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123-650: Certain harpoons are made with different builds to perform better with the type of target. For example, the Inuit have short, fixed-foreshaft harpoons for hunting at breathing holes, while loose-shafted ones are made for throwing and remaining attached to the game . In the 1990s, harpoon points, known as the Semliki harpoons or the Katanda harpoons, were found in the Katanda region in Zaire . As

246-675: A Innu-aimun (Montagnais) exonym meaning 'a person who laces a snowshoe', but is also used in folk etymology as meaning 'eater of raw meat' in the Cree language . Though the Cree etymology has been discredited, "Eskimo" is considered pejorative by some Canadian and English-speaking Greenlandic Inuit. In Canada and Greenland, Inuit is preferred. Inuit is the Eastern Canadian Inuit (Inuktitut) and West Greenlandic (Kalaallisut) word for 'the people'. Since Inuktitut and Kalaallisut are

369-599: A research and development programme at the Woolwich Arsenal 's laboratory. After development work was complete the rockets were manufactured in quantity further north, near Waltham Abbey, Essex . He was told that "the British at Seringapatam had suffered more from the rockets than from the shells or any other weapon used by the enemy." "In at least one instance", an eyewitness told Congreve, "a single rocket had killed three men and badly wounded others." The rockets were used by

492-520: A shore station in Seydisfjördur , Iceland . A slump in oil prices after the American Civil War forced their endeavor into bankruptcy in 1867. An early version of the explosive harpoon was designed by Jacob Nicolai Walsøe, a Norwegian painter and inventor. His 1851 application was rejected by the interior ministry on the grounds that he had received public funding for his experiments. In 1867,

615-580: A Danish fireworks manufacturer, Gaetano Amici, patented a cannon-fired harpoon, and in the same year, an Englishman, George Welch, patented a grenade harpoon very similar to the version which transformed whaling in the following decade. In 1870, the Norwegian shipping magnate Svend Foyn patented and pioneered the modern exploding whaling harpoon and gun. Foyn had studied the American method in Iceland. His basic design

738-586: A colonial way; Inuit is now a common autonym for a large sub-group of these people. The word Inuit (varying forms Iñupiat , Inuvialuit , Inughuit , etc.), however, is an ancient self-referential to a group of peoples which includes at most the Iñupiat of Bering Strait coast of Chukotka and northern Alaska, the four broad groups of Inuit in Canada, and the Greenlandic Inuit. This usage has long been employed to

861-478: A detachment which had been training with rockets at Woolwich under Second Captain Richard Bogue RHA was inspected by a committee of Royal Artillery officers who recommended that it be tried in combat. On 7 June 1813, Bogue's unit was designated the "Rocket Brigade". At the same time as being granted its new title, The Rocket Brigade was ordered to be augmented and to proceed on active service, with orders to join

984-527: A few years before. Various activist movements began to change the direction of Inuit society in 1975 with the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement . This comprehensive land claims settlement for Quebec Inuit, along with a large cash settlement and substantial administrative autonomy in the new region of Nunavik, set the precedent for the settlements to follow. The northern Labrador Inuit submitted their land claim in 1977, although they had to wait until 2005 to have

1107-534: A further field trial which proved to be unsuccessful. Congreve accompanied Lord Cochrane in the fire-ship, rocket, and shell attack on the French Fleet in Aix and Basque roads on 11 April 1809. The Walcheren Campaign in 1809 saw the deployment of HMS  Galgo , a merchant sloop converted to a warship and then converted to fire Congreve rockets from 21 "rocket scuttles"' installed in her broadside. This rocket ship

1230-637: A group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of North America, including Greenland , Labrador , Quebec , Nunavut , the Northwest Territories , Yukon (traditionally ), Alaska , and Chukotsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia . Inuit languages are part of the Eskimo–Aleut languages , also known as Inuit-Yupik-Unangan, and also as Eskaleut. Inuit Sign Language

1353-543: A hit from one of Tipu Sultan's Mysorean rockets , which contributed to the British defeat. In the Third Anglo-Mysore War in 1792, there is mention of two rocket units fielded by Tipu Sultan, 120 men and 131 men respectively. Lieutenant Colonel Knox was attacked by rockets near Srirangapatna on the night of 6 February 1792, while advancing towards the Kaveri River from the north. The rocket corps ultimately reached

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1476-557: A little-known mission to the Mediterranean to aid Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples in their struggle against the French. It was perhaps at Gaeta, near Naples, that Congreve's rockets had their first successful debut in battle. The second Boulogne rocket expedition, however, is more famous and is usually considered the first successful attempt. On 8–9 October 1806, Commodore Edward Owen attacked

1599-737: A population displacement did not occur within the Aleutian Islands between the Dorset and Thule transition. However a subsequent 2012 genetic analysis showed no genetic link between the Sadlermiut and the Dorset or Tuniit people. In contrast to other Tuniit populations, the Aleut and Sadlermiut benefited from both geographical isolation and their ability to adopt certain Thule technologies. In Canada and Greenland, Inuit circulated almost exclusively north of

1722-406: A problem. This is illustrated by Mercer's description of G Troop Royal Horse Artillery during the retreat from Quatre Bras on 17 June 1815: The rocketeers had placed a little iron triangle in the road with a rocket lying on it. The order to fire is given – port-fire applied – the fidgety missile begins to sputter out sparks and wriggle its tail for a second or so, and then darts forth straight up

1845-421: A projectile which is a large harpoon with an explosive (penthrite) charge, attached to a thick rope. The spearhead is shaped in a manner which allows it to penetrate the thick layers of whale blubber and stick in the flesh. It has sharp spikes to prevent the harpoon from sliding out. Thus, by pulling the rope with a motor, the whalers can drag the whale back to their ship. A recent development in harpoon technology

