148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Somme
XIV Corps' infantry crossed the Combles Ravine, but did not get beyond their first or second objectives and failed to take the Quadrilateral, a strongpoint on a reverse slope that the bombardment had missed. Over following days the heavy artillery continued to pound the objectives that had not yet been taken – the Quadrilateral fell on 18 September after an accurate bombardment – and minor operations were carried out to prepare for the next major attack (the Battle of Morval). Poor visibility hindered artillery observation, particularly for CB fire, but the attack on 25 September was well served by the guns. The infantry advanced methodically and captured Morval and Lesbœufs, followed by Combles next day.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Somme
On 1 October a deliberate bombardment was opened along the whole Fourth Army front at 07.00, which continued without increase in the rate of fire until Zero (15.15) when the Battle of the Transloy Ridges was launched. XIV Corps played a minor part in the attack, but took advantage of the hour's intensive bombardment from 15.15 to make some minor advances. But heavy rain and mud made it difficult to serve the guns as the battle continued. 31st


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Somme
HAG HQ moved in on 5 October to take over command of a group of siege batteries including 148th as the fighting continued on the Transloy Ridges. The bombardments and CB work continued, with frequent breakdowns to the worn guns. 31st HAG's batteries bombarded Le Transloy village for the attack on 23 October, but the infantry formations were very weak and made only minor gains. Zenith Trench was captured on 29 October after it was bombarded by 148th and other batteries.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Somme
The end of the fighting on the Transloy Ridges also marked the end of XIV Corps' participation in the Somme Offensive. 31st HAG HQ left at the end of the month and 148th Siege Bty was transferred to 49th HAG on 29 October. At the time, the battery was at Guillemont. The battery commander, Major George Hugh-Jones (originally of the Essex & Suffolk RGA), was wounded on 4 November and Capt A.N. Street took command. 148th Siege Bty came under 28th HAG on 2 December. There was some firing on most days, when weather permitted observation.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Somme
The battery's regular targets included Sunken Trench and hostile batteries and strongpoints around Le Transloy. It was temporarily attached to 64th HAG while 28th HAG HQ  and several of the other batteries went to a rest camp in January 1917. Routine CB and HF fire continued in the new year, with an increasing number of short destructive bombardments of specific trenches.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Vimy
The Left half-battery of 148th Siege Bty pulled out on 14 March 1917 for a move north, the rest following on 23 March. It officially joined 53rd HAG with First Army on 21 March. First Army was preparing for the Arras Offensive, with 53rd HAG deployed at Mont-Saint-Éloi supporting Canadian Corps in the opening Battle of Vimy Ridge. Left half battery was in action on 29 March and the whole of 148th Siege Bty was in position by 1 April to participate in the preparations.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Vimy
Its targets included the Ecole Commune, Spandau House, Thélus, Farbus and Vimy village, as well as specific trenches and dugouts. The attack went in at 05.30 on 9 April behind a heavy barrage: 148th Siege Bty laid a barrage on Bloater Trench and the roads behind the Ecole Commune. The Canadians overran three lines of German trenches and seized the crest of the ridge. That afternoon the battery was able to fire at enemy infantry on the move and against a hostile battery to prevent them interfering. Firing continued until 14 April as the Canadians consolidated the captured ground and carried out a limited exploitation.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Vimy
On 15 April the battery officially came under 64th HAG, but there was no firing. On 24 April the Right half-battery took up new positions on the Lens–Arras road, targeting Arleux for the next phase of the offensive (the Battle of Arleux) and also carrying out wire-cutting for the infantry. The assault went in on 28 April but was not as successful as the earlier attacks. The battery then switched to targets at Fresnoy and Acheville for the Third Battle of the Scarpe on 3 May.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Vimy
After the initial barrage, the battery fired at German infantry moving up to counter-attack, causing many casualties. On 5 May the battery was firing at Oppy village when a German shell hit one of the ammunition dumps at the battery position, destroying a large number of cartridges. Fighting on this sector of the offensive died away thereafter, but the battery remained active, firing at Acheville Church, the brewery, and various trenches and machine gun posts, as well as feint barrages and at targets of opportunity.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Vimy
By now the guns were badly worn and needed recalibration, while one was sent to the workshops and the battery temporarily took over a gun of 1st Canadian Siege Bty. By 12 May three of the four guns were in the workshops, and the remaining one was put out of action by enemy CB fire that damaged the gun cradle and destroyed a great deal of ammunition. Only the Canadian gun could now be used, while the rest of the battery was pulled out.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Messines
On 17 May the battery reverted to 53rd HAG, now under IX Corps, and moved to new positions at Loker, south-west of Ypres, where Second Army was gathering artillery for the Battle of Messines. From 27 May Right half-battery of 148th Siege Bty began registering its guns on Bogaert Farm and Huns Farm near Wytschaete and on dugouts; Left half-battery joined in on 31 May against Box House. By 3 June the batteries were firing practice barrages and demonstrations to confuse the enemy. The bombardment continued until the assault went in on 7 June, following the explosion of huge mines.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Messines
The results of the limited attack were spectacular, with the whole Messines–Wytschaete Ridge being captured. In the IX Corps area, the 36th (Ulster) Division captured the wreckage of two woods and Bogaert Farm in between, finding that 'the ground about the strongpoints had been literally ploughed up by the bursts of the high-explosive shells during the bombardment; the barbed wire entanglements which had protected this are below the crest lay piled in twisted heaps, and everywhere was the wreckage of once solidly built dugouts and shelters'.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Ypres
The British artillery was repositioned after the battle, 148th Siege Bty pulling out on 10 June to join II Corps in the Dikkebus area with Fifth Army, where it joined 66th HAG on 17 June. On 22 June 356th Siege Battery joined II Corps. This battery had been raised at Harwich from a nucleus provided by details of the Essex & Suffolk RGA. It arrived with four new Mark II 9.2-inch howitzers, which it was ordered to hand over to 148th Siege Bty. 356th Siege Bty was then split up to reinforce other batteries, including 76th Siege Bty, also formed by the Essex & Suffolk RGA.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Ypres
Fifth Army HQ had been brought to the Ypres Salient to carry out the planned Flanders offensive (the Third Battle of Ypres). Although the preliminary bombardment had begun on 12 June, the Germans had air superiority and better OPs, and the British artillery in the Salient received considerable CB fire. However, the British build-up continued and as time went by the guns began to get the upper hand, with the full artillery preparation beginning on 16 July. The delayed attack (the Battle of Pilckem Ridge) was launched on 31 July.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Ypres
II Corps had the hardest task, and it received the heaviest German retaliatory fire; its divisions made little progress through the shattered woods onto the plateau in front of them. Deadlocked, the corps was unable to continue towards its second and third objectives. Heavy rain in the evening halted any further moves.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Ypres
During August the batteries of 66th HAG continued CB work for II Corps as the massed guns prepared the way for the next assault (the Battle of Langemarck) on 16 August. This was a failure and resulted in heavy casualties.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Ypres
As the Ypres offensive bogged down, Second Army took over its direction in September. 66th HAG continued CB work, now as a double group with 35th HAG. The attack on Glencorse Wood and Nonne Boschen Wood by 1st Australian Division on 20 September supported by 66th HAG during the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge was successful because the objectives were limited and the heavy artillery support was overwhelming. 66th HAG's batteries continued their CB fire for I ANZAC Corps' attack on Gheluvelt on 4 October (the Battle of Broodseinde).


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Ypres
But as the offensive continued with the Battle of Poelcappelle and First and Second Battles of Passchendaele, the tables were turned: British batteries were clearly observable from the Passchendaele Ridge and were subjected to hostile CB fire, while their own guns sank into the mud and became difficult to move and fire. To be able to supply them with ammunition the heavy guns had to stay strung out one behind the other along the few available roads, making them an easy target.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Winter 1917–18
The heavy artillery was reorganised on 17 October, 66th HAG going to another corps, and 148th Siege Bty coming under 22nd HAG. CB shoots in conjunction with observation aircraft continued until 22 November when 22nd HAG was reorganised as a bombardment group. 148th Siege Bty (by now at rest following the end of the offensive) transferred back to 28th HAG under II ANZAC Corps.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Winter 1917–18
Despite the appalling conditions, Corps HQ ordered 28th HAG to move up and maintain as many guns as possible in action for CB tasks, though as the German activity was lower than normal there were few calls to neutralise enemy batteries. However, 148th Siege Bty took several days to remount one of its 9.2s at Bellewaarde Lake, being impeded by fire from an enemy 5.9-inch howitzer, which damaged the gun's baseplate and carriage on 26 November and damaged it again two days later. December was quiet, apart from a few minor operations on the front.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Winter 1917–18
By now HAG allocations were becoming more fixed, and they were converted into permanent RGA brigades. 28th Brigade, which changed its designation on 23 December 1917, was defined as a Mixed Brigade, with guns and howitzers of several sizes. 148th Siege Bty remained with this brigade until the Armistice.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Spring Offensive
The German Spring Offensive was launched against Third and Fifth Armies on 21 March 1918. Second Army despatched reinforcements to help, including 28th Bde, but the 9.2s were deemed too slow: 148th Siege Bty took over the guns of 188th Siege Bty and was then left at Ypres under II Corps in the northernmost part of the Ypres Salient while the rest of the batteries moved out by road.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Spring Offensive
The second phase of the German offensive (the Battle of the Lys was launched in early April and 28th Bde was involved in the fighting with some of its batteries under the tactical command of 51st (Highland) Division. 148th Siege Bty probably rejoined at this time, because a number of casualties from the battery killed on 28 April are buried in La Kreule Military Cemetery at Hazebrouck.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Hundred Days Offensive
It was not until the summer, after the German offensives had been halted, that 28th Bde fullly re-assembled on 31 July, with its batteries deployed in the Forêt de Nieppe under command of XI Corps in the reconstituted Fifth Army. On 7 August, the day before the Allies began their final Hundred Days Offensive with the Battle of Amiens, the German made a withdrawal in front of XI Corps. 28th Brigade carried out numerous harassing fire (HF) tasks and established forward observation posts (OPs). On 9 August a section of 148th Siege Bty moved forward.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Hundred Days Offensive
By 18 August there were indications that the Germans intended a significant withdrawal on the Lys sector, and 148th Siege Bty moved forward again, in front of the forest. By the end of August the Germans had retired to Estaires, and then in September went back to the Aubers Ridge where they solidified their position. 148th Siege Bty carried out some training, and then on 9 September was sent to support XIII Corps.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Western Front, Hundred Days Offensive
Fifth Army began moving forwards again in early October after the battles of the Canal du Nord and St Quentin Canal. During this advance the 'heavies' were mainly used for HF tasks on the enemy's roads and tracks, and for concentrations on headquarters and the exits of villages. The enemy withdrew to the Escaut in mid-October. By now the offensive had turned into a pursuit, and many of the heavy batteries had to be left behind waiting for roads and bridges to be rebuilt. Fifth Army prepared to make an assault on the Escaut on 11 November, but the Germans retreated out of reach on 8 November. Hostilities were ended on 11 November by the Armistice with Germany.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Disbandment
28th Brigade was still with Fifth Army at the time of the Armistice. 148th Siege Bty caught up with it at Templeuve on 13 November. It then moved to Beugin, and education courses began for men awaiting demobilisation.


