chunk_id
stringlengths 3
8
| chunk
stringlengths 1
1k
|
|---|---|
339_1 | high school into reality. |
339_2 | Early life and education |
339_3 | Gold Coast |
339_4 | Clerk was born on 28 October 1862 at Aburi, about twenty miles north-east of the Ghanaian capital, Accra. N. T. Clerk was a second generation descendant of the historic Clerk family of Accra. His father was Alexander Worthy Clerk, a Jamaican Moravian missionary who was among the first group of West Indians, recruited by the Danish minister, Andreas Riis (1804–1854) of the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society in 1843. Riis lived on the Gold Coast from 1832 to 1845. His mother, Pauline Hesse (1831–1909) was from the Gold Coast, and was of Danish, German and Ga descent. His aunt was Regina Hesse (1832 –1898), a pioneer educator and school principal. He studied at Basel Mission primary and boarding middle schools in Aburi. During his basic school years, Clerk took subjects in reading, writing, arithmetic, biblical studies, history, geography, science, music and general religion. This was followed by pedagogy and theology training at the Basel Mission Seminary, now the Presbyterian |
339_5 | College of Education, Akropong, in the state of Akuapem, 32 miles (51 km) north-north-east of Accra where he showed strong interest in Christian missionary work and stayed until the end of 1883. He was described by his biographer, the Swiss German church historian and theologian, Hans Werner Debrunner, as "a sturdy lad who had inherited his father's intelligence...and was by far the best student" at the Akropong seminary. The Basel missionaries founded the Akropong seminary in 1848 as the second oldest higher educational institution in early modern West Africa after Fourah Bay College, established in 1827. Nicholas Clerk spent his summers helping the German Huppenbauer missionary family household at Aburi. In 1884, Mrs. Huppenbauer gave birth to a baby, Carl. Nicholas, together with others assisted in the care of the baby while Mrs. Huppenbauer underwent emergency surgery to amputate a gangrene-afflicted leg, performed by Dr. Mahly, an ethnologist and a linguist, who used a hand saw, |
339_6 | a bread knife and silk thread for the procedure. After a short period of recovery, the Huppenbauer family returned to Germany with Nicholas Clerk who was about to continue his seminary studies in Europe. |
339_7 | Germany and Switzerland |
339_8 | Nicholas Clerk spent a year (1884 – 1885) in Schorndorf, about 42 miles (26 km) east of Stuttgart, Germany, learning Latin, Greek and Hebrew and mastering German while living with and studying under the award-winning German philologist, Johann Gottlieb Christaller who had earlier been influential in the translation of the Bible into the Twi language with the help of Akan linguists and missionaries, David Asante, Theophilus Opoku, Jonathan Palmer Bekoe and Paul Staudt Keteku. Christaller was a two-time recipient (1876; 1882) of the most prestigious linguistics prize, The Prix Volney, awarded since 1822, by the Institut de France "to recognize work in general and comparative linguistics." While living in Germany, Clerk assisted Christaller in completing some of his works in the Twi language. With the aid of a bursary awarded by the Basel Mission, Clerk then pursued further studies at the Basel Mission Seminary (Basler Missionsseminar) between August 1885 and July 1888, where he |
339_9 | received advanced instruction in theology, philosophy and linguistics, with special emphasis on philology. His theology courses included dogmatics, homiletics and catechesis. Clerk was the third African to be educated in Europe by the Basel Mission after the Americo-Liberian pastor, George Peter Thompson, an 1842 alumnus and the native Akan missionary, David Asante who had earlier completed his training in 1862. The Basel mission also had a holistic and rigorous skills-based approach to educating its students. This was geared towards teaching them the survival know-how to especially endure harsh terrains during Christian missionary fieldwork. In this regard, in addition to his integrated classical education, N. T. Clerk received practical training in geography and cartography, botany, rudimentary civil engineering as well as basic natural science, medicine, anatomy and surgery. At Basel, Clerk suffered a nervous breakdown halfway through his studies but recovered quickly. He passed |
339_10 | his final examinations, was consecrated in the Basel Minster as a missionary on 5 July 1888 and shortly thereafter, ordained a minister at Korntal, situated at the northwestern border of Stuttgart of the German state of . Briefly transiting in Liverpool in August 1888, he arrived in his homeland, two months later, in October 1888. |
339_11 | Missionary work
Clerk's first station was at Anum, on the banks of the Volta River, about 50 miles (80 km) inland, where he arrived in October 1888. In August, 1890 he left Anum to start a mission station in the State of Buem in what is now the Volta Region of Ghana. He chose Worawora, more than 110 miles (176 km) from the coast, as his headquarters. In Worawora, he built a school, a chapel, an administrative office and a house for himself. He also constructed a water well for the Worawora community. In August of the 1891 he left Anum to establish a mission station he worked in at Boradaa in the Buem area and later became the principal evangelist there. In January 1894, Clerk was a delegate of the Synod of the Basel Mission held on the coast. |
339_12 | N. T. Clerk preached against human sacrifice, persecution of albinos, witch-hunt, oppression of widows and orphans, infanticide, specifically, superstitious killing of twins as well as ritual servitude and slavery, child labour and trafficking. He tried to encourage parents to send their children, including the girl-child, to school. He also tried to persuade adults to join the church, but adherence to the practice of polygamy (which was opposed by the Christian Church) made his work difficult. He had come to Buem at a time when it was still independent of either German or British rule, and when inter-tribal wars were not uncommon. The younger generation wanted him to side with them in community disputes with their elders. However, Clerk remained neutral, infuriating the youth who refused to cooperate with him In spite of many challenges, the Worawora mission station was making modest progress by 1898. In 1899, when the inhabitants moved from the hill to the valley, Clerk followed |
339_13 | them, and established a new mission station. Buem had then become a part of the German Togoland, conditions of peace prevailed, and Clerk's work had become easier. Before the forcible German takeover of Buem, the inhabitants had wanted Clerk to persuade the British to annex the area, while the German administration, based in Lomé on the coast, had sent a messenger to him to ask him to persuade the people of Buem to become German subjects, but he had refused to take sides based on his personal conviction and the apolitical code of conduct for a Basel missionary at the time which required that he remained neutral in all issues relating to colonial governance. |
339_14 | With a family to support, Clerk struggled to live on his meagre £10 monthly stipend, and occasionally felt that he should seek a more lucrative post. Dr. Gruner, the German district commissioner at Misahohé, nearly 50 miles (80 km) to the south in what is now the Republic of Togo, had heard of his plight, and in 1893 had written to him, offering him a permanent post in the civil service of the German administration with a starting monthly salary of 500 Deutsch marks. Nonetheless, Clerk once again refused to quit his mission job with the response that he considered the Basel Mission to be his "mother" and he cannot leave her side. Though he disliked the German way of treating Africans, and made them aware of it, he was still highly regarded by the Germans. |
339_15 | Under German rule, parents were obliged to send their children to school, and cleanliness as well as hygiene were strictly enforced. Clerk taught his converts to plant cocoa using more modern mechanised methods and his pioneering work in agriculture bore fruit years later. The German administration insisted that Ewe should be taught in the mission's schools instead of the Basel-preferred language of Twi. As a result, Clerk could not continue his work in Buem. In the 1904 (the year he left), the Basel Mission station was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Bremen Mission. |
