"the effects on the soldiers who suffered over its course. The idea that the soldiers suffered whilst their commanders remained safely distant from the action was also referenced on many occasions, such as when Melchett says to Baldrick, ""Don't you worry my boy, if you should falter, remember that Captain Darling and I are behind you!"", to which Blackadder responds, ""About 35 miles behind you!"". In the episode ""Corporal Punishment"", Blackadder justifies the shooting for food of a carrier pigeon (which turns out to be Melchett's pet, Speckled Jim) by saying, ""With 50,000 men getting killed a week, who's going"
"to miss a pigeon?"" This episode sees Blackadder being sentenced to death by firing squad for the act, a reference to the capital sentences carried out under the laws of war in force at the time. In ""Private Plane"", after receiving word that Blackadder and Baldrick may have been killed when shot down over German lines, Melchett tries to cheer George up by showing him a life-size model (measuring seventeen square feet) of land recaptured by the British, a commentary on the high human cost and small physical gains achieved by attacks in the middle years of the war. Later"
"The Black Adder (pilot episode) The Black Adder is the unaired pilot episode of the BBC television series ""Blackadder"". Taped on 20 June 1982, it features the original incarnation of Rowan Atkinson's character Edmund Blackadder. Following this pilot, ""The Black Adder"" eventually went into production and the first six-part series was broadcast in 1983, but with a number of changes to the casting, characterisation and plot; while the transmitted series was set in 1485 and the years following the Battle of Bosworth Field, this untransmitted pilot was set in 16th century, apparently during the Elizabethan Era. A close adaptation of"
"shoots a carrier pigeon relaying the same message. Upon inspection of the pigeon's partly charred message, however, it turns out that shooting carrier pigeons has become an offence punishable by court-martial, and Blackadder simply decides to eat the evidence for lunch. When General Melchett arrives at the trenches, demanding an explanation as to why the group hasn't advanced, Blackadder nearly gets away with it by blaming the communication breakdown. Unfortunately Private Baldrick and Lieutenant George unintentionally reveal what Blackadder has done (as having been told not to answer any questions on the incident, when asked unrelated questions, they reply, ""We"
"Zeylanica"", on the Ceylonese vertebrate fauna. Kelaart died aboard the S.S. ""Ripon"" on the way to England on 31 August 1860 and was buried at Southampton. A bust of Kelaart was made by sculptor Henry Weigall. Two species of birds found in Sri Lanka are named after him: the black-throated munia (""Lonchura kelaarti"") and the hawk-eagle ""Nisaetus kelaarti"". The Sri Lankan subspecies of jungle nightjar, ""Caprimulgus indicus kelaarti"", also refers to Kelaart. The disused monotypic genus ""Kelaartia"" (yellow-eared bulbul) likewise commemorated him. Toad ""Adenomus kelaartii"" is also named after him. Edward Frederick Kelaart Lieutenant Colonel Edward Frederick Kelaart (21 November"
"to capture him. After an extremely bloody boarding action, the British commanding officer of the squadron, Lieutenant Robert Maynard, killed him with the help of his crew. According to legend, Blackbeard suffered a total of five bullet wounds and twenty slashes with a cutlass before he finally died off the coast of Ocracoke, North Carolina. Henry Morgan, a Welshman, was one of the most destructive pirate captains of the 17th century. Although Morgan always considered himself a privateer rather than a pirate, several of his attacks had no real legal justification and are considered piracy. Recently found off the coast"
"Blackadder II Blackadder II is the second series of the BBC sitcom ""Blackadder"", written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 9 January 1986 to 20 February 1986. The series is set in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), and sees the principal character, Edmund, Lord Blackadder, as a Tudor courtier attempting to win the favour of the Queen while avoiding execution by decapitation, a fate that befell many of her suitors. The series saw a number of significant changes from the format of ""The Black Adder"", notably Ben Elton replacing Rowan Atkinson as the"
"time of his father's death.) As he cannot explain his betrayal to the King, Sir Edmund panics and uses the plan that Baldrick had suggested earlier. The camera then focuses on Baldrick, who is listening to the sounds of the execution. Sir Edmund chops the pumpkin and proclaims that ""This is the head of a traitor"". Predictably enough, the crowd answers him, ""No, it's not! It's a huge pumpkin with a pathetic moustache drawn on it!"". Sir Edmund apologises and says he will try again. Baldrick continues to listen as Sir Edmund Blackadder beheads King Charles I and the crowd"
