Pacific, War of the (1879-83) Conflict involving Chile, Bolivia, and Peru over disputed territory on the mineral-rich Pacific coast. National boundaries in the region were not definitively established prior to the conflict, and in the 1870s Chile controlled nitrate fields claimed by Peru and Bolivia. When demand for nitrates rose, war broke out over the ter¬ ritory. Chile defeated both countries and took control of valuable mining areas in each; Bolivia lost its entire Pacific coast. A 1904 treaty gave Bolivia freedom of transit through Chilean territory, but Bolivia contin¬ ued to try to escape its landlocked status (see Chaco War). Peru foun¬ dered economically for decades after the war. A final accord between Peru and Chile was reached only in 1929 through U.S. mediation.
Pacific Coast Ranges See Coast Ranges
Pacific Islands, Trust Territory of the Former United Nations trust¬ eeship, administered by the U.S. from 1947 to 1986. It consisted of more than 2,000 islands scattered over about 3,000,000 sq mi (7,770,000 sq km) of the tropical western Pacific Ocean, north of the Equator. It cov¬ ered the region known as Micronesia and comprised three major island groups: the Marianas, the Carolines, and the Marshalls. The seat of gov¬ ernment was Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. In 1986 the U.S. declared the trust territory agreements no longer in effect. The Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands became sovereign states, and the Northern Mariana Islands became a common¬ wealth of the U.S. The Republic of Palau became a sovereign state in
Pacific Ocean Body of salt water extending from the Antarctic region in the south to the Arctic circle in the north and lying between the con¬ tinents of Asia and Australia on the west and North and South America on the east. It occupies about one-third of the surface of the earth and is by far the largest of the world’s oceans. Its area, excluding adjacent seas, is approximately 63,800,000 sq mi (165,250,000 sq km), twice that of the Atlantic Ocean and more than the whole land area of the globe. Its mean depth is 14,040 ft (4,280 m). The western Pacific is noted for its many peripheral seas.
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Pacific Security Treaty ► Pagan I 1431
Pacific Security Treaty See ANZUS Pact Pacification of Ghent See Pacification of Ghent
pacifism Vpa-so-.fi-zomN The doctrine that war and violence as a means of settling disputes is morally wrong. The first genuinely pacifist move¬ ment was Buddhism, whose founder demanded from his followers absolute abstention from any act of violence against their fellow creatures. The ancient Greek conception of pacifism applied to individual conduct rather than to the actions of peoples or kingdoms. The Romans conceived of pax, or peace, as a covenant between states or kingdoms that creates a “just” situation based on mutual recognition. This judicial approach was applicable only to the “civilized world,” however. Though the spoken words of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament could be interpreted as a kind of pacifism (and in fact were so interpreted by many of his early followers), from the early 3rd century through the Middle Ages the Chris¬ tian church itself held that armies were necessary to combat nonbeliev¬ ers or demons. In the 17th and 18th centuries, much pacifist thinking was based on the idea that transferring power from sovereigns to the people would result in peace, because, it was claimed, wars were a product of sovereigns’ ambitions and pride. In the 19th and 20th centuries, pacifism inspired widespread interest in general disarmament and in the creation of international organizations for the peaceful resolution of disputes, such as the League of Nations and the United Nations. Pacifism as a national policy, rather than as a standard of individual conduct, has yet to satis¬ factorily address the problem of an aggressor that does not possess simi¬ lar moral scruples. Individual pacifism may lead one to become a conscientious objector. Historically important pacifists include Leo Tolstoy, Mohandas K. Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Pacino Xps-'che-noV Al(fredo James) (b. April 25, 1940, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. actor. He began his career as a stage actor, winning Tony Awards for Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? (1969) and later for The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel (1977). He played Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972) and its sequels (1974, 1990). Known for his intense, explosive acting style, he also starred in Serpico (1973), Dog Day After¬ noon (1975), And Justice for All (1979), Scarface (1983), Scent of a Woman (1992, Academy Award), and Insomnia (2002).
pack rat See wood rat
Pact of Paris See Kellogg-Briand Pact
paddle tennis Game like tennis that is played with a rectangular paddle and a slow-bouncing rubber ball on a small court. Frank P. Beal introduced it on New York playgrounds in the early 1920s. National cham¬ pionship tournaments are still held in the U.S. See also platform tennis.
paddlefish Either of two species (family Polyodontidae) of archaic freshwater fishes with a paddlelike snout, wide mouth, smooth skin, and cartilaginous skeleton. It feeds with mouth gaping open, gill rakers strain¬ ing plankton from the water. The American paddlefish, or spoonbill ( Poly- odon spathula ), is greenish or gray and averages 40 lbs (18 kg); it lives in the open waters of the Mississippi basin. The other known species (Psephurus gladius ), inhabits the Chang (Yangtze) River basin. The flesh of both species resembles catfish; the roe can be made into caviar.
Paderewski \,pa-d9-'ref-ske\, Ignacy (Jan) (b. Nov. 18, 1860, Kurytowka, Podolia province, Russian Poland—d. June 29, 1941, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Polish pianist, composer, and statesman. After teaching at the Warsaw Conservatory (1878—83), when he wrote most of the pieces for which he is remembered (including Minuet in G ), he studied with The¬ odor Leschetizky in Vienna from 1884. His U.S. debut at Carnegie Hall (1891) was followed by a 117-concert North American tour, during which his pianism and dashingly Romantic image brought him a wild popular¬ ity. During World War I he worked for Polish independence; in 1919 he served briefly as the first premier of the new state, representing it at the Paris Peace Conference.
Padre Vpa-dre, 'pa-dra\ Island Barrier island, southern Texas, U.S. It is 113 mi (182 km) long and up to 3 mi (5 km) wide, lying along the Gulf Coast of Texas. It extends south from Corpus Christi to Port Isabel and is separated from the mainland by Laguna Madre. It contains a recreational preserve with a large variety of birdlife, excellent fishing, and a broad beach.
Padua Vpa-dyu-w9\ Italian Padova Vpa-do-va\ ancient Patavium City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 203,350), northern Italy. Legend holds that it was founded by the Trojan hero Antenor. First mentioned in 302 bc, it
prospered as a Roman city and was under Lombard rule in the 7th-8th centuries. A leading Italian commune in the 11th—13th centuries, control of Padua then passed to Venice from 1405 to 1797. Under Austrian rule (1815-66) the city was active in the Risorgimento (movement for Italian independence). Padua was heavily bombed in World War II but was rebuilt. Its historic buildings contain works by many artists, including Giotto, Titian, Donatello, and Mantegna. The University of Padua (1222), the second oldest in Italy (after Bologna), had Galileo among its teachers and Dante, Petrarch, and Tasso among its students. Padua’s botanical gar¬ den (1545) is the oldest in Europe. The city is now a commercial and industrial centre.
Paekche \'pak-,ch3\ One of three kingdoms into which Korea was divided before ad 660. It is traditionally said to have been founded in 18 bc by the legendary leader Onjo. In the 3rd century ad Paekche emerged as a fully developed kingdom, and by the 4th century it had extended its territory from the southwestern tip of the Korean peninsula to the whole Han River basin in central Korea. By then it was a centralized aristocratic state. Confucianism and Buddhism flourished, and Paekche’s visual arts revealed technical maturity and warm human qualities. In the 5th century it was pushed back south by the northern Korean kingdom of Koguryo, and in 660 it fell to an alliance of the southern Korean state of Silla and the Tang-dynasty China.