Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) balance of trade, relation between the merchandise exports and imports of a country. The concept first became important in the 16th and 17th cent. with the growth of mercantilism. Mercantilist theoris...

(Encyclopedia) Trans-Dniester Region or Transnistria, region (2004 preliminary pop. 555,000), E Moldova, between the Dniester River and the Ukrainian border. A narrow territory some 120 mi (195 km) long but barely 2...

(Encyclopedia) Zollverein tsôlˈfərīnˈ [key] [Ger.,=customs union], in German history, a customs union established to eliminate tariff barriers. Friedrich List first popularized the idea of a combination to abol...

(Encyclopedia) Berlin, Congress of, 1878, called by the signers of the Treaty of Paris of 1856 (see Paris, Congress of) to reconsider the terms of the Treaty of San Stefano, which Russia had forced on the Ottoman Em...

(Encyclopedia) general strike, sympathetic cessation of work by a majority of the workers in all industries of a locality or nation. Such a stoppage is economic if it is for the purpose of redressing some grievance ...

(Encyclopedia) gift, in law, voluntary transfer of property from one person to another without any compensation for it and without any obligation of an agreement or contract. The one who gives is the donor; the one ...

(Encyclopedia) Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), community of independent nations established by a treaty signed at Minsk, Belarus, on Dec. 8, 1991, by the heads of state of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. Bet...

(Encyclopedia) coffee, a tree, its seeds, and the beverage made from them. The coffee tree, a small evergreen of the genus Coffea, has smooth, ovate leaves and clusters of fragrant white flowers that mature into dee...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Bhutan bo͞otänˈ [key], officially Kingdom of Bhutan, kingdom (2020 est. pop. 771,612), ...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Uganda yo͞ogänˈdə, o͞ogänˈdä [key], officially Republic of Uganda, republic (2015 est. pop. 37,102,000), 91,133 sq mi (236,036 sq km), E central Africa. It borders on Tanzania and Rwand...