Britannica Concise 2005 - читать бесплатно онлайн полную версию книги автора Encyclopedia Britannica (ч. 75)

maa-alused Vma- , a-lu- l sed\ In Estonian folk religion, mysterious elves living under the earth. These small folk had suitably tiny possessions, and their world was differently oriented from the mortal world above them (up was down and right was left). People came in contact with them either by chance or at the elves’ wish. Legends tell of distraught elves seeking help from humans in cases of difficult childbirth or illness. A human could marry an elf, but such marriages eventually dissolved. In Finland, such elves were called maahiset.

Maasai See Masai

Maastricht \ma-'strikt,\ English Vma-strikt\ Treaty officially Treaty on European Union Agreement that established the European Union (EU) as successor to the European Community. It bestowed EU citizenship on every national of its member states, provided for the introduction of a central banking system and a common currency (see euro), and commit¬ ted the member states to work toward a common foreign and security policy. Signed in 1992, it was ratified and took effect in 1993. See also European Court of Justice, European Parliament, Treaties of Rome.

Ma'at \'ma-,at\ In ancient Egyptian religion, the personification of truth, justice, and the cosmic order. Ma'at was the daughter of Re, the sun god, and she stood at the head of his bark as it traveled through the sky and the underworld. She was also associated with Tfioth, the god of wisdom. The judgment of the dead was believed to be determined by the weigh¬ ing of the heart of the deceased on a scale she balanced. In its abstract

sense, ma'at was the divine order established at creation and reaffirmed at the accession of each new king of Egypt.

Maathai, Wangari (b. April 1, 1940, Nyeri, Kenya) Kenyan politi¬ cian and environmental activist. Maathai was educated in the U.S. and later earned a Ph.D. (1971) at the University of Nairobi, where she then taught veterinary anatomy. In 1977, as a way of conserving land and empowering women, she founded the Green Belt Movement, which recruited women to plant trees in deforested areas; by the early 21st cen¬ tury, it was responsible for the planting of some 30 million trees. Over time the organization also came to include programs in civic and envi¬ ronmental education, advocacy, and job training. Maathai, an outspoken critic of government corruption and sup¬ porter of debt cancellation for poor African countries, was elected to Kenya’s National Assembly in 2002 and later served as assistant minister of environment, natural resources, and wildlife (2003-05). In 2004 she received the Nobel Prize for Peace, becoming the first black African woman to win a Nobel Prize.

Mabinogion \ma-be-'nog-y3n,\ English \,ma- b3-'no-ge-3n\ Collection of 11 medieval Welsh tales based on mythology, folklore, and heroic legends. The tales have multiple authors and are versions of stories told and retold through the cen¬ turies. Among the finest are four stories known as “The Four Branches of the Mabinogi,” written in the late 11th century. Some show Celtic, Norman, and French influence; “Peredur Son of Efrawg,” for example, parallels Chretien de Troyes’s Perceval. Four other tales show little continental influence: “Kulhwch and Olwen,” “Lludd and Llefelys,” “The Dream of Macsen,” and “The Dream of Rhonabwy.”

Mabovich, Goldie See Golda Meir Mabuse See Jan Gossart Mac ind Og See Maponos

Mac-Mahon \mak-ma-'6 n \, (Marie-Edme-Patrice-) Maurice, count de later duke de Magenta (b. July 13, 1808, Sully, France—d. Oct. 17, 1893, Loiret) French soldier and second president (1873-79) of the Third Republic. Descended from an Irish Jacobite family, he began his army career in 1827 and distinguished himself in the Crimean War and in the Italian campaign at the Battle of Magenta (1859), after which he was made a marshal of France and duke de Magenta. He was governor-general of Algeria (1864-70) and later a commander in the Franco-Prussian War. He was appointed head of the Versailles Army, which defeated the Paris Commune in 1871. He was elected president after the resignation of Adolphe Thiers. During his term the Constitutional Laws of 1875 were promulgated. Mac-Mahon resigned following a constitu¬ tional crisis that was resolved in favour of parliamentary control of the government. Thereafter in the Third Republic, the office of president became largely honorific.

macadam Vmo-'ka-domN Form of pavement invented by John McAdam. Me Adam’s road cross-section consisted of a compacted subgrade of crushed granite or greenstone designed to support the load, covered by a surface of light stone to absorb wear and tear and shed water to the drain¬ age ditches. In modem macadam construction, crushed stone or gravel is placed on the compacted base course and bound together with asphalt cement or hot tar. A third layer to fill the spaces is then added and rolled. Cement-sand slurry is sometimes used as the binder.

macadamia X.ma-ko-'da-me-oX Any of about 10 species of ornamen¬ tal evergreen trees, in the family Pro- teaceae, and their edible, richly flavoured dessert nuts. Macadamias originated in the coastal rainforests and scrubs of northeastern Australia.

Macadamia (Macadamia ternifolia)

WALTER DAWN

MacAlpin ► MacDiarmid I 1157

Those grown commercially in Hawaii and Australia are principally of two species, the smooth-shelled Macadamia integrifolia and the rough-shelled M. tetraphylla. Macadamias are grown in quantity also in parts of Africa and South and Central America. Hard to propagate and slow to bear fruit, the trees grow only in rich, well-drained soil in areas receiving 50 in. (130 cm) of rain annually. Fragrant pink or white flower clusters on trees with large, shiny, leathery leaves produce bunches of 1-20 fruits. The nuts contain much fat but are a good source of minerals and vitamin B.

MacAlpin, Kenneth See Kenneth I

macaque Vmo-'kakX Any of about 12 primarily Asian species of omnivorous, diurnal monkeys (genus Macaca ) with cheek pouches for carrying food. Some species have long tails, some have short tails, and some have none. Males are 16-28 in. (41-70 cm) long (excluding the tail) and weigh 12-40 lb (5.5-18 kg). Troops live in mountains and low¬ lands and along shores. The rhesus monkey (M. mulatto) has been impor¬ tant to medical and psychological research. Malays train pig-tailed macaques (M. nemestrina ) to pick coconuts. See also Barbary ape; bonnet monkey; Celebes black ape.

MacArthur, Charles (Gordon) (b. Nov. 5, 1895, Scranton, Pa., U.S.—d. April 21, 1956, New York, N.Y.) U.S. journalist, playwright, and screenwriter. He worked as a reporter in Chicago and New York City (1914-26) before collaborating with Edward Shelden on the play Lulu Belle (1926). With Ben Hecht he wrote the Broadway hits The Front Page (1928; film, 1931) and Twentieth Century (1932; film, 1934) and several later plays noted for their graphic, crisp dialogue. Their screenplays included the film adaptations of their own plays and Wuthering Heights (1939), and they wrote and directed movies such as Crime Without Pas¬ sion (1934), The Scoundrel (1935), and Soak the Rich (1936). He was married to actress Helen Hayes.

MacArthur, Douglas (b. Jan. 26, 1880, Little Rock, Ark., U.S.—d. April 5, 1964, Washington, D.C.) U.S. general. Son of Gen. Arthur Mac¬ Arthur (1845-1912), he graduated from West Point, of which he became superintendent (1919-22). He rose through the ranks to become general and army chief of staff (1930-35). In 1932 he commanded the troops that evicted the Bonus Army. In 1937 he took over command of the Philippine military. At the outbreak of World War II he was recalled to active duty; he led the combined Philippine-U.S. forces in the Philippines until it was overrun by the Japanese (1942). From Australia, he commanded U.S. forces in the South Pacific and directed the recapture of strategic islands, returning as promised (“I shall return”) to liberate the Philippines in 1944. Promoted to general of the army, he received Japan’s surrender on Sept. 2, 1945. As Allied commander of the postwar occupation of Japan (1945- 51), he directed the restoration of the country’s economy and the draft¬ ing of a democratic constitution. As commander of UN forces in the Korean War in 1950, he stemmed the advance of North Korean troops. His request for authority to bomb China was rejected by Pres. Harry Tru¬ man; when MacArthur made the dispute public, Truman relieved him of his command, for insubordination. He returned to the U.S. to a hero’s welcome, though many deplored his egotism. He was twice (1948, 1952) seriously considered for the Republican Party nomination for president.

MacArthur-Forrest process See cyanide process Macassar See Ujung Pandang

Macau \m9-'kau\ or Macao Chinese Aomen Vau-'menV Special administrative region (pop., 2005 est.: 470,000), southern China. Located on the South China Sea coast about 40 mi (64 km) west of Hong Kong, it consists of a small peninsula, which projects from Guangdong prov¬ ince, and two small islands. Its total land area is 10.6 sq mi (27.5 sq km). Macau city is the administrative centre. Portuguese traders first arrived in Macau in 1513, and it soon became the chief market centre for trade between China and Japan. Portugal declared it an overseas province in 1844 and an overseas territory in 1951. In 1999 Portugal returned it to Chinese rule. Tourism and gambling are the mainstays of its economy.

Macaulay \mo- l k6-le\, Thomas Babington, Baron Macaulay of Rothley (b. Oct. 25, 1800, Rothley Temple, Leicestershire, Eng.—d. Dec. 28, 1859, Campden Hill, London) English politician, historian, and poet. While a fellow at Cambridge University, Macaulay published the first of his essays, on John Milton (1825), and gained immediate fame. After entering Parliament in 1830, he became known as a leading orator. From 1834 he served on the Supreme Council in India, supporting the equality of Europeans and Indians before the law and inaugurating a

national educational system. He reentered Parliament on returning to England in 1838. He published Lays of Ancient Rome (1842) and Critical and Historical Essays (1843) before retiring to private life and beginning his brilliant History of England, 5 vol. (1849-61); covering the period 1688-1702, it established a Whig interpretation of English history that influenced generations.

macaw \m9-'ko\ Any of about 18 species of large tropical New World parrots (subfamily Psittacinae) with very long tails and big sickle-shaped beaks. Macaws eat fruits and nuts.

They are easily tamed and often kept as pets; some learn to mimic human speech, but most only screech. A few have lived 65 years. Best known is the scarlet macaw (Ara macao ), found from Mexico to Brazil, a 36-in. (90-cm) bright-red bird with blue and yellow wings, blue and red tail, and white face.

MacBride, Sean (b. Jan. 26, 1904, Paris, France—d. Jan. 15, 1988, Dublin, Ire.) Irish statesman. Bom to Irish patriots—his mother was Wil¬ liam Butler Yeats’s beloved Maud Gonne (1866-1953), and his father was Maj. John MacBride, executed for his part in the 1916 Easter Rising—he became chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army at age 24, but he even¬ tually accepted the fact of partition and the futility of warfare. In 1936 he founded the Irish Republican Party; he served in the Irish legislature (1947-58) and as minister of external affairs (1948-51). He was the first chairman of Amnesty International (1961-75). He also served as UN assis¬ tant secretary-general for South West Africa and Namibia (1973-77). In 1974 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for his efforts on behalf of human rights.

Maccabees Vma-ko-.bezV (fl. 2nd century bc) Priestly family of Jews who organized a successful rebellion against Antiochus IV Epiphanes in Palestine and reconsecrated the defiled Temple of Jerusalem. The rebellion began under the leadership of the Jewish priest Mattathias after Antio¬ chus sought to stamp out Judaism by forbidding all Jewish practices and desecrating the temple (167 bc). When Mattathias died (c. 166 bc), his son Judas Maccabaeus recaptured Jerusalem and reconsecrated the temple, an event celebrated in the holiday Hanukkah. After Judas’s death, the war continued intermittently under his brothers Jonathan and Simon. The Mac¬ cabees formed the Hasmonean dynasty.

Macchiaioli ^mak-ke-J-'o-leV Group of 19th-century Tuscan painters who reacted against the rule-bound art academies and looked to nature for instruction. The Macchiaioli felt that patches ( macchia) of colour were the most significant aspect of painting. They believed that the effect of a painting on the spectator should derive from the painted surface itself, rather than from any ideological message or narrative. The Macchiaioli used a sketch technique to record their initial impressions of nature—often as seen from a distance—by means of colour and light. Their theory, similar to that of the French Impressionists, was even more concerned with the experimental use of colour. The most outstanding artist of the group was the Florentine Giovanni Fattori.

MacDiarmid, Alan G. (b. April 14, 1927, Masterson, N.Z.) U.S. chemist. He earned Ph.D.’s in chemistry at the University of Wisconsin at Madison (1953) and the University of Cambridge (1955). He then began teaching at the University of Pennsylvania, becoming Blanchard Professor of Chemistry there in 1988. With Alan J. Heeger and Shirakawa Hideki, he demonstrated that certain plastics can be chemically altered to be almost as conductive as metals. The discovery led scientists to uncover other conductive polymers, which contributed to the growing field of molecular electronics. In 2000 he received the Nobel Prize for Chemis¬ try with Heeger and Shirakawa.

MacDiarmid \m3k- , d3i-m3d\, Hugh orig. Christopher Murray Grieve (b. Aug. 11, 1892, Langholm, Dumfriesshire, Scot.—d. Sept. 9, 1978, Edinburgh) Scottish poet. In 1922 he founded the monthly Scottish Chapbook, in which he published his lyrics and sparked the Scottish lit¬ erary renaissance. A radical leftist, he rejected English as a medium and

Thomas Babington Macaulay, detail of an oil painting by J. Partridge, 1840; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON

1158 I Macdonald ► Macedonian Wars

scrutinized modern society in verse written in “synthetic Scots,” an amal¬ gam of various dialects. A noted work is the extended rhapsody A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle (1926). He later returned to standard English in such volumes as A Kist of Whistles (1947) and In Memoriam James Joyce (1955). He is regarded as Scotland’s preeminent poet of the early 20th century.

Macdonald, Dwight (b. March 24, 1906, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Dec. 19, 1982, New York City) U.S. writer and film critic. He graduated from Yale University. During World War II he founded the magazine Politics, which featured the work of such figures as Andre Gide, Albert Camus, and Marianne Moore. One of the first serious film critics, he was a staff writer for The New Yorker (1951-71) and reviewed films for Esquire magazine (1960-66). Politically, he moved from Stalinism through Trotskyism and anarchism to pacifism. During the Vietnam War he urged young men to defy the draft. His best-known collection of essays is Against the American Grain (1963).

MacDonald, (James) Ramsay (b. Oct. 12, 1866, Lossiemouth, Moray, Scot.—d. Nov. 9, 1937, at sea en route to South America) British politician, first Labour Party prime minister of Britain (1924, 1929-31, 1931-35). He joined the precursor of the Labour Party in 1894 and was its secretary from 1900 to 1911. He was a member of the House of Com¬ mons (1906-18), where he served as leader of the Labour Party (1911— 14), before he was forced to resign after opposing Britain’s participation in World War I. Reelected to Parliament in 1922, he led the Labour oppo¬ sition. He became prime minister in 1924 with Liberal Party support, but he was forced to resign later that year when Conservatives regained a majority. In 1929 Labour won a majority and he returned as prime min¬ ister. In 1931 he offered his resignation during the Great Depression but decided instead to remain in office as head of a national coalition until 1935, when Stanley Baldwin became prime minister. MacDonald remained in the government as lord president of the council until 1937.

Macdonald, Sir John (Alexander) (b. Jan. 11, 1815, Glasgow, Scot.—d. June 6, 1891, Ottawa, Ont., Can.) Canadian politician, first prime minister of the Dominion of Canada (1867-73, 1878-91). He immi¬ grated to Canada as a child and practiced law in Kingston, Upper Canada (now Ontario), from 1836. From 1844 to 1854 he served in the Province of Canada’s assembly. He cofounded the Liberal-Conservative Party (see Progressive Conservative Party of Canada) in 1854 and became premier of the Province of Canada in 1857. He worked for confederation and helped secure passage of the British North America Act, which created the Domin¬ ion of Canada (1867). As prime minister, he supported trade protection¬ ism and aided the completion of the Pacific railway. In response to later challenges to Canadian unity, he advocated loyalty to the British Com¬ monwealth and independence from the U.S.

Macdonnell Ranges Mountain system, south-central Northern Ter¬ ritory, Australia. Extending east and west of the town of Alice Springs for some 250 mi (400 km), its highest peak is Mount Ziel (4,954 ft [1,510 m]). The mountains were first explored in 1860 by John McDouall Stu¬ art and were named after Richard Macdonnell, governor of South Aus¬ tralia.

Macdonough Vmok-'da-noV Thomas (b. Dec. 31, 1783, The Trap, Del., U.S.—d. Nov. 10, 1825, at sea en route from the Mediterranean Sea to New York City) U.S. naval officer. He joined the navy in 1800 and served with Stephen Decatur in the Tripolitan War. In the War of 1812 he was ordered to cruise the lakes between Canada and the U.S. When Brit¬ ish troops threatened Plattsburg, N.Y., site of U.S. Army headquarters on the northern frontier, he sailed his 14-ship fleet to meet the British 16-ship squadron on Lake Champlain. His victory there (Sept. 11, 1814) saved New York and Vermont from invasion.

MacDowell, Edward (Alexander) orig. Edward Alexander McDowell (b. Dec. 18, 1860, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Jan. 23, 1908, New York City) U.S. composer. He started piano lessons at age eight. While in Germany for further study, he impressed the composer Joachim Raff (1822-82), who urged him to write a piano concerto (1882), then introduced him to Franz Liszt, who assisted MacDowell with performances and publication. In 1888 he returned to the U.S. with his wife, and in 1896 he became Columbia University’s first professor of music. Paresis made him unable to perform or compose after 1904, and he lapsed into insanity and died at age 47. His farm in Peterborough, N.H., became the MacDowell Colony for artists after his death. His most popular works are

the Second Piano Concerto in D Minor (1886), the Second Orchestral (“Indian”) Suite (1895), and piano sets such as Woodland Sketches (1896) and Sea Pieces (1898).

Macedonia officially Republic of Macedonia Country, Balkan Peninsula, southeastern Europe. Area: 9,928 sq mi (25,713 sq km). Popu¬ lation (2005 est.): 2,034,000. Capital: Skopje. About two-thirds of the

also Roman Catholic), Islam. Currency:

denar. Located on a high plateau studded with mountains, Macedonia is one of the poorest countries in Europe. Although its importance has dimin¬ ished recently, agriculture remains central to the economy, with tobacco, fruit, vegetables, and wine notable. Sheepherding is also significant. The manufacturing base includes iron and steel, textiles, and chemicals and chemical products. Macedonia is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. The Macedonian region has been inhabited since before 7000 bc. Under Roman rule, part of the region was incorporated into the prov¬ ince of Moesia in ad 29. It was settled by Slavic tribes by the mid-6th century and was Christianized during the 9th century. Seized by the Bul¬ garians in 1185, it was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1371 to 1912. The north and centre of the region were annexed by Serbia in 1913 and became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later Yugo¬ slavia) in 1918. When Yugoslavia was partitioned by the Axis Powers in 1941, Yugoslav Macedonia was occupied principally by Bulgaria. Mace¬ donia once again became a republic of Yugoslavia in 1946. After Croatia and Slovenia seceded from Yugoslavia, fear of Serbian dominance prompted Macedonia to declare its independence in 1991. In deference to Greece, which also has an area traditionally known as Macedonia, the country joined the United Nations in 1993 under the name The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and normalized relations with Greece in 1995. Ethnic strife has periodically endangered national stability—e.g., in 2001, when pro-Albanian rebel forces in the north, near the Kosovo border, led guerrilla attacks on government forces.

