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164-682: The island gets its name from the reflections that its sides cast at certain hours of the day, which evoke images of a precious stone. It is notable for having been commissioned by the British Empire 's Royal Navy as HMS Diamond Rock , a " stone frigate " serving from February 1804 until June 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars , when the First French Empire captured the rock in the Battle of Diamond Rock and held it until

328-462: A frigate , a corvette , a schooner , and eleven gunboats. The British lost two men killed and one wounded, and the French 20 dead and 40 wounded (English account), or 50 dead and wounded (French account), and three gunboats. The French took the garrison of 107 men as prisoners, splitting them between their two 74-gun ships of the line, Pluton and the ex-British Berwick . The French repatriated

492-461: A bar in the squadron facilities for officer and enlisted aircrew to this day, but most disappeared after World War II and the various Airmen's Clubs, Senior NCO Clubs and Officers' Clubs became facilities of a base rather than a unit. Most are now officially referred to as officer or enlisted clubs; the term "mess" or "officers' open mess" having largely disappeared from the Air Force lexicon. Though

656-633: A board. Gentlemanly conduct is mandatory: for instance upon entering the main hall, officers are expected to stand at attention and perform a small bow. Additionally, veterans' meetings are usually held either in a UHG or in a Kasino. As with the UHG, Kasinos have permanent personnel, as a general rule enlisted men, called Ordonnanzen , a military term for waiter or barman. Some Kasinos have grand pianos, and hold recitals, as well as having music played during luncheons or dinners. Official events such as balls and unofficial events such as weddings, informational events and

820-471: A contest of ideologies between the two nations. It was not only Britain's position on the world stage that was at risk: Napoleon threatened to invade Britain itself, just as his armies had overrun many countries of continental Europe . The Napoleonic Wars were therefore ones in which Britain invested large amounts of capital and resources to win. French ports were blockaded by the Royal Navy , which won

984-577: A decisive victory over a French Imperial Navy - Spanish Navy fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Overseas colonies were attacked and occupied, including those of the Netherlands, which was annexed by Napoleon in 1810. France was finally defeated by a coalition of European armies in 1815. Britain was again the beneficiary of peace treaties: France ceded the Ionian Islands , Malta (which it had occupied in 1798), Mauritius , St Lucia ,

1148-719: A dependency of the New South Wales colony. From 16 June 1840 New South Wales laws applied in New Zealand. This transitional arrangement ended with the Charter for Erecting the Colony of New Zealand on 16 November 1840. The Charter stated that New Zealand would be established as a separate Crown colony on 3 May 1841 with Hobson as its governor. During the 19th century, Britain and the Russian Empire vied to fill

1312-454: A few bases (usually major training bases) have separate Airmen's Clubs for junior enlisted and NCO Clubs for noncommissioned officers, this is no longer normally the case. Physically separate Officers' Clubs still exist at some installations; however, smaller Air Force installations may have one consolidated club with separate lounges. Membership is voluntary, though highly encouraged for senior NCOs and officers. Most NCO and Officers Clubs contain

1476-623: A form that attempted to be more inclusive by showcasing the empire as a family of newly birthed nations with common roots. The last decades of the 19th century saw concerted political campaigns for Irish home rule . Ireland had been united with Britain into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland with the Act of Union 1800 after the Irish Rebellion of 1798 , and had suffered a severe famine between 1845 and 1852. Home rule

1640-417: A member of the officers' mess and will typically have either a monthly mess bill or will purchase meals via some sort of debit card. Social clubs on United States Air Force installations were at one time called Open Messes, even though most were known in vernacular as Officers Clubs or NCO clubs. Those for officers were able to utilize their initials as colorful acronyms, among the more well-known of which in

1804-473: A mess, and are termed ordinary members of their particular mess. Although normally on federal property, messes have been ordered to comply with the legal drinking age laws of their province; for example, an 18-year-old soldier may legally consume alcohol in a Quebec mess, but not in one in Ontario, where the legal age is 19 years. However, despite being underage, the soldier may not be prohibited entry into

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1968-588: A minor settlement, and other treaty ports including Shanghai . During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the British Crown began to assume an increasingly large role in the affairs of the company. A series of Acts of Parliament were passed, including the Regulating Act of 1773 , Pitt's India Act of 1784 and the Charter Act of 1813 which regulated the company's affairs and established

2132-450: A part of a mess before they enter the CPO mess, often called by the sobriquet of "goat locker." Enlisted personnel normally receive all meals at what appears to be no cost, but in fact subsidize their meals through forfeiture of their Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS), also called "commuted rations," although chief petty officers may also have a mess "buy in" or monthly mess bill equivalent to

2296-558: A perceived violation of the guaranteed Rights of Englishmen . The American Revolution began with a rejection of Parliamentary authority and moves towards self-government. In response, Britain sent troops to reimpose direct rule, leading to the outbreak of war in 1775. The following year, in 1776, the Second Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence proclaiming the colonies' sovereignty from

2460-472: A rapid escalation in the number of slaves transported. British ships carried a third of all slaves shipped across the Atlantic—approximately 3.5 million Africans —until the abolition of the trade by Parliament in 1807 (see § Abolition of slavery ). To facilitate the shipment of slaves, forts were established on the coast of West Africa, such as James Island , Accra and Bunce Island . In

2624-536: A security threat to Great Britain or mark the beginning of the break-up of the empire. A second Home Rule bill was defeated for similar reasons. A third bill was passed by Parliament in 1914, but not implemented because of the outbreak of the First World War leading to the 1916 Easter Rising . By the turn of the 20th century, fears had begun to grow in Britain that it would no longer be able to defend

2788-848: A series of Anglo-Mysore wars in Southern India with the Sultanate of Mysore under Hyder Ali and then Tipu Sultan . Defeats in the First Anglo-Mysore war and stalemate in the Second were followed by victories in the Third and the Fourth . Following Tipu Sultan's death in the fourth war in the Siege of Seringapatam (1799) , the kingdom became a protectorate of the company. The East India Company fought three Anglo-Maratha Wars with

2952-406: A ship's captain has access to the vessel's chiefs' and petty officers' mess, the commanding officer of a regiment may enter any of the regimental messes, and the base commander is welcome in any of the base's messes. In practice, commanding officers rarely enter anything other than the officers' mess unless invited, as a point of etiquette. In addition, duty personnel — such as a duty NCO or officer of

3116-682: A sit-down restaurant in addition to social lounges, meeting/dining rooms, and bars. Mess halls in the USAF, where unmarried junior enlisted residing in the dormitories are expected to eat, are officially referred to as "dining facilities," but are colloquially called "chow halls," although dining facility workers traditionally take offense at the term. In the United States Marine Corps , enlisted dining facilities ashore are commonly referred to as 'galleys' or 'chow halls.' When embarked aboard naval vessels, enlisted Marines and NCOs in

3280-675: A way station for its ships travelling to and from its colonies in the East Indies . Britain formally acquired the colony, and its large Afrikaner (or Boer ) population in 1806, having occupied it in 1795 to prevent its falling into French hands during the Flanders Campaign . British immigration to the Cape Colony began to rise after 1820, and pushed thousands of Boers , resentful of British rule, northwards to found their own—mostly short-lived— independent republics , during

3444-499: Is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the officers' mess, the chief petty officer mess, and the enlisted mess. In some civilian societies this military usage has been extended to the eating arrangements of other disciplined services such as fire fighting and police forces. The root of mess is the Old French mes , "portion of food" (cf. modern French mets ), drawn from

