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House of Vasa

The House of Vasa or Wasa (Vasaätten, Wazowie, Vazos) was an early modern royal house founded in 1523 in Sweden. Its members ruled the Kingdom of Sweden from 1523 to 1654 and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1587 to 1668; its agnatic line became extinct with the death of King John II Casimir of Poland in 1672.

The Vasa dynasty descended from a fourteenth century Swedish noble family, tracing agnatic kinship to Nils Kettilsson (Vasa) (died 1378), fogde of Tre Kronor Castle in Stockholm. Several members held high offices during the 15th century. In 1523, after the Stockholm bloodbath and the abolition of the Kalmar Union, Gustav Eriksson (Vasa) became King Gustav I of Sweden and the royal house was founded. His reign is sometimes referred to as the beginning of the modern Swedish state, which included the King's break with the Roman Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation and the foundation of the Church of Sweden.

However, his eldest son and successor Erik XIV of Sweden was overthrown by Gustav's younger son, King John III of Sweden. John III married a Catholic Polish princess, Catherine Jagiellon, leading to the House of Vasa becoming rulers of Poland.

Their Catholic son Sigismund III Vasa, then ruler of a short-lived Polish–Swedish union, was usurped in 1599 by John's Protestant brother King Charles IX of Sweden in the War against Sigismund. The dynasty was then split into a Protestant Swedish branch and a Catholic Polish one, which contended for crowns in subsequent wars.

The involvement of the famous Protestant general and King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in the Thirty Years' War gave rise to the saying that he was the incarnation of "the Lion of the North" (Der Löwe von Mitternacht). Yet, notably, his daughter and heiress Queen Christina of Sweden (1632–1654) abdicated in 1654 after converting to Catholicism, and emigrated to Rome, where she was hosted by the Papacy. In Poland, John II Casimir of Poland abdicated in 1668. With his death, the royal House of Vasa became extinct in 1672, though the current King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, is descended from Gustav I through his paternal great-grandmother, Victoria of Baden, a descendant of Gustav I's great-great-grandson Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Gustav I of Sweden
Gustav Eriksson, a son of Cecilia Månsdotter Eka and Erik Johansson Vasa, was probably born in 1496. The birth most likely took place in Rydboholm Castle, northeast of Stockholm, the manor house of the father, Erik. The newborn got his name, Gustav, from Erik's grandfather Gustav Anundsson. Since the end of the 14th century, Sweden had been a part of the Kalmar Union with Denmark and Norway. The Danish dominance in this union occasionally led to uprisings in Sweden. During Gustav's childhood, parts of the Swedish nobility has tried to make Sweden independent from the union. Gustav and his father Erik supported the party of Sten Sture the Younger, regent of Sweden from 1512, and its struggle against the Danish King Christian II. Following the battle of Brännkyrka in 1518, where Sten Sture's troops beat the Danish forces, it was decided that Sten Sture and King Christian would meet in Österhaninge for negotiations. To guarantee the safety of the king, the Swedish side sent six hostages to be kept by the Danes for as long as the negotiations lasted. However, Christian did not show up for the negotiations, violated the deal with the Swedish side, and took the hostages to Copenhagen. The six hostages were Hemming Gadh, Lars Siggesson (Sparre), Jöran Siggesson (Sparre), Olof Ryning, Bengt Nilsson (Färla) – and Gustav Eriksson.

Election as king

The election of Gustav Eriksson as a regent made many Swedish nobles, who had so far stayed loyal to King Christian, switch sides. Some noblemen, still loyal to the king, chose to leave Sweden, while others were killed. As a result, the Swedish Privy Council lost old members who were replaced by supporters of Gustav Eriksson. Most fortified cities and castles were conquered by Gustav's rebels, but the strongholds with the best defenses, including Stockholm, were still under Danish control. In 1522, after negotiations between Gustav Eriksson's faction and Lübeck, the Hanseatic city joined the war against Denmark. The winter of 1523 saw their joint forces attack the Danish and Norwegian areas of Scania, Halland, Blekinge, and Bohuslän. During this winter, Christian II was overthrown and replaced by Frederick I. The new king openly claimed the Swedish throne and had hopes Lübeck would abandon the Swedish rebels. The German city, preferring an independent Sweden to a strong Kalmar Union dominated by Denmark, took advantage of the situation and put pressure on the rebels. The city wanted privileges on future trade as well as guarantees regarding the loans they had granted the rebels. The Privy Council and Gustav Eriksson knew the support from Lübeck was absolutely crucial. As a response, the council decided to appoint Gustav Eriksson king.

The ceremonial election of Gustav as king of Sweden took place when the leading men of Sweden met in Strängnäs in June 1523. When the councilors of Sweden had chosen Gustav as king, he met with the two visiting councilors of Lübeck. The German representatives supported the appointment without hesitation and declared it an act of God. Gustav stated he had to bow to what was described as the will of God. In a meeting with the Privy Council, Gustav Eriksson announced his decision to accept. In the following ceremony, led by the deacon of Strängnäs, Laurentius Andreae, Gustav swore the royal oath. The next day, bishops and priests joined Gustav in Roggeborgen where Andreae raised the holy sacrament above a kneeling Gustav Eriksson. Flanked by the councilors of Lübeck, Gustav Eriksson was brought to Strängnäs Cathedral where the king sat down in the choir with the Swedish privy councilors on one side, and the Lübeck representatives on the other. After the hymn "Te Deum", Andreae proclaimed Gustav Eriksson king of Sweden. He was, however, still not crowned. In 1983, in remembrance of the election of Gustav as Swedish king on 6 June, that date was declared the National Day of Sweden.

Eric XIV of Sweden
Eric XIV was born at Tre Kronor on 13 December 1533. Before the age of two, he lost his mother. In 1536, his father, Gustav Vasa, married Margaret Leijonhufvud (1516–51), a Swedish noblewoman. He was crowned as Eric XIV, but was not necessarily the 14th king of Sweden named Eric. He and his brother Charles IX (1604–11) adopted regnal numbers according to Johannes Magnus's partly fictitious history of Sweden. There had, however, been at least six earlier Swedish kings with the name of Eric, as well as pretenders about whom very little is known.

In domestic politics, Eric's ambitions were strongly opposed by the Swedish nobility, including his half-brother, the later John III of Sweden (1537–92). John was the Duke of Finland and was married to a Polish princess, which made him friendly with Poland. John pursued an expansionist policy in Livonia (now Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) which led to contention between the brothers. In 1563, John was seized and tried for high treason by Eric's order.

In the fall of 1568, the dukes and the nobles rebelled, and Eric was dethroned. He was then imprisoned by Duke John, who took power. Eric's most trusted counsellor, Jöran Persson (1530–68), took much of the blame for the actions directed against the nobility during Eric XIV's reign and was executed shortly after John III ascended to the throne.

John III of Sweden

John further initiated peace talks with Denmark and Lübeck to end the Scandinavian Seven Years' War, but rejected the resulting Treaties of Roskilde (1568) where his envoys had accepted far-reaching Danish demands. After two more years of fighting, this war was concluded without many Swedish concessions in the Treaty of Stettin (1570). During the following years he defeated Russia in the Livonian War, and regained Narva by the Treaty of Plussa in 1583. His foreign policy was affected by his connection to Poland; his son Sigismund III Vasa was made king of Poland in 1587.

In January 1569, John was recognized as king by the same riksdag that forced Eric XIV off the throne. But this recognition was not without influence from John; Duke Karl received confirmation on his dukedom without the restrictions of his power that the Arboga articles imposed. The nobility's power and rights were extended and their responsibilities lessened.

John was still concerned about his position as king as long as Eric was alive. In 1571 he ordered Erik's guards to kill him if there was any suspicion of an escape attempt. It is possible this is how Eric died in 1577.

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Sigismund III Vasa was born when his parents, John III and Catherine Jagiellon, were held prisoner by John's brother King Eric XIV, but John replaced Eric in 1568. Sweden had become Protestant, but young Sigismund was raised Catholic. His Polish connection came through his mother, daughter of Sigismund I the Old, and the Jagiellonian dynasty had ruled Poland and then the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth since 1386. Sigismund was elected King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on 19 August 1587.

From that time his official name and title became "Sigismund III, by the grace of God, king of Poland, grand duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia, Prussia, Masovia, Samogitia, Livonia and also hereditary king of the Swedes, Goths and Wends"; after his father died in 1592, he added "hereditary king of the Swedes, Goths, and Vandals".
 * Royal titles in Latin: Sigismundus Tertius Dei gratia rex Poloniæ, magnus dux Lithuaniæ, Russiæ, Prussiæ, Masoviæ, Samogitiæ, Livoniæque, necnon Suecorum, Gothorum Vandalorumque hæreditarius rex.
 * English translation: Sigismund III, by the grace of God, king of Poland, grand duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia, Prussia, Masovia, Samogitia, Livonia, and also hereditary king of the Swedes, Goths and Vandals.

