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Artigas, José Gervasio

(Encyclopedia)Artigas, José Gervasio hōsāˈ hārväˈsyō ärtēˈgäs [key], 1764–1850, national hero of Uruguay, first leader in the movement toward independence. He came from the cattle-raising region Banda...

Lusitania, Roman province

(Encyclopedia)Lusitania lo͞osĭtānˈēə [key], Roman province in the Iberian Peninsula. As constituted (c.a.d. 5) by Augustus it included all of modern central Portugal as well as much of W Spain. The province t...

Caro, Joseph ben Ephraim

(Encyclopedia)Caro or Karo, Joseph ben Ephraim käˈrō [key], 1488–1575, eminent Jewish codifier of law, b. Toledo, Spain. He left Spain as a child when the Jews were expelled (1492) and finally settled in Safed...

reredos

(Encyclopedia)reredos rērˈdŏs [key], ornamented wall or screen that rises behind the high altar of a church, forming a background for it. It may be placed against the apse wall at the extreme end or directly beh...

Portolá, Gaspar de

(Encyclopedia)Portolá, Gaspar de gäspärˈ dā pôrtōläˈ [key], fl. 1734–84, Spanish explorer in the Far West. After serving in Italy and Portugal, he was sent (1767) to America as governor of the California...

Port Royal

(Encyclopedia)Port Royal, former coastal city and port, S Jamaica. Situated on a deepwater harbor on the Caribbean shipping lanes between Spain and Panama, a settlement was established in the 1th cent. by Spain at ...

Alba, Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, duque de

(Encyclopedia)Alba or Alva, Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, duque de ălˈbə, ălˈvə, Span. both: fārnänˈdō älˈvärāth dā tōlāˈᵺō do͞oˈkā dā älˈvä [key], b. 1507 or 1508, d. 1582, Spanish gener...

Anne of Austria

(Encyclopedia)Anne of Austria, 1601–66, queen of France, daughter of King Philip III of Spain. Married to the French king Louis XIII (1615), she was neglected by her husband and sought the society of the court in...

Haute-Garonne

(Encyclopedia)Haute-Garonne ōt-gärônˈ [key], department, S France, in Languedoc, bordering Spain. Toulouse is the capital. ...

Guadalupe, Sierra de

(Encyclopedia)Guadalupe, Sierra de syārˈrä ᵺā gwäᵺälo͞oˈpā [key], mountain range, W Spain, in Extremadura, between the Tagus and Guadiana rivers. The highest elevation is 4,734 ft (1,443 m). ...