The Sultanate of Johor (or sometimes Johor-Riau or Johor-Riau-Lingga) was founded by Malaccan Sultan Mahmud Shah's son, Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah in 1528. Johor was part of the Malaccan Sultanate before the Portuguese conquered Malacca's capital in 1511. At its height, the sultanate controlled modern-day Johor, Riau and parts of southeastern Sumatra. In 1946, it became part of the Malayan Union. Two years later, it joined the Federation of Malaya and subsequently, the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.
Fall of Malacca and Sultan Mahmud Shah
In 1511, Malacca fell to the Portuguese and Sultan Mahmud Shah was forced to flee Malacca. The sultan made several attempts to retake the capital but his efforts were fruitless. The Portuguese retaliated and forced the sultan to flee to Pahang. Later, the sultan sailed to Bintan and established a new capital there. With a base established, the sultan rallied the disarrayed Malay forces and organized several attacks and blockades against the Portuguese position.
Frequent raids on Malacca caused the Portuguese severe hardship and it helped to convince the Portuguese to destroy the exiled sultan's forces. A number of attempts were made to suppress the Malay but it wasn't until 1526 that the Portuguese finally razed Bintan to the ground. The sultan then retreated to Kampar in Sumatra and died two years later. He left behind two sons named Muzaffar Shah and Alauddin Riayat Shah.
Muzaffar Shah continued on to establish Perak while Alauddin Riayat Shah became the first sultan of Johor.
Triangular war
The new sultan established a new capital by the Johor River and from there, continued to harass the Portuguese in the north. He consistently worked together with his brother in Perak and the sultan of Pahang to retake Malacca, which by this time was protected by the fort A Famosa.
On the northern part of Sumatra around the same period, Aceh was beginning to gain substantial influence over the Straits of Malacca. With the fall of Malacca to Christians' hands, Muslim traders often skipped Malacca in favor of Aceh. Ergo, Malacca and Aceh became direct competitors.
With the Portuguese and Johor frequently locking horns, Aceh launched multiple raids against both sides in order to tighten its grip on the straits. The rise of Aceh encouraged the Portuguese and Johor to sign a truce and divert their attention to Aceh. The truce, however, was short-lived and with Aceh severely weakened, Johor and the Portuguese had each other in their sights again.
Dutch Malacca
In the 17th century, the Dutch reached Southeast Asia. The Dutch were no friend of the Portuguese and allied themselves with Johor. Finally in 1641, the Dutch and Johor defeated the Portuguese. Malacca hence became a Dutch territory and remained so until the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 was signed.
Johor-Jambi war
During the triangular war, within the Johor empire, Jambi emerged as a regional economic and political power. Soon in 1666, it tried to break free from Johor and between 1666 and 1673, a civil war erupted between Johor and the Sumatran state. The war was disastrous for Johor as Johor's capital, Batu Sawar, was sacked by Jambi. After the sack, the capital of Johor was frequently moved to avoid the threat of attack from Jambi.
Throughout the decade, Jambi continued to exert extraordinary influence on Johor. In 1679 however, Laksamana Tun Abdul Jalil paid Bugis mercenaries to fight alongside Johor against Jambi. Soon afterward, Jambi was brought to its knees.
Bugis infiltration
Sultan Mahmud Shah II of Johor died in 1699 without an heir. The problem was quickly solved when the viceroy Bendahara Abdul Jalil declared himself the new sultan and called himself Sultan Abdul Jalil IV. Many however felt that the declaration was illegal.
The Bugis, which played an important role in defeating Jambi two decades earlier, had a huge influence in Johor. Apart from the Malays, another influential faction in Johor at that time was the Minangkabau. Both the Bugis and the Minangkabau realized how the death of Sultan Mahmud II had provided them with the chance to exert power in Johor. The Minangkabau introduced a Minangkabau prince, Raja Kecil from Siak who claimed he was the posthumous son of Sultan Mahmud II. The prince met with the Bugis and promised the Bugis wealth and political power if they helped the prince to win the throne. However, Raja Kecil broke his promise and installed himself as the new sultan of Johor (Sultan Abdul Jalil Rahmat Shah) without the knowledge of the Bugis. Sultan Abdul Jalil IV fled to Pahang where he was later killed by an assassin hired by Raja Kecil.
Dissatisfied with Raja Kecil's accession, the son of Sultan Abdul Jalil IV, Raja Sulaiman, asked Daeng Parani of the Bugis to aid him in his quest to reclaim the throne. In 1722, Raja Kecil was dethroned by Raja Sulaiman's supporters with Bugis assistance. Raja Sulaiman became the new Sultan of Johore, but he was a weak ruler and became a puppet of the Bugis. Daeng Parani's brother, Daeng Merewah, who was made Yam Tuan Muda (crown prince) was the man who actually controlled Johor.
Singapore and the British
Sultans of Johor
Reign
Alauddin Riayat Shah II
1528 - 1564
Muzaffar Shah II
1564 - 1570
Abdul Jalil Shah I
1570 - 1571
Ali Jalla Abdul Jalil Shah II
1571 - 1597
Alauddin Riayat Shah III
1597 - 1615
Abdullah Ma'ayat Shah
1615 - 1623
Abdul Jalil Shah III
1623 - 1677
Ibrahim Shah
1677 - 1685
Mahmud Shah II
1685 - 1699
Abdul Jalil IV (Bendahara Abdul Jalil)
1699 - 1720
Abdul Jalil Rahmat Shah (Raja Kecil)
1718 - 1722
Sulaiman Badrul Alam Shah
1722 - 1760
Abdul Jalil Muazzam Shah
1760 - 1761
Ahmad Riayat Shah
1761 - 1761
Mahmud Shah III
1761 - 1812
Abdul Rahman Muazzam Shah
1812 - 1819
Hussein Shah (Tengku Long)
1819 - 1835
Ali
1835 - 1877
Raja Temenggung Tun Ibrahim
1855 - 1862
Abu Bakar
1862 - 1895
Ibrahim
1895 - 1959
Ismail
1959 - 1981
Mahmud Iskandar Al-Haj
1981 - current
In 1818, Sir Stamford Raffles was appointed as the governor of Bencoolen on western Sumatra. However, he was convinced that the British needed to establish a new base in Southeast Asia in order to compete with the Dutch. Though many in the British East India Company opposed such idea, Raffles managed to convince Lord Hastings of the Company, then Governor General of British India, to side with him. With the governor general's consent, he and his expedition set out to search for a new base.
