title: Tropico (video game)

text: While "El Presidente" has absolute rule over the lives of the Tropican people, politics play an important role in gameplay. The player must decide whether to hold free elections, attempt to manipulate the election by intimidating voters, or to dispense with any pretense of democracy and run the island as a dictatorship. These decisions will have direct effects on the Tropican people's happiness, liberty, and respect for the leader. Often the player is judged on "democracy expectations" versus "democracy results", which will influence the public's opinion of their leadership. Having free elections increases the respect of El Presidente among the population, but if their support gets too low, there is the risk of El Presidente losing the elections and being forced to resign. A successful leader will have to either meet the needs of the populace, the political factions, and the wider political world, or establish and police a totalitarian military dictatorship and watch the army carefully.


title: Tropico (video game)

text: If pushed enough the Tropican people may choose to rebel against "El Presidente", conducting guerrilla attacks against various buildings on the island; if the rebellion grows strong enough this will result in the overthrow of the player. A sufficiently dissatisfied military will likely instigate a coup. Often threats to power can be measured based on a unit's leadership qualities and his courage. For example, a citizen with poor leadership but strong courage may not be likely to start a rebellion but may be willing to join it.


title: Tropico (video game)

text: Most Tropicans are aligned into several conflicting political factions, with some citizens being a member of one or more such factions:


title: Tropico (video game)

text: Factions can be manipulated both positively and negatively mainly through edicts and buildings. For example, the player may choose to bribe the leaders of factions to attempt to curry their favor or, if the factions' leaders become too much of a threat, he can have them assassinated or imprisoned. The island's media outlets can be directed to distribute propaganda for a particular faction, and schools can be either parochial or military in nature.


title: Tropico (video game)

text: The Banana Republic idea was the first of these that we agreed on. It was original, though not radical. Everyone likes building games, but the two predominant models, set out by "Civilization" and "SimCity", have been cloned to death. This would be a fresh take on the building game concept. Moreover, the Latin American setting provides a rich background for the political side of the game. Building a prosperous country in and of itself is not enough – you’ve got to bribe your generals and repress your dissidents to avoid a coup-de-tat or a mass uprising.The singer Lou Bega was included as part of a licensing deal that also saw one of Bega's songs integrated into the German release of "Tropico".


title: Tropico (video game)

text: After the completion of "Tropico", Steinmeyer was uninterested in developing further games in the series. However, later in 2001, Take-Two Interactive requested an expansion pack to capitalize on the game's success.


title: Tropico (video game)

text: "Tropico" was a commercial success; Geoff Keighley of "Computer Gaming World" declared it one of Gathering of Developers' few "certified hits". In the United States, it claimed fifth place on NPD Intelect's computer game sales chart for the week of April 22. It placed sixth the following two weeks, before holding at tenth for the May 13 – June 2 period. On NPD Intelect's monthly charts, "Tropico" took places nine and 19 in May and June, respectively. According to NPD, the game sold 67,000 copies in the United States by October 2001.


title: Tropico (video game)

text: According to Phil Steinmeyer, the game's highest sales came from "the U.S., Germany, and Britain, respectively", in its first seven weeks. He noted that "Tropico" did not fall from the top 10 of these markets' computer game sales charts during the period, and that it reached #1 on Germany's chart. As of November 2007, "Tropico" had sold 1 million copies in total.


title: Tropico (video game)

text: John Lee of "Next Generation" summarized, ""Tropico" tends to be slow, with no tedium-breaking clash of arms like other city builders, but there's enough innovation to give it charm." In "Game Informer", Kristian Brogger praised the game's visuals, music and "wonderfully intuitive camera system". He called the game "an absolute must-have for anyone who found anything from "SimCity" to "Zeus" even moderately interesting."


title: Tropico (video game)

text: "Tropico" received the 2001 "Outstanding Achievement in Musical Composition" award from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, and won "Best Music" awards from "Computer Games Magazine", "Computer Gaming World" and GameSpot. "Computer Gaming World"s staff called the score "brilliant" and summarized it as "easily the year's most evocative soundtrack". "Tropico" was also nominated for GameSpot's "Best Single-Player Strategy Game" and "The Electric Playground"s "Best Strategy Game for PC" awards, which went to "Civilization III" and "Etherlords", respectively.


title: Tropico (video game)

text: "Tropico" was followed by a sequel, "", in 2003. While PopTop remained involved as the sequel's producer, the game was developed by Frog City Software. "Tropico 2" was the final game in the series to be published by Take-Two Interactive. No further entries were greenlit until November 2008, when Kalypso Media bought the "Tropico" intellectual property from Take-Two and announced "Tropico 3", developed by Bulgaria's Haemimont Games. The game was released in 2009. Afterward, Haemimont Games developed "Tropico 4" (2011) and "Tropico 5" (2014), both published by Kalypso. "Tropico 6", developed by Limbic Entertainment and published again by Kalypso Media, was announced in June 2017 and released on March 29, 2019. In December 2020, Realmforge Studios announced that it would take over its future development of the series.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: Andronikos II Palaiologos (; 25 March 1259 – 13 February 1332), Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, reigned as Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. Andronikos' reign marked the beginning of the recently-restored empire's final decline. The Turks conquered most of its remaining Anatolian territories and, during the last years of his reign, he also had to fight his own grandson in the First Palaiologan Civil War. The war ended in Andronikos' forced abdication in 1328 after which he retired to a monastery for the remainder of his life.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: Andronikos was born on 25 March 1259, at Nicaea. He was the eldest surviving son of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Theodora Palaiologina, grandniece of John III Doukas Vatatzes.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: Andronikos was acclaimed co-emperor in 1261, after his father Michael VIII recovered Constantinople from the Latin Empire, but he was not crowned until 8 November 1272. Sole emperor from 1282, Andronikos II immediately repudiated his father's unpopular Church union with the Papacy, which he had been forced to support while his father was still alive, but he was unable to resolve the related schism within the Orthodox clergy until 1310.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: Andronikos II was also plagued by economic difficulties. During his reign the value of the Byzantine "hyperpyron" depreciated precipitously, while the state treasury accumulated less than one seventh the revenue (in nominal coins) that it had previously. Seeking to increase revenue and reduce expenses, Andronikos II raised taxes, reduced tax exemptions, and dismantled the Byzantine fleet (80 ships) in 1285, thereby making the Empire increasingly dependent on the rival republics of Venice and Genoa.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: In 1291, he hired 50–60 Genoese ships, but the Byzantine weakness resulting from the lack of a navy became painfully apparent in the two wars with Venice in 1296–1302, and later again in 1306–10. In 1320, he tried to resurrect the navy by constructing 20 galleys, but failed.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: Andronikos II Palaiologos sought to resolve some of the problems facing the Byzantine Empire through diplomacy. After the death of his first wife, Anne of Hungary, he married Yolanda (renamed Irene) of Montferrat, putting an end to the Montferrat claim to the Kingdom of Thessalonica.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: Andronikos II also attempted to marry off his son and co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos to the Latin Empress Catherine I of Courtenay, thus seeking to eliminate Western agitation for a restoration of the Latin Empire. Another marriage alliance attempted to resolve the potential conflict with Serbia in Macedonia, as Andronikos II married off his five-year-old daughter Simonis to King Stefan Milutin in 1298.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: In spite of the resolution of problems in Europe, Andronikos II was faced with the collapse of the Byzantine frontier in Asia Minor, despite the successful, but short, governorships of Alexios Philanthropenos and John Tarchaneiotes. The successful military victories in Asia Minor by Alexios Philanthropenos and John Tarchaneiotes against the Turks were largely dependent on a considerable military contingent of Cretan escapees, or exiles from Venetian-occupied Crete, headed by Hortatzis, whom Michael VIII had repatriated to Byzantium through a treaty agreement with the Venetians ratified in 1277. Andronikos II had resettled those Cretans in the region of Meander river, the southeastern Asia Minor frontier of Byzantium with the Turks.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: After the failure of the co-emperor Michael IX to stem the Turkish advance in Asia Minor in 1302 and the disastrous Battle of Bapheus, the Byzantine government hired the Catalan Company of Almogavars (adventurers from Catalonia) led by Roger de Flor to clear Byzantine Asia Minor of the enemy.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: In spite of some successes, the Catalans were unable to secure lasting gains. Being more ruthless and savage than the enemy they intended to subdue they quarreled with Michael IX, and eventually openly turned on their Byzantine employers after the murder of Roger de Flor in 1305; together with a party of willing Turks they devastated Thrace, Macedonia, and Thessaly on their road to Latin occupied southern Greece. There they conquered the Duchy of Athens and Thebes. The Turks continued to penetrate the Byzantine possessions, and Prusa fell in 1326.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: By the end of Andronikos II's reign, much of Bithynia was in the hands of the Ottoman Turks of Osman I and his son and heir Orhan.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: Karasids conquered Mysia-region with Paleokastron after 1296, Germiyan conquered Simav in 1328, Saruhan captured Magnesia in 1313, and Aydinids captured Smyrna in 1310.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: The Empire's problems were exploited by Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria, who defeated Michael IX and conquered much of northeastern Thrace in . The conflict ended with yet another dynastic marriage, between Michael IX's daughter Theodora and the Bulgarian emperor. The dissolute behavior of Michael IX's son Andronikos III Palaiologos led to a rift in the family, and after Michael IX's death in 1320, Andronikos II disowned his grandson, prompting a civil war that raged, with interruptions, until 1328. The conflict precipitated Bulgarian involvement, and Michael Asen III of Bulgaria attempted to capture Andronikos II under the guise of sending him military support. In 1328 Andronikos III entered Constantinople in triumph and Andronikos II was forced to abdicate.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: Andronikos II died as a monk at Constantinople in 1332, and was buried in the Lips Monastery (now the Fenari Isa Mosque).


