title: London North Eastern Railway

text: A major aspect of LNER's vision for the franchise has been the rollout of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). David Horne, LNER's managing director, stated that digital signalling is necessary to unlock the full capabilities of its rolling stock, enabling drivers to continuously receive information in real time, yielding improvements in responsiveness, safety, and reliability over the traditional lineside signalling. The company has worked with Network Rail, the British government, and the trade unions on this endeavour, and has been heavily involved in the planning and preparatory works; it has also undertaking the training of its staff in readiness for its use.


title: London North Eastern Railway

text: By mid-2020, LNER had considerably curtailed its services in response to the significant decline of passenger travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic. From 15 June 2020, both passengers and staff on public transport in England, including LNER services, were required to wear face coverings while travelling, and that anyone failing to do so would be liable to be refused travel or fined.


title: London North Eastern Railway

text: LNER was one of several train operators impacted by the 2022 United Kingdom railway strike, which was the first national rail strike in the UK for three decades. Its workers were amongst those who voted in favour of taking industrial action due to a dispute over pay and working conditions. LNER appealed to the public not to use its railways on the days of the strikes, as it was only capable of operating a very minimalist timetable on any of these dates due to the number of its staff that participated.


title: London North Eastern Railway

text: An expanded service to began on 21 October 2019 when four terminating services at were extended into Lincoln. This is in addition to the sole one train per day service, which in all, now provides five out and back workings to and from London King's Cross. LNER also plans for December 2019 timetable change that a sixth return service to London from Lincoln will be introduced and five extra services on a Saturday will begin from 7 December 2019. From December 2019, LNER introduced a Harrogate to London service 6 times a day. LNER expects to introduce two-hourly services to Bradford and a daily service to Huddersfield in May 2020 when more Azuma trains have been introduced.


title: London North Eastern Railway

text: During September 2018, a proposed service to was announced, though the Rail Minister, Jo Johnson, informed Parliament that this proposal was dependent on the Azumas being brought into service on the ECML, in addition to other schemes then in progress, that would provide sufficient capacity to enable the service to run. This service commenced on 13 December 2021.


title: London North Eastern Railway

text: At its commencement, LNER operated a fleet of diesel-powered InterCity 125 and electric InterCity 225 high speed trains that it had inherited from Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC). Since September 2016, VTEC had also hired three s from DB Cargo for use on services to Newark, York and Leeds. LNER inherited these locomotives and retained them until June 2019 to cover for the shortage of Class 91 locomotives.


title: London North Eastern Railway

text: During May 2019, the first batch of Class 800 new-build high speed trains began entering service, the very similar Class 801 trains also followed in September of that year. These units are based on the Hitachi A-train design and LNER retained the "Azuma" brand for the units which was originally designated by VTEC. The initial operation of these units allowed the InterCity 125 and InterCity 225 fleets to be replaced gradually. On 15 May, the first "Azuma" train to enter service, a nine-carriage 800/1, was operated on the Leeds route from King's Cross. Other subclasses of the 800 and 801 variants entered service afterwards; the first two five-carriage 801/1 sets entered service on 16 September, operating as a ten-carriage train; the first lot of five-carriage 800/2 sets entered service to coincide with the launch of the new King's Cross - Lincoln services on 21 October while the first two nine-carriage 801/2 sets entered service on 18 November. By May 2021, all units in the "Azuma" fleet had entered revenue service following unit 800109's return to service, which was the unit involved in the derailment at Neville Hill TMD in November 2019 and subsequently had to undergo repairs.


title: London North Eastern Railway

text: Following the withdrawal of the InterCity 125 fleet in December 2019, it was previously thought that the InterCity 225 fleet would be fully withdrawn by June 2020. However, on 29 January 2020, LNER announced that they would be retaining a limited number of the InterCity 225 fleet to deliver all of the benefits of their December 2021 timetable. In September 2020, Eversholt Rail Group and London North Eastern Railway extended their lease to ten units by 2023; additionally, there are options to extend the time frame up to 2024. These retained units have been subject to an overhaul performed at Wabtec's Doncaster plant. At the end of service on 15 January 2021, the remaining serviceable InterCity 225 sets went into storage temporarily as part of the East Coast Upgrade. Originally, the plan was to return the sets to service for 7 June 2021, however, the first set actually re-entered service on 11 May 2021 due to a number of "Azuma" sets having to be taken temporarily out of service for inspections and repairs where appropriate.


title: London North Eastern Railway

text: During June 2022, LNER unveiled its new livery, based on the traditional British Rail-era Intercity styling, on one of its InterCity 225 sets.


title: London North Eastern Railway

text: The entry into service of the "Azuma" fleet allowed all fourteen of LNER's HST sets to be withdrawn from service, with the last three sets working their final services with LNER on 15 December 2019. Nine of the sets transferred to East Midlands Railway, with two power cars from one set transferring to CrossCountry to supplement its existing five sets.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is a science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released worldwide in July 2010 for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. A sequel to the 1998 video game "StarCraft" and the "" expansion pack, the game is best known as the original installment of "StarCraft II" which was later followed by a number of expansion packs. "Wings of Liberty" has been free-to-play since November 2017.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: Like its predecessor, the game revolves around three species: the Terrans (humans), the Zerg (a super-species of assimilated life forms), and the Protoss (a technologically advanced species with vast psionic powers). "Wings of Liberty" focuses on the Terrans, while the expansions, "Heart of the Swarm" and "Legacy of the Void", would focus on the Zerg and Protoss, respectively. The game is set four years after the events of 1998's "Brood War", and follows the exploits of Jim Raynor as he leads an insurgent group against the autocratic Terran Dominion. The game includes new and returning characters and locations from the original game.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: The game was met with critical acclaim, receiving an aggregated score of 93% from Metacritic, and it has been cited as one of the greatest video games ever made. Similar to its predecessor, "StarCraft II" was praised for its engaging gameplay, as well as its introduction of new features and improved storytelling. The game was criticized for lacking features that existed in the original "StarCraft" game including LAN play and the ability to switch between multiplayer regions. At the time of its release, "StarCraft II" became the fastest-selling real-time strategy game, with over three million copies sold worldwide in the first month.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: "StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty" features the return of the three species from the original game: Protoss, Terran, and Zerg. In the Terran campaign, the original "StarCraft" briefing room is replaced with an interactive version of the battlecruiser "Hyperion", with Jim Raynor, a bitter and hard-drinking mercenary captain, as the central character. In a departure from previous Blizzard games, the campaign is non-linear, with Raynor taking jobs for money and using that money to buy additional units and upgrades. Although each playthrough will vary, the result remains consistent, keeping the storyline linear. Blizzard's Vice President Rob Pardo stressed that each campaign will function very differently. The Terran campaign, "Wings of Liberty", places players in a mercenary-style campaign, as Terran rebel group Raynor's Raiders raise funds by taking assignments from outside groups. The second release, "Heart of the Swarm", is Zerg-focused and has role-playing elements. Sarah Kerrigan is the focus of the campaign, and the story revolves around the possibility of her redemption. The Protoss-themed "Legacy of the Void" is the third expansion, with the Protoss Artanis attempting to reunite the Protoss tribes in order to stop Amon, a fallen Xel'Naga.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: "Wings of Liberty" has 29 playable campaign missions; 26 are playable in a single playthrough, three missions are choice-related alternates, and one hidden secret mission.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: The "Wings of Liberty" campaign contains several missions with unique features, such as lava that floods the battlefield every five minutes, forcing the player to move their units to high ground before they are destroyed. In another mission, enemy units attack the player only at night, forcing the player into a form of siege warfare. In one mission, the player must use a single unit to influence the tide of an AI-controlled battle. Between missions, players can choose units, buildings, and upgrades that are not available in the multiplayer missions.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: "Wings of Liberty" features approximately the same number of units as the original "StarCraft". Some units from the original game have returned, some featuring new upgrades and abilities. For example, the Protoss Zealot, a melee unit from the original game, has the researchable ability to dash forward and quickly reach nearby enemies as a refinement of its speed upgrade from the original. Other units have been replaced or removed. Other changes to unit design have been inspired by story events in "StarCraft" and its expansion "", replacing old units with new or renamed versions which sport different attributes and abilities. Units in "StarCraft II" have new abilities, compared to the original, that encourage more complex interaction with the game environment. Among these are the inclusion of units that can traverse varying levels of terrain, or have the ability to teleport short distances. Some Protoss units can be warped into pylon-powered areas using the Warp Gate, a slight modification of an existing building called the Gateway. "StarCraft II"s campaign has units that are only playable in the campaign and not in the regular multiplayer mode, though they are available for custom maps. These mostly consist of units that have been scrapped from development such as the Terran Diamondback as well as various returning units from the original "StarCraft" such as the Terran Wraith and Goliath. The campaign features hirable mercenaries, modified versions of certain units with enhanced attributes such as health or damage that become available for hire once the standard unit is unlocked.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: The "StarCraft II" Editor is a campaign, map, and mod editor. It is the first editor by Blizzard to feature built-in mod creation and usage support. Updated art and data from the original "StarCraft" that were not used, along with models and data that were scrapped during the development process (including those made as April Fools jokes) will be available in the editor. Unlike previous editors made by Blizzard, it is the first to have Internet connectivity features such as map publishing, retrieval, and online activation of the editor client. Lead producer Chris Sigaty has stated that the editor gives players the ability to create role-playing, Hero-type units and structures resembling those from "WarCraft III". At BlizzCon 2009, Blizzard demonstrated a build of the "StarCraft II" Editor showcasing its capabilities, such as the ability to customize the user interface. The final build includes a third-person style perspective for missions.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: The editor was available for the first time during the phase 1 beta testing of "StarCraft II", when it came with a patch. With the start of phase 2, the editor was updated. There is a map-making community using the editor, creating first-person shooter games, role-playing video games, tower defense, and multiplayer online battle arena-type games. The map database is updated as more map makers create mods for the community. The editor changes the way maps are distributed: rather than hosting games using local map files, users create and join games using maps that have been published to Battle.net. Map or mod uploads are limited to a total of 50 MB of storage, divided between ten files at most, with no file being larger than 10 MB. Although the "StarCraft II" Editor offers more features than the original "StarCraft" Editor in terms of game customization, there are concerns that the publishing limitations of Battle.net will not allow for large-scale custom maps or extensive map availability unless there is an external map publishing tool.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: The "StarCraft II" Arcade is a major addition to the map-making community, where high quality maps may be sold for a small fee as "premium maps" over Battle.net. As a part of the arcade feature, a custom map called "Blizzard DOTA", which eventually became a standalone game named "Heroes of the Storm", was announced alongside several other mods of Blizzard Entertainment at BlizzCon 2010. At that time, the map was developed to showcase the modding abilities that were to be added to "StarCraft II".