Macedonian language See Bulgarian language

Macedonian Wars Three wars fought by Philip V of Macedonia and his successor, Perseus, against Rome (215-205 bc, 200-197, 171-167). The first war, fought by Rome in the context of the Second Punic War, ended favourably for the Macedonians. Rome was victorious in the next two wars. The Macedonian forces were assisted by Carthage and the Seleucids, Rome by the Aetolian League and Pergamum. After Rome’s vic-

Macfadden ► machine language I 1159

tory at the Battle of Pydna (168), Macedonian territory was divided into four republics. Another conflict, fought in 149-148, may be considered a fourth Macedonian War; it resulted in a decisive Roman victory, and in its aftermath Macedonia became the empire’s first province.

Macfadden, Bernarr orig. Bernard Adolphus McFadden (b.

Aug. 16, 1868, near Mill Spring, Mo., U.S.—d. Oct. 12,1955, Jersey City, N.J.) U.S. publisher and champion of physical health. A sickly orphan by age 11, he began in his teens to increase his strength as an act of defi¬ ance. In 1899 he began publishing Physical Culture magazine, and in later decades he built up a publishing empire, bringing out the first confession magazine, True Story (1919), followed by True Romances (1923), True Detective Mystery Magazine (1924), and other periodicals. Macfadden also toured widely to promote his message of vigorous physical exercise and to preach about the dangers of alcohol, drugs, gluttony, corsets, prud¬ ishness, tea, coffee, and white bread. Shocking to Victorian sentiments were his advocacy of a diet consisting of carrots, beans, nuts, and raw eggs and his encouragement of sleeping on the floor, nudity, and “physi¬ cal love.” To promote such “love,” he encouraged openness about sexual matters and invented a device to enlarge men’s penises. To exemplify fit¬ ness, he walked five miles daily to his office in Manhattan in bare feet while carrying a 40-pound bag of sand. He also staged the first physique (bodybuilding) contest in America (1903) and fostered the rise of fitness icon Charles Atlas. Macfadden’ s bids for the presidency, U.S. Senate, and governorship of Florida all failed. Physically fit into old age, he para¬ chuted into Paris on his 84th birthday.

Mach Vmak,\ English VmakX, Ernst (b. Feb. 18, 1838, Chirlitz-Turas, Moravia—d. Feb. 19, 1916, Haar, Ger.) Austrian physicist and philoso¬ pher. After earning a doctorate in physics in 1860, he taught at the Uni¬ versities of Vienna and Graz as well as Charles University in Prague. Interested in the psychology and physiology of sensation, in the 1860s he discovered the physiological phenomenon known as Mach’s bands, the tendency of the human eye to see bright or dark bands near the bound¬ aries between areas of sharply dif¬ fering illumination. He later studied movement and acceleration and developed optical and photographic techniques for measuring sound waves and wave propagation. In 1887 he established the principles of supersonics and the Mach number, the ratio of the velocity of an object to the velocity of sound. He also pro¬ posed the theory of inertia known as Mach’s principle. In Contributions to the Analysis of the Sensations (1886), he asserted that all knowl¬ edge is derived from sensory expe¬ rience or observation.

Machado de Assis \ma-'sha-do- de-a-'sesV, Joaquim Maria (b.

June 21, 1839, Rio de Janeiro,

Braz.—d. Sept. 29, 1908, Rio de Jan¬ eiro) Brazilian poet, novelist, and short-story writer. Machado began to write in his spare time while work¬ ing as a printer’s apprentice. By 1869 he was a successful man of let¬ ters. His witty, pessimistic works, rooted in European cultural tradi¬ tions, include the eccentric first- person narrative Epitaph of a Small Winner (1881) and the novels Phi¬ losopher or Dog? (1891) and Dom Casmurro (1899), the latter his mas¬ terpiece. Considered the classic mas¬ ter of Brazilian literature, he became the first president of the Brazilian Academy of Letters in 1896.

Machaut \ma-'sho\ / Guillaume de or Guillaume de Machault

(b. c. 1300, Machault, France—d.

1377, Reims) French poet and com¬

poser. After possibly receiving a university education and taking holy orders, he traveled throughout Europe as secretary to the king of Bohe¬ mia. He was appointed canon of Reims cathedral in 1337. After the king’s death, Machaut was supported by several royal patrons, including the duke de Berry, and King Charles V. Beside 14 narrative poems incorpo¬ rating short lyrics, he wrote more than 400 separate lyric poems. He wrote dozens of musical compositions in each of the genres of formes fixes. He also composed the first complete setting of the mass for four voices, and he was the outstanding figure of the Ars Nova. His poetry is noted chiefly for its technical innovations. Geoffrey Chaucer’s Book of the Duchesse shows the influence of Machaut.

Machiavelli V.ma-ke-o-'vel-eV Niccolo (b. May 3, 1469, Florence—d. June 21, 1527, Florence) Italian statesman, historian, and political theorist. He rose to power after the overthrow of Girolamo Savonarola in 1498. Working as a diplomat for 14 years, he came in contact with the most powerful figures in Europe. He was dismissed when the Medici fam¬ ily returned to power in 1512, and during the next year he was arrested and tortured for conspiracy. Though soon released, he was not permitted to return to public office. His famous treatise The Prince (1513, published 1532) is a handbook for rulers; though dedicated to Lorenzo de' Med¬ ici, ruler of Florence from 1513, it failed to win Machiavelli his favour.

Machiavelli viewed The Prince as an objective description of political reality. Because he viewed human nature as venal, grasping, and thor¬ oughly self-serving, he suggested that ruthless cunning is appropriate to the conduct of government. Though admired for its incisive brilliance, the book also has been widely condemned as cynical and amoral, and “Machiavellian” has come to mean deceitful, unscrupulous, and manipu¬ lative. His other works include a set of discourses on Livy (completed c. 1518), the comedy The Mandrake (completed c. 1518), The Art of War (published 1521), and the Florentine Histories (completed c. 1525).

machine Device that amplifies or replaces human or animal effort to accomplish a physical task. A machine may be further defined as a device consisting of two or more parts that transmit or modify force and motion in order to do work. The five simple machines are the lever, the wedge, the wheel and axle, the pulley, and the screw; all complex machines are com¬ binations of these basic devices. The operation of a machine may involve the transformation of chemical, thermal, electrical, or nuclear energy into mechanical energy, or vice versa. All machines have an input, an output, and a transforming or modifying and transmitting device. Machines that receive their input energy from a natural source (such as air currents, mov¬ ing water, coal, petroleum, or uranium) and transform it into mechanical energy are known as prime movers; examples include windmills, water¬ wheels, TURBINES, STEAM ENGINES, and INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

machine gun Automatic weapon capable of rapid, sustained fire, usu¬ ally 500-1,000 rounds per minute. Developed in the late 19th century by such inventors as Hiram Maxim, it profoundly altered modem warfare. The World War I battlefield was dominated by the belt-fed machine gun, which remained little changed into World War II. Modem machine guns are clas¬ sified into three groups: the squad automatic weapon, chambered for small- calibre assault-rifle ammunition and operated by one soldier; the general- purpose machine gun, firing full-power rifle ammunition and operated by two; and the heavy machine gun, firing rounds of 12.7 mm (.5 in) or higher and often mounted on an armoured vehicle. See also submachine gun.

machine language or machine code Elemental language of com¬ puters, consisting of a string of 0s and Is. Because machine language is the lowest-level computer language and the only language that comput¬ ers directly understand, a program written in a more sophisticated lan¬ guage (e.g., C, Pascal) must be converted to machine language prior to execution. This is done via a compiler or assembler. The resulting binary file (also called an executable file) can then be executed by the CPU. See also ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE.

Guillaume de Machaut, detail of a min¬ iature from Oeuvres de Guillaume de Machaut, c. 1370-80; in the Biblio- theque Nationale (Ms. Fr. 1584).

COURTESY OF THE BIBUOTHEQUE NATIONALE, PARIS

Niccolo Machiavelli, detail of an oil painting by Santi di Tito; in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence.

AUNARI/ART RESOURCE, NEW YORK

1160 I machine tool ► mackerel shark

machine tool Stationary, power-driven machine used to cut, shape, or form materials such as metal and wood. Machine tools date from the invention of the steam engine in the 18th century; most common machine tools were designed by the middle of the 19th century. Today dozens of different machine tools are used in the workshops of home and industry. They are frequently classified into seven types: turning machines such as lathes; shapers and planers; power drills or drill presses; milling machines; grinding machines; power saws; and presses (e.g., punch presses).

machismo \ma-'chez-mo\ Exaggerated pride in masculinity, perceived as power, often coupled with a minimal sense of responsibility and dis¬ regard of consequences. In machismo there is supreme valuation of char¬ acteristics culturally associated with the masculine and a denigration of characteristics associated with the feminine. It has for centuries been a strong current in Latin American politics and society. Caudillos (military dictators), prominent in the history of Latin America, have typified machismo with their bold and authoritarian approach to government and their willingness to employ violence to achieve their ends.

Mach's principle Vmaks\ Hypothesis that the inertial forces acting on a body in accelerated motion are determined by the quantity and distri¬ bution of matter in the universe. Albert Einstein found its suggested con¬ nection between geometry and matter helpful in formulating his theory of general relativity; unaware that George Berkeley had proposed similar views in the 18th century, he attributed the idea to Ernst Mach. He abandoned the principle when he realized that inertia is assumed in the geodesic equation of motion (see geodesy) and need not depend on the existence of matter elsewhere in the universe.

Machu Picchu \‘ma-chu- , pek-chu\ Ancient fortress city of the Incas in the Andes Mountains, south-central Peru. Perched near Cuzco in a narrow saddle between two sharp peaks, at an elevation of 7,710 ft (2,350 m), it escaped detection by the Spaniards, and its existence was made known only in 1911 by U.S. explorer Hiram Bingham. One of the few pre- Columbian urban centres found nearly intact, it is about 5 sq mi (13 sq km) in area and includes a temple and a citadel. The period of occupancy is uncertain. Made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983, it is a popular tourist attraction.

Maclver Vmo-'ke-vorV Robert M(orrison) (b. April 17, 1882,

Stornoway, Outer Hebrides,

Scot.—d. June 15, 1970, New York,

N.Y., U.S.) Scottish-born U.S. soci¬ ologist and political scientist. He taught at the University of Aberdeen and later at Canadian and U.S. uni¬ versities, principally Columbia (1915-26). He believed in the compatibility of individualism and social organization and saw societies as evolving from highly communal states to states in which individual functions and group affiliations were extremely specialized. His works included The Modern State (1926), Leviathan and the People (1939), and The Web of Government (1947).

Mack, Connie orig. Cornelius (Alexander) McGillicuddy (b.

Dec. 22/23, 1862, East Brookfield, Mass., U.S.—d. Feb. 8, 1956, Phila¬ delphia, Pa.) U.S. baseball manager and team executive. Mack played professional baseball (1886-96), usually as a catcher, before becoming manager of the Milwaukee Brewers (1897-1900) and the Philadelphia Athletics (1901-50). He was president of the Athletics from 1937 to 1953. His teams won 3,776 games and lost 4,025, both all-time records. He helped establish the American League.

Mackenzie \mo-'ken-ze\, Alexander (b. Jan. 28, 1822, Logierait, Perth, Scot.—d. April 17, 1892, Toronto, Ont., Can.) Scottish-born Cana¬ dian politician, first Liberal prime minister of Canada (1873-78). He emi¬ grated to Canada West (now Ontario) in 1842. In 1852 he became editor of a local Liberal newspaper and befriended George Brown, leader of the Reform Party. When the Dominion of Canada was created in 1867, Mack¬ enzie was elected to the House of Commons, where he led the Liberal

opposition. As prime minister, his efforts at renewed reciprocity with the U.S. failed to address economic concerns, and his government was defeated in 1878. He resigned as leader of the opposition but held a seat in Parliament until his death.

Mackenzie, Sir Alexander (b. 17557, Stornoway, Lewis and Har¬ ris, Outer Hebrides, Scot.—d. March 11, 1820, near Pitlochry, Perth) Scottish-born Canadian explorer. Immigrating to Canada as a young man, he entered a fur-trading firm in 1779. In 1788 he set up a trading post, Fort Chipewyan, on Lake Athabasca. From there he began an expedition (1789) that followed the Mackenzie River from Great Slave Lake to the Arctic Ocean. In 1793 he journeyed from Fort Chipewyan through the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast, thereby becoming the first Euro¬ pean to complete a transcontinental crossing north of Mexico.

Mackenzie, Sir (Edward Montague) Compton (b. Jan. 17, 1883, West Hartlepool, Durham, Eng.—d. Nov. 30, 1972, Edinburgh, Scot.) British novelist and playwright. Educated at Oxford University, he gave up legal studies to finish his first play, The Gentleman in Grey (1906). During World War I he directed the Aegean Intelligence Service in Syria; when he wrote about those experiences in Greek Memories (1932), he was prosecuted under Britain’s Official Secrets Act. He founded Gramo¬ phone magazine in 1923 and edited it until 1962. He served as rector of Glasgow University (1931-34) and as literary critic for the London Daily Mail ; his more than 100 novels, plays, and biographies include 10 vol¬ umes of memoirs.

Mackenzie, Sir James (b. April 12, 1853, Scone, Perthshire, Scot.—d. Jan. 26, 1925, London, Eng.) Scottish cardiologist. He received his M.D. from the University of Edinburgh and practiced medicine in Lancashire for 25 years before moving to London. His classic The Study of the Pulse (1902) described an instrument called a polygraph, which simultaneously recorded arterial and venous pulses so that they could be correlated with the heartbeat to distinguish harmless from dangerous irregularities. A pioneer in the study of cardiac arrhythmia, he also proved the efficacy of digitalis for its treatment.

Mackenzie, William Lyon (b. March 12, 1795, Springfield, Angus, Scot.—d. Aug. 28, 1861, Toronto) Scottish-born Canadian journalist and political agitator. He immigrated to Canada in 1820 and became a mer¬ chant in Upper Canada (later Ontario). In 1824 he founded a newspaper in Queenston, the Colonial Advocate, in which he criticized the ruling oligarchy in Upper Canada. Elected to the province’s assembly (1828— 36), he was expelled six times by the conservative majority for his news¬ paper’ s invectives against the government. A list of Canadian grievances against British colonial rule that he published led to the recall of the prov¬ ince’s governor. In 1837 he led 800 followers in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the provincial government. After attempting to rally his forces on Navy Island in the Niagara River, N.Y., he was jailed for vio¬ lating U.S. neutrality laws. He returned to Canada in 1849 and later served in the Canadian Parliament (1851-58).

Mackenzie River River system, Northwest Territories, Canada. It flows northward from Great Slave Lake into the Beaufort Sea of the Arc¬ tic Ocean. Its basin, with an area of 697,000 sq mi (1,805,200 sq km), is the largest in Canada. It is 1,025 mi (1,650 km) long and 1-2 mi (1.5-3 km) wide. With the Finlay River, its farthest headstream, the entire sys¬ tem is 2,635 mi (4,241 km) long, making it the second longest river in North America. It was discovered by the explorer Alexander Mackenzie in

mackerel Swift-moving, carnivorous, torpedo-shaped food and sport fishes (family Scombridae, order Perciformes) of temperate and tropical seas worldwide. Mackerels are 1-5.5 ft (30-170 cm) long. The common mackerel ( Scomber scombrus ) of the North Atlantic Ocean and the chub mackerel (S. colias) of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans are economically important, as are the Indian mackerels (genus Rastrelliger ) and the frig¬ ate mackerels (genus Auxis). Other species (genus Scomberomorus ) are favourite game fish. The name mackerel also refers to certain shark spe¬ cies (see MACKEREL SHARK), TUNA, and BONITO.

mackerel shark Any of several temperate-water sharks (genus Lamna) in a family (Isuridae) that also includes the great white shark and the mako shark group. The swift, active mackerel sharks have a crescent¬ shaped tail and slender teeth. They are gray or blue-gray above and paler below and about 10 ft (3 m) long. They eat fishes such as herring, mack¬ erel, and salmon, sometimes taking fishermen’s catches and damaging

Machu Picchu.

MAYES/FPG

Mackinac ► MacNeice I 1161

nets. They are fished commercially for food. Common species include the Atlantic mackerel shark, or por¬ beagle (L. nasus), and the Pacific mackerel shark, or salmon shark (L ditropis ).

Mackinac Vma-ko-.noV Straits of Channel connecting Lake Michi¬ gan with Lake Huron. Forming an important waterway between the Upper and Lower peninsulas of Michigan, U.S., the straits are 30 mi (48 km) long and 4 mi (6 km) wide at their narrowest point. They are spanned by the Mackinac Bridge, a 3,800-ft (1,158-m) suspension bridge built in 1957.

Mackinac Island Island in the Straits of Mackinac, southeastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan, U.S. It is 3 mi (5 km) long. It was an ancient Indian burial ground called Michilimackinac when the British built a fort there in 1780. After the U.S. took possession in 1783, it became the head¬ quarters of the American Fur Co. Occupied by the British during the War of 1812, the island returned to U.S. control in 1815. It has been a state park since 1895; automobiles are banned from the island. A popular tour¬ ist destination, the island is home to the Grand Hotel (1887), the world’s largest summer hotel.

Mackinaw trout See lake trout

Mackintosh, Charles Rennie (b. June 7, 1868, Glasgow, Scot.—d. Dec. 10, 1928, London, Eng.) Scottish architect, furniture designer, and artist. A giant of the Arts and Crafts Movement, he is especially revered for his glass-and-stone studio building at the Glasgow School of Art (1896-1909), where he had attended classes. In the 1890s he achieved an international reputation creating unorthodox posters, craftwork, and fur¬ niture. Considered Britain’s first designer of true Art Nouveau architec¬ ture, he produced work of an unrivaled lightness, elegance, and originality, as exemplified by four remarkable tearooms he designed in Glasgow (1896-1904). By 1914 he was dedicating all his energies to watercolour painting. The late 20th century saw a revival of interest in his work and the manufacture of reproductions of his chairs and settees, which were characterized by starkly simple geometric lines.

