Early life and career.

Hu Zongxian was born in the year 1512, in the Hu ancestral village of Longchuan () in Jixi County, part of Huizhou prefecture at the time. Today Longchuan is called Kengkou village (); Jixi is now part of Anhui province. At the age of 23, he passed the provincial imperial examination and became a "juren" (). This was followed him passing the palace examination in 1538, becoming a "jinshi" () and paving the road to officialdom.  Hu was first assigned to be the magistrate of Yidu in Shandong province, where his administration of justice won him the love of the people, who claimed that he brought rains during a drought and magpies to eat the locusts destroying the crops. He raised a thousand volunteer troops from miners out of work and sent them to the northern frontiers under the command of the Shandong grand coordinator Zeng Xian. For this Hu Zongxian was earmarked for promotion, but he had to retire due to the death of his mother in May 1542 to observe the three years-long period of mourning per Confucian rituals. Two years later, his father also died, and Hu Zongxian stayed at his home village for another three years.  In 1547, Hu Zongxian reemerged as the magistrate of Yuyao of Zhejiang province. There he became known for his unconventional thinking such as when he solved the longstanding problem of illegal quarrying on Mt. Shenggui () north of the city by buying the mountain with his personal salary. His energetic governance was met with the people's approval and he became one of the few local officials to earn the praise of Zhu Wan, the grand coordinator of Zhejiang. In 1548, Hu's likeness was carved into the cliff of Mt. Shenggui in his honour.

As investigating censor.

Hu Zongxian was summoned to the capital Beijing in 1548 and took up a position under the Censorate. In the six years as an investigating censor, Hu Zongxian distinguished himself by not only writing memorials to the throne evaluating the performance of provincial officials, but also participating in the actual administration of the provinces. During his tour of the Northern Metropolitan Region (Beizhili) from 1549 to 1551, Altan Khan broke through the defences at Gubeikou and pillaged the suburbs of Beijing. The defences of Xuanfu, where Hu Zongxian was stationed during the crisis, held fast, and Hu was able to send troops to relieve Beijing. He was rewarded for this and the emperor began to take note of his abilities.  In the summer of 1551, Hu was transferred to Wuchang in the province of Huguang where he participated in the suppression of a Miao rebellion on the provincial border with Guizhou. There he gained firsthand knowledge of the Miao's fighting qualities such that he called for their service during the pirate suppression campaigns a few years later. He was recalled to serve in the Censorate headquarters in Beijing in 1552. There he made lasting connections with the political elite: the most important of which was that of Zhao Wenhua, and by extension that of Zhao's patron, the Senior Grand Secretary Yan Song, the official closest to the emperor.  At this time the southeastern coast was under attack by the pirates known as the "wokou", who were a mix of Chinese merchants and foreign elements from Japan and Portugal violating the maritime prohibition laws. Hu Zongxian and Zhao Wenhua recommended a series of measures to counter this threat, including the expansion of the powers given to the grand coordinator, a position roughly equivalent to a provincial governor, so he could complete his task more freely. As a result of these suggestions, a new supreme commander position was created above the grand coordinators, overseeing the coastal provinces from Shandong to Guangdong. The Nanjing Minister of War Zhang Jing was assigned to this position in June 1554, and a few months later Zhao Wenhua and Hu Zongxian were sent south to scrutinize his actions.  For over half a year Hu Zongxian could write nothing but reports of military failures and the serious loss of life fighting against the pirates, citing the government troops' poor discipline and leadership. Zhang Jing himself refused to cooperate with Zhao Wenhua, and Zhao Wenhua put his displeasure into writing by accusing Zhang Jing in a memorial of deliberately delaying the operation for his own profit. However, soon after Zhao Wenhua sent out the memorial, Zhang Jing defeated the pirates at the Battle of Wangjiangjing () on 10 May 1555, taking 1900 heads in what became the greatest Ming victory so far in the anti-wokou campaign. As it was too late to recant his earlier statement, Zhao Wenhua wrote another memorial to the throne downplaying Zhang Jing's victory while emphasizing Hu Zongxian's role leading up to Wangjiangjing, such as his ruse of placing poisoned shipments of wine on the pirates' path which killed up to 800 of their number. Zhao Wenhua also claimed that Hu Zongxian was present at the scene of battle in a suit of armour, even though he was actually at Hangzhou at the time. Hu Zongxian nevertheless went along with Zhao Wenhua and denounced Zhang Jing as well, adding that he had become arrogant after the victory. In the imperial court, Yan Song convinced the emperor that the victory proved that Zhang Jing had the capability to defeat the pirates and Zhao Wenhua was correct in his accusation that Zhang had been holding back, only striking when he heard about Zhao Wenhua's accusation against him. Infuriated, the emperor ordered Zhang Jing's arrest on June 5 and had him executed on November 12.  Zhang Jing's replacement, Zhou Chong (), had his powers greatly limited compared to his predecessor. Instead of the 6 coastal provinces under Zhang Jing's command, Zhou Chong's was limited to only the Southern Metropolitan Region, Zhejiang, and Fujian. Hu Zongxian was meanwhile promoted to Grand Coordinator of Zhejiang, and was soon promoted even higher to supreme commander in April 1556, after Zhou Chong and his successor Yang Yi () were cashiered after less than a year in service due to their underwhelming performance.

Presiding over the wokou affair.

Defeating Xu Hai.

Compared to the short appointments of his predecessors, Hu Zongxian remained in power until 1563. His longevity as supreme commander, and indeed his meteoric rise, were due in part to his association with Zhao Wenhua's clique. Zhao Wenhua was opposed to a strict enforcement of the maritime prohibitions like the ones carried out by Zhu Wan, and instead favoured opening trade as the means to solve the wokou problem. Hu Zongxian, in turn, carried out a policy of appeasement despite his subordinates' disapproval and the emperor's orders to capture the pirate lord Wang Zhi dead or alive.  Even before he had become supreme commander, Hu Zongxian sent envoys to Japan in his capacity as grand coordinator ostensibly to request assistance from Japanese authorities, but in fact to establish contact with Wang Zhi to entice him to surrender. Drawn by the prospect of legal trade, Wang Zhi agreed to clean the shores of Zhejiang of pirates in return for a pardon. Wang Zhi also warned Hu that one of the pirate leaders in his consortium, Xu Hai, was on his way to raid Zhejiang again and Wang was not able to stop him in time. This was alarming news to Hu as it severely disrupted his plans of appeasement.  To deal with the wokou threat, Hu assembled his own "mufu", or private secretariat, enlisting the prominent figures of the region using his own connections since he was native to the area. In this way, he attracted talents such as the writer Mao Kun (), the artist Xu Wei, the ink maker Luo Longwen (), and the cartographer Zheng Ruoceng (), who helped to advise him in diplomacy and strategy.  When Xu Hai came ashore and laid siege to the cities of Zhejiang along with his fellow Satsuma pirates Chen Dong () and Ye Ma (), Hu Zongxian and his "mufu" decided that they did not have the adequate numbers to decisively defeat the invaders, since the main Ming armies were in the northern frontier and Miao reinforcements were forthcoming. Instead, they manipulated Xu Hai with a generous offer of surrender. Throughout the course of the campaign, Hu Zongxian kept friendly contacts with Xu Hai, slowly turning him from his pirate allies by the use of bribes, deceptive promises of official status and ships to sail back to Japan, and false warnings of mutiny among Xu's ranks. He also made use of existing interpersonal feuds among Xu Hai, Chen Dong, and Ye Ma by sending Xu's mistress trinkets so she would badmouth Chen Dong and Ye Ma in front of Xu Hai. Xu Hai eventually turned both Chen and Ye in to the authorities, and Hu made further use of them by making them write letters to their followers explaining that Xu Hai was going to betray and kill them. Hu Zongxian handed Xu Hai a copy of the letters, making Xu Hai grateful and thinking that Hu Zongxian had his interests in mind. When Chen and Ye's former followers received the letters, they rose up against Xu Hai at the Shen Family Estate () in Pinghu. At this point, Hu Zongxian's government forces, including newly arrived Miao troops, entered the fray and killed indiscriminately. On September 29, the battle ended with up to 1600 marauders killed in the estate, and Xu Hai's body was found in a nearby stream. On October 10, Chen Dong, Ye Ma, and Xu Hai's brother were all executed in Jiaxing.

Capturing Wang Zhi.

With Xu Hai's group put down, Hu Zongxian was given the post of grand coordinator of Zhejiang in February 1557, concurrent with his supreme commander position, but it was Zhao Wenhua who took much of the credit and rewards for the victory. However, in September 1557, Zhao Wenhua was accused of embezzlement, lost imperial favour, and died a commoner. Hu now had to cultivate direct relations with Yan Song, and he did so by introducing Luo Longwen, a dealer and connoisseur in antiques and other luxury goods, to Yan Song's son Yan Shifan ().  Hu Zongxian turned his attention to Wang Zhi. On 17 October 1557, Wang Zhi arrived at Zhoushan Island with a large trading fleet. There he laid down his terms for surrender: he sought an imperial pardon, a naval commission, and that ports be open for trade; in return he offered to patrol the coast and persuade the raiders to return to the islands through force if necessary. Hu Zongxian now faced a dilemma: he could not let Wang Zhi go, but if he accepted Wang Zhi's surrender he might be forced to execute him (Zhao Wenhua's downfall made his policy of opening trade a political taboo), turning appeasement efforts to naught. In December, confident in his prospects and his invulnerability, Wang Zhi made landing at Hangzhou. There he was accorded respectable treatment by the authorities, who feared antagonizing his followers, while they figure out what to do with him. During this time Hu Zongxian asked Wang Zhi to help manufacture arquebuses for the Ming army, which led to the weapon being widely used in China. Finally in February next year, Wang Zhi was sent to prison, where he was given the luxuries of novelties, books, and healthy foods. Wang Zhi believed this was a temporary arrangement and remained hopeful for a pardon until 22 January 1560, when an imperial edict handed down the death sentence, and he was summarily beheaded.  As pacification-minded officials had feared, Wang Zhi's followers gave up hope for peaceful trade and went back to their violent ways. Feeling betrayed after Wang Zhi was apprehended, Wang Zhi's godson Mao Haifeng made Zhoushan Island his base and launched raids on Zhejiang and Fujian. Hu Zongxian made a concerted effort to dislodge Mao from Zhoushan in March 1558, converging on the island from six directions with the generals Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang, but failed and was forced to retreat. He tempered the rising criticism against him by blaming Yu and Qi, while sending Beijing a white deer, an auspicious Taoist symbol, to the emperor's great delight. The pirates eventually abandoned Zhoushan in December of the same year owing to the heavy military presence there, and scattered south to Fujian which became their new area of operation. In the summer of 1559, the remaining pirate bands in the Yangtze River Delta were wiped out. For his efforts, Hu was given the rank of Minister of War in June 1560 and the prestigious title of Junior Guardian () in October 1561. His supreme commandership was also extended to include the Jiangxi province since bandits were infesting the area, which lasted until November 1562. Shrines were erected in Hangzhou and his home district in his honour.