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: "StarCraft II" does not offer the ability to play directly over a local area network (LAN), as is possible with "StarCraft"; all network games are routed through the Internet via Blizzard's gaming servers. The latency delay between commands issued and game response when played online is greatly reduced when playing over a LAN and this allows for much finer control over in-game units; there were concerns that a professional scene would not develop as a result. Over 250,000 fans signed a petition asking Blizzard to add LAN play to "StarCraft II", before the game's release. Currently, Blizzard has no plans to support LAN play. Although it does not change the routing of the game through Blizzard's servers, a 'Players Near You' feature was added in "StarCraft II" patch 2.0.4, to help with organizing games with other players on the same local network.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: The campaign storyline of "StarCraft II" takes place four years after "", and features the return of Zeratul, Arcturus Mengsk, Artanis, Sarah Kerrigan, and Jim Raynor. It also features new characters such as Rory Swann and Tychus Findlay. In "StarCraft II", players revisit familiar worlds, like Char, Mar Sara, and Tarsonis, as well as new locations, such as the jungle planet Bel'Shir and New Folsom. The Xel'Naga, an ancient space-faring race responsible for creating the Protoss and the Zerg, also play a major role in the story.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: At the conclusion of "Brood War", Kerrigan and her Zerg forces became the dominant faction in the Koprulu Sector, having annihilated the United Earth Directorate's Expeditionary Force, defeated the Terran Dominion, and invaded the Protoss homeworld of Aiur. However, after the conclusion of "Brood War", Kerrigan retreats to Char, despite having more than enough power to crush all remaining resistance in the Koprulu Sector. In the four years leading up to the events of "StarCraft II", she has not been seen or heard from by any of the other characters.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: Arcturus Mengsk has been left to rebuild the Dominion, and is consolidating his power while fending off harassment from rival Terran groups. Mengsk has become power-hungry, declaring Jim Raynor an outlaw and showing little desire to protect or aid the colonies under his jurisdiction. Valerian Mengsk, a character introduced in the novel "Firstborn", will play an important role in Dominion politics, due to his position as heir apparent to the throne. Meanwhile, Jim Raynor, whose role in the events of "StarCraft" and "Brood War" has been marginalized by the media under the Dominion's control, has become a mercenary who spends his free time drinking in Joeyray's Bar. Chris Metzen, Vice President of Creative Development at Blizzard, has emphasized that by the events of "StarCraft II", Raynor has become jaded and embittered by the way he was used and betrayed by Arcturus Mengsk. Other new characters to the series include Tychus Findlay, an ex-convict and marine who becomes a member of Raynor's crew, and Matt Horner, Raynor's second in command, a character originally featured in the novel "Queen of Blades".


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: Following the fall of Aiur and the death of the Dark Templar matriarch Raszagal, the Protoss have retreated to the Dark Templar homeworld of Shakuras. There, Artanis, a former student of Tassadar, is trying to unify the Khalai Protoss and the Dark Templar, who have nearly separated into warring tribes as a result of centuries of distrust. Zeratul, tormented over the murder of his matriarch, has disappeared to search for clues to the meaning of Samir Duran's cryptic statements regarding the Protoss/Zerg hybrids in "Brood War's" secret mission "Dark Origin".


