Blackbeard the Pirate Myths, Truths and Legends

Edward Teach (1680? - 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was a legendary pirate who worked the Caribbean and the coast of Mexico and Eastern North America. He is just as well known today as he was during his heyday some three hundred years ago: he is arguably the most famous pirate ever to set sail. There are many legends, myths and tall tales concerning Blackbeard, the pirate. Are any of them true? 1. Blackbeard Hid Buried Treasure Somewhere Sorry. This legend persists anywhere Blackbeard ever spent significant time, such as North Carolina or New Providence. In reality, pirates rarely (if ever) buried treasure. The myth comes from the classic story Treasure Island, which incidentally features a pirate character named Israel Hands, who was Blackbeards real-life boatswain. Also, much of the loot that Blackbeard took consisted of things like barrels of sugar and cocoa which would be worthless today had he buried them. 2. Blackbeard’s Dead Body Swam Around the Ship Three Times Unlikely. This is another persistent Blackbeard legend. What is known for certain is that Blackbeard died in battle on November 22, 1718, and his head was cut off so that it could be used to get a bounty. Lieutenant Robert Maynard, the man who hunted Blackbeard down, does not report that the body swam around the ship three times after it was thrown into the water, and neither did anyone else who was at the scene. It is interesting to note, however, that Blackbeard sustained no less than five gunshot wounds and twenty sword cuts before finally dropping dead, so who knows? If anyone could swim around the ship three times after death, it would be Blackbeard. 3. Blackbeard Would Light His Hair on Fire Before Battle Sort of. Blackbeard wore his black beard and hair very long, but he never actually lit them on fire. He would put little candles or pieces of a fuse in his hair and light those. They would give off smoke, giving the pirate a fearsome, demonic appearance. In battle, this intimidation worked: his foes were terrified of him. Blackbeards flag was scary, too: it featured a skeleton stabbing a red heart with a spear. 4. Blackbeard Was the Most Successful Pirate Ever Nope. Blackbeard wasnt even the most successful pirate of his generation: that distinction would go to Bartholomew Black Bart Roberts (1682-1722) who captured hundreds of vessels and operated a large fleet of pirate ships. Thats not to say that Blackbeard wasnt successful: he had a very good run from 1717-1718 when he operated the 40-gun Queen Annes Revenge. Blackbeard was certainly greatly feared by sailors and merchantmen. 5. Blackbeard Retired From Piracy and Lived as a Civilian for a While Mostly true. In mid-1718 Blackbeard intentionally ran his ship, the Queen Annes Revenge, into a sandbar, effectively destroying it. He went with some 20 men to see Charles Eden, the Governor of North Carolina and accepted a pardon. For a while, Blackbeard lived there as an average citizen. But it didnt take him long to take up piracy again. This time, he went into cahoots with Eden, sharing the loot in exchange for protection. No one knows if that was Blackbeards plan all along or if he wanted to go straight but simply couldnt resist a return to piracy. 6. Blackbeard Left Behind a Journal of His Crimes This one is not true. Its a common rumor, because of Captain Charles Johnson, who wrote about piracy around the time Blackbeard was alive, who cited from a journal allegedly belonging to the pirate. Other than Johnsons account, there is no evidence of any journal. Lieutenant Maynard and his men did not mention one, and no such book has ever surfaced. Captain Johnson had a flair for the dramatic, and most likely he just made up journal entries when it suited his needs. Sources Cordingly, David. Under the Black Flag New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 1996Defoe, Daniel. A General History of the Pyrates. Edited by Manuel Schonhorn. Mineola: Dover Publications, 1972/1999.Konstam, Angus. The World Atlas of Pirates. Guilford: the Lyons Press, 2009Woodard, Colin. The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down. Mariner Books, 2008.

The Medium Of Art By Leonardo Da Vinci s Mona Lisa

Of all the creative mediums in existence, of which there are a plethora to discover, the medium of Art, although recognized by most as a legitimate creative medium, is one of the most controversial. However, in the subject of practical artwork, sculptures, paintings, and performance artworks, the idea of a definitive artwork is almost non-existent. Although there are artworks that exist, such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, which are known seemingly universally (Torov, 2011), there are few critics or viewers who can explain just what exactly constitutes it as a good artwork. This investigation appears to become universal to many other artworks, an argument that arises between technical mastery, motives, and meaning, if any at all. That is to say that interpretation battles against visual astonishment. However, although the visuals are by far the most striking part of almost any artwork, the first thing that most look for beyond the visual elements is the story being told within the visuals. It is for this reason that many war-time, or significant event paintings are remembered; it’s well known, and is a story that is being told constantly through all mediums, within the realm of out, and outside that same realm. 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Business Income and Capital Gains