Downfall and death.

Hu Zongxian had now reached the zenith of his career. In June 1562, his ally Yan Song fell out of imperial favour and finally lost his position as Senior Grand Secretary. In the following purge of Yan's associates, Hu Zongxian was impeached for being too friendly to Wang Zhi and mishandling military funds, among other perceived transgressions. An order for Hu Zongxian's arrest was made, and he arrived at the capital on January 19, 1563. The Jiajing Emperor, remembering Hu's substantial service and his auspicious gifts, interceded on his behalf and refuted claims that Hu Zongxian was part of Yan Song's clique, commenting that the recent attacks on Hu Zongxian were partisan. Hu was released and allowed to retire with all his titles intact, but his supreme commander position overseeing three provinces was considered too powerful, especially since the wokou had moved away from the crucial Jiangnan region, so the position was abolished after Hu Zongxian left office. Grand coordinators became the paramount figure in those provinces again.  In April 1565, Yan Song's son Yan Shifan was executed along with Luo Longwen for treasonable offenses. Luo Longwen's estate was confiscated, and a search therein turned up a letter from Hu Zongxian asking Luo to present a bribe to Yan Shifan. Adding to this evidence of corruption, Hu Zongxian was also accused of providing shelter to Luo Longwen's son to help him escape the authorities. Hu Zongxian was thus brought from his home county of Jixi to Beijing to face trial in November 1565. While in prison, Hu submitted a memorial asking for clemency due to his past service, but it was soon discovered that Hu had died, supposedly from suicide by poison. The emperor ordered the case be closed after Hu's death.  When Hu Zongxian's son tried to transport his father's body back to their home village, the local populace sixty miles north of Jixi threatened the entourage, forcing the son to leave the coffin on the roadside. Due to the interference of officials sympathetic to Hu Zongxian, the coffin was moved to a temple and later transferred back to Jixi for interment. Despite the people's hostility at the time of his death, Hu Zongxian's name was rehabilitated over the following decades. In 1569 the people of Hangzhou built a new shrine in his memory, and his original titles and ranks were restored posthumously by imperial order in 1572. In 1589, on the appeal of Hu's grandson, Hu's achievements were recounted and he was accorded a state reburial. During the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98), Hu Zongxian's victory against the wokou was given new currency, and he was canonized with the posthumous name Xiangmao (), meaning "splendid assistance".

Hu Zongxian (; November 4, 1512 – November 25, 1565), courtesy name Ruzhen () and art name Meilin (), was a Chinese general of the Ming dynasty who presided over the government's response to the wokou pirate raids during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor. As supreme commander, he was able to defeat Xu Hai's () substantial raid in 1556 and capture the pirate lord Wang Zhi the next year through ruses. Despite his accomplishments, Hu Zongxian's reputation had been tarnished by his association with the clique of Yan Song and Zhao Wenhua, traditionally reviled figures in Ming historiography. He was rehabilitated decades after his death and was given the posthumous name Xiangmao () by the emperor in 1595.


Musical career.

Johnson worked as a session musician for many notable artists including Isaac Bolden and Jean Knight. At the beginning of his career, he was often featured on funk albums, later moving to more rock, blues and folk music.  Producer Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Neil Young) has played an important role for his musical career. Lanois helped him get notoriety, mainly due to some of his own collaborations, such as with Brian Eno, Emmylou Harris and Bob Dylan.  Since 2010, he is a member of the supergroup Black Dub, whose other band members are Daniel Lanois (vocals and guitar), drummer Brian Blade (Joni Mitchell, Wayne Shorter, Joshua Redman), who Johnson worked with in the past, and singer Trixie Whitley. The group's self-titled first studio album was released in 2010, filled with music that grows from the rich soil of gospel, blues, and pop. Johnson is also a member of Spyboy, Emmylou Harris ́s backing band that she formed for a tour to perform songs from her 1995 career-redefining album, "Wrecking Ball". Besides Daryl Johnson on bass, the power trio is composed of country singer-songwriter Buddy Miller on guitar and Brady Blade on drums.  Johnson also worked with Trixie Whitley on her solo project "The Engine", which he co-produced and played several instruments on. Back in 1991, he has already worked with Trixie Whitley's father, Chris Whitley,  Besides his many credits as a performer, Johnson has also collected a variety of writing and arrangement credits. He has worked as a songwriter on seven albums of The Neville Brothers, as well as on albums of Emmylou Harris, Black Dub, Daniel Lanois, Ian Moore, and others.

Daryl Johnson (born in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American bass player, singer, songwriter, composer and producer. Johnson is well known for playing with The Neville Brothers and Bob Dylan, and for producing Daniel Lanois' solo albums.


Early life and career.

Zhu Wan was born in Changzhou (), now a part of Suzhou, to the schoolteacher Zhu Ang () and his concubine surnamed Shi (). Throughout his upbringing, Zhu Wan and his mother were subject to various abuse by his father's principal wife and his half-brothers. The abuses started three days after he was born when they tried to starve him to death and lasted as late as 1546. His mother shielded him from the abuse when she could and once, an uncle and a cousin intervened to save him from death. Zhu Wan did not mention his father's role in the abuses, but wrote that his father was patient and strict when he taught him the classics and history. These experiences might have formed Zhu Wan's moral code, which was characterized by strict self-discipline and adherence to authority.  Zhu Wan passed the imperial examination and earned a "jinshi" degree in June 1521, and started his career in the Ming bureaucracy by being an apprentice at the Ministry of Works in Beijing, but he apparently disliked his position and returned home. This short apprenticeship was his only position in the capital over his whole career. In 1522, he was appointed as the subprefecture magistrate of Jingzhou (), and was transferred to Kaizhou () the next year. From 1527 to 1532, Zhu Wan served several vice-director and director positions in the secondary capital Nanjing under the Ministry of Justice (), Ministry of War (), and Ministry of Personnel ().

Provincial commissions.

In 1532, Zhu Wan was transferred from the metropolitan areas to the provinces, where he remained until his death. He was first sent to Jiangxi, where he served as assistant administration commissioner () and dealt with Dongxiang inhabitants who resisted mandatory labour service. He then was sent to Sichuan as surveillance vice commissioner () in 1536, where he restructured local defences and put down the Maozhou () and Weizhou aboriginal bandits militarily, putting a stop to the previous practice of paying them off. He recorded his Sichuan experiences in his "Maobian Jishi" ().  In 1541 he was appointed as administration vice commissioner of Shandong (), where he released Shandong soldiers from faraway duties so they could bolster local defences. He was then sent to the southwestern province of Yunnan in 1543 as surveillance commissioner () but came back to Shandong as administration commissioner () the next year. This was followed by his transfer to the same position in Guangdong () in 1545, but even this commission was short-lived since he was promoted again one year later.

As grand coordinator.

In 1546 Zhu Wan was assigned as the grand coordinator of southern Jiangxi (), a post roughly equivalent to a provincial governor and above commissioners of the military, provincial, and surveillance hierarchies. However, he was soon transferred to the coastal province of Zhejiang the next year, as it was undergoing a military emergency in the form of the wokou pirates.  After several years of debate over the disturbances on the coast, the Ming court under Senior Grand Secretary Xia Yan decided to appoint a new grand coordinator to manage coastal defense in the two provinces most affected by the turbulence, Zhejiang and Fujian. In 1547, Zhu Wan was made the Grand Coordinator of Zhejiang and Concurrent Superintendent of Military Affairs for Zhejiang and Fujian Coastal Defense (), a new position specifically created to deal with the resurgent wokou problem. It was the first time in many decades that Zhejiang had a single administrative head instead of having three provincial heads.  The situation on the coast had become very dire at the start of Zhu Wan's tenure as grand coordinator. In December 1547, the Portuguese had plundered Zhangzhou, and in February the next year the cities of Ningbo and Taizhou were struck by an unprecedented 1,000 raiders aboard a hundred ships. This raid happened whilst Zhu Wan was inspecting in Fujian, and the government troops could not stop the raiders from killing, looting, and burning government offices and homes. Despite the dismal state of coastal defence and the widespread collusion between the gentry and the pirates, Zhu Wan carried out his task energetically. He strictly enforced the maritime prohibitions, forbidding anyone from venturing out to sea on penalty of death, and put all ships to use for defence of the coast. He also publicized the names of the influential persons involved in the illegal trade, to the annoyance of the local gentry. However, Zhu Wan was not entirely against foreign trade as he accommodated an official Japanese trading mission led by Sakugen Shūryō in early 1548—he had no problem with foreign trade in principle as long as it was done through the proper channels.  On 15 April 1548, Zhu Wan's fleet in Wenzhou set sail for the pirate haven Shuangyu under the command of Lu Tang and Ke Qiao (). The fleet descended onto Shuangyu one night in June, under the cover of thick weather. Fifty-five to a few hundred smugglers perished in the attack, but leading figures such as Li Guangtou () and Wang Zhi were able to escape. Lu Tang then razed the town and rendered the harbour permanently unusable by filling it in with stones under Zhu Wan's orders. Zhu Wan and his generals were greatly rewarded in silver for the victory, but he also drew the ire of his political enemies among the gentry, whose profits were directly affected by the destruction of Shuangyu. Eventually a pretense was found to demote Zhu Wan to the temporary position of inspector general (), the argument being one man cannot control two provinces at the same time.

