title: Healthcare in India

text: Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JE) is an initiative to ensure health coverage for the poor and weaker population in India.


title: Healthcare in India

text: This initiative is part of the government's view to ensure that its citizens – particularly poor and weaker groups, have access to healthcare and good quality hospital services without facing financial difficulty.


title: Healthcare in India

text: PM-JAY Provides insurance cover up to Rs 5 lakh per annum to the 100 million families in India for secondary and tertiary hospitalization. For transparency, the government made an online portal (Mera PmJay) to check eligibility for PMJAY.


title: Healthcare in India

text: Health care service includes follow-up care, daycare surgeries, pre and post hospitalization, hospitalization expenses, expense benefits and newborn child/children services. The comprehensive list of services is available on the website.


title: Healthcare in India

text: One initiative adapted by governments of many states in India to improve access to healthcare entails a combination of public and private sectors. The Public-Private Partnership Initiative (PPP) was created in the hopes of reaching the health-related Millennium Development Goals. In terms of prominence, nearly every new state health initiative includes policies that allow for the involvement of private entities or non-governmental organizations.


title: Healthcare in India

text: Fair Price Shops aim to reduce the costs of medicines, drugs, implants, prosthetics, and orthopedic devices. Currently, there is no competition between pharmacies and medical service stores for the sale of drugs. Thus, the price of drugs is uncontrolled. The Fair Price program creates a bidding system for cheaper prices of medications between drugstores and allows the store with the greatest discount to sell the drug. The program has a minimal cost for the government as fair price shops take the place of drugstores at government hospitals, thus eliminating the need to create new infrastructure for fair price shops. Furthermore, the drugs are unbranded and must be prescribed by their generic name. As there is less advertising required for generic brands, fair price shops require minimal payment from the private sector. Fair Price Shops were introduced in the West Bengal in 2012. By the end of the year, there were 93 stores benefiting 85 lakh people. From December 2012 to November 2014, these shops had saved 250 crore citizens. As doctors prescribe 60% generic drugs, the cost of treatment has been reduced by this program. This is a solution to affordability for health access in West Bengal.


title: Healthcare in India

text: The largest segment of the PPP initiative is the tax-financed program, Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY). The scheme is financed 75% by the central government and 25% by the state government. This program aims to reduce medical out-of-pocket costs for hospital treatment and visits by reimbursing those that live below the poverty line. RSBY covers maximum 30,000 rupees in hospital expenses, including pre-existing conditions for up to five members in a family. In 2015, it reached 37 million households consisting of 129 million people below the poverty line. However, a family has to pay 30 rupees to register in the program. Once deemed eligible, family members receive a yellow card. However, studies show that in Maharashtra, those with a lower socioeconomic status tend to not use the service, even if they are eligible. In the state of Uttar Pradesh, geography and council affect participation in the program. Those in the outskirts of villages tend to use the service less than those who live in the center of villages. Additionally, studies show household non-medical expenses as increasing due to this program; the probability of incurring out-of-pocket expenses has increased by 23%. However, RSBY has stopped many from falling into poverty as a result of healthcare. Furthermore, it has improved opportunities for family members to enter the workforce as they can utilize their income for other needs besides healthcare. RSBY has been applied in 25 states of India.


title: Healthcare in India

text: Finally, the National Rural Telemedicine Network connects many healthcare institutions together so doctors and physicians can provide their input into diagnosis and consultations. This reduces the non-medical cost of transportation as patients do not have to travel far to get specific doctor's or specialty's opinions. However, problems arise in terms of the level of care provided by different networks. While some level of care is provided, telemedical initiatives are unable to provide drugs and diagnostic care, a necessity in rural areas.


title: Healthcare in India

text: The effectiveness of public-private partnerships in healthcare is hotly disputed. Critics of PPP are concerned of its presentation as a cure-all solution, by which the health infrastructure can be improved. Proponents of PPP claim that these partnerships take advantage of existing infrastructure in order to provide care for the underprivileged.


title: Healthcare in India

text: The results of the PPP in the states of Maharashtra and West Bengal show that all three of these programs are effective when used in combination with federal health services. They assist in filling the gap between outreach and affordability in India. However, even with these programs, high out-of-pocket payments for non-medical expenses are still deterring people from healthcare access. Thus, scholars state that these programs need to be expanded across India.


title: Healthcare in India

text: A case study of tuberculosis control in rural areas, in which PPP was utilized showed limited effectiveness; while the program was moderately effective, a lack of accountability forced the program to shut down. Similar issues in accountability were seen by the parties involved within other PPP schemes. Facilitators and private practitioners, when asked about PPP, identified lack of state support, in the form of adequate funding, and a lack of coordination, as primary reasons why PPP ventures are unsuccessful.


title: Healthcare in India

text: In the most successful PPP ventures, the World Health Organization found that the most prominent factor, aside from financial support, was ownership of the project by state and local governments. It was found that programs sponsored by the state governments were more effective in achieving health goals than programs set by national governments.


title: Healthcare in India

text: India has set up a National Telemedicine Taskforce by the Health Ministry of India, in 2005, paved way for the success of various projects like the ICMR-AROGYASREE, NeHA and VRCs. Telemedicine also helps family physicians by giving them easy access to speciality doctors and helping them in close monitoring of patients. Different types of telemedicine services like store and forward, real-time and remote or self-monitoring provides various educational, healthcare delivery and management, disease screening and disaster management services all over the globe. Even though telemedicine cannot be a solution to all the problems, it can surely help decrease the burden of the healthcare system to a large extent.


title: Healthcare in India

text: Non-availability of diagnostic tools and increasing reluctance of qualified and experienced healthcare professionals to practice in rural, under-equipped and financially less lucrative rural areas are becoming big challenges.


title: Healthcare in India

text: Rural medical practitioners are highly sought after by residents of rural areas as they are more financially affordable and geographically accessible than practitioners working in the formal public health care sector. But there are incidents where doctors were attacked and even killed in rural India.


title: Healthcare in India

text: In 2015 the British Medical Journal published a report by Dr Gadre, from Kolkata, exposed the extent of malpractice in the Indian healthcare system. He interviewed 78 doctors and found that kickbacks for referrals, irrational drug prescribing and unnecessary interventions were commonplace.


title: Healthcare in India

text: According to a study conducted by Martin Patrick, CPPR chief economist released in 2017 has projected people depend more on private sector for healthcare and the amount spent by a household to avail of private services is almost 24 times more than what is spent for public healthcare services.


title: Healthcare in India

text: In many rural communities throughout India, healthcare is provided by what is known as informal providers, who may or may not have proper medical accreditation to diagnose and treat patients, generally offering consults for common ailments. Specifically, in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India, these informal healthcare providers generally practice in the form of services in the homes of patients and prescribing allopathic drugs. A 2014 study by Meenakshi Gautham et al., published in the journal "Health Policy and Planning", found that in Guntur, about 71% of patients received injections from informal healthcare providers as a part of illness management strategies. The study also examined the educational background of the informal healthcare providers and found that of those surveyed, 43% had completed 11 or more years of schooling, while 10% had graduated from college.


title: Healthcare in India

text: In general, the perceived quality of healthcare also has implications on patient adherence to treatment. A 2015 study conducted by Nandakumar Mekoth and Vidya Dalvi, published in "Hospital Topics" examined different aspects that contribute to a patient's perception of quality of healthcare in Karnataka, India, and how these factors influenced adherence to treatment. The study incorporated aspects related to quality of healthcare including interactive quality of physicians, base-level expectation about primary health care facilities in the area, and non-medical physical facilities (including drinking water and restroom facilities). In terms of adherence to treatment, two sub-factors were investigated, persistence of treatment and treatment-supporting adherence (changes in health behaviors that supplement the overall treatment plan). The findings indicated that the different quality of healthcare factors surveyed all had a direct influence on both sub-factors of adherence to treatment. Furthermore, the base-level expectation component in quality of healthcare perception, presented the most significant influence on overall adherence to treatment, with the interactive quality of physicians having the least influence on adherence to treatment, of three aspects investigated in this study.


title: Healthcare in India

text: In a particular district of Uttarakhand, India known as Tehri, the educational background of informal healthcare providers indicated that 94% had completed 11 or more years of schooling, while 43% had graduated from college. In terms of the mode of care delivered, 99% of the health services provided in Tehri were through the clinic, whereas in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, 25% of the health care services are delivered through the clinic, while 40% of the care provided is mobile (meaning that healthcare providers move from location to location to see patients), and 35% is a combination of clinic and mobile service.


title: Healthcare in India

text: In general throughout India, the private healthcare sector does not have a standard of care that is present across all facilities, leading to many variations in the quality of care provided. In particular, a 2011 study by Padma Bhate-Deosthali et al., published in "Reproductive Health Matters," examined the quality of healthcare particularly in the area of maternal services through different regions in Maharashtra, India. The findings indicated that out of 146 maternity hospitals surveyed, 137 of these did not have a qualified midwife, which is crucial for maternity homes as proper care cannot be delivered without midwives in some cases. In addition, the 2007 study by Ayesha De Costa and Vinod Diwan analyzed the distribution of healthcare providers and systems in Madhya Pradesh, India. The results indicated that among solo practitioners in the private sector for that region, 62% practiced allopathic (Western) medicine, while 38% practiced Indian systems of medicine and traditional systems (including, but not limited to ayurveda, sidhi, unani, and homeopathy).


title: Healthcare in India

text: In certain areas, there are also gaps in the knowledge of healthcare providers about certain ailments that further contribute towards quality of healthcare delivered when treatments are not fully supported with thorough knowledge about the ailment. A 2015 study by Manoj Mohanan et al., published in "JAMA Pediatrics," investigate


title: Healthcare in India

text: the knowledge base of a sample of practitioners (80% without formal medical degrees) in Bihar, India, specifically in the context of childhood diarrhea and pneumonia treatment. The findings indicated that in general, a significant number of practitioners missed asking key diagnostic questions regarding symptoms associated with diarrhea and pneumonia, leading to misjudgments and lack of complete information when prescribing treatments. Among the sample of practitioners studied in rural Bihar, 4% prescribed the correct treatment for the hypothetical diarrhea cases in the study, and 9% gave the correct treatment plan for the hypothetical pneumonia cases presented. Recent studies have examined the role of educational or training programs for healthcare providers in rural areas of North India as a method to promote higher quality of healthcare, though conclusive results have not yet been attained.