Opposition to Sigismund
However, as was often the case with the Polish electoral monarchy, the outcome was strongly contested by the "losers" and a faction of the Polish nobility backed Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria. Upon hearing of his election King Sigismund slipped through the clutches of the Protestants in Sweden and landed in Poland on 7 October. He immediately agreed to give up several royal privileges to the Sejm (parliament) of the Commonwealth in the hope of winning over some of his enemies and settling the disputed election. Lesser Prussian Treasurer Jan Dulski proclaimed him king on behalf of the Crown Marshal Andrzej Opaliński. On 27 December, he was crowned in Wawel Cathedral in Kraków. It seemed that the issue of who would be King of Poland had been settled when Maximilian III invaded at the head of his army to claim his crown. The hostilities did not last long as Hetman Jan Zamoyski at the head of a Polish army loyal to King Sigismund met and successfully defeated the Austrian troops at the Battle of Byczyna and took Maximilian III as prisoner of war. However, at the request of Pope Sixtus V, King Sigismund III released Maximilian who surrendered his claim to the Polish Commonwealth in 1589. King Sigismund also tried to maintain peace with his powerful neighbor by marrying Archduchess Anna of Austria in 1592. It was always his intention to be allied with Catholic Austria against the Protestant forces that were tearing Christendom apart.

Polish-Swedish union
After the death of John III of Sweden, his son Sigismund succeeded to the throne of Sweden. Sigismund at that time was already the elected King of Poland (since 1587). Sigismund certainly valued the Swedish throne and upon learning about the death of his father, and the pretensions to the throne of his uncle, Duke Charles of Södermanland, he asked the Sejm (Polish parliament) for permission to leave the Commonwealth and go to Sweden, where he could secure the Swedish crown. The Sejm gave him permission, and on 3 August 1593, Sigismund, accompanied by his wife, Anna of Habsburg, and other followers, departed for Sweden.

The agreement of 19 February seemed to have calmed the situation; Sigismund was crowned in Uppsala Cathedral and became the king of Sweden. The Kingdom of Sweden was now in a personal union with Poland-Lithuania. In July, Sigismund left Sweden in the hands of the regency council and returned to Poland. Sweden was to be ruled jointly by the Privy Council of Sweden and Sigismund's uncle Duke Charles.

Sigismund, however, reneged on his earlier promises, opening Catholic schools, and giving Catholics prominent posts. Charles in turn did not give up on acquiring the Swedish throne and pursued his own political agenda. The new Riksdag he summoned at Arboga in 1597 – again despite the King's orders – saw few participants, and only one from the Privy Council. Even so, Duke Charles did not achieve support for his military action, but initiated it nonetheless. Parts of southern Sweden were successfully taken. Several of the Privy Council members fled to Poland to convince Sigismund to take counteractions. Sigismund sent a diplomatic mission, in an attempt to solve the conflict by negotiations. Charles at first looked ready to negotiate but in fact he was playing for time, trying to confirm his power at another Riksdag (in Arboga), recruiting peasants for his army, and isolating Sigismund's followers.

War against Sigismund

In 1598, the Sejm gave Sigismund the go-ahead to wage a military campaign against his opponents in Sweden; however it refused to give him significant support. Sigismund's army was composed mostly of mercenaries (Germans and Hungarians), supported by a relatively small Polish force (although with some artillery).

Sigismund's campaign was poorly planned. He was unable to coordinate his troop movements with his supporters, particularly Fleming who was supposed to attack Charles from Finland. After initial successes (the taking of Kalmar and defeating Charles' troops at Stegeborg), Sigismund's forces were defeated on September 25, 1598, at the Battle of Stångebro, (also known as the battle of Linköping). Sigismund was captured and forced to hand over some of his followers such as the Chancellor of Sweden, Erik Larsson Sparre, (1550–1600). In May 1599, Charles' forces captured the last fortress held by Sigismund, Kalmar. On July 24, 1599, the Riksdag in Stockholm officially dethroned Sigismund. The new King of Sweden was Charles IX of Sweden, and the Polish–Swedish union was dissolved after barely seven years of existence. In March 1600, some of Sigismund's supporters were executed, including five senators in an event known as the Linköping Bloodbath.

Polish-Muscovite War (1605–1618)
The Polish–Muscovite War or the Polish–Russian War (1605–1618), in Poland known as the Dimitriads, took place in the early 17th century as a sequence of military conflicts and eastward invasions carried out by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, or the private armies and mercenaries led by the magnates (the Commonwealth aristocracy), when the Russian Tsardom was torn by a series of civil wars, the time most commonly referred to in the Russian history as the "Time of Troubles", sparked by the Russian dynastic crisis and overall internal chaos. The sides and their goals changed several times during this conflict: the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was not formally at war with Russia until 1609, and various Russian factions fought amongst themselves, allied with the Commonwealth and other countries or fighting against them. Sweden also participated in the conflict during the course of the Ingrian War (1610–1617), sometimes allying itself with Russia, and other times fighting against it. The aims of the various factions changed frequently as well as the scale of the parties' goals, which ranged from minor border adjustments to imposing the Polish Kings or the Polish-backed impostors' claims to the Russian throne and even the creation of a new state by forming a union between the Commonwealth and Russia.

Russian Homage in 1611
The war can be divided into four stages. In the first stage, certain commonwealth szlachta (nobility), encouraged by some Russian boyars (Russian aristocracy), but without the official consent of the Polish king Sigismund III Vasa, attempted to exploit Russia's weakness and intervene in its civil war by supporting the impostors for the tsardom, False Dmitriy I and later False Dmitriy II, against the crowned tsars, Boris Godunov and Vasili Shuiski. The first wave of the Polish intervention began in 1605 and ended in 1606 with the death of False Dmitri I. The second wave started in 1607 and lasted until 1609, when Tsar Vasili made a military alliance with Sweden. In response to this alliance, the Polish king Sigismund III decided to intervene officially and to declare war upon Russia, aiming to weaken Sweden's ally and to gain territorial concessions.

Hetman of the Crown Stanisław Żółkiewski held a triumphal entry by the Kraków suburb of the Royal Palace, leading with him the prisoners: the Russian tsar Wasyl IV Szujski, his brothers: Dimitri Szujski with his wife - Grand Duchess Ekaterina Grigoryevna, daughter Grigory Malyuta Skuratov and Ivan Shuysky Mikhail Shein, and Filaret, the non-canonical Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. After early Commonwealth victories (Battle of Klushino), which culminated in Polish forces entering Moscow in 1610, Sigismund's son, Prince Władysław of Poland, was briefly elected tsar.

Władysław IV Vasa – Tsar of Russia

With the intensification of the Polish intervention in Muscovy, in 1609, the royal family moved to their residence in Vilnius, capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. There he witnessed the fire of Vilnius, an event which even required the royal family to evacuate their residence in the Vilnius Castle. Later that year, Władysław, aged 15, was elected Tsar by Muscovy's aristocracy council of Seven boyars, who overthrew tsar Vasily Shuysky during the Polish-Muscovite War and Muscovy's Time of Troubles. His election was ruined by his father, Sigismund, who aimed to convert Muscovy's population from Orthodox religion to Catholicism. Sigismund refused to agree to the boyar's request to send prince Władysław to Moscow and his conversion to Orthodoxy. Instead, Sigismund proposed that he should reign as a regent in Muscovy instead.[9] This unrealistic proposal led to a resumption of hostilities. Briefly, beginning in 1610, Władysław struck Muscovite silver and gold coins (Kopek) in the Russian mints in Moscow and Novgorod with his titulary Tsar and Grand Prince Vladislav Zigimontovych of all Russia.

Władysław tried to regain the tsar's throne himself, organizing a campaign in 1616. Despite some military victories, he was unable to capture Moscow. The Commonwealth gained some disputed territories in the Truce of Deulino, but Władysław was never able to reign in Russia; the throne during this time was instead held by tsar Michael Romanov. He held on to the title, without any real power, until 1634. Likely, the failure of this campaign showed Władysław the limits of royal power in Poland, as major factors for the failure included significant autonomy of the military commanders, which did not see Władysław as their superior, and lack of funds for the army, as the Polish parliament (sejm) refused to subsidize the war.

Silver Age

The election sejm of 1632 eventually concluded in the election of Władysław; he had no serious other contenders. The decision on who would be the Commonwealth's next king was reached on 8 November, but as the pacta conventa were not yet ready, the official announcement was delayed until 13 November. In the pacta conventa, Władysław pledged himself to fund a military school and equipment; to find a way to fund a naval fleet; to maintain current alliances; not to raise armies, give offices or military ranks to foreigners, negotiate peace treaties or declare war without the Sejm's approval; not to take a wife without the Senate's approval; to convince his brothers to take an oath to the Commonwealth; and to transfer the profits from the Royal Mint to the Royal Treasury rather than to a private treasury. When the election result had been announced by the Crown Grand Marshal, Łukasz Opaliński, the nobility (szlachta), who had taken part in the election, began festivities in honor of the new king, which lasted three hours. Władysław was crowned in the Wawel Cathedral, in Kraków on 6 February in the following year.

Władysław IV owed nominal allegiance to the Imperial Habsburgs as a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece. His relationship with the Habsburgs was relatively strong; although he was not above carrying some negotiations with their enemies, like France, he refused Cardinal Richelieu's 1635 proposal of an alliance and a full-out war against them, despite potential lure of territorial gains in Silesia. He realized that such a move would cause much unrest in a heavily Catholic Commonwealth, that he likely lacked the authority and power to push such a change of policy through the Sejm, and that the resulting conflict would be very difficult.[42] From 1636 onward, for the next few years, Władysław strengthened his ties with the Habsburgs.

