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District of Columbia, University of the

(Encyclopedia)District of Columbia, University of the, at Washington, D.C.; coeducational; land-grant and federally supported; est. 1976 with the merger of three existing colleges; predominantly African American. I...

British Indian Ocean Territory

(Encyclopedia)British Indian Ocean Territory, archipelago, c.1,180 mi (1,900 km), NE of Mauritius, in the central Indian Ocean. The more than 50 islands, which form the Chagos Archipelago and are located on the sou...

East India Company, British

(Encyclopedia)East India Company, British, 1600–1874, company chartered by Queen Elizabeth I for trade with Asia. The original object of the group of merchants involved was to break the Dutch monopoly of the spic...

British North America Act

(Encyclopedia)British North America Act, law passed by the British Parliament in 1867 that provided for the unification of the Canadian provinces into the dominion of Canada. Until 1982 the act also functioned as t...

Windsor, British royal house

(Encyclopedia)Windsor wĭnˈzər [key], name of the royal house of Great Britain. The name Wettin, family name of Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, consort of Queen Victoria, as well as Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the name of th...

Smith, John, British politician

(Encyclopedia)Smith, John, 1938–94, British politician. A barrister, he was first elected to Parliament in 1970 as a Labour party member from Scotland. He served as secretary for trade in 1970 and subsequently as...

Paterson, William, British financier

(Encyclopedia)Paterson, William, 1658–1719, British financier. By the time of the Glorious Revolution (1688–89, which he supported), he had acquired considerable wealth and influence through foreign trade. In 1...

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