World Series

World Series, in baseball, a postseason play-off series between champions of the two major professional baseball leagues of North America: the American League (AL) and the National League (NL).

The World Series began in 1903 after the cessation of hostilities between the NL and the newly formed AL. Boston (AL) defeated Pittsburgh (NL) five games to three in a best-of-nine-game series. Attendance was just over 100,000, and the players’ shares of receipts were slightly more than $1,000 each. In 1904 the New York Giants (NL) refused to play Boston, again the AL champion; but the series resumed in 1905 and continued annually until 1994, when a prolonged players’ strike forced its cancellation that year. A seven-game format has been standard since 1922. Beginning in 1955, one player has been voted the Most Valuable Player of each series, a great honour in baseball. Montreal and Toronto were granted major league teams in 1969 and 1977 respectively—the first Canadian teams in major league baseball; Toronto’s World Series win in 1992 was the first victory for a non-U.S. team. The New York Yankees of the AL have won the most series.

The World Series name has been applied to several baseball championships of lesser import, including the Junior World Series, played between champions of the International League and the American Association (both American professional minor leagues), and the Little League World Series, an annual event with international representation for teams of boys and girls 9 to 18 years old.

National League (NL)

National League (NL), oldest existing major-league professional baseball organization in the United States. The league began play in 1876 as the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, replacing the failed National Association of Professional Base Ball Players. The league’s supremacy was challenged by several rival organizations over the years, beginning with the American Association in 1882–91. Of these, only the American League, formed in 1900, survived. Beginning in 1903, the champions of the National and American leagues have engaged in an annual World Series contest to decide the championship of Major League Baseball. The National League consists of 15 teams aligned in three divisions. In the NL East are the Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, and Washington (D.C.) Nationals. In the NL Central are the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals. In the NL West are the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and San Francisco Giants.

American League (AL)

American League (AL), one of the two associations in the United States and Canada of professional baseball teams designated as major leagues. It was founded as a minor league association in 1893 and was initially called the Western League. The Western League changed its name to the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs after the 1899 season, declared itself a major league in 1901 (the year now recognized as the league’s first official season), and was granted equal status by the older National League in 1903. The American League consists of 15 teams (including one Canadian team) aligned in three divisions: the AL East, comprising the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays; the AL Central, comprising the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins; and the AL West, comprising the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers.

Brazil

Brazil, officially Federative Republic of Brazil, Portuguese República Federativa do Brasil , country of South America that occupies half the continent’s landmass. It is the fifth largest nation in the world, exceeded in size only by Russia, Canada, China, and the United States, though its area is greater than that of the 48 contiguous U.S. states. Brazil faces the Atlantic Ocean along 4,600 miles (7,400 km) of coastline and shares more than 9,750 miles (15,700 km) of inland borders with every South American nation except Chile and Ecuador—specifically, Uruguay to the south; Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia to the southwest; Peru to the west; Colombia to the northwest; and Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana to the north. Brazil stretches roughly 2,700 miles (4,350 km) from north to south and from east to west to form a vast, irregular triangle that encompasses a wide range of tropical and subtropical landscapes, including wetlands, savannas, plateaus, and low mountains. Brazil contains most of the Amazon River basin, which has the world’s largest river system and the world’s most extensive virgin rainforest. The country contains no desert, high-mountain, or arctic environments.


Brazil is the fifth most populous nation on Earth and accounts for one-third of Latin America’s population. Most of the nation’s inhabitants are concentrated along the eastern seaboard, although its capital, Brasília, is located far inland, and increasing numbers of migrants are also moving to the interior. The nation’s burgeoning cities, huge hydroelectric and industrial complexes, mines, and fertile farmlands make it one of the world’s major economies; however, Brazil also struggles with extreme social inequalities, environmental degradation, intermittent financial crises, and a sometimes deadlocked political system.

Brazil is unique in the Americas because, following independence from Portugal, it did not fragment into separate countries as did British and Spanish possessions in the region; rather, it retained its identity through the intervening centuries and a variety of forms of government. Because of that hegemony, the Portuguese language is universal except among Brazil’s native Indians, especially those in the more remote reaches of the Amazon basin. At the turn of the 21st century, Brazilians marked the 500th anniversary of Portuguese contact with a mixture of public celebration and deprecation.