148th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Disbandment
148th Siege Bty was designated 116th Bty in 29th Bde RGA in the interim order of battle published on 21 May 1919, but this was scrapped after the signature of the Treaty of Versailles  in June and the battery was officially disbanded. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records 19 dead from 148th Siege Bty (there may be others where the battery is not specified).


148th Space Operations Squadron
The United States Air Force's 148th Space Operations Squadron (148 SOPS) is a satellite control unit located at Vandenberg AFB, California. The 148th SOPS is tasked with back-up command and control of the MILSTAR satellite constellation.


148th Space Operations Squadron, Mission
The 148 SOPS mans the Primary Satellite Operations Center-Vandenberg (PSOC-V), one of two fixed Milstar Ground Stations. Unique to Milstar is its ground segment for control of the constellation. Milstar has two fixed ground stations, Primary Satellite Operations Center (PSOC), at 4 SOPS and Primary Satellite Operations Center – Vandenberg or PSOC-V. Each site is fully capable of complete constellation control and operates 24/7. The Milstar Ops Center-Vandenberg is operated by the 148 SOPS, a California Air Guard Unit, and does control 2 Milstar satellites full-time.


148th Space Operations Squadron, History
The 148 SOPS was originally established as the 148th Combat Communications Squadron at Compton, California. The unit was redesignated the 148th Space Operations Squadron, and relocated to Vandenberg AFB, California on 31 October 2000.


148th meridian east
The meridian 148° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.


148th meridian east
The 148th meridian east forms a great circle with the 32nd meridian west.


148th meridian east, From Pole to Pole
Starting at the North Pole and heading south to the South Pole, the 148th meridian east passes through:


148th meridian west
The meridian 148° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.


148th meridian west
The 148th meridian west forms a great circle with the 32nd meridian east.


148th meridian west, From Pole to Pole
Starting at the North Pole and heading south to the South Pole, the 148th meridian west passes through:


149 (number)
149 (one hundred [and] forty-nine) is the natural number between 148 and 150. It is also a prime number.


149 (number), In mathematics
149 is the 35th prime number, and with the next prime number, 151, is a twin prime, thus 149 is a Chen prime.


149 (number), In mathematics
149 is an emirp, since the number 941 is also prime.


149 (number), In mathematics
149 is a strong prime in the sense that it is more than the arithmetic mean of its two neighboring primes.


149 (number), In mathematics
149 is an irregular prime since it divides the numerator of the Bernoulli number B130.


149 (number), In mathematics
149 is an Eisenstein prime with no imaginary part and a real part of the form 3n−1{\displaystyle 3n-1}.


149 (number), In mathematics
The repunit with 149 1s is a prime in base 5 and base 7.


149 (number), In mathematics
Given 149, the Mertens function returns 0. It is the third prime having this property.


149 (number), In mathematics
149 is a tribonacci number, being the sum of the three preceding terms, 24, 44, 81.


149 (number), In mathematics
149 is a strictly non-palindromic number, meaning that it is not palindromic in any base from binary to base 147. However, in base 10 (and also base 2), it is a full reptend prime, since the decimal expansion of 1/149 repeats 006711409395973154362416107382550335570469798657718120805369127516778523489932885906040268 4563758389261744966442953020134228187919463087248322147651 indefinitely.


149 BC
Year 149 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Censorinus and Manilius (or, less frequently, year 605 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 149 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.


149 Medusa
Medusa (minor planet designation: 149 Medusa) is a bright-coloured, stony main-belt asteroid that was discovered by French astronomer J. Perrotin on September 21, 1875, and named after the Gorgon Medusa, a snake-haired monster in Greek mythology.


149 Medusa
When it was discovered, Medusa was by far the smallest asteroid found (although this was not known at that time). Since then, many thousands of smaller asteroids have been found. It was also the closest asteroid to the Sun discovered up to that point, beating the long-held record of 8 Flora. It remained the closest asteroid to the Sun until 433 Eros and 434 Hungaria were found in 1898, leading to the discovery of two new families of asteroids inward from the 4:1 Kirkwood gap which forms the boundary of the main belt.


149 Medusa
Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico, during 2010 gave a light curve with a rather long rotation period of 26.038 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.56 ± 0.03 in magnitude.


149 Squadron (Israel)
149 Squadron, often referred to as the Smashing or Shattering Parrot (Hebrew: התוכי המנפץ) squadron is a former unit of the Israeli Air Force. Active from 1976 to 1991, the squadron flew the A-4 Skyhawk and IAI Kfir.


149 Squadron (Israel), History
149 Squadron was activated at Etzion in July 1976, the IAF's eighth and penultimate A-4 squadron. It was initially equipped with the E model of the Skyhawk, made available when 140 Squadron converted to A-4Ns, though by 1978 it was operating N model Skyhawks as well.


149 Squadron (Israel), History
From November 1980, while under the command of Lt. Col. Israel Parnas, 149 begun operating the new IAI Kfir C-2 alongside the Skyhawk, and by late 1981 had retired the older type. On May 4, 1981, the squadron lost one its Kfirs during dissimilar air combat training with IAF F-15 Eagles. Its pilot, Major Yoram Eitan, son of IDF Chief of the General Staff Rafael Eitan, was killed. In 1982, with Israel's evacuation of the Sinai following the Camp David accords, 149 Squadron moved to Ovda.


149 Squadron (Israel), History
On 19 July 1988, due to IAF downsizing and the need to provide additional civil airport capacity for Eilat, the squadron relocated to Hatzor. As other Kfir units eventually transitioned to the F-16 Fighting Falcon, 149 received additional aircraft and for a time may have been unusually large. It was finally disbanded in 1991, its aircraft stored at Ovda.


149 Squadron (Israel), History
149 Squadron was reportedly the IAF's Operational Training Unit for the Kfir, tasked with qualifying new airmen on the type. As such, it also flew the two seat variant of the Kfir, the TC-2. The squadron also operated two Kfirs modified for the reconnaissance role and designated RC-2. The two aircraft, 419 and 451 (initially 819 and 851), were converted to mount camera noses developed for the Dassault Mirage. Their guns were removed, the radar warning receivers were moved aft, a Doppler radar installed under the forward fuselage, and they were installed with additional piping to carry power to the nose. When the squadron disbanded, the two aircraft were transferred to 144 Squadron.


149 Squadron (Israel), Markings
149 Squadron A-4 Skyhawks bore the IAF's standard 4-tone Skyhawk camouflage scheme, with the black character aircraft code applied on the nose. Unlike other IAF Skyhawk squadrons, it had no distinctive rudder colors. Its Kfirs bore both the 2-tone 'compass gray' scheme and the F-16-style 4-tone scheme. In the late 1980s, its aircraft begun bearing blue and red tail flashes.


149 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air Force
The 149 Squadron "Shikra" of the Republic of Singapore Air Force is a fighter-bomber squadron based at Paya Lebar Air Base. The squadron goes by the motto "Steadfast" with the Shikra adopted as its mascot.


149 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air Force, History
Based at Paya Lebar Air Base, 149 Squadron was inaugurated on 1 June 1985 as one of the RSAF's fighter squadrons operating in the interceptor role. The squadron initially operated the supersonic F-5E/F Tiger II fighter aircraft, before converting to the improved F-5S/T Tiger-IIs fighter aircraft in the early 1990s, these were retrofitted with new state-of-the-art avionics giving the aircraft capability of carrying out both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions.


149 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air Force, History
On 5 April 2010, the squadron was re-inaugurated by Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean in an RSAF ceremony at Paya Lebar Air Base, with the arrival of five F-15SG strike fighters flown back the week before from Mountain Home Air Force Base in the United States.


