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Silesia

(Encyclopedia)Silesia sĭlēˈzhə, –shə, sī– [key], Czech Slezsko, Ger. Schlesien, Pol. Śląsk, region of E central Europe, extending along both banks of the Oder River and bounded in the south by the mount...

Sigismund I

(Encyclopedia)Sigismund I, 1467–1548, king of Poland (1506–48), son of Casimir IV. Elected to succeed his brother, Alexander I, Sigismund faced the problem of consolidating his domestic power in order successfu...

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...

Cosenza

(Encyclopedia)Cosenza kōzānˈtsä [key], city, capital of Cosenza prov., Calabria, S Italy, at the conflu...

Vienna, Congress of

(Encyclopedia)Vienna, Congress of, Sept., 1814–June, 1815, one of the most important international conferences in European history, called to remake Europe after the downfall of Napoleon I. Although the territo...

Braganza

(Encyclopedia)Braganza brəgänˈzä [key], royal house that ruled Portugal from 1640 to 1910 and Brazil from 1822 to 1889. It took its name from the castle of Braganza or Bragança. The line was descended from Alf...

Frederick Henry

(Encyclopedia)Frederick Henry, 1584–1647, prince of Orange; son of William the Silent by Louise de Coligny. He became stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands upon the death (1625) of his brother Ma...

Joseph, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Joseph, 1714–77, king of Portugal (1750–77), son and successor of John V. Little inclined to rule, his reign was dominated by his minister, the marquês de Pombal. After Lisbon was partially destr...

Hale, Sir Matthew

(Encyclopedia)Hale, Sir Matthew, 1609–76, English jurist. He was successively a judge in the Court of Common Pleas (1654), chief baron of the Exchequer (1660), and chief justice of the Court of King's Bench (1671...

Mühlhausen

(Encyclopedia)Mühlhausen ĭn türˈĭng-ən [key], city (1994 pop. 39,906), Thuringia, central Germany, on the Unstrut River. It is a major center for the manufacture of textiles, leather, wood, and metal products...
 

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