Bathory, Stephen See Stephen Bathory
Bathurst See Banjul
Bathurst Island Island, Nunavut, Canada. Located in the Arctic Ocean between Cornwallis and Melville islands, it is 160 mi (260 km) long and 50-100 mi (80-160 km) wide.
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178 I bathypelagic zone ► battlement
The coastline is fringed with islets, and several islands stretch from its western tip. Discovered in 1819 by Sir William Parry, it was named for Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst.
bathypelagic zone \,bath-i-p9-'la-jik\ Worldwide zone of deep ocean waters, about 3,000-13,000 ft (1,000-4,000 m) below the surface. It is inhabited by a wide variety of marine forms, including eels, fishes, mol- lusks, and others.
bathyscaphe Vba-thi-,skaf\ Navigable diving vessel developed by Auguste Piccard (assisted by his son Jacques), designed to reach great depths in the ocean. The first bathyscaphe, the FNRS 2, was built in 1946^18 in Belgium. A later version, the Trieste, was acquired by the U.S. Navy; in 1960 it dived to a record 35,810 ft (10,916 m) in the Mariana Trench. The bathyscaphe consists of two main components: a steel cabin, heavier than water and resistant to sea pressure, to accommodate the observers; and a light container called a float, filled with gasoline, which, being lighter than water, provides the necessary lifting power (replacing cables, which had previously been used to support descending chambers but had proven unreliable at great depths).
batik \b9-'tek\ Method of dyeing textiles, principally cottons, in which patterned areas are covered with wax so that they will not receive colour. Multicoloured effects are achieved by repeating the dyeing process sev¬ eral times, the initial pattern of wax being boiled off and another design applied before redyeing. Wax was applied with bamboo strips in Indone¬ sia, where the technique originated. A small copper pot with a handle and narrow applicator spout for applying the wax came into use in Java by the mid 18th century; a wood-block wax applicator was developed in the 19th century. Dutch traders imported the cloth and the technique to Europe. Today machines for applying wax in traditional Javanese patterns reproduce the same effects as the hand-dyeing process.
Batiniyyah V.ba-ti-'ne-yoV School of Islamic thought that interpreted religious texts exclusively on the basis of hidden rather than literal mean¬ ings. Such interpretation gained currency around the 8th century among esoteric Shiite sects, especially the schismatic Isma'njyyah, who believed that beneath every obvious meaning lay a hidden, true meaning, which the imam was empowered to interpret. While influenced by speculative philosophy and theology, the Batiniyyah remained proponents of esoteric knowledge. Sunnite Muslims condemned the Batiniyyah as enemies of Islam for rejecting literal truth and producing confusion and controversy through their multiple textual readings.
Batista \ba-'tes-ta\ (y Zaldivar), Fulgencio (b. Jan. 16, 1901, Banes, Cuba—d. Aug. 6,1973, Guadalmina, near Marbella, Spain) Soldier, president, and dictator who twice ruled Cuba (1933-44, 1952-59). Batista worked his way up through the army and came to power as a strongman, ruling first through associates, then as president himself from 1940. During his first term he cultivated the support of the U.S., the army, organized labour, and the civil service, and he achieved gains in the educational sys¬ tem, public works, and the economy as a whole while enriching himself and his associates. He lost the 1944 election but returned by way of an army revolt in 1952. His second rule was a corrupt and brutal dictatorship that set the stage for his overthrow by Fidel Castro on Jan. 1, 1959.
Batlle y Ordonez Vbat-ya-e-or-'thon-yasV Jose (b. May 21, 1856, Montevideo, Uru.—d. Oct. 20, 1929, Montevideo) President of Uruguay (1903-07, 1911-15). The son of a former president of Uruguay, he was involved in politics from the 1880s. His narrow victory in the 1903 presi¬ dential election led to a brief civil war, but when he held new elections in 1905 he won again. He stepped down at the end of his term and was reelected in 1911. He inaugurated labour reforms, limited the profits of foreign-owned businesses, encouraged migration, nationalized and devel¬ oped public works, ended the death penalty, and protected children born out of wedlock. He is credited with transforming Uruguay into a stable, democratic welfare state.
Baton Rouge Vbat^n-TiizhV City (pop., 2000: 227,818), capital of Louisiana, U.S. Located on the Mississippi River, it is the state’s second- largest city. Settled by the French in 1719, it was named for a red cypress pole that marked a boundary between Indian tribes. The area was ceded to Britain in 1763, then taken by the Spanish in the American Revolution. Spain ceded Louisiana to France in 1800 but tried to retain Baton Rouge at the time of the Louisiana Purchase (1803). In 1810 the city was annexed to the U.S., and it became the state capital in 1849. The capital was trans¬ ferred to other towns when Baton Rouge was occupied by Federal troops
during the American Civil War; in 1882 it regained its capital status. It has deepwater port facilities and is an important petroleum refining centre.
battalion Tactical military organization composed of a headquarters and two or more companies, batteries, or similar units and usually com¬ manded by a field-grade officer such as a lieutenant colonel. The term has been used in nearly every Western army for centuries and has had many meanings. In the 16th-17th century, it denoted a unit of infantry used in a line of battle and was loosely applied to any large body of men. During the Napoleonic Wars, battalions were fighting units of the French army under the administrative unit of the regiment. In the armies of the British Commonwealth nations, infantry battalions are tactical units within regi¬ ments. The typical U.S. Army battalion is a unit of 800-900 soldiers, divided into a headquarters company and three rifle companies; two to five battalions form the combat elements of a tactical brigade. See also MILITARY UNIT.
Battenberg family or Mountbatten family Family that rose to international prominence in the 19th-20th centuries. The first Battenbergs were a family of German counts that died out c. 1314; the title was revived in 1851. In 1917 the family members who lived in England renounced the German title of prince of Battenberg and adopted Mountbatten as a sur¬ name (“mount” being a translation of “Berg”). Prominent members of the family included Philip, duke of Edinburgh, and Louis Mountbatten.
battered woman syndrome Psychological and behavioral pattern displayed by female victims of domestic violence. Explanations that have evolved since the late 1970s include learned helplessness, a “cycle of vio¬ lence” theory, and a form of post-traumatic stress disorder. The term is a legal concept rather than a psychiatric diagnosis and lacks clearly defined criteria. It has been used to support legal arguments of self-defense, dimin¬ ished responsibility, or insanity when a woman is accused of murdering or assaulting her batterer, committing a crime under his coercion, or pro¬ voking the behaviour the batterer is on trial for. Critics say the term cre¬ ates a stereotyped image inadequate to describe individual experiences.
battering ram Medieval weapon consisting of a heavy timber with a metal knob or point at the front. Rams were used to beat down the gates or walls of a besieged city or castle. Usually suspended by ropes from the roof of a movable shed, the timber was swung back and forth by its operators so that it banged against the structure under siege. The shed’s roof was covered with animal skins to protect the operators inside it from bombardment with stones or fiery materials.
Battersea enamelware Painted enamelware made by Stephen The¬ odore Janssen at York House in London’s Battersea district from 1753 to 1756. The ware is composed of soft white enamel over a copper ground. The designs were applied by hand painting or by transfer printing: an impression from an engraved metal plate brushed with enamel colours was made on paper, and the design was then transferred to the object to be decorated. Most of the objects (e.g., snuffboxes, watch cases) were decorated with mottoes, portraits, landscapes, or flowers. The transfer printing technique was first used for large-scale production at Battersea.