title: Portuguese Empire

text: After a series of prolonged contacts with Ethiopia, the Portuguese embassy made contact with the Ethiopian (Abyssinian) Kingdom led by Rodrigo de Lima in 1520. This coincided with the Portuguese search for Prester John, as they soon associated the kingdom as his land. The fear of Turkish advances within the Portuguese and Ethiopian sectors also played a role in their alliance. The Adal Sultanate defeated the Ethiopians in the battle of Shimbra Kure in 1529, and Islam spread further in the region. Portugal responded by aiding king Gelawdewos with Portuguese soldiers and muskets. Though the Ottomans responded with support of soldiers and muskets to the Adal Sultanate, after the death of the Adali sultan Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi in the battle of Wayna Daga in 1543, the joint Adal-Ottoman force retreated.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: The Portuguese also made direct contact with the Kongolose vassal state Ndongo and its ruler Ngola Kiljuane in 1520, after the latter requested missionaries. Kongolese king Afonso I interfered with the process with denunciations, and later sent a Kongo mission to Ndongo after the latter had arrested the Portuguese mission that came. The growing official and unofficial slave trading with Ndongo strained relations between Kongo and the Portuguese, and even had Portuguese ambassadors from Sao Tome support Ndongo against the Kingdom of Kongo. However, when the Jaga attacked and conquered regions of Kongo in 1568, Portuguese assisted Kongo in their defeat. In response, the Kongo allowed the colonization of Luanda Island; Luanda was established by Paulo Dias de Novais in 1576 and soon became a slave port. De Novais' subsequent alliance with Ndongo angered Luso-Africans who resented the influence from the Crown. In 1579, Ndongo ruler Ngola Kiluanje kia Ndamdi massacred Portuguese and Kongolese residents in the Ndongo capital Kabasa under the influence of Portuguese renegades. Both the Portuguese and Kongo fought against Ndongo, and off-and-on warfare between the Ndongo and Portugal would persist for decades.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: In east-Africa, the main agents acting on behalf of the Portuguese Crown, exploring and settling the territory of what would become Mozambique were the "prazeiros", to whom vast estates around the Zambezi river were leased by the King as a reward for their services. Commanding vast armies of chikunda warrior-slaves, these men acted as feudal-like lords, either levying tax from local chieftains, defending them and their estates from marauding tribes, participating in the ivory or slave trade, and becoming involved in the politics of the Kingdom of Mutapa, to the point of installing client kings upon its throne.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: In 1542, Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier arrived in Goa at the service of King John III of Portugal, in charge of an Apostolic Nunciature. At the same time Francisco Zeimoto, António Mota, and other traders arrived in Japan for the first time. According to Fernão Mendes Pinto, who claimed to be in this journey, they arrived at Tanegashima, where the locals were impressed by firearms, that would be immediately made by the Japanese on a large scale. By 1570 the Portuguese bought part of a Japanese port where they founded a small part of the city of Nagasaki, and it became the major trading port in Japan in the triangular trade with China and Europe.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Guarding its trade from both European and Asian competitors, Portugal dominated not only the trade between Asia and Europe, but also much of the trade between different regions of Asia and Africa, such as India, Indonesia, China, and Japan. Jesuit missionaries, followed the Portuguese to violently and forcefully spread Roman Catholicism to Asia and Africa with mixed success.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Based on the Treaty of Tordesillas, the Portuguese Crown, under the kings Manuel I, John III and Sebastian, also claimed territorial rights in North America (reached by John Cabot in 1497 and 1498). To that end, in 1499 and 1500, João Fernandes Lavrador explored Greenland and the north Atlantic coast of Canada, which accounts for the appearance of "Labrador" on topographical maps of the period. Subsequently, in 1500–1501 and 1502, the brothers Gaspar and Miguel Corte-Real explored what is today the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Greenland, claiming these lands for Portugal. In 1506, King Manuel I created taxes for the cod fisheries in Newfoundland waters. Around 1521, João Álvares Fagundes was granted donatary rights to the inner islands of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and also created a settlement on Cape Breton Island to serve as a base for cod fishing. Pressure from natives and competing European fisheries prevented a permanent establishment and was abandoned five years later. Several attempts to establish settlements in Newfoundland over the next half-century also failed.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Within a few years after Cabral arrived from Brazil, competition came along from France. In 1503, an expedition under the command of Gonçalo Coelho reported French raids on the Brazilian coasts, and explorer Binot Paulmier de Gonneville traded for brazilwood after making contact in southern Brazil a year later. Expeditions sponsored by Francis I along the North American coast directly violated of the Treaty of Tordesilhas. By 1531, the French had stationed a trading post off of an island on the Brazilian coast.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: The increase in brazilwood smuggling from the French led João III to press an effort to establish effective occupation of the territory. In 1531, a royal expedition led by Martim Afonso de Sousa and his brother Pero Lopes went to patrol the whole Brazilian coast, banish the French, and create some of the first colonial towns – among them São Vicente, in 1532. Sousa returned to Lisbon a year later to become governor of India and never returned to Brazil. The French attacks did cease to an extent after retaliation led to the Portuguese paying the French to stop attacking Portuguese ships throughout the Atlantic, but the attacks would continue to be a problem well into the 1560s.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Upon de Sousa's arrival and success, fifteen latitudinal tracts, theoretically to span from the coast to the Tordesillas limit, were decreed by João III on 28 September 1532. The plot of the lands formed as a hereditary captaincies (Capitanias Hereditárias) to grantees rich enough to support settlement, as had been done successfully in Madeira and Cape Verde islands. Each captain-major was to build settlements, grant allotments and administer justice, being responsible for developing and taking the costs of colonization, although not being the owner: he could transmit it to offspring, but not sell it. Twelve recipients came from Portuguese gentry who become prominent in Africa and India and senior officials of the court, such as João de Barros.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Of the fifteen original captaincies, only two, Pernambuco and São Vicente, prospered. Both were dedicated to the crop of sugar cane, and the settlers managed to maintain alliances with Native Americans. The rise of the sugar industry came about because the Crown took the easiest sources of profit (brazilwood, spices, etc.), leaving settlers to come up with new revenue sources. The establishment of the sugar cane industry demanded intensive labor that would be met with Native American and, later, African slaves. Deeming the "capitanias" system ineffective, João III decided to centralize the government of the colony in order to "give help and assistance" to grantees. In 1548 he created the first General Government, sending in Tomé de Sousa as first governor and selecting a capital at the Bay of All Saints, making it at the Captaincy of Bahia.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Tomé de Sousa built the capital of Brazil, Salvador, at the Bay of All Saints in 1549. Among de Sousa's 1000 man expedition were soldiers, workers, and six Jesuits led by Manuel da Nóbrega. The Jesuits would have an essential role in the colonization of Brazil, including São Vicente, and São Paulo, the latter which Nóbrega co-founded. Along with the Jesuit missions later came disease among the natives, among them plague and smallpox. Subsequently, the French would resettle in Portuguese territory at Guanabara Bay, which would be called France Antarctique. While a Portuguese ambassador was sent to Paris to report the French intrusion, Joao III appointed Mem de Sá as new Brazilian governor general, and Sá left for Brazil in 1557. By 1560, Sá and his forces had expelled the combined Huguenot, Scottish Calvinist, and slave forces from France Antarctique, but left survivors after burning their fortifications and villages. These survivors would settle Gloria Bay, Flamengo Beach, and Parapapuã with the assistance of the Tamoio natives.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: The Tamoio had been allied with the French since the settlement of France Antarctique, and despite the French loss in 1560, the Tamoio were still a threat. They launched two attacks in 1561 and 1564 (the latter event was assisting the French), and were nearly successful with each. By this time period, Manuel de Nóbrega, along with fellow Jesuit José de Anchieta, took part as members of attacks on the Tamoios and as spies for their resources. From 1565 through 1567 Mem de Sá and his forces eventually destroyed France Antarctique at Guanabara Bay. He and his nephew, Estácio de Sá, then established the city of Rio de Janeiro in 1567, after Mem de Sá proclaimed the area "São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro" in 1565. By 1575, the Tamoios had been subdued and essentially were extinct, and by 1580 the government became more of an "ouvidor general" rather than the "ouvidores".


