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Ermeland

(Encyclopedia)Ermeland wôrˈmēə [key], historic region of East Prussia, extending far inland from the Baltic Sea. It was ceded to Poland in 1466 by the Teutonic Knights, passed to Prussia in 1772, and reverted t...

peonage

(Encyclopedia)peonage pēˈənĭj [key], system of involuntary servitude based on the indebtedness of the laborer (the peon) to his creditor. It was prevalent in Spanish America, especially in Mexico, Guatemala, Ec...

Clark, Helen

(Encyclopedia)Clark, Helen, 1950–, New Zealand politician, prime minister (1999–2008), b. Hamilton, N.Z. A graduate of the Univ. of Auckland (B.A., 1971; M.A., 1974), she taught political science there (1973–...

Western Federation of Miners

(Encyclopedia)Western Federation of Miners (WFM), a radical labor union that organized the miners and smelter workers of the Rocky Mountain states. Created in 1893 by the merger of several local miners' unions, the...

Keating, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Keating, Paul, 1944–, Australian politician. A trade-union official and member of the Labor party, he was first elected to parliament in 1969. As federal treasurer (treasury minister) from 1983 to 1...

Akko

(Encyclopedia)Akko āˈkər, äˈ– [key], Fr. Saint-Jean d'Acre, Arab. Acca, city, NW Israel, a port on the Bay of Haifa (an arm of the Mediterranean Sea). Its manufactures include ir...

tournament

(Encyclopedia)tournament or tourney, in the Middle Ages, public contest between armed horsemen in simulation of real battle. In this military game, which flourished from the 12th to the 16th cent., combatants were ...

Fraser, Douglas Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Fraser, Douglas Andrew, 1916–2008, American labor leader, b. Glasgow, Scotland. His family emigrated to the United States when he was a child and settled in Detroit, where he began his working life ...

Balts

(Encyclopedia)Balts bôlts [key], peoples of the east coast of the Baltic Sea. They include the Latvians, the Lithuanians, and the now extinct Old Prussians. Their original home was farther east, but from the 6th c...

Fisher, Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Fisher, Andrew, 1862–1928, Australian statesman. He emigrated from Scotland to Australia in 1885, helped organize the Australian Labor party, and served three times as Labor prime minister of Austra...