1968-399: A seated person, even if completely overturned. Because of this property, the design was copied by Europeans and Americans who still produce them under Inuit name kayak . Inuit also made umiaq ("woman's boat"), larger open boats made of wood frames covered with animal skins, for transporting people, goods, and dogs. They were 6–12 m (20–39 ft) long and had a flat bottom so that

2091-401: A serpentine motion until their force was spent. According to one British observer, a young English officer named Bayly: "So pestered were we with the rocket boys that there was no moving without danger from the destructive missiles ...". He continued: "the rockets and musketry from 20,000 of the enemy were incessant. No hail could be thicker. Every illumination of blue lights was accompanied by

2214-524: A shallow trench or sloping bank. One in three horse artillerymen carried a launching trough for ground firing. In December 1815, Congreve demonstrated a new design of rocket that had the rocket stick screwing centrally into the base of the case. This remained in service from 1817 until 1867, when it was replaced by the Hale rocket which required no stick and used clockwise rotation to impart stability in flight. Contrary to popular belief, rockets could not out-range

2337-557: A sharpshooter in the subsequent cavalry charge, and the village of Paunsdorf was eventually retaken by the French Imperial Guard . In the continuing campaign, the Rocket Brigade was also used in the sieges of Frederiksfort and Glückstadt, which surrendered on 13 December 1813 and 5 January 1814, respectively. On 1 January 1814, the unit assumed the title of the "2nd Rocket Troop RHA" and on 18 January it received orders to join

2460-462: A shower of rockets, some of which entered the head of the column, passing through to the rear, causing death, wounds, and dreadful lacerations from the long bamboos of twenty or thirty feet, which are invariably attached to them'." During the decisive British victory at Srirangapattanam on 2 May 1799, a British shot struck a magazine of rockets within Tipu Sultan's fort, causing it to explode and send

2583-607: A signed land settlement establishing Nunatsiavut . Southern Labrador Inuit of NunatuKavut is currently in the process of establishing land claims and title rights that would allow them to negotiate with the Newfoundland Government. Canada's 1982 Constitution Act recognized Inuit as Aboriginal peoples in Canada. In the same year, the Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut (TFN) was incorporated, in order to take over negotiations for land claims on behalf of Inuit living in

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2706-605: A squib until its shell exploded, actually put me in more danger than all the fire of the enemy throughout the day. The main user of Congreve rockets during the Napoleonic Wars was the Royal Navy , and men from the Royal Marine Artillery became experts in their use. The navy converted HMS Galgo and Erebus into rocket ships. The army became involved and was represented by various rocket detachments that changed into

2829-576: A strength of about 5,000 in Tipu Sultan's army. Mysore rockets were also used for ceremonial purposes. The Jacobin Club of Mysore sent a delegation to Tipu Sultan, and 500 rockets were launched as part of the gun salute. During the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War , rockets were again used on several occasions. One of these involved Colonel Arthur Wellesley , later famous as the First Duke of Wellington and

2952-421: A towering cloud of black smoke up from the battlements, with cascades of exploding white light. Baird led the final attack on the fort on the afternoon of 4 May, and he was again met by "furious musket and rocket fire" – but it did not help much. The fort was taken in about an hour's time; in another hour or so, Tipu had been shot (the precise time of his death is not known) and the war was effectively over. After

3075-417: Is a language isolate and is almost extinct as only around 50 people still use it. Inuit have traditionally been fishermen and hunters. They still hunt whales (esp. bowhead whale ), seal , (esp. ringed seal , harp seal , common seal , bearded seal ), polar bears , muskoxen , caribou , birds , and fish and at times other less commonly eaten animals such as the Arctic fox . The typical Inuit diet

3198-849: Is a critically endangered language isolate used in Nunavut. Canadian Inuit live throughout most of Northern Canada in the territory of Nunavut, Nunavik in the northern third of Quebec, the Nunatsiavut in Labrador, and in various parts of the Northwest Territories and Yukon (traditionally), particularly around the Arctic Ocean , in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region . These areas are known, primarily by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami , as Inuit Nunangat . In Canada, sections 25 and 35 of

3321-483: Is high in protein and very high in fat – in their traditional diets, Inuit consumed an average of 75 percent of their daily energy intake from fat. While it is not possible to cultivate plants for food in the Arctic, Inuit have traditionally gathered those that are naturally available. Grasses , tubers , roots , plant stems , berries , and seaweed ( kuanniq or edible seaweed) were collected and preserved depending on

3444-588: Is spoken in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region , Northwest Territories , with official language status from the territorial government. Inuinnaqtun is spoken across the Northwest Territories and the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut with official language status from both territories. Inuktitut, the most widely spoken Inuit language in Canada, however, is an official, and one of two main languages, alongside English, of Nunavut and has its speakers throughout Nunavut, Nunavik (Northern Quebec), Nunatsiavut (Labrador), and

3567-482: Is still in use today. He perceived the failings of other methods and solved these problems in his own system. He included, with the help of H.M.T. Esmark, a grenade tip that exploded inside the whale. This harpoon design also utilized a shaft that was connected to the head with a moveable joint. His original cannons were muzzle-loaded with special padding and also used a unique form of gunpowder. The cannons were later replaced with safer breech-loading types. Together with

3690-582: Is still used by people; however in the 21st century, usage in North America has declined. In the United States the term Eskimo was, as of 2016, commonly used to describe Inuit and the Siberian and Alaskan Yupik, and Iñupiat peoples. Eskimo is still used by some groups and organizations to encompass Inuit and Yupik, as well as other Indigenous Alaskan and Siberian peoples. In 2011, Lawrence Kaplan of

3813-454: Is the hand-held speargun . Divers use the speargun for spearing fish. They may also be used for defense against dangerous marine animals. Spearguns may be powered by pressurized gas or with mechanical means like springs or elastic bands. The Philae spacecraft carried harpoons for helping the probe anchor itself to the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko . However, the harpoons failed to fire. Inuit Inuit are

