View allAll Photos Tagged execution,
Maryam Rajavi during the gathering of October 10, is laying flowers on the picture of cemetery of Khavaran at Tehran to commemorate martyrs for freedom of the Iranian Resistance who are berried anonymously by the mullahs brutal regime in Iran.
Print depicting the execution of Anne Boleyn, consort to Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I. Print made by Jan Luyken, c.1664-1712.
Inscription: ‘ANNA BULLEYN Gemalinne van HENDRIK DE VIII/Koning van Engeland, binnen London onthalst’.
The print is part of a series of plates depicting the deaths of various notable persons. They are held at the British Museum.
Height: 190mm (trimmed)
Width: 146mm
Kilmainham Gaol was built in 1796 as a replacement for an older prison. It has a sorrowful past with deplorable conditions. It is the place of imprisonment and subsequent execution of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising. This yard is where these executions were carried out.
by Scott Bowering.
[Toronto], privately published, [late 198os?]. probably not more than about 2o copies orso.
12 x 18, silkscreen broadsheet in 3 colours printed from photostencils.
what can possibly only be called visual prose, the reproduction of holograph text phasing deliberately in & out of readability, the title printed under the text & wrapping around onto the rear. an unpleasant story but appropriately deployed.
some creasing & small tears along slightly sunned bottom edge, minor top corner creases & a scar resembling that made by removing a piece of tape from the construction paper. it's beautiful anyway...
125.oo
Big thanks to Martijn Boer for generously donating this chip as well as many others.
Preparing this chip was a little different than most modern Intel chips. The first layer I encountered was much harder to remove with a razor and since this chip is incredibly thin I decided to put it in along with the next batch of chips bound for the ultrasonic cleaner. After spending 5 hours or so in a roughly 50-50 solution of both Hydrochloric acid (31%) and Ferric chloride at 37C (any warmer and enough vapors were being released for me to start smelling them through my face shield) it was much easier to work with using the razor.
The perspective-crop tool from Photoshop was used to correct major distortions in the image.
Dimensions: 10.47mm (W), 8.84mm (H), 0.30mm (D)
Camera: SONY A6000
Number of Images: 154
Panorama Y Axis: 14 Images
Panorama X Axis: 11 Images
ISO: 100
Shutter Speed: 1"
Light Source: LEDs on side of objective (2 at 90degrees offset)
DIC: No
Microscope Objective: 5X
Grid Used: 4x4 (Panning Movement Aid)
Stitching Software: Microsoft ICE
Other Software: Photoshop for de-skewing, GIMP for sharpening and scaling.
Image Type: PNG (scaled down from 31364 x 26432px)
Telegraph.co.uk
Stonings, hangings, floggings, purges. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad might claim that United Nations sanctions can't hurt his country, but that is not how it feels for Iran's long-suffering population which now finds itself on the receiving end of one of the most brutal purges witnessed since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The most visible manifestation of the new oppression sweeping Iran has been the wave of public executions and floggings carried out in Teheran and provincial capitals over recent weeks in a blatant attempt by the regime to intimidate political opponents. The official government line is that the punishments are part of its "Plan to Enforce Moral Behaviour".
It's the same kind of argument that was used immediately after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini took control to purge the country of its prosperous, secular middle class and secure his hold on power. Now Mr Ahmadinejad is adopting similar tactics in a desperate attempt to keep his embattled regime in power.
advertisementAlthough Iran has one of the world's highest execution rates, until recently most of the sentences were carried out within the confines of prisons such a Teheran's notorious Evin complex. But this month diplomats at the Japanese and Australian embassies in the capital were alarmed to find the bodies of two convicted criminals hanging from cranes stationed directly outside their office windows.
The location of the cranes, at a busy thoroughfare surrounded by office blocks, was chosen as much to remind the diplomatic community that Mr Ahmadinejad's hardline regime was still very much in charge as to send a message to ordinary citizens.
For these public executions, together with the estimated 30 others that have taken place in other parts of the country, are nothing more than a brutal exercise in political, as opposed to religious, persecution. There have also been several public floggings carried out on men and women accused of flouting the strict morality laws. Many of the executions were shown live on Iranian television. The message the government wants to get across is clear: mess with us and this is what will happen to you.
However much the authorities insist the sentences relate only to their campaign to improve public morals, Western diplomats in Teheran believe many of the victims have been singled out for their participation in the anti-government fuel riots that erupted in late June.
Those disturbances, in which an estimated third of the country's petrol stations were destroyed by protesters angry at the introduction of fuel rationing (Iran, remember, boasts the world's second largest oil reserves), can be seen as a direct consequence of the sanctions imposed by the United Nations over Iran's controversial nuclear programme.
It was the first serious challenge the regime encountered since setting itself on a collision course with the West following Mr Ahmadinejad's surprise election as president two years ago. So it is no coincidence that the past two months have seen a dramatic increase in the execution rate.
Far from being pressured into changing tack on Iran's nuclear programme, Mr Ahmadinejad's regime remains determined to pursue the holy grail of uranium enrichment. It is even prepared to take extreme measures to silence domestic opposition, while at the same time placing loyal supporters of the regime under intense pressure to ensure the country's nuclear programme is not unduly affected by the UN sanctions.
In this respect, the deal agreed this week between Teheran and the United Nations-sponsored International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Vienna-based organisation responsible for monitoring Iran's "peaceful" nuclear programme, should be taken with a pinch of salt.
The official line from Teheran is that it is now prepared to readmit teams of UN nuclear experts to its top secret nuclear facilities and help clear up a number of issues relating to the development programme. This includes determining what small traces of weapons-grade uranium were doing at a facility that the Iranians insist is part of their nuclear power programme, which does not require uranium to be enriched to such a high level. But many diplomats suspect this is just another Iranian ploy to string out the UN while pressing ahead with its nuclear ambitions.
Certainly there appears to have been no let-up in Iran's quest to acquire sophisticated uranium enrichment technology irrespective of the effects of sanctions. According to reports recently received by Western security sources, Iran has been concentrating its efforts on acquiring tens of thousands of highly specialised magnets that are an important component in the successful operation of the gas centrifuges that are used for uranium enrichment.
Until the imposition of the UN sanctions this year Teheran had been able to buy industrial magnets from European Union countries. Now they are having to buy them on the black market, and are making intensive efforts to acquire the equipment illegally from former Soviet republics and the Far East. It's all crucial if the Iranians want to enrich uranium to a level that can be used for nuclear warheads.
The Iranians' determination to get the magnets and other sophisticated industrial equipment has led Reza Tahmasebi, Iran's minister of industries and mines who was given responsibility for acquiring the magnets, to tender his resignation. When it comes to Iran's nuclear programme, Mr Ahmadinejad clearly wants results, not excuses.
Mr Tahmasebi is just one of several prominent officials who have found themselves out of a job because of their failure to help Mr Ahmadinejad escape the more punitive affects of the UN economic sanctions.
The governor of Iran's Central Bank, Ibrahim Shibani, is reported to have been relieved of his duties for failing to supervise adequately the return of Iranian overseas assets before they could be frozen, and dozens of other senior officials have lost their jobs as the regime seeks to tighten its grip over the entire apparatus of government.
None of which is good news for those who still cling to the notion that the international dispute over Iran's nuclear programme can still be resolved by peaceful means.
The assistant vicar Carl Lampert, murdered by the Nazis, was beatified on November 13, 2011.
Exactly 67 years after his execution by the National Socialists, the Catholic Church on November 13, 2011 beatified the Austrian priest Carl Lampert.
The beatification service took place at 15.30 in the parish church of St. Martin in Dornbirn. Representing Pope Benedict XVI, the Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato, led the celebration. The sermon was given by Innsbruck bishop Manfred Scheuer. At the Mass were more than 20 bishops and abbots from home and abroad in Dornbirn.
