Britannica Concise 2005

azulejo \,a-zu-'la-ho\ Spanish and Portuguese glazed, polychromed tile produced from the 14th century.

Introduced into Spain by the Arabs during the Moorish occupation, azu- lejos were used in Islamic architec¬ ture for facing walls and paving floors. Early designs were geometric and 5-6 in. (13-15 cm) square. In the 15 th—16 th centuries Portugal imported the tiles from Spain for use in religious and private buildings.

The Portuguese exported them in the 17th century to the Azores, Madeira, and Brazil, and the Spaniards intro¬ duced them to their American colo¬ nies. In the 18th century, interiors and exteriors in Puebla, Mex., were covered with azulejos in brilliant colours on a scale unequaled elsewhere.

Azulejos from Seville, late 16th cen¬ tury; in the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam

BY COURTESY OF MUSEUM BOYMANS-VAN BEUNINGEN, ROTTERDAM

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

B-17 ► Babbitt I 143

B-17 or Flying Fortress U.S. heavy bomber used in World War II. Designed by the Boeing Aircraft Co. in 1934, it cruised at 35,000 ft (10,700 m) at a maximum speed of 287 mph (462 kph). It was called the Flying Fortress because of the .50-caliber machine guns, 13 in all, at every comer. It could carry 3 tons (2.7 metric tons) of bombs in its bays and more on racks under its wings. More than 12,000 B-17s were produced during World War II, and most were used for high-level bombing over Europe.

B-52 or Stratofortress U.S. long-range heavy bomber, designed in 1948 by the Boeing Company and first flown in 1952. Originally intended as an atomic-bomb carrier capable of reaching the Soviet Union, it has proved highly adaptable and has remained in service as a conventional bomber, cruise-missile carrier, and maritime reconnaissance platform. It has a wingspan of 185 ft (56 m) and a length of more than 160 ft (49 m).

Powered by eight jet engines, its maximum speed at 55,000 ft (17,000 m) is 595 mph (960 kph).

B cell One of the two types of lymphocytes (the others being T cells). All lymphocytes begin their development in the bone marrow. B cells are involved in so-called humoral immunity; on encountering a foreign substance (antigen), the B lymphocyte differentiates into a plasma cell, which secretes immunoglobulin (see antibody).

Baader-Meinhof Gang Vba-dor-'min-.hoA or Red Army Faction West German leftist terrorist group formed in 1968 and popularly named after two of its early leaders, Andreas Baader (1943-1977) and Ulrike Meinhof (1934-1976). The members initially sup¬ ported themselves by bank robberies and engaged in terrorist bombings and arson, especially of West German and U.S. targets in West Germany. Baader, Meinhof, and 18 others were arrested in 1972; Meinhof eventually hanged herself, and Baader apparently also died a suicide. By the mid-1970s the group had turned to international terrorism; two members took part in the 1976 Palestinian airplane hijacking in the Entebbe incident. After the collapse of communism in East Germany (1989— 90), it was discovered that East Germany’s secret police had provided training and supplies to the gang. The group announced an end to its ter¬ rorist campaign in 1992.

Baal \'bal\ God worshiped in many ancient Middle Eastern communi¬ ties, especially among Canaanites, for whom he was a fertility deity. In the mythology of Canaan, he was locked in combat with Mot, the god of death and sterility; depending on the outcome of their struggles, seven- year cycles of fertility or famine would ensue. Baal was also king of gods, having seized the kingship from the sea god, Yamm. Baal worship was popular in Egypt from the later New Kingdom to its end (1400-1075 bc). The Aramaeans used the Babylonian pronunciation Bel; Bel became the Greek Belos, identified with Zeus. The Old Testament often refers to a spe¬ cific local Baal or multiple Baalim.

ba'al shem \bal-'sham\ In Judaism, a title bestowed on men who worked wonders and cures through secret knowledge of the names of God. The practice dates to the 11th century, long before the term was applied to certain rabbis and Kabbalists. They were numerous in 17th- and 18th- century eastern Europe, where they exorcised demons, inscribed amulets, and performed cures using herbs, folk remedies, and the Tetragrammaton. Because they combined faith healing with use of the Kabbala, they clashed with physicians, rabbis, and followers of the Haskala. See also Ba'al Shem Tov.

Ba'al Shem Tov Vbal-'shem-'tovV orig. Israel ben Eliezer (b. c.

1700, probably Tluste, Podolia, Pol.—d. 1760, Medzhibozh) Charismatic founder of Hasidism (c. 1750). An orphan, he worked in synagogues and yeshivas, and when he retired to the Carpathian Mountains to engage in mystical speculation he gained a reputation as a ba'al shem, or healer. From c. 1736 he lived in the village of Medzhibozh and devoted himself to spiritual pursuits. He was widely known as the Besht, an acronym of Ba'al Shem Tov. He rejected the asceticism of older rabbis and focused on communion with God, service of God in everyday tasks, and rescue of the sparks of divinity that, according to the Kabbala, are trapped in the material world. His discourses during Sabbath meals have been preserved; he left no writings of his own. He made a point of conversing with simple

working people. Hasidism brought about a social and religious upheaval in Judaism, establishing a mode of worship marked by new rituals and religious ecstasy.

Baalbeck Vba-ol-.bek, 'bal-,bek\ or Baalbek Arabic Ba'labakk Large archaeological complex, eastern Lebanon. In ancient times it was a great city built on the lower western slope of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. Its identification with the worship of Baal, a Semitic sun-god, gave rise to its Greek name, Heliopolis. It was made a Roman colony by the emperor Augustus Caesar. In ad 637 it came under Arab control and was administered by Muslim rulers from Syria until the 20th century. After World War I (1914-18) the French mandatory authorities made it part of Lebanon. The area in and around the city is noted for its exten¬ sive ruins, including temples of Jupiter, Bacchus, and Venus, town walls, Roman mosaics, a mosque, and Arab fortifications. The complex was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984. The modern town (pop. 2002 est.: 29,200) is a regional urban centre.

Baath Party See Ba'th Party

Bab Vbab\, the orig. MIrza ‘All Muhammad of Shiraz (b. Oct. 20, 1819, or Oct. 8, 1820, Shiraz, Iran—d. July 9, 1850, Tabriz) Iranian religious leader who founded the BabI religion and was one of the central figures of Baha’i. The son of a merchant, he was influenced by the ShaykhI school of ShTite Islam. In 1844 he wrote a commentary on the surah of Joseph in the Qur’an and declared himself the Bab (Arabic: “Gateway”) to the hidden imam. Later he would claim to be the imam himself, and finally a divine manifestation. The same year he assembled 18 disciples, who spread the new faith in the various Persian provinces. He had popular support but was opposed by members of the religious class, and he was arrested near Tehran in 1847 and imprisoned. Meeting at Badasht in 1848, his follow¬ ers, the AzalI, formally broke with Islam. The Bab was executed by a fir¬ ing squad at Tabriz in 1850.

Bab el-Mandeb See Mandeb, Strait of

Babbage Vbab-ij\, Charles (b. Dec. 26, 1791, London, Eng.—d. Oct. 18, 1871, London) British mathema¬ tician and inventor. Educated at Cambridge University, he devoted himself from about 1812 to devising machines capable of calculating mathematical tables. His first small calculator could perform certain computations to eight decimals. In 1823 he obtained government sup¬ port for the design of a projected machine with a 20-decimal capacity.

In the 1830s he developed plans for the so-called Analytical Engine, capable of performing any arithmeti¬ cal operation on the basis of instruc¬ tions from punched cards, a memory unit in which to store numbers, sequential control, and most of the other basic elements of the present- day computer. The forerunner of the modern digital computer, the Analyti¬ cal Engine was never completed. In 1991 British scientists built Differ¬ ence Engine No. 2 (accurate to 31 digits) to Babbage’s specifications. His other contributions included establishing the modem postal system in England, compiling the first reliable actuarial tables, and inventing the locomotive cowcatcher.

Babbitt, Milton (Byron) (b. May 10, 1916, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) U.S. composer. At Princeton University he studied with composer Roger Sessions and later joined the faculty. He became one of the first U.S. 12-tone composers, and he was (with his Three Compositions for Piano, 1947) perhaps the first composer to write totally serialized music based on ordered structures not only of pitch but of elements such as rhythm and dynamics. The first composer to work with RCA’s Mark II synthesizer, he

Charles Babbage, detail of an oil painting by Samuel Lawrence, 1845; in the National Portrait Gallery, Lon¬ don.

COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

144 I Babel ► BabyYar

became one of the first Americans to write electronically synthesized music. He wrote various pieces combining live performers and tape.

Babel \'ba-b y il\, Isaak (Emmanuilovich) (b. July 13,1894, Odessa, Ukraine, Russian Empire—d. March 17, 1941, Siberia, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Russian short-story writer. Born Jewish in Ukraine, Babel grew up in an atmosphere of persecution that is reflected in his stories. Maksim Gorky encouraged him to travel abroad to expand his horizons. Out of his expe¬ rience as a soldier in the war with Poland came the stories in Red Cavalry (1926). His Odessa Tales (1931) include realistic and humorous sketches of the Jewish ghetto outside Odessa. Initially well regarded in the Soviet Union, in the late 1930s Babel’s writing was found incompatible with offi¬ cial literary doctrine. He was arrested in 1939 and died in a Siberian prison camp. He is one of Russia’s greatest writers of short stories.

Babel Vba-bol, 'ba-baA, Tower of In the Hebrew scriptures, a high tower built in Shinar (Babylonia). According to Genesis 11:1-9, the Baby¬ lonians wanted to build a tower “with its top in the heavens.” Angry at their presumption, God disrupted the enterprise by confusing the lan¬ guages of the workers so that they could no longer understand each other. The tower was left unfinished and the people dispersed over the face of the earth. The myth may have been inspired by a tower temple located north of the Marduk temple and known as Bab-ilu (“Gate of God”).

"The Tower of Babel," oil painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1563; in the Kun- sthistorisches Museum, Vienna

COURTESY OF THE KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM, VIENNA

Babenberg Vba-bon-.berkV House of Austrian ruling house in the 10th—13th century. Leopold I of Babenberg became margrave of Austria in 976. The Babenbergs’ power was modest until the 12th century, when they came to dominate the Austrian nobility. With the death of Duke Fre¬ derick II in 1246, the male line ended, and the family’s power declined rapidly.

Babeuf \ba-'b3f\, Francois- Noel (b. Nov. 23, 1760, Saint- Quentin, France—d. May 27, 1797,

Vendome) French political journalist and agitator. During the era of the French Revolution he advocated an equal distribution of land and income. For his part in a conspiracy to overthrow the Directory and insti¬ tute a return to the Constitution of 1793, he was guillotined. His tacti¬ cal strategies provided a model for left-wing movements of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Babington, Anthony (b. Octo¬ ber 1561, Dethick, Derbyshire,

Eng.—d. Sept. 20, 1586, London)

English conspirator. Raised secretly as a Catholic, Babington was joined by the priest John Ballard in the

unsuccessful “Babington Plot” to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I and install her prisoner, Mary, Queen of Scots, on the English throne. The conspiracy included many Roman Catholics, and Philip II of Spain promised to provide immediate assistance after the assassination. Babington was imprisoned and executed after the interception of an exchange of letters with Mary explaining his plans. The letters were also used as evidence supporting the execution of Mary the following year.

Babism Vbab-.iz-omX Religion that developed in Iran around Mlrza 'All Muhammad’s claim (1844) to be the Bab. Its beliefs are set forth in the Bay an, a holy book written by the Bab, which proclaims a universal law in place of all existing religious legal codes. Babism originated as a messianic movement in Shi'ite Islam. In 1867 the movement split, with the AzalTs remaining faithful to the original teachings of the Bab and those of his suc¬ cessor Sobh-e Azal. Most Babis accepted the leadership of Sobh-e Azal’s half-brother Baha 5 Ullah, and under him the BahaI faith was developed.

baboon Any of five species of robust monkeys (genus Papio) of Arabia and sub-Saharan Africa. Baboons have a large head, cheek pouches, and a long, doglike muzzle. They walk on all fours, carrying the tail in a characteristic arch. They weigh 30-90 lbs (14-40 kg) and are about 20^15 in. (50-115 cm) long, exclud¬ ing the tail (18-28 in., or 45-70 cm, long). Found mainly in drier savanna and rocky areas, they feed on a vari¬ ety of plants and animals. Highly social and intelligent, they travel in large noisy troops, communicating by calls. They may destroy crops, and their enormous canine teeth and powerful limbs make them danger¬ ous opponents.

Babur Vba-borV orig. Zahlr al-DTn Muhammad (b. Feb. 15, 1483, principality of Fergana—d. Dec. 26, 1530, Agra, India) Emperor (1526— 30) and founder of the Mughal dynasty of India. A descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur, he came from a tribe of Mongol origin but was Turkish in language and upbringing. In his youth he tried for 10 years (1494- 1504) to gain control of Samarkand, Timur’s old capital. Those efforts ended in his losing his own principality in Fergana (modem Uzbekistan), but he consoled himself by seizing and holding Kabul (1504). After four failed attempts, he successfully occupied Delhi (1525). Surrounded by enemy states, Babur (the name means “Tiger”) persuaded his homesick troops to stand their ground, and over the next four years he defeated his foes. His grandson Akbar consolidated the new empire. Babur was also a gifted poet and a lover of nature who constructed gardens wherever he went. The Babur-ndmeh, his prose memoirs, has become a world classic of autobiography.

Babuyan \,ba-bu-'yan\ Islands Island group, northern Philippines. Lying north of Luzon, it consists of about 24 islands with a total area of 225 sq mi (583 sq km). The chief islands are Babuyan, Camiguin, Calayan, Fuga, and Dalupiri. Calayan is the largest town and only port.

baby boom In the U.S., increase in the birth rate between 1946 and 1964; also, the generation born in the U.S. during that period. The hard¬ ships and uncertainties of the Great Depression and World War II led many unmarried couples to delay marriage and many married couples to delay having children. The war’s end, followed by a sustained period of eco¬ nomic prosperity (the 1950s and early 1960s), was accompanied by a surge in population. The sheer size of the baby-boom generation (some 75 million) magnified its impact on society: the growth of families led to a migration from cities to suburbs in the postwar years, prompting a building boom in housing, schools, and shopping malls. As the “boomers” reached young adulthood in the 1960s and ’70s, their tastes in music and their hair and dress styles strongly influenced the national culture, and the political activism of some contributed to the unpopularity of the Vietnam War. As they aged and prospered in the 1980s and ’90s, their buying hab¬ its determined the course of many consumer industries, including auto¬ mobiles. The needs of baby boomers during their retirement years were expected to strain public resources.

Baby Yar \,ba-be-'yar\ Large ravine near Kiev, Ukraine, the site of a mass grave of some 100,000 people killed by German Nazi SS squads between 1941 and 1943. Most of the victims were Jews, but some were

Babeuf, engraving by an unknown art¬ ist, 18th century

COURTESY OF THE BIBUOTHEQUE NATIONALE, PARIS

Anubis, or olive, baboon (Papio anubis).

NORMAN MYERS/PHOTO RESEARCHERS

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Babylon ► Bach I 145

communist officials and Russian prisoners of war. After the initial mas¬ sacre of Jews, Baby Yar remained in use as an execution site for Soviet prisoners of war and for Roma (Gypsies) as well as for Jews. It became the symbol of the first stage of killing during the Holocaust and of the massacres by the Einsatzgruppen (German: “deployment groups”)—the mobile killing units. The site came to world attention after the 1961 pub¬ lication of Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s poem Baby Yar. Though a small obelisk and memorial were erected in the 1960s and ’70s, not until 1991 was the identity of the Jewish victims recorded on the monument by the newly independent Ukrainian government.

Babylon Ancient Middle Eastern city. The city’s ruins are located about 55 mi (89 km) south of Baghdad, near the modern city of Al-Hillah, Iraq. Babylon was one of the most famous cities in antiquity. Probably first settled in the 3rd millennium bc, it came under the rule of the Amorite kings around 2000 bc. It became the capital of Babylonia and was the chief commercial city of the Tigris and Euphrates river system. Destroyed by Sennacherib in 689 bc, it was later rebuilt. It attained its greatest glory as capital of the Neo-Babylonian empire under Nebuchadrezzar II (r. 605-c. 561 bc). Alexander the Great, who took the city in 331 bc, died there. Evi¬ dence of its topography comes from excavations, cuneiform texts, and descriptions by the Greek historian Herodotus. Most of the ruins are from the city built by Nebuchadrezzar. The largest city in the world at the time, it contained many temples, including the great temple of Marduk with its associated ziggurat, which was apparently the basis for the story of the Tower of Babel. The Hanging Gardens, a simulated hill of vegetation-clad terracing, was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Babylonia Ancient cultural region of the Tigris and Euphrates river sys¬ tem. The area was divided into Sumer (southeast) and Akkad (northwest) when the first Babylonian line of Amorite kings took power after 2000 bc. Largely because of the efforts of Hammurabi (r. c. 1792-50 bc), Baby¬ lonia gained regional hegemony but declined after his death; the Kassites from the east eventually assumed power (c. 1595) and established a dynasty that lasted some four centuries. After Elam conquered Babylonia (c. 1157 bc), a series of wars established a new Babylonian dynasty whose outstanding member was Nebuchadrezzar I (r. c. 1124-1103 bc). Follow¬ ing his rule, a three-way struggle developed for control of Babylonia among Assyria, Aram (see Aramaeans), and Chaldea, in which the Assyr¬ ians ruled the area most frequently (9th-7th century bc). In the 7th-6th centuries bc the Chaldean Nebuchadrezzar II (605-562 bc) instituted the last and greatest period of Babylonian supremacy, conquering Syria and Palestine and rebuilding Babylon, the capital city. It was conquered in 539 bc by the Persian Achaemenian dynasty under Cyrus II and in 331 bc by Alexander the Great, after which the capital city was gradually abandoned.

Babylonian Exile or Babylonian Captivity Forced detention of Jews in Babylonia following Babylonian conquest of Judah in 598/597 and 587/586 bc. The first deportation may have occurred after King Jehoi- achin was deposed in 597 bc or after Nebuchadrezzar destroyed Jerusalem in 586. In 538 bc the Persian Cyrus II conquered Babylonia and allowed the Jews to return to Palestine. Some Jews chose to remain in Babylonia, initiating the Jewish Diaspora. During the Babylonian Exile the Jews maintained their national spirit and religious identity despite cultural pres¬ sures in a foreign land, with Ezekiel and other prophets keeping hope alive. Petrarch and other writers designated the Avignon papacy as the Babylo¬ nian Captivity in the 14th century, and Martin Luther used the term in the title of one of his works attacking the papacy and the Roman Catholic church in the 16th century.

baby's breath Either of two species of herbaceous plants of the genus Gypsophila (pink family), having profuse small blossoms. Both G. elegans, an annual, and G. paniculata, a perennial, are cultivated for their fine misty effect in rock gardens and flower borders and in floral arrangements. They are native to Eurasia.

Bacall, Lauren orig. Betty Joan Perske (b. Sept. 6, 1924, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. actress. She worked as a model while seeking Broadway roles; her photograph on a magazine cover led to her casting in the film To Have and Have Not (1944) with Humphrey Bogart, whom she soon married. An instant success, she made three more films with Bogart: The Big Sleep (1946), Dark Passage (1947), and Key Largo (1948). She also appeared in such memorable films as How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and Murder on the Orient Express (1974). On Broad¬ way she won Tony Awards for her performances in Applause (1970), and Woman of the Year (1981).

baccarat Casino card game that resembles a simpler version of black¬ jack. In basic baccarat the house is the bank. In chemin de fer (a more advanced baccarat) the bank passes from player to player. In punto banco, it appears to pass from player to player but is actually held by the house. Casino play involves three or six 52-card decks shuffled together and dealt from a shoe (a box designed to hold several decks of playing cards). Counting spot-cards at face value and face-cards and 10s as 0, the bet¬ tor’s aim is to receive cards that are closer to totaling 9 than those of the banker. For the purpose of totaling these cards, 10 or more counts only as its last digit (for instance, 17 is counted as 7). The banker deals two cards to the bettor and to himself.

Baccarat glass Glassware manufactured since 1765 in Baccarat, France. The firm originally produced soda glass for windows and indus¬ trial use. In 1816 it was acquired by a Belgian manufacturer of lead crys¬ tal; since then it has specialized in this type of glass, especially paperweights. Baccarat exhibited works in the important 1925 Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modemes in Paris. Today the company produces tableware in both historical and modern designs.

Bacchanalia \,ba-k3-'nal-y3\ or Dionysia In Greco-Roman religion, any of the festivals of the wine god Bacchus (Dionysus), which probably originated as fertility rites. The most famous Greek festivals included the Greater Dionysia, with its dramatic performances; the Anthesteria; and the Lesser Dionysia, characterized by simple rites. Bacchanalia were intro¬ duced from lower Italy into Rome, where they were at first secret, open only to women, and held three times a year. They later admitted men and became as frequent as five times a month. In 186 bc their reputation as orgies led the Senate to prohibit them throughout Italy, except in special cases.

bacchantes See maenads and bacchantes Bacchus See Dionysus

Bach, Alexander, baron von (b. Jan. 4, 1813—d. 1893) Austrian politician noted for instituting a system of centralized control. He served as minister of the interior (1849-59); after the death of Felix, prince zu Schwarzenberg in 1852, he largely dictated policy in the regime. Bach centralized administrative authority for the Austrian Empire, but he also endorsed reactionary policies that reduced freedom of the press and aban¬ doned public trials.

