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West Prussia

(Encyclopedia)West Prussia, Ger. Westpreussen, former province of Prussia, 9,867 sq mi (25,556 sq km), NE Germany, extending S from the Baltic Sea, between Pomerania on the west and East Prussia on the east. Danzig...

Bezborodko, Aleksandr Andreevich, Prince

(Encyclopedia)Bezborodko, Aleksandr Andreevich, Prince əlyĭksänˈdər əndrāˈəvĭch bĕzbôrôdˈkô [key], 1747–99, Russian statesman. He became secretary of petitions under Catherine II in 1775 and from 1...

Oliva, Peace of

(Encyclopedia)Oliva, Peace of ōlēˈvə, –vä [key], 1660, treaty signed at Oliva (now a suburb of Gdańsk) by Poland and Sweden. John II of Poland renounced the theoretical claim of his line to the Swedish crow...

Stanislaus II

(Encyclopedia)Stanislaus II, 1732–98, last king of Poland (1764–95). He was born Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski. His mother was a member of the powerful Czartoryski family, which furthered Stanislaus's career....

Andrusov, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Andrusov, Treaty of ănˈdro͝osŏfˌ, Rus. əndro͞oˈsəf [key], 1667, signed by Poland and Russia at the village of Andrusov, Russia (present-day Androsovo). It ended the war of Czar Alexis of Russ...

Frederick II, king of Prussia

(Encyclopedia)Frederick II or Frederick the Great, 1712–86, king of Prussia (1740–86), son and successor of Frederick William I. Frederick was tolerant in religious matters, personally professing atheism to h...

Karlowitz, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Karlowitz, Treaty of kärˈlōvĭts [key], 1699, peace treaty signed at Sremski Karlovci (Ger. Karlowitz), N Serbia. It was concluded between the Ottoman Empire on the one side and Austria, Poland, an...

Louis I, king of Hungary

(Encyclopedia)Louis I or Louis the Great, 1326–82, king of Hungary (1342–82) and of Poland (1370–82). He succeeded his father, Charles I, in Hungary, and his uncle, Casimir III, in Poland. He continued the in...

Wenceslaus II, king of Bohemia

(Encyclopedia)Wenceslaus II, 1271–1305, king of Bohemia (1278–1305) and of Poland (1300–1305), son and successor of Ottocar II. From the death (1278) of his father until 1283 the regency was exercised by Otto...

Catherine II

(Encyclopedia)Catherine II or Catherine the Great, 1729–96, czarina of Russia (1762–96). Catherine increased the power and prestige of Russia by skillful diplomacy and by extending Russia's western boundary i...