title: Wiley (musician)

text: Regarded as a pioneer in the British underground music scene with a prolific work rate and a versatile music artist with many crossover hits, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to music Wiley has been stabbed on several occasions. In 2008, a stabbing left him with a visible scar on the left side of his face.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: On 24 July 2020, Wiley made a series of posts and videos on social media, widely condemned as anti-semitic.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: Richard Kylea Cowie Jr. was born on 19 January 1979 in Bow, East London. He is of Trinidadian and Antiguan descent. Cowie's father, Richard Cowie Senior was a reggae artist during Cowie's youth in the 1980s and introduced Cowie to early hip-hop such as The Sugarhill Gang. Cowie's interest in music began when his father introduced him to the drums. Cowie moved around London a lot as a child with his father before moving to Chatham, Kent to live with his grandmother when he was ten. Cowie spent a year in Chatham and described it as a bad time, saying "I just wanted to go and live with my dad. I felt abandoned." Cowie eventually moved back to Bow to live with his father when he was eleven years old.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: When Cowie was a teenager in the early-1990s, he began to sell crack cocaine and heroin. Cowie was introduced to drug dealing from a DJ friend who was making a lot of money at the time. Cowie stopped dealing drugs when a local drug dealer who was much older than him began to threaten him and his friend. Cowie began producing music after he stopped dealing drugs as an alternative way to make money. Cowie started as a DJ, and eventually began rapping, incorporating garage music and drum and bass into his produced instrumentals which led to the creation of the first ever grime beats such as "Eskimo", produced in Christmas of 1999 or 2000 and officially released in 2002. He broadcast his productions over pirate radio stations such as Rinse FM. Initially Wiley went by the name DJ Wildchild, until a woman from Kool FM began using the name Wildchild herself and surpassed Wiley in popularity. As a result, he changed his name to Wiley Kat, a reference to a Thundercats character, and later simply Wiley.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: Though Cowie stopped selling drugs, he was still associated with criminal gangs and with people who took part in criminal activities. This led to Wiley being involved in many situations that were life-threatening. On one occasion Cowie's friend had solicited money from someone following a drug deal though the money never was paid, Cowie argued with the person who owed his friend money and eventually Cowie was ambushed when attending a show. The confrontation led to Cowie being stabbed seven times. Several weeks later, the same people attacked Cowie outside a sports retail store, which led to Cowie almost dying in a hospital in Hammersmith. Cowie has been stabbed more than twenty times in his lifetime and has been in numerous other life-threatening situations including being chased by a man with a samurai sword and being shot at with shotguns.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: As a teenager, Wiley featured on pirate radio stations such as Rinse FM and drum and bass stations. In 2000, Wiley went from SS Crew to join The Ladies Hit Squad, a garage crew with his college friends DJ Target and MC Maxwell D. They achieved some success on the UK garage scene and soon decided to combine with rival crew Pay As U Go to become a 'super crew' containing members of Ladies Hit Squad, as well as DJ Slimzee, DJ Geeneus and MCs Major Ace and Plague A Lero from Brown Brothers whom Wiley occasionally deejayed for. God's Gift from Deck Collecters Crew, Flow Dan and Riko Dan joined soon after. In 2002, the collective achieved a top 20 hit with "Champagne Dance". Wiley also received wide recognition in 2000 for his UK garage record "Nicole's Groove" which he produced under the stage name Phaze One.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: After Pay As U Go disbanded, Wiley went on to form the Roll Deep entourage, which included Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Stryder. They moved away from a traditional UK garage sound, and eventually found themselves creating music that would be termed grime.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: From 2001 onwards, Wiley began producing instrumental singles on his Wiley Kat Recordings label, including "Eskimo", "Avalanche", "Ice Rink" and "Snowman". These led to a solo record deal with XL Recordings.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: In 2004, Wiley released his debut album, "Treddin' on Thin Ice" on XL. Singles from the album include "Wot Do U Call It?", a record questioning what name should be given to his music, and "Pies". Wiley's use of the Korg Triton on "Wot Do U Call It?" helped cement the synthesizer as a Grime staple. Many reviews, including that by Pitchfork Media, made comparisons between Wiley and his previous labelmate Dizzee Rascal, who had achieved success with "Boy in Da Corner" the previous year. Alexis Petridis of "The Guardian" noted the "comically polarised" fanbase Wiley had accrued; "At one extreme, its sonic experimentation has attracted the kind of people who run music blogs... [where] lengthy essays are posted on issues as the differentiation between Humean and Kantian views of motivation in the lyrics of Bonnie Prince Billy. At the other extreme, it is favoured by inner-city teens who appear to communicate entirely in an impenetrable mix of street slang and patois."


title: Wiley (musician)

text: During this period, Wiley occasionally referred to his music as "eski", short for "eskibeat" – the name he initially gave to grime. Also, Wiley released mixtapes under the name 'Eskiboy'. He explained his choice of name for his music and the continuing theme in his song and album titles such as "Treddin' on Thin Ice", partly because he likes the wintertime, but mainly meaning cold in spirit. Wiley was quoted in conjunction with his cold theme:


title: Wiley (musician)

text: ""Sometimes I just feel cold hearted. I felt cold at that time, towards my family, towards everyone. That's why I used those names""


title: Wiley (musician)

text: In 2006, Wiley released his second album "Da 2nd Phaze", released through Boy Better Know. The album consists of 20 tracks that have been put together by Wiley from the past three years, including exclusive bonus tracks from Gods Gift, Alex Mills and More Fire Crew.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: This was followed in by Wiley's third album, "Playtime is Over", released in 2007 on Big Dada Records, an album which followed his eskibeat roots. Wiley's eskibeat and solo material is managed by the Perpetuity Music Group. The album was released on the same day as Dizzee Rascal's third album, "Maths + English", and includes a track "Letter 2 Dizzee" which calls for the end of his feud with Dizzee Rascal.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: In May 2008, Wiley found mainstream chart success with the hit single, "Wearing My Rolex". The instrumentation, such as the slower, house style beat and lack of sub bass, caused some unrest within the grime scene, as Wiley had previously vowed that he would never change his sound to break into the mainstream. In the same month, Wiley released his fourth album, "Grime Wave", which was described by "The Times" as a "very pre-Rolex album. With its roots firmly based in the harsh, bass-heavy rhythms of the scene". This was followed by his fifth studio album, "See Clear Now", in October 2008, which included the mainstream hits "Wearing My Rolex", "Cash in My Pocket" and "Summertime". "See Clear Now" took Wiley in a mainstream direction. Despite its success, Wiley has disowned the album as he was "very angry" with the label Asylum, about the production and also unhappy about his management at the time. Wiley then left the label.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: Now on his own label, Wiley went on to release his sixth studio album, "Race Against Time". This was released eight months after his previous album in June 2009, on Eskibeat Recordings where he had far more creative control. The album includes the 2009 hit "Too Many Man" featuring Boy Better Know.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: In 2010, Wiley released 11 zip files for free download via his Twitter page, containing over 200 tracks of old and unreleased music, including tracks from the forthcoming album "The Elusive".


title: Wiley (musician)

text: Wiley was featured on the Mark Ronson song "Record Collection", also featuring Simon Le Bon, from the album of the same name, released first in Ireland on 24 September 2010. The song was included on the soundtrack to FIFA 11.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: On 4 March 2011, Wiley released "Offload Volume 01" on iTunes. It did not get a physical release and it was partially slated by fans for containing some tracks which had already been released for free on the zip files. The album contained many songs that featured Wiley's crew A-List as well as the track "Yo Riley". On 6 March 2011, Wiley released a song called "Bright Lights", which features Giggs and Juelz Santana. On 9 March 2011, Wiley released an instrumental album entitled "Run the Riddim Selecta". "Offload Volume 01", "Bright Lights" and "Run the Riddim Selecta" were all released on Launchpad Records. Wiley's seventh studio album, "100% Publishing", was released on 20 June 2011 on the record label Big Dada, and charted in the UK Albums Chart at number 76.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: On 8 July 2011, Wiley released an independent EP for digital download titled "Chill Out Zone". Singles from the EP, "Seduction" and "If I Could" were released in May 2011.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: On 25 July 2011, Wiley released the radio edit of "Link Up" on iTunes, which is the first single from his eighth studio album, "Evolve or Be Extinct", which was released on 19 January 2012. "Link Up" is produced by Nana Rogues and the official "Link Up" single was released in September 2011.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: In January 2012, he released his eighth studio album, "Evolve or Be Extinct", on his 33rd birthday. It peaked at number 86 on the UK Albums Chart. A separate promo song, "Hottie", was released on Valentine's Day, featuring Roll Deep member Manga. Wiley began releasing grime freestyles over grime beats and releasing them for free via Twitter. This collection was released chronologically with the names "Step 1", "Step 2" and furthermore. After "Step 10", all of the freestyles were compiled and released as a mixtape titled "It's All Fun and Games Till, Vol.1". Alongside working on his "Step" freestyles, various other promo songs were released. This continuous releasing of music saw him receive the attention from major recording label Warner Music Group. Wiley carried on with his "Step" freestyles, releasing Vol. 2 of "It's All Fun and Games Till".


title: Wiley (musician)

text: In June 2012, Wiley released his summer single "Heatwave", featuring Ms D and produced by Rymez to British radio, with the music video released at the end of June via YouTube. The song quickly received over 2 million hits. On 5 August 2012, "Heatwave" peaked at number 1 on the UK Singles Chart, making this Wiley's first solo number 1, selling 114,000 copies. Shortly after, Wiley confirmed in an interview on the "Official Chart Show" that he will be releasing a further two singles and a new album in the coming months. His next single, announced in late August, titled "Can You Hear Me" featuring Skepta, JME and Ms D, was released in October 2012. The song was renamed to "Can You Hear Me (Ayayaya)" and premiered on 24 August on DJ Target's BBC Radio 1Xtra show.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: Wiley then announced on Twitter that the third single off his next album, "Hands in the Air", will feature Chip, Ice-Kid and Tulisa for release on 13 September 2012. The song originally featured Emeli Sandé. However, Wiley then tweeted that his next single would feature Rita Ora instead of Tulisa. On 27 September, the name of the album was confirmed to be "The Ascent". The tracklist for the album was revealed on 11 October via Instagram, displaying 16 tracks. Also on 11 October, Wiley announced he no longer intended to perform at universities and student unions, citing professional concerns and stating that he "had better things to do". Despite this, Wiley played a club night at SUSU, the University of Southampton Students' Union, on 25 January 2013 as part of the Ministry of Sound Raveout tour. Afterwards, Wiley took to Twitter to express his disappointment with the event, stating, "A proper crowd would [have] loved it tbh and tbf".