339_16 | Clerk then moved to Berekum, near Sunyani, about 80 miles (128 km) northwest of Kumasi, in what is now the Brong -Ahafo Region of Ghana, and here he had intended to settle. The paramount chief however refused to grant him accommodation, and the inhabitants would not help him build a house. Nonetheless, the Rev. N. T. Clerk established the first congregation, in the Brong Ahafo Presbytery, the Berekum Congregation, in 1905 and was its first residential Minister. The Berekum Presbyterian District was founded in 1920. After nearly three lacklustre years and in the face of hostility, intimidation and poor health including a tapeworm infection, he was transferred to Larteh, just south of Akropong, where he found the work more pleasant, staying there as the resident district minister from 1907 to 1918. In an entrepreneurial drive and a practical approach to sustain their work, Clerk and several African Christian missionaries set up cocoa farms. With financial proceeds he received from his |
339_17 | personal farm enterprise at Adawso, a few miles to the west, he was able to give his children high-quality education and raise them to become responsible professionals in society: a Protestant minister, an architect, teachers, a nurse, a medical doctor and fashion designers. |
339_18 | An extensive collection of Nicholas Clerk's cartographic manuscripts and ethnographic reports, produced from his missionary work in numerous Ghanaian towns and villages, is housed at the Archives and Library of the Basel Mission / Mission 21 in Basel, Switzerland. |
339_19 | Synod Clerk of the Presbyterian Church
The European members of the Basel Mission, however, did not treat their African colleagues as adults, and kept them out of the church and mission administration with central decisions concerning the local church made in Basel, Switzerland. Clerk resented this paternalism, and felt that the Basel Mission on the Gold Coast should become operationally decentralized and Africanized and tailored more to the local context, a view which he communicated strongly to the European missionaries. The coming of the First World War (1914-1918) gave the African missionaries a chance to undertake heavier responsibilities, even though they had not been trained for them. When the Basel Mission was expelled from the Gold Coast in 1917 during World War I, the Free Church of Scotland led by the minister, A. W. Wilkie took over their work. |
339_20 | A Synod (a Presbyterian judicatory or polity, composed of members from all presbyteries within its geographic jurisdiction) and a Synod Committee were established. Clerk was elected the first Synod Clerk of the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast on 14 August 1918; his tenure of office, as effectively the chief administrative officer and de facto organizational leader of the wholly indigenous and self-governing African church was from 1918 to 1932. In his inaugural address, N. T. Clerk passionately argued for a secondary school for boys, a pitch which was eventually taken up by the church leading to the establishment of the Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School in 1938. Peter Hall, the son of John Hall, another Jamaican missionary was also elected the First Moderator of Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast in 1918. At the 1918 Synod held at the Christ Presbyterian Church, Akropong, Hall and Clerk authored the first constitution of the Ghanaian Presbyterian Church. At the Synod, the |
339_21 | church retained its eleven districts: Christiansborg (Osu), Abokobi, Odumase-Krobo, Aburi, Akropong, Anum, Kyebi, Begoro, Nsaba, Abetifi and Kumasi. At the 1922 Synod, the first five Presbyteries were created: Ga and Adangme; Akuapem and Anum; Agona and Kotoku; Akyem and Okwawu; Asante and Asante Akyem. Mission stations were opened at Aburi, Larteh, Odumase, Abokobi, Kyebi, Gyadam, Kwahu, Asante, Anum as well as the Northern territories including Yendi and Salaga. |
339_22 | Determined to succeed as an administrator, Clerk preached self-reliance and self-sufficiency, refusing to ask Missionary Societies abroad for funds This attitude was unpopular at home as the church was facing a financial crisis; while teachers could then earn good government salaries, Presbyterian pastors had to live on very modest stipends that the church could afford. Clerk's administration initially relied on sequestration for funding. He cooperated and collaborated with the Scottish missionaries after he had got over his initial suspicion of them. As Synod Clerk of the church, he emphasised the continued use of indigenous languages in church and school, and insisted on an unassuming and austere lifestyle. Clerk also attempted to forge unity between the Presbyterian church and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church with objective of forming a merger, the "United Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast" but his unification efforts proved futile. |
339_23 | In the 1926 Synod meeting opened by N. T. Clerk, at Abetifi, the church polity voted to adopt the name ‘The Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast’ later to become ‘The Presbyterian Church of Ghana’ after the country gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. The change in name from the Basel Mission Church to the Presbyterian Church was in recognition to the complex history between the Scottish Presbyterian polity, the 1560 Scottish Reformation and the pivotal role the City of Basel in Switzerland played during the Protestant Reformation. After the Basel Missionaries were permitted to return to the Gold Coast in 1926, they cooperated with their Scottish colleagues, working together in the renamed and independent Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast. In that same year, 1926, Clerk returned to Basel as the church's delegate, and was able to dispel any notions in missionary circles that the Presbyterian Church had forgotten its roots and its debt to the Basel Mission. |
339_24 | In this context, the church's logo is an expression of the "triple heritage" of missionary epochs in the formation of the Ghanaian Presbyterian church, representing the efforts of the Basel Europeans, the Moravian West Indians and the Scottish Presbyterians. This coming together of the three main missionary eras to forming one entity is captured in the church's motto, "That they all may be one."
The Synod took place biennially between 1918 and 1950, after which it was organised on a yearly basis. Furthermore, from 1918 to 2000, the Ghanaian Presbyterian Church operated the Synod system. At the 2000 Abetifi Synod, the Church switched to the General Assembly system, with the first General Assembly held in Navrongo in 2001. |
339_25 | Nicholas T. Clerk also attended the International Missionary Council (IMC) conference from 14 to 20 September 1926 held in Le Zoute (Het Zoute) in the municipality of Knokke-Heist in the Belgian province of West Flanders, on the theme "The Christian Mission in Africa". The event brought together clergymen, missionary educationalists, medical experts and consultative members from the global academic community to discuss a variety of topics, relating to formal education and holistic training on the African continent, with topics encompassing "the Christian ideal in education, policy curriculum, the education of women and girls, the medium of instruction, languages and literature, and religious education." The IMC “encouraged ecumenical cooperation in support of world evangelization," and had its roots in the 1910 World Mission Conference in Edinburgh – a meeting that established the International Review of Mission, subsequently leading to the formation of the International Missionary |
339_26 | Council in 1921 which was later incorporated into the World Council of Churches in 1961, as the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism. |
339_27 | Later years
After Clerk's retirement in 1933, he split his time between Adawso and his home in Christiansborg (Osu) and continued to be active in church work. He often gave sermons at the local chapel, Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, in Osu as a locum tenens minister, even at the age of 90.
The Government of the Gold Coast, on behalf of King George V and The Crown, awarded him a Certificate and a Badge of Honour, in June 1934 in recognition of his dedicated and distinguished service to his country and selfless contributions to education and nation building. The people of Buem invited him to visit them in 1937, a happy reunion he considered his "greatest moment".
