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John Marshall (British Captain)

John Marshall (British captain)

John Marshall was born in Ramsgate, Kent, England on February 15, 1748. Having been bound apprentice at the age of six, he spent his life at sea. In 1788 he captained the "Scarborough", a ship of the First Fleet taking convicts from England to Botany Bay. He then sailed from Australia to China, charting previously unknown islands, as well as a new trade route to Canton (now Guangzhou). The islands which he had originally called "Lord Mulgrove's range" were later named Marshall Islands. John Marshall also captained the Scarborough on her second voyage transporting convicts to Australia, but the convicts coming aboard were in poor health and many did not survive the voyage; this, combined with an attempted seizure of the ship by the convicts, deterred him from any further voyages of transportation. He saw action during the American war of Independence, and also the Napoleonic Wars, being severely wounded when on board the ship "Diana". He died in 1819 at the age of 71. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Reference:"A Journal of the different voyages of Mr John Marshall written by himself" Marshall, John Marshall, John Marshall, John Marshall, John Marshall, John

Ramsgate

Ramsgate is an English seaside town on the Isle of Thanet in East Kent. It was one of the great English seaside towns in the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque ports. Population: 1989 estimate 38,200. Ramsgate as a name has its earliest reference as Hraefn's ate, or cliff gap, later to be rendered 'Ramisgate' or 'Remmesgate' around 1225 and 'Ramesgate' from 1357. Ramsgate's main industries are tourism and fishing, and there is some light industry. The town caters extensively for students of EFL, (English as a foreign language) at its colleges. The town has two notable churches. The first building used for worship in the Thanet parish of 'St Lawrence' dedicated to St Lawrence was at St Lawrence-in-Thanet and built in the 12th century to be again rebuilt in the 13th. The most august and distince surviving St Augustine's was designed by Augustus Pugin in 1847 in the neo-Gothic style. Its dedication commemorates Augustine, the first archbishop of Canterbury, who landed at Ramsgate in AD 596 and brought Christianity to Britain.

Ramsgate's Royal Harbour

Christianity The construction of Ramsgate Harbour was begun in 1749 but not finally completed until about 1850. The two most influential architects of the Ramsgate Harbour were John Shaw Senior and John Shaw Junior. They designed the clockhouse, the oblesix, the lighthouse and the Jacobs ladder steps; for more information please look at www.shaw-hardwick.co.uk. It has the unique distinction of being the only Royal Harbour in the United Kingdom, King George 4th having awarded the title following his successful visit with the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1821. The full benefits of its development were to become apparent, in particular with regard to the shelter it could offer from the effect of storms and its close proximity to the Goodwin Sands. The Harbour is now the site of one of the largest and most thriving marinas on the UK south coast with [http://www.transeuropaferries.com Trans Europa Ferries] passenger and freight ferries frequently sailing to Ostend in Belgium.

Ramsgate maritime

It is evident from many accounts of local sea rescues that the Ramsgate tugboats, whilst undertaking salvage work were also able to assist with the saving of lives. The Tugmen performed many a noteworthy task in this regard, either alone or by co-operation with the Lifeboats, which they would regularly tow to the scene of an imminent disaster to stand off whilst the smaller craft would attend. A Lifeboat station was established at Ramsgate as early as 1802, its first Lifeboat having been built for the Trustees of the Harbour by the lifeboat pioneer Henry Greathead. Half a century later however, during which time the station had been closed for 28 years, a new Ramsgate Lifeboat, the 'Northumberland' appeared there in 1851. The lifeboat was named in honour of the lifeboat sponsor, the Duke of Northumberland. The new and prized boat had been built in accordance with the plans of a model that had been the prize-winner in the 1851 national competition for the best design for such a craft. It was in the summer of 1824 that Captain K. Martin, then the Harbour Master at Ramsgate, instituted the proceedings of the first known cricket match on the Goodwin Sands, at low water. Such was the tenacity of local mariners, a tradition sprung up that survives to this day, whereby those so inclined make the journey to the Sands for a leisurely few hours in pursuit of this very English past-time. In 1859 Jerimiah Walker (having previously distinguished himself by his humane, zealous and successful efforts in rescuing the Master and the crew of the Northern Belle), as a seaman of the lugger "Petrel" assisted in the rescue of the crew of the Spanish vessel "Julia", which had become stranded off Ramsgate. For this assistance he was awarded a medal struck on the Authority of Queen Donna Isabella II of Spain, thus Walker is believed to be one of the few men to have received two separate medals issued by different Heads of State. On New Year's Day 1861 an event at sea of considerable loss of life occurred with the wreck of the "Guttenburg". Then, as now, without a doubt, by far the most hazardous area around the Kent coastline to any navigator was the most notorious Goodwin Sands.

Electric Tramways & Lighting Co. Ltd.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Isle of Thanet saw the introduction of about 11 miles of track, laid down for the use of the Electric Tramways & Lighting Co. Ltd, which began its service with electric trams on 4 April 1901, linking the towns of Ramsgate, Margate and Broadstairs. On 3 August 1905, an unseasonably wet summer's day, Car No. 41, during a routine descent of the precipitous, and adverse camber leading down Madeira Walk hill into Ramsgate harbour, suddenly careered out of control, jumping the tracks, causing it to crash straight through the railings, so that it then dropped over the 30-foot cliff edge adjacent. Providentially, only a few passengers were travelling on Car No. 41 that day, and they came out of the ordeal unscathed, but the driver, who was new to the job, sustained some injury. The Electric Tramways & Lighting Co. Ltd. continued to operate with no further significant incidents recorded until its services were replaced with the buses of the East Kent Road Car Co, which began on 27 March 1937.

Ramsgate at war

Because of its proximity to mainland Europe, Ramsgate was a chief embarkation point both for the Dunkirk evacuation and during the Napoleonic Wars. 4,200 ships left Ramsgate Harbour to rescue men from the Dunkirk beaches during World War 2. On 24 May 1990, the 50th anniversary of the evacuation of Dunkirk was remembered when some 80 of the original 'little ships' gathered at Dover and Ramsgate to repeat the now historic crossing of the channel. Only six out of this fleet had any difficulties, but were assisted by others in the flotilla. One of these little ships was the first Motor lifeboat stationed of Ramsgate which was named the 'Prudential' and had arrived on station by 1926. During World War II the Ramsgate lifeboat and crew were called out 60 times, greatly distinguishing themselves with the saving of 170 lives, in addition to the men brought back from Dunkirk: (Jeff Morris). One of the Dunkirk 'little ships' still moored at Ramsgate and open to the public is the Motor Yacht Sundowner, (built 1912) once the private yacht of the second officer of the Titanic, C.H. Lightoller, whom surviving that fatal wreck later insisted personally at being at the helm during the evacuation of Dunkirk. He succeeded in bringing home 127 members of the 'Expeditionary Forces' in just one trip. After these events 42,783 soldiers were transported from Ramsgate railway station, carried by 82 southern rail special trains, the second busiest station during the evacuation, next to Dover, which carried over 180,000 men moved by 327 trains. Shortly before the outbreak of World War II the local council decided to enlarge the existing tunnels under the town as a public air-raid shelter - and after the war started the national government finally gave permission to spend the money - it was built and used a lot during the raids. See the [http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/r/ramsgate_air_raid_shelter_and_scenic_railway/index.shtml Subterranea Britannica] website for mote details.