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: Four years after the Brood War, the Dominion is once again the dominant Terran power in the Koprulu sector. News reports reveal that in the four years since the end of the Brood Wars, the standing Dominion military forces have been reduced and defense budget has instead been diverted to hunting down rebel forces that operate against the Dominion. For reasons unknown, Kerrigan gathered the swarm at Char and then vanished from sight. With the Zerg gone, the Protoss have once again taken a passive role in the galaxy. Jim Raynor has formed a revolutionary group named Raynor's Raiders in order to overthrow Dominion Emperor Arcturus Mengsk. On Mar Sara, Raynor meets with an old comrade, Tychus Findlay. Together, they liberate the local population from Dominion control and also discover a component of a mysterious Xel'Naga artifact. As the Zerg begin to overrun Mar Sara, Raynor arranges an evacuation to his battlecruiser, the "Hyperion", captained by Matt Horner, Raynor's second-in-command.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: With Tychus acting as the middleman, the Raiders embark on a series of missions to find the remaining pieces of the Xel'Naga artifact, which they sell to the enigmatic Moebius Foundation in order to fund their revolution. Along the way, they meet with Gabriel Tosh, a rogue Dominion psychic assassin known as a Spectre, and Ariel Hanson, a researcher on the Zerg and leader of a small farming colony. The Raiders perform missions to help Tosh procure the raw materials to train new Spectres as well as to aid Hanson as she attempts to secure her colonists who are caught between the Zerg infesting their planets and the Protoss attempting to eradicate the infestation. Horner also arranges a series of missions to undermine Mengsk, recovering intelligence information about his war crimes and broadcasting them across the Dominion. Finally, Zeratul sneaks aboard the "Hyperion" to deliver a psychic crystal that allows Raynor to share visions involving an ominous prophecy where Zerg-Protoss hybrids and an enslaved Zerg swarm wipe out Humanity and the Protoss. The vision reveals that only Kerrigan has the power to prevent the eradication of all life in the sector and beyond.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: After collecting more artifact pieces, Raynor's forces encounter Dominion battleships at the pre-agreed Moebius Foundation rendezvous point. The Moebius Foundation is revealed to be under the control of Valerian Mengsk, Arcturus' son. Valerian, intending to show himself as a worthy successor to his father, asks Raynor to help him invade Char and use the artifact to restore Kerrigan's humanity, thus weakening the Zerg. To the initial dismay of the crew, Raynor agrees. With Valerian's aid, Raynor recovers the final artifact piece, and the Raiders and Dominion invade Char. The Dominion fleet is devastated by the heavy Zerg defenses, but Raynor secures a foothold on Char and rendezvouses with Dominion forces led by Horace Warfield, a decorated Dominion general. Warfield is later injured and appoints Raynor commander of surviving Dominion forces as well. The combined forces of the Raiders and Dominion military push towards the main Hive Cluster of the planet, protecting the artifact as it charges to full power, and the artifact eventually destroys all Zerg within its blast radius. Raynor's team finds Kerrigan restored to human form; however, Tychus reveals that he made a deal with Arcturus Mengsk, trading Kerrigan's life for his own freedom. Raynor defends Kerrigan from Tychus' attempt to kill her, fatally shooting Tychus with a bullet he intended to kill Mengsk with. The closing scene shows Raynor carrying Sarah Kerrigan out of the main hive in his arms.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: The English language version of "StarCraft II" has Robert Clotworthy and James Harper reprising their roles from "StarCraft" as the voices of Jim Raynor and Arcturus Mengsk. Notable absences included Tricia Helfer replacing Glynnis Talken as Kerrigan, Michael Dorn replacing Michael Gough as Tassadar, and Fred Tatasciore filling in for the late Jack Ritschel as Zeratul. The voice director for the game was Andrea Romano. Over 58 voice actors were hired for the game, some of whom voiced multiple characters.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: The development of "StarCraft II" was announced on May 19, 2007, at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Seoul, South Korea. According to Rob Pardo and Chris Sigaty, development on the game, though initially delayed for a year by the temporary reassignment of Blizzard's resources to "World of Warcraft", began in 2003, shortly after "" was released. "StarCraft II" supports the DirectX 9 (Pixel shader 2.0) software, and it is also fully compatible with DirectX 10 as well. The development team had decided not to add exclusive DirectX 10 graphic effects. The Mac version uses OpenGL. The game previously featured the Havok physics engine, which allowed for more realistic environmental elements such as "debris rolling down a ramp" which has since been replaced with a custom physics engine.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: At the June 2008 Blizzard Worldwide Invitational, Blizzard Executive Vice President Rob Pardo announced that development of the single-player campaign was approximately one-third complete, as well as that "Wings of Liberty" would be followed up by two expansion packs – "", which would focus around the Zerg and "", which would focus around the Protoss. On February 25, 2009, Blizzard announced the Blizzard Theme Park Contest, where prizes would include two beta keys for "StarCraft II". The updated news and updates page of Battle.net for "Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne" stated that the top 20 players from each realm was to be given a "StarCraft II" beta key.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: Blizzard posted a release date for the game's first beta of Summer 2009, but failed to release a beta during that time. Since May 6, 2009, it was possible to sign up for the beta phase of the game. In November 2009, the game's producer Chris Sigaty confirmed there would be no public beta for the game taking place in 2009 but assured fans that it would happen next year. In February 2010, Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime announced that a closed beta would open later that month. On February 17, 2010, "StarCraft II" began closed beta testing, as promised. The beta was expected to last for 3–5 months. Beta keys for the initial release were sold on eBay for prices as high as $400. Blizzard also released a map editor for the beta as part of Patch 9. According to the company, they had planned to release a major content patch towards the end of beta testing. As of July 23, 2010, eighteen patches had been released for the beta (only seventeen on European servers), including a patch which provided access to the "Galaxy" map editor. On May 12, 2010, Blizzard released the beta client for computers running Mac OS X, for the users who had signed up. On May 17, 2010, Blizzard announced that the first phase of the beta test would be coming to an end in all regions on May 31, but it was later extended to June 7. The second phase began on July 7, 2010, and ended on July 19, 2010.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: In an interview held in June 2009, Rob Pardo indicated that LAN support would not be included in "StarCraft II". Removing LAN requires players to connect through Blizzard's servers before being able to play multiplayer games, causing gamers to voice their dissatisfaction online. Further controversy was sparked when Blizzard confirmed that the game would not support cross-server play out of the box, restricting gamers to only play against local opponents—for instance, US gamers against those in the US and Europeans against Europeans. The company originally explained that Australia and New Zealand servers would be located in Southeast Asia, pitting them against combatants from Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. However, starting from patch 1.1.0, it was announced that the Southeast Asia/Australia/New Zealand version of the game would not be strictly region-locked, with gamers able to play on both the SEA/ANZ servers and the North American ones.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: Mike Morhaime, president of Blizzard, announced during the opening ceremony of Blizzcon 2009 that "StarCraft II" and the new Battle.net platform would both be released in 2010, with an approximately one-month gap between releases. As of March 2010, Blizzard had stated that the new platform was being tested outside the beta and was planned for release in early July 2010, for both "StarCraft II" and "", with a later upgrade for "Diablo III". On May 5, 2010, it was revealed that "StarCraft II" and Battle.net 2.0 would be integrated with social networking site Facebook, "linking the world's premier online gaming platform with the world's most popular social platform"—a move that allowed gamers to search among their Facebook friends for "StarCraft II" opponents. "Wired" magazine, in its annual Vaporware Award, ranked "StarCraft II" first among the delayed technology products of 2009. "StarCraft II" was finally released on July 27, 2010, with launch parties in selected cities of countries around the world. Customers and reviewers who received the installation DVD before the July 27 release were greeted with an error screen, telling them to wait until the release date. There was no known workaround and some reviewers had praised the action for limiting journalists to playing and reviewing the game with the rest of the public.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: Compared to the original "StarCraft", "StarCraft II" was designed to focus more heavily on the multiplayer aspect, with changes that included major improvements to Battle.net, a new competitive "ladder" system for ranked games, and new matchmaking mechanics that were designed to "match-up" players of equal skill level. In addition, the replay function, which allows players to record and review past games, was improved. Blizzard also stated that they incorporated changes to the game that were suggested by fans. "StarCraft II" continues its predecessor's use of pre-rendered cinematic cut scenes to advance the plot while also improving the quality of in-game cut scenes within the levels themselves, which are rendered on-the-fly using the same game engine as the graphics in the game proper. Blizzard stated that, with the new graphics engine that "StarCraft II" uses to render the gameplay, they "can actually create in-game cut-scenes of near-cinematic quality". Improvements include advanced scenery allocation and more detailed space terrain, such as floating space platforms with planets and asteroids in the background. Small cliffs, extensions, and advertising signs were shown to have been improved and refined.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: During BlizzCon 2017, it was announced that "StarCraft II" would be re-branded as a "free-to-play" game going forward, at least in part. This unlocked the "Wings of Liberty" single-player campaign, multiplayer mode, and two other game modes for everyone. The change was in line with Blizzard's vision going forward: supporting the game with microtransactions such as Skins, Co-op Commanders, Voice Packs, and War Chests, which already proved to be successful. The financial strategy appeared to be ineffective and in the October of 2020 the company stopped producing new for-purchase content although season rolls and balance fixes remained.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: During the development of "StarCraft II", it was announced that the game and its expansions would form a trilogy; each chapter would feature one of the three playable races. The first expansion focuses on the Zerg race; "" was released on March 12, 2013. The second expansion "", which centers on the Protoss race, was released on November 10, 2015. An additional single-player campaign called "" was released in 2016 in three episodes. This as downloadable content (DLC) focuses on a Terran special ops character called Nova Terra.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: Two soundtracks were released for "StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty". The original score, composed by Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, Neal Acree, Russell Brower, Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco was released on CD as well as on the iTunes Store. Both versions contain 14 tracks and the iTunes version contains additional digital extras. A second soundtrack, "", was released on CD, vinyl and iTunes. This soundtrack features the original and cover songs heard in JoeyRay's bar during the video game.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: On April 8, 2010, Blizzard announced that the game would be available in a standard and collector's edition. The game was made available for digital download from Blizzard on the release date; pre-loading began on July 15. The collector's edition comes with an artbook, 2 GB flash drive modeled after Jim Raynor's dog tag with the original "StarCraft" and "Brood War" expansion preloaded, behind-the-scenes DVD, soundtrack, comic book, unique avatar portraits, a unique model for the in-game Thor unit in multiplayer, and a "World of Warcraft" pet.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: On June 24, 2010, at a press-only Korean event, Blizzard announced that Korean players would be able to play "StarCraft II" for free with an active "World of Warcraft" subscription. In PC bangs, or other cybercafés, players can play the game by paying 500 to 1500 South Korean won (approx$. .50 to $1.50) per hour. Other options include a 30-day subscription for ₩9900 (approx. $8), a 24 hours play-time ticket for ₩2000 (approx. $1.50), and unlimited access for ₩69,000 (approx. $56). The end-user license agreement (EULA) for "StarCraft II" differs significantly from those of Blizzard's earlier titles in that buying the game only grants the buyer a license to play, while the game itself remains the property of Blizzard. Any breach of the EULA amounts not only to breach of contract but copyright infringement as well, giving Blizzard greater control over how the game is used. Concerns have been raised by Public Knowledge over how the altered EULA may affect multiplayer tournaments not endorsed by Blizzard.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: On August 3, 2011, Blizzard replaced the previously available "StarCraft II" demo with the new "StarCraft II: Starter Edition". It allows anyone to play part of the game for free and it comes as a 7 GB package downloaded using the Blizzard Downloader client. The "Starter Edition" is available for Mac and Windows, and requires a Battle.net account and an Internet connection to play.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: Several gaming and technology sites reported an "overheating bug" with "StarCraft II" that in some cases resulted in permanent damage to video cards. The source of the problem is the fact that the frame rate is not locked on menu screens. This causes the graphics card to continuously render the image, resulting in excessive heat. Blizzard has acknowledged the problem, and posted a temporary workaround. They also recommended ensuring computer systems are well ventilated and contacting the videocard manufacturer for hardware-related issues. In response to the reports, Blizzard's Public Relations Manager, Bob Colayco said: "There is no code in our software that will cause video cards to overheat. When we saw this issue first reported, we conducted thorough additional testing and determined that for those players experiencing this problem, the cause is most likely hardware-related." CrunchGear has also suggested that the problem is not with "StarCraft II", but rather due to poorly maintained hardware and inadequate cooling. They do however agree that the overheating only occurs on non-framerate locked screens and provide the fix that Blizzard has offered to users. Other articles recommend that users regularly clean the dust out of their computer to improve the cooling efficiency of their systems. Blizzard posted a message on their forums regarding the issue that has since been removed. The message was: "Screens that are light on detail may make your system overheat if cooling is overall insufficient. This is because the game has nothing to do so it is primarily just working on drawing the screen very quickly."


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: "StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty" was played professionally throughout the world, though much like its predecessor 's professional competition, the highest level of play has historically been centered in South Korea. The game was widely considered the largest esport in the world during its early years and has been credited as bringing esports to the rest of the world in the way the original brought it to South Korea.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: In 2012, the StarCraft II World Championship Series (WCS) was created as Blizzard's primary sanctioned StarCraft II tournament circuit.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: "StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty" has been met with critical acclaim since its release. It received an aggregated score of 92.39% at GameRankings and 93/100 at Metacritic. The game was particularly praised for retaining the popular RTS gameplay from "StarCraft", while introducing new features and improved storytelling. GamesRadar felt that "in many ways, "StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty" feels like "StarCraft" 2.0 – and that’s a good thing", stating that it "delivers on all fronts". NZGamer.com said the game was "the best RTS game released in years and one of the best games on PC". In relation to its story, GameTrailers stated, "If there's anything immediately apparent from Wings of Liberty's story, it's that the series' narrative structure has evolved well beyond the original's sparse between-sortie intermissions," calling it "an epic and entertainingly told yarn", while Eurogamer criticized the dialogue as being "flat" and the characters as being "either clichéd, banal or both". Giant Bomb echoed this view while also noting the "Hyperion" portion between missions, finding it to have "more depth of character, more believable pathos, more surprise twists—than I honestly expected out of the story". IGN however noted that "no doubt franchise fans will eat it up, but newcomers may be wondering what all the fuss is about while going through the early missions that lack the kind of urgency you would hope when the fate of civilization is in peril."


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: Joystiq was very positive towards the improved multiplayer matchmaking service, calling it "similar to Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, which is a welcome change from the archaic matchmaking of Battle.net in previous Blizzard games", while GameSpot called the amount of online content "remarkable", noting the variety of maps and up to 12 player online support. When comparing the single and multiplayer modes, GameSpy felt that the single-player portion was "less inspiring, mostly because of the extremely shallow learning curve", with the online multiplayer being "so smooth, so challenging, and so much plain-old-fun". John Meyer of "Wired" praised the improved graphics engine, saying that it "shows decades of polish" and a "slick new presentation". Matt Peckham of "PC World" also noted that some buyers expressed dissatisfaction with the absence of LAN-based multiplayer gameplay, the lack of cross-realm play and the campaign being limited to the Terran race. Game Revolution, in relation to only being able to play the Terran campaign, however, pointed out that ""Wings of Liberty" has 29 missions; the original "StarCraft" had just over 30. Fair odds say the next one will have roughly the same amount; "Broodwar" brought about 30 too. We already got the full game for $50, and we’re getting offered two expansions. If you want to feel outraged about something, pick something else."