title: Wiley (musician)

text: On 4 April 2013, Wiley said that he was leaving his record label Warner following a dispute about "The Ascent". Admitting he was unhappy with their choice of next single from the record, he tweeted: "My label are doing 'Lights On' next but I do not like that so you will not see me in the video."


title: Wiley (musician)

text: On 11 October 2013, over 2,000 Wiley fans signed a petition, which was presented to Tower Hamlets' mayor Lutfur Rahman, requesting that a monument to the artist be erected in Bow.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: Wiley began recording his tenth studio album, "Snakes & Ladders", in 2013. The first single from the album, "Flyin", was released in August 2013, and towards the end of that year he leaked a track list for the album. However, he later confirmed his intention in February 2014 to scrap the record and start again as he was unhappy with it, saying it "needs to be epic or there's no point". The first single from the newly recorded album, ""On A Level", was released on 25 September 2014 by Big Dada. Wiley was later featured on Ay Yeah So What, and in 2015 released the non-album single ""Chasing the Art"".


title: Wiley (musician)

text: In March 2016, Wiley announced that he would be releasing his eleventh studio album, "Godfather", and that the album would include 16 songs, 3 of which were to be released as singles. The album was released on 13 January 2017. The album entered at number 9 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming Wiley's highest-charting album of his career. On 16 February 2017, Wiley won an "Outstanding Contribution to Music" award by "NME" for "Godfather".


title: Wiley (musician)

text: In late 2017, Wiley announced his next album, "Godfather II". The first single, "I Call the Shots" featuring Jme, was released on 3 November 2017, alongside the album's pre-order and track listing. The album was released on 27 April 2018.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: In January 2019, Wiley released "Boasty" featuring Idris Elba, Stefflon Don, and Sean Paul. The song was one of the biggest dancehall releases of the year.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: Wiley announced "Godfather III" would be released on 2 November. After delays, the album was finally released on streaming services on 5 June 2020.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: On 22 June 2020, Wiley released his 14th studio album, "Boasty Gang – The Album". The album features a solo version of his hit single, "Boasty".


title: Wiley (musician)

text: In February 2010, Wiley formed a UK supergroup/collective called A-List. This group consists of R&B singers and sisters Shola and Sadie Ama; grime artists Wiley, J2K & Brazen all from Roll Deep; Mz. Bratt, Wrigley, Margs, Young Kye and Kivanc. Their producer is Bless Beats and their DJ is JJ.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: A-List released their first music video on 23 March 2010 called "Midnight Lover", featuring Captin. Despite receiving airplay, the single was never released. The last 20 seconds of the music video is the A-List song "Make My Own Money".


title: Wiley (musician)

text: Branded as the "British Nas" by Noisey, Wiley is often cited as the "Godfather of Grime" and the "King of Grime". Other grime artists have cited Wiley as a big influence in their careers. He has been a prolific artist producing several albums and mixtapes for a number of labels. His origins have often been a subject of his work (e.g. "Bow E3").


title: Wiley (musician)

text: He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to Music.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: Wiley has been with a number of record labels. In 2004, Eskibeat Recordings was formed by Wiley to bring young grime artists into the spotlight as well as release his own music under the label. In 2005.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: In 2010, Wiley founded A-List Records (A-List Music LTD). On 26 and 27 September 2012, Wiley signed J2K and Ice-Kid to A-List Records. Two weeks after, he had also signed Scratchy Demus, Manga and A. Star (the younger brother of singer Angel) to the record label. Wrigley from Manchester is also signed to the label. Producers include Rymez who is behind the hits "Heatwave" and "Can You Hear Me?" and Flava D.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: In 2015, Wiley released an EP on his new record label called Chasing The Art Records. In 2016, Wiley and his manager John Woolf signed a distribution deal with Warner Music Group to release some music by Wiley and future artists that sign to the label.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: Wiley is currently signed to Big Dada and Boy Better Know. He has a joint venture distribution deal with Warner Music Group under two brand names, one being Wiley, and the other being Chasing the Arts records, as of 2017.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: Following his alleged anti-semitic tweets, on 25 July 2020, Big Dada released a statement saying that "we fully condemn Wiley's comments and royalties from those records will be donated to campaigns that fight anti-Semitism."


title: Wiley (musician)

text: Cowie has two daughters. His younger half-brother Cadell is also a grime artist. He supports the English football team Tottenham Hotspur. The name Wiley is derived from the "Thundercats" cartoon character, 'Wiley Kat', a name he used briefly.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: Wiley has been stabbed on several occasions. One of his stab wounds in 2008 resulted in a scar visible on the left hand side of his face. He has stated he was slashed in the face three days before the shoot of "Wearing My Rolex", and the scar on his face ruined his confidence and self-esteem for a while, as he did not want to turn up to interviews or music videos.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: Following the controversy surrounding Nick Cannon's antisemitic allegations on 14 July 2020, Wiley made a series of posts and videos on social media on 24 July 2020, generally condemned as antisemitic, that described Jewish people as "cowards" and "snakes", alleged significant racism and exploitation from Jewish people towards black people (particularly in business and the music industry), and compared the power of the Jewish community to that of white supremacist group Ku Klux Klan. He also claimed that Jews write laws, own the police, run banks and run the world. His management ceased representing him and Wiley received a temporary ban from Twitter. A police investigation was launched into the posts. The next day, Wiley's manager John Woolf had announced that Wiley had been dropped from A-List Management.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: The Campaign Against Antisemitism issued a statement saying: "We consider that Wiley has committed the offence of incitement to racial hatred, which can carry a substantial prison sentence." and said it had reported Wiley to the Metropolitan Police. Wiley's Twitter and Instagram accounts reportedly had a total of 940,000 followers. The CAA called for both his accounts to be removed and wrote to the Honours Forfeiture Committee at the Cabinet Office to ask for his MBE to be revoked.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: Home Secretary Priti Patel demanded an explanation from Twitter and Instagram on the length of time it took to remove the posts. On 27 July, a 48-hour boycott of Twitter by some users was started under the hashtag "#NoSafeSpaceForJewHate", protesting the social media site's slow response to the tweets. The following day, Facebook, Inc. deleted his personal accounts on Facebook and Instagram for "repeated violations" of their terms of conduct in his posts towards Jewish celebrities who had criticised him. On 29 July 2020, it was announced that Wiley was permanently suspended from Twitter.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: On 29 July 2020, Wiley apologised for generalising about Jewish people and said that he is not a racist.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: In August 2020, Wiley was suspended from YouTube and TikTok. In response, he joined social media app Parler, known as a more free speech-oriented social media platform. The following month, the Metropolitan Police dropped their investigation when it was discovered that Wiley was in Rotterdam in the Netherlands when he sent the messages, and thus not under the jurisdiction of English law. The Campaign Against Antisemitism later confirmed that it had launched a private prosecution against Wiley to pursue race-hate charges.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: On 2 December 2021, Wiley was banned from Twitter and Instagram again for using a new account to share antisemitic content.


title: Wiley (musician)

