(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…
(Encyclopedia) Carol II, 1893–1953, king of Romania, son of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie. While crown prince, he contracted a morganatic marriage with Zizi Labrino but divorced her to marry (1921)…
Imperial, territorial, and economic rivalries led to the “Great War” between the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and Turkey) and the Allies (U.S., Britain, France, Russia,…
(Encyclopedia) Charles V, 1500–1558, Holy Roman emperor (1519–58) and, as Charles I, king of Spain (1516–56); son of Philip I and Joanna of Castile, grandson of Ferdinand II of Aragón, Isabella of…
(Encyclopedia) Princip, GavriloPrincip, Gavrilogävˈrēlō prēnˈtsēp [key], 1895–1918, Serbian political agitator, b. Bosnia. As a high-school student and a member of the Serbian nationalist secret…
(Encyclopedia) JaénJaénhäānˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 109,338), capital of Jaén prov., S Spain, in Andalusia. It is a marketing and distribution center for a fertile area producing olive oil and wine.…
Portugal: End of an Empire
The Portuguese colonial empire comes to a close by Borgna Brunner
On December 20, 1999, Portugal gave up the last colony in its…