title: Freeman on the land

text: In the 1980s and the 1990s, fiscal misconception conspiracy theories similar to those found in American tax protester movements were also adopted by Canadian tax protester groups. In 1999, arguments based on the constitutional division of powers, earlier used by Hart and Gauvreau, were further developed by Robert A. Marquis in his book "Fraud, Deception, Manipulation", though Marquis failed to mention that these arguments had already been rejected by Canadian courts.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Canadian pseudolegal anti-tax activism initially had little resonance outside marginal right-wing communities. This changed in the late 1990s, when the "Detaxer" movement became influential in Canada.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Around 1998, Canadian pilot Eldon Gerald Warman, who had been exposed to American pseudo-legal concepts while residing in the United States, promoted ideas adapted from the American sovereign citizen movement through his website "Detax Canada" and the organization of seminars. Warman claimed to be subject only to "common law", referring not to modern case law, but to historical English case law. He credited as his mentor American activist Roger Elvick, who had founded the redemption movement in the United States; the redemption movement notably promoted the strawman theory, which is based on the assertion that state legislative authority only extends to an individual's legal person, and not to their natural person.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Warman claimed that whereas in the United States, an individual's Social Security Number was used to attach this "strawman" to a natural person, in Canada, this was done using a birth certificate. Around 2000, Warman also worked with Ernst Friedrich Kyburz and Sikander Abdulali "Alex" Muljiani to promote anti-tax ideas based on the sovereign citizen movement's beliefs, at joint seminars across Canada. He also used misinterpretations of Canadian case law to justify unrestricted automobile use.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Warman asserted that government authority over an individual arises from a contract, that statute law cannot be used to impose on a person a contract that deprives the individual of property rights and freedom to travel, and that individual rights and liberties derived from Anglo-Saxon common law, as well as "Magna Carta". He instructed his followers to use disclaimers in income tax returns, to reject correspondence from the Canada Revenue Agency and to refrain from citing the Constitution of Canada in court, to avoid entering into an assumpsit contract.


title: Freeman on the land

text: He asked them instead to deny the "strawman", claim "common law" jurisdiction, and otherwise claim the right to silence. Warman also used pre-Detaxer arguments to assert that the Canadian constitution was defective, and proposed a new constitutional document, the "Magna Carta Kanata". However, he criticised other pre-Detaxer strategies and suggested that they were secretly sponsored by the Canada Revenue Agency itself.


title: Freeman on the land

text: In 1999, after he was charged with assaulting a police officer, Warman attempted to use these pseudo-legal arguments to assert that the Provincial Court of British Columbia did not have jurisdiction over him in "R v Warman (2000) BCPC 0022". On denying Warman's appeal, the British Columbia Court of Appeal noted that his arguments were based on a rejection of state and judicial authority.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Warman, who died in 2017, was emulated by several other "gurus". Some Detaxer methods relied on technical loopholes, and were occasionnally successful in doing so, while others attacked the taxation authority itself. One "guru" who enjoyed particular notoriety was Russell Porisky, who operated an organization known as the Paradigm Education Group. Porisky promoted Detaxer theories via multilevel marketing strategies, making them more broadly accessible to the public. Porisky's concept was that people could avoid paying taxes by declaring themselves a "natural person" rather than taxpayers. His method relied on combining the definition of a "person" in section 248(1) of the Canadian income tax Act with the strawman theory. Porisky was first convicted of tax evasion in 2012. In 2016, he was sentenced to five and a half years in prison and ordered to pay C$259,482 in fines for tax evasion and for having counselled others to commit fraud.


title: Freeman on the land

text: The Detaxer movement went through a decline after 2008, due to the repeated failure of its concepts in courts. As of 2016, the last "guru" actively teaching Detaxer theories is David Kevin Lindsay, a serial litigant who participated in hundred of court cases as a plaintiff or as an "agent" acting on behalf of others. In 2010, Lindsay unsuccessfully argued before the Supreme Court of British Columbia that he should not be paying taxes because he was not a "person" as defined by the Income Tax Act but "a full liability free will flesh and blood living man". Linsday's own failure in court eroded his status as a pseudolaw guru. In 2016, Lindsay complained that Canadian pseudolaw affiliates and gurus had become too influenced by US concepts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lindsay re-emerged as a leader of anti-mask and anti-lockdown protests in British Columbia.


title: Freeman on the land

text: The freeman on the land movement in Canada originated with one single key "guru", Robert Arthur Menard. A former construction worker and stand-up comic, Menard entered pseudolaw as a student of Detaxer theories, which he later espoused on the Internet, using online forums such as "Cannabis culture", videos and freely distributed electronic books. He became more invested in pseudolaw around 2000, as he was having a dispute with child welfare authorities over access to and custody of the child of a teenaged partner.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Menard's guru activity initially focused on how birth documentation allegedly allows the state to control children. He later expanded his claims, asserting that he could immunize people from Canadian law as a whole. Menard used the phrase "Freeloader-on-the-Land" to describe how people could ignore their social and legal obligations while still benefiting from Canadian services and infrastructures. He coined the name "freeman on the land" around 2005.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Menard showed little conceptual innovation, and mostly used simplified versions of Detaxer theories which he restated as fact. However, his skillful use of social media helped him gain more followers than Warman. He also borrowed concepts from Mary Elizabeth Croft, another pseudolaw ideologue. Menard's only personal contribution to pseudolegal theory is his argument that the secret "strawman" bank account is reflected in the Charter, section 7 reference to the "security of the person" which, he argues, references to the "birth bond" of the strawman. Otherwise, his theories showed little documentary foundation. In his 2011 book "With Lawful Excuse", Menard claims that Canada was salvaged as a corporation operated by bankers in London after the death of Queen Victoria; in the same book, he later claims that Canada is a "US corporation", that Canadian provincial governments are a "legal fiction", and finally references Pre-Detaxer theories that Canada's constitution is defective. Donald J. Netolitzky comments that despite Menard's stature in pseudolegal circles, his understanding of law is "best described as unsophisticated", and "grossly inferior" to that of Detaxer gurus such as David Kevin Lindsay.


title: Freeman on the land

text: The notable difference between the Detaxer and freemen on the land populations is that the latter shows a politically leftist orientation, open to environmentalism, anti-globalization concepts and marijuana advocacy. Freeman on the land ideology developed in Canada mostly as a criminal culture: most of its courtroom applications were aimed to legitimise illegal activities. Variations by other gurus may also include New Age concepts. The movement attracted a broad range of people opposed to the federal government of Canada, including environmentalists and First Nations people. Besides claiming that governments and statute laws are illegitimate and refusing to pay income tax, movement members reject the use of official documents such as health cards and driver's licenses. Like their Canadian "Detaxer" predecessors and American sovereign citizens, Canadian freemen on the land put a strain on public resources, notably using paper terrorism by filing numerous documents written in incoherent language, clogging the court system. In 2008, Menard was prohibited from appearing in court as a counsel and giving legal advice in British Columbia.


title: Freeman on the land

text: In 2012, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service reported that freemen on the land were causing a "major policing problem". Adherents had violent encounters with police forces and the movement attempted to create its own "corps of peace officers". In 2013, Canadian media reported the case of a Calgary woman whose tenant, a freeman on the land, had claimed her property as his own and declared it an "embassy". In 2015, a police officer was murdered in Edmonton by a man who adhered to freeman on the land ideology.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Menard also launched a financial scheme, the Association of Canadian Consumer Purchasers (ACCP), through which people could purportedly receive the "Menard Card", a $2,500.00 debit card, in return for a $250.00 per month subscription.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Around 2010, Menard's leadership was challenged by another "guru", Dean Clifford, who advocated a more confrontational approach against government and court authorities. Unlike Menard who had begun his activities in far left circles, Clifford had a white supremacist and skinhead background: his earlier adherents came largely from these environments. In February 2013, Clifford was arrested for minor offenses. His status escalated dramatically when he was released one month later, and claimed to have successfully used freeman on the land methods to get out of prison. He was arrested again in November of the same year. In 2015, he was sentenced to three years in prison for numerous drug and weapons offenses. After his release, he endeavored to restore his status in the pseudolaw community and operated for a time a company which purported to discharge customers' debts through an "A4V" scheme. In 2018, due to his use of that scheme, Clifford was declared a vexatious litigant in Alberta and made subject to strict court access restrictions.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Since the early 2010s, the freeman on the land movement has declined in Canada due to the persistent failure of its concepts in court. Many freemen on the land suffered serious legal, financial, or family consequences for putting the movement's ideas into practice. The Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta's 2012 "Meads v. Meads" decision, which refuted in detail freeman on the land theories and other pseudolegal concepts, has since been used as case law against pseudolegal tactics by courts in Canada as well as in other Commonwealth countries. The Quatloos.com online community was also instrumental in discrediting freeman on the land ideology, by publishing court documents which showed that Menard and Clifford were ineffectual when involved in court cases (including their own) and by exposing that Menard himself did not practice his own doctrines, as he used a driver's license while claiming they were unnecessary.


title: Freeman on the land

text: The decline of Menard as a guru was also caused by the lack of success of his other initiatives such as the creation of the "peace officers" corps, of an alternative community and government structure, and a touring arts and crafts event. His reputation in the freeman on the land community was especially damaged by the failure of his AACP scheme, when the substantial numbers of Canadian freemen who had paid to subscribe to it never received their "Menard Cards" and other promised benefits. Eventually, Menard largely withdrew from the scene while newer "gurus" met with little success. Clifford was mostly discredited following his second 2013 arrest, and after his freeman on the land tactics proved unable to prevent his conviction. He eventually disavowed his original pseudolegal theories, went on to promote equity as superior to common law, and appeared to revert back to his earlier right-wing and racist associations.


