document_title: Maratha Empire

question_text: in which year was the maratha confederacy defeated by british

question_tokens: in which year was the maratha confederacy defeated by british

text: Maratha Empire

text: Nomenclature[edit]

text: The Maratha Empire is also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy. The historian Barbara Ramusack says that the former is a designation preferred by Indian nationalists, while the latter was that used by British historians. She notes, "neither term is fully accurate since one implies a substantial degree of centralisation and the other signifies some surrender of power to a central government and a longstanding core of political administrators. Maratha power was fragmented among several discrete fragments".[citation needed]

text: Although at present, the word Maratha refers to a particular caste of warriors and peasants, in the past the word has been used to describe Marathi people, including Marathas themselves.[17][18]

text: History[edit]

text: The empire had its head in the Chhatrapati as de jure, but the de facto governance was in the hands of the Peshwas.[citation needed] After the death of Chhatrapati Shahu and with the death of Madhavrao – I, various chiefs played the role of the de facto rulers in their own regions.

text: Shivaji and his descendants[edit]

text: Shivaji[edit]

text: Shivaji (1627–1680) was a Maratha aristocrat of the Bhosle clan who is considered to be the founder of the Maratha empire.[3] Shivaji led a resistance to free the Marathi people from the Sultanate of Bijapur from 1645 and establish Hindavi Swarajya (self-rule of Hindu people[19]). He created an independent Maratha kingdom with Raigad as its capital[20] and successfully fought against the Mughals to defend his kingdom. He was crowned as Chhatrapati (sovereign) of the new Maratha kingdom in 1674.

text: The state Shivaji founded was a Maratha kingdom comprised about 4.1% of the subcontinent, but spread over large tracts. At the time of his death[3] it was dotted with about 300 forts, about 40,000 cavalry, 50,000 foot soldiers and naval establishments all over the west coast. Over time, the kingdom would increase in size and heterogeneity;[21] by the time of his grandson, and later under the Peshwas in the early 18th century, it was a full-fledged empire.[22]

text: Sambhaji[edit]

text: Shivaji had two sons: Sambhaji and Rajaram. Sambhaji, the elder son, was very popular among the courtiers.[citation needed] In 1681, Sambhaji had himself crowned and resumed his father's expansionist policies. Sambhaji had earlier defeated the Portuguese and Chikka Deva Raya of Mysore. To nullify alliance between his rebel son, Akbar, and the Marathas,[23] Aurangzeb himself headed south in 1681. With his entire imperial court, administration and an army of about 500,000 troops he proceeded to expand the Mughal empire, gaining territories such as the sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda. During the eight years that followed, Sambhaji led the Marathas, never losing a battle or a fort to Aurangzeb.[citation needed]

text: In early 1689, Sambhaji called his commanders for a strategic meeting at Sangameshwar to consider a final onslaught on the Mughal forces.[citation needed] In a meticulously planned operation, Ganoji  and Aurangzeb's commander, Mukarrab Khan, attacked Sangameshwar when Sambhaji was accompanied by just a few men. Sambhaji was ambushed and captured by Mughal troops on February 01, 1689. He and his advisor, Kavi Kalash, were taken to Bahadurgad, where they were executed by the Mughals on 21 March 1689.[24] Aurangzeb had Sambhaji executed on charges of atrocities committed by Maratha forces in the attack on Burhanpur that included plunder, killing, rape, and torture.[25][26]

text: Rajaram and Tarabai[edit]

text: Upon Sambhaji's death, his half-brother Rajaram assumed the throne. The Mughal siege of Raigad continued, and he had to flee to Vishalgad and then to Gingee for safety. From there the Marathas raided Mughal territory, and many forts were recaptured by Maratha commanders such as Santaji Ghorpade, Dhanaji Jadhav, Parshuram Pant Pratinidhi, Shankaraji Narayan Sacheev and Melgiri Pandit. In 1697, Rajaram offered a truce but this was rejected by Aurangzeb. Rajaram died in 1700 at Sinhagad. His widow, Tarabai, assumed control in the name of her son, Ramaraja (Shivaji II). She led the Marathas against the Mughals, and by 1705 they had crossed the Narmada River and entered Malwa, then in Mughal possession.[citation needed]

text: Shahu[edit]

text: After Aurangzeb's death in 1707, Shahu, son of Sambhaji (and grandson of Shivaji), was released by Bahadur Shah I, the new Mughal emperor. His mother was kept as a hostage of the Mughals, however, in order to ensure that Shahu adhered to the release conditions. Upon release, Shahu immediately claimed the Maratha throne and challenged his aunt Tarabai and her son. This promptly turned the now-spluttering Mughal-Maratha war into a three-cornered affair. The states of Satara and Kolhapur came into being in 1707 because of the succession dispute over the Maratha kingship. Shahu appointed Balaji Vishwanath as Peshwa.[27] The Peshwa was instrumental in getting Shahu accepted as rightful heir of Shivaji and the Chhatrapati of the Marathas by The Mughals.[28] Balaji also got Shahu's mother, Yesubai, released from Mughal captivity in 1719.[29]

text: During  Shahu's reign, Raghoji Bhosale expanded the empire in the East, reaching present-day Bengal. Khanderao Dabhade and later his son, Trimbakrao, expanded in the West in Gujarat.[30] Peshwa Bajirao and his three chiefs, Pawar (Dhar), Holkar (Indore), and Scindia (Gwalior), expanded in the North.

text: Peshwa era[edit]

text: During this era, Peshwas belonging to the Bhat family controlled the Maratha Army and later became de facto rulers of the Maratha Empire. During their reign, the Maratha Empire dominated most of the Indian subcontinent.

text: Balaji Vishwanath[edit]

text: Shahu appointed Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath in 1713. From his time, the office of Peshwa became supreme while Shahuji became a figurehead.[27]

text:
His first major achievement was the conclusion of the Treaty of Lonavala in 1714 with Kanhoji Angre, the most powerful naval chief on the Western Coast. He later accepted Shahuji as Chhatrapati.
In 1719, an army of Marathas marched to Delhi after defeating Sayyid Hussain Ali, the Mughal governor of Deccan, and deposed the Mughal emperor. The Mughal Emperors became puppets in the hands of their Maratha overlords from this point on.[31]

text: Baji Rao I[edit]

text: After Balaji Vishwanath's death in April 1720, his son, Baji Rao I, was appointed Peshwa by Shahu. Bajirao is credited with expanding the Maratha Empire tenfold from 3% to 30% of the modern Indian landscape during 1720–1740. He fought over 41 battles before his death in April 1740 and is reputed to have never lost one.[32][better source needed]

text:
The Battle of Palkhed was a land battle that took place on February 28, 1728 at the village of Palkhed, near the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, India between Baji Rao I and the Qamar-ud-din Khan, Asaf Jah I of Hyderabad. The Marathas defeated the Nizam.The battle is considered an example of brilliant execution of military strategy.[31]
In 1737, Marathas under Bajirao I raided the suburbs of Delhi in a blitzkrieg in the Battle of Delhi (1737).[33][34]
The Nizam left Deccan to rescue Mughals from the invasion of Marathas, but was defeated decisively in the Battle of Bhopal.[34][35] The Marathas extracted a large tribute from the Mughals and signed a treaty which ceded Malwa to the Marathas.[36]
The Battle of Vasai was fought between the Marathas and the Portuguese rulers of Vasai, a village lying on the northern shore of Vasai creek, 50 km north of Mumbai. The Marathas were led by Chimaji Appa, brother of Baji Rao. The Maratha victory in this war was a major achievement of Baji Rao's time in office.[34]

text: Balaji Baji Rao[edit]

text: Baji Rao's son, Balaji Bajirao (Nanasaheb), was appointed as the next Peshwa by Shahuji despite opposition of other chiefs.

text:
In 1740, the Maratha forces, under Raghoji Bhosale,  came down upon Arcot and defeated the Nawab of Arcot, Dost Ali, in the pass at Damalcherry. In the war that followed, Dost Ali, one of his sons Hasan Ali, and a number of other prominent persons lost their lives. This initial success at once enhanced Maratha prestige in the south. From Damalcherry, the Marathas proceeded to Arcot, which surrendered to them without much resistance. Then, Raghuji invaded Trichinopoly in December 1740. Unable to resist, Chanda Saheb surrendered the fort to Raghuji on March 14, 1741. Chanda Saheb and his son were arrested and sent to Nagpur.[37]
Rajputana also came under Maratha domination during this time.[38]
In June 1756 Luís Mascarenhas, Count of Alva(Conde de Alva), the  Portuguese Viceroy was killed in action by Maratha Army in Goa.

text: Invasions in Bengal[edit]

text: After the successful campaign of Karnatak and the Trichinopolly, Raghuji returned from Karnatak. He undertook six expeditions into Bengal from 1741 to 1748.[39] Raghuji was able to annex Odisha to his kingdom permanently as he successfully exploited the chaotic conditions prevailing in Bengal after the death of its governor Murshid Quli Khan in 1727. Constantly harassed by the Bhonsles, Odisha, Bengal and parts of Bihar were economically ruined. Alivardi Khan, the Nawab of Bengal made peace with Raghuji in 1751 ceding Cuttack (Odisha) up to the river Subarnarekha, and agreeing to pay Rs.1.2 million annually as the Chauth for Bengal and Bihar.[38]

text: During their occupation of western Bengal, the Marathas perpetrated atrocities against the local population.[40] The Maratha atrocities were recorded by both Bengali and European sources, which reported that the Marathas demanded payments, and tortured and killed anyone who couldn't pay. Dutch sources estimate a total of 400,000 people in Bengal were killed by the Marathas. According to Bengali sources, the atrocities led to much of the local population opposing the Marathas and developing support for the Nawabs.[40]

text: Maratha's Afghan conquests[edit]

text: Balaji Bajirao encouraged agriculture, protected the villagers and brought about a marked improvement in the state of the territory. Raghunath Rao, brother of Nanasaheb, pushed into the wake of the Afghan withdrawal after Ahmed Shah Abdali's plunder of Delhi in 1756. Delhi was captured by the Maratha army under Raghunath Rao in August 1757, defeating the Afghan garrison in the Battle of Delhi. This laid the foundation for the Maratha conquest of North-west India. In Lahore, as in Delhi, the Marathas were now major players.[41] After the Battle of Attock, 1758, the Marathas captured Peshawar defeating the Afghan troops in the Battle of Peshawar on 8 May 1758.[12]

text: Maratha invasion of Delhi and Rohilkhand[edit]

text: Just prior to the battle of Panipat in 1761, Marathas looted "Diwan-i-Khas" or Hall of Private Audiences in the Red Fort of Delhi, which was the place where the Mughal emperors used to receive courtiers and state guests, in one of their expeditions of Delhi.

