. A total of 16% were categorised as having "No Religion" (which includes non-theistic beliefs such as <!--del_lnk--> humanism, <a href="../../wp/a/Atheism.htm" title="Atheism">atheism</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Agnosticism.htm" title="Agnosticism">agnosticism</a> and <!--del_lnk--> rationalism) and a further 12% declined to answer or did not give a response adequate for interpretation. As in many Western countries, the level of active participation in church worship is much lower than this; weekly attendance at church services is about 1.5 million, about 7.5% of the population.<p>School attendance is compulsory throughout Australia between the ages of 6–15 years (16 years in <!--del_lnk--> South Australia and <!--del_lnk--> Tasmania, and 17 years in <!--del_lnk--> Western Australia), contributing to an adult literacy rate that is assumed to be 99%. Government grants have supported the establishment of Australia's 38 universities, and although several private universities have been established, the majority receive government funding. There is a state-based system of vocational training colleges, known as <!--del_lnk--> TAFE Institutes, and many trades conduct <!--del_lnk--> apprenticeships for training new tradespeople. Approximately 58% of Australians between the ages of 25 and 64 have vocational or tertiary qualifications and the tertiary graduation rate of 49% is highest of OECD countries. The ratio of international to local students in tertiary education in Australia is the highest in OECD countries.<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
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<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/820.jpg.htm" title="The Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne was the first building in Australia to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004."><img alt="The Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne was the first building in Australia to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004." height="160" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Royal_exhibition_building_tulips_straight.jpg" src="../../images/8/820.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/820.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Royal Exhibition Building in <a href="../../wp/m/Melbourne.htm" title="Melbourne">Melbourne</a> was the first building in Australia to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.</div>
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<p>The primary basis of Australian culture until the mid-20th century was <!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Celtic, although distinctive Australian features had been evolving from the environment and <!--del_lnk--> indigenous culture. Over the past 50 years, Australian culture has been strongly influenced by American popular culture (particularly television and cinema), large-scale immigration from non-English-speaking countries, and Australia's Asian neighbours. The vigour and originality of the arts in Australia — films, opera, music, painting, theatre, dance, and crafts — achieve international recognition.<p>Australia has a long history of visual arts, starting with the <!--del_lnk--> cave and bark paintings of its indigenous peoples. From the time of European settlement, a common theme in <!--del_lnk--> Australian art has been the Australian landscape, seen in the works of <!--del_lnk--> Arthur Streeton, <!--del_lnk--> Arthur Boyd and <!--del_lnk--> Albert Namatjira, among others. The traditions of indigenous Australians are largely transmitted orally and are closely tied to ceremony and the telling of the stories of the <!--del_lnk--> Dreamtime. <!--del_lnk--> Australian Aboriginal music, dance and <!--del_lnk--> art have a palpable influence on contemporary Australian visual and performing arts. Australia has an active tradition of <a href="../../wp/m/Music.htm" title="Music">music</a>, <!--del_lnk--> ballet and <a href="../../wp/t/Theatre.htm" title="Theatre">theatre</a>; many of its performing arts companies receive public funding through the federal government's <!--del_lnk--> Australia Council. There is a <!--del_lnk--> symphony orchestra in each capital city, and a national <a href="../../wp/o/Opera.htm" title="Opera">opera</a> company, <!--del_lnk--> Opera Australia, first made prominent by the renowned diva <!--del_lnk--> Dame Joan Sutherland; <!--del_lnk--> Australian music includes classical, jazz, and many popular music genres.<p><!--del_lnk--> Australian literature has also been influenced by the landscape; the works of writers such as <!--del_lnk--> Banjo Paterson and <!--del_lnk--> Henry Lawson, captured the experience of the Australian bush. The character of colonial Australia, as embodied in early literature, resonates with modern Australia and its perceived emphasis on <!--del_lnk--> egalitarianism, mateship, and anti-authoritarianism. In 1973, <!--del_lnk--> Patrick White was awarded the <!--del_lnk--> Nobel Prize in Literature, the only Australian to have achieved this; he is recognised as one of the great English-language writers of the twentieth century. <a href="../../wp/a/Australian_English.htm" title="Australian English">Australian English</a> is a major variety of the language; its grammar and spelling are largely based on those of British English, overlaid with a rich vernacular of unique lexical items and phrases, some of which have found their way into standard English.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23424.jpg.htm" title="Australian rules football was developed in Victoria, Australia in the late 1850s and is played at amateur and professional levels. It is the most popular spectator sport in Australia in terms of annual attendances and club memberships."><img alt="Australian rules football was developed in Victoria, Australia in the late 1850s and is played at amateur and professional levels. It is the most popular spectator sport in Australia in terms of annual attendances and club memberships." height="137" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aussie_rules_game.jpg" src="../../images/8/821.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23424.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/a/Australian_rules_football.htm" title="Australian rules football">Australian rules football</a> was developed in Victoria, Australia in the late 1850s and is played at amateur and professional levels. It is the most popular spectator sport in Australia in terms of annual attendances and club memberships.</div>
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<p>Australia has two public broadcasters (the <!--del_lnk--> ABC and the multi-cultural <!--del_lnk--> SBS), three commercial <!--del_lnk--> television networks, several pay TV services, and numerous public, non-profit television and radio stations. <!--del_lnk--> Australia's film industry has achieved critical and commercial successes. Each major city has daily newspapers, and there are two national daily newspapers, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Australian</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> The Australian Financial Review</i>. According to <!--del_lnk--> Reporters Without Borders in 2006, Australia was in thirty fifth position on a list of countries ranked by <!--del_lnk--> press freedom, behind <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a> (19th) and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> (27th) but ahead of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>. This ranking is primarily because of the limited diversity of commercial media ownership in Australia. Most Australian <a href="../../wp/p/Publishing.htm" title="Publishing">print media</a> in particular is under the control of either <!--del_lnk--> News Corporation or <!--del_lnk--> John Fairfax Holdings.<p><a href="../../wp/s/Sport.htm" title="Sport">Sport</a> plays an important part in Australian culture, assisted by a climate that favours outdoor activities; 23.5% Australians over the age of 15 regularly participate in organised sporting activities. At an international level, Australia has particularly strong teams in <a href="../../wp/c/Cricket.htm" title="Cricket">cricket</a>, <!--del_lnk--> hockey, <a href="../../wp/n/Netball.htm" title="Netball">netball</a>, <!--del_lnk--> rugby league, <!--del_lnk--> rugby union, and performs well in <!--del_lnk--> cycling, <!--del_lnk--> rowing and <!--del_lnk--> swimming. Nationally, other popular sports include <a href="../../wp/a/Australian_rules_football.htm" title="Australian rules football">Australian rules football</a>, <!--del_lnk--> horse racing, <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">soccer</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/Auto_racing.htm" title="Auto racing">motor racing</a>. Australia has participated in every summer <a href="../../wp/o/Olympic_Games.htm" title="Olympic Games">Olympic Games</a> of the modern era, and every <a href="../../wp/c/Commonwealth_Games.htm" title="Commonwealth Games">Commonwealth Games</a>. Australia has hosted the <!--del_lnk--> 1956 and <!--del_lnk--> 2000 Summer Olympics, and has ranked among the top five medal-takers since 2000. Australia has also hosted the <!--del_lnk--> 1938, <!--del_lnk--> 1962, <!--del_lnk--> 1982 and <!--del_lnk--> 2006 Commonwealth Games. Other major international events held regularly in Australia include the <a href="../../wp/a/Australian_Open.htm" title="Australian Open">Australian Open</a>, one of the four <a href="../../wp/g/Grand_Slam_%2528tennis%2529.htm" title="Grand Slam (tennis)">Grand Slam</a> tennis tournaments, annual international cricket matches and the Formula One <!--del_lnk--> Australian Grand Prix. Corporate and government sponsorship of many sports and elite athletes is common in Australia. Televised sport is popular; some of the highest rating television programs include the summer Olympic Games and the grand finals of local and international football (various codes) competitions.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Australian English</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Language_and_literature.Languages.htm">Languages</a></h3>
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<p><b>Australian English</b> (<b>AuE</b>) is the form of the <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English language</a> used in <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a>.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Australian English began to diverge from <a href="../../wp/b/British_English.htm" title="British English">British English</a> soon after the foundation of the <!--del_lnk--> Colony of <!--del_lnk--> New South Wales in <!--del_lnk--> 1788. The settlement was intended mainly as a <!--del_lnk--> penal colony. The British <!--del_lnk--> convicts sent to Australia were mostly people from large <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">English</a> cities, such as <!--del_lnk--> Cockneys from London. In addition to these many of the original immigrants were free settlers, military personnel and administrators and their families. In <!--del_lnk--> 1827, <!--del_lnk--> Peter Cunningham, in his book <i>Two Years in New South Wales</i>, reported that native-born white Australians spoke with a distinctive accent and vocabulary, albeit with a strong Cockney influence. (The transportation of convicts to Australian colonies continued until 1868, but immigration of free settlers from Britain continued unabated.) A much larger wave of immigration, as a result of the first <!--del_lnk--> Australian gold rushes, in the <!--del_lnk--> 1850s, also had a significant influence on Australian English, including large numbers of people who spoke English as a second language.<p>The "<!--del_lnk--> Americanisation" of Australian English — signified by the borrowing of words, spellings, terms, and usages from <!--del_lnk--> North American English — began during the goldrushes, and was accelerated by a massive influx of <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> military personnel during <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>. The large-scale importation of <a href="../../wp/t/Television.htm" title="Television">television</a> programs and other <a href="../../wp/m/Mass_media.htm" title="Mass media">mass media</a> content from the US, from the 1950s onwards, including more recently US computer software, especially <a href="../../wp/m/Microsoft.htm" title="Microsoft">Microsoft</a>'s spellchecker, has also had a significant effect. As a result Australians use many British and American words interchangeably, such as pants/trousers or lift/elevator, while shunning other words such as "wildfire" as too American when a more Australian term "bushfire" is preferred.<p>Due to their shared history and geographical proximity, Australian English is most similar to <!--del_lnk--> New Zealand English. However, the difference between the two spoken versions is obvious to people from either country, if not to a casual observer from a third country. The vocabulary used also exhibits some striking differences.<p><a id="Irish_influences" name="Irish_influences"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Irish influences</span></h2>
<p>There is some influence from <!--del_lnk--> Hiberno-English, but perhaps not as much as might be expected given that many Australians are of <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Irish</a> descent. One such influence is the pronunciation of the name of the letter "H" as "<i>haitch</i>" <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/hæɪtʃ/</span>, which can sometimes be heard amongst speakers of "Broad Australian English", rather than the unaspirated "<i>aitch</i>" <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/æɪtʃ/</span> more likely to be heard in South Australia and common in New Zealand, most of Britain and North America. This is thought to be the influence of Irish <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Catholic</a> priests and nuns.<p>Other Irish influences include the non-standard plural of "you" as "<i>youse</i>" <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/jʉːz/</span>, sometimes used informally in Australia, and the expression "<i>good on you</i>" or "<i>good onya</i>". Of these the former is common throughout North America and the latter is encountered in New Zealand English and British English. Another Irish influence is use of the word 'me' replacing 'my', such as in the phrase <i>Where's me hat?</i> This usage is generally restricted to informal situations. Another influence is the use of the term "after" as it is used in hiberno English.<p><a id="Phonology" name="Phonology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Phonology</span></h2>
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<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/8/827.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="183" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Australian_English_IPA_vowel_chart.png" src="../../images/8/827.png" width="242" /></a></span></div>
<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/8/828.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="183" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Australian_English_IPA_diphthong_chart.png" src="../../images/8/828.png" width="242" /></a></span></div>
<p>Australian English is a <!--del_lnk--> non-rhotic dialect. The Australian accent is most similar to that of <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a> and is also similar to accents from the South-East of Britain, particularly those of <!--del_lnk--> Cockney and <!--del_lnk--> Received Pronunciation. As with most dialects of English, it is distinguished primarily by its vowel <!--del_lnk--> phonology.<p>Australian English vowels are divided into two categories: long, which includes long monophthongs and diphthongs, and short, all of which are monophthongs. The short vowels mostly correspond to the lax vowels used in analyses of Received Pronunciation with the long vowels corresponding to its tense vowels as well as its centralising diphthongs. Unlike most varieties of English, it has a <!--del_lnk--> phonemic length distinction: a number of vowels differ only by the length.<p>Australian English consonants are similar to those of other non-rhotic varieties of English. In comparison to other varieties, it has a <!--del_lnk--> flapped variant of <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/t/</span> and <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/d/</span> in similar environments as in American English. Many speakers have also <!--del_lnk--> coalesced <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/tj/</span> and <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/dj/</span> into <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/tʃ/</span> and <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/dʒ/</span>, with pronunciations such as <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/tʃʉːn/</span> being standard.<p><a id="Vocabulary" name="Vocabulary"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Vocabulary</span></h2>
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<p>Australian English incorporates many terms that Australians consider to be unique to their country. One of the best-known of these is <i>outback</i> which means a remote, sparsely-populated area. The similar <i>bush</i> can mean either native forests, or country areas in general. However, both terms are historically widely used in many <!--del_lnk--> English-speaking countries. Many such words, phrases or usages originated with the British convicts transported to Australia. Many words used frequently by country Australians are, or were, also used in all or part of England, with variations in meaning. For example: a <i>creek</i> in Australia, as in North America, is any stream or small river, whereas in England it is a small watercourse flowing into the sea; <i>paddock</i> is the Australian word for a field, while in England it is a small enclosure for livestock and; wooded areas in Australia are known as <i>bush</i> or <i>scrub</i>, as in North America, while in England, they are commonly used only in proper names (such as <!--del_lnk--> Shepherd's Bush and <!--del_lnk--> Wormwood Scrubs). Australian English and several British English dialects (eg. <!--del_lnk--> Cockney; <!--del_lnk--> Geordie) also both use the word <i>mate</i> to mean a close friend of the same gender and increasingly with platonic friend of the opposite sex (rather than the conventional meaning of "a <!--del_lnk--> spouse"), although this usage has also become common in some other varieties of English.<p>The origins of other terms are not as clear, or are disputed. <i>Dinkum</i> (or "fair dinkum") means "true", or when used in speech: "is that true?", "this is the truth!", and other meanings, depending on context and inflection. It is often claimed that dinkum dates back to the <!--del_lnk--> Australian goldrushes of the 1850s, and that it is derived from the <!--del_lnk--> Cantonese (or Hokkien) <i>ding kam</i>, meaning "top gold". However, scholars give greater credence to the notion that it originated with a now-extinct dialect word from the <!--del_lnk--> East Midlands in England, where dinkum (or dincum) meant "hard work" or "fair work", which was also the original meaning in Australian English. <!--del_lnk--> The derivation <i>dinky-di</i> means a 'true' or devoted Australian. The words <i>dinkum</i> or <i>dinky-di</i> and phrases like <i>true blue</i> are widely purported to be typical Australian sayings, but the majority of Australians, these days, don't say these at all, except when parodying the stereotypically "Australian" way of speaking.<p>Similarly, <i>g'day</i>, a stereotypical Australian greeting, is no longer synonymous with "good day" in other varieties of English (it can be used at night time) and is never used as an expression for "farewell", as "good day" is in other countries.<p>Some elements of <!--del_lnk--> Aboriginal languages have been incorporated into Australian English, mainly as names for places, flora and fauna (for example <a href="../../wp/d/Dingo.htm" title="Dingo">dingo</a>, <a href="../../wp/k/Kangaroo.htm" title="Kangaroo">kangaroo</a>). Beyond that, few terms have been adopted into the wider language, except for some localised terms, or slang. Some examples are <i>cooee</i> and <i>Hard yakka</i>. The former is a high-pitched call (pronounced <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/kʉː.iː/</span>) which travels long distances and is used to attract attention. <i>Cooee</i> has also become a notional distance: <i>if he's within cooee, we'll spot him</i>. <i>Hard yakka</i> means <i>hard work</i> and is derived from <i>yakka</i>, from the <!--del_lnk--> Yagara/<!--del_lnk--> Jagara language once spoken in the <a href="../../wp/b/Brisbane.htm" title="Brisbane">Brisbane</a> region. Also from the Brisbane region comes the word <i>bung</i> meaning broken. A failed piece of equipment might be described as having <i>bunged up</i> or referred to as "on the bung" or "gone bung". Bung is also used to describe an individual who is pretending to be hurt; such individual is said to be "bunging it on".<p>Though often thought of as an Aboriginal word, <!--del_lnk--> didgeridoo (a well known wooden musical instrument) is probably an <!--del_lnk--> onomatopaoeic word of Western invention. It has also been suggested that it may have an <!--del_lnk--> Irish derivation. <!--del_lnk--> <p><a id="Spelling" name="Spelling"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Spelling</span></h2>
<p>Australian spelling is generally very similar to British spelling, with a few exceptions (for example, <i>program</i> is more common than <i>programme</i>). Publishers, schools, universities and governments typically use the <!--del_lnk--> Macquarie Dictionary as a standard spelling reference. Both <i>-ise</i> and <i>-ize</i> are accepted, as in British English, but <i>-ise</i> is the preferred form in Australian English by a ratio of about 3:1 according to the Macquarie's Australian Corpus of English.<p>There is a widely held belief in Australia that "American spellings" are a modern intrusion, but the debate over spelling is much older and has little to do with the influence of North American English. For example, a pamphlet entitled <i>The So-Called "American Spelling."</i>, published in Sydney some time before 1900, argued that "there is no valid etymological reason for the preservation of the u in such words as honour, labor, etc." The pamphlet noted, correctly, that "the tendency of people in Australasia is to excise the u, and one of the Sydney morning papers habitually does this, while the other generally follows the older form".<p>Many Australian newspapers once excised the "u", for words like "colour" but do not anymore, and the <!--del_lnk--> Australian <i>Labor</i> Party retains the "-or" ending it officially adopted in <!--del_lnk--> 1912. Because of a backlash to the perceived "<!--del_lnk--> Americanisation" of Australian English, there is now a trend to reinsert the "u" in words such as harbour. The town of <!--del_lnk--> Victor Harbour now has the Victor Harbour Railway Station and the municipality's official website speculates that excising the 'u' from the town's name was originally a 'spelling error'. This continues to cause confusion in how the town is named in official and unofficial documents <p>The official (although not commonly used) spelling of gaol/jail is gaol although most Australians would write jail naturally.<p>In academia, as long as the spelling is consistent, the usage of various English variants is generally accepted.<p><a id="Varieties_of_Australian_English" name="Varieties_of_Australian_English"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Varieties of Australian English</span></h2>
<p>Most linguists consider there to be three main varieties of Australian English. These are Broad, General and Cultivated Australian English. These three main varieties are actually part of a continuum and are based on variations in accent. They often, but not always, reflect the <!--del_lnk--> social class and/or <a href="../../wp/e/Education.htm" title="Education">educational</a> background of the speaker.<p>Broad Australian English is the <!--del_lnk--> archetypal and most recognisable variety. It is familiar to English speakers around the world because of its use in identifying Australian characters in non-Australian <a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Film">films</a> and <a href="../../wp/t/Television.htm" title="Television">television</a> programs. Examples include television personalities <!--del_lnk--> Steve Irwin and <!--del_lnk--> Dame Edna Everage.<p>General Australian English is the <!--del_lnk--> stereotypical variety of Australian English. It is the variety of English used by the majority of Australians and it dominates the accents found in contemporary Australian-made films and television programs. Examples include actors <!--del_lnk--> Russell Crowe and <!--del_lnk--> Nicole Kidman. Cultivated Australian English has many similarities to <a href="../../wp/b/British_English.htm" title="British English">British</a> <!--del_lnk--> Received Pronunciation, and is often mistaken for it. Cultivated Australian English is now spoken by less than 10% of the population. Examples include actors <!--del_lnk--> Judy Davis and <!--del_lnk--> Geoffrey Rush.<p>It is sometimes claimed that there are regional variations in pronunciation and accent. If present at all, however, they are very small compared to those of British and American English – so much so that linguists are divided on the question. Overall, pronunciation is determined less by region than by social, cultural and educational influences, as well as by a general difference between urban and rural voices that can be heard throughout Australia.<p>One example of a minor difference in pronunciation exists in the pronunciation of words such as: castle, dance, chance, advance, etc. In <!--del_lnk--> Queensland and <!--del_lnk--> Victoria, the Irish pronunciation of these words, choosing the æ-vowel, is preferred, whereas in <!--del_lnk--> New South Wales, the a:-vowel, found in English English, is preferred. The NSW pronunciation of these words is somewhat more predominant in such examples as in singing the national anthem, <!--del_lnk--> Advance Australia Fair, where [əd'va:ns] remains the preferred pronunciation of "advance" where it might otherwise be pronounced [əd'væ:ns] in Queensland and Victoria.<p>There is, however, some variation in <!--del_lnk--> Australian English vocabulary between different regions. Of particular interest in this respect are sporting terms and terms for <!--del_lnk--> food, clothing and <!--del_lnk--> beer glasses.<p><a id="Use_of_words_by_Australians" name="Use_of_words_by_Australians"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Use of words by Australians</span></h2>
<p>Many Australians believe themselves to be direct in manner and/or admire frank and open communication. Such sentiments can lead to misunderstandings and offence being caused to people from other cultures.<p>For instance, spoken Australian English is generally more tolerant of offensive and/or abusive language than other variants. A famous exponent was the former <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister <!--del_lnk--> Paul Keating, who referred in <!--del_lnk--> Parliament to various political opponents as a "mangy maggot", a "stupid foul-mouthed grub", and so on.<p>An important aspect of Australian English usage, inherited in large part from Britain and Ireland, is the use of <!--del_lnk--> deadpan humour, in which a person will make extravagant, outrageous and/or ridiculous statements in a neutral tone, and without explicitly indicating they are joking. Tourists seen to be gullible and/or lacking a sense of humour may be subjected to tales of kangaroos hopping across the <!--del_lnk--> Sydney Harbour Bridge, "<!--del_lnk--> drop bears" and similar <!--del_lnk--> tall tales.<p>Australian English makes frequent use of <!--del_lnk--> diminutives. They can be formed in a number of ways and can be used to indicate familiarity. Some examples include <i>arvo</i> (afternoon), <i>servo</i> (<!--del_lnk--> service station), <i>bottle-o</i> (<!--del_lnk--> bottle-shop), <i>barbie</i> (barbecue), <i>cozzie</i> (swimming costume), <i>footy</i> (<a href="../../wp/a/Australian_rules_football.htm" title="Australian rules football">Australian rules football</a> or <!--del_lnk--> rugby) and <i>mozzie</i> (mosquito). Occasionally, a <i>-za</i> diminutive is used, usually for personal names where the first of multiple syllables ends in an "r" for example <i>Bazza</i> (Barry) and <i>Shazza</i> (Sharon).<p>Many phrases once common to Australian English have become the subject of common <!--del_lnk--> stereotypes, over-use and Hollywood's caricaturised overexaggerations, even though they have largely disappeared from everyday use. Words being used less often include <i>cobber</i>, <i>strewth</i>, <i>you beaut</i> and <i>crikey</i>, and archetypal phrases like <i>Flat out like a lizard drinking</i> are rarely heard without a sense of irony.<p>The phrase <i>Put a <!--del_lnk--> shrimp on the barbie</i> is a misquotation of a phrase that became famous after being used by <!--del_lnk--> Paul Hogan in tourism advertisements that aired in America. Most Australians use the term <!--del_lnk--> prawn rather than <!--del_lnk--> shrimp, and do not commonly barbeque them. Many people trying to impersonate or mock an Australian will use this line, though Australians themselves would never have used this line.<p>Australia's unofficial national anthem <i><!--del_lnk--> Waltzing Matilda</i> written by bush poet <!--del_lnk--> Banjo Patterson, contains many obsolete Australian words and phrases that appeal to a rural ideal and are understood by Australians even though they are not in common usage outside this song. One example is the title, which means travelling (particularly with a type of bed roll called a swag). Thus the refrain "You'll come a waltzing matilda with me" means you will come travelling with me. Part of the appeal of the song as distinctively Australian is its incomprehension to non-native Australian English speakers.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_English"</div>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Insects_Reptiles_and_Fish.htm">Insects, Reptiles and Fish</a></h3>
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<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>White's tree frog</b></th>
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<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
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<div style="text-align:center"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn3.1_LC.svg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="200" /><br /><!--del_lnk--> Least Concern (LC)<small></small></div>
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<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
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<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
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<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
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<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Amphibia<br />
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<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Anura<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Hylidae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Litoria</i><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>L. caerulea</b></i></span><br />
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<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><i><b>Litoria caerulea</b></i><br /><small>(<!--del_lnk--> White, 1790)</small></td>
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</table>
<p>The <b>Australian Green Tree Frog</b>, simply <b>Green Tree Frog</b> in Australia, <b>White's Tree Frog</b>, or <b>Dumpy Tree Frog</b> (<i>Litoria caerulea</i>) is a <!--del_lnk--> species of <a href="../../wp/t/Tree_frog.htm" title="Tree frog">tree frog</a> native to <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a> and <!--del_lnk--> New Guinea, with <!--del_lnk--> introduced populations in <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a> and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>. The species belongs to the <!--del_lnk--> genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Litoria</i>. It is physiologically similar to some species of the genus, particularly the <!--del_lnk--> Magnificent Tree Frog (<i>Litoria splendida</i>) and the <!--del_lnk--> Giant Tree Frog (<i>Litoria infrafrenata</i>).<p>The Green Tree Frog is a large species compared with most Australian <a href="../../wp/f/Frog.htm" title="Frog">frogs</a>, reaching 10 centimetres in length. The average lifespan of the frog in captivity, about sixteen years, is long in comparison with most frogs. Green Tree Frogs are docile and well suited to living near human dwellings. They are often found on windows or inside houses, eating insects drawn by the light.<p>Due to its physical and behavioural traits, the Green Tree Frog has become one of the most recognisable frogs in its region, and is a popular <!--del_lnk--> exotic pet throughout the world. The skin secretions of the frog have <!--del_lnk--> antibacterial and <!--del_lnk--> antiviral properties that may prove useful in <!--del_lnk--> pharmaceutical preparations.<p>
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</script><a id="Taxonomy" name="Taxonomy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Taxonomy</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:232px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/284/28450.jpg.htm" title="Original print of the Green Tree Frog, published in John White's "A Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales". Artist: S. Stone"><img alt="Original print of the Green Tree Frog, published in John White's "A Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales". Artist: S. Stone" height="179" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Blue_frog.jpg" src="../../images/284/28450.jpg" width="230" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/284/28450.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Original print of the Green Tree Frog, published in John White's "<i>A Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales</i>". Artist: S. Stone</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The common name of the species, "White's Tree Frog", is in honour of the first person to describe the species, <!--del_lnk--> John White. The Green Tree Frog was the first Australian frog scientifically classified. The species was originally called the "blue frog" (<i>Rana caerulea</i>); although the Green Tree Frog is green, the original specimens White sent to <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a> were damaged by the preservative and appeared blue. This is because the colour of the frog is caused by blue and green <a href="../../wp/p/Pigment.htm" title="Pigment">pigments</a> covered in a yellow layer. The preservative destroyed the yellow layer and left the frog with a blue appearance. The specific epithet, <i>caerulea</i>, which is Latin for blue, has remained the same. The frog is also known more simply as the "Green Tree Frog." However, that name is often given to the most common large green tree frog in a region, for example, the <!--del_lnk--> American green tree frog (<i>Hyla cinerea</i>).<p>The Green Tree Frog is sometimes confused with the Magnificent Tree Frog (<i>Litoria splendida</i>), which inhabits only north-western Australia and can be distinguished by the presence of large <!--del_lnk--> parotoids and <!--del_lnk--> rostral glands on the head. The Giant Tree Frog (<i>Litoria infrafrenata</i>) is also sometimes confused with the Green Tree Frog. The main difference is a distinct white stripe along the edge of the lower <!--del_lnk--> jaw of the Giant Tree Frog, which is not present in the Green Tree Frog.<p><a id="Distribution" name="Distribution"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Distribution</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:232px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/284/28451.png.htm" title="Distribution of Litoria caerulea (in black) on the Australian continent."><img alt="Distribution of Litoria caerulea (in black) on the Australian continent." height="208" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Caerulea_Distribution.png" src="../../images/284/28451.png" width="230" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/284/28451.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Distribution of <i>Litoria caerulea</i> (in black) on the Australian continent.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Green Tree Frog is native to northern and eastern regions of Australia and to southern New Guinea. Distribution is limited mostly to areas with a warm, wet <a href="../../wp/t/Tropics.htm" title="Tropics">tropical</a> climate. Eastern Australia, although cool in winter, also hosts the species. It is found in the southern Australian state of <!--del_lnk--> Victoria, but the frog cannot survive southern Victoria's cold winters and is therefore restricted to the north. In New Guinea, the Green Tree Frog is restricted to the drier, southern region. Its range spans from <!--del_lnk--> Irian Jaya to <!--del_lnk--> Port Moresby, and is most abundant on <!--del_lnk--> Daru Island. There have been isolated records in northern New Guinea, however this is thought to have been through introduction by humans.<p>The species has been introduced to both the United States and New Zealand. In the United States, it is restricted to two regions within <a href="../../wp/f/Florida.htm" title="Florida">Florida</a>, where it was possibly introduced through the <!--del_lnk--> pet trade. Only small populations have been found in Florida, and it is unknown whether they have caused any <a href="../../wp/e/Ecology.htm" title="Ecology">ecological</a> damage as an <a href="../../wp/i/Invasive_species.htm" title="Invasive species">invasive species</a>. In New Zealand, a population was once present; however, there have been no sightings since the 1950s.<p><a id="Physical_description" name="Physical_description"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Physical description</span></h2>
<p>The Green Tree Frog can grow up to 10 centimetres (4 inches) in length. Its colour depends on the <!--del_lnk--> temperature and colour of the environment, ranging from brown to green; the ventral surface is white. The frog occasionally has small, white, irregularly shaped spots on its back, up to five millimetres in diameter, which increase in number with age. The frog has large discs at the end of its toes, of about five millimetres in diameter at maturity. These help the frogs grip while climbing and allow them to climb vertically on glass. The eyes are golden and have horizontal <!--del_lnk--> irises, typical of the <i>Litoria</i> genus. The fingers are about one-third webbed, and the toes nearly three-quarters webbed. The tympanum (a skin membrane similar to an <!--del_lnk--> eardrum) is visible.<p>The tadpole's appearance changes throughout its development. The length of the species' tadpoles ranges from 8.1 millimetres (once hatched) to 44 millimetres. They are initially mottled with brown, which increases in pigmentation (to green or brown) during development. The underside begins dark and then lightens, eventually to white in adults. The eggs are brown, in a clear jelly and are 1.1–1.4 millimetres in diameter.<p>Although frogs have <!--del_lnk--> lungs, they absorb <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a> through their skin, and for this to occur efficiently, the skin must be moist. A disadvantage of moist skin is that <!--del_lnk--> pathogens can thrive on it, increasing the chance of infection. To counteract this, frogs secrete <!--del_lnk--> peptides that destroy these pathogens. The skin <!--del_lnk--> secretion from the Green Tree Frog contains <!--del_lnk--> caerins, a group of peptides with antibacterial and antiviral properties. It also contains <!--del_lnk--> caerulins, which have the same physiological effects as <!--del_lnk--> CCK-8, a digestive hormone and hunger suppressant. Several peptides from the skin secretions of the Green Tree Frog have been found to destroy <a href="../../wp/h/HIV.htm" title="HIV">HIV</a> without harming healthy <!--del_lnk--> T-cells.<div class="center">
<div class="thumb tnone">
<div style="width:602px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/284/28452.jpg.htm" title="The left frog is the White-lipped Tree Frog, note the white stripe along the jaw. The center is the Green Tree Frog. The right is the Magnificent Tree Frog, note the large parotoid glands present above the tympanum."><img alt="The left frog is the White-lipped Tree Frog, note the white stripe along the jaw. The center is the Green Tree Frog. The right is the Magnificent Tree Frog, note the large parotoid glands present above the tympanum." height="152" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pelodryas_comparison.jpg" src="../../images/284/28452.jpg" width="600" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/284/28452.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The left frog is the <!--del_lnk--> White-lipped Tree Frog, note the white stripe along the jaw. The centre is the Green Tree Frog. The right is the <!--del_lnk--> Magnificent Tree Frog, note the large parotoid glands present above the tympanum.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Ecology_and_behaviour" name="Ecology_and_behaviour"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Ecology and behaviour</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/284/28453.jpg.htm" title="A Green Tree Frog caught in a spider's web after eating the spider. The frog survived."><img alt="A Green Tree Frog caught in a spider's web after eating the spider. The frog survived." height="338" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Caerulea_web.jpg" src="../../images/284/28453.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/284/28453.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A Green Tree Frog caught in a spider's web after eating the spider. The frog survived.</div>
</div>
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<p>Green Tree Frogs are very docile. They are <!--del_lnk--> nocturnal and come out in early evenings to call (in spring and summer) and hunt at night. During the day they find cool, dark, and moist areas to sleep. During winter, Green Tree Frogs do not call and are not usually seen.<p>Depending on their location, Green Tree Frogs occupy various habitats. Typically, they are found in the canopy of trees near a still-water source. However, they can survive in swamps (among the <!--del_lnk--> reeds) or in grasslands in cooler climates. Green Tree Frogs are well known for inhabiting water sources inside houses, such as sinks or toilets. They can also be found on windows eating insects. They will occupy tanks (<!--del_lnk--> cisterns), downpipes (downspouts), and gutters, as these have a high humidity and are usually cooler than the external environment. The frogs are drawn to downpipes and tanks during mating season, as the fixtures amplify their call.<p>The species' call is a low, slow <i>crawk-crawk-crawk</i>, repeated many times. For most of the year, they call from high positions, such as trees and gutters. During mating season the frogs descend, although remaining slightly elevated, and call close to still-water sources, whether temporary or permanent. Like many frogs, Green Tree Frogs call not only to attract a mate. They have been observed calling to advertise their location outside the mating season, usually after rain, for reasons that are uncertain to researchers. They will emit a stress call whenever they are in danger, such as when predators are close or when a person steps on a log in which a frog resides.<p>The species' diet consists mainly of <a href="../../wp/i/Insect.htm" title="Insect">insects</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Spider.htm" title="Spider">spiders</a>, but can include smaller frogs and even small <a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">mammals</a>. <!--del_lnk--> Frog teeth are not suited to cutting up prey, so the prey must fit inside the mouth of the frog. Many frogs propel their sticky tongues at prey. The prey sticks, and is consumed. Green Tree Frog will use this technique for smaller prey; however for larger prey, it pounces, then forces the prey into its mouth with its hands.<p>The frog has few native predators, among them <!--del_lnk--> snakes and a few species of <!--del_lnk--> lizards and <a href="../../wp/b/Bird.htm" title="Bird">birds</a>. Since the European settlement of Australia, non-native predators have been introduced, primarily dogs and cats. The species has an average life expectancy in captivity of sixteen years, but some have been known to live for over twenty years, which is long for a frog. The average life expectancy in the wild is lower than in captivity, due to predation.<p><a id="Reproduction" name="Reproduction"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Reproduction</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/284/28454.jpg.htm" title="A brown and green Green Tree Frog."><img alt="A brown and green Green Tree Frog." height="203" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Brown-green_litoria_caerulea.JPG" src="../../images/284/28454.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/284/28454.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A brown and green Green Tree Frog.</div>
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<p>Prior to the <!--del_lnk--> mating season in late spring to summer, the male Green Tree Frog develops a black nuptial pad on the inner surface of the thumb. This aids <!--del_lnk--> amplexus by allowing the male to continue a grip on its mate for the duration of amplexus. The male calls (individually) to attract a female, and the two typically meet at a still-water source.<p>During amplexus, the male mounts the female. The female then expels her <!--del_lnk--> eggs at such a speed that the <!--del_lnk--> sperm is forced into the egg. A large spawn of about 200 to 300 eggs is left in the water, approximately a half metre from the frogs. The eggs sink and attach themselves to submerged objects. The two frogs can remain in amplexus for about two days, during which the process is repeated many times, resulting in the laying of an average of 2000 to 3000 eggs. An egg hatches three days after its laying. The water must be 28–38 degrees Celsius and 5–50 centimetres deep for the eggs and tadpoles to survive. <!--del_lnk--> Metamorphosis takes between two and three months, and sexual maturation about two years.<p><a id="Conservation_status" name="Conservation_status"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Conservation status</span></h2>
<p>Australian law gives protected status to the Green Tree Frog—along with all <a href="../../wp/f/Fauna_of_Australia.htm" title="Fauna of Australia">Australian fauna</a>—under the federal <i>Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999</i>. Much of the Green Tree Frog's natural habitat has been destroyed. Also, some of the frogs have been found infected with <!--del_lnk--> chytrid fungus (causing <!--del_lnk--> chytridiomycosis). These two factors associated with the general <!--del_lnk--> decline in frog populations in Australia threaten to reduce the population of the Green Tree Frog. However, because of the long life expectancy of this species, any effects of a reduced reproduction rate will take longer to spot than they would in a species with a shorter life expectancy.<p><a id="As_a_pet" name="As_a_pet"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">As a pet</span></h2>
<p>The Green Tree Frog is one of the most popular pet frogs throughout the world. Its docile nature, often cartoon-like appearance, and long life expectancy make it an attractive choice for <!--del_lnk--> exotic-pet owners. It is also one of the easier frogs to care for: their diet is broad and they have a strong resistance to disease. One problem commonly associated with keeping this species as a pet is overfeeding; Green Tree Frogs tend to become obese if overfed. In the wild, exertion of energy is required for a frog to capture its prey. However, in captivity they are usually given live feed in a confined space. This lessens the activity needed for feeding, resulting in weight gain. An overweight member of the species will deposit fat layers over the top of the head and body, giving it a "dumpy" appearance.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Green_Tree_Frog"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Australian Open</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Sports_events.htm">Sports events</a></h3>
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<td align="center" bgcolor="#CCCCFF"><b><a href="../../wp/g/Grand_Slam_%2528tennis%2529.htm" title="Grand Slam (tennis)">Grand Slams</a></b></td>
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<li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/785.png.htm" title="Flag of Australia"><img alt="Flag of Australia" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Australia.svg" src="../../images/7/785.png" width="22" /></a> <strong class="selflink">Australian Open</strong><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="Flag of France"><img alt="Flag of France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/f/French_Open_%2528tennis%2529.htm" title="French Open (tennis)">French Open</a> (Roland Garros)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title="Flag of United Kingdom"><img alt="Flag of United Kingdom" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/7/789.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/The_Championships%252C_Wimbledon.htm" title="The Championships, Wimbledon">Wimbledon</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title="Flag of United States"><img alt="Flag of United States" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/6/695.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/U.S._Open_%2528tennis%2529.htm" title="U.S. Open (tennis)">U.S. Open</a></ul>
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<p>The <b>Australian Open</b> is the first of the world's four <a href="../../wp/g/Grand_Slam_%2528tennis%2529.htm" title="Grand Slam (tennis)">Grand Slam</a> <a href="../../wp/t/Tennis.htm" title="Tennis">tennis</a> <!--del_lnk--> tournaments, held each <!--del_lnk--> January at <!--del_lnk--> Melbourne Park. The tournament was held for the first time in <!--del_lnk--> 1905. Like the other three Grand Slam events, it was contested by top-ranked amateur players and known as the <b>Australian championships</b> until the advent of open tennis in 1968. Originally based at the <!--del_lnk--> grass courts at <!--del_lnk--> Kooyong in the city of <a href="../../wp/m/Melbourne.htm" title="Melbourne">Melbourne</a>'s inner south-east, the tournament was in danger of fading into irrelevance before being revived in 1988 with a shift to <!--del_lnk--> Melbourne Park (then called Flinders Park), a new (<!--del_lnk--> Rebound Ace) <!--del_lnk--> hardcourt venue next to the <!--del_lnk--> Melbourne Cricket Ground on the southern fringe of the central business district. <!--del_lnk--> Mats Wilander was the only player to win the tournament both on grass and on Rebound Ace.<p>Like all the Grand Slam tournaments, there are men's and women's singles competitions, men's, women's, and mixed doubles, as well as junior and master's competitions.<p>The Australian Open was held in December from <!--del_lnk--> 1977 through <!--del_lnk--> 1985, returning to its original January date in <!--del_lnk--> 1987. In <!--del_lnk--> 1986, because of the return to January, no tournament was held.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/525/52519.jpg.htm" title="Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open. Rod Laver Arena, the centre court, in the background."><img alt="Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open. Rod Laver Arena, the centre court, in the background." class="thumbimage" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ausopen_margaret_court_arena_medium.jpg" src="../../images/525/52519.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/525/52519.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open. Rod Laver Arena, the centre court, in the background.</div>
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<p>The two main courts are, <!--del_lnk--> Rod Laver Arena and <!--del_lnk--> Vodafone Arena, are unusual in that they feature movable roofs which can be shut in case of rain or extreme heat. It is the only Grand Slam tournament that can feature indoor play. However, Wimbledon has plans to build a retractable roof for Centre Court in 2009.<p>Held in the middle of the Australian summer, the Australian Open is famous for its notoriously hot days. An <!--del_lnk--> extreme-heat policy is often put into play when temperatures (and humidity) reach dangerous levels.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Awards" name="Awards"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Awards</span></h2>
<p>Names of the winners are inscribed on the perpetual <!--del_lnk--> trophy Cups.<ul>
<li>The Women's Singles winner is presented with the <!--del_lnk--> Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.<li>The Men's Singles winner is presented with the <!--del_lnk--> Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.</ul>
<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>The Australian Open is now managed by <!--del_lnk--> Tennis Australia, formerly the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia (LTAA), and was first played at the Warehouseman's Cricket Ground in <!--del_lnk--> St Kilda Road, Melbourne. 2006 was the 94th staging of the event (over a 101 year period due to interruption of the War years), with the tournament celebrating its Centenary in 2005.<p>The tournament was first played in 1905 as The Australasian Championships, became the Australian Championships in 1927 and the Australian Open in 1969. Since 1905, the Championships have been staged in five different cities as follows: Melbourne (50 times), <a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a> (17 times), <a href="../../wp/a/Adelaide.htm" title="Adelaide">Adelaide</a> (14 times), <a href="../../wp/b/Brisbane.htm" title="Brisbane">Brisbane</a> (eight times), <a href="../../wp/p/Perth%252C_Western_Australia.htm" title="Perth, Western Australia">Perth</a> (three times), as well as in <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a>, (twice) in 1906 and 1912.<p>In 1972, it was decided to stage the Tournament in the one city each year, as opposed to visiting various states across the nation, and the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club was selected due to Melbourne attracting the biggest patronage.<p><!--del_lnk--> Melbourne Park (formerly Flinders Park) was constructed in time for the 1988 Open to meet the demands of the evolving tournament that had outgrown Kooyong's capacity. The move to Melbourne Park was an immediate success, with a 90 percent increase in attendance in 1988 (266,436) on the previous year at Kooyong (140,000).<p><a id="Recent_attendances" name="Recent_attendances"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Recent attendances</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 2007 - 554,858 <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> 2006 - 550,550 <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> 2005 - 543,873 <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> 2004 - 521,691 <!--del_lnk--> </ul>
<p><a id="Records_and_trivia" name="Records_and_trivia"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Records and trivia</span></h2>
<p><i>See:</i> <!--del_lnk--> Australian Open records and trivia<p><a id="Champions" name="Champions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Champions</span></h2>
<p><i>Main article:</i> <!--del_lnk--> List of Australian Open champions<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Men's Singles<li><!--del_lnk--> Women's Singles<li><!--del_lnk--> Men's Doubles<li><!--del_lnk--> Women's Doubles<li><!--del_lnk--> Mixed Doubles</ul>
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Australian_Ringneck | <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Australian Ringneck</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Birds.htm">Birds</a></h3>
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<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Australian Ringneck</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/167/16709.jpg.htm" title="Australian Ringneck (intermediate between B. Z. zonarius and B. Z. semitorquatus) near Augusta, Western Australia"><img alt="Australian Ringneck (intermediate between B. Z. zonarius and B. Z. semitorquatus) near Augusta, Western Australia" height="229" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Port_Lincoln_parrot_at_Augusta_profile.jpg" src="../../images/167/16709.jpg" width="250" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small>Australian Ringneck (intermediate between <i>B. Z. zonarius</i> and <i>B. Z. semitorquatus</i>) near <!--del_lnk--> Augusta, Western Australia</small></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center; background:pink;">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="">
<div style="text-align:center"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn3.1_LC.svg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="200" /><br /><!--del_lnk--> Least Concern (LC)<small></small></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Bird.htm" title="Bird">Aves</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Psittaciformes<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Psittacidae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Subfamily:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Platycercinae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Tribe:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Platycercini<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><b>Barnardius</b></i><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Bonaparte, 1854</small></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>B. zonarius</b></i></span><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><i><b>Barnardius zonarius</b></i><br /><small>(<!--del_lnk--> Shaw, 1805)</small></td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center>subspecies</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0 .5em;">
<p><i>B. z. zonarius</i><br /><i>B. z. semitorquatus</i><br /><i>B. z. barnardi</i><br /><i>B. z. macgillivrayi</i><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center; background:pink;">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Synonyms</center>
</th>
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<tr>
<td style="padding: 0 .5em;">
<p><i>Barnardius barnardi</i> <small>(<!--del_lnk--> Vigors & <!--del_lnk--> Horsfield, 1827)</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Australian Ringneck</b> (<i>Barnardius zonarius</i>) is a <a href="../../wp/p/Parrot.htm" title="Parrot">parrot</a> native to all mainland <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australian</a> states. Except for extreme tropical and highland areas the species has adapted to all conditions. Traditionally, two species were recognized in the genus <i><b>Barnardius</b></i>, the <b>Port Lincoln Parrot</b> (<i>Barnardius zonarius</i>) and the <b>Mallee Ringneck</b> <i>Barnardius barnardi</i>), but the two species readily interbred at the contact zone and are now considered one species. Currently, four <!--del_lnk--> subspecies are recognised, each with a distinct range.<p>In Western Australia, the Ringneck competes for nesting space with the <!--del_lnk--> Rainbow Lorikeet, an introduced species. To protect the Ringneck, culls of the lorikeet are sanctioned by authorities in this region. Overall, though, the Ringneck is not a threatened species.<p>
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</script><a id="Classification" name="Classification"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Classification</span></h2>
<p>Currently, four subspecies of Ringneck are recognized .:<ul>
<li>The <b>Port Lincoln Parrot</b> or <b>Port Lincoln Ringneck</b> (<i>B. z. zonarius</i> <small>(<!--del_lnk--> Shaw, 1805)</small>) is common from <!--del_lnk--> Port Lincoln in the south east to <!--del_lnk--> Alice Springs in the north east, and from the Karri and Tingle forests of South Western Australia up to the <!--del_lnk--> Pilbara district.<li>The <b>Twenty Eight</b> (<i>B. z. semitorquatus</i> <small>(<!--del_lnk--> Quoy & <!--del_lnk--> Gaimard, 1830)</small>), named in imitation of its distinctive 'twentee-eight' call, is found in the south western forests of coastal and subcoastal Western Australia.<li>The <b>Mallee Ringneck</b> (<i>B. z. barnardi</i> <small>(<!--del_lnk--> Vigors & <!--del_lnk--> Horsfield, 1827)</small>) inhabits New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.<li>The <b>Cloncurry Parrot</b> (<i>B. z. macgillivrayi</i> <small>(<!--del_lnk--> North, 1900)</small>) is found from the <!--del_lnk--> Lake Eyre basin in the <!--del_lnk--> Northern Territory to the North gulf of <!--del_lnk--> Queensland.</ul>
<p>The classification of this species is still debated, and recent molecular research has found that all subspecies are very close related . Several other subspecies have been described, but are considered synonyms with one of the above subspecies. <i>B. z. occidentalis</i> has been synomised with <i>B. z. zonarius</i>. Intermediates exist between all subspecies except for between <i>B. z. zonarius</i> and <i>B. z. macgillivrayi</i>.<p>The species is considered not threatened, but in Western Australia, the Twenty Eight subspecies (<i>B. z. semitorquatus</i>) gets locally displaced by the introduced <!--del_lnk--> Rainbow Lorikeets that aggressively complete for nesting places. The Rainbow Lorikeet is considered a pest species in Western Australia and is subject to eradication in the wild.<p><a id="Description" name="Description"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Description</span></h2>
<p>The subspecies of the Australian Ringneck differ considerably in coloration. It is a medium size species of around 33 cm long. The basic colour is green, and all four subspecies have the characteristic yellow ring around the hindneck; wings and tail are a mixture of green and blue. The <i>B. z. zonarius</i> and <i>B. z. semitorquatus</i> subspecies have a dull black head; back, rump and wings are brilliant green; throat and breast bluish-green. The different between these two subspecies is that <i>B. z. zonarius</i> has a yellow abdomen while <i>B. z. semitorquatus</i> has a green abdomen; the latter has also a prominent crimson frontal band that the former lacks (the intermediate shown in the taxobox has characteristics of both subspecies). The two other subspecies differ from these subspecies by the bright green crown and nape and blush cheek-patches. The underparts of <i>B. z. barnardi</i> are turquoise-green with an irregular orange-yellow band across the abdomen; the back and mantle are deep blackish-blue and this subspecies has a prominent red frontal band. The <i>B. z. macgillivrayi</i> is generally pale green, with a wide uniform pale yellow band across the abdomen.<p><a id="Ecology" name="Ecology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Ecology</span></h2>
<p>The Australian Ringneck is active during the day and can be found in <!--del_lnk--> eucalypt woodlands and eucalypt-lined watercourses. The species is gregarious and depending on the conditions can be resident or nomadic. As most parrots, it breeds in tree cavities. Breeding season for the Northern populations starts in June or July, while the central and southern populations breed from August to February but this can be delayed when climatic conditions are unfavourable. This species eats a wide range of foods that include nectar, insects, seeds, fruit, and native and introduced bulbs. It will eat orchard-grown fruit, and are sometimes seen as a pest by farmers.<p><a id="Gallery" name="Gallery"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Gallery</span></h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="gallery">
<tr>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 33px 0;"><a href="../../images/167/16710.jpg.htm" title="Image:Port Lincoln parrot at Augusta.jpg"><img alt="" height="79" src="../../images/167/16710.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><i>B. z. semitorquatus</i></div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 28px 0;"><a href="../../images/167/16711.jpg.htm" title="Image:Twenty eight gnangarra.jpg"><img alt="" height="90" src="../../images/167/16711.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><i>B. z. semitorquatus</i></div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 28px 0;"><a href="../../images/167/16712.jpg.htm" title="Image:Twenty eight 2 gnangarra.jpg"><img alt="" height="90" src="../../images/167/16712.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><i>B. z. semitorquatus</i></div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 28px 0;"><a href="../../images/167/16713.jpg.htm" title="Image:Twenty eight free feed gnangarra.jpg"><img alt="" height="90" src="../../images/167/16713.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><i>B. z. semitorquatus</i></div>
</div>
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| ['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Bird', 'Binomial nomenclature', 'Parrot', 'Australia'] |
Australian_constitutional_law | <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Australian constitutional law</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geography_of_Oceania_Australasia.htm">Geography of Oceania (Australasia)</a></h3>
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<p><b>Australian constitutional law</b> is the area of the <!--del_lnk--> law of Australia relating to the interpretation and application of the <!--del_lnk--> Constitution of Australia. Several major doctrines of Australian constitutional law have developed.<p>For the story of how Australia evolved from a set of British colonies to an independent nation, see <!--del_lnk--> constitutional history of Australia. For a briefer outline of the basic structure of the Constitution, see <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act. For an overview of constitutional law generally, see <!--del_lnk--> constitutional law.<p>
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</script><a id="The_Constitution_and_the_High_Court" name="The_Constitution_and_the_High_Court"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Constitution and the High Court</span></h2>
<p>Constitutional law in the <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Australia consists mostly of that body of doctrine which interprets the Commonwealth Constitution. The Constitution itself is embodied in clause 9 of the <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, which was passed by the <a href="../../wp/p/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Parliament of the United Kingdom">British Parliament</a> in 1900 after its text had been negotiated in Australian <!--del_lnk--> Constitutional Conventions in the 1890s and approved by the voters in each of the Australian colonies. (The British government did, however, insist on one change to the text, to allow a greater range of appeals to the <!--del_lnk--> Privy Council in London.) It came into force on <!--del_lnk--> January 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1901, at which time the <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Australia came into being.<p>The Constitution created a framework of government some of whose main features, and sources of inspiration, were the following:<ul>
<li>constitutional <a href="../../wp/m/Monarchy.htm" title="Monarchy">monarchy</a> (British and existing colonial models)<li><!--del_lnk--> federalism (United States model)<li><!--del_lnk--> parliamentary, or "responsible", government (British and existing colonial models)<li>distinct textual <!--del_lnk--> separation of powers (US model)<li>direct <a href="../../wp/e/Election.htm" title="Election">election</a> to both Houses of Parliament (then a novelty)<li>requirement of a <!--del_lnk--> referendum for amendment of the Constitution (Swiss model)<li>only very limited guarantees of personal rights (rejection of the US model)<li><!--del_lnk--> judicial review (US model)</ul>
<p>This last feature - the ability of the courts to declare legislation unconstitutional and therefore invalid - is itself the source of the body of constitutional doctrine examined in this article. It has its origin in American experience, where the right of the <a href="../../wp/s/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States.htm" title="Supreme Court of the United States">Supreme Court of the United States</a> to strike down legislation deemed incompatible with the Constitution was first asserted by the Supreme Court itself in the seminal case of <!--del_lnk--> Marbury v. Madison in 1803. Although completely foreign to both British and Australian colonial experience, the framers of the Australian Constitution clearly intended that the practice would take hold in Australia, and even expressly adverted to it in the Constitutional text (in section 76). This power of <!--del_lnk--> judicial review of legislation for conformity with the Constitution has been exercised almost exclusively by the <!--del_lnk--> High Court of Australia, and almost invariably with a Full Bench of all its members.<p>A brief overview of the other listed features will provide a background for the doctrinal developments examined below.<p><a id="Constitutional_monarchy" name="Constitutional_monarchy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Constitutional monarchy</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Australia is a constitutional monarchy. Although the term "<!--del_lnk--> Head of State" is not used in the Constitution, it was intended that the Commonwealth (like the colonies) would continue to recognise the British Sovereign. "The Queen" (meaning <a href="../../wp/v/Victoria_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Victoria of the United Kingdom">Queen Victoria</a>, and defined to include "Her Majesty's heirs and successors in the sovereignty of the United Kingdom"), was one of the three elements of <!--del_lnk--> Parliament, along with the Senate and the House of Representatives (section 1). Today the Queen of Australia has replaced the Queen of the United Kingdom within Australia's parliament, though they happen to be the same person. The Monarch is represented in Australia by an appointed <!--del_lnk--> Governor-General. The executive power is vested in the Governor-General "as the Queen's representative" (section 61), as is the command-in-chief of the armed forces (section 68).<p>The text of the Constitution assigns sweeping powers to the Governor-General, e.g., to dismiss Parliament (sections 5 and 57), to refuse assent to <!--del_lnk--> Bills passed by Parliament (section 58), and to appoint and dismiss government <!--del_lnk--> Ministers (section 64). At the time the Constitution was drafted and adopted, though, it was understood that <!--del_lnk--> constitutional convention would limit the exercise of these powers. A governor-general, like the former <!--del_lnk--> Governors of the Colonies, would only act on ministerial advice except in extreme circumstances.<p>However, this reliance on <!--del_lnk--> constitutional convention, rather than the constitutional text, means the limits of the Governor-General's powers are unclear. Powers that can be exercised without or against ministerial advice are called "<!--del_lnk--> reserve powers". They certainly include the power to commission a <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister, except that where a particular party or coalition of parties has a majority of seats in the House of Representatives and an acknowledged parliamentary leader, that person must, by convention, be chosen. They probably include the power to dismiss a Prime Minister who has been subject to a <!--del_lnk--> vote of no confidence in the House of Representatives and who refuses to either resign or advise the calling of an election.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> reserve powers may also include the power to dismiss a Prime Minister who is engaging in persistent illegal action (Governor Sir <!--del_lnk--> Philip Game of New South Wales dismissed Premier <!--del_lnk--> Jack Lang on this ground in 1932). However, it remains extremely controversial whether they include the power to dismiss a Prime Minister who, while retaining the <!--del_lnk--> confidence of the House of Representatives, is not able to get the annual <!--del_lnk--> supply Bill passed by the Senate, as happened in 1975: see <!--del_lnk--> Australian constitutional crisis of 1975. Despite the drama of that event, it is worth bearing in mind that this is the <i>only</i> occasion on which a Governor-General has acted against the advice of his Ministers.<p>The role of the Queen is nowadays even more circumscribed, and amounts only to appointing (and, in theory, dismissing) a Governor-General on the advice of the <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister, as well as performing (by invitation) certain ceremonial functions when she is personally present in Australia. See <!--del_lnk--> Constitutional history of Australia for further details on the development of the monarch's role in relation to Australia.<p>The importance of <!--del_lnk--> constitutional conventions in this area means that Australia cannot be said, strictly, to operate entirely under a written <!--del_lnk--> constitution, but has to some extent a system like the <!--del_lnk--> British unwritten constitution. However, it would be a mistake to exaggerate the importance of this aspect of Australia's constitutional arrangements, because:<ul>
<li>the reliance on <!--del_lnk--> constitutional convention is confined almost entirely to the relations between the Queen/Governor-General and the Ministers of State; and<li>more completely written constitutional systems also develop binding conventions: for instance, popular election to the <!--del_lnk--> Electoral College of the United States, though not mandated by the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_Constitution.htm" title="United States Constitution">United States Constitution</a>, has probably become a binding norm.</ul>
<p><a id="Federalism" name="Federalism"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Federalism</span></h2>
<p><a id="Division_of_powers" name="Division_of_powers"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Division of powers</span></h3>
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<p>The Constitution sets up the Commonwealth of Australia as a <!--del_lnk--> federal polity, with specific powers confered on the Federal Parliament. The State Parliaments are not assigned specific enumerated powers; rather the powers of their predecessor colonial Parliaments are continued except insofar as they are expressly withdrawn or vested exclusively in the Federal Parliament by the Constitution. An alternative model, the <!--del_lnk--> Canadian, in which it is the regional (State) units who are assigned a list of enumerated powers, was rejected by the framers.<p>The bulk of enumerated powers are contained in <!--del_lnk--> section 51 and section 52. Section 52 powers are ‘exclusive’ to the Commonwealth (although some section 51 powers are in practice necessarily exclusive, such as the power with respect to borrowing money on the public credit of the Commonwealth in paragraph (iv), and the power to legislate with respect to matters referred to the Commonwealth by a State in paragraph (xxxvii)). By contrast, the subjects in <!--del_lnk--> section 51 can be legislated on by both state and Commonwealth parliaments. However, in the event of inconsistency or an intention by the Commonwealth to cover the field the Commonwealth law prevails by <!--del_lnk--> section 109.<p>Both concurrent (<!--del_lnk--> section 51) and exclusive (section 52) powers are stated to be "subject to this Constitution". As a result, the Commonwealth's law-making power is subject to the limitations and guarantees in the Constitution (both express and implied). For example, section 99 forbids the Commonwealth from giving preference to any State or part of a State "by any law or regulation of trade, commerce, or revenue". And as discussed below, an implied guarantee of freedom of political communication has been held to limit the Commonwealth's power to regulate political discourse.<p>The list of powers assigned to the Federal Parliament is quite similar to that assigned by the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_Constitution.htm" title="United States Constitution">United States Constitution</a> to the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_Congress.htm" title="United States Congress">Congress</a>, but is in some respects broader: for instance, it includes "astronomical and meteorological observations", "weights and measures", marriage and divorce, and interstate industrial relations. The interpretation of similar heads of power – for instance the <!--del_lnk--> Trade and Commerce Power in Australia and the <!--del_lnk--> Commerce Clause in the US - has in some cases been different.<p>The constitution also provides some opportunities for Federal-State co-operation: any State can "refer" a "matter" to the Commonwealth Parliament, and the Commonwealth Parliament can exercise, "at the request or with the concurrence of the Parliaments of all the States directly concerned", any power which, at the time of Federation, could be exercised only by the British Parliament.<p><a id="Parliamentary_structures" name="Parliamentary_structures"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Parliamentary structures</span></h3>
<p>Representation in the House of Representatives is based on population and ‘original states’ have equal numbers in the Senate. The two houses are equal in power except for certain restrictions in financial matters. For example, the Senate may not amend a <!--del_lnk--> supply Bill, although as the <!--del_lnk--> Australian constitutional crisis of 1975 demonstrates, it may apparently refuse to pass such a Bill altogether; Bills to impose taxation or appropriate revenue may not originate in the Senate; and the Senate may not amend a Bill so as to increase taxation.<p>Again, federalism is evident in the process of <!--del_lnk--> constitutional amendment, which requires that the Bill to amend the Constitution be approved by a majority of electors overall <i>and</i> a majority of electors in a majority of States (that is, four out of the six).<p>Additionally, amendments "altering the limits" of a State or diminishing its proportional representation in Parliament require the approval of electors in that State.<p><a id="Parliamentary_government" name="Parliamentary_government"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Parliamentary government</span></h2>
<p>It was assumed by the framers, in line with British and local colonial tradition, that the effective government would consist of Ministers who were members of Parliament and "<!--del_lnk--> responsible", that is, answerable, to it, and that the continued existence of the government would depend on it maintaining the <!--del_lnk--> confidence of at least the lower house of the legislature.<p>These arrangements, however, are only hinted at in the text of the Constitution. There is a requirement (section 64) that the "Queen's Ministers of State", who are nominally appointed by the Governor-General, be or swiftly become members of either House of Parliament. The existence of the <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister and <!--del_lnk--> Cabinet, and the requirement for them to have the <!--del_lnk--> confidence of the House of Representatives, are not mentioned. Nonetheless, these have been fundamental features of Australian constitutional practice from the start.<p><a id="Separation_of_powers" name="Separation_of_powers"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Separation of powers</span></h2>
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<p>The constitution features a distinct <!--del_lnk--> separation of powers. <!--del_lnk--> Legislative power is dealt with in Chapter I, and is vested in the Federal Parliament (section 1). <!--del_lnk--> Executive power is dealt with in Chapter II, and is vested in the Governor-General as the Queen's representative (section 61). The <!--del_lnk--> judicature is dealt with in Chapter III, and is vested in the Federal High Court and "in such other federal courts as the Parliament creates, and in such other courts as it invests with federal jurisdiction" (section 71).<p>However, the Queen is an element of the Parliament as well as being head of the executive; and the Ministers of State who "advise" the Governor-General are actually <i>required</i> to be or become members of Parliament.<p>While there is no significant separation of the legislative and executive powers (the "political branches"), the High Court has developed an increasingly stringent doctrine of the separation of the judicial power from the other two.<p><a id="Direct_election_to_both_Houses_of_Parliament" name="Direct_election_to_both_Houses_of_Parliament"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Direct election to both Houses of Parliament</span></h2>
<p>The Constitution required direct <a href="../../wp/e/Election.htm" title="Election">election</a> of members to both Houses of Parliament from the beginning (sections 7 and 24). This was a novelty at the time, since the national upper houses with which the framers were best acquainted were chosen by other means: indirect election by the State legislatures (<a href="../../wp/u/United_States_Senate.htm" title="United States Senate">United States Senate</a> before the <!--del_lnk--> Seventeenth Amendment in 1913), executive appointment for life (<a href="../../wp/c/Canadian_Senate.htm" title="Canadian Senate">Canadian Senate</a>), or hereditary succession (United Kingdom <a href="../../wp/h/House_of_Lords.htm" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a>).<p><a id="Referendum_for_constitutional_amendment" name="Referendum_for_constitutional_amendment"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Referendum for constitutional amendment</span></h2>
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<p>The text of the Constitution was not presented to the British Parliament for formal enactment until it had been approved by the electors of the colonies.<p>On the same principle, any amendment to the Constitution requires approval at a <!--del_lnk--> referendum, by the process set out in <!--del_lnk--> section 128 of the Constitution. A double majority – a majority of electors and of a majority of states – is required.<p>Constitutional referendums were based on the <a href="../../wp/s/Switzerland.htm" title="Switzerland">Swiss</a> practice. However, the Swiss use of the popular <!--del_lnk--> initiative in constitutional amendment was not followed, so that constitutional alterations, although they must be approved by the people, can only be initiated by Parliament.<p>The use of the referendum in initially adopting the Constitution, and its requirement for constitutional amendment, has been cited by justices of the High Court to argue that the Constitution is fundamentally based on <!--del_lnk--> popular sovereignty (rather than on the <!--del_lnk--> supremacy of the British Parliament, which is its technical legal foundation). This doctrine has achieved greater prominence since the cessation, in 1986, of all authority of that Parliament over Australia: see <!--del_lnk--> Constitutional history of Australia for details.<p>There have been 44 proposals for constitutional amendment put to the people since Federation. Of these, only 8 have passed.<p><a id="The_growth_of_central_power" name="The_growth_of_central_power"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The growth of central power</span></h2>
<p>Probably the most obvious development in Australian constitutional law has been the steady growth in the power of the federal government relative to the states. Several factors could account for this, including:<ul>
<li>doctrines of constitutional interpretation which favour a broad reading of Commonwealth powers<li>the "fiscal imbalance" between the Commonwealth and the States (see <!--del_lnk--> Constitutional basis of taxation in Australia)<li>the development of new areas of competence which did not exist at Federation, and which have fallen to the Commonwealth<li>the growing importance of legislative areas that were always Commonwealth powers (for example, <!--del_lnk--> external affairs and <!--del_lnk--> trading corporations)<li>constitutional amendment or <!--del_lnk--> referral by the States<li>the willingness of Australian governments, including self-styled supporters of States' rights, to exercise their powers to the full</ul>
<p><a id="Centralising_interpretations" name="Centralising_interpretations"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Centralising interpretations</span></h3>
<p><a id="Reserved_State_Powers_Doctrine_and_the_Engineers_case" name="Reserved_State_Powers_Doctrine_and_the_Engineers_case"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Reserved State Powers Doctrine and the Engineers case</span></h4>
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<p>Prior to 1920 the “<!--del_lnk--> reserved State powers” doctrine and "implied inter-governmental immunities" were used to preserve state power. Reserved state powers holds that the Constitution should be read in a restrictive way so as to preserve as much autonomy as possible for the States. Implied intergovernmental immunities holds that Commonwealth and States are immune to each other’s laws and cannot mutually regulate each other’s governmental apparatus.<p>In 1920 the <!--del_lnk--> Engineer’s case (after changes in the composition of the Court) swept away this doctrine. The court now insisted on adhering only to the language of the constitutional text, read as a whole, in its natural sense, and in light of the circumstances in which it was made: there was to be no reading in of implications by reference to the presumed intentions of the framers.<p>As a result, the constitution is no longer read in a way which attempts to preserve the power of the states.<p><a id="Broad_interpretation_of_Commonwealth_Powers" name="Broad_interpretation_of_Commonwealth_Powers"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Broad interpretation of Commonwealth Powers</span></h4>
<p>Even before the <!--del_lnk--> Engineer’s case, a line of judicial reasoning asserted that Commonwealth powers should be interpreted broadly rather than narrowly wherever possible<sup>2</sup>.<p>After <i>Engineers</i>, this approach was reinforced. For example, <!--del_lnk--> Section 109, regarding inconsistency between Commonwealth and State laws, was broadly interpreted. Commonwealth law prevails not only where inconsistent obligations are imposed, but where Commonwealth legislation evinces an intention to "cover the field" by being the whole law on a particular subject<sup>3</sup>. The Commonwealth can "manufacture" inconsistency by expressly stating that its legislation is intended to cover the field. <sup>4</sup> However, an issue in the <!--del_lnk--> Workplace Relations Challenge currently before the High Court is whether the Commonwealth can "clear the field" by stating an intention that State laws are not to apply even if the Commonwealth does not enact other laws in their place.<p>The Commonwealth can only legislate with respect to an enumerated head of power, This does not mean that the law must be solely, or even predominantly, directed at that head of power. As long as it can be "fairly characterized" as a law with respect to an enumerated power, it is irrelevant that it could also be categorised as a law regarding some other subject matter. <sup>5</sup>.<p>Likewise, Parliament's <i>motivation</i> in passing the law is irrelevant.<sup>6</sup> An example is environmental legislation. The Constitution does not provide the Commonwealth Parliament with any power to control the environment or its use. Nonetheless, a very broad-ranging environmental protection Act could be passed relying on a combination of powers such as <!--del_lnk--> interstate and international trade, <!--del_lnk--> corporations, <!--del_lnk--> taxation, <!--del_lnk--> foreign affairs and so on. The law can be supported by those powers although Parliament intended it to be an ‘environmental law’. Particularly in the last two decades, many Acts of very wide-ranging effect have been passed on just these bases, in fields as diverse as environment protection, privacy, and anti-discrimination, fields in which the Commonwealth has no <i>direct</i> power.<p><a id="Fiscal_imbalance" name="Fiscal_imbalance"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Fiscal imbalance</span></h3>
<p>At the time of Federation, the colonies' main source of revenue consisted of customs and <!--del_lnk--> excise duties (<!--del_lnk--> income tax being still a newer notion). Since one of the main reasons for Federation was to create a <!--del_lnk--> common market, inevitably authority over these taxes was vested exclusively in the Commonwealth Parliament (section 90). It was acknowledged that this would create a situation where the Commonwealth would raise much more money than it could spend, whereas the States, being still responsible for most areas of law and of social infrastructure, would need to spend much more money than they could raise (the problem now known as "<!--del_lnk--> vertical fiscal imbalance"). Although the framers were able to agree on a formula for distribution of the Commonwealth's surplus to the States in the first few years after Federation, they could not agree on a long-term formula. Accordingly, section 96 of the Constitution provides that the Commonwealth Parliament "may grant financial assistance to any State on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit".<p>One result of this has been that the Commonwealth has been able to make grants to the States on terms so specific as to amount to the virtual takeover of particular fields of competence. For instance, although the Constitution gives the Commonwealth no express power over education, by means of "tied grants" it has in fact become paramount in the field of tertiary education. Although any state has the option to refuse a grant, the consequences of doing so make this unattractive. Similarly, the Commonwealth has become dominant in the field of public hospitals, and a major player in the field of roads and other major infrastructure.<p>The Commonwealth has also come to monopolise <!--del_lnk--> income tax (see <!--del_lnk--> Constitutional basis of taxation in Australia. Once the advantages of income tax were recognized, both the Commonwealth and the States levied income taxes. However, during <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, the Commonwealth government decided to take over the collection of income taxes, and return some proceeds to the States as grants. The Commonwealth passed legislation to levy income tax at a nation-wide rate similar to the previous combination of Commonwealth tax and the various state taxes. Separate legislation then granted section 96 monetary grants to states provided the State did not levy income taxes. In practice, it would be difficult for States to continue taxing.<p>This arrangement was twice challenged by the States in the High Court, and twice upheld<sup>6,7</sup>. In <!--del_lnk--> Victoria v Commonwealth ("the Second Uniform Tax case") (1957) 99 CLR 575 the taxation part of the scheme was valid based on the taxation power, and the grants held valid on the basis of the words ‘terms and conditions’ of section 96.<p>States are also at the mercy of the High Court's definition of an "<!--del_lnk--> excise duty," which states cannot levy. The High Court has long stated the definition in terms such as "an inland tax on a step in production, manufacture, sale or distribution of goods". However, it does not include a mere fee for a licence to carry on a particular business or profession. Accordingly, the States had for a long time levied, with the compliance of the High Court, "business franchise fees" on retailers of products, particularly liquor and tobacco products. These "franchise fees" were mostly calculated according to the value of the retailer's sales in a specific <i>preceding</i> period, rather than on the value of goods currently being sold. Although these seem similar to excise duties, a series of High Court precedents had effectively "quarantined" such fees from disallowance in the areas of liquor retailing, tobacco retailing, and petrol distribution. In 1997, by a bare majority, the High Court decided that this area of doctrinal quarantine was incoherent with the rest of the law relating to excise duties, and removed it<sup>8</sup>. The immediate result was the loss of some $5 billion (Australian) in the annual revenues of the States and Territories.<p>In 1999 the Commonwealth Parliament passed legislation introducing a new broad-based Federal indirect tax, the Goods and Services Tax; the revenue from this tax was to go entirely to the States and Territories, in exchange for their abolishing a range of other indirect taxes. By this stage, the financial dependence of the States on the Commonwealth had become almost complete.<p><a id="New_areas_of_competence" name="New_areas_of_competence"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">New areas of competence</span></h3>
<p>The development of various technologies during the twentieth century also added to the power of the centre.<p><!--del_lnk--> Section 51(v) of the Australian Constitution gives the Commonwealth Parliament power over "postal, telegraphic, telephonic, and other like services". With little controversy, this power now covers radio, television, satellite, cable, and optic fibre technologies.<p>A greater struggle occurred over Commonwealth legislation in the field of aviation. Commonwealth regulation is based on the <!--del_lnk--> interstate and international trade and commerce power. Prima facie, it does not cover intrastate aviation. However, a purely intrastate aviation industry is no longer economically feasible and separate systems of state regulation pose safety concerns. As a result, the High Court held that all aviation has an interstate character, placing it within Commonwealth legislative power.<p>Another example concerns <!--del_lnk--> intellectual property. Although the Constitution gave the Commonwealth Parliament power over "copyrights, patents of inventions and designs, and trade marks", the enormous growth of electronic media content has given this power a much wider scope than could possibly have been envisaged at Federation.<p><a id="New_powers" name="New_powers"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">New powers</span></h3>
<p>The Commonwealth power has been extended by four constitutional amendments. A <!--del_lnk--> amendment in 1910 and a <!--del_lnk--> amendment in 1928 allowed the Commonwealth to take over and manage state debts. An <!--del_lnk--> amendment passed in 1967 gave the Commonwealth power over Aboriginal affairs, which has had a significant effect particularly in the pastoral and central regions of Australia.<p>An <!--del_lnk--> amendment passed in 1946 gave the Commonwealth power to provide a wide range of social services. This included unemployment and sickness benefits, maternity allowances, child endowment, and medical and dental services. Apart from defence, social services is the largest area of Commonwealth expenditure. Along with the grants power, it is the basis for the <!--del_lnk--> Medicare scheme of universal health insurance.<p>The High Court decided that <!--del_lnk--> the corporations power was not broad enough to cover incorporation itself. <sup>9</sup>. This decision threatened the validity of Australian companies incorporated under commonwealth law. The states used <!--del_lnk--> ‘the referral power’ to refer the power over incorporation to the Commonwealth Parliament.<p><a id="The_external_affairs_power" name="The_external_affairs_power"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The external affairs power</span></h3>
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<p>The Constitution gives the Commonwealth Parliament power over "external affairs". Originally this power had little content, because Australia's foreign relations were managed by the United Kingdom. As Australia gained in independence and international personality, so did the significance of this power.<p>The High Court has held that the power covers the regulation of conduct that takes place outside Australia. In particular, it was held sufficient to criminalise as <!--del_lnk--> war crimes conduct in Europe during <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> conducted by Australian citizens resident in Australia. <sup>11</sup>. (Note that the Commonwealth has no general criminal jurisdiction.)<p>The power has also been held to extend to the implementation of international <!--del_lnk--> treaties, even if the subject matter of the treaty is otherwise not within Commonwealth power. In the case of <!--del_lnk--> Koowarta v Bjelke-Petersen, the High Court found that the Commonwealth had the power to implement the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nations</a> <!--del_lnk--> Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in the form of the <!--del_lnk--> Racial Discrimination Act. In the case of <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth v Tasmania, the High Court has upheld Commonwealth legislation forbidding the Tasmanian government from proceeding with a dam that would have submerged an area of Tasmanian government-owned land that had been declared a <!--del_lnk--> World Heritage Area under the World Heritage Convention to which Australia is a party<sup>12</sup>. Land use is otherwise a State responsibility.<p>More recently, the external affairs power has been used to remove the States' power to criminalise male homosexual activity. This followed an adverse report by the <!--del_lnk--> Human Rights Committee on Tasmanian provisions. The <!--del_lnk--> Human Rights Committee was established under the <!--del_lnk--> International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Australia is a party. Rather than challenge the resulting Commonwealth <i>Human Rights (Sexual Conduct) Act</i> of 1994, the Tasmanian Parliament repealed the legislation in question.<p>Although it would appear that there is an open-ended potential for the Commonwealth to encroach on areas of traditional State competence through the external affairs power, to date it has been used with some discretion, if only because the use of the power in this way inevitably excites considerable political controversy.<p><a id="The_corporations_power" name="The_corporations_power"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The corporations power</span></h3>
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<p>The corporations power allows the Commonwealth to legislate on "foreign corporations, and trading or financial corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth". Although the width of the expression "trading or financial corporations" has never been authoritatively settled, it appears that it covers at least all commercial enterprises carried out under the corporate form.<p>As corporations have come to dominate the economy, the practical scope the corporations power has increased. For example, in 2005 the Commonwealth Parliament enacted the <i><a href="../../wp/w/WorkChoices.htm" title="WorkChoices">WorkChoices</a></i> legislation, which, relying primarily on the corporations power, seeks to create a uniform national industrial relations system to the exclusion of both the States' and the Commonwealth's own industrial relations systems. Previous systems were based on the ‘conciliation and arbitration’ power. The new legislation applies to all employees of a "constitutional corporation." A constitutional corporation is a corporation within the meaning of section 51(xx) of the Constitution. The legislation also applies to employees of the Commonwealth and its agencies, and some others. The expected coverage of this law is approximately 85% of the Australian workforce. That proportion is likely to increase as employers who operate as sole traders or in partnerships incorporate in order to take advantage of the new legislation's relatively "employer-friendly" provisions. The legislation is currently the subject of the <!--del_lnk--> Workplace Relations Challenge in the High Court.<p><a id="Protection_of_rights" name="Protection_of_rights"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Protection of rights</span></h2>
<p><a id="No_Bill_of_Rights" name="No_Bill_of_Rights"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">No Bill of Rights</span></h3>
<p>The Constitution contains nothing like the comprehensive guarantees of civil and political rights found in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_Bill_of_Rights.htm" title="United States Bill of Rights">United States Bill of Rights</a> together with the <a href="../../wp/f/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution.htm" title="Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution">Fourteenth</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Fifteenth Amendments, or the <a href="../../wp/c/Canadian_Charter_of_Rights_and_Freedoms.htm" title="Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms">Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms</a>. Factors sometimes cited for this include faith in the common law's protection of rights and a belief that a powerful Senate would effectively resist overzealous governments.<p>Despite this general attitude, the Constitution does contain protection for some specific rights. These include:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> freedom of religion, and prohibition of religious tests for Federal offices (section 116)<li>trial by <!--del_lnk--> jury in Federal cases tried on <!--del_lnk--> indictment (section 80)<li>"just terms" for the compulsory "acquisition" of property by the Commonwealth (section 51(xxxi))<li>an ambiguously worded prohibition on discrimination against residents of other States (section 117)</ul>
<p>All but the last of these have been read down by the High Court, at least relative to the content of the corresponding United States guarantees. On the other hand, since the 1990s the High Court has been developing a <!--del_lnk--> jurisprudence of rights said to be <i>implied</i> in the text and structure of the Constitution. These developments are discussed below.<p>In addition, a constitutional requirement that "trade, commerce, and intercourse among the States ... shall be absolutely free" (section 92) was, for a time, interpreted as a guarantee of some degree of freedom from economic regulation by either Commonwealth or State Parliaments. The reference to "intercourse", on the other hand, has always been understood as guaranteeing a right to movement across State boundaries.<p>Although express protections for <a href="../../wp/h/Human_rights.htm" title="Human rights">human</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Civil_rights.htm" title="Civil rights">civil</a> rights in the Constitution are scant, and have mostly been read down, some protections have been created by the High Court through its <!--del_lnk--> jurisprudence on the separation of powers and through its findings of rights implied by the text and structure of the constitutional document.<p><a id="Express_rights" name="Express_rights"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Express rights</span></h3>
<p>As mentioned, there are three rights which the Constitution guarantees against the Commonwealth - <!--del_lnk--> religious freedom, trial by <!--del_lnk--> jury, and "just terms" compensation. (A referendum proposal to amend the Constitution to clarify these rights and to make them good also against the States was defeated in 1988.) As will be seen, guaranteed access to the High Court can itself amount to an important right. And the guarantee of free trade and commerce was for a time interpreted as something like an individual right.<p><a id="Freedom_of_religion" name="Freedom_of_religion"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Freedom of religion</span></h4>
<p>The Constitution states that the Commonwealth "shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth" (section 116).<p>The prohibition on establishing any religion has had nothing like the impact that the corresponding ban on making a law "respecting an establishment of religion" in the <!--del_lnk--> First Amendment to the United States Constitution has had in that country. The High Court, in rejecting a challenge to Federal funding of church schools<sup>13</sup>, seemed to take the view that nothing less than an explicit establishment of a <!--del_lnk--> State Church as the official religion of the Commonwealth would come within the terms of the prohibition.<p><a name=".22Just_terms.22_compensation"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">"Just terms" compensation</span></h4>
<p>The Constitution gives the Commonwealth power "with respect to ... the acquisition of property on just terms" in <!--del_lnk--> Section 51(xxxi). By contrast, the <!--del_lnk--> Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution contains a prohibition: "nor shall private property be taken ... without just compensation". The differences between <i>acquisition</i> and <i>taking</i>, and between <i>terms</i> and <i>compensation</i>, combined with the fact that the Australian provision is expressed as a positive grant of power coupled with a limitation, have been read so as to weaken the Australian guarantee relative to the American one.<p>The use of the term "acquisition" has been interpreted so as to require that the Commonwealth (or some other party for a Commonwealth purpose) actually acquire possessory or proprietary rights over the property in question, or at least some benefit: the mere extinguishment of a person's proprietary rights by the Commonwealth (or a prohibition on effectively exercising them) is insufficient to amount to an acquisition<sup>12</sup>. And "just terms" has been taken to mean something less than "just compensation"; in particular, it does not necessarily require payment to the owner of the value of the property when it was compulsorily acquired<sup>14</sup>.<p><a id="Trial_by_jury" name="Trial_by_jury"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Trial by jury</span></h4>
<p>The constitutional guarantee that a trial on <!--del_lnk--> indictment for a Federal offence must be by <!--del_lnk--> jury (section 80) has been rendered virtually worthless, because the High Court has decided that it is only applicable to a trial which proceeds <i>formally</i> by way of indictment, and it is completely in Parliament's discretion to decide which offences are triable on indictment and which are not. Powerful dissents to the effect that the section must be given some substantive meaning (e.g. that the trial of offences of some specific degree of gravity must be by jury) have not prevailed<sup>14</sup>.<p>On the other hand, where Parliament <i>has</i> prescribed jury trial, the Court has been willing to impose some content on that notion. In particular, it has insisted that conviction by a jury for a Federal offence must be by the unanimous agreement of the jurors - a majority verdict will not suffice<sup>15</sup>.<p><a id="Access_to_the_High_Court" name="Access_to_the_High_Court"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Access to the High Court</span></h4>
<p>To a very large extent, the Constitution leaves it to Parliament to determine both the High Court's <!--del_lnk--> original jurisdiction (section 76), and the exceptions to, and conditions on, its power to hear <!--del_lnk--> appeals (section 73). However, the Constitution grants the Court some original jurisdiction directly, without the possibility of Parliamentary limitation (section 75). This includes matters in which "a <!--del_lnk--> writ of <!--del_lnk--> Mandamus or <!--del_lnk--> prohibition or an <!--del_lnk--> injunction is sought against an officer of the Commonwealth".<p>In recent years, the Parliament has all but eliminated the possibility of appeal against many decisions in the area of <!--del_lnk--> migration, especially in regard to applications for <!--del_lnk--> refugee status. However, since the Parliament is not constitutionally able to limit or abolish access to the High Court for the purpose of applying for one of these "constitutional writs", such applications have become a major means of challenging migration decisions. In fact these applications now constitute the bulk of the Court's work.<p><a id="Freedom_from_economic_regulation.3F" name="Freedom_from_economic_regulation.3F"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Freedom from economic regulation?</span></h4>
<p>The constitutional requirement that "trade, commerce, and intercourse amongst the States ... shall be absolutely free" (section 92) was for a considerable time interpreted as a guarantee of some degree of freedom from government regulation. A notable example of this line of <!--del_lnk--> jurisprudence was the High Court's disallowance of a Commonwealth Act which had the aim of nationalizing the banking industry<sup>16</sup>.<p>Finally, however, in <i><!--del_lnk--> Cole v Whitfield</i>, which was notable also for its willingness to use the transcripts of the Convention debates as an aid to interpretation, the Court unanimously decided that what the section prohibited, in relation to interstate trade and commerce, were only "discriminatory burdens of a protectionist kind"<sup>17</sup>. That is, the section did no more than guarantee "<!--del_lnk--> free trade" (in the conventional sense) among the States. But in relation to "intercourse" (i.e. personal movement between States), the Court suggested that the scope of the guarantee would be much wider, and may even, in relation to some forms of such intercourse, be truly absolute.<p><a id="Implied_rights" name="Implied_rights"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Implied rights</span></h3>
<p>Implied rights are the political and civil freedoms that necessarily underlie the actual words of the constitution but are not themselves expressly stated directly in the constitution. Since the 1990s the High Court has discovered rights which are said to be implied by the very structure and textual form of the Constitution. Chief amongst these is an implied right to freedom of communication on political matters. In addition, some protections of civil liberties have been the result of the High Court's zealous attempts to safeguard the independence of, and confidence in, the Federal judiciary.<p><a id="Freedom_of_political_communication" name="Freedom_of_political_communication"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Freedom of political communication</span></h4>
<p>A couple of cases decided in 1992 established a new implied right to freedom of communication on political matters. The first case, <i><!--del_lnk--> Nationwide News Pty Ltd v Wills</i>, concerned a Federal provision criminalising the "bringing into disrepute" of members of an industrial relations tribunal, and a prosecution under that provision of a person who had published a newspaper article repeatedly describing such members as "corrupt" and "compliant"<sup>18</sup>. The second case, <i><!--del_lnk--> Australian Capital Television Pty Ltd v Commonwealth</i>, concerned a Federal attempt to ban political advertising on radio and television during election periods and to strictly control it at other times, via a system of "free time" entitlements<sup>19</sup>.<p>In both cases, the majority of the High Court reasoned that, since the Constitution required direct election of members of the Federal Parliament, and since moreover the Ministers of State were required to be or swiftly become members of that Parliament, the result was that "representative democracy is constitutionally entrenched". That being so, freedom of public discussion of political and economic matters is essential to allow the people to make their political judgments so as to exercise their right to vote effectively. Furthermore, since "public affairs and political discussion are indivisible", it is impossible to limit this necessary freedom to purely Federal issues: it applies also to issues which might be the preserve of the State or local levels of government. Therefore, there is implied in the Constitution a guarantee of freedom of communication on <i>all</i> political matters.<p>The Court stressed that this freedom is not absolute, but the result in both cases was that the relevant Federal legislation was struck down. In the latter case, some strong dissents to the effect that limiting expenditure on political advertising in the electronic media might actually <i>enhance</i> representative democracy did not prevail.<p>Both these cases concerned the validity of Federal legislation. But two years later, the Court extended the implied guarantee into the area of private law, by holding that it also applied to limit the statutory and common law of <!--del_lnk--> defamation. A former chairman of a Commonwealth Parliamentary Committee on Migration claimed to have been defamed by a newspaper which had published a letter accusing him of bias, in his official capacity, towards people of his own ethnic background<sup>20</sup>. By trial, it was conceded that the accusation was false. However the Court accepted a "constitutional defence" which was said (by three Justices) to operate when otherwise defamatory statements concerning the fitness of a public official to hold office were published without knowledge of, or recklessness as to, their falsity, and when publication was reasonable in the circumstances.<p>This case, however, and a series of following cases, failed to produce a clear statement of the operative principle which commanded the support of a majority of the Court. But in 1997 (in <i><!--del_lnk--> Lange v Australian Broadcasting Corporation</i> which, curiously, involved the alleged defamation of a former Prime Minister of New Zealand<sup>21</sup>) a unanimous Court did state the operative principle. It rejected the "constitutional defence" of the migration-bias case just discussed, and instead expanded the scope of "qualified privilege", requiring the defendant to have <i>actively</i> taken reasonable steps to verify the accuracy of the published material, and also, in most circumstances, to have given the defamed person an opportunity to respond. On the other hand, the Court made it clear that the qualified privilege may extend to discussion concerning the United Nations and other countries, even where there is no direct nexus with the exercise of political choice in Australia.<p>The constitutional guarantee of freedom of political communication is, <!--del_lnk--> prima facie, far more restricted than the generalized guarantee of freedom of speech and of the press in the <!--del_lnk--> First Amendment to the United States Constitution. But it remains to be seen whether a suitable expansion of the notion of "political communication" may not lead, in time, to a similar result. In the migration-bias case, some of the Justices, while being careful to quarantine "commercial speech without political content", seemed to imply that the scope of "political speech" may nevertheless be very broad indeed.<p><a id="Right_to_due_process.3F" name="Right_to_due_process.3F"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Right to due process?</span></h4>
<p>As mentioned above, the fact that the Constitution prescribes a system of "responsible", or <!--del_lnk--> parliamentary, government means that there can be no meaningful separation of the legislative and executive powers, despite their distinct <i>textual</i> separation in the Constitution. However, the same consideration does not militate against a separation of the judicial power from the other two, and in fact the High Court has come to insist on this with some force. It has also held that the separation of the judicial power implies that a body exercising that power must do so in a manner that is consistent with traditional notions of what constitutes judicial process. The result may be a limited constitutional guarantee of due process.<p>The judicial power of the Commonwealth is vested, in Chapter III of the Constitution, in the High Court and such other courts as the Parliament creates or invests with Federal jurisdiction (section 71). In Australian constitutional jargon, such courts are called "Chapter III courts". The members of Chapter III courts can only be removed by the Governor-General on an address from both Houses of Parliament on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity, and otherwise hold office until the age of 70 (section 72). (Judicial office was originally for life; the age limit was introduced by a referendum in 1977.)<p>In separate cases in 1915<sup>22</sup> and 1918<sup>23</sup>, the High Court held that "judicial power" (essentially, the power of interpretation of the law and enforcement of decisions) could not be invested in anything other than a Chapter III court, and specifically, in anything other than a body whose members have life tenure. Conversely, in the <i><!--del_lnk--> Boilermakers' Case</i> of 1956<sup>24</sup>, the Court held that Chapter III courts could not be invested with anything <i>other than</i> judicial power. (By this decision, the system of industrial arbitration that had been in place for 30 years, and which involved judges of the Conciliation and Arbitration Court acting in both a judicial and an administrative capacity, was overturned.)<p>To some extent the rigour of this doctrine was softened by the Court's subsequent acceptance that judges could, constitutionally, be assigned functions in their <i>personal</i> capacity as judges rather than as members of a Chapter III court. But this raised the question of which such functions were compatible with the simultaneous holding of Federal judicial office. The answers offered by the Court have been controversial and have involved some very fine distinctions: for instance, it has held that a power to authorize telephone interceptions <i>is'” compatible<sup>25</sup>, while a power to make recommendations concerning the protection of land which might be of heritage significance to Aboriginals</i> is not <i>compatible<sup>26</sup>.</i><p>The most striking application (and extension) of this "incompatibility" doctrine, however, has involved the Supreme Court of the State of New South Wales. (Recall that in the Australian model of federalism, the Parliament may invest <i>State</i> courts with <i>Federal</i> jurisdiction: this "autochthonous expedient", in the words of High Court Justice Sir Owen Dixon, was essentially an economy measure in a country of small population. It has been extensively used.)<p><i><!--del_lnk--> Kable v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW)</i> <sup>27</sup> concerned a criminal law passed by the New South Parliament and directed at a single named individual (somewhat in the manner of a <!--del_lnk--> Bill of attainder). The individual was a prisoner (under State law) whose sentence was about to expire but who was alleged to have made threats against the safety of various persons, to be carried out when released. The State Parliament enacted a law, applying only to him, which authorized the Supreme Court of New South Wales to make "preventive detention orders" for periods up to six months, with the possibility of renewal. The orders were to be made if the Court was satisfied, "on the balance of probabilities", that the person to whom the Act applied was "more likely than not to commit a serious act of violence".<p>It is clear that, had the <i>Federal</i> Parliament passed such an Act, it would be found invalid, as being in effect a legislative judgment, and so in violation of the constitutional separation of the judicial power. However, the High Court found that the separation of powers was <i>not</i> a feature of the New South Wales constitution, and so the State Act was not invalid on that ground.<p>The Act was found invalid, however, on the ground that, since the Supreme Court of New South Wales had been invested with Federal jurisdiction, it must not be required to perform a function which is "incompatible" with the exercise of the judicial power of the Commonwealth. To that extent, the States are not free to legislate as they please with respect to their own courts. And a requirement to order the "preventive detention" of someone who has not been charged with any criminal offence was found "incompatible" with the exercise of Federal judicial power. In this rather circuitous manner, the High Court has found a limited constitutional guarantee of due process.<p><a id="Conclusion" name="Conclusion"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Conclusion</span></h2>
<p>This article has focused on only two, albeit important, areas of Australian constitutional law: the expansion of Federal power at the expense of the States, and the constitutional protection of rights. These two areas are of interest both in themselves and when compared to developments in other Federal systems.<p>As to the expansion of Federal power, it is probably true that the end result has been similar to that achieved in other Federal systems, though with differences of degree - in particular, the States of Australia have ended up with far less financial and legal independence than those of the United States. But the particular constitutional provisions and doctrines which have contributed to this end have been quite different in many particulars.<p>As to the constitutional protection of rights, Australia's position is unique, in being the only industrialized Federal state (and almost the only industrialized state) without a substantial, constitutionally entrenched, Bill of Rights. Despite this, human and civil rights (at least as regards citizens, and with some qualifications in practice, if not in theory, for the indigenous population) are probably as well protected in Australia as in any other country. This may be evidence (along with the examples of countries such as the United Kingdom and New Zealand) that constitutional protection of rights is ultimately less important than the existence of widespread latitudinarian attitudes. It remains to be seen whether this will continue to be true in an international climate dominated by the fear of terrorism, and if not, whether the High Court's cautious development of a jurisprudence of implied rights will be sufficient to meet the need.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_constitutional_law"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Australian rules football</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Sports.htm">Sports</a></h3>
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<dd><i>Australian Rules and Aussie Rules redirect here.</i><dd><span class="dablink"><i>For the movie, see <!--del_lnk--> Australian Rules (film).</i></span><dd><span class="dablink"><i>For other codes of <a href="../../wp/f/Football.htm" title="Football">football</a> played in Australia, see <!--del_lnk--> Football in Australia.</i></span></dl>
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23422.jpg.htm" title="Precise field and goal kicking using the oval shaped ball is the most important skill in Aussie Rules Footy"><img alt="Precise field and goal kicking using the oval shaped ball is the most important skill in Aussie Rules Footy" height="161" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aussie_rules_kicking.jpg" src="../../images/234/23422.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p><b>Australian rules football</b>, also known as <b>Australian football</b>, <b>Aussie rules</b>, or simply "<b>football</b>" or "<b>footy</b>", is a <a href="../../wp/f/Football.htm" title="Football">code of football</a> played with an <!--del_lnk--> oblate spheroid <!--del_lnk--> ball, on large <i><!--del_lnk--> oval</i> shaped fields, with four posts at each end. No more than 18 players of each team are permitted to be on the field at any time and the primary aim of the game is to score by <!--del_lnk--> kicking the ball between the posts. The winner is the team who has kicked the highest total score by the end of the match.<p>There are several different ways to advance the ball, including kicking and hand passing. When hand passing one hand must be used to hold the ball and the other to hit it — throwing the ball is not allowed. Players running with the ball must bounce or touch it on the ground. There is no <!--del_lnk--> offside rule and players can roam the field freely. Australian rules is a <!--del_lnk--> contact sport. Possession of the ball is in dispute at all times except when a <i><!--del_lnk--> free kick</i> is paid. Players who hold on to the ball too long are penalised if they are <!--del_lnk--> tackled by an opposition player who is then rewarded, whilst players who catch a ball (known as a <i><!--del_lnk--> mark</i>) from a kick exceeding 15 metres are awarded uncontested possession. The duration of play varies, but is longer than in any other code of football.<p>Frequent contests for possession including aerial marking or "<!--del_lnk--> speccies" and vigorous tackling with the hands, <!--del_lnk--> bumps and the fast movement of both players and the ball are the game's main attributes as a <!--del_lnk--> spectator sport.<p>The code originated in <a href="../../wp/m/Melbourne.htm" title="Melbourne">Melbourne</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a> in <!--del_lnk--> 1858, and was devised to keep <a href="../../wp/c/Cricket.htm" title="Cricket">cricketers</a> <!--del_lnk--> fit during the <a href="../../wp/w/Winter.htm" title="Winter">winter</a> months. The first <!--del_lnk--> laws of Australian football were published in <!--del_lnk--> 1859 by the <!--del_lnk--> Melbourne Football Club. The dominant governing body and most prestigious <!--del_lnk--> professional competition is the <!--del_lnk--> Australian Football League (AFL), which culminates in the annual <!--del_lnk--> AFL Grand Final, one of the biggest club championship events in the world.<p>
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</script><a id="Structure_and_competitions" name="Structure_and_competitions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Structure and competitions</span></h2>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23424.jpg.htm" title="An Australian Football League Premiership season match at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast between Adelaide and Melbourne. The AFL is the most popular national competition in Australia and the only fully professional league for Australian Rules in the world."><img alt="An Australian Football League Premiership season match at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast between Adelaide and Melbourne. The AFL is the most popular national competition in Australia and the only fully professional league for Australian Rules in the world." height="172" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aussie_rules_game.jpg" src="../../images/234/23424.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p>The <i>football season</i>, proper, is from March to August (early <a href="../../wp/a/Autumn.htm" title="Autumn">autumn</a> to late winter in Australia) with finals being held in September. In the <a href="../../wp/t/Tropics.htm" title="Tropics">tropics</a>, the game is played in the <!--del_lnk--> wet season (October to March). Pre-season competitions in <!--del_lnk--> southern Australia usually begin in late February.<p>The most powerful organisation and competition within the game, the AFL, is recognised by the <!--del_lnk--> Australian Sports Commission as being the National Sporting Organisation for Australian rules football. There are also seven state/territory-based organisations in Australia, most of which are now either owned by or affiliated to the AFL. Most of these hold annual semi-professional club competitions while the others oversee more than one league. Local semi-professional or amateur organizations and competitions are often affiliated to their state organisations.<p>The AFL is also the <!--del_lnk--> de facto world governing body for Australian rules football. There are also a number of organisations governing <!--del_lnk--> amateur clubs and competitions around the world.<p>Unlike most <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">soccer</a> competitions there are usually no separate "league" and "cup" trophies. The team finishing first on the ladder is often referred to as a 'minor premier', although this bears little or no significance. The <!--del_lnk--> McClelland Trophy in the AFL is considered a consolation prize. For almost all Australian rules competitions the focus is almost always on winning the premiership. The team which finishes at the bottom of the ladder at the end of the season is said to get 'the <!--del_lnk--> wooden spoon'.<p>The premiership is always decided by a finals series. The teams that occupy the highest positions play off in a "semi-knockout" finals series (The <!--del_lnk--> AFL finals system differs from many amateur competitions in that it gives some teams a double chance). The two successful teams meet in the <!--del_lnk--> Grand Final to contest the <i>Premiership</i>. The winner is awarded the <i>Premiership Cup</i>.<p><a id="Rules_of_the_game" name="Rules_of_the_game"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Rules of the game</span></h2>
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<p>Both the ball and the field of play are <!--del_lnk--> oval in shape. No more than 18 players of each team are permitted to be on the field at any time. Up to four <i>interchange</i> (reserve) players may be swapped for those on the field at any time during the game. There is no <!--del_lnk--> offside rule nor are there set positions in the rules; unlike many other forms of football, players from both teams disperse across the whole field before the start of play.<p>A game consists of four quarters. The length of the quarters can vary from 15 to 25 minutes in different leagues. In the AFL, quarters are 20 minutes, but the clock is stopped when the ball is out of play, meaning that an average quarter could last for 27 to 31 minutes. Games are officiated by <!--del_lnk--> umpires. Unlike other forms of football, Australian football begins similarly to <a href="../../wp/b/Basketball.htm" title="Basketball">basketball</a>. After the first <!--del_lnk--> siren, the <!--del_lnk--> umpire <!--del_lnk--> bounces the ball on the ground, and the two <!--del_lnk--> ruckmen (typically the tallest man from each team), battle for the ball in the air on its way back down.<p>The ball can be propelled in any direction by way of a foot, clenched fist (called a <!--del_lnk--> handball or <i>handpass</i>) or open-hand tap (unlike rugby football there is no knock-on rule) but it cannot be thrown under any circumstances. Throwing is defined in the rules quite broadly but is essentially any open hand disposal that causes the ball to move upward in the air.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:150px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23426.png.htm" title="An Australian football. The Sherrin brand is used for all official AFL matches. A red ball like this is used for day matches and a yellow ball is used for night matches."><img alt="An Australian football. The Sherrin brand is used for all official AFL matches. A red ball like this is used for day matches and a yellow ball is used for night matches." height="96" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Sherrin.png" src="../../images/234/23426.png" width="148" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23426.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An Australian <!--del_lnk--> football. The <!--del_lnk--> Sherrin brand is used for all official AFL matches. A red ball like this is used for day matches and a yellow ball is used for night matches.</div>
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<p>A player may run with the ball but it must be bounced or touched on the ground at least every 15 metres. Opposition players may <!--del_lnk--> bump or <!--del_lnk--> tackle the player to obtain the ball and, when tackled, the player must dispose of the ball cleanly or risk being penalised for <i>holding the ball</i>. The ball carrier may only be tackled between the shoulders and knees. If the opposition player pushes a player in the back whilst performing a tackle, the opposition player will be penalised for a <i>push in the back</i>. If the opposition tackles the player with possession below the knees, it is ruled as a <i>low tackle</i> or a <i>trip</i>, and the team with possession of the football gets a free kick.<p>If a player takes possession of the ball that has travelled more than 15 metres from another player's kick, by way of a catch, it is claimed as a <i><!--del_lnk--> mark</i> and that player may then have a <i>free kick</i> (meaning that the game stops while he prepares to kick from the point at which he marked). There are different <!--del_lnk--> styles of kicking depending on how the ball is held in the hand. The most common style of kicking seen in today's game, due principally to its superior accuracy, is the <!--del_lnk--> drop punt (the ball is dropped from the hands down, almost to the ground, to be kicked so that the ball rotates in a reverse end over end motion as it travels through the air). Other commonly used kicks are the <!--del_lnk--> torpedo punt (also known as the spiral or screw punt; the ball is held at an angle and kicked, which makes the ball spiral in the air, resulting in extra distance) and the <!--del_lnk--> checkside punt, used to curve the ball towards targets that are on an angle. Forms of kicking which have now disappeared from the game include the <!--del_lnk--> drop kick (similar to the <!--del_lnk--> drop punt except that the ball is allowed to make contact with the ground momentarily before being struck with the foot) and place kick (where the ball is first placed on the ground when shooting for goal, similar to the place kick used in <!--del_lnk--> rugby union).<p>Apart from free kicks or when the ball is in the possession of an umpire for a <i>ball up</i> or <i>throw in</i>, the ball is always in dispute and any player from either side can take possession of the ball.<p><a id="Scoring" name="Scoring"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Scoring</span></h3>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23427.jpg.htm" title="Australian rules football goal posts - the two tall central posts are the goal posts, and the two shorter outer posts are the behind posts."><img alt="Australian rules football goal posts - the two tall central posts are the goal posts, and the two shorter outer posts are the behind posts." height="151" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Goalposts.jpg" src="../../images/234/23427.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23427.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Australian rules football goal posts - the two tall central posts are the goal posts, and the two shorter outer posts are the behind posts.</div>
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<p>At each end of the field are four vertical posts. The middle two are the <i>goal posts</i> and the two on either side, which are shorter, are the <i>behind posts</i>, or <i>point posts</i>.<p>A <i>goal</i> is scored when the football is propelled through the goal posts at any height (including above the height of the posts) by way of a kick from the attacking team. It may fly through on the full or bounce through and must not be touched, on the way, by any player from either team. A goal cannot be scored from the foot of an opposition (defending) player.<p>A <i>behind</i> is scored when the ball goes across the line between a goal post and a behind post or if the ball hits a goal post or if it is touched by any part of the body other than a foot, but also the foot of an opposition player, (a <i>rushed behind</i>) before passing between the goal posts.<p>A goal is worth 6 points whereas a behind is worth 1 point. The <!--del_lnk--> Goal Umpire signals a goal with two hands raised at elbow height, a behind with one hand, and then confirms the signal with the other goal umpire by waving flags above his head.<p>The team that scores the most points at the end of play wins the game. A score of 10 goals and 10 behinds equals 70 points. A score of 9 goals and 18 behinds equals 72 points. The latter score would win the game despite the fact that that team scored one goal less. The result would usually be written as:<dl>
<dd><i>Team A</i> 9.18 (72) defeated <i>Team B</i> 10.10 (70);</dl>
<p>and said,<dl>
<dd>"... nine-eighteen seventy-two defeated ... ten-ten seventy."</dl>
<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p><a id="Origins_of_the_game" name="Origins_of_the_game"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Origins of the game</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Tom Wills began to devise Australian rules in <a href="../../wp/m/Melbourne.htm" title="Melbourne">Melbourne</a> in 1858. A letter by Wills was published in <i>Bell's Life in Victoria & Sporting Chronicle</i> on <!--del_lnk--> 10 July <!--del_lnk--> 1858, calling for a "foot-ball club" with a "code of laws" to keep cricketers fit during winter. An experimental match, played by Wills and others, at the Richmond Paddock (later known as <!--del_lnk--> Yarra Park next to the <!--del_lnk--> MCG) on <!--del_lnk--> 31 July, <!--del_lnk--> 1858, was probably the first game of Australian football. However, few details of the match have survived.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 7 August <!--del_lnk--> 1858, two significant events in the development of the game occurred. The <!--del_lnk--> Melbourne Football Club was founded, one of the world's <!--del_lnk--> first football clubs in any code, and a famous match between <!--del_lnk--> Melbourne Grammar School and <!--del_lnk--> Scotch College began, umpired by Wills. A second day of play took place on 21 August and a third, and final, day on 4 September. The two schools have competed annually ever since. However, the rules used by the two teams in 1858 could not have had much in common with the eventual form of Australian football since Wills had not yet begun to write them.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:292px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/51/5165.jpg.htm" title="A game at the Richmond Paddock in the 1860s. A pavilion at the MCG is on the left in the background. (A wood engraving made by Robert Bruce on July 27, 1866.)"><img alt="A game at the Richmond Paddock in the 1860s. A pavilion at the MCG is on the left in the background. (A wood engraving made by Robert Bruce on July 27, 1866.)" height="202" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Australianfootball1866.jpg" src="../../images/234/23428.jpg" width="290" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/51/5165.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A game at the <!--del_lnk--> Richmond Paddock in the <!--del_lnk--> 1860s. A pavilion at the <!--del_lnk--> MCG is on the left in the background. (A <!--del_lnk--> wood engraving made by Robert Bruce on July 27, 1866.)</div>
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<p>The Melbourne Football Club rules of 1859 are the oldest surviving set of laws for Australian football. They were drawn up at the Parade Hotel, <!--del_lnk--> East Melbourne, on <!--del_lnk--> 17 May, by Wills, W. J. Hammersley, J. B. Thompson and Thomas Smith (some sources include H. C. A. Harrison). The 1859 rules did not include some elements that soon became important to the game, such as the requirement to bounce the ball while running, and Melbourne's game was not immediately adopted by neighbouring clubs. Before each match the rules had to be agreed by the two teams involved. By 1866, however, several other clubs had agreed to play by an updated version of Melbourne's rules.<p>Though it may never be known exactly what inspired Tom Wills' game, the influence of <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">English</a> <!--del_lnk--> public school and <a href="../../wp/u/University.htm" title="University">university</a> football codes, while undetermined, was clearly substantial. Wills had been educated at <!--del_lnk--> Rugby School in England (where <a href="../../wp/r/Rugby_football.htm" title="Rugby football">rugby football</a> was first codified in 1845). Wills had also, like W. J. Hammersley and J. B. Thompson, been to the <a href="../../wp/u/University_of_Cambridge.htm" title="University of Cambridge">University of Cambridge</a>. The <!--del_lnk--> Cambridge Rules, drawn up in 1848, included some elements which are important in Australian football, such as the mark.<p>It is also often said that Wills was partly inspired by the ball games of the local <!--del_lnk--> Aboriginal people in western Victoria. <i><!--del_lnk--> Marn Grook</i>, a sport that used a ball made out of <!--del_lnk--> possum hide, featured jumping to catch the ball for the equivalent of a free kick. This appears to have resembled the <!--del_lnk--> high marking in Australian football.<p>While it is clear even to casual observers that <!--del_lnk--> Australian rules football is similar to Gaelic football, the exact relationship is unclear, as <!--del_lnk--> Gaelic football was not codified by the <!--del_lnk--> Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) until 1887. Long before either code existed, traditional Irish football games, known collectively as <i><!--del_lnk--> caid</i>, were being played. Historian B. W. O'Dwyer points out that Australian football has always been differentiated from <a href="../../wp/r/Rugby_football.htm" title="Rugby football">rugby football</a> by having no limitation on ball or player movement (that is, no offside rule). The need to bounce or toe-kick the ball while running, and punching the ball rather than throwing it, are also elements of modern Gaelic football. O'Dwyer suggests that some of these elements may be attributed to the common influence of older Irish games.<p><a id="Australian_clubs_and_competitions" name="Australian_clubs_and_competitions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Australian clubs and competitions</span></h3>