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3936-433: Is the quantity of blood in him, and so distant and numerous its interior fountains, that he will keep thus bleeding and bleeding for a considerable period; even as in a drought a river will flow, whose source is in the well springs of far off and undiscernible hills. He also describes another device that was at times a necessary addition to harpoons: All whale-boats carry certain curious contrivances, originally invented by

4059-418: Is used. For then, more whales are close round you than you can possibly chase at one time. But sperm whales are not every day encountered; while you may, then, you must kill all you can. And if you cannot kill them all at once, you must wing [injure] them, so that they can be afterwards killed at your leisure. Hence it is that at times like these the drugg comes into requisition. The first use of explosives in

4182-626: The Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks wrote that Inuit was not generally accepted as a term for the Yupik, and Eskimo was often used as the term that applied to the Yupik, Iñupiat, and Inuit. Since then Kaplan has updated this to indicate that the term Inuit has gained acceptance in Alaska. Though there is much debate, the word Eskimo likely derives from

4305-459: The Arctic tree line , with the exception of Inuit in Labrador where there are large swaths of coastal barrens. In Labrador there are two Inuit groups, one accepted by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami , Nunatsiavut and one independent, NunatuKavut . The most southern Inuit community in Nunatsiavut is Rigolet while the most southern community within the traditional Inuit territory of NunatuKavut and in

4428-553: The Battle of North Point . It was the use of ship-launched Congreve rockets by the British in the bombardment of Fort McHenry in the US in 1814 that inspired a phrase in the fifth line of the first verse of the United States' national anthem , " The Star-Spangled Banner ": "the rockets’ red glare". HMS  Erebus fired the rockets from a 32-pound rocket battery installed below the main deck, which fired through portholes or scuttles pierced in

4551-640: The Constitution Act of 1982 classify Inuit as a distinctive group of Aboriginal Canadians who are not included under either the First Nations or the Métis . Greenlandic Inuit , also known as Kalaallit, are descendants of Thule migrations from Canada by 1100 CE. Although Greenland withdrew from the European Communities in 1985, Inuit of Greenland are Danish citizens and, as such, remain citizens of

4674-763: The Inuit-Yupik-Unangan language family . Inupiaq (Inupiatun) is spoken in Russia (extinct) and Alaska, which is one of the 22 official languages of the State of Alaska. In Russia, due to the replacement from their traditional territory in Big Diomede Island to Mainland Russia, Inupiaq language has been nearly extinct with most of them speaking Central Siberian Yupik or Russian predominantly with some Inupiaq linguistic features. In Canada, three Inuit languages ( Inuvialuktun , Inuinnaqtun , Inuktitut ) are spoken. Inuvialuktun

4797-509: The Mincopie people, aboriginal inhabitants of India's Andaman and Nicobar islands, who have used harpoons with long cords for fishing since early times. In the novel Moby-Dick , Herman Melville explained the reason for the harpoon's effectiveness: In most land animals there are certain valves or flood gates in many of their veins, whereby when wounded, the blood is in some degree at least instantly shut off in certain directions. Not so with

4920-471: The Nantucket Indians , called druggs [i.e. drogues ]. Two thick squares of wood of equal size are stoutly clenched together, so that they cross each other's grain at right angles; a line of considerable length is then attached to the middle of this block, and the other end of the line being looped, it can in a moment be fastened to a harpoon. It is chiefly among gallied [frightened] whales that this drugg

5043-597: The Northwest Passage was the first well-documented contact between Europeans and Inuit. Frobisher's expedition landed in Frobisher Bay , Baffin Island , not far from the settlement now called Iqaluit . Frobisher encountered Inuit on Resolution Island where five sailors left the ship, under orders from Frobisher, with instructions to stay clear of Inuit. They became part of Inuit mythology. Inuit oral tradition tells that

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5166-632: The Siberian Husky . These dogs were bred from wolves, for transportation. A team of dogs in either a tandem/side-by-side or fan formation would pull a sled made of wood, animal bones, or the baleen from a whale's mouth and even frozen fish, over the snow and ice. Inuit used stars to navigate at sea and landmarks to navigate on land; they possessed a comprehensive native system of toponymy . Where natural landmarks were insufficient, Inuit would erect an inukshuk . Also, Greenland Inuit created Ammassalik wooden maps , which are tactile devices that represent

5289-510: The death rate , causing a marked natural increase in the population that made it more difficult for them to survive by traditional means. In the 1950s, the Canadian government began to actively settle Inuit into permanent villages and cities, occasionally against their will (such as in Nuntak and Hebron). In 2005 the Canadian government acknowledged the abuses inherent in these forced resettlements. By

5412-652: The prestige dialects in Canada and Greenland, respectively, their version has become dominant, although every Inuit dialect uses cognates from the Proto-Eskimo *ińuɣ – for example, "people" is inughuit in North Greenlandic and iivit in East Greenlandic . Inuit speak Inupiaq (Inupiatun) , Inuinnaqtun , Inuktitut , Inuvialuktun , and Greenlandic languages , which belong to the Inuit-Inupiaq branch of

5535-405: The steam engine , this development ushered in the modern age of commercial whaling. Euro-American whalers were now equipped to hunt faster and more powerful species, such as the rorquals . Because rorquals sank when they died, later versions of the exploding harpoon injected air into the carcass to keep it afloat. The modern whaling harpoon consists of a deck-mounted launcher (mostly a cannon) and

5658-518: The 1970s, and more recently. Modern Inuit have lifespans 12 to 15 years shorter than the average Canadian's, which is thought to be influenced by factors such as their diet and limited access to medical services. The life expectancy gap is not closing and remains stagnant. The ancient art of face tattooing among Inuit women, which is called kakiniit or tunniit in Inuktitut , dates back nearly 4,000 years. The facial tattoos detailed aspects of

