398 résultats pour "french"

• Belgium - country.

  European Union (EU) directives aimed at improving Belgium’s environmental conditions concern water treatment and water quality, both significant issues in such anindustrial center. Before these directives were issued, the Meuse River, a major source of drinking water, had become polluted from steel production wastes. Otherrivers were polluted with animal wastes and fertilizers. However, Belgium failed to meet EU targets set for the early 2000s for protecting its rivers from farm pollutionand for...

• Gabon - country.

  government is engaged in preservation and reforestation programs. The fish catch in 2005 was 43,941 metric tons. C Mining Mining has developed rapidly since Gabon’s independence in 1960. Annual production of extremely high-grade manganese ore, from Moanda in the southeast, was1,090,000 metric tons in 2004. The rich deposits of iron ore located at Mekambo and Bélinga in the northeast have reserves estimated at more than 500 million metrictons. Exploitation of the iron ore has been hampered by th...

• British Empire .

  B1 The Seven Years’ War During the Seven Years’ War in Europe (1756-1763), Britain made large imperial gains at the expense of France. The North American segment of the Seven Years’ Warwas known as the French and Indian War. It was launched by the British against French possessions in North America in 1754, and in 1758 the British captured theFrench fortress of Louisbourg, which gave them access to French territory in the St. Lawrence Valley. In the following year Québec was captured, marking t...

• George Washington I INTRODUCTION George Washington (1732-1799), first president of the United States (1789-1797) and one of the most important leaders in United States history.

  A2 Promotion This was Washington’s first experience with the difficulties of raising troops while lacking equipment, clothing, and funds. Apparently he thought his efforts worthy ofsome recognition and successfully applied to Dinwiddie for a lieutenant colonel’s commission. He left Alexandria, Virginia, early in April with about 150 poorly equippedand half-trained troops. A3 First Battles Before he had advanced very far, Washington received news that the French had driven Trent’s men back from...

• George Washington.

  A2 Promotion This was Washington’s first experience with the difficulties of raising troops while lacking equipment, clothing, and funds. Apparently he thought his efforts worthy ofsome recognition and successfully applied to Dinwiddie for a lieutenant colonel’s commission. He left Alexandria, Virginia, early in April with about 150 poorly equippedand half-trained troops. A3 First Battles Before he had advanced very far, Washington received news that the French had driven Trent’s men back from...

• George Washington

  A2 Promotion This was Washington’s first experience with the difficulties of raising troops while lacking equipment, clothing, and funds. Apparently he thought his efforts worthy ofsome recognition and successfully applied to Dinwiddie for a lieutenant colonel’s commission. He left Alexandria, Virginia, early in April with about 150 poorly equippedand half-trained troops. A3 First Battles Before he had advanced very far, Washington received news that the French had driven Trent’s men back from...

• Central African Republic - country.

  Manufacturing activity in the Central African Republic is very limited. Products include cottonseed, peanut, and sesame oils; textiles; leather goods; tobacco products;soap; flour; bricks; and paint. The output of electricity in 2003 was 106 million kilowatt-hours, 80.19 percent of which was generated in hydroelectric installations. Gemdiamonds account for nearly all the country’s mineral output and two-thirds of its export revenue. Production was 250,000 carats in 2004. Uranium was discovered i...

• Guinea - country.

  Mining operations in 2004 yielded 16 million metric tons of bauxite, 468,400 carats of high-quality diamonds, and 16,000 kg (35,300 lb) of gold. Environmental concernsand political instability in neighboring Liberia have delayed exploitation of high-grade iron ore from Mount Nimba. In 1999 the national budget included $466 million in revenues and $414 million in expenditures. The unit of currency is the Guinean franc, which is divided into 100 centimes (3,644 francs equal U.S.$1; 2005 average...

• Sir Robert Borden.

  of the British Empire, Laurier proposed creating a Canadian navy that in case of war could be incorporated into the British navy. The plan was opposed by theConservatives, who thought that Canada should simply provide ships for the British navy. The Québec nationalists also opposed the plan because they did not wantCanada either to participate in the British navy or to have a navy of its own. At the last moment before election day in 1911 it looked as if the Liberals might win. The government ne...

• Sir Robert Borden - Canadian History.

  of the British Empire, Laurier proposed creating a Canadian navy that in case of war could be incorporated into the British navy. The plan was opposed by theConservatives, who thought that Canada should simply provide ships for the British navy. The Québec nationalists also opposed the plan because they did not wantCanada either to participate in the British navy or to have a navy of its own. At the last moment before election day in 1911 it looked as if the Liberals might win. The government ne...