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: Ars Technica gave the overall game a verdict of "buy" and especially praised the single-player campaign as "fun as hell". They were also very impressed with the game modding tools that allow users to create their own content and distribute it to other fans. The two "ugly" issues they identified with the game were lack of LAN play and the decision to split up the regions. They suggested that these decisions were influenced by Activision rather than by the game designers at Blizzard, and felt that this would turn many people off of the game and make things difficult for people who have international friends. In a separate article, Ars Technica vigorously supported "StarCraft II" against a series of 1-star ratings given to the game on Amazon.com in protest against the lack of LAN play. They argued in Blizzard's defense against complaints that it was not a full game because only the Terran campaign was released, but did suggest that the customers' complaints about the lack of LAN and cross-region play were legitimate.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: In August 2016, "StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty" placed 26th on Time's The 50 Best Video Games of All Time list.


title: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

text: Blizzard entered into a co-marketing agreement with Korean Air that lasted for six months, in which two of the airline's airplanes on both domestic and international routes prominently displayed "StarCraft II" advertising featuring Jim Raynor on the fuselage. On August 3, 2010, Blizzard announced that "StarCraft II" sold more than one million units worldwide within one day of its release. After two days, when Blizzard began selling the game as a digital download on its website, approximately 500,000 additional units of the game were sold, bringing the total up to 1.5 million worldwide and making it the fastest-selling strategy game of all time. In its first month on sale, "StarCraft II" sold a total of three million copies worldwide. As of December 2010, the game has sold nearly 4.5 million units. The game was also heavily pirated, reportedly being downloaded over 2.3 million times, and setting a record for most data transferred by a single torrent in only three months.


title: Cascade Investment

text: Cascade Investment, L.L.C. is an American holding company and private investment firm headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, United States. It is controlled by Bill Gates, and managed by Michael Larson. More than half of Gates's fortune is held in assets outside his holding of Microsoft shares. Cascade is the successor company to Dominion Income Management, the former investment vehicle for Gates's holdings, which was managed by convicted felon Andrew Evans.


title: Cascade Investment

text: Larson controls Bill and Melinda Gates Investments as Chief Investment Officer, and as such manages Gates's personal wealth through Cascade, "as well as handling the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust endowment." Cascade "does not like to call itself" a family office and Bill and Melinda Gates Investments "does not label itself as a family office." Larson accrued over the twenty years from 1995 an 11% compound annual return, and as of 2014 had 100 employees working under his direction.


title: Cascade Investment

text: With 269,000 acres of farmland (which has been historically countercyclical to the stock market) being held through a wide network of shell companies, Cascade Investment is the largest farmland owner in the United States.


title: Jared Allen

text: Jared Scot Allen (born April 3, 1982) is a former American football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He played college football at Idaho State and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. After four years with the Chiefs, Allen was traded to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for three draft picks, including a first-rounder. He spent six years with the Vikings before joining the Chicago Bears as a free agent in 2014.


title: Jared Allen

text: He was traded to the Carolina Panthers during the 2015 season, with whom he played in Super Bowl 50. A five-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro selection, Allen recorded 136 quarterback sacks during his 12-year career. After retiring from the NFL, Allen took up curling and formed a team with other former NFL players.


title: Jared Allen

text: Allen first attended Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, but transferred to Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos for his senior year. By then, Allen had lost many of his athletic scholarship offers, including from the University of Washington where he had already verbally committed. As a senior at Los Gatos, he was named First-team All-League and Defensive Player of the Year. He was also a First-team All-Central Coast Section selection, and a member of "Who's Who" in "Sports Illustrated". Allen was selected by the North squad for the North vs. South San Jose Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star football game, after a senior season where he racked up 96 tackles, 12 sacks, five forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries.


title: Jared Allen

text: Allen attended Idaho State University, where he started 33 of 41 games for the Idaho State Bengals football team. The three-time All-Big Sky Conference selection finished his career with 250 tackles, 38.5 sacks, 73 stops for losses, seven fumble recoveries, three touchdowns, 13 forced fumbles, three interceptions, 26 pass deflections, and one blocked kick.


title: Jared Allen

text: As a freshman in 2000, Allen was originally slated to redshirt the season, but this was reconsidered, and he eventually played in eight games for the Bengals and earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors without ever being a starter. In 2001 Allen earned First-team All-Big Sky honors, and led the Bengals with 16 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. As a junior in 2002, Allen was named Second-team Division I-AA All-American by the Associated Press, and was also named first-team All-Big Sky for the second consecutive season. He led the team in sacks, tackles for loss (with 18), and also led all Bengal linemen with 63 tackles.


title: Jared Allen

text: In 2003, as a senior, Allen won the Buck Buchanan Award, recording 17.5 sacks, 102 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, six forced fumbles, three recovered fumbles, and nine pass deflections during 2003, ranking among the Big Sky Conference leaders in several defensive categories. Allen, a first-team Division I-AA All-American and a first-team All-Big Sky selection for the third straight season, led ISU to an 8–4 record that season, helping the school post its first back-to-back eight win seasons in school history. Idaho State finished the regular season ranked No. 21 in the nation.


title: Jared Allen

text: Before the draft, Allen was projected as a sixth or seventh round prospect; NFL columnist Rick Gosselin ranked Allen as the 19th-best defensive end in the draft. Scouts rated his prospects better as a long snapper than on defense, with some calling him the best snapper in the class. He ended up being taken by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round.


title: Jared Allen

text: Allen was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round (126th overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft, and made the league minimum salary his first three years. During his rookie season, Allen played 15 games, starting 10 of them, and made 9 sacks on 31 tackles. In 2005, Allen appeared in all 16 games (starting 15) with 55 tackles, 11 sacks, 5 passes defended, 6 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. In 2006, Allen started all 16 games with 77 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 1 interception, 10 passes defended, 5 forced fumbles and 6 fumble recoveries (joint most in the AFC). On May 21, 2007, Allen, as a restricted free agent, signed the Chiefs' one-year tender offer of 2.35 million for the 2007 season. Allen credited his early season success to his mullet; with every sack Allen made, he was expected to shave a "racing stripe" into his hairstyle. On December 2, 2007, Allen caught a touchdown pass against division rival San Diego. On December 23, 2007, Allen caught another touchdown pass against the Detroit Lions.


title: Jared Allen

text: After leading the NFL in sacks in 2007 with 15.5, Allen was selected as a starting defensive end for the AFC in the 2007 Pro Bowl and was also named in the All-Pro team for 2007.


title: Jared Allen

text: In February 2008, the Chiefs placed the franchise tag on Allen, giving him a one-year, $8.8 million contract for 2008.


title: Jared Allen

text: On April 22, 2008, the Chiefs traded Allen to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a first-round pick and two third-round picks (one of which was used to select Jamaal Charles), and the teams swapped sixth-round picks in the 2008 NFL Draft. The Vikings then signed Allen to a six-year contract, which at the time was the richest contract for a defensive player in NFL history. Allen was due an $8 million roster bonus in 2010, per the six-year, $72.36 million contract he signed with the Vikings, and his signing bonus was $15.5 million.


title: Jared Allen

text: During the 2008 season, Allen recorded 54 tackles, along with 14.5 sacks, 3, passes defended, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 enforced safeties, while battling both knee and shoulder injuries throughout the season. He was named First-team All-Pro and selected to his second Pro Bowl. His first sack as a Viking was in a game against the Indianapolis Colts, when he sacked quarterback Peyton Manning. In his first playoff game as a Viking, Allen recorded three tackles, along with two sacks and a forced fumble. Allen also forced a safety when he chased Dan Orlovsky out of the end zone during a game against the Detroit Lions, and he forced another safety in the week 10 game against the Green Bay Packers, when he sacked Aaron Rodgers in the end zone.


title: Jared Allen

text: On October 5, 2009, against the Green Bay Packers, Allen set a career-high with 4.5 sacks, as well as having his third safety in the previous two years. A week later, against the St. Louis Rams, he returned a fumble 52 yards, for the first defensive touchdown of his career. He also made the 2009 Pro Bowl, as the starting defensive end for the NFC team. For the 2009 year, Allen made 51 tackles with 14.5 sacks, an interception, 4 passes defended, 5 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, a defensive touchdown, and a safety enforced.


title: Jared Allen

text: Allen started the 2010 season slowly, having only one sack in the first 7 games, but had 10 sacks in the next 9 games, making him 10th in the league with 11 sacks. In the season finale against the Detroit Lions, Allen scored his second career defensive touchdown, a 36-yard interception return. Overall in 2010, Allen finished with 60 tackles, 11 sacks, 2 interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), 6 passes defended, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.


title: Jared Allen

text: In 2011, Allen returned to Kansas City. The Vikings lost the game 22–17. On January 1, 2012, Allen set the single-season franchise record for most sacks by a Viking, with 22 sacks. In Week 17 against the Chicago Bears, Allen sacked Josh McCown 3.5 times, but fell a half sack short of the NFL record held by former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. Allen appeared on NFL's Top 100 players of 2012, and was ranked #13. Allen was voted 67 spots higher than last year, the biggest leap on the list. Allen fell seven votes short of winning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year. On October 2, 2012, Allen was fined $7,875 for grabbing Tampa Bay Buccaneers lineman Donald Penn's facemask.


title: Jared Allen

text: On March 26, 2014, Allen signed a four-year deal with the Chicago Bears worth $32 million, of which $15.5 million is guaranteed, that could void down to three years and $24 million. Allen missed the week three game against the Green Bay Packers due to suffering from pneumonia and having lost 18 pounds. As a result, his streak of games played dating back to week two of 2007 ended. He finished 2014 with 52 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 4 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries.


title: Jared Allen

text: With the Bears using a 3-4 defense for the 2015 season, Allen was transitioned to the outside linebacker position.


title: Jared Allen

text: On September 28, 2015, Allen was traded to the Carolina Panthers for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Allen recorded his first sack for the Panthers during their 27–16 win over the Philadelphia Eagles; he recorded one tackle-for-loss, two quarterback pressures, and a pass deflection during the game. During a "Monday Night Football" victory over the Indianapolis Colts, Allen had his first sack as a member of the Panthers on quarterback Andrew Luck to go along with five total tackles. On February 7, 2016, Allen was part of the Panthers team that played in Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10. In the loss, Allen recorded one tackle.