5781-560: The 220 of Captain Cavalié Mercer 's troop. Rockets could be easily carried and readily deployed, particularly over difficult terrain or in small boats. This was amply demonstrated by the Royal Marine Artillery. The 12-pounder deployed at very close range was a fearsome weapon, as was seen at the battles of Göhrde and Leipzig in 1813, as well as the crossing of the Adour and the Battle of Toulouse in 1814. The lack of specific accuracy with

5904-400: The Arctic in one place for the first time and exposed them to the rhetoric of civil and human rights that prevailed in Canada in the 1960s. This was a real wake-up call for Inuit, and it stimulated the emergence of a new generation of young Inuit activists in the late 1960s who came forward and pushed for respect for Inuit and their territories. Inuit began to emerge as a political force in

6027-616: The Army of the North commanded by Bernadotte, the Crown Prince of Sweden . Using the modified 12-pounder at low trajectory from ground firing-troughs, the brigade saw action at the Battle of Gohrde and at the Battle of Leipzig on 18 October 1813, where it was successfully employed to attack the French stronghold of Paunsdorf, occupied by five French and Saxon battalions. Captain Bogue was however killed by

6150-409: The British to employ rockets on a number of further occasions. In 1807, Copenhagen was bombarded by more than 14,000 missiles in the form of metal balls, explosive and incendiary bombs from cannons and mortars, and about 300 Congreve rockets. The rockets contributed to the conflagration of the city. The lighter, six-pounder battlefield rockets had been sent on the second Egyptian campaign in 1807,

6273-775: The British, the Russians and Paraguay during the nineteenth century. The king of Mysore, Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali developed the military tactic of using massed wave attacks supported by rocket artillery against enemy positions. In 1792, Tipu Sultan wrote a military manual called Fathul Mujahidin , in which two hundred artillerymen specialising in rocket artillery were prescribed to each Mysorean brigade (known as cushoons ). Mysore had between sixteen and twenty-four cushoons of infantry. The areas of towns where rockets and fireworks were manufactured were known as " taramandal pet " ("galaxy market"). The rocket men were trained to launch their rockets at an angle calculated from

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6396-463: The Dorset as "dwarfs". Researchers believe that Inuit society had advantages by having adapted to using dogs as transport animals, and developing larger weapons and other technologies superior to those of the Dorset culture. By 1100 CE, Inuit migrants had reached west Greenland, where they settled. During the 12th century, they also settled in East Greenland. Faced with population pressures from

6519-999: The European Union . In the United States, the Alaskan Iñupiat are traditionally located in the Northwest Arctic Borough , on the Alaska North Slope , the Bering Strait and on Little Diomede Island . In Russia, few pockets of diaspora communities of Russian Iñupiat from Big Diomede Island , of which inhabitants were removed to Russian Mainland, remain in Bering Strait coast of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, particularly in Uelen , Lavrentiya , and Lorino . Many individuals who would have historically been referred to as Eskimo find that term offensive or forced upon them in

6642-403: The French flotilla at Boulogne . Captain William Jackson aboard HMS Musquito directed the boats firing 32 pound Congreve rockets. As night drew in on the channel, 24 cutters fitted with rocket frames formed a line and fired some 2,000 rockets at Boulogne. The barrage took only 30 minutes. Apparently the attack set a number of fires, but otherwise had limited effect. Still, it was enough to lead

6765-771: The Northwest Territories, where it is also an official language. Kalaallisut is the official language of Greenland. The Greenlandic languages are divided into: Kalaallisut (Western), Inuktun (Northern), and Tunumiit (Eastern). As Inuktitut was the language of the Eastern Canadian Inuit and Kalaallisut is the language of the Western Greenlandic Inuit, they are related more closely than most other dialects. Inuit in Alaska and Northern Canada also typically speak English. In Greenland, Inuit also speak Danish and learn English in school. Inuit in Russia mostly speak Russian and Central Siberian Yupik. Canadian Inuit, particularly those from Nunavik, may also speak Québécois French . Finally, deaf Inuit use Inuit Sign Language , which

6888-426: The Original People's Entitlement (representing the Inuvialuit), the Northern Quebec Inuit Association ( Makivik Corporation ) and the Labrador Inuit Association (LIA) representing Northern Labrador Inuit. Since the mid-1980s the disputed Southern Labrador Inuit of NunatuKavut began organizing politically after being geographically cut out of the LIA, because the organization called itself the Labrador Métis Nation just

7011-407: The Thule and other surrounding groups, such as the Algonquian and Siouan -speaking peoples to the south, the Tuniit gradually receded. The Tuniit were thought to have become completely extinct as a people by about 1400 or 1500. But, in the mid-1950s, researcher Henry B. Collins determined that based on the ruins found at Native Point , on Southampton Island , the Sadlermiut were likely

7134-401: The best rockets on the London market, but found that their greatest range was only 600 yards. After spending ‘several hundred pounds’ of his own money on experiments, he was able to make a rocket that would travel 1,500 yards. He then ‘applied to Lord Chatham (the responsible minister in charge of the Ordnance Department) for permission to have some large rockets made at Woolwich’ . Permission

7257-437: The boats could come close to shore. In the winter, Inuit would also hunt sea mammals by patiently watching an aglu (breathing hole) in the ice and waiting for the air-breathing seals to use them. This technique is also used by the polar bear, who hunts by seeking holes in the ice and waiting nearby. In winter, both on land and on sea ice, Inuit used dog sleds ( qamutik ) for transportation. The husky dog breed comes from

7380-472: The case of Labrador, East. Inuit had trade relations with more southern cultures; boundary disputes were common and gave rise to aggressive actions. Warfare was not uncommon among those Inuit groups with sufficient population density. Inuit such as the Nunamiut ( Uummarmiut ), who inhabited the Mackenzie River delta area, often engaged in warfare. The more sparsely settled Inuit in the Central Arctic, however, did so less often. Their first European contact

7503-415: The chaussée. A gun stands right in its way, between the wheels of which the shell in the head of the rocket bursts, the gunners fall right and left… our rocketeers kept shooting off rockets, none of which ever followed the course of the first; most of them, on arriving about the middle of the ascent, took a vertical direction, whilst some actually turned back upon ourselves – and one of these, following me like

