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Babar The Elephant
Babar the Elephant (, ; ) is an elephant character who first appeared in 1931 in the French children's book ''Histoire de Babar'' by Jean de Brunhoff. The book is based on a tale that Brunhoff's wife, Cécile, had invented for their children. It tells of a young elephant, named Babar, whose mother is killed by a hunter. Babar escapes, and in the process leaves the jungle in exile, visits a big city, and returns to bring the benefits of civilization to his fellow elephants. Just as he returns to his community of elephants, their king dies from eating a bad mushroom. Because of his travels and civilization, Babar is chosen king of the elephant kingdom. He marries his cousin, Celeste, and they subsequently have children and teach them valuable lessons. Story synopsis After Babar's mother is shot and killed by a hunter, he flees the jungle and finds his way to an unspecified big city with no particular characteristics. He is befriended by the Old Lady, who buys him clothes and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean De Brunhoff
Jean de Brunhoff (; 9 December 1899 – 16 October 1937) was a French writer and illustrator remembered best for creating the Babar the Elephant, Babar series of children's books concerning a fictional elephant, the first of which was published in 1931. Early life De Brunhoff was the fourth and youngest child of Maurice de Brunhoff, a publisher, and his wife Marguerite. He attended Protestant schools, including the prestigious École Alsacienne. Brunhoff joined the army and was sent to the front when World War I was almost over. Afterward, he decided to be a professional artist and studied painting at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. In 1924, he married Cecile de Brunhoff, Cécile Sabouraud, a talented pianist, and they had two sons, Laurent de Brunhoff, Laurent and Mathieu, born in 1925 and 1926; a third son, Thierry de Brunhoff, Thierry, was born nine years later. Babar The Babar books began as a bedtime story that Cécile de Brunhoff invented for their children, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Intermarriage
Royal intermarriage is the practice of members of ruling dynasties marrying into other reigning families. It was more commonly done in the past as part of strategic diplomacy for national interest. Although sometimes enforced by legal requirement on persons of royal birth, more often it has been a matter of political policy or tradition in monarchies. In Europe, the practice was most prevalent from the medieval era until the outbreak of World War I, but evidence of intermarriage between royal dynasties in other parts of the world can be found as far back as the Late Bronze Age. Monarchs were often in pursuit of national and international aggrandisement on behalf of themselves and their dynasties, thus bonds of kinship tended to promote or restrain aggression.Bucholz, p.228 Marriage between dynasties could serve to initiate, reinforce or guarantee peace between nations. Alternatively, kinship by marriage could secure an alliance between two dynasties which sought to reduce the sen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westernization
Westernization (or Westernisation), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in areas such as industry, technology, science, education, politics, economics, lifestyle, law, norms, mores, customs, traditions, values, mentality, perceptions, diet, clothing, language, writing system, religion, and philosophy. During colonialism it often involved the spread of Christianity. Westernization has been a growing influence across the world in the last few centuries, with some thinkers assuming Westernization to be the equivalent of modernization, a way of thought that is often debated. The overall process of Westernization is often two-sided in that Western influences and interests themselves are joined with parts of the affected society, at minimum, to become a more Westernized society, with the putative goal of attaining a Western life or some aspects of it, while Western societies are themselve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benevolent Dictator
A benevolent dictatorship is a government in which an authoritarian leader exercises absolute political power over the state, but is perceived to do so with regard for benefit of the population as a whole, standing in contrast to the decidedly malevolent stereotype of a dictator who focuses on their supporters and their own self-interests. A benevolent dictator may allow for some civil liberties or democratic decision-making to exist, such as through public referendums or elected representatives with limited power, and can make preparations for a transition to genuine democracy during or after their term. Characteristics Economist William Easterly defines benevolent autocrats as "leaders in non-democratic polities who receive credit for high growth." He notes that it is a popular and politically convenient story but goes on to argue that the concept is not supported by theory or evidence. Modern usage of the term in a world society where the norm leans much more toward democr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autocracy
Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perhaps for the implicit threat of a coup d'état or other forms of rebellion). In earlier times, the term ''autocrat'' was coined as a favorable description of a ruler, having some connection to the concept of "lack of conflicts of interests" as well as an indication of grandeur and power. This use of the term continued into modern times, as the Russian Emperor was styled "Autocrat of all the Russias" as late as the early 20th century. In the 19th century, Eastern and Central Europe were under autocratic monarchies within the territories of which lived diverse peoples. Autocracy is the most common and durable regime type since the emergence of the state. History and etymology Autocracy comes from the Ancient Greek ''autos'' (Greek: αὐ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Babar (TV Series)