title: Healthcare in India

text: According to global healthcare security index 2021 India ranked 66 out of 195 countries with an overall Index score of 42.8 and along with a change of -0.8 from 2019.


title: Healthcare in India

text: According to Health and health systems ranking of countries worldwide in 2021, by health index score India was ranked 111 out of 167 countries.


title: Healthcare in India

text: In the 2016 Global Burden of Disease Study Report, India was ranked 145 out of 197 countries in "healthcare access and quality". India was ranked behind war-torn Yemen, Sudan and North Korea.


title: Sam McMurray

text: Sam McMurray (born April 15, 1952) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as dentist Vic Schweiber on "Freaks and Geeks", Supervisor Patrick O'Boyle in the CBS sitcom series "The King of Queens", Trent Culpepper in the sitcom "Cristela" and for voicing Roy in the family sitcom television series "Dinosaurs". He also appeared as Doug on the NBC sitcom "Friends", and as Ned on the CBS sitcom "Mom".


title: Sam McMurray

text: McMurray was born in New York City on 15 April 1952, the son of Jane (née Hoffman) and Richard McMurray, both actors. Lesley Woods was his stepmother. McMurray is Jewish on his mother's side of the family and Irish on his father's side of the family. He lives in Bell Canyon, California.


title: Sam McMurray

text: Among McMurray's film credits are "Raising Arizona", "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation", "Drop Dead Gorgeous", "L.A. Story", "The Wizard" as Jimmy's stepfather Mr. Bateman, and "C.H.U.D." On television, he was a regular on "The Tracey Ullman Show", played a recurring role as Chandler's boss on "Friends", he also appeared in "The King of Queens" as Doug and Deacon's boss and also appeared in "Disney's Recess", "Freaks and Geeks", "Home Improvement", "The Sopranos", "The Tick" and "Breaking Bad". He is also noted for being the first-ever guest star on "The Simpsons".


title: Sam McMurray

text: McMurray gained much international recognition among gamers for his role as the voice of "BBC Newscaster/American Newscaster" in the expansion for "". He also appeared in the 2011 TV film "Holiday Engagement". For the 2014–2015 television season, McMurray had a main role as Trent Culpepper in the ABC comedy series "Cristela".


title: The Rider (film)

text: The Rider is a 2017 American contemporary western film written, produced and directed by Chloé Zhao. The film stars Brady Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lane Scott, and Cat Clifford and was shot in the Badlands of South Dakota. It premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2017, where it won the Art Cinema Award. It was released in theaters in the United States on April 13, 2018. It grossed $4 million and was critically praised for its story, performances, and the depiction of the people and events that influenced the film.


title: The Rider (film)

text: All of the characters are Lakota Sioux of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Brady lives in poverty with his father Wayne and his autistic teenaged sister, Lilly. Once a rising rodeo star, Brady suffered brain damage from a rodeo accident, weakening his right hand and leaving him prone to seizures. Doctors have told him that riding will make them worse.


title: The Rider (film)

text: Brady regularly visits his friend, Lane, who lives in a care facility after suffering brain damage from a similar accident. Brady's father does little for the family, spending their income on drinking and gambling. Once, to fund their trailer, he sells their horse, Gus, infuriating Brady.


title: The Rider (film)

text: Brady takes a job in a local convenience store to raise money for the family. He also makes some money breaking in horses. With his savings, he intends to buy another horse, specifically a temperamental horse named Apollo, but his father actually buys it for him and Brady bonds with it, as he had with Gus. However, his riding and refusal to rest cause him to have a near-fatal seizure. Doctors warn him that more riding could be fatal. Upon returning home, Brady finds that his horse has had an accident, permanently injuring a leg. Knowing that the horse will never be able to be ridden ever again, and not being able to bring himself to put his own horse down, he must have his father to do it for him.


title: The Rider (film)

text: After an argument with his father, Brady decides to take part in a rodeo competition, despite the doctors' warnings. At the competition, just before he competes, he sees his family watching him. He finally decides to walk away from the competition and life as a rodeo rider.


title: The Rider (film)

text: The cast of the movie consists entirely of non-professional Lakota actors from the Pine Ridge Reservation playing fictionalized versions of themselves, including Jandreau's father, sister, wife, and several of his friends.


title: The Rider (film)

text: Zhao first met horse trainer Brady Jandreau in July 2014 during a return visit to the Pine Ridge Reservation where Zhao had shot her first film, "Songs My Brother Taught Me". Zhao was immediately drawn to Jandreau as an actor and decided to write a script for him: "I felt like he could be a movie star, like I had discovered a young Heath Ledger or something." Seeing him train a horse she thought, “If he can manipulate the emotions of a horse, maybe he can manipulate an audience. Maybe he can act.” Zhao said, “Right away, I called [Richards] and said, 'I think I met someone who can carry a movie.' The way he trains horses was what convinced me the most. To see him act like a father, like a mother, like a friend, like a dance partner to a wild animal and get that animal to trust him — I figured maybe he could do that for the camera as well.” One scene in the film documents Jandreau taming a horse in real-time.


title: The Rider (film)

text: Zhao wrote a few stories for Jandreau after meeting him in 2014, but felt none of them worked. The film is loosely based on Jandreau's real-life injury on April 1, 2016 when a bucking horse stepped on his head, cutting a three-inch, knuckle-deep gash in Jandreau's skull, grinding manure and sand into his brain and causing Jandreau to go into a seizure. Jandreau was put into an induced coma for three days and underwent surgery at the hospital; the beginning of the movie is influenced by Jandreau's "crazy-ass dreams" of a horse cloaked in shadow during this time. The film contains footage of Jandreau's accident, and shows the scar in his head in multiple scenes. Jandreau's injury and recovery affected the message Zhao wanted the film to convey: "I wished that Brady would see hope in his life after the rodeo, which inspired me to take his character in that direction." Zhao began by writing a treatment, incorporating lines said to her by Jandreau and others in their time together, including the line that made her decide to make the film: "If any animals around here got hurt like I did, they would get put down."


title: The Rider (film)

text: After the struggles she had developing and financing her first film, Zhao decided to "start with nothing and then just do something real cheap. And do it right away because I can't do the development thing anymore." Zhao decided to make them film in August 2016 and started shooting in September. Zhao covered the film's production costs herself, using her and her boyfriend's (cinematographer Joshua James Richards) credit cards. There were only six crew members, including Zhao, and they relied on natural light and Walmart LED strips for lighting (Zhao says she will "shoot every magic hour if I am alive"). Filming took place at local horse sales, rodeos, and auctions for free, incorporating "all these extras, who are perfectly costumed, all these old cowboys – you couldn't have cast and staged this." The cast consists entirely of non-professional Lakota actors from the Pine Ridge Reservation playing fictionalized versions of themselves, including Jandreau, who grew up riding and training horses, as well as his father, sister, wife, and several of his friends.


title: The Rider (film)

text: Jandreau's childhood best friend, Lane Scott, also features in the movie. Scott became disabled in a car accident four years before filming, and had messaged Zhao about the film on Facebook. Zhao had not met Scott until the night of filming, and was unsure of how far she could push him. Jandreau assured Zhao that Scott would want to do it, so they drove eight hours to the rehabilitation center Scott had been moved to in Omaha. It was Jandreau's first time seeing Scott at the rehabilitation center and the first time Scott had seen Jandreau since Jandreau's injury. They filmed for four hours at the rehabilitation center, and Scott "loved that because he was being treated like he was doing a job, not as someone who’s disabled." A documentary crew had been preparing to make a feature documentary about Scott before his accident, but pulled out after he was injured. Zhao said this was "so silly, because that's where the story starts".


title: The Rider (film)

text: Zhao spent the first few months after filming wrapped editing the 50 hours of footage captured, finishing the first cut of the film herself.


title: The Rider (film)

text: Sony Pictures Classics acquired the distribution rights in the U.S. and other territories two days following its premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.


title: The Rider (film)

text: "The Rider" grossed $2.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $1.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $4.2 million.


title: The Rider (film)

text: On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 191 reviews, and an average rating of 8.50/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""The Rider"s hard-hitting drama is only made more effective through writer-director Chloé Zhao's use of untrained actors to tell the movie's fact-based tale." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 91 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".


title: The Rider (film)

text: Godfrey Cheshire of "RogerEbert.com" gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, writing that its "style, its sense of light and landscape and mood, simultaneously give it the mesmerizing force of the most confident cinematic poetry."


