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Macgregor Laird
Macgregor Laird (1808 – 9 January 1861) was a Scottish merchant pioneer of British trade on the River Niger. Laird's commercial expedition between 1832 and 1834 to navigate the Niger and initiate trade between Europeans and Africans northwards of the coast was considered a failure, majority of the passengers died and the volume of trade realized was minimal. However, his experience provided information about the design of vessels suitable on the Niger and the various settlements in the interior of the Niger Delta. Laird never returned to Africa but instead devoted himself to the development of trade with West Africa and especially to the opening up of the countries then forming the British protectorates of Nigeria. One of his principal reasons for so doing was his belief that this method was the best means of stopping the slave trade and raising the social condition of the Africans. Early life Laird was born at Greenock, the younger son of Agnes and William Laird, founder o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greenock
Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It forms part of a contiguous urban area with Gourock to the west and Port Glasgow to the east. The 2011 UK Census showed that Greenock had a population of 44,248, a decrease from the 46,861 recorded in the 2001 UK Census. It lies on the south bank of the Clyde at the "Tail of the Bank" where the River Clyde deepens into the Firth of Clyde. History Name Place-name scholar William J. Watson wrote that "Greenock is well known in Gaelic as Grianáig, dative of grianág, a sunny knoll". The Scottish Gaelic place-name ''Grianaig'' is relatively common, with another (Greenock) near Callander in Menteith (formerly in Perthshire) and yet another at Muirkirk in Kyle, now in East Ayrshire. R. M. Smith in (1921) described the alternat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its ESPON metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom, metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.24 million. On the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, Liverpool historically lay within the ancient Hundred (county division), hundred of West Derby (hundred), West Derby in the county of Lancashire. It became a Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in 1207, a City status in the United Kingdom, city in 1880, and a county borough independent of the newly-created Lancashire County Council in 1889. Its Port of Liverpool, growth as a major port was paralleled by the expansion of the city throughout the Industrial Revolution. Along with general cargo, freight, and raw materials such as coal and cotton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SS British Queen
''British Queen'' was a British passenger liner that was the second steamship completed for the transatlantic route when she was commissioned in 1839. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1839 to 1840, then being passed by the . She was named in honor of Queen Victoria and owned by the British and American Steam Navigation Company. ''British Queen'' would have been the first transatlantic steamship had she not been delayed by 18 months because of the liquidation of the firm originally contracted to build her engine. As the largest ship in the world, ''British Queen'' was roomier and more comfortable than her contemporaries. She never won the Blue Riband but matched ''Great Western's'' westbound speeds from 1838 through 1840 and was less than a half of a knot slower eastbound. After completing nine round trip voyages, ''British Queen'' was laid up in 1841 when British-American steam navigation traffic collapsed due to the loss of the ''President'' with all on b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British And American Steam Navigation Company
The British and American Steam Navigation Company was a steamship line that operated a regular transatlantic service from 1839 to 1841. Before its first purpose-built Atlantic liner, ''British Queen'' was completed, British and American chartered ''Sirius'' for two voyages in 1838 to beat the Great Western Steamship Company into service. B & A's regular liners were larger than their rivals, but were underpowered. The company collapsed when its second vessel, ''President'' was lost in 1841. History British and American was founded by American lawyer Junius Smith (1780–1853), who is often considered the "Father of the Atlantic Liner". Smith had been a merchant in London for 30 years when in 1832 he became stuck on a sailing packet to New York for 54 days. The normal westbound passage was 40 days. Before he returned to London, he published the idea of building a line of transatlantic steamships in a November 1832 issue of the ''American Rail Road Journal''. His plan ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and Asia from the "New World" of the Americas in the European perception of the World. The Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Europe and Africa to the east, and North and South America to the west. As one component of the interconnected World Ocean, it is connected in the north to the Arctic Ocean, to the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the south (other definitions describe the Atlantic as extending southward to Antarctica). The Atlantic Ocean is divided in two parts, by the Equatorial Counter Current, with the North(ern) Atlantic Ocean and the South(ern) Atlantic Ocean split at about 8°N. Scientific explorations of the Atl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Allen (admiral)
Rear-Admiral William Allen FRS (25 November 1792 – 23 January 1864) was an English naval officer and explorer. Biography Allen was born in Weymouth in November 1792. He entered the navy as a volunteer in 1805, and, as midshipman, was present at the passage of the Dardanelles in 1807. He was on board the 36-gun in August 1811 for the capture of Java, and in June 1813 during the successful attack on the pirate base at Sambas, Borneo. Allen was promoted lieutenant in 1815, commander 1836, and captain 1842. He look part in the Niger expedition of Richard Lander and Oldfield, 1832; but is best known as having commanded the steamer in the elaborately equipped but disastrous Niger expedition of 1841 under Captain Henry Totter. Though Allen cannot be blamed for any of the misfortunes of this expedition, he was on his return placed on half-pay, and retired from the service, as rear-admiral, in 1862, dying at Weymouth 23 January 1864. Allen collected the type specimen of Allen's ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Nicolls