In the meantime, Władysław still tried to take a leading role in European politics, and negotiate a peaceful settlement to the Thirty Years' War, a settlement which he hoped would ease his way into regaining the Swedish crown. Following the armistice of Stuhmsdorf, Władysław came to increasingly realize that his prospects for regaining the Swedish throne were dim. In the years 1636–1638 he proposed several reforms to strengthen his and his dynasty's power in the Commonwealth. His first plan was an attempt to secure a hereditary province within the country, which would not be threatened by the possible power shift following a future royal election; this, however, did not gain sufficient support in the Sejm.

Władysław used the title of the King of Sweden although he had no control over Sweden and never set foot in that country.

John II Casimir Vasa
John Casimir for most of his life remained in the shadow of his older half-brother, Władysław IV Vasa. He had few friends among the Polish nobility. Unfriendly, secretive, dividing his time between lavish partying and religious contemplation, and disliking politics, he did not have a strong power base nor influence at the Polish court, instead supporting unfavorable Habsburg policies. He did, however, display talent as a military commander, showing his abilities in the Smolensk War against Muscovy (1633).

The Deluge
In 1648 John Casimir was elected by the Polish Parliament to succeed his half-brother on the Polish throne. The reign of the last of the Vasas in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth would be dominated by the Russo-Polish War (1654–67), followed by the war with Sweden ("The Deluge"), the scene for which had been set by the Commonwealth's two previous Vasa kings. Most of Poland was invaded by the Swedish army during the Deluge without much of a fight, due to the conspiratorial complicity of Polish and Lithuanian governors and nobility. In the course of a few years, the Commonwealth rose to force the Swedes out of Poland, ending the short-lived intrusions and campaigns, however, at a high cost. Most of the cities and towns in the Commonwealth were sacked, plundered and some were burnt to the ground, mostly by the retreating enemy units. Although the reign of John Casimir is remembered to be one of the most disastrous and perhaps most unsuccessful in the history of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, he is often referred to as the "warrior king" that fought bravely to save his nation and his people.

In 1660 John II Casimir was forced to renounce his claim to the Swedish throne and acknowledge Swedish sovereignty over Livonia and the city of Riga in modern-day Latvia. John Casimir had married his brother's widow, Marie Louise Gonzaga (Polish: Maria Ludwika), who was a major support to the King. Marie Louise suddenly died in 1667 and this may have caused the monarch's early political decline.

Abdication and death
On 16 September 1668, grief-stricken after the death of his wife in the previous year, John II Casimir abdicated the throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and returned to France, where he joined the Jesuits and became abbot of Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris. Following his abdication Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki (Michael I) was elected the new king and was crowned on September 29, 1669. Before his death John Casimir intended to return to Poland, however shortly before the journey in Autumn 1672 he fell dangerously ill to the news of the fall of Kamieniec Podolski, which was seized by the Ottomans. He then turned to Pope Clement X to ask for assistance for the Commonwealth in a defensive war against the Turks. The French, who were secretly in contact with him during his stay in the abbey, were astonished by such a great affection of the king to remember the loss of his kingdom, and so concerned about the loss of only one city. Nevertheless, distressed and seriously ill John II Casimir died shortly after the unexpected Turkish invasion of Poland on December 16, 1672, from apoplexy and was buried inside the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków. His heart was interred in the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

Charles IX of Sweden
The Riksdag at Linköping, 24 February 1604 declared that Sigismund abdicated the Swedish throne, that duke Charles was recognized as the sovereign. He was declared king as Karl IX (anglicized as Charles IX). Charles's short reign was one of uninterrupted warfare. The hostility of Poland and the breakup of Russia involved him in overseas contests for the possession of Livonia and Ingria, the Polish–Swedish War (1600–1611) and the Ingrian War, while his pretensions to claim Lappland brought upon him a war with Denmark in the last year of his reign.

In all these struggles, he was more or less unsuccessful, owing partly to the fact that he and his forces had to oppose superior generals (e.g. Jan Karol Chodkiewicz and Christian IV of Denmark) and partly to sheer ill-luck. Compared with his foreign policy, the domestic policy of Charles IX was comparatively unimportant. It aimed at confirming and supplementing what had already been done during his regency. He did not officially become king until 22 March 1604. The first deed in which the title appears is dated 20 March 1604; but he was not crowned until 15 March 1607.

Gustav II Adolf Vasa

Gustavus Adolphus was born in Stockholm as the oldest son of Duke Charles of the Vasa dynasty and his second wife, Christina of Holstein-Gottorp. At the time, the King of Sweden was Gustavus Adolphus' cousin Sigismund. The staunch Protestant Duke Charles forced the Catholic Sigismund to let go of the throne of Sweden in 1599, a part of the preliminary religious strife before the Thirty Years' War, and reigned as regent before taking the throne as Charles IX of Sweden in 1604. Crown Prince Gustav Adolph had Gagnef-Floda in Dalecarlia as a duchy from 1610. Upon his father's death in October 1611, a sixteen-year-old Gustavus inherited the throne (declared of age and able to reign himself at seventeen as of 16 December), as well as an ongoing succession of occasionally belligerent dynastic disputes with his Polish cousin. Sigismund III wanted to regain the throne of Sweden and tried to force Gustavus Adolphus to renounce the title.

In a round of this dynastic dispute, Gustavus invaded Livonia when he was 31, beginning the Polish-Swedish War (1625–1629). He intervened on behalf of the Lutherans in Germany, who opened the gates to their cities to him. His reign became famous from his actions a few years later when in June 1630 he landed in Germany, marking the Swedish Intervention in the Thirty Years' War. Gustavus intervened on the anti-Imperial side, which at the time was losing to the Holy Roman Empire and its Catholic allies; the Swedish forces would quickly reverse that situation.

Gustavus was married to Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, the daughter of John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, and chose the Prussian city of Elbing as the base for his operations in Germany. He died in the Battle of Lützen in 1632. His early death was a great loss to the Lutheran side. This resulted in large parts of Germany and other countries, which had been conquered for Lutheranism, to be reconquered for Catholicism (via the Counter-Reformation). His involvement in the Thirty Years' War gave rise to the saying that he was the incarnation of "the Lion of the North", or as it is put in German "der Löwe von Mitternacht".

Thirty Years' War
Gustav II Adolf's success in making Sweden one of the great powers of Europe, and perhaps the most important power in the Thirty Years' War after France and Spain, was due not only to his military brilliance, but also to important institutional reforms in Sweden's government. The chief among these reforms was the institution of the first Parish registrations, so that the central government could more efficiently tax and conscript its populace.

Gustavus Adolphus was an extremely able military commander. His innovative tactical integration of infantry, cavalry, logistics and particularly his use of artillery, earned him the title of the "Father of Modern Warfare". Future commanders who studied and admired Gustav II Adolf include Napoleon I of France and Carl von Clausewitz. His advancements in military science made Sweden the dominant Baltic power for the next one hundred years (see Swedish Empire). He is also the only Swedish monarch to be styled "the Great". This decision was made by the Swedish Estates of the Realm, when they convened in 1633. Thus, by their decision he is officially, to this day, to be called Gustaf Adolf the Great (Gustavus Adolphus Magnus).

Gustavus Adolphus was the main figure responsible for the success of Swedish arms during the Thirty Years' War and led his nation to great prestige. As a general, Gustavus Adolphus is famous for employing mobile artillery on the battlefield, as well as very aggressive tactics, where attack was stressed over defense, and mobility and cavalry initiative were emphasized.

Christina, Queen of Sweden
Christina was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg. At the age of six she succeeded her father on the throne upon his death at the Battle of Lützen, and began ruling when she reached the age of 18.

Christina is remembered as one of the most educated women of the 1600s. She was fond of paintings, books, manuscripts, and sculptures. With her interest in religion, philosophy, mathematics and alchemy, she attracted many scientists to Stockholm, wanting the city to become the "Athens of the North". She was intelligent, fickle and moody; she rejected the sexual role of a woman. She caused a scandal when she decided not to marry and in 1654 when she abdicated her throne. She changed her name to Kristina Augusta Wasa and converted to Roman Catholicism, adopting the name Christina Alexandra.

At the age of 28 the "Minerva of the North" moved to Rome. The Pope described Christina as "a queen without a realm, a Christian without faith, and a woman without shame". Notwithstanding all that, she became a leader of the theatrical and musical life and protected many Baroque artists, composers, and musicians.

Swedish noblemen

 * Johan Kristiernsson Vasa of Örby in the province of Uppland
 * Erik Johansson Vasa (1470–1520), Privy Councillor, lord of Rydboholm Castle in the Roslagen

Regents of Sweden

 * Kettil Karlsson (c. 1433–1465), Bishop of Linköping, reigned as Lord Protector and Regent of Sweden 1464–1465

Monarchs of Sweden

 * Gustav I (born 1496, reigned 1523–1560)
 * Eric XIV (reigned 1560–1568)
 * John III (reigned 1568–1592)
 * Sigismund (reigned 1592–1599)
 * Charles IX (reigned 1599–1611; officially became king in March 1604)
 * Gustavus Adolphus (Gustav Adolf the Great) (reigned 1611–1632)
 * Christina (reigned 1632–1654)

In 1654 Christina, the daughter of Gustavus Adolphus, the Protestant Champion of the Thirty Years' War, abdicated, converted to Roman Catholicism and left the country. The throne passed to her half-cousin Charles X of the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a cadet branch of the Wittelsbachs.