Modern Times

Something almost amounting to a tradition for industrial militancy may be found in the history pages of Ramsgate. Such an occasion happened in August 1920 when following a decision by the Ramsgate corporation to sell 1000 tons of locally produced coke to Denmark, set of what became known as the 'coke riot'. It was unfortunate perhaps that these shipments were to be transported by two German ships, the first world war still fresh in local minds. Massive police protection of the harbour was required, but this did not prevent local people from venting their displeasure upon the local authorities. During the 1984 National Union of Mineworkers Strike, Ramsgate became the focus of media attention with several blockades of the Harbour by the coalmen of the nearby colleries, which had until then supported a sizable workforce throughout Thanet. Ramsgate was also the original location of the pressure group Critical Mass, which began its days in opposition to the government of Margaret Thatcher, often in support of the NUM. Critical Mass was founded in 1984 as a result of regulations that prevented local inhabitants out of work from living in the then-numerous empty hotels desperate for trade. The BBC made a documentary about these events, which was named Red Herrings, and broadcast on BBC2 in 1985. Ramsgate Football Club plays its home games at The Southwood Stadium(capacity of 5000) and wears an all red outfit at home and yellow and green away from home. Ramsgate had previously been called Ramsgate Athletic and it is not since these days that Ramsgate had qualified for the First Round Proper of the FA Cup, until the 2005/06 season. Ramsgate play in the Ryman League Division One after gaining promotion from the Kent League for the 2005/06 season.

Air links

The town is situated directly under the flight path of Kent International Airport at Manston. From September 2004 to August 2005 a low-cost airline EUjet operated frequent flights to many European destinations, replacing a large freight operator. However flights were [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4717881.stm suspended] after the collapse of their parent company [http://www.planestation.com/ PlaneStation Group plc] and the future of the airport is now unknown once again.

Externals link:


- [http://www.transeuropaferries.co.uk Trans Europa Ferries Ramsgate-Oostende]
- [http://www.eujet.com EuJet Manston-Europe]
- [http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/r/ramsgate_air_raid_shelter_and_scenic_railway/index.shtml Subterranea Britannica - Ramsgate Tunnels]
- [http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Gedser1976.html Sally line and Ramsgate]
- [http://www.photo-transport.co.uk/ferries/ostend/ostend.htm Oostende] Category:English seaside resorts Category:Towns in Kent

February 15

February 15 is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 319 days remaining (320 in leap years).

Events


- 399 - The philosopher Socrates is sentenced to death.
- 1637 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1764 - The city of St. Louis, Missouri is established.
- 1805 - Harmony Society officially formed.
- 1852 - Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, London, admits first patient.
- 1862 - American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant attacks Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
- 1879 - Women's rights: American President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.
- 1898 - Spanish-American War: The USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana harbor in Cuba, killing more than 260. This event leads the United States to declare war on Spain.
- 1903 - Morris Michtom and his wife Rose introduce the first teddy bear in America.
- 1906 - The British Labour Party is organized.
- 1933 - In Miami, Florida, Giuseppe Zangara attempts to assassinate President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, but instead shoots Chicago, Illinois Mayor Anton J. Cermak, who dies of his wounds on March 6, 1933.
- 1942 - World War II: The Fall of Singapore. Following an assault by Japanese forces, the British General Arthur Percival surrenders. About 80,000 Indian, United Kingdom and Australian soldiers become prisoners of war, the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history.
- 1944 - World War II: Assault on Monte Cassino, Italy begins.
- 1950 - The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China sign a mutual defense treaty.
- 1953 - Seventeen-year-old Tenley Albright becomes the first American to win the world figure skating championship.
- 1961 - A Boeing 707 crashes in Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team and several coaches.
- 1965 - A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner.
- 1970 - A Dominican DC-9 crashes into the sea during takeoff from Santo Domingo, killing 102
- 1971 - Decimalisation of British coinage is completed on Decimal Day.
- 1980 - Television One and Television Two (formerly South Pacific Television) under the newly formed Television New Zealand goes to air for the first time
- 1982 - The drilling rig Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 rig workers.
- 1989 - Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan: The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops had left Afghanistan.
- 1991 - The Visegrád Agreement, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, is signed by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.
- 1995 - Hacking: Kevin Mitnick is arrested by the FBI and charged with breaking into some of the United States' most "secure" computer systems.
- 1999 - Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the terrorist organization Kurdistan Workers Party, is arrested in Kenya by Turkish agents.
- 2000 - Indian Point II nuclear power plant in New York vents a small amount of radioactive steam when a steam generator fails.
- 2002 - At the Tri-State Crematory in La Fayette, Georgia, investigators find that bodies that were supposed to have been cremated were in fact disposed of in the woods and buildings on the crematorium's property. The discovery reveals one of the worst incidents of abuse in the funeral service industry.
- 2003 - Global protests aganinst the Iraq war occur in over 600 cities worldwide. Estimates from 10,000,000-15,000,000 make this the largest day of protest in history.
- 2004 - John Daly the PGA golfer, wins his first PGA TOUR event in 9 years by winning the Buick Invitational golf tournament on the first hole of a playoff in San Diego, California.