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: The economic destitution which would plague the reign of Andronikos II caused him to undertake drastic measures to cut state spending. These spending cuts included the native army which was reduced to a near token force being largely superseded by foreign mercenary companies who however too would be further reduced down to a near suicidal minimum and be in large part replaced by cheaper but much less experienced rabble, such that a military response to the turk advance became a difficult and as shown by the failed Campaign of Andronikos’s co-emperor Michael XI a dangerous undertaking.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: The Byzantine Navy was not left unharmed. In fact it would soon be disbanded completely, leaving the Byzantine State more than ever reliant on Genoese and Venetian assistance — which correspondingly allowed these republics to charge exorbitantly higher prices for their service — the great deal of experienced seamen who were as a result made unemployed also had the disastrous effect of giving the Turkomans — who had just reached the western Anatolian coast and sough to build up their own naval forces —a myriad of destitute but experienced Sailors and Ship-makers who they could draw upon to build up their own fleets which would together with the absence of the Byzantine fleet greatly contribute to the exploding problem of Turkic piracy in the Aegean sea ravaging trade and coastal lands alike.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: In 1320 as a result of heightened taxation, and a more rigorous collection of these, Andronikos II was able to raise a total of 1 million Hyperpyra for the budgetary year of 1321, this he planned to use to expand his army to some 3000 horsemen, and recreate the Byzantine Navy to contain 20 ships. Andronikos II's impending civil war with his grandson Andronikos III would however prevent him from ever implementing this plan, yet to his credit this plan does show a more militarily ambitious if still insufficient plan for state spending.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: For the sake of comparison it has to be noted that the Hyperpyron from 1320 was worth 1/2 that of the undebased Nomisma from the reign of Basil II.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: As Andronikos broke the church union of his father he also removed many of his church appointments, including the pro-unionist Patriarch John XI, replacing him with the now very elderly anti-unionist Patriarch Joseph I. When Joseph resigned his office and died the following year he was then replaced by a cypriot who took the name Gregory II.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: Aside from the church union Andronikos also faced the Arsenite schism, caused when Patriarch Arsenios protested the blinding and imprisonment of John IV undertaken by Michael VIII, consequently excommunicating Michael VIII for which Arsenios was soon removed. The Arsenites were an anti-unionist group which therefore held that the still imprisoned John was the rightful Byzantine Emperor and that the Patriarchs John XI, Joseph I, and now Gregory II were illegitimate.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: To try and mend this schism Gregory called for a church synod to which he invited both the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch asking them to rescind their previous pro-unionist declaration, which The Patriarch of Antioch refused, who then subsequently abdicated from his office and fled to Syria. Gregory also asked Michael VIIIs widow the Empress Theodora for a public avowal that she would never ask that Michael receive a Christian burial, which she ended up agreeing to. Though this Synod did much to satisfy the Orthodox Clergy it failed to do the same with the Arsenites.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: A few years later, the Patriarch Gregory II was forced to resign as some of his writings were deemed to be heretical. Andronikos, in order to distract from an ever worsening political situation, succeeded in having a hermit from Mt. Athos, who took the name Athanasius, pronounced as Patriarch. Athanasius became known for his simplistic dress and near fanatical Asceticism spending much of his time repudiating clergymen for their earthly possessions. He would eventually go as far as to attempt and take riches away from some wealthier churches and monasteries. Many clergymen as a result became overtly hostile to him going as far as pelting him with stones as he walked the streets of Constantinople, so that Athanasius would soon no longer be seen in public without a personal bodyguard.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: When in the summer of 1293 Andronikos returned from a visit to his swiftly dwindling Anatolian holdings he was already awaited by a delegation of leading clergyman who demanded the deposition of Athanasius, Andronikos attempted to resist these calls however the strong opposition eventually forced him to recall Athanasius from his office, this was not however before Athanasius personally penned a church bull in which he excommunicated the leading clergymen who took opposition to him, hiding it in a pillar in the northern Gallery of the Hagia Sophia where it would only be found a few years later causing much uproar.


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: On 8 November 1272 Andronikos II married as his first wife Anna of Hungary, daughter of Stephen V of Hungary and Elizabeth the Cuman, with whom he had two sons:


title: Andronikos II Palaiologos

text: Anna died in 1281, and in 1284 Andronikos married Yolanda (renamed Irene), a daughter of William VII of Montferrat, with whom he had:


title: Pascagoula Abduction

text: The Pascagoula Abduction was an alleged UFO sighting and alien abduction in 1973, in which Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker claimed they were abducted by aliens while fishing near Pascagoula, Mississippi.


title: Pascagoula Abduction

text: On the evening of October 11, 1973, 42-year-old Charles Hickson and 19-year-old Calvin Parker told the Jackson County, Mississippi Sheriff's office they were fishing off a pier on the west bank of the Pascagoula River in Mississippi when they heard a whirring/whizzing sound, saw two flashing blue lights, and observed an oval shaped object 30–40 feet across and 8–10 feet high. Parker and Hickson claimed they were "conscious but paralyzed" while three "creatures" with "robotic slit-mouths" and "crab-like pincers" took them aboard the object and subjected them to an examination.


title: Pascagoula Abduction

text: Following the incident, Hickson gave interviews and lectures, appeared on television (including an episode of the game show "To Tell The Truth"), in 1974 claimed additional encounters with aliens, and in 1983 authored a self-published book "UFO Contact at Pascagoula". Parker later attended UFO conventions, and in 1993 started a company called "UFO Investigations" to produce television stories about UFOs.


title: Pascagoula Abduction

text: Aviation journalist and UFO skeptic Philip J. Klass found "discrepancies" in Hickson's story, noted that Hickson refused to take a polygraph exam conducted by an experienced examiner, and concluded that the case was a hoax. Skeptical investigator Joe Nickell wrote that Hickson's behavior was "questionable" and that Hickson later altered or embellished his claims. Nickell speculated that Hickson may have fantasized the alien encounter during a hypnagogic "waking dream state", and suggested that Parker's corroboration of the tale was likely due to suggestibility because he initially told police he had "passed out at the beginning of the incident and failed to regain consciousness until it was over", a claim supported by Hickson during his "To Tell the Truth" appearance.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Christianity is the predominant religion in Portugal, with Catholicism being its largest denomination. Portugal has no official religion, though in the past, the Catholic Church in Portugal was the state religion. According to the 2021 Census, 80.2% of the population of Portugal is Catholic, though in 2001 only about 19% attended Mass and took the sacraments regularly, while a larger number wish to have their children baptized, be married in a church, and receive Last Rites.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Portugal is one of the most religious countries in Europe, most Portuguese believe with certainty in the existence of God and religion is important in their lives. According to the Pew Research Center Portugal is the 9th most religious country out of 34 European countries, 40% of Portuguese Catholics pray daily, and 36% say religion is very important in their lives.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Although Church and State were formally separated during the Portuguese First Republic (1910–1926), a separation reiterated in the constitution of 1976, Roman Catholic precepts continue to have a significant bearing in Portuguese society and culture. The educational and health care systems were for a long time the Church's preserve, and in many cases, whenever a building, bridge, or highway was opened, it received a blessing from the clergy. Although Church and State are formally separate, the Catholic Church still receives certain privileges.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: According to the 2021 Census, 80.2% of the population aged 15 and older is Catholic, a figure very similar to that recorded in the 2011 Census, when 81.0% selected Catholicism as their religion. About 5% adhere to other forms of Christianity, with 2.1% being Protestant, 0.7% Jehovah's Witnesses, 0.7% Orthodox, and 1% members of other Christian churches. Just over 1% indicated belonging to non-Christian religions, with 0.4% being Muslim, 0.2% Hindu, 0.2% Buddhist and 0.3% members of other religions. 14% indicated not having any religion.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Census data show some regional differences. Catholicism is strongest in the Azores (91.6%), Madeira (90.9%) and the North region (88.1%). On the other hand, the Algarve (65.9%) and the Lisbon region (67.5%) have the lowest percentages. It is also in the regions of Lisbon and the Algarve that the highest proportions of members of other Christian churches, of other religions and of people without religious affiliation are found. Members of other Christian religions make up more than 10% of the Algarve's population. In the Lisbon metropolitan area and in the Algarve, more than 2% of the population follow non-Christian religions and the percentage of the non-religious population varies between around 6% in the Azores and Madeira and 23.1% in Lisbon.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: There is a very considerable difference in terms of religious composition between the inhabitants with Portuguese nationality and the foreign population residing in the country, which makes up 5.2% of the total population. 82.6% of residents of Portuguese nationality are Catholic, while only 36.4% of foreigners identify with the Catholic Church. Just over 3% of Portuguese nationals belong to other Christian denominations, a percentage that approaches 30% among foreign residents. Only 0.6% of residents of Portuguese nationality reported belonging to non-Christian religions, with this percentage being 12.3% among foreigners. As for the population without religious affiliation, the percentage is 13.7% among residents born in Portugal and 21.5% among residents born abroad.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: As in most provinces of the Roman Empire, the religious beliefs and deities of the Pre-Roman populations mingled and coexisted with Roman mythology. In the Portuguese case, those Pre-Roman religions were basically Proto-Celtic or Celtic, chief amongst them that of the Lusitanians (see "Lusitanian mythology").


