title: Jesse Helms

text: Helms was close to fellow North Carolinian Billy Graham (whom he considered a personal hero), as well as Charles Stanley, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell, whose Liberty University dedicated its Jesse Helms School of Government to Helms. Helms helped found Camp Willow Run, an interdenominational Christian summer camp, sitting on its board of directors until his death, and was a Grand Orator of the Masonic Grand Lodge of North Carolina.


title: Jesse Helms

text: Equating leftism and atheism, Helms argued that the downfall of the U.S. was due to loss of Christian faith, and often stated, "I think God is giving this country one more chance to save itself". He believed that the morality of capitalism was assured in the Bible, through the Parable of the Talents. He believed, writing in "When Free Men Shall Stand", that "such utopian slogans as Peace with Honor, Minimum Wage, Racial Equality, Women's Liberation, National Health Insurance, Civil Liberty" are ploys by which to divide humanity "as sons of God".


title: Jesse Helms

text: Helms held honorary degrees from several religious universities including Bob Jones University, Campbell University, Grove City College, and Wingate University which he attended but did not receive a degree.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity). Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insults that can adversely affect function in both developing and mature nervous tissue. The term can also be used to classify endogenous compounds, which, when abnormally contacted, can prove neurologically toxic. Though neurotoxins are often neurologically destructive, their ability to specifically target neural components is important in the study of nervous systems. Common examples of neurotoxins include lead, ethanol (drinking alcohol), glutamate, nitric oxide, botulinum toxin (e.g. Botox), tetanus toxin, and tetrodotoxin. Some substances such as nitric oxide and glutamate are in fact essential for proper function of the body and only exert neurotoxic effects at excessive concentrations.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Neurotoxins inhibit neuron control over ion concentrations across the cell membrane, or communication between neurons across a synapse. Local pathology of neurotoxin exposure often includes neuron excitotoxicity or apoptosis but can also include glial cell damage. Macroscopic manifestations of neurotoxin exposure can include widespread central nervous system damage such as intellectual disability, persistent memory impairments, epilepsy, and dementia. Additionally, neurotoxin-mediated peripheral nervous system damage such as neuropathy or myopathy is common. Support has been shown for a number of treatments aimed at attenuating neurotoxin-mediated injury, such as antioxidant and antitoxin administration.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Exposure to neurotoxins in society is not new, as civilizations have been exposed to neurologically destructive compounds for thousands of years. One notable example is the possible significant lead exposure during the Roman Empire resulting from the development of extensive plumbing networks and the habit of boiling vinegared wine in lead pans to sweeten it, the process generating lead acetate, known as "sugar of lead". In part, neurotoxins have been part of human history because of the fragile and susceptible nature of the nervous system, making it highly prone to disruption.


title: Neurotoxin

text: The nervous tissue found in the brain, spinal cord, and periphery comprises an extraordinarily complex biological system that largely defines many of the unique traits of individuals. As with any highly complex system, however, even small perturbations to its environment can lead to significant functional disruptions. Properties leading to the susceptibility of nervous tissue include a high surface area of neurons, a high lipid content which retains lipophilic toxins, high blood flow to the brain inducing increased effective toxin exposure, and the persistence of neurons through an individual's lifetime, leading to compounding of damages. As a result, the nervous system has a number of mechanisms designed to protect it from internal and external assaults, including the blood brain barrier.


title: Neurotoxin

text: The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is one critical example of protection which prevents toxins and other adverse compounds from reaching the brain. As the brain requires nutrient entry and waste removal, it is perfused by blood flow. Blood can carry a number of ingested toxins, however, which would induce significant neuron death if they reach nervous tissue. Thus, protective cells termed astrocytes surround the capillaries in the brain and absorb nutrients from the blood and subsequently transport them to the neurons, effectively isolating the brain from a number of potential chemical insults.


title: Neurotoxin

text: This barrier creates a tight hydrophobic layer around the capillaries in the brain, inhibiting the transport of large or hydrophilic compounds. In addition to the BBB, the choroid plexus provides a layer of protection against toxin absorption in the brain. The choroid plexuses are vascularized layers of tissue found in the third, fourth, and lateral ventricles of the brain, which through the function of their ependymal cells, are responsible for the synthesis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Importantly, through selective passage of ions and nutrients and trapping heavy metals such as lead, the choroid plexuses maintain a strictly regulated environment which contains the brain and spinal cord.


title: Neurotoxin

text: By being hydrophobic and small, or inhibiting astrocyte function, some compounds including certain neurotoxins are able to penetrate into the brain and induce significant damage. In modern times, scientists and physicians have been presented with the challenge of identifying and treating neurotoxins, which has resulted in a growing interest in both neurotoxicology research and clinical studies. Though clinical neurotoxicology is largely a burgeoning field, extensive inroads have been made in the identification of many environmental neurotoxins leading to the classification of 750 to 1000 known potentially neurotoxic compounds. Due to the critical importance of finding neurotoxins in common environments, specific protocols have been developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for testing and determining neurotoxic effects of compounds (USEPA 1998). Additionally, in vitro systems have increased in use as they provide significant improvements over the more common in vivo systems of the past. Examples of improvements include tractable, uniform environments, and the elimination of contaminating effects of systemic metabolism. In vitro systems, however, have presented problems as it has been difficult to properly replicate the complexities of the nervous system, such as the interactions between supporting astrocytes and neurons in creating the BBB. To even further complicate the process of determining neurotoxins when testing in-vitro, neurotoxicity and cytotoxicity may be difficult to distinguish as exposing neurons directly to compounds may not be possible in-vivo, as it is in-vitro. Additionally, the response of cells to chemicals may not accurately convey a distinction between neurotoxins and cytotoxins, as symptoms like oxidative stress or skeletal modifications may occur in response to either.


title: Neurotoxin

text: In an effort to address this complication, neurite outgrowths (either axonal or dendritic) in response to applied compounds have recently been proposed as a more accurate distinction between true neurotoxins and cytotoxins in an in-vitro testing environment. Due to the significant inaccuracies associated with this process, however, it has been slow in gaining widespread support. Additionally, biochemical mechanisms have become more widely used in neurotoxin testing, such that compounds can be screened for sufficiency to induce cell mechanism interference, like the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase capacity of organophosphates (includes DDT and sarin gas). Though methods of determining neurotoxicity still require significant development, the identification of deleterious compounds and toxin exposure symptoms has undergone significant improvement.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Though diverse in chemical properties and functions, neurotoxins share the common property that they act by some mechanism leading to either the disruption or destruction of necessary components within the nervous system. Neurotoxins, however, by their very design can be very useful in the field of neuroscience. As the nervous system in most organisms is both highly complex and necessary for survival, it has naturally become a target for attack by both predators and prey. As venomous organisms often use their neurotoxins to subdue a predator or prey very rapidly, toxins have evolved to become highly specific to their target channels such that the toxin does not readily bind other targets (see ). As such, neurotoxins provide an effective means by which certain elements of the nervous system may be accurately and efficiently targeted. An early example of neurotoxin based targeting used radiolabeled tetrodotoxin to assay sodium channels and obtain precise measurements about their concentration along nerve membranes. Likewise through isolation of certain channel activities, neurotoxins have provided the ability to improve the original Hodgkin-Huxley model of the neuron in which it was theorized that single generic sodium and potassium channels could account for most nervous tissue function. From this basic understanding, the use of common compounds such as tetrodotoxin, tetraethylammonium, and bungarotoxins have led to a much deeper understanding of the distinct ways in which individual neurons may behave.