Verona

Verona, city, episcopal see, Veneto regione, northern Italy. It lies at the foot of the Lessini Mountains, 65 miles (105 km) west of Venice, and is half-encircled by the Adige River.
The city was founded by an ancient tribe (possibly the Euganei or Raeti) and was later occupied by the Gallic Cenomani. It became a Roman colony in 89 bce and rapidly rose in importance because it was at the junction of main roads between Italy and northern Europe. The poet Catullus was born there. Verona was occupied by the Ostrogoth king Theodoric (489), who built a castle on the site of the present Castel San Pietro on the Adige River. The city remained important under the Lombard kings. It was captured by Charlemagne in 774 and was the residence of his son Pippin and of Berengar of Tours.

Verona was an independent commune from the early 12th century, and it suffered during the early struggles between the Guelfs (papal party) and Ghibellines (imperial party), in the course of which it chose the Guelf party. Ruled by the tyrant Ezzelino da Romano (1226–59), the city grew calmer and prospered under the della Scala (Scaliger) family after Mastino I della Scala became podesta (chief magistrate) in 1260. In the reign of Bartolomeo della Scala, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet traditionally loved and died; their romance is commemorated by the so-called Tomb of Juliet, Romeo’s House, and Juliet’s House. Bartolomeo’s brother Cangrande I (died 1329), the greatest member of the della Scala family, protected the exiled poet Dante. Verona fell to Gian Galeazzo Visconti in 1387 and in 1405 to Venice, which held it, apart from its occupation by Emperor Maximilian I (1509–17), until 1797, when it was ceded to Austria by Napoleon I at the Treaty of Campo Formio. The last congress of the Quadruple Alliance (Russia, Prussia, Austria, Britain) was held at Verona in 1822. In 1866 the city was united to the Kingdom of Italy. It suffered heavy damage in World War II but has since been restored.

Verona is one of the richest cities in northern Italy in Roman remains. The most remarkable of these, the amphitheatre, or Arena, is the third largest surviving Roman amphitheatre and is now used for opera. Also from the 1st century ce are the Roman theatre (with adjacent archaeological museum) and two gateways. The Arco dei Gavi (reconstructed in 1932) was erected in the 1st century bce. The Lapidario Maffeiano Museum (1714) contains Greek and Roman antiquities. Verona is remarkable for its rich Romanesque and Gothic architecture, which is often in a distinctive pink brick. The city produced two great Renaissance architects, Fra Giocondo and Michele Sanmicheli. Its outstanding churches include the Romanesque San Zeno Maggiore (originally 5th century, rebuilt 1117–1227), with a brick and marble facade, a celebrated marble porch, and a triptych by the 14th-century painter Andrea Mantegna, and the Gothic Sant’Anastasia (foundation 1290; completed 1422–81). The Romanesque-Gothic cathedral (rebuilt 15th century) contains an Assumption by the 16th-century artist Titian and one of Europe’s oldest libraries. Also notable are the churches of San Fermo Maggiore, comprising two 11th-century edifices, the upper rebuilt after 1313; SS. Nazzaro and Celso, rebuilt in 1464–83; and San Giorgio in Braida, begun in 1477 and consecrated in 1536, partially designed by Sanmicheli. Notable secular landmarks include the Castelvecchio (now the Civic Museum, Verona), built by Cangrande II in 1354; the Loggia del Consiglio (1493), attributed to Fra Giocondo; the Arche Scaligere, comprising the elaborate Scaliger tombs with Gothic canopies surmounted by equestrian statues; the Palazzo della Ragione (1193; much altered); and the Ponte Scaligero (1354), rebuilt after being damaged in World War II.


Verona was also a renowned medieval centre of painting. The work of Antonio Pisanello (Pisano) climaxes the courtly fresco work of the 14th and 15th centuries. The influence of Bartolommeo Montagna of Vicenza and his father-in-law, the Venetian Jacopo Bellini, in the 15th century combined with that of Venice to affect the whole Veronese school. The city’s most famous painter was the 15th-century artist Paolo Caliari (Paolo Veronese), who spent most of his active life in Venice although his Martyrdom of St. George remains in San Giorgio in Braida at Verona.

