text:
Black & White (video game)

Black & White  is a god video game developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows in 2001 and by Feral Interactive in 2002 for Mac OS. Black & White combines elements of artificial life and strategy. The player acts as a god whose goal is to defeat Nemesis, another god who wants to take over the world. A primary theme is the concept of good and evil, with the atmosphere being affected by the player's moral choices. The core gameplay mechanic of Black & White is the interaction between the player and an avatar creature, who carries out the player's instructions and whose personality and behaviour change in reaction to how they are treated. Multiplayer is supported over a local network or online.

Peter Molyneux led the three-year development of the highly anticipated game, originally to feature wizards instead of gods. Black & White was written from scratch, and the intention was to have the main user interface free of icons, buttons, and panels. Versions for games consoles were in development, but were cancelled.

Black & White received universal acclaim on release; reviewers praised the artificial intelligence, uniqueness, and depth, although the system requirements and bugs were criticised. Black & White won awards from several organisations, including the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and the Guinness World Record, for the complexity of the artificial intelligence, selling over two million copies. Later re-reviews of the game considered it to have been overrated at the time, but was nevertheless considered one of the greatest games of all time. An expansion, Black & White: Creature Isle, and sequel, Black & White 2, followed.

Gameplay
The player takes on the role of a god ruling over several islands populated by various tribes. The player interacts with the environment via an animated, on-screen hand, that is used to throw people and objects, tap houses to wake their occupants, cast miracles, and perform other actions. Key items in the story are gold and silver scrolls. Gold scrolls initiate a significant event (including the main story), and silver ones a minor task to perform for a reward.

Nearly every action (or lack thereof) affects how the player is judged by their followers: the player may be seen as a good god, an evil one, or in-between the two. The land, interface (including the hand), and music change according to that alignment. A good god's temple is brightly coloured, while an evil god's is designed to look intimidating. It is not necessary to consistently perform acts of either alignment and a mixture of the two can be used to stay neutral. The player has two advisors, one good and the other evil, who try to persuade the player to do things according to their alignment.

An important task is expanding the villages, by constructing buildings and increasing the number of villagers. Important buildings include houses, the Village Centre (which displays the god who controls the village and the available miracles), and the Village Store (which stores resources and displays the villagers' desires). Buildings are created in the Workshop after obtaining blueprints. Wonders are special buildings granting a specific benefit. Villagers belong to one of eight tribes, such as Norse, Celtic, or Japanese, each having a different Wonder. Villagers can be assigned to perform a specific task such as fishing or starting a family. If the Temple is destroyed, the game is lost. When attacked, Temples transfer damage to their god's buildings and followers in defence; only Temples whose god has no followers are vulnerable.

The Temple is surrounded by sites where villagers worship, generating the power needed to cast miracles. Villagers require feeding, healing or rest to worship. How many villagers worship is controlled at the Village Centre, and which miracles are available depends on those available at the player's villages. Miracles include providing food or wood, healing people, and providing shields to protect an area. Miracles can also be cast by using Miracle Dispensers, a common reward for completing Silver Reward Scrolls. These allow the casting of a miracle without worship. Miracles can only be cast, and most other actions performed, within the player's area of influence, which can be extended by expanding the population of villages owned, or by taking over others. Miracles can be selected at the Temple or Village Centre, or by performing certain gestures with the Hand. Power can also be produced by sacrificing living beings at the altar.

The general goal of a level is to gain control over every village on an island, accomplished through acts that persuade the villagers to believe in the player. Villagers can be swayed by everything from assistance with day-to-day tasks to being terrorised by fireballs and lightning storms. Artefacts (special objects that glow in their owner's colour) and missionary disciples can be used to impress villagers. Villagers become bored with repetitive attempts to impress them. For example, if boulders fly overhead too frequently, their effect is lost. This forces the player to use multiple methods to convert a village.

The game features a skirmish mode, where other gods are battled for control of an island, a multiplayer mode over a local area network (LAN) or an online service, and The God's Playground, where gameplay aspects can be practised. In multiplayer mode, deathmatch and cooperative modes are available. In cooperative mode, players share a creature. Black & White includes a feature enabling the import of real weather.

Creature
One of Black & White's core features is the interaction between the player and an avatar-like creature. Three are available to select from the beginning of the game and others can be obtained by completing Silver Reward Scrolls. The currently-owned creature can be swapped with a new one at certain points in the game. The creature starts out small, and grows as the game progresses. Each has strengths and weaknesses: apes are intelligent and proficient at learning but lack strength; tigers are strong but learn slowly.

As a god, the player can teach their creature to perform tasks such as stocking the village store or performing miracles. The creature is taught what and when to eat, and how to attack or impress enemy villages. Fighting skills may be taught in one-on-one battles with other creatures; attack and defence abilities can be improved. Teaching is performed using a reinforcement learning system: if the creature does something the player does not want, it can be discouraged with a slap. If the creature does something the player approves of, it can be stroked. The creature remembers the response to various actions and gradually changes its behaviour accordingly. With time and repetition, it can perform complex functions that allow it to serve as the player's avatar. Three types of leashes are used to command the creature to go to a specific place, and can be tied to a building to restrict movement. One leash encourages the creature to pay attention when actions are demonstrated; the others encourage either benevolent or malevolent behaviour. The game reinforces the creature's choices and learning by providing visual feedback, and the creature has an alignment separate from the player's. Evil wolves sport glowing eyes and large fangs and claws; good ones turn a shade of purple and glow gently.

Lionhead Studios used Michael Bratman's belief–desire–intention model to simulate creatures' learning and decision-making processes. A creature forms an intention by combining desires, opinions, and beliefs. Beliefs are attributed to lists that store data about various world objects. Desires are goals the creature wants to fulfill, expressed as simplified perceptrons. Opinions describe ways of satisfying a desire using decision trees. For each desire, the creature selects the belief with the best opinion, thus forming an intention or goal.

Plot
The player begins on an island as a new god, created from a family's prayers. After saving their son from sharks, the god follows the grateful family to their village. A large creature (a lion, a bear or a sheep, depending on your creature), known as the Guide, is later discovered who tells of its former master, a god named Nemesis, who desires to reign supreme as the one true god by destroying all others. The player is told of the Creed; an energy source with the ability to destroy gods. Nemesis, about hearing this, destroys his former creature and attacks the village. Shortly after a mysterious vortex opens and the player enters to escape Nemesis. He's transported to a second island and greeted by another god, Khazar. Khazar reveals that it was he who sent the vortex and requests assistance against another god, Lethys, Nemesis' underling, in exchange for resources to rebuild the village.

Later, Nemesis destroys Khazar and his creature, stealing his piece of the Creed in the process. Lethys then kidnaps the player's creature, taking it through a vortex that, unlike the others, closes automatically. In the third land, the creature is held in stasis by three magical pillars. After the creature is freed by converting the villages (and avoids them to be reconverted by both burning unbelievers and a wolf pack), Lethys implores not to take his last village, grants the player a piece of the Creed and opens a vortex. The player returns to the first land, now cursed by Nemesis; fireballs and lightning rain from the sky. After the curses are lifted by destroying the three guardian stones, a cursed village is freed and the piece of the Creed is claimed, Nemesis appears, inviting the player to his realm. On the last island, Nemesis curses the player's creature, causing it to slowly change alignments, shrink, and grow weaker. When the final piece of the Creed is obtained, the player destroys Nemesis and is left as the only god in the world.

History
Black & White took over three years to develop beginning on 14 February 1998, and was released on 27 March 2001. Peter Molyneux funded the project himself and devoted his entire focus to its development. Molyneux stated that he tried to correct the mistakes he made with the game design of Dungeon Keeper. The goal was to develop a unique game where players felt they inhabited a world where they could do anything. Molyneux had liked the idea of controlling people as a god since his previous venture, Populous. He was interested in the concept of good and evil and thought that this could be used to influence the game's atmosphere. Development was slow, starting with only six people, as Molyneux wanted to assemble the right team. Discussions about concepts (including a Mafia-style game) began at his house in 1997, and in February 1998, the team moved into Lionhead's offices. The expanded nine-person team exchanged further suggestions for the game and its content, such as lip-synchronised characters, although this was thought impossible. As more people joined, Molyneux wanted Lionhead's friendly atmosphere to remain, and their policy of only recruiting people who could fit in with existing members meant that the team had developed their own way of working. According to Molyneux, team members questioned and competed with each other, resulting in a better quality of work. He said that "the team did the work of a group twice their number." The group that finally produced the game numbered twenty-five programmers with a budget of approximately £4 million.

Molyneux stated that King Kong was an inspiration for the game. Soon afterwards, watching the Outer Limits episode "The Sandkings", he noticed that the episode featured bug-like creatures worshipping a scientist, and who moved around him in reverence whenever he was nearby. Molyneux thought that being admired with that level of devotion made one a god. Molyneux told Official Dreamcast Magazine that he had sought to recreate the "fantastic feeling" of destroying ant nests as a child.

