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Henri-Joseph Paixhans

Henri-Joseph Paixhans

Henri-Joseph Paixhans was a French artillery officer of the beginning of the 19th century. In 1823, he invented the first shell guns, which came to be called Paixhans guns (or "canons-obusiers" in the French Navy). Paixhans guns became the first naval guns to combine explosive shells and a flat trajectory, thereby triggering the demise of wooden ships, and the iron hull revolution in boat building. Paixhans also invented a "Mortier monstre" ("Monster Mortar"), using 500 kg bombs, which was used to terrible effect in the Siege of Antwerp in 1832. He was also a naval theorist claiming that a few agressively armed small units could destroy the largest naval units of the time, making him a precursor of the French "Nouvelle Ecole" school of thought. The poet Victor Hugo wrote: :"Terre! l'obus est Dieu, Paixhans est son prophète." :"Earth! the shell is God, Paixhans is his Prophet."

Paixhans naval guns

Explosive shells had long been in use in ground warfare (in howitzers and mortars), but they were only fired at high angles and with relatively low velocities. Shells are inherently dangerous to handle, and no solution had been found yet to combine the explosive character of the shells with the high-power and high velocity of a flat-trajectory gun. High-trajectories are not practical however for marine combat. Naval combat essentially requires flat-trajectory guns in order to have some decent odds of hitting the target. Therefore naval warfare had consisted for centuries in encounters between flat-trajectory cannons using inert cannonballs, which a wooden boat could rather easily absorb. Paixhans developed a delaying mechanism which, for the first time, allowed shells to be fired safely in high-powered flat-trajectory guns. The effect of explosive shells hitting wooden hulls and setting them aflame was devastating, and was demonstrated in trials against the two-decker Pacificateur in 1824. The first Paixhans guns were founded in 1841. The barrel of the guns weighed about 10,000 pounds, and proved accurate to about two miles. In the 1840s, France, England, Russia and the United States had adopted the new naval guns. The effect of the guns in an operational context was first demonstrated during the actions at Eckernförde in 1849 during the Danish-Prussian War, and especially at the Battle of Sinop in 1853 during the Russo-Turkish War.

Adoption

France

The guns were introduced on several ships in France, although they were limited to a small part of the total armamanent of each ship. The 1856 three-decker Bretagne, the largest French warship at the time, had 36 22cm shell guns on a total of 130 cannons.

United States

The United States Navy adopted the design, and equipped several ships with 8-inch guns of 63 and 55 cwt. in 1845, and later a 10-inch shell gun of 86 cwt. Paixhans guns were used on the USS Constitution (4 Paixhans guns) in 1842, under the command of Foxhall A. Parker, Sr., and were also present onboard the USS Mississippi (1841) (10 Paixhans guns), and the USS Susquehanna (1847) (6 Paixhans guns) during Commodore Perry's mission to open Japan in 1853.

Russia

The Russian Navy was the first to use the guns extensively in combat. At the Battle of Sinop in 1853, Russian ships attacked and anihilated a Turkish fleet with their Paixhans explosive shell guns. The shell penetrated deep inside the wooden planking of Turkish ships, exploding and igniting the hulls.

Legacy

Ironclad warships

Wooden boats became so vulnerable that the only possible response could come with the introduction of the iron-hulled warship. The first of them was the French La Gloire, soon followed by the HMS Warrior.

Further developments

HMS Warrior.]] Paixhans's design was later improved by the American John A. Dahlgren, who wrote: :"Paixhans had so far satisfied naval men of the power of shell guns as to obtain their admission on shipboard; but by unduly developing the explosive element, he had sacrificed accuracy and range.... The difference between the system of Paixhans and my own was simply that Paixhans guns were strictly shell guns, and were not designed for shot, nor for great penetration or accuracy at long ranges. They were, therefore, auxiliary to, or associates of, the shot-guns. This made a mixed armament, was objectionable as such, and never was adopted to any extent in France... My idea was, to have a gun that should generally throw shells far and accurately, with the capacity to fire solid shot when needed. Also to compose the whole battery entirely of such guns." John A. Dalgren Paixhans

Shell (projectile)

A shell is a projectile, which, as opposed to a bullet, is not solid but contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage includes large projectiles without a filling. These objects of weaponry are generally large rounds fired by artillery, armored fighting vehicles (including tanks), and warships, such as battleships. Most shells are aerodynamic and hence, tend to have similar shapes to bullets—that is, a cylinder topped by an ogive shaped nose, possibly with a tapering base—but some specialised types are quite different.

History

For the most part explosive shells do not appear to have been in general use before the middle of the 16th century. About that time hollow balls of stone or cast iron were fired from mortars. The balls were nearly filled with gunpowder and the remaining space with a slow-burning composition. This method was fairly ineffective as the charge was not always ignited by the flash from the discharge of the gun, and moreover the amount of composition to burn a stipulated time could not easily be gauged. The shell was, therefore, fitted with a hollow forged iron or copper plug, filled with slow-burning powder. It was impossible to ignite with certainty this primitive fuze simply by firing the gun; the fuze was consequently first ignited and the gun fired immediately afterwards. This entailed the use of a mortar or a very short piece, so that the fuze could be easily reached from the muzzle without unduly endangering the gunner, in turn implying low muzzle velocities and vertical, elliptical trajectories. In 1823, the first shell guns were invented by the French General Henri-Joseph Paixhans. Paixhans guns were the first guns to combine explosive shells and the flat trajectory of cannons. The guns were adopted by various Navies from the 1840s, thereby triggering the demise of wooden ships, and the iron hull revolution in boat building. Cast-iron spherical common shell were in use up to 1871. For guns they were latterly fitted with a wooden disc called a sabot, attached by a copper rivet, intended to keep the fuze central when loading. They were also supposed to reduce the rebounding tendency of the shell as it travelled along the bore on discharge. Mortar shell were not fitted with sabots. Cast iron held its own as the most convenient material for projectiles up to the end of the 19th century, steel supplanting it, first for projectiles intended for piercing armour, and afterwards for common shell for high-velocity guns where the shock of discharge has been found too severe for cast iron. During the First World War, shrapnel shells inflicted terrible casualties on infantry - accounting for nearly 70% of all the casualties of the war. Shells filled with poison gas were used from 1917 onwards. Frequent problems with shells led to many military disasters when shells failed to explode, most notably during the 1916 Battle of the Somme.

Calibre

The calibre of a shell is its diameter. Depending on the historical period and national preferences, this may be specified in millimetres, centimetres, or inches. Care should be taken as the length of gun barrels is frequently quoted in terms of calibre. Due to problems of manufacture, the lower size limit for shells is a calibre around 20 mm, used in aircraft cannon and on armoured vehicles. Smaller explosive projectiles exist, but they are rare. The largest shells ever fired were those from the German super-railway guns, Gustav and Dora, which were 800 mm (31.5") in calibre. Very large shells have been replaced by rockets, guided missile, and bombs, and today the largest shells in use are 203 mm (8 inches). Guns of that size are uncommon; 155 mm (6 inches) is the largest calibre in common use. Gun calibres are standardized around a few common sizes, especially in the larger range, mainly due to the uniformity required for efficient military logistics. Shells of 105, 120, and 155 mm diameter are common for NATO forces' artillery and tank guns. Artillery shells of 122 and 152 mm, and tank gun ammunition of 100, 115, or 125 mm calibre remain in use in Eastern Europe and China. Most common calibres have been in use for many years, since it is no small feat to change over ammunition stockpiles. The weight of shells varies greatly. A 150 mm (6") shell weighs about 50 kg, a 203 mm (8") shell weighs either 100 kg or 146 kg (concrete demolition variant). Of the largest calibres, used exclusively on battleships, a 280 mm (11") shell weighs about 300 kg, and a 460 mm (18") shell weighs over one and a half tonnes. The two types of projectiles used with the Nazis' Dora mega-gun measured 5 and 8 tonnes, respectively.

Old-style British classification by weight

Historically, shells were often described in pounds in the UK, e.g., as "two-pounder ammunition", or "2-pdr". Usually this refers to the actual weight of a high explosive (HE) shell, but confusingly, this was not always the case. Some were named after the weights of obsolete shell types of the same calibre, or even obsolete shell types that were considered to have been functionally equivalent. Also, shells fired from the same gun, but of different weight, were took their name from the gun. Thus, conversion from "pounds" to actual barrel diameter requires consulting a historical reference.