Births


- 1458 - Ivan the Young, Ruler of Tver (d. 1490)
- 1471 - Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of Florence (d. 1503)
- 1543 - Charles II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1608)
- 1564 - Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer and physicist (d. 1642)
- 1620 - François Charpentier, French archaeologist (d. 1702)
- 1705 - Charles-André van Loo, French painter (d. 1765)
- 1710 - King Louis XV of France (d. 1774)
- 1723 - John Witherspoon, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1794)
- 1725 - Abraham Clark, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1794)
- 1739 - Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect (d. 1813)
- 1759 - Friedrich August Wolf, German philologist and archaeologist (d. 1824)
- 1803 - John Sutter, California pioneer (d. 1880)
- 1809 - Cyrus McCormick, American inventor (d. 1884)
- 1812 - Charles Lewis Tiffany, American jeweler (d. 1902)
- 1815 - Constantin von Tischendorf, German Biblical scholar (d. 1874)
- 1820 - Susan B. Anthony, American feminist and suffragist (d. 1906)
- 1825 - Carter Harrison, Sr., Mayor of Chicago (d. 1893)
- 1835 - Demetrius Vikelas, Greek International Olympic Committee president (d. 1908)
- 1841 - Manoel Ferraz de Campos Salles, President of Brazil (d. 1913)
- 1845 - Elihu Root, American statesman and diplomat, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1937)
- 1847 - Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer (d. 1927)
- 1856 - Emil Kraepelin, German psychiatrist (d. 1926)
- 1861 - Charles Edouard Guillaume, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1938)
- 1873 - Hans von Euler-Chelpin, German-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1964)
- 1874 - Sir Ernest Shackleton, British polar explorer (d. 1922)
- 1882 - John Barrymore, American actor (d. 1942)
- 1883 - Sax Rohmer, English author (d. 1959)
- 1892 - James Forrestal, first United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1949)
- 1895 - Earl Thomson, Canadian athlete (d. 1971)
- 1896 - Arthur Shields, Irish actor (d. 1970)
- 1898 - Totò, Italian actor, writer, and composer (d. 1967)
- 1898 - Allen Woodring, American runner (d. 1982)
- 1899 - Georges Auric, French composer (d. 1983)
- 1899 - Gale Sondergaard, American actress (d. 1985)
- 1905 - Harold Arlen, American composer (d. 1986)
- 1907 - Jean Langlais, French composer and organist (d. 1991)
- 1907 - Cesar Romero, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1909 - Miep Gies, Dutch biographer of Anne Frank
- 1909 - Guillermo Gorostiza Paredes, Spanish footballer (d. 1966)
- 1914 - Hale Boggs, American politician (d. 1972)
- 1914 - Kevin McCarthy, American actor
- 1916 - Mary Jane Croft, American actress (d. 1999)
- 1918 - Allan Arbus, American actor
- 1919 - Andreas Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1996)
- 1922 - John Bayard Anderson, U.S Congressman and presidential candidate
- 1927 - Harvey Korman, American actor and comedian
- 1929 - Graham Hill, British race car driver (d. 1975)
- 1929 - James Schlesinger, American politician
- 1931 - Claire Bloom, British actress
- 1934 - Niklaus Wirth, Swiss computer scientist
- 1935 - Susan Brownmiller, American feminist and writer
- 1935 - Roger Chaffee, astronaut (d. 1967)
- 1940 - John Hadl, American football player
- 1943 - Geoff Edwards, American television game show host
- 1946 - Marisa Berenson, American actress
- 1947 - Rusty Hamer, American actor (d. 1990)
- 1948 - Ron Cey, baseball player
- 1948 - Art Spiegelman, American cartoonist
- 1949 - Ken Anderson, American football player
- 1951 - Melissa Manchester, American singer
- 1951 - Jane Seymour, British actress
- 1954 - Matt Groening, American cartoonist
- 1955 - Christopher McDonald, American actor
- 1960 - Mikey Craig, British musician (Culture Club)
- 1964 - Chris Farley, American actor and comedian (d. 1997)
- 1971 - Renée O'Connor, American actress and director
- 1972 - Jaromír Jágr, Czech hockey player
- 1973 - Sarah Wynter, Australian actress
- 1974 - Seattle Slew, American racehorse (d. 2002)
- 1974 - Ugueth Urbina, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- 1976 - Brandon Boyd, American musician (Incubus)
- 1978 - Tuan Le, American poker player
- 1979 - Alenka Kejžar, Slovenian swimmer
- 1980 - Conor Oberst, American singer and songwriter (Bright Eyes)
- 1984 - Dorota Rabczewska, Polish singer (Virgin)

Deaths


- 1145 - Pope Lucius II
- 1621 - Michael Praetorius, German composer
- 1637 - Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1678)
- 1738 - Matthias Braun, Czech sculptor (b. 1684)
- 1775 - Peter Dens, Belgian Catholic theologian (b. 1690)
- 1781 - Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German author and philosopher (b. 1729)
- 1818 - Friedrich Ludwig, Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen, Prussian general (b. 1746)
- 1835 - Henry Hunt, British politician (b. 1773)
- 1848 - Hermann von Boyen, Prussian field marshal (b. 1771)
- 1857 - Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (b. 1804)
- 1932 - Minnie Maddern Fiske, Broadway actress (b. 1865)
- 1959 - Owen Willans Richardson, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
- 1964 - Robert L. Thornton, American businessman, philanthropist, and Mayor of Dallas, Texas (b. 1880)
- 1965 - Nat King Cole, American singer and musician (b. 1919)
- 1973 - Wally Cox, American actor (b. 1924)
- 1973 - Tim Holt, American actor (b. 1919)
- 1974 - Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer (b. 1887)
- 1981 - Mike Bloomfield, American musician (b. 1944)
- 1981 - Karl Richter, German conductor (b. 1926)
- 1984 - Ethel Merman, American singer and actress (b. 1908)
- 1988 - Richard Feynman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
- 1996 - Tommy Rettig, American actor (b. 1941)
- 1996 - McLean Stevenson, American actor (b. 1929)
- 1999 - Big L (Lamont Coleman), American rapper (b. 1974)
- 1999 - Henry Way Kendall, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
- 2002 - Howard K. Smith, American journalist (b. 1914)
- 2002 - Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (b. 1963)
- 2004 - Jens Evensen, Norwegian minister and International Court of Justice judge (b. 1917)
- 2004 - Jan Miner, American actress (b. 1917)
- 2005 - Samuel Francis, American journalist (b. 1947)

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/15 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050215.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- February 14 - February 16 - January 15 - March 15 -- listing of all days ko:2월 15일 ja:2月15日 simple:February 15 th:15 กุมภาพันธ์

1748

Events


- April 24 - A congress assembles at Aix-la-Chapelle with the intent to conclude the struggle known as the War of Austrian Succession - at October 18 - The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle is signed to end the war
- Adam Smith begins to deliver public lectures in Edinburgh
- Building of Sveaborg begins near Helsinki
- Henry Fielding organizes forerunner of the Bow Street Runners – eight men at first
- Ahmad Shah captures Lahore.
- Discovery of ruins of Pompeii

Births


- January 1 - Gottfried August Bürger, German poet (d. 1794)
- February 2 - Adam Weishaupt, German founder of the Order of the Illuminati (d. 1811)
- February 9 - Luther Martin, American politician (d. 1826)
- February 15 - Jeremy Bentham, English philosopher and writer (d. 1832)
- February 22 - Timothy Dexter, American businessman (d. 1806)
- February 27 - Anders Sparrman, Swedish naturalist (d. 1820)
- March 5 - William Shield, English violinist and composer (d. 1829)
- March 5 - Jonas C. Dryander, Swedish botanist (d. 1810)
- March 8 - Prince William V of Orange (d. 1806)
- March 10 - John Playfair, Scottish scientist (d. 1819)
- April 12 - Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist (d. 1836)
- April 27 - Pierre-Louis Ginguené, French author (d. 1815)
- April 27 - Adamantios Korais, Greek scholar (d. 1833)
- May 3 - Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, French cleric and constitutional theorist (d. 1836)
- May 7 - Olympe de Gouges, French playwright (d. 1793)
- May 28 - Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle (d. 1825)
- June 8 - William Few, American politician (d. 1828)
- June 30 - Jacques Dominique, comte de Cassini, French astronomer (d. 1845)
- August 8 - Johann Friedrich Gmelin, German naturalist (d. 1804)
- August 30 - Jacques-Louis David, French painter (d. 1825)
- October 7 - King Charles XIII of Sweden (Charles II of Norway) (d. 1818)
- October 13 - Johann Dominicus Fiorillo, German painter and art historian (d. 1821)
- October 19 - Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, wife of Thomas Jefferson (d. 1782)
- November 11 - King Charles IV of Spain (d. 1819)
- December 9 - Claude Louis Berthollet, French chemist (d. 1822)
- December 14 - William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire (d. 1811)
- Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot, French ornithologist (d. 1831)
- James Sayers, English caricaturist (d. 1823)
- William Chalmers, Swedish merchant (d. 1811)

