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Final War

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112-549: Final War or Final Wars may refer to: Fiction [ edit ] Final War, a term used in Honorverse , a military science-fiction book series by David Weber The Final War , a 1959 Japanese science fiction film made by Toei (released in U.S. in 1962) Final War , a 1968 novelette by Barry N. Malzberg "Final Wars", a song by Buckethead from his 2006 studio album The Elephant Man's Alarm Clock Godzilla: Final Wars ,

224-626: A 2004 Japanese science-fiction kaiju film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura History [ edit ] War of Actium , the final war of the Roman Republic Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 , the last war between the Byzantine Empire and Persia World War I , The War to End All Wars , or the Great War Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

336-436: A CD with copies of most of Weber's published books at the time, labeled for free redistribution. The Honor Harrington series has been produced several times in audiobook format, at first in cassette (90 min) format by Library of Congress , narrated by Madelyn Buzzard (books 1–10), later by Audible Frontiers beginning in 2009, narrated by Allyson Johnson. The Honorverse is a tightly plotted, highly organized invention that

448-408: A Spanish warship disguised as a merchant ship almost captured him. He escaped by flying a Danish flag and fending off a boarding by claiming that his ship was plague -ridden. On another occasion, he was being chased by an enemy frigate and knew that it would follow him in the night by any glimmer of light from Speedy , so he placed a lantern on a barrel and let it float away. The enemy frigate followed

560-712: A band, and because their better protections enables them to enter higher hyperbands with higher local particle counts, but higher speed multipliers. The interaction of gravity effects also manifest in much rarer, generally widely scattered wormholes , through which hyperdrive equipped ships can travel virtually instantaneously between the wormhole's end points. In some systems, several of these wormholes are found to be co-located forming an irresistible trading nexus, perhaps because their ends have some mathematical affinity: they occur with entrances relatively close together in very small spatial volumes. The greatest known aggregation of these co-located "Junctions" or Terminus Loci occurs in

672-585: A beautiful orphan who was about twenty years his junior. They met through Cochrane's cousin Nathaniel Day Cochrane . This was an elopement and a civil ceremony, due to the opposition of his wealthy uncle Basil Cochrane , who disinherited his nephew as a result. Cochrane called Katherine "Kate," "Kitty," or "Mouse" in letters to her; she often accompanied her husband on his extended campaigns in South America and Greece. Cochrane and Katherine remarried in

784-558: A commercial venture that would supply Halifax with lamp oil and mine bitumen deposits in Trinidad and Albert Country, New Brunswick . By 1850, Cochrane had purchased all the land surrounding Trinidad's pitch lake in support of the endeavour. Ultimately, the enterprise did not come into fruition, and Cochrane returned to England after his term of service expired in April 1851. In 1812, Cochrane married Katherine ("Katy") Frances Corbet Barnes,

896-681: A commission in the British Army at an early age, but Cochrane preferred the Navy. He joined it in 1793 upon the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars around the time his family lost their wealth and lands. On 23 July 1793, aged 17, Cochrane joined the navy as a midshipman, spending his first months at Sheerness in the 28-gun sixth-rate frigate HMS  Hind commanded by his uncle Captain Alexander Cochrane . He transferred to

1008-462: A court-martial . Cochrane claimed that, as a result of expressing his opinion publicly, the admiralty denied him the opportunity to serve afloat. However, surviving documents show that he was focused on politics at this time and, indeed, refused a number of offers of command. In June 1806, Lord Cochrane stood for the House of Commons on a ticket of parliamentary reform (a movement which later brought about

1120-453: A fan of the Honorverse who wouldn't want this book". In 2006, an Honor Harrington movie was announced by Echo Valley Entertainment. However, later information suggested that it would actually be a television series, to be written and produced by Peter Sands. When David Weber was asked which actress he envisioned as Honor Harrington, he replied, "I don't think there's anyone out there who has

1232-434: A feared 'super weapon'. In the anthologies, Eric Flint and Weber wrote stories that birthed the first sub-series, resulting in the novels Crown of Slaves and Torch of Freedom . The sub-series introduced some far-more dangerous adversaries, the interstellar corporations of Mesa: Manpower Unlimited, Jessyk Combine, and others. This group was then revealed to be part of the even more dangerous and hidden secret adversaries of

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1344-697: A haystack". Despite this, he intercepted and boarded the American merchant ship Chatham . This created an international incident, for Britain was not at war with the United States. Arab and her commander were assigned to protect Britain's important whaling fleet beyond Orkney in the North Sea . In 1804, Lord St Vincent stood aside for the incoming new government led by William Pitt the Younger , and The 1st Viscount Melville took office. In December of that year, Cochrane

1456-828: A local speed limited by particle densities that, at high relative speeds, become cosmic radiation . Better physical shielding or a better particle shield generator enables faster speeds within the band, on which base speed, multiplied by that band's multiplier, results in shorter journey times. Merchant ships have immense size and thin walls with virtually no physical shielding, as well as cheaper, relatively weak particle shield generators and hyper generators. Commercial carriers, like sailing ships and freight trains of Old Earth, trade off journey time by increased size and volume carried, so as to keep shipping costs economical. Military vessels, having no profit motive and already physically shielded, also carry better particle shield generators and can attain much faster interstellar voyage times both within

