Q: In 1592, during the war with Spain, an English fleet had captured a large Portuguese galleon off the Azores, the Madre de Deus, loaded with 900 tons of merchandise from India and China, worth an estimated half a million pounds . This foretaste of the riches of the East galvanized interest in the region. That same year, Dutch merchants sent Cornelis de Houtman to Lisbon, to gather as much information as he could about the Spice Islands. In 1595, merchant and explorer Jan Huyghen van Linschoten, having traveled widely in the Indian Ocean at the service of the Portuguese, published a travel report in Amsterdam, the "Reys-gheschrift vande navigatien der Portugaloysers in Orienten" . The published report included vast directions on how to navigate ships between Portugal and the East Indies and to Japan. Dutch and British interest fed on new information led to a movement of commercial expansion, and the foundation of the English East India Company, in 1600, and Dutch East India Company , in 1602, allowing the entry of chartered companies in the so-called East Indies. In 1602, the Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie was founded, with the goal of sharing the costs of the exploration of the East Indies and ultimately re-establishing the spice trade, a vital source of income to the new Republic of the Seven United Provinces.
How many years passed between the capture of the Madre de Deus and the founding of the English East India Company?
A: 8

Q: Hoping to rebound from their divisional home loss to the Steelers, the Bengals flew to Ralph Wilson Stadium for a Week 9 intraconference duel with the Buffalo Bills. In the first quarter, Cincinnati trailed early as Bills QB J. P. Losman completed an 8-yard TD pass to WR Lee Evans. Fortunately, the Bengals answered with QB Carson Palmer completing a 15-yard TD pass to WR T. J. Houshmandzadeh. In the second quarter, Buffalo retook the lead with kicker Rian Lindell getting a 23-yard field goal. Immediately afterwards, Cincinnati would take the lead as WR/KR Glenn Holt returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. The Bills ended the half with Lindell getting a 21-yard field goal. In the third quarter, Buffalo regained the lead with Lindell kicking a 29-yard field goal. Afterwards, the Bengals went back into the lead with Palmer completing a 1-yard TD pass to FB Jeremi Johnson. Unfortunately, Cincinnati's struggles continued with Lindell nailing a 38-yard field goal, along with RB Marshawn Lynch completing an 8-yard TD pass to TE Robert Royal & getting a 56-yard TD run.
How many yards combined are the three shortest touchdown passes made?
A: 17

Q: The clearance of the indigenous forest for the distillation of spirits, tanning and agricultural development began to lead to shortage of wood by the 1680s. The numbers of rats and goats had reached plague proportions by the 1690s, leading to the destruction of food crops and young tree shoots. Neither an increase on duty on the locally produced Arrack (drink) nor a duty on all firewood helped reduce the deforestation whilst attempts to reforest the island by governor John Roberts (17081711) were not followed up by his immediate successors. The Great Wood, which once extended from Deadwood Plain to Prosperous Bay Plain, was reported in 1710 as not having a single tree left standing. An early mention of the problems of soil erosion was made in 1718 when a waterspout broke over Sandy Bay, on the southern coast. Against the background of this erosion, several years of drought and the general dependency of St Helena, in 1715 governor Isaac Pyke (17141719) made the serious suggestion to the Company that appreciable savings could be made by moving the population to Mauritius, evacuated by the French in 1710. However, with the outbreak of war with other European countries, the Company continued to subsidise the island because of its strategic location. An ordinance was passed in 1731 to preserve the woodlands through the reduction in the goat population. Despite the clear connection between deforestation and the increasing number of floods (in 1732, 1734, 1736, 1747, 1756 and 1787) the East India Company's Court of Directors gave little support to efforts by governors to eradicate the goat problem. Rats were observed in 1731 building nests in trees two feet across, a visitor in 1717 commenting that the vast number of wild cats preferred to live off young partridges than the rats. An outbreak of plague in 1743 was attributed to the release of infected rats from ships arriving from India. By 1757, soldiers were employed in killing the wild cats.
How many years did John Roberts attempt to reforest the island?
A:
4