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<dd>
</dl>
<p>In 1877, the game's first league, the <!--del_lnk--> Victorian Football Association (VFA) was formed. Gradually the game – known at first as "Melbourne Rules", "Victorian Rules" or sometimes as "Australasian Rules" – began to spread from Victoria into other Australian colonies in the 1860s, beginning with <!--del_lnk--> Tasmania (<!--del_lnk--> 1864), <!--del_lnk--> Queensland (<!--del_lnk--> 1866) and <!--del_lnk--> South Australia (<!--del_lnk--> 1873). The game began to be played in <!--del_lnk--> New South Wales in <!--del_lnk--> 1877, in <!--del_lnk--> Western Australia in <!--del_lnk--> 1881 and the <!--del_lnk--> Australian Capital Territory in <!--del_lnk--> 1911. By <!--del_lnk--> 1916, the game was first played in the <!--del_lnk--> Northern Territory, establishing a permanent presence in all <!--del_lnk--> Australian states and mainland territories. In <!--del_lnk--> Newcastle, New South Wales the Black Diamond league was founded by Victorian gold miners and the <!--del_lnk--> Black Diamond Challenge Cup remains Australia's oldest sporting trophy.<p>The precursors of the <!--del_lnk--> South Australian National Football League (SANFL) and the <!--del_lnk--> West Australian Football League (WAFL) were strong, separate competitions by the 1890s. However, factors such as interstate rivalry and the denial of access to grounds in Sydney caused the code to struggle in New South Wales and Queensland. A rift in the VFA led to the formation of the <!--del_lnk--> Victorian Football League (VFL), which commenced play in 1897 as an eight-team breakaway of the stronger clubs in the VFA competition. By 1925, the VFL consisted of 12 teams, and had become the most prominent league in the game.<p>The first <!--del_lnk--> intercolonial match had been played between Victoria and South Australia in 1879. For most of the 20th century, the absence of a national club competition – and the inability of players to compete internationally – meant that matches between state representative teams were regarded with great importance. Because VFL clubs increasingly recruited the best players in other states, Victoria dominated these games. The introduction of <!--del_lnk--> State of Origin rules were introduced in 1977 saw Western Australia and South Australia begin to win many of their games against Victoria.<p>In 1982, in a move which heralded big changes within the sport, one of the original VFL clubs, South Melbourne, relocated to the <!--del_lnk--> rugby league stronghold of <a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a> and became known as the <!--del_lnk--> Sydney Swans. In the late 1980s, strong interstate interest in the VFL led to a more national competition; two more non-Victorian clubs, the <!--del_lnk--> West Coast Eagles and the <!--del_lnk--> Brisbane Bears began playing in 1987. The league changed its name to the <!--del_lnk--> Australian Football League (AFL) following the 1989 season. In 1991, it gained its first South Australian team, <!--del_lnk--> Adelaide. In the next five years, two more non-Victorian teams joined the league. The AFL, currently with 16 member clubs, is the sport's elite competition and the most powerful body in the world of Australian rules football.<p>Following the emergence of the Australian Football League, the SANFL, WAFL and other state leagues rapidly declined to a secondary status. Apart from these there are many semi-professional and amateur leagues around Australia, where they play a very important role in the community, and particularly so in rural areas. The VFA, still in existence a century after the original schism, merged with the former VFL reserves competition in 1998. The new entity adopted the VFL name and remained a primarily state based competition. State of origin games declined in importance, especially after an increasing number of withdrawals by AFL players, and Australian football State of Origin matches ceased in 1999. The second-tier state and territorial leagues still contest interstate matches.<p><a id="Australian_football_internationally" name="Australian_football_internationally"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Australian football internationally</span></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/94/9483.jpg.htm" title="Action from an Aussie Rules game in Nauru at the Linkbelt Oval"><img alt="Action from an Aussie Rules game in Nauru at the Linkbelt Oval" height="144" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Linkbelt1999-Finalspiel.jpg" src="../../images/234/23429.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/94/9483.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Action from an Aussie Rules game in <!--del_lnk--> Nauru at the <!--del_lnk--> Linkbelt Oval</div>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23430.jpg.htm" title="Japan's national team, the Samurai vs Melbourne Vietnam from 2006 tour of Australia."><img alt="Japan's national team, the Samurai vs Melbourne Vietnam from 2006 tour of Australia." height="111" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Japan_vs_vietnam_6.jpg" src="../../images/234/23430.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23430.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Japan's national team, the <!--del_lnk--> Samurai vs Melbourne Vietnam from 2006 tour of Australia.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23431.jpg.htm" title="2005 International Rules Series test at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne - Australia vs Ireland."><img alt="2005 International Rules Series test at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne - Australia vs Ireland." height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:International_rules.jpg" src="../../images/234/23431.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23431.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> 2005 International Rules Series test at the <!--del_lnk--> Telstra Dome in Melbourne - <!--del_lnk--> Australia vs <!--del_lnk--> Ireland.</div>
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<dl>
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<p>Almost as soon as the game was becoming established in Australia, it had spread to <!--del_lnk--> New Zealand. <!--del_lnk--> South Africa followed in the 1880s, with the help of Australian gold miners and then soldiers. In 1908, New Zealand defeated both New South Wales and Queensland at the <b>Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival</b>, an event held to celebrate 50 years of Australian Football.<p>The profound effects of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a> caused the gradual demise in the game in countries outside Australia, including New Zealand.<p>The longest running international fixture is the annual Oxford versus Cambridge Varsity match in <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a>. The match was first played in 1921 and has emerged into a fierce rivalry. The match is worthy of half-blue status at Oxford, who have dominated the event in recent years.<p>The first nation outside of Australia to take the sport up seriously was the former Australian territory of <!--del_lnk--> Nauru, which began playing in the 1930s. The game is now the national sport of the country. Another former territory, <!--del_lnk--> Papua New Guinea began playing in the 1950s.<p>Since 1967 there have been many matches between Australian and Irish teams, under various sets of hybrid, compromise rules. In 1984, the first official representative matches of <!--del_lnk--> International rules football were played, and these are now played annually each October.<p><!--del_lnk--> New Zealand resumed a local competition in 1974.<p>The first ever international match involving Australia was played in 1977 at under 17 level between Australia and Papua New Guinea in Adelaide, with Australia taking the honours. Since then, Australia have been peerless in the sport and seldom compete at international level.<p>In the late 1980s and 1990s, as distance became less of an obstacle, amateur teams were established in many parts of the world. Most of these were initially established by Australian expatriates but are collecting growing numbers of native players. The <!--del_lnk--> International Australian Football Council (IAFC) was formed after football first featured at the <!--del_lnk--> Arafura Games in 1995. Inspired by successful Arafura Games competitions, the inaugural <!--del_lnk--> Australian Football International Cup was held in Melbourne in 2002, an initiative of the IAFC and the AFL. With the closure of the IAFC subsequent cups are staged by the AFL.<p>Since 1998, the <!--del_lnk--> Barassi International Australian Football Youth Tournament, endorsed by the AFL as part of its International Policy, has hosted several junior teams from other countries. On July 3, 2006 the AFL announced that it had formed an International Development Committee to support overseas leagues. The AFL hopes to develop the game in other countries to the point where Australian football is played at an international level by top-quality sides from around the world. The AFL plans to host the International Cup regularly every four years, beginning in 2008, the 150th anniversary of the code.<p><a id="Traditions_of_the_game" name="Traditions_of_the_game"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Traditions of the game</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23432.jpg.htm" title="Before the start of each AFL games, players run through a banner constructed by supporters."><img alt="Before the start of each AFL games, players run through a banner constructed by supporters." height="151" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Fremantle_dockers.JPG" src="../../images/234/23432.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23432.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Before the start of each AFL games, players run through a banner constructed by supporters.</div>
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<p>Australian Rules is a sport rich in tradition and <!--del_lnk--> Australian cultural references, especially surrounding the rituals of gameday for players, officials and supporters.<p>As part of their uniform, players wear <a href="../../wp/g/Guernsey.htm" title="Guernsey">guernseys</a>, which are similar to <a href="../../wp/b/Basketball.htm" title="Basketball">basketball</a> shirts, but of a more robust design. In the early period of the game's development players often wore sleeveless lace-up tops which gradually disappeared between the <!--del_lnk--> 1960s and early <!--del_lnk--> 1980s. A few players choose to wear a long sleeved variation of the modern guernsey design. Players wore full length pants, before adopting shorts in the <!--del_lnk--> 1920s. Tight-fitting shorts were a notable fashion trend in most leagues in the 1980s and some players began to wear <!--del_lnk--> hamstring warmers. A brief experiment with <!--del_lnk--> lycra by the AFL in the State of Origin series was quickly abandoned for more traditional wear. Padding is rare, but some ruckmen wear shin pads and thigh pads and players with head injuries sometimes wear soft helmets. Long socks (football socks) are compulsory, and mouthguards are worn by most players. Boots with moulded cleats or studs for gripping the ground are worn (screw-ins have been banned from most leagues since the 1990s).<p>Traditionally, umpires have worn white. However, in the AFL, umpires now wear bright colours chosen not to clash with the guernseys of the competiting teams. AFL goal umpires now wear t-shirts and caps, rather than the traditional white coat and <!--del_lnk--> broad brimmed hat which was similar to what was worn by many cricket umpires.<p>Australian rules is often referred to as the <i>people's game</i> due to its ability to transcend class and racial boundaries, unify supporters and attract crowds.<p>Fans <i>barrack</i> for their team rather than support or <i>root for</i> (in Australia, 'root' is slang for <!--del_lnk--> sexual intercourse). The term <i>barrack</i> is believed to derive from early matches between soldiers stationed in army barracks near the MCG. One of the first things many Melburnians will ask when meeting someone new is which football team they 'barrack' or 'go' for.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23433.jpg.htm" title="Cheersquads at Australian rules football matches behind the goals wave giant Pom-pons or floggers to signify a goal"><img alt="Cheersquads at Australian rules football matches behind the goals wave giant Pom-pons or floggers to signify a goal" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Floggers.jpg" src="../../images/234/23433.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23433.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Cheersquads at Australian rules football matches behind the goals wave giant Pom-pons or floggers to signify a goal</div>
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<p>Typical supporter wear includes the team <!--del_lnk--> scarf and sometimes <!--del_lnk--> beanie (particularly in cooler climates) in the colours of the team. Team guernseys are also worn by supporters. Team flags are sometimes flown by supporters, and official club cheersquads behind the goals will sometimes wave enormous coloured <!--del_lnk--> pompoms known as <i>floggers</i> after the umpire has signalled a goal.<p><!--del_lnk--> Meat pies and <a href="../../wp/b/Beer.htm" title="Beer">beer</a> are popular consumables (sometimes noted as a tradition) for supporters at Australian rules matches. At AFL matches mobile vendors walk around the ground selling such pies, yelling out the well-known call of "hot pies, cold drinks!"<p>At the end of the match, it is traditional for a <i><!--del_lnk--> pitch invasion</i> to occur. Supporters run onto the field to celebrate the game and play games of <!--del_lnk--> kick-to-kick with their families. In many suburban and country games, this also happens during quarter and half-time breaks. In the AFL in recent years, this tradition has been more strictly controlled with <!--del_lnk--> security guards to ensure that players and officials can safely leave the ground. At the largest AFL grounds, this tradition has been banned completely, to protect the surface, much to the discontent of fans. Sometimes a mid-game <i>pitch invasion</i> is expected for various highly anticipated landmark achievements (such as a player kicking a record number of goals).<p><a id="Popularity" name="Popularity"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Popularity</span></h2>
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<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23434.jpg.htm" title="Australian rules football is popular amongst indigenous communities."><img alt="Australian rules football is popular amongst indigenous communities." height="145" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aboriginal_football.jpg" src="../../images/234/23434.jpg" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23434.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Australian rules football is popular amongst indigenous communities.</div>
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<p>Australian rules football has attracted more overall interest among Australians than any other winter sport for at least several years, according to the Sweeney Report.<p>Australian rules is the most popular form of football in the states/territories of <!--del_lnk--> Northern Territory, <!--del_lnk--> South Australia, <!--del_lnk--> Tasmania, <!--del_lnk--> Victoria and <!--del_lnk--> Western Australia. In southern <!--del_lnk--> New South Wales and the <!--del_lnk--> Australian Capital Territory, the code has rivalled the two varieties of rugby in popularity over many decades. Interstate migration trends and the growth of amateur football mean that the <!--del_lnk--> demographic of Australian football is changing.<p>It is particularly popular amongst <!--del_lnk--> indigenous Australian communities. Approximately 10% of all AFL players are of indigenous origin.<p>It is popular in two countries which are former Australian territories: <a href="../../wp/p/Papua_New_Guinea.htm" title="Papua New Guinea">Papua New Guinea</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/Nauru.htm" title="Nauru">Nauru</a>.<p><a id="Audience" name="Audience"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Audience</span></h2>
<p><a id="Attendance" name="Attendance"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Attendance</span></h3>
<p>Australian rules football is the most highly attended spectator sport in Australia: government figures show that more than 2.5 million people (16.8% of the population) attended games in 1999. In 2005, a cumulative 6,283,788 people attended <!--del_lnk--> Australian Football League premiership matches, a record for the competition. A further 307,181 attended <!--del_lnk--> NAB Cup pre-season matches and 117,552 attended Regional Challenge pre-season practice matches around the country.<p>As of 2005 the AFL is one of only five professional sports leagues in the world with an average <!--del_lnk--> attendance above thirty thousand (the others are the <!--del_lnk--> NFL in the United States and <!--del_lnk--> Major League Baseball in the U.S. and Canada, and the top division soccer leagues in <!--del_lnk--> Germany, and <!--del_lnk--> England).<p>As well as attendances for the national AFL competition, some semi-professional local competitions also draw crowds. Although crowds for state leagues have suffered in recent years, they continue to draw support, particularly for finals matches. The South Australian <!--del_lnk--> SANFL drew an attendance of 303,354 in 2005, the Western Australian <!--del_lnk--> WAFL drew an official attendance of 202,797 in 2004. Other leagues, such as the Victorian <!--del_lnk--> VFL (including a Tasmanian side, the <!--del_lnk--> Devils), <!--del_lnk--> Northern Territory Football League and the popular country league <!--del_lnk--> Ovens & Murray also charge admission and draw notable crowds (but with no available attendance figures).<p>Outside of Australia, the game has drawn notable attendances only for occasional carnival type events, and <!--del_lnk--> exhibition matches.<p><a id="Television" name="Television"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Television</span></h3>
<p>The 2005 <!--del_lnk--> AFL Grand Final was watched by a record <a href="../../wp/t/Television.htm" title="Television">television</a> audience of more than 3.3 million people across Australia's five most populous cities — the <!--del_lnk--> five mainland state capitals — including 1.2 million in <a href="../../wp/m/Melbourne.htm" title="Melbourne">Melbourne</a> and 991,000 in <a href="../../wp/s/Sydney.htm" title="Sydney">Sydney</a>. In 2006, the national audience was 3.145 million, including 1.182 million in Melbourne and 759,000 in Sydney.<p>According to <!--del_lnk--> OzTAM, in recent years, the AFL Grand Final has reached the top five programs across the five biggest cities in <!--del_lnk--> 2002, <!--del_lnk--> 2003, <!--del_lnk--> 2004 and <!--del_lnk--> 2005. Australian rules football has achieved a #1 rating in the sports category in both <!--del_lnk--> 2004 and <!--del_lnk--> 2005.<p>Some regional leagues attract a national audience through free-to-air broadcasting on television networks such as <!--del_lnk--> ABC2. OzTAM began measuring these audiences in 2006.<p>Australian rules has a nominal but growing international audience. The AFL Grand Final is broadcast to many countries and attracts an estimated 30 million viewers worldwide.<p><a id="Participation" name="Participation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Participation</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23435.jpg.htm" title="A Female Australian Rules Football Match beetween the Melbourne University Mugars and the Darebin Falcons."><img alt="A Female Australian Rules Football Match beetween the Melbourne University Mugars and the Darebin Falcons." height="174" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Women%27s_marking_contest.jpg" src="../../images/234/23435.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23435.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> Female Australian Rules Football Match beetween the <!--del_lnk--> Melbourne University Mugars and the <!--del_lnk--> Darebin Falcons.</div>
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<p>With more than 450,000 participants aged 15 years and over, football is the 4th most-played team sport in Australia, behind <a href="../../wp/n/Netball.htm" title="Netball">netball</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Soccer">soccer</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Cricket.htm" title="Cricket">cricket</a>.<p>A total of 539,526 registered participants played football in Australia in 2005, a 4.6 per cent rise from 2004. 6.7 per cent of all participants are from non-English speaking origin. The <!--del_lnk--> Australian Sports Commission statistics show a 42% increase in the total number of participants over the 4 year period between 2001-2005.<p>Victoria has the largest number of participants over 15 years of age (205,000 participants or 5.2% of the Victorian population). The <!--del_lnk--> Tiwi Islands is said to have the highest participation rate in Australia (35%).<p>Amongst children aged 5 to 14 years, football is the third most popular organised sport for children to participate in (beyond soccer and swimming). An estimated 284,200 children aged 5 to 14 participated in football in the 12 months prior to interview in 2003 (13.6% of all children).<p><!--del_lnk--> Australian football around the world is fast growing as an amateur sport, with more than 20 countries around the world. In 2004, a total of over 25,000 participants participated outside of Australia.<p>Many related games have emerged from football, mainly with variations of contact to encourage greater participation. These include <!--del_lnk--> Kick-to-kick (and its variants such as 'Marks Up), <!--del_lnk--> Auskick, <!--del_lnk--> Rec Footy, <!--del_lnk--> Women's Footy, <!--del_lnk--> 9-a-side Footy, <!--del_lnk--> Masters Australian Football, handball and longest-kick competitions. Players outside of Australia sometimes engage in related games on the fields available, like <!--del_lnk--> Metro Footy (played on gridiron fields) and <i>Samoa Rules</i> (played on rugby fields).<p><a id="Australian_rules_in_popular_culture" name="Australian_rules_in_popular_culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Australian rules in popular culture</span></h2>
<p>For many years, the game of Australian rules football captured the imagination of Australian film, music and literature.<p>In <a href="../../wp/l/Literature.htm" title="Literature">literature</a>, probably the first mention of the sport was in the popular <!--del_lnk--> play <i>And The Big Men Fly</i>, written by Alan Hopgood in 1963.. Another play, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Club</i> was written in 1977. A <a href="../../wp/n/Novel.htm" title="Novel">novel</a> named <i>Deadly, Unna?</i>, probably the first specifically about the sport was written in 1999. There have been a wide range of non-fiction books written about the sport, along with biographies and autobiographies written by players. In 2002, former AFL great <!--del_lnk--> Gary Lyon released the first of many <!--del_lnk--> children's books in the popular <i><!--del_lnk--> Specky Magee</i> series.<p>Many songs inspired by the game have become anthems of the game, none more so than the 1979 hit <i><!--del_lnk--> Up There Cazaly</i>, by <!--del_lnk--> Mike Brady. Brady followed the hit up with <i><!--del_lnk--> One Day in September</i> in 1987. <i>That's the Thing about Football</i> was a song by <!--del_lnk--> Greg Champion around 1995 which was used by television stations as part of their game coverages. <i>When Footy Ruled the World</i> appeared in the popular sporting videos. References to the sport can be found extensively in the lyrics of the cult band <!--del_lnk--> TISM. <i>Nothing Beats Footy at the MCG</i> was written by Jim Cadman. South Australian <!--del_lnk--> hip hop band, the <!--del_lnk--> Hilltop Hoods make reference to the sport in their song <i>The Nosebleed Section</i>.<p>Probably the first reference to the sport in <a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Film">film</a> was <i><!--del_lnk--> The Great Macarthy</i> in 1975. A film of the play <i><!--del_lnk--> The Club</i> was released in 1980. In 1997, a behind the scenes documentary about the struggling <!--del_lnk--> Western Bulldogs titled <i><!--del_lnk--> Year of the Dogs</i> was featured in Australian cinemas. A short film <i>Kick to Kick</i> by Tony McNamara was released in 2000. <i>Deadly Unna?</i> inspired the 2002 arthouse film <i><!--del_lnk--> Australian Rules</i>.<p>Australian rules has a long history with television which dates back to the first broadcasts of the 1960s. Several popular Australian <!--del_lnk--> television shows have celebrated the sport, some of the more popular current ones include <!--del_lnk--> The Footy Show and <!--del_lnk--> Before The Game. The 2002 television show <i><!--del_lnk--> The Club</i>, featuring amateur club the "Hammerheads" was one of the first <!--del_lnk--> reality television shows in the world in the sports genre. The game has made the occasional appearance on the Australian <!--del_lnk--> soap opera <a href="../../wp/n/Neighbours.htm" title="Neighbours">Neighbours</a>, which is popular around the world. The show features several characters having favourite AFL clubs, watching and playing 'footy'.<p>Australian Rules is also <!--del_lnk--> featured in many interactive video games. Famous golfer <!--del_lnk--> Greg Norman named his custom built yacht <i>Aussie Rules</i> after the sport.<p>There are also many cross references in sport. The game was played as a exhibition sport at the <!--del_lnk--> 1956 Summer Olympics. In the <!--del_lnk--> 2006 Commonwealth Games <!--del_lnk--> opening ceremony, in a statement about Melbourne sporting culture, AFL captains and legend <!--del_lnk--> Ron Barassi carried the <!--del_lnk--> baton toward the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Several charity exhibition events, including the <!--del_lnk--> Community Cup and <!--del_lnk--> AFL Legends Match also celebrate the sport's role in popular culture.<p><a id="Australian_Football_Hall_of_Fame" name="Australian_Football_Hall_of_Fame"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Australian Football Hall of Fame</span></h2>
<p>For the centenary of the VFL/AFL in 1996, an <!--del_lnk--> Australian Football Hall of Fame was established. That year 136 identities were inducted, including 100 players, 10 coaches, 10 umpires, 10 administrators and 6 media representatives.<p>The selections have caused some controversy, partly because of the predominance of VFL players at the expense of those who played in other leagues, in the years before there was a national competition.<p>The elite <i>Legend</i> status was bestowed on 12 members of the Hall of Fame in 1996; eight other football identities have subsequently received this honour.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Austria</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Countries.htm">Countries</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Geography.European_Geography.European_Countries.htm">European Countries</a></h3>
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<td align="center" class="mergedtoprow" colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; font-size:1.2em;"><b><span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Republik Österreich</i></span></b><br /><b>Republic of Austria</b></td>
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<td align="center" class="maptable" colspan="2" style="padding:0.4em 0.8em 0.4em 0.8em;">
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<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><span style="border:1px solid #bbbbbb; display:table-cell;"><a class="image" href="../../images/8/831.png.htm" title="Flag of Austria"><img alt="Flag of Austria" height="83" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Austria_%28state%29.svg" src="../../images/8/831.png" width="125" /></a></span></td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Coat of arms of Austria" height="96" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Federal_arms_at.gif" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="85" /></td>
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<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Flag</small></td>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Coat of arms</small></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Motto: <i>none</i></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Anthem: <span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i><!--del_lnk--> Land der Berge, Land am Strome</i></span><br /> (<a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a> for "Land of Mountains, Land on the River")</td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 1em;">
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/8/833.png.htm" title="Location of Austria"><img alt="Location of Austria" height="115" longdesc="/wiki/Image:LocationAustria.png" src="../../images/8/833.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> <b>Capital</b><br /><!--del_lnk--> (and largest city)</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/v/Vienna.htm" title="Vienna">Vienna</a><br /><small><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 48°12′N 16°21′E</span></small></td>
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<th><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> Official languages</span></th>
<td><a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a> <sup>1</sup></td>
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<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><b><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_countries_by_system_of_government.htm" title="List of countries by system of government">Government</a></b></td>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><!--del_lnk--> Republic</td>
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<td> - <!--del_lnk--> President</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Heinz Fischer</td>
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<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Chancellor</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Wolfgang Schüssel</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> Independence</th>
<td> </td>
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<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Austrian State Treaty in force</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> July 27, <!--del_lnk--> 1955 </td>
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<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Declaration of Neutrality</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> October 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1955 </td>
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<th><a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="European Union">Accession to EU</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> January 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1995</td>
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<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Area</th>
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<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 83,871 km² (<!--del_lnk--> 115th)<br /> 32,378 sq mi </td>
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<td> - Water (%)</td>
<td>1.3</td>
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<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Population</th>
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<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - 2006 estimate</td>
<td>8,292,322 (<!--del_lnk--> 92nd)</td>
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<td> - 2001 census</td>
<td>8,032,926</td>
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<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Density</td>
<td>99/km² (<!--del_lnk--> 99th)<br /> 256/sq mi</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> GDP (<!--del_lnk--> PPP)</th>
<td>2005 estimate</td>
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<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td>$275.02 <!--del_lnk--> billion (<!--del_lnk--> 34th)</td>
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<td> - Per capita</td>
<td>$33,615 (<!--del_lnk--> 8th)</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> GDP (nominal)</th>
<td>2005 estimate</td>
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<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td>$307.07 <!--del_lnk--> billion (<!--del_lnk--> 23rd)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Per capita</td>
<td>$37,117 (<!--del_lnk--> 12th)</td>
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<th><b><!--del_lnk--> HDI</b> (2004)</th>
<td>0.944 (<font color="#009900">high</font>) (<!--del_lnk--> 14th)</td>
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<th><a href="../../wp/c/Currency.htm" title="Currency">Currency</a></th>
<td><a href="../../wp/e/Euro.htm" title="Euro">Euro</a> (<!--del_lnk--> €) <sup>2</sup> (<code><!--del_lnk--> EUR</code>)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> CET (<!--del_lnk--> UTC+1)</td>
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<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Summer (<!--del_lnk--> DST)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> CEST (<!--del_lnk--> UTC+2)</td>
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<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Internet TLD</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> .at <sup>3</sup></td>
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<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Calling code</th>
<td>+43 (<!--del_lnk--> details)</td>
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<td colspan="2"><small><sup>1</sup> <!--del_lnk--> Slovenian, <!--del_lnk--> Croatian, <!--del_lnk--> Hungarian are officially recognised regional languages and <!--del_lnk--> Austrian Sign Language is a protected minority language throughout the country.<br /><sup>2</sup> Prior to 1999: Austrian <!--del_lnk--> Schilling.<br /><sup>3</sup> The <!--del_lnk--> .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other <a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="European Union">European Union</a> member states.</small></td>
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<p><b>Austria</b> (<a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a>: <span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Österreich</i></span>, <!--del_lnk--> Czech: <span lang="cs" xml:lang="cs"><i>Rakousko</i></span>, <!--del_lnk--> Slovenian: <span lang="sl" xml:lang="sl"><i>Avstrija</i></span>; <!--del_lnk--> Croatian: <span lang="hr" xml:lang="hr"><i>Austrija</i></span>; <!--del_lnk--> Serbian: <span lang="sr" xml:lang="sr">Aустрија</span>; <!--del_lnk--> Hungarian: <span lang="hu" xml:lang="hu"><i>Ausztria</i></span>; see also <!--del_lnk--> other languages) is a <!--del_lnk--> landlocked country in <!--del_lnk--> Central Europe. It borders <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> and the <a href="../../wp/c/Czech_Republic.htm" title="Czech Republic">Czech Republic</a> to the north, <a href="../../wp/s/Slovakia.htm" title="Slovakia">Slovakia</a> and <a href="../../wp/h/Hungary.htm" title="Hungary">Hungary</a> to the east, <a href="../../wp/s/Slovenia.htm" title="Slovenia">Slovenia</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a> to the south, and <a href="../../wp/s/Switzerland.htm" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a> and <a href="../../wp/l/Liechtenstein.htm" title="Liechtenstein">Liechtenstein</a> to the west. Its capital <a href="../../wp/c/City.htm" title="City">city</a> is <a href="../../wp/v/Vienna.htm" title="Vienna">Vienna</a>.<p>Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy consisting of nine federal states and is one of six European countries that have declared <!--del_lnk--> permanent neutrality and one of the few countries that included the concept of everlasting neutrality in their <!--del_lnk--> constitution. Austria is a member of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nations</a> since 1955 and joined the <a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="European Union">European Union</a> in 1995.<p>
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</script><a id="Origin_and_history_of_the_name" name="Origin_and_history_of_the_name"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Origin and history of the name</span></h2>
<p>The <a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a> name <span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Österreich</i></span> can be translated into <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> as the "eastern realm", which is derived from the <!--del_lnk--> Old German <span lang="goh" xml:lang="goh"><i><!--del_lnk--> Ostarrîchi</i></span>. The name was Latinized as "<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Austria</span>", so it has no etymological connection with the name of <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a> (which correctly means <i>The South</i>). <span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Reich</i></span> can also mean "empire", and this connotation is the one that is understood in the context of the <!--del_lnk--> Austrian/<!--del_lnk--> Austro-Hungarian Empire, <a href="../../wp/h/Holy_Roman_Empire.htm" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a>, although not in the context of the modern Republic of <span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Österreich</i></span>. The term probably originates in a <!--del_lnk--> vernacular translation of the <!--del_lnk--> Medieval Latin name for the region: <span lang="la" xml:lang="la"><i>Marchia orientalis</i></span>, which translates as "eastern borderland", as it was situated at the eastern edge of the <a href="../../wp/h/Holy_Roman_Empire.htm" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a>, that was also mirrored in the name <i><!--del_lnk--> Ostmark</i>, for a short period applied after <i><a href="../../wp/a/Anschluss.htm" title="Anschluss">Anschluss</a></i> to <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>.<p>The current official designation is the <b>Republic of Austria</b> (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Republik Österreich</i></span>). It was originally known after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1918 as the <b>Republic of <!--del_lnk--> German Austria</b> (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Republik Deutschösterreich</i></span>), but the state was forced to change its name to "Republic of Austria" in 1919 peace <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Saint-Germain. The name was changed again during the <!--del_lnk--> Austro-fascist regime (1934–1938), into <b>Federal State of Austria</b> (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Bundesstaat Österreich</i></span>), but restored after regaining independence and the birth of the <!--del_lnk--> Second Austrian Republic (1955–present).<p>During the monarchy, Austria was known as the <b>Austrian Empire</b> (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Kaisertum Österreich</i></span>), however no official designation existed since the empire was strongly multiethnic. After the <!--del_lnk--> Ausgleich with <a href="../../wp/h/Hungary.htm" title="Hungary">Hungary</a> in 1867, the empire became known as <b>Austria-Hungary</b> in reflection of the <!--del_lnk--> dual monarchy character. Some historians argue that the term <b>The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen</b> (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Die im Reichsrat vertretenen Königreiche und Länder und die Länder der heiligen ungarischen Stephanskrone</i></span>) was the correct official name for Austria-Hungary.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p><a id="Holy_Roman_Empire" name="Holy_Roman_Empire"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Holy Roman Empire</span></h3>
<p>The territory of Austria, originally known as the <!--del_lnk--> Celtic kingdom of <!--del_lnk--> Noricum, was a long time ally of Rome. It was occupied rather than conquered by the <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Rome.htm" title="Ancient Rome">Romans</a> during the reign of <!--del_lnk--> Augustus and made the province Noricum in 16 BC. Later it was conquered by <!--del_lnk--> Huns, <!--del_lnk--> Rugii, <!--del_lnk--> Lombards, <!--del_lnk--> Ostrogoths, <!--del_lnk--> Slavs, <!--del_lnk--> Bavarii, <!--del_lnk--> Avars (until c. 800), and <a href="../../wp/f/Franks.htm" title="Franks">Franks</a> (in that order). Finally, after 48 years of Hungarian rule (907 to 955), the core territory of Austria was awarded to <!--del_lnk--> Leopold of Babenberg in 976 after the revolt of <!--del_lnk--> Henry II, Duke of Bavaria. Being part of the <a href="../../wp/h/Holy_Roman_Empire.htm" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a> the Babenbergs ruled and expanded Austria from the 10th century to the 13th century.<p>After <!--del_lnk--> Frederick II, Duke of Austria died in 1246 and left no successor, <!--del_lnk--> Rudolf I of Habsburg gave the lands to his sons marking the beginning of the line of the <!--del_lnk--> Habsburgs, who continued to govern Austria until the 20th century.<p>With the short exception of <!--del_lnk--> Charles VII Albert of <!--del_lnk--> Bavaria, Austrian Habsburgs held the position of German Emperor beginning in 1438 with <!--del_lnk--> Albert II of Habsburg until the end of the <a href="../../wp/h/Holy_Roman_Empire.htm" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a>. During the 14th and 15th century Austria continued to expand its territory until it reached the position of a European imperial power at the end of the 15th century.<p>Under <!--del_lnk--> Maximilian I (Holy Roman Emperor) and his son (<!--del_lnk--> Philip the Handsome - he died before his father in 1506 a.c.) the Austrian Empire reached its greatest expansion, including Spain (through marriage) and all its territories in the "new world".<p>The Emperors sign from this time (~1500 a.c.) "aeiou" is not really decrypted but most likely it's either "Austriae Est Imperare Orbi Universo" or "Austriae Erit In Orbe Ultima" (German: "Alles Erdreich ist Oesterreich Untertan")<p>Maximilian II was one of the older brothers of Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna von Habsburg-Lothringen, Archduchess of Austria from her birth in 1755 to her marriage in 1768. At this time, she became not Maria Antonia, but Marie Antoinette, Dauphine of France. She cemented the Austria-France alliance when she married the heir apparent and grandson of King Louis XV of France. She later became Queen when the king died of smallpox.<p><a id="Modern_history" name="Modern_history"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Modern history</span></h3>
<p>Just two years before the abolition of the <a href="../../wp/h/Holy_Roman_Empire.htm" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a> in 1806, in 1804 the <!--del_lnk--> Empire of Austria was founded, which was transformed in 1867 into the dual-monarchy <!--del_lnk--> Austria-Hungary. The empire was split into several independent states in 1918, after the defeat of the <!--del_lnk--> Central Powers in <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>, with most of the German-speaking parts becoming a <!--del_lnk--> republic. (See <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Saint-Germain.) Between 1918 and 1919 it was officially known as the Republic of <!--del_lnk--> German Austria (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Republik Deutschösterreich</i></span>). After the <!--del_lnk--> Entente powers forbade German Austria to unite with Germany, they also forbade the name, and then it was changed to simply Republic of Austria. This democratic republic, the <!--del_lnk--> First Austrian Republic, lasted until 1933 when the chancellor <!--del_lnk--> Engelbert Dollfuß established an autocratic regime oriented towards Italian fascism (<!--del_lnk--> Austrofascism).<p>Austria became part of <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> in 1938 through the <a href="../../wp/a/Anschluss.htm" title="Anschluss">Anschluss</a> and remained under <a href="../../wp/n/Nazism.htm" title="Nazis">Nazi</a> rule until the end of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>. After the defeat of the <!--del_lnk--> Axis Powers, the <!--del_lnk--> Allies occupied Austria until 1955, when the country became a fully independent republic under the condition that it would remain neutral in the growing conflict between the Communist <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Bloc and the non-Communist West (see: <!--del_lnk--> Austrian State Treaty). Austria also became a member of the UN in the same year. After the collapse of <!--del_lnk--> communist states in <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Europe, Austria became increasingly involved in European affairs, in 1995 joining the <a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="European Union">European Union</a>, and in 1999 adopting the <a href="../../wp/e/Euro.htm" title="Euro">Euro</a> monetary system.<p><a id="Politics" name="Politics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Politics</span></h2>
<p>Austria became a federal, <!--del_lnk--> parliamentarian, democratic <!--del_lnk--> republic through the <!--del_lnk--> Federal Constitution of 1920. It was reintroduced in 1945 to the nine <!--del_lnk--> states of the Federal Republic. The <!--del_lnk--> head of state is the <!--del_lnk--> Federal President, who is directly elected. The chairman of the <!--del_lnk--> Federal Government is the <!--del_lnk--> Federal Chancellor, who is appointed by the president. The government can be removed from office by either a presidential decree or by <!--del_lnk--> vote of no confidence in the lower chamber of parliament, the <!--del_lnk--> Nationalrat.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Parliament of Austria consists of two chambers. The composition of the Nationalrat is determined every four years by a free general election in which every citizen is allowed to vote to fill its 183 seats. A "Four Percent Hurdle" prevents a large splintering of the political landscape in the Nationalrat by awarding seats only to political parties that have obtained at least a four percent threshold of the general vote, or alternatively, have won a direct seat, or <span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Direktmandat</i></span>, in one of the 43 regional election districts. The Nationalrat is the dominant chamber in the formation of legislation in Austria. However, the upper house of parliament, the <!--del_lnk--> Bundesrat has a limited right of <!--del_lnk--> veto (the Nationalrat can — in most cases — pass the respective bill a second time bypassing the Bundesrat altogether). A convention, called the <span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Österreich–Konvent</i></span> <!--del_lnk--> was convened in <!--del_lnk--> June 30, <!--del_lnk--> 2003 to decide upon suggestions to reform the constitution, but has failed to produce a proposal that would receive the two thirds of votes in the Nationalrat necessary for constitutional amendments and/or reform. However, some important parts of the final report were generally agreed upon and are still expected to be implemented.<p><a id="Administrative_divisions" name="Administrative_divisions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Administrative divisions</span></h2>
<p>A federal republic, Austria is divided into nine <!--del_lnk--> states, (<a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a>: <span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i><!--del_lnk--> Bundesländer</i></span>). These states are divided into <!--del_lnk--> districts (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i><!--del_lnk--> Bezirke</i></span>) and cities (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i><!--del_lnk--> Statutarstädte</i></span>). Districts are subdivided into municipalities (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Gemeinden</i></span>). Cities have the competencies otherwise granted to both districts and municipalities. The states are not mere administrative divisions, but have some distinct legislative authority separate from the federal government.<table border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; background:#ffffff;">
<tr bgcolor="#f0f0f0;">
<th>
</th>
<th>
</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> State (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Bundesland</i></span>)</th>
<th><a href="../../wp/c/Capital.htm" title="Capital">Capital</a></th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Population (Rank)</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="10"><a class="image" href="../../images/8/835.png.htm" title="The States of Austria"><img alt="The States of Austria" height="158" longdesc="/wiki/Image:The_States_of_Austria_Numbered.png" src="../../images/8/835.png" width="300" /></a></td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>1</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Burgenland</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Eisenstadt</td>
<td>277,569 (9.)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>2</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Carinthia (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Kärnten</i></span>)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Klagenfurt</td>
<td>559,404 (6.)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>3</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Lower Austria (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Niederösterreich</i></span>)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> St. Pölten</td>
<td>1,545,804 (2.)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>4</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Upper Austria (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Oberösterreich</i></span>)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Linz</td>
<td>1.376.797 (3.)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>5</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Salzburg</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Salzburg</td>
<td>515,327 (7.)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>6</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Styria (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Steiermark</i></span>)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Graz</td>
<td>1,183,303 (4.)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>7</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Tyrol (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Tirol</i></span>)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Innsbruck</td>
<td>673,504 (5.)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>8</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Vorarlberg</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bregenz</td>
<td>372,791 (8.)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>9</b></td>
<td><a href="../../wp/v/Vienna.htm" title="Vienna">Vienna</a> (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Wien</i></span>)</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/v/Vienna.htm" title="Vienna">Vienna</a> (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Wien</i></span>)</td>
<td>1,651,437 (1.)</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/836.png.htm" title="Topography of Austria"><img alt="Topography of Austria" height="169" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Oesterreich_topo.png" src="../../images/8/836.png" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/836.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Topography of Austria</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Austria is a largely <!--del_lnk--> mountainous country due to its location in the <!--del_lnk--> Alps. The <!--del_lnk--> Central Eastern Alps, <!--del_lnk--> Northern Limestone Alps and <!--del_lnk--> Southern Limestone Alps are all partly in Austria. Of the total area of Austria (84 000 km² or 32,000 <!--del_lnk--> sq. mi), only about a quarter can be considered low lying, and only 32% of the country is below 500 <!--del_lnk--> metres (1,640 <!--del_lnk--> ft). The high mountainous Alps in the west of Austria flatten somewhat into low lands and plains in the east of the country.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/837.png.htm" title="Map of Austria"><img alt="Map of Austria" height="258" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Au-map.png" src="../../images/8/837.png" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/837.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map of Austria</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Austria may be divided into 5 different areas. The biggest area are the <!--del_lnk--> Austrian Alps, which constitute 62% of Austria's total area. The Austrian foothills at the base of the <!--del_lnk--> Alps and the <!--del_lnk--> Carpathians account for around 12% of its area. The foothills in the east and areas surrounding the periphery of the Pannoni low country amount to about 12% of the total landmass. The second greater mountain area (much lower than the Alps) is situated in the north. Known as the Austrian <a href="../../wp/g/Granite.htm" title="Granite">granite</a> <!--del_lnk--> plateau, it is located in the central area of the Bohemian Mass, and accounts for 10% of Austria. The Austrian portion of the <!--del_lnk--> Viennese basin comprises the remaining 4%.<p><a id="Climate" name="Climate"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Climate</span></h3>
<p>The greater part of Austria lies in the cool/temperate <!--del_lnk--> climate zone in which humid westerly winds predominate. With over half of the country dominated by the <!--del_lnk--> Alps the <!--del_lnk--> alpine climate is the predominant one. In the East, in the <!--del_lnk--> Pannonian Plain and along the <a href="../../wp/d/Danube.htm" title="Danube">Danube valley</a>, the climate shows continental features with less rain than the alpine areas.<p>The six highest mountains in Austria are:<table border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; background:#f0f0f0;">
<tr bgcolor="#DDDDDD">
<th>
</th>
<th>Name</th>
<th>Height</th>
<th>Range</th>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#EEEEEE">
<td> 1</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Großglockner</td>
<td>3797 <!--del_lnk--> m (12,457 <!--del_lnk--> ft)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Hohe Tauern</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#EEEEEE">
<td> 2</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Wildspitze</td>
<td>3768 m (12,362 ft)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ötztal Alps</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#EEEEEE">
<td> 3</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Weißkugel</td>
<td>3739 m (12,267 ft)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ötztal Alps</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#EEEEEE">
<td> 4</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Großvenediger</td>
<td>3674 m (12,054 ft)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Hohe Tauern</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#EEEEEE">
<td> 5</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Similaun</td>
<td>3606 m (11,831 ft)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ötztal Alps</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#EEEEEE">
<td> 6</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Großes Wiesbachhorn</td>
<td>3571 m (11,715 ft)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Hohe Tauern</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:146px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/838.png.htm" title="The Belvedere Palace, an example of the Baroque "><img alt="The Belvedere Palace, an example of the Baroque " height="146" longdesc="/wiki/Image:20ec_oes.png" src="../../images/8/838.png" width="144" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">The <!--del_lnk--> Belvedere Palace, an example of the <a href="../../wp/b/Baroque.htm" title="Baroque">Baroque</a></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Austria has a well-developed <!--del_lnk--> social market economy and a high <!--del_lnk--> standard of living. Until the 1980s many of Austria's largest industry firms were nationalised, however in recent years privatisation has reduced state holdings to a level comparable to other European economies. Labour movements are particularly strong in Austria and have large influence on labour politics.<p><a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> has historically been the main trading partner of Austria, making it vulnerable to rapid changes in the <!--del_lnk--> German economy. Slow growth in Germany and elsewhere in the world affected Austria, slowing its growth to 0.8% in 2001. But since Austria became a member state of the <a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="European Union">European Union</a> it has gained closer ties to other <a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="European Union">European Union</a> economies, reducing its economic dependence on Germany. In addition, membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to EU aspiring economies. Therefore estimates of growth in 2006 (about 3%) are much more favourable than in the crippling German economy.<p>See also: <!--del_lnk--> List of Austrian companies<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/839.jpg.htm" title="Vienna during the first half of the 18th century, painting by Canaletto."><img alt="Vienna during the first half of the 18th century, painting by Canaletto." height="192" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Canaletto_%28I%29_058.jpg" src="../../images/8/839.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/839.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/v/Vienna.htm" title="Vienna">Vienna</a> during the first half of the 18th century, painting by <a href="../../wp/c/Canaletto.htm" title="Canaletto">Canaletto</a>.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Austria's population was estimated in October, 2006 as 8,292,322 persons. The population of the capital, <a href="../../wp/v/Vienna.htm" title="Vienna">Vienna</a>, exceeds 1.6 million (2.2 million with suburbs), representing about a quarter of the country's population, and is said to constitute a <i>melting pot</i> of citizens from all over Central and Eastern Europe. In contrast to the capital, other cities do not exceed 1 million inhabitants: the second largest <a href="../../wp/c/City.htm" title="City">city</a> <!--del_lnk--> Graz is home of 240,278 people, followed by <!--del_lnk--> Linz with 187,112, <!--del_lnk--> Salzburg with 146,868, and <!--del_lnk--> Innsbruck with 115,498. All other cities have fewer than 100,000 inhabitants.<p>German-speaking Austrians, by far the country's largest group, form roughly 90% of Austria's population. The Austrian federal states of <!--del_lnk--> Carinthia and <!--del_lnk--> Styria are home to a significant (indigenous) Slovenian minority with around 14,000 members (Austrian census; unofficial numbers of Slovene groups speak of about 40,000). Around 20,000 <!--del_lnk--> Hungarians and 30,000 <!--del_lnk--> Croatians live in the east-most Bundesland, <!--del_lnk--> Burgenland (formerly part of the hungarian half of <!--del_lnk--> Austria-Hungary). The remaining <a href="../../wp/n/Number.htm" title="Number">number</a> of Austria's people are of non-Austrian descent, many from surrounding countries, especially from the former <!--del_lnk--> East Bloc nations. So-called <!--del_lnk--> guest workers <i>(Gastarbeiter)</i> and their descendants, as well as refugees from <!--del_lnk--> Yugoslav wars and other conflicts, also form an important <!--del_lnk--> minority group in Austria.<p>According to the 2001 <!--del_lnk--> census, the mother tongue of the population by prevalence, is German (88.6%) followed by Turkish (2.3%), Serbian (2.2%), Croatian (1.6%), Hungarian (0.5%) and Bosnian (0.4%).<p>The official language, <a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a>, is spoken by almost all residents of the country. Austria's mountainous terrain led to the development of many distinct German dialects. All of the dialects in the <a href="../../wp/c/Country.htm" title="Country">country</a>, however, belong to <!--del_lnk--> Austro-Bavarian groups of German dialects, with the exception of the dialect spoken in its west-most Bundesland, <!--del_lnk--> Vorarlberg, which belongs to the group of <!--del_lnk--> Alemannic dialects. There is also a distinct grammatical standard for <!--del_lnk--> Austrian German with a few differences to the German spoken in Germany.<p>As of 2006 some of the Austrian states introduced standardised tests for new citizens, to assure their languge and cultural knowledge and accordingly their ability to integrate into the Austrian society.<p><a id="Politics_concerning_ethnic_groups_.28Volksgruppenpolitik.29" name="Politics_concerning_ethnic_groups_.28Volksgruppenpolitik.29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Politics concerning ethnic groups (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Volksgruppenpolitik</span>)</span></h3>
<p>An estimated 25,000–40,000 <!--del_lnk--> Slovenians in the Austrian state of <!--del_lnk--> Carinthia as well as Croatians and <!--del_lnk--> Hungarians in Burgenland were recognized as a minority and have enjoyed special rights following the Austrian State Treaty (<span lang="de" xml:lang="de"><i>Staatsvertrag</i></span>) of 1955. The Slovenians in the Austrian state of <!--del_lnk--> Styria (estimated at a number between 1,600 and 5,000) are not recognized as a minority and do not enjoy special rights, although the State Treaty of <!--del_lnk--> July 27, <!--del_lnk--> 1955 states otherwise.<p>The right for bilingual topographic signs for the regions where Slovene- and Croat-Austrians live alongside the Germanic population (as required by the 1955 State Treaty) is still to be fully implemented. Many Carinthians are afraid of Slovenian territorial claims, pointing to the fact that Yugoslav troops entered the state after each of the two World Wars and considering that some official Slovenian atlases still show parts of Carinthia as Slovenian cultural territory. The current governor, <!--del_lnk--> Jörg Haider, has made this fact a matter of public argument in autumn 2005 by refusing to increase the number of bilingual topographic signs in Carinthia. A poll by the Kärntner Humaninstitut conducted in January 2006 states that 65% of Carinthians are not in favour of an increase of bilingual topographic signs, since the original requirements set by the State Treaty of 1955 have already been fulfilled according to their point of view. Another interesting phenomenon is the so called "Windischen-Theorie" <!--del_lnk--> stating that the Slovenians can be split in two groups: actual Slovenians and Windische, based on differences in language between Austrian Slovenians, who were taught Slovenian standard language in school and those Slovenians who spoke their local Slovenian dialect but went to German schools. To the latter group the term "Windische" (originally the German word for Slovenians) was applied, claiming that they were a different ethnic group. This theory was never generally accepted and has been ultimately rejected several decades ago.<p><a id="Religion" name="Religion"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Religion</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/840.jpg.htm" title="Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Austrian Habsburg ruler and one of the major figures within the Counter-Reformation."><img alt="Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Austrian Habsburg ruler and one of the major figures within the Counter-Reformation." height="431" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tizian_066.jpg" src="../../images/8/840.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/840.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><b>Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor</b> Austrian Habsburg ruler and one of the major figures within the <!--del_lnk--> Counter-Reformation.</div>
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<p>While northern and central Germany was the origin of the <!--del_lnk--> Reformation, Austria (and Bavaria) was the heart of the <!--del_lnk--> Counter-Reformation in the 16th and 17th century, when the absolute monarchy of <!--del_lnk--> Habsburg imposed a strict regime to maintain <!--del_lnk--> Catholicism's power and influence among Austrians. The <!--del_lnk--> Habsburgs viewed themselves as the vanguard of <!--del_lnk--> Roman Catholicism and all other confessions and religions were oppressed. In <!--del_lnk--> 1781 <!--del_lnk--> Emperor Joseph II issued a Patent of Tolerance that allowed other Christian confessions a limited <!--del_lnk--> freedom of worship. Religious freedom was declared a constitutional right in the <!--del_lnk--> Austro-Hungarian <i>Ausgleich</i> in 1867 thus paying tribute to the fact that the monarchy was home of numerous religions beside <!--del_lnk--> Roman Catholicism such as Greek, Serbian, Romanian, Russian, and Bulgarian <!--del_lnk--> Orthodox Christians, <!--del_lnk--> Jews, <!--del_lnk--> Muslims (Austria neighboured the <!--del_lnk--> Ottoman empire for centuries), <!--del_lnk--> Mormons and both <!--del_lnk--> Calvinist and <!--del_lnk--> Lutheran <!--del_lnk--> Protestants.<p>Still Austria remained largely influenced by Catholicism. After 1918 First Republic Catholic leaders such as <!--del_lnk--> Theodor Innitzer and <!--del_lnk--> Ignaz Seipel took leading positions within or close to the Austrian Government and increased their influence during the time of the <!--del_lnk--> Austrofascism—Catholicism was treated much like a <!--del_lnk--> state religion by dictators <!--del_lnk--> Engelbert Dollfuss and <!--del_lnk--> Kurt Schuschnigg. Although Catholic leaders welcomed the Germans in 1938 during the <a href="../../wp/a/Anschluss.htm" title="Anschluss">Anschluss</a> of Austria into <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>, Austrian Catholicism stopped its support of <a href="../../wp/n/Nazism.htm" title="Nazism">Nazism</a> later on and many former religious public figures became involved with the resistance during the <!--del_lnk--> Third Reich. After 1945 a stricter secularism was imposed in Austria and religious influence on politics has nearly vanished.<p>As of the end of the twentieth century about 73% of Austria's population were registered as Roman Catholic, while about 5% considered themselves <!--del_lnk--> Protestants. Both these numbers have been on the decline for decades, especially Roman Catholicism, which has suffered an increasing number of seceders of the church. Austrian Catholics are obliged to pay a mandatory tax (calculated by income—ca. 1%) to the Austrian Roman Catholic Church, which might act as an incentive to leave the church.<p>About 12% of the population declare that they do not belong to any <!--del_lnk--> church or religious community. Of the remaining people, about 180,000 are members of the <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Orthodox Church and about 7,300 are <a href="../../wp/j/Judaism.htm" title="Judaism">Jewish</a>. It has to be noted that the Austrian Jewish Community of 1938 – Vienna alone counted more than 200,000 - was reduced to solely 4,000 to 5,000 after the <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">Second World War</a>. The influx of <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Europeans, especially from the former Yugoslav nations, Albania and particularly from <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> largely contributed to a substantial Muslim minority in Austria—around 300,000 are registered as members of various Muslim communities. The numbers of people adhering to the <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a> has increased largely during the last years and is expected to grow in the future. <!--del_lnk--> Buddhism, which was legally recognized as a religion in Austria in 1983, enjoys widespread acceptance and has a following of 20,000 (10,402 at the 2001 <!--del_lnk--> census). A 2005 survey among 8,000 people in various <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">European</a> countries showed that Austria is among those nations whose populations maintain the strongest belief in <!--del_lnk--> God. 84% of all Austrians state a belief in God, with only the people of <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a> (97%), <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a> (90%) and <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a> (87%) yielding higher numbers. This is a much larger figure than the European average of 71% or <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> with 67%. <!--del_lnk--> <p>See also: <!--del_lnk--> Buddhism in Austria, <!--del_lnk--> Hinduism in Austria, <!--del_lnk--> Islam in Austria, <!--del_lnk--> Paganism in the Eastern Alps, <!--del_lnk--> Roman Catholicism in Austria<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
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<center><a class="image" href="../../images/8/841.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="102" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Austria_coat_of_arms_simple.svg" src="../../images/8/841.png" width="100" /></a><center>
<br /><small>These are articles of the<br /><b><!--del_lnk--> List of Austrians</b> series</small></center>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Artists and architects</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Monarchs</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Mountaineers</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Music</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Politicians</td>
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<p>Though Austria is a small country, its history as a European power and its cultural environment have generated a broad contribution to art and science. It has been the professional birthplace of many <!--del_lnk--> famous composers such as <a href="../../wp/w/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart.htm" title="Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart">Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart</a>, <a href="../../wp/j/Joseph_Haydn.htm" title="Haydn">Joseph Haydn</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/Franz_Schubert.htm" title="Franz Schubert">Franz Schubert</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Anton Bruckner, <!--del_lnk--> Johann Strauss, Sr., <!--del_lnk--> Johann Strauss, Jr. or <!--del_lnk--> Gustav Mahler as well as members of the <!--del_lnk--> Second Viennese School such as <!--del_lnk--> Arnold Schoenberg, <!--del_lnk--> Anton Webern or <!--del_lnk--> Alban Berg. <!--del_lnk--> Ludwig van Beethoven spent the better part of his life in Vienna<p>Complementing its status as a land of artists, Austria has always been a country of poets, writers and novelists. It was the home of novelists <!--del_lnk--> Arthur Schnitzler, <!--del_lnk--> Stefan Zweig, <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Bernhard or <!--del_lnk--> Robert Musil, of poets <!--del_lnk--> Georg Trakl, <!--del_lnk--> Franz Werfel, <!--del_lnk--> Franz Grillparzer, <!--del_lnk--> Rainer Maria Rilke or <!--del_lnk--> Adalbert Stifter and writer <!--del_lnk--> Karl Kraus. Famous contemporary playwrights and novelists are <!--del_lnk--> Elfriede Jelinek and <!--del_lnk--> Peter Handke. Among Austrian artists and architects one can find painters <!--del_lnk--> Gustav Klimt, <!--del_lnk--> Oskar Kokoschka, <!--del_lnk--> Egon Schiele or <!--del_lnk--> Friedensreich Hundertwasser, photographer <!--del_lnk--> Inge Morath or architect <!--del_lnk--> Otto Wagner.<p>Austria was the cradle of numerous scientists including physicists <!--del_lnk--> Ludwig Boltzmann, <!--del_lnk--> Lise Meitner, <!--del_lnk--> Erwin Schrödinger, <!--del_lnk--> Ernst Mach, <!--del_lnk--> Wolfgang Pauli, <!--del_lnk--> Richard von Mises and <!--del_lnk--> Christian Doppler, philosophers <a href="../../wp/l/Ludwig_Wittgenstein.htm" title="Ludwig Wittgenstein">Ludwig Wittgenstein</a> and <a href="../../wp/k/Karl_Popper.htm" title="Karl Popper">Karl Popper</a>, biologists <a href="../../wp/g/Gregor_Mendel.htm" title="Gregor Mendel">Gregor Mendel</a> and <a href="../../wp/k/Konrad_Lorenz.htm" title="Konrad Lorenz">Konrad Lorenz</a> as well as mathematician <!--del_lnk--> Kurt Gödel. It was home to psychologists <a href="../../wp/s/Sigmund_Freud.htm" title="Sigmund Freud">Sigmund Freud</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Alfred Adler, <!--del_lnk--> Paul Watzlawick and <!--del_lnk--> Hans Asperger, psychiatrist <!--del_lnk--> Viktor Frankl, economists <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Schumpeter, <!--del_lnk--> Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, <!--del_lnk--> Ludwig von Mises, and <!--del_lnk--> Friedrich Hayek (<!--del_lnk--> Austrian School) and <!--del_lnk--> Peter Drucker, and engineers such as <!--del_lnk--> Ferdinand Porsche and <!--del_lnk--> Siegfried Marcus.<p><a id="Austria_and_Canada" name="Austria_and_Canada"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Austria and Canada</span></h2>
<p>Austria and Canada have shared a strong relationship, and of course grudge hockey matches, for some time. This was mainly due to the work of <!--del_lnk--> Frank Stronach. Magna Auto Parts sponsors students to work in Canada, and vice versa in Austria. Belinda Stronach was once quoted as saying, "I'm Canadian, my father is Austrian, that makes me the luckiest person in the world."<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> List of Austrians<li><!--del_lnk--> Music of Austria</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Neighbouring countries</span></h2>
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<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/538.png.htm" title="Flag of Germany"><img alt="Flag of Germany" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany.svg" src="../../images/5/538.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/542.png.htm" title="Flag of Czech Republic"><img alt="Flag of Czech Republic" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/542.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Czech_Republic.htm" title="Czech Republic">Czech Republic</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/8/843.png.htm" title="Flag of Slovakia"><img alt="Flag of Slovakia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Slovakia_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/8/843.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Slovakia.htm" title="Slovakia">Slovakia</a></td>
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<td rowspan="3" style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/8/844.png.htm" title="Flag of Liechtenstein"><img alt="Flag of Liechtenstein" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Liechtenstein.svg" src="../../images/8/844.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/l/Liechtenstein.htm" title="Liechtenstein">Liechtenstein</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/7/719.png.htm" title="Flag of Switzerland"><img alt="Flag of Switzerland" height="20" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Switzerland.svg" src="../../images/5/541.png" width="20" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Switzerland.htm" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/513.png.htm" title="North"><img alt="North" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Template_CanadianCityGeoLocation_North.png" src="../../images/5/513.png" width="17" /></a></td>
<td rowspan="3" style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/8/845.png.htm" title="Flag of Hungary"><img alt="Flag of Hungary" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Hungary.svg" src="../../images/8/845.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/h/Hungary.htm" title="Hungary">Hungary</a></td>
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<td nowrap style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/515.png.htm" title="West"><img alt="West" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Template_CanadianCityGeoLocation_West.png" src="../../images/5/515.png" width="17" /></a> <b><a class="image" href="../../images/7/793.png.htm" title="Flag of Austria"><img alt="Flag of Austria" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Austria.svg" src="../../images/7/793.png" width="22" /></a> <strong class="selflink">Austria</strong></b> <a class="image" href="../../images/5/516.png.htm" title="East"><img alt="East" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Template_CanadianCityGeoLocation_East.png" src="../../images/5/516.png" width="17" /></a></td>
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<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/551.png.htm" title="Flag of Italy"><img alt="Flag of Italy" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Italy.svg" src="../../images/5/551.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/7/747.png.htm" title="Flag of Slovenia"><img alt="Flag of Slovenia" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Slovenia.svg" src="../../images/7/747.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Slovenia.htm" title="Slovenia">Slovenia</a></td>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Autism</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Health_and_medicine.htm">Health and medicine</a></h3>
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<caption style="background: lightgrey; font-size: 95%;"><b>Autism</b><br /><i>Classifications and external resources</i></caption>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> ICD-<!--del_lnk--> 10</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> F<!--del_lnk--> 84.0</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> ICD-<!--del_lnk--> 9</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 299.0</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> OMIM</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 209850</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> DiseasesDB</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1142</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> MedlinePlus</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 001526</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> eMedicine</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> med/3202 <!--del_lnk--> ped/180</td>
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<p><b>Autism</b> is classified as a <!--del_lnk--> neurodevelopmental <!--del_lnk--> disorder that manifests in delays of "social interaction, language as used in social communication, or symbolic or imaginative play," with "onset prior to age 3 years," according to the <!--del_lnk--> Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The <!--del_lnk--> ICD-10 also requires symptoms to be "manifest before the age of three years." Autism is often not <!--del_lnk--> physiologically obvious, in that outward appearance may not indicate a disorder, and diagnosis typically comes from a complete physical and <!--del_lnk--> neurological evaluation.<p>There have been large increases in diagnosed autism, for reasons that are heavily debated by <!--del_lnk--> researchers in <a href="../../wp/p/Psychology.htm" title="Psychology">psychology</a> and related fields within the <!--del_lnk--> scientific community. Some believe this increase is largely due to changed diagnostic criteria and/or societal factors, while others think the reason is environmental. The United States <!--del_lnk--> Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimate the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders to be between 2 and 6 per 1000 births (i.e., between 1 in 500 and 1 in 166 births). The <!--del_lnk--> National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) states the "best conservative estimate" as 1 in 1000.<p>Although the specific <!--del_lnk--> causes of autism are unknown, there is a large database of links between autism and genetic loci that span every chromosome. Further, observations such as autistic children having generally larger head circumferences are intriguing, but their roles in the disorder are unclear. Research continues, however; researchers at the <!--del_lnk--> University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, for example, claim to have found a link between autism, abnormal blood vessel function, and oxidative stress (the result of higher levels of <!--del_lnk--> free radicals). This suggests that doors may be opened to new medical therapies if researchers can find more evidence linking decreased blood flow to the brain and oxidative stress with the pathology of autism.<p>With early intervention, intense therapies (most notably <!--del_lnk--> Applied Behavioural Analysis), practice, and schooling, some children diagnosed with autism may improve on their skills to the point of neurotypical children. Some autistic children and adults are opposed to attempts to cure autism, because they see autism as part of who they are.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>The word "autism" was first used in the <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English language</a> by <a href="../../wp/s/Switzerland.htm" title="Switzerland">Swiss</a> psychiatrist <!--del_lnk--> Eugene Bleuler in a 1912 issue of the <i>American Journal of Insanity</i>. It comes from the Greek word for "self," αυτος (<i>autos</i>). Bleuler used it to describe the <a href="../../wp/s/Schizophrenia.htm" title="Schizophrenia">schizophrenic's</a> seeming difficulty in connecting with other people.<p>However, the <!--del_lnk--> classification of autism did not occur until 1943 when psychiatrist Dr. <!--del_lnk--> Leo Kanner of the <!--del_lnk--> Johns Hopkins Hospital in <a href="../../wp/b/Baltimore%252C_Maryland.htm" title="Baltimore, Maryland">Baltimore</a> reported on 11 child patients with striking behavioural similarities and introduced the label "early infantile autism." He suggested the term "autism" to describe the fact that the children seemed to lack interest in other people. Kanner's first paper on the subject was published in a now defunct journal called <i>The Nervous Child</i>, and almost every characteristic he originally described is still regarded as typical of the autistic spectrum of disorders.<p>At the same time, an <a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austrian</a> scientist named Dr. <!--del_lnk--> Hans Asperger made similar observations, although his name has since become attached to a different higher-functioning form of autism known as <!--del_lnk--> Asperger's syndrome. Widespread recognition of Asperger's work was delayed by <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> in <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>, and by his seminal paper not being translated into English for almost 50 years. The majority of his work wasn't widely read until 1997.<p>Autism and Asperger's Syndrome are today listed in the <!--del_lnk--> DSM-IV-TR as two of the five <!--del_lnk--> pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), which are also referred to as <!--del_lnk--> autism spectrum disorders (ASD). All of these conditions are characterized by varying degrees of deficiencies in <!--del_lnk--> communication skills and social interactions, along with restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of <!--del_lnk--> behaviour.<p><a id="Characteristics" name="Characteristics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Characteristics</span></h2>
<p>Individuals diagnosed with autism can vary greatly in skills and behaviors, and their <!--del_lnk--> sensory system is quite different from that of other people. Certain <!--del_lnk--> stimulations, such as sounds, lights, and touch, will often affect someone with autism differently than someone without, and the degree to which the sensory system is affected can vary greatly from one individual to another. On the surface, individuals who have autism are physically indistinguishable from those without. Sometimes autism co-occurs with other disorders, and in those cases outward differences may be apparent. Enlarged brain size appears to accompany autism, but the effects of this are still unknown.<p>In assessing developmental delays, different physicians may not always arrive at the same conclusions. Much of this is due to the somewhat vague diagnostic criteria for autism, paired with an absence of objective diagnostic tests. Nevertheless, professionals within <!--del_lnk--> pediatrics, child psychology, <!--del_lnk--> behaviour analysis, and child development are always looking for early indicators of autism in order to initiate treatment as early as possible for the greatest benefit.<p><a id="Social_development" name="Social_development"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Social development</span></h3>
<p>Typically-developing infants are social beings—early in life they gaze at people, turn toward voices, grasp at fingers, and smile. In contrast, most autistic children do not show special interest in faces and seem to have tremendous difficulty learning to engage in everyday human interaction. Even in the first few months of life, many autistic children seem indifferent to other people, lacking the eye contact and interaction with others that non-autistic children are expected to exhibit. Some infants with autism may appear very calm; they may cry less often because they do not seek parental attention or <!--del_lnk--> ministration.<p>Autistic children often seem to prefer being alone and may passively accept such things as hugs and cuddling without reciprocating, or resist attention altogether. Later, they seldom seek comfort from others or respond to parents' displays of <!--del_lnk--> anger or <!--del_lnk--> affection in a typical way. Research has suggested that although autistic children are attached to their parents, their expression of this attachment may be unusual and difficult to interpret.<p>According to <!--del_lnk--> Simon Baron-Cohen et al, many autistic children appear to lack a "<!--del_lnk--> theory of mind," which is the ability to see things from another person's perspective. This is a behaviour cited as being exclusive to human beings above the age of five and possibly, to a lesser degree, to other higher <!--del_lnk--> primates such as adult <a href="../../wp/g/Gorilla.htm" title="Gorilla">gorillas</a>, <!--del_lnk--> chimpanzees and <!--del_lnk--> bonobos. Typical 5-year-olds can usually develop insights into other people's knowledge, feelings, and intentions based on social cues (e.g., gestures and <!--del_lnk--> facial expressions). An autistic individual may lack these interpretation skills, leaving them unable to predict or understand other people's actions or intentions.<p>Children with autism often experience <!--del_lnk--> social alienation during their school-age years. As a response to this, or perhaps because their social surroundings simply do not "fit" them, many report inventing <!--del_lnk--> imaginary friends, worlds, or scenarios. Making friends in real life and maintaining those friendships often proves to be difficult for those with autism.<p>Although not universal, it is common for autistics to have difficulty regulating their behavior, resulting in crying, verbal outbursts, or self-injurious behaviors that seem inappropriate or without cause. Those who have autism generally prefer consistent routines and environments, and they may react negatively to changes in their surroundings. It is not uncommon for these individuals to exhibit aggression, increased levels of self-stimulatory behaviour, self-injury, or extensive withdrawal in overwhelming situations. However, as the child matures and receives education/training, he or she can gradually learn to control such behaviors and cope with difficult changes in other ways.<p><a id="Sensory_system" name="Sensory_system"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sensory system</span></h3>
<p>Clinicians making a proper assessment for autism would look for symptoms much like those found in <!--del_lnk--> Sensory Integration Dysfunction. Children will exhibit problems coping with normal sensory input. Indicators of autism include oversensitivity or underreactivity to touch, movement, sights, or sounds; physical clumsiness or carelessness; poor body awareness; a tendency to be easily distracted; impulsive physical or verbal behaviour; an activity level that is unusually high or low; not unwinding or calming oneself; difficulty learning new movements; difficulty in making transitions from one situation to another; social and/or emotional problems; delays in <!--del_lnk--> speech, <!--del_lnk--> language or <!--del_lnk--> motor skills; specific learning difficulties/delays in academic achievement. However, it is important to remember that while most people with autism have some degree of sensory integration difficulty, not every person who has sensory problems is autistic.<p>One common example is autistic <!--del_lnk--> hearing. An autistic person may have trouble hearing certain people while other people are perceived as speaking at a higher volume. Or the autistic may be unable to filter out sounds in certain situations, such as in a large crowd of people (see <!--del_lnk--> cocktail party effect). However, this is perhaps a part of autism that tends to vary widely from person to person, so these examples may not apply to every autistic person. Note that such auditory difficulties fall under auditory processing disorders, and like sensory integration dysfunction, are not necessarily experienced by all people with autism or indicative of a diagnosis of autism.<p><a id="Communication_difficulties" name="Communication_difficulties"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Communication difficulties</span></h3>
<p>By age 3, typical children have passed predictable language learning milestones; one of the earliest is babbling. By the first birthday, a typical toddler says words, turns when he or she hears his or her name, points when he or she wants a toy, and when offered something distasteful, makes it clear that the answer is "no." It should be noted, however, that late language development does occur in a minority of neurotypical children.<p>Speech development in people with autism takes different paths than the majority of neurotypical children. Some remain <!--del_lnk--> mute throughout their lives with varying degrees of <a href="../../wp/l/Literacy.htm" title="Literacy">literacy</a>; communication in other ways—images, visual clues, <!--del_lnk--> sign language, and <!--del_lnk--> typing may be far more natural to them. Contrary to the prevailing traditional stereotype of mute people with Kanner-type autism, around one third of people diagnosed with this type of autism will develop what is often viewed as <i><!--del_lnk--> dysfunctional</i> verbal language, relying on rote learned stored phrases, songs, jingles and advertisements. Those with the autism spectrum condition of <!--del_lnk--> Semantic Pragmatic Disorder fall into this group.<p>Those who do speak sometimes use <a href="../../wp/l/Language.htm" title="Language">language</a> in unusual ways, retaining features of earlier stages of language development for long periods or throughout their lives. Some speak only single words, while others repeat a mimicked phrase over and over. Some repeat what they hear, a condition called <!--del_lnk--> echolalia. Sing-song repetitions in particular are a calming, joyous activity that many autistic adults engage in. Many people with autism have a strong <!--del_lnk--> tonal sense, and can often understand at least some spoken language whilst others can understand language fluently.<p>Some children may exhibit only slight delays in language, or even seem to have precocious language and unusually large <!--del_lnk--> vocabularies, but have great difficulty in sustaining typical <!--del_lnk--> conversations. The "give and take" of non-autistic conversation is hard for them, although they often carry on a <!--del_lnk--> monologue on a favorite subject, giving no one else an opportunity to comment. When given the chance to converse with other autistics, they comfortably do so in "parallel monologue"—taking turns expressing views and information. Just as "<!--del_lnk--> neurotypicals" (people without autism) have trouble understanding autistic <!--del_lnk--> body languages, vocal tones, or phraseology, people with autism similarly have trouble with such things in people without autism. In particular, autistic language abilities tend to be highly literal; people without autism often inappropriately attribute hidden meaning to what people with autism say or expect the person with autism to sense such unstated meaning in their own words.<p>Some people with high-functioning Autism demonstrate advanced cognitive ability, but lack the skills or are not inclined to interact with others socially. An example of the this is the noted autistic <!--del_lnk--> Temple Grandin, who holds a PhD and is a successful developer of livestock handling technologies. She describes her inability to understand the social communication of neurotypicals as leaving her feeling "like an anthropologist on Mars." Temple's case was described by neurologist <!--del_lnk--> Oliver Sacks in his 1995 book titled "<!--del_lnk--> An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales."<p>Some infants who later show signs of autism coo and babble during the first few months of life, but stop soon afterwards. Others may be delayed, developing language as late as the <!--del_lnk--> teenage years. Still, inability to speak does not mean that people with autism are unintelligent or unaware. Once given appropriate accommodations, some will happily converse for hours, and can often be found in online <!--del_lnk--> chat rooms, discussion boards or <!--del_lnk--> websites and even using communication devices at autism-community social events such as <!--del_lnk--> Autreat.<p>Sometimes, the body language of people with autism can be difficult for other people to understand. Facial expressions, movements, and gestures may be easily understood by some other people with autism, but do not match those used by other people. Also, their tone of voice has a much more subtle inflection in reflecting their feelings, and the <!--del_lnk--> auditory system of a person without autism often cannot sense the fluctuations. What seems to non-autistic people like odd <!--del_lnk--> prosody; things like a high-pitched, sing-song, or flat, <!--del_lnk--> robot-like voice may be common in autistic children and some will have combinations of these prosody issues. Some autistic children with relatively good language skills speak like little adults, rather than communicating at their current age level, which is one of the things that can lead to problems.<p>Since non-autistic people are often unfamiliar with the autistic <!--del_lnk--> body language, and since autistic natural language may not tend towards speech, autistic people often struggle to let other people know what they need. As anybody might do in such a situation, they may scream in frustration or resort to grabbing what they want. While waiting for non-autistic people to learn to communicate with them, people with autism do whatever they can to get through to them. Communication difficulties may contribute to autistic people becoming socially anxious or depressed or prone to self-injurious behaviours. Recently, with the awareness that those with autism can have more than one condition, a significant percentage of people with autism are being diagnosed with co-morbid mood, anxiety and compulsive disorders which may also contribute to behavioural and functioning challenges.<p><a id="Repetitive_behaviors" name="Repetitive_behaviors"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Repetitive behaviors</span></h3>
<p>Although people with autism usually appear physically normal and have good muscle control, unusual repetitive motions, known as self-stimulation or "<!--del_lnk--> stimming," may set them apart. These behaviors might be extreme and highly apparent or more subtle. Some children and older individuals spend a lot of time repeatedly flapping their arms or wiggling their toes, others suddenly freeze in position. As children, they might spend hours lining up their cars and trains in a certain way, not using them for the type of pretend play expected of a non-autistic child. If someone accidentally moves one of these toys, the child may be tremendously upset. Autistic children often need, and demand, absolute consistency in their environment. A slight change in any routine—in mealtimes, dressing, taking a bath, or going to school at a certain time and by the same route—can be extremely disturbing to them. Autistics sometimes have persistent, intense preoccupations. For example, the child might be obsessed with learning all about <a href="../../wp/c/Computer.htm" title="Computers">computers</a>, <!--del_lnk--> TV programs and <a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Movie">movie</a> schedules or <!--del_lnk--> lighthouses. Often they show great interest in different languages, numbers, symbols or <a href="../../wp/s/Science.htm" title="Science">science</a> topics. Repetitive behaviors can also extend into the spoken word as well. <!--del_lnk--> Perseveration of a single word or phrase, even for a specific number of times can also become a part of the child's daily routine.<p><a id="Effects_in_education" name="Effects_in_education"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Effects in education</span></h3>
<p>Children with autism are affected by their symptoms every day, which set them apart from unaffected students. Because of problems with <!--del_lnk--> receptive language and <!--del_lnk--> theory of mind, they can have difficulty understanding some classroom directions and instruction, along with subtle vocal and facial cues of teachers. This inability to fully decipher the world around them often makes education stressful. Teachers need to be aware of a student's disorder, and ideally should have specific training in autism education, so that they are able to help the student get the best out of his or her classroom experiences.<p>Some students learn more effectively with visual aids as they are better able to understand material presented visually. Because of this, many teachers create “visual schedules” for their autistic students. This allows students to concretely see what is going on throughout the day, so they know what to prepare for and what activity they will be doing next. Some autistic children have trouble going from one activity to the next, so this visual schedule can help to reduce stress.<p>Research has shown that working in pairs may be beneficial to autistic children. Autistic students have problems not only with language and communication, but with socialization as well. By facilitating peer interaction, teachers can help their students with autism make friends, which in turn can help them cope with problems. This can help them to become more integrated into the mainstream environment of the classroom.<p>A teacher's aide can also be useful to the student. The aide is able to give more elaborate directions that the teacher may not have time to explain to the autistic child and can help the child to stay at a equivalent level to the rest of the class through the special one-on-one instruction. However, some argue that students with one-on-one aides may become overly dependent on the help, thus leading to difficulty with independence later on.<p>There are many different techniques that teachers can use to assist their students. A teacher needs to become familiar with the child’s disorder to know what will work best with that particular child. Every child is going to be different and teachers have to be able to adjust with every one of them.<p>Students with autism spectrum disorders sometimes have high levels of <!--del_lnk--> anxiety and stress, particularly in social environments like school. If a student exhibits aggressive or explosive behaviour, it is important for educational teams to recognize the impact of stress and anxiety. Preparing students for new situations, such as through writing <!--del_lnk--> social stories, can lower anxiety. Teaching social and emotional concepts using systematic teaching approaches such as The Incredible 5-Point Scale or other cognitive behavioral strategies can increase a student's ability to control excessive behavioural reactions.<p><a id="DSM_definition" name="DSM_definition"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">DSM definition</span></h2>
<p>Autism is defined in section 299.00 of the <!--del_lnk--> Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) as:<ol>
<li>A total of six (or more) items from (1), (2) and (3), with at least two from (1), and one each from (2) and (3): <ol>
<li>qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following: <ol>
<li>marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction<li>failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level<li>a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest)<li>lack of social or emotional reciprocity</ol>
<li>qualitative impairments in communication as manifested by at least one of the following: <ol>
<li>delay in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language (not accompanied by an attempt to compensate through alternative modes of communication such as gesture or mime)<li>in individuals with adequate speech, marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others<li>stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language<li>lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative play appropriate to developmental level</ol>
<li>restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviour, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following: <ol>
<li>encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus<li>apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals<li>stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements)<li>persistent preoccupation with parts of objects</ol>
</ol>
<li>Delays or abnormal functioning in at least one of the following areas, with onset prior to age 3 years: <ol>
<li>social interaction<li>language as used in social communication<li>symbolic or imaginative play.</ol>
<li>The disturbance is not better accounted for by <!--del_lnk--> Rett's Disorder or <!--del_lnk--> Childhood Disintegrative Disorder.</ol>
<p>These are rules of thumb and may not necessarily apply to all diagnosed autistics.<p><a id="Types_of_autism" name="Types_of_autism"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Types of autism</span></h2>
<p>Autism presents in a wide degree, from those who are nearly <!--del_lnk--> dysfunctional and apparently <!--del_lnk--> mentally disabled to those whose symptoms are mild or remedied enough to appear unexceptional ("normal") to others. Although not used or accepted by professionals or within the literature, autistic individuals are often divided into those with an <!--del_lnk--> IQ<80 referred to as having "low-functioning autism" (LFA), while those with IQ>80 are referred to as having "high-functioning autism" (HFA). Low and high functioning are more generally applied to how well an individual can accomplish activities of daily living, rather than to <!--del_lnk--> IQ. The terms low and high functioning are controversial and not all autistics accept these labels.<p>This discrepancy can lead to confusion among service providers who equate IQ with functioning and may refuse to serve high-IQ autistic people who are severely compromised in their ability to perform daily living tasks, or may fail to recognize the intellectual potential of many autistic people who are considered LFA. For example, some professionals refuse to recognize autistics who can speak or write as being autistic at all, because they still think of autism as a communication disorder so severe that no speech or writing is possible.<p>As a consequence, many "high-functioning" autistic persons, and autistic people with a relatively high <!--del_lnk--> IQ, are under diagnosed, thus making the claim that "autism implies retardation" self-fulfilling. The number of people diagnosed with LFA is not rising quite as sharply as HFA, indicating that at least part of the explanation for the apparent rise is probably better diagnostics. Many also think that ASD's are being over diagnosed: (1) because the growth in the number and complexity of symptoms associated with autism has increased the chances professionals will erroneously diagnose autism and (2) because the growth in services and therapies for autism has increased the number who falsely qualify for those often free services and therapies.<p><a id="Asperger.27s_and_Kanner.27s_syndrome" name="Asperger.27s_and_Kanner.27s_syndrome"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Asperger's and Kanner's syndrome</span></h3>
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<p>In the current <!--del_lnk--> Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), the most significant difference between Autistic Disorder (Kanner's) and Asperger's syndrome is that a diagnosis of the former includes the observation of "delays or abnormal functioning in at least one of the following areas, with onset prior to age 3 years: (1) social interaction, (2) language as used in social communication, or (3) symbolic or imaginative play", while a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome observes "no clinically significant delay" in the latter two of these areas.<p>Whilst the DSM-IV does not include level of intellectual functioning in the diagnosis, the fact that those with Asperger's syndrome tend to perform better than those with Kanner's autism has produced a popular conception that <!--del_lnk--> Asperger's syndrome is synonymous with "higher-functioning autism", or that it is a lesser <!--del_lnk--> disorder than autism. Similarly, there is a popular conception that autistic individuals with a high level of intellectual functioning in fact have Asperger's syndrome, or that both types are merely '<!--del_lnk--> geeks' with a medical label attached. The popular depiction of autism in the media has been of relatively severe cases, for example, as seen in the films <i><!--del_lnk--> Rain Man</i> (autistic adult) and <i><!--del_lnk--> Mercury Rising</i> (autistic child), and in turn many relatives of those who have been diagnosed in the autistic spectrum choose to speak of their loved ones as having Asperger's syndrome rather than autism.<p><a id="Autism_as_a_spectrum_disorder" name="Autism_as_a_spectrum_disorder"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Autism as a spectrum disorder</span></h3>
<p>Another view of these disorders is that they are on a continuum known as <!--del_lnk--> autistic spectrum disorders. Autism spectrum disorder is an increasingly popular term that refers to a broad definition of autism including the classic form of the disorder as well as closely related conditions such as PDD-NOS and Asperger's syndrome. Although the classic form of autism can be easily distinguished from other forms of autism spectrum disorder, the terms are often used interchangeably.<p>A related continuum, <!--del_lnk--> Sensory Integration Dysfunction, involves how well humans integrate the information they receive from their senses. Autism, Asperger's syndrome, and Sensory Integration Dysfunction are all closely related and overlap.<p>Some people believe that there might be two manifestations of classical autism, <!--del_lnk--> regressive autism and <!--del_lnk--> early infantile autism. Early infantile autism is present at birth while regressive autism begins before the age of 3 and often around 18 months. Although this causes some controversy over when the neurological differences involved in autism truly begin, some speculate that an environmental influence or toxin triggers the disorder. This triggering could occur during gestation due to a toxin that enters the mother's body and is transferred to the fetus. The triggering could also occur after birth during the crucial early nervous system development of the child.<p>A paper published in 2006 concerning the behavioural, cognitive, and genetic bases of autism argues that autism should perhaps not be seen as a single disorder, but rather as a set of distinct symptoms (social difficulties, communicative difficulties and repetitive behaviors) that have their own distinct causes. An implication of this would be that a search for a "cure" for autism is unlikely to succeed if it is not examined as separate, albeit overlapping and commonly co-occurring, disorders.<p><a id="Epidemiology" name="Epidemiology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Epidemiology</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd><i>Further information: <!--del_lnk--> Frequency of autism and <!--del_lnk--> Autism (incidence).</i><dt>Sex differences</dl>
<p>There is not a clear-cut ratio of incidence between boys and girls. Studies have found much higher prevalence in boys at the high-functioning end of the spectrum, while the ratios appear to be closer to 1:1 at the low-functioning end. In addition, a study published in 2006 suggested that men over 40 are more likely than younger men to father a child with autism, and that the ratio of autism incidence in boys and girls is closer to 1:1 with older fathers.<dl>
<dt>Reported increase with time</dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:402px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23437.png.htm" title="The number of reported cases of autism increased dramatically over a decade. Statistics in graph from the National Center for Health Statistics."><img alt="The number of reported cases of autism increased dramatically over a decade. Statistics in graph from the National Center for Health Statistics." height="233" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Autismnocgraph.png" src="../../images/234/23437.png" width="400" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23437.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The number of reported cases of autism increased dramatically over a decade. Statistics in graph from the <!--del_lnk--> National Centre for Health Statistics.</div>
</div>
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<p>There was a worldwide increase in reported cases of autism over the decade to 2006, which may echo the pattern following the description of <a href="../../wp/s/Schizophrenia.htm" title="Schizophrenia">schizophrenia</a> in the twentieth century. There are several theories about the apparent sudden increase.<p>Many epidemiologists argue that the rise in the incidence of autism in the United States is largely attributable to a broadening of the diagnostic concept, reclassifications, public awareness, and the incentive to receive federally mandated services (for example,) However, some authors indicate that the existence of an as yet unidentified contributing environmental risk factor cannot be ruled out. On the other hand, a widely-cited pilot study conducted in California by the UC Davis <!--del_lnk--> M.I.N.D. Institute (<!--del_lnk--> 17 October <!--del_lnk--> 2002), reported that the increase in autism is real, even after accounting for changes to diagnostic criteria.<p>The question of whether the rise in incidence is real or an artifact of improved diagnosis and a broader concept of autism remains controversial. Dr. Chris Johnson, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Sciences Centre at <!--del_lnk--> San Antonio and co-chair of the <!--del_lnk--> American Academy of Pediatrics Autism Expert Panel, sums up the state of the issue by saying, "There is a chance we're seeing a true rise, but right now I don't think anybody can answer that question for sure." (<!--del_lnk--> Newsweek reference below).<p>The answer to this question has significant ramifications on the direction of research, since a real increase would focus more attention (and research funding) on the search for environmental factors, while the alternative would focus more attention to genetics. On the other hand, it is conceivable that certain environmental factors (such as chemicals, infections, medicines, <!--del_lnk--> vaccines, diet and societal changes) may have a particular impact on people with a specific genetic constitution.<p>One of the more popular theories is that there is a connection between "geekdom" and autism. This is hinted, for instance, by a <i>Wired Magazine</i> article in 2001 entitled "The <!--del_lnk--> Geek Syndrome", which is a point argued by many in the autism rights movement. This article, many professionals assert, is just one example of the media's application of mental disease labels to what is actually variant normal behaviour—they argue that shyness, lack of athletic ability or social skills, and intellectual interests, even when they seem unusual to others, are not in themselves signs of autism or Asperger's syndrome. Others assert that children who in the past would have simply been accepted as a little different or even labeled 'gifted' are now being labeled with mental disease diagnoses. See <!--del_lnk--> clinomorphism for further discussion of this issue.<p>Due to the recent publicity surrounding autism and autistic spectrum disorders, an increasing number of adults are choosing to seek diagnoses of high-functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome in light of symptoms they currently experience or experienced during childhood. Since the cause of autism is thought to be at least partly genetic, a proportion of these adults seek their own diagnosis specifically as follow-up to their children's diagnoses. Because autism falls into the <!--del_lnk--> pervasive developmental disorder category, an individual's symptoms must have been present before age seven in order to make a strict <!--del_lnk--> differential diagnosis.<p><a id="Treatment" name="Treatment"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Treatment</span></h2>
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<p>There is a broad array of <b>autism therapies</b>, but the <!--del_lnk--> efficacy of each varies dramatically from person to person. Progress toward development of medical and <!--del_lnk--> behaviour modification remedies, for the more debilitating affects of autism, has been hindered significantly by widespread disagreements over such things as the nature and causes of <!--del_lnk--> autistic spectrum disorders, and by a relative paucity of efficacious therapies thus far recognized by medical authorities.<p><a id="Causes" name="Causes"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Causes</span></h2>
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</dl>
<p>The <b>causes and etiology of autism</b> are areas of debate and controversy; there is currently no consensus, and researchers are studying a wide range of possible genetic and environmental causes. Since autistic individuals are all somewhat different from one another, there are likely multiple "causes" that interact with each other in subtle and complex ways, and thus give slightly differing outcomes in each individual. Two theories environmental theories include the impact of vaccines on the immune system (of which a statistically significant link has never been found despite many attempts; see the <!--del_lnk--> vaccine theory sub-heading in the Causes of autism page for a more extensive treatment) and a more recent theory relating autism to high levels of television viewing while young.<p>There is also a large genetic component to autism. Originally hinting toward this was the observation that there is about a 60% concordance rate for autism in monozygotic (identical) <!--del_lnk--> twins, while dizygotic (non-identical) twins and other siblings only exhibit about 4% concordance rates. A theory featuring <!--del_lnk--> mirror neurons states that autism may involve a dysfunction of specialized neurons in the brain that should activate when observing other people. In typically-developing people, these mirror neurons are thought to perhaps play a major part in <!--del_lnk--> social learning and general comprehension of the actions of others.<p><a id="Sociology" name="Sociology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Sociology</span></h2>
<p>Due to the complexity of autism, there are many facets of <a href="../../wp/s/Sociology.htm" title="Sociology">sociology</a> that need to be considered when discussing it, such as the culture which has evolved from autistic persons connecting and communicating with one another. In addition, there are several subgroups forming within the autistic community, sometimes in strong opposition to one another.<p>Autistic students generally have difficulties fitting into the education system because of their (sometimes deliberate) eccentricities and their will to be accepted and considered equal to their non-autistic peers in disregard of these eccentricities.<p><a id="Community_and_politics" name="Community_and_politics"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Community and politics</span></h3>
<p>Curing autism is a very highly <!--del_lnk--> controversial and <!--del_lnk--> politicized issue. What some call the "autistic community" has splintered into several strands. Some seek a cure for autism - sometimes dubbed by <i>pro-cure</i>. Others do not desire a "cure", because they point out that autism is a way of life rather than a "disease", and as such resist it. They are sometimes dubbed <i>anti-cure</i>. Many more may have views between these two. Recently, with scientists learning more about autism and possibly coming closer to effective remedies, some members of the "anti-cure" movement <!--del_lnk--> sent a letter to the United Nations demanding to be treated as a <!--del_lnk--> minority group rather than a group with a <!--del_lnk--> mental disability or disease. Web sites such as <!--del_lnk--> autistics.org present the view of the anti-cure group.<p>There are many resources available for autistic people. Because many autistics find it easier to communicate online than in person, a large number of these resources are online. In addition, successful autistic adults in a local community will sometimes help children with autism, using their own experience in developing coping strategies and/or interacting with society.<p>The year 2002 was declared <!--del_lnk--> Autism Awareness Year in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>—this idea was initiated by <!--del_lnk--> Ivan and Charika Corea, parents of an autistic child, Charin. Autism Awareness Year was led by the <!--del_lnk--> British Institute of Brain Injured Children, <!--del_lnk--> Disabilities Trust, <!--del_lnk--> National Autistic Society, <!--del_lnk--> Autism London and 800 organizations in the United Kingdom. It had the personal backing of <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">British</a> Prime Minister <a href="../../wp/t/Tony_Blair.htm" title="Tony Blair">Tony Blair</a> and parliamentarians of all parties in the <a href="../../wp/p/Palace_of_Westminster.htm" title="Palace of Westminster">Palace of Westminster</a>.<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h3>
<p>With the recent increases in autism recognition and new approaches to educating and socializing autistics, an <i>autistic culture</i> has begun to develop. Similar to <!--del_lnk--> deaf culture, autistic culture is based on a more accepting belief that autism is a unique way of being and not a disorder to be cured. There are some commonalities which are specific to autism in general as a culture, not just "autistic culture".<p>It is a common misperception that autistic people do not marry; many do seek out close relationships and marry. Often, they marry another autistic, although this is not always the case. Autistic people are often attracted to other autistic people due to shared interests or obsessions, but more often than not the attraction is due to simple compatibility with personality types, the same as for non-autistics. Autistics who communicate have explained that companionship is as important to autistics as it is to anyone else. Multigenerational autistic families have also recently become a bit more noticeable.<p>It is also a common misperception that autistic people live away from other people, such as in a <!--del_lnk--> rural area rather than an <!--del_lnk--> urban area; many autistics do happily live in a <!--del_lnk--> suburb or large city. However, a metropolitan area can provide more opportunities for cultural and personal conflicts, requiring greater needs for adjustment.<p>Parents and relatives of autistic adults strongly fear their loved ones would be unsuspected victims of <a href="../../wp/c/Crime.htm" title="Crime">crime</a> and <!--del_lnk--> fraud, and autistic adults are said to end up a target for <!--del_lnk--> hate crimes. In the U.S. it is a federal felony for one to purposely attack an individual for their <!--del_lnk--> disability.<p>In schools it is commonplace for autistics to be singled out by teachers and students as "unruly," though an autistic student may not understand why his or her actions are considered inappropriate, especially when the student has a logical explanation for his or her behaviour.<p>The interests of autistic people and so-called "<!--del_lnk--> geeks" or "<!--del_lnk--> nerds" can often overlap as autistic people can sometimes become preoccupied with certain subjects, much like the variant normal behavior geeks experience. However, in practice many autistic people have difficulty with working in groups, which impairs them even in the most 'geeky' of situations. The connection of autism with so-called geek or nerd behaviour has received attention in the popular press, but is still controversial within these groups.<p>Speculation arises over famous people and celebrities are now suspected, but unconfirmed, of having autism and Asperger's syndrome. They are rumored to have most symptoms of autism or autistic-spectrum disorder. Biographers, personal physicians and media journalists continually investigate these rumors, but some say that the claims are actually <!--del_lnk--> libellous of their character as public figures, being singled out as "odd" or "nerdy" people. <i></i><p><a id="Autistic_adults" name="Autistic_adults"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Autistic adults</span></h3>
<p>Communication and social problems often cause difficulties in many areas of the autistic's life. Far fewer adult autistics marry or have children than the general population. Even when they do marry it is more likely to end in divorce than the norm. Furthermore, far fewer autistic adults live in <!--del_lnk--> metropolitan areas than the general population, and even if they live near metro areas they are more likely going to experience <!--del_lnk--> bullying and <a href="../../wp/p/Poverty.htm" title="Poverty">poverty</a> than the norm. Nevertheless, as more social groups form, progressively more diagnosed adults are forming relationships with others on the spectrum.<p>A small proportion of autistic adults, usually those with high-functioning autism or <!--del_lnk--> Asperger's syndrome, are able to work successfully in mainstream jobs, although frequently far below their actual level of skills and qualification. Some have managed self-employment; many of those are listed on self-employment sites such as <!--del_lnk--> Auties.org.<p>Others are employed in sheltered workshops under the supervision of managers trained in working with persons with disabilities. A nurturing environment at home, at school, and later in job training and at work, helps autistic people continue to learn and to develop throughout their lives.<p>It is often said that the <a href="../../wp/i/Internet.htm" title="Internet">Internet</a>, since it is almost devoid of the non-verbal cues that autistics find so hard to interact with, has given some autistic individuals an environment in which they can, and do, communicate and form online communities. The internet has also provided the option of occupations such as, <!--del_lnk--> teleworking and independent consulting, which, in general, do not require much human interaction offline.<p>Under the public law, in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, the public schools' responsibility for providing services ends when the autistic person is 21 years of age. The autistic person and their family are then faced with the challenge of finding living arrangements and employment to match their particular needs, as well as the programs and facilities that can provide support services to achieve these goals.<p>However autism can be a <a href="../../wp/p/Poverty.htm" title="Poverty">poverty</a> trap for adult and young autistics, many of whom are engaged in unskilled jobs for which they are overqualified, or on welfare benefits. Many parents of autistic children also face financial difficulties as they must often pay for essential support and therapeutic services. Furthermore, autistics who might qualify for <!--del_lnk--> financial assistance in one country are not eligible in another, because some nations do not recognize autism as a disability.<p><a id="Terminology" name="Terminology"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Terminology</span></h3>
<p>When referring to someone who is diagnosed with autism, the term "autistic" is often used. Alternatively, many prefer to use the <!--del_lnk--> person-first terminology "person with autism" or "person who experiences autism." However, the <!--del_lnk--> autistic community generally prefers "autistic" for reasons that are fairly controversial. This article uses both terminologies.<p><a id="Autism_and_blindness" name="Autism_and_blindness"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Autism and blindness</span></h3>
<p>The characteristics of a person with both an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and a severe visual impairment (VI) may vary from a person with just ASD or just VI, and there have been observations of relatively high co-occurrence of the two.<p>Developmental trajectories of children with ASD-VI are often very similar as those followed by children with typical autism, but the child with ASD-VI will have particularly unusual responses to sensory information. He or she may be overly sensitive to touch or sound, or be under responsive to pain. Typically, touch, smell, and sound are affected the most dramatically. Unusual posture or hands movements are common, and very difficult to redirect. These are so common because of the sensory input issues in addition to the lack of visual modeling.<p><a id="Autistic_savants" name="Autistic_savants"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Autistic savants</span></h3>
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<p>The autistic savant phenomenon is sometimes seen in autistic people. Estimates of the prevalence of this phenomenon range between 1% and 10%. The term is used to describe a person who is autistic and has extreme talent in a certain area of study. Although there is a common association between savants and autism (an association made especially popular by the 1988 film <i><!--del_lnk--> Rain Man</i>), most autistic people are not <!--del_lnk--> savants and savantism is not unique to autistic people, though there does seem to be some relation. <!--del_lnk--> Mental calculators and fast <a href="../../wp/c/Computer_programming.htm" title="Computer programming">computer programming</a> skills are the most common form. A well known example is <!--del_lnk--> Daniel Tammet, the subject of the <!--del_lnk--> documentary film <i><!--del_lnk--> The Brain Man</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Kim Peek, one of the inspirations for <!--del_lnk--> Dustin Hoffman's character in the film <i><!--del_lnk--> Rain Man</i>, is not autistic). "Bright Splinters of the Mind" is a book that explores this issue further.<p><a id="Other_pervasive_developmental_disorders" name="Other_pervasive_developmental_disorders"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Other pervasive developmental disorders</span></h2>
<p>Autism and Asperger's syndrome are just two of the five pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs). The three other pervasive developmental disorders are <!--del_lnk--> Rett syndrome, <!--del_lnk--> Childhood disintegrative disorder, and <!--del_lnk--> Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. Some of these are related to autism, while some of them are entirely separate conditions.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Auto racing</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Sports.htm">Sports</a></h3>
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<p><b>Auto racing</b> (also known as <b>automobile racing</b>, <b>autosport</b> or <b>motorsport</b>) is a sport involving <!--del_lnk--> racing <a href="../../wp/a/Automobile.htm" title="Automobile">automobiles</a>. <b>Motor racing</b> or <b>motorsport</b> may also mean <!--del_lnk--> Motorcycle sport, and it can further include <!--del_lnk--> motorboat racing and <!--del_lnk--> air racing. Auto racing began in <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> in the late nineteenth century and is now one of the world's most popular, and perhaps the most thoroughly <!--del_lnk--> commercialized, <!--del_lnk--> spectator sports.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p><a id="The_start" name="The_start"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The start</span></h3>
<p>It began almost immediately after the construction of the first successful <!--del_lnk--> petrol-fuelled <!--del_lnk--> autos. In <!--del_lnk--> 1894, the first contest was organized by Paris magazine <i><!--del_lnk--> Le Petit Journal</i>, a reliability test to determine best performance. But the race was changed to: <i>Paris to Rouen 1894</i>. Competitors included factory vehicles from <a href="../../wp/k/Karl_Benz.htm" title="Karl Benz">Karl Benz</a>'s Benz & Cie. and <!--del_lnk--> Gottlieb Daimler and <!--del_lnk--> Wilhelm Maybach's DMG.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1895, one year later, the first real race was staged in <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, from <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a> to <!--del_lnk--> Bordeaux. First over the line was <!--del_lnk--> Émile Levassor but he was disqualified because his car was not a required four-seater.<p>An international competition began with the <!--del_lnk--> Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racing.<p>The first auto race in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> took place in <a href="../../wp/c/Chicago.htm" title="Chicago">Chicago</a> on <!--del_lnk--> November 28, <!--del_lnk--> 1895 over a 54.36 mile (87.48 km) course, with <!--del_lnk--> Frank Duryea winning in 10 h and 23 min, beating three petrol-fuelled cars and two electric.<!--del_lnk--> The first trophy awarded was the <!--del_lnk--> Vanderbilt Cup.<p><a id="City_to_city_racing" name="City_to_city_racing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">City to city racing</span></h3>
<p>With auto construction and racing dominated by <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, the French automobile club ACF staged a number of major international races, usually from or to Paris, connecting with another major city in Europe or France.<p>These very successful races ended in <!--del_lnk--> 1903 when Marcel <!--del_lnk--> Renault was involved in a fatal accident near <!--del_lnk--> Angouleme in the Paris-Madrid race. Eight fatalities caused the French government to stop the race in <!--del_lnk--> Bordeaux and ban open-road racing.<p><a name="1910-1950"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">1910-1950</span></h3>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> 1930s saw the radical differentiation of racing vehicles from high-priced road cars, with <!--del_lnk--> Delage, <!--del_lnk--> Auto Union, <!--del_lnk--> Mercedes-Benz, <!--del_lnk--> Delahaye and <!--del_lnk--> Bugatti constructing stream-lined vehicles with engines producing up to 450 kW(612HP) with the aid of multiple superchargers. From <!--del_lnk--> 1928-<!--del_lnk--> 1930 and again in <!--del_lnk--> 1934-<!--del_lnk--> 1936, the maximum <!--del_lnk--> weight permitted was 750 kg(1654Lbs), a rule diametrically opposed to current racing regulations. Extensive use of aluminium alloys was required to achieve light weight, and in the case of the Mercedes, the paint was removed to satisfy the weight limitation, producing the famous <!--del_lnk--> Silver Arrows.<dl>
<dd><i>See: <!--del_lnk--> Grand Prix motor racing</i></dl>
<p><a id="Regulations" name="Regulations"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Regulations</span></h2>
<p>As of today regulations are defined by the <!--del_lnk--> FIA.<p><a id="Categories" name="Categories"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Categories</span></h2>
<p>There are many categories of auto racing. Categories are defined by the <!--del_lnk--> Appendix J to the international motor sports code.<p><a id="Single-seater_racing" name="Single-seater_racing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Single-seater racing</span></h3>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/51/5193.jpg.htm" title="A modern Formula One car: Michael Schumacher's Ferrari at the 2005 United States Grand Prix."><img alt="A modern Formula One car: Michael Schumacher's Ferrari at the 2005 United States Grand Prix." height="117" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Schumacher_%28Ferrari%29_in_practice_at_USGP_2005.jpg" src="../../images/8/857.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/51/5193.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A modern <a href="../../wp/f/Formula_One.htm" title="Formula One">Formula One</a> car: <!--del_lnk--> Michael Schumacher's <!--del_lnk--> Ferrari at the <!--del_lnk--> 2005 United States Grand Prix.</div>
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<p>Single-seater (<!--del_lnk--> open-wheel) racing is perhaps the most well-known form of motorsport, with cars designed specifically for high-speed racing. The wheels are not covered, and the cars often have aerofoil wings front and rear to produce downforce and enhance adhesion to the track.<p>Single-seater races are held on specially designed closed circuits or street circuits closed for the event. Many single-seater races in North America are held on "oval" circuits and the <!--del_lnk--> Indy Racing League races mostly on ovals.<p>The best-known variety of single-seater racing, is the <a href="../../wp/f/Formula_One.htm" title="Formula One">Formula One</a> World Championship, which involves an annual championship of around 18 races a year featuring major international car and engine manufacturers such as <!--del_lnk--> Ferrari, <!--del_lnk--> Mercedes-Benz (McLaren), <!--del_lnk--> BMW (Sauber), <!--del_lnk--> Toyota, <!--del_lnk--> Honda, and <!--del_lnk--> Renault in an ongoing battle of technology and driver skill and talent. Formula One is, by any measure, the most expensive sport in the world, with some teams spending in excess of 700 million US dollars per year. Formula One is widely considered to be the pinnacle of motorsports. In North America, the cars used in the <!--del_lnk--> National Championship (currently <!--del_lnk--> Champcars and the <!--del_lnk--> Indy Racing League) have traditionally been similar to <!--del_lnk--> F1 cars but with more restrictions on technology aimed at helping to control costs.<p>Other single-seater racing series are the <!--del_lnk--> A1 Grand Prix (the world cup of motorsport), <!--del_lnk--> GP2 (formerly known as <!--del_lnk--> Formula 3000 and <!--del_lnk--> Formula Two), <!--del_lnk--> Formula Nippon, <!--del_lnk--> Formula Renault 3.5 (also known as the World Series by Renault, succession series of <!--del_lnk--> World Series by Nissan), <!--del_lnk--> Formula Three and <!--del_lnk--> Formula Atlantic.<p>There are other categories of single-seater racing, including <!--del_lnk--> kart racing, which employs a small, low-cost machine on small tracks. Many of today's top drivers started their careers in karts. <!--del_lnk--> Formula Ford represents a popular first open-wheel category for up-and-coming drivers stepping up from karts.<p><a id="Rallying" name="Rallying"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Rallying</span></h3>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/858.jpg.htm" title="A Ford Escort Cosworth, driven by Malcolm Wilson on a stage rally."><img alt="A Ford Escort Cosworth, driven by Malcolm Wilson on a stage rally." height="143" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Wilson_Escort.jpg" src="../../images/8/858.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/858.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> Ford Escort <!--del_lnk--> Cosworth, driven by <!--del_lnk--> Malcolm Wilson on a stage rally.</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Rallying, or rally racing, involves highly modified production cars on (closed) public roads or off-road areas run on a point-to-point format where participants and their co-drivers “rally” to a set of points, leaving in regular intervals from start points. A rally is typically conducted over a number of 'stages' of any terrain, which entrants are often allowed to scout beforehand at reduced speeds compiling detailed shorthand descriptions of the track or road as they go. These detailed descriptions are known as 'pacenotes'. During the actual rally, the co-driver reads the pacenotes aloud (using an in-helmet intercom system) to the driver, enabling them to complete each stage as quickly as possible. Competition is based on lowest total elapsed time over the course of an event.<p>The top series is the <!--del_lnk--> World Rally Championship (WRC), but there also regional championships and many countries have their own national championships. Some famous rallies include the <!--del_lnk--> Monte Carlo Rally, <!--del_lnk--> Rally Argentina, <!--del_lnk--> Rally Finland and <!--del_lnk--> Rally GB. Another famous event (actually best described as a "<!--del_lnk--> rally raid") is the <!--del_lnk--> Paris-Dakar Rally. There are also many smaller, club level, <!--del_lnk--> categories of rallies which are popular with amateurs, making up the "grass roots" of motorsports.<p><a id="Ice_Racing" name="Ice_Racing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Ice Racing</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Ice racing, with <!--del_lnk--> cars, <!--del_lnk--> motorcycles or <!--del_lnk--> snowmobiles, takes place on frozen lakes or rivers, or on carefully groomed frozen lots. As cold weather is a requirement for natural ice, it is usually found at higher latitudes in <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>, the northern <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, and in northern <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>.<p><a id="Motorcycle_ice_racing" name="Motorcycle_ice_racing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Motorcycle ice racing</span></h3>
<p>Ice racing usually involves subcategories for full-<!--del_lnk--> rubber and <a href="../../wp/s/Screw.htm" title="Screw">studded</a> <!--del_lnk--> tires. These classes are applied to cars and motorcycles, although a greater percentage of motorcycles use studded tires. Studs on motorcycles for ice racing are very sharp and may be as long as 75[mm] (2.5 <!--del_lnk--> inches) with as many as 500 studs per tire in ice <!--del_lnk--> speedway. Historically Czech made <!--del_lnk--> 4-stroke <!--del_lnk--> Jawa motorcycles have been the dominant force in this sport. Impressive motorcycle ice racing footage can be seen in the <!--del_lnk--> Bruce Brown documentary <!--del_lnk--> On Any Sunday.<p><a id="Touring_car_racing" name="Touring_car_racing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Touring car racing</span></h3>
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<div style="width:172px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/859.jpg.htm" title="Andy Priaulx leading the World Touring Car Championship 2006 Race 10 in Curitiba."><img alt="Andy Priaulx leading the World Touring Car Championship 2006 Race 10 in Curitiba." height="120" longdesc="/wiki/Image:WTCC_2006_Race_10_Curitiba_later.jpg" src="../../images/8/859.jpg" width="170" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/859.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Andy Priaulx leading the <!--del_lnk--> World Touring Car Championship 2006 Race 10 in <!--del_lnk--> Curitiba.</div>
