Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Restoration, in French history, the period from 1814 to 1830. It began with the first abdication of Emperor Napoleon I and the return of the Bourbon king, Louis XVIII, but was interrupted (1815) by Na...

(Encyclopedia) Polish Succession, War of the, 1733–35. On the death (1733) of Augustus II of Poland, Stanislaus I sought to reascend the Polish throne. He was supported by his son-in-law, Louis XV of France. The r...

(Encyclopedia) Loeffler, Charles Martin lĕfˈlər [key], 1861–1935, American composer and violinist, b. Alsace, France; he studied in Kiev, Berlin, and Paris. In 1881 he emigrated to the United States, and from 1...

(Encyclopedia) Institut de France ăNstētüˈ də fräNs [key], cultural institution of the French state. Founded in 1795 by the Directory, it replaced five learned societies that had been suppressed in 1793 by the...

(Encyclopedia) Utrecht, Peace of, series of treaties that concluded the War of the Spanish Succession. It put an end to French expansion and signaled the rise of the British Empire. By the treaty between England and...

(Encyclopedia) Ferdinand I or Ferrante fār-ränˈtā [key], 1423–94, king of Naples (1458–94), illegitimate son and successor (in Naples) of Alfonso V of Aragón. His succession was challenged by Pope Calixtus ...

(Encyclopedia) Bourbon bo͞orbôNˈ [key], European royal family, originally of France; a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty (see Capetians). One branch of the Bourbons occupies the modern Spanish throne, and othe...

(Encyclopedia) Armagnacs and Burgundians, opposing factions that fought to control France in the early 15th cent. The rivalry for power between Louis d'Orléans, brother of the recurrently insane King Charles VI, an...

(Encyclopedia) Charles Emmanuel I, 1562–1630, duke of Savoy (1580–1630), son and successor of Emmanuel Philibert. He continued his father's efforts to recover territories lost to the duchy, but his reckless, alt...

(Encyclopedia) Fernández de Córdoba, Gonzalo fārnänˈdāth dā kōrˈdōbä [key], 1453–1515, Spanish general, called the Great Captain. He fought in the civil wars preceding and following the accession of Is...