149 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air Force, Information
The tail is adorned with a beige checkered tailband. The squadron's logo is centered with the serial number on the base of the tail.


149 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air Force, Achievements
The squadron found itself actively involved in several major multilateral exercises such as Exercise Bersama Shield and Bersama Lima under the ambit of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), and Exercise Cope Tiger with the US and Thailand air forces in 2007. The squadron has also won the Best Fighter Squadron award in the Singapore Armed Forces Best Unit Competition eight times, in 1986, 1988, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2018.


149 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air Force, Photo gallery
An F-5S Tiger-IIs of 149 Sqn taxiing towards the runway.


149 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air Force, Photo gallery
Personnel and staff of 149 Sqn based at Paya Lebar Air Base posing in front of the squadron's F-5S after winning the Best Fighter Squadron award 2004.


149 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air Force, Photo gallery
The squadron personnel and staff of 149 Sqn posing in front of the squadron's F-5S after winning the Best Fighter Squadron award 2008.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks
149–151 George Street, The Rocks is a heritage-listed duty-free store complex and former retail building and residence located at 149–151 George Street, in the inner city Sydney suburb of The Rocks in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1913 to 1913. It is also known as part of the Duty Free Store complex. The property is owned by Property NSW, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 10 May 2002.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, History
James Meehan's Survey of 1807 indicates that the subject site was first occupied by Surgeon General John White at Lot No. 4 and Captain William Raven at Lot No. 5. In c. 1835 Mrs Underwood was the owner and perhaps builder of three storey stone shops and houses each with seven rooms. By 1845 a two-storey brick house and shop with a shingle roof and five rooms was built. Also on this same allotment at the corner of George and Globe Streets a two-storey stone and brick house and store was erected. The five roomed house had "every convenience". In 1861 this building was used as a "Bowling Alley" managed by William Ogilvie. In 1871 in the tenements erected by Mrs Underwood, a public house was opened in today's No. 155 George Street, named the "Nil Desperandum Hotel".


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, History
By 1882 three two storey tenements were erected on the north side of the Hotel, which was at this time known as the New York Hotel. These shops and dwelling were constructed of brick and they were roofed in iron. In 1891 the building to the south corner of Globe and George Street (now 145 George Street) was demolished. In 1892 a three-storey brick and slate roofed shop and dwelling was erected for the Trustees of the Church of England at 145 George Street.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, History
In 1900 the entire Rocks area was resumed under the Observatory Hill Resumption Act after the outbreak of the bubonic plague. The New York Hotel was demolished in 1907 and by 1908 Tooth & Co. Ltd. Built the last New York Hotel, a brick and iron roofed building at 153/155 George Street.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, History
In 1911 the tenements to 149 and 151 George Street were replaced by the current building which became known as the Quay Chambers.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, History
W. A. Grubb is the longest tenant on the site, a butchering company with stores throughout Sydney. They operated at 147 George Street from 1905 until 1910 and when 149–151 George Street was built, they moved into those premises in 1912, remaining there until the 1980s when the site was redeveloped. The buildings just south of the subject site were demolished in 1937 and the site acquired by the Public Transport Commission in 1946 for the City Rail Link to Circular Quay, the line became operational in 1956.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, History
In 1986 plans for the development of the site, comprising 145–155 George Street and 60 Harrington Street were developed. The proposal was for the development of the Harrington Street portion of the site. The development included the construction of a ten-storey office block with retail on the ground floor and an underground carpark. The development included changes to the commercial buildings facing George Street with new shopfronts and the reconfiguring of 147 George Street as an arcade entrance for the Duty Free Store (DFS). In 1998 further development work was undertaken on the Duty Free Store including retail fit outs the removal of a barrel-vaulted awing and the reinstatement of the current flat awning.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Description
It was erected in 1913 as "Quay Chambers" and is also a face brick three storey building with typical Federation period characteristics; face brick, sandstone banded dressings and keystone and gabled parapet. Other features include a stone bracketed cornice and use of decorative metal work in the rainwater goods and awning support brackets. There are strong similarities in the way that the double level balcony opening is designed to that in the adjacent 147 George Street. In both cases the floor slab between levels is designed to emphasise the double height opening.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Description
W. A. Grubb & Co. butchers were the first tenants of the building, occupying the shopfront for many decades. The appearance of the shopfront was later modified by the conversion of a central door bay into a window and the application of tiles up to the window sill line, prior to complete removal and reconstruction as part of the mid-1980s redevelopment. Also removed at this time was the awning which had a soffit lining of Wunderlich pressed metal which also appears to have continued onto the adjoining awning at 147 George Street.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Description, Condition
Archaeology Assessment Condition: Destroyed? Assessment Basis: Modern development. Basement car parks. No archaeological work appears to have been undertaken for this site although the 1986 Assessment indicated a potential, and important, resource. The subsequent building operations appear to have obliterated much of this resource. Possible deposits survive beneath shops on George Street frontage. Investigation: Historical research and assessment of archaeology: destroyed.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
As at 31 March 2011, 149–151 George Street was constructed in 1911–12, a part of a group of four buildings and are of State heritage significance for their historical and scientific cultural values. The site and building are also of State heritage significance for their contribution to The Rocks area which is of State Heritage significance in its own right.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
149–151 George Street has historic significance at State level for having been the site of early European settlement, continuously occupied by Europeans since 1788. The site has historic significance for its associations with several phases of 20th century urban renewal.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
Firstly the demolition and rebuilding of much of The Rocks under the Observatory Hill Resumption Act following the 1900 plague outbreak; secondly, an association with infrastructure works including the construction of the Cahill Expressway and the City Railway link, which dramatically changed the visual curtilage of the group; and lastly, the 1980s creation of The Rocks as a tourist destination, when the interior and rear of the building was altered to accommodate a Duty Free Store Complex.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
149–151 George Street, forms part of a group of four commercial buildings (Nos. 147, 149–151 and 153–155 George Street) which front George Street and form the eastern portion of the DFS Complex. This group of buildings bounded by Globe Street and the Cahill Expressway, mark George St's southern entry to The Rocks precinct. The façades of the four late 19th century and early 20th century buildings, have streetscape qualities and character that contribute to the overall richness of a coherent and harmonious brick and stucco group of buildings located within The Rocks. The subject building also has local significance in its use of the arch as a dominant feature of the east elevation, as well as the clear division of the façade into thirds.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
The four brick buildings (Nos. 145; 147, 149–151 & 153–155 George Street) of heritage significance, which as a group, provide evidence of two phases of commercial activity in The Rocks just before and just after the plague outbreak and subsequent resumption of land at the beginning of the 20th Century. Although compromised by the loss of rear sections, ground floor interiors and street awnings in the 1980s, it remains a coherent and harmonious brick and stucco group. The buildings are representative of the commercial architecture of the Federation period and the transitional phase prior to the turn of the century.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
They are tangible evidence of the redevelopment of The Rocks in the early 20th century and also the more recent redevelopment period associated with the SCA. These buildings also provide evidence of historical association with prominent local business such as WA Grubb butchers.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
The Central Sydney Heritage Inventory contains separate listings for the building façades of 145–151 George Street and the former New York Hotel at 153–155 George Street: "Of environmental significance for its contribution to an architecturally diverse and historically important commercial streetscape of heritage significance as physical evidence of the growth and consolidation associated with the maritime activities at Circular Quay".


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
The group of four buildings was classified as part of the George Street Business Precinct by the National Trust of Australia in the mid 1970s: "A group of four compatible Edwardian buildings containing interesting and lively fenestration which combine to present a picturesque street elevation. The group acts as a sympathetic extension to the remaining earlier buildings of George Street in scale and character to present a unified streetscape". The above listings indicate that the primary significance of the group is their contribution to the historic streetscape as well as their aesthetic value as a group of Federation period commercial buildings.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
The significance of the subject site and the group is associated with its location in The Rocks, a precinct unique to NSW and its historic associations and streetscape character and qualities that contribute to The Rocks area. The group is an important part of The Rocks Heritage Conservation Area being sympathetic in scale and character and an extension of the remaining earlier buildings of George Street, presenting a unified streetscape. The buildings are tangible evidence of the redevelopment of The Rocks in the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th, the period before and after the plague outbreak.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
149–151 George Street was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 10 May 2002 having satisfied the following criteria.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
149–151 George Street has associations as a built element within George Street, the Rocks, the oldest commercial centre in Australia. The building has moderate significance at local level associated with a butchery continuously operating on the site from the time the building was completed until its major renovation seventy years later. It also has significance for having purpose-built offices on the first and second floors. 149–151 George Street has moderate significance at local level for its associations with the phase of redevelopment of The Rocks in the 1980s when the precinct was transformed into a major tourist attraction.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
The building at 149–151 George Street is a three-storey face brick building erected in c. 1912 as a shop and offices. Stylistically, the building is an example of the transition between late Victorian and the Federation periods. The upper parapet, sandstone quoins and keystones are typical of Victorian period detailing, while the use of face brick is more typically a Federation detail.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
The East elevation of 149–151 George Street has high significance at local level as a representative example of a commercial building in The Rocks designed in the Late Victorian and early Federation style. The building at 149–151 George Street has high significance at local level associated with the intactness of external elements and the retention of late 19th century and early 20th century streetscape elements conserved within the building group between Globe Street and the Cahill Expressway.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
149–151 George Street has high significance at local level associated with buildings with landmark qualities, located between the Cahill Expressway and Globe Street, comprising 145, 146, 149–151 and 153–155 George Street. On entering the precinct from George Street this group of buildings contrast with the modernist brutalism of the Cahill Expressway and the 20th century modernist buildings located around Circular Quay and the central business district. The backdrop of the DFS buildings does not diminish the picturesque quality of the group.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
The West Elevation of 149–151 George Street is a façade designed as part of the 1980s DFS development and as such contributes to the loss of design integrity. The interior of the building was removed in the 1980s development and little evidence of the architectural planning or fabric is retained internally. The item meets this criterion at local level