In memory of Carl Lampert, the church bells in Vorarlberg and at his place of death in the German Halle on the Saale rang for 15 minutes from 4 pm onwards.
Assistant vicar Carl Lampert - "Most dangerous man in the clergy"
Carl Lampert was born on 9 January 1894 in Göfis and ordained a priest in 1918 in Brixen (Bressanone). After several years as a chaplain in Dornbirn and years of study in Rome, assistant vicar Lampert became the then Apostolic Administrator of Innsbruck-Feldkirch and thus deputy to Bishop Paulus Rusch. With the seizure of power by the National Socialists, the Catholic Church in Tyrol and Vorarlberg also faced repressive measures.
Protests against expropriations
Assistant vicar Lampert protested with the Gestapo when priests and religious were imprisoned and tried to get them released. Nazi Gauleiter Franz Hofer wanted to see Tyrol as the first "monastery-free district". When the Innsbruck Monastery of Eternal Worship was to be expropriated on March 5, 1940, the religious women resisted. Assistant vicar Lampert handed a protest letter to the Gestapo, after which he was arrested for the first time for ten days. About a week later, "Vatican Radio" reported measures of the Gestapo against the Catholic Church in Tyrol. Gestapo boss Hilliges blamed Lampert for the reports and the assistant vicar was imprisoned again for two weeks.
Commitment to Otto Neururer
(Blessed Otto Neururer (25 March 1882 – 30 May 1940) was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest and martyr. He was the first priest to die in a Nazi concentration camp and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1996 on account of his martyrdom)
Decisive for the fate of Lampert was finally his commitment to Otto Neururer. The pastor of Götzens, blessed in 1996, was murdered in the Buchenwald concentration camp - under cruel torture and hung on his feet. In the obituary, for which Lampert took responsibility, it was noted that Neururer had died "after much suffering" (an allusion to the torture) and "far from his pastoral community, in Weimar / Buchenwald" (an indication of the concentration camp as the place of death).
Because the National Socialists had identified him as the "most dangerous man within the clergy", Lampert then began a martyrdom through two concentration camps (Dachau and Sachsenhausen) and three prisons of Gestapo and Wehrmacht. After a year of concentration camp, Lampert, "emaciated and marked by heavy work", as the Tyrolean old bishop Reinhold Stecher recalls, was released, but "expelled from his Gau" and banished to Szczecin. The Berlin bishop Konrad von Preysing housed him in the local monastery Carolstift, where Lampert preached and held hours of faith for young people.
Beatification since 1998
Lampert is the highest ranking Austrian priest who was murdered by the National Socialists. Through a Gestapo spy he was involved in an alleged "spy affair" and arrested together with members of the "Szczecin Priest Circle" in February 1943.
On November 13, 1944, the assistant vicar was beheaded in Halle an der Saale together with the chaplain Herbert Simoneit and the Oblate father Friedrich Lorenz. At the same time, another three civilians and five soldiers were executed.
In the case of beatification or canonization, the Catholic Church, through the judgment of the Pope, states that a deceased person lived exemplary from faith and that this one has followed Christ a special way.
The result is the official recommendation to accept this person as a role model and as an advocate with God.
The beatification allows the blessed one to be publicly worshiped in a particular region. The beatification can be followed by a canonization. Only then may the person officially be worshiped worldwide.
Without putting the time and the victims of National Socialism on the same level as the present, the memory of the assistant vicar is a reminder and a challenge for today, emphasized Innsbruck Bishop Manfred Scheuer. Carl Lampert died "for justice."
Der von den Nazis ermordete Provikar Carl Lampert wurde am 13. November 2011 selig gesprochen.
Genau 67 Jahre nach seiner Hinrichtung durch die Nationalsozialisten spricht die katholische Kirche am 13. November 2011 den österreichischen Priester Carl Lampert selig.
Der Seligsprechungsgottesdienst famd um 15.30 Uhr in der Pfarrkirche St. Martin in Dornbirn statt. In Vertretung von Papst Benedikt XVI. hat der Präfekt der vatikanischen Selig- und Heiligsprechungskongregation, Kardinal Angelo Amato, die Feier geleitet. Die Predigt hielt der Innsbrucker Bischof Manfred Scheuer. Bei der Messe waren mehr als 20 Bischöfe und Äbte aus dem In- und Ausland in Dornbirn.
Im Gedenken an Carl Lampert läuteten ab 16 Uhr die Kirchenglocken in ganz Vorarlberg und an seinem Todesort im deutschen Halle an der Saale 15 Minuten lang.
Provikar Carl Lampert - "Gefährlichster Mann im Klerus"
Carl Lampert wurde am 9. Jänner 1894 in Göfis geboren und 1918 in Brixen zum Priester geweiht. Nach einigen Jahren als Kaplan in Dornbirn und Studienjahren in Rom wurde Lampert Provikar der damaligen Apostolischen Administratur Innsbruck-Feldkirch und damit Stellvertreter von Bischof Paulus Rusch. Mit der Machtergreifung der Nationalsozialisten sah sich auch die katholische Kirche in Tirol und Vorarlberg repressiven Maßnahmen ausgesetzt.
Proteste gegen Enteignungen
Provikar Lampert protestierte bei der Gestapo, wenn Priester und Ordensleute eingesperrt wurden, und versuchte sie wieder frei zu bekommen. NS-Gauleiter Franz Hofer wollte Tirol als ersten "klosterfreien Gau" sehen. Als am 5. März 1940 das Innsbrucker Kloster der Ewigen Anbetung enteignet werden sollte, wehrten sich die Ordensfrauen. Provikar Lampert übergab der Gestapo ein Protestschreiben, woraufhin er zum ersten Mal für zehn Tage in Haft genommen wurde. Rund eine Woche danach berichtete "Radio Vatikan" von Maßnahmen der Gestapo gegen die katholische Kirche in Tirol. Gestapo-Chef Hilliges machte Lampert für die Berichte verantwortlich und der Provikar wurde erneut zwei Wochen lang inhaftiert.
Einsatz für Otto Neururer
Entscheidend für das Schicksal Lamperts war schließlich sein Eintreten für Otto Neururer. Der 1996 selig gesprochene Pfarrer von Götzens wurde im KZ Buchenwald - unter grausamsten Folterungen und an den Füßen aufgehängt - ermordet. In der Todesanzeige, für die Lampert die Verantwortung übernahm, war vermerkt, dass Neururer "nach großem Leid" (eine Anspielung auf die Folterungen) sowie "fern seiner Seelsorgegemeinde, in Weimar/Buchenwald" (ein Hinweis auf das KZ als Todesort) gestorben sei.
Weil ihn die Nationalsozialisten als "gefährlichsten Mann innerhalb des Klerus" identifiziert hatten, begann für Lampert daraufhin ein Martyrium durch zwei Konzentrationslager (Dachau und Sachsenhausen) und drei Gefängnisse von Gestapo und Wehrmacht. Nach einem Jahr Konzentrationslager wurde Lampert, "abgemagert und von Schwerstarbeit gekennzeichnet", wie sich der Tiroler Altbischof Reinhold Stecher erinnert, zwar freigelassen, aber "gauverwiesen" und nach Stettin verbannt. Der Berliner Bischof Konrad von Preysing brachte ihn im dortigen Carolusstift unter, wo Lampert predigte und Glaubensstunden für Jugendliche abhielt.
Seligsprechungsverfahren seit 1998
Lampert ist der ranghöchste österreichische Priester, der von den Nationalsozialisten ermordet wurde. Durch einen Gestapo-Spitzel wurde er in eine angebliche "Spionage-Affäre" verwickelt und gemeinsam mit Mitgliedern des "Stettiner Priesterkreises" im Februar 1943 verhaftet.