March 8, 1714, Weimar, Saxe-

Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel (b.

Weimar—d. Dec. 14, 1788, Ham¬ burg) German composer. Second son of Johann Sebastian Bach, he received a superb musical education from his father. In 1740 he became harpsichordist at the court of Freder¬ ick II the Great, where he remained for 28 years, after which he moved to Hamburg to take the city’s lead¬ ing musical position. He was a leader of the Empfindsamkeit (“sensitivity”) movement, which emphasized rhap¬ sodic freedom and sentiment. A founder of the Classical style, he is one of the first composers in whose works sonata form becomes clearly evident. He wrote some 200 works for harpsichord, clavichord, and piano (including dozens of sonatas),

some 50 keyboard concertos, many symphonies, and several oratorios and Passions. His Essay on the True Manner of Playing Keyboard Instruments (1753) was a highly important practical music treatise.

C.P.E. Bach, engraving by A. Stottrup

COURTESY OF HAAGS GEMENTEMUSEUM, THE HAGUE

Bach, Johann Christian (b. Sept. 5, 1735, Leipzig—d. Jan. 1, 1782, London, Eng.) German-born British composer. Youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach, he studied with his brother Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach in Berlin before moving to Italy. In 1762 he became composer to the King’s Theatre in London, where he would remain the rest of his life, becoming music teacher to the queen, and later the impresario (with Karl Friedrich Abel) of an important series of concerts (1765-81). He wrote some 50 symphonies, some 35 keyboard concertos, and much chamber music. His music, melodious and well formed but far from profound and with no

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

146 I Bach ► Bacon

trace of his father’s influence, became an important prototype of the Clas¬ sical style and influenced Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Bach, Johann Sebastian (b. March 21, 1685, Eisenach, Thuringia, Ernestine Saxon Duchies—d. July 28, 1750, Leipzig) German composer. Born to a musical family, he became a superbly well-rounded musician; from 1700 he held positions as singer, violinist, and organist. His first major appointment, in 1708, was as organist at the ducal court at Weimar. This was followed by a six-year stay (1717-23) as kapellmeister at the princely court of Kothen, which was in turn followed by his appointment as cantor at the great church of St. Thomas in Leipzig, where he would remain for the rest of his life. Imbued with the northern German contra¬ puntal style (see counterpoint) from early childhood, he encountered the lively Italian style, especially in the works of Antonio Vivaldi, about 1710, and much of his music embodies an immensely convincing melding of the two styles. At St. Thomas he wrote more than 200 church cantatas. His orchestral works include the six Brandenburg Concertos, four orches¬ tral suites, and many harpsichord concertos, a genre he invented. His solo keyboard works include the great didactic set The Well-Tempered Clavier (1722 and 1742), the superb Goldberg Variations (1742), the massive but unfinished Art of the Fugue (1749), numerous suites, and many organ preludes and fugues. His surviving choral works include (in addition to the sacred cantatas) more than 30 secular cantatas, two monumental Pas¬ sions, and the Mass in B Minor. His works, never widely known in his lifetime, went into near-total eclipse after his death, and only in the early 19th century were they revived, to enormous acclaim. He was perhaps the most accomplished organist and harpsichordist of his time. Today Bach is regarded as the greatest composer of the Baroque era, and, by many, as the greatest composer of all time.

Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann (b. Nov. 22, 1710, Weimar, Saxe- Weimar—d. July 1, 1784, Berlin) German composer and organist. Eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach, he was trained by his father. One of the finest organists of his time, he held important organist posts in Dresden (1723-46) and Halle (1746-64) but thereafter lived an unsettled life and drifted into drinking and poverty. Though he was a highly gifted com¬ poser, his compositions veered confusingly between the old contrapuntal style and the new pre-Classical styles. He wrote more than 30 church can¬ tatas, several keyboard concertos, and many solo keyboard works.

Bacharach Vbak-o-.rakN, Burt (b. May 12, 1928, Kansas City, Mo., U.S.) U.S. songwriter and pianist. He studied under Darius Milhaud, Bohuslav Martinu, and Henry Cowell. In the 1950s he wrote arrangements for Steve Lawrence and Vic Damone and later toured with Marlene Dietrich. In the late 1950s he began his long association with lyricist Hal David (b. 1921), which would produce many hits especially for singer Dionne Warwick (b. 1940), including “Walk On By,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?” He and David wrote the successful musical Promises, Promises (1968) and the score for the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969, Academy Award). Bacharach collaborated with singer-songwriter Elvis Costello (b. 1954) on the album Painted from Memory (1998).

Bachchan, Amitabh (b. Oct. 11, 1942, Allahabad, India) Indian film actor. Bachchan’s first film success was Zanjeer (1973); by the end of the 1970s he was something of a cultural phenonemon in India and was regarded as the most popular star in the history of Indian films. He is often compared to such American action stars as Clint Eastwood, although Bachchan’s talents also extend to singing, dancing, and comedy. After a brief stint in politics in the mid 1980s, Bachchan gained a new genera¬ tion of fans in the next decade as host of the television game show Kaun banega crorepati, the Indian version of the U.S. and U.K. hit Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

bachelor's button or cornflower Herbaceous, hardy annual plant (Centaurea cyanus) of the composite family, having flower heads with blue, pink, or white rays. It is native to the Mediterranean region and widely cultivated in North America. A common garden plant, it often also appears as a weed.

bacillus \b3-'si-l3s\ Any of the rod-shaped, gram-positive bacteria (see gram stain) that make up the genus Bacillus, widely found in soil and water. The term is sometimes applied to all rodlike bacteria. Bacilli fre¬ quently occur in chains and can form spores under unfavourable environ¬ mental conditions. Resistant to heat, chemicals, and sunlight, these spores may remain capable of growing and developing for long periods of time. One type sometimes causes spoilage in canned foods. Another, wide¬

spread bacillus contaminates laboratory cultures and is often found on human skin. Most strains do not cause disease in humans, infecting them only incidentally in their role as soil organisms; a notable exception is B. anthracis, which causes anthrax. Some bacilli produce antibiotics.

backbone See vertebral column

backgammon Two-person game played by moving counters (called stones) on a board or table, the movement of the counters being controlled by the throw of two dice. The board has four sections (called tables), each marked with six narrow wedges (points) in two alternating colors. Rep¬ resenting the two opposing sides are 15 white and 15 black stones. Stones are moved from point to point in opposite directions according to the number of points shown on the dice. On getting all 15 of his stones into his own home (inner) table, a player may begin “bearing off”—moving his stones to an imaginary point beyond the edge of the board. The player who first bears off all 15 stones wins the game. Backgammon is one of the most ancient board games, dating from 3000 bc.

backpacking Sport of hiking while carrying clothing, food, and camp¬ ing equipment in a pack on the back. In the early 20th century backpack¬ ing was primarily a means of getting to wilderness areas inaccessible by car or by day hike. It subsequently became associated with general tour¬ ing by foot in urban as well as wilderness settings. Types of packs range from the frameless rucksack to the contour frame pack, with a frame of aluminum tubing and often a waistband that transfers most of the pack’s weight to the hips.

Backus, John W(arner) (b. Dec. 3, 1924, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) U.S. mathematician. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Columbia University. He was head of a small group that in 1957 devel¬ oped the computer language FORTRAN for numerical analysis. He con¬ tributed to the development of ALGOL and developed a notation known as the Backus Normal, or Backus-Naur, Form for defining the syntax of a programmable language (1959). He received the Turing Award in 1977.

Bacolod \bo- , ko- l l6d\ City (pop., 2000: 429,076), south-central Philip¬ pines. It lies on the Guimaras Strait in the north of the island of Negros, opposite Guimaras Island. It is regarded as the Philippine sugar capital. Its port, to the south, is important for fishing.

Bacon, Francis (b. Oct. 28, 1909, Dublin, Ire.—d. April 28, 1992, Madrid, Spain) Irish-British painter. He lived in Berlin and Paris before settling in London (1929) to begin a career as an interior decorator. With no formal art training, he started painting, drawing, and participating in gallery exhibitions, with little success. In 1944 he achieved instant noto¬ riety with a series of controversial paintings, Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion. His mature style emerged completely with the series of works known as “The Screaming Popes” (1949-mid- 1950s), in which he converted Diego Velazquez’s famous Portrait of Pope Innocent X into a nightmarish icon of hysterical terror. Most of Bacon’s paintings depict isolated figures, often framed by geometric constructions, and ren¬ dered in smeared, violent colours. His imagery typically suggests anger, horror, and degradation.

Bacon, Francis, Viscount St. Albans (b. Jan. 22, 1561, London, Eng.—d. April 9, 1626, London) British statesman and philosopher, father of modem scientific method. He studied at Cambridge and at Gray’s Inn. A supporter of the Earl of Essex, Bacon turned against him when Essex was tried for treason. Under James I he rose steadily, becoming succes¬ sively solicitor general (1607), attorney general (1613), and lord chan¬ cellor (1618). Convicted of accepting bribes from those being tried in his court, he was briefly imprisoned and permanently lost his public offices; he died deeply in debt. He attempted to put natural science on a firm empirical foundation in the Novum Organum (1620), which sets forth his scientific method. His elaborate classification of the sciences inspired the 18th-century French Encyclopedists (see Encyclopedie), and his empiricism inspired 19th-century British philosophers of science. His other works include The Advancement of Learning (1605), History of Henry VII (1622), and several important legal and constitutional works.

Bacon, Nathaniel (b. Jan. 2, 1647, Suffolk, Eng.—d. October 1676, Virginia Colony) British-born American colonial planter, leader of Bacon’s Rebellion. He emigrated from England in 1673 and acquired land in Virginia, where he was appointed to the council of William Berkeley, the British governor. After a dispute over Indian policy, he defied Berkeley’s orders and organized an expedition against the Indians in 1676. He then

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Bacon ► Badlands I 147

turned his forces against Berkeley, captured Jamestown, and briefly controlled most of Virginia. His death at age 29 of influenza, at the height of his power, ended the rebel¬ lion.

Bacon, Roger (b. c. 1220, Ilches- ter, Somerset, or Bisley, Gloucester?,

Eng.—d. 1292, Oxford) English sci¬ entist and philosopher. He was edu¬ cated at Oxford and the University of Paris and joined the Franciscan order in 1247. He displayed a prodigious energy and zeal in the pursuit of experimental science; his studies eventually won him a place in popu¬ lar literature as a worker of wonders.

He was the first European to describe in detail the process of making gun¬ powder, and he proposed flying machines and motorized ships and carriages. He therefore represents a historically precocious expression of the empirical spirit of experimental science, even though his actual prac¬ tice of it seems to have been exaggerated. His philosophical thought was essentially Aristotelian, though he was critical of the methods of theolo¬ gians such as Albertus AAagnus and Thomas Aquinas, arguing that a more accurate experimental knowledge of nature would be of great value in confirming the Christian faith. He also wrote on mathematics and logic. He was condemned to prison c. 1277 by his fellow Franciscans because of “suspected novelties” in his teaching.

bacteremia V.bak-te-'re-me-oN Presence of bacteria in the blood. Short¬ term bacteremia follows dental or surgical procedures, especially if local infection or very high-risk surgery releases bacteria from isolated sites. In some cases, prior antibiotic therapy can prevent this. It causes little problem to a healthy immune system but can be serious for those with prostheses (where infection can center) or high susceptibility to bacterial invasion. Extensive bacteremia can release toxins into the blood (septice¬ mia), leading to shock and vascular collapse. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have increased the rate of severe bacteremia.

bacteria Group of microscopic, single-celled organisms that are prokaryotes. They may have spherical, rodlike, or spiral shapes. They inhabit virtually all environments, including soil, water, organic matter, and the bodies of multicellular animals. Different types are distinguished in part by the structure of their cell walls, which is determined by gram stain. Many bacteria swim by means of flagella (see flagellum). The DNA of most bacteria is found in a single circular chromosome and is distrib¬ uted throughout the cytoplasm rather than contained within a membrane- enclosed nucleus. Though some bacteria can cause food poisoning and infectious diseases in humans, most are harmless and many are benefi¬ cial. They are used in various industrial processes, especially in the food industry (e.g., the production of yogurt, cheeses, and pickles). Bacteria are divided into eubacteria and archaebacteria. See also budding bacteria,

COLIFORM BACTERIA, CYANOBACTERIA, DENITRIFYING BACTERIA, NITRIFYING BACTERIA, SHEATHED BACTERIA, SULFUR BACTERIA.

bacterial diseases Diseases caused by bacteria. The most common infectious diseases, they range from minor skin infections to bubonic plague and tuberculosis. Until the mid-20th century, bacterial pneumonia was probably the leading cause of death among the elderly. Improved sanitation, vaccines, and antibiotics have all decreased the mortality rates from bacterial infections, though antibiotic-resistant strains have caused a resurgence in some illnesses. Bacteria cause disease by secreting or excreting toxins (as in botulism), by producing toxins internally, which are released when the bacteria disintegrate (as in typhoid), or by inducing sen¬ sitivity to their antigenic properties (as in tuberculosis). Other serious bac¬ terial diseases include cholera, diphtheria, bacterial meningitis, and syphilis.

bacteriology Study of bacteria. Modern understanding of bacterial forms dates from Ferdinand Cohn’s classifications. Other researchers, such as Louis Pasteur, established the connection between bacteria and fermen¬ tation and disease. The modern methods of bacteriological technique began in the late 19th century with the use of stains and the development of methods of cultivating organisms on plates of nutrients. Important dis¬

coveries came when Pasteur succeeded in immunizing animals against two bacterial diseases, which led to the development of immunology. See also microbiology.

bacteriophage \bak-'tir-e-3-,faj\ or phage Any of a group of usu¬ ally complex viRUSes that infect bacteria. Discovered in the early 20th cen¬ tury, bacteriophages were used to treat human bacterial diseases such as bubonic plague and cholera but were not successful; they were abandoned with the advent of antibiotics in the 1940s. The rise of drug-resistant bac¬ teria in the 1990s focused renewed attention on the therapeutic potential of bacteriophages. Thousands of varieties exist, each of which may infect only one or a few types of bacteria. The core of a bacteriophage’s genetic material may be either DNA or RNA. On infecting a host cell, bacterioph¬ ages known as lytic or virulent phages release replicated viral particles by lysing (bursting) the host cell. Other types, known as lysogenic or temperate, integrate their nucleic acid into the host’s chromosome to be replicated during cell division. During this time they are not virulent. The viral genome may later become active, initiating production of viral par¬ ticles and destruction of the host cell. A.D. Hershey and Martha Chase used a bacteriophage in a famous 1952 experiment that supported the theory that DNA is the genetic material. Because bacteriophage genomes are small and because large quantities can be prepared in the laboratory, they are a favourite research tool of molecular biologists. Studies of phages have helped illuminate genetic recombination, nucleic acid repli¬ cation, and protein synthesis.

Bactria Ancient country, Central Asia. It was situated between the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya in parts of modern Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Its capital was the city of Bactra. From the 6th century bc it was controlled by the Achaemenian dynasty; conquered by Alexander the Great, the area was ruled after his death (323 bc) by the Seleucid dynasty and for a time (c. 250 bc) formed an independent kingdom. It was long important as a crossroads for overland trade and as a meeting place for various religious and artistic traditions. The area ultimately came under Muslim control in the 7th century ad.

Baden \‘bad- 3 n\ Former German state, southern Germany. The name (meaning “baths”) refers to the warm mineral springs, particularly in the town of Baden-Baden, valued since Roman times. Baden first became a political unit in 1112. Split up many times, the territory was finally reunited under Charles Frederick in 1771. A centre of 19th-century lib¬ eralism, it was active in the revolutions of 1848-50. It joined the German Empire in 1871 and became part of the Weimar Republic in 1919. After World War II, Baden was incorporated into West Germany as part of Baden-Wiirttemberg state.

Baden and Rastatt, Treaties of See Treaties of Rastatt and Baden

Baden-Powell Vba-d 3 n-'p6-3l\ (of Gilwell), Robert Stephen¬ son Smyth, 1st Baron (b. Feb. 22, 1857, London, Eng.—d. Jan. 8, 1941, Nyeri, Kenya) British army officer and founder of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides (later Girl Scouts; see scouting). He was noted for his use of observation balloons in warfare in Africa (1884-85). In the South African War, he became a national hero in the Siege of Mafikeng. Hav¬ ing learned that his military textbook Aids to Scouting (1899) was being used to train boys in woodcraft, he wrote Scouting for Boys (1908) and that same year established the Boy Scout movement. In 1910, with his sister Agnes and his wife, Olave, he founded the Girl Guides.

badger Any of eight species of stout-bodied carnivores (family Mus- telidae) that possess an anal scent gland, powerful jaws, and large, heavy claws on their forefeet. Most species are brown, black, or gray, with markings on the face or body, and are found in South Asia. Badgers dig to find food and to construct burrows and escape routes. The American badger (Taxidea taxus ), the only New World species, lives in the open, dry country of western North America. Badgers feed mostly on small ani¬ mals, especially rodents. Species may be 9-12 in. (23-30 cm) high and 13-32 in. (33-81 cm) long, excluding the 2- to 10-in. (5- to 23-cm) tail, and may weigh 2^18 lbs (1-22 kg). Badgers can be savage fighters.

Badlands Barren region covering some 2,000 sq mi (5,200 sq km) of southwestern South Dakota, U.S. It has an extremely rugged landscape almost devoid of vegetation. It was created by cloudbursts that cut deep gullies in poorly cemented bedrock; its extensive fossil deposits have yielded the remains of such animals as the three-toed horse, camel, saber- toothed tiger, and rhinoceros. Badlands National Park (379 sq mi [982 sq

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

148 I badminton ► Baffin Island

km]), lying mostly between the Cheyenne and White rivers, was estab¬ lished as a national monument in 1939 and a national park in 1978.

badminton Court or lawn game played with light long-handled rack¬ ets and a shuttlecock volleyed over a net. The game is named after the residence of Britain’s duke of Beaufort, where it supposedly originated c. 1873. Officially sanctioned badminton matches are played indoors to protect the shuttlecock from winds. Play consists entirely of hitting the shuttlecock back and forth without letting it touch the floor or ground. The best-known match is the All-England Championships. Badminton became a full-medal sport at the 1992 Olympics. The world governing body is the International Federation of Badminton in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Eng.

Badoglio \b3-'dol-yo\, Pietro (b. Sept. 28, 1871, Grazzano Monfer- rato, Italy—d. Nov. 1, 1956, Grazzano Badoglio) Italian general and poli¬ tician. An army officer, he served as chief of the general staff in 1919-21 and again in 1925-28 and was made a field marshal in 1926. He governed Libya (1928-34) and commanded the Italian forces in Ethiopia (1935— 36). In 1940 he resigned as chief of staff in disagreement with Benito Mussolini, and in 1943 he helped organize Mussolini’s downfall. As prime minister (1943^44), Badoglio extricated Italy from World War II by arranging for an armistice with the Allies.

BAE Systems British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, naval vessels, and other aerospace and defense products. BAE Systems was formed (1999) from the merger of British Aerospace (BAe) with Marconi Electronic Systems. BAe, in turn, dates to the merger (1977, with two other firms) of British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) and Hawker Siddeley Aviation, both having been nationalized a year earlier owing to unprof¬ itable financial situations. Through its BAe antecedents, BAE Systems carries the legacy of some 20 British aircraft firms (e.g., Bristol, Avro, Gloster, De Havilland, Supermarine), several dating to the first decades of flight. In the 1960s and early ’70s, BAC and Hawker Siddeley each produced significant aircraft. BAC built the Vickers-Armstrongs VC 10 and BAC One-Eleven jetliners and, in partnership with Aerospatiale of France, the Concorde supersonic transport. Hawker Siddeley developed the HS 121 Trident jetliner, Vulcan bomber, and Harrier vertical/short- takeoff-and-landing (V/STOL) fighter. In 1979 British Aerospace joined the Airbus Industrie jetliner-manufacturing consortium, and during the early 1980s it became privatized. In the 1990s it became a partner with firms in Germany, Italy, and Spain in the Eurofighter Typhoon program. It also joined a venture led by Lockheed Martin to develop the Joint Strike Fighter.

Baeck VbekV Leo (b. May 23, 1873, Lissa, Posen, Prussia—d. Nov. 2, 1956, London, Eng.) Prussian-Polish rabbi, spiritual leader of German Jewry during the Nazi period. After earning his Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Berlin, he served as a rabbi in Silesia, Diisseldorf, and Ber¬ lin, becoming the leading liberal Jewish religious thinker of his time. He synthesized Neo-Kantianism and rabbinic ethics in The Essence of Juda¬ ism (1905) and considered the Christian gospels as rabbinic literature in The Gospel as a Document of Jewish Religious History (1938). He nego¬ tiated with the Nazis to buy time for the German Jews; finally arrested, he was sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, where he wrote and lectured on Plato and Immanuel Kant. Liberated in 1945 on the day before he was to be executed, he settled in England.

Baedeker Vbed-o-korV, Karl (b.

Nov. 3, 1801, Essen, Duchy of Oldenburg—d. Oct. 4, 1859,

Koblenz, Prussia) German publisher.