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<p>Touring car racing is a style of road racing that is run with production derived race cars. It often features exciting, full-contact racing due to the small speed differentials and large grids.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> V8 Supercars originally from <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a>, <!--del_lnk--> BTCC, <!--del_lnk--> Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters originally from <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>, and the <!--del_lnk--> World Touring Car Championship held with 2 non-European races (previously the <!--del_lnk--> European Touring Car Championship) are the major touring car championships conducted worldwide.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Sports Car Club of America's <!--del_lnk--> SPEED World Challenge Touring Car and GT championships are dominant in North America while the venerable <!--del_lnk--> British Touring Car Championship continues in <a href="../../wp/g/Great_Britain.htm" title="Great Britain">Great Britain</a>. America's historic <!--del_lnk--> Trans-Am Series is undergoing a period of transition, but is still the longest-running road racing series in the U.S. The <!--del_lnk--> National Auto Sport Association also provides a venue for amateurs to compete in home-built factory derived vehicles on various local circuits.<p><a id="Stock_car_racing" name="Stock_car_racing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Stock car racing</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/860.jpg.htm" title="One of the most famous NASCAR tracks was the old Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California."><img alt="One of the most famous NASCAR tracks was the old Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California." height="285" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Riverside_Raceway.JPG" src="../../images/8/860.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/860.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> One of the most famous NASCAR tracks was the old <!--del_lnk--> Riverside International Raceway in <!--del_lnk--> Riverside, California.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Stock car racing, the North American equivalent to touring car racing, is the most-popular form of auto racing (in terms of viewership) on that continent. Usually conducted on ovals, the cars may resemble production cars but are in fact purpose-built racing machines which are all very similar in specifications. Early stock cars were much closer to production vehicles; the car to be raced was often driven from track to track.<p>The main stock car racing series is <!--del_lnk--> NASCAR's <!--del_lnk--> Nextel Cup, and among the most famous races in the series are the <!--del_lnk--> Daytona 500 and the <!--del_lnk--> Brickyard 400. NASCAR also runs the <!--del_lnk--> Busch Series (a junior stock car league) and the <!--del_lnk--> Craftsman Truck Series (<!--del_lnk--> pickup trucks).<p>NASCAR also runs the <!--del_lnk--> "modified" cars which are heavily modified from stock form. With powerful engines, large tires, and light bodies. NASCAR's oldest series is considered by many to be its most exciting.<p>There are also other stock car series like <!--del_lnk--> IROC in the United States and <!--del_lnk--> CASCAR in <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>.<p><!--del_lnk--> British Stock car racing is a form of Short Oval Racing This takes place on shale or tarmac tracks in either clockwise or anti-clockwise direction depending on the class, some of which allow contact.<p>Races are organised by local promoters and all drivers are registered with BRISCA and have their own race number.<p>What classes exist depends on the promoters, so events in <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a> at Cowdenbeath can be very different from an event at <!--del_lnk--> Wimbledon Stadium in <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>.<p><a id="Drag_racing" name="Drag_racing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Drag racing</span></h3>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> drag racing, the objective is to complete a certain distance, traditionally ¼ mile, (400 m), in the shortest possible time. The vehicles range from the everyday car to the purpose-built <!--del_lnk--> dragster. Speeds and elapsed time differ from class to class. A street car can cover the ¼ mile (400 m) in 15 s whereas a <!--del_lnk--> top fuel dragster can cover the same distance in 4.5 s and reach 330 mph (530 km/h). Drag racing was organised as a sport by <!--del_lnk--> Wally Parks in the early <!--del_lnk--> 1950s through the <!--del_lnk--> NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) which is the largest sanctioning motor sports body in the world. The NHRA was formed to prevent people from <!--del_lnk--> street racing. Illegal street racing is not drag racing.<p>Launching its run to 330 mph (530 km/h), a top fuel dragster will accelerate at 4.5 <i><!--del_lnk--> g</i> (44 m/s<sup>2</sup>), and when braking and parachutes are deployed, the driver experiences deceleration of 4 <i>g</i> (39 m/s<sup>2</sup>), more than space shuttle occupants. A single top fuel car can be heard over eight miles (13 km) away and can generate a reading of 1.5 to 2 on the <!--del_lnk--> Richter scale. (NHRA Mile High Nationals 2001, and 2002 testing from the National Seismology Centre.)<p>Drag racing is often head-to-head where two cars battle each other, the winner proceeding to the next round. Professional classes are all first to the finish line wins. Sportsman racing is handicapped (slower car getting a head start) using an index, and cars running faster than their index "break out" and lose.<p>Drag racing is mostly popular in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>.<p><a id="Sports_car_racing" name="Sports_car_racing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sports car racing</span></h3>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> sports car racing, production versions of <!--del_lnk--> sports cars and purpose-built prototype cars compete with each other on closed circuits. The races are often conducted over long distances, at least 1000 km, and cars are driven by teams of two or three drivers (and sometimes more in the US), switching every now and then. Due to the performance difference between production based sports cars and sports racing prototypes, one race usually involves many racing classes. In the US the <!--del_lnk--> American Le Mans Series was organized in 1999, featuring GT, GTS, and two prototype classes, LMP1 (Le Mans Prototype 1) and LMP2. Manufacturers such as Audi and Acura/Honda field or support entries in the Prototype class. Another series based on Le Mans began in 2004, the <!--del_lnk--> Le Mans Endurance Series, which included four 1000 km races at tracks in Europe. A competing body, <!--del_lnk--> Grand-Am, which began in 2000, sanctions its own set of endurance series, the <!--del_lnk--> Rolex Sports Car Series and the <!--del_lnk--> Grand-Am Cup. Grand-Am events typically feature many more cars and much closer competition than American Le Mans.<p>Famous sports car races include the <!--del_lnk--> 24 Hours of Le Mans, the <!--del_lnk--> 24 Hours of Daytona and the <!--del_lnk--> 12 Hours of Sebring.<p><a id="Offroad_racing" name="Offroad_racing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Offroad racing</span></h3>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> offroad racing, various classes of specially modified vehicles, including cars, compete in races through off-road environments. In North America these races often take place in the desert, such as the famous <!--del_lnk--> Baja 1000. In Europe, "offroad" refers to events such as autocross or rallycross, while desert races and rally-raids such as the <!--del_lnk--> Paris-Dakar, <!--del_lnk--> Master Rallye or European "bajas" are called Cross-Country Rallies.<p>They also have courses that are in the woods such as mud pits that the vehicles have to go through on the track. It is basically a course to see whose vehicle can go through the worst terrain with the best time overall.<p><a id="Hillclimbing" name="Hillclimbing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Hillclimbing</span></h3>
<p>In Hillclimbing they take already off-road capable vehicles and put special parts on them so they can handle very rough terrain such as hills with rocks and divots so that the vehicle has to have very good traction and fast acceleration so that they can quickly push off of the rocks and holes. They also have a series of climbs in which the person with the fastest time overall out of the whole competition wins and there are different hills in the competition with different obstacles that the vehicle has to overcome. In the United Kingdom, Hillclimbs take the form of cars being timed on a particular section of hill route. Cars used vary from production vehicles, to group N racers onto formula racers from bygone eras. One such Hillclimb event is the Prescott Hillclimb, staged near Cheltenham, England.<p><a id="Kart_racing" name="Kart_racing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Kart racing</span></h3>
<p>Although often seen as the entry point for serious racers into the sport, <!--del_lnk--> kart racing, or karting, can be an economic way for amateurs to try racing and is also a fully fledged international sport in its own right. World-famous F1-drivers like <!--del_lnk--> Michael and <!--del_lnk--> Ralf Schumacher and most of the typical starting grid of a modern Grand Prix took up the sport at around the age of eight, with some testing from age three. Several former motorcycle champions have also taken up the sport, notably <!--del_lnk--> Wayne Rainey, who was paralysed in a racing accident and now races a hand-controlled kart. As one of the cheapest ways to go racing, karting is seeing its popularity grow worldwide.<p>Go-karts, or just "karts" - seem very distant from normal road cars, with dimunitive frames and wheels, but a small engine combined with very light weight make for a quick machine. The tracks are also on a much smaller scale, making kart racing more accessible to the average enthusiast.<p><a id="Legend_car_racing" name="Legend_car_racing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Legend car racing</span></h3>
<p><a id="Historical_racing" name="Historical_racing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Historical racing</span></h3>
<p>As modern motor racing is centered on modern technology with a lots of corporate sponsors and politics involved, <!--del_lnk--> historical racing tends to be the opposite as it relies on cars of a particular era and rarely politics as they are merely seen as hobbies. Events are purely regulated to allow cars being around of a certain era to partipicate and only timing and safety device is the thing that is modern of it. A historical event can be of various different type of motorsport disciplines. Notably some of the most famous events of them all are the <!--del_lnk--> Goodwood Festival of Speed and <!--del_lnk--> Goodwood Revival in Britain and <!--del_lnk--> Monterey Historic in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a><p><a id="Other_categories" name="Other_categories"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Other categories</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Autocross<li><!--del_lnk--> Autograss<li><!--del_lnk--> Board track racing<li><!--del_lnk--> Demolition Derby<li><!--del_lnk--> Dirt speedway racing<li><!--del_lnk--> Dirt track racing<li><!--del_lnk--> Drifting<li><!--del_lnk--> Folkrace<li><!--del_lnk--> Grand Prix Truck Racing<li><!--del_lnk--> International Sporting Code<li><!--del_lnk--> Lapping<li><!--del_lnk--> Rallycross<li><!--del_lnk--> Rallying<li><!--del_lnk--> Road racing<li><!--del_lnk--> Short track motor racing<li><!--del_lnk--> Slalom<li><!--del_lnk--> Solo<li><!--del_lnk--> Sprint car racing<li><!--del_lnk--> Street racing</ul>
<p><a id="Use_of_flags" name="Use_of_flags"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Use of flags</span></h2>
<p>In open-wheel, stock-car and other types of circuit auto races, flags are displayed to indicate the general status of a race and to communicate instructions to competitors in a race. While the flags have changed from the first years (e.g. red used to start a race), these are generally accepted for today.<table>
<tr>
<th>Flag</th>
<th>Displayed from start tower</th>
<th>Displayed from observation post</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/8/861.png.htm" title="Green flag"><img alt="Green flag" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auto_Racing_Green.svg" src="../../images/8/861.png" width="25" /></a></td>
<td>The race has started or resumed after a full caution or stop, or the race is proceeding normally.</td>
<td>End of hazardous section of track.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/8/862.png.htm" title="Yellow flag"><img alt="Yellow flag" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auto_Racing_Yellow.svg" src="../../images/8/862.png" width="25" /></a></td>
<td>Full course caution condition for ovals. On road courses, it means a local area of caution. Depending on the type of racing, either two yellow flags will be used for a full course caution or a sign with 'SC' (<!--del_lnk--> Safety car) will be used as the field follows the <!--del_lnk--> pace/safety car on track and no cars may pass.</td>
<td>Local caution condition — no cars may pass at the particular corner where being displayed.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/8/863.png.htm" title="Yellow flag with red stripes"><img alt="Yellow flag with red stripes" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auto_Racing_Oil.svg" src="../../images/8/863.png" width="25" /></a></td>
<td>Debris or slippery patches on the track.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/8/864.png.htm" title="Black flag"><img alt="Black flag" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auto_Racing_Black.svg" src="../../images/8/864.png" width="25" /></a></td>
<td>The car with the indicated number must pit for consultation.</td>
<td>The session is halted; all cars on course must return to pit lane.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/8/865.png.htm" title="Meatball flag"><img alt="Meatball flag" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auto_Racing_Orange_Circle.svg" src="../../images/8/865.png" width="25" /></a></td>
<td>The car with the indicated number has mechanical trouble.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/8/866.png.htm" title="Black and white flag"><img alt="Black and white flag" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auto_Racing_Black_White.svg" src="../../images/8/866.png" width="25" /></a></td>
<td>The driver of the car with the indicated number has been penalized for misbehaviour.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/8/867.png.htm" title="White cross flag"><img alt="White cross flag" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auto_Racing_White_Cross.svg" src="../../images/8/867.png" width="25" /></a></td>
<td>The driver of the car with the indicated number is disqualified or will not be scored until they report to the pits.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/8/868.png.htm" title="Blue flag with yellow stripe"><img alt="Blue flag with yellow stripe" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auto_Racing_Blue.svg" src="../../images/8/868.png" width="25" /></a></td>
<td>A car must allow another car to pass if the flag is blue only. With an orange or yellow stripe, it simply serves as a warning that faster traffic is behind.</td>
<td>A car is being advised to give way to faster traffic approaching.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/8/869.png.htm" title="Red flag"><img alt="Red flag" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auto_Racing_Red.svg" src="../../images/8/869.png" width="25" /></a></td>
<td>The race is stopped—all cars must halt on the track or return to pit lane.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/8/870.png.htm" title="White flag"><img alt="White flag" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auto_Racing_White.svg" src="../../images/8/870.png" width="25" /></a></td>
<td>One lap remains.</td>
<td>A slow vehicle is on the track.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/8/871.png.htm" title="Chequered flag"><img alt="Chequered flag" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Auto_Racing_Chequered.svg" src="../../images/8/871.png" width="25" /></a></td>
<td>The race has concluded.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Accidents" name="Accidents"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Accidents</span></h2>
<p>For the worst accident in racing history see <!--del_lnk--> 1955 Le Mans disaster. (<i>See also <!--del_lnk--> Deaths in motorsports</i>)<p><a id="Racing_car_setup" name="Racing_car_setup"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Racing car setup</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>In auto racing, the <!--del_lnk--> racing setup or car setup is the set of adjustments made to the vehicle in order to optimize its behaviour (performance, <!--del_lnk--> handling, reliability, etc.). Adjustments can occur in <!--del_lnk--> suspensions, <!--del_lnk--> brakes, <!--del_lnk--> transmission, and many others.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_racing"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Autobianchi Primula</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Plants.htm">Plants</a></h3>
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<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="color: white; background: darkgreen; text-align: center; font-size: larger;"><b>Autobianchi Primula</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th width="100"><!--del_lnk--> Manufacturer:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Autobianchi</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Production:</th>
<td>1964–1970</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Class:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Supermini</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Body style:</th>
<td>2-door <!--del_lnk--> fastback<br /> 3-door <!--del_lnk--> hatchback<br /> 4-door <!--del_lnk--> fastback<br /> 5-door <!--del_lnk--> hatchback<br /> 2-door <!--del_lnk--> coupé</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Engine:</th>
<td>1221 cc <!--del_lnk--> I4 <!--del_lnk--> OHV<br /> 1197 cc <!--del_lnk--> I4 <!--del_lnk--> OHV <i>(Berlina)</i><br /> 1438 cc <!--del_lnk--> I4 <!--del_lnk--> OHV <i>(Coupé)</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Transmission:</th>
<td>4-speed <!--del_lnk--> manual</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Wheelbase:</th>
<td>2300 mm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Length:</th>
<td>3785 mm <i>(Berlina)</i><br /> 3715 mm <i>(Coupé)</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Width:</th>
<td>1578 mm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Height:</th>
<td>1400 mm <i>(Berlina)</i><br /> 1350 mm <i>(Coupé)</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Similar:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Austin/Morris 1100</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Designer:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Dante Giacosa</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Autobianchi Primula</b> was a small car (<!--del_lnk--> supermini) from the <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italian</a> automaker, <!--del_lnk--> Autobianchi (a subsidiary of the <!--del_lnk--> Fiat group), built from 1964 to 1970. It was notable as Fiat's first ever automobile with the <!--del_lnk--> front-wheel drive, <!--del_lnk--> transverse engine setup, as well as the first Fiat group car with <!--del_lnk--> rack and pinion steering. Primulas were built in the Autobianchi factory in <!--del_lnk--> Desio and were priced comparably to the <!--del_lnk--> Austin/Morris 1100 models built in Italy by <!--del_lnk--> Innocenti.<p>
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</script><a id="Concept" name="Concept"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Concept</span></h2>
<p>Before the Primula, all Fiat group passenger cars were <!--del_lnk--> rear-wheel drive — the bigger models followed the classic <!--del_lnk--> FR layout (front engine powering the rear axle), while small cars were <!--del_lnk--> rear-engined. Meanwhile, a practical concept emerged, namely the <!--del_lnk--> front-wheel drive layout with the engine mounted <!--del_lnk--> transversely, which allowed for very efficient space utilization. First popularized by the legendary <a href="../../wp/m/Mini.htm" title="Mini">Mini</a>, it also found its way to other, bigger models, starting with <!--del_lnk--> BMC's own <!--del_lnk--> Austin/Morris 1100.<p>Fiat's chief designer, <!--del_lnk--> Dante Giacosa, recognized the potential of that concept, but the company decided to experiment with it not risking the chances of the popular Fiat-branded cars. Thus the Autobianchi Primula emerged — a car marketed under a less crucial nameplate, for which it was an entry into a whole new class of vehicles.<p><a id="Body_styles" name="Body_styles"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Body styles</span></h2>
<p>The car's original body was similar to the BMC's <!--del_lnk--> fastback "<!--del_lnk--> saloon" concept, available with two or four doors and with or without the rear hatch (which made the car effectively a <!--del_lnk--> hatchback), producing four different combinations, referred to in Italian as <i>"<!--del_lnk--> berlina"</i>. In 1965, a year after the original launch, the lineup was complemented with a <!--del_lnk--> Coupé model (effectively a more stylish yet spacious 2-door fastback) designed by <!--del_lnk--> Carrozzeria Touring.<p><a id="Driveline" name="Driveline"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Driveline</span></h2>
<p>Initially, the Primula was fitted with the 1221 cc engine from the <!--del_lnk--> Fiat 1100 <i>D</i> (the Coupé had it uprated to 65 hp), but in 1968 it was replaced with <!--del_lnk--> Fiat 124 engines — the berlinas received the 1197 cc 60 hp engine from the standard versions, while the coupé was graced with the more powerful 1438 cc 70 hp unit. All engines used in the Primula had <!--del_lnk--> overhead valves (OHV) — the later <!--del_lnk--> twin cam derivative of the 1438 cc unit never found its way under the hood of any Autobianchi. Contrary to similar BMC models, which had the transmissions in the <!--del_lnk--> oil sump, the Primula had its four-speed <!--del_lnk--> manual transmission placed end-on, and the <!--del_lnk--> differential below it. The Primula also featured <!--del_lnk--> disc brakes on all four wheels, a safety feature yet uncommon in small cars of its time.<p><a id="Reaction" name="Reaction"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Reaction</span></h2>
<p>The Primula found favorable reception in the marketplace, and came second in the 1965 <!--del_lnk--> European Car of the Year contest, after another front-wheel drive car, the <!--del_lnk--> Austin 1800. This convinced Fiat to pursue the concept further. In 1969 the first Fiat with a front-mounted transverse engine, the <!--del_lnk--> Fiat 128, was launched, along with two new front-wheel drive Autobianchis — the <!--del_lnk--> Autobianchi A112, smaller than Primula, and the larger <!--del_lnk--> Autobianchi A111. The 128 secured Fiat the Car of the Year title in 1970, with A112 coming second. The Primula was eventually dropped in 1970, with 74,858 cars built.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobianchi_Primula"</div>
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Autocracy | <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<p>An <b>autocracy</b> is a <!--del_lnk--> form of government in which the <!--del_lnk--> political power is held by a single person.<p>The term <i>autocrat</i> is derived from the <!--del_lnk--> Greek word <i>autokratôr</i> (lit. "self-ruler", "ruler of one's self"). Compare with <a href="../../wp/o/Oligarchy.htm" title="Oligarchy">oligarchy</a> (rule by a minority, by a small group) and <a href="../../wp/d/Democracy.htm" title="Democracy">democracy</a> (rule by the majority, by the people).<p>Today it is usually seen as synonymous with <i><a href="../../wp/d/Despotism.htm" title="Despotism">despot</a></i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> tyrant</i> and/or <i><!--del_lnk--> dictator</i>, though each of these terms originally had a separate and distinct meaning (see their respective articles).<p>Autocracy is not synonymous with <!--del_lnk--> totalitarianism, as this concept was precisely forged to distinguish modern regimes that appeared in the 1930s from traditional <!--del_lnk--> dictatorships. It also isn't synonymous with <a href="../../wp/m/Military_dictatorship.htm" title="Military dictatorship">military dictatorship</a>, as these often take the form of "collective presidencies" (see the South-American <i><!--del_lnk--> juntas</i>). However, an autocracy may be totalitarian or be a military dictatorship.<p>The term <a href="../../wp/m/Monarchy.htm" title="Monarchy">monarchy</a> differs in that it emphasizes the hereditary characteristic, though some Slavic monarchs (see <!--del_lnk--> tsar) traditionally included the title "autocrat" of part of their official styles. The actual power of the monarch may be limited. Historically, many monarchs ruled autocratically (see <!--del_lnk--> absolute monarchy) but eventually their power was diminished and dissolved with the introduction of <!--del_lnk--> constitutions giving the people the power to make decisions for themselves through elected bodies of <a href="../../wp/g/Government.htm" title="Government">government</a>.<p>The autocrat needs some kind of power structure to rule. Only a boss of a street gang or a barbarian chieftain can truly rule with only his personal charisma and his fighting skills. Most historical autocrats depended on their nobles, the military, the priesthood or others, who could turn against the ruler and depose or murder him. The true nature of a historical autocracy can be difficult to judge.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autocracy"</div>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Design_and_Technology.Engineering.htm">Engineering</a></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16719.jpg.htm" title="An NCR interior, multi-function ATM in the USA"><img alt="An NCR interior, multi-function ATM in the USA" height="314" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ATM_750x1300.jpg" src="../../images/167/16719.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16719.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An <!--del_lnk--> NCR interior, multi-function ATM in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">USA</a></div>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16720.jpg.htm" title="Smaller indoor ATMs dispense money inside convenience stores and other busy areas, such as this off-premise Wincor Nixdorf mono-function ATM in Sweden."><img alt="Smaller indoor ATMs dispense money inside convenience stores and other busy areas, such as this off-premise Wincor Nixdorf mono-function ATM in Sweden." height="254" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ICAs_uttagsautomat_ICA_Metro_Skanstull_Stockholm_2005-07-18.jpg" src="../../images/167/16720.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16720.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Smaller indoor ATMs dispense money inside <!--del_lnk--> convenience stores and other busy areas, such as this off-premise <!--del_lnk--> Wincor Nixdorf mono-function ATM in <a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a>.</div>
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<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16721.jpg.htm" title="An on-premise NCR interior, multi-function through-the-wall ATM at a CIBC branch in Canada"><img alt="An on-premise NCR interior, multi-function through-the-wall ATM at a CIBC branch in Canada" height="270" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ATM_Vancouver_Canada_CIBC.jpg" src="../../images/167/16721.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16721.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An on-premise <!--del_lnk--> NCR interior, multi-function through-the-wall ATM at a <!--del_lnk--> CIBC branch in <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a></div>
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<p>An <b>automated teller machine</b> or <b>automatic teller machine</b> <b>(ATM)</b> is a computerized telecommunications device that provides a <!--del_lnk--> financial institution's <!--del_lnk--> customers a <!--del_lnk--> secure method of performing <!--del_lnk--> financial transactions in a public space without the need for a human <!--del_lnk--> clerk or <!--del_lnk--> bank teller.<p>Using an ATM, customers can access their bank <!--del_lnk--> accounts in order to make <!--del_lnk--> cash withdrawals (or <!--del_lnk--> credit card cash advances) and check their account balances. Many ATMs also allow people to <!--del_lnk--> deposit cash or <!--del_lnk--> cheques, transfer money between their bank accounts, <!--del_lnk--> pay bills, or purchase <!--del_lnk--> goods and <!--del_lnk--> services.<p>An ATM is also known, in English, as <i>Automated Banking Machine</i>, <i>Money machine</i>, <i>Bank Machine</i> (<a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>), <i>Cash Machine</i> (<!--del_lnk--> UK), <i>Hole-In-The-Wall</i> (<a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a>, <!--del_lnk--> UK) or <i>Cashpoint</i> (<a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a>, <!--del_lnk--> UK). Despite the wide usage of the term "ATM Machine", the word "machine" is <!--del_lnk--> redundant.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><i><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16722.jpg.htm" title="An old Nixdorf ATM"><img alt="An old Nixdorf ATM" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Fr%C3%BCher_Bankautomat_von_Nixdorf.jpg" src="../../images/167/16722.jpg" width="180" /></a></i><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><i><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16722.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></i></div> An old <!--del_lnk--> Nixdorf ATM</div>
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<p>A mechanical cash dispenser, arguably an ATM, was developed and built by <!--del_lnk--> Luther George Simjian and installed <!--del_lnk--> 1939 in <a href="../../wp/n/New_York_City.htm" title="New York City">New York</a> by the <!--del_lnk--> City Bank of New York, but removed after 6 months due to the lack of customer acceptance.<p>Thereafter, the history of ATMs paused for over 25 years, until <!--del_lnk--> De La Rue developed the first electronic ATM, which was installed first in <!--del_lnk--> Enfield Town in North <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a> on <!--del_lnk--> June 27, <!--del_lnk--> 1967 by <!--del_lnk--> Barclays Bank. The first person to use the machine was <!--del_lnk--> Reg Varney of "<!--del_lnk--> On the Buses" fame, a British Television programme from the <!--del_lnk--> 1960s.This instance of the <!--del_lnk--> invention is credited to <!--del_lnk--> John Shepherd-Barron, although Luther George Simjian registered patents in New York, USA in the <!--del_lnk--> 1930s and <!--del_lnk--> Donald Wetzel and two other engineers from <!--del_lnk--> Docutel registered a patent on <!--del_lnk--> June 4, <!--del_lnk--> 1973. Shepherd-Barron was awarded an <!--del_lnk--> OBE in the 2005 <!--del_lnk--> New Year's Honours List<p>The first ATMs accepted only a single-use token or voucher, which was retained by the machine. These worked on various principles including <!--del_lnk--> radiation and low-coercivity <a href="../../wp/m/Magnetism.htm" title="Magnetism">magnetism</a> that was wiped by the card reader to make fraud more difficult.<p>The idea of a <!--del_lnk--> personal identification number (PIN) stored on a physical card being compared with the PIN entered when retrieving the money was developed by the British engineer <!--del_lnk--> James Goodfellow in <!--del_lnk--> 1965, who also holds international patents regarding this technology.<p>ATMs first came into wide use during the early- to mid-<!--del_lnk--> 1980s. Notable historical models of ATMs include the <!--del_lnk--> IBM <!--del_lnk--> 3624 and <!--del_lnk--> 473x series, <!--del_lnk--> Diebold <!--del_lnk--> TABS 9000 and <!--del_lnk--> 10xx series, and <!--del_lnk--> NCR <!--del_lnk--> 5xxx series.<p><a id="Usage" name="Usage"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Usage</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16723.jpg.htm" title="An ATM Encrypting PIN Pad (EPP) with German markings"><img alt="An ATM Encrypting PIN Pad (EPP) with German markings" height="130" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ATM_pinpad_in_german.jpg" src="../../images/167/16723.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16723.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An ATM Encrypting PIN Pad (EPP) with German markings</div>
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<p>On most modern ATMs, the customer identifies him or herself by inserting a plastic card with a <!--del_lnk--> magnetic stripe or a plastic <!--del_lnk--> smartcard with a chip, that contains his or her card number and some security information, such as an expiration date or CVC (CVV). The customer then verifies their identity by entering a <!--del_lnk--> passcode, often referred to as a <b><!--del_lnk--> PIN</b> (<b>P</b>ersonal <b>I</b>dentification <b>N</b>umber) of four or more digits. Upon successful entry of the PIN, the customer may perform a transaction. After the transaction is complete, a transaction record is printed, usually consisting of the action taken, date and time, location, any applicable fees, and available balance.<p>If the number is entered incorrectly several times in a row (usually three attempts per card insertion), some ATMs will attempt to retain the card as a security precaution to prevent an unauthorised user from discovering the PIN by guesswork. Captured cards are often destroyed if the ATM owner is not the card issuing bank, as non-customer's identities cannot be reliably confirmed.<p>In some cases, a transaction may be performed at the ATM that allows the customer's PIN to be changed securely.<p><a id="Types" name="Types"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Types</span></h2>
<p>The top three worldwide manufacturers of ATM machinery and their ATM brands includes the Diebold <!--del_lnk--> Opteva series, NCR <!--del_lnk--> Personas series, and <!--del_lnk--> Wincor Nixdorf <!--del_lnk--> ProCash series. There are many other <!--del_lnk--> ATM suppliers and distributors.<p><a id="Types_by_physical_characteristics" name="Types_by_physical_characteristics"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Types by physical characteristics</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16724.jpg.htm" title="A mono-function, exterior Siemens Nixdorf ATM in Germany"><img alt="A mono-function, exterior Siemens Nixdorf ATM in Germany" height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Geldautomat_Hamburg_Haspa2630.jpg" src="../../images/167/16724.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16724.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A mono-function, exterior <!--del_lnk--> Siemens Nixdorf ATM in Germany</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>There are two main types of ATMs that have developed over time:<ul>
<li>Mono-function devices, which only one type of mechanism for financial transactions is present (such as cash dispensing or statement printing)<li>Multi-function devices, which incorporate multiple mechanisms to perform multiple services (such as accepting deposits, dispensing cash, printing statements, etc.) all within a single <!--del_lnk--> footprint.</ul>
<p>Mono-function and multi-function devices are manufactured both regular "interior grade" and weather-resistant "exterior, through-the-wall grade" variants. Some ATMs are also built as fully self-contained exterior units designed to sit alone without the protection of a building and be completely exposed on all sides to the elements.<p>Reasons for selecting either mono-function or multi-function and "interior" versus "exterior" ATMs include device cost, installation location, <!--del_lnk--> customer wait times, desired reliability, and historical preference.<p><a id="Types_by_installation_locations" name="Types_by_installation_locations"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Types by installation locations</span></h3>
<p>ATMs are placed not only near or inside the premises of banks, but also in locations such as shopping centres/malls, grocery stores, gas stations and restaurants. These represent two types of ATM installations, on and off premise. On premise ATMs are typically more advanced, mutli-function machines that complement an actual bank branch's capabilities and thus more expensive. Off premise machines are deployed by financial institutions and also ISO's (or Independent Sales Organizations) where there is usually just a straight need for cash, so they typically are the cheaper mono-function devices.<p>In Canada, when an ATM is not operated by a financial institution it is known as a <!--del_lnk--> "White Label ATM".<p><a id="Financial_networks_and_ATMs" name="Financial_networks_and_ATMs"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Financial networks and ATMs</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16725.jpg.htm" title="An ATM in the Netherlands. The logos of a number of interbank networks this ATM is connected to are shown."><img alt="An ATM in the Netherlands. The logos of a number of interbank networks this ATM is connected to are shown." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Geldautomaat.jpg" src="../../images/167/16725.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16725.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An ATM in the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>. The <!--del_lnk--> logos of a number of <!--del_lnk--> interbank networks this ATM is connected to are shown.</div>
</div>
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<p><a id="Logical_connections" name="Logical_connections"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Logical connections</span></h3>
<p>Most ATMs are connected to <!--del_lnk--> interbank networks, enabling people to withdraw and deposit money from machines not belonging to the bank where they have their account or in the country where their accounts are held. This is a convenience, especially for people who are travelling: it is possible to make withdrawals in places where one's bank has no branches, and even to withdraw local currency in a foreign country. Some examples of interbank networks include <!--del_lnk--> PLUS, <!--del_lnk--> Cirrus, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> SASWITCH, <a href="../../wp/h/Hong_Kong.htm" title="Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> JETCO, <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Interac, the <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a>' <!--del_lnk--> Expressnet and <a href="../../wp/n/Nigeria.htm" title="Nigeria">Nigeria</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Interswitch network.<p>ATMs rely on <!--del_lnk--> authorization of a <!--del_lnk--> transaction by the card issuer or other authorizing institution via the communications network. This is often performed through an <!--del_lnk--> ISO 8583 messaging system.<p>Many banks <!--del_lnk--> charge fees for the use of their ATMs. In some cases, these fees are assessed solely for non-members of the bank; in other cases, they apply to all users. Many people oppose these fees because ATMs are actually less costly for banks than withdrawals from human tellers.<p>In order to allow a more diverse range of devices to attach to their networks, some interbank networks have passed rules expanding the definition of an ATM to be a terminal that either has the vault within its footprint or utilizes the vault or cash drawer within the merchant establishment, which allows for the use of a <!--del_lnk--> scrip cash dispenser.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16726.jpg.htm" title="A Diebold 1063ix with a dial-up modem visible at the base"><img alt="A Diebold 1063ix with a dial-up modem visible at the base" height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Diebold_1063_ATM_with_modem.jpg" src="../../images/167/16726.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16726.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> Diebold <!--del_lnk--> 1063ix with a dial-up modem visible at the base</div>
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<p><a id="Physical_connections" name="Physical_connections"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Physical connections</span></h3>
<p>ATMs typically connect directly to their ATM Transaction Processor via either a dial-up <!--del_lnk--> modem over a <a href="../../wp/t/Telephone.htm" title="Telephone">telephone</a> line or directly via a leased line. Leased lines are preferable to <!--del_lnk--> POTS lines because they require less time to establish a connection. Leased lines may be comparatively expensive to operate versus a POTS line, meaning less-trafficked machines will usually rely on a dial-up modem. That dilemma may be solved as high-speed Internet <!--del_lnk--> VPN connections become more ubiquitous. Common lower-level layer communication protocols used by ATMs to communicate back to the Bank include <!--del_lnk--> SNA over <!--del_lnk--> SDLC, <!--del_lnk--> TC500 over <!--del_lnk--> Async, <!--del_lnk--> X.25, and <!--del_lnk--> TCP/IP over <!--del_lnk--> Ethernet.<p>In addition to methods employed for transaction security and secrecy, all communications traffic between the ATM and the Transaction Processor could also be encrypted via methods such as <!--del_lnk--> SSL.<p><a id="Global_use" name="Global_use"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Global use</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16727.jpg.htm" title="An ATM in the Tokyo subway"><img alt="An ATM in the Tokyo subway" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ATMShinGinkoTokyoNakaiSta.jpg" src="../../images/167/16727.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16727.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An ATM in the <a href="../../wp/t/Tokyo.htm" title="Tokyo">Tokyo</a> <!--del_lnk--> subway</div>
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<p>There are no hard international or governmental-compiled numbers totaling the complete number of ATMs in use worldwide. Estimates developed by <!--del_lnk--> ATMIA place the number of ATMs in use at over 1.5 million as of <!--del_lnk--> August <!--del_lnk--> 2006<p>Industry views of ATM usage around the world generally divide the world into seven regions, due to the penetration rates, usage statistics, and features deployed. Four regions (USA, Canada, Europe, and Japan) have high numbers of ATMs per million people and generally slowing growth rates. Despite the large number of ATMs, there is additional demand for machines in the Asia/Pacific area as well as in Latin America. ATMs have yet to reach high numbers in the Near East/Africa.<p><!--del_lnk--> The world's most northernly installed ATM in the world is located at <!--del_lnk--> Longyearbyen, <a href="../../wp/s/Svalbard.htm" title="Svalbard">Svalbard</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norway</a>.<p><!--del_lnk--> The world's most southernly installed ATM in the world is located at <!--del_lnk--> McMurdo Station, <a href="../../wp/a/Antarctica.htm" title="Antarctica">Antarctica</a>.<p>While ATMs are ubiquitous on modern <!--del_lnk--> cruise ships, ATMs can also be found on certain <!--del_lnk--> US Navy ships.<p><a id="Hardware" name="Hardware"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Hardware</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16728.png.htm" title="A block diagram of an ATM."><img alt="A block diagram of an ATM." height="280" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Atm_blockdiagram.png" src="../../images/167/16728.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16728.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A block diagram of an ATM.</div>
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<p>An ATM typically is made up of the following devices:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> CPU (to control the user interface and transaction devices)<li><!--del_lnk--> Magnetic and/or <!--del_lnk--> Chip card reader (to identify the customer)<li><!--del_lnk--> PIN Pad (similar in layout to a <!--del_lnk--> Touch tone or <!--del_lnk--> Calculator keypad), often manufactured as part of a secure enclosure.<li><!--del_lnk--> Secure cryptoprocessor, generally within a secure enclosure.<li>Display (used by the customer for performing the transaction)<li><!--del_lnk--> Function key buttons (usually close to the display) or a <!--del_lnk--> Touchscreen (used to select the various aspects of the transaction)<li>Record Printer (to provide the customer with a record of their transaction)<li><!--del_lnk--> Vault (to store the parts of the machinery requiring restricted access)<li>Housing (for aesthetics and to attach signage to)</ul>
<p>Recently, due to heavier computing demands and the falling price of computer-like architectures, ATMs have moved away from custom hardware architectures using <!--del_lnk--> microcontrollers and/or <!--del_lnk--> application-specific integrated circuits to adopting a hardware architecture that is very similar to a <!--del_lnk--> personal computer. Many ATMs are now able to use operating systems such as Microsoft Windows and Linux. Although it is undoubtedly cheaper to use <!--del_lnk--> commercial off-the-shelf hardware, it does make ATM's vulnerable to the same sort of problems exhibited by conventional computers.<p><a id="Vaults" name="Vaults"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Vaults</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16729.jpg.htm" title="Interior of a freestanding ATM, during servicing"><img alt="Interior of a freestanding ATM, during servicing" height="257" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ATM_interior.jpg" src="../../images/167/16729.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16729.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Interior of a freestanding ATM, during servicing</div>
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<p>The vault of an ATM is within the footprint of the device itself and is where items of value are kept. <!--del_lnk--> Scrip cash dispensers do not incorporate a vault.<p>Mechanisms found inside the vault may include:<ul>
<li>Dispensing mechanism (to provide <!--del_lnk--> cash or other items of value)<li>Deposit mechanism (to take items of value from the customer)<li>Security sensors (Magnetic, Thermal, Seismic)<li>Locks (to ensure controlled access to the contents of the vault)</ul>
<p>ATM vaults are supplied by manufacturers in several grades. Factors influencing vault grade selection include cost, weight, regulatory requirements, ATM type, operator risk avoidance practices, and internal volume requirements.<p>Industry standard vault configurations include <!--del_lnk--> Underwriters Laboratories <!--del_lnk--> UL-291 "Business Hours" and Level 1 Safes, <!--del_lnk--> RAL 626/3, TL-30 derivatives, and <!--del_lnk--> CEN EN 1143-1:2005 - CEN III/VdS and CEN IV/LGAI/VdS.<p>ATM manufacturers recommend that vaults be attached to the floor to prevent theft.<p><a id="Software" name="Software"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Software</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16730.jpg.htm" title="A Wincor Nixdorf ATM running Windows 2000"><img alt="A Wincor Nixdorf ATM running Windows 2000" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Postomat-Windows-p1020441.jpg" src="../../images/167/16730.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16730.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> Wincor Nixdorf ATM running <a href="../../wp/w/Windows_2000.htm" title="Windows 2000">Windows 2000</a></div>
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<p>With the migration to commodity PC hardware, standard commercial "off-the-shelf" operating systems and programming environments can be used inside of ATMs. Typical platforms used in ATM development include <!--del_lnk--> RMX, <!--del_lnk--> OS/2, and <a href="../../wp/m/Microsoft.htm" title="Microsoft">Microsoft</a> operating systems (such as <!--del_lnk--> Windows 98, <!--del_lnk--> Windows NT, <a href="../../wp/w/Windows_2000.htm" title="Windows 2000">Windows 2000</a>, <a href="../../wp/w/Windows_XP.htm" title="Windows XP">Windows XP</a>, or <!--del_lnk--> Windows XP Embedded). <!--del_lnk--> Sun Microsystem's <!--del_lnk--> Java may also be used in these environments.<p><a href="../../wp/l/Linux.htm" title="Linux">Linux</a> is also finding some reception in the ATM marketplace. An example of this is <!--del_lnk--> Banrisul, the largest bank in the south of <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a>, which has replaced the <!--del_lnk--> MS-DOS operating systems in its ATMs with Linux.<p>Common application layer transaction protocols, such as <!--del_lnk--> Diebold <!--del_lnk--> 911 or 912, <!--del_lnk--> IBM <!--del_lnk--> PBM, and <!--del_lnk--> NCR <!--del_lnk--> NDC or NDC+ provide <!--del_lnk--> emulation of older generations of hardware on newer platforms with incremental extensions made over time to address new capabilities. Most major ATM manufacturers provide software packages that implement these protocols. Newer protocols such as <!--del_lnk--> IFX have yet to find wide acceptance by transaction processors.<p><a name=".5BWOSA.2FCEN.5D.2FXFS_and_J.2FXFS"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">[WOSA/CEN]/XFS and J/XFS</span></h3>
<p>With the move to a more standardized software base, financial institutions have been increasingly interested in the ability to pick and choose the application programs that drive their equipment. <!--del_lnk--> WOSA/XFS, now known as <!--del_lnk--> CEN XFS (or simply XFS), provides a common <!--del_lnk--> API for accessing and manipulating the various devices of an ATM.<p><!--del_lnk--> J/XFS is a Java implementation of the CEN XFS API.<p><a id="XFS_middleware" name="XFS_middleware"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">XFS middleware</span></h3>
<p>While the perceived benefit of XFS is similar to the Java's <!--del_lnk--> "Write once, run anywhere" mantra, often different ATM hardware vendors have different interpretations of the XFS standard. The result of these differences in interpretation means that ATM applications typically use a <!--del_lnk--> middleware to even out the differences between various platforms.<p>Notable XFS middleware platforms include <!--del_lnk--> Diebold <!--del_lnk--> Agilis, <!--del_lnk--> KAL <!--del_lnk--> Kalignite, <!--del_lnk--> NCR Corporation <!--del_lnk--> Aptra Edge, <!--del_lnk--> Phoenix Interactive <!--del_lnk--> VISTAatm, and <!--del_lnk--> Wincor Nixdorf <!--del_lnk--> Protopas.<p><a id="Software_integrity" name="Software_integrity"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Software integrity</span></h3>
<p>With the move of ATMs to industry-standard computing environments, concern has risen about the integrity of the ATM's software stack. Various solutions have been adopted by the industry to address this concern.<p><a id="Security" name="Security"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Security</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Security, as it relates to ATMs, has several dimensions. ATMs also provide a practical demonstration of a number of security systems and concepts operating together and how various security concerns are dealt with.<p><a id="Physical" name="Physical"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Physical</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16731.jpg.htm" title="A vandalized ATM in Spain"><img alt="A vandalized ATM in Spain" height="237" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Jaixak_euki_ebazan_Caixak.jpg" src="../../images/167/16731.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16731.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A vandalized ATM in Spain</div>
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<p>Early ATM security focused on making the ATMs invulnerable to physical attack; they were effectively safes with dispenser mechanisms. A number of attacks on ATMs resulted, with thieves attempting to steal entire ATMs by <!--del_lnk--> ram-raiding. Since late 1990s, criminal groups operating in Japan improved ram-raiding by stealing and using a truck loaded with a heavy construction machinery to effectively demolish or uproot an entire ATM and any housing to steal its cash.<p>Another attack method is to seal all openings of the ATM with <!--del_lnk--> silicone and fill the vault with a combustible gas or to place an explosive inside, attached, or near the ATM. This gas or explosive is ignited and the vault is opened or distorted by the force of the resulting explosion and the criminals can break in.<p>Modern ATM physical security, per other modern money-handling security, concentrates on denying the use of the money inside the machine to a thief, by means of techniques such as dye markers and smoke canisters.<p><a id="Transactional_secrecy_and_integrity" name="Transactional_secrecy_and_integrity"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Transactional secrecy and integrity</span></h3>
<p>The security of ATM transactions relies mostly on the integrity of the secure cryptoprocessor: the ATM often uses commodity components that are not considered to be "<!--del_lnk--> trusted systems".<p>Encryption of personal information, required by law in many jurisdictions, is used to prevent fraud. Sensitive data in ATM transactions are usually <!--del_lnk--> encrypted with <a href="../../wp/d/Data_Encryption_Standard.htm" title="Data Encryption Standard">DES</a>, but transaction processors now usually require the use of <!--del_lnk--> Triple DES. Remote Key Loading techniques may be used to ensure the secrecy of the initialization of the encryption keys in the ATM. <!--del_lnk--> Message Authentication Code (MAC) or <!--del_lnk--> Partial MAC may also be used to ensure messages have not been tampered with while in transit between the ATM and the financial network.<p><a id="Customer_identity_integrity" name="Customer_identity_integrity"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Customer identity integrity</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16732.jpg.htm" title="An ATM with a palm scanner (to the right of the screen)"><img alt="An ATM with a palm scanner (to the right of the screen)" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Japanese_ATM_Palm_Scanner.jpg" src="../../images/167/16732.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16732.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An ATM with a <!--del_lnk--> palm scanner (to the right of the screen)</div>
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<p>There have also been a number of incidents of fraud where criminals have attached fake keypads or card readers to existing machines. These have then been used to record customers' PINs and bank card information in order to gain unauthorised access to their accounts. Various ATM manufacturers have put in place countermeasures to protect the equipment they manufacture from these threats.<p>Alternate methods to verify cardholder identities have been tested and deployed in some countries, such as finger and palm vein patterns, iris, and facial recognition technologies. Cost of integrating and implementing these technologies along with concerns about consumer acceptance have limited their deployment so far.<p><a id="Device_operation_integrity" name="Device_operation_integrity"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Device operation integrity</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16733.jpg.htm" title="ATMs that are exposed to the outside must be vandal and weather resistant."><img alt="ATMs that are exposed to the outside must be vandal and weather resistant." height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Worn_ATM.jpg" src="../../images/167/16733.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16733.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> ATMs that are exposed to the outside must be vandal and weather resistant.</div>
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<p>Openings on the customer-side of ATMs are often covered by mechanical <!--del_lnk--> shutters to prevent tampering with the mechanisms when they are not in use. Alarm sensors are placed inside the ATM and in ATM servicing areas to alert their operators when doors have been opened by unauthorized personnel.<p>Rules are usually set by the government or ATM operating body that dictate what happens when integrity systems fail. Depending on the jurisdiction, a bank may or may not be liable when an attempt is made to dispense a customer's money from an ATM and the money either gets outside of the ATM's vault, or was exposed in a non-secure fashion, or they are unable to determine the state of the money after a failed transaction. Bank customers often complain that banks have made it difficult to recover money lost in this way, but this is often complicated by the Bank's own internal policies regarding suspicious activities typical of the criminal element.<p><a id="Customer_security_while_using_ATMs" name="Customer_security_while_using_ATMs"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Customer security while using ATMs</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16734.jpg.htm" title="Security guards watching over ATMs that have been installed in a van."><img alt="Security guards watching over ATMs that have been installed in a van." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ATMs_In_A_Van.jpg" src="../../images/167/16734.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16734.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Security guards watching over ATMs that have been installed in a <!--del_lnk--> van.</div>
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<p>In some areas, multiple <!--del_lnk--> security cameras and <!--del_lnk--> security guards are an ubiquitous ATM feature.<p>Critics of ATM operators assert that the issue of customer security appears to have been abandoned by the banking industry; it has been suggested that efforts are now more concentrated on deterring legislation than on solving the problem of forced withdrawals.<p>At least as far back as <!--del_lnk--> July 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1986, critics of the industry have called for the adoption of an emergency PIN system for ATMs, where the user is able to send a <!--del_lnk--> silent alarm in response to a threat. Legislative efforts to require an emergency PIN system have appeared in <!--del_lnk--> Illinois, <!--del_lnk--> Kansas and <!--del_lnk--> Georgia, but none have succeeded as of yet.<p><a id="Alternative_uses" name="Alternative_uses"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Alternative uses</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/73/7387.jpg.htm" title="Automatic teller machines at a bank in Jersey dispensing dual currencies: Bank of England sterling and Jersey pounds"><img alt="Automatic teller machines at a bank in Jersey dispensing dual currencies: Bank of England sterling and Jersey pounds" height="88" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Dual_currency_cash_machines_in_Jersey.jpg" src="../../images/73/7387.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/73/7387.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Automatic teller machines at a <!--del_lnk--> bank in <a href="../../wp/j/Jersey.htm" title="Jersey">Jersey</a> dispensing dual currencies: Bank of England <a href="../../wp/p/Pound_sterling.htm" title="Pound sterling">sterling</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Jersey pounds</div>
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<p>Although ATMs were originally developed as just cash dispensers, they have evolved to include many other bank-related functions. In some countries, especially those which benefit from a fully integrated cross-bank ATM network (e.g.: <!--del_lnk--> Multibanco in Portugal), ATMs include many functions which are not directly related to the management of one's own bank account, such as:<ul>
<li>Deposit currency recognition, acceptance, and recycling<li>Paying routine bills, fees, and taxes (utilities, phone bills, social security, legal fees, taxes, etc.)<li>Printing <!--del_lnk--> bank statements<li>Updating <!--del_lnk--> passbooks<li>Loading monetary value into pre-paid cards (cell phones, tolls, multi purpose stored value cards, etc.)<li>Ticket purchases (train, concert, etc.).<li>Purchasing postal stamps.<li>Lottery ticket purchases<li>Games and promotional features<li>Donations to charities<li>Purchase shopping mall gift certificates.</ul>
<p>In Canada, the <!--del_lnk--> Interac shared cash network does not allow for the selling of goods from ATMs due to specific security requirements for PIN entry when buying goods.<p>ATMs can also act as an advertising channel for companies to advertise their own products or third-party products and services.<p><a id="Future_technologies" name="Future_technologies"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Future technologies</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16735.jpg.htm" title="A South Korean ATM with biometrics"><img alt="A South Korean ATM with biometrics" height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Biometric_DAB.jpg" src="../../images/167/16735.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16735.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A South Korean ATM with biometrics</div>
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<p>Manufactures have demonstrated and have deployed several different technologies on ATMs that have not yet reached worldwide acceptance, such as:<ul>
<li>Biometrics, where authorization of transactions is based on the scanning of a customer's fingerprint, iris, face, etc. <ul>
<li>Biometrics on ATMs can be found in Asia</ul>
<li>Cheque/Cash Acceptance, where the ATM accepts and recoginse cheques and/or currency without using envelopes<ul>
<li>Expected to grow in importance in the US through <!--del_lnk--> Check 21 legislation.</ul>
<li>Bar code scanning<li>On-demand printing of "items of value" (such as movie tickets, Travellers Cheques, etc.)<li>Dispensing additional media (such as phone cards)<li>Co-ordination of ATMs with mobile phones<li>Customer-specific advertising<li>Integration with non-banking equipment</ul>
<p><a id="Reliability" name="Reliability"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Reliability</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16736.jpg.htm" title="A De La Rue ATM running Microsoft Windows that has crashed."><img alt="A De La Rue ATM running Microsoft Windows that has crashed." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:DeLaRue_ATM_Crash.jpg" src="../../images/167/16736.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16736.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> De La Rue ATM running Microsoft Windows that has crashed.</div>
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<p>Before an ATM is placed in a public place, it typically has undergone extensive testing with both <!--del_lnk--> test money and the <!--del_lnk--> backend computer systems that allow it to perform transactions. Banking customers also have come to expect high reliability in their ATMs, which provides incentives to ATM providers to minimize machine and network failures. Financial consequences of incorrect machine operation also provide high degrees of incentive to minimize malfunctions.<p>ATMs and the supporting electronic financial networks are generally very reliable, with industry benchmarks typically producing 98.25% customer availability for ATMs and up to 99.999% availability for host systems. If ATMs do go out of service, customers could be left without the ability to make transactions until the beginning of their bank's next time of opening hours.<p>Of course, not all errors are to the detriment of customers; there have been cases of machines giving out money without debiting the account, or giving out higher value notes as a result of incorrect <!--del_lnk--> denomination of <a href="../../wp/b/Banknote.htm" title="Banknote">banknote</a> being loaded in the money cassettes. Errors that can occur may be <!--del_lnk--> mechanical (such as card transport mechanisms; keypads; hard disk failures); <!--del_lnk--> software (such as <!--del_lnk--> operating system; <!--del_lnk--> device driver; <!--del_lnk--> application); <!--del_lnk--> communications; or purely down to operator error.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16737.jpg.htm" title="An ATM running OS/2 that has crashed."><img alt="An ATM running OS/2 that has crashed." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ATM_OS2_Crash.jpg" src="../../images/167/16737.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16737.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An ATM running OS/2 that has crashed.</div>
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<p>To aid in reliability, some ATMs print each transaction to a roll paper journal that is stored inside the ATM, which allows both the users of the ATMs and the related financial institutions to settle things based on the records in the journal in case there is a dispute. In some cases, transactions are posted to an electronic journal to remove the cost of supplying journal paper to the ATM and for more convenient searching of data.<p>Improper money checking can cause the possibility of a customer receiving <!--del_lnk--> counterfeit banknotes from an ATM. While Bank presonnel are generally trained better at spotting and removing counterfit cash, the resulting ATM money supplies used by banks provide no absolute guarantee for proper banknotes, as the <!--del_lnk--> Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany has confirmed that there are regularly incidents of false banknotes having been provided through bank ATMs. Some ATMs may be stocked and wholly owned by outside companies, which can further complicate this problem when it happens. <!--del_lnk--> Bill validation technology can be used by ATM providers to help ensure the authenticity of the cash before it is stocked in an ATM; ATMs that have cash recycling capabilities include this capability.<p><a id="Fraud" name="Fraud"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Fraud</span></h2>
<p>As with any device containing objects of value, ATMs and the systems they depend on to function are the targets of fraud. Fraud against ATMs and people's attempts to use them takes several forms.<p><a id="Fake_ATMs" name="Fake_ATMs"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Fake ATMs</span></h3>
<p>The first known instance of a fake ATM was installed at a shopping mall in <!--del_lnk--> Manchester, Connecticut in <!--del_lnk--> 1993. By modifying the inner workings of a <!--del_lnk--> Fujitsu model <!--del_lnk--> 7020 ATM, a criminal gang known as The Bucklands Boys were able to steal information from cards inserted into the machine by customers.<p><a id="Operational_fraud" name="Operational_fraud"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Operational fraud</span></h3>
<p>In some cases, bank fraud could occur at ATMs whereby the bank accidentally stocks the ATM with bills in the wrong denomination, therefore giving the customer more money than should be dispensed. The result of receiving too much money may be influenced on the Card Holder Agreement in place between the customer and the Bank.<p>In a variation of this, <!--del_lnk--> WAVY-TV reported an incident in Virginia Beach of September 2006 where a hacker who had an admin password for a gas station's white label ATM caused the unit to assume it was loaded with $5 USD bills instead of $20s, enabling himself--and many subsequent customers--to walk away with four times the money they said they wanted to withdraw.<p>ATM behaviour can change during what is called "stand-in" time, where the Bank's cash dispensing network is unable to access databases that contain account information (possibly for database maintenance). In order to give customers access to cash, customers may be allowed to withdraw cash up to a certain amount that may be less than their usual daily withdrawal limit, but may still exceed the amount of available money in their account, which could result in fraud.<p><a id="ATM_card_fraud" name="ATM_card_fraud"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">ATM card fraud</span></h3>
<p><a id="Theft" name="Theft"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Theft</span></h4>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16738.jpg.htm" title="In an attempt to prevent criminals from shoulder surfing the customer's PINs, some banks draw privacy areas on the floor."><img alt="In an attempt to prevent criminals from shoulder surfing the customer's PINs, some banks draw privacy areas on the floor." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ATM_lineup_on_ground.jpg" src="../../images/167/16738.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16738.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> In an attempt to prevent criminals from <!--del_lnk--> shoulder surfing the customer's PINs, some banks draw privacy areas on the floor.</div>
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<p>For a low-tech form of fraud, the simplest is to simply steal a customer's card. In this scenario, the user's PIN is observed by someone watching as they use the machine; they are then mugged for their card by a second person, who has taken care to stay out of range of the ATM's surveillance cameras. However, this offers little advantage compared to simply mugging the victim for their money, and carries the same risks to the offender as other violent crimes.<p>A later variant of this approach is to trap the card inside of the ATM's card reader with a device often referred to as a <!--del_lnk--> Lebanese loop. When the customer gets frustrated by not getting the card back and walks away from the machine, the criminal is able to remove the card and withdraw cash from the customer's account.<p>The Lebanese Loop could also be combined with the Droplet method of stealing the PIN, where small drops of oil are placed on the PIN pad keys. After a customer used the ATM, one can see which keys were pressed, which makes it easier to guess the entered pin. A simple counter measure to this attack is to wipe the PIN pad before or after each use.<p>Another simple form of fraud involves attempting to get the customer's bank to issue a new card and stealing it from their mail.<p><a id="Cloning" name="Cloning"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Cloning</span></h4>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16739.jpg.htm" title="Some ATMs may put up warning messages to customers to not use them when it detects possible tampering."><img alt="Some ATMs may put up warning messages to customers to not use them when it detects possible tampering." height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tamper_warning_on_ATM_in_London.jpg" src="../../images/167/16739.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16739.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Some ATMs may put up warning messages to customers to not use them when it detects possible tampering.</div>
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<p>The concept and various methods of copying the contents of an ATM card's magnetic stripe on to a duplicate card to access other people's financial information was well known in the hacking communities by late <!--del_lnk--> 1990.<p>In 1996 Andrew Stone, a computer security consultant from Hampshire in the UK was convicted of stealing in excess of 1 million UK pounds (at the time that was US$1.6 million) by pointing high definition video cameras at ATMs from a considerable distance, and by recording the card numbers, expiry dates, etc. from the embossed detail on the ATM cards along with video footage of the PINs being entered. After getting all the information from the videotapes, he was able to produce clone cards which not only allowed him to withdraw the full daily limit for each account, but also allowed him to sidestep withdrawal limits by using multiple copied cards. In court, it was shown that he could withdraw as much as £10,000 per hour by using this method. Stone was sentenced to five years and six months in prison.<p>By contrast, a newer high-tech <i>modus operandi</i> involves the installation of a magnetic card reader over the real ATM's card slot and the use of a wireless surveillance camera or a modified digital camera to observe the user's PIN. Card data is then cloned onto a second card and the criminal attempts a standard cash withdrawal. The availability of low-cost commodity wireless cameras and card readers has made it a relatively simple form of fraud, with comparatively low risk to the fraudsters.<p><a id="Combatting_stolen_cards_and_information" name="Combatting_stolen_cards_and_information"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Combatting stolen cards and information</span></h4>
<p>In an attempt to stop these practices, countermeasures against card cloning have been developed by the banking industry, in particular by the use of <!--del_lnk--> smart cards which cannot easily be copied or spoofed by un-authenticated devices, and by attempting to make the outside of their ATMs <!--del_lnk--> tamper evident. Older chip-card security systems include the French <!--del_lnk--> Carte Bleue, <!--del_lnk--> Visa Cash, <!--del_lnk--> Mondex, <!--del_lnk--> Blue from American Express and <!--del_lnk--> EMV '96 or EMV 3.11. The most actively developed form of smart card security in the industry today is known as <!--del_lnk--> EMV 2000 or EMV 4.x.<p><!--del_lnk--> EMV is widely used in the UK (<!--del_lnk--> Chip and PIN) and parts of Europe, but when it is not available in a specific area, ATMs must fallback to using the easy to copy magnetic stripe to perform transactions. This fallback behaviour can be exploited.<p><a id="Related_devices" name="Related_devices"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Related devices</span></h2>
<p><a name=".22Talking_ATM.22"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">"Talking ATM"</span></h3>
<p>A <!--del_lnk--> Talking ATM is a type of ATM that provides audible instructions so that persons who cannot read an ATM screen can independently use the machine. All audible information is delivered privately through a standard <!--del_lnk--> headphone jack on the face of the machine. Information is delivered to the customer either through pre-recorded <a href="../../wp/s/Sound.htm" title="Sound">sound</a> files or via text-to-speech <a href="../../wp/s/Speech_synthesis.htm" title="Speech synthesis">speech synthesis</a>.<p><a id="Postal_kiosk" name="Postal_kiosk"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Postal kiosk</span></h3>
<p>A <!--del_lnk--> postal <!--del_lnk--> kiosk may also share many of the same components as an ATM (including a vault), but only dispenses items relating to postage.<p><a id="Scrip_cash_dispenser" name="Scrip_cash_dispenser"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Scrip cash dispenser</span></h3>
<p>A <!--del_lnk--> scrip cash dispenser may share many of the same components as an ATM, but lacks the ability to dispense physical cash and consequently requires no vault. Instead, the customer requests a withdrawal transaction from the machine, which prints a receipt. The customer then takes this receipt to a nearby sales clerk, who then exchanges it for cash from the till.<p><a id="Teller_assist_unit" name="Teller_assist_unit"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Teller assist unit</span></h3>
<p>A <!--del_lnk--> Teller Assist Unit may also share many of the same components as an ATM (including a vault), but they are distinct in that they are designed to be operated solely by trained personnel and not the general public, they do not integrate directly into interbank networks, and are usually controlled by a computer that is not directly integrated into the overall construction of the unit.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_teller_machine"</div>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Design_and_Technology.Road_transport.htm">Road transport</a></h3>
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<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/851.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The system must be able to deal with different styles of <!--del_lnk--> licence plates</div>
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<p><b>Automatic number plate recognition</b> (<b>ANPR</b>; see also <a href="#Other_names" title="">other names</a> below) is a <!--del_lnk--> mass surveillance method that uses <!--del_lnk--> optical character recognition on images to read the <!--del_lnk--> licence plates on vehicles. As of 2006, systems can scan number plates at around one per second on cars travelling up to 100 mph (160 km/h). They can use existing <!--del_lnk--> closed-circuit television or <!--del_lnk--> road-rule enforcement cameras, or ones specifically designed for the task. They are used by various police forces and as a method of <!--del_lnk--> electronic toll collection on <!--del_lnk--> pay-per-use roads, and monitoring traffic activity such as red light adherence in an intersection.<p>ANPR can be used to store the images captured by the cameras as well as the text from the licence plate, with some configurable to store a photograph of the driver. Systems commonly use <!--del_lnk--> infrared lighting to allow the camera to take the picture at any time of day. A powerful flash is included in at least one version of the intersection-monitoring cameras, serving to both illuminate the picture and make the offender aware of his or her mistake. ANPR technology tends to be region specific, owing to plate variation from place to place.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> software aspect of the system runs on standard PC hardware and can be linked to other applications or <!--del_lnk--> databases. It first uses a series of image manipulation techniques to detect, normalise and enhance the image of the number plate, and finally optical character recognition (OCR) to extract the <!--del_lnk--> alphanumerics of the licence plate. ANPR/ALPR systems are generally deployed in one of two basic approaches; one allows for the entire process to be performed at the lane location in real-time, the other transmits all the images from many lanes to a remote computer location and performs the OCR process there at some later point in time. When done at the lane site, the information captured of the plate alphanumeric, date-time, lane identification, and any other information that is required is completed in somewhere around 250 milliseconds. This information, now small data packets, can easily be transmitted to some remote computer for further processing if necessary, or stored at the lane for later retrieval. In the other arrangement there are typically large numbers of PCs used in a <!--del_lnk--> server farm to handle high workloads, such as those found in the <!--del_lnk--> London congestion charge project. Often in such systems there is a requirement to forward images to the remote server and this can require larger bandwidth transmission mediums.<p>Concerns about these systems have centered on privacy fears of government tracking citizens' movements and media reports of misidentification and high error rates. However, as they have developed, the systems have become much more accurate and reliable.<p>
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</script><a id="Other_names" name="Other_names"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Other names</span></h2>
<p>ANPR is sometimes known by various other terms:<ul>
<li><b>Automatic licence plate recognition</b> (ALPR)<li><b>Automatic vehicle identification</b> (AVI)<li><b>Car plate recognition</b> (CPR)<li><b>Licence plate recognition</b> (LPR)</ul>
<p><a id="Technology" name="Technology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Technology</span></h2>
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<div style="width:83px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/852.jpg.htm" title="The font on Dutch plates was changed to improve plate recognition"><img alt="The font on Dutch plates was changed to improve plate recognition" height="60" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Dutch_license_plate_segment.jpg" src="../../images/8/852.jpg" width="81" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">The <!--del_lnk--> font on <!--del_lnk--> Dutch plates was changed to improve plate recognition</div>
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<p>ANPR uses <!--del_lnk--> optical character recognition (OCR) on images taken by cameras. When <!--del_lnk--> Dutch vehicle registration plates switched to a different style in 2002 one of the changes made was to the <!--del_lnk--> font, introducing small gaps in some letters (such as P and R) to make them more distinct and therefore more legible to such systems. Some licence plate arrangements use variations in font sizes and positioning – ANPR systems must be able to cope with such differences in order to be truly effective. More complicated systems can cope with international variants, though many programs are individually tailored to each country.<p>The cameras used can include existing road-rule enforcement or closed-circuit television cameras as well as mobile units which are usually attached to vehicles. Some systems use infrared cameras to take a clearer image of the plates.<p><a id="Algorithms" name="Algorithms"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Algorithms</span></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/856.png.htm" title="Steps 2, 3 and 4: The licence plate is normalised for brightness and contrast and then the characters are segmented ready for OCR"><img alt="Steps 2, 3 and 4: The licence plate is normalised for brightness and contrast and then the characters are segmented ready for OCR" height="193" longdesc="/wiki/Image:California_license_plate_ANPR.png" src="../../images/8/856.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/856.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Steps 2, 3 and 4: The licence plate is normalised for brightness and contrast and then the characters are segmented ready for OCR</div>
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<p>There are six primary <a href="../../wp/a/Algorithm.htm" title="Algorithm">algorithms</a> that the software requires for identifying a licence plate:<ol>
<li>Plate localisation – responsible for finding and isolating the plate on the picture<li>Plate orientation and sizing – compensates for the <!--del_lnk--> skew of the plate and adjusts the dimensions to the required size<li>Normalisation – adjusts the brightness and contrast of the image<li>Character segmentation – finds the individual characters on the plates<li>Optical character recognition<li>Syntactical/Geometrical analysis – check characters and positions against country specific rules</ol>
<p>The complexity of each of these subsections of the program determines the accuracy of the system. During the third phase (normalisation) some systems use <!--del_lnk--> edge detection techniques to increase the picture difference between the letters and the plate backing. A <!--del_lnk--> median filter may also be used to <!--del_lnk--> reduce the visual "noise" on the image.<p><a id="Difficulties" name="Difficulties"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Difficulties</span></h3>
<p>There are a number of possible difficulties that the software must be able to cope with. These include:<ul>
<li>Poor <!--del_lnk--> image resolution, usually because the plate is too far away but sometimes resulting from the use of a low-quality camera.<li><!--del_lnk--> Blurry images, particularly <!--del_lnk--> motion blur<li>Poor <a href="../../wp/l/Light.htm" title="Light">lighting</a> and low contrast due to <!--del_lnk--> overexposure, <!--del_lnk--> reflection or shadows<li>An object obscuring (part of) the plate, quite often a tow bar, or dirt on the plate<li>A different font, popular for <!--del_lnk--> vanity plates (some countries do not allow such plates, eliminating the problem)<li>Circumvention techniques</ul>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/861.jpg.htm" title="Early ANPR systems were unable to read white or silver lettering on black background, as permitted on UK vehicles built prior to 1973."><img alt="Early ANPR systems were unable to read white or silver lettering on black background, as permitted on UK vehicles built prior to 1973." height="55" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Number.jpg" src="../../images/8/861.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/861.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Early ANPR systems were unable to read white or silver lettering on black background, as permitted on UK vehicles built prior to 1973.</div>
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<p>While some of these problems can be corrected within the software it is primarily left to the <!--del_lnk--> hardware side of the system to work out solutions to these difficulties. Increasing the height of the camera may avoid problems with objects (such as other vehicles) obscuring the plate, but introduces and increases other problems such as the adjusting for the increased skew of the plate.<p>Many countries now use licence plates that are <!--del_lnk--> retroreflective <!--del_lnk--> . This returns the light back to the source and thus improves the contrast of the image. In some countries, the characters on the plate are not reflective, giving a high level of contrast with the reflective background in any lighting conditions. A camera that makes use of infrared imaging (with a normal colour filter over the lens and an infrared light-source next to it) benefits greatly from this as the infrared waves are reflected back from the plate. This is only possible on dedicated ANPR cameras, however, and so cameras used for other purposes must rely more heavily on the software capabilities. Further, when a full-colour image is required as well as use of the ANPR-retrieved details it is necessary to have one infrared-enabled camera and one normal (colour) camera working together.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/872.png.htm" title="Blurry images make OCR difficult – ANPR systems should have fast shutter speeds to avoid motion blur"><img alt="Blurry images make OCR difficult – ANPR systems should have fast shutter speeds to avoid motion blur" height="57" longdesc="/wiki/Image:California_license_plate_blur.png" src="../../images/8/872.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/872.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Blurry images make OCR difficult – ANPR systems should have fast <!--del_lnk--> shutter speeds to avoid <!--del_lnk--> motion blur</div>
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<p>To avoid blurring it is ideal to have the <!--del_lnk--> shutter speed of a dedicated camera set to 1/1000th of a second. Because the car is moving, slower speeds could result in an image which is too blurred to read using the OCR software, especially if the camera is much higher up than the vehicle. In slow-moving traffic, or when the camera is at a lower level and the vehicle is at an angle approaching the camera, the shutter speed does not need to be so fast. Shutter speeds of 1/500 can cope with traffic moving up to 40 mph (64 km/h) and 1/250 up to 5 mph (8 km/h). <!--del_lnk--> <p>On some cars, towbars may obscure one or two characters of the licence plate. Bikes on bike racks can also obscure the number plate, though in some countries and jurisdictions, such as <!--del_lnk--> New South Wales, "bike plates" are supposed to be fitted.<p>Some small-scale systems allow for some errors in the licence plate. When used for giving specific vehicles access to a barriered area the decision may be made to have an acceptable error rate of one character. This is because the likelihood of an unauthorised car having such a similar licence plate is seen as quite small. However, this level of inaccuracy would not be acceptable in most applications of an ANPR system.<p><a id="Circumvention_techniques" name="Circumvention_techniques"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Circumvention techniques</span></h4>
<p>Vehicle owners have used a variety of techniques in an attempt to evade ANPR systems and road-rule enforcement cameras in general. One method increases the reflective properties of the lettering and makes it more likely that the system will be unable to locate the plate or produce a high enough level of contrast to be able to read it. This is typically done by using a plate cover or a spray, though claims regarding the effectiveness of the latter are disputed. In most jurisdictions, the covers are illegal and covered under existing laws, while in most countries there is no law to disallow the use of the sprays. <!--del_lnk--> <p>For the <!--del_lnk--> 407 toll route in <!--del_lnk--> Ontario, <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>, police have caught several advanced techniques that some motorists have attempted. One driver had a setup that allowed him to lift a wire from the driver's seat that would show a different plate as he was cruising through the camera zones. Other users have attempted to smear their licence plate with dirt or utilise covers to mask the plate.<p>Novelty frames around <!--del_lnk--> Texas licence plates were made illegal on <!--del_lnk--> 1 September <!--del_lnk--> 2003 by Senate Bill 439 because they caused problems with ANPR devices. That law made it a Class C misdemeanour (punishable by a fine of up to US$200), or Class B (punishable by a fine of up to US$2,000 and 180 days in jail) if it can be proven that the owner did it to deliberately obscure their plates. <!--del_lnk--> <p>There are some custom car rear panels with an inset for the licence plate at an angle, which changes the alignment of characters relative to the reading grid. Since most U.S. states no longer require new plates each year, perhaps the easiest way to disable recognition is simply to allow the reflective paint on the plates to become degraded by age and therefore unreadable.<p>If an ANPR system cannot read the plate it can flag the image for attention, with the human operators looking to see if they are able to identify the alphanumerics. It is then possible to do lookups on a database using <!--del_lnk--> wildcard characters for any part of the plate obscured, and use car details (make and model, for example) to refine the search.<p>In order to avoid surveillance or penalty charges, there has been an upsurge in car cloning, particularly in <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>. This is usually achieved by copying registration plates from another car of a similar model and age. This can be difficult to detect, especially as cloners may change the registration plates and travel behaviour to hinder investigations.<p><a id="Police_enforcement" name="Police_enforcement"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Police enforcement</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/873.jpg.htm" title="Closed-circuit television cameras such as these can be used to take the images scanned by automatic number plate recognition systems"><img alt="Closed-circuit television cameras such as these can be used to take the images scanned by automatic number plate recognition systems" height="179" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Closed.circuit.twocameras.arp.750pix.jpg" src="../../images/8/873.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/873.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Closed-circuit television cameras such as these can be used to take the images scanned by automatic number plate recognition systems</div>
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<p>After the licence plate has been identified it can then be cross-referenced against a <a href="../../wp/p/Police.htm" title="Police">police</a> database. The primary objectives of this are to identify vehicles that have been stolen, used in a crime or are in violation of some other law. Some systems are also linked to <!--del_lnk--> insurance databases to monitor if the vehicle is currently insured.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 18 November <!--del_lnk--> 2005 <!--del_lnk--> British police <!--del_lnk--> constable <!--del_lnk--> Sharon Beshenivsky was shot and killed during a robbery in <!--del_lnk--> Bradford. The CCTV network was linked in to an ANPR system and was able to identify the getaway car and track its movements, leading to the arrest of six suspects. At its launch in May, Ch Supt Geoff Dodd of West Yorkshire Police, called the ANPR system a "revolutionary tool in detecting crime". <!--del_lnk--> <p><a id="Glutton_System_in_Northern_Ireland" name="Glutton_System_in_Northern_Ireland"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Glutton System in Northern Ireland</span></h3>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1997 a system of one hundred ANPR cameras, codenamed GLUTTON, was installed to feed into the automated <!--del_lnk--> British Military Intelligence Systems in Northern Ireland. Further cameras were also installed on the British mainland, including unspecified ports on the east and west coasts.<p><a id="Project_Laser_in_the_United_Kingdom" name="Project_Laser_in_the_United_Kingdom"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Project Laser in the United Kingdom</span></h3>
<p>In March 2005, plans were announced to set up a nationwide system of over 2,000 automatic number plate recognition cameras in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>. Starting in 2006 Britain will become the first country in which every journey of every vehicle is monitored and recorded. <!--del_lnk--> <p>This followed the successful rollout of Project Spectrum in which all 43 Police Forces in England and Wales were supplied by the Home Office with an ANPR capable mobile unit, and a 'Back Office'. A subsequent series of trials were then commenced in 2002 when the <!--del_lnk--> Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) was given funding by the <!--del_lnk--> Home Office to work with the Police Standards Unit and develop "<b>Project Laser</b>" using the equipment supplied under Project Spectrum. With the aim of running the ANPR system nationwide, it was initially trialled by nine police forces and ran between <!--del_lnk--> 30 September <!--del_lnk--> 2002 and March 2003. Those police forces were:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Greater Manchester<li><!--del_lnk--> North Wales<li><!--del_lnk--> Avon and Somerset<li><!--del_lnk--> Northamptonshire<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Metropolitan Police Service<li><!--del_lnk--> Kent<li><!--del_lnk--> West Yorkshire<li><!--del_lnk--> Staffordshire<li><!--del_lnk--> West Midlands.</ul>
<p>The second phase of the project ran between <!--del_lnk--> 1 June <!--del_lnk--> 2003 and <!--del_lnk--> 21 June <!--del_lnk--> 2004 and involved 23 police forces in total. The DVLA is also involved with Project Laser, using the system to gather details on unregistered and unlicensed vehicles and those without a valid <!--del_lnk--> MOT certificate or insurance cover.<blockquote>
<p>"Eventually the database will link to most CCTV systems in town centres, meaning that all vehicles filmed on one of the many cameras protecting Bedford High Street, for instance, can be checked against the database and the movements of wanted cars traced to help with serious crime investigations."<br /> — <!--del_lnk--> Bedfordshire Police</blockquote>
<p>The project was seen as a success despite a <!--del_lnk--> Home Office report showing that the <!--del_lnk--> Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) trial had an error rate of up to 40%, with claims that the system was contributing<blockquote>
<p>"…in excess of 100 arrests per officer per year – ten times the national average…"<br /> —<!--del_lnk--> Police Standards Unit.</blockquote>
<p>Further findings went on to show that the error rate dropped to 5% when infrared systems and updated software were used.<p>During the second phase of the project around 28 million number plates were spotted in total, with 1.1 million (3.9%) of these matching an entry in one of the databases. 180,543 vehicles were stopped (101,775 directly because of the ANPR system), leading to 13,499 arrests (7.5% of the total) and the issue of 50,910 fines (28.2%). 1,152 stolen vehicles (worth £7.5 million in total), £380,000 worth of <!--del_lnk--> drugs and £640,000 worth of stolen goods were also recovered. The primary goal of the second phase was, however, to see how well the costs of the ANPR system could be covered. The final conclusion was that less than 10% of the expenditure incurred was recouped, with the Home Office claiming that the failure of drivers to pay fines contributed to this low figure, and continued to recommend the system be deployed throughout the UK. <!--del_lnk--> Report (PDF)<p>Funding is now in place for the construction of the National ANPR Data Centre capable of holding 50 million ANPR reads per day. This should be complete by March 2006 and will form the basis of a vehicle movement database. <!--del_lnk--> .<p>There are now suggestions that the use of the network could be extended to catch drivers using <!--del_lnk--> mobile phones illegally, and those failing to wear <!--del_lnk--> seat belts <!--del_lnk--> .<p><a id="SPECS_cameras" name="SPECS_cameras"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">SPECS cameras</span></h3>
<p>Another use for ANPR in the UK is for <!--del_lnk--> speed cameras which work by tracking vehicles' travel time between two fixed points, and therefore calculate the average speed. Currently the only such system which is accepted as reliable by the courts is the <!--del_lnk--> SPECS brand. These cameras are claimed to have an advantage over traditional speed cameras in maintaining steady legal speeds over extended distances, rather than encouraging heavy braking on approach to specific camera locations and subsequent acceleration back to illegal speeds. Accident rates have tended to be reduced substantially in places where SPECS cameras have been installed. They are, however, significantly more expensive than traditional cameras.<p>The longest stretch of SPECS cameras in the UK is found on the <!--del_lnk--> A77 road in <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>, with 30 miles being monitored between <a href="../../wp/g/Glasgow.htm" title="Glasgow">Glasgow</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Ayr.<p><a id="Traffic_control" name="Traffic_control"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Traffic control</span></h2>
<p>Many cities and districts have developed traffic control systems to help monitor the movement and flow of vehicles around the road network. This had typically involved looking at historical data, estimates, observations and statistics such as:<ul>
<li>Car park usage<li><!--del_lnk--> Pedestrian crossing usage<li>Number of vehicles along a road<li>Areas of low and high congestion<li>Frequency, location and cause of road works</ul>
<p>CCTV cameras can be used to help traffic control centres by giving them live data, allowing for traffic management decisions to be made in <!--del_lnk--> real-time. By using ANPR on this footage it is possible to monitor the travel of individual vehicles, automatically providing information about the speed and flow of various routes. These details can highlight problem areas as and when they occur and helps the centre to make informed incident management decisions.<p>Some counties of the United Kingdom have worked with <!--del_lnk--> Siemens Traffic <!--del_lnk--> to develop traffic monitoring systems for their own control centres and for the public. Projects such as <a href="../../wp/h/Hampshire.htm" title="Hampshire">Hampshire</a> County Council's <!--del_lnk--> ROMANSE provide an interactive and real-time <!--del_lnk--> web site showing details about traffic in the city. The site shows information about car parks, ongoing road works, special events and footage taken from CCTV cameras. ANPR systems can be used to provide average driving times along particular routes, giving drivers the ability to choose which one to take. ROMANSE also allows travellers to see the current situation using a mobile device with an <a href="../../wp/i/Internet.htm" title="Internet">Internet</a> connection (such as <!--del_lnk--> WAP, <!--del_lnk--> GPRS or <!--del_lnk--> 3G), thus allowing them to be alerted to any problems that are ahead.<p>The UK company Trafficmaster has used ANPR since 1998 to estimate average traffic speeds on non-motorway roads without the results being skewed by local fluctuations caused by traffic lights and similar. The company now operates a network of over 4000 ANPR cameras <!--del_lnk--> , but claims that only the four most central digits are identified, and no numberplate data is retained <!--del_lnk--> .<p><a id="Electronic_toll_collection" name="Electronic_toll_collection"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Electronic toll collection</span></h2>
<p><a id="Toll_roads" name="Toll_roads"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Toll roads</span></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/913.jpg.htm" title="The FasTrak system in Orange County uses ANPR and radio transponders"><img alt="The FasTrak system in Orange County uses ANPR and radio transponders" height="166" longdesc="/wiki/Image:FasTrak_Orange_County.jpg" src="../../images/9/913.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/913.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> FasTrak system in <!--del_lnk--> Orange County uses ANPR and <a href="../../wp/r/Radio.htm" title="Radio">radio</a> <!--del_lnk--> transponders</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Ontario's <!--del_lnk--> 407 ETR highway uses a combination of ANPR and <a href="../../wp/r/Radio.htm" title="Radio">radio</a> <!--del_lnk--> transponders to toll vehicles entering and exiting the road. Radio antennas are located at each junction and detect the transponders, logging the unique identity of each vehicle in much the same way as the ANPR system does. Without ANPR as a second system it would not be possible to monitor all the traffic. Drivers who opt to rent a transponder for C$2.00 per month are not charged the "Video Toll Charge" of C$3.45 for using the road, with heavy vehicles (those with a gross weight of over 5,000 kg) being required to use one. Using either system, users of the highway are notified of the usage charges by post. <!--del_lnk--> <p>There are numerous other <!--del_lnk--> electronic toll collection networks which use this combination of <!--del_lnk--> Radio frequency identification and ANPR. These include:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> CityLink in <a href="../../wp/m/Melbourne.htm" title="Melbourne">Melbourne</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a><li><!--del_lnk--> FasTrak in <a href="../../wp/c/California.htm" title="California">California</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Highway 6 in <a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a><li>Tunnels in <a href="../../wp/h/Hong_Kong.htm" title="Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a><li><!--del_lnk--> Autopista Central in <a href="../../wp/s/Santiago%252C_Chile.htm" title="Santiago, Chile">Santiago</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Chile.htm" title="Chile">Chile</a> (site in Spanish)<li><!--del_lnk--> E-ZPass in <!--del_lnk--> New York, <!--del_lnk--> New Jersey, <!--del_lnk--> Massachusetts (as Fast Lane), and other States.<li><!--del_lnk--> Pike Pass in <!--del_lnk--> Oklahoma.</ul>
<p><a id="Charge_zones_.E2.80.93_the_London_congestion_charge" name="Charge_zones_.E2.80.93_the_London_congestion_charge"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Charge zones – the London congestion charge</span></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/914.jpg.htm" title="The London congestion charge scheme uses two hundred and thirty cameras and ANPR to help monitor vehicles in the charging zone"><img alt="The London congestion charge scheme uses two hundred and thirty cameras and ANPR to help monitor vehicles in the charging zone" height="173" longdesc="/wiki/Image:London-cc-mobile-l.jpg" src="../../images/9/914.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/914.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> London congestion charge scheme uses two hundred and thirty cameras and ANPR to help monitor vehicles in the charging zone</div>
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<p>The <!--del_lnk--> London congestion charge is an example of a system that charges motorists entering a payment area. <!--del_lnk--> Transport for London (TfL) uses ANPR systems and charges motorists a daily fee of £8 paid before 10pm if they enter, leave or move around within the congestion charge zone between 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. Fines for travelling within the zone without paying the charge are £50 per infraction if paid before the deadline, doubling to £100 per infraction thereafter.<p>Two hundred and thirty <!--del_lnk--> CCTV-style cameras, of which 180 are installed at the edge of the zone, are currently in use. The 50 cameras within the zone are intended to pick up cars that are missed on entry and/or exit, as well as those that are moving solely within the zone. There are also a number of mobile camera units which may be deployed anywhere in the zone.<p>It is estimated that around 98% of vehicles moving within the zone are caught on camera. The video streams are transmitted to a data centre located in central London where the ANPR software deduces the registration plate of the vehicle. A second data centre provides a backup location for image data.<p>Both front and back number plates are being captured, on vehicles going both in and out – this gives up to four chances to capture the number plates of a vehicle entering and exiting the zone. This list is then compared with a list of cars whose owners/operators have paid to enter the zone – those that have not paid are fined. The registered owner of such a vehicle is looked up in a database provided by the DVLA. <!--del_lnk--> A government investigation has found that a significant portion of the DVLA's database is incorrect. Furthermore, it is now the car owner's reponsibility to report to the DVLA if they sell their car.<p><a id="Controversy" name="Controversy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Controversy</span></h2>
<p>The introduction of ANPR systems has led to fears of misidentification and the furthering of <i><a href="../../wp/n/Nineteen_Eighty-Four.htm" title="Nineteen Eighty-Four">1984</a></i>-style surveillance <!--del_lnk--> . In the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, some such as <!--del_lnk--> Gregg Easterbrook oppose what they call "machines that issue speeding tickets and red-light tickets" as the beginning of a <!--del_lnk--> slippery slope towards an automated justice system:<dl>
<dd>"A machine classifies a person as an offender, and you can't confront your accuser because there is no accuser... can it be wise to establish a principle that when a machine says you did something illegal, you are presumed guilty?"</dl>
<p>Similar criticisms have been raised in other countries. Easterbrook also argues that this technology is employed to maximise revenue for the state, rather than to promote safety.<!--del_lnk--> <p>The fallibility of older systems was alarming, with one critic of the London congestion charge scheme noting "Misread plate after misread plate appeared on the screen – of every 10 that appeared at least four were incorrect." <!--del_lnk--> This can lead to charges being made incorrectly with the vehicle owner having to pay £10 in order to be issued with proof (or not) of the offence. Improvements in technology have drastically decreased error rates, but false accusations are still frequent enough to be a problem.<p>Other concerns include the storage of information that could be used to identify people and store details about their driving habits and daily life, contravening the <!--del_lnk--> Data Protection Act along with similar legislation (see <!--del_lnk--> personally identifiable information). The laws in the UK are strict for any system that uses CCTV footage and can identify individuals. <!--del_lnk--> <p><a id="Other_uses" name="Other_uses"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Other uses</span></h2>
<p>ANPR systems may also be used for/by:<ul>
<li>Section control, to measure average vehicle speed over longer distances<!--del_lnk--> <li>Border crossings<li><!--del_lnk--> Filling stations to log when a driver drives away without paying<li>Car parks or road entry systems to control access<li>A <!--del_lnk--> marketing tool to log patterns of use<li>Traffic management systems, which determine traffic flow using the time it takes vehicles to pass two ANPR sites<li>Traffic management systems, which determine traffic flow using the time it takes vehicles to pass two ANPR sites<li><!--del_lnk--> - How ANPR can be used<li><!--del_lnk--> - Where ANPR can be used</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_number_plate_recognition"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Automobile</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Design_and_Technology.Road_transport.htm">Road transport</a></h3>
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<div style="width:215px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/872.jpg.htm" title="Karl Benz's "Velo" model (1894) - entered into the first automobile race"><img alt="Karl Benz's "Velo" model (1894) - entered into the first automobile race" height="171" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Benz-velo.jpg" src="../../images/8/872.jpg" width="213" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p>An <b>automobile</b> (or <b>motor car</b>) is a <!--del_lnk--> wheeled <!--del_lnk--> passenger <!--del_lnk--> vehicle that carries its own <!--del_lnk--> motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to seven people, typically have four wheels and be constructed principally for the transport of people rather than goods. However, the term is far from precise.<p>As of 2002 there were 590 million passenger cars worldwide (roughly one car for every eleven people), of which 140 million in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">U.S.</a> (roughly one car for every two people). <!--del_lnk--> .<p>
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<p>An automobile powered by the <!--del_lnk--> Otto gasoline engine was invented in <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> by <a href="../../wp/k/Karl_Benz.htm" title="Karl Benz">Karl Benz</a> in 1885. Benz was granted a <!--del_lnk--> patent dated <!--del_lnk--> 29 January <!--del_lnk--> 1886 in <!--del_lnk--> Mannheim for that automobile. Even though Benz is credited with the invention of the modern automobile, several other German engineers worked on building automobiles at the same time. In 1886, <!--del_lnk--> Gottlieb Daimler and <!--del_lnk--> Wilhelm Maybach in <a href="../../wp/s/Stuttgart.htm" title="Stuttgart">Stuttgart</a> patented the first motor bike, built and tested in 1885, and in 1886 they built a converted horse-drawn stagecoach. In 1870, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">German</a>-<a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austrian</a> inventor <!--del_lnk--> Siegfried Marcus assembled a motorized handcart, though Marcus' vehicle did not go beyond the experimental stage.<br clear="all" />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1" class="toccolours" width="90%">
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<td align="center" colspan="120"><b>Automobile history eras</b></td>
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<td align="center" bgcolor="#F0F0F0" colspan="10" width="8%">1890s</td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#F0F0F0" colspan="10" width="8%">1900s</td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#F0F0F0" colspan="10" width="8%">1910s</td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#F0F0F0" colspan="10" width="8%">1920s</td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#F0F0F0" colspan="10" width="8%">1930s</td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#F0F0F0" colspan="10" width="8%">1940s</td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#F0F0F0" colspan="10" width="8%">1950s</td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#F0F0F0" colspan="10" width="8%">1960s</td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#F0F0F0" colspan="10" width="8%">1970s</td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#F0F0F0" colspan="10" width="8%">1980s</td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#F0F0F0" colspan="10" width="8%">1990s</td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#F0F0F0" colspan="10" width="8%">2000s</td>
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<tr align="center">
<td bgcolor="#D0D0D0" colspan="14"><!--del_lnk--> Veteran</td>
<td bgcolor="#D0D0D0" colspan="14"><!--del_lnk--> Brass or Edwardian</td>
<td bgcolor="#D0D0D0" colspan="12"><!--del_lnk--> Vintage</td>
<td bgcolor="#D0D0D0" colspan="18"><!--del_lnk--> Pre-War</td>
<td bgcolor="#D0D0D0" colspan="31" rowspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Post-War</td>
<td bgcolor="#D0D0D0" colspan="31" rowspan="3"><!--del_lnk--> Modern</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<td bgcolor="#D0D0D0" colspan="58"><!--del_lnk--> Antique</td>
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<tr align="center">
<td bgcolor="#D0D0D0" colspan="89"><!--del_lnk--> Classic</td>
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<p><a id="Internal_combustion_engine_powered_vehicles" name="Internal_combustion_engine_powered_vehicles"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Internal combustion engine powered vehicles</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:156px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/873.gif.htm" title="Animation of a 4-stroke overhead-cam internal combustion engine"><img alt="Animation of a 4-stroke overhead-cam internal combustion engine" height="334" longdesc="/wiki/Image:4-Stroke-Engine.gif" src="../../images/8/873.gif" width="154" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/873.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Animation of a 4-stroke overhead-cam internal combustion engine</div>
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<p>In 1806 <!--del_lnk--> François Isaac de Rivaz, a Swiss, designed the first <!--del_lnk--> internal combustion engine (sometimes abbreviated "ICE" today). He subsequently used it to develop the world's first vehicle to run on such an engine that used a mixture of <a href="../../wp/h/Hydrogen.htm" title="Hydrogen">hydrogen</a> and <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a> to generate <a href="../../wp/e/Energy.htm" title="Energy">energy</a>. The design was not very successful, as was the case with the British inventor, <!--del_lnk--> Samuel Brown, and the American inventor, <!--del_lnk--> Samuel Morey, who produced vehicles powered by clumsy internal combustion engines about 1826.<p><!--del_lnk--> Etienne Lenoir produced the first successful stationary internal combustion engine in 1860, and within a few years, about four hundred were in operation in <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a>. About 1863, Lenoir installed his engine in a vehicle. It seems to have been powered by city lighting-gas in bottles, and was said by Lenoir to have <i>"travelled more slowly than a man could walk, with breakdowns being frequent."</i> Lenoir, in his <!--del_lnk--> patent of 1860, included the provision of a <!--del_lnk--> carburettor, so liquid fuel could be substituted for gas, particularly for mobile purposes in vehicles. Lenoir is said to have tested liquid fuel, such as <a href="../../wp/a/Alcohol.htm" title="Alcohol">alcohol</a>, in his stationary engines; but it does not appear that he used them in his own vehicle. If he did, he most certainly did not use <!--del_lnk--> gasoline, as this was not well-known and was considered a waste product.<p>The next innovation occurred in the late 1860s, with <!--del_lnk--> Siegfried Marcus, a German working in <a href="../../wp/v/Vienna.htm" title="Vienna">Vienna</a>, Austria. He developed the idea of using gasoline as a fuel in a two-stroke internal combustion engine. In 1870, using a simple handcart, he built a crude vehicle with no seats, steering, or brakes, but it was remarkable for one reason: it was the world's first vehicle using an internal combustion engine fueled by <!--del_lnk--> gasoline. It was tested in Vienna in September of 1870 and put aside. In 1888 or 1889, he built a second automobile, this one with seats, brakes, and steering, and included a four-stroke engine of his own design. That design may have been tested in 1890. Although he held patents for many inventions, he never applied for patents for either design in this category.<p>The four-stroke engine already had been documented and a patent was applied for in 1862 by the Frenchman <!--del_lnk--> Beau de Rochas in a long-winded and rambling pamphlet. He printed about three hundred copies of his pamphlet and they were distributed in <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a>, but nothing came of this, with the patent application expiring soon afterward and the pamphlet disappearing into obscurity.<p>Most historians agree that <!--del_lnk--> Nikolaus Otto of Germany built the world's first four-stroke engine although his patent was voided. He knew nothing of Beau de Rochas's patent or idea, and invented the concept independently. In fact, he began thinking about the concept in 1861, but abandoned it until the mid-1870s.<p>In 1883, <!--del_lnk--> Edouard Delamare-Deboutteville and <!--del_lnk--> Leon Malandin of France installed an internal combustion engine powered by a tank of city gas on a tricycle. As they tested the vehicle, the tank hose came loose, resulting in an explosion. In 1884, Delamare-Deboutteville and Malandin built and patented a second vehicle. This one consisted of two four-stroke, liquid-fueled engines mounted on an old four-wheeled horse cart. The patent, and presumably the vehicle, contained many innovations, some of which would not be used for decades. However, during the vehicle's first test, the frame broke apart, the vehicle literally <i>"shaking itself to pieces,"</i> in Malandin's own words. No more vehicles were built by the two men. Their venture went completely unnoticed and their patent unexploited. Knowledge of the vehicles and their experiments was obscured until years later.<p><a id="Production_of_automobiles_begins" name="Production_of_automobiles_begins"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Production of automobiles begins</span></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/874.jpg.htm" title="Karl Benz"><img alt="Karl Benz" height="260" longdesc="/wiki/Image:CarlBenz.jpg" src="../../images/8/874.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/874.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Karl Benz</div>
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<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/875.jpg.htm" title="Replica of the Benz Patent Motorwagen built in 1886"><img alt="Replica of the Benz Patent Motorwagen built in 1886" height="176" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Benz_Patent_Motorwagen_1886_%28Replica%29.jpg" src="../../images/8/875.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/875.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Replica of the Benz Patent Motorwagen built in 1886</div>
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<p>Internal combustion engine automobiles were first produced in <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> by Karl Benz in 1885-1886, and Gottlieb Daimler between 1886-1889.<p><a href="../../wp/k/Karl_Benz.htm" title="Karl Benz">Karl Benz</a> began to work on new engine patents in 1878. At first he concentrated on creating a reliable two-stroke gas engine, based on Nikolaus Otto's design of the four-stroke engine. A patent on the design by Otto had been declared void. Benz finished his engine on New Year's Eve and was granted a patent for it in 1879. Benz built his first three-wheeled automobile in 1885 and it was granted a patent in <!--del_lnk--> Mannheim, dated January of 1886. This was the first automobile designed and built as such, rather than a converted carriage, boat, or cart. Among other items Benz invented are the speed regulation system known also as an <!--del_lnk--> accelerator, <!--del_lnk--> ignition using sparks from a <!--del_lnk--> battery, the <!--del_lnk--> spark plug, the <!--del_lnk--> clutch, the <!--del_lnk--> gear shift, and the water <!--del_lnk--> radiator. He built improved versions in 1886 and 1887 and went into production in 1888: the world's first automobile production. His wife, <!--del_lnk--> Bertha, made significant suggestions for innovation that he included in that model. Approximately twenty-five were built before 1893, when his first four-wheeler was introduced. They were powered with four-stroke engines of his own design. <!--del_lnk--> Emile Roger of <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, already producing Benz engines under license, now added the Benz automobile to his line of products. Because France was more open to the early automobiles, more were built and sold in France through Roger than Benz sold in Germany.<p>In 1886 <!--del_lnk--> Gottlieb Daimler fitted a horse carriage with his four-stroke engine. In 1889, he built two vehicles from scratch as automobiles, with several innovations. From 1890 to 1895 about thirty vehicles were built by Daimler and his assistant, <!--del_lnk--> Wilhelm Maybach, either at the Daimler works or in the Hotel Hermann, where they set up shop after falling out with their backers. Benz and Daimler, seem to have been unaware of each other's early work and worked independently. Daimler died in 1900. During the First World War, Benz suggested a co-operative effort between the two companies, but it was not until 1926 that the they united under the name of Daimler-Benz with a commitment to remain together under that name until the year 2000.<p>In 1890, <!--del_lnk--> Emile Levassor and <!--del_lnk--> Armand Peugeot of <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> began producing vehicles with Daimler engines, and so laid the foundation of the motor industry in France. They were inspired by Daimler's Stahlradwagen of 1889, which was exhibited in Paris in 1889.<p>The first American car with a gasoline internal combustion engine supposedly was designed in 1877 by <!--del_lnk--> George Baldwin Selden of <!--del_lnk--> Rochester, New York, who applied for a patent on an automobile in 1879. Selden did not build an automobile until 1905, when he was forced to do so, due to a lawsuit threatening the legality of his patent because the subject had never been built. After building the 1877 design in 1905, Selden received his patent and later sued the <!--del_lnk--> Ford Motor Company for infringing upon his patent. <a href="../../wp/h/Henry_Ford.htm" title="Henry Ford">Henry Ford</a> was notorious for opposing the American patent system and Selden's case against Ford went all the way to the <a href="../../wp/s/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States.htm" title="Supreme Court of the United States">Supreme Court</a>, which ruled that Ford, and anyone else, was free to build automobiles without paying royalties to Selden, since automobile technology had improved so significantly since the design of Selden's patent, that no one was building according to his early designs.<p>In Britain there had been several attempts to build steam cars with varying degrees of success with <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Rickett even attempting a production run in 1860. One of the major problems was the poor state of the road network. <!--del_lnk--> Santler from Malvern is recognised by the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain as having made the first petrol powered car in the country in 1894 followed by <!--del_lnk--> Frederick William Lanchester in 1895 but these were both one-offs. The first production vehicles came from the <!--del_lnk--> Daimler Motor Company founded in 1896 and making their first cars made in 1897.<p><a id="Innovation" name="Innovation"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Innovation</span></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/876.jpg.htm" title="Ford Model T, 1927"><img alt="Ford Model T, 1927" height="164" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Late_model_Ford_Model_T.jpg" src="../../images/8/876.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/876.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Ford Model T, 1927</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, a French inventor, is credited for having built the world's first self-propelled mechanical vehicle or automobile in 1765. The first automobile <!--del_lnk--> patent in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> was granted to <!--del_lnk--> Oliver Evans in 1789 for his "Amphibious Digger". It was a harbour dredge scow designed to be powered by a <a href="../../wp/s/Steam_engine.htm" title="Steam engine">steam engine</a> and he built wheels to attach to the bow. In 1804 Evans demonstrated his first successful self-propelled vehicle, which not only was the first automobile in the US but was also the first <!--del_lnk--> amphibious vehicle, as his steam-powered vehicle was able to travel on <!--del_lnk--> wheels on land as he demonstrated once, and via a <!--del_lnk--> paddle wheel in the water. It was not successful and eventually was sold as spare parts.<p>The Benz Motorwagen, built in 1885, was patented on <!--del_lnk--> 29 January <!--del_lnk--> 1886 by <a href="../../wp/k/Karl_Benz.htm" title="Karl Benz">Karl Benz</a> as the first automobile powered by an <!--del_lnk--> internal combustion engine. In 1888, a major breakthrough came when <!--del_lnk--> Bertha Benz drove an automobile that her husband had built for a distance of more than 106 km (about 65 miles). This event demonstrated the practical usefulness of the automobile and gained wide publicity, which was the promotion she thought was needed to advance the invention. The Benz vehicle was the first automobile put into production and sold commercially. Bertha Benz's historic drive is celebrated as an annual <!--del_lnk--> holiday in <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> with rallies of antique automobiles.<p>In 1892 <!--del_lnk--> Rudolf Diesel got a patent for a "New Rational Combustion Engine" by modifying the <!--del_lnk--> Carnot Cycle. And in 1897 he built the first <!--del_lnk--> Diesel Engine.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 5 November <!--del_lnk--> 1895, <!--del_lnk--> George B. Selden was granted a United States patent for a <!--del_lnk--> two-stroke automobile engine (<!--del_lnk--> U.S. Patent 549160). This patent did more to hinder than encourage development of autos in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>. Steam, electric, and gasoline powered autos competed for decades, with gasoline internal combustion engines achieving dominance in the 1910s.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/877.jpg.htm" title="Ransom E. Olds, the creator of the first automobile assembly line"><img alt="Ransom E. Olds, the creator of the first automobile assembly line" height="134" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Olds2.jpg" src="../../images/8/877.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/877.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Ransom E. Olds, the creator of the first automobile assembly line</div>
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<p>The large-scale, <!--del_lnk--> production-line manufacturing of affordable automobiles was debuted by <!--del_lnk--> Ransom Eli Olds at his <!--del_lnk--> Oldsmobile factory in 1902. This assembly line concept was then greatly expanded by <a href="../../wp/h/Henry_Ford.htm" title="Henry Ford">Henry Ford</a> in the 1910s. Development of automotive technology was rapid, due in part to the hundreds of small manufacturers competing to gain the world's attention. Key developments included electric <!--del_lnk--> ignition and the electric self-starter (both by <!--del_lnk--> Charles Kettering, for the <!--del_lnk--> Cadillac Motor Company in 1910-1911), independent suspension, and four-wheel brakes.<p>Although various <!--del_lnk--> pistonless rotary engine designs have attempted to compete with the conventional <!--del_lnk--> piston and <!--del_lnk--> crankshaft design, only <!--del_lnk--> Mazda's version of the <!--del_lnk--> Wankel engine has had more than very limited success.<p><a id="Model_changeover_and_design_change" name="Model_changeover_and_design_change"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Model changeover and design change</span></h3>
<p>Since the 1920s nearly all cars have been mass-produced to meet market needs, so marketing plans have often heavily influenced automobile design. It was <!--del_lnk--> Alfred P. Sloan who established the idea of different makes of cars produced by one firm, so that buyers could "move up" as their fortunes improved. The makes shared parts with one another so that the larger production volume resulted in lower costs for each price range. For example, in the 1950s, <!--del_lnk--> Chevrolet shared hood, doors, roof, and windows with <!--del_lnk--> Pontiac; the LaSalle of the 1930s, sold by <!--del_lnk--> Cadillac, used the cheaper mechanical parts made by the Oldsmobile division.<p><a id="Production_statistics" name="Production_statistics"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Production statistics</span></h2>
<p>In 2005, 63 million cars and light trucks were produced worldwide.<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2">
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<td align="center" colspan="120">
<div style="position: relative"><b>Top 15 Motor Vehicle Producing Countries 2005</b> </div>
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<td align="center" colspan="120">Car and Light Commercial Vehicle Production (1,000 units)</td>
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<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10">1,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10">2,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10">3,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10">4,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10">5,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10">6,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10">7,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10">8,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10">9,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10">10,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10">11,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10">12,000</th>
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<tr align="left">
<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="115"><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a></td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="50">11,524</td>
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<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="101"><a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a></td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="19">10,064</td>
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<tr align="left">
<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="55"><a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a></td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="65">5,543</td>
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<tr align="left">
<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="51"><a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a></td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="69">5,067</td>
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<tr align="left">
<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="37"><a href="../../wp/s/South_Korea.htm" title="South Korea">South Korea</a></td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="83">3,657</td>
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<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="35"><a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a></td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="85">3,495</td>
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<tr align="left">
<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="27"><a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a></td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="93">2,677</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left">
<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="26"><a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a></td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="94">2,624</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left">
<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="24"><a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a></td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="96">2,375</td>
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<tr align="left">
<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="18"><a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a></td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="102">1,783</td>
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<tr align="left">
<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="16"><a href="../../wp/m/Mexico.htm" title="Mexico">Mexico</a></td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="104">1,607</td>
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<tr align="left">
<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="14"><a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a></td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="106">1,406</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left">
<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="13"><a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a></td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="107">1,264</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left">
<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="11"><a href="../../wp/t/Thailand.htm" title="Thailand">Thailand</a></td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="109">1,110</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left">
<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="10"><a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a></td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="110">995</td>
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<td align="left" colspan="120">References: <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> World Motor Vehicle Production by Country and Type: Cars 2004 - 2005. <!--del_lnk--> OICA.<li><!--del_lnk--> World Motor Vehicle Production by Country and Type: Light Commercial Vehicles 2004 - 2005. <!--del_lnk--> OICA.</ul>
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<p>
<br /> Large free trade areas like EU, NAFTA and MERCOSUR attract manufacturers worldwide to produce their products within them reducing currency risks and customs controls and additionally being close to their customers. Thus the production figures do not show the technological ability or business skill of the areas. In fact much, if not most, of Third World countries car production uses Western technology and car models and sometimes complete Western factories are shipped to such countries. This is reflected in patent statistics as well as the location of R&D centers.<p>The automobile industry is dominated by relatively few large corporations (not to be confused with the much more numerous brands), the biggest of which (by numbers of cars produced) are currently <!--del_lnk--> General Motors, <!--del_lnk--> Toyota and <!--del_lnk--> Ford Motor Company. It is expected that Toyota will reach the No.1 position in 2009. The most profitable per-unit car-maker of recent years has been <!--del_lnk--> Porsche due to its premium price tag<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2">
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="100"><b>Top 15 Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Companies by Volume 2005</b> </td>
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<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="100">Car and Light Commercial Vehicle Production (1,000 units)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10" width="10%">1,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10" width="10%">2,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10" width="10%">3,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10" width="10%">4,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10" width="10%">5,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10" width="10%">6,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10" width="10%">7,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10" width="10%">8,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10" width="10%">9,000</th>
<th align="right" bgcolor="#EFEFEF" colspan="10" width="10%">10,000</th>
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<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="90"><!--del_lnk--> General Motors</td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="10">9,040</td>
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<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="71"><!--del_lnk--> Toyota</td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="29">7,100</td>
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<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="64"><!--del_lnk--> Ford</td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="36">6,418</td>
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<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="52"><!--del_lnk--> Volkswagen Group</td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="48">5,173</td>
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<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="43"><!--del_lnk--> DaimlerChrysler</td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="57">4,319</td>
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<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="34"><!--del_lnk--> PSA Peugeot Citroën</td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="66">3,375</td>
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<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="34"><!--del_lnk--> Honda</td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="66">3,373</td>
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<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="33"><!--del_lnk--> Nissan</td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="67">3,348</td>
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<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="29"><!--del_lnk--> Hyundai-Kia Motors</td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="71">2,853</td>
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<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="26"><!--del_lnk--> Renault-Dacia-Samsung</td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="74">2,617</td>
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<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="21"><!--del_lnk--> Suzuki-Maruti</td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="79">2,072</td>
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<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="19"><!--del_lnk--> Fiat</td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="81">1,934</td>
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<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="13"><!--del_lnk--> Mitsubishi</td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="87">1,327</td>
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<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="13"><!--del_lnk--> BMW</td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="87">1,323</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left">
<td bgcolor="#C0C0C0" colspan="13"><!--del_lnk--> Mazda</td>
<td bgcolor="#E0E0E0" colspan="87">1,285</td>
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<td colspan="100">Total global production: 67,265</td>
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<td align="left" colspan="100">Reference: <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> World motor vehicle production by manufacturer: World ranking 2005. <!--del_lnk--> OICA (June 2006).</ul>
