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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...

Somme, department, France

(Encyclopedia)Somme sôm [key], department (1990 pop. 548,300), N France, in Picardy, on the English Channel. Amiens is the capital. ...

Margaret of Austria

(Encyclopedia)Margaret of Austria, 1480–1530, Hapsburg princess, regent of the Netherlands; daughter of Emperor Maximilian I. She was betrothed (1483) to the dauphin of France, later King Charles VIII, and was tr...

Berlin, Congress of

(Encyclopedia)Berlin, Congress of, 1878, called by the signers of the Treaty of Paris of 1856 (see Paris, Congress of) to reconsider the terms of the Treaty of San Stefano, which Russia had forced on the Ottoman Em...

Sidmouth, Henry Addington, Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Sidmouth, Henry Addington, Viscount, 1757–1844, British statesman. He entered Parliament in 1784 and in 1789, through the sponsorship of William Pitt, became speaker of the House of Commons. He subs...

Minorca

(Encyclopedia)Minorca mĭnôrˈkə [key], Span. Menorca, Spanish island (1991 pop. 65,109), 271 sq mi (702 km), Baleares prov., in the W Mediterranean Sea, the second largest of the Balearic Islands. Port Mahón is...

San Remo, Conference of

(Encyclopedia)San Remo, Conference of, 1920, meeting with the purpose of ratifying decisions made at the Paris peace conference of May, 1919. Representatives of Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Greece, and Belg...

Strasbourg, Oath of

(Encyclopedia)Strasbourg, Oath of, 842, oath sworn by Charles the Bald (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles II) and Louis the German in solemnizing their alliance against their brother, Emperor Lothair I. The chief po...

Mary of Burgundy

(Encyclopedia)Mary of Burgundy, 1457–82, wife of Maximilian of Austria (later Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I), daughter and heiress of Charles the Bold of Burgundy. The marriage of Mary was a major event in Euro...

sea, law of the

(Encyclopedia)sea, law of the, international agreement regulating the use and exploitation of the world's oceans. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982) calls for limited, and strictly controlled, mining of...