Baffin Island Largest island in Canada and fifth largest island in the world (183,810 sq mi [476,068 sq km]), lying between Greenland and the Canadian mainland. Located west of Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait, it is administered as part of Nunavut territory. It was probably visited by Norse explorers in the 11th century. It was sighted by Martin Frobisher during his search for a Northwest Passage (1576-78). It is uninhabited except for a few coastal settlements. The world’s northernmost mines are at Nanis- vik. In 1972 Auyuittuq National Park was created on the eastern coast.
Baeyer, 1905
HISTORIA-PHOTO
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Baganda ► Bahamas I 149
Baganda See Ganda
bagasse \bo-'gas\ Fibre remaining after the extraction of the sugar¬ bearing juice from sugarcane. The term was once applied more generally to various waste residues from processing plant materials. Bagasse may be used as fuel in the sugarcane mill or as a source of cellulose for manu¬ facturing animal feeds. Paper is produced from bagasse in several Latin American countries, in the Middle East, and in all sugar-producing coun¬ tries that are deficient in forest resources. It is the essential ingredient for the production of pressed building board, acoustic tile, and other con¬ struction materials.
Bagehot \'baj-ot\, Walter (b. Feb. 3, 1826, Langport, Somerset, Eng.—d. March 24, 1877, Langport)
English economist, political analyst, and journalist. While working in his uncle’s bank, Bagehot wrote literary essays and economic articles that led to his involvement with The Econo¬ mist. As its editor from 1860, he helped make it one of the leading business and political journals in the world. His classic The English Con¬ stitution (1867) describes how the British system of government really operates behind its facade. His other works include Physics and Politics (1872), one of the earliest attempts to apply the concept of evolution to societies, and Lombard Street (1873), a study of banking methods.
His literary essays have been con¬ tinually republished.
Baggara \ba-'gar-o\ or Baqqarah \ba-'kar-o\ Nomadic Arab people. They number about 600,000 and are probably descended from the Arabs who migrated west out of Egypt in the Middle Ages. Today they live in a region of The Sudan extending from Lake Chad east to the Nile, migrating with their cattle herds south to the river lands in the dry season and north to the grasslands during the rains. They also raise sorghum and millet. Association with the Fulani and others have given them a distinct dialect of Arabic.
Baghdad or Bagdad City (pop., 2003 est.: metro, area, 5,750,000), capital of Iraq. Located on the Tigris River, the site has been settled from ancient times. It rose to importance after being chosen in ad 762 by Caliph al-Mansur (r. 754-775) as the capital of the ‘Abbasid dynasty. Under HarOn al-Rashid it achieved its greatest glory—reflected in the many tales from The Thousand and One Nights that were set there—as one of the world’s largest and wealthiest cities. A centre of Islamic civilization, it was sec¬ ond only to the Byzantine capital, Constantinople (modem Istanbul), in trade and culture. The capital was moved briefly to Samarra’ in 836, after which the city was prone to bouts of political instability. It was sacked by the Mongols under Hiilegu in 1258, taken by Timur in 1401, and cap¬ tured by the Persian Safavid dynasty in 1508. Under the sultan SOleyman I, the city became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1534 and remained so—save for a brief period (1623-38) when it returned to Safavid rule—until the end of World War I (1914—18). It became capital of the kingdom (1920) and then the republic (1958) of Iraq. During the 20th century the city grew greatly in size and population. It was severely damaged during the First and Second Persian Gulf wars (1990-91 and 2003, respectively), and from 2003 it was occupied by a U.S.-led coalition force.
bagpipe Wind instrument consisting of two or more single- or double¬ reed pipes, the reeds being vibrated by wind fed by arm pressure on a skin or cloth bag. The pipes are held in wooden sockets tied into the bag, which is inflated either by the mouth or by bellows strapped to the body. Melodies are played on the fingerholes of the melody pipe, or chanter, while the remaining pipes, or drones, sound single notes. Bagpipes existed by about ad 100. The early bag was an animal bladder or a nearly whole sheepskin or goatskin. Bagpipes have always been folk instruments, but after the 15th century some were used for court music, and others have survived as military instruments. An important related instrument is the Irish union (or uilleann) pipe.
Baguirmi or Bagirmi \ba-ger-'me\ Former sultanate, now part of southwestern Chad. Located southeast of Lake Chad, it was probably
established in the 16th century. The king ruled from the capital city of Massenya. Though the 17th century brought prosperity as a result of the slave trade, Baguirmi became a pawn in conflicts between rival empires to the east and west. It was repeatedly sacked in the 19th century and ultimately came under French control in the late 19th century.
bagworm moth Any insect of the moth family Psychidae, found worldwide, named for the baglike cases the larvae (see larva) carry with them. The bag, which ranges in size from 0.25 to 6 in. (6-150 mm), is constructed from silk and bits of leaves, twigs, and other debris. The strong-bodied male has broad, fringed wings with a wingspread averag¬ ing 1 in. (25 mm). The wormlike female lacks wings. Bagworm larvae often damage trees, especially evergreens.
Bagyidaw Vbag-yi-,dau\ (d. October 1846) Seventh monarch of the Alaungpaya dynasty (r. 1819-37) of Myanmar. Bagyidaw was an ineffec¬ tual king, but his general, Maha Bandula, convinced him to pursue a policy of expansion in northeastern India. His conquest of Assam and Manipur angered the British, who launched the first of the Anglo-Burmese Wars. Bagyidaw spent the rest of his reign trying to mitigate the harsh terms of the Treaty of Yandabo (1826), which concluded that conflict.
Baha’ Ullah \ba-'ha-ul-Ta\ orig. MTrzd Hoseyn c Ali Nurl (b. Nov. 12, 1817, Tehran, Iran—d. May 29, 1872, Acre, Palestine) Iranian reli¬ gious leader, founder of the BahaI faith. A ShTite Muslim who allied him¬ self with the Bab, he joined his half brother Mlrza Yahya (known as Sobh-e Azal) in leading the Bab! movement after the Bab’s execution. Sunnite Muslims exiled him to Baghdad, Kurdistan, and finally Constantinople, where in 1867 he declared himself the imam-mahdi foretold by the Bab and sent by God. This pronouncement split Babism into two factions, with a small group (the Azau) adhering to its original beliefs and a larger group following him into what became the Baha’i faith. The Ottoman govern¬ ment banished him to Acre where, as Baha’ Ullah, he developed Baha’i into a teaching that advocated the unity of all religions and universal human brotherhood.
Baha’i \ba-'ha-e\ Religion founded in Iran in the mid-19th century by Baha’ Ullah. It emerged from Babism when in 1863 Baha’ Ullah asserted that he was the messenger of God predicted by the Bab. Before his death in 1892, he appointed his son c Abd ol-Baha to lead the community. The writings of the Bab, Baha’ Ullah, and ‘Abd ol-Baha form the sacred lit¬ erature. Worship consists of readings from scriptures of all religions. Baha’i faith proclaims the essential unity of all religions and the unity of humanity. It is concerned with social ethics and has no priesthood or sac¬ raments. Because of its 19 initial disciples, it considers the number 19 sacred, and the calendar consists of 19 months of 19 days (with four addi¬ tional days). Adherents are expected to pray daily, fast 19 days a year, and keep to a strict ethical code. Baha’i has experienced major growth since the 1960s but has been persecuted in Iran since the fundamentalist revo¬ lution of 1979.