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James Abercrombie (general)
General James Abercrombie or Abercromby (1706 – 23 April 1781) of Glassaugh, Banffshire was a British Army general and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1734 to 1754. He was commander-in-chief of forces in North America during the French and Indian War, best known for the disastrous British losses in the 1758 Battle of Carillon. Biography Abercrombie was born in Glassaugh, Banffshire, Scotland, the eldest son of Alexander Abercromby, also MP for Banffshire, and his wife Helen Meldrum. He was appointed an ensign in the 25th Regiment of Foot at age eleven. He married Mary Duff (sister of William Duff, 1st Earl Fife) and they had one daughter. At the 1734 British general election, he was returned by his brother-in-law, William Duff, later Lord Braco, as Member of Parliament for Banffshire. He voted regularly with the Government. Abercrombie was promoted to captain in 1736, and by 1739 was lieutenant-governor of Stirling castle. He was re-elected MP for B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allan Ramsay (artist)
Allan Ramsay (13 October 171310 August 1784) was a prominent Scottish portrait-painter. Life and career Ramsay was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the eldest son of Allan Ramsay, poet and author of '' The Gentle Shepherd''. From the age of twenty he studied in London under the Swedish painter Hans Hysing, and at the St. Martin's Lane Academy; leaving in 1736 for Rome and Naples, where he worked for three years under Francesco Solimena and Imperiali ( Francesco Fernandi). On his return in 1738 to the British Isles, he first settled in Edinburgh, attracting attention by his head of Duncan Forbes of Culloden and his full-length portrait of the Duke of Argyll, later used on Royal Bank of Scotland banknotes. He later moved to London, where he was employed by the Duke of Bridgewater. His pleasant manners and varied culture, not less than his artistic skill, contributed to render him popular. His only serious competitor was Thomas Hudson, with whom he shared a drapery painter, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Duff, 1st Earl Fife
William Duff, 1st Earl Fife (1697 – 30 September 1763), of Braco, Banff, was a Scottish landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1727 to 1734. Early life Duff was the eldest surviving son of William Duff, merchant, of Dipple and Braco, and his wife Jean Gordon, daughter of Sir George Gordon, Shire Commissioner in the Parliament of Scotland, of Edinglassie, Aberdeen.The Complete Peerage (V. Gibbs & H. A. Doubleday (eds.), 1926) Vol. V, p. 376 In 1719 he married Lady Janet Forbes, widow of Hugh Forbes, Younger of Craigievar, and second daughter of James Ogilvy, Earl of Findlater. She died in 1720 and in 1723 he married Jean Grant, second daughter of Sir James Grant, 6th Baronet, of Pluscardine. He inherited substantial estates from his father on his death in 1722. Career Duff was returned unopposed as Member of Parliament for Banffshire at the 1727 British general election. He spoke and voted against the Government on the Hessians in 1730 and also voted ag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortress Louisbourg
The Fortress of Louisbourg (french: Forteresse de Louisbourg) is a National Historic Site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th-century French fortress at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Its two sieges, especially that of 1758, were turning points in the Anglo-French struggle for what today is Canada. The original settlement was made in 1713, and initially called Havre à l'Anglois. Subsequently, the fishing port grew to become a major commercial port and a strongly defended fortress. The fortifications eventually surrounded the town. The walls were constructed mainly between 1720 and 1740. By the mid-1740s Louisbourg, named for Louis XIV of France, was one of the most extensive (and expensive) European fortifications constructed in North America. It was supported by two smaller garrisons on Île Royale located at present-day St. Peter's and Englishtown. The Fortress of Louisbourg suffered key weaknesses, since it was erected o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Campbell, 4th Earl Of Loudoun
General John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun (5 May 1705 – 27 April 1782) was a Scottish nobleman and British army officer. Early career Born in Scotland two years before the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain, in which his father Hugh Campbell, 3rd Earl of Loudoun was a significant figure, Campbell inherited his father's estates and peerages in 1731, becoming Lord Loudoun. He raised a regiment of infantry that took part in the Jacobite Rising of 1745 on the side of the Hanoverian government. The regiment consisted of twelve companies, with Loudoun as colonel and John Campbell (later 5th Duke of Argyll) as lieutenant-colonel. The regiment served in several different parts of Scotland; three of the twelve companies, raised in the south, were captured at Prestonpans. Eight companies, under the personal command of Lord Loudoun, were stationed in Inverness. Loudoun set out in February 1746 with this portion of his regiment and several of the Independent Companies in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1754 British General Election
The 1754 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 11th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Owing to the extensive corruption and the Duke of Newcastle's personal influence in the pocket boroughs, the government was returned to office with a working majority. The old parties had disappeared almost completely by this stage; anyone with reasonable hopes of achieving office called himself a 'Whig', although the term had lost most of its original meaning. While 'Tory' and 'Whig' were still used to refer to particular political leanings and tendencies, parties in the old sense were no longer relevant except in a small minority of constituencies, such as Oxfordshire, with most elections being fought on local issues and the holders of political power being determined by the shifting allegiance of factions and aristocratic families rather than the st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1747 British General Election