MacLaine, Shirley orig. Shirley McLean Beaty (b. April 24, 1934, Richmond, Va., U.S.) U.S. film actress. She worked as a dancer on Broadway. After replacing the injured star in The Pajama Game (1954), she was discovered by a film producer and made her movie debut in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Trouble with Harry (1955). Known for her deft portrayal of charmingly eccentric characters, she went on to play comic and dra¬ matic roles in Some Came Running (1959), The Apartment (1960), Irma La Douce (1963), Sweet Charity (1969), The Turning Point (1977), Terms of Endearment (1983, Academy Award), Madame Sousatzka (1988), and Mrs. Winterbourne (1996). She wrote several best-selling books, often about her mystical experiences, including Out on a Limb (1983) and Going Within (1989). She is the sister of Warren Beatty.

Maclean, Donald See Guy Burgess

Maclean's \m3-'klanz\ Weekly newsmagazine published in Toronto, the leading Canadian magazine. It provides coverage of Canadian affairs and world news from a Canadian perspective. Founded by John Bayne Maclean as The Business Magazine in 1905, its large-page format pre¬ sented feature articles and fiction reflecting a conservative view of Cana¬ dian life and values and developed a reputation for outstanding photography. The magazine took its current name in 1911. After experi¬ encing losses in the 1960s, Maclean’s reduced its page size and moved from biweekly to monthly circulation in the 1970s; this continued until the magazine’s finances revived, and in 1978 Maclean’s became Cana¬ da’s first weekly newsmagazine.

MacLeish \m3-'klesh\, Archibald (b. May 7, 1892, Glencoe, Ill., U.S.—d. April 20, 1982, Boston, Mass.) U.S. poet, playwright, teacher, and public official. He practiced law before leaving for France in 1923 to perfect his poetic craft. His early poems “Ars Poetica” (1926) and “You, Andrew Marvell” (1930) are often anthologized. He later expressed his concern for democratic ideals in “public” verse such as Conquistador (1932, Pulitzer Prize) and Public Speech (1936). Other works include Collected Poems (1952, Pulitzer Prize) and the verse drama J.B. (1958,

Pulitzer Prize). He served as librarian of Congress (1939-44) and assis¬ tant secretary of state (1944-45) and later taught at Harvard (1949-62).

MacLennan \m3-'klen-3n\, (John) Hugh (b. March 20, 1907, Glace Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Can.—d. Nov. 7, 1990, Montreal, Que.) Canadian novelist and essayist. He was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford Uni¬ versity and earned a doctorate at Princeton, then taught at McGill Uni¬ versity (1951-81). His novels include Barometer Rising (1941), Two Solitudes (1945), The Watch That Ends the Night (1959), and Voices in Time (1980). He won five Governor-General’s awards for his fiction and nonfiction. He is regarded as the first major English-speaking novelist to use Canadian themes.

Macleod \m9-'klaud\, J(ohn) J(ames) R(ickard) (b. Sept. 6, 1876, Cluny, near Dunkeld, Perth, Scot.—d. March 16, 1935, Aberdeen) Scot¬ tish physiologist. He taught in U.S., Canadian, and Scottish universities, becoming noted for his work on carbohydrate metabolism. With Frederick Banting and Charles Best he discovered insulin, an achievement for which he and Banting shared a Nobel Prize in 1923.

Macmillan, Daniel and Alexander (respectively b. Sept. 13, 1813, Isle of Arran, Buteshire, Scot.—d. June 27, 1857, Cambridge, Cam¬ bridgeshire, Eng.; b. Oct. 3, 1818, Irvine, Ayrshire, Scot.—d. Jan. 26, 1896, London?) Scottish booksellers and publishers. Apprenticed to a bookseller in Scotland at age 11, Daniel worked for London booksellers from 1837 to 1843. In 1843 he and his brother Alexander founded Mac¬ millan & Co., a successful bookshop in Cambridge that began publish¬ ing textbooks in 1844 and novels in 1855. After Daniel’s death, Alexander expanded the firm’s list and founded Macmillan’s Magazine (1859-1907), a literary periodical, and from 1869 Nature, still a leading scientific jour¬ nal. He established offices abroad and published many important Victo¬ rian writers. Long led by Daniel’s descendants, the company grew into one of the largest publishing firms in the world.

Macmillan, Harold in full Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st earl of Stockton, Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden (b. Feb. 10, 1894, London, Eng.—d. Dec. 29, 1986, Birch Grove, Sussex) British prime minister (1957-63). He served in the House of Commons (1924-29, 1931-64) and held posts in Winston Churchill’s wartime coalition govern¬ ment. After the war he served as minister of housing (1951-54), minister of defense (1954), foreign secretary (1955), and chancellor of the Exche¬ quer (1955-57). In 1957 he became prime minister and leader of the Con¬ servative Party. He worked to improve relations with the U.S. and visited Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1959. Domestically, Macmillan sup¬ ported Britain’s postwar social programs. His government began to lose popularity in 1961 because of a wage freeze and other deflationary mea¬ sures and a Soviet espionage scandal involving John Profumo, secretary of state for war. He championed membership in the European Economic Com¬ munity, though Britain’s membership application was vetoed in 1963 by Charles de Gaulle. Demands for a new party leader led to his resignation in 1963. He wrote a series of memoirs (1966-75) and served as chair (1963— 74) of his family’s publishing house, Macmillan & Co.

MacMillan, Sir Kenneth (b. Dec. 11, 1929, Dunfermline, Fife, Scot.—d. Oct. 29, 1992, London, Eng.) British dancer and choreographer. After studies at the Sadler’s Wells ballet school, he danced with its bal¬ let companies from 1946. He cho¬ reographed his first work,

Somnambulism, in 1953 and fol¬ lowed that with Danses concertantes (1955). His ballet Romeo and Juliet (1965) made an international impact.

He was ballet director of the German Opera in Berlin (1966-69). In 1970 he was appointed director of the Royal Ballet; in 1977 he resigned to become its principal choreographer.

His other successful ballets included Anastasia (1971), Manon (1974), and Isadora (1981).

MacNeice, Louis (b. Sept. 12,

1907, Belfast, Ire.—d. Sept. 3, 1963,

London, Eng.) British poet and play¬ wright. He published his first book of poetry, Blind Fireworks (1929),

1162 I Macon ► Madagascar

while studying at Oxford. In the 1930s he became known as one of a group of socially committed young poets that included W.H. Auden, C. Day-Lewis, and Stephen Spender. His volumes include Autumn Journal (1939) and The Burning Perch (1963). He wrote and produced radio verse plays for the BBC, notably The Dark Tower (1947), with music by Ben¬ jamin Britten. Among his prose works are Letters from Iceland (1937; with Auden) and The Poetry ofW.B. Yeats (1941).

Macon Vma-ksnV City (pop., 2000: 97,255), central Georgia, U.S. A fort was built near the site, and in 1806 a settlement grew up around it. Macon was laid out across the river in 1823, and it annexed the settlement in 1829; the town was named for Nathaniel AAacon. During the American Civil War, it was a Confederate supply depot. A distribution centre in an agricultural region, it is the site of several institutions of higher learning and Robins Air Force Base, as well as the birthplace of the poet Sidney Lanier (1842-81).

Macon, Dave orig. David Harrison Macon (b. Oct. 7, 1870, Smart Station, Warren county, Tenn., U.S.—d. March 22, 1952, Readyville, Tenn.) U.S. country music singer and banjo player. He grew up in Nashville, where his parents ran a hotel that catered to traveling performers. He was in the mule business for 20 years; after the trucking industry put him out of business, he became a professional musician. Per¬ forming as Uncle Dave Macon, he entertained audiences with his jovial folk tunes, such as “Go Long Mule,” and energetic showmanship. He is considered the first individual to become a star of the Grand Ole Opry, and he was an Opry regular from the mid-1920s until his death.

Macon, Nathaniel (b. Dec. 17, 1758, Edgecombe, N.C.—d. June 29, 1837, Warren county, N.C., U.S.) U.S. politician. He fought in the Ameri¬ can Revolution and served in the North Carolina legislature (1781-85). Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (1791-1815), he served as speaker (1801-07) and was a leading Anti-Federalist. In the Senate (1815— 28) he continued to support states' rights and opposed legislation to strengthen the central government.

Macphail, Agnes Campbell (b. March 24, 1890, Grey county, Ont., Can.—d. Feb. 13, 1954, Toronto) Canadian politician. Originally a schoolteacher, she entered politics to represent the farmers in her region. In 1921, the first year women could vote in national elections in Canada, she was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as its first female member; she served until 1940. She advocated prison reform and wom¬ en’s rights as well as a protective tariff. She was the first female Canadian delegate to the League of Nations. Elected to the Ontario legislature (1943- 45, 1948-51), she sponsored the province’s first equal-pay legislation.

Macquarie \mo-'kwar-e\, Lachlan (b. Jan. 31, 1761, Ulva, Argyllshire, Scot.—d. July 1, 1824, London, Eng.) British soldier and colonial governor. He served with the British army in North America, Europe, the West Indies, and India; in 1809 he was appointed governor of New South Wales, Australia, where he replaced the corrupt military corps that had overthrown the previous governor, William Bligh. He began a program of public works construction and town planning that gave opportunities to Emancipists (freed convicts), established the colony’s currency, and encouraged exploration and settlement. His policy favour¬ ing Emancipist agriculture angered the large landowners and sheep farm¬ ers (Exclusionists), and he was recalled in 1821.

Macquarie Harbour \m9-'kwar-e\ Inlet of the Indian Ocean, west¬ ern Tasmania, Australia. It is 20 mi (32 km) long and 5 mi (8 km) wide. Visited in 1815 by Capt. James Kelly, it was named after Lachlan Mac¬ quarie, governor of New South Wales. Its coast was the site of a penal colony 1821-33.

Macready \m9-'kre-de\ / William (Charles) (b. March 3,1793, Lon¬ don, Eng.—d. April 27, 1873, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire) English actor-manager. He made his debut in 1810, and by 1820 he was famous for his performances as Hamlet, Lear, and Macbeth. As theatre manager of London’s Covent Garden (1837—39) and Drury Lane (1841^43), he introduced reforms such as full rehearsals, historically accurate costumes and sets, and a reversion to the original Shakespeare texts. He toured the U.S. in 1826, 1843, and 1848-49; his last tour ended with the Astor Place riot, caused by partisans of Edwin Forrest. He retired from the stage in 1851. His diary provides a view of 19th-century theatrical life.

macrobiotics Dietary practice based on the Chinese philosophy of bal¬ ancing yin and yang (see yin-yang). It stresses avoiding foods that are classified as strongly yin (e.g., alcoholic beverages) or yang (e.g., meat) and relying mainly on near-neutral foods such as grains. In addition, foods

that grow naturally in one’s climate should be the mainstay of one’s diet. Macrobiotics was first articulated in Asia in the 1930s and swept Europe and the U.S. in the late 1960s. Adherents maintain that not only can the quality of life be enhanced but that serious ailments such as cancer can be healed; critics counter that uninformed attempts to practice such a diet can lead to malnutrition.

macroeconomics Study of the entire economy in terms of the total amount of goods and services produced, total income earned, level of employment of productive resources, and general behaviour of prices. Until the 1930s, most economic analysis focused on specific firms and industries. The aftermath of the Great Depression and the development of national income and production statistics brought new interest to the field of macroeconomics. The goals of macroeconomic policy include economic growth, price stability, and full employment. See also microeconomics;

NATIONAL INCOME ACCOUNTING.

macromolecule Any very large molecule, composed of much larger numbers (hundreds or thousands) of atoms than ordinary molecules. Some macromolecules are individual entities that cannot be subdivided without losing their identity (e.g., certain proteins, with molecular weights into the millions). Others (polymers) are multiples of a repeating building block (monomer) in chains or networks (e.g., plastics, cellulose). Most macro¬ molecules are in the size range typical of colloids.

macular degeneration Degeneration of the macula (central part of the retina), with corresponding visual-field defect. It is the leading cause of blindness in old age. Probably due to reduced blood circulation, it is now known to have a genetic component. It is twice as common in smokers as in nonsmokers, and it is also correlated with lifelong sun exposure. Peripheral vision usually remains, but loss of central visual acuity makes reading or fine work difficult or impossible, even with special magnify¬ ing eyeglasses. Some forms of macular degeneration can be halted (but not reversed) by laser surgery.

Macumba Vmo-'kum-boX Afro-Brazilian religion characterized by the syncretism of traditional African religions, Brazilian spiritualism, and Roman Catholicism. Of the several Macumba sects in Brazil, the most important are Candomble and Umbanda. African elements include an outdoor cer¬ emonial site, the sacrifice of animals (e.g., cocks), spirit offerings (e.g., candles and flowers), and dances. Macumba rites are led by mediums, who fall prostrate in trances and communicate with holy spirits. Roman Catholic elements include the cross and the worship of saints, who are given African names.

Macy & Co. in full R.H. Macy & Co., Inc. Major U.S. department- store chain. Its main outlet, the 11-story store that occupies a city block in New York City’s Herald Square, was for many years the largest single store in the country. Rowland H. Macy (18227-1877) established the business in 1858; its red star trademark was derived from a tattoo he bore. The Straus family acquired part interest in the company in 1887, took full control in 1896, and expanded the business by purchasing or building branch stores around the country. Forced into bankruptcy in 1992, Macy’s agreed to a merger with Federated Department Stores, Inc. in 1994.

mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) Vspon-ji-.form-in-.-sef-o-Tap-o-theN Fatal neurodegenerative dis¬ ease of cattle. Symptoms include behavioral changes (e.g., agitation), gradual loss of coordination and locomotive function, and, in advanced stages, weight loss, fine muscular contractions, and abnormal gait. Brain tissue becomes pitted with holes and spongy. Death usually follows within a year. The disease is similar to the neurodegenerative disease of sheep called scrapie. No treatment is known. A BSE epidemic in Britain that began in the mid-1980s is believed to have been caused by the use of cattle feed containing supplements made from ruminant carcasses and trimmings. Hundreds of thousands of infected cattle were slaughtered and the use of animal-derived protein supplements ended. The cause of both BSE and scrapie is attributed to an infectious aberrant protein called a prion. The unusual occurrence of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, another prion- related illness, in young people beginning in the mid-1990s may be linked to eating meat from cattle with BSE.

Madagascar officially Republic of Madagascar Country, occu¬ pying the island of Madagascar, in the western Indian Ocean off the south¬ east coast of Africa. The island is the world’s fourth largest, about 975 mi (1,570 km) long and 355 mi (570 km) wide. It is separated from the Afri¬ can coast by the Mozambique Channel. Area: 226,658 sq mi (587,041 sq

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km). Population (2005 est.): 18,606,000.

Capital: Antananarivo. Almost all of the population belongs to about 20 Malayo- Indonesian groups. Languages: Malagasy,

French. Religions: Christianity (Protes¬ tant, Roman Catholic), traditional beliefs, Islam. Currency: ariary. Mada¬ gascar’s high central plateau rises to 9,436 ft (2,876 m) at the volcanic Tsaratanana massif; the island was once heavily forested, and forests still cover one-fifth of the land area. Agriculture dominates the economy; staple crops include rice and cassava, and cash crops include coffee, cloves, and vanilla. Madagascar is a republic with two legislative houses; its chief of state and head of government is the president, assisted by the prime minister. Indonesians migrated to Madagascar c. ad 700. The first European to visit the island was Portuguese navigator Diogo Dias in 1500. Trade in arms and slaves allowed the Malagasy kingdoms to develop at the beginning of the 17th century. In the 18th century the Merina kingdom became dominant; with British assistance, it gained control of a large part of Madagascar in the early 19th century. In 1868 Merina signed a treaty granting France commercial access to the northwestern coast, and in 1895 French troops took the island. Madagascar became a French overseas ter¬ ritory in 1946. In 1958 France agreed to let the territory decide its own fate; as the Malagasy Republic, it gained independence in 1960 and sev¬ ered ties with France in the 1970s, taking its present name in 1975. A new constitution was adopted in 1998.

Madani \'ma-da-ne\, Abbasi al- (b. 1931, Sid! TJqbah, Alg.) Cofounder, with Ali Belhadj, of the Algerian Islamic Salvation Front (FIS). After earning a doctorate in London, he returned to Algeria to teach at the University of Algiers, where he became a leader of religious students. He traveled with other itinerant preachers around the country, exchanging ideas and preaching the outlines of a religious political movement. He was arrested after the first round of voting in the 1991-92 legislative elections. In 1999 he endorsed a peace agreement put forward by Algeria’s presi¬ dent, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, between the FIS and the Algerian government.

Madariaga y Rojo ^ma-do-re-'a-go-e-'ro-hoV Salvador de (b.

July 23, 1886, La Coruna, Spain—d. Dec. 14, 1978, Locarno, Switz.) Spanish writer, diplomat, and historian. Abandoning an engineering career for journalism, he joined the League of Nations Secretariat in 1921 as a press member, served as ambassador to the U.S. and France, and was Spain’s permanent delegate to the League (1931-36). When the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, he moved to England, returning only after Francisco Franco’s death. He wrote prolifically in English, German, French, and Spanish, his works including Englishmen, Frenchmen, Span¬ iards (1928), Spain (1942), The Rise and Fall of the Spanish American Empire (1945), and novels based on Latin American history.

madder family Family Rubiaceae, composed of about 6,500 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees in 500 genera. The leaves usually are large and evergreen in tropical species, deciduous in temperate species, and needle¬ like or scalelike in desert species. The plants may bear a single flower or many small flowers clustered together. Economically important products of the family include coffee, quinine, ipecac, the red dye alizarin (from the roots of common madder, Rubia tinctorum, and of R. cordifolia), and ornamentals including gardenias.

Madderakka \'mad-da-,rah-ka\ Among the Sami, the goddess of child¬ birth. She was assisted by three of her daughters—Sarakka, the cleaving woman; Uksakka, the door woman; and Juksakka, the bow woman—who watched over the child from conception through early childhood. Mad¬ derakka was believed to receive the soul of a child from Veralden-radien, the god who ruled the world; she then gave it a body, which Sarakka placed in the mother’s womb.

Maddux, Greg in full Gregory Alan Maddux (b. April 14,1966, San Angelo, Texas, U.S.) U.S. baseball player. Maddux was a star pitcher in high school and was drafted and brought up to the major leagues by the Chicago Cubs (1986-92). He joined the Atlanta Braves in 1993 as a free agent and helped them win the World Series in 1995. Known for his superior control and consistency, Maddux is the only pitcher ever to win the Cy Young pitching award four years in a row (1992-95). He rejoined the Cubs in 2004.