The city is the centre of rail and road connections from northern Italy to central Europe via the Brenner Pass; it links Milan and Venice by rail and road and is served by airports at Boscomantico and Villafranca. Verona ships fruits and vegetables to central Europe and is noted for its cereal market and its annual International Agricultural and Horse Fair (since 1898). There are engineering, chemical, and paper industries, sugar refining, and diversified manufactures. Artistic furniture making and work in precious metals and marble are flourishing handicraft industries, and Verona’s traditional wines (Amarone, Bardolino, Valpolicella, Soave, and Recioto) are famous. Pop. (2011 est.) mun., 254,607.

Egypt Uprising of 2011

Beginning in December 2010, unprecedented mass demonstrations against poverty, corruption, and political repression broke out in several Arab countries, challenging the authority of some of the most entrenched regimes in the Middle East and North Africa. Such was the case in Egypt, where in 2011 a popular uprising forced one of the region’s longest-serving and most influential leaders, Pres. Ḥosnī Mubārak, from power.

The first demonstrations occurred in Tunisia in December 2010, triggered by the self-immolation of a young man frustrated by Tunisia’s high unemployment rate and rampant police corruption. Rallies calling for Pres. Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to step down spread throughout the country, with police often resorting to violence to control the crowds. As clashes between police and protesters escalated, Ben Ali announced a series of economic and political reforms in an unsuccessful attempt to end the unrest. Demonstrations continued, forcing Ben Ali to flee the country. The apparent success of the popular uprising in Tunisia, by then dubbed the Jasmine Revolution, inspired similar movements in other countries, including Egypt, Yemen, and Libya. (See also Libya Revolt of 2011.)

In Egypt, demonstrations organized by youth groups, largely independent of Egypt’s established opposition parties, took hold in the capital and in cities around the country. Protesters called for Mubārak to step down immediately, clearing the way for free elections and democracy. As the demonstrations gathered strength, the Mubārak regime resorted to increasingly violent tactics against protesters, resulting in hundreds of injuries and deaths. Mubārak’s attempts to placate the protesters with concessions, including a pledge to step down at the end of his term in 2011 and naming Omar Suleiman as vice president—the first person to serve as such in Mubārak’s nearly three-decade presidency—did little to quell the unrest. After almost three weeks of mass protests in Egypt, Mubārak stepped down as president, leaving the Egyptian military in control of the country.

Although protesters in Egypt focused most of their anger on domestic issues such as poverty and government oppression, many observers noted that political change in Egypt could impact the country’s foreign affairs, affecting long-standing policies. Central elements of Egypt’s foreign policy under Mubārak and his predecessor as president, Anwar el-Sādāt, such as Egypt’s political-military alignment with the United States and the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, embraced by Egypt’s leaders but unpopular with the Egyptian public, could be weakened or rejected under a new regime.

Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II, in full Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, officially Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith   (born April 21, 1926, London, England), queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from February 6, 1952.

Early life

Elizabeth was the elder daughter of Albert, duke of York, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. As the child of a younger son of King George V, the young Elizabeth had little prospect of acceding to the throne until her uncle, Edward VIII (afterward duke of Windsor), abdicated in her father’s favour on December 11, 1936, at which time her father became King George VI and she became heir presumptive. The princess’s education was supervised by her mother, who entrusted her daughters to a governess, Marion Crawford; the princess was also grounded in history by C.H.K. Marten, afterward provost of Eton College, and had instruction from visiting teachers in music and languages. During World War II she and her sister, Princess Margaret Rose, perforce spent much of their time safely away from the London blitz and separated from their parents, living mostly at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and at the Royal Lodge, Windsor, and Windsor Castle.
Early in 1947 Princess Elizabeth went with the king and queen to South Africa. After her return there was an announcement of her betrothal to her distant cousin Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten of the Royal Navy, formerly Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. The marriage took place in Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947. On the eve of the wedding her father, the king, conferred upon the bridegroom the titles of duke of Edinburgh, earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. They took residence at Clarence House in London. Their first child, Prince Charles (Charles Philip Arthur George), was born November 14, 1948, at Buckingham Palace.