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<p><a id="Future_of_the_car" name="Future_of_the_car"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Future of the car</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/878.jpg.htm" title="The hydrogen powered FCHV (Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle) was developed by Toyota in 2005"><img alt="The hydrogen powered FCHV (Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle) was developed by Toyota in 2005" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:TOYOTA_FCHV_01.jpg" src="../../images/8/878.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/878.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The hydrogen powered FCHV (Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle) was developed by <!--del_lnk--> Toyota in 2005</div>
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<p>There have been many efforts to innovate automobile design funded by the <!--del_lnk--> NHTSA, including the work of the <!--del_lnk--> NavLab group at Carnegie Mellon University. Recent efforts include the highly publicized <!--del_lnk--> DARPA <!--del_lnk--> Grand Challenge race.<p>Relatively high transportation fuel prices do not significantly reduce car usage but do make it more expensive. One environmental benefit of high fuel prices is that it is an incentive for the production of more efficient (and hence less polluting) car designs and the development of alternative fuels. At the beginning of 2006, 1 liter of gasoline cost approximately $0.60 USD in the United States and in Germany and other European countries nearly $1.80 USD. With fuel prices at these levels there is a strong incentive for consumers to purchase lighter, smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. <!--del_lnk--> Greenpeace, however, demonstrated with the highly fuel efficient <!--del_lnk--> SmILE that car manufacturers aren't delivering what they could and thus not supplying for any such demand . Nevertheless, individual mobility is highly prized in modern societies so the demand for automobiles is inelastic. Alternative individual modes of transport, such as <!--del_lnk--> Personal rapid transit, could serve as an alternative to automobiles if they prove to be cheaper and more energy efficient.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/879.jpg.htm" title="Lexus LF-A concept car at the 2006 Greater Los Angeles Auto Show"><img alt="Lexus LF-A concept car at the 2006 Greater Los Angeles Auto Show" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lexus_LF-A_Pic_2.JPG" src="../../images/8/879.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/879.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Lexus LF-A concept car at the 2006 Greater Los Angeles Auto Show</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Electric cars operate a complex drivetrain and transmission would not be needed. However, despite this the electric car is held back by battery technology - a cell with comparable energy density to a tank of liquid fuel is a long way off, and there is no infrastructure in place to support it. A more practical approach may be to use a smaller internal combustion (IC) engine to drive a generator- this approach can be much more efficient since the IC engine can be run at a single speed, use cheaper fuel such as diesel, and drop the heavy, power wasting drivetrain. Such an approach has worked very well for railway <!--del_lnk--> locomotives, but so far has not been scaled down for car use.<p><a id="Alternative_technologies" name="Alternative_technologies"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Alternative technologies</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/880.jpg.htm" title="The Henney Kilowatt, the first modern (transistor-controlled) electric car."><img alt="The Henney Kilowatt, the first modern (transistor-controlled) electric car." height="177" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kilowatt.jpg" src="../../images/8/880.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/880.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Henney Kilowatt, the first modern (transistor-controlled) electric car.</div>
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<p>Increasing costs of oil-based fuels and tightening environmental <a href="../../wp/l/Law.htm" title="Law">laws</a> with the possibility of further restrictions on <!--del_lnk--> greenhouse gas emissions are propelling work on alternative power systems for automobiles.<p>Many <!--del_lnk--> diesel-powered cars can run with little or no modifications on 100% pure <a href="../../wp/b/Biodiesel.htm" title="Biodiesel">biodiesel</a>. The main benefit of Diesel combustion engines is its 50% fuel burn efficiency compared with 23% in the best gasoline engines. Most modern gasoline engines are capable of running with up to 15% ethanol mixed into the gasoline fuel - older vehicles may have seals and hoses that could be harmed by ethanol. With a small amount of redesign, gasoline-powered vehicles can run on ethanol concentrations as high as 85%. 100% ethanol is used in some parts of the world using vehicles that must be started on pure gasoline and switched over to ethanol once the engine is running. Most gasoline fuelled cars can also run on <!--del_lnk--> LPG with the addition of an <!--del_lnk--> LPG tank for fuel storage and carburation modifications to add an LPG mixer. LPG produces fewer toxic emissions and is a popular fuel for fork lift trucks that have to operate inside buildings.<p>The first electric cars were built in the late 1800s, prior to combustion engine automobiles, nevertheless attempts at building viable, modern <!--del_lnk--> battery-powered electric vehicle began with the introduction of the first modern (<!--del_lnk--> transistor controlled) electric car.<p>Current research and development is centered on "<!--del_lnk--> hybrid" vehicles that use both electric power and internal combustion. Research into alternative forms of power also focus on developing <!--del_lnk--> fuel cells, <!--del_lnk--> Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI), and even using the stored energy of compressed air or <!--del_lnk--> liquid nitrogen.<p>Alternative forms of combustion such as <!--del_lnk--> Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) are starting to appear in production vehicles. GDI is employed in the 2007 <a href="../../wp/m/MINI_%2528BMW%2529.htm" title="MINI (BMW)">BMW MINI</a>.<p><a id="Design" name="Design"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Design</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/881.jpg.htm" title="The 1955 Citroën DS; revolutionary visual design and technological innovation."><img alt="The 1955 Citroën DS; revolutionary visual design and technological innovation." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Citroenpadda.JPG" src="../../images/8/881.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/881.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The 1955 <!--del_lnk--> Citroën DS; revolutionary visual design and technological innovation.</div>
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<p>The design of modern cars is typically handled by a large team of designers and engineers from many different disciplines. As part of the product development effort the team of designers will work closely with teams of design engineers responsible for all aspects of the vehicle. These engineering teams include: chassis, body and <!--del_lnk--> trim, powertrain, electrical and production. The design team under the leadership of the design director will typically comprise of an exterior designer, an interior designer (usually referred to as stylists) and a color and materials designer. A few other designers will be involved in detail design of both exterior and interior. For example, a designer might be tasked with designing the rear light clusters or the steering wheel. The color and materials designer will work closely with the exterior and interior designers in developing exterior colour paints, interior colors, fabrics, leathers, carpet, wood trim and so on.<p>In 1924 the American national automobile market began reaching saturation. To maintain unit sales, General Motors instituted annual model-year design changes in order to convince car owners that they needed to buy a new replacement each year. Since 1935 automotive form has been driven more by consumer expectations than by engineering improvement.<p><a id="Safety" name="Safety"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Safety</span></h2>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Automobile accidents are almost as old as automobiles themselves. Early examples include, <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Cugnot, who crashed his steam-powered "Fardier" against a wall in 1771, <!--del_lnk--> Mary Ward, who became one of the first document automobile fatalites on <!--del_lnk--> August 31, <!--del_lnk--> 1869 in <!--del_lnk--> Parsonstown, Ireland, and <!--del_lnk--> Henry Bliss, one of the <!--del_lnk--> United State's first automobile casulties on <!--del_lnk--> September 13, <!--del_lnk--> 1899 in <!--del_lnk--> New York City, NY.<p>Cars have many basic safety problems - for example, they have human drivers who make mistakes, wheels that lose traction when the braking or turning forces are too high. Some vehicles have a high <!--del_lnk--> centre of gravity and therefore an increased tendency to roll over. When driven at high speeds, collisions can have serious or even fatal consequence.<p>Early safety research focused on increasing the reliability of brakes and reducing the flammability of fuel systems. For example, modern engine compartments are open at the bottom so that fuel vapors, which are heavier than air, vent to the open air. Brakes are hydraulic and dual circuit so that failures are slow leaks, rather than abrupt cable breaks. Systematic research on crash safety started in 1958 at <!--del_lnk--> Ford Motor Company. Since then, most research has focused on absorbing external crash energy with crushable panels and reducing the motion of human bodies in the passenger compartment.<p>Significant reductions in death and injury have come from the addition of <!--del_lnk--> Safety belts and laws in many countries to require vehicle occupants to wear them. <!--del_lnk--> Airbags and specialised child restraint systems have improved on that. Structural changes such as side-impact protection bars in the doors and side panels of the car mitigate the effect of impacts to the side of the vehicle. Many cars now include radar or sonar detectors mounted to the rear of the car to warn the driver if he or she is about to reverse into an obstacle or a pedestrian. Some vehicle manufacturers are producing cars with devices that also measure the proximity to obstacles and other vehicles in front of the car and are using these to apply the brakes when a collision is inevitable. There have also been limited efforts to use <!--del_lnk--> heads up displays and <!--del_lnk--> thermal imaging technologies similar to those used in military aircraft to provide the driver with a better view of the road at night.<p>There are standard tests for safety in new automobiles, like the <!--del_lnk--> EuroNCAP and the <!--del_lnk--> US NCAP tests. There are also tests run by organizations such as <!--del_lnk--> IIHS and backed by the insurance industry.<p>Despite technological advances, there is still significant loss of life from car accidents: About 40,000 people die every year in the <!--del_lnk--> U.S., with similar figures in <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>. This figure increases annually in step with rising population and increasing travel if no measures are taken, but the rate <!--del_lnk--> per capita and per mile travelled decreases steadily. The death toll is expected to nearly double worldwide by 2020. A much higher number of accidents result in injury or permanent <!--del_lnk--> disability. The highest accident figures are reported in China and India. The European Union has a rigid program to cut the death toll in the EU in half by 2010 and member states have started implementing measures.<p><!--del_lnk--> Automated control has been seriously proposed and successfully prototyped. Shoulder-belted passengers could tolerate a 32<!--del_lnk--> G emergency stop (reducing the safe intervehicle gap 64-fold) if high-speed roads incorporated a steel rail for emergency braking. Both safety modifications of the roadway are thought to be too expensive by most funding authorities, although these modifications could dramatically increase the number of vehicles that could safely use a high-speed <!--del_lnk--> highway.<p><a id="Economics_and_societal_impact" name="Economics_and_societal_impact"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Economics and societal impact</span></h2>
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<p>The economics of personal automobile ownership go beyond the initial cost of the vehicle and includes repairs, maintenance, fuel, depreciation, the cost of borrowing, parking fees, tire replacement, taxes and insurance. Additionally, there are indirect societal costs such as the costs of maintaining roads and other infrastructure, pollution, health care costs due to accidents and the cost of finally disposing of the vehicle at the end of its life. The ability for humans to move rapidly from place to place has far reaching implications for the nature of our society. People can now live far from their workplaces, the design of our cities is determined as much by the need to get vehicles into and out of the city as the nature of the buildings and public spaces within the city.<p><a id="Further_reading" name="Further_reading"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Autorack</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Design_and_Technology.Railway_transport.htm">Railway transport</a></h3>
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<div style="width:327px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16741.jpg.htm" title="An autorack. The platform of the pictured car (the bottom strip of yellow and everything below it) is owned by TTX Corporation, while the rack (the parts above the platform painted dark red and silver) is owned by Norfolk Southern."><img alt="An autorack. The platform of the pictured car (the bottom strip of yellow and everything below it) is owned by TTX Corporation, while the rack (the parts above the platform painted dark red and silver) is owned by Norfolk Southern." height="244" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ETTX_905721_20050529_IL_Rochelle.jpg" src="../../images/167/16741.jpg" width="325" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16741.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An autorack. The platform of the pictured car (the bottom strip of yellow and everything below it) is owned by <!--del_lnk--> TTX Corporation, while the rack (the parts above the platform painted dark red and silver) is owned by <!--del_lnk--> Norfolk Southern.</div>
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<p>An <b>autorack</b>, also known as an <i>auto carrier</i>, is a specialized piece of <!--del_lnk--> railroad <!--del_lnk--> rolling stock used to transport <b>unladen</b> <a href="../../wp/a/Automobile.htm" title="Automobile">automobiles</a> (unladen in this context refers to automobiles <i>without passengers</i>).<p>It is widely used to carry new <!--del_lnk--> automobiles and light trucks from the factories to automotive distributors. It is also used for <!--del_lnk--> Auto Train service in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>.<p>
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</script><a id="History:_developing_improvements_from_boxcars" name="History:_developing_improvements_from_boxcars"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History: developing improvements from boxcars</span></h2>
<p>In the early part of the 20th century, when automobiles were still new technology, their production levels were low enough that they could be shipped in sufficient quantities in <!--del_lnk--> boxcars. Two to four automobiles would usually fit into one boxcar. But as the automobile industry grew in size, railroads found that they needed to modify the boxcars for more efficient loading. Some modifications included longer boxcars, larger sliding double side doors located near one end of the boxcar, or doors located on the boxcar ends.<p>These modifications helped, but the demand for new automobiles outpaced the railroads' abilities to build and modify boxcars in which to ship them. In 1923, the <!--del_lnk--> Grand Trunk Western Railroad experimented with modifying a group of 61-foot-long wood-frame <!--del_lnk--> flat cars to increase their capacity by adding collapsible frames to allow for double-deck operation. The concept was not perfected and therefore failed to gain acceptance. In the 1940s and 1950s, some railroads experimented with automobile loading assemblies that would lift one or more automobile above others within a boxcar for more efficient use of space within the cars. The success of these assemblies was limited due to their special use and specific size; it proved uneconomical to maintain a fleet of these assemblies that could only be loaded into boxcars from the ends of the cars.<p>By this time, in the United States, most circuses still traveled by rail. Circuses were major haulers of wheeled vehicles, carrying all of their vehicles on <!--del_lnk--> flat cars, usually behind their own <!--del_lnk--> passenger cars or in separate sections of their trains (basically, one train would haul the performers and employees while a second train would haul the vehicles and freight). The circus solution to loading vehicles was to use a string of flat cars. A temporary ramp was placed at the end of the flat cars and temporary bridge plates spanned the gaps between adjacent flat cars; the road vehicles were driven or towed up onto one car and then driven or towed down the train. This type of vehicle loading became known as "circus style" due to its frequent use by circuses.<p>It wasn't until the 1960s that the majority of railroads took the clue from circuses and started loading their own flat cars in this manner. But, loading even up to six automobiles onto one flat car left a large amount of space above the vehicles that was unused. The natural solution was to take the temporary assemblies that were used to stack and load vehicles within boxcars and permanently attach them to the flat cars. The assemblies, also called racks, created two levels on which automobiles could be loaded. To complete the flat car, foldaway bridges were added to the ends of the flat car decks to allow the vehicles to be driven the entire length of a train for loading. Building flat cars in this manner, the railroads no longer needed specialized equipment to load and unload the racks in boxcars. All they needed now was a ramp at the right height.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16742.jpg.htm" title="A modern German autorack similar to the original design with a full load of automobiles"><img alt="A modern German autorack similar to the original design with a full load of automobiles" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:DB-Laaeks25804366678-7.JPG" src="../../images/167/16742.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16742.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A modern German autorack similar to the original design with a full load of automobiles</div>
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<p>In the 1950s, in <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>, <!--del_lnk--> VW Beetle production was increasing beyond the capacity of highway trucks. <!--del_lnk--> Volkswagen engineers worked with German railroads to design a railroad car that was basically an extra long version of a vehicle hauling trailer. The design they came up with was able to carry 10 vehicles on one car. VW's two-level flatcar design effectively became the first autorack.<p>In late 1957, <!--del_lnk--> Canadian National Railroad (CN) introduced a group of auto carriers which represented a new innovation. The CN bi-level auto-rack cars had <i>end-doors.</i> They were huge by the standards of the time; the cars were 75 <!--del_lnk--> feet (23 <!--del_lnk--> m) long and could carry 8 vehicles. These cars were a big success and helped lead to the development of today's enclosed auto racks.<p>Autoracks quickly lengthened to around 80 ft (24 m) to increase their loading capacity. This made them about as long as the average passenger car of the time; if the cars were much longer, they wouldn't be able to operate in interchange service due to clearance issues on curves. Yet, the railroads could still do better. It didn't take long for the first three-level autoracks to appear on American rails.<p><a id="Transporting_new_automobiles" name="Transporting_new_automobiles"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Transporting new automobiles</span></h2>
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16743.jpg.htm" title="The open end of a two-level autorack that is undergoing repairs."><img alt="The open end of a two-level autorack that is undergoing repairs." height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Autorack_end%2C_2-level.jpg" src="../../images/167/16743.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16743.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The open end of a two-level autorack that is undergoing repairs.</div>
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<p>During the 1960s, specially built auto carriers took over rail transportation of newly completed automobiles in North America. They carried more cars in the same space and were easier to load and unload than the boxcars formerly used. <!--del_lnk--> Arthur Crookshank of the <!--del_lnk--> New York Central Railroad is credited with having the first set of cars manufactured for use in the late 1950s. Ever-larger auto carriers and specialized terminals were developed by <!--del_lnk--> Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) and other carriers. Also in this decade, autoracks were built in three-level configurations so railroads could haul more of the smaller vehicles of the era; two-level autoracks were still in use for <!--del_lnk--> vans and light <!--del_lnk--> trucks.<p>The only problem left was that the new autorack cars did not provide any protection from flying debris or from the weather. In the manner CN had developed in the 1950s, in the 1970s other North American railroads began refining their autorack cars. They began installing side sheathing to protect the vehicles from impact. Roofs were added to most autoracks in the 1980s, and end doors were added in the latter portion of the decade (both to prevent damage and to deter people from boarding the cars and riding the train within the vehicles loaded in them).<p><a id="Trailer_Train_Company" name="Trailer_Train_Company"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Trailer Train Company</span></h3>
<p>Although railroads were just beginning to see the advantages that autoracks delivered in the 1960s, most North American railroads were reluctant to invest in such specially built equipment. The <!--del_lnk--> Trailer Train Company, organized by the <a href="../../wp/p/Pennsylvania_Railroad.htm" title="Pennsylvania Railroad">Pennsylvania Railroad</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Norfolk & Western in 1955, stepped in to ease the railroads' financial burden a bit. Trailer Train purchased the flat cars from the rail car manufacturers, and the railroads that wanted to operate autoracks purchased the racks that were installed on those flat cars. Such cars were easily spotted at trackside due to the reporting marks identifying Trailer Train on the flat car portion of the car and the railroad's logo (usually much larger) in the upper portion of the rack.<p>This arrangement worked so well that nearly every autorack operating in the US was so owned. Trailer Train became <!--del_lnk--> TTX Corporation in 1991; since then many railroads have themselves purchased the flat cars on which the racks were installed and TTX has itself expanded into purchasing and leasing out other railroad <!--del_lnk--> rolling stock. The development of enclosed autoracks also helped make several other innovative services work well.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16744.jpg.htm" title="Autoracks wait to be unloaded in a BNSF Railway facility in Los Angeles, California."><img alt="Autoracks wait to be unloaded in a BNSF Railway facility in Los Angeles, California." height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Autoracks_in_LA_3-22-99.jpg" src="../../images/167/16744.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16744.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Autoracks wait to be unloaded in a <!--del_lnk--> BNSF Railway facility in <a href="../../wp/l/Los_Angeles%252C_California.htm" title="Los Angeles, California">Los Angeles, California</a>.</div>
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<br /><a id="New_designs_and_current_usage" name="New_designs_and_current_usage"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">New designs and current usage</span></h3>
<p>Railroads of today are still grappling with the problem of loading more and larger vehicles onto autoracks. One popular solution is to create a double-length car that is articulated over a single middle truck (<!--del_lnk--> bogie) so that each half of the car is about the same length as a conventional autorack. These cars, which can be seen in operation on many of the railroads of the western US, are brand named <i>AutoMax</i> cars. These cars, built by <!--del_lnk--> Gunderson (a subsidiary of <!--del_lnk--> The Greenbrier Companies) measure 145 ft 4 <!--del_lnk--> in (44.3 m) long and 20 ft 2 in (6 m) tall; they feature adjustable interior decks to carry up to 22 light trucks and minivans.<p>The railroads became the primary long-distance transporter of completed automobiles, one of few commodities where the industry has been able to overcome trucking in competition. Using the enclosed tri-level autoracks, they were able to provide <i>both</i> lower costs <i>and</i> greater protection from in-transit damage (such as that which may occur due to <a href="../../wp/w/Weather.htm" title="Weather">weather</a> and <!--del_lnk--> traffic conditions on unenclosed <!--del_lnk--> truck <!--del_lnk--> trailers).<p><a id="Latest_innovations" name="Latest_innovations"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Latest innovations</span></h3>
<p>In 2004, <!--del_lnk--> Canadian National was as the forefront of autorack technology again, as it had been in the 1950s by using a more light-weight material, <a href="../../wp/a/Aluminium.htm" title="Aluminium">aluminium</a>. The new cars, built by <!--del_lnk--> Johnstown America Corporation beginning in December 2004, are brand named <i>AVC</i>, an acronym for <i>Aluminium Vehicle Carrier</i>. 200 new aluminium autoracks promise a softer ride, a wider interior, superior door-edge protection, and a rust-free interior from older steel versions. <a href="../../wp/c/Canadian_Pacific_Railway.htm" title="Canadian Pacific Railway">Canadian Pacific Railway</a> has ordered 375 of these new cars as well. The new cars built for <a href="../../wp/a/Amtrak.htm" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a> <!--del_lnk--> Auto Train service differ from those built for CN and CP; the Amtrak cars are three inches shorter in height, and use solid side panels instead of the perforated panels operated in freight service.<p><a id="Auto_Train:_combining_autoracks_and_passenger_cars" name="Auto_Train:_combining_autoracks_and_passenger_cars"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Auto Train: combining autoracks and passenger cars</span></h2>
<p><a id="Auto-Train_Corp" name="Auto-Train_Corp"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Auto-Train Corp</span></h3>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> December 6, <!--del_lnk--> 1971 <!--del_lnk--> Auto-Train Corporation introduced a new and innovative rail transportation service for <i>both</i> passengers <i>and</i> their automobiles in the United States, operating scheduled service between <!--del_lnk--> Lorton, Virginia (near <a href="../../wp/w/Washington%252C_D.C..htm" title="Washington, D.C.">Washington, D.C.</a>) and <!--del_lnk--> Sanford, Florida, near <!--del_lnk--> Orlando.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Auto Train offered an alternative to motorists who would otherwise drive their automobiles the 855-<!--del_lnk--> mile (1375 <!--del_lnk--> km) distance along the east coast of the U.S. For vacationers with destinations at one or more of the many popular tourist attractions of Florida, the <!--del_lnk--> Auto Train service offered dual features:<ol>
<li>avoid the long automobile ride on busy <!--del_lnk--> Interstate 95 in <!--del_lnk--> Virginia, <!--del_lnk--> North Carolina, <!--del_lnk--> South Carolina, <!--del_lnk--> Georgia, and <a href="../../wp/f/Florida.htm" title="Florida">Florida</a><li>have the convenience of use of their own automobile upon arrival.</ol>
<p>From the beginning in 1971 (the same year <a href="../../wp/a/Amtrak.htm" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a> began service on purely passenger routes in the US), a key feature of <!--del_lnk--> Auto-Train's new service was the use of autoracks, which were former <!--del_lnk--> Canadian National bi-level autorack cars acquired used. These were augmented by new tri-level auto-racks in 1976.<p>The privately owned service became very popular, but after 10 years of operation, and some costly attempts to expand the service elsewhere (such as a schedule between Florida and <a href="../../wp/c/Chicago.htm" title="Chicago, Illinois">Chicago, Illinois</a>), Auto-Train Corporation entered bankruptcy, and service ended in April 1981.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16746.jpg.htm" title="An Auto Train dining car awaits passengers next to an auto carrier which will join it at the rear of the consist."><img alt="An Auto Train dining car awaits passengers next to an auto carrier which will join it at the rear of the consist." height="169" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aboard_auto_train.jpg" src="../../images/167/16746.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16746.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An Auto Train <!--del_lnk--> dining car awaits passengers next to an auto carrier which will join it at the rear of the consist.</div>
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<p><a id="Amtrak.27s_Auto_Train" name="Amtrak.27s_Auto_Train"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Amtrak's Auto Train</span></h3>
<p>Auto Train service between Virginia and Florida was resumed by <a href="../../wp/a/Amtrak.htm" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a> in 1983. Amtrak, a federally-chartered corporation which operates most intercity passenger trains in the United States, continued to use Auto-Train's autoracks as an important portion of its service.<p>In current operation of Amtrak's <!--del_lnk--> Auto Train, there are two trains in operation simultaneously. The autoracks normally run on the rear of Auto Train <!--del_lnk--> consists, which stretch over a quarter-mile, and are a familiar sight on <!--del_lnk--> CSX Transportation tracks on the east coast.<p>Today, Amtrak's Auto Train carries about 200,000 passengers and generates around $50 million in revenue annually. It is considered Amtrak's best-paying train in terms of income in comparison with operating expenses.<p><a id="Alaska_Railroad:_Service_through_a_long_one-lane_tunnel" name="Alaska_Railroad:_Service_through_a_long_one-lane_tunnel"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Alaska Railroad: Service through a long one-lane tunnel</span></h2>
<p>An Auto Train type of service utilizing autoracks and <!--del_lnk--> passenger cars was operated in Alaska at the <!--del_lnk--> Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel through <!--del_lnk--> Maynard Mountain near <!--del_lnk--> Whittier, Alaska, which is part of the <!--del_lnk--> Portage Glacier Highway. Completed in 1943, with a length of 13,300 feet (4053.84 <!--del_lnk--> m), it is the longest <!--del_lnk--> highway <!--del_lnk--> tunnel and longest combined rail and highway tunnel in <a href="../../wp/n/North_America.htm" title="North America">North America</a>.<p>In the mid-1960s, the <!--del_lnk--> Alaska Railroad began offering a shuttle service through the tunnel which allowed vehicles to drive onto auto carrier cars to be transported between Whittier and the former town of Portage. As traffic to Whittier increased, the shuttle became insufficient, leading to a project to convert the existing railroad tunnel into a one-lane, combination highway and railway tunnel which was opened to traffic on <!--del_lnk--> June 7, <!--del_lnk--> 2000.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autorack"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Autostereogram</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Health_and_medicine.htm">Health and medicine</a></h3>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/930.png.htm" title="A random dot autostereogram encodes a 3D scene which can be "seen" with proper viewing technique. Click on thumbnail to see full-size image."><img alt="A random dot autostereogram encodes a 3D scene which can be "seen" with proper viewing technique. Click on thumbnail to see full-size image." height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Random_Dot_Shark.png" src="../../images/9/916.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/930.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A random dot autostereogram encodes a 3D scene which can be "seen" with proper <!--del_lnk--> viewing technique. Click on thumbnail to see full-size image.</div>
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<p>An <b>autostereogram</b> is a single-image <!--del_lnk--> stereogram (SIS), designed to trick the <!--del_lnk--> human brain into perceiving a three-<!--del_lnk--> dimensional (3D) scene in a two-dimensional image. In order to perceive 3D shapes in these autostereograms, the brain must overcome the normally automatic coordination between <!--del_lnk--> focusing and <!--del_lnk--> convergence.<p>The simplest type of autostereogram consists of horizontally repeating patterns and is known as a <!--del_lnk--> wallpaper autostereogram. When viewed with proper convergence, the repeating patterns appear to float in the air above the background. The <!--del_lnk--> Magic Eye series of books features another type of autostereogram called a <!--del_lnk--> random dot autostereogram. In this type of autostereogram, every <!--del_lnk--> pixel in the image is computed from a pattern strip and a depth map. Usually, a hidden 3D scene emerges when the image is viewed with proper viewing technique.<p>There are two ways an autostereogram can be viewed: <i>wall-eyed</i> and <i>cross-eyed</i>. Most autostereograms are designed to be viewed in only one way, which is usually wall-eyed. Wall-eyed viewing requires that the two eyes adopt a relatively <!--del_lnk--> divergent angle, while cross-eyed viewing requires a relatively <!--del_lnk--> convergent angle.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>In 1838, the British scientist <!--del_lnk--> Charles Wheatstone published an explanation of <!--del_lnk--> binocular vision (binocular depth perception) which had led him to make stereoscopic drawings and to construct a <!--del_lnk--> stereoscope based on a combination of <!--del_lnk--> mirrors to allow a person to see 3D images from two 2D pictures (<!--del_lnk--> stereograms).<p>Between 1849 and 1850, <!--del_lnk--> David Brewster, a Scottish scientist, improved the Wheatstone stereoscope by using <!--del_lnk--> lenses instead of mirrors, thus reducing the size of the contraption. Brewster noticed that staring at repeated patterns in wallpapers could trick the brain into matching pairs of them and thus causing the brain to perceive a virtual plane behind the walls. This is the basis of wallpaper-style <i>autostereograms</i> (also known as single-image stereograms).<p>In 1959, <!--del_lnk--> Bela Julesz, a vision scientist, psychologist, and <!--del_lnk--> MacArthur Fellow, discovered the <!--del_lnk--> random dot stereogram while working at Bell Laboratories on recognizing camouflaged objects from aerial pictures taken by spy planes. At the time, many vision scientists still thought that <!--del_lnk--> depth perception occurred in the eye itself, whereas now it is known to be a complex neurological process. Julesz used a computer to create a stereo pair of random-dot images which, when viewed under a stereoscope, caused the brain to see 3D shapes. This proved that depth perception is a neurological process. <p>In 1979, <!--del_lnk--> Christopher Tyler of <!--del_lnk--> Smith-Kettlewell Institute, a student of Julesz and a visual psychophysicist, combined the theories behind single-image wallpaper stereograms and random-dot <i>stereograms</i> to create the first random-dot <i>autostereogram</i> (also known as single-image random-dot stereogram) which allowed the brain to see 3D shapes from a single 2D image without the aid of optical equipment. <p><a id="How_they_work" name="How_they_work"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">How they work</span></h2>
<p><a id="Simple_wallpaper" name="Simple_wallpaper"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Simple wallpaper</span></h3>
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<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/917.png.htm" title="This is an example of a wallpaper with repeated horizontal patterns. Each pattern is repeated exactly every 140 pixels. The illusion of the pictures lying on a flat surface (a plane) further back is created by the brain. However, non-repeating patterns such as arrows and words appear on the plane where this text lies."><img alt="This is an example of a wallpaper with repeated horizontal patterns. Each pattern is repeated exactly every 140 pixels. The illusion of the pictures lying on a flat surface (a plane) further back is created by the brain. However, non-repeating patterns such as arrows and words appear on the plane where this text lies." height="263" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Clean.png" src="../../images/9/917.png" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/917.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> This is an example of a wallpaper with repeated horizontal patterns. Each pattern is repeated exactly every 140 pixels. The illusion of the pictures lying on a flat surface (a plane) further back is created by the brain. However, non-repeating patterns such as arrows and words appear on the plane where this text lies.</div>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Stereopsis, or stereo vision, is the visual blending of two similar but not identical <!--del_lnk--> images into one, with resulting <!--del_lnk--> visual perception of <!--del_lnk--> solidity and <!--del_lnk--> depth. In the human brain, stereopsis results from a complex set of mechanisms that form a three-dimensional impression by matching each point (or set of points) in one eye's view with the equivalent point (or set of points) in the other eye's view. It therefore assesses the points' positions in the otherwise inscrutable z-axis (depth).<p>When the brain is presented with a repeating pattern like <!--del_lnk--> wallpaper, it has difficulty matching the two eyes' views accurately. By looking at a <!--del_lnk--> horizontally repeating pattern, but converging the two eyes at a point behind the pattern, it is possible to trick the brain into matching one element of the pattern, as seen by the left eye, with another (similar looking) element, beside the first, as seen by the right eye. This gives the illusion of a plane bearing the same pattern but located behind the real wall. The distance at which this plane lies behind the wall depends only on the spacing between identical elements.<p>Autostereograms use this dependence of depth on spacing to create three-dimensional images. If, over some area of the picture, the pattern is repeated at smaller distances, that area will appear closer than the background plane. If the distance of repeats is longer over some area, then that area will appear more distant (like a hole in the plane).<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/918.png.htm" title="This autostereogram displays patterns on three different planes by repeating the patterns at different spacings."><img alt="This autostereogram displays patterns on three different planes by repeating the patterns at different spacings." height="263" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Simple.png" src="../../images/9/918.png" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/918.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> This autostereogram displays patterns on three different planes by repeating the patterns at different spacings.</div>
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<p>People who have never been able to perceive 3D shapes hidden within an autostereogram find it hard to understand remarks such as, "the 3D image will just pop out of the background, after you stare at the picture long enough", or "the 3D objects will just emerge from the background". It helps to illustrate how 3D images "emerge" from the background from a second viewer's perspective. If the virtual 3D objects reconstructed by the autostereogram viewer's brain were real objects, a second viewer observing the scene from the side would see these objects floating in the air above the background image.<p>The 3D effects in the example autostereogram are created by repeating the tiger rider icons every 140 <!--del_lnk--> pixels on the background plane, the shark rider icons every 130 pixels on the second plane, and the tiger icons every 120 pixels on the highest plane. The closer a set of icons are packed horizontally, the higher they are lifted from the background plane. This repeat distance is referred to as the depth or z-axis value of a particular pattern in the autostereogram. The depth value is also known as <!--del_lnk--> Z-buffer value.<p>
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<div style="width:272px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/919.png.htm" title="This picture illustrates how 3D shapes from an autostereogram "emerge" from the background plane, when the autostereogram is viewed with proper eye divergence."><img alt="This picture illustrates how 3D shapes from an autostereogram "emerge" from the background plane, when the autostereogram is viewed with proper eye divergence." height="123" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Side_View.png" src="../../images/9/919.png" width="270" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/919.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> This picture illustrates how 3D shapes from an autostereogram "emerge" from the background plane, when the autostereogram is viewed with proper eye divergence.</div>
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<div style="width:272px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/920.png.htm" title="Depth or z-axis values are proportional to pixel shifts in the autostereogram."><img alt="Depth or z-axis values are proportional to pixel shifts in the autostereogram." height="141" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Width.png" src="../../images/9/920.png" width="270" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/920.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Depth or z-axis values are proportional to pixel shifts in the autostereogram.</div>
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<p>The brain is capable of almost instantly matching hundreds of patterns repeated at different intervals in order to recreate correct depth information for each pattern. An autostereogram may contain some 50 tigers of varying size, repeated at different intervals against a complex, repeated background. Yet, despite the apparent chaotic arrangement of patterns, the brain is able to place every tiger icon at its proper depth.<p>
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<div style="width:262px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/921.png.htm" title="The brain can place every tiger icon on its proper depth plane."><img alt="The brain can place every tiger icon on its proper depth plane." height="195" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Highlight.png" src="../../images/9/921.png" width="260" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/921.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The brain can place every tiger icon on its proper depth plane.</div>
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<div style="width:272px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/922.png.htm" title="This image illustrates how an autostereogram is perceived by a viewer"><img alt="This image illustrates how an autostereogram is perceived by a viewer" height="120" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Highlight_Side.png" src="../../images/9/922.png" width="270" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/922.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> This image illustrates how an autostereogram is perceived by a viewer</div>
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<p><a id="Depth_maps" name="Depth_maps"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Depth maps</span></h3>
<p>Autostereograms where patterns in a particular row are repeated horizontally with the same spacing can be read either <a href="#wall-eyed-viewing" title="">cross-eyed</a> or <a href="#wall-eyed-viewing" title="">wall-eyed</a>. In such autostereograms, both types of reading will produce similar depth interpretation, with the exception that the cross-eyed reading reverses the depth (images that once popped out are now pushed in).<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:402px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/923.png.htm" title="Patterns in this autostereogram appear at different depth across each row."><img alt="Patterns in this autostereogram appear at different depth across each row." height="300" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Horizontal.png" src="../../images/9/923.png" width="400" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/923.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Patterns in this autostereogram appear at different depth across each row.</div>
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<p>However, icons in a row do not need to be arranged at identical intervals. An autostereogram with varying intervals between icons across a row presents these icons at different depth planes to the viewer. The depth for each icon is computed from the distance between it and its neighbour at the left. These types of autostereograms are designed to be read in only one way, either cross-eyed or wall-eyed. All autostereograms in this article are encoded for wall-eyed viewing, unless specifically marked otherwise. An autostereogram encoded for wall-eyed viewing will produce incoherent 3D patterns when viewed cross-eyed. Most Magic Eye pictures are also designed for wall-eyed viewing.<p>The following wall-eyed autostereogram encodes 3 planes across the x-axis. The background plane is on the left side of the picture. The highest plane is shown on the right side of the picture. There is a narrow middle plane in the middle of the x-axis. Starting with a background plane where icons are spaced at 140 pixels, one can raise a particular icon by shifting it a certain number of pixels to the left. For instance, the middle plane is created by shifting an icon 10 pixels to the left, effectively creating a spacing consisting of 130 pixels. The brain does not rely on intelligible icons which represent objects or concepts. In this autostereogram, patterns become smaller and smaller down the y-axis, until they look like random dots. The brain is still able to match these random dot patterns.<p>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/924.png.htm" title="The black, gray and white colors in the background represent a depth map showing changes in depth across row."><img alt="The black, gray and white colors in the background represent a depth map showing changes in depth across row." height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Horizontal_Depthmap.png" src="../../images/9/924.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/924.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The black, gray and white colors in the background represent a depth map showing changes in depth across row.</div>
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<div style="width:37px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/925.png.htm" title="Pattern image"><img alt="Pattern image" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Horizontal_Pattern.png" src="../../images/9/925.png" width="35" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/925.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Pattern image</div>
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<p>The distance relationship between any pixel and its counterpart in the equivalent pattern to the left can be expressed in a <i>depth map</i>. A depth map is simply a <!--del_lnk--> grayscale image which represents the distance between a pixel and its left counterpart using a grayscale value between black and white. By convention, the closer the distance is, the brighter the colour becomes.<p>Using this convention, a grayscale depth map for the above autostereogram can be created with black, gray and white representing shifts of 0 pixels, 10 pixels and 20 pixels, respectively. A depth map is the key to creation of random-dot autostereograms.<br style="clear:both;" />
<p><a id="Random-dot" name="Random-dot"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Random-dot</span></h3>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/926.png.htm" title="Depth map"><img alt="Depth map" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Rectangles_Depthmap.png" src="../../images/9/926.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/926.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Depth map</div>
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<div style="width:37px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/927.png.htm" title="Pattern"><img alt="Pattern" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Rectangles_Pattern.png" src="../../images/9/927.png" width="35" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/927.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Pattern</div>
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<p>A software program can take a depth map and an accompanying pattern image to produce an autostereogram. The program tiles the pattern image horizontally to cover an area whose size is identical to the depth map. Conceptually, at every pixel in the output image, the program looks up the grayscale value of the equivalent pixel in the depth map image, and uses this value to determine the amount of horizontal shift required for the pixel.<p>One way to accomplish this is to make the program scan every line in the output image pixel-by-pixel from left to right. It seeds the first series of pixels in a row from the pattern image. Then it consults the depth map to retrieve appropriate shift values for subsequent pixels. For every pixel, it subtracts the shift from the width of the pattern image to arrive at a repeat interval. It uses this repeat interval to look up the color of the counterpart pixel to the left and uses its color as the new pixel's own colour.<p>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/928.png.htm" title="Three raised rectangles appear on different depth plane in this autostereogram."><img alt="Three raised rectangles appear on different depth plane in this autostereogram." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Rectangles.png" src="../../images/9/928.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/928.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Three raised rectangles appear on different depth plane in this autostereogram.</div>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/929.png.htm" title="Every pixel in an autostereogram obeys the distance interval specified by the depth map."><img alt="Every pixel in an autostereogram obeys the distance interval specified by the depth map." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Pixel_Shift.png" src="../../images/9/929.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/929.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Every pixel in an autostereogram obeys the distance interval specified by the depth map.</div>
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<p>Unlike the simple depth planes created by simple wallpaper autostereograms, subtle changes in spacing specified by the depth map can create the illusion of smooth <!--del_lnk--> gradients in distance. This is possible because the grayscale depth map allows individual pixels to be placed on one of 2<sup>n</sup> depth planes, where n is the number of bits used by each pixel in the depth map. In practice, the total number of depth planes is determined by the number of pixels used for the width of the pattern image. Each grayscale value must be translated into pixel space in order to shift pixels in the final autostereogram. As a result, the number of depth planes must be smaller than the pattern width.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:402px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/930.png.htm" title="This random dot autostereogram features a raised shark with fine gradient on a flat background."><img alt="This random dot autostereogram features a raised shark with fine gradient on a flat background." height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Random_Dot_Shark.png" src="../../images/9/930.png" width="400" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/930.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> This random dot autostereogram features a raised shark with fine gradient on a flat background.</div>
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<p>The fine-tuned gradient requires a pattern image more complex than standard repeating-pattern wallpaper, so typically a pattern consisting of repeated random dots is used. When the autostereogram is viewed with proper viewing technique, a hidden 3D scene emerges. Autostereograms of this form are known as Random Dot Autostereograms.<p>Smooth gradients can also be achieved with an intelligible pattern, assuming that the pattern is complex enough and does not have big, horizontal, monotonic patches. A big area painted with monotonic colour without change in <!--del_lnk--> hue and <!--del_lnk--> brightness does not lend itself to pixel shifting, as the result of the horizontal shift is identical to the original patch. The following depth map of a shark with smooth gradient produces a perfectly readable autostereogram, even though the 2D image contains small monotonic areas; the brain is able to recognize these small gaps and fill in the blanks. While intelligible, repeated patterns are used instead of random dots, this type of autostereogram is still known by many as a Random Dot Autostereogram, because it is created using the same process.<p>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/931.png.htm" title="The shark figure in this depth map is drawn with a smooth gradient."><img alt="The shark figure in this depth map is drawn with a smooth gradient." height="125" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Shark_Depthmap.png" src="../../images/9/931.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/931.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The shark figure in this depth map is drawn with a smooth gradient.</div>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/932.png.htm" title="The 3D shark in this random-dot autostereogram has a smooth, round shape due to the use of depth map with smooth gradient."><img alt="The 3D shark in this random-dot autostereogram has a smooth, round shape due to the use of depth map with smooth gradient." height="119" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Shark.png" src="../../images/9/932.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/932.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The 3D shark in this random-dot autostereogram has a smooth, round shape due to the use of depth map with smooth gradient.</div>
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<br style="clear:both;" /><a id="Animated" name="Animated"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Animated</span></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/933.gif.htm" title="animated autostereogram. 800 × 400 version "><img alt="animated autostereogram. 800 × 400 version " height="90" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Animated_Shark_Small.gif" src="../../images/9/933.gif" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/933.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> animated autostereogram. <!--del_lnk--> 800 × 400 version</div>
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<p>When a series of autostereograms are shown one after another, in the same way <a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Film">moving pictures</a> are shown, the brain perceives an <a href="../../wp/a/Animation.htm" title="Animation">animated</a> autostereogram. If all autostereograms in the animation are produced using the same background pattern, it is often possible to see faint outlines of parts of the moving 3D object in the 2D autostereogram image without wall-eyed viewing; the constantly shifting pixels of the moving object can be clearly distinguished from the static background plane. To eliminate this side effect, animated autostereograms often use shifting background in order to disguise the moving parts.<p>When a regular repeating pattern is viewed on a <!--del_lnk--> CRT monitor as if it were a wallpaper autostereogram, it is usually possible to see depth ripples. This can also be seen in the background to a static, random-dot autostereogram. These are caused by the sideways shifts in the image due to small changes in the deflection sensitivity (linearity) of the line scan, which then become interpreted as depth. This effect is especially apparent at the left hand edge of the screen where the scan speed is still settling after the flyback phase. This effect is absent from a <!--del_lnk--> TFT LCD.<p>
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<p><a id="Mechanisms_for_viewing" name="Mechanisms_for_viewing"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Mechanisms for viewing</span></h2>
<p>Much advice exists about seeing the intended three-dimensional image in an autostereogram. While some people can simply see the 3D image in an autostereogram, others must learn to train their eyes to decouple eye convergence from lens focusing.<p>Not every person can see the 3D <!--del_lnk--> illusion in autostereograms. Because autostereograms are constructed based on <!--del_lnk--> stereo vision, persons with a variety of visual impairments, even those affecting only one eye, are unable to see the three-dimensional images.<p>People with <!--del_lnk--> amblyopia (also known as lazy eye) are unable to see the three-dimensional images. Children with poor or dysfunctional eyesight during a critical period in childhood may grow up stereoblind, as their brains are not stimulated by stereo images during the critical period. If such vision problem is not corrected in the early childhood, the damage becomes permanent and the adult will never be able to see autostereograms. It is estimated that some 1% to 5% of the population is affected by amblyopia.<p><a name="3D_perception"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">3D perception</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Depth perception results from many monocular and binocular visual clues. For objects relatively close to the eyes, <!--del_lnk--> binocular vision plays an important role in depth perception. Binocular vision allows the brain to create a single <!--del_lnk--> Cyclopean image and to attach a depth level to each point in the Cyclopean image.<p>
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<div style="width:172px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/934.png.htm" title="The two eyes converge on the object of attention."><img alt="The two eyes converge on the object of attention." height="93" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Eye_Diagram.png" src="../../images/9/934.png" width="170" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/934.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The two eyes converge on the object of attention.</div>
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<div style="width:172px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/935.png.htm" title="The brain creates a Cyclopean image from the two images received by the two eyes."><img alt="The brain creates a Cyclopean image from the two images received by the two eyes." height="70" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Eye_View_Composite.png" src="../../images/9/935.png" width="170" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/935.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The brain creates a Cyclopean image from the two images received by the two eyes.</div>
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<div style="width:172px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/936.png.htm" title="The brain gives each point in the Cyclopean image a depth value, represented here by a grayscale depth map."><img alt="The brain gives each point in the Cyclopean image a depth value, represented here by a grayscale depth map." height="66" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Eye_View_Depthmap.png" src="../../images/9/936.png" width="170" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/936.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The brain gives each point in the Cyclopean image a depth value, represented here by a grayscale depth map.</div>
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<p>The brain uses coordinate shift (also known as <!--del_lnk--> parallax) of matched objects to identify depth of these objects. The depth level of each point in the combined image can be represented by a grayscale pixel on a 2D image, for the benefit of the reader. The closer a point appears to the brain, the brighter it is painted. Thus, the way the brain <!--del_lnk--> perceives depth using <!--del_lnk--> binocular vision can be captured by a depth map (Cyclopean image) painted based on coordinate shift.<br style="clear:both;" />
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/937.png.htm" title="The eye adjusts its internal lens to get a clear, focused image"><img alt="The eye adjusts its internal lens to get a clear, focused image" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Eye_Focus.png" src="../../images/9/937.png" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/937.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The eye adjusts its internal lens to get a clear, focused image</div>
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/48/4844.png.htm" title="The two eyes converge to point to the same object"><img alt="The two eyes converge to point to the same object" height="168" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Eye_Convergence.png" src="../../images/9/938.png" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/48/4844.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The two eyes converge to point to the same object</div>
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<p>The eye operates like a photographic camera. It has an adjustable <!--del_lnk--> iris which can open (or close) to allow more (or less) light to enter the eye. As with any camera except <!--del_lnk--> pinhole cameras, it needs to <!--del_lnk--> focus light rays entering through the iris (aperture in a camera) so that they focus on a single point on the retina in order to produce a sharp image. The eye achieves this goal by adjusting a lens behind the cornea to refract light appropriately.<div id="wall-eyed-viewing">When a person stares at an object, the two eyeballs rotate sideways to point to the object, so that the object appears at the centre of the image formed on each eye's retina. In order to look at a nearby object, the two eyeballs rotate towards each other so that their eyesight can <!--del_lnk--> converge on the object. This is referred to as <i>cross-eyed viewing</i>. To see a faraway object, the two eyeballs <i>diverge</i> to become almost parallel to each other. This is known as <i>wall-eyed viewing</i>, where the convergence angle is much smaller than that in a cross-eyed viewing.</div>
<p>Stereo-vision based on parallax allows the brain to calculate depths of objects relative to the point of convergence. It is the convergence angle that gives the brain the absolute reference depth value for the point of convergence from which absolute depths of all other objects can be inferred.<br style="clear:both;" />
<p><a id="Simulated_3D_perception" name="Simulated_3D_perception"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Simulated 3D perception</span></h3>
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<div style="width:272px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/939.png.htm" title="Decoupling focus from convergence tricks the brain into seeing 3D images in a 2D autostereogram"><img alt="Decoupling focus from convergence tricks the brain into seeing 3D images in a 2D autostereogram" height="330" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Eye_Trick.png" src="../../images/9/939.png" width="270" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/939.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Decoupling focus from convergence tricks the brain into seeing 3D images in a 2D autostereogram</div>
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<p>The eyes normally focus and converge at the same distance in a process known as <!--del_lnk--> accommodative convergence. That is, when looking at a faraway object, the brain automatically flattens the lenses and rotates the two eyeballs for wall-eyed viewing. It is possible to train the brain to decouple these two operations. This decoupling has no useful purpose in everyday life, because it prevents the brain from interpreting objects in a coherent manner. To see a man-made picture such as an autostereogram where patterns are repeated horizontally, however, decoupling of focusing from convergence is crucial.<p>By focusing the lenses on a nearby autostereogram where patterns are repeated and by converging the eyeballs at a distant point behind the autostereogram image, one can trick the brain into seeing 3D images. If the patterns received by the two eyes are similar enough, the brain will consider these two patterns a match and treat them as coming from the same imaginary object. This type of visualization is known as <i>wall-eyed viewing</i>, because the eyeballs adopt a wall-eyed convergence on a distant plane, even though the autostereogram image is actually closer to the eyes. Because the two eyeballs converge on a plane farther away, the perceived location of the imaginary object is behind the autostereogram. The imaginary object also appears bigger than the patterns on the autostereogram because of <!--del_lnk--> foreshortening.<p>The following autostereogram shows 3 rows of repeated patterns. Each pattern is repeated at a different interval to place it on a different depth plane. The two non-repeating lines can be used to verify correct wall-eyed viewing. When the autostereogram is correctly interpreted by the brain using wall-eyed viewing, and one stares at the dolphin in the middle of the visual field, the brain should see two sets of flickering lines, as a result of <!--del_lnk--> binocular rivalry.<p>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/940.png.htm" title="The two black lines in this Autostereogram help viewers establish proper wall-eyed viewing, see right."><img alt="The two black lines in this Autostereogram help viewers establish proper wall-eyed viewing, see right." height="100" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Eye_Trick_Stereogram.png" src="../../images/9/940.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/940.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The two black lines in this Autostereogram help viewers establish proper wall-eyed viewing, see right.</div>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/941.png.htm" title="When the brain manages to establish proper wall-eyed viewing, it will see two sets of lines."><img alt="When the brain manages to establish proper wall-eyed viewing, it will see two sets of lines." height="127" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Eye_Trick_Composite_Dolphin.png" src="../../images/9/941.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/941.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> When the brain manages to establish proper wall-eyed viewing, it will see two sets of lines.</div>
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<p>While there are 6 dolphin patterns in the autostereogram, the brain should see 7 "apparent" dolphins on the plane of the autostereogram. This is a side effect of the pairing of similar patterns by the brain. There are 5 pairs of dolphin patterns in this image. This allows the brain to create 5 apparent dolphins. The leftmost pattern and the rightmost pattern by themselves have no partner, but the brain tries to assimilate these two patterns onto the established depth plane of adjacent dolphins despite binocular rivalry. As a result, there are 7 apparent dolphins, with the leftmost and the rightmost ones appearing with a slight flicker, not dissimilar to the two sets of flickering lines observed when one stares at the 4th apparent dolphin.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/942.png.htm" title="Top-row cubes appear bigger."><img alt="Top-row cubes appear bigger." height="90" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Eye_Object_Size.png" src="../../images/9/942.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/942.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Top-row cubes appear bigger.</div>
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<p>Because of foreshortening, the difference in convergence needed to see repeated patterns on different planes causes the brain to attribute different sizes to patterns with identical 2D sizes. In the autostereogram of 3 rows of cubes, while all cubes have the same physical 2D dimensions, the ones on the top row appear bigger, because they are perceived as farther away than the cubes on the second and third rows.<p><a id="Viewing_techniques" name="Viewing_techniques"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Viewing techniques</span></h3>
<p>As with a <!--del_lnk--> photographic camera, it is easier to make the eye focus on an object when there is intense ambient light. With intense lighting, the eye can constrict the <!--del_lnk--> iris, yet allow enough light to reach the retina. The more the eye resembles a <!--del_lnk--> pinhole camera, the less it depends on <!--del_lnk--> focusing through the <a href="../../wp/l/Lens_%2528anatomy%2529.htm" title="Lens (anatomy)">lens</a>. In other words, the degree of decoupling between focusing and convergence needed to visualize an autostereogram is reduced. This places less strain on the brain. Therefore, it may be easier for first-time autostereogram viewers to "see" their first 3D images if they attempt this feat with bright lighting.<p><!--del_lnk--> Vergence control is important in being able to see 3D images. Thus it may help to concentrate on converging/diverging the two eyes to shift images that reach the two eyes, instead of trying to see a clear, focused image. Although the <!--del_lnk--> lens adjusts reflexively in order to produce clear, focused images, voluntary control over this process is possible. The viewer alternates instead between converging and diverging the two eyes, in the process seeing "double images" typically seen when one is <!--del_lnk--> drunk or otherwise intoxicated. Eventually the brain will successfully match a pair of patterns reported by the two eyes and lock onto this particular degree of convergence. The brain will also adjust eye lenses to get a clear image of the matched pair. Once this is done, the images around the matched patterns quickly become clear as the brain matches additional patterns using roughly the same degree of convergence.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:402px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/943.png.htm" title="The bottom part of this random dot autostereogram is free of 3D images. It is easier to trick the brain into matching pairs of patterns in this area."><img alt="The bottom part of this random dot autostereogram is free of 3D images. It is easier to trick the brain into matching pairs of patterns in this area." height="205" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stereogram_Tut_Shark_Bottom_Clear.png" src="../../images/9/943.png" width="400" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/943.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The bottom part of this random dot autostereogram is free of 3D images. It is easier to trick the brain into matching pairs of patterns in this area.</div>
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<p>When one moves one's attention from a depth plane to another (for instance, from the top row to the second row in the cube autostereogram), the two eyes need to adjust their convergence to match the new repeating interval of patterns. If the level of change in convergence is too high during this shift, sometimes the brain can lose the hard-earned decoupling between focusing and convergence. For a first-time viewer, therefore, it may be easier to see the autostereogram, if the two eyes rehearse the convergence exercise on an autostereogram where the depth of patterns across a particular row remains constant.<p>In a random dot autostereogram, the 3D image is usually shown in the middle of the autostereogram against a background depth plane (see the shark autostereogram). It may help to establish proper convergence first by staring at either the top or the bottom of the autostereogram, where patterns are usually repeated at a constant interval. Once the brain locks onto the background depth plane, it has a reference convergence degree from which it can then match patterns at different depth levels in the middle of the image.<p>The majority of autostereograms, including those in this article, are designed for divergent (wall-eyed) viewing. One way to help the brain concentrate on divergence instead of focusing is to hold the picture in front of the face, with the nose touching the picture. With the picture so close to their eyes, most people cannot focus on the picture. The brain may give up trying to move eye muscles in order to get a clear picture. If one slowly pulls back the picture away from the face, while refraining from focusing or rotating eyes, at some point the brain will lock onto a pair of patterns when the distance between them match the current convergence degree of the two eyeballs.<p>Another way is to stare at an object behind the picture in an attempt to establish proper divergence, while keeping part of the eyesight fixed on the picture to convince the brain to focus on the picture. A modified method has the viewer stare at her reflection on the shiny surface of the picture, which the brain perceives as being located twice as far away as the picture itself. This may help persuade the brain to adopt the required divergence while focusing on the nearby picture.<p>For crossed-eyed autostereograms, a different approach needs to be taken. The viewer may hold one finger between his eyes and move it slowly towards the picture, maintaining his focus on the finger at all times, until he is correctly focused on the spot between him and the picture that will allow him to view the illusion.<p><a id="Terminology" name="Terminology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Terminology</span></h2>
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<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Stereogram</b> was originally used to describe a pair of 2D images used in <!--del_lnk--> stereoscope to present a 3D image to viewers. The term is now often used interchangeably with autostereogram or random dot autostereogram. But Dr. Tyler, inventor of the autostereogram, consistently refers to single-image stereograms as autostereograms to distinguish them from other forms of stereograms.</ul>
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<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Random Dot Stereogram</b> (RDS) originally described a pair of 2D images showing random dots which, when viewed with a stereoscope, produced a 3D image. The term is now often used interchangeably with random dot autostereogram. </ul>
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<li><b>Single Image Stereogram</b> (SIS) is a synonym of autostereogram. SIS differs from most stereograms in its use of a single 2D image instead of a stereo pair. When the single 2D image is viewed with proper eye convergence, it causes the brain to fuse different patterns perceived by the two eyes into a virtual 3D image without the aid of any optical equipment.</ul>
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<li><b>Wallpaper autostereogram</b> is a 2D image where patterns are repeated at various intervals to raise or lower each pattern's perceived 3D location in relation to a virtual background plane.</ul>
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<li><b>Random-dot autostereogram</b> is also known as <a href="../../wp/a/Autostereogram.htm" title="Single Image Random Dot Stereogram">Single Image Random Dot Stereogram</a> (SIRDS). This term also refers to autostereograms where intelligible patterns instead of random dots are used.</ul>
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<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Single Image Random Text Stereogram</b> (SIRTS) is an alternative to SIRDS using random normally <a href="../../wp/a/ASCII.htm" title="ASCII">ASCII</a> text instead of dots to produce a 3D form of <!--del_lnk--> ASCII art.</ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostereogram"</div>
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| ['Film', 'Animation', 'Lens (anatomy)', 'Single Image Random Dot Stereogram', 'ASCII'] |
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Autumn</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Climate_and_the_Weather.htm">Climate and the Weather</a></h3>
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<center><!--del_lnk--> Dry season</center>
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<p><b>Autumn</b> (also known as <b>fall</b> in <!--del_lnk--> North American English) is one of the four temperate <!--del_lnk--> seasons, the transition from <a href="../../wp/s/Summer.htm" title="Summer">summer</a> into <a href="../../wp/w/Winter.htm" title="Winter">winter</a>. In the <!--del_lnk--> temperate zones, autumn is the season during which most crops are <a href="../../wp/h/Harvest.htm" title="Harvest">harvested</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> deciduous trees lose their <!--del_lnk--> leaves. It is also the season where days rapidly get shorter and cooler, the nights rapidly get longer, and of gradually increasing precipitation in some parts of the world.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/882.jpg.htm" title="Ginkgos along Harlem Avenue in Riverside, Illinois "><img alt="Ginkgos along Harlem Avenue in Riverside, Illinois " height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ginkgo_Riverside%2C_Illinois.JPG" src="../../images/8/882.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/882.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Ginkgos along Harlem Avenue in <!--del_lnk--> Riverside, Illinois</div>
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</script><a id="Definitions" name="Definitions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Definitions</span></h2>
<p>Astronomically, some Western countries consider autumn to begin with the September <!--del_lnk--> equinox (around <!--del_lnk--> September 23) in the <!--del_lnk--> Northern hemisphere, and the March equinox (<!--del_lnk--> March 21) in the <!--del_lnk--> southern hemisphere, ending with the December <!--del_lnk--> solstice (around <!--del_lnk--> December 21) in the Northern hemisphere and the June solstice (<!--del_lnk--> June 21) in the Southern hemisphere. Such conventions are by no means universal, however. An exception to these definitions is found in the <!--del_lnk--> Irish Calendar which still follows the Celtic cycle, where Autumn is counted as the whole months of <!--del_lnk--> August, <!--del_lnk--> September and <!--del_lnk--> October. In <!--del_lnk--> Chinese astronomy, the autumnal equinox marks the middle of autumn, which is deemed to have begun around the time of <!--del_lnk--> Liqiu (around <!--del_lnk--> August 7).<p>On the other hand, <a href="../../wp/m/Meteorology.htm" title="Meteorology">meteorologists</a> count the entire months of March, April and May in the Southern hemisphere, and September, October and November in the Northern hemisphere as autumn.<p>Albeit the days begin to shorten after the <!--del_lnk--> summer solstice, it is usually in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March (Southern Hemisphere) when twilight becomes noticeably shorter and the change more abrupt in comparison with the more lingering ones of summer.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/883.jpg.htm" title="Autumn colours at Westonbirt Arboretum, Gloucestershire, England."><img alt="Autumn colours at Westonbirt Arboretum, Gloucestershire, England." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Autumn.westonbirt.750pix.jpg" src="../../images/8/883.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/883.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Autumn colours at <!--del_lnk--> Westonbirt Arboretum, Gloucestershire, England.</div>
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<p>Autumn is often defined as the start of the school year, since they usually begin in early September or early March. Either definition, as with those of the seasons generally, is somewhat flawed because it assumes that the seasons are all of the same length, and begin and end at the same time throughout the temperate zone of each hemisphere.<p><a id="Historic_usage_and_recognition" name="Historic_usage_and_recognition"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Historic usage and recognition</span></h2>
<p>Many ancient civilizations computed the years by autumns, while the <!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Saxons did so by <a href="../../wp/w/Winter.htm" title="Winter">winters</a>. <!--del_lnk--> Tacitus tells us that the ancient Germans were acquainted with all the other seasons of the year, but had no notion of Autumn - though this is likely to be wrong, especially as a blanket statement (Tacitus wrote about Germanic tribes without firsthand knowledge). <!--del_lnk--> Linwood observed of the beginning of the several seasons of the year, that<dl>
<dd>"Dat Clemens Hyemem, dat Petrus Ver Cathedratus;<dd>Aestuat Urbanus, Autumnat Bartholomaeus." .</dl>
<p>In <a href="../../wp/a/Alchemy.htm" title="Alchemy">alchemy</a>, Autumn is the time or season when the operation of the <!--del_lnk--> Philosopher's stone is brought to maturity and perfection .<p><a id="Autumn_in_popular_culture" name="Autumn_in_popular_culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Autumn in popular culture</span></h2>
<p><a id="Association_with_harvest" name="Association_with_harvest"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Association with harvest</span></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/884.jpg.htm" title="Personification of Autumn (Currier & Ives Lithograph, 1871)."><img alt="Personification of Autumn (Currier & Ives Lithograph, 1871)." height="372" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Autumn.jpg" src="../../images/8/884.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/884.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Personification of Autumn (Currier & Ives Lithograph, 1871).</div>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/885.jpg.htm" title="John Everett Millais, "Autumn Leaves""><img alt="John Everett Millais, "Autumn Leaves"" height="348" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Millais_-_Herbstbl%C3%A4tter.jpg" src="../../images/8/885.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/885.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> John Everett Millais, "Autumn Leaves"</div>
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<p>Autumn's association with the transition from warm to cold weather, and its related status as the season of the primary <a href="../../wp/h/Harvest.htm" title="Harvest">harvest</a>, has dominated its themes and popular images. In Western cultures, personifications of Autumn are usually pretty, well-fed females adorned with fruits, vegetables and grains that ripen at this time. Most ancient cultures featured autumnal celebrations of the harvest, often the most important on their calendars. Still extant echoes of these celebrations are found in the late-Autumn <!--del_lnk--> Thanksgiving holiday of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, the <a href="../../wp/j/Jew.htm" title="Jewish">Jewish</a> <!--del_lnk--> Sukkot holiday with its roots as a full moon harvest festival of "tabernacles" (huts wherein the harvest was processed and which later gained religious significance), the many North American Indian festivals tied to harvest of autumnally ripe foods gathered in the wild, the Chinese <!--del_lnk--> Mid-Autumn or Moon festival, and many others. The predominant mood of these autumnal celebrations is a gladness for the fruits of the earth mixed with a certain melancholy linked to the imminence of harsh weather. Remembrance of ancestors is also a common theme.<p>This view is presented in <!--del_lnk--> Keats' poem '<!--del_lnk--> To Autumn' where he describes the season as a time of delightful growth, a seemingly endless time of 'fruitfulness'.<p><a id="Associations_with_melancholy" name="Associations_with_melancholy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Associations with melancholy</span></h3>
<p>Autumn in poetry has often been associated with melancholy. The possibilities of summer are gone, and the chill of winter is on the horizon. Thoughts and skies turn to grey. <!--del_lnk--> Rainer Maria Rilke, a famous german-language poet, has expressed such sentiments in one of his most famous poems, <i>Herbsttag</i> (<i>Autumn Day</i>), which reads in part:<dl>
<dd><i>Wer jetzt kein Haus hat, baut sich keines mehr.</i><dd><i>Wer jetzt allein ist, wird es lange bleiben,</i><dd><i>wird wachen, lesen, lange Briefe schreiben</i><dd><i>und wird in den Alleen hin und her</i><dd><i>unruhig wandern, wenn die Blätter treiben.</i></dl>
<p>This translates roughly (there is no official translation) to:<dl>
<dd><i>Who now has no house, will not build one (anymore).</i><dd><i>Who now is alone, will remain so for long,</i><dd><i>will wake, and read, and write long letters</i><dd><i>and back and forth on the boulevards</i><dd><i>will restlessly wander, while the leaves blow.</i></dl>
<p>We might also think of <a href="../../wp/w/William_Butler_Yeats.htm" title="William Butler Yeats">Yeats</a>' poem '<!--del_lnk--> The Wild Swans at Coole' where the maturing season that the poet observes symbolically represents the poet's ageing self. Like the natural world that he observes he too has reached his prime and now must look forward to the inevitability of old age and death. <!--del_lnk--> Paul Verlaine's "<i>Chanson d'automne</i>" ("Autumn Song") is likewise characterized by strong, painful feelings of sorrow.<p><a id="Other_associations" name="Other_associations"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Other associations</span></h3>
<p>Especially in the US, Autumn is also associated with the <a href="../../wp/h/Halloween.htm" title="Halloween">Halloween</a> season, and with it a widespread marketing campaign that promotes it. The television, film, book, costume, home decoration, and confectionery industries use this time of year to promote products closely associated with such holiday, with promotions going from early <!--del_lnk--> September to <!--del_lnk--> 31 October, since their themes rapidly lose strength once the holiday ends.<p>For the American film industry, the autumn season, which begins on the weekend following <!--del_lnk--> Labor Day and ends in early November, is the shortest and least profitable season of the movies. It follows the season of summer "<!--del_lnk--> blockbusters" and precedes the crowded end-of-year schedule of movies intended for award consideration.<p><a id="Autumn_and_tourism" name="Autumn_and_tourism"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Autumn and tourism</span></h2>
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<p>Although autumn coloration occurs wherever <!--del_lnk--> deciduous trees are found, colored autumn <!--del_lnk--> foliage is particularly noted in three regions of the world: most of <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a> and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>; a small area of central <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South America</a>; and <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Asia, including <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a>, <a href="../../wp/k/Korea.htm" title="Korea">Korea</a>, and <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>.<p>Eastern Canada and the <!--del_lnk--> New England region of the United States are famous for the brilliance of their "fall foliage," and a seasonal tourist industry has grown up around the few weeks in autumn when the leaves are at their peak. Some television and web-based weather forecasts even report on the status of the fall foliage throughout the season as a service to tourists. Fall foliage tourists are often referred to as "<!--del_lnk--> leaf peepers".<p><a id="Autumn_versus_Fall" name="Autumn_versus_Fall"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Autumn versus Fall</span></h2>
<p><b>Fall</b> is an alternative <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> word for the season of Autumn. In use now only in <!--del_lnk--> North American English, the word traces its origins to old <!--del_lnk--> Germanic languages. The exact derivation is unclear, the <a href="../../wp/o/Old_English_language.htm" title="Old English language">Old English</a> <i>fiæll</i> or <i>feallan</i> and the <!--del_lnk--> Old Norse <i>fall</i> all being possible candidates. However, these words all have the meaning "to fall from a height" and are clearly derived either from a common root or from each other. The term only came to denote the season in the <a href="../../wp/1/16th_century.htm" title="16th century">16th century</a>, a contraction of <!--del_lnk--> Middle English expressions like "fall of the leaf" and "fall of the year".<p><i>Autumn</i> comes from the <!--del_lnk--> Old French <i>automne</i>, and ultimately from the <a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a> <i>autumnus</i>. There are rare examples of its use as early as the <a href="../../wp/1/14th_century.htm" title="14th century">14th century</a>, but it became common only in the 16th, around the same time as <i>Fall</i>, when the two words appear to have been used interchangebly.<p>During the 17th century immigration to the English colonies in <a href="../../wp/n/North_America.htm" title="North America">North America</a> was at its peak and the new settlers took their language with them. While the term <i>Fall</i> gradually obsolesced in Britain, it became the preferred term in North America, at least in conversation.<p>Before the 16th century <i><a href="../../wp/h/Harvest.htm" title="Harvest">Harvest</a></i> was the term usually used to refer to the season. However as more people gradually moved from working the land to living in towns (especially those who could read and write, the only people whose use of language we now know), the word became to refer to the actual activity of reaping, rather than the time of year, and <i>Fall</i> and <i>Autumn</i> began to replace it.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autumn"</div>
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<h2>SOS Children's Charity: Autumn 2006 Newsletter</h2><p><strong>22/08/2006</strong></p>
<img src="../../wp/2/2981_brazil.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="SOS Children in Brazil" class="left" /><p>Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world with over 184 million people - about three times as many as in the UK - and, with an area of more than five million square miles, it is the largest country in South America. The country has many natural resources, including the Amazon rainforest, and some of the world’s most diverse flora and fauna. A quarter of the country's population lives on less than 65p a day. Brazil’s vast wealth is among the most unevenly distributed in the world, and it’s external debt is also the largest in the world - over 230 billion US dollars.</p><p>Despite considerable economic growth, corruption has resulted in the poor becoming poorer. Cities are expanding fast as people seek better paid jobs, but unemployment is high and so urban poverty is widespread; the result is vast shanty towns, or favelas. </p><p>Faced with extreme poverty, many children are forced to beg on the streets to survive and are at risk from exploitation. </p><p>SOS Children’s Villages started working in Brazil in the late 1960s to provide support for the poorer members of society. By 1970 three SOS Children’s Villages had been built, providing new homes and security to children whose parents could no longer support them. A further eleven SOS Children’s Villages have been built since, and in addition there are twelve SOS Social Centres, which support the local population with healthcare services, and four SOS Schools which provide the education and skills necessary to give poorer children a brighter future.</p><img src="../../wp/s/SOS_Newsletter_img_14.jpg" width="156" height="144" alt="Girl from Recife" class="right" /><p><strong>Hope for vulnerable children with SOS Children</strong></p><p>A new village at Recife in north eastern Brazil has been built as part of the ‘6 Villages for 2006’ campaign. The new village has twelve family houses and will be home to 108 orphaned and abandoned children. In addition, the SOS Children’s Village will have an SOS Nursery School with two classrooms, and an SOS Social Centre which will offer medical and dental care, as well as counselling and emotional support, to the local population.</p><p><strong>How is your money spent?</strong></p><p>Just 27p pays for a month’s education for a child at an SOS Social Centre </p><p>£5.50 will cover the cost of a child’s food for a month at an SOS Social Centre </p><p>£625 will pay for a week’s worth of childcare training at an SOS Social Centre, which includes counselling and support </p><p>£1,600 will pay for one month’s medical costs at a Mother & Child Clinic at an SOS Medical Centre</p><img src="../../wp/1/14304_Brazil4.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Young girl from Brazil" class="left" /><p><strong>Anna's Story</strong></p><p>Anna* never knew her mother who died in childbirth. She lived in a Brazilian village with only her father, who regularly went out with friends, returning home drunk. Anna went to school for a while until she was told to leave because she couldn’t afford the school fees. One night, Anna’s father was returning home following a drinking spree, but the driver he had to cross on his way home was swollen due to the heavy rain. Anna’s father fell into the river and was carried away by the water.</p><p>Anna was five years old and was left crying at home alone, waiting for her father to return. After a week, neighbours discovered her, locked inside the house and with no food. When we heard about Anna’s case and her background, without anyone to care for her, Anna came to her new family at the SOS Children’s Village.</p><p>Today, Anna is fun loving and living happily with her SOS mother, brothers and sisters in the village. Anna attends the local school and is doing well in her studies. Without an official date of birth, Anna’s village designated the day she came to the village as her birthday. On that day Anna celebrates with her new family. SOS Children, meanwhile, celebrates the fact that a child, once alone, now has hope for the future.</p><p>* Name has been changed to protect Anna's privacy.</p><p><a href="../../wp/a/Autumn_2006_Newsletter_Contents.htm">Back to Autumn 2006 Newsletter Contents</a>.</p><p><strong>Relevant Countries:</strong> <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil_A.htm">Brazil</a>.</p>
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<h2>SOS Children's Charity: Autumn 2006 Newsletter</h2><p><strong>22/08/2006</strong></p>
<p><strong>A Letter from The Chief Executive</strong></p><p>Dear Friends,</p><p>Welcome to the World Orphan Week (WOW) edition of SOS Children's World. Unfortunately, we can only ever highlight a few of the thousands of projects worldwide which your generosity allows us to achieve. However, we welcome any feedback on what we choose to include in your newsletter.</p><img src="../../wp/2/21797.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="SOS Children Newsletter" class="right" /><p>WOW is the opportunity to talk to friends, family and colleagues about SOS Children. For more details about how WOW makes a difference, please visit http://www.worldorphanweek.com</a> </p><p>Highlighted in <a href="../../wp/a/Autumn_2006_Stop_Press.htm">"Stop Press..."</a> is our work in Lebanon which has been severely affected by the recent conflict in the region. We also focus on our children's village in Bethlehem which needs sponsors to support children affected and traumatised by the day-to-day effects of living in this area of conflict. Our national office in Lebanon has also been evacuated and children's villages have been cut off by damaged roads.</p><p>Thank you for helping us to give a future to children in need.</p><p>Andrew Cates</p><p>Chief Executive of SOS Children UK</p><p><a href="../../wp/a/Autumn_2006_Newsletter_Contents.htm">Back to Autumn 2006 Newsletter Contents</a>.</p>
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<h2>Pakistan Earthquake</h2><p><strong>23/08/2006</strong></p>
<p>The “search and rescue” teams from SOS Children’s Villages continue to locate and identify unaccompanied children. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf recently said in an interview that “SOS Children’s Villages is the best custodian of our Kashmiri children”.</p><img src="../../wp/2/22576_Pakistan.jpg" width="600" height="450" alt="Grandmother and her grandchildren" class="left" /><p>Many children have been reunited with their families through the SOS reunification programme, and nearly 200 children are being cared for directly by SOS Children in emergency shelters or at our children’s villages.</p><p>Over 1,000 tents were distributed to families made homeless by the earthquake. Children’s powdered milk, rusks and mineral water were also distributed. Some warm clothing is being stored for next winter, and SOS Children is currently distributing the remaining tents to people affected by this year’s monsoon.</p><p>Supporters in the UK have made great efforts to raise funds for children in Kashmir. There have been collections, bacon butty mornings, a Bollywood Bazaar,and of course our own appeal. We continue to work with the government of Pakistan to ensure that aid reaches those who need it most. Thank you.</p><img src="../../wp/s/SOS_Newsletter_img_198.jpg" width="327" height="143" alt="SOS Children volunteers distributing roofing materials" class="right" /><p><strong>Giving Hope</strong></p><p>Earlier this year, members of the Pakistani Supporters’ Group and staff from British Airways visited Pakistan to see what SOS Children was doing for children affected by the earthquake.</p><p>Thanks go to Giving Hope, an organisation set up by British Airways employees in response to the earthquake, for their generous support and donations to the SOS Earthquake Appeal. The money will be used to provide a new family home for children orphaned by the earthquake at the SOS Children’s Village in Islamabad.</p><p><a href="../../wp/a/Autumn_2006_Newsletter_Contents.htm">Back to Autumn 2006 Newsletter Contents</a>.</p><p><strong>Relevant Countries:</strong> <a href="../../wp/p/Pakistan_A.htm">Pakistan</a>.</p>
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<h2>Contents of Autumn 2006 Newsletter</h2><p><strong>24/08/2006</strong></p>
<img src="../../wp/p/P1010137.jpg" width="126" height="200" alt="SOS children with WOW balloon" class="left" /><p>The articles in the Autumn 2006 Newsletter:</p><p><a href="../../wp/a/Autumn_06_Letter.htm">A Letter from the Chief Executive</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/A_South_African_Journey.htm">South Africa</a>: AIDS Orphans<br /><a href="../../wp/a/Autumn_06_Brazil.htm">Brazil</a>: South America<br /><a href="../../wp/a/Autumn_06_Pakistan.htm">A Year On</a>: Highlight on Pakistan<br /><a href="../../wp/a/Autumn_2006_Stop_Press.htm">Stop Press</a>: Latest News From Around the World With SOS Children<br /><a href="../../wp/a/Autumn_2006_Fundraising_Focus.htm">Fundraising Focus</a>: Partnership Announcement<br /><a href="../../wp/2/2006_Autumn_Newsletter_Focus_On_Bethlehem.htm">Change a Child's Life Today</a>: Sponsor in Asia</p>
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<h2>SOS Children Charity: Autumn Newsletter</h2><p><strong>23/08/2006</strong></p>
<img src="../../wp/s/SOS_Newsletter_img_21.jpg" width="157" height="213" alt="Mattresses being distributed as part of the SOs Emergency Programme, Lebanon" class="right" /><p><strong>Lebanon</strong></p><p>Already hundreds have died and even more injured while well over half a million have been displaced. SOS Children Lebanon is providing emergency relief to displace people by providing shelter and basic needs.</p><p>“I left my home Baalbeck five days ago, we managed to reach Tripoli only yesterday,” said little Bilal. His parents and five siblings have found shelter in a relative’s house in one of the poorest areas in Tripoli in Lebanon. 15 children and five adults are sharing one room of no more than 16 square meters. “Yesterday we, the children, had to sleep on the floor, while the adults managed to sleep on the available sofas… anything is better than that fear I used to feel before.” His eyes, however, expressed his sadness at losing his very small home in Baalbeck, City of Sun. “Only adults know the reasons behind this war”, said Bilal on his way towards his new shelter.</p><p>These relief efforts are part of our emergency relief programme in Northern Lebanon, based on a needs assessment undertaken by the SOS Family Strengthening Programme in Lebanon.</p><p>Fear and uncertainty prevail for the coming period.</p><p>In the South, in the town of Jezzine, SOS Children’s Villages Lebanon is still providing baby milk, food and nappies to families with children less than five years old.</p><img src="../../wp/2/23786_Indonesia.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="" class="left" /><p><strong>Indonesia</strong></p><p>Interview with National Director following earthquake on 27 May 2006 Gregor Nitihardjo talks about SOS Children's Villages’ emergency relief programme following the strong earthquake that devastated the area around Yogayakarta in southern Java.</p><p>Many children who have lost their parents are still spending their nights outside in the rain. Food distribution is still difficult, particularly in the remote areas, and many people have not been able to bury their dead. In some villages, bodies are being stacked in churches or community houses and the smell is becoming intolerable.</p><p>SOS Children is providing more food to the quake-hit areas, and we have begun to organize activities for children to help them overcome their trauma. We have supplied books, pens and paper for them to draw with and our staff is organising games. These activities are important to help children recover.</p><p>We would like to provide help across the whole of the affected area but we are limited by the number of staff we have available. Trying to help even more people is our biggest challenge. Much of the area is extremely difficult to reach. The main roads are generally fine, but roads to remote parts, which were poor even before the earthquake struck, are now even worse.</p><p><a href="../../wp/a/Autumn_2006_Newsletter_Contents.htm">Back to Autumn 2006 Newsletter Contents</a>.</p><p><strong>Relevant Countries:</strong> <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia_A.htm">Indonesia</a>, <a href="../../wp/l/Lebanon_A.htm">Lebanon</a>.</p>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geography_of_Asia.htm">Geography of Asia</a></h3>
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<th bgcolor="#E7DCC3" colspan="2">Avachinsky</th>
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<td colspan="2" style="border-top:1px solid #999966; text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/115/11560.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avachinsky_Volcano.jpg" src="../../images/167/16747.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /> Avachinsky, seen from base camp.</td>
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<td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; border-right: 1px solid #999966; background: #e7dcc3; width: 85px"><!--del_lnk--> Elevation</td>
<td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; width: 220px">2,741 metres (8,993 feet)</td>
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<td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; border-right: 1px solid #999966; background: #e7dcc3; width: 85px">Location</td>
<td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; width: 220px"><!--del_lnk--> Kamchatka, <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a></td>
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<td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; border-right: 1px solid #999966; background: #e7dcc3; width: 85px"><!--del_lnk--> Coordinates</td>
<td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; width: 220px"><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 53°15′N 158°50′E</span></td>
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<td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; border-right: 1px solid #999966; background: #e7dcc3; width: 85px"><!--del_lnk--> Type</td>
<td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; width: 220px"><!--del_lnk--> Stratovolcano</td>
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<td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; border-right: 1px solid #999966; background: #e7dcc3; width: 85px"><a href="../../wp/v/Volcano.htm" title="Volcano">Last eruption</a></td>
<td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; width: 220px">2001</td>
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<td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; border-right: 1px solid #999966; background: #e7dcc3; width: 85px">Easiest <!--del_lnk--> route</td>
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<p><b>Avacha Volcano</b> (<b>Avacha</b>, <b>Avachinsky</b>) (<a href="../../wp/r/Russian_language.htm" title="Russian language">Russian</a>: <span lang="ru" xml:lang="ru">Авачинская сопка, Авача</span>) is an active <a href="../../wp/v/Volcano.htm" title="Volcano">volcano</a> on the <!--del_lnk--> Kamchatka Peninsula in the far east of <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>. It lies within sight of the capital of <!--del_lnk--> Kamchatka Oblast, <!--del_lnk--> Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Together with neighbouring <a href="../../wp/k/Koryaksky.htm" title="Koryaksky">Koryaksky</a> volcano, it has been designated a <!--del_lnk--> Decade Volcano, worthy of particular study in light of its history of explosive eruptions and proximity to populated areas.<p>
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</script><a id="Geological_history" name="Geological_history"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geological history</span></h2>
<p>Avachinsky lies on the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific <!--del_lnk--> Ring of Fire, at a point where the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Plate is sliding underneath the <!--del_lnk--> Eurasian Plate at a rate of about 80 mm/year. A wedge of <!--del_lnk--> mantle material lying between the <!--del_lnk--> subducting Pacific Plate and the overlying Eurasian Plate is the source of dynamic volcanism over the whole Kamchatka Peninsula.<p>The volcano is one of the most active volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula, and began erupting in the middle to late <!--del_lnk--> Pleistocene era. It has a horseshoe-shaped <!--del_lnk--> caldera, which formed 30-40,000 years ago in a major <!--del_lnk--> landslide which covered an area of 500 km² south of the volcano, underlying the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Reconstruction of a new cone inside the caldera occurred in two major eruption phases, 18,000 and 7,000 years ago.<p><a id="Recent_activity" name="Recent_activity"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Recent activity</span></h2>
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<div style="width:132px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16748.jpg.htm" title="Avanchinsky Summit"><img alt="Avanchinsky Summit" height="195" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avachinsky_Summit.jpg" src="../../images/167/16748.jpg" width="130" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16748.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Avanchinsky Summit</div>
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<p>Avachinsky has erupted at least 17 times in recorded history. Eruptions have generally been explosive, and <!--del_lnk--> pyroclastic flows and <!--del_lnk--> lahars have tended to be directed to the south west by the breached caldera. The most recent large eruption (<!--del_lnk--> VEI=4) occurred in 1945, when about 0.25 km³ of <a href="../../wp/m/Magma.htm" title="Magma">magma</a> was ejected. The volcano has since had small eruptions in 1991 and 2001.<p>The volcano continues to experience frequent <a href="../../wp/e/Earthquake.htm" title="Earthquake">earthquakes</a>, and many <!--del_lnk--> fumaroles exist near the summit. The temperature of gases emitted at these fumaroles has been measured at over 400°C. In light of its proximity to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Avachinsky was designated a <!--del_lnk--> Decade Volcano in 1996 as part of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nations</a>' International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, together with the nearby <a href="../../wp/k/Koryaksky.htm" title="Koryaksky">Koryaksky</a> volcano.<p>
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16749.jpg.htm" title="Avachinsky (centre, nearest coast) from space"><img alt="Avachinsky (centre, nearest coast) from space" height="99" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Koryaksky_and_Avachinsky_volcanoes_from_the_ISS.jpg" src="../../images/167/16749.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
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<p>An <b>avalanche</b> is a very large slide of snow (or rock) down a mountainside, caused when a buildup of <a href="../../wp/s/Snow.htm" title="Snow">snow</a> is released down a slope, and is one of the major dangers faced in the <!--del_lnk--> mountains. An avalanche consists of rapidly moving <!--del_lnk--> granular material that has exceeded the critical <!--del_lnk--> static friction threshold and thereby causes additional material to exceed its threshold as well, in a cascading effect.<p>In an avalanche, large quantities of material (or mixtures of different types of material) fall or slide rapidly under the force of <a href="../../wp/g/Gravitation.htm" title="Gravity">gravity</a>. Avalanches are often classified by what they are made of, for example snow, ice, <!--del_lnk--> rock or soil avalanches. A mixture of these would be called a debris avalanche.<p>A large avalanche can run for many miles, and can create massive destruction of the lower forest and anything else in its path. For example, in <!--del_lnk--> Montroc, France, in 1999, 300,000 cubic metres of snow slid on a 30 degree slope, achieving a speed of 100 km/h (60 mph). It killed 12 people in their chalets under 100,000 tons of snow, 5 meters (15 feet) deep. The Mayor of <!--del_lnk--> Chamonix was convicted of second-degree murder for not evacuating the area, but received a suspended sentence.<p>During <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>, approximately 50,000 soldiers died as a result of avalanches during the mountain campaign in the Alps at the Austrian-Italian front, many of which were caused by artillery fire. However, it is very doubtful avalanches were used deliberately at the strategic level as weapons; more likely they were simply a side effect to shelling enemy troops, occasionally adding to the toll taken by the artillery. Avalanche prediction is difficult even with detailed weather reports and core samples from the snowpack. It would be almost impossible to predict avalanche conditions many miles behind enemy lines, making it impossible to intentionally target a slope at risk for avalanches. Also, high priority targets received continual shelling and would be unable to build up enough unstable snow to form devastating avalanches, effectively imitating the avalanche prevention programs at ski resorts.<div class="thumb tright">
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<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/889.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <a href="../../wp/h/Himalayas.htm" title="Himalaya">Himalayan</a> avalanche near <a href="../../wp/m/Mount_Everest.htm" title="Mount Everest">Mount Everest</a>.</div>
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<p><a id="Causes" name="Causes"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Causes</span></h2>
<p>Snow avalanches occur when the load on the upper snow layers exceeds the bonding forces of a mass of snow (bonding to layer beneath, horizontal internal stability, support from anchors such as rocks and trees, stress support from top or bottom of slope).<p><a id="Contributing_factors" name="Contributing_factors"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Contributing factors</span></h2>
<p>All avalanches are caused by an over-burden of material (typically, snowpack) that is too massive and unstable for the slope that supports it. Determining the critical load, the amount of over-burden which is likely to cause an avalanche, is a complex task involving the evaluation of a number of factors. These factors include:<p><a id="Terrain" name="Terrain"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Terrain</span></h3>
<p>Slopes flatter than 25 degrees or steeper than 60 degrees typically have a low risk of avalanche. Snow does not accumulate significantly on steep slopes; also, snow does not flow easily on flat slopes. Avalanches are most likely to occur when the snow's <!--del_lnk--> angle of repose is between 35 and 45 degrees; the critical angle, the angle at which the incidence of avalanches is greatest, is 38 degrees. The rule of thumb is: <i>A slope that is flat enough to hold snow but steep enough to ski has the potential to generate an avalanche, regardless of the angle.</i> However, avalanche risk increases exponentially with use; that is, the more a slope is disturbed by skiers, the more likely it is that an avalanche will occur.<p>The four variables that influence snowpack evolution and composition are temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, and wind. In the mid-latitudes of the <!--del_lnk--> Northern Hemisphere, more avalanches occur on shady slopes with northern and north-eastern exposures. (However, when the incidence of avalanches are normalized to mid-latitude rates of recreational use, no significant difference in hazard for a given exposure direction can be found.) The snowpack on slopes with southern exposures are strongly influenced by sunshine; daily cycles of surface thawing and refreezing create a crust that may tend to stabilize an otherwise unstable snowpack, but the crust, once it has been fractured, may detach itself from the underlying layers of snow, slide, and promote the generation of an avalanche. Slopes in the lee of a ridge or other wind obstacle accumulate more snow and are more likely to include pockets of abnormally deep snow, windslabs, and <!--del_lnk--> cornices, all of which, when disturbed, may trigger an avalanche.<p><!--del_lnk--> Convex slopes are more dangerous than <!--del_lnk--> concave slopes. Part of the increase in hazard can be ascribed to human behaviour; skiers enjoy propelling themselves into the air by skiing over convex features in the snowscape. Another factor contributing to the increased avalanche danger on convex slopes is a disparity between the tensile strength of snow layers and their compression strength.<p>Another factor effecting the incidence of avalanches is the nature of the ground surface underneath the snow cover. Full-depth avalanches (avalanches that sweep a slope virtually clean of snow cover) are more common on slopes with smooth ground cover, such as grass or rock slabs. Vegetation plays an important role in anchoring a snowpack; however, in certain instances, boulders or vegetation may actually create weak areas deep within the snowpack.<p><a id="Snow_structure_and_characteristics" name="Snow_structure_and_characteristics"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Snow structure and characteristics</span></h3>
<p>The structure of the snowpack is a strong predictor of avalanche danger. For an avalanche to occur, it is necessary that a snowpack have a weak layer (or instability) below the surface and an overlying slab of snow. Unfortunately, the relationship between easily-observed properties of snow layers (strength, grain size, grain type, temperature, etc.) and avalanche danger are extraordinarily complex; consequently, this is an area that is not yet fully understood. Furthermore, snow cover and stability often vary widely within relatively small areas, and a risk assessment of a given slope is unlikely to remain valid, accurate, or useful for very long.<p>Various snow composition and deposition characteristics also influence the likelihood of an avalanche. Newly-fallen snow requires time to bond with the snow layers beneath it, especially if the new snow is light and powdery. Snow that lies above boulders or certain types of plants has little to help anchor it to the slope. Larger snow crystals, generally speaking, are less likely to bond together to form strong structures than smaller crystals are. Consolidated snow is less likely to sluff than light powdery layers; however, well-consolidated snow is more likely to generate unstable slabs.<p><a id="Weather" name="Weather"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Weather</span></h3>
<p>Weather also influences the evolution of snowpack formation. The most important factors are heating by the sun, radiational cooling, vertical temperature gradients in standing snow, snowfall amounts, and snow types.<p>If the temperature is high enough for gentle freeze-thaw cycles to take place, the melting and refreezing of water in the snow strengthens the snowpack during the freezing phase and weakens it during the thawing phase. A rapid rise in temperature, to a point significantly above the freezing point, may cause a slope to avalanche, especially in spring. Persistent cold temperatures prevent the snow from stabilizing; long cold spells may contribute to the formation of <!--del_lnk--> depth hoar, a condition where there is a pronounced temperature gradient, from top to bottom, within the snow. When the temperature gradient becomes sufficiently strong, thin layers of "faceted grains" may form above or below embedded crusts, allowing slippage to occur.<p>Any wind stronger than a light breeze can contribute to a rapid accumulation of snow on sheltered slopes downwind. Wind pressure at a favorable angle can stabilize other slopes. A "wind slab" is a particularly fragile and brittle structure which is heavily-loaded and poorly-bonded to its underlayment. Even on a clear day, wind can quickly shift the snow load on a slope. This can occur in two ways: by top-loading and by cross-loading. Top-loading occurs when wind deposits snow parallel to the fall-line on a slope; cross-loading occurs when wind deposits snow perpendicular to the fall-line. When a wind blows over the top of a mountain, the leeward, or downwind, side of the mountain experiences top-loading, from the top to the bottom of that lee slope. When the wind blows across a ridge that leads up the mountain, the leeward side of the ridge is subject to cross-loading. Cross-loaded wind-slabs are usually difficult to identify visually; they also tend to be less stable and more dangerous than top-loaded ones.<p>Snowstorms and rainstorms are important contributors to avalanche danger. Heavy snowfall may cause instability in the existing snowpack, both because of the additional weight and because the new snow has insufficient time to bond to underlying snow layers. Rain has a similar effect. In the short-term, rain causes instability because, like a heavy snowfall, it imposes an additional load on the snowpack; and, once rainwater seeps down through the snow, it acts as a lubricant, reducing the natural friction between snow layers that holds the snowpack together. Most avalanches happen during or soon after a storm.<p>Daytime exposure to sunlight can rapidly destablize the upper layers of a snowpack. Sunlight reduces the <!--del_lnk--> sintering, or <!--del_lnk--> necking, between snow grains. During clear nights, the snowpack can strengthen, or tighten, through the process of long-wave radiative cooling. When the night air is significantly cooler than the snowpack, the heat stored in the snow is re-radiated into the atmosphere.<p><a id="Avalanche_avoidance" name="Avalanche_avoidance"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Avalanche avoidance</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/890.jpg.htm" title="United States Forest Service avalanche danger advisories."><img alt="United States Forest Service avalanche danger advisories." class="thumbimage" height="210" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avalanche_warning_in_Tuckerman.JPG" src="../../images/8/890.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/890.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> United States Forest Service avalanche danger advisories.</div>
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<p>Due to the complexity of the subject, winter travelling in the <!--del_lnk--> backcountry (off-piste) is never 100% safe. Good avalanche safety is a continuous process, including route selection and examination of the snowpack, weather conditions, and human factors. Several well-known good habits can also minimise the risk. If local authorities issue avalanche risk reports, they should be considered and all warnings heeded. Never follow in the tracks of others without your own evaluations; snow conditions are almost certain to have changed since they were made. Observe the terrain and note obvious avalanche paths where vegetation is missing or damaged, where there are few surface anchors, and below cornices or ice formations. Avoid travelling below others who might trigger an avalanche.<p><a id="Prevention" name="Prevention"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Prevention</span></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/891.jpg.htm" title="Snow fences in Switzerland"><img alt="Snow fences in Switzerland" class="thumbimage" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Verbauung_Tanngrindel.JPG" src="../../images/8/891.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/891.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Snow fences in Switzerland</div>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/83/8377.jpg.htm" title="Avalanche blasting in French ski resort Tignes (3,600 m)"><img alt="Avalanche blasting in French ski resort Tignes (3,600 m)" class="thumbimage" height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avalanche_Blasting.jpg" src="../../images/83/8377.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/83/8377.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Avalanche blasting in French ski resort Tignes (3,600 m)</div>
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<p>There are several ways to prevent avalanches and lessen their power and destruction. They are employed in areas where avalanches pose a significant threat to people, such as <!--del_lnk--> ski resorts and mountain towns, roads and railways. <!--del_lnk--> Explosives are used extensively to prevent avalanches, especially at ski resorts where other methods are often impractical. Explosive charges are used to trigger small avalanches before enough snow can build up to cause a large avalanche. Snow fences and light walls can be used to direct the placement of snow. Snow builds up around the fence, especially the side that faces the prevailing <a href="../../wp/w/Wind.htm" title="Wind">winds</a>. Downwind of the fence, snow buildup is lessened. This is caused by the loss of snow at the fence that would have been deposited and the pickup of the snow that is already there by the wind, which was depleted of snow at the fence. When there is a sufficient density of <a href="../../wp/t/Tree.htm" title="Tree">trees</a>, they can greatly reduce the strength of avalanches. They hold snow in place and when there is an avalanche, the impact of the snow against the trees slows it down. Trees can either be planted or they can be conserved, such as in the building of a ski resort, to reduce the strength of avalanches.<p>Artificial barriers can be very effective in reducing avalanche damage. There are several types. One kind of barrier uses a net strung between poles that are anchored by <!--del_lnk--> guy wires in addition to their foundations. These barriers are similar to those used for <!--del_lnk--> rockslides. Another type of barrier is a rigid fence like structure and may be constructed of <a href="../../wp/s/Steel.htm" title="Steel">steel</a>, <a href="../../wp/w/Wood.htm" title="Wood">wood</a> or pre-stressed <!--del_lnk--> concrete. They usually have gaps between the beams and are built perpendicular to the slope, with reinforcing beams on the downhill side. Rigid barriers are often considered unsightly, especially when many rows must be built. They are also expensive and vulnerable to damage from falling rocks in the warmer months. Finally, there are barriers that stop or deflect avalanches with their weight and strength. These barriers are made out of concrete, rocks or earth. They are usually placed right above the structure, road or railway that they are trying to protect, although they can also be used to channel avalanches into other barriers. Occasionally, mounds of earth are placed in the avalanche's path to slow it down.<p><a id="Safety_in_Avalanche_Terrain" name="Safety_in_Avalanche_Terrain"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Safety in Avalanche Terrain</span></h3>
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<li>Terrain Management - Terrain management involves reducing the exposure of an individual to the risks of travelling in avalanche terrain by carefully selecting what areas of slopes to travel on. Features to be cognizant of include not under cutting slopes (removing the physical support of the snow pacl), not traveling over convex rolls (areas where the snow pack is under tension), staying away from weaknesses like exposed rock, and avoiding areas of slopes that expose one to terrain traps (gulleys that can be filled in, cliffs over which one can be swept, or heavy timber into which one can be carried).</ul>
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<li>Group Management - Group management is the practice of reducing the risk of having a member of a group, or a whole group involved in an avalanche. Minimise the number of people on the slope. Maintain separation. Ideally one person should pass over the slope into an avalanche protected area before the next one leaves protective cover. Route selection should also consider what dangers lie above and below the route, and the consequences of an unexpected avalanche (i.e., unlikely to occur, but deadly if it does). Stop or camp only in safe locations. Wear warm gear to delay hypothermia if buried. Plan escape routes. Most important of all practice good communication with in a group including clearly communicating the decisions about safe locations, esape routes, and slope choices, and having a clear understanding of every members skills in snow travel, avalanche rescue, and route finding.</ul>
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<li>Group size - Group size must balance the hazard of not having enough people to effectively carry out a rescue with the risk of having to many members of the group to safely manage the risks. It is generally recommended not to travel alone. There will be no-one to witness your burial and start the rescue.</ul>
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<li>Leadership - Leadership in avalanche terrain requires well defined decision making protocols, which are being taught in a growing number of courses provided by national avalanche resource centers in Europe and North America. Fundamental to leadership in avalanche terrain is an honest attempt at assessing ones blind spots (what information am I ignoring?) There is a growing body of research into the pyschological behaviours and group dynamics that lead to avalanche involvement.</ul>
<p><a id="Human_survival_and_avalanche_rescue" name="Human_survival_and_avalanche_rescue"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Human survival and avalanche rescue</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/267/26721.jpg.htm" title="Avalanche on the backside (east) of Mount Timpanogos, Utah at Aspen Grove trail"><img alt="Avalanche on the backside (east) of Mount Timpanogos, Utah at Aspen Grove trail" class="thumbimage" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Timpavalanche.jpg" src="../../images/8/892.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/267/26721.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Avalanche on the backside (east) of <!--del_lnk--> Mount Timpanogos, <!--del_lnk--> Utah at Aspen Grove trail</div>
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<p>Even small avalanches are a serious danger to life, even with properly trained and equipped companions who avoid the avalanche. Between 55 and 65 percent of victims buried in the open are killed, and only 80 percent of the victims remaining on the surface survive. (McClung, p.177).<p>Research carried out in <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a> (<i>Nature</i> vol 368 p21) based on 422 buried <a href="../../wp/s/Skiing.htm" title="Skiing">skiers</a> indicates how the chances of survival drop:<ul>
<li>very rapidly from 92 percent within 15 minutes to only 30 percent after 35 minutes (victims die of <!--del_lnk--> suffocation)<li>near zero after two hours (victims die of <!--del_lnk--> injuries or <!--del_lnk--> hypothermia)</ul>
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<dd>(Historically, the chances of survival were estimated at 85% percent within 15 minutes, 50% within 30 minutes, 20% within one hour).</dl>
<p>Consequently it is vital that everyone surviving an avalanche is used in an immediate search and rescue operation, rather than waiting for help to arrive. Additional help can be called once it can be determined if anyone is seriously injured or still remains unaccountable after the immediate search (i.e., after at least 30 minutes of searching). Even in a well equipped country such as <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, it typically takes 45 minutes for a helicopter rescue team to arrive, by which time most of the victims are likely to have died.<p>In some cases avalanche victims are not located until spring thaw melts the snow, or even years later when objects emerge from a glacier.<p><a id="Search_and_rescue_equipment" name="Search_and_rescue_equipment"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Search and rescue equipment</span></h3>
<p>Chances of a buried victim being found alive and rescued are increased when everyone in a group is carrying and using standard avalanche equipment, and have trained in how to use it. However, like a seat belt in a vehicle, using the right equipment does not justify exposing yourself to unnecessary risks with the hope that the equipment might save your life when it is needed.<p><a id="Avalanche_cords" name="Avalanche_cords"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">Avalanche cords</span></h4>
<p>Using an avalanche cord is the oldest form of equipment — mainly used before beacons became available. The principle is simple. An approximately 10 meter long red cord (similar to parachute cord) is attached to the person in question's belt. While skiing, snowboarding, or walking the cord is dragged along behind the person. If the person gets buried in an avalanche, the light cord stays on top of the snow. Due to the colour the cord is easily visible for rescue personnel. Typically the cord has iron markings every one meter that indicate the direction and length to the victim.<p><a id="Beacons" name="Beacons"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">Beacons</span></h4>
<p>Beacons — known as "beepers", peeps (pieps), ARVAs (<i>Appareil de Recherche de Victimes en Avalanche</i>, in French), LVS (<i>Lawinen-Verschütteten-Suchgerät</i>, Swiss German), avalanche <!--del_lnk--> transceivers, or various other trade names, are important for every member of the party. They emit a "beep" via 457kHz radio signal in normal use, but may be switched to receive mode to locate a buried victim up to 80 meters away. Analog receivers provide audible beeps that rescuers interpret to estimate distance to a victim. To be effective, beacons require regular practice. Some older models of beepers operated on a different frequency (2.275 kHz) and a group leader should ensure these are no longer in use.<p>Recent digital models also attempt to give visual indications of direction and distance to victims and require less practice to be useful. There are also passive transponder devices that can be inserted into equipment, but they require specialized search equipment that might only be found near an organized sports area.<p><!--del_lnk--> Mobile phones can seriously disrupt the ability of a beacon to receive a transmitting beacon's signal. Phones should be switched off when searching.<p><a id="Probes" name="Probes"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">Probes</span></h4>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/893.jpg.htm" title="Portable probe, collapsed"><img alt="Portable probe, collapsed" class="thumbimage" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lawinensonde01.jpg" src="../../images/8/893.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/893.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Portable probe, collapsed</div>
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<p>Portable (collapsible) probes can be extended to probe into the snow to locate the exact location of a victim at several <!--del_lnk--> yards / <!--del_lnk--> metres in depth. When multiple victims are buried, probes should be used to decide the order of rescue, with the shallowest being dug out first since they have the greatest chance of survival.<p>Probing can be a very time-consuming process if a thorough search is undertaken for a victim without a beacon. In the U.S., 86 % of the 140 victims found (since 1950) by probing were already dead. <sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup> Survival/rescue more than 2 m deep is relatively rare (about 4 %). Probes should be used immediately after a visual search for surface clues, in coordination with the beacon search.<p><a id="Shovels" name="Shovels"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">Shovels</span></h4>
<p>When an avalanche stops, the deceleration normally compresses the snow to a hard mass. Shovels are essential for digging through the snow to the victim, as the deposit is too dense to dig with hands or skis. A large scoop and sturdy handle are important. Not to mention a large number of diggers. Shovels are also useful for digging snow pits as part of evaluating the snow pack for hidden hazards, such as weak layers supporting large loads.<p><a id="Other_devices" name="Other_devices"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">Other devices</span></h4>
<p>Other rescue devices are proposed, developed and used, such as avalanche balls, vests and airbags, based on statistics that most deaths are due to <!--del_lnk--> suffocation. There are also passive signalling devices that can be carried or inserted into sports equipment, but they require specialized search equipment which might only be found near an organized sports area. When considering any of theses devices, one should consider that if the group does not recover the avalanche victim within 15 minutes, the chance of survival rapidly decreases. Reliance on technology to summon outside help is used with the knowledge that those responding will likely be performing a body recovery. Any group that wants to survive must be capable of self-rescue. More back-country adventurers are also carrying <i>EPIRBs</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacons) containing <!--del_lnk--> GPS. This device can quickly notify search and rescue of an emergency and the general location (within 100 yards), but only if the person with the EPIRB has survived the avalanche and can activate the device manually. With modern <!--del_lnk--> mobile phone developments, an emergency GPS transmitter may also become more widely available (again, for use by a rescuer, because a victim may be unconscious or completely immobilised beneath dense snow).<p>Although it will be very inefficient, some rescue equipment can also be hastily improvised: ski poles can become short probes, skis or snowboards can be used as shovels.<p>A <!--del_lnk--> first aid kit and equipment will also be useful for assisting survivors who may have cuts, broken bones, or other injuries, in addition to <!--del_lnk--> hypothermia.<p><a id="Witnesses_as_rescuers" name="Witnesses_as_rescuers"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Witnesses as rescuers</span></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/894.jpg.htm" title="Periodic winter avalanches on this 800 m high slope transport woody debris to the flat in the foreground."><img alt="Periodic winter avalanches on this 800 m high slope transport woody debris to the flat in the foreground." class="thumbimage" height="333" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avalanche_path_7271.JPG" src="../../images/8/894.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/894.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Periodic winter avalanches on this 800 m high slope transport woody debris to the flat in the foreground.</div>
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<p>Survival time is short, if a victim is buried. There is no time to waste before starting a search, and many people have died because the surviving witnesses failed to do even the simplest search.<p>Witnesses to an avalanche that engulfs people are frequently limited to those in the party involved in the avalanche. Those not caught should try to note the locations where the avalanched person or people were seen. This is such an important priority it should be discussed before initially entering an avalanche area. Once the avalanche has stopped, and there is no danger of secondary slides, these points should be marked with objects for reference. Survivors should then be counted to see who may be lost. If the area is safe to enter, a visual search of the likely burial areas should begin (along a downslope trajectory from the marked points last seen). Some victims are buried partially or shallowly and can be located quickly by making a visual scan of the avalanche debris and pulling out any clothing or equipment found. It may be attached to someone buried.<p>Alert others if a radio is available, especially if help is nearby, but do NOT waste valuable resources by sending a searcher for help at this point. Switch transceivers to receive mode and check them. Select likely burial areas and search them, listening for beeps (or voices), expanding to other areas of the avalanche, always looking and listening for other clues (movement, equipment, body parts). Probe randomly in probable burial areas. Mark any points where signal was received or equipment found. Only after the first 15 minutes of searching should consideration be given to sending someone for help. Continue scanning and probing near marked clues and other likely burial areas. After 30-60 minutes, consider sending a searcher to get more help, as it is more likely than not that any remaining victims have not survived.<p>Line probes are arranged in most likely burial areas and marked as searched. Continue searching and probing the area until it is no longer feasible or reasonable to continue. Avoid contaminating the scent of the avalanche area with urine, food, spit, blood, etc, in case search dogs arrive.<p>The areas where buried victims are most likely to be found are: below the marked point last seen, along the line of flow of the avalanche, around trees and rocks or other obstacles, near the bottom runout of the debris, along edges of the avalanche track, and in low spots where the snow may collect (gullies, crevasses, creeks, ditches along roads, etc). Although less likely, other areas should not be ignored if initial searches are not fruitful.<p>Once a buried victim is found and his or her head is freed, perform <!--del_lnk--> first aid (airway, breathing, circulation/pulse, arterial bleeding, spinal injuries, fractures, shock, hypothermia, internal injuries, etc), according to local law and custom.<p><a id="Victims" name="Victims"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Victims</span></h3>