title: Freeman on the land

text: One freeman on the land guru, a Québec resident known under the pseudonym "John Spirit", began in 2012 to market his pseudolegal services on the Internet. He stood out by using actual Canadian legal resources to develop pseudolegal concepts more sophisticated than Menard's, as well as a new definition of the strawman theory based on misinterpretations of international texts. He notably asserted that international treaties are supraconstitutional authorities in Canada, as they are incorporated into the Charter. He specifically argued that one could enforce international treaties via Section 7 of the Charter to eliminate one's "strawman" and become free of legal constraints. According to Donald J. Netolitzky, whereas Menard and Clifford's theories are little more than "empty mantras", Spirit's arguments are grounded on specific court decision passages often cited in Supreme Court jurisprudence and may have triggered a shift towards "more conventionally argued" freeman on the land litigation. However, Spirit's attempt to develop a serious freeman on the land legal thinking proved a "two-edged sword" when his concepts where refuted in Canadian provincial and Federal courts.


title: Freeman on the land

text: While the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a new surge in pseudolegal activities in Canada, it has not benefited the local freeman of the land movement, which remains moribund as of 2022. In the meantime, the more US-specific sovereign citizen movement has gained traction in Canada. However, incidents involving self-described freemen of the land are still reported in Canada.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Freeman on the land ideology reached the United Kingdom in the late 2000s. Use of pseudolaw in the UK is difficult to evaluate, but there is clear evidence of an active community using concepts mostly derived from Canadian freeman on the land sources. Unlike Canadian freemen who primarily use pseudolaw to justify illegal activity, UK litigants mostly focus on economic reasons, such as avoiding Council Tax, motor vehicle registration and insurance, television licence fees, mortgages, and other debts. British freeman on the land outlets have included the "Get Out Of Debt Free" website that purported to eliminate debts through "A4V" schemes and promissory notes processes, and " WeReBank", a "financial" entity that offered subscribers blank cheques to pay off large sums. In addition to the economic aspects of their ideology, British freemen gradually developed an anti-governement political perspective that is more comparable to the American sovereign citizens than to their Canadian freemen on the land homologues.


title: Freeman on the land

text: In 2016, billboards in the UK advertised the freeman on the land concept of "legal name fraud", a variation of the strawman theory claiming that "all legal names are owned by the Crown, and therefore using a legal name without their written permission is fraud".


title: Freeman on the land

text: In Ireland, where freeman on the land tactics were imported roughly at the same time as in the United Kingdom, local gurus have created Ireland-specific motifs of defective state authority, citing the Constitution of Ireland and presenting Brehon law, rather than English common law, as the true source of legislation.


title: Freeman on the land

text: The expansion of pseudolegal "freeman" activity in Ireland was fostered by a period of economic difficulties in the late 2000s, following the burst of a real-estate bubble which led people to seek remedies for their financial woes. Multiple entities offered their customers relief from debts and mortgages through the use of fraudulent, pseudolegal schemes. One such entity is the Rodolphus Allen Family Private Trust, which promised immunity to foreclosure to its subscribers and advocated "strawman" concepts.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Australia has its own tradition of pseudolaw, dating back to the 1980s and sovereign citizen concepts were imported into Australia during the 1990s. Local gurus have been using Australia-specific concepts ; however, Australian pseudolaw litigants may also identify as freemen on the land or use Canadian-style freeman documents. There have been several court cases testing the core concept, none successful for the "freemen". Local freeman on the land activists have made particular efforts to appeal to Indigenous Australians.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Unlike Australia, New Zealand has not developed local concepts, even though many New Zealander pseudolaw litigants are Maori who base their claims on their ethnic status. Pseudolegal documents in New Zealand have shown influence from multiple foreign sources, including Canadian freemen on the land ideology.


title: Freeman on the land

text: A number of anti-state movements with similar tactics but different ideologies may receive the label "freeman on the land".


title: Freeman on the land

text: Robert Arthur Menard, the originator of the movement, was called the "Director of Freemen on the Land", though he likened the movement to "a voluntary relay race" and said that it was "way too unorganized to have a hierarchical structure". Canadian legal scholar Donald J. Netolitzky commented that the "freeman" population had an "amorphous" character and was "less an organization or “movement” than a collection of individuals who hold powerful anti-authority beliefs".


title: Freeman on the land

text: An article published by "The Journal of Intelligence, Conflict, and Warfare" identified nine classes of adherents of freeman on the land and similar anti-authority groups in Canada:


title: Freeman on the land

text: Associate Justice John D. Rooke, in his 2012 "Meads v. Meads" decision, describes the freeman on the land movement as having "libertarian and right wing overtones". In a 2019 article of the "Alberta Law Review", Donald J. Netolitzky disagrees with this assessment, which he considers a confusion between the freeman on the land and sovereign citizen movements: according to Netolitzky, a sociological study has shown that, while very hostile to state and institutional actors, the freeman on the land population is predominately left leaning. He adds, however, that freemen on the land are ideologically heterogeneous and that there is a "broad overlap" between their beliefs and those of the sovereign citizens, which leads to confusion between the two.


title: Freeman on the land

text: In Australia, there is some cross-over between groups which call themselves freemen on the land and sovereign citizens (and some others). From the 2010s, there has been a growing number of Freemen targeting Indigenous Australians, with groups with names like Tribal Sovereign Parliament of Gondwana Land, the Original Sovereign Tribal Federation (OSTF) and the Original Sovereign Confederation. OSTF Founder Mark McMurtrie, an Aboriginal Australian man, has produced YouTube videos speaking about “common law”, which incorporate Freemen beliefs. Appealing to other Aboriginal people by partly identifying with the land rights movement, McMurtrie played on their feelings of alienation and lack of trust in the systems which had not served Indigenous people well. A group called United Rights Australia (U R Australia) has a Facebook presence, and there are other websites promulgating Freemen/Sovereign Citizen ideas.


title: Freeman on the land

text: In the United Kingdom, freeman on the land ideology has influenced The People's United Community (TPUC), a group created in 2007 to oppose taxation, European integration and the Conservative government. TPUC espoused one UK-specific concept of defective state authority, called "lawful rebellion", namely that a freeman could write the Queen and invoke Clause 61 of the Magna Carta to negate Royal (and, by extension, government) authority. However, Clause 61 empowers 25 Barons to restrict the monarch, and does not concern the general public nor mention "lawful rebellion".


title: Freeman on the land

text: During the early 2010s, freeman ideas also spilled into the UK Occupy movement. In 2018, The White Pendragons, a group of freemen on the land whose ideology combined pseudolaw with anti-government, anti-immigration and anti-islam views, tried to "arrest" London Mayor Sadiq Khan.


title: Freeman on the land

text: In Ireland, the Tir na Saor website, which operated from 2009 to 2016, was a major hub for the Irish pseudolaw community and showed clear Canadian freeman influences. The most unusual development of freeman ideology in Ireland was the creation of a political party, Direct Democracy Ireland, created in 2010 by anti-foreclosure activist and serial litigant Ben Gilroy. Direct Democracy Ireland did poorly at elections and the Irish freeman on the land movement eventually went into decline.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Freemen on the land, like sovereign citizens, share the core beliefs commonly seen in pseudolaw. Their theories have been broadly defined as "see[ing] the state as a corporation with no authority over free citizens". Freemen's beliefs are largely based on misunderstandings and wishful thinking, and do not stand up to legal scrutiny. Freemen arguments have been rejected in the courts of various countries, including England, Wales, Canada, and Australia.


title: Freeman on the land

text: The Canadian case "Meads v. Meads" (see below) identified five major themes in the freeman on the land belief systems:


title: Freeman on the land

text: A number of arguments are employed to claim immunity from law. These arguments are described in "Meads v. Meads" as "magic hats", as a reference to the fact that many pseudolegal tactics resemble magic rituals more than actual law.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Many freemen beliefs are based on idiosyncratic interpretations of admiralty or maritime law, which the freemen claim govern the commercial world. These beliefs stem from fringe interpretations of various nautical-sounding terms, such as "ownership", "citizenship", "dock", or "birth (berth) certificate". Freemen refer to the court as a "ship" and the court's occupants as "passengers", and may claim that those leaving are "men overboard".


title: Freeman on the land

text: Freemen will try to claim common law (as opposed to admiralty law) jurisdiction by asking "Do you have a claim against me?" This, they contend, removes their consent to be governed by admiralty law and turns the court into a common law court, so that proceedings would have to go forward according to their version of common law. This procedure has never been successfully used.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Freemen will often not accept legal representation, believing that to do so would mean contracting with the state. They believe that the United Kingdom and Canada are now operating in bankruptcy and are therefore under admiralty law. They believe that since the abolition of the gold standard, currencies are backed not by gold but by the people (or the "legal fiction of their persons").


title: Freeman on the land

text: British Freemen describe persons as creditors of the UK corporation. Therefore, a court is a place of business, and a summons is an invitation to discuss the matter at hand, with no powers to require attendance or compliance. They may believe that the government controls secret bank accounts in their name as part of this theory, which may be accessed to pay off debts.