title: Neurotoxin

text: As neurotoxins are compounds which adversely affect the nervous system, a number of mechanisms through which they function are through the inhibition of neuron cellular processes. These inhibited processes can range from membrane depolarization mechanisms to inter-neuron communication. By inhibiting the ability for neurons to perform their expected intracellular functions, or pass a signal to a neighboring cell, neurotoxins can induce systemic nervous system arrest as in the case of botulinum toxin, or even nervous tissue death. The time required for the onset of symptoms upon neurotoxin exposure can vary between different toxins, being on the order of hours for botulinum toxin and years for lead.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a poison produced by organisms belonging to the Tetraodontiformes order, which includes the puffer fish, ocean sunfish, and porcupine fish. Within the puffer fish, TTX is found in the liver, gonads, intestines, and skin. TTX can be fatal if consumed, and has become a common form of poisoning in many countries. Common symptoms of TTX consumption include paraesthesia (often restricted to the mouth and limbs), muscle weakness, nausea, and vomiting and often manifest within 30 minutes of ingestion. The primary mechanism by which TTX is toxic is through the inhibition of sodium channel function, which reduces the functional capacity of neuron communication. This inhibition largely affects a susceptible subset of sodium channels known as TTX-sensitive (TTX-s), which also happens to be largely responsible for the sodium current that drives the depolarization phase of neuron action potentials. TTX-resistant (TTX-r) is another form of sodium channel which has limited sensitivity to TTX, and is largely found in small diameter axons such as those found in nociception neurons. When a significant level of TTX is ingested, it will bind sodium channels on neurons and reduce their membrane permeability to sodium. This results in an increased effective threshold of required excitatory signals in order to induce an action potential in a postsynaptic neuron. The effect of this increased signaling threshold is a reduced excitability of postsynaptic neurons, and subsequent loss of motor and sensory function which can result in paralysis and death. Though assisted ventilation may increase the chance of survival after TTX exposure, there is currently no antitoxin. The use of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor Neostigmine or the muscarinic acetylcholine antagonist atropine (which will inhibit parasympathetic activity), however, can increase sympathetic nerve activity enough to improve the chance of survival after TTX exposure.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Tetraethylammonium (TEA) is a compound that, like a number of neurotoxins, was first identified through its damaging effects to the nervous system and shown to have the capacity of inhibiting the function of motor nerves and thus the contraction of the musculature in a manner similar to that of curare. Additionally, through chronic TEA administration, muscular atrophy would be induced. It was later determined that TEA functions in-vivo primarily through its ability to inhibit both the potassium channels responsible for the delayed rectifier seen in an action potential and some population of calcium-dependent potassium channels. It is this capability to inhibit potassium flux in neurons that has made TEA one of the most important tools in neuroscience. It has been hypothesized that the ability for TEA to inhibit potassium channels is derived from its similar space-filling structure to potassium ions. What makes TEA very useful for neuroscientists is its specific ability to eliminate potassium channel activity, thereby allowing the study of neuron response contributions of other ion channels such as voltage gated sodium channels. In addition to its many uses in neuroscience research, TEA has been shown to perform as an effective treatment of Parkinson's disease through its ability to limit the progression of the disease.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Chlorotoxin (Cltx) is the active compound found in scorpion venom, and is primarily toxic because of its ability to inhibit the conductance of chloride channels. Ingestion of lethal volumes of Cltx results in paralysis through this ion channel disruption. Similar to botulinum toxin, Cltx has been shown to possess significant therapeutic value. Evidence has shown that Cltx can inhibit the ability for gliomas to infiltrate healthy nervous tissue in the brain, significantly reducing the potential invasive harm caused by tumors.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Conotoxins represent a category of poisons produced by the marine cone snail, and are capable of inhibiting the activity of a number of ion channels such as calcium, sodium, or potassium channels. In many cases, the toxins released by the different types of cone snails include a range of different types of conotoxins, which may be specific for different ion channels, thus creating a venom capable of widespread nerve function interruption. One of the unique forms of conotoxins, ω-conotoxin (ω-CgTx) is highly specific for Ca channels and has shown usefulness in isolating them from a system. As calcium flux is necessary for proper excitability of a cell, any significant inhibition could prevent a large amount of functionality. Significantly, ω-CgTx is capable of long term binding to and inhibition of voltage-dependent calcium channels located in the membranes of neurons but not those of muscle cells.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Botulinum toxin (BTX) is a group of neurotoxins consisting of eight distinct compounds, referred to as BTX-A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H, which are produced by the bacterium "Clostridium botulinum" and lead to muscular paralysis. A notably unique feature of BTX is its relatively common therapeutic use in treating dystonia and spasticity disorders, as well as in inducing muscular atrophy despite being the most poisonous substance known. BTX functions peripherally to inhibit acetylcholine (ACh) release at the neuromuscular junction through degradation of the SNARE proteins required for ACh vesicle-membrane fusion. As the toxin is highly biologically active, an estimated dose of 1μg/kg body weight is sufficient to induce an insufficient tidal volume and resultant death by asphyxiation. Due to its high toxicity, BTX antitoxins have been an active area of research. It has been shown that capsaicin (active compound responsible for heat in chili peppers) can bind the TRPV1 receptor expressed on cholinergic neurons and inhibit the toxic effects of BTX.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Tetanus neurotoxin (TeNT) is a compound that functionally reduces inhibitory transmissions in the nervous system resulting in muscular tetany. TeNT is similar to BTX, and is in fact highly similar in structure and origin; both belonging to the same category of clostridial neurotoxins. Like BTX, TeNT inhibits inter-neuron communication by means of vesicular neurotransmitter (NT) release. One notable difference between the two compounds is that while BTX inhibits muscular contractions, TeNT induces them. Though both toxins inhibit vesicle release at neuron synapses, the reason for this different manifestation is that BTX functions mainly in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) while TeNT is largely active in the central nervous system (CNS). This is a result of TeNT migration through motor neurons to the inhibitory neurons of the spinal cord after entering through endocytosis. This results in a loss of function in inhibitory neurons within the CNS resulting in systemic muscular contractions. Similar to the prognosis of a lethal dose of BTX, TeNT leads to paralysis and subsequent suffocation.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Neurotoxic behavior of Aluminium is known to occur upon entry into the circulatory system, where it can migrate to the brain and inhibit some of the crucial functions of the blood brain barrier (BBB). A loss of function in the BBB can produce significant damage to the neurons in the CNS, as the barrier protecting the brain from other toxins found in the blood will no longer be capable of such action. Though the metal is known to be neurotoxic, effects are usually restricted to patients incapable of removing excess ions from the blood, such as those experiencing renal failure. Patients experiencing aluminium toxicity can exhibit symptoms such as impaired learning and reduced motor coordination. Additionally, systemic aluminium levels are known to increase with age, and have been shown to correlate with Alzheimer's Disease, implicating it as a neurotoxic causative compound of the disease. Despite its known toxicity in its ionic form, studies are divided on the potential toxicity of using aluminium in packaging and cooking appliances.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Mercury is capable of inducing CNS damage by migrating into the brain by crossing the BBB. Mercury exists in a number of different compounds, though methylmercury (MeHg), dimethylmercury and diethylmercury are the only significantly neurotoxic forms. Diethylmercury and dimethylmercury are considered some of the most potent neurotoxins ever discovered. MeHg is usually acquired through consumption of seafood, as it tends to concentrate in organisms high on the food chain. It is known that the mercuric ion inhibits amino acid (AA) and glutamate (Glu) transport, potentially leading to excitotoxic effects.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Investigations into anatoxin-"a", also known as "Very Fast Death Factor", began in 1961 following the deaths of cows that drank from a lake containing an algal bloom in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is a cyanotoxin produced by at least four different genera of cyanobacteria, and has been reported in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and New Zealand.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Toxic effects from anatoxin-"a" progress very rapidly because it acts directly on the nerve cells (neurons). The progressive symptoms of anatoxin-"a" exposure are loss of coordination, twitching, convulsions and rapid death by respiratory paralysis. The nerve tissues which communicate with muscles contain a receptor called the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Stimulation of these receptors causes a muscular contraction. The anatoxin-"a" molecule is shaped so it fits this receptor, and in this way it mimics the natural neurotransmitter normally used by the receptor, acetylcholine. Once it has triggered a contraction, anatoxin-"a" does not allow the neurons to return to their resting state, because it is not degraded by cholinesterase which normally performs this function. As a result, the muscle cells contract permanently, the communication between the brain and the muscles is disrupted and breathing stops.


title: Neurotoxin

text: When it was first discovered, the toxin was called the Very Fast Death Factor (VFDF) because when it was injected into the body cavity of mice it induced tremors, paralysis and death within a few minutes. In 1977, the structure of VFDF was determined as a secondary, bicyclic amine alkaloid, and it was renamed anatoxin-"a". Structurally, it is similar to cocaine. There is continued interest in anatoxin-"a" because of the dangers it presents to recreational and drinking waters, and because it is a particularly useful molecule for investigating acetylcholine receptors in the nervous system. The deadliness of the toxin means that it has a high military potential as a toxin weapon.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Bungarotoxin is a compound with known interaction with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), which constitute a family of ion channels whose activity is triggered by neurotransmitter binding. Bungarotoxin is produced in a number of different forms, though one of the commonly used forms is the long chain alpha form, α-bungarotoxin, which is isolated from the banded krait snake. Though extremely toxic if ingested, α-bungarotoxin has shown extensive usefulness in neuroscience as it is particularly adept at isolating nAChRs due to its high affinity to the receptors. As there are multiple forms of bungarotoxin, there are different forms of nAChRs to which they will bind, and α-bungarotoxin is particularly specific for α7-nAChR. This α7-nAChR functions to allow calcium ion influx into cells, and thus when blocked by ingested bungarotoxin will produce damaging effects, as ACh signaling will be inhibited. Likewise, the use of α-bungarotoxin can be very useful in neuroscience if it is desirable to block calcium flux in order to isolate effects of other channels. Additionally, different forms of bungarotoxin may be useful for studying inhibited nAChRs and their resultant calcium ion flow in different systems of the body. For example, α-bungarotoxin is specific for nAChRs found in the musculature and κ-bungarotoxin is specific for nAChRs found in neurons.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Caramboxin (CBX) is a toxin found in star fruit ("Averrhoa carambola)". Individuals with some types of kidney disease are susceptible to adverse neurological effects including intoxication, seizures and even death after eating star fruit or drinking juice made of this fruit. Caramboxin is a new nonpeptide amino acid toxin that stimulate the glutamate receptors in neurons. Caramboxin is an agonist of both NMDA and AMPA glutamatergic ionotropic receptors with potent excitatory, convulsant, and neurodegenerative properties.


