mariculture See aquaculture
Marie-Antoinette (-Josephe- Jeanne cTAutriche-Lorraine)
(b. Nov. 2,1755, Vienna—d. Oct. 16, 1793, Paris, France) Queen consort of Louis XVI of France. The daughter of Emperor Francis I and Maria Theresa, she was married in 1770 to the French dauphin. After he became king (1774), she was criticized for her extravagance and frivolous circle of court favourites. She was unjustly implicated in the Affair of the Dia¬ mond Necklace (1786), which dis¬ credited the monarchy. After the French Revolution began, she influ¬ enced Louis to resist attempts by the National Assembly to restrict the royal prerogative. She became the
Marie-Antoinette, detail of a portrait by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun; in the Cha¬ teau de Versailles.
CUCHE MUSEES NATIONAUX
target of agitators, who attributed to her the celebrated remark, after being told the people had no bread, “Let them eat cake!” She tried to save the crown by negotiating secretly with monarchist factions and with her brother, Emperor Leopold II. News of her intrigues further enraged the French and led to the overthrow of the monarchy (1792). After a year in prison, she was tried and guillotined in 1793.
Marie de France (fl. 12th century) French poet, the earliest known woman poet of France. She wrote verse narratives on romantic and magi¬ cal themes and may have inspired the musical lais of the later trouba¬ dours. She probably wrote in England and may have based her fables on an English source; her verses were dedicated to a “noble” king, either Henry II of England or his son. She also wrote a collection of fables, the Ysopet.
Marie de Medicis Xdo-ma-de-'sesX Italian Maria de' Medici (b.
April 26, 1573, Florence—d. July 3, 1642, Cologne) Queen consort of Henry IV of France. The daughter of Francesco de’ Medici, of the noted Medici family, she was married in 1600 to Henry as his second wife. On his assassination in 1610, she became regent for their son, Louis XIII. Guided by the unscrupulous marquess d’Ancre, she squandered state rev¬ enues and bought the loyalty of rebellious nobles. After Ancre was assas¬ sinated, Louis assumed the throne (1617) and exiled Marie to Blois. She tried to raise a revolt and won favourable peace terms through her adviser, the future cardinal de Richelieu. Restored to the king’s council (1622), she obtained a cardinal’s hat for Richelieu and persuaded Louis to make him chief minister. Richelieu gradually withdrew from Marie’s influence and by 1628 was opposing her policies. She attempted to have him dismissed, but Louis rejected her plot and banished Marie from court. In 1631 she fled to Brussels, where she later died in poverty.
Marie-Louise German Maria- Luise (b. Dec. 12, 1791, Vienna,
Austria—d. Dec. 17, 1847, Parma)
Austrian archduchess and second wife of Napoleon. The eldest daugh¬ ter of Emperor Francis II, she was married to Napoleon (1810) and gave birth to his long-desired heir, the future Napoleon II. in 1811.
When Napoleon abdicated (1814),
Marie-Louise returned to Vienna with their son. She ignored Napo¬ leon’s entreaties to join him in exile and again after his return to France (1815). Made duchess of Parma,
Piacenza, and Guastalla (1816), she ruled in accordance with Austrian prescriptions. After Napoleon’s death (1821), she contracted morga¬ natic marriages with Adam Adalbert, count von Neipperg, who died in 1829, and in 1834 with Charles Rene, count de Bombelles.
marigold Any of about 30 species of annual herbaceous plants that make up the genus Tagetes in the composite family, native to southwest¬ ern North America. The name also refers to the pot marigold (calendula) and unrelated plants of several fami¬ lies. Marigolds include popular gar¬ den ornamentals such as African marigold ( T. erecta ) and French marigold (T. patula), which have solitary or clustered red, orange, and yellow flowers and usually finely cut leaves. Because the strongly scented leaves discourage insect pests, mari¬ golds are often planted among veg¬ etable crops.
Mariinsky \mar-'yin-ske\ The¬ atre or Maryinsky Theatre, formerly Kirov Theatre Russian
Marie-Louise, detail of a portrait by Joseph Franque; in the Chateau de Versailles.
AUNARI/ART RESOURCE, NEW VORK
French marigold (Tagetes patula).
ROBERT BORNEMANN/PHOTO RESEARCHERS
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© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1196 I marijuana ► Marinid dynasty
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imperial theatre in St. Petersburg. The theatre opened in 1860 and was named for Maria Aleksandrovna, wife of the reigning tsar. Ballet was not performed there until 1880 and was presented regularly only after 1889, when the Imperial Russian Ballet became its resident company and acquired the Mariinsky name. The theatre’s name was changed to the State Academic Theatre (1917-35) and later to the Kirov (for Sergey Kirov) State Academic Theatre for Opera and Ballet (1935-91); it reverted to its original name in 1991. Its resident ballet company, the celebrated Mari¬ insky (or Kirov) Ballet, tours worldwide.
marijuana V.mar-o-'wa-noX Indian hemp plant (Cannabis sativa ) or the crude drug made of its dried and crushed leaves or flowers. The active ingredient is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Also called pot, grass, and weed, the drug has long been used as a sedative or analgesic; it was in use in China by the 3rd millennium bc and had reached Europe by ad 500. Today it is used worldwide, though it has been generally illegal at least since the International Opium Convention of 1925. Its psychologi¬ cal and physical effects, including mild euphoria and alterations in vision and judgment, vary with strength and amount consumed, the setting, and the user’s experience. Chronic use is not physically habit-forming but may be mildly psychologically habit-forming. Marijuana has been shown to be medically therapeutic for patients with glaucoma, AIDS, and the side effects of chemotherapy; in 2001 Canada became the first country to legal¬ ize the use of marijuana by people with terminal illnesses and chronic conditions. Supporters of legalization claim that it is a more benign drug than alcohol; opponents contend that it is addictive and leads to use of more serious drugs. A resin from the plant is the source of hashish.
marimba Xylophone with resonators under each bar. The original Afri¬ can instrument uses tuned calabash resonators. In Mexico and Central America, where it was brought by African slaves, the wooden bars may be affixed to a frame supported by legs or hung at the player’s waist. The orchestral marimba uses long metal tubes as resonators.
Marin \'mar-3n\, John (b. Dec. 23, 1870, Rutherford, N.J., U.S.—d. Oct. 1, 1953, Cape Split, Maine) U.S. painter and printmaker. He worked as an architectural draftsman before studying painting. After exposure to Cubism and German Expressionism, he developed a personal form of expres¬ sionism, consisting of semiabstract images based on objective reality. While watercolour usually produces delicate, transparent effects, Marin’s command of the medium allowed him to use it to render the monumental power of New York City and the relentless surge of the sea.
"Maine Islands," watercolour by John Marin, 1922; in the Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.
COURTESY OF THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Marin, Luis Munoz See Luis Munoz Marin
Marina See Espirito Santo
Marina, Saint See Saint Margaret of Antioch
marine Member of a military force trained for service at sea and in land operations related to naval campaigns. They existed as far back as the 5th century bc, when the Greek fleets were manned by epibatai, or heavily armed sea soldiers. In the Middle Ages ordinary soldiers were often assigned to shipboard duty; not until the naval wars of the 17th century was the distinct role of marines rediscovered almost simultaneously by the British and the Dutch, who raised the first two modern marine corps, the Royal Marine (1664) and the Koninklijke Nederlandse Corps Mariniers (1665). See also U.S. Marine Corps.