Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Isabela, ruins, Dominican Republic

(Encyclopedia)Isabela ēsäbāˈlä [key], ruins of a town on the north shore of Hispaniola, in the Dominican Republic, at the base of Cape Isabela. Believed to have been founded by Columbus (c.1494), it was one of...

Pic du Midi d'Ossau

(Encyclopedia)Pic du Midi d'Ossau dôsōˈ [key], double peak, 10,322 ft (3,146 m) high, SW France, in the Pyrenees, near the Spanish border. It is in a winter-sports area. The village of Gabas lies at its foot. ...

Franco, Francisco

(Encyclopedia)Franco, Francisco fränthēsˈkō frängˈkō [key], 1892–1975, Spanish general and caudillo [leader]. He became a general at the age of 32 after commanding the Spanish Foreign Legion in Morocco. Du...

Wilkinson, James

(Encyclopedia)Wilkinson, James, 1757–1825, American general and one of the most corrupt and devious officers in the nation's early army, b. Calvert co., Md. Abandoning his medical studies in 1776 to join the army...

Lion, Gulf of

(Encyclopedia)Lion, Gulf of, Fr. Golfe du Lion gôlf dü lyôNˈ [key], arm of the Mediterranean Sea, S France, extending from the French-Spanish border to Toulon. Its coastline includes many lagoons and the Rhône...

Rogers, Woodes

(Encyclopedia)Rogers, Woodes, 1679?–1732, British privateer and colonial administrator. A romantic figure, Rogers plundered (1708–9) Spanish commerce in the Pacific and rescued Alexander Selkirk from the Juan F...

Anáhuac

(Encyclopedia)Anáhuac änäˈwäk [key] [Aztec and Nahuatl,=near the water], geographical term used variously in Mexico before the Spanish Conquest. Today it commonly refers to that part of the central plateau of ...

Páez, Pedro

(Encyclopedia)Páez, Pedro pāˈᵺrō päˈāth [key], 1564–1622, Spanish Jesuit missionary. He preached in Goa, India, was enslaved for seven years in Sana, Yemen, and in 1603 arrived in Ethiopia. He rapidly le...

Howell, John Adams

(Encyclopedia)Howell, John Adams, 1840–1918, American naval officer and inventor, b. Bath, N.Y., grad. Annapolis, 1858. He served as a lieutenant throughout the Civil War, fighting under Admiral Farragut at Mobil...

Helps, Sir Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Helps, Sir Arthur, 1813–75, English historian and author. His works include Friends in Council (3 series, 1847–59), dialogues on social and intellectual subjects; The Spanish Conquest in America (...