text: "The Marathas who were hard pressed for money stripped the ceiling of Diwan-i-Khas of its silver and looted the shrines dedicated to Muslim saints".[42]

text: During the Maratha invasion of Rohilkhand in the 1750s

text: "The Marathas defeated the Rohillas, forced them to seek shelter in hills and ransacked their country in such a manner that the Rohillas dreaded the Marathas and hated them ever afterwards".[42]

text: Third battle of Panipat[edit]

text: In 1759, the Marathas under Sadashivrao Bhau (referred to as the Bhau or Bhao in sources) responded to the news of the Afghans' return to North India by sending a large army north. Bhau's force was bolstered by some Maratha forces under Holkar, Scindia, Gaikwad and Govind Pant Bundele. The combined army of over 100,000 regular troops re-captured the former Mughal capital, Delhi, from an Afghan garrison in August 1760.[43] Delhi had been reduced to ashes many times due to previous invasions, and there was an acute shortage of supplies in the Maratha camp. Bhau ordered the sacking of the already depopulated city.[42][44] He is said to have planned to place his nephew and the Peshwa's son, Vishwasrao, on the Mughal throne. By 1760, with defeat of the Nizam in the Deccan, Maratha power had reached its zenith with a territory of over 2,500,000 km² acres.[45]

text: Ahmad Shah Durrani called on the Rohillas and the Nawab of Oudh to assist him in driving out the  Marathas from Delhi.[citation needed] Huge armies of Muslim forces and Marathas collided with each other on January 14, 1761 in the Third Battle of Panipat. The Maratha Army lost the battle, which halted their imperial expansion. The Jats and Rajputs did not support the Marathas. Their withdrawal from the ensuing battle played a crucial role in its result.[citation needed] Historians have criticised the Maratha treatment of fellow Hindu groups. Kaushik Roy says "The treatment of Marathas with their co-religionist fellows – Jats and Rajputs was definitely unfair and ultimately they had to pay its price in Panipat where Muslim forces had united in the name of religion."[41] The Marathas had antagonised the Jats and Rajputs by taxing them heavily, punishing them after defeating the Mughals and interfering in their internal affairs[citation needed]. The Marathas were abandoned by Raja Suraj Mal of Bharatpur and the Rajputs, who quit the Maratha alliance at Agra before the start of the great battle and withdrew their troops as Maratha general Sadashivrao Bhau did not heed the advice to leave soldier's families (women and children) and pilgrims at Agra and not take them to the battle field with the soldiers, rejected their co-operation. Their supply chains (earlier assured by Raja Suraj Mal and Rajputs) did not exist.[citation needed]

text: Peshwa Madhav Rao I[edit]

text: Peshwa Madhavrao I was the fourth Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. It was during his tenure that the Maratha Resurrection took place. He worked as a unifying force in the Maratha Empire and moved to the south to subdue Nizam and Mysore to assert Maratha power. He sent generals such as Bhonsle, Scindia and Holkar to the north, where they re-established Maratha authority by the early 1770s.[citation needed]

text: Prof G. S. Chhabra wrote:

text: Young though he was, Madhav Rao had a cool and calculating head of a seasoned and experienced man. The diplomacy by which he could win over his uncle Raghoba when he had no strength to fight and the way he could crush his power when he had the means to do so later on proved in him a genius who knows when and how to act. The formidable power of the Nizam was crushed, Hyder Ali, who was a terror even to the British, was effectually humbled and before he died in 1772, the Marathas were almost there in the north where they had been before Panipat. What could not have the Marathas achieved if Madhav had continued living just for a few years more? Destiny was not in favour of the Marathas, the death of Madhav was a greater blow than their defeat of Panipat and from this blow they could never again recover.[46]

text: Madhav Rao died in 1772, at the age of 27. His death is considered to be a fatal blow to the Maratha Empire and from that time Maratha power started to move on a downward trajectory, less an empire than a confederacy.[citation needed]

text: Confederacy era[edit]

text: In a bid to effectively manage the large empire, Madhavrao Peshwa gave semi-autonomy to the strongest of the knights. After the death of Peshwa Madhavrao I, various chiefs and statesman became de facto rulers and regents for the infant Peshwa Madhavrao II.[citation needed] Thus, the semi-autonomous Maratha states came into being in far-flung regions of the empire:[citation needed]

text:
Peshwas of Pune
Gaekwads of Baroda
Holkars of Indore
Scindias (aka Shindes) of Gwalior (Chambal region) and Ujjain (Malwa Region)
Bhonsales of Nagpur (no blood relation with Shivaji's or Tarabai's family)
Puars (or Pawars) of Dewas and Dhar
Even in the original kingdom of Shivaji itself, many knights were given semi-autonomous charges of small districts, which led to princely states Sangli, Aundh, Bhor, Bawda, Phaltan, Miraj, etc. Pawars of Udgir were also part of confederacy.

text: Major events[edit]

text:
After the 1761 Battle of Panipat, Malhar Rao Holkar attacked the Rajputs and defeated them at the battle of Mangrol. This largely restored Maratha power in Rajasthan.[47]
Under the leadership of Mahadji Shinde, the ruler of the state of Gwalior in central India, the Marathas defeated the Jats, the Rohilla Afghans and took Delhi which remained under Maratha control for the next three decades.[48] His forces conquered modern day Haryana[49] Shinde was instrumental in resurrecting Maratha power after the débâcle of the Third Battle of Panipat, and in this he was assisted by Benoît de Boigne.
In 1767 Madhavrao I crossed the Krishna River and defeated Hyder Ali in the battles of Sira and Madgiri. He also rescued the last queen of the Keladi Nayaka Kingdom, who had been kept in confinement by Hyder Ali in the fort of Madgiri.[50]
In early 1771, ten years after the collapse of Maratha authority over North India following the Third Battle of Panipat, Mahadji recaptured Delhi and installed Shah Alam II as a puppet ruler on the Mughal throne.[51] receiving in return the title of deputy Vakil-ul-Mutlak or vice-regent of the Empire and that of Vakil-ul-Mutlak being at his request conferred on the Peshwa. The Mughals also gave him the title of Amir-ul-Amara (head of the amirs).[52]

text:
After taking control of Delhi, the Marathas sent a large army in 1772 to punish Afghan Rohillas for their involvement in Panipat. Their army devastated Rohilkhand by looting and plundering as well as taking members of the royal family as captives.[51]
After the growth in power of feudal lords like Malwa sardars, landlords of Bundelkhand and Rajput kingdoms of Rajasthan, they refused to pay tribute to Mahadji. So he sent his army conquer the states such as Bhopal, Datiya, Chanderi, Narwar, Salbai and Gohad. However, he launched an unsuccessful expedition against the Raja of Jaipur, but withdrew after the inconclusive Battle of Lalsot in 1787.[53]
The Battle of Gajendragad was fought between the Marathas under the command of Tukojirao Holkar (the adopted son of Malharrao Holkar) and Tipu Sultan from March 1786 to March 1787 in which Tipu Sultan was defeated by the Marathas. By the victory in this battle, the border of the Maratha territory extended till Tungabhadra river.[54]
The strong fort of Gwalior was then in the hands of Chhatar Singh, the Jat ruler of Gohad. In 1783, Mahadji besieged the fort of Gwalior and conquered it. He delegated the administration of Gwalior to Khanderao Hari Bhalerao. After celebrating the conquest of Gwalior, Mahadji Shinde turned his attention to Delhi again.[55]
In 1788, Mahadji's armies defeated Ismail Beg, a Mughal noble who resisted the Marathas.[56] The Rohilla chief Ghulam Kadir, Ismail Beg's ally, took over Delhi, capital of the Mughal dynasty and deposed and blinded the king Shah Alam II, placing a puppet on the Delhi throne. Mahadji intervened and killed him, taking possession of Delhi on October 02 restoring Shah Alam II to the throne and acting as his protector.[57]
Jaipur and Jodhpur, the two most powerful Rajput states, were still out of direct Maratha domination. So, Mahadji sent his general Benoît de Boigne to crush the forces of Jaipur and Jodhpur at the Battle of Patan.[58] Marwar was also captured on September 10, 1790.
Another achievement of the Marathas was their victories over the Nizam of Hyderabad's armies including in the Battle of Kharda.[59][60]
In 1788, Mahadji's armies defeated Ismail Beg, a Mughal noble who resisted the Marathas.[56] The Rohilla chief Ghulam Kadir, Ismail Beg's ally, took over Delhi, capital of the Mughal dynasty and deposed and blinded the king Shah Alam II, placing a puppet on the Delhi throne. Mahadji intervened and killed him, taking possession of Delhi on October 02 restoring Shah Alam II to the throne and acting as his protector.[61]

text: Mysore war, Sringeri sacking, British alliance[edit]

text: The Marathas came into conflict with Tipu Sultan and his Kingdom of Mysore, leading to the Maratha–Mysore War in 1785. The war ended in 1787 with the Marathas being defeated by Tipu Sultan.[62] In 1791–92, large areas of the Maratha Confederacy suffered massive population loss due to the Doji bara famine.[63]

text: In 1791, irregulars like lamaans and pindari of Maratha army raided and looted the temple of Sringeri Shankaracharya, killing and wounding many people including Brahmins, plundering the monastery of all its valuable possessions, and desecrating the temple by displacing the image of goddess Sarada.[64] The incumbent Shankaracharya petitioned Tipu Sultan for help. A bunch of about 30 letters written in Kannada, which were exchanged between Tipu Sultan's court and the Sringeri Shankaracharya were discovered in 1916 by the Director of Archaeology in Mysore. Tipu Sultan expressed his indignation and grief at the news of the raid:[65]

text: "People who have sinned against such a holy place are sure to suffer the consequences of their misdeeds at no distant date in this Kali age in accordance with the verse: "Hasadbhih kriyate karma rudadbhir-anubhuyate" (People do [evil] deeds smilingly but suffer the consequences crying)."[66]

text: Tipu Sultan immediately ordered the Asaf of Bednur to supply the Swami with 200 rahatis (fanams) in cash and other gifts and articles. Tipu Sultan's interest in the Sringeri temple continued for many years, and he was still writing to the Swami in the 1790s.[67]