title: Neurotoxin

text: The term "curare" is ambiguous because it has been used to describe a number of poisons which at the time of naming were understood differently from present day understandings. In the past the characterization has meant poisons used by South American tribes on arrows or darts, though it has matured to specify a specific categorization of poisons which act on the neuromuscular junction to inhibit signaling and thus induce muscle relaxation. The neurotoxin category contains a number of distinct poisons, though all were originally purified from plants originating in South America. The effect with which injected curare poison is usually associated is muscle paralysis and resultant death. Curare notably functions to inhibit nicotinic acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction. Normally, these receptor channels allow sodium ions into muscle cells to initiate an action potential that leads to muscle contraction. By blocking the receptors, the neurotoxin is capable of significantly reducing neuromuscular junction signaling, an effect which has resulted in its use by anesthesiologists to produce muscular relaxation.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Ammonia toxicity is often seen through two routes of administration, either through consumption or through endogenous ailments such as liver failure. One notable case in which ammonia toxicity is common is in response to cirrhosis of the liver which results in hepatic encephalopathy, and can result in cerebral edema (Haussinger 2006). This cerebral edema can be the result of nervous cell remodeling. As a consequence of increased concentrations, ammonia activity in-vivo has been shown to induce swelling of astrocytes in the brain through increased production of cGMP (Cyclic Guanosine Monophosphate) within the cells which leads to Protein Kinase G-mediated (PKG) cytoskeletal modifications. The resultant effect of this toxicity can be reduced brain energy metabolism and function. Importantly, the toxic effects of ammonia on astrocyte remodeling can be reduced through administration of L-carnitine. This astrocyte remodeling appears to be mediated through ammonia-induced mitochondrial permeability transition. This mitochondrial transition is a direct result of glutamine activity a compound which forms from ammonia in-vivo. Administration of antioxidants or glutaminase inhibitor can reduce this mitochondrial transition, and potentially also astrocyte remodeling.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Arsenic is a neurotoxin commonly found concentrated in areas exposed to agricultural runoff, mining, and smelting sites (Martinez-Finley 2011). One of the effects of arsenic ingestion during the development of the nervous system is the inhibition of neurite growth which can occur both in PNS and the CNS. This neurite growth inhibition can often lead to defects in neural migration, and significant morphological changes of neurons during development,) often leading to neural tube defects in neonates. As a metabolite of arsenic, arsenite is formed after ingestion of arsenic and has shown significant toxicity to neurons within about 24 hours of exposure. The mechanism of this cytotoxicity functions through arsenite-induced increases in intracellular calcium ion levels within neurons, which may subsequently reduce mitochondrial transmembrane potential which activates caspases, triggering cell death. Another known function of arsenite is its destructive nature towards the cytoskeleton through inhibition of neurofilament transport. This is particularly destructive as neurofilaments are used in basic cell structure and support. Lithium administration has shown promise, however, in restoring some of the lost neurofilament motility. Additionally, similar to other neurotoxin treatments, the administration of certain antioxidants has shown some promise in reducing neurotoxicity of ingested arsenic.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Lead is a potent neurotoxin whose toxicity has been recognized for at least thousands of years. Though neurotoxic effects for lead are found in both adults and young children, the developing brain is particularly susceptible to lead-induced harm, effects which can include apoptosis and excitotoxicity. An underlying mechanism by which lead is able to cause harm is its ability to be transported by calcium ATPase pumps across the BBB, allowing for direct contact with the fragile cells within the central nervous system. Neurotoxicity results from lead's ability to act in a similar manner to calcium ions, as concentrated lead will lead to cellular uptake of calcium which disrupts cellular homeostasis and induces apoptosis. It is this intracellular calcium increase that activates protein kinase C (PKC), which manifests as learning deficits in children as a result of early lead exposure. In addition to inducing apoptosis, lead inhibits interneuron signaling through the disruption of calcium-mediated neurotransmitter release.


title: Neurotoxin

text: As a neurotoxin, ethanol has been shown to induce nervous system damage and affect the body in a variety of ways. Among the known effects of ethanol exposure are both transient and lasting consequences. Some of the lasting effects include long-term reduced neurogenesis in the hippocampus, widespread brain atrophy, and induced inflammation in the brain. Of note, chronic ethanol ingestion has additionally been shown to induce reorganization of cellular membrane constituents, leading to a lipid bilayer marked by increased membrane concentrations of cholesterol and saturated fat. This is important as neurotransmitter transport can be impaired through vesicular transport inhibition, resulting in diminished neural network function. One significant example of reduced inter-neuron communication is the ability for ethanol to inhibit NMDA receptors in the hippocampus, resulting in reduced long-term potentiation (LTP) and memory acquisition. NMDA has been shown to play an important role in LTP and consequently memory formation. With chronic ethanol intake, however, the susceptibility of these NMDA receptors to induce LTP increases in the mesolimbic dopamine neurons in an inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3) dependent manner. This reorganization may lead to neuronal cytotoxicity both through hyperactivation of postsynaptic neurons and through induced addiction to continuous ethanol consumption. It has, additionally, been shown that ethanol directly reduces intracellular calcium ion accumulation through inhibited NMDA receptor activity, and thus reduces the capacity for the occurrence of LTP.


title: Neurotoxin

text: In addition to the neurotoxic effects of ethanol in mature organisms, chronic ingestion is capable of inducing severe developmental defects. Evidence was first shown in 1973 of a connection between chronic ethanol intake by mothers and defects in their offspring. This work was responsible for creating the classification of fetal alcohol syndrome, a disease characterized by common morphogenesis aberrations such as defects in craniofacial formation, limb development, and cardiovascular formation. The magnitude of ethanol neurotoxicity in fetuses leading to fetal alcohol syndrome has been shown to be dependent on antioxidant levels in the brain such as vitamin E. As the fetal brain is relatively fragile and susceptible to induced stresses, severe deleterious effects of alcohol exposure can be seen in important areas such as the hippocampus and cerebellum. The severity of these effects is directly dependent upon the amount and frequency of ethanol consumption by the mother, and the stage in development of the fetus. It is known that ethanol exposure results in reduced antioxidant levels, mitochondrial dysfunction (Chu 2007), and subsequent neuronal death, seemingly as a result of increased generation of reactive oxidative species (ROS). This is a plausible mechanism, as there is a reduced presence in the fetal brain of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase and peroxidase. In support of this mechanism, administration of high levels of dietary vitamin E results in reduced or eliminated ethanol-induced neurotoxic effects in fetuses.


title: Neurotoxin

text: n-Hexane is a neurotoxin which has been responsible for the poisoning of several workers in Chinese electronics factories in recent years.


title: Neurotoxin

text: MPP, the toxic metabolite of MPTP is a selective neurotoxin which interferes with oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria by inhibiting complex I, leading to the depletion of ATP and subsequent cell death. This occurs almost exclusively in dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra, resulting in the presentation of permanent parkinsonism in exposed subjects 2–3 days after administration.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Unlike most common sources of neurotoxins which are acquired by the body through ingestion, endogenous neurotoxins both originate from and exert their effects in-vivo. Additionally, though most venoms and exogenous neurotoxins will rarely possess useful in-vivo capabilities, endogenous neurotoxins are commonly used by the body in useful and healthy ways, such as nitric oxide which is used in cell communication. It is often only when these endogenous compounds become highly concentrated that they lead to dangerous effects.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Though nitric oxide (NO) is commonly used by the nervous system in inter-neuron communication and signaling, it can be active in mechanisms leading to ischemia in the cerebrum (Iadecola 1998). The neurotoxicity of NO is based on its importance in glutamate excitotoxicity, as NO is generated in a calcium-dependent manner in response to glutamate mediated NMDA activation, which occurs at an elevated rate in glutamate excitotoxicity. Though NO facilitates increased blood flow to potentially ischemic regions of the brain, it is also capable of increasing oxidative stress, inducing DNA damage and apoptosis. Thus an increased presence of NO in an ischemic area of the CNS can produce significantly toxic effects.