Madeira \ma-'dar-9\ Islands Island group (pop., 2001 prelim.: 242,603) and autonomous region of Portugal, in the North Atlantic Ocean. Madeira, the largest of the Madeira Islands, is the site of the region’s capital, Funchal. Madeira Island is 34 mi (55 km) long and 14 mi (22 km) wide and has deep ravines and rugged mountains. Possibly known to ancient Phoenicians, it was rediscovered by the Portuguese navigator Joao Gonsalves Zarco, who founded Funchal in 1421. It allegedly had the world’s first sugarcane plantation. Its Madeira wine has been an impor¬ tant export since the 17th century. Tourism is also important.

Madeira River River, western Brazil. A major tributary of the Ama¬ zon River, it is formed by the junction of the Mamore and Beni rivers in Bolivia and flows north along the border between Bolivia and Brazil. It meanders northeast in Brazil to join the Amazon east of Manaus. Mea¬ sured from the upper reaches of the Mamore, it is 2,082 mi (3,352 km) long.

Madero \m9-'der-o\, Francisco (Indalecio) (b. Oct. 30, 1873, Par¬ ras, Mex.—d. Feb. 22, 1913, Mexico City) Mexican revolutionary and president (1911-13). Son of a wealthy landowner, in 1908 he called for honest, participatory elections and an end to the long dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz. Jailed for sedition but released on bail, he incited an armed insurrection that led to Diaz’s resignation. He was elected president in 1911. Handicapped by political inexperience and excessive idealism, he was quickly overwhelmed by conflicting pressures from conserva¬ tives and revolutionaries, and his administration ended in personal and national disaster when he was assas¬ sinated in 1913. See also Mexican Revolution; Pancho Villa; Emiliano Zapata.

Madhya Pradesh Vma-dyo-pro-'daslA State (pop., 2001 prelim.: 60,385,118), central India. It is bordered by the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. Occupying an area of 119,016 sq mi (308,252 sq km), it is India’s second largest state. Its capi¬ tal is Bhopal. It is the source of some of the most important rivers of India, including the Narmada, the Tapi, the Mahanadi, and the Wainganga. It was part of the Mauryan empire of the 4th-3rd centuries bc and was ruled by numerous other dynasties. Under Islamic control from the 11th century, it was annexed by the Mughal Empire in the 16th century. It was under Maratha rule by 1760 and passed to the British early in the 19th century. The state was formed after India gained its independence in 1947; its boundaries were altered in 1956. In 2000 the eastern portion of the state

Francisco Madero, c. 1910.

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1164 I Madhyamika > Madura

was made into the new state of Chhattisgarh. Though Madhya Pradesh is rich in mineral resources, its economic mainstay is agriculture.

Madhyamika Vmad-'yo-mi-koV School in the Mahayana Buddhist tra¬ dition. Its name means “middle” and derives from its middle position between the realism of the Sarvastivada school and the idealism of the Yogacara school. The most renowned Madhyamika thinker was Nagar- JUNA.

Madison City (pop., 2000: 208,054), capital of Wisconsin, U.S. It is located in the south-central part of the state, on an isthmus between Lakes Mendota and Monona. Founded in 1836 and named for James Madison, it became the capital of Wisconsin Territory the same year. It was incorpo¬ rated as a village in 1846 and as a city in 1856. Steady development fol¬ lowed the 1854 arrival of the railroad. Noted for its parks and wooded lakeshore, it is the commercial centre of an agricultural region. Educa¬ tional and governmental services are economically important; it is the seat of the University of Wisconsin’s main campus.

Madison, James (b. March 16, 1751, Port Conway, Va.—d. June 28, 1836, Montpelier, Va., U.S.) Fourth president of the U.S. (1809-17). After graduating from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), he served in the Virginia state legislature (1776-80, 1784-86). At the Constitutional Convention (1787), his Virginia, or large-state. Plan fur¬ nished the Constitution’s basic framework and guiding principles, earn¬ ing him the title “father of the Constitution.” To promote its ratification, he collaborated with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay on the Federalist papers, a series of articles on the Constitution and republican government published in newspapers in 1787-88 (Madison wrote 29 of the 85 articles). In the U.S. House of Representatives (1789-97), he sponsored the Bill of Rights. He split with Hamilton over the existence of an implied congressional power to create a national bank; Madison denied such a power, though later, as president, he requested a national bank from Con¬ gress. In protest of the Alien and Sedition Acts, he drafted one of the Vir¬ ginia and Kentucky Resolutions in 1798 (Thomas Jefferson drafted the other). From 1801 to 1809 he was Jefferson’s secretary of state. Elected presi¬ dent in 1808, he immediately faced the problem of British interference with neutral U.S. merchant vessels, which Jefferson’s Embargo Act (1807) had failed to discourage. Believing that Britain was bent on permanent suppression of American commerce, Madison proclaimed nonintercourse with Britain in 1810 and signed a declaration of war in 1812. During the ensuing War of 1 81 2 (1812-14), Madison and his family were forced to flee Washington, D.C., as advancing British troops burned the executive mansion and other public buildings. During Madison’s second term (1813-17) the second Bank of the United States was chartered and the first U.S. protective tariff was imposed. He retired to his Virginia estate, Mont¬ pelier, with his wife, Dolley (1768-1849), whose political acumen he had long prized. He participated in Jefferson’s creation of the University of Virginia, later serving as its rector (1826-36), and produced numerous articles and letters on political topics.

Madonna In Christian art, a depiction of the Virgin Mary.

Though often shown with the infant Jesus, the Madonna (Italian: “My lady”) may also be represented alone. Byzantine art was the first to develop a set of Madonna types—the Madonna and child enthroned, the Madonna as intercessor, the Madonna nursing the child, and so on. Western art adapted and added to the Byzantine types during the Middle Ages, producing images of the Virgin that sought to inspire piety through beauty and tenderness. In the Renaissance and Baroque peri¬ ods, the most popular image of the Madonna foreshadowed the crucifix¬ ion, showing the Virgin looking gravely away from the playful child.

Madonna orig. Madonna Louise Ciccone (b.Aug. 16,1958,

Bay City, Mich., U.S.) U.S. pop singer, songwriter, and actress. She

studied dance at the University of Michigan and later with Martha Gra¬ ham and Alvin Ailey. Her first hit single, “Holiday” (1983), forged an upbeat dance-club sound that sold 70 million albums by 1991, including Like a Virgin (1984). In music videos and in concert, she captivated fans and scandalized critics with provocatively sexual showmanship. Ever atop the latest trend, she incorporated TECHNO in Music (2000). Her films include Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Dick Tracy (1990), and Evita (1996). Few female entertainers have attained her levels of power and control in the pop music industry.

Madras See Chennai Madras See Tamil Nadu

madrasah Vmad-ro-soV (Arabic: “school”) Islamic theological semi¬ nary and law school attached to a mosque. The residential madrasah was a newer building form than the mosque, flourishing in most Muslim cit¬ ies by the end of the 12th century. The Syrian madrasahs in Damascus tended to follow a standardized plan: An elaborate facade led into a domed hallway and then into a courtyard where instruction took place, with at least one eyvan (vaulted hall) opening onto it. The madrasah at the Qalaun Mosque in Cairo (1283-85) has a unique cruciform eyvan on the richly carved qibla (wall facing Mecca) side and a smaller eyvan opposite. Resi¬ dential cells for scholars occupy the other two sides.

Madre, Laguna Long narrow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico along the shore of southern Texas, U.S., and northeastern Mexico. Sheltered from the gulf by bander islands, including Padre Island, it is divided into two sections by the delta of the Rio Grande; the U.S. portion extends south for 120 mi (190 km) from Corpus Christi Bay, and the Mexican portion extends north for 100 mi (160 km) from the mouth of the Soto la Marina River. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway runs through it.

Madre de Dios River River, southeastern Peru and northwestern Bolivia. It rises in the easternmost range of the Andes Mountains, in Peru, and flows east to the Bolivian border. There it turns northeast and crosses the tropical rainforest of northwestern Bolivia, joining the Beni River after a course of more than 700 mi (1,100 km). A tributary of the Amazon River, it is navigable in its upper course and again below the Peru-Bolivia border.

Madrid City (pop., 2001: city, 2,938,723; metro, area, 5,086,635), capi¬ tal of Spain and of Madrid autonomous community. Located on the cen¬ tral plateau of the Iberian Peninsula, 2,100 ft (635 m) above sea level, it is one of Europe’s highest capitals. The original town grew up around the Moorish alcazar (castle), overlooking the Manzanares River. King Alfonso VI captured the town from the Muslims in 1083. Philip II moved the Spanish court to Madrid in 1561, and in 1607 Philip III made it the official capital. It was occupied by French troops during the Napoleonic Wars but returned to Spanish control in 1812. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), Madrid was held by those loyal to the Republic. Spain’s principal transportation centre for the interior provinces, it is an impor¬ tant commercial, industrial, and cultural centre. Major institutions include the Prado Museum and the University of Madrid.

Madrid \ma-'threth,\ English \mo-'drid\ Autonomous community (pop., 2001: 5,423,384), central Spain. It occupies an area of 3,100 sq mi (8,028 sq km), and its capital is Madrid. The province extends across the south¬ ern slopes of the Guadarrama Mountains and roughly coincides with the region drained by the Jarama, Henares, and Manzanares rivers. It was the scene of several decisive battles during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). All the national railways converge in the province. The Somo Mountain Pass provides access to the northeast through the central mountains.

madrigal Form of vocal chamber music, usually polyphonic and unac¬ companied, of the 16th— 17th centuries. It originated and developed in Italy, under the influence of the French chanson and the Italian frottola. Usually written for three to six voices, madrigals came to be sung widely as a social activity by cultivated amateurs, male and female. The texts were almost always about love; most prominent among the poets whose works were set to music are Petrarch, Torquato Tasso, and Battista Guarini. In Italy, Orlande de Lassus, Luca Marenzio, Don Carlo Gesualdo, and Clau¬ dio Monteverdi were among the greatest of the madrigalists; Thomas Mor- ley, Thomas Weelkes, and John Wilbye created a distinguished body of English madrigals.

Madura \ma-'dur-3\ Dutch Madoera Island, Jawa Timur province, Indonesia, off northeastern Java. Its capital is Pamekasan. With an area of 2,042 sq mi (5,290 sq km), it has a hilly terrain rising to more than

The Grand-Duke's Madonna, oil paint¬ ing by Raphael, 1505; in the Pitti Pal¬ ace, Florence.

SCALA/ART RESOURCE, NEW YORK

Maeander River ► magazine I 1165

1,400 ft (430 m) in the east. Dutch influence was established in the late 17th century. Madura was attached to Java as a residency in 1885 and became part of Indonesia in 1949. Bull races, usually held in September, attract huge crowds.

Maeander River See Menderes River

Maecenas Xmi-'se-nosV Gaius (Cilnius) (b. c. 70—d. 8 bc) Roman diplomat and literary patron. He claimed descent from Etruscan kings. Though highly influential in the state, he held no title, nor did he wish to be a senator. From 43 on he helped Octavian (later Augustus) diplomatically and domestically, administering Rome and Italy while Octavian was fighting Pompeius in 36 and Mark Antony in 31. He is best remembered as the generous patron of such writers as Virgil, Horace, and Propertius; he used the work of such literati to glorify Augustus’s regime.

In 23, after the discovery of his brother-in-law’s conspiracy against Augustus, he was forced to retire.

Maekawa \,ma-a-'ka-wa\ Kunio (b. May 14, 1905, Niigata-shi,

Japan—d. June 27, 1986, Tokyo)

Japanese architect. Maekawa worked as a drafter for Le Corbusier in Paris and for Antonin Raymond in Tokyo. In early works, such as Hina- moto Hall (1936) and the Dairen Town Hall (1938), he tried to coun¬ teract the pompous style of the Japa¬ nese imperialist regime. In the 1950s he continued to work primarily in the Brutalist style of Le Corbusier (see Brutalism). Buildings such as the Educational Centre in Fukushima (1955) and the Harumi flats and the Setagaya Community Centre, both in Tokyo (1959), reflect his efforts to use concrete in a manner appropriate to the material. His community cen¬ tres influenced Tange Kenzo, who started out in Maekawa’s office.

maenads and bacchantes Vme- I nadz...b3- , kants, bo-kan-tez\ Female followers of the Greek wine-god Dionysus. The word maenad comes from the Greek, meaning “mad” or “demented.” During the orgi¬ astic rites of Dionysus, maenads roamed the mountains and forests per¬ forming frenzied, ecstatic dances, and were believed to be possessed by the god. While under his influence they were supposed to have unusual strength; it was said they could tear animals or people to pieces (the fate met by Orpheus). As bacchantes they were named for Bacchus, the Roman counterpart of Dionysus.

Maes VmasV Nicolaes (b. 1634, Dordrecht, Neth.—d. Nov. 24, 1693, Amsterdam) Dutch painter. A native of Dordrecht, he went to Amsterdam c. 1650 to study with Rembrandt, from whom he learned the Baroque style. Before his return to Dordrecht in 1653 he painted a few life-size Rem- brandtesque genre scenes. From 1655 to 1660 he painted smaller domes¬ tic scenes, usually of women spinning, eavesdropping, reading the Bible, or cooking. In 1673 he moved permanently to Amsterdam and devoted himself to portraiture, abandoning intimacy and the deep glowing colours characteristic of Rembrandt for elegance and cooler tones reminiscent of Anthony Van Dyck. He was a prolific painter, and he achieved great suc¬ cess with his portraits.

Maeterlinck Vma-tor-.liqkV Maurice (Polydore-Marie- Bernard) later Comte Maeterlinck (b. Aug. 29, 1862, Ghent, Belg.—d. May 6, 1949, Nice, France) Belgian playwright and poet. He studied law in Ghent but soon turned to writing poems and plays. His Pelleas et Melisande (1892), considered the masterpiece of Symbolist drama (see Symbolist movement), was the basis of Claude Debussy’s opera (1902). In his Symbolist plays, Maeterlinck used poetic speech, gesture, lighting, setting, and ritual to create images that reflect his protagonists’ moods and dilemmas. His other writings include a collection of Symbol¬ ist poems (. Hothouses , 1899) and plays such as Monna Vanna (1902), The

Blue Bird (1908), and The Burgomaster ofStilmonde (1918). He was also noted for his popular treatments of scientific subjects, including The Life of the Bee (1901) and The Intelligence of Flowers (1907). Maeterlinck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1911.

Maffei \ma-'fa\ I and II Two galaxies relatively close to the Milky Way Galaxy, first detected in the late 1960s by the Italian astronomer Paolo Maffei. Maffei I is a large elliptical galaxy, while Maffei II is a spiral gal¬ axy. Though they are large and nearby, they are hidden in the Milky Way’s zone of avoidance. At a distance of about 10 million light-years, they appear to be major members of one of the nearest galaxy groups outside the Local Group.

Mafia Society of criminals of primarily Italian or Sicilian origin. The Mafia arose in Sicily in the late Middle Ages, possibly as a secret orga¬ nization to overthrow the rule of foreign conquerors. It drew its members from the small private armies, or mafie, hired by landlords to protect their estates. By 1900 the Mafia “families” of western Sicily controlled their local economies. In the 1920s Benito Mussolini jailed most of the members, but they were released by the Allies after World War II and resumed their activities. In the 1970s their control of the heroin trade led to fierce rivalry among the clans, followed in the 1980s by renewed governmental efforts to imprison the Mafia leadership. In the U.S., Sicilian immigrants included former Mafia members who set up similar criminal operations. Their operations expanded from bootlegging in the 1920s to gambling, narcot¬ ics, and prostitution, and the Mafia, or Cosa Nostra, became the largest U.S. syndicated crime organization. About 24 Mafia groups or “families” controlled operations in the U.S.; the heads (or “dons”) of the largest fami¬ lies formed a commission whose main function was judicial and could override a don’s authority. At the beginning of the 21st century the Mafia’s power was greatly diminished through convictions of top officials, defec¬ tions, and murderous internal disputes. See also organized crime.

mafic Vma-fik\ rock In geology, any igneous rock dominated by the silicates pyroxene, amphibole, olivine, and mica. These minerals are high in magnesium and ferrous iron, and their presence gives mafic rock its characteristic dark colour. It is usually contrasted with felsic rock. Com¬ mon mafic rocks include basalt and gabbro.

Mafikeng Vma-fo-.kiqV Siege of Boer siege of a British military out¬ post in the South African War at the town of Mafikeng (until 1980 spelled Mafeking) in northwestern South Africa in 1899-1900. The garrison, under the command of Col. Robert S. Baden-Powell, held out against the larger Boer force for 217 days until reinforcements could arrive. The rejoicing in British cities on news of the rescue produced the word maf¬ ficking, meaning wild rejoicing.

Magadha Vmo-go-doV Ancient kingdom, India, situated in present-day Bihar and Jharkhand states, northeastern India. An important kingdom in the 7th century bc, it absorbed the kingdom of Anga in the 6th century bc. Pataliputra (Patna) was its capital. Its strength grew under the Nanda dynasty; under the Mauryan dynasty (4th-2nd centuries bc), it comprised nearly the entire Indian subcontinent. It afterwards declined. Revived in the 4th century ad under the Gupta dynasty, it was conquered by the Mus¬ lims in the late 12th century. It was the scene of many events in the life of the Buddha.

Magadi \ma-'ga-de\, Lake Lake, Great Rift Valley, southern Kenya, east of Lake Victoria. It occupies an area of about 40 sq mi (104 sq km). Its bed consists almost entirely of soda deposits, which dye the waters a vivid pink.

magazine or periodical Printed collection of texts (essays, articles, stories, poems), often illustrated, that is produced at regular intervals. Modem magazines have roots in early printed pamphlets, broadsides, chapbooks, and almanacs. One of the first magazines was the German Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen (“Edifying Monthly Discussions”), issued from 1663 to 1668. In the early 18th century Joseph Addison and Richard Steele brought out the influential periodicals The Tatler and The Spectator; other critical reviews began in the mid 1700s. By the 19th cen¬ tury, magazines catering to specialized audiences had developed, includ¬ ing the women’s weekly, the religious and missionary review, and the illustrated magazine. One of the greatest benefits to magazine publishing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the addition of advertise¬ ments as a means of financial support. Subsequent developments included more illustrations and vastly greater specialization. With the computer age, magazines (“e-zines”) also became available over the Internet.

Gaius Maecenas, marble bust; in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome

AUNARI—ART RESOURCE/EB INC.

1166 I Magdalen Islands ► magic

Magdalen Ymag-ds-tanX Islands French Ties de la Madeleine

X.el-do-lo-mad-TenX Island group of eastern Quebec, Canada. Located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence between Prince Edward Island and Newfound¬ land, the group comprises several islands and islets, with a total area of 88 sq mi (228 sq km). The largest include Havre-Aubert (Amherst) and Cap aux Meules (Grindstone). Discovered by Jacques Cartier in 1534, the islands are inhabited mainly by French Canadians.