text: The Maratha Empire soon allied with the British East India Company (based in the Bengal Presidency) against Mysore in the Anglo-Mysore Wars. After the British had suffered defeat against Mysore in the first two Anglo-Mysore War, the Maratha cavalry assisted the British in the last two Anglo-Mysore Wars from 1790 onwards, eventually helping the British conquer Mysore in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799.[68] After the British conquest, however, the Marathas launched frequent raids in Mysore to plunder the region, which they justified as compensation for past losses to Tipu Sultan.[69]

text: British intervention[edit]

text: In 1775, the British East India Company, from its base in Bombay, intervened in a succession struggle in Pune, on behalf of Raghunathrao (also called Raghobadada), who wanted to become Peshwa of the empire. Marathas forces under Tukojirao Holkar and Mahadaji Shinde defeated a British expeditionary force at the Battle of Wadgaon, but the heavy surrender terms, which included the return of annexed territory and a share of revenues, were disavowed by the British authorities at Bengal and fighting continued. What became known as the First Anglo-Maratha War ended in 1782 with a restoration of the pre-war status quo and the East India Company's abandonment of Raghunathrao's cause.[70]

text: In 1799, Yashwantrao Holkar was crowned King of Holkars, he captured Ujjain. He started campaigning towards the north to expand his empire in that region. Yashwant Rao rebelled against the policies of the Peshwa Baji Rao II. In May 1802, he marched towards Pune the seat of the Peshwa. This gave rise to the Battle of Poona in which the Peshwa was defeated. After the Battle of Poona, the flight of Peshwa left the government of Maratha state in the hands of Yashwantrao Holkar.[71] He appointed Amrutrao as the Peshwa and went to Indore on March 13, 1803. All except Gaikwad chief of Baroda, who had already accepted British protection by a separate treaty on July 26, 1802, supported the new regime. He made a treaty with the British. Also, Yashwant-Rao successfully resolved the disputes with Scindia and the Peshwa. He tried to unite the Maratha Confederacy but to no avail. In 1802, the British intervened in Baroda to support the heir to the throne against rival claimants and they signed a treaty with the new Maharaja recognising his independence from the Maratha Empire in return for his acknowledgement of British paramountcy. Before the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805), the Peshwa Baji Rao II signed a similar treaty. The defeat in Battle of Delhi, 1803 during Second Anglo-Maratha War resulted in the loss of the city of Delhi for the Marathas.[72]

text: The Second Anglo-Maratha War represents the military high-water mark of the Marathas who posed the last serious opposition to the formation of the British Raj. The real contest for India was never a single decisive battle for the subcontinent. Rather it turned on a complex social and political struggle for control of the South Asian military economy. The victory in 1803 hinged as much on finance, diplomacy, politics and intelligence as it did on battlefield manoeuvre and war itself.[73]

text: Ultimately, the Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1818) resulted in the loss of Maratha independence. It left the British in control of most of India. The Peshwa was exiled to Bithoor (Marat, near Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh) as a pensioner of the British. The Maratha heartland of Desh, including Pune, came under direct British rule, with the exception of the states of Kolhapur and Satara, which retained local Maratha rulers (descendants of Shivaji and Sambhaji II ruled over Kolhapur). The Maratha-ruled states of Gwalior, Indore, and Nagpur all lost territory and came under subordinate alliance with the British Raj as princely states that retained internal sovereignty under British paramountcy. Other small princely states of Maratha knights were retained under the British Raj as well.[citation needed]

text: The Third Anglo-Maratha War was fought by Maratha war lords separately instead of forming a common front and they surrendered one by one. Shinde and the Pashtun Amir Khan were subdued by the use of diplomacy and pressure, which resulted in the Treaty of Gwalior[74] on November 05, 1817.[citation needed] All other Maratha chiefs like Holkars, Bhonsles and Peshwa gave up arms by 1818. British historian Percival Spear describes 1818 as a watershed year in the history of India, saying that by the year "the British dominion in India became the British dominion of India".[75][76]

text: The war left the British, under the auspices of the British East India Company, in control of virtually all of present-day India south of the Sutlej River. The famed Nassak Diamond was acquired by the Company as part of the spoils of the war.[77] The British acquired large chunks of territory from the Maratha Empire and in effect put an end to their most dynamic opposition.[78] The terms of surrender Major-general John Malcolm offered to the Peshwa were controversial amongst the British for being too liberal: The Peshwa was offered a luxurious life near Kanpur and given a pension of about 80,000 pounds.[citation needed]

text: Administration[edit]

text: The Ashtapradhan (The Council of Eight) was a council of eight ministers that administered the Maratha empire. This system was formed by Shivaji.[79] Ministerial designations were drawn from the Sanskrit language and comprised:[citation needed]

text:
Pantpradhan or Peshwa – Prime Minister, general administration of the Empire
Amatya or Mazumdar – Finance Minister, managing accounts of the Empire[80][unreliable source?]
Sachiv – Secretary, preparing royal edicts
Mantri – Interior Minister, managing internal affairs especially intelligence and espionage
Senapati – Commander-in-Chief, managing the forces and defence of the Empire
Sumant – Foreign Minister, to manage relationships with other sovereigns
Nyayadhyaksh – Chief Justice, dispensing justice on civil and criminal matters
Panditrao – High Priest, managing internal religious matters

text: With the notable exception of the priestly Panditrao and the judicial Nyayadisha, the other pradhans held full-time military commands and their deputies performed their civil duties in their stead. In the later era of the Maratha Empire, these deputies and their staff constituted the core of the Peshwa's bureaucracy.[citation needed]

text: The Peshwa was the titular equivalent of a modern Prime Minister. Shivaji created the Peshwa designation in order to more effectively delegate administrative duties during the growth of the Maratha Empire. Prior to 1749, Peshwas held office for 8–9 years and controlled the Maratha Army. They later became the de facto hereditary administrators of the Maratha Empire from 1749 till its end in 1818.[citation needed]

text: Under Peshwa administration and with the support of several key generals and diplomats (listed below), the Maratha Empire reached its zenith, ruling most of the Indian subcontinent. It was also under the Peshwas that the Maratha Empire came to its end through its formal annexation into the British Empire by the British East India Company in 1818.

text: The Marathas used a secular policy of administration and allowed complete freedom of religion.[81][full citation needed] There were many notable Muslims in the military and administration of Marathas like Ibrahim Khan Gardi, Haider Ali Kohari, Daulat Khan, Siddi Ibrahim, and Jiva Mahal.[citation needed]

text: Shivaji was an able administrator who established a government that included modern concepts such as cabinet, foreign policy and internal intelligence.[82] He established an effective civil and military administration. He believed that there was a close bond between the state and the citizens. He is remembered as a just and welfare-minded king. Cosme da Guarda says of him that:[83]

text: Such was the good treatment Shivaji accorded to people and such was the honesty with which he observed the capitulations that none looked upon him without a feeling of love and confidence. By his people he was exceedingly loved. Both in matters of reward and punishment he was so impartial that while he lived he made no exception for any person; no merit was left unrewarded, no offence went unpunished; and this he did with so much care and attention that he specially charged his governors to inform him in writing of the conduct of his soldiers, mentioning in particular those who had distinguished themselves, and he would at once order their promotion, either in rank or in pay, according to their merit. He was naturally loved by all men of valor and good conduct.

text: English traveller John Fryer found Shivaji's tax-collecting regime oppressive, describing it as poor people having land "imposed upon them at double the former Rates," and if they refused it, being "carried to Prison, there they are famished almost to death. While French physician Dellon reports that Shivaji was "looked upon as one of the most politic princes in those parts."

text: Maratha empire carried out a number of sea raids, such as plunders targeting Mughal pilgrim ships and European trading vessels. European traders described these attacks as piracy, but the Marathas viewed them as legitimate targets because they were trading with, and thus financially supporting, their Mughal and Bijapur enemies. After the representatives of various European powers signed agreements with Shivaji or his successors that the threat of plundering or raids against Europeans began to reduce.

text: Geography[edit]

text: The Maratha Empire, at its peak, ruled over a large area in the Indian sub-continent. Apart from capturing various regions, the Marathas maintained a large number of tributaries who were bounded by agreement to pay a certain amount of regular tax, known as Chauth. The empire defeated the Sultanate of Mysore under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, Nawab of Oudh, Nawab of Bengal, Nizam of Hyderabad and Nawab of Arcot as well as the Polygar kingdoms of South India. They extracted chauth from the rulers in Delhi, Oudh, Bengal,  Bihar, Odisha, Punjab, Hyderabad, Mysore, Uttar Pradesh and Rajputana.[84][85]

text: The Marathas were requested by Safdarjung, the Nawab of Oudh, in 1752 to help him defeat Afghani Rohilla. The Maratha force left Pune and defeated Afghan Rohilla in 1752, capturing the whole of Rohilkhand (present-day northwestern Uttar Pradesh).[42] In 1752, Marathas entered into an agreement with the Mughal emperor, through his wazir, Safdarjung, Mughals gave Marathas the chauth of Punjab, Sindh and Doab in addition to the subedari of Ajmer and Agra.[86] In 1758, Marathas started their north-west conquest and expanded their boundary till Afghanistan. They defeated Afghan forces of Ahmed Shah Abdali, in what is now Pakistan, including Pakistani Punjab Province and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Afghans were numbered around 25,000–30,000 and were led by Timur Shah, the son of Ahmad Shah Durrani. The Marathas massacred and looted thousands of Afghan soldiers and captured Lahore, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Attock, Peshawar in the Punjab region and Kashmir.[87][88]

text: During the confederacy era, Mahadji Shinde resurrected the Maratha domination on much of North India, which was lost after the Third battle of Panipat including the cis-Sutlej states (south of Sutlej) like Kaithal, Patiala, Jind, Thanesar, Maler Kotla and Faridkot, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh were under the suzerainty of the Scindhias of the Maratha Empire, following the Second Anglo-Maratha War of 1803–1805, Marathas lost these territories to the British East India Company.[52][89]

text: Legacy[edit]

text: During the 17th century through late 18th century, the Maratha emperors, prime ministers, and dominion/fiefdom chiefs contributed on military as well as non-military fronts such as building forts, naval facilities, development of towns, constructing and patronizing temples, among others. During the 19th and 20th centuries, when Maratha principalities ruled as a feudatory of the British, Maratha rulers built palaces, contributed towards fine arts, introduced social reforms, and developed civic amenities in their territories.