"Blackadder Blackadder is a series of four BBC1 pseudohistorical British sitcoms, plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired in the 1980s. All television episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as the anti-hero Edmund Blackadder, and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick. Each series was set in a different historical period, with the two protagonists accompanied by different characters, though several reappear in one series or another, for example Melchett (Stephen Fry) and Lord Flashheart (Rik Mayall). The first series, ""The Black Adder"", was written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, while subsequent episodes were written by Curtis and Ben Elton. The shows"
"to obtain a smaller ship, named the ""Happy Delivery"", and parted ways with Massey and his men. Lowther left for the Carolinas where he developed the tactic of ramming his ship into another, while his men boarded and looted it. Around 1721 he left for the Grand Caymans where he ran into the ""Greyhound"" captained by Benjamin Edwards. Lowther gave a cannon shot for a signal. ""Greyhound"" responded with a broadside, (simultaneous discharge of all cannons on a side of a ship.) The pirates boarded the ""Greyhound"", possibly killed the entire crew and burnt the ship. Lowther had many ships"
"Blackbeard Edward Teach or Edward Thatch ( – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Little is known about his early life, but he may have been a sailor on privateer ships during Queen Anne's War before settling on the Bahamian island of New Providence, a base for Captain Benjamin Hornigold, whose crew Teach joined around 1716. Hornigold placed him in command of a sloop that he had captured, and the two engaged in numerous acts of piracy. Their numbers were"
"the Blackbird, a privateer schooner authorized by the Massachusetts Bay State and owned by Walter Prue Bartlett, Edward Norris, Samuel Page, and Walter P. Bartlett, all of Salem, Massachusetts. It was armed with eight swivel guns. The ship was authorized to attack and disrupt British shipping. In June 1778, he took control of the Hornet, another privateer. He was lost at sea sometime between the dates of January 13, 1782, and September 16, 1786. Nathaniel Reynolds Nathaniel Reynolds (1730 – c. 1782) was a shoemaker, army captain and privateer during the American Revolutionary War. He was the captain of the"
"front, and was presumably killed by the attacking ""Scots"". Baldrick Baldrick is the name of several fictional characters featured in the long-running BBC historic comedy television series ""Blackadder"". Each one serves as Edmund Blackadder's servant and sidekick and acts as a foil to the lead character. Each series of ""Blackadder"" is set in a different period in British history, and each Baldrick character (as with the character of Edmund) is a descendant of the Baldrick from the preceding series. Just as Blackadder exists in many incarnations throughout the ages, so does Baldrick; whenever there is a Blackadder there is a"
"behaves like a typical Blackadder.) 30 January 1649, King Charles' day of execution, arrives. King Charles is left alone for a few minutes with his executioner (Sir Edmund in a hood and with a false voice). Sir Edmund takes advantage of these minutes to relieve the King of his remaining wealth: however, the King eventually recognises him, but mistakes Blackadder's intentions and congratulates him for trying to save him even at the last minute, before giving him custody of his infant son, the later King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. (Historically he was 19 years old at the"
"Potato (Blackadder) ""Potato"" is the third episode of the BBC sitcom ""Blackadder II"", the second series of ""Blackadder"", which was set in Elizabethan England from 1558 to 1603. The episode opens with Blackadder at home, preparing to go to court to celebrate the return of Sir Walter ""Oooh what a big ship I've got"" Raleigh (Simon Jones). Blackadder is typically sarcastic and embittered, refusing to join in the festivities and endures much taunting from children outside his house, to which he retaliates by shooting one with an arrow. Melchett arrives and offers Blackadder a potato, the last having just been"
"by Peter Paillou. The puffadder shyshark, first described by Edwards in 1760, is now named ""Haploblepharus edwardsii"". ""Diadophis punctatus edwardsii"", a subspecies of North American snake, is named in honor of George Edwards. George Edwards (naturalist) George Edwards (3 April 1694 – 23 July 1773) was an English naturalist and ornithologist, known as the ""father of British ornithology"". Edwards was born at Stratford, Essex. In his early years he travelled extensively through mainland Europe, studying natural history, and gained some reputation for his coloured drawings of animals, especially birds. In 1733, on the recommendation of Hans Sloane, he was appointed"
