Sovereign Council Administrative body that governed the colony of New France in Canada (1663-1702). The council consisted of the gover¬ nor and the bishop (who together appointed the other members), five councillors, an attorney general, and a clerk. The council named judges and minor officials, controlled public funds and commerce with France, and regulated the fur trade with the Indians. Decisions were subject to the governor’s veto. In 1675 a royal edict increased the number of council¬ lors to seven, with vacancies to be filled by the king. From 1685 the intendant, a French administrative official, assumed many of the council’s duties. The council was renamed the Superior Council in 1702.
sovereignty In political theory, the ultimate authority in the decision¬ making process of the state and in the maintenance of order. In 16th- century France Jean Bodin used the concept of sovereignty to bolster the power of the king over his feudal lords, heralding the transition from feu¬ dalism to nationalism. By the end of the 18th century, the concept of the social contract led to the idea of popular sovereignty, or sovereignty of the people, through an organized government. The Hague Conventions, the Geneva Conventions, and the United Nations all have restricted the actions of sovereign countries in the international arena, as has interna¬ tional LAW.
soviet Council that constituted the primary unit of government in the Soviet Union. The first soviet was formed in St. Petersburg during the Russian Revolution of 1 905 to coordinate revolutionary activities, but it was suppressed. Socialist leaders formed the second soviet shortly before the abdication of Nicholas II, with one deputy for every 1,000 workers and every military company. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks gradually gained a dominant position in soviets across the land. In 1918 a new constitution established soviets as the formal unit of local and regional government. The 1936 constitution created a directly elected bicameral Supreme Soviet, but the single candidate per district was cho¬ sen by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Soviet law Law that developed in the Soviet Union after the Russian Revolution of 1917 and that, after World War II, was assimilated by other communist states. Legislative enactments, including the constitution of the U.S.S.R., were the principal sources of law in the Soviet legal sys¬ tem; these were then elaborated in codes of statutes by each union repub¬ lic. No distinction between public and private law existed; all legal matters involved the state. Law was generally thought of as a force for restruc¬ turing society and advancing the nation toward communism. Also known as socialist law, it was based on the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. In addition to criminal and civil offenses, “administrative offenses” constituted a large proportion of cases and were dealt with out¬ side the court system.
Soviet Union See Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
sow \'sau\ bug or wood louse Any of certain terrestrial crustaceans of the order Isopoda, especially members of the genus Oniscus.
Native to Europe, they have been introduced into North America. Sow bugs grow to 0.7 in. (18 mm) long.
The oval, gray body is rather arched and is covered with broad, armour¬ like plates. Two elbowed antennae extend about half the length of the body, and there are seven pairs of limbs. The sow bug lives in moist places, especially under stones, in moist leaf litter, and in cellars. See also PILL BUG.
Soweto \s3-'wa-to\ Urban complex (pop., 2001: 896,995), northeastern Republic of South Africa. It adjoins Johannesburg on the southwest, and its name is an acronym derived from South-Western Townships. It was originally set aside by the South African white government for residence by blacks. The townships constituting Soweto grew out of shantytowns that arose with the arrival of black labourers from rural areas, especially between the World Wars. There is little industrial development; most of Soweto’s residents commute to Johannesburg for employment. It is the country’s largest black urban complex, and its residents were active in the protests that helped bring an end to apartheid by 1991.
Soya Strait See La Perouse Strait
soybean Annual legume (Glycine max, or G. soja ) of the pea family (see legume) and its edible seed. The soybean plant has an erect, branch¬ ing stem, white to purple flowers, and one to four seeds per pod. It was probably derived from a wild plant of East Asia, where it has been cul¬ tivated for some 5,000 years. Intro¬ duced into the U.S. in 1804, it began to be farmed widely as a livestock feed in the 1930s, and the U.S. is now the world’s foremost soybean producer. Economically the world’s most important bean, the soybean provides vegetable protein for mil¬ lions of people and ingredients for hundreds of chemical products, including paints, adhesives, fertiliz¬ ers, insect sprays, and fire-extinguisher fluids. Because soybeans contain no starch, they are a good source of protein for diabetics. Processed for food, soybean oil is made into margarine, shortening, and vegetarian cheeses and meats. Soybean meal serves as a high-protein meat substi¬ tute in many food products, including baby foods. Other food products include soybean milk, tofu, salad sprouts, and soy sauce.
Soyinka Vsho-'yiq-kaV Wole in full Akinwande Oluwole So¬ yinka (b. July 13, 1934, Abeokuta, Nigeria) Nigerian playwright. After studying in Leeds, Eng., he returned to Nigeria to edit literary journals, teach drama and literature at the university level, and found two theatre companies. His plays, written in English and drawing on West African folk traditions, often focus on the tensions between tradition and progress. Symbolism, flashback, and ingenious plotting contribute to a rich dramatic structure. His serious plays reveal his disillusionment with African
Sow bug (Oniscus asellus).
HUGH SPENCER
Soybeans (Glycine max)
J.C. ALLEN AND SON
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Soyuz ► space-time I 1793
authoritarian leadership and with Nigerian society as a whole. His works include A Dance of the For¬ ests (1960), The Lion and the Jewel (1963), Death and the King’s Horse¬ man (1975), and From Zia, with Love (1992). He has written several volumes of poetry; his best-known novel is The Interpreters (1965). A champion of Nigerian democracy, he was repeatedly jailed and exiled. In 1986 he became the first black Afri¬ can to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Soyuz \so-'yuz\ Any of several ver¬ sions of Soviet/Russian manned spacecraft launched since 1967.
Originally conceived for the U.S.S.R.’s Moon-landing program, which was canceled in 1974, the modular craft has served mainly as a crew ferry to and from Earth¬ orbiting space stations, specifically the Salyut stations, Mir, and the Inter¬ national Space Station (ISS). The first version accommodated three persons but was later modified for a crew of two to make room for addi¬ tional life-support equipment. Soyuz T, introduced in 1979, restored the third crew seat. Soyuz TM, an upgrade featuring a variety of new sys¬ tems, made its first manned flight in 1987 when it carried Mir’s second crew to the then-embryonic station. The Soyuz TMA debuted in 2002 with a manned flight to the ISS; its design incorporated changes to meet cer¬ tain NASA requirements as an ISS “lifeboat,” including eased height and weight restrictions for crew members.
spa Spring or resort with thermal or mineral water for drinking and bathing. The word derives from a Belgian town whose springs reputedly had curative powers. Mineral springs usually contain various salts, trace minerals, and gases; many are naturally carbonated. Most thermal springs (see hot spring) also contain minerals. Warm-water bathing aids relaxation (see hydrotherapy), and high salt or sulfur content helps some skin con¬ ditions. Drinking mineral water is believed to aid digestion, and waters with specific minerals are used for particular conditions.