Kyrgyzstan \,kir-giz-'stan\ officially Kyrgyz Republic Country, Central Asia. In the southeast the Kok Shaal-Tau Range, part of the Tien Shan, forms the border with China. Area: 77,199 sq mi (199,945 sq km).
Population (2005 est.): 5,146,000. Capitaclass="underline"
Bishkek. The Kyrgyz make up about two- thirds of the population; most of the remainder consists of Uzbeks and Rus¬ sians. Languages: Kyrgyz, Russian (both
official). Religions: Islam (mostly Sunni); also Christianity. Currency: som. Kyrgyzstan is a largely mountainous country. At its eastern edge rises Victory (Pobedy) Peak, which at 24,406 ft (7,439 m) is the country’s highest point of elevation. The country’s valleys and plains, occupying only one-seventh of the total area, are home to most of its people. The economy is based largely on agriculture, including livestock raising and the cultivation of cereals, potatoes, cotton, and sugar beets. Gold mining and industries such as food processing and the production of machinery are also important. It is a republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president, assisted by the prime minister. The Kyrgyz, a nomadic people of Central Asia, settled in the Tien Shan
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Kyushu ► Kyzylkum I 1061
region in ancient times. They were conquered by Genghis Khan’s son Jochi in 1207. The area became part of the Qing dynasty of China in the mid- 18th century. It came under Russian control in the 19th century, and its long rebellion against Russia (and later the Soviet Union) that began in 1916 resulted in a long period of brutal repression. Kirgiziya became an autonomous province of the Soviet Union in 1924 and was made the Kir¬ giz S.S.R. in 1936. Kyrgyzstan gained independence in 1991. It subse¬ quently struggled with creating a democratic process and with establishing a stable economy.
Kyushu Island (pop., 2001 est.: 13,454,000), southernmost of Japan’s four main islands. Located off the eastern coast of Asia, it is separated from Honshu to the north by the Shimonoseki Strait and from Shikoku to
the east by the Bungo Strait. The island, with an area of 14,177 sq mi (36,719 sq km), is mountainous; several famous peaks rise 5,000-6,000 ft (1,525-1,980 m) high, including Mount Aso. Its chief cities include Fukuoka and KitakyGshO. It was the first part of the Japanese empire opened to foreigners in the 19th century.
Kyzylkum \ki-'zil-'kum\ Uzbek Qizilqum Kazakh Qyzylqum Desert in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Occupying roughly 115,000 sq mi (300,000 sq km), it lies between the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya rivers, southeast of the Aral Sea. Desert plants grow on its sand ridges, serving as pasture for sheep, horses, and camels; there are several small oasis settlements. Its mineral resources include natural gas deposits and gold.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1062 I La Brea Tar Pits ► La Plata River
L_
N
La Brea \l3-'bra-3\ Tar Pits Fossil field in Hancock Park (formerly Rancho La Brea), Los Angeles, Calif., U.S. It is the site of “pitch springs” oozing crude oil, discovered by Gaspar de Portola’s expedition in 1769. The tar pits contain the fossilized bones of Pleistocene mammals that became entrapped there; they include mammoths, mastodons, and sabre- toothed cats. The George C. Page Museum contains more than one mil¬ lion prehistoric specimens exhumed from the pits.
La Bruyere Ma-brm-'yerV, Jean de (b. August 1645, Paris, France—d. May 10/11, 1696, Versailles) French satiric moralist. As a tutor and librar¬ ian in a royal household, he observed aristocratic idleness, fads, and fash¬ ions. His The Characters, or Manners of the Age, with the Characters of Theophrastus (1688) was appended to his translation of Theophrastus and written in the latter’s style. A masterpiece of French literature, it was an indictment of the vanity and pretensions around him. Eight editions of Characters, with expanded character sketches and topi¬ cal allusions, appeared through 1694.