Personal life |
339_28 | Nicholas Timothy Clerk married Anna Alice Meyer (born on 13 March 1873), a homemaker and teacher from Christiansborg (Osu) on 26 February 1891 at Aburi. The wedding ceremony was officiated by Clerk's own father, the Rev. A. W. Clerk. Meyer was described as a "mulatress" and the daughter of the Rev. Carl Meyer, an 1850 seminarist at Christiansborg and a minister of the Basel Mission who belonged to the Meyer family that had origins in Denmark and was associated with a trading company on the Gold Coast. Anna Meyer's mother was a member of the Ga people of Accra and hailed from Agbajajoohe, a hamlet near the Christiansborg Castle in Osu. A descendant of the Euro-African mercantile class, Anna Meyer's probable ancestors included Hartvig Meyer, the Danish Governor of the Gold Coast from 11 September 1703 to 23 April 1704, and Peder Meyer, the Danish colonial merchant who settled on the Gold Coast and flourished between the last decade of the eighteenth century and the first decade of the |
339_29 | nineteenth century. |
339_30 | She was educated at the now defunct all-girls boarding school, Basel Mission Girls’ School, established by Catherine Mulgrave in 1857, at Abokobi near Accra. Anna Meyer had spent half-a-year in Odumase with her uncle, Carl Quist/Karl Kvist (1843-99) who had previously been a catechist and a housemaster at the pastors' seminary. Carl Quist's son (Meyer's cousin) was Emmanuel Charles Quist (1880 – 1959), a barrister and judge who became the first African President of the Legislative Council from 1949 to 1951, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Gold Coast from 1951 to 1957, and Speaker of the National Assembly of Ghana from March 1957 to November 1957. |
339_31 | Anna Meyer also stayed with the German missionary Kopps family. Several of the Abokobi school's enrolled pupils came from the Euro-African Christian families of Christiansborg in Osu though the school was open to all. In this regard, the Abokobi school was quite similar to the Christiansborg Castle School, opened in 1722, as well as the Cape Coast Castle School, established in the eighteenth century by the Reverend Thompson of the Anglican Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) associated with the Church of England. The castle schools were originally approved by the European Governors to baptise and educate the male Euro-African children of European men and Gold Coast African women. These children later became clerks and soldiers in the colonial civil service. |
339_32 | Nicholas and Anna Clerk had nine children: Paulina Ruth (Mrs. Tagoe), Alexander Worthy (died in infancy), Carl Henry, Kate Hedwig (Mrs. Odonkor), Caroline Rebecca (Mrs. Quartey), Theodora Louisa (Mrs. Hall), Jane Elizabeth, Theodore Shealtiel and Matilda Johanna Clerk.
Within a year of his retirement, Clerk's wife, Anna Alice died suddenly on 2 August 1934 from a heart attack at their home in Adawso. Like his father, A. W. Clerk, N. T. Clerk was a polyglot; he read, wrote and spoke English, Ga, German and Twi fluently. |
339_33 | Selected writings
Clerk, N. T. and Christaller, J. G. (1890), "Neue Reise in den Hinterländen von Togo, nach Nkonya, Buem, Obooso, Salaga, Krakye, 2. Dezember 1889 bis 5. Februar 1890," Mitteilungen der geographischen Gesellschaft für Thüringen zu Jena, vol. IX, pp. 77 – 98 [An account of the northern Volta of the Gold Coast, written entirely in German in the "Missionsgeorgraphischer Teil" of the periodical, Journal of the Geographical Society of Thuringia]
Clerk, N. T. (1943), "The Settlement of West Indian Emigrants on the Gold Coast under the Auspices of the Basel Mission 1843-1943 - A Centenary Sketch," Accra |
339_34 | Death and funeral
He died of natural causes at his home in Osu, Accra, two months before his ninety-ninth birthday, on 16 August 1961. A large crowd was present to mourn him at his funeral service held at the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Osu. His remains were interred in the Basel Mission quarter (section) of the Osu Cemetery (formerly known as the Christiansborg Civil Cemetery) in Accra. |
339_35 | Memorials and legacy |
339_36 | In appreciation of his contributions to education, the Government of the Gold Coast honoured him by naming two streets in Ghana after him: The Reverend Nicholas Timothy Clerk Road in Worawora and the Clerk Street in Osu, Accra. A boarding house, Clerk House at the Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School (PRESEC, Legon) was named in his honour, in recognition of his selfless service to the church and the founding of a school that became synonymous with academic excellence and highly regarded alumni. The "N. T. Clerk Congregation" in the Volta Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana was named in his honour for the evangelical work he did in the Worawora area. The Rev. N. T. Clerk Memorial International School, Worawora was also named in his memory. A roundabout and a church in Buem were also named in Nicholas Clerk's honour. The Presbyterian Church today has instituted "Presbyterian Day" also "Ebenezer Day", a special Sunday designated in the church almanac to celebrate the arrival |
339_37 | on 18 December 1828, selfless work and toil of the missionaries in the early years. The names of Nicholas Clerk and his father, Alexander Clerk appear on a commemorative plaque in the sanctuary of the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Osu, listing pioneering missionaries of the church, in recognition of their contributions to formal education and the growth of the Presbyterian faith in Ghana. |
339_38 | Literature
Debrunner, Hans Werner (1965). Owura Nico: the Rev. Nicholas Timothy Clerk, 1862-1961, pioneer and church leader (translated by Susanne Mainzer). Accra: Waterville Pub. House
Bibliography
Notes
Over the years, several of N. T. Clerk's children and grandchildren have made significant contributions to the development of Ghana in areas relating to architecture, church development, civil service, education, health services, print and broadcast journalism, medicine, natural sciences, public administration, public health, public policy and urban planning.
References |
339_39 | 1862 births
1961 deaths
Afro-Jamaican
Clerk family of Ghana
Ghanaian theologians
Ghanaian chaplains
Ghanaian clergy
Ga-Adangbe people
Ghanaian people of Danish descent
Ghanaian people of German descent
Ghanaian people of Jamaican descent
People from Accra
19th-century Presbyterian ministers
20th-century Presbyterian ministers
Ghanaian Presbyterian missionaries
Jamaican Protestants
Jamaican Protestant missionaries
Presbyterian missionaries in Ghana
Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong alumni |
340_0 | U.S. Route 3 (US 3) is a United States highway running from Boston, Massachusetts, through New Hampshire, to the Canada–US border near Third Connecticut Lake, where it connects to Quebec Route 257.
Massachusetts Route 3 connects to the southern terminus of US 3 in Cambridge and continues south to Cape Cod. Though it shares a number, it has never been part of US 3. Both routes, which connect end-to-end, are treated as a single state highway by the MassDOT. From Boston to Burlington, US 3 is routed on surface streets through the dense suburbs in the Greater Boston area. After a brief concurrency with Interstate 95 and Massachusetts Route 128, the route follows its own freeway northwest, bypassing Lowell and entering New Hampshire at Nashua, becoming the Everett Turnpike. |
340_1 | In New Hampshire, current and former parts of US 3 are known as the Daniel Webster Highway. From Burlington, Massachusetts, to Nashua, New Hampshire, US 3 is a freeway. The segment in New Hampshire is a free portion of the Everett Turnpike, while the portion in Massachusetts is known as the Northwest Expressway. From where it leaves the Everett Turnpike in Nashua northwards, US 3 is generally a 2-4 lane at-grade road, though there are two super two freeway portions in northern New Hampshire, one on the Laconia Bypass, and one where US 3 and Interstate 93 use the Franconia Notch Parkway. The route serves as a major local arterial, connecting many of the cities of the densely populated Merrimack River Valley. North of the White Mountains, the route serves as one of the only north–south roads connecting the communities of the Great North Woods Region and has New Hampshire's only border crossing between the US and Canada.
