Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Guiana Highlands

(Encyclopedia)Guiana Highlands, mountainous tableland, c.1,200 mi (1,930 km) long and from 200 to 600 mi (322–966 km) wide, N South America, bounded by the Orinoco and Amazon river basins, and by the coastal lowl...

Pedro I

(Encyclopedia)Pedro I (Dom Pedro de Alcântara) pāˈdrō [key], 1798–1834, first emperor of Brazil (1822–31); son of John VI of Portugal. Dom Pedro was a child when the Portuguese royal family, fleeing from Na...

pantanal

(Encyclopedia)pantanal pəntənälˈ [key], lowland region of SW Mato Grosso state, Brazil, bordering the Paraguay River and extending to the the western edge of the Brazilian Plateau. Parts of the pantanal extend ...

Wagley, Charles Walter

(Encyclopedia)Wagley, Charles Walter wăgˈlē [key], 1913–91, American anthropologist, b. Clarksville, Tex., grad. Columbia (Ph.D., 1941). He began teaching at Columbia in 1940, serving as professor from 1953 to...

Romário

(Encyclopedia)Romário (Romário de Souza Faria), 1966–, Brazilian soccer player. A striker, he had a long stride and outstanding control and mobility despite his small stature (5 ft 6 in./1.68 m). He played with...

Triple Alliance, War of the

(Encyclopedia)Triple Alliance, War of the, 1865–70, fought between Paraguay on one side and an alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay on the other. Brazil's military reprisals for injuries to Brazilian subjec...

John Maurice of Nassau

(Encyclopedia)John Maurice of Nassau, 1604–79, Dutch general and colonial administrator, a prince of the house of Nassau-Siegen; grandnephew of William the Silent. The Dutch West India Company appointed him (1636...

Browse by Subject