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3608-511: Is called a dining facility or DFAC . The Officers' Club ("O Club") is an outgrowth comparable to the Officers' Open Mess, but also providing areas to allow officers to entertain guests. A similar version for enlisted personnel is the "E Club". Mess also describes the formal affair of having a "dining in", held for military members and closed to the public, or a "dining out", a social event for military personnel and their families. For much of

3772-455: Is generally no strict regulation of conduct, even though access is not limited to enlisted personnel, and NCOs or officers may also be present, ensuring some regulation of conduct. 2. UHG ( Unteroffizierheim or Unteroffizierheimgesellschaft ) ( Gesellschaft lit. society) - also called UK (NCO Comradeship/ Unteroffizierkameradschaft ) - Non-commissioned Officers' Mess: this is the area where NCOs can dine or spend their evenings. As opposed to

3936-464: Is probably the last refuge for a species of reptile once endemic to Martinique, the couresse grass snake ( Liophis cursor ). This snake was last seen on Martinique in 1962 and has not been encountered since then. It is now considered to be extinct. The rock has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports breeding populations of brown boobies , brown noddies and bridled terns . Below water,

4100-561: Is seen by some historians as the event defining the transition between the first and second empires, in which Britain shifted its attention away from the Americas to Asia, the Pacific and later Africa. Adam Smith 's Wealth of Nations , published in 1776, had argued that colonies were redundant, and that free trade should replace the old mercantilist policies that had characterised the first period of colonial expansion, dating back to

4264-416: Is still separate, with E-6 and below utilizing the ship's mess decks, E-7 through E-9 utilizing the ship's CPO mess, and commissioned officers being part of the wardroom . Certain large vessels (e.g., aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships) may also include a first class mess for E-6, typically a separate dining area adjacent to the mess decks. This is considered a chance for future CPOs to learn how to be

4428-685: The Mess des chefs ), have been amalgamated with the junior ranks' messes. Certain other bases, mainly training establishments such as HMCS Venture have messes known as the gun room for the use of subordinate officers (naval or officer cadets). Most bases and stations have three messes (officers', warrant officers' and sergeants', and junior ranks'). Many of these establishments have lodger units (such as air squadrons, army regiments, etc.) who also have their own messes. All of His Majesty's Canadian ships have three messes aboard; this extends to Naval Reserve divisions and other naval shore establishments which bear

4592-725: The Acts of Union 1707 . The 18th century saw the newly united Great Britain rise to be the world's dominant colonial power, with France becoming its main rival on the imperial stage. Great Britain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and the Holy Roman Empire continued the War of the Spanish Succession, which lasted until 1714 and was concluded by the Treaty of Utrecht . Philip V of Spain renounced his and his descendants' claim to

4756-671: The American War of Independence towards the end of the 18th century, has been referred to by some historians as the "First British Empire". England's early efforts at colonisation in the Americas met with mixed success. An attempt to establish a colony in Guiana in 1604 lasted only two years and failed in its main objective to find gold deposits. Colonies on the Caribbean islands of St Lucia  (1605) and Grenada  (1609) rapidly folded. The first permanent English settlement in

4920-858: The Americas and Asia . A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left Britain the dominant colonial power in North America . Britain became a major power in the Indian subcontinent after the East India Company 's conquest of Mughal Bengal at the Battle of Plassey in 1757. The American War of Independence resulted in Britain losing some of its oldest and most populous colonies in North America by 1783. While retaining control of British North America (now Canada ) and territories in and near

5084-580: The Battle of Vimy Ridge in a similar light. The important contribution of the Dominions to the war effort was recognised in 1917 by British prime minister David Lloyd George when he invited each of the Dominion prime ministers to join an Imperial War Cabinet to co-ordinate imperial policy. Mess The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term

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5248-707: The British economy . Added to this was the cost of suppressing regular slave rebellions . With support from the British abolitionist movement, Parliament enacted the Slave Trade Act in 1807, which abolished the slave trade in the empire. In 1808, Sierra Leone Colony was designated an official British colony for freed slaves. Parliamentary reform in 1832 saw the influence of the West India Committee decline. The Slavery Abolition Act , passed

5412-759: The Canadian Forces generally follows the British model (see United Kingdom below), from which most traditions have descended. Basic regulations regarding the establishment and administration of messes is contained in the King's Regulations and Orders and the Canadian Forces Administrative Orders . As in the British Forces, there are normally three messes: the officers' mess (called the wardroom in naval establishments), for commissioned officers and officer cadets ;

5576-796: The Caribbean in the British West Indies , British colonial expansion turned towards Asia, Africa , and the Pacific . After the defeat of France in the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), Britain emerged as the principal naval and imperial power of the 19th century and expanded its imperial holdings. It pursued trade concessions in China and Japan, and territory in Southeast Asia . The " Great Game " and " Scramble for Africa " also ensued. The period of relative peace (1815–1914) during which

5740-809: The First Anglo-Afghan War was a disaster for Britain. When Russia invaded the Ottoman Balkans in 1853, fears of Russian dominance in the Mediterranean and the Middle East led Britain and France to enter the war in support of the Ottoman Empire and invade the Crimean Peninsula to destroy Russian naval capabilities. The ensuing Crimean War (1854–1856), which involved new techniques of modern warfare ,

5904-683: The Government of India Act 1858 , establishing the British Raj , where an appointed governor-general administered India and Queen Victoria was crowned the Empress of India . India became the empire's most valuable possession, "the Jewel in the Crown", and was the most important source of Britain's strength. A series of serious crop failures in the late 19th century led to widespread famines on

6068-874: The Great Trek of the late 1830s and early 1840s. In the process the Voortrekkers clashed repeatedly with the British, who had their own agenda with regard to colonial expansion in South Africa and to the various native African polities, including those of the Sotho people and the Zulu Kingdom . Eventually, the Boers established two republics that had a longer lifespan: the South African Republic or Transvaal Republic (1852–1877; 1881–1902) and

6232-658: The Khedivate of Egypt into the 20th century, it was officially a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire and not part of the British Empire. The French were still majority shareholders and attempted to weaken the British position, but a compromise was reached with the 1888 Convention of Constantinople , which made the Canal officially neutral territory. With competitive French, Belgian and Portuguese activity in

6396-568: The Latin verb mittere , meaning "to send" and "to put" (cf. modern French mettre ), the original sense being "a course of a meal put on the table"; cfr. also the modern Italian portata with the same meaning, past participle of portare , to bring . This sense of mess , which appeared in English in the 13th century, was often used for cooked or liquid dishes in particular, as in the " mess of pottage " (porridge or soup) or Eton mess . Messing in

6560-594: The Mahdist Army in 1896 and rebuffed an attempted French invasion at Fashoda in 1898. Sudan was nominally made an Anglo-Egyptian condominium , but a British colony in reality. British gains in Southern and East Africa prompted Cecil Rhodes , pioneer of British expansion in Southern Africa , to urge a " Cape to Cairo " railway linking the strategically important Suez Canal to the mineral-rich south of

6724-447: The Maratha Confederacy . The First Anglo-Maratha War ended in 1782 with a restoration of the pre-war status quo . The Second and Third Anglo-Maratha wars resulted in British victories. After the surrender of Peshwa Bajirao II on 1818, the East India Company acquired control of a large majority of the Indian subcontinent. Britain was challenged again by France under Napoleon, in a struggle that, unlike previous wars, represented