text: Military contributions[edit]

text: Some historians have credited Maratha Navy for laying the foundation of Indian Navy and bringing significant changes in naval warfare. A series of sea forts and battleships were built in 17th century during the reign of Shivaji. It has been noted that vessels built in the dockyards of Konkan were mostly indigenous, constructed without foreign aid.[90] Further, in 18th centuries, during the reign of Admiral Kanhoji Angre, a host of dockyard facilities were built along the entire western coastline of present-day Maharashtra. The Marathas fortified the entire coastline with sea fortresses with navigational facilities.[91]

text: Nearly all the hill forts, which dot the landscape of present-day western Maharashtra were built by the Marathas. The renovation of Gingee fortress in Tamil Nadu, has been particularly applauded.[92]

text: Development of towns and civic amenities[edit]

text:
During the 18th century, the Peshwas of Pune brought significant changes to the town of Pune building dams, bridges, and an underground water supply system.[93]
During the 18th century, misrule and pursuance of oppressive policies by the Marathas have been noted in the town of Ahmedabad[94]

text: Patronizing religion[edit]

text:
Queen Ahilyabai Holkar has been noted as a just ruler and an avid patron of religion. She has been credited for building and patronizing numerous temples in the town of Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh. Its handloom industry is also said to have been flourished under the rule of Holkars.[95]
The Bhosales of Nagpur ruled present-day state of Odisha in the latter half of the 18th century, during which misrule, anarchy, and violence has been reported. However at the same time, it is to be noted that the Maratha rulers patronized religion and religious institutions which made Odisha a center of attraction.[96]
Several Ghats in Varanasi (in present-day Uttar Pradesh) were repaired and re-constructed during the Maratha rule of 18th century.[97]
The Maratha rulers of Tanjore are said to have constructed several temples in the town of Tanjore

text: Fine arts and palaces[edit]

text:
The Maratha rulers of Tanjore (present-day Tamil Nadu) were patrons of fine arts and their reign has been considered as the golden period of Tanjore history. Art and culture reached new heights during their rule. They also considered themselves as representatives of Cholas referring themselves as Cholasimhasanathipathi.[98] They made significant contributions towards Sanskrit and Marathi literature,[99] Bharatanatyam (dance form), and Carnatic music.[100]
Several majestic palaces were built by Maratha principalities which include the Shaniwar Wada (built by the Peshwas of Pune).

text: Military[edit]

text: The Maratha army was not homogenous, but employed soldiers of different backgrounds, both locals and foreign mercenaries, including large numbers of Arabs, Sikhs, Rajputs, Sindhis, Rohillas, Abyssinians, Pathans, Topiwalas and Europeans. The army of Nana Fadnavis, for example, included 5,000 Arabs.[101]

text: Afghan accounts[edit]

text: The Maratha army, especially its infantry, was praised by almost all the enemies of Maratha Empire, ranging from Duke of Wellington to Ahmad Shah Abdali[citation needed]. After the Third Battle of Panipat, Abdali was relieved as Maratha army in the initial stages were almost in the position of destroying the Afghan armies and their Indian Allies Nawab of Oudh and Rohillas. The grand wazir of Durrani Empire, Sardar Shah Wali Khan was shocked when Maratha commander-in-chief Sadashivrao Bhau launched a fierce assault on the centre of Afghan Army, over 3,000 Durrani soldiers were killed alongside Haji Atai Khan, one of the chief commander of Afghan army and nephew of wazir Shah Wali Khan. Such was the fierce assault of Maratha infantry in hand-to-hand combat that Afghan armies started to flee and the wazir in desperation and rage shouted, "Comrades Whither do you fly, our country is far off".[102] Post battle, Ahmad Shah Abdali in a letter to one Indian ruler claimed that Afghans were able to defeat the Marathas only because of the blessings of almighty and any other army would have been destroyed by the Maratha army on that particular day even though Maratha army was numerically inferior to Afghan army and its Indian allies.[103][full citation needed] Though Abdali won the battle, he also had heavy casualties on his side. So, he sought immediate peace with the Marathas. Abdali wrote in his letter to Peshwa on February 10, 1761:

text: There is no reason to have animosity amongst us. Your son Vishwasrao and your brother Sadashivrao died in battle, was unfortunate. Bhau started the battle, so I had to fight back unwillingly. Yet I feel sorry for his death. Please continue your guardianship of Delhi as before, to that I have no opposition. Only let Punjab until Sutlaj remain with us. Reinstate Shah Alam on Delhi's throne as you did before and let there be peace and friendship between us, this is my ardent desire. Grant me that desire.[104]

text: European accounts[edit]

text: Similarly, the Duke of Wellington, after defeating the Marathas, noted that the Marathas, though poorly led by their Generals, had regular infantry and artillery that matched the level of that of the Europeans and warned other British officers from underestimating the Marathas on the battlefield. He cautioned one British general that: "You must never allow Maratha infantry to attack head on or in close hand to hand combat as in that your army will cover itself with utter disgrace".[105] Even when Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, became the Prime Minister of Britain, he held the Maratha infantry in utmost respect, claiming it to be one of the best in the world. However, at the same time he noted the poor leadership of Maratha Generals, who were often responsible for their defeats.[105] Charles Metcalfe, one of the ablest of the British Officials in India and later acting Governor-General, wrote in 1806:

text: India contains no more than two great powers, British and Mahratta, and every other state acknowledges the influence of one or the other. Every inch that we recede will be occupied by them.[106][107]

text:
Norman Gash says that the Maratha infantry was equal to that of British infantry. After the Third Anglo-Maratha war in 1818, Britain listed the Marathas as one of the Martial Races to serve in the British Indian Army.[108]
The 19th century diplomat Sir Justin Sheil commented about the British East India Company copying the French Indian army in raising an army of Indians:

text:
It is to the military genius of the French that we are indebted for the formation of the Indian army. Our warlike neighbours were the first to introduce into India the system of drilling native troops and converting them into a regularly disciplined force. Their example was copied by us, and the result is what we now behold.
The French carried to Persia the same military and administrative faculties, and established the origin of the present Persian regular army, as it is styled. When Napoleon the Great resolved to take Iran under his auspices, he dispatched several officers of superior intelligence to that country with the mission of General Gardanne in 1808. Those gentlemen commenced their operations in the provinces of Azerbaijan and Kermanshah, and it is said with considerable success.

text: Notable generals and administrators[edit]

text: Ramchandra Pant Amatya Bawdekar[edit]

text: Ramchandra Pant Amatya Bawdekar was a court administrator who rose from the ranks of a local Kulkarni to the ranks of Ashtapradhan under guidance and support of Shivaji. He was one of the prominent Peshwas from the time of Shivaji, prior to the rise of the later Peshwas who controlled the empire after Shahuji.[79]

text: When Rajaram fled to Jinji in 1689 leaving Maratha Empire, he gave a Hukumat Panha (King Status) to Pant before leaving. Ramchandra Pant managed the entire state under many challenges like influx of Mughals, betrayal from Vatandars (local satraps under the Maratha state) and social challenges like scarcity of food. With the help of Pantpratinidhi, Sachiv, he kept the economic condition of Maratha Empire in an appropriate state.

text: He received military help from the Maratha commanders – Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav. On many occasions he himself participated in battles against Mughals.[citation needed]

text: In 1698, he stepped down from the post of Hukumat Panha when Rajaram offered this post to his wife, Tarabai. Tarabai gave an important position to Pant among senior administrators of Maratha State. He wrote Adnyapatra (मराठी: आज्ञापत्र) in which he has explained different techniques of war, maintenance of forts and administration etc. But owing to his loyalty to Tarabai against Shahuji (who was supported by more local satraps), he was sidelined after arrival of Shahuji in 1707.[citation needed]

text: Nana Phadnavis[edit]

text: Nana Phadnavis was an influential minister and statesman of the Maratha Empire during the Peshwa administration.After the assassination of Peshwa Narayanrao in 1773, Nana Phadnavis managed the affairs of the state with the help of a twelve-member regency council known as the Barbhai council and he remained the chief strategist of Maratha state till his death in 1800 AD.[110] Nana Phadnavis played a pivotal role in holding the Maratha Confederacy together in the midst of internal dissension and the growing power of British. Nana's administrative, diplomatic and financial skills brought prosperity to the Maratha Empire and his management of external affairs kept the Maratha Empire away from the thrust of the British East India Company.

text: Rulers, administrators and generals[edit]

text: Royal houses[edit]

text:
Shivaji (1630–1680)
Sambhaji (1657–1689)
Rajaram Chhatrapati (1670–1700)

text: Satara:

text:
Chhattrapati Shahu (r. 1708–1749) (alias Shivaji II, son of Chhatrapati Sambhaji)
Ramaraja II (nominally, grandson of Chhatrapati Rajaram and Queen Tarabai) (r. 1749–1777)
Shahu II (r. 1777–1808)
Pratap Singh (r. 1808–1839) – signed a treaty with the East India company ceding part of sovereignty to the company[111]

text: Kolhapur:

text:
Tarabai (1675–1761) (wife of Chhatrapati Rajaram) in the name of her son Shivaji II
Shivaji II (1700–1714)
Sambhaji II (1714 to 1760) – came to power by deposing his half brother Shivaji II
Shivaji III (1760–1812) (adopted from the family of Khanwilkar)

text: Peshwas[edit]

text:
Moropant Trimbak Pingle (1657–1683)
Nilakanth Moreshvar Pingale (1683-1689)
Ramchandra Pant Amatya (1689-1708)
Bahiroji Pingale (1708–1711)

text: Peshwas from Bhat family[edit]

text: From Balaji Vishwanath onwards, actual power gradually shifted to the Bhat family Peshwas based in Pune.

text:
Balaji Vishwanath (1713–1720)
Bajirao (1720–1740)
Balaji Bajirao (4 Jul. 1740-23 Jun. 1761) (b. 8 Dec. 1721, d. 23 Jun. 1761)
Madhavrao Peshwa (1761–18 Nov.1772) (b. 16 Feb. 1745, d. 18 Nov. 1772)
Narayanrao Bajirao (13 Dec. 1772–30 Aug.1773) (b. 10 Aug. 1755, d. 30 Aug. 1773)
Raghunathrao (5 Dec. 1773–1774) (b. 18 Aug. 1734, d. 11 Dec. 1783)
Sawai Madhava Rao II Narayan (1774–27 Oct. 1795) (b. 18 Apr. 1774, d. 27 Oct. 1795)
Baji Rao II (6 Dec. 1796 – 3 Jun.1818) (d. 28 Jan. 1851)

text: Houses of Maratha Confederacy[edit]

text:
Holkars of Indore
Scindias of Gwalior
Gaikwads of Baroda
Bhonsales of Nagpur
Puars of Dewas and Dhar
Patwardhans

text: Maps showing the Maratha Empire at different stages of history[edit]

text:
Maratha kingdom in 1680 (green)

Maratha Empire in 1760 (yellow)

