Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Mafra

(Encyclopedia)Mafra mäˈfrə [key], town (1991 est. pop. 9,800), Lisboa dist., W central Portugal, in Estremadura. It is noted for its huge 18th-century palace and monastery, built by John V in imitation of Spain'...

Bussaco

(Encyclopedia)Bussaco or Busaco, Port. Buçaco all: bo͞osäˈkō [key], locality, W central Portugal, in Beira, near Coimbra and around Mt. Bussaco. Now a summer resort, it was formerly a place of seclusion and pe...

Aveiro

(Encyclopedia)Aveiro ävāˈrō [key], town, capital of Aveiro dist., NW Portugal, on the lagoon of Aveiro and at the mouth of the Vouga River, in Beira Litoral. Intersected by numerous...

Ashkenaz

(Encyclopedia)Ashkenaz ăshˈkēnăzˌ [key], eponym of a people perhaps localized in Armenia. He was grandson of Japheth. Gen. 10.3. Ashchenaz: 1 Chron. 1.6; Jer. 51.27. In modern times the term Ashkenazim refers ...

European Free Trade Association

(Encyclopedia)European Free Trade Association (EFTA), customs union and trading bloc; its current members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. EFTA was established in 1960 by Austria, Denmark, Great...

Portuguese literature

(Encyclopedia)Portuguese literature, writings in Portuguese. The literature of Brazil is considered separately (see Brazilian literature). The modern period in Portuguese letters dates from the establishment o...

Micaëlis de Vasconcelos, Carolina

(Encyclopedia)Micaëlis de Vasconcelos, Carolina kärōlēˈnä mēkäāˈlĭs dĭ väshˌko͝onsĕlˈo͝osh [key], 1851–1925, Portuguese scholar, b. Berlin. As a youth she gained a considerable reputation as a R...

Ponta Delgada

(Encyclopedia)Ponta Delgada pônˈtə dĕlgäˈdə [key], city (1991 pop. 21,091), capital of Ponta Delgada dist., in the Azores, Portugal. An important port on São Miguel island, it is the largest city and chief ...

Faial

(Encyclopedia)Faial fäyälˈ [key], island, 66 sq mi (171 sq km), in the N Atlantic, one of the central ...

Utrecht, Peace of

(Encyclopedia)Utrecht, Peace of, series of treaties that concluded the War of the Spanish Succession. It put an end to French expansion and signaled the rise of the British Empire. By the treaty between England and...