title: The Rider (film)

text: Former United States President Barack Obama listed "The Rider" among his favorite films of 2018, in his annual list of favorite films.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: Antigua Guatemala (), commonly known as Antigua or La Antigua, is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala. The city was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 through 1773, with much of its Baroque-influenced architecture and layout dating from that period. These characteristics had it designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Antigua Guatemala serves as the capital of the homonymous municipality and the Sacatepéquez Department.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: The city had a peak population of some 60,000 in the 1770s; the bulk of the population moved away in the late 18th century. Despite significant population growth in the late 20th century, the city had only reached half that number by the 1990s. At the time of the 2007 census, the city had 34,685 inhabitants.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: "Antigua Guatemala" means "Old Guatemala" and was the third capital of Guatemala. The first capital of Guatemala was founded on the site of a Kakchikel-Maya city, now called Iximche, on Monday, July 25, 1524—the day of Saint James—and therefore named Ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Goathemalan (City of Saint James of the Knights of Guatemala). Naturally, St. James became the patron saint of the city.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: After several Kaqchikel uprisings, the capital was moved to a more suitable site in the Valley of Almolonga (place of water) on November 22, 1527, and kept its original name. This new city was located on the site of present-day San Miguel Escobar, which is a neighborhood in the municipality of Ciudad Vieja. This city was destroyed on September 11, 1541, by a devastating lahar from the Volcán de Agua. As a result, the colonial authorities decided to move the capital once more, this time away to the Panchoy Valley. So, on March 10, 1543, the Spanish conquistadors founded present-day Antigua, and again, it was named Santiago de los Caballeros. For more than 200 years, it served as the seat of the military governor of the Spanish colony of Guatemala, a large region that included almost all of present-day Central America and the southernmost State of Mexico: Chiapas.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: Santiago de los Caballeros was the third seat of the capital called kingdom of Guatemala, which included the current states of Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, besides modern state of Chiapas in Mexico. After a flood destroyed the second city, located in the Valley of Almolonga, on the slopes of Volcán de Agua a new city was built in 1543 in the Valley of Panchoy, and it was established as head of the Real Audiencia of Guatemala in 1549.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: The city was laid out in a square pattern, with streets running north to south and from east to west, with a central square. Both church and government buildings were designated important places around the central plaza. Between 1549 and 1563, property southeast of the square was sold to the crown and occupied by the first president of the Real Audiencia de los Confines: the lawyer Alonso Lopez Cerrato, who also served as governor and captain general. The original building was small and paneled with portal, tile roof, and adobe walls. The city is surrounded by three enormous volcanoes and mountains, plains and hills. This territory was called "Valley of Guatemala" and had 73 villages, two towns and the city of Santiago de los Caballeros.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: Due to constant problems between the conquerors and the representatives of the crown sent by the king of Spain, the Audiencia de los Confines was abolished in 1565. In 1570 the assembly was restored, this time independent of the viceroy of Mexico and the new organization was called Audiencia of Guatemala.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: The Franciscan friars were the first to move into the valley Panchoy, the new capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala, and built a chapel on the site where later the Church Escuela de Cristo would be erected. This primitive chapel was destroyed in 1575 by an earthquake and during the next ten years collections were made to build the new complex, two blocks from the previous one. The Franciscan complex became a major cultural and religious center for the entire Captaincy General of Guatemala: Theologians, jurists, philosophers, physicists, and mathematicians studied in the school of San Buenaventura, which was located where the monastery ruins are. Notable students included Cristóbal de Villalpando, Thomas Merlo, and Alonso de Paz.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: The first building of a cathedral was begun in 1545 with the debris brought from the destroyed settlement in the valley of Almolonga; however, its construction was hampered by frequent earthquakes throughout the years. The city was the final resting place of the great Spanish chronicler Bernal Díaz del Castillo, and his remains were interred in one of the churches that was eventually ruined by earthquakes.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: The construction of the royal houses for the residence of the Captain General and the members of the Real Audiencia started in 1558; the complex also included the Royal Treasury, jail, Army quarters, the Hall of Arms, and the housing of Audiencia members.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: In 1566 King Felipe II of Spain gave it the title of "Muy Noble y Muy Leal" ("Very Noble and Very Loyal").


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: The Jesuits founded the school of "San Lucas of the Society of Jesus" in 1608, which became famous and was unrivaled in terms of literature and grammar lessons; it was attended by the elite nobles of the city society, such as Francisco Antonio Fuentes y Guzman, the chronicler Francisco Vázquez, and Pedro Betancourt. On 18 July 1626, the Jesuit temple was inaugurated; along with the rest of the city, it suffered and was damaged by continuous earthquakes that struck the city between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: The monks of San Juan de Dios founded their hospital and monastery in 1636 and thereafter were in charge of the hospitals in the Kingdom of Guatemala. Their hospitals were:


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: The temple of the Escuela de Cristo -School of Christ- was founded in the parish of Our Lady of Remedios in 1664 and from 1689 onward it was known as the Congregation of San Felipe de Neri. Meanwhile, around 1690, the Jesuits founded another school: the "San Francisco de Borja" where the poet and priest Rafael Landivar, S.J., eventually would study and serve as principal.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: Pedro de San José Betancourt came to Guatemalan land in 1650 from his native Tenerife. Upon arrival he suffered a serious illness, during which he had the first opportunity to be with the poor and dispossessed. After his recovery he wanted to pursue ecclesiastical studies but unable to do so, professed as a Franciscan tertiary in the Convent of San Francisco in Santiago de los Caballeros. He founded shelters for the poor, indigenous, and homeless, and founded the Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Bethlehem in 1656, to serve the poor. Santo Hermano Pedro wrote several books, including: Instruction De la Cruz's brother, Crown of the Passion of Jesus Christ our good or Rules Confraternity Betlemitas. He is considered the great evangelist of the West Indies, just as San Francisco Javier is to the East Indies. Brother Pedro attended to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, and was an early promoter of Human Rights. Additionally, he was the first literacy advocate in America, and the Order of Betlemitas in turn was the first religious order born in the Americas. The Santo Hermano Pedro was a man ahead of his time, both in his methods of teaching reading and writing to the illiterate and in medical patient treatment.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: Francisco Marroquín, first bishop of Guatemala, sent the Spanish King a letter in 1548, asking for a superior education institution for Guatemala, but the letter went unanswered. Towards the end of his life, in 1562, Marroquín left some money in his will to establish a school -which eventually was the "Santo Tomás de Aquino school"- where grammar, arts, philosophy, and theology would be taught. Poor Spanish children would be the beneficiaries of this pious work, as they could not travel to those cities where there were universities already, such as México City in the New Spain. Historian John Tate Lanning said regarding this that, "Marroquín's testament is so famous, that many people who have not even laid eyes on it say that there are things in the document that are really not in it. Marroquín never talks about a University, much less establishing one..." On the other hand, there is indeed a document from Mayor Pedro Crespo Suarez, who left twenty thousand pesos after his death to set up classes in the University that "was being asked of the crown".


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: The Jesuits opposed a university establishment, given that they did not like the idea of having the other regular clergy orders -Mercedarians, Franciscans and Order of Preachers- taking the initiative in religious and educational issues. In August 1655, the Society of Jesus had bought the whole lot from the Díaz del Castillo family and by then, their San Lucas School was well known in the region and it even granted two university degrees. In 1653, the San Lucas School had a staff of only thirteen priests, a very small number compared to the size of the building; the Jesuits, however, made a major impact on the cultural and educational life in the Capitanía General of Guatemala. The school was the city's most prestigious, and from it graduated most of the elite members of society of the time. Most of its students were secular and went on to get the best positions in the country.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: After several decades, petitions, and lawsuits, king Carlos II expedited a royal decree, on January 31, 1676, allowing Capitanía General of Guatemala to establish its university or "General Study." After a lengthy and cumbersome organizational process that lasted five years, the university started classes on January 7, 1681, with more than sixty registered students under President Doctor José de Baños y Soto Mayor, Cathedral archdeacon, King of Spain preacher and Doctor from the University of Osuna. The university began its activities under the protection of Saint Carlos Borromeo, and its norms and regulations were copied from those of the México University which, in turn, were adapted from those of the Universidad de Salamanca in Spain.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: The Royal University of San Carlos Borromeo became pontifical via the Papal Bull of Pope Innocent XI, issued and dated 18 June 1687.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: The strongest earthquakes experienced by the city of Santiago de los Caballeros before its final move in 1776 were the San Miguel earthquakes in 1717. At that time, the power of the Catholic Church over the Spanish Empire's citizens was absolute and any natural disaster was considered as divine punishment. In the city, people also believed that the proximity of the Volcán de Fuego (English: Volcano of Fire) was the cause of earthquakes; the great architect Diego de Porres even said that all the earthquakes were caused by volcano explosions.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: On August 27 there was a strong eruption of Volcán de Fuego, which lasted until August 30; the residents of the city asked for help to Santo Cristo of the cathedral and to the Virgen del Socorro who were sworn patrons of the Volcan de Fuego. On August 29, a Virgen del Rosario procession took to the streets after a century without leaving her temple, and there were many more holy processions until 29 September, the day of San Miguel. Early afternoon earthquakes were minor, but at about 7:00 p.m. there was a strong earthquake that forced residents to leave their homes; tremors and rumblings followed until four o'clock. The neighbors took to the streets and loudly confessed their sins, bracing for the worst.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: The San Miguel earthquake damaged the city considerably, to the point that some rooms and walls of the Royal Palace were destroyed. There was also a partial abandonment of the city, food shortages, lack of manpower, and extensive damage to the city infrastructure, not to mention numerous dead and injured. These earthquakes made the authorities consider moving to a new city less prone to seismic activity. City residents strongly opposed the move, and even took to the Royal Palace in protest; in the end, the city did not move, but the number of troops of the Army Battalion required to maintain order was considerable. The damage to the palace was repaired by Diego de Porres, who finished repairs in 1720, although there are indications that there was additional work done by Porres until 1736.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: On March 4, 1751, the San Casimiro earthquake destroyed the city of Santiago de Guatemala once more. The church roof of the Society of Jesus complex fell to the ground, forcing the Jesuits once again to ask for help from the parishioners to rebuild. Once again, the building was among the most beautiful in the city when the repairs were completed. In fact, a period of prosperity began after the San Casimiro earthquake, as the city saw major improvements such as street embellishment and the introduction of a tap water system. A new City Hall was built, and on July 17, 1753, work on the Jesuit plaza in front of the church was finished.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: On 12 June 1773 Captain General Martín de Mayorga was inaugurated, and alongside Cortés y Larráz and the regular clergy vicars, were the top authorities in the Kingdom of Guatemala and would be the main characters in the events that followed the 1773 earthquakes.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: In 1773, the Santa Marta earthquakes destroyed much of the town, which led to the third change in location for the city. The Spanish Crown ordered, in 1776, the removal of the capital to a safer location, the Valley of the Shrine, where Guatemala City, the modern capital of Guatemala, now stands. This new city did not retain its old name and was christened Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción (New Guatemala of the Assumption), and its patron saint is Our Lady of the Assumption. The badly damaged city of Santiago de los Caballeros was ordered abandoned, although not everyone left, and was thereafter referred to as la Antigua Guatemala (the Old Guatemala).