Am 13. November 1944 wurde der Provikar in Halle an der Saale gemeinsam mit dem Kaplan Herbert Simoneit und dem Oblatenpater Friedrich Lorenz enthauptet. Zeitgleich wurden weitere drei Zivilisten und fünf Soldaten hingerichtet.
Bei der Seligsprechung oder Beatifikation stellt die katholische Kirche durch das Urteil des Papstes fest, dass eine verstorbene Person vorbildlich aus dem Glauben gelebt hat und Christus in besonderer Weise nachgefolgt ist.
Daraus ergibt sich die offizielle Empfehlung, diesen Menschen als Vorbild und als Fürsprecher bei Gott anzunehmen.
Mit der Seligsprechung wird erlaubt, dass der Seliggesprochene in einer bestimmten Region öffentlich verehrt werden darf. Der Seligsprechung kann eine Heiligsprechung folgen. Erst dann darf die betreffende Person offiziell weltweit verehrt werden.
Ohne die Zeit und die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus mit der Gegenwart auf eine Ebene zu stellen, sei das Gedächtnis an den Provikar eine mahnende Erinnerung und Herausforderung für heute, betonte der Innsbrucker Bischof Manfred Scheuer. Carl Lampert sei „für die Gerechtigkeit gestorben.“
Collection: Willard Dickerman Straight and Early U.S.-Korea Diplomatic Relations, Cornell University Library
Title: Execution of 3 Korean spies
Date: 1905
Type: Photographs
Description: Three resistance fighters facing a Japanese firing squad. They are accused of spying and executed. According to the source cited below, they were charged with destroying the Seoul-Pusan railroad two days after its completion, on January 1, 1905. This is a rather well-known image which was also reproduced in Western newspapers. Source: Sajin uiro ponun tongnip undong, 1996. V. 1, p. 81.
Inscription/Marks: Inscription in ink, presumably in WDS hand: 'Execution of 3 Korean spies'
Identifier: 1260.60.09.31.04
Persistent URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1813.001/5xm7
There are no known U.S. copyright restrictions on this image. The digital file is owned by the Cornell University Library which is making it freely available with the request that, when possible, the Library be credited as its source.
We had some help with the geocoding from Web Services by Yahoo!
Execution; sinister event in playmobil world. A study made with a 6x7 pentax camera during 1995. Scanned from a Baryta print (ca. 20x20cm)
These photos of the aftermath of Mussolini's execution at the end of WWII were in the final pages of my Uncle Louis' WWII photo album. I know he was in North Africa and Italy, not sure where he was at the end of the war. These are actual photographs he had, not just something he ripped out of a magazine. I read somewhere that large numbers of these photos were sold to American GI's.
David Myhra Collection Image--David Myhra Collection Image Please do not use this photo without permission. --Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Hong Kong (香港; "Fragrant Harbour"), officially Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the southern coast of China at the Pearl River Estuary and the South China Sea. Hong Kong is known for its skyline and deep natural harbour. It has an area of 1104 km2 and shares its northern border with the Guangdong Province of Mainland China. With around 7.2 million Hongkongers of various nationalities, Hong Kong is one of the world's most densely populated metropolises.
After the First Opium War (1839–42), Hong Kong became a British colony with the perpetual cession of Hong Kong Island, followed by Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and a 99-year lease of the New Territories from 1898. Hong Kong remained under British control for about a century until the Second World War, when Japan occupied the colony from December 1941 to August 1945. After the Surrender of Japan, the British resumed control. In the 1980s, negotiations between the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China resulted in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, which provided for the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong on 30 June 1997. The territory became a special administrative region of China with a high degree of autonomy on 1 July 1997 under the principle of one country, two systems. Disputes over the perceived misapplication of this principle have contributed to popular protests, including the 2014 Umbrella Revolution.
In the late 1970s, Hong Kong became a major entrepôt in Asia-Pacific. The territory has developed into a major global trade hub and financial centre. The 44th-largest economy in the world, Hong Kong ranks top 10 in GDP (PPP) per capita, but also has the most severe income inequality among advanced economies. Hong Kong is one of the three most important financial centres alongside New York and London, and the world's number one tourist destination city. The territory has been named the freest market economy. The service economy, characterised by free trade and low taxation, has been regarded as one of the world's most laissez-faire economic policies, and the currency, the Hong Kong dollar, is the 13th most traded currency in the world.
The Hong Kong Basic Law empowers the region to develop relations and make agreements directly with foreign states and regions, as well as international organizations, in a broad range of appropriate fields. It is an independent member of APEC, the IMF, WTO, FIFA and International Olympic Committee among others.
Limited land created a dense infrastructure and the territory became a centre of modern architecture, and one of the world's most vertical cities. Hong Kong has a highly developed public transportation network covering 90 per cent of the population, the highest in the world, and relies on mass transit by road or rail. Air pollution remains a serious problem. Loose emissions standards have resulted in a high level of atmospheric particulates. Nevertheless, Hongkongers enjoy the world's longest or second longest life expectancies.
NAME
It is not known who was responsible for the Romanisation of the name "Hong Kong" but it is generally believed to be an early imprecise phonetic rendering of the pronunciation of the spoken Cantonese or Hakka name 香港, meaning "Fragrant Harbour". Before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour (香港仔, Sidney Lau: heung1gong2 jai2, Jyutping: hoeng1gong2 zai2, or Hiong1gong3 zai3 in a form of Hakka, literally means "Little Hong Kong")—between Aberdeen Island and the south side of Hong Kong Island, which was one of the first points of contact between British sailors and local fishermen. As those early contacts are likely to have been with Hong Kong's early inhabitants, the Tankas (水上人), it is equally probable that the early Romanisation was a faithful execution of their speech, i.e. hong1, not heung1. Detailed and accurate Romanisation systems for Cantonese were available and in use at the time.
The reference to fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbour's fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River, or to the incense from factories, lining the coast to the north of Kowloon, which was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before the development of the Victoria Harbour.
In 1842, the Treaty of Nanking was signed and the name, Hong Kong, was first recorded on official documents to encompass the entirety of the island.
The name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926. Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the single-word form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
The full official name, after 1997, is "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China". This is the official title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Hong Kong Government's website; however, "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" and "Hong Kong" are widely accepted.
Hong Kong has carried many nicknames: the most famous among those is the "Pearl of the Orient", which reflected the impressive night-view of the city's light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour. The territory is also known as "Asia's World City".
HISTORY
PRE-BRITISH
Archaeological studies support human presence in the Chek Lap Kok area (now Hong Kong International Airport) from 35,000 to 39,000 years ago and on Sai Kung Peninsula from 6,000 years ago.
Wong Tei Tung and Three Fathoms Cove are the earliest sites of human habitation in Hong Kong during the Paleolithic Period. It is believed that the Three Fathom Cove was a river-valley settlement and Wong Tei Tung was a lithic manufacturing site. Excavated Neolithic artefacts suggested cultural differences from the Longshan culture of northern China and settlement by the Che people, prior to the migration of the Baiyue (Viets) to Hong Kong. Eight petroglyphs, which dated to the Shang dynasty in China, were discovered on the surrounding islands.
ANCIENT CHINA
In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, conquered the Baiyue tribes in Jiaozhi (modern Liangguang region and Vietnam) and incorporated the territory into imperial China for the first time. Modern Hong Kong was assigned to the Nanhai commandery (modern Nanhai District), near the commandery's capital city Panyu. In Qin dynasty, the territory was ruled by Panyu County(番禺縣) up till Jin Dynasty.
The area of Hong Kong was consolidated under the kingdom of Nanyue (Southern Viet), founded by general Zhao Tuo in 204 BC after the collapse of the short-lived Qin dynasty. When the kingdom of Nanyue was conquered by the Han Dynasty in 111 BC, Hong Kong was assigned to the Jiaozhi commandery. Archaeological evidence indicates that the population increased and early salt production flourished in this time period. Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb on the Kowloon Peninsula is believed to have been built during the Han dynasty.