In 1998, Black & White was shown at the E3 trade show in Atlanta, Georgia, and incorporated elements of Populous and Dungeon Keeper. Molyneux estimated the game would be nearly finished in 1999, and scheduled it for a late September 2000 release. Artificial intelligence was one of the key areas still being worked on. The game crashed multiple times; Molyneux fixed the bugs using Microsoft Developer Studio before restarting. He expected the 3D engine used would be an improvement when compared to his previous games. He instructed the programmers to "Make it the most beautiful engine ever conceived by anybody, ever". As of December 1998, no animators had been hired, and the art team were developing their own skills in that area. By this time, the engine was being developed by three people: Alex Evans, Jean-Claude Cuttier, and Scawen Roberts (who had joined from a courier company called, coincidentally, Black And White). Cottier developed the landscape system, and found a method of generating textures, enabling the reflection of various types of terrain. Roberts created the creatures and the animation (Eric Bailey later took over the creature animations ). Evans described developing the engine as "a daunting task". Composer Russell Shaw came up with the idea of the world changing appearance according to the player's alignment: he suggested that the player's territory loses colour if he plays evil, and for it to be gaily coloured if good. Artist Mark Healey wanted the cursor to be a magician's hand.

The entire game, including the tools and libraries, was written from scratch. A trial and error approach was taken: the team learned by trying something and changing what did not work. They avoided using control panels, icons and buttons for casting miracles, preferring a gesture system. Molyneux commented that he would have been very disappointed if the system was dumped, but in the end, they got the feature working "beautifully". Integrating the storyline was found to draw the player through the game in an unexpected manner, which led to the development of characters like Sable, the Creature trainer, and the advisers. A great deal of effort was devoted to getting features such as the weather import working.

The game was originally to feature battling wizards, who would have had creatures (originally named Titans) to raise, and be powered by belief. A key idea was the ability to turn living beings into Titans. Healey's early visualisation featured the Horned Reaper from Dungeon Keeper representing Titans. The team wanted the player to see the world from the same perspective as possessing a creature in Dungeon Keeper (it was originally intended for the player to be able to take control of creatures in the first-person ). Molyneux wanted "limitless flexibility" and the ability to zoom out to see the world from the sky. It was decided to make the player a god when it was realised that humans could not wield the powers that were being implemented. The spells that were to be cast became miracles, and the wizards' supporters became worshippers. The mechanic of turning living beings into Titans was dropped because of problems with balance, with certain Titans having advantages over others. After the name Titans was dropped, others were considered, including Sards, Demes, Ikons, Psiphs, and Amalians. None had unanimous support, so they ended up being called 'creatures'. Elements of the Wizard theme, such as Temples resembling a wizard's tower, remain in the final game. Temples were originally named Citadels and some sported a medieval, fairy-tale look.

In January 1999, Richard Evans was working out how the game judges the morality of the player's behaviour. Mark Webley (who had programmed the creature's artificial intelligence on a testbed version) had become project manager, ensuring routines were listed on task schedules. He stated that this was "a hundred times more difficult" than similar tasks at Bullfrog Productions. By March, the team had expanded to 17 people including five artists, five game programmers, two engine programmers, and a sound programmer. Lionhead wanted a maximum of 25 people so as not to break the "team spirit" atmosphere. Black & White was shown at E3 1999 where it was judged the most original game. At this time, Lionhead were considering 15 cover designs provided by Electronic Arts.

At E3 2000, Molyneux gave a precise release date: 23 September 2000. The game was supposed to reach the alpha stage by 18 June, but by summer, it became clear that development was behind schedule, and the release date was pushed back to 10 November. In September, it was pushed back again into 2001, angering fans who were eagerly awaiting its release. Molyneux apologised for the delay. By September 2000, every Lionhead member had their faces digitised for use on villagers. Villagers were auctioned online at QXL, with all proceeds going to the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The team were surprised when the first one sold for £450, and the fourth one for over £1000. By October, Lionhead were operating around the clock to reach alpha. Shin Kanaoya of EA Square came to discuss the Japanese localisation, which was considered difficult due to the requirement of the use of two-byte characters to display the Japanese writing system, particularly the 20,000 Kanji characters, which would have posed RAM management issues. Lionhead were considering using the Japanese fonts included with Windows. In September, there were "dozens" of fansites about Black & White. By November, there were around 150. Molyneux later said that Black & White was amongst the first video games to have fansites, and that Lionhead were accused of over-promising when the sites described features the game did not have when shown.

Molyneux said that might have been "insanely ambitious" with regard to the standards they set themselves for the graphics, because the system requirements were high and much of the custom software needed to be written. One such program was a terrain-editing tool named Leadhead. He stated that they went from "bizarre ideas", to "the best game I have ever seen". The villagers' artificial intelligence had to be restricted by giving some control to the Village Centre as there was no limit on the number of villagers. Molyneux said of the creature's artificial intelligence, "part of the game itself learns from everything you do and tailors itself to you", and described the creature as "an astonishing piece of work". He also commented that the last months of development were "the hardest any of us has ever had to work", and that "without the right team, this game never would have happened." The models for the trees, bushes, and other landscape features were created in 3D Studio Max, and initial graphics development was done in 2D using Adobe Photoshop. Later development was done using other custom software. Clan multiplayer, where multiple players play as one god, was developed in a rush; its interface had to be developed in two weeks. Black & White's online community was handled by two servers in London, where the clan creatures were stored to minimise the possibility of cheating.

Alpha was reached in December 2000. Multiplayer mode nearly had to be dropped for this to happen, but the problems were fixed just in time. Electronic Arts became involved in the production; testers were employed (they found three thousand bugs), localisations were checked, and a marketing campaign was launched. Fearing the bugs could kill the game, lists were sent to every member of the team, who had a chart, updated daily. The biggest problem was the final set, and fixing them created more bugs. Molyneux commented that "It was as if the game just didn't want to be finished and perfected", and remarked that the team felt like they had run a marathon after fixing the bugs. The end product was so large that they "almost felt lost within the code" which consisted of over a million lines, and took over an hour to compile. The music, dialogue, and sound effects were compressed to fit on one CD, as they took five times as much space as the game. People not involved with the game's development began playing it and were extremely impressed. The release date was then set at 23 February 2001. Electronic Arts complained that the age at which the villagers were reproducing was below the age of consent for some countries, so this had to be changed. Lionhead announced that the game went gold (became ready to be released) on 16 March 2001. Molyneux credited fans for making the hardest times worthwhile. Because players encountered technical issues, rumours that Electronic Arts had shipped beta versions circulated; Lionhead denied them. Molyneux said Black & White was the most important and difficult game he had made. In June, a patch that fixed bugs was released. The Japanese version was released on 24 May 2001, and re-released as Black & White Special Edition under the EA Best Selections branding on 18 March 2004. Another patch was released, which would allow the Hand to be controlled by an Essential Reality P5 Glove, a virtual reality glove.

Story and characters
Work on the story began in October 1999, and took longer than expected. The team estimated two months, but soon realised they lacked the necessary skills to meet this deadline. Bullfrog's James Leach, who had previously worked on titles such as Dungeon Keeper and Theme Hospital, was recruited, and wrote many challenges, all the dialogue, and enabled the team to make the advisers characters rather than just sources of information. The idea to make the advisers characters came from Alex Evans, who wanted them to interact with their lips synchronised. A system was developed that moved their mouths into common phoneme shapes, used as a basis to turn them into graphic equalisers that move into shapes according to the sounds being played. This facilitated localisation, as the game was to be translated into fifteen languages. Both advisers were voiced by Marc Silk, cutting the recording time by roughly half. The initial designs were produced by artist Christian Bravery, but these were considered too similar to classic devils and angels. Healey redesigned the angel to be more like a fairy. He was accused of putting his girlfriend into the game, something which he agreed with on reflection: he admitted that it looked "rather a lot like her". He then designed an old man resembling a cross between a hippy, a yogi, and a "kindly old man". The advisers' animations and emotions were triggered by keywords in the script document, a Microsoft Excel file consisting of several thousand lines. Much of the script was for the advisers, as they were to comment on everything happening as well as the other things players may want to do.

The challenges and quests were developed to keep players occupied while playing through the story. Molyeux told Leach about the ways of good and evil and the system's reflection of the player's behaviour, and provided him with a digital copy of the Bible with instructions to study the concepts due to their connection with gods and men. Leach decided to supplement the idea of evil with mischief, as he thought being completely evil by annoying or killing followers was senseless. Molyneux wanted a conflict between good and evil, and for the enemy gods to have the opposite alignment to the player. As a method of introducing the player to miracles and combat, a god whose alignment is the same as the player's was added.

Leach, Molyneux, and Webley were considering the final story when Jamie Durrant, an artist, became involved in the scripting language. A level designer, Ken Malcolm, was also hired, and their skills were considered invaluable. Malcolm said that the challenges were imagined as films with multiple endings because the story elements were different to games based on levels. According to him, the team had to "forget the rules" and focus on what players would do.