"IV and Edmund's older brother Harry, he is briefly King of England; a lyric one of the closing credits for ""Blackadder II"" describes him as ""a king / Although for only thirty seconds"". Prince Edmund is one of the many Blackadders to be killed on screen: he dies after accidentally drinking poisoned wine, although he had already been severely mutilated by his childhood nemesis, the Duke of Burgundy. He is sometimes called King Edmund because in the last episode of the first series of Blackadder, he was the last of the Royal family to die, making him automatically King for"
"The Black Adder The Black Adder is the first series of the BBC sitcom ""Blackadder"", written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd. The series was originally aired on BBC One from 15 June 1983 to 20 July 1983, and was a joint production with the Australian Seven Network. Set in 1485 at the end of the British Middle Ages, the series is written as a secret history which contends that King Richard III won the Battle of Bosworth Field, only to be unintentionally assassinated by his nephew Edmund and succeeded by"
"wants secret revenge against the Blackadder family. Through Woboga, Yellow Chief and his men find the ex-Mississippi planters corralled in an enclosed gorge in the Rocky Mountains by Bijou Creek of the South Platte River. They attack with gunfire, killing Squire Blackadder in the process, and capture the rest of the group as prisoners. Meanwhile, Edward O'Neil, who has since left Mississippi to the Colorado mountains to escape his heartbreak over Clara Blackadder, travels as a fur trapper with his experienced, older companion, 'Lije Orton. The two trappers overhear Yellow Chief's attack of the corralled emigrants and decide to receive"
"a combination of the introduction of cats and weasels, habitat destruction by human settlers, and direct hunting by humans. Prior to European settlement, the bird had been hunted by Polynesian settlers of the island. When Europeans reached the island, however, the birds remained and the Polynesians did not. The Europeans took up the bird as a food source. An officer of the penal colony there, Ensign Abel Dottin William Best, recorded the species as still quite common in 1838, with his journals mentioning his successful hunting of 72 birds, including 25 on September 18, 1838. The last sighting occurred in"
"Bedford whaling bark ""Platina"", captained by Thomas McKenzie, harpooned and killed an albino sperm whale near the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean, using a harpoon tipped with an explosive device. Amos Smalley harpooned the white whale and recounted his experience to ""Reader's Digest"". He remembers Captain McKenzie estimating by the wear on the whale's teeth that it was ""at least a hundred years old, maybe two hundred"". Smalley was a guest at the premiere of John Huston's film ""Moby Dick"", 1956, where he was introduced as ""the man who killed Moby Dick"". In 1952, ""Time"" Magazine reported the harpooning of"
"mud of the trenches of the Western Front, this Blackadder's sole goal is to escape his inevitable fate. Blackadder's attempts to escape are thwarted by General Melchett, who does not realize the futility of the war, and Melchett's assistant Captain Darling, his sycophantic right-hand man. Blackadder shares his trench with Private S. Baldrick, and Lt. The Hon. George Colthurst St Barleigh. In the series finale, ""Goodbyeee"", Captain Blackadder and his company go over the top in 1917 to their implied deaths. In the series, Captain Blackadder is seen wearing the following ribbons: Lord Edmund Blackadder is the modern representative of"
"number of passengers, Barnard and a few others went out in a party to hunt for meat on the nearby New Island. During his absence, the British seized ""Nanina"" and left Barnard and his men on New Island. Barnard and his party were finally rescued by the British whalers ""Asp"" and ""Indispensable"" in November 1814. In 1829, Barnard wrote ""A Narrative of the Sufferings and Adventures of Capt. Charles Barnard"" detailing the happenings. Barnard Point on Livingston Island in Antarctica is named after him. Charles Barnard (castaway) Captain Charles Barnard (1781–c.1840) was a famous castaway. In 1812, the British ship"
"Hayes"" Sydney: HarperCollins, 2016' Bully Hayes William Henry ""Bully"" Hayes (1827 or 1829 – 31 March 1877) was a notorious American-born ship's captain who engaged in blackbirding in the 1860s and 1870s. Hayes operated across the breadth of the Pacific in the 1850s until his murder on 31 March 1877. Hayes has been described as a South Sea pirate and ""the last of the buccaneers"". However James A. Michener and A. Grove Day, in their account of his life, warn that it is almost impossible to separate fact from legend in his life; they described Hayes as ""a cheap swindler,"
"was taken by pirate John Auger. Pirate turned pirate-hunter Benjamin Hornigold later captured Augur; based on the testimony of Greenaway and others, Augur was tried, convicted, and hanged. Captain Grinnaway Captain Grinnaway (fl. 1718, also known as Greenway) was a pirate from Bermuda, best known for being briefly and indirectly involved with Edward Teach (or Thatch, alias Blackbeard). In early 1718 Blackbeard captured the sloop ""Margaret"" captained by Henry Bostock, taking aboard several of his crew. Blackbeard questioned Bostock about ships in the vicinity, and was particularly interested in the whereabouts of a Captain named Pinkentham (or Pinkethman). Pinkentham, who"
