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Joseph Spear
Joseph Spear (died 1837) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Spear joined the Royal Navy during the American War of Independence and soon saw action at several of the largest fleet actions of the war. He was with Rodney's fleet at the relief of Gibraltar, fighting at the capture of the Caracas convoy, the Battle of Cape St. Vincent and then at the capture of a French warship and her convoy. His ship was again in action with a Dutch ship in the Channel, before Spear went out to the West Indies and saw action at the Battle of the Saintes. It was the start of an enduring connection with the Caribbean, where Spear spent the most active part of his career. Continuing in active service during the years of peace, Spear rose to lieutenant and served on a number of ships during the French Revolutionary Wars. He was promoted to commander late in the wars, and was assigned to the West Ind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weymouth, Dorset
Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset, on the English Channel coast of England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, south of the county town of Dorchester, Weymouth had a population of 53,427 in 2021. It is the third largest settlement in Dorset after Bournemouth and Poole. The history of the town stretches back to the 12th century and includes roles in the spread of the Black Death, the settlement of the Americas and the development of Georgian architecture. It was a major departure point for the Normandy Landings during World War II. Prior to local government reorganisation in April 2019, Weymouth formed a borough with the neighbouring Isle of Portland. Since then the area has been governed by Dorset Council. Weymouth, Portland and the Purbeck district are in the South Dorset parliamentary constituency. A seaside resort, Weymouth and its economy depend on tourism. Visitors are attracted by its harbour and position, halfway along the Jurassic Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invasion Of Martinique (1809)
The invasion of Martinique was a successful British amphibious operation against the French colony of Martinique that took place between 30 January and 24 February 1809 during the West Indies campaign of 1804–1810 of the Napoleonic Wars. Martinique, like the nearby island of Guadeloupe, was a major threat to Britain's trade in the West Indies, providing a sheltered base from which privateers and French Navy warships could raid British merchant shipping and disrupt the trade routes that maintained the economy of the United Kingdom. Both islands also provided a focus for larger-scale French operations in the region and in the autumn of 1808, following the Spanish alliance with Britain, the Admiralty decided to order a British squadron to neutralise the threat, beginning with Martinique. The British mustered a large expeditionary force under Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane and Lieutenant-General George Beckwith, commanding 29 ships and 10,000 men – almost four times the nu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Ship Protée (1772)
''Protée'' was an 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1772. Career On 16 February 1780, ''Protée'' departed Lorient escorting a convoy bound for India, with troops and ammunition. ''Protée'', under Captain Charles Louis du Chilleau de La Roche was the flagship of the convoy. On 23 February, off Spain, the convoy met Rodney's fleet. Hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned, ''Protée'' struck while ''Charmante'' returned to Lorient, arriving there on 3 March. Three merchantmen were also captured. Court-martialled for the loss of his ship, Duchilleau was honourably acquitted. ''Protée'' was commissioned in the Royal Navy as the third rate HMS ''Prothee''. She saw action on 12 April 1782 against a huge French fleet at the Battle of the Saintes under the command of Captain Buckner. She was converted to serve as a prison ship in 1799, and broken up in 1815. Eight of her small cannons were purchased by John Manners, 5th Duke of Rutland and are current ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Menorca
Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capital is Mahón ( ca, Maó), situated on the island's eastern end, although Menorca is not a province and forms a political union with the other islands in the archipelago. Ciutadella and Mahon are the main ports and largest towns. The port of Mahon is the second biggest natural port in the world. Menorca has a population of approximately 93,397 (at 1 January 2019). It is located 39°47' to 40°00'N, 3°52' to 4°24'E. Its highest point, called El Toro (from Catalan "''turó''" meaning ''hill''), is above sea level. History The island is known for its collection of megalithic stone monuments: ''navetes'', ''taules'' and '' talaiots'', which indicate very early prehistoric human activity. Some of the earliest culture on Menorca w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Digby (Royal Navy Officer)
Admiral Robert Digby (20 December 1732 – 25 February 1815) was a Royal Navy officer who also served briefly as a Member of Parliament (MP). He is the namesake of Digby, Nova Scotia. Naval career Digby was the third son of Charlotte Fox and the Hon. Edward Digby (1693–1746), eldest son of William Digby, 5th Baron Digby. He entered the navy aged twelve or thirteen, and became Captain of HMS ''Solebay'' at the age of 23 in 1755, rising to Second-in-Command of the Channel Fleet in 1779. He was appointed in 1781 as Admiral of the Red and given the command of the North American Station. After the surrender of New York City in 1783, Digby helped to organise the evacuation of some 1,500 United Empire Loyalists to the small port of Conway in Nova Scotia. The settlement he led transformed the tiny village into a town, which in 1787 was renamed ''Digby''. The town's museum was also named the Admiral Digby Museum in his honor. He was recalled to home waters in 1787, was prom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Compañía Guipuzcoana De Caracas