title: Freeman on the land

text: One tactic commonly used by the freeman on the land movement to make themselves immune from jurisdiction is the so-called "Notice of Understanding, Intent, and Claim of Right" (also abbreviated as "NOUICR"), a type of pseudolegal document to be delivered to government actors, which purportedly allows its users to "opt out" of state obligations while maintaining or creating the rights they desire. Menard created the original NOUICR template, which was later adapted and revised by many other freemen "gurus" to expand the rights claimed in the document or to make it appear more authoritative. Freemen on the land believe that such documents will make them immune from prosecution or from state sanction. The signed document, often notarised, is sent to the King and possibly other authorities such as the Prime Minister and police chiefs. It usually begins with the words "Whereas it is my understanding" and goes on to state the freemen's understanding of the law and their lack of consent to it.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Freemen believe that statute law is a contract, and that individuals can therefore opt out of statute law, choosing instead to live under what they call "common" (case) and "natural" laws. They believe natural laws require only that individuals do not harm others, do not damage the property of others, and do not use "fraud or mischief" in contracts. In a 2004 video titled "Bursting Bubbles of Government


title: Freeman on the land

text: Deception", Menard claimed that one does not have to follow the law if he has "constructively den[ied] consent to be governed" via contract with the government. Freemen believe that since they exist in a common law jurisdiction where equality is paramount and mandatory, the people in the government and courts are not above the law, and that government and court personnel therefore must obtain the consent of the governed.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Freemen believe that government employees who do not obtain consent of the governed have abandoned the rule of law. They believe this consent is routinely secured by way of people submitting applications and through acts of registration. They believe the public servants have deceived the population into abandoning their status as freemen in exchange for the status of a "child of the province" or "ward of the state", allowing those children to collect benefits such as welfare, unemployment insurance, and pension plans or old age security.


title: Freeman on the land

text: Freemen believe that the government has to establish "joinder" to link oneself and one's legal person. If one is asked whether one is "John Smith" and one says that is so, one has established joinder and connected the physical and human persons. The next step is to obtain consent, as they believe that statutes are merely invitations to enter a contract, and are only legally enforceable if one enters into the contract consensually. Otherwise, they believe that statute laws are not applicable. Freemen believe that the government is constantly trying to trick people into entering into a contract with them, so they often return bills, notices, summons and so on with the message "No contract—return to sender".


title: Freeman on the land

text: One common pseudolegal belief shared by Freemen of the land is that "silence means consent", meaning that any claim or alleged statement of fact placed in a sworn document is proven true unless rebutted. This belief extends to Freemen's use of the "Notices of Understanding, Intent, and Claim of Right" which they consider stand as fact if any government actor can be persuaded to file them and does not rebut them afterwards.


title: Freeman on the land

text: A common pseudolegal belief, originating in the redemption and sovereign citizen movements, is that people have two parts to their existence: their "flesh and blood" identity as individuals and their legal "person". The former is joined to the latter by the birth certificate; some freemen claim that it is entirely limited to the birth certificate. Under this theory, a "strawman" is created when a birth certificate is issued, and this strawman is the entity who is subject to statutory law. The physical self is referred to by a slightly different name, such as "John of the family Smith" instead of "John Smith". "Notices of Understanding, Intent, and Claim of Right" documents may or may not refer to the "strawman".


title: Freeman on the land

text: An implication of the strawman theory, also derived from the concepts of the redemption movement, is that there is some government-controlled account linked to a person through the birth certificate. This aspect of the theory suggests that the value of that account can be applied to financial obligations and even criminal charges. The concept behind this scheme has sometimes been called "money for nothing".


title: Freeman on the land

text: Lawyers and notaries in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, have been warned by their professional bodies about dealing with freemen as clients. In particular, lawyers have been advised to be careful not to stamp or notarise the pseudo-legal documents that freemen typically use, so as not to create a perception of authority for such documents.


title: Michael A. Grinston

text: Michael A. Grinston (born 1968) is a member of the United States Army and the current Sergeant Major of the Army. Prior to his current position, he served as the senior enlisted leader for the United States Army Forces Command.


title: Michael A. Grinston

text: "This work incorporates material in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code."


title: Michael A. Grinston

text: Grinston is a native of Jasper, Alabama, and enlisted in the United States Army in October 1987. He attended Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training as an artilleryman at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Grinston's deployments include Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, Inherent Resolve, Enduring Freedom, and Kosovo.


title: Michael A. Grinston

text: Grinston has been assigned to: 1st Battalion, 84th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Lewis, Washington; 2nd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; two tours at Ledward Barracks in Schweinfurt, Germany with the 5th Battalion, 41st Field Artillery Regiment and 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment; 1st Battalion, 39th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; 1st Battalion, 22nd Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Sill, Oklahoma; 319th Field Artillery Regiment; and 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment and 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment at Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy. His service as a command sergeant major (CSM) includes assignments as a battalion CSM with 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Drum, New York, Observer Controller CSM at Hohenfels, Germany, Brigade CSM 170th Infantry Brigade in Baumholder, Germany, brigade CSM 4th Brigade, 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, 1st Infantry Division CSM at Fort Riley, Kansas, and I Corps at Joint Base Lewis–McChord, Washington. As the 1st Infantry Division CSM, Grinston served as the senior enlisted leader for the army's first deployment of a division headquarters in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. He also served as the command sergeant major for United States Army Forces Command.


title: Michael A. Grinston

text: Grinston was sworn in as the 16th Sergeant Major of the Army on August 9, 2019. As the Sergeant Major of the Army, Grinston is the Army Chief of Staff's personal adviser on matters affecting the enlisted force. He devotes the majority of his time traveling throughout the army to observe training and interact with soldiers and their families. He sits on a variety of councils and boards that make decisions affecting enlisted soldiers and their families and routinely invited to testify before Congress. Grinston is the public face of the army's Non-commissioned Officer Corps, representing the NCO Corps to the American people in the media and through business and community engagements.


title: Michael A. Grinston

text: Grinston's military education includes all levels of the Non-commissioned Officer Education System. He is a graduate of Ranger School, Airborne School, Drill Sergeant School, Air Assault School, How the Army Runs Course, the Equal Opportunity Leaders Course and the Keystone Course. Grinston holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of Maryland Global Campus.


title: Michael A. Grinston

text: Grinston will retire in August 2023, after handing over to Command Sergeant Major Michael R. Weimer, formerly Command Sergeant Major, U.S. Army Special Operations Command.


title: Michael A. Grinston

text: SMA Grinston was born to a black father and a white mother. They divorced when he was three years old. He is married to Alexandra Grinston and they are the parents of two children.


title: 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne)

text: The 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) is a division-level special operations forces command within the United States Army Special Operations Command. The command was first established in 1989 and reorganized in 2014 grouping together the Army Special Forces (a.k.a. "the Green Berets"), psychological operations, civil affairs, and support troops into a single organization operating out of its headquarters at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.


title: 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne)

text: The mission of 1SFC (A) is to organize, equip, train, and validate forces to conduct full-spectrum special operations in support of United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), Geographic Combatant Commanders, American ambassadors, and other governmental agencies. The new command includes all seven Special Forces groups (including the five active duty and two Army National Guard groups), two Psychological Operations groups, a civil affairs brigade, and a sustainment brigade. The Command has the ability to rapidly deploy a high-level headquarters to run sustained, unconventional campaigns in foreign theaters.


title: 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne)

text: All seven Special Forces Groups were redesignated as part of the 1st Special Forces Regiment, and as such, were made part of its historical lineage, with all the campaign credits and battle honors that go with it. The Regiment is ceremonial, not operational.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The Selous Scouts was a special forces unit of the Rhodesian Army that operated during the Rhodesian Bush War from 1973 until the reconstitution of the country as Zimbabwe in 1980. It was mainly responsible for infiltrating the black majority population of Rhodesia and collecting intelligence on insurgents so that they could be attacked by regular elements of the security forces. The unit did this by forming small teams that posed as insurgents and usually included captured insurgents. Over time, the Selous Scouts increasingly attacked insurgents themselves and operated in the countries that neighboured Rhodesia.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The unit developed a reputation for brutality, and was responsible for attacking and killing civilians. The Selous Scouts were also involved in the Rhodesian chemical and biological weapons program and used poisons and biological agents in some of its operations. The methods used by the unit led to the deaths of large numbers of insurgents but were counter-productive as they further alienated the black majority population from the white minority Rhodesian government and increased international opposition to the regime.


title: Selous Scouts

text: Following the disbandment of the Selous Scouts after Rhodesia's transition to Zimbabwe, many of its members were recruited into the Apartheid-era South African security forces. They contributed to the adoption of the Selous Scouts' methods by the South African Defence Force and South African Police, and some took part in operations to undermine the government of Zimbabwe.


title: Selous Scouts

text: In November 1965 the government of the British colony of Southern Rhodesia issued an illegal Unilateral Declaration of Independence. This government represented the country's small white minority and was led by Prime Minister Ian Smith. The black majority of the population had little influence on the government, which sought to continue white racial privileges. At the time of independence the Rhodesian Security Forces were relatively large and well trained and equipped.


title: Selous Scouts

text: Two groups with armed elements emerged as the opposition to the white Rhodesian regime. These were the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), whose military wing was the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), and the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) and its armed wing the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA). Both groups were initially based in Zambia, and from the late 1960s began dispatching insurgents into Rhodesia who used guerrilla tactics. These attacks initially proved ineffective and the Rhodesian military, which had been bolstered by forces from South Africa, was able to effectively counter them. Rhodesia's security situation began to deteriorate from late 1972, when the guerrilla armies began making more effective attacks in the north-east of the country. The collapse of the Portuguese Empire in 1975 that led to the independence of Mozambique led to a further increase to the challenges facing the Rhodesian regime, with the guerrillas using that country as well as Botswana as bases.