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
The Rocks in general has considerable significance to the general community of Sydney and to the people of NSW as a heritage precinct. The fight to save The Rocks was a significant battle for local residents and the community. The Rocks is a highly visited tourist area, both by local and international tourists, for its historic character and associations as a remnant of the area first settled in Sydney. The Rocks, of which the subject site forms a part, is important to the community's sense of place that is integral to The Rocks as a whole and is subsequently held in esteem by the community.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
Shopping is a major activity within The Rocks area, and as the first commercial district of Sydney relating directly to the port and shipping, the area has developed a strong commercial focus, which is currently maintained by tourism. The subject site has maintained its historic association with shopping and retail. The item meets this criterion at State level.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
149–151 George Street is relatively unusual at a local level, for the use of a prominent central arch, emphasised by the appearance of the double height balcony spaces. The detailing of the face brickwork in combination with sandstone quoins, as well as the string course and gable, divides the façade into three vertical elements, which gives the building a very distinct configuration. The item meets this criterion at a local level


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage listing
The shops and shopping district of The Rocks are representative of the continued commercial use of the area, and the change in commercial demand from ports and shipping to that of tourism. 149–151 George Street is one of a group of shop buildings that operated in The Rocks from the end of the 19th century until the late 20th century. The item is a representative of this group. The item meets this criterion at local level.


149-151 George Street, The Rocks, References, Attribution
This Wikipedia article was originally based on , entry number 1594 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales and Office of Environment and Heritage 2018 under  , accessed on 14 October 2018.


1490
Year 1490 (MCDXC) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.


1490 AM
The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1490 kHz: 1490 AM is a Regional (Class B) outside the coterminous 48 United States (Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands), and a Local (Class C) frequency within the contiguous 48 states.


1490 Ch'ing-yang event
The Ch'ing-yang event of 1490 (also Ch'ing-yang, Chi-ing-yang or Chíing-yang meteor shower) is a presumed meteor shower or air burst in Qingyang in March or April 1490. The area was in the province of Shaanxi, but is now part of Gansu. A 1994 study in the journal Meteoritics suggested that a possible explanation of this event is a meteor air burst.


1490 Ch'ing-yang event
Many deaths were recorded in historical Chinese accounts of the meteor shower, but have not been confirmed by researchers in the modern era. In the same year, Asian astronomers coincidentally discovered comet C/1490 Y1, a possible progenitor of the Quadrantid meteor showers.


1490 Ch'ing-yang event, Meteor shower
At least three surviving Chinese historical records describe a shower of rocks, one stating that "stones fell like rain." Human fatality estimates in these sources range from more than ten thousand people to several tens of thousands. One report of the event is found in the official History of the Ming Dynasty, and other journal records which describe the event are also generally considered reliable. The official Ming Dynasty history, however, omits the number of casualties, which therefore has been frequently either doubted or discounted by present-day researchers.


1490 Ch'ing-yang event, Meteor shower
Due to the paucity of detailed information and the lack of surviving meteorites or other physical evidence, researchers have also been unable to definitively state the exact nature of the dramatic event, even examining the possible occurrence of severe hail. Kevin Yau of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and his collaborators have noted several similarities of the Ch'ing-yang event to the Tunguska air burst in 1908, which, if it had occurred above a populated area, could have produced many fatalities.


1490 Ch'ing-yang event, Meteor shower
Stones fell like rain in the Ch’ing-yang district. The larger ones were 4 to 5 catties (about 1.5 kg), and the smaller ones were 2 to 3 catties (about 1 kg). Numerous stones rained in Ch'ing-yang. Their sizes were all different. The larger ones were like goose's eggs and the smaller ones were like water-chestnuts. More than 10,000 people were struck dead. All of the people in the city fled to other places.


1490 Ch'ing-yang event, Meteor shower
One source of Chinese astronomical information of celestial events, the Zhongguo gudai tianxiang jilu zongji (Complete collection of records of celestial phenomena in ancient China) records ten works that discuss the March–April 1490 event, including the official History of the Ming Dynasty. Additionally, there are records of it in local gazettes and histories of the region. The History of Ming work (the 明史, or Míng Shǐ) states only that there was a rain of uncountable stones up to the size of goose eggs. The date given was the third lunar month of 1490, which translates as March 21 to April 19, 1490.


1490 Ch'ing-yang event, Coincidental comet
In 2007 astronomers determined that the annual January Quadrantid meteor shower may have originated with the disintegration of Comet C/1490 Y1, approximately a century after it was first identified in 1490 by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean astronomers. A connection with asteroid (196256) 2003 EH1 has also been suggested. The large difference between the timing of the January meteor showers and the 1490 Ch'ing-yang event—which occurred in March or April 1490 AD makes a relationship between the comet and the Ch'ing-yang event appear unlikely.


1490 Limpopo
1490 Limpopo, provisional designation 1936 LB, is a carbonaceous–metallic asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 18 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 14 June 1936, by English-born South African astronomer Cyril Jackson at Johannesburg Observatory in South Africa. It was named for the Limpopo River.


1490 Limpopo, Orbit
Limpopo orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,318 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.16 and an inclination of 10° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins 2 weeks prior to its official discovery observation. Its first identification as 1931 BL at Lowell Observatory in 1931 remains unused.


1490 Limpopo, Rotation period
Between August and November 2005, three rotational lightcurves of Limpopo were obtained from photometric observations by French amateur astronomer Laurent Bernasconi, Pedro Sada at the Mexican Monterrey Observatory, and Dicy Saylor at University of Georgia, United States. The lightcurves gave a rotation period between 6.15 and 6.647 hours with a brightness variation of 0.15–0.26 magnitude (U=2-/3/3).


1490 Limpopo, Diameter and albedo
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Limpopo measures between 14.84 and 20.21 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.068 and 0.105. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0742 and a diameter of 18.55 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.1. The X-type asteroid is also classified as a metallic M-type by WISE and as a carbonaceous intermediate Xc-type in the SMASS taxonomy.


1490 Limpopo, Naming
This minor planet was named after the Limpopo River, which rises in central southern Africa, and flows through Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe into the Indian Ocean. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center in April 1953 (M.P.C. 909).


1490 km
1490 km is a rural locality (a railway station) in Shafranovskoye Rural Settlement of Alsheyevsky District, Russia. The  population was 12 as of 2002.


1490s
The 1490s decade ran from January 1, 1490, to December 31, 1499.


1490s BC
The 1490s BC was a decade lasting from January 1, 1499 BC to December 31, 1490 BC.


1490s in art
The decade of the 1490s in art involved some significant events.


1490s in art, Events
The Renaissance is in full swing during the 1490s, and Leonardo da Vinci is painting in realistic, chiaroscuro style. In music, many new musical styles are being created, including the motet and madrigal, replacing an emphasis on chanting (and simple melodies) with polyphony and homophony. Christopher Columbus's explorations of the New World captivates the artistic imagination of both artists and the public.


1490s in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the 1490s.


1490s in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).


1490s in poetry, Births
Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article. There are conflicting or unreliable sources for the birth years of many people born in this period; where sources conflict, the poet is listed again and the conflict is noted:


1490s in poetry, Deaths
Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1491
Year 1491 (MCDXCI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.


1491 (musical)
1491 is a musical centered around Christopher Columbus before his voyage to discover the New World. Music and lyrics are by American composer and playwright Meredith Willson. It was Willson's final musical. The book was by Willson and Richard Morris with additional material by Ira Barmak and was based on an idea by Ed Ainsworth.


1491 (musical), Creation
It was intended to have the show open in California in 1967, before transferring to Broadway. The previous two years were spent researching Columbus and traveling in Spain and Italy for possible material.


1491 (musical), Production History
The musical opened in Los Angeles on September 2, 1969, and later transferred to San Francisco where it closed on December 13, 1969. The musical closed before reaching Broadway. Richard Morris was the director, Edwin Lester was the producer, and Danny Daniels was the choreographer. John Cullum starred as Christopher Columbus and Chita Rivera starred as his mistress. Jean Fenn played Queen Isabella. Sergio Franchi was previously cast as Columbus.


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus is a 2005 non-fiction book by American author and science writer Charles C. Mann about the pre-Columbian Americas. It was the 2006 winner of the National Academies Communication Award for best creative work that helps the public understanding of topics in science, engineering or medicine.


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
The book presents recent research findings in different fields that suggest human populations in the Western Hemisphere—that is, the indigenous peoples of the Americas—were more numerous, had arrived earlier, were more sophisticated culturally, and controlled and shaped the natural landscape to a greater extent than scholars had previously thought.


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
The author notes that, according to these findings, two of the first six independent centers of civilization arose in the Americas: the first, Norte Chico or Caral-Supe, in present-day northern Peru; and that of Formative-era Mesoamerica in what is now southern Mexico.