The kings of the house of Holstein-Gottorp, which produced the kings of Sweden from 1751 to 1818, emphasized their Vasa descent through a female line. The current ruling house of Bernadotte similarly claims a Vasa mantle: Charles XIV was an adopted son of Charles XIII; his son Oscar I married a Vasa descendant Josephine of Leuchtenberg; their grandson Gustav V married Victoria of Baden who was a great-grandchild of Gustav IV Adolf of the house Holstein-Gottorp.

Monarchs of Poland and Lithuania

 * Sigismund III Vasa (1587–1632)
 * Władysław IV (1632–1648)
 * John II Casimir (1648–1668)

John III of Sweden married Catherine Jagellonka, the sister of Sigismund II Augustus of Poland. When Sigismund II of Poland died without issue, the son of John III of Sweden and Catherine Jagellonka was elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania as Sigismund III in 1587. On John's death, Sigismund also gained the Swedish throne.

However, Sigismund was Catholic, which ultimately led to his losing the throne in Sweden. His Lutheran uncle Charles IX succeeded him. We thus have two Houses of Vasa from this point onwards: the senior, Catholic branch ruling in Poland and Lithuania, and the cadet, Protestant branch ruling in Sweden. This arrangement led to numerous wars between the two states. After John, the Polish Vasa died out. See also Rulers of Poland.

Family tree
Main article (Swedish): Vasaätten

A clickable chart showing the Vasa ancestry and the male line:

and, a clickable family tree showing the house of Vasa and the descent of all subsequent Swedish Monarchs from them:

Development of the Vasa Arms
See: Category:Coats of arms of the House of Vasa

The document shown on the external link from the Swedish National Archives was signed and sealed by Kristiern Nilsson (Vasa) from Öland and his son Kristiern and provides the oldest known version from Sweden of what would become the coat of arms of the Vasa family. The gallery below shows the seal(s) in more detail and later seals.

The coat of arms carried by the family during the Middle Ages have been interpreted in many different ways; they have, among other things, been suggested to represent helmet tilts, building iron, spears with a lily hilt, a fleur-de-lis tipped stave, chess rooks or the tip of a halberd.

Drots (a medieval Swedish type of justice minister) Kristiern Nilsson moved the medieval coat of arms to the right (heraldic left), while the Swedish Chief Minister Kettil Karlsson (Vasa) moved the coat of arms straight vertically.

Vasa Armorial
The following tables show the arms of the kings of Sweden under the Vasa:

The following branches were born illegitimate of the Vasa Kings of Sweden, but were enabled under the following names (see family trees above)

title: House of Vasa


text:
Teikoku Bungaku

Teikoku Bungaku (帝国文学, teikoku empire + bungaku literature) was a literature magazine from 1895 to 1920 contributed by Japanese writers, Inoue Tetsujiro, Ueda Kazutoshi, Takayama Chogyu and Ueda Bin. With a focus on asserting the individuality of Japanese literature, the magazine often contrasted Japanese and global literature by covering writers such as Maurice Maeterlinck, George Bernard Shaw and Friedrich Nietzsche. The magazine was published by Tokyo Imperial University.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Teikoku Bungaku


text:
Talk:Hanno (elephant)

Untitled
Is this the origin of the term "white elephant"? Supposedly, someone was given a valuable white elephant which proved too expensive to keep but couldn't be gotten rid of, politically. -- Zoe

 * According to our white elephant page, the term started in India, before Hanno, but the exclusiveness is probably part of the reason Hanno was considered a nice gift. The Pope, apparently, was able to handle the expense nicely.  -_ Someone else 01:09 Feb 24, 2003 (UTC)

 * This is a really nice article. One of the joys of Wikipedia is finding an article like this. Mintguy
 * I agree this is a nice article!--[[User:Marie Rowley|Marie | Talk]] 07:04, 18 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * Yep, cutest article on wikipedia :) Gareth E Kegg 10:47, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

it is not clear which country elephant came from. see http://www.island.lk/2000/10/22/featur09.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 112.134.37.156 (talk) 13:22, 21 March 2018 (UTC)

title: Talk:Hanno (elephant)


text:
Talk:The Onion

Print distribution in Austin seems to have ceased in Summer 2013
http://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comments/1jtbq8/did_the_onion_stop_circulating/

Starwipe
http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/news/a38094/what-is-starwipe/

To quote:

"Rich, Famous People Terrified By Launch Of Celebrity Gossip Site," beckons an introductory post on StarWipe.com, the new branch of The Onion empire. Arguably the most mockable sector of modern day media, StarWipe takes aim at celebrities, or as the site calls them, "those most vulnerable members of society." Helmed by senior editor at The A.V. Club Sean O'Neal, StarWipe launched today, featuring articles like,"Baby Bump Watch: George Clooney" and "It's Unclear What Kim Kardashian Plans To Do With Baby's Placenta." Like all Onion-esque satire, these headlines are sadly, well, more or less believable.

StarWipe's launch comes a year after the successful rollout of the self-aware content farm ClickHole, which successfully tricked Anderson Cooper back in May. While the site points out that celebrities should be terrified, it's really those flimsily-sourced gossip sites that are in the crosshairs.

We spoke with StarWipe editor-in-chief Sean O'Neal on the occasion of the launch. "The thrust of the site is the sort of news reporting I've been doing for about eight years now over at The A.V. Club—with 'news' and 'reporting' in scare quotes, probably—but we'll also appropriate the tabloid tropes of your Peoples, your Us Weeklys, your TMZs, then approach them the same way The Onion and ClickHole look at world events and viral content," O'Neal said. "The difference is we don't have to make anything up, because gossip culture is already fake and ridiculous."

Please add info on starwipe to the article at an appropriate spot.

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 06:39, 1 March 2023 (UTC)
 * SCOTUS-Oct 03 2022-Main Document-Brief amicus curiae of The Onion filed=20221006144840674 Novak Parma Onion Amicus Brief.pdf

apologies from general idiot who wants to give feedback
this reads like a history of financial transactions - and frankly, mostly glossing over the colossal amounts of money they set on fire. feels like an editor should restructure this whole article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.83.85.29 (talk) 07:32, 19 July 2023 (UTC)

Political Leaning
Add to box. Drsruli (talk) 08:50, 14 January 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:The Onion


text:
User talk:Pgeron

Hi Pgeron, welcome to the wikipedia. Please see Welcome,_newcomers on information on how to contribute, etc. Please do not upload any documents, but rather use the browser interface to edit or contribute material. --snoyes 00:58 Feb 24, 2003 (UTC)

Hello there, welcome to the 'pedia! I hope you like the place and decide to stay. If you need pointers on how we title pages visit Naming conventions or how to format them visit our manual of style. If you have any other questions about the project then check out Help or add a question to the Village pump. Cheers! --maveric149

title: User talk:Pgeron


text:
The Final Countdown (film)

The Final Countdown is a 1980 American science fiction war film about a modern nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that travels through time to the day before the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. Produced by Peter Douglas and Lloyd Kaufman (founder of Troma Entertainment) and directed by Don Taylor (his final directing role), while Kaufman also served as an associate producer and had a minor acting role. The film contains an ensemble cast starring Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, James Farentino, Katharine Ross, Ron O'Neal and Charles Durning. Kaufman also served as an associate producer and had a minor acting role.

The film was produced with the cooperation of the United States Navy's naval aviation branch and the United States Department of Defense. It was set and filmed on board USS Nimitz (CVN-68), filming operations of the modern nuclear warship, which had been launched in the early 1970s. The Final Countdown was a moderate success at the box office. The film has later developed a cult following over the years.

Plot
In 1980, the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) departs Naval Station Pearl Harbor for naval exercises in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The ship takes on a civilian observer, Warren Lasky (Martin Sheen) — a systems analyst for Tideman Industries working as an efficiency expert for the U.S. Defense Department — on the orders of his reclusive employer, Mr. Tideman, whose secretive major defense contractor company designed and built the nuclear-powered warship.

Once at sea, the Nimitz encounters a mysterious electrically-charged storm-like vortex. While the ship passes through it, radar and other equipment become unresponsive, and everyone aboard falls into agony. Initially unsure of what has happened to them and having lost radio contact with U.S. Pacific Fleet Command at Pearl Harbor, Captain Yelland (Kirk Douglas), commander of the aircraft carrier, fears that there may have been a nuclear strike on Hawaii or the continental United States. He orders general quarters and launches a RF-8 Crusader reconnaissance aircraft. The aircraft returns after photographing Pearl Harbor, but the images show an intact row of U.S. Pacific fleet battleships, of which several were destroyed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

When a surface contact is spotted on radar, Yelland launches two ready alert Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter jets from VF-84 to intercept. The patrol witnesses a civilian wooden yacht being strafed and destroyed by two Imperial Japanese Navy Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighters, killing three of the five crew members. The F-14s are ordered to drive off the Zeros without firing, but when the Zeros inadvertently head towards the Nimitz, Yelland gives clearance to shoot them down. The Nimitz rescues survivors from the yacht: prominent U.S. Senator Samuel Chapman (Charles Durning), his aide Laurel Scott (Katharine Ross), her dog Charlie, and one of the two downed Zero pilots (Soon-Tek Oh). Commander Owens (James Farentino), an amateur historian, recognizes Chapman as a politician who could have been Franklin D. Roosevelt's running mate (and his potential successor) during his final re-election bid, had Chapman not disappeared shortly before the Pearl Harbor attack.