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Jewish populations have existed in the area, going back to the Roman era or even before that, and are directly related to Sephardi history.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: The Roman Provinces of Lusitania (comprising most of Portugal south of the Douro river) and of Gallaecia (north of the Douro river) were first Christianized while part of the Roman Empire. During this period, Bracara Augusta (the modern city of Braga) became one of the most important episcopal centres, alongside Santiago de Compostela. Christianity was solidified when the Suevi and the Visigoths—Germanic tribes already Christianized—came into the Iberian Peninsula in the fifth century.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Early Visigoths followed the Arian heresy, but they joined Roman mainstream after the eighth century. The city of Braga played an important role in the religious history of the period, namely during the renunciation of the Arian and Priscillianist heresies. Two synods were held in Braga in the sixth century, marking the origin of its ecclesiastical significance. The Archbishops of Braga retains the title of Primate of Portugal, and long claimed supremacy over the whole of the churches of Hispania.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Braga had an important role in the Christianization of the whole Iberian Peninsula. The first known bishop of Braga, Paternus, lived during the end of the fourth century, although Saint Ovidius (d. 135 AD) is sometimes considered one of the first bishops of this city. In the early fifth century, Paulus Orosius, a friend of Saint Augustine, born in Braga, wrote several theological and historical works of great importance. In the sixth century, another influential figure was Saint Martin of Braga, a bishop of Braga who converted the Suevi from Arianism to Catholicism. He also founded an important monastery near Braga, in Dumio ("Dume"), now an archaeological site. Several Ecumenical Councils were held in Braga during this period, a sign of the religious importance of the city.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Christianity saw its importance diminish in southern Portugal during Moorish rule in the Al-Andalus period, beginning in 711 with the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, even if most of the population still followed Christianity according to the Mozarabic Rite. In the north, however, Christianity provided the cultural and religious cement that helped hold Portugal together as a distinctive entity, at least since the reconquest of Porto in 868 by Vímara Peres, the founder of the First County of Portugal. By the same token, Christianity was the rallying cry of those who rose up against the Moors and sought to drive them out. Hence, Christianity and the Catholic Church pre-dated the establishment of the Portuguese nation, a point that shaped relations between the two.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Under Afonso Henriques (r. 1139–1185), the first king of Portugal and the founder of the Portuguese Kingdom, church and state were unified into a lasting and mutually beneficial partnership. To secure papal recognition of his country, Afonso declared Portugal a vassal state of the Pope, and was as such recognized in 1179 through the papal bull "Manifestis Probatum". The King found the Church to be a useful ally as he drove the Moors towards the South. For its support of his policies, Afonso richly rewarded the Church by granting it vast lands and privileges in the conquered territories. The Church became the country's largest landowner, and its power came to be equal to that of the nobility, the military orders, and even, for a time, the Crown. But Afonso also asserted his supremacy over the Church, a supremacy that — with various ups and downs — was maintained.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Although relations between the Portuguese State and the Catholic Church were generally amiable and stable, their relative power fluctuated. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Church enjoyed both riches and power stemming from its role in the reconquest and its close identification with early Portuguese nationalism. For a time, the Church's position vis-à-vis the State diminished until the growth of the Portuguese Overseas Empire made its missionaries important agents of colonization (see, for example, "Kingdom of Kongo").


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Until the 15th century, some Jews occupied prominent places in Portuguese political and economical life. For example, Isaac Abrabanel was the treasurer of King Afonso V of Portugal. Many also had an active role in the Portuguese culture, and they kept their reputation of diplomats and merchants. By this time, Lisbon and Évora were home to important Jewish communities.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: In 1497, reflecting events that had occurred five years earlier in Spain, Portugal expelled the Jews and the few remaining Moors — or forced them to convert. In 1536, the Pope gave King João III (r. 1521–1557) permission to establish the Portuguese Inquisition to enforce the purity of the faith. Earlier, the country had been rather tolerant, but now orthodoxy and intolerance reigned. The Jesuit Order was placed in charge of all education.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: In the 18th century, anti-Church sentiment became strong. The Marquês de Pombal (r. 1750–1777) expelled the Jesuits in 1759, broke relations with the Holy See in Rome, and brought education under the State's control. Pombal was eventually removed from his office, and many of his reforms were undone, but anti-clericalism remained a force in Portuguese society. In 1821, the Inquisition was abolished, religious orders were banned, and the Church lost much of its property. Relations between Church and State improved in the second half of the 19th century, but a new wave of anti-clericalism emerged with the establishment of the Portuguese First Republic in 1910. Not only were Church properties seized and education secularized, but the Republic went so far as to ban the ringing of church bells, the wearing of clerical garb on the streets, and the holding of many popular religious festivals. With the outbreak of the First World War the Portuguese First Republic viewed it as a unique opportunity to achieve a number of goals: putting an end to the twin threats of a Spanish invasion of Portugal and of foreign occupation of the colonies and, at the internal level, creating a national consensus around the regime. These domestic objectives were not met and the armed forces, whose political awareness had grown during the war, and whose leaders had not forgiven the regime for sending them to a war they did not want to fight, seemed to represent, to conservative forces, the last bastion of "order" against the "chaos" that was taking over the country. By the mid-1920s the domestic and international scenes began to favour an authoritarian solution, wherein a strengthened executive might restore political and social order.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Under the "Estado Novo", the corporatist totalitarian regime of António de Oliveira Salazar (r. 1932–1968), the Church experienced a revival. Salazar was himself deeply religious and infused with Catholic precepts. Before studying law, he had been a seminarian; his roommate at the University of Coimbra, Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira, later became Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon. In addition, Salazar's corporatist principles and his constitution and labour statute of 1933 were infused with Roman Catholic precepts from the papal encyclicals "Rerum novarum" (1891) and "Quadragesimo anno" (1931).


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Salazar's state claimed to base itself on the principles of traditional Roman Catholicism, with an emphasis on order, discipline, and authority. Class relations were supposedly based on harmony rather than the Marxist concept of conflict. The family, the parish, and Christianity were said to be the foundations of the State. Salazar went considerably beyond these principles, however, and established a full-fledged dictatorship. His corporate government, in the opinion of some, contained about equal blends of Roman Catholic principles and Benito Mussolini-like fascism.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: In 1940, a "Concordat" governing Church–State relations was signed between Portugal and the Vatican. The Church was to be "separate" from the State but to enjoy a special position. The Concordat of 1940 reversed many of the anticlerical policies adopted during the First Republic, and the Catholic Church was given exclusive control over religious instruction in the public schools. Only Catholic clergy could serve as chaplains in the armed forces. Divorce, which had been legalized by the republic, was made illegal for those married in a Church service, but remained legal with respect to civil marriage. The Church was given formal "juridical personality," enabling it to incorporate and hold property.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Under Salazar, critics believe that Church and State in Portugal maintained a comfortable and mutually reinforcing relationship. While assisting the Church in many ways, however, Salazar insisted that it stay out of politics — unless it praised his regime. Dissent and criticism were forbidden; those clergy who stepped out of line — an occasional parish priest and once the Bishop of Porto — were silenced or forced to leave the country. The rest of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, led by Cardinal Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira, a great friend and supporter of Salazar, remained silent on the issue.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: In the Portuguese Constitution of 1976, after the Carnation Revolution of 1974 and the transition to democracy, Church and State were again formally separated. The Church continues to have a special place in Portugal, but for the most part, it has been disestablished. Other religions are now free to organize and practice their beliefs.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: In addition to constitutional changes, Portugal became a more secular society. The practice of religion has since declined . The number of men becoming priests fell, as did charitable offerings and attendance at Mass. By the early 1990s, most Portuguese still considered themselves Roman Catholic in a vaguely cultural and religious sense, but only about one-third of them attended Mass regularly. Indifference to religion was most likely among men and young people. Regular churchgoers were most often women and young children.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: The Church no longer had its former social influence. During the 19th century and on into the Salazar regime, the Church was one of the most powerful institutions in the country — along with the Army and the social and economic elite. In fact, military, economic, governmental, and religious influences in Portugal were closely intertwined and interrelated, often literally so. Traditionally, the first son of elite families inherited land, the second went into the army, and the third became a bishop. By the early 1990s, however, the Roman Catholic Church no longer enjoyed this pre-eminence but had fallen to seventh or eighth place in power among Portuguese interest groups.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: By the 1980s, the Church seldom tried to influence how Portuguese voted, knowing such attempts would probably backfire. During the height of the revolutionary turmoil in the mid-1970s, the Church urged its communicants to vote for centrist and conservative candidates and to repudiate communists, especially in northern Portugal, but after that the Church refrained from such an overt political role.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: The Church was not able to prevent the enactment of the constitution of 1976, which separated Church and State, nor could it block legislation liberalizing divorce or abortion, issues it regarded as moral and within the realm of its responsibility.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: The practice of religion in Portugal has shown striking regional differences. Even in the early 1990s, 60 to 70 percent of the population in the traditionally Catholic North regularly attended religious services, compared with 10 to 15 percent in the historically anti-clerical South. In the Greater Lisbon Area, about 30 percent were regular churchgoers.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: The traditional importance of Catholicism in the lives of the Portuguese is evident in the physical organization of almost every village in Portugal. The village churches are usually in prominent locations, either on the main square or on a hilltop overlooking the village. Many of the churches and chapels were built in the 16th century at the height of Portugal's colonial expansion, and were often decorated with wood and gold leaf from the conquests. In recent decades, however, they were often in disrepair, for there were not enough priests to tend them. Many were used only rarely to honor the patron saints of the villages.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Much of the country's religious life has traditionally taken place outside the formal structure and official domain of the Roman Catholic Church. This is especially true in rural areas where the celebration of saints' days and religious festivals is popular. The most famous religious event in Portugal has been the claimed apparition of the Virgin Mary to three children in Cova da Iria, in the village of Fátima, in 1917. Two of the children, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, were beatified in 2000 and canonized saints in 2017 by Pope Francis. The apparition of the Heavenly Mother in this small village in the district of Santarém has led hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to visit the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima each year, many in the hope of receiving healing.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Women tended to practice their religion more than men did, as evidenced by church attendance. The image of the Virgin, as well as that of Christ, were commonly displayed, even in labour union offices or on signs in demonstrations.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Other aspects of Portuguese folk religion were not approved by the official Church, including witchcraft, magic, and sorcery. Formal religion, folk beliefs, and superstition were frequently jumbled together. Particularly in the isolated villages of northern Portugal, belief in witches, witchcraft, and evil spirits was widespread. Some persons believed in the concept of the "evil eye" and feared those who supposedly possessed it. Again, women were the main practitioners. Almost every village had its "seers," practitioners of magic, and "healers." Evil spirits and even werewolves were thought to inhabit the mountains and byways, and it was believed that people must be protected from them. Children and young women were thought to be particularly vulnerable to the "evil eye."