1568-562: A long enmity with Admiral of the Fleet The 1st Earl of St Vincent . In February 1800, Cochrane commanded the prize crew taking the captured French vessel Généreux to the British base at Mahón . The ship was almost lost in a storm, with Cochrane and his brother Archibald going aloft in place of crew who were mostly ill. Cochrane was promoted to commander and took command of the brig sloop HMS  Speedy on 28 March 1800. Later that year,

1680-627: A man in a red staff officer 's uniform identified as Colonel de Bourg, aide-de-camp to Lord Cathcart , the British ambassador to Russia. He arrived in Dover from France on 21 February bearing news that Napoleon had been captured and killed by Cossacks . Share prices rose sharply on the Stock Exchange in reaction to the news and the possibility of peace, particularly in volatile partly-paid government securities called Omniums, which increased from 26 + 1 ⁄ 2 to 32. However, it soon became clear that

1792-519: A massive sense of inferiority around with him. Honor never did." Weber also feels that in the later books in the series, she has more in common with Admiral Horatio Nelson than Hornblower. Weber revealed in the foreword to Storm from the Shadows that it had originally been his intent to kill her off in the Battle of Manticore , thus further echoing Nelson's death (in his greatest battle, Trafalgar ) and have

1904-413: A month before – and was named as one of the six conspirators, as were his uncle Andrew Cochrane-Johnstone and his stockbroker, Richard Butt. Within days, an anonymous informant told the committee that Colonel de Bourg was an imposter: he was a Prussian aristocrat named Charles Random de Berenger. He had also been seen entering Cochrane's house on the day of the hoax. The accused were brought to trial in

2016-400: A more-efficient speed multiplier but requiring more powerful (therefore bulkier and more expensive) engines to reach; the higher bands significantly shortening transit times on a given gravity wave for a given base speed, which is limited by particle densities and radiation shielding as Newtonian speeds increase. Analogous to prevailing trade winds creating certain favoured sea routes on Earth,

2128-479: A payment of £40,000 from the British government (equivalent to £4,800,000 in 2023), based on the recommendations of a Parliamentary select committee, in compensation for Cochrane's conviction. The committee had concluded that his conviction was unjust. Lord Cochrane left the UK in official disgrace, but that did not end his naval career. In 1817, Lord Cochrane placed a notice in one of the leading London newspapers that he

2240-495: A signal station, leaving behind the originals so that the French would believe them uncompromised. When Imperieuse ran short of water, she sailed up the estuary of the Rhone to replenish. A French army marched into Catalonia and besieged Rosas , and Cochrane took part in the defence of the town. He occupied and defended Fort Trinidad ( Castell de la Trinitat ) for a number of weeks before

2352-463: A sneak attack on Manticore in 1922 PD during the twelfth mainline novel, Mission of Honor . The Mesans have a 600-year-old secret program to reinstitute purposeful genetic engineering of humans and break up the Solarian League, while taking down all opponents opposing such genetic engineering. This makes the staunchly anti-genetic-slavery star nations of Haven, Manticore, and various associates of

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2464-553: A spy-and-counterspy spin-off sub-series the two contractually agreed to co-write, just as they have contracts to write in Flint's 1632 universe . This "rethink" and redesign caused Weber to move the series' internal chronology up by about 20 years and begat the Crown of Slaves novel, first in the "Crown of Slaves" sub-series based on a number of the short stories of the first four collections. In this scenario, proxies for Manticore and Haven oppose

2576-456: A squadron to assist the Brazilian army under General Francisco Lima e Silva in suppressing a republican rebellion in the state of Pernambuco which had begun to spread to Maranhão and other northern states. The rebellion was rapidly extinguished. Cochrane proceeded to Maranhão, where he took over the administration. He demanded the payment of prize money which he claimed he was owed as a result of

2688-624: A television series and a feature film. Evergreen Studios shut down in 2015, which led to the cancelation of most of their projects, including the mobile game, which is no longer available. Also, in 2014, a five-issue comic book miniseries Tales of Honor: On Basilisk Station from Top Cow Productions begun on March 5, 2014, concluding later that year. In 2015, Top Cow also released Tales of Honor: Bred to Kill . Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald GCB (14 December 1775 – 31 October 1860), styled Lord Cochrane between 1778 and 1831,

2800-547: A time of extreme interstellar change and tension. Most of the more than 20 novels and anthology collections cover events between 4000 and 4022 AD with "PD" (Post- Diaspora ) dating beginning with a dispersal to the stars from our sun ("Sol") in 2103 AD. The main series novels are set primarily in a timeline beginning 40 years after Harrington's birth on October 1, 3962 AD (1859 PD), and some short stories flesh out her earlier career. Additional novels and shorter fiction take place up to 350 years earlier, and still-earlier canon history

2912-507: A unified South American state. This could not have been true because Charles, the supposed envoy bearing the rumoured plans, had been killed two months before his reported "departure to Europe". Cochrane left the service of the Chilean Navy on 29 November 1822. The Chilean Navy has named five ships Cochrane or Almirante Cochrane (Admiral Cochrane) in his honour: Brazil was fighting its own war of independence against Portugal. In 1822,

3024-505: A universe of escalating tensions and military incidents until war breaks out in the third novel and lasts until the formal peace in A Rising Thunder , the thirteenth mainline novel. Each star nation suffers horrendous losses at the end of the eleventh novel, At All Costs , during the Battle of Manticore, when Haven makes an all-out bid to conquer the Star Kingdom before general deployment of

