(Encyclopedia) Russian American Company, colonial trading company, chartered by Czar Paul I in 1799. The charter granted the merchant-dominated company monopoly trading privileges in Russian America…
(Encyclopedia) Shelekhov, Grigori IvanovichShelekhov, Grigori Ivanovichgrĭgôˈrē ēväˈnəvĭch shĕˈlyĭkhəf [key], 1747–95, Russian fur trader in North America, b. Rylsk, Ukraine. He had built up a large…
(Encyclopedia) shell money, medium of exchange consisting of shells, the most widely distributed type of ancient currency. Shells are particularly useful as money because they may be strung in long…
(Encyclopedia) Shirley, William, 1694–1771, colonial governor in British North America, b. England. He became a lawyer and in 1731 emigrated to Massachusetts. In 1741 he became governor of…
(Encyclopedia) Crèvecoeur, J. Hector St. JohnCrèvecoeur, J. Hector St. Johnkrĕvkörˈ [key], 1735–1813, American author and agriculturist, b. France as Michel Guillaume Jean de Crèvecoeur. It is…
(Encyclopedia) Great Bear Lake, largest lake of Canada and fourth largest of North America, c.12,275 sq mi (31,800 sq km), c.190 mi (310 km) long and from 25 to 110 mi (40–177 km) wide, Northwest…
(Encyclopedia) Punta del EstePunta del Estep&oomacr;nˈtä ᵺĕl āsˈtā [key], city (1996 pop. 8,252), E Uruguay, on the Atlantic Ocean. Located on a narrow peninsula surrounded by excellent beaches,…
(Encyclopedia) Ojeda, Alonso deOjeda, Alonso deälōnˈsō ᵺā ōhāˈᵺä [key], c.1466–1515?, Spanish conquistador. He joined Columbus on his second voyage and in 1499—at first accompanied by Vespucci—…
(Encyclopedia) Howe, Irving, 1920–93, American literary and social critic, b. New York City. From his early days as a Trotskyist to his later (and lifelong) position as a democratic socialist, Howe…
