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Central America

(Encyclopedia)Central America, narrow, southernmost region (c.202,200 sq mi/523,698 sq km) of North America, linked to South America at Colombia. It separates the Caribbean from the Pacific. Historically, geographe...

British Museum

(Encyclopedia)British Museum, the national repository in London for treasures in science and art. Located in the Bloomsbury section of the city, it has departments of antiquities, prints and drawings, coins and med...

British Library

(Encyclopedia)British Library, national library of Great Britain, located in London; one of the world's great libraries. Long a part of the British Museum, the library collection originated in 1753 when the governm...

Jesuit Estates Act

(Encyclopedia)Jesuit Estates Act jĕzhˈəwĭt, jĕzˈ– [key], law adopted in 1888 by the Quebec legislature, partly to indemnify the Society of Jesus for Jesuit property confiscated by the British during the per...

Latin America

(Encyclopedia)Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. The 20 republics are Arge...

Great Lakes, North America

(Encyclopedia)Great Lakes, group of five freshwater lakes, central North America, creating a natural border between the United States and Canada and forming the largest body of freshwater in the world, with a combi...

Colville, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Colville kŏlˈvĭl [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Salishan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Once one of the...

Alabama, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Alabama ăləbămˈə [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Muskogean branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They lived in S Ala...

Yakima, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Yakima yăkˈəmô, –mə [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Sahaptin-Chinook branch of the Penutian linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the earl...

Manhattan, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Manhattan mănhătˈən [key], indigenous people of North America of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They were a small tribe of the Wappinger Confederacy. The...