title: Jared Allen

text: On February 18, 2016, Allen announced his retirement by posting a video to his Twitter account of him riding his horse "into the sunset." On April 14, 2016, Allen signed a one-day contract with Minnesota so he could retire as a Viking.


title: Jared Allen

text: Allen first came up for Pro Football Hall of Fame eligibility in 2021, but failed to get inducted on the first ballot, as he was passed over in favor of fellow first-year eligibility mates Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson and Calvin Johnson.


title: Jared Allen

text: On July 29, 2022, Allen was announced as the 27th inductee of the Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor. On October 30, 2022, Allen was formally inducted into the Ring of Honor, riding into U.S. Bank Stadium on a horse.


title: Jared Allen

text: Since his retirement from football, Allen has picked up the sport of curling. In March 2018 he recruited fellow retired NFL players Marc Bulger, Keith Bulluck, and Michael Roos to form a competitive curling team. He first competed in a World Curling Tour event, the 2018 Curl Mesabi Classic, losing all four games, including one against the 2018 Olympics gold medal-winning team, 11–3. His team then played in the 2019 US Men's Challenge Round (a qualifying event for the United States Men's Curling Championship), losing all three of their games, by a combined score of 27–3. The team then played in the Ed Werenich Golden Wrench Classic, again going winless.


title: Jared Allen

text: Allen played in the 2021 United States Men's Curling Championship playing second for 2007 US Champion Todd Birr. At nationals, the team went 0–9.


title: Jared Allen

text: Allen has been arrested/charged for DUI a total of three times. The first was in Pocatello, Idaho, on May 11, 2002. He was then arrested twice within five months in Leawood, Kansas, on May 11, 2006, and on September 26, 2006. He was sentenced to 48 hours in jail as a result of the latter arrest.


title: Jared Allen

text: Allen is a Christian. Allen has spoken about his faith saying, "My Bible's my playbook for life" and "My ultimate goal is when I die, for Him to say, 'Welcome home, you good and faithful servant.' That’s how I try to gear my life and focus on Him."


title: Jared Allen

text: Allen serves as an advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and raises funds through his "Sack Diabetes" program. Allen was also an active role model in the JDRF's Children's Congress 2009. He is an avid hunter, and has been interviewed by "Field & Stream".


title: Jared Allen

text: Allen was among four NFL players that were sent overseas on an NFL-USO tour to visit with U.S. military troops: "It has been one of the best experiences of my life – something that I'll never forget. We as players probably get more out of it than you do as soldiers and Marines." He created his own charity, the Jared Allen's Homes for Wounded Warriors (JAH4WW), in October 2009, in order to build handicapped-accessible homes for severely wounded military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. His grandfather and younger brother also served in the Marines.


title: Jared Allen

text: In September 2010, Allen contributed $3,000 to Downey, California, animal shelter SEACCA's reward fund for information leading to an arrest, in connection to a horse being starved and abandoned on a Los Angeles city street.


title: Jared Allen

text: Allen was featured in the 2010 film "Jackass 3D", doing a stunt, alongside Erik Ainge, which features him blindsiding Johnny Knoxville.


title: Jared Allen

text: On October 27, 2011, Allen's wife, Amy, gave birth to their first child, a girl named Brinley Noelle Allen.


title: Dookudu

text: Dookudu () is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film directed by Srinu Vaitla and written by Vaitla, Kona Venkat, and Gopimohan. It is produced by Ram Achanta, Gopi Achanta, and Anil Sunkara under the banner 14 Reels Entertainment. The film stars Mahesh Babu, Samantha, Prakash Raj, and Sonu Sood alongside Brahmanandam who played a supporting role. S. Thaman composed the music and M. R. Varma edited the film, while K. V. Guhan handled the cinematography after Prasad Murella left the project in mid-way.


title: Dookudu

text: The film revolves around Ajay Kumar (Babu), a police officer and son of ex-MLA Shankar Narayana (Raj), who awakes from coma, but his health remains perilous. To aid his recovery, Kumar masquerades as a Member of the Legislative Assembly fulfilling his father's ambition for him, while also hunting his father's foes. The film began production on 28 June 2010 at Hyderabad. Shooting began on 22 October 2010 in Turkey and lasted till mid-September 2011. The film was predominantly shot in Hyderabad, with portions shot in Mumbai, Gujarat, Istanbul, Dubai, and Switzerland.


title: Dookudu

text: The film was released on 23 September 2011 on 1800 screens worldwide. Upon release, "Dookudu" received positive reviews and was commercially successful. It was cited as "The biggest hit you've never heard of" by the "Los Angeles Times". The film collected a distributor share of 57.4crore in its lifetime and grossed more than 101crore in its lifetime making it the highest-grossing Telugu film of that year and the second highest-grossing Telugu film of all time. In addition, the film won various accolades, which include seven Nandi Awards, six Filmfare Awards, eight SIIMA Awards and eight CineMAA Awards. The film is remade in Bengali as "Challenge 2" (2012), and in Kannada as "Power" (2014). The movie was reported to be inspired by the 2003 German movie "Good Bye, Lenin!".


title: Dookudu

text: During the political realm of N. T. Rama Rao, Shankar Narayana is an independent MLA of the constituency of Shankar Nagar, which is named after him, in Hyderabad, and is regarded as a champion for the poor. When a truck collides with the car his brother Satyam and he is in, Shankar goes into a coma. Except for his family, everyone else presumes that he is killed in the accident. His son Ajay is a police officer in Mumbai who fights against the mafia and is on a mission to apprehend Mafia don Nayak who is involved in illegal drug trade, extortion and arms trafficking.


title: Dookudu

text: When he heads to Turkey in an undercover operation, he meets Prashanthi, daughter of Ajay's senior police officer and soon falls in love with her. She initially rejects his advances, so he pretends to give up. However, he is successful in the undercover operation and arrests Nayak's brother Bunty. After returning to India, he again meets Prashanthi. He tells her father to appreciate what she does and not be so strict. This, to his surprise, makes her reciprocates his feelings. In an attempt to arrest Nayak, Bunty and the police commissioner is killed and Shankar's loyal follower Sivayya reveals to Ajay that Nayak, along with Shankar's rival, Mallesh Goud and Shankar's other followers Meka Narsingh Rao, Ambarpet Ganesh, were behind Shankar's accident, so Ajay plots to kill all of them.


title: Dookudu

text: When Shankar comes out of the coma, the doctors who treated him advise his family that his life is at risk if he encounters or hears anything upsetting, disturbing, or shocking. Ajay hides the events surrounding the accident and shifts his family to his previously abandoned mansion which is now being used for film-making. Ajay creates a dummy political set-up at this mansion. In the guise of a reality television program, Ajay tricks an aspiring but unsuccessful film actor Padmasri by making him believe that the television show is being sponsored by actor Akkineni Nagarjuna's television channel and that Nagarjuna wants to offer Padmasri high remuneration for his realistic performance in the show. On the other hand, an aspiring actor Bokka Venkata Rao and Mallesh Goud are tricked by Ajay with a real estate business deal to exploit his criminal nexus.


title: Dookudu

text: Ajay keeps this drama under wraps from Shankar by making him believe that Ajay is also an MLA revered by people fulfilling his dad's wishes. He marries Prashanthi after gaining her family's consent much to Shankar's delight. Meanwhile, Ajay manages to kill Ganesh and Mallesh without the knowledge of anybody while Shankar believes that they died due to ailments. Nayak reaches Hyderabad to kill Ajay and Ajay's drama is exposed before everybody except Shankar. Meka Narsingh Rao is killed by Nayak while the latter's henchmen are killed by Ajay and others in an encounter. Nayak is later killed in a Ramlila event. Shankar also learns of Ajay's drama and is happy for the affection his son showed on him.


title: Dookudu

text: Ram Achanta, Gopi Achanta and Anil Sunkara under the banner 14 Reels Entertainment agreed to bankroll a film directed by Srinu Vaitla starring Mahesh Babu in the lead role after completing their debut venture "Namo Venkatesa" (2010). Regarding the same, Vaitla said that it would be a romance action film and a majority would be shot in North India using a Super 35. Mahesh Babu's brother Ramesh Babu was a co-producer. Vaitla worked on the script for more than a year and shelved it temporarily for further modification as he felt it became monotonous and resembles his previous work. The film was officially launched on 28 June 2010 in Ramanaidu Studios at Hyderabad.


title: Dookudu

text: Kona Venkat wrote the dialogues and Gopimohan penned the screenplay. S. Thaman was selected as the music director marking his first collaboration with Vaitla as the latter's regular music composer Devi Sri Prasad had shortage of dates to accommodate. The film was titled "Dookudu" in mid September 2010 despite initial reports stating that it may be titled "Power". Prasad Murella was selected as the cinematographer who walked out after having an argument on the film's sets with Vaitla because of differences. K. V. Guhan was selected to finish the remaining part. Regarding the same, Vaitla said "I had made family dramas with Prasad before but in Dookudu, the demand increased from my side and we couldn't get in sync with each other. I liked the photography in "Athadu" done by Guhan. We gelled and he has done a fantastic job."


title: Dookudu

text: Samantha was selected as the female lead while Sonia Deepti was selected to play the role of her best friend. Srihari was selected for a crucial role but was replaced by Prakash Raj later. Mahesh Babu was reported to be seen as a police officer in the film. Sonu Sood was cast as the antagonist. Earlier, Kajal Aggarwal was rumoured to be the female lead while Venkatesh was rumoured to provide a voice-over. Gopimohan denied the latter's inclusion as a rumour while the former's inclusion remained unconfirmed.


title: Dookudu

text: Ravi Prakash was selected for a supporting role. Brahmanandam and M. S. Narayana were also selected for supporting roles. Parvati Melton was selected for an item number. Meenakshi Dixit was selected for performing the title song. Regarding the limited role of Samantha, Vaitla clarified that a lot depended on the film's subject and it was done mainly to develop the chemistry between the lead pair.