Deaths


- January 1 - Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (b. 1667)
- January 16 - Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch classical scholar (b. 1684)
- February 18 - Otto Ferdinand Graf von Abensperg und Traun, Austrian field marshal (b. 1677)
- March 14 - George Wade, British military leader (b. 1673)
- March 23 - Johann Gottfried Walther, German music theorist, organist, and composer (b. 1684)
- April 12 - William Kent, English architect
- May 12 - Thomas Lowndes, British astronomer (b. 1692)
- August 27 - James Thomson, Scottish poet (b. 1700)
- September 6 - Edmund Gibson, English jurist (b. 1669)
- September 12 - Anne Bracegirdle, English actress
- September 21 - John Balguy, English philosopher (b. 1686)
- November 25 - Isaac Watts, English hymn writer (b. 1674)
- December 2 - Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, English politician (b. 1662)
- Francesco Antonio Bonporti, Italian priest and composer (b. 1672) Category:1748 ko:1748년

Scarborough (ship)

Scarborough was a First Fleet transport ship of 418 tons, built at Scarborough in 1782. Her master was John Marshall, and the surgeon was Dennis Considen. She left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787, carrying 208 male convicts, and arrived at Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia, on 26 January 1788. On leaving Port Jackson on 5 May 1788, in company with the Lady Penrhyn, she travelled to China. On 17 May 1788 she landed at Lord Howe Island for birds and vegetables, and arrived in England on 15 June 1789. She returned to New South Wales with the notorious Second Fleet. In company with Surprize and Neptune she sailed from England with 253 male convicts on 19 January 1790. Her master was again John Marshall and the surgeon was Augustus Jacob Beyer. She arrived at the Cape of Good Hope on 13 April 1790, and spent 16 days there, taking on provisions, and 8 male convicts from Guardian which had been wrecked after striking an iceberg. She and Neptune were parted from Surprize in heavy weather and arrived at Port Jackson on 28 June, 160 days out from England. During the voyage 73 convicts died (28%) and 96 (37%) were sick when landed.

Further reading


- Gillen, Mollie, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet, Sydney: Library of Australian History, 1989.
- Bateson, Charles, The Convict Ships, 1787–1868, Sydney, 1974. Category:Convict ships Category:Ships of the First Fleet

Botany Bay

Botany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, a few kilometres south of the central business district. It was the site of a landing by James Cook of the HMS Endeavour that marked the beginning of Britain's interest in, and eventual colonisation of, Australia ([http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/about/coll/maps/hist/aus/bb Captain Cook's map of Botany Bay]). In modern times it is chiefly notable for being the site of Kingsford Smith International Airport, Australia's largest. The land around the headlands of the bay is protected as Botany Bay National Park. Towra Point Nature Reserve is also within Botany Bay. In 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip led the First Fleet into the bay on 19 January 1788 to found a penal colony there. Finding that the sandy infertile soil of the site in fact rendered it most unsuitable for settlement, Phillip decided instead to move to the excellent natural harbor of Port Jackson to the north. On 26 January, while still anchored in the bay, the British encountered the French exploratory expedition of Jean-François de La Pérouse. Panicked by the thought that the French might beat them to it, the colonists sailed that afternoon to found a settlement at Sydney Cove. Despite the move, for many years afterward, the Australian penal colony would be referred to as "Botany Bay" in England - and in convict ballads such as Ireland's The Fields of Athenry, for instance. The good supply of fresh water in the area led to the expansion of its population in the 19th century. The small Mascot Aerodrome at Botany developed into Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport.

Port Botany


- Port Botany was built in 1930 and is now a container terminal.

Pop culture


- The SS Botany Bay was the name of a fictional sleeper ship seen in the Star Trek episode "Space Seed." This ship was referenced, though unseen, in the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan when Pavel Chekov found a fragment of it and famously read "Botany Bay...oh, no!"
- The Botany Bay was a fictional whaling ship featured in the film Free Willy 3: The Rescue, probably named in reference to the above. Category:Bays of Australia Category:Australian penal colonies Category:Ports and harbours of Australia

External Links

[http://www.botanybay.nsw.gov.au/ City Of Botany Bay]

American Revolution

The American Revolution is the series of events, ideas, and changes that resulted in the political separation of thirteen colonies in North America from the British Empire and the creation of the United States of America. The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) was one part of the revolution, but the revolution began before the first shot was fired at Lexington and Concord and continued after the British surrender at Yorktown. "The Revolution was effected before the War commenced," wrote John Adams. "The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people." The precise nature and extent of the revolution is a matter of interpretation. It is generally agreed that the revolution originated around the time of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), and ended with the election of George Washington as the first President of the United States in 1789. Beyond that, interpretations vary. At one end of the spectrum is the view that the American Revolution was not "revolutionary" at all; that it did not radically transform colonial society, but 'simply replaced a distant government with a local one'. The opposite view is that the American Revolution was a unique and radical event, producing significant changes that had a profound impact on world history. Most current interpretations fall somewhere in-between these two positions. 1789, and the orange region was claimed by Spain. Note that this map does not show the bulk of British North America of that time.]]

Origins

In the early 1760s, Great Britain possessed a vast empire on the North American continent. In addition to the thirteen British colonies, victory in the Seven Years' War had given Great Britain claim over New France (Canada), Spanish Florida, and the Native American lands east of the Mississippi River. A war against France's former Indian allies—Pontiac's Rebellion—had, if not conquered, at least 'pacified' the western frontier. At this time, most white colonists in America considered themselves loyal subjects of the British Crown, with the same rights and obligations as Englishmen in Britain

Government

Main article: Colonial government in America Colonial government in America]

Philosophy and radical thought

The Enlightenment elevated natural philosophy, and began to replace arguments born of tradition and authority with those based upon observation and independent reasoning. The implications of the earlier scientific revolution began to have a greater effect on everyday life and in the conscious thought of men everywhere. Increased publication and communications between like-minded people opened up new areas to question and consideration. The early works of thinkers like John Locke became the analysis of men like Montesquieu. The "deist" views of several of the Founding Fathers of the United States, and their views on the proper form of government have roots in this European Enlightenment, and were a source for ideas regarding separation of church and state and other liberties. In addition, the ideas of "social contract" and the "Law of Nature" espoused by John Locke and others, gained wide acceptance in thought.

Religious trends

The Great Awakening was the American extension to the earlier religious revivals in Europe. It called into question the authority of established religious institutions; especially, but not exclusively, the Church of England, whose authority many of the colonists had come to New England to escape. The revival placed emphasis upon individual conscience and experience as the source of value in religious experience. Socially, there was also a strong element of 'class' revolt: God worked through grace that was given to every man or woman, regardless of station or level of education. This was a direct challenge to upper-class, aristocratic assumptions about the deference due to authority— it was a model of revolutionary thought to come; it was also the first event that swept through all the colonies, from New England to the Carolinas, as a generally common experience.