text: On 6 September 2021, Wiley was arrested and subsequently charged with assault and burglary. He is alleged to have broken into the flat of ex-kickboxer Ali Jacko, smashed plates and then assaulted him and caused injury. Pre-Pandemic Wiley used Jacko's recording studio. During pre-trial hearings, Wiley was granted an adjournment to allow him more time to apply for legal aid due to his presently impoverished state, and speak to his lawyers. Wiley was scheduled to appear at Thames Magistrates' Court on 27 September, charged with assault by beating and burglary with intent to cause criminal damage. He failed to appear in court, and subsequently on 11 November 2021 the district judge issued an arrest warrant due to his failing to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court. On 11 May 2022, the Metropolitan Police issued an official wanted notice on their Twitter page announcing that it had been 6 months since Wiley was due in court.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: The Duchy of Milan (; ) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city since 1277.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: At that time, it included twenty-six towns and the wide rural area of the middle Padan Plain east of the hills of Montferrat. During much of its existence, it was wedged between Savoy to the west, Venice to the east, the Swiss Confederacy to the north, and separated from the Mediterranean by Genoa to the south. The duchy was at its largest at the beginning of the 15th century, at which time it included almost all of what is now Lombardy and parts of what are now Piedmont, Veneto, Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: Under the House of Sforza, Milan experienced a period of great prosperity with the introduction of the silk industry, becoming one of the wealthiest states during the Renaissance.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: From the late 15th century, the Duchy of Milan was contested between the forces of the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of France. It was ruled by Habsburg Spain from 1556 and it passed to Habsburg Austria in 1707 during the War of the Spanish Succession as a vacant Imperial fief. The duchy remained an Austrian possession until 1796 when a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte conquered it, and it ceased to exist a year later as a result of the Treaty of Campo Formio, when Austria ceded it to the new Cisalpine Republic.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: After the defeat of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna of 1815 restored many other states which he had destroyed, but not the Duchy of Milan. Instead, its former territory became part of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, with the Emperor of Austria as its king. In 1859, Lombardy was ceded to the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, which became the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: The House of Visconti had ruled Milan since 1277, in which year Ottone Visconti defeated Napoleone della Torre.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: The Duchy of Milan "(Ducatus Mediolani)" was created as a state of the Holy Roman Empire on 1 May 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed Visconti as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: The duchy, as defined in the diploma of 1395, included the territory surrounding Milan, between the Adda and Ticino rivers, but the dominions of Gian Galeazzo Visconti extended beyond, including 26 towns and spanned from Piedmont to Veneto and from present-day Canton of Ticino to Umbria. Milan thus became one of the five major states of the Italian peninsula in the 15th century. The House of Visconti had been expanding their dominions for nearly a century, under the reigns of Azzone Visconti, Luchino Visconti, Giovanni Visconti, Bernabò Visconti and Gian Galeazzo Visconti: during the rule of Azzone Visconti, the Ossola in Piedmont had been conquered in 1331, followed by Bergamo and Pavia (Lombardy) and Novara (Piedmont) in 1332, Pontremoli (Tuscany) in 1333, Vercelli (Piedmont) and Cremona (Lombardy) in 1334, the Lombard cities of Como, Crema, Lodi and the Valtellina in 1335, Bormio (Lombardy) and Piacenza (Emilia) in 1336, and Brescia and the Val Camonica in 1337.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: The brothers Luchino and Giovanni Visconti added Bellinzona (present-day Switzerland in 1342, Parma (Emilia) in 1346 and several territories in southwestern Piedmont in 1347: Tortona, Alessandria, Asti, and Mondovì. Bernabò conquered Reggio Emilia in 1371 and Riva del Garda in 1380, and Gian Galeazzo greatly expanded Milan's dominions, first eastwards, with the conquest of the Venetian cities of Verona (1387), Vicenza (1387), Feltre (1388), Belluno (1388) and Padua (briefly, from 1388 to 1390), and later southwards, conquering Lucca, Pisa and Siena in Tuscany in 1399, Bologna in Emilia in 1402, and Perugia and Assisi in Umbria also in 1402.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: When the last Visconti duke, Filippo Maria, died in 1447 without a male heir, the Milanese declared the so-called Golden Ambrosian Republic, which soon faced revolts and attacks from its neighbors. In 1450 mercenary captain Francesco Sforza, having previously married Filippo Maria Visconti's illegitimate daughter Bianca Maria, conquered the city and restored the duchy, founding the House of Sforza.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: Whilst ruled by the Visconti and Sforza, the duchy had to defend its territory against the Swiss, the French and the Venetians, until Ludovico Sforza was handed over to the French in the 'Betrayal of Novara' in April 1500, thus enabling the new French king Louis XII to successfully assert his claim to the duchy.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: In 1498, Louis XII ascended the French throne, and immediately sought to make good his father's claim to Milan. He invaded in 1499 and soon ousted Lodovico Sforza. The French ruled the duchy until 1512, when they were ousted by the Swiss, who put Lodovico's son Massimiliano on the throne. Massimiliano's reign did not last very long. The French, now under Francis I, invaded the area in 1515 and reasserted their control at the Battle of Marignano. The French took Massimiliano as their prisoner. The French were again driven out in 1521, this time by the Austrians, who installed Massimiliano's younger brother, Francesco II Sforza.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: Following the French defeat at Pavia in 1525, which left the armies of Emperor Charles V dominant in Italy, Francesco joined the League of Cognac against the emperor along with Venice, Florence, Pope Clement VII, and the French. This resulted quickly in his own expulsion from Milan by imperial forces, but he managed to remain in control of various other cities in the duchy, and was again restored to Milan itself by the peace concluded at Cambrai in 1529.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: In 1535, Francesco died without heirs and the question of succession again arose, with both the emperor and the French king claiming the duchy, leading to more wars. The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from a part of the Duchy of Milan south of the Po River, as a fief for Pope Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, centered on the city of Parma.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: Emperor Charles V held the duchy from 1535, eventually granting it to his son King Philip II of Spain from 1556. The possession of the duchy by Habsburg Spain was finally recognized by the French in the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: The Duchy of Milan remained in Habsburg Spain hands until the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), when the Austrians invaded it (1701) and obtained it with the "Convention of Milan" in 1707.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: The duchy remained in Austrian hands until it was overrun by the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796. The duchy was ceded by Austria in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797, and formed the central part of the new Cisalpine Republic.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: Under the Spanish viceroys from 1535, Milan became one of the contributors to the Spanish king's army. At the time Lombardy had the most developed manufacturing and commercial economy anywhere in the world, making it a valuable tool for the Spanish military: an armory of paramount strategic importance. In addition to resources, Milan also provided soldiers. During the 1635–1659 Franco-Spanish War, Milan sent and paid for on average 4,000 soldiers per year to the Spanish crown, with many of these men serving in the Low Countries against the Dutch States Army.


title: Duchy of Milan

text: After the defeat of Napoleon, based on the decisions of the Congress of Vienna on 9 June 1815, the Duchy of Milan was not restored. The duchy instead became part of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, a constituent of the Austrian Empire and with the Emperor of Austria as its king. This kingdom ceased to exist when the remaining portion of it was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1866.


title: 1G

text: 1G refers to the first generation of wireless cellular technology. These are analog mobile telecommunications standards that were introduced in the 1980s and were superseded by 2G. The main difference between these two mobile cellular generations is that the audio transmissions of 1G networks were analog, while 2G networks were entirely digital.


title: 1G

text: There were many different 1G cellular standards developed and used in different countries, but the most widely adopted globally were the Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) and Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) systems. The inherent advantages of digital technology over that of analog meant that 2G networks went on to eventually completely replace them. Many 1G networks were switched off in developed economies by 2000, but in some places networks continued to operate into the 2010s.


title: 1G

text: The antecedent to 1G technology is the mobile radio telephone (i.e. "0G"), where portable phones would connect to a centralised operator. 1G refers to the very first generation of cellular networks. Cellular technology employ a network of cells throughout a geographical area using low-power radio transmitters.


title: 1G

text: The first commercial cellular network was launched in Japan by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) in 1979, initially in the metropolitan area of Tokyo. The first phone that used this network was called TZ-801 built by Panasonic. Within five years, the NTT network had been expanded to cover the whole population of Japan and became the first nationwide 1G/cellular network. Before the network in Japan, Bell Laboratories built the first cellular network around Chicago in 1977 and trialled it in 1978.


title: 1G

text: As in the pre-cellular era, the Nordic countries were among the pioneers in wireless technologies. These countries together designed the NMT standard which first launched in Sweden in 1981. NMT was the first mobile phone network to feature international roaming. In 1983, the first 1G cellular network launched in the United States, which was Chicago-based Ameritech using the Motorola DynaTAC mobile phone.


title: 1G

text: In the early to mid 1990s, 1G was superseded by newer 2G (second generation) cellular technologies such as GSM and cdmaOne. Although 1G also used digital signaling to connect the radio towers (which listen to the handsets) to the rest of the telephone system, the voice itself during a call is encoded to digital signals in 2G whereas 1G is only modulated to higher frequency, typically 150 MHz and up. Most 1G networks had been discontinued by the early 2000s. Some regions especially Eastern Europe continued running these networks for much longer. The last operating 1G network was closed down in Russia in 2017.


title: 1G

text: After Japan, the earliest commercial cellular networks launched in 1981 in Sweden, Norway and Saudi Arabia, followed by Denmark, Finland and Spain in 1982, the U.S. in 1983 and Hong Kong, South Korea, Austria and Canada in 1984. By 1986 networks had also launched in Tunisia, Malaysia, Oman, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, United Kingdom, West Germany, France, South Africa, Israel, Thailand, Indonesia, Iceland, Turkey, the Virgin Islands and Australia. Generally, African countries were slower to take up 1G networks, while Eastern European were among the last due to the political situation.


title: 1G

text: In Europe, the United Kingdom had the largest number of cellular subscribers as of 1990 numbering 1.1 million, while the second largest market was Sweden with 482 thousand. Although Japan was the first country with a nationwide cellular network, the number of users was significantly lower than other developed economies with a penetration rate of only 0.15 percent in 1989. As of January 1991, the highest penetration rates were in Sweden and Finland with both countries above 50 percent closely followed by Norway and Iceland. The United States had a rate of 21.2 percent. In most other European countries it was below 10 percent.


title: Pokémon the Series: XY

text: Pokémon The Series: XY is the seventeenth season of the Pokemon animated series and the first and titular season of Pokémon The Series: XY, known in Japan as . It is the first dubbed season to use the "Pokémon The Series" branding and as such can be a starting point. The season follows the continuing adventures of Ash Ketchum and Pikachu as they explore the Kalos region. Traveling in the Kalos region with their new friends - Clemont and his little sister Bonnie, along with Ash's childhood friend Serena - the party discover new Pokémon and the mysterious Mega Evolutions.


title: Pokémon the Series: XY

text: The season originally aired in Japan from October 17, 2013, to October 30, 2014, on TV Tokyo, and in the United States from January 18, 2014, to December 20, 2014, on Cartoon Network, after a preview of the first two episodes on October 19, 2013. In India, Pokémon XY is first aired on Hungama TV on May 9, 2015 in Hindi dub. But, some episodes are not aired on Hungama TV. Later, remaining episodes are dub in Hindi and this season is reaired on Marvel HQ (Now, known as Super Hungama) on March 20, 2021. This show began premiering on Pokémon Asia Official (Hindi) YouTube Channel from 30th September in hindi dubbed.


title: Pokémon the Series: XY

text: The Japanese opening songs are by Yusuke, and an alternate version by Satoshi / Ash Ketchum (Rika Matsumoto) and J☆Dee'Z for 28 episodes, and performed by Yusuke for 21 episodes. The ending songs are performed by J☆Dee'Z for 28 episodes, performed by J☆Dee'Z with Pikachu (Ikue Ōtani) for 18 episodes, "DreamDream" (ドリドリ DoriDori) performed by Shoko Nakagawa for 3 episodes, and the English opening song is "Pokémon Theme (Version XY)", performed by Ben Dixon and The Sad Truth. Its instrumental version serves as the ending theme.


title: Pokémon the Series: XY

text: Viz Media and Warner Home Video have released the series in the United States on two three-disc volume sets that contain 24 episodes each.


title: Seneca people

text: The Seneca () (, "Great Hill People") are a group of Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League (Haudenosaunee) in New York before the American Revolution.


title: Seneca people

text: In the 21st century, more than 10,000 Seneca live in the United States, which has three federally recognized Seneca tribes. Two of them are centered in New York: the Seneca Nation of Indians, with two reservations in western New York near Buffalo; and the Tonawanda Seneca Nation. The Seneca-Cayuga Nation is in Oklahoma, where their ancestors were relocated from Ohio during the Indian Removal. Approximately 1,000 Seneca live in Canada, near Brantford, Ontario, at the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation. They are descendants of Seneca who resettled there after the American Revolution, as they had been allies of the British and forced to cede much of their lands.


