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Curitiba

(Encyclopedia)Curitiba ko͞orētēˈbä [key], city, capital of Paraná state, SE Brazil. It was founded in ...

Fonseca, Manuel Deodoro da

(Encyclopedia)Fonseca, Manuel Deodoro da mänwĕlˈ dēo͝oᵺôˈro͝o dä fo͝onsĕˈkə [key], 1827–92, first president of Brazil (1891). A leader of the discontented militarists who helped overturn the empire...

amethyst

(Encyclopedia)amethyst ămˈəthĭst [key] [Gr.,=non-drunkenness], variety of quartz, violet to purple in color, used as a gem. It is the most highly valued of the semiprecious quartzes. It is associated with a num...

Campinas

(Encyclopedia)Campinas kəmpēˈnəs [key], city, São Paulo state, S Brazil. It is a growing industrial an...

carnauba

(Encyclopedia)carnauba kärnôˈbə, –nouˈ– [key], wax obtained from the wax palm, or carnauba (Copernicia cerifera), of Brazil. It is secreted by the leaves, apparently in defense against the hot winds and dr...

Dutch West India Company

(Encyclopedia)Dutch West India Company, trading and colonizing company, chartered by the States-General of the Dutch republic in 1621 and organized in 1623. Through its agency New Netherland was founded. The phenom...

Guiana Highlands

(Encyclopedia)Guiana Highlands, mountainous tableland, c.1,200 mi (1,930 km) long and from 200 to 600 mi (322–966 km) wide, N South America, bounded by the Orinoco and Amazon river basins, and by the coastal lowl...

Lupescu, Magda

(Encyclopedia)Lupescu, Magda mägˈdä lo͞opĕˈsko͞o [key], 1896?–1977, wife of Carol II of Romania. Her given name was Elena. Carol renounced (1925) his succession to the throne for her, but after becoming ki...

Tiradentes

(Encyclopedia)Tiradentes tērəᵺĕnˈtəs [key], 1748–92, Brazilian patriot. His real name was José Joaquim da Silva Xavier. He gained his nickname, which means “tooth-puller,” working as a healer in his y...

Tapajós

(Encyclopedia)Tapajós täpäzhôsˈ [key], river, c.600 mi (970 km) long, formed at the border of Mato Grosso, Pará, and Amazonas states, central Brazil, by the confluence of the Juruena and Teles Pirez rivers. I...