Road to rebellion

After the French and Indian War and Pontiac's Rebellion, the British government sought to overhaul its expansive North American possessions. In order to make the Empire more stable and profitable, new economic and land distribution policies were implemented. Specifically, the new British policies included the understandable desire of the crown that the colonists would shoulder a greater share of the burdens of war and the cost of their own defense, as well as the curtailment of smuggling with the colonies of the West Indies, the payment of royal tariffs and the exclusive trade with the British homeland. Colonial resentment of these new policies grew steadily throughout the decade, and had a significant impact on the emergence of "Americanism" and the outbreak of the American Revolution.

Economic disputes, 1760-70

The British national debt had risen to alarming levels during the war years and so in 1760 the Crown began a series of economic initiatives designed to extract more revenue from the colonies. These policies were 'justifiable', the reasoning went, because the colonists were enjoying the benefits of the peace that had been won. the Crown In theory, Great Britain already regulated the economies of the colonies through the Navigation Acts, but widespread evasion of these laws had long been tolerated. Now, through the use of open-ended search warrants (Writs of Assistance), strict enforcement became the practice. In 1761, Massachusetts lawyer James Otis argued that the writs violated the constitutional rights of the colonists. He lost the case, but John Adams later wrote, "American independence was then and there born." In 1763, Patrick Henry argued the Parson's Cause case. Clerical pay had been tied to the price of tobacco by Virginia legislation. When the price of tobacco skyrocketed after a bad crop in 1758, the Virginia legislature passed the Two-Penny Act to stop clerical salaries from inflating as well. In 1763, King George III vetoed the Two-Penny Act. Patrick Henry defended the law in court and argued "that a King, by disallowing Acts of this salutary nature, from being the father of his people, degenerated into a Tyrant and forfeits all right to his subjects' obedience." In 1764, British Prime Minister George Grenville's Sugar Act and Currency Act created economic hardship in the colonies. Protests led to the boycott of British goods, and to the emergence of the popular slogan "no taxation without representation," in which colonists argued that only their colonial assemblies, and not Parliament, could levy taxes on them. Committees of correspondence were formed in the colonies to coordinate resistance to paying the taxes. In previous years, the colonies had shown little inclination towards collective action. Grenville's policies were bringing them together. A milestone in the Revolution occurred in 1765, when Grenville passed the Stamp Act as a way to finance the quartering of troops in North America. The Stamp Act required all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers, pamphlets, and playing cards in the colonies to carry a tax stamp. Colonial protest was widespread. Secret societies known as the Sons of Liberty were formed in every colony, and used propaganda, intimidation, and mob violence to prevent the enforcement of the Stamp Act. The furor culminated with the "Stamp Act Congress", which sent a formal protest to Parliament in October of 1765. Parliament responded by repealing the Stamp Act, but pointedly declared its legal authority over the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.” declared its legal authority was designed to inflame opposition to the military occupation of Boston.]] The sequel was not long in coming. In 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, placing taxes on a number of common goods imported into the colonies, including glass, paint, lead, paper, and tea. In response, colonial leaders organized boycotts of these British imports. The Liberty, a ship belonging to colonial merchant John Hancock, was suspected of smuggling and was seized by customs officials in Boston on June 10, 1768. Angry protests on the street led customs officials, fearing for their safety, to report to London that Boston was in a state of insurrection. British troops began to arrive in Boston in October of 1768. Tensions continued to mount; culminating in the "Boston Massacre" on March 5, 1770, when British soldiers of the 29th Regiment of Foot fired into an angry mob, killing five. Revolutionary agitators like Samuel Adams used the event to stir up popular resistance, but after the trial of the soldiers, who were defended by John Adams, tensions diminished. The Townshend Acts were repealed in 1770 after much protesting, and it was still theoretically possible that further bloodshed in the colonies might be avoided. However, the British government had left one tax from the Townshend Acts in place as a symbolic gesture of their right to tax the colonies—the tax on tea. For the revolutionaries, who stood firm on the principle that only their colonial representatives could levy taxes on them, it was still "one tax too many". This resulted in the Boston Tea Party.

Western land dispute

The Proclamation of 1763 sought to limit the conflicts between Native Americans and the English settlers by restricting settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. However, groups of settlers, led for example by Daniel Boone, continued to move into the region beyond the Proclamation Line and fought violently with the Shawnees and other peoples inhabiting the area. Furthermore, the Quebec Act of 1774 extended Quebec's boundaries to the Ohio River, reestablished French civil law, and instituted toleration for Roman Catholics in that territory, an action which horrified some colonials, who had come to New England to establish their own protestant sects. Proposals to post British regulars to man forts in the west further disquieted Americans eager to occupy Indian land. protestant

Crises, 1772-75


- Gaspée Affair
- Tea Act of 1773.
- Boston Tea Party - December 16, 1773
- "Intolerable Acts" of 1774.
- The First Continental Congress convened on September 5, 1774 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and endorsed the Suffolk Resolves, which declared the Intolerable Acts to be unconstitutional, called for the people to form militias, and for Massachusetts to form a revolutionary government. Joseph Galloway's Plan of Union is defeated.
- Battle of Lexington and Concord, April 19, 1775
- Second Continental Congress convenes on May 10, 1775. :
- Olive Branch Petition -- July 5, 1775, one final attempt by the Continental Congress to appeal to King George to redress their grievances and avoid more bloodshed. The King refuses even to receive the petition.

Choosing sides

1775) originally appeared during the French and Indian War, but was recycled to encourage the American colonies to unite against British rule.]] The American revolutionaries, known as Patriots (or Whigs or rebels), included many shades of opinion. Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and George Washington represented a socially conservative faction that would later take shape as the Federalist party and are traditionally characterized as preoccupied with preserving the wealth and power of the "better sorts" of colonial society. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine are usually portrayed as representing the less economically affluent side of society, and political equality. Among other dissenting minorities, a party known as the "anti-federalists", led by George Mason, considered the Constitution of the United States to be a dangerously flawed document, one which would cause greater tyranny than either Parliament or the British Crown; they walked out of the Constitutional Convention without signing it. A great many American colonists remained loyal to the British Crown; these became known as Loyalists (or 'Tories', or 'King's men'). Loyalists were often of the same well-to-do social circle that produced the right wing of the Patriots (for example Thomas Hutchinson); however, the Scottish highlanders of the Mohawk Valley and the frontiersmen of Georgia included a large number of poorer King's men. Some Loyalists were American Indians, notably Joseph Brant, who led a mixed band of Indians and white farmers and laborers in the Loyalist cause. After the war, United Empire Loyalists became a central component of the populations of the Abaco islands (in the Bahamas), the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Ontario, and Freetown, Sierra Leone, where many of them fled to escape persecution in the colonies.

Class differences among the Patriots

Just as there were rich and poor Loyalists, the Patriots were a 'mixed lot', and often had different aims for the revolution. Wealthy Patriots viewed independence as a means of freeing themselves from British taxation and limitations on taking western land, but had every intention of remaining in control of the resulting nation. Many craftsmen, small merchants and small farmers, however, were looking at independence as a means of reducing the power and privilege of the elite. Wealthy Patriots knew that they needed the support of the lower classes, but were fearful of their more radical democratic aims. John Adams (an elite more by education than by wealth) attacked Thomas Paine's Common Sense for the "absurd democratical notions" it proposed.