title: Seneca people

text: The tribe's name has no logical connection with the ancient Roman statesmen Seneca the Elder and Seneca the Younger.


title: Seneca people

text: Seneca oral history states that the tribe originated in a village called Nundawao, near the south end of Canandaigua Lake, at South Hill. Close to South Hill stands the -high Bare Hill, known to the Seneca as Genundowa. Bare Hill is part of the Bare Hill Unique Area, which began to be acquired by the state in 1989. Bare Hill had been the site of a Seneca (or Seneca-ancestral people) fort.


title: Seneca people

text: The first written reference to this fort was made in 1825 by David Cusick (Tuscarora) in his history of the Seneca Indians.


title: Seneca people

text: In the early 1920s, the material that made up the Bare Hill fort was used by the Town of Middlesex highway department for road fill.


title: Seneca people

text: The Seneca historically lived in what is now New York state between the Genesee River and Canandaigua Lake. The dating of an oral tradition mentioning a solar eclipse yields 1142 AD as the year for the Seneca joining the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee). Some recent archaeological evidence indicates their territory eventually extended to the Allegheny River in present-day northwestern Pennsylvania, particularly after the Iroquois destroyed both the Wenrohronon and Erie nations in the 17th century, who were native to the area. The Seneca were by far the most populous of the Haudenosaunee nations, numbering about four thousand by the seventeenth century.


title: Seneca people

text: Seneca villages were located as far east as current-day Schuyler County (e.g. Catherine's Town and Kanadaseaga), south into current Tioga and Chemung counties, north and east into Tompkins and Cayuga counties, and west into the Genesee River valley. The villages were the homes and headquarters of the Seneca. While the Seneca maintained substantial permanent settlements and raised agricultural crops in the vicinity of their villages, they also hunted widely through extensive areas. They also executed far-reaching military campaigns. The villages, where hunting and military campaigns were planned and executed, indicate the Seneca had hegemony in these areas.


title: Seneca people

text: Major Seneca villages were protected with wooden palisades. Ganondagan, with 150 longhouses, was the largest Seneca village of the 17th century, while Chenussio, with 130 longhouses, was a major village of the 18th century.


title: Seneca people

text: The Seneca has two branches: the western and the eastern. Each branch was individually incorporated and recognized by the Iroquois Confederacy Council. The western Seneca lived predominantly in and around the Genesee River, gradually moving west and southwest along Lake Erie and the Niagara River, then south along the Allegheny River into Pennsylvania. The eastern Seneca lived predominantly south of Seneca Lake. They moved south and east into Pennsylvania and the western Catskill area.


title: Seneca people

text: The west and north were under constant attack from their powerful Iroquoian brethren, the Huron (Wyandot) To the South, the Iroquoian-speaking tribes of the Susquehannock (Conestoga) also threatened constant warfare. The Algonkian tribes of the Mohican blocked access to the Hudson River in the east and northeast. In the southeast, the Algonkian tribes of the Lenape people (Delaware, Minnisink and Esopus) threatened war from eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the Lower Hudson.


title: Seneca people

text: The Seneca used the Genesee and Allegheny rivers, as well as the Great Indian War and Trading Path (the Seneca Trail), to travel from southern Lake Ontario into Pennsylvania and Ohio (Merrill, Arch. "Land of the Senecas"; Empire State Books, 1949, p 18-25). The eastern Seneca had territory just north of the intersection of the Chemung, Susquehanna, Tioga and Delaware rivers, which converged in Tioga. The rivers provided passage deep into all parts of eastern and western Pennsylvania, as well as east and northeast into the Delaware Water Gap and the western Catskills. The men of both branches of the Seneca wore the same headgear. Like the other Haudenosaunee, they wore hats with dried cornhusks on top. The Seneca wore theirs with one feather sticking up straight.


title: Seneca people

text: Traditionally, the Seneca Nation's economy was based on hunting and gathering activities, fishing, and the cultivation of varieties of corn, beans, and squash. These vegetables were the staple of the Haudenosaunee diet and were called "the three sisters" (työhe'hköh). Seneca women generally grew and harvested varieties of the three sisters, as well as gathering and processing medicinal plants, roots, berries, nuts, and fruit. Seneca women held sole ownership of all the land and the homes. The women also tended to any domesticated animals such as dogs and turkeys. The Iroquois had a matrilineal kinship system; inheritance and property descended through the maternal line. Women were in charge of the kinship groups called clans. Children were considered born into their mother's clan and took their social status from her family. Their mother's eldest brother was generally more of a major figure in their lives than their biological father, who did not belong to their clan. The presiding elder of a clan was called the "clan mother". Despite the prominent position of women in Iroquois society, their influence on the diplomacy of the nation was limited. If the "clan mothers" did not agree with any major decisions made by the chiefs, they could eventually depose them.


title: Seneca people

text: Seneca men were generally in charge of locating and developing the town sites, including clearing the forest for the production of fields. Seneca men also spent a great deal of time hunting and fishing. This activity took them away from the towns or villages to well-known and productive hunting and fishing grounds for extended amounts of time. These hunting and fishing locations were altered and well maintained to encourage game; they were not simply "wild" lands. Seneca men maintained the traditional title of war sachems within the Haudenosaunee. A Seneca war sachem was in charge of gathering the warriors and leading them into battle.


title: Seneca people

text: Seneca people lived in villages and towns. Archaeological excavations indicate that some of these villages were surrounded by palisades because of warfare. These towns were relocated every ten to twenty years as soil, game and other resources were depleted. During the nineteenth century, many Seneca adopted customs of their immediate American neighbors by building log cabins, practicing Christianity, and participating in the local agricultural economy.


title: Seneca people

text: The Seneca lived in longhouses, which are large buildings that were up to 100 feet long. The longhouses could hold up to 60 people.


title: Seneca people

text: The Smithsonian Institution has an example of a Seneca bow, which was donated 1908. It is made of unbacked hickory, and is tip to tip. Although the string is missing for the specimen, when strung it would make a good "D" shape with slightly recurved tips, and was obviously made for bigger game. The tips are irregular in shape, which is typical from this region.


title: Seneca people

text: Arrows from the area are made from split hickory, although shoots of dogwood and Viburnum were used as well. The eastern two feather style of fletching was used, although three radial feathers were also used.


title: Seneca people

text: During the colonial period, the Seneca became involved in the fur trade, first with the Dutch and then with the British. This served to increase hostility with competing native groups, especially their traditional enemy, the Huron (Wyandot), an Iroquoian-speaking tribe located near Lac Toronto in New France.


title: Seneca people

text: In 1609, the French allied with the Huron (Wyandot) and set out to destroy the Iroquois. The Iroquois-Huron war raged until approximately 1650. Led by the Seneca, the Confederacy began a near 35-year period of conquest over surrounding tribes following the defeat of its most powerful enemy, the Huron (Wyandot). The Confederacy conducted Mourning Wars to take captives to replace people lost in a severe smallpox epidemic in 1635. Through raids, they stabilized their population after adopting young women and children as captives and incorporating them into the tribes. By the winter of 1648, the Confederacy, led by the Seneca, fought deep into Canada and surrounded the capital of Huronia. Weakened by population losses due to their own smallpox epidemics as well as warfare, the Huron (Wyandot) unconditionally surrendered. They pledged allegiance to the Seneca as their protector. The Seneca subjugated the Huron (Wyandot) survivors and sent them to assimilate in the Seneca homelands.


title: Seneca people

text: In 1650, the Seneca attacked and defeated the Neutrals to their west. In 1653, the Seneca attacked and defeated the Erie to their southwest. Survivors of both the Huron and Erie were subjugated to the Seneca and relocated to the Seneca homeland. The Seneca took over the vanquished tribe's traditional territories in western New York.


title: Seneca people

text: In 1675, the Seneca defeated the Andaste (Susquehannock) to the south and southeast. The Confederacy's hegemony extended along the frontier from Canada to Ohio, deep into Pennsylvania, along the Mohawk Valley and into the lower Hudson in the east. They sought peace with the Algonquian-speaking Mohegan (Mahican), who lived along the Hudson River. Within the Confederacy, Seneca power and presence extended from Canada to what would become Pittsburgh, east to the future Lackawanna and into the land of the Minnisink on the New York /New Jersey border.


title: Seneca people

text: The Seneca tried to curtail the encroachment of white settlers. This increased tensions and conflict with the French to the north and west, and the English and Dutch to the south and east. As buffers, the Confederacy resettled conquered tribes between them and the European settlers, with the greatest concentration of resettlements on the lower Susquehanna.


title: Seneca people

text: In 1685, King Louis XIV of France sent Marquis de Denonville to govern New France in Quebec. Denonville set out to destroy the Seneca Nation and in 1687 landed a French armada with "the largest army North America had ever seen" at Irondequoit Bay. Denonville struck straight into the seat of Seneca power and destroyed many of its villages, including the Seneca's eastern capital of Ganondagan. Fleeing before the attack, the Seneca moved further west, east and south down the Susquehanna River. Although great damage was done to the Seneca homeland, the Seneca's military might was not appreciably weakened. The Confederacy and the Seneca moved into an alliance with the British in the east.


title: Seneca people

text: In and around 1600, the area currently comprising Sullivan, Ulster and Orange counties of New York was home to the Lenape Indians, an Algonquian-speaking people whose territory extended deep along the coastal areas of the mid-Atlantic coast, up into present-day Connecticut. They occupied the western part of Long Island as well. The Lenape nation was Algonkian-speaking and made up of the Delaware, Minnisink and Esopus bands, differentiated according to their territories. These bands later became known as the Munsee, based on their shared dialect. (Folts at pp 32) The Munsee inhabited large tracts of land from the middle Hudson into the Delaware Water Gap, and into northeast Pennsylvania and northwest New Jersey. The Esopus inhabited the Mid-Hudson valley (Sullivan and Ulster counties). The Minnisink inhabited northwest New Jersey. The Delaware inhabited the southern Susquehanna and Delaware water gaps. The Minnisink-Esopus trail, today's Route 209, helped tie this world together.