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Book summary
Mann develops his arguments from a variety of recent re-assessments of longstanding views about the pre-Columbian world, based on new findings in demography, climatology, epidemiology, economics, botany, genetics, image analysis, palynology, molecular biology, biochemistry, and soil science. Although there is no consensus, and Mann acknowledges controversies, he asserts that the general trend among scientists currently is to acknowledge:


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Book summary
These three main foci (origins/population, culture, and environment) form the basis for three parts of the book.


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Book summary
In the introduction, Mann attempts to refute the thesis that "Native Americans came across the Bering Strait 20,000 to 25,000 years ago, and they had so little impact on their environment that even after a millennia of habitation the continents remained mostly wilderness."


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Book summary, Part One: Numbers from Nowhere
Mann first treats New England in the 17th century. He disagrees with the popular idea that European technologies were superior to those of Native Americans, using guns as a specific example. The Native Americans considered them little more than "noisemakers", and concluded they were more difficult to aim than arrows. Prominent colonist John Smith of the southern Jamestown colony noted as an "awful truth" that a gun "could not shoot as far as an arrow could fly". Moccasins were more comfortable and sturdy than the boots Europeans wore, and were preferred by most during that era because their padding offered a more silent approach to warfare. The Indian canoes could be paddled faster and were more maneuverable than any small European boats.


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Book summary, Part One: Numbers from Nowhere
Mann explores the fall of the Inca Empire and attempts to assess their population compared to the armies of conquistadors, such as Francisco Pizarro. He discusses the fatal importance of the numerous newly introduced infectious diseases, and the likelihood that these played a far more significant role in the Native American decline than did warfare or other actions by Europeans.


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Book summary, Part One: Numbers from Nowhere
He notes that while Europeans probably derived less benefit than expected from their use of horses, as e.g. the stepped roads of Inca settlements were impassable to horses, the Inca did not maximize their use of anti-horse inventions to stop the Spanish intruders. The Inca Empire collapsed because by the time Europeans arrived in force, smallpox and other epidemics had already swept through cities and caused high mortality, due mostly to the natives' lack of immunity to new Eurasian diseases.


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Book summary, Part One: Numbers from Nowhere
The contrasting approaches of "High Counters" and "Low Counters" among historians are discussed. Among the former, anthropologist Henry F. Dobyns estimated the number of pre-Columbian Native Americans as close to 100 million, while critics of the High Counters include David Henige, who wrote Numbers from Nowhere (1998).


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Book summary, Part Two: Very Old Bones
Mann discusses the provenance and dating of human remains, which may provide evidence of the period of first settlement of the Americas. The Clovis culture in New Mexico was one of the first to be assessed using carbon dating. While at first it was believed to have originated between 13,500 and 12,900 years ago, following immigration of peoples from Siberia over the Bering land bridge, recent evidence indicates that Paleo-Indians were present in the Americas at even earlier dates.


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Book summary, Part Two: Very Old Bones
Agriculture is another focus of this section; Mann explores Andean and Mesoamerican cultures. The agricultural development of maize from essentially inedible precursors such as teosinte was significant because it enabled the production of crop surpluses, growing populations and complex cultures, and was pivotal to the rise of civilizations such as the Olmec. Mann notes that Mesoamericans did not have the luxury of "stealing" or adopting inventions from others, since they were geographically isolated in comparison to the cultures of Eurasia. There a large, relatively open landmass had resulted in extensive trading and warfare, both of which dispersed cultural inventions. In the Americas, cultures were somewhat more isolated. They did not invent the wheel and mostly lacked domesticated large animals.


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Book summary, Part Three: Landscape With Figures
In the third section, Mann attempts a synthesis. He focuses on the Maya, whose population growth appears to have been as rapid as its decline. The canonical theory about the disappearance of Mayan civilization, a pattern common among many Native American cultures, was stated by Sylvanus Morley as:


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Book summary, Part Three: Landscape With Figures
"the Maya collapsed because they overshot the carrying capacity of their environment. They exhausted their resource base, began to die of starvation and thirst, and fled their cities 'en masse', leaving them as silent warnings of the perils of ecological hubris."


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Book summary, Part Three: Landscape With Figures
Mann discusses the growing evidence that shows Native Americans did transform their lands. Most Native Americans shaped their environment with fire, using slash-and-burn techniques to create grasslands for cultivation and to encourage the abundance of game animals. Native Americans domesticated fewer animals and cultivated plant life differently from their European counterparts, but did so quite intensively. Ancient cultures in South America have been found to have constructed elaborate irrigation systems and terraced steep mountains to produce crops and defensively protected settlements.


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Book summary, Part Three: Landscape With Figures
The author suggests that Europeans' limited and often racist views about the indigenous peoples, in addition to lack of a common language among the indigenous peoples, often resulted in a failure by Europeans to recognize how Native Americans managed their lands. Some historians drew conclusions such as the "law of environmental limitation of culture" (Betty J. Meggers); that is, Native Americans practices before slash and burn worked because vast expanses of healthy forest appeared to have existed before Europeans arrived.


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Book summary, Part Three: Landscape With Figures
Mann argues that, in fact, Native Americans were a keystone species, one that "affects the survival and abundance of many other species". By the time the Europeans arrived in number to supplant the indigenous population in the Americas, the previous dominant people had been almost completely eliminated, mostly by disease. There was extensive disruption of societies and loss of environmental control as a result. Decreased environmental influence and resource competition would have led to population explosions in species such as the American bison and the passenger pigeon. Because fire clearing had ceased, forests would have expanded and become denser. The world discovered by Christopher Columbus began to change after his arrival, so Columbus "was also one of the last to see it in pure form".


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Book summary, Part Three: Landscape With Figures
Mann concludes that we must look to the past to write the future. "Native Americans ran the continent as they saw fit. Modern nations must do the same. If they want to return as much of the landscape as possible to its state in 1491, they will have to create the world’s largest gardens."


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Reception
A 2005 The New York Times book review stated that the book's approach is "in the best scientific tradition, carefully sifting the evidence, never jumping to hasty conclusions, giving everyone a fair hearing -- the experts and the amateurs, the accounts of the Indians and of their conquerors. And rarely is he less than enthralling."


1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Sequel
In 2011, Mann published his sequel, 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created. It explores the results of the European colonization of the Americas, a topic begun in Alfred Crosby's 1972 work The Columbian Exchange, which examined exchanges of plants, animals, diseases and technologies after European encounter with the Americas. Mann added much new scholarship that had been developed in the 40 years since that book was published.


1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus
"1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus" is an eight-episode docu-drama television mini-series based on The New York Times best-selling book "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus" by Charles C. Mann (Knopf, 2005). It was co-produced in Canada by Aarrow Productions (Victoria, BC) and Animiki See Digital Production Inc. (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and first aired in Canada on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network in 2017. Filming took place in Canada, the United States, Mexico and Peru and its creation involved over 400 Indigenous cast and crew members.


1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus
Through dramatic re-enactment, narrator voice-overs and interviews with leading Indigenous scholars, the series illustrates that before the arrival of Columbus in the Americas the Western Hemisphere was heavily populated with Indigenous societies which were highly advanced in agriculture, astronomy, architecture, governance, medicine, technology, science, trade and art. Specific examples are shown from eight geographic regions covering the entirety of North and South America. Presented from an Indigenous perspective, the series follows a timeline from 20,000 years ago to 1491.


1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus, Episode Guide
Episode 1: OriginsExplores indigenous origin stories as well as discoveries by archaeologists, anthropologists, geneticists and linguists on how and when Indigenous people first arrived in the Western Hemisphere.


1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus, Episode Guide
Episode 2: EnvironmentIndigenous people created significant changes to their environment through resource harvesting, farming, urban development, irrigation, controlled burning and deforestation.


1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus, Episode Guide
Episode 3: AgricultureMaize was first developed in the Americas from a wild plant known as teosinte. Crops like sweet potato, beans and cacao were cultivated and spread throughout the Americas via well-developed trade networks.


1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus, Episode Guide
Episode 4: ArchitectureIndigenous people in the Americas developed iconic and innovative architectural styles depending on their needs for shelter and available resources.


1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus, Episode Guide
Episode 5: Governance and TradeGovernance models were developed by each Indigenous nation to control their citizens and establish normative behaviours. The Americas are replete with a variety of examples: from patriarchal and matrilineal-based societies, to complex political systems governing multi-nation empires.


1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus, Episode Guide
Episode 6: Science and TechnologyScientific and technological ingenuity in the Americas is apparent through specific examples such as the earliest use of the number "0", the mapping of the planets and the stars, the development of multi-year calendars, and the invention of writing systems.


1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus, Episode Guide
Episode 7: ArtDepending on the natural resources in each region, art was created which reflected a specific Indigenous world view. Many of these artistic expressions have survived to this day through the preservation and perpetuation of each unique style.


1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus, Episode Guide
Episode 8: ContinuanceDespite 500 years of pressure to assimilate, Indigenous culture has been retained and reclaimed through repatriation of material culture and programs promoting language preservation and indigenous literacy.


1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus, Key Creative Contributors
Co -Produced by: Harrow Productions (Victoria, BC) and Animiki See Digital Productions (Winnipeg, Manitoba)


1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus, Key Creative Contributors
AWARDS: 2018 Leo Award for Best Documentary Series; Best Screenwriting in a Documentary Series (Barbara Hager) and Best Musical Score in a Documentary Series (Russell Wallace)


1491s
The 1491s are a Native American sketch comedy group, with members based in Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Montana. While the members' sketch comedy has had a growing cult following since the mid-2000's, and their videos since 2009, they are perhaps best-known for their work in more widely-known shows such as Rutherford Falls and Reservation Dogs.