The son of a printer and bookseller,

Baedeker started a firm at Koblenz in 1827 that became known for its guidebooks. His aim was to give travelers the practical information necessary to enable them to dispense with paid guides. A notable feature of the books was the use of “stars” to indicate objects and views of spe¬ cial interest and to designate reliable Karl Baedeker, oil painting by an hotels. By the time of his death much unknown artist of Europe had been covered by his popperfoto _

guidebooks. Under the ownership of his sons the firm expanded to include French and English editions.

Baekeland Vba-k3-,lant,\ English Vbak-bnd\, Leo (Hendrik) (b. Nov. 14, 1863, Ghent, Belg.—d. Feb. 23, 1944, Beacon, N.Y., U.S.) Belgian-born U.S. industrial chemist. A teacher of chemistry in Belgium, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1889. He invented Velox, the first commer¬ cially successful photographic paper, which could be developed under artificial light, and sold the rights to George Eastman for $1 million in 1899. His search for a substitute for shellac led to the discovery in 1909 of a method of forming a hard thermosetting plastic, which he named Bakelite, produced from formaldehyde and phenol. His discovery helped found the modern plastics industry.

Baer \'ber\, Karl Ernst, knight von (b. Feb. 29, 1792, Piep, Est., Russian Empire—d. Nov. 28, 1876, Dorpat, Est.) Prussian-bom Estonian embryologist. Studying chick development with Christian Pander (1794- 1865), Baer expanded Pander’s concept of germ layer formation to all vertebrates, thereby laying the foundation for comparative embryology. He emphasized that embryos of one species could resemble embryos (but not adults) of another and that the younger the embryo, the greater the resemblance, a concept in line with his belief that development proceeds from simple to complex, from like to different. He also discovered the mammalian ovum. His On the Development of Animals (2 vol., 1828-37) surveyed all existing knowledge on vertebrate development and estab¬ lished embryology as a distinct subject of research.

baetylus or baetulus Vbe-to-bs, 'be-tyo-bsV In Greek reugion, a sacred stone or pillar. In antiquity there were numerous holy stones, most associated with a deity. The most famous example is the holy stone known as the Omphalos in the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Sometimes the stones were formed into pillars or into groups of three pillars.

Baeyer \'ba-9r\, (Johann Friedrich Wilhelm) Adolf von (b. Oct. 31, 1835, Berlin, Prussia—d. Aug.

20, 1917, Stamberg, near Munich,

Ger.) German research chemist. He synthesized indigo and formulated its structure, discovered the phthalein dyes, and investigated such chemical families as the polyacetylenes, oxo- nium salts, and uric-acid derivatives (discovering barbituric acid, parent compound of the barbiturates). He also made contributions to theoreti¬ cal chemistry. He received the Nobel Prize in 1905.

Baez Vbl-ez\, Joan (Chandos)

(b. Jan. 9, 1941, Staten Island, New York, N.Y., U.S.)U.S. folksinger and activist. She moved often as a child, receiving little musical training, but she became influential in the 1960s folk-song revival. Singing in a soprano voice, usually accompanied by her own guitar arrangements, she popularized traditional songs through her performances and best-selling record albums. An active participant in the protest movements of the 1960s and ’70s, Baez made free concert appearances at civil-rights and anti-Vietnam War rallies. Her recordings include Diamonds and Rust (1975) and Gone from Danger (1997).

Baffin Bay Large inlet, Atlantic Ocean, between western Greenland and eastern Baffin Island. With an area of 266,000 sq mi (689,000 sq km), it extends 900 mi (1,450 km) southward from the Arctic and is connected to the Atlantic by Davis Strait. It was visited by the English captain Rob¬ ert Bylot in 1615 and named for his lieutenant, William Baffin. Its climate is severe, and icebergs are dense even in August.

Baffin Island Largest island in Canada and fifth largest island in the world (183,810 sq mi [476,068 sq km]), lying between Greenland and the Canadian mainland. Located west of Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait, it is administered as part of Nunavut territory. It was probably visited by Norse explorers in the 11th century. It was sighted by Martin Frobisher during his search for a Northwest Passage (1576-78). It is uninhabited except for a few coastal settlements. The world’s northernmost mines are at Nanis- vik. In 1972 Auyuittuq National Park was created on the eastern coast.

Baeyer, 1905

HISTORIA-PHOTO

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Baganda ► Bahamas I 149

Baganda See Ganda

bagasse \bo-'gas\ Fibre remaining after the extraction of the sugar¬ bearing juice from sugarcane. The term was once applied more generally to various waste residues from processing plant materials. Bagasse may be used as fuel in the sugarcane mill or as a source of cellulose for manu¬ facturing animal feeds. Paper is produced from bagasse in several Latin American countries, in the Middle East, and in all sugar-producing coun¬ tries that are deficient in forest resources. It is the essential ingredient for the production of pressed building board, acoustic tile, and other con¬ struction materials.

Bagehot \'baj-ot\, Walter (b. Feb. 3, 1826, Langport, Somerset, Eng.—d. March 24, 1877, Langport)

English economist, political analyst, and journalist. While working in his uncle’s bank, Bagehot wrote literary essays and economic articles that led to his involvement with The Econo¬ mist. As its editor from 1860, he helped make it one of the leading business and political journals in the world. His classic The English Con¬ stitution (1867) describes how the British system of government really operates behind its facade. His other works include Physics and Politics (1872), one of the earliest attempts to apply the concept of evolution to societies, and Lombard Street (1873), a study of banking methods.

His literary essays have been con¬ tinually republished.

Baggara \ba-'gar-o\ or Baqqarah \ba-'kar-o\ Nomadic Arab people. They number about 600,000 and are probably descended from the Arabs who migrated west out of Egypt in the Middle Ages. Today they live in a region of The Sudan extending from Lake Chad east to the Nile, migrating with their cattle herds south to the river lands in the dry season and north to the grasslands during the rains. They also raise sorghum and millet. Association with the Fulani and others have given them a distinct dialect of Arabic.

Baghdad or Bagdad City (pop., 2003 est.: metro, area, 5,750,000), capital of Iraq. Located on the Tigris River, the site has been settled from ancient times. It rose to importance after being chosen in ad 762 by Caliph al-Mansur (r. 754-775) as the capital of the ‘Abbasid dynasty. Under HarOn al-Rashid it achieved its greatest glory—reflected in the many tales from The Thousand and One Nights that were set there—as one of the world’s largest and wealthiest cities. A centre of Islamic civilization, it was sec¬ ond only to the Byzantine capital, Constantinople (modem Istanbul), in trade and culture. The capital was moved briefly to Samarra’ in 836, after which the city was prone to bouts of political instability. It was sacked by the Mongols under Hiilegu in 1258, taken by Timur in 1401, and cap¬ tured by the Persian Safavid dynasty in 1508. Under the sultan SOleyman I, the city became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1534 and remained so—save for a brief period (1623-38) when it returned to Safavid rule—until the end of World War I (1914—18). It became capital of the kingdom (1920) and then the republic (1958) of Iraq. During the 20th century the city grew greatly in size and population. It was severely damaged during the First and Second Persian Gulf wars (1990-91 and 2003, respectively), and from 2003 it was occupied by a U.S.-led coalition force.

bagpipe Wind instrument consisting of two or more single- or double¬ reed pipes, the reeds being vibrated by wind fed by arm pressure on a skin or cloth bag. The pipes are held in wooden sockets tied into the bag, which is inflated either by the mouth or by bellows strapped to the body. Melodies are played on the fingerholes of the melody pipe, or chanter, while the remaining pipes, or drones, sound single notes. Bagpipes existed by about ad 100. The early bag was an animal bladder or a nearly whole sheepskin or goatskin. Bagpipes have always been folk instruments, but after the 15th century some were used for court music, and others have survived as military instruments. An important related instrument is the Irish union (or uilleann) pipe.

Baguirmi or Bagirmi \ba-ger-'me\ Former sultanate, now part of southwestern Chad. Located southeast of Lake Chad, it was probably

established in the 16th century. The king ruled from the capital city of Massenya. Though the 17th century brought prosperity as a result of the slave trade, Baguirmi became a pawn in conflicts between rival empires to the east and west. It was repeatedly sacked in the 19th century and ultimately came under French control in the late 19th century.

bagworm moth Any insect of the moth family Psychidae, found worldwide, named for the baglike cases the larvae (see larva) carry with them. The bag, which ranges in size from 0.25 to 6 in. (6-150 mm), is constructed from silk and bits of leaves, twigs, and other debris. The strong-bodied male has broad, fringed wings with a wingspread averag¬ ing 1 in. (25 mm). The wormlike female lacks wings. Bagworm larvae often damage trees, especially evergreens.

Bagyidaw Vbag-yi-,dau\ (d. October 1846) Seventh monarch of the Alaungpaya dynasty (r. 1819-37) of Myanmar. Bagyidaw was an ineffec¬ tual king, but his general, Maha Bandula, convinced him to pursue a policy of expansion in northeastern India. His conquest of Assam and Manipur angered the British, who launched the first of the Anglo-Burmese Wars. Bagyidaw spent the rest of his reign trying to mitigate the harsh terms of the Treaty of Yandabo (1826), which concluded that conflict.

Baha’ Ullah \ba-'ha-ul-Ta\ orig. MTrzd Hoseyn c Ali Nurl (b. Nov. 12, 1817, Tehran, Iran—d. May 29, 1872, Acre, Palestine) Iranian reli¬ gious leader, founder of the BahaI faith. A ShTite Muslim who allied him¬ self with the Bab, he joined his half brother Mlrza Yahya (known as Sobh-e Azal) in leading the Bab! movement after the Bab’s execution. Sunnite Muslims exiled him to Baghdad, Kurdistan, and finally Constantinople, where in 1867 he declared himself the imam-mahdi foretold by the Bab and sent by God. This pronouncement split Babism into two factions, with a small group (the Azau) adhering to its original beliefs and a larger group following him into what became the Baha’i faith. The Ottoman govern¬ ment banished him to Acre where, as Baha’ Ullah, he developed Baha’i into a teaching that advocated the unity of all religions and universal human brotherhood.

Baha’i \ba-'ha-e\ Religion founded in Iran in the mid-19th century by Baha’ Ullah. It emerged from Babism when in 1863 Baha’ Ullah asserted that he was the messenger of God predicted by the Bab. Before his death in 1892, he appointed his son c Abd ol-Baha to lead the community. The writings of the Bab, Baha’ Ullah, and ‘Abd ol-Baha form the sacred lit¬ erature. Worship consists of readings from scriptures of all religions. Baha’i faith proclaims the essential unity of all religions and the unity of humanity. It is concerned with social ethics and has no priesthood or sac¬ raments. Because of its 19 initial disciples, it considers the number 19 sacred, and the calendar consists of 19 months of 19 days (with four addi¬ tional days). Adherents are expected to pray daily, fast 19 days a year, and keep to a strict ethical code. Baha’i has experienced major growth since the 1960s but has been persecuted in Iran since the fundamentalist revo¬ lution of 1979.

Bahamas, The officially Commonwealth of The Bahamas

Archipelago and state, northwestern edge of the West Indies, lying south¬ east of Florida and north of Cuba. It consists of about 700 islands and numerous cays. Area: 5,382 sq mi (13,939 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 323,000. Capital: Nassau (on New Providence Island). The people are of African and European ancestry, a legacy of the slave trade. Language: English (official). Religion: Christianity (mostly Protestant; also Roman Catholic, other Christians). Currency: Bahamian dollar. Chief among the islands, from north to south, are Grand Bahama, Abaco, Eleuthera, New Providence, Andros, Cat, and Inagua; New Providence has most of the population. All are composed of coralline limestone and lie mostly only a few feet above sea level; the highest point is Mount Alvernia (206 ft [63 m]) on Cat Island. There are no rivers. The country’s market economy is heavily dependent on tourism, for which gambling is a particular attrac¬ tion, and on international financial services. Most foodstuffs are imported from the U.S.; fish and rum are significant exports. The Bahamas is a con¬ stitutional monarchy with two legislative houses; its chief of state is the British monarch, represented by a governor-general, and the head of gov¬ ernment is the prime minister. The islands were inhabited by Arawak Indians when Christopher Columbus sighted them on Oct. 12, 1492. Many scholars believe Columbus landed on San Salvador (Watling) Island, though others contend his first landfall was on Samana Cay (Cat Island). The Spaniards made no attempt to settle but carried out slave raids that depopulated the islands; when English settlers arrived in 1648 from Ber¬ muda, the islands were uninhabited. They became a haunt of pirates and

Walter Bagehot, mezzotint by Norman Hirst, after a photograph.

COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM; PHOTOGRAPH, J.R. FREEMAN & CO. LTD.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

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2002 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ir

buccaneers, and few of the ensuing settle¬ ments prospered. The islands enjoyed some prosperity following the American Revolution, when loyalists fled the U.S. and established cotton plantations there.

The islands were a centre for blockade runners during the American Civil War. Not until the development of tourism after World War II did perma¬ nent economic prosperity arrive. The Bahamas was granted internal self- government in 1964 and became independent in 1973.

Bahia \ba-‘e-a\ State (pop., 2003 est.: 13,435,612), eastern Brazil. It covers an area of 218,029 sq mi (564,693 sq km), and its capital is Sal¬ vador. The major river is the Sao Francisco. The Portuguese first entered the region in 1501, through the bay where Salvador is now located. Colo¬ nization began in the coastal region; the discovery of gold and gems in the Diamantina Upland attracted more settlers in the 18th century. A state since 1889, Bahia is rich in mineral resources, including petroleum, natu¬ ral gas, lead, copper, chromium, and tin. Its heavy industries include petroleum refining and ironworks. It is also an important agricultural pro¬ ducer.

Bahia See Salvador

Bahr al-Ghazal See Ghazal River

Bahr al-Jabal See Jabal River

Bahrain \ba-‘ran\ officially Kingdom of Bahrain Country, Middle East, southwestern Asia. Area: 278 sq mi (720 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 715,000. It occupies an archipelago consisting of Bahrain Island and about 30 smaller islands lying along the Arabian Peninsula in the Persian Gulf. Saudi Arabia lies to the west across the Gulf of Bahrain, and the Qatar peninsula lies to the east. The capital is Manama. Most of the popu¬ lation is Arab. Language: Arabic (official). Religion: Islam (official). Cur¬ rency: Bahraini dinar. Bahrain Island, which is about 30 mi (50 km) long and 10 mi (16 km) wide, accounts for seven-eighths of the country’s total area and, with the islands of Al-Muharraq and Sitrah off its northeastern coast, constitutes the population and economic centre of the country. Since 1986 the main island has been connected to Saudi Arabia by a 15-mi (24- km) causeway. The highest point of elevation is Al-Dukhan Hill (440 ft [134 m]). Bahrain has a developing mixed (state and private enterprise) economy based largely on natural gas and petroleum production and refin¬ ing. Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy. The chief of state is the king, and the head of government is the prime minister. The area has long been an important trading centre and is mentioned in Persian, Greek, and Roman references. It was ruled by various Arab groups from the 7th cen¬ tury ad but was then occupied by the Portuguese (1521-1602). Since 1783 it has been ruled by a family group known as the A1 Khallfah, though

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Gulf of Bahrain

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S 2002 Encyclopaedia Britannica, I

(through a series of treaties) its defense long remained a British responsibility (1820-1971). After Britain withdrew its forces from the Persian Gulf (1968), Bah¬ rain declared its independence (1971). It served as a centre for the allies in the First Persian Gulf War (1990-91). Since 1994 it has experienced periods of political unrest, mainly among its large ShTite population. Constitutional revisions, ratified in 2002, made Bahrain a constitutional monarchy and enfranchised women; parliamen¬ tary elections (the first since 1975) were held in October 2002.

Bai River See Yongding River

Baibars I See Baybars I

Baikal, Lake Russian Ozero Baykal \bl-'kal\ Lake, southern Sibe¬ ria, Russia, in Asia. With a length of 395 mi (636 km) long and an area of some 12,200 sq mi (31,500 sq km), it is the largest freshwater basin in Eurasia. It is also the deepest continental body of water on Earth (5,315 ft [1,620 m]), containing one-fifth of the fresh water on Earth’s surface. More than 330 rivers and streams flow into it; on its east it receives the Barguzin and Selenga rivers, and most of its outflow is through the Angara at the northern end. The island of Olkhon is in its centre. Plant and ani¬ mal life are rich and various; at least 1,500 species are unique to the lake. Growing industrialization along its shores has produced threatening pol¬ lution. In 1996 the Lake Baikal Coastal Protection Zone was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

bail Temporary release of a prisoner in exchange for security given to guarantee the prisoner’s appearance at a later hearing. It also refers to the actual security given (e.g., cash). Its main use today is to secure the free¬ dom, pending trial, of someone arrested and charged with a criminal offense. Its use in civil (noncriminal) cases is far less common, as most do not involve imprisonment. The amount of bail is generally set in rela¬ tion to the gravity of the offense, though other factors, such as the strength of the evidence, the character of the accused, and the accused’s ability to secure bail may also be considered. See also bond, recognizance.

Bailey, Pearl (Mae) (b. March 29, 1918, Newport News, Va., U.S.—d. Aug. 17, 1990, Philadelphia, Pa.) U.S. singer and entertainer. She began her career at age 15, appearing in nightclubs and theatres and with jazz bands, including the Count Basie band. Her first Broadway musi¬ cal was St. Louis Woman in 1946; her first film was Variety Girl in 1947. She became known for her lively and earthy style. In 1952 she married the drummer and bandleader Louis Bellson, with whom she later often appeared. The most memorable of her Broadway roles, which included Carmen Jones (1954), was as Dolly Levi in an all-black production of Hello, Dolly! (1967-69).

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

bailiff ► Baker v. Carr I 151

bailiff Officer of some U.S. courts whose duties include keeping order in the courtroom and guarding prisoners or jurors in deliberation. In medi¬ eval Europe, it was a title of some dignity and power, denoting a mano¬ rial superintendent or royal agent who collected fines and rent, served writs, assembled juries, made arrests, and executed the monarch’s orders. The bailiff’s authority was gradually eroded by the increasing need to use administrators with legal or other specialized training.

Bailly \ba-'ye\, Jean-Sylvain (b. Sept. 15, 1736, Paris, France—d. Nov. 12, 1793, Paris) French astronomer and politician. Noted for his computation of an orbit for Halley's Comet in 1759, he turned to politics with the outbreak of the French Revolution. He was chosen president of the Third Estate in May 1789 and was proclaimed the first mayor of Paris in July. He later lost popularity, particularly after his order to disperse a riotous crowd led to the massacre of the Champ de Mars (1791). He retired but was subsequently arrested, taken before the revolutionary tribunal, and guillotined.

Baily's beads Arc of bright spots seen during a total eclipse of the Sun, named for Francis Baily (1774-1844), the English astronomer who first called attention to them. Just before the Moon’s disk completely covers the Sun, the narrow crescent of sunlight may be broken in several places by mountains and valleys on the edge of the Moon’s disk; the resulting spots resemble a string of beads. The “diamond-ring effect” occurs when the very last rays of the Sun to be obscured look like a bright diamond on the solar corona.

Baird, Bil and Cora (respectively b. Aug. 15, 1904, Grand Island, Neb., U.S.—d. March 18, 1987, New York, N.Y.; b. Jan. 26, 1912, New York City—d. Dec. 6, 1967, New York City) U.S. puppeteers. Bil Baird (originally William Britton Baird) worked under the puppeteer Tony Sarg for five years then produced his own puppet shows from the mid 1930s. He and Cora Eisenberg married in 1937 and began to create original pup¬ pets, scenery, and music for their shows. They produced a series of tele¬ vision shows in the 1950s and opened their own marionette theatre in New York in 1966. Bil wrote The Art of the Puppet (1965) and trained pup¬ peteers such as Jim Henson.

Baird, John L(ogie) (b. Aug. 13, 1888, Helensburgh, Dunbarton, Scot.—d. June 14, 1946, Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex, Eng.) Scottish engineer. Plagued by ill health, he gave up his job as an electric-power engineer in 1922 and devoted himself to television research. He produced televised objects in outline in 1924 and recognizable human faces in 1925, and in 1926 became the first person to televise pictures of objects in motion. He demonstrated colour television in 1928. The German post office gave him facilities to develop a television service in 1929. When the BBC televi¬ sion service began (1936), his system competed with that of Marconi Electric and Musical Industries; the BBC adopted the latter exclusively in 1937. Baird was reported to have completed research on stereoscopic television at the time of his death.

Bairiki Vbl-,re-ke\ Islet (pop., 2000: urban agglomeration, 36,717) and administrative centre, Kiribati. It is located on Tarawa Atoll, northern Gil¬ bert Islands. It has port facilities as well as an extension centre of the Uni¬ versity of the South Pacific.

Baja Vba-,ha\ California Spanish "Lower California" Peninsula, northwestern Mexico. Bounded by the U.S. to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Gulf of California to the east, it is about 760 mi (1,220 km) long and has an area of 55,366 sq mi (143,396 sq km). Politically, it is divided into the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. It has more than 2,000 mi (3,200 km) of coastline, with sheltered harbours on both the western and gulf coasts. The area had been inhabited for some 9,000 years when the Spanish arrived in 1533. Jesuit missionaries estab¬ lished permanent settlements in the late 17th century, but the native Indi¬ ans were practically exterminated in epidemics introduced by the Spanish. The area was separated from what is now the U.S. state of California by treaty in 1848 following the Mexican War.