Maratha Empire in 1765 (yellow)

Maratha Empire in 1794 (yellow)

Maratha Empire in 1805 (yellow)

text: Thanjavur Maratha Kingdom (Tamil Nadu)[edit]

text: The Thanjavur Marathas were the rulers of Thanjavur principality of Tamil Nadu between the 17th and 19th centuries. Their native language was Thanjavur Marathi. Venkoji, Shahaji's son and Shivaji's half brother, was the founder of the dynasty.[112]

text: List of rulers of Thanjavur Maratha dynasty :

text:
Venkoji
Shahuji I of Thanjavur
Serfoji I
Tukkoji
Pratapsingh of Thanjavur
Thuljaji
Serfoji II
Shivaji II of Thanjavur


document_title: World Tourism rankings

question_text: who is the most visited country in the world

root

text: World Tourism rankings

text: Most visited destinations by international tourist arrivals[edit]

text: In 2016, there were 1.235 billion international tourist arrivals worldwide, with a growth of 4% as compared to 1.186 billion in 2015. The top 10 international tourism destinations in 2016 were:[1]

tag: p

text:
Rank
Destination
International
tourist
arrivals
(2016)[1]
International
tourist
arrivals
(2015)[1]
Change
(2015 to
2016)
(%)
Change
(2014 to
2015)
(%)

1
 France
82.6 million
84.5 million
 2.2
 0.9

2
 United States
75.6 million
77.5 million
 2.4
 3.3

3
 Spain
75.6 million
68.5 million
 10.3
 5.5

4
 China
59.3 million
56.9 million
 4.2
 2.3

5
 Italy
52.4 million
50.7 million
 3.2
 4.4

6
 United Kingdom
35.8 million
34.4 million
 4.0
 5.6

7
 Germany
35.6 million
35.0 million
 1.7
 6.0

8
 Mexico
35.0 million
32.1 million
 8.9
 9.4

9
 Thailand
32.6 million
29.9 million
 8.9
 20.6

10
 Turkey
31.3 million[citation needed]
39.5 million
 24.6
 0.8

tag: table

text: Africa[edit]

text: In 2015, there were over 53 million international tourist arrivals to Africa, a decrease of 3% from 2014. In 2015, the top ten African destinations were:

text:
Rank
Destination
International
tourist
arrivals
(2015)[1]
International
tourist
arrivals
(2014)[1]
Change
(2014 to
2015)
(%)
Change
(2013 to
2014)
(%)

1
 Morocco
10.2 million
10.3 million
 1.0
 2.4

2
 Egypt
9.1 million
9.6 million
 5.1
 5.0

3
 South Africa
8.9 million
9.5 million
 6.8
 0.1

4
 Tunisia
5.4 million
7.2 million
 25.2
 2.6

5
 Zimbabwe
2.1 million
1.9 million
 9.4
 2.6

6
 Algeria
1.7 million
2.3 million
 25.7
 15.8

7
 Mozambique
1.6 million
1.7 million
 6.6
 11.9

8
 Botswana
1.5 million
2.0 million
 22.3
 27.3

9
 Ivory Coast
1.4 million
0.5 million
 205.9
 23.9

10
 Namibia
1.4 million
1.3 million
 5.1
 12.2

Note: Egypt is classified under "Middle East" in the UNWTO.[2]

text: Americas[edit]

text: In 2015, there were over 199 million international tourist arrivals to the Americas. In 2015, the top ten destinations were:[1]

text:
Rank
Destination
International
tourist
arrivals
(2015)[1]
International
tourist
arrivals
(2014)[1]
Change
(2014 to
2015)
(%)
Change
(2013 to
2014)
(%)

1
 United States
77.5 million
75.0 million
 3.3
 7.2

2
 Mexico
32.1 million
29.3 million
 9.4
 21.5

3
 Canada
18.0 million
16.5 million
 8.7
 3.0

4
 Brazil
6.3 million
6.4 million
 1.9
 10.6

5
 Argentina
5.7 million
5.9 million
 3.3
 13.1

6
 Dominican Republic
5.6 million
5.1 million
 8.9
 9.6

7
 Chile
4.5 million
3.7 million
 21.9
 2.7

8
 Puerto Rico
3.5 million
3.2 million
 9.1
 2.3

9
 Cuba
3.5 million
3.0 million
 17.5
 5.0

10
 Peru
3.5 million
3.2 million
 7.5
 1.6

text: Asia-Pacific[edit]

text: In 2016, there were over 308 million international tourist arrivals to Asia-Pacific, an increase of 9.0% over 2015. In 2016, the top ten destinations were:[1]

text:
Rank
Destination
International
tourist
arrivals
(2016)[1]
International
tourist
arrivals
(2015)[1]
Change
(2015 to
2016)
(%)
Change
(2014 to
2015)
(%)

1
 China
59.3 million
56.9 million
 4.2
 2.3

2
 Thailand
32.6 million
29.9 million
 8.9
 20.6

3
 Malaysia
26.8 million
25.7 million
 4.0
 6.3

4
 Hong Kong
26.6 million
26.7 million
 0.5
 3.9

5
 Japan
24.0 million
19.7 million
 21.8
 47.1

6
 South Korea
17.2 million
13.2 million
 30.3
 6.8

7
 Macau
15.7 million
14.3 million
 9.8
 1.8

8
 India
14.6 million
13.3 million
 9.7
 1.4

9
 Singapore
12.9 million
12.1 million
 7.1
 1.6

10
 Indonesia
12.0 million[3]
10.0 million
 15.5
 5.6

text: Europe[edit]

text: In 2016, there were over 616 million international tourist arrivals to Europe, an increase of 1.0% over 2015. In 2016, the top ten destinations were:[1]

text:
Rank
Destination
International
tourist
arrivals
(2016)[1]
International
tourist
arrivals
(2015)[1]
Change
(2015 to
2016)
(%)
Change
(2014 to
2015)
(%)

1
 France
82.6 million
84.5 million
 2.2
 0.9

2
 Spain
75.6 million
68.5 million
 10.3
 5.5

3
 Italy
52.4 million
50.7 million
 3.2
 4.4

4
 United Kingdom
35.8 million
34.4 million
 4.0
 5.6

5
 Germany
35.6 million
35.0 million
 1.7
 6.0

6
 Turkey
31.3 million
39.5 million
 24.6
 0.8

7
 Austria
28.1 million
26.7 million
 5.2
 5.7

8
 Greece
24.8 million
23.6 million
 5.1
 7.1

9
 Russia
24.6 million
26.9 million
 8.6
 5.6

10
 Poland
17.5 million
16.7 million
 4.4
 4.6

text: Middle East[edit]

text: In 2015, there were over 53 million international tourist arrivals to the Middle East, an increase of 2.0% over 2014. In 2015, the top ten destinations were:

text:
Rank
Destination
International
tourist
arrivals
(2015)[1]
International
tourist
arrivals
(2014)[1]
Change
(2014 to
2015)
(%)
Change
(2013 to
2014)
(%)

1
 Turkey
39.5 million
39.8 million
 0.8
 5.3

2
 Saudi Arabia
18.0 million
18.3 million
 1.5
 15.8

3
 United Arab Emirates
14.2 million
13.2 million
 7.6
 32.1

4
 Egypt
9.1 million
9.6 million
 5.1
 5.0

5
 Iran
5.2 million
5.0 million
 5.4
 4.2

6
 Jordan
3.8 million
4.0 million
 5.7
 1.1

7
 Qatar
2.9 million
2.8 million
 3.7
 8.2

8
 Israel
2.8 million
2.9 million
 4.4
 1.2

9
 Oman
1.9 million
1.6 million
 17.8
 15.7

10
 Lebanon
1.5 million
1.4 million
 12.1
 6.3

Note: Iran is classified as part of "South Asia" in the UNWTO.[2]
Turkey and Israel are classified as part of "Southern/Medit.Europe" in the UNWTO.[2]

text: International tourism receipts[edit]

text: International tourism receipts grew to US$1,260 billion in 2015, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 4.4% from 2014.[1] The World Tourism Organization reports the following destinations as the top twelve tourism earners for the year 2015, with the United States by far the top earner.

text:
Rank
Region
International
tourism
receipts
(2016)[1]
International
tourism
receipts
(2015)[1]
Change
(2015 to
2016)
(%)
Change
(2014 to
2015)
(%)

1
 United States
$205.9 billion
$205.4 billion
 0.3%
 7.0%

2
 Spain
$60.3 billion
$56.5 billion
 6.9%
 13.3%

3
 Thailand
$49.9 billion
$44.9 billion
 11.0%
 16.9%

4
 China
$44.4 billion
$45.0 billion
 1.2%
 2.1%

5
 France
$42.5 billion
$44.9 billion
 5.3%
 22.9%

6
 Italy
$40.2 billion
$39.4 billion
 2.0%
 13.3%

7
 United Kingdom
$39.6 billion
$45.5 billion
 12.9%
 2.3%

8
 Germany
$37.4 billion
$36.9 billion
 1.4%
 14.8%

9
 Hong Kong
$32.9 billion
$36.2 billion
 9.1%
 5.8%

10
 Australia
$32.4 billion
$28.9 billion
 12.3%
 8.2%

text: Africa[edit]

text:
Rank
Region
International
tourism
receipts
(US$ million)
(2016)[1]

1
 South Africa
$7,910

2
 Morocco
$6,548

3
 Egypt
$5,258

4
 Tanzania
$2,135

5
 Mauritius
$1,572

6
 Tunisia
$1,239

7
 Botswana
$1,101

8
 Nigeria
$1,070

9
 Sudan
$1,009

10
 Zimbabwe
$824

text: Americas[edit]

text:
Rank
Region
International
tourism
receipts
(US$ million)
(2016)[1]

1
 United States
$205,940

2
 Mexico
$19,571

3
 Canada
$18,213

4
 Dominican Republic
$6,723

5
 Brazil
$6,024

6
 Colombia
$4,773

7
 Argentina
$4,687

8
 Panama
$4,258

9
 Puerto Rico
$3,985

10
 Costa Rica
$3,879

text: Asia-Pacific[edit]

text:
Rank
Region
International
tourism
receipts
(US$ million)
(2016)[1]

1
 Thailand
$49,871

2
 China
$44,432

3
 Hong Kong
$32,860

4
 Australia
$32,423

5
 Japan
$30,678

6
 Macau
$29,881

7
 India
$22,427

8
 Singapore
$18,386

9
 Malaysia
$18,074

10
 South Korea
$17,210

text: Europe[edit]

text:
Rank
Region
International
tourism
receipts
(US$ million)
(2016)[1]