Raffles' expedition arrived in Singapore on January 29, 1819. He discovered a small Malay settlement at the mouth of Singapore River headed by a Temenggung (governor) of Johor. Though the island was nominally ruled by the sultanate, the political situation there was extremely murky. The current sultan, Tengku Abdul Rahman, was under the influence of the Dutch and the Bugis. Hence, he would never agree to a British base in Singapore.
However, Tengku Abdul Rahman was ruler only because his older brother, Tengku Hussein or Tengku Long, had been away in Penang getting married when their father died in 1812. According to Malay tradition, a person has to be by the dying sultan's side in order to be considered as the new ruler. Predictably, the older brother was not happy with the development. Furthermore, the Temenggung preferred Tengku Hussien to the younger brother.
Upon learning of these Johor political tensions, Raffles made a deal with Tengku Hussein. Their agreement stated that the British would acknowledge Tengku Hussein as the legitimate ruler of Johor, and thus Tengku Hussein and the Temenggung would receive a yearly stipend from the British. In return, Tengku Hussein would allow Raffles to establish a trading post in Singapore. This treaty was ratified on February 6, 1819.
With the Temenggung's help, Raffles managed to smuggle Hussein, then living in exile on one of the Riau Islands, back into Singapore.
The Dutch were extremely displeased with Raffles' action. Tensions between the Dutch and British over Singapore persisted until 1824, when they signed the Anglo-Dutch Treaty. Under the terms of that treaty, the Dutch officially withdrew their opposition to the British presence in Singapore. The treaty divided the Sultanate of Johor into modern Johor and the state of Riau-Lingga.
In the newly-formed Johor, although Tengku Hussein was the sultan, it was the Temenggung who wielded real authority. The Bugis, on the other hand, controlled Riau under the auspices of the Dutch.
Modernization
In 1855, under a treaty between the British in Singapore and Sultan Ali of Johor, the control over the state was formally ceded to Temenggung Ibrahim, with the exception of Muar. Muar was later handed over to the Temenggung's control in 1877; this later contributed to the Jementah Civil War. Temenggung Ibrahim opened up Bandar Tanjung Puteri in southern Johor as a major city. Bandar Tanjung Puteri would later be known as Johor Bahru.
Temenggung Ibrahim was succeeded by his son, Temenggung Abu Bakar, who later took the title Seri Maharaja Johor. In 1866, he was formally crowned the Sultan of Johor. Sultan Abu Bakar introduced a constitution and developed an efficient administration system. He also moved the official capital city of Johor to Johor Bahru and ordered the construction of Istana Besar, the official residence of the sultan in the city. Due to these achievements, Sultan Abu Bakar is known by the title "Father of Modern Johor".
Johor also enjoyed economic prosperity. An increased demand for black pepper and gambier in the nineteenth century lead to the opening up of farmlands to the influx of Chinese immigrants, creating Johor's initial economic base. The Kangchu system was put in place.
In 1914, Sultan Ibrahim, Sultan Abu Bakar's successor, was forced to accept a British Resident and effectively became a crown colony of the Britain. D.G. Campbell was dispatched as the first British advisor to Johor.
World War II and Malaysia
The Second World War broke out in 1939 and Japan invaded British Malaya in December 1941. The British, who were responsible for Johor's defense, were swiftly defeated by the Japanese and retreated to Singapore to make a stand. Japan occupied Johor from 1942 to 1945. Singapore fell to the Japanese on February 15 1942.
With the end of the war, the British came back and in 1946, Johor became part of the Malayan Union. Opposition to the Union by Malay nationalists, led by Dato' Onn Jaafar, however forced its dissolution and in 1948, the state joined a new federation called Malaya. It achieved independence in 1957 along with the rest of the Malay Peninsula, and later in 1963, it was one of the fourteen states that formed Malaysia.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Chronology
60,000-35,000 years ago- Paleolithic (Early Stone Age)
Early peoples, probably from the first wave humans as postulated in the 'Out of Africa' theory, lived a simple lifestyle of hunting-gathering. Paleolithic Malaysia had no defined border or countries, no known government, religion, money, etc. Descendants of these early inhabitants still live in the hills of Malaysia, some of their villages are accessible, they are known as Orang Asli, meaning 'natural people' or aborigines. Today the Orang Asli, together with the Malays and indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak, are known as bumiputra
Early peoples, probably from the first wave humans as postulated in the 'Out of Africa' theory, lived a simple lifestyle of hunting-gathering. Paleolithic Malaysia had no defined border or countries, no known government, religion, money, etc. Descendants of these early inhabitants still live in the hills of Malaysia, some of their villages are accessible, they are known as Orang Asli, meaning 'natural people' or aborigines. Today the Orang Asli, together with the Malays and indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak, are known as bumiputra
35,000-10,000 years ago - Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age)
Anthropologists traced a group of newcomers Proto Malay seafarers who migrated from Yunnan to Malaysia. Negrito and other Aborigines were forced by late comers into the hills. In this period, people learnt to dress, to cook, to hunt with advanced stone weapons. Communication techniques also improved.
Anthropologists traced a group of newcomers Proto Malay seafarers who migrated from Yunnan to Malaysia. Negrito and other Aborigines were forced by late comers into the hills. In this period, people learnt to dress, to cook, to hunt with advanced stone weapons. Communication techniques also improved.
10,000-5,000 years ago- Neolithic (New Stone Age)
People learnt to build simple houses and to have families. Simple moral and simple society concept germinated.
2,500 years ago - Bronze Age
More people arrived, including new tribes and seafarers. The Malay Peninsula became the crossroads in maritime trades of the ancient age. Seafarers who came to Malaysia's shores included Indians, Egyptians, peoples of the Middle East, Javanese and Chinese. Ptolemy named the Malay Peninsula, Golden Chersonese.
Early Hindu Settlers
Hindu traders began to settle down and spread their culture, architecture, languages, writings, words, foods, costumes, religions, government system, moral education and many more to set up the first local Malay Kingdom, also known as Srivijaya, which lasted 1400 years.
Hindu traders began to settle down and spread their culture, architecture, languages, writings, words, foods, costumes, religions, government system, moral education and many more to set up the first local Malay Kingdom, also known as Srivijaya, which lasted 1400 years.
Yunnan migration theory
The theory of Proto Malay originating from Yunnan is supported by R.H Geldern, J.H.C Kern, J.R Foster, J.R Logen, Slametmuljana and Asmah Haji Omar. The Proto Malay (Melayu asli) who first arrived possessed agricultural skills while the second wave Deutero Malay (mixed blood) who joined in around 1500 BC and dwelled along the coastlines have advanced fishery skills. During the migration, both groups intermarried with peoples of the southern islands, such as those from Java (Indonesian), and also with aboriginal peoples of Australoid, Negrito and Melanesoid origin.