IMPERIAL CHINA
Started from Jin dynasty to early period of Tang dynasty, the territory that now comprises Hong Kong was governed by Bao'an County (寶安縣). In Tang dynasty, the Guangdong region flourished as an international trading center. The Tuen Mun region in what is now Hong Kong's New Territories served as a port, naval base, salt production centre and later, base for the exploitation of pearls. Lantau Island was also a salt production centre, where the salt smugglers riots broke out against the government.
Under the Tang dynasty, the Guangdong (Canton) region flourished as a regional trading centre. In 736 AD, the first Emperor of Tang established a military stronghold in Tuen Mun in western Hong Kong to defend the coastal area of the region. The first village school, Li Ying College, was established around 1075 AD in the modern-day New Territories under the Northern Song dynasty. After their defeat by the Mongols, the Southern Song court briefly moved to modern-day Kowloon City (the Sung Wong Toi site), before its final defeat at the Battle of Yamen.
From the mid-Tang dynasty to early Ming dynasty, the territory that now comprises Hong Kong was governed by Dongguan County (東莞縣/ 東官縣). In Ming dynasty, the area was governed by Xin'an County (新安縣) before it was colonized by the British government. The indigenous inhabitants of what is now Hong Kong are identified with several ethnicities, including Punti, Hakka, Tanka) and Hoklo.
The earliest European visitor on record was Jorge Álvares, a Portuguese explorer who arrived in 1513. Having founded an establishment in Macau by 1557, Portuguese merchants began trading in southern China. However, subsequent military clashes between China and Portugal led to the expulsion of all Portuguese merchants from the rest of China.
In the mid-16th century, the Haijin order (closed-door, isolation policy) was enforced and it strictly forbade all maritime activities in order to prevent contact from foreigners by sea. From 1661 to 1669, Hong Kong was directly affected by the Great Clearance of the Kangxi Emperor, who required the evacuation of coastal areas of Guangdong. About 16,000 people from Hong Kong and Bao'an County were forced to emigrate inland; 1,648 of those who evacuated were said to have returned after the evacuation was rescinded in 1669.
BRITSH CROWN COLONY 1842–1941
In 1839, the refusal of Qing authorities to support opium imports caused the outbreak of the First Opium War between the British Empire and the Qing Empire. Qing's defeat resulted in the occupation of Hong Kong Island by British forces on 20 January 1841. It was initially ceded under the Convention of Chuenpee, as part of a ceasefire agreement between Captain Charles Elliot and Governor Qishan. While a dispute between high-ranking officials of both countries led to the failure of the treaty's ratification, on 29 August 1842, Hong Kong Island was formally ceded in perpetuity to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Treaty of Nanking. The British officially established a Crown colony and founded the City of Victoria in the following year.
The population of Hong Kong Island was 7,450 when the Union Flag raised over Possession Point on 26 January 1841. It mostly consisted of Tanka fishermen and Hakka charcoal burners, whose settlements scattered along several coastal hamlets. In the 1850s, a large number of Chinese immigrants crossed the then-free border to escape from the Taiping Rebellion. Other natural disasters, such as flooding, typhoons and famine in mainland China would play a role in establishing Hong Kong as a place for safe shelter.
Further conflicts over the opium trade between Britain and Qing quickly escalated into the Second Opium War. Following the Anglo-French victory, the Crown Colony was expanded to include Kowloon Peninsula (south of Boundary Street) and Stonecutter's Island, both of which were ceded to the British in perpetuity under the Convention of Beijing in 1860.
In 1898, Britain obtained a 99-year lease from Qing under the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, in which Hong Kong obtained a 99-year lease of the Lantau Island, the area north of Boundary Street in Kowloon up to Shenzhen River and over 200 other outlying islands.
Hong Kong soon became a major entrepôt thanks to its free port status, attracting new immigrants to settle from both China and Europe alike. The society, however, remained racially segregated and polarised under British colonial policies. Despite the rise of a British-educated Chinese upper-class by the late-19th century, race laws such as the Peak Reservation Ordinance prevented ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong from acquiring houses in reserved areas, such as the Victoria Peak. At this time, the majority of the Chinese population in Hong Kong had no political representation in the British colonial government. There were, however, a small number of Chinese elites whom the British governors relied on, such as Sir Kai Ho and Robert Hotung, who served as communicators and mediators between the government and local population.
Hong Kong continued to experience modest growth during the first half of the 20th century. The University of Hong Kong was established in 1911 as the territory's oldest higher education institute. While there was an exodus of 60,000 residents for fear of a German attack on the British colony during the First World War, Hong Kong remained peaceful. Its population increased from 530,000 in 1916 to 725,000 in 1925 and reached 1.6 million by 1941.
In 1925, Cecil Clementi became the 17th Governor of Hong Kong. Fluent in Cantonese and without a need for translator, Clementi introduced the first ethnic Chinese, Shouson Chow, into the Executive Council as an unofficial member. Under his tenure, Kai Tak Airport entered operation as RAF Kai Tak and several aviation clubs. In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out when the Japanese Empire expanded its territories from northeastern China into the mainland proper. To safeguard Hong Kong as a freeport, Governor Geoffry Northcote declared the Crown Colony as a neutral zone.
JAPANESE OCCUPATION 1941–45
As part of its military campaign in Southeast Asia during Second World War, the Japanese army moved south from Guangzhou of mainland China and attacked Hong Kong on 8 December 1941. The Battle of Hong Kong ended with the British and Canadian defenders surrendering control of Hong Kong to Japan on 25 December 1941 in what was regarded by locals as Black Christmas.
During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, the Japanese army committed atrocities against civilians and POWs, such as the St. Stephen's College massacre. Local residents also suffered widespread food shortages, limited rationing and hyper-inflation arising from the forced exchange of currency from Hong Kong Dollars to Japanese military banknotes. The initial ratio of 2:1 was gradually devalued to 4:1 and ownership of Hong Kong Dollars was declared illegal and punishable by harsh torture. Due to starvation and forced deportation for slave labour to mainland China, the population of Hong Kong had dwindled from 1.6 million in 1941 to 600,000 in 1945, when Britain resumed control of the colony on 30 August 1945.
ECONOMY
As one of the world's leading international financial centres, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade. The currency, Hong Kong dollar, is the eighth most traded currency in the world as of 2010. Hong Kong was once described by Milton Friedman as the world's greatest experiment in laissez-faire capitalism, but has since instituted a regime of regulations including a minimum wage. It maintains a highly developed capitalist economy, ranked the freest in the world by the Index of Economic Freedom every year since 1995. It is an important centre for international finance and trade, with one of the greatest concentrations of corporate headquarters in the Asia-Pacific region, and is known as one of the Four Asian Tigers for its high growth rates and rapid development from the 1960s to the 1990s. Between 1961 and 1997 Hong Kong's gross domestic product grew 180 times while per-capita GDP increased 87 times over.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is the seventh largest in the world and has a market capitalisation of US$2.3 trillion as of December 2009. In that year, Hong Kong raised 22 percent of worldwide initial public offering (IPO) capital, making it the largest centre of IPOs in the world and the easiest place to raise capital. The Hong Kong dollar has been pegged to the US dollar since 1983.
The Hong Kong Government has traditionally played a mostly passive role in the economy, with little by way of industrial policy and almost no import or export controls. Market forces and the private sector were allowed to determine practical development. Under the official policy of "positive non-interventionism", Hong Kong is often cited as an example of laissez-faire capitalism. Following the Second World War, Hong Kong industrialised rapidly as a manufacturing centre driven by exports, and then underwent a rapid transition to a service-based economy in the 1980s. Since then, it has grown to become a leading centre for management, financial, IT, business consultation and professional services.