Downfall and death.

After the loss of Shuangyu, the smugglers scattered along the coast of Zhejiang and Fujian to find good hideouts to trade. The deep water inlet of Zoumaxi (走馬溪, "Running Horse Creek") by the Dongshan Peninsula near the Fujian-Guangdong border was found to be a suitable place for trade since the terrain sheltered the ships from the winds, and the inhabitants of nearby Meiling () had been greatly involved in the illicit trade. On 19 March 1549, Lu Tang and Ke Qiao ambushed two junks in Zoumaxi while they were trading with the Portuguese aboard resulting in 33 deaths and 206 smugglers captured. Among the captured were Li Guangtou and a number of Portuguese men, and Lu Tang had four of the more good-looking Portuguese pretend to be kings of Malacca in order to make the victory seem more complete. Fearing that the captives might bribe their way out, Zhu Wan executed 96 of the Chinese smugglers using his discretionary powers.  Zhu Wan's unauthorized executions of the Zoumaxi captives provided an excellent opportunity for his political enemies. On April 27, Zhu Wan was impeached for exceeding his authority since executions had to be sanctioned by the emperor. The Jiajing Emperor dismissed Zhu Wan from his post and ordered a full investigation on the matter. Seeing that the odds were against him, especially since his backer Xia Yan had been executed in disgrace in October last year, Zhu Wan wrote his own epitaph and committed suicide by drinking poison in January 1550. The investigation confirmed the allegations that Zhu Wan had killed the prisoners without imperial authorization, and so a posthumous death sentence was handed down. Lu Tang and Ke Qiao were also condemned to death, and the Portuguese smugglers were let off lightly, with exile as their punishment.  The death of Zhu Wan was followed by the wholesale reversion of his policies, and the fleet that Zhu had assembled was dispersed. For three years the position held by Zhu Wan remained vacant, and during these years apparently no government official dared to mention the coastal situation in the adverse political atmosphere. The coastal gentry had come out on top over Zhu Wan, but in doing so they created a military vacuum on the Chinese coast, of which the wokou raiders took full advantage when they intensified their raids for the coming decade. Contemporaries and later historians lamented Zhu Wan's fate for his righteousness and steadfast resistance against the influential families, and his name was finally cleared by the Wanli Emperor in December 22, 1587.

Zhu Wan (; September 29, 1494 – January 2, 1550), courtesy name Zichun () and art name Qiuya (), was a Chinese general of the Ming dynasty. He was known for his uncompromising stance against the Jiajing wokou pirates (so named because they raided during the Jiajing era) and the gentry members who secretly supported them.


Family and lineage.

Marguerite was born in 1365, the eldest daughter of Louis of Enghien, Count of Brienne and of Conversano, Lord of Enghien, Titular Duke of Athens, and Giovanna of Sanseverino. She had three younger sisters, Yolande, Helene, and Isabelle. On 3 May 1384, Yolande married Philip of Bar (born 1372), who died in a Turkish prison in 1404 after being taken prisoner following the disastrous Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. Marguerite had a brother, Antoine who died at the age of sixteen, leaving her, the eldest daughter, heir to her father's estates and titles. Her paternal grandparents were Walter III of Enghien and Isabella of Brienne, and her maternal grandparents were Antonio of Sanseverino, 5th Count of Marsico, and Isabella del Balzo.

Marriages and issue.

On an unknown date, Marguerite married her first husband, Pierre de Baux, and following his death, she married as her second husband, a relative of her mother, Giacopo of Sanseverino. Both of these early marriages were childless. In 1380, after Giacopo's death, Marguerite married her third husband, John of Luxembourg, Sire of Beauvois (1370–1397). He was the son of Guy of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol and Mahaut of Châtillon, Countess of Saint-Pol. By her third husband, Marguerite had five children:

Inheritance.

Marguerite became the "suo jure" Countess of Brienne and Conversano, and Dame of Enghien upon her father's death on 17 March 1394. Her husband John also became Count of Brienne and of Conversano by right of his wife.  She died on an unknown date sometime after 1394. Her will was dated 19 September 1393. Her eldest son, Peter received her titles of Brienne and of Conversano.  Through her son Peter and his wife, Margaret de Baux, Marguerite was an ancestress of Queen consort Elizabeth Woodville and her siblings, King Henry VIII of England, and King Henry IV of France.

Marguerite d'Enghien, suo jure Countess of Brienne and of Conversano, "suo jure" Heiress of Enghien, and Lady of Beauvois (born 1365), was a wealthy noblewoman from the County of Hainaut in her own right, having inherited the counties of Brienne and of Conversano, and the Lordship of Enghien from her father Louis of Enghien on 17 March 1394. She was the wife of John of Luxembourg, Sire of Beauvois and the mother of Peter of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, Count of Brienne and of Conversano who inherited her fiefs, and John II of Luxembourg, Count of Ligny.


History.

Background, Flemish Movement.

The "Vlaams Blok" originated from the loose Flemish Movement, which historically has included an array of organisations seeking, to varying degrees, to promote Flanders. In the second half of the nineteenth century, Flemish nationalists operated within the established political parties, and had close ties with the political left. The early organised political expression of Flemish nationalism was triggered by World War I, and the introduction of universal suffrage and proportional representation in elections. The main party that initially represented the movement was the left-wing nationalist Front Party, founded by former soldiers and sympathizers from the trench wars in Flanders Fields disaffected with their French-speaking, often anti-Flemish, officers that had been unable to communicate with their troops. From the 1930s, the main party became the Flemish National Union which turned to collaborate with the Nazis during World War II, as they had promised them increased Flemish autonomy. These circumstances would compromise the re-emergence of Flemish nationalism after the war, although only a faction of the broader movement had actually pursued an agenda of collaboration.  The direct predecessor to the "Vlaams Blok" was the People's Union, which was founded in 1954 as the successor to the Christian Flemish People's Union electoral alliance, that had successfully run for election earlier the same year. The party had been careful to choose its leaders from nationalist circles that had not collaborated with the Nazis. While Flemish separatists had been suspicious of the People's Union since its outset, it became clear by the 1970s that the party had moved to a moderate left-liberal course, which led to the defection of its more radical members. The remaining nationalist hardliners finally rejected the party's participation in a new five-party government coalition in 1977, and particularly the Egmont pact, believing it had conceded too much to the francophone government parties.

Early years (1978–1988).

In late 1977, the rejection of the Egmont pact by the hardliner faction of the People's Union led to the establishment of two new (short-lived) parties; the radical nationalist Flemish National Party (VNP) and the national liberal Flemish People's Party (VVP), respectively led by Karel Dillen and Lode Claes. The parties contested the 1978 general elections in a coalition called "Vlaams Blok", where they won 1.4% of the vote and one seat in the Chamber of Representatives (taken by Dillen). On 28 May 1979, the VNP and VVP finally merged to form a new party named Vlaams Blok, and Dillen was nominated to be the party's leader for life. The party initially recruited its members from Flemish nationalist organisations, such as the "Taal Aktie Komitee", "Voorpost", "Were Di", and the Order of Flemish Militants, while some local groups also simply turned into local branches of the Vlaams Blok. In its inception, the party was widely regarded as a conservative separatist party, rather than an extreme right-wing party.  The party did not have much electoral success at first, and was stable at one seat in the 1981 general elections. It stood candidates in very few communities, and was active almost entirely in the city of Antwerp. Having been founded mainly as a protest against the Egmont pact, the party revamped and broadened its platform after the pact collapsed. It did not make much progress in the 1985 general elections, and Dillen thus started the so-called "Operation Rejuvenation", allowing for an across-the-board change of the party leadership, integrating many leaders of nationalist youth and student organisations into the party council. The party's youth organisation, the "Vlaams Blok Jongeren" (VBJ), was founded in 1987 by among others Filip Dewinter and Frank Vanhecke.  Starting in 1983, the Vlaams Blok increasingly began focusing on immigration (inspired by the success of other European right-wing populist parties), and on the international day against racism in 1984 held its first conference to discuss the "foreigner problem." The same year, Dillen proposed a bill in the Chamber of Representatives to offer cash incentive for immigrants to return to their native country. In April 1987, a group around Roger Frankinouille of the only right-wing competitor to the Vlaams Blok, the anti-tax Respect for Labour and Democracy, switched to the party. The party campaigned for the 1987 general election with the slogan "Own people first" ("Eigen volk eerst!", inspired by French National Front slogan "The French first"), and saw a slight victory, winning their first seat in Senate (taken by Dillen), and for the first time two seats in the Chamber (Dewinter and Annemans). The party's shift towards focusing on immigration was however criticised by some Vlaams Blok members, and ultimately also led to the defection of some top party figures. The party nevertheless made a clear choice of focussing on the immigration issue, which had, and would, give results in elections.

Rise of the party (1988–2004).

