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gunpowder
gunpowder
The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
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2006
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© The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. (Hide copyright information)
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gunpowder the introduction of gunpowder can be taken as a type of technological advance; Francis Bacon in
Novum Organum (1620) said of ‘printing, gunpowder, and the mariner's needle [the compass]’ that ‘these three have changed the whole face and state of things throughout the world’. Thomas Carlyle in 1838 wrote of ‘The three great elements of modern civilization, Gunpowder, Printing, and the Protestant Religion.’
Gunpowder Plot a conspiracy by a small group of Catholic extremists to blow up James I and his Parliament on 5 November 1605. The plot was uncovered when Lord Monteagle was sent an anonymous letter telling him to stay away from the House on the appointed day. Guy Fawkes was arrested in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament the day before the scheduled attack and betrayed his colleagues under torture. The leader of the plot, Robert Catesby, was killed resisting arrest and the rest of the conspirators were captured and executed. The plot is commemorated by the traditional searching of the vaults before the opening of each session of Parliament, and by bonfires and fireworks, with the burning of an effigy of Guy
Fawkes, one of the conspirators, annually on 5 November.
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Gunpowder, Government and War in the Mid-Eighteenth Century.
Magazine article from: Canadian Journal of History; 4/1/1993; ; 700+ words
; ...markets for the production of ten gunpowder watermills in the Thames Valley...distribution, and manufacture of gunpowder for the British government between...1770. Britain at war had massive gunpowder requirements. Susceptible to damp...
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Gunpowder, treason and plot... Colin Russell on the the history of the original explosive
Newspaper article from: The Independent - London; 11/5/1998; ; 700+ words
; ...fateful day in 1695. It is of course gunpowder. The plot hatched by Guy Fawkes and...elapsed since the opening of the first gunpowder factories in Britain, though it must...alternative hero), though rumour had it that gunpowder was known to the Chinese or even the...
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An explosive new look at history; The development of gunpowder raised some nations, obliterated others.(FEATURES)(BOOKS)
Newspaper article from: The Christian Science Monitor; 5/4/2004; 700+ words
; ...has successfully fired 1,000 rounds of gunpowder explode upon being loaded one more time? In "Gunpowder: The History of the Explosive that Changed...is both the strength and weakness of "Gunpowder," and, indeed, of all books with titles...
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South's gunpowder 'war'; Facilities kept army supplied despite Union raids.(TRAVEL)(THE CIVIL WAR)
Newspaper article from: The Washington Times; 7/30/2005; 700+ words
; ...important than domestically produced gunpowder. While Confederate authorities struggled...enough niter, the key ingredient in gunpowder, to keep their armed forces active...Confederate states had no large organized gunpowder industry. Though several regions had...
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Jack Kelly's 'Gunpowder' makes history explosive
Newspaper article from: Daily Breeze; 8/8/2004; ; 601 words
; ...different if the Chinese had not discovered gunpowder while seeking the fountain of youth...right - - one that changed the world. In Gunpowder, Jack Kelly, a novelist and regular...traders and saboteurs. The Chinese used gunpowder for fireworks to scare evil spirits and...
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GUNPOWDER TOASTMASTERS CELEBRATE 50TH ANNIVERSARY
News Wire article from: US Fed News Service, Including US State News; 9/27/2007; 700+ words
; ...Toastmasters celebrated 50 years of its Gunpowder Club with a recognition ceremony at the...holds the title, "President Emeritus Gunpowder" that was awarded to him in 1987. Before...Fine, the longest serving member of the Gunpowder Club. Fine said he has been a member...
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GUNPOWDER IS HARNESSED FOR WAR ARTILLERY AND FIREARMS COULD SUBDUE WALLED CITIES AND DESTROY ARMIES.(OUR MILLENNIUM)
Newspaper article from: The Virginian Pilot; 1/31/1999; ; 700+ words
; ...battlefield as the widespread harnessing of gunpowder, well under way by the 16th century...writes, ``have all been transformed by gunpowder.'' 1500s: Combustible missiles date...was the realization that by exploding gunpowder - an updated combination, comprising...
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 "The Birmingham Post (England)")
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Gunpowder, treason and Catholic plot; According to television historian Dr David Starkey, a 'velvet persecution' paved the way for the Gunpowder Plot. He spoke to Campbell Docherty about the role of a Warwickshire stately home at the heart of the conspiracy.(News)
Newspaper article from: The Birmingham Post (England); 4/23/2005; 700+ words
; ...marking the 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot. Dr Starkey officially opened an interactive Gunpowder Plot and spoke to visitors and helped...It involved something like a tonne of gunpowder under Parliament. If it had worked...
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 "The Economist (US)")
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Gunpowder: Bang, bang. You're dead.(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: The Economist (US); 12/25/1999; 700+ words
; ...inventions should not be in these pages. Gunpowder predates 1000, though scholars differ...fireworks by the ninth century. But gunpowder without guns is scarcely worthy of the...revolutionised any one activity more than gunpowder revolutionised war. Before it, archers...
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Word's Getting Around: Big Gunpowder Is Big Time
Newspaper article from: The Washington Post; 10/7/1990; ; 700+ words
; ...unenlightened fly fishermen when the Big Gunpowder River here was named one of the top 100...one has come along since to blow the Gunpowder off its lofty perch. If anything, word...Maryland Chapter, which helped convert the Gunpowder from a battered relic to a pristine treasure...
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Gunpowder Plot
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
Gunpowder Plot conspiracy to blow up the English...House of Lords, in which 36 barrels of gunpowder, overlaid with iron bars and firewood...Bibliography: See J. Gerard, What Was the Gunpowder Plot? (2d ed. 1897); S. R. Gardiner...
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gunpowder
Book article from: The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
gunpowder the introduction of gunpowder can be taken as a type of technological advance; Francis Bacon in Novum Organum (1620) said of ‘printing, gunpowder, and the mariner's needle [the compass]’ that...
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Gunpowder plot
Book article from: The Oxford Companion to British History
Gunpowder plot, 1605. Soon after becoming king of England in 1603, James I discreetly...by destroying the entire English government. They smuggled barrels of gunpowder into the cellars of Parliament, and Guy Fawkes stood ready to ignite...
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Gunpowder
Dictionary entry from: Dictionary of American History
GUNPOWDER GUNPOWDER. See Explosives .
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Explosives
Encyclopedia entry from: The Gale Encyclopedia of Science
...The first chemical explosive was gunpowder, or black powder, a mixture of...years ago. For hundreds of years, gunpowder was used mainly to create fireworks...Remarkably, the Chinese did not use gunpowder as a weapon of war until long after...
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