3136-477: A variety of rescue missions and initiated a thousand-year effort to clean up the Earth gene pool. For a time, the cultural centre moved off the Earth as it took about 500 years for the planetary economy to recover its pre-eminence within its shell of highly populated, highly developed planets. Located in the center of the spherical Solarian League, Earth's Old Chicago eventually re-emerged as the nominal League Capital. By

3248-479: A vast (and mythical) Brazilian fleet and army were over the horizon. He sent subordinate Captain John Pascoe Grenfell to Belém do Pará to use the same bluff and extract a Portuguese surrender. As a result of Cochrane's efforts, Brazil became totally de facto independent and free of any Portuguese troops. On Cochrane's return to Rio de Janeiro in 1824, Emperor Pedro I rewarded the officer by granting him

3360-478: A violent end by developments stemming from the Havenite/Manticoran Wars, which give both Haven and Manticore a substantial technological advantage over the Solarian League by the time of the most recently published books of the series. David Weber didn't set out to create a female protagonist; "it was the way the character came to me," Weber explains. "I didn't set out to do it because I thought that it

3472-475: Is a military science fiction book series , its two subseries , two prequel series, and anthologies created by David Weber and published by Baen Books . They are centered on the space navy career of the principal protagonist Honor Harrington . The books have made The New York Times Best Seller list . The series began with On Basilisk Station in 1992. The series follows Honor Harrington, military heroine and later, influential politician, during

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3584-544: Is centered on the small Manticoran Navy of that time. This series precedes the main Honor Harrington series. A Call to Insurrection won the 2022 Dragon Awards in the Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel category. This series only has one published novel as of 2024, but based on publisher Simon and Schuster's marketing, is likely to contain standalone stories featuring minor characters from

3696-555: Is filled in between narratives and in appendices attached to the main novels and anthologies. The political makeup and history of the series frequently echoes actual history, particularly that of Europe in the last half of the second millennium. The series is consciously modeled on the Horatio Hornblower series by C. S. Forester , and its main character, like Horatio Hornblower, on a mix of Thomas Cochrane and Admiral Lord Nelson . Weber originally planned for Harrington to die in

3808-407: Is geographically distinct, but synchronized in his timeline: events in one quadrant will affect life and events in the related narratives centred on other main characters. Short fiction in the series serves as deep backstory or, like the short stories centred directly on Honor Harrington, exposes episodes of her earlier career in much the same way C. S. Forester revealed the not-yet-in-command life of

3920-434: Is to have someone who is six feet two inches tall." Weber's concern is that the director would push Christian to re-create Ivanova's character while playing Honor and "Ivanova's command style is totally different from Honor's." An Honor Harrington wargame, Saganami Island Tactical Simulator ( SITS ), was released at Gen Con in 2005 by Ad Astra Games . An Honor Harrington video game called Honorverse: The Online Game

4032-655: The Anglican Church in 1818, and in the Church of Scotland in 1825. They had six children: The confusion of multiple ceremonies led to suspicions that Cochrane's first son Thomas Barnes Cochrane was illegitimate . Investigation of this delayed Thomas's accession to the Earldom of Dundonald on his father's death. In 1823 Lady Cochrane sailed with her children to Valparaiso on Sesostris to join her husband. Sesostris stopped at Rio de Janeiro on 13 June, where she discovered that he

4144-463: The Court of King's Bench , Guildhall on 8 June 1814. The trial was presided over by Lord Ellenborough , a High Tory and a notable enemy of the radicals, who had previously convicted and sentenced to prison radical politicians William Cobbett and Henry Hunt in politically motivated trials. The evidence against Cochrane was circumstantial and hinged on the nature of his share dealings, his contacts with

4256-557: The Mediterranean . During his service on Barfleur , Cochrane was court-martialled for showing disrespect to Philip Beaver , the ship's first lieutenant . The board reprimanded him for flippancy. This was the first public manifestation of a pattern of Cochrane being unable to get along with many of his superiors, subordinates, employers, and colleagues in several navies and Parliament, even those with whom he had much in common and who should have been natural allies. His behaviour led to

4368-643: The Peace of Amiens , Cochrane attended the University of Edinburgh . Upon the resumption of war in 1803, St Vincent assigned him in October 1803 to command the sixth-rate 22-gun HMS  Arab . Cochrane alleged that the vessel handled poorly, colliding with Royal Navy ships on two occasions ( Bloodhound and Abundance ). In his autobiography, he compared Arab to a collier . He wrote that his first thoughts on seeing Arab being repaired at Plymouth were that she would "sail like

4480-681: The Reform Acts ) for the potwalloper borough of Honiton in Devon . This was exactly the kind of borough that Cochrane proposed to abolish; votes were mostly sold to the highest bidder. Cochrane offered nothing and lost the election. In October 1806, he ran for Parliament in Honiton and won. Cochrane initially denied that he paid any bribes, but he revealed in a Parliamentary debate ten years later that he had paid ten guineas (£10 10s) per voter through Mr. Townshend, local headman and banker. In May 1807, Cochrane

4592-499: The Shadow of Saganami ' s star cast and some of the characters of the CoS derive directly from the mainline novels. Both contain purposely invented new protagonist characters as well. Weber deliberately has synchronized events in the mainline series with the tellings of local knowledge and vice versa in both sub-series. In other words, the broad front on which he is now telling the overall story