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: The Santa Marta earthquake practically demolished the church and sections of the convent of the Society of Jesus. Its cloisters and towers were in ruins, the walls were at dangerous angles, and the "Casa de Ejercicios" was turned into rubble. By a Royal decree of July 21, 1775, the city move to the "Virgin valley" was authorized. This was a final order that had to be obeyed by all the people, who started to move slowly, starting on December of that year. In order to build the new city it was necessary to get construction material from the old abandoned churches in Santiago de Guatemala. However, in the case of the Society of Jesus church, there was strong opposition from the neighbors to any possible dismantling of the structure since they considered that it could still be repaired.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: After the independence of Guatemala from Spain in 1821, the Jesuit complex became public property once again and was in several lawsuits that lasted until 1829, when the regular clergy and the conservative Aycinena clan were expelled from Central America after the invasion of liberal general Francisco Morazán and the establishment of a secular government. The new liberal government decreed that all the confiscated Catholic church possessions had to be turned into elementary schools and university classrooms.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: As of 1850, Antigua had an estimated population of 9,000. and by 1865, the building was functioning as a vapor activated thread mill, but it was not profitable due to a lack of expert technicians and raw material; and by 1872, the Jesuits were once again expelled from Guatemala by the liberal regime of Justo Rufino Barrios.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: In 1884 City Hall made an announcement that it intended to transform the old Society of Jesus buildings into a market, in spite of the strong opposition from the neighbors that already had small shops on the plaza. It was not until 1912 that a market was placed in the complex.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: In April 1920, during the very last days of Manuel Estrada Cabrera regime, prince Wilhelm of Sweden visited Antigua Guatemala and wrote about his impressions of the city in his book "Between two continents". His book is an objective description of the terrible conditions the road and the ruins used to be in: "For some little way outside Guatemala City it was a fairly decent car ride, but then the roads began developing sand drifts, and later, rockfalls of tumbled stone as two years earlier, the country had been devastated by a powerful earthquake and government corruption made the recovery impossible". "The hills grew steeper and steeper, the jolting more pronounced and the stones even sharper; besides, on top of the road was a two-foot layer of dust which hid the pitfalls but did not detract from their effect". "Along the way, they passed long lines of Indians on their way to Guatemala City, carrying their heavy burdens with apparent ease; men, women and children carried something in the way of a load, and they all carried it quickly. With respect to traffic, it was almost non-existent, aside from mule-pulled wagons".


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: After passing Mixco, the road proceeded more steeply upward, with a precipitous drop on one side and sheer cliff rising on the other; here and there a cross stood by the wayside, marking the spot where some traveler had died. After reaching the highest point, they started down towards Antigua. The city was in sight when a person in uniform planted himself in front of the car; it turned out to be the city commandant, along with six soldiers with wooden guns. Compared to Guatemala City at the time, Antigua was quite nicely kept, although all the churches were equally dilapidated and left entirely to themselves, as rebuilding since 1773 was confined to the strictly necessary. For the most part, only blank walls and shattered domes remained to greet the visitor by 1920, and some of the churches were in pitiful conditions. In Santa Clara, for example, a mule was grazing, and in the Church of Grace a native family had taken up its quarters, along with their varied collection of domestic animals.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: Because of its outstanding Spanish Baroque-influenced architecture, layout, churches, and ruins, and the city's importance during the early colonial period of the country, Antigua Guatemala was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: Central Park – Parque Central – is the heart of the city, with the reconstructed fountain there acting as a popular gathering spot. To the north of the Central Park is the Arco de Santa Catalina, one of the most recognizable architectural landmarks of Antigua.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: La Antigua is noted for its very elaborate religious celebrations during Lent (Cuaresma), leading up to Holy Week ("Semana Santa") and Easter ("Pascua"). Each Sunday during Lent, one of the local parishes sponsors a Procession through the streets of Antigua. Elaborate and artistic carpets, predominantly made of dyed sawdust, flowers, pine needles, and even fruits and vegetables, adorn the processions' paths.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: Due to its popularity among tourists and its very well-developed tourism infrastructure, Antigua Guatemala is often used as a central location from which to visit other tourist areas in Guatemala and Central America. Cruise ships that dock at Guatemalan ports offer trips to Antigua from both the Pacific and Atlantic. Antigua also holds a sizeable retirement community of expatriates from the US and Europe.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: Historically, the area was considered to be one of the finest agriculturally in Guatemala. Tourism is the main driver of the economy. Antigua is also a coffee-producing region of Anacafé.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: Antigua is known as a destination for people who want to learn Spanish through immersion. There are many Spanish language schools in Antigua, and it is one of the most popular and best recognized centers for studying the Spanish language by students from Europe, Asia, and North America. Language institutes are one of the primary industries of Antigua, along with tourism.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: Antigua GFC football club plays in the Guatemalan top division. Their home stadium is the Estadio Pensativo, which has a capacity of 10,000. They are nicknamed "Los panzas verdes" ("Green bellies") and have been successful nationally, having won the title four times since 2015.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: There are many restaurants in Antigua. Small eateries can be found at the Antigua marketplace next to the central bus stop, where you will find traditional Guatemalan dishes such as the traditional/Chapin breakfast, for example: refried beans, fried egg, fried plantain, and fresh cheese, served with handmade tortillas. Throughout Antigua you can find many cuisines from around the world: Mediterranean, Italian, Asian, American, and British pies and French pastries.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: Antigua is served by two main hospitals, Hospital Nacional Pedro de Bethancourt and a Guatemalan Institute of Social Security hospital. Emergency medical services are provided by Bomberos Municipales (Guatemala) and Bomberos Voluntarios (Guatemala), who have both previously worked with LFR International to improve prehospital care.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: Three large volcanoes dominate the horizon around Antigua. The most commanding, to the south of the city, is the Volcán de Agua or "Volcano of Water", some high. When the Spanish arrived, the inhabitants of the area, Kakchikel Mayas, called it Hunapú (and they still do). However, it became known as Volcán de Agua after a lahar from the volcano buried the second site of the capital, which prompted the Spanish authorities to move the capital to present-day Antigua. The original site of the second capital is now the village San Miguel Escobar.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: To the west of the city are a pair of peaks, Acatenango, which last erupted in 1972, some high, and the Volcán de Fuego or "Volcano of Fire", some high. "Fuego" is famous for being almost constantly active at a low level. Steam and gas issue from its top almost daily, while a larger eruption occurred in September 2012.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: Antigua is a growing tourist destination in Guatemala as it is close to Guatemala City but is much calmer and safer, with more tourist oriented activities. It is possible to take buses from Antigua to many parts of Guatemala. Many travel agencies offer shuttles to the main tourist places: Monterrico beach, Atitlan Lake, Coban, Lanquín (Semuc Champey), or Tikal, though the transportation is more central in Guatemala City. Antigua is also known for its chocolate makers.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: Before it was declared a National Monument by president Jorge Ubico on March 30, 1944, the city ruins were practically abandoned. The following galleries show images of the destruction of the structures due to earthquakes and abandonment. There were other churches, such as Nuestra Señora del Carmen and the Society of Jesus, that endured the 1773 earthquake relatively well, but they were abandoned and the earthquakes from 1917–18 and 1976 destroyed them. In the particular case of de San Francisco El Grande church, it was in good structural condition after the 1773 and 1917 earthquakes, and it was rebuilt in 1967 when the Franciscans returned to Guatemala. This eventually protected the structure from significant damage in the 1976 earthquake. Finally, La Merced church was practically new in 1773, and it has withstood time and earthquakes since; the church was not abandoned in 1776, but it was indeed abandoned in 1829 when the Mercedarians were expelled from Central America by general Francisco Morazán, along with the rest of regular clergy and the conservative party members and Aycinena family.


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: In 1935, the film "The New Adventures of Tarzan", was filmed on location in Guatemala, taking advantage of the help from the United Fruit Company and president Jorge Ubico. The places where the filming was made were:


title: Antigua Guatemala

text: The initial earthquake sequences from the Jack Nicholson film "The Border" were filmed in Antigua Guatemala, specifically in La Recoleccion Architectural Complex.


title: Arabian Desert

text: The Arabian Desert () is a vast desert wilderness in Western Asia that occupies almost the entire Arabian Peninsula. It stretches from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and Oman to Jordan and Iraq. It occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula, with an area of . It is the fifth largest desert in the world, and the largest in Asia. At its center is "Ar-Rub' al-Khali" (The Empty Quarter), one of the largest continuous bodies of sand in the world. It is an extension of the Sahara Desert.


title: Arabian Desert

text: Gazelles, oryx, sand cats, and spiny-tailed lizards are just some of the desert-adapted species that survive in this extreme environment, which features everything from red dunes to deadly quicksand. The climate is mostly dry (the major part receives around of rain per year but some very rare places receive as little as 50 mm), and temperatures oscillate between very high heat and seasonal night time freezes. It is part of the deserts and xeric shrublands biome and lie in biogeographical realms of the Palearctic (northern part) and Afrotropical (southern part).


title: Arabian Desert

text: The Arabian Desert ecoregion has little biodiversity, although a few endemic plants grow here. Many species, such as the striped hyena, jackal and honey badger have died out as a result of hunting, habitat destruction, overgrazing by livestock, off-road driving, and human encroachment on their habitat. Other species, such as the Arabian sand gazelle, have been successfully re-introduced and are protected at a number of reserves.


title: Arabian Desert

text: The desert lies mostly in Saudi Arabia, and covers most of the country. It extends into neighboring portions of southern Iraq, southern Jordan, central Qatar, most of the Abu Dhabi emirate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), western Oman, and northeastern Yemen. The ecoregion also includes most of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt and the adjacent Negev desert in southern Israel.


title: Arabian Desert

text: The Arabian Desert has a subtropical, hot desert climate, similar to the climate of the Sahara Desert (the world's largest hot desert). The Arabian Desert is actually an extension of the Sahara Desert over the Arabian peninsula.


title: Arabian Desert

text: The climate is mainly dry. Most areas get around of rain per year. Unlike the Sahara Desert—more than half of which is (having rainfall of less than per year)—the Arabian Desert has only a few hyperarid areas. These rare driest areas may get only 30 to of rain per year.