Baja California formerly Baja California Norte State (pop., 2000: 2,487,367), northern Baja California peninsula, northwestern Mexico. It covers an area of 27,071 sq mi (70,114 sq km), and its capital is Mexicali. Although long inhabited, it remained sparsely populated until the 1950s, when it experienced phenomenal growth. This was partly because of its proximity to the U.S. border; numerous foreign companies have established assembly oriented factories (maquiladoras) in the region, a trend accelerated by the establishment of NAFTA in 1994.

Baja California Sur State (pop., 2000: 423,516), southern Baja Cali¬ fornia peninsula, northwestern Mexico. It occupies an area of 28,369 sq mi (73, 475 sq km), and its capital is La Paz. It became a state in 1974. It is sparsely populated and remains relatively underdeveloped. Much new acreage of cotton has been planted near La Paz, but subsistence agricul¬ ture is most common. An increase in tourism and improved communica¬ tions have begun to alleviate the state’s isolation.

Baker, Chet orig. Chesney Henry Baker (b. Dec. 23, 1929, Yale, Okla., U.S.—d. May 13, 1988, Amsterdam, Neth.) U.S. trumpeter and singer. After playing in army bands he attracted attention during engage¬ ments with Charlie Parker and Gerry Mulligan in 1952 and 1953. His sub¬ dued tone and gentle phrasing made him the epitome of the cool jazz (see bebop) of the 1950s. With recordings such as “My Funny Valentine” he established his plaintive, fragile approach as a vocalist, which mirrored his trumpet style. Much of his later career, interrupted several times by legal problems stemming from drug addiction, was spent in Europe.

Baker, Josephine orig. Freda Josephine McDonald (b. June 3, 1906, St. Louis, Mo., U.S.—d. April 12, 1975, Paris, France) U.S.-born French entertainer. She joined a dance troupe at age 16 and soon moved to New York City, where she performed in Harlem nightclubs and on Broadway in Chocolate Dandies (1924). She went to Paris in 1925 to dance in La Revue negre. To French audiences she personified the exoti¬ cism and vitality of African Ameri¬ can culture, and she became Paris’s most popular music-hall entertainer, receiving star billing at the Foues Bergere. In World War II she worked with the Red Cross and entertained Free French troops. From 1950 she adopted numerous orphans of all nationalities as “an experiment in broth¬ erhood.” She returned periodically to the U.S. to advance the cause of civil rights.

Baker, Newton D(iehl) (b. Dec. 3, 1871, Martinsburg, W.Va., U.S.—d. Dec. 25, 1937, Cleveland, Ohio) U.S. secretary of war. He prac¬ ticed law in Martinsburg from 1897. After moving to Cleveland, he was elected mayor (1912-16). He helped obtain the 1912 Democratic presi¬ dential nomination for Woodrow Wilson, who appointed him secretary of war (1916-21). Although he was a pacifist, Baker developed a plan for the military draft and oversaw the mobilization of more than four million men during World War I. In 1928 he was appointed to the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague.

Baker, Philip John Noel- See Philip Noel-Baker

Baker, Russell (Wayne) (b. Aug. 14, 1925, Loudoun county, Va., U.S.) U.S. newspaper columnist. Baker joined the Baltimore Sun in 1947. In 1954 he moved to the Washington bureau of the New York Times, and in the early 1960s he began his syndicated “Observer” column. Initially concentrating on political satire, he later found other subjects to skewer as well. In 1979 he won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. His books include the autobiographies Growing Up (1982, Pulitzer Prize) and The Good Times (1989). In 1993 he became host of the television program Masterpiece Theatre.

Baker, Sara Josephine (b. Nov. 15, 1873, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., U.S.—d. Feb. 22, 1945, New York, N.Y.) U.S. physician. She became the first American woman to receive a doctorate in public health. As the first director of New York City’s Division of Child Hygiene (the first public agency devoted to child health), she helped make New York’s infant- mortality rates the lowest of any major American city. She helped found the American Child Hygiene Association and organized what became the Children’s Welfare Federation of New York. She published five books on child hygiene.

Baker v. Carr (1962) U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the Ten¬ nessee legislature to reapportion itself on the basis of population. The case ended the traditional overrepresentation of rural areas in the legislature and established that the court may intervene in apportionment cases. The court ruled that every citizen’s vote should carry equal weight, regardless

Josephine Baker.

H. ROGER-VIOLLET

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

152 I Bakersfield ► Balaklava

of the voter’s place of residence. Its ruling in Reynolds v. Sims (1964) built on Baker by requiring virtually every state legislature to be reap¬ portioned, ultimately causing political power in most states to shift from rural to urban areas.

Bakersfield City (pop., 2000: city, 247,057; metro, area, 661,645), southern California, U.S. Situated on the Kern River in the San Joaquin Valley, it was founded in 1869 by Thomas Baker. It was an agricultural area when the discovery of the Kern River oil fields in 1899 sparked a petroleum boom. The city was quickly rebuilt after a major earthquake in 1952. Nearby vineyards produce about a quarter of the wine made in California.

Bakewell, Robert (b. 1725, Dishley, Leicestershire, Eng.—d. Oct. 1, 1795, Dishley) English agriculturist.

He revolutionized English sheep and cattle breeding by methodical selec¬ tion, inbreeding, and culling. He was one of the first to breed sheep and cattle for meat and the first to estab¬ lish on a large scale the practice of letting animals for stud. His farm became famous as a model of scien¬ tific management.

Bakhtin \b9k-'ten\, Mikhail (Mikhailovich) (b. Nov. 17, 1895,

Orel, Russia—d. March 7, 1975,

Moscow, U.S.S.R.) Russian literary theorist and philosopher of language.

His works frequently offended the Soviet authorities, and in 1929 he was exiled from Vitsyebsk to Kazakh¬ stan. He is especially known for Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics (1929), which advanced theories that he further developed in The Dialogic Imagination (1975). His wide-ranging ideas significantly influenced West¬ ern thinking in cultural history, linguistics, literary theory, and aesthetics.

Bakhtyarl or Bakhtiyari or Bakhtiari \bak-'te-3-re\ Any member of a community of nomadic pastoral tent dwellers of western Iran. They speak a dialect of Luri (a language related to Modern Persian) and are mostly Shi'ite Muslims. Their two tribal groups are the Chahar Lang and Haft Lang; the position of leader of all the Bakhtyarl alternates every two years between the chiefs of the two tribal groups. Many chiefs have been influential in national public affairs and have held office. Bakhtyarl women are normally better-educated and freer than other Muslim women in Iran.

baking Process of cooking by dry heat, especially in an oven. Baked products include bread, cookies, pies, and pastries. Ingredients used in baking include flour, water, leavening agents (baker’s yeast, baking soda, baking powder), shortening (fats, oils), eggs, milk, and sugars. These are mixed together to create dough or batter, which is then transferred to a pan or sheet and heated. Leavening agents produce gas that becomes trapped in the dough, causing it to rise. Shortening makes doughs more easily workable and the final product more tender. Egg whites are used to produce a light, airy texture, and yolks contribute colour, flavour, and texture. Milk is used for moistening and flavouring and sugars for sweet¬ ening and aiding fermentation.

baking soda See bicarbonate of soda

Bakke \'ba-ke\ decision formally Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) Decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that ruled unconstitutional the use of fixed quotas for minor¬ ity applicants at professional schools. At issue was a state medical school’ s affirmative action program that, because it required a certain num¬ ber of minority admissions, twice denied entrance to an otherwise quali¬ fied white candidate (Allan Bakke). Though the court outlawed quota programs on the grounds that they violated the equal-protection clause of the Constitution of the United States, it allowed colleges to use race as a factor in making college admissions decisions.

Bakongo See Kongo

Bakst Vbakst\, Leon orig. Lev Samuilovich Rosenberg (b. Jan. 27, 1866, St. Petersburg, Russia—d. Dec. 28, 1924, Paris, France) Rus¬

sian painter and stage designer. He attended the Imperial Academy of Arts at St. Petersburg and studied in Paris. In 1898 he cofounded the journal Mir Iskusstva (“World of Art”) with Sergey Diaghilev. He began designing scenery for the imperial theatres in 1900. In Paris he designed sets and costumes for Diaghilev’s new Ballets Russes. His bold designs and sump¬ tuous colours, conveying an exotic “Orientalism,” won him international fame. His designs for a London production of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty in 1921 are regarded as his greatest work.

Baku \ba-'kii\ City (pop., 2003 est.: 1,828,800), capital of Azerbaijan. Located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea at the sea’s best harbour, Baku has long been inhabited. By the 11th century ad it was in the pos¬ session of the Shirvan shahs, who made it their capital in the 12th cen¬ tury. In 1723 Peter I (the Great) took Baku, but it was returned to Persia in 1735; Russia recaptured it in 1806. It was the capital of the short-lived independent state of Azerbaijan (1918-20) and in 1920 became the capi¬ tal of the new Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. The basis of Baku’s economy is petroleum. The city’s historic centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000.

bakufu \ba-'ku-fu\ Japanese "tent government" Military rule of the country by a hereditary SHOGUN, as opposed to rule by the imperial court and the emperor. There have been three periods of bakufu govern¬ ment in Japanese history: Minamoto Yoritomo established the Kamakura bakufu (see Kamakura period) at the end of the 12th century, Ashikaga Takauji established the Muromachi bakufu (see Muromachi period) in the early 14th century, and Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Edo bakufu (see Tokugawa period) at the beginning of the 17th century. The Edo bakufu was the most successful, a time of peace and prosperity that lasted over 250 years. See also daimyo; Hojo family; jito.

Bakunin Vbo-'kim-yonN, Mikhail (Aleksandrovich) (b. May 30,

1814, Premukhino, Russia—d. July 1, 1876, Bern, Switz.) Russian anar¬ chist and political writer. He traveled in western Europe and was active in the Revolutions of 1848. After attending the Slav congress in Prague, he wrote the manifesto “An Appeal to Slavs” (1848). Arrested for revo¬ lutionary intrigues in Germany (1849), he was sent to Russia and exiled to Siberia. He escaped in 1861 and returned to western Europe, where he continued his militant anarchist teachings. At the First International (1872) he engaged in a famous quarrel with Karl Marx, which split the European revolutionary movement.

Ba'labakk See Baalbek

Balaguer \,ba-la-'ger\ (y Ricardo), Joaquin (Vidella) (b. Sept. 1, 1907, Villa Bisono, Dom. Rep.—d. July 14, 2002, Santo Domingo) Presi¬ dent of the Dominican Republic (1960-62, 1966-78, 1986-96). He held numerous government posts during Gen. Rafael Trujillo’s 30-year dicta¬ torship. Balaguer was vice president under Trujillo’s brother Hector and became president when Hector resigned, but Trujillo continued to wield actual power until assassinated in 1961. Balaguer’s subsequent attempts at liberalization caused his overthrow by the military. Elected president in 1966 after the U.S. military intervention in 1965, he achieved steady economic growth and modest social reforms. He was reelected repeat¬ edly, but his last term was shortened by two years amid political violence and charges of electoral fraud and corruption.

Balakirev \bo Ta-kyi-ryif\, Mily (Alekseyevich) (b. Jan. 2, 1837, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia—d. May 29, 1910, St. Petersburg) Russian composer. As a youth he met and was influenced by the nationalist com¬ poser Mikhail Glinka. Balakirev himself later became the mentor of Cesar Cui (1835-1918) and Modest Mussorgsky; in 1861-62 their group expanded to become The Five. In 1862 Balakirev cofounded the Free School of Music. His works include two symphonies, the piano fantasy Islamey (1869), music for King Lear (1858-61), and a piano concerto. With his colourful imagination and use of folk themes, he was perhaps the most influential proponent of Russian nationalism. After a nervous breakdown in 1871, he adopted a fervent and bigoted form of Orthodoxy and was thereafter involved in musical life only sporadically.

Balaklava \b9-l3-'kla-v9\, Battle of (Oct. 25, 1854) Indecisive mili¬ tary engagement of the Crimean War. The Russians sought to capture the Black Sea supply port of Balaklava, which was controlled by the British, French, and Turks. The Russians occupied positions on the heights above a nearby valley. To disrupt the Russian troop movements, Baron Raglan gave an ambiguous order for Lord Cardigan’s Light Brigade to attack. Instead of leading his cavalry against the Russian guns on the heights.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

balalaika ► Balch I 153

Cardigan swept down the valley after the retreating Russian cavalry. The battle ended with the loss of 40% of the Light Brigade and inspired the 1855 poem “Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

balalaika X.ba-ls-'lI-koV Russian stringed instrument with a triangular body, three strings, and movable frets on its fingerboard. It comes in six sizes, from piccolo to double bass. It developed in the 18th century from the dombra. It has been prima¬ rily a solo folk instrument for accom¬ panying song and dance, but is also played in large balalaika orchestras.

balance Instrument for comparing the weights of two bodies, usually for scientific purposes, to determine the difference in mass. The equal-arm balance dates back to the ancient Egyptians, possibly as early as 5000 bc. By the early 20th century, it had been developed into an exquisitely precise measuring device. Electronic balances today depend on electrical compensation rather than mechani¬ cal deflection. The ultramicrobal¬ ance is any weighing device that serves to determine the weight of even smaller samples than can be weighed with the microbalance (which can weigh samples as small as a few milligrams), that is, total amounts as small as a few micro¬ grams.

balance of payments System¬ atic record of all economic transac¬ tions during a given period between

residents (including the government) of one country and residents (includ¬ ing the governments) of other countries. The transactions are presented in the form of double-entry bookkeeping. The U.S. balance of payments, for example, records the various ways in which dollars are made avail¬ able to foreigners through U.S. imports, U.S. tourist spending abroad, for¬ eign lending, and so on. These expenditures are shown on the debit side of the balance. The credit side shows the various uses to which foreign¬ ers put their dollars, including paying for U.S. exports, servicing debts to the U.S., and the like. Foreign countries may acquire more dollars than they need to spend on U.S. goods and services and may hold the surplus or purchase gold or securities; or they may have fewer dollars than they need to purchase U.S. goods and services, and may acquire additional dollars by transferring gold, selling holdings in the U.S., and so on. Cer¬ tain forms of transferring funds (e.g., large outflows of gold) are less desirable as a way of settling foreign debts than others (e.g., transfers of currency acquired through international trade). The International Mon¬ etary Fund helps address problems relating to balance of payments. See also BALANCE OF TRADE.

Russian tenor balalaika, 20th century; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

COURTESY OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK CITY, THE CROSBY BROWN COLLECTION OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, 1889

balance of power In international relations, an equilibrium of power sufficient to discourage or prevent one nation or party from imposing its will on or interfering with the interests of another. The term came into use at the end of the Napoleonic Wars to denote the power relationships in the European state system. Until World War I, Britain played the role of balancer in a number of shifting alliances. After World War II, a North¬ ern Hemisphere balance of power pitted the U.S. and its allies (see NATO) against the Soviet Union and its satellites (see Warsaw Pact) in a bipolar balance of power backed by the threat of nuclear war. China’s defection from the Soviet camp to a nonaligned but covertly anti-Soviet stance pro¬ duced a third node of power. With the Soviet Union’s collapse (1991), the U.S. and its NATO allies were recognized universally as the world’s para¬ mount military power.

balance of trade Difference in value over a period of time between a nation’s imports and exports of goods and services. The balance of trade is part of a larger economic unit, the balance of payments, which includes all economic transactions between residents of one country and those of other countries. If a nation’s exports exceed its imports, the nation has a

favourable balance of trade, or a trade surplus. If imports exceed exports, an unfavourable balance of trade, or a trade deficit, exists. Under mercan¬ tilism a favourable balance of trade was an absolute necessity, but in clas¬ sical economics it was more important for a nation to utilize its economic resources fully than to build a trade surplus. The idea of the undesirabil¬ ity of trade deficits persisted, however, and arguments against deficits are often advanced by advocates of protectionism.

balance sheet Financial statement that describes the resources under a company’s control on a specified date and indicates where they have come from. It consists of three major sections: assets (valuable rights owned by the company), liabilities (funds provided by outside lenders and other creditors), and the owners’ equity. On the balance sheet, total assets must always equal total liabilities plus total owners’ equity.

Balanchine Vba-la^'sheM, George orig. Georgy Melitonovich Balanchivadze (b. Jan. 22, 1904,

St. Petersburg, Russia—d. April 30,

1983, New York, N.Y., U.S.)

Russian-born U.S. choreographer.

After studying at the Imperial Ballet School, he left the Soviet Union in 1925 to join the Ballets Russes, where his choreography of Apollo (1928) exemplified the spare neoclassical style that became his trademark. His work impressed the impresario Lin¬ coln Kirstein, who in 1933 invited “Mr. B.” to form the School of American Ballet and its performing group, the American Ballet. The group became the Metropolitan Opera’s resident company (1935—

38) but disbanded in 1941. In 1946 Kirstein and Balanchine founded the Ballet Society, from which emerged the New York City Ballet in 1948. Bal¬ anchine created more than 150 works for the company, including The Nutcracker (1954), Don Quixote (1965), and Jewels (1967), and he also choreographed musicals and operas. He collaborated closely with the composer Igor Stravinsky, setting more than 30 works to his music. Balanchine’s work remains in the rep¬ ertoires of many companies worldwide, and he is widely considered the greatest choreographer of the 20th century.

Balaton Vbo-lo-.tonX, Lake Lake, Hungary. Southwest of Budapest, it is the largest lake in central Europe, covering 231 sq mi (598 sq km), with a maximum depth of about 37 ft (11 m). It contains two wildlife reserves. While agriculture remains important in the area, the tourist industry has become significant, and resorts, including Siofok and Balatonfiired, have been developed.

Balbo, Italo (b. June 6, 1896, near Ferrara, Italy—d. June 28, 1940, Tobruk, Libya) Italian aviator and politician. He led the fascist Blackshirts in the March on Rome (1922) and served under Benito Mussolini as gen¬ eral of militia (1923) and air minister (1929-33). Balbo developed Ital¬ ian military and commercial aviation and became famous for promoting mass international flights to demonstrate Italy’s air power. He was appointed governor of Libya in 1933 and died when his plane was acci¬ dentally shot down by Italian guns over Tobruk.

Balboa, Vasco Nunez de (b. 1475, Badajoz, Extremadura province, Castile—d. Jan. 12, 1519, Acla, near Darien, Pan.) Spanish conquistador and explorer. In 1500 he explored the coast of modern Colombia, then settled in Hispaniola. Forced to flee creditors, he joined an expedition to assist a colony in Colombia. He persuaded the settlers to move across the Gulf of Uraba to Darien, where in 1511 they founded the first stable settlement on the South American continent. In 1513 he became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean and took possession of the Mar del Sur (South Sea) and adjacent lands for Spain. He became governor of the Mar del Sur and of the provinces of Panama and Coiba but remained subject to a rival, Pedro Arias Davila, or Pedrarias (14407-1531). Fearing Bal¬ boa’s influence, Pedrarias had him seized and charged with rebellion, treason, and other misdeeds. After a farcical trial, Balboa was beheaded.

Balch Vbolch\, Emily Greene (b. Jan. 8, 1867, Jamaica Plain, Mass., U.S.—d. Jan. 9, 1961, Cambridge, Mass.) U.S. sociologist and peace

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

154 I bald cypress ► Baldwin II Porphyrogenitus

activist. She studied at Bryn Mawr College and taught at Wellesley Col¬ lege from 1896. She founded a settlement house in Boston and served on state commissions on industrial relations (1908-09) and immigration (1913-14). She lost her professorship in 1918 because of her opposition to U.S. entry into World War I. In 1919 she helped found, with Jane Add- ams, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. In 1946 she shared the Nobel Prize for Peace with John R. Mott (1865-1955).

bald cypress Either of two large swamp trees ( Taxodium distichum and T. ascendens\ family Taxodiaceae) of the southern U.S. that are related to the sequoias. The hard red wood of cypress is often used for roofing shingles. The so-called deciduous cypress family (see deciduous tree) com¬ prises 10 genera with 15 species of ornamental and timber evergreen trees, native to eastern Asia, Tasmania, and North America. The leaves on a single tree may be scalelike, needlelike, or a mixture of both. Both male and female cones are borne on the same tree. The Tasmanian cedar ( Ath- rotaxis), Japanese cedar ( Cryptomeria japonica), China fir (Cunning- hamia lanceolata ), umbrella pine ( Sciadopitys verticillata), big tree, redwood, dawn redwood, and bald cypress are economically important timber trees in this family.

bald eagle Species of sea eagle (. Haliaeetus leucocephalus) that occurs inland along rivers and large lakes.

Strikingly handsome, it is the only eagle native solely to North America, and it has been the U.S. national bird since 1782. The adult, about 40 in.

(1 m) long with a wingspan of 6.5 ft (2 m), is dark brown with white head and tail and yellow beak, eyes, and feet. Bald eagles snatch fish at the water surface, rob osprey of fish, and eat carrion. They nest in lone trees, often on river islands. Though still protected in the U.S., the bald eagle is no longer considered an endan¬ gered species.

baldachin Vbol-do-konV Free¬ standing canopy of stone, wood, or metal over an altar or tomb. The Ital¬ ian term baldacchino originally referred to brocaded material from Baghdad hung as a canopy over an altar or throne. The characteristic architectural form consists of four columns supporting entablatures, which carry miniature colonnades topped by a pyramidal or gabled roof. Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s famous bronze baldachin (1624-33) stands at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Balder Vbol-dor, ‘bal-dorV In Norse mythology, the just and beautiful son of Odin and Frigg. He could be harmed by nothing except mistletoe.