Other evidences that support this theory include:
Stone tools found at Malay archipelago are analogous to Central Asian tools.
Similarity of Malay customs and Assam customs.
Malay language & Cambodian language are kindred languages because the ancestral home of Cambodians originated from the source of Mekong River.
The theory of Proto Malay originating from Yunnan is supported by R.H Geldern, J.H.C Kern, J.R Foster, J.R Logen, Slametmuljana and Asmah Haji Omar. The Proto Malay (Melayu asli) who first arrived possessed agricultural skills while the second wave Deutero Malay (mixed blood) who joined in around 1500 BC and dwelled along the coastlines have advanced fishery skills. During the migration, both groups intermarried with peoples of the southern islands, such as those from Java (Indonesian), and also with aboriginal peoples of Australoid, Negrito and Melanesoid origin.
Other evidences that support this theory include:
Stone tools found at Malay archipelago are analogous to Central Asian tools.
Similarity of Malay customs and Assam customs.
Malay language & Cambodian language are kindred languages because the ancestral home of Cambodians originated from the source of Mekong River.
Mekong Delta
According to Khmer history, the earliest known civilisation was the 1st century Indianised-Khmer culture of Funan, in the Mekong Delta. The Khmer empire of Angkor was the last before the kingdom fled to various places seeking refuge. Palembang and later Malacca were among the places. Archeological evidences found that inhabitants of early Cambodia were peoples of Neolithic culture. They possessed good technical skills while the more advanced groups, who lived near the coast and in the lower delta of Mekong, cultivated irrigated rice. It is believed that they were the ancestors of the people living in insular Southeast Asia and islands of Pacific Ocean. They were also knowledgeable in iron and bronze works as well as possessing good navigational skills. (Source: Based on information from John F. Cady, Southeast Asia: Its Historical Development, New York, 1964.)
Oldest Malay text
The Kedukan Bukit inscription of 682 CE found at Palembang and the modern Yunnan Dai minority's traditional writings were of the same language family of Pallava, also known as Pallava Grantha. Dai ethnic (or Dai minority) of Yunnan is one of the aboriginal inhabitants of modern Yunnan province of China. (Picture) is taken from Jinghong city of Yunnan, a modern doorframe with Dai minority texts & Chinese, at right is the ancient Kedukan Bukit inscription.
Oldest Malay text
The Kedukan Bukit inscription of 682 CE found at Palembang and the modern Yunnan Dai minority's traditional writings were of the same language family of Pallava, also known as Pallava Grantha. Dai ethnic (or Dai minority) of Yunnan is one of the aboriginal inhabitants of modern Yunnan province of China. (Picture) is taken from Jinghong city of Yunnan, a modern doorframe with Dai minority texts & Chinese, at right is the ancient Kedukan Bukit inscription.
Prehistoric Malaysia
Prehistoric Malaysia may be traced back as much as 200,000 years ago from stone tools found at Kota Tampan, Lenggong archeological site. The earliest human skeleton, Perak Man, dating back 11,000 years and Perak Woman aged 8,000 years, were also discovered in Lenggong. The site has an undisturbed stone tool production area, created using equipment such as anvils and hammer stones. The Tambun Cave paintings are also situated in Perak. From East Malaysia, Sarawak's Niah Caves, there is evidence of the oldest human remains in Malaysia, dating back some 40,000 years
Friday, January 26, 2007
Bride vs cake
If you be the bride did you want to do this? about the cake is o.k., but about struggling with the other bride with your dress just to eat cake mmm.... think twice o.k.
Today in History 26 January
1500 : Pinzon discovers Brazil
Spanish explorer Vicente Yanez Pinzon, who had commanded the Nina during Christopher Columbus' first expedition to the New World, reaches the northeastern coast of Brazil during a voyage under his command. Pinzon's journey produced the first recorded account of a European explorer sighting the Brazilian coast; though whether or not Brazil was previously known to Portuguese navigators is still in dispute.
Pinzon subsequently sailed down the Brazilian coast to the equator, where he briefly explored the mouth of the Amazon River. In the same year, Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral claimed Brazil for Portugal, arguing that the territory fell into the Portuguese sphere of exploration as defined by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas. However, little was done to support the claim until the 1530s, when the first permanent European settlements in Brazil were established at Sao Vicente in Sao Paulo by Portuguese colonists.
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Spanish explorer Vicente Yanez Pinzon, who had commanded the Nina during Christopher Columbus' first expedition to the New World, reaches the northeastern coast of Brazil during a voyage under his command. Pinzon's journey produced the first recorded account of a European explorer sighting the Brazilian coast; though whether or not Brazil was previously known to Portuguese navigators is still in dispute.
Pinzon subsequently sailed down the Brazilian coast to the equator, where he briefly explored the mouth of the Amazon River. In the same year, Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral claimed Brazil for Portugal, arguing that the territory fell into the Portuguese sphere of exploration as defined by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas. However, little was done to support the claim until the 1530s, when the first permanent European settlements in Brazil were established at Sao Vicente in Sao Paulo by Portuguese colonists.
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Today in History 26 January
1918 : Ukraine declares its independence
Soon after the Bolsheviks seized control in immense, troubled Russia in November 1917 and moved towards negotiating peace with the Central Powers, the former Russian state of Ukraine declares its total independence.
One of pre-war Russia’s most prosperous areas, the vast, flat Ukraine (the name can be translated as “at the border” or “borderland”) was one of the major wheat-producing regions of Europe as well as rich with mineral resources, including vast deposits of iron and coal. The majority of Ukraine was incorporated into the Russian empire after the second partition of Poland in 1793, while the remaining section—the principality of Galicia--remained part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and was a key battleground on World War I’s Eastern Front.
Immediately following the overthrow of the czar in February 1917, Ukraine set up a provisional government and proclaimed itself a republic within the structure of a federated Russia. After Vladimir Lenin and his radical Bolsheviks rose to power in November, Ukraine—like its fellow former Russian property, Finland—took one step further, declaring its complete independence in January 1918.
But Ukraine’s Rada government, formed after the secession, had serious difficulty imposing its rule on the people in the face of Bolshevik opposition and counter-revolutionary activity within the country. Seeing Ukraine as an ideal and much-needed source of food for their hunger-plagued people, Germany and Austria brought in troops to preserve order, forcing the Russian troops occupying the country to leave under the terms of the treaty at Brest-Litovsk, signed in March 1918, and virtually annexing the region, while supposedly recognizing Ukrainian independence. In the words of Wilhelm Groener, a German army commander in Kiev, “The [Ukrainian] administrative structure is in total disorder, completely incompetent and in no way ready for quick results….It would be in our interests to treat the Ukrainian government as a ‘cover’ and for us to do the rest ourselves.”