1
 Spain
$60,346

2
 France
$42,481

3
 Italy
$40,246

4
 United Kingdom
$39,615

5
 Germany
$37,433

6
 Austria
$19,300

7
  Switzerland
$15,937

8
 Greece
$14,618

9
 Netherlands
$14,054

9
 Portugal
$14,036

text: Middle East[edit]

text:
Rank
Region
International
tourism
receipts
(US$ million)
(2015)[1]

1
 Turkey
$26,616

2
 United Arab Emirates
$17,481

3
 Saudi Arabia
$10,130

4
 Lebanon
$6,857

5
 Egypt
$6,065

6
 Israel
$5,794

7
 Qatar
$5,035

8
 Jordan
$4,065

9
 Iraq
$4,060

10
 Oman
$1,540

text: International tourism expenditure in 2015 and 2016[edit]

text: The World Tourism Organization reports the following destinations as the top ten biggest spenders on international tourism for the year 2015 and 2016.[1]

text:
Rank
Region
International
tourism
expenditure
(2016)[1]
International
tourism
expenditure
(2015)[1]

1
 China
$261.1 billion
$249.8 billion

2
 United States
$123.6 billion
$114.7 billion

3
 Germany
$79.8 billion
$77.5 billion

4
 United Kingdom
$63.6 billion
$63.3 billion

5
 France
$40.5 billion
$39.3 billion

6
 Canada
$29.1 billion
$30.1 billion

7
 South Korea
$26.6 billion
$25.3 billion

8
 Italy
$25.0 billion
$24.4 billion

9
 Australia
$24.9 billion
$23.8 billion

10
 Hong Kong
$24.2 billion
$23.1 billion


document_title: The Big Short (film)

question_text: who plays porter collins in the big short

text: The Big Short (film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: The film consists of three separate but concurrent stories, loosely connected by their actions in the years leading up to the 2007 housing market crash.

text: Scion Capital storyline

text: In 2005, eccentric hedge fund manager Michael Burry (Christian Bale) discovers that the United States housing market is extremely unstable, being based on high-risk subprime loans. Anticipating that the market will collapse during Q2 2007, as interest rates would rise from adjustable-rate mortgages, he envisions an opportunity to profit. His plan is to create a credit default swap market, allowing him to bet against market-based mortgage-backed securities. He proposes his idea to several major investment and commercial banks who readily accept. Burry's huge long-term bet, exceeding $1 billion, entails paying substantial monthly premiums to the banks. This requirement sparks his clients' vocal unhappiness, believing he is "wasting" capital, and many demand that he reverse and sell, but Burry refuses. He later discovers that the banks collude with a major bond-rating company to maintain ratings on worthless bonds, allowing them to sell off their losing positions before the true values became known. Under pressure, Burry restricts withdrawals from his fund, angering his investors. Eventually the housing market collapses and his fund's value increases by 489% with an overall profit of over $2.69 billion.

text: Front Point Partners storyline

text: Deutsche Bank salesman Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling) is one of the first to understand Burry's analysis, learning about his actions from one of the bankers who sold Burry an early credit default swap. Vennett uses his quant to verify that Burry's predictions are likely true and decides to put his own stake in the market, earning a fee on selling the swaps to firms who'll be profitable when the underlying mortgage bonds fail. A misplaced phone call alerts Front Point hedge fund manager Mark Baum ("Mark Baum" was used as a pseudonym for Steve Eisman in the film The Big Short.) (Steve Carell) to his plans, and he is convinced to buy credit default swaps from Vennett due to his own personal distaste with the banks. Vennett explains that the market collapse is being further perpetuated by the packaging of subprime loans into collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) large enough to be considered AAA ratings. Baum sends staff to investigate the Miami housing market and they discover that mortgage brokers are making money by selling risky mortgages to the Wall Street banks, which created the bubble. In early 2007, these loans begin to default, but the prices of the CDOs somehow rise. Meanwhile, ratings agencies refuse to downgrade the ratings of these failing bonds. When Baum questions an acquaintance at Standard & Poor's, he discovers conflicts of interest and dishonesty amongst the credit rating agencies. When Baum's employees question Vennett's motives, he maintains his position and invites Baum and his team to the American Securitization Forum in Las Vegas. Baum interviews CDO manager Wing Chau, who creates CDOs on behalf of an investment bank, claiming to represent the interests of investors. Chau describes how synthetic CDOs make a chain of increasingly large bets on the faulty loans, involving up to 20 times as much money as the loans themselves. Baum horrifyingly realizes that the fraud will completely collapse the global economy and decides to purchase as many swaps as possible, profiting from the situation at the banks' expense. Waiting until the last minute to sell their position, Baum's fund makes a profit of $1 billion, but he laments that the banks won't accept blame for the crisis.

text: Brownfield Fund storyline

text: Young investors Charlie Geller (John Magaro) and Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock) accidentally discover a prospectus by Vennett, convincing them to become involved in the swaps, as it fits their strategy of buying cheap insurance with big potential payouts. Since they are below the capital threshold for an ISDA Master Agreement required to enter into trades like Burry's and Baum's, they enlist the aid of retired securities trader Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt). When the bond values and CDOs rise despite defaults, Geller suspects the banks of committing fraud. The three also visit the American Securitization Forum, where they learn that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has no regulations to monitor mortgage-backed security activity. They manage to successfully make an even more profitable payout deal than other hedge funds by shorting the higher-rated mortgage securities. These securities were considered highly stable and the banks were willing to sell swaps on them extremely cheaply. Geller and Shipley are initially ecstatic, but Rickert is disgusted, pointing out an impending economic collapse and the human effect that's going to come from it, in particular, the fact that when unemployment goes up 1%, 40,000 more people will die. Furthermore, they realize that the banks have colluded with the ratings agency to maintain the value of their CDO's in order to sell their worthless positions and then short them before the inevitable crash. Horrified, they try to tip off the press and their families about the upcoming disaster and the rampant fraud but nobody believes them. As the housing market begins to collapse, Ben, while on vacation in England, is able to sell their swaps, and points out that Europe is starting to feel the effects of the collapse. Ultimately, they make a profit of $80 million, but their faith in the system is broken.

text: Epilogue

text: Jared Vennett makes $47 million off the selling of swaps. Mark Baum becomes more gracious from the financial fallout, and his staff continue to operate their fund. Charlie Geller and Jamie Shipley go their separate ways after failing to sue the ratings agencies, with Charlie moving to Charlotte to start a family, and Jamie still running the fund. Ben Rickert returns to his peaceful retirement. Michael Burry closes his fund after public backlash and multiple IRS audits, now only investing in water commodities. It is noted that as of 2015, banks are selling CDOs again under a new label: a "bespoke tranche opportunity".

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Christian Bale as Michael Burry, M.D.,[8] the operator of Scion Capital and the first person to discover the massive bubble in the American housing market. He invests over $1.3 billion in credit default swaps based on this assumption. Burry is quirky and socially inept, and much prefers working with numbers than people.

Aiden Flowers as young Michael Burry

Ryan Gosling as Jared Vennett (based on Greg Lippmann),[8] a low-level salesman at Deutsche Bank who stumbles upon Burry's interpretation of the housing market, and persuades Baum to buy credit default swaps from his bank, collecting commissions and fees by doing so. Vennett is egotistical, highly vain and serves as the narrator of the film.
Steve Carell as Mark Baum (based on Steve Eisman),[8] the hot-headed head of Front Point Partners, a hedge fund which also invests millions of dollars into credit default swaps based on the advice of Jared Vennett. Baum is disgusted by the actions of his Wall Street compatriots, and is struggling to cope with his brother's suicide.
Brad Pitt as Ben Rickert (based on Ben Hockett),[8] a paranoid and germaphobic retired former trader who, like Baum, despises the financial world but goes back in as a favor to Jamie and Charlie.
Hamish Linklater as Porter Collins, an employee of Baum's and the most objectively normal.
Rafe Spall as Danny Moses, an employee of Baum's and a rampant optimist.
Jeremy Strong as Vincent "Vinny" Daniel, an employee of Baum's and the most rash and impulsive.
John Magaro as Charlie Geller (based on Charlie Ledley),[9] co-owner of the Brownfield Fund who asks Ben to help them get a seat at the 'big-boy' table.
Finn Wittrock as Jamie Shipley (based on Jamie Mai),[9] co-owner of the Brownfield Fund who asks Ben to help them get a seat at the 'big-boy' table.
Marisa Tomei as Cynthia Baum (based on Valerie Feigen),[9] Mark's loving and understanding wife.
Tracy Letts as Lawrence Fields, an investor of Scion Capital and Burry's mentor.
Adepero Oduye as Kathy Tao, a Morgan Stanley employee who supervises Front Point and Baum.
Byron Mann as Wing Chau, a CDO manager that Vennett introduces to Mark Baum.
Karen Gillan as Evie,[10] the ex-girlfriend of Jamie's brother who leaves the SEC to find a job at an investment bank.
Melissa Leo as Georgia Hale, an employee of credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's, who admits the industry is corrupted.
Max Greenfield as Mortgage Broker #1,[11] a morally bankrupt mortgage broker who specialises in conning strippers into bad loans.
Billy Magnussen as Mortgage Broker #2,[12] a morally bankrupt mortgage broker who specialises in conning immigrants into bad loans.
Rudy Eisenzopf as Lewis Ranieri, a no-name banker who created the first mortgage-backed security.
Margot Robbie as herself, explaining Mortgage-backed securities and Subprime loans[5]
Anthony Bourdain as himself, explaining Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs)[5]
Richard Thaler as himself, explaining Synthetic CDOs[5][13]
Selena Gomez as herself, also explaining Synthetic CDOs alongside Thaler[5]

tag: ul

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: In 2013, Paramount acquired the rights to the 2010 non-fiction book The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis, to develop it into a film, which Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment would produce.[14] On March 24, 2014, Adam McKay was hired to write and direct a film about the housing and economic bubble.[4] Screenwriter Charles Randolph, who co-wrote the film with McKay, said one of the first challenges was finding the right tone for the film. He told Creative Screenwriting, "In general it was trying to find the right tone that was slightly funnier than your average Miloš Forman comedy, which is all grounded character-based but not so satirical where you got Wag the Dog. Somewhere between there was what I was shooting for. Once I got the tone down, then I went through the plot. The market's movements provided you with an underlying plot. You make your short deal, then the bank is trying to squeeze you out, and then it all breaks loose. So that was pretty easy, and it provided character arcs against that."[15] Two years after Randolph wrote his draft, McKay, as director, rewrote Randolph's screenplay. It was McKay's idea to include the celebrity cameos in the film to explain the financial concepts.[15]