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4704-462: The fifth book . This was later changed to parallel Nelson by having her die at the peak of her career in the climactic Battle of Manticore in 1921 PD (4024 AD), then continue the series with her children as the main protagonists. However, collaborating author Eric Flint intervened, asking for the invention of a mutual enemy for both the Star Kingdom of Manticore and the Republic of Haven to oppose in

4816-450: The human genome for survival positive adaptations to marginal environments, such as heavy gravity, thin atmosphere, thick atmospheres, or toxic environments (e.g. Grayson). Some corporate entities also began breeding for super soldiers and superior intellects, good looks, sexual prowess, etc., or mixes of such traits, practices that led to a horrific "Final War" on Old Earth. Long-established and advanced daughter colonies like Beowulf mounted

4928-586: The 38-gun fifth-rate HMS  Thetis , also under his uncle's command. While aboard Thetis , he visited Norway and next served on the North America Station . In 1795, he was appointed acting lieutenant. The following year on 27 May 1796, he was commissioned lieutenant after passing the examination. After several transfers in North America and a return home in 1798, he was assigned as 8th Lieutenant on Lord Keith 's flagship HMS  Barfleur in

5040-605: The Greek rebellion. He took an active role in the campaign between March 1827 and December 1828, but met with limited success. His subordinate Captain Hastings attacked Ottoman forces at the Gulf of Lepanto , which indirectly led to intervention by Great Britain, France, and Russia. They succeeded in destroying the Turko –Egyptian fleet at the Battle of Navarino , and the war was ended under mediation of

5152-532: The Gregorian calendar currently in use, the Honorverse novels are dated beginning with year 2103 A.D.—the epoch date of the Diaspora's beginning. The FTL hyperspace propulsion system in the stories is around 600 years old at the time period in which the novels are placed. This technology uses the ability to "sail" along a vast network of "gravity waves" on different successively higher hyperbands, each higher band giving

5264-511: The Manticore binary star system , whose wormholes connect the wormhole junction to six (later seven) other star systems, giving the Manticore system an astrographic position to be coveted, and an immense revenue stream from transit tolls, manufacturing and trade, and a large carrying trade. In the stories, no means of faster-than-light interstellar communications exists. Messages between star systems must be physically carried by starships. Even using

5376-473: The Sol system, first in slower-than-light starships, then by increasingly efficient and effective hyperspace drive-propulsion systems. Early daughter colonies also spawned colonies, forming regional networks of related populations. With travel limited to slower-than-light speeds, any marginally habitable nearby planet was of interest, and Earth's scientists went through a period in which they regularly genetically modified

5488-439: The Solarian League. Protagonist Honor Harrington is a citizen of the Star Kingdom of Manticore which is, during the first 20 or so works of the series, the key rival and the main stellar protagonist against the star-conquering (People's) Republic of Haven; these two nations are consciously based on Imperial Britain and Napoleonic France, although Haven also seems to be influenced by the former Soviet Union. The first books deal with

5600-464: The Spanish xebec frigate El Gamo on 6 May 1801. El Gamo carried 32 guns and 319 men, compared with Speedy ' s 14 guns and 54 men. Cochrane flew an American flag and approached so closely to El Gamo that her guns could not depress to fire on Speedy ' s hull. The Spanish tried to board and take over the ship but, whenever they were about to board, Cochrane pulled away briefly and fired on

5712-654: The Star Empire of Manticore and the Republic of Haven, as it has been manipulated into error after error by the operatives of the Mesan Alignment. Among a handful of anthologies, the thirteen Honor-centered novels, and two subordinate sub-series starring some different characters, the universe first explored in On Basilisk Station has a diasporal historical background for the backstory storyline , in which mankind, over almost two millennia, migrated to systems beyond

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5824-443: The Star Kingdom of Manticore, Haven, Beowulf, and all of those polities' historic allies. Disruptive technological advances have been few in the Honorverse for most of the 500 years leading up to the series; as the series opens, that technological stagnation has led to a similar stagnation in both military strategy and tactics . During the course of the book series, both forms of stagnation (technological and military) are brought to

5936-687: The Talbott Cluster to become the Star Empire. (Also referred to as the Saganami Island series.) This series is concurrent with the main Honor Harrington series. This series features Stephanie Harrington, Honor Harrington's distant ancestor, and the first human to be adopted by a treecat. This series precedes the main Honor Harrington series. This series, which begins eleven years after the first book in The Star Kingdom series, features Travis Uriah Long, an enlisted Navy man and later an officer, and

6048-462: The United States aboard Cochrane's new command HMS  Tonnant . Cochrane's servants agreed, in an affidavit created before the trial, that the collar of the uniform above De Berenger's greatcoat had been green. However, they admitted to Cochrane's solicitors that they thought the rest had been red. They were not called at trial to give evidence. The prosecution summoned as key witness hackney carriage driver William Crane, who swore that De Berenger

6160-667: The coast, and support the campaign for independence. Later, forces under Cochrane's personal command cut out and captured the frigate Esmeralda , the most powerful Spanish ship in South America. All of this led to Peruvian independence, which O'Higgins considered indispensable to Chile's security. Cochrane's victories in the Pacific were spectacular and important. The excitement was almost immediately marred by his accusations that he had been plotted against by subordinates and treated with contempt and denied adequate financial reward by his superiors. The evidence does not support these accusations, and