Route description |
340_2 | |-
|MA
|
|-
|NH
|
|- class="sortbottom"
|Total
|
|}
Massachusetts |
340_3 | Boston to Burlington |
340_4 | US 3 begins in the south on the Longfellow Bridge in Boston. After it crosses the Charles River, it heads west along Memorial Drive in Cambridge, along the river’s southern bank, at an interchange with Massachusetts Avenue (Route 2A). The road continues as southbound Massachusetts Route 3 towards downtown Boston, while northbound US Route 3 heads west, then north along the river towards Harvard University, joining with Route 2 along the way. It runs along the north bank of the Charles River, opposite Soldiers Field Road in Allston along this stretch. Passing south of Harvard Square, US 3 and Route 2 transition onto the Fresh Pond Parkway and join Route 16. Near the Alewife MBTA station, Route 2 splits off as a freeway to the west (Concord Turnpike), while US 3 and Route 16 stay on the Alewife Brook Parkway. Shortly thereafter, US 3 splits from the Parkway (which continues as Route 16) and joins Route 2A (Massachusetts Avenue) westbound, crossing into Arlington. In the center of town, |
340_5 | US 3 and Route 2A split from Massachusetts Avenue and overlap briefly with Route 60 before continuing along Mystic Street. Route 2A splits from US 3 just to the north. US 3 continues through parts of Winchester and Woburn without any major intersections before entering Burlington and interchanging with Interstate 95 and Route 128 (Yankee Division Highway) at exit 51A. US 3 joins the freeway to connect with the Northwest Expressway, while its historic surface alignment continues as Route 3A. |
340_6 | Burlington to Tyngsborough (Northwest Expressway)
US 3 runs along of I-95 (Route 128) in a wrong-way concurrency before exiting at exit 50A onto its own freeway, the Northwest Expressway.
Originally built in the 1950s, before the cancellation of the Inner Belt, the US 3 freeway was to have extended into metro Boston before being truncated to I-95. Consequently, a partially completed cloverleaf interchange connects US 3 to I-95. Exit numbers on the US 3 freeway start at mile marker 72 since MA 3 and US 3 are counted as one highway by MassDOT. |
340_7 | The freeway closely parallels Route 3A, the historic alignment of US 3, along its entire length from Burlington to the New Hampshire state border. It passes through Billerica and into Chelmsford, where it connects with I-495 and the Lowell Connector, a freeway spur into downtown Lowell. Continuing north, the freeway briefly enters Lowell, then passes through North Chelmsford and Tyngsborough before crossing the state line into Nashua, New Hampshire. The freeway continues north as the Frederick E. Everett Turnpike.
The Burlington to Tyngsborough area maintains a 501(c)6 non-profit representative entity known as the Middlesex 3 Coalition and its affiliate agency the Middlesex 3 TMA, which provides collaborative support to businesses and individuals within the jurisdiction to build consensus on transportation and developmental needs. |
340_8 | New Hampshire
US 3 is one of New Hampshire's most well-known roads, as it passes through most of the state's major cities and towns and is the only highway to extend from the Massachusetts state border in the south to the Canada–US border in the north. Running for in New Hampshire, US 3 is by far the longest signed highway in the state. For much of its routing, US 3 closely parallels I-93, serving as a local route to the freeway. |
340_9 | US 3 crosses the state border into Nashua and immediately becomes concurrent with the Everett Turnpike, running on the freeway for along the western side of the city. US 3 leaves the Everett Turnpike at exit 7E, crosses NH 101A and turns northeast for approximately along a segment known as the Henri Burque Highway, before turning north onto Concord Street, which soon becomes known as the Daniel Webster Highway. (Some locals erroneously refer to the Everett Turnpike from exit 7 through the I-293 interchange as Route 3 and refer to the actual US 3 only as the Daniel Webster Highway or "Old Route 3".) |
340_10 | US 3 continues north through the town of Merrimack and into Bedford, where it becomes South River Road. The highway parallels I-293 until it turns east in Manchester and then crosses the Merrimack River on Queen City Avenue, just after its intersection with I-293 / NH 3A and NH 114A. US 3 and NH 3A are signed in a wrong-way concurrency for approximately before US 3 turns north onto Elm Street towards downtown Manchester. After approximately , US 3 turns east onto Webster Street, then joins NH 28 to proceed in a northeasterly direction towards Hooksett, interchanging with I-93. The two routes continue as Hooksett Road, then the Daniel Webster Highway. |
340_11 | In Suncook, NH 28 leaves to the northeast, and US 3 proceeds northwest towards Concord on Pembroke Street, becoming Manchester Street when it enters the Concord city limits. After crossing the Merrimack River and interchanging with I-93, US 3 intersects NH 3A (South Main Street), which terminates at its parent route. US 3 traverses downtown Concord as North and South Main streets (briefly overlapping with US 202 and NH 9), then follows North State Street to Fisherville Road to Village Street in Penacook before crossing the Contoocook River into Boscawen. US 3 travels north through Boscawen, briefly overlapping with US 4. The highway parallels the Merrimack River north into Franklin, where the highway meets NH 11. US 3 joins NH 11 and turns east; NH 3A also resumes at this intersection, continuing north. US 3 and NH 11 briefly form a three-route concurrency with NH 127 in Franklin, then pass through Tilton, crossing NH 132 and passing the western end of NH 140. Continuing northeast |
340_12 | past Lake Winnisquam, US 3 and NH 11 reach Laconia and turn onto the Laconia-Gilford Bypass, intersecting with NH 106, NH 107, and NH 11A. At the northern end of the bypass, US 3 and NH 11 split after a overlap, with the U.S. highway continuing north on Lake Street to Weirs Beach and an intersection with NH 11B. US 3 continues north as the Daniel Webster Highway to Meredith at the northern end of Meredith Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee. In Meredith, US 3 intersects the northern terminus of NH 106, then joins NH 25 and continues north past Squam Lake into Holderness, passing the western termini of NH 25B and NH 113. Through Holderness, US 3 and NH 25 gradually turn west, then southwest, passing the southern end of NH 175, and then reaching the northern end of NH 132 in Ashland. |
340_13 | From Ashland to North Woodstock, US 3 proceeds north, roughly paralleling I-93 in the Pemigewasset River valley. Along this stretch it passes through the towns of Plymouth (NH 25 splits from US 3 near I-93 in Plymouth, which also marks the true northern terminus of NH 3A), West Campton (where it meets the western end of NH 49, the principal access road to Waterville Valley), Thornton, and Woodstock. In North Woodstock, US 3 crosses NH 112 (known to the east as the Kancamagus Highway).