title: Seneca people

text: To the west of the Delaware nation were the Iroquoian-speaking Andaste/Susquehannock. To the east of the Delaware Nation lay the encroaching peoples of Dutch New Netherland. From Manhattan, up through the Hudson, the settlers were interested in trading furs with the Susquehannock occupying territory in and around current Lancaster, Pennsylvania. As early as 1626, the Susquehannock were struggling to get past the Delaware to trade with the Dutch in New Amsterdam (Manhattan). In 1634, war broke out between the Delaware and the Susquehannock, and by 1638, the defeated Delaware became tributaries to the Susquehanna.


title: Seneca people

text: The Iroquois Confederacy to the north was growing in strength and numbers, and the Seneca, as the most numerous and adventurous, began to travel extensively. Eastern Seneca traveled down the Chemung River to the Susquehanna River. At Tioga the Seneca had access to every corner of Munsee country. Seneca warriors traveled the Forbidden Path south to Tioga to the Great Warrior Path to Scranton and then east over the Minnisink Path through the Lorde's valley to Minnisink. The Delaware River path went straight south through the ancient Indian towns of Cookhouse, Cochecton and Minnisink, where it became the Minsi Path.


title: Seneca people

text: Using these ancient highways, the Seneca exerted influence in what is today Ulster and Sullivan counties from the Dutch colonial era onward. Historical evidence demonstrating Seneca presence in the Lower Catskills includes:


title: Seneca people

text: In 1659 and 1660, the Seneca interceded in the First Esopus War, which was going on between the Dutch and Esopus at current-day Kingston. The Seneca chief urged Stuyvesant to end the bloodshed and "return the captured Esopus savages".


title: Seneca people

text: In 1675, after a decade of warfare between the Iroquois (mainly the Mohawk and Oneida) and the Andaste/Susquehannock, the Seneca finally succeeded in vanquishing their last remaining great enemy.(Parker at pp 49) Survivors were colonized in settlements along the Susquehanna River and were assimilated into the Seneca and Cayuga people.


title: Seneca people

text: In 1694, Captain Arent Schuyler, in an official report, described the Minnisink chiefs as being fearful of being attacked by the Seneca because of not paying wampum tribute to these Iroquois.


title: Seneca people

text: Around 1700, the upper Delaware watershed of New York and Pennsylvania became home of the Minnisink Indians moving north and northwest from New Jersey, and of Esopus Indians moving west from the Mid-Hudson valley.


title: Seneca people

text: By 1712, the Esopus Indians were reported to have reached the east Pepacton branch of the Delaware River, on the western slopes of the Catskill Mountains.


title: Seneca people

text: From 1720 to the 1750s, the Seneca resettled and assimilated the Munsee into their people and the Confederacy. Historical accounts had noted the difficulties encountered by the Seneca during this period and noted a dissolution of their traditional society under pressure of disease and encroachment by European Americans. But fieldwork at the 1715-1754 Seneca Townley-Read site near Geneva, New York, has recovered evidence of "substantial Seneca autonomy, selectivity, innovation, and opportunism in an era usually considered to be one of cultural disintegration". In 1756, the Confederacy directed the Munsee to settle in a new satellite town in Seneca territory called Assinisink (where Corning developed) on the Chemung River. In this period, they developed satellite towns for war captives who were being assimilated near several of their major towns. The Seneca received some of the Munsee's war prisoners as part of their negotiations.


title: Seneca people

text: At a peace conference in Easton, Pennsylvania in 1758, the Seneca chief Tagashata required the Munsee and Minnisink to conclude a peace with the colonists and "take the hatchet out of your heads, and bury it under ground, where it shall always rest and never be taken up again". A large delegation of Iroquois attended this meeting to demonstrate that the Munsee were under their protection.


title: Seneca people

text: In 1759, as colonial records indicate, negotiators had to go through the Seneca in order to have diplomatic success with the Munsee.


title: Seneca people

text: Despite the French military campaigns, Seneca power remained far-reaching at the beginning of the 18th century. Gradually, the Seneca began to ally with their trading partners, the Dutch and British, against France's ambitions in the New World. By 1760 during the Seven Years' War, they helped the British capture Fort Niagara from the French. The Seneca had relative peace from 1760 to 1775. In 1763 a Seneca war party ambushed a British supply train and soldiers in Battle of Devil's Hole, also known as the Devil's Hole massacre, during Pontiac's Rebellion.


title: Seneca people

text: After the American Revolutionary War broke out between the British and the colonists, the Seneca at first attempted to remain neutral but both sides tried to bring them into the action. When the rebel colonists defeated the British at Fort Stanwix, they killed many Seneca onlookers.


title: Seneca people

text: The Seneca Tribe before the American Revolution had a prosperous society. The Iroquois Confederacy had ended the fighting amongst the war-based Iroquois tribes and allowed them to live in peace with each other. Yet, despite this peace amongst themselves, the Iroquois tribes were all revered as fierce warriors and were reputed to control together a large empire that stretched hundreds of miles along the Appalachian Mountains. The Seneca were a part of this confederacy with the Cayuga, Onondagas, Oneidas, Mohawks, and, later on, the Tuscaroras. However, although the Seneca and Iroquois tribes had ceased fighting each other, they still continued to conduct raids on outsiders, or rather their European visitors.


title: Seneca people

text: Despite the Iroquois continuing raids on their new European neighbors, the Iroquois tribes struck up profitable relationships with the Europeans, especially the English. In 1677, the English were able to make an alliance with the Iroquois league called the "Covenant Chain". In 1768, the English renewed this alliance when Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet signed the Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768. This treaty put the British in good favor with the Iroquois, as they felt that the British had their best interests in mind as well. The Americans, unlike the British, were disliked by the Seneca because of their continual disregard for the Treaty of Fort Stanwix. Specifically, the Iroquois were enraged by the Americans movement into the Ohio Territory. However, despite their continual encroachment on established Iroquois land, the Americans respected their skills at warfare and attempted to exclude them from their conflict with the British. The Americans viewed their conflict with the British as a conflict meant to include only them. The Albany Council occurred in August, and the Iroquois Confederacy debated about the Revolution from August 25 to August 31. The non-Iroquois present at the council consisted of important figures like Philip Schuyler, Oliver Wolcott, Turbutt Francis, Volkert Douw, Samuel Kirkland, and James Dean. The Iroquois at the council were representatives from all the tribes, but the Mohawk, Oneidas, and Tuscaroras had the most representatives. The Iroquois agreed with the Americans and decided at their Albany Council that they should remain as spectators to the conflict. A Mohawk Chief named Little Abraham declared that "the determination of the Six Nations not to take any part; but as it is a family affair, to sit still and see you fight it out". Thus, the Iroquois chose to remain neutral for the time being. They felt it would be best to stand aside while the Colonists and the British battled. They did not wish to get caught up in this supposed "family quarrel between [them] and Old England".


title: Seneca people

text: Despite this neutrality, the anti-Native American rhetoric of the Americans pushed the Iroquois over to the side of the British. The Americans put forth an extremely racist and divisive message. They viewed the Iroquois and other Native Americans as savages and lesser people. An example of this rhetoric came in the Declaration of Independence: "the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions." As a result of this terrible rhetoric, many Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga, and Seneca prepared to join the British. However, many Oneida and Tuscarora were able to be swayed by an American missionary, Samuel Kirkland. The Iroquois nation began to divide as the Revolution continued and, as a result, they extinguished the council fire that united the six Iroquois nations, therefore ending the Iroquois Confederacy. The Iroquois ended their political unity during the most turbulent time in their history. Two powers in the midst of battle pulled them apart to gain their skill as warriors. This divided the Iroquois and the tribes chose sides based on preference.


title: Seneca people

text: In addition to the push of American bigoted rhetoric, the British also continued to attempt to sway the Iroquois towards their side. One British attempt to sway the Iroquois was described by two Seneca tribesmen, Mary Jemison and Governor Blacksnake. They both described the grandeur of the lavish gifts that the British bestowed upon the Iroquois. Governor Blacksnake's account held many details about the luxurious treatment that they received from the British: "[I]mmediately after arrival the officers came to see us to See what wanted for to Support the Indians with prvisions and with the flood of Rum. they are Some of the ... warriors made use of this intoxicating Drinks, there was several Barrel Delivered to us for us to Drinked for the white man told us to Drinked as much as we want of it all free gratus, and the goods if any of us wishes to get for our own use." Contingent to this generosity was the loyalty of the Iroquois to the British. The Iroquois debated whether to side with the British or not. An argument to remain neutral until further development came from Governor Blacksnake's uncle Cornplanter, but Joseph Brant twisted his recommendation to wait as a sign of cowardice. The British noticed that the Indian warriors were divided on the issue, so the British presented them with rum, bells, ostrich feathers, and a covenant belt. The Americans attempted a similar wine and dine method on the Tuscarora and Oneidas. In the end, the Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca sided with the British, and the Tuscarora and Oneida sided with the Americans. From this point on, the Iroquois would have a serious role in the American Revolution. The war divided them and now they would be fighting against each other from 1777 till the end on opposite sides.


title: Seneca people

text: The Seneca chose to side with the British in the American Revolution. One of the earliest battles the Iroquois were involved in occurred on August 6, 1777, in Oriskany During the Battle of Oriskany, Native Americans led a brutal attack against the rebel Americans where they "killed, wounded, or captured the majority of patriot soldiers". The Seneca Governor Blacksnake described the battle from the viewpoint of the victorious Indians: "as we approach to a firghting we had preparate to make one fire and Run amongst them we So, while we Doing it, feels no more to Kill the Beast, and killed most all, the americans army, only a few white man Escape from us ... there I have Seen the most Dead Bodies all it over that I neve Did see."


title: Seneca people

text: Author Ray Raphael made a connection between the Seneca warriors and Continental Army soldiers by noting that Blacksnake "was not unlike" known Revolutionary veterans "Joseph Plumb Martin and James Collins and other white American [veterans] who could never finally resolve whether killing was right or wrong". As the war went on, many more brutal attacks and atrocities would be committed by both sides, notably the Sullivan Expedition, which devastated Iroquois and Seneca lands.