title: Religion in Portugal

text: As people became better educated and moved to the city, they lost some of these folk beliefs. But in the city and among educated persons alike, superstition could still be found, even in the early 1990s. Sorcerers, palm readers, and readers of cards had shops, particularly in poorer neighborhoods, but not exclusively so. In short, a strong undercurrent of superstition still remained in Portugal. The formal Church disapproved of superstitious practices but was powerless to do much about them.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: In contrast to that of Spain, Roman Catholicism in Portugal was softer and less intense. The widespread use of folk practices and the humanization of religion made for a loving though remote God, in contrast to the harshness of the Spanish vision. In Portugal, unlike Spain, God and his saints were imagined as forgiving and serene. In Spain, the expressions depicted on the faces of saints and martyrs were painful and anguished; in Portugal they were complacent, calm, and pleasant.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: For most of Portugal's history, few non–Roman Catholics lived in the country; those who did could not practice their religion freely. They had been kept out of the country for three centuries by the Inquisition. However, the British began settling in Portugal in the nineteenth century brought other Christian denominations with them. Most belonged to the Anglican Church of England, but others were Protestant Methodists, Congregationalists, Baptists, and Presbyterians. The establishment of a constitutional monarchy in 1834 granted limited religious toleration, and consequently led to the opening of an Anglican chapel (St. George's Church, Lisbon). A second chapel was opened in 1868. The Anglican mission coincided with the growing influence of the Old Catholic movement in Portugal. Congregations were created from Roman Catholic priests and laypeople who refused to accept the dogmas of the infallibility and universal ordinary jurisdiction of the Pope, as defined by the First Vatican Council in 1870. The Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church was formed as a result in 1880 (and has been a member church of the Anglican Communion since 1980); however, laws still restricted the activities of non–Roman Catholics. St Andrew's Church, Lisbon - a congregation of the Church of Scotland - was built in 1899.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: The oldest Portuguese-speaking Protestant denomination is the "Igreja Evangélica Presbiteriana de Portugal" (Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Portugal), tracing its origins back to the work of a Scottish missionary on Madeira in the early 19th century.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: By the early 1990s, only some 50,000 to 60,000 Anglicans and Protestants lived in Portugal, less than 1 percent of the total population. The 1950s and 1960s saw the arrival of Pentecostals, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Jehovah's Witnesses, all of whom increased in numbers more rapidly than the earlier arrivals did. All groups, however, were hampered by prohibitions and restrictions against the free exercise of their religions, especially missionary activities.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: These restrictions were lifted after the Revolution of 1974. The constitution of 1976 guarantees all religions the right to practice their faith. Non–Roman Catholic groups came to be recognized as legal entities with the right to assemble. Portuguese who were both not Roman Catholics and were conscientious objectors had the right to apply for alternative military service. The Roman Catholic Church, however, still sought to place barriers in the way of missionary activities.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: The Eastern Orthodox Church is present in small numbers in Portugal, mostly through diaspora from Eastern European countries with a native Eastern Orthodox population. Some are organised through local jurisdictions of their mother churches, most often headed from Spain or other neighbouring countries. These include:


title: Religion in Portugal

text: There is also a non-canonical jurisdiction, the Lusitanian Catholic Orthodox Church, which defines itself as both Independent Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. It does not have any recognition from the canonical jurisdictions above.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: The first visitor of the Baháʼí Faith to Portugal was in 1926. Its first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly was elected in Lisbon in 1946. In 1962 the Portuguese Baháʼís elected their first National Spiritual Assembly. In 1963 there were nine assemblies. The population of the Baháʼí community Ain Portugal was estimated at some 2,100 members in 2010 according to the Association of Religion Data Archives (relying on World Christian Encyclopedia).


title: Religion in Portugal

text: From the mid-1990s on there was an influx of Hindus of Nepalese origin in Portugal as a result of labour migration originated from that South Asian country. It is also possible to find in the Metropolitan Areas of all the regions several Hare Krishna communities, consisting mainly of non-Portuguese Europeans, Brazilians, US citizens and a few Portuguese. Besides this, there is a Hindu community of approximately 9,000 persons, which largely traces its origins to Indians who emigrated from the former Portuguese colonies of Lusophone Africa, particularly from Mozambique, and from the former colony of Goa and other possessions in Portuguese India.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Hindus in Portugal are, according to the Indian Embassy in Lisbon, mainly Gujaratis (Gujarati is taught at the Hindu Community Cultural Centre in Lisbon), Punjabis and Goans. The majority of the Hindus live in the Lisbon and Porto Metropolitan areas.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: The Jewish community in Portugal numbered between 500 and 1,000 as of the early 1990s. The community was concentrated in Lisbon, and many of its members were foreigners. The persecution of Portuguese Jewry had been so intense that until the twentieth century Portugal had no synagogue or even regular Jewish religious services (the Lisbon Synagogue was founded in 1904). The few Jewish Portuguese were hence isolated from the main currents of Judaism. Their community began to revive when larger numbers of foreign Jews (embassy personnel, business people, and technicians) began coming to Portugal in the 1960s and 1970s. In northern Portugal, there are a few villages where Marranos, descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity to avoid persecution and whose religion was a mixture of Judaism and Christianity, still exist (see Belmonte Jews) numbering several thousand.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: Portugal's Muslim community consists of a small number of immigrants from Portugal's former colonies in Africa, namely Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau, and small numbers of recent immigrant workers from Northern Africa, mainly Morocco. In the 1991 census the number of Muslims in Portugal was under 10,000. The Muslim population in 2019 is approximately 65,000 people. The main Mosque in Portugal is the Lisbon Mosque. The majority of Muslims in the country are Sunnis, followed by approximately 5,000 to 7,000 Nizari Ismaili Shia Muslims. There is also a limited number of Ahmadiyya Muslims.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: In 2015, Lisbon was chosen to be the global seat of the Nizari Shi'a community; the second largest Shi'a denomination in the world. Their spiritual leader, the Aga Khan IV, purchased the historical Mendonça Palace to use as its headquarters, as well as the headquarters of his foundation.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: There is also a small population of between 50,000 and 80,000 Buddhists and Buddhist sympathisers (respectively) in Portugal. More than any other non-Christian denomination, and more than any other when it comes to "sympathizers". A new Buddhist Vihara called Sumedharama, has been founded in July 2010 and located at north west of Lisbon, near Ericeira. The Bacalhôa Buddha Eden Oriental Park, near Bombarral, is also a recent Buddhist inspired garden, although not strictly a worshipping place; It was built as a protest to the destruction of the Bamyan Buddhas in Afghanistan in the early 2000s.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: There is a small population of Latter Day saints living in Portugal. The Church reports 45,576 members and 67 congregations. The Church also completed and dedicated its first temple in Portugal in 2019.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: There are between 420,960 and 947,160 (4 to 9% of total population) atheist, agnostic, and irreligious people, according to other sources 6.5% of the population.


title: Religion in Portugal

text: According to the 2021 Census, there were 1,237,130 (14.09%) people who specifically stated they were without religion.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: Puerto Plata, officially known as San Felipe de Puerto Plata, is the third-largest city in the Dominican Republic, and capital of the province of Puerto Plata. The city is a trading port. Puerto Plata has resorts such as Playa Dorada and Costa Dorada, which are located east of the city proper. There are 100,000 hotel beds in the city. The first aerial tramway of the Caribbean is located in Puerto Plata, in which visitors can ride up to the Pico Isabel de Torres, a 793-meter (2600-foot) high mountain within the city.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The fortification Fortaleza San Felipe, which was built in the 16th century and served as a prison under Rafael Trujillo's dictatorship, lies close to the port of Puerta Plata. The Amber Museum is also a well-known attraction in this city. La Isabela, a settlement built by Christopher Columbus, is located near Puerto Plata. In April 1563, the Spanish settlement became notorious when the English slave trader Sir John Hawkins brought 400 people he had abducted from Sierra Leone. Hawkins traded his victims with the Spanish for pearls, hides, sugar and some gold. This was the start of British involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The city sits on land that rises abruptly from the sea making it almost completely visible from the port. It is bordered on the north by the Atlantic Ocean and to the south and southwest by the hill Isabel de Torres.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The small bay around which the city was built provides a natural harbor. Puerto Plata is the largest city on the northern seaboard. Its subdivisions include: El Cupey, Maimón, Los Mameyes, Sabana Grande, El Toro, Tubagua and Yásica. The mountain Isabel de Torres is situated some 5 km to the southwest of the city of San Felipe. Geographically it forms part of the Cordillera Septentrional, reaching a maximum height of 800 m above sea level. It is possible to drive to the top of the mountain by following the highway Don José Ginebra. The highway, upon leaving the city, continues west, passing the populated areas of San Marcos, Piedra Candela and El Cruce, arriving at a paved section that continues southeast and then leads directly to the top. The area surrounding Loma Isabel de Torres has been declared a National Monument with an area that covers approximately 20 km. At the summit there is a tropical botanical garden covering about , featuring 600 varieties of tropical plants.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The most significant rivers are Camú del Norte, San Marcos, Corozo, Muñoz, Maimón, El Violón, San Piñez, Río Seco, as well as the streams Fú, Blanco, Caballo, Culebra and San Cristóbal.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: Puerto Plata has a tropical climate, more specifically a tropical monsoon climate, with hot, somewhat wet summers and warm, very wet winters (Köppen climate classification "Am"), due to its tropical location and the cold fronts that reach the region during the "winter" which typically brings the area humid, wetter weather.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: In 1508, Serrano and Diego Nicuëza were sent to the Spanish court to beg the king to treat their cities as the cities in their home country. On December 6, 1508 the Spanish king granted the cities of Hispaniola their seal and their rights.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: A silver shield with a green mountain, on it was also a golden F and Y crowned and on the top of this, silver and blue. The initials are for the King and Queen of the Spanish Empire, the Catholic Monarchs Fernando and Ysabel (now usually "Isabel").