World domination was the story's goal. The Creed was a way of achieving that goal without having to convert every tribe. The intent was for the Creeds to be hosted inside creatures, obtainable only after the creature was dead. Winning the game would require three Creeds of the same alignment and their placement in the volcano on the fifth land. The explosion would "shatter the world" and the world would be the player's. As the story evolved, it was decided that the game should not force the player through it, as it would restrict his freedom. The team also wanted players to explore the world. The solution to this problem came in the form of the Gold Story Scrolls.

The other gods' actions and dialogue were written to be neutral as they could be either good or evil. Some were influenced by the player's alignment, but some lines were spoken regardless of the player's alignment due to lack of space. The concept of good and evil also affected the gods' names: bias towards a particular alignment was avoided because they could be either. Khazar and Lethys were "suitably old and legendary". The name Nemesis was to be replaced with "a huge, powerful name", but was liked by most of the team.

Programmer Oliver Purkiss was hired to program the villagers. He and Molyneux "worked tirelessly" to give the villagers autonomy and individuality without using too much processor power. Purkiss said that they did not want players to believe that villagers were worthless. Afterwards, it was decided that the villagers should have different belief levels, so the player would need to impress more sceptical ones. Richard Evans worked on the villagers' reactivity.

The script editor started out "simple", enabling programmers to perform camera angles and move villagers, and the first script was created when Cottier added a widescreen function. Molyneux wanted "an epic tale", so tools such as cinematography and the ability to analyse the creature and the player's alignment and abilities were needed. Jason Hutchens, an "expert in languages", was hired and helped create a "more natural" language compiler. A system to generalise each approach to challenges was also needed. The script editor and language were simple enough for non-programmers to use, and was also capable of writing complex scripts.

Sound and music
Shaw was head of music and sound. He handled the voice recording, all the sound effects, and composed the music. He also played instruments and sang: the first land's Missionaries' song featured the voices of Shaw and Webley. It was originally Shaw's intention for there to be no dialogue. The game had over 5000 sound effects by January 2000.

Shaw's lack of experience in playing "ethnic" instruments was a problem, but Steafan Hannigan, an expert on the subject, was enlisted to help. Hannigan further enlisted a musical ensemble who covered the instruments for every tribe. Silc's speech was performed at Electronic Arts's sound studio in Chertsey over three-and-a-half days. The sessions were directed by Leach, and the lines were recorded onto hard disk by Electronic Arts engineer Bill Lusty. The recordings were then burnt to CD, which were sent to Shaw, who then "cut up" each line and assigned them to those in the game. Afterwards, Hugo Myatt and Shelley Blond were recorded at Lionhead.

Creature
The decision to base the creatures on real animals was made early on. To offer players variety, a mixture of benign and aggressive creatures was deemed necessary. The team decided to implement anthropomorphised bipedal animals, because their humanoid form evoked empathy, and credibility in their potential sentience. Due to technical restraints, bipedal creatures also provided greater flexibility for animation and game dynamics.

The lion was constructed for the prototype. 3D Studio Max was used to build the wire-mesh frame, and then Adobe Photoshop was used to skin the creature. The skeleton was added, which was used by an animator to perform movements. The good creatures' appearances were the most problematic, and the transformation between alignments was also thought to be "a huge challenge". Each form was built from seven meshes and three texture sets. This enabled subtle variation. The eyes were originally painted as a texture, but this was deemed "unsatisfactory". Later, the eyes were built using separate geometry that moves independently, and were added using the game's creature editor.

To implement the transformation of the creature based on its alignment, Alex Evans developed an exporter program to export 3D Studio Max's models and animations, and Roberts created one to import them and apply them to the lion. Each version of the creature was then loaded, and interpolation code was written, as well as a blended animation between two similar ones. The system has a two-way blend: one for the alignment, and the other for how fat the creature is. As there was not going to be many creatures on one map, the team were able to use CPU resources to run many animations simultaneously on a single creature.

The planned level of artificial intelligence for the creature was thought to be risky: Molyneux commented that they wanted to "advance the technology to its extreme", and artificial intelligence specialist Richard Evans built the technology, which according to Molyneux appeared to "live and learn like, say, a clever puppy". Molyneux desired the creature to pass the Turing test, which had not yet been achieved.

Other versions
An online version, Black & White: The Gathering, was in development, and would have enabled creatures to interact those of other players in a cut-down game environment over the internet. Lionhead planned to release Black & White: The Gathering two months before the main game's release as a free download, and it was to offer a choice of creatures. It would have linked with chat programs such as AOL instant messenger and ICQ and convert text to a speech bubble from the creature. It was intended for players to be able to upload the main game's creature into Black & White: The Gathering and its experiences to be saved into the main game. Another online program, Black & White Worlds, was in development. This would have taken place in the worlds of the main game. Molyneux explained that there was to be a server, whose worlds would have been set up with a match-making system and players would have been able to do battle, like last man standing. There was also a plan to produce Black & White Universe, in which players would have had a persistent online world.

A PlayStation version was in development and scheduled for release in summer 2001, and a Dreamcast version in late 2001. Both were cancelled. The PlayStation version was in development by Blade Interactive Studios and was going to be published by Midas Interactive and Bethesda Softworks. PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions were due for release in 2002. Versions for the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance were proposed, but never materialised. A company called M4 was to have co-developed them alongside Lionhead, but Electronic Arts were not interested in the Game Boy versions. Molyneux stated that the Dreamcast version was cancelled because it was taking time to convert the game for the platform, and development had not progressed far enough for it to be worth continuing as interest in the platform was declining. Versions for Linux and BeOS were mooted, but were not greenlit by any prospective publisher.

A spinoff of the series, Black & White Creatures was announced for the Nintendo DS in May 2005. While the original was a large scale god game for PC platforms, the DS version was more of a smaller scale pet simulator adaption of the original concept. A very early 20% complete version of the game was playable at E3 2005, but the game was eventually cancelled. A similarly very early, barely playable build of the game leaked onto the internet in 2021. A PlayStation Portable version was also announced, but never released.

Reception
Critics lauded Black & White with "universal acclaim" according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. The graphics, gameplay, and artificial intelligence in particular were well received. Black & White sold two and a half million copies on the PC by 2006. In the United States, NPD Techworld ranked Black & White as the 11th-biggest computer game seller of 2001. Its sales in that region totaled 464,325 units, for revenues of $19.3 million, by the end of the year. It received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

Maxim Scott Steinberg complimented the design, saying it "lets you indulge your most megalomaniacal fantasies with ease". IGN's Tal Blevins complimented the "wildly imaginative" single-player mode, and the graphics, describing the game as "a visual masterpiece". AllGame's Michael House eulogised the "[a]bsolutely stunning and gorgeous" graphics. Marc Saltzman of The Cincinnati Enquirer complimented the addictiveness and "superb" gameplay, but criticised the high system requirements. Playboy Michael Ryan complimented the "intelligent" sense of humour, "intense" visual appeal, and addictiveness, but criticised the frequent micromanagement and ambiguous objectives.

Game Informer's Kristian Brogger was impressed with the game's depth. GameZone's reviewer praised the landscapes, described the music as "fit for a god", and complimented the game for merging genres. Greg Kasavin of GameSpot concurred with this, stating: "No other PC game to date has so effectively combined so many seemingly incompatible elements into one highly polished game". Computer Gaming World Charles Ardai commended the artificial intelligence and graphics, describing the landscape as "stunning". Ben Silverman of Game Revolution approved the "[u]nbelievable presentation" and agreed with Computer Gaming World on the artificial intelligence, calling it "revolutionary". GamePro reviewer complimented the realism, stating that it is like interacting with a real world, and echoed others' views on the artificial intelligence by describing it as "impressive". X-Play commended the graphics, but criticised the high system requirements.

Uniqueness and originality garnered critical praise. Craig Wessel of GameSpy felt the game is a unique and enjoyable strategy game. Originality was commended by PC Gamer reviewer, who also eulogised the "[b]eautiful" graphics, "awesome" interface, and its creativity, and Gamezilla's Alex Karls, who also remarked the game "lives up to its hype". Edge reviewer agreed about the originality, and described the game as "a colossal achievement". Keith Pullin of PC Zone compared the resource management to Age of Empires, and complimented the humour and pop culture references and praised the combination of original ideas, remarking that "B&W is as captivating as it is ingenious". Computer Games Magazine complimented the originality and "amazing" creature AI, but complained about the bugs. Jim Preston of Next Generation described the game as "thoughtful and engrossing". Reviewing the Macintosh version, Kit Pierce of Inside Mac Games remarked "Black & White is a gorgeous game", and commended its addictiveness.