title: Seneca people

text: The Iroquois were involved in numerous other battles during the American Revolution. Notable raids like the Cherry Valley massacre and Battle of Minisink, were carefully planned raids on a trail laid out "from the Susquehanna to the Delaware Valley and over the Pine Hill to the Esopus Country". In 1778 Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, and Mohawk warriors conducted raids on white settlements in the upper Susquehanna Valley. Although the Iroquois were active participants, Seneca like Governor Blacksnake were extremely fed up with the brutality of the war. He noted particularly on his behavior at Oriskany, and how he felt "it was great sinfull by the sight of God".


title: Seneca people

text: Warriors like Blacksnake were feeling the mental toll of killing so many people during the American Revolution. As Raphael noted in his book, "warfare had been much more personal" for the Iroquois before the American Revolution. During the revolution, these once proud Iroquois were now reduced to conducting brutal acts such as the killing of women and children at the Cherry Valley massacre and the clubbing of surviving American soldiers at Oriskany. Although Seneca like Governor Blacksnake felt sorrow for their brutal actions, the Americans responded in a colder and more brutal fashion. This retaliation came in the Sullivan Expedition.


title: Seneca people

text: The planning of the Sullivan Expedition began in 1778 as a way to respond to the Iroquois victories and massacres. This plan came about from the complaints of New Yorkers at the Continental Congress. The New Yorkers had suffered from the massive Iroquois offensives from 1777 to 1778, and they wanted revenge. Besides the brutal battles described previously, the New Yorkers were especially concerned with Joseph Brant. Joseph Brant had Mohawk parents and British lineage, and at a young age, he was taken under the superintendent for Indian affairs.


title: Seneca people

text: Brant grew to be a courteous and well-spoken man, and he took up the fight for the British because of harassment and discrimination from the Americans during the lead-up to the American Revolution. Thus, Brant formed a military group known as Brant's Volunteers, which consisted of Mohawks and Loyalists. Brant and his band of volunteers led many raids against hamlets and farms in New York, especially Tryon County. As a result of Brant's exploits, the Iroquois offensives, and several massacres the Iroquois inflicted against colonial towns, in 1778 the Seneca and other western nations were attacked by United States forces as part of the Sullivan Expedition. George Washington called upon Continental Army General John Sullivan (general) to lead this attack upon the Iroquois. He had received anywhere from 3000 to 4500 soldiers to fight the Iroquois.


title: Seneca people

text: Overall, the Sullivan Expedition wreaked untold havoc and destruction upon the Iroquois lands, as the soldiers "destroy[ed] not only the homes of the Iroquois but their food stocks as well". Seneca woman Mary Jemison recalled how the Continental soldiers "destroyed every article of the food kind that they could lay their hands on". To make matters worse for the Iroquois, an especially hard winter in 1780 caused additional suffering for the downtrodden Iroquois. The Sullivan Expedition highlighted a period of true total war within the American Revolution. The Americans looked to cripple the Iroquois. They accomplished that, but they instilled a deep hatred in the Iroquois warriors.


title: Seneca people

text: After the Sullivan Expedition the recovered Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, and Mohawk, angered by the destruction caused, resumed their raids on American settlements in New York. These Iroquois tribes not only attacked and plundered the American colonists, they also set fire to Oneida and Tuscarora settlements. The Iroquois continued their attacks upon the Americans, even after General Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis had surrendered at Yorktown in 1781. They did not stop until their allies had caved in and surrendered. In 1782, the Iroquois had finally stopped fighting when the British General Frederick Haldimand recalled them "pending the peace the negotiations in Paris".


title: Seneca people

text: The Iroquois also seemed to have a much larger knowledge of the war beyond the scope of New York. A letter from 1782 written by George Washington to John Hanson described intelligence captured from the British. In the letter, British soldiers encounter a group of Native Americans, and a discussion ensues. A soldier by the name of Campbell informs the Native Americans that the war ended and the Americans expressed their sorrow for the war. However, an unknown Seneca sachem informed the British "that the Americans and [F]rench had beat the English, that the latter could no longer carry on the War, and that the Indians knew it well, and must now be sacrificed or submit to the Americans".


title: Seneca people

text: With the Iroquois League dissolved, the nation settled in new villages along Buffalo Creek, Tonawanda Creek, and Cattaraugus Creek in western New York. The Seneca, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Mohawk, as allies of the British, were required to cede all their lands in New York State at the end of the war, as Britain ceded its territory in the Thirteen Colonies to the new United States. The late-war Seneca settlements were assigned to them as their reservations after the Revolutionary War, as part of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1784. Although the Oneida and Tuscarora were allies of the rebels, they were also forced to give up most of their territory.


title: Seneca people

text: On July 8, 1788, the Seneca (along with some Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Cayuga tribes) sold rights to land east of the Genesee River in New York to Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham of Massachusetts.


title: Seneca people

text: On November 11, 1794, the Seneca (along with the other Haudenosaunee nations) signed the Treaty of Canandaigua with the United States, agreeing to peaceful relations. On September 15, 1797, at the Treaty of Big Tree, the Seneca sold their lands west of the Genesee River, retaining ten reservations for themselves. The sale opened up the rest of Western New York for settlement by European Americans. On January 15, 1838, the US and some Seneca leaders signed the Treaty of Buffalo Creek, by which the Seneca were to relocate to a tract of land west of the state of Missouri, but most refused to go.


title: Seneca people

text: The majority of the Seneca in New York formed a modern elected government, the Seneca Nation of Indians, in 1848. The Tonawanda Seneca Nation split off, choosing to keep a traditional form of tribal government. Both tribes are federally recognized in the United States.


title: Seneca people

text: While it is not known exactly how many Seneca there are, the three federally recognized tribes are the Seneca Nation of Indians and the Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians in New York State and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma. A fourth group of Seneca people reside in Canada, where many are part of Six Nations in Ontario.


title: Seneca people

text: Approximately 10,000 Seneca live near Lake Erie. About 7,800 people are citizens of the Seneca Nation of Indians. These members live or work on six reservations in New York: the Allegany (which contains the city of Salamanca); the Cattaraugus near Gowanda, New York; the Buffalo Creek Territory located in downtown Buffalo; the Niagara Falls Territory located in Niagara Falls, New York; and the Oil Springs Reservation, near Cuba. Few Seneca reside at the Oil Springs, Buffalo Creek, or Niagara territories due to the small amount of land at each. The last two territories are held and used specifically for the gaming casinos which the tribe has developed.


title: Seneca people

text: The Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians has about 1,200 citizens who live on their Tonawanda Reservation near Akron, New York.


title: Seneca people

text: The third federally recognized tribe is the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma who live near Miami, Oklahoma. They are descendants of Seneca and Cayuga who had migrated from New York into Ohio before the Revolutionary War, under pressure from European encroachment. They were removed to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s.


title: Seneca people

text: Many Seneca and other Iroquois migrated into Canada during and after the Revolutionary War, where the Crown gave them land in compensation for what was lost in their traditional territories. Some 10,000 to 25,000 Seneca are citizens of Six Nations and reside on the Grand River Territory, the major Iroquois reserve, near Brantford, Ontario.


title: Seneca people

text: Enrolled members of the Seneca Nation also live elsewhere in the United States; some moved to urban locations for work.


title: Seneca people

text: The Seneca language was rated "critically endangered" in 2007, with fewer than 50 native speakers, primarily the elderly. Efforts are currently underway to preserve and revitalize the language.


title: Seneca people

text: The federal government through the Corps of Engineers undertook a major project of a dam for flood control on the Allegheny River. The proposed project was planned to affect a major portion of Seneca territory in New York. Begun in 1960, construction of the Kinzua Dam on the Allegheny River forced the relocation of approximately 600 Seneca from of land which they had occupied under the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua. They were relocated to Salamanca, near the northern shore of the Allegheny Reservoir that resulted from the flooding of land behind the dam. The Seneca had protested the plan for the project, filing suit in court and appealing to President John F. Kennedy to halt construction.


title: Seneca people

text: The Seneca lost their court case, and in 1961, citing the immediate need for flood control, Kennedy denied their request. This violation of Seneca rights, as well as those of many other Indian Nations, was memorialized in the 1960s by folksinger Peter La Farge, who wrote, "As Long as the Grass Shall Grow". It was also sung by Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. (Peter La Farge's recording can be heard on "As Long As The Grass Shall Grow - Peter La Farge Sings Of The Indians" - Folkways FN 2532, 1963.)


title: Seneca people

text: The United States Senate has never ratified the treaty that New York made with the Iroquois nations, and only Congress has the right to make such treaties. In the late 20th century, several tribes filed suit in land claims, seeking to regain their traditional lands by having the treaty declared invalid. The Seneca had other issues with New York and had challenged some long-term leases in court.


title: Seneca people

text: The dispute centers around a set of 99–year leases that were granted by the Seneca in 1890 for lands that are now in the city of Salamanca and nearby villages. In 1990, Congress passed the Seneca Settlement Act to resolve the long-running land dispute. The Act required the state to pay compensation and to provide some lands. The households that refused to accept Seneca ownership, fifteen in all, were evicted from their homes. Then, in the early 2000s issues re-arose over Seneca use of settlement lands to establish casino gaming operations, which have generated considerable revenues for many tribes since the late 20th century.


title: Seneca people

text: On August 25, 1993, the Seneca filed suit in United States District Court to begin an action to reclaim land allegedly taken from it by New York without having gained required approval of the treaty by the US Senate. Only the US government has the constitutional power to make treaties with the Native American nations. The lands consisted of Grand Island and several smaller islands in the Niagara River. in November 1993, the Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians moved to join the claim as a plaintiff and was granted standing as a plaintiff.


title: Seneca people

text: In 1998, the United States intervened in the lawsuits on behalf of the plaintiffs in the claim to allow the claim to proceed against New York. The state had asserted that it was immune from suit under the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution. After extensive negotiations and pre-trial procedures, all parties to the claim moved for judgment as a matter of law.