When a Grumman E-2 Hawkeye scouting aircraft discovers the Japanese fleet task force further north in unpatrolled waters, poised to launch its attack on Pearl Harbor, the Nimitz crew realizes that they have been transported back in time to the day before the attack. Yelland has to decide whether to destroy the Japanese fleet and alter the course of history or to stand by and allow history to proceed as they know it. The American civilians and the Zero pilot are kept isolated. Still, while being questioned, the Japanese pilot forcibly obtains an M-16 rifle from one of the guards, kills two of the other U.S. Marine guards, and takes Scott, Owens, and Lasky hostage. He threatens to kill them unless he is given access to a radio to warn the Japanese fleet about the Nimitz. Lasky tells Commander Owens to recite and describe the secret plans for the Japanese attack; the dumbfounded Japanese pilot is overcome and shot and killed by the other U.S. Marines of the on-board detachment on Nimitz. In the aftermath, Scott and Owens develop an attraction for each other.

Chapman is outraged that Yelland knows of the impending Japanese attack but has not told anyone else, and rebuffs Yelland's claim that the Nimitz is capable of handling any attack. An attempt to warn Pearl Harbor by radio fails as the Navy has no carrier Nimitz and considers it a prank call. Chapman then demands to be taken to Pearl Harbor to warn the naval authorities in person. Yelland agrees in front of Chapman, but instead then orders Owens to fly the civilians and sufficient supplies via helicopter to an isolated Hawaiian island (Puʻuwai, Hawaii), assuming they will eventually be rescued. When they arrive, Chapman realizes he has been tricked and uses a flare gun to force the pilot to fly to Pearl Harbor. During a struggle with another crew member, the flare gun discharges, destroying the craft and stranding Scott and Owens on the island. The Nimitz launches a massive strike force against the incoming Japanese fleet, but right after that, the time vortex storm returns. After a futile attempt to outrun the storm, Yelland recalls the strike force, and the ship and its aircraft safely return to 1980, leaving the past relatively unchanged. Upon the return of the Nimitz to Pearl Harbor, Pacific Fleet admirals board the ship to investigate the Nimitz's unexplained disappearance. Lasky leaves the ship with Scott's dog, Charlie, and encounters the mysterious Mr. Tideman face-to-face. Tideman is revealed to be a much older Owens. He and his wife, Laurel Scott, invite Lasky to join them as they have "a lot to talk about".

Cast

 * Kirk Douglas as Captain Matthew Yelland, Commanding Officer, USS Nimitz. He was the father of the film's producer who also appears in the film.
 * Martin Sheen as Warren Lasky, Systems Analyst with Tideman Industries
 * Katharine Ross as Laurel Scott
 * James Farentino as Commander Dick Owens, Commander, Air Group of Carrier Air Wing 8, later appearing under the identity of Richard Tideman, head of Tideman Industries.
 * Ron O'Neal as Commander Dan Thurman, Executive Officer, USS Nimitz
 * Charles Durning as Senator Samuel S. Chapman
 * Victor Mohica as Black Cloud, USS Nimitz weather officer
 * James Coleman as Lieutenant Perry (credited as James C. Lawrence)
 * Soon-tek Oh as Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service Pilot Shimura
 * Joe Lowry as Commander Damon
 * Alvin Ing as Lieutenant Kajima
 * Mark Thomas as Marine Corporal Kullman
 * Harold Bergman as Bellman
 * Richard Liberty as Lieutenant Commander Moss
 * Lloyd Kaufman as Lieutenant Commander Kaufman
 * Dan Fitzgerald as Doctor
 * Peter Douglas as Quartermaster

Production
Peter Douglas was the driving force behind The Final Countdown. With a limited budget and a promising script, he was able to attract interest from the U.S. Navy. Officials from the Department of Defense offered full cooperation after seeing a script, but insisted that for safety and operational readiness, the film schedule would be dependent on the "on location" naval consultant, William Micklos. Principal photography took place at Naval Air Station Key West, Naval Station Norfolk, and off the Florida Keys, over two five-week periods in 1979. Scenes at Pearl Harbor consisted of mainly stock footage with most of The Final Countdown exteriors shot on the Nimitz while at sea, and at drydock for interiors. During operations, an emergency landing took place with the production crew allowed to film the recovery of the aircraft on the Nimitz; the sequence appeared in the final film.

Crew members of the Nimitz were used as extras, a few with speaking parts; a total of 48 of the crew appear as "actors" in the final credits. The difficulties in filming a modern jet fighter were soon apparent when the first setup to record an F-14 takeoff at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, resulted in both camera and operator being pitched down a runway.

Dissension in the production crew led to major changes during location shooting, with a number of the crew being fired and replaced. Taylor's direction was considered workmanlike, as he had a reputation for bringing projects in on time and on budget, but suggestions from U.S. naval aviators were ultimately incorporated into the shooting schedules with the "B" crew placed in charge of all the aerial sequences that became the primary focus of the film.

In order to film the aerial sequences, Panavision cameras were mounted on naval aircraft while camera-equipped aircraft and helicopters were leased from Tallmantz Aviation, including a Bell 206 Jet Ranger helicopter, a Learjet 35, and a B-25 bomber converted into a camera platform. Three Mitsubishi A6M Zero replicas, originally built for the film Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), were flown by pilots from the Confederate Air Force, now called the Commemorative Air Force. Two of the replicas were featured in a dogfight with F-14 Tomcats; it was the first time such a dissimilar engagement had appeared in film, with the "totally different speeds...environments and weaponry" of the aircraft causing extreme challenges for the jet pilots.

In one scene where an F-14 "thumps" a Zero by flying under and streaking upward in front of the slower aircraft, the resultant "jet blast" of turbulent air was so intense that the yokes of both of the Zeros in the scene were violently wrenched out of the pilots' hands and caused both aircraft to momentarily tumble out of control. The lead pilot's headset, along with his watch, were ripped off and out of the open canopy of his Zero, resulting in a few anxious moments as the F-14 pilots were unable to establish contact. During a scene when a Zero fires on an F-14, in order to get on the "six" of the low and slow Zero—that is, to bring one's aircraft directly behind the target aircraft in a position corresponding to six o'clock on an analog clock face—the jet fighter did a low pull up that ended just 100 ft above the ocean in a screaming recovery. At one point during filming, one of the Tomcat aircrews held up a profane sign addressed at Katharine Ross in retaliation for the actress denying a request from the VF-84 pilots to meet her in a hotel the previous day. The shot made it into the dailies and reportedly infuriated Ross.

During the climactic attack on Pearl Harbor, scenes reproduced in monochrome from ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' featured Aichi D3A Val dive bombers, Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters and Nakajima B5N Kate torpedo bombers.

Aircraft appearing in the production

 * Douglas EA-3B Skywarrior
 * Grumman F-14A Tomcat
 * Grumman E-2 Hawkeye
 * Grumman A-6E Intruder
 * Grumman EA-6B Prowler
 * Lockheed S-3 Viking
 * LTV A-7E Corsair II
 * McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II (briefly)
 * North American RA-5C Vigilante (briefly)
 * North American T-6 Texan modified to resemble Mitsubishi A6M Zero
 * North American T-6 Texan modified to resemble Nakajima B5N Kate
 * Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King
 * Vought RF-8G Crusader
 * Vultee BT-13 Valiant modified to resemble Aichi D3A Val

Release
The Final Countdown was released to theaters in the United States on August 1, 1980. A novelization by Martin Caidin, based on the screenplay, was released in the same month and largely dovetailed with the film presented on screen (the novelization ending with Lasky accompanying Tideman/CDR Owens and Laurel to their home, where it is revealed that the time travel phenomenon explored in the film had an extraterrestrial origin that is not further expanded upon).

Home media
The film was released on DVD on March 30, 2004. It was later released by Blue Underground on a two-DVD set (with both full-screen and widescreen formats) and a special two-disc limited edition set with a hologram cover. Each DVD edition was accompanied by special featurettes, including a "behind-the-scenes" documentary and a commentary track by the producer and other studio principals. On November 4, 2008, a high-definition two-disc Blu-ray set was released, but lacked some of the earlier background materials. A 4K Ultra High-Definition disc set was released in May 2021 as a limited edition with some additional special features, a copy of the film on Blu-ray disc and a copy of John Scott's original motion picture score on CD.

Critical reception
The Final Countdown received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 52% based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10.