Women

Common Sense] The boycott of British goods would have been entirely unworkable without the willing participation of American women: women made the bulk of household purchases, and the boycotted items were largely household items such as tea and cloth. And as cloth was still a basic necessity, for the boycott to work, women would have to return to spinning and weaving, skills that had fallen into disuse. In 1769, the women of Boston produced 40,000 skeins of yarn, and 180 women in Middletown, Massachusetts wove 20,522 yards of cloth. As the Revolution progressed and economic disruption deepened, women participated directly in the food riots and tar and feathering that was the people's response to price gouging by merchants, Loyalist and Patriot alike. On July 24, 1777, Thomas Boyleston, a Patriot merchant who was withholding coffee and sugar from the market waiting for prices to rise, was confronted by a crowd of 100 or more women, who seized the keys to his warehouse and distributed the coffee themselves while a large crowd of men stood by and watched, dumbfounded.

Writing the state constitutions

By 1776, the colonies had overthrown their existing government, closing courts and driving British agents and governors from their homes, and they had elected conventions and "legislatures" that existed outside of any legal framework whatsoever— new constitutions were desperately needed in each colony to replace the superseded royal charters. On January 5, 1776, New Hampshire ratified the first state constitution, six months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Then, in May, 1776, Congress voted to suppress all forms of crown authority, to be replaced by locally created authority. Virginia, South Carolina, and New Jersey created their constitutions before July 4. Rhode Island and Connecticut simply took their existing royal charters and deleted all references to the crown. The new states had to decide not only what form of government to create, they first had to decide how to select those who would craft the constitutions and how the resulting document would be ratified. This would be just the start of a process that would pit conservatives against radicals in each state. In states where the wealthy exerted firm control over the process, such as Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New York and Massachusetts, the result was constitutions that featured:
- substantial property qualifications for voting and even more substantial requirements for elected positions (though New York and Maryland lowered property qualifications);
- bicameral legislatures, with the upper house as a check on the lower;
- strong governors, with veto power over the legislature and substantial appointment authority;
- few or no restraints on individuals holding multiple positions in government;
- the continuation of state-established religion. In states where the less affluent had organized sufficiently to have significant power, especially Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Vermont, the resulting constitutions embodied:
- universal manhood suffrage, or minimal property requirements for voting or holding office (New Jersey went so far as to enfranchise women, a radical step that they retracted 25 years later); Vermont
- strong, unicameral legislatures;
- relatively weak governors, without veto powers, and little appointing authority;
- prohibition against individuals holding multiple government posts;
- disestablishment of religion. Naturally, the fact that conservatives or radicals held sway in a state did not mean that the side with less power accepted the result quietly. In Pennsylvania, the propertied class was horrified by their new constitution (Benjamin Rush called it "our state dung cart"), while in Massachusetts, voters twice rejected the constitution that was presented for ratification; it was ultimately ratified only as a result of the legislature tinkering with the third vote. The radical provisions of Pennsylvania's constitution were to last only fourteen years— in 1790, conservatives gained power in the state legislature, called a new constitutional convention, and wrote a new constitution that substantially reduced universal white-male suffrage, gave the governor veto power and patronage appointment authority, and added an upper house with substantial wealth qualifications to the unicameral legislature. Thomas Paine called it a constitution unworthy of America.

War for independence, 1775-83

Benjamin Rush Main article: American Revolutionary War Thomas Paine produced a pamphlet entitled Common Sense arguing that the only solution to the problems with Britain would be republicanism and independence from Great Britain.
- United States Declaration of Independence
- Articles of Confederation Articles of Confederation

America after the war


- Shays' Rebellion - 1786
- Northwest Indian War (1785-1795)
- The Constitutional Convention of 1787 The American Revolution entrenched several noteworthy innovations: the separation of church and state, which ended the special privileges of the Anglican Church in the South and the Congregationalist Church in New England; a discourse of liberty, individual rights and equality which would prove highly appealing in Europe; the idea that government should be by consent of the governed (including the right of rebellion against tyranny); the delegation of power through written constitutions; and the notion that colonial peoples of the Americas could become self-governing nations in their own rights.

The impact on British North America

For tens of thousands of inhabitants of the Thirteen Colonies, the victory of the revolutionaries was followed by exile. Approximately fifty thousand United Empire Loyalists fled to the remaining British colonies in North America, such as the Province of Quebec, concentrating in the Eastern Townships, and also Upper Canada (now known as Ontario), as well as in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia - where their presence would result in the creation of New Brunswick. Thus, the seeds of the French-English duality in British North America, which has been arguably the most prominent political and cultural feature of what would one day become Canada were sown.

Revolution beyond America

The American Revolution was the first wave of the Atlantic Revolutions that would also take hold in the French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, and the Latin American wars of liberation. Aftershocks would also be felt in Ireland in the 1798 rising, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and in the Netherlands. The Revolution had a strong immediate impact in Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and France. Many British and Irish Whigs had been openly indulgent to the Patriots in America, and the Revolution was the first lesson in politics for many European radicals who would later take on active roles during the era of the French Revolution. Jefferson's Declaration had [http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/chap3a.html an immediate impact] on the French Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789. The American Revolution affected the rest of the world. The thinkers of the Enlightenment only wrote that common people had the right to overthrow unjust governments. The American Revolution was a case of practical success, which provided the rest of the world with a 'working model'. The American Revolution set an example to the people in Europe and other parts of the world. It encouraged the people to realize they had rights independent of the sovereign; it promoted republicanism to overthrow monarchs. It incited people to fight for their rights, and it showed them that it was possible to win even against the world's foremost power, Great Britain. Nowhere was the influence more profound than in Latin America, where American writings and the model of a colony that actually broke free and thrived decisively shaped the struggle for independence. Historians of Latin America have identified many links to the U.S. model . See [http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&id=0QghsDsSCB4C&pg=PA45&lpg=PA45&dq=jefferson&prev=http://books.google.com/books%3Fq%3Djefferson%2Bindependence%2Blatin%2Bamerica&sig=v0afdyhrNgB42XLqhBEB9IQhCDU John Lynch, "The Origins of Spanish American Independence," in Cambridge History of Latin America Vol. 3 (1985), pp 45-46]

Legacy and interpretations


- American exceptionalism, Exceptionalism

See also


- British colonization of the Americas
- Founding Fathers of the United States
- Industrial Revolution
- List of important people in the era of the American Revolution
- Second American Revolution
- Timeline of United States revolutionary history (1760-1789)