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6888-542: The Middle East . Increasing degrees of autonomy were granted to its white settler colonies , some of which were formally reclassified as Dominions by the 1920s. By the start of the 20th century, Germany and the United States had begun to challenge Britain's economic lead. Military, economic and colonial tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War , during which Britain relied heavily on its empire. The conflict placed enormous strain on its military, financial, and manpower resources. Although

7052-409: The Orange Free State (1854–1902). In 1902 Britain occupied both republics, concluding a treaty with the two Boer Republics following the Second Boer War (1899–1902). In 1869 the Suez Canal opened under Napoleon III , linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean . Initially the Canal was opposed by the British; but once opened, its strategic value was quickly recognised and became

7216-411: The Royal African Company was granted a monopoly on the supply of slaves to the British colonies in the Caribbean. The company would transport more slaves across the Atlantic than any other, and significantly grew England's share of the trade, from 33 per cent in 1673 to 74 per cent in 1683. The removal of this monopoly between 1688 and 1712 allowed independent British slave traders to thrive, leading to

7380-500: The Saint John and Saint Croix river valleys, then part of Nova Scotia , felt too far removed from the provincial government in Halifax , so London split off New Brunswick as a separate colony in 1784. The Constitutional Act of 1791 created the provinces of Upper Canada (mainly English speaking ) and Lower Canada (mainly French-speaking ) to defuse tensions between the French and British communities, and implemented governmental systems similar to those employed in Britain, with

7544-443: The Seychelles , and Tobago ; Spain ceded Trinidad ; the Netherlands ceded Guiana , Ceylon and the Cape Colony , while the Danish ceded Heligoland . Britain returned Guadeloupe , Martinique , French Guiana , and Réunion to France; Menorca to Spain; Danish West Indies to Denmark and Java and Suriname to the Netherlands. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution , goods produced by slavery became less important to

7708-441: The Treaty of Paris of 1763 had important consequences for the future of the British Empire. In North America, France's future as a colonial power effectively ended with the recognition of British claims to Rupert's Land, and the ceding of New France to Britain (leaving a sizeable French-speaking population under British control) and Louisiana to Spain. Spain ceded Florida to Britain. Along with its victory over France in India,

7872-417: The Victorian gold rush , making its capital Melbourne for a time the richest city in the world. The British also expanded their mercantile interests in the North Pacific. Spain and Britain had become rivals in the area, culminating in the Nootka Crisis in 1789. Both sides mobilised for war, but when France refused to support Spain it was forced to back down, leading to the Nootka Convention . The outcome

8036-454: The War of 1812 , and invaded Canadian territory. In response, Britain invaded the US, but the pre-war boundaries were reaffirmed by the 1814 Treaty of Ghent , ensuring Canada's future would be separate from that of the United States. Since 1718, transportation to the American colonies had been a penalty for various offences in Britain, with approximately one thousand convicts transported per year. Forced to find an alternative location after

8200-399: The dominions , colonies , protectorates , mandates , and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was the largest empire in history and, for a century, was

8364-544: The invasion of Martinique . When Martinique was traded back to France in 1815, Diamond Rock was included, and it has not traded hands since. There is a now-obscure poem of some forty four-line stanzas based on the incident, titled "The Diamond Rock". The author "Sea Lion" (the pseudonym of Geoffrey Bennett , a career naval officer), based his 1950 novel The Diamond Rock on the 1804 event, as did Dudley Pope in his 1976 novel Ramage's Diamond . A song called "The Island of Diamond Rock" released in January 2024, by Keyes, has

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8528-545: The metropole and the entirety of the empire while at the same time maintaining the policy of "splendid isolation". Germany was rapidly rising as a military and industrial power and was now seen as the most likely opponent in any future war. Recognising that it was overstretched in the Pacific and threatened at home by the Imperial German Navy , Britain formed an alliance with Japan in 1902 and with its old enemies France and Russia in 1904 and 1907, respectively. Britain's fears of war with Germany were realised in 1914 with

8692-413: The privateers John Hawkins and Francis Drake to engage in slave-raiding attacks against Spanish and Portuguese ships off the coast of West Africa with the aim of establishing an Atlantic slave trade . This effort was rebuffed and later, as the Anglo-Spanish Wars intensified, Elizabeth I gave her blessing to further privateering raids against Spanish ports in the Americas and shipping that

8856-440: The protectionism of Spain and Portugal. The growth of trade between the newly independent United States and Britain after 1783 seemed to confirm Smith's view that political control was not necessary for economic success. The war to the south influenced British policy in Canada, where between 40,000 and 100,000 defeated Loyalists had migrated from the new United States following independence. The 14,000 Loyalists who went to

9020-399: The spice trade of the East Indies archipelago to the Netherlands and the textiles industry of India to England, but textiles soon overtook spices in terms of profitability. Peace between England and the Netherlands in 1688 meant the two countries entered the Nine Years' War as allies, but the conflict—waged in Europe and overseas between France, Spain and the Anglo-Dutch alliance—left

9184-475: The "Sugar Revolution" transformed the Caribbean economy in the mid-17th century. Large sugarcane plantations were first established in the 1640s on Barbados, with assistance from Dutch merchants and Sephardic Jews fleeing Portuguese Brazil . At first, sugar was grown primarily using white indentured labour , but rising costs soon led English traders to embrace the use of imported African slaves. The enormous wealth generated by slave-produced sugar made Barbados

9348-480: The "jugular vein of the Empire". In 1875, the Conservative government of Benjamin Disraeli bought the indebted Egyptian ruler Isma'il Pasha 's 44 per cent shareholding in the Suez Canal for £4 million (equivalent to £480 million in 2023). Although this did not grant outright control of the strategic waterway, it did give Britain leverage. Joint Anglo-French financial control over Egypt ended in outright British occupation in 1882. Although Britain controlled

9512-428: The 1730s. This trade, illegal since it was outlawed by China in 1729, helped reverse the trade imbalances resulting from the British imports of tea, which saw large outflows of silver from Britain to China. In 1839, the confiscation by the Chinese authorities at Canton of 20,000 chests of opium led Britain to attack China in the First Opium War , and resulted in the seizure by Britain of Hong Kong Island , at that time

9676-403: The 1960s and 1970s were Zaragosa and Zweibrücken (ZOOM), Danang (DOOM), Ramstein (ROOM), and Korat Air Bases or Kirtland Air Force Base (KABOOM), Randolph AFB (Auger Inn) and Nellis AFB (Robin's Nest), with the nicknames usually ascribed to those facilities' casual bars versus the entire club. At one time, each squadron had its club, and some flying squadrons continue to maintain

9840-536: The 1970s and early 1980s) provide messing for sailors (and, if assigned, enlisted marines) ashore and as an option for sailors (and, if assigned, enlisted marines) aboard ships while in port at those installations. Commissioned officers may use these facilities if in a "duty officer" status (e.g., squadron duty officer, command duty officer, etc.) under the pretext of "inspecting/sampling" the mess. In addition to galleys ashore, various social clubs with dining facilities may also exist. These are enlisted clubs for sailors in

10004-487: The 1990s and the subsequent need for these clubs to be financially self-sufficient. Further impacting the club system ashore for the Navy is the fact that most naval units deploy for extended periods (e.g., six to ten months) on a regular basis with, especially for shipboard personnel, requiring for senior enlisted personnel and commissioned officers to maintain concurrent membership in a ship's CPO Mess or officers' wardroom , respectively. At sea aboard naval vessels, messing