La Coruna See A Coruna
La Follette \b-'fal-3t\, Robert M(arion) (b. June 14,
1855, Primrose, Wis., U.S.—d. June 18, 1925, Washing¬ ton, D.C.) U.S. politician. He served as a county district attorney in Wisconsin (1880-84) and in the U.S. House of Representatives (1885-91). Advocating progressive reforms, he was elected governor of Wisconsin (1901-06).
In the U.S. Senate (1906-24), he sponsored bills to restrict the power of the railroad companies. He founded La Fol¬ lette ’ s Weekly (1909) to broaden his reform move¬ ment, and he led Republican opposition to the policies of Pres. William H. Taft. He opposed U.S. entrance into World War I and policies of Pres. Woodrow Wilson that favoured big business. After the war he worked vigorously to expose cor¬ ruption in government, including in the Teapot Dome scandal. As the presi¬ dential candidate of the Progressive Party in the 1924 election, he won five million votes, one-sixth of the total national vote. He died the next year; his son Robert (1895-1953) held his Senate seat from 1925 until 1947, when he was defeated by Joseph McCarthy.
La Fontaine \la-fo l1 - , ten\ / Jean de (b. July 8?, 1621, Chateau-Thierry, France—d. April 13, 1695, Paris) French poet. He made important con¬ tacts in Paris, where he was able to attract patrons and spend his most productive years as a writer. He is best known for his Fables (1668-94), which rank among the masterpieces of French literature. Comprising some 240 poems, they include timeless tales about simple countryfolk, heroes of Greek mythology, and the familial - animals of fables. Their chief theme is the everyday moral experience of humankind. His many lesser works include The Loves of Cupid and Psyche (1669), notable for its lucid, elegant prose. He was elected to the Academie Francaise in 1683.
La Galissonniere \la-ga-le-s6n-'yer\, Roland-Michel Barrin, marquis de (b. Nov. 10, 1693, Rochefort, France—d. Oct. 26, 1756, Montereau) French naval officer. While serving in the French navy (1710— 36), he made several supply trips to New France and held various com¬ mands in the Atlantic. As commandant general of New France (1747-49), he sought unsuccessfully to fortify a link along the Ohio River between French Canada and the Louisiana settlements and to establish French settlements in Detroit and the Illinois country. In 1754 he was given com¬ mand of a naval squadron assigned to protect French shipping from the Barbary pirates.
La Guajira \gwa-'he-ra\ Peninsula Peninsula, northwestern coast of South America. It is bounded by the Caribbean Sea to the north and west and the Gulf of Venezuela to the southeast. Much of the peninsula lies in Colombia, and the rest is in Venezuela. Rfohacha, Colom. (pop., 1999 est.: 88,577), is its principal town; nearby natural gas fields are connected by pipeline with Barranquilla to the southwest.
La Guardia \b-'gwar-de-3\, Fiorello H(enry) (b. Dec. 11, 1882, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Sept. 20, 1947, New York City) U.S. politician, mayor of New York City (1933—45). He practiced law in New York City from 1910 before serving in the U.S. House of Representatives (1917, 1918-21, 1923-33). A progressive Republican, he cosponsored a bill that restricted the courts’ power to ban strikes, boycotts, and picketing by organized labour; opposed Prohibition; and supported woman suffrage and child-labour laws. As New York’s mayor, he fought Tammany Hall cor¬
ruption and introduced reform programs for civic improvement through low-cost housing, social-welfare services, and new roads and bridges. A colourful figure with a flair for the dramatic, he enjoyed enormous popu¬ larity for his fearlessness and his lack of pretension. In 1945 he declined to run for a fourth term as mayor.
La Harpe \la-'arp\, Frederic-Cesar de (b. April 6, 1754, Rolle, Vaud, Switz.—d. March 30, 1838, Lausanne) Swiss political leader. From 1784 he was tutor to the future Russian tsar Alexander I. He returned to Switzerland in 1794, then went to Paris to obtain French military support to secure independence for his native Vaud canton. In 1798 France invaded to establish the Helvetic Republic. A member of its Directory, La Harpe sought dictatorial powers, but he was deposed in 1800. He fled to France, and in 1814 he secured from Alexander a promise of Vau- dois independence.