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Geneva Conventions

(Encyclopedia)Geneva Conventions, series of treaties signed (1864–1949) in Geneva, Switzerland, providing for humane treatment of combatants and civilians in wartime. The first convention, signed by 16 nations, c...

La Guaira

(Encyclopedia)La Guaira lä gwīˈrä [key], city (1990 pop. 23,831), capital of Vargas state, N Venezuela, on the Caribbean Sea NW of Caracas. It is the principal international port of Venezuela; cacao, coffee, an...

Slatin, Rudolf Carl, Freiherr von

(Encyclopedia)Slatin, Rudolf Carl, Freiherr von päˈshä [key], 1857–1932, Austrian adventurer in British and Egyptian service. Called to Egypt by C. G. Gordon, Slatin became governor of Dara (1879) and governor...

Oświęcim

(Encyclopedia)Oświęcim ôshvyĕNˈchēm [key], Ger. Auschwitz, town (1992 est. pop. 45,100), Małopolskie prov., SE Poland. It is a railway junction and industrial center producing chemicals, leather, and agricul...

Regulus, in Roman history

(Encyclopedia)Regulus (Marcus Atilius Regulus) rĕgˈyo͝oləs [key], d. c.250 b.c., Roman general in the First Punic War. While consul (267 b.c.) he conquered the Sallentini and captured Brundisium (now Brindisi)....

Augsburg, League of

(Encyclopedia)Augsburg, League of, defensive alliance formed (1686) by Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I with various German states, including Bavaria and the Palatinate, and with Sweden and Spain so far as their German...

galley

(Encyclopedia)galley, long, narrow vessel widely used in ancient and medieval times, propelled principally by oars but also fitted with sails. The earliest type was sometimes 150 ft (46 m) long with 50 oars. Rowers...

Bautzen

(Encyclopedia)Bautzen bouˈtsən [key], city, Saxony, E Germany, on the Spree River. It is an industrial ci...

Paris, Declaration of

(Encyclopedia)Paris, Declaration of, 1856, agreement concerning the rules of maritime warfare, issued at the Congress of Paris. It was the first major attempt to codify the international law of the sea. Conflicting...

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