The defeat of the Central Powers and the signing of the armistice in November 1918 forced Germany and Austria to withdraw from Ukraine. At the same time, with the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire, an independent West Ukrainian republic was proclaimed in the Galician city of Lviv. The two Ukrainian states proclaimed their union in early 1919, but independence was short-lived, as they immediately found themselves in a three-way struggle against troops from both Poland and Russia. The Ukrainian government briefly allied themselves with Poland, but could not withstand the Soviet assault. In 1922, Ukraine became one of the original constituent republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.); it would not regain its independence until the U.S.S.R.’s collapse in 1991.
Soon after the Bolsheviks seized control in immense, troubled Russia in November 1917 and moved towards negotiating peace with the Central Powers, the former Russian state of Ukraine declares its total independence.
One of pre-war Russia’s most prosperous areas, the vast, flat Ukraine (the name can be translated as “at the border” or “borderland”) was one of the major wheat-producing regions of Europe as well as rich with mineral resources, including vast deposits of iron and coal. The majority of Ukraine was incorporated into the Russian empire after the second partition of Poland in 1793, while the remaining section—the principality of Galicia--remained part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and was a key battleground on World War I’s Eastern Front.
Immediately following the overthrow of the czar in February 1917, Ukraine set up a provisional government and proclaimed itself a republic within the structure of a federated Russia. After Vladimir Lenin and his radical Bolsheviks rose to power in November, Ukraine—like its fellow former Russian property, Finland—took one step further, declaring its complete independence in January 1918.
But Ukraine’s Rada government, formed after the secession, had serious difficulty imposing its rule on the people in the face of Bolshevik opposition and counter-revolutionary activity within the country. Seeing Ukraine as an ideal and much-needed source of food for their hunger-plagued people, Germany and Austria brought in troops to preserve order, forcing the Russian troops occupying the country to leave under the terms of the treaty at Brest-Litovsk, signed in March 1918, and virtually annexing the region, while supposedly recognizing Ukrainian independence. In the words of Wilhelm Groener, a German army commander in Kiev, “The [Ukrainian] administrative structure is in total disorder, completely incompetent and in no way ready for quick results….It would be in our interests to treat the Ukrainian government as a ‘cover’ and for us to do the rest ourselves.”
The defeat of the Central Powers and the signing of the armistice in November 1918 forced Germany and Austria to withdraw from Ukraine. At the same time, with the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire, an independent West Ukrainian republic was proclaimed in the Galician city of Lviv. The two Ukrainian states proclaimed their union in early 1919, but independence was short-lived, as they immediately found themselves in a three-way struggle against troops from both Poland and Russia. The Ukrainian government briefly allied themselves with Poland, but could not withstand the Soviet assault. In 1922, Ukraine became one of the original constituent republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.); it would not regain its independence until the U.S.S.R.’s collapse in 1991.
Today in History 25 January
1919 : Formal commission is established on the League of Nations
On January 25, 1919, in Paris, delegates to the peace conference formally approve the establishment of a commission on the League of Nations.
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson insisted on chairing the commission—for him, the establishment of the League lay squarely at the center of the peace negotiations. He was supported by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. Though France’s Georges Clemenceau was more skeptical, believing the peace with Germany to be the more important goal, he went along with his American and British colleagues, refusing to let France be seen as an obstacle to the League’s formation. The commission was originally made up of two representatives from each of the Big Five nations—France, the British empire, Italy, Japan and the United States. Later, after smaller nations such as Belgium protested, they were granted the right to nominate additional representatives, first five and eventually nine.
The first meeting of the commission was held on February 3. Tensions arose almost immediately over French attempts to make the League more capable of strong enforcement of its principles. They pushed for the strict disarmament of all nations, with broad powers of inspection given to the League, and the establishment of an international military force comprised of League members. The British and the American delegations suspected this was just another way for the French to achieve their goal of a permanent armed coalition against their most hated enemy, Germany. Politically, as well, the French program was an impossible alternative, as neither the British Parliament nor the U.S. Congress was prepared to give up the authority to decide when and where their country’s armed forced would be deployed. At one point, rumors flew that Wilson was set to abandon negotiations altogether. Still, the commission persevered, and a comprehensive draft was ready by February 14.
This draft outlined all aspects of the League, including its administration: a general assembly, a secretariat and an executive council. There would be, contrary to French demands, no League army and no mandate for disarmament. To prevent the smaller nations from banding together to outvote the bigger ones, there was a provision that the majority of League decisions had to be unanimous, a requirement that was later pointed to as an important cause of the organization’s ineffectiveness.
Finally, Germany would not be invited to join the League right away; France was strict on this point and its allies gave way without much of a struggle. This would put Germany in the frustrating position, later on, of agreeing in the Treaty of Versailles to the formation of an organization that it could not join.
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On January 25, 1919, in Paris, delegates to the peace conference formally approve the establishment of a commission on the League of Nations.
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson insisted on chairing the commission—for him, the establishment of the League lay squarely at the center of the peace negotiations. He was supported by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. Though France’s Georges Clemenceau was more skeptical, believing the peace with Germany to be the more important goal, he went along with his American and British colleagues, refusing to let France be seen as an obstacle to the League’s formation. The commission was originally made up of two representatives from each of the Big Five nations—France, the British empire, Italy, Japan and the United States. Later, after smaller nations such as Belgium protested, they were granted the right to nominate additional representatives, first five and eventually nine.
The first meeting of the commission was held on February 3. Tensions arose almost immediately over French attempts to make the League more capable of strong enforcement of its principles. They pushed for the strict disarmament of all nations, with broad powers of inspection given to the League, and the establishment of an international military force comprised of League members. The British and the American delegations suspected this was just another way for the French to achieve their goal of a permanent armed coalition against their most hated enemy, Germany. Politically, as well, the French program was an impossible alternative, as neither the British Parliament nor the U.S. Congress was prepared to give up the authority to decide when and where their country’s armed forced would be deployed. At one point, rumors flew that Wilson was set to abandon negotiations altogether. Still, the commission persevered, and a comprehensive draft was ready by February 14.
This draft outlined all aspects of the League, including its administration: a general assembly, a secretariat and an executive council. There would be, contrary to French demands, no League army and no mandate for disarmament. To prevent the smaller nations from banding together to outvote the bigger ones, there was a provision that the majority of League decisions had to be unanimous, a requirement that was later pointed to as an important cause of the organization’s ineffectiveness.