• Côte d'Ivoire - country.

  D Culture Traditional artistic expressions in Côte d’Ivoire include woodcarvings (particularly masks), decorative fabrics, and acrobatic dancing. Urban populations have beengreatly influenced by French culture. The French language is almost universally used in the written literature of Côte d’Ivoire, to the exclusion of the African languages. IV ECONOMY About 60 percent of Côte d’Ivoire’s total labor force is employed in farming and forestry. Government efforts to avoid dependence on a small...

• World War II .

  the Nazi-Soviet Pact was signed. In the part published the next day, Germany and the Soviet Union agreed not to go to war against each other. A secret protocol gaveStalin a free hand in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, eastern Poland, and eastern Romania. See also German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. III MILITARY OPERATIONS In the early morning hours of September 1, 1939, the German armies marched into Poland. On September 3 the British and French surprised Hitler by declaring war onGermany, but they...

• Napoleonic Wars .

  Before the effect of British sea power could be manifest, however, Napoleon increased his power over the Continent. In 1806 Prussia, aroused by Napoleon's growingstrength in Germany, joined in a Fourth Coalition with Britain, Russia, and Sweden. Napoleon badly defeated the Prussians in the Battle of Jena on October 14, 1806,and captured Berlin. He then defeated the Russians in the Battle of Friedland and forced Alexander I to make peace. By the principal terms of the Treaty of Tilsit, Russiagave...

• Abolitionist Movement.

  The American Revolution (1775-1783) and the French Revolution (1789-1799), widely seen as revolutions by citizens against oppressive rulers, transformed thisEnlightenment assertion into a call for universal liberty and freedom. The successful slave revolt that began in the French colony of Saint-Domingue in 1791 was part of this revolutionary age. Led by François Dominique ToussaintLouverture, black rebels overthrew the colonial government, ended slavery in the colony, and in 1804 established th...

• Abolitionist Movement - U.

  The American Revolution (1775-1783) and the French Revolution (1789-1799), widely seen as revolutions by citizens against oppressive rulers, transformed thisEnlightenment assertion into a call for universal liberty and freedom. The successful slave revolt that began in the French colony of Saint-Domingue in 1791 was part of this revolutionary age. Led by François Dominique ToussaintLouverture, black rebels overthrew the colonial government, ended slavery in the colony, and in 1804 established th...

• Djibouti (country) - country.

  l’Unité et de la Démocratie (FRUD; Front for the Renewal of Unity and Democracy) represents the Afar minority. The Parti National Démocratique (PND; Democratic National Party) and the Parti du Renouveau Démocratique (PRD; Democratic Renewal Party) are both small opposition parties favoring democratic reforms. VI HISTORY Djibouti lies at a major global crossroads where, some 100,000 years ago, early humans migrated from Africa to the Middle East. Livestock herding, which remainsimportant...

• Latin American Independence.

  be inferior and were not permitted a university education. In the lowest caste were the African slaves. As the Spanish monarchy tried to increase its authority, it was hampered by the power of the Catholic Church. The church, including various religious orders, hadacquired great wealth, including large holdings of land, in the colonies. The Jesuit order especially had gained extraordinary wealth and political influence, and it alsocontrolled much of the university and high school education in th...

• Paris (city, France) - geography.

  Théâtre Musical de Paris and the Théâtre de la Ville. Just north of the Hôtel de Ville is the Pompidou Center, also known as Beaubourg, an arts complex devoted to modern and contemporary art and design. The structure,in steel and glass and featuring brightly colored, exposed pipes and ducts, is the work of Italian architect Renzo Piano and British architect Richard Rogers. Itscontroversial pop-art design contrasts sharply with the overall gray hue of the city, and was criticized by many followin...

• Montréal - geography.

  requires children of immigrants to be educated in French. As a result, French-language schools became increasingly multiethnic. With four universities, Montréal is one of the leading centers of higher education in Canada. There are two English-language institutions: McGill University (1821) andConcordia University (1974). Their French-language counterparts are the Université de Montréal (1876) and the University of Québec at Montréal (1969). Both private andstate universities are funded by the p...

• History of Colonial America - U.

  Despite the lack of settlement, New France prospered as a vast fur-trading enterprise. French explorers traveled deep into the North American continent seeking newsupplies of deerskins and beaver pelts. In 1673 French missionary Jacques Marquette reached the Mississippi River in present-day Wisconsin. In 1681 explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, traveled down the majestic Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. He honored the reign of King Louis XIV (1643-1715) by creating the newcolony...