Further reading

Origins: :
- Bailyn, Bernard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Harvard University Press, 1967. ISBN 0674443012. :
- Hawke, David. The Colonial Experience. Bobbs-Merrill, 1966. ISBN 0023518308. :
- Miller, John C. Origins of the American Revolution. Little, Brown, 1943; reprinted Stanford University Press, 1959. ISBN 0804705933; 1991 paperback edition: ISBN 0804705941. :
- Nash, Gary B. The Urban Crucible: The Northern Seaports and the Origins of the American Revolution. Harvard University Press, 1986. ISBN 0674930592. :
- Nash, Gary B. The Unknown American Revolution: The Unruly Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create America. Viking, 2005. ISBN 0670034207. :
- Wood, Gordon S. The Radicalism of the American Revoluiton: How a Revolution Transformed a Monarchical Society into a Democratic One Unlike Any That Had Ever Existed. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. ISBN 0679404937.
- Purcell, L. Edward. "Who Was Who in the American Revolution" (1993)

External links


- [http://www.americanrevolution.com The American Revolution at americanrevolution.com] - historical information, documents, pictures, and more
- [http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/ PBS Television Series] ja:アメリカ独立戦争 ko:미국 독립전쟁 Category:American Revolution Category:Rebellions in the United States Category:The Enlightenment Category:Revolutions

Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought during Napoleon Bonaparte's rule over France. They were partly an extension of conflicts sparked by the French Revolution, and continued during the regime of the First French Empire. These wars revolutionized European army and artillery systems. French power rose quickly, conquering most of Europe; the fall was also rapid, beginning with the disastrous invasion of Russia, and Napoleon's empire ultimately suffered complete military defeat, resulting in the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in France. There is no consensus on when the French Revolutionary Wars ended and the Napoleonic Wars began; the latter are sometimes considered to have begun when Bonaparte seized power in France, in November 1799. Other versions put the period of warfare between 1799 and 1802 in the context of the French Revolutionary Wars, and set the Napoleonic Wars' beginning at the outbreak of war between the United Kingdom and France in 1803, following the brief peace concluded at Amiens in 1802. The Napoleonic Wars ended on 20 November 1815, following Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo and the Second Treaty of Paris. Collectively, the nearly continuous period of warfare from April 20, 1792, until November 20, 1815, is sometimes (though rarely these days) referred to as the Great French War.

Political effects of the wars

Great French War] The Napoleonic Wars brought some great changes upon the face of Europe:
- France was no longer a dominant power in Europe, as it had been since the times of Louis XIV.
- The United Kingdom emerged as the most powerful nation in the world. The Royal Navy held unquestioned naval superiority throughout the world, and the United Kingdom's industrial economy made it the most powerful commercial nation as well.
- In most European countries, the importation of the ideals of the French Revolution (democracy, due process in courts, abolition of privileges, etc.) had left a mark. Even though Napoleonic rule was authoritarian, it was often less authoritarian and arbitrary than that of previous monarchs (or for that matter the Jacobin and Directory regimes of France during the Revolution). European monarchs found it difficult to reinstate pre-revolutionary absolutism, and were forced to keep some of the reforms induced by the occupation. Institutional legacies have remained: for instance, many European countries have a Civil law legal system, with clearly redacted codes compiling the basic laws.
- A new and potentially powerful movement had been sprung: nationalism. Nationalism was to re-shape the course of European history forever. It was the force that spelled the beginning of some nations, and the end of others. The map of Europe was to be re-drawn in the next hundred years following Napoleon's wars, not based on fiefs and aristocracy, but on the basis of human culture, origin, and ideology.
- On the other hand, another concept had been brought about — that of Europe. Napoleon mentioned on several occasions his intention to create a single European state, and, although Napoleon's defeat set the thought of a unified Europe back over one and a half centuries, the European identity was rediscovered following the Second World War.

Military legacy of the wars

The Napoleonic Wars also had a profound military impact. Until the time of Napoleon, European states had employed relatively small armies with a large proportion of mercenaries that sometimes fought for foreign states against their native countries. However, military innovators in the middle of the 18th century began to recognize the potential of a "nation at war". Napoleon was an innovator in the use of mobility to offset numerical disadvantages, as he brilliantly demonstrated in his rout of the Austro-Russian forces in 1805 in the Battle of Austerlitz. The French Army reorganized the role of artillery in warfare, forming independent and mobile artillery units as opposed to the previous tradition of attaching artillery pieces in support of other troop units. Napoleon standardized the cannonball sizes to ensure easier resupply and compatibility among his army's artillery pieces. With the fourth-largest population in the world by the end of the 18th century (27 million, as compared to the United Kingdom's 12 million and Russia's 35-40 million), France was well poised to take advantage of the 'levée en masse'. Because the revolution and Napoleon's reign witnessed the first application of the lessons of the 18th century's wars on trade and dynastic disputes, it is often falsely assumed that such ideas were the fruit of the revolution rather than ideas which found their implementation in it. Not all the credit for the innovations of this period should be given to Napoleon, however. Lazare Carnot played a large part in the reorganization of the French army in 1793–4 — a time in which French fortunes were reversed with Republican armies advancing on all fronts. The sizes of the armies involved give an obvious indication of the change in warfare. During Europe's last major war, the Seven Years War, few armies ever numbered more than 200,000. By contrast, the French army peaked in size in the 1790s when about 1.5 million Frenchmen were enlisted. In total, about 2.8 million Frenchmen fought in the conflict on land, and about 150,000 fought at sea, bringing the total for France to almost 3 million combatants. The United Kingdom had 747,670 men under arms between 1792 and 1815. In addition, about a quarter of a million personnel served in the Royal Navy. Totals for other major combatants are difficult to find, but in September 1812, Russia had about 904,000 enlisted men in its land forces — meaning the total number of Russians that fought must have been in the vicinity of 2 million or more. Austria's forces peaked in number at about 576,000 and had little or no naval forces. After the United Kingdom, Austria was the most persistent enemy of France, and it is reasonable to assume that more than a million Austrians served in total. Prussia never had more than 320,000 men under arms at any given point, only just ahead of the United Kingdom. Spain's armies also peaked in size at around 300,000, but to this we need to add a considerable force of guerillas. The only other nations to ever have more than 100,000 under arms were the Ottoman Empire, Italy, Naples and Poland (not including the United States (286,730 total combatants) or the Maratha Confederation). Even small nations now had armies rivalling the Great Powers of past wars in size. However it is necessary to bear in mind that the above numbers of soldiers are obtained from military records and in practice the actual numbers of fighting men would be below this level due to desertion, fraud by officers claiming non-existent soldiers pay, death and, in some countries, deliberate exaggeration to ensure enlistment targets were met. Despite this there clearly was an expansion in the size of armed forces at this time. The initial stages of the Industrial Revolution had much to do with this — it now became easy to mass-produce weapons and thus equip significantly larger forces. The United Kingdom was the largest single manufacturer of armaments in this period, supplying most of the weapons used by the Allied powers throughout the conflicts (although using relatively few themselves). France was the second-largest producer, arming its own huge forces as well as those of the Confederation of the Rhine and other allies. Another advance which affected warfare was the semaphore system that allowed the war minister Carnot to communicate with French forces on the frontiers throughout the 1790s. This system continued to be used for the whole period of the wars. Additionally, aerial surveillance was used for the first time, when the French used a hot-air balloon to survey Allied positions before the Battle of Fleurus, on June 26, 1794. There were also advances in ordnance and rocketry during the conflict.