The 1747 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 10th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw Henry Pelham's Whig government increase its majority and the Tories continue their decline. By 1747, thirty years of Whig oligarchy and systematic corruption had weakened party ties substantially; despite that Walpole, the main reason for the split that led to the creation of the Patriot Whig faction, had resigned, there were still almost as many Whigs in opposition to the ministry as there were Tories, and the real struggle for power was between various feuding factions of Whig aristocrats rather than between the old parties. The Tories had effectively become an irrelevant group of country gentlemen who had resigned themselves to permanent opposition. Summary of the constituencies See 1796 British general election for details. The constituenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hulst
Hulst () is a municipality and city in southwestern Netherlands in the east of Zeelandic Flanders. History Hulst received city rights in the 12th century. Hulst was captured from the Spanish in 1591 by Maurice of Orange but was recaptured by Archduke Albert in 1596. In 1640, the Dutch forces tried to conquer the city, but they were defeated in battle by the Spanish Army, and Frederick Henry was forced to retreat. In 1645, the Siege of Hulst (to control the left bank of the Schelde river) occurred. It was led by Prince of Orange Frederick Henry, during the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) with Spain. A further siege took place in 1702, where General Menno van Coehoorn defended the town successfully for the Dutch and in 1747 when it was taken by the French after incompetent defence by Lt. General Pieter de la Rocque. In the seventeenth century, a star fort was constructed. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raid On Lorient
The raid on Lorient was a British amphibious operation in the region around the town of Lorient from 29 September to 10 October 1746 during the War of the Austrian Succession. It was planned as an attempt to force the French to withdraw their forces from Flanders to reinforce their own coast. At the same time, as Lorient was used by the French East India Company as a base and supply depot, its destruction would serve British objectives in the East Indies. Around 4500 British soldiers were embarked, but the ships carrying them had to wait off the Lorient coast several days, allowing the town to organise its defences and call in reinforcements from other towns in the region. The British troops only arrived in the outskirts of the town on 3 October and negotiations for the town's surrender were ended by the bombardment of 5–7 October. On 7 October the British force was ordered to retreat. The British engineers' incompetence and losses to disease and fatigue forced the commander to s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James St Clair
General The Hon. James St Clair (1688 – 30 November 1762) was a Scottish soldier and Whig politician. Background St Clair was the second son of Henry St Clair, 10th Lord Sinclair and his wife Grizel Cockburn, daughter of Sir James Cockburn, 1st Baronet. As a child he received a commission into the 1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Foot. Military career St Clair became an ensign of 6th Regiment of Foot in 1694, however was set on halfpay in 1713. In the next year, he was admitted to the 3rd Foot Guards and was promoted to captain in 1714. He served as 2nd major of his regiment from 1722 and as 1st major from 1725, having been advanced to the rank of brevet colonel two years before. In 1734, St Clair was appointed to the command of the 22nd Regiment of Foot and three years later he was transferred to the colonelship of the Royal Regiment of Foot (later renamed as 1st (Royal) Regiment of Foot), which he held until his death. He rose to brigadier general in 1739 and alrea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Of Austrian Succession
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular or irregular military forces. Warfare refers to the common activities and characteristics of types of war, or of wars in general. Total war is warfare that is not restricted to purely legitimate military targets, and can result in massive civilian or other non-combatant suffering and casualties. While some war studies scholars consider war a universal and ancestral aspect of human nature, others argue it is a result of specific socio-cultural, economic or ecological circumstances. Etymology The English word ''war'' derives from the 11th-century Old English words ''wyrre'' and ''werre'', from Old French ''werre'' (also ''guerre'' as in modern French), in turn from the Frankish *''werra'', ultimately deriving from the Proto-Germanic *'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flemish Campaign
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; it is spoken by Flemings, the dominant ethnic group of the region. Outside of Flanders, it is also spoken to some extent in French Flanders and the Dutch Zeelandic Flanders. Terminology The term ''Flemish'' itself has become ambiguous. Nowadays, it is used in at least five ways, depending on the context. These include: # An indication of Dutch written and spoken in Flanders including the Dutch standard language as well as the non-standardized dialects, including intermediate forms between vernacular dialects and the standard. Some linguists avoid the term ''Flemish'' in this context and prefer the designation ''Belgian-Dutch'' or ''South-Dutch'' # A synonym for the so-called intermediate language in Flanders region, the # An indica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1741 British General Election
The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw support for the government party increase in the quasi-democratic constituencies which were decided by popular vote, but the Whigs lost control of a number of rotten and pocket boroughs, partly as a result of the influence of the Prince of Wales, and were consequently re-elected with the barest of majorities in the Commons, Walpole's supporters only narrowly outnumbering his opponents. Partly as a result of the election, and also due to the crisis created by naval defeats in the war with Spain, Walpole was finally forced out of office on 11 February 1742, after his government was defeated in a motion of no confidence concerning a supposedly rigged by-election. His supporters were then able to reconcile partially with the Patriot Whigs to form ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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