• Scramble for Africa.

  additional territorial grabs. The most significant of these rules stated that colonial powers were obligated to notify each other when they claimed African territory.Further, subsequent “effective occupation” of the claimed area was necessary for the claim to remain valid. Through it all, as Europeans negotiated their rights toAfrican territory, not a single African was present. Once the conference was over, it was clear that a European Scramble for African territories was underway. Southern Afr...

• Pablo Picasso.

  Color juxtapositions—between blue and orange, for instance—are intentionally strident and unharmonious. The representation of space is fragmented and discontinuous. While the left side of the canvas is largely Iberian-influenced, the right side is inspired by African masks, especially in its striped patterns and oval forms. Suchborrowings, which led to great simplification, distortion, and visual incongruities, were considered extremely daring in 1907. The head of the figure at the bottom right,...

• Lester Pearson.

  a vacant seat. The by-election followed a major Liberal victory in September, and as a Liberal Party candidate, Pearson won by a comfortable margin in Algoma East,Ontario. He was reelected to the House of Commons in elections between 1949 and 1965. He was immediately made secretary of state for external affairs in the cabinetof Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent. In this post, Pearson set a new standard of frank exchange and cooperation that brought him respect and esteem. However, manyCanadians w...

• Lester Pearson - Canadian History.

  a vacant seat. The by-election followed a major Liberal victory in September, and as a Liberal Party candidate, Pearson won by a comfortable margin in Algoma East,Ontario. He was reelected to the House of Commons in elections between 1949 and 1965. He was immediately made secretary of state for external affairs in the cabinetof Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent. In this post, Pearson set a new standard of frank exchange and cooperation that brought him respect and esteem. However, manyCanadians w...

• Paris (city, France) - geography.

  and its vibrant public square, frequented by street performers, soon became among the most popular landmarks in the city. West of the Pompidou Center is Les Halles, the site of the central market of Paris from the 12th century until 1969. The market was subsequently replaced by the Forum LesHalles, a multilevel underground complex featuring a shopping mall, museums, the Paris film library ( vidéothèque ), and a sports center. The street level of Les Halles features a garden, the Jardin des Halle...

• Dominica - country.

  Other crops are being promoted to diversify the economy away from reliance on bananas. They include coffee, cacao, mangoes, citrus fruit, and root vegetables. Pumice is quarried and exported on Dominica. Manufacturing is on a small scale and largely limited to the processing of farm products. The main manufactured goodsare fruit juices, alcoholic beverages, soap, and essential oils. The island also has electronic assembly plants, data-processing companies, and garment manufacturers. The governme...

• Winston Churchill I INTRODUCTION Winston Churchill (1874-1965), British politician and prime minister of the United Kingdom (1940-1945, 1951-1955), widely regarded as the greatest British leader of the 20th century.

  sufficient tools to break the stalemate on the western front and he worked on developing armored fighting vehicles (tanks) to break the deadlock and end theslaughter. As the lines hardened on the western front, Churchill focused on a campaign to force open the Dardanelles Strait, controlled by the Ottoman Empire, to give the Allies adirect route to Russia through the Black Sea. Such a move would bring much-needed supplies to the Russian armies and eliminate the Ottomans from the war. Whenthe nav...

• Winston Churchill.

  sufficient tools to break the stalemate on the western front and he worked on developing armored fighting vehicles (tanks) to break the deadlock and end theslaughter. As the lines hardened on the western front, Churchill focused on a campaign to force open the Dardanelles Strait, controlled by the Ottoman Empire, to give the Allies adirect route to Russia through the Black Sea. Such a move would bring much-needed supplies to the Russian armies and eliminate the Ottomans from the war. Whenthe nav...

• Winston Churchill .

  sufficient tools to break the stalemate on the western front and he worked on developing armored fighting vehicles (tanks) to break the deadlock and end theslaughter. As the lines hardened on the western front, Churchill focused on a campaign to force open the Dardanelles Strait, controlled by the Ottoman Empire, to give the Allies adirect route to Russia through the Black Sea. Such a move would bring much-needed supplies to the Russian armies and eliminate the Ottomans from the war. Whenthe nav...

• James Monroe.

  In October 1786, Monroe resigned from Congress and settled with his bride in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he began a law practice. His retirement from politics wasbrief. He was soon elected to the town council, and then once again to the Virginia legislature. However, Monroe never lost touch with national politics. He corresponded regularly with both Jefferson and Madison. In 1786 Monroe attended the AnnapolisConvention, which had been called to consider interstate commerce and other matters...

• James Monroe - USA History.