Accession to the throne

In the summer of 1951 the health of King George VI entered into a serious decline, and Princess Elizabeth represented him at the Trooping the Colour and on various other state occasions. On October 7 she and her husband set out on a highly successful tour of Canada and Washington, D.C. After Christmas in England she and the duke set out in January 1952 for a tour of Australia and New Zealand, but en route, at Sagana, Kenya, news reached them of the king’s death on February 6, 1952. Elizabeth, now queen, at once flew back to England. The first three months of her reign, the period of full mourning for her father, were passed in comparative seclusion. But in the summer, after she had moved from Clarence House to Buckingham Palace, she undertook the routine duties of the sovereign and carried out her first state opening of Parliament on November 4, 1952. Her coronation was held at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953.

 

Beginning in November 1953 the queen and the duke of Edinburgh made a six-month round-the-world tour of the Commonwealth, which included the first visit to Australia and New Zealand by a reigning British monarch. In 1957, after state visits to various European nations, she and the duke visited Canada and the United States. In 1961 she made the first royal British tour of the Indian subcontinent in 50 years, and she was also the first reigning British monarch to visit South America (in 1968) and the Persian Gulf countries (in 1979). During her “Silver Jubilee” in 1977, she presided at a London banquet attended by the leaders of the 36 members of the Commonwealth, traveled all over Britain and Northern Ireland, and toured overseas in the South Pacific and Australia, in Canada, and in the Caribbean.

On the accession of Queen Elizabeth, her son Prince Charles became heir apparent; he was named prince of Wales on July 26, 1958, and was so invested on July 1, 1969. The queen’s other children were Princess Anne (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise), born August 15, 1950; Prince Andrew (Andrew Albert Christian Edward), born February 19, 1960, and created duke of York in 1986; and Prince Edward (Edward Anthony Richard Louis), born March 10, 1964. All these children have the surname “of Windsor,” but in 1960 Elizabeth decided to create the hyphenated name Mountbatten-Windsor for other descendants not styled prince or princess and royal highness. Elizabeth’s first grandchild (Princess Anne’s son) was born on November 15, 1977.

The modern monarchy

The queen seemed increasingly aware of the modern role of the monarchy, allowing, for example, the televising of the royal family’s domestic life in 1970 and condoning the formal dissolution of her sister’s marriage in 1978. In the 1990s, however, the royal family faced a number of challenges. In 1992, a year that Elizabeth referred to as the royal family’s annus horribilis, Prince Charles and his wife, Diana, princess of Wales, separated, as did Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah, duchess of York. Moreover, Anne divorced, and a fire gutted the royal residence of Windsor Castle. In addition, as the country struggled with a recession, resentment over the royals’ lifestyle mounted, and in 1992 Elizabeth, although personally exempt, agreed to pay taxes on her private income. The separation and later divorce (1996) of Charles and the immensely popular Diana further eroded support for the royal family, which was viewed by some as antiquated and unfeeling. The criticism intensified following Diana’s death in 1997, especially after Elizabeth initially refused to allow the national flag to fly at half-staff over Buckingham Palace. In line with her earlier attempts at modernizing the monarchy, the queen subsequently sought to present a less-stuffy and less-traditional image of the monarchy. These attempts were met with mixed success.

In 2002 Elizabeth celebrated her 50th year on the throne. As part of her “Golden Jubilee,” events were held throughout the Commonwealth, including several days of festivities in London. The celebrations were somewhat diminished by the deaths of Elizabeth’s mother and sister early in the year. Beginning in the latter part of the first decade of the 21st century, the public standing of the royal family rebounded, and even Charles’s 2005 marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles found much support among the British people. In April 2011 Elizabeth led the family in celebrating the wedding of Prince William of Wales—the elder son of Charles and Diana—and Catherine Middleton. The following month she surpassed George III to become the second longest-reigning monarch in British history, behind Victoria. Also in May, Elizabeth made a historic trip to Ireland, becoming both the first British monarch to visit the Irish republic and the first to set foot in Ireland since 1911. In 2012 Elizabeth celebrated her “Diamond Jubilee,” marking 60 years on the throne.


Elizabeth is known to favour simplicity in court life and is also known to take a serious and informed interest in government business, aside from the traditional and ceremonial duties. Privately, she became a keen horsewoman; she keeps racehorses, frequently attends races, and periodically visits the Kentucky stud farms in the United States. Her financial and property holdings have made her one of the world’s richest women.