Several publications re-reviewed the game later and, while still well received, have re-evaluated their initial judgement. Black & White was selected by GameSpy as the most over-rated game of all time in an article published in September 2003, citing a lack of true interaction with the townspeople and poor use of the much-lauded creatures as reasons it disappointed. IGN mentioned the game in one of their podcasts discussing over-rated games.

Awards

 * rowspan="3"|1999
 * Best Original Game
 * rowspan="7"|Game Critics Awards
 * Won
 * rowspan="9"|Electronic Entertainment Expo
 * rowspan="9"|Electronic Entertainment Expo

 * Best Strategy Game
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

 * Best PC Game
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

 * rowspan="6"|2000
 * Best PC Game
 * Won
 * Won

 * Best Strategy Game
 * Won
 * Won

 * Best of Show
 * Won
 * Won

 * Best Original Game
 * Won
 * Won

 * Most Innovative
 * rowspan="2"|IGN
 * Won
 * Won

 * Best of Show
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

 * rowspan="15"|2001
 * Interactivity
 * rowspan="6"|British Academy of Film and Television Arts
 * Won
 * Won

 * Moving Images
 * Won
 * Won

 * PC Games
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

 * Music
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

 * Technical Innovation
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

 * Networked Games
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

 * Editor's Choice
 * PC Gamer
 * Won
 * Won

 * Editor's Choice
 * Computer Gaming World
 * Won
 * Won

 * Classic Award
 * PC Zone
 * Won
 * Won

 * PC Game of the Year Benelux
 * rowspan="6"|European Computer Trade Show
 * Won
 * Won

 * PC Game of the Year Eastern Europe
 * Won
 * Won

 * PC Game of the Year Germany
 * Won
 * Won

 * PC Game of the Year Italy
 * Won
 * Won

 * PC Game of the Year Scandinavia
 * Won
 * Won

 * PC Game of the Year Spain
 * Won
 * Won

 * rowspan="13"|2002
 * Computer Innovation
 * rowspan="7"|Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
 * Won
 * Won

 * Computer Game of the Year
 * Won
 * Won

 * Animation
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

 * Character or Story Development
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

 * Game of the Year
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

 * Game Play Engineering
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

 * PC Strategy
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

 * Excellence in Programming
 * rowspan="4"|Game Developers Choice Awards
 * Won
 * Richard Evans
 * Richard Evans

 * Game Innovation
 * Won
 * Won

 * Game of the Year
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

 * Excellence in Game Design
 * Nominated
 * Peter Molyneux and the team.
 * Peter Molyneux and the team.

 * Best AI
 * PC Gamer
 * Won
 * Won

 * Game of the Year
 * Games Magazine
 * Won
 * Won

 * Gold Award of Excellence
 * Electronic Multimedia Awards
 * Won
 * Electronic Multimedia Awards
 * Won

Accolades
Black & White was named by PC World as the Best Video Game of 2001, appeared at number one on AiGameDev.com's most influential AI games list, and appeared in the 2003 Guinness World Records for having the "most intelligent being in a game".

title: Black & White (video game)


text:
Georges Leygues

Georges Leygues (29 October 1856 – 2 September 1933) was a French politician of the Third Republic. During his time as Minister of Marine he worked with the navy's chief of staff Henri Salaun in unsuccessful attempts to gain naval re-armament priority for government funding over army rearmament such as the Maginot Line.

Leygues's Ministry, 24 September 1920 – 16 January 1921

 * Georges Leygues – President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs
 * André Joseph Lefèvre – Minister of War
 * Théodore Steeg – Minister of the Interior
 * Frédéric François-Marsal – Minister of Finance
 * Paul Jourdain – Minister of Labour
 * Gustave L'Hopiteau – Minister of Justice
 * Adolphe Landry – Minister of Marine
 * André Honnorat – Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts
 * André Maginot – Minister of War Pensions, Grants, and Allowances
 * Joseph Ricard – Minister of Agriculture
 * Albert Sarraut – Minister of Colonies
 * Yves Le Trocquer – Minister of Public Works
 * Auguste Isaac – Minister of Commerce and Industry
 * Émile Ogier – Minister of Liberated Regions

Changes
 * 16 December 1920 – Flaminius Raiberti succeeds Lefèvre as Minister of War.

Memory
Two French warships have been named for Georges Leygues:
 * a light cruiser Georges Leygues that served in World War II
 * an F70-type frigate Georges Leygues, which was decommissioned in 2014

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

title: Georges Leygues


text:
White-crowned lapwing

The white-crowned lapwing, white-headed lapwing, white-headed plover or white-crowned plover (Vanellus albiceps) is a medium-sized wader. It is resident throughout tropical Africa, usually near large rivers.

Description
This lapwing is unmistakable. Its wings and tail are strikingly patterned in black and white, the back is brown and the underparts white. The head is particularly striking, being mainly grey, but with a white crown and foreneck. The eyering, facial wattles and legs are yellow. Females, males and young birds are similar in plumage.

Behaviour
It is a wader which breeds on exposed sand or shingle near rivers. 2–3 eggs are laid in a ground scrape. The nest and young are defended noisily and aggressively against all intruders, up to and including the hippopotamus.

Food is mainly insects and other small invertebrates. This species often feeds in small flocks when not breeding.

Status
The white-crowned lapwing is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

title: White-crowned lapwing


text:
René Viviani

Jean Raphaël Adrien René Viviani (8 November 1863 – 7 September 1925) was a French politician of the Third Republic, who served as Prime Minister for the first year of World War I. He was born in Sidi Bel Abbès, in French Algeria. In France he sought to protect the rights of socialists and trade union workers.

Biography
René Viviani was born in Algeria in a family of Italian immigrants. His parliamentary career began in 1893, when he was elected deputy of the fifth ward in Paris. He retained this office until 1902, when he failed to be reelected, but four years later he was elected deputy of the Department of Creuse. In the same year he entered the cabinet of Georges Clemenceau. At an early age he associated himself with the Socialist party, soon becoming one of its most brilliant orators and prominent leaders. When the party was reorganized in 1904 into the Unified Socialist party, Viviani, like fellow Socialist Aristide Briand, stayed outside, and thenceforth called himself an Independent Socialist. He served as Minister of Public Instruction in the ministry of Gaston Doumergue. Viviani was an antisemite, arguing that "antisemitism is the best form of social struggle".

In the spring of 1914 an exceptionally radical chamber was elected, and for a while it seemed that they would be unable to agree upon any one for Premier, but finally, he was appointed Prime Minister on 13 June 1914, by President Poincaré. He received a vote of confidence of 370 to 137. The chief issues were the maintenance of the law requiring three years' service in the army and provision for a loan of 1,800,000,000 francs ($360,000,000) for military preparations. Viviani supported both of these measures. During the July Crisis, he was largely dominated by President Poincaré. He retained the premiership for the first year of the First World War, but his tenure was undistinguished.

On 26 August 1914 Viviani reorganized his cabinet on a war basis with Alexandre Millerand replacing Adolphe Messimy as Minister of War. Along with President Poincaré and War Minister Millerand he attended a June 1915 meeting of Joffre (Commander-in-Chief) and his Army Group Commanders (Foch, Castelnau and Dubail), a rare attempt at political oversight at this stage of the war.

By autumn 1915 Viviani's government was in trouble following the resignation of Delcassé as Foreign Minister, the unsuccessful western front offensive and the entry of Bulgaria into the war. Although he survived a no confidence vote by 372–9, there were many abstentions. General Gallieni agreed to replace Millerand as Minister of War, but other French politicians refused to join Viviani's government, so he resigned on 27 October 1915. Viviani served as Vice-President of the Council of Ministers (Deputy Prime Minister) and Gallieni as War Minister in Aristide Briand's new ministry.

In April 1917 Viviani led a mission to the US, which had just entered the war "associated with" the Allies. He was overshadowed by Marshal Joffre, who attracted much more attention from the American press.

During Viviani's time as prime minister, a law was adopted in July 1915 providing for special boards to fix such a wage for women employed in home-work in the clothing industry. In May 1919 the Chamber of Deputies finally debated the bill proposed by Paul Dussaussoy in 1906 for limited women's suffrage. Viviani gave an eloquent speech in its support, and the chamber voted in its favour by 344 to 97.

Viviani's First Government, 13 June – 26 August 1914

 * René Viviani – President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs
 * Adolphe Messimy – Minister of War
 * Louis Malvy – Minister of the Interior
 * Joseph Noulens – Minister of Finance
 * Maurice Couyba – Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions
 * Jean-Baptiste Bienvenu-Martin – Minister of Justice
 * Armand Gauthier de l'Aude – Minister of Marine
 * Victor Augagneur – Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts.
 * Fernand David – Minister of Agriculture
 * Maurice Raynaud – Minister of Colonies
 * René Renoult – Minister of Public Works
 * Gaston Thomson – Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts, and Telegraphs

Changes
 * 3 August 1914 – Gaston Doumergue succeeds Viviani as Minister of Foreign Affairs.  succeeds l'Aude as Minister of Marine. Albert Sarraut succeeds Augagneur as Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts.