Finally, Germany would not be invited to join the League right away; France was strict on this point and its allies gave way without much of a struggle. This would put Germany in the frustrating position, later on, of agreeing in the Treaty of Versailles to the formation of an organization that it could not join.
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Today in History on 25 January
1863 : Burnside relieved of command
After two months, General Ambrose Burnside is removed as commander of the Army of the Potomac.
Burnside assumed command of the army after President Lincoln removed General George B. McClellan from command in November 1862. Lincoln had a difficult relationship with McClellan, who built the army admirably but was a sluggish and overly cautious field commander.
Lincoln wanted an attack on the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, which was commanded by Robert E. Lee. Burnside drafted a plan to move south towards Richmond. The plan was sound, but delays in its execution alerted Lee to the danger. Lee headed Burnside off at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 13. Burnside attacked repeatedly against entrenched Confederates along Marye's Heights above Fredericksburg with tragic results. More than 13,000 Yankees fell; Lee lost just 5,000. Northern morale sunk in the winter of 1862-1863.
Lincoln allowed Burnside one more chance. In January, Burnside attempted another campaign against Lee. Four days of rain turned the Union offensive into the ignominious "Mud March," during which the Yankees floundered on mud roads while the Lee's men jeered at them from across the Rappahannock River. Lincoln had seen enough--General Joe Hooker took over command of the army.
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After two months, General Ambrose Burnside is removed as commander of the Army of the Potomac.
Burnside assumed command of the army after President Lincoln removed General George B. McClellan from command in November 1862. Lincoln had a difficult relationship with McClellan, who built the army admirably but was a sluggish and overly cautious field commander.
Lincoln wanted an attack on the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, which was commanded by Robert E. Lee. Burnside drafted a plan to move south towards Richmond. The plan was sound, but delays in its execution alerted Lee to the danger. Lee headed Burnside off at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 13. Burnside attacked repeatedly against entrenched Confederates along Marye's Heights above Fredericksburg with tragic results. More than 13,000 Yankees fell; Lee lost just 5,000. Northern morale sunk in the winter of 1862-1863.
Lincoln allowed Burnside one more chance. In January, Burnside attempted another campaign against Lee. Four days of rain turned the Union offensive into the ignominious "Mud March," during which the Yankees floundered on mud roads while the Lee's men jeered at them from across the Rappahannock River. Lincoln had seen enough--General Joe Hooker took over command of the army.
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Wednesday, January 24, 2007
1927 - First Alfred Hitchock film open
1927 : First Alfred Hitchcock film opens
Young director Alfred Hitchcock's first film, The Pleasure Garden, is released in England on this day in 1927. While the film marked an impressive debut, Hitchcock considered his next film, The Lodger (known in the United States as The Case of Jonathan Drew), to be his first true accomplishment. It also marked the first of his many cameo appearances.
The son of a poultry dealer and fruit importer, Hitchcock entered show biz when he was hired to design silent-film title cards for the newly formed London branch of Hollywood's Famous Players-Lasky, which later became Paramount Pictures. He worked closely with screenwriters, who occasionally allowed him to direct a scene that didn't include actors. He became an assistant director and was promoted to director in 1925. He married film editor and script girl Alma Reville the following year, and she helped him write a variety of screenplays.
Hitchcock continued to direct English suspense films, including The 39 Steps, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and The Lady Vanishes, but he moved to Hollywood in 1939 to take advantage of American filmmaking technology. His first American movie, Rebecca, won the 1940 Oscar for Best Picture and landed Hitchcock a Best Director nomination.
During the 1950s, he started to experiment with his creativity and produced some of the most popular films of his career, including Psycho, The Birds, Vertigo, and Rear Window. He became renowned for his psychologically complicated thrillers. In a Hitchcock movie, nothing on the screen happened by accident: He carefully chose each camera angle and sound effect. He maintained total creative control over his films.
Hitchcock also hosted two anthology mystery series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, from 1955 to 1962, and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, from 1962 to 1965. After his theme music, based on Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette," played, he would offer an eerie, "Good eeeevening." Each episode would appear to end with evil triumphing over good, but after the final commercial Hitchcock would explain in his British accent how the villain had been overpowered by happenstance or a bizarre mistake.
Hitchcock won the Irving Thalberg Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1967 and the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award in 1979. The following year he was knighted, even though he had long since become a United States citizen. He died in 1980, but that wasn't the end of his career. A color revival of his show was introduced in 1985. Although the revival featured all new episodes, each was preceded by one of Hitchcock's introductions from his earlier shows, processed into color.
Young director Alfred Hitchcock's first film, The Pleasure Garden, is released in England on this day in 1927. While the film marked an impressive debut, Hitchcock considered his next film, The Lodger (known in the United States as The Case of Jonathan Drew), to be his first true accomplishment. It also marked the first of his many cameo appearances.
The son of a poultry dealer and fruit importer, Hitchcock entered show biz when he was hired to design silent-film title cards for the newly formed London branch of Hollywood's Famous Players-Lasky, which later became Paramount Pictures. He worked closely with screenwriters, who occasionally allowed him to direct a scene that didn't include actors. He became an assistant director and was promoted to director in 1925. He married film editor and script girl Alma Reville the following year, and she helped him write a variety of screenplays.
Hitchcock continued to direct English suspense films, including The 39 Steps, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and The Lady Vanishes, but he moved to Hollywood in 1939 to take advantage of American filmmaking technology. His first American movie, Rebecca, won the 1940 Oscar for Best Picture and landed Hitchcock a Best Director nomination.
During the 1950s, he started to experiment with his creativity and produced some of the most popular films of his career, including Psycho, The Birds, Vertigo, and Rear Window. He became renowned for his psychologically complicated thrillers. In a Hitchcock movie, nothing on the screen happened by accident: He carefully chose each camera angle and sound effect. He maintained total creative control over his films.
Hitchcock also hosted two anthology mystery series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, from 1955 to 1962, and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, from 1962 to 1965. After his theme music, based on Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette," played, he would offer an eerie, "Good eeeevening." Each episode would appear to end with evil triumphing over good, but after the final commercial Hitchcock would explain in his British accent how the villain had been overpowered by happenstance or a bizarre mistake.
Hitchcock won the Irving Thalberg Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1967 and the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award in 1979. The following year he was knighted, even though he had long since become a United States citizen. He died in 1980, but that wasn't the end of his career. A color revival of his show was introduced in 1985. Although the revival featured all new episodes, each was preceded by one of Hitchcock's introductions from his earlier shows, processed into color.