<p>Victims caught in an avalanche are advised to try to ski or board toward the side of the avalanche until they fall, then to jettison their equipment and attempt swimming motions. As the snow comes to rest an attempt should be made to preserve an air-space in front of the mouth, and try to thrust an arm, leg or object above the surface, assuming you are still conscious. If it is possible to move once the snow stops, enlarge the air space, but minimise movement to maximise the <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a> supply. Warm breath may soon cause a mask of ice to glaze over the snow in your face, sealing it against further air. Then you must be found or there is not much hope of living.<p><a id="Case_Example" name="Case_Example"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Case Example</span></h3>
<p>An experienced skier participating in a guided trip experienced the effects of an avalanche first-hand. As they set out in the morning, the party experienced "the most stable conditions they could remember." However, during the next 48 hours, the temperature increased, and the wind rose, creating unstable conditions on the mountain. On the tour, the group found themselves a short distance off-course and traversed below a sub-peak. The unstable snowpack underfoot fractured, triggering an avalanche. The mass of snow impacted the man from behind, thrusting him down the hill head-first with his skis trailing behind. Traveling at the speed of the slide, his knees were wrenched continuously. Eventually, he was dragged under the flowing snow and cemented into place. With his nose and mouth filled with snow, his screams could only be heard within a few feet of his position. After a short time, the skier was breathing his own exhaled carbon dioxide, and his body sensations began to dwindle. After roughly ten minutes in that state, he was located using a probe line. Once he was uncovered, CPR and rescue-breathing was administered. The skier was saved and lives to tell about it.<p><a id="European_avalanche_risk_table" name="European_avalanche_risk_table"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">European avalanche risk table</span></h2>
<p>In <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>, the avalanche risk is widely rated on the following scale, which was adopted in April 1993 to replace the earlier non-standard national schemes. Descriptions were last updated in May <!--del_lnk--> 2003 to enhance uniformity. <sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup><p>In France, most avalanche deaths occur at risk levels 3 and 4. In Switzerland most occur at levels 2 and 3. It is thought that this may be due to national differences of interpretation when assessing the risks.<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th width="10%">Risk Level</th>
<th width="25%">Snow Stability</th>
<th width="10%">Flag</th>
<th width="55%">Avalanche Risk</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1 - Low</td>
<td>Snow is generally very stable.</td>
<td align="center"><a class="image" href="../../images/84/8409.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="45" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avalanche-risk-1-2.svg" src="../../images/84/8409.png" width="64" /></a></td>
<td>Avalanches are unlikely except when heavy loads are applied on a very few extreme steep slopes. Any spontaneous avalanches will be minor (sluffs). In general, safe conditions.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2 - Limited</td>
<td>On some steep slopes the snow is only moderately stable . Elsewhere it is very stable.</td>
<td align="center"><a class="image" href="../../images/84/8409.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="45" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avalanche-risk-1-2.svg" src="../../images/84/8409.png" width="64" /></a></td>
<td>Avalanches may be triggered when heavy loads are applied, especially on a few generally identified steep slopes. Large spontaneous avalanches are not expected.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3 - Medium</td>
<td>On many steep slopes the snow is only moderately or weakly stable.</td>
<td align="center"><a class="image" href="../../images/84/8416.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="45" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avalanche-risk.svg" src="../../images/84/8416.png" width="64" /></a></td>
<td>Avalanches may be triggered on many slopes even if only light loads are applied. On some slopes, medium or even fairly large spontaneous avalanches may occur.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4 - High</td>
<td>On most steep slopes the snow is not very stable.</td>
<td align="center"><a class="image" href="../../images/84/8416.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="45" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avalanche-risk.svg" src="../../images/84/8416.png" width="64" /></a></td>
<td>Avalanches are likely to be triggered on many slopes even if only light loads are applied. In some places, many medium or sometimes large spontaneous avalanches are likely.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>5 - Very High</td>
<td>The snow is generally unstable.</td>
<td align="center"><a class="image" href="../../images/84/8420.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="45" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avalanche-risk-5.svg" src="../../images/84/8420.png" width="64" /></a></td>
<td>Even on gentle slopes, many large spontaneous avalanches are likely to occur.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b> Stability:</b><ul>
<li>Generally described in more detail in the avalanche bulletin (regarding the altitude, aspect, type of terrain etc.)</ul>
<p><b> additional load:</b><ul>
<li>heavy: two or more skiers or boarders without spacing between them, a single <!--del_lnk--> hiker or <!--del_lnk--> climber, a grooming machine, avalanche blasting.<li>light: a single skier or snowboarder smoothly linking turns and without falling, a group of skiers or snowboarders with a minimum 10 m gap between each person, a single person on <!--del_lnk--> snowshoes.</ul>
<p><b>Gradient:</b><ul>
<li>gentle slopes: with an incline below about 30°.<li>steep slopes: with an incline over 30°.<li>very steep slopes: with an incline over 35°.<li>extremely steep slopes: extreme in terms of the incline (over 40°), the terrain profile, proximity of the ridge, smoothness of underlying ground.</ul>
<p><a id="European_avalanche_size_table" name="European_avalanche_size_table"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">European avalanche size table</span></h2>
<p><b>Avalanche size:</b><table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th width="10%">Size</th>
<th width="35%">Runout</th>
<th width="35%">Potential Damage</th>
<th width="20%">Physical Size</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1 - Sluff</td>
<td>Small snow slide that cannot bury a person, though there is a danger of falling.</td>
<td>Relatively harmless to people</td>
<td>length <50 m<br /> volume <100 m³</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2 - Small</td>
<td>Stops within the slope.</td>
<td>Could bury, injure or kill a person.</td>
<td>length <100 m<br /> volume <1,000 m³</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3 - Medium</td>
<td>Runs to the bottom of the slope.</td>
<td>Could bury and destroy a car, damage a truck, destroy small buildings or break trees.</td>
<td>length <1,000 m<br /> volume <10,000 m³</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4 - Large</td>
<td>Runs over flat areas (significantly less than 30°) of at least 50 m in length, may reach the valley bottom.</td>
<td>Could bury and destroy large trucks and trains, large buildings and forested areas.</td>
<td>length >1,000 m<br /> volume >10,000 m³</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="North_American_Avalanche_Danger_Scale" name="North_American_Avalanche_Danger_Scale"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">North American Avalanche Danger Scale</span></h2>
<p>In the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>, the following avalanche danger scale is used.<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th>Probability and trigger</th>
<th>Degree and distribution of danger</th>
<th>Recommended action in back country</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="color: #0D0">Low (green)</th>
<td>Natural avalanches very unlikely. Human triggered avalanches unlikely. Generally stable snow. Isolated areas of instability.</td>
<td>Travel is generally safe. Normal caution advised.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="color: #DD0">Moderate (yellow)</th>
<td>Natural avalanches unlikely. Human triggered avalanches possible. Unstable slabs possible on steep terrain.</td>
<td>Use caution in steeper terrain</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="color: orange">Considerable (orange)</th>
<td>Natural avalanches possible. Human triggered avalanches probable. Unstable slabs probable on steep terrain.</td>
<td>Be increasingly cautious in steeper terrain.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="color: red">High (red)</th>
<td>Natural and human triggered avalanches likely. Unstable slabs likely on a variety of aspects and slope angles.</td>
<td>Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended. Safest travel on windward ridges of lower angle slopes without steeper terrain above.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="color: #800">Extreme (red/black border)</th>
<td>Widespread natural or human triggered avalanches certain. Extremely unstable slabs certain on most aspects and slope angles. Large destructive avalanches possible.</td>
<td>Travel in avalanche terrain should be avoided and travel confined to low angle terrain well away from avalanche path run-outs.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalanche"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Avatar: The Last Airbender</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Television.htm">Television</a></h3>
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<th align="center" colspan="2" style="font-size: 120%; background: #ddddff;"><i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i></th>
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<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avatar-TLAlogo.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="250" /><br /><small><i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i> logo</small></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Genre</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animation.htm" title="Animation">Animation</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Adventure, <!--del_lnk--> Fantasy</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Running time</th>
<td>23 minutes approx.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Creator(s)</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Michael Dante DiMartino<br /><!--del_lnk--> Bryan Konietzko</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Starring</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Zach Tyler Eisen<br /><!--del_lnk--> Mae Whitman<br /><!--del_lnk--> Jack DeSena<br /><!--del_lnk--> Jessie Flower<br /><!--del_lnk--> Dante Basco<br /><!--del_lnk--> Mako<br /><!--del_lnk--> Dee Bradley Baker<br /><!--del_lnk--> Grey DeLisle<br /><!--del_lnk--> Crawford Wilson<br /><!--del_lnk--> Olivia Hack<br /><!--del_lnk--> Cricket Leigh<br /><!--del_lnk--> Clancy Brown<br /><!--del_lnk--> Mark Hamill<br /><!--del_lnk--> Jason Isaacs</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Country of origin</th>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title="Flag of United States"><img alt="Flag of United States" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/6/695.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Original channel</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Nickelodeon</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Original run</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> February 21, <!--del_lnk--> 2005–Present</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>No. of episodes</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 38 aired of 60 in production</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Official website</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> IMDb profile</th>
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<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> TV.com summary</th>
</tr>
</table>
<p><i><b>Avatar: The Last Airbender</b></i> (also known as <i><b>Avatar: The Legend of Aang</b></i> in <!--del_lnk--> several countries) is an <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">American</a> <!--del_lnk--> animated television series airing on <!--del_lnk--> Nickelodeon. Set in an Asian-influenced world of martial arts and elemental magic, the series follows the adventures of <!--del_lnk--> Aang, the successor to a long line of <!--del_lnk--> Avatars, and his friends <!--del_lnk--> Katara, <!--del_lnk--> Sokka and later <!--del_lnk--> Toph, and their two animal companions <!--del_lnk--> Appa and <!--del_lnk--> Momo in their quest to save the world from the merciless <!--del_lnk--> Fire Nation, while avoiding capture from pursuers including <!--del_lnk--> Prince Zuko, <!--del_lnk--> Princess Azula and other hunters from the Fire Nation.<p>Originally slated to start <!--del_lnk--> November <!--del_lnk--> 2004, <i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i> debuted on TV <!--del_lnk--> February 21, <!--del_lnk--> 2005 and is available on DVD or for download on the <!--del_lnk--> iTunes Store, and XBOX Marketplace. Produced at Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, California, and animated in South Korea (where many animated television series are animated), it was co-created and executive produced by <!--del_lnk--> Michael Dante DiMartino and <!--del_lnk--> Bryan Konietzko. In the United States, new episodes air Friday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the Nickelodeon cable network. New seasons of <i>Avatar</i> begin in the spring and episodes are rerun in the summer; new episodes return in the autumn and the season ends in early winter.<p>A consistently high ratings performer in the <!--del_lnk--> Nicktoons lineup, even outside of its intended six-to-eleven-year-old <!--del_lnk--> demographic, <i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i> is popular with both audiences and critics. The series' success prompted Nickelodeon to order a second twenty-episode season, which began airing on <!--del_lnk--> March 17, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, and a third season has been announced to begin airing in <!--del_lnk--> 2007. Notable merchandise based on the series include five DVD sets of episodes, six-inch scale action figures, a <!--del_lnk--> video game, and two Lego sets.<p>Nickelodeon airs <i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i> every weekday at 6:30 PM Eastern Standard Time on Nickelodeon, and new episodes air on Fridays at 8:00 PM EST.<div class="notice metadata spoiler" id="spoiler"><b><!--del_lnk--> Spoiler warning: <i>Plot and/or ending details follow.</i></b></div>
<p>
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</script><a id="Overview" name="Overview"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Overview</span></h2>
<p><a id="Premise" name="Premise"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Premise</span></h3>
<p><i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i> is set in a fantasy world on a planet that is home to humans, fantastic animals, and supernatural spirits. Human civilization is divided into three pre-industrialized nations: the <!--del_lnk--> Water Tribes, the <!--del_lnk--> Earth Kingdom, and the <!--del_lnk--> Air Nomads. The fourth nation, the <!--del_lnk--> Fire Nation, is, in contrast, an industrialized nation that is capable of manufacturing various kinds of machines. Within each nation, there is an order of men and women, each called "Benders," who have an ability to manipulate their native element. The bending arts combine martial arts and elemental mysticism. They are <!--del_lnk--> Waterbending, <!--del_lnk--> Earthbending, <!--del_lnk--> Firebending, and <!--del_lnk--> Airbending.<p>In each generation, one Bender is capable of bending all four elements; this is the Avatar, the Spirit of the Planet manifested in human form. When the Avatar dies, he or she <!--del_lnk--> reincarnates into an unborn baby native to the next nation in the Avatar Cycle. Beginning with the mastery of his native element, the Avatar learns to bend all four elements in the order of the cycle, which parallels the seasons: winter for water, spring for earth, summer for fire, and autumn for air. Learning to bend the element opposite of one's native element is extremely difficult because of opposing fighting styles and doctrines.<p>The Avatar possesses a unique power that resides within him, called the <!--del_lnk--> Avatar State. It is a defense mechanism that empowers the Avatar with the skills and knowledge of all the past Avatars. When the Avatar enters this state, his eyes and mouth begin to glow. The glow is the combination of all the Avatar's previous incarnations focusing their energy through his body. However, if the Avatar is killed in the Avatar State, then the reincarnation cycle will be broken and the Avatar will cease to exist.<p>Throughout the ages, countless incarnations of the Avatar have served to keep the four nations in harmony and maintain world order. The Avatar also serves as the bridge between the physical world and the <!--del_lnk--> Spirit World, home of the world's disembodied spirits.<p><a id="Plot_Synopsis" name="Plot_Synopsis"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Plot Synopsis</span></h3>
<p>A century prior to the series' opening, <!--del_lnk--> Aang, a 12-year-old Airbender of the <!--del_lnk--> Air Nomads' <!--del_lnk--> Southern Air Temple, learned from the monks that he was the Avatar. Usually, the Avatar is told of his or her true identity after turning sixteen. However, the monks feared that a war between the four nations was on the horizon, and that the Avatar would soon be needed to help maintain balance and restore order. Shortly thereafter, it was decided that <!--del_lnk--> Aang would be separated from his guardian, <!--del_lnk--> Monk Gyatso, and sent to the Eastern Air Temple to finish his training.<p>Confused, frightened, and overwhelmed by recent events and his new responsibilities as the Avatar, Aang fled from his home on his <!--del_lnk--> Flying Bison, <!--del_lnk--> Appa. While flying over frigid southern ocean waters, a sudden storm caused Appa to plunge deep into the sea. In the Avatar State, <!--del_lnk--> Aang used <!--del_lnk--> Airbending to protect Appa and himself by creating an air bubble around them. However, the air bubble quickly froze into a sphere of ice, forcing them both into a state of <!--del_lnk--> suspended animation.<p>When the series opens one hundred years later, the <!--del_lnk--> Fire Nation is on the brink of victory in its imperialist war. The Water Tribes are in crisis — the Southern Water Tribe's warriors have gone off to war, leaving their home defenseless, and the Northern Water Tribe, though largely intact, is continually on the defensive. The vast <!--del_lnk--> Earth Kingdom is now the only true barrier to the Fire Nation's domination, but as the Fire Nation continues to encroach on its borders and conquer its territories, hopes of victory grow bleaker with each passing year.<p>Two teenage siblings from the Southern Water Tribe — <!--del_lnk--> Katara, a Waterbender, and her brother <!--del_lnk--> Sokka — discover and free Aang and Appa from the iceberg. Aang soon discovers to his horror that during his absence, a war had started. The very year he vanished, <!--del_lnk--> Fire Lord Sozin took advantage of both the Avatar's absence and the <!--del_lnk--> Firebending-enhancing powers of a powerful comet to launch a war on the three other nations. To Aang's shock and disbelief, the Fire Nation's opening <!--del_lnk--> gambit had been a <!--del_lnk--> genocidal assault on the Air Nomads. The Air Temples were stormed and the Airbenders slaughtered in an effort to break the Avatar Cycle, leaving him as the last known Airbender in existence.<p>As the Avatar, it is Aang's duty to restore harmony and peace to the four nations. Along with his newly discovered friends Katara and Sokka, his <!--del_lnk--> Flying Bison <!--del_lnk--> Appa and his <!--del_lnk--> Winged Lemur <!--del_lnk--> Momo, and later the blind Earthbender <!--del_lnk--> Toph, Aang travels the world to master all four elements, while evading capture by <!--del_lnk--> Prince Zuko and <!--del_lnk--> Princess Azula.<p>Although it takes years of discipline and training to master any one element, Aang must master them all and defeat <!--del_lnk--> Fire Lord Ozai by summer's end, when the return of Sozin's Comet will give the Firebenders enough power to win the war. If these events come to pass, not even the Avatar will be able to restore balance to the world.<p><a id="Episodes" name="Episodes"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Episodes</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p><a id="Characters" name="Characters"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Characters</span></h2>
<p><a id="Main_characters" name="Main_characters"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Main characters</span></h3>
<p>One of the Avatar series' strong points is character development and depth. All the main characters are portrayed as "marvelously flawed human beings" and the series especially shined in terms of characterization in its initial season with its main antagonists. To date, the only two major characters that can be considered "flat" are Azula, who is portrayed as entirely evil, and the Fire Lord, who is seen only briefly on screen, usually in flashbacks.<div class="floatleft"><span><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="93" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avatar-book_1_Chapters_1_And_2_0003.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="120" /></span></div>
<p><b><!--del_lnk--> Aang</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Mitchel Musso in the pilot, <!--del_lnk--> Zach Tyler Eisen onwards) - The fun-loving, 12-year-old (plus 100 years spent in <!--del_lnk--> suspended animation) <!--del_lnk--> titular character of the series and the current incarnation of the Avatar, the spirit of the planet manifested in human form. As the Avatar, Aang must master all four elements to bring peace to the world. This burden was dropped on his shoulders early in life and eventually led to his being frozen in suspended animation for one hundred years until awakened by Katara and Sokka.<p>He loves to travel the world and is always eager to learn new things and to take detours to take in the sights. Deep down, Aang is truly saddened by the loss of his people and concerned about his new-found duty. But this is replaced by his deep love for Katara and his friendship with Toph and Sokka. At times, he is somewhat naïve of the world and other's true feelings, too preoccupied with the events occurring around him to notice what is really going on.<div class="floatright"><span><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="89" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kataraprofile.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="119" /></span></div>
<p><b><!--del_lnk--> Katara</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Mae Whitman) - The 14-year-old, sole remaining Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe who, along with her brother Sokka, discovered Aang. She and Sokka accompany him on his quest to defeat the Fire Lord and bring peace to the war-torn nations. She is a very gifted Waterbender who, by season two, achieves her dream by becoming a master Waterbender. Her next task is to train Aang to become a Waterbending master himself.<p>Katara is mature, loving, and responsible. Always looking out for the well-being of others, she is a leader when the situation calls for her to lead. However, she can be overbearing and always thinks her way is the right way, never relenting on her views, even when they are disproved. Despite Katara's kind nature, she has a temper which when combined with her impressive Waterbending skills and idealistic views can be quite destructive. After the passing of their mother at the hands of the Fire Nation, Katara took on a motherly role over her older brother Sokka, and later, Aang. Katara is an idealist, trying to right wrongs and help those that have lost hope. But her kind and controlling nature makes her rather blind to others true feelings and what they really want, rather than what she wants.<div class="floatleft"><span><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="106" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Sokka.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="120" /></span></div>
<p><b><!--del_lnk--> Sokka</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Jack DeSena) - A 15-year-old warrior of the Southern Water Tribe who, with his sister Katara, accompanies Aang on his quest to defeat the Fire Lord. Unlike his three companions, Sokka cannot bend. He constantly struggles to deal with his lack of mystical power in a world ruled by benders. However, the series frequently grants him opportunities to demonstrate his true gift: inventiveness.<p>Sokka describes himself as "meat-loving" and "sarcastic." He takes great pride in his mental and physical strength, though it is often overshadowed by others' ability to bend. He is extremely clever, relying on science where the mystical and martial arts elude him, though his silly and immature manner often causes others to underestimate his intelligence and makes him the comic relief of the group. Sokka is very flirtatious and has gained the interest/affection of three female characters in the series - <!--del_lnk--> Yue, <!--del_lnk--> Suki, and <!--del_lnk--> Ty Lee. At the start of the series he was a male chauvinist, but after witnessing the strength of women like <!--del_lnk--> Suki and his own sister, his prejudice has slowly waned.<div class="floatright"><span><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="89" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tophnick.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="120" /></span></div>
<p><b><!--del_lnk--> Toph</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Jessie Flower) - A 12-year-old, blind Earthbender who leaves her wealthy lifestyle and home to join Aang on his quest in season two. Her parents are incredibly overprotective, leading her to rebel and fight in underground tournaments. Her popularity as "The Blind Bandit" attracts a hopeful Aang, then looking for an Earthbender to teach him. Though blind, Toph possesses a unique ability to sense vibrations in the ground, essentially allowing her to "see" her surroundings.<p>Toph has largely lived alone all her life, which makes her somewhat selfish, sarcastic, and at times, arrogant. She is also a loner who isn't afraid to speak her mind and be bluntly truthful. She does not take pleasure in being mean, but rather, she has been sheltered from the world her entire life, never having a friend until she joined the group. Thus, her social skills are lacking. Unable to communicate well with others, she initially appeared mean and selfish to Katara. However, her travels with Aang, Katara, and Sokka have gradually taught her the meaning of teamwork and friendship.<p>Toph's attitude towards her blindness shifts between humorous and indirectly bitter. Although she is not angry or sad because of her lack of sight, she is very proud of herself. Many times, she questions the kind actions of others towards her as being due to the perception that it makes her weak (as is the attitude adopted by her family). On the other hand, she frequently jokes about her blindness when her companions forget about it in heated situations (ex.: Sokka complains about not being able to see anything in a dark tunnel, and Toph sarcastically replies, "Oh no, what a nightmare.").<div class="floatleft"><span><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="116" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Zukoseasontwo.JPG" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="120" /></span></div>
<p><b><!--del_lnk--> Zuko</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Dante Basco) - The exiled 16-year-old prince of the Fire Nation is obsessed with capturing the Avatar in his quest to restore his honour and to redeem himself in the eyes of his father, <!--del_lnk--> Fire Lord Ozai. After being branded a traitor at the beginning of season two, he begins to change from a spoiled prince to an outcast who begins to pity and bond with the same people his nation terrorized. He is an incredible warrior, especially in disguise as the Blue Spirit. Zuko, while not as skilled a Firebender as his sister, has other, more powerful skills, specifically in the superior use of twin <!--del_lnk--> broadswords and hand-to-hand combat.<p>Zuko is hard, militant, and was more than a little obsessive in his quest to capture Aang in the first season. He often acts coldly, but has revealed himself to also be a very caring character as well - a trait which usually is exhibited best in the presence of his <!--del_lnk--> Uncle Iroh, who is truly more a father to him than Ozai. However, his quest to capture the Avatar seems to have lost its importance since Azula, his sister, started to seek to hunt and capture him and his uncle. The longer he remains a fugitive of the Fire Nation, the more his overall attitude and demeanor continues to change as well. Zuko has begun to put others before himself in survival situations and as such his more compassionate side begins to show. Zuko's appearance is well-known with his scar on his face marked by his own father, recieved during an imprompt duel that also led to his exile two years prior, and a bald head with a single ponytail. However, in season two, he and his uncle cut off their traditional topknot/ponytails, which has led to Zuko to grow his hair out.<div class="floatright"><span><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="100" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Azula.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="120" /></span></div>
<p><b><!--del_lnk--> Azula</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Grey DeLisle) - The 14-year-old princess of the Fire Nation, Zuko's younger sister, Iroh's niece, and Fire Lord Ozai's favorite child. Azula has been especially cruel all her life. Her mind is set on war and power; she manipulates and even tortures others, including her brother. At the end of season one, Ozai sent Azula on a mission to imprison Zuko and Iroh, and she later became interested in capturing the Avatar.<p>Azula is a prodigy, which combined with her sadistic personality makes her an extremely gifted and dangerous Firebender, capable of using hotter blue flames and even lightning abilities possessed only by a select few Firebenders. Azula is uncaring and possibly sociopathic, willing to manipulate others, to the extent that she will put their lives in danger to get what she wants, and almost never gets her own hands dirty in the process. She sees others as expendable, and intimidates her lackeys, older men that quake with fear when she is displeased. At times, Azula acts kind and caring, but only to further her own interests. Otherwise, she is an inflexible and domineering personality, allowing no one to question her aside from the Fire Lord and two crones who oversee her martial arts training. She pushes herself harder than even her men, accepting nothing less than perfection in her training and missions.<div class="floatleft"><span><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="81" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Irohseason2.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="120" /></span></div>
<p><b><!--del_lnk--> Iroh</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Mako) - A retired Fire Nation general and Prince Zuko's uncle, who is also branded a traitor in season two. Iroh is the older brother of Fire Lord Ozai, and was the original heir to the throne of the Fire Nation. Iroh is an immensely powerful Firebender of the highest order who accompanies his nephew in his quest to capture the Avatar. He looks upon Zuko as a son more than as a nephew, especially after the loss of his only son, Lu Ten (Lu Ten died tragically during a raid on the Earth Kingdom city Ba Sing Se many years before the story begins). He is as pained by his nephew's past as Zuko is, and hates that his nephew must suffer as he does. On the surface Iroh is a cheerful and kind old man whose hobbies include drinking tea, playing <!--del_lnk--> Pai Sho, and singing.<p>Much older and experienced than any of the other main characters, Iroh chooses to take a less active role in the affairs, acting as more of a tutor and guide to Zuko and sometimes even the other characters (Toph in "<!--del_lnk--> The Chase"). Especially in Season 2, Iroh is shown to take pleasure in helping others, prefers a more passive approach to problems, and at times displays great humility. It is revealed he has crossed into the spirit world at least once before, shows great sympathy and respect for the role of all elements in the world (his defense of the moon spirit against Admiral Zhao in "<!--del_lnk--> Siege of the North" caused him to be labeled a traitor), and has admitted to studying the disciplines of other nations ("<!--del_lnk--> Bitter Work"). All of this contrary to what one might expect from the would-have-been Fire Lord of an imperialistic Fire Nation.<p>He is shown to be extremely patient and resourceful: there are many times when Iroh's disposition gives the impression he is holding back when he could take a more active role. These situations often arise when acting as a tutor to the more impatient and inexperienced Zuko. In many cases Iroh chooses not to intervene when it is clear he is uncomfortable with the decisions his nephew makes (he is upset about Zuko's theivery in "<!--del_lnk--> The Swamp" but remains silent; he keeps his distance by tracking Zuko after they separate in "<!--del_lnk--> The Chase").<p>Beneath his kindly appearance is a cunning and resourceful master of Firebending who can rival the Fire Nation's best. Though usually friendly, in times of danger Iroh can become incredibly angry and truly dangerous, scaring even the cocky <!--del_lnk--> Admiral Zhao into submission. On several occasions Iroh comes to the aid of Zuko only when it is absolutely necessary to ensure his nephew's safety (stopping Zhao's attack after the duel in "<!--del_lnk--> The Southern Air Temple", intercepting Azula's attack in "<!--del_lnk--> The Avatar State", the duel where he is injured by Azula in "<!--del_lnk--> The Chase").<p>Mako, the voice actor who portrayed Iroh, died on <!--del_lnk--> July 21, <!--del_lnk--> 2006. The final scene of dialogue he had recorded (for the episode <!--del_lnk--> The Tales of Ba Sing Se) was dedicated to him. While guest starring at the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Media Expo on October 28, 2006 the creators confirmed that another voice actor has indeed been selected. Although no names were mentioned as for who it is, they stated that the new voice actor had studied underneath Mako on Broadway during a show they did together, and had succeeded Mako in that role when Mako left the show. When the new voice actor had come in for a reading, they thought that he had studied the part ahead of time (they used an already aired part of Iroh's dialogue), but he had done the reading cold. Whoever he may be, the creators feel that Iroh's new voice actor really captures Iroh and Mako's spirit and acting <!--del_lnk--> .<p><a id="Major_secondary_characters" name="Major_secondary_characters"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Major secondary characters</span></h3>
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<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Appa</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Dee Bradley Baker) - Aang's <!--del_lnk--> flying bison who serves as the group's main form of transportation as they travel around the world. He was stuck in suspended animation with Aang for 100 years and shares a very strong bond with him. He possesses the ability to fly and can use his tail to create powerful gusts of air.</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Jet</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Crawford Wilson) - A charasmatic teen who holds a deep grudge against the <!--del_lnk--> Fire Nation. He was the leader of the Freedom Fighters, who spent their days antagonizing Fire Nation soldiers. Later, he decided to start a new life in Ba Sing Se. After trying to prove that Zuko and Iroh are from the Fire Nation, he was arrested and brainwashed by the Dai Li. While helping Aang and his friends find Appa, he was injured or possibly killed by <!--del_lnk--> Long Feng. Jet uses Twin Tiger-Head <!--del_lnk--> Hook Swords as his weapon.</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Long Feng</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Clancy Brown) - The intelligent and cunning Grand Secretarian of <!--del_lnk--> Ba Sing Se, head of the the Dai Li, and advisor to the Earth King. In reality, the Earth King is merely a figurehead of Ba Sing Se's government, so it is actually Long Feng who holds real power. He and the Dai Li use hypnotism to silence talk of war and thus keep Ba Sing Se a peaceful, ordered utopia. Later, his conspiracy was revealed and he was put in jail, however, the Dai Li remain loyal to him.</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Mai</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Cricket Leigh) - An impassive, bored, nearly emotionless young woman who, along with <!--del_lnk--> Ty Lee, accompanies <!--del_lnk--> Princess Azula on her quest to capture Zuko, Iroh, and the Avatar. Mai specializes in throwing weapons, which she conceals in many parts of her clothing.</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Momo</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Dee Bradley Baker) - A intelligent and curious <!--del_lnk--> winged lemur who travels around the world with the group as their pet.</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Fire Lord Ozai</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Mark Hamill) - The ruthless ruler of the Fire Nation, father of <!--del_lnk--> Zuko and <!--del_lnk--> Azula, and younger brother of <!--del_lnk--> Iroh. He is leading his country in a century-long war against the other three nations to create an empire and is waiting for the arrival of Sozin's Comet so that the Fire Nation can utilize its firebending-enhancing powers to win the war.</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Avatar Roku</b> (<!--del_lnk--> James Garrett) - The Avatar before Aang, who was born to the Fire Nation. Throughout the series, Avatar Roku appears as a spirit to help Aang fulfill his duties as the Avatar.</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Suki</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Jennie Kwan) - The leader of the young female warriors of <!--del_lnk--> Kyoshi Island, she is a tough fighter and staunch ally of Aang, Katara, and Sokka. Suki has a close relationship with Sokka.</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Ty Lee</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Olivia Hack) - A cheerful and energetic young woman who, along with <!--del_lnk--> Mai, accompanies <!--del_lnk--> Princess Azula on her quest to capture Zuko, Iroh, and the Avatar. Ty Lee is a skilled acrobat who strikes pressure points to disable her opponents.</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Admiral Zhao</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Jason Isaacs) - A hot-tempered Fire Nation admiral in pursuit of the Avatar and Zuko's principal rival throughout Book One. Zhao presumably died in the final chapter of Book One.</ul>
<p><a id="Minor_secondary_characters" name="Minor_secondary_characters"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Minor secondary characters</span></h3>
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<p><a id="Creatures_and_animals" name="Creatures_and_animals"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Creatures and animals</span></h3>
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<p><a id="Guest_stars" name="Guest_stars"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Guest stars</span></h3>
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<p><a id="Influences" name="Influences"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Influences</span></h2>
<h3> <span class="mw-headline">Avatar</span></h3>
<p>The term "<!--del_lnk--> Avatar" comes from the <a href="../../wp/s/Sanskrit.htm" title="Sanskrit">Sanskrit</a> word <i>Avatāra</i>, which means "descent." In <!--del_lnk--> Hindu mythology, gods often manifest themselves into Avatars to restore balance on earth after a period of great evil. The Chinese characters appearing above the word "Avatar" in the show's opening mean <i>"the divine medium who has descended upon the mortal world."</i><p><a id="Reincarnation" name="Reincarnation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Reincarnation</span></h3>
<p>When <!--del_lnk--> Aang was a child, he unknowingly revealed that he was the Avatar when he chose four toys out of thousands. These four toys were the same ones that past Avatars had chosen for generations when they were children, revealing that Aang was the <!--del_lnk--> reincarnation of the Avatar. This same test is used by <!--del_lnk--> Tibetan Buddhist monks when a reincarnated <!--del_lnk--> Dalai Lama is expected. Visions of the monks reveal who the Dalai Lama is, and this test finalizes that he is, indeed, the reincarnation.<p>The successor is expected to show signs of continuity with the previous Avatar, such as being born within a week of the death.<p><a id="Elements" name="Elements"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Elements</span></h3>
<p><i>Avatar</i> draws on four of the five <!--del_lnk--> classical Indian elements of Hindu and Buddhist traditions for the four bending arts: <i>Fire</i> (<!--del_lnk--> agni or <!--del_lnk--> tejas), <i>Water</i> (<!--del_lnk--> ap or jala), <i>Earth</i> (<!--del_lnk--> prithvi or <!--del_lnk--> bhumi), and <i>Wind</i> or Air (<!--del_lnk--> vayu or pavan). The fifth, <!--del_lnk--> aether (<!--del_lnk--> akasha or akash) is symbolized by Aang because as the Avatar, he is the <!--del_lnk--> intermediary between the physical world and the <!--del_lnk--> Spirit World. The four elements can also be found in Western traditions from at least the 5th century BC. Some names in the series, such as <!--del_lnk--> <i>"Agni Kai"</i> and <!--del_lnk--> King Bumi the Earthbender, borrow directly from these elements. The four elements, Fire, Air, Water, and Earth represents the four states of matter: plasma, gas, liquid, and solid.<p><a id="Calligraphy" name="Calligraphy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Calligraphy</span></h3>
<div class="floatright"><span><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="92" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avatar-TLAcalligraphy.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="140" /></span></div>
<p>Classical Chinese calligraphy, a very old form of written Chinese once used in formal communication and literature, is used for nearly all the writing that appear in <i>Avatar</i>. For each instance of calligraphy, an appropriate style is used, ranging from the archaic to the clerical. The show employs calligrapher Siu-Leung Lee as a consultant and <!--del_lnk--> translator.<p><a id="Fighting_styles" name="Fighting_styles"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Fighting styles</span></h3>
<p>The fighting choreography of <i>Avatar</i> draws from martial arts, and the fighting styles and weaponry are based on <!--del_lnk--> Chinese martial arts, with each bending art corresponding to a certain real-world style or styles. The creators use <!--del_lnk--> Tai Chi for <!--del_lnk--> Waterbending, <!--del_lnk--> Hung Gar for <!--del_lnk--> Earthbending (although Toph employs <!--del_lnk--> Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu), <!--del_lnk--> Northern Shaolin for <!--del_lnk--> Firebending, and <!--del_lnk--> Ba Gua for <!--del_lnk--> Airbending. The show employs <!--del_lnk--> Sifu Kisu of the Harmonious Fist Chinese Athletic Association as a martial arts consultant.<p>Each fighting style was chosen to represent the element it projected:<ul>
<li>Tai Chi creates flowing, fluid movements to represent water.<li>Hung Gar was chosen for its firmly rooted stances to represent solid earth.<li>Northern Shaolin uses fast and swift strikes to mimic the power of fire.<li>Ba Gua's soft, circular movements were chosen to represent air/wind.</ul>
<p>The ability to bend appears to come from both genetics and spirituality. This is hinted in the series when twin brothers in the episode "<!--del_lnk--> The Fortuneteller" announced that only one of them is an Earthbender. However, all Air Nomads are benders due to their spirituality.<p><a id="Anime_style" name="Anime_style"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Anime style</span></h3>
<p>While Avatar is not considered as <!--del_lnk--> anime due to being primarily American in style and writing, one review has commented that "Avatar blurs the line between anime and (US) domestic cartoons until it becomes irrelevant." <p><a id="Avatar_and_Hayao_Miyazaki" name="Avatar_and_Hayao_Miyazaki"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline"><i>Avatar</i> and Hayao Miyazaki</span></h4>
<p><i>Avatar</i> creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino confirmed a particular anime influence in a magazine interview:<blockquote>
<p>"The best anime balances great action sequences with humor and emotion, something we try to do on <i>Avatar</i>. We love all the films of <!--del_lnk--> Hayao Miyazaki, especially <i><!--del_lnk--> Spirited Away</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Princess Mononoke</i>. Both movies deal with spirituality and the environment in an entertaining way. Also, there's a lot of great animation." </blockquote>
<p>The episode, "<!--del_lnk--> The Spirit World" and the two-part first season finale "<!--del_lnk--> Siege of the North" are good examples of this influence, as the former prominently features a corrupted forest spirit attacking a human settlement as a direct result of the destruction of its forest home, while the latter involves the main protagonists trying to prevent the murder of a nature spirit by an ambitious mortal, all of which are also featured in <i>Princess Mononoke</i>.<p>Similarly, the character Wan Shi Tong from "<!--del_lnk--> The Library" bears a strong visual similarity to No Face from <i>Spirited Away</i>, while the form Aang took in the finale after becoming one with the <!--del_lnk--> Ocean Spirit bears an even stronger resemblance to Shishigami's "Didarabocchi" ("the Nightwalker") form in <i>Princess Mononoke</i>. Also, according to an interview with the artists involved in creating <i>Avatar</i>, Appa's design was based on the <!--del_lnk--> Catbus in <i><!--del_lnk--> My Neighbour Totoro</i>, due to the peculiar task of creating a mammal with six legs.<p><a id="Nominations_and_awards" name="Nominations_and_awards"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Nominations and awards</span></h2>
<p><i>Avatar</i> won two <!--del_lnk--> Pulcinella Awards in <!--del_lnk--> 2005 for "Best Action/Adventure Series" and "Best Series of the Year." It received <!--del_lnk--> 2006 <!--del_lnk--> Annie Award nominations for "Best Animated Television Production" and "Best Writing in an Animated Television Production" (<!--del_lnk--> The Fortuneteller), and won "Best Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production" (<!--del_lnk--> The Deserter).<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar:_The_Last_Airbender"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Avocado</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Food_and_agriculture.htm">Food and agriculture</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Plants.htm">Plants</a></h3>
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<th style="background: lightgreen;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Avocado</b></th>
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<td><a class="image" href="../../images/8/895.jpg.htm" title="Avocado fruit and foliage, Huntington Library, California"><img alt="Avocado fruit and foliage, Huntington Library, California" height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avocado_fruitnfoliage.jpg" src="../../images/8/895.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small>Avocado fruit and foliage, <!--del_lnk--> Huntington Library, California</small></div>
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<th style="background: lightgreen;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
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<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/p/Plant.htm" title="Plant">Plantae</a><br />
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<td>Division:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Magnoliophyta<br />
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<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Magnoliopsida<br />
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<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Laurales<br />
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<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Lauraceae<br />
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<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><b><!--del_lnk--> Persea</b></i><br />
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<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>P. americana</b></i></span><br />
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<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
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<td><i><b>Persea americana</b></i><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Mill.</small></td>
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<p><b>Avocado</b> (<i>Persea americana</i>) is a <a href="../../wp/t/Tree.htm" title="Tree">tree</a> and the <a href="../../wp/f/Fruit.htm" title="Fruit">fruit</a> of that tree, classified in the <!--del_lnk--> flowering plant family <!--del_lnk--> Lauraceae. It is native to <!--del_lnk--> Central America and <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico.htm" title="Mexico">Mexico</a>. The tree grows to 20 m (65 ft), with alternately arranged, <!--del_lnk--> evergreen <!--del_lnk--> leaves, 12-25 cm long. The <a href="../../wp/f/Flower.htm" title="Flower">flowers</a> are inconspicuous, greenish-yellow, 5-10 mm wide. The <!--del_lnk--> pear-shaped fruit is botanically a <!--del_lnk--> berry, from 7 to 20 cm long, and weighs between 100 to 1000 g. It has a large central <a href="../../wp/s/Seed.htm" title="Seed">seed</a>, 3 to 5 cm in diameter.<p>An average avocado tree produces about 120 avocados annually. Commercial orchards produce an average of 7 <!--del_lnk--> tonnes per <!--del_lnk--> hectare each year, with some orchards achieving 20 tonnes per hectare <!--del_lnk--> (FAO statistics). <!--del_lnk--> Biennial bearing can be a problem, with heavy crops in one year being followed by poor yields the next. The fruit is sometimes called an <b>avocado pear</b> or <b>alligator pear</b>, due to its shape and rough green skin. The avocado tree does not tolerate freezing temperatures, and so can be grown only in subtropical and tropical climates.<p>
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</script><a id="Co-evolution_theory" name="Co-evolution_theory"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Co-evolution theory</span></h2>
<p>Barlow & Martin (2002) identify the avocado as a fruit adapted for <a href="../../wp/e/Ecology.htm" title="Ecology">ecological</a> relationship with large mammals, now extinct (as for example the South American herbivorous giant <!--del_lnk--> ground sloths or the <!--del_lnk--> Gomphotheres). This fruit with its mildly toxic pit, <!--del_lnk--> co-evolved with those extinct mammals to be swallowed whole and excreted in dung, ready to sprout. The ecological partners have disappeared, and the avocado plant has not had time to evolve an alternative seed dispersal technique, aside from human cultivation.<p><a id="Cultivation" name="Cultivation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Cultivation</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/896.jpg.htm" title="Avocado fruit (cv. 'Fuerte'); left: whole, right: in section"><img alt="Avocado fruit (cv. 'Fuerte'); left: whole, right: in section" height="194" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avocado.jpeg" src="../../images/8/896.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/896.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Avocado fruit (cv. 'Fuerte'); left: whole, right: in section</div>
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<p>This <!--del_lnk--> subtropical species needs a <a href="../../wp/c/Climate.htm" title="Climate">climate</a> without <!--del_lnk--> frost and not too much wind. When a frost event does happen, the fruit drops from the tree, reducing the yield. The <a href="../../wp/c/Cultivar.htm" title="Cultivar">cultivar</a> 'Hass' can tolerate temperatures down to −1 °<!--del_lnk--> C. The trees also need well aerated <!--del_lnk--> soils, ideally more than 1 m deep. <!--del_lnk--> Yield is reduced when the <a href="../../wp/i/Irrigation.htm" title="Irrigation">irrigation</a> water is highly <!--del_lnk--> saline. These soil and climate conditions are met only in a few areas of the world, particularly in southern <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Peru.htm" title="Peru">Peru</a>, northern <a href="../../wp/c/Chile.htm" title="Chile">Chile</a>, <a href="../../wp/v/Vietnam.htm" title="Vietnam">Vietnam</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="The Philippines">The Philippines</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico.htm" title="Mexico">Mexico</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Central America, <a href="../../wp/m/Malaysia.htm" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a>, the centre of origin and diversity of this species. (In the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">U.S.</a>, avocados are produced commercially only in <a href="../../wp/c/California.htm" title="California">California</a> and <a href="../../wp/f/Florida.htm" title="Florida">Florida</a>, although the varieties used are different.)<p><a id="Propagation_and_rootstocks" name="Propagation_and_rootstocks"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Propagation and rootstocks</span></h3>
<p>While an avocado propagated by seed can bear fruit, it will take 4-6 years to do so, and the offspring is unlikely to resemble the parent <a href="../../wp/c/Cultivar.htm" title="Cultivar">cultivar</a> in fruit quality. Thus, commercial orchards are planted using <!--del_lnk--> grafted trees and <!--del_lnk--> rootstocks. Rootstocks are propagated by <a href="../../wp/s/Seed.htm" title="Seed">seed</a> (seedling rootstocks) and also <!--del_lnk--> layering (clonal rootstocks). After about 1 year of growing the young plants in a greenhouse, they are ready to be grafted. Terminal and lateral grafting is normally used. The scion cultivar will then grow for another 6-12 months before the tree is ready to be sold. <!--del_lnk--> Clonal rootstocks have been selected for specific <a href="../../wp/s/Soil.htm" title="Soil">soil</a> and <!--del_lnk--> disease conditions, such as poor soil aeration or resistance to the soil borne disease caused by <!--del_lnk--> Phytophthora root rot.<p><a id="Breeding" name="Breeding"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Breeding</span></h3>
<p>The species is partially unable to <!--del_lnk--> self-pollinate, because of <!--del_lnk--> dichogamy in its <!--del_lnk--> flowering. The limitation, added to the long juvenile period, make it difficult to breed this species. Most <!--del_lnk--> cultivars are <!--del_lnk--> clonally propagated (via <!--del_lnk--> grafting), having originated from random <!--del_lnk--> seedling plants or minor <!--del_lnk--> mutations derived from cultivars. Modern <!--del_lnk--> breeding programs tend to use isolation plots where the chances of <!--del_lnk--> cross-pollination are reduced. That is the case of programs at the <!--del_lnk--> University of California-Riverside, as well as the <!--del_lnk--> Volcani Centre in <a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a>.<p><a id="Harvest_and_post-harvest" name="Harvest_and_post-harvest"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Harvest and post-harvest</span></h3>
<p>The avocado fruit does not ripen on the tree, but will fall off or be picked in a hard, "green" state, then it will ripen quickly on the ground, but depending on the amount of oil that it has, the taste may be very different. Generally, the fruit is picked once it reaches a mature size, and will then ripen in a few days (faster if stored with other fruit such as <a href="../../wp/b/Banana.htm" title="Banana">bananas</a>, because of the influence of <!--del_lnk--> ethylene gas). Premium <!--del_lnk--> supermarkets sell pre-softened avocados, treated with a special <a href="../../wp/g/Gas.htm" title="Gas">gas</a> to stimulate <!--del_lnk--> ethylene synthesis in the fruit (the same process used to de-green <!--del_lnk--> lemons). The fruit can be left on the tree until required, rather than picked and stored, but for commercial reasons it must be picked as soon as possible. Growers can keep the fruit on the tree for about 4-6 months after fully developed; if the fruit stays on the tree for too long it will fall to the ground.<p><a id="Introduction_to_Europe" name="Introduction_to_Europe"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Introduction to Europe</span></h3>
<p>The earliest known account of the avocado in Europe is that of Martin Fernandez De Encisco in <!--del_lnk--> 1519. The plant was first introduced to Indonesia by 1750, Brazil in 1809, Palestine in 1908, and South Africa and Australia in the late 19th century. (Source: <!--del_lnk--> indexfresh.com).<p><a id="Cultivation_in_California" name="Cultivation_in_California"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Cultivation in California</span></h3>
<p>The avocado was introduced to the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">U.S.</a> state of <a href="../../wp/c/California.htm" title="California">California</a> in the 19th century, and it has become an extremely successful <!--del_lnk--> cash crop. 95% of United States avocado production is located in California, and 80% occurs in <!--del_lnk--> San Diego County . Approximately 59,000 acres (approximately 24,000 hectares) of avocados are grown in California. <!--del_lnk--> Fallbrook, California claims the title of "Avocado Capital of the World" and hosts an annual <!--del_lnk--> Avocado Festival.<p>While dozens of <a href="../../wp/c/Cultivar.htm" title="Cultivar">cultivars</a> are grown in California, 'Hass' (commonly misspelled 'Haas') is most common, accounting for more than 80% of the crop. In appearance, Hass has a dark, rippled skin and rich, creamy flesh. All Hass avocado trees are related to a single "mother tree" that was purchased as a seedling by a mail carrier named <!--del_lnk--> Rudolph Hass. He purchased the tree as a seedling from A.R. Rideout of Whittier, California, in 1926. Hass planted the seedling in his front yard in La Habra Heights, California, and <!--del_lnk--> patented the tree in 1935. All Hass avocados can be traced back to grafts made from that tree. The "Mother Tree" died of root rot in 2002. Other avocado cultivars include 'Bacon', 'Fuerte' (pictured), 'Gwen', 'Pinkerton', 'Reed' and 'Zutano'. The fruit of the cultivar 'Florida', grown mostly outside of California, is larger and rounder, with a smooth, medium-green skin, and a less-fatty, firmer and fibrous flesh. These are occasionally marketed as low-calorie avocados.<p>The avocado is unusual in that the timing of the male and female phases differs among cultivars. There are two flowering types, referred to as "A" and "B" flower types. "A" cultivars open as female on the morning of the first day. The flower closes in late morning or early afternoon. The flower will remain closed until the afternoon of the second day when it opens as male. "B" varieties open as female on the afternoon of the first day, close in late afternoon and re-open in the male phase the following morning.<dl>
<dd>"A" cultivars: 'Hass', 'Gwen', 'Lamb Hass', 'Pinkerton', 'Reed'.<dd>"B" cultivars: Fuerte, Sharwil, Zutano, Bacon, Ettinger, Sir Prize, Walter Hole. (ref: <!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> )</dl>
<p>Certain cultivars, such as the 'Hass', have a tendency to bear well only in alternate years. After a season with a low yield, due to factors such as cold (which the avocado does not tolerate well), the trees tend to produce abundantly the next season. This heavy crop depletes stored carbohydrates, resulting in a reduced yield the following season, and thus the alternate bearing pattern becomes established.<p><a id="As_a_houseplant" name="As_a_houseplant"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">As a houseplant</span></h3>
<p>Avocado can be grown as a <!--del_lnk--> houseplant from seed. Although it will not normally bear fruit indoors, people enjoy it for its greenery. It can be germinated in normal <a href="../../wp/s/Soil.htm" title="Soil">soil</a> in a large pot, or in a glass of water with a piece of <!--del_lnk--> charcoal for deodorizing, with the top half (the pointed end) held up by toothpicks.<p><a id="Uses" name="Uses"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Uses</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/897.jpg.htm" title="Two Avocado fruits"><img alt="Two Avocado fruits" height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avacado_white_bg.jpg" src="../../images/8/897.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/897.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Two Avocado fruits</div>
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<p>The fruit of horticultural cultivars range from more or less round to egg or pear-shaped, typically the size of a temperate-zone <!--del_lnk--> pear or larger, on the outside bright green to green-brown (or almost black) in colour. Though the fruit does have a markedly higher <!--del_lnk--> fat content than most other fruits, most of the fat in avocados is <!--del_lnk--> monounsaturated fat, which is considered healthy in the human diet. A whole medium avocado contains approximately 25% of the <!--del_lnk--> recommended daily amount of saturated fat. Avocados also have 60% more <a href="../../wp/p/Potassium.htm" title="Potassium">potassium</a> than <a href="../../wp/b/Banana.htm" title="Banana">bananas</a>. They are also rich in <a href="../../wp/b/B_vitamins.htm" title="B vitamins">B vitamins</a>, as well as <!--del_lnk--> vitamin E and <!--del_lnk--> K.<p>A ripe avocado will yield to a gentle pressure when held in the palm of the hand and squeezed. The flesh is typically greenish yellow to golden yellow when ripe. The flesh <!--del_lnk--> oxidizes and turns brown quickly after exposure to air. To prevent this, <!--del_lnk--> lime or <a href="../../wp/l/Lemon.htm" title="Lemon">lemon</a> juice can be added to avocados after they are peeled; <a href="../../wp/v/Vitamin_C.htm" title="Vitamin C">vitamin C</a> in the juice acts as an <!--del_lnk--> antioxidant. The avocado is very popular in <!--del_lnk--> vegetarian cuisine, making an excellent substitute for meats in sandwiches and salads because of its high <!--del_lnk--> fat content. The fruit is not sweet, but fatty, strongly flavored, and of smooth, almost creamy texture. It is used as the base for the <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico.htm" title="Mexico">Mexican</a> dip known as <i><!--del_lnk--> guacamole</i>, as well as a filling for several kinds of <!--del_lnk--> sushi, including <!--del_lnk--> California rolls. Avocado is popular in chicken dishes and as a spread on toast, served with salt and pepper. In <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a> and <a href="../../wp/v/Vietnam.htm" title="Vietnam">Vietnam</a>, avocados are frequently used for milk-shakes and occasionally added to <!--del_lnk--> ice cream. In the <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a>, a <!--del_lnk--> dessert drink is made with sugar, milk, and pureed avocado. In <!--del_lnk--> Central America, avocados are served mixed with white rice. The fruit is also pressed for <!--del_lnk--> avocado oil production. In <a href="../../wp/c/Chile.htm" title="Chile">Chile</a> it is often used in <!--del_lnk--> hamburgers, <!--del_lnk--> hot dogs and <a href="../../wp/c/Celery.htm" title="Celery">celery</a> salads. Avocado flesh has also been used by some <!--del_lnk--> Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States in the mixing and application of <!--del_lnk--> adobe, a natural building material .<p><a id="Toxicity" name="Toxicity"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Toxicity</span></h2>
<p>Feeding avocados to any animal should be totally avoided. There is documented evidence that animals such as cattle, horses, goats, rabbits, birds, dogs, cats, and even fish <!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> can be severely harmed or even killed when they consume the leaves, bark or fruit. Avocados contain a toxic fatty acid derivative known as <!--del_lnk--> persin <!--del_lnk--> and many animal organizations recommend total avoidance of all parts of the plant. The symptoms include gastrointestinal irriation, vomiting, diarrhea, respiratory distress, congestion, fluid accumulation around the tissues of the heart and even death. Birds seem to be particularly sensitive to this toxic compound.<p>Negative effects in humans seem to be primarily in allergic individuals.<p><a id="Names" name="Names"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Names</span></h2>
<p>The English name for the avocado is derived from its usual <a href="../../wp/s/Spanish_language.htm" title="Spanish language">Spanish language</a> name, "aguacate", which in turn is derived from its <a href="../../wp/n/Nahuatl_language.htm" title="Nahuatl language">Nahuatl</a> name, 'ahuacatl', meaning <!--del_lnk--> testicle (due to its shape). In some countries of South America (such as <a href="../../wp/a/Argentina.htm" title="Argentina">Argentina</a>, Bolivia, <a href="../../wp/c/Chile.htm" title="Chile">Chile</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Peru.htm" title="Peru">Peru</a>, and <a href="../../wp/u/Uruguay.htm" title="Uruguay">Uruguay</a>), the avocado is known by its <!--del_lnk--> Quechua name, 'palta'. In other Spanish-speaking countries it is called "aguacate", and in Portuguese it is "abacate". The name <i>avocado pear</i> is sometimes used in English, as is <i>alligator pear</i>. The Nahuatl <i>ahuacatl</i> can be compounded with other words, as in <i>ahuacamolli</i>, meaning "avocado soup or sauce", from which the Mexican-Spanish word <i>guacamole</i> derives. In Chinese, the avocado is evocatively called the "butter fruit" (牛油果 níuyóu gǔo), but also occasionally "alligator pear" (鳄鱼梨). In Taiwan, the word "alligator pear" is used.<p><a id="Avocado_related_trade_war" name="Avocado_related_trade_war"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Avocado related trade war</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/898.jpg.htm" title="First transcontinental, international air shipment of avocados from Los Angeles, CA to Toronto for the Canadian National Exposition."><img alt="First transcontinental, international air shipment of avocados from Los Angeles, CA to Toronto for the Canadian National Exposition." height="143" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avocado_firstInternationalShipment.jpg" src="../../images/8/898.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/8/898.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> First transcontinental, international air shipment of avocados from Los Angeles, CA to Toronto for the Canadian National Exposition.</div>
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<p>After the <!--del_lnk--> NAFTA treaty was signed, Mexico tried exporting avocados to the USA. The U.S. government resisted, claiming that the trade would introduce <!--del_lnk--> fruit flies that would destroy California's crops. The Mexican government responded by inviting U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors to Mexico, but U.S. government declined, claiming fruit fly inspection is not feasible. The Mexican government then proposed to sell avocados only to the northeastern U.S. in the winter (fruit flies cannot withstand extreme cold). The U.S. government balked, but only gave in when the Mexican government started throwing up barriers to American <a href="../../wp/m/Maize.htm" title="Maize">maize</a>.<p>Today avocados from Mexico are allowed in 47 states, excluding in Florida, California, and Hawaii. This is because USDA inspectors in Uruapan, Michoacan (the state where 90% of Hass avocados from Mexico are grown) have cut open and inspected millions of them, finding no problems. Imports from Mexico last season (2004-2005) exceeded 100 thousand <!--del_lnk--> tonnes.<p>Avocados are much more expensive in the USA than other countries due to the fact that they are grown almost exclusively in California and Florida, and the main potential competitor (Mexico) is banned from three states in the market - Florida, California, and Hawaii. Mexican farmers have argued against the ban, pointing out that not a single shipment has been found to contain <!--del_lnk--> pests since the U.S. Department of Agriculture began inspections in 1997 . Another argument is that the lower prices generated by the Mexican and Chilean imports would increase the popularity of avocados outside of California, thereby assuaging the loss of profits due to the new competition. In the year 2007, Mexican avocados will be permitted in all 50 U.S. States.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avocado"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Avon Gorge</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geography_of_Great_Britain.htm">Geography of Great Britain</a></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/22/2205.jpg.htm" title="The Avon Gorge and Clifton Suspension Bridge, looking south from the Downs"><img alt="The Avon Gorge and Clifton Suspension Bridge, looking south from the Downs" height="174" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bristol%2C_Avon_Gorge_from_Clifton_Down.jpg" src="../../images/22/2205.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/22/2205.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Avon Gorge and Clifton Suspension Bridge, looking south from the Downs</div>
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<p>The <b>Avon Gorge</b> (<!--del_lnk--> grid reference <!--del_lnk--> ST560743) is a 2.5km (1.5mi) long <!--del_lnk--> gorge on the <!--del_lnk--> River Avon in <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a>, <!--del_lnk--> South West England. The gorge runs south to north through a <!--del_lnk--> limestone ridge 2km west of Bristol city centre, and about 5km from the mouth of the <a href="../../wp/r/River.htm" title="River">river</a> at <!--del_lnk--> Avonmouth. The gorge forms the boundary between the <!--del_lnk--> unitary authorities of <!--del_lnk--> North Somerset and Bristol. In the past, when Bristol was an important <!--del_lnk--> port, the gorge formed a spectacular defensive gateway to the city.<p>On the east of the gorge is the town of <!--del_lnk--> Clifton, part of Bristol city, and <!--del_lnk--> The Downs, a large public park. To the west of the gorge is <!--del_lnk--> Leigh Woods, the name of both a village and the <!--del_lnk--> National Trust <a href="../../wp/f/Forest.htm" title="Forest">forest</a> it is situated in. There are three <a href="../../wp/i/Iron_Age.htm" title="Iron Age">Iron Age</a> <!--del_lnk--> hill forts overlooking the gorge, as well as a more recent observatory. The <a href="../../wp/c/Clifton_Suspension_Bridge.htm" title="Clifton Suspension Bridge">Clifton Suspension Bridge</a>, an icon of Bristol, crosses the gorge.<table class="infobox">
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<td width="160"><a class="image" href="../../images/32/3207.png.htm" title="Shown within Bristol (above) and England"><img alt="Shown within Bristol (above) and England" height="111" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bristol_ag_csb_map.png" src="../../images/32/3207.png" width="160" /></a><br />
<div style="font-size: 85%">Shown within Bristol (above) and England.</div>
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<td width="120"><a class="image" href="../../images/32/3208.png.htm" title="Bristol shown within England"><img alt="Bristol shown within England" height="148" longdesc="/wiki/Image:EnglandBristol.png" src="../../images/32/3208.png" width="120" /></a></td>
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</script><a id="Geology_and_formation" name="Geology_and_formation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geology and formation</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16762.jpg.htm" title="Looking north from the bridge, with Leigh Woods on the left and the A4 road on the right."><img alt="Looking north from the bridge, with Leigh Woods on the left and the A4 road on the right." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bristol_ag_from_csb_041004.jpg" src="../../images/167/16762.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16762.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Looking north from the bridge, with Leigh Woods on the left and the A4 road on the right.</div>
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<p>The gorge cuts through a ridge mainly of <!--del_lnk--> limestone, with some <!--del_lnk--> sandstone. This particular ridge runs from Clifton to <!--del_lnk--> Clevedon, ten miles away on the <!--del_lnk--> Bristol Channel coast, though limestone is found throughout the Bristol area. The <a href="../../wp/f/Fossil.htm" title="Fossil">fossil</a> shells and corals indicate that the limestone formed in shallow tropical seas in the <a href="../../wp/c/Carboniferous.htm" title="Carboniferous">Carboniferous</a>, 350 million years ago. For a long time it was unclear what caused the Avon to cut through the limestone ridge, rather than run south west through the <!--del_lnk--> Ashton Vale towards <a href="../../wp/w/Weston-super-Mare.htm" title="Weston-super-Mare">Weston-super-Mare</a>. However, Bristol was at the southern edge of <a href="../../wp/g/Glacier.htm" title="Glacier">glaciation</a> during the last <a href="../../wp/i/Ice_age.htm" title="Ice age">ice age</a>, and it has been suggested that ice blocked the Ashton Vale, or a glacier carved the gorge.<p>At various times the sides of the gorge have been quarried, leaving steep gorge walls. In the 18th century the gorge was quarried to produce building stone for the city. Stone was taken by boat into the floating harbour. In the 19th century <!--del_lnk--> celestite was discovered in <!--del_lnk--> Leigh Court estate, and the <!--del_lnk--> Wills family authorised quarrying. Between 1880 and 1920 Bristol was producing 90% of the world's celestite, but the enterprise did not last long into the 20th century. Quarries on the Bristol side of the gorge are now popular with climbers and are a <!--del_lnk--> habitat for <!--del_lnk--> Peregrine falcons and other wildlife.<p><a id="Ecology" name="Ecology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Ecology</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16763.jpg.htm" title="The bridge and river at low tide, from Observatory Green."><img alt="The bridge and river at low tide, from Observatory Green." height="182" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Clifton.bridge.arp.750pix.jpg" src="../../images/167/16763.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16763.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The bridge and river at low tide, from Observatory Green.</div>
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<p>The steep walls of the gorge support some rare fauna and flora, including species unique to the gorge. There are a total of 24 rare plant species and two unique trees: the Bristol and Wilmotts's <!--del_lnk--> whitebeams. Other notable plants include <!--del_lnk--> Bristol rock cress, <!--del_lnk--> Bristol onion, <!--del_lnk--> Spiked Speedwell, <!--del_lnk--> Autumn Squill and <!--del_lnk--> Honewort. Because of its steep sides, there are many parts of the gorge on which trees can not grow, making way for smaller plants. The gorge is also home to many rare <a href="../../wp/i/Invertebrate.htm" title="Invertebrate">invertebrate</a> species. The gorge has a unique <!--del_lnk--> microclimate, around 1 degree warmer than the surrounding land. The steep south-west facing sides receive the afternoon sunlight, but are partially sheltered from the prevailing winds. When winds come from the Bristol Channel in the north west they may be funnelled into the gorge, creating harsh and wet conditions.<p>The steep gorge walls make an ideal habitat for <!--del_lnk--> peregrine falcons, with a plentiful supply of food nearby in the form of <a href="../../wp/p/Pigeon.htm" title="Pigeon">pigeons</a> and <!--del_lnk--> sea gulls. Peregrines have a history of nesting in the gorge, but having become rare in the British Isles they did not breed and were rarely seen in the gorge after the 1930s. In 1990 Peregrines returned to the gorge, and have successfully bred in most of the following years. On warm days a strong uplift forms in the gorge, on which birds of prey soar while hunting. The gorge also houses large populations of <a href="../../wp/j/Jackdaw.htm" title="Jackdaw">Jackdaw</a> and <!--del_lnk--> horseshoe bats, both of which find homes in the caves and bridge buttresses.<p>Due to its geology and ecology, an area of 155.4 <!--del_lnk--> hectares of the gorge and surrounding woodland has been protected as a <!--del_lnk--> biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), the original <!--del_lnk--> notification taking place in 1952. The site may in future be protected as a Special Area of Conservation under the European Habitats Directive. The Leigh Woods side of the gorge is largely owned by the National Trust. <!--del_lnk--> The Downs on the city side of the gorge are owned by Bristol City Council and managed as a large public park. The actual gorge side is protected in partnership with <!--del_lnk--> Bristol Zoo, <!--del_lnk--> WWF and <!--del_lnk--> English Nature. The council's management of the gorge involves balancing the need to protect its ecology with recreational uses such as rock climbing.<p><a id="History_of_human_use" name="History_of_human_use"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History of human use</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16764.jpg.htm" title="The Portishead Railway runs through a short tunnel under the bridge buttress."><img alt="The Portishead Railway runs through a short tunnel under the bridge buttress." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bristol_ag_railway_tunnel_02.jpg" src="../../images/167/16764.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16764.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Portishead Railway runs through a short tunnel under the bridge buttress.</div>
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<p>The gorge area was inhabited at least as early as the <a href="../../wp/i/Iron_Age.htm" title="Iron age">iron age</a>, probably by the <!--del_lnk--> Dobunni tribe. In Leigh Woods above Nightingale Valley, a steep dry valley beside the suspension bridge, is <!--del_lnk--> Stokeleigh Camp, one of three iron age <!--del_lnk--> hill forts in the area. Stokeleigh was occupied from 3BCE to 1CE, and was also used in the Middle Ages. The camp was protected on two sides by the cliff faces of the gorge and Nightingale Valley, and was also protected by earthworks, and is now a <!--del_lnk--> scheduled ancient monument. A second hill fort was situated across Nightingale Valley, but has since been built on, and bridge road cuts through it. The third hill fort was situated on the opposite side of the gorge, in what is now observatory green. Archaeology, plus the configuration of the three forts, suggest they played a role in defending the gorge.<p>During the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_Ages.htm" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a> and <!--del_lnk--> industrial revolution the area which now forms The Downs was used as common grazing land, was mined for <a href="../../wp/l/Lead.htm" title="Lead">lead</a>, <!--del_lnk--> calamine, <a href="../../wp/i/Iron.htm" title="Iron">iron</a> and limestone, and became home to a <!--del_lnk--> windmill which produced <!--del_lnk--> snuff from the tobacco which had become one of the city's principal imports. In 1777 the windmill bunt out in a storm, and the building was converted into the observatory, which houses a <!--del_lnk--> camera obscura. In the 18th and 19th centuries Bristol's economy boomed and Clifton became a desirable place to live. Mansion houses were built over looking the gorge, but after grazing was stopped, trees grew and obscured the view from these mansions. In the Victorian era, with houses creeping further onto the Downs, an Act of Parliament was passed to protect them as a park for the people of Bristol. In 1754 a bridge to span the gorge was proposed, but it was nearly 80 years before work began on <a href="../../wp/i/Isambard_Kingdom_Brunel.htm" title="Isambard Kingdom Brunel">Isambard Kingdom Brunel</a>'s <a href="../../wp/c/Clifton_Suspension_Bridge.htm" title="Clifton Suspension Bridge">Clifton Suspension Bridge</a>, and a further 30 years of delays before it was completed. Today the bridge is perhaps the best known <!--del_lnk--> landmark in Bristol.<p>Throughout Bristol's history the gorge has been an important transport route. It is the gateway to <!--del_lnk--> Bristol Harbour, and provided protection against storms or attack. The Bristol Channel and Avon estuary have a very high tidal range, and the gorge is relatively narrow and meandering, making it notoriously difficult to navigate and giving rise to the phrase <!--del_lnk--> ship shape and Bristol fashion.<p>Today Bristol Harbour is no longer an important port, but the gorge is still a transport route. The <!--del_lnk--> A4 road runs through the gorge, linking Bristol city centre to the <!--del_lnk--> M5 motorway, which bypasses the city near <!--del_lnk--> Avonmouth. Two railways run through the gorge, on the east side the passenger railway to Avonmouth and <!--del_lnk--> Severn Beach runs through part of the gorge, and through a tunnel under the Downs, while on the west side is the former <!--del_lnk--> Portishead Railway, which was closed by the <a href="../../wp/b/Beeching_Axe.htm" title="Beeching Axe">Beeching Axe</a> in the <!--del_lnk--> 1960s, but has now been reopened for freight traffic as far as <!--del_lnk--> Royal Portbury Dock, 4km (2.5mi) downstream. Between 1893 and 1934, the <!--del_lnk--> Clifton Rocks Railway linked the passenger steamer pier at <!--del_lnk--> Hotwells with <!--del_lnk--> Clifton on the rim of the gorge.<p>A footpath and <!--del_lnk--> National Cycle Network cycleway run alongside the Portishead Railway and along the old towpath.<p><a id="Mythology" name="Mythology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Mythology</span></h2>
<p>The formation of the Avon Gorge is the subject of mediaeval mythology. The myths tell tales of two giant brothers, Vincent and Goram, who constructed the gorge. One variation holds that Vincent and Goram were constructing the gorge together and Goram fell asleep, to be accidentally killed by Vincent's pickaxe. Another variation tells of the brothers falling for Avona, a girl from <!--del_lnk--> Wiltshire, who instructs the giants to drain a lake which stretches from <!--del_lnk--> Rownham Hill to <!--del_lnk--> Bradford-on-Avon (i.e. the Avon valley). Goram began digging the nearby Hazel Brook Gorge in <!--del_lnk--> Blaise Castle estate, but consumed too much beer and fell asleep. Vincent dug the Avon Gorge and drained the lake, winning the affection of Avona. Upon waking Goram stamped his foot, creating "Goram's Chair" in the Blaise Castle estate, and threw himself into the Bristol Channel, turning to stone and leaving head and shoulder above water as the islands <!--del_lnk--> Flat Holm and <!--del_lnk--> Steep Holm.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avon_Gorge"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Avro Lancaster</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Design_and_Technology.Air_and_Sea_transport.htm">Air & Sea transport</a>; <a href="../index/subject.History.World_War_II.htm">World War II</a></h3>
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<th colspan="2" style="font-size: large; padding-bottom: 0.3em;">Lancaster</th>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">
<div style="border: 1px solid #AAAAAA;"><a class="image" href="../../images/8/899.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Avro_Lancaster_B_I_PA474.jpg" src="../../images/8/899.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>
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<td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;">An Avro Lancaster flying in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.</td>
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<td style="width: 7em;text-align:right;"><b>Type</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Heavy bomber</td>
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<td style="text-align:right;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Manufacturer</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Avro</td>
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<td style="text-align:right;"><b>Designed by</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Roy Chadwick</td>
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<td style="text-align:right;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Maiden flight</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 9 January <!--del_lnk--> 1941</td>
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<td style="text-align:right;"><b>Introduced</b></td>
<td>1942</td>
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<td style="text-align:right;"><b>Retired</b></td>
<td>1963 (Canada)</td>
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<td style="text-align:right;"><b>Primary user</b></td>
<td><a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Air_Force.htm" title="Royal Air Force">Royal Air Force</a></td>
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<td style="text-align:right;"><b>Number built</b></td>
<td>7,377</td>
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<td style="text-align:right;"><b>Unit cost</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> £45-50,000 when introduced<br /><span style="font-size: 80%">≈£1.3-1.5 million in 2005 currency</span></td>
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<td style="text-align:right;"><b>Developed from</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Avro Manchester</td>
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<td style="text-align:right;"><b>Variants</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Avro Lancastrian<br /><!--del_lnk--> Avro Lincoln<br /><!--del_lnk--> Avro York</td>
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<p>The <b>Avro Lancaster</b> was a <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">British</a> four-engine <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">Second World War</a> <!--del_lnk--> bomber aircraft made initially by <!--del_lnk--> Avro for the British <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Air_Force.htm" title="Royal Air Force">Royal Air Force</a> (RAF). First used in 1942, together with the <!--del_lnk--> Handley-Page Halifax it was the main heavy bomber of the RAF, the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Canadian Air Force and squadrons from other <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth and <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">European</a> countries serving with <!--del_lnk--> RAF Bomber Command. Although the Lancaster was primarily a night bomber, it excelled in many other roles including daylight precision bombing.<p>
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</script><a id="Design_and_development" name="Design_and_development"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Design and development</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/900.jpg.htm" title="Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster at RIAT 2005"><img alt="Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster at RIAT 2005" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lancaster.jpg" src="../../images/9/900.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/900.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster at <!--del_lnk--> RIAT 2005</div>
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<p>The origins of the Lancaster design was in a twin-engined heavy bomber powered by <!--del_lnk--> Rolls-Royce Vulture engines submitted to <i><!--del_lnk--> Specification P.13/36</i> which was for a new generation of twin-engined medium bombers. The resulting aircraft was the <!--del_lnk--> Avro Manchester, which, although a capable aircraft, was troubled by the unreliability of the Vulture. It was withdrawn from service in 1942 by which point 200 aircraft had been built.<p><!--del_lnk--> Avro's chief designer, <!--del_lnk--> Roy Chadwick, was already working on an improved Manchester design using four of the more reliable but less powerful Rolls-Royce <!--del_lnk--> Merlin engines on a larger wing. The aircraft was initially designated Avro Type 683 Manchester III; it was later named the <!--del_lnk--> Lancaster. The new aircraft made its first test flight from Manchester's Ringway Airport on <!--del_lnk--> 9 January <!--del_lnk--> 1941 and proved to be a great improvement on its predecessor. Some of the later orders for Manchesters were changed in favour of Lancasters; the designs were very similar, and both featured the distinctive greenhouse cockpit, turret nose, and <!--del_lnk--> twin tail although the Lancaster discarded the stubby central third tail fin of the Manchester by using a wider span tailplane and larger elliptical twin fins.<p>The majority of Lancasters built during the war years were manufactured by <!--del_lnk--> Avro, <!--del_lnk--> Metropolitan-Vickers and <!--del_lnk--> Armstrong Whitworth. The plane was also produced at the <!--del_lnk--> Austin Motor Company works in <!--del_lnk--> Longbridge, <a href="../../wp/b/Birmingham.htm" title="Birmingham">Birmingham</a> later in the Second World War and postwar at Chester by Vickers Armstrong. Only 300 of the <b>Lancaster Mk II</b> with <!--del_lnk--> Bristol Hercules engines were made. The <b>Lancaster Mk III</b> had newer Merlin engines but was otherwise identical to earlier versions; 3,030 Mk IIIs were built, almost all at A.V. Roe's <!--del_lnk--> Newton Heath factory. Of later versions, only the Canadian-built <b>Lancaster Mk X</b> was produced in any numbers, built by <!--del_lnk--> Victory Aircraft in <!--del_lnk--> Malton, Ontario; 430 of this type were built. They differed little from earlier versions, except for using <!--del_lnk--> Packard-built Merlin engines and American-style instrumentation; late-series models also replaced the Frasier-Nash mid-upper turret with a differently configured Martin turret mounted in a slightly different location. 7,377 Lancasters of all marks were built over the war; a 1943 Lancaster cost <!--del_lnk--> £45-50,000 (approximately equivalent to £1.3-1.5 million in 2005 currency).<p>Lancasters from Bomber Command were to have formed the main strength of <!--del_lnk--> Tiger Force, the Commonwealth bomber contingent scheduled to take part in <!--del_lnk--> Operation Downfall, the codename for the planned invasion of <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a> in late 1945, from bases on <!--del_lnk--> Okinawa.<p><a id="Operational_history" name="Operational_history"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Operational history</span></h2>
<p>In 1942-45, Lancasters flew 156,000 operations and dropped 608,612 tons of <!--del_lnk--> bombs. 3,249 Lancasters were lost in action. Only 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations. The greatest survivor completed 139 operations and survived the war, only to be scrapped in 1947.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/901.jpg.htm" title="The Lancaster I NG128 dropping its load over Duisburg on Oct 14, 1944. The aircraft is carrying Airborne Cigar (ABC) radio jamming equipment, as shown by the two vertical aerials on the fuselage."><img alt="The Lancaster I NG128 dropping its load over Duisburg on Oct 14, 1944. The aircraft is carrying Airborne Cigar (ABC) radio jamming equipment, as shown by the two vertical aerials on the fuselage." height="139" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lancaster_I_NG128_Dropping_Load_-_Duisburg_-_Oct_14_-_1944.jpg" src="../../images/9/901.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/901.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Lancaster I <i>NG128</i> dropping its load over <!--del_lnk--> Duisburg on Oct 14, 1944. The aircraft is carrying <!--del_lnk--> Airborne Cigar (ABC) radio jamming equipment, as shown by the two vertical <!--del_lnk--> aerials on the fuselage.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>An important feature of the Lancaster was its extensive <!--del_lnk--> bomb bay, at 33 feet (10.05 m) long. Initially the heaviest bombs carried were 4,000 lb (1,818 kg) <!--del_lnk--> "Cookies." Towards the end of the war, attacking special and hardened targets, the B1 Specials could carry the 21 foot (6.4 m) long 12,000 lb (5,448 kg) '<!--del_lnk--> Tallboy' or 25.5 foot (7.77 m) long 22,000 lb (9,979 kg) "<!--del_lnk--> Grand Slam" "earthquake" bombs. This required modification of the bomb-bay doors.<p>While eight .303 in machine guns were the most common Lancaster armament, twin .50 turrets were later available in both the tail and dorsal positions. A Preston-Green mount was available for a .50 cal mounted in a ventral blister, but this was mostly used in RCAF service. Some unofficial mounts for .50 cal or even 20 mm guns were made, firing through ventral holes of various designs.<p>The Lancaster had a very advanced communications system for its time; the famous 1155 receiver and 1154 transmitter. These provided radio direction-finding, as well as voice and Morse capabilities. Later Lancasters carried:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> H2S - Ground looking navigation radar system - though it could be homed on by German night fighters' <!--del_lnk--> NAXOS receiver and had to be used with discretion.<li><!--del_lnk--> Monica - a rearward looking radar to warn of night fighter approaches - a notable disaster, transmitting constant warnings of bombers in the same formation it was ignored by crews and instead inadvertently served as a homing beacon for suitably equipped German <!--del_lnk--> night fighters, who would then use <i><!--del_lnk--> Schräge Musik</i> to attack the bombers.<li><!--del_lnk--> Fishpond - an add-on to H2S that provided additional (aerial) coverage of the underside of the aircraft to display attacking fighters on the main H2S screen.<li><!--del_lnk--> GEE - A receiver for a navigation system of synchronized pulses transmitted from the UK - aircraft calculated their position from the phase shift between pulses. The range of GEE was 3-400 miles.<li><!--del_lnk--> Oboe - a very accurate navigation system consisting of a receiver/transponder for two radar stations transmitting from the UK - one determining range and the other the bearing on the range. As the system could only handle one aircraft at a time it was only fitted to Pathfinder aircraft which marked the target for the main force. Later supplemented by <!--del_lnk--> GEE-H, similar to Oboe but with the transponder on the ground allowing more aircraft to use the system simultaneously. GEE-H aircraft were usually marked with two horizontal yellow stripes on the fins.<li><!--del_lnk--> Village Inn - A radar-aimed gun turret fitted to some Lancasters in 1944.</ul>
<p>The most famous use of the Lancaster was probably the 1943 mission, codenamed <!--del_lnk--> Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the <!--del_lnk--> Ruhr Valley using special drum shaped <!--del_lnk--> bouncing bombs designed by <!--del_lnk--> Barnes Wallis, and carried by modified Mk IIIs. The story of the mission was later made into a film, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Dam Busters.</i> Another famous action was a series of attacks, including one from a temporary base at <!--del_lnk--> Yagodnik in the Soviet Union, against the <!--del_lnk--> German battleship <i>Tirpitz</i> with Tallboy bombs, ended with the sinking of the <i>Tirpitz</i>.<p>A development of the Lancaster was the <!--del_lnk--> Avro Lincoln bomber, initially known as the Lancaster IV and Lancaster V. These two marks became the Lincoln B1 and B2 respectively. There was also a civilian airliner based on the Lancaster, the <!--del_lnk--> Lancastrian. Other developments were the <!--del_lnk--> York, a square-bodied transport and, via the Lincoln, the <!--del_lnk--> Shackleton which continued in airborne early warning service up to 1992.<p>In 1946, four Lancasters were converted by Avro at <!--del_lnk--> Bracebridge Heath, <!--del_lnk--> Lincolnshire as freighters for use by <!--del_lnk--> British South American Airways, they proved to be uneconomical and were withdrawn after a year in service.<p>Four Lancaster IIIs were converted by <!--del_lnk--> Flight Refuelling Limited as two pairs of tanker and receiver aircraft for development of in-flight refuelling. One aircraft was flown non-stop 3,355 miles in 1947 from London to Bermuda. Later the two tanker aircraft were joined by another converted Lancaster and were used in the <!--del_lnk--> Berlin Airlift, they achieved 757 tanker sorties.<p><a href="../../wp/a/Argentina.htm" title="Argentina">Argentinian</a> models were used several times during its service in several military coups.<p><a id="Variants" name="Variants"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Variants</span></h2>
<p><a id="B_I" name="B_I"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">B I</span></h3>
<p>The original Lancasters were produced with Rolls-Royce Merlin XX engines. Minor details were changed throughout the production series - for example the pitot head design was changed from being on a long mast at the front of the nose to a short fairing mounted on the side of the fuselage under the cockpit. Later production Lancasters had Merlin 22s and later Merlin 24s. No designation change was made to denote this change.<p><a id="B_I_Special" name="B_I_Special"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">B I Special</span></h3>
<p>Adapted to take first the super-heavy Tallboy and then Grand Slam bombs. Upgraded engines with broad bladed propellers gave more power; the removal of gun turrets reduced weight and gave smoother lines. For the Tallboy, the bomb bay doors were bulged — for the Grand Slam, they were removed completely and the area faired over.<p><a id="PR_1" name="PR_1"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">PR 1</span></h3>
<p>B.I modified for photgraphic reconnaisance, operated by 82 Squadron, RAF.<p><a id="B_II" name="B_II"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">B II</span></h3>
<p>Bristol Hercules powered variant. 300 produced. These aircraft used Hercules VI or XVI engines. One difference between the two engine versions was the VI had manual mixture, leading to an extra lever on the throttle pedestal to control mixture. These aircraft were almost invariably fitted with an FN.64 under turret and bomb bay bulge.<p><a id="B_III" name="B_III"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">B III</span></h3>
<p>These aircraft were fitted with Packard built Merlin engines, and produced in parallel to the B.I. The two marks are indistinguishable externally. The minor differences between the two variants were related to the engine installation, and included the installation of slow running cut off switches in the cockpit, due to the SU Carburettors on the Packard Merlin engines.<p><a id="B_III_Special" name="B_III_Special"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">B III Special</span></h3>
<p>Variant built to take the "Upkeep" (<!--del_lnk--> bouncing) bomb for the Dambusting raids. The struts and mechanism to take the cylindrical bomb were fitted below the bomb bay and search lights fitted for the simple height measurement system. The mid upper turret was removed to save weight - the gunner was moved to the front turret to allow the bomb aimer to assist with map reading.<p><a id="ASR_III.2FASR_3" name="ASR_III.2FASR_3"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">ASR III/ASR 3</span></h3>
<p>B III modified for air-sea rescue, carrying a lifeboat in the bomb-bay.<p><a id="GR_3.2FMR_3" name="GR_3.2FMR_3"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">GR 3/MR 3</span></h3>
<p>B III modified for maritime reconnaissance.<p><a id="B_IV" name="B_IV"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">B IV</span></h3>
<p>Increased wingspan and lengthened fuselage. Two-stage Merlin 85s - later renamed <!--del_lnk--> Lincoln B 1<p><a id="B.V" name="B.V"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">B.V</span></h3>
<p>Increased wingspan and lengthened fuselage. Two-stage Merlin 85s - later renamed <!--del_lnk--> Lincoln B 2<p><a id="B_VI" name="B_VI"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">B VI</span></h3>
<p>Nine aircraft converted from B IIIs. Fitted with Merlin 85s which had two stage superchargers, for improved high altitude performance. These aircraft were only used by <!--del_lnk--> Pathfinder units, often as "Master Bomber."<p><a id="B_VII" name="B_VII"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">B VII</span></h3>
<p>The B VII was the final production version of the Lancaster. Martin 250CE mid-upper turret re-positioned slightly further forward than previous Marks. Frazer-Nash FN.82 tail turret with twin Browning 0.5 in machine guns replacing four-gun 0.303 in FN.20.<p><a id="B_X" name="B_X"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">B X</span></h3>
<p>The B X was a Canadian-built B III, differing in having Canadian/US made instrumentation and electrics. Also on later batches, the Martin 250CE was substituted for the Frazer Nash FN.50 mid upper turret. The greater weight of this turret necessitated moving the turret forward for balance reasons. Canada was a long-term user of the Lancaster, utilising modified aircraft in postwar Maritime Patrol, Search and Rescue and Photo Reconnaisance roles until 1963.<p><a id="Surviving_Aircraft" name="Surviving_Aircraft"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Surviving Aircraft</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/902.jpg.htm" title="Tail turret of an RCAF Lancaster."><img alt="Tail turret of an RCAF Lancaster." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Whoa_006.jpg" src="../../images/9/902.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/902.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Tail turret of an RCAF Lancaster.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/903.jpg.htm" title="Side Profile of a Lancaster front turret."><img alt="Side Profile of a Lancaster front turret." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lancaster_MkX_Canadian_Warplane_Heritage_Museum_1.jpg" src="../../images/9/903.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/903.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Side Profile of a Lancaster front turret.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>There are 17 known Avro Lancasters remaining in the world, two of which remain in airworthy condition, although limited flying hours remain on their airframes and actual flying is carefully rationed. One is <i>PA474</i> of the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the other is <i>FM213</i> of the <!--del_lnk--> Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.<p>Among the non-flying survivors are:<ul>
<li>B I <i>R5868</i> "S-Sugar" is the oldest surviving Lancaster. Previously "Q-Queenie," this aircraft flew 135 operations, first as "Q-Queenie" with <!--del_lnk--> No. 83 Squadron RAF from <!--del_lnk--> RAF Scampton and then as 'S-Sugar' with <!--del_lnk--> No. 463 and <!--del_lnk--> No. 467 RAAF Squadrons from <!--del_lnk--> RAF Waddington. This aircraft was the first RAF heavy bomber aircraft to complete 100 operations, and is now on display at the <!--del_lnk--> RAF Museum, Hendon.<li>B I <i>W4783</i> <!--del_lnk--> "G-George" was operated by <!--del_lnk--> No. 460 Squadron RAAF and completed 90 sorties. It was flown to Australia in the war for fundraising purposes, and was assigned the Australian serial A66-2. The aircraft was later placed on display at the <!--del_lnk--> Australian War Memorial, <a href="../../wp/c/Canberra.htm" title="Canberra">Canberra</a>, and underwent a thorough restoration between 1999 and 2003.<li>B VII <i>NX611</i> "Just Jane," served with the <!--del_lnk--> Aeronavale until the 1960s, when it was flown back to Britain. At one stage, the aircraft was kept at <a href="../../wp/b/Blackpool.htm" title="Blackpool">Blackpool</a> and following the removal of R5868, served as gate guardian at <!--del_lnk--> RAF Scampton. NX611 now resides at the <!--del_lnk--> Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre at the former <!--del_lnk--> RAF East Kirkby, and is frequently taxied on a length of the old perimeter track.<li>B VII <i>NX622</i> served with the <!--del_lnk--> Aeronavale until 1962, when it was donated to the RAAF Association. It is now beautifully restored, and displayed at the <!--del_lnk--> RAAF Association museum in Bullcreek, <!--del_lnk--> Western Australia<li>B VII <i>NX665</i> with H2S radar is preserved at <a href="../../wp/a/Auckland.htm" title="Auckland">Auckland</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Museum of Transport and Technology. This aircraft served with the <!--del_lnk--> Aeronavale until the 1960s, when it was presented to the museum. The airframe originally lacked the mid-upper turret, having been built with the mountings for a Martin 250CE. An earlier FN50 was retrofitted in the late '80s. This required modifications to the aircraft's structure as the turret mounts had to be moved rearwards.<li>B X <i>FM104</i> was donated to the City of Toronto in 1964 and placed on a pedestal on Lakeshore Drive. After sitting outside for 36 years, the aircraft was removed from the pedestal and placed on loan to the <!--del_lnk--> Toronto Aerospace Museum in Toronto, Canada. The aircraft is now under long term restoration to static display condition. With spare parts from the remainder of FM118, it is slated to be complete as a museum quality piece in 2015.<li>B X<i>FM159</i> arrived in Europe after the fighting ended and thus never saw combat. After returning to Canada and being placed in storage, it served from 1953 to 1955 with the No. 103 Search and Rescue Unit in <!--del_lnk--> Greenwood, Nova Scotia before being transferred to <!--del_lnk--> Comox, British Columbia to serve as a maritime and ice patrol aircraft. It was withdrawn from RCAF service in 1958 and purchased in 1960 by a trio of men from <!--del_lnk--> Nanton, Alberta with a view to building a war museum in their town. The aircraft is currently on display at the <!--del_lnk--> Nanton Lancaster Society Air Museum and is the only surviving Lancaster to offer guided tours of its interior.<li>Mk 10P <i>FM212</i> was withdrawn from RCAF service in 1962 and placed in storage. The city of <!--del_lnk--> Windsor, Ontario purchased the aircraft for a memorial; it was mounted on a pedestal in Jackson park in 1965. Unfortunately, weather and poor maintenance had taken their toll on the aircraft and it was removed on <!--del_lnk--> 26 May 2005. In its place are mounted a <a href="../../wp/s/Supermarine_Spitfire.htm" title="Supermarine Spitfire">Spitfire</a> and a <!--del_lnk--> Hurricane replica.<li>B X <i>KB 944</i> now in the <!--del_lnk--> Canada Aviation Museum, it was built in Canada in 1945 by <!--del_lnk--> Victory Aircraft. After serving overseas briefly, before entering long-term storage in Canada later in the same year, it went on to spend most of the following years in stored reserve, except for a brief period with 404 Maritime Patrol Squadron at Greenwood, Nova Scotia in 1952. In 1964, the RCAF refurbished this aircraft and placed it in the Force’s historical aircraft collection.</ul>
<p>See the link under <i>External links</i> for details of the known survivors.<p><a id="Military_Operators" name="Military_Operators"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Military Operators</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/a/Argentina.htm" title="Argentina">Argentina</a><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Argentine Air Force</ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Royal Australian Air Force<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> No. 460 Squadron RAAF<li><!--del_lnk--> No. 463 Squadron RAAF<li><!--del_lnk--> No. 467 Squadron RAAF</ul>
</ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Royal Canadian Air Force<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> No. 404 Squadron RCAF</ul>
</ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a><ul>
<li>Royal <!--del_lnk--> Egyptian Air Force</ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> French Navy, <!--del_lnk--> Aeronavale</ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Royal New Zealand Air Force<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> No. 75 Squadron RNZAF</ul>
</ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a><ul>
<li>(Polish Government and Army were in exile, during the duration of World War Two).</ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a><li><a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a><ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Air_Force.htm" title="Royal Air Force">Royal Air Force</a></ul>
</ul>
<p><a id="Civil_Operators" name="Civil_Operators"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Civil Operators</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>Canada <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Spartan Air Services<li><!--del_lnk--> World Wide Airways</ul>
<li>United Kingdom <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> British European Airways<li><!--del_lnk--> British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC)<li><!--del_lnk--> British South American Airways<li><!--del_lnk--> Flight Refuelling Limited<li><!--del_lnk--> Skyways Limited</ul>
</ul>
<p><a id="Specifications_.28Lancaster.29" name="Specifications_.28Lancaster.29"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Specifications (Lancaster)</span></h2>
<h3 style="padding-top: .2em;">General characteristics</h3>
<ul>
<li><b>Crew:</b> 7: <small>pilot, flight engineer, navigator, bomb aimer, wireless operator, mid-upper and rear gunners</small><li><b>Length:</b> 69 ft 5 in (21.18 m)<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Wingspan:</b> 102 ft (31.09 m)<li><b>Height:</b> 19 ft 7 in (5.97 m)<li><b>Wing area:</b> 1,300 ft² (120 m²)<li><b>Empty weight:</b> 36 828 lb (16,705 kg)<li><b>Loaded weight:</b> 63,000 lb (29,000 kg)<li><b>Powerplant:</b> 4× <!--del_lnk--> Rolls-Royce Merlin XX <!--del_lnk--> V12 engines, 1,280 hp (954 kW) each</ul>
<h3>Performance</h3>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Maximum speed:</b> 240 knots (280 mph, 450 km/h) at 15,000 ft (5,600 m)<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Range:</b> 2,300 nm (2,700 mi, 4,300 km) with minimal bomb load<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Service ceiling:</b> 23,500 ft (8,160 m)<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Wing loading:</b> 48 lb/ft² (240 kg/m²)<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Power/mass:</b> 0.081 hp/lb (130 W/kg)</ul>
<h3>Armament</h3>
<ul>
<li><b>Guns:</b> 8× 0.303 in (7.70 mm) Browning machine guns in three turrets<li><b>Bombs:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Maximum:</b> 22,000 lb (10,000 kg)<li><b>Typical:</b> 14,000 lb (6,400 kg)<li><b>For Comparison see:</b> <!--del_lnk--> Maximum Reported B-17 & B-24 Bomb Loads</ul>
</ul>
<h2> <span class="mw-headline">Related content</span></h2>
<h3>Related development</h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Avro Manchester<li><!--del_lnk--> Avro York<li><!--del_lnk--> Avro Lancastrian<li><!--del_lnk--> Avro Lincoln</ul>
<h3>Comparable aircraft</h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Handley-Page Halifax<li><!--del_lnk--> Vickers Windsor<li><!--del_lnk--> Short Stirling</ul>
<h3>Designation sequence</h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 652A - <!--del_lnk--> 679 - <strong class="selflink">683</strong> - <!--del_lnk--> 685 - <!--del_lnk--> 688 - <!--del_lnk--> 689 - <!--del_lnk--> 691</ul>
<h3>Related lists</h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> List of aircraft of the RAF</ul>
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<div class="NavHead" style="background-color:#eee; height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold; font-size: 100%; position:relative;"><b>Lists relating to <!--del_lnk--> aviation</b></div>
<div class="NavContent" style="font-size:0.9em; margin:0.5em;">
<p><!--del_lnk--> Timeline of aviation<br /><!--del_lnk--> Aircraft <span style="font-size:80%;">•</span> <!--del_lnk--> Aircraft manufacturers <span style="font-size:80%;">•</span> <!--del_lnk--> Aircraft engines <span style="font-size:80%;">•</span> <!--del_lnk--> Aircraft engine manufacturers <span style="font-size:80%;">•</span> <!--del_lnk--> Airports <span style="font-size:80%;">•</span> <!--del_lnk--> Airlines<br /><!--del_lnk--> Air forces <span style="font-size:80%;">•</span> <!--del_lnk--> Aircraft weapons <span style="font-size:80%;">•</span> <!--del_lnk--> Missiles <span style="font-size:80%;">•</span> <!--del_lnk--> Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) <small>•</small> <!--del_lnk--> Experimental aircraft<br /><!--del_lnk--> Notable airline accidents and incidents <span style="font-size:80%;">•</span> <!--del_lnk--> Famous aviation-related deaths</div>
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<p>
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<p>
<br style="clear: all;" />
<center>
<table class="toccolours">
<tr>
<td align="center" style="background:#ccddcc"><b><a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Air_Force.htm" title="Royal Air Force">RAF</a> <!--del_lnk--> strategic bombing in <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" style="background:#ccccff"><b>Overview Documents</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" style="font-size: 90%;"><!--del_lnk--> RAF Bomber Command | <!--del_lnk--> Bomber Command | <!--del_lnk--> Strategic bombing | <!--del_lnk--> Aerial bombing of cities</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" style="background:#ccccff"><b>Prominent People</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" style="font-size: 90%;">Sir <!--del_lnk--> Archibald Sinclair | Sir <!--del_lnk--> Charles Portal | <!--del_lnk--> Norman Bottomley</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" style="font-size: 90%;"><!--del_lnk--> Arthur "Bomber" Harris | Sir <!--del_lnk--> Arthur W. Tedder | Professor <!--del_lnk--> Lindemann</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" style="background:#ccccff"><b>Bombing Campaigns and Operations</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" style="font-size: 90%;"><!--del_lnk--> Augsburg | <!--del_lnk--> "Dam Busters" | <!--del_lnk--> Berlin | <!--del_lnk--> Cologne | <!--del_lnk--> Braunschweig<br /><!--del_lnk--> Dresden | <!--del_lnk--> Hamburg | <!--del_lnk--> Kassel | <!--del_lnk--> Pforzheim | <!--del_lnk--> Würzburg</td>
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<td align="center" style="font-size: 90%;"><!--del_lnk--> Aerial Defence of the United Kingdom | <!--del_lnk--> USAAF | <a href="../../wp/l/Luftwaffe.htm" title="Luftwaffe">Luftwaffe</a></td>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Axe</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Design_and_Technology.Engineering.htm">Engineering</a></h3>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/904.jpg.htm" title="Axe"><img alt="Axe" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Axt_Handwerk.jpg" src="../../images/9/904.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/904.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Axe</div>
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<p>The <b>axe</b> is an ancient and ubiquitous <!--del_lnk--> tool that has been used for <!--del_lnk--> millennia to shape, split and cut wood, <a href="../../wp/h/Harvest.htm" title="Harvest">harvest</a> <!--del_lnk--> timber, as a <a href="../../wp/w/Weapon.htm" title="Weapon">weapon</a> and a <!--del_lnk--> ceremonial or <!--del_lnk--> heraldic <!--del_lnk--> symbol. The axe has many forms and specialized uses but generally consists of an axe head with a <!--del_lnk--> handle, or helve.<p>The earliest examples of axes have heads of <!--del_lnk--> stone with some form of wooden handle attached (hafted) in a method to suit the available materials and use. Axes made of <a href="../../wp/c/Copper.htm" title="Copper">copper</a>, <!--del_lnk--> bronze, <a href="../../wp/i/Iron.htm" title="Iron">iron</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Steel.htm" title="Steel">steel</a> appeared as these technologies developed.<p>The axe is an example of a <!--del_lnk--> simple machine, as it is a type of <!--del_lnk--> wedge, or dual <!--del_lnk--> inclined plane. This reduces the effort needed by the wood chopper. It spilts the wood into two parts by the pression.<p>Most modern axes have steel heads and wooden handles (typically <!--del_lnk--> hickory) although <!--del_lnk--> plastic or <a href="../../wp/f/Fiberglass.htm" title="Fiberglass">fibreglass</a> handles are not uncommon. Modern axes are specialized by use, size and form. Hafted axes with short handles designed for use with one hand are often called hand axes but the term hand axe refers to axes without handles as well. <!--del_lnk--> Hatchets tend to be small hafted axes often with a <!--del_lnk--> hammer on the back side.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/71/7100.jpg.htm" title="Iron age axe head from Gotland"><img alt="Iron age axe head from Gotland" height="247" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Axe_of_iron_from_Swedish_Iron_Age%2C_found_at_Gotland%2C_Sweden.jpg" src="../../images/9/905.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/71/7100.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/i/Iron_Age.htm" title="Iron age">Iron age</a> axe head from <!--del_lnk--> Gotland</div>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/906.jpg.htm" title="Godfrey of Bouillon holds a Pollaxe"><img alt="Godfrey of Bouillon holds a Pollaxe" height="294" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Godefroi_4.jpg" src="../../images/9/906.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/906.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Godfrey of Bouillon holds a Pollaxe</div>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/907.jpg.htm" title="A collection of old Australian axes"><img alt="A collection of old Australian axes" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Old_axes.jpg" src="../../images/9/907.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/907.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A collection of old Australian axes</div>
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<p>Early stone tools like the <!--del_lnk--> hand axe were probably not hafted. The first true hafted axes are known from the <!--del_lnk--> Mesolithic period (ca. <!--del_lnk--> 6000 BC), where axes made from antler were used that continued to be utilized in the <!--del_lnk--> Neolithic in some areas. Chopping tools made from <!--del_lnk--> flint were hafted as <!--del_lnk--> adzes. Axes made from ground stone are known since the Neolithic. They were used to fell <a href="../../wp/t/Tree.htm" title="Tree">trees</a> and for woodworking. Few wooden hafts have been found, but it seems that the axe was normally hafted by wedging. <!--del_lnk--> Birch-tar and raw-<!--del_lnk--> hide lashings were used to fix the blade. Since the late Neolithic (<!--del_lnk--> Michelsberg culture, <!--del_lnk--> Cortaillod culture) very small axe blades of a rectangular shape became common. They were hafted with an <!--del_lnk--> antler sleeve. This prevented both the splitting of the haft and softened the impact on the stone blade itself.<p>The earlier Neolithic axe blades were made by first knapping and then grinding a stone. By late Neolithic times, sawing (wooden <!--del_lnk--> saws and sand) became common. This allowed a more efficient use of the raw material. In <!--del_lnk--> Scandinavia, Northern <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a> axe blades made from knapped and polished <!--del_lnk--> flint were common.<p>Stone axes are quite efficient tools; using one, it takes about 10 minutes to fell a <!--del_lnk--> hardwood <!--del_lnk--> ash tree of 10 cm diameter, one to two hours for an ash of 30 cm diameter. (Modern comparison: 25 cm <!--del_lnk--> softwood <!--del_lnk--> white pine, standing chop, under two minutes with a 3.5 kg competition felling axe.)<p>From the late Neolithic onwards (<!--del_lnk--> Pfyn-Altheim cultures) flat axes were made of <a href="../../wp/c/Copper.htm" title="Copper">copper</a> or copper mixed with <a href="../../wp/a/Arsenic.htm" title="Arsenic">Arsenic</a>. Bronze axes are found since the early <a href="../../wp/b/Bronze_Age.htm" title="Bronze Age">Bronze Age</a> (A2). The flat axe developed into <!--del_lnk--> palstaves, flanged axes and later winged and socketed axes. The so-called "<!--del_lnk--> Battle-axe people" of <!--del_lnk--> 3rd millennium BC Europe has been suggested to correspond to early <!--del_lnk--> Proto-Indo-Europeans, ancestors of the later <!--del_lnk--> Celtic and <!--del_lnk--> Germanic tribes. Axes also were an important part in the Chinese weaponry.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Proto-Indo-European word for "axe" may have been <i>pelek'u-</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Greek <i>pelekus</i> πέλεκυς, <a href="../../wp/s/Sanskrit.htm" title="Sanskrit">Sanskrit</a> <i>parashu</i>, see also <!--del_lnk--> Parashurama), but the word was probably a loan, or a neolithic <!--del_lnk--> wanderwort, ultimately related to <!--del_lnk--> Sumerian <i>balag</i>, <!--del_lnk--> Akkadian <i>pilaku-</i> (see also <!--del_lnk--> Labrys).<p>Late Neolithic 'axe <!--del_lnk--> factories', where thousands of ground stone axes were roughed out are known from <a href="../../wp/g/Great_Britain.htm" title="Great Britain">Great Britain</a> (for example <!--del_lnk--> Great Langdale in <!--del_lnk--> Cumbria), <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Ireland</a> (<!--del_lnk--> Lambay Island, <!--del_lnk--> Porphyry, <!--del_lnk--> Rathlin Island and <!--del_lnk--> Tievebulliagh, porcellanite) Poland (<!--del_lnk--> Krzemionki, <!--del_lnk--> flint), <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> (<!--del_lnk--> Plancher-les-Mines, Vosges, <!--del_lnk--> pelite, <!--del_lnk--> Plussulien, <!--del_lnk--> Brittany, meta-<!--del_lnk--> dolerite) and <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a> (Val de'Aoste, <!--del_lnk--> omphacite. The distribution of stone axes is an important indication of <!--del_lnk--> prehistoric <!--del_lnk--> trade. <!--del_lnk--> thin sectioning is used to determine the provenance of ground stone axe blades.<p>Stone axes are still produced and in use today in parts of <!--del_lnk--> Irian Jaya, <!--del_lnk--> New Guinea. The <!--del_lnk--> Mount Hagen area was an important production centre.<p><a id="Symbolism.2C_ritual_and_folklore" name="Symbolism.2C_ritual_and_folklore"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Symbolism, ritual and folklore</span></h2>
<p>At least since the late Neolithic, elaborate axes (battle-axes, T-axes, etc.) had a <a href="../../wp/r/Religion.htm" title="Religion">religious</a> significance as well and probably indicated the exalted <!--del_lnk--> status of their owner. Certain types almost never show traces of wear; deposits of unshafted axe blades from the middle Neolithic (such as Somerset Levels in Great Britain) may have been gifts to the <a href="../../wp/g/God.htm" title="God">gods</a>. In Minoan Crete, the <!--del_lnk--> double axe (labrys) had a special meaning. Double axes date back to the Neolithic as well. In <!--del_lnk--> 1998, a <!--del_lnk--> double axe, complete with an elaborately embellished haft, has been found at Cham-Eslen, <!--del_lnk--> Canton of Zug, <a href="../../wp/s/Switzerland.htm" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a>. The haft was 120 cm long and wrapped in ornamented birch-bark. The axe blade is 17,4 cm long and made of <!--del_lnk--> antigorite, mined in the <!--del_lnk--> Gotthard-area. The haft goes through a biconical drilled hole and is fastened by wedges of antler and by birch-tar. It belongs to the early <!--del_lnk--> Cortaillod culture.<p>In the <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Rome.htm" title="Ancient Rome">Roman</a> <i><!--del_lnk--> fasces</i>, the axe symbolized the <!--del_lnk--> authority to <!--del_lnk--> decapitate and were often used as symbols for Fascist Italy under Moussilini.<p>In <a href="../../wp/f/Folklore.htm" title="Folklore">folklore</a>, stone axes were sometimes believed to be <!--del_lnk--> thunderbolts and were used to guard buildings against <!--del_lnk--> lightning, as it was believed (<!--del_lnk--> mythically) that <!--del_lnk--> lightning never struck the same place twice. This has caused some skewing of axe distributions.<p><a href="../../wp/s/Steel.htm" title="Steel">Steel</a> axes were important in <!--del_lnk--> superstition as well. A thrown axe could keep off a <!--del_lnk--> hailstorm, sometimes an axe was placed in the <!--del_lnk--> crops, with the cutting edge to the skies to protect the <a href="../../wp/h/Harvest.htm" title="Harvest">harvest</a> against bad <a href="../../wp/w/Weather.htm" title="Weather">weather</a>. An upright axe buried under the <!--del_lnk--> sill of a house would keep off <!--del_lnk--> witches, while an axe under the bed would assure <!--del_lnk--> male <!--del_lnk--> offspring.<p><!--del_lnk--> Basques and <!--del_lnk--> Australians have developed variants of <!--del_lnk--> rural sports that perpetuate the traditions of log cutting with axe. The Basque variants, splitting horizontally or vertically disposed logs, are generically called <i>aizkolaritza</i> (from <i>aizkora</i>: axe).<p><a id="Parts_of_the_Axe" name="Parts_of_the_Axe"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Parts of the Axe</span></h2>
<p>The axe is comprised of two primary components, the axe <i>head</i>, and the <i>haft</i>.<p>The <b>Axe Head</b> is typically bounded by the <i>bit</i> (or blade) at one end, and the <i>poll</i> (or butt) at the other, though some designs feature two bits opposite each other. The top corner of the bit where the cutting edge begins is called the <i>toe</i>, and the bottom corner is known as the <i>heel</i>. Either side of the head is called the <i>cheek</i>, which is sometimes supplemented by <i>lugs</i> where the head meets the haft, and the hole where the haft is mounted is called the <i>eye</i>. The part of the bit that descends below the rest of the axe-head is called the beard, and a <i>bearded axe</i> is an antiquated axe head with an exaggerated beard that can sometimes extend the cutting edge twice the height of the rest of the head.<p>The <b>Axe Haft</b> is sometimes called the handle. Traditionally, it was made of a resilient hardwood like hickory or ash, but modern axes often have hafts made of durable synthetic materials. Antique axes and their modern reproductions, like the <!--del_lnk--> tomahawk, often had a simple, straight haft with a circular cross-section that wedged onto the axe-head without the aid of wedges or pins. Modern hafts are curved for better grip and to aid in the swinging motion, and are mounted securely to the head. The <i>shoulder</i> is where the head mounts onto the haft, and this is either a long oval or rectangular cross-section of the haft that's secured to the axe head with small metal or wooden wedges. The <i>belly</i> of the haft is the longest part, where it bows in gently, and the throat is where it curves sharply down into to the short <i>grip</i>, just before end of the haft, which is known as the <i>knob</i>.<p><a id="Forms_of_Axes" name="Forms_of_Axes"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Forms of Axes</span></h2>
<p><a id="Axes_designed_to_cut_or_shape_wood" name="Axes_designed_to_cut_or_shape_wood"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Axes designed to cut or shape wood</span></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/909.jpg.htm" title="Splitting axe"><img alt="Splitting axe" height="226" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Axt_zum_spalten1.jpg" src="../../images/9/909.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/909.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Splitting axe</div>
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<ul>
<li><b>Felling axe</b> — Cuts across the grain of wood, as in the felling of trees. In single or double bit (the bit is the cutting edge of the head) forms and many different weights, shapes, handle types and cutting geometries to match the characteristics of the material being cut.<li><b>Splitting Axe</b> — Used to split with the grain of the wood. Splitting axe bits are more wedge shaped. This shape causes the axe to rend the fibres of the wood apart, without having to cut through them, especially if the blow is delivered with a twisting action at impact.<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Broad axe</b> — Used with the grain of the wood in precision splitting. Broad axe bits are <!--del_lnk--> chisel-shaped (one flat and one bevelled edge) facilitating more controlled work.<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Adze</b> — A variation featuring a head perpendicular to that of an axe. Rather than splitting wood side-by-side, it is used to rip a level surface into a horizontal piece of wood.</ul>
<p><a id="Axes_as_weapons" name="Axes_as_weapons"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Axes as weapons</span></h3>
<p><a id="Mel.C3.A9e" name="Mel.C3.A9e"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Melée</span></h4>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/910.jpg.htm" title="Replicas of battle axes"><img alt="Replicas of battle axes" height="333" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Axes01.jpg" src="../../images/9/910.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/910.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Replicas of battle axes</div>
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<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Battle axe</b> — In its most common form, an arm-length weapon borne in one or both hands. Compared to a <!--del_lnk--> sword swing, it delivers more cleaving power against a smaller target area, making it more effective against armor.<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Tomahawk</b> — practically synonymous with the <!--del_lnk--> Native American, its blade was originally crafted of stone. Along with the familiar war version, which could be fashioned as a throwing weapon, the pipe tomahawk was a ceremonial and diplomatic tool.<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Valaška</b> — used by <!--del_lnk--> Slovak shepherds, it could double as a <!--del_lnk--> walking stick.<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Ono</b> — a <!--del_lnk--> Japanese weapon wielded by <i><!--del_lnk--> sōhei</i> warrior monks.</ul>
<p><a id="Pole_Arm" name="Pole_Arm"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Pole Arm</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Halberd</b> — a <!--del_lnk--> spearlike weapon with a hooked poll, effective against mounted <!--del_lnk--> cavalry.<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Pole axe</b> — designed to defeat <!--del_lnk--> plate armor. Its axe (or hammer) head is much narrower than other axes, which accounts for its penetrating power.<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Danish axe</b> — A long-handled weapon with a thin, wide blade, often attributed to the <a href="../../wp/v/Viking.htm" title="Viking">Vikings</a>.<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Urgrosh</b> — a fictional weapon wielded by the <!--del_lnk--> dwarves of <!--del_lnk--> Dungeons & Dragons lore. The shaft of the axe terminates into a spear, making it dual-headed.</ul>
<p><a id="Ranged" name="Ranged"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Ranged</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Throwing axe</b> — Any of a number of <!--del_lnk--> ranged weapons designed to strike with a similar splitting action as their <!--del_lnk--> melée counterparts. These are often small in profile and useable with one hand.<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Hurlbat</b> — An entirely metal throwing axe sharpened on every auxiliary end to a point or blade, practically guaranteeing some form of damage against its target.<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Francisca</b> or <b><a href="../../wp/f/Franks.htm" title="Franks">Frankish</a> axe</b> — a shaftless throwing weapon, the name of which became that of its people and its nation, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>.</ul>
<p><a id="Axes_for_other_uses" name="Axes_for_other_uses"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Axes for other uses</span></h3>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/911.jpg.htm" title="Firefighter with a fire axe"><img alt="Firefighter with a fire axe" height="260" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Firefighter_with_axe.jpg" src="../../images/9/911.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/911.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Firefighter with a fire axe</div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Firefighter's Axe/Fire Axe</b> — It has a pick-shaped pointed poll (area of the head opposite the cutting edge). It is often decorated in vivid colors to make it easily visible during an emergency.<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Pulaski</b> — An axe with a <!--del_lnk--> mattock blade built into the rear of the main axe blade, used for digging ('grubbing out') through and around roots as well as chopping. In addition to the <!--del_lnk--> McCloud (a tool similar to a hoe/rake combination), the pulaski is an indispensable tool used in fighting <!--del_lnk--> forest fires, as well as trail-building, brush clearance and similar functions.<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Maul</b> — A splitting implement that has evolved from the simple 'wedge' design to more complex designs. Some mauls have a conical 'axehead'; compound mauls have swivelling 'sub-wedges', among other types; others have a heavy wedge-shaped head, with a <!--del_lnk--> sledgehammer face opposite.</ul>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/912.jpg.htm" title="Climbing axes from circa 1872"><img alt="Climbing axes from circa 1872" height="250" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Travellers%27_Axe_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_14861.jpg" src="../../images/9/912.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">Climbing axes from circa 1872</div>
</div>
</div>
<ul>
<li><b>Climbing/Ice Axe</b> — A number of different styles of <!--del_lnk--> ice axe are designed for ice <!--del_lnk--> climbing, and, though less used today than in previous times, for rock work, especially in enlarging steps used by climbers.</ul>
<p>In the illustration to the left, from an <!--del_lnk--> 1872 "Art of Travel" publication, figure 1 represents a light axe or <!--del_lnk--> pick which has the great advantage of lightness and handiness, with a single blade, or <!--del_lnk--> adze, suited to step-cutting and with a small hammer-head at the back which balances the pick, and is useful in inserting pegs into rock and ice. Figure 2 represents a travellers' axe, slightly heavier than the first, and which, at least at the time, was recommended as adapted for mountain work of all kinds.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Literature</span></h2>
<p><a id="Neolithic_axes" name="Neolithic_axes"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Neolithic axes</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>W. Borkowski, Krzemionki mining complex (Warszawa 1995)<li>P. Pétrequin, La hache de pierre: carrières vosgiennes et échanges de lames polies pendant le néolithique (5400 - 2100 av. J.-C.) (exposition musées d'Auxerre Musée d'Art et d'Histoire) (Paris, Ed. Errance, 1995).<li>R. Bradley/M. Edmonds, Interpreting the axe trade: production and exchange in Neolithic Britain (1993).<li>P. Pétrequin/A.M. Pétrequin, Écologie d'un outil: la hache de pierre en <!--del_lnk--> Irian Jaya (Indonésie). CNRS Éditions, Mongr. du Centre Rech. Arch. 12 (Paris 1993).</ul>
<p><a id="Superstition" name="Superstition"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Superstition</span></h3>
<p>H. Bächtold-Stäubli, Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens (Berlin, De Gruyter 1987).<p><a id="Axe_Manufacturers" name="Axe_Manufacturers"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Axe Manufacturers</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Muller-Hammerwerk<li><!--del_lnk--> World of Axes<li><!--del_lnk--> Oxhead<li><!--del_lnk--> Hultafors<li><!--del_lnk--> Snow and Neally<li><!--del_lnk--> Council Tool<li><!--del_lnk--> Ames<li><!--del_lnk--> Peavy Maufacturing<li><!--del_lnk--> Vaughan Manufacturing<li><!--del_lnk--> Country Workshops<li><!--del_lnk--> Gransfors<li><!--del_lnk--> Fiskars</ul>
<p><b>A.MANSUKHLAL & CO</b> www.geocities.com/kwood_jam<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axe"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Ayaan Hirsi Ali</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.People.Political_People.htm">Political People</a></h3>
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<table class="infobox" style="width: 20em; font-size: 90%;">
<caption style="font-size:larger;"><b>Ayaan Hirsi Ali</b></caption>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/167/16765.jpg.htm" title=" "><img alt=" " height="300" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ayaan-Hirsi-Ali-VVD.NL-1200x1600.JPG" src="../../images/167/16765.jpg" width="225" /></a><br />
</td>
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<tr style="vertical-align: top;">
<th>Born</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> November 13, <!--del_lnk--> 1969<br /><a href="../../wp/m/Mogadishu.htm" title="Mogadishu">Mogadishu</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Somalia.htm" title="Somalia">Somalia</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Known for</th>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Submission</i><br /><i><!--del_lnk--> The Caged Virgin</i><br /><i><!--del_lnk--> The Infidel</i></td>
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<tr>
<th>Occupation</th>
<td>politician, author, film maker</td>
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<tr>
<th>Political party</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> People's Party for Freedom and Democracy</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Religion</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Atheist</td>
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</table>