The Royal Guipuzcoan Company of Caracas (modern spelling variant ''Gipuzkoan'', known also as the ''Guipuzcoana Company'', es, Real Compañia Guipuzcoana de Caracas; eu, Caracasko Gipuzkoar Errege Konpainia) was a Spanish Basque trading company in the 18th century, operating from 1728 to 1785, which had a monopoly on Venezuelan trade. It was renamed in 1785 to the Royal Philippine Company ( es, Real Compañia de Filipinas). History Foundation The company was founded by a group of wealthy Basques from the province of Gipuzkoa in 1728. The specific aim of the Basque company, acting almost autonomously with tasks of military nature at their own command and expense, was to break the ''de facto'' Dutch monopoly on the cocoa trade in the Captaincy General of Venezuela. It was initially based in San Sebastián and received its royal decree on September 25, 1728, by Philip V of Spain.Kurlansky, M. ''A Basque History of the World''. Vintage, London, 2000. Its creation was part of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taylor Penny
Captain Taylor Penny (1721–1786) was an 18th-century officer of the Royal Navy who came to fame at the Battle of the Saintes. Life He was born in Weymouth in Dorset in 1721, probably into a seafaring family. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy on 6 August 1745. In 1755 he joined the newly converted HMS Firebrand and on 31 December of that year was promoted to commander. In November 1757 he transferred to be captain of the newly completed HMS Aldborough. He was mainly employed on convoy duty. In 1760 he transferred to the newly completed 44-gun HMS Looe. On this ship he captured the Jupiter in June 1762. Soon after he captured a small Spanish privateer, Maria, and the 4-gun Joseph, which he took to Cork in Ireland. Both these actions were during the Seven Years' War. From 1762 to 1777 he had no active commissions (and possibly had a family life in Dorset during this period). In June 1778 he was appointed commander of the 70-gun HMS Burford, one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Kenya. In the 17th century, a midshipman was a rating for an experienced seaman, and the word derives from the area aboard a ship, amidships, either where he worked on the ship, or where he was berthed. Beginning in the 18th century, a commissioned officer candidate was rated as a midshipman, and the seaman rating began to slowly die out. By the Napoleonic era (1793–1815), a midshipman was an apprentice officer who had previously served at least three years as a volunteer, officer's servant or able seaman, and was roughly equivalent to a present-day petty officer in rank and responsibilities. After serving at least three years as a midshipman or master's mate, he was eligible to take t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flag Rank
A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries, a flag officer is a senior officer of the navy, specifically those who hold any of the admiral ranks; the term may or may not include the rank of commodore. *In some countries, such as the United States, India, and Bangladesh it may apply to all armed forces, not just the navy. This means generals can also be considered flag officers. *In most Arab armies, ''liwa'' (Arabic: لواء), which can be translated as flag officer, is a specific rank, equivalent to a major general. However, " ensign" is debatably a more exact translation of the word. In principle, a flag officer commands several units called "flags" (or "ensigns") (i.e. brigades). General usage The generic title of flag officer is used in many modern navies and coast guards to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is the prefecture of the Var department. The Commune of Toulon has a population of 176,198 people (2018), making it France's 13th-largest city. It is the centre of an urban unit with 580,281 inhabitants (2018), the ninth largest in France. Toulon is the third-largest French city on the Mediterranean coast after Marseille and Nice. Toulon is an important centre for naval construction, fishing, wine making, and the manufacture of aeronautical equipment, armaments, maps, paper, tobacco, printing, shoes, and electronic equipment. The military port of Toulon is the major naval centre on France's Mediterranean coast, home of the French aircraft carrier '' Charles de Gaulle'' and her battle group. The French Mediterranean Fleet is based in Tou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediterranean Fleet
The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between the United Kingdom and the majority of the British Empire in the Eastern Hemisphere. The first Commander-in-Chief for the Mediterranean Fleet was the appointment of General at Sea Robert Blake in September 1654 (styled as Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet). The Fleet was in existence until 1967. Pre-Second World War The Royal Navy gained a foothold in the Mediterranean Sea when Gibraltar was captured by the British in 1704 during the War of Spanish Succession, and formally allocated to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Though the British had maintained a naval presence in the Mediterranean before, the capture of Gibraltar allowed the British to establish their first naval base there. The British also used Port Mahon, on the i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Lucayan Archipelago. The subregion includes all the islands in the Antilles, plus The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, which are in the North Atlantic Ocean. Nowadays, the term West Indies is often interchangeable with the term Caribbean, although the latter may also include some Central and South American mainland nations which have Caribbean coastlines, such as Belize, French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname, as well as the Atlantic island nations of Barbados, Bermuda, and Trinidad and Tobago, all of which are geographically distinct from the three main island groups, but culturally related. Origin and use of the term In 1492, Christopher Columbus became the first European to record his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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