The great trek was undertaken by the ??????
970497
Trekboers and migrations\n- as noted earlier, some white farmers had taken to pastoralism as their main economic activity about the beginning of the 18th C. They had developed the tradition that if they needed more or better land, moving farther was the way to acquire it. These treks or journeys were undertaken by small groups or families.\n\n- by the early 19th C, these treks had ceased because of\n\n    * confrontation with the Xhosa to the east;\n    * a law by British authorities in Cape Town forbidding migration north of the Orange River.\n\n- for reasons we shall discuss, a series of coordinated, large treks were undertaken beginning in 1837. These collectively came to be called ‘The Great Trek’. Traditionally, it was said to have ended in 1847 (the bulk of the migration happened in the first years up to 1840), although small scale migration continued afterwards.\n- for a short article on the suedafrika site, see .... Great Trek\n- one estimate is that 6,000 whites left the Cape Colony up to 1840 (the suedafrika article says about 10,000 during the entire period of the Great Trek). Another estimate is that over 15,000 people in total left in that period; however, this includes non-whites who made up at least half of the total. Although they are given little recognition in the Afrikaner nationalist hagiography, a great many servants and employees (mostly Coloureds) also were part of the ‘Great Trek’. One reason for the designation ‘great’ is this size and scale of the migration.\n\n- later, as Afrikaner identity and nationalism began to grow, this series of events (including the battles with various indigenous peoples), came to be regarded as an heroic and defining moment in the history of the Afrikaner ‘nation’. The white participants began to be regarded as larger-than-life heroes who had preserved the Afrikaner ‘nation’ from Anglicization and assimilation. They came to be called ‘Voortrekkers’ meaning those trekkers who went before—i.e., the first Afrikaner nationalists. They have tended to be venerated (like saints or like Americans regard their ‘founding fathers’).\n\n- as noted, the Great Trek was composed of a number of individual ‘treks’. The latter were a bit like wagon trains during the 19th C in the U.S. Some treks had several hundred white people, at least an equal number of servants, large numbers of ox wagons (bigger and much heavier than ‘prairie schooners’ in the U.S.), and huge herds of cattle and livestock. Most treks were organised by and around a particular leader. Moreover, as was shown repeatedly over the next 30 years or so, loyalty was usually to individual leaders rather than to the mystical entity, the ‘nation’.\n\nInterpretations\n- the Great Trek has been the subject of disparate interpretations.\n\n   1. Flight from bondage in the land of Egypt\n      - this was the line taken by the Voortrekkers themselves. They complained of a number of grievances and ‘injustices’ under British rule. The list was long: the Black circuit, Slaughter’s Nek, anglicization policies, immoral and impious overturning of divine order by imposing equality between ‘Christians’ and ‘heathens’, the abolition of slavery with inadequate compensation, maligning of Boers by missionaries and other malicious persons, refusal to allow all cattle and land confiscations from Xhosa in the wars that whites argued were their due, etc.). The government in Cape Town was likened to the government of the pharaohs.\n\n   2. Meddling busybodies and do-gooders in London\n      - this was the line taken by the British settlers and the ‘settler’ school of historians who had their own axes to grind.\n      - the Great Trek was seen as the consequences of the pernicious influence of Exeter Hall (this was the auditorium in London where the anti-slavery organisations and Aborigines Protection Society held their large rallies and meetings) and the meddling of ignorant do-gooders in White
979073
I think its a shame that modern man in his feeble attempt to glorify himself has to belittle the greatness of the past in order to achieve a higher level of advancement!! The Ancient Wonders of the past are absolutely mind boggling and magnificent.......no disrespect to our fabulous buildings of modern times but look at what they did with primitive methods of tools and limited resources...\nThey still can figure out how they built these structures and how they have withstand-ed all the years of time??\nDo we as Mankind really want to teach our children the false teachings or misguided views of ignorant would-be marvels???
918490
Was a good program that answered part of your question on BBC 2 last week...not sure when it will be repeating but it's worth looking for...it was on our U.S. Discovery channel yesterday.  The driving force seemed to be food as other post have stated.
594110
I've been to a couple. I remember volunteering at some of the free kitchens and fetching water in five gallon buckets . I had lunch with the Krishna's. There were giant om circles. Lots of naked people. Different music circles, scattered around campfires. Shanti sena. No alcohol was permitted but there was always a renegade alcohol camp on the fringe causing a rukus. There were hobos, rastas, college professors, bikers, Jerry's kids and freaks from every walk of life. And there were lots of hugs, deep in national forest land and stories an ancient Hopi Prophecy of how the children of the white man would return to living in harmony with nature. That's what I remember.
479592
It is with great trepidation I discuss the creation of the new nation.  It's current recreation is fornication which has lead to drastic dehydration and procreation.  We need to find a location for the re-hydration station as it's current situation is in need of relocation.\n\nI've done the paragraph and I am filled with humiliation at the state of my exultation.
244661
They used logbookd as we do now. THey used sextons, rope to check natical miles. And to find longitude they checked lunars.
90347
I found a good article at Wikipedia, with links to other information.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Trail\n\nGood luck!
396862
Yes they were mapped. I had a PBS special called "The flight of Apollo 13". It was an indepth 2 hour story complete with footage & interviews. The footage was really interesting because it showed what the execs were doing at Mission Control as it was happening. I wish I had the video, it's long lost, but I know that the mapping most certainly does exist as it gave great detail including what particular manuever was made and when.