Types

There are many different types of shells. The principal ones include:

High explosive (HE)

The most common shell type is high explosive, commonly referred to simply as HE. HE shells have a strong steel case, a bursting charge, and a fuze. When the fuze initiates the shell, the bursting charge shatters the case and scatters hot, sharp fragments of steel at high speed. Most of the damage is caused by being struck by these fragments, rather than directly by the blast. Depending on the type of fuze used the HE shell can be set to burst on the ground, in the air above the ground, or after penetrating a short distance into the ground (either to transmit more ground shock to covered positions, or to reduce the spread of fragments).

Armour-piercing (AP)

In naval warfare and older anti-tank shells, the shell had to withstand the shock of punching through armour plate. Shells designed for this purpose had a greatly strengthened case with a specially hardened and shaped nose, and a much smaller bursting charge or even no bursting charge for smaller calibres. A further refinement of the design improved penetration by adding a softer metal cap to the penetrating nose giving APC (Armour piercing - capped). The softer cap took away some of the initial shock that would otherwise shatter the round. However the best profile for the cap was not the best for flight. To restore aerodynamics a further hollow cap was added to give APCBC (APC + Ballistic Cap). Explosive AP shells were sometimes distinguished by appending the suffix "-HE" or "/HE". Solid shot AP projectiles were so uncommon, that for unnecessary repetition the suffix "-HE" is usually not used; all projectiles can be assumed to have even small explosive charge. Plain AP shell is now very rarely seen except in naval usage, and is uncommon even there. See also: Armor-piercing shot and shell

Armour-piercing, discarding sabot (APDS)

APDS was developed by the United Kingdom and put into British service in March 1944 with their 6 pdr and 17 pdr anti-tank guns. For increased penetrating power a high velocity round was required, this in turn required a stronger material (such as tungsten) to withstand the greater shock of impact. Such a shot was too heavy at full bore to be accelerated to a sufficient muzzle velocity, so a lightweight outer carrier, the Sabot, (French shoe) which filled the barrel was fitted around the smaller-diameter shot. This gives the projectile a higher acceleration in the gun's barrel, due to the larger surface area for the gases to impinge upon relative to its weight. Once outside the barrel, the sabot is stripped off by a combination of centripetal force and aerodynamic force, giving the shot low drag in flight. For a given caliber, this type of ammunition can effectively double the anti-tank performance of a gun over those using "simple" shot. A kinetic energy penetrator that is a cross between APDS and APFS (armour-piercing, fin-stabilized) is APFSDS (armour-piercing, fin stabilized, discarding sabot). In this the projectile is made long and thin to increase its sectional density and thus penetration. However once a projectile is more than about ten times longer than it is wide, spin stabilisation becomes ineffective, so the projectile is instead stabilised by fins attached at its base, and is fired from an unrifled barrel. An APFSDS projectile looks like a big metal arrow. APFSDS projectiles are often made from tungsten alloys, but depleted uranium offers greater penetration. APDS, APFS, and APFSDS rounds are solid "shot" and contain no explosive charge and are not therefore "shells".

Armour-Piercing, Composite Rigid (APCR, APCRBC)

Developed around the same time as APDS. A solid high-density metal core (eg tungsten surrounded by a full bore shell of lighter material. This gave a full size bore for the purposes of giving the shot velocity in the barrel but at the point of impact the weight (and hence kinetic energy) was concentrated in the narrow core which struck the vehicle armour - the outer core generally left outside the armour. A futher enhancement was to add a ballistic cap to the front of the shell over the core, to give the round a better ballistic shape and thereby lower drag and increase terminal velocity. This was referred to as APCRBC, for APCR Armour-piercing, Composite Rigid, Ballistic Cap The same shell structure was used for "squeeze-bore" gun rounds. The softer outer core was compressed in the tapered section of the gun barrel resulting in a thinner projectile with better aerodynamic properties. See also Littlejohn adaptor.

High explosive, anti-tank (HEAT)

HEAT shells are a type of shaped charge used to defeat armoured vehicles. They are extremely efficient at defeating plain steel armour but are becoming less useful with the growing prevalence of composite and reactive armour. The power of the shell is independant of the velocity of the shell and is as effective at 1000 metres as at 100 metres. A HEAT charge is most effective when detonated at a certain, optimal, distance in front of the target and HEAT shells are usually distinguished by a long, thin nose probe sticking out in front of the rest of the shell, e.g., PIAT bomb.

High explosive, squash head (HESH) or high explosive, plastic (HEP)

HESH is another anti-tank shell based on the use of explosive. Developed by the British inventor Sir Charles Dennistoun Burney in WW2 for use against fortifications. A thin case contains a charge of a plastic explosive. On impact the explosive flattens against the face of the armour. The fuze then detonates. Energy is transferred through the armour plate. When the compressive shock reflects off the air/metal interface on the inner face of the armour, it is transformed into a tension wave which spalls a "scab" of metal off into the tank damaging the equipment and crew without actually penetrating the armour. HESH is completely defeated by spaced armour (provided that the plates are individually able to withstand the explosion), but remains popular because not all vehicles are equipped with spaced armour, and it is also the most efficient weapon for demolishing brick and concrete.

Cluster shells

Like cluster bombs, an artillery shell may be used to scatter smaller submunitions, including anti-personnel grenades, anti-tank top-attack munitions, and landmines. These are generally far more lethal against both armor and infantry than simple high explosive shells, since the multiple munitions create a larger kill zone and increase the chance of achieving the direct hit necessary to kill armor. Most modern armies make significant use of cluster munitions in their artillery batteries. Artillery-scattered mines allow for the quick deployment of minefields into the path of the enemy without placing engineering units at risk, though artillery delivery may lead to an irregular and unpredictable minefield with more duds than if mines were individually emplaced. Signatories of the Ottawa Treaty have renounced the use of artillery-scattered mines.

Chemical

Chemical shells contain just a small explosive charge to burst the shell, and a larger quantity of a chemical weapon such as a poison gas. Signatories of the Chemical Weapons Convention have renounced such shells.

Non-lethal shells

Not all shells are designed to kill or destroy. The following three types are designed to achieve particular non-lethal effects on the battlefield. They are not completely harmless, however; smoke and illumination shells can accidentally start fires, while all three types can cause minor damage (or potentially kill) if property or a person is unlucky enough to be struck by the discarded carrier.

Smoke

The smoke shell is designed to create a smokescreen. The main types are bursting (usually filled with white phosphorus, WP) and base ejection (a shell which scatters smoke grenades).

Illumination

Another non-lethal shell type is illumination. An illumination shell has a fuze which ejects the "candle" (a pyrotechnic flare emitting white, coloured, or infrared light) at a calculated altitude, where it slowly drifts down beneath a heat resistant parachute. These are also known as starshell.

Carrier

The carrier shell is simply a hollow carrier equipped with a fuze which ejects the contents at a calculated time. They are often filled with propaganda leaflets (see external links), but can be filled with anything that meets the weight restrictions and is able to withstand the shock of firing. Famously, on Christmas Day 1899 during the siege of Ladysmith, the Boers fired into Ladysmith a carrier shell without fuze, which contained a Christmas pudding, two Union Jacks and the message "compliments of the season". The shell is still kept in the museum at Ladysmith.

Fireworks

Aerial firework bursts are created by shells. In the United States, consumer firework shells may not exceed 1.75 inches in diameter.

Unexploded shells

The fuze of a shell has to keep the shell safe from accidental detonation during storage, (possibly rough) handling, and violent launch through the barrel, then reliably detonate it at the correct time. To do this it has a number of safety mechanisms which are successively withdrawn under the influence of the sequence of firing. Sometimes, one of these safety mechanisms is not disabled during the shell's flight, and the shell fails to detonate on impact. Such a shell is called a blind or unexploded ordnance (UXO). The older term, "dud", is discouraged because it implies that the shell cannot detonate. Blind shells often litter old battlefields (sometimes burrowed a short distance into the earth), and remain extremely hazardous. For example, antitank ammunition with a piezoelectric fuze can be detonated by a shadow passing across it on a hot day, and most types can potentially be detonated by even a small movement. The battlefields of the First World War still claim casualties today from leftover munitions. If a blind shell is discovered, it should be avoided, other people warned of its presence, and it should be reported to the local police or armed forces for safe destruction. Category:Artillery Category:Projectiles

External links

- [http://members.home.nl/ww2propaganda/spread5.htm WW2 propaganda leaflets]: A website about airdropped, shelled or rocket fired propaganda leaflets. Example artillery shells for spreading propaganda.