1491s
Their comedy sketches, spoken word, and longer narrative works depict contemporary Native American life in the United States, using humor and satire to explore issues such as stereotypes and racism (internal and external), tribal politics, and the conflict between tradition and modernity. Their over 150 YouTube videos have frequently gone viral, including their first video, the Twilight parody “New Moon Wolf Pack Auditions!!! !”


1491s
A Los Angeles Times reporter described the group's output as "dozens of videos, some crass, some cryptic, some laugh-out-loud hilarious." Group member Dallas Goldtooth has cited British comedy legends Monty Python's Flying Circus as an influence. The group creates all of its pieces collectively.


1491s
The group's name is a reference to the year 1491, the last year before the arrival of Christopher Columbus and widespread European colonization of the Americas began.


1491s, Performances, film and television
The 1491s have been featured on The Daily Show, where they made featured content on the Native American mascot controversy. They have made videos for social and legislatives issues such as full inclusion of Indigenous women in the Violence Against Women Act. As member Bobby Wilson explains, "There’s so much expectation put on Indigenous people in the arts, especially in the media. It comes from a longstanding tradition of non-Native people, most often white men, writing stories for Hollywood and the stage. We’re fighting those tropes. If they show up in our work, it’s just to lampoon them."


1491s, Performances, film and television
In 2018 the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, along with New Native Theatre, co-commissioned the 1491s to write a play for their American Revolutions series of new plays about US history. The play, which ran from April 7, 2019, to October 27, 2019, consists of linked comedy sketches covering events between the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890 and the Wounded Knee Occupation of the 1970s - hence the title, Between Two Knees.


1491s, Performances, film and television
Portland Observer critic Darleen Ortega called it "a feat of theater magic so satisfying that, after seeing it three times, I am determined to savor it at least twice more before it closes", while Lee Juillerat of the Herald and News wrote, "With gobs of humor, it politely lays a guilt trip on white people for the history of injustices against Native Americans."


1491s, Performances, film and television
Members of the troupe have appeared in films and television shows directed by member Sterlin Harjo, and in 2021 four out of the five troupe members worked on the shows Rutherford Falls and Reservation Dogs, as actors, writers and directors.


1492
Year 1492 (MCDXCII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1492nd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 492nd year of the 2nd millennium, the 92nd year of the 15th century, and the 3rd year of the 1490s decade.


1492
1492 is considered to be a significant year in the history of the West, Europe, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Spain, and the New World, among others, because of the number of significant events to have taken place during it. Some of the events which propelled the year into Western consciousness, also listed below, include the completion of the Reconquista of Spain, Europe's discovery of the New World, and the expulsion of Jews from Spain.


1492 (song)
"1492" is the first song on Counting Crows' 2008 album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings. Adam Duritz announced in a voicemail message to his fans on January 12, 2008, that this song would be released as part of a digital 45 release to precede the release of Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, with "When I Dream of Michelangelo" to be featured as its B-side. It is, however, not the lead commercial single, as "You Can't Count On Me" was released as the lead airplay/video single on February 4, 2008.


1492 (song)
Duritz said that "We just came from New Orleans, we spent about four days in New Orleans. Which at times has been like a home away from home for me, but a rather exhausting one. I expect to have a hangover for the next week. A truly debauched place.


1492 (song)
If you ever get a chance to go to Italy, and you end up in some dark underground club in Milan with the disco lights flashing all around you, and people writhing on the floor, liquor flying everywhere, and smoke so thick it hurts your eyes, then you’ll understand this song, which is about finding what's real for yourself, whether that's in friends you may or may not have, or laying drunk face down on the floor of some club in Milan, or walking in the middle of the street past train stations and transvestite prostitutes parading in front of you. So this is a song about American history and Italian discovery, and tranny whores. And in the wake of the last four days, it seems like a perfectly good subject, and it's called '1492'."


1492 (song)
The song was originally slated for inclusion on the album, Hard Candy, but was not included due to Adam Duritz's dissatisfaction with the quality of the recordings made at that time and the inclusion of a six-minute sitar solo.


1492 (song)
The digital single was made available for download on their official website on January 16, 2008.


1492 Pictures
1492 Pictures is an American film production company founded by Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe and Michael Barnathan in 1994. The name is a play on Columbus's more famous namesake, Christopher Columbus, and his 1492 landing in the Americas.


1492 Pictures
In addition to various Columbus films, 1492 Pictures has produced movies by other directors including Brian Levant (Jingle All the Way), Henry Selick (Monkeybone), Alfonso Cuarón (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), Joe Roth (Christmas with the Kranks), Tim Story (the Fantastic Four films), and Shawn Levy (the Night at the Museum series).


1492 Pictures, History
In 1994, Chris Columbus, who successfully directed the first two Home Alone films, and Mrs. Doubtfire, signed a three-year deal with 20th Century Fox, thus eventually led to the creation of a company called 1492 Pictures. Its first feature was Nine Months. The deal was eventually extended in 1997.


1492 Pictures, History
In 2009, it signed a deal with Korean company CJ Entertainment for three years, to produce its feature films.


1492 Pictures, History
In February 2011, the company bought the rights to the South Korean comedy film Hello Ghost starring Cha Tae-hyun and is scheduled to remake it.


1492 Pictures, History
In August 2011, the production company released an adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's novel The Help.


1492 Pictures, History
In 2012, it signed a deal with ro*co productions to adapt documentary films into scripted feature films.


1492 Pictures, History
In 2018, it signed a deal with Netflix to produce feature films for its streaming service.


1492 Up to Date
1492 Up to Date or Very Near It (sometimes titled 1492) is a burlesque extravaganza created in 1892 in observance of the quadricentennial of Columbus's expedition to the New World. The libretto is by R. A. Barnet. with music by Carl Pflueger. Its Broadway production was presented by Edward E. Rice's "Surprise Party" in 1893. The plot centers on Columbus, but in burlesque style, it has little to do with his historical story.


1492 Up to Date
The show has been described as "a musical, historical, mellow drama  [sic] that threw together bits of opera comique, comic opera, stereopticon projections, extravaganza, farce-comedy, vaudeville, local comedy, burlesque, and even minstrelsy."


1492 Up to Date, Productions
It was originally written for and presented by the Boston Independent Corps of Cadets in February 1892. The show opened in New York City on May 15, 1893, at Palmer's Theatre, to a sold-out and overflowing audience, produced by Rice's Surprise Party. The New York Times called the show "wild nonsense" that provoked "wholesome laughter" with "manifest intelligence and abundant humor" and noted that, by the end, the audience was calling for half a dozen encores of each song. It ran over two seasons, and in two different houses, for 452 performances. After this, it was performed in revival and toured for several years, with alterations and additional characters. During an 1895 revival, Queen Isabella was portrayed by Marie Dressler.


1492 Up to Date, Plot
King Ferdinand's treasurer complains that the kingdom is short of funds. The king has been out having too much fun all night. Queen Isabella and Columbus arrive, and both go mad. Soon Columbus is in front of the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York amidst a crowd of colorful New York types, such as newsboys, chorus girls, vagabonds and vendors. Columbus and his entourage of Old World Spaniards are amazed at the behavior of the New Yorkers. When Columbus returns to Spain, the royal family is living in poverty, doing their own washing. The royal family is amazed and amused by the explorers' stories of the New World. All ends happily.


1492 Up to Date, Archival materials
Many of the original performance materials are housed in the library of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.


1492 epopea lirica d'America
1492 epopea lirica d'America is an opera in four acts by Antonio Braga. Composed from 1985 to 1989, it stage premiered on 13 October 1992 in Santo Domingo, Teatro Nacional to mark the Columbus Quincentenary.


1492 papal conclave
The 1492 papal conclave (6–11 August) was convened after the death of Pope Innocent VIII (25 July 1492). It was the first papal conclave to be held in the Sistine Chapel.


1492 papal conclave
Cardinal Rodrigo Borja was elected unanimously on the fourth ballot as Pope Alexander VI. The election is notorious for allegations that Borja bought the votes of his electors, promising them lucrative appointments and other material gifts. Concerns about this conclave led Pope Julius II to create stronger rules against simony in 1503.


1492 papal conclave, Cardinal electors
Of the 23 cardinals participating in the conclave, fourteen had been elevated by Pope Sixtus IV. The cardinals of Sixtus IV, known as the "Sistine Cardinals" and led by Giuliano della Rovere, had controlled the conclave of 1484, electing one of their own, Giambattista Cibo as Pope Innocent VIII. Since 1431 the composition of the College of Cardinals had been radically transformed, increasing the number of cardinal-nephews (from 3 to 10), crown-cardinals (from 2 to 8), and representatives of powerful Roman noble families (from 2 to 4). With the exception of three curial officials and one pastor, the cardinals were "secularly-minded princes largely unconcerned with the spiritual life of either the Latin church or its members."


1492 papal conclave, Cardinal electors
At the time of Innocent VIII's death, the names of Cardinals Gherardo and Sanseverino (both created in pectore), had not been published, thus making them ineligible to participate in the conclave; however, both were published as an act of the College in sede vacante, Gherardo having been pushed by Giovanni Battista Orsini and Sanseverino by Ascanio Sforza. Gherardo was assigned the title of Santi Nereo e Achilleo, which it was believed Innocent VIII had intended for him; Sanseverino was given the poor and undesirable diaconate of San Teodoro to ensure that the future pontiff would confirm his assignment.