title: Arabian Desert

text: The Arabian Desert’s sunshine duration index is very high by global standards: between 2,900 hours (66.2% of daylight hours) and 3,600 hours (82.1% of daylight hours), but typically around 3,400 hours (77.6% of daylight hours). Thus clear-sky conditions with plenty of sunshine prevail over the region throughout the year and cloudy periods are infrequent.


title: Arabian Desert

text: Visibility at ground level is relatively low, despite the brightness of the sun and moon, because of dust and humidity.


title: Arabian Desert

text: Temperatures remain high all year round. In the summer, in low-lying areas, average high temperatures are generally over . In extremely low-lying areas, especially along the Persian Gulf (near sea level), summer temperatures can reach . Average low temperatures in summer are typically over and in the south can sometimes exceed . Record high temperatures above have been reached in many areas of the desert, partly because its overall elevation is relatively low.


title: Arabian Desert

text: The Rub'al-Khali has very limited floristic diversity. There are only 37 plant species, 20 recorded in the main body of the sands and 17 around the outer margins. Of these 37 species, one or two are endemic. Vegetation is very diffuse but fairly evenly distributed, with some interruptions of near sterile dunes. Some typical plants are "Calligonum crinitum" on dune slopes, "Cornulaca arabica" (saltbush), "Salsola stocksii" (saltbush), and "Cyperus conglomeratus". Other widespread species are "Dipterygium glaucum, Limeum arabicum", and "Zygophyllum mandavillei".


title: Arabian Desert

text: Very few trees are found except at the outer margin (typically "Acacia ehrenbergiana" and "Prosopis cineraria"). Other species are a woody perennial "Calligonum comosum", and annual herbs such as "Danthonia forskallii".


title: Arabian Desert

text: The Arabian Desert has 102 native species of mammals. Native mammals include the Arabian oryx ("Oryx leucoryx"), sand gazelle ("Gazella marica"), mountain gazelle ("G. gazella"), Nubian ibex ("Capra nubiana"), Arabian wolf ("Canis lupus arabs"), striped hyaena ("Hyaena hyaena"), caracal ("Caracal caracal"), sand cat ("Felis margarita"), red fox ("Vulpes vulpes"), and Cape hare ("Lepus capensis").


title: Arabian Desert

text: The area is home to several different cultures, languages, and peoples, with Islam as the predominant faith. The major ethnic group in the region is the Arabs, whose primary language is Arabic.


title: Arabian Desert

text: In the center of the desert lies Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, with more than 7 million inhabitants. Other large cities, such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or Kuwait City, lie on the coast of the Persian Gulf.


title: Arabian Desert

text: Threats to the ecoregion include overgrazing by livestock and feral camels and goats, wildlife poaching, and damage to vegetation by off-road driving.


title: Arabian Desert

text: The conservation status of the desert is critical/endangered. In the UAE, the sand gazelle and Arabian oryx are threatened, and honey badgers, jackals, and striped hyaenas already extirpated.


title: Arabian Desert

text: Saudi Arabia has established a system of reserves overseen by the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD).


title: Arabian Desert

text: Protected areas in the United Arab Emirates include Al Houbara Protected Area (2492.0 km), Al Ghadha Protected Area (1087.51 km), Arabian Oryx Protected Area (5974.47 km), Ramlah Protected Area (544.44 km), and Al Beda'a Protected Area (417.0 km).


title: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

text: The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (stylized as Samsung Galaxy Note9) is an Android-based phablet designed, developed, produced and marketed by Samsung Electronics as part of the Samsung Galaxy Note series. It was unveiled on 9 August 2018, as the successor to the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. It is available in six colours (Ocean Blue, Midnight Black, Lavender Purple, Metallic Copper, Cloud Silver, and Alpine White).


title: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

text: Many Galaxy Note 9 features were leaked before the official launch, including its S-Pen. On 27 June 2018, Samsung sent out invites for the next "Unpacked" event, showing a gold S Pen image. According to that teaser, it was announced on 9 August 2018.


title: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

text: The Note 9 has a 6.4-inch (160 mm) 1440p Super AMOLED display with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. The design on the front is otherwise similar to the Note 8, using an "Infinity Display" as marketed by Samsung.


title: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

text: The Note 9 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC in North America, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Latin America or a Samsung Exynos 9810 SoC in Australia, United Kingdom and the rest of the world.


title: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

text: It has 128 or 512 GB storage options. The 128 GB model has 6 GB of RAM while the 512 GB model has 8 GB of RAM, making it the first Samsung flagship mobile phone with 512 GB of internal storage and 8 GB of RAM. All models also have a microSD card slot that can support a microSD card that stores up to 512 gigabytes of data, expanding storage up to 1 terabyte with the 512 GB model.


title: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

text: The 4000 mAh battery is significantly upgraded from previous Samsung Galaxy phones such as the Note 8, which came with a 3300 mAh, while the Galaxy Note 7 and Galaxy Note 5 came with 3500 mAh and 3000 mAh respectively. A 4000 mAh battery was previously seen only in the Active variants of the S7 and S8.


title: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

text: The dual-camera system on the Note 9 is similar to that of the Note 8 and the S9, consisting of a 12MP primary wide-angle lens (with the notable addition of a dual-aperture system going from ƒ/1.5-ƒ/2.4 with a 1/2.55-inch sensor and dual-pixel PDAF) and a 12MP ƒ/2.4 telephoto lens capable of 2x optical zoom and 10x digital zoom (with a 1/3.6-inch sensor and AF). Both lenses are optically stabilized. The lenses were arranged horizontally in the camera module on the back of the phone. Like on the S9, the Note 9 supports video recording at 4K resolution (2160p) at up to 60 fps, with slow motion ranging from 240 fps at 1080p (FHD) and 960 fps (marketed as Super Slow-Mo) at 720p (HD).


title: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

text: A new software has been added to the feature which warns the user about flaws such as blur and blinking eyes after each photograph.


title: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

text: The Note 9 has IP68 water & dust resistance and a USB-C connector that supports Samsung DeX without a dock, through HDMI. It has a 3.5 mm headphone jack along with AKG tuned stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support. It is the last Samsung Galaxy Note device to come with a headphone jack. The phone is made out of metal.


title: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

text: The fingerprint sensor has been moved to below the camera setup, just like the S9 & S9+, rather than next to the camera like on the Note 8.


title: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

text: There is also a water carbon heat pipe on the phone as part of the touting towards its gaming capability allowing for longer gaming sessions without thermal throttling.


title: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

text: The biggest change to the Note 9 is to the S-Pen. The S-Pen now has Bluetooth capabilities, including the ability to tap the button on it (hold, single or double) to do certain tasks, such as moving forwards or backwards in presentations or taking photos, and third party support is provided for apps via an SDK.


title: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

text: The S-Pen now has a "battery" (essentially a Super Capacitor) that charges when the pen is docked in the silo, with Samsung claiming 30 minutes of usage (or up to 200 clicks of the button) with only 40 seconds of charging.


title: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

text: The Note 9 ships with Android 8.1 Oreo with Samsung Experience 9.5 as the software overlay. The phone was later updated to Android 10 with Samsung's One UI. One UI version 2.5 was released to the phone in October 2020.


title: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

text: The camera software has been further improved and now includes an AI scene recognition that is capable of identifying 20 different scenes and making necessary adjustments to the camera's variables to produce better image quality.


title: Matthew Slater

text: Matthew Wilson Slater (born September 9, 1985) is an American football wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCLA, where he received first-team All-Pac-10 honors, and was selected by the Patriots in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. A special teams player for most of his career, Slater is considered one of the NFL's greatest gunners. He holds the record for special teams Pro Bowl selections at 10, in addition to two first-team All-Pros. Slater also won three Super Bowl titles in Super Bowl XLIX, Super Bowl LI, and Super Bowl LIII.


title: Matthew Slater

text: Slater was born in Long Beach, California to Annie Slater and former NFL tackle and Hall of Famer Jackie Slater. He has a brother named David.


title: Matthew Slater

text: Slater lettered in football for two seasons at Servite High School in Anaheim, California, where he was teammates with Ryan Kalil. Slater was an All-West selection by "Prep Star" and a three-star selection by Rivals.com. He was also a two-time All-Serra League selection. As a junior, Slater made 23 catches for 333 yards and two touchdowns. As a senior, he had 39 receptions for 707 yards and five touchdowns.


title: Matthew Slater

text: In high school, Slater was also a standout track athlete. He tied for second at the CIF State meet in the 100 meters, with a time of 10.62 seconds, and fourth in the 200 meters, with a time of 21.39 seconds. His 4 × 100 metres relay team was the CIF champion. Slater was selected as the 2003 "Orange County Register" Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year as a senior. He still holds school records in the 100 meters and 200 meters.


title: Matthew Slater

text: Slater attended the University of California, Los Angeles and majored in political science and history, while playing for the Bruins football team. As a freshman, he redshirted due to a turf toe injury. In 2004, as a second-year freshman, Slater appeared in games against Illinois, Arizona, and Stanford. As a sophomore in 2005, Slater was a reserve wide receiver. He missed the first three games due to a stress fracture in his left leg. Slater played in two games but did not make a reception.


title: Matthew Slater

text: As a junior in 2006, Slater played 13 games, including two (Washington and Arizona) on defense. He excelled on kick coverage, specializing in big hits on kick returners to help minimize kick return yardage. In the year, he made nine tackles, including six solo tackles. As a senior in 2007, Slater played in 13 games and made 25 tackles. He also returned kicks for the Bruins. He returned 34 kicks for a 29.0-yard average and 3 touchdowns which tied the lead in the nation and set the UCLA record. Slater also tied the Pac-10 season record, set by Anthony Davis in 1974. Slater's 29.0-yard kickoff return average was first in the Pac-10 and 12th-best in the country. He was a first-team All-Pac 10 selection as the kick returner. Slater's 986 kickoff return yards were also a new UCLA single-season record.