Vincent Canby of The New York Times considered it more of an interesting, behind-the-scenes tour of Nimitz: "We see planes landing and taking off with beautiful precision and, just to let us know that things don't always run smoothly on Nimitz, we also see one plane, which has lost its landing hook, landing safely anyway because of the ship's emergency gear". Roger Ebert commented that "logic doesn't matter in a Star Wars(-like) movie". He went on to clarify: "Unfortunately, the movie makes such a mess of it that the biggest element of interest is the aircraft carrier itself". Later reviews concentrated on the intriguing aspect of the time travel story, again stressing that the military hardware was the real star. The U.S. Navy sponsored the film premiere and exploited the film as a recruiting tool to the extent that the theatrical poster appeared in U.S. Navy recruiting offices shortly after the film's release. Ebert and Gene Siskel selected the film as one of their "dogs of the year" in a 1980 episode of Sneak Previews, which surprised some readers of Ebert's column because he gave the film an unimpressed but hardly rancorous 2 stars out of 4 and praised some elements of the production (particularly the details about life on board the aircraft carrier).

Christopher John reviewed The Final Countdown in Ares Magazine #5 and commented that "there is nothing wrong with what is on the screen in Final Countdown; what is on the screen, however, is only half of the film. Maybe someday, like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, someone will go back and put in the missing half-hour of this movie".

Box office
The film grossed $3.25 million in its opening weekend from 681 screens and earned a total of $16.6 million in the United States and Canada.

The film made $3 million in Germany.

Awards

 * Nominee, Best Science Fiction Film of Year—Saturn Award (Peter Vincent Douglas)
 * Nominee, Best Actor—Saturn Award (Kirk Douglas)
 * Winner, Golden Screen Award (German box office award)

title: The Final Countdown (film)


text:
Talk:Battle of the River Plate

River name
While noting 128.125.252.127's point that Rio de la Plata is more accurately translated as "Silver River", I'm reverting much of his recent edits as the accepted name in English is River Plate -- most particularly it is not acceptable to rename the movie and magazine article which are definitely entitled "Battle of the River Plate". Arwel 07:01, 15 Sep 2003 (UTC)

Which campaign?
Which campaign or theatre does this battle belong in? Battle of the Atlantic? Oberiko 15:37, 12 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Ship classification
I'm changing Duncharris' description of Graf Spee as a 'battleship' to simply 'ship' in the text, as technically, although pocket battleship was the term used in English at the time to describe them, the Panzerschiffe would more accurately be described as heavy cruisers, or perhaps as battlecruisers, as they lacked the heavy armour of true battleships (which indeed eventually proved fatal to Graf Spee). -- Arwel 14:48, 7 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Why not mention the Spanish name?
@Roger 8 Roger, you're removing the Spanish name of the river (which I added), but so far you haven't explained why it shouldn't be included. I'm aware that "River Plate" is the correct historiographical name, but these days the river is better known by the Spanish name, as evidenced by the name of its article, which is set by consensus. Even if not, the two countries that border the river speak Spanish, so it's still relevant if nothing else.

You've mentioned No evidence supplied and unsupported, but how? There are references that have the Spanish name right in their titles! (Gotta and Perea). If you're referring to my claim, more commonly used today, that's in my edit summary, not in the article.

— W.andrea (talk) 16:52, 27 October 2023 (UTC)
 * I have moved this edit from my talk page to here which is probably more appropriate. In answer to it, and your post immediately above : -

 * Thanks for the reply. I realise the Spanish name for the river/estuary is often used in English but I don't think that is the point. The English name is also often used and I think it is the most often used. Regarding this battle it is the only one used. You never hear 'Battle of the Rio de la Plata'. To put the Spanish name in means it has to be used by a large number of English language sources, which regarding this battle it isn't. Being close to Spanish speaking countries is not relevant. I still think the correct next step after my revert was to raise it here.
 * Roger 8 Roger (talk) 18:50, 27 October 2023 (UTC)
 * It may very well be; I'm not an expert. But in my experience, I've only heard the Spanish name except in the context of this battle. So when I first heard about it I was wondering, "Is that the same thing as the Rio de la Plata?"
 * Right, like I said, I'm aware that "River Plate" is the correct historiographical name.
 * I put the Spanish name in the context of the river, not the battle. I.e.,
 * ... sighted Graf Spee off the estuary of the River Plate (Río de la Plata) ...
 * and not something like
 * The Battle of the River Plate (Battle of the Río de la Plata) ...
 * How so?
 * — W.andrea (talk) 19:48, 27 October 2023 (UTC)
 * About 'how so', the reason for inserting a foreign name is because that name is used in a significant number of sources so confusion is therefore avoided, that is all. If an article is written in English then use the English language, it's quite simple I think. I realise this is very often misunderstood on WP and foreign language names are inserted at random whenever there is a vague connection between the article subject and a foreign language. For example, articles about the Falkland Islands can insert the name used in Spanish, Malvinas, because that name is often used in English language sources, not because it is the name mostly used by Argentina, or because there is a claim on the islands by Argentina, or because they are sort of close to South America. But, the Argentine name for Port Stanley is not used, because it is not used in English sources. Now, there is no confusion about what the river plate is, even if it is sometimes called rio de la plata. To use it in this article you will have to show that a very large number of the sources being used refer to it as 'rio de la plata', which I think is highly unlikely. I don't think you can pick and choose within an article. For this article river plate is used. An article about, say, the geography of the river might possibly insert 'rio de la plata' at the start if many of the sources refer to it as such, but that would only be for that article. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 22:06, 27 October 2023 (UTC)
 * What policy says that? I've skimmed WP:PLACENAME and it doesn't seem that cut-and-dry.
 * Again, the article about the river is called Río de la Plata, not River Plate. That tells me that's the more common name today.
 * I literally just said I was confused about it.
 * What do you mean "pick and choose"? I just want it mentioned once, that's all.
 * — W.andrea (talk) 23:09, 27 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Again, the article about the river is called Río de la Plata, not River Plate. That tells me that's the more common name today.
 * I literally just said I was confused about it.
 * What do you mean "pick and choose"? I just want it mentioned once, that's all.
 * — W.andrea (talk) 23:09, 27 October 2023 (UTC)
 * What do you mean "pick and choose"? I just want it mentioned once, that's all.
 * — W.andrea (talk) 23:09, 27 October 2023 (UTC)

November 2023
@Roger 8 Roger, regarding your latest edit summary:

What policy says that's not how it's done? Yes, WP:consensus says:

But on the other hand, WP:BRD says:

I believe I've brought up valid reasons to include the Spanish name so I'm trying to move things forward. But of course, your revert does demonstrate that you still care even if you haven't replied.

Maybe I should put my point another way: What harm is there in including the Spanish name? If I understand what you're saying, at worst it's noise, but it's only five words in a parenthetical, so what's the harm in that?

— W.andrea (talk) 04:42, 6 November 2023 (UTC)

 * The harm is it's trivia and clutter that adds nothing notable to this article about the battle. There is no need to clarify anything that an averagely educated person doesn't understand. Why not add the German name of the battle? Roger 8 Roger (talk) 07:50, 6 November 2023 (UTC)
 * I'm baffled by the notion that including the Spanish name of the river is objectionable. I think this may be an example of a strict, mechanistic approach to concepts like "notability" leading to excluding things that are useful to the reader. Nobody will ever seriously propose adding the German name. The reason the Spanish name was added, rather than the German name, is self-evident. I say, go ahead and add it! Philomathes2357 (talk) 04:57, 9 November 2023 (UTC)