Viviani's Second Ministry, 26 August 1914 – 29 October 1915

 * René Viviani – President of the Council
 * Théophile Delcassé – Minister of Foreign Affairs
 * Alexandre Millerand – Minister of War
 * Louis Malvy – Minister of the Interior
 * Alexandre Ribot – Minister of Finance
 * Jean-Baptiste Bienvenu-Martin – Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions
 * Aristide Briand – Minister of Justice
 * Victor Augagneur – Minister of Marine
 * Albert Sarraut – Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts
 * Fernand David – Minister of Agriculture
 * Gaston Doumergue – Minister of Colonies
 * Marcel Sembat – Minister of Public Works
 * Gaston Thomson – Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts, and Telegraphs
 * Jules Guesde – Minister without Portfolio

Changes
 * 13 October 1915 – Viviani succeeds Delcassé as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

title: René Viviani


text:
Flag of British Columbia

The flag of British Columbia is based upon the shield of the provincial arms of British Columbia. At the top of the flag is a rendition of the Royal Union Flag, defaced in the centre by a crown, and with a setting sun, a view from parliament across the water at the province capitol, representing the location of the province of British Columbia at the western end of Canada.

History
From 1870 to 1906, British Columbia was occasionally represented by a modified British blue ensign featuring various forms of the great seal of the Colony of British Columbia. The current flag of British Columbia was based upon the 1906 arms of the province, designed by Arthur John Beanlands, the canon of Christ Church Cathedral. Originally, the arms featured the Union Flag on the bottom. This was changed as it conflicted with the expression "The sun never sets on the British Empire." Based upon Beanlands' revised design, the flag of British Columbia was introduced on June 14, 1960, by Premier W. A. C. Bennett, and was first flown on board the BC Ferries motor vessel Sidney (later Queen of Sidney).

Design
The four wavy white and three wavy blue lines symbolize the province's location between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. The setting sun represents the fact that British Columbia is Canada's westernmost province. The image of the continuously rising sun refers to the provincial motto —suggesting the idea that the sun never sets (on the British Empire). The Union Flag on top reflects the province's British heritage, while the crown in the centre represents British Columbia becoming a Crown colony and achieving responsible government. The flag has an aspect ratio of 3:5.

A stylized version of the flag that appears on British Columbia licence plates incorrectly features the setting sun overlapping the Union Flag instead of the waves.

The flag of British Columbia is similar to the flag of the British Indian Ocean Territory. It also bears similarities to the arms of Suffolk County Council, the local authority of the county of Suffolk in the United Kingdom, as well as the flag of Kiribati, which features the blue waves for the Pacific Ocean and a sun for its own reasons.

title: Flag of British Columbia


text:
Louis Barthou

Jean Louis Barthou (25 August 1862 – 9 October 1934) was a French politician of the Third Republic who served as Prime Minister of France for eight months in 1913. In social policy, his time as prime minister saw the introduction (in July 1913) of allowances to families with children.

In 1917 and in 1934, Barthou also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Early life
Louis Barthou was born on 25 August 1862 in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France.

Career
Barthou served as a deputy from his home constituency and was an authority on trade-union history and law.

He served as prime minister from 22 March 1913 to 9 December 1913. In social policy, Barthou's time as prime minister saw the passage of a law in June 1913 aimed at safeguarding women workers before and after childbirth.

He also held ministerial office on 13 other occasions. He served as Foreign Minister in 1917 and 1934. He was the primary figure behind the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance of 1935, but it was signed by his successor, Pierre Laval. As a national World War I hero and a recognized author, Barthou was elected to the Académie française at the end of that war.

In 1934 he tried to create an Eastern Pact, which would have included Germany (in some proposals) the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia and the Baltic states on the basis of guarantees - of the European borders of the Soviet Union by France, and of the eastern borders of Nazi Germany by the Soviet Union. He succeeded in obtaining the entry of the Soviet Union into the League of Nations in September 1934. In response to the withdrawal of Nazi Germany from the League in 1933, he began a program of rearmament, which focused initially on the Navy and the Air Force.

Barthou was a lover of the arts, and in power he worked with leaders of the arts to publicize their fields. He felt that world-class leadership in the arts made Paris a mecca for tourists and collectors, and enhanced the nation's stature worldwide as the exemplar of truth and beauty. In turn, the arts community honoured Barthou by dubbing him the "minister of poets".

Death
As Foreign Minister, Barthou met King Alexander I of Yugoslavia during his state visit to Marseille in October 1934. On 9 October, King Alexander was assassinated by Vlado Chernozemski, a Bulgarian revolutionary wielding a handgun. Another bullet struck Barthou in the arm, passing through and fatally severing an artery. He died of blood loss less than an hour later. The assassination had been planned in Rome by Ante Pavelić, head of the Croatian Ustaše, in August 1934. Pavelić was assisted by Georg Percevic, a former Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces officer. France unsuccessfully requested the extradition of Percevic and Pavelić. This assassination ended the careers of the Bouches-du-Rhone prefect, Pierre Jouhannaud, and of the director of the Surete Nationale, Jean Berthoin.

A ballistic report on the bullets found in the car was made in 1935, but its results were not made available to the public until 1974. The report revealed that Barthou had been hit by an 8 mm Modèle 1892 revolver round, commonly used in weapons carried by French police. Thus Barthou was killed during the frantic police response, rather than by the assassin.

Legacy
The deaths of Barthou and the King led to the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Terrorism concluded at Geneva by the League of Nations on 16 November 1937. The Convention was signed by 25 nations, ratified only by India. Barthou was granted a state funeral four days after his demise.

Barthou's ministry, 22 March 1913 – 9 December 1913

 * Louis Barthou – President of the Council and Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts
 * Stéphen Pichon – Minister of Foreign Affairs
 * Eugène Étienne – Minister of War
 * Louis Lucien Klotz – Minister of the Interior
 * Charles Dumont – Minister of Finance
 * Henry Chéron – Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions
 * Antony Ratier – Minister of Justice
 * Pierre Baudin – Minister of Marine
 * Étienne Clémentel – Minister of Agriculture
 * Jean Morel – Minister of Colonies
 * Joseph Thierry – Minister of Public Works
 * Alfred Massé – Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts, and Telegraphs

title: Louis Barthou


text:
USS Independence (CV-62)

The fifth USS Independence (CV/CVA-62) was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. She was the fourth and final member of the Forrestal-class aircraft carrier of conventionally powered supercarriers. She entered service in 1959, with much of her early years spent in the Mediterranean Fleet.

Independence was decommissioned in 1998 after 39 years of active service. Stored in recent years at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, the ex-Independence was towed beginning on 10 March 2017 to Brownsville, Texas for scrapping. She arrived on 1 June 2017 and dismantling was completed by early 2019.

Design and construction
The Forrestal-class aircraft carriers were designed in the early 1950s as a smaller version of the cancelled United States-class "supercarriers". Unlike the United States class, they were to operate in both the nuclear strike and conventional roles, and were therefore intended to carry a mixed fleet of fighters, light attack and heavy attack aircraft, all of which were to be jets. The carriers were designed around the large new Douglas A3D Skywarrior bomber, with four deck-edge aircraft elevators large enough to handle the new bomber. As jet aircraft needed much more fuel than piston-engined aircraft, the Forrestal class had a much greater aviation fuel capacity than existing carriers, with 750000 usgal of Avgas and 789000 usgal of jetfuel, more than double that carried in the Midway-class aircraft carriers.

Independence was built with an angled flight deck with four C-7 steam catapults, two on the bow and two on the angled deck. She was fitted with AN/SPS-37 long-range search radar and AN/SPS-8B height finding radar. Defensive armament consisted of eight 5"/54 caliber Mark 42 guns mounted on sponsons jutting out from the sides of the ship so they did not interfere with the flight deck. The initial air wing of the Forrestal-class carriers was about 90 aircraft, although this varied with the composition of the airwing.

The contract to build Independence, the fourth Forrestal-class carrier was awarded to the Brooklyn Navy Yard on 2 July 1954, with the ship being laid down on 1 July 1955. She was launched on 6 June 1958 by the wife of Thomas S. Gates, the Secretary of the Navy, and commissioned on 10 January 1959.

Testing and workup
Independence conducted shakedown training under her first captain, Captain R. Y. McElroy, with the first landing-on being carried out by a Grumman Trader carrier onboard delivery aircraft on 2 March 1959. She arrived at her new homeport of Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia on 30 June 1959, and then carried out a ten-week training cruise in the Caribbean. During these trials, while carrying out compatibility tests aboard the new carrier, a Douglas A3D Skywarrior was catapulted off Independence at a gross weight of 84,000 pounds (38,000 kg), the heaviest aircraft to take off from a carrier at the time.