The First and Second Coalitions

rocketry in 1799.]] :For a more detailed account, see the French Revolutionary Wars. The first attempt to crush the new French republic was made in 1792-1797 by the First Coalition, which consisted of:
- Austria,
- Piedmont,
- Prussia,
- Spain and
- the United Kingdom. It was defeated by the French efforts, which consisted of general conscription (levée en masse), military reform and total war. Napoleon Bonaparte's Italian campaign in 1796 and 1797 successfully knocked Piedmont out of the war. Piedmont had been one of the original members of the Coalition and had been a persistent threat to the French on the Italian front for four years by the time Bonaparte assumed command of the French Army of Italy. It took Bonaparte only a month to defeat Piedmont and push its Austrian allies back. The Papal forces were defeated by the French at Fort Urban, (forcing Pope Pius VI to sign a provisional peace treaty) and successive Austrian counteroffensives into Italy failed, leading to Bonaparte's entry into Friuli. The war was ended by Bonaparte when the Austrians were forced to accept his terms in the Treaty of Campo Formio. The United Kingdom remained the only power still at war with France by 1797. The Second Coalition (1798-1801) consisted of Russia, the United Kingdom, Austria, the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, Naples and the Papal States. The corrupt and divided French government, under the Executive Directory, was in turmoil, and the Republic was almost broken up and very short of funds (indeed in 1799, when Bonaparte assumed power, he found only 60,000 francs in the national treasury). Russian involvement was also a key change from the War of the First Coalition. Russian forces in Italy were commanded by the notoriously ruthless and militarily successful Alexander Suvorov. The French Republic was also stripped of Lazare Carnot—the war minister who had guided France to successive victories following massive reform during the first war. Furthermore, Bonaparte was involved in an Egyptian campaign with the objective of threatening British India. Stripped of two of its most important military commanders from the previous conflict, the Republic suffered successive defeats against revitalized enemies, brought back into the war by British financial support. After an ill-conceived campaign of Egypt by the French Directory, where 40,000 French troops where ultimately worn out by diseases and English and Ottoman attacks, Bonaparte managed to return to France on August 23rd 1799. He seized control of the French government in November 1799 (the coup of 18 Brumaire), toppling the Directory with the aid of ideologue Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès. The offensive of the Austrian forces on the Rhine and in Italy was a pressing threat to France, but all Russian troops were withdrawn from the front, following Tsarina Catherine II of Russia's death. Napoleon reorganised the French military and created a reserve army positioned to support the efforts either on the Rhine or in Italy. On all fronts, French advances caught Austrians off-guard. At the time, the French army had 300,000 troops fighting the Coalition's forces. In Italy, the situation was reversed by increased Austrian pressure, however, and Napoleon was forced to mobilise the Reserve Army. He clashed with the Austrians at Marengo (June 14, 1800) and would have lost had it not been for General Desaix's timely intervention to turn back the Austrian attacks and defeat them. Desaix died in the battle and Napoleon later commemorated his bravery by building monuments to him and including his name in the list of generals engraved on the face of the Arc de Triomphe. However, on the Rhine the decisive battle came when the French army of 180,000 faced the Austrian army of 120,000 at Hohenlinden (December 3). The Austrians were defeated and temporarily left the conflict after the Treaty of Lunéville (February 1801). Napoleon's main problem was now the United Kingdom, which remained an important influence on the continental powers in encouraging resistance to France. The United Kingdom had brought the second coalition together through subsidies and Napoleon realised that without British defeat or a treaty with the UK there could not be a complete peace. The British army was small and presented little or no threat to France itself, but the Royal Navy was a continuing threat to French shipping and to the French colonies in the Caribbean. Additionally, British funds were sufficient to unite the Great Powers on the continent against France and, despite numerous defeats, the Austrian army remained a potent danger for Napoleonic France. Napoleon was, however, unable to invade Great Britain directly. In the British Admiral Jervis's famous phrase, "I do not say, my Lords, that the French will not come. I say only they will not come by sea". The French fleet was defeated by Admiral Horatio Nelson in the Battle of the Nile (August 1) at Aboukir (Abu Qir), and a French expedition to Ireland was also quickly contained. The Treaty of Amiens (1802) resulted in peace between the UK and France, and marked the final collapse of the Second Coalition. However, the treaty was never likely to endure: neither side was satisfied by it and both sides dishonoured parts of it. Hostilities were renewed on May 18, 1803. The conflict changed over its course from a general desire to restore the French monarchy into an almost manichean struggle against Bonaparte. Bonaparte declared France an empire on May 28, 1804 and crowned himself emperor at Notre-Dame on December 2.

The Third Coalition

December 2 Napoleon planned an invasion of the British Isles, and massed 180,000 troops at Boulogne. However, he needed to achieve naval superiority to mount his invasion, or at least to pull the British fleet away from the English Channel. A complex plan to distract the British by threatening their possessions in the West Indies failed when a Franco-Spanish fleet under Admiral Villeneuve turned back after an inconclusive action off Cape Finisterre. Villeneuve was blockaded in Cádiz until he left for Naples on October 19, but was caught and defeated at the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21 by Lord Nelson. Napoleon had sent nine different plans to Villeneuve and the indecisive French commander hesitated continually. By this time, however, Napoleon had already all but abandoned plans to invade the British Isles, and turned his attention to enemies on the Continent once again. The French army left Boulogne and moved towards Austria. The series of naval and colonial conflicts, including a large number of minor naval actions, such as the Action of 1805, that characterised the months leading up to Napoleon's decision to abort the invasion of Great Britain were perhaps a clear sign of the new nature of war. Conflicts in the Caribbean, and in particular the seizure of colonial bases and islands throughout the wars, would directly and immediately have an effect upon the European conflict and battles thousands of miles apart could influence each other's outcomes. This could be considered a sign that the Napoleonic conflict had reached the point at which it had become a world war. The only precedent for widespread conflict on such a scale was the Seven Years' War. In April 1805, the United Kingdom and Russia signed a treaty to remove the French from Holland and Switzerland. Austria joined the alliance after the annexation of Genoa and the proclamation of Napoleon as King of Italy. The Austrians began the war by invading Bavaria with an army of about 70,000 under Karl Mack von Lieberich, and the French army marched out from Boulogne in late July, 1805 to confront them. At Ulm (September 25 - October 20) Napoleon managed to surround Mack's army by a brilliant envelopment, forcing its surrender without significant losses. With the main Austrian army north of the Alps defeated (another army under Archduke Charles maneuvered inconclusively against André Masséna's French army in Italy), Napoleon occupied Vienna. Far from his supply lines, he was faced with a superior Austro-Russian army under the command of Mikhail Kutuzov, with the Emperor Alexander of Russia personally present. On December 2 Napoleon crushed the joint Austro-Russian army at Austerlitz in Moravia (this is usually considered his greatest victory). He inflicted a total of 25,000 casualties on a numerically superior enemy army while sustaining fewer than 7,000 in his own force. After Austerlitz, Austria signed the Treaty of Pressburg, leaving the coalition. This required the Austrians to give up Venetia to the French dominated Kingdom of Italy and Tyrol to Bavaria. With the withdrawal of Austria from the war, stalemate ensued. Napoleon's