title: Neurotoxin

text: Glutamate, like nitric oxide, is an endogenously produced compound used by neurons to perform normally, being present in small concentrations throughout the gray matter of the CNS. One of the most notable uses of endogenous glutamate is its functionality as an excitatory neurotransmitter. When concentrated, however, glutamate becomes toxic to surrounding neurons. This toxicity can be both a result of direct lethality of glutamate on neurons and a result of induced calcium flux into neurons leading to swelling and necrosis. Support has been shown for these mechanisms playing significant roles in diseases and complications such as Huntington's disease, epilepsy, and stroke.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: The War of Jenkins' Ear, or , was a conflict lasting from 1739 to 1748 between Britain and the Spanish Empire. The majority of the fighting took place in New Granada and the Caribbean Sea, with major operations largely ended by 1742. It is considered a related conflict of the 1740 to 1748 War of the Austrian Succession. The name was coined in 1858 by British historian Thomas Carlyle, and refers to Robert Jenkins, captain of the British brig "Rebecca", whose ear was allegedly severed by Spanish coast guards while searching his ship for contraband in April 1731.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Response to the incident was tepid until opposition politicians in Parliament, backed by the South Sea Company, used it seven years later to incite support for a war against Spain, hoping to improve British trading opportunities in the Caribbean. They also wanted to retain the lucrative "Asiento de Negros" giving British slave traders permission to sell slaves in Spanish America, which is why the Spanish call it the "Guerra del Asiento". Unsuccessful British attacks in 1741 on the ports of Cartagena and Havana resulted in heavy casualties, primarily from disease, and were not repeated.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Apart from minor fighting in Florida and Georgia, after 1742 the conflict was largely subsumed into the War of the Austrian Succession, which involved most of the powers of Europe, and ended with the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. The war is remembered in British naval history for Admiral George Anson's voyage around the world from 1740 to 1744.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: The war was traditionally seen as a dispute between Britain and Spain over access to markets in Spanish America. More recent historians argue trade was only one of a number of issues, including tensions over British colonial expansion in North America. They suggest the decisive factor in turning an economic dispute into war was the domestic political campaign to remove the Whig government led by Robert Walpole, Prime Minister since 1721.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: The 18th century economic theory of mercantilism viewed trade as a finite resource; since countries could in theory only increase their share at the expense of their rivals, wars were often fought over purely commercial issues. The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht gave British merchants access to markets in Spanish America, including the , a monopoly to supply 5,000 slaves a year. Another was the , permitting two ships a year to sell 500 tons of goods each in Porto Bello in Panama, and Veracruz in Mexico. These rights were assigned to the South Sea Company, acquired by the British government in 1720.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: However, the value of these rights was insignificant compared to the trade between Britain and mainland Spain, which a leading City of London merchant called 'the best flower in our garden.' British goods were imported through Cadiz, either for sale locally or re-exported to Spanish colonies, with Spanish dye and wool going in the other direction. The itself was marginally profitable and has been described as a 'commercial illusion'; between 1717 and 1733, only eight ships were sent from Britain to the Americas. Previous holders made money by carrying smuggled goods that evaded customs duties, demand from Spanish colonists creating a large and profitable black market.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Accepting smuggling was too lucrative and widespread to stop altogether, the Spanish tried to manage it and sometimes used it as an instrument of policy. During the 1727 to 1729 Anglo-Spanish War, French ships carrying contraband were let through, while British ships were stopped and severe restrictions imposed on British merchants in Cadiz. This was reversed during the 1733 to 1735 War of the Polish Succession, when Britain supported Spain.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Under the 1729 Treaty of Seville, the Spanish were allowed to board British vessels trading with the Americas and check them for contraband. In 1731, the brig "Rebecca" was stopped off the coast of Cuba and found to be carrying an illegal cargo of sugar; during the search, its captain Robert Jenkins later alleged he had been tortured and his ear partially amputated by coast guard officers. While deprecating such treatment, the Royal Naval commander in Port Royal admitted those involved in what he described as "clandestine trade" could not complain if their cargoes were confiscated and often indulged in violence themselves. Such incidents were seen as the cost of doing business and it was quickly forgotten after the Spanish eased restrictions in 1732.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Tensions increased after the founding of the British colony of Georgia in 1732, which Spain considered a threat to Spanish Florida, vital to protect shipping routes with mainland Spain. For their part, the British viewed the 1733 between Louis XV and his uncle Philip V as the first step in being replaced by France as Spain's largest trading partner. A second round of Spanish "depredations" in 1738 led to demands for compensation, with Tory-backed newsletters and pamphlets presenting them as being inspired by France. Linking these allowed the opposition to imply the government's failure to act was due to George II's concerns over exposing Hanover to French attack. In support of their campaign against Walpole, the Tories exhibited Jenkins in the House of Commons and it was at this point that the incident became widely known.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: The January 1739 Convention of Pardo set up a Commission to resolve the Georgia-Florida boundary dispute and agreed Spain would pay damages of £95,000 for ships seized. In return, the South Sea Company would pay £68,000 to Philip V as his share of profits on the . Despite being controlled by the government, the company refused and Walpole reluctantly accepted that war could not be avoided. On 10 July 1739, the Admiralty was authorised to begin naval operations against Spain and on 20th, a force under Admiral Vernon sailed for the West Indies. He reached Antigua in early October; on 22 October, British ships attacked La Guaira and Puerto Cabello, principal ports of the Province of Venezuela and Britain formally declared war on 23 October 1739.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: The incident that gave its name to the war had occurred in 1731, off the coast of Florida, when the British brig "Rebecca" was boarded by a party from the Spanish patrol boat "La Isabela", commanded by the (effectively privateer) Juan de León Fandiño. After boarding, Fandiño cut off the left ear of the "Rebecca"'s captain, Robert Jenkins, whom he accused of smuggling (although Franklin's "Pennsylvania Gazette" for 7 October 1731, says it was Lieutenant Dorce). Fandiño told Jenkins, "Go, and tell your King that I will do the same, if he dares to do the same." In March 1738, Jenkins was ordered to testify before Parliament, presumably to repeat his story before a committee of the House of Commons. According to some accounts, he produced the severed ear as part of his presentation, although no detailed record of the hearing exists. The incident was considered alongside various other cases of "Spanish Depredations upon the British Subjects", and was perceived as an insult to Britain's honour and a clear .


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: The conflict was named by essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle, in 1858, one hundred and ten years after hostilities ended. Carlyle mentioned the ear in several passages of his "History of Friedrich II" (1858), most notably in Book XI, chapter VI, where he refers specifically to "the War of Jenkins's Ear".