title: Dookudu

text: Principal photography began on 22 October 2010 in Turkey where a few action sequences and a song on Babu and Samantha were shot. The schedule lasted till November 2010 and the team returned to India on 10 November 2010. The second schedule was conducted in Dubai. After returning from Dubai, the next schedule began at Hyderabad on 27 November 2010. In mid January 2011, filming then moved to Ramanaidu Studios in Hyderabad. Scenes featuring Babu, Samantha and Deepthi were shot at Levis showroom in Banjara Hills of Hyderabad and the schedule ended on 29 January 2011.


title: Dookudu

text: Filming continued in Gujarat where a song on Babu and Samantha was shot at the Little Rann of Kutch. On its completion on 11 February 2011, the next schedule was planned to be shot in Hyderabad from 15 February 2011 to 3 March 2011. The film's unit planned to leave to Chennai on 24 February 2011 for filming a song but the makers opted to shoot the same along with few scenes at Chiran Fort Club in Hyderabad from the next day. Few chase sequences were shot in Old city area of Hyderabad in mid March 2011. Filming continued at Mumbai from 20 March 2011 after a few action sequences in Ramoji Film City. The film was shot at Padmalaya Studios in late April 2011 after which filming was planned at Switzerland where a song and few scenes were shot.


title: Dookudu

text: Some scenes were shot in a central jail set erected in Ramoji Film City with which the Hyderabad schedule was completed in mid May 2011. Some comedy and action scenes were shot in the set which was earlier erected for "Dhee" (2007), Old City and other areas apart from Ramoji Film City. A long schedule was shot in Switzerland later and Babu stayed back for taking rest on the schedule's completion and returned on 30 May 2011 to participate in the shoot from the next day. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the film's shoot was delayed multiple times and by late June 2011, 40 days of shoot was pending.


title: Dookudu

text: Key scenes featuring Babu, Brahmanandam, M. S. Narayana and others were shot in a private apartment in Somajiguda in mid July 2011. Few scenes were shot in Jayabheri House in late July 2011. The song "Adara Adara" was shot at Chiran Fort club in late August 2011 under the choreography of Dinesh. The film's climax sequences were shot in early September 2011 at Tolichowki in Hyderabad. A special set was erected at Ramoji Film City for the shoot of the item number on Babu and Melton which began on 6 September 2011. On its completion, the filming came to an end.


title: Dookudu

text: Many critics have stated that the film's story is inspired by the German tragicomedy "Good Bye, Lenin!" (2003). Regarding the same, Vaitla said "I saw "Good Bye, Lenin!" when the scripting of "Dookudu" was 50 per cent complete. It was a coincidence. I had the idea of showing Mahesh in a new way as a young MLA. I also had the idea of the father. Then, Gopimohan came in, and we worked on the script for seven months. It's a multi-layered film and writing the screenplay for it was tough." He added that the idea of how lies are told and you get people to believe them was already shown in his earlier film "Ready" (2008). He chose a father-son relationship in the film as he wanted to show the emotions between them. Apart from that, Vaitla was inspired by other small things from "Good Bye, Lenin!". One such inspired sequence is where the protagonist and his team create fake news broadcasts and newspapers for showing them to his father to make the drama believable which includes making N. T. Rama Rao the Prime minister of India in 2011. And, the scene where the protagonist lies to his father about few things without knowing that the latter is aware of the drama is inspired from the climax of "Good Bye, Lenin!".


title: Dookudu

text: A reviewer from "Sify" felt that some of the scenes and characters are inspired by Babu's previous films "Athadu" (2005) and "Pokiri" (2006) apart from the Hindi "Patiala House" (2011). In one of the comedy scenes, M. S. Narayana is seen performing spoofs of "Yamadonga" (2007), "Magadheera" (2009), "Simha" (2010) and "Enthiran" (2010). According to K. Moti Gokulsing and Wimal Dissanayake, authors of the book "Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas", the parodies too received positive response.


title: Dookudu

text: S. Thaman composed the soundtrack which consists of six songs. Viswa and Bhaskarabhatla penned lyrics of one song each while Ramajogayya Sastry penned lyrics for the remaining songs. In mid-June 2011, Thaman planned to record two songs in China and one more song in Czech Republic during the re-recording as some special instruments were not available in India and were exclusively available there. Aditya Music acquired the audio rights. The soundtrack was unveiled by hosting a promotional event at Shilpakala Vedika on 19 August 2011. The event was aired live on MAA TV and on the film's official website from 7:30 pm. The album cover depicts a promotional still of Babu from the film's title song.


title: Dookudu

text: The soundtrack was successful in its collections. However, it received mixed response from critics. Suresh Kavirayani of "The Times of India" called the film's music impressive. A reviewer from "IANS" felt that "Nee Dookudu" and "Guruvaram" were well shot and composed while the overall music could have been better. "Sify" wrote "Thaman's music sounded average in the theatres, though a couple of numbers – 'Guruvaram' and 'Dethadi' – could enliven the mood of the spectators. The background score and the music during some romantic moments are dull." "IndiaGlitz" termed it the first passable album of Thaman and called it a forgettable one.


title: Dookudu

text: The distribution rights for Ceded, Nellore, Nizam, Guntur and Karnataka regions were sold for an amount of while the Uttarandhra region distribution rights were sold to Gayathri Films for an amount of . FICUS Inc. acquired the overseas distribution rights. The film was announced to be released on 23 September 2011 by the producers in the end of August 2011 after the release of the soundtrack.


title: Dookudu

text: The first copy was submitted to Central Board of Film Certification on 19 September 2011 for censoring. The board awarded an U/A certificate on 21 September 2011 after a few cuts were done. To prevent illegal streaming, the makers approached the High Court for a John Doe order. The film released in 15 screens in Chennai. The film released in 71 screens in Hyderabad surpassing the record set by "Magadheera" which released in 68 screens.


title: Dookudu

text: The film released in 1600 screens worldwide and 89 theatres in North America. It was released in 21 countries including Canada, Trinidad, South Africa, Netherlands and Finland making it the first Telugu film to be released there. It became the first Telugu film to be released in 21 cities in North India. The film released in 79 theatres in the United States. It became the first Telugu film to be released in Botswana. The Telugu Association of Botswana screened it in Village Cinema at 10:30 am on 9 October 2011 with each ticket costing 40 pula. Apart from them, the film released in countries like Singapore, Dubai, Malaysia and United Kingdom while the producers received calls from Nairobi for distribution rights.


title: Dookudu

text: The first-look poster featuring Babu with a teaser was unveiled on 31 May 2011 on the eve of the birthday of Babu's father, actor Krishna. The second teaser was unveiled on 9 August 2011 on the eve of Babu's birthday, and it received a positive response from viewers. Melton's look in the item number was unveiled after the completion of the film's shoot and those stills received positive response. In an interview to Karthik Pasupulate of "The Times of India", Anil Sunkara said "When the pre-release hype was hitting a fever pitch, we (producers) toured all over the state, meeting fan associations and telling them that it was a family entertainer, and distributing merchandise like stickers, badges and ribbons".


title: Dookudu

text: A thanksgiving tour began in Vijayawada where Vaitla, Anil and comedian Siva Reddy promoted the film at Hotel Mid City after which they went to Eluru. The film's success meet was held at Hotel Novotel in Hyderabad on 11 October 2011. Another event was planned at Vijayawada for celebrating the completion of the film's 50-day run. The event was held at Velagapudi Ramakrishna Siddhartha Engineering College grounds on 12 November 2011. Udaya Bhanu hosted the event.


title: Dookudu

text: The film was shot at Vikarabad railway station on 31 July 2011 after seeking necessary permission to shoot till 5:00 pm with police security. The shoot was called off because of rain and Babu left the premises at 4:30 pm. Shortly, seven Telangana Students JAC activists landed at the railway station raising slogans against Samaikhyandhra supporters. On seeing them, the crew started preparing to vacate the spot. While they were leaving, the activists started pelting stones at them. Police later dispersed the mob and production manager Rambabu and Ramesh filed a complaint against them.


title: Dookudu

text: The activists disrupted the screening of the film in six theatres in Ranga Reddy district and accused the unit members for registering false cases against them during the film's shoot at a railway station. They entered theatres at Vikarabad, Parigi, Tandoor, Chevella and Shamshabad and asked the managements not to screen the film but were dispersed by the police. Later Rambabu and Ramesh met them and assured them that the cases would be withdrawn immediately. Police protection was given to the theatres screening the film in Hyderabad while the screening was much delayed in many centres in Telangana. The shows began from 6:00 am in all other regions, particularly in the Ceded area.


title: Dookudu

text: The television broadcast rights were purchased by MAA TV for 54 million. Illegally copied versions of the film's DVDs were seized by the Vijayawada city police on 11 October 2011. Volga Videos released the film's DVD and VCD on 1 January 2012. FICUS Inc., released the overseas DVD on 16 March 2012. The film is also available on Disney+ Hotstar VIP.


title: Dookudu

text: Suresh Kavirayani of "The Times of India" rated it 4 out of 5 and wrote ""Dookudu" is a typical Srinu Vytla film with a generous sprinkling of comedy. His narrative manages to keep the audience engaged until the end of the movie. This movie comes as a blessing for not just Mahesh Babu, but also for Tollywood, which is badly in need of a hit, after the recent spate of box office debacles. Srinu Vytla and Mahesh Babu have come out with a winner in "Dookudu"". "Bollywood Life" stated ""Dookudu" has all the elements of a potboiler – the unholy nexus between underworld and politicos, passionate romance, shrill revenge and the glory of father-son relationship. The movie is almost certain to make a box office splash, but if fans are expecting the lofty fizz of Pokkiri, perhaps there is some disappointment in store". "Sify" called the film "entertaining" and wrote "Despite the drawbacks, "Dookudu" holds the power to lure the crowds, with its commercial values. It is a bonanza to Mahesh Babu's fans and it will not disappoint the family crowds either." "IANS" rated it 3.5 out of 5 and stated ""Dookudu" is a treat for Mahesh's fans. But others can also enjoy this film for its comedy elements and Mahesh's powerful presence." Vanshika Devuni of "Upperstall.com" wrote "The best thing about the movie is that it comes across as a mass entertainer and makes no attempts to come across as movie or a movie that tries to pretend it is 'hatke'."