Hong Kong matured to become a financial centre in the 1990s, but was greatly affected by the Asian financial crisis in 1998, and again in 2003 by the SARS outbreak. A revival of external and domestic demand has led to a strong recovery, as cost decreases strengthened the competitiveness of Hong Kong exports and a long deflationary period ended. Government intervention, initiated by the later colonial governments and continued since 1997, has steadily increased, with the introduction of export credit guarantees, a compulsory pension scheme, a minimum wage, anti-discrimination laws, and a state mortgage backer.
The territory has little arable land and few natural resources, so it imports most of its food and raw materials. Imports account for more than 90% of Hong Kong's food supply, including nearly all of the meat and rice available there. Agricultural activity - relatively unimportant to Hong Kong's economy and contributing just 0.1% of its GDP - primarily consists of growing premium food and flower varieties. Hong Kong is the world's eleventh largest trading entity, with the total value of imports and exports exceeding its gross domestic product. It is the world's largest re-export centre. Much of Hong Kong's exports consist of re-exports, which are products made outside of the territory, especially in mainland China, and distributed via Hong Kong. Its physical location has allowed the city to establish a transportation and logistics infrastructure that includes the world's second busiest container port and the world's busiest airport for international cargo. Even before the transfer of sovereignty, Hong Kong had established extensive trade and investment ties with the mainland, which now enable it to serve as a point of entry for investment flowing into the mainland. At the end of 2007, there were 3.46 million people employed full-time, with the unemployment rate averaging 4.1% for the fourth straight year of decline. Hong Kong's economy is dominated by the service sector, which accounts for over 90% of its GDP, while industry constitutes 9%. Inflation was at 2.5% in 2007. Hong Kong's largest export markets are mainland China, the United States, and Japan.
As of 2010 Hong Kong is the eighth most expensive city for expatriates, falling from fifth position in the previous year. Hong Kong is ranked fourth in terms of the highest percentage of millionaire households, behind Switzerland, Qatar, and Singapore with 8.5 percent of all households owning at least one million US dollars. Hong Kong is also ranked second in the world by the most billionaires per capita (one per 132,075 people), behind Monaco. In 2011, Hong Kong was ranked second in the Ease of Doing Business Index, behind Singapore.
Hong Kong is ranked No. 1 in the world in the Crony Capitalism Index by the Economist.
In 2014, Hong Kong was the eleventh most popular destination for international tourists among countries and territories worldwide, with a total of 27.8 million visitors contributing a total of US$38,376 million in international tourism receipts. Hong Kong is also the most popular city for tourists, nearly two times of its nearest competitor Macau.
DEMOGRAPHICS
The territory's population in mid-2015 is 7.30 million, with an average annual growth rate of 0.8% over the previous 5 years. The current population of Hong Kong comprises 91% ethnic Chinese. A major part of Hong Kong's Cantonese-speaking majority originated from the neighbouring Guangdong province, from where many fled during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese Civil War, and the communist rule in China.
Residents of the Mainland do not automatically receive the Right of Abode, and many may not enter the territory freely. Like other non-natives, they may apply for the Right of Abode after seven years of continuous residency. Some of the rights may also be acquired by marriage (e.g., the right to work), but these do not include the right to vote or stand for office. However, the influx of immigrants from mainland China, approximating 45,000 per year, is a significant contributor to its population growth – a daily quota of 150 Mainland Chinese with family ties in Hong Kong are granted a "one way permit". Life expectancy in Hong Kong is 81.2 years for males and 86.9 years for females as of 2014, making it the highest life expectancy in the world.
About 91% of the people of Hong Kong are of Chinese descent, the majority of whom are Taishanese, Chiu Chow, other Cantonese people, and Hakka. Hong Kong's Han majority originate mainly from the Guangzhou and Taishan regions in Guangdong province. The remaining 6.9% of the population is composed of non-ethnic Chinese. There is a South Asian population of Indians, Pakistanis and Nepalese; some Vietnamese refugees have become permanent residents of Hong Kong. There are also Britons, Americans, Canadians, Japanese, and Koreans working in the city's commercial and financial sector. In 2011, 133,377 foreign domestic helpers from Indonesia and 132,935 from the Philippines were working in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's de facto official language is Cantonese, a variety of Chinese originating from Guangdong province to the north of Hong Kong. English is also an official language, and according to a 1996 by-census is spoken by 3.1 percent of the population as an everyday language and by 34.9 percent of the population as a second language. Signs displaying both Chinese and English are common throughout the territory. Since the 1997 Handover, an increase in immigrants from communist China and greater interaction with the mainland's economy have brought an increasing number of Mandarin speakers to Hong Kong.
RELIGION
A majority of residents of Hong Kong have no religious affiliation, professing a form of agnosticism or atheism. According to the US Department of State 43 percent of the population practices some form of religion. Some figures put it higher, according to a Gallup poll, 64% of Hong Kong residents do not believe in any religion, and possibly 80% of Hong Kong claim no religion. In Hong Kong teaching evolution won out in curriculum dispute about whether to teach other explanations, and that creationism and intelligent design will form no part of the senior secondary biology curriculum.
Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of religious freedom, guaranteed by the Basic Law. Hong Kong's main religions are Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism; a local religious scholar in contact with major denominations estimates there are approximately 1.5 million Buddhists and Taoists. A Christian community of around 833,000 forms about 11.7% of the total population; Protestants forms a larger number than Roman Catholics at a rate of 4:3, although smaller Christian communities exist, including the Latter-day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses. The Anglican and Roman Catholic churches each freely appoint their own bishops, unlike in mainland China. There are also Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Bahá'í communities. The practice of Falun Gong is tolerated.
PERSONAL INCOME
Statistically Hong Kong's income gap is the greatest in Asia Pacific. According to a report by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in 2008, Hong Kong's Gini coefficient, at 0.53, was the highest in Asia and "relatively high by international standards". However, the government has stressed that income disparity does not equate to worsening of the poverty situation, and that the Gini coefficient is not strictly comparable between regions. The government has named economic restructuring, changes in household sizes, and the increase of high-income jobs as factors that have skewed the Gini coefficient.
WIKIPEDIA
Mary, Queen of Scots was tried for treason at the great hall that stood on this site in October 1586.
The great hall probably stood lengthways alongside the moat (near where the lone shrub now stands in the upper centre of the image).
The castle chapel and lodgings where Queen Mary was probably quartered, stood perpendicular to and abutting the left hand end of the hall.
The kitchens, bakehouse and brewhouse stood perpendicular to and abutting the right hand end of the hall.
The fortified gatehouse stood out of shot, to the left (at about the point where modern visitors enter the site) and on passing through it, a visitor would then enter a courtyard with the above mentioned buildings on three sides and the rectangular, stone castle keep standing on its mound (where the photo was taken from) on the fourth side.
The 44 year old queen was only informed of the verdict and date of her execution on 7 February 1587 - she was to be executed at 9 o'clock the following morning.
She spent the night at prayer in the castle chapel and went to her death on a specially constructed low wooden platform in the great hall.
The execution did not go especially smoothly - the executioner's first axe blow struck the back of the unfortunate queen's skull causing her to give out a low moan, but she continued uttering her prayers. The next however, virtually severed her head except for a few sinews.
The queen's head was then held aloft by the executioner but reputedly fell and rolled away leaving the executioner clutching her auburn wig.
Allegedly at this same time, her inseparable and now blood-soaked Skye terrier emerged from hiding under her skirts and started barking.
All Mary's clothing, the execution block and everything touched by her blood (hopefully not the dog) was burned in the fireplace in the castle's hall in order to prevent relics.
The queen's entrails were removed and buried in a secret location in the castle's precincts and her body was embalmed, remaining in the castle until late July when it was moved at night for burial at Peterborough Cathedral.
In 1612, her son, King James I had her remains moved again to Westminster Abbey where her effigy lies in the same chapel as her nemesis and first cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.