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Vernon sent three ships commanded by Captain Thomas Waterhouse to intercept Spanish ships between La Guaira and Porto Bello. He decided to attack a number of vessels that he observed at La Guaira, which was controlled by the Royal Guipuzcoan Company of Caracas. The governor of the Province of Venezuela, Brigadier Don had prepared the port defences, and Spanish troops were well-commanded by Captain Don Francisco Saucedo. On 22 October, Waterhouse entered the port of La Guaira flying the Spanish flag. Expecting attack, the port gunners were not deceived by his ruse; they waited until the British squadron was within range and then simultaneously opened fire. After three hours of heavy shelling, Waterhouse ordered a withdrawal. The battered British squadron sailed to Jamaica to undertake emergency repairs. Trying later to explain his actions, Waterhouse argued that the capture of a few small Spanish vessels would not have justified the loss of his men.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Prior to 1739, trade between mainland Spain and its colonies was conducted only through specific ports; twice a year, outward bound ships assembled in Cadiz and the "Flota" escorted to Portobelo or Veracruz. One way to impact Spanish trade was by attacking or blockading these ports but as many ships carried cargoes financed by foreign merchants, the strategy also risked damaging British and neutral interests.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: During the 1727 to 1729 Anglo-Spanish War, the British attempted to take Portobelo but retreated after heavy losses from disease. On 22 November 1739, Vernon attacked the port with six ships of the line; it fell within twenty-four hours and the British occupied the town for three weeks before withdrawing, having first destroyed its fortifications, port and warehouses.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: The victory was widely celebrated in Britain; the song "Rule Britannia" was written in 1740 to mark the occasion and performed for the first time at a dinner in London honouring Vernon. The suburb of Portobello in Edinburgh and Portobello Road in London are among the places in Britain named after this success, while more medals were awarded for its capture than any other event in the eighteenth century.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: However, taking a port in Spain's American empire was considered a foregone conclusion by many Patriot Whigs and opposition Tories. They now pressed a reluctant Walpole to launch larger naval expeditions to the Gulf of Mexico. In the longer term, the Spanish replaced the twice yearly "Flota" with a larger number of smaller convoys, calling at more ports and Portobelo's economy did not recover until the building of the Panama Canal nearly two centuries later.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Following the success of Portobelo, Vernon decided to focus his efforts on the capture of Cartagena de Indias in present-day Colombia. Both Vernon and Edward Trelawny, governor of Jamaica, considered the Spanish gold shipping port to be a prime objective. Since the outbreak of the war, and Vernon's arrival in the Caribbean, the British had made a concerted effort to gain intelligence on the defences of Cartagena. In October 1739, Vernon sent First Lieutenant Percival to deliver a letter to Blas de Lezo and Don Pedro Hidalgo, governor of Cartagena. Percival was to use the opportunity to make a detailed study of the Spanish defences. This effort was thwarted when Percival was denied entry to the port.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: On 7 March 1740, in a more direct approach, Vernon undertook a reconnaissance-in-force of the Spanish city. Vernon left Port Royal in command of a squadron including ships of the line, two fire ships, three bomb vessels, and transport ships. Reaching Cartagena on 13 March, Vernon immediately landed several men to map the topography and to reconnoitre the Spanish squadron anchored in Playa Grande, west of Cartagena. Having not seen any reaction from the Spanish, on 18 March Vernon ordered the three bomb vessels to open fire on the city. Vernon intended to provoke a response that might give him a better idea of the defensive capabilities of the Spanish. Understanding Vernon's motives, Lezo did not immediately respond. Instead, Lezo ordered the removal of guns from some of his ships, in order to form a temporary shore battery for the purpose of suppressive fire. Vernon next initiated an amphibious assault, but in the face of strong resistance, the attempt to land 400 soldiers was unsuccessful. The British then undertook a three-day naval bombardment of the city. In total, the campaign lasted 21 days. Vernon then withdrew his forces, leaving HMS "Windsor Castle" and HMS "Greenwich" in the vicinity, with a mission to intercept any Spanish ship that might approach.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: After the destruction of Portobelo the previous November, Vernon proceeded to remove the last Spanish stronghold in the area. He attacked the fortress of San Lorenzo el Real Chagres, in present-day Panama on the banks of the Chagres River, near Portobelo. The fort was defended by Spanish patrol boats, and was armed with four guns and about thirty soldiers under Captain of Infantry Don Juan Carlos Gutiérrez Cevallos.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: At 3 pm on 22 March 1740, the British squadron, composed of the ships "Stafford", "Norwich", "Falmouth" and "Princess Louisa", the frigate "Diamond", the bomb vessels "Alderney", "Terrible", and "Cumberland", the fireships "Success" and "Eleanor", and transports "Goodly" and "Pompey", under command of Vernon, began to bombard the Spanish fortress. Given the overwhelming superiority of the British forces, Captain Cevallos surrendered the fort on 24 March, after resisting for two days.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Following the strategy previously applied at Porto Bello, the British destroyed the fort and seized the guns along with two Spanish patrol boats.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: During this time of British victories along the Caribbean coast, events taking place in Spain would prove to have a significant effect on the outcome of the largest engagement of the war. Spain had decided to replace Don Pedro Hidalgo as governor of Cartagena de Indias. But, the new governor-designate, Lieutenant General of the Royal Armies Sebastián de Eslava y Lazaga had first to dodge the Royal Navy in order to get to his new post. Starting from the Galician port of Ferrol, the vessels "Galicia" and "San Carlos" set out on the journey. Hearing the news, Vernon immediately sent four ships to intercept the Spanish. They were unsuccessful in their mission. The Spanish managed to circumvent the British interceptors and entered the port of Cartagena on 21 April 1740, landing there with the new governor and several hundred veteran soldiers.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: In May, Vernon returned to Cartagena de Indias aboard the flagship in charge of 13 warships, with the intention of bombarding the city. Lezo reacted by deploying his six ships of the line so that the British fleet was forced into ranges where they could only make short or long shots that were of little value. Vernon withdrew, asserting that the attack was merely a manoeuver. The main consequence of this action was to help the Spanish test their defences.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: The largest action of the war was a major amphibious attack launched by the British under Admiral Edward Vernon in March 1741 against Cartagena de Indias, one of Spain's principal gold-trading ports in their colony of New Granada (today Colombia). Vernon's expedition was hampered by inefficient organisation, his rivalry with the commander of his land forces, and the logistical problems of mounting and maintaining a major trans-Atlantic expedition. The strong fortifications in Cartagena and the able strategy of Spanish Commander Blas de Lezo were decisive in repelling the attack. Heavy losses on the British side were due in large part to virulent tropical diseases, primarily an outbreak of yellow fever, which took more lives than were lost in battle.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: The extreme ease with which the British destroyed Porto Bello led to a change in British plans. Instead of Vernon concentrating his next attack on Havana as expected, in order to conquer Cuba, he planned to attack Cartagena de Indias. Located in Colombia, it was the main port of the Viceroyalty and main point of the West Indian fleet for sailing to the Iberian Peninsula. In preparation the British gathered in Jamaica one of the largest fleets ever assembled. It consisted of 186 ships (60 more than the famous Spanish Armada of Philip II), bearing 2,620 artillery pieces and more than 27,000 men. Of that number, 10,000 were soldiers responsible for initiating the assault. There were also 12,600 sailors, 1,000 Jamaican slaves and macheteros, and 4,000 recruits from Virginia. The latter were led by Lawrence Washington, the older half-brother of George Washington, future President of the United States.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Colonial officials assigned Admiral Blas de Lezo to defend the fortified city. He was a marine veteran hardened by numerous naval battles in Europe, beginning with the War of the Spanish Succession, and by confrontations with European pirates in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, and Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean Sea. Assisting in that effort were Melchor de Navarrete and Carlos Desnaux, with a squadron of six ships of the line (the flagship vessel "Galicia" together with the "San Felipe," "San Carlos," "África," "Dragón," and "Conquistador") and a force of 3,000 soldiers, 600 militia and a group of native Indian archers.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Vernon ordered his forces to clear the port of all scuttled ships. On 13 March 1741, he landed a contingent of troops under command of Major General Thomas Wentworth and artillery to take Fort de San Luis de Bocachica. In support of that action, the British ships simultaneously opened with cannon fire, at a rate of 62 shots per hour. In turn, Lezo ordered four of the Spanish ships to aid 500 of his troops defending Desnaux's position, but the Spanish eventually had to retire to the city. Civilians were already evacuating it. After leaving Fort Bocagrande, the Spanish regrouped at Fort San Felipe de Barajas, while Washington's Virginians took up positions in the nearby hill of La Popa. Vernon, believing the victory at hand, sent a message to Jamaica stating that he had taken the city. The report was subsequently forwarded to London, where there was much celebration. Commemorative medals were minted, depicting the defeated Spanish defenders kneeling before Vernon. The robust image of the enemy depicted in the British medals bore little resemblance to Admiral Lezo. Maimed by years of battle, he was one-eyed and lame, with limited use of one hand.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: On the evening of 19 April, the British mounted an assault in force upon Castillo San Felipe de Barajas. Three columns of grenadiers, supported by Jamaicans and several British companies, moved under cover of darkness, with the aid of an intense naval bombardment. The British fought their way to the base of the fort's ramparts where they discovered that the Spanish had dug deep trenches. This effectively rendered the British scaling equipment too short for the task. The British advance was stymied since the fort's walls had not been breached, and the ramparts could not be topped. Neither could the British easily withdraw in the face of intense Spanish fire and under the weight of their own equipment. The Spanish seized on this opportunity, with devastating effect.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Reversing the tide of battle, the Spanish initiated a fixed bayonet charge at first light, inflicting heavy casualties on the British. The surviving British forces retreated to the safety of their ships. The British maintained a naval bombardment, sinking what remained of the small Spanish squadron (after Lezo's decision to scuttle some of his ships in an effort to block the harbour entrance). The Spanish thwarted any British attempt to land another ground assault force. The British troops were forced to remain aboard ship for a month, without sufficient reserves. With supplies running low, and with the outbreak of disease (primarily yellow fever), which took the lives of many on the crowded ships, Vernon was forced to raise the siege on 9 May and return to Jamaica. Six thousand British died while only one thousand Spanish perished.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Vernon carried on, successfully attacking the Spanish at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. On 5 March 1742, with the help of reinforcements from Europe, he launched an assault on Panama City, Panama. In 1742, Vernon was replaced by Rear-Admiral Chaloner Ogle and returned to England, where he gave an accounting to the Admiralty. He learned that he had been elected MP for Ipswich. Vernon maintained his naval career for another four years before retiring in 1746. In an active Parliamentary career, Vernon advocated for improvements in naval procedures. He continued to hold an interest in naval affairs until his death in 1757.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: News of the defeat at Cartagena was a significant factor in the downfall of the British Prime Minister Robert Walpole. Walpole's anti-war views were considered by the Opposition to have contributed to his poor prosecution of the war effort.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: The new government under Lord Wilmington wanted to shift the focus of Britain's war effort away from the Americas and into the Mediterranean. Spanish policy, dictated by the queen Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, also shifted to a European focus, to recover lost Spanish possessions in Italy from the Austrians. In 1742, a large British fleet under Nicholas Haddock was sent to try and intercept a Spanish army being transported from Barcelona to Italy, which he failed to do having only 10 ships. With the arrival of additional ships from Britain in February 1742, Haddock successfully blockaded the Spanish coast failing to force the Spanish fleet into an action.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Lawrence Washington survived the yellow fever outbreak, and eventually retired to Virginia. He named his estate Mount Vernon, in honour of his former commander.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: The success of the Porto Bello operation led the British, in September 1740, to send a squadron under Commodore George Anson to attack Spain's possessions in the Pacific. Before they reached the Pacific, numerous men had died from disease, and they were in no shape to launch any sort of attack. Anson reassembled his force in the Juan Fernández Islands, allowing them to recuperate before he moved up the Chilean coast, raiding the small town of Paita. He reached Acapulco too late to intercept the yearly Manila galleon, which had been one of the principal objectives of the expedition. He retreated across the Pacific, running into a storm that forced him to dock for repairs in Canton. After this he tried again the following year to intercept the Manila galleon. He accomplished this on 20 June 1743 off Cape Espiritu Santo, capturing more than a million gold coins.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Anson sailed home, arriving in London more than three and a half years after he had set out, having circumnavigated the globe in the process. Less than a tenth of his forces had survived the expedition. Anson's achievements helped establish his name and wealth in Britain, leading to his appointment as First Lord of the Admiralty.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: In 1740, the inhabitants of Georgia launched an overland attack on the fortified city of St. Augustine in Florida, supported by a British naval blockade, but were repelled. The British forces led by James Oglethorpe, the Governor of Georgia, besieged St. Augustine for over a month before retreating, and abandoned their artillery in the process. The failure of the Royal Navy blockade to prevent supplies reaching the settlement was a crucial factor in the collapse of the siege. Oglethorpe began preparing Georgia for an expected Spanish assault. The Battle of Bloody Mose, where the Spanish and free black forces repelled Oglethorpe's forces at Fort Mose, was also a part of the War of Jenkins' Ear.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: When war broke out in 1739, both Britain and Spain expected that France would join the war on the Spanish side. This played a large role in the tactical calculations of the British. If the Spanish and French were to operate together, they would have a superiority of ninety ships of the line. In 1740, there was an invasion scare when it was believed that a French fleet at Brest and a Spanish fleet at Ferrol were about to combine and launch an invasion of England. Although this proved not to be the case, the British kept the bulk of their naval and land forces in southern England to act as a deterrent.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Many in the British government were afraid to launch a major offensive against the Spanish, for fear that a major British victory would draw France into the war to protect the balance of power.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: In 1742, the Spanish launched an attempt to seize the British colony of Georgia. Manuel de Montiano commanded 2,000 troops, who were landed on St Simons Island off the coast. General Oglethorpe rallied the local forces and defeated the Spanish regulars at Bloody Marsh and Gully Hole Creek, forcing them to withdraw. Border clashes between the colonies of Florida and Georgia continued for the next few years, but neither Spain nor Britain undertook offensive operations on the North American mainland.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: The British attacked several locations in the Caribbean with little consequence to the geopolitical situation in the Atlantic. The weakened British forces under Vernon launched an attack against Cuba, landing in Guantánamo Bay with a plan to march the 45 miles to Santiago de Cuba and capture the city. Vernon clashed with the army commander, and the expedition withdrew when faced with heavier Spanish opposition than expected. Vernon remained in the Caribbean until October 1742, before heading back to Britain; he was replaced by admiral Chaloner Ogle, who took command of a sickly fleet. Fewer than half the sailors were fit for duty. The following year, a smaller fleet of Royal Navy led by commodore Charles Knowles raided the Venezuelan coast, on 2 March 1743 attacking newly La Guaira controlled by Royal Guipuzcoan Company of Caracas whose ships had rendered great assistance to the Spanish navy during War in carrying troops, arms, stores and ammunition from Spain to her colonies, and its destruction would be a severe blow both to the Company and the Spanish Crown.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: After a fierce defence by Governor 's troops, Commodore Knowles, having suffered 97 killed and 308 wounded over three days, decided to retire west before sunrise on 6 March. He decided to attack nearby Puerto Cabello. Despite his orders to rendezvous at Borburata Keys— east of Puerto Cabello—captains of the detached "Burford", "Norwich", "Assistance", and "Otter" proceeded to Curaçao. The commodore angrily followed them in. On 28 March, he sent his smaller ships to cruise off Puerto Cabello, and once his main body had been refitted, went to sea again on 31 March. He struggled against contrary winds and currents for two weeks before finally diverting to the eastern tip of Santo Domingo by 19 April.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: By mid-1742, the War of the Austrian Succession had broken out in Europe. Principally fought by Prussia and Austria over possession of Silesia, the war soon engulfed most of the major powers of Europe, who joined two competing alliances. The scale of this new war dwarfed any of the fighting in the Americas, and drew Britain and Spain's attention back to operations on the European continent. The return of Vernon's fleet in 1742 marked the end of major offensive operations in the War of Jenkins' Ear. France entered the war in 1744, emphasizing the European theatre and planning an ambitious invasion of Britain. While it ultimately failed, the threat persuaded British policymakers of the dangers of sending significant forces to the Americas which might be needed at home.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Britain did not attempt any additional attacks on Spanish possessions. In 1745, William Pepperrell of New England led a colonial expedition, supported by a British fleet under Commodore Peter Warren, against the French fortress of Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island off Canada. Pepperrell was knighted for his achievement, but Britain returned Louisbourg to the French by the Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle in 1748. A decade later, during the Seven Years' War (known as the French and Indian War in the North American theatre), British forces under Lord Jeffrey Amherst and General Wolfe recaptured it.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: The war involved privateering by both sides. Anson captured a valuable Manila galleon, but this was more than offset by the numerous Spanish privateering attacks on British shipping along the transatlantic triangular trade route. They seized hundreds of British ships, looting their goods and slaves, and operated with virtual impunity in the West Indies; they were also active in European waters. The Spanish convoys proved almost unstoppable. During the Austrian phase of the war, the British fleet attacked poorly protected French merchantmen instead.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: From August 1746, negotiations began in the city of Lisbon, in neutral Portugal, to try to arrange a peace settlement. The death of Philip V of Spain had brought his son Ferdinand VI to the throne, and he was more willing to be conciliatory over the issues of trade. However, because of their commitments to their Austrian allies, the British were unable to agree to Spanish demands for territory in Italy and talks broke down.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: The eventual diplomatic resolution formed part of the wider settlement of the War of the Austrian Succession by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle which restored the . British territorial and economic ambitions on the Caribbean had been repelled, while Spain, although unprepared at the start of the war, proved successful in defending their American possessions. Moreover, the war put an end to the British smuggling, and the Spanish fleet was able to dispatch three treasure convoys to Europe during the war and off-balance the British squadron at Jamaica. The issue of the was not mentioned in the treaty, as its importance had lessened for both nations. The issue was finally settled by the 1750 Treaty of Madrid in which Britain agreed to renounce its claim to the in exchange for a payment of £100,000. The South Sea Company ceased its activity, although the treaty also allowed favourable conditions for British trade with Spanish America.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: George Anson's expedition to the Southeast Pacific led the Spanish authorities in Lima and Santiago to advance the position of the Spanish Empire in the area. Forts were thus built in the Juan Fernández Islands and the Chonos Archipelago in 1749 and 1750.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: Relations between Britain and Spain improved temporarily, in subsequent years, due to a concerted effort by the Duke of Newcastle to cultivate Spain as an ally. A succession of Anglophile ministers were appointed in Spain, including José de Carvajal and Ricardo Wall, all of whom were on good terms with British Ambassador Benjamin Keene, in an effort to avoid a repeat of hostilities. As a result, during the early part of the Seven Years' War between Britain and France, Spain remained neutral. However, it later joined the French and lost both Havana and Manila to the British in 1762, although both were returned as part of the peace settlement.


