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Blackbeard

(Encyclopedia)Blackbeard, d. 1718, English pirate. His name was probably Edward Teach, Thatch, or Thach. He probably began as a privateer in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), then turned pirate. In 171...

Cordilleras

(Encyclopedia)Cordilleras kôrdĭlˈərəz, Span. kōrdēyāˈräs [key] [Span., originally=little string], general name for the entire chain of mountain systems of W North America, extending from N Alaska to Nicar...

Permian period

(Encyclopedia)Permian period pûrˈmēən [key] [from Perm, Russia], sixth and last period of the Paleozoic era (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table) from 250 to 290 million years ago. Many ma...

butterwort

(Encyclopedia)butterwort, common name for several species of the plant genus Pinguicula of the north temperate zone and the mountains of tropical America. It is a member of the family Lentibulariaceae (bladderwort ...

Constitution of the United States

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Constitution of the United States, document embodying the fundamental principles upon which the American republic is conducted. Drawn up at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787...

Digger Indians

(Encyclopedia)Digger Indians, term indiscriminately applied to many Native Americans of the central plateau region of W North America, including tribes in Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and central Californi...

Utrecht, Peace of

(Encyclopedia)Utrecht, Peace of, series of treaties that concluded the War of the Spanish Succession. It put an end to French expansion and signaled the rise of the British Empire. By the treaty between England and...

orchid

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Rose pogonia, Pogonia ophioglossoides, a member of the orchid family orchid, popular name for members of the Orchidaceae, a family of perennial herbs widely distributed in both hemispheres. Th...

harvest customs

(Encyclopedia)harvest customs, practices associated with the celebration of the gathering of agricultural crops. The gathering of the harvest—the climax of the year's labors wherever the soil is cultivated—has ...

Algonquian

(Encyclopedia)Algonquian ălgŏngˈkēən, –kwēən [key], branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic family of North America. See Native American languages. ...