title: Portuguese Empire

text: In 1580, King Philip II of Spain invaded Portugal after a crisis of succession brought about by King Sebastian of Portugal's death during a disastrous Portuguese attack on Alcácer Quibir in Morocco in 1578. At the Cortes of Tomar in 1581, Philip was crowned Philip I of Portugal, uniting the two crowns and overseas empires under Spanish Habsburg rule in a dynastic Iberian Union. At Tomar, Philip promised to keep the empires legally distinct, leaving the administration of the Portuguese Empire to Portuguese nationals, with a Viceroy of Portugal in Lisbon seeing to his interests. Philip even had the capital moved to Lisbon for a two-year period (1581–83) due to it being the most important city in the Iberian peninsula. All the Portuguese colonies accepted the new state of affairs except for the Azores, which held out for António, a Portuguese rival claimant to the throne who had garnered the support of Catherine de Medici of France in exchange for the promise to cede Brazil. Spanish forces eventually captured the islands in 1583.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: The Tordesillas boundary between Spanish and Portuguese control in South America was then increasingly ignored by the Portuguese, who pressed beyond it into the heart of Brazil, allowing them to expand the territory to the west. Exploratory missions were carried out both ordered by the government, the "entradas" (entries), and by private initiative, the "bandeiras" (flags), by the "bandeirantes". These expeditions lasted for years venturing into unmapped regions, initially to capture natives and force them into slavery, and later focusing on finding gold, silver and diamond mines.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: However, the union meant that Spain dragged Portugal into its conflicts with England, France and the Dutch Republic, countries which were beginning to establish their own overseas empires. The primary threat came from the Dutch, who had been engaged in a struggle for independence against Spain since 1568. In 1581, the Seven Provinces gained independence from the Habsburg rule, leading Philip II to prohibit commerce with Dutch ships, including in Brazil where Dutch had invested large sums in financing sugar production.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Spanish imperial trade networks now were opened to Portuguese merchants, which was particularly lucrative for Portuguese slave traders who could now sell slaves in Spanish America at a higher price than could be fetched in Brazil. In addition to this newly acquired access to the Spanish "asientos", the Portuguese were able to solve their bullion shortage issues with access to the production of the silver mining in Peru and Mexico. Manila was also incorporated into the Macau-Nagasaki trading network, allowing Macanese of Portuguese descent to act as trading agents for Philippine Spaniards and use Spanish silver from the Americas in trade with China, and they later drew competition with the Dutch East India Company.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: In 1592, during the war with Spain, an English fleet captured a large Portuguese carrack off the Azores, the Madre de Deus, which was loaded with 900 tons of merchandise from India and China estimated at half a million pounds (nearly half the size of English Treasury at the time). This foretaste of the riches of the East galvanized English interest in the region. That same year, Cornelis de Houtman was sent by Dutch merchants to Lisbon, to gather as much information as he could about the Spice Islands.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: The Dutch eventually realized the importance of Goa in breaking up the Portuguese empire in Asia. In 1583, merchant and explorer Jan Huyghen van Linschoten (1563 – 8 February 1611), formerly the Dutch secretary of the Archbishop of Goa, had acquired information while serving in that position that contained the location of secret Portuguese trade routes throughout Asia, including those to the East Indies and Japan. It was published in 1595; the text was then included in the larger volume published in 1596 under the title "Itinerario: voyage, ofte schipvaert van Jan Huygen van Linschoten naer Oost ofte Portugaels Indien, 1579–1592". Dutch and English interests used this new information, leading to their commercial expansion, including the foundation of the English East India Company in 1600, and the Dutch East India Company in 1602. These developments allowed the entry of chartered companies into the East Indies.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: The Dutch took their fight overseas, attacking Spanish and Portuguese colonies and beginning the Dutch–Portuguese War, which would last for over sixty years (1602–1663). Other European nations, such as Protestant England, assisted the Dutch Empire in the war. The Dutch attained victories in Asia and Africa with assistance of various indigenous allies, eventually wrenching control of Malacca, Ceylon, and São Jorge da Mina. The Dutch also had regional control of the lucrative sugar-producing region of northeast Brazil as well as Luanda, but the Portuguese regained these territories after considerable struggle.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Meanwhile, in the Persian Gulf region, the Portuguese also lost control of Ormuz by a joint alliance of the Safavids and the English in 1622, and Oman under the Al-Ya'arubs would capture Muscat in 1650. They would continue to use Muscat as a base for repetitive incursions within the Indian Ocean, including capturing Fort Jesus in 1698. In Ethiopia and Japan in the 1630s, the ousting of missionaries by local leaders severed influence in the respective regions.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: The loss of colonies was one of the reasons that contributed to the end of the personal union with Spain. In 1640 John IV was proclaimed King of Portugal and the Portuguese Restoration War began. Even before the war's final resolution, the crown established the Overseas Council, conceived in 1642 on the short-lived model of the Council of India (1604–1614), and established in 1643, it was the governing body for most of the Portuguese overseas empire. The exceptions were North Africa, Madeira, and the Azores. All correspondence concerning overseas possessions were funneled through the council. When the Portuguese court fled to Brazil in 1807, following the Napoleonic invasion of Iberia, Brazil was removed from the jurisdiction of the council. It made recommendations concerning personnel for the administrative, fiscal, and military, as well as bishops of overseas dioceses. A distinguished seventeenth-century member was Salvador de Sá.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: In 1661 the Portuguese offered Bombay and Tangier to England as part of a dowry, and over the next hundred years the English gradually became the dominant trader in India, gradually excluding the trade of other powers. In 1668 Spain recognized the end of the Iberian Union and in exchange Portugal ceded Ceuta to the Spanish crown.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: After the Portuguese were defeated by the Indian rulers Chimnaji Appa of the Maratha Empire and by Shivappa Nayaka of the Keladi Nayaka Kingdom and at the end of confrontations with the Dutch, Portugal was only able to cling onto Goa and several minor bases in India, and managed to regain territories in Brazil and Africa, but lost forever to prominence in Asia as trade was diverted through increasing numbers of English, Dutch and French trading posts. Thus, throughout the century, Brazil gained increasing importance to the empire, which exported Brazilwood and sugar.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: In 1693, gold was discovered at Minas Gerais in Brazil. Major discoveries of gold and, later, diamonds in Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso and Goiás led to a "gold rush", with a large influx of migrants. The village became the new economic center of the empire, with rapid settlement and some conflicts. This gold cycle led to the creation of an internal market and attracted a large number of immigrants. By 1739, at the apex of the mining boom, the population of Minas Gerais was somewhere between 200,000 and 250,000.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: The gold rush considerably increased the revenue of the Portuguese crown, who charged a fifth of all the ore mined, or the "fifth". Diversion and smuggling were frequent, along with altercations between "Paulistas" (residents of São Paulo) and "Emboabas" (immigrants from Portugal and other regions in Brazil), so a whole set of bureaucratic controls began in 1710 with the captaincy of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. By 1718, São Paulo and Minas Gerais became two captaincies, with eight "vilas" created in the latter. The crown also restricted the diamond mining within its jurisdiction and to private contractors. In spite of gold galvanizing global trade, the plantation industry became the leading export for Brazil during this period; sugar constituted at 50% of the exports (with gold at 46%) in 1760.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Africans became the largest group of people in Minas Gerais. Slaves labeled as 'Minas' and 'Angolas' rose in high demand during the boom. The Akan within the 'Minas' group had a reputation to have been experts in extrapolating gold in their native regions, and became the preferred group. In spite of the high death rate associated with the slaves involved in the mining industry, the owners that allowed slaves that extracted above the minimum amount of gold to keep the excesses, which in turn led to the possibility of manumission. Those that became free partook in artisan jobs such as cobblers, tailors, and blacksmiths. In spite of free blacks and mulattoes playing a large role in Minas Gerais, the number of them that received marginalization was greater there than in any other region in Brazil.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Gold discovered in Mato Grosso and Goiás sparked an interest to solidify the western borders of the colony. In the 1730s contact with Spanish outposts occurred more frequently, and the Spanish threatened to launch a military expedition in order to remove them. This failed to happen and by the 1750s the Portuguese were able to implant a political stronghold in the region.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: In 1755 Lisbon suffered a catastrophic earthquake, which together with a subsequent tsunami killed between 40,000 and 60,000 people out of a population of 275,000. This sharply checked Portuguese colonial ambitions in the late 18th century.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: According to economic historians, Portugal's colonial trade had a substantial positive impact on Portuguese economic growth, 1500–1800. Leonor Costa et al. conclude:


title: Portuguese Empire

text: intercontinental trade had a substantial and increasingly positive impact on economic growth. In the heyday of colonial expansion, eliminating the economic links to empire would have reduced Portugal's per capita income by roughly a fifth. While the empire helped the domestic economy it was not sufficient to annul the tendency towards decline in relation to Europe's advanced core which set in from the 17th century onwards.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Unlike Spain, Portugal did not divide its colonial territory in America. The captaincies created there functioned under a centralized administration in Salvador, which reported directly to the Crown in Lisbon. The 18th century was marked by increasing centralization of royal power throughout the Portuguese empire. The Jesuits, who protected the natives against slavery, were brutally suppressed by the Marquis of Pombal, which led to the dissolution of the order in the region by 1759. Pombal wished to improve the status of the natives by declaring them free and increasing the mestizo population by encouraging intermarriage between them and the white population. Indigenous freedom decreased in contrast to its period under the Jesuits, and the response to intermarriage was lukewarm at best. The crown's revenue from gold declined and plantation revenue increased by the time of Pombal, and he made provisions to improve each. Although he failed to spike the gold revenue, two short-term companies he established for the plantation economy drove a significant increase in production of cotton, rice, cacao, tobacco, and sugar. Slave labor increased as well as involvement from the textile economy. The economic development as a whole was inspired by elements of the Enlightenment in mainland Europe. However, the diminished influence from states such as the United Kingdom increased the Kingdom's dependence upon Brazil.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Encouraged by the example of the United States of America, which had won its independence from Britain, the colonial province of Minas Gerais attempted to achieve the same objective in 1789. However, the Inconfidência Mineira failed, its leaders were arrested, and of the participants in the insurrections, the one of lowest social position, Tiradentes, was hanged. Among the conspiracies led by the African population was the Bahian revolt in 1798, led primarily by João de Deus do Nascimento. Inspired by the French Revolution, leaders proposed a society without slavery, food prices would be lowered, and trade restriction abolished. Impoverished social conditions and a high cost of living were among reasons of the revolt. Authorities diffused the plot before major action began; they executed four of the conspirators and exiled several others to the Atlantic Coast of Africa. Several more smaller-scale slave rebellions and revolts would occur from 1801 and 1816 and fears within Brazil were that these events would lead to a "second Haiti".


