Alaska, Gulf of Broad inlet, southern Alaska, U.S. Situated between the Alaska Peninsula and the Alexander Archipelago, it receives the Susitna and Copper rivers. Ports on the gulf include Anchorage, Seward, and Val¬ dez; the last is North America’s northernmost year-round harbour and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline’s terminal. In 1741 a Russian expedition led by Vitus Bering, a Dane, became the first Europeans to enter the Gulf.
Alaska Highway formerly Alcan Highway Road through the Yukon, connecting Dawson Creek, British Columbia, with Fairbanks,
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Alaska Peninsula ► Albania I 37
Alaska, a distance of 1,523 mi (2,451 km). It was constructed by U.S. Army engineers in 1942 as an emergency war measure to provide an overland military supply route to Alaska. It is a scenic route now open year-round.
Alaska Peninsula Peninsula, southwestern Alaska, U.S. It stretches about 500 mi (800 km) between the Pacific Ocean and Bristol Bay. The volcanic Aleutian Range runs along its entire length. It is the site of Katmai National Park and Preserve, Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, and the Becherof, Alaska Peninsula, and Izembek national wildlife refuges.
Alaska Pipeline See Trans-Alaska Pipeline
Alaska Purchase Acquisition in 1867 by the U.S. from Russia of 586,412 sq mi (1.5 million sq km) at the northwestern tip of North America, comprising the current U.S. state of Alaska. The territory, held by Russia since 1741, was considered an economic liability, and in 1866 it was offered for sale. Pres. Andrew Johnson’s secretary of state, William Seward, negotiated its purchase for $7.2 million, or about two cents per acre. Critics labeled the purchase “Seward’s Folly.” Congressional oppo¬ sition delayed the appropriation until 1868, when extensive lobbying and bribes by the Russian minister to the U.S. secured the required votes.
Alaska Range Mountain range, southern Alaska, U.S. A segment of the Pacific mountain system, it extends in an arc from the Aleutian Range on the Alaska Peninsula to the Yukon Territory boundary. Mount McKinley, near the centre of the range, in Denali National Park and Preserve, is the highest point in North America. Many nearby peaks exceed 13,000 ft (4,000 m), including Mounts Silverthrone, Hunter, Hayes, and Foraker. The range is crossed at Isabel Pass by the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
Alaskan king crab See king crab
Alaskan malamute Sled dog developed by the Malemiut, an Eskimo group. It is a strongly built dog with a broad head, erect ears, and a plumelike tail carried over its back. Its thick coat is usually gray and white or black and white, the colours frequently forming a caplike or masklike marking on the head. It stands 23-25 in. (58-64 cm) tall and weighs 75-85 lbs (34-39 kg). Characteristically loyal and friendly, it has served on expeditions to the Antarctic.
Alaungpaya \a- I la-uq- , pI-3\ dynasty or Konbaung \ 1 kon-ba- , uq\ dynasty (1752-1885) Last ruling dynasty of Myanmar. In the face of the fragmentation of the Toungoo dynasty, Alaungpaya (1714-60), head¬ man in a village near Mandalay, raised an army and subdued the sepa¬ ratist Mon people in southern Myanmar and then conquered the northeastern Shan states. He attacked the Siamese capital of Ayutthaya (now in Thailand) but was forced to retreat. His son Hsinbyushin, the third king of the dynasty (r. 1763-76), sent armies into neighbouring kingdoms and successfully rebuffed four retaliatory Chinese invasions. The sixth king, Bodawpaya (r. 1782-1819), mounted a number of unsuccessful cam¬ paigns against the Siamese and moved the capital to Amarapura. He also conquered the kingdom of Arakan. His incursions into Assam aroused the ire of the British, and under Bagyidaw (r. 1819-37) Myanmar (subse¬ quently Burma) was defeated in the first Anglo-Burmese War. From then on the dynasty’s hold on Myanmar gradually declined, ending in total annexation by the British in 1885.
Alawites See 'Alawiyyah
'Alawiyyah Va-la-we-'ya\ or Alawite \a-b-'wet\ or Nusayriyyah
\nii-sl-re-'ya\ Minority sect of ShTite Islam. The sect, which exists mainly in Syria, traces its roots to the teachings of Muhammad ibn Nusayr al-Namlri (fl. 850) and was chiefly established by Husayn ibn Hamdan al-KhasIbl (d. 957/958). Its basic doctrine includes a deification of ‘Ali and an interpretation of the five Pillars of Islam as symbolic. Some of the group’s religious practices are secret; it celebrates some Islamic and some Christian holidays.
Alba, Fernando Alvarez de Toledo (y Pimentel), 3rd duke
de (b. Oct. 29, 1507, Piedrahita, Old Castile, Spain—d. Dec. 11, 1582, Lisbon) Spanish soldier. He commanded Charles V’s imperial armies to defeat the Schmalkaldic League in 1547, and he served as viceroy of Naples (1556-59). As a chief minister to Philip II, Alba became notorious for his tyranny as governor-general of the Netherlands (1567-73), where he insti¬ tuted the Council of Troubles. That court set aside local laws and con¬ demned some 12,000 people for rebellion. Recalled to Spain in 1573, Alba later conducted a brilliant campaign against Portugal (1580) but never regained Philip’s favor. See photograph above.
Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, 3rd duke de Alba, oil painting by Sir Antony More, 1549; in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels.
COURTESY OF THE MUSSES ROYAUX DES BEAUX-ARTS, BRUSSELS
paintings, and idyllic landscapes, logical and poetic subjects.
albacore Large oceanic tuna (Thunnus alalunga ) that is noted for its fine flesh. The streamlined bodies of these voracious predators are adapted to fast and continuous swim¬ ming. They occur in both the Atlan¬ tic and Pacific oceans and migrate long distances. The bluefin tuna is also sometimes called albacore.
Albani, Francesco or Fran¬ cesco Albano (b. March 17, 1578, Bologna, Papal States—d. October 1660, Bologna) Italian painter. He trained with the Carracci family in Bologna then moved to Rome in 1601 and collaborated with Annibale Carracci and Domenichino on the decoration of the Farnese Pal¬ ace. While in Rome he established his own studio and painted frescoes in various churches and palaces. In 1617 he returned to Bologna and produced altarpieces, allegorical s best-known paintings are of mytho-
Albania officially Republic of Albania Country, Balkan Peninsula, southeastern Europe. Area: 11,082 sq mi (28,703 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 3,130,000. Capitaclass="underline" Tirane. Language: Albanian (official).
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3 2002 Encyclopaedia Britanni
ALBANIA
Albanians comprise two major subgroups:
Gegs (Ghegs) and Tosks. Religions: Islam,
Christianity. Currency: lek. Albania may be divided into two major regions: a mountain¬ ous highland and, to the west, an Adriatic coastal lowland that contains the country’s agricultural lands and most of its population. Albania has a developing free-market economy that until 1991 was shaped by a socialist system of state ownership. The Albanians are descended from the Illyrians, an ancient Indo-European people who lived in central Europe and migrated south by the beginning of the Iron Age (see Illyria). The Gegs settled in the north and the Tosks in the south, along with Greek colonizers. The area was under Roman rule by the 1st century bc; after ad 395 it was connected administratively to Constanti¬ nople. Turkish invasion began in the 14th century and continued into the 15th; though the national hero, Skanderbeg, was able to resist them for a time, after his death (1468) the Turks consolidated their rule. The coun-