1860 - Engines
1860 : New engine runs on fire, not water
French inventor Etienne Lenoir was issued a patent for the first successful internal-combustion engine. Lenoir's engine was a converted steam engine that burned a mixture of coal gas and air. Its two-stroke action was simple but reliable--many of Lenoir's engines were still working after 20 years of use. His first engines powered simple machines like pumps and bellows. However, in 1862, Lenoir built his first automobile powered by an internal-combustion engine--a vehicle capable of making a six-mile trip in two to three hours. It wasn't a practical vehicle, but it was the beginning of the automobile industry. (pic : Gleen Curtis)
Today in history
In 1787, Shays's Rebellion suffered a setback when debt-ridden farmers led by Capt. Daniel Shays failed to capture an arsenal at Springfield, Mass.
In 1890, reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) of the New York World completed a round-the-world journey in 72 days, six hours and 11 minutes.
In 1890, the United Mine Workers of America was founded.
In 1915, the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, inaugurated U.S. transcontinental telephone service.
In 1946, the United Mine Workers rejoined the American Federation of Labor.
In 1947, American gangster Al Capone died in Miami Beach, Fla., at age 48.
In 1959, American Airlines opened the jet age in the United States with the first scheduled transcontinental flight of a Boeing 707.
In 1961, President Kennedy held the first presidential news conference carried live on radio and television.
In 1971, Charles Manson and three women followers were convicted in Los Angeles of murder and conspiracy in the 1969 slayings of seven people, including actress Sharon Tate.
In 1990, actress Ava Gardner died in London at age 67.
1972 : Japanese soldier found hiding on Guam
After 28 years of hiding in the jungles of Guam, local farmers discover Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese sergeant who was unaware that World War II had ended.
Guam, a 200-square-mile island in the western Pacific, became a U.S. possession in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. In 1941, the Japanese attacked and captured it, and in 1944, after three years of Japanese occupation, U.S. forces retook Guam. It was at this time that Yokoi, left behind by the retreating Japanese forces, went into hiding rather than surrender to the Americans. In the jungles of Guam, he carved survival tools and for the next three decades waited for the return of the Japanese and his next orders. After he was discovered in 1972, he was finally discharged and sent home to Japan, where he was hailed as a national hero. He subsequently married and returned to Guam for his honeymoon. His handcrafted survival tools and threadbare uniform are on display in the Guam Museum in Agana.
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In 1890, reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) of the New York World completed a round-the-world journey in 72 days, six hours and 11 minutes.
In 1890, the United Mine Workers of America was founded.
In 1915, the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, inaugurated U.S. transcontinental telephone service.
In 1946, the United Mine Workers rejoined the American Federation of Labor.
In 1947, American gangster Al Capone died in Miami Beach, Fla., at age 48.
In 1959, American Airlines opened the jet age in the United States with the first scheduled transcontinental flight of a Boeing 707.
In 1961, President Kennedy held the first presidential news conference carried live on radio and television.
In 1971, Charles Manson and three women followers were convicted in Los Angeles of murder and conspiracy in the 1969 slayings of seven people, including actress Sharon Tate.
In 1990, actress Ava Gardner died in London at age 67.
1972 : Japanese soldier found hiding on Guam
After 28 years of hiding in the jungles of Guam, local farmers discover Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese sergeant who was unaware that World War II had ended.
Guam, a 200-square-mile island in the western Pacific, became a U.S. possession in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. In 1941, the Japanese attacked and captured it, and in 1944, after three years of Japanese occupation, U.S. forces retook Guam. It was at this time that Yokoi, left behind by the retreating Japanese forces, went into hiding rather than surrender to the Americans. In the jungles of Guam, he carved survival tools and for the next three decades waited for the return of the Japanese and his next orders. After he was discovered in 1972, he was finally discharged and sent home to Japan, where he was hailed as a national hero. He subsequently married and returned to Guam for his honeymoon. His handcrafted survival tools and threadbare uniform are on display in the Guam Museum in Agana.
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Goose
Goose (plural geese) is the general English name for a considerable number of birds, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than geese, and ducks, which are smaller.
This article deals with the true geese in the subfamily Anserinae, tribe Anserini. A number of other waterbirds, mainly related to the shelducks, have "goose" as part of their name.
True geese are medium to large birds, always (with the exception of the Nēnē) associated to a greater or lesser extent with water. Most species in Europe, Asia and North America are strongly migratory as wild birds, breeding in the far north and wintering much further south. However, escapes and introductions have led to resident feral populations of several species.
Geese have been domesticated for centuries. In the West, farmyard geese are descended from the Greylag, but in Asia the Swan Goose has been farmed for at least as long.
All geese eat a largely vegetarian diet, and can become pests when flocks feed on arable crops or inhabit ponds or grassy areas in urban environments. They also take invertebrates if the opportunity presents itself; domestic geese will try out most novel food items for edibility.
Geese usually mate for life, though a small number will "divorce" and remate. They tend to lay a smaller number of eggs than ducks, however, both parents protect the nest and young, which usually results in a higher survival rate for the young geese.
Not all couples are heterosexual, sometimes both females and males will form long-term same-sex couples with greater or lesser frequency depending on species (Bagemihl, 1999). Of the heterosexual couples, a significant proportion are non-breeding despite having an active sexual life. See Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, and Snow Goose
True geese
The following are the living genera of true geese:
Anser - Grey Geese, including the domesticated goose and the Swan Goose
Chen - White Geese (often included in Anser)
Branta - Black Geese
The following two genera are only tentatively placed in the Anserinae; they may belong to the shelducks or form a subfamily on their own:
Cereopsis - Cape Barren Goose
Cnemiornis - New Zealand Geese (prehistoric)
In addition, there are some goose-like birds known from subfossil remains found on the Hawaiian Islands. See Anserinae for more.
Other species called "geese"
There are a number of mainly southern hemisphere birds called "geese", most of which belong to the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae. These are:Blue-winged Goose, Cyanochen cyanopterus
Orinoco Goose, Neochen jubata
Egyptian Goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus
The South American sheldgeese, genus Chloephaga
The prehistoric Madagascar Sheldgoose, Centrornis majori
A genus of prehistorically extinct seaducks, Chendytes, is sometimes called "diving-geese" due to their large size.
The Spur-winged Goose, Plectropterus gambensis, is most closely related to the shelducks, but distinct enough to warrant its own subfamily, the Plectropterinae.
