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state of emergency

(Encyclopedia)state of emergency, situation in which a government or a government body is empowered to act with enhanced powers in order to respond to a crisis. The enhanced or emergency powers, and in many cases i...

San Ildefonso, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)San Ildefonso, Treaty of, any of several treaties signed at the royal residence of San Ildefonso, Spain. 1 The Treaty of San Ildefonso of 1796 was an alliance of France with Spain against Great Britai...

ship of the line

(Encyclopedia)ship of the line, large, square-rigged warship, carrying from 70 to 140 guns on two or more completely armed gun decks. In the great naval wars of the 17th, 18th, and early 19th cent., ships of the li...

Ten, Council of

(Encyclopedia)Ten, Council of, in the republic of Venice, a special tribunal created (1310) to avert plots and crimes against the state. It was a direct result of the unsuccessful Tiepolo conspiracy against the Ven...

Charles, archduke of Austria

(Encyclopedia)Charles, 1771–1847, archduke of Austria; brother of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. Despite his epilepsy, he was the ablest Austrian commander in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars; however...

air, law of the

(Encyclopedia)air, law of the, in the broadest sense, all law connected with the use of the air, including radio and satellite transmissions; more commonly, it refers to laws concerning civil aviation. The developm...

Grenville, William Wyndham Grenville, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Grenville, William Wyndham Grenville, Baron, 1759–1834, British statesman; youngest son of George Grenville. He was foreign secretary in the ministry of his cousin William Pitt from 1791 to 1801. Du...

Charles XI, king of Sweden

(Encyclopedia)Charles XI, 1655–97, king of Sweden (1660–97), son and successor of Charles X. Charles ascended the throne at the age of five, so a council of regency ruled until 1672. The regency ended Swedish w...

James I, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona

(Encyclopedia)James I (James the Conqueror), 1208–76, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1213–76), son and successor of Peter II. After a minority was disturbed by private wars among the nobles, James soon...

post-traumatic stress disorder

(Encyclopedia)post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mental disorder that follows an occurrence of extreme psychological stress, such as that encountered in war or resulting from violence, childhood abuse, sexual a...