Knowing he was invulnerable, the gods amused themselves by throw¬ ing things at him. Deceived by Loki, the blind god Hod hurled mistletoe at Balder and killed him. The giant¬ ess Thokk, probably Loki in disguise, refused to weep the tears that would have released Balder from the underworld.

baldness or alopecia X.al-o-'pe-shoX Lack or loss of hair, either per¬ manent (from destruction of hair follicles) or temporary (from short-term follicle damage). Male pattern baldness is inherited and affects up to 40% of men; treatments are transplanting of follicles from areas where hair still grows and application of drugs (e.g., minoxidil) to the scalp. Other causes of permanent baldness are skin diseases and injuries, inborn lack of hair development, and severe follicle injury. Temporary hair loss may follow high fever or come from X rays, drugs, malnutrition, or endocrine disorders. Alopecia areata, with sharply outlined patches of sudden com¬ plete baldness, is also usually temporary.

Baldovinetti X.bal-do-ve-'nat-teV, Alesso (b. Oct. 14, 1425?, Florence—d. Aug. 29, 1499, Flo¬ rence ) Italian artist active in Flo¬ rence. Little is known of his early training, but his style shows the influence of Fra Angelico and Domenico Veneziano. Both his mas¬ terpiece, The Nativity (1460-62), a fresco in the church of the Santis- sima Annunziata, Florence, and his Madonna and Child (1460s) in the Louvre depict views of the Arno River valley in the background; they are among the earliest European paintings of landscapes. His work, though seldom innovative, exempli¬ fied the careful modeling of form and the accurate depiction of light char¬ acteristic of the most progressive style of Florentine painting during the last half of the 15 th century. He also designed the mosaic decoration over Lorenzo Ghiberti’s doors on the Baptistery in Florence (1453-55) and produced designs for stained glass and intarsia.

Baldung Vbal-duqV Hans or Hans Baldung Grien \'gren\ (b. c. 1484, Schwabisch Gmtind, Wiirttemberg—d. 1545, Imperial Free City of Strasbourg) German painter and graphic artist. He was assistant to Albre¬ cht Durer in Ntimberg and was active in Strasbourg as official painter to the episcopate. He is best known for the high altar of the cathedral at Freiburg, where he lived in 1512-17. His output was varied and exten¬ sive, encompassing religious paintings, allegories, mythologies, portraits, designs for stained glass, tapestry, and book illustration. His paintings are equaled in importance by his drawings, engravings, and woodcuts, fre¬ quently depicting the themes of the “dance of death” and “death and the maiden.” In his taste for the gruesome, Baldung is close in style and spirit to Matthias GrOnewald.

Baldwin I (b. 1172, Valenciennes—d. 1205) First Latin emperor of Constantinople (1204-05). Count of Flanders and Hainaut, he was a leader of the Fourth Crusade, which was directed against the Byzantine Empire. He helped install a pro-Latin emperor (1203). When the Crusad¬ ers in Constantinople seized power, he was elected emperor (1204) and recognized by the pope. He created a government on the western Euro¬ pean model, granting Greek lands to his knights, but was defeated, taken prisoner, and executed by invading Bulgars.

Baldwin I known as Baldwin of Boulogne \bu-'lon-y9\ (b. 1058?—d. April 2, 1118, Al-Arish, Egypt) King of Jerusalem (1100-18). The son of a French count, he joined the First Crusade and created the first Crusader state when he gained control of Edessa (now in Turkey) in 1098. In 1100 his brother Godfrey died in Jerusalem, and Baldwin was summoned by the nobles to succeed him as king of the Crusader state and defender of the Holy Sepulchre. He expanded the kingdom by conquer¬ ing coastal cities such as Arsuf and Caesarea, built the important castle Krak de Montreal, and established an administration that served for 200 years as the basis for Frankish rule in Syria and Palestine.

Baldwin II known as Baldwin of Bourg \'biirk\ (d. August 1131, Jerusalem) King of Jerusalem (1118-31). A French nobleman, he joined the First Crusade and was made count of Edessa by his cousin Baldwin I in 1100. Captured by Seljuq Turks in 1104, he was ransomed four years later and reclaimed Edessa from the regent by force. He became king of Jerusalem in 1118 on the death of Baldwin I. He was held hostage by the Turks 1123-24. He later expanded his kingdom and attacked Damascus with the aid of the Knights of Malta and the Templars. He arranged the marriage of his daughter Melisend to Fulk V of Anjou and made them his successors.

Baldwin II Porphyrogenitus \,por-f3-ro-'jen-9t-9s\ (b. 1217, Constantinople—d. Oct. 1273, Foggia, Kingdom of Sicily) Fifth and last Latin emperor of Constantinople (1228-61). The son of the third Latin emperor (Porphyrogenitus means “born to the purple,” thus “of royal birth”), Baldwin inherited the throne on the death of his brother. Inva-

Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).

ALEXANDER SPRUNT, IV

Baldachin, St. Peter's, Vatican City, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1624-33

SCALA-ART RESOURCE/EB INC.

"Madonna and Child," oil on canvas by Alesso Baldovinetti, c. 1465; in the Louvre, Paris

GIRAUDON-ART RESOURCE/EB INC.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Baldwin IV ► Balfour Declaration I 155

sions by Greeks and Bulgars reduced the empire to the area around Con¬ stantinople, and Baldwin’s empty treasury obliged him to travel twice to western Europe to ask for aid. He sold sacred relics to Louis IX of France and broke up parts of the imperial palace for firewood. He lost the throne in 1261 when Michael VIII Palaeologus captured Constantinople and restored Greek rule. Baldwin fled to Europe and later died in Sicily.

Baldwin IV known as Baldwin the Leper (b. 1161—d. March 1185, Jerusalem) King of Jerusalem (1174-85). He was crowned at age 13 on the death of his father, but the kingdom was ruled by a series of regents. Baldwin was afflicted with leprosy throughout his short life, which con¬ tributed to power struggles among the nobility. His defeat of Saladin in 1177 led to a two-year truce, but in 1183 Saladin captured Aleppo and completed the encirclement of Jerusalem. Baldwin crowned his nephew king in 1183.

Baldwin, James (Arthur) (b.

U.S.—d. Dec. 1, 1987, Saint-Paul,

France) U.S. essayist, novelist, and playwright. He grew up in poverty in the New York City district of Harlem and became a preacher while in his teens. After 1948 he lived alternately in France and the U.S. His semiau- tobiographical first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), regarded as his finest, was followed by the essay collections Notes of a Native Son (1955) and Nobody Knows My Name (1961); the novels Giovanni’s Room (1956), a story of homosexual life, and Another Country (1962); the long polemical essay The Fire Next Time (1963), prophesying wide¬ spread racial violence; and the play Blues for Mister Charlie (produced 1964). His eloquence and passion on the subject of race made him for years perhaps the country’s most prominent black writer.

Baldwin, Robert (b. May 12, 1804, York, Upper Canada—d. Dec. 9, 1858, Toronto) Canadian politician. Called to the bar in 1825, Baldwin began his political career as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada for York (1829-30). In 1 842—43 he and Louis Hippolyte LaFontaine formed the first Liberal Party administration; when the Liber¬ als returned to power in 1848, they were able to establish responsible, or cabinet, government. He resigned in 1851.

Baldwin, Roger (Nash) (b. Jan. 21, 1884, Wellesley, Mass., U.S.—d. Aug. 26, 1981, Ridgewood, N.J.) U.S. civil-rights leader. Born into an aristocratic Massachusetts family, Baldwin attended Harvard University and taught sociology at Washington University (1906-09) in St. Louis, where he also was chief probation officer of the city’s juvenile court and secretary of its Civic League. When the U.S. entered World War I, he became director of the pacifist American Union Against Militarism, the predecessor of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). As the ACLU’s director (1920-50) and national chairman (1950-55), he made civil rights, once a predomi¬ nantly leftist cause, a universal one.

Baldwin (of Bewdley), Stan¬ ley Baldwin, 1st Earl (b. Aug.

3, 1867, Bewdley, Worcestershire,

Eng.—d. Dec. 14, 1947, Astley Hall, near Stourport-on-Severn, Worces¬ tershire) British politician. After managing his family’s large indus¬ trial holdings, he became a Conser¬ vative member of the House of Commons (1908-37). He served as financial secretary of the treasury

(1917-21) and president of the Board of Trade (1921-22), then was appointed prime minister (1923-24, 1924-29, 1935-37). He proclaimed a state of emergency in the general strike of 1926 and later secured pas¬ sage of the antiunion Trade Disputes Act. As prime minister after 1935, he began to strengthen the British military while showing little public concern about the aggressive policies of Germany and Italy. He was criti¬ cized for not protesting the Italian conquest of Ethiopia. In 1936 he sat¬ isfied public opinion by procuring the abdication of Edward VIII, whose desire to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson, Baldwin believed, threatened the prestige of the monarchy.

Balearic Vba-le-'ar-ik\ Islands Spanish Islas Baleares Archipelago (pop., 2001: 841,669), western Mediterranean Sea, constituting an autono¬ mous community and province of Spain. It occupies an area of 1,927 sq mi (4,992 sq km); its capital is Palma. The most important islands are Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, Formentera, and Cabrera. Long inhabited, the islands were ruled by Carthage in the 6th century bc, by Rome from c. 120 bc, and by the Byzantine Empire from ad 534. Raided by the Arabs, the area was conquered in the 10th century by the Umayyad dynasty at Cordoba. It was reconquered by the Spanish and united with the kingdom of Aragon in 1349. After territorial challenges in the 18th century by the British, the islands came under Spanish rule in 1802. The present-day economy is fueled by tourism.

baleen whale \bo-'len, 'ba-,len\ Any of about 13 species of cetaceans in the suborder Mysticeti. They are distinguished by a specialized feed¬ ing structure, the baleen, which strains plankton and small crustaceans from the water. It consists of two horny plates attached to the roof of the mouth. Each plate (as long as 12 ft, or 3.6 m, in the right whale) is com¬ posed of parallel slats with fringes that mat together to form a sieve. Other baleen whales are the blue, fin, gray, humpback, and sei whales and the rorqual. Baleen was once used for corset stays and is still used in some industrial brushes.

Balenciaga \bal-en-'thyag-3\, Cristobal (b. Jan. 21, 1895, Guetaria, Spain—d. March 23, 1972, Valencia) Spanish-French fashion designer. He studied dressmaking as a child and was inspired to become a coutu¬ rier by a visit to Paris. By age 20 he had his own firm in San Sebastian. Over the next 15 years Balenciaga became the leading couturier of Spain. In 1937, when the Spanish Civil War disrupted his business, he moved to Paris. For the next 30 years his collections featured sumptuously elegant dresses and suits. Balenciaga helped popularize the trend toward capes and flowing clothes without waistlines in the late 1950s as well as the use of plastic for rainwear in the mid 1960s. He retired in 1968.

Balfour (of Whittingehame), Arthur James, 1 st Earl (b. July 25, 1848, Whittinghame, East

Lothian, Scot.—d. March 19, 1930,

Woking, Surrey, Eng.) British states¬ man. The nephew of the marquess of Salisbury, Balfour served in Parlia¬ ment (1874-1911) and in his uncle’s government as secretary for Ireland (1887-91). From 1891 he was the Conservative Party’s leader in Par¬ liament and succeeded his uncle as prime minister (1902-05). He helped form the Entente Cordiale (1904). His most famous action came in 1917 when, as foreign secretary (19lb- 19), he wrote the so-called Balfour Declaration, which expressed official British approval of Zionism. He served as lord president of the coun¬ cil (1919-22, 1925-29) and drafted the Balfour Report (1926), which defined relations between Britain and the dominions expressed in the Statute of Westminster.

Balfour Declaration (Nov. 2, 1917) Statement issued by the British foreign secretary, Arthur James Balfour, in a letter to Lionel Walter Roth¬ schild, a leader of British Jewry, as urged by the Russian Jewish Zionist leaders Chaim Weizmann and Nahum Sokolow. The declaration promised the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine that would not disturb the non-Jewish groups already residing there. The Brit-

2, 1924, New York, N.Y.,

Baldwin

Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, 1932.

BASSANO AND VANDYK

Arthur James Balfour, c. 1900.

BASSANO AND VANDYK

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

156 I Bali ► Ballesteros

ish anticipated gaining a mandate over Palestine after World War I (1914- 18) and hoped to win over Jewish public opinion to the side of the Allies. They also hoped that pro-British settlers would help protect the approaches to the Suez Canal, a vital link to Britain’s South Asian pos¬ sessions.

Bali Vba-le, 'ba-le\ Island (pop., 2000 prelim.: 3,151,162), Indonesia. Located in the Lesser Sunda Islands, off the eastern coast of Java, it con¬ stitutes, with minor adjacent islands, a province of Indonesia. The main towns are Singaraja and Denpasar, the provincial capital. The island is mountainous; its highest peak is Mount Agung (10,308 ft [3,142 m]). Colonized by India in early times and supplemented by emigres from Java in the 16th century, Bali is the remaining stronghold of Hinduism in the Indonesian archipelago. Visited by the Dutch in the late 16th century, it came under Dutch rule only in the late 19th century. It was occupied by the Japanese in World War II and became part of Indonesia in 1950. Tour¬ ism is now one of the mainstays of its economy.

Balinese People of the island of Bali, Indon. They differ from other Indonesians in adhering to Hinduism, though their culture has been heavily influenced by the Javanese. In Balinese villages each family lives in its own compound, surrounded by earthen or stone walls; all villages have temples and an assembly hall. Balinese religion fuses Hindu Shaivism with Buddhism, ancestor cults (see ancestor worship), and belief in spirits and magic. Marriage is often limited to members of the same kinship organi¬ zation, and family relationships are reckoned through the male line.

Balkan League Vbol-konX (1912-13) Alliance of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro, which fought the first Balkan War against the Ottoman empire. Ostensibly created to limit Austrian power in the Bal¬ kans, the league was actually formed at the instigation of Russia to expel the Turks from the Balkans. The league disintegrated when its members quarreled over the division of territorial spoils after their victory in the first Balkan War.

Balkan Mountains Bulgarian Stara Planina Vsta-ra-.pla-ne-'naV Mountain range, southeastern Europe. It extends east to west across cen¬ tral Bulgaria from the Black Sea to the Serbian border; the highest point is Botev Peak, at 7,795 ft (2,376 m). The range forms the major divide between the Danube River in the north and the Maritsa River in the south. It is crossed by about 20 passes (notably Shipka Pass), several railway lines, and the Iskur River.

Balkan Wars (1912- 13) Two military conflicts that deprived the Otto¬ man Empire of almost all its remaining territory in Europe. In the First Bal¬ kan War, the Balkan League defeated the Ottoman Empire, which, under the terms of the peace treaty (1913), lost Macedonia and Albania. The Second Balkan War broke out after Serbia, Greece, and Romania quar¬ reled with Bulgaria over the division of their joint conquests in Mace¬ donia. Bulgaria was defeated, and Greece and Serbia divided up most of Macedonia between themselves. The wars heightened tensions in the Bal¬ kans and helped spark World War I.

Balkans or Balkan Peninsula Peninsula, southeastern Europe. Located between the Adriatic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Aegean and Black seas, it contains many countries, including Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria. From 168 bc to ad 107, part of the area was incorporated into Roman provinces, including Epirus, Moesia, Pannonia, Thrace, and Dacia. It was subsequently settled by Slavic invaders, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, and Slavonized Bulgars, the last of whom were pushed into the Balkan region in the 6th century. It was gradually organized into kingdoms, many of which were overrun by the Ottoman Empire in the 14th-15th century. The factional strife that occurred there from the early 20th century, provoking the continual breakups and regroupings of dif¬ ferent states, introduced the word balkanize into English.

Balkhash, Lake or Lake Balqash Vbal-'kash\ Lake, southeastern Kazakhstan. It is about 375 mi (600 km) long, with a maximum depth of roughly 85 ft (25 m). Its chief feeder is the Ili River, which enters at the west in a wide delta. Harsh climate affects its size greatly; its area has varied from about 6,000 sq mi (15,500 sq km) to 7,300 sq mi (19,000 sq km), depending on seasonal precipitation. It is frozen from November to early April. Since the mid-20th century, industrial pollution has caused severe ecological damage.

Ball, Lucille (Desiree) (b. Aug. 6, 1911, Celoron, near Jamestown, N.Y., U.S.—d. April 26, 1989, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. actress and tele¬

vision star. She performed in films from 1933 and starred in a comedy radio series from 1947. With her bandleader husband, Desi Arnaz, she created the very successful television comedy series I Love Lucy (1951—

57) and later the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1957-60). After their divorce in 1960, Ball appeared in The Lucy Show (1962-68) and Here’s Lucy (1968-74). With her red hair and rasping voice and a comic persona alternately brassy and feminine, she was the preeminent female star of the early decades of television.

ball bearing One of the two types of rolling, or antifriction, bearings (the other is the roller bearing). Its function is to connect two machine members that move relative to one another so that the frictional resistance to motion is minimal. In many applications, one of the members is a rotating shaft and the other a fixed housing. Each ball bearing has three main parts: two grooved, ringlike races and a number of balls. The balls fill the space between the two races and roll with negligible friction in the grooves. The balls may be loosely restrained and separated by means of a retainer or cage.

ballad Form of short narrative folk song. Its distinctive style crystal¬ lized in Europe in the late Middle Ages as part of the oral tradition, and it has been preserved as a musical and literary form. The oral form has persisted as the folk ballad, and the written, literary ballad evolved from the oral tradition. The folk ballad typically tells a compact tale with delib¬ erate starkness, using devices such as repetition to heighten effects. The modern literary ballad (e.g., those by W.H. Auden, Bertolt Brecht, and Elizabeth Bishop) recalls in its rhythmic and narrative elements the tradi¬ tions of folk balladry.

ballad opera English 18th-century comic opera in which songs and musical interludes, usually consisting of existing popular tunes or opera melodies with new words, are interspersed with spoken dialogue. The first ballad opera, The Beggar’s Opera (1728), by John Gay and J.C. Pepusch (1667-1752), was a sharply satirical work that became wildly popular and led to numerous similar works. Ballad opera led directly to the German singspiel and can be seen as the source of the modern musical.

ballade \ba-'lad\ One of several formes fixes in French lyric poetry and song, cultivated particularly in the 14th—15th centuries. It consists of three main stanzas having the same rhyme scheme plus a shortened final dedi¬ catory stanza; all four stanzas have identical final refrain lines. The texts were often solemn and formal, containing elaborate symbolism and clas¬ sical references. Though present in the poetry of many ages and regions, the ballade in its purest form was found only in France and England. Its precursors can be found in the songs of the troubadours and trouveres.

Ballard \'bal-ord\, J(ames) G(raham) (b. Nov. 15, 1930, Shanghai, China) British writer. Ballard spent four years of his childhood in a Japa¬ nese prison camp, an experience he described in Empire of the Sun (1984; film, 1987). His science fiction is often set in ecologically unbalanced landscapes caused by decadent technological excess. His apocalyptic nov¬ els, often shockingly violent, include Crash (1973; film, 1996), Concrete Island (1974), and High Rise (1975). His later works include the short- story collection War Fever (1990) and the novels The Kindness of Women (1991) and Cocaine Nights (1998).

Ballard Vba-brd\, Robert D(uane) (b. 1942, Wichita, Kan., U.S.) U.S. oceanographer and marine geologist. He grew up near San Diego, Calif. As a marine scientist at the Woods Hole (Mass.) Oceanographic Research Institution, he pioneered the use of deep-diving submersibles, participated in the first manned exploration of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and discovered warm water springs and their unusual animal communities in the Galapagos Rift. He is best known for his dramatic discovery of the wreck of the Titanic in 1985. Since then he has gone on to discover ships lost in battle during World War II.

Ballesteros \,bal-9s- , ter-os\ / Seve(riano) (b. April 9, 1957, Pedrena, Spain) Spanish golfer. One of four professional golfing brothers, he fre-

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

ballet ► ballot initiative I 157

quently won the British Open (1979, 1984, 1988) and the Masters (1980, 1983) and captained the 1997 European Ryder Cup team to victory. Known for his flamboyant and imaginative style of play, by the late 1990s he had accumulated more than 70 wins in international tournaments.

ballet Theatrical dance in which a formal academic technique (the danse d’ecole) is combined with music, costume, and stage scenery. Developed from court productions of the Renaissance, ballet was renewed under Louis XIV, who in 1661 established France’s Academie Royale de Danse, where Pierre Beauchamp developed the five ballet positions. Early ballets were often accompanied by singing and incorporated into opera-ballets by composers such as Jean-Baptiste Lully. In the 18th century Jean-Georges Noverre and Gasparo Angiolini separately developed the dramatic ballet (;ballet d’action) to tell a story through dance steps and mime, a reform echoed in Christoph Willibald Gluck’s music. Significant developments in the early 19th century included pointe work (balance on the extreme tip of the toe) and the emergence of the prima ballerina, exemplified by Marie Taglioni and Fanny Elssler. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Rus¬ sia became the centre of ballet production and performance, through the work of innovators such as Sergey Diaghilev, Anna Pavlova, Vaslav Nijin¬ sky, Marius Petipa, and Michel Fokine; great ballets were composed by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Igor Stravinsky. Since then, ballet schools in Great Brit¬ ain and the U.S. have elevated ballet in those countries to Russia’s level and greatly increased its audience. See also American Ballet Theatre; Bal¬ let Russe de Monte Carlo; Ballets Russes; Bolshoi Ballet; New York City Bal¬ let; Royal Ballet.

ballet position Any of the five positions of the feet fundamental to all classical ballet. First codified by Pierre Beauchamp (1636-1705) in 1680, the positions form the base from which a dancer achieves stability or aplomb, the basic law of ballet. Fundamental to all the positions is the turnout, or rotation of the dancer’s legs out from the hips, which creates a firm basis for movement in any direction. Various positions of the arms and hands (port de bras ) complete the figures.