I'll be honest, I'm not sure about the legality of posting these pictures.
These were all photographs and posters from the Natzweiler Concentration camp in France. There were no signs disallowing photography, but the fact is, I didn't take these original pictures. I don't know who the credit goes to but I feel compelled to share them.
The Natweiler concentration camp was a grim experience, yet powerful and worthwhile. We visited on a gray, rainy day which added to the mood.
I share these with the intent of spreading information and helping to show things to people who might not ever be able to make a trip to Europe or be able to tour a camp museum.
When political powers try to deny that these horrid events occurred it is one more reminder that we can't forget these events. We can't forget what many of our grandfathers fought for. We can't deny the grave human injustice that was perpetrated.
So I went back to the warehouse today but this time I took a Brownhorse and a Yellow Bear with me.
I’ve had the idea of shooting a version of Eddie Adams Pulitzer Prize winning shot for a while but wanted to add a bit of a twist, not just a mock up with a gun but a different take on it altogether, a bit more of a comment on peoples discomfort in front of a lens (including mine).
Got together with Adam as it’s clearly a two man job so keep a look out for his 365 version which may be a bit more light hearted. EDIT: And here it is.
This was my first properly lit shot and it was good to learn a few new things, Adam’s just done Dark Daze lighting course so had a load of new advice on hand. Here's a light set-up shot. Would have benefited from a more direct light on the cine camera but I can't really complain.
Iranian Majid Kavousifar bids farewell to his relatives before being hanged in public in central Tehran 02 August 2007. Two men convicted of murdering a top Iranian judge in 2005 were hanged in public in central Tehran, the first such public executions in the Iranian capital in five years. The men were executed for the murder of Hassan Moghaddas, a hardline deputy prosecutor and head of the "guidance" court in Tehran, who was shot dead by two men as he getting into his car in August 2005. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI
Execution on the Old Town Square 21. 6. 1621
23-06-2001 | Olaf Barth, Katrin Bock
Olaf Barth and Katrin Bock now take a look at the events that took place on the Old Town Square 380 years ago.
Execution on the Old Town Square 21. 6. 1621
If you have ever been to Prague, you may have noticed the 27 crosses which have been embedded into the pavement at the foot of the Old Town Town Hall. Perhaps you have wondered about their origin. Well, in the following minutes you will learn more about the context of these crosses. First of all, listen to the Czech writer Alois Jirasek portraying the events at the end of the 19th century in one of his stories:
"In the night of 20 to 21 June 1621, fear and grief prevailed everywhere in Prague, and the roads had become like deserted, for on Prague restrictions had been imposed. Only the clash of the weapons and the heavy steps of foreign soldiers broke through the oppressive silence. On the Old Town Square there was a lot of activity, and boards and beams were unloaded from wagons and carried to the middle of the place, where a scaffold grew by the flickering light of numerous torches. By daybreak a gallows covered with red cloth was towering. At sunrise fulminated a cannon cracker showing that the execution had to begin. On the scaffold dark hooded people were visible, the assistents of the executioner and the gravedigger. Finally, the executioner, Jan Mydláø, also appeared. Immediately the imperial judges took their seats, and the names of the twenty-seven death-condemned noblemen were exclaimed. While foreign soldiers were drumming in the streets of Prague, in the houses people of Prague prayed for their faithful, the 27 men who were either beheaded or hanged at the same time. It is reported that once a year, always in the night from the 20th to the 21st of June, the noblemen and citizens appear on the Old Town Square. Silently they walk over the square to the church, where, kneeling before the altar, they receive the Last Supper in both forms. And as silently as they have come they disappear again."
The Hradschin 1618, in the year of the window-lintel (contemporary engraving)
So far the Czech writer Alois Jirasek about the events of that night 380 years ago, when the leaders of the insurrection of the Estates against the Catholic Habsburgs were judged. 27 nobles, gentlemen and citizens, Czechs and Germans, Protestants and a Catholic then left their lives. They were punished for having joined an uprising against the legal Habsburg emperor which had a religious background, for the Emperor had previously tried to restrict the freedom of religion which had been in force in the Bohemian lands since the middle of the fifteenth century. The revolt had begun on May 23, 1618, with the famous Prague defenestration, and ended with the battle Battle of White Mountain in November 1620, for the Czechs still today a national trauma. In that battle before the gates of Prague the army of the Catholic Habsburgs the Protestant Estates had utterly vanquished. What followed was a relentless persecution of all insurgents, regardless of their social position or nationality. Emperor Ferdinand II used his military victory to strengthen his position in the rebellious Bohemian lands, to suppress the Protestant faith and to break the power of the Estates once and for all.
Procession on the White Mountains (Josef Berka and A. Gustav, around 1800)
All persons who had somehow participated in the uprising of the Estates were punished. The worst punishment experienced three lords, seven knights and 17 citizens, who were executed in the early morning hours of June 21, 1621 on the Old Town Square. The execution took place conforming to the etiquette: first came the lords, then the knights, and finally the citizens. It is said the bloodthirsty torture to have lasted for four hours, while the executioner Jan Mydlar in the proces was to have beaten blunt four swords.
Joachim Andreas Graf Schlick was the first to be beheaded, whose family had grown rich thanks to the silver mines in the west Bohemian Jáchymov valley. Count Schlick had worked for many years at the Saxon court as an educator of the future ruler Johann Georg. During the Bohemian uprising of the Estates, Schlick had been quite active. Among other things, he was one of the participants of the famous 1618 defenestration. Next came Vaclav Budova from Budovec. Since the beginning of the 17th century, he had been strongly committed to the observance of the freedom of belief in the Bohemian lands and had been one of the spokesmen of the insurgents. As the third nobleman, Krystof Harant of Polzice and Bezdruzice lost his head. He had been court musician and companion of Rudolf at the court of Emperor Rudolf II. He was not very interested in politics, but he had been one of the military leaders of the insurgents, which now cost him his head. All three of them, without any doubt, belonged to the intellectual elite of the country, all three of them had been to many places, were well-educated, spoke several languages, and were Protestants.
Among the 7 knights was also the Catholic Divis Cernin of Chudenice. This one had made the fatal mistake of opening the gates of the castle to the representatives of the Estates on the 23rd of May, 1618, who then threw the three representatives of the Habsburg power out of a window in protest against the restriction of the rights of the Protestants.
Jan Jesensky
Jan Jessenius, the rector of the Charles University of Prague, was one of those who got the severest judgement. He was not only beheaded, his tongue had been cut off before, additionally he was also quartered after the execution. Emperor Ferdinand had expressed himself personally for this harsh judgment. The internationally respected scholar, who had carried out the first public autopsy in Prague in 1600, had aroused the wrath of the ruler as he had himself pronounced against the election of Ferdinand for the King of Bohemia as well as published a series of harsh writings against the Habsburgs.
The heads of twelve executed were hanged in iron baskets for deterrence and warning at the Old Town Bridge Tower. From there they were removed only 10 years later, when the Saxons 1631 occupied Prague for a short time.
Ferdinand II.
Emperor Ferdinand II took advantage of the victory over the rebellious Protestant estates, which had dethroned him, the legitimate heir, and elected another one, the "Winter King", Frederick of the Palatinate. 166 nobles Ferdinand had completely dispossessed, another 500 lost a large part of their estates. On the other hand, his faithful were rewarded. Those were given great lands in the Bohemian lands. In addition, monasteries were returned lands that they had lost during the Hussite wars in the 15th century.
The greatest winners were probably Albrecht von Waldstein, Karl von Liechtenstein, and Johann Ulrich von Eggenberg, who were now able to call great domains their own. But also other noble families then settled in the Bohemian lands, like the Trauttmansdorff, Thun, Metternich and Clary families.