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: Since the founding of La Isabela, the first village in the New World, on January 2, 1494, Puerto Plata has been a town of firsts in the Americas.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: Historians are not clear on the exact year of Puerto Plata's founding. Emilio Rodríguez Demorizi, Américo Lugo, Jose Bordonada, and Samuel Hazard give the year 1502 as recorded by Nicolás of Ovando. Dr. Llenas affirmed that it was 1503. Dr. Joaquín Marino Incháustegui, in his Dominican history records, cites 1504. Dr. Manuel Arturo Roca Batlle indicates that the city was founded in 1505. The historians Alonso Rodriguez Demorizi (brother of Emilio) and Jacinto Gimbernard assert that it was in the year 1496, and Padre Español said it was in 1506.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: Christopher Columbus, in his first trip, called the mountain Monte de Plata, observing that since the top is frequently foggy it had a silver-like appearance, hence the name of the port. The city was designed by the brothers Christopher and Bartolomé Columbus, in 1496.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The aforementioned Nicolás de Ovando recorded a port existing in the northern coast of the island about 1502. In its first phase as a Spanish colony the town was considered the main commercial and maritime port of the island. Around 1555, Puerto Plata's importance as a port town was lost and it became one of the places of the Antilles frequented by pirates.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: In 1605 it was depopulated and destroyed by order of Felipe III, to hinder the advance of English piracy. A hundred years later the town was repopulated with farmers originating from the Canary Islands.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: In the Battle of Puerto Plata Harbor, US Marines landed on the island and attacked a French ship and Fortaleza San Felipe. After capturing the French privateer "Sandwich" and spiking the guns at the fort, US forces retired victorious. This was during the Quasi-War, an undeclared conflict between France and the United States from 1798 to 1800.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: From 1822 to 1844 the city was under Haitian control. From 1844 on began the period of the republic, in which the city began to recover its maritime and commercial boom. The city grew under the influence of European immigrants, who left a cultural and social footprint that remains unique among other cities on the island.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: In 1863, during the Dominican Restoration War, the city was razed completely. Beginning in 1865, the current Puerto Plata began to be built. This explains the Victorian style of much of its current architecture. By the end of the 19th century, Puerto Plata had become important for its cultural, social, maritime, and economic development.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The Municipality of San Felipe de Puerto Plata is prominent in agrobusiness and tourism, making it a major contributor to the economic growth of the entire country. Other forms of income and economic development that serve to support some segments of the population include port management, sea vessel production, fishing, and textiles. The port has a significant impact in the national and provincial economy.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The port receives cruise ships as well as general bulk freighters. These export a variety of merchandise, including farm products and manufactured products in the duty-free zones of the region. A new cruise terminal, closer to the city than Carnival's Amber Cove, is planned. Naked Taino Bay, the new terminal is scheduled to open in late 2020.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The reports on the celebration of the carnival in the Puerto Plata date from the end of the 19th century. The central personage is the devil cojuelo, that in Puerto Plata becomes Taimáscaro, that produces deities Taínas in its masks, and a suit where elements of Spanish and culture are symbolized and the African essences, in multicolored tapes in its arms, and all that is complemented with the conches of the Atlantic Ocean, as natural elements of identity of the town Puertoplateño.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: These festivities are celebrated during the months of February and March, in the avenue of the Jetty and the streets of the city. The people are entertained by the parades of disguises, the music, the popular dances and the different demonstrations of the arts and the culture represented in the carnival that reflects cultural identity. Each year the organizers of the carnival choose the King Momo, who represents the person of the city that has fought for maintaining its traditions.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The city of Puerto Plata is characterized by its dominant Victorian style architecture, combined with various other architectural styles, giving a varied character to the process of urban development. Inside this variety is the old style related to the colonial epoch, of which remains as an example the Fortress San Felipe.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: Another it is the traditional style, originated when the city was founded by migrant canarios, and of the one that the balconies are inherited, and as an example is the bridge of the Guinea, of the year 1879. Then developed the Victorian model, because of the French, Italian, German, English immigration and other European countries, which began after the Dominican Restoration War and had its height at the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th. This style was utilized in dwellings and in buildings destined to social activities. This type of construction gives its own image to the province.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: Finally, Puerto Plata developed a modern architecture, because of the American occupation (1916 and 1924) and continuing under Trujillo, based on cement block construction.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: Some of the illustrious educators who left a mark in the Puerto Plata education system include Antera Mota, Emilio Prud'Homme, Ana Isabel Jiménez, Mercedes Mota, José Dubeau, Doña Isabel Díaz-Alejo y Reyes, Doña Elvia Campillo, Isabel Meyreles, María Concepción Gómez Matos, among others. Currently, the municipality of San Felipe of Puerto Plata counts on 182 educational centers, of which the 67% correspond to the public sector and 39% to the private sector.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: This municipality has a total of 29,279 students, of whom 1,567 are at the initial level, 19,395 at the basic level, 6,642 at the medium level, 1,505 students to the subsystem of adults, 84 students of special education and 86 of the labor school.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: Besides the universities, four operations offer different careers of technical and upper degree. These universities are:


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: Since the 1950s, the main sports institution of the municipality of San Felipe has been the League of the Atlantic one, which was founded on August 16, 1958, prompted by Fabio Rafael González. This institution celebrates activities during all the year, mainly baseball, and years later added basketball, with the time various clubs were incorporated; the Gustavo Behall, the Hugo Kunhard, and Juan Luis Plá, among others. Since the 1970, the main activities have been the school events that are celebrated during all the year, in its respective dates in which competes in the different disciplines. At present, in Golden Beach, Brugal & Company celebrates periodically the Club Golf Puerto Plata tournament, with the participation of the most noticeable athletes of this discipline, so much at the local level, as national and international.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The city's tourist centers include Playa Dorada and Costa Dorada, located to the east of San Felipe of Puerto Plata. There are a total of 100,000 hotel beds in the city, and include a number of "all-inclusive" resort hotels.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: Puerto Plata is served by Gregorio Luperón International Airport, situated around to the east of the city, near the town La Union.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The fort is the main colonial monument of the city of Puerto Plata, since around it the city developed most of its history. In 1540, Álvaro Caballero went to the Court to request that a fortress be constructed in Puerto Plata. In 1549 the Archbishop and governing Fuenmayor, he was entrusted with its construction, but it was still not done even in 1560, when the Audiencia Real ordered it commence under the charge of the French-born judge Juan Echagoín to initiate its work. This work was finished in the year 1577. The purpose was to protect the city against the incursions of bandits, of the corsairs and French and English pirates that continuously terrified inhabitants of Puerto Plata. Its name is in honor of FelipeII, in whose reign its construction was finished. In 1980 it was declared a national monument.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: Ocean World is an adventure park located amidst the reefs of the Beach of Cofresí, boasting the largest man-made dolphin habitat in the world.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The park is a main tourist attraction, and is the largest and most complete park of its kind in the Caribbean.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The investment on this project is valued at more than 45 million dollars. It includes a yacht marina, the permanent residence of some 19 dolphins, beaches and forests, as well as fishbowls, picturesque and exotic birds, a casino, and used to have Malayan tigers.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The investor and president of Ocean World, L. A. Meister, showed great interest in the tourist potential of Puerto Plata, in its first incursions in this city, as he was directed and oriented by Juan Carlos Moral, original owner of the lands of Cofresí.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: Museo del Ámbar: The business Costa, Inc. A cultural company of family administration, directed by Aldo Costa, founded the Museo del Ámbar Dominicano in the 1982 in the Villa Bentz, (more elegant Hotel of Puerto Plata of the year 1918, built by the Spanish architect Marín Gallart and Cantú). This museum is considered the first Museum of Amber of the Dominican Republic and at the same time, a great historic monument of the city.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: La Zona Colonial (Casas Victorianas): From 1857, it was initiated in Puerto Plata. The Victorian style originating from England, call thus, in honor of the Queen Victoria, manager of that epoch. This it extended to almost everyone and was considered it more modern.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The fundamental characteristics were the elaboration of the wood in artistic form, for the construction of dwellings. From that moment, Puerto Plata defined clearly their architectural style, evolving to what we have nowadays as our patrimony. The rise and development of that new modality in the art of construction, was what gave start, to the buildings of the Victorian houses of the decade from the 70 of the 19th century. Creating a unique style in the city, which him is known today as Victorian architecture of Puerto Plata.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The cast-iron lighthouse was built in 1879, under the interim regime of Gregorio Luperón. It consists of a tower elevated on a masonry base, on Doric columns, and rising to above sea level. Due to its position on the coast the cast iron suffered from corrosion and for its poor condition it was included in the 2000 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund. American Express provided funds for a restoration project, which was completed in 2004. After the restoration, the Dominican Republic's "Dirección Nacional de Patrimonio Monumental" announced that the historic district around the lighthouse would also be revitalized.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: The Teleférico cable car was inaugurated in 1975, with construction of Italian origin. It can carry 17 people and takes eight minutes to climb and descend the mountain. It is moved by an electric hydraulic system, conducted by a central operator, situated in the base station. This small train has protective glass walls, and offers the visitor a panoramic view of the city descending from the hill (which at its top is above sea level). Visitors can see the local landscape, including a garden of 215 features and the flora of the country, gift shops and a restaurant with Dominican food. It is managed by a patronage, which maintains it under the principles of conservation.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: With its golden sands and a mountainous natural landscape combined with the turquoise of the water that many times dresses of a turquoise tone with the reflections of the sun in the day, and of the moon at night. These beaches bring pleasing memories by their landscapes, stones, waves, sand, uveros, almonds, yawls, rowboats, music and dances. Many of them represent all an epoch of daydream and traditions, like they are La Poza del Castillo, Cofresí, Costámbar, Long Beach, Marapicá, Playa Dorada, Maimón, Bergantín, among others. The beaches are considered one of the main tourist attractions of the city.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: On the -high mountain Pico Isabel de Torres, the highest point of Puerto Plata, there is a botanical garden and a replica of Christ the Redeemer, the famous statue in Rio de Janeiro; though the statue is of a smaller size, the mountain itself is taller than that of Rio. The roads leading up the mountain are subject to large amounts of rain and are occasionally impassable.