Arabesque executed by Natalya Bessmertnova, with Nikolay Fadeychev, of the Bolshoi Ballet; Swan Lake

NOVOSTI—SOVFOTO

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo \ba-la-'rils-d3-mo n -ta- , kar-lo\ Ballet company formed in Monte Carlo in 1932. The name derived from Sergey Diaghilev’ s Ballets Russes, which dissolved after his death in 1929. Under Rene Blum and Col. W. de Basil, the company presented works by Leonide Massine and George Balanchine and featured Alexandra Danilova, Andre Eglevsky, and David Lichine. In 1938 clashes split the company into two groups: the Original Ballet Russe (led by de Basil), which toured inter¬ nationally before dissolving in 1948; and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo

(led by Massine), which toured mainly in the U.S. with Danilova, Alicia Markova, and Maria Tallchief until 1963.

Ballets Russes \ba-la-'riEs\ Ballet company founded in Paris in 1909 by Sergey Diaghilev. Considered the source of modern ballet, the company employed the most outstanding creative talent of the period. Its choreog¬ raphers included Michel Fokine, Leonide AAassine, Bronislava Nijinska, and George Balanchine, and among its dancers were Yekaterina Geltzer, Tamara Karsavina, and Vaslav Nijinsky. Music was commissioned from compos¬ ers such as Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Ravel, Darius Milhaud, Sergey Prokofiev, and Claude Debussy, and ballets featured stage designs by artists Alexan¬ dre Benois, Pablo Picasso, Georges Rouault, Henri Matisse, and Andre Derain.

Ballinger Vbal-in-jorV Richard A(chilles) (b. July 9, 1858, Boones- boro, Iowa, U.S.—d. June 6, 1922, Seattle, Wash.) U.S. secretary of the interior (1909-11). As the reform mayor of Seattle, Wash. (1904-06), he attracted national attention. In 1907 he was appointed commissioner of the General Land Office, and in 1909 he became secretary of the interior. During his two years in that post he sought to make public resources more available for private exploitation. Implicated in a fraudulent Alaskan land- claims scheme, he was cleared after a congressional investigation but resigned in 1911. The episode split the Republicans between conserva¬ tives led by Pres. William H. Tar and progressives loyal to Theodore Roosevelt.

Balliol, John de See John (Scotland)

ballista Xbo-'lis-toV Ancient missile launcher designed to hurl long arrows or heavy balls. The Greek version was basically a huge crossbow fastened to a mount. The Roman ballista was powered by torsion derived from two thick skeins of twisted cords through which were thrust two separate arms joined at their ends by the cord that propelled the missile. The largest could accurately hurl 60-lb (27-kg) weights up to about 500 yards (450 m).

ballistics Science of propulsion, flight, and impact of projectiles. Inter¬ nal ballistics deals with propulsion of projectiles, such as within the bar¬ rel of a gun or at a rocket launch. Guns and rocket engines convert chemical energy of propellants into kinetic energy of projectiles. External ballistics deals with projectile flight. The trajectory, or path, of a projectile is sub¬ ject to the forces of gravity (see gravitation), drag, and lift. Terminal bal¬ listics deals with the impact of projectiles on a target. Wound ballistics deals with the mechanisms and medical implications of trauma caused by bullets and explosively driven fragments, such as shrapnel.

balloon Large airtight bag filled with hot air or a lighter-than-air gas such as helium or hydrogen that can rise and float in the atmosphere. Experi¬ mental attempts may have begun by 1709, but not until 1783 did J.-M. and J.-E. Montgolfier develop a fabric-bag balloon that would rise when filled with hot air. Balloons provided military aerial observation sites in the 19th century and were used in the 20th century by scientists such as Auguste Piccard to gather high-altitude data. The first round-the-world balloon flight was achieved in 1999 by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones. See also airship.

ballooning Flying in a balloon in competition or for recreation. Sport ballooning began in the early 20th century and became popular in the 1960s. The balloons used are of lightweight synthetic materials (e.g., polyester coated in aluminized mylar) and are filled with hot air or lighter- than-air gas. Balloon races often involve tasks such as changing eleva¬ tions or landing on or near a target. Competitions are regulated by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. The first transatlantic, transcon¬ tinental, and transpacific balloon flights were achieved in 1978, 1980, and 1981, respectively. In 1997-98 international teams began competing to become the first to balloon nonstop around the world. This feat was finally accomplished in 1999 by the Swiss psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard (grand¬ son of famed physicist and balloonist Auguste Piccard) and his British copilot Brian Jones, who spent 19 days in the air.

Ballot Act (1872) British law that introduced the secret ballot for all parliamentary and municipal elections. The secret ballot was also called the Australian ballot, because it was first used in Australian elections (1856). The British law, which was designed to protect voters from brib¬ ery and coercion, was one of the important achievements of William E. Gladstone’s first administration.

ballot initiative See referendum and initiative

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

158 I ballroom dance ► Baltic States

ballroom dance European and American social dancing performed by couples. It includes standard dances such as the fox-trot, waltz, polka, tango, Charleston, jitterbug, and merengue. Ballroom dance was popular¬ ized by Vernon and Irene Castle and Fred Astaire and, later, by Arthur Mur¬ ray (1895-1991), who established ballroom dance studios throughout the U.S. Ballroom dance contests, especially popular in Europe, feature both amateur and professional dancers.

Ballycastle Town (pop., 1991: 4,005), district seat of Moyle, Northern Ireland. It is situated along Ballycastle Bay, opposite an island where Scotland’s King Robert I is said to have hidden from enemies in a cave. It is a market centre, fishing harbour, and resort.

Ballymena V.ba-le-'me-noV District (pop., 2001: 58,610), Northern Ire¬ land. Established in 1973, it is an agricultural area. The Antrim Moun¬ tains, which reach a height of 1,430 ft (435 m), traverse the eastern part of the district, sloping toward the valley of the River Main. Ballymena town, the district seat, is a marketing centre for the surrounding area; it has long been known for its linen and woolen production.

Ballymoney V.ba-le-'mo-neX District (pop., 2001: 26,894), Northern Ireland. Established in 1973, it is an agricultural area intersected by the Antrim Mountains. The town of Ballymoney is the district seat.

balm Any of several fragrant herbs of the mint family, particularly Mel¬ issa officinalis (balm gentle, or lemon balm), cultivated in temperate cli¬ mates for its fragrant leaves, which are used as a scent in perfumes and as a flavouring. The name is also applied to Melittis melissophyllum (bas¬ tard balm), Monarda didyma (bergamot, or bee balm), Collinsonia canaden¬ sis (horse balm), Glecoma hederacea and Satureja (Calamintha) nepeta (field balm), and Molucella laevis (Molucca balm, or bells of Ireland), as well as to aromatic substances from species of Commiphora (trees and shrubs of the incense-tree family).

Balmain \bal-'ma n \, Pierre (-Alexandre-Claudius) (b. May 18,

1914, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Fr.—d. June 29, 1982, Paris) French fashion designer. He gave up architectural studies to become a designer in 1934. He worked briefly with Christian Dior, who became his rival after World War II. Balmain’s designs, particularly for evening wear, were characterized by superb quality and a combination of femininity and imposing elegance; his clients included film stars and royalty. He later opened branches in New York City and Caracas and expanded into per¬ fume and accessories.

Balochi \b3-'lo-che\ or Baluchi \b3-'lu-che\ Any member of a group of tribes speaking the Balochi language and inhabiting the province of Balochistan in Pakistan and neighbouring areas of Iran, Afghanistan, Bahr¬ ain, and the Punjab (India). Some 70% of the total Balochi population live in Pakistan, where they are divided into two groups, the Sulaimani and the Makrani. Mentioned in 10th-century Arabic chronicles, they prob¬ ably came originally from the Iranian plateau. Traditional Balochis are nomads, but settled agricultural existence is becoming more common. They raise camels and other livestock and engage in carpet making and embroidery.

Balochistan Xbo-.lo-chi-'stanN or Baluchistan Xbo-.lii-chi-'stanN Prov¬ ince (pop., 1998: 6,511,000), southwestern Pakistan. Its capital is Quetta (pop., 1998: 560,307). Its landscape includes mountains, notably the Sulaiman and Kithar ranges; barren, flat plains; arid desert; and marshy swamps. In ancient times, it was part of Gedrosia. Alexander the Great traversed it in 325 bc. It was included in the Bactrian kingdom, then was ruled by Arabs from the 7th to the 10th century ad. It was ruled by Per¬ sia for centuries, with the exception of a period when it belonged to the Mughal Empire (1594-1638). It became a British dependency in 1876 and a British province of India in 1887. It was made part of Pakistan in 1947^-8 and was designated a separate province in 1970. Wheat, sor¬ ghum, and rice are staple crops; manufactures include cotton and woolen goods.

Balqash, Lake See Lake Balkhash

balsa Tree ( Ochroma pyramidale, or O. lagopus) of the bombax family (Bombacaceae), native to tropical South America and noted for its extremely light wood, which resembles clear white pine or basswood. Because of its buoyancy (about twice that of cork), balsa has long been used for making floats for lifelines and life preservers. Its resilience makes it an excellent shock-absorbing packing material. Its insulating properties make it a good lining material for incubators, refrigerators, and cold-

storage rooms. Because it combines lightness and high insulating power, it is a valuable construction material for transportation containers for dry ice (solidified carbon dioxide). It is also used in the construction of air¬ plane passenger compartments and in model airplanes and boats.

balsam Aromatic resinous substance that flows from a plant, either spontaneously or from an incision, and is used chiefly in medicinal prepa¬ rations. Some of the more aromatic varieties are used in incense. Balsam of Peru, a fragrant, thick, deep brown or black fluid used in perfumes, is a true balsam, from a lofty leguminous tree, Myroxylon pereirae, native to and introduced into Sri Lanka. Balsam of Tolu (Colombia) is used in perfumes and in cough syrups and lozenges; it hardens with age. Canada balsam and Mecca balsam are not true balsams.

balsam poplar North American poplar ( Populus balsamifera), native from Labrador to Alaska and across the extreme northern U.S. Often cul¬ tivated as a shade tree, it has buds thickly coated with an aromatic resin that is used to make cough syrups. It grows best in northwestern Canada.

Balthus \bal-'tiEs\ orig. Balthazar Klossowski (b. Feb. 29, 1908, Paris, Fr.—d. Feb. 18, 2001, La Rossiniere, Switz.) French painter. Born in Paris to Polish parents, he was considered a child prodigy and was encouraged by family friends including Pierre Bonnard, Andre Derain, and Rainer Maria Rilke. Without formal training, he supported himself through commissions for stage sets and portraits. He had his first one-man show in 1934. In the midst of 20th-century avant-gardism, he explored the tra¬ ditional categories of European painting: the landscape, the still life, the subject painting, and the portrait. He presented ordinary moments of con¬ temporary life on a grand scale and utilized traditional, Old Master paint¬ ing techniques. Balthus is best known for his controversial depictions of adolescent girls. His disturbing and erotic images and his carefully cul¬ tivated persona made him an international cult figure. From 1961 to 1977 he served as director of the French Academy in Rome.

Baltic languages Branch of the Indo-European language family that includes three attested languages, Lithuanian, Latvian, and Old Prussian. They were or are spoken along the eastern and southeastern shore and hinterlands of the Baltic Sea. Medieval chronicles report four other Baltic¬ speaking peoples in the region, though by the 16th century these peoples had been completely assimilated. Baltic has certain striking features in common with Savic languages, though the deep divisions within Baltic itself, among other factors, make the hypothesis of a common Balto- Slavic protolanguage difficult to defend.

Baltic religion Ancient beliefs and practices of the Balts of Eastern Europe. They are believed to give evidence of a common source with Vedic and Iranian religion. The most important Baltic divinities were sky gods: Dievs (the sky), Perkons (the thunderer), Saule (sun goddess), and Meness (moon god). A forest divinity, the Mother of the Forest, was common to all Baltic peoples and was differentiated into goddesses that personified various aspects of nature. Destiny or luck was personified as the goddess Laima, who determined a person’s fate at the moment of birth. The dead were thought to revisit the world as good or evil spirits; evil was also done by the devil. Veins, and by a werewolf-like creature known as Vilka- cis or Vilkatas. The structure of the world, with the world tree at its cen¬ ter, and the enmity between Saule and Meness are important themes. Festivals marked the summer solstice, the harvest, marriages, and funer¬ als. Worship was conducted at holy groves and small hills; excavations have also revealed circular wooden temples.

Baltic Sea Sea, northern Europe. An arm of the Atlantic Ocean, con¬ necting with the North Sea, it is about 1,000 mi (1,600 km) long, covers an area of about 149,000 sq mi (386,000 sq km), and has a maximum depth of about 1,500 ft (450 m). It receives the Vistula and Oder rivers and many other rivers. It is enclosed by Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Esto¬ nia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, and Russia. It has two large arms, the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland. The modifying effect of the North Atlantic Current is scarcely felt; its waters contain only about one-fourth as much salt as the oceans, and it freezes readily.

Baltic States Republics of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, situated on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The name has sometimes been used to include Finland and Poland. They were created as independent states in 1917 from the Baltic provinces of Russia, the city of Kovno, and part of the Polish department of Wilno (later Lithuania). With the aid of German and Allied forces, the Baltic states repelled a Bolshevik invasion in 1919. In 1940 they were forcibly occupied by the Soviet Union and incorpo-

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Baltimore ► Banbridge I 159

rated as constituent republics. In 1944 Soviet troops recovered the terri¬ tory overrun by German forces in 1941. The Baltic states gained independence on the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Baltimore, David (b. March 7, 1938, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. virologist. He received his doctorate from the Rockefeller Institute. He and Howard Temin (1934-94), working independently, discovered an enzyme that synthesizes DNA from RNA, the reverse of the usual pro¬ cess. This enzyme, reverse transcriptase, has become an invaluable tool in recombinant DNA technology. The research of Baltimore, Temin, and Renato Dulbecco helped illuminate the role of viruses in cancer; the three men shared a Nobel Prize in 1975. In 1990 Baltimore became president of Rockefeller University; in 1997 he became president of the California Institute of Technology.

Baltimore (of Baltimore), George Calvert, 1st Baron (b.

1578/79, Kipling, Yorkshire, Eng.—d. April 15, 1632) English colonial¬ ist. He served in the House of Commons from 1621; charged with com¬ municating the policy of James I, he was distrusted by Parliament. After declaring himself a Roman Catholic (1625), he gave up his office and was created Baron Baltimore, receiving land grants in Ireland. To assure the prosperity of his New World holdings, he took his family to his New¬ foundland colony in 1628. Because of conflict over his Catholicism and the severe climate, he petitioned Charles I for a land grant in the Chesa¬ peake Bay area. He died before the charter was granted, and his son Cecil became proprietor of the colony of Maryland.

Baltimore City (pop., 2000: 651,154), north-central Maryland, U.S. Located at the head of the Patapsco River estuary, 15 mi (24 km) above Chesapeake Bay, it is Maryland’s largest city and economic hub. Estab¬ lished in 1729, it was named after the Irish barony of Baltimore (seat of the Calvert family, proprietors of the colony of Maryland). It became the first U.S. Roman Catholic diocese in 1789. In 1827 the nation’s first rail¬ road began operations there. In World War I, Baltimore began to develop industrially, and it has since become a major seaport.

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) First steam-operated rail¬ way in the U.S. to be chartered as a common carrier of freight and pas¬ sengers (1827). The B&O was established by Baltimore merchants to foster trade with the West. By 1852 the railroad extended to Wheeling, Va. (now W.V.), and in the next two decades it reached Chicago, Ill., and St. Louis, Mo. The B&O’s long-distance passenger trains were discon¬ tinued in 1971 after Amtrak was established. Many of B&O’s operations were assumed by the CSX Corp. in 1980.

Baltimore Sun Daily newspaper published in Baltimore, Md., U.S. It was begun as a four-page penny tabloid in 1837 by Arunah Shepherdson Abell, a journeyman printer from Rhode Island. Known through much of its history for its coverage of national and international news, the paper was run by Abell’s family until 1910, when control passed to a group of Baltimore businessmen, including H. Crawford Black. Members of Black’s family were chairmen of the board until 1984. In 1986 the Sun was acquired by the Times Mirror Company, which in turn was acquired by the Tribune Company in 2000. Author H.L. Mencken was for years prominently associated with the Sun.

Baluba See Luba Baluchistan See Balochistan

Balzac \bal-'zak\, Honore de orig. Honore Balssa (b. May 20,

1799, Tours, France—d. Aug. 18, 1850, Paris) French writer. Balzac began working as a clerk in Paris at about age 16. An early attempt at a business career left him with huge debts, and for decades he toiled inces¬ santly to improve his worsening financial condition. In 1829 his novels and stories began to achieve some success, and his early masterpieces soon followed. In a vast series he collectively called The Human Com¬ edy , eventually numbering some 90 novels and novellas, he sought to produce a comprehensive picture of contemporary society by presenting all the varieties of human nature. Among his masterpieces are Eugenie Grandet (1833), Pere Goriot (1835), Lost Illusions (1837-43), A Harlot High and Low (1843-47), and Cousin Bette (1846). His novels are notable for their great narrative drive, their large casts of vital and diverse char¬ acters, and their obsessive interest in and examination of virtually all spheres of life. His best-known story collection is his Droll Stories, 3 vol. (1832-37). His tumultuous life was one of mounting debts and almost incessant toil, with frequent bouts of writing feverishly for 15 hours at a stretch (his death has been attributed to overwork and excessive coffee

consumption). He is generally con¬ sidered the major early influence on realism, or naturalism, in the novel and one of the greatest fiction writ¬ ers of all time.

Bamako Vba-ma-.koX City pop.,

1996: metro area, 809,552), capital of Mali. Located in southwestern Mali on the Niger River, it was a settlement of a few hundred inhabitants when it was occupied by the French in 1880.

It became the capital of the former colony of French Sudan in 1908.

Now spanning both sides of the river, it has several colleges and most of Mali’s industrial enterprises. The city more than tripled in size in the 1960s, largely because of rural migration from drought-stricken areas of the countryside.

Bambara \bam-'bar-3\ People of the upper Niger region of Mali who speak a Mande language of the Niger-Congo family. Numbering 3.4 mil¬ lion, the Bambara use the distinctive N’ko alphabet, which reads from right to left, and they are noted for their wood and metal sculptures. In the 17th—18th centuries the Bambara developed two separate empires, one based in Segou (and including Timbuktu) and the other in Kaarta.

bambocciati V.bam-bo-'chat-eV (Italian: “childishnesses”) Small, anec¬ dotal paintings of everyday life made in Rome in the mid-17th century. The genre’s originator and most noteworthy exponent was the Dutch painter Pieter van Laer (1599-1642); the word derives from his nickname, II Bam- boccio (“Little Clumsy One,” reflecting his physical deformity). Van Laer arrived in Rome from Haarlem c. 1625 and influenced various other north¬ ern European painters active in Rome. Their images depicting the lower classes in humorous or grotesque ways were condemned by the leading critics and painters. The bamboccianti (painters of bambocciati) influenced the Dutch genre painters Adriaen Brouwer and Adriaen van Ostade.

bamboo Any of the tall, treelike GRASSes, found in tropical and subtropi¬ cal to mild temperate regions, that make up the subfamily Bambusoideae, family Poaceae (or Gramineae). Bamboos are giant, fast-growing grasses with woody stems. A few species of the genus Arundinaria are native to the southern U.S., where they form dense canebrakes along riverbanks and in marshy areas. The woody, hollow aerial stems grow in branching clus¬ ters from a thick rhizome, often forming a dense undergrowth that excludes other plants. All parts of the bamboo are used, for purposes including food, livestock fodder, fine-quality paper, construction materials, and medi¬ cines. Bamboos also have ornamental use in landscape gardens.

Bambuti \ba-em-'bu-te\ or Mbuti A number of Pygmy peoples of the Ituri Forest of eastern Congo (Kinshasa). Bambuti is a collective name for four populations of Ituri Pygmies—the Sua (Asua), Aka, Efe, and Mbuti— each of which has formed a loose economic and cultural interdependency with an agricultural group. They average under 4 ft 6 in. (137 cm) in height. Probably the earliest inhabitants of the region, they are nomadic hunters and gatherers living in small groups of from 10 to 100. They have no chiefs or formal councils of elders and believe in a benevolent forest deity. Their music, complex in rhythm and harmony, is often accompanied by dance or mime. Today they number in the tens of thousands.

banana Fruit of the genus Musa (family Musaceae), a gigantic herba¬ ceous plant spread by rhizomes, and one of the most important food crops of the world. The banana is consumed extensively throughout the trop¬ ics, where it is grown, and is also valued in the temperate zone for its flavour, nutritional value, and constant availability. Hundreds of varieties are cultivated. Perhaps the most important species is the common banana, M. sapientum. The ripe fruit is high in carbohydrates (mainly sugar), potassium, and vitamins C and A, and it is low in protein and fat. Though usually eaten fresh, bananas may also be cooked. The U.S. imports more bananas than does any other country. See also plantain.