Question: Discuss about the Business Income and Capital Gains. Answer: Introduction: Income tax act of any country plays an important role in revenue collection.It is leviable only on the income earned by individual taxpayers in the form of theirpersonal earnings,business incomeandcapital gains. In Australia, the slab rate of income received by individuals is in between 0% to 45%. Moreover, the revenue generated by the companies while income derived was under 30% tax. It was identified from the case, that Hilary was a trekker. The woman never wrote her story prior to that. For evaluating such case, the case will be described in consideration to the description of the matter of Brent vs FCT 1971 which is identical to the similar case. Biggs wife went for a newspaper interview and provided some photographs to them that made her earn some money. The major concern was to evaluate whether the payment offered to her within agreement will be considered as income or not. It can be deemed that payment made to her must be considered as an income for the reason that she retendered a companys services. Income tax act within sec 36 (a) certain work completed by individual or services for an entity might be considered as that persons income. Despite the fact that services were completed turn out to e an aspect of business. Considering the agreement clauses, selling of right to publish was agreed in her biography. However, the story might appear to be manuscript that was agreed by appellant considered in several distinct clauses such as 3, 1, 8 clauses and so on of the agreement. The stories, which were published in the newspaper about her life, were not written by her moreover, she did not dictate each word of the story. The journalists Held responsible for preparing notes constructed her story. The woman just offered the ideas of the story. The acts clause 6 needed the woman to make accessible all documents and pictures that she has along with her that is associated with the deeds subject matter. On the other hand, clause 8 of the agreement had the appellants undertaking that she cannot discuss the matter with other people to the agreements subject matter; moreover, she is not allowed to attain any newspaper conferences on several subjects within sixty days of manuscript signing. The apparent earned the amount payable under the conduct by availing interview time. It was deemed that information that she provided to media served as her possessed asset. At the time she revealed such information to the journalists it does not remain a secret for her, hence, her assets was no longer available to her and the money, which she received from the company in lieu of her services, was of capital nature and cannot be termed as an income under the Income Tax Act. Under section 17 of such Act, tax on income can be charged only on income taxable that is generated over the year by an individual. Such act does not consider defining the term derived. Based on this act a companys payment to her for services happens to be her income. It is evident from the case that, the individual lent an amount of 40,000 dollars to his family for housing loan payment. Based on agreement, family is entitled to return 50,000 dollars within five years. For evaluating this scenario, it is vital to focus on facts from the Riches v Westnister Bank, 1947 case. Based on law of Australia, tax holding is provided with 10% rate based on Part 3, 11A Division of Assessment Act of Income Tax, 1936. It is vital to realize the interest importance prior drawing conclusion. The general interest aspect is that it can be deemed as payment that remains due for the reason that the consumer do not have at amount at the due date time. It can be considered as profit that he might face if he is bound to utilize the amount or the loss that he experienced, as they had not employed that amount. The general consideration can be entitled to depreciation compensation. The assessable income aspect encompasses the following: Transaction based income other than the basic business course. Earned income or received by commission Dividends received on investments in business Income gathered in outer Australia through a tax resident present in the nation Business investments based interest whether acquired or pre-received Lease payments income and expenses on hire Selling profit gained from some capital assets such as buildings or land Rental property income owned by companies Royalty income at the time several companies employ the companys patent Subsides received from a companys business Within such circumstances, income gathered by individual from his family is deemed an income aspect and deemed as income taxable. Concerning the act, property income despite individual excretion income should be treated as individual income. Riches v Westminister Bank Ltd case decided interest is compensating to an owner for the lost opportunity to use an asset. In such scenario, the court indicated that an individual was liable to avail a deduction about borrowing money. The case study indicated that, the son considered interest payment and related amount within decided time of two years. Considering such scenario, it is gathered that within his books, the individual has maintained 5% interest rate and eliminated his dues totally through a cheque. Based on law, different entries should be prepared so that calculation of income is possible reliably and easily. Such transaction might influence the parents obtainable income, the amount that they will attain from their son should be dep icted separately, and proper money on interest should be indicated. The individual charged 20% interest from his son for overall five years. However, hi son cleared all due within two years period and important changes are to be done by the two parties. Before discussing the given case, it is necessary to explain tax on capital gain. In accordance to the law of Australia, tax on capital might be calculated based on difference between asset cost and related amount that an individual gains at the time of disposing them. This is deemed to be an aspect of Income Tax Act. In the occasion of loss of capital, an individual might not be able to claim the desired amount and can utilize such amount for decreasing its capital gain within the fiscal year. If loss on capital increases considerably, then such amount can be forwarded to the upcoming years. A companys assets include residential buildings, motor card employed private use and similar products might be CGT exempted. In consideration to law of Australia, CGT is deemed to be applicable just on global Australian residents. There exists three distinct ways for capital gain calculation mentioned under: Method of Discount: It is applicable on those properties only which were held by an assessee for more than a period of 1 year. The benefit of using this method is to reduce the capital gain of an individual by two ways: Half of the income of an individual or trusts i.e. 50% is allowed for discount as per CGT regimes. If an individual has superannuation funds than 33.33% of his income is allowed for exemption. It is not available for the corporate or companies. The method of calculating is to deduct cost base and capital loss from capital proceeds than deduct the applied discount percentage. Indexation method: It is applicable for those assets, which was held or acquired by an individual before 21 September 1999 for a period of more than 1 year. The benefit of applying this method is to increase the amount of cost base of an individual hrough implementation of factor of indexation, which is relied on index of customer prices. To calculate the income based on a method an individual should employ indexation aspects those are useful and deduct the indexed cost base. Other Techniques: It is applicable for those assets, which were held by an individual for a period, which is less than 1 year and before the CGT event. The method of calculating income based on this method is by deducting the cost base from capital proceeds of an individual. There are few income categories those remain exempted in such category and are mentioned below: Some assets those are purchased 20 September in the year 1985, deemed as asset before CGT. The property used by the taxpayer as his domestic place of stay and within first two hectares of property utilized in gardening. Purchased collectibles worth 500 dollars, which encompass precious stones, art, stamps and many more for individual purposes Cars along with certain type of vehicles including motorbikes that has a carrying capability of 1 tonne or decreased amount than 9 passengers. Compensation caused due to occupational hazard or for individual sickness or injury Notes as well as bonds sold at a discount rate and traditional securities. Gains or losses occurred generate from simple tax on income. Payments within specific authorized government schemes Considering this case study of Scott, it was gathered that the person acquitted land in the year 1980 and created a building on it on the year 1986. Overall lands value is calculated by adding dollar 90,000 with dollar 60,000, i.e., dollar 1,50,000. The property then was employed for renting purposes to the owner. The person sold property for 8,00,000 dollars in an auction. Scott attained dollar 6,50,000 for attaining gain on capital. This indicates he is not liable to claim exemption on CGT for the property was employed in renting. For this reason, the entire amount is chargeable under capital gains heading. In situation where Scott sold such property to his family member then considering the act h can attain exceptions on the gift tax basis. Entire amount is liable to get income exemptions. In a situation where the property owner was the organization that is linked with renting and hiring business then the entire gained amount might be set off with the business value under business profit and gain head. In such circumstances, the individual cannot gain any exemption under gain on capital head. Conclusion: To conclude it can be said that the Australian system of Tax was one of the most complex system of collecting revenue in the world. It contains near about 125 taxes, which includes commonwealth taxes. Different organizations have been set up to ensure the integrity of taxation system of the country. References: Burkhauser, R.V., Hahn, M.H. and Wilkins, R., 2015. Measuring top incomes using tax record data: A cautionary tale from Australia.The Journal of Economic Inequality,13(2), pp.181-205. Faccio, M. and Xu, J., 2015. Taxes and capital structure.Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis,50(03), pp.277-300. Gale, W.G. and Samwick, A.A., 2014. Effects of income tax changes on economic growth.Available at SSRN 2494468. Harding, M., 2013. Taxation of Dividend, Interest, and Capital Gain Income.