Antwerp

, in the old quarter of Antwerp is the largest cathedral in the Low Countries and home to a number of triptychs by Renaissance Belgian painter Rubens. It remains the tallest building in the city.]] Antwerp (Dutch name: Antwerpen; French name: Anvers) is a city and a municipality in Belgium, its chief centre of commerce and a strong fortified position; it is capital of Antwerp province, in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions. Antwerp's total population is ca. 457,749 (January 2005). Its total area is 204.51 km² with a population density of 2,238.23 inhabitants per km². The agglomeration has a population of ca. 800,000 (municipality: 457,749 (2005), metropolitan area: ca. 1,225,000 (2004)).

Overview

Antwerp is, historically, one of Belgium and the Low Countries' most important cities in terms of economy and culture. It is one of the three primary centers of the global diamond industry (along with New York City's "diamond district", and South Africa), traditionally controlled by the city's Hassidic Jewish population, the largest outside of New York. Antwerp is also well-known for its seaport with a high level of cargo shipping and oil refineries. Since the 1990s it has been recognised internationally as an important city for fashion design, as several graduates of the (Belgian) Royal Academy of Fine Arts have become internationally successful designers. Antwerp is situated on the right bank of the river Scheldt. It is one of the largest ports in the world (in Europe it is second only to the Dutch city of Rotterdam), linked to the North Sea by the Scheldt and the Westerschelde. Westerschelde] Antwerp is also notable for its zoo, one of the oldest and most famous in the world. The Antwerp Zoo is located in the middle of the city, near the railway station and is home to more than 4,000 animals. The Royal Society for Zoology focused on ensuring the welfare of numerous animals and helping to protect threatened species for more than 100 years. Next to the Antwerp Zoo is the Centraal Station, the city's main railway station. Designed by architect Louis Delacenserie (1838-1909) and completed in 1905, the station's architecture features two monumental neo-baroque facades, topped by a large metal and glass dome (60m/197ft). The dome covers the train platforms which is typical for turn-of-the-century railway stations in Europe. Antwerp is the end of the oldest railway line in continental Europe (between Brussels and Antwerp through the city of Mechelen). Designed with all glit and marble, the interior has been called a Renaissance painters fantasy of what classical design should be. A few years ago, the Centraal Station was used in the British television series 'Hercule Poirot.' In the series, the famous 'Belgian' detective visited Brussels and many Belgians were surprised to see that, during the filming, the Antwerp station had changed its name to 'Gare de Bruxelles' (Brussels Station). Modern Antwerp is a finely laid out city with a succession of broad avenues which mark the position of the first enceinte. There are long streets and terraces of fine houses belonging to the merchants and manufacturers of the city which amply testify to its prosperity, and recall the 16th century distich that Antwerp was noted for its moneyed men ("Antwerpia nummis"). Despite the ravages of war and internal disturbances it still preserves some memorials of its early grandeur, notably its fine cathedral. This church was begun in the 14th century, but not finished till 1518. Its tower of over 400 feet is a conspicuous object to be seen from afar over the surrounding flat country. A second tower which formed part of the original plan has never been erected. 1518 The proportions of the interior are noble, and in the church are hung three of the masterpieces of Rubens, viz. "The Descent from the Cross," "The Elevation of the Cross," and "The Assumption." Another fine church in Antwerp is that of St James, far more ornate than the cathedral, and containing the tomb of Rubens, who devoted himself to its embellishment. The Bourse or exchange, which claims to be the first distinguished by the former name in Europe, is a fine new building finished in 1872, on the site of the old Bourse erected in 1531 and destroyed by fire in 1858. Fire has destroyed several other old buildings in the city, notably in 1891 the house of the Hansa League on the northern quays. A curious museum is the Maison Plantin, the house of the great printer C. Plantin and his successor Moretus, which stands exactly as it did in the time of the latter. The new picture gallery close to the southern quays is a fine building divided into ancient and modern sections. The collection of old masters is very fine, containing many splendid examples of Rubens, Van Dyck, Titian and the chief Dutch masters. Antwerp, famous in the middle ages and at the present time for its commercial enterprise, enjoyed in the 17th century a celebrity not less distinct or glorious in art for its school of painting, which included Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens, the two Teniers and many others. "Antwerpenaren", or people of Antwerp tend to be very proud of their city. Their dialect is recognised by Dutch-speaking people because of its A-sound, wich sounds more like oa (as in boar). Because of this and their habit of being assertive, they have earned the reputation of "having a big mouth".

Commerce

C. Plantin Since 1863, when Antwerp was opened to the trade of the outer world by the purchase of the Dutch right to levy toll, its position has completely changed, and no place in Europe made greater progress in that period than the ancient city on the Scheldt. The eight principal basins or docks already existing in 1908 were # the Little or Bonaparte dock; # the Great dock, also constructed in Napoleon's time; # the Kattendijk, built in 1860 and enlarged in 1881; # the Wood dock; # the Campine dock, used especially for minerals; # the Asia dock, which is in direct communication with the Meuse by a canal as well as with the Scheldt; # the Lefebvre dock; and # the America dock, which was only opened in 1905. Two new docks, called "intercalary" because they would fit into whatever scheme might be adopted for the rectification of the course of the Scheldt, were still to be constructed, leading out of the Lefebvre dock and covering 70 acres. With the completion of the new maritime lock, ships drawing 30 feet of water would be able to enter these new docks and also the Lefebvre and America docks. In connexion with the projected grande coupure (that is, a cutting through the neck of the loop in the river Scheldt immediately below Antwerp), the importance of these four docks would be greatly increased because they would then flank the new main channel of the river. When the Belgian Chambers voted in February 1906 the sums necessary for the improvement of the harbour of Antwerp no definite scheme was sanctioned, the question being referred to a special mixed commission. The improvements at Antwerp were not confined to the construction of new docks. The quays flanking the Scheldt are 3-½ miles in length. They are constructed of granite, and no expense has been spared in equipping them with hydraulic cranes, warehouses, &c.

Fortifications

Besides being the chief commercial port of Belgium, Antwerp is the greatest fortress of that country. Nothing, however, remains of the former enceinte or even of the famous old citadel defended by General Chassé in 1832, except the Steen, which has been restored and contains a museum of arms and antiquities. After the establishment of Belgian independence Antwerp was defended only by the citadel and an enceinte of about 2-½ miles round the city. No change occurred till 1859, when the system of Belgian defence was radically altered by the dismantlement of seventeen of the twenty-two fortresses constructed under Wellington's supervision in 1815-1818. At Antwerp the old citadel and enceinte were removed. A new enceinte 8 miles in length was constructed, and the villages of Berchem and Borgerhout, now parishes of Antwerp, were absorbed within the city. This enceinte still exists, and is a fine work of art. It is protected by a broad wet ditch, and in the caponiers are the magazines and store chambers of the fortress. The enceinte is pierced by nineteen openings or gateways, but of these seven are not used by the public. As soon as the enceinte was finished eight detached forts from 2 to 2-½ miles distant from the enceinte were constructed. They begin on the north near Wyneghem and the zone of inundation, and terminate on the south at Hoboken. In 1870 Fort Merxem and the redoubts of Berendrecht and Oorderen were built for the defence of the area to be inundated north of Antwerp. In 1878, in consequence of the increased range of artillery and the more destructive power of explosives, it was recognized that the fortifications of Antwerp were becoming useless and out of date. It was therefore decided to change it from a fortress to a fortified position by constructing an outer line of forts and batteries at a distance varying from 6 to 9 miles from the enceinte. This second line was to consist of fifteen forts, large and small. Up to 1898 only five had been constructed, but in that and the two following years five more were finished, leaving another five to complete the line. A mixed commission selected the points at which they were to be placed. With the completion of this work, which in 1908 was being rapidly pushed on, Antwerp might be regarded as one of the best fortified positions in Europe, and so long as its communications by sea are preserved intact it will be practically impregnable. Two subsidiary or minor problems remained over. # The much-discussed removal of the existing enceinte in order to give Antwerp further growing space. If it were removed there arose the further question, should a new enceinte be made at the first line of outer forts, or should an enceinte be dispensed with? An enceinte following the line of those forts would be 30 miles in length. Then if the city grew up to this extended enceinte the outer forts would be too near. To screen the city from bombardment they would have to be carried 3 miles further out, and the whole Belgian army would scarcely furnish an adequate garrison for this extended position. A new enceinte, or more correctly a rampart of a less permanent character, connecting the eight forts of the inner line and extending from Wyneghem to a little south of Hoboken, was decided upon in 1908. # The second problem was the position on the left bank of the Scheldt. All the defences enumerated are on the right bank. On the left bank the two old forts Isabelle and Marie alone defend the Scheldt. It is assumed (probably rightly) that no enemy could get round to this side in sufficient strength to deliver any attack that the existing forts could not easily repel. The more interesting question connected with the left bank is whether it does not provide, as Napoleon thought, the most natural outlet for the expansion of Antwerp. Proposals to connect the two banks by a tunnel under the Scheldt have been made from time to time in a fitful manner, but nothing whatever had been done by 1908 to realize what appears to be a natural and easy project.