title: Portuguese Empire

text: In spite of the conspiracies, the rule of Portugal in Brazil was not under serious threat. Historian A. R. Disney states that the colonists did not until the transferring of the Kingdom in 1808 assert influence of policy changing due to direct contact, and historian Gabriel Paquette mentions that the threats in Brazil were largely unrealized in Portugal until 1808 because of effective policing and espionage. More revolts would occur after the arrival of the court.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Portugal, and Dom João, prince regent in place of his mother, Queen Maria I, ordered the transfer of the royal court to Brazil. In 1815 Brazil was elevated to the status of Kingdom, the Portuguese state officially becoming the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves ("Reino Unido de Portugal, Brasil e Algarves"), and the capital was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, the only instance of a European country being ruled from one of its colonies. There was also the election of Brazilian representatives to the Cortes Constitucionais Portuguesas (Portuguese Constitutional Courts), the Parliament that assembled in Lisbon in the wake of the Liberal Revolution of 1820.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Although the royal family returned to Portugal in 1821, the interlude led to a growing desire for independence amongst Brazilians. In 1822, the son of Dom João VI, then prince-regent Dom Pedro I, proclaimed the independence of Brazil on September 7, 1822, and was crowned Emperor of the new Empire of Brazil. Unlike the Spanish colonies of South America, Brazil's independence was achieved without significant bloodshed.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: At the height of European colonialism in the 19th century, Portugal had lost its territory in South America and all but a few bases in Asia. During this phase, Portuguese colonialism focused on expanding its outposts in Africa into nation-sized territories to compete with other European powers there. Portugal pressed into the hinterland of Angola and Mozambique, and explorers Serpa Pinto, Hermenegildo Capelo and Roberto Ivens were among the first Europeans to cross Africa west to east.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: The project to connect the two colonies, the Pink Map, was the main objective of Portuguese policy in the 1880s. However, the idea was unacceptable to the British, who had their own aspirations of contiguous British territory running from Cairo to Cape Town. The British Ultimatum of 1890 was imposed upon King Carlos I of Portugal and the Pink Map came to an end.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: The King's reaction to the ultimatum was exploited by republicans. On February 1, 1908, King Carlos and Prince Luís Filipe were assassinated in Lisbon by two Portuguese republican activist revolutionaries, Alfredo Luís da Costa and Manuel Buíça. Luís Filipe's brother, Manuel, became King Manuel II of Portugal. Two years later, on October 5, 1910, he was overthrown and fled into exile in England in Fulwell Park, Twickenham near London and Portugal became a republic.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: In 1914, the German Empire formulated plans to usurp Angola from Portuguese control. Skirmishes between Portuguese and German soldiers ensued, resulting in reinforcements being sent from the mainland. The main objective of these soldiers was to recapture the Kionga Triangle, in northern Mozambique, the territory having been subjugated by Germany.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: In 1916, after Portugal interned German ships in Lisbon, Germany declared war on Portugal. Portugal followed suit, thus entering World War I.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Early in the war, Portugal was involved mainly in supplying the Allies positioned in France. In 1916, there was only one attack on the Portuguese territory, in Madeira. In 1917, one of the actions taken by Portugal was to assist Britain in its timber industry, imperative to the war effort. Along with the Canadian Forestry Corps, Portuguese personnel established logging infrastructure in an area now referred to as the "Portuguese Fireplace".


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Throughout 1917 Portugal dispatched contingents of troops to the Allied front in France. Midway in the year, Portugal suffered its first World War I casualty. In Portuguese Africa, Portugal and the British fought numerous battles against the Germans in both Mozambique and Angola. Later in the year, U-boats entered Portuguese waters again and once more attacked Madeira, sinking multiple Portuguese ships. Through the beginning of 1918, Portugal continued to fight along the Allied front against Germany, including participation in the infamous Battle of La Lys. As autumn approached, Germany found success in both Portuguese Africa and against Portuguese vessels, sinking multiple ships. After nearly three years of fighting (from a Portuguese perspective), World War I ended, with an armistice being signed by Germany. At the Versailles Conference, Portugal regained control of all its lost territory, but did not retain possession (by the principle of uti possidetis) of territories gained during the war, except for Kionga, a port city in modern-day Tanzania.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Portuguese territories in Africa eventually included the modern nations of Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, and Mozambique.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: In the wake of World War II, decolonization movements began to gain momentum in the empires of the European powers. The ensuing Cold War also created instabilities among Portuguese overseas populations, as the United States and Soviet Union vied to increase their spheres of influence. Following the granting of independence to India by Britain in 1947, and the decision by France to allow its enclaves in India to be incorporated into the newly independent nation, pressure was placed on Portugal to do the same. This was resisted by António de Oliveira Salazar, who had taken power in 1933. Salazar rebuffed a request in 1950 by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to return the enclaves, viewing them as integral parts of Portugal. The following year, the Portuguese constitution was amended to change the status of the colonies to overseas provinces. In 1954, a local uprising resulted in the overthrow of the Portuguese authorities in the Indian enclave of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The existence of the remaining Portuguese colonies in India became increasingly untenable and Nehru enjoyed the support of almost all the Indian domestic political parties as well as the Soviet Union and its allies. In 1961, shortly after an uprising against the Portuguese in Angola, Nehru ordered the Indian Army into Goa, Daman and Diu, which were quickly captured and formally annexed the following year. Salazar refused to recognize the transfer of sovereignty, believing the territories to be merely occupied. The Province of Goa continued to be represented in the Portuguese National Assembly until 1974.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: The outbreak of violence in February 1961 in Angola was the beginning of the end of Portugal's empire in Africa. Portuguese army officers in Angola held the view that it would be incapable of dealing militarily with an outbreak of guerilla warfare and therefore that negotiations should begin with the independence movements. However, Salazar publicly stated his determination to keep the empire intact, and by the end of the year, 50,000 troops had been stationed there. The same year, the tiny Portuguese fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá in Ouidah, a remnant of the West African slave trade, was annexed by the new government of Dahomey (now Benin) that had gained its independence from France. Unrest spread from Angola to Guinea, which rebelled in 1963, and Mozambique in 1964.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: According to one historian, Portuguese rulers were unwilling to meet the demands of their colonial subjects (unlike other European powers) in part because Portuguese elites believed that "Portugal lacked the means to conduct a successful "exit strategy" (akin to the "neocolonial" approach followed by the British, the French, or the Belgians)" and in part due to the lack of "a free and open debate [in Salazar's dictatorial state] on the costs of upholding an empire against the anti-colonial consensus that had prevailed in the United Nations since the early 1960s".


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Civil wars in Angola and Mozambique promptly broke out, with incoming communist governments formed by the former rebels (and backed by the Soviet Union, Cuba, and other communist countries) fighting against insurgent groups supported by nations like Zaire, South Africa, and the United States. East Timor also declared independence in 1975 by making an exodus of many Portuguese refugees to Portugal, which was also known as "retornados". However, East Timor was almost immediately invaded by neighbouring Indonesia, which later occupied it up until 1999. A United Nations-sponsored referendum resulted in a majority of East Timorese choosing independence, which was finally achieved in 2002.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: The rise of Soviet influence among the Movimento das Forças Armadas's military (MFA) and working class, and the cost and unpopularity of the Portuguese Colonial War (1961–1974), in which Portugal resisted to the emerging nationalist guerrilla movements in some of its African territories, eventually led to the collapse of the Estado Novo regime in 1974. Known as the "Carnation Revolution", one of the first acts of the MFA-led government which then came into power – the National Salvation Junta ("Junta de Salvação Nacional") – was to end the wars and negotiate Portuguese withdrawal from its African colonies. These events prompted a mass exodus of Portuguese citizens from Portugal's African territories (mostly from Angola and Mozambique), creating over a million Portuguese refugees – the "retornados". Portugal's new ruling authorities also recognized Goa and other Portuguese India's territories invaded by India's military forces, as Indian territories. Benin's claims over São João Baptista de Ajudá were accepted by Portugal in 1974.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: In 1987, Portugal signed the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration with the People's Republic of China to establish the process and conditions for the transfer of sovereignty of Macau, its last remaining overseas possession. While this process was similar to the agreement between the United Kingdom and China two years earlier regarding Hong Kong, the Portuguese transfer to China was met with less resistance than that of Britain regarding Hong Kong, as Portugal had already recognized Macau as Chinese territory under Portuguese administration in 1979. Under the transfer agreement, Macau is to be governed under a one country, two systems policy, in which it will retain a high degree of autonomy and maintain its capitalist way of life for at least 50 years after the handover in 2049. The handover on December 20, 1999 officially marked the end of the Portuguese Empire and end of colonialism in Asia.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Presently, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) serves as the cultural and intergovernmental successor of the Empire.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Macau was returned to China on 20 December 1999, under the terms of an agreement negotiated between People's Republic of China and Portugal twelve years earlier. Nevertheless, the Portuguese language remains co-official with Cantonese Chinese in Macau.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Currently, the Azores, Madeira, and Savage Islands are the only overseas territories that remain politically linked to Portugal. Although Portugal began the process of decolonizing East Timor in 1975, during 1999–2002 was sometimes considered Portugal's last remaining colony, as the Indonesian invasion of East Timor was not justified by Portugal.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Eight of the former colonies of Portugal have Portuguese as their official language. Together with Portugal, they are now members of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, which when combined total 10,742,000 km, or 7.2% of the Earth's landmass (148 939 063 km). There are six associate observers of the CPLP: Georgia, Japan, Mauritius, Namibia, Senegal, and Turkey. Moreover, twelve candidate countries or regions have applied for membership to the CPLP and are awaiting approval.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: Today, Portuguese is one of the world's major languages, ranked sixth overall with approximately 240 million speakers around the globe. It is the third most spoken language in the Americas, mainly due to Brazil, although there are also significant communities of lusophones in nations such as Canada, the US and Venezuela. In addition, there are numerous Portuguese-based creole languages, including the one utilized by the Kristang people in Malacca.