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10168-493: The 20th century the Army's mess food selection was spartan, but after the end of the draft they changed to a food court model with more variety including fast food, while also making fast food franchises available on bases. In 2011, the Army rolled out a program known as "Soldier Athlete" which promotes healthier foods including low-fat milk, whole grains, and veggie wraps . At most United States Navy shore installations, galleys (previously called Enlisted Dining Facilities in

10332-531: The Americas the following year but did not return; it is unknown what happened to his ships. No further attempts to establish English colonies in the Americas were made until well into the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , during the last decades of the 16th century. In the meantime, Henry VIII 's 1533 Statute in Restraint of Appeals had declared "that this realm of England is an Empire". The Protestant Reformation turned England and Catholic Spain into implacable enemies. In 1562, Elizabeth I encouraged

10496-414: The Americas was founded in 1607 in Jamestown by Captain John Smith , and managed by the Virginia Company ; the Crown took direct control of the venture in 1624, thereby founding the Colony of Virginia . Bermuda was settled and claimed by England as a result of the 1609 shipwreck of the Virginia Company's flagship , while attempts to settle Newfoundland were largely unsuccessful. In 1620, Plymouth

10660-417: The BAS. For those ships with embarked Marine Corps personnel, staff noncommissioned officers in the grades of E-7, E-8 and E-9 will also be part of the CPO Mess. Commissioned officers retain their BAS, a flat-rate allowance much smaller than the graduated by rank amount paid out to enlisted personnel; however, they must pay for all of their meals while afloat out of pocket. This usually entails a mess "buy in" as

10824-479: The British Caribbean, the percentage of the population of African descent rose from 25 per cent in 1650 to around 80 per cent in 1780, and in the Thirteen Colonies from 10 per cent to 40 per cent over the same period (the majority in the southern colonies). The transatlantic slave trade played a pervasive role in British economic life, and became a major economic mainstay for western port cities. Ships registered in Bristol , Liverpool and London were responsible for

10988-443: The British Empire as the new United States of America . The entry of French and Spanish forces into the war tipped the military balance in the Americans' favour and after a decisive defeat at Yorktown in 1781, Britain began negotiating peace terms. American independence was acknowledged at the Peace of Paris in 1783. The loss of such a large portion of British America , at the time Britain's most populous overseas possession,

11152-416: The British Empire became the global hegemon was later described as Pax Britannica (Latin for "British Peace"). Alongside the formal control that Britain exerted over its colonies, its dominance of much of world trade, and of its oceans, meant that it effectively controlled the economies of, and readily enforced its interests in, many regions , such as Asia and Latin America . It also came to dominate

11316-520: The British classification of the island as a ship as its main subject. The rock is a volcanic plug , a remnant of the strong volcanic activity that affected the region some one million years ago. However, a Captain Hansen of the Norwegian steamship Talisman reported that on 13 May 1902, he observed what he took to be a volcanic eruption from a hole in the rock. This was at the time of the devastating volcanic eruption of Mount Pelée that destroyed Saint Pierre . Hansen did not investigate further. Like

11480-425: The British defeated the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, left the British East India Company in control of Bengal and as a major military and political power in India. France was left control of its enclaves but with military restrictions and an obligation to support British client states , ending French hopes of controlling India. In the following decades the British East India Company gradually increased

11644-467: The British recaptured it in the invasion of Martinique in 1809. Diamond Rock was returned to French control as part of a postwar trade of Martinique in 1815, and it remains part of Martinique. Diamond Rock occupies a strategic position at the north end of the Saint Lucia Channel . Possession of the rock permits interdiction of navigation between Martinique and its southern neighbour, Saint Lucia . In September 1803 Commodore Sir Samuel Hood sailed to

11808-498: The Diamond Rock cavern, a deep triangular cave , is a popular attraction for scuba divers. The cave is said to contain prolific quantities of beautiful sea fans and corals , though strong currents make diving around the island a risky venture. One of the rock's cannon that the French had toppled from the summit has been reported to have been found on a dive. British Empire The British Empire comprised

11972-612: The English a stronger colonial power than the Dutch, who were forced to devote a larger proportion of their military budget to the costly land war in Europe. The death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 and his bequeathal of Spain and its colonial empire to Philip V of Spain , a grandson of the King of France , raised the prospect of the unification of France, Spain and their respective colonies, an unacceptable state of affairs for England and

12136-401: The French fleet completely blockaded the rock. On the 25th, the French were able to cut out from under Maurice's guns a British sloop that arrived from St. Lucia with some supplies. The actual assault came on 31 May, and the French were able to land some troops on the rock. Maurice had anticipated the landing and had moved his men from the indefensible lower works to positions further up, and on

12300-643: The French throne, and Spain lost its empire in Europe. The British Empire was territorially enlarged: from France, Britain gained Newfoundland and Acadia , and from Spain, Gibraltar and Menorca . Gibraltar became a critical naval base and allowed Britain to control the Atlantic entry and exit point to the Mediterranean . Spain ceded the rights to the lucrative asiento (permission to sell African slaves in Spanish America ) to Britain. With

12464-555: The HBG, the UHG has a constitution, bylaws and a board. Access is usually restricted to NCOs, while officers can gain entry, even though it is usually frowned upon by the NCOs. Some bases have a joint NCOs' and Officers' Mess. 3. OHG (Officers' Mess/ Offizierheimgesellschaft ) - Also called Casino ( Kasino or Offizierkasino ). Much like the UHG, the Kasino also has a constitution, bylaws and

12628-602: The Missile Ships, Dolphin submarines, and the kitchen in the Patrol Boats are named Messes, Crew Mess and Officers' Mess. Also, every special meal brought by a crewmember, say celebrating a birthday or a rank promotion, is called Mess. On a naval or military establishment there are usually two or three messes: Officers and SNCOs are required under King's Regulations to be a member of a mess and unmarried members usually live, eat, and socialise in them. Members of

12792-559: The Māori population. The UK government finally decided to act, dispatching Captain William Hobson with instructions to take formal possession after obtaining native consent. There was no central Māori authority able to represent all New Zealand so, on 6 February 1840, Hobson and many Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi in the Bay of Islands; most other chiefs signing in stages over

12956-705: The NCO's mess. In the officer's mess and the JCO's club, there also is rank of Mess Havildar. A Mess Havildar is a senior NCO who manages and executes the day-to-day activities of the mess/club. On Republic Day (Jan 26) the JCOs are formally invited for cocktails at the Officers mess. This is reciprocated on Independence Day (Aug 15) by the JCOs at the JCOs Club. In the Israeli Navy , although Hebrew speaking, dining rooms on

13120-661: The Netherlands as a colonial power, in the short term the Netherlands' more advanced financial system and the three Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century left it with a stronger position in Asia. Hostilities ceased after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 when the Dutch William of Orange ascended the English throne, bringing peace between the Dutch Republic and England. A deal between the two nations left

13284-609: The Officers’ and SNCO mess are also required to pay a subscription fee for supplies and upkeep. The amount is decided upon by the commanding officer within the limits stipulated by the Regulations. Soldiers, sailors or airmen are welcome in any mess for their rank or equivalent, should they be away from their home unit, as long as they are paying dues in at least one mess. For the Warrant Officers' and Sergeants' Mess

