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Oliva, Peace of

(Encyclopedia)Oliva, Peace of ōlēˈvə, –vä [key], 1660, treaty signed at Oliva (now a suburb of Gdańsk) by Poland and Sweden. John II of Poland renounced the theoretical claim of his line to the Swedish crow...

Lancaster, house of

(Encyclopedia)Lancaster, house of lăngˈkəstər [key], royal family of England. The line was founded by the second son of Henry III, Edmund Crouchback, 1245–96, who was created earl of Lancaster in 1267. Earlie...

Gallitzin

(Encyclopedia)Gallitzin gəlyēˈtsĭn [key], Russian princely family. Among many alternate spellings are Galitzin, Galytzin, and Galitsin. Vasily Vasilyevich Gallitzin, d. 1619, helped to enthrone the first false ...

Hanover, house of

(Encyclopedia)Hanover, house of, ruling dynasty of Hanover (see Hanover, province), which was descended from the Guelphs and which in 1714 acceded to the British throne in the person of George I. George was the gra...

Paris, Congress of

(Encyclopedia)Paris, Congress of, 1856, conference held by representatives of France, Great Britain, the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), Sardinia, Russia, Austria, and Prussia to negotiate the peace after the Crimean War....

Group of Seven

(Encyclopedia)Group of Seven (G7), international organization officially established in 1985 to facilitate economic and commercial cooperation among the world's largest industrial nations, including efforts to aid ...

James II, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona

(Encyclopedia)James II, c.1260–1327, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1291–1327), king of Sicily (1285–95). He succeeded his father, Peter III, in Sicily and his brother, Alfonso III, in Aragón. James...

Turkmanchai, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Turkmanchai, Treaty of to͝orkmänchīˈ [key], 1828, agreement signed by Russia and Persia at the village of Turkmanchai (Torkaman), East Azerbaijan prov., NW Iran. It concluded the Russo-Persian war...

Simon of Cyrene

(Encyclopedia)Simon of Cyrene sīrēˈnē [key], in the New Testament, bystander made to carry Jesus' cross. He was probably an African Jew, and is identified as the father of Alexander and Rufus. ...

Pozzo di Borgo, Carlo Andrea

(Encyclopedia)Pozzo di Borgo, Carlo Andrea kärˈlō ändrĕˈä pôtˈtsō dē bôrˈgō [key], 1764–1842. Corsican politician and diplomat in Russian service, b. Corsica. In the French Revolution, he allied wit...