title: Portuguese Empire

text: For instance, as Portuguese merchants were presumably the first to introduce the sweet orange in Europe, in several modern Indo-European languages the fruit has been named after them. Some examples are Albanian portokall, Bulgarian портокал ("portokal"), Greek πορτοκάλι ("portokali"), Macedonian портокал ("portokal"), Persian پرتقال ("porteghal"), and Romanian portocală. Related names can be found in other languages, such as Arabic البرتقال ("bourtouqal"), Georgian ფორთოხალი ("p'ort'oxali"), Turkish portakal and Amharic "birtukan". Also, in southern Italian dialects (e.g., Neapolitan), an orange is "portogallo" or "purtuallo", literally "(the) Portuguese (one)", in contrast to standard Italian "arancia".


title: Portuguese Empire

text: In light of its international importance, Portugal and Brazil are leading a movement to include Portuguese as one of the official languages of the United Nations.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: Rambo: Last Blood is a 2019 American action film directed by Adrian Grünberg. The screenplay was co-written by Matthew Cirulnick and Sylvester Stallone, from a story by Dan Gordon and Stallone, and is based on the character John Rambo created by author David Morrell for his novel "First Blood". A sequel to "Rambo" (2008), it is the fifth installment in the "Rambo" franchise and stars Stallone as Rambo, alongside Paz Vega, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Adriana Barraza, Yvette Monreal, Genie Kim aka Yenah Han, Joaquín Cosío, and Oscar Jaenada. In the film, Rambo travels to Mexico to save his adopted niece, who has been kidnapped by a Mexican cartel and forced into prostitution.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: Plans for a fifth film were announced on and off again since 2008, with different iterations developed and cancelled. The film was finally announced in May 2018, with Grünberg attached to direct. Principal photography began in October 2018 in Bulgaria and Spain and ended in December 2018, with additional photography in May 2019. Brian Tyler returned to score the film.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: "Rambo: Last Blood" was theatrically released on September 20, 2019, to negative reviews, with criticisms aimed at the script, graphic violence, and accusations of racist and xenophobic attitudes toward Mexico, though Stallone received some praise for his return in the lead role. The film grossed $91.5 million worldwide against a production budget of $50 million and print and advertisement costs of $30 million.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: Eleven years after the events in Burma, Vietnam War veteran John Rambo lives in Bowie, Arizona at his deceased father's horse ranch, which he manages with his old friend, Maria Beltran, and her granddaughter, Gabriela. Gabriela tells Rambo that a friend of hers, Gizelle, has found Gabriela's biological father, Manuel, in Mexico. Both Rambo and Maria tell her not to go to Mexico, but Gabriela secretly drives there to ask why Manuel abandoned her and her mother years ago. Gizelle leads Gabriela to Manuel's apartment, where he coldly tells her that he never cared for Gabriela or her mother.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: Gizelle takes a heartbroken Gabriela to a nearby club, where Gabriela is drugged and kidnapped by the enforcers of a Mexican cartel. Meanwhile, Maria informs Rambo of Gabriela's disappearance in Mexico. Rambo rushes to Mexico and interrogates both Manuel and Gizelle about Gabriela's whereabouts. After being threatened by Rambo, Gizelle reluctantly leads Rambo to the club where Gabriela was last seen, and Rambo confronts El Flaco, the man who last spoke with Gabriela. A mysterious woman, Carmen Delgado, tails Rambo as El Flaco leads him to Gabriela's location. Rambo is immediately confronted, beaten and marked by the cartel, led by the brothers Hugo and Victor Martinez. They take his driver's license with the location of Rambo's ranch and a photo of Gabriela, whom Victor recognizes. The cartel vow to mistreat Gabriela further due to Rambo's actions.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: Carmen takes Rambo back to her home where she cares for him until he fully recovers after four days. Meanwhile, Gabriela is consistently dosed with heroin and sold to be raped repeatedly. Carmen says she is an independent journalist who has been investigating the Martinez brothers, who kidnapped and murdered her sister. Rambo later raids one of the brothels, killing several men until he finds a drugged Gabriela. While driving back home in his pickup, Rambo thanks Gabriela for giving him hope for ten years but she dies from the forced overdose. An enraged Rambo sends Maria away and rigs the ranch with traps for a confrontation, and later returns to Mexico to ask for Carmen's help in finding Victor. Carmen initially refuses and tells Rambo that it will solve nothing, but is convinced after he appeals to her grief and frustration.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: Rambo raids Victor's home, killing several guards and decapitating Victor. In retaliation, Hugo leads a group of hitmen to Rambo's ranch, where each falls victim to the rigged traps. Saving Hugo for last, Rambo tears him open and rips out his heart. In the aftermath, a weakened Rambo sits on the porch of his father's house, vowing to continue fighting and keep the memories of his loved ones alive. During the credits, flashbacks to scenes from all five movies in the franchise are shown, with Rambo saddling up his horse and riding off into the sunset.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: Louis Mandylor and Aaron Cohen portrayed Sheriff and State Police Captain in the opening scene of the extended cut, respectively.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: In February 2008, Sylvester Stallone revealed that making a fifth film would depend on the success of the fourth film, stating he was "gearing one up" and that it would "be quite different". In March 2008, Stallone revealed he was "half-way through" writing "Rambo V", stating that it would not be another war movie, with Bulgaria being considered to double as Rambo's home in Arizona. In February 2009, Stallone revealed that he was proceeding with the fifth film, but stated, "The conflict is whether to do it in America or a foreign country."


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: In August 2009, Millennium Films greenlit the film with Stallone writing, directing, and starring. At that time, the plot focused on Rambo battling human traffickers and drug lords to rescue a young girl abducted near the U.S.–Mexico border. In September 2009, Stallone revealed that the film was titled "Rambo V: The Savage Hunt", and would instead be loosely based on the novel "Hunter" by James Byron Huggins. The plot was reconceptualized to focus on Rambo leading an elite special forces kill team to hunt and kill a genetically engineered creature. Nu Image/Millennium Films released a concept art poster, and official synopsis for "The Savage Hunt". By November 2009 however, the plot had reverted to the story written by Stallone, involving Rambo crossing the Mexican border to rescue a girl who had been kidnapped.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: In May 2010, Stallone revealed he was "done" with the character, stating, "I think Rambo's pretty well done. I don't think there'll be any more. I'm about 99% sure I was going to do it ... but I feel that with Rocky Balboa, that character came complete circle. He went home. But for Rambo to go on another adventure might be, I think, misinterpreted as a mercenary gesture and not necessary. I don't want that to happen." At the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, Millennium Films and Nu Image advertised the film, now titled "Rambo V", with handout poster cards. Despite this, Stallone stated that he wasn't involved with the created posters and that the studio had told him that if he doesn't make the film they'll find someone else to complete it. He stated he wanted the franchise to end, and expressed being comfortable with the idea.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: In 2011, Sean Hood was hired to write a new script titled "Rambo: Last Stand", which he described as "more in line with the small-town thriller of "First Blood"". In 2012, Hood revealed that "Rambo V" had been put on hold in order for Stallone to finish "The Expendables 2". Hood also revealed his uncertainty on whether the film would be similar to "Unforgiven" or a "passing-of-the-torch". In August 2013, it was announced that Entertainment One and Nu Image would develop and produce a "Rambo" TV series with Stallone. In June 2014, German film company Splendid Films confirmed that Stallone had started writing the script for "Rambo V", which he described as similar to "No Country for Old Men". In September 2014, the film was officially titled "Rambo: Last Blood", with Stallone also serving as director.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: In 2015, Stallone and Rambo creator/author David Morrell re-wrote the story for "Rambo V". Stallone wanted a "soulful journey" for the character that the author described as a "really emotional, powerful story". Stallone pitched the idea to the producers, but they wanted to proceed with the human trafficking story instead, leaving Stallone and Morrell's script abandoned. In October 2015, Stallone expressed interest in a prequel project, stating: "It's intriguing to find the whys and wherefores of how people have become what they are. The traumas, the loss and the tragedy of being in Vietnam would certainly be a great challenge for a young actor, and it would be ironic that Rambo directs younger Rambo having played it for twenty years plus." By January 2016, Stallone stated that "Rambo V" would not enter production.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: In May 2018, the film was re-announced to be in development initially as "Rambo V", with principal photography scheduled for that September. The plot was confirmed to focus on Rambo combating a Mexican drug cartel following their abduction of one of his family members. Stallone announced the release date for the film, which he would also be co-writing with Matthew Cirulnick. At that time, he expressed uncertainty in additionally serving as director. In August 2018, Adrian Grünberg was announced as the director. In September 2018, Adriana Barraza was added to the cast. In October 2018, Paz Vega, Yvette Monreal, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Oscar Jaenada, and Joaquín Cosío were cast. In May 2019, Louis Mandylor, Sheila Shah, Dimitri Vegas, and Genie Kim (aka Yenah Han) were revealed to have been cast without prior announcement.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: Principal photography began on October 2, 2018 in Bulgaria. It was previously scheduled to begin on September 1, 2018, and before that on October 27, 2014, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Barraza filmed her scenes in Tenerife (Canary Islands). Principal photography was completed on December 4, 2018. Additional photography took place at the end of May 2019.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: Brian Tyler, who composed for Stallone on "Rambo" and "The Expendables" trilogy, returned to score "Rambo: Last Blood". Tyler shared his scoring process with Dread Central:


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: In May 2018, Millennium Films brought the project to Cannes to generate interest and sales. Stallone verified that he would share images and videos from the film's set on his Instagram as the film approached its release. In February 2019, Stallone revealed images on his Instagram of Rambo's adopted family, combat history, and the character Gabriela's intentions to travel to Mexico to find her father. In March 2019, Stallone revealed via his Instagram an image of Rambo covered in blood and aiming his signature bow.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: In May 2019, it was revealed that Stallone will present exclusive images at Cannes to coincide with a special "first-look" screening of the film at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès on May 24, 2019. The first trailer was revealed at Cannes on May 24, 2019. The teaser trailer was released on May 30, 2019 and drew comparisons to "Logan" and "Unforgiven". A remixed version of the song "Old Town Road" was used for the teaser. On August 1, 2019, Stallone revealed the theatrical release poster on his Instagram. On August 20, 2019, Stallone released the second trailer on his Instagram. On September 4, 2019, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema announced it would host a marathon of all five "Rambo" films to commemorate the release of "Rambo: Last Blood". Deadline Hollywood reported that P&A costs were under $30 million.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: "Rambo: Last Blood" was released theatrically in the United States on September 20, 2019. Dadi purchased the Chinese distribution rights and agreed to an eight-figure co-financing deal. On July 30, 2019, the MPAA assigned the film an R rating. The British Board of Film Classification classified the film at 18. The film was released theatrically in Japan on June 26, 2020 by Gaga Corporation.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: Lionsgate released two different theatrical cuts of "Rambo: Last Blood", varying by country. In the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, the film runs 89 minutes; in Australia, Mexico, Sweden, Brazil, Finland, Germany and Japan, it runs 101 minutes. The latter version contains several deleted scenes and an alternate opening, which runs approximately 10 minutes:


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: It starts in a rainstorm in the middle of a rescue: 3 missing hikers in danger of getting caught in a flood. The police say they have to stop the search as it's getting too dangerous and ask where the volunteer on horseback is. We are then introduced to Rambo in the woods tracking the hikers, he finds a girl dead then further down finds the other two. He's trying to get them out but one guy won't leave without his wife. Rambo tells him she's dead but he runs off, the flood water starts running down and Rambo ties himself and the girl to a rock while the initial rush of water cascades over them. He then returns to the base with the girl and sees the guy who ran off getting his body bag loaded into an ambulance which triggers his PTSD, the girl thanks him and Rambo returns home and has a conversation with the old lady living in the house about when he returned and how his father used to sit in the rocking chair outside.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: He then goes into the tunnels clearly upset about the events and puts a CD on (The Doors). … When he has PTSD flashbacks in the tunnels it is intercut with the dead hiker.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: After the alternate opening, the film cuts to Rambo on his ranch, as it begins in select North American countries and the UK.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: "Rambo: Last Blood" was released on Digital on December 3, 2019, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on December 17, 2019 by Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Best Buy released a retail exclusive steelbook for the 4K UHD release. The film has topped Redbox's disc rental and On Demand charts for several weeks. The international version, titled "Rambo: Last Blood Extended Cut", was released on Amazon Prime Video in May 2020. In the United States and Canada, the DVD earned $10 million and the Blu-ray earned $16.6 million, totaling $26.6 million in domestic video sales.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: "Rambo: Last Blood" grossed $44.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $46.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $91.5 million, against a production budget of $50 million.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside "Ad Astra" and "Downton Abbey", and was projected to gross $23–25 million from 3,618 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $7.17 million on Friday, which included $1.3 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $19 million, finishing third and marking the second-best opening of the series. The film made $8.6 million in its second weekend and $3.6 million in its third, finishing sixth and eighth, respectively.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus states, "Like the sequels that preceded it, "Rambo: Last Blood" is content to indulge in bloody violence at the expense of its main character's once-poignant story." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it an average 3.5 out of 5 stars and a 56% "definite recommend."


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: The portrayal of the Rambo character was put under scrutiny. Writing for the "Los Angeles Times", Kenneth Turan gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and was complimentary of the story's "surprisingly brooding examination" of Rambo: "Sure, Rambo is convincing when he ends up telling bad people, 'I'm gonna hurt you real bad,' but there is also a kind of fragility that makes us worry about people putting the hurt on him." Peter Debruge wrote a negative review for "Variety": "This character is a mess of contradictions, representing on one hand the permanent damage that military service can do to one's soul while simultaneously suggesting what the ideal soldier looks like." Rating the film 4.5 out of 10 for IGN, Witney Seibold lamented, "A character who was originally meant to stand as a symbol for the damage that war can do to a soldier is now best remembered as an unkillable human machine gun", but credited Stallone with "[managing] to give as soulful a performance as the part warrants".


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: The script by Stallone and Matthew Cirulnick attained unfavorable reactions. In a negative review for "The Hollywood Reporter", Frank Scheck said it "feels utterly tossed-off and generic, more resembling the pilot for a Rambo television series than a proper send off", but credited Stallone with "[keeping] a franchise afloat". Katie Walsh of the "Chicago Tribune", who gave the film 1 out of 4 stars, called the script "barely a script at all" and the writing lazy; she added that story writers Stallone and Dan Gordon "trade on charged imagery rather than, you know, actually writing characters that fully express the spectrum of human morality". William Bibbiani of Bloody Disgusting said the script "has been reduced to its lowest common denominators, establishing characters quickly and then shoving them into a simplistic plot (that is to say, simplistic even by "Rambo" standards)", and rated the film 1.5 out of 5. Grading the film a D+ for IndieWire, Eric Kohn said Stallone as a co-writer "does a decent job at generating empathy for Rambo through furtive gestures, but "Last Blood" goes overboard to prove that he's tried to be a better man". While many called the plot of "Last Blood" derivative of "Taken", web-based critic James Berardinelli called it "a "Death Wish" variant with a few callbacks to the trap-building of "First Blood"".


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: Critics reported being appalled by the brutality of the action scenes, with some comparing its amount of gore with that of a slasher film. Berardinelli said, "The body count is insanely high and the methods of death are worthy of a "Halloween" or "Friday the 13th" sequel", and gave the film 1 out of 4 stars. Debruge called the violence "horrible, gut-wrenching carnage to witness, and yet, it's been calibrated to elicit whoops and cheers from fans, who've faithfully followed along as Rambo evolved". Vince Mancini of Uproxx said, "It's so genuinely horrific I'm convinced there are real-life cartel videos celebrating the torture of rivals that are less gory", but recommended the film as a must-see. Conversely, Johnny Oleksinski of the "New York Post" said, ""Rambo: Last Blood" features what's easily the most violent movie scene of the year. It's awesome", but felt the narration, drama, and hackneyed backstory could have been edited out. Duncan Bowles of Den of Geek gave it 3 out of 5 stars, writing: "If you're not the kind of person who wants to weep with joy at the sight of Rambo tooling up, firing a bow, or rigging booby traps, then the film really isn't for you, but if you're after a solid display of carnage from a character you love, then there's plenty on offer." Many saw the climax of "Last Blood" as similar to that of "Home Alone", which, by contrast, is rated PG.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: The depiction of a crime infested Mexico and the stereotypical portrayal of most Mexicans and Latinos as criminals prompted critics to accuse the film of racism, xenophobia, and pandering to supporters of the Trump presidency. Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" called "Last Blood" a "massively enlarged prostate of a film [that] can only make you wince with its badly acted geronto-ultraviolence, its Trumpian fantasies of Mexican rapists and hilariously insecure US border, and its crass enthusiasm for rape-revenge attacks", giving it 1 out of 5 stars. Seibold wrote: "I understand that "Rambo" films have rarely been bastions of cultural togetherness, but in 2019, these broad stereotypes are offensive and dated and downright irresponsible." Kohn wrote: "In 2019's hypersensitive cultural environment, the depiction of murderous Mexican crime bosses and their cowering sex slaves encountering a literal white savior doesn't go down so easy." Mexican film critic Gerardo Valero, a "far-flung correspondent" for "RogerEbert.com", also criticized the use of Spain doubling for Mexico, and that it was "impossible not to laugh at this group of Spanish actors trying to sound Mexican by cursing with every other word in this strange accent". He also wrote: "If this movie wasn't so dumb, I would have probably found all of this offensive." Addressing the complaints about the stereotypical villains, however, Bowles wrote: "The villains might be built from the stereotypical strain of pure evil from years past, but their reprehensibility is what makes the explosive payback work and the violence, despite some especially grim moments, never quite strays into the extreme stomach churning highs from part IV."


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: David Morrell, creator of the Rambo character and author of the "First Blood" novel, tweeted that he disliked "Last Blood", calling it "a mess" and feeling "embarrassed to have my name associated with it". Morrell later told "Newsweek":


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: I felt degraded and dehumanized after I left the theater. Instead of being soulful, this new movie lacks one. I felt I was less a human being for having seen it, and today that's an unfortunate message ... ["Trackdown"] is typical of ultra-violent 1970s exploitation "grindhouse" films, the technique of which "Rambo: Last Blood" resembles. The sets here look cheap. The direction is awkward. ... Rambo could be called John Smith, and the film wouldn't change. It assumes the audience is familiar with Rambo's background, whereas anyone under 40 will wonder what on Earth is going on with those tunnels.


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: Darren Mooney of "The Escapist" wrote, "Rambo has adopted the methodology of the Viet Cong by building elaborate tunnels under his family farm." Zak Wojnar of "Screen Rant" stated that "Rambo's tunnels are much larger and more sanitary than those of Củ Chi, but the imagery is comparable", adding that they are "where he holds his demons, where he channels his negative energy, and where he keeps his past close, but contained." As for the final act of the film, Wojnar stated that "his 'PTSD Tunnels' play a key role in his revenge", writing: "Using the same guerilla tactics that were likely used on him and his friends fifty years ago, Rambo emerges from his tunnels like a Vietnamese fighter popping out of a spider hole, shoots several targets, and then disappears underground before they even know what hit them."


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: During Cannes 2019, Stallone said he would continue portraying Rambo if the fifth film succeeds. Grünberg, however, said that "Rambo: Last Blood" "closes the circle", hoping it would conclude the film series. In September 2019, Stallone confirmed that he has plans for a prequel to the series; although he would not reprise the title role, he would like to explore who Rambo was before the war:


title: Rambo: Last Blood

text: In September 2019, Stallone had expressed interest in having Rambo take refuge in an Indian reservation for a potential sixth film. In June 2020, Stallone briefly elaborated on the idea, stating, "If I ever did another one, I think he would go back to the Indian reservation that he grew up on because he has Indian family."