Banbridge District (pop., 2001: 41,392), Northern Ireland, established in 1973. The area includes the Legananny Hills, which reach an altitude of 1,745 ft (532 m) in eastern Banbridge district and slope southwestward to lowlands that are bisected by the River Bann. Located on the Bann is

Honore de Balzac, daguerreotype,

J.E. BULLOZ

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

160 I Banco ► bandicoot

the town of Banbridge, established in 1712; it is the district seat and the main agricultural and population centre of the region.

Banco, Nanni di See Nanni di Banco

Bancroft, George (b. Oct. 3, 1800, Worcester, Mass., U.S.—d. Jan. 17, 1891, Washington, D.C.) U.S. historian. Bancroft was educated at Harvard and several German univer¬ sities. He was minister to England (1846^19), Prussia (1867-71), and the German empire (1871-74). He was the first scholar to plan a com¬ prehensive study of the U.S. from the colonial days through the end of the Revolutionary War. His 10-volume History of the United States (1834—

40, 1852-74) reflected his belief that the U.S. represented humanity’s closest approximation yet to the per¬ fect state and earned him his reputa¬ tion as the “father of U.S. history.”

band Type of human social organi¬ zation consisting of a small number of nuclear families (see family) or related subgroups who are loosely organized for purposes of subsistence or security. Bands may be integrated into a larger community or tribe. They generally exist in sparsely popu¬ lated areas and possess relatively simple technologies; their habitats range from the desert (Australian Aboriginals) to the African rainforest (Bambuti) to the North American tundra (Kaska). Bands may occasionally coalesce for broader community ceremonies, hunting, or warfare. See also hunt¬ ing AND GATHERING SOCIETY; SOCIOCULTURAL EVOLUTION.

band Musical ensemble that generally excludes stringed instruments. Ensembles of woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments originated in 15th-century Germany, taking on a particularly military role; these spread to France, Britain, and eventually the New World. In the 15th—18th cen¬ turies, many European towns had town musicians, or waits, who per¬ formed especially for ceremonial occasions in wind bands often consisting primarily of shawms and sackbuts (trombones). In the 18th—19th centu¬ ries, the English amateur brass band, largely consisting of the many newly developed brass instruments, took on the important nonmilitary function of representing organizations of all kinds. In the U.S., Patrick Gilmore’s virtuoso band became famous in the mid-19th century; his greatest suc¬ cessor, John Philip Sousa, bequeathed a repertory of marches that has remained very popular. The “big band,” under leaders such as Duke Elling¬ ton and Count Basie, was central to American popular music in the 1930s and ’40s. In the rock band, unlike most other bands, stringed instruments (electric guitars and electric bass) are paramount.

band theory In chemistry and physics, a theoretical model describing the states of electrons in solid materials, which can have energy values only within certain specific ranges, called bands. Ranges of energy between two allowed bands are called forbidden bands. As electrons in an atom move from one energy level to another, so can electrons in a solid move from an energy level in one band to another in the same band or in another band. The band theory accounts for many of the electrical and thermal properties of solids and forms the basis of the technology of devices such as semicon¬ ductors, heating elements, and capacitors (see capacitance).

Banda, Hastings (Kamuzu) (b. c. 1898, near Kasungu [Malawi]—d. Nov. 25, 1997, Johannesburg, S.Af.) First president of Malawi (1963-94). Educated as a physician in the U.S., Banda moved to Scotland and practiced medicine there. He became involved in politics when white settlers demanded the federation of Nyasaland (later Malawi) and the Rhodesias in 1949. In the 1950s he toured the country making antifederation speeches, for which he was imprisoned by British colonial officials. In 1963, when the federation was dissolved, he became prime minister. He concentrated on building his country’s infrastructure and increasing agricultural productivity. Declared president for life in 1971, his rule became increasingly autocratic and austere. He was voted out of office in 1994.

Bandama \ban-'da-ma\ River River, central Cote d’Ivoire. The long¬ est and commercially most important river in Cote d’Ivoire, it and its

George Bancroft, photograph by Mathew Brady

COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

tributaries drain half the country’s surface area. It rises in the highlands and flows southward 497 mi (800 km) to enter the Gulf of Guinea and the Taga Lagoon. A major hydroelectric plant is sited at Kossou.

Bandar Seri Begawan Vban-dar-'ser-e-be-'ga-wan \ formerly Bru¬ nei Town City (pop., 2001: city, 27,285; 2002 est.: metro, area, 74,700), capital of Brunei. Lying along the Brunei River near its mouth on Brunei Bay, it is a trade centre and river port. Heavily damaged during World War II, it was largely rebuilt; newer buildings include the largest mosque in eastern Asia.

Bandaranaike N.bon-do-ro-'nl-koX, S(olomon) W(est) Ridge¬ way) D(ias) (b. Jan. 9, 1899,

Colombo, Ceylon—d. Sept. 26,

1959, Colombo) Statesman and prime minister (1956-59) of Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Educated at the Univer¬ sity of Oxford, he became a promi¬ nent member of Ceylon’s Western- oriented United National Party. In 1952 he founded the nationalist Sri Lanka Freedom Party, becoming the opposition leader in the legislature.

He later formed an alliance of four nationalist-socialist parties that swept elections in 1956 and made him prime minister. Under Ban¬ daranaike, Sinhalese replaced English as the country’s official lan¬ guage, Buddhism (the majority reli¬ gion) was given a prominent place in the affairs of state, and Ceylon estab¬ lished diplomatic relations with

communist states. He was assassinated in 1959. His widow, Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike (1916-2000), became the world’s first woman prime minister in 1960, serving until 1965; she was prime min¬ ister twice more (1970-77 and 1994-2000). During her second term a new constitution was adopted that proclaimed a republic (1972) and changed the country’s name to Sri Lanka. She was appointed to a third term when her daughter, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (b. 1945), became president in 1994.

S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike

bandeira \ban-'der-o\ Series of 17th-century Portuguese slave-hunting expeditions into the interior of Brazil. Bandeiras consisted of anywhere from 50 to several thousand men (known as bandeirantes), usually from Sao Paulo, who were organized and controlled by wealthy entrepreneurs. The bandeirantes penetrated unmapped regions and expanded Portuguese claims to the South American interior. Along the way they built roads, established settlements, and laid the basis for ranching and agriculture in the interior while reaping large profits and inflicting untold hardship on local Indian tribes.

Bandelier \,ban-d9-'lir\ National Monument Archaeological area, north-central New Mexico, U.S. Lying along the Rio Grande 20 mi (32 km) northwest of Santa Fe, it was established in 1916. It occupies an area of 51 sq mi (132 sq km) and was named for Adolph Bandelier, a Swiss- American archaeologist. The monument contains many cliff and open- pueblo ruins of pre-Columbian Indians (mostly 13th-century) in Frijoles Canyon. Stone sculptures and man-made caves have also been unearthed.

bandicoot Any of about 22 species of marsupials (family Peramelidae) found in Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and nearby islands. Bandi¬ coots are 12-30 in. (30-80 cm) long, including the 4- to 12-in. (10- to 30-cm) sparsely haired tail. They have a stout, coarse-haired body, a tapered muzzle, and hindlimbs longer than their forelimbs. Unlike other marsupials, bandicoots have a placenta. They are terrestrial, soli¬ tary animals that dig pits to search for insect and plant food. Farmers consider them pests. All species have declined, and some are now endangered.

Long-nosed bandicoot (Perameles nasuta).

WARREN GARST-TOM STACK AND ASSOCIATES

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Bandinelli ► Bangladesh I 161

Bandinelli, Baccio (b. Nov. 12, 14937, Florence—d. Feb. 7, 1560, Florence) Italian sculptor and painter active in Florence. Though trained as a goldsmith by his father, he soon became one of the principal sculp¬ tors at the Medici court. He often failed to complete his commissions and was accused of jealousy and incompetence by Benvenuto Cellini and Gior¬ gio Vasari. He is remembered more for accounts of his unattractive char¬ acter than for the quality of his work, although surviving works prove him to have been a more distinguished sculptor than his contemporaries allowed. His most famous sculpture is Hercules and Cacus (1534), in the Piazza della Signoria.

Bandung \'ban-dui]\ City (pop., 1996 est.: 2,429,000), Indonesia. The capital of West Java province, it was founded by the Dutch in 1810 in the interior of Java on a 2,400-ft (730-km) plateau. It is surrounded by beau¬ tiful scenery. It is the centre of cultural life for the Sundanese, who com¬ pose most of West Java’s population and differ in customs and language from their Javanese neighbours. It is a centre for the study and preserva¬ tion of Sundanese culture and an educational centre.

bandwidth Measurement of the capacity of a communications signal. For digital signals, the bandwidth is the data speed or rate, measured in bits per second (bps). For analog signals, it is the difference between the highest and lowest frequency components, measured in hertz (cycles per second). For example, a modem with a bandwidth of 56 kilobits per sec¬ ond (Kbps) can transmit a maximum of about 56,000 bits of digital data in one second. The human voice, which produces analog sound waves, has a typical bandwidth of three kilohertz between the highest and low¬ est frequency sounds it can generate.

Banerjea \'ba-nor-je. Sir Surendranath (b. Nov. 10, 1848, Cal¬ cutta, India—d. Aug. 6, 1925, Barrackpore, near Calcutta) Indian states¬ man, one of the founders of modern India. As a young man, he attempted unsuccessfully to serve in the Indian Civil Service, at the time virtually closed to ethnic Indians. He then became a teacher and founded a college in Calcutta (now Kolkata), which was later named for him. Banerjea attempted to bring Hindus and Muslims together for political action, and for 40 years he put forward a nationalist viewpoint in his newspaper, The Bengalee. Twice elected president of the Indian National Congress, he advocated for an Indian constitution on the Canadian model. He was elected in 1913 to two legislative councils and later was knighted (1921); in 1924 he was defeated by an independence candidate, whereupon he retired to write his autobiography, A Nation in the Making (1925).

Banff National Park Park, southwestern Alberta, Canada. Estab¬ lished as a natural reserve in 1885 and as Canada’s first national park in 1887, it lies on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains and includes mineral springs, ice fields, and glacial lakes, including Lake Louise. It has been greatly expanded to its present area of 2,564 sq mi (6,641 sq km). Banff is famed for its spectacular beauty, and visitors are so numer¬ ous that it is now more a recreation than a conservation area. In 1984 it was designated part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNESCO World Heritage site.

Bangalore Vbaq-g3-,lor\ City (pop., 2001: city, 4,301,326; metro, area, 5,701,446), capital of Karnataka state, southern India. It is a cultural meeting place for speakers of the Kannada, Telugu, and Tamil languages. Founded in the 16th century, it became a fief of the Indian ruler Hyder Ali c. 1760 but was later taken by the British. It was the headquarters of the British administration 1831-81, when it was restored to the raja of Mysore (now Karnataka). Today, it is one of India’s largest cities and an indus¬ trial and educational centre.

Banghdzl \ban-'ga-ze\ or Benghazi \ben-'ga-ze\ Coastal city (pop., 1995 est.: 650,000), northeastern Libya. Located on the Gulf of Sidra, it is Libya’s second largest city and was once its capital. Founded by Greeks as Hesperides, it received from Ptolemy III the additional name Berenice in honour of his wife. After the 3rd century ad it superseded Cyrene and Barce as the chief city of the region. After its importance waned, it remained a small town until it was extensively developed during the Ital¬ ian occupation of Libya (1912-42). In World War II it suffered consid¬ erable damage before being captured by the British in 1942. It is now an administrative and commercial centre and the site of one of the world’s largest desalinization plants.

Bangka or Banka Island, Bangka-Belitung province, west-central Indonesia. Located off the eastern coast of Sumatra across the Bangka Strait, it is separated from Billiton (Belitung) island by Gaspar Strait. Its

area is 4,375 sq mi (11,330 sq km); the chief town is Pangkalpinang. The sultan of Palembang ceded Bangka to the British in 1812; they in turn exchanged it with the Dutch in 1814 for property in India. Occupied by Japan during World War II, it became part of Indonesia in 1949. Bangka is one of the world’s chief tin-producing centres.

Bangkok Thai Krung Thep Vkrurj-'tepX City (pop., 2000: metro, area, 6,355,144), capital of Thailand. Lying 25 mi (40 km) above the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, it is the country’s major port and also its cultural, financial, and educational centre. It was established as the capital of Siam (Thailand) in 1782 by King Rama I. Seized by the Japanese in World War II, it subsequently suffered heavy Allied bombing. In 1971-72 it incor¬ porated several outlying districts to form a single province-level metropo¬ lis and has since experienced phenomenal growth. Throughout the city, walled Buddhist temples and monasteries serve as focal points for its reli¬ gious life.

Bangladesh officially People's Republic of Bangladesh

Country, south-central Asia. Area: 56,977 sq mi (147,570 sq km). Popu¬ lation (2002 est.): 133,377,000. Capital: Dhaka. The vast majority of the

population are Bengali. Language: Bengali (official). Religions: Islam (official; mainly Sunni); also Hinduism. Currency: taka. Bangladesh is generally flat, its highest point reaching over 1,000 ft (305 m) above sea level. The landscape is characterized by alluvial plains dissected by numerous connecting rivers. The southern part consists of the eastern sec¬ tor of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta. The chief rivers are the Ganges (there known as the Padma) and the Brahmaputra (or Jamuna), which unite as the Padma. Though primarily agricultural, the country often is not self- sufficient in food production. The monsoonal rains that occur from May to October produce extreme flooding over much of Bangladesh, often caus¬ ing severe crop damage and great loss of life. Cyclones in 1970 and 1991 killed some 300,000 and 140,000 Bengalis, respectively. Bangladesh is a republic with one legislative house; its chief of state is the president and its head of government the prime minister. In its early years Bangladesh was known as Bengal. When the British left the subcontinent in 1947, the area that was East Bengal became the part of Pakistan called East Pakistan. Bengali nationalist sentiment increased after the creation of an indepen¬ dent Pakistan. In 1971 violence erupted; some one million Bengalis were killed, and millions more fled to India, which finally entered the war on the side of the Bengalis, ensuring West Pakistan’s defeat. East Pakistan became the independent country of Bangladesh. Little of the devastation caused by the war has been repaired, and political instability, including the assassination of two presidents, has continued.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

162 I Bangor ► Banks

Bangor Town (pop., 1991: 52,437), seat of North Down district. North¬ ern Ireland. It lies on the southern shore of Belfast Lough, 12 mi (19 km) northeast of Belfast. St. Comgall founded a monastery at Bangor c. 555, which became a celebrated seat of learning. The town was sacked by the Danes in the 9th century; it was partially rebuilt by St. Malachy in the 12th century. It is now a seaside resort.

Bangui Vbaq-ge\ City (pop., 1995: 553,000), capital of the Central Afri¬ can Republic. A major port on the Ubangi River, it is connected by an extended 1,100-mi (1,800-km) river and rail transport system with the Congolese cities of Pointe-Noire and Brazzaville. Chiefly a commercial and administrative centre, Bangui is also the site of a university and research institutes.

Bangweulu V.baq-gwa-'u-luV Lake Lake, northern Zambia. Located southeast of Lake Mweru and southwest of Lake Tanganyika at an eleva¬ tion of 3,740 ft (1,140 m), it is about 45 mi (72 km) long and, with its adjacent swamps, covers an area of 3,800 sq mi (9,840 sq km). Its outlet is the Luapula, a headstream of the Congo. It has three inhabited islands. David Livingstone, the first European to visit the lake, died there in 1873.

Banja Luka \'ban-ya-Tu-ka\ City (pop., 1997 est.: 160,000), northeast¬ ern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was an important military centre under the Turks and the seat (1583-1639) of the Bosnian territory governed by a pasha. A battlefield between the Austrians and Turks in the 16th-18th centuries, it played an important part in the 19th-century Bosnian upris¬ ings against Turkey as well as in the revolts of the Serbs. It was a hub of resistance in the Axis-dominated country of Croatia during World War II. In 1992 it became the capital of the autonomous Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was the site of much fighting during the Bos¬ nian CONFLICT.

banjo Plucked stringed musical instrument of African origin. It has a tambourine-like body, four or five strings, and a long fretted neck. The fifth string (if present) is pegged at the fifth fret and acts primarily as a drone plucked by the thumb. In its original form, the banjo had only four strings and lacked frets. Slaves introduced the instrument to the U.S., where it was popularized in 19th-century minstrel shows and thence exported to Europe. It has been an important American folk instrument, especially in bluegrass, and it was used in early jazz.

Banjul \'ban-Jul\ formerly (1816-1973) Bathurst Seaport ( pop., 1993: urban agglomeration, 270,540), capital of The Gambia. Located on the Island of St. Mary in the Gambia River, it is the country’s largest city. Founded by the British in 1816 to suppress the slave trade, it subsequently became the capital of the British colony of Gambia. With The Gambia’s independence in 1965, it became the national capital. Tourism is of increasing importance, and Banjul serves as a transportation centre with connections to the interior and to Senegal.

bank Institution that deals in money and its substitutes and provides other financial services. Banks accept deposits and make loans and derive a profit from the difference in the interest paid to lenders (depositors) and charged to borrowers, respectively. They also profit from fees charged for services. The three major classes of banks are commercial banks, investment banks, and central banks. Banking depends entirely on public confidence in the system’s soundness; no bank could pay all its depositors should they simultaneously demand cash, as may happen in a panic. See also credit union; Federal Reserve System; savings and loan association; savings bank.

Bank of Canada Canada’s central bank, established under the Bank of Canada Act (1934). It was founded during the Great Depression to regulate credit and currency. The Bank acts as the Canadian government’s fiscal agent and has the sole right to issue paper money. It is directed by the Canadian Ministry of Finance; all profits go to the Receiver General of Canada.

Bank of England Central bank of Britain, headquartered in London. Incorporated by act of Parliament in 1694, it soon became the largest and most prestigious financial institution in England. It did not assume the responsibilities of a central bank until the 19th century, and it was pri¬ vately owned until 1946, when it was nationalized.

Bank of the United States Bank chartered in 1791 by the U.S. Con¬ gress. It was conceived by Alexander Hamilton to pay off the country’s debts from the American Revolution and to provide a stable currency. Its establishment, opposed by Thomas Jefferson, was marked by extended debate over its constitutionality and contributed significantly to the evo¬

lution of pro- and anti-bank factions into the first U.S. political parties, the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party. The national bank played the unexpected but beneficial role of preventing private state banks from overextending credit, a restriction that some nevertheless con¬ sidered an affront to states' rights. Meanwhile, agrarian populists regarded the bank as an institution of privilege and wealth and the enemy of democ¬ racy and the interests of the common people. Antagonism over the bank issue grew so heated that its charter could not be renewed in 1811. Criti¬ cism of the bank reached its height during the administration of Pres. Andrew Jackson, who led anti-bank forces in the long struggle known as the Bank War. The bank’s charter expired in 1836. Its reorganization as the Bank of the United States of Pennsylvania ended its regulation of pri¬ vate banks.

bank rate See discount rate

Bank War Controversy in the 1830s over the existence of the Bank of the United States, at that time the only national banking institution. The first Bank of the United States, chartered in 1791 over the objections of Thomas Jefferson, ceased in 1811 when Jeffersonian (Democratic) Repub¬ licans refused to pass a new federal charter. In 1816 the second Bank of the United States was created, with a 20-year federal charter. In 1829 and again in 1830 Pres. Andrew Jackson made clear his constitutional objec¬ tions to and personal antagonism toward the bank. He believed it con¬ centrated too much economic power in the hands of a small moneyed elite beyond the public’s control. Its president, Nicholas Biddle, with the sup¬ port of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, applied for a new charter in 1832, four years before the old charter was due to expire, thus ensuring that the bank would be an issue in the 1832 presidential election. Jackson vetoed the recharter bill and won the ensuing election, interpreting his victory as a mandate to destroy the bank. He forbade the deposit in the bank of gov¬ ernment funds; Biddle retaliated by calling in loans, which precipitated a credit crisis. Denied renewal of its federal charter, the bank secured a Pennsylvania charter in 1836. Faulty investment decisions forced it to close in 1841.

Banka See Bangka

Bankhead, Tallulah (Brockman) (b. Jan. 31, 1902, Huntsville, Ala., U.S.—d. Dec. 12, 1968, New York, N.Y.) U.S. film and stage actress. Born to a prestigious family (her father became a prominent congress¬ man), she made her Broadway debut in 1918 and achieved fame on the London stage in The Dancer (1923). Her vivid presence and throaty voice contributed to her singular performances in the hit plays The Little Foxes (1939), The Skin of Our Teeth (1942), and Private Lives (1946). She made films such as A Woman’s Law (1928) and Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat (1944) but remained primarily a stage performer. Her final stage appear¬ ance was in The Milk Train Doesn ’t Stop Here Anymore (1964).

bankruptcy Status of a debtor who has been declared by judicial pro¬ cess to be unable to pay his or her debts. It also refers to the legal pro¬ cess involved: the administration of an insolvent debtor’s property by the court for the benefit of the debtor’s creditors. Filing by a debtor is called voluntary bankruptcy; involuntary bankruptcy is declared by the court upon petition by a creditor. The U.S. Bankruptcy Code makes four types of relief available to bankrupt individuals or corporations: liquidation (under Chapter 7), reorganization (Chapter 11), debt adjustment for a family farmer (Chapter 12), and debt adjustment for an individual with a regular income (Chapter 13). Municipalities may file under Chapter 9. Generally, not all debts are paid in a bankruptcy. The court determines which debts are to be repaid, and the debtor is typically granted a dis¬ charge of the rest. See also insolvency.