13448-468: The Pacific between 1769 and 1777, James Cook visited New Zealand . He was followed by an assortment of Europeans and Americans which including whalers, sealers, escaped convicts from New South Wales, missionaries and adventurers. Initially, contact with the indigenous Māori people was limited to the trading of goods, although interaction increased during the early decades of the 19th century with many trading and missionary stations being set up, especially in

13612-675: The Pacific for the extension of the North American fur trade . Alexander Mackenzie of the North West Company led the first, starting out in 1792, and a year later he became the first European to reach the Pacific overland north of the Rio Grande , reaching the ocean near present-day Bella Coola . This preceded the Lewis and Clark Expedition by twelve years. Shortly thereafter, Mackenzie's companion, John Finlay , founded

13776-618: The Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War, and the two continued to co-operate in arenas outside India: the eviction of the French from Egypt (1799), the capture of Java from the Netherlands (1811), the acquisition of Penang Island (1786), Singapore (1819) and Malacca (1824), and the defeat of Burma (1826). From its base in India, the company had been engaged in an increasingly profitable opium export trade to Qing China since

13940-415: The Royal Navy, never to be permitted to serve in the navy again. He became an American citizen three years later. For 17 months, the fort was able to harass French shipping trying to enter Fort-de-France. The guns on the rock completely dominated the channel between it and the main island, and because of their elevation, were able to fire far out to sea. This forced vessels to give the rock a wide berth, with

14104-573: The Seven Years' War therefore left Britain as the world's most powerful maritime power . During the 1760s and early 1770s, relations between the Thirteen Colonies and Britain became increasingly strained, primarily because of resentment of the British Parliament's attempts to govern and tax American colonists without their consent. This was summarised at the time by the colonists' slogan " No taxation without representation ",

14268-762: The Spanish, and in 1666 succeeded in colonising the Bahamas . In 1670, Charles II incorporated by royal charter the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), granting it a monopoly on the fur trade in the area known as Rupert's Land , which would later form a large proportion of the Dominion of Canada . Forts and trading posts established by the HBC were frequently the subject of attacks by the French, who had established their own fur trading colony in adjacent New France . Two years later,

14432-660: The XO. Mess dress is the military term for the formal evening dress worn in the mess or at other formal occasions. It is also known as mess kit. Mess dress would be worn at occasions requiring white tie or black tie . In the United States Army , officers historically have had to purchase their own food using funds allocated to each officer. In the far-flung forts of the American Old West , officers would organize their food service in two ways: The mess now

14596-457: The administration of the island, and wrote to the Admiralty , announcing that he had commissioned the rock as a sloop-of-war, under the name Diamond Rock . Lieutenant Maurice, who had impressed Hood with his efforts while establishing the position, was rewarded by being made commander. While HMS Diamond Rock was in commission as a stone frigate , Royal Navy ships were required, when passing

14760-645: The annexation of the Dutch colony of New Netherland in 1664, following the capture of New Amsterdam , which was renamed New York . Although less financially successful than colonies in the Caribbean, these territories had large areas of good agricultural land and attracted far greater numbers of English emigrants, who preferred their temperate climates. The British West Indies initially provided England's most important and lucrative colonies. Settlements were successfully established in St. Kitts  (1624), Barbados  (1627) and Nevis  (1628), but struggled until

14924-561: The apprenticeship system was abolished in 1838. The British government compensated slave-owners. Between 1815 and 1914, a period referred to as Britain's "imperial century" by some historians, around 10 million sq mi (26 million km ) of territory and roughly 400 million people were added to the British Empire. Victory over Napoleon left Britain without any serious international rival, other than Russia in Central Asia . Unchallenged at sea, Britain adopted

15088-528: The armies of the Dominions , as well as many thousands of volunteers from the Crown colonies. The contributions of Australian and New Zealand troops during the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign against the Ottoman Empire had a great impact on the national consciousness at home and marked a watershed in the transition of Australia and New Zealand from colonies to nations in their own right. The countries continue to commemorate this occasion on Anzac Day . Canadians viewed

15252-589: The bulk of British slave trading. For the transported, harsh and unhygienic conditions on the slaving ships and poor diets meant that the average mortality rate during the Middle Passage was one in seven. At the end of the 16th century, England and the Dutch Empire began to challenge the Portuguese Empire 's monopoly of trade with Asia, forming private joint-stock companies to finance

15416-475: The business of establishing its own overseas colonies. The British Empire began to take shape during the early 17th century, with the English settlement of North America and the smaller islands of the Caribbean, and the establishment of joint-stock companies , most notably the East India Company , to administer colonies and overseas trade. This period, until the loss of the Thirteen Colonies after

15580-599: The coasts of Africa and Brazil to China , and France had begun to settle the Saint Lawrence River area, later to become New France . Although England tended to trail behind Portugal, Spain, and France in establishing overseas colonies, it carried out its first modern colonisation, referred to as the Munster Plantations , in 16th century Ireland by settling it with English and Welsh Protestant settlers. England had already colonised part of

15744-470: The colony was abandoned two years later. The Darien scheme was a financial disaster for Scotland: a quarter of Scottish capital was lost in the enterprise. The episode had major political consequences, helping to persuade the government of the Kingdom of Scotland of the merits of turning the personal union with England into a political and economic one under the Kingdom of Great Britain established by

15908-457: The continent. During the 1880s and 1890s, Rhodes, with his privately owned British South Africa Company , occupied and annexed territories named after him, Rhodesia . The path to independence for the white colonies of the British Empire began with the 1839 Durham Report , which proposed unification and self-government for Upper and Lower Canada, as a solution to political unrest which had erupted in armed rebellions in 1837. This began with

16072-572: The country following the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169. Several people who helped establish the Munster plantations later played a part in the early colonisation of North America, particularly a group known as the West Country Men . In 1578, Elizabeth I granted a patent to Humphrey Gilbert for discovery and overseas exploration. That year, Gilbert sailed for the Caribbean with

16236-477: The decline of the empire. India , Britain's most valuable and populous possession, achieved independence in 1947 as part of a larger decolonisation movement, in which Britain granted independence to most territories of the empire. The Suez Crisis of 1956 confirmed Britain's decline as a global power, and the handover of Hong Kong to China on 1 July 1997 symbolised for many the end of the British Empire, though fourteen overseas territories that are remnants of

16400-657: The empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after the First World War, Britain was no longer the world's preeminent industrial or military power. In the Second World War , Britain's colonies in East Asia and Southeast Asia were occupied by the Empire of Japan . Despite the final victory of Britain and its allies , the damage to British prestige and the British economy helped accelerate

16564-537: The empire remain under British sovereignty . After independence, many former British colonies, along with most of the dominions, joined the Commonwealth of Nations , a free association of independent states. Fifteen of these, including the United Kingdom, retain the same person as monarch , currently King Charles III . The foundations of the British Empire were laid when England and Scotland were separate kingdoms. In 1496, King Henry VII of England , following

16728-576: The exception of international relations . Australia and New Zealand achieved similar levels of self-government after 1900, with the Australian colonies federating in 1901 . The term "dominion status" was officially introduced at the 1907 Imperial Conference . As the dominions gained greater autonomy, they would come to be recognized as distinct realms of the empire with unique customs and symbols of their own. Imperial identity, through imagery such as patriotic artworks and banners, began developing into