The electoral success of the Vlaams Blok began after the younger generation in the party shifted the party's emphasis from Flemish nationalism (separatism) to the immigration issue. In the 1988 local election in Antwerp the party first started to take off, going from 5.5% of the vote in the city to 17.7%, a success which drew much publicity. On 10 May 1989, based on the Antwerp success, the presidents of all major Belgian parties (including the People's Union) signed a "cordon sanitaire" (hygienic barrier), where the parties agreed to never conclude any political agreements with the Vlaams Blok, nor make immigration a political issue. While the Vlaams Blok itself also largely rejected cooperation with other parties, it did increasingly consider such cooperation, particularly in elections in 1994, 1999 and 2000, only to find themselves effectively blocked by the "cordon sanitaire". Although intended to keep the Vlaams Blok from gaining political influence, many argued that the agreement in reality gave room for the strong electoral surge for the party, as it was made into what could be seen as the only "true opposition." The agreement was renewed in following years, and Vlaams Blok chairman Karel Dillen was used to call it the "insurance policy" of his party;  In December 1988, a major split occurred in the party, when a group who opposed the "Operation Rejuvenation" tried to squeeze the Dewinter-VBJ faction out of the party leadership. Led by Geert Wouters, he accused Dewinter's faction of being "Lepenists", and of attempting to sideline the Flemish question to rather favour the immigration question. Dillen however sided with Dewinter, and Wouters and his group left the party and founded the nationalist pressure group called the Nationalist Association-Dutch People’s Movement. In 1989, the party won a seat in the Brussels city council, as well as in the European Parliament. There, the Vlaams Blok agreed to form a parliamentary group together with the French National Front and the German The Republicans, called the Technical Group of the European Right. The group lacked an ideological coherence (stemming in part from Le Pen's support for a Belgian state nationalism), and was largely organised on pragmatic grounds simply to get financial support.  In the 1991 general election, the Vlaams Blok for the first time surpassed the People's Union, going from two to 12 seats in the Chamber, and from one to five seats in the Senate, in what was afterwards referred to by its opponents as "Black Sunday". In the following years, the party saw a systematic upwards trend in all elections it participated in. In July 1992, the first Vlaams Blok motion was accepted in the Flemish Parliament, which rejected the right of francophone inhabitants in Flemish Brabant and Voeren to vote for Wallon institutions. In late 1992, it was announced that Neel, a popular Antwerp city councillor for 22 years for the Socialist Party went over to the Vlaams Blok, thereby causing the SP and CVP to lose their majority in the city council. In 1992, the party ideologue Filip Dewinter and chairman Karel Dillen established the party's comprehensive immigration program, titled the 70-point plan. The plan sought to close the borders towards non-European immigrants, gradually repatriate those already in the country, and implement an "own people first" principle in all policy areas. Over the course of the 1990s, the party however increasingly distanced itself from the plan as it had alienated the party from gaining political influence, until it was finally officially discarded in 2000. In the 1994 European election, the party doubled its seats (Dillen and Vanhecke) with 12.6% of the vote, but failed to continue a European Right group, due to other nationalist parties having dropped out of the parliament, or refusing to join a group. National Front and Vlaams Blok MEPs nevertheless established an "alliance" called The Coordination of the European Right. In 1996, party leader Karel Dillen, who had been nominated to hold his position for life, stepped down and personally appointed Frank Vanhecke as his successor. The choice of Vanhecke was seen a compromise between the Flemish nationalist wing around Annemans and the Lepenist wing around Dewinter, thus avoiding a potential internal struggle. In 1999, elections were scheduled for the European Parliament, the Chamber of Representatives and Senate and the Flemish Parliament, where the Vlaams Blok overtook the position as the third largest Flemish party, winning more than 15% of the vote in all elections, and a total of 45 seats in the various parliaments.  The Vlaams Blok continued to be particularly strong in and around Antwerp, where it received as much as 33% of the vote in the 2000 local elections. In 2001, the party was forced to alter its political program, as according to the laws for party financing, it was not compatible with the European Treaty on Human Rights. In the 2004 Flemish Parliament election, the party finally became the single largest party group in parliament. The party was invited by the "formateur" for government discussions, only to find that its differences with the other parties was insurmountable, resulting in the three traditional parties forming a majority government, retaining the "cordon sanitaire". By this time, the party had nevertheless become the very most popular Flemish party in Belgium, being supported by about one in four of the Flemish electorate.

Court of Cassation ruling (2004).

In October 2000, the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism, together with the Dutch-speaking Human Rights League in Belgium registered a complaint at the Correctional Court, in which they claimed that three non-profit organisations connected to the Vlaams Blok (its education and research office and the "National Broadcasting Corporation") had violated the 1981 anti-racism law. The publications which were referred to included its 1999 election agenda and 1997 party platform. The challenged passages included those where the party called for a separate education system for foreign children, a special tax for employers employing non-European foreigners, and a restriction of unemployment benefits and child allowances for non-European foreigners. In June 2001, the Brussels Correctional Court declared itself incompetent to hear the case, as it related to political misconduct. In February 2003, the Brussels Appellate Court followed and gave a similar judgement. The original plaintiffs then appealed, and the case was sent to the court of appeal in Ghent, which upheld the complaint; the Vlaams Blok non-profit organisations were fined, and it was deemed that the Vlaams Blok was an organisation that sanctioned discrimination. The Vlaams Blok lodged an appeal which was rejected, and in November 2004, the ruling was made definite, when it was upheld by the Court of Cassation. The ruling meant that the party would lose access to state funding and access to television, effectively shutting the party down.

Reactions.

The whole trial was seen by some as a political trial, inspired by the Belgian establishment. The federal parliament had notably amended the Constitution in order to create legal possibilities to condemn the party. The Vlaams Blok also pointed at the problem of political nomination of judges, and again claimed that the lawsuit had been a political process coordinated with the Belgian Ministry of the Interior.  The leadership of the Vlaams Blok seized the occasion of the ban to dissolve the party, and start afresh under a new name. Five days later, on 14 November, the Vlaams Blok disbanded itself, and a new party with the name "Vlaams Belang" was established. (Other proposed names included the Flemish People's Party and Flemish Freedom Front.) The new party instituted a number of changes in its political program, carefully moderating some of the more extreme positions of the former Vlaams Blok. Nevertheless, the party leadership made it clear that the party would fundamentally remain the same.  Professor Lamine (KUL), a former Vlaams Blok member and "advisor" of the party's legal team, claimed that the party, for propaganda reasons, purposely undertook a weak defence, in order to lose the case; "For the party leaders, losing was much more interesting. Winning just wasn't an option." Lamine himself had earlier stated that the party should have carried the trial to the European Court of Human Rights, but Vlaams Blok senator Joris Van Hauthem had already stated in 2005, that; "If we had gone to Strasbourg [ECHR] based on procedural arguments, we might have had a case. But Lamine already put in a private claim to overturn the Appeals Court verdict, on the basis of substantive arguments. If "Vlaams Belang" were to put forth a claim against the verdict as well, at Strasbourg, the Court will bundle both cases. Then we would lose the case for sure. Lamine has thus given us the final blow."

Ideology.

The main ideological and political strategies of the Vlaams Blok started out with its radical nationalist rejection of the People's Union compromise on the Flemish autonomy issue, later to be followed by focus on immigration and security, exploitation of corruption and other scandals, and defense of traditional values. While the party was legitimized first and foremost by its defense of Flemish interests, its voters were mainly motivated by anti-immigration and anti-establishment protest.

Flemish nationalism.

The main issue for the party was Flemish nationalism, and most issues that were added later, were in some way also connected to this. The Flemish nationalism promoted by the party ("volksnationalisme") was according to its program "based on the ethnic community being a naturally occurring entity whose cultural, material, ethical and intellectual interests need to be preserved." While the party primarily worked for an independent Flemish state (modeling the split on that of Czechoslovakia), it for a long time also promoted the idea that the new state should merge with the Netherlands, and establish a Dutch-speaking federation (Greater Netherlands). From the 1990s however, the latter idea was downplayed by the party, as the Netherlands then turned into a "permissive, multicultural and social-democratic state" according to one scholar (although this Dutch political situation would be sharply overturned in the 2000s).

Immigration, minorities.

Immigration became an important issue for the Vlaams Blok from the late 1980s. Interconnected with the Flemish nationalism issue, immigrants were considered to be a threat to the Flemish ethnic community. In 1992, the party established its 70-point plan, which included measures to stop all immigration, return most immigrants to their native countries by force, and legally discriminate against residing migrants in respect of markets such as labour, housing and education. The party's opponents particularly saw its immigration program as a source of claims of racism, and the party thus in its latest years downplayed the relevance of the 70-point plan, and softened its written positions regarding immigration.  Concerns about crime and security was also linked to immigration, as the party particularly blamed Turks and Moroccans for various criminal activity, and sought a zero tolerance approach regarding law and order. The party was also strongly anti-Islamic from early on, and in its 1993 program regarded Islam as "a doctrine, which preaches holy war, assassination, forced conversions, oppression of women, slavery and extermination of "infidels", [which] will automatically lead to what we now call fundamentalism." The party was anti-Muslim and portrayed Muslims as fifth column of a cruel and expansionist religion, and after the 1990 Gulf War called on the government to introduce measures to keep Belgium from being Islamised.  The party was according to political scientist Cas Mudde only very rarely accused of anti-Semitism – and even then, it was strongly condemned by the party leadership. When Roeland Raes cast doubt on the scale of the Holocaust in a television interview in 2001 for instance, the party leadership immediately called an emergency meeting, distanced itself from him and forced him to resign. The party also took screening measures against its local candidates to reveal any possible extremist connections, and rather wanted to risk not being able to fill its lists, rather than filling them with extremists. Particularly, the party wanted to distance itself from Holocaust denial, as it actively sought to reach out to Jewish voters in Antwerp.

Social issues.

In 2003, the Vlaams Blok was the only major Flemish party to vote against the legalization of same-sex marriage in Belgium. The party was not opposed to homosexuality and supported civil partnerships for same-sex couples, but regarded same-sex marriage as a step too far.

Anti-establishment.

Another element in the ideology of the party was a populist fight against the political establishment, often manifested through political scandals which flourished in 1990s Belgium; including corruption, food and even pedophile scandals. These included the Agusta scandal and the Marc Dutroux affair. The usual suspects were politicians in the three traditional party families; especially the francophone parties.

Economy.