title: Matthew Slater

text: Slater was drafted in the fifth round, 153rd overall, of the 2008 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, who traded up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before drafting Slater. Matthew's father, Jackie Slater, was pleased with the selection and told the "Boston Herald" that he received phone calls from "scouts, administrators in the NFL who knew me and my son, and they said, ‘Jackie, this could not be a better fit for your son to start being a pro football player.'" Slater was one of two players selected in the 2008 Draft (the other being Chris Long), and the sixth in the history of the NFL Draft, who is a son of a Hall of Fame member. Slater played in 14 games in his rookie 2008 season, returning 11 kickoffs for 155 yards and recording 12 tackles on special teams.


title: Matthew Slater

text: In the 2009 season, Slater was active for 14 games for the Patriots, recording six tackles on special teams, while recording one rush for six yards as a wide receiver. He also returned 11 kickoffs for 269 yards, a 24.5 average. Slater had a career-high 35-yard kickoff return in the regular-season finale against the Houston Texans. He also played in a reserve role at wide receiver and on special teams coverage units in the postseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. In that game, SLater had two kickoff returns for 46 yards and a special teams tackle.


title: Matthew Slater

text: In 2010, Slater did not record any offensive or defensive statistics and did not return any kicks or punts. However, he led the team with 21 special teams tackles in 15 games played.


title: Matthew Slater

text: Slater created a niche as a special teams force, leading the Patriots with 17 regular season special teams tackles in 2011; however, he had a presence in all three phases throughout the 2011 season. In the season opener against the Miami Dolphins, Slater made the Patriots’ first big play of the season by catching a 46-yard reception from Tom Brady (which remains his only career reception) and set the team up for the Patriots’ first touchdown of the season. Slater returned four kickoffs for 68 yards (averaging 17 yards per return). He significantly contributed in the defensive backfield, and started in three games as safety. In his defensive start against the Indianapolis Colts, Slater forced a fumble and finished the game with a team-high six tackles. In the AFC Divisional Round, Slater had a special team tackle.


title: Matthew Slater

text: Slater was selected for the 2012 Pro Bowl and the 2011 Pro Football Writers Association (PFW/PFWA) All-Pro teams including All-NFL and All-AFC as a special teamer. At the time, the Slaters were one of five active father-son families selected to at least one Pro Bowl apiece. The others were Gill and Jairus Byrd; Archie and Eli Manning; Archie and Peyton Manning; Clay and Clay Matthews; and Howie and Chris Long. The Patriots reached Super Bowl XLVI, Slater's first appearance in the Super Bowl, but lost 21–17 to the New York Giants.


title: Matthew Slater

text: Slater, who became a free agent after the 2011 season, signed a three-year contract to return to the Patriots in 2012. He was again voted as Special Teams Captain and voted to be the team's player representative to the NFL Players Association. He was named to the Pro Bowl and the 2012 PFW/PFWA All-Pro for the lone AFC special teamer position for the second straight season.


title: Matthew Slater

text: In his sixth season with the Patriots, Slater continued to be a reliable captain and inspirational leader on and off the field. He had 14 regular season special-teams tackles, which was the second-highest on the team, despite missing four games early in the season due to injury. Slater's on-field performance led to a third straight Pro Bowl nod.


title: Matthew Slater

text: On November 26, 2014, it was reported that Slater signed a two-year contract extension to remain with the Patriots through the 2016 season. Slater, again, was voted All-Pro and to the Pro Bowl at the special teams position. It was his fourth straight selection to the Pro Bowl and his third All-Pro nod. Slater earned a Super Bowl ring as the Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 28–24 in Super Bowl XLIX.


title: Matthew Slater

text: Slater was once again a standout special teams player in 2015. He earned his fifth Pro Bowl at the special teams position. Slater's father is a seven-time Pro Bowler, and with 13 Pro Bowl nods between them, the Slaters are the second-most nominated father/son in the NFL (only Archie and Peyton Manning have more Pro Bowl nominations).


title: Matthew Slater

text: Slater continued to be a standout on special teams. On December 20, he earned his sixth Pro Bowl nomination. The Slaters now held the most Pro Bowl nods of an active father-son pair with 13. He was also named First-team All-Pro as a special teamer for the fourth time in his career. On January 4, 2017, Slater was announced as the winner of the Bart Starr Award, given annually to a player who exemplifies character and leadership on and off the field. His father received this honor in 1996, and together they became the first father-son pair to be honored with this prestigious award. Slater helped the Patriots finish with a 14–2 record. On February 5, 2017, Slater was part of the Patriots team that won Super Bowl LI. In the game, the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 34–28 in overtime. Slater had a role as special teams captain and successfully called the coin toss before overtime began.


title: Matthew Slater

text: Slater was inactive for the first four games of 2017, recovering from a hamstring injury. He returned in Week 5 but missed Weeks 11–13 with a hamstring injury. Slater was named to a record seven consecutive Pro Bowls, which tied Steve Tasker for the most special teams Pro Bowl honors in NFL history. Slater did not play in the Pro Bowl because his team made it to Super Bowl LII. The Patriots failed to repeat as champions after losing 41-33 to the Philadelphia Eagles.


title: Matthew Slater

text: On March 20, 2018, Slater re-signed with the Patriots on a two-year contract. Slater won his third Super Bowl when the Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams by a score of 13–3 in Super Bowl LIII.


title: Matthew Slater

text: During a Week 4 16-10 road victory over the Buffalo Bills, Slater scored his first NFL touchdown on an 11-yard blocked punt return. In Week 12, he had his first career blocked punt, which led to an offensive touchdown, in a 13-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Slater was named to his eighth Pro Bowl, breaking Steve Tasker's record for the most special teams Pro Bowl honors in NFL history.


title: Matthew Slater

text: On March 13, 2020, Slater signed a two-year contract extension with the Patriots. With quarterback Tom Brady's departure and the release of placekicker Stephen Gostkowski, Slater became the longest active member of the Patriots. On December 21, 2020, he was named to the 2020 Pro Bowl, extending his own NFL record for most special teams Pro Bowl honors, with nine selections.


title: Matthew Slater

text: Slater was a standout on special teams once more in the 2021 season. He ended the year with 11 tackles in the regular season while adding another two in the Patriots' Wild Card loss to the Buffalo Bills. Slater made his 10th Pro Bowl and was a Second-team All-Pro selection for the third time in his career.


title: Matthew Slater

text: In 2013, Slater was awarded the New England Patriots 11th Ron Burton Community Service Award by owner Robert Kraft for his strong commitment to community service and leadership. Slater is one of the team’s most active community participants, regularly participating in the team’s organized community events.


title: Matthew Slater

text: Slater was also the United Way representative on the New England Patriots and worked with organizations in the greater Boston area to recruit 1,000,000 volunteers as part of the wider Patriots Celebrate Volunteerism campaign in 2012.


title: Matthew Slater

text: On October 25, 2016, Slater hosted a "pop-up" fundraiser to benefit Hurricane Matthew victims. He raised over $60,000 for Samaritan's Purse to assist in their efforts in the Carolinas and Haiti after the devastating hurricane barreled through those regions.


title: Matthew Slater

text: Slater is a supporter of Compassion International. In 2021, he picked the charity and its “Fill The Stadium” initiative for his “My Cause My Cleats” cause.


title: Mensch

text: According to Leo Rosten, a is "someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. The key to being 'a real mensch' is nothing less than character, rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsible, decorous." The term is used as a high compliment, implying the rarity and value of that individual's qualities.


title: Mensch

text: In Yiddish, "mentsh" roughly means "a good person". The word has migrated as a loanword into American English, where a "mensch" is a particularly good person, similar to a "stand-up guy", a person with the qualities one would hope for in a friend or trusted colleague. "Mentshlekhkeyt" (; ) refers to the properties which make a person a "mensch".


title: Mensch

text: During the Age of Enlightenment, in Germany the term , in the philosophical sense of compassion, was used in Humanism to describe what characterizes a better human being. The concept goes back to Cicero's "humanitas", which was literally translated as in German, from which the Yiddish word "mentsh" derives..


title: Mensch

text: The word and the underlying concept have had an impact on popular culture. For example, the "Mensch on a Bench" is a Hanukkah-themed book and doll set. A life-size version of the doll has been adopted by as their mascot. According to pitcher Gabe Cramer, "The Mensch is a great way to have fun in the dugout while reminding us of why we're here and who we're representing."


title: Stephen Tredre

text: The son of a doctor, he was born in London and educated at Epsom College, appearing as the lead role in a school production of "Hamlet." Tredre also wrote articles for the school magazine, which was edited by his brother. After studying drama and English at Exeter University, he graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.


title: Stephen Tredre

text: Following graduation, he appeared on the stage in Manchester and London, and then in film and television productions such as ITV's "The Bill." While on the set of "Dark Season", Tredre met actress Kate Winslet with whom he had a five-year relationship, starting when she was 15 years old and 12 years his junior. The couple broke up in 1995, at Tredre's insistence.


title: Stephen Tredre

text: Tredre began to write while still working as an actor. Having had scripts accepted to the BBC soap opera "EastEnders," he then joined the soap's rota of writers. After being diagnosed with cancer in 1996, he wrote the short personal memoir film "Between Dreams," and had his six-part legal series "Fish" accepted by the BBC, which cast Paul McGann in the lead role. Tredre finished an "EastEnders" script from his bed in his home in Islington, two weeks before his death from bone cancer on 8 December 1997 (soon after Winslet completed filming "Titanic"). Attending his funeral caused her to miss the film's premiere in Los Angeles on 14 December.


title: Giant oarfish

text: The giant oarfish (Regalecus glesne) is a species of oarfish of the family Regalecidae. It is an oceanodromous species with a worldwide distribution, excluding polar regions. Other common names include Pacific oarfish, king of herrings, ribbonfish, and streamer fish.


title: Giant oarfish

text: "R. glesne" is the world's longest bony fish. Its shape is ribbon-like, narrow laterally, with a dorsal fin along its entire length, stubby pectoral fins, and long, oar-shaped pelvic fins, from which its common name is derived. Its coloration is silver and blue with spots of dark pigmentation, and its fins are crimson. Its physical characteristics and undulating mode of swimming have led to speculation that it might be the source of many "sea serpent" sightings.