16892-684: The first permanent European settlement in British Columbia , Fort St. John . The North West Company sought further exploration and backed expeditions by David Thompson , starting in 1797, and later by Simon Fraser . These pushed into the wilderness territories of the Rocky Mountains and Interior Plateau to the Strait of Georgia on the Pacific Coast, expanding British North America westward. The East India Company fought

17056-578: The following months. William Hobson declared British sovereignty over all New Zealand on 21 May 1840, over the North Island by cession and over the South Islnd by discovery (the island was sparsely populated and deemed terra nullius ). Hobson became Lieutenant-Governor, subject to Governor Sir George Gipps in Sydney, with British possession of New Zealand initially administered from Australia as

17220-585: The following year, abolished slavery in the British Empire on 1 August 1834, finally bringing the empire into line with the law in the UK (with the exception of the territories administered by the East India Company and Ceylon, where slavery was ended in 1844). Under the Act, slaves were granted full emancipation after a period of four to six years of "apprenticeship". Facing further opposition from abolitionists,

17384-465: The foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23 percent of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered 35.5 million km (13.7 million sq mi), 24 per cent of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its constitutional , legal , linguistic , and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it

17548-679: The government on the suitability of Botany Bay for the establishment of a penal settlement , and in 1787 the first shipment of convicts set sail, arriving in 1788. Unusually, Australia was claimed through proclamation. Indigenous Australians were considered too uncivilised to require treaties, and colonisation brought disease and violence that together with the deliberate dispossession of land and culture were devastating to these peoples. Britain continued to transport convicts to New South Wales until 1840, to Tasmania until 1853 and to Western Australia until 1868. The Australian colonies became profitable exporters of wool and gold, mainly because of

17712-483: The grade of Petty Officer First Class (E-6) and below; chief petty officer clubs for CPOs (E-7), senior chief petty officers (E-8) and MCPOs (E-9); and officers' clubs for commissioned officers, although many have been closed, merged into combination enlisted/CPO clubs, or converted into "all hands" enlisted and officer facilities. Such changes began to be imposed following the congressionally-mandated end of Department of Defense budgetary subsidies for all such clubs in

17876-577: The highest ranking (normally the regimental sergeant major) member is known as the Presiding Member. A mess is run by the Mess Committee, a group democratically elected by the members of the mess (except wardrooms), but normally agreed by the commanding officer or regimental sergeant major. Some messes also have a Senior Living-In Member (SLIM) who represents the living-in members and supervises their conduct. The commanding officer of

18040-500: The increasingly healthy profits of colonial trade remained in English hands, Parliament decreed in 1651 that only English ships would be able to ply their trade in English colonies. This led to hostilities with the United Dutch Provinces —a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars —which would eventually strengthen England's position in the Americas at the expense of the Dutch. In 1655, England annexed the island of Jamaica from

18204-558: The intention of asserting imperial authority and not allowing the sort of popular control of government that was perceived to have led to the American Revolution. Tensions between Britain and the United States escalated again during the Napoleonic Wars , as Britain tried to cut off American trade with France and boarded American ships to impress men into the Royal Navy . The United States Congress declared war,

18368-482: The intention of engaging in piracy and establishing a colony in North America, but the expedition was aborted before it had crossed the Atlantic. In 1583, he embarked on a second attempt. On this occasion, he formally claimed the harbour of the island of Newfoundland, although no settlers were left behind. Gilbert did not survive the return journey to England and was succeeded by his half-brother, Walter Raleigh , who

18532-406: The island, to show due respect, personnel on the upper deck standing at attention and facing the rock whilst the bridge saluted. Caves on the rock served as sleeping quarters for the men; the officers used tents. A court martial would reprimand Lieutenant Roger Woolcombe at Plymouth on 7 December 1805 for "conduct unbecoming a gentleman" for having messed (eaten) at the top of the rock with part of

18696-578: The larger trade, by 1720, in terms of sales, the British company had overtaken the Dutch. During the middle decades of the 18th century, there were several outbreaks of military conflict on the Indian subcontinent , as the English East India Company and its French counterpart , struggled alongside local rulers to fill the vacuum that had been left by the decline of the Mughal Empire . The Battle of Plassey in 1757, in which

18860-602: The lieutenant colonel was the only engineer on Martinique, and so no mortar battery materialized. On 23 June 1804, whilst Fort Diamond was on a provisioning expedition at Roseau Bay , St. Lucia, a French boarding party from a schooner came up to her in two rowboats, boarding her at night while most of the crew were asleep below decks. A subsequent court-martial aboard HMS  Galatea at English Harbour , Antigua , convicted Acting Lieutenant Benjamin Westcott of allowing his vessel to be captured. The board dismissed him from

19024-674: The like, are held here. The German Navy call their messes Messen , with the distinction Offiziermesse . The land-based messes are also called Offiziermessen . The Indian Army follows a system similar to the British. A typical regiment/unit would have one mess and two clubs, one for the commissioned officers, club for the Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO) and one for the NCOs. Havildars/Daffadars (equivalent to Sergeants) are considered to be NCOs. The Air Force, however has an SNCO (Sr. NCO) mess for Warrant Officers and sergeants, while lower-ranking NCOs would be members of

19188-510: The loss of the Thirteen Colonies in 1783, the British government looked for an alternative, eventually turning to Australia . On his first of three voyages commissioned by the government, James Cook reached New Zealand in October 1769. He was the first European to circumnavigate and map the country. From the late 18th century, the country was regularly visited by explorers and other sailors, missionaries , traders and adventurers but no attempt

19352-632: The lower Congo River region undermining orderly colonisation of tropical Africa, the Berlin Conference of 1884–85 was held to regulate the competition between the European powers in what was called the " Scramble for Africa " by defining "effective occupation" as the criterion for international recognition of territorial claims. The scramble continued into the 1890s, and caused Britain to reconsider its decision in 1885 to withdraw from Sudan . A joint force of British and Egyptian troops defeated

19516-404: The members of the mess. The Federal German Armed Forces ( Bundeswehr ) differentiates between three different mess areas. 1. HBG ( Heimbetriebsgesellschaft ) - More commonly called Enlisted Mess ( Mannschaftsheim ): it is common for most bases to have one, where food and drink can be purchased. Newspapers and in some cases equipment and souvenirs such as key chains may also be available. There

19680-404: The mess committee, his designate, or the senior member present. These restrictions are normally waived on certain special occasions, when the messes are "opened" to all personnel, regardless of rank. These occasions may include (and will be locally published by the mess committee): : The commanding officer of the establishment or unit that owns the mess is permitted access to all his messes; thus

19844-405: The mess. Canadian Forces personnel are normally welcome in any mess of their appropriate rank group, regardless of element; thus a regimental sergeant-major of an infantry battalion is welcome in a chiefs' and petty officers' mess (inter-service rivalries notwithstanding). Personnel of a different rank (except as noted below) must ask for permission to enter; that may be granted by the president of

20008-493: The most successful colony in the Americas, and one of the most densely populated places in the world. This boom led to the spread of sugar cultivation across the Caribbean, financed the development of non-plantation colonies in North America, and accelerated the growth of the Atlantic slave trade , particularly the triangular trade of slaves, sugar and provisions between Africa, the West Indies and Europe. To ensure that

20172-487: The north. The first of several Church of England missionaries arrived in 1814 and as well as their missionary role, they soon become the only form of European authority in a land that was not subject to British jurisdiction: the closest authority being the New South Wales governor in Sydney. The sale of weapons to Māori resulted from 1818 on in the intertribal warfare of the Musket Wars , with devastating consequences for