The Ministers Black Veil Essay Example For Students

The Ministers Black Veil Essay The Ministers Black VeilFather Hooper wears a black veil over his eyes and nose, never revealingthe reason of the veil to a soul. At times the sexton would insinuate a reasonbehind the veil but never revealing the answer to the mystery. Father Hooper isa very imaginative and creative individual to innovate the idea of wearing ablack veil to express an idea. He is angry towards the response of the veil tohis parishioners, since they treated him differently with the veil compared towithout it. Most of the parishioners are clueless to why he wears it and sometry to imagine why he would ever want to wear it, but there are only ideas andarguments to why a minister would wear it. We will write a custom essay on The Ministers Black Veil specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now One of the reasons behind the veil might be secret sin. Father Hoopermight have committed a very bad sin which he does not want to unveil to anyone. Instead of not telling anyone the sin he shows it clearly on his face with theaid of a black veil. This black veil might relieve tension in his body that hasaccumulated due to his sin. In the story, Father Hooper says that everyonewears a black veil, meaning that everyone commits secret sins without revealingthem to anyone. If you do not express your secret sin you would be keepingstress and tension locked up inside you, but if you express it, the stress andtension will be relieved. Another reason behind the veil might be sorrow. Deep, dark sorrow forsomeone or yourself might be expressed and shown with the help of a black veil. By wearing the black veil for eternity, you are exhibiting great love and sorrowfor someone or yourself. If the black veil was removed, the sorrow and lovewould be dead. This might be how Reverend Hooper expressed the veil. Father Hooper might have also used the veil as a friend and a device totest Elizabeths love for him. The black veil might have given Mr. Hooperfriendship if he was lonely and without a mate. He could test Elizabeth to seeif an object would come between them and their love. The Reverend told her ifshe was his, the black veil would then be removed. If she was not his, theblack veil would stay on his face and be his friend for eternity. The blackveil came between Elizabeth and Father Hooper, causing him to wear it foreternity. The author Nathaniel Hawthorne shows how one symbol can be interpretedinto many ways and lead to many sub-topics. He does not give the reason behindthe black veil because he wants the readers to use their imagination and thinkof their own reason behind the veil. Although Father Hooper never answered themystery of the veil, there are many theories behind it. I could not think ofone theory for the black veil without thinking of others, therefore I listed allthree of my theories. English