1960–1964
Independence operated off the Virginia Capes for the next year on training maneuvers, and departed 4 August 1960 for her first cruise to the Mediterranean. There, she added to the power of the 6th Fleet in the region, remaining in the eastern Mediterranean until her return to Norfolk 3 March 1961. On 4 August 1961, she departed again for the Mediterranean to join the US 6th fleet for another cruise and returned on 19 December 1961 to Norfolk.

Independence sailed on 19 April 1962 for Sixth Fleet duty in support of President John F. Kennedy's firm stand on Berlin during a recurrence of stress in a critical area. She returned to Norfolk 27 August and sailed 11 October for the Caribbean Sea. Called on by President Kennedy on 24 October during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Independence she acted as a key participant in the U.S. naval blockade of Cuba. She arrived off Puerto Rico in response to the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba and took part in the quarantine operations until the resolution of the crisis. She then returned to Norfolk on 25 November for readiness exercises along the eastern seaboard, overhaul in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay.

Independence departed Norfolk on 6 August 1963 to take part in combined readiness exercises in the Bay of Biscay with sea-air units of the United Kingdom and France then entered the Mediterranean on 21 August for further duty with the Sixth Fleet. Cruising throughout the Mediterranean, she gained much valuable experience during combined NATO exercises, including close air support to Turkish paratroops, reconnaissance, communications, and convoy strike support. President Makarios of Cyprus paid her a visit on 7 October 1963, after which she took part in bilateral U.S.-Italian exercises in the Adriatic with Italian patrol torpedo boats, and U.S.-French exercises, which pitted her aircraft against French interceptors and a surface action with the French cruiser FRENCH CRUISER Colbert. She returned to Norfolk on 4 March 1964.

Following training exercises, ranging north to New York and south to Naval Station Mayport, Florida, Independence departed Norfolk 8 September 1964 for NATO Teamwork exercises in the Norwegian Sea and off the coast of France, then to Gibraltar. She returned to Norfolk 5 November 1964 and entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for overhaul.

1965–1970
On 10 May 1965, Independence deployed for more than seven months, including 100 days in the South China Sea, off the coast of Vietnam, the first Atlantic Fleet carrier to do so. She also was the fifth U.S. carrier to operate off Vietnam. Independence and her embarked Carrier Air Wing 7 received the Navy Unit Commendation for exceptionally meritorious service from 5 June to 21 November 1965. The carrier's air group participated in the first major series of coordinated strikes against vital enemy supply lines north of the Hanoi-Haiphong complex, successfully evading the first massive surface-to-air missile barrage in aviation history while attacking assigned targets, and executing, the first successful attack on an enemy surface-to-air missile installation. The carrier launched more than 7,000 sorties, sustaining an exceptional pace of day and night strike operations against military and logistic supply facilities in North Vietnam. "The superior team spirit, courage, professional competence, and devotion to duty displayed by the officers and men of Independence and embarked Attack Carrier Air Wing Seven reflect great credit upon themselves and the United States Naval Service." Independence returned to her homeport, Norfolk, arriving 13 December 1965. During the first half of 1966, she operated off Norfolk, replenishing and training air groups. On 4 May 1966, she participated in Operation Strikex. The carrier departed Norfolk 13 June for European operations with the Sixth Fleet. Independence was involved with unit and NATO exercises from July into December. She then continued her Sixth Fleet deployment returning to CONUS in early 1967. After a few months of local operations, she underwent an extensive overhaul at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

On 30 April 1968, Independence steamed to the Mediterranean Sea for a nine-month deployment. She returned to Pier 12 NOB Norfolk, Virginia on 27 January 1969. On 3 September 1969, the Independence departed Norfolk to participate in NATO exercises in the North Atlantic, (NORLANT), where she participated in testing the Hawker Siddeley Harrier in flight deck operations, returning home on 9 October 1969. Independence was again deployed to the Mediterranean on 23 June 1970, returning to Pier 12 on 31 January 1971. It was during this cruise that the ship was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation in support of actions against the PLO during the Jordanian crisis.

1970–1979
On 25 September 1970, the news was received that Gamal Abdel Nasser, President of the United Arab Republic had died; an event that might plunge the Middle East into a crisis. Independence, along with USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), USS Saratoga (CV-60), and seven other U.S. Navy ships were put on standby in case U.S. military protection was needed for the evacuation of U.S. citizens and as a counterbalance to the Soviet Union's Mediterranean fleet.

Pilots of VMA-142, -131 and -133 began qualification landings in A-4 Skyhawks aboard Independence on 3 August 1971. For the next three days, four active duty and 20 reserve pilots operated aboard the carrier —the first time that Marine Corps Reserve squadrons qualified in carrier duty.

Deploying from Norfolk in September 1971, the crew earned the designation as 'Blue Nose' sailors when the Independence crossed the Arctic Circle on 28 September. During subsequent operations in the North Sea, Independence conducted cross-deck operations with the British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal (R09) and transited the English Channel en route to the Strait of Gibraltar and scheduled operations in the Mediterranean Sea.

In May 1973, President Richard M. Nixon delivered his annual Armed Forces Day address from the decks of Independence. While based in Norfolk, the ship made deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. From 8 to 13 October 1973, Task Group 60.1 with Independence, Task Force 60.2 with USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42), and Task Forces 61/62 with USS Guadalcanal (LPH-7) were alerted for possible evacuation contingencies in the Middle East as a result of the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Arab states and Israel. Independence operated off the island of Crete.

In the summer of 1974, Independence departed Norfolk for yet another 'Med Cruise', operating with CTG 60.1 and CVW-7. Relieving Franklin D. Roosevelt, Independence and Saratoga continued the tradition of steaming the Mediterranean while being shadowed by Soviet aircraft and ships. On 8 September 1974, Independence and other ships steamed to the crash site of TWA Flight 841, which had been brought down by a terrorist bomb, and its crew spent two days retrieving the remains of the ill-fated jetliner and of the persons on board.

On 20 June 1979, Lieutenant Donna L. Spruill became the first female Navy pilot to carrier qualify in a fixed-wing aircraft. Lieutenant Spruill piloted a C-1A Trader to an arrested landing aboard Independence.

1980–1989
On 19 November 1980, Independence with Carrier Air Wing Six (AE) embarked, deployed to the Indian Ocean along with the cruiser USS Harry E. Yarnell (CG-17) and was on watch along with Ranger on "Gonzo Station" as President Reagan took office and the Iranian Hostages were freed. Subsequently, completing an Indian Ocean cruise, Independence transited the Suez Canal northbound, shortly after USS America (CV-66) had transited southbound, making America the first United States Navy carrier (and, thus, Independence the second) to transit the Suez Canal since USS Intrepid (CV-11) in 1967. Independence completed a deployment of 204 days. Scheduled to go to Singapore, the crew was instead diverted to the Persian Gulf to back up USS Nimitz (CV-68) during the Iran Hostage Crisis mission with Capt. Thomas E. Shanahan Commanding. After the Gulf, Independence and her battle group visited Perth/Fremantle, Western Australia from 2 to 7 February for R&R. Upon completion of the deployment, Captain Shanahan was promoted to rear admiral.

In 1982, Independence provided critical support to the multinational peacekeeping force in Lebanon. On 25 June, the greatest concentration of U.S. Navy air power in the Mediterranean Sea resulted when the battle groups of Forrestal and Independence joined forces with USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and John F. Kennedy. After steaming together in the eastern Mediterranean Sea for several days, Forrestal and Independence relieved Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy, the latter sailing home to Norfolk, after a long deployment. In late October 1983, Independence's battle group (Carrier Group Four), assigned to the United States Second Fleet, became the core of Task Group 20.5, the carrier task group that would support the Invasion of Grenada. On 25 October 1983, aircraft from Independence's embarked air wing flew missions supporting the invasion. Returning to Lebanon that same year, the ship's air wing conducted air strikes against Syrian positions.

In 1984, she won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the Atlantic Fleet.

On 17 February 1985, Independence arrived at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard to undergo a modernization and overhaul program to extend her service life by 15 years. The flight deck was improved to allow the recovery of high-performance aircraft while the ship traveled at slower speeds, and the NATO Sea Sparrow launchers were upgraded. Other improvements improved the ship's fuel consumption. Independence completed the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in June 1988. Setting sail 15 August 1988 from Norfolk, the ship transited the tip of South America and arrived at her new homeport of NAS North Island, in San Diego, California, 8 October.

The Paramount film Flight of the Intruder (1991), starring Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, and Brad Johnson was filmed partly on Independence. The aircraft carrier went out for two weeks of filming in November 1989; the on-board fire party was kept busy dealing with the numerous small electrical fires that the movie crew had started with their lighting equipment.