The party had no strong economic preferences, and generally supported a mixed economy. While it supported privatisation and tax reductions for small and medium businesses, it also sometimes supported protectionism and defended the welfare state, especially if allocated to the native Flemish population.

Foreign policy.

The party was the only major Belgian party that opposed Belgium's membership of the European Union, as well as the idea of a federal Europe itself. It however defended a con-federal Europe based on sovereign culturally homogeneous nation-states. The European issue was however not an issue the party promoted much.  It also favoured the abolition of the United Nations, citing; "The illogical composition of the Security Council. The unwieldy bureaucracy. The democratic deficit." The party did also not have any faith in such a world community or international legal system, questioning the entire logic behind the UN. It rejected the view of any international consensus about concepts as democracy, justice, freedom and human rights, especially since most of its member countries are non-Western and undemocratic.

International relations.

The "Vlaams Blok" maintained good contacts with nationalist parties throughout Europe and other countries. The "Vlaams Blok" did traditionally have the closest contacts with Dutch and South African far-right groups, including the Dutch Centre Party '86, the Centre Democrats and "Voorpost", and the South African Boerestaat Party. In the mid-1980s, it also established close relations particularly with the French National Front, as well as the German People's Union, The Republicans and National Democratic Party of Germany. In the 1990s, it supported the minor Dutch Block party, which had modeled itself directly on the "Vlaams Blok".  The party also became very active in establishing contacts with post-communist parties in Eastern European countries, including the Croatian Party of Rights, Slovak National Party and IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement. While not keeping official contacts, it was in addition very supportive of left-wing nationalist parties such as the Scottish National Party, Irish Sinn Féin and Basque Herri Batasuna. Some of the parties it established contacts with most recently was the Freedom Party of Austria and the Italian Lega Nord, which after a period of distrust, maintained contacts since 2002.

Election results.

Note that the election results in elections other than those for the Flemish Parliament (and the Dutch-speaking electoral college in the European Parliament) gives a somewhat wrong image of the party's support, given that the party only ran in Flanders, the one half of Belgium.

European Parliament.

Results in the Dutch-speaking electoral college is given in the parenthesis.

Vlaams Blok (, or VB) was the name of a Belgian far-right and secessionist political party with an anti-immigration platform. Its ideologies embraced Flemish nationalism, calling for the independence of Flanders. From its creation in 1978, it was the most notable militant right wing of the Flemish movement. "Vlaams Blok"'s track record in the Flemish and Belgian parliament elections was strong. The election campaigns consisted mainly of the immigration and law-and-order theme, combined with the desire for Flemish autonomy.


Biography.

Driscoll was born in Kearney, Nebraska. He began playing piano at age five. Soon after, he added saxophone, and at age thirteen he picked up the bass guitar. Almost immediately he was playing gigs around the midwest. When an offer to travel with a rock band came up, he dropped out of high school at age sixteen to go on tour.  He resumed high school at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan, then attended the University of Miami, where one of his teachers was Jaco Pastorius. At Berklee College of Music in 1975 he became friends with guitarist Bill Frisell, and they often performed locally in Boston. Driscoll cites Pastorius and Frisell as two of the biggest influences on his life. Around 1976, he and his roommate, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, and Frisell found work in a band called the Boston Connection. According to Frisell, band members dressed in orange polyester suits and played disco.  In May 1978, Driscoll traveled to Belgium to play with Stephan Houben who was working with Frisell. With this group he made his first recording, "Mauve Traffic", with Frisell, Houben, Greg Badolato, Vinton Johnson, and Michel Herr. The album included a composition by Driscoll entitled "Doggone it". In January, 1980, he moved to New York City, and during the next year toured with Buddy Rich. He co-led the group New and Used with trumpeter Dave Douglas and saxophonist Andy Laster. Starting in 1987, he was a member of Bill Frisell's quartet.  In 2005, he was diagnosed with advanced Lyme disease. Friends performed benefit concerts. Colauita helped gather donations and encouraged Driscoll to record. "Reveille", his first album as a leader, was recorded with Colaiuta, Frisell, and pianist Kris Davis and released in 2010.  Driscoll has worked in many genres and music settings: Broadway, classical, jazz, folk, rock, film, and television. He has taught at SUNY Purchase College and Sarah Lawrence College.  On January, 28th, 2019 Driscoll was charged with aggravated assault, violating a restraining order, false imprisonment, hindering his arrest, obstruction and harassment. This was after being removed from a Cliffside Park, NJ home by the Bergen County Regional SWAT Team.

Discography.

As leader.

With New and Used

As sideman.

With Bill Frisell  With John Hollenbeck  With Joel Harrison  With Gerry Hemingway  With David Johansen  With Mick Rossi  With John Zorn  With others

Kermit Driscoll (born March 4, 1956) is an American jazz bassist. He is known for his long association with guitarist Bill Frisell.


History.

The club was formed in 1944 as a junior club, eventually they became a senior club and played in the West Riding County Amateur League and the West Yorkshire League, winning numerous honours before joining the Yorkshire League in 1957.  Albion won promotion from Division 2 in 1959 and were runner up to League champions Farsley Celtic in 1960. Albion were runners up again in 1962 to champions Stocksbridge Works. Albion continued to get regular top 4 places for several years afterwards but in 1972 they were relegated to Division 2. Albion won promotion in 1974 and finally won the Yorkshire League title in 1975. However, Albion went down again in 1978, but bounced back as Division 2 champions in 1979. Albion suffered yet another relegation in 1980, but again won the Division 2 title in 1981.  In 1982, the Yorkshire League joined up with the Midland League to form the Northern Counties East Football League. Ossett Albion were placed in Division 1 East, league re-organisations moved them into Division 1 Central in 1984 and Division 1 in 1985. Albion were Division 1 champions in 1987 and were promoted to the Premier Division. They finished bottom the first two seasons, but avoided relegation and eventually they began to climb the table. Albion, with Gerry Quinn as manager, were League champions in 1999, but were denied promotion to the Northern Premier League Division One due to one of their changing rooms not being big enough. In 2001, with Eric Gilchrist in charge, Albion finished 2nd to Brigg Town but were promoted to the Northern Premier League Division One instead of Brigg.  Ossett Albion finished bottom of the division in 2002 and they were relegated back to the Northern Counties East League but in 2004 Albion were champions again on a dramatic final day of the season, they pipped Eastwood Town to the Northern Counties East Premier Division title by virtue of scoring the more goals with the two clubs locked on the same number of points and also with the same goal difference, returning to the Northern Premier Division One.  2016–17 was Albion's 13th in the Northern Premier League Division One and their fortunes in recent campaigns fluctuated considerably. Twice the club finished just outside the play-off positions, they also had a few seasons struggling against relegation and in 2013–14 only a late reprieve rescued their status at this level.  Albion first entered the FA Cup in 1962–63, winning their first game 5–1 at Selby Town. They have reached the 4th Qualifying Round on three occasions, in 1965–66 they defeated Bridlington Town, Harrogate Town and Bridlington Trinity before losing 3–0 to South Liverpool away. In 2003–04, Albion beat Alnwick Town, Alsager Town, Ossett Town, Pickering Town and Newcastle Town before losing 1–0 at home to Stalybridge Celtic. In 2012–13, Albion beat Hebburn Town, Farsley, North Ferriby United, and Hinckley United before losing 4–1 away to Bradford Park Avenue.  In the FA Trophy, Albion have reached the 1st round twice, in 2002 and 2005.  In the FA Vase, Albion reached the 4th round in 1982, 1995 and 2000.  Albion first entered the FA Amateur Cup in 1952, beating Hull Old Grammarians 2–0. Their best performances, to get to the 1st round proper, were in 1962 (losing to Crook 1–0), 1968 (losing to North Shields 3–0) and 1973 (losing to Oldbury United 1–0). Albion's biggest win was 10–2 over Reckitts and Sons. Albion's last game in the Amateur Cup was a 3–1 defeat at North Ferriby United. The FA Amateur Cup was discontinued in 1974 and replaced by the FA Vase.  Albion have won the West Riding County Cup in 1965, 1966, 1968 and 1999, the Yorkshire League Cup in 1976 and 1977 and the Northern Counties East Football League Cup in 1984, beating Ilkeston 2-1, and 2003, beating Sheffield 3–0.  Albion's all-time record appearances holder is Peter Eaton, who made over 800 appearances during the 1970s and 1980s. Albion's record goalscorer is John Balmer, who hit over 40 goals in consecutive seasons during Jimmy Martin's reign in the early 1990s.  A number of former Ossett Albion players progressed into the Football League including Ian Ironside who went to Middlesbrough, Gary Brook who joined Newport County in 1987, Chris Cornelly who joined Lincoln City, Steve Downes who joined Grimbsy Town, Barry Holmes who went to Halifax Town, Shane Killock who joined Huddersfield Town and Dave Syers, who began his career with Ossett Albion, turned professional two seasons later with Bradford City. Players who represented Ossett Albion after their professional careers ended include ex-Cambridge United striker Micky Norbury, John Balmer who also played for Cambridge United, Fulham midfielder Robert Wilson, former Swansea City player Paul Raynor and former Huddersfield Town defender Rob Edwards.  Current Albion defender, Dominic Riordan, was appointed chairman on 25 June 2014.  Ex-Everton and England U18 youth player George Green signed for Ossett Albion in November 2015 after voluntarily terminating his contract at Oldham Athletic. He made 4 league appearances for the club before signing for Championship team Burnley in January 2016.  In September 2017, the founders and directors of Unita, a local based facilities management company, took the reins at Ossett Albion in a move which sees the club inherit a ready-made football academy with 150 players currently enrolled. This saw Huddersfield Town's former head of youth development Dave Haley take over as first team manager and Andy Welsh former Sunderland midfielder become head coach. Phil Smith (ex Sheffield Wednesday Academy coach) will provide support and oversee the running of the academy.  In 2018, it was announced that Ossett Albion and Ossett Town would merge to form Ossett United.