title: Giant oarfish

text: "R. glesne" was first described by Peter Ascanius in 1772. The genus name, "Regalecus", signifies "belonging to a king"; the specific epithet "glesne" is from "Glesnaes", the name of a farm at Glesvær (not far from Norway's second largest city of Bergen), where the type specimen was found.


title: Giant oarfish

text: Its "king of herrings" nickname may derive from its crownlike appendages and from being sighted near shoals of herring, which fishermen thought were being guided by this fish. Its common name, oarfish, is probably an allusion to the shape of its pelvic fins, or else it may refer to the long slender shape of the fish itself.


title: Giant oarfish

text: The giant oarfish has a worldwide distribution, having been found as far north as 72°N and as far south as 52°S, but is most commonly found in the tropics to middle latitudes. It has been categorized as oceanodromous, following its primary food source. It is thought to inhabit the sunlit epipelagic to dimly lit mesopelagic zones, ranging as deeply as below the surface.


title: Giant oarfish

text: This species is the world's longest bony fish, reaching a record length of ; however, unconfirmed specimens of up to have been reported. It is commonly measured to in total length.


title: Giant oarfish

text: Few "R. glesne" larvae have been identified and described "in situ". These larvae exhibit an elongated body with rays extending from the occipital crest and a long pelvic fin. Unlike the adult form of the species, the skin of the larvae is almost entirely transparent with intermittent spots of dark coloration along the organism's dorsum. Additionally, the larvae possess a caudal fin with four fin rays, which is a trait not present in the adult form of the species.


title: Giant oarfish

text: Adults have a ribbonlike shape that is laterally narrow, with a dorsal fin along its entire length from between its eyes to the tip of its tail. The dorsal fin rays are soft and number between 414 and 449 in total. At the head of the fish, the first 10-12 of these dorsal fin rays are lengthened, forming the distinctive red crest associated with the species. Its pectoral and pelvic fins are nearly adjacent. The pectoral fins are stubby while the pelvic fins are long, single-rayed, and reminiscent of an oar in shape, widening at the tip. Its head is small with the protrusible jaw typical of lampriformes. The species has 33 to 47 gill rakers on the first gill arch, and no teeth.


title: Giant oarfish

text: The organs of the giant oarfish are concentrated toward the head end of the body, possibly enabling it to survive losing large portions of its tail. It has no swim bladder. The liver of "R. glesne" is orange or red, the likely result of astaxanthin in its diet. The lateral line begins above and behind the eye then, descending to the lower third of the body, extends to the caudal tip.


title: Giant oarfish

text: Much of what is known about the juvenile life cycle of "R. glesne" comes from artificial insemination work done in a laboratory setting. This work was performed in 2020 and was the first time that the progression from fertilized eggs to larvae was observed. Post-fertilization, the eggs took 18 days to hatch into larvae. They noted that the larvae appeared similar to other lampridiform larvae, facing downward with pectoral fins. The larvae then died four days later, so this study spanned only the early life cycle of the species.


title: Giant oarfish

text: In the field, the species is known to spawn from July to December. The resulting eggs are large, and float near the surface until hatching. Its larvae are also observed near the surface during this season.


title: Giant oarfish

text: Little is known about oarfish behavior. It has been observed swimming by means of its dorsal fin, and also swimming in a vertical position. In 2010, scientists filmed a giant oarfish in the Gulf of Mexico swimming in the mesopelagic layer, the first footage of a reliably identified "R. glesne" in its natural setting. The footage was caught during a survey, using an ROV in the vicinity of Thunder Horse PDQ, and shows the fish swimming in a columnar orientation, tail downward.


title: Giant oarfish

text: Due to their size, elongated bodies, and undulating swimming pattern, giant oarfish are presumed to be responsible for some sea serpent sightings. Formerly considered rare, the species is now suspected to be relatively common, although sightings of healthy specimens in their natural habitat are unusual.


title: Giant oarfish

text: The giant oarfish, and the related "R. russelii," are sometimes known as "earthquake fish" because they are popularly believed to surface before and after an earthquake.


title: Cyrus S. Poonawalla

text: Cyrus S. Poonawalla (born in 1941) is an Indian billionaire businessman, and the chairman and managing director of the Cyrus Poonawalla Group, which includes the Serum Institute of India, an Indian biotech company which is the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world and Poonawalla Fincorp a leading NBFC in India . In 2022, he is ranked number 4 on Forbes India rich list with a net worth of $24.3 billion. He is ranked number 1 in Hurun Global health care rich list 2022.


title: Cyrus S. Poonawalla

text: Poonwalla founded the Serum Institute of India in 1966 and built it to the largest vaccine manufacturer (by doses) in the world. Serum produces over 1.5 billion doses annually of a range of vaccines, including for measles, polio and flu.


title: Cyrus S. Poonawalla

text: Cyrus Poonawalla was born in a Parsi family he is the son of Soli Poonawala, who was a horse breeder. He was married to Villoo Poonawalla, who died in 2010. They have a son, Adar, who currently works as the CEO of Serum Institute of India.


title: Cyrus S. Poonawalla

text: In May 2019, it was reported that Poonawalla, in partnership with Naum Koen, had proposed supplying Ukraine with 100 thousand doses of the measles vaccine for free vaccination.


title: History of Croatia

text: At the time of the Roman Empire, the area of modern Croatia comprised two Roman provinces, Pannonia and Dalmatia. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, the area was subjugated by the Ostrogoths for 50 years, before being incorporated into the Byzantine Empire.


title: History of Croatia

text: Croatia, as a polity, first appeared as a duchy in the 7th century, the Duchy of Croatia. With the nearby Principality of Lower Pannonia, it was united and elevated into the Kingdom of Croatia which lasted from 925 until 1102. From the 12th century, the Kingdom of Croatia entered a personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary. It remained a distinct state with its ruler ("Ban") and Sabor, but it elected royal dynasties from neighboring powers, primarily Hungary, Naples, and the Habsburg monarchy.


title: History of Croatia

text: The period from the 15th to the 17th centuries was marked by intense struggles between the Ottoman Empire to the south and the Habsburg Empire to the north.


title: History of Croatia

text: Following the First World War and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1918, Croatian lands were incorporated into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which was dominated by Serbia. Following the German invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, the puppet state Independent State of Croatia, allied to the Axis powers, was established. It was defeated in May 1945, after the German Instrument of Surrender. The Socialist Republic of Croatia was formed as a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1991, Croatia's leadership severed ties with Yugoslavia and proclaimed independence amidst the dissolution of Yugoslavia.


title: History of Croatia

text: The area known today as Croatia was inhabited by hominids throughout the prehistoric period. Fossils of Neanderthals dating to the middle Palaeolithic period have been unearthed in northern Croatia, with the most famous and best-presented site in Krapina. Remnants of several Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures have been found throughout the country. Most of the sites are in the northern Croatian river valleys, and the most significant cultures whose presence was discovered include the Starčevo, Vučedol and Baden cultures. The Iron Age left traces of the early Illyrian Hallstatt culture and the Celtic La Tène culture.


title: History of Croatia

text: Greek author Hecataeus of Miletus mentions that around 500 BC, the Eastern Adriatic region was settled by Histrians, Liburnians, and Illyrians. Greek colonization saw settlers establish communities on the Issa (Vis) and Pharos (Hvar) islands.


title: History of Croatia

text: Before the Roman expansion, the eastern Adriatic coast formed the northern part of the Illyrian kingdom from the 4th century BC to the Illyrian Wars in the 220s BC. In 168 BC, the Roman Republic established its protectorate south of the Neretva river. The area north of the Neretva was slowly incorporated into Roman possession until the province of Illyricum was formally established 32–27 BC.


title: History of Croatia

text: These lands then became part of the Roman province of Illyricum. Between 6 and 9 AD, tribes including the Dalmatae, who gave name to these lands, rose up against the Romans in the Great Illyrian revolt, but the uprising was crushed, and in 10 AD Illyricum was split into two provinces—Pannonia and Dalmatia. The province of Dalmatia spread inland to cover all of the Dinaric Alps and most of the eastern Adriatic coast. Dalmatia was the birthplace of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who, when he retired as Emperor in 305 AD, built a large palace near Salona, from which the city of Split later developed.


title: History of Croatia

text: Historians such as Theodore Mommsen and Bernard Bavant argue that all of Dalmatia was fully Romanized and Latin-speaking by the 4th century. Others, such as Aleksandar Stipčević, argue that the process of Romanization was selective and involved mostly the urban centers but not the countryside, where previous Illyrian socio-political structures were adapted to Roman administration and political structure only where necessary. has argued that the Vlachs, or Morlachs, were Latin-speaking, pastoral peoples who lived in the Balkan mountains since pre-Roman times. They are mentioned in the oldest Croatian chronicles.


title: History of Croatia

text: After the Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476, with the beginning of the Migration Period, Julius Nepos briefly ruled his diminished domain from Diocletian's Palace after his 476 flight from Italy. The region was then ruled by the Ostrogoths until 535 when Justinian I added the territory to the Byzantine Empire. Later, the Byzantines formed the Theme of Dalmatia in the same territory.


title: History of Croatia

text: The Roman period ended with the Avar and Croat invasions in the 6th and 7th centuries and the destruction of almost all Roman towns. Roman survivors retreated to more favorable sites on the coast, islands, and mountains. The city of Ragusa was founded by survivors from Epidaurum. According to the work "De Administrando Imperio", written by the 10th-century Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII, the Croats arrived in what is today Croatia from southern Poland and Western Ukraine in the early 7th century. However, that claim is disputed and competing hypotheses date the event between late the 6th-early 7th (mainstream) or the late 8th-early 9th (fringe) centuries. Recent archaeological data established that the migration and settlement of the Slavs/Croats occurred in the late 6th and early 7th centuries.


title: History of Croatia

text: From the middle of the seventh century until the unification in 925, there were two duchies on the territory of today's Croatia, Duchy of Croatia and Principality of Lower Pannonia. Eventually, a dukedom was formed, the Duchy of Croatia, ruled by Borna, as attested by chronicles of Einhard starting in the year 818. The record represents the first documented Croatian realms, vassal states of Francia at the time. The most important ruler of Lower Pannonia was Ljudevit Posavski, who fought against the Franks between 819 and 823. He ruled Pannonian Croatia from 810 to 823.