''Babar'' (, ; ) is an animated television series produced in Canada by Nelvana Limited and The Clifford Ross Company. It premiered in 1989 on CBC and US HBO, and subsequently was rerun on Qubo from its launch 2006 until its closure in 2021. The series is based on Jean de Brunhoff's original ''Babar'' books, and was Nelvana's first international co-production. The show has been dubbed in 30 languages in over 150 countries. The show was the first to be based on the ''Babar'' books; previously, two ''Babar'' specials narrated by Peter Ustinov were produced by Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez for NBC: ''The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant'' on October 21, 1968, and ''Babar Comes to America'' on September 7, 1971. In 2010, a computer-animated sequel series spin-off of ''Babar'' titled ''Babar and the Adventures of Badou'' was premiered on Disney Junior in the U.S. The new series takes place several years after the original and focuses on a majority of new characters including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Counsel
A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given outside of the context of the legal profession. UK and Ireland The legal system in England uses the term ''counsel'' as an approximate synonym for a barrister-at-law, but not for a solicitor, and may apply it to mean either a single person who pleads a cause, or collectively, the body of barristers engaged in a case. The difference between "Barrister" and "Counsel" is subtle. "Barrister" is a professional title awarded by one of the four Inns of Court, and is used in a barrister's private, academic or professional capacity. "Counsel" is used to refer to a barrister who is instructed on a particular case. It is customary to use the third person when addressing a barrister instructed on a case: "Counsel is asked to advise" rather than "Y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monkey
Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomplete paraphyletic grouping; however, in the broader sense based on cladistics, apes (Hominoidea) are also included, making the terms ''monkeys'' and ''simians'' synonyms in regards to their scope. In 1812, Geoffroy grouped the apes and the Cercopithecidae group of monkeys together and established the name Catarrhini, "Old World monkeys", ("''singes de l'Ancien Monde''" in French). The extant sister of the Catarrhini in the monkey ("singes") group is the Platyrrhini (New World monkeys). Some nine million years before the divergence between the Cercopithecidae and the apes, the Platyrrhini emerged within "monkeys" by migration to South America likely by ocean. Apes are thus deep in the tree of extant and extinct monkeys, and any of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dromedary
The dromedary (''Camelus dromedarius'' or ;), also known as the dromedary camel, Arabian camel, or one-humped camel, is a large even-toed ungulate, of the genus ''Camelus'', with one hump on its back. It is the tallest of the three species of camel; adult males stand at the shoulder, while females are tall. Males typically weigh between , and females weigh between . The species' distinctive features include its long, curved neck, narrow chest, a single hump (compared with two on the Bactrian camel and wild Bactrian camel), and long hairs on the throat, shoulders and hump. The coat is generally a shade of brown. The hump, tall or more, is made of fat bound together by fibrous tissue. Dromedaries are mainly active during daylight hours. They form herds of about 20 individuals, which are led by a dominant male. They feed on foliage and desert vegetation; several adaptations, such as the ability to tolerate losing more than 30% of its total water content, allow it to thrive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord Rataxes
Rataxes, or Lord Rataxes, is a fictional rhinoceros who is a character in the Babar universe. Although he is the monarch de jure of his kingdom, called Rhinoland, his more intelligent wife, Lady Rataxes, is the de facto ruler. He is often surrounded by his rhinoceros guards. These guards also keep watch for cars, to collect tolls on the roads that pass through the kingdom. It is said that King Rataxes got his name from these tolls, so it is questionable if "Rataxes" is his real name or a sobriquet. Rataxes and his general, Pamir are seen wearing Morions and gorgets in ''The Travels of Babar''. King Rataxes also has a son, Victor (who is, in fact, close friends with Babar's children), and is attended by a servant, Basil, who is also his adviser (and is often seen as being wiser and much more competent than Rataxes, and thus often is one that gets things done in the kingdom). Basil and the other rhinos show much loyalty to Rataxes, though they will sometimes run away and leave him ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhinoceros
A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species of the superfamily Rhinocerotoidea.) Two of the extant species are native to Africa, and three to South and Southeast Asia. Rhinoceroses are some of the largest remaining megafauna: all weigh at least one tonne in adulthood. They have a herbivorous diet, small brains (400–600 g) for mammals of their size, one or two horns, and a thick (1.5–5 cm), protective skin formed from layers of collagen positioned in a lattice structure. They generally eat leafy material, although their ability to ferment food in their hindgut allows them to subsist on more fibrous plant matter when necessary. Unlike other perissodactyls, the two African species of rhinoceros lack teeth at the front of their mouths; they rely instead on their lips to pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coronation
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of other items of regalia, marking the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power. Aside from the crowning, a coronation ceremony may comprise many other rituals such as the taking of special vows by the monarch, the investing and presentation of regalia to the monarch, and acts of homage by the new ruler's subjects and the performance of other ritual deeds of special significance to the particular nation. Western-style coronations have often included anointing the monarch with holy anointing oil, holy oil, or chrism as it is often called; the anointing ritual's religious significance follows examples found in the Bible. The monarch's consort may also be crowned, either simultaneously with the monarch or as a separate eve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