The three perching ducks in the genus Nettapus are named "pygmy geese", such as the Cotton Pygmy Goose, Nettapus javanica.
The unusual Magpie-goose is in a family of its own, the Anseranatidae.\
Etymology
Goose in its origins is one of the oldest words of the Indo-European languages (Crystal), the modern names deriving from the proto-Indo-European root, ghans, hence Sanskrit hamsa (feminine hamsii), Latin anser, Greek khén etc.
In the Germanic languages, the root word led to Old English gos with the plural gés, German Gans and Old Norse gas. Other modern derivatives are Russian gus and Old Irish géiss; the family name of the cleric Jan Hus is derived from the Czech derivative husa.
In non-technical use, the male goose is called a "gander" (Anglo-Saxon gandra) and the female is the "goose" (Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)); young birds before fledging are known as "goslings". A group of geese on the ground is called a gaggle; when flying in formation, it is called a wedge or a skein. See also List of collective nouns for birds
Today history in 1781
1781 : “Light Horse” and “Swamp Fox” raid Georgetown, South Carolina
On this day in 1781, Patriot commanders Lieutenant Colonel “Light Horse” Henry Lee and Brigadier General Francis “Swamp Fox” Marion of the South Carolina militia combine forces and conduct a raid on Georgetown, South Carolina, which is defended by 200 British soldiers.
Marion won fame and the “Swamp Fox” moniker for his ability to strike and then quickly retreat into the South Carolina swamps without a trace. His military strategy is considered an 18th-century example of guerilla warfare and served as partial inspiration for the film The Patriot, starring Mel Gibson.
Marion took over the South Carolina militia force first assembled by Thomas Sumter in 1780. Sumter, the other inspiration for Mel Gibson’s character in the film, returned Carolina Loyalists’ terror tactics in kind after Loyalists burned his plantation. When Sumter withdrew from active fighting to care for a wound, Marion replaced him and strategized with Major General Nathaniel Greene, who had recently arrived in the Carolinas to lead the Continental forces. On January 24, the Patriots under Marion and Lee managed to arrive at Georgetown undetected and captured at least three officers, including the British commander.
The following month, Lee’s cavalry was able to defeat a band of Loyalist cavalry at Haw River, North Carolina, by taking advantage of the extreme similarity of Patriot uniforms to those of British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton’s troops. British Colonel John Pyle’s men at Haw River were surprised to discover that the horsemen approaching them were not friends, as they appeared from a distance, but foes. Losing three fingers and blinding one eye in the course of combat, Colonel Pyle, a doctor by profession, survived by hiding in what is now known as “Pyle’s Pond.”
On this day in 1781, Patriot commanders Lieutenant Colonel “Light Horse” Henry Lee and Brigadier General Francis “Swamp Fox” Marion of the South Carolina militia combine forces and conduct a raid on Georgetown, South Carolina, which is defended by 200 British soldiers.
Marion won fame and the “Swamp Fox” moniker for his ability to strike and then quickly retreat into the South Carolina swamps without a trace. His military strategy is considered an 18th-century example of guerilla warfare and served as partial inspiration for the film The Patriot, starring Mel Gibson.
Marion took over the South Carolina militia force first assembled by Thomas Sumter in 1780. Sumter, the other inspiration for Mel Gibson’s character in the film, returned Carolina Loyalists’ terror tactics in kind after Loyalists burned his plantation. When Sumter withdrew from active fighting to care for a wound, Marion replaced him and strategized with Major General Nathaniel Greene, who had recently arrived in the Carolinas to lead the Continental forces. On January 24, the Patriots under Marion and Lee managed to arrive at Georgetown undetected and captured at least three officers, including the British commander.
The following month, Lee’s cavalry was able to defeat a band of Loyalist cavalry at Haw River, North Carolina, by taking advantage of the extreme similarity of Patriot uniforms to those of British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton’s troops. British Colonel John Pyle’s men at Haw River were surprised to discover that the horsemen approaching them were not friends, as they appeared from a distance, but foes. Losing three fingers and blinding one eye in the course of combat, Colonel Pyle, a doctor by profession, survived by hiding in what is now known as “Pyle’s Pond.”
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Duck
Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. The ducks are divided between several subfamilies listed in full in the Anatidae article. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than their relatives the swans and geese, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water.
Most ducks have a wide flat beak adapted for dredging. They exploit a variety of food sources such as grasses, aquatic plants, fish, insects, small amphibians[1], worms, and small molluscs. Diving ducks and sea ducks forage deep underwater; Dabbling ducks feed on the surface of water or on land. Dabbling ducks have in their beaks special plates called lamellae[1] similar to a whale's baleen. These tiny rows of plates along the inside of the beak let them filter water out of the side of their beaks and keep food inside. To be able to submerge more easily, the diving ducks are heavier than dabbling ducks, and therefore have more difficulty taking off to fly. A few specialized species such as the Smew, Goosander, and the mergansers are adapted to catch large fish.
The males (drakes) of northern species often have extravagant plumage, but that is moulted in summer to give a more female-like appearance, the "eclipse" plumage. Southern resident species typically show less sexual dimorphism. Many species of ducks are temporarily flightless while moulting; they seek out protected habitat with good food supplies during this period. This moult typically precedes migration.
Some duck species, mainly those breeding in the temperate and arctic Northern Hemisphere, are migratory, but others, particularly in the tropics, are not. Some ducks, particularly in Australia where rainfall is patchy and erratic, are nomadic, seeking out the temporary lakes and pools that form after localised heavy rain.
Some people use "duck" specifically for adult females and "drake" for adult males, for the species described here; others use "hen" and "drake", respectively.
Ducks are sometimes confused with several types of unrelated water birds with similar forms, such as loons or divers, grebes, gallinules, and coots.
[edit] Predators
A worldwide group like the ducks has many predators. Ducklings are particularly vulnerable, since their inability to fly makes them easy prey not only for avian hunters but also large fish like pike, crocodilians and other aquatic hunters, including fish-eating birds such as herons. Nests may also be raided by land-based predators, and brooding females may sometimes be caught unaware on the nest by mammals (e.g. foxes) and large birds, including hawks and eagles).
Adult ducks are fast fliers, but may be caught on the water by large aquatic predators. This can occasionally include fish such as the muskie in North America or the pike in Europe. In flight, ducks are safe from all but a few predators such as humans and the Peregrine Falcon, which regularly uses its speed and strength to catch ducks.
[edit] Etymology
The word duck (from Anglo-Saxon dūce), meaning the bird, came from the verb "to duck" (from Anglo-Saxon supposed *dūcan) meaning "to bend down low as if to get under something", because of the way many species in the dabbling duck group feed by upending (compare the Dutch word duiken = "to dive").