March 2024
@Roger 8 Roger So you reverted again and cited MOS:GEO, but how does it justify removal? I can explain how it justifies inclusion if needed. — W.andrea (talk) 19:48, 22 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Because sources about this incident refer to it as the river plate. mos:geo is only a guide and allows exceptions to the rule. The link directs to rio de la plata so it is clear what river it is if anyone is in doubt. Also, I don't think it is correct to add a translation in an article like that. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 19:54, 22 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Regardless of what sources about the battle say, the Wikipedia article about the river uses the other name, and as MOS:GEO says,
 * Why should we make an exception here?
 * See MOS:NOFORCELINK:
 * It's not a translation. The Spanish name is naturalized in English. For example, if I google it, I get results about the river, while if I google "river plate", I only get results about a soccer team (Club Atlético River Plate) except the Wikipedia disambiguation page River Plate.
 * — W.andrea (talk) 20:35, 22 March 2024 (UTC)
 * We've been through this before. For this event it is known as the river plate. You should find sources dealing with the battle and see how many of them call it rio de la plata v river plate. And, this article is in english so we write in english, not spanish. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 01:50, 23 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Sorry, did you not read what I wrote? I already addressed both those points.
 * Also, I just realized, you never explained how MOS:GEO justifies removal.
 * — W.andrea (talk) 02:54, 23 March 2024 (UTC)
 * MOS:GEO, A place should generally be referred to consistently by the same name as in the title of its article (see Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names)). An exception may be made when there is a widely accepted historical English name appropriate to the given context.  The river has two names in English. Without checking, I assume 'rio de la plata' has gained in usage over the last 50 or so years and may even now be the more usual name, but it certainly is not the only name. It's use in this article is in context of the 1939 battle which uses river plate. I think at the time 'river plate' was probably the main name in English. So, in context, the river should be called river plate. It's Spanish name - that you used by refering to it as a spanish name - is not relevant, because, as you say, rio de la plata, has become anglicised/assimilated, to a noticeable extent at least, so we are dealing with two English names, not a spanish name and an english name. If anything should be added, IMO it should be once, after the first mention of 'river plate' (not in the battle name) and should say (also know as rio de la plata). That is all. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 06:43, 23 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I already cited that paragraph:
 * I'm not disputing that, so you don't need to keep bringing it up. I'm aware of the historiography.
 * Again refer to MOS:GEO:
 * That's exactly how I did it.
 * That's effectively what (Río de la Plata) accomplishes, while also saying that that's the name used in Spanish too.
 * W.andrea (talk) 16:40, 23 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I don't know where this is going. I reverted because you added the Spanish name, not an alternative English name (the fact they are the same, less the diacritic does not excuse insertion for the wrong reason). River Plate is not an historical name, it is an alternative name still widely used. Again, please be specific and less casual with your analysis. If you want to add something constructive to this article I suggest getting, and reading, some quality books and adding some relevant cited detail. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 22:17, 23 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I have a lot I want to say, but I don't think it'd be very constructive. We're getting bogged down. So, instead I made a new edit using the verbiage you suggested: (also know as rio de la plata) → (a.k.a. the Río de la Plata). — W.andrea (talk) 18:37, 24 March 2024 (UTC)
 * — W.andrea (talk) 02:54, 23 March 2024 (UTC)
 * MOS:GEO, A place should generally be referred to consistently by the same name as in the title of its article (see Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names)). An exception may be made when there is a widely accepted historical English name appropriate to the given context.  The river has two names in English. Without checking, I assume 'rio de la plata' has gained in usage over the last 50 or so years and may even now be the more usual name, but it certainly is not the only name. It's use in this article is in context of the 1939 battle which uses river plate. I think at the time 'river plate' was probably the main name in English. So, in context, the river should be called river plate. It's Spanish name - that you used by refering to it as a spanish name - is not relevant, because, as you say, rio de la plata, has become anglicised/assimilated, to a noticeable extent at least, so we are dealing with two English names, not a spanish name and an english name. If anything should be added, IMO it should be once, after the first mention of 'river plate' (not in the battle name) and should say (also know as rio de la plata). That is all. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 06:43, 23 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I already cited that paragraph:
 * I'm not disputing that, so you don't need to keep bringing it up. I'm aware of the historiography.
 * Again refer to MOS:GEO:
 * That's exactly how I did it.
 * That's effectively what (Río de la Plata) accomplishes, while also saying that that's the name used in Spanish too.
 * W.andrea (talk) 16:40, 23 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I don't know where this is going. I reverted because you added the Spanish name, not an alternative English name (the fact they are the same, less the diacritic does not excuse insertion for the wrong reason). River Plate is not an historical name, it is an alternative name still widely used. Again, please be specific and less casual with your analysis. If you want to add something constructive to this article I suggest getting, and reading, some quality books and adding some relevant cited detail. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 22:17, 23 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I have a lot I want to say, but I don't think it'd be very constructive. We're getting bogged down. So, instead I made a new edit using the verbiage you suggested: (also know as rio de la plata) → (a.k.a. the Río de la Plata). — W.andrea (talk) 18:37, 24 March 2024 (UTC)
 * That's exactly how I did it.
 * That's effectively what (Río de la Plata) accomplishes, while also saying that that's the name used in Spanish too.
 * W.andrea (talk) 16:40, 23 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I don't know where this is going. I reverted because you added the Spanish name, not an alternative English name (the fact they are the same, less the diacritic does not excuse insertion for the wrong reason). River Plate is not an historical name, it is an alternative name still widely used. Again, please be specific and less casual with your analysis. If you want to add something constructive to this article I suggest getting, and reading, some quality books and adding some relevant cited detail. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 22:17, 23 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I have a lot I want to say, but I don't think it'd be very constructive. We're getting bogged down. So, instead I made a new edit using the verbiage you suggested: (also know as rio de la plata) → (a.k.a. the Río de la Plata). — W.andrea (talk) 18:37, 24 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I have a lot I want to say, but I don't think it'd be very constructive. We're getting bogged down. So, instead I made a new edit using the verbiage you suggested: (also know as rio de la plata) → (a.k.a. the Río de la Plata). — W.andrea (talk) 18:37, 24 March 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Battle of the River Plate


text:
Talk:Warwick, Rhode Island

Untitled
Shouldn't NEIT which is in Warwick be noted somewhere?

This is the first time I've heard any mention of the Department of Homeland Security getting involved in the Station fire. The deaths of 96 people would have been sufficient to make news without any DoHS involvement. -- Zoe

For the upteenth time Warwick and West Warwick are not the same place:

From the 1990 Gazetteer Warwick, RI (city, FIPS 74300) Location: 41.70220 N, 71.42185 W Population (1990): 85427 (35141 housing units) Area: 92.0 sq km (land), 36.6 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 02886, 02888, 02889

West Warwick, RI (CDP, FIPS 78260) Location: 41.69755 N, 71.51833 W Population (1990): 29268 (12488 housing units) Area: 20.5 sq km (land), 0.5 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 02893

--mav

Pronunciation
In Warwick, England, the second 'w' is not pronounced. Do people in RI and nearby use the same pronunciation?

148.87.1.170

Haha, to answer your question, 148.87.1.170, many people do. However, this is due to our Rhode Island accents, and is not the official pronunciation of the city's name.

--CitrusFreak12 18:34, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

 * Is there an "official pronunciation" of the city's name? What is it? Where is Wikipedia's famous penchant for documentation? ;-) --Haruo (talk) 16:05, 31 August 2015 (UTC)

The city is crime ridden, and per capita income is incorrect. It is now a sanctuary city for migrants, and most recently, many of its residents were on assistance for utilities, and food. Due to overtaking, and political corruption, it is likely to continue its decline — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.219.221.94 (talk) 16:28, 14 March 2024 (UTC)

Nathanael Greene
Isn't Nathanael Greene's town Coventry since his family owns land here? KB1KOI

Gaspee
The article mentions Gaspee, but it should be more indepth and mention where the guy (forgot his name) got shot...heh heh.

68.0.245.41 20:42, 22 July 2006 (UTC)Shaylin

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Pronunciation.
Warwick is named after the English city of the same name and was pronounced the same originally in Rhode Island but overtime people started there pronouncing it incorrectly.

It was originally pronounced Worick (as they do in England) but now people in Rhode Island pronounce it war-wick.

HardeeHar (talk) 11:17, 27 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Warwick was named in honor of the Earl of Warwick who enabled Samuel Gorton to obtain a charter. And native Rhode Islanders pronounce it "warrik". —Dilidor (talk) 13:20, 29 July 2019 (UTC)
 * I live in Rhode Island, and I heard it with and without the w sound.
 * But Wikipedia tries to rely more on external reliable written sources and less on personal experience. The article Rhode Island pronunciation guide: 35 names that visitors and even some locals get wrong in the Providence Journal (July 2, 2024) says: pronouncing the second W isn't incorrect. But Rhode Islanders typically drop it and refer to the city where T.F. Green International Airport is located as "WAR-ick." (Spoken in a heavy accent, it sounds almost more like "WHOA-wick.") Amir E. Aharoni (talk) 15:29, 4 July 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Warwick, Rhode Island


text:
Talk:Put My Dream on This Planet

Untitled
Who is Seth Tisue? -- Zoe

title: Talk:Put My Dream on This Planet


text:
Great Hanshin earthquake

The Great Hanshin Earthquake occurred on January 17, 1995, at 05:46:53 JST (January 16 at 20:46:53 UTC) in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, including the region known as Hanshin. It measured 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum intensity of 7 on the JMA Seismic Intensity Scale (XI–XII on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale). The tremors lasted for approximately 20 seconds. The focus of the earthquake was located 17 km beneath its epicenter, on the northern end of Awaji Island, 20 km away from the center of the city of Kobe.

Approximately 6,434 people died as a result of this earthquake; about 4,600 of them were from Kobe. Among major cities, Kobe, with its population of 1.5 million, was the closest to the epicenter and hit by the strongest tremors. This was Japan's deadliest earthquake in the 20th century after the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923, which claimed more than 105,000 lives.

Earthquake
Most of the largest earthquakes in Japan are caused by subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate or Pacific Plate, with mechanisms that involve either energy released within the subducting plate or the accumulation and sudden release of stress in the overlying plate. Earthquakes of these types are especially frequent in the coastal regions of northeastern Japan.

The Great Hanshin earthquake belonged to a third type, called an "inland shallow earthquake". Earthquakes of this type occur along active faults. Even at lower magnitudes, they can be very destructive because they often occur near populated areas and because their hypocenters are located less than 20 km below the surface. The Great Hanshin earthquake began north of the island of Awaji, which lies just south of Kobe. It spread toward the southwest along the Nojima Fault on Awaji and toward the northeast along the Suma and Suwayama faults, which run through the center of Kobe. Observations of deformations in these faults suggest that the area was subjected to east–west compression, which is consistent with previously known crustal movements. Like other earthquakes recorded in western Japan between 1891 and 1948, the 1995 earthquake had a strike-slip mechanism that accommodated east–west shortening of the Eurasian Plate due to its collision with the Philippine Sea Plate in central Honshu.