text: Casting[edit]

text: On January 13, 2015, Variety reported that Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, and Ryan Gosling were set to star in the film, with Pitt producing the film along with Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner. Plan B Entertainment would finance, with Paramount handling the distribution rights.[16] Before this, Pitt had already starred in the adaptation of the author's Moneyball, for which he was nominated for an Oscar.[4][16] On January 14, it was announced that Steve Carell would also star.[8] On April 21, 2015, more cast was revealed by Deadline, including Melissa Leo, Marisa Tomei, Tracy Letts, Hamish Linklater, John Magaro, Byron Mann, Rafe Spall, Jeremy Strong, and Finn Wittrock.[17] Charles Randolph wrote the initial draft.[17] Max Greenfield joined the ensemble cast of the film on April 23, 2015.[11] Karen Gillan tweeted about her involvement in the film on May 8, 2015.[10]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Principal photography on the film began on March 18, 2015 in New Orleans, Louisiana.[18][19] On March 25, filming was taking place on General De Gaulle Boulevard in the Algiers section of New Orleans.[20] On May 8, Gillan confirmed she was shooting her scenes.[10] On May 20, 2015, filming took place on Mercer, between Prince Street and Spring Street in Manhattan, New York City.[21] On May 22, the production crew recreated the offices of failed investment firm Lehman Brothers in the lobby of the New York State Department of Financial Services in Manhattan.[22] An assistant counsel for the Department of Financial Services played one of the extras in the scene.[22]

text: Release[edit]

text: On September 22, 2015, Paramount set the film for a limited release on December 11, 2015 and a wide release on December 23, 2015.[23][24]

text: The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 15, 2016.

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: The Big Short grossed $70.3 million in the United States and Canada and $63.2 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $133.4 million, against a production budget of $50 million.[3]

text: The film was released in eight theaters in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Chicago on December 11, 2015 and earned $705,527 (an average of $88,191 per theater). It set the record for the best ever per-screen gross for a film opening in eight locations, breaking the previous record held by Memoirs of a Geisha ($85,313 per theater),[25] and was the third biggest theater average of 2015 behind the four screen debuts of Steve Jobs ($130,000) and The Revenant ($118,640).[26]

text: The film had its wide release on Wednesday December 23, 2015 and grossed $2.3 million on its first day. In its opening weekend it grossed $10.5 million, finishing 6th at the box office.[27]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 281 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Big Short approaches a serious, complicated subject with an impressive attention to detail – and manages to deliver a well-acted, scathingly funny indictment of its real-life villains in the bargain."[28] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 81 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[29] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.[27]

text: IGN gave the film a score of 8.6/10, praising its "energetic direction" and making "a complicated tale palpable for the layperson even as it triggers outrage at the fatcats who helped cause it".[30] The New York Times's "UpShot" series stated The Big Short offered the "strongest film explanation of the global financial crisis".[31]

text: Accolades[edit]


document_title: June Stahl

question_text: when does agent stahl die in sons of anarchy

text: June Stahl

text: Season one[edit]

text: June Stahl arrives in Charming in episode 6, "AK-51", and is assigned to a case involving the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club and their involvement in inter-state arms trafficking. She had been called in by David Hale, the local police department's Deputy Chief, as he had been struggling to rid the town of the gang due to his superior, Wayne Unser's, corruptness. She soon becomes involved in an affair with David Hale. Jax Teller, SAMCRO's Vice President, witnessed them in a sexual encounter at the police station while breaking Cherry out of lockup. Agent Stahl became even more obsessed with crushing SAMCRO after being severely beaten by Big Otto Delaney, who hit her head into a table as a way to show the club that he did not succumb to her pressure. He also detested her for arresting his wife Luann as a way to force him to become an informant. Her subsequent attempts to recruit Opie Winston caused her to trick Clay Morrow, SAMCRO's President, into believing that Opie had betrayed the Club and the others with whom he murdered Hefferen, a port commissioner. Clay responded by ordering Tig Trager to kill Opie and pin it on the One-Niners street gang. Opie's wife, who was driving his truck, was mistakenly killed instead. This incident caused a rift between Stahl and Deputy Chief Hale, who icily told her at the crime scene, "This blood's on you." She continued in her attempts to bring down SAMCRO until the very end, keeping another member, Bobby Munson, in jail three weeks after the case was dropped and he was a free man. When Bobby asked her why she did that, even though it caused so much sorrow and did not accomplish anything, she says it gave her peace of mind.

text: In a deleted scene on the Season 1 DVD, she is shown waking up with a naked woman in her bed and telling her she has to go, thus revealing she is bisexual. This is the end of the episode.

text: Season two[edit]

text: Agent Stahl returned again later in Season Two to investigate the L.O.A.N. and the True IRA. She visits Clay in jail in attempt to get him to turn on the IRA. Although she fails at that, their conversation ultimately provokes a physical confrontation between Jax and Clay. She also visits Jax Teller as well in an attempt to exploit the schism between SAMCRO and the IRA and ends up revealing the IRA's betrayal of SAMCRO to L.O.A.N. Jax declines the offer and instills dread upon Stahl with the revelation of her colleague Josh Kohn's murder.

text: Stahl was able to prey on Chibs Telford's desire to reunite with his family and the two worked out a deal where if Chibs delivered the True IRA to the ATF, she would rescue his estranged wife and daughter and would grant complete immunity for any crimes to SAMCRO. However, Stahl decided to change the deal (no immunity for SAMCRO) but couldn't convince Chibs to go along with it. She threatened him by saying that she herself would tell the IRA about Chibs' betrayal, but she was still unable to break him.

text: When Opie found out that his wife, Donna's, death was a result of Stahl making Opie appear to be a snitch, he found her and threatened her at gunpoint. However, he showed mercy and let her live. He took out the empty magazine to his gun and gave it to Stahl. After Opie left, Stahl broke down and started crying.

text: In the season two finale, Stahl discovers that Ethan Zobelle is an F.B.I. informant and passes the information to Chief Unser, who in turn passes it onto SAMCRO. She continued her sting operation with Edmond Hayes and was able to arrange a meeting between him and his father, Cameron. Cameron secretly told Edmond to kill Stahl, so Edmond convinced Stahl that another meeting would take place and she arranged for only herself to be present.  At his home, Edmond retrieved a gun but couldn't bring himself to kill Stahl.  Stahl revealed that the ATF knew all along about Cameron's plan and that Edmond's gun was loaded with blanks.  Feeling like a fool, Edmond punched Stahl and attempted to escape, but Stahl was able to fire several shots from her sidearm and accidentally killed Edmond.  Soon after, Polly Zobelle showed up to say goodbye to Edmond, but instead found his dead body. Before finding Stahl, Gemma Teller  appeared in the house, looking to exact revenge on Polly.  Gemma killed Polly in self-defense and then discovered Edmond's body and Stahl.  After telling Gemma to flee, Stahl tricked Gemma into handling her gun, making it appear that Gemma killed both Polly and Edmond.

text: After Gemma escaped, Stahl announced over her radio that Gemma had murdered Polly Zobelle and then took Stahl's sidearm to kill Edmond Hayes. However, Edmond's father had been eavesdropping on Stahl's broadcast and ends up killing SAMCRO member Half-Sack and kidnapping Jax's infant son in retaliation.

text: Season three[edit]

text: At the start of season three, Stahl showed no remorse for the fact that her actions led to the death of Half-Sack and the kidnapping of baby Abel. She was demoted off of the IRA case by the ATF after the events at the end of season 2 but was looking for ways to return to the case.  She interrogated Tara regarding the kidnapping and was agitated even though Tara was being truthful in an effort to get law enforcement to assist in the search for Abel. Clay told Stahl that if anything happened to Abel because of her, he will personally kill her, which terrified Stahl inside.

text: Gemma Teller made a personal deal with Stahl to surrender to the federal authorities, but her heart condition flares, causing her to pass out in the drive way of the SAMCRO clubhouse before she can turn herself in.  At the hospital, Stahl informed Gemma that the US Attorney will take away the deal because she didn't turn herself in even though she was incapacitated.  Jax took a risky move and secretly made an off-the-record deal with Stahl to give her the True IRA in exchange for Stahl pushing back their upcoming bail hearing, reduced time on their gun charges, and Stahl recanting her statement against Gemma.

text: Stahl proved to be trustworthy in her deal with Jax when she is able to push back SAMCRO's bail hearing by 10 days so that the bikers can go to Belfast to get Abel back.  She supplied a rigged testimony for Gemma to relay to the U.S. Attorney's office, incriminating Agent Tyler in the process. She has been trustworthy because she knows that Jax's knowledge of the California gun-running operation can save her dying career and unlike the rest of her deals she had a lot to lose by breaking.

text: It is reinforced in season three that Agent Stahl is bisexual as she is shown to be having an intimate relationship with Agent Tyler, the one she incriminated in the statement she gave to Gemma. During an assignment, Stahl shoots Agent Tyler in the throat and sets it up as a drive-by from a Mexican gang. In her statement, she admits their intimate relationship and claims that Agent Tyler had confessed to framing Gemma for the murder of Edmond, thereby exonerating Gemma and holding up her end of the deal. When Gemma finds out about the deal, she threatens to revoke her statement and tell the authorities who really wrote it. Stahl replies that she is already too late, as she has already been exonerated.

text: In the finale of Season 3, she exposes Jax's deal to the club thinking they would kill him. Her motivation for doing so seems to have been malicious. However, Jax was aware that she could not be trusted and had already informed the other members of the club. This led ultimately to Opie, with the help of Unser, targeting Agent Stahl in retribution for her role in the death of his wife, Donna. During this confrontation Stahl breaks down crying and begs Opie for her life, to which Opie responds, "This is what she felt." He then shoots Stahl in the back of the head with a MAC-10, instantly killing her. After this, Chibs Telford rigs the scene to look as if the real IRA murdered Stahl and Jimmy O'Phelan.


document_title: Foghorn Leghorn

question_text: what was the rooster's name on looney tunes

question_tokens: what was the rooster 's name on looney tunes

text: Foghorn Leghorn

text: Inspiration[edit]

text: The character of Foghorn Leghorn was directly inspired by the popular character of Senator Claghorn, a blustery Southern politician played by Kenny Delmar who was a regular character on The Fred Allen Show, a popular radio show of the 1940s. The rooster adopted many of Claghorn's catch phrases, such as "That's a joke, ah say, that's a joke, son." Delmar had based the character of Claghorn upon a Texas rancher who was fond of saying this.[2]

text: A leghorn is a breed of chicken, and foghorn describes the character's loud, overbearing voice.