History

According to folklore, the city got its name from a legend involving a mythical giant called Antigoon that lived near the river Scheldt. This giant exacted a toll from passers-by who wished to navigate the river. On refusal, the giant often severed one of their hands and threw them into the Scheldt. Eventually, the giant was slain by a young hero named Brabo, who cut off the giant's hand and threw it into the river. Hence the name Antwerpen from Dutch Hand werpen (hand-throwing). There's a statue of Brabo and the slain Antigoon on the Grote Markt in front of the town hall as can be seen on the picture of the Antwerp Stadhuis above. In addition you are apt to come across sculptures of hands in various sizes and forms throughout the city, and hand-shaped cookies can be bought in any chocolate shop. Dutch This suggested origin of the name Antwerp appeared to Motley rather farfetched, but it is less reasonable to trace it, as he inclines to do, from an t werf (on the wharf), seeing that the form Andhunerbo existed in the 6th century on the separation of Austrasia and Neustria. Moreover, hand-cutting was not an uncommon practice in Europe. It was perpetuated from a savage past in the custom of cutting off the right hand of a man who died without heir, and sending it as proof of main-morte to the feudal lord. Moreover, the two hands and a castle, which form the arms of Antwerp, will not be dismissed as providing no proof by any one acquainted with the scrupulous care that heralds displayed in the golden age of chivalry before assigning or recognizing the armorial bearings of any claimant. In the 4th century Antwerp is mentioned as one of the places in the second Germany, and in the 11th century Godfrey of Bouillon was for some years best known as marquis of Antwerp. Antwerp was the headquarters of Edward III during his early negotiations with van Artevelde, and his son Lionel, earl of Cambridge, was born there in 1338. It was not, however, till after the closing of the Zwyn and the decay of Bruges that the Brabantine city of Antwerp became of importance. At the end of the 15th century the foreign trading gilds or houses were transferred from Bruges to Antwerp, and the building assigned to the English nation is specifically mentioned in 1510. Antwerp became, as Fernand Braudel pointed out "the center of the entire international economy—something Bruges had never been even at its height." (Braudel 1985 p. 143.) He dates the opening of the new order with the arrival of the first Portuguese ship laden with pepper and cinnamon in 1501. Antwerp's "Golden Age" is tightly linked to the "Age of Exploration". Over the first half of the 16th century Antwerp grew to become the second largest European city north of the Alps by 1560. In 1560, a year which marked the highest point of its prosperity, six nations, viz. the Spaniards, the Danes and the Hansa together, the Italians, the English, the Portuguese and the Germans, were named at Antwerp, and over 1000 foreign merchants were resident in the city. Guicciardini, the Venetian envoy, describes the activity of the port, into which 500 ships sometimes passed in a day, and as evidence of the extent of its land trade he mentioned that 2000 carts entered the city each week. Venice had fallen from its first place in European commerce, but still it was active and prosperous. Its envoy, in explaining the importance of Antwerp, states that there was as much business done there in a fortnight as in Venice throughout the year. During this period Antwerp clung to some disadvantages. Without a long-distance merchant fleet, and governed by an oligarchy of banker-aristocrats forbidden to engage in trade, the economy of Antwerp was in the hands of the foreigners who made the city very international. Ships from Venice, Ragusa, Catalonia or Portugal met in the port where Portuguese pepper and silks met German silver. Antwerp wisely embraced a policy of toleration: even today Antwerp is nicknamed "The Jerusalem of the West" because of its large orthodox Jewish (hasidic) community. Antwerp in its greatness was not even a "free" city; it had been reabsorbed into the duchy of Brabant in 1406 and was controlled from Brussels. Brussels Antwerp experienced three booms during its century, the first based on the pepper market, a second launched by American silver coming from Seville that came to an abrupt end with the bankruptcy of Spain in 1557. A third boom, after the stabilising Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis, in 1559, was based on industrial production of textiles. The boom-and-bust cycles and inflationary cost-of-living put a squeeze on Antwerp's less-skilled workers, and the profound religious revolution of the Reformation erupted in violent iconoclastic riots in August 1566, here as in every other part of the Netherlands. The conciliating presence of the regent Margaret, duchess of Parma was swept aside when Philip II sent the Duke of Alva to restore peace and orthodoxy at the head of an army the following summer. The Eighty Years' War broke out in earnest in 1572, and commercial communication between Antwerp and the Spanish port of Bilbao was essentially terminated. On November 4, 1576, the Spanish soldiery plundered the town during what was called the Spanish Fury, and 6000 citizens were massacred. Eight hundred houses were burnt down, and over two millions sterling of damage was wrought in the town on that occasion. Antwerp became the capital of the Dutch revolt. In 1585 a severe blow was struck at the prosperity of the city when Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza captured it after a long siege and sent all its Protestant citizens into exile. Antwerp's banking was assumed for a generation by Genoa and its mercantile supremacy passed to Amsterdam. The recognition of the independence of the United Provinces by the treaty of Munster in 1648 carried with it the death-blow to Antwerp's prosperity as a place of trade, for one of its clauses stipulated that the Scheldt should be closed to navigation. This impediment remained in force until 1863, although the provisions were relaxed during French rule from 1795 to 1814, and also during the time Belgium formed part of the kingdom of the Netherlands (1815 to 1830). Antwerp had reached the lowest point of its fortunes in 1800, and its population had sunk under 40,000, when Napoleon, realizing its strategical importance, assigned two millions for the construction of two docks and a mole. One other incident in the chequered history of Antwerp deserves mention. In 1830 the city was captured by the Belgian insurgents, but the citadel continued to be held by a Dutch garrison under General Chasse. For a time this officer subjected the town to a periodical bombardment which inflicted much damage, and at the end of 1832 the citadel itself was besieged by a French army. During this attack the town was further injured. In December 1832, after a gallant defence, Chasse made an honourable surrender. During World War II the city was occupied by Germany and was liberated on September 4, 1944 when the British 11th Armored Division entered the city. After this, the Germans attempted to destroy the port of Antwerp, which was used by the Allies to bring new material ashore. The city was hit by more V-2 rockets than any other target during the entire war, but the attack did not succeed in destroying the port. However, the city itself was severely damaged. Antwerp also hosted the 1920 Summer Olympics and was the first city to host the World Gymnastics Championships, in 1903.

Historical population

1500: around 44/49,000 inhabitants (Braudel 1985)
1575: around 100,000 inhabitants
1590: fewer than 40,000 inhabitants
1800: 45,500 inhabitants
1830: 73,500
1856: 111,700
1880: 179,000
1900: 275,100
1925: 308,000

Municipality

The municipality comprises the city of Antwerp proper and several towns. So it can be divided into nine entities (districten in Dutch): right #Antwerp (town) #Berchem #Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo #Borgerhout #Deurne #Ekeren #Hoboken, Antwerp #Merksem #Wilrijk Wilrijk

Sports

The major football club are R. Antwerp F.C. and K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot.

Famous Antwerp people

- Peter Paul Rubens, painter

- Anthony Van Dyck, painter

- Jacob Jordaens, painter

- David Teniers the Younger, painter

- Abraham Ortelius, humanist and cartographer

- Christoffel Plantijn, humanist and book printer

- Hendrik Conscience, Flemish writer and author of the famous De leeuw van Vlaanderen ("The lion of Flanders")

- Paul Van Ostaijen, Flemish poet

- Willem Elsschot, Flemish novel writer

- Tom Barman, rock singer and film director

- The "Antwerp Six": Dries Van Noten, Dirk Bikkembergs, Dirk Van Saene, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck and Marina Yee (fashion designers)

References

- J. L. Motley's Rise of the Dutch Republic
- C. Scribanii, Origines Antwerpiensium
- Gens, Hist. de la ville d'Anvers
- Mertens and Torfs, Geschiedenis van Antwerp
- Genard, Anvers a travers les ages
- Annuaire_statisgue de la Belgigue.
-

External links

- [http://en.antwerpen.be Official website]
- [http://stadsplan.antwerpen.be/ Map]
- [http://www.zooantwerpen.be/ Antwerp Zoo's official web site], only available in Dutch and French
- [http://www.visitantwerpen.be/ Tourism Antwerp]
- [http://www.dekathedraal.be/en/ Antwerp Cathedral website]
- [http://www.use-it.be/antwerpen/eng/ Tourist Office for Young People]
- [http://sg.travel.yahoo.com/guide/europe/belgium/antwerp/ Yahoo Travel]
- [http://www.modenatie.be/ Flanders Fashion Institute]
- [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.246758,4.357452&spn=0.219177,0.310827&t=k&hl=en Google maps satellite view]
- Education Institutions
- [http://www.ais-antwerp.be Antwerp International School]
- [http://www.ua.ac.be Universiteit Antwerpen] – University of Antwerp (UA)
- [http://www.ha.be Hogeschool Antwerpen] – College of Antwerp (HA)

Reference

- Braudel, Fernand The Perspective of the World, 1985 Category:Antwerp Category:Host cities of the Summer Olympic Games Category:Municipalities of Antwerp Category:World Book Capital Category:Port cities Category:Orthodox Jewish communities ja:アントワープ

1832

1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar).

