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The Hyacinth Incident
The ''Hyacinth'' incident was a 1910 British military action against suspected gun runners based in Dubai, then one of the Trucial States and now one of the United Arab Emirates, which resulted in street fighting between the town's citizens and British soldiers and culminated in the shelling of Dubai by HMS ''Hyacinth'' using high explosive munitions. The attack and subsequent bombardment resulted in the killing of 37 of Dubai's townspeople, as well as four dead and five wounded British servicemen. The arms trade in the gulf Gun-running was a lucrative trade in the Persian Gulf in the late 19th and early 20th century and the British had presented the Trucial Sheikhs of the area with a treaty intended to eradicate the trade in 1902, the year before Curzon's 1903 Viceregal Darbar in Sharjah. British maritime action had curtailed the trade between Muscat and Persia, but this merely led to inland routes being used instead. Camel trains from Muttrah in Oman made their way to Abu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Small Arms
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes containing gunpowder and pellet projectiles were mounted on spears to make the portable fire lance, operable by a single person, which was later used effectively as a shock weapon in the Siege of De'an in 1132. In the 13th century, fire lance barrels were replaced with metal tubes and transformed into the metal-barreled hand cannon. The technology gradually spread throughout Eurasia during the 14th century. Older firearms typically used black powder as a propellant, but modern firearms use smokeless powder or other propellants. Most modern firearms (with the notable exception of smoothbore shotguns) have rifled barrels to impart spin to the projectile for improved flight stability. Modern firearms can be described by their caliber (i.e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ibn Saud
Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud ( ar, عبد العزيز بن عبد الرحمن آل سعود, ʿAbd al ʿAzīz bin ʿAbd ar Raḥman Āl Suʿūd; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted as 1875, although a few sources give it as 1880. According to British author Robert Lacey's book ''The Kingdom'', a leading Saudi historian found records that show Ibn Saud in 1891 greeting an important tribal delegation. The historian reasoned that a 10 or 11-year-old child (as given by the 1880 birth date) would have been too young to be allowed to greet such a delegation, while an adolescent of 15 or 16 (as given by the 1875 date) would likely have been allowed. When Lacey interviewed one of Ibn Saud's sons prior to writing the book, the son recalled that his father often laughed at records showing his birth date to be 1880. Ibn Saud's response to such records was reportedly that "I swallowed four years of my life." p. 561" – 9 Novembe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Persian Gulf Residency
The Persian Gulf Residency () was an official colonial subdivision (i.e., residency) of the British Raj from 1763 until 1947 (and remained British protectorates after Indian independence in 1947, up to 1971), whereby the United Kingdom maintained varying degrees of political and economic control over several states in the Persian Gulf, including what is today known as the United Arab Emirates (formerly called the "Trucial States") and at various times southern portions of Persia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar. Historical background until 1900 British interest in the Persian Gulf originated in the sixteenth century and steadily increased as British India's importance rose in the imperial system of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In the beginning, the agenda was primarily of a commercial character. Realizing the region's significance, the British fleet supported the Persian emperor Shāh Abbās in expelling the Portuguese from Hormuz Island in 1622. In return, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Percy Cox
Major-General Sir Percy Zachariah Cox (20 November 1864 – 20 February 1937) was a British Indian Army officer and Colonial Office administrator in the Middle East. He was one of the major figures in the creation of the current Middle East. Family and early life Cox was born in Harwood Hall, Herongate, Essex, one of seven children born to Julienne Emily ( Saunders) Cox and cricketer Arthur Zachariah Cox ( Button). He was educated initially at Harrow School where he developed interests in natural history, geography, and travel. In February 1884, being his father's third son and therefore without significant inheritance, Cox joined the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and was commissioned as a Lieutenant into the Cameronians, joining their 2nd Battalion in India. In November 1889, an outstanding planner, he transferred to the Bengal Staff Corps. On 14 November 1889 he married Louisa Belle, youngest daughter of Irish-born surgeon-general John Butler Hamilton. British Somal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Umm Al Quwain
Umm Al Quwain is the capital and largest city of the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates. The city is located on the peninsula of Khor Al Bidiyah, with the nearest major cities being Sharjah to the southwest and Ras Al Khaimah to the northeast. There are mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several ... outside the city along the coast, with the local economy being largely fishing. References Populated places in Umm Al Quwain Cities in the United Arab Emirates Umm Al Quwain {{UnitedArabEmirates-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arms Traffic
The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and servicing of military material, equipment, and facilities. Arms-producing companies, also referred to as arms dealers, or as the military industry, produce arms for the armed forces of states and for civilians. Departments of government also operate in the arms industry, buying and selling weapons, munitions and other military items. An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition - whether privately or publicly owned - are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination. Products of the arms industry include guns, artillery, ammunition, missiles, military aircraft, military vehicles, ships, electronic systems, military communications, night-vision devices, holographic weapon sights, laser rangefinders, laser sights, hand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Able Seaman