Magdalena ^mag-do-'la-noX River River, south-central and northern Colombia. It rises on the eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains in south¬ ern Colombia and flows northward for about 950 mi (1,530 km) to empty into the Caribbean Sea near Barranquilla. It has been a major commer¬ cial artery since the Spanish conquest, though its importance has dimin¬ ished.

Magdalenian V.mag-do-'le-ne-onX culture Stone-tool industry and artistic tradition of Upper Paleolithic Europe. It was named after the type site, La Madeleine in southwestern France. The Magdalenians lived some 11,000-17,000 years ago, at a time when reindeer, wild horses, and bison formed large herds. They appear to have lived a semi-settled life sur¬ rounded by abundant food. They killed animals with spears, snares, and traps and lived in caves, rock shelters, and tents. Magdalenian stone tools include blades, burins (chisel-like tools), scrapers, borers, and projectile points. Their bone tools—often engraved with animal images—include adzes, hammers, spearheads, harpoons, and eyed needles. Cave art in the early period is characterized by coarse black drawings, while that of the later period includes beautifully rendered realistic figures in polychrome, such as those at Altamira, Spain. Magdalenian culture disappeared as the climate warmed at the end of the fourth (Wiirm) glacial period (c. 10,000 bc) and herd animals became scarce.

Magdeburg Vmag-do-.burkV City (pop., 2002 est.: 229,755), capital of Saxony-Anhalt state, east-central Germany. Located on the Elbe River, it was a trading settlement as early as the 9th century, and by the 13th cen¬ tury it was a leading member of the Hanseatic League. It embraced the Reformation in 1524 and was governed by Protestant titular archbishops. In 1631, during the Thirty Years' War, it was burned and sacked. Captured by the French during the Napoleonic Wars, it soon passed to the Prus¬ sians, and in 1815 it became the capital of the province of Saxony. It was heavily bombed during World War II. One of Germany’s most important inland ports, it is a railroad junction. The composer Georg Philipp Telemann

The cathedral at Magdeburg, Germany.

W. KRAMMISCH/BRUCE COLEMAN INC.

Magellan Xmo-'jel-onV Ferdinand Portuguese Fernao de Magalhaes Spanish Fernando de Magallanes (b. c. 1480, Sab- rosa, or Porto?, Port.—d. April 27, 1521, Mactan, Phil.) Portuguese navi¬ gator and explorer. Born to the nobility, Magellan from 1505 served in expeditions to the East Indies and Africa. Having twice asked King Man¬ uel I for a higher rank and been refused, he went to Spain in 1517 and offered his services to King Charles I (later Emperor Charles V), propos¬ ing to sail west to the Moluccas (Spice Islands) to prove that they lay in Spanish rather than Portuguese territory. In 1519 he left Sevilla with five ships and 270 men. He sailed around South America, quelling a mutiny on the way, and discovered the Strait of Magellan. With three ships left,

Magellan crossed the “Sea of the South,” which he later called the Pacific Ocean because of their calm crossing. He was killed by natives in the Philippines, but two of his ships reached the Moluccas, and one, the Vic¬ toria , commanded by Juan de Elcano (14767-1526), continued west to Spain, accomplishing the first circumnavigation of the world in 1522.

Magellan, Strait of Spanish Estrecho de Magallanes

Va-'stra-cho-tha-.ma-ga-'lya-nasV Strait, linking the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean, between the southern tip of South America and Tierra del Fuego. It extends westward from the Atlantic between Cape VTrgenes and Cape Espfritu Santo and curves northwest at Froward Cape to reach the Pacific. Lying mostly within Chilean territorial waters, it is about 350 mi (560 km) long and 2-20 mi (3-32 km) wide. Named for Spanish navi¬ gator Ferdinand Magellan, the first European to pass there (1520), it remained an important shipping route until the Panama Canal opened in

Magellanic \,ma-j3-Ta-nik\ Cloud Either of two irregular companion galaxies of the Milky Way Galaxy, named for Ferdinand Magellan, whose crew discovered them during the first voyage around the world. They share a gaseous envelope and lie about 22° apart in the sky near the southern celestial pole (see celestial sphere). They are visible to the unaided eye in the Southern Hemisphere but cannot be seen from northern lati¬ tudes. The Large Magellanic Cloud is more than 150,000 light-years from Earth; the Small Magellanic Cloud is roughly 200,000 light-years away. They are excellent laboratories for the study of the formation and evolu¬ tion of STARS.

Magenta Nmo-'jen-toV, Battle of (June 4, 1859) Battle fought during the Franco-Piedmontese war against the Austrians (second War of Italian Independence) in Lombardy, northern Italy. The narrow French victory over the Austrians was an important step toward Italian independence, leading many districts and cities to throw off Austrian rule and join the cause of Italian unity.

Maggiore \ma-'jo-ra. Lake ancient Lacus Verbanus Lake, north¬ ern Italy and southern Switzerland, bordered on the north by the Swiss Alps. Occupying an area of 82 sq mi (212 sq km), it is Italy’s second larg¬ est lake. It is 34 mi (54 km) long, with a maximum width of 7 mi (11 km) and a maximum depth of 1,220 ft (372 m). Traversed from north to south by the Ticino River, it is also fed by the Tresa River from Lake Lugano on the east. It is a popular resort area.

Magherafelt Vma-kro-'fehA District (pop., 2001: 39,780), central Northern Ireland. It is bounded by the River Bann, Lake Neaghon, and the Sperrin Mountains. It was formerly part of County Londonderry but was organized as a separate district in 1973. The town of Magherafelt, originally settled as an English company (Plantation of Ulster) town, is the seat of the district and its marketing centre.

Maghrib Vms-grobV or Maghreb Region of North Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It comprises the coastal plains of Morocco, Alge¬ ria, Tunisia, and, often, Libya. In earlier times the term sometimes included parts of Muslim Spain. During Roman times the region was called Africa Minor, but, following the Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries, it came to be known as the Maghrib (“West”) inasmuch as it comprised the most westerly reaches of the Muslim world. The region has since developed its own unique culture within the larger Islamic world. Berbers and Arabs are the two main ethnic groups. Arabic is the predominant language. Berber and French are also widely spoken.

Magi \'ma-jl\ In Christian tradition, wise men from the East who came to pay homage to the infant Jesus. According to Matthew 2:1-12, they followed a miraculous guiding star to Bethlehem and brought gifts of “gold and frankincense and myrrh.” Herod asked them to report the location of Jesus’ birth on their return journey, but an angel warned them of his evil intentions. In later Christian tradition they were said to be kings and were given the names Melchior, Balthasar, and Gaspar. Their visit was seen as evidence that the Gentiles as well as the Jews would worship Jesus, and it is celebrated in the feast of Ephiphany. See also magus. See photograph on opposite page.

magic Use of means (such as charms or spells) believed to have super¬ natural power over natural forces. It constitutes the core of many reli¬ gious systems and plays a central social role in many nonliterate cultures. Magic is often distinguished from religion as being more impersonal and mechanical and emphasizing technique. Its techniques are usually regarded as means to specific ends (an enemy’s defeat, rainfall, etc.).

magic realism ► magnet I 1167

although another view ascribes a more symbolic, expressive character to such activity. Thus, a rainmaking ritual may both elicit rainfall and stress the symbolic importance of rain and the agricultural activities associated with it. Both the magician and the magical rite are typically surrounded by taboos, purification procedures, and other activities that draw the par¬ ticipants into the magical sphere. Strains of magic in Western tradition, formerly associated with heretics, alchemists, witches, and sorcerers, per¬ sist in modem times in the activities of satanists and others. The art of entertaining by performing apparently magical feats (sometimes called conjuring) relies on the use of sleight of hand and other means. See also SHAMAN, VODUN, WITCHCRAFT AND SORCERY.

magic realism or magical realism Latin-American literary phe¬ nomenon characterized by the matter-of-fact incoiporation of fantastic or mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction. The term was first applied to literature in the 1940s by the Cuban novelist Alejo Carpentier (1904-1980), who recognized the tendency of his region’s contemporary storytellers as well as contemporary novelists to illuminate the mundane by means of the fabulous. Prominent practitioners include Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jorge Amado, Jorge Luis Borges, Miguel Angel Asturias, Julio Cortazar, and Isabel Allende (born 1942). The term has been applied to literature and art outside of Latin America as well.

magic show See conjuring

Maginot \ma-zhe-'no\, Andre (-Louis-Rene) (b. Feb. 17, 1877, Paris, France—d. Jan. 7, 1932, Paris) French politician. He was elected to the French Chamber of Deputies (1910) and fought in World War I, where he was severely wounded. He twice served as France’s minister of war (1922-24, 1929-31) and was a strong advocate of military prepared¬ ness against Germany. He directed the beginning of construction of the defensive barrier in northeastern France that was later named the Magi¬ not Line in his honour.

Maginot Line \ , ma-zho- l no\ Elaborate defensive barrier in northeast¬ ern France built in the 1930s. Named after its principal creator, Andre Maginot, it was an ultramodern defensive fortification along the French- German frontier. Made of thick concrete and supplied with heavy guns, it had living quarters, supply storehouses, and underground rail lines. However, it ended at the French-Belgian frontier, which German forces crossed in May 1940. They invaded Belgium (May 10), crossed the Somme River, struck at the northern end of the line (May 12), and con¬ tinued around to its rear, making it useless.

magistrates' court In England and Wales, any of the inferior courts with primarily criminal jurisdiction covering a wide range of offenses, from minor traffic violations and public-health nuisances to somewhat more serious crimes, such as petty theft or assault. Magistrates’ courts

The Adoration of the Magi, oil painting by Albrecht Purer, 1504; in the Uffizi, Flo¬

rence.

SCALA/ART RESOURCE, NEW VORK

with similar jurisdictions, including jurisdiction over small civil claims, may be found in certain large U.S. municipalities.

magma Molten or partially molten rock from which igneous rocks form, usually consisting of silicate liquid. Magma migrates either at depth or to the Earth’s surface, where it is ejected as lava. The interactions of sev¬ eral physical properties, including chemical composition, viscosity, con¬ tent of dissolved gases, and temperature, determine the characteristics of magma. Numerous events that can occur during crystallization influence the resulting rock: separation of early crystals from liquid prevents reac¬ tion between them; magma can cool too rapidly for reaction to occur; and loss of volatiles may remove some components from the magma.

Magna Carta (Latin: “Great Charter”) Document guaranteeing English political liberties, drafted at Runnymede, a meadow by the Thames, and signed by King John in 1215 under pressure from his rebel¬ lious barons. Resentful of the king’s high taxes and aware of his waning power, the barons were encouraged by the archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, to demand a solemn grant of their rights. Among the charter’s provisions were clauses providing for a free church, reforming law and justice, and controlling the behavior of royal officials. It was reis¬ sued with alterations in 1216, 1217, and 1225. Though it reflects the feu¬ dal order rather than democracy, the Magna Carta is traditionally regarded as the foundation of British constitutionalism.

Magna Graecia Vmag-no-'gre-shoV Latin "Great Greece" Group of ancient Greek cities along the coast of southern Italy. Euboeans founded the first colonies, including Cumae, c. 750 bc, and subsequently Spartans settled at Tarentum (Taranto); Achaeans at Metapontum, Syba- ris, and Croton; Locrians at Locri Epizephyrii; and Chalcidians at Rhegium (Reggio di Calabria). It was a busy commercial centre as well as the seat of the Pythagorean and Eleatic systems of philosophy. After the 5th cen¬ tury bc, most of the cities declined in importance.

Magnani \man-'ya-ne\, Anna (b. March 7, 1908, Rome, Italy—d. Sept. 26, 1973, Rome) Italian film actress. An illegitimate child brought up in poverty, she became a nightclub singer noted for her bawdy street songs. After acting in a touring company, she made her film debut in The Blind Woman of Sorrento (1934). She earned international fame for her role in Roberto Rossellini’s Open City (1945). She became known for her forceful portrayals of earthy, working-class women in films such as The Miracle (1948), Bellissima (1951), The Rose Tattoo (1955, Academy Award), The Fugitive Kind (1960), and Mamma Roma (1962).

Magnes Vmag-nosX, Judah Leon (b. July 5, 1877, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.—d. Oct. 27, 1948, New York, N.Y.) U.S.-born Israeli educa¬ tor and religious leader. Ordained as a rabbi in 1900, he earned a doctor¬ ate at the University of Heidelberg in 1902. Serving as rabbi for three congregations in New York, he moved from Reform to Orthodox Juda¬ ism and became a Zionist. He drifted away from Zionism during World War I, preferring relief efforts for Jews in Palestine over political activ¬ ism. After the war he became the principal founder and first president (1935-48) of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, working to advance Arab- Jewish reconciliation and advocating a binational Arab-Jewish state.

Magnesia ad Sipylum Vmag-'ne-zho-ad-'si-pi-lonA Ancient city, Lydia, near modern Manisa, Turkey. Dating to the 5th century bc, it was located near the regions associated with Niobe and Tantalus. It was the site of a famous battle during the winter of 190-189 bc, when the Romans under Scipio Africanus the Elder defeated the Seleucids under Antiochus III (the Great), forcing them back across the Taurus Mountains. It suffered severe earthquakes, notably in ad 17, and there are few archaeological remains.

magnesium Chemical element, one of the alkaline earth metals, chemi¬ cal symbol Mg, atomic number 12. The silvery white metal does not occur free in nature, but compounds such as the sulfate (Epsom salts), oxide (magnesia), and carbonate (magnesite) have long been known. The metal, which burns in air with a bright white light, is used in photographic flash devices, bombs, flares, and pyrotechnics; it is also a component of light¬ weight alloys for aircraft, spacecraft, cars, machinery, and tools. The com¬ pounds, in which it has valence 2, are used as insulators and refractories and in fertilizers, cement, rubber, plastics, foods, and pharmaceuticals (antacids, purgatives, laxatives). Magnesium is an essential element in human nutrition; it is the cofactor in enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism and in chlorophyll.

magnet Any material capable of attracting iron and producing a mag¬ netic field outside itself. By the end of the 19th century, all known elements

1168 I magnetic dipole ► magnitude

and many compounds had been tested for magnetism, and all were found to have some magnetic property. However, only three elements—iron, nickel, and cobalt —exhibit ferromagnetism. See also compass, electromagnet.

bar magnet disk magnet

Magnets and their associated magnetic field lines. A permanent magnet (such as a bar or disk magnet) possesses a magnetic field by virtue of the alignment of all the magnetic particles it is composed of. An electromagnet is generated by a current flowing through a wire loop at the center of the field.

magnetic dipole Tiny magnet with subatomic dimensions, equivalent to the flow of electric charge around a loop. Examples include electrons circulating around atomic nuclei, rotating atomic nuclei, and single sub¬ atomic particles with spin. On a large scale, these effects may add together, as in iron atoms, to make magnetic compass needles and bar magnets, which are macroscopic magnetic dipoles. The strength of a magnetic dipole, its magnetic moment, is a measure of its ability to turn itself into alignment with a given external magnetic field. When free to rotate, dipoles align themselves so that their moments point predominantly in the direc¬ tion of the magnetic field. The SI unit for dipole moment is the ampere- square metre.

magnetic field Region around a magnet, electric current, or changing electric field in which magnetic forces are observable. The field around a permanent magnet or wire carrying a steady direct current is stationary, while that around an alternating current or changing direct current is con¬ tinuously changing. Magnetic fields are commonly represented by con¬ tinuous lines of force, or magnetic flux, that emerge from north-seeking magnetic poles and enter south-seeking poles. The density of the lines indicates the magnitude of the field, the lines being crowded together where the magnetic field is strong. The SI unit for magnetic flux is the weber.

magnetic force Attraction or repulsion that arises between electrically charged particles that are in motion. While only electric forces exist among stationary electric charges, both electric and magnetic forces exist among moving electric charges. The magnetic force between two mov¬ ing charges is the force exerted on one charge by a magnetic field created by the other. This force is zero if the second charge is traveling in the direction of the magnetic field due to the first and is greatest if it travels at right angles to the magnetic field. Magnetic force is responsible for the action of electric motors and the attraction between magnets and iron.

magnetic permeability Relative increase or decrease in the magnetic field inside a material compared with the magnetic field in which the material is located. In empty space the magnetic permeability is 1, because there is no matter to modify the field. Materials may be classified by the value of their magnetic permeability. Diamagnetic materials (see diamag¬ netism) have constant relative permeabilities of slightly less than 1. Para¬ magnetic materials (see paramagnetism) have constant relative permeabilities of slightly more than 1. The relative permeability of fer¬ romagnetic materials (see ferromagnetism) increases as the magnetizing field increases, reaches a maximum, and then decreases. Pure iron and some alloys have relative permeabilities of 100,000 or more.

magnetic resonance Absorption or emission of electromagnetic radiation by electrons or atomic nuclei in response to certain magnetic fields. The principles of magnetic resonance are used to study the atomic and nuclear properties of matter; two common laboratory techniques are NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE and ELECTRON SPIN RESONANCE. In medicine, MAG¬ NETIC resonance imaging is used to produce images of human tissue.

