Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Pumacagua, Mateo García

(Encyclopedia)Pumacagua, Mateo García mätāˈō gärsēˈä po͞omäkäˈgwä, –käˈwä [key], 1738–1815, Peruvian Native American leader. He aided in suppressing the insurrection (1780–81) of Tupac Amaru ...

Rastafarianism

(Encyclopedia)Rastafarianism, a religious-cultural movement that began (1930s) in Jamaica. Rastafarians believe that Haile Selassie, also named Ras Tafari, the last emperor of Ethiopia (d. 1975), is the Messiah. Th...

artificial limb

(Encyclopedia)artificial limb, mechanical replacement for a missing limb. An artificial limb, called a prosthesis, must be light and flexible to permit easy movement, but must also be sufficiently sturdy to support...

Emigrant Aid Company

(Encyclopedia)Emigrant Aid Company, organization formed in 1854 to promote organized antislavery immigration to the Kansas territory from the Northeast. Eli Thayer conceived the plan as early as Feb., 1854, even be...

abolitionists

(Encyclopedia)abolitionists, in U.S. history, particularly in the three decades before the Civil War, members of the movement that agitated for the compulsory emancipation of the slaves. Abolitionists are distingui...

Albright, Jacob

(Encyclopedia)Albright, Jacob, 1759–1808, American religious leader, founder of the Evangelical Association (later the Evangelical Church), b. near Pottstown, Pa. A German Lutheran, he was converted c.1790 to Met...

Gioia, Melchiorre

(Encyclopedia)Gioia or Gioja, Melchiorre both: mālkyôrˈrā jōˈyä [key], 1767–1829, Italian economist and political theorist. An early advocate of the unification of Italy, he was several times imprisoned, o...

Hofuf

(Encyclopedia)Hofuf äl ho͝o– [key], town, E Saudi Arabia. Textile manufacturing, food processing, and A...

Jamaica Bay

(Encyclopedia)Jamaica Bay, c.20 sq mi (50 sq km), SW Long Island, SE N.Y., separated from the Atlantic Ocean by Rockaway Peninsula; the Rockaway Inlet links it to the sea. The shallow bay has many islands, and its ...

minuet

(Encyclopedia)minuet mĭnyo͞oĕtˈ [key], French dance, originally from Poitou, introduced at the court of Louis XIV in 1650. It became popular during the 17th and 18th cent. In 3–4 meter and moderate tempo, the...
 

Browse by Subject