6272-502: The concentrated boarding parties with his ship's guns. Eventually, Cochrane boarded El Gamo and captured her, despite being outnumbered about six to one. Cochrane then took part in the Raid on Oropesa along with HMS "Kangaroo" on 9 June which saw the destruction of a Spanish convoy under the cover of a large on shore battery. In Speedy ' s 13-month cruise, Cochrane captured, burned, or drove ashore 53 ships before three French ships of

6384-634: The conspirators had fled the country upon hearing the guilty verdict. On 20 June 1814, Cochrane was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment, fined £1,000, and ordered to stand in the pillory opposite the Royal Exchange for one hour. In subsequent weeks, he was dismissed from the Royal Navy by the Admiralty and expelled from Parliament following a motion in the House of Commons which was passed by 144 votes to 44. On

6496-440: The conspirators, and the colour of uniform which De Berenger had been wearing when they met in his house. Cochrane admitted that he was acquainted with De Berenger and that the man had visited his home on the day of the fraud, but insisted that he had arrived wearing a green sharpshooter's uniform rather than the red uniform worn by the person who claimed to be de Bourg. Cochrane said that De Berenger had visited to request passage to

6608-577: The emerging Mesa problem be dealt with by the next generation, specifically her children. When writing At All Costs , he decided instead to keep her alive, and move the Mesan-related events up, to be her problem. Many of Weber's books are available at the Baen Free Library ; chapters of some texts are otherwise available online. The first-edition hardcover releases of War of Honor , At All Costs , Torch of Freedom , and Mission of Honor contained

6720-470: The fall of the city forced him to leave; Cochrane was one of the last two men to quit the fort. While captain of Speedy , Pallas , and Imperieuse , Cochrane became an effective practitioner of coastal warfare during the period. He attacked shore installations such as the Martello tower at Son Bou on Menorca , and he captured enemy ships in harbour by leading his men in boats in "cutting out" operations. He

6832-503: The fastest ships available as couriers, this communications "lag" between worlds has many consequences, greatly increasing the responsibility placed upon starship captains and senior military commanders far from home, complicating the coordination of military campaigns, and allowing a single accident or attack to render a planet incommunicado. The stories include numerous dependent and independent polities and several major star nations including two giant aggregations of many planets, Haven and

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6944-477: The first book. However, since he knew from the beginning that these books would become a series, he deliberately set Honor up as a character who changes and grows. One example Weber offers is that in The Short Victorious War , Honor off-handedly refers to her genetically enhanced metabolism, which isn't fully explored until In Enemy Hands : "It was one of those little things that I knew about or that I

7056-588: The frigate O'Higgins and blockaded and raided the coasts of Peru , as he had those of France and Spain. On his own initiative, he organised and led the capture of Valdivia , despite only having 300 men and two ships to deploy against seven large forts. He failed in his attempt to capture the Chiloé Archipelago for Chile. In 1820, O'Higgins ordered him to convoy the Liberating Expedition of Peru under General José de San Martín to Peru, blockade

7168-595: The government and the writings of popular naval authors such as Frederick Marryat and Maria Graham increased public sympathy for Cochrane's situation. Cochrane's knighthood was restored in May 1847 with the personal intervention of Queen Victoria , and he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath . Only in 1860 was his banner returned to Westminster Abbey; it was the day before his funeral. In 1876, his grandson received

7280-419: The influence of his uncle Alexander Cochrane , he was listed as a member of the crew on the books of four Royal Navy ships starting when he was five years old. This common (though unlawful) practice known as false muster was a means of gaming naval regulations, enabling well-connected officers to attain the years of service required for promotion if and when they joined the Navy. Cochrane's father secured him

7392-464: The light, and Speedy escaped. In February 1801 at Malta , Cochrane got into an argument with a French Royalist officer at a fancy dress ball. He had arrived dressed as a common sailor, and the Royalist mistook him for one. This argument led to Cochrane's only duel . Cochrane wounded the French officer with a pistol shot and was himself unharmed. One of his most notable exploits was the capture of

7504-401: The line under Admiral Charles-Alexandre Linois captured him on 3 July 1801. While Cochrane was held as a prisoner, Linois often asked him for advice. In his autobiography, Cochrane recounted how courteous and polite the French officer had been. A few days later he was exchanged for the second captain of another French ship. On 8 August 1801, he was promoted to the rank of post-captain . After

7616-422: The main Honor Harrington series. The story of agents Anton Zilwicki (Manticore) and Victor Cachat (Haven) and their strange alliance to uncover the dark power that manipulated their two nations into war, and put an end to the true enemy's plans. This series is concurrent with the main Honor Harrington series. The story of Admiral Michelle Henke and several graduates of Saganami Island when the Star Kingdom annexes

7728-480: The mainstem novels. In 2013, Baen published House of Steel: The Honorverse Companion (May 7, 2013). The book is divided into two sections: a new novella written by Weber titled I Will Build My House of Steel and The Honorverse Companion , a collection of information about the Honorverse setting compiled by a fan group. The novella follows Roger Winton, a naval lieutenant who later becomes king. A reviewer for Analog Science Fiction and Fact wrote "I can't imagine