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7626-433: The coastline. Congreve rocket The Congreve rocket was a type of rocket artillery designed by British inventor Sir William Congreve in 1808. The design was based upon the rockets deployed by the Kingdom of Mysore against the East India Company during the Second , Third , and Fourth Anglo-Mysore Wars . Lieutenant general Thomas Desaguliers , colonel commandant of the Royal Artillery at Woolwich,

7749-490: The command of the 2nd Rocket Troop was formally taken over by Captain Whinyates. Wellington remained averse to rockets, so Whinyates took just 800 rockets into the field, as well as five 6-pounder guns; it would appear that the rockets replaced the usual howitzer in the structure of the troop. The Royal Marine Artillery used Congreve rockets in several engagements during this conflict. Two battalions of Royal Marines were sent to North America in 1813. Attached to each battalion

7872-636: The commercial whale hunt were processed and furs traded. The expedition of 1821–23 to the Northwest Passage led by Commander William Edward Parry twice over-wintered in Foxe Basin . It provided the first informed, sympathetic and well-documented account of the economic, social and religious life of Inuit. Parry stayed in what is now Igloolik over the second winter. Parry's writings, with pen and ink illustrations of Inuit everyday life, and those of George Francis Lyon were widely read after they were both published in 1824. Captain George Comer 's Inuk wife Shoofly, known for her sewing skills and elegant attire,

7995-447: The descriptions do not go into detail. An early example can be found in the Bible in Job 41:7 ( NIV ): "Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears?" The Greek historian Polybius (c. 203 BC – 120 BC), in his Histories , describes hunting for swordfish by using a harpoon with a barbed and detachable head. Copper harpoons were known to the seafaring Harappans well into antiquity. Early hunters in India include

8118-407: The diameter of the cylinder and the distance of the target. In addition, wheeled rocket launchers were used in war that were capable of launching five to ten rockets almost simultaneously. Rockets could be of various sizes, but usually consisted of a cylindrical housing of soft hammered iron about 8 inches (200 mm) long and 1.5 to 3 inches (38 to 76 mm) in diameter, closed at one end, which

8241-542: The disappearance of the Norse colonies in Greenland , Inuit had no contact with Europeans for at least a century. By the mid-16th century, Basque whalers and fishermen were already working the Labrador coast and had established whaling stations on land, such as the one that has been excavated at Red Bay , Labrador. Inuit do not appear to have interfered with their operations, but raided the stations in winter, taking tools and items made of worked iron, which they adapted to their own needs. Martin Frobisher 's 1576 search for

8364-468: The earliest known harpoons, these weapons were made and used 90,000 years ago, most likely to spear catfishes . Later, in Japan, spearfishing with poles was widespread in palaeolithic times, especially during the Solutrean and Magdalenian periods. Cosquer Cave in southern France has cave art over 16,000 years old, including drawings of seals that appear to have been harpooned. There are references to harpoons in ancient literature, though in most cases

8487-487: The early relations with whaling stations along the Labrador coast and later James Bay were based on a mutual interest in trade. In the final years of the 18th century, the Moravian Church began missionary activities in Labrador, supported by the British who were tired of the raids on their whaling stations. The Moravian missionaries could easily provide Inuit with the iron and basic materials they had been stealing from whaling outposts, materials whose real cost to Europeans

8610-541: The eastern Northwest Territories, that would later become Nunavut, from Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, which became a joint association of Inuit of Quebec, Labrador, and the Northwest Territories. On October 30, 2008, Leona Aglukkaq was appointed as Minister of Health , "[becoming] the first Inuk to hold a senior cabinet position, although she is not the first Inuk to be in cabinet altogether." Jack Anawak and Nancy Karetak-Lindell were both parliamentary secretaries respectively from 1993 to 1996 and in 2003. The term Eskimo

8733-410: The end of their traditional Inuit culture. One of the more notable relocations was undertaken in 1953, when 17 families were moved from Port Harrison (now Inukjuak, Quebec) to Resolute and Grise Fiord . They were dropped off in early September when winter had already arrived. The land they were sent to was very different from that in the Inukjuak area; it was barren, with only a couple of months when

8856-462: The enormous social disruptions caused by the distorting effect of Europeans' material wealth and the introduction of different materials. Nonetheless, Inuit society in the higher latitudes largely remained in isolation during the 19th century. The Hudson's Bay Company opened trading posts such as Great Whale River (1820), today the site of the twin villages of Whapmagoostui (Cree-majority) and Kuujjuarapik (Inuit-majority), where whale products of

8979-491: The equivalent smooth bore guns of the period. In real terms, the maximum effective range for the 12-pounder rockets and for the six-pounder gun was some 1,400 yards or about 1,280 meters. However, the rate of fire with rockets could be higher than the equivalent muzzle loading ordnance. The absence of weighty ordnance meant that fewer horses were required. Captain Richard Bogue needed just 105 horses for his troop, compared with

9102-621: The establishment of secular , government-operated high schools in the Northwest Territories (including what is now Nunavut) and Inuit areas in Quebec and Labrador along with the residential school system . Inuit population was not large enough to support a full high school in every community, so this meant only a few schools were built, and students from across the territories were boarded there. These schools, in Aklavik , Iqaluit, Yellowknife , Inuvik and Kuujjuaq , brought together young Inuit from across

9225-520: The exclusion of other, closely related groups (e.g. Yupik , Aleut ). Therefore, the Aleut (Unangan) and Yupik peoples ( Alutiiq /Sugpiaq, Central Yup'ik , Siberian Yupik ), who live in Alaska and Siberia, at least at an individual and local level, generally do not self-identify as Inuit. Inuit are the descendants of what anthropologists call the Thule people , who emerged from the Bering Strait and western Alaska around 1000 CE. They had split from