title: Dookudu

text: In contrast, B. V. S. Prakash of "Deccan Chronicle" rated the film 3 out of 5 and wrote "Although, it is a tale of an honest cop who is on the trail of a dreaded don, director Sinu Vaitla relies on a band of comedians like Brahmanandam and M.S. Narayana to sustain audience interests, before his protagonist accomplishes his mission. Audiences have to leave behind their thinking caps at home to enjoy this comic-caper since the screenplay has few gaping holes and is repetitive as well." Pavithra Srinivasan of "Rediff" gave it 2.5 out of 5 and criticised the film's screenplay and logic-defying sequences, but praised Babu's performance, calling his role a "cakewalk" and recommending the film for his fans in particular. Ramchander of "Oneindia Entertainment" wrote "To sum up, "Dookudu" is just another average entertainer and not in the same league as Mahesh Babu"s earlier blockbusters like Athadu and Pokiri".


title: Dookudu

text: "Dookudu" had the largest opening for a Telugu film, and collected a share of 10.11 crore and a gross of 12.58 crore on the first day of its release. The film grossed nearly 4.5 crore on its first day at the Overseas Box office. The film crossed the $1 million mark in the United States and grossed 1.5 crore in two days, in United Kingdom, Australia, Dubai and Canada. The film's three-day worldwide total became 21.22 crore and in three days, the film surpassed the records set by "Magadheera" and "Simha" in terms of first weekend collections. It collected a share of 25.55 crore and grossed 50.07 crore in its first week. The film collected 0.51 crore in its first week at Chennai Box office.


title: Dookudu

text: By the end of its second week, "Dookudu" grossed 70 crore at the worldwide box office. The film grossed 101 crore by the end of its 50-day run at the worldwide Box office. It grossed 80 crore in India and 21 crore in Overseas by the end of its 50-day run. The film completed 50 days in 312 centres and 100 days in 63 centres. The film earned a share of 57.4 crore at the worldwide Box office in its lifetime.


title: Dookudu

text: "Dookudu" became one of the biggest hits in the history of Telugu cinema and was the biggest hit in Babu's career by the end of its lifetime run. The film ended the five-year career slump of Babu and marked his image makeover. "The Times of India" called it one of the top ten must watch Telugu films of 2011. The "Los Angeles Times" wrote a special article about Babu and the film's massive collections in United States and called the film "The biggest hit you've never heard of". After the film's gross crossed 1 billion, Income Tax Department officials conducted a raid on the Jubilee Hills residence of Babu as he was rumoured to get a remuneration of more than 120 million for his next projects.


title: Dookudu

text: The film's success made Samantha one of the most sought heroines in Telugu cinema. Melton received more offers for performing item numbers post the film's release. Dasari Narayana Rao said the film arrived at the right time and had provided a good amount of relief to the Telugu film industry, which was under a huge loss at that point of time. Samantha auctioned the costumes used by Babu in the film for raising funds for the charity organisation "Pratyusha". Vaitla's next film with Babu namely "Aagadu" (2014), which too was produced by 14 Reels Entertainment and had the same technical crew of this film, was a failure at the box office. "The Hindu" cited similarities with "Dookudu" as one of the reasons of the film's failure.


title: Dookudu

text: "Dookudu" was dubbed and released by 14 Reels Entertainment into Tamil entitled "Athiradi Vettai and Malayalam entitled Choodan" in 2013. The film was also dubbed into Hindi as "The Real Tiger" in 2012 and into Odia under the same title as the original Telugu version sometime between 2019 and 2020. The film was remade into Bengali as "Challenge 2" (2012). The film was also remade into Kannada as "Power" (2014).


title: Roger Williams

text: Roger Williams (21 September 1603between 27 January and 15 March 1683) was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and later the U.S. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, now the State of Rhode Island. He was a staunch advocate for religious freedom, separation of church and state, and fair dealings with Native Americans.


title: Roger Williams

text: Williams was expelled by the Puritan leaders from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and established Providence Plantations in 1636 as a refuge offering what he termed "liberty of conscience". In 1638, he founded the First Baptist Church in America, in Providence. Williams studied the indigenous languages of New England and published the first book-length study of a native North American language in English.


title: Roger Williams

text: Roger Williams was born in or near London between 1602 and 1606, with many historians citing 1603 as the probable year of his birth. The exact details of Williams' birth are unknown as his birth records were destroyed when St. Sepulchre's Church burned during the Great Fire of London. His father was James Williams (1562–1620), a merchant tailor in Smithfield, and his mother was Alice Pemberton (1564–1635).


title: Roger Williams

text: At an early age, Williams had a spiritual conversion, of which his father disapproved. As an adolescent, he apprenticed under Sir Edward Coke (1552–1634), the famous jurist, and was educated at Charterhouse School under Coke's patronage. Williams later attended Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1627. Williams demonstrated a facility with languages, acquiring familiarity with Latin, Hebrew, Greek, Dutch, and French at an early age. Years later, he tutored John Milton in Dutch and Native American languages in exchange for refresher lessons in Hebrew.


title: Roger Williams

text: Williams took holy orders in the Church of England in connection with his studies, but he became a Puritan at Cambridge and thus ruined his chance for preferment in the Anglican church. After graduating from Cambridge, he became the chaplain to Sir William Masham. In April 1629, Williams proposed marriage to Jane Whalley, the niece of Lady Joan (Cromwell) Barrington, but she declined. Later that year, he married Mary Bernard (1609–76), the daughter of Rev. Richard Bernard, a notable Puritan preacher and author, at the Church of High Laver, in Epping Forest, a few miles east of London. Together Mary and Roger had six children, all born in America: Mary, Freeborn, Providence, Mercy, Daniel, and Joseph.


title: Roger Williams

text: Williams knew that Puritan leaders planned to migrate to the New World. He did not join the first wave of settlers, but later decided that he could not remain in England under the administration of Archbishop William Laud. Williams regarded the Church of England as corrupt and false, and he had arrived at the Separatist position by 1630; on December 1, Williams and his wife boarded the Boston-bound "Lyon" in Bristol.


title: Roger Williams

text: On 5 February 1631, the "Lyon" anchored in Nantasket, outside of the Puritan settlement of Boston. Upon his arrival, the church of Boston offered Williams the opportunity to serve during the vacancy of Rev. John Wilson, who had returned to England to accompany his wife to the colony. Williams declined the position on grounds that it was "an unseparated church." In addition, he asserted that civil magistrates must not punish any sort of "breach of the first table" of the Ten Commandments such as idolatry, Sabbath-breaking, false worship, and blasphemy, and that individuals should be free to follow their own convictions in religious matters. These three principles later became central tenets of Williams' teachings and writings.


title: Roger Williams

text: As a Separatist, Williams considered the Church of England irredeemably corrupt and believed that one must completely separate from it to establish a new church for the true and pure worship of God. The Salem church was also inclined to Separatism, and they invited him to become their teacher. In response, leaders in Boston vigorously protested, leading Salem to withdraw its offer. As the summer of 1631 ended, Williams moved to Plymouth Colony where he was welcomed, and informally assisted the minister. At Plymouth, he regularly preached; according to the colony's governor, William Bradford, "his teachings were well approved."


title: Roger Williams

text: After a time, Williams decided that the Plymouth church was not sufficiently separated from the Church of England. Furthermore, his contact with the Narragansett Indians had caused him to question the validity of colonial charters that did not include legitimate purchase of Indian land. Governor Bradford later wrote that Williams fell "into some strange opinions which caused some controversy between the church and him."


title: Roger Williams

text: In December 1632, Williams wrote a lengthy tract that openly condemned the King's charters and questioned the right of Plymouth to the land without first buying it from the Native Americans. He even charged that King James had uttered a "solemn lie" in claiming that he was the first Christian monarch to have discovered the land. Williams moved back to Salem by the fall of 1633 and was welcomed by Rev. Samuel Skelton as an unofficial assistant.


title: Roger Williams

text: The Massachusetts Bay authorities were not pleased at Williams' return. In December 1633, they summoned him to appear before the General Court in Boston to defend his tract attacking the King and the charter. The issue was smoothed out, and the tract disappeared forever, probably burned. In August 1634, Williams became acting pastor of the Salem church, the Rev. Skelton having died. In March 1635, he was again ordered to appear before the General Court, and he was summoned yet again for the Court's July term to answer for "erroneous" and "dangerous opinions." The Court finally ordered that he be removed from his church position.


title: Roger Williams

text: This latest controversy welled up as the town of Salem petitioned the General Court to annex some land on Marblehead Neck. The Court refused to consider the request unless the church in Salem removed Williams. The church felt that this order violated their independence, and sent a letter of protest to the other churches. However, the letter was not read publicly in those churches, and the General Court refused to seat the delegates from Salem at the next session. Support for Williams began to wane under this pressure, and he withdrew from the church and began meeting with a few of his most devoted followers in his home.


title: Roger Williams

text: Finally, in October 1635, the General Court tried Williams and convicted him of sedition and heresy. They declared that he was spreading "diverse, new, and dangerous opinions" and ordered that he be banished. The execution of the order was delayed because Williams was ill and winter was approaching, so he was allowed to stay temporarily, provided that he ceased publicly teaching his opinions. He did not comply with this demand, and the sheriff came in January 1636, only to discover that he had slipped away three days earlier during a blizzard. He traveled 55 miles through the deep snow, from Salem to Raynham, Massachusetts where the local Wampanoags offered him shelter at their winter camp. Sachem Massasoit hosted Williams there for the three months until spring.


title: Roger Williams

text: In the spring of 1636, Williams and a number of others from Salem began a new settlement on land which he had bought from Massasoit in Rumford, Rhode Island. After settling however, authorities of Plymouth Colony asserted that Williams and his followers were within their land grant and expressed concern that his presence there might anger the leaders of Massachusetts Bay Colony.