Ossett Albion Association Football Club was an English football club. They played at Queen's Terrace in Ossett, in West Yorkshire, more commonly known as Dimplewells, the area of Ossett the ground is situated in.


History.

Although formed in 2012, the club traces its history to 1991. That year, an U11 team was formed at the Shaw Lane sports complex in Barnsley. The next decade saw the club gradually expand and in 2004 they became part of the Shaw Lane Community Sports Association. The senior team merged with Worsbrough Common F.C. in 2011 to form Aquaforce Barnsley F.C., taking Worsbrough's Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League Division One place and winning promotion to the Premier Division in 2012. Aquaforce Barnsley then merged with Barugh F.C., another ailing local team, to form Shaw Lane Aquaforce.  In their first season, the club won the Sheffield and Hallamshire County Senior League Premier Division, winning promotion to the Northern Counties East League (NCEL) Division One. A year later, their rise continued when they finished runners-up in the NCEL Division One, winning promotion to the Premier Division. This was followed by the club winning the Premier Division in the 2014–15 season and gaining promotion to the Northern Premier League (NPL) Division One South.  The club's first season in the NPL ended with a second-place finish, with the team missing out on promotion after losing in the end of season play-offs. In the middle of 2016, the club was renamed as simply Shaw Lane in order to comply with FA regulations which prohibit the use of sponsored names above a certain level. They went on to win the 2016/17 Division One South championship to clinch their fifth promotion in seven years, and completed a league and cup double by beating Frickley Athletic in the final of the Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup to win competition for the first time.  In the 2017-18 season, they reached their 1st FA Cup proper with a 2-1 win over Barrow and lost 1-3 to Mansfield Town.  On 8 June 2018 the club's first team withdrew from football.

Notable former players.

Players that have played in the Football League or at international level either before or after playing for Shaw Lane Aquaforce –

Shaw Lane Association Football Club was a football club based in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. They most recently played in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, at level 7 of the English football league system.


History.

The club was established in 1873. They joined the new Wiltshire League in 1901, and finished joint top of the table with Warminster Town, but lost the championship play-off replay 1–0, following a 1–1 draw in the first match. They joined Division Two of the Western League in 1904, but also continued to play in the Wiltshire League. The 1904–05 season saw them finish bottom of the Western League and second in the Wiltshire League. At the end of the 1905–06 season the club withdrew from the Western League, and went on to win the Wiltshire League in 1907–08 and 1908–09, before finishing as runners-up in 1909–10. They were runners-up again in 1912–13, 1921–22 and 1922–23, before winning the league in 1928–29.  In 1930 Chippenham rejoined Division Two of the Western League. The league was reduced to a single division in 1939, and the club were runners-up when the league resumed in the 1945–46 season. The 1951–52 season saw them win the Western League for the first time, and they also reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 3–0 at Leyton. They were Western League runners-up again in 1954–55. However, they left the Western League at the end of the 1964–65 season, dropping back into the Wiltshire League. In 1968 the club joined the Premier Division of the Hellenic League, where they played until rejoining the Western League in 1973. When the league gained a second division in 1976, the club were relegated to the new Division One. They were Division One champions in 1980–81, earning promotion to the Premier Division. In 1999–2000 the club reached the final of the FA Vase, eventually losing 1–0 to Deal Town at Wembley Stadium.  After finishing as runners-up in 2000–01, Chippenham were promoted to Division One West of the Southern League. Their first season in the division saw them finish as runners-up, resulting in promotion to the Southern League Premier Division. In 2004–05 they were Premier Division runners-up, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. However, after beating Bedford Town 5–4 on penalties following a 2–2 draw in the semi-finals, they lost the final 1–0 to Hednesford Town. The following season saw them reach the first round of the FA Cup for a second time, eventually losing 1–0 at Worcester City in a replay. They also qualified for the promotion play-offs again after finishing fourth, beating King's Lynn 3–1 in the semi-finals before losing 3–2 to Bedford Town in the final. Another fourth-place finish in 2007–08 led to another play-off campaign, this time ending with a 2–1 defeat to Halesowen Town in the semi-finals. In 2009–10 the club finished third, and after beating Hednesford Town 2–0 in the play-off semi-finals, lost the final 2–1 to Nuneaton Town.  In 2016–17 Chippenham won the Southern League's Premier Division with a league record 103 points, earning promotion to the National League South. They reached the first round of the FA Cup again in 2019–20, losing 3–0 at home to Northampton Town.

Ground.

The club moved to Hardenhuish Park in 1919, having previously played at at least four other grounds. A main stand was erected and subsequently added to on several occasions. A new clubhouse was opened in 1979 and floodlights were installed in 1986. Covered standing is provided behind one goal and along the opposite side of the pitch to the main stand. This was built in 1993, replacing an earlier stand that had been damaged by storms. The pitch at Hardenhuish Park has a noticeable slope, downwards towards the Bristol Road end. The ground currently has a capacity of 3,000, of which 300 is seated and 1,000 covered.

Chippenham Town Football Club is a football club based in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. They are currently members of and play their games at Hardenhuish Park.


History.

The club was established in October 1889. They played in the Cheltenham League, winning the Division One title in 1927–28 and again in 1929–30. They joined the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League in 1935, but left after two season. Returning to the Cheltenham League, they were Division One champions again in 1948–49, before winning back-to-back titles in 1954–55 and 1955–56. In 1957 they rejoined the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League, but left again after finishing second-from-bottom in 1960–61. However, they returned for the 1962–63 season. They left the league again at the end of the 1963–64 season, but returned in 1965 and were runners-up in 1965–66, before going on to win back-to-back titles in 1966–67 and 1967–68.  In 1968 Cirencester were founder members of the Gloucestershire County League, but after a single season in the new league they moved up to the Premier Division of the Hellenic League. They were relegated to Division One at the end of the 1971–72 season, but were promoted back to the Premier Division after winning Division One in 1973–74. The club returned to Division One after finishing bottom of the Premier Division in the 1977–78 season.  The 1990–91 season saw the club finish as Division One runners-up, earning promotion to the Premier Division. They were Premier Division runners-up the following season, and won the league in 1995–96, earning promotion to Division One South of the Southern League. The season also saw them win the Gloucestershire Senior Cup, beating Endsleigh 2–1 in the final. The division was renamed Division One West in 1999, and after finishing third in 2003–04, the club were promoted to the Premier Division.  The next few years saw Cirencester becoming a yo-yo club as they were relegated in 2007–08 and then promoted in 2009–10 after finishing fifth and winning the promotion play-offs, beating AFC Totton 3–2 in the semi-final and Bridgwater Town 4–3 in the final. They were relegated again at the end of the 2011–12 season after finishing bottom of the Premier Division, but returned to the division after winning Division One South & West in 2013–14. They won the Gloucestershire Senior Cup again in 2014–15, beating Shortwood United 2–0 in the final.

Reserves.

In the 2009–10 season the club's reserve team joined the Reserve Division Two West of the Hellenic League the Hellenic League reserves divisions made up mainly of youth players as practice for the first team squad. In their debut season, the reserves won the division. In 2011 the team moved out of the reserves into Division One West. However, they withdrew at the end of the season and were replaced with a development team in Division Two West. In 2013–14 the team won Division Two West, and were promoted to Division One West.

Ground.

The club has played at the Corinium Stadium since moving from the Smithfield ground in 2002. The ground has also been used by Gloucester City (2008–2010) and Wootton Bassett Town. It has a capacity of 4,500, of which 550 is seated and 1,250 covered.

Cirencester Town Football Club is a football club based in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. Affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA, the club are currently members of the and play at the Corinium Stadium.


Early life.

Martinez was born in Astoria, Queens, to parents Mery and Jose Martinez, who are of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent. Her family moved to Baldwin, New York, on Long Island, when Martinez was four. She listened to Brandy, Britney Spears, Shakira, The Beatles, Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls and Christina Aguilera growing up, and wanted to be a singer from a young age.  Martinez attended Plaza Elementary School, crediting her teacher Mr. Nadien with teaching her how to sing, and in kindergarten, Martinez began writing poetry. Martinez says she had few friends growing up and was a homebody, as she was "very emotional" and found it difficult to explain her feelings, crying when overwhelmed. She practiced photography and painting. Due to her emotionality as a child, she says that others referred to her as a "cry baby", which sparked the creation of the titular character of her debut album, "Cry Baby".  Martinez grew up in a "traditional Latin household" where she was made to feel shameful about talking about her sexuality and felt as if she would not be accepted if she came out as bisexual. She says that her family is now fully accepting of her sexuality.  At fourteen, Martinez taught herself how to play guitar by studying chord diagrams of songs she enjoyed, which she found online, and wrote her first song by adding her poetry to one of the chord diagrams, but says that playing guitar "eventually got stale". Martinez graduated from Baldwin High School.

Career.

2012: "MSG Varsity Talent Show" and "The Voice".