1492 papal conclave, Cardinal electors
According to the account of bishop ambassador Giovanni Andrea Boccaccio, at least seven cardinals considered themselves papabile, having dismantled the furnishings of their palaces as a precaution against the traditional pillaging of the pope-elect's residence by the Roman populace: da Costa, di Campofregoso, Michiel, Piccolomini, Domenico della Rovere, Savelli, and Zeno.


1492 papal conclave, Cardinal electors, Absent cardinals
There is no evidence that the 4 absent cardinals made an attempt to reach Rome for the conclave.


1492 papal conclave, Procedures
As dictated by the prescriptions Ubi periculum and Ne Romani, the conclave should have begun on 4 August, ten days after the death of Innocent VIII; however, the conclave was delayed to await the slow arrival of the aged Gherardo, bearing a letter from Venice's Council of Ten urging his acceptance into the College. The cardinals had decided as early as their first meeting on 24 July to use the Sistine Chapel for the balloting and assembly of the conclave.


1492 papal conclave, Procedures
Johann Burchard, the German papal master of ceremonies, who presided over the conclave, as well as the previous one in 1484, kept an extensive diary, noting that each cardinal was provided:


1492 papal conclave, Procedures
A table, a chair, a stool. A seat for the dischargement of the stomach. Two urinals, two small napkins for the table of the lord. Twelve little napkins for the same lord and four hand towels. Two little cloths for wiping cups. Carpet. A chest or box for the garments of the lord, his shirts, rochets, towels for wiping the face and a handkerchief. Four boxes of sweets for provisions. One vessel of sugared pine-seeds. Marzipan. Cane sugar. Biscuits. A lump of sugar. A small pair of scales. A hammer. Keys. A spit. A needle case. A writing case with penknife, pen, forceps, reed pens, and pen stand. A quire of paper for writing. Red wax. A water jug. Salt cellar. Knives. Spoons. Forks [...].


1492 papal conclave, Procedures
The Mass of the Holy Spirit (celebrated by Giuliano della Rovere rather than Borja who as Dean would traditionally have been the celebrant) and then a speech by Bernardino Lopez de Carvajal, a Spaniard and the ambassador to Ferdinand and Isabella, on the "evils afflicting the Church" preceded the beginning of the conclave on 6 August 1492. Another Spaniard, Gonzalo Fernandez de Heredia, archbishop of Tarragona, was appointed prefect of the Vatican. Two important offices during sede vacante were filled with compatriots of Cardinal Borja, and it is believed that they both were chosen by Borja in his capacity as Dean to strengthen his position before the conclave.


1492 papal conclave, Procedures
The remainder of 6 August was consumed by the drafting and subscription to the conclave capitulation, which—although not extant—is known to have restricted the number of new cardinals which could be created by the new pope.


1492 papal conclave, Vote count
The first ballot ("scrutiny"), held on 8 August was said to have resulted in nine votes for Carafa, seven for Borja, Costa, and Michiel, and five for Giuliano della Rovere, with Sforza notably receiving zero votes.


1492 papal conclave, Vote count
The second ballot produced nine for Carafa, eight for Borja, seven for Michiel, and five for Giuliano della Rovere.


1492 papal conclave, Vote count
According to the Florentine Ambassador, one of the guards of the conclave, as of 10 August there had been three unsuccessful ballots, favoring Costa and Carafa, but in no way indicating Borja might be chosen. According to Sigismondo de' Conti, papal secretary and chronicler, the vote was unanimous on the fourth ballot, taken early in the morning on 11 August although Borja had only 15 votes prior to the accessus; other accounts say Borja received all the votes except for his own, which he gave to Carafa.


1492 papal conclave, Vote count
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the election of Rodrigo Borja was "almost entirely due to" Giambattisti Orsini.


1492 papal conclave, Allegations of simony
According to Pastor, 'the corruption during the reign of Pope Innocent VIII had increased to such an extent that it became possible by bribery to procure the election of such a successor as Pope Alexander VIThe Venetian envoy to Milan informed his confrère in Ferrara: "that by simony and a thousand villanies and indecencies the papacy has been sold, which is a disgraceful and detestable business", adding that he expected Spain and France to withhold their support from the new pontiff. After the conclave, a ubiquitous epigram within Rome was: "Alexander sells the Keys, the Altar, Christ Himself—he has a right to for he bought them."


1492 papal conclave, Allegations of simony
On 10 August after the third ballot, Ascanio Sforza allegedly came to believe his own ambitions of being elected pope were impossible and became susceptible to Borja's offer: the office of Vice-Chancellor and the associated Palazzo Borgia, the Castle of Nepi, the bishopric of Erlau (with annual revenue of 10,000 ducats) and other benefices. Sforza was also reputed to have received four mule-loads of silver (some sources say gold), which Borja ordered to be delivered immediately after the deal was struck.


1492 papal conclave, Allegations of simony
The price of the other cardinals was as follows: Orsini, the fortified towns of Monticelli and Soriano, the legation of the Marches, and the bishopric of Cartagena (with annual revenue of 5,000 ducats); Colonna, the abbey of Subiaco and its environs (with annual revenue of 3,000 ducats); Savelli, Civita Castellana and the bishopric of Majorca; Pallavicini, the bishopric of Pampeluna (Pamplona); Michiel, the suburbicarian see of Porto; Riario, Spanish benefices with annual income of 4,000 ducats and the return of a house in the Piazza Navona (which Sforza had occupied) to the children of Count Girolamo. Sanseverino's compensation included Rodrigo Borgia's house in Milan. Cardinals Sclafenati and Domenico della Rovere were to receive abbacies and/or benefices. Cardinals Andicino della Porta and Conti followed Sforza, whom they had originally supported.


1492 papal conclave, Allegations of simony
The aforementioned cardinals plus Borja's own vote numbered 14, one short of the required two-thirds majority. However, Cardinals Carafa, Costa, Piccolomini, Cibò, and Zeno, followed by Medici, were unwilling to be bribed. Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, followed by Basso, was intractably opposed to Borja's election. Thus, the eighty-six-year-old Gherardo, the Cardinal Patriarch of Venice, who was paid only 5,000 ducats, constituted the deciding vote.


1492 papal conclave, Allegations of simony
According to Professor Picotti, who extensively researched the conclave and came to the conclusion that simony had occurred, no accounts of papal income and expenditure exist in the registers of Introitus et Exitus for August 1492, and debts from the Apostolic Camera to Cardinals Campofregoso, Domenico della Rovere, Sanseverino, and Orsini appeared soon afterwards. The Spannocchi bank, which housed much of Borja's wealth, was said to have nearly crashed after the conclave due to the velocity of transactions.


1492 papal conclave, Allegations of simony
Some sources say that Charles VIII of France had bankrolled 200,000 ducats (plus 100,000 ducats from the Doge of Genoa) for the election of Giuliano della Rovere, although several otherwise bribable cardinals were hostile to French interference.


1492 papal conclave, Allegations of simony
Other historians regard politics as a stronger factor within the conclave than pure simony, with the personal rivalry between Giuliano della Rovere and Ascanio Sforza (who had met to discuss the upcoming conclave in Castel Gandolfo even before Innocent VII had died) substituting for the ancient struggle between Naples and Milan, with the intractability between the two parties making Borja a viable candidate.


1492 papal conclave, Aftermath
When Giuliano della Rovere was elected Pope Julius II in 1503, he issued a bull annulling any papal election brought about by simony, and defrocking and excommunicating any cardinal who sold his vote. Although the twenty-six day reign of Pope Pius III intervened between Alexander VI and Julius II, the alleged unscrupulousness of the Borgia pope was still firmly in the institutional memory of the Roman Curia. While cardinal during the reign of Alexander VI, Julius II had been assailed politically and often militarily outside the sturdy wall of his Castle of Ostia.


1492 papal conclave, Media
The conclave is fictionalized in the 2011 premiere episode of the Showtime series The Borgias, with Jeremy Irons as Borja and Colm Feore as della Rovere, and across several episodes of Tom Fontana's Borgia of the same year, with John Doman as Borja and Dejan Čukić as della Rovere.


1492: Conquest of Paradise
1492: Conquest of Paradise is a 1992 epic historical drama film directed and produced by Ridley Scott and starring Gérard Depardieu, Armand Assante, and Sigourney Weaver. It portrays a version of the travels to the New World by the Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus and the effect this had on indigenous peoples.