<p><b>Ayaan Hirsi Ali</b> (<span class="unicode audiolink"><!--del_lnk--> pronunciation</span> ), born <i>Ayaan Hirsi Magan</i> <!--del_lnk--> 13 November <!--del_lnk--> 1969 in <a href="../../wp/m/Mogadishu.htm" title="Mogadishu">Mogadishu</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Somalia.htm" title="Somalia">Somalia</a>, is a <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Dutch</a> <!--del_lnk--> feminist and <!--del_lnk--> politician, daughter of <!--del_lnk--> Hirsi Magan Isse. She is a prominent (and often controversial) author, film maker, and <!--del_lnk--> critic of Islam. She was a member of the <!--del_lnk--> Tweede Kamer (the <!--del_lnk--> Lower House of the <!--del_lnk--> States-General of the Netherlands) for the <!--del_lnk--> People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) from <!--del_lnk--> January 30, <!--del_lnk--> 2003 until <!--del_lnk--> May 16, <!--del_lnk--> 2006.<p>Hirsi Ali has had to maintain a high level of security due to threats against her life for voicing views critical of <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a>. For example, her film <i><!--del_lnk--> Submission</i>, directed by <!--del_lnk--> Theo van Gogh (who himself was assassinated for this film), made her one of the targets of the <!--del_lnk--> Hofstad Network.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> May 15, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, officials of the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a> government cast doubt on Hirsi Ali's status as a Dutch <a href="../../wp/n/Nationality.htm" title="Nationality">national</a>, because she provided false information in her application for <!--del_lnk--> refugee status in the Netherlands. She later used the same false information when she applied for, and was granted, Dutch citizenship. The Dutch minister of immigration and integration, <!--del_lnk--> Rita Verdonk, moved to annul her citizenship, a move that was later overridden on the urging of Parliament. She released to the <i><!--del_lnk--> New York Times</i> personal letters from her father and other family members that affirmed her story about fleeing a forced marriage. On <!--del_lnk--> June 27, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, the Dutch government announced that Hirsi Ali would keep her Dutch citizenship after she signed the <!--del_lnk--> mea culpa dictate that indirectly lead to the fall of the <!--del_lnk--> second Balkenende cabinet.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> May 16, Hirsi Ali announced her resignation from parliament and confirmed her previous statement that she would move to the United States to work at the <!--del_lnk--> American Enterprise Institute, a pro-market economics <!--del_lnk--> think tank. Her prospective arrival in September 2006 was welcomed by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State <!--del_lnk--> Robert Zoellick.<p>
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</script><a id="Biography" name="Biography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Biography</span></h2>
<p><a id="Youth" name="Youth"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Youth</span></h3>
<p>Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in <a href="../../wp/s/Somalia.htm" title="Somalia">Somalia</a> into the <!--del_lnk--> Majeerteen sub-clan of the <!--del_lnk--> Darod clan. Her first name, Ayaan, means "lucky person" or "luck" in the <!--del_lnk--> Somali language. Her father, <!--del_lnk--> Hirsi Magan Isse, was a prominent member of the <!--del_lnk--> Somali Salvation Democratic Front and a leading figure in the civil war of Somalia. Although her father, who had studied in <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a> and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, was opposed to <!--del_lnk--> female genital cutting, a Somali tradition, when Hirsi Ali was five years old her grandmother had the procedure performed on her while her father was abroad.<p>When she was six, her family left the country for <a href="../../wp/s/Saudi_Arabia.htm" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a>, later moving to <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a> and then to <a href="../../wp/k/Kenya.htm" title="Kenya">Kenya</a>, where the family obtained <!--del_lnk--> political asylum. In Kenya she attended the <!--del_lnk--> English-language <i>Muslim Girls' Secondary School</i> in Nairobi under sponsorship of the <!--del_lnk--> UNCHR, where, for a brief period she received guest lessons from a fundamentalist teacher called Aziza. Following the invasion by the secular nation of <a href="../../wp/i/Iraq.htm" title="Iraq">Iraq</a> of the Islamic republic of <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a>, she sympathised with Iran, and the Islamist <!--del_lnk--> Muslim Brotherhood, and wore a <i>hijab</i> (full head-scarf) together with her school uniform. After secondary school she attended a secretarial course at the <i>Valley College</i> in Nairobi (near Yaya centre) for one year.<p><a id="Pre-political_career" name="Pre-political_career"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Pre-political career</span></h3>
<p>Hirsi Ali arrived in the Netherlands in 1992. There is considerable lack of clarity about the events leading up to her arrival, because she has since admitted to making false statements in her application for asylum.<p>Hirsi Ali maintains that in 1992 her father arranged for her to marry a distant cousin living in <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>. Her family has denied this, however. It is not disputed that in 1992 she traveled from <a href="../../wp/k/Kenya.htm" title="Kenya">Kenya</a> to visit family in <a href="../../wp/d/D%25C3%25BCsseldorf.htm" title="Düsseldorf">Düsseldorf</a> and <a href="../../wp/b/Berlin.htm" title="Berlin">Berlin</a>, Germany. Others have put the story of her forced marriage in doubt. After a brief stay in Germany, she decided to go to the Netherlands instead of Canada.<p>Once in the Netherlands, she requested <!--del_lnk--> political asylum and received a residence permit. It is not known on what grounds she received political asylum. Legally, since her first stop was in Germany, she should have applied for asylum there. Also she had already resided in and had been granted refugee status in <a href="../../wp/k/Kenya.htm" title="Kenya">Kenya</a>, a safe country. In the Netherlands, she gave a false name and date of birth to the Dutch immigration authorities. She is known in the West by her assumed name, Hirsi Ali, instead of her original name, Hirsi Magan. On the advice of her aunt, she told the immigration authorities that she had come straight from Somalia, instead of Kenya where she had been living for eleven years. In Somalia there was a serious famine at that time and a civil war leading to the <!--del_lnk--> Operation Restore Hope by the United States. Due to these circumstances, asylum seekers from Somalia were routinely granted asylum on humanitarian grounds. Hirsi Ali received a residence permit within three weeks on arrival in the Netherlands.<p>After receiving asylum, she held various short-term jobs, ranging from <!--del_lnk--> cleaning to <!--del_lnk--> mail sorting. During this time she took courses in <a href="../../wp/d/Dutch_language.htm" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a> and a one-year course in <!--del_lnk--> Social Work. Following her initial studies, she studied <a href="../../wp/p/Political_science.htm" title="Political science">political science</a> at the <!--del_lnk--> University of Leiden until 2000. Between 1995 and 2001, she worked as an independent interpreter and translator for many years speaking for Somali women in asylum centres, hostels for battered women (an experience that has marked her deeply) and the National Migration Service.<p>She saw at firsthand the way certain practices she thought she had left behind in Africa continued in the West. While working for the NMS, she saw inside the workings of the Dutch IND migration system. She was heavily critical of the way the Dutch system handled asylum seekers. .<p><a id="Political_career" name="Political_career"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Political career</span></h3>
<p>After earning her masters in political science, Hirsi Ali became a fellow at the <!--del_lnk--> Wiardi Beckman Foundation, a scientific institute linked to the social-democratic <!--del_lnk--> PvdA, of which Leiden University Professor <!--del_lnk--> Ruud Koole was steward.<p>Inspired by the <!--del_lnk--> Atheist Manifesto (Atheistisch Manifest) of Leiden philosopher <!--del_lnk--> Herman Philipse, she renounced Islam and became an <a href="../../wp/a/Atheism.htm" title="Atheism">atheist</a>. During this period she began to formulate her critique on Islamic culture, which she put to words in a book <i><!--del_lnk--> De Zoontjesfabriek</i> ("The Son Factory"). After the publication of this book, she received the first threats on her life.<p>After some disagreements with the PvdA about the lack of security measures in November 2002, she asked <!--del_lnk--> Cisca Dresselhuys (the editor of the feminst magazine <!--del_lnk--> Opzij) for advice. Dresselhuis introduced Hirsi Ali to <!--del_lnk--> Gerrit Zalm, the parliamentary leader of VVD and party member <!--del_lnk--> Neelie-Smit Kroes, current European Commissioner for Competition. Hirsi Ali agreed to switch to the VVD and stood for election to the parliament. She was staying abroad and put on the payroll as an assistant of the VVD <!--del_lnk--> parliamentary party between November 2002 and January 2003. From January 2003 to June 2006 she worked as a shortlisted MP for that party. She was forced to step down as an MP when minister Verdonk (also VVD) announced that the Dutch nationality of Hirsi Ali had to be considered as invalid because Ayaan admitted in a television interview that it had been acquired using a false name and a false date of birth.<p>Because of her statements about the Islamic prophet <a href="../../wp/m/Muhammad.htm" title="Muhammad">Muhammad</a> in a <a href="#Muhammad" title="">Trouw interview</a>, a discrimination complaint was filed against Hirsi Ali on <!--del_lnk--> April 24, <!--del_lnk--> 2003. The Prosecutor's office decided not to prosecute her, because her critique did "not put forth any conclusions in respect to Muslims and their worth as a group is not denied..<p>Hirsi Ali wrote the script for <i><!--del_lnk--> Submission</i>, a short, low-budget film directed by <!--del_lnk--> Theo van Gogh. The film criticized the treatment of women in Islamic society. One woman was provocatively dressed in a semi-transparent <!--del_lnk--> burqa, under which texts from the <a href="../../wp/q/Qur%2527an.htm" title="Qur'an">Qur'an</a> were projected on her skin. The texts referred to the subordinate role of women. Other women in the film showed signs of physical abuse. In addition to writing the script, Hirsi Ali also provided the voice-over. The release of the film sparked much controversy, as well as violent reaction, when radical Islamist <!--del_lnk--> Mohammed Bouyeri gunned down Van Gogh in an <a href="../../wp/a/Amsterdam.htm" title="Amsterdam">Amsterdam</a> street on <!--del_lnk--> November 2, <!--del_lnk--> 2004. A letter pinned to Van Gogh's body with a knife was primarily a death threat to Hirsi Ali.<p>Earlier that year, the group "The Hague Connection" produced and distributed the rap song <i><!--del_lnk--> Hirsi Ali Dis</i> on the Internet. The lyrics of this song included violent threats against Hirsi Ali's life. The rappers were prosecuted under Article 121 of the Dutch criminal code, because they hindered the execution of Hirsi Ali's tasks as politician. In 2005 the rappers were sentenced to community service and a suspended prison sentence.<p>After the incident, Hirsi Ali went into hiding in the Netherlands, and even spent some time in <!--del_lnk--> New York, a situation which lasted until <!--del_lnk--> January 18, <!--del_lnk--> 2005, when she returned to parliament. On <!--del_lnk--> February 18, 2005, she revealed the location of herself and her colleague <!--del_lnk--> Geert Wilders, who had also been in hiding. She demanded a normal, secured house, which she was granted one week later.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> November 16, 2005, Hirsi Ali reported being seriously threatened by the <!--del_lnk--> Imam <!--del_lnk--> Sachemic FAA. This Imam, who worked in a <a href="../../wp/m/Mosque.htm" title="Mosque">mosque</a> in <a href="../../wp/t/The_Hague.htm" title="The Hague">The Hague</a>, announced on the Internet that Hirsi Ali would be "blown away by the wind of changing times" and that she could anticipate "the curse of Allah".<p>In January 2006, Hirsi Ali used her acceptance speech for the <!--del_lnk--> Reader's Digest "European of the Year" award to urge action to prevent Iran from developing <a href="../../wp/n/Nuclear_weapon.htm" title="Nuclear weapon">nuclear weapons</a> and to say that <!--del_lnk--> Mahmoud Ahmadinejad must be taken at his word in wanting to organize a conference to investigate objective evidence of the <a href="../../wp/t/The_Holocaust.htm" title="Holocaust">Holocaust</a>. "Before I came to Europe, I'd never heard of the Holocaust. That is the case with millions of people in the Middle East. Such a conference should be able to convince many people away from their denial of the genocide against the Jews."<p>She also said that "so-called Western values" of freedom and justice are universal; that Europe has done far better than most areas of the world at providing justice, because it has guaranteed the freedom of thought and debate that are required for critical self-examination; and that communities cannot reform themselves unless "scrupulous investigation of every former and current doctrine is possible."<p>In March 2006 a letter she co-signed entitled <i><!--del_lnk--> MANIFESTO: Together facing the new totalitarianism</i> with eleven other individuals (most notably <!--del_lnk--> Salman Rushdie) was published in response to violent and deadly protests in the <!--del_lnk--> Islamic world surrounding the <a href="../../wp/j/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_controversy.htm" title="Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy">Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy</a>.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> April 27 a Dutch judge ruled that Hirsi Ali had to abandon her house - a highly secured secret address in the Netherlands. Her neighbours had complained that living next to her was an unacceptable security risk to them although the police had testified in court that it was one of the safest places in the country due to the many personnel they had assigned there.<p>Hirsi Ali is currently working on a successor to <i>Submission</i>, which will probably deal with the position of homosexuals in Islam.<p><a id="The_citizenship_controversy" name="The_citizenship_controversy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The citizenship controversy</span></h3>
<p>In May 2006 the Dutch television program "Zembla" reported that Hirsi Ali had given false information about her real name, her age and the country she arrived from when originally applying for asylum in the Netherlands. The program also presented evidence that she was untruthful about the main reason for her asylum application being forced marriage.<p>Hirsi Ali admitted that she had lied about her full name, her date of birth and the manner in which she came to the Netherlands. However, several sources, including her first book <i><!--del_lnk--> The Son Factory</i>, which was published in 2002 stated her real name and date of birth, and Hirsi Ali also publicly stated her real name and date of birth in a September 2002 interview published in the political magazine <!--del_lnk--> HP/De Tijd. and in an interview in the <i>VARA gids</i> (2002). So these details were considered by many to be public knowledge. Furthermore, Hirsi Ali has asserted that she had made full disclosure of the matter to <!--del_lnk--> VVD officials when she was first invited to run for parliament in 2002.<p>Media speculation arose that she could lose her Dutch citizenship because of this 'identity fraud', rendering her ineligible for parliament. In a first reaction Minister <!--del_lnk--> Rita Verdonk said she would not look into the matter, but after Member of Parliament <!--del_lnk--> Hilbrand Nawijn officially asked her for her position, she declared that she would investigate Hirsi Ali's naturalisation process. This investigation took three days. The findings were that Hirsi Ali never received Dutch citizenship after all, because she lied about her name and date of birth. Hirsi Ali had stated that she was Ayaan Hirsi Ali, born in 1967, but she is actually Ayaan Hirsi Magan, born in 1969. Therefore the Dutch government's position is that Hirsi Ali's Dutch citizenship is invalid and declared null and void.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> May 15, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, after the broadcast of the "Zembla" documentary, news stories erupted saying that Hirsi Ali is likely to move to the United States in September 2006. There she is expected to work on her book <i>Shortcut to Enlightenment</i> and work for the <!--del_lnk--> centre-right <!--del_lnk--> think tank <!--del_lnk--> American Enterprise Institute.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> May 16, Hirsi Ali resigned from Parliament after admitting to lying on her asylum application. On that day she gave a press conference in which she restated that although she felt it was wrong to be granted asylum under false pretences, the facts had been publicly known since 2002 when they were reported in the media and in one of her publications. In the press conference she also restated that she spoke the truth about the reason for asking asylum which was the threat of forced marriage despite the claim to the contrary in the Zembla program by some of her relatives. The reason, she stated for resigning immediately were not the continuous threats, making her job as a parliamentarian "difficult" but "not impossible" but the news that the Minister would strip her of her Dutch citizenship.<p>After a long and emotional debate in the Dutch Parliament all major parties supported a <!--del_lnk--> motion, requesting the Minister to explore the possibilities of special circumstances in Hirsi Ali's case. Although Verdonk remains convinced that <!--del_lnk--> jurisprudence does not leave her any room to consider such circumstances, she decided to accept the motion. During the debate she astonished MPs by claiming that Hirsi Ali still has Dutch citizenship during the period of reexamination. Apparently the decision she made public, wasn't a decision after all, but merely a report of the current position of the Dutch government. Hirsi Ali still has six weeks to react to this before any final decision about her citizenship is taken. Verdonk was heavily criticized for not acting more prudently in a case that has so many political implications.<p>Apart from a Dutch passport, Hirsi Ali does still have a Dutch <!--del_lnk--> residency permit (similar to a <!--del_lnk--> Permanent Resident Card) on the grounds that she is a political refugee. According to the Minister, this permit cannot be taken away from her since it was granted more than 12 years ago, in 1992.<p>In a reaction to the announced move, former VVD minister <!--del_lnk--> Hans Wiegel stated that her departure "would not be a loss to the <!--del_lnk--> VVD and not be a loss to the <!--del_lnk--> Tweede Kamer". Wiegel said that Hirsi Ali was a brave woman, but that her opinions were polarizing. Former parliamentary leader of the VVD, <!--del_lnk--> Jozias van Aartsen, was more positive about Hirsi Ali, saying that it is "painful for Dutch society and politics that she is leaving the Tweede Kamer". Another VVD MP, <!--del_lnk--> Bibi de Vries, claimed that if something were to happen to Hirsi Ali, some people in her party would have "blood on their hands." <!--del_lnk--> Laetitia Griffith succeeded Hirsi Ali as parliamentarian.<p><!--del_lnk--> Christopher DeMuth (President of the AEI) has confirmed in a letter that recent events in the Netherlands will not affect the appointment. On May 16 he stated that he was still looking forward to "welcoming her to AEI, and to America."<p><!--del_lnk--> United States Deputy Secretary of State <!--del_lnk--> Robert Zoellick has later stated that "we recognise that she is a very courageous and impressive woman and she is welcome in the US."<p>On May 23 2006 Ayaan Hirsi made available to the <i><!--del_lnk--> The New York Times</i> some letters she believes provide insights into her 1992 asylum application. In one letter, her sister warned her that the entire extended family was searching for her (after fleeing to the Netherlands) and in another letter her father denounced her.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:102px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16766.jpg.htm" title="Rita Verdonk"><img alt="Rita Verdonk" height="140" longdesc="/wiki/Image:RVerdonk.jpg" src="../../images/167/16766.jpg" width="100" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16766.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Rita Verdonk</div>
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<p>On June 27, 2006, the Dutch government announced that Hirsi Ali would keep her Dutch citizenship. On the same day a letter was disclosed in which Hirsi Ali expressed regret that she had misinformed Minister Verdonk. Apparently Hirsi Ali was allowed after all to carry the name Hirsi Ali because the Dutch government believes that Somalis are allowed to carry the name of their grandfather according to Somali family law. As it turned out, her grandfather used the last name Ali until his thirties and only then switched to Magan. The fact that this grandfather was born in 1840 complicated the investigation. Also, the issue of the false date of birth on retrospection was not that important according to the Minister.<p>Later in the same day Hirsi Ali through her lawyer and in television interviews made a statement declaring that she signed the letter which was drafted by the Justice Department under duress. She felt she was pressured into signing the statement in exchange for the passport but that she agreed to do this, swallowing her pride and in order not to complicate her pending visa application for the US (although to this date she still carries her Dutch passport, despite the upheaval). An intimate friend of Hirsi Ali, <!--del_lnk--> Leon de Winter presented in his weblog a detailed account of events taking place on June 27 leading to Hirsi Ali signing the statement confirming in his view, the involuntary nature of her action.<p>In a special parliamentary session on June 28 questions were raised concerning the alleged coercion of the Hirsi Ali statement by minister Verdonk, the dismissal by the minister of the false date of birth as a relevant issue and whether Somali law prevails over Dutch law.<p>The ensuing political upheaval on June 29 ultimately lead to the fall of the <!--del_lnk--> Second Balkenende cabinet.<p><a id="Political_views" name="Political_views"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Political views</span></h2>
<p>Hirsi Ali is a member of the VVD, a Dutch political party that combines right wing views on the economy, foreign policy, crime and immigration with a liberal stance on drugs, abortion and homosexuals. She claims to be a great admirer of one of the party's ideological leaders <!--del_lnk--> Frits Bolkestein (former Euro-commissioner). Ali received substantial criticism as a result of her defection from the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) to the VVD. By way of response she has asserted that she will show greater loyalty to the VVD. She claims that her personal views are for the most part inspired by her change from a Muslim to an atheist. Hirsi Ali is very critical of Islam, and especially of the prophet Muhammad and the position of women in Islam.<p><a id="Islam" name="Islam"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Islam</span></h3>
<p>Hirsi Ali is very critical of the position of women in patriarchal Islamic societies and the punishments demanded by Islamic scholars for <!--del_lnk--> homosexuality and <!--del_lnk--> adultery. She considered herself a Muslim until <!--del_lnk--> 28 May 2002, when she became an atheist . In an interview with Swiss magazine 'Das Magazin' in September 2006, she said she lost her faith while sitting in an Italian restaurant in May 2002, drinking a glass of wine. ("...I asked myself: Why should I burn in hell just because I'm drinking this? But what prompted me even more was the fact that the killers of 9/11 all believed in the same God I believed in.") Despite that, in the television program Rondom Tien of 12 September 2002 she still calls it "my religion". She has described Islam as a "backward religion", incompatible with democracy. In one segment on the current affairs program <!--del_lnk--> NOVA she challenged pupils of an Islamic primary school to choose between the <!--del_lnk--> Quran and the <!--del_lnk--> Dutch constitution.<p><a id="Muhammad" name="Muhammad"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Muhammad</span></h3>
<p>Her criticism of the <!--del_lnk--> Islamic prophet <a href="../../wp/m/Muhammad.htm" title="Muhammad">Muhammad</a> mainly concerns his moral stature. In January 2003 she told the Dutch paper <!--del_lnk--> Trouw, "Muhammad is, seen by our Western standards, a pervert". She referred particularly to the marriage between Muhammad, who was 52 years old, and <!--del_lnk--> Aisha, <!--del_lnk--> who was nine years old, according to the collections of <!--del_lnk--> hadith.. She also has stated her opinions on the personality of the prophet Muhammad: In the Dutch newspaper Trouw Hirsi Ali is interviewed on the Ten Commandments. In the second paragraph she is asked about Muhammad. She answers:<blockquote class="toccolours" style="float:none; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px; display:table;">
<p>Measured by our western standards, Muhammad is a perverted man. A Tyrant. He is against freedom of expression. If you don't do as he says, you will be punished. It makes me think of all those megalomaniacs in the middle-east: Bin Laden, Khomeini, Saddam. Do you think it strange that there is a Saddam Hussein? Muhammad is his example. Muhammad is an example for all Muslim men. Do you think it strange that so many Muslim men are violent?</blockquote>
<p>In an interview with the Danish magazine Sappho she explains parallels she sees between the personality of Yasser Arafat and that of Muhammad.<p><a id="Circumcision" name="Circumcision"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Circumcision</span></h3>
<p>Hirsi Ali is an opponent of the practice of circumcision for both <!--del_lnk--> men and <!--del_lnk--> women, but in particular the more extreme form of <!--del_lnk--> Female genital mutilation.<blockquote class="toccolours" style="float:none; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px; display:table;">
<p>Female genital mutilation, girls dying in child birth because they are too young [...] The rise of radical Islam is an important part of this. I feel I have the moral obligation to discuss the source. I think if I think you are enriching the debate if you question it, you are not the enemy of Islam. We can look elsewhere using reason to discover answer to these problems, and we do not have to abolish religion. But we must do it by finding a balance.</blockquote>
<p><a id="Christianity" name="Christianity"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Christianity</span></h3>
<p>Besides criticizing Islam, Hirsi Ali recently said in public, that she does not like <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a> and <!--del_lnk--> churches. Because of these kind of speeches, several <!--del_lnk--> Christian communities said Hirsi Ali was a radical example of an <!--del_lnk--> anti-clericalist and an <!--del_lnk--> anti-Christian liberal, extrapolating her criticism of <!--del_lnk--> radical Islam to Christianity in general. Such a strong anti-Christian stance is very uncommon in her political party, the somewhat conservative-liberal <!--del_lnk--> VVD. On <!--del_lnk--> August 31, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, while addressing the Dutch press on the occasion of her departure for the United States to work for a well-known <!--del_lnk--> think thank, Hirsi Ali (Hirsi Magan) told the press: <i>"...with like-minded one cannot discuss. With like-minded one can only participate in a <!--del_lnk--> church service, and, as is widely known, I do not like church services!"</i><p><a id="Freedom_of_speech" name="Freedom_of_speech"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Freedom of speech</span></h3>
<p>Hirsi Ali is a proponent of <!--del_lnk--> free speech. In a 2006 lecture in Berlin, she defended the right to offend, following the <a href="../../wp/j/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_controversy.htm" title="Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy">Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy</a>. She condemned the journalists of those papers and TV channels that did not show their readers the cartoons as being "mediocre of mind" and of trying to hide behind those "noble-sounding terms such as 'responsibility' and 'sensitivity'." She praised publishers all over Europe for showing the cartoons and not being afraid of what she labeled the intolerance of many Muslims worldwide.<blockquote class="toccolours" style="float:none; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px; display:table;">
<p>I do not seek to offend religious sentiment, but I will not submit to tyranny. Demanding that people who do not accept Muhammad’s teachings should refrain from drawing him is not a request for respect but a demand for submission.</blockquote>
<p><a id="Freedom_of_assembly" name="Freedom_of_assembly"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Freedom of assembly</span></h3>
<p>Hirsi Ali supported the move by the Dutch courts to abrogate the party subsidy to a conservative <!--del_lnk--> Protestant Christian political party, the <!--del_lnk--> Political Reformed Party (SGP), which did not grant full membership rights to women and still witholds passive voting right from female members. She stated that "any political party discriminating against women or homosexuals should be deprived of funding."<p>Hirsi Ali has also stated that she wants the Belgian authorities to ban the <!--del_lnk--> Vlaams Belang party, claiming that "it hardly differs from the Hofstad Group. Though the VB members have not committed any violent crimes yet, they are just postponing them and waiting until they have an absolute majority. On many issues they have exactly the same opinions as the Muslim extremists: on the position of women, on the suppression of gays, on abortion. This way of thinking will lead straight to genocide." The <!--del_lnk--> Hofstad Group is a Dutch Islamist terrorist organization.<p>Vlaams Belang party leader <!--del_lnk--> Frank Vanhecke however responded in a friendly way by writing an open letter to Hirsi Ali, stating that she is "closer to the Vlaams Belang with her viewpoints than to the <!--del_lnk--> Flemish Liberals." He also rejected the likeness with the Hofstad Group, saying that the Vlaams Belang "has never and nowhere called for violence."<blockquote class="toccolours" style="float:none; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px; display:table;">
<p>[W]e do not threaten politicians with death or plan murder attempts. Like you and Geert Wilders, we only call for common sense and for a different immigration policy.</blockquote>
<p>The Vlaams Belang also reacted to the retirement of Hirsi Ali from Dutch politics, saying that the party has "respect for the way she has conducted and promoted the debate in the Netherlands with respect to Islam, female oppression and failed integration."<p><a id="Freedom_of_education" name="Freedom_of_education"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Freedom of education</span></h3>
<p>In the Netherlands about half of all education is organised in the form of <!--del_lnk--> special schools (most of them Catholic or Protestant). Because a few of these schools are muslim, Ayaan Hirsi Ali had stated in November 2003, that no religious school should receive government financing. This brought her into conflict with <!--del_lnk--> Hans Wiegel, a prominent former VVD leader.<p><a id="Development_aid" name="Development_aid"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Development aid</span></h3>
<p>The Netherlands has in the past always been one of the most prominent countries that supported <!--del_lnk--> aiding <!--del_lnk--> developing countries. As a member of the VVD, Hirsi Ali has said that the current development aid policy did not work to increase prosperity, peace and stability in the developing countries.<blockquote class="toccolours" style="float:none; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px; display:table;">
<p>The VVD believes that Dutch international aid has failed until now, as measured by [the Dutch aid effects on] poverty reduction, famine reduction, life expectancy and the promotion of peace.</blockquote>
<p><a id="Terrorism" name="Terrorism"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Terrorism</span></h3>
<p>In the Dutch newspaper <!--del_lnk--> De Volkskrant of <!--del_lnk--> April 8, <!--del_lnk--> 2006 she has proposed the special screening of any Muslim applying for any job on possible links with terrorist groups.<p><a id="Immigration" name="Immigration"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Immigration</span></h3>
<p>In 2003 Hirsi Ali worked together with fellow VVD MP <!--del_lnk--> Geert Wilders for several months. They questioned the government about immigration policy. In reaction to the <!--del_lnk--> UNDP Arab Human Development Report Hirsi Ali asked the following question of <!--del_lnk--> Minister of Foreign Affairs <!--del_lnk--> Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and the <!--del_lnk--> Minister without Portfolio for Development Cooperation <!--del_lnk--> Agnes van Ardenne.<blockquote class="toccolours" style="float:none; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px; display:table;">
<p>Will you please pay attention to the consequences for Dutch policy concerning the limitation of immigration from the Arab world to Europe c.q. The Netherlands ?</blockquote>
<p>Although publicly Hirsi Ali always supported the policy of VVD minister <!--del_lnk--> Rita Verdonk regarding limited <!--del_lnk--> immigration, privately she was not supportive, as she explained in a recent interview for Opzij. In parliament she supported the way Verdonk handled the Pasic case, although privately she felt that Pasic should have been allowed to stay. On the night before the debate Hirsi Ali phoned Verdonk to tell her that she herself had lied when she fled to the Netherlands, just like Pasic. Verdonk responded that if she had been minister at that time, she would have deported Hirsi Ali. Subsequent actions of Verdonk led to the possibility to revoke Dutch citizenship from Ayaan. The ensuing political upheaval ultimately led to the fall of the <!--del_lnk--> second Balkenende cabinet.<p>In the Opzij interview Hirsi Ali also said she supported a <i>general pardon</i> for a group of 26,000 refugees. These refugees, who spent more than five years in the Netherlands, without hearing about the status of their asylum, should all be granted Dutch citizenship in Hirsi Ali's view. The VVD forbade her to speak her mind of this issue.<p><a id="Criticism_of_Hirsi_Ali" name="Criticism_of_Hirsi_Ali"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Criticism of Hirsi Ali</span></h2>
<p><a id="Muhammed" name="Muhammed"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Muhammed</span></h3>
<p>While most Muslims, Dutch and abroad, have denounced her insulting of Muhammed, the civil court in The Hague has also warned Hirsi Ali's insulting of Muhammed. They did however acquit her of any charges:<blockquote class="toccolours" style="float:none; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px; display:table;">
<p>It seems that the defendant, using these words, has approached the borders of what can be ought to be allowed.</blockquote>
<p><a id="Multiculturalism" name="Multiculturalism"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Multiculturalism</span></h3>
<p>Hirsi Ali has taken a prominent place in the Dutch debate about multiculturalism. The left-liberal intellectual <!--del_lnk--> Dick Pels describes Hirsi Ali as the exponent of liberal fundamentalism.<blockquote class="toccolours" style="float:none; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px; display:table;">
<p>This ideology is similar to orthodox islam in the sense that it thinks its perspective is superior and all people should be forced to have it. He thinks the way these liberal fundamentalists try debate with islam, by taunting and insulting them is not constructive. They only deteriorate the relations between migrants and native Dutch people.</blockquote>
<p><a id="Awards" name="Awards"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Awards</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>In January <!--del_lnk--> 2004, Hirsi Ali was awarded the <i>Prize of Liberty</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Nova Civitas, a <!--del_lnk--> classical liberal <!--del_lnk--> think tank in the <!--del_lnk--> Low Countries.</ul>
<ul>
<li>On <!--del_lnk--> November 20, <!--del_lnk--> 2004 Ayaan Hirsi Ali was awarded the Freedom Prize of <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Liberal Party, which was the largest party and part of the government at the time, <i>"for her work to further freedom of speech and the rights of women"</i>. Due to threats from Islamic fundamentalists she was not at the time able to receive it personally; however a year later, <!--del_lnk--> November 17, <!--del_lnk--> 2005, she travelled to Denmark to thank <!--del_lnk--> Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the then-prime minister and leader of Denmark's Liberal Party, for the prize.</ul>
<ul>
<li>On <!--del_lnk--> February 25, <!--del_lnk--> 2005 she was given the Harriet Freezerring by Cisca Dresselhuys, editor of the feminist magazine Opzij, "for her work for the emancipation of Islamic women".</ul>
<ul>
<li>According to the American <!--del_lnk--> Time Magazine of <!--del_lnk--> April 18, <!--del_lnk--> 2005 she was amongst the 100 Most Influential Persons of the World. She was put in the category "Leaders & Revolutionaries".</ul>
<ul>
<li>On <!--del_lnk--> March 7, <!--del_lnk--> 2005 she was awarded the Tolerance Price of the <!--del_lnk--> comunidad de Madrid </ul>
<ul>
<li>In June 2005, Hirsi Ali was awarded by the Norwegian Political Think Tank, Human Rights Service (HRS), with the annual Prize, This Year's European Bellwether. According to HRS, Hirsi Ali is “beyond a doubt, the leading European politician in the field of integration. (She is) a master at the art of mediating the most difficult issues with insurmountable courage, wisdom, reflectiveness, and clarity.</ul>
<ul>
<li>On <!--del_lnk--> August 29, <!--del_lnk--> 2005, Hirsi Ali was awarded the annual Democracy Prize of the <!--del_lnk--> Swedish Liberal Party "for her courageous work for democracy, human rights and women's rights."</ul>
<ul>
<li>Hirsi Ali was voted European of the Year for 2006 by the European editors of <!--del_lnk--> Reader's Digest magazine. At a ceremony in The Hague on <!--del_lnk--> January 23, Hirsi Ali accepted the Reader's Digest award from EU Competition Commissioner, <!--del_lnk--> Neelie Kroes.</ul>
<ul>
<li>On <!--del_lnk--> May 4, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, Hirsi Ali accepted the Moral Courage Award from the <!--del_lnk--> American Jewish Committee.</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Norwegian member of parliament <!--del_lnk--> Christian Tybring-Gjedde has nominated Hirsi Ali as candidate for <a href="../../wp/n/Nobel_Peace_Prize.htm" title="Nobel Peace Prize">Nobel Peace Prize</a> of 2006.</ul>
<ul>
<li>On <!--del_lnk--> October 1 Ayaan Hirsi Ali was given in the German town <!--del_lnk--> Kassel the civilian prize "Glas der Vernunft". The organisation reward her with this prize for her dedication to the integration of migrants and against discrimination of women. Other laureates were for example <!--del_lnk--> Lea Rabin, the wife of former Israelian prime-minister <!--del_lnk--> Yitzhak Rabin and <!--del_lnk--> Hans-Dietrich Genscher, former <!--del_lnk--> Foreign Minister of the <!--del_lnk--> Federal Republic of Germany.</ul>
<p><a id="Trivia" name="Trivia"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Trivia</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>Hirsi Ali speaks six languages: <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Somali, <a href="../../wp/a/Arabic_language.htm" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Swahili, <!--del_lnk--> Amharic and <a href="../../wp/d/Dutch_language.htm" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a>.</ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayaan_Hirsi_Ali"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Aye-aye</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Mammals.htm">Mammals</a></h3>
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<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Chordata<br />
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<td><a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">Mammalia</a><br />
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Strepsirrhini<br />
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<td>Infraorder:</td>
<td><b>Chiromyiformes</b><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Anthony and <!--del_lnk--> Coupin, 1931</small></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><b>Daubentoniidae</b><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Gray, 1863</small></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><b>Daubentonia</b></i><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> É. Geoffroy, 1795</small></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>D. madagascariensis</b></i></span><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
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<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><i><b>Daubentonia madagascariensis</b></i><br /><small>(<!--del_lnk--> Gmelin, 1788)</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Aye-aye</b> (<i>Daubentonia madagascariensis</i>) is a <!--del_lnk--> strepsirrhine native to <a href="../../wp/m/Madagascar.htm" title="Madagascar">Madagascar</a> that combines <!--del_lnk--> rodent-like teeth with a long, thin middle finger to fill the same ecological niche of a <a href="../../wp/w/Woodpecker.htm" title="Woodpecker">woodpecker</a>. It is the world's largest <!--del_lnk--> nocturnal primate, and is characterized by its unique method of finding food; it taps on trees to find <!--del_lnk--> grubs, then gnaws holes in the wood and inserts its elongated middle finger to pull the grubs out.<p><i><b>Daubentonia</b></i> is the only <!--del_lnk--> genus in the <!--del_lnk--> family <b>Daubentoniidae</b> and <!--del_lnk--> infraorder <b>Chiromyiformes</b>. The Aye-aye is the only extant member of the genus (although it is currently an <!--del_lnk--> endangered species); a second species (<i>Daubentonia robusta</i>) was exterminated over the last few centuries.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Physical_Characteristics" name="Physical_Characteristics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Physical Characteristics</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/521/52159.jpg.htm" title="Aye-aye specimen. This specimen is bleached compared to Aye-aye normal blackish coloration. Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois"><img alt="Aye-aye specimen. This specimen is bleached compared to Aye-aye normal blackish coloration. Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois" class="thumbimage" height="346" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aye_aye.jpg" src="../../images/521/52159.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/521/52159.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Aye-aye specimen. This specimen is bleached compared to Aye-aye normal blackish coloration. <!--del_lnk--> Field Museum, <a href="../../wp/c/Chicago.htm" title="Chicago">Chicago</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Illinois</div>
</div>
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<p>The Aye-aye is the world's largest nocturnal primate, and dwells predominantly in forest canopies. It weighs about 2.5 kilograms, with the female weighing in slightly less (by an average of 100 grams) than males. Other than weight and sex organs, aye-ayes exhibit no <!--del_lnk--> sexual dimorphism of any kind. They all grow from 30-37 cm from head to body, with a 44-53 cm tail.<p>
<br /> The adult Aye-aye has black or dark brown fur covered by white <!--del_lnk--> guard hairs at the neck. The tail is bushy and shaped like that of a <!--del_lnk--> squirrel. The Aye-aye's face is also rodent-like, the shape of a <!--del_lnk--> raccoon's, and houses bright, beady, luminous eyes. Its incisors are very large, and grow continuously throughout its lifespan. These features contrast its monkey-like body, and are the likely cause of why scientists originally deemed it to be a rodent.<p>The Aye-aye's hands are arguably its most unique feature. Much like other primates, it possesses opposable thumbs, but both the hallux and the fingers are long and thin, and appear to be in a curved position somewhat similar to that of a fairy-tale witch when the muscles are relaxed. The middle finger can be up to three times longer than the others.<p><!--del_lnk--> Gestation for the Aye-aye lasts from 5 to 5 1/3 months. Births can occur at any time during the year, and females often wait 2-3 years between births. The infant takes about 7 months to be weaned, and stays with its mother for two years. The Aye-aye matures quickly; males rarely take more than 1 1/2 years to mature, and females take about an extra year. Lifespan is not known, but the world record is 23 years in captivity.<p><a id="Habitat" name="Habitat"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Habitat</span></h2>
<p>The Aye-aye lives primarily on the east coast of Madagascar. Its natural habitat is <a href="../../wp/r/Rainforest.htm" title="Rainforest">rainforest</a> or <!--del_lnk--> deciduous forest, but many live in cultivated areas due to deforesting. Rainforest Aye-ayes, the most common, dwell in canopy areas, and are usually sighted upwards of 700 meters altitude. The Aye-aye sleeps during the day in nests built in the forks of trees.<p><a id="Behavior" name="Behavior"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Behaviour</span></h2>
<p><a id="Social_Interaction" name="Social_Interaction"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Social Interaction</span></h3>
<p>The Aye-aye is classically considered 'solitary', but recent research suggests that they are more social than once thought. It usually sticks to foraging in its own personal home range, or territory. The home ranges of males often overlap and the males can be very social with each other. Female home ranges never overlap, though a male's home range often overlaps that of several females.The male Aye-Aye live in large areas that are up to eighty acres while female have smaller living space that goes up to twenty acres."Regular scent marking with their cheeks, neck and genitals is a way that aye-ayes let others know of their presence and repel intruders from their territory." (<!--del_lnk--> http://www.durrellwildlife.org/index.cfm?p=403). Like many other prosimians, the female Aye-aye is dominant to the male. The Aye-aye is not monogamous by any means, and often competes with each other for mates. Males are very aggressive in this regard, and sometimes even pull other males off a female during <!--del_lnk--> sex. Outside of mating, males and females interact only occasionally, usually while foraging.<p>After impregnating a female, the male usually stays in close proximity until the infant is born and has matured a bit. The father will sometimes share food with the infant, but otherwise infants' primary source of social interaction is with their mothers. Mothers and infants often wrestle, chase, and play "peek-a-boo" for entertainment. After 13 weeks, infants are usually ready to interact with other young Aye-ayes, usually by play-fighting.<p><a id="Foraging" name="Foraging"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Foraging</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/521/52161.jpg.htm" title="An Aye-aye foraging, c.1863, Joseph Wolf. Held at the Natural History Museum, London"><img alt="An Aye-aye foraging, c.1863, Joseph Wolf. Held at the Natural History Museum, London" class="thumbimage" height="250" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ayeaye%2C_Daubentonia_madagascariensis%2C_Joseph_Wolf.jpg" src="../../images/521/52161.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/521/52161.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An Aye-aye foraging, c.1863, <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Wolf. Held at the <!--del_lnk--> Natural History Museum, London</div>
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<p>The Aye-aye begins <!--del_lnk--> foraging anywhere between 30 minutes before or 3 hours after sunset. Up to 80% of the night is spent foraging in the canopy, separated by occasional rest periods. The monkey-like body of the Aye-aye enables it to move vertically with ease. It climbs trees by making successive vertical leaps, much like a squirrel. Horizontal movement is more difficult, but the Aye-aye rarely descends to jump to another tree, and can often cross up to 4 kilometers a night.<p>Infants are fully <!--del_lnk--> dextrous within a month of birth. At first they can only climb on a branch hanging upside down, but they gradually work their way up to the various acrobatic feats that adults can perform. Curiously, walking and running on the ground is often hardest for an Aye-aye to master.<p><a id="Diet" name="Diet"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Diet</span></h4>
<p>The Aye-aye commonly eats nuts, and also grubs, fruits, nectar, seeds, and fungi, classifying it as an <!--del_lnk--> omnivore. It often picks fruit off trees as it moves through the canopy, often barely stopping to do so. An Aye-aye not lucky enough to live in its natural habitat will often steal coconuts, mangoes, sugar cane, <!--del_lnk--> lychees and eggs from villages and plantations. Aye-ayes chew a hole into wood and get grubs out of that hole with their elongated and bony middle fingers.<p><a id="Social_foraging" name="Social_foraging"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Social foraging</span></h4>
<p>Though foraging is mostly solitary, it will occasionally forage in groups. Individual movements within the group are coordinated using both sound (vocalisations) and scent signals.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>The original meaning of the name Aye-aye has been lost, as the originating language is extinct. There is a hypothesis that the word "aye aye" signifies simply a cry of alarm to alert others to the presence of this animal, which many <!--del_lnk--> Malagasy consider an ill omen.<p>With <i>D. robusta's</i> extermination, the <i>D. madagascariensis</i> Aye-aye was thought to be extinct. However, it was later rediscovered in 1961. Six individuals were transported to <!--del_lnk--> Nosy Mangabe, an island near <!--del_lnk--> Maroantsetra in eastern Madagascar. Recent research shows that the Aye-aye is more widespread than was previously thought, but is still endangered.<p>There are several Aye-ayes kept in zoos. The largest collection of Aye-ayes and the most successful breeding program is at the <!--del_lnk--> Duke Lemur Centre at <!--del_lnk--> Duke University with a current population of 22 individuals. Several also reside outside of the US at various locations in the United Kingdom: <!--del_lnk--> Bristol Zoo Gardens, <a href="../../wp/l/London_Zoo.htm" title="London Zoo">London Zoo</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> Jersey Zoo; and in Japan at the <!--del_lnk--> Ueno Zoo.<p>The Aye-aye was once thought to be a type of <!--del_lnk--> squirrel that lived underground, using its long finger to capture insects and worms.<p><a id="Superstition_and_public_controversy" name="Superstition_and_public_controversy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Superstition and public controversy</span></h2>
<p>The Aye-aye is an endangered species not only because its habitat is being destroyed, but also due to native superstition. Besides being a general nuisance in villages, ancient Malagasy legend said that the Aye-aye was a symbol of death. It is viewed as a good omen in some areas, however, but these areas are a minority.<p>Researchers in Madagascar report remarkable fearlessness in the Aye-aye; some accounts tell of individual animals strolling nonchalantly in village streets or even walking right up to naturalists in the rainforest and sniffing their shoes. Therefore, it is no wonder that displaced animals often raid coconut plantations or steal food in villages. It is not unlike the American <!--del_lnk--> raccoon in this regard.<p>However, public contempt goes beyond this. The Aye-aye is often viewed as a harbinger of evil and killed on sight. Others believe that should one point its long middle finger at you, you were condemned to death. Some say the appearance of an Aye-aye in a village predicts the death of a villager, and the only way to prevent this is to kill the Aye-aye. The Saklava people go so far as to claim Aye-ayes sneak into houses through the thatched roofs and murder the sleeping occupants by using their middle finger to puncture the victim's <!--del_lnk--> aorta.<p>Incidents of Aye-aye killings increase every year as its forest habitats are destroyed and it is forced to raid plantations and villages. Because of the superstition surrounding it, this often ends in death. Fortunately, the superstition can prevent people from hunting them for food.<p><a id="Classification" name="Classification"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Classification</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>ORDER <!--del_lnk--> PRIMATES<ul>
<li>Suborder <!--del_lnk--> Strepsirrhini: non-tarsier prosimians <ul>
<li>Infraorder <!--del_lnk--> Lemuriformes<li><b>Infraorder Chiromyiformes</b><ul>
<li><b>Family Daubentoniidae</b><ul>
<li><b>Genus <i>Daubentonia</i></b><ul>
<li><b>Aye-aye, <i>Daubentonia madagascariensis</i></b><li>(<i>Daubentonia robusta</i>, extinct)</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<li>Infraorder <!--del_lnk--> Lorisiformes</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke</h1>
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<p><b>Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke</b> (c. <!--del_lnk--> 1275 – <!--del_lnk--> June 23, <!--del_lnk--> 1324) was a <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">French</a>-<a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">English</a> nobleman, with strong connections both to the English and French royal houses. One of the wealthiest and most powerful men of his age, he was a central player in the conflicts between <a href="../../wp/e/Edward_II_of_England.htm" title="Edward II of England">Edward II</a> and his nobility, particularly earl <!--del_lnk--> Thomas of Lancaster. He suffered a great insult when <!--del_lnk--> Piers Gaveston, a prisoner in his custody, was removed and beheaded on the instigation of Lancaster. This led Pembroke into close and lifelong cooperation with the king. Later in life, however, political circumstances combined with financial difficulties would cause him problems, driving him away from the centre of power.<p>Pembroke left no legitimate issue, but is today remembered through his wife's foundation of <!--del_lnk--> Pembroke College in <a href="../../wp/c/Cambridge.htm" title="Cambridge">Cambridge</a>, and for his splendid tomb that can still be seen in <a href="../../wp/w/Westminster_Abbey.htm" title="Westminster Abbey">Westminster Abbey</a>.<p>
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</script><a id="Family_and_early_years" name="Family_and_early_years"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Family and early years</span></h2>
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<div style="width:127px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16767.png.htm" title="Arms of de Valence Earls of Pembroke"><img alt="Arms of de Valence Earls of Pembroke" height="138" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Blason_Guillaume_de_Valence_%28William_of_Pembroke%29.svg" src="../../images/167/16767.png" width="125" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16767.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Arms of de Valence Earls of Pembroke</div>
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<p>Aymer was the son of <!--del_lnk--> William de Valence, son of <!--del_lnk--> Hugh X, Count of La Marche and <!--del_lnk--> Isabella of Angoulême. William was <a href="../../wp/h/Henry_III_of_England.htm" title="Henry III of England">Henry III</a>’s half-brother through his mother’s prior marriage to <a href="../../wp/j/John_of_England.htm" title="John of England">King John</a>, and as such gained a central position in the kingdom of England. He had come to the <!--del_lnk--> earldom of Pembroke through his marriage to Joan de Munchensy, granddaughter of <!--del_lnk--> William Marshal. Aymer was the third son of his family, so little is known of his birth and early years. He is believed to have been born some time between 1270 and 1275.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_1"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> As his father was on crusade with the <a href="../../wp/e/Edward_I_of_England.htm" title="Edward I of England">Lord Edward</a> until January 1273, a date towards the end of this period is more likely.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_2"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> With the death in battle in <a href="../../wp/w/Wales.htm" title="Wales">Wales</a> of his remaining brother William in 1282 (John, the elder brother, was dead in 1277), Aymer found himself heir to the earldom of Pembroke. William de Valence died in 1296, and Aymer inherited his father’s French lands, but had to wait until his mother died in 1307 to succeed to the earldom. Through inheritance and marriages his lands consisted of – apart from the <!--del_lnk--> county palatine in <!--del_lnk--> Pembrokeshire – property spread out across England primarily in a strip from <!--del_lnk--> Gloucestershire to <!--del_lnk--> East Anglia, in south-east <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Ireland</a> (<!--del_lnk--> Wexford), and French lands in the <!--del_lnk--> Poitou- and <!--del_lnk--> Calais areas.<p>In 1297 he accompanied <a href="../../wp/e/Edward_I_of_England.htm" title="Edward I of England">Edward I</a> on a campaign to <a href="../../wp/f/Flanders.htm" title="Flanders">Flanders</a>, and seems to have been knighted by this time.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_3"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> With his French connections he was in the following years a valuable diplomat in France for the English king. He also served as military commander in <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>, and won an important victory over <!--del_lnk--> Robert Bruce in 1306 at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Methven, only to be routed himself by Bruce at <!--del_lnk--> Loudon Hill the next year.<p><a id="The_Ordinances_and_Piers_Gaveston" name="The_Ordinances_and_Piers_Gaveston"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Ordinances and Piers Gaveston</span></h2>
<p>Edward I died in 1307 and was succeeded by his son <a href="../../wp/e/Edward_II_of_England.htm" title="Edward II of England">Edward II</a>. The new king at first enjoyed the good will of his nobility, Valence among them. Conflict soon ensued, however, connected especially with the enormous unpopularity of Edward’s favourite <!--del_lnk--> Piers Gaveston. Gaveston’s arrogance towards the peers, and his control over Edward, united the baronage in opposition to the king. In 1311 the initiative known as the Ordinances was introduced, severely limiting royal powers in financial matters and in the appointment of officers.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_4"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> Equally important, Gaveson was expelled from the realm (as Edward I had already done once before). Pembroke, who was not among the most radical of the Ordainers, and had earlier been sympathetic with the king, had now realised the necessity of exiling Gaveston.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_5"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>When Gaveston without permission returned from exile later the same year, a baronial council entrusted Pembroke and <!--del_lnk--> John de Warenne, earl of Surrey, with the task of taking him into custody. This they did on May 19, 1312, but not long after Thomas of Lancaster, acting with the earls of <!--del_lnk--> Warwick, <!--del_lnk--> Hereford and <!--del_lnk--> Arundel, seized Gaveston and executed him on June 19. This criminal act had the effect of garnering support for the king, and marginalising the rebellious earls. As far as Pembroke is concerned, the seizing and execution of a prisoner in his custody was a breach of the most fundamental <!--del_lnk--> chivalric codes, and a serious affront to his honour. The event must therefore be seen as pivotal in turning his sympathies away from the rebels and towards the king.<p><a id="Later_years" name="Later_years"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Later years</span></h2>
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<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16768.jpg.htm" title="Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Wales."><img alt="Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Wales." height="100" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pembroke.castle.750pix.jpg" src="../../images/167/16768.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16768.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Pembroke Castle, <!--del_lnk--> Pembrokeshire, <a href="../../wp/w/Wales.htm" title="Wales">Wales</a>.</div>
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<p>In the following years Pembroke worked closely with the king. He was appointed the king’s lieutenant in Scotland in <!--del_lnk--> 1314, and was present at the disastrous English defeat at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Bannockburn, where he helped lead Edward away from the field of battle. In <!--del_lnk--> 1317, however, while returning from a papal embassy to <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a>, he was taken capture by a Jean de Lamouilly, and held for ransom in <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>. The ransom of £ 10,400 was to cause Pembroke significant financial difficulties for the remainder of his life.<p>Although ostracized by the murder of Gaveston, Thomas of Lancaster had regained virtual control of royal government in the period after Bannockburn. Proving himself as incapable to rule as Edward, however, he soon grew unpopular. Pembroke was one of the magnates who in the years 1316-18 tried to prevent civil war from breaking out between the supporters of Edward and those of Lancaster, and he helped negotiate the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Leake in <!--del_lnk--> 1318, restoring Edward to power. Peace did not last long, however, as the king by now had taken on <!--del_lnk--> Hugh Despenser the younger as another favourite, in much the same position as Gaveston. Pembroke’s attempts at reconciliation eventually failed, and civil war broke out in <!--del_lnk--> 1321. In <!--del_lnk--> 1322 Lancaster was defeated at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Boroughbridge, and executed. Pembroke was among the earls behind the conviction.<p>After Boroughbridge Pembroke found himself in a difficult situation. The opponents of Hugh Despenser and his father had lost all faith in him, but at the same time he found himself marginalised at court where the Despensers' power grew more and more complete. On top of this came his financial problems. On June 24, 1324, while on an embassy to France, he suddenly collapsed and died while lodging somewhere in <!--del_lnk--> Picardy.<p><a id="Legacy" name="Legacy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Legacy</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> T.F. Tout, in 1914 one of the first historians to make a thorough academic study of the period, considered Pembroke the one favourable exception in an age of small-minded and incompetent leaders.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_6"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> Tout wrote of a 'middle party', led by Pembroke, representing a moderate position between the extremes of Edward and Lancaster. This 'middle party' supposedly took control of royal government through the Treaty of Leake in 1318. In his authoritative study of 1972, J.R.S. Philips refutes this view. In spite of misgivings with the king’s favourites, Pembroke was consistently loyal to Edward. What was accomplished in 1318 was not the takeover by a 'middle party', but simply a restoration of royal power.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_7"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>Aymer married twice; his first marriage, before 1295, was to Beatrice, daughter of <!--del_lnk--> Raoul de Clermont, lord of Nesle in Picardy and constable of France. Beatrice died in 1320, and in 1321 he married <!--del_lnk--> Marie de St Pol, daughter of <!--del_lnk--> Gui de Châtillon, count of St Pol and butler of France. He never had any legitimate children, but he had an illegitimate son, Henry de Valence, whose mother is unknown. Pembroke’s most lasting legacy is probably through his second wife, who in 1347 founded <!--del_lnk--> Pembroke College in <a href="../../wp/c/Cambridge.htm" title="Cambridge">Cambridge</a>. The family arms are still represented on the dexter side of the college arms. Aymer de Valence was buried in <a href="../../wp/w/Westminster_Abbey.htm" title="Westminster Abbey">Westminster Abbey</a>, where his tomb can still be seen as a splendid example of contemporary architecture.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_8"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aymer_de_Valence%2C_2nd_Earl_of_Pembroke"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Azerbaijan</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Countries.htm">Countries</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Geography.European_Geography.European_Countries.htm">European Countries</a></h3><div class="soslink"> SOS Children works in Azerbaijan. For more information see <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan_A.htm" title="SOS Children in Azerbaijan">SOS Children in Azerbaijan</a></div>
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<table class="infobox geography" style="width:23em;">
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<td align="center" class="mergedtoprow" colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; font-size:1.2em;"><b><span style="line-height:1.33em;"><i>Azərbaycan Respublikası</i></span></b><br /><b><span style="line-height:1.33em;">Republic of Azerbaijan</span></b></td>
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<td align="center" class="maptable" colspan="2" style="padding:0.4em 0.8em 0.4em 0.8em;">
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<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><span style="border:1px solid #bbbbbb; display:table-cell;"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/514.png.htm" title="Flag of Azerbaijan"><img alt="Flag of Azerbaijan" height="63" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Azerbaijan.svg" src="../../images/9/913.png" width="125" /></a></span></td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/9/914.png.htm" title="Coat of arms of Azerbaijan"><img alt="Coat of arms of Azerbaijan" height="95" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Azerbaijan_coa.png" src="../../images/9/914.png" width="85" /></a></td>
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<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Flag</small></td>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Coat of arms</small></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Motto: none</td>
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<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Anthem: <i><!--del_lnk--> Azərbaycan Respublikasının Dövlət Himni</i><br /> (March of Azerbaijan)</td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 1em;">
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/9/915.png.htm" title="Location of Azerbaijan"><img alt="Location of Azerbaijan" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Europe_location_AZN.png" src="../../images/9/915.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
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</td>
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<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Capital</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Gerb_Baku.GIF" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="12" /> <!--del_lnk--> Baku<br /><small><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 40°22′N 49°53′E</span></small></td>
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<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Largest city</th>
<td>Baku</td>
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<th><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> Official languages</span></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijani</td>
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<tr>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><b><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_countries_by_system_of_government.htm" title="List of countries by system of government">Government</a></b></td>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><!--del_lnk--> Republic</td>
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<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> President</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ilham Aliyev</td>
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<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Artur Rasizade</td>
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<th><!--del_lnk--> Independence</th>
<td>from the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Declared</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> August 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1991 </td>
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<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Completed</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> December 25, <!--del_lnk--> 1991 </td>
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<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Area</th>
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<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 86,600 km² (<!--del_lnk--> 114th)<br /> 33,436 sq mi </td>
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<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Water (%)</td>
<td>negligible</td>
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<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Population</th>
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<td> - 2005 estimate</td>
<td>8,411,000 (<!--del_lnk--> 90th)</td>
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<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - 1999 census</td>
<td>7,953,438</td>
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<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Density</td>
<td>97/km² (<!--del_lnk--> 100th)<br /> 251/sq mi</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> GDP (<!--del_lnk--> PPP)</th>
<td>2005 estimate</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td>$38.71 billion (<!--del_lnk--> 88th)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Per capita</td>
<td>$4,601 (<!--del_lnk--> 106th)</td>
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<th><b><!--del_lnk--> HDI</b> (2003)</th>
<td>0.729 (<font color="#FFCC00">medium</font>) (<!--del_lnk--> 101st)</td>
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<th><a href="../../wp/c/Currency.htm" title="Currency">Currency</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Manat (<code><!--del_lnk--> AZN</code>)</td>
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<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th>
<td>(<!--del_lnk--> UTC+4)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Summer (<!--del_lnk--> DST)</td>
<td>(<!--del_lnk--> UTC+5)</td>
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<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Internet TLD</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> .az</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Calling code</th>
<td>+994</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Azerbaijan</b> (<!--del_lnk--> IPA: <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[ɑ:zəbai'ʤɑ:n]</span>; <!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijani: <i>Azərbaycan</i>), officially the <b>Republic of Azerbaijan</b> (Azerbaijani: <i>Azərbaycan Respublikası</i>), is a country in the South <!--del_lnk--> Caucasus. Located at the crossroads of <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Europe and <!--del_lnk--> Southwest Asia, it is bounded by the <a href="../../wp/c/Caspian_Sea.htm" title="Caspian Sea">Caspian Sea</a> to the east, <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a> to the north, <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a> to the northwest, <a href="../../wp/a/Armenia.htm" title="Armenia">Armenia</a> to the west, and <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a> to the south. The <!--del_lnk--> Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (an <!--del_lnk--> exclave of Azerbaijan) borders Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, and <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> to the northwest. The <!--del_lnk--> Nagorno-Karabakh region in the southwest of Azerbaijan Proper declared itself independent from Azerbaijan in 1991, but it is <!--del_lnk--> not recognized by any nation.<p>Azerbaijan is a secular state, and has been a member of the <!--del_lnk--> Council of Europe since 2001. The <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijani_people.htm" title="Azerbaijani people">Azerbaijani people</a> (or simply Azeris) are the majority population, most of whom are traditionally adherents of <!--del_lnk--> Shi'a <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a>. The country is formally an emerging <a href="../../wp/d/Democracy.htm" title="Democracy">democracy</a>, however with strong <!--del_lnk--> authoritarian rule.<p>
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</script><a id="Etymology_and_usage" name="Etymology_and_usage"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Etymology and usage</span></h2>
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<p>There are several hypotheses regarding the origins of the name "Azerbaijan." The most common theory is that Azerbaijan was eponymously named after <i><!--del_lnk--> Atropates</i>, an <a href="../../wp/i/Iranian_peoples.htm" title="Iranian peoples">Iranian</a> <!--del_lnk--> Median <!--del_lnk--> satrap (governor), who ruled a region found in modern <!--del_lnk--> Iranian Azarbaijan called <i><!--del_lnk--> Atropatene</i>. Atropates' name is believed to be derived from the <!--del_lnk--> Old Persian roots meaning "protected by fire."<p>There are also alternative opinions that the term is a slight <!--del_lnk--> Turkification of <i>Azarbaijan</i>, in turn an Arabicized version of the original Persian name <i>Âzarâbâdagân</i>, made up of <i>âzar+âbadag+ân</i> (<i>âzar</i>=fire; <i>âbâdag</i>=cultivated area; <i>ân</i>=suffix of pluralization); that it traditionally means "the land of eternal flames" or "the land of fire", which probably implies <!--del_lnk--> Zoroastrian fire temples in this land.<p>Historically, the territory of the present-day Republic of Azerbaijan was never called Azerbaijan, which was historically the name of <!--del_lnk--> North West Iran, which still goes by the name.<p>With the collapse of <!--del_lnk--> Tsarist Russia in 1917, the Musavat ("Equality") Turkic Federalist Party, which had pan Turkic elements within it, along with other groups, met in <!--del_lnk--> Tbilisi on May 27, 1918 to create their own state. The name they chose for their new nation was Azerbaijan, drawing protests by both Russian and Iranian scholars, citing that the name change was politically motivated and a way of claiming north western Iran. Yet such protests did not reflect the reality: the population of both North (Republic of) Azerbaijan and South (Iranian) Azerbaijan were the same ethnic group, which shares the common Azeri Turkic dialect, practices Shia version of Islam. People inhabitting both parts of Azerbaijan consider themselves Azerbaijanis (Azeris or Azeri Turks).<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Bolsheviks, who had taken power in <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>, re-conquered the Caucasus and kept the name Azerbaijan, in hopes of later adding north western Iran into the Soviet Union.<p><!--del_lnk--> Mohammad Amin Rasulzade, the leader of Musavat party, later admitted a mistake in choosing the name Azerbaijan for the state, saying that Albania (referring to Caucasian Azerbaijan) was different than Azerbaijan (referring to Iranian Azerbaijan). Also, in an letter to <!--del_lnk--> Seyyed Hassan Taqizadeh, an important Iranian intellectual of the early 20th century, Rasulzade declared his eagerness to do "whatever is in his power to avoid any further discontent among Iranians".<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
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<dd>
</dl>
<p>The earliest known inhabitants of what is today Azerbaijan were the <!--del_lnk--> Caucasian Albanians, a <!--del_lnk--> Caucasian-speaking people who appear to have been in the region prior to the host of peoples who would eventually invade the Caucasus. Historically Azerbaijan has been inhabited by a variety of peoples, including <!--del_lnk--> Persians, <!--del_lnk--> Greeks, <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Romans</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Armenians, <!--del_lnk--> Arabs, <!--del_lnk--> Turks, <!--del_lnk--> Mongols and <!--del_lnk--> Russians.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/917.jpg.htm" title="A stone with inscriptions in the ancient Albanian language, found in the city of Mingachevir, Azerbaijan."><img alt="A stone with inscriptions in the ancient Albanian language, found in the city of Mingachevir, Azerbaijan." height="142" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Albanian_stone.jpg" src="../../images/9/917.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/917.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A stone with inscriptions in the ancient Albanian language, found in the city of <!--del_lnk--> Mingachevir, Azerbaijan.</div>
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</div>
<p>The first kingdom to emerge in the territory of present-day Republic of Azerbaijan was <!--del_lnk--> Mannae in the 9th century <a href="../../wp/a/Anno_Domini.htm" title="Anno Domini">BC</a>, lasting until 616 BC when it became part of the <!--del_lnk--> Median Empire, which later became part of the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persian Empire</a> in 549 BC. The satrapies of Atropatene and <!--del_lnk--> Caucasian Albania were established in the <!--del_lnk--> 4th century BC and included the approximate territories of the present-day Azerbaijan nation-state and southern parts of <!--del_lnk--> Dagestan.<p><a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a> spread rapidly in Azerbaijan following the Arab conquests in the <a href="../../wp/7/7th_century.htm" title="7th century">7th</a>–<a href="../../wp/8/8th_century.htm" title="8th century">8th centuries</a>. After the power of the Arab Khalifate waned, several semi-independent states have been formed, the Shirvanshah kingdom being one of them. In the 11th century, the conquering <!--del_lnk--> Seljuk Turks became the dominant force in Azerbaijan and laid the ethnic foundation of contemporary <!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijanis. In the <a href="../../wp/1/13th_century.htm" title="13th century">13</a>-<a href="../../wp/1/14th_century.htm" title="14th century">14th centuries</a>, the country experienced <!--del_lnk--> Mongol-<!--del_lnk--> Tatar invasions.<p>Azerbaijan was part of the <!--del_lnk--> Safavid Persian Empire during the <a href="../../wp/1/15th_century.htm" title="15th century">15th</a>–<a href="../../wp/1/18th_century.htm" title="18th century">18th centuries</a>. It also underwent a brief period of feudal fragmentation in the mid-18th to early 19th centuries, and consisted of independent khanates. Following <!--del_lnk--> the two wars between <!--del_lnk--> Qajar Persian Empire, as well as the Ganja, Guba, Baku and other independent khanates, and the <!--del_lnk--> Russian Empire, Azerbaijan was acquired by Russia through the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, and the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828, and several earlier treaties between the Russian tsar and the khans concluded in the first decade of the 19th century. In <!--del_lnk--> 1873, oil ("black gold") was discovered in the city of <!--del_lnk--> Baku, Azerbaijan's future capital. By the beginning of the 20th century almost half of the oil reserves in the world had been extracted in Baku.<p>After the collapse of the Russian Empire during <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>, Azerbaijan together with Armenia and Georgia became part of the short-lived <!--del_lnk--> Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. When the republic dissolved in May 1918, Azerbaijan declared independence as the <!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. The ADR was the first Muslim republic in the world and lasted only two years, from 1918 to 1920, before the <!--del_lnk--> Soviet <!--del_lnk--> Red Army invaded Azerbaijan. In March 1922, Azerbaijan, along with Armenia and Georgia, became part of the <!--del_lnk--> Transcaucasian SFSR within the newly-formed <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a>. In 1936, the TSFSR was dissolved and Azerbaijan became constituent republic of the USSR as the <!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijan SSR.<p>During <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a> <!--del_lnk--> invaded the Soviet Union. The primarily objective of <a href="../../wp/a/Adolf_Hitler.htm" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Operation Edelweiss offensive was to capture Azerbaijan's oil-rich capital of Baku. For the war effort, Soviet oil workers were obliged to work non-stop and citizens were to dig entrenchments and antitank obstacles into order to block a possible enemy invasion. However, Operation Edelweiss was unsuccessful. The German army was at first stalled in the mountains of <!--del_lnk--> Caucasus, then decisively defeated at the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Stalingrad.htm" title="Battle of Stalingrad">Battle of Stalingrad</a>.<p>In 1990, Azeris gathered to protest Soviet rule and push for independence. The demonstrations were brutally suppressed by Soviet intervention in what Azeris today refer to as <!--del_lnk--> Black January. In 1991, however, Azerbaijan re-established its independence upon the collapse of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, the early years of its independence were overshadowed by a <a href="../../wp/n/Nagorno-Karabakh_War.htm" title="Nagorno-Karabakh War">war with Armenia and separatist Armenians</a> over the region of <!--del_lnk--> Nagorno-Karabakh. Despite a <!--del_lnk--> cease-fire in place since 1994, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia over the predominantly ethnic Armenian territory. Since the end of the war, Azerbaijan lost control of 14 - 16% of its territory including Nagorno-Karabakh itself. As a result of the conflict, both countries faced problems with <!--del_lnk--> refugees and internally <!--del_lnk--> displaced persons as well as economic hardships.<p>However, former Soviet Azeri leader <!--del_lnk--> Heydar Aliyev changed this pattern in Azerbaijan and sought to exploit its wealthy oil reserves in Baku, something that Azerbaijan has become famous for. Aliyev also cleaned up gambling and was able to cut down the country's unemployment rate substantially. He also sought closer relations with Turkey while simultaneously making efforts to resolve the Karabakh conflict peacefully with Armenia. However, the political situation in Azerbaijan remains tense especially after Aliyev, upon his death, selected his son <!--del_lnk--> Ilham to assume the duties of president. Azeri opposition forces are not satisfied with this new dynastical succession and are pushing for a more democratic government.<p><a id="Politics" name="Politics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Politics</span></h2>
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<div style="width:157px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/919.jpg.htm" title="Ilham Aliyev, the current president of Azerbaijan."><img alt="Ilham Aliyev, the current president of Azerbaijan." height="205" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aliyev_April06.jpg" src="../../images/9/919.jpg" width="155" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/919.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Ilham Aliyev, the current president of Azerbaijan.</div>
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<p>Azerbaijan is a <!--del_lnk--> presidential republic. The <!--del_lnk--> head of state and <!--del_lnk--> head of government are separate from the country’s law-making body. The people elect the <!--del_lnk--> president for a five-year term of office. The president appoints all <!--del_lnk--> cabinet-level government administrators. A fifty-member national assembly makes the country’s laws. The people of Azerbaijan elect the <!--del_lnk--> National Assembly. Azerbaijan has <!--del_lnk--> universal suffrage above the age of eighteen.<p>After the presidential elections of <!--del_lnk--> October 15, 2003, an official release of the Central Election Committee (CEC) gave <!--del_lnk--> İsa Qambar — leader of the largest opposition bloc, <!--del_lnk--> Bizim Azarbaycan ("Our Azerbaijan") — 14% percent of the electorate and the second place in election. Third, with 3.6%, came <!--del_lnk--> Lala Şövkat, leader of the National Unity Movement, the first woman to run in presidential election in Azerbaijan. Nevertheless, the <!--del_lnk--> OSCE, the <!--del_lnk--> Council of Europe, <!--del_lnk--> Human Rights Watch and other international organizations, as well as local independent political and <!--del_lnk--> NGOs voiced concern about observed vote rigging and a badly flawed counting process.<p>Several independent local and international organizations that had been observing and monitoring the election directly or indirectly declared Isa Gambar winner in the <!--del_lnk--> 15 October election. Another view shared by many international organisations is that in reality a second tour of voting should have taken place between the two opposition candidates Isa Gambar and Lala Shevket.<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Human Rights Watch commented on <!--del_lnk--> these elections: "Human Rights Watch research found that the government has heavily intervened in the campaigning process in favour of Prime Minister Ilham Aliev, son of current President Heidar Aliev. The government has stacked the Central Election Commission and local election commission with its supporters, and banned local non-governmental organizations from monitoring the vote. As the elections draw nearer, government officials have openly sided with the campaign of Ilham Aliev, constantly obstructing opposition rallies and attempting to limit public participation in opposition events. In some cases, local officials have closed all the roads into town during opposition rallies, or have extended working and school hours—on one occasion, even declaring Sunday a workday—to prevent participation in opposition rallies".</ul>
<p>Azerbaijan held <!--del_lnk--> parliamentary elections on Sunday, <!--del_lnk--> 6 November <!--del_lnk--> 2005.<p><!--del_lnk--> U.S. President <a href="../../wp/g/George_W._Bush.htm" title="George W. Bush">George W. Bush</a> noted, that "Azerbaijan is a modern Muslim country that is able to provide for its citizens and understands that democracy is the wave of the future".<p>Azerbaijan was elected as one the members of the newly established <!--del_lnk--> Human Rights Council (HRC) by the General Assembly on <!--del_lnk--> 9 May <!--del_lnk--> 2006. Term of office will begin on <!--del_lnk--> 19 June <!--del_lnk--> 2006.<p><a id="Administrative_divisions" name="Administrative_divisions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Administrative divisions</span></h2>
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<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/920.gif.htm" title="A map of Azerbaijan showing the location of its cities and regions."><img alt="A map of Azerbaijan showing the location of its cities and regions." height="236" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Azerbaijan_map.gif" src="../../images/9/920.gif" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/920.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A map of Azerbaijan showing the location of its cities and regions.</div>
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<p>Azerbaijan is divided into fifty-nine <!--del_lnk--> raions (<i>rayonlar</i>; sing. - <i>rayon</i>), 11 <!--del_lnk--> cities (<i>şəhərlər</i>; sing. - <i>şəhər</i>), and one <!--del_lnk--> autonomous republic (<i>muxtar respublika</i>), <!--del_lnk--> Nakhichevan. Nakhichevan itself is subdivided into seven rayons and one city. The city of <!--del_lnk--> Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan.<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h2>
<p>Azerbaijan contains 9 out of the 11 climatic zones. It is arid, dry, and subtropical with hot summers and mild winters. Temperatures vary by season and area. In the southeast <!--del_lnk--> lowland, temperatures average 6 °<!--del_lnk--> C (43 °<!--del_lnk--> F) in the winter and 26 °C (80 °F) in the summer — though daily maxima typically reach 32 °C (89 °F). In the northern and western <!--del_lnk--> mountain ranges, temperatures average 12 °C (55 °F) in the summer and –9 °C (20 °F) in the winter.<p>Annual rainfall over most of the country varies from 200 to 400 millimeters (8 to 16 in) and is generally lowest in the northeast. In the far southeast, however, the climate is much moister and annual rainfall can be as high as 1300 <!--del_lnk--> millimetres (51 <!--del_lnk--> in). For most of the country, the wettest periods are in spring and autumn, with summers being the driest.<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/921.jpg.htm" title="The National Bank in Baku."><img alt="The National Bank in Baku." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Azeri_Square.JPG" src="../../images/9/921.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/921.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> National Bank in <!--del_lnk--> Baku.</div>
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<p>Azerbaijan's economy is largely based on <a href="../../wp/i/Industry.htm" title="Industry">industry</a>. Industries include machine manufacture, <a href="../../wp/p/Petroleum.htm" title="Petroleum">petroleum</a> and other <a href="../../wp/m/Mining.htm" title="Mining">mining</a>, petroleum <a href="../../wp/r/Refining.htm" title="Refining">refining</a>, <!--del_lnk--> textile production, and chemical processing. <a href="../../wp/a/Agriculture.htm" title="Agriculture">Agriculture</a> accounts for one-third of Azerbaijan’s economy. Most of the nation’s farms are <a href="../../wp/i/Irrigation.htm" title="Irrigation">irrigated</a>. In the lowlands, farmers grow such crops as <a href="../../wp/c/Cotton.htm" title="Cotton">cotton</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/Fruit.htm" title="Fruit">fruit</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Cereal.htm" title="Cereal">grain</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Tea.htm" title="Tea">tea</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Tobacco.htm" title="Tobacco">tobacco</a>, and many types of <a href="../../wp/v/Vegetable.htm" title="Vegetable">vegetables</a>. <!--del_lnk--> Silkworms are raised for the production of natural <!--del_lnk--> silk for the clothing industry. Azerbaijan’s herders raise <a href="../../wp/c/Cattle.htm" title="Cattle">cattle</a>, <!--del_lnk--> domestic sheep and <a href="../../wp/d/Domestic_goat.htm" title="Goat">goats</a> near the mountain ranges. <!--del_lnk--> Seafood, including <!--del_lnk--> caviar and <a href="../../wp/f/Fish.htm" title="Fish">fish</a> are obtained from the nearby <a href="../../wp/c/Caspian_Sea.htm" title="Caspian Sea">Caspian Sea</a>. Azerbaijan has a highly dynamic economy, mainly because of oil, and has a GDP growth rate of up to 11% a year.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/922.jpg.htm" title="A Khinalug and his child from the ancient Caucasian village of Xınalıq, Azerbaijan."><img alt="A Khinalug and his child from the ancient Caucasian village of Xınalıq, Azerbaijan." height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Eldar_gardash.JPG" src="../../images/9/922.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/922.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A Khinalug and his child from the ancient Caucasian village of <!--del_lnk--> Xınalıq, Azerbaijan.</div>
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<p>Azerbaijan has population of 8.5 million (data of UN), 90.6% of whom are ethnic <!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijani (also called Azeris; 1999 census figures). The second largest ethnic group are <!--del_lnk--> Russians, who now form roughly 1.8% of the population, most having emigrated since independence. Numerous 'Dagestani' peoples live around the border with <!--del_lnk--> Dagestan. The main peoples are the <!--del_lnk--> Lezgis, <!--del_lnk--> Avars and the <!--del_lnk--> Tsakhurs. Smaller groups include the <!--del_lnk--> Budukh, <!--del_lnk--> Udins, <!--del_lnk--> Kryts and <!--del_lnk--> Khinalug/Ketsh around the village of <!--del_lnk--> Xinalıq.<p>Azerbaijan also contains numerous smaller groups, such as <!--del_lnk--> Georgians, <!--del_lnk--> Kurds, <!--del_lnk--> Talysh, <!--del_lnk--> Tatars and <!--del_lnk--> Ukrainians. Some people argue that the number of <!--del_lnk--> Talysh is greater than officially recorded, as many of them are counted as Azerbaijanis.Around the town of <!--del_lnk--> Quba in the north live the <!--del_lnk--> Tats, also known as the <!--del_lnk--> Mountain Jews, who are also to be found in Dagestan. Many Tats have emigrated to <a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a> in recent years, though this trend has slowed and even reversed more recently. The country’s large Armenian population mostly emigrated to <a href="../../wp/a/Armenia.htm" title="Armenia">Armenia</a> and to other countries with the beginning of the Armenian-Azeri conflict over <!--del_lnk--> Nagorno-Karabakh. During the same period, Azerbaijan also received a large influx of Azerbaijanis fleeing Armenia and later Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent provinces occupied by the Armenians. Virtually all of Azerbaijan’s Armenians now live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region.<p>Azerbaijan is 93.4% <!--del_lnk--> Muslim and most Azerbaijanis are <!--del_lnk--> Twelver Shia <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Muslim</a>. They represent about 60–70% of the Muslim population. Other <a href="../../wp/r/Religion.htm" title="Religion">religions</a> or beliefs that are followed by many in the country are <!--del_lnk--> Sunni Islam, the <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Apostolic Church (in Nagorno-Karabakh), the <!--del_lnk--> Russian Orthodox Church, and various other Christian and Muslim sects. <!--del_lnk--> Mountain Jews in <!--del_lnk--> Quba, as well as several thousand <!--del_lnk--> Ashkenazim Jews in Baku, follow <a href="../../wp/j/Judaism.htm" title="Judaism">Judaism</a>. Adherence to religious dogmas is nominal for the majority of the population and attitudes are secular. Traditionally, villages around Baku and the <!--del_lnk--> Lenkoran region are considered stronghold of Shi‘ism, and in some northern regions populated by Sunni Dagestani people, the Salafi sect has gained a following. Folk Islam is widely practiced, but an organized <!--del_lnk--> Sufi movement is absent.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/923.jpg.htm" title="Performing Azeri musicians"><img alt="Performing Azeri musicians" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Azeri_7.jpg" src="../../images/9/923.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/923.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Performing Azeri musicians</div>
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<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
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<p>The official language of Azerbaijan is <!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijani, a member of the <!--del_lnk--> Oguz subdivision of the <!--del_lnk--> Turkic language family, and is spoken by around 95% of the republic’s population, as well as about a quarter of the population of Iran. Its closest relatives in language are <!--del_lnk--> Turkish, <!--del_lnk--> Turkmen and <!--del_lnk--> Gagauzian. As a result of the language policy of the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Russian_language.htm" title="Russian language">Russian</a> is also commonly spoken as a second language among the urbane.<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Music of Azerbaijan<li><!--del_lnk--> Religion in Azerbaijan<li><!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijani literature</ul>
<p><a id="Photographs_of_Azerbaijan" name="Photographs_of_Azerbaijan"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Photographs of Azerbaijan</span></h2>
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<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Neighbouring countries</span></h2>
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<br clear="all" />
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<td rowspan="5" style="text-align: center; !important" width="5%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/510.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="65" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Armillary_sphere.png" src="../../images/5/510.png" width="50" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/182/18223.png.htm" title="Flag of Georgia (country)"><img alt="Flag of Georgia (country)" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Georgia_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/511.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/592.png.htm" title="Flag of Russia"><img alt="Flag of Russia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Russia_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/592.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/592.png.htm" title="Flag of Russia"><img alt="Flag of Russia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Russia_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/592.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a> <small>•</small> <a class="image" href="../../images/5/579.png.htm" title="Flag of Kazakhstan"><img alt="Flag of Kazakhstan" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Kazakhstan.svg" src="../../images/5/579.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/k/Kazakhstan.htm" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/5/513.png.htm" title="Image:Template CanadianCityGeoLocation North.png"><img alt="Image:Template CanadianCityGeoLocation North.png" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Template_CanadianCityGeoLocation_North.png" src="../../images/5/513.png" width="17" /></a><br /><a href="../../wp/c/Caspian_Sea.htm" title="Caspian Sea">Caspian Sea</a></td>
<td rowspan="5" style="text-align: center; !important" width="5%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/510.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="65" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Armillary_sphere.png" src="../../images/5/510.png" width="50" /></a></td>
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<td rowspan="3" style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/3/309.png.htm" title="Flag of Armenia"><img alt="Flag of Armenia" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Armenia.svg" src="../../images/3/309.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/a/Armenia.htm" title="Armenia">Armenia</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/5/512.png.htm" title="Flag of Turkey"><img alt="Flag of Turkey" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Turkey.svg" src="../../images/5/512.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/513.png.htm" title="North"><img alt="North" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Template_CanadianCityGeoLocation_North.png" src="../../images/5/513.png" width="17" /></a></td>
<td rowspan="3" style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a href="../../wp/c/Caspian_Sea.htm" title="Caspian Sea">Caspian Sea</a> <a class="image" href="../../images/5/516.png.htm" title="Image:Template CanadianCityGeoLocation East.png"><img alt="Image:Template CanadianCityGeoLocation East.png" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Template_CanadianCityGeoLocation_East.png" src="../../images/5/516.png" width="17" /></a> <a class="image" href="../../images/5/582.png.htm" title="Flag of Turkmenistan"><img alt="Flag of Turkmenistan" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Turkmenistan.svg" src="../../images/5/582.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Turkmenistan.htm" title="Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/515.png.htm" title="West"><img alt="West" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Template_CanadianCityGeoLocation_West.png" src="../../images/5/515.png" width="17" /></a> <b><a class="image" href="../../images/5/514.png.htm" title="Flag of Azerbaijan"><img alt="Flag of Azerbaijan" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Azerbaijan.svg" src="../../images/5/514.png" width="22" /></a> <strong class="selflink">Azerbaijan</strong></b> <a class="image" href="../../images/5/516.png.htm" title="East"><img alt="East" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Template_CanadianCityGeoLocation_East.png" src="../../images/5/516.png" width="17" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/517.png.htm" title="South"><img alt="South" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Template_CanadianCityGeoLocation_South.png" src="../../images/5/517.png" width="17" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%">
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a class="image" href="../../images/187/18780.png.htm" title="Flag of Iran"><img alt="Flag of Iran" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Iran.svg" src="../../images/5/518.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center; !important" width="30%"><a href="../../wp/c/Caspian_Sea.htm" title="Caspian Sea">Caspian Sea</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/5/517.png.htm" title="Image:Template CanadianCityGeoLocation South.png"><img alt="Image:Template CanadianCityGeoLocation South.png" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Template_CanadianCityGeoLocation_South.png" src="../../images/5/517.png" width="17" /></a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/187/18780.png.htm" title="Flag of Iran"><img alt="Flag of Iran" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Iran.svg" src="../../images/5/518.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="toccolours">
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/514.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="25" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Azerbaijan.svg" src="../../images/9/948.png" width="50" /></a></td>
<th bgcolor="#CCCCFF" width="100%">International ties of <strong class="selflink">Azerbaijan</strong></th>
<td width="50"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/514.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="25" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Azerbaijan.svg" src="../../images/9/948.png" width="50" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;">Geographical:</th>
<td colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Europe | <!--del_lnk--> Eurasia (<!--del_lnk--> Caucasus) | <!--del_lnk--> Asia (<!--del_lnk--> Western Asia)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;">International organizations :</th>
<td colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> AsDB, <!--del_lnk--> BSEC, <!--del_lnk--> CCC, <!--del_lnk--> CE, <!--del_lnk--> CIS, <!--del_lnk--> EAPC, <!--del_lnk--> EBRD, <!--del_lnk--> ECE, <!--del_lnk--> ECO, <!--del_lnk--> ESCAP, <!--del_lnk--> FAO, <!--del_lnk--> IAEA, <!--del_lnk--> IBRD, <!--del_lnk--> ICAO, <!--del_lnk--> ICFTU, <a href="../../wp/i/International_Red_Cross_and_Red_Crescent_Movement.htm" title="International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement">ICRM</a>, <!--del_lnk--> IDA, <!--del_lnk--> IDB, <!--del_lnk--> IFAD, <!--del_lnk--> IFC, <!--del_lnk--> IFRCS, <!--del_lnk--> ILO, <!--del_lnk--> IMF, <!--del_lnk--> IMO, <a href="../../wp/i/Interpol.htm" title="Interpol">Interpol</a>, <!--del_lnk--> IOC, <!--del_lnk--> IOM, <!--del_lnk--> ISO (correspondent), <!--del_lnk--> ITU, <!--del_lnk--> NAM (observer), <!--del_lnk--> OAS (observer), <!--del_lnk--> OIC, <!--del_lnk--> OPCW, <!--del_lnk--> OSCE, <!--del_lnk--> PFP, <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">UN</a>, <!--del_lnk--> UNCTAD, <!--del_lnk--> UNESCO, <!--del_lnk--> UNHRC, <!--del_lnk--> UNIDO, <!--del_lnk--> UPU, <!--del_lnk--> UNWTO, <!--del_lnk--> WFTU, <a href="../../wp/w/World_Health_Organization.htm" title="World Health Organization">WHO</a>, <!--del_lnk--> WIPO, <!--del_lnk--> WMO, <a href="../../wp/w/World_Trade_Organization.htm" title="World Trade Organization">WToO</a>, (observer)</td>
</tr>
</table>
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<div class="NavHead" style="background-color:#eee; height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em; position:relative"><b><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_countries.htm" title="List of countries">Countries</a> of <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a></b></div>
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<p><span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/a/Albania.htm" title="Albania">Albania</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/a/Andorra.htm" title="Andorra">Andorra</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/a/Armenia.htm" title="Armenia">Armenia</a><sup><small>1</small></sup> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austria</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><strong class="selflink">Azerbaijan</strong><sup><small>2</small></sup> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/b/Belarus.htm" title="Belarus">Belarus</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/b/Bosnia_and_Herzegovina.htm" title="Bosnia and Herzegovina">Bosnia and Herzegovina</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/b/Bulgaria.htm" title="Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/c/Croatia.htm" title="Croatia">Croatia</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/c/Cyprus.htm" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a><sup><small>1</small></sup> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/c/Czech_Republic.htm" title="Czech Republic">Czech Republic</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/e/Estonia.htm" title="Estonia">Estonia</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/f/Finland.htm" title="Finland">Finland</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a><sup><small>2</small></sup> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greece</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/h/Hungary.htm" title="Hungary">Hungary</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/i/Iceland.htm" title="Iceland">Iceland</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_Ireland.htm" title="Republic of Ireland">Ireland</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/k/Kazakhstan.htm" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a><sup><small>2</small></sup> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/l/Latvia.htm" title="Latvia">Latvia</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/l/Liechtenstein.htm" title="Liechtenstein">Liechtenstein</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/l/Lithuania.htm" title="Lithuania">Lithuania</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/l/Luxembourg.htm" title="Luxembourg">Luxembourg</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_Macedonia.htm" title="Republic of Macedonia">Republic of Macedonia</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/m/Malta.htm" title="Malta">Malta</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/m/Moldova.htm" title="Moldova">Moldova</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/m/Monaco.htm" title="Monaco">Monaco</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/m/Montenegro.htm" title="Montenegro">Montenegro</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norway</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/r/Romania.htm" title="Romania">Romania</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a><sup><small>2</small></sup> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/s/San_Marino.htm" title="San Marino">San Marino</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/s/Serbia.htm" title="Serbia">Serbia</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/s/Slovakia.htm" title="Slovakia">Slovakia</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/s/Slovenia.htm" title="Slovenia">Slovenia</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/s/Switzerland.htm" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a><sup><small>2</small></sup> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/u/Ukraine.htm" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> ·</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap"><a href="../../wp/v/Vatican_City.htm" title="Vatican City">Vatican City</a></span><p>(1) Entirely in <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a> but having socio-political connections with Europe. (2) Has <!--del_lnk--> significant territory in Asia.</div>
</div>
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<div class="NavHead" style="background-color:#eee; height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em; position:relative"><b><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_countries.htm" title="List of countries">Countries</a> of <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a></b></div>
<div class="NavContent" style="font-size:0.9em; margin:0.5em">
<p><span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/a/Afghanistan.htm" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/a/Armenia.htm" title="Armenia">Armenia</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><strong class="selflink">Azerbaijan</strong> <sup>1</sup> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/b/Bahrain.htm" title="Bahrain">Bahrain</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/b/Bangladesh.htm" title="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/b/Bhutan.htm" title="Bhutan">Bhutan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/b/Brunei.htm" title="Brunei">Brunei</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/c/Cambodia.htm" title="Cambodia">Cambodia</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">People's Republic of China</a> <sup>2</sup> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/c/Cyprus.htm" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/e/East_Timor.htm" title="East Timor">East Timor</a> <sup>3</sup> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a> <sup>1</sup> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a> <sup>3</sup> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/i/Iraq.htm" title="Iraq">Iraq</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/j/Jordan.htm" title="Jordan">Jordan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/k/Kazakhstan.htm" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a> <sup>1</sup> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/k/Kuwait.htm" title="Kuwait">Kuwait</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/k/Kyrgyzstan.htm" title="Kyrgyzstan">Kyrgyzstan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/l/Laos.htm" title="Laos">Laos</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/l/Lebanon.htm" title="Lebanon">Lebanon</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/m/Malaysia.htm" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/m/Maldives.htm" title="Maldives">Maldives</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/m/Mongolia.htm" title="Mongolia">Mongolia</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/m/Myanmar.htm" title="Myanmar">Myanmar</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/n/Nepal.htm" title="Nepal">Nepal</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/n/North_Korea.htm" title="North Korea">North Korea</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/o/Oman.htm" title="Oman">Oman</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/p/Pakistan.htm" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/q/Qatar.htm" title="Qatar">Qatar</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a> <sup>1</sup> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/s/Saudi_Arabia.htm" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/s/Singapore.htm" title="Singapore">Singapore</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/s/South_Korea.htm" title="South Korea">South Korea</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/s/Sri_Lanka.htm" title="Sri Lanka">Sri Lanka</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/s/Syria.htm" title="Syria">Syria</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/t/Tajikistan.htm" title="Tajikistan">Tajikistan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/t/Thailand.htm" title="Thailand">Thailand</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> <sup>1</sup> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/t/Turkmenistan.htm" title="Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/u/United_Arab_Emirates.htm" title="United Arab Emirates">United Arab Emirates</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/u/Uzbekistan.htm" title="Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/v/Vietnam.htm" title="Vietnam">Vietnam</a> •</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/y/Yemen.htm" title="Yemen">Yemen</a></span><p>For dependent and other territories, see <!--del_lnk--> Dependent territory and <!--del_lnk--> List of unrecognized countries.<p><sup>1</sup> Partly in Europe. <sup>2</sup> The <a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_China.htm" title="Republic of China">Republic of China (Taiwan)</a> not officially recognized by the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nations</a>; see <!--del_lnk--> Political status of Taiwan. <sup>3</sup> Partly or wholly reckoned in <a href="../../wp/o/Oceania.htm" title="Oceania">Oceania</a>.</div>
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<div class="NavHead" style="background-color:#eee; height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em; position:relative"><b><!--del_lnk--> Countries in <!--del_lnk--> Southwest Asia</b></div>
<div class="NavContent" style="font-size:0.9em; margin:0.5em">
<p><a href="../../wp/a/Armenia.htm" title="Armenia">Armenia</a> • <strong class="selflink">Azerbaijan</strong> • <a href="../../wp/b/Bahrain.htm" title="Bahrain">Bahrain</a> • <a href="../../wp/c/Cyprus.htm" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a> • <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a> • <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a> • <a href="../../wp/i/Iraq.htm" title="Iraq">Iraq</a> • <a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a> • <a href="../../wp/j/Jordan.htm" title="Jordan">Jordan</a> • <a href="../../wp/k/Kuwait.htm" title="Kuwait">Kuwait</a> <a href="../../wp/l/Lebanon.htm" title="Lebanon">Lebanon</a> • <a href="../../wp/o/Oman.htm" title="Oman">Oman</a> • <a href="../../wp/q/Qatar.htm" title="Qatar">Qatar</a> • <a href="../../wp/s/Saudi_Arabia.htm" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> • <a href="../../wp/s/Syria.htm" title="Syria">Syria</a> • <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> • <a href="../../wp/u/United_Arab_Emirates.htm" title="United Arab Emirates">United Arab Emirates</a> • <a href="../../wp/y/Yemen.htm" title="Yemen">Yemen</a></div>
</div>
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<div class="NavHead" style="background-color:#eee; height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em; position:relative"><b><!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)</b></div>
<div class="NavContent" style="font-size:0.9em; margin:0.5em">
<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/5/522.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="25" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_CIS.svg" src="../../images/5/522.png" width="50" /></a></span></div>
<p><a href="../../wp/a/Armenia.htm" title="Armenia">Armenia</a> • <strong class="selflink">Azerbaijan</strong> • <a href="../../wp/b/Belarus.htm" title="Belarus">Belarus</a> • <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a> • <a href="../../wp/k/Kazakhstan.htm" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a> • <a href="../../wp/k/Kyrgyzstan.htm" title="Kyrgyzstan">Kyrgyzstan</a> • <a href="../../wp/m/Moldova.htm" title="Moldova">Moldova</a> • <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a> • <a href="../../wp/t/Tajikistan.htm" title="Tajikistan">Tajikistan</a> • <a href="../../wp/u/Ukraine.htm" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a> • <a href="../../wp/u/Uzbekistan.htm" title="Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a><p>Associate Member: <a href="../../wp/t/Turkmenistan.htm" title="Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a></div>
</div>
<p>
<br />
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<div class="NavHead" style="background-color:#eee; height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1em; position:relative"><b><!--del_lnk--> Turkic-speaking nations and autonomous entities with an official Turkic language</b></div>
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<p><b>Western Turkic</b><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/5/514.png.htm" title="Flag of Azerbaijan"><img alt="Flag of Azerbaijan" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Azerbaijan.svg" src="../../images/5/514.png" width="22" /></a> <strong class="selflink">Azerbaijan</strong><sup>1</sup> • <a class="image" href="../../images/9/949.png.htm" title="Bashkortostan Flag"><img alt="Bashkortostan Flag" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Bashkortostan.svg" src="../../images/9/949.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Bashkortostan<sup>2</sup> • <a class="image" href="../../images/9/950.png.htm" title="Chuvashia Flag"><img alt="Chuvashia Flag" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Chuvashia.svg" src="../../images/9/950.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Chuvashia<sup>2</sup> • <a class="image" href="../../images/6/612.png.htm" title="Flag of Cyprus"><img alt="Flag of Cyprus" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Cyprus_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/6/612.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Cyprus.htm" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a> (<a class="image" href="../../images/81/8192.png.htm" title="Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Flag"><img alt="Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Flag" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Turkish_Republic_of_Northern_Cyprus.svg" src="../../images/9/951.png" width="20" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Turkish_Republic_of_Northern_Cyprus.htm" title="Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus">Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus</a><sup>3</sup>) • <a class="image" href="../../images/9/952.png.htm" title="Gagauzia Flag"><img alt="Gagauzia Flag" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flagge_Gagausien_01_01.png" src="../../images/9/952.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Gagauzia<sup>4</sup> • <a class="image" href="../../images/9/953.png.htm" title="Kabardino-Balkaria Flag"><img alt="Kabardino-Balkaria Flag" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Kabardino-Balkaria.svg" src="../../images/9/953.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Kabardino-Balkaria<sup>2</sup> •<br /><a class="image" href="../../images/9/954.png.htm" title="Karachay-Cherkessia Flag"><img alt="Karachay-Cherkessia Flag" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Karachay-Cherkessia.svg" src="../../images/9/954.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Karachay-Cherkessia<sup>2</sup> • <a class="image" href="../../images/9/955.png.htm" title="Karakalpakstan Flag"><img alt="Karakalpakstan Flag" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Karakalpakstan.svg" src="../../images/9/955.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Karakalpakstan<sup>5</sup> • <a class="image" href="../../images/5/579.png.htm" title="Flag of Kazakhstan"><img alt="Flag of Kazakhstan" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Kazakhstan.svg" src="../../images/5/579.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/k/Kazakhstan.htm" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a> • <a class="image" href="../../images/9/956.png.htm" title="Tatarstan Flag"><img alt="Tatarstan Flag" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Tatarstan.svg" src="../../images/9/956.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Tatarstan<sup>2</sup> • <a class="image" href="../../images/5/582.png.htm" title="Flag of Turkmenistan"><img alt="Flag of Turkmenistan" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Turkmenistan.svg" src="../../images/5/582.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Turkmenistan.htm" title="Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a> • <a class="image" href="../../images/5/512.png.htm" title="Flag of Turkey"><img alt="Flag of Turkey" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Turkey.svg" src="../../images/5/512.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> • <a class="image" href="../../images/5/583.png.htm" title="Flag of Uzbekistan"><img alt="Flag of Uzbekistan" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Uzbekistan.svg" src="../../images/5/583.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/Uzbekistan.htm" title="Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a> • <a class="image" href="../../images/5/584.png.htm" title="People's Republic of China Flag"><img alt="People's Republic of China Flag" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg" src="../../images/5/584.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Xinjiang<sup>6</sup><br />
<br /><b>Eastern Turkic</b><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/9/957.png.htm" title="Altai Republic Flag"><img alt="Altai Republic Flag" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Altai_Republic_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/9/957.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Altai Republic<sup>2</sup> • <a class="image" href="../../images/9/958.png.htm" title="Khakassia Flag"><img alt="Khakassia Flag" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Khakassia.svg" src="../../images/9/958.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Khakassia<sup>2</sup> • <a class="image" href="../../images/5/580.png.htm" title="Flag of Kyrgyzstan"><img alt="Flag of Kyrgyzstan" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Kyrgyzstan.svg" src="../../images/5/580.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/k/Kyrgyzstan.htm" title="Kyrgyzstan">Kyrgyzstan</a> • <a class="image" href="../../images/9/959.png.htm" title="Sakha Flag"><img alt="Sakha Flag" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Sakha.svg" src="../../images/9/959.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Sakha<sup>2</sup> • <a class="image" href="../../images/9/960.png.htm" title="Tuva Flag"><img alt="Tuva Flag" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Tuva.svg" src="../../images/9/960.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Tuva<sup>2</sup><hr />
<p style="font-size:85%;">Notes: (1) Includes the <!--del_lnk--> Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic; (2) A federal subject of the <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russian Federation</a>; (3) See <!--del_lnk--> Cyprus dispute;<br /> (4) Gagauzia is a territorial autonomous unit of <a href="../../wp/m/Moldova.htm" title="Moldova">Moldova</a>; (5) Karakalpakstan is an autonomous republic of Uzbekistan; (6) Xinjiang Uyghur is an autonomous region of the <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">People's Republic of China</a></div>
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<h2>SOS Children in Azerbaijan</h2>
<img src="../../wp/j/Jwp_map_azerbaijan_en.gif" width="405" height="273" alt="Sponsorship sites in Azerbaijan" class="left" /><p>Formerly part of the Soviet Union, independence in 1992 was followed by huge social and economic upheaval, soaring inflation and the breakdown of industry and services. In the early nineties, conflict with Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorny-Karabakh, resulted in thousands of casualties and the displacement within Azerbaijan of about one million people. </p><p>Despite abundant resources of oil and natural gas, Azerbaijan has very high unemployment. The standard of living is low and poverty and destitution are increasing. The oil-generated wealth in Baku has not filtered filtered down to the most vulnerable - children, the disabled and elderly, and refugees and internally displaced people. Basic services such as refuse clearance are inadequate, with serious health implications while dangerous levels of pollution have caused high rates of disability amongst children. Respiratory conditions and parasitic infections are the principal causes of infant and under-five mortality. </p><p>SOS Children's Baku community, the first in Azerbaijan, opened in May 2000. Many of the children came from the Ganja City Orphanage and for some it is their first, real home. Pleasantly situated in a residential area on the outskirts of Baku, amongst olive groves and pine trees overlooking the Caspian Sea, it has fourteen family houses and a kindergarten for the younger children, as well as children from the neighbourhood. Older children attend local schools. Leisure activities include dancing and karate for the older boys. </p><p>A second SOS Children's village opened in Ganja, the country's second largest city, in 2005.</p><h3>Local contacts</h3>
<img src="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="SOS Children's Villages Azerbaijan" class="right" /><p>SOS Children's Villages Azerbaijan<br />27 Sadikhjan Str, Khatai District<br />370 027 Baku<br />Azerbaijan<br />Tel +994/12/471835-72<br />Fax +994/12/471219<br />e-mail [email protected]</p><p><strong><a href="../../wp/s/Sponsor_A_Child.htm">Azerbaijan Child Sponsorship</a></strong></p>
<p>Next Country: <a href="../../wp/b/Benin_B.htm">Benin</a></p>
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<p>"SOS Children" refers to SOS Kinderdorf worldwide. SOS Children is a working name for SOS Children's Villages UK.</p>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Peoples.htm">Peoples</a></h3>
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<th colspan="2" style="text-align:center; font-size:larger; background-color:#b08261; color:#fee8ab;">Azerbaijanis<br /> (Azərbaycanlılar آذربایجانلیلار)</th>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:0px; border:none;"><a class="image" href="../../images/234/23438.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="198" longdesc="/wiki/Image:3_Azeri.jpg" src="../../images/234/23438.jpg" width="300" /></a></td>
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<th style="background-color:#fee8ab;">Total population</th>
<td style="background-color:#fff6d9;"><i>c.</i> 20.5 to 33 million</td>
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<th style="background-color:#fee8ab;">Regions with significant populations</th>
<td style="background-color:#fff6d9;"><a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a>:<br /> 12-23.5 million<br />
<p><a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a>:<br /> 7,643,378<br /><a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a>:<br /> 800,000.<br /><a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>:<br /> 622,000 (2002 census).<br /><a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a>:<br /> 284,761 (2002 census)<br /><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>:<br /> 280,000<br /><a href="../../wp/k/Kazakhstan.htm" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a>:<br /> 80,000 (1999 census)<br /><a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>:<br /> 55,000<br /><a href="../../wp/u/Ukraine.htm" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a>:<br /> 46,000 (2001 census)<br /><a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>:<br /> 1,445.<br /> Other:<br /> 30,000<br />
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<th style="background-color:#fee8ab;">Language</th>
<td style="background-color:#fff6d9;"><!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijani</td>
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<th style="background-color:#fee8ab;">Religion</th>
<td style="background-color:#fff6d9;">Predominately <!--del_lnk--> Muslim, Few adherents of <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a>, <a href="../../wp/j/Judaism.htm" title="Judaism">Judaism</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Zoroastrianism and others.</td>
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<th style="background-color:#fee8ab;">Related ethnic groups</th>
<td style="background-color:#fff6d9;"><!--del_lnk--> Turkic people, <!--del_lnk--> peoples of the Caucasus, and <a href="../../wp/i/Iranian_peoples.htm" title="Iranian peoples">Iranic peoples</a></td>
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<p>The <b>Azerbaijanis</b> are an <a href="../../wp/e/Ethnic_group.htm" title="Ethnic group">ethnic group</a> mainly found in northwestern <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a> and the <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Republic of Azerbaijan</a>. Commonly referred to as <b>Azeris</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Azeri: <b>آذریلر</b>/<b>Azәrilәr</b>) or <b>Āzarīs</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Persian: <b>آذری</b>), they also live in a wider area from the <!--del_lnk--> Caucasus to the <!--del_lnk--> Iranian plateau. The Azeris are typically <!--del_lnk--> Muslim and have a mixed cultural heritage of <!--del_lnk--> Turkic, <a href="../../wp/i/Iranian_peoples.htm" title="Iranian peoples">Iranian</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> Caucasian elements.<p>Despite living on both sides of an international border, the Azeris form a single group. However, northerners and southerners differ due to nearly two centuries of separate social evolution in <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russian</a>/<a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet</a>-influenced Azerbaijan and <!--del_lnk--> Iranian Azarbaijan. The <!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijani language unifies Azeris and is mutually intelligible with <!--del_lnk--> Turkmen and <!--del_lnk--> Turkish (including the dialects spoken by the <!--del_lnk--> Turkomans of Iraq and by the <!--del_lnk--> Qashqai). All of these languages are traced to the Turkic <!--del_lnk--> Oghuz, who moved into the Caucasus from <!--del_lnk--> Central Asia in the 11th century. Following the <!--del_lnk--> Russian-Persian Wars of the 18th and 19th centuries, <!--del_lnk--> Persian territories in the Caucasus (some merely under nominal control) were ceded to the <!--del_lnk--> Russian Empire. This included parts of the current Republic of Azerbaijan. The treaties of <!--del_lnk--> Golestan in 1813 and <!--del_lnk--> Turkmanchai in 1828 finalized the border between Russia and <!--del_lnk--> Persia (Iran).<p>As a result of this separate existence, the Azeris are mainly secularists in Azerbaijan and religious Muslims in Iranian Azarbaijan. Since Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, there has been renewed interest in religion and cross-border ethnic ties.<p>
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<p>Azerbaijan is believed to be named after <i><!--del_lnk--> Atropates</i>, a <!--del_lnk--> Median <!--del_lnk--> satrap (governor) who ruled in <i><!--del_lnk--> Atropatene</i> (modern <!--del_lnk--> Iranian Azarbaijan). Atropates is derived from <!--del_lnk--> Old Persian roots meaning "protected by fire." <!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijan has seen a host of inhabitants and invaders, including <!--del_lnk--> Caucasians, <!--del_lnk--> Medes, <!--del_lnk--> Scythians, <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persians</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Armenians, <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Greece.htm" title="Ancient Greece">Greeks</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Romans</a>, <a href="../../wp/k/Khazars.htm" title="Khazars">Khazars</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Arabs, <!--del_lnk--> Oghuz, <!--del_lnk--> Seljuks, <a href="../../wp/m/Mongol_Empire.htm" title="Mongol Empire">Mongols</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> Russians.<p><a id="Ancient_period" name="Ancient_period"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Ancient period</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Caucasian Albanians are believed to be the earliest inhabitants of Azerbaijan. Early invaders included the <!--del_lnk--> Scythians in the ninth century BCE. Following the Scythians, the Medes came to dominate the area to the south of the <!--del_lnk--> Aras. The Medes forged a vast empire between 900-700 BCE, which was overthrown by the <!--del_lnk--> Achaemenids around 550 BCE. During this period, <!--del_lnk--> Zoroastrianism spread in Azerbaijan. The Achaemenids in turn were defeated by <a href="../../wp/a/Alexander_the_Great.htm" title="Alexander the Great">Alexander the Great</a> in 330 BCE, but the Median satrap Atropates was allowed to remain in power. Following the decline of the <!--del_lnk--> Seleucids in Persia in 247 BCE, an <!--del_lnk--> Armenian Kingdom exercised control over parts of Azerbaijan between 190 BCE to 428 CE. Caucasian Albanians established a kingdom in the 1st century BCE and largely remained independent until the <!--del_lnk--> Sassanids made the kingdom a <!--del_lnk--> vassal state in 252 CE. Caucasian Albania's ruler, King Urnayr, officially adopted <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a> as the state religion in the 4th century CE, and Albania would remain a Christian state until the 8th century. Sassanid control ended with their defeat by Muslim <a href="../../wp/a/Abbasid.htm" title="Abbasid">Arabs</a> in 642 CE.<p><a id="Medieval_period" name="Medieval_period"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Medieval period</span></h3>
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<div style="width:122px;"><!--del_lnk--> Image:Selçuklu kartalı.jpg<div class="thumbcaption">The <!--del_lnk--> Seljuk coat of arms: a double headed eagle</div>
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<p>Muslim Arabs defeated the Sassanids and <a href="../../wp/b/Byzantine_Empire.htm" title="Byzantine Empire">Byzantines</a> as they marched into the Caucasus region. The Arabs made Caucasian Albania a vassal state after the Christian resistance, led by Prince <!--del_lnk--> Javanshir, surrendered in 667. Between the 9th and 10th centuries, Arab authors began to refer to the region between the <!--del_lnk--> Kura and Aras rivers as <i><!--del_lnk--> Arran</i>. During this time, Arabs from <!--del_lnk--> Basra and <!--del_lnk--> Kufa came to Azerbaijan and seized lands that indigenous peoples had abandoned; the Arabs became a land-owning elite. Conversion to Islam was slow as local resistance persisted for centuries and resentment grew as small groups of Arabs began migrating to cities such as <!--del_lnk--> Tabriz and <!--del_lnk--> Maraghah. This influx sparked a major rebellion in <!--del_lnk--> Iranian Azarbaijan from 816–837, led by a local commoner named <!--del_lnk--> Bābak. However, despite pockets of continued resistance, the majority of the inhabitants of Azerbaijan converted to Islam. Later on, in the 10th and 11th centuries, <!--del_lnk--> Kurdish dynasties of <!--del_lnk--> Shaddadid and <!--del_lnk--> Rawadid ruled parts of Azerbaijan.<p>In the middle of the 11th century, the <!--del_lnk--> Seljuq dynasty overthrew Arab rule and established an empire that encompassed most of <!--del_lnk--> Southwest Asia. The Seljuk period marked the influx of <!--del_lnk--> Oghuz nomads into the region and, thus, the beginning of the <!--del_lnk--> turkification of Azerbaijan as the West Oghuz Turkic language supplanted earlier Caucasian and Iranian ones.<p>However, Iranian cultural influence survived, as evidenced by the works of then contemporary writers such as <!--del_lnk--> Persian poet <!--del_lnk--> Nezāmī Ganjavī. The emerging Turkic identity was chronicled in epic poems or <i>dastans</i>, the oldest being the <i><!--del_lnk--> Book of Dede Korkut</i>, which relate <!--del_lnk--> allegorical tales about the early Turks in the Caucasus and <!--del_lnk--> Asia Minor. Turkic dominion was interrupted by the <a href="../../wp/m/Mongol_Empire.htm" title="Mongol Empire">Mongols</a> in 1227 and later the Mongols and <!--del_lnk--> Tamerlane ruled the region until 1405. Turkic rule returned with the <!--del_lnk--> Sunni <!--del_lnk--> Qara Qoyunlū (Black Sheep Turkmen) and <!--del_lnk--> Aq Qoyunlū (White Sheep Turkmen), who dominated Azerbaijan until the <!--del_lnk--> Shi'a <!--del_lnk--> Safavids took power in 1501.<p><a id="Modern_period" name="Modern_period"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Modern period</span></h3>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23439.jpg.htm" title="Early 20th century fruit market in Urmia, Persia"><img alt="Early 20th century fruit market in Urmia, Persia" height="220" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Urmiyye_market.jpg" src="../../images/234/23439.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23439.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Early 20th century fruit market in <!--del_lnk--> Urmia, Persia</div>
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<p>The Safavids, who rose from Iranian Azerbaijan, established a the modern multi-ethnic Iranian state, which lasted until 1722. Noted for achievements in state building, architecture, and the sciences, the Safavid state crumbled due to internal decay and external pressures from the Russians and <!--del_lnk--> Afghans. The Safavids encouraged and spread Shi'a Islam which is an important part of the national identity of Iranian Azerbaijani people as well as many Azerbaijanis from the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Safavids encouraged the arts and culture and Shah <!--del_lnk--> Abbas the Great created an intellectual atmosphere which according to some scholars was a new <i>Golden Age of Persia</i>. He reformed the government and the military, and responded to the needs of the common people.<p>After the Safavid state came brief <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman</a> rule followed by the conquest of <!--del_lnk--> Nadir Shah Afshar, a chieftain from <!--del_lnk--> Khorasan who reduced the power of the Shi'a. The brief reign of <!--del_lnk--> Karim Khan came next, followed by the <!--del_lnk--> Qajars, who ruled Azerbaijan and Iran starting in 1779. Russia loomed as a threat to Persian holdings in the Caucasus in this period. The <!--del_lnk--> Russo-Persian Wars began in the 18th century and ended in the early 19th century with the <!--del_lnk--> Gulistan Treaty of 1813 and the <!--del_lnk--> Turkmanchai Treaty in 1828, which officially gave the Caucasian portion of Qajar Iran to the Russian Empire..<p>Iranian Azerbaijan's role in the Iranian constitutional revolution cannot be underestimated. The greatest figures of the democracy seeking revolution <!--del_lnk--> Sattar Khan and <!--del_lnk--> Bagher Khan were both from Iranian Azerbaijan. The Constitutional Revolution of 1906-11 shook the Qajar dynasty, whose kings had virtually sold the country to the tobacco and oil interests of the British Empire and has lost territory to the Russian empire. A parliament (Majlis) came into existence by the efforts of the constitutionalists. It was accompanied in some regions by a peasant revolt against tax collectors and landlords, the only indigenous mainstay of the monarchy. Pro-democracy newspapers appeared, and Iranian intellectuals began to relish the modernist breezes blowing from Paris and Petrograd. The Qajar Shah and his British advisers crushed the Constitutional Revolution, but the demise of the dynasty could not be long postponed. The last Shah of the Qajar dynasty was soon removed by a military coup led by <!--del_lnk--> Reza Khan, an officer of an old Cossack regiment, which had been created by Czarist Russia and officered by Russians to protect the Qajar ruler and Russian interests. In the quest of imposing national homogeneity on the country where half of the population consisted of ethnic minorities, Reza Shah issued in quick succession bans on the use of Azerbaijani language on the premises of schools, in theatrical performances, religious ceremonies, and, finally, in the publication of books.<p>With the dethronment of Reza Shah in September 1941, Russian troops captured Tabriz and northwestern Persia for military and strategic reasons. <!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijan People's Government, a client state set up by the order of Stalin himself, under leadership of <!--del_lnk--> Sayyid Jafar Pishevari was proclaimed in Tabriz However, under pressure by the Western countries, the Soviet army was soon withdrawn, and the Iranian government regained control over Iranian Azerbaijan by the end of 1946.<p>According to Professor. Gary R. Hess:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