1990–1995
In June 1990, with Carrier Air Wing 14 embarked, Independence departs San Diego on a routine WESTPAC. On 2 August, in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, Independence, leading Task Group 800.1, which included Jouett (CG-29), was sent to deter further Iraqi aggression during Operation Desert Shield. Arriving on station in the Gulf of Oman on 5 August, Independence was the first carrier to enter the Persian Gulf since 1974. The ship remained on station for 112 days and permanently reestablished a U.S. naval presence in the region. She returned to San Diego on 20 December 1990. Independence changed homeports again on 11 September 1991—this time to Yokosuka, Japan, embarking Carrier Air Wing 5 and becoming the Navy's only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier, and flagship for Commander, Carrier Group Five.

On 23 August 1992, Independence entered the Persian Gulf, under the Command of Captain Carter B. Refo prepared to enforce an Allied ban on Iraqi flights over south Iraq below the 32nd parallel north. On 26 August, President George H. W. Bush announced that the United States and its allies had informed Iraq that in 24 hours allied aircraft would fly surveillance missions in southern Iraq and were prepared to shoot down any Iraqi aircraft flying south of the 32nd parallel. The action was precipitated by Iraq's failure to comply with U.N. Resolution 688, which demanded that the Iraqi government stop the repression of its Shiite population in southern Iraq.

Persian Gulf allies began to enforce the ban on Iraqi planes from flying south of the 32nd parallel on 27 August in Operation Southern Watch. Any Iraqi planes that violated the ban would be shot down. Twenty Navy aircraft from CVW-5 aboard Independence in the Persian Gulf were the first coalition aircraft on station over Iraq as Operation Southern Watch began. Southern Watch was the enforcement of a ban on Iraqi warplanes and helicopters from flying south of the 32nd parallel.

Independence became the most battle experienced ship in the Navy's active fleet, and the first carrier in history to hold that distinction, on 30 June 1995. With this honor, Independence displayed the Revolution-era First Navy Jack, commonly called the "Don't Tread on Me" flag, from her bow until her decommissioning. The flag was presented to Independence's commanding officer Capt. David P. Polatty III in a formal ceremony on 1 July. The flag was received from USS Mauna Kea (AE-22) upon her decommissioning.

In November 1995, Independence and Carrier Air Wing Five returned to Japan after successfully completing their third deployment to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch.

1996–1998

In March 1996, Independence was deployed to the waters east of Taiwan to provide a stabilizing presence amid the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis. She was joined in the area by Nimitz as the People's Republic of China lobbed missiles into Taiwanese territorial waters. On returning to Yokosuka in April 1996, the ship was visited by President Bill Clinton as part of an official state visit to Japan.

In 1997, Independence made a four-month deployment, covering several major exercises and seven ports of call. Included in these ports of call were two historic port visits. The first was 28 February 1997 to the island territory of Guam. Independence was the first aircraft carrier to pull into Guam in 36 years.

The second, two months later, was to Port Klang, Malaysia. Independence became the first aircraft carrier in the world to make a port visit to Malaysia.

Before sailing back to Yokosuka, Japan, Independence made her last port call of the deployment in May 1997 to Hong Kong. The ship's port call was the last U.S. naval visit to the territory before its handover to China on 1 July 1997.

Independence deployed to the Persian Gulf in January 1998 to support negotiations between the UN and Iraq and to again participate in Operation Southern Watch, prior to being relieved at Yokosuka by USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63).

In popular culture
Independence was used for filming the 1991 movie Flight Of The Intruder with shots of the CV 62 number on the island and credit at the end of the film.

Decommissioning and fate
Independence was decommissioned in ceremonies at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, on 30 September 1998. At the conclusion of this ceremony, in keeping with naval tradition, Independence's last commanding officer, Captain (later Rear Admiral) Mark R. Milliken, USN, was the last person to depart the ship.

Independence's commissioning pennant was hauled down 39 years, 9 months and 20 days after it was first hoisted, and the "Don't Tread on Me" First Navy Jack was transferred to the Navy's next oldest active ship, the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk.

After decommissioning, Independence remained in mothballs for five and a half years before being struck on 8 March 2004. During her time in mothballs, the ship was said to have been heavily stripped to support the active carrier fleet, especially the remaining Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carriers. Her port anchor and both anchor chains were used on the new Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77). The recycling of parts and the poor material condition of the ship at the time she was withdrawn made a strong argument against retaining her as a potential museum ship. In April 2004, Navy officials identified ex-Independence as one of 24 decommissioned ships available to be sunk as artificial reefs. However, as of February 2008, she was scheduled to be dismantled in the next five years along with USS Constellation (CV-64). At that time, she was still available for donation as a reef while awaiting a contract for her dismantling to be awarded.

On 26 January 2012, the Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command posted a notice of solicitation for the towing and complete dismantlement of multiple CV-59/CV-63 Class Aircraft Carriers in the United States, including Forrestal, Independence, and Constellation. The impacts of an initial scraping for marine life in the Puget Sound required remediation with a layer of sand over the scraping area.

Following the disposal of USS Ranger (CV-61) and Constellation, on 10 March 2017 ex-Independence began her 16,000-mile journey from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to Brownsville, Texas for dismantling by International Shipbreaking Limited. On 26 April 2017, she was on her way through the Strait of Magellan, and on 30 May 2017 she arrived at Brownsville, where a special ceremony was held at Isla Blanca Park for veterans, school children and members of the local community to honour the vessel. Scrapping was completed by early 2019.

Two of the ship's propellers are on display at South Padre Island.

title: USS Independence (CV-62)


text:
Joseph Caillaux

Joseph-Marie–Auguste Caillaux (30 March 1863 Le Mans – 22 November 1944 Mamers) was a French politician of the Third Republic. He was a leader of the French Radical Party and Minister of Finance, but his progressive views in opposition to the military alienated him from conservative elements. He was accused of corruption, but was cleared by a parliamentary commission. This political weakness strengthened the right wing elements in the Radical Party.

Biography
After studying law and following lectures at the École des Sciences Politiques, he entered the civil service in 1888 as an inspector of finance, and spent most of his official career in Algiers. Standing as a Republican candidate in the elections of 1898 for the department of the Sarthe, in opposition to the Duc de la Rochefoucault-Bisaccia, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies by 12,929 votes to 11,737. He became Minister of Finance in the Waldeck-Rousseau Cabinet, and after its fall it was not until the Clemenceau Ministry of 1906 that he returned to office, once more with the portfolio of Finance. During the revolt of the Languedoc winegrowers on 22 May 1907 Caillaux tabled a bill on wine fraud. The text submitted to Parliament provided for an annual declaration of their harvest by wine growers, prohibition of second-cycle sweetening, and control and taxation of purchases of sugar.

In 1911 he became prime minister. The leader of the Radicals, he favored a policy of conciliation with Germany during his premiership from 1911 to 1912, which led to the maintenance of the peace during the Second Moroccan Crisis of 1911. He and his ministers were forced to resign on 11 January 1912, after it was revealed that he had secretly negotiated with Germany without the knowledge of President Armand Fallières.

Nevertheless, thanks to his undoubted qualities as a financier, he remained a great power in French politics. He fought the Three Years' Service bill with the utmost tenacity. Although that measure became law, it was he who finally, on the financial aspect of that bill, brought about the downfall of the Barthou Ministry in the autumn of 1913.

While the Entente Cordiale was in effect, it was impossible for Caillaux to return to the position of prime minister, but he joined the succeeding Doumergue Cabinet as Minister of Finance. As a financial expert, he had long identified himself with a great and necessary reform in the fiscal policy of France—the introduction of the principle of an income tax. Throughout the winter of 1913, he campaigned for this principle. His advocacy of an income tax, and his uncertain and erratic championship of proletarian ideas, alarmed all the conservative elements in the country, and throughout the winter he was attacked with increasing vehemence from the platform and through the press. Those attacks reached their highest point of bitterness in a series of disclosures in the newspaper Le Figaro of a more or less personal nature.

In 1914, Le Figaro started the publication of love letters that had been sent by Caillaux to his second wife Henriette while he was still married to the first, Berthe Gueydan. In March 1914, Madame Caillaux in turn shot to death Gaston Calmette, the editor of Le Figaro, and Caillaux resigned as Minister of Finance. In July 1914, Madame Caillaux was acquitted on the grounds that she committed a crime passionel.

Caillaux became the leader of a peace party in the Assembly during World War I. After a mission to South America, he returned in 1915, and at once began to lobby. He financed newspapers, and did everything he possibly could behind the scenes to consolidate his position. He became acquainted with the Bolos and the Malvys of political and journalistic life. By the spring of 1917, he had become in the eyes of the public "l'homme de la défaite", the man who was willing to effect a compromise peace with Germany at the expense of Great Britain. However, the advent of Clemenceau to power killed all his hopes. This led to his arrest for treason in 1917. After a long delay, he was convicted of high treason by the High Court of the Senate, and sentenced to three years' imprisonment, the term he had already served. He was also forbidden to reside in French territory for five years and deprived of civil rights for ten years.

Again rehabilitated after World War I, Caillaux served at various times in the left wing governments of the 1920s.

