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piracy

(Encyclopedia)piracy, robbery committed or attempted on the high seas. It is distinguished from privateering in that the pirate holds no commission from and receives the protection of no nation but usually attacks ...

thermodynamics

(Encyclopedia)thermodynamics, branch of science concerned with the nature of heat and its conversion to mechanical, electric, and chemical energy. Historically, it grew out of efforts to construct more efficient he...

economics

(Encyclopedia)economics, study of how human beings allocate scarce resources to produce various commodities and how those commodities are distributed for consumption among the people in society (see distribution). ...

Cretaceous period

(Encyclopedia)Cretaceous period krĭtāˈshəs [key], third and last period of the Mesozoic era of geologic time (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table), lasting from approximately 144 to 65 millio...

Iroquois Confederacy

(Encyclopedia)Iroquois Confederacy or Iroquois League ĭrˈəkwoiˌ, –kwäˌ [key], North American confederation of indigenous peoples, initially comprising the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca; the n...

tennis

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Tennis court tennis, game played indoors or outdoors by two players (singles) or four players (doubles) on a level court. In 1900 the international team competition known as the Davis Cup t...

Elizabeth I, queen of England

(Encyclopedia)Elizabeth I, 1533–1603, queen of England (1558–1603). After the Armada, Elizabeth's popularity began to wane. Parliament became less tractable and began to object to the abuse of royally grante...

geography

(Encyclopedia)geography, the science of place, i.e., the study of the surface of the earth, the location and distribution of its physical and cultural features, the areal patterns or places that they form, and the ...

modern architecture

(Encyclopedia)modern architecture, new architectural style that emerged in many Western countries in the decade after World War I. It was based on the “rational” use of modern materials, the principles of funct...

music

(Encyclopedia)music. For information on types of music see such articles as absolute music; aleatory music; chamber music; church music; computer music; electronic music; jazz; program music; rock music; serial mus...