In 2012, during her junior year of high school, Martinez participated in the "MSG Varsity Talent Show", a televised talent competition. She sang The Beatles' rendition of "Money (That's What I Want)" by Barrett Strong and "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)" by The Four Tops. She was eliminated in the second round.  Later in 2012, Martinez auditioned for the third season of "The Voice". She had not watched the show herself prior to the audition. The initial, untelevised audition was an open call, held at Javits Center. She recalls that while she and her mother were driving to the audition, her mother's car broke down before they reached the Queens–Midtown Tunnel, and the two were forced to "hitchhike" a taxicab in order to get there. Several months after the initial audition, while at Roosevelt Field Mall, Martinez received word that she had advanced to the "second round". She then received multiple callbacks until she was finally selected to audition on the show itself.  Martinez auditioned singing Britney Spears's "Toxic". Three of the four judges, Adam Levine, CeeLo Green and Blake Shelton, hit the "I Want You" button for her. Martinez chose Adam Levine to be her coach.  In the Battle Round, Martinez competed against Caitlin Michele. They performed a duet of the Ellie Goulding song "Lights". Martinez won and moved on to the Knockout Round. Michele was stolen by Cee Lo Green and also moved on. In the Knockout Round, Martinez was paired with Sam James. She chose to sing La Roux's "Bulletproof". Levine eliminated James, and Martinez moved on to the Live Rounds as one of the five remaining members of Team Adam. In week one of the Live Rounds, Martinez sang "Hit the Road Jack". Public vote saved Team Adam members Amanda Brown and Bryan Keith.  Levine then chose Martinez over Loren Allred and Joselyn Rivera to remain in the competition. In week three, Martinez's performance of "Seven Nation Army" finished the voting period at #10 on the iTunes Top 200 Single Chart, causing her iTunes votes to be multiplied by ten. This occurred again in week four, when "Too Close" ended the voting period at #6. Martinez was eliminated by audience vote in week five, along with the fellow Team Adam member Amanda Brown, leaving Levine with no artists. In response, Martinez said, "I never expected to get this far and this is beyond what I've ever dreamed of. I'm just so glad I got to express who I am as an artist and really touch people's hearts because that was the ultimate goal."

2013–2014: "Dollhouse EP".

After the show, Martinez began working independently on original material, which she says she spent the majority of 2013 writing. She released her debut single, "Dollhouse", on February 9, 2014.  She later compared the song's story to "Edward Scissorhands", saying "[It's] the perfect home with the perfect lawn and they all look the same. But behind each house there's a screwed up group of people who are hiding behind wealth and perfection." Martinez also released a music video for the track, which was fan-funded by an Indiegogo page created by Martinez, and hair, makeup, and shooting were all done by friends of hers. The song was produced and cowritten by NYC songwriting duo Kinetics & One Love.  On April 7, 2014, Martinez signed to Atlantic Records and announced she would tour. She released her debut EP, "Dollhouse", on May 19, 2014. The only single from the EP, "Carousel", was also certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and featured in a preview for FX's miniseries "". The song reached number nine on the Alternative Digital Songs chart. A video for the track was also released.

2015–2017: "Cry Baby".

On June 1, 2015, Martinez released the single "Pity Party", which was certified gold by the RIAA, and the chorus of which samples Lesley Gore's "It's My Party". On July 10, 2015, Martinez released the album's second single "Soap". The official music video has over thirty million views on YouTube. It reached number twelve on the Alternative Digital Songs chart, and number sixteen on the Pop Digital Songs chart. "Sippy Cup" followed on July 31, followed by the album fourteen days later. "Cry Baby" was released on August 14, 2015, to moderate critical acclaim. The album debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200. Martinez released a Christmas-themed single, "Gingerbread Man", in December 2015. She initially released the song on SoundCloud on December 21, 2015 as a "gift for her fans", but later released the track on iTunes in January 2016 as a single. The music video of her song "Cry Baby" was released on March 14, 2016. The karaoke-style music video for "Alphabet Boy", which Martinez directed, was released on June 2, 2016. Martinez released double feature videos for "Soap" and "Training Wheels" together, as well as "Tag, You're It" and "Milk and Cookies."  Martinez finished recording her second album, describing it as the stories of characters living in Cry Baby's neighborhood. In October 2016, she released a commercial for her fragrance called Cry Baby Perfume Milk, adding that the "idea for this perfume has been cultivating in my brain since the moment I finished writing my album." It was directly distributed by Martinez's record label, Atlantic, making them the first record label to distribute a fragrance. In November 2016, Martinez released her second EP, "Cry Baby's Extra Clutter", a physical vinyl release of the bonus tracks from "Cry Baby" as well as Martinez's single, "Gingerbread Man". She released the music video for her song "Pacify Her" followed in December 2016 by a video for "Mrs. Potato Head". The video for "Mad Hatter" was released September 23, 2017. "Cry Baby" was certified Platinum on February 24, 2017.

2017–2019: "K-12" album and film.

In March 2017, Martinez expressed her wishes to produce a film telling the story of each song from her second album, explaining "I'm currently writing a film... I'm going to spend the year working on it, directing, shooting, make up and everything so it's a lot of work". On May 15, 2019, Martinez released the first teaser trailer for the album revealing the title "K-12", released on September 6, with the album cover unveiled a day later through Instagram. While the film was available in select theaters worldwide, Martinez also posted the film to YouTube and included it in a version of the downloadable "K-12" album. In an interview with PeopleTV, Melanie mentioned that she has two sequels and two visual albums planned to follow on from the "K-12" album and film. She said, "I have my next film planned out, as far as I want to do, and the film after that and they both have albums attached to them...Hopefully [the process] will be faster this time and it won't be like four years because I've done it at least once and I'm past all those learning curves that I had to kind of reach and figure out."

2020–present: "After School".

In January 2020, Martinez announced an EP titled "After School", revealing the title through her Instagram stories. The EP would serve as a deluxe edition of "K-12". On February 10, 2020, Martinez's management issued the first single from "After School", titled "Copy Cat". The song features American rapper and songwriter Tierra Whack. This marks the first time that Whack has worked in a professional capacity with Melanie Martinez, and the first time that Melanie Martinez has featured another artist in one of her songs.  Her song "Play Date", originally released on the deluxe edition of "Cry Baby" in 2015, became one of the top 100 most-played songs on Spotify in the US after gaining popularity on the video-sharing application, TikTok. Martinez is currently writing a music video for "Play Date", which she plans to shoot at her home.

Artistry.

Musical style.

Martinez's music has been described as pop, alternative pop, electropop and emo pop. Her debut album "Cry Baby" and second album "K-12" were seen to have hip hop and R&B undertones.  The subject matter of Martinez's songs are typically based on personal experiences. Martinez describes her own music as "very dark and honest" and "hip hop/trap inspired beats with creepy nostalgic childlike sounds such as baby pianos, music boxes, and toys".  Martinez's music has been described by "The Guardian" as "off-kilter, sweary electropop". "Rolling Stone" described Martinez's music as "twisted lullabies about love, danger and madness", and compared her music to that of "'Coin-Operated Boy'-era Dresden Dolls" and Lana Del Rey. "The New York Times"s Jon Pareles described her music as "perch[ing] prettily tinkling keyboards and concise pop choruses amid the slow, ominous basslines and twitchy percussion of Southern hip-hop – a candy-coated variation on the dirges of Lorde and Lana Del Rey", and described her voice, which has been classified as mezzo-soprano by Keaton Bell of the "Red Dirt Report", as "whispery, sardonic, tearful, [and] furious". "Billboard"s Jason Lipshutz also compared Martinez to Del Rey and Lorde, saying, "Martinez is clearly cribbing from the dimly lit pop stylings of Lorde and Lana Del Rey, but while her wispy delivery strikes the same femme fatale poses, she lacks the subtlety of her influences", and that "Martinez is admirably ambitious, but her insistence on sticking to "Cry Baby"s central idea leaves her contorting into uncomfortable positions". "The Guardian" called her image "doll-like and decidedly emo...hyperreal", and described her music as "part-nursery rhyme, part tragic life story".  Martinez describes her alter ego and the protagonist of her debut album, "Cry Baby", as a "fairy tale" version of herself.

Influences.

Martinez has cited the Beatles, Neutral Milk Hotel, Feist, Kimbra, Zooey Deschanel, Regina Spektor, and CocoRosie as influences of hers. Specific albums which have influenced her music include "The Idler Wheel..." by Fiona Apple and Ariana Grande's albums "Yours Truly" and "My Everything". She attributes the "heavy hip-hop influence" in her music to her father playing hip-hop music in the family's house often during her childhood.  The visuals in Martinez's music videos have been influenced by her favorite visual artists: Mark Ryden, Aleksandra Waliszewska and Nicoletta Ceccoli. She named Tim Burton as a large influence of hers, and has said that to make a movie with him would be her "one dream".

Endorsements and products.

Martinez collaborated with cosmetics company Lime Crime, Inc. to release two "exclusive" lipsticks: a blue lipstick called "Cry Baby" on August 17, 2015, and a brown lipstick called "Teddy Bear" on March 9, 2016. On October 25, 2016, she released a commercial for a new fragrance called Cry Baby Perfume Milk. It was directly distributed by Martinez's label, the first record label to distribute a fragrance.

Public image.

At age sixteen, after watching "101 Dalmatians", Martinez dyed half of her hair blonde, in the same vein as Cruella de Vil. She became known for the look as well as her "baby doll"-inspired outfits in music videos and when performing.

Sexual assault allegation.

On December 4, 2017, Timothy Heller, a woman with whom Martinez once shared a friendship, alleged via Twitter that Martinez had sexually assaulted and raped her. The following day, Martinez tweeted a response to Heller's accusations, saying the allegations "horrified and saddened" her, and that Heller "never said no to what [they] chose to do together". On December 9, 2017, Martinez released a second statement, thanking her fans for citing Heller's "false statements". She concluded the statement with: "...I would never be intimate with someone without their absolute consent." Martinez released the song "Piggyback" on SoundCloud, an act believed to be in response to Heller's accusations.

Tours.

Headlining Supporting

Melanie Adele Martinez (born April 28, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, director, photographer, and screenwriter. Born in Astoria, Queens, and raised in Baldwin, New York, Martinez rose to prominence in 2012 after appearing on the American television vocal talent show "The Voice". Following the show, she released her debut single "Dollhouse", followed by her debut EP of the same name (2014), through Atlantic Records.


Description.

The bubal hartebeest was described as uniformly sand colored, save for "an ill-defined patch of greyish on each side of the muzzle above the nostrils", and the terminal tuft of the tail, which was black. In this case the subspecies was similar to the plain colored Lelwel hartebeest, lacking white or black facial markings such as those present in the Western and Swayne's hartebeest. It measured 43 inches at the shoulder and the horns were 'U' shaped when seen from the front.  Like other hartebeests, the bubal was a social animal. Luis del Mármol Carvajal wrote in 1573 that herds of 100 to 200 animals could be found in northern Morocco. According to 19th century writers, the bubal hartebeest preferred rocky areas with a fair amount of vegetation, in contrast to the sandy, drier habitat of the Addax. Its main predator was the also extinct Barbary lion.