title: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

text: Puerto Plata is served by Gregorio Luperón International Airport which has service by 13 passenger and 3 cargo airlines.


Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic


title: Xandria

text: Xandria is a German symphonic metal band founded by Marco Heubaum in 1994. Originally a project, Heubaum later restarted the project as a band in 1999, and has gone through various lineup changes. The German vocalist Lisa Middelhauve joined for the debut album, co-writing both music and lyrics for the band until her departure in 2008. Middelhauve reunited briefly with the band in 2010 following the departure of the band's second vocalist Kerstin Bischof, but left again shortly after. Manuela Kraller joined the band as the new vocalist in 2010.


title: Xandria

text: The band released "Neverworld's End" in 2012, which was the only album to feature Kraller as she would depart in 2013. Dianne van Giersbergen was later announced as her replacement, and would record two studio albums with Xandria: "Sacrificium" and "Theater of Dimensions". She left Xandria in 2017, citing personal reasons and tensions within the band. In 2022, the band had announced another lineup change, with the addition of the band's new vocalist Ambre Vourvahis. The band are set to release their eighth studio album, "The Wonders Still Awaiting" in February 2023.


title: Xandria

text: Xandria was started as a project band in 1994 in Bielefeld by Marco Heubaum, the band's main composer and at the time vocalist, and a friend to play drums, but disbanded in 1997 after recording one demo.


title: Xandria

text: The band was restarted with a different line-up in 1999. Heubaum stepped down from the role of vocalist and was joined by local musician Roland Krueger on bass. In 2000, they recorded one demo that was released on the internet and after its release, drummer Gerit Lamm joined the band. Nicole Tobien (credited as 'Isis') recorded the demo but then left the band to follow other plans and was replaced by Lisa Schaphaus. At the same time, writing of the debut album started.


title: Xandria

text: In 2002, the band signed to Drakkar Records and was joined by Philip Restemeier as lead guitarist. As work on the debut album progressed, the band started playing shows in and around Bielefeld. In the winter of 2002, the band entered the studio to record their debut album "Kill the Sun". They released "Kill the Sun" in May 2003, and it reached No. 98 on the German music charts. To promote the album, the band played a few shows with Schandmaul and Subway to Sally. Then they went on a three-week tour of Germany with Tanzwut.


title: Xandria

text: After playing some festivals in support of "Kill the Sun", the band started writing their second album. Recording of the album began in December 2003 at Pleasure Park Studios, with producer José Alvarez-Brill. Production on the album was finished in February 2004. Shortly after the recordings were completed, bassist Roland Krueger left the band and was replaced by Nils Middelhauve. "Ravenheart" was released on 24 May 2004, and it stayed on the charts for seven weeks, reaching No. 36.


title: Xandria

text: In 2005 they released their third album, "India", which reached No. 30 on the German charts. Xandria began recording their fourth album, "Salomé – The Seventh Veil", on 14 December 2006. It was released on 25 May 2007 and reached No. 41 on the German charts.


title: Xandria

text: Lisa Middelhauve (née Schaphaus) resigned on 30 April 2008 citing personal reasons and discomfort in being the band's frontwoman. The band found a new singer in February 2009, Kerstin Bischof a.k.a. Lakonia, best known for her collaborations with the band Axxis. However, after just one year Kerstin Bischof decided to leave the band to concentrate on a different career, and Middelhauve replaced her for a series of concerts in Summer 2010. On 19 December 2010, Xandria announced the addition of 29-year-old singer Manuela Kraller to the group's ranks. Manuela Kraller made her live debut at the "Classic Meets Pop" event on 7 January 2011 at the Seidensticker Halle in Bielefeld, Germany.


title: Xandria

text: On 24 February 2012, "Neverworld's End" was released. It was the only album Manuela Kraller made with the band.


title: Xandria

text: On 5 February 2013, the band announced on their website and Facebook page their new bass player Steven Wussow, along with the message that they would enter the studio again for their next studio album the same year.


title: Xandria

text: On 25 October 2013, the band announced on their website that Kraller had left the band to pursue a different career and announced Dutch Ex Libris singer Dianne van Giersbergen as their new vocalist. "Sacrificium" was released in the following year. The year after, the band released their first EP titled "Fire & Ashes" on 31 July 2015.


title: Xandria

text: Their seventh album, "Theater of Dimensions" was released on 27 January 2017. Following the release of the album, Xandria embarked on a few shows in Europe including their first headlining tour in North America with Kobra and the Lotus and Once Human in May 2017. Due to personal reasons, Xandria had cancelled their upcoming second half of the US tour as well as the Russian tour. Aeva Maurelle from the band "Aeverium" was the temporary vocalist for the European dates in the fall.


title: Xandria

text: On 13 September 2017, Dianne posted on her Facebook page that she had left Xandria. This due to having received pressure to perform from Xandria's management and the band while being physically unable to, giving her stress confirmed by doctors. Two days later on 15 September 2017, ex-vocalist Manuela Kraller shared a message to the public on her Facebook page, revealing that her reason to leave four years earlier was exactly the same one. She praised Dianne for having the courage to be open about the situation to the public, which she did not dare to at the time, but now finally did. Ex-vocalist Lisa Middelhauve also released a statement about Dianne's departure on the same day. She herein did not only speak about herself but also about ex-bassplayer Nils Middelhauve, whom she was married to at the time he was in the band but is now divorced from. It can be concluded that he too left Xandria under negative circumstances. Guitarist Phillip Restemeier spoke about the reason behind Dianne's departure in an interview during the European tour.


title: Xandria

text: In 2019, Steven Wussow was later confirmed to have become the new bass player for the German power metal band Orden Ogan on 16 October 2019, signaling his departure from Xandria after one performance that year.


title: Xandria

text: On 24 May 2022, the band posted a music video of their new song "Reborn", where Ambre Vourvahis was announced as the new vocalist. Furthermore, Tim Schwarz was announced as the new bassist, and drummer Dimitros Gatsios and guitarist Rob Klawonn replacing departing longtime members Gerit Lamm and Philip Restemeier, respectively. On 7 September 2022, the band released another song, "You Will Never Be Our God". With the release of the third single, "Ghosts", the band had also on 3 November 2022, announced their eighth studio album, "The Wonders Still Awaiting", which is set to be released on 3 February 2023.


title: Mizoram Legislative Assembly

text: The Mizoram Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Mizoram in India. The seat of the Legislative Assembly is at Aizawl, the capital of the state. The Legislative Assembly is composed of 40 members, who are directly elected from single-seat constituencies. The current legislature was elected in 2018, and its term will last until 2023.


title: The Paradigm Shift

text: The Paradigm Shift is the eleventh studio album by American nu metal band Korn. Produced by Don Gilmore, it was released by multiple labels in the United Kingdom on October 7, 2013 and in the United States the next day. It is the first Korn album to feature original guitarist Brian "Head" Welch since 2003's "Take a Look in the Mirror".


title: The Paradigm Shift

text: Following the year after the release of "The Path of Totality", Korn had begun proposing ideas for their next album. James "Munky" Shaffer stated that the album would contain darker elements similar to "Issues" (1999) mixed with the heaviness of "Untouchables" (2002). On May 2, 2013, it was revealed that original guitarist Brian "Head" Welch rejoined the band after an eight-year absence and had been recording for the new album. The first single, "Never Never", was officially released on August 12, 2013. The track "Love & Meth" leaked on September 6, 2013 after the band had released several previews. The track "Lullaby for a Sadist" was originally written in 2010 prior to the idea of a dubstep-infused album, but the song did not make the cut for "". "Spike in My Veins" was originally written and recorded with Noisia for inclusion on J Devil's debut album, but ended up being reworked as a Korn song.


title: The Paradigm Shift

text: Regarding the sound, Munky says, "The new music is inspired by our "Issues" album, or even "Untouchables", that era. It’s a little more melodic and a little more aggressive at the same time." Head added in an interview with Rolling Stone that "I'm a metalhead. I love rock music, and I came here just wanting to do the old Korn vibe, but with a new twist. "Me and Munky [James Shaffer] haven't been playing guitar together for eight years, so we came in just wanting to jam out with the bass player Fieldy [Reginald Arvizu] and Ray [Luzier], our drummer. The end product is a really good mix of old Korn mixed with some new elements. It's got a fresh new Korn 2013 sound."