title: History of Croatia

text: The Frankish overlordship ended during the reign of Mislav two decades later. Duke Mislav was succeeded by Duke Trpimir, the founder of the Trpimirović dynasty. Trpimir successfully fought against Byzantium, Venice and Bulgaria. Duke Trpimir was succeeded by Duke Domagoj, who repeatedly led wars against the Venetians and the Byzantines, and the Venetians called this Croatian ruler "the worst Croatian prince" (dux pessimus Croatorum). According to Constantine VII, the Christianization of Croats began in the 7th century, but the claim is disputed and generally, Christianization is associated with the 9th century. In 879, under Branimir, the duke of Croatia, Dalmatian Croatia received papal recognition as a state from Pope John VIII.


title: History of Croatia

text: The first king of Croatia is generally considered to have been Tomislav in the first half of the 10th century, who is mentioned as such in letters regarding Church Councils of Split, as well as in "De Administrando Imperio". The latter also describes Tomislav's army driving off the Bulgarian invasion of Croatia in the 926 Battle of Bosnian Highlands.


title: History of Croatia

text: Two Croatian queens are also known from that century, and Helen of Zadar, whose epitaph was found in the Solin area at the end of the 19th century during archeological excavations conducted by Frane Bulić.


title: History of Croatia

text: The medieval Croatian kingdom reached its peak in the 11th century during the reigns of Petar Krešimir IV (1058–1074) and Demetrius Zvonimir (1075–1089). When Stjepan II died in 1091, ending the Trpimirović dynasty, Ladislaus I of Hungary claimed the Croatian crown on the basis of Zvonimir's wife Jelena (Helen), who was the daughter of Hungarian king Béla I. Opposition to this claim led to a war between the army loyal to Petar Sančić and the army loyal to the Hungarian king Koloman I, and after the defeat of Petar Sančić's army, a personal union of Croatia and Hungary was created in 1102, with Coloman. as ruler.


title: History of Croatia

text: One consequence of entering a personal union with Hungary under the Hungarian king was the introduction of a feudal system. Later kings sought to restore some of their influence by giving certain privileges to the towns. Over the next four centuries, the Kingdom of Croatia was governed by the Sabor (parliament) and a Ban (viceroy) appointed by the king. In the year 1217, the Hungarian king Andrew II took the sign of the cross and vowed to go on the Fifth Crusade. After assembling his army, he marched from Hungary proper south to Zagreb and then Knin, after which he proceeded to Split on the Adriatic coast. The king and his party sailed to the Holy Land. Andrew's son King Béla IV had to deal with troubles brought by the first Mongol invasion of Hungary. Following the Hungarian defeat in the Battle of the Sajó River in 1241, the king withdrew to Dalmatia, hoping to take refuge there, with the Mongols in pursuit. The Mongols finally withdrew on receiving news of the death of Ögedei Khan. As Croatian historian Damir Karbić notes, during Béla's stay in Dalmatia, members of the Šubić noble family earned merit for sheltering him, so in return, the king granted them the County of Bribir, where their power reached its peak during the time of Paul I Šubić of Bribir.


title: History of Croatia

text: This period, therefore, saw the rise of the Frankopans and the Šubićs, native nobility, to prominence. Numerous future Bans of Croatia originated from these two noble families. The princes of Bribir from the Šubić family became particularly influential, as they asserted their control over large parts of Dalmatia, Slavonia, and even Bosnia.


title: History of Croatia

text: Lord Paul Šubić accumulated so much power, that he ruled as a de facto independent ruler. He coined his own money and held the hereditary title of Ban of Croatia. Following the death of king Ladislaus IV of Hungary, who had no male heir, a succession crisis emerged, and in 1300, Paul invited Charles Robert of Anjou to come to the Kingdom of Hungary and take over its royal seat. A civil war ensued, in which Charles' party prevailed after winning a decisive victory in the Battle of Rozgony in 1312.


title: History of Croatia

text: Coronations of the kings of Croatia gradually fell into abeyance as a custom. Charles Robert was the last to be separately crowned as King of Croatia in 1301, after which Croatia had a separate constitution. Lord Paul Šubić died in 1312, and his son Mladen inherited the title of Ban of Croatia. Mladen's power was diminished due to the new king's policy of centralization, after he and his forces were defeated by the royal army and its allies in the Battle of Bliska in 1322. The power vacuum caused by the downfall of Mladen Šubić was used by Venice to reassert control over Dalmatian cities.


title: History of Croatia

text: The ensuing reign of King Louis the Great (1342–1382) is considered the golden age of medieval Croatian history. Louis launched a campaign against Venice, with aim of retaking Dalmatian cities, and eventually succeeded, forcing Venice to sign the Treaty of Zadar in 1358. The same peace treaty caused the Republic of Ragusa to gain independence from Venice.


title: History of Croatia

text: Following Louis' death in 1382, the Kingdom of Hungary and parts of Croatia descended into a civil war between parties led by his daughter Mary, and her fiancé Sigismund of Luxemburg on one side, and supporters of the so-called Anti-Court Movement on another.


title: History of Croatia

text: Ladislaus of Naples sold the entirety of Dalmatia to Venice in 1409. The period saw an increasing threat of Ottoman conquest and struggle against the Republic of Venice for control of coastal areas. The Venetians gained control over most of Dalmatia by 1428. With the exception of the city-state of Dubrovnik, which became independent, the rule of Venice over most of Dalmatia lasted nearly four centuries ( 1420–1797).


title: History of Croatia

text: In 1490, the estates of Croatia declined to recognize Vladislaus II until he had taken an oath to respect their liberties and insisted that he strike from the constitution certain phrases which seemed to reduce Croatia to the rank of a mere province. The dispute was resolved in 1492.


title: History of Croatia

text: As the Ottoman expansion into Europe started, Croatian lands became a place of permanent warfare. This period of history is considered to be one of the direst for the people living in Croatia. The Ottoman conquest of Croatian lands began after the fall of Bosnia to the Ottomans in 1463. Armies of Croatian nobility fought numerous battles to counter the Ottoman akinji and martolos raids. The Ottoman forces raided the Croatian countryside, plundering towns and villages, then captured the local inhabitants as slaves. These "scorched earth" tactics, also called "The Small War", were usually conducted once a year and were intended to soften up the region's defenses, but didn't result in actual conquest of territory. But combined with famines, diseases, and a cold climate, they caused vast depopulation and a refugee crisis, as people fled to safer areas. Croatian historian points out that due to the combination of these factors, Croatia "lost almost three-fifths of its population" and the compactness of its territory. The center of the Croatian medieval state gradually shifted north into western Slavonia (Zagreb). Ottoman conquests led to the 1493 Battle of Krbava field and the 1526 Battle of Mohács, both ending in decisive Ottoman victories.


title: History of Croatia

text: Croats fought an increasing number of battles, but lost increasing swathes of territory to the Ottoman Empire, until being reduced to what is commonly called in Croatian historiography the "Remains of the Remains of Once Glorious Croatian Kingdom" ("Reliquiae reliquiarum olim inclyti regni Croatiae"), or simply the "Remains of the Remains". A decisive battle with the Ottomans occurred on Mohács in 1526 where Hungarian king Louis II was killed. As a consequence, in November of the same year, the Hungarian parliament elected János Szapolyai as the new king of Hungary. In December 1526, another Hungarian parliament elected Ferdinand Habsburg as King of Hungary.


title: History of Croatia

text: The Croatian nobles met in Cetingrad in 1527 and chose Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg as the new ruler of Croatia, on the condition that he contribute to the defense of Croatia against the Ottomans, and respect its political rights. The Diet of Slavonia, on the other hand, elected Szapolyai. A civil war between the two rival kings ensued, but later both crowns united as the Habsburgs prevailed over Szapolyai. The Ottoman Empire used these instabilities to expand in the 16th century to include most of Slavonia, western Bosnia (then called Turkish Croatia), and Lika. Those territories initially made up part of Rumelia Eyalet, and subsequently parts of Budin Eyalet, Bosnia Eyalet, and Kanije Eyalet.


title: History of Croatia

text: Later in the same century, Croatia was so weak that its parliament authorized Ferdinand Habsburg to carve out large areas of Croatia and Slavonia adjacent to the Ottoman Empire for the creation of the Military Frontier ("Vojna Krajina", German: "Militaergrenze") - a buffer zone for the Ottoman Empire managed directly by the Imperial War Council in Austria. This buffer area became depopulated due to constant warfare and was subsequently settled by Serbs, Vlachs, Croats, and Germans. As a result of their compulsory military service to the Habsburg Empire during the conflict with the Ottoman Empire, the population in the Military Frontier was free of serfdom and enjoyed much political autonomy, unlike the population living in the parts managed by the Croatian Ban and Sabor, This was officially confirmed by an Imperial decree of 1630 called "Statuta Valachorum" (Vlach Statutes).


title: History of Croatia

text: After the town of Bihać fell to the Ottomans in 1592, little of Croatia remained unconquered. The Ottoman army was successfully repelled for the first time on the territory of Croatia after the Battle of Sisak in 1593.


title: History of Croatia

text: During the 17th century, distinguished Croatian noble Nikola Zrinski became one of the most prominent Croatian generals in the fight against the Ottomans. In 1663/1664 he led a successful incursion into Ottoman-controlled territory. The campaign ended in the destruction of the vital Osijek bridge, which served as a connection between the Pannonian plain and the Balkan territories. As a reward for his victory against the Ottomans, Zrinski was commended by French king Louis XIV, thereby establishing contact with the French court. Croatian nobility also constructed Novi Zrin castle which sought to protect Croatia and Hungary from further Ottoman advances. At the same time, emperor Leopold of Habsburg sought to impose absolute rule on the entire Habsburg territory, which meant a loss of authority for the Croatian parliament and Ban and caused dissatisfaction with Habsburg rule among Croats.