Even ordinary citizens and peasants were affected: those who did not convert to the Catholic faith had to leave the country. In 1624 the Catholic faith became the only one recognized in the Bohemian lands - more and more subjects saw themselves forced to emigrate. Some 150,000 people are said to have left the Bohemian lands for religious reasons in the years after the defeat of the Protestant Estates. The probably most famous emigrant of that time is Jan Amos Komensky - Comenius. The pedagogue and bishop of the Unity of the Brotherhood settled down after a few journeys in Holland, where he died in 1670 at the age of 78.
Even in the eyes of most of today's Czechs, the "time of darkness" began with the defeat of the Protestant estates in the Battle of Weissenberg. As such, the almost 300 years of the unrestricted rule of the Habsburgs over the Bohemian countries were designated, which ended only with the independence of Czechoslovakia in 1918. The formerly proud kingdom of Bohemia had been degrated to a Habsburg province according to the new regional order of 1627, and had lost most of its rights, including the freedom of faith for which its inhabitants had fought since the death for heresy of Jan Hus in 1415. Today, not only the 27 crosses embedded on the Old Town Square, but also all the magnificent Baroque buildings in the country, are reminiscent of this historic epoch. With these the Catholic Habsburgs showed their Bohemian and Moravian subjects who is the boss in the country.
And so we are already at the end of our trip into the 17th century.
Hinrichtung auf dem Altstädter Ring 21. 6. 1621
23-06-2001 | Olaf Barth, Katrin Bock
Olaf Barth und Katrin Bock werfen heute einen Blick auf die Geschehnisse, die sich vor 380 Jahren auf dem Altstädter Ring ereigneten.
Hinrichtung auf dem Altstädter Ring 21. 6. 1621
Wer von Ihnen schon mal in Prag war, dem sind sie vielleicht aufgefallen, die 27 in das Pflaster eingelassenen Kreuze zu Füssen des Altstädter Rathausturmes. Vielleicht haben Sie sich über deren Ursprung gewundert. Nun in den folgenden Minuten erfahren Sie mehr über die Bewandtnis dieser Kreuze. Hören Sie zunächst einmal, wie der tschechische Schriftsteller Alois Jirasek die entsprechenden Ereignisse Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts in einer seiner Geschichten schilderte:
"In der Nacht vom 20. auf den 21. Juni 1621 herrschte überall in Prag Angst und Trauer. Die Strassen waren wie ausgestorben, denn über Prag war Ausgangsverbot verhängt worden. Nur das Klirren der Waffen und schwere Schritte fremder Soldaten durchbrachen die bedrückende Stille. Auf dem Altstädter Ring herrschte reger Betrieb. Bretter und Balken wurden von Wagen abgeladen und zur Platzmitte getragen, wo beim flackernden Licht zahlreicher Fackeln ein Gerüst wuchs. Als es zu dämmern begann, ragte da ein mit rotem Stoff überzogener Galgen empor. Beim Sonnenaufgang donnerte von der Prager Burg ein Kanonenschlag. Ein Zeichen dafür, dass die Exekution beginne. Auf dem Galgengerüst waren dunkle vermummte Gestalten zu sehen - die Henkershelfer und der Totengräber. Schliesslich erschien auch der Henker Jan Mydláø. Alsbald nahmen die kaiserlichen Richter ihre Sitze ein, und die Namen der 27 zum Tode verurteilten Standesherren wurden ausgerufen. Während in den Strassen Prags fremde Soldaten trommelten, beteten in den Häusern die Prager für ihre Getreuen, die 27 Herren, die zur selben Zeit geköpft oder gehängt wurden. Es wird berichtet, dass die hingerichteten Adeligen und Bürger einmal im Jahr, immer in der Nacht vom 20. auf den 21. Juni, auf dem Altstädter Ring erscheinen. Schweigend gehen sie über den Platz zur Kirche, wo sie, vor dem Altar knieend, das Abendmahl in beiderlei Gestalt empfangen. Und so lautlos wie sie gekommen verschwinden sie wieder."
Der Hradschin 1618, im Jahre des Fenstersturzes (Zeitgenössiger Stich)
Soweit der tschechische Schriftsteller Alois Jirasek über die Ereignisse jener Nacht vor 380 Jahren, als die Anführer des Ständeaufstandes gegen die katholischen Habsburger gerichtet wurden. 27 Adelige, Herren und Bürger, Tschechen und Deutsche, Protestanten und ein Katholik liessen damals ihr Leben. Bestraft wurden sie dafür, dass sie sich einem Aufstand gegen den rechtmässigen Habsburger Kaiser angeschlossen hatten, der einen religiösen Hintergrund hatte, denn der Kaiser hatte zuvor versucht, die seit Mitte des 15. Jahrhunderts in den Böhmischen Ländern geltende Religionsfreiheit einzuschränken. Der Aufstand hatte am 23. Mai 1618 mit dem berühmten Prager Fenstersturz begonnen und mit der für Tschechen noch heute ein nationales Trauma darstellenden Schlacht am Weissen Berg im November 1620 geendet. In jener Schlacht vor den Toren Prags hatte das Heer der katholischen Habsburger die protestantischen Stände vernichtend geschlagen. Was folgte war eine unbarmherzige Verfolgung aller Aufständischen, ungeachtet ihrer gesellschaftlichen Stellung oder Nationalität. Kaiser Ferdinand II. nutzte seinen militärischen Sieg, um seine Stellung in den aufständischen Böhmischen Ländern zu stärken, den protestantischen Glauben zurückzudrängen und die Macht der Stände ein für alle mal zu brechen.
Prozession am Weißen Berge (Josef Berka und A. Gustav, um 1800)
Alle Personen, die irgendwie an dem Ständeaufstand beteiligt gewesen waren, wurden bestraft. Am schlimmsten traf es dabei drei Herren, sieben Ritter und 17 Bürger, die in den frühen Morgenstunden des 21. Junis 1621 auf dem Altstädter Ring hingerichtet wurden. Bei der Hinrichtung wurde die Etike gewahrt: zuerst waren die Herren dran, dann die Ritter und schliesslich die Bürger. Vier Stunden lang soll die blutige Tortur gedauert haben, vier Schwerter soll der Henker Jan Mydlar dabei stumpf geschlagen haben.
Als erster wurde Joachim Andreas Graf Schlick geköpft, dessen Familie dank der Silberminen im westböhmischen Joachimsthal reich geworden war. Graf Schlick hatte jahrelang am sächsischen Hof als Erzieher des zukünftigen Herrschers Johann Georg gewirkt. Während des böhmischen Ständeaufstands war Schlick recht aktiv gewesen, unter anderem gehörte er zu den Teilnehmern des berühmten Fenstersturzes von 1618. Als nächstes kam Vaclav Budova von Budovec an die Reihe. Dieser hatte sich seit dem Beginn des 17. Jahrhunderts stark für die Einhaltung der Glaubensfreiheit in den Böhmischen Ländern eingesetzt und war einer der Wortführer der Aufständischen gewesen. Als dritter hochgestellter Adeliger verlor Krystof Harant von Polzice und Bezdruzice seinen Kopf. Dieser war am Hofe Kaiser Rudolfs II. Hofmusikant und Gesellschafter Rudolfs gewesen. Für Politik interessierte er sich nicht sehr, doch war er einer der Heerführer der Aufständischen gewesen, das kostete ihn nun seinen Kopf. Alle drei Herren gehörten ohne Zweifel zur geistigen Elite des Landes, alle drei waren weitgereist, hervorragend gebildet, sprachen mehrere Sprachen - und waren Protestanten.
Unter den 7 Rittern war auch der Katholik Divis Cernin von Chudenice. Dieser hatte den verhängnisvollen Fehler gemacht, am 23. Mai 1618 den Repräsentanten der Stände die Burgtore geöffnet zu haben, die dann die drei Vertreter der Habsburger Macht aus Protest gegen die Einschränkung der Rechte der Protestanten aus einem Fenster warfen.