title: Seneca people

text: By decision and order dated June 21, 2002, the trial court held that the Seneca ceded the subject lands to Great Britain in the 1764 treaties of peace after the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War). Thus, the disputed lands were no longer owned by the Seneca at the time of the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua. The court found that the state of New York's "purchase" of the lands from the Seneca in 1815 was intended to avoid conflict with them, but it already owned it by virtue of Great Britain's defeat in the Revolution and the cession of its lands to the United States (and by default to the states in which the colonial lands were located.


title: Seneca people

text: The Seneca appealed the decision. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the trial court's decision on September 9, 2004. The Seneca sought review of this decision by the US Supreme Court, which on June 5, 2006, announced that it declined to hear the case, which left the lower court rulings in place.


title: Seneca people

text: On April 18, 2007, the Seneca Nation laid claim to a stretch of Interstate 90 that crosses the Cattaraugus Reservation for about three miles, in a section that runs on the northeast side of the lake from Erie, Pennsylvania to Buffalo, New York. They said that a 1954 agreement between the Seneca Nation and the New York State Thruway Authority, which granted the state permission to build the highway through their reservation in return for US $75,000, was invalid because it required federal approval. The lawsuit demands that some of the toll money collected by the Thruway Authority for the use of this three-mile stretch of the highway be remitted to the Nation. In 2011, Seneca President Robert Odawi Porter said that the Nation should be paid $1 every time a vehicle drives that part of the highway, amounting to tens of millions of dollars. The Nation also disputed the state's attempts to collect cigarette taxes and casino revenue from tribal businesses operating within Seneca sovereign territory. , the lawsuit over the thruway was ongoing.


title: Seneca people

text: The Seneca had previously brought suit against the state on the issue of highway easements. The court in 1999 had ruled that the State could not be sued by the tribe. In Magistrate Heckman's "Report and Recommendation", it was noted that the State of New York asserted its immunity from suit against both counts of the complaint. One count was the Seneca Tribe's challenge regarding the state's acquisition of Grand Island and other smaller islands in the Niagara River, and the second count challenged the state's thruway easement.


title: Seneca people

text: The Seneca have a diversified economy that relies on construction, communications, recreation, tourism, and retail sales. They have recently started operating two tribal-owned gaming casinos and recreation complexes.


title: Seneca people

text: Several large construction companies are located on the Cattaraugus and Allegany Territories. Many smaller construction companies are owned and operated by Seneca people. A considerable number of Seneca men work in some facet of the construction industry.


title: Seneca people

text: Recreation is one component of Seneca enterprises. The Highbanks Campground (reopened May 2015 after being closed in 2013) plays host to visitors in summer, as people take in the scenic vistas and enjoy the Allegheny Reservoir. Several thousand fishing licenses are sold each year to non-Seneca fishermen. Many of these customers are tourists to the region. Several major highways adjacent to or on the Seneca Nation Territories provide ready accessibility to local, regional and national traffic. Many tourists visit the region during the autumn for the fall foliage.


title: Seneca people

text: A substantial portion of the Seneca economy revolves around retail sales. From gas stations, smokeshops, and sports apparel, candles and artwork to traditional crafts, the wide range of products for sale on Seneca Nation Territories reflect the diverse interests of Seneca Nation citizens.


title: Seneca people

text: According to Bill Wagner, an author writing for High Times, "Members of the Seneca Nation of Indians in western New York state voted up a referendum Nov. 3 (2016) giving tribal leaders approval to move towards setting up a medical marijuana business on their territories. The measure passed by a vote of 448-364, giving the Seneca Nation Council the power to draft laws and regulations allowing the manufacture, use and distribution of cannabis for medical purposes. "A decision on our Nation's path of action on medical cannabis is far from made", cautioned Seneca President Maurice A. John Sr. in comments to the "Buffalo News". "But now, having heard from the Seneca people, our discussions and due diligence can begin in earnest." Entering the marijuana industry is thought to help stimulate the economy of the Seneca Tribe and create local business, dispensaries and other types of jobs involving medical marijuana.


title: Seneca people

text: The price advantage of the Senecas' ability to sell tax-free gasoline and cigarettes has created a boom in their economy. They have established many service stations along the state highways that run through the reservations, as well as many internet cigarette stores. Competing business interests and the state government object to their sales over the Internet. The state of New York believes that the tribe's sales of cigarettes by Internet are illegal. It also believes that the state has the authority to tax non-Indians who patronize Seneca businesses, a principle which the Seneca reject.


title: Seneca people

text: Seneca President Barry Snyder has defended the price advantage as an issue of sovereignty. Secondly, he has cited the Treaty of Canandaigua and Treaty of Buffalo Creek as the basis of Seneca exemption from collecting taxes on cigarettes to pay the state.


title: Seneca people

text: The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, Third Department had rejected this conclusion in 1994. The court held that the provisions of the treaty regarding taxation was only with regard to property taxes. The New York Court of Appeals on December 1, 1994 affirmed the lower court's decision.


title: Seneca people

text: The Seneca have refused to extend these benefits and price advantages to non-Indians, in their own words "has little sympathy for outsiders" who desire to do so, They have tried to prosecute non-Indians who have attempted to claim the price advantages of the Seneca while operating a business on the reservation. Little Valley businessman Lloyd Long operated two Uni-Marts on the reservation which were owned by a Seneca woman. He was arrested after investigation by federal authorities at the behest of the Seneca Nation accusing the native woman of being a front for Long. In 2011 he was ordered by the court to pay more than one million dollars in restitution and serve five years on probation.


title: Seneca people

text: In 1997, New York State had attempted to enforce taxation on reservation sales of gasoline and cigarettes to non-Indians. Numerous Seneca had protested by setting fire to tires and cutting off traffic to Interstate 90 and New York State Route 17 (the future Interstate 86). Then Attorney General Eliot Spitzer attempted to cut off the Seneca Tribe's internet cigarette sales by way of financial deplatforming. His office negotiated directly with credit card companies, tobacco companies, and delivery services to try to gain agreement to reject handling Seneca cigarette purchases by consumers. Another attempt at collecting taxes on gasoline and cigarettes sold to non-Indians was set to begin March 1, 2006; but it was tabled by the State Department of Taxation and Finance.


title: Seneca people

text: Shortly after March 1, 2006, other parties began proceedings to compel the State of New York to enforce its tax laws on sales to non-Indians on Indian land. Seneca County filed a suit which was dismissed. The New York State Association of Convenience Stores filed a similar suit, which was also dismissed. Based on the dismissal of these proceedings, Daniel Warren, a member and officer of Upstate Citizens for Equality, moved to vacate the judgment dismissing his 2002 state court action. The latter was dismissed because the court ruled that he had lack of standing.


title: Seneca people

text: In 2008 Governor David Paterson included $62 million of revenue in his budget from the proposed collection of these taxes. He signed a new law requiring that manufacturers and wholesalers swear under penalty of perjury that they are not selling untaxed cigarettes in New York.


title: Seneca people

text: In response, the Seneca announced plans to collect a toll from all who travel the length of I-90 that goes through their reservation. In 2007 the Senecas rescinded the agreement that had permitted construction of the thruway and its attendant easement through their reservation. Some commentators have contended that this agreement was not necessary or moot because the United States was already granted free right-of-passage across the Seneca land in the Treaty of Canandaigua.


title: Seneca people

text: A law to bar any tax-exempt organization in New York from receiving tax-free cigarettes went into effect June 21, 2011. The Seneca nation has repeatedly appealed the decision, continuing to do so as of June 2011, but has not gained an overturn of this law. The state has enforced the law only on cigarette brands produced by non-Indian companies (including all major national brands). It has not attempted to collect taxes on brands that are entirely tribally produced and sold (these are generally lower-end and lower-cost brands that have always made up the majority of Seneca cigarette sales.)


title: Seneca people

text: As states struggled to raise revenues, in the 1980s, some state legislatures prohibited state-sponsored gambling by authorizing state lotteries and other games of chance as a means to raise funds. In some cases, funds from such operations were earmarked for education or other worthy goals. Native American tribes asserted their right to run similar activities. With the US Supreme Court decision ruling in the late 1980s that federally recognized Native American tribes could establish gaming on their sovereign reservations, the Seneca Nation began to develop its gambling industry. It began, as states and other tribes did, with bingo.


title: Seneca people

text: In 2002, the Seneca Nation of Indians signed a Gaming Compact with the State of New York to cooperate in the establishment of three class III gambling facilities (casinos). It established the Seneca Gaming Corporation to manage its operations. The Seneca Nation of Indians owns and operates two casinos on its territory in New York State: one in Niagara Falls called Seneca Niagara which also reopened in online format during the pandemic and the other in Salamanca, called Seneca Allegany.


title: Seneca people

text: Construction began on a third, the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino, in downtown Buffalo. In 2007 the Seneca opened a temporary casino on its land in Buffalo after federal approval, to satisfy its agreement with the state, and moved to a permanent building in 2013. Some citizens have opposed all Indian gambling, but especially the Buffalo location. Additional controversy has been engendered because there were questions about whether the Seneca-controlled land met other status criteria for gambling as defined in the IGRA.


title: Seneca people

text: Some civic groups, including a "broad coalition of Buffalo's political, business, and cultural leaders", have opposed the Seneca Nation's establishment of a casino in Buffalo. They believe the operations will adversely affect the economic and social environment of the already struggling city. Opponents include the Upstate Citizens for Equality and Citizens for a Better Buffalo. In 2008 they won a lawsuit challenging the legality of the proposed casino in Buffalo, because of the status of the land. It was not part of their original reservations but had been transferred in a settlement with the state.


title: Seneca people

text: On July 8, 2008, United States District Judge William M. Skretny issued a decision holding that the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino is not on gaming-eligible lands. The National Indian Gaming Commission is reviewing proposed Seneca regulations and weighing its appeal options. The Seneca were given five days to respond or to face fines and a forced shutdown. They said they refuse to comply with the commission's order and will appeal.


title: Seneca people

text: Given the declining economic situation because of a nationwide recession, in summer 2008 the Seneca halted construction on the new casino in Buffalo. In December 2008 they laid off 210 employees from the three casinos.