Continuing north, US 3 joins with I-93 as it passes through Franconia Notch State Park, one of the more scenic drives in the White Mountains. This stretch of freeway is known as the Franconia Notch Parkway and is a rare section Interstate highway with only one lane in each direction. |
340_14 | US 3 separates from I-93 at exit 35, shortly north of the northern park boundary in Franconia. From there, NH 141 branches northwest and US 3 heads north and east toward Twin Mountain and a junction with US 302. This portion of the road is noted for fairly frequent moose sightings, especially during sunrise and sunset when moose are particularly active. |
340_15 | Heading north from Twin Mountain, US 3 passes through the village of Carroll, where NH 115 branches to the northeast and US 3 bears to the northwest and the town of Whitefield. In the center of Whitefield, NH 142 branches to the northwest and NH 116 crosses, running roughly southwest to northeast. US 3 continues north to Lancaster, where it joins US 2 in the town center, and where NH 135 branches off to the west. After US 2 leaves to the west, US 3 continues north, roughly paralleling the course of the Connecticut River (which also forms the border with Vermont), through Northumberland and Groveton, where NH 110 ends. North of Groveton, US 3 continues to follow the river, through Stratford, North Stratford, and Columbia, until it reaches Colebrook, where it crosses NH 26 and meets the southern terminus of NH 145. Still following the Connecticut River north, US 3 passes through portions of Stewartstown and Clarksville. In Stewartstown, the road turns more directly east (still following |
340_16 | the Connecticut River, which is no longer a boundary), before resuming a northeasterly direction through Pittsburg. Its last major intersection is at the northern terminus of NH 145. US 3 continues north for another , eventually reaching the Pittsburg–Chartierville Border Crossing, where the road crosses into Chartierville, Quebec and becomes Quebec Route 257. |
340_17 | In total, US 3 runs along the Connecticut River and its source lakes for approximately . Sections of US 3 in Colebrook are named after Scott E. Phillips and Leslie G. Lord, members of the New Hampshire State Police killed in the line of duty on August 19, 1997.
History
New England Interstate
Before the establishment of the U.S. Highway system, the section of US 3 and Massachusetts Route 3 from Orleans, Massachusetts, to Colebrook, New Hampshire, was part of the New England road marking system as New England Interstate Route 6 (NEI 6 or NE-6). It was replaced in its entirety with the establishment of US 3 and Massachusetts Route 3 in 1926.
Massachusetts
US 3 in Massachusetts closely follows the route of the early 19th-century Middlesex Canal and Middlesex Turnpike. |
340_18 | The modern Northwest Expressway was begun near Route 110 in Lowell before World War II. In the 1950s, it was extended south to Route 128 (later overlapped by I-95), and by the 1960s, it was completed north from Chelmsford to New Hampshire. By 2005, the chronically congested four-lane road, largely with antiquated ramps around Lowell, was widened to six lanes (as it had been in Nashua, New Hampshire, a few years prior) with a breakdown lane on both the left and right sides of the road, and many interchanges were modernized in what was comically known as "The Big Wide", in reference to Massachusetts' other "Big" construction project (the Big Dig). The roadbed and bridges were built to support a fourth lane in each travel direction for future expansion. The $365 million, widening project was completed in 2005 from Burlington to the New Hampshire border. |
340_19 | The final section of the expressway was planned for inner suburban towns northwest of Boston, Massachusetts. The expressway was to supply a new route for U.S. Route 3, between MA 128 and the cancelled Interstate 695 (Inner Belt). This was one of the expressway projects cancelled in Gov. Francis Sargent's 1970 moratorium on expressway construction within MA 128. The latter section of the expressway was a key component of the "Master Plan Highway Plan for Metropolitan Boston." The highway would have traveled through Lexington, Arlington, Medford, Somerville, and Cambridge, before linking with the Inner Belt Expressway. |
340_20 | The original plan called for U.S. 3 and MA 2 to link up at the Lexington-Arlington border, and continue southeasterly, crossing MA 16/Mystic Valley Parkway at the Arlington-Somerville border and proceeding into Cambridge toward Union Square, Somerville. A 1962 plan called for Routes 2 and 3 to converge at Alewife Brook Parkway with a longer stretch of new highway for Route 3 paralleling Lowell Street in Lexington and Summer Street in Arlington.
Exit numbers along the Northwest Expressway section in Massachusetts were to be changed to mileage based numbers under a project to start in 2016, but that project was postponed. However, in November 2019, the MassDOT announced it would be proceeding with the project in late summer of 2020. |
340_21 | Termini
According to the AASHTO route log, the southern terminus of US 3 is at the junction of Route 2A and Route 3 in Cambridge, which is where Route 2A crosses the Charles along the Harvard Bridge (also known as the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge). This is a change from AASHTO's 1989 Route Log which placed the terminus at US 20 in Boston, where Route 2 currently meets US 20 after crossing the Charles River at the Boston University Bridge. This was where US 3 met US 1 until that highway was re-routed in 1971.
The original northern terminus of US 3 (in 1926) was at Colebrook, New Hampshire, but the highway was extended to West Stewartstown in 1928, and to Pittsburg in 1937. Colebrook was the northern terminus again from 1939 to 1940. Since 1940, the highway has run through Pittsburg to the Pittsburg–Chartierville Border Crossing. |
340_22 | Major intersections
Although the MassDOT inventories Massachusetts Route 3 and US 3 as one continuous route, this table includes the mileage only for US 3 starting from its southern terminus in Cambridge.
Special routes
US 3 has one existing special route, a business route through Laconia, New Hampshire. Three other special routes may have existed in the past: a business route between Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, and Concord, New Hampshire, and bypass routes around Concord and Nashua, New Hampshire.
Laconia business loop
U.S. Route 3 Business is a long signed business route running north–south through downtown Laconia, New Hampshire. It runs from US 3 and New Hampshire Route 11 in Belmont north to US 3 in Laconia, along NH 107 and NH 11A. It is a former alignment of U.S. 3, used before the Laconia-Gilford bypass was built.
See also
Notes
References
External links
US 3/Northwest Expressway on Bostonroads.com
Photos of US 3 in New Hampshire
Endpoints of U.S. Highway 3 |
340_23 | 03
03
03
Transportation in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Transportation in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
Transportation in Merrimack County, New Hampshire
Transportation in Belknap County, New Hampshire
Transportation in Grafton County, New Hampshire
Transportation in Coös County, New Hampshire |
341_0 | Filariasis is a parasitic disease caused by an infection with roundworms of the Filarioidea type. These are spread by blood-feeding insects such as black flies and mosquitoes. They belong to the group of diseases called helminthiases.
These parasites exist in the wild in subtropical parts of southern Asia, Africa, the South Pacific, and parts of South America. One does not acquire them in the Northern Hemisphere like Europe or the US. |
341_1 | Eight known filarial worms have humans as a definitive host. These are divided into three groups according to the part of the body they affect:
Lymphatic filariasis is caused by the worms Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and Brugia timori. These worms occupy the lymphatic system, including the lymph nodes; in chronic cases, these worms lead to the syndrome of elephantiasis.
Subcutaneous filariasis is caused by Loa loa (the eye worm), Mansonella streptocerca, and Onchocerca volvulus. These worms occupy the layer just under the skin. L. loa causes Loa loa filariasis, while O. volvulus causes river blindness.
Serous cavity filariasis is caused by the worms Mansonella perstans and Mansonella ozzardi, which occupy the serous cavity of the abdomen. Dirofilaria immitis, the dog heartworm, rarely infects humans. |
341_2 | The adult worms, which usually stay in one tissue, release early larval forms known as microfilariae into the person's blood. These circulating microfilariae can be taken up during a blood meal by an insect vector; in the vector, they develop into infective larvae that can be spread to another person.
Individuals infected by filarial worms may be described as either "microfilaraemic" or "amicrofilaraemic", depending on whether microfilariae can be found in their peripheral blood. Filariasis is diagnosed in microfilaraemic cases primarily through direct observation of microfilariae in the peripheral blood. Occult filariasis is diagnosed in amicrofilaraemic cases based on clinical observations and, in some cases, by finding a circulating antigen in the blood.