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at Bramall Lane since their formation. For most of the club's history, United have played in red and white striped shirts with black shorts. Their main rivals are Sheffield Wednesday, with whom they contest the Steel City derby.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: The club was formed as an offshoot of Sheffield United Cricket Club in 1889. Following strong performances in the Midland League and Northern League, they were invited to become founder members of the Football League Second Division in 1892. They won promotion to the First Division at the end of the 1892–93 season and went on to be crowned English football champions in 1897–98. United went on to win the FA Cup on four occasions: 1899, 1902, 1915 and 1925; and were beaten finalists in 1901. They spent 41 years in the top-flight before being relegated in 1934. United finished as FA Cup runners-up in 1936 and were promoted as runners-up of the Second Division in 1938–39.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: United won the Second Division title in 1952–53, following relegation in 1949. They spent the next three decades between the First and Second Divisions, winning promotions in 1960–61 and 1970–71 after relegations in 1956 and 1968. However, a slow decline saw the club drop to the fourth tier by 1982, though they would win an immediate promotion as Fourth Division champions in 1981–82; this achievement meant that Sheffield United are one of only five sides to have won all four professional divisions of English football. Promoted in 1983–84, they recovered from relegation in 1988 to win consecutive promotions into the top-flight at the end of the 1989–90 campaign.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Sheffield United were founder member of the Premier League in the 1992–93 season, during which they scored the first ever goal of the competition. They were relegated in 1994 and after losing play-off finals in 1997 and 2003, the club finally regained their Premier League status at the end of the 2005–06 campaign under the stewardship of manager Neil Warnock. However, United were relegated the following year and dropped into League One in 2011. They spent six seasons in the third tier, losing in three play-offs campaigns, before manager Chris Wilder led the club to promotion as champions in 2016–17. Promotion to the Premier League followed in 2018–19, though they were returned to the Championship in 2021.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: The club was formed by members of the Sheffield United Cricket Club, formed in 1854 and the first English sports club to use 'United' in its name. Sheffield United's predominant nickname is "The Blades", a reference to Sheffield's status as the major producer of cutlery in the United Kingdom. United's original nickname was in fact "The Cutlers" from 1889–1912. City rivals Wednesday held the nickname "The Blades" in their early years, however in 1907 Wednesday officially became "The Owls", in reference to their new ground in Owlerton, and United would later claim "The Blades" nickname for themselves.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Sheffield United officially formed on 22 March 1889 at the Adelphi Hotel, Sheffield (now the site of the Crucible Theatre) by the President of the Cricket Club, Sir Charles Clegg. The Wednesday had moved from Bramall Lane to their own ground at Olive Grove after a dispute over gate receipts and the tenants of Bramall Lane needed to create a new team to generate income. Sir Charles Clegg was incidentally also the president of The Wednesday.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Undoubtedly United's heyday was the 30-year period from 1895–1925, when they were champions of England in 1897–98 and runners-up in 1896–97 and 1899–1900, and FA Cup winners in 1899, 1902, 1915 and 1925. United have not won a trophy since 1925, bar those associated with promotion from lower leagues, their best performances in the cup competitions being several semi-final appearances in the FA Cup and League Cup.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Their darkest days came between 1975 and 1981. After finishing sixth in the First Division at the end of the 1974–75 season, they were relegated to the Second Division the following season, and three years after that setback they fell into the Third Division. They reached an absolute low in 1981 when they were relegated to the Fourth Division, but were champions in their first season in the league's basement division and two years afterwards they won promotion to the Second Division.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: They fell back into the Third Division in 1988, but new manager Dave Bassett masterminded a quick revival which launched the Blades towards one of the most successful eras in their history. Successive promotions in the aftermath of the 1988 relegation saw them return to the First Division in 1990 after a 14-year exile. They survived at this level for four seasons (being founder members of the new Premier League in 1992 after peaking with a ninth-place finish in the last season of the old First Division) and reached an FA Cup semi-final in the 1992–93 season before being relegated in 1994.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: They remained outside the top flight for the next 12 years, although they qualified for the play-offs under Bassett's successor Howard Kendall in 1997 and caretaker manager Steve Thompson in 1998. They were struggling at the wrong end of Division One when Neil Warnock was appointed manager in December 1999, and a financial crisis was preventing the club from being able to boost their squad, but in 2002–03 they enjoyed their most successful season for a decade, reaching the semi-finals of both domestic cups and also reaching the Division One play-off final, where they were beaten 3–0 by Wolverhampton Wanderers. Three years later, however, Warnock delivered a Premier League return as the Blades finished runners-up in the re-branded Championship. They lasted just one season back amongst the elite, before being relegated from the Premier League amidst the controversy surrounding Carlos Tevez, the player who was controversially signed by West Ham United and whose performances played a big part in their remarkable escape from relegation. Neil Warnock resigned as manager after the Blades went down. The team also purchased Chinese club Chengdu Wuniu in 2006, and redesigned the club crest in the style of the Sheffield United badge and renamed the team "Chengdu Blades". The team were dissolved in 2015.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: The club struggled to come to terms with life back in the Championship, with a spiralling wage bill not being matched by the quality of the players brought in, and a succession of managers within a short period of time. The Blades reached the Championship playoff final in 2009 under Kevin Blackwell, but a period of decline then set in. The 2010–11 season proved disastrous, with the club employing three different managers in the span of a season, which ultimately ended in relegation to League One under Micky Adams, meaning they would play in the third tier of English football for the first time since 1989. United qualified for the League One play-offs in 2011–12 and 2012–13 but lost in the final and semi-final respectively.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: In September 2013, Abdullah bin Musaid Al Saud of the House of Saud had bought a 50 per cent stake in United's parent company "Blades Leisure Ltd". Both parties, at that time, agreed to include a "roulette notice" mechanism to end their arrangement when they no longer wished to work together. In 2014, United reached the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley but lost 5–3 to Hull City. In 2014–15, the team reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and semi-final of the Football League Cup. United secured promotion back to the second tier in 2016–17 under the management of lifelong United fan and former player Chris Wilder, winning the League One title with 100 points. In late 2017, co-owner Kevin McCabe served a roulette notice on Prince Abdullah, giving him the option to sell his 50 per cent at £5 million or buy McCabe's 50 per cent for the same price. Prince Abdullah chose to buy but McCabe refused to sell, a decision that ended up before the High Court of Justice.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: In the 2018–19 season, Sheffield United achieved automatic promotion to the Premier League. United's first season back in the Premier League, despite being tipped by many for relegation, produced a ninth-place finish. Despite this, ownership disputes between Prince Abdullah and McCabe continued. In September 2019, after 20 months of litigation, the High Court issued its judgment, requiring McCabe's company to sell its shares in United. McCabe sought permission to appeal from the High Court and Court of Appeal but both appeals were rejected. As a result, Prince Abdullah became the sole beneficial owner of the club. In the 2020–21 season, the club made a very poor start to the season, taking just one win in their opening eighteen matches. Wilder left the club by mutual consent in March 2021. He was replaced by Paul Heckingbottom as caretaker manager, who could not prevent relegation at the end of the season. In May 2021, the club appointed Slaviša Jokanović as the new manager, making him the first overseas manager the club's history. However, Jokanović was dismissed in November after a poor start to the season and Heckingbottom was reappointed as manager, this time on a permanent basis.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Sheffield United have played in red and white stripes for most of their history, but began playing in white shirts and blue shorts. They briefly played in narrow red stripes for the 1890–91 season, before returning to all-white the following year. The stripes returned in the 1892–93 season, with black shorts replacing the blue in 1904. The shirts remained largely unchanged until collars were first removed in 1955, replaced by V-necks until the 1966–67 season (when white socks were also used), and from here on the neck style varied.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: The traditional red and white stripes remained until the 1974–75 season, when elements of black were added, until the 1979–81 and 82 season kit. This was white with a red breast, and with thin stripes down either side, and was created to accommodate the logo of the club's principal sponsor, Cantor's, a local furniture shop. This was to be replaced by a striped kit, with the sponsor Bentley's (1981–82) and Renault (1982–83) written vertically down a white stripe over the left-hand side. Their kits continued to feature striped shirts, albeit with various aids to accommodate their sponsors, including a yellow square for Laver from 1988–92 (the 1990–92 shirt also featured narrow black stripes through each white stripe) and a black hoop, also for Laver in the 1994–95 season. Then came the diamond kit, which was so badly received that the club reverted to stripes the following season. Since then, red and white stripes and black socks with varying trim have been the order of the day, with black shorts for all but the 2002–05 seasons, when white and then red were tried. The club also every few seasons opt to put thin black stripes between the red and white stripes. Sheffield United's home colours were the inspiration for the kit of Irish club, Derry City. In 1934, Derry City adopted the stripes, while Billy Gillespie was manager of the club, in recognition of Gillespie's achievements at Sheffield United.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: The first time a crest appeared on the shirt was in the 1891–92 season, when a red crest appeared on the white shirt, but this disappeared the following season. United used the city of Sheffield's coat of arms from 1965–77, when a new crest was used, introduced by former manager Jimmy Sirrel, but designed apparently over 20 years previously by former player Jimmy Hagan. This consisted of two white crossed swords, or blades, the club's nickname, with a Yorkshire Rose above, on a black background. This is surrounded by a red ring with "Sheffield United F.C." written around the top and "1889", the year the club was founded, underneath. This has been altered very slightly a few times, with a simple black embroidered crest appearing on shirts from 1987–90, and an all-white crest on a red-edged black shield for the 1992–99 seasons, but reverted to its original form in 2000.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Sheffield United play at Bramall Lane, near the centre of Sheffield. Bramall Lane is the oldest major league ground anywhere in the world, having hosted its first game in 1862, a match between Hallam and Sheffield Club. Bramall Lane also hosted the world's first ever floodlit football match on 14 October 1878 with two teams picked from the Sheffield Football Association. The power for the lights was provided by two generators. The crowd was 20,000 and the score 2–0.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Bramall Lane was originally a cricket ground and in 1855 it was leased to Sheffield United Cricket Club (founded in 1854) by the Duke of Norfolk. The ground was opened with a cricket match on 30 April 1855 and later became a shared cricket/football venue. After Yorkshire County Cricket Club was founded in 1863, it was their main venue in the nineteenth century. They continued to use the ground for some matches each season until 7 August 1973, after which construction work began to convert Bramall Lane into a specialist football stadium.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: The ground has seen expansion in recent years, with the 2006 completion of a 3,000 seat corner stand, Bramall Lane is now an all-seater stadium fit for the Premier League holding 32,050.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: In March 2009 the club were officially granted permission to expand the stadium once again, over two phases. The first phase would have seen the Kop being extended to increase the ground's capacity up to approximately 37,000. It would also have seen the removal of the main supporting pillars and a giant screen installed as part of the stand's roof. The second phase would have seen the Valad Stand (formerly Arnold Laver Stand) also extended, bringing the total capacity to a 40,000 all seater. The expansion would also have had a secondary focus of being available for selection for FIFA World Cup matches in 2018 or 2022, if England's bid were to be successful. However, on 16 December 2009 The Football Association announced that should England's 2018/2022 World Cup bid be successful then any games played in Sheffield would be staged at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough Stadium. In light of this United's former chief executive, Trevor Birch, made it known that all planned ground redevelopment had been put on hold until the club was able to regain and maintain Premiership status.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: A revised application for the redevelopment of Kop was submitted in 2015, which would see 3,215 seats added to the stand's current capacity. Further plans were revealed in 2017 for the development of the corner between the Kop and South Stand, which would see the construction of residential flats and a new club store.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Sheffield United derive support from a broad cross-section of the city and its environs, with branches of the official supporters' club running from Swinton, Kiveton Park, Retford and Eckington. Further afield, supporters groups also exist in Essex, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands and Australia, amongst others.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: A 2013 study of posts on social networking site Twitter found that Blades fans have the most positive interactions with the official account of their club out of any in English football. Sheffield United were also found to have the most 'obsessed' fans in the 2006–07 Premier League, with supporters reportedly thinking about the team 110 times a day on average.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Sheffield United have numerous rivalries, mostly with other Yorkshire clubs. The most notable rivalry is with their city neighbours Sheffield Wednesday, with whom they contest the Steel City derby (named after the steel industry for which the city of Sheffield is globally famous).