Events

- February 12 - Ecuador annexes the Galapagos Islands
- February 12 – serious cholera epidemic begins in London from the East London. It is declared officially over in early May but deaths continue. At least 3000 victims
- March 24 - In Hiram, Ohio a group of men beat, tarred and feathered Mormon leader Joseph Smith, Jr.
- April 6 - The Black Hawk War begins
- May 7 - The Treaty of London creates an independent Kingdom of Greece. Otto of Wittelsbach, Prince of Bavaria is chosen King.
- May 11 - Greece is recognized as a sovereign nation - Treaty of Constantinople ends the Greek War of Independence next July
- May 27 - War between the Ottoman Empire and Egypt. The Egyptians, aided by Maronites, seize Acre after a seven-month siege
- May 30 - In the German town of Hambach, a demonstration for civil liberties and against the sectionalism that has prevailed in Germany since the Thirty Years War ends with no result.
- June 4 - The Great Reform Bill becomes law in the U.K.
- June 5 - anti-monarchist riot briefly breaks out in Paris
- June 15 - Seizure of Damascus by Egyptian forces
- July 4 - University of Durham founded, the first in England since 1209.
- July 9 - Republic of Indian Stream comes into its brief existence (until 1835)
- July 10 - President Andrew Jackson vetoes a bill that would re-charter the Second Bank of the United States.
- July 24 - Benjamin Bonneville leads the first wagon train across the Rocky Mountains by using Wyoming's South Pass.
- October 8 - Washington Irving and Henry Leavitt Ellsworth arrive at Fort Gibson, I.T. in the late morning hours. They left the fort on October 10, with a small company of Rangers who escorted them to the camp of Captain Jesse Bean who was waiting for them near the Arkansas River. Thus began one of the first steps in the United States effort to remove the Indians from their homes on the east coast in what would become known as the "Trail of Tears" some six years later.
- November - Andrew Jackson defeats Henry Clay in the U.S. presidential election
- December - Skull and Bones secret society of Yale University established.
- December 21 - Battle of Konya. The Egyptians defeat the main Ottoman army in Central Anatolia.
- December 28 - John C. Calhoun becomes the first Vice President of the United States to resign.
- Cholera epidemic in France
- In July and August there is a cholera epidemic in New York City

Births

- January 6 - Gustave Doré, French painter and sculptor (d. 1883)
- January 13 - Horatio Alger, Jr., American Unitarian minister and author (d. 1899)
- January 23 - Edouard Manet, French painter (d. 1883)
- January 27 - Lewis Carroll, English author (d. 1898)
- April 19 - José Echegaray y Eizaguirre, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916)
- May 14 - Charles Peace, British criminal (d. 1879)
- May 28 - Tony Pastor, American vaudeville and theater impresario (d. 1908)
- June 17 - Sir William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (d. 1919)
- July 6 - Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico (d. 1867)
- October 2 - Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist (d. 1917)
- August 8 - King Georg I of Saxony (d. 1904)
- November 29 - Louisa May Alcott, American author (d. 1888)
- December 8 - Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1910)
- December 15 - Gustave Eiffel, French engineer (d. 1923)

Deaths

- March 4 - Jean-François Champollion, French Egyptologist (b. 1790)
- March 10 - Muzio Clementi, Italian composer (b. 1752)
- March 13 - Samuel Eells, Founder of Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity (b. 1810)
- March 22 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer (b. 1749)
- May 13 - Georges Cuvier, French zoologist (b. 1769)
- June 6 - Jeremy Bentham, English philosopher (b. 1748)
- June 23 - James Hall, Scottish geologist (b. 1761)
- September 2 - Franz Xaver, Baron von Zach, Austrian scientific editor and astronomer (b. 1754)
- September 21 - Sir Walter Scott, Scottish writer (b. 1771)
- November 14 - Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Declaration of Independence signer and U.S. Senator (b. 1737) Category:1832 ko:1832년 ms:1832 simple:1832

Victor Hugo

Novelist, poet, playwright, dramatist, essayist and statesman, Victor-Marie Hugo (February 26, 1802–May 22, 1885) is recognized as one of the most influential French Romantic writers of the 19th century. His most well-known works are the novels Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame). Though conservative in his youth, he later became a passionate supporter of republicanism, and his work touches upon many of the major political and social issues and artistic trends of his time.

Early life and influences

republicanism Victor Hugo was the youngest son of [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_L%C3%A9opold_Sigisbert_Hugo Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hugo] (1773–1828) and [http://www.v1.paris.fr/musees/maison_de_victor_hugo/COLLECTIONS/COLLECTIONS_DES_MVH/Dessins/MVH_Anonyme_SophieTrebuchetMeredeVH.htm Sophie Trébuchet] (1772-1821). He was born in 1802 in Besançon (in the region of Franche-Comté) and lived in France for the majority of his life. However, he was forced to go into exile during the reign of Napoleon III — he lived briefly in Brussels during 1851; in Jersey from 1852 to 1855; and in Guernsey from 1855 until his return to France in 1870. Hugo's early childhood was turbulent. The century prior to his birth saw the overthrow of the Bourbon Dynasty in the French Revolution, the rise and fall of the First Republic, and the rise of the First French Empire and dictatorship under Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor two years after Hugo's birth, and the Bourbon Monarchy was restored before his eighteenth birthday. The opposing political and religious views of Hugo's parents reflected the forces that would battle for supremacy in France throughout his life: Hugo's father was a high-ranking officer in Napoleon's army, an atheist republican who considered Napoleon a hero; his mother was a staunch Catholic Royalist who is believed to have taken as her lover General Victor Lahorie, who was executed in 1812 for plotting against Napoleon. Sophie followed her husband to posts in Italy (where Léopold served as a governor of a province near Naples) and Spain (where he took charge of three Spanish provinces). Weary of the constant moving required by military life, and at odds with her unfaithful husband, Sophie separated permanently from Léopold in 1803 and settled in Paris. Thereafter she dominated Hugo's education and upbringing. As a result, Hugo's early work in poetry and fiction reflect a passionate devotion to both King and Faith. It was only later, during the events leading up to France's 1848 Revolution, that he would begin to rebel against his Catholic Royalist education and instead champion Republicanism and Freethought.

Early poetry and fiction

Like many young writers of his generation, Hugo was profoundly influenced by François-René de Chateaubriand, the founder of Romanticism and France’s preeminent literary figure duing the early 1800s. In his youth, Hugo resolved to be “Chateaubriand or nothing,” and his life would come to parallel that of his predecessor’s in many ways. Like Chateaubriand, Hugo would further the cause of Romanticism, become involved in politics as a champion of Republicanism, and be forced into exile due to his political stances. The precocious passion and eloquence of Hugo's early work brought success and fame at an early age. His first collection of poetry (Nouvelles Odes et Poésies Diverses) was published in 1824, when Hugo was only twenty two years old, and earned him a royal pension from Louis XVIII. Though the poems were admired for their spontaneous fervor and fluency, it was the collection that followed two years later in 1826 (Odes et Ballades) that revealed Hugo to be a great poet, a natural master of lyric and creative song. Against his mother's wishes, young Victor fell in love and became secretly engaged to his childhood sweetheart, [http://www.v1.paris.fr/musees/maison_de_victor_hugo/COLLECTIONS/COLLECTIONS_DES_MVH/Peintures/MVH_Duvidal_AdeleFoucherPortrait.htm Adèle Foucher] (1803-1868). Unusually close to his mother, it was only after her death in 1821 that he felt free to marry Adèle (in 1822). He published his first novel the following year (Han d'Islande, 1823), and his second three years later (Bug-Jargal, 1826). Between 1829 and 1840 he would publish five more volumes of poetry (Les Orientales, 1829; Les Feuilles d'automne, 1831; Les Chants du crépuscule, 1835; Les Voix intérieures, 1837; and Les Rayons et les ombres, 1840), cementing his reputation as one of the greatest eligiac and lyric poets of his time.

