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Alfonso VI, Spanish king of León and Castile

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso VI, 1030–1109, Spanish king of León (1065–1109) and Castile (1072–1109). He inherited León from his father, Ferdinand I. Defeated by his brother Sancho II of Castile, he fled to the Mo...

cavalry

(Encyclopedia)cavalry, a military force consisting of mounted troops trained to fight from horseback. Horseback riding probably evolved independently in the Eurasian steppes and the mountains above the Mesopotamian...

Meuse, river, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands

(Encyclopedia)Meuse myo͞oz, Fr. möz [key], Du. Maas, river, c.560 mi (900 km) long, rising in the Langres Plateau, NE France and flowing N past Sedan (the head of navigation) and Charleville-Mézières into S Bel...

Korçë

(Encyclopedia)Korçë, Korça kōrētˈsə [key], city (1989 pop. 63,623), capital of Korçë dist., SE Albania, near the Greek border. Located in an agricultural region, it is a commercial and industrial center p...

Van Schaick, Goose

(Encyclopedia)Van Schaick, Goose gōˈsə văn skīk [key], 1736–89, American Revolutionary soldier, b. Albany, N.Y. He fought in the French and Indian War, becoming (1760) lieutenant colonel of a New York regime...

Downs, The

(Encyclopedia)Downs, The, roadstead, c.8 mi (13 km) long and 6 mi (9.7 km) wide, between North Foreland and South Foreland, off Deal, Kent, SE England, in the English Channel. It is protected, except from strong so...

Graves, Thomas Graves, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Graves, Thomas Graves, Baron, 1725?–1802, British admiral. During the American Revolution his fleet was routed (1781) by the comte de Grasse at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, a defeat that led directl...

Genet, Edmond Charles Édouard

(Encyclopedia)Genet, Edmond Charles Édouard ĕdmôNˈ shärl ādwärˈ zhənāˈ [key], 1763–1834, French diplomat, known as Citizen Genet. He had served as a French representative in Berlin, Vienna, and St. Pet...

Kaiserslautern

(Encyclopedia)Kaiserslautern kīˌzərslouˈtərn [key], city (1994 pop. 102,370), Rhineland-Palatinate, W Germany, on the Lauter River. It is a commercial, industrial, and cultural center, and a center for banking...

Charles II, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland

(Encyclopedia)Charles II, 1630–85, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1660–85), eldest surviving son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria. Charles was a ruler of considerable political skill. His reign was m...