172169
I would say the construction of the Angkor Wat (Temple/Complex/City) and all the associated technological marvels (e.g. sophisticated irrigational systems, design applications, etc.) that went along with it is one of the better examples.  No one can ever argue with that.  The chess business, on the other hand, I'm just not so sure.   By the way, the food is GREAT too!  :-)\n\nHey, I said Angkor Wat first - that's cheatin'!!!   :-)  :-)
303280
Cotton was a big one.  I imagine sugar too, since that's where it comes from.  Lets not forget tea.  Spices of course.  Precious jewels, art, artifacts, etc.  Workers; Indian laborers were sent all over the commonwealth.
1135657
If it is in reference to the Antarctic research area, then I believe you can find information in http://www.smitha.demon.co.uk/zfids/ on this page, there are links that let you know about the progress of the area since 1956 to this day –there are pictures too. In addition, I believe you can find it in Wikipedia too and work from there. Make sure you visit the external links; they might be able to provide you with important information. Good luck with the assignment ;)
753221
This sound slike homework/assignment work to me.  So do your own research and you will learn much more!...;
980044
Background\n\nThomas Jefferson had long thought about such an expedition. While Minister to France from 1785-1789, Jefferson had heard of numerous plans to better explore the Pacific Northwest. In 1785, Jefferson learned that King Louis XVI of France planned to send a mission there, reportedly as a mere scientific expedition. Jefferson found that doubtful, and evidence provided by John Paul Jones confirmed these doubts. In either event, the mission was destroyed by bad weather after leaving Botany Bay in 1788. In 1786 John Ledyard, who had sailed with Captain James Cook to the Pacific Northwest, told Jefferson that he planned to walk across Siberia, ride a Russian fur-trade vessel to cross the ocean, and then walk all the way to the American capitol. Since Ledyard was an American, Jefferson hoped him success. Ledyard had made it as far as Siberia when Czarina Catherine the Great had him arrested and deported back to Poland. [1]\n\nIn a message to Congress, Jefferson wrote[2]\n\n    The river Missouri, and Indians inhabiting it, are not as well known as rendered desirable by their connection with the Mississippi, and consequently with us. ... An intelligent officer, with ten or twelve chosen men ... might explore the whole line, even to the Western Ocean ...\n\nIn a letter dated June 20, 1803, Jefferson wrote to Lewis[3]\n\n    The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, and such principal stream of it as by its course and communication with the waters of the Pacific ocean whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado or any other river may offer the most direct and practicable water communication across this continent for the purposes of commerce.\n\nLouisiana Purchase and a western expedition\nThe famous map of Lewis and Clark's expedition. It changed mapping of northwest America by providing the first accurate depiction of the relationship of the sources of the Columbia and Missouri rivers, and the Rocky Mountains.\n\nThe famous map of Lewis and Clark's expedition. It changed mapping of northwest America by providing the first accurate depiction of the relationship of the sources of the Columbia and Missouri rivers, and the Rocky Mountains.\n\nIn 1803, the Louisiana Purchase sparked interest in expansion to the west coast. A few weeks after the purchase, President Jefferson, an advocate of western expansion, had the Congress appropriate $2,500, "to send intelligent officers with ten or twelve men, to explore even to the Western ocean". They were to study the Indian tribes, botany, geology, Western terrain and wildlife in the region, as well as evaluate the potential interference of British and French Canadian hunters and trappers who were already well established in the area. The expedition was not the first to cross North America but was roughly a decade after the expedition of Alexander MacKenzie, the first European to cross north of Mexico (almost) to the Pacific Ocean, in 1793.\n\nJefferson selected Captain Meriwether Lewis to lead the expedition, afterwards known as the Corps of Discovery; Lewis selected William Clark as his partner. Because of bureaucratic delays in the U.S. Army, Clark officially only held the rank of Second Lieutenant at the time, but Lewis concealed this from the men and shared the leadership of the expedition, always referring to Clark as "Captain"[1].\n\nJourney\n\n    See also: Timeline of the Lewis and Clark Expedition\n\nMeriwether Lewis and William Clark meeting at the falls of the Ohio River; statue at the Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarksville, Indiana (across from Louisville)\nEnlarge\nMeriwether Lewis and William Clark meeting at the falls of the Ohio River; statue at the Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarksville, Indiana (across from Louisville)\n\nClark made most of the preparations, by way of letters to Jefferson. He brought two large buckets and five smaller buckets of salt, a ton of dried pork, and medicines.\n\nThe group, initially consist
507331
I'm an old timer who got interested in Sri Lank forty years ago. I was fascinated by the Kandy Empire, the legend of Adam's peak, the singing shellfish at Lake Batticaloa, the construction of the ancient tanks among many other things. I read a book that I still find interesting called "Jungle Tide". I forget the author's name but he must have written it during the British occupation as he was English. I am sure there are many other fascinating archaeological and educational opportunities in your country, which, I regret, I never did visit. Still, after 40 years, my interest has been retained by what I read. My very best wishes with your project.
754790
The purpose was to circumnavigate the globe
792709
it depends on from where you start measuring. from about 1870 to 1970 great strides were made. its has been pretty much downhill from there. i am not so sure why this is. any ideas?
761646
the one to oregon, many a zebras perished making that trek :)