Signs and symptoms |
341_3 | The most spectacular symptom of lymphatic filariasis is elephantiasis – edema with thickening of the skin and underlying tissues—which was the first disease discovered to be transmitted by mosquito bites. Elephantiasis results when the parasites lodge in the lymphatic system.
Elephantiasis affects mainly the lower extremities, while the ears, mucous membranes, and amputation stumps are affected less frequently. However, different species of filarial worms tend to affect different parts of the body; Wuchereria bancrofti can affect the legs, arms, vulva, breasts, and scrotum (causing hydrocele formation), while Brugia timori rarely affects the genitals. Those who develop the chronic stages of elephantiasis are usually free from microfilariae (amicrofilaraemic), and often have adverse immunological reactions to the microfilariae, as well as the adult worms. |
341_4 | The subcutaneous worms present with rashes, urticarial papules, and arthritis, as well as hyper- and hypopigmentation macules. Onchocerca volvulus manifests itself in the eyes, causing "river blindness" (onchocerciasis), one of the leading causes of blindness in the world. Serous cavity filariasis presents with symptoms similar to subcutaneous filariasis, in addition to abdominal pain, because these worms are also deep-tissue dwellers. |
341_5 | Cause
Human filarial nematode worms have complicated life cycles, which primarily consists of five stages. After the male and female worms mate, the female gives birth to live microfilariae by the thousands. The microfilariae are taken up by the vector insect (intermediate host) during a blood meal. In the intermediate host, the microfilariae molt and develop into third-stage (infective) larvae. Upon taking another blood meal, the vector insect, such as Culex pipiens, injects the infectious larvae into the dermis layer of the skin. After about one year, the larvae molt through two more stages, maturing into the adult worms.
Diagnosis |
341_6 | Filariasis is usually diagnosed by identifying microfilariae on Giemsa stained, thin and thick blood film smears, using the "gold standard" known as the finger prick test. The finger prick test draws blood from the capillaries of the finger tip; larger veins can be used for blood extraction, but strict windows of the time of day must be observed. Blood must be drawn at appropriate times, which reflect the feeding activities of the vector insects. Examples are W. bancrofti, whose vector is a mosquito; night is the preferred time for blood collection. Loa loa's vector is the deer fly; daytime collection is preferred. This method of diagnosis is only relevant to microfilariae that use the blood as transport from the lungs to the skin. Some filarial worms, such as M. streptocerca and O. volvulus, produce microfilariae that do not use the blood; they reside in the skin only. For these worms, diagnosis relies upon skin snips and can be carried out at any time. |
341_7 | Concentration methods
Various concentration methods are applied: membrane filter, Knott's concentration method, and sedimentation technique.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and antigenic assays, which detect circulating filarial antigens, are also available for making the diagnosis. The latter are particularly useful in amicrofilaraemic cases. Spot tests for antigen are far more sensitive, and allow the test to be done anytime, rather in the late hours.
Lymph node aspirate and chylous fluid may also yield microfilariae. Medical imaging, such as CT or MRI, may reveal "filarial dance sign" in the chylous fluid; X-ray tests can show calcified adult worms in lymphatics. The DEC provocation test is performed to obtain satisfying numbers of parasites in daytime samples. Xenodiagnosis is now obsolete, and eosinophilia is a nonspecific primary sign. |
341_8 | Treatment
The recommended treatment for people outside the United States is albendazole combined with ivermectin. A combination of diethylcarbamazine and albendazole is also effective. Side effects of the drugs include nausea, vomiting, and headaches. All of these treatments are microfilaricides; they have no effect on the adult worms. While the drugs are critical for treatment of the individual, proper hygiene is also required. There is good evidence that albendazole alone; or addition of albendazole to diethylcarbamazine or ivermectin, makes minimal difference in clearing microfilaria or adult worms from blood circulation. Diethylcarbamazine-medicated salt is effective in controlling lymphatic filariasis while maintaining its coverage at 90% in the community for six months. |
341_9 | Different trials were made to use the known drug at its maximum capacity in absence of new drugs. In a study from India, it was shown that a formulation of albendazole had better anti-filarial efficacy than albendazole itself.
In 2003, the common antibiotic doxycycline was suggested for treating elephantiasis. Filarial parasites have symbiotic bacteria in the genus Wolbachia, which live inside the worm and seem to play a major role in both its reproduction and the development of the disease. This drug has shown signs of inhibiting the reproduction of the bacteria, further inducing sterility.
Clinical trials in June 2005 by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine reported an eight-week course almost completely eliminated microfilaraemia.
Society and culture |
341_10 | Research teams
In 2015 William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura were co-awarded half of that year's Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of the drug avermectin, which, in the further developed form ivermectin, has decreased the occurrence of lymphatic filariasis.
Prospects for elimination
Filarial diseases in humans offer prospects for elimination by means of vermicidal treatment. If the human link in the chain of infection can be broken, then notionally the disease could be wiped out in a season. In practice it is not quite so simple, and there are complications in that multiple species overlap in certain regions and double infections are common. This creates difficulties for routine mass treatment because people with onchocerciasis in particular react badly to treatment for lymphatic filariasis.
Other animals
Filariasis can also affect domesticated animals, such as cattle, sheep, and dogs. |
341_11 | Cattle
Verminous hemorrhagic dermatitis is a clinical disease in cattle due to Parafilaria bovicola.
Intradermal onchocerciasis of cattle results in losses in leather due to Onchocerca dermata, O. ochengi, and O. dukei. O. ochengi is closely related to human O. volvulus (river blindness), sharing the same vector, and could be useful in human medicine research.
Stenofilaria assamensis and others cause different diseases in Asia, in cattle and zebu.
Horses
"Summer bleeding" is hemorrhagic subcutaneous nodules in the head and upper forelimbs, caused by Parafilaria multipapillosa (North Africa, Southern and Eastern Europe, Asia and South America).
Dogs
Heart filariasis is caused by Dirofilaria immitis.
See also
Ascariasis
Eradication of infectious diseases
Helminthiasis
List of parasites (human)
Neglected tropical diseases
References
Further reading
External links
Page from the "Merck Veterinary Manual" on "Parafilaria multipapillosa" in horses |
341_12 | Animal diseases
Insect-borne diseases
Neglected tropical diseases
Helminthiases
Tropical diseases
Veterinary helminthology
Parasitic diseases |
342_0 | In road-transport terminology, lane centering, also known as auto steer or autosteer, is an advanced driver-assistance system that keeps a road vehicle centered in the lane, relieving the driver of the task of steering. Lane centering is similar to lane departure warning, but rather than warn the driver, or bouncing the car away from the lane edge, it keeps the car centered in the lane. Together with adaptive cruise control (ACC), this feature may allow unassisted driving for some length of time.
Semi-trailer trucks, starting with the Freightliner Cascadia in 2019, are fitted with this technology.
Terminology
Lane departure warning generates a warning when the vehicle cross a line, while lane keeping assist helps the vehicle to avoid crossing a line, standardized in ISO 11270:2014, and lane centering keeps the vehicle centered in the lane and almost always comes with steering assist to help the vehicle take gentle turns at highway speeds. |
342_1 | In farming, "machine autosteer" is a technology which make automated steering and positioning of a machine in a landscape.
History
The first commercially available lane centering systems were based on off-the-shelf systems created by Mobileye, such as Tesla Autopilot and Nissan ProPilot, although Tesla switched to an in-house design when Mobileye ended their partnership. A handful of companies like Bosch, Delphi, ZF and Mobileye provide sensors, control units, and even algorithms to car makers, who then integrate and refine those systems.