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Sheffield United's next main rival is Leeds United from West Yorkshire. This is known as a Yorkshire derby match (the two cities of Sheffield and Leeds are the largest two cities in Yorkshire). Their other main rivals are the professional clubs of South Yorkshire; Barnsley, Doncaster Rovers and Rotherham United. These matches are known as South Yorkshire derbies.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Sheffield United also have a rivalry with Nottingham Forest. This can be attributed to the miners' strikes of the 1980s, where workers in the pits of Nottinghamshire did not join the strike (known locally as scabbing) while miners from Yorkshire did.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: West Ham United have also become fierce rivals due to the 'Tevez saga' and the following lawsuit charges.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Like many English clubs, Sheffield United supporters have a wide variety of chants and songs. The most famous of these is "The Greasy Chip Butty Song", sung to the tune of John Denver's 'Annie's Song'.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: A 'Player of the Year' award has been presented since 1967 to recognise the player who has made the greatest contribution to the club over the course of the season. Initially organised by the Official Supporters Club the award was voted for by their members although it was presented as an official club award. In recent years the award has been presented at a gala 'End of Season' award ceremony and dinner, usually held at the end of April, and voting has been widened to include a broader section of the club's fanbase. The first winner of the award was long serving goalkeeper Alan Hodgkinson. The player with the most award wins is striker Alan Woodward on four occasions between 1970 and 1978. The longest gap between wins by a player is seven years; Keith Edwards had two spells with the club and won the award during both, in 1977 and 1984. Harry Maguire and Phil Jagielka have won the award on three consecutive occasions. The award was shared between two players for the first time in 2017, with Billy Sharp and John Fleck receiving the award.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Sheffield United's Academy is responsible for youth development at the club. It has produced such players as Manchester City defender Kyle Walker and defender Phil Jagielka, both England internationals, and also Swansea City defender Kyle Naughton, Burnley full back Matthew Lowton, Manchester United defender and club captain Harry Maguire and current club captain Billy Sharp. The Academy building and training facilities in the Sheffield suburb of Shirecliffe were opened in 2002 by then Minister for Sport Richard Caborn. Sheffield United Academy U18s currently play in the Professional Development League at the Shirecliffe ground at Firshill Crescent, and finished as runners-up in the 2011 FA Youth Cup. In addition, SteelPhalt are the sponsor of the Shirecliffe-based Academy, and are also the major sponsor of Sheffield United Women.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Sheffield United U23s currently compete in the Professional Development League, playing home games at various venues, including Bramall Lane and Stocksbridge Park Steels FC. The club have fielded a reserve team since 1893, when the reserves played in 'Sheffield League Division One'.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Sheffield United also have a Women's team, formerly known as Sheffield United Ladies, who play in the FA Women's Championship after having been promoted in the 2017–18 season from the FA Women's National League. Sheffield United Women also have a Development team and numerous junior teams as part of the Regional Talent Club and an additional grassroots arm.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: At its formation in 1889 United did not employ what would today be termed a manager, the side was coached by a trainer and a football committee selected the team and decided upon tactics (this was a continuation of the structure of Sheffield United Cricket Club from which the football team had been formed.) They did appoint Joseph Wostinholm to the position of club secretary and he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the club, matchday organisation and dealing with players and contracts. Wostinholm oversaw a period of rapid growth for the team, culminating in 1899 when United won their one and only First Division championship, after which he retired. Wostinholm was replaced by John Nicholson as secretary and he would remain in post for over 30 years until his death in 1932. Nicholson presided over the most successful period in the club's history as United became a leading force in English football, winning the FA Cup four times and regularly challenged at the top of the league but a second Division One title for the club eluded him.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Following the death of John Nicholson (who died whilst travelling to an away match in Birmingham) the United board turned to Chesterfield manager Teddy Davison to become the club's first real manager. The team were in decline however and were soon relegated for the first time in their history. Davison gradually rebuilt the side with astute signings and young players and regained top flight status but the clubs post-war financial problems would hamper team building for years to come. Davison retired in 1952 and prompted the club to appoint Rotherham United manager Reg Freeman as his successor. Freeman stabilised the team but fell ill and died in 1955 after which United turned to the inexperienced Joe Mercer but he struggled to cope with a team in decline and departed for Aston Villa in 1958. United then appointed Chester manager John Harris who inherited a talented but under performing side which he transformed into a promotion team, returning to Division One in 1961. Harris built a side based on local players and stabilised them in the top flight but financial issues soon prompted the sale of key players and United were eventually relegated once more. Harris opted to 'move upstairs' to become 'general manager' and handed the role of team manager to Arthur Rowley but he was sacked after one season following disappointing results. Harris returned as manager and guided the side to promotion once more but after a good start back in the top flight Harris' confidence faded and he stepped down in 1973 to 'move upstairs' for the second time.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Experienced Blackburn Rovers manager Ken Furphy was the man United turned to replace John Harris. He initially did well but the team was ageing and there was little money to replace players. After a good finish in his first season a disastrous string of results the following year led to Furphy being sacked in October 1975. Jimmy Sirrel was recruited from Notts County but he proved unpopular with both the players and fans and could not halt the decline, overseeing relegation and then being sacked in September 1977 with United at the bottom of Division Two. The ambitious and colourful Harry Haslam was handed the reigns and although many of his ideas were ahead of their time he built an ageing side based on 'star' players at the end of their career. Now in the Third Division performances deteriorated still further and Haslam stepped down due to illness in January 1981. World Cup winner and then United player Martin Peters was promoted to the position of manager but United were relegated to Division Four at the end of the season and Peters resigned.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: With a new ambitious board in place United recruited Ian Porterfield as manager in June 1981. He had an immediate impact, winning the Division Four championship in his first season and taking the club back into the second tier two years later on a meagre budget. Despite this many fans were unhappy with the style of football and odd team selections and Porterfield was sacked in 1986 following supporter protests. Coach Billy McEwan was promoted to the position of manager but failed to improve the standard of play and with attendances falling and the team in danger of relegation once more he was sacked in January 1988. United now turned to the colourful character of Dave Bassett who had most recently had a short, unsuccessful spell as manager of Watford. It was to prove an astute appointment as although he could not prevent relegation in his first season he built a solid, hard working team on a small budget and won back to back promotions, returning the club to the top flight and achieving regular mid-table finishes. With the formation of the Premier League United's old financial problems and willingness to sell star players without replacing them meant the side eventually succumbed to relegation and when an immediate return was not forthcoming Basset was sacked in December 1995.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: The following years proved a turbulent time for United as they chased the ambition of Premiership football. Experienced Howard Kendall was recruited as manager and undertook a complete rebuilding of the side but left in June 1997 to take over at Everton. Player-coach Nigel Spackman was promoted to replace Kendall but after initial promise he quit after only eight months citing boardroom interference. This was to become a recurring theme and replacement Steve Bruce would leave after only one season citing the same reasons. Adrian Heath then proved a disastrous appointment and lasted only six months before being sacked with United looking more likely to be relegated than promoted. The Blades then turned to experienced lower league manager Neil Warnock who managed to stave off relegation and began to rebuild the side on a meagre budget. Warnock proved a divisive figure with fans, but after a number of mid-table finishes he achieved promotion back to the Premiership in 2006. The side were relegated the following season, prompting the board not to renew Warnock's contract.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Just like Adrian Heath, the appointment of Bryan Robson in 2007 proved an unpopular and unsuccessful one and he was sacked after less than a year following poor results and intense fan pressure. Former assistant manager Kevin Blackwell was appointed as Robson's replacement but despite reaching the play-off finals in his first full season the team was obviously in decline and he was sacked after only two games of the 2010–11 season. Worse was to come however as player-coach Gary Speed was briefly promoted to manager but left after only a few months to take over the Welsh national side. Micky Adams then became the third full-time manager of the season, and oversaw a disastrous run of results which saw United relegated and Adams sacked after only six months in charge.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: With United in the third tier once more, Danny Wilson was appointed as manager in June 2011, despite protests from United fans over his previous association with cross-town rivals Sheffield Wednesday. Wilson guided the club to the League One play-off final in his first full season in charge, only to lose to Huddersfield Town after a famous penalty shootout in which Huddersfield missed their first three penalties. Despite the club challenging for promotion the following season, a poor run of results led to Wilson's departure in April 2013, being replaced by Chris Morgan until the end of the season.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: After a long search for a new boss, former Scotland defender David Weir was appointed as Wilson's long-term replacement. Weir's tenure was short-lived however, as he was sacked in October of the same year, having won only one of 13 games in charge. After Chris Morgan had overseen the team for a brief time, Nigel Clough was appointed as Weir's permanent successor in October 2013. Clough guided the Blades to finish seventh in the table narrowly missing the play-offs after having been bottom of the table at the start of February and also led United to an FA Cup semi-final against Hull City which the Blades lost 5–3 after twice taking the lead in the first half. The following season saw Clough guide the Blades to fifth place in the league, thus qualifying for the play-offs and also led them to a first League Cup semi-final in 12 years, with the Blades ultimately losing to Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 on aggregate. United failed to gain promotion through the play-offs after losing to Swindon Town 2–1 in the first leg and drawing 5–5 in the second leg (7–6 on aggregate).