title: Roger Williams

text: Accordingly, Williams, accompanied by Thomas Angell crossed the Seekonk River, in search of a new location suitable for settlement. Upon reaching the shore, Williams and Angell were met by indigenous Narragansett people who greeted them with the words "What cheer, Netop" (). The settlers then continued eastward along the Providence River, where they encountered a cove and freshwater spring. Finding the area suitable for settlement, Williams acquired the tract from sachems Canonicus and Miantonomi. Here, Williams and his followers established a new, permanent settlement. Under the belief that divine providence had brought them there, the settlers named the settlement "Providence."


title: Roger Williams

text: Williams wanted his settlement to be a haven for those "distressed of conscience," and it soon attracted a collection of dissenters and otherwise-minded individuals. From the beginning, a majority vote of the heads of households governed the new settlement, but only in civil things. Newcomers could also be admitted to full citizenship by a majority vote. In August 1637, a new town agreement again restricted the government to civil things. In 1640, 39 freemen (men who had full citizenship and voting rights) signed another agreement that declared their determination "still to hold forth liberty of conscience." Thus, Williams founded the first place in modern history where citizenship and religion were separate, providing religious liberty and separation of church and state. This was combined with the principle of majoritarian democracy.


title: Roger Williams

text: In November 1637, the General Court of Massachusetts disarmed, disenfranchised, and forced into exile some of the Antinomians, including the followers of Anne Hutchinson. John Clarke was among them, and he learned from Williams that Aquidneck (Rhode) Island might be purchased from the Narragansetts; Williams helped him to make the purchase, along with William Coddington and others, and they established the settlement of Portsmouth. In spring 1638, some of those settlers split away and founded the nearby settlement of Newport, also situated on Aquidneck Island.


title: Roger Williams

text: In 1638, Williams and about twelve others were baptized and formed a congregation. Today, Williams' congregation is recognized as the First Baptist Church in America.


title: Roger Williams

text: In the meantime, the Pequot War had broken out. Massachusetts Bay asked for Williams' help, which he gave despite his exile, and he became the Bay colony's eyes and ears, and also dissuaded the Narragansetts from joining with the Pequots. Instead, the Narragansetts allied themselves with the colonists and helped to defeat the Pequots in 1637–38. The Narragansetts thus became the most powerful Native American tribe in southern New England.


title: Roger Williams

text: Williams formed firm friendships and developed deep trust among the Native American tribes, especially the Narragansetts. He was able to keep the peace between the Native Americans and the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations for nearly 40 years by his constant mediation and negotiation. He twice surrendered himself as a hostage to the Native Americans to guarantee the safe return of a great sachem from a summons to a court: Pessicus in 1645 and Metacom ("King Philip") in 1671. Williams was trusted by the Native Americans more than any other Colonist, and he proved trustworthy.


title: Roger Williams

text: However, the other New England colonies began to fear and mistrust the Narragansetts and soon came to regard the Rhode Island colony as a common enemy. In the next three decades, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Plymouth exerted pressure to destroy both Rhode Island and the Narragansetts. In 1643, the neighboring colonies formed a military alliance called the United Colonies which pointedly excluded the towns around Narragansett Bay. In response, Williams traveled to England to secure a charter for the colony.


title: Roger Williams

text: Williams arrived in London in the midst of the English Civil War. Puritans held power in London, and he was able to obtain a charter through the offices of Sir Henry Vane the Younger, despite strenuous opposition from Massachusetts' agents. His first published book "A Key into the Language of America" proved crucial to the success of his charter, albeit indirectly. Published in 1643 in London, the book combined a phrase-book with observations about life and culture as an aid to communicate with the Native Americans of New England. In its scope, the book covered everything from salutations to death and burial. Williams also sought to correct the attitudes of superiority displayed by the colonists towards Native Americans:


title: Roger Williams

text: Printed by Gregory Dexter"," the book was the first book-length study of a native North American language in the English language. In England, the book was well received by readers who were curious about the indigenous people of the New World.


title: Roger Williams

text: Williams secured his charter from Parliament for Providence Plantations in July 1644, after which he published his most famous book "The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience". The publication produced a great uproar; between 1644 and 1649, at least 60 pamphlets were published addressing the work's arguments. Parliament responded to Williams on August 9, 1644, by ordering the public hangman to burn all copies. By this time, however, Williams was already en route to New England, where he arrived with his charter in September.


title: Roger Williams

text: It took Williams several years to unify the settlements of Narragansett Bay under a single government given the opposition of William Coddington. The four villages finally united in 1647 into the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Freedom of conscience was again proclaimed, and the colony became a safe haven for people who were persecuted for their beliefs, including Baptists, Quakers, and Jews. Still, the divisions between the towns' powerful personalities did not bode well for the colony. Coddington disliked Williams and did not enjoy his position of subordination under the new charter government. Accordingly, Coddington sailed to England and returned to Rhode Island in 1651 with his own patent making him "Governor for Life" over Aquidneck and Conanicut Islands.


title: Roger Williams

text: As a result, Providence, Warwick, and Coddington's opponents on Aquidneck dispatched Roger Williams and John Clarke to England, seeking to cancel Coddington's commission. Williams sold his trading post at Cocumscussec (near Wickford, Rhode Island) to pay for his journey even though it provided his primary source of income. Williams and Clarke succeeded in rescinding Coddington's patent, with Clarke remaining in England for the following decade to protect the colonists' interests and secure a new charter. Williams returned to America in 1654 and was immediately elected the colony's president. He subsequently served in many offices in town and colonial governments.


title: Roger Williams

text: Williams did not write extensively about slavery. He consistently expressed disapproval of perpetual chattel slavery, though generally did not object to the enslavement of captured enemy combatants for a fixed duration, a practice from which he occasionally profited. During his life, Williams struggled with the morality of slavery and raised his concerns in letters to Massachusetts Bay Governor John Winthrop concerning the treatment of the Pequots during the Pequot War (1636–1638). In these letters, he requested Winthrop to prevent the enslavement of Pequot women and children as well as direct the colonial militia to spare them during the fighting.


title: Roger Williams

text: In another letter to Winthrop written on July 31, 1637, Williams stated that he approved of the capture and indenture of remaining Pequot women and children in order to "lawfully" ensure that remaining enemy combatants were "weakned and despoild", but pleaded that their indenture not be permanent.


title: Roger Williams

text: Despite his reservations, Williams formed part of the colonial delegation sent to conduct negotiations at the end of the Pequot War, where the fates of the captured Pequot were decided upon between the colonists of New England and their indigenous allies: the Narragansett, Mohegan, and Niantic. Williams reported to Winthrop that he and the Narragansett sachem Miantonomoh discussed what to do with a group of captured Pequot; initially they discussed the possibility of distributing them as slaves amongst the four victorious parties, which Miantonomoh "liked well", though at Williams' suggestion, the non-combatants were relocated to an island in Niantic territory "because most of them were families". Miantonomoh later requested an enslaved female Pequot from Winthrop, to which Williams objected, stating that "he had his share sent to him". Instead, Williams suggested he "buy one or two of some English man". While some indigenous allies of the colonists aided in the export of enslaved Pequot to the West Indies, others disagreed with the practice, instead believing that they should have been given land and provisions to contribute to the wellbeing of colonial settlements, as was their customary tradition concerning slavery. Many enslaved Pequot frequently ran away, where they were taken in by surrounding indigenous settlements; Williams, as part of his constant mediation between colonists and indigenous peoples, negotiated for the return of runaway Pequots and facilitated the trade of indigenous slaves.


title: Roger Williams

text: In 1641, the Massachusetts Bay Colony passed laws sanctioning slavery. In response, under Williams' leadership, the Providence Plantations passed a law in 1652 restricting the amount of time for which an individual could be held in slavery and tried to prevent the importation of enslaved Africans. The law established terms for slavery that mirrored that of indentured servitude; enslavement was to be limited in duration and not passed down to children. Upon the unification of Providence Plantations with Aquidneck Island, residents of the latter refused to accept this law, ensuring it became dead letter. Later in life, at the time of King Phillip's War, tensions with the Narragansetts were irreparable, and, despite Williams' efforts to maintain peace, a destructive war ensued, during which his home was burned to the ground. During the war, Williams, with a group of Providence citizens, facilitated and profited from the sale of a number of captured Narragansetts and Wamponoag.


title: Roger Williams

text: Ezekiel Holliman baptized Williams in late 1638. A few years later, Dr. John Clarke established the First Baptist Church in Newport, Rhode Island, and both Roger Williams and John Clarke became the founders of the Baptist faith in America. Williams did not affiliate himself with any church, but he remained interested in the Baptists, agreeing with their rejection of infant baptism and most other matters. Both enemies and admirers sometimes called him a "Seeker," associating him with a heretical movement that accepted Socinianism and Universal Reconciliation, but Williams rejected both of these ideas.


title: Roger Williams

text: King Philip's War (1675–1676) pitted the colonists against indigenous peoples—including the Narragansett with which Williams had previously maintained good relations. Williams, although in his 70s, was elected captain of Providence's militia. On March 29, 1676, Narragansett warriors led by Canonchet burned Providence; among the structures destroyed were Williams' home.


title: Roger Williams

text: Williams died sometime between January 16 and March 16, 1683, and was buried on his own property. Fifty years later, his house collapsed into the cellar and the location of his grave was forgotten.


title: Roger Williams

text: According to the National Park Service, in 1860, Providence residents determined to raise a monument in his honor "dug up the spot where they believed the remains to be, they found only nails, teeth, and bone fragments. They also found an apple tree root," which they thought followed the shape of a human body; the root followed the shape of a spine, split at the hips, bent at the knees, and turned up at the feet.


title: Roger Williams

text: The Rhode Island Historical Society has cared for this tree root since 1860 as representative of Rhode Island's founder. Since 2007, the root has been displayed at the John Brown House.


title: Roger Williams

text: The few remains discovered alongside the root were reinterred in Prospect Terrace Park in 1939 at the base of a large stone monument.