title: The Paradigm Shift

text: Jonathan Davis described the writing and recording process as "weird". He explains: "They started writing, I think, in August, and I didn't get into the studio until March, because I was going through all kinds of crazy shit. My boy got diabetes and I had come off medication for my depression, and that fucked me up. I was in a straight haze." Davis entered rehab, then returned to writing the album. "It was weird – I moved into the studio. I stayed there for four months, I only came home on weekends. I moved my boys in with me, so I had my kids with me the whole time. It was an interesting creative space." Davis continued, "I don't know how the hell I did it. I was so fucked up from coming off all that medicine, and I feel so good about the record. When I look back now, I'm like, 'Wow, how did I come up with this shit?'"


title: The Paradigm Shift

text: The album cover, designed by Roboto, features two opposing heads, reminiscent of the Rubin vase illusion.


title: The Paradigm Shift

text: The standard edition of the album features 11 new tracks, while the deluxe edition contains an additional two tracks and a bonus DVD documenting the return of co-founding guitarist Brian "Head" Welch.


title: The Paradigm Shift

text: A special edition of the album was released on July 22, 2014 as "The Paradigm Shift: World Tour Edition". It contains brand new studio and live recordings. The first new track, "Hater", was released as a single on June 19.


title: The Paradigm Shift

text: "The Paradigm Shift" has received generally positive reviews. Metacritic scores the album with a rating of 65, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: The Paradigm Shift

text: Max Barrett of "Rock Sound" wrote the album was "a completely different monster to its predecessor, and for all the right reasons" in his favorable review of album. "Kerrang!" noted the album as a "more organic effort", and AllMusic stated the album "shows the kind of creativity and inventiveness that ... helped to make them an influential force in heavy music."


title: The Paradigm Shift

text: In a more mixed review, stated "Essentially this is Korn returning to their familiar discomfort zone." Popmatters gave the album a mixed review, however stating that the album "may not quite be Korn's best album ever, but "The Paradigm Shift" is Korn's best album since "Untouchables" and metal fans could do a lot worse than that".


title: The Paradigm Shift

text: "The Paradigm Shift" sold 46,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, and debuted and peaked at No. 8 on the "Billboard" 200, making it Korn's twelfth studio album to peak in the top ten. The album has sold 174,000 copies as of September 2016 in the US.


title: 6 Years

text: 6 Years is a 2015 American romantic drama film written and directed by Hannah Fidell and starring Taissa Farmiga, Ben Rosenfield, Lindsay Burdge, Joshua Leonard, Peter Vack, and Dana Wheeler-Nicholson. Filmmakers Mark and Jay Duplass served as executive producers under their Duplass Brothers Productions banner. The film depicts two weeks in the relationship of college students Melanie Clark and Dan Mercer, as their 6-year romance turns violent.


title: 6 Years

text: The film had its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival on March 14, 2015, and its European premiere at the Champs-Élysées Film Festival on June 13, 2015. "6 Years" was released on video on demand platforms on August 18, 2015, by The Orchard, and was made available worldwide on Netflix on September 8, 2015.


title: 6 Years

text: A young couple, Melanie Clark and Daniel Mercer, experience joyful moments in their relationship, including having passionate sex. After a house party one night, Mel drives to Dan's house drunk. Berating her for being reckless, Dan tries to force Mel to stay the night. Mel reacts angrily and pushes him into a dresser, causing Dan to sustain a head wound. At the emergency room, Dan lies about how he got the injury, covering for Mel.


title: 6 Years

text: Dan interns at Austin-based record label Topo Records. His co-worker Amanda notices his injury; she points out how different the situation would look if it had happened to Mel and not him. Mel starts a job as a teaching assistant to Ms. Anders at an elementary school. One night, her friends ask how she and Dan keep things fresh, and Jessica suggests they should watch pornography. Dan later catches Mel watching a porn film.


title: 6 Years

text: The next day, they go for lunch with Dan's mother Joanne. Before Mel arrives, Joanne tells Dan that she and his dad will pay his rent if he chooses to move to New York City. A few nights later, Mel and Dan go to a pool party thrown by Mark. After Mel leaves, Dan kisses Amanda on an impulse. He apologizes, and they agree it is best to stay friends.


title: 6 Years

text: The next morning, Dan goes to Mel's house and she notices his odd behavior. He denies there's anything wrong. That night, Mel borrows Dan's phone at a party and sees a text from Amanda talking about their kiss. They break out into a physical fight, and, in an attempt to subdue Mel's lashing out, Dan holds her to the ground. The police show up and misunderstand the situation because Mel stays silent when Dan asks her to explain the situation to them. When she refuses to do so, the police arrest him. Dan is released the next morning, but refuses to speak to Mel.


title: 6 Years

text: Jason and Mark offer Dan a job at Topo Records' new office in Brooklyn. To celebrate, he goes to a bar with Amanda. She apologizes for sending him the text, and Dan informs her that he and Mel are on a break. Meanwhile, Mel attends a party with her friends, where she meets Will. After becoming intoxicated, Jessica and Will take her home. Jessica goes back to the party, but Will stays behind and attempts to rape Mel while she is semiconscious; she pushes him off and he leaves.


title: 6 Years

text: Mel tells Dan about Will and tearfully asks him to hold her. The two then go to Houston to help Mel's mother move out of her childhood home. While there, Dan visits his mom, who encourages him to go to New York. Later, Dan tells Mel about his job offer and she accuses him of only thinking of himself. He, in turn, calls her needy and Mel orders him to leave. Mel then worries that she has messed the relationship up for good. Her roommate Becca suggests that she should sleep on it and give Dan time to cool off.


title: 6 Years

text: Back at Dan's house, he and Amanda have sex. The next morning, Mel arrives to apologize and catches Amanda leaving. In the ensuing argument, Mel throws a glass across the room and Dan throws a punch at her, but diverts in the end thinking better of it, causing him to slam his hand into the wall. She pushes Dan into the broken shards, injuring his foot and hand. At the hospital, Dan tells Mel he's sorry and that he no longer wants to go to New York and wants to stay with her. Mel tells Dan that she thinks he should take the job and move to New York. Dan rejects that suggestion and says he wants to stay. Mel tells Dan that she loves him but it doesn't feel right. Dan tells Mel that he doesn't want to break up but she then asks Dan to look her in the eyes and tell her that he loves her and wants to spend the rest of his life with her. Dan is unable to and instead says he's sorry. Mel says okay and with that, reality starts to set in that their 6 year relationship is finished.


title: 6 Years

text: In June 2014, "The Hollywood Reporter" announced that Hannah Fidell had written and directed a relationship drama film, set for release in 2015. The feature was produced by Kelly Williams, Andrew Logan and Jonathan Duffy, and executive produced by Mark and Jay Duplass through their production company Duplass Brothers Productions. Fidell had been approached by Mark Duplass to make a film depicting a young couple experiencing domestic violence, which appealed to her. On June 12, 2014, after filming for the project was already complete, it was revealed that Taissa Farmiga and Ben Rosenfield play the leading roles, Melanie Clark and Dan Mercer, respectively. That same day, it was also reported that Peter Vack, Joshua Leonard, Jennifer Lafleur, and Lindsay Burdge have supporting roles in the film. Before filming began, Fidell and the two main actors (Farmiga and Rosenfield) went to the Berkshires in Massachusetts to study the script outline and develop their characters. The film was untitled during pre-production and filming; its official title, "6 Years", was announced by Fidell through her Tumblr blog on September 3, 2014. Will Brittain was originally attached to portray the role of Will, but had to drop out at the last minute.


title: 6 Years

text: Principal photography for the film lasted approximately three weeks in Austin, Texas. Production began on March 17, 2014, and was completed on April 6, 2014. Filming took place at locations including the West Campus neighborhood, the University of Texas at Austin, and Wooten Elementary School. In July 2014, re-shoots on the film took place. Fidell revealed that she only wrote a 40-page treatment for the film, including visuals and tonal references, instead of writing a full script. In addition, only a few prominent scenes were written with dialogue already prepared for the actors; in other scenes, improvisation was heavily used. Farmiga stated that, for the duration of production, the cast and crew lived together in the house used for Mel's home in the film, in order to become comfortable with each other due to the intimate nature of the film.


title: 6 Years

text: Film editing began while the project was still in the production phase, with Sofi Marshall and Carlos Marques-Marcet serving as editors. Fidell stated that the editing process was difficult due to the frequent use of improvisation throughout the film, which made it hard for continuity in the story. Stuck On On provided sound post-production services. In January 2015, Fidell revealed on her Twitter that sound mixing was underway, and at South by Southwest, Fidell stated that post-production had been completed a few weeks before the film's premiere at the festival.


title: 6 Years

text: The soundtrack was set to be made available at some point by The Orchard, but went unreleased. Actors Joshua Leonard, Ben Rosenfield, and Jason Newman recorded a cover of the song "Get Me" by J Mascis (of Dinosaur Jr.) for the soundtrack; Rosenfield and Lindsay Burdge also recorded a cover of "Indian Summer" by Beat Happening.


title: 6 Years

text: Julian Wass was hired to score the music for the film, having previously composed the music for "The Do-Deca-Pentathlon" (2012), which was written and directed by "6 Years" executive producers Mark and Jay Duplass.


title: 6 Years

text: The official poster art for "6 Years" was released by the IMDb on July 24, 2015. The official trailer was released exclusively by Yahoo! Movies on July 30, 2015. On August 17, 2015, Vulture.com released the first seven minutes of the film.