"upon the perilous journey through Crook and over Cleabarrow, the creature's main haunt. It is said that ""inhabitants (of the local villages) were never safe from its attacks, and that pilgrims...shuddered with fear"". Richard De Gylpin determined to free them from these attacks, and tracked the monster through the forest. After a dramatic fight he slew the animal on the spot of the Wild Boar Inn, on the banks of the little stream, ever since known as the Gilpin. After these brave exploits Richard de Gilpin changed his family crest to include a black boar on a gold background. He"
"battering ram to fling the hapless weasels over the treetops. After introducing them to his savage wife Thunderbeak and their four ravenous chicks, Stonehead offers to take them to the ""swampdark"" mentioned in the poem the next morning. Down south in Salamandastron, Lord Rawnblade is missing. The ""Waveblade"", under Captain Orgeye, is grounded near Salamandastron and the badger lord comes out of his mountain to do battle. Full of the Bloodwrath, Rawnblade slays the entire corsair crew singlehandedly and sets the ship on a course for Terramort. Near Redwall, the crew returns to Greypatch, who has formulated a fail-proof plan"
"and he corresponded with Philip Sclater, secretary of the Zoological Society of London, sending specimens for identification. These were passed to Osbert Salvin who presented his findings to the Society in a report 6 January 1879. Bully Hayes was a notorious recruiter of native labour in the South Seas using trickery or kidnap. The practice referred to as blackbirding, supplied plantation owners with workers who often never returned to their homeland. In 1872 Hayes was arrested by Captain Meade of the ""USS Narragansett"" in Samoa. However, after investigation, he was released due to lack of evidence. Powell, who had tried"
"dressing up as Italian chefs and substituting themselves for Melchett's chef. After serving Baldrick's vile cuisine to Melchett and Darling, the three escape back to the trenches, where Blackadder asks Baldrick how he managed to get so much custard out of such a small cat. Captain Cook (Blackadder) ""Captain Cook"", or ""Plan A: Captain Cook"", is the first episode of ""Blackadder Goes Forth"", the fourth series of the BBC sitcom ""Blackadder"". The episode starts with Blackadder and Baldrick discussing the latter's latest feeble cunning plan: namely, Baldrick carving his name on a bullet to get around the fact that ""there's"
"his life to be in ruins. While Baldrick informs him that he has accepted a job, Sir Edmund wonders who could be so utterly without heart and soul, so low and degraded, as to behead the King of England. As his own words sink in, he questions Baldrick, who admits that it was he who accepted the position. (Historically King Charles' executioner was Richard Brandon.) Baldrick explains to the understandably enraged Blackadder that he has a cunning plan to save the King. He presents Sir Edmund with a huge pumpkin, poorly painted to represent a human face. He plans to"
"MacDonald. It is believed to be an Aboriginal word (language and dialect unknown) meaning ""main camping ground"". In July 1872, a Rockhampton architect John William Wilson found a large salt water crocodile known as Big Ben dying in Alligator Creek (it had been shot). Big Ben had originally inhabited the lower reaches of the Fitzroy River but had been frightened by the shipping in the river and had retreated to Alligator Creek. In October that year, Wilson displayed Big Ben and some other crocodiles in Rockhampton's Theatre Royal. Big Ben was 22 feet 3½ inches (6.79 m) long and an"
"Corporal Punishment (Blackadder) ""Corporal Punishment"", or ""Plan B: Corporal Punishment"", is the second episode of ""Blackadder Goes Forth"", the fourth series of the BBC sitcom ""Blackadder"". It was first broadcast on BBC One on 5 October 1989. Blackadder faces a court-martial for shooting a carrier pigeon. Captain Blackadder receives numerous calls to the wrong number before finally having a call with orders to advance. He avoids going over the top by pretending the line is breaking up. He then throws away a telegram ordering him to advance on the grounds that it is wrongly addressed to ""Catpain Blackudder"" and then"
"fish and a few small sea birds to eat, shared between 11 men. On the 16th day seaman William Davis, encouraged by another, August Plagge, attacked Loder with a knife and had to be restrained. That night Plagge committed suicide by jumping overboard. The next day seaman William Robinson died, and the survivors decided to eat him. The cook William Wright was ordered to dismember the body. Thomas Hunt, the 3rd Engineer, died two days later and was also eaten. SS Earnmoor SS ""Earnmoor"" was a tramp steamer that sank during a storm in 1889. The survivors drifted for 21"