title: War of Jenkins' Ear

text: The War of Jenkins' Ear is commemorated annually on the last Saturday in May at Wormsloe Plantation in Savannah, Georgia.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: Bumiputera or Bumiputra (Jawi: ) is a term used in Malaysia to describe Malays, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, and various indigenous peoples of East Malaysia (see official definition below). The term is sometimes controversial, and has similar usage in the Malay world, used similarly in Indonesia and Brunei.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: The term is derived from the Sanskrit which was later absorbed into the classical Malay word (), which can be translated literally as "son of the land" or "son of the soil". In Indonesia, this term is known as "Pribumi".


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: In the 1970s, the Malaysian government implemented policies designed to favour bumiputras (including affirmative action in public education and in the public sector) to elevate the socioeconomic status of the economically disadvantaged bumiputera community and to defuse interethnic tensions following the 13 May Incident in 1969 by placating the Malay majority through granting them a privileged status over the Malaysian Chinese. Originally intended to be a temporary measure, these policies are still in effect and have been described as racially discriminatory. Although the policies have succeeded in creating a significant urban Malay and Native Bornean middle class, they have been less effective in eradicating poverty among rural communities.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: The concept of a bumiputra ethnic group in Malaysia was coined by Abdul Razak Hussein. It recognised the "special position" of the Malays provided in the Constitution of Malaysia, in particular Article 153. However, the constitution does not use the term bumiputra; it defines only "Malay" and "aboriginal peoples" (Article 160(2)), "natives" of Sarawak (161A(6)(a)), and "natives" of Sabah (Article 161A(6) (b)). Definitions of "bumiputra" in public use vary among different institutions, organisations, and government departments and agencies.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: In the book "Buku Panduan Kemasukan ke Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Awam, Program Pengajian Lepasan SPM/Setaraf Sesi Akademik 2007/2008" (Guidebook for entry into public higher learning institutions for SPM/equivalent graduates for academic year 2007/2008), the Malaysian Higher Education Ministry defined bumiputra as follows, depending on the region of origin of the individual applicant:


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: In addition to the interpretation given above, a broader definition of bumiputra include groups such as native Indonesians, Malaysian Siamese, Muslim Indian Malaysians, Peranakan and the Kristang people of Portuguese-Eurasian descent. Most of these encompass communities that were established in southeast Asia prior to the period of British colonial rule which saw large-scale immigration from China. Others favour a definition encompassing all children of Bumiputra; there have been notable cases of people with one Bumiputra parent and one non-Bumiputra parent being dismissed as non-Bumiputra.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: At the time of Malaya's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, the population included many first- or second-generation immigrants who had come to fill manpower needs as indentured labourers, among rich Chinese merchants and settlers who brought their wealth and investment into Malaysia.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: Chinese immigrants, who typically settled in urban areas, played a significant role in the commercial sector after the Indians left the country to return to India, much of the commercial sector was taken over by wealthy Chinese merchants. The Communities Liaison Committee (CLC), comprising leading politicians from different racial backgrounds, supported the promotion of economic equality for the Malays, conditional on political equality for the non-Malays. CLC member E.E.C. Thuraisingham later said, "I and others believed that the backward Malays should be given a better deal. Malays should be assisted to attain parity with non-Malays to forge a united Malayan Nation of equals."


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: Article 160 defines a Malay as being one who "professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay customs and is the child of at least one parent who was born within the Federation of Malaysia before independence of Malaya on 31 August 1957, or the issue of such a person."


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: Article 8 of the Constitution, states that all Malaysian citizens shall be equal under the law, and "Except as expressly authorised by this Constitution, there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent or place of birth in any law or in the appointment to any office or employment under a public authority or in the administration of any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment." Article 153 itself expressly forbids particular forms of discrimination; clause 5 states that "All persons of whatever race in the same grade in the service of the Federation shall, subject to the terms and conditions of their employment, be treated impartially," while clause 9 states: "Nothing in this Article shall empower Parliament to restrict business or trade solely for the purpose of reservations for Malays."


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: The term of the Bumiputras' special position has been disputed. The Reid Commission, which drafted the Constitution, initially proposed that Article 153 expire after 15 years unless renewed by Parliament. This qualification was struck from the final draft. After the 13 May Incident in 1969, representatives within the government argued over whether the special position of the bumiputras ought to have a sunset clause.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: Ismail Abdul Rahman argued that "the question be left to the Malays themselves because ... as more and more Malays became educated and gained self-confidence, they themselves would do away with this 'special position'." Ismail believed the special position was "a slur on the ability of the Malays." In 1970, however, one member of the Cabinet said that Malay special rights would remain for "hundreds of years to come."


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: In the 1970s, the government implemented the New Economic Policy (NEP), designed to be a more aggressive form of affirmative action for the Bumiputra than Article 153. Article 153 provides specifically for the use of quotas in the granting of scholarships, positions in the civil service, and business licences, as well as native reservations of land. Policies under the rubric of the NEP include subsidies for real estate purchases, quotas for public equity shares, and general subsidies to Bumiputra businesses.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: Former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his predecessor Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad have both suggested that Malays should depend less on government assistance. Many observers believe full abolition of bumiputra privileges is unlikely, especially in view of the constitutional issues involved, although successive administrations since Mahathir have attempted to reform the system of government aid for the bumiputra. Some bumiputra groups believe further affirmative action is necessary.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: Parliament began to use the term "bumiputra" in 1965. Following debate of the act to create the Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), the government founded an agency to preserve bumiputra interests.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: In July 2017, Prime Minister Najib Razak said that the government would consider the request of the Muslim Indian community to be recognized as Bumiputera, in what is seen as a move to woo voters in the lead-up to the upcoming general election.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: Certain but not all pro-bumiputra policies exist as affirmative action for bumiputras, for NEP is racial-based and not deprivation-based. For instance, all Bumiputra, regardless of their financial standing, are entitled 7 percent discount on houses or property, including luxurious units; whilst a low-income non-Bumiputra receives no such financial assistance. Other preferential policies include quotas for the following: admission to government educational institutions, qualification for public scholarships, marking of universities exam papers, special bumiputras-only classes prior to university's end of term exams, for positions in government, and ownership of businesses. Most of the policies were established in the Malaysian New Economic Policy (NEP) period. Many policies focus on trying to achieve a bumiputra share of corporate equity, comprising at least 30% of the total. Ismail Abdul Rahman proposed this target after the government was unable to agree on a suitable policy goal.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: In a report titled 2012 Investment Climate Statement – Malaysia published by the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs (US Department of State), under the heading "Ethnic Preferences", part of a paragraph succinctly describes the reality of such Bumiputra policy as follows:"Many of the preference policies are opaque, with details of implementation largely left to the various ministries and civil servants within those ministries. Policies and practices vary greatly. Some practices are explicit and contained in law or regulation, while others are informal, leaving much ambiguity for potential investors. The civil service itself is subject to Bumiputra hiring preferences. The NEM [New Economic Model] proposes reforming ethnic preferences in business ownership and social safety net programs. Some conservative Bumiputra groups have voiced strong opposition to any significant changes to the extensive preferences."