An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles. Once a sufficient amount of sea time is acquired, then the AB can apply to take a series of courses/examinations to become certified as an officer. Watchstander At sea an AB watchstander's duties include standing watch as helmsman and lookout. A helmsman is required to maintain a steady course, properly execute all rudder orders and communicate using navigational terms relating to heading and steering. A watchstander may be called upon to stand security-related watches, such as a gangway watch or anchor watch while the ship is not underway. Dayworker An AB dayworker performs general maintenance, repair, sanitation and upkeep of material, equipment, and areas in the deck department. This can include maintenance of the ship ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shell (projectile)
A shell, in a military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Modern usage sometimes includes large solid kinetic projectiles that is properly termed shot. Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used. All explosive- and incendiary-filled projectiles, particularly for mortars, were originally called ''grenades'', derived from the French word for pomegranate, so called because of the similarity of shape and that the multi-seeded fruit resembles the powder-filled, fragmentizing bomb. Words cognate with ''grenade'' are still used for an artillery or mortar projectile in some European languages. Shells are usually large-caliber projectiles fired by artillery, armored fighting vehicles (e.g. tanks, assault guns, and mortar carriers), warships, and autocannons. The shape ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Explosive
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An explosive charge is a measured quantity of explosive material, which may either be composed solely of one ingredient or be a mixture containing at least two substances. The potential energy stored in an explosive material may, for example, be * chemical energy, such as nitroglycerin or grain dust * pressurized gas, such as a gas cylinder, aerosol can, or BLEVE * nuclear energy, such as in the fissile isotopes uranium-235 and plutonium-239 Explosive materials may be categorized by the speed at which they expand. Materials that detonate (the front of the chemical reaction moves faster through the material than the speed of sound) are said to be "high explosives" and materials that deflagrate are said to be "low explosives". Explosives may al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Picric Acid
Picric acid is an organic compound with the formula (O2N)3C6H2OH. Its IUPAC name is 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP). The name "picric" comes from el, πικρός (''pikros''), meaning "bitter", due to its bitter taste. It is one of the most acidic phenols. Like other strongly nitrated organic compounds, picric acid is an explosive, which is its primary use. It has also been used as medicine (antiseptic, burn treatments) and as a dye. History Picric acid was probably first mentioned in the alchemical writings of Johann Rudolf Glauber. Initially, it was made by nitrating substances such as animal horn, silk, indigo, and natural resin, the synthesis from indigo first being performed by Peter Woulfe during 1771. The German chemist Justus von Liebig had named picric acid (rendered in French as ). Picric acid was given that name by the French chemist Jean-Baptiste Dumas in 1841. Its synthesis from phenol, and the correct determination of its formula, were accomplished during 1841. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butti Bin Suhail Al Maktoum
Sheikh Butti bin Suhail Al Maktoum ( ar, ٱلشَّيْخ بُطِّي بِن سُهَيْل آل مَكْتُوْم, Ash-Shaykh Buṭṭī bin Suhayl Āl Maktūm) became the Ruler of the Emirate of Dubai on 16 February 1906, following the death of his cousin, Sheikh Maktoum bin Hasher, of heart disease. He continued the liberal policies of his predecessor, expanding Dubai's trading port. Rule Early in his rule, Butti was called to intervene in a conflict between Abu Dhabi and the influential Bani Qitab tribe, which had broken out the year before. With the Sheikhs of Umm Al Quwain and Sharjah also involved, a general meeting of Rulers was called at Khawaneej which resulted in a settlement of the dispute in April 1906. However, in the following year the dispute flared up again with Dubai and Abu Dhabi, together with Sharjah, pitted against Umm Al Quwain. This resulted in a final agreement in which Sheikh Butti represented both Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dubai continued to be a thriv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinnace (ship's Boat)
As a ship's boat, the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by oars or sails, carried aboard merchant and war vessels in the Age of Sail to serve as a tender. The pinnace was usually rowed but could be rigged with a sail for use in favorable winds. A pinnace would ferry passengers and mail, communicate between vessels, scout to sound anchorages, convey water and provisions, or carry armed sailors for boarding expeditions. The Spanish favored them as lightweight smuggling vessels while the Dutch used them as raiders. In modern parlance, "pinnace" has come to mean an auxiliary vessel that does not fit under the " launch" or "lifeboat" definitions. Etymology The word ''pinnace'', and similar words in many languages (as far afield as Indonesia, where the boat "pinisi" took its name from the Dutch ''pinas''), came ultimately from the Spanish ''pinaza'' c. 1240, from ''pino'' (pine tree), from the wood of which the ships were constructed. The word came into English from the Middle Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