Sir Edward Nicolls ( – 5 February 1865) was an Anglo-Irish officer of the Royal Marines. Known as "Fighting Nicolls", he had a distinguished military career. According to his obituary in '' The Times'', he was "in no fewer than 107 actions, in various parts of the world", and had "his left leg broken and his right leg severely injured, was shot through the body and right arm, had received a severe sabre cut in the head, was bayoneted in the chest, and had lost the sight of an eye." Nicolls was born in Coleraine, Ireland, in a family with a military tradition; his father was surveyor of excise in Coleraine, and his maternal grandfather was a rector. Nicolls spent his life as an intensely devout Ulster Protestant. He had two years of school in Greenwich, but enlisted in the Royal Navy at the age of 11. In 1795, at the age of 16, he received his first commission in the Royal Marines and soon began service with shipborne detachments of marines. During the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benue River
The Benue River (french: la Bénoué), previously known as the Chadda River or Tchadda, is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months. The size of its basin is . As a result, it is an important transportation route in the regions through which it flows. Geography It rises in the Adamawa Plateau of northern Cameroon, from where it flows west, and through the town of Garoua and Lagdo Reservoir, into Nigeria south of the Mandara mountains, and through Jimeta, Ibi and Makurdi before meeting the Niger River at Lokoja. Large tributaries are the Faro River, the Gongola River and the Mayo Kébbi, which connects it with the Logone River (part of the Lake Chad system) during floods. Other tributaries are Taraba River and River Katsina Ala. At the point of confluence, the Benue exceeds the Niger by volume. The mean discharge before 1960 was for the Benue and for the Niger. During the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miasma Theory
The miasma theory (also called the miasmatic theory) is an Superseded scientific theories#Biology, obsolete medical theory that opinion, held that diseases—such as cholera, Chlamydia infection, chlamydia, or the Black Death—were caused by a ''miasma'' (, Ancient Greek for 'pollution'), a noxious form of "bad air", also known as night air. The theory held that epidemics were caused by miasma, emanating from rotting organic matter. Though miasma theory is typically associated with the spread of contagious diseases, some academics in the early nineteenth century suggested that the theory extended to other conditions as well, e.g. one could become obese by inhaling the odor of food. The miasma theory was advanced by Hippocrates in the fourth century B.C. and accepted from ancient times in Europe and China. The theory was eventually abandoned by scientists and physicians after 1880, replaced by the germ theory of disease: specific germs, not miasma, caused specific diseases. Howev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lokoja
Lokoja is a city in Nigeria. It lies at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers and is the capital city of Kogi State. While the Yoruba (Oworo), Bassa Nge and Nupe are indigenous to the area, other ethnic groups of Nigeria, including the Kupa-Nupe, Hausa, Ebira, Igala, Igbo, Bini/Edo, and Tiv have recently established themselves. Projected to be the third fastest growing African continent city between 2020 and 2025, with a 5.93% growth. It was listed a second class township by the 1917 township ordinance of the colonial administration. This shows that Lokoja is an old city. Etymology Different ethnic groups lay claim to having named the city. * The Yoruba ( Oworo ) people believe the name comes from ''Ilu Oke Oja'' ("The settlement located on the hill did not fall"). * The Hausa believe the name comes from ''Loko Ja'' ("A red corner") and that the city was named by the emir of Zazzau. * The Nupe believe the name comes from ''Patti Lukongi'' ("The hill of doves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paddle Steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans. In the early 19th century, paddle wheels were the predominant way of propulsion for steam-powered boats. In the late 19th century, paddle propulsion was largely superseded by the screw propeller and other marine propulsion systems that have a higher efficiency, especially in rough or open water. Paddle wheels continue to be used by small, pedal-powered paddle boats and by some ships that operate tourist voyages. The latter are often powered by diesel engines. Paddle wheels The paddle wheel is a large steel framework wheel. The outer edge of the wheel is fitted with numerous, regularly spaced paddle blades (called floats or buckets). The bottom quarter or so of the wheel travels under water. An ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nun River
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is often used interchangeably with religious sisters who do take simple vows but live an active vocation of prayer and charitable work. In Christianity, nuns are found in the Roman Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, and Anglican traditions, as well as other Christian denominations. In the Buddhist tradition, female monastics are known as Bhikkhuni, and take several additional vows compared to male monastics (bhikkhus). Nuns are most common in Mahayana Buddhism, but have more recently become more prevalent in other traditions. Christianity Catholicism In the Catholic tradition, there are many religious institutes of nuns and sisters (the female equivalent of male monks or friars), each with its own charism or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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