The Mecklenburg Declaration was an alleged resolution passed on May the 20th, 1775, by a convention of the inhabitants of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, favouring independence from Great Britain, and actually declaring the independence of Mecklenburg County. The declaration first became generally known in 1818. It was alleged, however, that the original documents were destroyed by fire in 1800. The probability is that the story arises from action taken on May the 31st, 1775, when resolutions were passed importing resistance to the royal governor, but not independence. Research Mecklenburg Declaration
Absalon or Axel was a Danish prelate and statesman. He was born in 1129 and died in 1201. The foster-brother of Valdemar I, whom he helped to the throne in 1157, he was appointed Bishop of Roskilde in 1158 and elected Archbishop of Lund in 1177. As Chief Minister to Valdemar I, he led an army against the Wends in 1169 and extended Danish territories in the Baltic by capturing Rugen. In 1169 he built a fortress at Havn, around which subsequently developed the city of Copenhagen. In 1184, as Chief Minister to Knut VI he led an expedition that captured Mecklenburg and Pomerania. While Archbishop of Lund, he organised the systematization of Danish ecclesiastical law. Research Absalon
James Knox Polk (real name James Knox Pollock) was the eleventh president of the USA. He was born in 1795 at Mecklenburg County, North Carolina and died in 1849. Educated at the University of North Carolina, he was called to the bar in 1820 he practised at Columbia, Tennessee and also took an interest in politics. In 1823 he was elected to the legislature of Tennessee and in 1825 became a member of congress. For eight years he was speaker of the House of representatives, and from 1839 until 1841 governor of Tennessee. He was elected president of the USA in 1844, standing as a Democratic candidate and defeating Henry Clay. The Mexican War, which President Polk favoured, was prosecuted successfully during his administration, and the Oregon controversy with England was peacefully settled in 1846. The revenue Walker Tariff received his approval. He vetoed river and harbour bills in 1846 and 1847. The California gold discoveries occurred near the end of his term. He died in Nashville a few months after his retirement from office in 1849. Research James Knox Polk
Waldemar II (Waldemar the Victorious or Waldemar the Conqueror) was king of Denmark in 1202. He was born in 1170 and died in 1241. He was the youngest son of Waldemar the Great and ascended to the throne in 1202. His attempts to reduce Sweden and Norway were unsuccessful, but in Germany he acquired Holstein and Mecklenburg, and in 1219 undertook a crusade against the Esthonians, whom he routed at the Battle of Arvel, on which occasion the Danish national standard, the Danebrog, is said to have fallen down from heaven in response to the prayers of the Danish bishops. Yet when Waldemar was treacherously seized by Count Henry of Schwerin and imprisoned for two years, the German princes at once revolted against Waldemar and defeated him, after his release, at Bornhovede on July the 22nd 1227. Research Waldemar II
Waldemar IV (Atterdag) was King of Denmark. He ascended to the throne in 1340 and died in 1375. He sold Estonia in 1346 to the Teutonic Order and in 1360 he succeeded in regaining Scania, Halland and Blekinge from the Swedish king. In 1361 he conquered Gotland, returning to Denmark with the incalculable treasures of Wisby; but this expedition involved him in two ruinous wars with the Hanseatic League and their allies, Sweden and Mecklenburg, during the second of which in 1369 his enemies burned Copenhagen. Peace was finally made at Stralsund in 1370. Research Waldemar IV
The Mecklenburg was a German battleship of 11800 tons displacement launched in 1901. The Mecklenburg was powered by six Schulz-Thornycroft boilers providing a top speed of 18 knots. She carried a complement of 683 and was armed with four 9.4-inch guns; eighteen 5.9-inch guns; twelve 3.4-inch (15 pdr) guns; two machine-guns and six 17.7 inch submerged torpedo tubes positioned at the bow, stern and broadside. After the Great War she was disarmed. Research Mecklenburg
Abbreviations
Research Mecklenburg Declaration