title: Selous Scouts

text: A tactic in which security forces pose as 'pseudo' insurgents to gather intelligence was developed prior to the Rhodesian Bush War, and had also been used by police forces. Pseudo operations involve security force personnel being trained to closely imitate insurgents. Teams of these personnel then enter regions where insurgents are active and portray themselves as insurgents. After establishing credibility, the team collects intelligence on actual insurgents and their sources of support. These tactics can be most necessary in regions where the insurgents have eliminated the government's sources of intelligence, as was the case in north-eastern Rhodesia in 1973. In general, 'pseudo' teams undertake only intelligence collection work, and do not attack insurgents themselves. 'Pseudo' tactics are generally most effective when the teams include former insurgents who have been 'turned' to side with the government. The effectiveness of these tactics is partially dependent on their use not becoming known, as this will lead to insurgents improving their security processes. Internationally, there has also been a risk of pseudo units breaking the law. If local civilians learn that the security forces are posing as insurgents and using this as cover to break the law, the tactics can be counter-productive as they will erode support for the government.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The British South Africa Police's Special Branch began pseudo operations to collect intelligence in 1966. The Rhodesian Army took part in a joint trial using these tactics with the British South Africa Police and Special Branch that year, but it was not successful for at that stage the black population was largely indifferent to the insurgents and so not able to provide intelligence on them.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The ZANLA began to gain control over north-eastern Rhodesia from 1971, and considerably strengthened its influence over the population in the region over the next year. This led to the networks of informers who had provided information to the Rhodesian Government ceasing to do so, which made it difficult for the security forces to locate and counter the insurgents. In response, Special Branch began to establish pseudo teams in January 1973. The Rhodesian Army also formed two such teams in February; these comprised members of C Squadron 22 (Rhodesian) SAS, black soldiers from the Rhodesian African Rifles and former insurgents. These teams enjoyed success, leading to a decision to expand pseudo operations.


title: Selous Scouts

text: Major Ronald Francis Reid-Daly was selected to command the unit that became the Selous Scouts in November 1973. He was personally selected for this role by Lieutenant General Peter Walls, the head of the Rhodesian Army. An initial group of 25 personnel were selected and trained at Makuti near Lake Kariba. The first troop completed training and began operations in January 1974, followed by two other troops in February and March that year. At this time, the Selous Scouts comprised about 120 personnel and all of its officers were white. Black soldiers were offered bonuses that almost doubled their salary if they agreed to serve with the Selous Scouts.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The unit was named after the British explorer Frederick Selous (1851–1917) and its motto was "pamwe chete"—a Shona phrase meaning "all together", "together only" or "forward together". The charter of the Selous Scouts directed them to "the clandestine elimination of terrorism both within and without the country".


title: Selous Scouts

text: The South African Police's Special Branch provided funding for the Selous Scouts. This formed part of the South African Government's extensive support for the Rhodesian counterinsurgency effort. Many South African Defence Force personnel served in the Selous Scouts between 1973 and 1979, including during operations in Rhodesia, Mozambique and Zambia. After the South African Government publicly withdrew the South African Police units which had been deployed to Rhodesia in 1975 SADF personnel continued to serve with the Selous Scouts. A witness who testified at the post-Apartheid South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission stated that the Selous Scouts were covertly funded by the South African Police and South African police officers also served in the unit.


title: Selous Scouts

text: Due to the success of the Selous Scouts, Walls directed in mid-1974 that it be expanded from three to six troops. This process was completed by December 1974, and included 50 former insurgents being added to the unit. A Reconnaissance Troop was formed in the second half of 1976 to conduct scouting operations in Mozambique and Zambia; this unit had a peak strength of twelve men.


title: Selous Scouts

text: As part of the expansion of the Selous Scouts, the Rhodesian Army's Tracking Wing and Tracker Combat Unit were merged into it during 1974. The Tracking Wing became the Selous Scouts' Training Troop. The Selous Scouts continued to deliver training in tracking and trackers for the remainder of the war, with this forming a cover for the unit's actual role. The Tracker Combat Unit was made up of white reservists; while these men were not suitable for Selous Scouts operations, they were retained to help provide cover. These changes reduced the effectiveness of the Rhodesian Army's tracking capabilities.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The size of the Selous Scouts increased further over time, and eventually reached 1,800 men. Many of these were territorial soldiers who were not permanently attached. The rapid expansion of the Selous Scouts led to a drop in the quality of its personnel, which reduced the effectiveness of pseudo operations. This in turn caused the unit to increasingly undertake offensive operations where it directly attacked insurgents rather than gathered intelligence on them. From 1979 former Selous Scouts became part of a scheme where they were armed by the Rhodesian Army and paid bounties for killing insurgents.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The overlap in roles between the Selous Scouts and the SAS led to friction between the two units. They also competed for personnel, with the demands of the Selous Scouts leading to a decline in the effectiveness of the SAS as well as the Rhodesian Light Infantry and Rhodesian African Rifles.


title: Selous Scouts

text: Ahead of the multi-racial 1980 Southern Rhodesian general election the Selous Scouts and SAS were involved in preparing plans to annul its results. One of these plans would have involved killing the leadership of the black nationalist parties in Operation Hectic. Another, designated Operation Quartz would have involved attacking the insurgents in the camps where they had been concentrated within Rhodesia ahead of the election. These operations were not attempted.


title: Selous Scouts

text: Following the transition to majority rule and Rhodesia's reconstitution as Zimbabwe, Prime Minister Robert Mugabe decided in March 1980 to disband the Selous Scouts by April that year. Mugabe stated that the unit needed to be disbanded as part of reforms to provide Zimbabwe with a "respectable" army. At this time it was expected that many of its white members would leave the military. Walls received a hostile reception from the unit's officers and men when he visited its base in March 1980. During this visit members of the Selous Scouts called him a traitor. The Selous Scouts were disbanded without a formal ceremony to mark the occasion in April 1980. The unit had suffered between 30 and 35 fatalities during its existence.


title: Selous Scouts

text: Most of the white members of the Selous Scouts moved to South Africa to join that country's security forces. The 900 black members of the unit were offered other positions within Zimbabwe's security forces, and were mainly split across three battalions of the Rhodesian African Rifles. Many of the black former Selous Scouts were murdered following the transition to majority rule.


title: Selous Scouts

text: While an Army unit, the Selous Scouts came under the operational control of Special Branch from its establishment in November 1973. This involved Special Branch controlling where the unit operated and how the intelligence it collected was used. Special Branch also had some influence over the Selous Scouts' training. In terms of Army hierarchy, the Selous Scouts reported directly to Walls. The unit was under orders from Special Branch to not pass any information directly to the Rhodesian Directorate of Military Intelligence, which contributed to very little of the intelligence it collected being provided to Army units.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The Selous Scouts and other Rhodesian special forces continued to report directly to Walls for military purposes after he became the Commander of Combined Operations in 1977. The Army headquarters provided administrative and logistical support. As the Selous Scouts increased in size and increasingly undertook offensive operations it became impossible for Special Branch to adequately oversee the unit.


title: Selous Scouts

text: Each troop within the Selous Scouts comprised three sections, each usually with nine to twelve men. The size of sections varied, however, and could be as large as 30 men. Selous Scout teams usually included both black and white personnel, with the men forming close bonds. Until almost the end of the war, all of the officers in the Selous Scouts were white.


title: Selous Scouts

text: In line with 'pseudo' doctrine, the role of the Selous Scout was to infiltrate the black population of Rhodesia and penetrate networks of insurgents. They were to then collect intelligence on the locations of insurgent forces and guide attacks on them. Where possible, Selous Scout teams would remain in place for lengthy periods. Selous Scout teams were also used in a 'hunter killer' role, in which they followed insurgent supply networks from contested areas within Rhodesia to neighbouring countries and killed any insurgents they located during the process. Selous Scout teams were usually successful in impersonating insurgents, even though their tradecraft was at times poor. The unit was more successful in penetrating ZANLA than ZIPRA, as the latter was better disciplined and had stronger command and control processes.


title: Selous Scouts

text: To prevent the regular army or police from firing at Selous Scout teams while they were operating, authorities would declare "frozen areas", where all Army and Police units were ordered to temporarily cease all operations in, and withdraw from, without being told the actual rationale. Little information was provided to the Army units on the results of these operations or the intelligence that was collected. 'Freezing' areas generally proved operationally successful, but there were several occasions in which the security forces inadvertently attacked and killed Selous Scouts.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The Rhodesian military established fireforce teams to exploit the intelligence collected by the Selous Scouts. These initially involved groups of soldiers that were inserted by helicopter, and were later expanded with paratroopers. The Rhodesian Light Infantry often provided the soldiers for fireforce teams.


title: Selous Scouts

text: A key element of the Selous Scouts' methods was 'turning' captured insurgents to join the Rhodesian security forces. This was normally attempted shortly after insurgents were captured, with them being both threatened and offered incentives. The captured insurgent was usually approached by a former insurgent. In the resulting conversation, the former insurgent emphasised the hardships insurgents were experiencing and that those who were captured faced the death penalty under the "Law and Order (Maintenance) Act". This legislation imposed severe penalties for people found to be members of subversive organisations, including the death penalty or long prison terms. The captured insurgent was also offered a lump sum payment as well as a soldier's salary if they agreed to fight for the Rhodesian government. If an insurgent agreed to be 'turned' and passed further vetting, they were assigned to a Selous Scout team and operated in regions in which they would not be recognised. Where possible, their family was housed on a Selous Scouts base. Only a small number of 'turned' insurgents ever deserted or betrayed the unit. Some of the prisoners captured by the Selous Scouts who refused to be 'turned' were killed.


title: Selous Scouts

text: One of the tactics used by the Selous Scouts was to violate local customs while posing as insurgents with the goal of reducing support for the actual insurgents. The Selous Scouts also sought to increase the divisions between the ZANLA and ZIPRA by posing as members of one group and then attacking members of the other group. These tactics became publicly known and embarrassed the government.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The Selous Scouts were probably responsible for killing black business owners in rural areas who provided support for the insurgents. These killings were conducted secretly.