On 10 July 1940, Caillaux voted as a Senator in favour of granting the cabinet presided by Marshal Philippe Pétain authority to draw up a new constitution, thereby effectively ending the French Third Republic and establishing Vichy France.

Joseph Caillaux is interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

His political collaborators included the Nord region journalist and politician Émile Roche.

Caillaux's Ministry, 27 June 1911 – 11 January 1912

 * Joseph Caillaux – President of the Council and Minister of the Interior and Worship
 * Justin de Selves – Minister of Foreign Affairs
 * Adolphe Messimy – Minister of War
 * Louis-Lucien Klotz – Minister of Finance
 * René Renoult – Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions
 * Jean Cruppi – Minister of Justice
 * Théophile Delcassé – Minister of Marine
 * Théodore Steeg – Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts
 * Jules Pams – Minister of Agriculture
 * Albert Lebrun – Minister of Colonies
 * Victor Augagneur – Minister of Public Works, Posts, and Telegraphs
 * Maurice Couyba – Minister of Commerce and Industry

Works

 * The Fiscal Question in France, King, 1900.
 * Whither France? Whither Europe?, T. Fisher Unwin, 1923.

Articles

 * "Economics and Politics in Europe," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 1, No. 2, 15 December 1922.
 * "France's Needs and Europe's Danger," The Living Age, 10 February 1923.
 * "Destiny Has Changed Horses," The Living Age, 4 October 1924.
 * "A United States of Europe," The Living Age, 6 June 1925.
 * "A Gospel of Firmness and Vigor," The Living Age, 31 July 1926.
 * "Whither is Civilisation Drifting?," The Windsor Magazine, Vol. LXX, June/November 1929.

title: Joseph Caillaux


text:
Ernest Monis

Antoine Emmanuel Ernest Monis (23 May 1846 in Châteauneuf-sur-Charente, in Charente – 25 May 1929 in Mondouzil, in Haute-Garonne) was a French politician of the Third Republic, deputy of Gironde from 1885 to 1889 and then senator of the same department from 1891 to 1920. He was Prime Minister of France for just under four months in 1911. He was also Minister of Justice in Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau's Bloc des gauches's cabinet (1899–1902) and Minister of the Navy in Gaston Doumergue's cabinet in 1913–1914.

Monis and his son were both injured in the opening event of the 1911 Paris to Madrid air race, which saw the Minister of War Henri Maurice Berteaux killed.

Monis's Ministry, 2 March – 27 June 1911

 * Ernest Monis – President of the Council and Minister of the Interior and Worship
 * Jean Cruppi – Minister of Foreign Affairs
 * Maurice Berteaux – Minister of War
 * Joseph Caillaux – Minister of Finance
 * Joseph Paul-Boncour – Minister of Labour and Social Security Provisions
 * Antoine Perrier – Minister of Justice
 * Théophile Delcassé – Minister of Marine
 * Théodore Steeg – Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts
 * Jules Pams – Minister of Agriculture
 * Adolphe Messimy – Minister of Colonies
 * Charles Dumont – Minister of Public Works, Posts, and Telegraphs
 * Alfred Massé – Minister of Commerce and Industry

Changes
 * 21 May 1911 – François Louis Auguste Goiran succeeds Berteaux as Minister of War.

title: Ernest Monis


text:
Ferdinand Sarrien

Jean Marie Ferdinand Sarrien ((15 October 1840 – 28 November 1915) was a French politician of the Third Republic. He was born in Bourbon-Lancy, Saône-et-Loire and died in Paris. He headed a cabinet supported by the Bloc des gauches (Left-Wing Coalition) parliamentary majority.

Biography
Ferdinand Sarrien was born on 15 October 1840 in Bourbon-Lancy. After studying law, he became a lawyer. During the Franco-Prussian War he was distinguished and was decorated. As a member of the Republican party, he became mayor of his hometown. However, in 1873, he was discharged by the monarchist cabinet of Albert de Broglie. He became Prime Minister in 1906, in succession to Maurice Rouvier. His ministry lasted only six months, before he resigned for health reasons, but it was noteworthy for the number of strong personalities it included.

Sarrien's Ministry, 12 March – 25 October 1906

 * Ferdinand Sarrien – President of the Council and Minister of Justice
 * Léon Bourgeois – Minister of Foreign Affairs
 * Eugène Étienne – Minister of War
 * Georges Clemenceau – Minister of the Interior
 * Raymond Poincaré – Minister of Finance
 * Gaston Doumergue – Minister of Labour, Commerce, and Industry
 * Gaston Thomson – Minister of Marine
 * Aristide Briand – Minister of Public Instruction, Fine Arts, and Worship
 * Joseph Ruau – Minister of Agriculture
 * Georges Leygues – Minister of Colonies
 * Louis Barthou – Minister of Public Works, Posts, and Telegraphs

title: Ferdinand Sarrien


text:
Talk:Lapwing

Crests
Do many lapwings have long wispy crests? If so, it'd be nice to mention. --Menchi (Talk)ü| â 08:20, 15 Dec 2003 (UTC)

 * I've added a general description to the article, jimfbleak

Red-kneed Dotterel
Red-kneed Dotterel - my books list this as Charadrius cinctus. Has there been recent evidence to support its transfer to the lapwings? MPF 15:00, 31 Jan 2004 (UTC)

 * About 90% of the references I can find point to Erythrogonys. - UtherSRG 15:32, 31 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Needs tightening
I must admit, this is a bit of a minefield, with some archaic nomenclature that must be accomodated. But the article first says that Vanellinae are included in plovers, and then states that plovers are included in Vanellinae. Aboctok (talk) 15:47, 8 August 2018 (UTC)

Decline and conservation
I have heard on the radio this morning (Sunday 16 September 2018) that there has been a decline in lapwing numbers in recent years, but there have been attempts to up the numbers of lapwings again by conservation methods. Does any one who edits this article know anything about this? Vorbee (talk) 08:08, 16 September 2018 (UTC)

title: Talk:Lapwing


text:
Guadalupe

Guadalupe or Guadeloupe may refer to:

Bolivia

 * Guadalupe, Potosí

Brazil

 * Guadalupe, Piauí, a municipality in the state of Piauí
 * Guadalupe, Rio de Janeiro, a neighbourhood in the city of Rio de Janeiro

Colombia

 * Guadalupe, Antioquia, a municipality and town
 * Guadalupe, Huila, a municipality and town
 * Guadalupe, Santander, a municipality and town
 * Guadalupe Hill, a hill in Bogotá

Costa Rica

 * Guadalupe, Costa Rica, a suburb of San José, Costa Rica

El Salvador

 * Guadalupe, San Vicente

France

 * Guadeloupe, a French overseas department in the Caribbean

Mexico

 * Guadalupe, Baja California
 * Guadalupe, Chihuahua
 * Guadalupe, Nuevo León, part of the metropolitan area of Monterrey

 * Guadalupe Etla, Oaxaca
 * Guadalupe, Puebla, see Municipalities of Puebla
 * Guadalupe, Zacatecas
 * Guadalupe de Ramírez, Oaxaca
 * Guadalupe y Calvo, Chihuahua
 * Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, a town near Mexico City, now a suburb incorporated into the city
 * Presa de Guadalupe, lake near Cuautitlán Izcalli
 * Guadalupe Island, an oceanic island off Baja California

Peru

 * Guadalupe, Peru

Philippines

 * Guadalupe, Cebu City, a barangay in Cebu City, Cebu
 * Guadalupe Nuevo and Guadalupe Viejo, two barangays in Makati

Portugal

 * Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe, a civil parish in Évora
 * Guadalupe (Santa Cruz da Graciosa), a civil parish in the municipality of Santa Cruz da Graciosa, island of Graciosa, Azores

São Tomé and Príncipe

 * Guadalupe, São Tomé and Príncipe

Spain

 * Guadalupe, Cáceres, a municipality in Extremadura
 * Guadalupe, Murcia, a village in the municipality and region of Murcia
 * Guadalupe (Spain), a river

United States

 * Guadalupe, Arizona
 * Guadalupe, California
 * Guadalupe County, Colorado Territory
 * Guadalupe, Colorado
 * Guadalupe County, New Mexico
 * Guadalupe County, Texas
 * Guadalupe Mountains, in New Mexico and Texas
 * Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
 * Guadalupe River (California)
 * Guadalupe River (Texas)
 * Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes, in California

Ships

 * USS Guadalupe (AO-32), a United States Navy replenishment oiler in commission from 1941 to 1974
 * USNS Guadalupe (T-AO-200), a United States Navy fleet replenishment oiler in service since 1992

Other uses

 * Guadalupe (name)
 * Guadalupe (film), a 2006 film
 * Guadalupe (Mexican TV series), a 1984 Mexican telenovela television series that aired on Canal de las Estrellas
 * Guadalupe (U.S. TV series), a 1993 American Spanish-language telenovela television series that was broadcast on Telemundo

title: Guadalupe