7840-432: The massive and monolithic Solarian League, which foreshadowing in the most recent novels suggests is about to undergo severe disruption. The thirteenth mainline novel, A Rising Thunder , ties together events in both sub-series and synchronizes the timeline of each sub-series with Honor Harrington's mainline novels. This book confirms the Solarian League is officially now the new Mesan cat's paw, effectively at war with both

7952-434: The matter of De Berenger's uniform; he concluded that witnesses had provided damning evidence. The jury retired to deliberate and returned a verdict of guilty against all the defendants two-and-a-half hours later. Belatedly, Cochrane's defence team found several witnesses who were willing to testify that De Berenger had arrived wearing a green uniform, but Lord Ellenborough dismissed their evidence as inadmissible because two of

8064-490: The military: William Erskine Cochrane of the 15th Dragoons , who served under Sir John Moore in the Peninsular War and reached the rank of major; and Archibald Cochrane , who became a captain in the Navy. Lord Cochrane was descended from lines of Scottish aristocracy and military service on both sides of his family. Through his uncle, Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane , the sixth son of The 8th Earl of Dundonald , Cochrane

8176-451: The navy, would have led to numerous deaths amongst the arresting officers and at least partial destruction of Burdett's house, along with much of Piccadilly. On realising what Cochrane planned, Burdett and his allies took steps to end the siege. Cochrane was popular with the public but was unable to get along with his colleagues in the House of Commons or within the government. He usually had little success in promoting his causes. An exception

8288-475: The news of Napoleon's death was a hoax. The Stock Exchange established a sub-committee to investigate, and they discovered that six men had sold substantial amounts of Omnium stock during the boom in value. The committee assumed that all six were responsible for the hoax and subsequent fraud. Cochrane had disposed of his entire £139,000 holding in Omnium (equivalent to £12,280,000 in 2023) – which he had only acquired

8400-496: The non-hereditary title of Marquess of Maranhão ( Marquês do Maranhão ) in the Empire of Brazil . He was also awarded an accompanying coat of arms. As in Chile and earlier occasions, Cochrane's joy at these successes was rapidly replaced by quarrels over pay and prize money, and an accusation that the Brazilian authorities were plotting against him. In mid-1824, Cochrane sailed north with

8512-519: The orders of the Prince Regent , Cochrane was humiliated by the loss of his appointment Knight of the Order of the Bath in a degradation ceremony at Westminster Abbey . His banner was taken down and physically kicked out of the chapel and down the outside steps. But, within a month, Cochrane was re-elected unopposed as the Member of Parliament for Westminster. Following a public outcry, his sentence to

8624-458: The pillory was rescinded for fears that it would lead to the outbreak of a riot. The question of Cochrane's innocence or guilt created much debate at the time, and it has divided historians ever since. Subsequent reviews of the trial carried out by three Lord Chancellors during the course of the 19th century concluded that he ought to have been found not guilty on the basis of the evidence produced in court. Cochrane maintained his innocence for

8736-431: The planet Beowulf primary targets of the Mesan Alignment. The "Crown of Slaves" sub-series books and last two mainline Honorverse novels detail the rising extent of this threat. As the two sub-series progress, albeit with somewhat-separate casts of characters, each is expected by Weber to carry the detailed storyline events particular to their astrographical region forward and tie together into an ongoing plotline concerning

8848-555: The problem appeared to lie in Cochrane's own suspicious and uneasy personality. Cochrane had an uneasy relation with San Martín who was serene and calculating in contrast with Cochrane's tendency for audacious actions. San Martín criticized Cochrane's interest for financial gain giving him the nickname El Metálico Lord (The Metallic Lord). Loose words from his wife Katy resulted in a rumour that Cochrane had made plans to free Napoleon from his exile on Saint Helena and make him ruler of

8960-486: The proper combination of height, physicality, and demonstrated acting ability to be 'perfect' for the role, so my mind is fairly open on this topic." Actress Claudia Christian , who plays Susan Ivanova on Babylon 5 , has been suggested as a potential candidate; Weber says "She's much shorter than Honor, but so are most women, and I think she could handle the physicality... I think it's more important to have someone who can portray Honor's character and command style than it

9072-626: The recapture of the province in 1823. He absconded with public money and sacked merchant ships anchored in São Luís do Maranhão. Defying orders to return to Rio de Janeiro , Cochrane transferred to a captured Brazilian frigate, left Brazil and returned to Britain where he arrived in late June 1825. In August 1825 Cochrane was hired by Greece to support its fight for independence from the Ottoman Empire , which had deployed an army raised in Egypt to suppress

9184-497: The relatively static fixed gravity waves form favoured travel paths. A lack of gravity waves in some regions means that they must be plodded across by relatively slower means. These favorite routes and desert crossing points are susceptible to illegitimate exploitation by pirates and commerce-raiding warships, both interested in preying on the rich pickings of the interstellar merchant cargo ships that carry upwards of 2–7 million metric tonnes of cargo. Within each hyperband, ships have

9296-466: The rest of his life, and campaigned tirelessly to restore his damaged reputation and to clear his name. He believed that the trial was politically motivated and that a "higher authority than the Stock Exchange" was responsible for his prosecution. A series of petitions put forward by Cochrane protesting his innocence were ignored until 1830. That year, King George IV (the former Prince Regent) died and