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: As a result of these policies, many bumiputera with good connections quickly became millionaires. According to Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, former Minister of Trade and Industry, the policy was to create "Towering Malays". In 2005 she gave a speech that stated: "If there are young Malay entrepreneurs whose companies are successful, then we appreciate their success, we want Towering Malays of glokal (global and local) standard". She also said that the policy of Approved Permits (APs) had produced many bumiputera entrepreneurs in the automotive industry.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: Since 2000, the Government has discussed phasing out certain affirmative action programs and reinstating "meritocracy". In 2003 it began the system of "Malaysian model meritocracy" for university admission. Admission to public universities was not based upon a common examination such as the SAT or A-Levels, but rather upon a two parallel systems of either a one-year matriculation course or a two-year STPM (Malaysian Higher School Certificate) programme. Bumiputras compose an overwhelming majority of entrants to the matriculation programme. It is a commonly-held belief that the public university entry requirements are easier for matriculation students and disproportionately difficult for STPM students.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: Quotas also exist for Public Services Department (JPA) scholarships, full scholarships offered to students to study in leading universities worldwide. These scholarships are given on the basis of SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, the equivalent of O-Levels) results, ethnic group, and certain quotas. The JPA scholars are sent to selected pre-university programmes offered by the government – from there, they apply to universities.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: In the 1965 session of Parliament, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (who was also a Member of that Parliament) questioned the implementation of Malay rights as proposed. Lee asked, "How does the Malay in the "kampung" find his way out into this modernised civil society? By becoming servants of the 0.3 per cent who would have the money to hire them to clean their shoe, open their motorcar doors?" and "How does telling a Malay bus driver that he should support the party of his Malay director (UMNO) and the Chinese bus conductor to join another party of his Chinese director (MCA) – how does that improve the standards of the Malay bus driver and the Chinese bus conductor who are both workers in the same company?"


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: Lee closed with "Meanwhile, whenever there is a failure of economic, social and educational policies, you come back and say, oh, these wicked Chinese, Indian and others opposing Malay rights. They don't oppose Malay rights. They, the Malay, have the right as Malaysian citizens to go up to the level of training and education that the more competitive societies, the non-Malay society, has produced. That is what must be done, isn't it? Not to feed them with this obscurantist doctrine that all they have got to do is to get Malay rights for the few special Malays and their problem has been resolved."


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: At the 2004 annual general assembly of the United Malays National Organisation, which is the largest member of the governing coalition, deputy chair Badruddin Amiruldin cautioned against questioning the Bumiputras' special rights, which met with approval from the delegates: "Let no one from the other races ever question the rights of Malays on this land. Don't question the religion because this is my right on this land." In 2004, Mohd. Johari Baharum, parliamentary secretary of the Prime Minister's Department, stated that the PSD scholarships would remain quota based. He added that there were no plans to convert this to a merit based system, and that the total value of the PSD scholarship since 1996 was 2.4 billion Ringgit.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: Another controversial aspect is that the Orang Asli of peninsular Malaysia are not considered Bumiputra under the Federal constitution. As their settlement predates that of the Malays, this is considered by many, that Bumiputra is about the promotion one religion over another, especially since Orang Asli are much worse off than Muslim Malays. Others argue that the Orang Asli are in fact considered Bumiputra.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: On 1 March 2009, Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the spiritual leader of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party stated that the term "bumiputera" is racist and the policy prevented other races from receiving government aid. Nik Aziz's remarks were made in response to the criticisms and threats made by UMNO against Democratic Action Party's Boo Cheng Hau, the opposition leader in Johor when Boo was reported to have compared "bumiputeraism" with state apartheid.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: On 1 February 2015, Swiss academic Tariq Ramadan reflected on how non-Muslims have been treated as second class citizens. He stated, "I'm sorry but some of your fellow citizens in this country who are not Muslims are facing this discrimination, they are facing injustices."


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: In 2006, the then Minister of Higher Education, Mustapa Mohamad, stated that he wanted public universities to recruit more non-bumiputra academic staff to "strive for world-class institutions", which may have signaled a move toward less racial discrimination in academia. However this does not affect entry into universities, which is still designed to restrict other races access to higher education in favour of the bumiputra.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: The manufacturing sector is exempted from the Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) Guidelines and the mandatory 30% Bumiputera equity and restrictions in market entry have been removed for all (manufacturing) sub-sectors.


title: Bumiputera (Malaysia)

text: Malaysia requires citizens to carry a national identification card called MyKad. Smart Cards identify citizens as Muslims or Non-Muslims. the National identification card does not specify whether or not the holder is a bumiputera.


title: Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib

text: Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib (; ; ) was the father of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was the son of Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim and Fatima bint Amr of the Makhzum Clan.


title: Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib

text: "ʿAbd Allāh" means "servant of God" or "slave of God". His full name was ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim ('Amr) ibn Abd Manāf (al-Mughīra) ibn Qusayy (Zayd) ibn Kilāb ibn Murra ibn Ka`b ibn Lu'ayy ibn Ghālib ibn Fahr (Quraysh) ibn Mālik ibn an-Naḑr (Qays) ibn Kinānah ibn Khuzaymah ibn Mudrikah ('Āmir) ibn Ilyās ibn Muḍar ibn Nizār ibn Ma'ād ibn 'Adnān.


title: Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib

text: His father chose for him Āminah daughter of Wahb ibn 'Abd Munāf who was the grandson of Zuhrah ibn Kilab, the brother of his great-great-grandfather Qusayy ibn Kilāb. Wahb had been the chief of Banu Zuhrah as well as its eldest and noblest member but had died some time previously and Āminah became a ward of his brother Wuhaib, who had succeeded him as chief of the clan.


title: Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib

text: His father went with him to the quarter of Banū Zuhrah. There, he sought the residence of Wuhayb and went in to ask for the hand of Wahb's daughter for his son. 'Abdullāh's father fixed his marriage with Aminah. It was said that a light shone out of his forehead and that this light was the promise of a Prophet as offspring. Many women approached 'Abdullāh, who is reported to have been a handsome man, so that they might gain the honor of producing his offspring. However it is believed that, as decided by God, the light was destined to be transferred to Āminah through 'Abdullāh after consummating the marriage. 'Abdullāh's father was the custodian of the Kaaba in Mecca. 'Abdullāh lived with Āminah among her relatives the first three days of the marriage. Afterwards, they moved together to the quarter of 'Abdul-Muttalib.


title: Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib

text: Soon after their marriage 'Abdullāh was called to Palestine and Syria (in what is "Ash-Shām" or the Levant) on a trading caravan trip. When he left, Āminah was pregnant. 'Abdullāh was absent for several months in Gaza. On his way back he stopped for a longer rest with the family of his paternal grandmother, Salma bint Amr, who belonged to the Najjar clan of the Khazraj tribe in Medina. He was preparing to join a caravan to Mecca when he felt ill. The caravan went on without him to Mecca with news of his absence and disease. 'Abdul-Muttalib immediately sent his eldest son Al-Harith to Medina. However by the time Harith arrived, his brother Abdullah who was in his early twenties, was already dead and was buried shortly after he became unwell, Harith returned to Mecca to announce the death of 'Abdullāh to his aged father and his pregnant wife Āminah.


title: Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib

text: He was buried in Dar-ul-Nabeghah in Medina (today Saudi Arabia), and his mausoleum was demolished on the 20th or 21st January, 1978. Reportedly he was reburied in Al-Baqee' Graveyard, next to Muhammad's son Ibrahim.


title: Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib

text: 'Abdullāh left five camels, a herd of sheep and goats, and an Abyssinian slave nurse, called Umm Ayman, who was to take care of his son Muhammad. This patrimony does not prove that 'Abdullāh was wealthy, but at the same time it does not prove that he was poor. Rather, it shows that Muhammad was his heir. Furthermore, 'Abdullāh was still a young man capable of working and of amassing a fortune. His father was still alive and none of his wealth had as yet been transferred to his sons.


title: Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib

text: Islamic scholars have long been divided over the religious beliefs of Muhammad's mother and her fate in the afterlife. One transmission by Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah states that Allah (God) refused to forgive Aminah for her "kufr" (disbelief). Another transmission in Musnad al-Bazzar states that the Muhammad's mother was brought back to life and accepted Islam, then returned to the "Barzakh". Some Ash'ari and Shafi'i scholars argued that neither would be punished in the afterlife, as they were "Ahl al-fatrah", or "People of the interval" between the prophetic messages of 'Isa (Jesus) and Muhammad. The concept of "Ahl al-fatrah" is not universally accepted among Islamic scholars, and there is debate concerning the extent of salvation available for active practitioners of "Shirk" (Polytheism), though the majority of scholars have come to agree with it, and disregard the "ahadith" (narrations) stating that Muhammad's parents were condemned to hell.


title: Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib

text: While a work attributed to Abu Hanifah, an early Sunni scholar, stated that both Aminah and Abdullah died upon their innate nature ("Mata 'ala al-fitrah"), some later authors of "mawlid" texts related a tradition in which Aminah and Abdullah were temporarily revived and embraced Islam. Scholars like Ibn Taymiyyah stated that this was a lie, though Al-Qurtubi stated that the concept did not disagree with Islamic theology. According to Ali al-Qari, the preferred view is that both the parents of Muhammad were Muslims. According to Al-Suyuti, Isma'il Haqqi, and other Islamic scholars, all of the narrations indicating that the parents of Muhammad were not forgiven were later abrogated when they were brought to life and accepted Islam. Shia Muslims believe that all of Muhammad's ancestors, Aminah included, were monotheists who practiced the shariah of Abraham, and were therefore entitled to Paradise. A Shia tradition states that Allah forbade the fires of Hell from touching either of Muhammad's parents.