9348-461: The fall of Srirangapatna , 600 launchers, 700 serviceable rockets, and 9,000 empty rockets were found. Some of the rockets had pierced cylinders to allow them to act like incendiaries, while some had iron points or steel blades bound to the bamboo. These blades caused the rockets to become very unstable towards the end of their flight, causing the blades to spin around like flying scythes, cutting down all in their path. Congreve began in 1804 by buying

9471-647: The final land engagement of the War of 1812 at Fort Bowyer in February 1815. Algiers had been the centre for pirates for some years, and her fleet had reached considerable proportions. Things reached a head after a particular atrocity; following the U.S success in the Second Barbary War, Britain decided to stamp out their activities, and the Netherlands agreed to assist. The combined fleet was composed of six British ships of

9594-650: The first iron-cased rockets in warfare. Hyder Ali's father was the naik or chief constable at Budikote , and he commanded 50 rocketmen for the Nawab of Arcot . There was a regular rocket corps in the Mysore Army, beginning with about 1,200 men in Hyder Ali's time. At the Battle of Pollilur (1780) during the Second Anglo-Mysore War , Colonel William Baillie 's ammunition stores are thought to have been detonated by

9717-659: The force under the orders of Sir Thomas Graham in Holland. In September 1813, Wellington agreed, with much reservation, that rockets could be sent out to join the army in Spain. On 3 October 1813, another Royal Artillery detachment embarked from Woolwich, trained in firing rockets. This group was called the "Rocket Company" and consisted of almost sixty men under Captain Lane. On 1 January 1814, together with another detachment under Captain Eliot, it assumed

9840-514: The great powers for the first time. Thanks to the development of modern long-distance aircraft, these areas became accessible year-round. The construction of air bases and the Distant Early Warning Line in the 1940s and 1950s brought more intensive contact with European society, particularly in the form of public education for children. The traditionalists complained that Canadian education promoted foreign values that were disdainful of

9963-412: The hero of the Battle of Waterloo . Quoting Forrest: "At this point (near the village of Sultanpet, Figure 5) there was a large tope, or grove, which gave shelter to Tipu's rocketmen and had obviously to be cleaned out before the siege could be pressed closer to Srirangapattanam Island. The commander chosen for this operation was Col. Wellesley, but advancing towards the tope after dark on 5 April 1799, he

10086-456: The high Arctic, Inuit were forced to abandon their hunting and whaling sites as bowhead whales disappeared from Canada and Greenland . These Inuit had to subsist on a much poorer diet, and lost access to the essential raw materials for their tools and architecture which they had previously derived from whaling. The lives of Paleo-Eskimos of the far north were largely unaffected by the arrival of visiting Norsemen except for mutual trade. After

10209-411: The homeland of Inuit to be hostile hinterland . Southerners enjoyed lucrative careers as bureaucrats and service providers to the people of the North, but very few ever chose to visit there. Once its more hospitable lands were largely settled, the government of Canada and entrepreneurs began to take a greater interest in its more peripheral territories, especially the fur and mineral-rich hinterlands. By

10332-474: The hunting of whales was made by the British South Sea Company in 1737, after some years of declining catches. A large fleet was sent, armed with cannon-fired harpoons . Although the weaponry was successful in killing the whales, most of the catch sank before being retrieved. However, the system was still occasionally used, and underwent successive improvements at the hands of various inventors over

10455-441: The larger rockets at long range was not a problem if the purpose was to set fire to a town or a number of moored ships; this was shown with the attack on the French Fleet in Aix and Basque roads and at the bombardment of Copenhagen . As Congreve himself had warned, however, they were of little use against fortified places, such as against Fort McHenry , because of the lack of combustible structures. Accuracy at medium range remained

10578-461: The last remnants of the Dorset culture, or Tuniit . The Sadlermiut population survived up until winter 1902–1903 when exposure to new infectious diseases brought by contact with Europeans led to their extinction as a people. In the early 21st century, mitochondrial DNA research has supported the theory of continuity between the Tuniit and the Sadlermiut peoples. It also provided evidence that

10701-567: The late 1920s, there were no longer any Inuit who had not been contacted by traders, missionaries or government agents. In 1939, the Supreme Court of Canada found, in a decision known as Re Eskimos , that Inuit should be considered Indians and were thus under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Native customs were worn down by the actions of the RCMP, who enforced Canadian criminal law on Inuit. People such as Kikkik often did not understand

10824-574: The late 1960s and early 1970s, shortly after the first graduates returned home. They formed new politically active associations in the early 1970s, starting with the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (Inuit Brotherhood and today known as Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami), an outgrowth of the Indian and Eskimo Association of the '60s, in 1971, and more region-specific organizations shortly afterward, including the Committee for

10947-473: The line and four frigates, plus five Dutch frigates; there were also 37 gun boats, 10 mortar boats, and eight rocket boats. Lieutenant JT Fuller and 19 other ranks from the Rocket Troop accompanied the expedition, together with 2,500 rockets, and were engaged alongside the Royal Marine Artillery. In the bombardment of Algiers the rocket boats, gun boats, and mortar boats engaged the enemy's fleet moored inside

11070-563: The men lived among them for a few years of their own free will until they died attempting to leave Baffin Island in a self-made boat and vanished. Frobisher, in an attempt to find the men, captured three Inuit and brought them back to England. They were possibly the first Inuit ever to visit Europe. The semi-nomadic Inuit were fishermen and hunters harvesting lakes, seas, ice platforms, and tundra . While there are some allegations that Inuit were hostile to early French and English explorers, fishermen, and whalers, more recent research suggests that

11193-428: The mid-1960s, encouraged first by missionaries, then by the prospect of paid jobs and government services, and finally forced by hunger and required by the police, most Canadian Inuit lived year-round in permanent settlements. The nomadic migrations that were the central feature of Arctic life had become a much smaller part of life in the North. Inuit, a once self-sufficient people in an extremely harsh environment were, in