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<td>On December 11, an Iranian force entered Tabriz and the Peeshavari government quickly collapsed. Indeed the Iranians were enthusiastically welcomed by the people of Azerbaijan, who strongly preferred dominination by Tehran rather than Moscow. The Soviet willingness to forego its influence in (Iranian) Azerbaijan probably resulted from several factors, including the realization that the sentiment for autonomy had been exaggerated and that oil concessions remained the more desirable long-term Soviet Objective.</td>
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<p>While the Azeris in Iran largely integrated into modern Iranian society, the northern Azeris lived through the transition from the Russian Empire to brief <!--del_lnk--> independence from 1918-1920 and then incorporation into the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> despite pleas by <a href="../../wp/w/Woodrow_Wilson.htm" title="Woodrow Wilson">Woodrow Wilson</a> for their independence at the <a href="../../wp/t/Treaty_of_Versailles.htm" title="Treaty of Versailles">Treaty of Versailles</a> conference. The Republic of Azerbaijan achieved independence in 1991, but became embroiled in a war over the enclave of <!--del_lnk--> Nagorno-Karabakh with <a href="../../wp/a/Armenia.htm" title="Armenia">Armenia</a>.<p><a id="Origins" name="Origins"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Origins</span></h2>
<p>In many references, Azerbaijanis are designated as a <!--del_lnk--> Turkic people, due to their <!--del_lnk--> Turkic language and partial descent from the <!--del_lnk--> Oghuz. However, there is a debate regarding the ethnic origins of the Azeris. The debate has to do with modern <a href="../../wp/n/Nationalism.htm" title="Nationalism">nationalism</a> and historic claims over Azeri territory. The debate involves three viewpoints: whether the Azeris are of a Turkic background from <!--del_lnk--> Central Asia, are an <a href="../../wp/i/Iranian_peoples.htm" title="Iranian peoples">Iranian people</a> who simply changed their language following Turkic invasions, or are indigenous to the <!--del_lnk--> Caucasus and have adopted the Azerbaijani language, Persian culture, and Islam. Thus, determining whether a Turkic, Iranian, or Caucasian background defines the Azeris has much to do with the historical views of Azeribaijan's neighbors.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23440.jpg.htm" title="Azeris in downtown Baku, Azerbaijan"><img alt="Azeris in downtown Baku, Azerbaijan" height="133" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Azeri_1.jpg" src="../../images/234/23440.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23440.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Azeris in downtown <!--del_lnk--> Baku, <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a></div>
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<p>According to the <!--del_lnk--> Encyclopædia of Islam:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
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<td>[as consequence of Oghuz Turkic domination in the Caucasus, beginning the 12th century] the Iranian population of Ā<u>dh</u>arbāyjān and the adjacent parts of Transcaucasia became Turkophone while the characteristic features of Ā<u>dh</u>arbāyjānī Turkish, such as Persian intonations and disregard of the vocalic harmony, reflect the non-Turkish origin of the Turkicised population.</td>
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<p>The <a href="../../wp/e/Encyclop%25C3%25A6dia_Britannica.htm" title="Encyclopædia Britannica">Encyclopædia Britannica</a> states that Azeris:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
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<td>are of mixed ethnic origin, the oldest element deriving from the indigenous population of eastern Transcaucasia and possibly from the Medians of northern Persia. This population was Persianized during the period of the Sasanian dynasty of Iran (3rd–7th century AD), but, after the region's conquest by the Seljuq Turks in the 11th century, the inhabitants were Turkicized, and further Turkicization of the population occurred in the ensuing centuries.</td>
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<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Azerbaijani people"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Azerbaijani people"><img alt="Azerbaijani people" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
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<p>This view supports initial genetic studies conducted in the Republic of Azerbaijan that link the modern Azeris primarily to their neighbors in the Caucasus and, to a lesser extent, northwestern Iran. Further studies with Azeris in Iran may help determine to what extent the modern Azeris are related to Caucasian peoples (notably the Albanians and Armenians) and Iranians (primarily the <!--del_lnk--> Medes).<p><a id="Turkic_theory" name="Turkic_theory"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Turkic theory</span></h3>
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23441.jpg.htm" title="Sattar Khan (1868-1914) was a major revolutionary figure in the late Qajar period in Iran."><img alt="Sattar Khan (1868-1914) was a major revolutionary figure in the late Qajar period in Iran." height="199" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Sattar_Khan.jpg" src="../../images/234/23441.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23441.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Sattar Khan (1868-1914) was a major revolutionary figure in the late <!--del_lnk--> Qajar period in Iran.</div>
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<p>The Turkic origin theory is based upon the <!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijani language and favored by those who believe that centuries of heavy Turkic settlement shaped Azerbaijan's Turkic identity. The Turkic theory does not alter the general view of the Azeris as a <!--del_lnk--> Turkic people, but discusses to what extent Turkic groups changed the demographics of the Eastern Caucasus and Iranian Azarbaijan.<p>Although, "Turkic penetration probably began in the <!--del_lnk--> Hunnic era and its aftermath," there is little evidence to indicate, "permanent settlements". The earliest major Turkic incursion began with <!--del_lnk--> Mahmud of Ghazni (971-1040) and accelerated during the <!--del_lnk--> Seljuk period. The migration of Oghuz Turks from present day <a href="../../wp/t/Turkmenistan.htm" title="Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a>, which is attested by linguistic similarity, remained high through the Mongol period, as many troops under the <!--del_lnk--> Ilkhans were Turkic. By the <!--del_lnk--> Safavid period, the <i>turkification</i> of Azerbaijan continued with the influence of the <!--del_lnk--> Kizilbash. The very name Azerbaijan is derived from the pre-Turkic name of the province, Azarbayjan or Adarbayjan, and illustrates a gradual language shift that took place as local place names survived turkification, albeit in altered form.<p>The <i><!--del_lnk--> Book of Dede Korkut</i> could be a document that supports a substantial Oghuz migration into Azerbaijan. <!--del_lnk--> UNESCO recently celebrated the 1300th anniversary of this epic work. Despite its purported age, most academics believe that the <i>Book of Dede Korkut</i> originated after the Oghuz entered the Caucasus, with its written text having been compiled in the 15th century. Most academics view this migration as the most likely source of a Turkic background, but one that most likely involved the <i>turkification</i> of predominantly indigenous peoples.<p><a id="Iranian_theory" name="Iranian_theory"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Iranian theory</span></h3>
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23442.jpg.htm" title="Statue of Nezami Ganjavi, a 12th century writer and philosopher, in Baku, Azerbaijan. Nezami is a major literary figure to both Azeris and Persians."><img alt="Statue of Nezami Ganjavi, a 12th century writer and philosopher, in Baku, Azerbaijan. Nezami is a major literary figure to both Azeris and Persians." height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Nizami_monument.jpg" src="../../images/234/23442.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23442.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Statue of <!--del_lnk--> Nezami Ganjavi, a 12th century writer and philosopher, in <!--del_lnk--> Baku, <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a>. Nezami is a major literary figure to both Azeris and Persians.</div>
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<p>The Iranian origin theory, favoured by some notable scholars and sources, is based upon the ancient presence of <a href="../../wp/i/Iranian_peoples.htm" title="Iranian peoples">Iranic tribes</a>, such as the <!--del_lnk--> Medes, in <!--del_lnk--> Iranian Azarbaijan, and <!--del_lnk--> Scythian invasions during the eighth century BCE. It is believed that the Medes mixed with an indigenous population, the Caucasian <!--del_lnk--> Mannai, a <!--del_lnk--> Northeast Caucasian group related to the <!--del_lnk--> Urartians.<p>Scholars see cultural similarities between modern Persians and Azeris as evidence of an ancient Iranian influence. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Iranian religion of <!--del_lnk--> Zoroastrianism was prominent throughout the Caucasus before Christianity and Islam and that the influence of various <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persian Empires</a> added to the Iranian character of the area. It has also been hypothesized that the population of Iranian Azarbaijan was predominantly Persian-speaking before the Oghuz arrived. This claim is supported by the many Azerbaijani literary figures, such as <!--del_lnk--> Qatran Tabrizi, <!--del_lnk--> Shams Tabrizi, <!--del_lnk--> Nezami, and <!--del_lnk--> Khaghani, who wrote in Persian prior to and during the Oghuz migration, as well as by <!--del_lnk--> Strabo, Al-Istakhri, and Al-Masudi, who all describe the language of the region as <!--del_lnk--> Persian. The claim is mentioned by other medieval historians, such as <!--del_lnk--> Al-Muqaddasi. Other common Perso-Azeribaijani features include Iranian place names such as <!--del_lnk--> Tabriz and <!--del_lnk--> Baku.<p>The modern presence of the Iranian <!--del_lnk--> Talysh and <!--del_lnk--> Tats in Azerbaijan is further evidence of the former Iranian character of the region. As a precursor to these modern groups, the <!--del_lnk--> ancient Azaris are hypothesized as the main ancestors of the modern Azerbaijanis. However, ancient historians, including <a href="../../wp/h/Herodotus.htm" title="Herodotus">Herodotus</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Polybius and <!--del_lnk--> Strabo, mention the region as a mixed one, with Iranian and non-Iranian groups, such as the <i><!--del_lnk--> Utii</i>, a Caucasian group that still exists in Azerbaijan.<p><a id="Caucasian_theory" name="Caucasian_theory"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Caucasian theory</span></h3>
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23443.jpg.htm" title="Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev (1838-1924), a leading Azeri industrialist and philanthropist"><img alt="Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev (1838-1924), a leading Azeri industrialist and philanthropist" height="211" longdesc="/wiki/Image:132_610_taghiyev.jpg" src="../../images/234/23443.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23443.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev (1838-1924), a leading Azeri industrialist and philanthropist</div>
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<p>There is evidence that, despite repeated invasions and migrations, aboriginal <!--del_lnk--> Caucasians may have been culturally assimilated, first by <!--del_lnk--> Iranians and later by the Oghuz. Audrey Alstadt notes in <i>The Azerbaijani Turks</i> that many Azeris in the Republic of Azerbaijan regard both the Oghuz and the Caucasian Albanians as their ancestors. Considerable information has been learned about the Caucasian Albanians including their language, history, early conversion to <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a>, and close ties to the <!--del_lnk--> Armenians. Many academics believe that the <!--del_lnk--> Udi language, still spoken in Azerbaijan, is a remnant of the Albanians' language.<p>This Caucasian influence extended further south into <!--del_lnk--> Iranian Azarbaijan. During the 1st millennium BCE, another Caucasian people, the <!--del_lnk--> Mannaeans (<i>Mannai</i>) populated much of Iranian Azarbaijan. Weakened by conflicts with the <!--del_lnk--> Assyrians, the Mannaeans are believed to have been conquered and assimilated by the Medes by 590 BCE.<p>The extent to which cultural assimilation took place is unclear. By examining the historical record, archaeological finds, and, in recent years, <!--del_lnk--> genealogical DNA testing, a team of researchers has put forth the view that indigenous peoples were often assimilated rather than being killed or driven out. In the case of the Azeris, this would mean that the majority today are descendents of the earliest settlers of the Caucasus. However, this view would require strong genetic evidence that peoples in the Caucasus are related despite their linguistic and cultural differences.<p><a id="Genetics" name="Genetics"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Genetics</span></h3>
<p>Though the population of Azerbaijan is culturally diverse, <!--del_lnk--> genetic testing has revealed common genetic markers that support an autochthonous background for most Azeris. A 2003 study found that: "<!--del_lnk--> Y-chromosome haplogroups indicate that Indo-European-speaking Armenians and Turkic-speaking Azerbaijanians are genetically more closely related to their geographic neighbors in the Caucasus than to their linguistic neighbors elsewhere." The authors of this study suggest that this indicates a language replacement of indigenous Caucasian peoples. There is evidence of limited genetic admixture derived from Central Asians (specifically <!--del_lnk--> Haplogroup H12), notably the <!--del_lnk--> Turkmen, that is higher than that of their neighbors, the <!--del_lnk--> Georgians and <!--del_lnk--> Armenians. <!--del_lnk--> MtDNA analysis indicates that the main relationship with Iranians is through a larger West Eurasian group that is secondary to that of the Caucasus, according to a study that did not include Azeris, but Georgians who have clustered with Azeris in other studies. The conclusion from the testing shows that the Azeris are a mixed population with relationships, in order of greatest similarity, with the Caucasus, Iranians and Near Easterners, Europeans, and Turkmen. Other genetic analysis of <!--del_lnk--> mtDNA and <!--del_lnk--> Y-chromosomes indicates that Caucasian populations are genetically intermediate between Europeans and Near Easterners, but that they are more closely related to Near Easterners overall. Another study, conducted in 2003 by the <i>Russian Journal of Genetics</i>, compared Iranians in Azerbaijan (the <!--del_lnk--> Talysh and <!--del_lnk--> Tats) with Turkic Azerbaijanis and found that,<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
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<td>the genetic structure of the populations examined with the other Iranian-speaking populations (Persians and Kurds from Iran, Ossetins, and Tajiks) and Azerbaijanis showed that Iranian-speaking populations from Azerbaijan were more close to Azerbaijanis, than to Iranian-speaking populations inhabiting other world regions.</td>
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<p>The conclusion from this study further supports the view that groups within close geographic proximity to the Azeris are genetically similar despite linguistic differences. A recent study of the genetic landscape of Iran was completed by a team of <a href="../../wp/u/University_of_Cambridge.htm" title="Cambridge University">Cambridge</a> geneticists led by Dr. Maziar Ashrafian Bonab (an Iranian Azarbaijani). Bonab remarked that his group had done extensive DNA testing on different language groups, including <!--del_lnk--> Indo-European and non Indo-European speakers, in Iran. The study found that the Azerbaijanis of Iran do not have a similar FSt and other genetic markers found in Anatolian and European Turks. However, the genetic Fst and other genetic traits like MRca and mtDNA of Iranian Azeris were identical to Persians in Iran. These studies suffer from some drawbacks, including a lack of <i>specific</i> comparative studies between Azeribaijanis from Iran and Azerbaijan.<p><a id="Ethnonym" name="Ethnonym"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Ethnonym</span></h3>
<p>Historically the Turkic people of Iranian Azerbaijan and the Caucasus called themselves or were referred to by others as Turks and religious identification prevailed over ethnic identification. When Transacaucasia became part of the <!--del_lnk--> Russian empire, Russian authorities, who traditionally called all Turkic people <!--del_lnk--> Tatars, called Azeris Aderbeijani/Azerbaijani or Caucasian Tatars to distinguish them from other Turkic people, also called Tatars by Russians. Russian Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary also refers to Azerbaijanis as Aderbeijans in some articles. According to the article Turko-Tatars of the above encyclopedia, “some scholars (Yadrintsev, Kharuzin, Shantr) suggested to change the terminology of some Turko-Tatar people, who somatically don’t have much in common with Turks, for instance, to call Aderbaijani Tatars (Iranians by type) Aderbaijans”. The modern ethnonym Azerbaijani/Azeri in its present form was accepted in 1930s.<p><a id="Demographics_and_society" name="Demographics_and_society"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics and society</span></h2>
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<p>There are an estimated 24 to 33 million Azerbaijanis in the world, but census figures are difficult to verify. The vast majority live in Azerbaijan and <!--del_lnk--> Iranian Azarbaijan. Between 16 and 23 million Azeris live in Iran, mainly in the northwestern provinces. Approximately 7.6 million Azeris are found in the Republic of Azerbaijan. A diaspora, possibly numbering in the millions, is found in neighboring countries and around the world. There are sizeable communities in <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">USA</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> and other countries.<p>While population estimates in Azerbaijan are considered reliable due to regular censuses taken, the figures for Iran remain questionable. Since the early 20th century, successive Iranian governments have avoided publishing statistics on ethnic groups. Unofficial population estimates of Azeris in Iran range from 20-24%. However, many Iran scholars, such as Nikki Keddie, Patricia J. Higgins, Shahrough Akhavi, Ali Reza Sheikholeslami, and others, claim that Azeris may comprise as much as one third of Iran's population.<p>A large expatriate community of Azerbaijanis is found outside Azerbaijan and Iran. According to <!--del_lnk--> Ethnologue, there were over 1 million Azerbaijani-speakers of the north dialect in southern <!--del_lnk--> Dagestan, <a href="../../wp/a/Armenia.htm" title="Armenia">Armenia</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Estonia.htm" title="Estonia">Estonia</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Georgia_%2528country%2529.htm" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a>, <a href="../../wp/k/Kazakhstan.htm" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a>, <a href="../../wp/k/Kyrgyzstan.htm" title="Kyrgyzstan">Kyrgyzstan</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Turkmenistan.htm" title="Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a>, and <a href="../../wp/u/Uzbekistan.htm" title="Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a> as of 1993. Other sources, such as national censuses, confirm the presence of Azeris throughout the former <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a>. The Ethnologue figures are outdated in the case of Armenia, where conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh has affected the population of Azeris. Ethnologue further reports that an additional 1 million South Azeris live outside Iran, but these figures most likely are a reference to the <!--del_lnk--> Iraqi Turkmen, a distinct though related Turkic people.<p><a id="Azeris_in_Azerbaijan" name="Azeris_in_Azerbaijan"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Azeris in Azerbaijan</span></h3>
<p>By far the largest ethnic group in Azerbaijan (over 90%), the Azeris generally tend to dominate most aspects of the country. Unlike most of their ethnic brethren in Iran, the majority of Azeris are secularized from decades of official Soviet <a href="../../wp/a/Atheism.htm" title="Atheism">atheism</a>. The literacy rate is high, another Soviet legacy, and is estimated at 98.8%. Whereas most urban Azeris are educated, education remains comparatively lower in rural areas. A similar disparity exists with healthcare.<p>Azeri society has been deeply impacted by the war with Armenia over <!--del_lnk--> Nagorno-Karabakh, which has displaced nearly 1 million Azeris and put strains upon the economy. Azerbaijan has benefited from the oil industry, but high levels of corruption have prevented greater prosperity for the masses. Many Azeris have grown frustrated over the political process in Azerbaijan as the election of current <!--del_lnk--> President Ilham Aliyev has been described as "marred by allegations of corruption and brutal crackdowns on his political opposition". Despite these problems, there is a renaissance in Azerbaijan as positive economic predictions and an active political opposition appear determined to improve the lives of average Azeris.<p><a id="Azeris_in_Iran" name="Azeris_in_Iran"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Azeris in Iran</span></h3>
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<p>Azerbaijanis in Iran are mainly found in the northwest provinces: <!--del_lnk--> East Azerbaijan, <!--del_lnk--> West Azerbaijan, <!--del_lnk--> Ardebil, <!--del_lnk--> Zanjan, and <!--del_lnk--> Markazi. Many others live in <a href="../../wp/t/Tehran.htm" title="Tehran">Tehran</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Fars Province, and other regions. Generally, Azeris in Iran have been, "a well integrated linguistic minority", according to academics such as anthropologist Patricia Higgins. In fact, until the <!--del_lnk--> Pahlavi period in the 20th century, "the identity of Iran was not exclusively Persian, but supra-ethnic", as much of the political leadership, starting from the 11th century, had been Turkic. The Iranian and Turkic groups were integrated until 20th century nationalism and communalism began to alter popular perception. Despite friction, Azerbaijanis in Iran came to be well represented at all levels of, "political, military, and intellectual hierarchies, as well as the religious hierarchy."<p>Resentment came with Pahlavi policies that suppressed the use of the <!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijani language in local government, schools, and the press. However with the advent of the <!--del_lnk--> Iranian Revolution in 1979, emphasis shifted away from nationalism as the new government highlighted religion as the main unifying factor. Within the Islamic Revolutionary government there emerged an Azeri nationalist faction led by <!--del_lnk--> Ayatollah Kazem Shariatmadari, who advocated greater regional autonomy and wanted the constitution to be revised to include secularists and opposition parties; this was denied. Azeri nationalism has oscillated since the Islamic revolution and recently escalated into riots over the publication in May 2006 of a <!--del_lnk--> cartoon that many Azeris found offensive. The cartoon was drawn by <!--del_lnk--> Mana Neyestani, an ethnic Azeri, who was fired along with his editor as a result of the controversy.<p>Despite sporadic problems, Azeris are an intrinsic community within Iran. Currently, the living conditions of Azeris in Iran closely resemble that of <!--del_lnk--> Persians:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
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<td>The life styles of urban Azarbaijanis do not differ from those of Persians, and there is considerable intermarriage among the upper classes in cities of mixed populations. Similarly, customs among Azarbaijani villagers do not appear to differ markedly from those of Persian villagers.</td>
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<p>Andrew Burke writes:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
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<td>Azari are famously active in commerce and in bazaars all over Iran their voluble voices can be heard. Older Azari men wear the traditional wool hat and their music and dances have become part of the mainstream culture. Azaris are well integrated and many Azari Iranians are prominent in Farsi literature, politics and clerical world.</td>
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<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Azerbaijani people"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Azerbaijani people"><img alt="Azerbaijani people" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
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<p>Azeris in Iran are in high positions of authority with the Ayatollah <!--del_lnk--> Ali Khamenei currently sitting as the <!--del_lnk--> Supreme Leader. Azeris in Iran remain quite conservative in comparison to most Azeris in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Nonetheless, since the Republic of Azerbaijan's independence in 1991, there has been renewed interest and contact between Azeris on both sides of the border.<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
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<p>In many respects, Azeris are <!--del_lnk--> Eurasian and bi-cultural, as northern Azeris have absorbed Russo-Soviet and <!--del_lnk--> Eastern European influences, whereas the Azeris of the south have remained within the Turko-Iranian tradition. Modern Azeri culture includes significant achievements in literature, art, music, and film.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23446.jpg.htm" title="Muhammad Fuzûlî, 16th century poet"><img alt="Muhammad Fuzûlî, 16th century poet" height="259" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Fuz%C3%BBl%C3%AE.jpg" src="../../images/234/23446.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23446.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Muhammad Fuzûlî, 16th century poet</div>
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<p><a id="Language_and_literature" name="Language_and_literature"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Language and literature</span></h3>
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<p>The Azerbaijanis speak <!--del_lnk--> Azerbaijani (sometimes called Azerbaijani Turkish or Azeri), a <!--del_lnk--> Turkic language that is mutually intelligible with <!--del_lnk--> Turkish despite minor variations in accent, vocabulary and grammar. Other mutually intelligible Turkic languages include <!--del_lnk--> Turkmen and the Turkish spoken by the <!--del_lnk--> Turkomans of Iraq and the <!--del_lnk--> Qashqai. The Azerbaijani language is descended from the Western Oghuz Turkic language that became established in Azerbaijan in the 11th century CE. Early Oghuz was mainly an oral language. It began to develop as a <!--del_lnk--> literary language by the 13th century. Early oral Azerbaijani, derived from the Oghuz language, began with history recitations (<i>dastans</i>), including the <i><!--del_lnk--> Book of Dede Korkut</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Koroglu</i>, which contained <!--del_lnk--> Turkic mythology. Some of the earliest Azeri writings of the past are traced back to the poet <!--del_lnk--> Nesîmî (died 1417) and then decades later <!--del_lnk--> Fuzûlî (1483–1556). <!--del_lnk--> Ismail I, Shah of <!--del_lnk--> Safavid Persia wrote Azeri poetry under the pen name <i>Khatâ'i</i>. Modern Azeri literature continued with a traditional emphasis upon, <a href="../../wp/h/Humanism.htm" title="Humanism">humanism</a>, as conveyed in the writings of <!--del_lnk--> Samed Vurgun, <!--del_lnk--> Reza Baraheni, <!--del_lnk--> Shahriar, and many others.<p>In addition to their mother tongue, many Azerbaijanis are equally at home in <a href="../../wp/r/Russian_language.htm" title="Russian language">Russian</a> and/or <!--del_lnk--> Persian.<p><a id="Religion" name="Religion"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Religion</span></h3>
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<p>The majority of Azerbaijanis are <!--del_lnk--> Shi'a Muslims. Religious minorities include <!--del_lnk--> Sunni Muslims, <a href="../../wp/j/Judaism.htm" title="Judaism">Jews</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Zoroastrians, <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christians</a> and <a href="../../wp/b/Bah%25C3%25A1%2527%25C3%25AD_Faith.htm" title="Bahá'í Faith">Bahá'ís</a>. While only a small minority of Azeris in Iran are Sunni, between 25-40% of Azeris in the Republic of Azerbaijan identify as nominal Sunnis, and an unknown number show no religious affiliation. In the Republic of Azerbaijan traditions from other religions are often celebrated in addition to <!--del_lnk--> Islamic holidays, including <!--del_lnk--> Norouz and <!--del_lnk--> Christmas.<p><a id="Performance_art" name="Performance_art"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Performance art</span></h3>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/923.jpg.htm" title="Performing Azeri musicians"><img alt="Performing Azeri musicians" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Azeri_7.jpg" src="../../images/9/923.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/923.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Performing Azeri musicians</div>
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<p>Azeris express themselves in a variety of artistic ways including dance, music, and the media. Azeri folk dances are ancient and similar to that of their neighbours in the Caucasus and Iran. The group dance is a common form found from <!--del_lnk--> southeastern Europe to the <a href="../../wp/c/Caspian_Sea.htm" title="Caspian Sea">Caspian Sea</a>. In the group dance the performers come together in a semi-circular or circular formation as, "The leader of these dances often executes special figures as well as signaling and changes in the foot patterns, movements, or direction in which the group is moving, often by gesturing with his or her hand, in which a kerchief is held." Solitary dances are performed by both men and women and involve subtle hand motions in addition to sequenced steps.<p>Azeri musical tradition can be traced back to singing bards called <i><!--del_lnk--> Ashiqs</i>, a vocation that survives to this day. Modern Ashiqs play the <!--del_lnk--> saz (<!--del_lnk--> lute) and sing <i>dastans</i> (historical ballads). Other musical instruments include the <!--del_lnk--> tar (another type of lute), <!--del_lnk--> duduk (a wind instrument), <!--del_lnk--> Kamancha (fiddle), and the <!--del_lnk--> dhol (drums). Azeri classical music, called <i><!--del_lnk--> mugham</i>, is often an emotional singing performance. Composers <!--del_lnk--> Uzeyir Hajibeyov, <!--del_lnk--> Gara Garayev and <!--del_lnk--> Fikret Amirov created a hybrid style that combines Western <!--del_lnk--> classical music with mugham. Other Azeris, notably <!--del_lnk--> Vagif Mustafa Zadeh and <!--del_lnk--> Aziza Mustafa Zadeh, mixed <a href="../../wp/j/Jazz.htm" title="Jazz">jazz</a> with mugham. Some Azeri musicians have received international acclaim, including <!--del_lnk--> Rashid Behbudov (who could sing in over eight languages) and <!--del_lnk--> Muslim Magomayev (a pop star from the Soviet era).<p>Meanwhile in Iran, Azeri music has taken a different course. According to Iranian Azeri singer Hossein Alizadeh, "Historically in Iran, music faced strong opposition from the religious establishment, forcing it to go underground." As a result, most Iranian Azeri music is performed outside of Iran amongst exile communities.<p>Azeri film and television is largely broadcast in Azerbaijan with limited outlets in Iran. Some Azeris have been prolific film-makers, such as <!--del_lnk--> Rustam Ibragimbekov, who wrote <i><!--del_lnk--> Burnt by the Sun</i>, winner of the Grand Prize at the <!--del_lnk--> Cannes Film Festival and an <!--del_lnk--> Academy Award for <!--del_lnk--> Best Foreign Language Film in 1994. Many Iranian Azeris have been prominent in the <!--del_lnk--> cinematic tradition of Iran, which has received critical praise since the 1980s.<p><a id="Sports" name="Sports"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sports</span></h3>
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<div style="width:112px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23448.jpg.htm" title="Chess player Teimour Radjabov"><img alt="Chess player Teimour Radjabov" height="185" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Teimour_Radjabov_grandmaster.jpg" src="../../images/234/23448.jpg" width="110" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23448.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Chess player <!--del_lnk--> Teimour Radjabov</div>
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<p>Sports have historically been an important part of Azeri life. Numerous competitions were conducted on horseback and praised by poets and writers such as Gatran Tabrizi and <!--del_lnk--> Nezami Ganjavi. Other ancient sports include wrestling, javelin throwing and ox-wrestling.<p>The Soviet legacy has in modern times propelled some Azeris to become accomplished atheletes at the Olympic level. The Azeri government supports the country's athletic legacy and encourages Azeri youth to take part. <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">Football</a> is very popular in both Azerbaijan and <!--del_lnk--> Iranian Azarbaijan. There are many prominent Azeri soccer players such as <!--del_lnk--> Ali Daei, the world's <!--del_lnk--> all-time leading goal scorer in international matches and the former captain of the <!--del_lnk--> Iran national soccer team. Azeri athletes have particularly excelled in <!--del_lnk--> weight lifting, <!--del_lnk--> gymnastics, <!--del_lnk--> shooting, <!--del_lnk--> javelin throwing, <!--del_lnk--> karate, <!--del_lnk--> boxing, and <a href="../../wp/w/Wrestling.htm" title="Wrestling">wrestling</a>. Weight lifters, such as <!--del_lnk--> Nizami Pashayev, who won the European heavyweight title in 2006, have inspired a new generation of Azeris to compete at the international level.<p><a href="../../wp/c/Chess.htm" title="Chess">Chess</a> is another popular pastime in Azerbaijan. The country has produced many notable players, such as <!--del_lnk--> Teimour Radjabov and <!--del_lnk--> Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, both highly ranked internationally, and <!--del_lnk--> Garry Kasparov, former World Chess Champion.<div style="clear: both">
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<p><a id="Institutions" name="Institutions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Institutions</span></h2>
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23449.jpg.htm" title="Kerim Kerimov (1917-2003) was a leading scientist and figure in the Soviet space program."><img alt="Kerim Kerimov (1917-2003) was a leading scientist and figure in the Soviet space program." height="187" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kerimov21.jpg" src="../../images/234/23449.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23449.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Kerim Kerimov (1917-2003) was a leading scientist and figure in the <!--del_lnk--> Soviet space program.</div>
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<p>Azerbaijan and Iranian Azerbaijan have developed distinct institutions as a result of divergent socio-political evolution. Azerbaijan began the 20th century with institutions based upon those of Russia and the Soviet Union, with strict state control over most aspects of society. Since, they have moved towards the adoption of Western social models as of the late 20th century. Since independence, relaxed state controls have allowed local <a href="../../wp/c/Civil_society.htm" title="Civil society">civil society</a> to develop. In contrast, in Iranian Azerbaijan Islamic theocratic institutions dominate nearly all aspects of society, with most political power in the hands of the <!--del_lnk--> Supreme Leader of Iran and the <!--del_lnk--> Council of Guardians. Yet both societies are in a state of change. In Azerbaijan there is a secular democratic system that is mired in political corruption and charges of election fraud. Azerbaijan's civil society is a work in progress:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
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<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Azerbaijani people"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Azerbaijani people"><img alt="Azerbaijani people" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
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<td>The lack of more 'modern' forms of self-organization and the experience of liberal democratic rule is the main reason why the building of civil society and the process of democratization in Azerbaijan takes place in a parallel rather than linear way. In the result, today Azerbaijan society may be characterized mostly as quasi civil and quasi democratic society the structures and institutions of which having signs of civil and democratic society from the standpoint of their level of development do not correspond to the modern criteria of the modern democratic society.</td>
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<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Azerbaijani people"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Azerbaijani people"><img alt="Azerbaijani people" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
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<p>Despite these problems Azerbaijan has an active political opposition that seeks more expansive democratic reforms. Azeris in Iran remain intertwined with the Islamic republic's <!--del_lnk--> theocratic regime and lack any significant civil society of a secular nature that can pose a major challenge. There are signs of civil unrest due to the policies of the Iranian government in Iranian Azarbaijan and increased interaction with fellow Azeris in Azerbaijan and satellite broadcasts from <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> have revived Azeri nationalism.<p><a id="Women" name="Women"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Women</span></h2>
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<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23450.jpg.htm" title="Azeri girl from Shusha (late 19th—early 20th century)"><img alt="Azeri girl from Shusha (late 19th—early 20th century)" height="229" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Az_girl_karabakh.jpg" src="../../images/234/23450.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23450.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Azeri girl from <!--del_lnk--> Shusha (late 19th—early 20th century)</div>
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<p>Azeri females have historically struggled against a legacy of male domination but have made great strides since the 20th century. In Azerbaijan, women were granted the right to vote in 1919. Women have attained Western-style equality in major cities such as <!--del_lnk--> Baku, although in rural areas more traditional views remain. Some problems that are especially prevalent include violence against women, especially in rural areas. Crimes such as rape are severely punished in Azerbaijan, but rarely reported, not unlike other parts of the former Soviet Union. Azeri women were forced to "give up the veil," placing Azerbaijan in sharp contrast with Iranian Azarbajan. Women are underrepresented in elective office but have attained high positions in parliament. An Azeri woman is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Azerbaijan, and two others are Justices of the Constitutional Court. As of <!--del_lnk--> 6 November <!--del_lnk--> 2005, women constituted 12% of all MPs (15 seats in total) in the <!--del_lnk--> National Assembly of Azerbaijan. The Republic of Azerbaijan is also one of the few Muslim countries where <!--del_lnk--> abortion is available on demand.<p>In Iran, the continued unequal treatment of women has been met with increasingly vocal protests, including that of <!--del_lnk--> Shirin Ebadi, who won the <a href="../../wp/n/Nobel_Peace_Prize.htm" title="Nobel Peace Prize">Nobel Peace Prize</a> in 2003 for her strong advocacy for women's rights. A groundswell of grassroots movements have emerged seeking gender equality since the 1980s. Regular protests take place in defiance of government bans and are often dispersed through violence, as in June 2006 when: "Thousands of women and male supporters came together on June 12 in Haft Tir Square in Tehran", and were dispersed through, "brutal suppression." Past Iranian leaders, such as <!--del_lnk--> Mohammad Khatami, promised women greater rights, but the government has opposed changes that they interpret as contrary to Islamic doctrine. As of 2004, nine Azeri women have been elected to parliament (<!--del_lnk--> Majlis) and while most are committed to social change, some represent conservative positions regarding gender issues. The social fate of Azeri women largely mirrors that of other women in Iran.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijani_people"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Aztec</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Ancient_History_Classical_History_and_Mythology.htm">Ancient History, Classical History and Mythology</a></h3>
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<caption style="margin-left: inherit; font-size: larger; font-weight: bold;">Aztec Empire</caption>
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<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/9/961.png.htm" title="The Aztec empire in Mesoamerica"><img alt="The Aztec empire in Mesoamerica" height="124" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aztecempirelocation.png" src="../../images/9/961.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
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<td><a href="../../wp/c/Capital.htm" title="Capital">Capital</a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1248-<!--del_lnk--> 1325 <i>Unknown</i> (Nomads)<br /><!--del_lnk--> 1325-<!--del_lnk--> 1521 <!--del_lnk--> Tenochtitlan<br /> (<!--del_lnk--> Tenochtitlan founded)-(<!--del_lnk--> Tenochtitlan lost in war)</td>
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<td><!--del_lnk--> Official language</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Náhuatl</td>
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<td style="white-space: nowrap;"><a href="../../wp/g/Government.htm" title="Government">Government</a><div style="text-align: right;"><!--del_lnk--> Head of Nation<div style="text-align: right;"><!--del_lnk--> High councilor<div style="text-align: right;">Electing council <div style="text-align: right;">Approving Council</div>
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<td style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> Tributary <!--del_lnk--> Empire<br /><!--del_lnk--> Hueyi Tlatoani (non-hederitary <!--del_lnk--> autocrat)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Cihuacóatl (<!--del_lnk--> snake <!--del_lnk--> woman)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Oligarchs (<!--del_lnk--> military, <!--del_lnk--> religious, <!--del_lnk--> nobility)<br /> 80+ <!--del_lnk--> calpulli leaders (<!--del_lnk--> elder)</td>
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<td style="white-space: nowrap;"><b>Establishment</b><br /><b>Dissolution</b><br /><b>Population 1520</b></td>
<td style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> 1248<br /><!--del_lnk--> 1521<br /> est. -10,000,000</td>
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<td><a class="image" href="../../images/9/962.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="191" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Calend%C3%A1rio_Asteca.jpg" src="../../images/9/962.jpg" width="200" /></a></td>
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<td><b><strong class="selflink">The Aztec world</strong></b></td>
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<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Aztec society</b></td>
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<p><a href="../../wp/n/Nahuatl_language.htm" title="Nahuatl language">Nahuatl language</a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Aztec philosophy<br /><!--del_lnk--> Aztec calendar<br /><!--del_lnk--> Aztec religion<br /><!--del_lnk--> Aztec mythology<br /><!--del_lnk--> Aztec entheogenic complex<br /><!--del_lnk--> Human sacrifice in Aztec culture</td>
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<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Aztec history</b></td>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Aztlán<br /><!--del_lnk--> Aztec army<br /><!--del_lnk--> Aztec codices<br /><!--del_lnk--> Aztec Triple Alliance<br /><!--del_lnk--> Spanish conquest of Mexico<br /><!--del_lnk--> Siege of Tenochtitlan<br /><!--del_lnk--> La Noche Triste<br /><a href="../../wp/h/Hern%25C3%25A1n_Cort%25C3%25A9s.htm" title="Hernán Cortés">Hernán Cortés</a></td>
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<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Hueyi Tlatoani</b></td>
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<p><!--del_lnk--> Tenoch (<!--del_lnk--> 1325–<!--del_lnk--> 1376)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Acamapichtli (<!--del_lnk--> 1376–<!--del_lnk--> 1395)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Huitzilíhuitl (<!--del_lnk--> 1395–<!--del_lnk--> 1417)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Chimalpopoca (<!--del_lnk--> 1417–<!--del_lnk--> 1427)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Itzcóatl (<!--del_lnk--> 1427–<!--del_lnk--> 1440)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Moctezuma I (<!--del_lnk--> 1440–<!--del_lnk--> 1469)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Axayacatl (<!--del_lnk--> 1469–<!--del_lnk--> 1481)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Tízoc (<!--del_lnk--> 1481–<!--del_lnk--> 1486)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Auítzotl (<!--del_lnk--> 1486–<!--del_lnk--> 1502)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Moctezuma II (<!--del_lnk--> 1502–<!--del_lnk--> 1520)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Cuitláhuac (<!--del_lnk--> 1520)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Cuauhtémoc (<!--del_lnk--> 1520–<!--del_lnk--> 1521)</td>
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<p>The <b>Aztecs</b> were a <!--del_lnk--> Pre-Columbian <!--del_lnk--> Mesoamerican people of central <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico.htm" title="Mexico">Mexico</a> in the <a href="../../wp/1/14th_century.htm" title="14th century">14th</a>, <a href="../../wp/1/15th_century.htm" title="15th century">15th</a> and <a href="../../wp/1/16th_century.htm" title="16th century">16th centuries</a> who built an extensive empire in the late Postclassic period of <!--del_lnk--> Mesoamerican chronology. They called themselves <b>Mexicas</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Classical Nahuatl: <i>Mexìcâ</i>, <!--del_lnk--> IPA: <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[meˈʃiʔkaʔ]</span>).<p>The nucleus of the Aztec Empire was the <!--del_lnk--> Valley of Mexico, where their capital <!--del_lnk--> Tenochtitlan was built upon raised islets in <!--del_lnk--> Lake Texcoco. After the 1521 <!--del_lnk--> conquest and fall of Tenochtitlan by Spanish forces and their allies which brought about the effective end of Aztec dominion, the Spanish founded the new settlement of <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico_City.htm" title="Mexico City">Mexico City</a> on the site of the now-ruined Aztec capital. The capital of the modern-day nation of <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico.htm" title="Mexico">Mexico</a>, the greater metropolitan area of Mexico City now covers much of the Valley of Mexico and the now-drained Lake of Texcoco.<p><!--del_lnk--> Aztec civilization and society possessed a vibrant culture which included mandatory education and rich and complex <!--del_lnk--> mythological and <!--del_lnk--> religious traditions. For Europeans, the most striking element of the Aztec culture was the practice of <!--del_lnk--> human sacrifice which was conducted throughout Mesoamerica prior to the Spanish conquest.<p>In what is probably the most widely known episode in the <!--del_lnk--> Spanish colonization of the Americas, <a href="../../wp/h/Hern%25C3%25A1n_Cort%25C3%25A9s.htm" title="Hernán Cortés">Hernán Cortés</a> conquered the Aztecs in <!--del_lnk--> 1521 thus immortalizing himself and the Aztec <i><!--del_lnk--> Hueyi Tlatoani</i>, <!--del_lnk--> Moctezuma II (Montezuma II).<p>The Aztecs spoke <!--del_lnk--> Classical Nahuatl as did some of the other peoples under the domination of the Aztec Empire. Although some contemporary <!--del_lnk--> Nahuatl speakers identify themselves as Aztecs, the word is normally only used as a historical term referring to the empire of the Mexicas, as distinguished from the Mexicas alone. This article deals with the historical Aztec civilization, not with modern-day Nahuatl speakers.<p>
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</script><a id="Nomenclature" name="Nomenclature"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Nomenclature</span></h2>
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<div style="width:402px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/963.jpg.htm" title="Sculpture commemorating the moment when Aztecs found the omen from the god Huitzilopochtli."><img alt="Sculpture commemorating the moment when Aztecs found the omen from the god Huitzilopochtli." height="300" longdesc="/wiki/Image:MexicanSculptureRememberingTheSignForTenochtitlanFoundation.JPG" src="../../images/9/963.jpg" width="400" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/963.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Sculpture commemorating the moment when <b>Aztecs</b> found the omen from the god <!--del_lnk--> Huitzilopochtli.</div>
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<p>According to the <!--del_lnk--> Aubin codex, the seven Nahua tribes lived in Aztlán under the rule of a powerful elite. The seven tribes fled Aztlán, to seek new lands. The Mexicas were the last group to leave, guided by their priest "Huitzil". The Aubin Codex relates that after leaving Aztlán, <!--del_lnk--> Huitzilopochtli ordered his people to never identify themselves as Azteca, the name of their former masters. Instead they should henceforth call themselves <i>Mexìcâ.</i><p>The Spanish <!--del_lnk--> conquistadors referred to them as "Mexicas". In Mexico, archeologists and museums use the term Mexicas. The wider population in and outside Mexico generally speaks of Aztecs. In this article, the term "Mexica" is used to refer to the Mexica people up until the time of the formation of the <!--del_lnk--> Triple Alliance. After this, the term "Aztecs" is used to refer to the peoples who made up the Triple Alliance.<p><a id="Mexica" name="Mexica"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Mexica</span></h3>
<p><i>Mexìcâ</i> (<!--del_lnk--> IPA: <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[meʃiʔkaʔ]</span>) is a term of uncertain origin. Very different etymologies are proposed: the old <!--del_lnk--> Nahuatl word for the <a href="../../wp/s/Sun.htm" title="Sun">sun</a>, the name of their leader <!--del_lnk--> Mexitli, or a type of weed that grows in <!--del_lnk--> Lake Texcoco. Mexican scholar <!--del_lnk--> Miguel León-Portilla suggests that it is derived from <i>mexictli</i>, "navel of the moon", from Nahuatl <i>metztli</i> (moon) and <i>xictli</i> (navel). Alternatively, <i>mexictli</i> could mean "navel of the <!--del_lnk--> maguey" using the Nahuatl <i>metl</i> and the locative "co". This definition could be correct; others sources tell us that the name comes from the word Mexitli (the weed that grows in Lake Texcoco), because at the time the Mexicas originally arrived in the Mexico Basin, the only place to settle was the island in the centre of the lake. The fishing and hunting permissions issued by ancient rulers of the basin were denied to the Mexicas and to avoid starvation they had to eat the weed (a nutritive but not very attractive food). So the name Mexica could come from <i>mexìcatl</i> meaning "weed people".<p><a id="Aztec" name="Aztec"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Aztec</span></h3>
<p>In Nahuatl, the native language of the Mexicas, <i>Aztecatl</i> means "someone who comes from <!--del_lnk--> Aztlán". In 1810 <!--del_lnk--> Alexander von Humboldt originated the modern usage of "Aztec" as a collective term applied to all the people linked by trade, custom, religion, and language to the Mexica state and the <!--del_lnk--> Triple Alliance. In 1843, with the publication of the work of <!--del_lnk--> William H. Prescott, it was adopted by most of the world, including 19th century Mexican scholars who saw it as a way to distinguish present-day Mexicans from pre-conquest Mexicans. This usage has been the subject of debate in more recent years, and the term "Mexica" is becoming more common.<p><a id="Nahuatl" name="Nahuatl"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Nahuatl</span></h3>
<p><b>Classical Nahuatl</b> (also known as <b>Aztec</b>, and simply <b>Nahuatl</b>) is a term used to describe the variants of the <a href="../../wp/n/Nahuatl_language.htm" title="Nahuatl language">Nahuatl language</a> that were spoken in the <!--del_lnk--> Valley of Mexico -- and used throughout central Mexico as a <i><!--del_lnk--> lingua franca</i> -- at the time of the <!--del_lnk--> Spanish conquest of Mexico. Other variants of the language "Nahuatl" were spoken by many of the central Mexican city states under the domination of the Aztec Empire.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
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<p><a id="Rise_of_the_Aztecs" name="Rise_of_the_Aztecs"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Rise of the Aztecs</span></h3>
<p>The true origin of the Mexica is uncertain. According to their legends, the Mexica's place of origin was Aztlán. It is generally thought that Aztlán was somewhere to the north of the <!--del_lnk--> Valley of Mexico; some experts have placed it as far north as the <!--del_lnk--> Southwestern United States. Others however suggest it is a mythical place, since Aztlán can be translated as "the place of the origin". The mythical story of these travels is recorded in a number of codices from the Spanish colonial era, most prominently the <!--del_lnk--> Aubin Codex and the <!--del_lnk--> Boturini Codex.<p>Based on these codices as well as other histories, it appears that the Mexicas arrived at <!--del_lnk--> Chapultepec in or around the year <!--del_lnk--> 1248.<p>At the time of their arrival, the <!--del_lnk--> Valley of Mexico contained many city-states, the most powerful of which were <!--del_lnk--> Culhuacan to the south, and <!--del_lnk--> Azcapotzalco to the west. The <!--del_lnk--> Tepanecs of Azcapotzalco soon expelled the Mexicas from <!--del_lnk--> Chapultepec. In <!--del_lnk--> 1299, Culhuacan ruler <!--del_lnk--> Cocoxtli gave them permission to settle in the empty barrens of <!--del_lnk--> Tizapan, where they were eventually assimilated into Culhuacan culture.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:402px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/964.png.htm" title="The Valley of Mexico at the time of the Spanish Conquest."><img alt="The Valley of Mexico at the time of the Spanish Conquest." height="540" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lake_Texcoco_c_1519_.png" src="../../images/9/964.png" width="400" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/964.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Valley of Mexico at the time of the <!--del_lnk--> Spanish Conquest.</div>
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<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1323, the Mexica asked the new ruler of Culhuacan, <!--del_lnk--> Achicometl, for his daughter, in order to make her the goddess <!--del_lnk--> Yaocihuatl. Unbeknownst to the king, the Mexicas actually planned to sacrifice her. As the story goes, during a festival dinner, a priest came out wearing her flayed skin as part of the ritual. Upon seeing this, the king and the people of Culhuacan were horrified and expelled the Mexicas.<p>According to Aztec legend, the Aztecs were shown a vision of an eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus, clutching a snake in its talons. This vision indicated that this was the location where they were to build their home. In any event, the Aztecs eventually arrived on a small swampy island in Lake Texcoco where they founded the town of <!--del_lnk--> Tenochtitlan in <!--del_lnk--> 1325. In <!--del_lnk--> 1376, the Mexicas elected their first <i><!--del_lnk--> Huey Tlatoani</i>, <!--del_lnk--> Acamapichtli, who was living in <!--del_lnk--> Texcoco at the time.<p>For the next 50 years, until <!--del_lnk--> 1427, the Mexica were a tributary of Azcapotzalco, which had become a regional power, perhaps the most powerful since the <!--del_lnk--> Toltecs, centuries earlier. When <!--del_lnk--> Tezozomoc, the <i><!--del_lnk--> tlatoani</i> of Azcapotzalco, died in 1426, his son <!--del_lnk--> Maxtla ascended to the throne. Shortly thereafter, Maxtla assassinated <!--del_lnk--> Chimalpopoca, the Aztec ruler. In an effort to defeat Maxtla, Chimalpopoca's successor, <!--del_lnk--> Itzcoatl, allied with the exiled ruler of <!--del_lnk--> Texcoco, <!--del_lnk--> Nezahualcoyotl. This coalition became the foundation of the <!--del_lnk--> Aztec Triple Alliance.<p>The Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlan, <!--del_lnk--> Texcoco, and <!--del_lnk--> Tlacopan would, in the next 100 years, come to dominate the <!--del_lnk--> Valley of Mexico and extend its power to both the <a href="../../wp/g/Gulf_of_Mexico.htm" title="Gulf of Mexico">Gulf of Mexico</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific shore. Over this period, Tenochtitlan gradually became the dominant power in the alliance, and the Triple Alliance territories became known as the Aztec Empire.<p>Two of the primary architects of the Aztec empire were the half-brothers <!--del_lnk--> Tlacaelel and <!--del_lnk--> Moctezuma I, nephews of Itzcoatl. Moctezuma I succeeded Itzcoatl as <i>Hueyi Tlatoani</i> in <!--del_lnk--> 1449. Although he was also offered the opportunity to be <i>tlatoani</i>, Tlacaelel preferred to operate as the power behind the throne. Tlacaelel reformed the Aztec state and <!--del_lnk--> religion. According to some sources, he ordered the burning of most of the extant Aztec books claiming that they contained lies. He thereupon rewrote the history of the Aztec people, thus creating a common awareness of history for the Aztecs. This rewriting led directly to the curriculum taught to scholars and promoted the belief that the Aztecs were always a powerful and mythic nation; forgetting forever a possible true history of modest origins. One component of this reform was the institution of ritual war (the <!--del_lnk--> flower wars) as a way to have trained warriors, and created the necessity of constant sacrifices to keep the Sun moving.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/965.jpg.htm" title="Jaguar warrior, from the Codex Magliabechiano"><img alt="Jaguar warrior, from the Codex Magliabechiano" height="352" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Jaguar_warrior.jpg" src="../../images/9/965.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/965.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Jaguar warrior, from the <!--del_lnk--> Codex Magliabechiano</div>
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<p><a id="Spanish_conquest" name="Spanish_conquest"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Spanish conquest</span></h3>
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<p>The empire reached its height during <!--del_lnk--> Ahuitzotl's reign, 1486 until 1502. His successor, Motecuzōma Xocoyotzin (better known as Montezuma or <!--del_lnk--> Moctezuma II), had been <i>Hueyi Tlatoani</i> for 17 years when Hernan Cortés and the Spaniards landed on the <a href="../../wp/g/Gulf_of_Mexico.htm" title="Gulf of Mexico">Gulf Coast</a> in the spring of <!--del_lnk--> 1519.<p>Despite some early battles between the two, Cortés allied himself with the Aztecs’ long-time enemy, the Confederacy of <!--del_lnk--> Tlaxcala, and arrived at the gates of <!--del_lnk--> Tenochtitlan on November 8, 1519, guests of the Aztecs.<p>The Spaniards and their <!--del_lnk--> Tlaxcallan allies became increasingly dangerous and unwelcome guests in capital city. In June, 1520, hostilities broke out, culminating in <!--del_lnk--> the massacre in the Main Temple and the death of Moctezuma. The Spaniards fled the town on July 1, an episode later characterized as <!--del_lnk--> La Noche Triste. They and their native allies returned in the spring of 1521 to lay <!--del_lnk--> siege to Tenochtitlan, a battle that ended that August 13 with the destruction of the city.<p>Most of the Mesoamerican cultures were intact after the fall of Tenochtitlan. Indeed, the freedom from Aztec domination may have been considered a positive development by most of the other cultures. The upper classes of the Aztec empire were considered noblemen by the Spaniards and generally treated as such initially. All this changed rapidly and the native population were soon forbidden to study by law, and had the status of <!--del_lnk--> minors.<p><a id="Population_decline" name="Population_decline"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Population decline</span></h2>
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<p>In 1520-1521, an outbreak of <a href="../../wp/s/Smallpox.htm" title="Smallpox">smallpox</a> swept through the population of Tenochtitlan and was decisive in the <!--del_lnk--> fall of the city. It is estimated that between 10% and 50% of the population fell victim to this epidemic.<p>Subsequently, the Valley of Mexico was hit with two more epidemics, smallpox (1545-1548) and <!--del_lnk--> typhus (1576-1581). The Spaniards, trying to make more of the diminishing population, merged the survivors from small towns into the bigger ones. This broke the power of the upper classes and dissolved the coherence of the indigenous society. Collected in larger towns, the people were more susceptible to epidemics due to the higher population density.<p>The population before the time of the conquest is estimated at 15 million; by 1550, the estimated population was 4 million and by 1581 less than two million. Thus, the indigenous population of the Central Mexico Valley is estimated to have declined by more than 80% in the course of about 60 years.<p>The "New Spain" of the 17th century was a depopulated country and many Mesoamerican cultures were wiped out. Because of the fall of their social structure, the population had to resort to the Spanish to maintain some order. In order to have an adequate supply of labor, the Spaniards began to import black slaves; most of them eventually merged with the local population.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:402px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/966.png.htm" title="The Aztec Empire, on the eve of the Spanish Conquest."><img alt="The Aztec Empire, on the eve of the Spanish Conquest." height="302" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aztec_Empire_c_1519.png" src="../../images/9/966.png" width="400" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/966.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <b>Aztec Empire</b>, on the eve of the Spanish Conquest.</div>
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<p><a id="Government" name="Government"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Government</span></h2>
<p>The Aztec <!--del_lnk--> Empire was an example of an empire that ruled by indirect means. Like most European empires, it was ethnically very diverse, but unlike most European empires, it was more a system of tribute than a single system of government. In the theoretical framework of imperial systems posited by Alexander J. Motyl the Aztec empire was an informal or hegemonic empire because it did not exert supreme authority over the conquered lands, it merely expected tributes to be paid. It was also a discontinuous empire because not all dominated territories were connected, for example the southern peripheral zones of Soconosco was not in direct contact with the centre. The hegemonic nature of the Aztec empire can be seen in the fact that generally local rulers were restored to their positions once their city-state was conquered and the Aztecs did not interfere in local affairs as long as the tribute payments were made.<p>Although the Aztec form of government is often referred to as an empire, in fact most areas within the empire were organized as city-states, known as altepetl in Nahuatl. These were small polities ruled by a king (tlatoani) from a legitimate dynasty. The Early Aztec period was a time of growth and competition among altepetl. Even after the empire was formed (1428) and began its program of expansion through conquest, the altepetl remained the dominant form of organization at the local level. The efficient role of the altepetl as a regional political unit was largely responsible for the success of the empire's hegemonic form of control.<p><a id="Tribute_and_trade" name="Tribute_and_trade"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Tribute and trade</span></h3>
<p>Several pages from the <!--del_lnk--> Codex Mendoza list tributary towns along with the goods they supplied, which included not only luxuries such as feathers, adorned suits, and <!--del_lnk--> greenstone beads, but more practical goods such as cloth, firewood, and food. Tribute was usually paid twice or four times a year at differing times.<p>Archaeological excavations in the Aztec-ruled provinces show that incorporation into the empire had both costs and benefits for provincial peoples. On the positive side, the empire promoted commerce and trade, and exotic goods from obsidian to bronze managed to reach the houses of both commoners and nobles. Trade partners included the enemy <!--del_lnk--> Tarascan, a source of <!--del_lnk--> bronze tools and jewelry. On the negative side, imperial tribute imposed a burden on commoner households, who had to increase their work to pay their share of tribute. Nobles, on the other hand, often made out well under imperial rule because of the indirect nature of imperial organization. The empire had to rely on local kings and nobles and offered them privileges for their help in maintaining order and keeping the tribute flowing.<h3> <span class="mw-headline">Roads</span></h3>
<p>The main contribution of the Aztec rule was a system of communications between the conquered cities. In <!--del_lnk--> Mesoamerica, without draft animals for transport (nor, as a result, wheeled vehicles), the roads were designed for travel on foot. Usually these roads were maintained through tribute, and travelers had places to rest and eat and even latrines to use at regular intervals, roughly every 10 or 15 km. Couriers (<i>paynani</i>) were constantly traveling along those ways, keeping the Aztecs informed of events, and helping to monitor the integrity of the roads. Due to the steady surveillance, even women could travel alone, a fact that amazed the Spaniards since that was not possible in Europe at that time.<p>After the conquest those roads were no longer subject to maintenance and were tragically lost to the test of time.<p><a id="The_emperor" name="The_emperor"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The emperor</span></h3>
<p>The most important official of Tenochtitlan government is often referred to as the Aztec Emperor. The Nahuatl title, <i>Huey Tlatoani</i> (plural <i>Huey Tlatoque</i>), translates roughly as "Great Speaker" or "Revered Speaker". This office gradually took on more power with the rise of Tenochtitlan. By the time of Auitzotl, the title of Emperor had become a more appropriate analogy for this office, although as in the <a href="../../wp/h/Holy_Roman_Empire.htm" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a>, the title was not hereditary. The Emperor was still chosen by the elders --although they preferred to keep the title within one family, they also could remove it.<p>The title has some resemblance to the Roman Emperor's title during the <!--del_lnk--> Principate (<i>Princeps Senatus</i>, or "First Citizen of the Senate"): both titles started as a "speaker of the house", but later coalesced more power into an "Emperor" type of office.<p>It is doubted whether <a href="../../wp/h/Hern%25C3%25A1n_Cort%25C3%25A9s.htm" title="Hernán Cortés">Hernán Cortés</a> understood the nuances of this role and overestimated the influence of Moctezuma on his people, perhaps assuming he wielded power similar to <a href="../../wp/c/Charles_V%252C_Holy_Roman_Emperor.htm" title="Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor">Charles V, King of Spain</a>.<p>Each day, the <i>Huey Tlatoani</i> met with the elders and the priest of the different precincts of the city (<i>calpōlli</i>) to discuss the government. Originally the elders had to sanction every decision of the <i>Huey Tlàtoani</i> . When Moctezuma assumed the office, he replaced the counsellors, priests and administrators with his former students, thereby gaining more independence than former Tlatoanis. Yet his orders still could be questioned by the elders.<p><a id="Mythology_and_religion" name="Mythology_and_religion"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Mythology and religion</span></h2>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/967.png.htm" title="The Coat of Arms of Mexico, from Aztec mythology"><img alt="The Coat of Arms of Mexico, from Aztec mythology" height="268" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Mexico_coat_of_arms.png" src="../../images/9/967.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/967.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Coat of Arms of Mexico, from Aztec mythology</div>
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<p>The Mexica made reference to at least two manifestations of the supernatural: <i>tēōtl</i> and <i>tēixiptla</i>. <i>Tēōtl</i>, which the Spaniards and European scholars routinely mistranslated as "god" or "demon", referred rather to an impersonal force that permeated the world. <i>Tēixiptla</i>, by contrast, denoted the physical representations ("idols", statues and figurines) of the <i>tēōtl</i> as well as the human cultic activity surrounding this physical representation. The Mexica "gods" themselves had no existence as distinct entities apart from these <i>tēixiptla</i> representations of <i>tēōtl</i> (Boone 1989).<p>Veneration of <!--del_lnk--> Huitzilopochtli (literally, "hummingbird of the south"), the personification of the sun and of war, was central to the religious, social and political practices of the Mexicas. Huitzilopochtli attained this central position after the founding of Tenochtitlan and the formation of the Mexica city-state society in the 14th century. Prior to this, Huitzilopochtli was associated primarily with hunting, presumably one of the important subsistence activities of the itinerant bands that would eventually become the Mexica.<p>According to myth, Huitzilopochtli directed the wanderers to found a city on the site where they would see an <a href="../../wp/e/Eagle.htm" title="Eagle">eagle</a> devouring a snake perched on a fruit-bearing <!--del_lnk--> nopal cactus. (It was said that Huitzilopochtli killed his nephew, Cópil, and threw his heart on the lake. Huitzilopochtli honoured Cópil by causing a cactus to grow over Cópil´s heart.) Legend has it that this is the site on which the Mexicas built their capital city of Tenochtitlan. This legendary vision is pictured on the <!--del_lnk--> Coat of Arms of Mexico.<p>According to their own history, when the Mexicas arrived in the <!--del_lnk--> Anahuac valley (<!--del_lnk--> Valley of Mexico) around Lake Texcoco, they were considered by the groups living there as uncivilized. The Mexicas borrowed much of their culture from the ancient <!--del_lnk--> Toltec whom they seem to have at least partially confused with the more ancient civilization of <!--del_lnk--> Teotihuacan. To the Mexicas, the Toltecs were the originators of all culture; "Toltecayōtl" was a synonym for culture. Mexica legends identify the Toltecs and the cult of <a href="../../wp/q/Quetzalcoatl.htm" title="Quetzalcoatl">Quetzalcoatl</a> with the mythical city of <!--del_lnk--> Tollan, which they also identified with the more ancient Teotihuacan.<p><a id="Human_sacrifice" name="Human_sacrifice"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Human sacrifice</span></h3>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/968.jpg.htm" title="Aztec human sacrifice, from Codex Magliabechiano"><img alt="Aztec human sacrifice, from Codex Magliabechiano" height="316" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Mendoza_HumanSacrifice.jpg" src="../../images/9/968.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/968.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Aztec human sacrifice, from <!--del_lnk--> Codex Magliabechiano</div>
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<p>For most people today, and for the European Christians who first met the Aztecs, <!--del_lnk--> human sacrifice was and is the most striking feature of Aztec civilization. While human sacrifice was practiced throughout Mesoamerica, the Aztecs, if their own accounts are to be believed, brought this practice to an unprecedented level. For example, for the reconsecration of <!--del_lnk--> Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in <!--del_lnk--> 1487, the Aztecs reported that they sacrificed 84,400 prisoners over the course of four days, reportedly by <!--del_lnk--> Ahuitzotl, the Great Speaker himself.<p>However, most experts consider these numbers to be vastly overstated. For example, the sheer logistics associated with sacrificing 84,000 victims would be overwhelming. A similar consensus has developed on reports of cannibalism among the Aztecs: although it is possible that instances of ritual cannibalism were a feature of Aztec culture, it is doubtful that the practice was widespread.<p>In the writings of <!--del_lnk--> Bernardino de Sahagún, Aztec "anonymous informants" defended the practice of human sacrifice by asserting that it was not very different from the European way of waging warfare: Europeans killed the warriors in battle, Aztecs killed the warriors after the battle.<p>Accounts by the Tlaxcaltecas, the primary enemy of the Aztecs at the time of the Spanish Conquest, show that at least some of them considered it an honour to be sacrificed. In one legend, the warrior Tlahuicole was freed by the Aztecs but eventually returned of his own volition to die in ritual sacrifice. <!--del_lnk--> Tlaxcala also practiced the human sacrifice of captured Aztec warriors.<p>In the period after the conquest, under the <!--del_lnk--> Mexican Inquisition "religious sacrifices" continued with the burnings at the stake of indigenous people who relapsed from the Christian religion.<p><a id="Aztec_society" name="Aztec_society"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aztec society</span></h2>
<p><a id="Class_structure" name="Class_structure"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Class structure</span></h3>
<p>The highest class were the <i>pilli</i> or nobility. Originally this was not hereditary, although the sons of <i>pillis</i> had access to better resources and education, so it was easier for them to become <i>pillis</i>. Later the class system took on hereditary aspects.<p>The second class were the <i>mācehualli</i>, originally peasants. Eduardo Noguera estimates that in later stages only 20% of the population was dedicated to agriculture and food production. The other 80% of society were warriors, artisans and traders. Eventually, most of the <i>mācehuallis</i> were dedicated to arts and crafts. Their works were an important source of income for the city.<p>Slaves or <i>tlacotin</i> also constituted an important class. Aztecs could become slaves because of debts, as a criminal punishment or as war captives. Slavery was not hereditary: a slave's children were free. A slave could have possessions and even own other slaves. Slaves could buy their liberty, and slaves could be set free if they were able to show they had been mistreated or if they had children with or were married to their masters. Typically, upon the death of the master, slaves who had performed outstanding services were freed. The rest of the slaves were passed on as part of an inheritance.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/969.jpg.htm" title="A painting from Codex Mendoza showing elder Aztecs being given intoxicants."><img alt="A painting from Codex Mendoza showing elder Aztecs being given intoxicants." height="379" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aztec5figure9.jpg" src="../../images/9/969.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/969.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A painting from <!--del_lnk--> Codex Mendoza showing elder Aztecs being given intoxicants.</div>
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<p>Traveling merchants called <i><!--del_lnk--> pochteca</i> were a small, but important class as they not only facilitated commerce, but also communicated vital information across the empire and beyond its borders. They were often employed as spies.<p><a id="Diet" name="Diet"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Diet</span></h3>
<p>The Aztec staple foods included <a href="../../wp/m/Maize.htm" title="Maize">maize</a>, <!--del_lnk--> beans and <!--del_lnk--> squash to which were often added chilies and tomatoes, all prominent parts of the Mexican diet to this day. They harvested <!--del_lnk--> acocils, a small and abundant shrimp of Lake Texcoco, as well as <!--del_lnk--> spirulina algae, which was made into a sort of cake rich in <!--del_lnk--> flavonoids. Although the Aztec's diet was mostly vegetarian, the Aztecs consumed insects such as <!--del_lnk--> crickets (<i>chapulines</i>), <!--del_lnk--> maguey worm, ants, larvae, etc. Insects have a higher protein content than meat, and even now they are considered a delicacy in some parts of Mexico.<p>Aztecs also used <!--del_lnk--> maguey extensively; from it they obtained food, sugar (<i>aguamiel</i>–honey water), fibers for ropes and clothing, and drink (<!--del_lnk--> pulque, a fermented beverage with an alcoholic content equivalent to beer). Getting drunk before the age of 60 however was forbidden. First offenses drew relatively light punishment but repeat offenses could be punished by death.<p><a href="../../wp/c/Cocoa.htm" title="Cocoa">Cocoa</a> beans were used as money and also to make <i>xocolatl</i>, a frothy and bitter beverage, lacking the sweetness of modern chocolate drinks. The Aztecs also kept beehives and harvested honey.<p>A study by Montellano shows a mean life expectancy of 37 (±3) years for the population of Mesoamerica. After the Spanish conquest, some foods were outlawed, particularly amaranth because of its central role in religious rituals. There was less diversity of food which led to chronic malnutrition in the general population.<p><a id="Recreation" name="Recreation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Recreation</span></h3>
<p>As with all Mesoamerican cultures, the Aztecs played a variant of the <!--del_lnk--> Mesoamerican ballgame named <i>tlachtli</i>. The game was played with a ball of solid <!--del_lnk--> rubber, called an <i>olli</i>, whence derives the Spanish word for rubber, <i>hule</i>. The players hit the ball with their hips, knees, and elbows and had to pass the ball through a stone ring to automatically win.<p>The Aztecs also enjoyed board games, like <i><!--del_lnk--> patolli</i> and <i>totoloque</i>. Bernal Diaz records that Cortés and Moctezuma II played <i>totoloque</i> together.<p><a id="Education" name="Education"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Education</span></h3>
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<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/970.jpg.htm" title="Representation of Aztec education."><img alt="Representation of Aztec education." height="157" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Educacion_azteca.jpg" src="../../images/9/970.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/970.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Representation of Aztec education.</div>
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<p>Until the age of fourteen, the education of children was in the hands of their parents, but supervised by the authorities of their <i>calpōlli</i>. Part of this education involved learning a collection of sayings, called <i>huēhuetlàtolli</i> ("sayings of the old"), that embodied the Aztecs' ideals. Judged by their language, most of the <i>huēhuetlatolli</i> seemed to have evolved over several centuries, predating the Aztecs and most likely adopted from other Nahua cultures.<p>At 15, all boys and girls went to school. The Mexica, one of the Aztec groups, were one of the first people in the world to have mandatory education for nearly all children, regardless of gender, rank, or station. There were two types of schools: the <i>telpochcalli</i>, for practical and military studies, and the <i><!--del_lnk--> calmecac</i>, for advanced learning in writing, astronomy, statesmanship, theology, and other areas. The two institutions seem to be common to the Nahua people, leading some experts to suggest that they are older than the Aztec culture.<p>Aztec teachers (<i>tlatimine</i>) propounded a spartan regime of education with the purpose of forming a stoical people.<p>Girls were educated in the crafts of home and child raising. They were not taught to read or write. All women were taught to be involved in religion; there are paintings of women presiding over religious ceremonies, but there are no references to female priests.<p><a id="Arts" name="Arts"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Arts</span></h3>
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<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/971.jpg.htm" title="This ornament features a turquoise mosaic on a carved wooden base, with red and white shells used for the mouths. Probably worn across the chest, this ornament measures 20 cm by 43 cm (8 in by 17 in). It was likely created by Mixtec artisans from an Aztec tributary state. 1400-1521, from the British Museum[1]."><img alt="This ornament features a turquoise mosaic on a carved wooden base, with red and white shells used for the mouths. Probably worn across the chest, this ornament measures 20 cm by 43 cm (8 in by 17 in). It was likely created by Mixtec artisans from an Aztec tributary state. 1400-1521, from the British Museum[1]." height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AztecSerpent.JPG" src="../../images/9/971.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/971.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> This ornament features a turquoise mosaic on a carved wooden base, with red and white shells used for the mouths. Probably worn across the chest, this ornament measures 20 cm by 43 cm (8 in by 17 in). It was likely created by Mixtec artisans from an Aztec tributary state. 1400-1521, from the <!--del_lnk--> British Museum<!--del_lnk--> .</div>
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<p>Song and poetry were highly regarded; there were presentations and poetry contests at most of the Aztec festivals. Also there was a kind of dramatic presentation that included players, musicians and acrobats.<p>Poetry was the only occupation worthy of an Aztec warrior in times of peace. A remarkable amount of this poetry survives, having been collected during the era of the conquest. In some cases poetry is attributed to individual authors, such as <!--del_lnk--> Netzahualcoyotl, <i>tlatoani</i> of Texcoco, and <!--del_lnk--> Cuacuatzin, Lord of Tepechpan, but whether these attributions reflect actual authorship is a matter of discussion. <!--del_lnk--> Miguel León-Portilla, a well respected Aztec scholar of Mexico, has stated that it is in this poetry where we can find the real thought of the Aztecs, independent of "official" Aztec ideology.<p>It is also important to note that the Spanish classified many aspects of the Aztec/Nahuatl culture according to the lexicon and organizational categories with which they would distinguish in Europe. In the same way that the second letter of Cortez made a mention of "mesquitas", or in english, "mosques", when trying to convey his impression of aztec arquitecture, early colonists and missionaries divided the principal bodies of nahuatl literature as "poetry" and "prose". "Poetry" was <i>in xochitl in cuicatl</i> a dual term meaning "the flower and the song" and was divided into different genres. <i>Yaocuicatl</i> was devoted to war and the god(s) of war, <i>Teocuicatl</i> to the gods and creation myths and to adoration of said figures, <i>xochicuicatl</i> to flowers (a symbol of poetry itself and indicative of the highly metaphorical nature of a poetry that often utilized duality to convey multiple layers of meaning). "Prose" was <i>tlahtolli</i>, also with its different categories and divisions (Garganigo et. al).<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/972.jpg.htm" title="Turquoise mask. Mixtec-Aztec. 1400-1521."><img alt="Turquoise mask. Mixtec-Aztec. 1400-1521." height="193" longdesc="/wiki/Image:TurquoiseAztecMask.jpg" src="../../images/9/972.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/972.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Turquoise mask. Mixtec-Aztec. 1400-1521.</div>
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<p>The most important collection of these poems is <i>Romances de los señores de la Nueva España</i>, collected (Tezcoco 1582), probably by <!--del_lnk--> Juan Bautista de Pomar. Bautista de Pomar was the great-grandson of Netzahualcoyotl. He spoke Nahuatl, but was raised a Christian and wrote in Latin characters. (<i>See also:</i> "<!--del_lnk--> Is It You?"<i>, a short poem attributed to Netzahualcoyotl, and</i> "<!--del_lnk--> Lament on the Fall of Tenochtitlan"<i>, a short poem contained within the "<!--del_lnk--> Unos Anales Históricos de la Nación Mexicana" manuscript.</i>)<p>The Aztec people also enjoyed a type of dramatic presentation, a kind of theatre. Some plays were comical with music and acrobats, others were staged dramas of their gods. After the conquest, the first Christian churches had open chapels reserved for these kinds of representations. Plays in Nahuatl, written by converted Indians, were an important instrument for the conversion to Christianity, and are still found today in the form of traditional <i>pastorelas</i>, which are played during Christmas to show the Adoration of Baby Jesus, and other Biblical passages.<p><a id="Relationship_to_other_Mesoamerican_cultures" name="Relationship_to_other_Mesoamerican_cultures"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Relationship to other Mesoamerican cultures</span></h3>
<p>Aztecs admired Mixtec craftsmanship so much that they imported artisans to Tenochtitlan and requested work to be done in certain Mixtec styles. The Aztecs also admired the Mixtec codices, so some of them were made to order by Mixteca for the Aztecs. In the later days, high society Aztec women started to wear Mixtec clothing, specifically the <b>quexquemetl</b>. It was worn over their traditional "huipil", and much coveted by the women who could not afford such imported goods.<p>The situation was analogous in many ways to the <!--del_lnk--> Phoenician culture which imported and duplicated art from other cultures that they encountered. For this reason, archeologists often have trouble identifying which artifacts are genuinely Phoenician and which are imported or copied from other cultures.<p>Archaeologists usually do not have a problem differentiating between Mixtec and Aztec artifacts. However, some products were made by the Mixtec for "export" and that makes classification more problematic. In addition, the production of craft was an important part of the Mexica economy, and they also made pieces for "export".<p><a id="City-building_and_architecture" name="City-building_and_architecture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">City-building and architecture</span></h2>
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<div style="width:402px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/973.jpg.htm" title="Tenochtitlán, looking east. From the mural painting at the National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City. Painted in 1930 by Dr. Atl."><img alt="Tenochtitlán, looking east. From the mural painting at the National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City. Painted in 1930 by Dr. Atl." height="238" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tenoch2A.jpg" src="../../images/9/973.jpg" width="400" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/973.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><b>Tenochtitlán</b>, looking east. From the mural painting at the National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City. Painted in 1930 by <!--del_lnk--> Dr. Atl.</div>
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<p>The capital city of the Aztec empire was <!--del_lnk--> Tenochtitlan, now the site of modern-day <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico_City.htm" title="Mexico City">Mexico City</a>. Built on a series of islets in <!--del_lnk--> Lake Texcoco, the city plan was based on a symmetrical layout that was divided into four city sections called <i>campans</i>. The city was interlaced with canals which were useful for transportation.<p>Tenochtitlan was built according to a fixed plan and centered on the ritual precinct, where the <!--del_lnk--> Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan rose 60 m above the city. Houses were made of wood and loam, roofs were made of reed, although pyramids, temples and palaces were generally made of stone.<p>Around the island, <i><!--del_lnk--> chinampa</i> beds were used to grow foodstuffs as well as, over time, to increase the size of the island. <i>Chinampas</i>, misnamed "floating gardens", were long raised plant beds set upon the shallow lake bottom. They were a very efficient agricultural system and could provide up to seven crops a year. On the basis of current chinampa yields, it has been estimated that 1 hectare of chinampa would feed 20 individuals and 9,000 hectares of <i>chinampas</i> could feed 180,000.<p>Anthropologist Eduardo Noguera estimates the population at 200,000 based in the house count and merging the population of Tlatelolco (once an independent city, but later became a suburb of Tenochtitlan). If one includes the surrounding islets and shores surrounding Lake Texcoco, estimates range from 300,000 to 700,000 inhabitants.<p><a id="Legacy" name="Legacy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Legacy</span></h2>
<p>Most modern Mexicans are of mixed Spanish and indigenous ancestry, descendants of the Mexicas or of the many other indigenous peoples of the Aztec Empire and Mesoamerica.<p><a href="../../wp/n/Nahuatl_language.htm" title="Nahuatl language">Nahuatl</a> is spoken by <!--del_lnk--> Mexican Indians (many of whom call their language "Mexicano"), mostly in mountainous areas in the states surrounding Mexico City. Moreover, Nahuatl survives among the entire Mexican population, comprising a significant part of the <!--del_lnk--> Mexican Spanish dialect, some of which has even come into American English (e.g. the word <!--del_lnk--> Coyote, who comes from the Nahuatl word 'Coyotl').<p><a href="../../wp/m/Mexico_City.htm" title="Mexico City">Mexico City</a> was built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, making it one of the oldest living cities of America. Many of its districts and natural landmarks retain their original Nahuatl names. Many other cities and towns in Central Mexico were also originally Mexica towns, also often retaining their original Nahuatl names, or combining them with Spanish.<p><!--del_lnk--> Mexican cuisine continues to be based on and flavored by agricultural products contributed by the Mexicas/Aztecs and Mesoamerica, most of which retain some form of their original Nahuatl names. The cuisine has also become a popular part of the cuisine of the United States and other countries around the world, typically altered to suit various national tastes.<p>The modern Mexican flag bears the emblem of the Mexica's migration legend.<p>Mexico's premier religious icon, the <!--del_lnk--> Virgin of Guadalupe has certain similarities to the Mexica earth mother goddess Tonantzin.<p>For the <!--del_lnk--> 1986 FIFA World Cup Adidas designed the official match ball showing in its "triades" aztecs architect and mural designs and called "Azteca Mexico"<!--del_lnk--> .<p><a id="Views_of_the_Aztec_culture" name="Views_of_the_Aztec_culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Views of the Aztec culture</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Laurette Séjourné, a French anthropologist, wrote about Aztec and Mesoamerican spirituality. Her depiction of the Aztecs as a spiritual people was so compelling that new religions have been formed based on her writings. Some parts of her work have been adopted by esoteric groups, searching for occult teachings of the pre-Columbian religions. Séjourné never endorsed any of these groups. <p><!--del_lnk--> Miguel León-Portilla also idealizes the Aztec culture, especially in his early writings. <p>Writings by Sejourné and Portilla have been transformed by others such as Antonio Velazco into a religious movement. Antonio Velasco Piña has written three books, <i>Tlacaelel, El Azteca entre los Aztecas</i>, <i>La mujer dormida debe dara a luz</i>, and <i>Regina</i>. When mixed with the currents of Neopaganism, these books resulted in a new religious movement called "Mexicanista". This movement called for a return to the spirituality of the Aztecs. It is argued that, with this return, Mexico will become the next centre of power. This religious movement mixes Mesaomerican cults with <!--del_lnk--> Hindu esoterism. The Mexicanista movement reached the peak of its popularity in the 1990s.<p><a id="Discussion_of_primary_sources" name="Discussion_of_primary_sources"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">BAE Systems</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Business_Studies.Companies.htm">Companies</a></h3>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size:larger;"><b>BAE Systems plc</b></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:16px 0 16px 0;"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt=" " height="28" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BAE_SYSTEMS.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="180" /></td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Type</th>
<td>Public (<!--del_lnk--> LSE: <!--del_lnk--> BA., <!--del_lnk--> OTCBB: <!--del_lnk--> BAESY)</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Founded</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 30 November <!--del_lnk--> 1999</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Headquarters</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Farnborough, <a href="../../wp/h/Hampshire.htm" title="Hampshire">Hampshire</a>, <!--del_lnk--> UK</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Key people</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Dick Olver, Chairman<br /><!--del_lnk--> Mike Turner, CEO</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><a href="../../wp/i/Industry.htm" title="Industry">Industry</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Aerospace and <!--del_lnk--> defence</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Products</th>
<td>Civil and military aerospace<br /> Defence electronics<br /><!--del_lnk--> Naval vessels<br /><!--del_lnk--> Munitions<br /><!--del_lnk--> Land warfare systems</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Revenue</th>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/8/808.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Green_Arrow_Up.svg" src="../../images/8/808.png" width="10" /></a> <a href="../../wp/p/Pound_sterling.htm" title="Pound sterling">GB£</a>15,411 million (2005)</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Operating income</th>
<td>GB£1,182 million </td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Net income</th>
<td>GB£583 million </td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><a href="../../wp/e/Employment.htm" title="Employment">Employees</a></th>
<td>100,100 </td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Subsidiaries</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> BAE Systems Inc.</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Website</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> www.baesystems.com</td>
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<p><b>BAE Systems plc</b> is the world's fourth largest <!--del_lnk--> defence contractor and a commercial aerospace manufacturer. BAE is a British company based at <!--del_lnk--> Farnborough, which has extensive worldwide interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary <!--del_lnk--> BAE Systems Inc. BAE was formed on <!--del_lnk--> 30 November <!--del_lnk--> 1999 with the <!--del_lnk--> merger of <!--del_lnk--> British Aerospace (BAe) and <!--del_lnk--> Marconi Electronic Systems (MES), the defence arm of <!--del_lnk--> The General Electric Company (GEC).<p>BAE is the successor to many iconic aircraft and defence electronics companies, including <!--del_lnk--> The Marconi Company, the first commercial company devoted to the development and use of radio; <!--del_lnk--> A.V. Roe and Company, one of the world's first aircraft companies; and <!--del_lnk--> Supermarine, the manufacturer of the renowned <a href="../../wp/s/Supermarine_Spitfire.htm" title="Supermarine Spitfire">Supermarine Spitfire</a>. BAE has increasingly disengaged from its businesses in continental Europe in favour of investing in the United States. Since its formation it has sold its share of or dissolved the companies <!--del_lnk--> Astrium, <!--del_lnk--> AMS, <!--del_lnk--> Atlas Elektronik and most significantly its 20% share of <a href="../../wp/a/Airbus.htm" title="Airbus">Airbus SAS</a>.<p>BAE Systems is involved in several major defence projects, for example the <a href="../../wp/f/F-35_Lightning_II.htm" title="F-35 Lightning II">F-35 Lightning II</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Eurofighter Typhoon and the Royal Navy <!--del_lnk--> future carriers. BAE has been the subject of criticism, both general opposition to the arms trade and also specific allegations of unethical and corrupt practices, including the <!--del_lnk--> Al Yamamah contracts with <a href="../../wp/s/Saudi_Arabia.htm" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> that have earned BAE and its predecessor GB£43 billion in twenty years.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>The merger of British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems was announced on <!--del_lnk--> 19 January <!--del_lnk--> 1999. MES was acquired by British Aerospace for <a href="../../wp/p/Pound_sterling.htm" title="Pound sterling">GB£</a>7.7 billion.<p><a id="Heritage" name="Heritage"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Heritage</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/976.png.htm" title="Evolution of UK aviation, 1955 to BAE Systems formation in 1999 (includes naval acquisitions)"><img alt="Evolution of UK aviation, 1955 to BAE Systems formation in 1999 (includes naval acquisitions)" height="170" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BAE_Systems_evolution.png" src="../../images/9/976.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/976.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Evolution of UK aviation, 1955 to BAE Systems formation in 1999 (includes naval acquisitions)</div>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/977.png.htm" title="Evolution of the land systems division of BAE Systems, 1970s to Land & Armaments formation"><img alt="Evolution of the land systems division of BAE Systems, 1970s to Land & Armaments formation" height="116" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BAE_Systems_Land_evolution.png" src="../../images/9/977.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/977.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Evolution of the land systems division of BAE Systems, 1970s to <!--del_lnk--> Land & Armaments formation</div>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/978.png.htm" title="The evolution of the British shipbuilding industry, including BAE Systems Naval Ships and BAE Systems Submarines"><img alt="The evolution of the British shipbuilding industry, including BAE Systems Naval Ships and BAE Systems Submarines" height="136" longdesc="/wiki/Image:British_Shipbuilders_evolution.png" src="../../images/9/978.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/978.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The evolution of the British shipbuilding industry, including <!--del_lnk--> BAE Systems Naval Ships and <!--del_lnk--> BAE Systems Submarines</div>
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<p>As a result of the British Aerospace-MES merger, BAE Systems is the successor to many of the most famous British aircraft, defence electronics and warship manufacturers.<p>Marconi Electronic Systems had a heritage of almost 100 years. Following GEC's acquisition of Marconi in 1968 the Marconi brand was used for its defence businesses, e.g., Marconi Space & Defence Systems (MSDS) and Marconi Underwater Systems Ltd (MUSL). GEC's history of military products dates back to <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a> with its contribution to the war effort then including radios and bulbs. <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> consolidated this position, as the company was involved in important technological advances, most notably <a href="../../wp/r/Radar.htm" title="Radar">radar</a>. Between 1945 and the British Aerospace merger in 1999, the company became one of the world's most important <!--del_lnk--> defence contractors. GEC's major defence related acquisitions included <!--del_lnk--> Associated Electrical Industries in 1967, <!--del_lnk--> English Electric (including its <!--del_lnk--> Marconi subsidiary) in 1968, <!--del_lnk--> Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited in 1985, parts of <!--del_lnk--> Ferranti's defence business in 1990, <!--del_lnk--> Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering in 1995 and <!--del_lnk--> Kværner Govan in 1999. In June 1998, MES acquired <!--del_lnk--> Tracor, a major American defence contractor, for <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_dollar.htm" title="United States dollar">US$</a>1.4 billion.<p>British Aerospace was the result of massive consolidation of UK aircraft manufacturers since World War II. British Aerospace was formed on <!--del_lnk--> 29 April <!--del_lnk--> 1977 by the nationalisation and merger of The <!--del_lnk--> British Aircraft Corporation, the <!--del_lnk--> Hawker Siddeley Group and <!--del_lnk--> Scottish Aviation. Both BAC and Hawker Siddeley were themselves the result of various mergers and acquisitions; BAC incorporated <!--del_lnk--> English Electric Aviation Ltd, <!--del_lnk--> Vickers-Armstrong (Aircraft), the <!--del_lnk--> Bristol Aeroplane Company and <!--del_lnk--> Hunting Aircraft, while Hawker Siddeley was formed by Hawker Aircraft's purchase of aviation businesses including <!--del_lnk--> Gloster Aircraft, <!--del_lnk--> Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, <!--del_lnk--> A V Roe and later merger with <!--del_lnk--> de Havilland in 1959. The acquisition of <!--del_lnk--> Folland and <!--del_lnk--> Blackburn Aircraft followed, and in 1960 this group was consolidated as the Hawker Siddeley Group.<p><a id="Formation" name="Formation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Formation</span></h3>
<p>It was widely anticipated that British Aerospace would merge with Germany’s <!--del_lnk--> DASA to form a pan-European aerospace giant. A merger deal was negotiated between Richard Evans and DASA CEO <!--del_lnk--> Jürgen Schrempp. However when it became clear that GEC was selling its defence electronics business <!--del_lnk--> Marconi Electronic Systems, Evans put the DASA merger on hold in favour of purchasing Marconi. Evans stated that in 2004 that his fear was that an American defence contractor would acquire Marconi and challenge both British Aeropspace and DASA. Schrempp was angered by Evans' actions and chose instead to merge DASA with Aerospatiale to create the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (<!--del_lnk--> EADS). This group was joined by Spain’s CASA following an agreement in December 1999.<p>The attraction of MES may well have been Tracor, which was the largest European defence purchase in the United States at that point. The creation of a UK company, compared with what would have been a British–German firm, made the possibility of penetrating the US defence market more likely. Since its creation the company has steadily increased its investment in and revenues from the US. At the same time, continental European companies have made limited moves into that market. Major European companies such as <!--del_lnk--> Thales and EADS are unlikely to ever be awarded, for example, a position relative to BAE Systems' involvement in the <a href="../../wp/f/F-35_Lightning_II.htm" title="F-35 Lightning II">F-35 Joint Strike Fighter</a> programme.<p>In the company's 2003 Annual Report, <!--del_lnk--> Sir Richard Evans sums up BAE Systems' strategy since the Marconi merger; "In recent years BAE Systems has undergone a radical transformation from a UK-based aircraft manufacturer to a broadly-based systems business. Through this transformation the company has achieved a more balanced portfolio and geographic spread."<p>BAE Systems inherited the "special" shareholding that was established when British Aerospace was privatised. This special share, with a nominal value of GB£1, is held on behalf of the <!--del_lnk--> Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. This shareholding prevents amendments of certain parts of the company's <!--del_lnk--> Articles of Association without the permission of the Secretary of State. These Articles require that no foreign person or persons acting together may hold more than 15% of the company's shares or control the majority of the board; the CEO and the Chairman of BAE Systems must be British nationals.<p><a id="Expansion_and_restructuring" name="Expansion_and_restructuring"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Expansion and restructuring</span></h3>
<p>With almost total consolidation of the defence industry on the European continent, BAE Systems turned its attention to North America, for example acquiring <!--del_lnk--> Lockheed Martin Control Systems, (LMCS) which produces controls for the <!--del_lnk--> B-2 Spirit bomber, the <!--del_lnk--> C-17 Globemaster III strategic transport, the <!--del_lnk--> F/A-18 Hornet, the <!--del_lnk--> Boeing 757 and <!--del_lnk--> Boeing 767 commercial jets. Another acquisiton was <!--del_lnk--> Lockheed Martin Aerospace Electronic Systems, completed in <!--del_lnk--> November 2000. BAE has long been the subject of press reports linking it to major North American defence contractors, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. The company's shipbuilding assets (and <a href="../../wp/a/Airbus.htm" title="Airbus">Airbus</a> in the Boeing context) have been named as blocks to any merger. The appeal of a link with a North American company is strong as the US defence market is by far the largest in the world. BAE Systems faces considerably fewer hurdles in this sense than their European counterparts, as there is a high degree of integration between the US and UK defence establishments.<p>In 2000 <!--del_lnk--> Matra Marconi Space, a joint BAE/<!--del_lnk--> Matra company, was merged with the space division of <!--del_lnk--> DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG to form <!--del_lnk--> Astrium. On <!--del_lnk--> 16 June <!--del_lnk--> 2003 BAE sold its 25% share to <!--del_lnk--> EADS, making EADS the sole shareholder. Astrium was renamed EADS Astrium.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> November 2001, BAE announced the closure of the Avro Regional Jet (<!--del_lnk--> Avro RJ) production line at <!--del_lnk--> Woodford and the cancellation of the Avro RJX, an advanced series of the aircraft family. The final Avro RJ to be completed became the last all-British civil airliner. BAE continues to support operators of its products through <!--del_lnk--> BAE Systems Regional Aircraft. In December 2001 BAE's missile businesses were merged into MBDA, in which it acquired a 37.5% stake. This included its share of the joint ventures <!--del_lnk--> Matra BAe Dynamics and <!--del_lnk--> Alenia Marconi Systems (missile division only).<p>In <!--del_lnk--> June 2002, BAE confirmed it was in takeover discussions with <!--del_lnk--> TRW, an American aerospace, automotive and defence business. This was prompted by <!--del_lnk--> Northrop Grumman's GB£4.1 billion (approx. US$6 billion c.2002) hostile bid for TRW in February 2002. A bidding war between BAE, Northrop and <!--del_lnk--> General Dynamics ended on <!--del_lnk--> 1 July <!--del_lnk--> 2002 when Northrop's increased bid of GB£5.1 billion was accepted. In December 2002, BAE issued a shock profit warning due to cost overruns of the <!--del_lnk--> Nimrod MR4 maritime reconnaissance/attack aircraft and the <!--del_lnk--> Astute SSN projects. BAE Systems took a charge of GB£750 million against these projects.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> May 2004, it was reported that BAE Systems was considering selling its shipbuilding division, the two <!--del_lnk--> Clyde shipyards and the <!--del_lnk--> Barrow-in-Furness yard. The company would only say that it was reviewing its operations. It was understood that <!--del_lnk--> General Dynamics would like to acquire the submarine building facilities at Barrow, while <!--del_lnk--> Vosper Thornycroft was said to be interested in the remaining yards. <!--del_lnk--> As of 2006 the more likely move for BAE Systems' shipbuilding operations is their merger with other British shipyards to form a "Newco" shipbuilding company.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 4 June <!--del_lnk--> 2004, BAE Systems outbid General Dynamics for <!--del_lnk--> Alvis Vickers, the UK's main manufacturer of munitions and armoured vehicles. What had seemed a certain win for the US company was stopped by BAE Systems' surprise move. On <!--del_lnk--> 7 March <!--del_lnk--> 2005 BAE Systems announced the GB£2.25 billion (approx. US$4.2 billion c.2005) acquisition of the USA defence company <!--del_lnk--> United Defense Industries (UDI). UDI, a major competitor to General Dynamics, is primarily a land systems manufacturer, boosting BAE Systems' involvement in this sector. UDI, now <!--del_lnk--> BAE Systems Land and Armaments, manufactures combat vehicles, artillery systems, naval guns, missile launchers and precision guided munitions.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> December 2005, BAE announced the sale of its German naval systems subsidiary, <!--del_lnk--> Atlas Elektronik, to <!--del_lnk--> ThyssenKrupp and <!--del_lnk--> EADS. The sale was complicated by the requirement of the German government to approve any sale as acceptable. The Financial Times described the sale as "cut price" due to the fact that French company <!--del_lnk--> Thales bid <a href="../../wp/e/Euro.htm" title="Euro">€</a>300 million, but was blocked from purchasing Atlas on national security grounds. On <!--del_lnk--> 31 January <!--del_lnk--> 2006 BAE announced the sale of BAE Systems Aerostructures to <!--del_lnk--> Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. BAE said as early as 2002 that it wished to dispose of what it did not regard as a "core business".<p><a id="Eurosystems" name="Eurosystems"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Eurosystems</span></h3>
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<p>In <!--del_lnk--> July 2003 BAE Systems and <!--del_lnk--> Finmeccanica announced their intention to set up three joint venture companies collectively to be known as <!--del_lnk--> Eurosystems. These companies would have pooled the avionics, <!--del_lnk--> C4ISR and communications businesses of the two companies. The difficulties of integrating the companies in this way lead to a re-evaluation of the proposal, BAE's 2004 Annual Report states that "recognising the complexity of the earlier proposed Eurosystems transaction with Finmeccanica we have moved to a simpler model." The main part of this deal was the dissoloution of <!--del_lnk--> AMS.<p><a id="Airbus_shareholding" name="Airbus_shareholding"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Airbus shareholding</span></h3>
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<p>BAE Systems inherited British Aerospace's share of <!--del_lnk--> Airbus Industrie, which consisted of two factories at <!--del_lnk--> Broughton and <!--del_lnk--> Filton. These facilities manufactured wings for the Airbus family of aircraft. In 2001 Airbus was incorporated as <a href="../../wp/a/Airbus.htm" title="Airbus">Airbus SAS</a>, a <!--del_lnk--> joint stock company. In return for a 20% share in the new company BAE Systems transferred ownership of its Airbus plants (now known as <!--del_lnk--> Airbus UK) to the new company.<p>BAE has long been the subject of press reports regarding the future of its 20% share of Airbus. <i><!--del_lnk--> The Economist's "The World in 2006"</i> said BAE was "almost certain to sell" its Airbus share to EADS in 2006 to fund a major U.S. acquisition and named <!--del_lnk--> L-3 Communications as an "obvious candidate". Despite denials by the company the BBC reported on <!--del_lnk--> 2006-<!--del_lnk--> 04-06 that BAE was indeed to sell its stake, then "conservatively valued" at GB£2.4 billion.<p>Due to the slow pace of informal negotiations BAE exercised its <!--del_lnk--> put option which saw investment bank <!--del_lnk--> Rothschild appointed to give an independent valuation. Six days after this process began, Airbus annouced delays to the <a href="../../wp/a/Airbus_A380.htm" title="Airbus A380">A380</a> which caused a 26% collapse in the EADS share price and hence in the value of Airbus SAS. On <!--del_lnk--> 2006-<!--del_lnk--> 07-02 Rothschild valued BAE's share at GB£1.9 billion, well below BAE's, analysts' and even EADS' expectations. On 6 September 2006, BAE board announced it would recommend to shareholders to sell its share for GB£1.87 billion. On 4 October 2006, shareholders voted in favour of the sale, which was completed on <!--del_lnk--> 13 October.<p><a id="Recent_events" name="Recent_events"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Recent events</span></h3>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/979.jpg.htm" title="With BAE's GB£2.5 billion purchase of United Defense in 2005 BAE added the M2/M3 Bradley family of armoured vehicles to its product line."><img alt="With BAE's GB£2.5 billion purchase of United Defense in 2005 BAE added the M2/M3 Bradley family of armoured vehicles to its product line." height="164" longdesc="/wiki/Image:1BFV01.jpg" src="../../images/9/979.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/979.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> With BAE's GB£2.5 billion purchase of United Defense in 2005 BAE added the <!--del_lnk--> M2/M3 Bradley family of armoured vehicles to its product line.</div>
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<p>On <!--del_lnk--> March 23, <!--del_lnk--> 2006 BAE and <!--del_lnk--> VT Group announced to the <!--del_lnk--> stock exchange that they were considering a joint bid for <!--del_lnk--> Babcock International. On <!--del_lnk--> May 10, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, BAE Systems abandoned the plan because "the economics of a deal do not create sufficient value for BAE Systems or the other parties".<p>On <!--del_lnk--> March 16, <!--del_lnk--> 2006 the <i><!--del_lnk--> Financial Times</i> reported the possible sale of BAE's 37.5% share of <!--del_lnk--> MBDA. The paper reported that EADS is keen to take full control of the joint venture by acquiring the BAE share and <!--del_lnk--> Finmeccanica's 25%.<p>One of BAE's major aims, as highlighted in the 2005 Annual Report, was the granting of increased technology transfer between the UK and the US. The JSF programme became the focus of this effort, with British government ministers such as <!--del_lnk--> Lord Drayson, <!--del_lnk--> Minister for Defence Procurement, suggesting the UK would withdraw from the project without the transfer of technology that would allow the UK to operate and maintain F-35s independently. On <!--del_lnk--> May 27, <!--del_lnk--> 2006 President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair issued a joint statement which announced "Both governments agree that the UK will have the ability to successfully operate, upgrade, employ, and maintain the Joint Strike Fighter such that the UK retains operational sovereignty over the aircraft."<p>On <!--del_lnk--> August 18, <!--del_lnk--> 2006 Saudi Arabia signed a contract for 72 <!--del_lnk--> Eurofighter Typhoons, to be delivered by BAE Systems. Reports suggests the contract is worth GB£6 billion to GB£10 billion to UK industry. On 10 September 2006 BAE won a GB£2.5 billion contract for the upgrade of 80 RSAF Tornado IDSs.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> September 6, <!--del_lnk--> 2006 BAE announced it was selling its 20% stake in <a href="../../wp/a/Airbus.htm" title="Airbus">Airbus</a> to <!--del_lnk--> EADS, which already owned the remaining 80%, for GB£1.87 billion. On <!--del_lnk--> 4 October shareholders voted in favour and the sale was completed on <!--del_lnk--> 13 October 2006.<p><a id="Products" name="Products"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Products</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/980.jpg.htm" title="BAE Systems is a partner in the F-35 Lightning II programme"><img alt="BAE Systems is a partner in the F-35 Lightning II programme" height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:F-35.jpg" src="../../images/9/980.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/980.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> BAE Systems is a partner in the F-35 Lightning II programme</div>
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<p>BAE Systems either leads or has a major stake in some of the world's most high profile, high technology aerospace, land warfare and maritime projects. BAE Systems' interests in commercial aviation are vested in <!--del_lnk--> BAE Systems Regional Aircraft. BAE Systems Regional Aircraft no longer produces aircraft, however it continues to lease and support its products, the <!--del_lnk--> Avro RJ/BAE 146 family, <!--del_lnk--> BAe ATP, <!--del_lnk--> Jetstream and <!--del_lnk--> BAe 748. BAE plays important roles in military aircraft production. The company's <!--del_lnk--> Eurofighter Typhoon, <!--del_lnk--> Panavia Tornado and <!--del_lnk--> Harrier fighter-bombers are all front line aircraft of the Royal Air Force. BAE is a major partner in the <a href="../../wp/f/F-35_Lightning_II.htm" title="F-35 Lightning II">F-35 Lightning II</a> programme. Its <!--del_lnk--> Hawk advanced jet trainer aircraft has been widely exported.<p><!--del_lnk--> BAE Systems Land Systems manufactures the British Army's <!--del_lnk--> Challenger II, <!--del_lnk--> Warrior Tracked Armoured Vehicle, <!--del_lnk--> M777 howitzer, <!--del_lnk--> Panther Command and Liaison Vehicle and <!--del_lnk--> L85 Assault Rifle. <!--del_lnk--> BAE Systems Land and Armaments manufactures the <!--del_lnk--> M2/M3 Bradley fighting vehicle family, the United States Navy <!--del_lnk--> Advanced Gun System (AGS) and the <!--del_lnk--> M109 Paladin.<p>Major naval projects include the <!--del_lnk--> Astute class submarines, the <!--del_lnk--> Type 45 air defence destroyer and the <!--del_lnk--> future aircraft carrier.<p><a id="Position_in_its_markets" name="Position_in_its_markets"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Position in its markets</span></h2>
<p>BAE Systems is the predominant supplier to the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD), being the only company to receive more than GB£1 billion from the MOD in 2004/2005. Since its creation BAE Systems has had a difficult relationship with the MOD. This has been attributed to deficient project management by the company, but also in part to the deficiencies in the terms of "fixed price contracts". BAE CEO Mike Turner said in 2006 "We had entered into contracts under the old competition rules that frankly we shouldn’t have taken." These competition rules were introduced by <!--del_lnk--> Lord Levene during the 1980s to shift the burden of risk to the contractor and were in contrast to "cost plus contracts" where a contractor was paid for the value of its product plus an agreed profit. However BAE and its predecessors grew, particularly in the 1990s, to the point where not only were they leading suppliers to the MOD, but also more competitive internationally.<p>In December 2005 the MOD published the <!--del_lnk--> Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) which has been widely acknowledged to recognise BAE as the UK's "national champion". The DIS identifies key industrial capabilities which must be maintained within the UK through long-term government commitments to support research spending and procurement. Of these capabilities, several are dominated by BAE, including naval vessels and submarines, armoured fighting vehicles (over 95% of the UK’s AFVs are BAE products), fixed wing aircraft, general munitions (with the exception of certain "niche capabilities abroad") and <!--del_lnk--> Network Enabled Capability (defined as <!--del_lnk--> C4ISTAR in the DIS).<p>After the publication of the DIS BAE Systems <!--del_lnk--> CEO <!--del_lnk--> Mike Turner said "If we didn't have the DIS and our profitability and the terms of trade had stayed as they were... then there had to be a question mark about our future in the U.K."<p>BAE now sells more to the US Department of Defense (DOD) than the UK MOD and by 2006 had become the seventh largest supplier to the DOD. The company has been allowed to buy important defence contractors in the United States, however its status as a UK company requires that its US subsidiaries are governed by American executives under <!--del_lnk--> Special Security Arrangements.<p><a id="Corporate_governance" name="Corporate_governance"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Corporate governance</span></h2>
<p>As of February 2006 the members of the <!--del_lnk--> board of directors of BAE Systems were: <!--del_lnk--> Dick Olver (Chairman), <!--del_lnk--> Sue Birley, <!--del_lnk--> Phil Carroll, <!--del_lnk--> Ulrich Cartellieri, <!--del_lnk--> Chris Geoghegan, <!--del_lnk--> Michael Hartnall, <!--del_lnk--> Michael Lester, <!--del_lnk--> Peter Mason, <!--del_lnk--> Steve Mogford, <!--del_lnk--> Roberto Quarta, <!--del_lnk--> Mark Ronald, <!--del_lnk--> George Rose, <!--del_lnk--> Mike Turner (<!--del_lnk--> CEO), and <!--del_lnk--> Peter Weinberg.<p>After more than 30 years with the company and its predecessors, BAE Systems' longstanding Chairman Sir Richard Evans announced his successor in March 2004. Dick Olver, formerly the deputy chief-executive of <a href="../../wp/b/BP.htm" title="BP">BP</a>, succeeded Evans on <!--del_lnk--> 1 July <!--del_lnk--> 2004. This appointment came at a significant time with stock market confidence still recovering from the shock profit warning of December 2002.<p>Mike Turner replaced John Weston in 2002. Weston was forced out in what was a surprise move. It is understood that Turner, like Evans, has a poor working relationship with senior Ministry of Defence officials, (for example with former Defence Secretary <!--del_lnk--> Geoff Hoon). Significantly the first meeting between Olver and Hoon was said to have gone well, a MoD official commented "He is a man we can do business with. We think it is good to be taking a fresh look at things."<p>Reports in 2005 suggested that relations between the Chairman (Olver) and CEO (Turner) were strained. In June 2005 Turner heightened investor concerns of boardroom tensions by criticising Olver's knowledge of the defence industry, "[he] has a low knowledge base and knows nothing about our industry". Turner did suggest however that Olver was on a learning curve, "He'll fully understand it [in 5 years]. This is a business that takes time to understand. It's not just business, it's political."<p><a id="Financial_information" name="Financial_information"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Financial information</span></h2>
<table align="center" class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;">
<caption><b>Table 1</b> BAE Systems five year results (source <!--del_lnk--> BAE Systems Annual Report 2005)</caption>
<tr>
<th>Year ended</th>
<th>Turnover (GB£ million)</th>
<th>Profit/(loss) before tax (GB£m)</th>
<th>Net profit (GB£m)</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Earnings per share (p)</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>31 Dec 2005<sup>[i]</sup></td>
<td>15,411</td>
<td>845</td>
<td>555</td>
<td>22.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>31 Dec 2004<sup>[i]</sup></td>
<td>13,222</td>
<td>730</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>17.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>31 Dec 2003</td>
<td>15,572</td>
<td>233</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>16.6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>31 Dec 2002</td>
<td>12,145</td>
<td>(616)</td>
<td>(686)<sup>[ii]</sup></td>
<td>17.3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>31 Dec 2001</td>
<td>13,138</td>
<td>70</td>
<td>(128)</td>
<td>23.4</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>[i]: <!--del_lnk--> IFRS. 2003, 2002 and 2001 data prepared using UK <!--del_lnk--> GAAP procedures.<br /> [ii]: Reflects GB£750 million charges for problems with <!--del_lnk--> Nimrod MRA4 (GB£500 million) and <!--del_lnk--> Astute class submarine (GB£250 million) programmes.<p>Of all the company's activities, the most profitable are the <!--del_lnk--> Al Yamamah contracts to supply and support the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Saudi Air Force. This deal contributes substantially to the company's profits; it was 42% in 2003.<p><a id="Merger_undertakings" name="Merger_undertakings"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Merger undertakings</span></h2>
<p>Various undertakings were given by BAE Systems to the <!--del_lnk--> Department of Trade and Industry which prevented a reference of the merger to the <!--del_lnk--> Monopolies and Mergers Commission.Ordinarily merger decisions are taken by the <!--del_lnk--> European Commission, however EC Merger Regulation Article 296 allows member states to take any decisions relevant to national security. The EC granted its approval of the non-military aspects in June 1999.<ol>
<li>The MES shipyards and <!--del_lnk--> Marconi Avionics were to be kept as subsidiaries of the new company, with independent financial accounts. Further these subsidiaries must be available to all potential prime contractors (i.e. including external companies) on equal terms.<li>BAE Systems must competitively tender sub-contracts, i.e. the new subsidiaries must not automatically receive sub-contracts.<li>Due to the competition of British Aerospace and MES in various major defence projects, the company was ordered to set up various "firewalls" to prevent interaction between the former MES and BAe teams on those projects. An example of this was the initial stages of the <a href="../../wp/f/F-35_Lightning_II.htm" title="F-35 Lightning II">Joint Strike Fighter</a> programme where MES was involved in <!--del_lnk--> Boeing's <!--del_lnk--> X-32 project and BAe supported Lockheed Martin's <!--del_lnk--> X-35 bid.<li>A compliance officer was appointed by BAE Systems to ensure the new company followed these requirements and procedures. The remit of this job was strictly set out, including the qualifications (length of time with the company etc), access to staff and information, and independence.</ol>
<p>In 2006 the Office of Fair Trading announced it had launched a review of the undertakings to determine whether "the undertakings are still appropriate or need to be varied or superseded, or whether BAE Systems can be released from them." This follows BAE questioning the "continued relevance of a number of the undertakings" given the changes in the defence industry since 1999.<p><a id="Criticisms" name="Criticisms"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Criticisms</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/981.jpg.htm" title="HMS Coventry was one of two frigates sold to Romania. The terms of the sale have been controversial."><img alt="HMS Coventry was one of two frigates sold to Romania. The terms of the sale have been controversial." height="164" longdesc="/wiki/Image:HMS_Coventry_F98.jpg" src="../../images/9/981.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/981.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i><!--del_lnk--> HMS Coventry</i> was one of two frigates sold to Romania. The terms of the sale have been controversial.</div>
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<p>Like many arms manufacturers, BAE has received criticism from various human rights and anti-arms trade organisations due to the human rights records of governments it has sold equipment to. These include Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe. Groups such as <!--del_lnk--> Campaign Against Arms Trade have criticised the company for supplying arms to <a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a>, which they argue is guilty of human rights abuses. BAE's U.S. subsidiary makes several sub-systems for <!--del_lnk--> F-16s, 236 of which have been supplied to the <!--del_lnk--> Israel Defense Forces.<p>BAE (and British Aerospace previously) has long been the subject of allegations of bribery in relation to its business in Saudi Arabia (through the <!--del_lnk--> Al Yamamah contracts). An earlier contract, the BAC sale of arms in the 1970s including <!--del_lnk--> Lightning fighters, involved "commission" payments of GB£100 million.The company has been accused of maintaining a GB£60 million Saudi <!--del_lnk--> slush fund and is the subject of an investigation by the <!--del_lnk--> Serious Fraud Office. The UK <!--del_lnk--> National Audit Office investigated the contracts and has so far not published its conclusions - the only NAO report ever to be withheld. In July 2006 <i>The Guardian</i> reported that the <!--del_lnk--> Comptroller and Auditor General (head of the NAO) had refused requests by the Ministry of Defence police and the Serious Fraud Office to see the report. In response to the reports the Ministry of Defence stated "The report remains sensitive. Disclosure would harm both international relations and the UK's commercial interests."<p>In September 2005 <i><!--del_lnk--> The Guardian</i> alleged that banking records showed that BAE paid GB£1 million to <!--del_lnk--> Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator.<i>The Guardian</i> has also reported that "clandestine arms deals" have been under investigation in Chile and the UK since 2003 and that British Aerospace and BAE made a number of payments to Pinochet advisers.<p>BAE has been criticised for its role in disposing of surplus <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Navy.htm" title="Royal Navy">Royal Navy</a> warships. <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Sheffield</i> was sold to the Chilean Navy in 2003 for GB£27 million, however the government's profit from the sale was GB£3 million after contracts worth GB£24 million were placed with BAE for upgrade and refurbishment of the ship. BAE is alleged to have paid "secret offshore commissions" of over GB£7 million to secure the sale of <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>London</i> and <!--del_lnk--> HMS <i>Coventry</i> to the Romanian Navy. BAE received a GB£116 million contract for the refurbishment of the ships.<p>BAE Systems does not manufacture land mines. While it does not directly manufacture <!--del_lnk--> cluster munitions it received a contract for 26,000 155 mm L20 cluster artillery shells in November 2002 with manufacture subcontracted to <!--del_lnk--> Israel Military Industries. Armed Forces Minister <!--del_lnk--> Adam Ingram explained that BAE's involvement came from the fact that "BAE Systems [was] able to negotiate favourable rates for the shell."<h2> <span class="mw-headline">Joint ventures etc.</span></h2>
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<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/982.jpg.htm" title="A BAE–assembled Eurofighter Typhoon T1. BAE is a partner in Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, the multinational company that coordinates the design, production and upgrade of the aircraft."><img alt="A BAE–assembled Eurofighter Typhoon T1. BAE is a partner in Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, the multinational company that coordinates the design, production and upgrade of the aircraft." height="171" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Typhoon.t1.zj807.arp.jpg" src="../../images/9/982.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/982.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A BAE–assembled <!--del_lnk--> Eurofighter Typhoon <!--del_lnk--> T1. BAE is a partner in <!--del_lnk--> Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, the multinational company that coordinates the design, production and upgrade of the aircraft.</div>
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<p>BAE's shares in <!--del_lnk--> Panavia Aircraft GmbH (37.5%) and <!--del_lnk--> Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH (33%) represent its involvement in the Panavia Tornado and Eurofighter Typhoon projects. BAE is involved in production of the export version of the <!--del_lnk--> Saab Gripen and owns 50% of Gripen International KB, the company responsible for marketing of the aircraft. BAE inherited a 35% share in <!--del_lnk--> Saab AB from British Aerospace. This was reduced to 20.5% in January 2005.<p>In 2001 BAE's missile businesses were merged into <!--del_lnk--> MBDA in 2001 giving BAE a 37.5% share. Other shareholdings include 25% of <!--del_lnk--> SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems, 50% of Flagship Training Limited and 50% of <!--del_lnk--> Fleet Support Limited (a joint venture with <!--del_lnk--> VT Group plc).<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAE_Systems"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">BASIC</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.IT.Computer_Programming.htm">Computer Programming</a></h3>
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<p>In <a href="../../wp/c/Computer_programming.htm" title="Computer programming">computer programming</a>, <b>BASIC</b> (an <!--del_lnk--> acronym for <b>Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code</b>) refers to a family of high-level <a href="../../wp/p/Programming_language.htm" title="Programming language">programming languages</a>. It was originally designed in 1963, by <!--del_lnk--> John George Kemeny and <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Eugene Kurtz at <!--del_lnk--> Dartmouth College, to provide access for non-science students to computers. At the time, nearly all computer use required writing custom software, which was something only <!--del_lnk--> scientists and <!--del_lnk--> mathematicians tended to do. The language (in one variant or another) became widespread on <!--del_lnk--> home microcomputers in the 1980s, and remains popular to this day in a handful of heavily evolved <!--del_lnk--> dialects.<p>
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</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Prior to the mid-1960s, <a href="../../wp/c/Computer.htm" title="Computers">computers</a> were extremely expensive tools used only for special-purpose tasks. A simple <!--del_lnk--> batch processing arrangement ran only a single "job" at a time, one after another. During the 1960s, however, faster and more affordable computers became available. With this extra processing power, computers would sometimes sit idle, without jobs to run.<p>Programming languages in the batch programming era tended to be designed, like the machines on which they ran, for specific purposes (such as <!--del_lnk--> scientific formula calculations or business data processing or eventually for <!--del_lnk--> text editing). Since even the newer less expensive machines were still major investments, there was strong tendency to consider efficiency (ie, execution speed, and such) to be the most important feature of a language. In general, these specialized languages were difficult to use and had widely disparate <!--del_lnk--> syntax.<p>As prices decreased, the possibility of sharing computer access began to move from research labs to commercial use. Newer computer systems supported <!--del_lnk--> time-sharing, a system which allows multiple users or processes to use the <!--del_lnk--> CPU and memory. In such a system the <!--del_lnk--> operating system alternates between running processes, giving each one running time on the CPU before switching to another. The machines had become fast enough that most users could feel they had the machine all to themselves. In theory, timesharing reduced the cost of computing tremendously, as a single machine could be shared among (up to) hundreds of users.<p><a id="Early_years_.E2.80.94_the_mini_computer_era" name="Early_years_.E2.80.94_the_mini_computer_era"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Early years — the mini computer era</span></h3>
<p>The original BASIC language was designed in 1963 by <!--del_lnk--> John Kemeny and <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Kurtz and implemented by a team of Dartmouth students under their direction. BASIC was designed to allow students to write programs for the <!--del_lnk--> Dartmouth Time-Sharing System. It intended to address the complexity issues of older languages with a new language design specifically for the new class of users time-sharing systems allowed — that is, a less technical user who did not have the mathematical background of the more traditional users and was not interested in acquiring it. Being able to use a computer to support teaching and research was quite attractive enough. In the following years, as other dialects of BASIC appeared, Kemeny and Kurtz' original BASIC dialect became known as <i><!--del_lnk--> Dartmouth BASIC</i>.<p>The eight design principles of BASIC were:<ol>
<li>Be easy for beginners to use.<li>Be a <!--del_lnk--> general-purpose programming language.<li>Allow advanced features to be added for experts (while keeping the language simple for beginners).<li>Be <!--del_lnk--> interactive.<li>Provide clear and friendly <!--del_lnk--> error messages.<li>Respond quickly for small programs.<li>Not require an understanding of computer hardware.<li>Shield the user from the operating system.</ol>