The Mj 7.3 earthquake struck at 05:46:53 JST on the morning of January 17, 1995. It lasted for 20 seconds. During this time the south side of the Nojima Fault moved 1.5 meters to the right and 1.2 meters downwards. There were four foreshocks, beginning with the largest (Mj 3.7) at 18:28 on the previous day.

Intensity
It was the first time that an earthquake in Japan was officially measured at a seismic intensity (shindo in Japanese) of the highest Level 7 on the scale of Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). After the earthquake, seismic intensity observation in Japan was fully mechanized (from April 1996) and JMA seismic intensity Levels 5 and 6 were each divided into 2 levels (from October 1996).

An on-the spot investigation by JMA concluded that tremors by this earthquake were at seismic intensity of Level 7 in particular areas in northern Awaji Island (now Awaji City) and in the cities of Kobe, Ashiya, Nishinomiya and Takarazuka.

Tremors were valued at seismic intensity of Levels 4 to 6 at observation points in Kansai, Chūgoku, Shikoku and Chūbu regions:

Damage
Damage was widespread and severe. Structures irreparably damaged by the earthquake included nearly 400,000 buildings, numerous elevated road and rail bridges, and 120 of the 150 quays in the port of Kobe. The quake triggered approximately 300 fires, which raged over large portions of the city. Disruptions of water, electricity and gas supplies were common. Residents feared returning home because of aftershocks that lasted several days (74 of which were strong enough to be felt).

The majority of deaths (over 4,000) occurred in cities and suburbs in Hyōgo Prefecture. A total of 68 children under the age of 18 were orphaned, while 332 children lost one parent.

One in five of the buildings in the worst-hit areas were completely destroyed or rendered uninhabitable. About 22% of the offices in Kobe's central business district were rendered unusable, and over half of the houses in that area were deemed unfit for occupancy. Although some were destroyed and others suffered severe damage, high-rise buildings that were built in compliance with the 1981 building code suffered to a lesser extent. Those that were not constructed to these standards suffered serious structural damage, such as traditional houses which had heavy tiled roofs that could weigh as much as two tons, intended to resist the frequent typhoons plaguing Kobe, but were only supported by a light wooden frame. When these wood supports gave way, the roof would crush the unreinforced walls and floors in a pancake collapse. Newer homes have reinforced walls and lighter roofs to avoid this, but are thusly more susceptible to typhoons.

The damage to highways and subways was the most graphic image of the earthquake, and images of the collapsed elevated Kobe Route of the Hanshin Expressway appeared on front pages of newspapers worldwide. Most people in Japan believed those structures to be relatively safe from earthquake damage because of the steel-reinforced concrete design. Although the initial belief was that construction had been negligent, it was later shown that most of the collapsed structures were constructed properly according to the building codes in force in the 1960s. The steel-reinforcement specifications in the 1960s regulations had already been discovered to be inadequate and revised several times, the latest revision being in 1981, which proved effective but only applied to new structures.

Ten spans of the Kobe Route elevated expressway were knocked over in three locations across Kobe and Nishinomiya, blocking a link that carried 40% of Osaka-Kobe road traffic. Half of the elevated expressway's piers sustained some damage. The entire route was not reopened until September 30, 1996. Three bridges on the less heavily used Route 2 were damaged, but the highway was reopened well ahead of Route 3 and served as one of the main intercity road links for a time. The Meishin Expressway was only lightly damaged, but was closed during the day until February 17, 1995, so that emergency vehicles could easily access the hardest-hit areas to the west. It was not until July 29 that all four lanes were opened to traffic along one section. Many surface highways were clogged for some time due to the collapse of higher-capacity elevated highways.

Most railways in the region were damaged. In the aftermath of the earthquake, only 30% of the Osaka-Kobe railway tracks were operational. Daikai Station on the Kobe Rapid Railway line collapsed, bringing down part of National Route 28 above it. Wooden supports collapsed inside supposedly solid concrete pilings under the tracks of the Shinkansen high-speed rail line, causing the entire line to shut down. The railways rebounded quickly after the quake, reaching 80% operability in one month. The Kobe Municipal Subway resumed operation the day after the earthquake with limited service between Seishin-Chuo and Itayado stations (along with the Hokushin Kyuko Electric Railway between Tanigami and Shin-Kobe). Service resumed across the entire line on February 16, 1995, with full service resuming a month later after repairs were completed. Trains continued to operate with speed restrictions until July 21, 1995.

Artificial islands, such as the modern Rokkō Island and especially Port Island in Kobe, suffered severe subsidence due to liquefaction. Water breaking through the surface and flooding those islands was initially believed to have seeped in from the sea, but in fact had been forced out of the soil used to build the islands. The newly completed artificial island supporting Kansai International Airport was not significantly affected, due it being further from the epicenter, and because it was built to the latest standards. The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, under construction near the earthquake's epicenter, was undamaged but was reportedly lengthened by a full meter due to horizontal displacement along the activated tectonic fault.

Nomenclature
Outside Japan the earthquake and disaster are commonly referred to as the Kobe earthquake; in Japan, the earthquake and the disaster caused by it is called, often shortened to ( Hanshin refers to the area encompassing Osaka and Kobe). In the scientific literature the earthquake itself is called the, the name given to it by the Japan Meteorological Agency the week after the main shock.

Other aspects
The quake ravaged many of the facilities of what was then the world's sixth-largest container port and the source of nearly 40% of Kobe's industrial output.

The sheer size of the earthquake caused a major decline in Japanese stock markets, with the Nikkei 225 index plunging by 1,025 points on the day following the quake. This financial damage was the immediate cause for the collapse of Barings Bank due to the actions of Nick Leeson, who had speculated vast amounts of money on Japanese and Singaporean derivatives. Discussions of Japan's "Lost Decade" tend towards purely economic analysis, and neglect the impact of the earthquake on the Japanese economy which at the time was already suffering from recession.

Despite this devastation in a big production center, the local economy recovered very quickly. Even though less than half the port facilities had been rebuilt by that stage, within a year import volumes through the port had recovered fully and export volumes were nearly back to where they would have been without the disaster. Less than 15 months after the earthquake, in March 1996, manufacturing activity in greater Kobe was at 98% of its projected pre-quake level.

Volunteerism
The fact that volunteers from all over Japan converged on Kobe to help victims of the quake was an important event in the history of volunteerism in Japan. The year 1995 is often regarded as a turning point in the emergence of volunteerism as a major form of civic engagement.

In December 1995, the government declared January 17 a national "Disaster Prevention and Volunteerism Day", and the week from January 15 to 21 a national "Disaster Prevention and Volunteerism Week", to be commemorated with lectures, seminars, and other events designed to encourage voluntary disaster preparedness and relief efforts.

Disaster planning
The earthquake proved to be a major wake-up call for Japanese disaster prevention authorities. Japan installed rubber blocks under bridges to absorb the shock and rebuilt buildings further apart to prevent collateral damage. The national government changed its disaster response policies in the wake of the earthquake, and its response to the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake was significantly faster and more effective. The Ground Self-Defense Forces were given automatic authority to respond to earthquakes over a certain magnitude, which allowed them to deploy to the Niigata region within minutes. Control over fire response was likewise handed over from local fire departments to a central command base in Tokyo and Kyoto.

In response to the widespread damage to transportation infrastructure, and the resulting effect on emergency response times in the disaster area, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport began designating special disaster prevention routes and reinforcing the roads and surrounding buildings so as to keep them as intact as possible in the event of another earthquake. Hyōgo's prefectural government invested millions of yen in the following years to build earthquake-proof shelters and supplies in public parks.

Memorials
The Kobe Luminarie is an event held for approximately two weeks every December. A street leading from the Daimaru store in Motomachi to Higashi Yuenchi Park (next to Kobe city hall) is decorated with arches of multicoloured lights that were donated by the Italian government. Amongst the commemorative events held on the anniversary of the earthquake, large "1.17" digits are illuminated in Higashi Yuenchi Park in the early hours of January 17 each year.

Response

Approximately 1.2 million volunteers were involved in relief efforts during the first three months following the earthquake. Retailers such as Daiei and 7-Eleven used their existing supply networks to provide necessities in affected areas, while NTT and Motorola provided free telephone service for victims. The organized crime Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza syndicate was actively involved in the relief effort from the beginning, distributing substantial amounts of food and supplies to needy victims. Aid provided by the Yamaguchi-gumi was particularly crucial in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, due to the failure of the Japanese government to organize effective relief to the area initially.

Local hospitals struggled to keep up with demand for medical treatment, largely due to collapsed or obstructed "lifelines" (roads) that kept supplies and personnel from reaching the affected areas. People were forced to wait in corridors due to the overcrowding and lack of space. Some people had to be operated on in waiting rooms and corridors.

To help speed the recovery effort, the government closed most of the Hanshin Expressway network to private vehicles from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm daily and limited traffic to buses, taxis and other designated vehicles. To keep the light rail system running even though it had quite severely damaged sections, shuttle buses were commissioned to transfer patrons to stations around damaged sections.

title: Great Hanshin earthquake