11316-413: The necessary vitamins they needed from their traditional winter diet, which did not contain any plant matter. In particular, he found that adequate vitamin C could be obtained from items in their traditional diet of raw meat such as ringed seal liver and whale skin ( muktuk ). While there was considerable skepticism when he reported these findings, the initial anecdotal reports were reaffirmed both in

11439-400: The next century, including Abraham Stagholt in the 1770s and George Manby in the early 19th century. William Congreve , who invented some of the first rockets for British Army use, designed a rocket-propelled whaling harpoon in the 1820s. The shell was designed to explode on contact and impale the whale with the harpoon. The weapon was in turn attached by a line to the boat, and the hope

11562-421: The rear of the British encampment, then 'threw a great number of rockets at the same instant' to signal the beginning of an assault by 6,000 Indian infantry and a corps of Frenchmen, all directed by Mir Golam Hussain and Mohomed Hulleen Mir Mirans. The rockets had a range of about 1,000 yards. Some burst in the air like shells. Others, called ground rockets, on striking the ground, would rise again and bound along in

11685-403: The related Aleut group about 4000 years ago and from northeastern Siberian migrants. They spread eastward across the Arctic. They displaced the related Dorset culture , called the Tuniit in Inuktitut , which was the last major Paleo-Eskimo culture. Inuit legends speak of the Tuniit as "giants", people who were taller and stronger than Inuit. Less frequently, the legends refer to

11808-412: The rockets were made available in three classes: The medium and light rockets could be case shot, shell, or explosive. The 32-pounder was generally used for longer range bombardment, while a 12–pounder case shot was generally used for support of infantry and cavalry, with an extreme range of some 2,000 yards. The rockets could be fired from a wheeled bombarding frame, from a portable tripod, or even from

11931-530: The rules of the alien society with which they had to interact. In addition, the generally Protestant missionaries of the British preached a moral code very different from the one Inuit had as part of their tradition. Many Inuit were systematically converted to Christianity in the 19th and 20th centuries, through rituals such as the Siqqitiq . World War II and the Cold War made Arctic Canada strategically important to

12054-450: The season and the location. There is a vast array of different hunting technologies that Inuit used to gather their food. In the 1920s, anthropologist Vilhjalmur Stefansson lived with and studied a group of Inuit. The study focused on Stefansson's observation that Inuit's low-carbohydrate diet apparently had no adverse effects on their health, nor indeed, on his own health. Stefansson (1946) also observed that Inuit were able to get

12177-578: The ship's side. In Canada, rockets were used by the British at the Second Battle of Lacolle Mills , 30 March 1814. Rockets fired by a detachment of the Royal Marine Artillery , though inaccurate, unnerved the attacking American forces, and contributed to the defense of the blockhouse and mill. Rockets were used again at the Battle of Cook's Mills , 19 October 1814. An American force, sent to destroy General Gordon Drummond 's source of flour,

12300-406: The span of perhaps two generations, transformed into a small, impoverished minority, lacking skills or resources to sell to the larger economy, but increasingly dependent on it for survival. Although anthropologists like Diamond Jenness (1964) were quick to predict that Inuit culture was facing extinction, Inuit political activism was already emerging. In the 1960s, the Canadian government funded

12423-516: The temperature rose above freezing, and several months of polar night . The families were told by the RCMP they would be able to return to their home territory within two years if conditions were not right. However, two years later more Inuit families were relocated to the High Arctic. Thirty years passed before they were able to visit Inukjuak. By 1953, Canada's prime minister Louis St. Laurent publicly admitted, "Apparently we have administered

12546-688: The title of the "1st Rocket Troop RHA". Captain Lane's rockets were very successfully deployed at the crossing of the Adour on 23 February 1814 and in the final battle in the Peninsular War at the Battle of Toulouse on 10 April 1814. Later that year, they were sent to be part of the disastrous expedition against the American Army at New Orleans, in Louisiana. By the time of the Waterloo campaign on 30 April 1815,

12669-513: The traditional structure and culture of Inuit society. In the 1950s, the Government of Canada undertook what was called the High Arctic relocation for several reasons. These were to include protecting Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic , alleviating hunger (as the area currently occupied had been over-hunted), and attempting to solve the "Eskimo problem", by seeking assimilation of the people and

12792-418: The two Rocket Troops, Royal Horse Artillery, on 1 January 1814. In the autumn of 1805, the government decided upon an attack on Boulogne for the first test. William Sidney Smith was chosen to lead the expedition, accompanied by Congreve. Strong winds and rough seas hampered the operations on both the 20th and 21st, and the attack was not successful. In April 1806, Rear Admiral Sidney Smith took rockets on

12915-427: The vast territories of the north in an almost continuing absence of mind." The government began to establish about forty permanent administrative centers to provide education, health, and economic development services. Inuit from hundreds of smaller camps scattered across the north began to congregate in these hamlets. Regular visits from doctors and access to modern medical care raised the birth rate and decreased

13038-406: The whale; one of whose peculiarities is, to have an entire non-valvular structure of the blood-vessels, so that when pierced even by so small a point as a harpoon, a deadly drain is at once begun upon his whole arterial system; and when this is heightened by the extraordinary pressure of water at a great distance below the surface, his life may be said to pour from him in incessant streams. Yet so vast

13161-437: The women's lives, such as where they were from, who their family was, their life achievements, and their position in the community. When Catholic missionaries arrived in the area in the early 20th century they outlawed the practice, but it is now making a comeback thanks to some modern Inuit women who want to revive the practices of their ancestors and get in touch with their cultural roots. The traditional method of tattooing

13284-567: The world is L'anse au Clair, Labrador. In other areas south of the tree line , non-Inuit Indigenous cultures were well established. As a result, being challenged by the groups below the tree line including Chukchi and Siberian Yupik for Russian Iñupiat, Arctic Athabascan and Gwichʼin for Alaskan Iñupiat and Inuvialuit, Cree for Nunavummiut (Nunavut Inuit) and Nunavimmiut (Northern Quebec Inuit), and Innu for Nunatsiavummiut (Labrador Inuit) and NunatuKavummiut (Southern Inuit or Inuit-metis), Inuit did not make significant progress South, or in