title: Selous Scouts

text: Special Branch provided the Selous Scouts with poisoned clothing, food, beverages and medicines that the unit inserted into the guerrilla supply chains. The use of contaminated supplies resulted in the reported deaths of over 800 guerrillas, and the likely death toll probably reached well over 1,000.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The Rhodesian Directorate of Military Intelligence estimated in 1978 that the Selous Scouts were responsible for 68% of insurgent fatalities within Rhodesia. These casualties largely resulted from attacks by Rhodesian Army units on insurgents located by the Selous Scouts. However, the unit's ruthless tactics were counter-productive as they contributed to further alienating Rhodesia's black population from the government. This formed part of broader flaws in the Rhodesian counter-insurgency strategy, and the historian Jakkie Cilliers has written that "the Selous Scouts were merely the instruments of an overly aggressive and punitive strategy, simply directed at killing as many insurgents as possible and punishing the rural black population to force them to desist from support for the insurgent forces.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The apparent success of the Selous Scouts led to the unit being glamorised. However, the Rhodesian leadership considered the all-white SAS to be more professional and security conscious than the Selous Scouts.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The Selous Scouts were involved in the Rhodesian military's attacks on insurgents and their bases in neighbouring countries, often known as external operations. These operations became frequent from 1976. The unit's role in external operations included intelligence collection and directly attacking insurgents. In the intelligence gathering role, the Selous Scouts' Reconnaissance Troop conducted one or two man long-range reconnaissance patrols to locate or gather information on insurgent bases in Mozambique and Zambia. During direct attacks the Selous Scouts often impersonated soldiers of the country they were operating in.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The Selous Scouts operated in eastern Botswana. This included fighting small actions against insurgents and a raid in which ZAPU leaders were captured in Francistown. The Selous Scouts also used pseudo tactics to collect intelligence in Francistown.


title: Selous Scouts

text: Operation Long John was launched on 25 June 1976, against two guerilla bases located in Mozambique. This operation used 'flying column' tactics for the first time, which involved six vehicles manned by the Selous Scouts attacking the bases. Large quantities of munitions were destroyed, but few casualties were inflicted.


title: Selous Scouts

text: On August 9, 1976, the Selous Scouts carried out Operation Eland, a raid on a ZANLA and FRELIMO controlled refugee camp at Nyadzonia in Mozambique. The Selous Scouts, who were mostly black and disguised in FRELIMO uniforms, included former Portuguese Army soldiers and a former ZANLA commander. They drove into the camp past FRELIMO guards to the parade ground where many were assembled before the attack commenced. The head of the Selous Scouts, Ronald Francis Reid-Daly, claimed that captured ZANLA documents showed that the people killed in the raid were either trained guerrillas or were undergoing guerrilla instruction and training. Paul L. Moorcraft and Peter McLaughlin wrote in 1982, that "although the camp did contain trained guerrillas and young recruits, many of its inhabitants were old people, women and young children who had fled from Rhodesia as refugees". They further wrote in 2010, that "although nearly all the personnel in the camp were unarmed, many were trained guerillas or undergoing instruction" and that documents captured from ZANLA, revealed more than 1,028 were killed in the operation. A 1994 Amnesty International publication described the operation as a massacre and stated that the camp at Nyadzonya housed refugees, and that a soldier who participated in the raid later stated: "We were told that Nyadzonia was a camp containing several thousand unarmed refugees who could be recruited to join the guerrillas. It would be easier if we went in and wiped them out while they were unarmed and before they were trained rather than waiting for the possibility of them being trained and sent back armed into Rhodesia". According to Amnesty International, 1,000 people were killed and the operation was "a gross human rights violation and a war crime". The South African government was angered by this escalation of the war, and withdrew its military and diplomatic support for the Rhodesian regime. Pressure from South Africa led Prime Minister Smith to accept the principle of black majority rule in Rhodesia in September 1976.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The Selous Scouts unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate Joshua Nkomo, the leader of ZIPRA, while he was in Zambia.


title: Selous Scouts

text: While the attacks made outside of Rhodesia by the Selous Scouts were usually militarily successful, they worsened the country's political position. This was because they resulted in civilians and members of the armed forces in the neighbouring countries being killed.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The Selous Scouts had a reputation for brutality. The unit conducted a number of atrocities against villages that were believed to have collaborated with the guerrillas. Members of the units also poached ivory, smuggled guns and beat and killed civilians. During attacks into Botswana, the Selous Scouts committed arson and abducted civilians. The use of insurgent uniforms and civilian clothing by the Selous Scouts may also have violated the 1907 Hague Convention and the Geneva Conventions which prohibit military personnel from wearing enemy uniforms in most circumstances and require that they clearly distinguish themselves from civilians.


title: Selous Scouts

text: Some of the actions undertaken by the Selous Scouts were illegal under Rhodesian law. Selous Scout teams at times attacked Rhodesian Security Forces units and white farms in attempts to persuade local civilians that they were actually insurgents. Another tactic involved repeatedly calling in air strikes and fireforce attacks on insurgents after they had left a specific kraal leading the insurgents to kill innocent civilians in the kraal because they suspected civilians of informing on their positions; it was intended that this would sow divisions between the insurgents and civilians. The Selous Scouts also labelled insurgents as traitors to the insurgent cause and then publicly killed them leading to "disillusionment and bewilderment" among local civilians; this led to several murder investigations being opened into members of the unit. While these illegal activities provided substantial short-term benefits for the Rhodesian government, over the longer term they became well known among civilians and undermined the rule of law and the government's legitimacy.


title: Selous Scouts

text: Robert Mugabe accused the Selous Scouts of killing priests and missionaries. "The New York Times" noted in 1979 that while no evidence had been provided to support this claim the Rhodesian Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace believed that an unnamed "rogue unit" of the Rhodesian security forces had been disciplined for killing seven religious figures in 1977. In 1980 "The Washington Post" reported that the Selous Scouts had bombed churches.


title: Selous Scouts

text: Atrocities conducted by Selous Scouts operating under the guise of insurgents were often blamed on the insurgents in Rhodesian propaganda publications and broadcasts. These atrocities included mutilating civilians, with photos of the victims being included in Rhodesian propaganda.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The unit was also involved with the Rhodesian chemical and biological weapons program. By 1975 some of the prisoners who were held at the Selous Scouts' secret detention centre at Mount Darwin were being used by the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) for human testing of chemical and biological weapons. The bodies of these prisoners were dumped in mine shafts. During 1976 members of the Selous Scouts disseminated "v. cholerae" in the Ruya River. The unit also used the material to contaminate the water supply of the town of Cochemane in Mozambique. Deaths from cholera occurred in both areas. The Selous Scouts may also have spread anthrax. According to former CIO Officer Henrik Ellert, an incident where Selous Scouts poisoned a well with unknown substances in an area of heavy rebel activity near Rhodesia's border with Mozambique killed 200 civilians.


title: Selous Scouts

text: Paul L. Moorcraft and Peter McLaughlin argued in 1982 that the Selous Scouts' "notoriety for treachery and brutality was only partly deserved, for the bulk of its members were engaged on routine military tasks". They also stated that as the Selous Scouts came under the direct command of the Commander for Combined Operations, the most senior officers in the Rhodesian security forces were complicit in at least some of the atrocities the unit committed. Theodore L. Gatchel has written that the Selous Scouts were frequently accused of a wide range of crimes, but it is difficult to differentiate their real crimes from false accusations and atrocities committed by the actual insurgents. He noted that the unpopularity of the Rhodesian regime resulting from its colonial and racist policies meant that accusations made against the unit were widely believed. Michael Evans observed in 2007 that the Selous Scouts "became rogue elements, as guilty of illegal activities as the very guerrillas they were fighting" and "significant numbers" of the unit "became implicated in activities that included torture, field executions, political assassination, kidnapping and the use of chemical warfare". Mpho G. Molomo described the Selous Scouts in 2009 as "a terrorist unit within the Rhodesian security forces". Piers Brendon wrote in 2010 that "the Selous Scouts committed the worst atrocities" of any Rhodesian unit. Ian Martinez has written that the Selous Scout's killings of prisoners and use of chemical and biological weapons were war crimes.


title: Selous Scouts

text: Following the dissolution of the Selous Scouts in 1980, most of its white soldiers emigrated to South Africa and were integrated into the South African Special Forces and the South African Police's special units. This formed part of an effort by the SADF to recruit white veterans of Rhodesian counter-insurgency units that was designated Operation Winter.


title: Selous Scouts

text: The former Selous Scouts contributed to the adoption by the South African security forces of the unit's ruthless tactics. For instance, former Selous Scouts comprised most of the initial personnel of the South African Koevoet unit, and it used similar tactics. This unit was responsible for many human rights violations. The South African Police's Vlakplaas paramilitary hit squad that was established in 1979 was also inspired by the Selous Scouts, as was the Civil Cooperation Bureau that was formed in 1986. Following the end of the Apartheid regime in South Africa some former Selous Scouts joined private military companies.


title: Selous Scouts

text: Reid-Daly's memoirs "Selous Scouts: Top Secret War", which were first published in 1982, have had a strong influence on the historiography of the Rhodesian Bush War. It was among the first such works to be published, and was followed by many books by white veterans of the war. The book has been widely cited, with historians and commentators arguing that it clearly illustrated the tactics used by the Rhodesians. It does not mention any of the atrocities committed by the Selous Scouts. Many other books have since been published about the Selous Scouts.


title: Selous Scouts

text: In 2018 "The New York Times" reported that glorification of the Selous Scouts formed part of online nostalgia for Rhodesia and had been taken up by far-right movements that were sympathetic to the white Rhodesian regime. Items branded with the slogan and insignia of the Selous Scouts were available for sale, and a company called the "Selous Armory" was selling a range of apparel glorifying the Rhodesian military. In 2021, the newly established Ranger Regiment in the British Army adopted a cap badge that was similar in appearance to the Selous Scouts' and may have been based on it. "The Telegraph" reported that "numerous officers have raised concerns" over the badge. The British Army stated that the badge was "designed around the peregrine falcon" and not the osprey as used by the Rhodesian badge.