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Computer production of images from magnetic resonance. The structural and biochemical infor¬ mation it provides is helpful in the diagnosis of abnormalities without the possibly harmful effects of X rays or gamma rays. It is invaluable in detect¬ ing and delineating tumours and in providing images of the brain, the heart, and other soft-tissue organs. MRI may produce anxiety because the patient must often lie quietly inside a narrow tube. Another disadvantage is that it requires a longer scanning time than other computer-assisted forms of scanning, which makes it more sensitive to motion and of less value in scanning the chest or abdomen. However, MRI images provide better contrast between normal and diseased tissue than those produced by other computer-assisted imagery.

magnetism Phenomenon associated with magnetic fields, the effects of such fields, and the motion of electric charges. Some types of magnetism are diamagnetism, paramagnetism, ferromagnetism, and ferrimagnetism. Mag¬ netic fields exert forces on moving electric charges. The effects of such forces are evident in the deflection of an electron beam in a cathode-ray tube and the motor force on a current-carrying conductor. Other applica¬ tions of magnetism range from the simple magnetic door catch to medi¬ cal imaging devices and electromagnets used in high-energy particle ACCELERATORS.

magnetite or lodestone or magnetic iron ore Iron oxide mineral (Fe 3 0 4 ), the chief member of one of the series of the spinel group. Min¬ erals in this series form black to brownish, metallic, moderately hard octahedrons and masses in igneous and metamorphic rocks and in gran¬ ite pegmatites, stony meteorites, and high-temperature sulfide veins. Mag¬ netite, as the name implies, is strongly attracted to a magnet. It is a common constituent of iron ores. Magnetite with an intrinsic magnetic field (a natural magnet) is known as lodestone.

magneto \mag-'ne-to\ Permanent-magnet alternating generator used mainly to produce electrical current for the ignition system in various types of internal-combustion engines, such as aircraft, marine, tractor, and motor¬ cycle engines. The main parts of a magneto are a permanent-magnet rotor, a primary winding of a small number of turns of coarse wire, a second¬ ary winding with a large number of turns of fine wire, a cam-type circuit breaker, and a capacitor. As the rotor turns, it produces a current in the primary winding, charging the capacitor. The cam breaks the circuit, and the magnetic field around the primary winding collapses. The capacitor releases its stored current into the primary winding, causing a reversed magnetic field. The collapse and reversal of the magnetic field produce a current in the secondary winding that is sent to the spark plugs.

magnetosphere Region around a planet (such as Earth) or a natural satellite that possesses a magnetic field (see geomagnetic field) where mag¬ netic phenomena and the high atmospheric conductivity caused by ion¬ ization strongly influence the behaviour of charged particles (see electric charge). A planet or moon’s magnetic field, like its gravitational field, becomes weaker with distance from the body. The solar wind sweeps a body’s magnetosphere out away from the Sun in a “tail” trailing well beyond it.

magnitude In astronomy, the measure of the brightness of a star or other celestial body. The brighter the object, the lower the number assigned as a magnitude. In ancient times six magnitude classes were used, the first containing the brightest stars (see Hipparchus). In the present

magnolia ► Maharashtra I 1169

system a difference of one magnitude is defined as a ratio of brightness of 2.512 times. Thus, a difference of five magnitudes corresponds to a brightness ratio of 100 to 1. Apparent magnitude is an object’s brightness as seen from Earth (e.g., -26.7 for the Sun, about -11 for the Moon). Absolute magnitude is an object’s brightness as it would be seen at a dis¬ tance of 10 parsecs (32.6 light-years; e.g., 4.8 for the Sun). See also albedo; PHOTOMETRY.

magnolia Any of about 80 species of trees and shrubs in the genus Magnolia , native to North and Central America, the Himalayas, and East Asia. They are valued for their fragrant flowers and handsome leaves. Magnolia is one of 12 genera in the family Magnoliaceae, which contains 210 species. Magnolias are among the most primitive of flowering plants; their primitive features include long floral axes, spiral arrangement of flower parts, and simple water-conducting cells.

Magnus II Eriksson (b. 1316, Norway—d. Dec. 1, 1374, Sweden) King of Sweden (1319-63, as Magnus II) and Norway (1319-55, as Mag¬ nus VII). Grandson of Norway’s Haakon V and nephew of the Swedish king, Magnus became ruler of both countries. Since he spent almost all his time in Sweden, Norwegian nobles arranged for his son Haakon’s succession, and Magnus abdicated in 1355. He antagonized many Swed¬ ish nobles, raising taxes and curbing the economic power of the church and nobility. In 1356 he was forced to cede half his Swedish kingdom to his son Erik, and he began making concessions to the nobility. When he renewed his efforts to control the Swedish nobles, they deposed him.

Magnus effect Generation of a sidewise force on a spinning cylindri¬ cal or spherical solid immersed in a fluid (liquid or gas) when there is relative motion between the spinning body and the fluid. Named after Heinrich Gustav Magnus (1802-1870), who first investigated the effect experimentally in 1853, it is responsible for the curved trajectory of a ten¬ nis or golf ball and affects the path of an artillery shell.

Magnus Pius, Sextus Pompeius See Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius

magpie Any of several genera of long-tailed songbirds of the crow family (Corvidae). The black-billed magpie (Pica pica) is 18 in. (45 cm) long and strikingly pied (black-and-white), with an iridescent blue-green tail. It is found in North Africa, across Eurasia, and in western North America. A bird of farmlands and tree-studded open country, it eats insects, seeds, small vertebrates, the eggs and young of other birds, and fresh carrion. It makes a large, round nest of twigs cemented with mud, and is known for hoarding small, bright objects. Other species (in the genera Cyanopica, Cissa, and Urocissa) include the brilliant blue or green magpies of Asia.

Magritte \ma-'gret\, Rene (-Francois-Ghislain) (b. Nov. 21,1898, Lessines, Belg.—d. Aug. 15, 1967, Brussels) Belgian painter. After study at the Belgian Academy of Fine Arts (1916-18), he designed wallpaper and did advertising sketches until the support of a Brussels art gallery enabled him to become a full-time painter. His early works were in the Cubist and Futurist styles, but in 1922 he discovered the work of Gior¬ gio de Chirico and embraced Surrealism with The Menaced Assassin (1927). Certain images appear over and over again in Magritte’s works—the sea, wide skies, the female torso, the bourgeois “little man” in a bowler hat, rocks that hover overhead—and dislocations of space, time, and scale were common elements in his enigmatic and illogical paintings.

Magsaysay \mag-'sl-,sl\ / Ramon (b. Aug. 31, 1907, Iba, Phil.—d. March 17, 1957, near Cebu) President of the Philippines (1953-57). Son of a Malay artisan, he was a schoolteacher before becoming a guerrilla leader during World War II. In 1950, as secretary of defense, he launched one of the most successful antiguerrilla campaigns in modern history, against insurgents of the Hukbalahap Rebellion. He deprived them of popu¬ lar support by offering peasants land and tools and insisting that the army treat them with respect. By 1953 the Huks were no longer a threat, and Magsaysay was elected president. His efforts at reform were frustrated by a conservative Congress. He was killed in a plane crash before the end of his term.

maguey See century plant

magus \'ma-gos\ Member of an ancient Persian clan specializing in cul- tic activities. The magi were a priestly caste during the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian dynasties, and parts of the Avesta are probably derived from them. Their priesthood is believed to have served several religions, includ¬ ing Zoroastrianism. From the 1st century ad onward, the word magus in

its Syriac form ( magusai ) was applied to magicians and soothsayers, chiefly from Babylonia. As long as the Persian empire lasted there was a distinction between the Persian magi, credited with profound religious knowledge, and the Babylonian magi, often considered outright impost¬ ers. See also Magi.

Magyar Vmag-.yar, 'ma-Jar\ Any member of the dominant ethnic group in Hungary. Speakers of a Finno-Ugric language, they migrated from their early home in the region of present-day Bashkortostan in eastern Euro¬ pean Russia across the southern Russian and Ukrainian steppes into the northern Balkans in the 9th century. After collisions with neighbouring peoples, the Magyars crossed the Carpathians and settled in the middle basin of the Danube River in the late 9th century, subjugating Slavs and other peoples there. Skilled and fierce horsemen, they raided deep into the heart of Europe in the 10th century and were greatly feared until their defeat by Otto I at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955. They adopted Christian¬ ity in the 11th century under King Stephen I, the founder of Hungary, who made the kingdom part of the European community.

Mah-jongg \,ma-'zhai]\ Game of Chinese origin usually played by four persons with 144 domino-like tiles that are drawn and discarded until one player secures a winning hand. The object of play is similar to that of the rummy card games. It is probably of 19th-century origin. The name was coined by J. P. Babcock, who introduced the game to the West after World War I. The mah-jongg set includes a pair of dice, a quantity of tokens or chips used for scorekeeping, and a rack for keeping tiles upright and keeping their faces hidden from other players.

Mahabharata \mo- l ha- , ba-r3-t9\ One of the two major Sanskrit epics of India, valued for its literary merit and its religious inspiration. It tells of the struggle for supremacy between two groups of cousins, the Kau- ravas and the Pandavas. Many myths and legends are woven into the poem, along with didactic material on topics such as the proper conduct of a warrior and the way to attain emancipation from rebirth. Together with the second major epic, the Ramayana, it is an important source of information about the evolution of Hinduism. Contained within the Mahab¬ harata is the Bhagavadgita, Hinduism’s single most important religious text. The sage Vyasa (fl. c. 5th century bc) is traditionally named as the Mahabharata’ s author, but he probably compiled existing material. The poem reached its present form c. ad 400.

Mahan \m3-'han\, Alfred Thayer (b. Sept. 27, 1840, West Point, N.Y., U.S.—d. Dec. 1, 1914,

Quogue, N.Y.) U.S. naval officer and historian. He studied at the U.S.

Naval Academy, and his nearly 40 years of active naval duty included fighting in the American Civil War.

He was president of the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. (1886-89).

His classic analysis The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783 (1890) argued that sea power was decisive in determining national supremacy. In The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire, 1793-1812 (1892), he stressed the interdependence of mili¬ tary and commercial control of the sea. Avidly read in Britain and Ger¬ many, both books greatly influenced the buildup of naval forces before World War I.

Maharashtra V.ma-ho-'rash-troV State (pop., 2001 prelim.: 96,752,247), west-central India. It lies on the Arabian Sea and is bordered by the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Goa and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli; its capital is Mumbai (Bombay). Occupying an area of 118,800 sq mi (307,690 sq km), it covers much of the Deccan plateau, containing the valleys of the Krishna, Bhima, and Godavari rivers. The population is a mixture of ethnic groups; Marathi is the state lan¬ guage. The region was divided into Hindu kingdoms in the 8th—13th cen¬ turies; they were followed by a series of Muslim dynasties. A Maratha kingdom ruled by 1674, and by the 18th century a Maratha empire had been established. The British gained control early in the 19th century.

1170 I Maharishi Mahesh Yogi ► Mahler

When India won independence in 1947, the area was known as Bombay state; it was divided on linguistic lines in 1960, creating Gujarat in the north and Maharashtra in the south. Its economy is primarily agricultural; industries include oil-refining and cotton textiles.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi orig. Mahad Prasad Varma (b.

1911?, India) Indian religious leader, founder of Transcendental Medita¬ tion (TM). He took a degree in physics before going to the Himalayas to study the Advaita school of Vedanta religious thought with the yogi Guru Dev for 13 years. He arrived in the U.S. in 1959, preaching the virtues of TM; in the 1960s the Beatles were perhaps his most celebrated follow¬ ers. The Maharishi (the title means “Great Sage”) returned to India in the late 1970s and moved to The Netherlands in 1990. His organization, which includes real estate holdings, schools, and clinics, was worth more than $3 billion in the late 1990s.

Mahasanghika Xmo-.ha-'sorj-gi-koX Early Buddhist school in India that anticipated the Mahayana tradition. Its emergence in the 4th century bc, about 100 years after the Buddha’s death, represented the first major schism in the Buddhist community. Though accounts of the second Bud¬ dhist council attribute the split to a dispute over rules, later texts empha¬ size differences between the Mahasanghikas and the Theravadins (see Theravada) regarding the nature of the Buddha and sainthood. The Mahasanghikas believed in a plurality of buddhas and held that the Bud¬ dha in his earthly existence was only an apparition.

Mahathir bin Mohamad Xma-'ha-ter-bin-mo-'ha-modV in full Datuk Seri Mahathir bin Mohamad (b. Dec. 20,1925, Alor Setar, Kedah, Malay states) Malaysian politician, prime minister (1981-2003). The son of a schoolmaster, Mahathir studied medicine and worked as a government medical officer before entering parliament in 1964, where he became a forceful advocate of policies to ensure economic success for ethnic Malays. Once prime minister, he was reelected repeatedly; under his leadership Malaysia achieved one of the most prosperous economies in Southeast Asia, rising literacy rates, and increased life expectancies. An economic downturn in the late 1990s precipitated a split between Mahathir and his deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, whom Mahathir dismissed in 1998; opposition to this action and other policies was sup¬ pressed. Following the September 1 1 attacks of 2001 in the U.S., he offered his support in the global war against terrorism, but he opposed the U.S.- led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and was noted for his frequent criticisms of the West.

Mahavira \m9- l ha- , ve-ro\ orig. Vardhamana (b. traditionally c. 599, Kshatriyakundagrama, India— d. traditionally 527 bce, Pavapuri)

Indian reformer of the Jain monastic community, last of the 24 Tirthankaras, or saints, who founded Jainism. Born into the warrior caste, he renounced the world at age 30 for a life of extreme asceticism. He had no possessions, not even rags to cover his body or a bowl for alms or food, and after 12 years he attained kevala, the highest stage of percep¬ tion. An advocate of nonviolence and vegetarianism, he revived and reor¬ ganized Jain doctrine and established rules for its monastic order. His fol¬ lowers made five vows of renuncia¬ tion (see Jain vrata).

Mahayana \mo- l ha-'ya-n9\ One of the three major Buddhist tradi¬ tions. It arose in the 1st century ad and is widely followed today in China, Korea, and Japan, and Tibet.

Mahayanists distinguish themselves from the more conservative Thera¬ vada Buddhists of Sri Lanka, Burma,

Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

Whereas the Theravadins view the historical Buddha as a (merely) human teacher of the truth, Mahayanists see him as an earthly manifestation of a celestial Buddha. Mahayanists revere bodhisattvas, key figures in uni¬ versal salvation. Compassion, the chief virtue of the bodhisattva, is val¬

ued as highly as wisdom, the virtue emphasized by the ancient Buddhists. Within Mahayana Buddhism, some branches emphasize esoteric practices (e.g., Shingon, Tibetan Buddhism). See also Kegon, Nichiren Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, Tiantai, Zen.

mahdi Arabic "divinely guided one" In Islamic eschatology, a messianic deliverer who will bring justice to the earth, restore true reli¬ gion, and usher in a short golden age before the end of the world. Though the mahdi is not mentioned in the Qur’an and is questioned by Sunnite theologians, he is important in ShTite doctrine. The doctrine of the mahdi gained currency during the religious and political upheavals of early Islam (7th-8th century) and received new emphasis in periods of crisis (e.g., after most of Spain was reconquered by Christians in 1212, and during Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt). The title has been claimed by Islamic revolutionaries, notably in North Africa (see al-MAHDl; Mahdist movement).

Mahdi, al- orig. Muhammad Ahmad ibn al-Sayyid ( Abd Allah (b. Aug. 12, 1844—d. June 22, 1885, Omdurman, Sudan) Sudanese religious and political leader. The son of a shipbuilder in Nubia, he was brought up near Khartoum. After orthodox religious study, he turned to a mystical interpretation of Islam in the Sufi tradition, joined a religious brotherhood, and in 1870 moved to a hermitage with his dis¬ ciples. In 1881 he proclaimed a divine mission to purify Islam and the governments that defiled it, targeting the Turkish ruler of Egypt and its dependency, Sudan. In 1885, after he defeated Charles George Gordon to capture Khartoum, he established a theocratic state, but he died the same year, probably of typhus. See also mahdi; Mahdist movement; Sufism.

Mahdist Vma-d9st\ movement Religious and political movement founded by the Sudanese prophet al-MAHDi. He adopted the name al-Mahdl (meaning “Divinely Inspired One”) because of his conviction that he had been divinely chosen to lead a holy war (jihad) against Sudan’s Egyptian ruling class, who he believed had deserted the Islamic faith. His uprising began in 1881, and within four years he had conquered almost all the territory formerly occupied by Egypt, his crowning victory being the cap¬ ture of Khartoum from Gen. Charles George Gordon in 1885. Establish¬ ing a new capital at Omdurman, he became head of an armed theocracy. When he died from illness, his disciple ‘Abd Allah succeeded him. Fol¬ lowing initial victories, ‘Abd Allah’s forces were gradually hunted down by Anglo-Egyptian armies under H.H. Kitchener and almost entirely destroyed in the Battle of Omdurman. The movement sustained a small following through the next century, but its political import had been destroyed.

Mahfouz \ma-'fuz\, Naguib (b. Dec. 11, 1911, Cairo, Egypt) Egyp¬ tian writer. He worked in the cultural section of the Egyptian civil ser¬ vice from 1934 to 1971. His major work, the Cairo Trilogy (1956-57)— including the novels Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, and Sukkariyah — represents a penetrating overview of 20th-century Egyptian society. Subsequent works offer critical views of the Egyptian monarchy, colo¬ nialism, and contemporary Egypt. Other well-known novels include Midaq Alley (1947), Children of Gebelawi (1959), and Miramar (1967). He also wrote short-story collections, more than 30 screenplays, and sev¬ eral stage plays. In 1988 he became the first Arabic writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Mahican See Mohican

Mahilyow Russian Mogilyov City (pop., 2001 est.: 361,000), east- central Belarus, on the Dnieper (Dnyapro) River. It was founded in 1267 as a fortress and became a town in 1526 while under Lithuanian rule. Later passing to Poland, it became Russian in the first partition of Poland in 1772. In 1812 a major battle between Napoleon’s troops and Russian forces was fought outside the town. It was severely damaged in World War II; rebuilt after the war, it is now a major industrial city.

Mahler, Gustav (b. July 7, 1860, Kaliste, Bohemia, Austrian Empire—d. May 18, 1911, Vienna, Austria) Austrian-Jewish composer and conductor. He attended the Vienna Conservatory, where he studied piano and composition. He wrote his first significant work, the cantata Das Klagende Lied (1880), as he was eking out an existence by giving lessons. In 1880 he became a conductor, and though his dictatorial man¬ ner was disliked and critics found his interpretations extreme, by 1886 he had achieved success in Prague. He also began the first of his 10 sym¬ phonies (1888-1910), his main compositional legacy. In 1897 he was named director of the Vienna Opera; his stormy reign there was acknowl¬ edged as an artistic success. He moved to the Metropolitan Opera in 1908

Mahavira enthroned, miniature from the Kalpa-sutra, 15th-century western Indian school; in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

COURTESY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, FREER GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON, D.C.

Mahmud ► Maine I 1171

and the New York Philharmonic in 1909-10. Ill with heart disease and mourning his daughter’s death, he wrote the masterly orchestral song cycle Das Lied von der Erde (1908-09) and his ninth symphony. His orchestral songs Des Knaben Wunderhorn (1892-98) and Kindertoten- lieder (1904; Songs on the Deaths of Children) are frequently performed. His emotionally charged and subtly orchestrated music drew together many different strands of Romanticism. Although his music was largely ignored for 50 years after his death, he was later regarded as an impor¬ tant forerunner of 20th-century techniques of composition.

Mahmud \ma-'mud\ of Ghazna (b. 971—d. April 30?, 1030, Ghazna, Ghaznavid empire) Son of the founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty, Sebiiktigin. After ascending the throne in 998, he gave nominal allegiance to the caliph of the 'Abbasid dynasty and in return was granted autonomy. He expanded his kingdom through some 17 invasions of the Punjab and northeastern India, carrying with him the banner of Islam. With the trea¬ sures he amassed, he transformed the city of Ghazna into a brilliant cul¬ tural centre. At his court were the scholar al-BlRUNi and the poet Ferdowsi.

mahogany family Family Meliaceae (order Sapindales), composed of 575 species in 51 genera of trees and (rarely) shrubs native to tropical and subtropical regions. Trees of the genus Swietenia and Entandro- phragma, commonly called mahogany, and of the genus Cedrela (espe¬ cially the cigar-box cedar, C. odorata) are economically important timber trees. The China tree {Melia azedarach ), also called chinaberry, bead tree, and Persian lilac, is an ornamental Asian tree with fragrant, lilac-coloured flowers and attractive but poisonous round yellow fruits, often cultivated in tropical and warm temperate areas. Most members of the family have large compound leaves and branched flower clusters. A few have edible fruits.