9408-532: The revolutionary navies of Chile and Brazil during their respective wars of independence during the 1820s. While commanding the Chilean Navy, Cochrane also contributed to Peruvian independence through his participation in the Liberating Expedition of Peru . He was also hired to help the Greek Revolutionary Navy during the Greek War of Independence , but ultimately had little impact. In 1832, Cochrane

9520-467: The same hidden enemy, the genetic slavers and powers behind the government and corporations of the planet of Mesa. Mesa is later revealed in Mission of Honor to be part of a secret cabal of about a dozen highly capable planets that are busily building a secret navy using advanced technologies at a secret planet and known to itself as the Mesan Alignment. The Mesan Alignment's navy has new technology and conducts

9632-647: The seat, and Cochrane also thought that it would look bad for him to be publicly supporting a government from which he sought pardon for his fraud conviction. In 1831, his father died and Cochrane became the 10th Earl of Dundonald . As such, he was no longer entitled to sit in the Commons. While serving as the Commander-in-Chief of the North America and West Indies Station, Cochrane became acquainted with geologist and physicist Abraham Gesner in Halifax . The pair planned

9744-457: The shadowy Mesan Alignment. The Alignment included corrupted leaders of Solarian Core worlds promoting the destruction of the old order. Mesan puppet masters are revealed to be pulling the strings of corrupt Solarian League bureaucrats and admirals in both the sub-series and the main series. Enormously ambitious, the Alignment plans the overthrow of the Solarian League, and the complete destruction of

9856-591: The southern provinces (except Montevideo , now in Uruguay ) came under the control of the patriots led by the Prince Regent, later Emperor Pedro I . Portugal still controlled some important provincial capitals in the north, with major garrisons and naval bases such as Belém do Pará, Salvador da Bahia , and São Luís do Maranhão . Lord Cochrane took command of the Imperial Brazilian Navy on 21 March 1823 and

9968-525: The strategy employed by co-author Eric Flint in his 1632 series , the series has, starting with War of Honor , begun incorporating a broader viewpoint from more than one central character, many of whom, like in the 1632 series, appeared in other series works as supporting characters. Stories in the Worlds of Honor collections directly lead to events and character stars of the Crown of Slaves (CoS) sub-series, whereas

10080-463: The title Final War . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Final_War&oldid=1207574333 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Honorverse The Honorverse

10192-509: The treecat society decided to migrate to the stars. Other short stories expose points of view and life problems from places around the larger universe. Some offer insights to life behind enemy lines in the view of its citizens and their experience, or that of a protagonist in the Verge, or in the Solarian League. Stories and essays by David Weber, along with other writers invited by him to participate. The stories may either precede or be concurrent with

10304-419: The young Horatio Hornblower. Some of the more important of these tales reveal a greater knowledge of Sphinx's native species, letting the reader in on knowledge not known even to the Honorverse occupants. Among these tales are the revealed history of how treecats and humans first bonded, how the treecats protected and bonded with the royal family, and other treecat tales of greater or lesser importance, such as how

10416-509: Was Frederick Marryat , who later wrote fictionalised accounts of his adventures with Cochrane. In Imperieuse , Cochrane raided the Mediterranean coast of France during the continuing Napoleonic Wars. In 1808, Cochrane and a Spanish guerrilla force captured the fortress of Mongat, which straddled the road between Gerona and Barcelona . This delayed General Duhesme 's French army for a month. On another raid, Cochrane copied code books from

10528-706: Was a British naval officer, peer, mercenary and politician. Serving during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in the Royal Navy , his naval successes led Napoleon to nickname him le Loup des Mers (the Sea Wolf). He was successful in virtually all of his naval actions. Cochrane was dismissed from the Royal Navy in 1814 after a controversial conviction for fraud on the London Stock Exchange . Travelling to South America , he helped to organise and lead

10640-553: Was a meticulous planner of every operation, which limited casualties among his men and maximised the chances of success. In 1809, Cochrane commanded the attack by a flotilla of fire ships on Rochefort , as part of the Battle of the Basque Roads . The attack did considerable damage, but Cochrane blamed fleet commander Admiral Gambier for missing the opportunity to destroy the French fleet, accusations that resulted in Gambier undergoing

10752-498: Was announced in August 2008; a beta was scheduled to be released in the Spring of 2010. In 2014 Evergreen Studios announced plans to make a multi-platform adaptation of the Honor Harrington character, under the title Tales of Honor . A mobile game called Tales of Honor: The Secret Fleet was released that year for Android and iOS platforms. Tentative plans at that point also included

10864-636: Was appointed "First Admiral of the National and Imperial Navy" at the flagship Pedro I . He blockaded the Portuguese in Bahia , confronted them at the Battle of 4 May , and forced them to evacuate the province in a vast convoy of ships which Cochrane's men attacked as they crossed the Atlantic. Cochrane sailed to Maranhão (then spelled Maranham) on his own initiative and bluffed the garrison into surrender by claiming that

10976-485: Was appointed to command of the new 32-gun frigate HMS  Pallas . He undertook a series of notable exploits over the following eighteen months one of which was a cruise in the vicinity of the Azores . Here Pallas captured three Spanish merchant ships and a Spanish 14-gun privateer . In August 1806, he took command of the 38-gun frigate HMS  Imperieuse , formerly the Spanish frigate Medea . One of his midshipmen