20336-515: The one 24-pounder that he placed to fire from a cave halfway up the side of the rock. The British also placed two 24-pounder guns in batteries ("Centaur" and "Queen's") at the base of the rock, and a 24-pounder carronade to cover the only landing-place. One account puts two 24-pounders on the summit, but all other accounts put 18-pounders there. At some point during this, Ma Sophie exploded for unknown reasons, killing all but one of her crew. With work complete by 7 February, Hood decided to formalise

20500-440: The other 47 islets that circle Martinique, the rock has its own ecological characteristics. It is sunnier than the main island, drier, and subject to a long seasonal dry period. Today it is covered in undergrowth and cacti. Relatively inaccessible and inhospitable, the island is uninhabited, which has permitted it to remain a sanctuary for a species that had been believed to be extinct. A nature survey has suggested that Diamond Rock

20664-735: The other powers of Europe. In 1701, England, Portugal and the Netherlands sided with the Holy Roman Empire against Spain and France in the War of the Spanish Succession , which lasted for thirteen years. In 1695, the Parliament of Scotland granted a charter to the Company of Scotland , which established a settlement in 1698 on the Isthmus of Panama . Besieged by neighbouring Spanish colonists of New Granada , and affected by malaria ,

20828-799: The outbreak of the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear in 1739, Spanish privateers attacked British merchant shipping along the Triangle Trade routes. In 1746, the Spanish and British began peace talks, with the King of Spain agreeing to stop all attacks on British shipping; however, in the 1750 Treaty of Madrid Britain lost its slave-trading rights in Latin America . In the East Indies, British and Dutch merchants continued to compete in spices and textiles. With textiles becoming

20992-421: The outbreak of the First World War. Britain quickly invaded and occupied most of Germany's overseas colonies in Africa. In the Pacific, Australia and New Zealand occupied German New Guinea and German Samoa respectively. Plans for a post-war division of the Ottoman Empire, which had joined the war on Germany's side, were secretly drawn up by Britain and France under the 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement . This agreement

21156-434: The passing of the Act of Union in 1840, which created the Province of Canada . Responsible government was first granted to Nova Scotia in 1848, and was soon extended to the other British North American colonies. With the passage of the British North America Act, 1867 by the British Parliament , the Province of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were formed into Canada, a confederation enjoying full self-government with

21320-448: The power vacuums that had been left by the declining Ottoman Empire , Qajar dynasty and Qing dynasty . This rivalry in Central Asia came to be known as the "Great Game". As far as Britain was concerned, defeats inflicted by Russia on Persia and Turkey demonstrated its imperial ambitions and capabilities and stoked fears in Britain of an overland invasion of India. In 1839, Britain moved to pre-empt this by invading Afghanistan , but

21484-406: The prisoners to Barbados by 6 June. The subsequent court-martial of Commander Maurice for the loss of his "ship" (i.e. the fort) exonerated him, his officers, and men and commended him for his defence. Maurice took dispatches to England, where he arrived on 3 August, and was given command of the brig-sloop Savage . The rock remained in French hands until 1809, when the British recaptured it in

21648-456: The protection of the British flag. Hood granted him that protection, and promised that the man could serve in the Royal Navy as a free man in return for guiding a landing party to his now-former master's house. A 23-man landing party, including the guide, and under Lieutenant Reynolds, landed at midnight, walked the four kilometers to the plantation house, and took the engineer and 17 soldiers prisoner, before returning safely to Centaur . Apparently

21812-537: The rank of staff sergeant (E-6) and below use the same mess decks as sailors in the grade of petty officer first class (E-6) and below, while staff NCOs in the rank of gunnery sergeant (E-7) and above take meals in the chief petty officers (CPO) mess. Separate enlisted, NCO and officers clubs continue to exist at Marine Corps shore installations, following the Navy model of enlisted, CPO and officers clubs. Marine Clubs have also been in decline. According to an article by USA Today : The United States Coast Guard follows

21976-405: The region in 1878 and on all outstanding matters in 1907 with the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente . The destruction of the Imperial Russian Navy by the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 limited its threat to the British. The Dutch East India Company had founded the Dutch Cape Colony on the southern tip of Africa in 1652 as

22140-484: The result that the currents and strong winds would make it impossible for them to arrive in Fort Royal. During this time the French troops on Martinique made several unsuccessful attempts to retake the rock. When Admiral Villeneuve embarked on his 1805 voyage to Martinique , he was under orders from Napoleon to recapture Diamond Rock. The French-Spanish combined naval force of 16 ships under French Captain Cosmao-Kerjulien attacked Diamond Rock. Between 16 May and 29 May,

22304-446: The rock aboard Centaur (Captain Murray Maxwell ). Hood had received the assignment to blockade the bays at Fort Royal and Saint Pierre , Martinique. Centaur was lying at anchor in Fort Royal Bay, Martinique, on the morning of 1 December when lookouts sighted a schooner with a sloop in tow about six miles off making for Saint Pierre. Hood sent his advice boat, Sarah , after the sloop, and had Maxwell sail Centaur in pursuit of

22468-401: The rock to gather the thick, broad-leaved grass to be woven into sailors' hats, and a spinach-like plant called callaloo , that when boiled and served daily, kept the crews of Centaur and Ma Sophie from scurvy and was a nice addition to a menu too long dominated by salt beef. Aided by calm weather, the British were able to run lines ashore and hoist two 18-pounder cannons to the summit of

22632-431: The rock, a party of slaves made a clandestine visit to the rock at night to trade fruits and bananas. They brought the news that a French lieutenant colonel of engineers had arrived at their plantation to survey the heights opposite for a mortar battery with which to shell the rock. One of the slaves had been sold by his English owner to the French when the owner left the islands. He did not like his new master and claimed

22796-462: The rock. The British hastily built fortifications and supplied the position with food and water for a garrison of two lieutenants and 120 men under the command of Lieutenant James Wilkes Maurice , Hood's first lieutenant . Hood officially commissioned the island as the " sloop " HMS Diamond Rock (a " stone frigate "). A six-gun sloop, designated HMS  Fort Diamond , supported the fort. In honour of his admiral, Maurice designated as "Hood Battery"

22960-450: The role of global policeman, a state of affairs later known as the Pax Britannica , and a foreign policy of " splendid isolation ". Alongside the formal control it exerted over its own colonies, Britain's dominant position in world trade meant that it effectively controlled the economies of many countries, such as China, Argentina and Siam , which has been described by some historians as an " Informal Empire ". British imperial strength

23124-471: The same as those of their British counterparts, with the addition of special representatives for such things as sports, housing, morale, etc. These positions are normally spelled out in the mess constitution, which sets out the bylaws, regulations, and guidelines for such things as conduct of mess meetings, associate memberships, dress regulations within the mess, or booking of the mess by civilian organizations. The constitution and any amendments are voted upon by

23288-493: The schooner. After a pursuit of some 24 leagues (120 km; 63 nmi), Centaur captured the schooner, which turned out to be the privateer Ma Sophie , out of Guadeloupe. She had a crew of 45 men, and was armed with eight guns, which she had jettisoned during the chase. Hood took Ma Sophie into service as a tender, charging her captain, Lieutenant William Donnett, with watching the channel between Diamond Rock and Martinique for enemy vessels. Donnett made frequent visits to

