Refuses, Salon des See Salon des Refuses
Regence style \ra-‘zha n s\ French style in the decorative arts that devel¬ oped c. 1710-1730, when Philippe II, due d’Orleans, was regent of France. It marks the transition from the massive rectilinear forms of fur¬ niture in the Louis XIV style to the Rococo forms of Louis XV style. In reac¬ tion against the pomposity of Louis XIV’s court, smaller, more intimate rooms replaced formal state apartments and called for a more graceful style. The delicately styled Regence furniture replaced heavy, carved orna¬ mentation with flat, curving motifs, often foliage and bouquets framed by flowing ribbons and bows. Walnut, rosewood, and mahogany supplied rich but tasteful contrasts in veneering. Intricate tracery in brass and tor¬ toiseshell marquetry on ebony was adapted to the new taste. The com¬ mode and writing table were introduced during this period.
Regency style Style in the decorative arts and architecture produced in England during the regency (1811-20) and reign (1820-30) of George IV. Designers borrowed both structural and ornamental elements from Greek and Roman antiquity. Egyptian motifs, inspired by Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign of 1798, became part of the Regency fashion. A resur¬ gence of a taste for chinoiserie is seen in imitation bamboo and in “japanned” lacquerwork. The prince’s taste for French furniture popular¬ ized pieces ornamented with brass marquetry in the French style. Orna¬ mentation relied on rich contrasts of exotic wood veneers and application of metal or painting rather than extensive carving.
Reger Vra-gor\, (Johann Baptist Joseph) Max(imilian) (b.
March 19, 1873, Brand, Bavaria, Ger.—d. May 11, 1916, Leipzig) Ger¬ man composer and organist. From 1890 to 1893 he studied at Sonder- shausen and Wiesbaden and taught piano, organ, and theory. By 1901, despite opposition to his traditional methods, he had established himself in Munich as a composer, pianist, and teacher. He became a prolific com¬ poser of songs, piano pieces, and especially organ music. His music, combining progressive and conservative elements and often highly chro¬ matic, has always been more popular in Germany than elsewhere.
reggae Vre-ga\ Jamaican popular music and dance style. It originated in the mid-1960s as a music of the Jamaican poor, reflecting social dis¬ content and the Rastafarian movement. Its instrumentation features an electric bass played at high volume as a lead instrument, around which an ensemble of organ, piano, drums, and lead and rhythm electric guitars plays short ostinato phrases with regular accents on the offbeats. Reggae was popularized in the U.S. by the film The Harder They Come (1973), starring the singer Jimmy Cliff, and through tours by Bob Marley and the Wailers and by Toots (Hibbert) and the Maytals, whose influence was felt among white rock musicians.
Reggio di Calabria Vred-jo-de-ka-'la-bre-9\ ancient Rhegium City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 179,384), capital of Reggio di Calabria province and former capital (until 1971) of Calabria region, southern Italy. A Greek colony founded on the Strait of Messina at the end of the 8th century bc, it was allied with Athens in the 5th century bc and with Rome c. 280 bc. From the 5th century ad it was ruled successively by the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Byzantines, and Arabs. It was conquered by the Normans under Robert Guiscard c. 1060 and became part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Destroyed many times by Muslim invaders and by earth¬ quakes, it has repeatedly been rebuilt. It is a tourist resort and seaport that exports dried herbs and essential oils for the perfume and pharmaceuti¬ cal industries.
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regiment ► Reign of Terror I 1603
regiment In most armies, a body of troops headed by a colonel and divided into companies, battalions, or squadrons. French cavalry units were called regiments as early as 1558. In early U.S. service, as in Euro¬ pean armies up to that time, the usual number of companies in a regiment was 10. Early in the 19th century, Napoleon divided the regiments of the French army into three battalions each, and in 1901 the U.S. Army adopted the three-battalion infantry regimental system.
Regina Xri-'jl-noV City (pop., 2001: 178,225), capital of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located on the Wascana Creek in the south-central part of the province. Regina originated as a hunting camp and was known as Pile O’Bones for the heaps of bones left there after skinning and cutting buf¬ falo. It was the administrative headquarters of the Northwest Territories 1882-1905, then it became the provincial capital. It was the headquarters of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police until 1920. After World War II the city expanded rapidly to become an important transportation, manufac¬ turing, and distributing centre for a vast agricultural area. Local mineral resources and fertile prairies support an economy based largely on oil, natural gas, potash refining, and food processing.
regional development program Any government program designed to encourage the industrial and economic development of regions beset by joblessness or other economic hardship. Most industri¬ alized countries have adopted some type of regional development pro¬ gram since World War II. The most common method of encouraging development is to offer grants, loans, and loan guarantees to companies relocating or expanding in the region. France, for example, has offered subsidies related to the amount of investment and the number of new jobs created, as well as loans, interest subsidies, and free land sites. Tax incen¬ tives are also used to encourage companies to invest in depressed areas. In other programs, the government may offer low-cost housing for work¬ ers and assistance in developing power, light, transportation, and sanita¬ tion facilities. See also development bank.
regression In statistics, a process for determining a line or curve that best represents the general trend of a data set. Linear regression results in a line of best fit, for which the sum of the squares of the vertical dis¬ tances between the proposed line and the points of the data set are mini¬ mized (see least squares method). Other types of regression may be based on higher-degree polynomial functions or exponential functions. A quadratic regression, for example, uses a quadratic function (second-degree poly¬ nomial function) to produce a parabola of best fit.
regressive tax Tax levied at a rate that decreases as its base increases. Regressivity is considered undesirable because poorer people pay a greater percentage of their income in tax than wealthier people. Consump¬ tion TAXes and sales TAXes are usually considered regressive because of their set rate structures. Tobacco, gasoline, and liquor sales taxes, all major sources of tax revenue, are the most regressive taxes. In an effort to limit regressivity, a number of U.S. states have exempted medicine and gro¬ cery items from sales tax. Although the property tax is sometimes judged regressive because poorer people spend a larger percentage of their income on housing than wealthier people, property taxes are nonetheless effective in redistributing wealth from higher to lower income groups. See also PROGRESSIVE TAX.
Regulators of North Carolina (1764-71) Vigilance group formed in the western frontier counties of North Carolina. Opposed to the high taxes and corruption of the colonial government, the group sought vainly to obtain reforms; it then refused to pay taxes, agitated against public officials, and committed acts of violence. Gov. William Try on sent troops to crush the insurrection at the Battle of Alamance (1771). The leaders were hanged for treason, and many followers fled to Tennessee, where they sided with the loyalists in the American Revolution.