While not directly attributable to lane centering, crash rates on the Tesla Model S and Model X equipped with the Mobileye system were reduced by almost 40% while Tesla Autopilot was in use.
Operation |
342_2 | The lane detection system used by the lane departure warning system uses image processing techniques to detect lane lines from real-time camera images fed from cameras mounted on the automobile. Examples of image processing techniques used include the Hough transform, Canny edge detector, Gabor filter and deep learning. A basic flowchart of how a lane detection algorithm works to produce lane departure warning is shown in the figures.
Limitations
Features that differentiate systems are how well they perform on turns, speed limitations and whether the system resumes from a stop. |
342_3 | Current lane centering systems rely on visible lane markings. They typically cannot decipher faded, missing, incorrect or overlapping lane markings. Markings covered in snow, or old lane markings left visible, can hinder the ability of the system. GM's Super Cruise only works on known freeways that have been previously mapped, as it uses a combination of these maps and a precise GNSS position provided by Trimble's RTX GNSS correction service to determine if Super Cruise can be enabled or not.
Most vehicles require the driver's hands to remain on the wheel, but GM's Super Cruise monitors the driver's eyes to ensure human attention to the road, and thus allows hands-free driving. |
342_4 | 2018 Mobileye EyeQ4
Mobileye claimed in 2018 that 11 automakers would incorporate their EyeQ4 chip that enables L2+ and L3 autonomous systems; this would collectively represent more than 50% of the auto industry. Level 2 automation is also known as "hands off": this system takes full control of the vehicle (accelerating, braking, and steering). Level 3 is also known as "eyes off": the driver can safely turn their attention away from driving, e.g. the driver can text or watch a movie.
In 2018, the average selling price for the EyeQ4 chip to auto makers was about $450 U.S. dollars.
Nissan uses the EyeQ4 chip for their hands-off ProPilot 2.0 system.
Regulations
In the United-States, in 2018, lane centering systems are not covered by any Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, according to the NHTSA. |
342_5 | Territories such as the European union, Japan, Russia, Turkey, Egypt and the United Kingdom follow UNECE 79 regulation. In those territories following UNECE 79 regulation, automatically commanded steering functions are classified in several categories, for instance:
Category A function helps the driver at speed no greater than 10 km/h for parking maneuvering;
Category B1 function helps the driver to keep the vehicle within the chosen lane;
Category B2 function "keeps the vehicle within its lane by influencing the lateral movement of the vehicle for extended periods without further driver command/confirmation";
Category C and D and E are related to specific manoeuvres such as lane change
While all those functions are related to automated steering, lane centering is a concept close to the concept related to category B2, while LKA is closer to category B1.
Sample of level 2 automated cars |
342_6 | Because all of these vehicles also have adaptive cruise control that can work in tandem with lane centering, they meet the SAE standard for level 2 automation. Adaptive cruise control and lane centering are often only available in more expensive trim levels rather than just the base trim. An example is the Hyundai Kona EV, which only has adaptive cruise control available on the "ultimate" edition.
Nissan ProPilot |
342_7 | Nissan ProPilot is based on Mobileye technology and assists with acceleration, steering and braking input under single lane highway driving conditions. ProPilot keeps the car centered in the lane and will deactivate below 31 mph if not tracking a car in front of it. Adaptive cruise control handles stop-and-go traffic if stopped for less than 4 seconds and helps maintain a set vehicle speed and maintain a safe distance between the vehicle ahead. ProPilot, which can follow curves, uses a forward-facing camera, forward-facing radar and other sensors. A traffic sign recognition system provides drivers with the most recent speed limit information detected by a camera on the windshield, in front of the rear-view mirror. |
342_8 | In a review by ExtremeTech, ProPilot worked well in 1,000 miles of testing and only on some twisty sections did it require driver intervention. During Euro NCAP 2018 testing, ProPilot failed some tests as did all other systems tested. Consumer Reports indicates that ProPilot is especially helpful in stop and go traffic.
Honda Sensing/AcuraWatch
Honda Sensing and AcuraWatch are a suite of advanced driver assistance features including Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS) which helps keep the vehicle centered in a lane, by applying mild steering torque if the vehicle is deviating from the center of a detected lane with no turn-signal activation by the driver. Mild steering torque means the system will not work on tight turns; additionally, the system does not work at speeds below 45 mph. The Honda Sensing and AcuraWatch packages also include:
Adaptive cruise control
Traffic-sign recognition
Auto high beam |
342_9 | 2018 evaluation by IIHS
Quote from David Zuby, chief research officer at the American Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
The report indicated that only the Tesla Model 3 stayed within the lane on all 18 trials.
Quote from the report:
See also
Advanced driver-assistance systems
Autonomous car
References
External links
Comma.ai open source lane centering system
Real-world analysis of fatal run-out-of-lane crashes using the national motor vehicle crash causation survey to assess lane keeping technologies
News
Which Cars Have Autopilot for 2019?
Not much faith in lane-centering technology Oct 2019
Cars with Autopilot in May 2019
Why Level 3 automated technology has failed to take hold. July 21, 2019
Comparisons
Tesla's Autopilot battles BMW's driver-assist Youtube Dec 27, 2019
Advanced driver assistance systems
Self-driving cars
Warning systems |
343_0 | Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city grew wealthy during the Islamic era, becoming a world city throughout the 11th and 12th centuries. It enjoyed an active port that traded silk, oil and raisins.
History |
343_1 | The origin of Almería is connected to the 9th-century establishment of the so-called Republic of Pechina (Bayyana) some kilometres to the north, which was for a time autonomous from the Cordobese central authority: the settlement of current-day Almería initially developed as a humble trading port of Pechina known as Al-Mariyya Bayyana. Pechina and its maritime port experienced divergent fortunes, and while the former progressively depopulated, the latter became the base of the Caliphal navy after 933, during the rule of Abd-ar-Rahman III. Furthermore, in 955, Abd-ar-Rahman III decided to erect the walls. A silk industry consisting of hundreds of looms and feeding itself from the mulberry trees planted in region, fostered Almería's economy. Almería also became an important slave trade hub during the caliphal period. |
343_2 | In the wake of the collapse of the Caliphate of Córdoba in the early 11th century, Almería detached from Cordobese authority towards 1014 and became ruled as an independent taifa under Slavic kinglets. It submitted to the Taifa of Valencia in 1038, yet it soon became independent as a new taifa, ruled by the Arab Banu Sumadih until 1091, when it fell to Almoravid control. This allowed the city's economy to insert itself into the trade networks of the Almoravid empire. Building upon the previous development during the caliphal period, Almería reached a degree of historical relevance unmatched in the rest of its history throughout the 11th and 12th centuries, becoming the third-largest city of Al-Andalus. Almería imported indigo dye and wool from the Maghreb and linen from Egypt, while it exported copper to Fez and Tlemcen as well as its highly sought textiles. |
343_3 | Contested by the emirs of Granada and Valencia, Almería experienced many sieges, including one especially fierce siege when Christians, called to the Second Crusade by Pope Eugene III, were also encouraged to counter the Muslim forces on a more familiar coast. On that occasion Alfonso VII, starting on 11 July 1147, at the head of mixed armies of Catalans, Genoese, Pisans and Franks, led a crusade against the rich city, and Almería was captured on 17 October 1147, marking the breakup of the city's period of splendor in the Middle Ages. |
343_4 | Within a decade, in 1157, Almería had passed to the control of Muslim Almohad rulers. Almería soon passed by the temporary overarching control of rebel Murcian emir Ibn Mardanish (1165–1169), hindering the early efforts of recovery in the city, that under the decade of Christian occupation reportedly had been left depopulated and, by and large, quite destroyed. During Almohad rule, the city did not return to its previous splendor, although the port remained trading with the Crown of Aragon and the Italian republics. |
343_5 | Following the rebellion against Almohad rule heralded by the likes of the Banu Hud and the Banu Mardanis, Almería submitted to the authority of Ibn Hud, who had raised the black banner and pledged nominal allegiance to Abbasid authorities by 1128. After Ibn Hud's assassination in Almería in 1238, the bulk of the remaining Muslim-controlled territories in the Iberian Peninsula passed to the control of rival ruler Ibn al-Aḥmar (sultan since 1232), who had set the capital of his emirate in Granada by 1238, constituting the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, to which Almería belonged from then on. While relatively languishing throughout the Nasrid period, Almería still remained a key strategic port of the emirate together with Málaga, as well as a haven for pirates and political dissidents. It sustained intense trading relations with Aragon and the African port of Hunayn. Almería endured a brutal siege by Aragonese forces in 1309 that, while eventually unsuccessful, left the city battered. |
343_6 | The city submitted to the sovereignty of the Catholic Monarchs on December 22, 1489. Relatively isolated and within the range of attacks from Barbary pirates, the hitherto mercantile city entered modernity by undergoing a process of heavy ruralization that imperiled its very same continued existence as a city.