title: Suicide in India

text: Suicide rates in India have been rising over the past five decades. Suicides during 2021 increased by 7.2% in comparison to 2020 with India reporting highest number of suicides in the world. India's contribution to global suicide deaths increased from 25.3% in 1990 to 36.6% in 2016 among women, and from 18.7% to 24.3% among men. In 2016, suicide was the most common cause of death in both the age groups of 15–29 years and 15–39 years. Between 1987 and 2007, the suicide rate increased from 7.9 to 10.3 per 100,000, with higher suicide rates in southern and eastern states of India. Daily wage earners registered 42,004 deaths by suicide in 2021, the biggest group in the suicide data.


title: Suicide in India

text: In 2021, Maharashtra recorded highest number of deaths by suicide(22,207) followed by Tamil Nadu(18,925), Madhya Pradesh(14,965) West Bengal(13,500), and Karnataka(13,056). These five states together accounted for almost half of the total suicides recorded in India in that year.


title: Suicide in India

text: Estimates for number of suicides in India vary. For example, a study published in "The Lancet" projected 187,000 suicides in India in 2010, while official data by the Government of India claims 134,600 suicides in the same year. Similarly, for 2019, while NCRB reported India's suicide rate to be 10.4, according to WHO data, the estimated age-standardized suicide rate in India for the same year is 12.9. They have estimated it to be 11.1 for women and 14.7 for men.


title: Suicide in India

text: If one of these criteria is not met, the death may be classified as death because of illness, murder or in another statistical.


title: Suicide in India

text: Maharashtra reported the highest number of suicides at 18,916, followed by Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. These five states collectively contributed to 49.5% of India's suicides in 2019. Nagaland reported only 41 suicides in the year. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka have consistently accounted for about 8.0% (or more) suicides in India across 2017 to 2019. Among the Union Territories, Delhi reported the highest number of suicides followed by Puducherry. Lakshadweep reported zero suicides. Bihar and Punjab reported a significant increase in the percentage of suicides in 2019 over 2018.


title: Suicide in India

text: In 2019, the age groups 18–30 and 30–45 years accounted for 35.1% and 31.8% suicides in India, respectively. Combined, this age group of young adults accounted for 67% of total suicides. Thus, out of the total 1.39 lakh total suicides in India, 93,061 were young adults. This indicates that they are the most vulnerable age groups. Compared to 2018, youth suicide rates have risen by 4%.


title: Suicide in India

text: In 2019, 12.6% victims of suicide were illiterate, 16.3% victims of suicide were educated up to primary level, 19.6% of the suicide victims were educated up to middle level and 23.3% of the suicide victims were educated up to matric level. Only 3.7% of total suicide victims were graduates and above.


title: Suicide in India

text: The number of deaths by suicide has seen an increasing trend from 2016 to 2019. In 2019, it increased by 4.6% compared to 2018. There were 25,891 suicides reported in the largest 53 mega cities of India in 2021. In the year 2021, Delhi City(2,760) recorded the highest number of deaths by suicide among the four metropolitan cities, followed by Chennai (2,699), Bengaluru (2,292) and Mumbai (1,436). These four cities together reported almost 35.5% of the total suicides reported from the 53 mega cities.


title: Suicide in India

text: In 2021, the male-to-female ratio of suicide victims was 72.5 : 27.4, while (70.9 : 29.1) in 2020. The total number of male suicides was 1,18,979 and female suicides accounted for 45,026.A total of 28 transgender people died by suicide. The proportion of female victims were more due to "marriage-related issues" (specifically in "dowry-related issues", and "impotency/infertility"). Of females who committed suicides, the highest number (23,178) was of house-wives followed by students (5,693) and daily wage earners (4,246). Among males, maximum suicides were by daily wage earners (37,751), followed by self-employed persons (18,803) and unemployed persons (11,724).


title: Suicide in India

text: Almost 40% of the world's total number of female suicides take place in India. Domestic violence was found to be a major risk factor for suicide in a study performed in Bangalore. In another study carried out in 2017, domestic violence was found to be a risk factor for attempted suicides among married women This is found to be reflected in the NCRB 2019 data, where the proportion of female victims were more in "marriage-related issues" (specifically in "dowry-related issues").


title: Suicide in India

text: Suicides motivated by ideology doubled between 2006 and 2008. Mental health experts say these deaths illustrate the increasing stress on young people in a nation where, elections notwithstanding, the masses often feel powerless. Sudhir Kakar was quoted to say, "The willingness to die for a cause, as exemplified by Gandhi's epic fasts during the struggle for independence, is seen as noble and worthy. Ancient warriors in Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India, would commit suicide if their commander was killed."


title: Suicide in India

text: A large proportion of suicides occur in relation to psychiatric illnesses such as depression, substance use and psychosis. The association between depression and death by suicide has been found to be higher among women. The National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) 2015–16 found that almost 80% of those suffering from mental illnesses did not receive treatment for more than a year. The Indian government has been criticised by the media for its mental health care system, which is linked to the high suicide rate.


title: Suicide in India

text: The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reported that in 2019, 10,281 people involved in the farming sector died by suicide. 5,957 were farmers/cultivators and 4,324 were agricultural labourers. Out of the 5,957 farmers/cultivators suicides, a total of 5,563 were male and 394 were female. Together, they accounted for 7.4% of total suicides in India in 2019.


title: Suicide in India

text: In 2021, according to NCRB data, 13,089 students died due to suicide, an increase from 12,526 student suicides in 2020. 43.49% of these were female, while 56.51% were male.Maharashtra reported highest number of student suicides, registering 1,834 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 1,308, and Tamil Nadu with 1,246 deaths.


title: Suicide in India

text: At least one student commits suicide every hour in India. The year 2019 recorded the highest number of deaths by suicide (10,335) in the last 25 years. From 1995 to 2019, India lost more than 1.7 lakh students to suicide. Despite being one of the most advanced states in India, Maharashtra had the highest number of student suicides. In 2019, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh accounted for 44% of the total student suicides.


title: Suicide in India

text: Every hour one student commits suicide in India, with about 28 such suicides reported every day, according to data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Maharashtra had the highest number of student suicides in 2018 with 1,448, followed by Tamil Nadu with 953 and Madhya Pradesh with 862. The NCRB data shows that 10,159 students committed suicide in 2018, an increase from 9,905 in 2017 and 9,478 in 2016.


title: Suicide in India

text: A Lancet study stated that suicide death rates in India are among the highest in the world and a large proportion of adult suicide deaths occur between the ages 15 and 29.


title: Suicide in India

text: Many suicides are attributed to the intense pressure and harsh regimen of students in cram schools (or coaching institutes). In the five years from 2011 to 2016, 57 students in Kota, dubbed the "coaching capital" of the country, died by suicide. Cram schools or coaching institutes offer coaching to high school students for various college entrance exams, such as the JEE or NEET.


title: Suicide in India

text: Ragging has been identified as a potential trigger for suicides. Between 2012 and 2019, 54 ragging-related suicide incidents have occurred in the country.


title: Suicide in India

text: A total of 787 suicides have been reported in the Indian Armed Forces between 2014 and 2021. Of these, the Army reported 591 suicide cases, Navy reported 36, while the Indian Air Force reported 160 deaths by suicide. More than half of the personnel in the Indian Army are under severe stress and many lives are being lost to suicides, fratricides and untoward incidents.


title: Suicide in India

text: In India, suicide was illegal and the survivor would face jail term of up to one year and fine under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code. However, the government of India decided to repeal the law in 2014. In April 2017, the Indian parliament decriminalised suicide by passing the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 and the act commenced in July 2018.


title: Kim Sun-a

text: Kim Sun-a (; born October 1, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her titular role as Kim Sam-soon in the popular television series "My Lovely Sam Soon" (2005). Other notable series include "City Hall" (2009), "Scent of a Woman" (2011),"The Lady in Dignity" (2017), "Should We Kiss First?" (2018), "Children of Nobody" (2018) and "Secret Boutique" (2019).


title: Kim Sun-a

text: Kim Sun-a was born in Daegu in 1973. She is the eldest of three siblings, with a younger brother and sister. When Kim was in middle school, her family immigrated to Japan, and she spent much of her adolescence in Chōfu, Tokyo, where she learned to speak Japanese fluently.


title: Kim Sun-a

text: In 1993, Kim enrolled at Ball State University in Indiana, United States as a Piano major (she also became fluent in English).


title: Kim Sun-a

text: While in South Korea for summer vacation in 1996, Kim stood in for a friend in a modeling job, thus inadvertently making her entertainment debut. Despite her inexperience in show business, she left college and subsequently appeared in a Hanbul Cosmetics commercial with the slogan "I felt his scent on a strange woman," which jump-started her career. She then appeared in a music video by Kim Hyun-cheol, and in 1997 began getting cast in supporting roles on TV but did not emerge as a star. Kim would first become well known as a film actress, debuting in the big-budget box office failure "Yesterday", but going on to play a lead role as a student teacher in the unexpected hit "Wet Dreams". Initially Kim had considered a singing career and successfully auditioned to join Park Joon-hyung and Park Jin-young's project mixed-gender group "GOT6" in 1997 but left the following year to pursue acting. The group then became the five-piece boy band g.o.d. Kim's identity as the anonymous female singer who was originally part of "GOT6" was only revealed by Park Joon-hyung and confirmed by Kim herself in 2015.


title: Kim Sun-a

text: Following her film success, Kim began to establish a niche for herself in comedies, often appearing as a straight-talking and not particularly demure comic heroine. She appeared in three films in 2003: a memorable cameo appearance in the period comedy "Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield", opposite Im Chang-jung in the commercially successful "The Greatest Expectation", and together with Cha Tae-hyun in the little-watched "Happy Ero Christmas". In 2004 she took the lead role in "S Diary" as a jilted woman who decides to get revenge on her ex-boyfriends.