title: Pannonia

text: Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now western Hungary, western Slovakia, eastern Austria, northern Croatia, north-western Serbia, northern Slovenia, and northern Bosnia and Herzegovina.


title: Pannonia

text: Julius Pokorny believed the name "Pannonia" is derived from Illyrian, from the Proto-Indo-European root "*pen-", "swamp, water, wet" (cf. English "fen", "marsh"; Hindi "pani", "water").


title: Pannonia

text: Pliny the Elder, in "Natural History", places the eastern regions of the Hercynium jugum, the "Hercynian mountain chain", in Pannonia and Dacia (now Romania). He also gives us some dramaticised description of its composition, in which the proximity of the forest trees causes competitive struggle among them ("inter se rixantes"). He mentions its gigantic oaks. But even he—if the passage in question is not an interpolated marginal gloss—is subject to the legends of the gloomy forest. He mentions unusual birds, which have feathers that "shine like fires at night". Medieval bestiaries named these birds the "Ercinee". The impenetrable nature of the "Hercynia Silva" hindered the last concerted Roman foray into the forest, by Drusus, during 12–9 BC: Florus asserts that "Drusus invisum atque inaccessum in id tempus Hercynium saltum" (Hercynia saltus, the "Hercynian ravine-land")" patefecit".


title: Pannonia

text: The first inhabitants of this area known to history were the Pannonii (Pannonians), a group of Indo-European tribes akin to Illyrians. From the 4th century BC, it was invaded by various Celtic tribes. Trade flourished between Latins and Celts for one and a half century before the sudden Roman invasion. The country was not, however, definitively subdued by the Romans until 9 BC, when it was incorporated into Illyricum, the frontier of which was thus extended as far as the Danube.


title: Pannonia

text: The expansion of Dacians into Pannonia pressured Rome to prevent them from fully conquering it. Cotiso was defeated by Augustus and with his death in 9 BC, Pannonia fully came under Roman control.


title: Pannonia

text: In AD 6, the Pannonians, with the Dalmatians and other Illyrian tribes, engaged in the so-called Great Illyrian Revolt, and were overcome by Tiberius and Germanicus, after a hard-fought campaign, which lasted for three years. After the rebellion was crushed in AD 9, the province of Illyricum was dissolved, and its lands were divided between the new provinces of Pannonia in the north and Dalmatia in the south. The date of the division is unknown, most certainly after AD 20 but before AD 50. The proximity of dangerous barbarian tribes (Quadi, Marcomanni) necessitated the presence of a large number of troops (seven legions in later times), and numerous fortresses were built on the bank of the Danube.


title: Pannonia

text: Some time between the years 102 and 107, between the first and second Dacian wars, Trajan divided the province into Pannonia Superior (western part with the capital Carnuntum), and Pannonia Inferior (eastern part with the capitals in Aquincum and Sirmium). According to Ptolemy, these divisions were separated by a line drawn from Arrabona in the north to Servitium in the south; later, the boundary was placed further east. The whole country was sometimes called the Pannonias (Pannoniae).


title: Pannonia

text: Pannonia Superior was under the consular legate, who had formerly administered the single province, and had three legions under his control. Pannonia Inferior was at first under a praetorian legate with a single legion as the garrison; after Marcus Aurelius, it was under a consular legate, but still with only one legion. The frontier on the Danube was protected by the establishment of the two colonies Aelia Mursia and Aelia Aquincum by Hadrian.


title: Pannonia

text: Diocletian also moved parts of today's Slovenia out of Pannonia and incorporated them in Noricum. In 324 AD, Constantine I enlarged the borders of Roman Pannonia to the east, annexing the plains of what is now eastern Hungary, northern Serbia and western Romania up to the limes that he created: the Devil's Dykes.


title: Pannonia

text: In the 4th-5th century, one of the dioceses of the Roman Empire was known as the Diocese of Pannonia. It had its capital in Sirmium and included all four provinces that were formed from historical Pannonia, as well as the provinces of Dalmatia, Noricum Mediterraneum and Noricum Ripense.


title: Pannonia

text: In the 4th century, the Romans (especially under Valentinian I) fortified the villas and relocated barbarians to the border regions. In 358 they won a great victory over the Sarmatians, but raids didn't stop. In 401 the Visigoths fled to the province from the Huns, and the border guarding peoples fled to Italia from them, but were beaten by Uldin in exchange for the transferring of Eastern Pannonia. In 433 Rome completely handed over the territory to Attila for the subjugation of the Burgundians attacking Gaul.


title: Pannonia

text: During the Migrations Period in the 5th century, some parts of Pannonia were ceded to the Huns in 433 by Flavius Aetius, the magister militum of the Western Roman Empire. After the collapse of the Hunnic empire in 454, large numbers of Ostrogoths were settled by Emperor Marcian in the province as foederati. The Eastern Roman Empire controlled southern parts of Pannonia in the 6th century, during the reign of Justinian I. The Byzantine province of Pannonia with its capital at Sirmium was temporarily restored, but it included only a small southeastern part of historical Pannonia.


title: Pannonia

text: Afterwards, it was again invaded by the Avars in the 560s, and the Slavs, who first may settled c. 480s but became independent only from the 7th century. In 790s, it was invaded by the Franks, who used the name "Pannonia" to designate the newly formed frontier province, the March of Pannonia. The term Pannonia was also used for Slavic polity like Lower Pannonia that was vassal to the Frankish Empire.


title: Pannonia

text: Between the 5th and the 10th centuries, the romanized population of Pannonia developed the Romance Pannonian language, mainly around Lake Balaton in present-day western Hungary, where there was the keszthely culture. This language and the related culture became extinct with the arrival of the Magyars.


title: Pannonia

text: The native settlements consisted of (cantons) containing a number of (villages), the majority of the large towns being of Roman origin. The cities and towns in Pannonia were:


title: Pannonia

text: The country was fairly productive, especially after the great forests had been cleared by Probus and Galerius. Before that time, timber had been one of its most important exports. Its chief agricultural products were oats and barley, from which the inhabitants brewed a kind of beer named sabaea. Vines and olive trees were little cultivated. Pannonia was also famous for its breed of hunting dogs. Although no mention is made of its mineral wealth by the ancients, it is probable that it contained iron and silver mines. Its chief rivers were the Dravus, Savus, and Arrabo, in addition to the Danuvius (less correctly, Danubius), into which the first three rivers flow.


title: Passover Seder

text: The Passover Seder (; , 'Passover order/arrangement'; ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar (i.e., at the start of the 15th; a Hebrew day begins at sunset). The day falls in late March or in April of the Gregorian calendar; Passover lasts for seven days in Israel and eight days outside Israel. Jews traditionally observe one seder if in Israel and two (one on each of the first two nights) if in the Jewish diaspora. The Seder is a ritual involving a retelling of the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt, taken from the Book of Exodus ("Shemot") in the Jewish Torah. The Seder itself is based on the Biblical verse commanding Jews to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt: "You shall tell your child on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'" (Exodus 13:8) At the seder, Jews read the text of the Haggadah, an ancient Tannaitic work. The Haggadah contains the narrative of the Israelite exodus from Egypt, special blessings and rituals, Talmudic commentaries, and Passover songs.


title: Passover Seder

text: Seder customs include telling the story, discussing the story, drinking four cups of wine, eating matza, partaking of symbolic foods, and reclining in celebration of freedom. The Seder is among the most commonly celebrated Jewish rituals, performed by Jews all over the world.


title: Passover Seder

text: The Seder is most often conducted in the family home, although communal Seders are also organized by synagogues, schools and community centers, some open to the general public. It is customary to invite guests, especially strangers and the needy. The Seder is integral to Jewish faith and identity: as explained in the Haggadah, if not for divine intervention and the Exodus, the Jewish people would still be slaves in Egypt. Therefore, the Seder is an occasion for praise and thanksgiving and for re-dedication to the idea of liberation. Furthermore, the words and rituals of the Seder are a primary vehicle for the transmission of the Jewish faith from grandparent to child, and from one generation to the next. Attending a Seder and eating matzah on Passover is a widespread custom even among those who are not religiously observant.


title: Passover Seder

text: Family members come to the table dressed in their holiday clothes. There is a tradition for the person leading the Seder to wear a white robe called a kittel. For the first half of the Seder, each participant will only need a plate and a wine glass. At the head of the table is a Seder plate containing various symbolic foods that will be eaten or pointed out during the course of the Seder. Placed nearby is a plate with three matzot and dishes of salt water for dipping.


title: Passover Seder

text: Each participant receives a copy of the Haggadah: an ancient text that contains the complete Seder service. Men and women are equally obliged and eligible to participate in the Seder. Traditionally, each participant at the Seder table recites the Haggadah in the original Hebrew and Aramaic. Halakha (the collective body of Jewish religious laws) requires that certain parts be said in language the participants can understand, and critical parts are often said in both Hebrew and the native language. The leader will often interrupt the reading to discuss different points with his or her children, or to offer an insight into the meaning or interpretation of the words.


title: Passover Seder

text: In some homes, participants take turns reciting the text of the Haggadah, in the original Hebrew or in translation. It is traditional for the head of the household and other participants to have pillows placed behind them for added comfort. At several points during the Seder, participants lean to the left – when drinking the four cups of wine, eating the Afikoman, and eating the korech sandwich.