Jan Jesensky
Eines der härtesten Urteile traf Jan Jessenius, den Rektor der Prager Karlsuniversität, der als 16. an die Reihe kam: er wurde nicht nur geköpft, zuvor wurde ihm die Zunge abgeschnitten, ausserdem wurde er nach der Hinrichtung noch geviertelt. Für dieses harte Urteil hatte sich Kaiser Ferdinand persönlich ausgesprochen. Der international angesehene Gelehrte, der 1600 in Prag die erste öffentliche Obduktion durchgeführt hatte, hatte den Zorn des Herrschers erregt, da er sich auf verschiedenen Landtagen gegen die Wahl Ferdinands zum böhmischen König ausgesprochen sowie eine Reihe von scharfen Schriften gegen die Habsburger veröffentlicht hatte.
Die Köpfe von zwölf Hingerichteten wurden in Eisenkörben zur Abschreckung und Warnung an den Altstädter Brückenturm gehängt. Von dort wurden sie erst 10 Jahre später entfernt, als die Sachsen 1631 Prag für kurze Zeit besetzten.
Ferdinand II.
Kaiser Ferdinand II. nutzte seinen Sieg über die aufständischen protestantischen Stände, die ihn, den rechtmässigen Erben, entthront hatten und einen anderen, den "Winterkönig" Friedrich von der Pfalz, gewählt hatten. 166 Adelige liess Ferdinand vollkommen enteignen, weitere 500 verloren einen Grossteil ihrer Güter. Belohnt wurden dagegen seine Getreuen. Diese erhielten grosse Ländereien in den Böhmischen Ländern. Ausserdem bekamen Klöster Ländereien zurück, die sie zur Zeit der Hussitenkriege im 15. Jahrhundert verloren hatten.
Die grössten Gewinner waren wohl Albrecht von Waldstein, Karl von Liechtenstein sowie Johann Ulrich von Eggenberg, die nun grosse Herrschaften ihr Eigen nennen konnten. Aber auch andere Adelsdfamilien setzten damals in den Böhmischen Ländern ihren Fuss, wie die Familien Trauttmansdorff, Thun, Metternich und Clary.
Auch einfache Bürger und Bauern waren betroffen: wer nicht zum katholischen Glauben übertrat, musste das Land verlassen. 1624 wurde der katholische Glaube der einzig anerkannte in den Böhmischen Ländern - immer mehr Untertanen sahen sich gezwungen, zu emigrieren. Rund 150.000 Menschen sollen in den Jahren nach der Niederlage der protestantischen Stände die Böhmischen Länder aus religiösen Gründen verlassen haben. Der wohl bekannteste Emigrant jener Zeit ist Jan Amos Komensky - Comenius. Der Pädagoge und Bischof der Brüderunität liess sich nach einigen Reisen in Holland nieder, wo er 1670 im Alter von 78 Jahren verstarb.
Auch in den Augen der meisten heutigen Tschechen begann damals mit der Niederlage der protestantischen Stände in der Schlacht am Weissen Berg die "Zeit der Finsternis". Als solche werden die knapp 300 Jahre der uneingeschränkten Herrschaft der Habsburger über die Böhmischen Länder bezeichnet, die erst mit der Unabhängigkeit der Tschechoslowakei 1918 endeten. Das einstmals stolze Königreich Böhmen war nach der neuen Landesordnung von 1627 zu einer Habsburger Provinz degradiert worden und hatte die meisten seiner Rechte verloren - auch das der Glaubensfreiheit, für das seine Bewohner seit dem Ketzertod des Jan Hus 1415 gekämpft hatten. Heute erinnern an diese Geschichtsepoche nicht nur die 27 in das Strassenpflaster eingelassenen Kreuze auf dem Altstädter Ring, sondern auch all die prächtigen Barockbauten im Lande. Mit diesen zeigten die katholischen Habsburger ihren böhmischen und mährischen Untertanen, wer der Herr im Lande ist.
Und damit sind wir bereits am Ende unseres Ausfluges in das 17. Jahrhundert.
www.radio.cz/de/rubrik/geschichte/hinrichtung-auf-dem-alt...
Victoria: What are we doing here? We're wasting time. That poor girl is still missing!
Clark Kent: Just a moment. I overheard your conversation with the secretary. Says here.. Valentine was kidnapped. He had to join Malone's gang to avoid execution.
Victoria: Why do you care about any of that?
Clark: Because we're reporters, Lois!
Victoria: Who? I.. I'm.. just going to.. wait outside..
Early morning, look at how long the lamp post shadows are.
Illustration from the book:
The Philippines and Filipinos; a treatise on the history,
The civics, and the mathematical, physical and political
Geography of the Philippine Archipelago (1914)
Author: Coursey, Oscar William
Publisher: Mitchell S D Educator Supply Co.
Execution Scene, Shanghai, 1870s.
Photographer: attributed to W. Saunders
Source: Imperial China, p.63
台南安南區 - 小姪女小安安 / 小仙女一手變出火花 - 中秋節小朋友最快樂
Before Tainan Annan District - My little niece Ann Ann / The little fairy handedly playing the spark - Mid-Autumn Festival kids are happiest
Antes del districto de Tainan Annan - Mi pequeña sobrina Ana Ana / El hada pequeña ayuda de nadie juega la chispa - Mid-Autumn Festival niños son más felices
台南安南区 - 小さい姪は小さく安らかです / 小さい仙女は一手に火花に化けます - 中秋節の子供は最も楽しいです
Vor Bezirk Tainan-Annan - Meine kleine Nichte Ann Ann / Die kleine Fee Alleingang spielen den Funken - Mid-Autumn Festival Kinder sind am glücklichsten
Avant zone de Tainan Annan - Ma petite nièce Ann Ann / La petite fée à lui jouer l'étincelle - Kids Festival mi-automne sont les plus heureux
Tainan Taiwan / Tainan Taiwán / 台灣台南
蝶舞 / 作曲&編曲:陳志遠 / Instruments
{View large size on fluidr / 觀看大圖}
{My Blog / 管樂小集精彩演出-觸動你的心}
{My Blog / Great Music The splendid performance touches your heart}
{My Blog / 管楽小集すばらしい公演-はあなたの心を心を打ちます}
{Mi blog / La gran música el funcionamiento espléndido toca su corazón}
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{Mon blog / La grande musique l'exécution splendide touche votre coeur}
家住安南鹽溪邊
The family lives in nearby the Annan salt river
隔壁就是聽雨軒
The next door listens to the rain porch
一旦落日照大員
The sunset Shineing to the Taiwan at once
左岸青龍飛九天
The left bank white dragon flying in the sky
One method the Nazis used to discourage rebellion was the shooting of hostages, especially women and children, in retaliation for acts of resistance. Five women, about to fall victims to a firing squad, were among 100 Slovenians shot in the village of Celje in 1942. The Nazis believed that the shooting of women and children would be especially effective in discouraging resistance activity. Yet, even such atrocities did not completely halt the actions of the Yugoslavian partisans.
Photo: Lydia Chagoll / United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Photo Archive
ift.tt/1q0e9P3 #Nazi General Anton Dostler is tied to a stake before his execution by a firing squad, Italy, 1945 [680x558] via /r/#HistoryPorn #history #retro # ift.tt/22u6DNR via Histolines
Spanish dime novel depicting the execution method known as "blowing from a gun." Los Cinco Invencibles (The Five Invincibles) No. 6, circa 1931 from El Gato Negro (Barcelona), La Victima de un Traidor (The Traitor's Victim), anonymous but credited to Antonio Oller Bertran. The cover is by Masgoumiery Daniel Pena (signed Niel), who before going mainstream drew cartoons for Spanish anarchist publications.