This happened because the older Old English word for "duck" came to be pronounced the same as the word for "end": other Germanic languages still have similar words for "duck" and "end": for example, Dutch eend = "duck", eind = "end"; also among Indo-European languages compare Latin anas (stem anat-) = "duck", Sanskrit anta (masc.) = "end", Lithuanian antis = "duck".
[edit] Hunting and Domestication
In many areas, wild ducks of various species (including ducks farmed and released into the wild) are hunted for food or sport, by shooting, or formerly by decoys. From this came the expression "a sitting duck", which means "an easy target".
Ducks have many economic uses, being farmed for their meat, eggs, feathers and down feathers. They are also kept and bred by aviculturists and often displayed in zoos. All domestic ducks are descended from the wild Mallard Anas platyrhynchos, except Muscovy Ducks[2]. Many domestic breeds have become much larger than their wild ancestor, with a "hull length" (from base of neck to base of tail) of 30 cm (12 inches) or more and routinely able to swallow an adult British Common Frog, Rana temporaria, whole.
Foie gras is often made using the liver of domestic ducks, rather than of geese.
In a wildlife pond, the bottom over most of the area should be too deep for dabbling wild ducks to reach the bottom, to protect bottom-living life from being constantly disturbed and eaten by wild ducks dredging, and domestic ducks should not be allowed in.[citation needed]
Despite widespread misconceptions, most ducks other than female Mallards and domestic ducks do not "quack". A common false urban legend asserts that quacks do not echo.[3]
[edit] Humor
In 2002, psychologist Richard Wiseman and colleagues at the University of Hertfordshire (UK) finished a year-long LaughLab experiment, concluding that, of the animals in the world, the duck is the type that attracts most humor and silliness; he said "If you're going to tell a joke involving an animal, make it a duck." The word "duck" may have become an inherently funny word in many languages because ducks are seen as a silly animal, and their odd appearance compared to other birds. Of the many ducks in fiction, many are silly cartoon characters (see the New Scientist article [2] mentioning humor in the word "duck").
Most ducks have a wide flat beak adapted for dredging. They exploit a variety of food sources such as grasses, aquatic plants, fish, insects, small amphibians[1], worms, and small molluscs. Diving ducks and sea ducks forage deep underwater; Dabbling ducks feed on the surface of water or on land. Dabbling ducks have in their beaks special plates called lamellae[1] similar to a whale's baleen. These tiny rows of plates along the inside of the beak let them filter water out of the side of their beaks and keep food inside. To be able to submerge more easily, the diving ducks are heavier than dabbling ducks, and therefore have more difficulty taking off to fly. A few specialized species such as the Smew, Goosander, and the mergansers are adapted to catch large fish.
The males (drakes) of northern species often have extravagant plumage, but that is moulted in summer to give a more female-like appearance, the "eclipse" plumage. Southern resident species typically show less sexual dimorphism. Many species of ducks are temporarily flightless while moulting; they seek out protected habitat with good food supplies during this period. This moult typically precedes migration.
Some duck species, mainly those breeding in the temperate and arctic Northern Hemisphere, are migratory, but others, particularly in the tropics, are not. Some ducks, particularly in Australia where rainfall is patchy and erratic, are nomadic, seeking out the temporary lakes and pools that form after localised heavy rain.
Some people use "duck" specifically for adult females and "drake" for adult males, for the species described here; others use "hen" and "drake", respectively.
Ducks are sometimes confused with several types of unrelated water birds with similar forms, such as loons or divers, grebes, gallinules, and coots.
[edit] Predators
A worldwide group like the ducks has many predators. Ducklings are particularly vulnerable, since their inability to fly makes them easy prey not only for avian hunters but also large fish like pike, crocodilians and other aquatic hunters, including fish-eating birds such as herons. Nests may also be raided by land-based predators, and brooding females may sometimes be caught unaware on the nest by mammals (e.g. foxes) and large birds, including hawks and eagles).
Adult ducks are fast fliers, but may be caught on the water by large aquatic predators. This can occasionally include fish such as the muskie in North America or the pike in Europe. In flight, ducks are safe from all but a few predators such as humans and the Peregrine Falcon, which regularly uses its speed and strength to catch ducks.
[edit] Etymology
The word duck (from Anglo-Saxon dūce), meaning the bird, came from the verb "to duck" (from Anglo-Saxon supposed *dūcan) meaning "to bend down low as if to get under something", because of the way many species in the dabbling duck group feed by upending (compare the Dutch word duiken = "to dive").
This happened because the older Old English word for "duck" came to be pronounced the same as the word for "end": other Germanic languages still have similar words for "duck" and "end": for example, Dutch eend = "duck", eind = "end"; also among Indo-European languages compare Latin anas (stem anat-) = "duck", Sanskrit anta (masc.) = "end", Lithuanian antis = "duck".
[edit] Hunting and Domestication
In many areas, wild ducks of various species (including ducks farmed and released into the wild) are hunted for food or sport, by shooting, or formerly by decoys. From this came the expression "a sitting duck", which means "an easy target".
Ducks have many economic uses, being farmed for their meat, eggs, feathers and down feathers. They are also kept and bred by aviculturists and often displayed in zoos. All domestic ducks are descended from the wild Mallard Anas platyrhynchos, except Muscovy Ducks[2]. Many domestic breeds have become much larger than their wild ancestor, with a "hull length" (from base of neck to base of tail) of 30 cm (12 inches) or more and routinely able to swallow an adult British Common Frog, Rana temporaria, whole.
Foie gras is often made using the liver of domestic ducks, rather than of geese.
In a wildlife pond, the bottom over most of the area should be too deep for dabbling wild ducks to reach the bottom, to protect bottom-living life from being constantly disturbed and eaten by wild ducks dredging, and domestic ducks should not be allowed in.[citation needed]
Despite widespread misconceptions, most ducks other than female Mallards and domestic ducks do not "quack". A common false urban legend asserts that quacks do not echo.[3]
[edit] Humor
In 2002, psychologist Richard Wiseman and colleagues at the University of Hertfordshire (UK) finished a year-long LaughLab experiment, concluding that, of the animals in the world, the duck is the type that attracts most humor and silliness; he said "If you're going to tell a joke involving an animal, make it a duck." The word "duck" may have become an inherently funny word in many languages because ducks are seen as a silly animal, and their odd appearance compared to other birds. Of the many ducks in fiction, many are silly cartoon characters (see the New Scientist article [2] mentioning humor in the word "duck").
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