title: Kim Sun-a

text: The early part of 2005 saw her star in the action-comedy "She's on Duty", but she would follow up by returning to the realm of TV dramas. It proved to be the best move of her career, as "My Lovely Sam Soon" ended up becoming the most-watched drama of 2005. The forthright, independent personality she displayed in her leading role as a woman who finds unexpected success in life as a baker endeared her to women across Korea, and later Asia, establishing her as a top star. Later that year, Kim decided to finish her college degree by transferring to Kyung Hee University as a Theater and Film major (she graduated in 2009 and received an Achievement Award from the College of Art and Design).


title: Kim Sun-a

text: Her first post-"Sam Soon" project was supposed to have been the movie "Thursday's Child", but the project ran into problems midway through filming. The film production company Yoon and Joon sued Kim for breach of contract and damages worth , claiming that the actress was liable for their losses of more than . She won the lawsuit in 2007, with the Seoul Central District Court ruling that Kim bore no responsibility for the shutdown of the movie. After undergoing script revisions and a change of director and lead actress (to Yunjin Kim), "Thursday's Child" was eventually renamed and released as "Seven Days".


title: Kim Sun-a

text: After a three-year hiatus caused by legal and contractual disputes, Kim finally got back to work in 2008, starring in the big-screen comedy "Girl Scout", and the poorly received TV drama "Night After Night" (also known as "When It's At Night"). 2009's "City Hall", where she played a low-ranking city official whose life takes a turn when she wins a pageant and later becomes the mayor, was a modest hit, with fans crediting its success to Kim's chemistry with her co-star Cha Seung-won.


title: Kim Sun-a

text: Originally cast as the lead actress for 2010's "I Am Legend", Kim quit before filming started due to issues with the production (she was replaced by her good friend Kim Jung-eun). Instead she chose the 2011 melodrama "Scent of a Woman", which centers on a spinster who, after slaving herself at a travel agency for many years, is diagnosed that she only has six months left to live, and decides to live the rest of her life happily, turning in her resignation and leaving for a vacation of luxury. She next starred in the movie "Pitch High" (in Korean, "Fighting Spirit"), in which she played the supportive wife of a second string baseball pitcher.


title: Kim Sun-a

text: In the 2012 romantic comedy series "I Do, I Do", Kim's character is a workaholic shoe designer who gets pregnant after a one-night stand with a much younger newbie employee, then meets a charming obstetrician. She returned to the big screen in 2013 thriller "The Five", based on the popular webtoon by Jeong Yeon-shik, in which Kim played a woman who plots revenge against the serial killer who murdered her family and left her crippled (her performance later won Best Actress at the 34th Golden Cinema Festival).


title: Kim Sun-a

text: In 2015, Kim was then cast in "Masked Prosecutor", about a prosecutor by day who turns into a masked vigilante by night; Kim plays the chief of a detective squad in the violent crimes unit.


title: Kim Sun-a

text: In 2017, Kim starred in the mystery thriller series "The Lady in Dignity", playing a woman from a poor family whose ambition is to become a member of the upper class. The series was a commercial and critical success, becoming JTBC's highest rated drama with a single episode rating of 12.065%.


title: Kim Sun-a

text: In December 2017, Kim left C-JeS Entertainment and signed with new management agency Good People Entertainment.


title: Kim Sun-a

text: In 2018, Kim starred in the romance melodrama "Should We Kiss First?", playing a divorced flight attendant who finds a new love, and mystery thriller drama "Children of Nobody".


title: Kim Sun-a

text: In early 2008, Kim was involved in another controversy. Na Hoon-a, a successful trot singer with a career spanning over 40 years, was falsely rumored to had been castrated by yakuza, because he was having an affair with the mistress of a gang boss. The mistress was wildly guessed at, with the names of actresses Kim Hye-soo and Kim Sun-a thrown around (both issued official denials). Na ended up holding a press conference in which he almost stripped in order to prove the rumor was untrue, and demanded that the media apologize to the two actresses.


title: Kim Sun-a

text: In 2015, Kim won the lawsuit she had filed against a plastic surgery clinic in Busan for breaching her publicity rights by using her name and photos in their advertising without her permission; she received ₩25 million in damages.


title: Pyre

text: A pyre (; "pyrá", from , "pyr", "fire"), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the pyre, which is then set on fire.


title: Pyre

text: In discussing ancient Greek religion, "pyre" (the normal Greek word for fire anglicized) is also used for the sacred fires at altars, on which parts of the animal sacrifice were burnt as an offering to the deity.


title: Pyre

text: Pyres are crafted using wood. The composition of a pyre may be determined through use of charcoal analysis. Charcoal analysis helps to predict composition of the fuel and local forestry of the charcoal being studied.


title: Pyre

text: Specifically, in the Bronze Age, pyre materials were gathered based on local abundance and ease of access to the wood although materials were also selected due to the specific properties, potential traditional purpose, or due to economical reasons. In Templenoe, pyres typically consisted of oak and fruit wood compositions.


title: Pyre

text: From analyzing three necropolises, in Kokotów, Pawłowice and Korytnica, it seems that Polish pyres consisted of primarily Scots pine, birch, and oak trees, as pines, birch, and oak were dense in local woodlands. All parts of the tree were used including the trunk, branches, twigs, and even pine cones.


title: Pyre

text: Worked antler and bone objects, along with flint and flake tools, and copper-alloys are most commonly found in pyre cremation remains. The copper-alloys leave a blue-green stain and are typically fused to the ribs, arms, and other areas where jewelry is commonly worn.


title: Pyre

text: A study was done on the bone fragments of cremations to show that not only will movement of the bone fragments cause breakage but also environmental factors play a part. After studying cremation remains in urns that had been tightly sealed and had no evidence of environmental disturbance it was found that on average bigger bone fragment sizes were observed meaning less bone breakage had occurred. It was concluded that if cremated bone is placed in an urn before burial the original bone fragment size will be preserved. This study was intended to explain that more cautionary measures should be taken during and after any cremation occurs and to educate those who are studying cremated bone that the size of the fragments will be smaller than there were right after cremation.


title: Pyre

text: Traditionally, pyres are used for the cremation of the dead in the Hindu and Sikh religions, a practice which dates back several thousands of years. Funeral pyres were also used in Viking and Roman culture.


title: Pyre

text: Pyres and bonfires are used in celebrations and remembrance in services. Examples of these are Guy Fawkes Night in the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries, where the 'Guy', either seen as an effigy of Guy Fawkes or the Pope, is burned.


title: Pyre

text: Funeral pyres were used by the Nazis to cremate the bodies of 1,500,000+ prisoners in Belzec, Sobibor and Treblinka extermination camps, in contrast to the crematoria used in other camps. Pyres have also been used to dispose of large quantities of livestock in agriculture, particularly those infected with disease.


title: Pyre

text: Pyres are lit around the clock in Varanasi, India as it is considered one of the oldest standing cities. Hindu's believe that by resting the ashes of the dead in the Ganges river in at Varanasi, the dead will achieve Moksha. Hindus will travel great lengths in order to perform ritualistic duties such as praying, attending to their dead, or to die.


title: Pyre

text: Some Hindu groups practiced Sati (also known as suttee). Sati is the act of volunteered self immolation of widow of the deceased husband with his corpse or remains. This involves volunteering oneself( and generally being in state of samadhi) to be burnt alive on the pyre with the remains of husband for higher state of life.


title: Pyre

text: Chakrabarty RK, et al. examined the environmental effects of Southern Asia's funeral pyres in their study, "Funeral pyres in South Asia: Brown carbon aerosol emissions and climate impacts". The heating of the atmosphere from carbonaceous aerosols resulting from human activities is a significant contributor to climate change in South Asia. In this region, fossil fuel use and residential biofuels have been documented to be the primary emitter of light-absorbing black carbon aerosols. The study determined the emitted organic carbon contributed 40% to smoke absorption of visible solar radiation, about 92 Gg annually.


title: Pyre

text: A second study examined the carbonaceous fractions associated with indoor PM2.5/PM10 during Asian cultural and ritual burning practices. (Dewangan, et al.) This study concluded drastically higher levels of biomass burning markers within burial rituals performed indoors compared to levels collected for residential indoors and ambient outdoors, with levels reaching three-eightfold higher levels of carbonaceous aerosols. These high chemical levels were also found to correlate to higher aerosol fraction levels during winter months in both Muslim Holy Shrines and marriage places. The study concluded PM concentrations were significantly higher in indoor-ritual locations and suggested further studies and actions be taken to investigate risk and health assessment and calls for regulatory agencies to propose new guidelines for indoor cultural/ritual locations.


title: Pyre

text: A traditional Hindu funeral pyre takes six hours and burns 500–600 kilogrammes (1,102–1,323 pounds) of wood to burn a body completely. Every year fifty to sixty million trees are burned during cremations in India, which results in about eight million tonnes of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emissions. Air pollution, deforestation and large quantities of ash, which are later thrown into rivers, adding to the toxicity of their waters, pose great environmental problems.


title: Pyre

text: Green Revolution Foundation under the parent organisation of Sarthak Charitable Trust, a Delhi-based [NGO] working to reduce the environmental impact of funeral pyres, claims to have created an alternative of wood that reduces cutting of trees. It helps in saving environment. Also it promotes Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. As a result, the cost is reduced significantly and emissions are cut by up to 60%.


title: Pyre

text: In ancient times burning bodies was a practiced form of burial. Open-air cremations, known as funeral pyres, are uncommon and even illegal in some countries, particularly in the Western World, because it is considered taboo. While cremation is commonplace, open air cremations in the United Kingdom were considered to be unlawful under the Cremation Act 1902. The law was created to prevent the creation of a private cremation industry and because of issues concerning property. But at the time environmental concerns did not play any factor in the creation of the law.