The 16th century was for Almería a century of natural and human catastrophes; for there were at least four earthquakes, of which the one in 1522 was especially violent, devastating the city. The people who had remained Muslim were expelled from Almería after the War of Las Alpujarras in 1568 and scattered across Spain. Landings and attacks by Barbary pirates were also frequent in the 16th century, and continued until the early 18th century. At that time, huge iron mines were discovered and French and British companies set up business in the area, bringing renewed prosperity and returning Almería to a position of relative importance within Spain. |
343_7 | During the Spanish Civil War the city was shelled by the German Navy, with news reaching the London and Parisian press about the "criminal bombardment of Almería by German planes". Almería surrendered in 1939, being the last Andalusian main city to fall to Francoist forces.
In the second half of the 20th century, Almería witnessed spectacular economic growth due to tourism and intensive agriculture, with crops grown year-round in massive invernaderos – plastic-covered "greenhouses" – for intensive vegetable production.
After Franco's death and popular approval of the new Spanish Constitution, the people of southern Spain were called on to approve an autonomous status for Andalusia region in a referendum. The referendum were approved with 118,186 votes for and 11,092 votes against in Almería province, which represented 42% of all registered voters. |
343_8 | Main sights
The Alcazaba, a medieval fortress that was begun in the 10th century but destroyed by an earthquake in 1522. It includes a triple line of walls, a majestic keep and large gardens. It commands a city quarter with buildings dressed in pastel colors, of Muslim-age aspect. It is the second largest among the Muslim fortresses of Andalusia, after the Alhambra.
Almería air raid shelters, underground galleries for civilian protection during the Spanish Civil War, currently the longest in Europe open for tourists.
The Cathedral has a fortress-like appearance due to its towers, merlons and protected paths, created to defend it from Mediterranean pirates. Originally designated as a mosque, it was later converted into a Christian church, before being destroyed in the 1522 earthquake. In the 16th century it was rebuilt in the Renaissance style, whilst keeping some of its defensive features.
Renaissance church of Santiago, built in 1533, with tower and portal decorated with reliefs. |
343_9 | Chanca, a group of houses carved into rocks.
Castle of San Cristobal, now in ruins. It is connected to the Alcazaba by a line of walls.
Museum of Almería. Includes findings from Prehistoric, Iberic, Roman, Greek ages and Muslim objects, mostly from the Alcazaba.
Paseo de Coches, a modern seaside promenade with gardens and palms.
Cable Inglés (English Pier), 1904 iron railway pier built to transfer iron ore, copper, and silver produced by British- and French-run mines in Granada from trains to waiting cargo ships. |
343_10 | Demographics
Almería has the highest proportion of Muslim population of any Spanish city at 11-20%, depending on source.
People and culture
Famous natives of Almería include Nicolás Salmerón y Alonso, who in 1873 was the third president of the First Spanish Republic, as well as several musicians, including the composer José Padilla Sánchez, whose music was declared of "universal interest" by Unesco in 1989, the popular folk singer Manolo Escobar, renowned Flamenco guitar player José Tomás "Tomatito" and Grammy Award winner David Bisbal; the champion motorcyclist Antonio Maeso moved to Almería as a child.
The Irish folk-rock group The Pogues paid tribute to Almería in "Fiesta," a song on the band's third album, If I Should Fall from Grace with God.
In 1989, English electronic band Depeche Mode filmed the video for their song "Personal Jesus" in Almería. |
343_11 | The tourism increased and hotels were all occupied from January to February during the filming of the sixth season of the TV series Game of Thrones.
Sports
Almería hosted the Mediterranean Games in 2005. The city has 2 football teams: UD Almería, which plays in the Spanish Segunda División following relegation from La Liga in 2015 and CP Almería, which played in Tercera División Group 9 in the 2018/19 season following promotion.
The Plaza de toros de Almería is the main bullring in Almería. It has a capacity of 10,000 and it opened in 1882.
Films
Economy
Intensive agriculture has been the most important economic sector of Almería for the last 50 years. Nowadays, greenhouse's production, handling and commercialisation of vegetables, and the supply industry of the sector, represent almost 40% of Almería's GDP. Directly, agricultural production accounts for 18.2% of the provincial GDP. In Andalusia, the average contribution is 6.6% and in Spain it is only 2.9%. |
343_12 | This situation is the result of a great dynamic model, which can continually incorporate new technologies: using soil sanding, plastic covers, drip irrigation systems, hybrid seeds, soil-less cultivation, irrigation programs, new greenhouse structures, and so on. They all allowed to improve production and increase commercialisation calendars, assuring the profitability and quality of the crops and the competitiveness of the markets. Moreover, Almería's economy has an important exporting vocation: 75% of production was sold abroad in 2018, with a value of 2.400 million euros.
This development is explained by familiar investment, as subsidies have been limited or non-existent. In this sense, the horticultural sector receives the least European aids from the Common Agricultural Policy: 1.9% of total income. This figure is much lower than that received by other sectors such as olive groves (33%) or cereals (53%). |
343_13 | The production of this area is based on a fair competition with a just remuneration of employees, with similar salaries than the ones in the same sector in Europe: 8% higher than Italy and 11% than Belgium. This avoids the social dumping exerted by non-EU countries, like Morocco, with salaries up to 90% lower than those of Almería.
From a social point of view, Almería and Granada are an example of familiar agriculture, with small farms and little concentration of land. This social nature generates high equity in the level of income and welfare, that is, social cohesion is produced, and inequality is reduced. Concretely, Almería is made up of 12.500 farms with an extension of 2,5 hectares and a 30% of familiar labour. It is also important the high education levels of the farmers, who shows an innovative and receptive character when it comes to continuing learning: 81,2% have some type of official academic training. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.