<p>The language was based partly on <!--del_lnk--> FORTRAN II and partly on <!--del_lnk--> ALGOL 60, with additions to make it suitable for timesharing. (The features of other time-sharing systems such as JOSS and CORC, and to a lesser extent LISP, were also considered). It had been preceded by other teaching-language experiments at Dartmouth such as the DARSIMCO (1956) and DOPE (1962 implementations of SAP and DART (1963) which was a simplified FORTRAN II). Initially, BASIC concentrated on supporting straightforward mathematical work, with <!--del_lnk--> matrix arithmetic support from its initial implementation as a batch language and full string functionality being added by 1965. BASIC was first implemented on the <!--del_lnk--> GE-265 <!--del_lnk--> mainframe which supported multiple <!--del_lnk--> terminals. Contrary to popular belief, it was a <!--del_lnk--> compiled language at the time of its introduction. It was also quite efficient, beating FORTRAN II and ALGOL 60 implementations on the 265 at several fairly computationally intensive programming problems such as maximization <!--del_lnk--> Simpson's Rule.<p>The designers of the language decided to make the compiler available without charge so that the language would become widespread. They also made it available to high schools in the Dartmouth area and put a considerable amount of effort into promoting the language. As a result, knowledge of BASIC became relatively widespread (for a computer language) and BASIC was implemented by a number of manufacturers, becoming fairly popular on newer <!--del_lnk--> minicomputers like the <!--del_lnk--> DEC <!--del_lnk--> PDP series and the <!--del_lnk--> Data General <!--del_lnk--> Nova. In these instances the language tended to be implemented as an <!--del_lnk--> interpreter, instead of (or in addition to) a <!--del_lnk--> compiler.<p>Several years after its release, highly-respected computer professionals, notably <!--del_lnk--> Edsger W. Dijkstra, expressed their opinions that the use of <!--del_lnk--> GOTO statements, which existed in many languages including BASIC, promoted poor programming practices. Some have also derided BASIC as too slow (most interpreted versions are slower than equivalent compiled versions) or too simple (many versions, especially for small computers left out important features and capabilities).<p><a id="Explosive_growth_.E2.80.94_the_home_computer_era" name="Explosive_growth_.E2.80.94_the_home_computer_era"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Explosive growth — the home computer era</span></h3>
<p>Notwithstanding the language's use on several minicomputers, it was the introduction of the <!--del_lnk--> MITS <!--del_lnk--> Altair 8800 <!--del_lnk--> microcomputer in 1975 that provided BASIC a path to universality. Most programming languages required more memory (and/or disk space) than were available on the small computers most users could afford. With the slow memory access that tapes provided and the lack of suitable text editors, a language like BASIC which could satisfy these constraints was attractive. BASIC also had the advantage that it was fairly well known to the young designers who took an interest in microcomputers. Kemeny and Kurtz's earlier proselytizing paid off in this respect. One of the first to appear for the 8080 machines like the Altair was <!--del_lnk--> Tiny BASIC, a simple BASIC implementation originally written by Dr. <!--del_lnk--> Li-Chen Wang, and then ported onto the Altair by Dennis Allison at the request of <!--del_lnk--> Bob Albrecht (who later founded <!--del_lnk--> Dr. Dobb's Journal). The Tiny BASIC design and the full source code were published in 1976 in DDJ.<p>In 1975, MITS released <!--del_lnk--> Altair BASIC, developed by <a href="../../wp/b/Bill_Gates.htm" title="Bill Gates">Bill Gates</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Paul Allen as <!--del_lnk--> Micro-Soft. The first Altair version was co-written by Gates, Allen and <!--del_lnk--> Monte Davidoff. Versions of <!--del_lnk--> Microsoft BASIC soon started appearing on other platforms under license, and millions of copies and variants were soon in use; it became one of the standard languages on the <!--del_lnk--> Apple II (based on the quite different 6502 MPU). By 1979, Microsoft was talking with several microcomputer vendors, including <!--del_lnk--> IBM, about licensing a BASIC interpreter for their computers. A version was included in the IBM PC <!--del_lnk--> ROM chips and PCs without floppy disks automatically booted into BASIC just like many other small computers.<p>Newer companies attempted to follow the successes of MITS, <!--del_lnk--> IMSAI, <!--del_lnk--> North Star and <!--del_lnk--> Apple, thus creating a <!--del_lnk--> home computer industry; meanwhile, BASIC became a standard feature of all but a very few home computers. Most came with a BASIC interpreter in ROM, thus avoiding the unavailable, or too expensive, disk problem. Soon there were many millions of machines running BASIC variants around the world, likely a far greater number than all the users of all other languages put together.<p>There are more <!--del_lnk--> dialects of BASIC than there are of any other <a href="../../wp/p/Programming_language.htm" title="Programming language">programming language</a>. Most of the <!--del_lnk--> home computers of the 1980s had a <!--del_lnk--> ROM-resident BASIC <!--del_lnk--> interpreter.<p>The <a href="../../wp/b/BBC.htm" title="BBC">BBC</a> published <!--del_lnk--> BBC BASIC, developed for them by <!--del_lnk--> Acorn Computers Ltd, incorporating many extra structuring keywords, as well as comprehensive and versatile direct access to the operating system. It also featured a fully integrated assembler. BBC BASIC was a very well-regarded dialect, and made the transition from the original <!--del_lnk--> BBC Micro computer to more than 30 other platforms.<p>During this growth time for BASIC, many magazines were published such as <i>Creative Magazine</i> that included complete source codes for games, utilities, and other programs. Given BASIC's straightforward nature, it was considered a simple matter to type in the code from the magazine and execute the program. Different magazines were published featuring programs for specific computers, though some BASIC programs were universal and could be input into any BASIC-using machine.<p><a id="Maturity_.E2.80.94_the_personal_computer_era" name="Maturity_.E2.80.94_the_personal_computer_era"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Maturity — the personal computer era</span></h3>
<p>Many newer BASIC versions were created during this period. Microsoft sold several versions of BASIC for <!--del_lnk--> MS-DOS/<!--del_lnk--> PC-DOS including <!--del_lnk--> BASICA, <!--del_lnk--> GW-BASIC (a BASICA-compatible version that did not need IBM's ROM) and <!--del_lnk--> QuickBASIC. Turbo Pascal-publisher <!--del_lnk--> Borland published <!--del_lnk--> Turbo BASIC 1.0 in 1985 (successor versions are still being marketed by the original author under the name <!--del_lnk--> PowerBASIC).<p>These languages introduced many extensions to the original home computer BASIC, such as improved <!--del_lnk--> string manipulation and graphics support, access to the <!--del_lnk--> file system and additional <!--del_lnk--> data types. More important were the facilities for <!--del_lnk--> structured programming, including additional <!--del_lnk--> control structures and proper <!--del_lnk--> subroutines supporting <!--del_lnk--> local variables.<p>However, by the latter half of the 1980s newer computers were far more capable with more resources. At the same time, computers had progressed from a hobbyist interest to tools used primarily for applications written by others, and programming became less important for most users. BASIC started to recede in importance, though numerous versions remained available. Compiled BASIC or CBASIC is still used in many IBM 4690 OS point of sale systems.<p>BASIC's fortunes reversed once again with the introduction of <!--del_lnk--> Visual Basic by Microsoft. It is somewhat difficult to consider this language to be BASIC, because of the major shift in its orientation towards an <!--del_lnk--> object-oriented and <!--del_lnk--> event-driven perspective. While this could be considered an evolution of the language, few of the distinctive features of early <!--del_lnk--> Dartmouth BASIC, such as <!--del_lnk--> line numbers and the <code>INPUT</code> keyword, remain.<p>Many BASIC dialects have also sprung up in the last few years, including <!--del_lnk--> Bywater BASIC and <!--del_lnk--> True BASIC (the direct successor to Dartmouth BASIC from a company controlled by Kurtz). Recently, the remaining community using Microsoft's pre-Visual Basic products have begun to switch wholesale to <!--del_lnk--> FreeBASIC, a <!--del_lnk--> GPLed compiler which has moved BASIC onto a <!--del_lnk--> GCC backend. Many other BASIC variants and adaptations have been written by hobbyists, equipment developers, and others, as it is a relatively simple language to develop translators for. An example of an open source interpreter, written in C, is <!--del_lnk--> MiniBasic.<p>The ubiquity of BASIC interpreters on personal computers was such that textbooks once included simple <b>TRY IT IN BASIC</b> exercises that encouraged students to experiment with mathematical and computational concepts on classroom or home computers. Futurist and sci-fi writer <!--del_lnk--> David Brin mourns the loss of ubiquitous BASIC in a recent Salon article <!--del_lnk--> Why Johnny Can't Code.<p><a id="The_language" name="The_language"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The language</span></h2>
<p><a id="Syntax" name="Syntax"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Syntax</span></h3>
<p>Basic statements are terminated by line endings unless there is a line continuation character. A very minimal BASIC syntax only needs the LET, PRINT, IF and <!--del_lnk--> GOTO commands.<p>Line numbers were a very distinctive aspect of classic home computer BASIC. Due to the limitations of static line numbering, BASIC interpreters later introduced a built-in RENUMBER command which allowed for more interactive programming. Some (but not all) modern BASIC dialects have abandoned line numbers altogether in favour of line labels, and support advanced control structures and data declaration constructs available in other languages such as <!--del_lnk--> C and <!--del_lnk--> Pascal (note also that some versions of BASIC that used line numbers implemented these constructs as well):<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> for loops<li><!--del_lnk--> while loops<li><!--del_lnk--> switch statements<li><!--del_lnk--> subroutines and functions</ul>
<p>Recent variants such as <!--del_lnk--> Visual Basic have introduced features such as the For Each...Loop construct for looping through collections and arrays in VBA and Visual Basic 4 and later, and even <!--del_lnk--> Object-oriented programming with <!--del_lnk--> inheritance in the latest version. <!--del_lnk--> Memory management is easier than in many other procedural programming languages because of the commonly included <!--del_lnk--> garbage collector.<p>This wealth of variants shows that the language user and developer communities are active, and that BASIC may be seen as a subculture dealing with computer programming rather than as a fixed set of syntactic rules. This applies as well to other "old" computer languages like <!--del_lnk--> COBOL and <!--del_lnk--> FORTRAN, although the BASIC movement is by far the largest; this may be explained by the large number of IT professionals who learned to program in BASIC during the home computer era in the 1980s.<p><a id="Procedures_and_flow_control" name="Procedures_and_flow_control"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Procedures and flow control</span></h3>
<p>Most BASICs do not use an external library for common operations like other languages such as C. Instead, the interpreter (or compiler) contains an extensive built-in library of intrinsic procedures, rather like most Pascals. These procedures include most of the tools a programmer needs to learn programming and write simple applications, including functions for math, strings, console input/output, graphics and file manipulation.<p>Some BASIC dialects do not provide built-in structuring facilities, such as the Procedure construct. In these, programmers must write their programs using <!--del_lnk--> GOSUB statements and ad hoc argument transmission to emulate these structures. When not done by an expert, this produces poorly-structured unmaintainable programs, commonly referred to as <i><!--del_lnk--> spaghetti code</i>. GOSUB statements branch to simple kinds of <!--del_lnk--> subroutines without (though sometimes with) parameters or local variables. Most modern versions of BASIC such as <!--del_lnk--> Microsoft QuickBASIC have added support for full subroutines and functions. Most BASICs, like FORTRAN, ALGOL or Pascal, make a distinction between a procedure which returns a value (called a function) and a procedure which does not (called a subroutine).<p>While functions, in the larger sense of subroutines returning values, were a latecomer to BASIC dialects, many early systems supported the definition of one-line mathematical functions by DEF FN ("DEFine FunctioN"). The original Dartmouth BASIC also supported Algol-like functions and subroutines from the late 1960s, as did the <!--del_lnk--> BASIC09 variant from about 1979.<p><a id="Data_types" name="Data_types"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Data types</span></h3>
<p>BASIC is known for good <!--del_lnk--> string manipulation functions. Early dialects already had a set of fundamental functions (LEFT$, MID$, RIGHT$) for string operations. Because strings are often used in everyday applications, this was a considerable convenience advantage over many other languages at the time of its introduction.<p>The original Dartmouth BASIC supported only numeric and string data types. There was no <!--del_lnk--> integer type, leaving all numeric variables as <!--del_lnk--> floating point. Strings were dynamic, and could change their length. <!--del_lnk--> Arrays of both numbers and strings were supported, as well as simple matrices (ie, two dimensional arrays).<p>Every modern BASIC dialect at least has a numeric and a string data type. Data types are usually distinguished by a <i><!--del_lnk--> sigil</i>, or suffixed character; typically, string identifiers end with '$', whereas integer numerics usually end with a '%'. In some dialects, variables must be declared (using the DIM statement) on their first usage; other dialects do not require it, but can optionally enforce it—typically using a directive such as <i>Option Explicit</i>, In <!--del_lnk--> Visual Basic it is off by default but can be turned on using <i>Option Explicit On</i>. Many dialects also support such additional types as 16- and 32-bit integers and floating-point numbers. Some have "polynomial", "complex", "list" and specialized types designed to support particular end users' needs. Additionally, some allow user-defined types in a manner similar to Pascal "<!--del_lnk--> records" or C "structs".<p>Most BASIC dialects beyond the most primitive also support arrays of numerics or of other types. In some, arrays must be pre-declared (ie, allocated with the DIM statement) before they can be used. Support for two- and higher-dimensional arrays, as well as arrays of non-numeric types, is common in advanced BASICs.<pre>
DIM myIntArray(100) AS INTEGER — some versions will only allow: DIM myIntArray%(100)
DIM myStringArray(50) AS STRING — some versions will only allow: DIM myStringArray$(50)
</pre><p>Depending on the dialect of BASIC, arrays are 0-based (ie, the first element has subscript '0'), while others are 1-based (the first element is subscripted '1'). So, in some, commands like the first in the example will define a 101-element array of integers with elements from 0 to 100, others may define a 100-element array of integers with elements from 1 to 100 or, rarely, from 0 to 99. It may also be possible to set a default beginning element number other than 0 or 1 with an additional command such as <i>Option Base</i>. The Microsoft BASIC example above will create an array with elements numbered from 0 to 100.<p>When working with strings, commands like the second may allocate a 50-element array of variable-length strings, or may allocate a single string of 50 characters. Note that they are also subject to the basing differences mentioned above.<p>These non-standard and, to some, less than intuitive dimensioning examples often confuse the novice (and even the advanced) programmer. Newer dialects offer specific dimensioning, such as DIM myIntArray (10 TO 20) AS INTEGER which would be an 11-element array with elements numbered from 10 to 20.<p><a id="Relational.2C_logical_operators" name="Relational.2C_logical_operators"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Relational, logical operators</span></h3><pre>
= equal <= less than or equal NOT logical negation
<> not equal >= greater than or equal AND logical conjunction
< less than OR logical disjunction
> greater than
</pre><p>Note that there is no lexical distinction between the assignment operator and the equality operator in BASIC; a single <!--del_lnk--> equal sign is used for both. There is, however, a method available to the programmer if a visible difference between the two is wanted: the optional LET keyword allows for assignments to be clearly and unambiguously distinguished from the use of the equality operator. Example: <code>IF X=7 THEN LET Y=3</code>.<p>Also note that the AND, OR, NOT operators are actually bitwise arithmetic operations. They can also be used as logical operations, because most BASIC dialects represent the boolean values by -1 (true) and 0 (false). However, they resemble the <!--del_lnk--> C bitwise arithmetic operators <code>&</code>, <code>|</code> and <code>~</code> respectively, more than the <!--del_lnk--> C logical operators <code>&&</code>, <code>||</code> and <code>!</code>: for example, AND and OR always evaluate <b>both</b> their arguments (they are not <i>short-circuiting</i> operators).<p><a id="Examples" name="Examples"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Examples</span></h2>
<p><a id="A_first_program" name="A_first_program"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">A first program</span></h3>
<p>New BASIC programmers on a home computer might start with a simple program similar to the <!--del_lnk--> Hello world program made famous by <!--del_lnk--> Kernighan and Ritchie. This generally involves a simple use of the language's PRINT statement to display the a message (such as the programmer's name) to the screen. Often an <!--del_lnk--> infinite loop was used to fill the display with the message.<p><a id="Classic_BASIC" name="Classic_BASIC"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Classic BASIC</span></h3>
<p>Note that this example is actually well structured, demonstrating that use of the GOTO statement need not necessarily lead to an unstructured program.<pre>
10 INPUT "What is your name: "; U$
20 PRINT "Hello "; U$
30 REM
40 INPUT "How many stars do you want: "; N
50 S$ = ""
60 FOR I = 1 TO N
70 S$ = S$ + "*"
80 NEXT I
90 PRINT S$
100 REM
110 INPUT "Do you want more stars? "; A$
120 IF LEN(A$) = 0 THEN GOTO 110
130 A$ = LEFT$(A$, 1)
140 IF (A$ = "Y") OR (A$ = "y") THEN GOTO 40
150 PRINT "Goodbye ";
160 FOR I = 1 TO 200
170 PRINT U$; " ";
180 NEXT I
190 PRINT
</pre><p><a id="Modern_BASIC" name="Modern_BASIC"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Modern BASIC</span></h3>
<p>"Modern" structured BASICs (for example, <!--del_lnk--> QuickBASIC, <!--del_lnk--> FreeBasic, <!--del_lnk--> PureBasic, <!--del_lnk--> BlitzMax, <!--del_lnk--> PowerBASIC, and <!--del_lnk--> TrueBASIC) support classic commands such as GOTO statements to varying degrees, while adding many more modern keywords.<p>The previous example in <!--del_lnk--> QuickBASIC:<pre>
INPUT "What is your name"; UserName$
PRINT "Hello "; UserName$
DO
INPUT "How many stars do you want"; NumStars
Stars$ = ""
Stars$ = REPEAT$("*", NumStars) ' <- ANSI BASIC
<i>--or--</i>
Stars$ = STRING$(NumStars, "*") ' <- MS BASIC
PRINT Stars$
DO
INPUT "Do you want more stars"; Answer$
LOOP UNTIL Answer$ <> ""
Answer$ = LEFT$(Answer$, 1)
LOOP WHILE UCASE$(Answer$) = "Y"
PRINT "Goodbye ";
FOR I = 1 TO 200
PRINT UserName$; " ";
NEXT I
PRINT
</pre><p>For comparison, the same program in the more modern <!--del_lnk--> PureBasic:<pre>
OpenConsole()
Print("What is your name ")
UserName$ = Input()
PrintN("Hello " + UserName$)
Repeat
Print("How many stars do you want ")
NumStars = Val(Input())
Stars$ = RSet("", NumStars, "*")
PrintN(Stars$)
Repeat
Print("Do you want more stars ")
Answer$ = Input()
Until Answer$ <> ""
Answer$ = Left(Answer$, 1)
Until UCase(Answer$) <> "Y"
Print("Goodbye ")
For I = 1 To 200
Print(UserName$ + " ")
Next I
PrintN("")
CloseConsole()
</pre><p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASIC"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">BBC</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Citizenship.Media.htm">Media</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Television.htm">Television</a></h3>
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<table class="infobox" style="width: 23em; font-size: 90%;cellpadding:2px">
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: larger;"><b>The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; padding: 10px 0 10px 0;"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="113" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BBC_Logo_1997-Present.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="200" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Type</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Broadcast <a href="../../wp/r/Radio.htm" title="Radio">radio</a> and<br /><a href="../../wp/t/Television.htm" title="Television">television</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Country</th>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title="Flag of United Kingdom"><img alt="Flag of United Kingdom" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/7/789.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Availability</th>
<td>National; international (via <!--del_lnk--> BBC Worldwide, <!--del_lnk--> BBC World Service and <!--del_lnk--> bbc.co.uk)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Founder</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> John Reith</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;"><!--del_lnk--> Slogan</th>
<td>"This is what we do" (Used in various promotional trails for the Corporation)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Motto</th>
<td>"Nation Shall Speak Peace Unto Nation"</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Key people</th>
<td>Sir <!--del_lnk--> Michael Lyons, Chair from 1 May 2007<br /><!--del_lnk--> Mark Thompson, <!--del_lnk--> Director-General</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Launch date</th>
<td>1922 (radio)<br /> 1927 (incorporation)<br /> 1932 (television)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;white-space:no-wrap">Past names</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> British Broadcasting Company Ltd. (1922-1927)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:left;">Website</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> www.bbc.co.uk</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>The British Broadcasting Corporation</b>, usually known as the <b>BBC</b>, is the largest <a href="../../wp/b/Broadcasting.htm" title="Broadcasting">broadcasting</a> corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> alone and with a budget of more than <a href="../../wp/p/Pound_sterling.htm" title="Pound sterling">GB£</a>4 billion (<a href="../../wp/u/United_States_dollar.htm" title="United States dollar">US$</a>7.9 billion.)<p>Founded in 1922 as the <!--del_lnk--> British Broadcasting Company Ltd, it was subsequently granted a <!--del_lnk--> Royal Charter and made a <!--del_lnk--> state-owned but independent corporation in 1927. The corporation produces programmes and information services, broadcasting on <a href="../../wp/t/Television.htm" title="Television">television</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Radio.htm" title="Radio">radio</a>, and the <a href="../../wp/i/Internet.htm" title="Internet">Internet</a>. The stated mission of the BBC is "to inform, educate and entertain", and the <!--del_lnk--> motto of the BBC is <i>Nation Shall Speak Peace Unto Nation.</i><p>The BBC is a <!--del_lnk--> quasi-autonomous <!--del_lnk--> Public Corporation operating as a <!--del_lnk--> public service broadcaster. The Corporation is run by the <!--del_lnk--> BBC Trust; however, the BBC is, per its charter, to be "free from both political and commercial influence and answers only to its viewers and listeners".<p>Its domestic programming and broadcasts are primarily funded by levying <!--del_lnk--> television licence fees (under the <!--del_lnk--> Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949), although money is also raised through commercial activities such as sale of merchandise and programming. The <!--del_lnk--> BBC World Service, however, is funded by the <!--del_lnk--> Foreign and Commonwealth Office. In order to justify the <!--del_lnk--> licence fee the BBC is expected to produce a number of high-rating shows in addition to programmes that commercial broadcasters would not normally broadcast.<p>Quite often domestic audiences affectionately refer to the BBC as <i>the Beeb</i> (coined by <!--del_lnk--> Kenny Everett). <i>Auntie</i> was a nickname used during the early years, said to originate in the somewhat old fashioned <i>Auntie knows best</i> attitude back when <!--del_lnk--> John Reith was in charge. The two terms have been used together as <i>Auntie Beeb</i>.<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The original <i><!--del_lnk--> British Broadcasting Company</i> was founded in 1922 by a group of <!--del_lnk--> telecommunications companies (including <!--del_lnk--> subsidiaries of <!--del_lnk--> General Electric and <a href="../../wp/a/AT%2526T.htm" title="AT&T">AT&T</a>) to broadcast experimental radio services. The first transmission was on <!--del_lnk--> 14 November of that year, from station 2LO, located at Marconi House, London.<p>The Company, with John Reith as general manager, became the <i>British Broadcasting Corporation</i> in 1927 when it was granted a <!--del_lnk--> Royal Charter of incorporation and ceased to be privately owned. It started experimental television broadcasting in 1932 using an entirely mechanical 30 line system developed by <a href="../../wp/j/John_Logie_Baird.htm" title="John Logie Baird">John Logie Baird</a>. It became a regular service (known as the <!--del_lnk--> BBC Television Service) in 1936 alternating between a Baird mechanical 240 line system and the all electronic 405 line EMI system. The superiority of the electronic system saw the mechanical system dropped later that year. Television broadcasting was suspended from <!--del_lnk--> 1 September <!--del_lnk--> 1939 to <!--del_lnk--> 7 June <!--del_lnk--> 1946 during the <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">Second World War</a>. A widely reported <!--del_lnk--> urban myth is that, upon resumption of service, announcer <!--del_lnk--> Leslie Mitchell started by saying, "As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted..." In fact, the first person to appear when transmission resumed was <!--del_lnk--> Jasmine Bligh and the words said were "Good afternoon, everybody. How are you? Do you remember me, Jasmine Bligh...?"<p>The <!--del_lnk--> European Broadcasting Union was formed on 12 February, 1950, in Torquay with the BBC among the 23 founding broadcasting organisations.<p>Competition to the BBC was introduced in 1955 with the commercially and independently operated <!--del_lnk--> ITV. As a result of the <!--del_lnk--> Pilkington Committee report of 1962, in which the BBC was lauded and ITV was very heavily criticised for not providing enough quality programming, the BBC was awarded a second TV channel, <!--del_lnk--> BBC2, in 1964, renaming the existing channel <!--del_lnk--> BBC1. BBC2 used the higher resolution 625 line standard which had been standardised across Europe. BBC2 was broadcast in colour from <!--del_lnk--> 1 July <!--del_lnk--> 1967, and was joined by BBC 1 and ITV on <!--del_lnk--> 15 November <!--del_lnk--> 1969. The 405 line transmissions were continued for compatibility with older television receivers for some years.<p>In 1974 the BBC's teletext service, <!--del_lnk--> Ceefax, was introduced but was not finally transmitted in vision as such until April 1980. In 1978 the BBC went on strike just before the Christmas of that year, thus blocking out the transmission of both channels and amalgamating all four radio stations into one.<p>Since the <!--del_lnk--> deregulation of the UK television and radio market in the 1980s, the BBC has faced increased competition from the commercial sector (and from the advertiser-funded public service broadcaster <!--del_lnk--> Channel 4), especially on <!--del_lnk--> satellite television, <!--del_lnk--> cable television, and <!--del_lnk--> digital television services.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> BBC Research Department has played a major part in the development of broadcasting and recording techniques. In the early days it carried out essential research into acoustics and programme level and noise measurement.<p>The 2004 <!--del_lnk--> Hutton Inquiry, and the subsequent Report raised questions about the BBC's journalistic standards and its impartiality. This led to resignations of senior management members at the time including the then Director General, Greg Dyke. In January 2007, the BBC released minutes of the Board meeting which led to Greg Dyke's resignation. Many commentators have considered the discussions documented in the minutes to have made Dyke's ability to remain in position untenable and tantamount to a dismissal.<p>Unlike the other departments of the BBC, BBC World Service is funded by the <!--del_lnk--> Foreign and Commonwealth Office.<p>The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, more commonly known as the Foreign Office or the FCO, is the British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom abroad.<p><a id="Corporation" name="Corporation"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Corporation</span></h2>
<p><a id="Royal_Charter" name="Royal_Charter"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Royal Charter</span></h3>
<p>The BBC is a <!--del_lnk--> quasi-autonomous <!--del_lnk--> Public Corporation operating as a <!--del_lnk--> public service broadcaster incorporated under a Royal Charter that is reviewed every 10 years. Until 2007 The Corporation was run by a board of governors appointed by The Queen or King on the advice of <!--del_lnk--> the government for a term of four years but on 1 January 2007 the Board of Governors was replaced with the <!--del_lnk--> BBC Trust. The BBC is required by its charter to be free from both political and commercial influence and to answer only to its viewers and listeners.<p>The most recent Charter came into effect on 1 January, 2007. It has created a number of important changes to the Corporation's management and purpose:<ul>
<li>Abolition of the Board of Governors, and their replacement by the <!--del_lnk--> BBC Trust.<li>A redefinition of the BBC's "public services" (which are considered its prime function): <ul>
<li>sustaining citizenship and civil society;<li>promoting education and learning;<li>stimulating creativity and cultural excellence;<li>representing the UK, its nations, regions and communities;<li>bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK;<li>helping to deliver to the public the benefit of emerging communications technologies and services, and taking a leading role in the switchover to digital television.</ul>
<li>The BBC must display at least one of the following characteristics in all content: high quality, originality, innovation, to be challenging and to be engaging.<li>The BBC must demonstrate that it provides <i>public value</i> in all its major activities.</ul>
<p><a id="Corporate_structure" name="Corporate_structure"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Corporate structure</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>Governance Unit<li>Content Groups <ul>
<li>Journalism (incorporates News, Sport, Global News and Nations and Regions)<li>Vision (incorporates all TV production)<li>Audio and Music<li>Future Media and Technology (Incorporates New Media, R&D, Information and Archives)</ul>
<li>Professional Services <ul>
<li>Strategy (formerly Strategy and Distribution and merged with Policy and Legal)<li>Marketing, Communications and Audiences<li>Finance<li>BBC Workplace (Property)<li>BBC People (to 2004, Human Resources & Internal Communications)<li>BBC Training & Development</ul>
<li>Commercial Groups <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> BBC Resources Ltd<li><!--del_lnk--> BBC Worldwide Ltd</ul>
</ul>
<p><a id="Management" name="Management"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Management</span></h3>
<p>The BBC is a nominally autonomous corporation, independent from direct government intervention, with its activities being overseen by the <!--del_lnk--> BBC Trust, formerly the <!--del_lnk--> Board of Governors. General management of the organisation is in the hands of a <!--del_lnk--> Director-General, who is appointed by the Trust.<p><a id="BBC_Trust" name="BBC_Trust"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">BBC Trust</span></h4>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The BBC Trust came into effect on 1 January 2007, replacing the Board of Governors.<blockquote>
<p>The BBC Trust works on behalf of licence fee payers: it ensures the BBC provides high quality output and good value for all UK citizens and it protects the independence of the BBC. — BBC Trust</blockquote>
<p>The Trust sets the overall strategic direction for the corporation and assess the performance of the BBC Executive Board. The Trust has twelve trustees, currently:<ul>
<li>Sir <!--del_lnk--> Michael Lyons (Chair)<li><!--del_lnk--> Chitra Bharucha (Vice-Chair)<li><!--del_lnk--> Diane Coyle<li><!--del_lnk--> Alison Hastings<li><!--del_lnk--> Patricia Hodgson<li><!--del_lnk--> Rotha Johnston<li><!--del_lnk--> Janet Lewis-Jones<li><!--del_lnk--> David Liddiment<li><!--del_lnk--> Mehmuda Pritchard</ul>
<p>The original trustees, three former governors and eight new members, were announced by <!--del_lnk--> Tessa Jowell, <!--del_lnk--> Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, in October 2006.. Michael Grade, then Chairman of the Governors, was to become Chairman of the Trust at the time of the announcement, but due to his move to <!--del_lnk--> ITV, Chitra Bharucha became the Acting Chair, with Sir Michael Lyons taking over as Chairman from 1 May 2007.<p><a id="Executive_Board" name="Executive_Board"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">Executive Board</span></h4>
<p>The Executive Board oversees the effective delivery of the corporation's objectives and obligations within a framework set by the BBC Trust, and is headed by the Director-General, <!--del_lnk--> Mark Thompson. In December 2006, Thompson announced the final appointments to the new Executive Board, consisting of ten directors from the different operations of the group, and five non-executive directors, appointed to provide independent and professional advice to the Executive Board. The members are:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Mark Thompson (Board Chairman and Director-General)<li><!--del_lnk--> Mark Byford (Deputy Chairman and Deputy Director-General; Director, Journalism Group)<li><!--del_lnk--> Caroline Thomson (Chief Operating Officer)<li><!--del_lnk--> Jana Bennett (Director, BBC Vision)<li><!--del_lnk--> Jenny Abramsky (Director, BBC Audio and Music)<li><!--del_lnk--> Ashley Highfield (Director, Future Media and Technology)<li><!--del_lnk--> John Smith (Chief Executive, BBC Worldwide)<li><!--del_lnk--> Zarin Patel (Group Finance Director)<li>Steve Kelly (Director, BBC People)<li><!--del_lnk--> Tim Davie (Director, Marketing, Communications and Audiences)</ul>
<p>Non-executive directors:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Marcus Agius (Senior non-executive director), Chairman, <!--del_lnk--> Barclays<li>Dr <!--del_lnk--> Mike Lynch OBE, co-founder and Chief Executive, <!--del_lnk--> Autonomy Corporation<li>David Robbie, Group Finance Director, <!--del_lnk--> Rexam<li>Dr Samir Shah OBE, Chief Executive, Juniper Communications<li>Robert Webb QC, General Counsel, <!--del_lnk--> British Airways</ul>
<p><a id="Governors" name="Governors"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">Governors</span></h4>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The Board of Governors regulated the group from incorporation in 1927 until 31 December 2006, when the Board was replaced by the BBC Trust. The governors as of the dissolution of the Board were:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Anthony Salz (Acting Chairman)<li><!--del_lnk--> Professor Ranjit Sondhi (National Governor for the English regions)<li><!--del_lnk--> Professor Fabian Monds (National Governor for Northern Ireland)<li><!--del_lnk--> Professor Merfyn Jones (National Governor for Wales)<li><!--del_lnk--> Jeremy Peat (National Governor for Scotland)<li><!--del_lnk--> Deborah Bull<li><!--del_lnk--> Baroness Deech<li><!--del_lnk--> Dermot Gleeson<li><!--del_lnk--> Angela Sarkis<li><!--del_lnk--> Richard Tait</ul>
<p><a id="Finance" name="Finance"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Finance</span></h3>
<p>The BBC has the largest budget of any UK broadcaster with an operating expenditure of £4 billion in 2005 compared to £3.2 billion for <!--del_lnk--> British Sky Broadcasting, £1.7 billion for <!--del_lnk--> ITV and £79 million (in 2006) for <!--del_lnk--> GCap Media (the largest commercial radio broadcaster).<p><a id="Revenue" name="Revenue"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">Revenue</span></h4>
<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/167/16775.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="129" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BBC_income_2004_in_GBP_Redvers.png" src="../../images/167/16775.png" width="325" /></a></span></div>
<p>The principal means of funding the BBC is through the television licence, costing £11.37 a month if paid by <!--del_lnk--> direct debit (as of February 2007). Such a licence is required to operate a broadcast <a href="../../wp/t/Television.htm" title="Television">television</a> receiver within the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">UK</a>. The cost of a television licence is set by the government and enforced by the criminal law. The revenue is collected privately and is paid into the central government Consolidated fund, a process defined in the Communications Act 2003. Funds are then allocated by the DCMS and Treasury and approved by Parliament via the Appropriation Act(s). Additional revenues are paid by the Department for Work and Pensions to compensate for subsidised licences for over-75's. As the state controls BBC's funding, it is sometimes referred as a "state" broadcaster.<p>Income from commercial enterprises and from overseas sales of its catalogue of programmes has substantially increased over recent years. with <!--del_lnk--> BBC Worldwide contributing some £145million in cash to the BBC's core public service business.<p>According to the BBC's 2005-2006 Annual Report, its income can be broken down as follows:<ul>
<li>£3,100.6 m licence fees collected from consumers.<li>£620.0 m from BBC Commercial Businesses.<li>£260.2 m from the World Service, of which £239.1 m is from grants (primarily funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office), £15.8 m from subscriptions, and £5.3 m from other sources.<li>£24.2 m from other income, such as providing content to overseas broadcasters and concert ticket sales.</ul>
<p><a id="Expenditure" name="Expenditure"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">Expenditure</span></h4>
<p>The BBC gives two forms of expenditure statement for the financial year 2005-2006.<p>The amount of each licence fee spent monthly breaks down as follows:<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/167/16776.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="337" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BBC_licence_fee_expenditure_percentage_2005-6_Redvers.png" src="../../images/167/16776.png" width="450" /></a></span></div>
<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th>Department</th>
<th>Monthly cost (<a href="../../wp/p/Pound_sterling.htm" title="Pound sterling">GBP</a>)</th>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#ffe0e0">
<th style="background:#ffe0e0">BBC ONE</th>
<td>£3.52</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#ffe0ff">
<th style="background:#ffe0ff">BBC TWO</th>
<td>£1.52</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#ffffe0">
<th style="background:#ffffe0">Transmission and collection costs</th>
<td>£1.08</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#e0ffff">
<th style="background:#e0ffff">Nations and English Regions television</th>
<td>£1.04</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#e0ffe0">
<th style="background:#e0ffe0">BBC Radio 1, 2, 3, 4 and Five Live</th>
<td>£1.02</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#ffdead">
<th style="background:#ffdead">Digital television channels</th>
<td>£1.00</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#ffe0e0">
<th style="background:#ffe0e0">Nations' and local radio</th>
<td>68p</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#ffe0ff">
<th style="background:#ffe0ff">bbc.co.uk</th>
<td>36p</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#ffffe0">
<th style="background:#ffffe0">BBC jam</th>
<td>14p</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#e0ffff">
<th style="background:#e0ffff">Digital radio stations</th>
<td>10p</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#e0ffe0">
<th style="background:#e0ffe0">Interactive TV (BBCi)</th>
<td>8p</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><i>Total</i></th>
<td><i><b>£10.54</b></i></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The total broadcasting spend for 2005-2006 is given as:<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/167/16777.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="337" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BBC_broadcasting_expenditure_2005-6_Redvers.png" src="../../images/167/16777.png" width="450" /></a></span></div>
<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th>Department</th>
<th>Total cost (<a href="../../wp/p/Pound_sterling.htm" title="Pound sterling">£million</a>)</th>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#ffe0e0">
<th style="background:#ffe0e0">Television</th>
<td>1443</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#ffffe0">
<th style="background:#ffffe0">Radio</th>
<td>218</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#99ccff">
<th style="background:#99ccff">bbc.co.uk</th>
<td>72</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#ffe0e0">
<th style="background:#ffe0e0">BBC jam</th>
<td>36</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#e0ffff">
<th style="background:#e0ffff">Interactive TV (BBCi)</th>
<td>18</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#ffdead">
<th style="background:#ffdead">Local radio and regional television</th>
<td>370</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#e0ffe0">
<th style="background:#e0ffe0">Programme related spend</th>
<td>338</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#ffe0ff">
<th style="background:#ffe0ff">Overheads and Digital UK</th>
<td>315</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#ffffe0">
<th style="background:#ffffe0">Restructuring</th>
<td>107</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#99ccff">
<th style="background:#99ccff">Transmission and collection costs</th>
<td>320</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><i>Total</i></th>
<td><i><b>3237</b></i></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Headquarters_and_regional_offices" name="Headquarters_and_regional_offices"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Headquarters and regional offices</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/3/303.jpg.htm" title="BBC headquarters, Broadcasting House, London."><img alt="BBC headquarters, Broadcasting House, London." class="thumbimage" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BBC_Broadcasting_House_London.jpg" src="../../images/3/303.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/3/303.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> BBC headquarters, Broadcasting House, <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/14/1479.jpg.htm" title="BBCNI HQ on Bedford Street, Belfast."><img alt="BBCNI HQ on Bedford Street, Belfast." class="thumbimage" height="113" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BBC_Northern_Ireland_Belfast.jpg" src="../../images/3/320.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/14/1479.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> BBCNI HQ on Bedford Street, <a href="../../wp/b/Belfast.htm" title="Belfast">Belfast</a>.</div>
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</div>
<dl>
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<p>Broadcasting House in <!--del_lnk--> Portland Place, <!--del_lnk--> London is the official headquarters of the BBC. It is home to the national radio networks <!--del_lnk--> BBC Radio 2, <!--del_lnk--> 3, <!--del_lnk--> 4, <!--del_lnk--> 6 Music, and <!--del_lnk--> BBC 7. On the front of the building are statues of <!--del_lnk--> Prospero and <!--del_lnk--> Ariel (from <a href="../../wp/w/William_Shakespeare.htm" title="William Shakespeare">Shakespeare's</a> <i><!--del_lnk--> The Tempest</i>) sculpted by <!--del_lnk--> Eric Gill.<p>Renovation of Broadcasting House began in 2002 and is scheduled for completion in 2010. As part of a major reorganisation of BBC property, Broadcasting House is to become home to <!--del_lnk--> BBC News (both television and radio), national radio, and the <!--del_lnk--> BBC World Service. The major part of this plan involves the demolition of the two post-war extensions to the building and construction of a new building beside the existing structure. During the rebuilding process many of the BBC Radio networks have been relocated to other buildings in the vicinity of Portland Place.<p>In 2007/2008 BBC News is expected to relocate from the News Centre at <!--del_lnk--> BBC Television Centre to the refurbished Broadcasting House in what is being described as "one of the world's largest live broadcast centres".<p>By far the largest concentration of BBC staff in the UK exists in <!--del_lnk--> White City. Well known buildings in this area include the <!--del_lnk--> BBC Television Centre, White City, Media Centre, Broadcast Centre and Centre House.<p>As well as the various BBC buildings in London, there are major BBC production centres located in <a href="../../wp/c/Cardiff.htm" title="Cardiff">Cardiff</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Belfast.htm" title="Belfast">Belfast</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Glasgow.htm" title="Glasgow">Glasgow</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Birmingham.htm" title="Birmingham">Birmingham</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Manchester.htm" title="Manchester">Manchester</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Southampton.htm" title="Southampton">Southampton</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/Newcastle_upon_Tyne.htm" title="Newcastle upon Tyne">Newcastle upon Tyne</a>. Some of these local centres (for example Belfast) are also known as "Broadcasting House" (see <!--del_lnk--> Broadcasting House (disambiguation)). There are also many smaller local and regional studios scattered throughout the UK.<p>In 2011 the BBC is planning to move several departments of the BBC North. The leading candidate is <!--del_lnk--> Salford Quays in <!--del_lnk--> Greater Manchester. This will mark a major decentralisation of the corporation's operations from London.<p><a id="Services" name="Services"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Services</span></h2>
<table align="right">
<tr>
<td>
<div class="thumb tnone">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16779.png.htm" title="Weekly reach of all the BBC's services in the UK"><img alt="Weekly reach of all the BBC's services in the UK" class="thumbimage" height="136" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Weekly_reach_of_the_BBC_2005-6_Redvers.png" src="../../images/167/16779.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16779.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Weekly <!--del_lnk--> reach of all the BBC's services in the UK</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div class="center">
<div class="thumb tnone">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16780.png.htm" title="Weekly reach of the BBC's five national analogue radio stations"><img alt="Weekly reach of the BBC's five national analogue radio stations" class="thumbimage" height="137" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Weekly_reach_of_BBC_radio_stations_2005-6_Redvers.png" src="../../images/167/16780.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16780.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Weekly reach of the BBC's five national analogue radio stations</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div class="thumb tnone">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16781.png.htm" title="Weekly reach of the BBC's domestic television services"><img alt="Weekly reach of the BBC's domestic television services" class="thumbimage" height="136" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Weekly_reach_of_BBC_television_stations_2005-6_Redvers.png" src="../../images/167/16781.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16781.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Weekly reach of the BBC's domestic television services</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div class="center">
<div class="thumb tnone">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16782.jpg.htm" title="BBC Television Centre in West London (White City)."><img alt="BBC Television Centre in West London (White City)." class="thumbimage" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BBC_Television_Centre.JPG" src="../../images/167/16782.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16782.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> BBC Television Centre in West <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a> (White City).</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="News" name="News"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">News</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>BBC News is the largest broadcast news gathering operation in the world, providing services to BBC domestic radio as well as television networks such as <!--del_lnk--> BBC News 24, <!--del_lnk--> BBC Parliament and <!--del_lnk--> BBC World, as well as <!--del_lnk--> BBCi, <!--del_lnk--> Ceefax and <!--del_lnk--> BBC News Online. New BBC News services that are also proving popular are mobile services to mobile phones and PDAs. Desktop news alerts, e-mail alerts, and digital TV alerts are also available.<p>Ratings figures suggest that during major crises such as the <a href="../../wp/s/September_11%252C_2001_attacks.htm" title="September 11, 2001 attacks">9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> 7 July 2005 London bombings or a Royal Funeral, the UK audience overwhelmingly turns to the BBC's coverage as opposed to its commercial rivals.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 7 July <!--del_lnk--> 2005, <!--del_lnk--> the day that there were a series of coordinated bomb blasts on London's public transport system, the <!--del_lnk--> bbc.co.uk website recorded an all time <!--del_lnk--> bandwidth peak of 11 <!--del_lnk--> Gb/s at 12:00 on <!--del_lnk--> 7 July. <!--del_lnk--> BBC News received some 1 billion total hits on the day of the event (including all images, text and <!--del_lnk--> HTML), serving some 5.5 <!--del_lnk--> terabytes of data. At peak times during the day there were 40,000 page requests per second for the BBC News website. The previous day's announcement of the <!--del_lnk--> 2012 Olympics being awarded to London caused a peak of around 5 <!--del_lnk--> Gb/s. The previous all time high at <!--del_lnk--> bbc.co.uk was caused by the announcement of the <!--del_lnk--> Michael Jackson verdict, which used 7.2 <!--del_lnk--> Gb/s.<p><a id="Radio" name="Radio"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Radio</span></h3>
<p>The BBC has five major national stations, <!--del_lnk--> Radio 1 ("the best new music and entertainment"), <!--del_lnk--> Radio 2 (the UK's most listened to radio station, with 12.9 million weekly listeners), <!--del_lnk--> Radio 3 (specialist-interest music such as classical, world, arts, drama and jazz), <!--del_lnk--> Radio 4 (current affairs, drama and comedy), and <!--del_lnk--> Radio 5 Live (24 hour news, sports and talk).<p>In recent years some further national stations have been introduced on <!--del_lnk--> Digital audio broadcasting including <!--del_lnk--> Five Live Sports Extra (a companion to Five Live for additional events coverage), <!--del_lnk--> 1Xtra (for black, urban and gospel music), <!--del_lnk--> 6 Music (less <!--del_lnk--> mainstream genres of music), <!--del_lnk--> BBC 7 (Comedy, Drama & Kids shows) and <!--del_lnk--> BBC Asian Network (<!--del_lnk--> British South Asian talk, music and news in English and in many South Asian languages), a station which had evolved from BBC Local Radio origins in the 1970s and still is broadcast on Medium Wave frequencies in some parts of England. In addition the BBC World Service is now also broadcast nationally in the UK on DAB.<p>There is also a network of <!--del_lnk--> local stations with a mixture of talk, news and music in <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a> and the <a href="../../wp/c/Channel_Islands.htm" title="Channel Islands">Channel Islands</a> as well as national stations (Nations' radio) of <!--del_lnk--> BBC Radio Wales, <!--del_lnk--> BBC Radio Cymru (in <!--del_lnk--> Welsh), <!--del_lnk--> BBC Radio Scotland, <!--del_lnk--> BBC Radio nan Gaidheal (in <a href="../../wp/s/Scottish_Gaelic_language.htm" title="Scottish Gaelic language">Scots Gaelic</a>), <!--del_lnk--> BBC Radio Ulster, and <!--del_lnk--> BBC Radio Foyle.<p>For a world-wide audience, the BBC produces the <!--del_lnk--> Foreign Office funded <!--del_lnk--> BBC World Service, which is broadcast worldwide on <!--del_lnk--> shortwave radio, and on DAB Digital Radio in the UK. The World Service is a major source of news and information programming and can be received in 150 capital cities worldwide, with a weekly audience estimate of 163 million listeners worldwide. The Service currently broadcasts in 33 languages and dialects (including English), though not all languages are broadcast in all areas.<p>In 2005, the BBC announced that it would substantially reduce its radio broadcasting in <!--del_lnk--> Eastern European languages and divert resources instead to a new <a href="../../wp/a/Arabic_language.htm" title="Arabic language">Arabic language</a> satellite TV broadcasting station (including radio and online content) in the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a> to be launched in 2007.<p>Since 1943, the BBC has also provided radio programming to the <!--del_lnk--> British Forces Broadcasting Service, which broadcasts in countries where British troops are stationed.<p>All of the national BBC radio stations, as well as the BBC World Service, are available over the <a href="../../wp/i/Internet.htm" title="Internet">Internet</a> in the <!--del_lnk--> RealAudio <!--del_lnk--> streaming format. In April 2005 the BBC began trials offering a limited number of radio programmes as <a href="../../wp/p/Podcasting.htm" title="Podcasting">podcasts</a>.<p>Historically, the BBC was the only radio broadcaster in the UK until 1967 when <!--del_lnk--> University Radio York (URY), then under the name <i>Radio York</i>, was launched as the first (and now oldest) legal independent radio station in the country.<p><a id="Television" name="Television"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Television</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p><!--del_lnk--> BBC One and <!--del_lnk--> BBC Two are the BBC's flagship television channels. The BBC is also promoting the new channels <!--del_lnk--> BBC Three and <!--del_lnk--> BBC Four, which are only available via <!--del_lnk--> digital television equipment (now in widespread use in the UK, with analogue transmission being phased out from October 2007). The BBC also runs <!--del_lnk--> BBC News 24, <!--del_lnk--> BBC Parliament, and two children's channels, <!--del_lnk--> CBBC and <!--del_lnk--> CBeebies, on digital.<p>BBC One is a regionalised TV service which provides opt-outs throughout the day for local news and other local programming. In the <a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_Ireland.htm" title="Republic of Ireland">Republic of Ireland</a> the <!--del_lnk--> Northern Ireland regionalised BBC One & BBC Two are available via analogue transmissions deflecting signals from the North and also carried out on <!--del_lnk--> Sky Digital, <!--del_lnk--> NTL Ireland and <!--del_lnk--> Chorus.<p>From <!--del_lnk--> June 9, <!--del_lnk--> 2006 the BBC began a 6-12 month trial of <!--del_lnk--> High-definition television broadcasts under the name <!--del_lnk--> BBC HD. The corporation has been producing programmes in the format for many years, and states that it hopes to produce 100% of new programmes in HDTV by 2010.<p>Since 1975, the BBC has also provided its TV programmes to the <!--del_lnk--> British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS), allowing members of <!--del_lnk--> HM Forces serving all over the world to watch and listen to their favourite programmes from home on two dedicated TV channels.<p><a id="Internet" name="Internet"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Internet</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
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<p>The bbc.co.uk <!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> website, formerly known as BBCi and before that BBC Online, includes a comprehensive, advertisement-free <!--del_lnk--> news website and archive. The BBC claims the site to be "Europe's most popular content-based site" and boasts that 13.2 million people in the UK visit the site's more than 2 million pages. According to <!--del_lnk--> Alexa's TrafficRank system, in March 2007 bbc.co.uk was the 19th most popular <!--del_lnk--> English Language website in the world, and the 31st most popular overall.<p>The website allows the BBC to produce sections which complement the various programmes on television and radio, and it is common for viewers and listeners to be told <!--del_lnk--> website addresses for the bbc.co.uk sections relating to that programme. The site also allows users to listen to most Radio output live and for seven days after broadcast using its <!--del_lnk--> RealPlayer-based "Radio Player"; some TV content is also distributed in <!--del_lnk--> RealVideo format. A new system known as <!--del_lnk--> IPlayer is under development, which uses <!--del_lnk--> peer-to-peer and <!--del_lnk--> DRM technology to deliver both radio and TV content for offline use for up to 7 days. Also, through participation in the <!--del_lnk--> Creative Archive Licence group, bbc.co.uk allowed legal downloads of selected archive material via the internet.<p><!--del_lnk--> BBC jam is a free online service, delivered through broadband and narrowband connections, providing high-quality interactive resources designed to stimulate learning at home and at school. Initial content was made available in January 2006. BBC jam was suspended on 20th March 2007<p>In recent years some major on-line companies and politicians have complained that the bbc.co.uk website receives too much funding from the television licence, meaning that other websites are unable to compete with the vast amount of advertising-free on-line content available on bbc.co.uk. Some have proposed that the amount of licence fee money spent on bbc.co.uk should be reduced — either being replaced with funding from advertisements or subscriptions, or a reduction in the amount of content available on the site. In response to this the BBC carried out an investigation, and has now set in motion a plan to change the way it provides its online services. bbc.co.uk will now attempt to fill in gaps in the market, but will guide users to other websites for currently existing market provision. (For example, instead of providing local events information and timetables, users will be guided to outside websites already providing that information.) Part of this plan included the BBC closing some of its websites, and rediverting money to redevelop other parts. More recent information on web plans at <!--del_lnk--> <p><a id="Interactive_television" name="Interactive_television"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Interactive television</span></h3>
<dl>
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</dl>
<p>BBCi is the brand name for the BBC's <!--del_lnk--> interactive <!--del_lnk--> digital television services, which are available through <!--del_lnk--> Freeview (digital terrestrial), as well as <!--del_lnk--> Sky Digital (satellite), and <!--del_lnk--> Virgin Media (cable). Unlike <!--del_lnk--> Ceefax, BBCi is able to display full-colour graphics, photographs, and video, as well as programmes. Recent examples include the interactive sports coverage for <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">football</a> and <a href="../../wp/r/Rugby_football.htm" title="Rugby football">rugby football</a> matches, <!--del_lnk--> BBC Soundbites which starred young actress <!--del_lnk--> Jennifer Lynn and an interactive national IQ test, <!--del_lnk--> Test the Nation. All of the BBC's digital television stations, (and radio stations on <!--del_lnk--> Freeview), allow access to the BBCi service.<p>BBCi provides viewers with over 100 interactive TV programmes every year, as well as the 24/7 service. It also offers video news and weather.<p><a id="Commercial_services" name="Commercial_services"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Commercial services</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC responsible for the commercial exploitation of BBC programmes and other properties, including a number of television stations throughout the world. The cable and satellite stations <!--del_lnk--> BBC Prime (in <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a> the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a>, and <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a>), <!--del_lnk--> BBC America, <!--del_lnk--> BBC Canada (alongside <!--del_lnk--> BBC Kids), broadcast popular BBC programmes to people outside the UK, as does <!--del_lnk--> UK.TV (co-run with <!--del_lnk--> Foxtel and Fremantle Media) in <!--del_lnk--> Australasia. A similar service, <!--del_lnk--> BBC Japan, ceased broadcasts in April 2006 after its <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japanese</a> distributor folded. BBC Worldwide also runs a 24-hour news channel, <!--del_lnk--> BBC World and co-runs, with <!--del_lnk--> Virgin Media, the <!--del_lnk--> UKTV network of stations in the UK, producers of amongst others <!--del_lnk--> UKTV Gold. In addition, BBC television news appears nightly on many <!--del_lnk--> Public Broadcasting Service stations in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, as do reruns of BBC programmes such as <i><a href="../../wp/e/EastEnders.htm" title="EastEnders">EastEnders</a></i>, and in <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a> on <!--del_lnk--> TV One.<p>Many BBC programmes (especially <!--del_lnk--> documentaries) are sold via BBC Worldwide to foreign television stations, and <!--del_lnk--> comedy, <!--del_lnk--> documentaries and <!--del_lnk--> historical drama productions are popular on the international DVD market.<p>BBC Worldwide also maintains the publishing arm of the BBC and it is the third-largest publisher of consumer magazines in the United Kingdom. BBC Magazines, formerly known as BBC Publications, publishes the <i><!--del_lnk--> Radio Times</i> (and published the now-defunct <i><!--del_lnk--> The Listener</i>) as well as a number of magazines that support BBC programming such as <i><!--del_lnk--> BBC Top Gear</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> BBC Good Food</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> BBC Sky at Night</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> BBC History</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> BBC Wildlife</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> BBC Music</i>.<p>The BBC has traditionally played a major role in producing book and music tie-ins with its broadcast material. <!--del_lnk--> BBC Records produced soundtrack albums, talking books and material from radio broadcasts of music.<p>Between 2004 and 2006 BBC Worldwide owned the independent magazine publisher Origin Publishing.<p>BBC Worldwide also licences and directly sells <a href="../../wp/d/DVD.htm" title="DVD">DVD</a> and audio recordings of popular programmes to the public, most notably <i><a href="../../wp/d/Doctor_Who.htm" title="Doctor Who">Doctor Who</a></i> (including books and merchandise), and archive <!--del_lnk--> classical music recordings, initially as <i>BBC Radio Classics</i> and then <i>BBC Legends</i>.<h2><span class="mw-headline">Unions</span></h2>
<p>Union membership is a private matter between staff and their chosen union: staff are not automatically covered by a union, but since the BBC is a large employer (in the media sector), membership numbers are considerable.<p>Staff at the BBC are normally represented by <!--del_lnk--> BECTU, along with journalistic staff by the <!--del_lnk--> NUJ and electrical staff by <!--del_lnk--> Amicus. Union membership is optional, and paid for by staff members and not by the BBC.<p><a id="Cultural_significance" name="Cultural_significance"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Cultural significance</span></h2>
<p>The BBC was the only television broadcaster in the United Kingdom until 1955 and the only legal radio broadcaster until 1973. Its cultural impact was therefore significant since the country had no choice for its information and entertainment from these two powerful media.<p>Even after the advent of commercial television and radio, the BBC has remained one of the main elements in British in popular culture through its obligation to produce TV and radio programmes for the mass audiences. However the arrival of BBC2 allowed the BBC also to make programmes for minority interests in drama, documentaries, current affairs, entertainment and sport. Examples are cited such as <i><!--del_lnk--> I, Claudius</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Civilisation</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Tonight</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Monty Python's Flying Circus</i>, and <i><!--del_lnk--> Pot Black</i>, but there many other ground-breaking examples can be given in each of these fields as shown by the BBC's entries in the <!--del_lnk--> British Film Institute's 2000 list of the <!--del_lnk--> 100 Greatest British Television Programmes. In radio the BBC has also maintained a high standard of news, drama, entertainment, documentaries, sport and music for all tastes, and still draws large audiences, while also serving minority tastes.<p>The BBC's objective of providing a service to the public, rather than just entertainment, has changed the public's perception in a wide range of subjects from health to natural history. By maintaining a high standard the BBC also defined a quality threshold that the commercial companies had to reach to retain their licences but the advent of the multi-channel age is lessening this effect. The export of BBC programmes, the <!--del_lnk--> BBC World Service and <!--del_lnk--> BBC World have meant that the cultural impact of the BBC has been also experienced world-wide.<p>Although the BBC has changed society, the society has also changed the BBC. The term <!--del_lnk--> BBC English (Received Pronunciation) refers to the former use of <!--del_lnk--> Standard English with this accent. However the organisation now makes more use of <!--del_lnk--> regional accents in order to reflect the diversity of the UK, though clarity and fluency are still expected of presenters. From its 'starchy' beginnings, the BBC has also become more inclusive, and now accommodates the interests of all strata of society and all minorities, because they all pay the licence fee. The BBC therefore plays a major role in maintaining a cohesive society.<p>Competition from <!--del_lnk--> Independent Television, <!--del_lnk--> Channel 4, <!--del_lnk--> Sky and other broadcast television stations, has slightly lessened the BBC's reach, but nevertheless it remains major influence on British popular culture. Many popular everyday sayings are derived from BBC-produced television shows.<p><a id="Criticism" name="Criticism"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Criticism</span></h2>
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<p>Historically, the BBC has been subject to continuing criticism for various policies or perceived biases since its inception. It received its most recent serious criticism over its coverage of the events leading up to the war in Iraq. The controversy over what it described as the "sexing up" of the case for war in Iraq by the government, led to the BBC being heavily criticised by the <!--del_lnk--> Hutton Inquiry, although this finding was much disputed by the British press. Richard Porter, head of News, BBC World, recently reported they "no longer have the original tapes" of the BBC World version of their 9/11 coverage.. The BBC have also been criticised for giving a disproportionate amount of time to the discussion of divisive Islamic matters, such as the veil case. This, some believe, has lead to many people gaining a false impression of the nature of Islam in the UK, and has contributed to a loss of public confidence in the concept of <a href="../../wp/m/Multiculturalism.htm" title="Multiculturalism">multiculturalism</a>.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">BBC television drama</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Television.htm">Television</a></h3>
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<p>The <a href="../../wp/b/BBC.htm" title="BBC">British Broadcasting Corporation</a> has been a producer and broadcaster of <b>television drama</b> since even before it had an officially established <a href="../../wp/t/Television.htm" title="Television">television</a> broadcasting network in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>. As with any major <a href="../../wp/b/Broadcasting.htm" title="Broadcasting">broadcast</a> network, <a href="../../wp/d/Drama.htm" title="Drama">drama</a> forms an important part of its schedule, with many of the BBC's top-rated programmes being from this genre.<p>From the 1950s through to the 1980s the BBC received much acclaim for the range and scope of its drama productions, producing series, serials and plays across a range of genres, from <!--del_lnk--> soap opera to <!--del_lnk--> science-fiction to <!--del_lnk--> costume drama, with the 1970s in particular being regarded as a critical and cultural high point in terms of the quality of dramas being produced. In the 1990s, a time of change in the <!--del_lnk--> British television industry, the department went through much internal confusion and external criticism, but since the beginning of the 21st century has begun to return to form with a run of critical and popular successes, despite continual accusations of the drama output and the BBC in general <!--del_lnk--> dumbing down.<p>Many BBC productions have also been exported to and screened in other countries, particularly in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> <!--del_lnk--> PBS network's <i><!--del_lnk--> Masterpiece Theatre</i> strand and latterly on the BBC's own <!--del_lnk--> BBC America <!--del_lnk--> cable channel. Other major purchasers of BBC dramas include the BBC's equivalents in other <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth nations, such as <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> ABC and <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> CBC.<p>
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</script><a id="Experimental_broadcasting_and_the_1930s" name="Experimental_broadcasting_and_the_1930s"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Experimental broadcasting and the 1930s</span></h2>
<p>Already an established national <a href="../../wp/r/Radio.htm" title="Radio">radio</a> broadcaster, the BBC began test transmissions with the new technology of television as early as 1929, working with <a href="../../wp/j/John_Logie_Baird.htm" title="John Logie Baird">John Logie Baird</a> and using his primitive early apparatus. The following year, as part of one of these test transmissions, the BBC produced what is believed to be the first piece of television drama ever to have been screened, an adaptation of the <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italian</a> playwright <!--del_lnk--> Luigi Pirandello's short play <i><!--del_lnk--> The Man With the Flower in His Mouth</i>.<p>Broadcast live on the evening of <!--del_lnk--> July 14, <!--del_lnk--> 1930, the play was produced from a small studio in the Baird Company headquarters at 133 Long Acre, <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>. The play was chosen because of its confined setting, small cast and short length, and was directed by <!--del_lnk--> Val Gielgud, who was at the time the BBC's senior producer of radio drama, a pioneer in that field and a hugely respected broadcaster. Because of the primitive 30-line camera technology, only one figure could be shown on screen at a time and the field of vision of the cameras was extremely restricted. Nonetheless, the production was regarded as a success, and even the <a href="../../wp/p/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Prime Minister</a> of the day, <!--del_lnk--> Ramsay MacDonald, watched the play with his family on the <a href="../../wp/t/Television.htm" title="Television">Baird Televisor</a> Baird had previously installed at their <!--del_lnk--> 10 Downing Street home. <p>The BBC's test broadcasts continued throughout the early part of the decade as the quality of the medium improved, until in 1936 they launched the world's first regular high-definition television channel, the <!--del_lnk--> BBC Television Service, from studios in a specially converted wing of <!--del_lnk--> Alexandra Palace in London. At the time of the network's debut on <!--del_lnk--> November 2 that year, there were only five television producers responsible for the entire output: the producer selected to oversee drama productions was <!--del_lnk--> George More O'Ferrall, a former assistant director of feature films who at least had some experience with producing in a visual medium, unlike many of his colleagues who came across from the BBC's radio services.<p>The first drama production to be mounted as a part of the new, regular service was entitled <i><!--del_lnk--> Marigold</i>, broadcast live from the Alexandra Palace studios on the evening of Friday <!--del_lnk--> November 6 1936. "It was probably little more than a photographed version of the stage production," later Head of Drama <!--del_lnk--> Shaun Sutton wrote in <i><!--del_lnk--> The Times</i> some thirty-six years later, "with the camera lying well back to preserve the picture-frame convention of the theatre." <cite id="endnote_paper03" style="font-style: normal;"><b>↑</b></cite> Most initial drama efforts were of a similar scale: productions of selected dramatised 'scenes' or excerpts from popular novels and adaptations of stage plays, and a programme entitled <i><!--del_lnk--> Theatre Parade</i> would regularly use original London theatre casts for re-enacting selected scenes. However, as the theatres began to fear that such practice would take away their audiences, an increasing number of full-length dramatised productions began to take place in the Alexandra Palace studios. Plays of as long as ninety minutes became regular features of the schedule, with full-length adaptations of novels and stage plays, although original plays written for television were still very rare at this stage. There was also what could be deemed the first regular television drama series – entitled <i><!--del_lnk--> Telecrime</i>, the series of ten and twenty-minute plays presented various crimes, which the viewers were given enough clues to be able to solve themselves using the evidence shown on screen.<p>By 1939, the drama department had grown to such an extent that there were now fifteen producers working in it, as opposed to nine covering production in all of the other genres of the television service. The number of people with the capability to view the broadcasts – still technically restricted to the London area but in practice viewable a good distance further away – had also grown to an estimated 25,000–40,000 sets in use by the outbreak of the <!--del_lnk--> Second World War in September that year. Production methods had become increasingly advanced, with Outside Broadcast cameras often being employed to, for instance, show thirty territorial army troops with two howitzers in the Alexandra Palace grounds for added effect in <i>The White Chateau</i>, and boats on the Palace lake for scenes depicting the battle of <!--del_lnk--> Zeebrugge in another war-set play. <a href="../../wp/a/Alfred_Hitchcock.htm" title="Alfred Hitchcock">Alfred Hitchcock</a> once stated that he had been so impressed with a 1939 BBC production of <i>Rope</i> that he had incorporated ideas from its depiction on screen into his later, more famous, <!--del_lnk--> film version.<p>As with every other television programme of the era, live broadcast meant that no record of the drama productions, barring photographs, scripts and press reviews, were kept, and there is no record of how they looked. BBC producer Cecil Madden later claimed that they had experimented with an early <!--del_lnk--> telerecording of a production of <i><!--del_lnk--> The Scarlet Pimpernel</i>, but were ordered by film director <!--del_lnk--> Alexander Korda to destroy the print as he felt it infringed his film rights. However, there is no official record either of any 1930s telerecording experiments, or a BBC production of <i>The Scarlet Pimpernel</i> during the pre-war era. BBC television broadcasting ceased on <!--del_lnk--> September 1 1939, and the station remained off-air for the duration of the war, with the technicians and engineers needed for war efforts such as the <a href="../../wp/r/Radar.htm" title="Radar">RADAR</a> programme, and the government afraid that the <!--del_lnk--> VHF transmission signals would act as a guiding beacon for German bombers targeting central London. <p><a id="The_return_of_television_and_the_1950s" name="The_return_of_television_and_the_1950s"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The return of television and the 1950s</span></h2>
<p>BBC Television resumed broadcasting in June 1946, and the service began in much the same way it had ceased in 1939. However, in 1949 there was a major development in drama when Val Gielgud was installed as the new Head of Drama, a position he had previously and highly successfully occupied at BBC Radio. Since producing the first television play in 1930, Gielgud had worked in television again, serving on attachment to the service at Alexandra Palace in 1939 and directing a half-hour adaptation of his own short story <i>Ending It</i>, starring <!--del_lnk--> John Robinson and <!--del_lnk--> Joan Marion and broadcast on <!--del_lnk--> August 25, <!--del_lnk--> 1939, less than a week before the service was placed on hiatus. <p>Now he returned to control the genre on television, and was determined to bring his own very firm ideas about how dramatic stories should be told from radio into the new medium. Gielgud was not a particular fan of television and tolerated the medium rather than embracing it, making him unpopular with several of the producers working under him, many of whom felt that he would have been happier simply televising the recordings of radio plays than making out-and-out television productions. He was also an unpopular choice with the Controller of the television service, <!--del_lnk--> Norman Collins, who wrote that "Anything less than complete familiarity with all aspects of television production will mean... that the Head of Television Drama is an amateur." Gielgud eventually returned to radio, being replaced as Head of Drama by experienced producer <!--del_lnk--> Michael Barry in 1952.<p>One important move that had occurred under Gielgud was the establishment in 1950 of the Script Department, and the hiring of the television service's first in-house staff drama writers, <!--del_lnk--> Nigel Kneale and <!--del_lnk--> Philip Mackie. Barry later expanded the Script Department and installed the experienced film producer <!--del_lnk--> Donald Wilson as its head in 1955. Television was now developing beyond simply adapting stories from other media into creating its own originally written productions. It was also becoming a high-profile medium, with national coverage and viewing figures now running into the millions, helped by the explosion of interest due to the live televising of the coronation of <a href="../../wp/e/Elizabeth_II_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom">Queen Elizabeth II</a> in the summer of 1953. <p>That same year, Barry invested the majority of his original scripting budget into a six-part <!--del_lnk--> science-fiction serial written by Kneale and directed by <!--del_lnk--> Rudolph Cartier, an <a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austrian</a>-born director who was establishing a reputation as the television service's most inventive practitioner. Entitled <i><a href="../../wp/t/The_Quatermass_Experiment.htm" title="The Quatermass Experiment">The Quatermass Experiment</a></i>, the <!--del_lnk--> serial (<!--del_lnk--> miniseries in <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">American</a> terminology) was a huge success and went a long way towards popularising the form, where one story is told over a short number of episodes, on British television: it is still one of the most popular drama formats in the medium to this day. Kneale and Cartier went on to be responsible for two sequel serials and many other highly successful and popular productions over the course of the decade, drawing many viewers to their programmes with their characteristic blend of horror and allegorical science fiction.<p>It was they who were responsible for the 1954 adaptation of <!--del_lnk--> George Orwell's <i><!--del_lnk--> Nineteen Eighty-Four</i>, the second performance of which drew the largest television audience since the coronation, some seven million viewers, and is one of the earliest surviving dramas in the archive. The telerecording process had by now been perfected for capturing live broadcasts for repeat and overseas sales, although it was not until the early 1960s that the majority of BBC dramas were prerecorded on the new technology of <!--del_lnk--> videotape. The BBC, unlike American broadcasters and their commercial British rivals, did not produce dramas entirely on <!--del_lnk--> film stock on any regular basis until the 1980s, preferring their traditional electronic studio methods, which gave much of the drama produced by the Corporation a somewhat unique – although some argue cheaper-looking – feel. Film would, however, be used to mount scenes unachievable in a live television environment or on location, which would be pre-shot and inserted into live productions at relevant points, later being inserted into videotaped shows at the editing stage. "These sequences bought time for the more elaborate costume changes or scene set-ups, but also served to 'open out' the action,"<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_linkref01"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> as the British Film Institute explained on its <i>Screenonline</i> website in 2004.<p>The BBC suffered during the second half of the 1950s from the rise of the <!--del_lnk--> ITV network, which had debuted in 1955 and rapidly begun to take away audience share from the Corporation as its coverage spread nationally. Despite popular hits such as the police drama series <i><!--del_lnk--> Dixon of Dock Green</i> and <!--del_lnk--> soap opera <i><!--del_lnk--> The Grove Family</i>, the BBC was seen as being more highbrow, lacking the popular common touch of the commercial network. One of the major figures in commercial television drama of the late 1950s and early 1960s was <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canadian</a> producer <a href="../../wp/s/Sydney_Newman.htm" title="Sydney Newman">Sydney Newman</a>, the Head of Drama at <!--del_lnk--> ABC Television responsible for such programmes as <i><!--del_lnk--> Armchair Theatre</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> The Avengers</i>. In December 1962, keen to turn around the fortunes of their own drama department, the BBC invited Newman to replace the retiring Barry as Head of Drama, and he accepted, keen on the idea of transforming what he saw as the staid, docile image of BBC drama. <p><a id="The_.27golden_age.27_of_BBC_drama" name="The_.27golden_age.27_of_BBC_drama"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The 'golden age' of BBC drama</span></h2>
<p>Even before Newman's arrival, some BBC producers were attempting to break the mould, with <!--del_lnk--> Elwyn Jones, <!--del_lnk--> Troy Kennedy Martin and <!--del_lnk--> Allan Prior's landmark police drama series <i><!--del_lnk--> Z-Cars</i> shaking up the image of television police dramas and becoming an enormous popular success from 1962 onwards. Newman, however, restructured the entire department, dividing the unwieldy drama group into three separate divisions: Series, for on-going continuing dramas with self-contained episodes; Serials, for stories told over multi-episode runs, or programmes which were made up of a series of serials; and Plays, for any kind of drama one-offs, an area Newman was especially keen on following the success of <i>Armchair Theatre</i> at ABC.<p>Newman followed BBC Managing Director of Television Sir <!--del_lnk--> Huw Wheldon's famous edict to "make the good popular and the popular good," once stating: "damn the upper classes! They don't even own televisions!" While he did personally create populist family-entertainment-based dramas such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Adam Adamant Lives!</i> and the incredibly long-running science-fiction series <i><a href="../../wp/d/Doctor_Who.htm" title="Doctor Who">Doctor Who</a></i>, he also attempted to create drama that was socially relevant to those who were watching, initiating <i><!--del_lnk--> The Wednesday Play</i> anthology strand to present contemporary dramas with a social background the resonance. Says <i>Screenonline</i> of this development, "It was from this artistic high of the 'golden age' of British TV drama (this 'agitational contemporaneity', as Newman coined it) that a new generation of TV playwrights emerged."<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_linkref02"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p><i>The Wednesday Play</i> proved to be a breeding ground for acclaimed and sometimes controversial writers such as <!--del_lnk--> Dennis Potter and directors such as <!--del_lnk--> Ken Loach, but sometimes Newman's desire to create biting, cutting drama could land the Corporation in trouble. This was particularly the case with 1965's <i><!--del_lnk--> The War Game</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Peter Watkins, which depicted a fictional nuclear attack on the UK and the consequences of such, and was banned by the BBC under pressure from the government. It was eventually screened on television in 1985.<p>Newman's reign saw a large number of popular and critically acclaimed dramas go out on the BBC, with <i>Doctor Who</i>, <i>Z-Cars</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Doctor Finlay's Casebook</i> and the epic <i><!--del_lnk--> The Forsyte Saga</i> picking up viewers while the likes of <i>The Wednesday Play</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Theatre 625</i> presented challenging ideas to the audience. Newman left the staff of the BBC once his five-year contract expired in 1967, departing for an unsuccessful attempt to break into the <a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Film">film</a> industry. He was replaced by Head of Serials <!--del_lnk--> Shaun Sutton, initially on an acting basis combined with his existing role, but permanently from 1969. <p>Sutton became the BBC's longest-serving Head of Drama, serving as such until 1981 and presiding over the BBC's move from black and white into colour broadcasting. His era took in the whole of the 1970s, a time when the BBC enjoyed large viewing figures, positive audience reaction and generally high production values across a range of programmes, with drama enjoying a particularly well-received spell. <i>The Wednesday Play</i> transformed into the equally famous and long-running <i><!--del_lnk--> Play for Today</i> in 1970; later in the decade the BBC began a run of producing every single <a href="../../wp/w/William_Shakespeare.htm" title="William Shakespeare">Shakespeare</a> play, a run which Sutton himself would later take over the producer's role on following his departure from the Head of Drama position in the early 1980s. Popular dramas such as <i>Doctor Who</i> and <i>Z-Cars</i> continued into the new decade, and were joined by costume dramas such as <i><!--del_lnk--> The Pallisers</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Onedin Line</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Poldark</i>, carrying on from the successes of <i>The Forsyte Saga</i>, which had been set in the past and been a major success in the late 1960s. Family-audience based period dramas, often adaptations such as <i><!--del_lnk--> The Eagle of the Ninth</i> (1977), were popular on Sunday afternoons, with the <i>Classic Serial</i> strand which ran there becoming something of an institution until the early 1990s.<p>There were also failures, however. The epic <i>Churchill's People</i>, twenty-six fifty-minute episodes based around <a href="../../wp/w/Winston_Churchill.htm" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a>'s <i>A History of the English-Speaking Peoples</i>, was deemed unbroadcastable by Sutton after he had viewed the initial episodes, but so much time and money had been invested in huge pre-transmission publicity that the BBC had no choice but to show the plays, to critical derision and tiny viewing figures. Never again would a fifty-minute series be given a run as long as twenty-six episodes, for fear of being too committed to a project: runs of thirteen became the norm, although in later years even this began to be considered quite long. Plays such as Dennis Potter's <i><!--del_lnk--> Brimstone and Treacle</i> and <!--del_lnk--> Roy Minton's <i><!--del_lnk--> Scum</i> were not broadcast at all due to fears over their content at the highest levels of the BBC, although despite this Potter continued to write landmark drama serials and one-offs for the Corporation throughout the rest of the decade and into the 1980s. Both <i>Brimstone and Treacle</i> and <i>Scum</i> were eventually transmitted several years later.<p>Whenever writers and media analysts criticise the current state of British and particularly BBC television drama, it is frequently the 1960s and 1970s period which they cite as being the most important and influential, with a vast variety of genres (science fiction, crime, historical, family based) and types of programme (series, serials, one-offs, anthologies) being produced. "What may justly be rated as the golden age of television drama reached its zenith,"<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_linkref03"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> as <i><!--del_lnk--> The Guardian</i> described it in their 2004 obituary of Sutton. Or in the words of the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Television Society, "...an era that championed new writers, young directors and challenging drama. The amazing diversity... helped to make it the golden age of broadcasting."<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_linkref04"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>However, despite this high esteem, the television drama of the era does not fully exist in the archives. Most of the <!--del_lnk--> live output up until the 1950s was not recorded at all, and a large amount of material from the 1960s and early 1970s was <!--del_lnk--> wiped once it had been repeated the number of times contractually allowed, or when it was of no further use for overseas sales. The transfer from black and white to colour broadcasting led to an increase in the destruction of older material which was now regarded as redundant, although by 1978 the BBC had realised the historical value of its archive and ceased the wiping process. However, by this stage many series were completely missing – <i><!--del_lnk--> United!</i>, a <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">football</a>-based soap opera which ran from 1965 to 1967 has no episodes existing at all. Others have large gaps – <i>Doctor Who</i>, for example, has 108 missing episodes.<p><a id="Changing_attitudes_in_the_1980s_and_beyond" name="Changing_attitudes_in_the_1980s_and_beyond"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Changing attitudes in the 1980s and beyond</span></h2>
<p>Following Sutton's departure from the Head of Drama role in 1981 and his return to front-line producing duties in Shakespeare plays, his place as Head of Drama was taken by <!--del_lnk--> Graeme MacDonald. MacDonald had been Head of Serials and later Head of Series & Serials under Sutton, with the two departments having been merged in 1980, remaining so for most of the decade before separating again at the end of it. MacDonald maintained the status quo, and was only Head of Drama for a short time before he was promoted again to run a channel as Controller of <!--del_lnk--> BBC Two. He was succeeded in turn by his own Head of Series & Serials, <!--del_lnk--> Jonathan Powell.<p>Powell had been a producer of high-quality all-film drama serials such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy</i> (1979) and its sequel <i><!--del_lnk--> Smiley's People</i> (1982), and he very much favoured this form of short-run, self-contained filmed serial over longer-running videotaped drama series. It was under his aegis, therefore, that the BBC produced some of its highest-quality examples of this type of drama, of particular note being 1985's <i><!--del_lnk--> Edge of Darkness</i> by Troy Kennedy Martin, and the following year's Dennis Potter piece <i><!--del_lnk--> The Singing Detective</i>, both regarded as seminal BBC drama productions. "A gripping, innovative six-part drama which fully deserves its cult status and many awards,"<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_linkref05"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> was the British Film Institute's verdict on <i>Edge of Darkness</i> in 2000.<p>Powell also oversaw the rise of more populist continuing drama series, however, encouraged by the ratings-chasing strategy of the then Controller of <!--del_lnk--> BBC One, his friend <!--del_lnk--> Michael Grade. It was during Powell's tenure that the BBC launched the twice-weekly soap opera <i><a href="../../wp/e/EastEnders.htm" title="EastEnders">EastEnders</a></i> (1985–present) and the medical drama <i><!--del_lnk--> Casualty</i> (1986–present), both of which remain lynchpins of the BBC One schedule to this day and the highest-rated drama productions on BBC television. Indeed, <i>EastEnders</i> achieved phenomenal success in its early years, its Christmas Day 1986 episode earning a massive 30.15 million viewers, the highest British television audience of the 1980s<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_linkref06"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span>.Aside from these continuing dramas, based in one major location and shot entirely on videotape and thus comparatively cheap to make, longer runs of drama series became rare, with short series of six or eight episodes becoming the norm.<p>The single play, in its original studio-based form, also began to disappear from the schedules, with the final series of <i>Play for Today</i> airing in 1984. The BBC was envious of the success of its rival <!--del_lnk--> Channel 4's newly formed <!--del_lnk--> film arm, which had seen made-for-television one-offs such as <!--del_lnk--> Stephen Frears' <i><!--del_lnk--> My Beautiful Laundrette</i> gain cinematic releases to considerable success. New strands such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Screen One</i> and <i>Screen Two</i> concentrated on short runs of all-film, cinematic-style one-off dramas, with the most successful of these being <!--del_lnk--> Anthony Minghella's <i><!--del_lnk--> Truly, Madly, Deeply</i> (<i>Screen One</i>, 1990) which became a successful film released to cinemas. The Plays department eventually disappeared altogether, being replaced latterly with a 'Head of Film & Single Drama' position with autonomous powers for investing in feature film production, co-commissioning television one-offs with the Head of Drama. This interest in film production is perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that both of Powell's successors as Head of Drama, <!--del_lnk--> Mark Shivas (1988–93) and <!--del_lnk--> Charles Denton (1993–96), went on to work in the film industry after leaving the position.<p>Another major change to BBC production methods in all areas, but particularly affecting drama, occurred in 1990 with the passing of the new <!--del_lnk--> Broadcasting Act, which amongst other things obliged the BBC to commission 25% of its output from independent production companies. Many BBC drama productions were subsequently outsourced to and commissioned from independent companies, although the BBC's in-house production arm continued to contribute heavily, with the separate Drama Series and Serials departments remaining intact. Production arms such as costumes, make-up and special effects were all closed by the early 21st century, however, with these services now being bought in from outside even for in-house programmes.<p>Jonathan Powell's attempt to repeat the success of <i>EastEnders</i> in 1992, when he had become Controller of BBC One, led to one of the BBC's most notorious and costly failures. <i><!--del_lnk--> Eldorado</i> was set in the British <!--del_lnk--> expatriate community in <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>, created by the same team of <!--del_lnk--> Julia Smith and <!--del_lnk--> Tony Holland who had come up with <i>EastEnders</i>. The costly soap opera, hugely maligned by critics and the victim of a viewer backlash against the massive advertising campaign the BBC had undertaken to promote it, was scrapped by Powell's successor <!--del_lnk--> Alan Yentob after less than a year's run, under pressure from the <!--del_lnk--> Director-General of the BBC <!--del_lnk--> John Birt.<p>The 1990s saw a rise in the popularity of costume drama adaptations of literary classics, mostly adapted by the acclaimed screenwriter <!--del_lnk--> Andrew Davies. One of the most successful of these was a 1995 adaptation of <a href="../../wp/j/Jane_Austen.htm" title="Jane Austen">Jane Austen</a>'s <i><!--del_lnk--> Pride and Prejudice</i>, starring <!--del_lnk--> Colin Firth and <!--del_lnk--> Jennifer Ehle. Contemporary social drama, a BBC signature style since the 1960s, remained in the form of landmark productions such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Our Friends in the North</i> (1996), but it was notable that this was transmitted on the more niche BBC Two channel rather than the mainstream BBC One as might well have been the case in previous decades.<p>There was criticism of the department's commissioning process in some quarters, which was seen as being overly intricate and bureaucratic. As <i><!--del_lnk--> The Independent</i> described: "Lengthy agonising over whether the BBC1 saga <i>Seaforth</i> would be given a second series (eventually, it wasn't) further encouraged the view that the BBC's management floor is full of desks where the buck does not so much stop as hang around for a few months." <cite id="endnote_paper04" style="font-style: normal;"><b>↑</b></cite> Further problems emerged for the drama department after the departure of Charles Denton as its Head in May 1996. He was briefly replaced on a temporary basis by <!--del_lnk--> Ruth Caleb, the Head of Drama at <!--del_lnk--> BBC Wales. However, Caleb had no interest in taking the job on a permanent basis, and after a six-month attachment left the post at the end of the year. With no suitable candidate to take the job on a full-time basis having been found, Director of Television <!--del_lnk--> Alan Yentob was forced to oversee the department, again on a temporary basis.<p>There was much criticism in the press over the inability of the BBC to find a full-time Head of Drama, with even the BBC Chairman <!--del_lnk--> Sir Christopher Bland criticising the amount of time it was taking to find a new Head of Department, stating publicly that: "There aren't a lot of people who are pre-eminently qualified and able to do the biggest job in drama. That's the difficulty." <cite id="endnote_paper01" style="font-style: normal;"><b>↑</b></cite> . Experienced BBC Drama staff such as <!--del_lnk--> Michael Wearing (Head of Serials) were leaving the department, which was seen to be in trouble after the failure of hugely expensive productions such as the historical drama <i>Rhodes</i> in 1996. "Many in the drama business, and not just BBC insiders, are worried about the hand-over of creative say to the controllers, low morale and the lack of a head," <cite id="endnote_paper02" style="font-style: normal;"><b>↑</b></cite> <i>The Guardian</i> reported in December 1996. Finally in June 1997 <!--del_lnk--> Colin Adams was appointed as the new Head of Drama. Adams was a surprising choice, his previous role at the Corporation having been as Head of Northern Broadcasting. However, he was essentially an administrator and seen by Drama staff as a temporary appointment.<p>In 1997 the BBC approached <!--del_lnk--> Mal Young, best known for producing <a href="../../wp/l/Liverpool.htm" title="Liverpool">Liverpool</a>-set <!--del_lnk--> Channel 4 soap <i><!--del_lnk--> Brookside</i>, to head up the Drama Series section of the in-house Drama Department, which had become something of a poisoned chalice with many Controllers departing in quick succession. As Controller of Continuing Drama Series, Young oversaw the move to volume production and also commissioned a new medical Series, <i><!--del_lnk--> Holby City</i>. By the time Young left the BBC to join <!--del_lnk--> 19 Television Limited as head of Drama in December 2004, the BBC had increased Series production to nearly 300 hours per annum, including <i><a href="../../wp/e/EastEnders.htm" title="EastEnders">EastEnders</a></i> at four times a week, <i>Holby City</i> x 52 episodes, <i>Casualty</i> x 48 episodes. Volume Series production was a controversial move because it took a large part of the Drama budget away from original production and contributed to accusations of "dumbing down" its programming. "The decision to show <i>EastEnders</i> four nights a week, followed by <i>Holby City</i> has left the corporation open to accusations that the BBC1 schedule has been cleared for a diet of 'precinct pulp',"<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_linkref07"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> reported <i>The Guardian</i> in 2003.<p><a id="The_modern_era" name="The_modern_era"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The modern era</span></h2>
<p>As of September 2006, the current Commissioner of Drama at the BBC is <!--del_lnk--> Julie Gardner. She reports directly to <!--del_lnk--> Jane Tranter, who held the role from 2000–06 and was then promoted to the newly-established Head of Fiction position. Working with Gardner are: Head of Series & Serials <!--del_lnk--> Kate Harwood and Controller of Continuing (i.e. year-round) Drama Series <!--del_lnk--> John Yorke (who also acts as Head of Drama for the BBC's in-house production arm), with <!--del_lnk--> David Thompson of Film & Single Drama overseeing one-offs. <!--del_lnk--> Sarah Brandist and <!--del_lnk--> Polly Hill are the commissioning editors for independently-produced drama programming. Gardner is also Head of Drama for <!--del_lnk--> BBC Wales, with <!--del_lnk--> Patrick Spence Head of Drama for <!--del_lnk--> BBC Northern Ireland and <!--del_lnk--> Anne Mensah Head of Drama for <!--del_lnk--> BBC Scotland.<p>Tranter's era from 2000–06 saw a return to longer-run episode series, with programmes such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Spooks</i> being given longer second runs following successful debut seasons. Recent years have also seen a huge increase in continuing drama output, with <i>EastEnders</i> gaining a fourth weekly episode to add to the third added during the mid-1990s, and <i>Casualty</i> and its spin-off series <i><!--del_lnk--> Holby City</i> (1999–present) turning from regular seasonal shows to year-round soap opera-style productions. These moves have been criticised in some quarters for filling the market with insubstantial populist dramas at the expense of 'quality' prestige pieces, although there have been several notable drama serial successes, such as <!--del_lnk--> Paul Abbott's <i><!--del_lnk--> State of Play</i> (2003) and the historical drama <i><!--del_lnk--> Charles II: The Power and The Passion</i> (<!--del_lnk--> BBC Northern Ireland - 2004).<p>Another move of recent years has been the regionalisation of BBC drama, in response to criticisms that the majority of programmes were made and set in and around London and the surrounding areas, with the BBC's central drama department currently being based at Television Centre in West London. As far back at 1962, the makers of <i>Z-Cars</i> had deliberately set their programme near <a href="../../wp/l/Liverpool.htm" title="Liverpool">Liverpool</a> in the <!--del_lnk--> North of England to break away from the perceived London bias, and in 1976 an English Regions Drama Department had been established at <!--del_lnk--> BBC Birmingham with a remit for making 'regional drama', gaining a major success with <!--del_lnk--> Alan Bleasdale's <i><!--del_lnk--> Boys from the Blackstuff</i> in 1982. In the modern era, however, the separate BBC branches in <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>, <a href="../../wp/w/Wales.htm" title="Wales">Wales</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/Northern_Ireland.htm" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a> all have their own drama departments with Heads of Drama who have autonomous commissioning powers, both for in-house production and co-production with or commissioning from independents.<p>Although some of these shows are purely for regional consumption, such as <!--del_lnk--> BBC Scotland's <i><!--del_lnk--> River City</i> and BBC Wales' <i><!--del_lnk--> Belonging</i>, many programmes networked nationally on BBC One and Two are made in 'the nations', with perhaps the highest profile being the current <!--del_lnk--> BBC Wales revival of <i><!--del_lnk--> Doctor Who</i>. The larger English regions also produce drama productions of their own, with BBC Birmingham providing the detective drama <i><!--del_lnk--> Dalziel and Pascoe</i>, daytime soap opera <i>Doctors</i> and anthology series <i>The Afternoon Play</i> for national consumption, for example.<p>From 1999 until 2006, the BBC also had a new in-house drama division, <!--del_lnk--> BBC Fictionlab, which specialised in producing dramas for the corporation's digital stations, particularly <!--del_lnk--> BBC Four. Notable Fictionlab productions for BBC Four included <i><!--del_lnk--> The Alan Clark Diaries</i> (2003), a live re-make of <i><a href="../../wp/t/The_Quatermass_Experiment.htm" title="The Quatermass Experiment">The Quatermass Experiment</a></i> (2005) and the biopic <i><!--del_lnk--> Kenneth Tynan - In Praise of Hardcore</i> (2005). Several of these have later seen analogue transmission on <!--del_lnk--> BBC Two. However, in January 2006 the BBC announced that Fictionlab was to be dispanded, as the digital channels now well established and no longer needed a specialised drama production unit.<p><a id="Children.27s_drama" name="Children.27s_drama"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Children's drama</span></h2>
<p>The BBC has established a strong reputation in the field of children's drama, although children's dramas are almost universally commissioned and / or produced by the BBC's <!--del_lnk--> Children's Department rather than the Drama Department itself. There are however occasional crossovers - <i>Doctor Who</i>, for example, would commonly be regarded as a children's or family programme, but has always been produced by the main Drama Department.<p>Throughout much of the department's history, the epmhasis has been on continuing productions of short-run drama serials, including adaptations of classic children's literature such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Little Lord Fauntleroy</i>, as well as made-for-television prductions. Science-fiction has been a popular theme, from <i><!--del_lnk--> Stranger from Space</i> (1951-52) through to the likes of <i><!--del_lnk--> Dark Season</i> (1991) and <i><!--del_lnk--> Century Falls</i> (1993). Since the middle of the 1980s, children's dramas - with the exception of the Sunday evening 'classics' slot - have almost always been screened in the weekday <!--del_lnk--> BBC One 3pm-5.30pm <i>Children's BBC</i> (CBBC) strand.<p>Longer continuing drama series became common from the late 1970s, spearheaded by the 1978 launch of the popular school-set drama series <i><!--del_lnk--> Grange Hill</i>. Created by <a href="../../wp/l/Liverpool.htm" title="Liverpool">Liverpudlian</a> dramatist <!--del_lnk--> Phil Redmond, the intention of the programme was to present issues relevant to children in a realistic manner, showing characters in a modern <!--del_lnk--> Comprehensive school and concentrating on the issues facing children in such schools. The series was a huge success, and in 1989 a similar programme, <i><!--del_lnk--> Byker Grove</i>, set in a <!--del_lnk--> youth club, was launched by the BBC's North-Eastern arm and screened on Children's BBC.<p>From the 1990s onwards, in common with BBC programming in other genres, children's drama has often been commissioned from independent producers as well as being made in-house. <i>Grange Hill</i> switched to independent production after twenty-five years as an in-house programme in 2003, when production was taken over by <!--del_lnk--> Mersey Television, the company established by the programme's creator Phil Redmond in the early 1980s. Co-productions with foreign broadcasters are also common, with <!--del_lnk--> BBC Scotland's successful 2004 fantasy drama <i><!--del_lnk--> Shoebox Zoo</i> being made in collaboration with the Canadian company <!--del_lnk--> Blueprint Entertainment <span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_linkref08"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span>.<p>As of 2005, the BBC continues to broadcast children's drama, usually in the weekday afternoon CBBC slot, but also occasional Sunday early evening / late afternoon prestige productions such as the adaptation of <i><!--del_lnk--> Kidnapped</i> (April 2005). As of July 2005, the Head of Children's Drama is <!--del_lnk--> Jon East.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_television_drama"</div>
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<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">BP</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Business_Studies.Companies.htm">Companies</a></h3>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;"><b>BP plc</b></td>
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<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:16px 0 16px 0;"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="160" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BP_Logo.svg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="160" /></td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Type</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Public (<!--del_lnk--> LSE: <!--del_lnk--> BP, <!--del_lnk--> NYSE: <!--del_lnk--> BP)</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Founded</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1908 (as the <!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Persian Oil Company)<br /><!--del_lnk--> 1954 (as The British Petroleum Company)</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Headquarters</th>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title="Flag of United Kingdom"><img alt="Flag of United Kingdom" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/7/789.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a></td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Key people</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Donald Alexander Smith (founding chairman)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Tony Hayward (current CEO)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Byron Grote, <!--del_lnk--> CFO</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><a href="../../wp/i/Industry.htm" title="Industry">Industry</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Oil and Gasoline, <!--del_lnk--> Alternative fuel</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Products</th>
<td>BP petroleum and derived products<br /> BP service stations<br /><!--del_lnk--> Castrol motor oil<br /><!--del_lnk--> ARCO gas stations<br /><!--del_lnk--> am/pm convenience stores<br /><!--del_lnk--> Aral service stations</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Revenue</th>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/28/2890.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Green_Arrow_Up_Darker.svg" src="../../images/28/2890.png" width="10" /></a>$274.316 Billion <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_dollar.htm" title="United States dollar">USD</a> (<!--del_lnk--> 2006)</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Operating income</th>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/28/2890.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Green_Arrow_Up_Darker.svg" src="../../images/28/2890.png" width="10" /></a> $35.158 Billion <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_dollar.htm" title="United States dollar">USD</a> (<!--del_lnk--> 2006)</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Net income</th>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/28/2890.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Green_Arrow_Up_Darker.svg" src="../../images/28/2890.png" width="10" /></a> $22.286 Billion <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_dollar.htm" title="United States dollar">USD</a> (<!--del_lnk--> 2006)</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><a href="../../wp/e/Employment.htm" title="Employment">Employees</a></th>
<td>96,200 (<!--del_lnk--> 2005)</td>
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<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Website</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> www.bp.com <!--del_lnk--> www.amoco.com</td>
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<p><b>BP plc</b> (<!--del_lnk--> LSE: <!--del_lnk--> BP), <!--del_lnk--> NYSE: <!--del_lnk--> BP, <!--del_lnk--> TYO: <!--del_lnk--> 5051 ), originally <b>British Petroleum</b>, is a <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">British</a> <a href="../../wp/e/Energy.htm" title="Energy">energy</a> company / <!--del_lnk--> multinational oil company ("<!--del_lnk--> oil major") with headquarters in <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>. The company is amongst the largest <!--del_lnk--> private sector <a href="../../wp/e/Energy.htm" title="Energy">energy</a> corporations in the world, and one of the six "<!--del_lnk--> supermajors" (<!--del_lnk--> vertically integrated <!--del_lnk--> private sector <!--del_lnk--> oil exploration, <a href="../../wp/n/Natural_gas.htm" title="Natural gas">natural gas</a>, and <a href="../../wp/p/Petroleum.htm" title="Petroleum">petroleum</a> product marketing companies).<script type="text/javascript">
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<p><a id="Recent_developments" name="Recent_developments"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Recent developments</span></h2>
<p>In August 1998, British Petroleum merged with the Amoco Corporation (<!--del_lnk--> Amoco), forming "BP Amoco." This move was widely viewed as a <!--del_lnk--> takeover of Amoco by BP and considered officially described as a <!--del_lnk--> merger for only legal reasons(in 2001, "Amoco" was dropped from the corporate name). The newly-renamed "<b>bp</b>" became an <!--del_lnk--> initialism no longer overtly standing for "British Petroleum". At the same time BP used the <!--del_lnk--> punning tagline "Beyond Petroleum" in some advertising campaigns. The step away from "British Petroleum" was in part a reflection of the fact that BP had become a global business and also that the direct identification of the company as British could be a disadvantage in some areas of operation.<p>In the 2006 <!--del_lnk--> Fortune Global 500 list of companies, BP was ranked 4th in the world for <!--del_lnk--> turnover with sales at $268 billion (down from 2nd in 2005 and 1st among oil companies), in the 2006 <!--del_lnk--> Forbes Global 2000 it was ranked the eighth largest company in the world.<p>BP Solar became the third largest producer of <!--del_lnk--> solar panels in the world through a series of acquisitions in the solar power industry. Recently, BP announced that its solar, wind and hydrogen power businesses would be known as BP Alternative Energy.<p>BP is the leading partner in the controversial <!--del_lnk--> Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.<p>However, BP was indicted by the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board for its role in the <!--del_lnk--> Texas City Refinery (BP) disaster in 2005, and is being investigated by other US agencies for allegations of market manipulation, and pollution from its pipeline at <!--del_lnk--> Prudhoe Bay.<p>Further controversy occurred at a shareholder meeting on <!--del_lnk--> April 12, <!--del_lnk--> 2007, when a lavish pension deal was approved for <!--del_lnk--> Lord Browne, the outgoing CEO.<p>Lord Browne unexpectedly resigned suddenly on <!--del_lnk--> May 1, <!--del_lnk--> 2007 after admitting to lying in court in a case concerning his affair with a <!--del_lnk--> male escort. His official departure from the company was not due until later in the year.<p><a id="Origins_and_history" name="Origins_and_history"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Origins and history</span></h2>
<p><a name="1909_-_1955"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">1909 - 1955</span></h3>
<p>In May 1901, <!--del_lnk--> William Knox D'Arcy was granted a concession by the <!--del_lnk--> Shah of Iran to search for oil which he found in May 1908. This was the first commercially significant find in the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a>. On <!--del_lnk--> 14 April 1909, the <!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Persian Oil Company was incorporated to exploit this find. The company grew slowly until <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a> when its strategic importance led the British Government to acquire controlling interest in the company and it became the Royal Navy's chief source of fuel oil during <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="WWI">World War I</a>.<p>In 1920, the war allowed it to take the British arm of the German Europäische Union, which used the trade name <i>British Petroleum</i>. After the war ended, the company, in which the British Government now had a 51% interest, moved to secure outlets in Europe and elsewhere. However, its main concern was still Persia, following the <!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Persian Agreement of 1919 the company continued to trade profitably in that country.<p>In 1931, partly in response to the difficult economic conditions of the times, BP merged their marketing operations in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> with those of Shell-Mex Ltd to create <!--del_lnk--> Shell-Mex and BP Ltd a company that continued to trade until the <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Dutch_Shell.htm" title="Royal Dutch Shell">Shell</a> and BP brands separated again in 1975.<p>There was growing dissent within Persia however at the imperialist and unfair position that APOC occupied. In 1932, the Shah terminated the APOC concession. The concession was resettled within a year, covering a reduced area with an increase in the Persian government's share of profits. Persia was renamed <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a> in 1936 and APOC became AIOC, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.<p>Following the turmoil of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, AIOC and the Iranian government resisted nationalist pressure to come to a renewed deal in 1949. In March 1951, the pro-western Prime Minister <!--del_lnk--> Ali Razmara was assassinated and in April, a bill was passed nationalising the oil industry and the AIOC and the Shah were forced to leave the country.<p>The AIOC took its case against the nationalisation to the <a href="../../wp/i/International_Court_of_Justice.htm" title="International Court of Justice">International Court of Justice</a> at <a href="../../wp/t/The_Hague.htm" title="The Hague">The Hague</a>, but lost the case. However the government of Britain, concerned about its interests in Iran, convinced the US that Iran was slowly coming under Soviet influence. This was the perfect strategy for the British since the US was in the middle of the <a href="../../wp/c/Cold_War.htm" title="Cold War">Cold War</a>. The British convinced the US to join them in overthrowing the democratically chosen Prime Minister, <!--del_lnk--> Mohammed Mossadeq, and to install pro-Western General <!--del_lnk--> Fazlollah Zahedi as prime minister of Iran. This overthrow was named <!--del_lnk--> Operation Ajax. <!--del_lnk--> Mohammed Mossadeq thought that nationalization was the only way to prevent British exploitation of Iran's oil wealth.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> August 19, <!--del_lnk--> 1953, the incumbent democratic Prime Minister, <!--del_lnk--> Mohammed Mossadeq, was forced from office and replaced by Zahedi and the Shah was recalled. The AIOC became The British Petroleum Company in <!--del_lnk--> 1954, and briefly resumed operations in Iran with a forty per cent share in a new international consortium. BP continued to operate in Iran until the <!--del_lnk--> Islamic Revolution. However, due to a large investment programme (funded by the World Bank) outside Iran, the company survived the loss of its Iranian interests at that time.<p><a name="1960s_and_1970s"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">1960s and 1970s</span></h3>
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<p>From the late 1960s the company looked beyond the Middle East to the USA (<!--del_lnk--> Prudhoe Bay, <!--del_lnk--> Alaska) and the <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a>. Both of these fields came on stream in the mid-1970s transforming the company and allowing BP to weather the <!--del_lnk--> OPEC-induced <!--del_lnk--> oil price shocks of 1973 and 1979. In 1969, BP acquired the <!--del_lnk--> Valdez oil terminal, <!--del_lnk--> Alaska, from the <!--del_lnk--> Chugach for <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_dollar.htm" title="United States dollar">$</a>1. Some natives contend that this was an illegal transfer.<p>In the mid-1970s, BP acquired <!--del_lnk--> Standard Oil of Ohio or Sohio.<p><a name="1980s_and_1990s"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">1980s and 1990s</span></h3>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/41/4154.jpg.htm" title="BP petrol station using the 1989-2001 logo"><img alt="BP petrol station using the 1989-2001 logo" class="thumbimage" height="120" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Gas_station_%28night%29.jpg" src="../../images/41/4154.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/41/4154.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> BP petrol station using the 1989-2001 logo</div>
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<p>P.I. Walters (later Sir <!--del_lnk--> Peter Walters) was BP's chairman from 1981 to 1990. Walters promoted a movement to deintegrate company operations based solely upon economic considerations: "For me, there is no strategy that is divorced from <!--del_lnk--> profitability," he once remarked. Under his chairmanship British Petroleum led the <!--del_lnk--> oil industry away from an era dominated by <!--del_lnk--> vertical integration and the supply planning this required toward a <!--del_lnk--> corporate culture that emphasised trading and decentralisation (<!--del_lnk--> Daniel Yergin, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Prize</i> [Simon & Schuster, 1991], pp. 722-23).<p>In 1987, British Petroleum negotiated the acquisition of <!--del_lnk--> Britoil and those shares of <!--del_lnk--> Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio) through CEO <!--del_lnk--> Charlie Spahr not already owned. In 1994, BP and <!--del_lnk--> Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) began marketing <!--del_lnk--> Orimulsion®, a <!--del_lnk--> bitumen-based fuel. <!--del_lnk--> Lord Browne of Madingley, who had been on the board as managing director since 1991, was appointed group chief executive in 1995.<p>In the 90s most of <!--del_lnk--> Mobil's <!--del_lnk--> UK stations were sold off to BP, with them becoming BP Service Stations. The rest were turned into <!--del_lnk--> Essos which is the local name for <!--del_lnk--> Exxon in the UK.<p><a id="Present" name="Present"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Present</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/41/4156.jpg.htm" title="Chief Scientist of BP, Steven Koonin (top right, with computer), speaks about the energy scene in the boardroom in 2005."><img alt="Chief Scientist of BP, Steven Koonin (top right, with computer), speaks about the energy scene in the boardroom in 2005." class="thumbimage" height="166" longdesc="/wiki/Image:StevenKooninBP20050222_CopyrightKaihsuTai.jpg" src="../../images/41/4156.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/41/4156.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Chief Scientist of BP, Steven Koonin (top right, with computer), speaks about the energy scene in the boardroom in 2005.</div>
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<p>British Petroleum merged with <!--del_lnk--> Amoco (Formerly Standard Oil of Indiana), in December 1998, becoming BPAmoco until 2000, when it was renamed BP and adopted the tagline "Beyond Petroleum," which remains in use today. It states that BP was never meant to be an abbreviation of its tagline. Most Amoco <!--del_lnk--> gas stations in the United States have changed the look and name to the bp brand. In many states, however, BP is selling Amoco branded gasoline, as it was rated the #1 petroleum brand by consumers 16 years in a row (the name of the service station itself is still BP) and Amoco has one of the highest brand loyalty for gasoline in the US with only <!--del_lnk--> Chevron and <!--del_lnk--> Shell having such high rates as BP/Amoco. In 2000, British Petroleum acquired <!--del_lnk--> Arco (Atlantic Richfield Co.) and <!--del_lnk--> Burmah Castrol plc.<div class="thumb tleft">
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<p>In April of 2004, BP decided to move most of its petrochemical businesses into a separate entity called <!--del_lnk--> Innovene within the BP Group. Their intention was to sell the new company possibly via an <!--del_lnk--> Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the US, and in fact they filed their IPO plans for Innovene with the <!--del_lnk--> New York Stock Exchange on <!--del_lnk--> September 12, <!--del_lnk--> 2005. However, on <!--del_lnk--> October 7, <!--del_lnk--> 2005, BP announced that they had agreed to sell Innovene to <!--del_lnk--> INEOS, a privately held UK chemical company for the sum of $9 billion, thereby scrapping their plans for the IPO.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> March 23, <!--del_lnk--> 2005, an explosion occurred at <!--del_lnk--> BP's Texas City Refinery in <!--del_lnk--> Texas City, <!--del_lnk--> Texas. It is the third largest refinery in the United States and one of the largest in the world, processing 433,000 barrels of crude oil per day and accounting for 3% of that nation's gasoline supply. Over 100 were injured, and 15 were confirmed dead, including employees of the <!--del_lnk--> Fluor Corporation as well as BP. BP has since accepted that its employees contributed to the accident. Level indicators failed, leading to overfilling of a heater, and light hydrocarbons spread throughout the area. An unidentified ignition source set off the explosion. <!--del_lnk--> <p>According to some private BP-branded gasoline centre operators in the Metro Atlanta area, BP plans to leave the Southern Market in the next few years. All corporate-owned BP stations, typically known as "BP Connect" will be sold to local <!--del_lnk--> jobbers.<p>In March of 2006, one of BP's pipelines in the North Slope of Alaska ruptured, causing a major environmental hazard. <!--del_lnk--> <p>BP has recently started to move its oil exploration activities away from the North Sea and Alaska and is looking into the former Soviet Union for its future reserves. On July 19, 2006, BP announced that it would close the last 12 out of 57 oil wells in Alaska, mostly in <!--del_lnk--> Prudhoe Bay, that had been leaking. The wells were leaking insulating agent called Arctic pack, consisting of <!--del_lnk--> crude oil and <!--del_lnk--> diesel fuel, between the wells and ice.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 12 January <!--del_lnk--> 2007, it was announced that Lord Browne would retire at the end of July 2007. The new Chief Executive will be the current head of exploration and production, <!--del_lnk--> Tony Hayward. It had been expected that Lord Browne would retire in February 2008 when he reached the age of 60, the standard retirement age at BP. Browne resigned abruptly from BP on <!--del_lnk--> 1 May 2007, following the lifting of a legal injunction preventing <!--del_lnk--> Associated Newspapers from publishing details about his private life. Hayward succeeded Browne with immediate effect.<p>As of February 11, 2007 BP announced that they would spend 8 billion dollars over ten years to research other methods of fuel.<p><a id="Prudhoe_Bay_shutdown" name="Prudhoe_Bay_shutdown"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Prudhoe Bay shutdown</span></h3>
<p>As of <!--del_lnk--> August 7, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, BP has begun to shutdown oil operations in <!--del_lnk--> Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, due to corrosion in the pipeline. This corrosion is caused by sediment collecting in the bottom of the pipe, protecting corrosive bacteria from chemicals sent throught the pipeline to fight this bacteria. Prudhoe Bay produces about 2.6% of the United States demand for gasoline. It was initially estimated that the shutdown would cause a reduction of 400,000 barrels per day and reaction to that scenario was a contributing factor pushing the price of oil to over $77(USD) per barrel.To, date 1,513 barrels of liquids, about 5,200 cubic yards of soiled snow and 328 cubic yards of soiled gravel have been recovered. There are estimates that about 5,000 barrels of oil were released from the pipeline. After further analysis and approval from the DOT, only the eastern portion of the field was shut down which resulted in a reduction of 200,000 barrels per day until work began to bring the eastern field to full production on Oct 2.<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/209/20909.jpg.htm" title="Solar panel made by BP Solar"><img alt="Solar panel made by BP Solar" class="thumbimage" height="141" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bp-solarmodul.JPG" src="../../images/41/4160.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/209/20909.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Solar panel made by BP Solar</div>
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<p>In 2000 the company was renamed BP, with no meaning given to the letters. Its new slogan, "Beyond Petroleum", was accompanied by the <!--del_lnk--> rebranding of its famous "Green Shield" logo in favour of the <!--del_lnk--> helios symbol (a green and yellow sunburst) to emphasise the company's focus on environmentally friendly fuels and <!--del_lnk--> alternative energy. This is intended to move BP away from the negative environmental image of most oil companies. However, some environmental groups have accused BP of trying to <!--del_lnk--> greenwash their public image, and that their alternative energy credentials are not serious investments but merely a <!--del_lnk--> PR exercise.<p>BP is a leading producer of <!--del_lnk--> solar panels since its purchase of <!--del_lnk--> Lucas Energy Systems in 1980 and <!--del_lnk--> Solarex (as part of its acquisition of Amoco) in 2000. BP Solar had a 20% world market share in photovoltaic panels in 2004 when it had a capacity to produce 90 MW/year of panels. It has over 30 years experience operating in over 160 countries with manufacturing facilities in the <!--del_lnk--> U.S., <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a> and has more than 2000 employees worldwide.<p>BP/Amoco was a member of the <!--del_lnk--> Global Climate Coalition an industry organisation established to promote <!--del_lnk--> global warming skepticism but withdrew in 1997, saying "the time to consider the policy dimensions of climate change is not when the link between greenhouse gases and climate change is conclusively proven, but when the possibility cannot be discounted and is taken seriously by the society of which we are part. We in BP have reached that point.".<p>In February 2002 BP's <!--del_lnk--> chief executive, Lord Browne of Madingley, renounced the practice of corporate <!--del_lnk--> campaign contributions, noting: "That's why we've decided, as a global policy, that from now on we will make no political contributions from corporate funds anywhere in the world." <!--del_lnk--> <p>In March 2002 Lord Browne of Madingley declared in a speech that <a href="../../wp/g/Global_warming.htm" title="Global warming">global warming</a> was real and that urgent action was needed, saying that "Companies composed of highly skilled and trained people can't live in denial of mounting evidence gathered by hundreds of the most reputable scientists in the world.".<!--del_lnk--> In 2005 BP was considering testing <!--del_lnk--> carbon sequestration in one of its <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a> oil fields, by pumping <a href="../../wp/c/Carbon_dioxide.htm" title="Carbon dioxide">carbon dioxide</a> into them (and thereby also increasing yields).<!--del_lnk--> <p>In 2004, BP began marketing low-<!--del_lnk--> sulphur <!--del_lnk--> diesel fuel for industrial use. BP intends to create a network of <a href="../../wp/h/Hydrogen.htm" title="Hydrogen">hydrogen</a> fuelling stations in the state of <a href="../../wp/c/California.htm" title="California">California</a>.<p><a id="Texas_City_Refinery_.28BP.29_Disaster" name="Texas_City_Refinery_.28BP.29_Disaster"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline"><!--del_lnk--> Texas City Refinery (BP) Disaster</span></h2>
<p>One of BPs largest refineries in the USA exploded in 2005 causing 15 deaths. The fall-out from the accident continues to cloud BPs corporate image because of the mis-management at the plant. There have been several investigations of the disaster, the most recent being that from the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. It was preceded by the Baker report and BPs own internal investigation.<p>Essentially, a large column filled with gasoline overflowed to form a vapour cloud, which ignited. The explosion caused all the casualties and substantial damage to the rest of the plant. The incident came as the culmination of a series of less serious accidents at the refinery, and the engineering problems were not addressed by the management. Maintenance and safety at the plant had been cut as a cost-saving measure, the responsibility ultimately resting with executives in London.<p><a id="West_Papua" name="West_Papua"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">West Papua</span></h2>
<p>BP has come under heavy criticism from human rights groups, especially the Free West Papua campaign for developing a massive natural gas project in the region. This project will fund the Indonesian occupation of West Papua and has not been agreed by the West Papuan people. Furthermore BP have gone into business with the Indonesian regime without criticising the occupation (which has killed more than 100 000 people). Comparisons have been drawn between BP's presence in West Papua, Shell's presence in Nigeria and Total's presence in Burma. A leaflet published by the Free West Papua campaign used the letters "BP" as initials for "bleeding papua".<p><a id="Other_Problems" name="Other_Problems"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Other Problems</span></h2>
<p>However, BP's image has been tarnished somewhat by its involvement with the controversial <!--del_lnk--> Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, criticised for <!--del_lnk--> human rights abuses, environmental and safety concerns.<p>BP has also been criticised for the increase in fuel prices in the UK, on April 25 2005 Lord Browne stated in an interview with the BBC that he fully expected petrol prices to stay above £1 per litre. <!--del_lnk--> BP has also been involved in bringing lawsuits against biofuel and biodiesel producers and sellers in France and other countries.<p>In July 2006, a group of <a href="../../wp/c/Colombia.htm" title="Colombia">Colombian</a> farmers won a multimillion pound settlement from BP after the British oil and gas company was accused of benefiting from a regime of <!--del_lnk--> terror carried out by Colombian government <!--del_lnk--> paramilitaries to protect a 450-mile pipeline.<!--del_lnk--> <p>On <!--del_lnk--> August 7, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, BP reported that their <!--del_lnk--> Prudhoe Bay oil field had to be shut down after a <!--del_lnk--> pipeline inspection gauge determined there was excessive corrosion in the transport pipeline. BP was criticized for the maintenance practices on the damaged pipeline, which was last inspected for corrosion in <!--del_lnk--> 1992.<p>BP have started a scheme for car owners to purchase <!--del_lnk--> carbon offsets called <!--del_lnk--> Target Neutral.<p>As of February 11, 2007 BP announced that they would spend 8 billion dollars over ten years to research alternative methods of fuel. A $500 million grant offered to the University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to create an "Energy Biosciences Institute" has recently come under attack, over concerns about the global impacts of the research and privatization of public universities.<p><a id="BP_Retail_Brands" name="BP_Retail_Brands"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">BP Retail Brands</span></h2>
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<li><!--del_lnk--> BP Connect</ul>
<p>This is BP's flagship retail brand name with BP Connect Service stations being operated around the UK, Europe, USA, Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the world. BP Connect sites feature the Wild Bean Cafe which offers cafe style coffee made by the staff and a selection of hot food as well as freshly baked muffins and sandwiches. The food offered in Wild Bean Cafe varies from each site. BP Connect sites usually offer table and chair seating and often an Internet kiosk.<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> BP Express</ul>
<p>This was the flagship BP brand prior to the introduction of BP Connect in 2000. There are still some BP Express sites operating around the world but most have been either upgraded to Connect or changed to an alternative brand. BP Express offers a bakery service but doesn't have the selection of food offered in the Wild Bean Cafe and usually coffee is only available through a self service machine.<ul>
<li>BP Shop</ul>
<p>Commonly used on smaller sites mainly independently owned sites. Products vary in each BP Shop but usually a selection of convience store style food and automotive products.<ul>
<li>BP 2go</ul>
<p>A franchise brand used for independently operated sites in New Zealand. BP 2go sites mainly operate in towns and outer suburbs in New Zealand. BP 2go offers similar bakery food to BP Connect but in a pre-packaged form. Some BP Express sites around New Zealand that were considered too small to be upgraded to BP Connect were given the option to change to BP 2go others were downgraded to BP Shop. Staff at BP 2go sites wear a different style of uniform to the rest of the BP branded sites.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BP"</div>
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