North York Former city (pop., 2001: 608,288), southeastern Ontario, Canada. In 1998 it joined the cities of Etobicoke, Scarborough, Toronto, and York and the borough of East York to become the City of Toronto. North York became a borough in 1967 and a city in 1979. Planned indus¬ trial and residential development protects more than 4,000 acres (1,620 hectares) of parks and open space. York University and the Black Creek Pioneer Village are among its attractions.
North Yorkshire Administrative (pop., 2001: 569,660) and geo¬ graphic county, part of the historic county of Yorkshire, northern England. Its administrative seat is Northallerton. Prehistoric sites show evidence of a military Roman occupation. In the Middle Ages it was a peripheral region of England with numerous castles of the great landowning fami¬ lies. Monastic orders, including the Cistercians, grew wealthy from sheep farming. The area played a significant part in the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil Wars. The modem economy is mainly agricultural.
Northampton Town and borough (pop., 2001: 194,477), administra¬ tive and historic county of Northamptonshire, in the Midlands region, England. Originating c. 1100 as a walled town with a castle, it was granted its first charter in 1189. In 1460, during the Wars of the Roses, King Henry VI was captured in Northampton by Yorkists. The town walls survived until the Restoration, when they were torn down under King Charles II as punishment for supporting the Parliamentarians. Now a retail and mar¬ keting centre, it also supports light industry.
Northampton, Henry Howard, earl of (b. Feb. 25, 1540, Shot- tesham, Norfolk, Eng.—d. June 15, 1614, London) English noble noted for his intrigues in the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. Younger brother of the 4th duke of Norfolk, he was implicated in efforts to free Mary, Queen of Scots. He successfully sought favour with the Scottish king James VI, who, on his accession as James I of England, made Howard a privy coun¬ cillor (1603) and earl of Northampton (1604). As a judge at the trials of Walter Raleigh (1603) and Guy Fawkes (1605), he pressed for conviction.
Northamptonshire Xnor-'thamp-ton-.shhA Administrative (pop., 2001: 629,676) and historic county of the East Midlands region, England. It has remains of early settlements, including pre-Celtic and Roman. Nor¬ man and early English building styles coexist with mansions and country
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houses from as early as the 13th century. The county was largely pro- Parliament during the English Civil Wars. It combines traditional rural life with a modern economy of varied industries in centres such as Northamp¬ ton, the county seat, and Corby.
Northdiffe (of Saint Peter), Alfred Charles William Harms- worth, Viscount (b. July 15, 1865, Chapelizod, near Dublin, Ire.—d. Aug. 14, 1922, London, Eng.) British newspaper publisher. After an impoverished childhood and a few attempts to make a quick fortune, he joined his brother, Harold Sidney Harmsworth (1868-1940), in publish¬ ing popular periodicals that formed the basis of Amalgamated Press, at the time the world’s largest periodical publishing empire. In 1896 he started the Daily Mail, one of the first British newspapers to popularize its coverage to appeal to a mass readership. He also founded the Daily Mirror (1903) and bought The Times (1908), transforming it into a mod¬ ern newspaper. His influence was greatest in shifting the press away from its traditional informative role to that of the commercial exploiter and entertainer of mass publics. He has been considered the most successful publisher in the history of the British press.
Northeast Passage Maritime route along the northern coast of Europe and Asia. It lies between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans mainly off northern Siberia. Early explorers included Willem Barents, Olivier Brunei, and Henry Hudson. In 1778 Capt. James Cook saw both sides of the Bering Strait and demonstrated that Asia and North America are two separate continents. The passage was first traversed by Adolf Erik Nor- denskiold in 1878-79. Since the late 1960s it has been kept open in sum¬ mer by icebreakers.
Northern Dvina \dve-'na\ River Russian Severnaya Vsye- vyir-n9-yo\ Dvina River, northern Russia. Formed by the junction of the Sukhona and Yug rivers, it is one of the largest and most important water¬ ways of the northern European part of Russia. It flows northwest for 462 mi (744 km) and enters the Dvina inlet of the White Sea below the city of Arkhangelsk. Navigable for most of its length, it was used by early fur hunters and colonists, and monasteries and towns were established at important confluences. It retains its economic importance and is linked with the Volga-Baltic Waterway via the Sukhona River.
Northern Expedition (1926-27) Campaign of the Chinese Nation¬ alist army, led by Chiang Kai-Shek, that advanced north from Guangzhou (Canton) to the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) battling warlord forces. The Northern Expedition was aided by Soviet arms and advisers and by a pro¬ paganda corps that preceded them. After defeating the warlords, the Nationalist army turned on Britain as the chief imperialist power and pri¬ mary enemy. In response, the British returned their concessions in Hankou and Jiujiang but prepared to defend Shanghai. The alliance between the communists and the Nationalists fell apart at that point: when communist- led labour unions captured Shanghai for Chiang he attacked and sup¬ pressed them, and when he set up his new government in Nanjing he expelled the communists from it. See also Zhang Zuolin.
Northern Ireland Part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland occupying the northeastern portion of the island of Ire¬ land. Area: 5,461 sq mi (14,144 sq km). Population (2001): 1,685,267. Capitaclass="underline" Belfast. It is bounded by the republic of Ireland, the Irish Sea, the North Channel, and the Atlantic Ocean. Northern Ireland is often referred to as the province of Ulster. The people are descended from indigenous Irish and immigrants from England and Scotland. Language: English (official). Religions: Protestantism (the majority) and Roman Catholicism (a minority). Currency: pound sterling. Northern Ireland’s industries include engineering, shipbuilding (which has been in severe decline), automobile manufacturing, textiles, food and beverage processing, and clothing. The service industry employs about three-fourths of the work¬ force, and manufacturing employs less than one-fifth of workers. Agri¬ culture is important, with most farm income derived from livestock. Northern Ireland shares most of its history with the republic of Ireland, though Protestant English and Scots immigrating in the 16th-17th cen¬ turies tended to settle in Ulster. In 1801 the Act of Union created the United Kingdom, which united Great Britain and Ireland. In response to mounting Irish sentiment in favour of Home Rule, the Government of Ire¬ land Act was adopted in 1920, providing for two partially self-governing units in Ireland: the northern six counties constituting Northern Ireland and the southern counties now making up the republic of Ireland. In 1968 civil rights protests by Roman Catholics sparked violent conflicts with Protestants and led to the occupation of the province by British troops in
the early 1970s. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) mounted a prolonged campaign of violence in an effort to force the withdrawal of British troops as a prelude to Northern Ireland’s unification with Ireland. In 1972 North¬ ern Ireland’s constitution and parliament were suspended, bringing the province under direct rule by the British. Violence continued for three decades before dropping off in the mid-1990s. In 1998 talks between the British government and the IRA resulted in a peace agreement that pro¬ vided for extensive Home Rule in the province. In 1999 power was devolved to an elected assembly, though the body was hampered by fac¬ tional disagreements. Sporadic sectarian strife continued in the early 21st century, as the IRA gradually carried out decommissioning (disarming).