Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) New Guinea gĭnˈē [key], island, c.342,000 sq mi (885,780 sq km), SW Pacific, N of Australia; the world's second largest island after Greenland. Politically it is divided into two sections: the Indo...

(Encyclopedia) Organization of American States (OAS), international organization, created Apr. 30, 1948, at Bogotá, Colombia, by agreement of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican R...

(Encyclopedia) Basque Country băsk, bäsk [key], Basque Euzkadi, Span. País Vasco, autonomous communit...

(Encyclopedia) Barcelona bärˌsəlōˈnə, Catalan bärˌsəlōˈnə, Span. bärˌthālōˈn...

(Encyclopedia) Portuguese literature, writings in Portuguese. The literature of Brazil is considered separately (see Brazilian literature). The modern period in Portuguese letters dates from the establishment o...

(Encyclopedia) Aragón ârˈəgŏn, Span. ärägōnˈ [key], autonomous community, 18,425 sq mi (47,720 sq km), and former kingdom, NE Spain, bordered on the N by France. The city of Z...

(Encyclopedia) Mexican War, 1846–48, armed conflict between the United States and Mexico. The United States had won an easy victory, partly because Mexico, torn by civil strife, could not present a united fron...

(Encyclopedia) nursing, science of providing continuous care for sick or infirm people. While nursing as an occupation has always existed, it is only in fairly recent years that it has developed as a specialized pro...

(Encyclopedia) mosquito məskēˈtō [key], small, long-legged insect of the order Diptera, the true flies. The females of most species have piercing and sucking mouth parts and apparently they must feed at least on...

(Encyclopedia) Cortés, Hernán, or Hernando Cortez kôrtĕzˈ, Span. ārnänˈ, ārnänˈdō kōrtāsˈ [key], 1485–1547, Spanish conquistador, conqueror of Mexico. In Cortés's absence his enemies at home grad...