Theatrical work

Les Rayons et les ombres Hugo did not achieve such quick success with his works for the stage. In 1827, he published the never-staged verse drama [http://www.hugo-online.org/050100.htm Cromwell], which became more famous for the author's preface than its own worth (the play's unweildy length was considered "unfit for acting"). In his introduction to the work, Hugo urged his fellow artists to free themselves from the restrictions imposed by the French classical style of theatre, and thus sparked a fierce debate between French Classicism and Romanticism that would rage for many years. [http://www.hugo-online.org/050100.htm Cromwell] was followed in 1828 by the disastrous [http://www.theatrehistory.com/french/hugo008.html Amy Robsart], an experimental play from his youth based on the Walter Scott novel Kenilworth, which was produced under the name of his brother-in-law Paul Foucher and managed to survive only one performance before a less-than-appreciative audience. The first play of Hugo's to be accepted for production under his own name was [http://www.hugo-online.org/050200.htm Marion de Lorme]. Though initially banned by the censors for its unflattering portrayal of the French monarchy, it was eventually allowed to premiere uncensored in 1829, but without success. However, the play that Hugo produced the following year -- [http://www.hugo-online.org/050300.htm Hernani] -- would prove to be one of the most successful and groundbreaking events of 19th century French theatre, the opening night of which became known as the "The Battle of Hernani". Today the work is largely forgotten, except as the basis for the Verdi opera of the same name. However, at the time, performances of the work sparked near-riots between opposing camps of French letters and society: Classicists vs Romantics, Liberals vs Conformists, and Republicans vs Royalists. The play was largely condemned by the press, but played to full houses night after night, and all but crowned Hugo as the preeminent leader of French Romanticism. It also signalled that Hugo's concept of Romanticism was growing increasingly politicized: Hugo believed that just as Liberalism in politics would free the country from the tyranny of monarchy and dictatorship, Romanticism would liberate the arts from the constraints of Classicism. Classicism In 1832 Hugo followed the success of [http://www.hugo-online.org/050300.htm Hernani] with [http://www.hugo-online.org/050400.htm Le roi s'amuse] ([http://www.hugo-online.org/050400.htm The King Takes His Amusement]). The play was promptly banned by the censors after only one performance, due to its overt mockery of the French nobility, but then went on to be very popular in printed form. Incensed by the ban, Hugo wrote his next play, [http://www.hugo-online.org/050500.htm Lucréce Borgia] (see: Lucrezia Borgia), in only fourteen days. It subsequently appeared on the stage in 1833, to great success. [http://www.napoleonguide.com/georges.htm Mademoiselle George] (former mistress of Napoleon) was cast in the main role, and an actress named [http://www.hugo-online.org/020606.htm Juliette Drouet] played a subordinate part. However, Drouet would go on to play a major role in Hugo’s personal life, becoming his life-long mistress and muse. While Hugo had many romantic escapades throughout his life, Drouet was recognized even by his wife to have a unique relationship with the writer, and was treated almost as family. In Hugo’s next play ([http://www.hugo-online.org/050600.htm Marie Tudor], 1833), Drouet played Lady Jane Grey to George’s Queen Mary. However, she was not considered adequate to the role, and was replaced by another actress after opening night. It would be her last role on the French stage; thereafter she devoted her life to Hugo. Supported by a small pension, she became his unpaid secretary and travelling companion for the next fifty years. Hugo’s [http://www.hugo-online.org/050700.htm Angelo] premiered in 1835, to great success. Soon after, the Duke of New Orleans (brother of King Louis-Philippe, and an admirer of Hugo’s work) founded a new theatre to support new plays. Théâtre de la Renaissance opened in November 1838 with the premiere of [http://www.hugo-online.org/050800.htm Ruy Blas]. Though considered by many to be Hugo’s best drama, at the time it met with only average success. Hugo did not produce another play until 1843. [http://www.hugo-online.org/050900.htm The Burgraves] played for only 33 nights, losing audiences to a competing drama, and it would be his last work written for the theatre. Though he would later write the short verse drama [http://www.hugo-online.org/051000.htm Torquemada] in 1869, it was not published until a few years before his death in 1882, and was never intended for the stage. However, Hugo's interest in the theatre continued, and in 1864 he published a well-received essay on William Shakespeare, whose style he tried to emulate in his own dramas.

Mature fiction

William Shakespeare (1831)]] Victor Hugo's first mature work of fiction appeared in 1829, and reflected the acute social conscience that would infuse his later work. Le Dernier jour d'un condamné (Last Days of a Condemned Man) would have a profound influence on later writers such as Albert Camus, Charles Dickens, and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Claude Gueux, a documentary short story about a real-life murderer who had been executed in France, appeared in 1834, and was later considered by Hugo himself to be a precursor to his great work on social injustice, Les Misérables. But Hugo’s first full-length novel would be the enormously successful Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), which was published in 1831 and quickly translated into other languages across Europe. One of the effects of the novel was to shame the City of Paris to undertake a restoration of the much-neglected Cathedral of Notre Dame, which was now attracting thousands of tourists who had read the popular novel. The book also inspired a renewed appreciation for pre-renaissance buildings, which thereafter began to be actively preserved. Cathedral of Notre Dame Hugo began planning a major novel about social misery and injustice as early as the 1830s, but it would take a full 17 years for his greatest work, Les Misérables, to be realized and finally published in 1862. The author was acutely aware of the quality of the novel and publication of the work went to the highest bidder. The Belgian publishing house Lacroix and Verboeckhoven undertook a marketing campaign unusual for the time, issuing press releases about the work a full six months before the launch. It also initially published only the first part of the novel (“Fantine”), which was launched simultaneously in major cities. Installments of the book sold out within hours, and had enormous impact on French society. Response ranged from wild enthusiasm to intense condemnation, but the issues highlighted in Les Misérables were soon on the agenda of the French National Assembly. Today the novel is considered a literary masterpiece, adapted for cinema, television and musical stage to an extent equaled by few other works of literature. Hugo turned away from social/political issues in his next novel, Les Travailleurs de la Mer (Toilers of the Sea), published in 1866. Nonetheless, the book was well received, perhaps due to the previous success of Les Misérables. Dedicated to the channel island of Guernsey where he spent 15 years of exile, Hugo’s depiction of Man’s battle with the sea and the horrible creatures lurking beneath its depths spawned an unusual fad in Paris: Squids. From squid dishes and exhibitions, to squid hats and parties, Parisiennes became fascinated by these unusual sea creatures, which at the time were still considered by many to be mythical. Hugo returned to political and social issues in his next novel, L'Homme Qui Rit (The Man Who Laughs), which was published in 1869 and painted a critical picture of the aristocracy. However, the novel was not as successful as his previous efforts, and Hugo himself began to comment on the growing distance between himself and literary contemporaries such as Flaubert and Zola, whose naturalist novels were now exceeding the popularity of his own work. His last novel, Quatrevingt-treize (Ninety-Three), published in 1874, dealt with a subject that Hugo had previously avoided: the Reign of Terror that followed the French Revolution. Though Hugo’s popularity was on the decline at the time of its publication, many now consider Ninety-Three to be a powerful work on par with Hugo’s more well known novels.

Political life and exile

Ninety-Three After three unsuccessful attempts, Hugo was finally elected to the Académie Francaise in 1841, solidifying his position in the world of French arts and letters. Thereafter he became increasingly involved in French politics as a supporter of the Republican form of government. He was elevated to the peerage by King Louis-Philippe in 1841 and entered the Higher Chamber as a Pair de France, where he spoke against the death penalty and social injustice, and in favour of freedom of the press and self-government for Poland. He was later elected to the Legislative Assembly and the Constitutional Assembly, following the 1848 Revolution and the formation of the Second Republic. Second Republic When Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) seized complete power in 1851, establishing an anti-parliamentary constitution, Hugo openly declared him a traitor of France. Fearing for his life, he fled to Brussels, then Jersey, and finally settled with his family on the channel island of Guernsey, where he would live in exile until 1870. While in exile, Hugo published his famous political pamphlets against Napoleon III, Napoléon le Petit and Histoire d'un crime. The pamphlets were banned in France, but nonetheless had a strong impact there. He also composed some of his best work during his period in Guernsey, including Les Misérables, and three widely praised collections of poetry (Les Châtiments, 1853; Les Contemplations, 1856; and La Légende des siècles, 1859). Although Napoleon III granted an amnesty to all political exiles in 1859, Hugo declined, as it meant he would have to curtail his criticisms of the government. It was only after the unpopular Napoleon III fell from power and the Third Republic was proclaimed that Hugo finally returned to his homeland in 1870, where he was promptly elected to the National Assembly and the Senate.