1492: Conquest of Paradise
The film was released by Paramount Pictures to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage. The premiere debuted at almost exactly the same time as Christopher Columbus: The Discovery, often leading to confusion between the two films.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Plot
Aware that the world is round, Christopher Columbus lobbies for a trip westwards to Asia, but lacks a crew and ship. The Catholic theologians at the University of Salamanca heavily disapprove of Columbus's plan, not being keen on ideas that go against the writings of Ptolemaeus. Columbus is approached by Martín Pinzón, a shipowner from Palos, who introduces him to the banker Santángel, whom Queen Isabella I owes money to. Columbus meets with the queen, who grants him his journey in exchange for his promise to bring back sufficient amounts of riches in gold.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Plot
Columbus deceives many crewmen by telling them that the voyage will only last seven weeks. Three ships depart. Nine weeks go by with no sign of land. The crew becomes restless and edges toward mutiny. He tries to reinvigorate them with an inspiring speech, coinciding with a fast wind, which goads the men to return to their duties. At night, Columbus notices mosquitoes on the deck, indicating that land is not far off. Suddenly, out of the mist they see the lush vegetation and sandy beaches of Guanahani.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Plot
The Europeans befriend the local natives, who show them gold they have collected. Columbus teaches one of them Spanish so that they are able to communicate. He then informs them that will return to Spain, which will be followed by the arrival of many more Europeans. Columbus leaves behind a group to begin the colonisation of the Americas. Back in Spain, he receives a high honour from the queen and has dinner with the council. They express disappointment with the small amount of gold he brought back, but the queen approves of his gifts.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Plot
On the second expedition, Columbus takes 17 ships and over 1,000 men with him to the island; however, all the crewmen left behind are found to have been killed. When the tribe is confronted by Columbus and his troops, they tell him that another tribe came and killed them. Columbus chooses to believe them, but his commanding officer Moxica is not convinced. They begin to build the city of La Isabela and eventually manage to hoist the town bell into its tower.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Plot
Four years later, the natives are being forced to mine for gold. Moxica punishes one who fails to find any gold by cutting off his hand. The word of this act of violence spreads throughout the native tribes and they all disappear into the forest. Columbus begins to worry about a potential war, with the natives heavily outnumbering them. Upon return to his home, he finds his house set ablaze by Moxica and his followers, confirming his unpopularity among a certain faction of the settlers. Soon, the tribes arrive to fight the Spaniards and the island becomes war-torn, with Columbus' governorship being reassigned with orders for him to return to Spain.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Plot
Columbus is accused of nepotism and offering administrative positions to his personal friends, thereby injuring the pride of the nobles such as Moxica; he is replaced by de Bobadilla. Columbus returns to Castile to be imprisoned, but is bailed out by his sons. When summoned by the queen, she is reluctantly convinced to allow him to make another voyage, with the proviso that he neither take his brothers nor return to the colonies. As an old man, Columbus is virtually forgotten in Spain, with the discovery of the New World being credited to Amerigo Vespucci. Columbus's son Ferdinand asks his father to tell him his story so he can transcribe it.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
The production info is based on the Paramount Pictures pressbook.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
The idea for the film began in 1987 when French journalist Roselyne Bosch was researching an article for the upcoming 500th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the Americas. While examining copies of Columbus' letters to Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand, Bosch realized there was interesting material for a screenplay and began additional research on the events surrounding the voyages such as biographies on Columbus and original documents and translations. Bosch then teamed with French producer Alain Goldman. Hoping to set their sights on attracting a major film director, they met with Ridley Scott as well as Mimi Polk Sotela, producer of Thelma and Louise and vice president of Scott's production company.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
Bosch remembers, "I chose to explore the most exciting theory about him – that he was a rebel who pushed the limits of his time; not just geographically, but also socially and politically. You can't imagine a more complex personality than his. There are several men in one."


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
After Bosch teamed with French producer Alain Goldman, the duo set their sights on attracting a major film director. "Bosch's approach satisfied my curiosity about what kind of leader, seaman and father he was," says Goldman.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
Goldman and Bosch met with director Ridley Scott and Mimi Polka-Sotela, executive vice president of his production company and producer of Thelma and Louise. According to Polka-Sotela, "We thought Roselyne's approach was very interesting. As a journalist, she had clearly done her research and her approach was to be honest but fair about Columbus – his obsessions, what he did in order to try and fulfill his dreams: both the positive and the negative results from the pursuit of this quest." According to Scott,"He was a bright light emerging from a dark age, a man looking for renaissance."


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
Ridley Scott and Alain Goldman joined forces in the autumn of 1990 and the film went into pre-production. While Bosch was finishing the script the producers, CAA, Sinclair Tenenbaum, and Marriott Harrison Solicitors secured financing for what became an international co-production through Odyssey Distributors, and in North America with Paramount Pictures.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
Gerard Depardieu was cast in the lead and prepared for the role researching Columbus's letters.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
Armand Assante was cast as Sanchez, treasurer of the Spanish crown. According to Ridley Scott, "Sanchez actually existed, but very little is known about him. He personifies the nobility and the forces that eventually brought Columbus down."


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
Sigourney Weaver was cast as Queen Isabel. According to Scott, "I think Sigourney has a kind of stature as well as a vulnerability that I think Isabel must have had. And that's where the impact lay in the relationship between her and Columbus. It would be silly to suggest it was ever anything approaching sexual, but there was something that obviously impressed Isabel about him."


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
Michael Wincott was cast as the villain, the  disturbed nobleman Adrian de Moxica, who incites a brutal mutiny in the New World. According to Wincott, "Moxica is a creature of his lineage, a man of absolute and corrupt power. To him, Columbus is a peasant and a foreigner, and taking orders from someone so beneath his station is total humiliation. It would have been impossible for them to get along."


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
Scott and his production team scouted in Spain for more than four months before choosing locations in such historic cities as Caceres, Trujillo, Seville, and Salamanca. The filmmakers were given permission by Spanish authorities to film in world-famous monuments like the Alcazar and Casa de Pilatos in Seville and the Old Cathedral of Salamanca. In Spain, 350 carpenters, laborers and painters worked on the film. Era appropriate props were specially constructed and later-era replicas were secured from antique dealers and prop houses in Madrid, Seville, Rome, and London.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
Costume Designer Charles Knode created more than 3,000 costumes. According to Knode, "What we always tried to do was have clothing, not costumes. We tried to make everything look lived-in." Eight outfits were created for Queen Isabel, including a gold brocade gown with a 30-foot printed velvet train and gem-encrusted headdress.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
According to Gerard Depardieu, "Once I'm on the set, it's like an explosion of joy," Depardieu says. "I am happy to follow the director and I don't want to convince him of a different approach to a scene. With Ridley Scott I've managed to build up exactly the kind of relationship I yearn for on the set." For settings for the New World, Cuba, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia were considered, but Costa Rica was chosen. According to Scott, "Costa Rica has been called 'the Switzerland of the Indies.' It's balanced politically, has no army, and has 95% literacy.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
Apart from that I needed to have islands, beaches, mainlands, and jungle, and I found it all in Costa Rica." While filming in Costa Rica, the production was based in Jacó, a small town on the Pacific coast. In addition to heavy humidity and 100+ °F (37.8+ °C) temperatures, the production crew had to deal with alligators, scorpions and poisonous snakes. A snake handler was on hand to help keep them away.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
Ten major sets were built, including three Indian villages, a gold mine, and Columbus's city of Isabel, a twenty acre set which included a cathedral, city hall, an army barracks, a jail, and a two-story governor's mansion for Columbus. Scenes in the New World were often enhanced by atmospheric effects such as mist, smoke, rain, and fire.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
170 indigenous people of Costa Rica comprising four tribes, the Bribri, Maleku, Boruca, and Cabecar, were cast as the natives that Columbus encountered. One of the featured natives was Bercelio Moya, who played Utapan, Columbus's translator. Moya's father, Alejandrino, was cast as Chief Guarionex, and his grandfather, Florin, was cast as the tribe's shaman. Other members of Moya's tribe, the Colombian Waunana, helped build totem poles, dugout canoes, furniture, and weapons. According to cast member Alejandrino Moya, "I feel that the people we are portraying are both noble and dignified, and I would have been proud to have been part of their tribe."


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
Square Sail, a British-based company, refashioned the Santa Maria and Pinta replicas from the hull up from two early 20th century era brigantines. The Nina was constructed in Brazil specifically for the film for the film's 500th anniversary by the Columbus Foundation. The Santa Maria and Nina sailed from Britain to Costa Rica, arriving 10 December 1991 where they joined the Nina.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Production
Filming commenced on 2 December 1991 and ended 10 March 1992, according to imdb.com


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Music
Renowned Greek composer Vangelis composed the score. Its main theme, "Conquest of Paradise", was used by former Portuguese Prime-Minister António Guterres at his 1995 election and it was used by the Portuguese Socialist Party as its campaign and rally anthem, although it was replaced by the main theme from Gladiator (curiously another Ridley Scott film) since the first José Sócrates legislative elections campaign, which doesn't prevent the theme from still being deeply associated with the Socialist Party.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Music
Russia used it in the 2nd round of the 1996 Russian presidential election


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Music
The theme is also used at the starting line of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc ultramarathon. The German boxer Henry Maske (former world champion (IBF) in the Light heavyweight category) used the main theme as his official entry theme during his professional career.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Music
Other usages of the theme include New Zealand Super 15 Rugby franchise the Canterbury Crusaders, as they run onto the field, often accompanied by actors dressed as knights and riding on horseback, and rugby league team Wigan Warriors who play in the Super League, as well as being played before the start of every match in the 2010 and 2014 cricket World Twenty20 championships as well as the 2011 Cricket World Cup.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Music
In these events the theme was played right before the national anthems of the two competing nations, as the flags of the two nations were carried into the ground, accompanied by the players of the two teams. The theme was also played in the Top Gear: US Special and became a signature piece for World Professional Champion figure skaters Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding. Despite the film's dismal box office intake in the United States, the film's score became a successful album worldwide.


1492: Conquest of Paradise, Reception, Box office
1492: Conquest of Paradise opened on 66 screens in Spain, grossing $1 million in its first five days. In the United States and Canada, it opened 9 October 1992 in 1,008 theaters. The version released there was edited to 150 minutes, with some violence and brutality removed in order to achieve a PG-13 rating. The film was a flop in the United States, debuting at number 7 with a gross of $3,002,680; worse than the opening of Christopher Columbus: The Discovery earlier in the year, and went on to gross just $7 million.