Mahone \m3-'hon\, William (b. Dec. 1, 1826, Southampton county, Va., U.S.—d. Oct. 8, 1895, Washington, D.C.) U.S. politician and railroad magnate. After graduating from the Virginia Military Institute, he studied engineering while teaching. He joined the Norfolk-Petersburg Railroad as an engineer in 1851 and became the company’s president 10 years later. In the American Civil War he was appointed quartermaster general of the Confederacy but served with the army of northern Virginia, rising to major general. After the war he resumed railroading, becoming president of the Atlantic, Mississippi, and Ohio (later Norfolk & Western) Railroad (1867). He built a political base through railroad patronage but lost con¬ trol of the railroad in the 1870s. Unable to win the Democratic Party nomination for governor (1877), he organized a coalition of African Americans and poor whites to form a political party, the Readjusters (1879), which succeeded in enacting reforms. He served as a Republican in the U.S. Senate (1880-87).

Maiano, Benedetto da See Benedetto da Maiano

Maidstone Town and borough (pop., 2001: 138,959), administrative and historic county of Kent, southeastern England. It is situated on the River Medway southeast of London. Its name is derived from one given it in Domesday Book. A residence of the Norman archbishops of Canter¬ bury until the Reformation, it grew as a market town. Still an agricultural centre, it is located in England’s largest hops-growing area, and brewing is important to its economy. Among many sites of architectural interest is the medieval archbishop’s palace.

mail, chain See chain mail

mail-order business See direct- mail MARKETING

Mailer, Norman (b. Jan. 31,

1923, Long Branch, N.J., U.S.) U.S. novelist. He studied at Harvard Uni¬ versity. He drew on his wartime ser¬ vice in the Pacific for his celebrated novel The Naked and the Dead (1948), which established him as one of the major American writers of the postwar decades. A flamboyant and controversial figure who often enjoyed antagonizing critics and readers, he has since commanded less respect for his fiction—which also includes the novels An Ameri¬

can Dream (1965) and Why Are We in Vietnam? (1967)—than for jour¬ nalistic works that convey actual events with the richness of novels, including The Armies of the Night (1968, Pulitzer Prize); Miami and the Siege of Chicago (1968); Of a Fire on the Moon (1970); and The Execu¬ tioner’s Song (1979, Pulitzer Prize), about the execution of a murderer. Mailer was a favourite target of feminists in the 1960s and ’70s.

Maillol \ma-'yol\, Aristide (b. Dec. 8, 1861, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France—d. Sept. 27, 1944, near Banyuls-sur-Mer) French sculptor, painter, and printmaker. He was a painter and tapestry designer until he was almost 40, when eyestrain persuaded him to turn to sculpture. He rejected the highly emotional style of Auguste Rodin and attempted to pre¬ serve and purify the Classical sculpture of Greece and Rome. Most of his works depict the mature female form and are characterized by emotional restraint, clear composition, and serene surfaces. After 1910 he was inter¬ nationally famous and never lacked commissions. He resumed painting later in life and produced excellent woodcut illustrations for fine editions of Latin poets, but he remained preeminently a sculptor.

Maimon Vml-monV Salomon orig. Salomon ben Joshua (b. c.

1754, Nieswiez, grand duchy of Lithuania—d. Nov. 22, 1800, Nieder- Siegersdorf, Silesia) Polish Jewish philosopher. As a young man, he pur¬ sued Hebrew and rabbinic studies, adopting the name Maimon out of admiration for Moses Maimonides. His unorthodox commentaries on Mai- monides earned him the enmity of other Jews, and he left Poland at age 25 to wander through Europe as a scholar and tutor. A skeptic who empha¬ sized the limits of pure thought, he is best known for his Search for the Transcendental Philosophy (1790), a major critique of Kantian philoso¬ phy. His other writings include Philosophical Dictionary (1791) and Criti¬ cal Investigations of the Human Spirit (1797).

Maimonides \ml-'ma-n3- 1 dez\, Moses orig. Moses ben Maimon

(b. March 30, 1135, Cordoba—d. Dec. 13, 1204, Egypt) Jewish philoso¬ pher, jurist, and physician. He was obliged to practice his faith secretly after a revolutionary and fanatical Islamic sect, the Almohads, captured Cordoba. To gain religious freedom, he settled in Egypt (1165), where he won fame for his medical skill and became court physician to the sultan Saladin. Maimonides’ s first major work, begun at age 23 and completed 10 years later, was an Arabic commentary on the Mishna. His other writ¬ ings included a monumental code of Jewish law called the Mishne Torah (in Hebrew) and a classic work of religious philosophy, The Guide of the Perplexed (in Arabic), which was influenced by the teachings of Aristo¬ tle and called for a more rational approach to Judaism. It also sought to reconcile science, philosophy, and religion. He is considered the greatest intellectual figure of medieval Judaism.

Main River \'mln\ River, central Germany. Rising in northern Bavaria, and flowing west, it passes through Frankfurt before emptying into the Rhine River; it is 326 mi (524 km) long. It forms part of the Main-Danube Canal, which links the Rhine and Danube rivers to create a 2,200-mi (3,500-km) waterway from the North Sea to the Black Sea.

Maine Vmen\ Historical region, northwestern France. A hereditary countship in the 10th century, it briefly fell under English rule and then was united with Anjou in 1126. With Anjou and Normandy, it fell to France early in the 13th century. After alternating between English and French rule, it reverted to the French crown in 1481 and was made a duchy under Louis XIV.

Maine State (pop., 2000: 1,274,923), northeastern U.S. One of the New England states, it lies on the Atlantic Ocean and is bordered by Canada and the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It covers 33,128 sq mi (85,801 sq km); its capital is Augusta. The Appalachian Mountains cross the state, rising to 5,268 ft (1,606 m) at Mount Katahdin; Maine’s upland region has many lakes and valleys, and its Atlantic coast is rocky and scenic. Algonquian Indians were the earliest known inhabitants of the area. Euro¬ pean settlers found the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes living along the river valleys and coasts. The French included Maine as part of the province of Acadia in 1603, and Britain included it in territory granted to the Plymouth Co. in 1606. During the 17th century Britain established scattered settlements, but the area was a constant battleground until the British conquered the French in eastern Canada in 1763. Maine was gov¬ erned as a district of Massachusetts from 1652 until it was admitted as the 23rd state of the Union under the Missouri Compromise in 1820. Its Cana¬ dian boundary was established in 1842. The American Civil War and the Industrial Revolution diverted workers and capital from Maine in the 19th century. In the 20th century it saw slow but steady economic gains, espe-

Mailer, 1968

NEWSWEEK PHOTO BY BERNARD GOTFRYD, COPYRIGHT NEWSWEEK, 1968

1172 I Maine ► Major

cially in the southwestern coastal region. Its economy is based on agri¬ culture and natural resources. Chief products include timber and wood products, potatoes, and lobsters. Tourism is also an important source of income.

Maine, destruction of the (Feb. 15, 1898) Incident preceding the Spanish-American War in which a mysterious explosion sank the U.S. battleship Maine in the harbour of Havana, Cuba, killing 260 sailors. The U.S. had sent the Maine to Havana in January 1898 to protect U.S. citi¬ zens and property after riots in Cuba’s struggle for independence from Spain. U.S. anti-Spanish sentiment was inflamed by tabloid newspapers proclaiming “Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain!”; armed interven¬ tion followed in April. It is now believed that the explosion was caused internally.

Maine, Sir Henry (Janies Sumner) (b. Aug. 15, 1822, Kelso, Roxburgh, Scot.—d. Feb. 3, 1888, Cannes, France) British jurist and legal historian. He taught civil law at the University of Cambridge (1847-54) and lectured on Roman law at the Inns of Court. These lectures became the basis of his Ancient Law (1861) and Early History of Institutions (1875), which influenced both political theory and anthropology. In 1869 he became the first professor of comparative jurisprudence at the Univer¬ sity of Oxford; in 1887 he became professor of international law at Cam¬ bridge. As a member of the council of the governor-general of India (1863-69), he shaped plans for the codification of Indian law. He was knighted in 1871.

Maine coon cat North America’s only native breed of longhaired domestic cat. Though its origins are unknown, it was first shown in Bos¬ ton in 1878. Maines are large, muscular, and heavy-boned; they may have been named for their raccoon-like tail. Excellent mousers, they are known for their gentleness, intelligence, and kind disposition, and are especially good with children and dogs. Most are brown tabbies.

mainframe Digital computer designed for high-speed data processing with heavy use of input/output units such as large-capacity disks and printers. They have been used for such applications as payroll computa¬ tions, accounting, business transactions, information retrieval, airline seat reservations, and scientific and engineering computations. Mainframe sys¬ tems, with remote “dumb” terminals, have been displaced in many appli¬ cations by CLIENT-SERVER ARCHITECTURE.

Maintenon \ma n -td-'no n \, Francoise d'Aubigne, marchioness

de known as Madame de Maintenon (baptized Nov. 28, 1635, Niort, Poitou, France—d. April 15, 1719, Saint-Cyr) Second wife of Louis XIV of France. After enduring an impoverished childhood, she married the poet Paul Scarron, 25 years her senior, in 1652. She presided over Scarron’s literary salon, where she was intellectually formed. Widowed in 1660, she was left penniless, but with the help of influential friends she became governess in 1668 to the king’s children born to his mistress, the marchioness de Montespan (1641-1707). In 1675 Louis bestowed the title of the Chateau de Maintenon and lands on her, and after the queen’s death in 1683 he secretly married her, either in 1683 or 1697. Although she was blamed for being a bad influence on Louis politically, she maintained a climate of decency, dignity, and piety around him.

Mainz VmlntsX French Mayence \ma-'ya n s\ City (pop., 2002 est.: 185,293), west-central Germany. Situated on the Rhine River opposite the mouth of the Main River, it was established as a Roman military camp c. 14 bc on the site of an earlier Celtic settlement. It became an archbish¬ opric in ad 775, a free city in 1244, and the head of the Rhenish League in 1254. It was under French rule from 1797 to 1816 and then passed to Hesse-Darmstadt. It served as a fortress of the German Confederation and later of the German Empire until 1918. Severely damaged during World War II, it was rebuilt. The birthplace of Johannes Gutenberg, it is the seat of Johannes Gutenberg University.

maiolica See majolica

Maipuran languages See Arawakan languages

Maistre VmestrA, Joseph de (b. April 1,1753, Chambery, France—d. Feb. 26, 1821, Turin, kingdom of Sardinia) French polemical writer and diplomat. A member of the Savoy senate, he moved to Switzerland after the French invasion of Savoy in 1792. He served under the king of Sar¬ dinia as envoy to Russia (1803—17), then settled in Turin as chief mag¬ istrate and minister of state of the Sardinian kingdom. He was an exponent of the absolutist, conservative tradition and opposed the progress of sci¬

ence and liberal beliefs in such works as Essay on the Generative Prin¬ ciple of Political Constitutions (1814), On the Pope (1819), and The St. Petersburg Dialogues (1821). It was as a logical thinker, pursuing con¬ sequences from an accepted premise, that Maistre excelled.

Maitland, Frederic William (b. May 28, 1850, London, Eng.—d. Dec. 19, 1906, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain) British legal historian. He practiced law in London before joining the faculty of the University of Cambridge (1888). With Frederick Pollock he wrote History of English Law Before the Time of Edward I (1895), which became a standard author¬ ity on the subject. In 1887 he helped found the Selden Society for the study of English law.

Maitland (of Lethington), William (b. c. 1528, probably Lething- ton. East Lothian, Scot.—d. June 9?, 1573, Leith, Midlothian) Scottish statesman. As secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots (1560), he sought to unite the realms of England and Scotland by securing Mary recognition as the successor to Elizabeth I. With that aim, he supported the murders of David Riccio and Lord Darnley, and he joined a coalition of Protestant and Catho¬ lic nobles. After Mary fled to England in 1568, Maitland tried to restore her to power and broke with the supporters of the infant King James VI (later James I). In the ensuing civil war, he held Edinburgh Castle until forced to surrender; he died in prison.

Maitreya \ml-'tra-y3\ In Buddhist tradition, the future Buddha who will descend to earth to preach again the dharma (law) when the teachings of the Buddha Gautama have com¬ pletely decayed. Until then, Maitreya is believed to be a bodhisattva resid¬ ing in the Tusita heaven. Mentioned in scriptures from the 3rd century ad, he is the earliest bodhisattva around whom a cult developed and is still the only one generally honored by the Theravada tradition. His images, found throughout the Buddhist world, convey an air of expectancy and promise.

maize See corn

Majapahit empire \,ma-ja-'pa- hit\ (13th—16th century) Last Indian - ized kingdom in Indonesia, based in eastern Java. It was founded by Vijaya, a prince of Singhasari who collaborated with the invading Mon¬ gol troops of Kublai Khan (see Ker- tanagara) to defeat a rival and then drove the Mongols out. Some scholars believe that Majapahit territory included present-day Indonesia and part of Malaysia; others maintain that it was confined to eastern Java and Bali. It reached its height in the mid- 14th century under King Hay am Wuruk and his prime minister Gajah Mada. The rise of the Islamic states along the northern Java coast brought the empire to an end.

majolica Vmo-'ja-li-koV Italian maiolica Vmo-'ya-li-koV Tin-glazed earthenware introduced from Moorish Spain by way of the island of Majorca and produced in Italy from the 14th century. Majolica is usually restricted to five colours: cobalt blue, antimony yellow, iron red, copper green, and manganese purple; the purple and blue were used, at various periods, mainly for outline. White tin enamel was used also, for highlights or alone on the white tin glaze. The most common shape of the pottery was a display dish, decorated in the istoriato style, a 16th-century Italian nar¬ rative style that uses the pottery body solely as support for a purely pic¬ torial effect. See also delftware; Faenza majolica; faience; Urbino majolica.

Major, John (b. March 29, 1943, London, Eng.) British politician and prime minister (1990-97). He was elected to the House of Commons as a member of the Conservative Party in 1979 and rose quickly through the party ranks. In 1989 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher appointed him for¬ eign secretary and then chancellor of the Exchequer. After Thatcher’s reisgnation as prime minister and party leader in 1990, Major was elected as party leader, and in 1992 he led the party to a general election victory. Major’s first years in office coincided with a long economic recession (1990-93). His government became increasingly unpopular, and Major

Miroku (Maitreya) in meditation/ gilt bronze figure, Japanese, Asuka period, 7th century; in the Cleveland Museum of Art

THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART, JOHN L. SEVERANCE FUND, 50.86

Majorca ► Malabar Coast I 1173

himself was perceived as a colourless and indecisive leader. In 1997 the Conservatives lost by a landslide to the Labour Party, and Major was suc¬ ceeded as prime minister by Tony Bair.

Majorca \ma-'jor-k3, ma-'yor-koV Spanish Mallorca Nma-'lyor-koV ancient Balearis Major Island, Balearic Isands (Baleares) autonomous community, Spain. The largest of the Balearic Islands, it lies in the west¬ ern Mediterranean Sea and occupies an area of 1,405 sq mi (3,640 sq km). Palma, the capital of the autonomous community, is located on the island. The kingdom of Majorca was established by James I of Aragon in the 13th century and was united with Aragon in the 14th century. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), it was a base for Italian aid to the Nation¬ alists. Now a popular tourist centre, it was a favourite destination of Frederic Chopin, who wrote some of his finest mazurkas and preludes there.

Majorelle \ma-y6-'rel\, Louis (b. 1859, Toul, France—d. 1926, Nancy) French artist, cabinetmaker, and furniture designer. The son of a cabinet¬ maker, he was trained as a painter and studied under Jean-Francois Millet at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. After his father’s death in 1879, he returned home to take charge of the family workshop. He moved from 18th-century reproductions to the developing Art Nouveau style and became one of its leading exponents. In his furniture he incorporated a flowing line into polished woods, highlighted by Art Nouveau bronze mounts.

Majuro \ma-'ju-r6\ Atoll (pop., 1999: 23,676) in the Ratak (eastern) chain of the Marshall Islands and capital of the Republic of the Marshall Isands, in the western Pacific Ocean. The atoll comprises 64 islets on a 25-mi (40-km) reef and has a total land area of 4 sq mi (10 sq km). It has the largest population of any of the Marshall Islands. The main settlement on Majuro is situated on three connected islands—Dalap, Uliga, and Darrit.

majuscule Vma-jos-.kyiil, mo-'jos-.kyuF Uppercase, capital, or large let¬ ter in calligraphy, in contrast to the minuscule, lowercase, or small letter. All the letters in a majuscule script are contained between a single pair of real or theoretical horizontal lines. The earliest known Roman majus¬ cule letters are in the style known as square capitals, distinguished by downstrokes that are heavier than upstrokes and by serifs (short strokes at right angles to the top and bottom of a letter). Square capitals were used mainly in inscriptions on Roman imperial monuments. Rustic capi¬ tals, used in books and official documents, formed a freer, more elliptical script. Roman cursive capitals, a running-hand script used for notes and letters, were a forerunner of the minuscule scripts that appeared later.

Makalu Vmo-ko-.liA Peak in the Himaayas, on the Nepalese-Tibetan bor¬ der. Located east-southeast of Mount Everest, it reaches 27,766 ft (8,463 m), making it one of the world’s highest mountains. Attempts to ascend its steep, glacier-covered sides did not begin until 1954. On May 15,1955, two French climbers—Jean Couzy and Lionel Terray—reached the summit, and seven more members of their party arrived within two days.

Makarios \ma- , kar-e-,os\ III orig. Mikhai Khristodolou Mous-

kos (b. Aug. 13, 1913, Pano Panayia, Cyprus—d. Aug. 3, 1977,

Nicosia) Archbishop and primate of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus and president of Cyprus (1959-77). Son of a poor shepherd, he was ordained in 1946; he became bishop in 1948 and archbishop in 1950. A supporter of Cyprus’s union with Greece, opposing both independence and par¬ tition, he negotiated with the British governor of Cyprus (1955-56) but was arrested for sedition and exiled.

In 1959 he accepted independence for Cyprus and was elected president, with a Turkish vice president. Twice reelected, he fled Cyprus following an attempted coup by the Greek Cyp¬ riot National Guard (1974). Despite a subsequent invasion by Turkey and the establishment of a separate Turk¬ ish Cypriot state in the north, he resisted partition of the country.