title: Seneca people

text: The nation has established an official broadcasting arm, "Seneca Broadcasting", to apply for and purchase radio station licenses. The company owned one commercial FM radio station (broadcasting at 105.9 MHz) licensed off-reservation to the village of Little Valley, which the company purchased from Randy Michaels in early 2009. That station, known as WGWE, signed on February 1, 2010 from studios in the city of Salamanca with a classic hits format and was owned and operated by the nation until its sale in December 2021. An earlier application, for a noncommercial FM station at 89.3 in Irving, New York, ran into mutual exclusivity problems with out-of-town religious broadcasters.


title: Seneca people

text: Many Seneca people are employed in the local economy of the region as professionals, including lawyers, professors, physicians, police officers, teachers, social workers, nurses, and managers .


title: Petrobras

text: Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a state-owned Brazilian multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The company's name translates to Brazilian Petroleum Corporation — Petrobras.


title: Petrobras

text: The company was ranked #181 in the most recent Fortune Global 500 list. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Petrobras was ranked as the 65th-largest public company in the world.'


title: Petrobras

text: Petrobras was created in 1953 under the government of Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas with the slogan "The Oil is Ours" (Portuguese: "O petróleo é nosso"). It was given a legal monopoly in Brazil. In 1953, Brazil produced only 2,700 barrels of oil per day. In 1961, the company's REDUC refinery began operations near Rio de Janeiro, and in 1963, its Cenpes research center opened in Rio de Janeiro; it remains one of the world's largest centers dedicated to energy research. In 1968, the company established Petrobras Quimica S.A ("Petroquisa"), a subsidiary focused on petrochemicals and the conversion of naphtha into ethene.


title: Petrobras

text: Petrobras had begun processing oil shale in 1953, developing the Petrosix technology for extracting oil from oil shale. It began using an industrial-size retort to process shale in the 1990s. In 2006, Petrobras said that their industrial retort could process 260 tonnes/hour of oil shale.


title: Petrobras

text: In 1994, Petrobras put the Petrobras 36, the world's largest oil platform, into service. It sank after an explosion in 2001 and was a complete loss. In 1997, the government approved Law N.9.478, which broke Petrobras's monopoly and allowed competition in Brazil's oilfields, and also created the national petroleum agency Agência Nacional do Petróleo, (ANP) responsible for the regulation and supervision of the petroleum industry, and the National Council of Energy Policies, a public agency responsible for developing public energy policy. In 1999, the National Petroleum Agency signed agreements with other companies, ending the company's monopoly.


title: Petrobras

text: In 2000, Petrobras set a world record for oil exploration in deep waters, reaching a depth of below sea level. In 2002, Petrobras acquired the Argentine company Perez Companc Energía (PECOM Energía S.A.) from the and its family foundation for $1.18 billion. This acquisition included assets in Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador, 1.1 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, and production of per day.


title: Petrobras

text: In 2005, Petrobras announced a joint venture with Nippon Alcohol Hanbai KK to sell Brazilian ethanol to Japan, called Brazil-Japan Ethanol. On 21 April 2006, the company started production on the P-50 oil platform in the Albacora East field at Campos Basin, which made Brazil self-sufficient in oil production. By November 2015, the company had accumulated $128 billion in debt, 84% of it denominated in foreign currencies.


title: Petrobras

text: Petrobras controls significant oil and energy assets in 16 countries in Africa, North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.


title: Petrobras

text: However, Brazil represented 92% of Petrobras' worldwide production in 2014 and accounted for 97% of Petrobras' worldwide reserves on 31 December 2014,


title: Petrobras

text: when the company had of proved developed reserves and of proved undeveloped reserves in Brazil. Of these, 62.7% were located in the offshore Campos Basin. The largest growth prospect for the company is the Tupi oil field in the Santos Basin.


title: Petrobras

text: Reserves held outside of Brazil accounted for 8.4% of production in 2014. The majority of these reserves are in South America; the company has assets in Bolivia and Colombia.


title: Petrobras

text: Petrobras owns refineries in Texas (100,000 barrels per day of throughput). The company also owns exploration blocks in the Gulf of Mexico.


title: Petrobras

text: In 1961, Petrobras geologist Walter K. Link published Link's memorandum, which implied that the company was better off exploring offshore instead of onshore. In 1963, Petrobras discovered the and Carmópolis oil fields.


title: Petrobras

text: The company's growth was halted by the 1973 oil crisis. The entire country was affected, and the "Brazilian miracle", a period when annual GDP growth exceeded 10%, ended. Petrobras nearly went bankrupt.


title: Petrobras

text: In 1974, the company discovered an oil field in the Campos Basin. This discovery boosted its finances and helped it restructure nationwide. In 1975, the Brazilian Government temporarily allowed foreign operators into Brazil, and Petrobras signed exploration contracts with foreign companies for oilfields in Brazil.


title: Petrobras

text: In 1997, Petrobras reached the production milestone of per day. The company also executed agreements with other Latin American governments and began operations outside Brazil.


title: Petrobras

text: In 2003, on its 50th anniversary, Petrobras surpassed of daily production. On 1 May 2006, after the Bolivian gas conflict, Bolivia's president Evo Morales announced the nationalization of all gas and oil fields in the country and ordered the occupation of all fields by the Bolivian Army. On 4 May 2006, Petrobras cancelled a major future investment plan in Bolivia as a result. The Bolivian government demanded an increase in royalty payments from foreign petroleum companies to 82%, but eventually settled for a 50% royalty interest.


title: Petrobras

text: In 2007, Petrobras inaugurated the Petrobras 52 Oil Platform. The 52 is the biggest Brazilian oil platform and the third-biggest in the world.


title: Petrobras

text: In 2007 and 2008, Petrobras made several major oil discoveries including the Tupi oil field (formerly known as the Lula oil field), the Jupiter field, and the Sugar Loaf field, all in the Santos Basin, 300 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. The oil fields were discovered by partnerships that include Petrobras, Royal Dutch Shell, and Galp Energia. However, estimates for the reserves of these new fields varied widely.


title: Petrobras

text: The P-51 Platform, the first semisubmersible platform built entirely in Brazil, capable of producing up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day, started production in the Campos Basin in January 2009, and in February 2009, China agreed to loan Petrobras US$10 billion in exchange for a supply of 60,000-100,000 barrels of oil per day to a subsidiary of Sinopec and 40,000-60,000 barrels of oil per day to PetroChina. In August 2009, Petrobras acquired ExxonMobil's Esso assets in Chile for US$400 million.


title: Petrobras

text: In September 2010, Petrobras completed a US$70 billion share offering, the largest share offering in history, to be used to develop newly discovered oil fields. Giovanni Biscardi and Machado Meyer represented Petrobras. Biscardi brought his Brazilian corporate practice to Greenberg Traurig in January 2020.


title: Petrobras

text: In 2012, Petrobras surrendered permits to explore offshore in New Zealand. Petrobras did not provide a reason but the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said the decision was "not a reflection on the capacity to undertake deep-sea drilling or the prospect of activity of that area". He attributed the decision to a regrouping by the company after some setbacks.


title: Petrobras

text: In July 2013, a worker strike action shut down production at several of the company's oil platforms. In September 2013, Petrobras sold eleven onshore exploration and production blocks in Colombia to Perenco for US$380 million.


title: Petrobras

text: In September 2013 Organizações Globo reported on national television that the US National Security Agency (NSA) had been spying on Petrobras. The information was based on a top secret NSA file provided to "Guardian" journalist Glenn Greenwald by Edward Snowden as part of the Global surveillance disclosures. The file showed that Petrobras was one of several targets for the NSA's Blackpearl program, which extricates data from private networks. Petrobras announced that it was investing R$21 billion over five years to improve its data security.


title: Petrobras

text: In 2014, the company sold its assets in Peru to PetroChina for US$2.6 billion. Also in 2014, Petrobras set a new company record for average daily production of .


title: Petrobras

text: In January 2017, the company concluded the sale of 100 percent of Petrobras Chile Distribuición Ltda (PCD) to the Southern Cross Group. The transaction included the licensing of the Petrobras and Lubrax brands for 8 years. To operate the assets acquired from Petrobras in Chile, Southern Cross created Esmax, a company that acts as a Petrobras licensee in the fuel and lubricant distribution segments. In March 2019, the company concluded the sale of 100 percent of Petrobras Paraguay Distribución Limited (PPDL UK), Petrobras Paraguay Operaciones y Logística SRL (PPOL) and Petrobras Paraguay Gas SRL (PPG) to the Grupo Copetrol, through its subsidiary Paraguay Energy. The agreement provides for the licensing for the exclusive use of the Petrobras brand by Nextar (the successor of Petrobras Paraguay Operaciones y Logística SRL) at that country’s service stations, for the initial term of five years. In February 2021, the company concluded the sale of entire stake in Petrobras Uruguay Distribución S.A. (PUDSA), by indirect subsidiary (Petrobras Uruguay Sociedad Anónima de Inversión -PUSAI), in Uruguay, to Mauruguay S.A., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Disa Corporación Petrolífera S.A. (DISA).


title: Petrobras

text: In January 2020, Petroleo Brasileiro stated that it ended all of its business in Africa after completing the sale of a 50% stake in Petrobras Oil & Gas BV.


title: Petrobras

text: The Brazilian government directly owns 54% of Petrobras' common shares with voting rights, while the Brazilian Development Bank and Brazil's Sovereign Wealth Fund (Fundo Soberano) each control 5%, bringing the State's direct and indirect ownership to 64%. The privately held shares are traded on B3, where they are part of the Ibovespa index. It is also listed in the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American depositary receipts and in the Madrid Stock Exchange.


title: Petrobras

text: Operation Car Wash () was a criminal investigation by the Federal Police of Brazil's Curitiba branch. Originally a money laundering investigation, it expanded to cover allegations of corruption at Petrobras, where executives allegedly accepted bribes in return for awarding contracts to construction firms at inflated prices. The aim of the investigation was to ascertain the extent of a money laundering scheme, estimated by the Regional Superintendent of the Federal Police of Paraná State in 2015 at (US$– billion), largely through the embezzlement of Petrobras funds.