23452-439: The ship's company. The sailors used pulleys and ropes to raise supplies to the summit. To augment their uncertain food supply, the garrison had a small herd of goats and a flock of guinea hens and chickens that survived on the meager foliage. The British also established a hospital in a cave at the base of the rock that became a popular place to put sailors and marines recovering from fevers or injuries. Just before Centaur left

23616-423: The size of the territories under its control, either ruling directly or via local rulers under the threat of force from the Presidency Armies , the vast majority of which was composed of Indian sepoys , led by British officers. The British and French struggles in India became but one theatre of the global Seven Years' War (1756–1763) involving France, Britain, and the other major European powers. The signing of

23780-450: The sovereignty of the Crown over the territories that it had acquired. The company's eventual end was precipitated by the Indian Rebellion in 1857, a conflict that had begun with the mutiny of sepoys, Indian troops under British officers and discipline. The rebellion took six months to suppress, with heavy loss of life on both sides. The following year the British government dissolved the company and assumed direct control over India through

23944-419: The subcontinent in which it is estimated that over 15 million people died. The East India Company had failed to implement any coordinated policy to deal with the famines during its period of rule. Later, under direct British rule, commissions were set up after each famine to investigate the causes and implement new policies, which took until the early 1900s to have an effect. On each of his three voyages to

24108-418: The successes of Spain and Portugal in overseas exploration, commissioned John Cabot to lead an expedition to discover a northwest passage to Asia via the North Atlantic. Cabot sailed in 1497, five years after the first voyage of Christopher Columbus , and made landfall on the coast of Newfoundland . He believed he had reached Asia, and there was no attempt to found a colony. Cabot led another voyage to

24272-452: The summit. Once the French landed, the British fire trapped the landing party in two caves near sea level. Unfortunately for the garrison, their stone cistern had cracked, due to an earth tremor, so they were short of water, and after exchanging fire with the French, they were also almost out of ammunition. After enduring a fierce bombardment, Maurice surrendered to the superior force on 3 June 1805, having resisted two French seventy-fours ,

24436-502: The title HMCS (see stone frigate ). Due to limited budgets and declining revenues, many messes have been forced to close or amalgamate: for example, at CFS St. John's , the junior ranks' mess of the Newfoundland Militia District closed, its members moving to the station's junior ranks'; the station's officers' mess and warrant officers' and sergeants' mess later amalgamated. Headdress is not worn in Canadian messes, except: All Canadian Forces personnel, regular and reserve, must belong to

24600-427: The unit has right of veto over the mess, and any changes or events must have his approval. The CO is allowed into any mess (because they are legally all his), but it is often considered an abuse of power, unbecoming conduct or disturbing the order for a CO to drink in a lower rank mess, except when invited on special occasions. The Officers' Mess in a Royal Navy ship or base is called the wardroom . Associated with

24764-440: The voyages—the English, later British, East India Company and the Dutch East India Company , chartered in 1600 and 1602 respectively. The primary aim of these companies was to tap into the lucrative spice trade , an effort focused mainly on two regions: the East Indies archipelago , and an important hub in the trade network, India. There, they competed for trade supremacy with Portugal and with each other. Although England eclipsed

24928-414: The wardroom is a gunroom , the mess for midshipmen and occasionally junior sub-lieutenants . The captain of a vessel is not normally a member of the wardroom, which is always run by the first lieutenant or executive officer (XO), thereby known as the Mess President ("Mess Prez"). This post is part of the job of being a ship's XO. Other committee members are generally appointed (voluntarily or otherwise) by

25092-444: The warrant officers' and sergeants' mess (Navy: chiefs' and petty officers' mess), for senior non-commissioned officers and warrant officers ; and the junior ranks mess, for junior non-commissioned officers , privates , and seamen . Some bases, such as CFB Kingston in the 1980s, had a master corporals ' mess separate from the junior ranks'; all of these, with the exception of the CFB Valcartier master corporals' mess (known as

25256-446: The watch — or the military police have access to any and all messes for the purposes of maintaining good order and discipline. Chaplains are usually welcomed in all messes. As in the UK, Canadian messes are run by the mess committee, a group democratically elected by the members of the mess. One exception is on warships, where the president of the junior ranks mess is appointed by the commanding officer. The committee members are generally

25420-405: Was a humiliation for Spain, which practically renounced all sovereignty on the North Pacific coast. This opened the way to British expansion in the area, and a number of expeditions took place; firstly a naval expedition led by George Vancouver which explored the inlets around the Pacific North West, particularly around Vancouver Island . On land, expeditions sought to discover a river route to

25584-472: Was described as " the empire on which the sun never sets ", as the sun was always shining on at least one of its territories. During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France , and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in

25748-481: Was founded as a haven by Puritan religious separatists, later known as the Pilgrims . Fleeing from religious persecution would become the motive for many English would-be colonists to risk the arduous trans-Atlantic voyage : Maryland was established by English Roman Catholics  (1634), Rhode Island  (1636) as a colony tolerant of all religions and Connecticut (1639) for Congregationalists . England's North American holdings were further expanded by

25912-472: Was granted his own patent by Elizabeth in 1584. Later that year, Raleigh founded the Roanoke Colony on the coast of present-day North Carolina , but lack of supplies caused the colony to fail. In 1603, James VI of Scotland ascended (as James I) to the English throne and in 1604 negotiated the Treaty of London , ending hostilities with Spain. Now at peace with its main rival, English attention shifted from preying on other nations' colonial infrastructures to

26076-404: Was made to settle the country or establish possession. The coast of Australia had been discovered for Europeans by the Dutch in 1606 , but there was no attempt to colonise it. In 1770, after leaving New Zealand, James Cook charted the eastern coast, claimed the continent for Britain, and named it New South Wales . In 1778, Joseph Banks , Cook's botanist on the voyage, presented evidence to

26240-429: Was not divulged to the Sharif of Mecca , who the British had been encouraging to launch an Arab revolt against their Ottoman rulers, giving the impression that Britain was supporting the creation of an independent Arab state. The British declaration of war on Germany and its allies committed the colonies and Dominions, which provided invaluable military, financial and material support. Over 2.5 million men served in

26404-440: Was returning across the Atlantic, laden with treasure from the New World . At the same time, influential writers such as Richard Hakluyt and John Dee (who was the first to use the term "British Empire") were beginning to press for the establishment of England's own empire. By this time, Spain had become the dominant power in the Americas and was exploring the Pacific Ocean, Portugal had established trading posts and forts from

26568-427: Was supported by the British prime minister , William Gladstone , who hoped that Ireland might follow in Canada's footsteps as a Dominion within the empire, but his 1886 Home Rule bill was defeated in Parliament. Although the bill, if passed, would have granted Ireland less autonomy within the UK than the Canadian provinces had within their own federation, many MPs feared that a partially independent Ireland might pose

26732-481: Was the only global war fought between Britain and another imperial power during the Pax Britannica and was a resounding defeat for Russia. The situation remained unresolved in Central Asia for two more decades, with Britain annexing Baluchistan in 1876 and Russia annexing Kirghizia , Kazakhstan , and Turkmenistan . For a while, it appeared that another war would be inevitable, but the two countries reached an agreement on their respective spheres of influence in

26896-401: Was underpinned by the steamship and the telegraph , new technologies invented in the second half of the 19th century, allowing it to control and defend the empire. By 1902, the British Empire was linked together by a network of telegraph cables, called the All Red Line . The East India Company drove the expansion of the British Empire in Asia. The company's army had first joined forces with

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