History
This term "captain general" (actually "general captain") started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of commander in chief of an army (or fleet) in the field, probably the first usage of the term general in military settings. A popular term in the 16th and 17th centuries, but with various meanings depending on the country, it became less and less used in the 18th century, usually substituted by full generals or field marshals; and after the end of the Napoleonic Wars it had but disappeared in most European countries, except Spain and former colonies.
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Famous quotes containing the word history:
“All things are moral. That soul, which within us is a sentiment, outside of us is a law. We feel its inspiration; out there in history we can see its fatal strength.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The one duty we owe to history is to rewrite it.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“One classic American landscape haunts all of American literature. It is a picture of Eden, perceived at the instant of history when corruption has just begun to set in. The serpent has shown his scaly head in the undergrowth. The apple gleams on the tree. The old drama of the Fall is ready to start all over again.”
—Jonathan Raban (b. 1942)