title: 6 Years

text: The film had its world premiere on March 14, 2015 at South by Southwest Film Festival. On March 15, 2015, Netflix acquired global distribution rights, with plans to release it on the streaming service later in the year. The film subsequently screened at the Maryland Film Festival and the 2015 Champs-Élysées Film Festival. In late June 2015, The Orchard acquired the domestic rights to "6 Years", and released it on video on demand in the United States on August 18, 2015. The film began streaming worldwide through Netflix on September 8, 2015.


title: 6 Years

text: The film was released on DVD in the United States on April 12, 2016 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.


title: 6 Years

text: Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 69% approval rating based on 13 reviews, and an average rating of 6.61/10. The film was assigned a weighted average of 53 out of 100 from Metacritic, based on 5 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: 6 Years

text: Eric Kohn and Nigel M. Smith of IndieWire cited the performances of Farmiga and Rosenfield as breakout talent at the 2015 South by Southwest. Kohn wrote, "Hannah Fidell, working with executive producers Mark and Jay Duplass, effectively broadens her range by borrowing the sibling directors' improvisatory style and ceding control to her two leads, whose heartbreaking performances imbue this familiar Austin-set narrative with a fiery edge." In their list of 25 performances they would like to see receive awards recognition, IndieWire highlighted Farmiga and Rosenfield's work in "6 Years". IndieWire also listed the film as number 7 on its "13 Most Criminally Overlooked Indies and Foreign Films of 2015".


title: 6 Years

text: Justin Chang of "Variety" wrote, "Although shot and performed in a determinedly raw, naturalistic register, this emotionally roiling portrait of two twentysomething Texas sweethearts too often veers toward melodramatic overstatement, inspiring little empathy or understanding despite the committed performances of promising young leads Taissa Farmiga and Ben Rosenfield." John DeFore of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote, "A melodrama benefitting from excellent performances but suffering from a too-obvious script," while Ryland Aldrich of Twitch Film opined, "An indie drama through and through, Fidell has again succeeded in telling a tiny story and making it feel as big as the world. Her connection to these characters is infectious and impossible to ignore. It may be an emotional rollercoaster, but it is real, and the intimacy is undeniable."


title: Follicular phase

text: The follicular phase, also known as the preovulatory phase or proliferative phase, is the phase of the estrous cycle (or, in primates for example, the menstrual cycle) during which follicles in the ovary mature from primary follicle to a fully mature graafian follicle. It ends with ovulation. The main hormones controlling this stage are secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormones, which are follicle-stimulating hormones and luteinising hormones. They are released by pulsatile secretion. The duration of the follicular phase can differ depending on the length of the menstrual cycle, while the luteal phase is usually stable, does not really change and lasts 14 days.


title: Follicular phase

text: Due to the increase of FSH, the protein inhibin B will be secreted by the granulosa cells. Inhibin B will eventually blunt the secretion of FSH toward the end of the follicular phase. Inhibin B levels will be highest during the LH surge before ovulation and will quickly decrease after.


title: Follicular phase

text: Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is secreted by the anterior pituitary gland (Figure 2). FSH secretion begins to rise in the last few days of the previous menstrual cycle, and is the highest and most important during the first week of the follicular phase (Figure 1). The rise in FSH levels recruits five to seven tertiary-stage ovarian follicles (this stage follicle is also known as a "Graafian follicle" or "antral follicle") for entry into the menstrual cycle. These follicles, that have been growing for the better part of a year in a process known as folliculogenesis, compete with each other for dominance.


title: Follicular phase

text: FSH induces the proliferation of granulosa cells in the developing follicles, and the expression of luteinizing hormone (LH) receptors on these granulosa cells (Figure 1). Under the influence of FSH, aromatase and p450 enzymes are activated, causing the granulosa cells to begin to secrete estrogen. This increased level of estrogen stimulates production of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which increases production of LH. LH induces androgen synthesis by thecal cells, stimulates proliferation, differentiation, and secretion of follicular thecal cells and increases LH receptor expression on granulosa cells.


title: Follicular phase

text: Throughout the entire follicular phase, rising estrogen levels in the blood stimulates growth of the endometrium and myometrium of the uterus. It also causes endometrial cells to produce receptors for progesterone, which helps prime the endometrium to respond to rising levels of progesterone during the late proliferative phase and throughout the luteal phase.


title: Follicular phase

text: Two or three days before LH levels begin to increase, usually by day seven of the cycle, one (or occasionally two) of the recruited follicles has emerged as dominant. Many endocrinologists believe that the estrogen secretion of the dominant follicle has increased to a level that GnRH production is suppressed, which lowers the levels of LH and FSH. This slowdown in LH and FSH production leads to the "atresia" (death) of most of the recruited follicles, though the dominant follicle continues to mature. Estrogen levels will continue to increase for several days (on average, six days, but this varies widely).


title: Follicular phase

text: These high estrogen levels initiate the formation of a new layer of endometrium in the uterus, histologically identified as the proliferative endometrium. Crypts in the cervix are also stimulated to produce fertile cervical mucus. This mucus reduces the acidity of the vagina, creating a more hospitable environment for sperm. It also has a characteristic texture that helps guide sperm through the cervix and to the fallopian tubes, where they wait for ovulation. In addition, basal body temperature may lower slightly under the influence of high estrogen levels.


title: Follicular phase

text: Estrogen levels are highest right before the LH surge begins (Figure 1). The short-term drop in steroid hormones between the beginning of the LH surge and the event of ovulation may cause mid-cycle spotting or bleeding. Under the influence of the preovulatory LH surge, the first meiotic division of the oocytes is completed. The surge also initiates luteinization of thecal and granulosa cells. Ovulation normally occurs 30 (± 2) hours after the beginning of the LH surge (when LH is first detectable in urine).


title: Follicular phase

text: Follicular waves are best described as the phase when follicles have matured sufficiently and rupture, leading to ovulation. Recent findings into the menstrual cycle in mammals has discovered that 2 or more follicles can develop but only one of the follicles fully matures to release the egg. This follicular wave involves multiple surges in the levels of FSH to initiate follicular development. A study has found that 68% of women tended to display two follicular wave developments before ovulation while the remaining had three waves.


title: Concessions in China

text: Concessions in China were a group of concessions that existed during the late Imperial China and the Republic of China, which were governed and occupied by foreign powers, and are frequently associated with colonialism and imperialism.


title: Concessions in China

text: The concessions had extraterritoriality and were enclaves inside key cities that became treaty ports. All the concessions have been dissolved in the present day.


title: Concessions in China

text: Imperial China granted the concessions during the latter period of the Qing dynasty, as a result of the series of "unequal treaties". They began in 1842's Treaty of Nanjing with the United Kingdom. Under each treaty, China was usually obligated to open more treaty ports for trade and lease out more territory as part of the concession or surrender it completely. The one exception that preceded this period was Macau, which had been leased in 1557 to the Kingdom of Portugal, during the Ming dynasty; Portugal continued to pay rent to China up to 1863 to stay in Macau.


title: Concessions in China

text: There were a varying number of concessions in each city. For example, the foreign concessions in Tianjin reached a total of nine at the height of the era. The concessions were usually under the control of a single Western power or the Empire of Japan. However, in the Shanghai International Settlement, the United Kingdom and the United States merged their concessions, while the French retained their separate French Concession.


title: Concessions in China

text: In these concessions, the citizens of each foreign power were given the right to freely inhabit, trade, perform missionary evangelization, and travel. They developed their own sub-cultures, isolated and distinct from the intrinsic Chinese culture, and colonial administrations attempted to give their concessions "homeland" qualities. Churches, public houses, and various other western commercial institutions sprang up in the concessions. In the case of Japan, its own traditions and language naturally flourished. Some of these concessions eventually had a more advanced architecture of each originating culture than most cities back in the countries of the origin of the foreign powers. Over time, and without formal permission, Britain, France, Japan and the United States established their own postal systems within their concession and trade areas. Following Chinese complaints over the loss of postal revenue and the lack of customs inspections, all of them were abolished at the end of 1922.


title: Concessions in China

text: Chinese were originally forbidden from most of the concessions, but to improve commercial activity and services, by the 1860s most concessions permitted Chinese, but treated them like second-class citizens as they were not citizens of the foreign state administering the concession. They eventually became the majority of the residents inside the concessions. Non-Chinese in the concessions were generally subject to consular law, and some of these laws applied to the Chinese residents.


title: Concessions in China

text: The Shanghai International Settlement became a major place of refuge for European immigrants, notably from Slavic and Baltic regions, and American travelers and displaced persons.


title: Concessions in China

text: Each concession also had its own police force and different legal jurisdictions with their own separate laws. Thus, an activity might be legal in one concession but illegal in another. Many of the concessions also maintained their own military garrison and a standing army. Military and police forces of the Chinese government were sometimes present. Some police forces allowed Chinese, others did not.


title: Concessions in China

text: Several wars would lead to the creation of colonial concessions taken from Qing China. These included the First Opium War (1839-1842), Second Opium War (1856-1860), Sino-French War (1884-1885), First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), and Russian invasion of Manchuria (1900). The Eight Nation Alliance's suppression of the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901) would lead to participants being rewarded with concessions taken from the Qing Dynasty, in the years following the conflict. It also led the foreign powers to station barracks and troops in the existing concessions, especially Tianjin, and increased the immigration of entire families to the concessions.


title: Concessions in China

text: Wars that changed the ownership of existing concessions between the foreign powers included the Triple Intervention (1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905).


title: Concessions in China

text: The Asia and Pacific theatre of the First World War would be another major incident changing the ownership of concessions in China with Japanese expansion. Concessions were partially curtailed in the Washington Naval Treaty and the Nine Power Treaty attempting to reaffirm the sovereignty of China.