  In October 1786, Monroe resigned from Congress and settled with his bride in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he began a law practice. His retirement from politics wasbrief. He was soon elected to the town council, and then once again to the Virginia legislature. However, Monroe never lost touch with national politics. He corresponded regularly with both Jefferson and Madison. In 1786 Monroe attended the AnnapolisConvention, which had been called to consider interstate commerce and other matters...

• France - country.

  In both the Paris and Aquitaine basins, fertile soils derived from limestone and wind-deposited dust, called loess, have supported prosperous agriculture since ancienttimes. Other lowlands in France are scattered and relatively small. They include the Alsace Plain in the east, bordering Germany, the valley of the Rhône River in thesoutheast, and the Languedoc Plain along the Mediterranean coast. A2 Uplands France contains several regions of uplands, the worn down remains of ancient mountain sys...

• John Quincy Adams.

  man of my whole country.” When President Thomas Jefferson requested Senate approval of his treaty for the purchase of the French colony of Louisiana, Adams was the only New EnglandFederalist to vote in favor of it. He realized that the power and influence of his own New England would be reduced if the vast territory were added to the nation, but hewas convinced that the national interest would best be served by the purchase of Louisiana ( see Louisiana Purchase). Adams again broke with his New...

• John Quincy Adams

  man of my whole country.” When President Thomas Jefferson requested Senate approval of his treaty for the purchase of the French colony of Louisiana, Adams was the only New EnglandFederalist to vote in favor of it. He realized that the power and influence of his own New England would be reduced if the vast territory were added to the nation, but hewas convinced that the national interest would best be served by the purchase of Louisiana ( see Louisiana Purchase). Adams again broke with his New...

• World War I .

  and troops to Europe from the United States and other overseas sources. In 1914 Britain implemented a sea blockade of Germany to prevent the delivery of importssuch as food and war materials. The same year, Germany began using submarines to disrupt Allied seaborne traffic and prevent supplies from reaching Britain. In 1915Germany instituted a submarine blockade around Britain. From February 1915 to September 1915 and again in 1917, Germany used unrestricted submarine warfare,sinking ships withou...

• New Orleans - geography.

  D Metropolitan Region The New Orleans metropolitan region covers 8,800 sq km (3,400 sq mi) and includes the counties—known in Louisiana as parishes— of Orleans, Jefferson, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Tammany, Saint James, and Plaquemines. At the center is the city of New Orleans, which is coextensive withOrleans Parish. It has a land area of 468 sq km (181 sq mi). Extending from this base are numerous suburban towns in the surrounding parishes. Metairie, Harahan...

• American Revolution.

  C1 The South Southern agriculture was founded on the cultivation of tobacco, wheat, and corn in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina, and of rice and indigo (a blue dye) in SouthCarolina and Georgia. There was a large demand for these crops in Europe. These crops were cultivated with the help of black slaves imported from Africa. The whiteplanter class in the South was the most powerful, both politically and economically. C2 The North Wheat was the main cash crop of the mid-Atlantic colonies...

• American Revolution - U.

  C1 The South Southern agriculture was founded on the cultivation of tobacco, wheat, and corn in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina, and of rice and indigo (a blue dye) in SouthCarolina and Georgia. There was a large demand for these crops in Europe. These crops were cultivated with the help of black slaves imported from Africa. The whiteplanter class in the South was the most powerful, both politically and economically. C2 The North Wheat was the main cash crop of the mid-Atlantic colonies...

• German Literature I INTRODUCTION German Literature, literature written in the German language from the 8th century to the present, and including the works of German, Austrian, and Swiss authors.

  Till EulenspiegelThe medieval peasant Till Eulenspiegel appears in many German folktales as a trickster who outwits people in positions ofauthority. In this image his first name is spelled Tyll.Keystone Pressedienst GmbH The rise of the middle class in the 14th and 15th centuries and the struggles of the peasants against the nobility culminated in the great 16th-century religiousrevolution known as the Reformation. This movement was reflected in literature, especially by Martin Luther, whose tra...

• Chad - country.

  B Industries The processing of cotton and cottonseed oil and the manufacturing of peanut oil are major industries in Chad. Modern meatpacking plants have been established inN’Djamena and Sarh. The fishing industry furnishes fresh, dried, and smoked fish for domestic use and export. Petroleum mining and processing are increasinglyimportant industries in Chad. Gold and natron, a mineral used to make soap, glass, paper, and medicines, are also mined. Forestry is important in the south. The outputo...

• Literary Criticism I INTRODUCTION Literary Criticism, discussion of literature, including description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of literary works.

