(Encyclopedia) ViseuViseuvēzāˈ&oomacr; [key], town (1991 pop. 20,589), capital of Viseu dist. and Beira Alta, N central Portugal. The town has agricultural-processing and textile industries. It…
(Encyclopedia) Maria II (Maria da Glória), 1819–53, queen of Portugal (1834–53), daughter of Peter IV (Pedro I of Brazil). Pedro, having succeeded to the Portuguese throne on the death (1826) of his…
(Encyclopedia) Henry VII, 1457–1509, king of England (1485–1509) and founder of the Tudor dynasty.
Henry was an astute political leader. He established the Tudor tradition of strong rule tempered…
(Encyclopedia) Bocskay, StephenBocskay, Stephenbôchˈkī [key], 1557–1606, Hungarian noble, voivode [governor] (1604–6) and prince (1605–6) of Transylvania. Seeking to secure the independence of…
(Encyclopedia) Medici, Cosimo III de', 1642–1723, grand duke of Tuscany (1670–1723); son and successor of Ferdinand II de' Medici. During his long reign the government of Tuscany degenerated into…
(Encyclopedia) Sancho IISancho IIsänˈchō [key], d.1072, Spanish king of Castile (1065–72), son and successor of Ferdinand I. He conquered (1072) León from his brother Alfonso VI, but his sister…
(Encyclopedia) Peter V, 1837–61, king of Portugal (1853–61), eldest son and successor of Maria II. Ascending the throne on the death of his mother, he ruled under the regency of his father, Ferdinand…
(Encyclopedia) Zesen, Philipp vonZesen, Philipp vonfēˈlĭp fən tsāˈzən [key], 1619–89, German poet and novelist. Zesen was a major champion of the purification of the German language. His works…
(Encyclopedia) John George, 1585–1656, elector of Saxony (1611–56). A drunkard, he nonetheless ruled the leading German Protestant state during the Thirty Years War. He vacillated in his policy…