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Following their failure to gain promotion, Clough was sacked on 25 May 2015 and on 2 June 2015, former Scunthorpe United, Southampton and Reading boss Nigel Adkins was appointed as the new Blades manager. However, his appointment only lasted one season as the Blades (who were in 2nd place after the first five matches) ultimately finished in 11th place, the club's lowest finish in the third tier since 1983.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Adkins was duly sacked on 12 May 2016 and quickly replaced by former Northampton Town manager and former Blades player Chris Wilder, who oversaw United's promotion from League One after six years in the division, and its subsequent return to the Premier League in 2019.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: Sheffield United are the fourth club to have won a championship title in each of England's four professional leagues. After Burnley, Preston North End and Wolverhampton Wanderers.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: BBC Radio Sheffield is the current radio broadcaster of live commentaries of matches. Available on DAB, Freeview channel 734, FM frequencies 88.6 MHz, 94.7 MHz, 104.1 MHz & MW frequency of 1035 kHz. All available in South Yorkshire and surrounding areas.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: United were, along with Arsenal, the first team to be featured in a live radio commentary. The Division One fixture between the two sides on 22 January 1927 was broadcast by the BBC. Club captain Billy Gillespie scored United's goal in the 1–1 draw and listeners were provided with a numbered map of the pitch via the Radio Times to aid their understanding of where play was taking place. The area in front of the goalkeeper was numbered 1, with the game providing the first use of the phrase "back to square one."


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: In January 2006, Sheffield United became the first foreign club to take over a Chinese team when they purchased the football club Chengdu F.C., based in the city of Chengdu, China. The club was renamed the Chengdu Blades, after their new owners. Sheffield United shirts were sold in China, and Chengdu shirts were sold in Sheffield, increasing revenue streams for both clubs. United sold on their share of the Chinese side in 2010, following Chengdu's implication in a match-fixing scandal and increasing financial pressures on the English club.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: In February 2008, Kevin McCabe, the club's chairman, finalised an agreement with Budapest-based Ferencváros to buy its football team, and also negotiated with the Hungarian government to purchase and develop the ground around Stadion Albert Flórián. A match was played in Budapest to celebrate the link-up. McCabe left the Fenecváros board in January 2011.


title: Sheffield United F.C.

text: The Blades also have operating, business and exchange of ideas links with Central Coast Mariners of Australia and White Star Woluwé of Belgium. In November 2020, they took over the Calicut, Kerala based club Quartz FC which plays in the third tier of Indian Football and rebranded it as Kerala United FC.


title: Seol In-ah

text: Seol In-ah (; born Bang Ye-rin (방예린); January 3, 1996), is a South Korean actress best known for her leading roles in television series "Sunny Again Tomorrow" (2018), "Beautiful Love, Wonderful Life" (2019), and "Business Proposal" (2022) and for her supporting roles in "Strong Girl Bong-soon" (2017), "School 2017" (2017), and "Mr. Queen" (2020–2021).


title: Seol In-ah

text: Seol made her acting debut in 2015, where she played a minor role in "The Producers" and "Flowers of the Prison" in 2016.


title: Seol In-ah

text: She first gained recognition for playing the supporting role in JTBC's drama, "Strong Girl Bong-soon" and KBS2' drama "School 2017". She also made her film debut in a web film titled, "Closed Eyes". She was also a host of MBC's "Section TV" from 2017 to 2019.


title: Seol In-ah

text: In 2018, Seol took on her first lead role in "Sunny Again Tomorrow", which earned her the Best New Actress Award at the 2018 KBS Drama Awards. Her second full variety show came soon after, as a fixed cast member of "Law of the Jungle in Mexico". She also played a supporting character in the drama Special Labor Inspector in 2019.


title: Seol In-ah

text: Seol played Kim Cheong-Ah in her second leading role in the weekend drama "Beautiful Love, Wonderful Life", which ran from September 2019 to March 2020. She received the Excellence Award for Actress in a Serial Drama at the 2019 KBS Drama Awards for her role in the drama.


title: Seol In-ah

text: In 2020, Seol made a special appearance in the tvN drama "Record of Youth". Later the same year, she played Jo Hwa-jin (Royal Noble Consort Ui) in historical drama "Mr. Queen".


title: Seol In-ah

text: In 2022, Seol starred in the SBS romantic comedy drama "Business Proposal" as Jin Young-seo. In April 2022, it was reported that her contract with Oui has expired and she decided not to renew it. Later, she signed with Gold Medalist. She released her first ever solo single, "Pure Love", in collaboration with the vegan brand Marhen J. The single accompanied with the music video was released on July 8. In August, Seol made her big screen debut in the film "Emergency Declaration" as Tae Eun, a flight attendant.


title: 2014 NFL Draft

text: The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on May 8 through May 10, 2014. The draft started on May 8, 2014, at 8 pm EDT. The draft was moved from its traditional time frame in late April due to a scheduling conflict at Radio City Music Hall.


title: 2014 NFL Draft

text: There was early discussion and rumors leading up to the draft on the future of staying at the current location in New York City, where it had been held since . Given the increased interest the draft had garnered over the past decade, there was belief that the event may have outgrown Radio City Music Hall, which had been the venue for the past eight drafts. The possibility of extending the draft to four days was also being discussed throughout the months leading up to the draft. The NFL decided in that summer that the 2015 NFL Draft will take place at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.


title: 2014 NFL Draft

text: The Houston Texans opened the draft by selecting defensive end Jadeveon Clowney from the University of South Carolina. The last time a defensive player was taken with the first overall selection was in 2006, when the Texans selected Mario Williams. The Texans also closed the draft with the selection of safety Lonnie Ballentine of the University of Memphis as Mr. Irrelevant, which is the title given to the final player selected.


title: 2014 NFL Draft

text: The 2014 NFL draft made history when the St. Louis Rams selected Michael Sam in the seventh round. Sam, who became the first openly gay player to ever be drafted in the NFL, was selected 249th out of 256 picks in the 2014 NFL Draft. After this, Sam's jersey was the second best selling rookie jersey on the NFL's website. Sam came out publicly in the months leading up to the draft.


title: 2014 NFL Draft

text: A record 98 underclassmen announced their intention to forgo their remaining NCAA eligibility and declare themselves available to be selected in the draft. When including four players who received degrees but still had eligibility remaining, the number swells to 102. Fourteen underclassmen—plus Teddy Bridgewater who graduated with eligibility remaining—were selected in the draft's first round, including the first four and six of the first ten players selected.


title: 2014 NFL Draft

text: The draft order is based generally on each team's record from the previous season, with teams which qualified for the postseason selecting after those which failed to make the playoffs. The Houston Texans with a 2–14 record in 2013 held the first selection of each round. The Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens finished with identical 8–8 records and strength of schedule ratings, hence a coin flip was used to determine the selection order — the Cowboys won the flip and thus selected ahead of the Ravens.


title: 2014 NFL Draft

text: In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the 2014 draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft.


title: 2014 NFL Draft

text: The supplemental draft was held on July 10, 2014. For each player selected in the supplemental draft, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft of the following season. Four players were eligible, but for the second straight year no players were selected.


title: 2014 NFL Draft

text: The Southeastern Conference (SEC) led all college athletic conferences in terms of first round selections with eleven, including the first two picks of the draft. For the first time since the league's second draft in 1937, no player from the University of Texas was selected.