  IV THE 17TH AND 18TH CENTURIES The climate of criticism changed with the arrival on the literary scene of such giants as Miguel de Cervantes, Lope de Vega, and Pedro Calderòn in Spain; WilliamShakespeare, Ben Jonson, and John Milton in England; and Pierre Corneille, Jean Baptiste Racine, and Molière in France. Most of these writers specialized or excelled indrama, and consequently the so-called battle of the ancients and moderns—the critical comparison of Greek and Roman authors with more rece...

• Jacksonville (Florida) - geography.

  and southern sections and avoiding the downtown bottleneck where Interstate 95 crosses the Saint Johns River at the Fuller Warren Bridge. In addition to being a regional highway crossroads, the city is a railway hub, with Amtrak passenger service and several freight routes. The city’s expanding airport,located in northern Jacksonville, was the nation’s fastest growing in passenger volume in the mid-1990s. V GOVERNMENT Jacksonville has a mayor-council form of municipal government. The mayor and...

• Metropolitan Museum of Art.

  B Ancient Near Eastern Art The objects in this department range from a vast geographical area in southwest Asia and northeast Africa from around 5000 BC to around AD 600. Notable works include Assyrian reliefs from the palace of King Ashurnasirpal II at Calah (now Nimrud, Iraq), Sumerian sculpture, Anatolian ivories, Iranian bronzes, and Achaemenidand Sassanian works in silver and gold. C Arms and Armor This department is renowned for its collection of European armor from the Middle Ages (5t...

• Panama Canal - Geography.

  The size of ships using the Panama Canal has steadily increased. About 27 percent of the vessels that use the canal are built to the maximum dimensions that can passthrough it (a category called “Panamax”). This has prompted further widening of Gaillard Cut, so that the larger Panamax vessels may transit safely. However, some ofthe world’s commercial and military ships are too large for the canal. Since the 1940s, new U.S. battleships and aircraft carriers have been built exceeding the canal’sdi...

• Claude Monet I INTRODUCTION Monet's Gardens at Giverny From 1890 until his death in 1926, Claude Monet lived and painted in the small village of Giverny, near Paris.

  small works, Monet’s quick daubs of fresh colors aptly capture the movement of the water and gaiety of the scene. Despite his father's disapproval, in 1870 Monet married Camille, who had already borne him a son. To escape the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), during whichGerman troops threatened Paris, the couple went to London, then to Holland. They returned in 1872 and settled in Argenteuil, a sailing center on the Seine Riveroutside Paris. Monet painted numerous vibrant, light-filled views of...

• Haiti - country.

  Haitian Creole and French are the official languages of Haiti. Haitian Creole, a French-based Creole with influences from West African languages, was made an officiallanguage under the 1987 constitution. It is the mother tongue for nearly the entire population of Haiti and the language of instruction in schools. French is spokenmainly as a second language by a small section of the population. B Religion About 80 percent of Haiti’s people are nominal Roman Catholics, many of them combining an Af...

• African Theater I INTRODUCTION African Theater, traditional, historical, and contemporary dramatic forms in Africa south of the Sahara.

  The period after World War II ended in 1945 led to the struggle for and achievement of independence in many African countries. The new nation-states were oftenestablished along colonial boundaries and power was handed over to a bourgeois class who had been educated in Europe. The epoch-making era of nationalismproduced a number of African playwrights who merged African theatrical traditions with European forms. These plays are still widely performed and read in many partsof the continent. Nigeri...

• African Theater I INTRODUCTION African Theater, traditional, historical, and contemporary dramatic forms in Africa south of the Sahara.

  The period after World War II ended in 1945 led to the struggle for and achievement of independence in many African countries. The new nation-states were oftenestablished along colonial boundaries and power was handed over to a bourgeois class who had been educated in Europe. The epoch-making era of nationalismproduced a number of African playwrights who merged African theatrical traditions with European forms. These plays are still widely performed and read in many partsof the continent. Nigeri...

• Vanuatu - country.

  and Luganville. V GOVERNMENT Vanuatu is governed under a constitution that came into effect with the republic’s independence in 1980. The president of Vanuatu serves as head of state, a largelyceremonial office. The president is elected by Vanuatu’s parliament and the heads of regional government councils. The parliament, or legislature, is a single-chamberbody whose membership has increased several times since independence; in 1998 the parliament had 52 members. Members of parliament are chose...

• Benjamin Franklin.

  Copley Medal for distinguished contributions to experimental science. Franklin also exerted a great influence on education in Pennsylvania. In 1749 he wrote thepamphlet Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania; its publication led to the establishment in 1751 of the Academy of Philadelphia, later to become the University of Pennsylvania. The curriculum he suggested departed considerably from the study of the Greek and Roman classics then in vogue. Instead itemphasized Engl...