History and extinction.

The bubal hartebeest ranged originally across Africa north of the Sahara, from Morocco to Egypt, where it disappeared earlier. It was also present with certainty in the Southern Levant prior to the Iron Age, but Harper (1945) found only "none too well substantiated" recent historical records from Israel and Arabia. The northern limit of the bubal hartebeest's range was the Mediterranean coast; large herds were still reported existing in Morocco north of the Atlas Mountains in 1738. As for the southern limits of its distribution, "wild oxen ("Antilope bubalis")" were mentioned living in the Tassili mountains of the central Sahara in 1850. However, the identity of the latter animals is debatable. Even if they were indeed hartebeest, they might not belong to the northern subspecies.  The subspecies declined sharply during the course of the 19th century, especially after the French conquest of Algeria, when entire herds were massacred at once by the colonial military. By 1867 it could only be found in the mountain ranges of north-western Africa that are near or within the Saharian desert. It disappeared from the Tunisian Atlas in 1870, and the last animal in this country was shot in 1902 near Tataouine. Outside of this instance, the bubal seems to have entered the 20th century restricted to the Western Atlas, from Boulemane in Morocco to the south of the Wahran department in Algeria. The last known herd, numbering only 15 animals, was located near Outat El Haj, Morocco in 1917; all but 3 of them were killed by the same hunter. The last animal in Morocco was shot in Missour in 1925. It probably disappeared around the same time in Algeria. One last specimen is mentioned as having been 'collected' in the 1920s near Geryville, south of the Chott Ech Chergui. While Harper, writing in 1945, considered that the subspecies could still possibly exist at the time in this area, he also mentioned that different campaigns in the 1920s and 1930s failed to find any animals in Morocco, Algeria or Tunisia, even in regions where it had been reported as numerous only a few decades before.  The bubal hartebeest was protected under the London Convention of 1933.

Zoo and museum specimens.

Individuals of bubal hartebeest were sometimes captured and kept in British, French, Italian and German private and public zoos around the start of the 20th century, although Ruxton and Schwarz (1929) failed to find any preserved in museums of these countries. The last captive bubal, a female (sometimes wrongly reported as the last bubal ever), died in Paris in 1923. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia received another female in 1905 from the Zoological Society of Philadelphia, which was stuffed. This is possibly the only bubal preserved in the United States of America.

Relation with ancient civilizations.

Remains of bubal hartebeests have been found in several Egyptian archaeological sites such as Abadiyeh, Saqqara and Karanis, the last one dating to the early Middle Ages. A hieroglyph meaning "baby hartebeest" also existed:  For these reasons, it has been suggested that the bubal was domesticated in Ancient Egypt, or at least used as a sacrificial animal. It is also mentioned in the Old Testament under the name of Yachmur (1 Kings 4:23) It is a likely candidate for the unidentified "the'o" in Deuteronomy, described as a kosher animal.  The bubal hartebeest is one of many extinct animals depicted in the Roman mosaics of Hippo Regius (modern Algeria) that date back to the 2nd and 4th centuries AD.

The bubal hartebeest, also known as northern hartebeest or bubal antelope or simply bubal ("Alcelaphus buselaphus buselaphus") is the extinct nominal (i.e., first described) subspecies of hartebeest. It was formerly found north of the Saharan Desert. Other subspecies live currently in grasslands south of the Sahara, from Senegal in the west to Eritrea and Ethiopia in the east and down to central Tanzania. The red hartebeest and Lichtenstein's hartebeest, alternatively considered subspecies or sister species of the common hartebeest, are present in southern Africa.


Integers from 261 to 269.

261.

261 = 3·29, lucky number, nonagonal number, Harshad number, unique period in base 2, number of possible unfolded tesseract patterns. 261 was once the lowest number not to have its own Wikipedia page, this making it a candidate for the lowest "uninteresting number" according to the definition given by Alex Bellos.

262.

262 = 2·131, meandric number, open meandric number, untouchable number, happy number, palindrome number, semiprime.

263.

263 is a prime, safe prime, happy number, sum of five consecutive primes (43 + 47 + 53 + 59 + 61), balanced prime, Chen prime, Eisenstein prime with no imaginary part, strictly non-palindromic number, Bernoulli irregular prime, Euler irregular prime, Gaussian prime, full reptend prime, Solinas prime, Ramanujan prime.

264.

264 = 2·3·11, Harshad number. If you take the sum of all 2-digit numbers you can make from 264, you get 264: 24 + 42 + 26 + 62 + 46 + 64 = 264. 132 and 396 share this property.  264 equals the sum of the squares of the digits of its own square in base 15. This property is shared with 1, 159, 284, 306 and 387.

265.

265 = 5·53, semiprime, lucky number, Padovan number, number of derangements of 6 elements, centered square number, Smith number, subfactorial 6.

266.

266 = 2·7·19, sphenic number, Harshad number, nontotient, noncototient, self number, repdigit in base 11 (222). 266 is also the index of the largest proper subgroups of the sporadic group known as the Janko group "J".

267.

267 = 3·89, semiprime, the number of groups of order 64.

268.

268 = 2·67, noncototient, untouchable number

269.

269 is a prime, twin prime with 271, sum of three consecutive primes (83 + 89 + 97), Chen prime, Eisenstein prime with no imaginary part, highly cototient number, strictly non-palindromic number, full reptend prime

260 (two hundred [and] sixty) is the natural number following 259 and preceding 261. It is also the magic constant of the "n"×"n" normal magic square and "n"-queens problem for "n" = 8, the size of an actual chess board.


Life.

Birth.

Esma Sultan was born on 14 March 1726 in the Topkapı Palace. Her father was Sultan Ahmed III, and her mother was Hanife Kadın.

Marriages.

In 1743, her cousin Sultan Mahmud I, arranged her marriage to Yakub Pasha. The marriage took place in February 1743 in the Kadırga Palace. Yakub Pasha died the same year. After his death, she married the governor of Adana, Yusuf Pasha. After his death, she married Muhsinzade Mehmed Pasha, a vizier on 24 June 1758 in the Kadırga Palace. Her served as the Grand Vizier between 1765 and 1768, and later again between 1771 until his death in 1774.  She is said to be curious about the west. She received the wife and mother-in-law of the Baron de Tott, the Hungarian nobleman who served as military adviser to the Turkish government for many years. She discussed with them the liberty of European women, and expressed the dissatisfaction that married her at a young age to an old man who treated her like a child. The pasha having died, she then married a younger man more to her liking, but the practice of sending the princesses husband to distant governorships kept them apart.

Properties.

Esma Sultan had her crown states turned into "mâlikane" contracts, which were divided among her protégés, and managed by agents and subcontractors. The name of one of her male associates appeared as contractor in his own right.  Esma also complained that her late husband, Mehmed Pasha, had promised her the income from Vâsıf's prebend from Anatolia. She accused him of stealing the grant, confiscated it, and transferred it to her own client. Because she was so close to the Sultan, and because Vâsıf lacked influential patrons, he couldn't find anyone to intercede on his behalf, and was left without a job and income.  Esma Sultan was allocated the mansion of Princess Hançerli Sultan in Eyüp Bahariye, which became famous with her own name. She also owned a waterfront palace in Ortaköy, and a farm in Terkos.

Charities.

In 1779, Esma Sultan commissioned a fountain for the soul of her late husband, Mehmed Pasha, in her name near the "namazgah" in Kadırga Square. She also commissioned another fountain in her name in the same place in 1781.

Death.

Esma Sultan died on 13 August 1788 in the Kadırga Palace, and was buried in the mausoleum of Muhsinzade Mehmed Pasha in Eyüp.

Esma Sultan (; 14 March 1726 – 13 August 1788), also called Büyük Esma Sultan, was an Ottoman princess, daughter of Sultan Ahmed III and his consort Hanife Kadın. She was the half-sister of Sultans Mustafa III and Abdul Hamid I.


Early life.

Saliha Sultan was born 16 June 1811 in the Topkapı Palace. Her father was Sultan Mahmud II, and her mother was Aşubcan Kadın.

Marriage.

In 1834, when Saliha was twenty three years old, her father arranged her marriage to Damat Gürcü Halil Rifat Pasha. The marriage took place on Saturday, 24 May 1834 in the Beşiktaş Waterfront Palace. The bridal procession of Saliha Sultan left this palace on Thursday, conveying the bride to Fındıklı Palace. The ladies of the marriage procession rode in carriages and coaches decorated with stars. Julia Pardoe, who observed the marriage from a caique on the Bosphorus noted the illumination of the waterfront palace of Esma Sultan. She writes that, "there must have been many hundred caiques wedged together in front of her terrace, and less than fifty of them contained musicians."  The wedding ceremony was covered in the first official Ottoman newspaper "Takvim-i Vekayi". Saliha Sultan's beachfront palace and Tophane and Beşiktaş palace were flooded by rafts and boats, various descriptions were put on the rafts, and small ships, fish paintings, small cars and castles were built.  The couple owned the Neşatabad Palace located in Ortaköy Defterdarburnu and the Fındıklı Palace.  The two together had one son named Sultanzade Abdul Hamid Bey, born on 22 March 1835, who died young in 1837.

Death.

Saliha Sultan died on 6 February 1843 in the Fındıklı Palace, and was buried in the mausoleum of her father in Divanyolu, Istanbul.

Issue.

Together with Damat Gürcü Halil Rifat, Saliha had one son:

Saliha Sultan (; 16 June 1811 – 6 February 1843) was an Ottoman princess, the daughter of Sultan Mahmud II and Aşubcan Kadın. She was the half-sister of Sultans Abdulmejid I and Abdulaziz.