Religious views

Hugo's religious views changed radically over the course of his life. In his youth, he identified as a Catholic and professed respect for Church hierarchy and authority. From there he evolved into a non-practicing Catholic, and expressed increasingly violent anti-pope and anti-clerical views. He dabbled in Spiritualism during his exile, and in later years settled into a Rationalist Deism similar to that espoused by Voltaire. When a census-taker asked Hugo in 1872 if he was a Catholic, he replied, "No. A Freethinker." Freethinker Hugo never lost his antipathy towards the Catholic Church, due largely to the Church's indifference to the plight of the working class under the oppresion of the monarchy; and perhaps also due to the frequency with which Hugo's work appeared on the Pope's list of "proscribed books" (Hugo counted 740 attacks on the Les Misérables in the Catholic press). On the deaths of his sons Charles and François-Victor, he insisted that they buried without crucifix or priest, and in his will made the same stipulation about his own death and funeral. However, although Hugo believed Catholic dogma to be outdated and dying, he never directly attacked the institution itself. He also remained a deeply religious man who strongly believed in the power and necessity of prayer. Hugo's Rationalism can be found in poems such as Torquemada (1869, about religious fanaticism), The Pope (1878, violently anti-clerical), Religions and Religion (1880, denying the usefulness of churches) and, published posthumously, The End of Satan and God (1886 and 1891 respectively, in which he represents Christianity as a griffin and Rationalism as an angel). "Religions pass away, but God remains", Hugo declared. Christianity would eventually disappear, he predicted, but people would still believe in "God, Soul, and Responsibility."

Declining years and death

When Hugo returned to Paris in 1870, the country hailed him as a national hero. He went on to weather, within a brief period, the Siege of Paris, a mild stroke, his daughter Adèle’s commitment to an insane asylum, and the death of his two sons. (His other daughter, Léopoldine, had drowned in a boating accident in 1833; his wife Adele passed away in 1868; and his faithful mistress, Juliette Drouet, died in 1883, only two years before his own death.) Despite his personal loss, Hugo remained committed to political change. Victor Hugo's death on May 22, 1885, at the age of 83, generated intense national mourning. He was not only revered as a towering figure in French literature, but also internationally acknowledged as a statesman who helped to preserve and shape the Third Republic and democracy in France. More than two million people joined his funeral procession in Paris from the Arc de Triomphe to the Panthéon, where he was buried.

Drawings

Panthéon Many are not aware that Hugo was almost as prolific an artist as he was a writer, producing more than 4,000 drawings in his lifetime. (Some reproductions can be viewed on the internet at [http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/features/karlins/karlins5-5-98.asp ArtNet] and on the [http://www.mishabittleston.com/artists/victor_hugo website of artist Misha Bittleston]). Originally pursued as a casual hobby, drawing became more important to Hugo shortly before his exile, when he made the decision to stop writing in order to devote himself to politics. Drawing became his exclusive creative outlet during the period 1848-1851. Panthéon Hugo worked only on paper, and on a small scale; usually in dark brown or black pen-and-ink wash, sometimes with touches of white, and rarely with color. The surviving drawings are surprisingly accomplished and “modern” in their style and execution, foreshadowing the experimental techniques of Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. He would not hesitate to use his children's stencils, ink blots, puddles and stains, lace impressions, "pliage" or folding (i.e. Rorschach blots), "grattage" or rubbing, often using the charcoal from match sticks or his fingers instead of pen or brush. Sometimes he would even toss in coffee or soot to get the effects he wanted. It is reported that Hugo often drew with his left hand or without looking at the page, or during Spiritualist seances, in order to access his unconscious mind, a concept only later popularized by Sigmund Freud. Hugo kept his artwork out of the public eye, fearing it would overshadow his literary work. However, he enjoyed sharing his drawings with his family and friends, often in the form of ornately handmade calling cards, many of which were given as gifts to visitors when he was in political exile. Some of his work was shown to, and appreciated by, contemporary artists such as van Gogh and Delacroix; the latter expressed the opinion that if Hugo had decided to become a painter instead of a writer, he would have outshone the artists of their century.

Works

Published during Hugo's lifetime

- Nouvelles Odes (1824)
- Bug-Jargal (1826)
- Odes et Ballades (1826)
- Cromwell (1827)
- Les Orientales (1829)
- Le Dernier jour d'un condamné (1829)
- Hernani (1830)
- Notre-Dame de Paris (1831), (translated into English as The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
- Marion Delorme (1831)
- Les Feuilles d'automne (Autumn Leaves) (1831)
- Le roi s'amuse (1832)
- Lucrèce Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (1833)
- Marie Tudor (1833)
- Étude sur Mirabeau (1834)
- Littérature et philosophie mêlées (1834)
- Claude Gueux (1834)
- Angelo (1835)
- Les Chants du crépuscule (1835)
- Les Voix intérieures (1837)
- Ruy Blas (1838)
- Les Rayons et les ombres (1840)
- Le Rhin (1842)
- Les Burgraves (1843)
- Napoléon le Petit (1852)
- Les Châtiments (1853)
- Lettres à Louis Bonaparte (1855)
- Les Contemplations (1856)
- La Légende des siècles (1859)
- Les Misérables (1862), (on which the very successful musical of the same name is based)
- William Shakespeare (essay) (1864)
- Les Chansons des rues et des bois (1865)
- Les Travailleurs de la Mer (1866), (Toilers of the Sea)
- Paris-Guide (1867)
- L'Homme qui rit (1869), (The Man Who Laughs)
- L'Année terrible (1872)
- Quatre-vingt-treize Ninety-Three (1874)
- Mes Fils (1874)
- Actes et paroles — Avant l'exil (1875)
- Actes et paroles - Pendant l'exil (1875)
- Actes et paroles - Depuis l'exil (1876)
- La Légende des Siècles 2e série (1877)
- L'Art d'être grand-père (1877)
- Histoire d'un crime 1re partie (1877)
- Histoire d'un crime 2e partie (1878)
- Le Pape (1878)
- Religions et religion (1880)
- L'Âne (1880)
- Les Quatres vents de l'esprit (1881)
- Torquemada (1882)
- La Légende des siècles Tome III (1883)
- L'Archipel de la Manche (1883)

Published posthumously

- Théâtre en liberté (1886)
- La fin de Satan (1886)
- Choses vues - 1re série (1887)
- Toute la lyre (1888)
- Alpes et Pyrénées (1890)
- Dieu (1891)
- France et Belgique (1892)
- Toute la lyre - nouvelle série (1893)
- Correspondances - Tome I (1896)
- Correspondances - Tome II (1898)
- Les années funestes (1898)
- Choses vues - 2e série (1900)
- Post-scriptum de ma vie (1901)
- Dernière Gerbe (1902)
- Mille francs de récompense (1934)
- Océan. Tas de pierres (1942)
- Pierres (1951)

Online texts

- [http://www.online-literature.com/victor_hugo/les_miserables/ Les Misérables online]
- [http://www.online-literature.com/victor_hugo/hunchback_notre_dame/ The Hunchback of Notre Dame online]
- [http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/search?amode=start&author=Hugo%2c%20Victor E-texts of some of Hugo's works from various sources]
- [http://www.gavroche.org/vhugo/ E-texts of Hugo's work, contemporary and modern reviews, and biographical material]
- [http://www.ellopos.net/politics/eu_hugo.html Political speeches by Victor Hugo: Victor Hugo, My Revenge is Fraternity!]
- [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/EUhugo.htm Biography and speech from 1851]
- [http://www.gavroche.org/vhugo/sitemap.shtml Victor Hugo Central]
- [http://www.geocities.com/Paris/LeftBank/9640/works.html A list of works by Victor Hugo]
- [http://www.french-literature-online.com/victor-hugo/ Victor Hugo ebooks] Read Victor Hugo's works online in an easy to read HTML format