Makarova \ma-'kar-9-v3\, Natalia (Romanovna) (b. Oct. 21, 1940, Leningrad, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Russian ballerina. She trained in Len¬

ingrad (St. Petersburg) and joined the Kirov (now Mariinsky) Ballet in 1959 to become a leading ballerina. In 1970 she defected while on tour in London and soon joined American Ballet Theatre. She performed as a guest artist with the Royal Ballet and other companies and is best known for her leading role in Giselle.

Makassar \m9- , ka-s3r\ Strait Narrow passage of the west-central Pacific Ocean, Indonesia. Located between Borneo and Celebes (Sulawesi), it connects the Celebes Sea to the Java Sea. It is 500 mi (800 km) long and 80-230 mi (130-370 km) wide. It contains numerous islands, the largest of which are Laut and Sebuku. In 1942, during World War II, it was the scene of naval and air battles as the Allies tried to prevent the Japanese from occupying Borneo.

makeup In the performing arts, material used by actors for cosmetic purposes and to help create the characters they play. Not needed in Greek and Roman theatre because of the use of masks, makeup was used in the religious plays of medieval Europe, in which the angels’ faces were painted red and those of God and Christ white or gold. In Elizabethan England, crude makeup methods included powdering the face with chalk (to play ghosts and murderers) or blackening it with burnt cork (to play Moors). As stage lighting improved in the 19th century, theatrical makeup became more artistic; stick greasepaint, invented by Ludwig Leichner in the 1860s, enabled actors to create more subtle characterizations. Stage makeup proved too heavy for motion pictures; in 1910 Max Factor cre¬ ated semiliquid greasepaint makeup suitable for early filmmaking, and in 1928 he created panchromatic makeup to keep pace with the develop¬ ment of incandescent lighting and more sensitive film. Makeup was later further modified for colour filmmaking and for television. See also cos¬ metics.

Makkah, Al- See Mecca

mako shark \'ma-ko\ Any of certain potentially dangerous sharks (genus Isurus) in the mackerel shark family (Isuridae). Two species are generally recognized: the Atlantic I. oxyrinchus and the Indo-Pacific /. glaucus. Makos range throughout tropical and temperate seas. Blue-gray, with a white belly, they are about 13 ft (4 m) long and weigh about 1,000 lbs (450 kg). They prey on fishes such as herring, mackerel, and sword¬ fish. Outstanding game fish, they are prized for their fighting qualities and their spectacular repeated leaps out of the water.

Mako shark (Isurus glaucus)

PAINTING BY RICHARD ELUS

Maktum \mak-'tum\ dynasty or Al Maktum ("Maktum fam-

ily") Ruling family of the emirate of Dubayy (Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). One of the two members of the Al Bu Falasah family to emigrate from Abu Dhabi to Dubayy in 1833 was Bat! ibn Suhayl, father of Maktum ibn Batl, the first ruler of Dubayy (r. 1833-52). The current ruler, Maktum ibn Rashid, who is also vice president of the UAE, is the ninth of the dynasty. The Maktum are a branch of the same Banu Yas confederation that includes the Nahyan, rulers of Abu Dhabi.

Malabar Coast Vma-b-,bar\ Region, southwestern coast of India, stretching from the Western Ghats to the Arabian Sea. It now includes most of Kerala state and the coastal region of Karnataka state. It has sometimes been used to refer to the entire western coast of peninsular India. A large part of it was within the ancient kingdom of Keralaputra. The Portuguese established trading posts there; they were followed by the Dutch in the 17th century and the French in the 18th century. The British gained control of the region in the late 18th century.

Makarios III

CAMERA PRESS

1174 I Malabo ► Malawi

Malabo \ma-'la-bo\ formerly (until 1973) Santa Isabel City (pop., 1995 est.: 47,500), capital of Equatorial Guinea. Located on the northern edge of the island of Bioko, it is the republic’s commercial and financial centre. The main activity of its harbour is the export of cocoa, timber, and coffee. Its population fluctuated in the 1960s and ’70s: the European population declined after 1969 riots there, and the African population declined when Nigerian contract workers returned to Nigeria in the mid 1970s.

Malacca \m3-'la-k3\, Strait of Channel connecting the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. It lies between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. It is 500 mi (800 km) long and is funnel-shaped; only 40 mi (65 km) wide in the south, it broadens in the north to 155 mi (249 km). Numerous islets hinder passage at its southern entrance. The shortest sea route between India and China, it is one of the most heavily traveled shipping channels in the world.

Malacca, sultanate of (1403? -1511) Malay dynasty that ruled the great entrepot of Malacca (Melaka) and its dependencies. Malacca, which commanded the main sea route between India and China, was founded by Paramesvara (died 1424), who converted to Islam and took the title Sul¬ tan Iskandar Shah in 1414. It benefited from the rearoused desire of Ming- dynasty China to trade with the West. By the mid-1430s it had become a major commercial emporium; by the mid-15th century it was an impor¬ tant territorial power as well. The wealthy state encouraged literature, learning, and a lively political and religious life; the period of its ascen¬ dancy is considered the golden age of Malay history. The city fell to the Portuguese in 1511.

Malachi \'ma-l3-,kl\ The anonymous author of the biblical book of Mal- achi and the last of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets. The name comes from a Hebrew word meaning “my messenger.” The book consists of dialogues in question-and-answer form, in which the prophet defends the justice of God to a community doubtful because its expectations of salvation for Israel are unfulfilled. Malachi calls for faithfulness to God’s covenant and promises that the day of judgment will soon arrive. The book was prob¬ ably written in the 5 th century bc.

malachite \'ma-b-,klt\ Widespread carbonate mineral of copper, a hydrous copper carbonate, Cu 2 C0 3 (0H) 2 . Because of its distinctive, bright green colour and its presence in the weathered zone of nearly all copper deposits, malachite serves as a prospecting guide. It is found in Siberia, France, Namibia, and Arizona. Malachite has been used as an ornamental stone and as a gemstone.

Malachy Vma-lo-keV Saint (b. 1094, Armagh, County Armagh, Ire.—d. Nov. 2/3, 1148, Clairvaux, France; canonized 1190; feast day November 3) Irish archbishop and religious reformer. He studied at Armagh and was ordained a priest in 1119. While serving as vicar to the archbishop of Armagh, he persuaded the Irish church to accept reforms promoted by Pope Gregory VII in the 11th century, and he introduced the Roman liturgy into Ireland. He served as bishop in Counties Down and Antrim before being named abbot of Iveragh, County Kerry. He became archbishop of Armagh in 1129 but resigned in 1137. In 1142 he intro¬ duced the Cistercians into Ireland. In 1190 he became the first Irish Catho¬ lic to be canonized.

Malaga \'ma-la-ga\ Port city (pop., 2001: 524,414), southern Spain. It lies on a bay of the Mediterranean Sea at the mouth of the Guadalmedina River. It was founded by the Phoenicians in the 12th century bc and was later conquered by the Romans and the Visigoths. Under Moorish rule from 711 ad, it became one of the chief cities of Andalusia. It fell to Span¬ ish rulers Ferdinand II and Isabella I in 1487. It is the foremost Spanish Mediterranean port after Barcelona; among its exports are fruit and Mal¬ aga wine. It was the birthplace of Pablo Picasso.

Malagasy Vma-b-'ga-seV peoples Complex of about 20 ethnic groups in Madagascar. The largest group is the Merina (“Elevated People”), who primarily inhabit the central plateau. The second-largest group is the Betsimisaraka, who live generally in the east. The third is the Betsileo, who inhabit the plateau around Fianarantsoa. Others include the Tsimihety, the Sakalava, the Antandroy, the Tanala, the Antaimoro, and the Bara. All Malagasy peoples speak a dialect of Malagasy, an Austro- nesian language. The written language is a standardized version of the Merina dialect. Most Malagasy peoples live in rural areas and grow rice, cassava, and other crops. About half are Christian, while the rest practice their traditional religion based on ancestor worship.

Malaita \ma-'la-ta\ Volcanic island, Solomon Islands, South Pacific Ocean. Located northeast of Guadalcanal, it is about 115 mi (185 km) long and 22 mi (35 km) across at its widest point and has an area of 1,870 sq mi (4,843 sq km). It is mountainous and covered with dense forests, and its interior has not yet been extensively explored.

Malamatiyyah V.ma-la-ma-'te-oV Muslim mystic group in the Sufi tra¬ dition that flourished in Iran during the 8th century. The name, derived from the Arabic la’ma (“to be wicked”), refers to the group’s focus on their own failings and misdeeds. The Malamatiyyahs saw self-blame as conducive to detachment from worldly things and disinterested service to God. To avoid praise and respect, they hid their knowledge and piety, and they made known their faults as a reminder of the need for self- improvement, while remaining tolerant and forgiving toward others. See also Sufism.

Malamud Vma-b-.modV Bernard (b. April 26, 1914, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—d. March 18, 1986, New York, N.Y.) U.S. novelist and short-story writer. Born to Russian-Jewish immigrants, he was educated at City Col¬ lege of New York and Columbia University, and he later taught princi¬ pally at Bennington College. His novels, which often make parables out of Jewish immigrant life, include The Natural (1952), about a baseball hero; The Assistant (1957), about a Jewish grocer and a Gentile hoodlum; and The Fixer (1966, Pulitzer Prize), often considered his finest novel. His genius is most apparent in his stories, collected in The Magic Barrel (1958), Idiots First (1963), Pictures ofFidelman (1969), and Rembrandt’s Hat (1973).

malamute, Alaskan See Alaskan malamute

Malan Vmo-'lanX, Daniel F(rancois) (b. May 22,1874, near Riebeeck West, Cape Colony—d. Feb. 7, 1959, Stellenbosch, S.Af.) South African politician. Malan obtained a doctorate in divinity (1905) and became a Dutch Reformed minister before entering parliament in 1918. He joined J.B.M. Hertzog’s cabinet (1924-33) but broke with Hertzog to form the Purified Nationalist Party (1934). He reconciled with Hertzog in 1939 and assumed leadership of the National Party after Hertzog withdrew (1940). His party won the 1948 elections by appealing to Afrikaner racial senti¬ ments. He formed South Africa’s first exclusively Afrikaner government (1948-54) and instituted apartheid.

Mtilaren Vma-Jar-onN Lake, eastern Sweden. Located just west of Stockholm, it has an area of 440 sq mi (1,140 sq km) and a length of 75 mi (120 km); it is the country’s third largest lake. Connected with the Baltic Sea by navigable channels, it has more than 1,200 islands.

malaria A serious relapsing infection caused by protozoa of the genus Plasmodium (see Plasmodium), transmitted by the bite of the Anopheles mosquito. Known since before the 5th century bc, it occurs in tropical and subtropical regions near swamps. The roles of the mosquito and the para¬ site were proved in the early 20th century. Annual cases worldwide are estimated at 250 million and deaths at 2 million. Malaria from different Plasmodium species differs in severity, mortality, and geographic distri¬ bution. The parasites have an extremely complex life cycle; in one stage they develop synchronously inside red blood cells. Their mass fissions at 48- or 72-hour intervals cause attacks lasting 4-10 hours. Shaking and chills are followed by fever of up to 105 °F (40.6 °C), with severe head¬ ache and then profuse sweating as temperature returns to normal. Patients often have anemia, spleen enlargement, and general weakness. Compli¬ cations can be fatal. Malaria is diagnosed by detecting the parasites in blood. Quinine was long used to alleviate the fevers. Synthetic drugs, such as chloroquine, destroy the parasites in blood cells, but many strains are now resistant. Carriers of a gene for a hemoglobinopathy have natural resistance. Malaria prevention requires preventing mosquito bites: elimi¬ nating mosquito breeding places and using insecticides or natural preda¬ tors, window screens, netting, and insect repellent. See also protozoal DISEASE.

Malawi \ma-'la-we\ officially Republic of Malawi formerly Nyasaland Nni-'a-so-.landV Country, southeastern Africa. Area: 45,747 sq mi (118,484 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 12,707,000. Capitals: Lilongwe and Blantyre (judicial). Almost the entire population consists of BANTU-speaking black Africans. Languages: English (official), Chewa, Lomwe. Religions: Christianity (Protestant, Roman Catholic), Islam, tra¬ ditional beliefs. Currency: kwacha. Malawi’s terrain is characterized by dramatic highlands and extensive lakes, with forests occupying about one-fourth of the total land area. The Great Rift Valley runs north-south

Malawi ► Malaysia I 1175

and contains Lake Nyasa (Malawi). Agri¬ culture employs some four-fifths of the workforce; staple crops include corn, pea¬ nuts, beans, and peas, and cash crops include tobacco, tea, sugarcane, and cot¬ ton. Coal mining and limestone quarrying also contribute to the economy. Major industrial products are food products, beverages, chemicals, and textiles. Malawi is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. Inhabited since 8000 bc, the region was settled by Bantu-speaking peoples between the 1st and 4th centuries ad. They established separate states, and c. 1480 they founded the Maravi Confederacy, which encompassed most of central and southern Malawi. In northern Malawi the Ngonde people established a kingdom c. 1600, and in the 18th century the Chikulamayembe state was founded. The slave trade flourished during the 18th—19th century; Islam and Christianity arrived in the region c. 1860. Britain established colonial authority in 1891, creating the Nyasaland Districts Protectorate. It became the British Central Africa Protectorate in 1893 and Nyasaland in 1907. The colonies of Northern and Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland formed a federation (1951-53), which was dissolved in 1963. The next year Malawi achieved independence as a member of the British Commonwealth. In 1966 it became a republic, with Hastings Banda as president. In 1971 he was des¬ ignated president for life, and he ruled for three decades before being defeated in multiparty presidential elections in 1994. A new constitution was adopted in 1995.

Malawi, Lake or Lake Nyasa \nl-'a-s9\ Lake, southern Africa, bounded on the west and south by Malawi, on the east by Mozambique, and on the north by Tanzania. It is the southernmost and third largest of the Great Rift Valley lakes. It is about 360 mi (580 km) long with an aver¬ age width of 25 mi (40 km); it covers an area of 11,430 sq mi (29,604 sq km). It contains Likoma Island, site of an Anglican cathedral completed in 1911. On the heavily populated Malawi shore there are several gov¬ ernment stations. The lake is fed by 14 rivers, and its sole outlet is the Shire River. There are about 200 recorded species of fish in the lake.

Malay \ms-Ta, 'ma-,la\ Any member of an ethnic group that probably originated in Borneo and expanded into Sumatra and the Malay Penin¬ sula. They constitute more than half the population of Peninsular Malay¬ sia. They are mainly a rural people, growing rice for food and rubber as a cash crop. Heavily influenced by India, they were Hinduized before converting to Islam in the 15th century. Their culture has also been influ¬ enced by the cultures of the Thai, Javanese, and Sumatrans. Malay soci¬ ety has traditionally been somewhat feudal; class distinctions are still marked, and marriages have traditionally been arranged by parents and governed by Islamic law.

Malay Archipelago Largest group of islands in the world, located off the southeastern coast of Asia between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of the more than 13,000 islands of Indonesia and some 7,000 islands of the Philippines. Formerly called the East Indies, the archipelago extends along the Equator for more than 3,800 mi (6,100 km). Principal islands include the Greater Sunda Islands (Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Celebes), the Lesser Sundas, the Moluccas, New Guinea, Luzon, Mindanao, and the Visayan Islands.

Malay \mo-Ta, 'ma-,la\ language Austronesian language with some 33 million first-language speakers in the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, and other parts of Indonesia and Malaysia. Because Malay was spoken on both sides of the Strait of Malacca, a crucial trade route between India and China, Malay-speaking groups were drawn into inter¬ national commerce centuries before European penetration of the region, and Malay became a lingua franca in Indonesian ports, giving rise to a range of pidgins and creoles known as Bazaar Malay (Melayu Pasar). In 20th-century Indonesia, a standardized form of Malay was adopted as the national language, Indonesian; written in Latin letters, it is now spoken or understood by about 70% of the population. Similar standardizations of Malay comprise the national languages of Malaysia and Brunei. The oldest known Malay texts are 7th-century inscriptions from southern Sumatra in an Indie script (see Indic writing system); a continuous Malay literary tradition did not begin until the Islamization of the Malay Pen¬ insula in the 14th century.

Malay Peninsula Peninsula, Southeast Asia. Comprising the main¬ land portion of Malaysia and southwestern Thailand, it occupies an area of 70,000 sq mi (181,300 sq km), has a width of 200 mi (322 km), and extends south for 700 mi (1,127 km) to Cape Balai, the southernmost point of the Asian continent; the island country of Singapore lies just south across the Johore Strait. Its central mountain range, rising to 7,175 ft (2,187 m) at Mount Tahan, divides the peninsula lengthwise and is the source of many rivers. Both its western and eastern coasts are exposed to monsoons. It has large tracts of tropical rainforest and is a major producer of rubber and tin.

Malayalam \,ma-b-'ya-bm\ language Dravidian language spoken by more than 36 million people mainly in the Indian state of Kerala. Malayalam is closely related to Tamil, from which it is estimated to have separated about the 10th century ad. The earliest literary composition in the language is from the 13th century. Like other major Dravidian lan¬ guages, Malayalam has a number of regional dialects, social dialects that reflect differences in caste and religion, and marked distinctions in for¬ mal and informal usage. Literacy among Malayalam speakers is believed to be higher than literacy among speakers of any other Indian language.

Malayan Emergency (1948-60) Period of unrest following the cre¬ ation of the Federation of Malaya (precursor of Malaysia) in 1948. The Communist Party of Malaya, which was mostly Chinese, was alarmed at the special guarantees of rights for Malays (including the position of sul¬ tans) and began a guerrilla insurgency, which was supported by only a minority of the Chinese. British efforts to suppress the insurgency mili¬ tarily were unpopular, especially their relocation of rural Chinese into tightly controlled “New Villages”; when the British addressed political and economic grievances, the rebels became increasingly isolated, and the emergency ended. See also Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Alhaj; Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army.

Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) Guerrilla movement formed to oppose the Japanese occupation of Malaya (Penin¬ sular Malaysia) during World War II. The British military, foreseeing a Japanese invasion, trained small groups of Malayans as guerrilla troops; these became the MPAJA. Members of the MPAJA, who were primarily Chinese communists, emerged as heroes from the war and attempted to seize power before the British military returned. Its leadership then went underground until 1948, when they initiated the uprising called the Malayan Emergency.

Malayo-Polynesian languages See Austronesian languages

Malaysia Country, Southeast Asia. It is composed of two regions— Peninsular, or West, Malaysia and East Malaysia—separated by 400 mi (650 km) of the South China Sea. West Malaysia occupies the southern half of the Malay Peninsula (Malaya) and is bordered to the north by Thai¬ land. East Malaysia lies on the northwestern part of the island of Borneo and consists of the states of Sarawak and Sabah. Area: 127,355 sq mi

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