Banks Island Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. The westernmost island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it lies northwest of Victoria Island and is separated from the mainland by Amundsen Gulf. About 250 mi (400 km) long, it has an area of 27,038 sq mi (70,028 sq km). First sighted by Sir William Parry’s expedition in 1820, it was named for the naturalist Joseph Banks.

Banks Peninsula Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand, extending about 35 mi (55 km) into the Pacific Ocean. Originally an island formed by two contiguous volcanic cones, the peninsula was visited in 1770 by Capt. James Cook, who named it for Joseph Banks. Christchurch is situated at its base.

Banks, Ernie in full Ernest Banks (b. Jan. 31, 1931, Dallas, Tex., U.S.) American baseball player. In 1950 Banks was signed by the Kan-

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Banks ► Banzer Suarez I 163

sas City Monarchs, one of the top teams in the Negro leagues. After one season with the Monarchs, Banks spent two years in the U.S. Army. He spent only a short time in the Negro leagues after his discharge from the service, as he was signed by the Chicago Cubs in 1953. Banks soon established himself as one of the National League’s leading power hitters, his career batting totals were 512 home runs and 1,636 runs batted in, with more than 40 home runs in each of five seasons. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977, his first year of eligibility.

Banks, Russell (b. March 28, 1940, Newton, Mass., U.S.) U.S. nov¬ elist. Banks was associated in the 1960s with Lillabulero Press and has taught at various colleges and universities. He attracted wide attention with Continental Drift (1985), inspired by a stint in Jamaica; his later novels, which, like his earlier works, often portray characters trapped by economic and social forces they do not understand, include Affliction (1989; film, 1998), The Sweet Hereafter (1991; film, 1997), and Cloud- splitter (1998), a historical novel about the abolitionist John Brown.

Banks, Sir Joseph (b. Feb. 13,1743, London, Eng.—d. June 19,1820, Isleworth, London) British explorer and naturalist. After studying at Oxford, Banks inherited a fortune that allowed him to travel extensively, collecting plant and natural history specimens. He outfitted and accom¬ panied James Cook’s voyage around the world (1768-71). Particularly interested in economic plants and their introduction from one country to another, he was the first to suggest the identity of the wheat rust and bar¬ berry fungus (1805); he was also the first to show that marsupial mam¬ mals are more primitive than placental mammals. He served as president of the Royal Society from 1778 to 1820, and, as unofficial director of Kew Gardens, he transformed it into a major botanical institution. His herbarium, one of the most important in existence, and his library, a major collec¬ tion of works on natural history, are now at the British Museum.

Barm, River River, Northern Ireland. The Upper Bann flows northwest 25 mi (40 km) into Lough Neagh, while the Lower Bann flows north out of the lake 33 mi (53 km) into the Atlantic Ocean.

Banna’ \ban-'na\, Hasan al- (b. 1906, Egypt—d. February 1949, Cairo) Egyptian political and religious leader. He began teaching Arabic at a primary school in Ismailia in 1927. In 1928 he established the Mus¬ lim Brotherhood, which aimed at rejuvenating Islam and Egyptian society and expelling the British from Egypt. By 1940 it was attracting students, civil servants, and urban labourers to its ranks. He tried to maintain an alliance with the Egyptian government, but many members saw the gov¬ ernment as betraying Egyptian nationalism, and after the war, members were implicated in several political assassinations, including that of Prime Minister al-Nuqrashl in 1948. Hasan al-Banna 5 was assassinated with gov¬ ernment involvement the next year.

Banneker, Benjamin (b. Nov. 9, 1731, Ellicott’s Mills, Md.—d. Oct. 25, 1806, Baltimore, Md., U.S.) American astronomer, compiler of alma¬ nacs, and inventor. A free black who owned a farm near Baltimore, Ban¬ neker was largely self-educated in astronomy and mathematics. In 1761 he attracted attention by building a wooden clock that kept precise time. He began astronomical calculations about 1773, accurately predicted a solar eclipse in 1789, and published annually from 1791 to 1802 the Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Almanac and Ephem- eris. (He sent an early copy of the almanac to Thomas Jefferson to counter a contention that blacks were intellectually inferior.) In 1790 he was appointed to the commission that surveyed the site for Washington, D.C. He also wrote essays denouncing slavery and war.

Banner system Military organization used by the Manchu tribes of Manchuria (now northeastern China) to conquer and control China in the 17th century. The system was developed by the Manchu leader Nurhachi, who in 1601 organized his warriors into four companies, each known for its banner of a distinguishing colour. More Banners (as the companies were known) were soon established, and, as the Manchus began to con¬ quer their Chinese and Mongol neighbours, they organized their captives into similar companies. With these troops the Manchus conquered China and established the Qing dynasty in 1644. Over time, the Banners’ fight¬ ing qualities deteriorated, until by the end of the 19th century the system had become largely ineffective.

Bannister, Sir Roger (Gilbert) (b. March 23, 1929, Harrow, Mid¬ dlesex, Eng.) British runner. He attended the University of Oxford before earning a medical degree. In 1954 he became the first person to run a mile in less than four minutes (3 minutes 59.4 seconds). Many authorities had

previously regarded the four-minute mile “barrier” as unbreakable. A neu¬ rologist, he wrote papers on the physiology of exercise, and he is said to have achieved his speed through scientific training methods.

Bannockburn, Battle of (June 23-24, 1314) Decisive battle in Scot¬ tish history, at which the Scots under Robert the Bruce (later Robert I) defeated the English under Edward II. The Scots were outnumbered three to one by the English soldiers, but they triumphed through masterly use of terrain, forcing the English onto a cramped, marshy battlefield with little room to maneuver. The English forces were put to flight, and many were slaughtered by the pursuing Scots. The victory cleared the last English troops from Scotland and secured Scottish independence, con¬ firming Robert as king of the Scots.

Banpo \'ban-'po\ or Pan-p'o Site of a Neolithic village located on the Wei River in China, dating to the earlier part of the Yangshao culture, 5000-4000 bc. A huge number of artifacts have been uncovered, includ¬ ing 8,000 stone and bone tools, pottery fragments, and clay figurines. The main cultivated crop was foxtail millet; the diet was supplemented through hunting and gathering. Pigs and dogs were domesticated, and evidence of hemp and silkworm cultivation point to textile manufacture. Some 250 graves have been excavated. See also Neolithic Period.

Banque de France \'ba n k-d3-'fra n s\ National bank of France, created in 1800 to restore confidence in the French banking system after the financial upheavals of the revolutionary period. Napoleon was one of its founding shareholders. The bank has primary responsibility for formulat¬ ing and implementing credit and monetary policies in France and for the orderly functioning of the banking system. It also has the exclusive privi¬ lege of issuing currency. See also central bank.

Bantam Former city and sultanate, Java. It was located at the western end of Java between the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean. In the early 16th century it became a powerful Muslim sultanate, which extended its con¬ trol over parts of Sumatra and Borneo. Invaded by the Dutch, Portuguese, and British, it ultimately recognized Dutch sovereignty in 1684. The city was Java’s most important port for the European spice trade until its har¬ bour silted up in the late 18th century. It suffered severely from the erup¬ tion of Krakatoa in 1883.

Banting, Sir Frederick Grant (b. Nov. 14, 1891, Alliston, Ont., Can.—d. Feb. 21, 1941, Nfd.) Canadian physician. He taught at the Uni¬ versity of Toronto from 1923. With Charles Best, he was the first to obtain a pancreatic extract of insulin (1921), which, in the laboratory of J.J.R. Macleod, they isolated in a form effective against diabetes. Banting and Macleod received a 1923 Nobel Prize for the discovery of insulin; Banting voluntarily shared his portion of the prize with Best.

Bantu languages Group of some 500 languages belonging to the Benue-Congo language branch of the Niger-Congo language family. They are spoken by more than 200 million people in a very large area, includ¬ ing most of Africa from southern Cameroon eastward to Kenya and south¬ ward to the southernmost tip of the continent. Twelve Bantu languages, including Rundi (Kirundi), Rwanda (Kinyarwanda), Shona, Zulu, and Xhosa, are spoken by more than 5 million people.

Bantu peoples Speakers of the close to 500 distinct Bantu languages, numbering more than 200 million and occupying almost the entire south¬ ern projection of Africa. The classification is primarily linguistic, for the cultural patterns of Bantu speakers are extremely diverse. Included in the group are the Bemba, Bena, Chaga, Chewa, Embu, Fang, Ganda, Gusii, Hehe, Herero, Hutu, Kagwe, Kikuyu, Luba, Luhya, Lunda, Makonde, Meru, Nayamwezi, Ndebele, Nkole, Nyakyusa, Nyoro, Pedi, Shona, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Tutsi, Venda, Xhosa, Yao, Zaramo, and Zulu.

banyan Unusually shaped tree {Ficus benghalensis, or F. indica ) of the fig genus in the mulberry family, native to tropical Asia. Aerial roots that develop from its branches descend and take root in the soil to become new trunks. The banyan reaches a height of up to 100 ft (30 m) and spreads laterally indefinitely. One tree may in time assume the appearance of a very dense thicket as a result of the tangle of roots and trunks.

Banzer Suarez Vban-ser-'swa-res\, Hugo (b. July 10, 1926, Santa Cruz, Bol.—d. May 5, 2002, Santa Cruz) Soldier and president of Bolivia (1971-78, 1997-2001). After an education in Bolivian and U.S. Army training schools, Banzer served in various government posts. He became president after participating in the overthrow of two Bolivian governments in 1970 and 1971. A conservative, he encouraged foreign investment and

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

164 I Bao Dai ► Barak River

severely repressed all opposition. His restrictions of union activities and constitutional liberties led to opposition by labour, the clergy, peasants, and students. A 1978 coup d’etat overthrew him, but he was democrati¬ cally elected in 1997. He resigned in 2001.

Bao Dai Vbau-'dl\ orig. Nguyen Vinh Thuy (b. Oct. 22, 1913, Vietnam—d. Aug. 1, 1997, Paris, France) Last reigning emperor of Viet¬ nam (r. 1926-45, 1949-55). He was educated in France and in 1926 suc¬ ceeded to a throne that was dominated by the French. Retained as a powerless ruler under the Japanese during World War II, he fled the coun¬ try after the Viet Minh drove the Japanese out. In 1949 the French, having agreed to the principle of an independent Vietnam, invited him to return as sovereign. He did, but he accomplished little and retired to France in 1955 when a national referendum called for the country to become a republic.

baobab \'bau-,bab\ Tree (Adansonia digitata ) of the bombax family (Bombacaceae), native to Africa. The barrel-like trunk may reach a diam¬ eter of 30 ft (9 m) and a height of 60 ft (18 m). The large, gourdlike, woody fruit contains a tasty pulp. A strong fibre from the bark is used locally for rope and cloth. The trunks are often excavated to serve as water reserves or temporary shelters. For its extraordinary shape the baobab is grown as a curiosity in areas of warm climate, such as Florida. A related species, A. gregorii, occurs in Australia, where it is also called a bottle tree.

baojia \'bau-'je-9\ or pao-chia Chinese village militia system created by Wang Anshi as part of his reforms of 1069-76. Units of 10 families were regularly trained and supplied with arms, thereby reducing the gov¬ ernment’s dependence on mercenaries. Members were mutually respon¬ sible for each other. The system was resurrected in the 19th century to help put down the Taiping Rebellion and was imitated by both the Nation¬ alist Party and the Chinese Communist Party in the 20th century.

baptism In Christianity, the sacrament of admission to the church, sym¬ bolized by the pouring or sprinkling of water on the head or by immer¬ sion in water. The ceremony is usually accompanied by the words “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Indeed, Christians believe that after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples and commanded them to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the teaching of St. Paul, it signifies the wiping away of past sins and the rebirth of the individual into a new life. Judaism practiced ritual purification by immersion, and the Gospels report that John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Baptism was an important ritual in the early church by the 1 st century, and infant baptism appeared by the 3rd century. Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and most Protestant churches practice infant baptism. The Anabaptist reformers insisted on adult bap¬ tism after a confession of faith; modern Baptists and the Disciples of Christ also practice adult baptism.

Baptist Member of a group of Protestant Christians who hold that only adult believers should be baptized and that it must be done by immersion. During the 17th century two groups of Baptists emerged in England: General Baptists, who held that Christ’s atonement applied to all persons, and Particular Baptists, who believed it was only for the elect. Baptist origins in the American colonies can be traced to Roger Williams, who established a Baptist church in Providence, R.I., in 1639. Baptist growth in the U.S. was spurred by the Great Awakening in the mid-18th century. The 1814 General Convention showed divisions among U.S. Baptists over slavery; a formal split occurred when the Southern Baptist Convention was organized in 1845 and was confirmed when the Northern (American) Baptist Convention was organized in 1907. African-American Baptist churches provided leadership in the 1960s civil rights movement, notably through the work of Martin Luther King. Baptist belief emphasizes the authority of local congregations in matters of faith and practice; worship is characterized by extemporaneous prayer and hymn-singing as well as by the exposition of scripture in sermons.

baptistery or baptistry Domed hall or chapel, adjacent to or part of a church, for the administration of baptism. By the 4th century, the bap¬ tistery had assumed an eight-sided shape (eight in Christian numerology being the symbol for a new life), as had the baptismal font within. The font itself was set beneath a dome-shaped baldachin and encircled by col¬ umns and an ambulatory (aisle), features first used by the Byzantines. See photograph opposite.

Baqqarah See Baggara

bar association Group of lawyers organized primarily to deal with issues affecting the legal profession. In general, they are concerned with furthering the interests of lawyers through advocating reforms in the legal system, sponsoring research projects, and regulating professional stan¬ dards. Bar associations sometimes administer the examinations required for admission to practice law. The largest U.S. bar association is the American Bar Assn.

bar code Printed series of parallel bars of varying width used for enter¬ ing data into a computer system, typically for identifying the object on which the code appears. The width and spacing of the bars represent binary information that can be read by an optical (laser) scanner that is part of a computer system. The coding is used in many different areas of manufacturing and marketing, including inventory control and tracking systems. The bar codes printed on supermarket and other retail merchan¬ dise are those of the Universal Product Code (UPC).

bar graph See histogram

Bar Kokhba \,bar-'k6k-ba\ orig. Simeon bar Kosba (d. ad 135) Leader of an unsuccessful Jewish revolt against Roman rule in Palestine. In 131 Hadrian forbade circumcision and built a temple to Jupiter on the ruins of the Temple of Jerusalem. The Jews rebelled in 132, led by Sim¬ eon bar Kosba, who, according to one story, was hailed as a messiah by Akiba ben Joseph. He was called Bar Kokhba (“Son of the Star”), a mes¬ sianic allusion drawn from the book of Numbers. His army captured Aelia and inflicted heavy casualties, but Hadrian visited the battlefield and sum¬ moned reinforcements, and the Romans retook Jerusalem. Bar Kokhba was killed at Betar in 135, and the remnant of the Jewish army was soon crushed, with total Jewish losses, according to the 3rd-century Roman historian Dio Cassius, numbering 580,000. Surviving Jews were exiled and barred from Jerusalem.

Bar Mitzvah X.bar-'mits-voX Jewish ritual celebrating a boy’s 13th birth¬ day and his entry into the community of Judaism. It usually takes place during a Sabbath service, when the boy reads from the Torah and may give a discourse on the text. The service is often followed by a festive Kiddush and a family dinner on the same day or next day. Reform Judaism substituted confirmation of boys and girls for the Bar Mitzvah celebra¬ tion after 1810, but many congregations restored the Bar Mitzvah in the 20th century. A separate ceremony for girls. Bat Mitzvah, has been insti¬ tuted in Reform and Conservative Judaism.

Bara Vbar-oV, Theda orig. Theodosia Goodman (b. July 20, 1885?, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.—d. April 7, 1955, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. film actress. She had a brief stage career before going to Hollywood. Her first major picture, A Fool There Was (1915), was accompanied by a pub¬ licity campaign, billing her as the daughter of a Middle Eastern potentate, that made her an instant success. Establishing a sultry, exotic persona, she became the prototype of the screen “vamp.” She made more than 40 films within a few years, but her popularity soon declined, and she retired in the 1920s.

Barabbas \bo-'ra-b3s\ In the New Testament, a prisoner or criminal freed to please the mob before the crucifixion of Jesus. Described as a thief or an insurrectionist, Barabbas is mentioned in all four Gospels. Following the custom of setting free one prisoner chosen by popular demand before Passover, Pontius Pilate suggested pardoning Jesus, but the crowd pro¬ tested and demanded the release of Barabbas. Pilate gave in and sent Jesus to his death.

Barada Vbar-o-dsX River ancient Chrysorrhoas River, western Syria. It flows about 45 mi (72 km) from the Anti-Lebanon Mountains past Damascus. Throughout history, channels have been cut at different levels parallel to the main branch of the river to divert its flow. The chan¬ nels (of Nabataean, Aramaean, and, especially, Roman origin) fan out as they reach Damascus, irrigating a large area. This system created the site of Damascus, an artificial oasis of extreme fertility.

Barak River See Surma River

Battistero (baptistery) San. Giovanni, Florence, begun 7th century

AUNARI-ART RESOURCE

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Baraka ► Barber I 165

Baraka \ba-'ra-k3\, (Imamu) Amiri orig. (Everett) LeRoi Jones

(b. Oct. 7, 1934, Newark, N.J., U.S.) U.S. playwright, poet, and activist. After graduating from Howard University and serving in the U.S. Air Force, he joined the Beat movement and in 1961 published his first major poetry collection. His play Dutchman (1964), produced off-Broadway, explored the suppressed hostility of U.S. blacks toward the dominant white culture. After the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965, Baraka became involved in black nationalism and founded the Black Arts Rep¬ ertory Theatre in Harlem. In 1974 he adopted a Marxist-Leninist philoso¬ phy. He was appointed Poet Laureate of New Jersey in 2002.

barangay \,bar-9n-'gl\ Type of early Filipino settlement. The term was derived from balangay, the sailboats that brought Malay settlers to the Philippines from Borneo. Each boat carried a family group that estab¬ lished a village. These villages, which sometimes grew to include 30-100 families, remained isolated from one another; the fact that no larger politi¬ cal grouping emerged (except on Mindanao) facilitated the 16th-century Spanish conquest. The Spanish retained the barangay as a unit of local administration.

Barataria \,bar-9-'tar-e-9\ Bay Inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, southeast¬ ern Louisiana, U.S. The bay is about 15 mi (24 km) long and 12 mi (19 km) wide, and its entrance is a narrow channel, navigable through con¬ necting waterways into the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway system. The area is noted for its shrimp industry and natural-gas and oil wells. Jean Laffite and his brother organized a colony of pirates around its coast in 1810— 14, and it is sometimes called Laffite Country.

Barbados \bar-'ba-d9s\ Island country, West Indies. The most easterly of the Caribbean islands, it lies about 100 mi (160 km) east of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Area: 166 sq mi (430 sq km). Population (2005 est.):

North

Point

CARIBBEAN

ATLANTIC

OCEAN

SEA

Speightstown # Westmoreland * Holetown

Ml Hillaby .1,104 ft.

*HiIlcrest

^Bennetts

Prospect Jackson

Bridgetown

Carlisle \

Bay < -x_

( ) ISlit I A 'Q i S ti n s Bay —T"'

South

Point

Thicket )

Marchfield * Cljamocks

Ragged

Point

g> 2002 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

270,000. Capital: Bridgetown. More than nine-tenths of the population is of African ancestry. Language: English (official). Religion: Christianity (mostly Protestant).

Currency: Barbados dollar. Largely cov¬ ered by a layer of coral, Barbados is low and flat except in its north-central part; its highest point is Mount Hillaby, at 1,115 ft (340 m). There is little surface water. The island is almost encircled by coral reefs. Bridgetown is its only seaport. The economy is based on tourism and sugar, while the off¬ shore financial sector is growing. Barbados is a constitutional monarchy with two legislative houses; its chief of state is the British monarch, rep¬ resented by a governor-general, and the head of government is the prime minister. The island was probably inhabited originally by Arawak and later by Carib Indians. Spaniards may have landed by 1518, and by 1536 they had apparently wiped out the Indian population. Barbados was settled

by the English in the 1620s. Slaves were brought in to work the sugar plantations, which were especially prosperous in the 17th—18th century. The British Empire abolished slavery in 1834, and all the Barbados slaves were freed by 1838. In 1958 Barbados joined the West Indies Federation. When the latter dissolved in 1962, Barbados sought independence from Britain, which it gained in 1966.

Barbara, Saint (d. 200; feast day December 4) Early Christian mar¬ tyr and patroness of artillerymen. She was the daughter of a pagan, Dios- corus, who kept her guarded to protect her beauty and virginity. When she converted to Christianity he became enraged and took her to the Roman prefect, who ordered her to be tortured and beheaded. Her father per¬ formed the execution himself, and on the way home he was struck by lightning and reduced to ashes. Barbara was a popular saint during the Middle Ages and was invoked for aid in thunderstorms. She was dropped from the church calendar in 1969.