title: Pyre

text: In February 2010, a Hindu man named Davender Ghai was granted permission to be cremated on a traditional open-air pyre, when a court of appeals in the United Kingdom ruled them legal inside of a building with an open roof and away from roads or homes. In the U.S., a group in Crestone, Colorado, a part of the Crestone End of Life Project, obtained legal permission to perform "open-air cremations". Others have attempted to open up more outdoor funeral pyres but have faced disapproval. Crestone, Colorado is the only place where open-air cremations are legal in the United States. They can perform around 12 a year, regardless of religion and families can be involved in the process if they would like. At this time, the group only allows people who are part of the local community to choose this alternative burial.


title: Pyre

text: In the time leading up to the 2nd century AD popular funeral practices in Rome consisted of cremation with a pyre. Ideal funeral practices meant burning an ornamental pyre for the deceased, that would burn with enough heat and a long enough time to only leave ashes and small bone fragments. Having to use another's pyre was a sign of poverty or emergency cases.


title: Pyre

text: The process of constructing and properly burning a funeral pyre is a skilled task. Often, pyres would not burn with enough heat to properly cremate human remains. Pyres had to be maintained by stoking the flame and raking the pyre to allow good oxygen flow. Ancient literature refers to the skilled job of an ustor, meaning a professional pyre builder derived from the Latin word 'ūrere' which means, to burn. However, regardless of professional build, pyres were unpredictable and would go wrong on a regular basis. The Elder Pliny writes of extreme cases in which bodies have been thrown from the pyre from the force of the flames. Other cases, described by Plutarch, involving deceased victims of poisoning, resulted in the human body bursting open and dousing the pyre.


title: Pyre

text: A study conducted by Alunni, et al. examined the forensic science behind cremations on wooden pyres. The study concluded the average pyre does not completely destroy a human body effectively, and differences in suicide via pyres are evident in the remains. A pyre suicide shows signs of remains being more charred rather than completely oxidized by high temperatures, are in anatomically correct positions, poor bone fragmentation, and is without suspicious burn patterns compared to an individual murdered via pyre. Cremated remains are different from traditional human remains in the sense that their physical appearance including bone vary in color, fragmentation, and differ from their original shape and dimension. This is why forensic experimental studies are necessary to fully understand the differences the body undergoes in a pyre. Coloring of bones before cremation is dependent on oxygen exposure, duration, and temperature. The bone color can range from black to brown or an oxidized white color. The type of bone and method of cooling may also alter the bone form. Cooling is also an important consideration, for if the remains are cooled via water it increases warping. This knowledge is a consideration for archaeologists to understand the remains from pyres.


title: Heidelberg Castle

text: Heidelberg Castle () is a ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps.


title: Heidelberg Castle

text: The castle has only been partially rebuilt since its demolition in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is located up the northern part of the Königstuhl hillside, and thereby dominates the view of the old downtown. It is served by an intermediate station on the Heidelberger Bergbahn funicular railway that runs from Heidelberg's Kornmarkt to the summit of the Königstuhl.


title: Heidelberg Castle

text: The earliest castle structure was built before 1214 and later expanded into two castles circa 1294; however, in 1537, a lightning bolt destroyed the upper castle. The present structures had been expanded by 1650, before damage by later wars and fires. In 1764, another lightning bolt caused a fire which destroyed some rebuilt sections.


title: Heidelberg Castle

text: Heidelberg was first mentioned in 1196 as "Heidelberch". In 1155 Conrad of Hohenstaufen was made the Count Palatine by his half-brother Frederick Barbarossa, and the region became known as the Electoral Palatinate. The claim that Conrad's main residence was on the Schlossberg (Castle Hill), known as the Jettenbühl, cannot be substantiated. The name "Jettenbühl" comes from the soothsayer Jetta, who was said to have lived there. She is also associated with Wolfsbrunnen (Wolf's Spring) and the Heidenloch (Heathens' Well). The first mention of a castle in Heidelberg (Latin: ""castrum in Heidelberg cum burgo ipsius castri"") is in 1214, when Louis I, Duke of Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach received it from Hohenstaufen Emperor Friedrich II. The last mention of a single castle is in 1294. In another document from 1303, two castles are mentioned for the first time:


title: Heidelberg Castle

text: All that is known about the founding of the lower castle is that it took place sometime between 1294 and 1303. The oldest documented references to Heidelberg Castle are found during the 1600s:


title: Heidelberg Castle

text: All of these works are for the most part superficial and do not contain much information. In 1615, Merian's "Topographia Palatinatus Rheni" described Prince Elector Ludwig V as he ""started building a new castle one hundred and more years ago"". Most of the descriptions of the castle up until the 18th century are based on Merian's information. Under Ruprecht I, the court chapel was erected on the Jettenbühl.


title: Heidelberg Castle

text: When Ruprecht became the King of Germany in 1401, the castle was so small that on his return from his coronation, he had to camp out in the Augustinians' monastery, on the site of today's University Square. What he desired was more space for his entourage and court and to impress his guests, but also additional defences to turn the castle into a fortress.


title: Heidelberg Castle

text: After Ruprecht's death in 1410, his land was divided between his four sons. The Palatinate, the heart of his territories, was given to the eldest son, Ludwig III. Ludwig was the representative of the emperor and the supreme judge, and it was in this capacity that he, after the Council of Constance in 1415 and at the behest of Emperor Sigismund, held the deposed Antipope John XXIII in custody before he was taken to Burg Eichelsheim (today Mannheim-Lindenhof).


title: Heidelberg Castle

text: On a visit to Heidelberg in 1838, the French author Victor Hugo took particular pleasure in strolling among the ruins of the castle. He summarised its history in this letter:


title: Heidelberg Castle

text: It was during the reign of Louis V, Elector Palatine (1508–1544) that Martin Luther came to Heidelberg to defend one of his theses (Heidelberg Disputation) and paid a visit to the castle. He was shown around by Louis's younger brother, Wolfgang, Count Palatine, and in a letter to his friend George Spalatin praises the castle's beauty and its defenses.


title: Heidelberg Castle

text: In 1619, Protestants rebelling against the Holy Roman Empire offered the crown of Bohemia to Frederick V, Elector Palatine who accepted despite misgivings and in doing so triggered the outbreak of the Thirty Years War. It was during the Thirty Years War that arms were raised against the castle for the first time. This period marks the end of the castle's construction; the centuries to follow brought with them destruction and rebuilding.


title: Heidelberg Castle

text: After his defeat at the Battle of White Mountain on 8 November 1620, Frederick V was on the run as an outlaw and had to release his troops prematurely, leaving the Palatinate undefended against General Tilly, the supreme commander of the Imperial and Holy Roman Empire's troops. On 26 August 1622, Tilly commenced his attack on Heidelberg, taking the town on 16 September, and the castle a few days later.


title: Heidelberg Castle

text: When the Swedes captured Heidelberg on 5 May 1633 and opened fire on the castle from the Königstuhl hill behind it, Tilly handed over the castle. The following year, the emperor's troops tried to recapture the castle, but it was not until July 1635 that they succeeded. It remained in their possession until the Peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years War was signed. The new ruler, Charles Louis (Karl Ludwig) and his family did not move into the ruined castle until 7 October 1649.


title: Heidelberg Castle

text: After the death of Charles II, Elector Palatine, the last in line of the House of Palatinate-Simmern, Louis XIV of France demanded the surrender of the allodial title in favor of the Duchess of Orléans, Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine who he claimed was the rightful heir to the Simmern lands. On 29 September 1688, the French troops marched into the Palatinate of the Rhine and on 24 October moved into Heidelberg, which had been deserted by Philipp Wilhelm, the new Elector Palatine from the line of Palatinate-Neuburg. At war against the allied European powers, France's war council decided to destroy all fortifications and to lay waste to the Palatinate ("Brûlez le Palatinat!"), in order to prevent an enemy attack from this area. As the French withdrew from the castle on 2 March 1689, they set fire to it and blew the front off the Fat Tower. Portions of the town were also burned, but the mercy of a French general, René de Froulay de Tessé, who told the townspeople to set small fires in their homes to create smoke and the illusion of widespread burning, prevented wider destruction.


title: Heidelberg Castle

text: Immediately upon his accession in 1690, Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine had the walls and towers rebuilt. When the French again reached the gates of Heidelberg in 1691 and 1692, the town's defenses were so good that they did not gain entry. On 18 May 1693 the French were yet again at the town's gates and took it on 22 May. However, they did not attain control of the castle and destroyed the town in attempt to weaken the castle's main support base. The castle's occupants capitulated the next day. Now the French took the opportunity to finish off the work started in 1689, after their hurried exit from the town. The towers and walls that had survived the last wave of destruction, were blown up with mines.


title: Heidelberg Castle

text: In 1697 the Treaty of Ryswick was signed, marking the end of the War of the Grand Alliance and finally bringing peace to the town. Plans were made to pull down the castle and to reuse parts of it for a new palace in the valley. When difficulties with this plan became apparent, the castle was patched up. At the same time, Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine played with the idea of completely redesigning the castle, but shelved the project due to lack of funds. He did, however, install his favorite court jester, Perkeo of Heidelberg to famously watch over the castle's wine stock. Perkeo later became the unofficial mascot of the city. In 1720, Charles came into conflict with the town's Protestants as a result of fully handing over the Church of the Holy Spirit to the Catholics (it had previously been split by a partition and used by both congregations), the Catholic prince-elector moved his court to Mannheim and lost all interest in the castle. When on 12 April 1720, Charles announced the removal of the court and all its administrative bodies to Mannheim, he wished that "Grass may grow on her streets".