References

Online references

- Afran, Charles (1997). [http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Theatre/Hugo/hugo.shtml “Victor Hugo: French Dramatist”]. Website: Discover France. (Originally published in Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, 1997, v.9.0.1.) Retrieved November 2005.
- Bates, Alan (1906). [http://www.theatrehistory.com/french/hugo001.html “Victor Hugo”]. Website: Theatre History. (Originally published in The Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on Civilization, vol. 9. ed. Alfred Bates. London: Historical Publishing Company, 1906. pp. 11-13.) Retrieved November 2005.
- Bates, Alfred (1906). [http://www.theatrehistory.com/french/hugo006.html “Hernani”]. Website: Threatre History. (Originally published in The Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on Civilization, vol. 9. ed. Alfred Bates. London: Historical Publishing Company, 1906. pp. 20-23.) Retrieved November 2005.
- Bates, Alfred (1906). [http://www.theatrehistory.com/french/hugo005.html “Hugo’s Cromwell”]. Website: Theatre History. (Originally published in The Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on Civilization, vol. 9. ed. Alfred Bates. London: Historical Publishing Company, 1906. pp. 18-19.) Retrieved November 2005.
- Bittleston, Misha (uncited date). [http://www.mishabittleston.com/artists/victor_hugo/ "Drawings of Victor Hugo"]. Website: Misha Bittleston. Retrieved November 2005.
- Burnham, I.G. (1896). [http://www.theatrehistory.com/french/hugo008.html “Amy Robsart”]. Website: Theatre History. (Originally published in Victor Hugo: Dramas. Philadelphia: The Rittenhouse Press, 1896. pp. 203-6, 401-2.) Retrieved November 2005.
- Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (2001-05). [http://aol.bartleby.com/65/hu/Hugo-Vic.html “Hugo, Victor Marie, Vicomte”]. Website: Bartleby, Great Books Online. Retrieved November 2005. Retrieved November 2005.
- Fram-Cohen, Michelle (2002). [http://www.objectivistcenter.org/navigator/articles/nav+mframcohen_romanticism-dead-long-live-romanticism.asp “Romanticism is Dead! Long Live Romanticism!”]. The New Individualist, An Objectivist Review of Politics and Culture. Website: The Objectivist Center. Retrieved November 2005.
- Haine, W. Scott (1997). [http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/~Chastain/dh/hugo.htm “Victor Hugo”]. Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions. Website: Ohio University. Retrieved November 2005.
- Illi, Peter (2001-2004). [http://www.hugo-online.org/050000.htm “Victor Hugo: Plays”]. Website: The Victor Hugo Website. Retrieved November 2005.
- Karlins, N.F. (1998). [http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/features/karlins/karlins5-5-98.asp "Octopus With the Initials V.H."] Website: ArtNet. Retrieved November 2005.
- Liukkonen, Petri (2000). [http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/vhugo.htm “Victor Hugo (1802-1885)”]. Books and Writers. Website: Pegasos: A Literature Related Resource Site. Retrieved November 2005.
- Meyer, Ronald Bruce (date not cited). [http://www.ronaldbrucemeyer.com/rants/0226almanac.htm “Victor Hugo”]. Website: Ronald Bruce Meyer. Retrieved November 2005.
- Robb, Graham (1997). [http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/r/robb-hugo.html “A Sabre in the Night”]. Website: New York Times (Books). (Exerpt from Graham, Robb (1997). Victor Hugo: A Biography. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.) Retrieved November 2005.
- Roche, Isabel (2005). [http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/writerdetails.asp?cid=30497 “Victor Hugo: Biography”]. Meet the Writers. Website: Barnes & Noble. (From the Barnes & Noble Classics edition of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 2005.) Retrieved November 2005.
- Uncited Author. [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/EUhugo.htm “Victor Hugo”]. Website: Spartacus Educational. Retrieved November 2005.
- Uncited Author. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/guernsey/content/articles/2004/09/20/victor_hugo_timeline_feature.shtml “Timeline of Victor Hugo”]. Website: BBC. Retrieved November 2005.
- Uncited Author. (2000-2005). [http://www.online-literature.com/victor_hugo/ “Victor Hugo”]. Website: The Literature Network. Retrieved November 2005.
- Uncited Author. [http://www.victorhugo.education.fr/ressources/caricature.htm "Hugo Caricature"]. Website: Présence de la Littérature a l’école. Retrieved November 2005.

External links

-
- [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255 France of Victor Hugo]
- [http://www.victorhugo.gg Guernsey’s Official Victor Hugo Website]
- [http://gavroche.org/vhugo Victor Hugo Central]
- [http://www.hugo-online.org Victor Hugo Website] Hugo, Victor Hugo, Victor Hugo, Victor Hugo, Victor Hugo, Victor Hugo, Victor Hugo, Victor Hugo, Victor ko:빅토르 위고 ja:ヴィクトル・ユーゴー simple:Victor Hugo

Mortar

Mortar has several meanings:
- Mortar (weapon) fires shells at a much lower velocity and higher ballistic arc than other ordnance
- Mortar (masonry), material used in masonry to fill the gaps between bricks and bind them together
- Mortar and pestle, a vessel and implement used to crush or grind materials
- Mortar board, a flattened type of headwear

1824

1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar).

Events

- January 22 - Ashanti crush British forces in the Gold Coast (See also Wars between Britain and Ashanti in Ghana and Ashanti Confederacy).
- March 17 signing of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824.
- March 11 - The United States War Department creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Ely S. Parker of the Seneca tribe becomes its first director.
- September 13 With his crew and 29 convicts aboard the Amity, John Oxley arrives at and founds the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement at what is now Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia, after leaving Sydney.
- September 16 Charles X succeeds Louis XVIII as King of France.
- October 10 - Edinburgh Town Council makes a decision to found the Edinburgh Municipal Fire Brigade, the first fire brigade in Britain.
- November 15-16 - Huge fire breaks out on Old Assembly Close in Edinburgh. It destroys two tenements and Tron Kirk church. 11 residents and 2 firemen die, 400 homeless.
- November 5- first technological university in the English-speaking world founded: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
- December 1 - U.S. presidential election, 1824: Since no candidate received a majority of the total electoral college votes in the election, the United States House of Representatives is given the task of deciding the winner (as stipulated by the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution).
- December 9 - At the Battle of Ayacucho, Peruvian forces defeat Spanish.
- Simón Bolívar proclaimed Emperor of Peru.
- The British take Rangoon.
- Frontier treaty between United States and Russia is signed.
- Egyptians capture Crete.
- Turks seize island of Ipsara from Greeks but are defeated at Mytilene.
- Beethoven's 9th symphony debuts
- Cimetière du Montparnasse established
- The Dutch sign the Masang Agreement temporarily ending hostilities in the Padri War

Ongoing events

- First Burmese War (1823–1826)

Births

- January 8 - Wilkie Collins, British novelist (d. 1889)
- January 21 - Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, American Confederate general (d. 1863)
- February 7 - William Huggins, British astronomer (d. 1910)
- February 16 - Peter Kozler, Slovenian cartographer and geographer (d. 1879)
- March 2 - Bedrich Smetana, Czech composer (d. 1885)
- March 9 - Amasa Leland Stanford, Governor of California (d. 1893)
- March 12 - Gustav Kirchhoff, German physicist (d. 1887)
- March 19 - William Allingham, Irish author (d. 1889)
- May 6 - Tokugawa Iesada, Japanese shogun (d. 1858)
- May 16 - Levi P. Morton, 22nd Vice President of the United States (d. 1920)
- May 23 - Ambrose Burnside, American Civil War general (d. 1881)
- June 26 - William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, Irish-born physicist and engineer (d. 1907)
- June 28 - Paul Pierre Broca, French anthropologist (d. 1880)
- July 12 - Eugène Boudin, French painter (d.

Henri-Joseph Paixhans

Paixhans naval guns

Adoption

France

United States

Russia

Legacy

Ironclad warships

Further developments

Shell (projectile)

History

Calibre

Old-style British classification by weight

Types

High explosive (HE)

Armour-piercing (AP)

Armour-piercing, discarding sabot (APDS)

Armour-Piercing, Composite Rigid (APCR, APCRBC)

High explosive, anti-tank (HEAT)

High explosive, squash head (HESH) or high explosive, plastic (HEP)

Cluster shells

Chemical

Non-lethal shells

Smoke

Illumination

Carrier

Fireworks

Unexploded shells

External links

Antwerp

Overview

Commerce

Fortifications

History

Historical population

Municipality

Sports

Famous Antwerp people

See also

References

External links

Reference

1832

Events

Births

Deaths

Victor Hugo

Early life and influences

Early poetry and fiction

Theatrical work

Mature fiction

Political life and exile

Religious views

Declining years and death

Drawings

Works

Published during Hugo's lifetime

Published posthumously

Online texts

References

Online references

Further reading

External links

Mortar

1824

See also

Events

Ongoing events

Births