13407-466: Was a rocket detachment, each with an establishment of 25 men, commanded by lieutenants Balchild and John Harvey Stevens . Both rocket detachments were embarked aboard the transport vessel Mariner Rockets were used in the engagements at Fort Oswego and Lundy's Lane . The British used the Congreve rocket on U.S. soil for the first time in an attack on Lewes, Delaware, on 6 and 7 April 1813. The town

13530-548: Was almost nothing, but whose value to Inuit was enormous. From then on, contacts between the national groups in Labrador were far more peaceful. The exchanges that accompanied the arrival and colonization by the Europeans greatly damaged Inuit way of life. Mass death was caused by the new infectious diseases carried by whalers and explorers, to which the Indigenous peoples had no acquired immunity. The high mortality rate contributed to

13653-642: Was also the Elector of Hanover , and he was awarded the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in the Hanoverian army's artillery in 1811. In 1813, Congreve declined the offer to command the Rocket Corps with rank in the Regiment of Artillery. Congreve registered two patents and published three books on rocketry. The initial rocket cases were constructed of cardboard, but by 1806 they were made from sheet iron. The propulsion

13776-466: Was bombarded for 22 hours. A third battalion of Royal Marines arrived in North America in 1814, with an attached rocket detachment commanded by Lieutenant John Lawrence, which subsequently participated in the Chesapeake campaign . During this campaign, the British used rockets at the Battle of Bladensburg to rout the American forces (which led to the capture and burning of Washington, D.C. ), and at

13899-635: Was challenged by a contingent of infantry which was supported by a light field cannon and a frame of Congreve rockets. The rockets succeeded in discouraging the Americans from forming lines on the battlefield. Captain Henry Lane's 1st Rocket Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery embarked at the end of 1814 in the transport vessel Mary with 40 artillerymen and 500 rockets and disembarked near New Orleans . Lieutenant Lawrence's rocket detachment took part in

14022-424: Was deployed at the naval bombardment of Flushing, where they wrought such havoc that ‘General Monnet, the French commandant, made a formal protest to Lord Chatham’ against their use. Congreve was also present at this engagement and commanded five land frames. In 1810, Wellington agreed to a field trial of Congreve's new 12-pounder rocket carrying case shot. It was not successful and was withdrawn. In May 1813,

14145-424: Was done with needles made of sinew or bone soaked in suet and sewn into the skin, but today they use ink. The Inuit Tattoo Revitalization Project is a community that was created to highlight the revitalization of this ancient tradition. Inuit hunted sea animals from single-passenger, seal-skin covered boats called qajaq (Inuktitut syllabics: ᖃᔭᖅ ) which were extraordinarily buoyant, and could be righted by

14268-455: Was granted and ‘several six-pounder rockets’ made ‘on principles [he] had previously ascertained’ achieved a range of ‘full two thousand yards’ . By the spring of 1806, he was producing 32-pounder rockets ranging 3,000 yards. Congreve enjoyed the friendship of the Prince Regent , who supported his rocket projects and in whose household he served as an equerry from 1811. The Prince Regent

14391-452: Was impressed by reports of their effectiveness, and undertook several unsuccessful experiments to produce his own rocket weapons. Several captured Mysorean rockets were sent to Great Britain following the annexation of the Mysorean kingdom into British India following the death of Tipu Sultan in the siege of Seringapatam . The project was continued chiefly with William Congreve, who set up

14514-486: Was influential in convincing him to acquire more sewing accessories and beads for trade with Inuit. During the early 20th century, a few traders and missionaries circulated among the more accessible bands. After 1904, they were accompanied by a handful of North-West Mounted Police (NWMP). Unlike most Aboriginal peoples in Canada, however, Inuit did not occupy lands that were coveted by European settlers. Used to more temperate climates and conditions, most Europeans considered

14637-470: Was of the same ingredients as gunpowder, the mixture of which varied with the different sizes of rocket. The warheads had side-mounted brackets which were used to attach wooden sticks of differing lengths, according to the sizes of rocket. Rocket sizes were designated by the calibre of the tube, using the then-standard British method of using weight in pounds as a measure of cannon bore . Larger diameter rockets also had correspondingly longer tubes. By 1813,

14760-430: Was set upon with rockets and musket-fires, lost his way and, as Beatson politely puts it, had to "postpone the attack" until a more favourable opportunity should offer. Wellesley's failure was glossed over by Beatson and other chroniclers, but the next morning he failed to report when a force was being paraded to renew the attack. "On 22 April [1799], twelve days before the main battle, rocketeers worked their way around to

14883-520: Was strapped to a shaft of bamboo about 4 ft long. The iron tube acted as a combustion chamber and contained well-packed black powder to act as the propellant. A rocket carrying about one pound of powder could travel almost 1,000 yards (910 m). In contrast, rockets in Europe were not iron cased and could not take large chamber pressures. As a consequence European rockets were not capable of reaching distances anywhere near as great. Hyder Ali introduced

15006-490: Was that the explosion would generate enough gas within the whale to keep it afloat for retrieval. Expeditions were sent out to try this new technology; many whales were killed, but most of them sank. These early devices, called bomb lances, became widely used for the hunting of humpbacks and right whales . A notable user of these early explosive harpoons was the American Thomas Welcome Roys in 1865, who set up

15129-662: Was with the Vikings who had settled in Greenland centuries prior. The sagas recorded meeting skrælingar , probably an undifferentiated label for all the Indigenous peoples whom the Norse encountered, whether Tuniit , Inuit, or Beothuk . After about 1350, the climate grew colder during the period known as the Little Ice Age . During this period, Russian and Alaskan natives were able to continue their whaling activities. But, in

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