11088-656: Was available to go and serve the newly becoming independent nations in America or others. But in London , in 1818, he was met by the representative sent by General José de San Martín , José Antonio Álvarez Condarco , who convinced him in May to join the cause for the Hispano-American independence and go to Chile together alongside a number of British officers who also wanted to be hired. Accompanied by Lady Cochrane and their two children, he reached Valparaíso on 28 November 1818. Chile

11200-521: Was born at Annsfield, near Hamilton , South Lanarkshire , Scotland. He was the son of Archibald, Lord Cochrane (1748–1831), who later became, in October 1778, The 9th Earl of Dundonald , and his wife, Anna Gilchrist. She was the daughter of Captain James Gilchrist and Ann Roberton, the daughter of Major John Roberton, 16th Laird of Earnock . Thomas, Lord Cochrane, as he himself became in October 1778, had six brothers. Two served with distinction in

11312-706: Was cousin to his namesake, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas John Cochrane (1789–1872). Sir Thomas J. Cochrane also had a naval career and was appointed as Governor of Newfoundland and later Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom . By 1793, however, the Cochranes had fallen on hard times; with their fortune spent, the family estate was sold off to cover debts. Lord Cochrane spent much of his early life in Culross , Fife , where his family had an estate. Through

11424-419: Was designed with a specific overarching storyline. Its storyline has shifted from the original plan to include new enemies, and did not result in the battle death of heroine Honor Harrington, as was planned originally for book five, and then later for book eleven. The series' canon is maintained solely by its creator, who acts as editor of the works in the universe by other collaborating authors. Like some of

11536-399: Was elected by Westminster in a more democratic election. He had campaigned for parliamentary reform, allied with such Radicals as William Cobbett , Sir Francis Burdett , and Henry Hunt . His outspoken criticism of the conduct of the war and the corruption in the navy made him powerful enemies in the government. His criticism of Admiral Gambier 's conduct at the Battle of the Basque Roads

11648-453: Was especially politically sensitive on my part or because I thought it was likely to strike a chord with female readership or be a financial success. It was just the way that the character first presented herself." Weber doesn't find writing a female character particularly challenging, because, he says, "I'm writing about a human being who happens to be female." When he first started writing, he had developed her entire back story before he started

11760-652: Was his successful confrontation of a prize court in 1814. His conviction in the Great Stock Exchange Fraud of 1814 resulted in Parliament expelling him on 5 July 1814. However, his constituents in the seat of Westminster re-elected him at the resulting by-election on 16 July. He held this seat until 1818. In 1818, Cochrane's last speech in Parliament advocated parliamentary reform. In 1830, Cochrane initially expressed interest in running for Parliament but then declined. Lord Brougham's brother had decided to run for

11872-536: Was holding in reserve," Weber says. The first name of his character—Honor—had come to Weber long before the last name did. Weber knew that if the Honor novels worked, she was inevitably going to be compared to C. S. Forester 's Horatio Hornblower , so he saw to it that she had the same initials. He said, "There are certainly, clearly, similarities between the two. There are also huge differences. And Honor has never been as neurotic as Hornblower was. Hornblower always carried

11984-630: Was pardoned by the Crown and reinstated in the Royal Navy with the rank of Rear-Admiral of the Blue . After several more promotions, he died in 1860 with the rank of Admiral of the Red , and the honorary title of Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom . Cochrane's life and exploits inspired the naval fiction of 19th- and 20th-century novelists, particularly the fictional characters C. S. Forester 's Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O'Brian 's Jack Aubrey . Thomas Cochrane

12096-618: Was rapidly organising its new navy for its war of independence. Cochrane became a Chilean citizen on 11 December 1818 at the request of Chilean leader Bernardo O'Higgins . He was appointed Vice Admiral and took command of the Chilean Navy in Chile's war of independence against Spain. He was the first Vice Admiral of Chile . Cochrane reorganised the Chilean navy with British commanders, introducing British naval customs and, formally, English-speaking governance in their warships. He took command in

12208-485: Was so severe that Gambier demanded a court-martial to clear his name. Cochrane made important enemies in the Admiralty during this period. In 1810, Sir Francis Burdett , a member of parliament and political ally, had barricaded himself in his home at Piccadilly , London, resisting arrest by the House of Commons . Cochrane went to assist Burdett's defence of the house. His intended actions, similar to those he had used in

12320-585: Was succeeded by William IV . He had served in the Royal Navy and was sympathetic to Cochrane's cause. Later that year, the Tory government fell and was replaced by a Whig government in which his friend Lord Brougham was appointed Lord Chancellor. Following a meeting of the Privy Council in May 1832, Cochrane was granted a pardon and restored to the Navy List with a promotion to rear-admiral. Support from friends in

12432-666: Was there, having in March taken command of the Brazilian Navy. Following Cochrane's return from Greece, the couple disagreed about his spending on inventions and her spending on socialising, which led to their separation in 1839. Katherine moved to Boulogne-sur-Mer with a generous allowance, occasionally visiting London but never staying with her husband. She died in Boulogne in 1865, aged 69. In February 1814, rumours began to circulate of Napoleon's death. The claims were seemingly confirmed by

12544-409: Was wearing a scarlet uniform when he delivered him to the house. Cochrane's defence also argued that he had given standing instructions to Butt that his Omnium shares were to be sold if the price rose by 1 per cent, and he would have made double profit if he waited until it reached its peak price. On the second day of the trial, Lord Ellenborough began his summary of the evidence and drew attention to

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