text: According to Leonard Maltin the character's voice was also patterned after a hard-of-hearing West Coast-only radio character from the 1930s, known simply as The Sheriff, on a radio program called Blue Monday Jamboree.[3] The voice has similarities to that of another Mel Blanc voice: Yosemite Sam (a strictly Friz Freleng character); and even more similar to a proto-Sam character in Stage Door Cartoon.

text: Biography[edit]

text: Foghorn Leghorn is depicted as a large, anthropomorphic white adult Leghorn rooster with a stereotypically Southern accent, a "good ol' boy" speaking style, and a penchant for mischief. In addition to being a reference to the Senator Claghorn character, the first half of his name is a joke about him being loud and obnoxious, while the second half refers to a breed of chicken, a leghorn. He first appeared in 1946 in a Henery Hawk film titled Walky Talky Hawky. All of the motion picture Foghorn Leghorn cartoons were directed by Robert McKimson, and the rooster ties with the Tasmanian Devil as the most popular character associated with the director.

text: Many of the gags involved Foghorn and a canine nemesis (formally known as The Barnyard Dawg within Warner today, though on early model sheets his name is given as George P. Dog) engaging in one-upmanship through a series of pranks. Unlike other Looney Tunes rivalries—with the notable exception of the Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner series—Foghorn is often the initial aggressor out of self-amusement and subsequently on the 'losing' end of gags (although the dog sometimes initiates). However it ends, the formula for how it begins is usually the same. Foghorn, humming "Camptown Races" to himself and carrying a wooden fencepost, sneaks up on Dawg while he is sleeping. Foghorn then pulls the Dawg up by his hindquarters and uses the fencepost to give him a thorough spanking. Dawg, now angry, chases after Foghorn barking angrily but can only go as far as the rope he is tied to can stretch. Thus, when the rope becomes taut and he cannot move, he is either yanked back or stopped. In the latter case, he keeps barking at Foghorn who tells him, "Ah, shaddap!" and does something to Dawg to force him to stop. This gag was passed down to the Leghorns' grandson in Feather Bluster, where Foghorn was puzzled as to why the kid was behaving that way and the Dog was all too happy to remind him: "Ain't nothin' wrong with 'im, Foggy, 'cept that he takes after you."

text: Foghorn was joined in a few episodes by a weasel called 'Bill' who initially attempted to eat him but ended up joining forces to outwit the aforementioned canine.

text: Other recurring themes throughout the cartoons included the attempts of the diminutive Henery Hawk to catch and eat Foghorn, and the rooster's efforts to woo the widowed hen Miss Prissy, often by babysitting her bookish son, Egghead, Jr..

text: Foghorn's voice was created by Mel Blanc and was later performed by Jeff Bergman, Joe Alaskey, Bill Farmer, Greg Burson, Jeff Bennett, and Frank Gorshin.

text: Cartoon appearances[edit]

text:
Shorts (1946–63)
All of the 28 shorts from 1946–1963 were directed by Robert McKimson.

text:
Walky Talky Hawky (1946)
Crowing Pains (1947)
The Foghorn Leghorn (1948)
Henhouse Henery (1949)
The Leghorn Blows at Midnight (1950)
A Fractured Leghorn (1950)
Leghorn Swoggled (1951)
Lovelorn Leghorn (1951)
Sock-a-Doodle-Do (1952)
The Egg-Cited Rooster (1952)
Plop Goes the Weasel (1953)
Of Rice and Hen (1953)
Little Boy Boo (1954)
Feather Dusted (1955)
All Fowled Up (1955)
Weasel Stop (1956)
The High and the Flighty (1956)
Raw! Raw! Rooster! (1956)
Fox Terror (1957)
Feather Bluster (1958)
Weasel While You Work (1958)
A Broken Leghorn (1959)
Crockett-Doodle-Do (1960)
The Dixie Fryer (1960)
Strangled Eggs (1961)
The Slick Chick (1962)
Mother Was a Rooster (1962)
Banty Raids (1963)

tag: ol

text: Miscellaneous

text:
False Hare (cameo appearance, starring Bugs Bunny) (1964)
Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol (1979)
The Yolk's on You (1980)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) (cameo appearance)
Superior Duck (cameo appearance) (1996), voiced by Frank Gorshin
Space Jam (1996) voiced by Bill Farmer
Pullet Surprise (1997) voiced by Frank Gorshin
Tweety's High-Flying Adventure (2000) voiced by Jeff Bennett
Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) voiced by Jeff Bennett
Cock-A-Doodle Duel (2004) voiced by Jeff Bennett
GEICO commercial (2011) voiced by Jeff Bennett

text: Later appearances[edit]

text:
Foghorn made a cameo appearance in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), in the final scene at Marvin Acme's factory with several other Looney Tunes characters.
Foghorn Leghorn made numerous appearances in Tiny Toon Adventures in numerous roles as Acme Looniversity's Professor of Hound Teasing, Baseball Coach and an obnoxiously loud Librarian, and also a mentor of Fowlmouth.
Foghorn Leghorn appeared in Animaniacs on "The Warner's 65th Anniversary Special".
Foghorn Leghorn appeared in two Chuck Jones shorts of the 1990s, Superior Duck (1996) and Pullet Surprise (1997), voiced on both occasions by Frank Gorshin.
A character named Mr. Leghorn, based on Foghorn himself, made a pair of appearances in Loonatics Unleashed.
Foghorn Leghorn is part of the Toon Squad team in Space Jam.
A toddler version of Foghorn made appearances in short music videos of Baby Looney Tunes. He starred in only one episode of the show, in which he was trying to fit in with a gang of cool roosters and employed the help of Tweety and his friends before Lola Bunny suggested to just be himself, which came in handy when Barnyard Dog chased the cool roosters.
Foghorn Leghorn is a croupier at Sam's casino in Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
Foghorn appeared in commercials for Kentucky Fried Chicken, Oscar Mayer, and most recently, GEICO insurance.
Foghorn Leghorn appears in The Looney Tunes Show voiced by Jeff Bergman and his singing voice is provided by Damon Jones. In the series, he is represented as a billionaire and is one of a few characters to not be annoyed by Daffy Duck's antics.
Foghorn Leghorn was a general in Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run voiced by Jeff Bergman. He is shown as a four-star U.S. general who is served by his intern Pete Puma, his spy Cecil Turtle, and his agent Elmer Fudd.
Foghorn made a cameo appearance in the Wabbit episodes "Bugs vs. Snail", "Pork in the Road", "Squeaks Upon a Star" and "'Tis the Seasoning" voiced by Jeff Bergman.

text: Voice actors[edit]

text:
Mel Blanc (1946–1983; 1989 (Bugs Bunny's Wild World of Sports))
Joe Alaskey (KFC commercials in the 1980s. This makes Foghorn Leghorn one of only three characters (along with Woody Woodpecker and Yosemite Sam) whose voices were created by Blanc to have been voiced by someone else during his lifetime. Alaskey would reprise the role in Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas)
Jeff Bergman (Tiny Toon Adventures, The Plucky Duck Show, The 1st 13th Annual Fancy Anvil Awards Program Special...Live!...In Stereo!, The Looney Tunes Show, Scooby Doo and Looney Tunes: Cartoon Universe, Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run, Wabbit, video games)
Greg Burson (Tiny Toon Adventures, Taz-Mania, Animaniacs, Carrotblanca, Looney Tunes: Reality Check, Looney Tunes: Stranger Than Fiction)
Bill Farmer (Space Jam, Looney Tunes Racing, Looney Tunes: Space Race, Looney Tunes: Cartoon Conductor)
Frank Gorshin (Superior Duck, Pullet Surprise)
Billy West (The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries)
Jeff Bennett (Tweety's High-Flying Adventure, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Looney Tunes: Back in Action: The Video Game, Cock-A-Doodle-Duel, commercials)
Scott McNeil (Baby Looney Tunes)
Maurice LaMarche (Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal)
Damon Jones (Singing voice in The Looney Tunes Show)
Scott Innes (Boomerang bumpers)

text: In other media[edit]

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1980s – Appeared in several Oscar Mayer hot dog commercials. One features an animated Foghorn Leghorn, with an animated hot dog on a bun, on a live-action beach, asking a child what he likes on his roasted Oscar Mayer hot dog. Asked whether he likes it with lots of ketchup or corn relish ("A dog's best friend" according to Foghorn), the kid says he likes his hot dog "with friends", and is now sitting next to a girl, who is also eating an Oscar Mayer hot dog without a bun. Foghorn Leghorn remarks, "I'm starting to feel a little roasted myself". Another one features Foghorn Leghorn instructing a live-action child on the correct way to put fixings on a hot dog, including corn relish. The kid starts eating his own hot dog before Foghorn finishes demonstrating on another hot dog. It ends with Foghorn saying, "I say, you can't teach an old dog new tricks."
In 1980s–1990s Kentucky Fried Chicken commercials,[4] Foghorn is voiced by Joe Alaskey. The film Space Jam contains a reference to this ad campaign; when Foghorn is torched by a Monstar during the ToonSquad/Monstars basketball game, Foghorn says, "Did you order Original Recipe or Extra Crispy?"
Much like Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn had appeared in a GEICO commercial in 2011 (voiced by Jeff Bennett). Here, he is providing narration for an e-book, but motor-mouths as well as ad-libbing constantly and ends up getting clubbed by Henery Hawk off-screen.
A similar chicken character to his appears in Eminem's music video for the song "Role Model," where he is beaten up by a cartoon version of Eminem.
In an episode of Home Improvement, Tim says that "Samuel Foghorn Leghorn", was a famous American. His older brother, Jeff, states that Foghorn Leghorn was "one smart chicken".
Foghorn Leghorn (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) made an appearance in an episode of Family Guy when he approached Colonel Sanders and explained that he was walking by and noticed the aroma of "eleven herbs and spices". Sanders decapitates Foghorn and the body is running around. The disembodied head says, "Look at that boy! Looks like a chicken with his head...wait a minute", and pauses when he realizes it was himself.
He appeared in the video games Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal, The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2, Bugs Bunny: Crazy Castle 3, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Looney Tunes: Space Race, and The Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout.
In a 2003 episode of The King of Queens, Doug Heffernan (Kevin James) pranks the IPS accounting department by signing "Foghorn Leghorn" on his paycheck, but Supervisor O'Boyle (Sam McMurray) sees through the ruse and threatens Doug with his thermos and confirms the prank over the phone.