Ursula Vor-syu-loV Saint (fl. 4th century, Rome; feast day October 21) Legendary leader of a band of virgins martyred by the Huns. The num¬ ber of virgins was originally 11, but, as the story was retold over the years, it increased to 11,000. According to the 13th-century Golden Legend , Ursula was an English princess who went on a pilgrimage to Rome with 11,000 virgins and was martyred with them on the homeward journey. Ursula is the patron saint of the order of St. Ursula (Ursulines), a con¬ gregation of nuns dedicated to educating girls.
Urubamba \,u-ru-'bam-ba\ River River, central Peru. Part of the Ama¬ zon River drainage system, it rises in the Andes Mountains and flows north¬ west for about 450 mi (725 km) to its junction with the Apurimac River, the two then forming the Ucayali River. In the Gorge of Torontoy, the river plunges from about 11,000 ft (3,400 m) above sea level to about 8,000 ft (2,400 m) in 20 mi (32 km).
Uruguay V.ii-ru-'gwlA English \'yur-3-,gwa\ officially Oriental Republic of Uruguay Country, southeastern South America. Area: 68,037 sq mi (176,215 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 3,256,000. Capi-
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taclass="underline" Montevideo. People of European ances¬ try (mostly Spanish and Italian) make up about nine-tenths of the population; most of the remainder are mestizos or people of African-European descent. Few Indians remain. Language: Spanish (official). Religions: Christianity (predomi¬ nantly Roman Catholic; also other Christians, Protestant), Judaism. Cur¬ rency: Uruguayan peso. Uruguay is the only South American country lying entirely outside the tropics. Its topography consists mainly of low plateaus and low hilly regions. The principal waterway is the Negro River; the Uruguay River forms the country’s entire western border with Argen¬ tina. Mineral and energy resources are limited. Pastures, covering almost four-fifths of the land area, support large herds of livestock raised for meat, leather goods, and wool. Chief crops include rice, sugarcane, oranges, wheat, and corn. Other important economic activities are tour¬ ism, fishing, and the manufacture of textiles and chemicals. Uruguay is a republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president. Prior to European settlement, it was inhabited mainly by the Charrua and Guarani Indians. The Spanish navigator Juan Diaz de Solis sailed into the Rio de la Plata estuary in 1516. The Portuguese established Colonia in 1680. Subsequently the Spanish established Mon¬ tevideo in 1726, driving the Portuguese from their settlement; 50 years later Uruguay became part of the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata. It gained independence from Spain in 1811. The Portuguese regained it in 1821, incorporating it into Brazil as a province. A revolt against Brazil in 1825 led to its being recognized as an independent country in 1828. It sided with Brazil and Argentina against Paraguay in the War of the Triple
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
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Alliance (1864/65-70). The economy benefited from a demand for raw material during World War II (1939—45) and the Korean War (1950-53). The office of the president was abolished in 1951 and replaced with a nine-member council. The country adopted a new constitution and restored the presidential system in 1966. A military coup occurred in 1973, but the country returned to civilian rule in 1985. The 1990s brought a general upturn in the economy, largely the result of reform measures and membership in Mercosur, the Southern Common Market (1991).
Uruguay River River, southeastern South America. Rising in south¬ ern Brazil, it forms the border between Argentina and Brazil and between Argentina and Uraguay. Above Buenos Aires, it combines with the Parana River to form the great estuary of the Rio de la Plata. Its 990-mi (1,593- km) course is interrupted by rapids, but it is navigable by ocean vessels for about 130 mi (210 km) upriver from its mouth.
Uruk See Erech
Uriimqi \iE-'riem-'che\ or Urumchi \u-'rum-'che\ or Wu-lu-mu- ch'i Vwu-'lii-'mu-'cheV City (pop., 1999 est.: 1,258,457), capital of Xin¬ jiang autonomous region, northwestern China. Situated along the northern face of the Tien Shan, it first came under Chinese control in the 7th-8th centuries and became an important centre for caravans en route to Turki- stan. The Uighurs had control from c. 750 until the resumption of Chi¬ nese rule in the 18th century. The city was held by Muslim rebels in 1864-76. When the province of Xinjiang was established in 1884, Uriimqi became its capital. It grew rapidly into the greatest city and centre of trade in Central Asia. It is located in a coal-mining and petroleum-producing area; its chief manufactures include iron and steel, agricultural machin¬ ery, and chemicals.
Urundi See Ruanda-Urundi U.S. See United States
U.S. News & World Report Weekly newsmagazine published in Washington, D.C. U.S. News was founded in 1933 by David Lawrence (1888-1973) to cover important domestic events; he founded World Report in 1945 to treat world news. The two magazines were merged in 1948. From its start, U.S. News & World Report had a somewhat more conservative editorial viewpoint than its larger rivals, Time and Newsweek, and it paid less attention to sports and the arts. In 1984 it was bought by real-estate developer Mortimer B. Zuckerman, who later purchased the New York Daily News. Surveys of higher education are published annu¬ ally in the popular “America’s Best Colleges” rankings.
U.S.S.R. See Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
USA Today National U.S. daily general-interest newspaper, the first of its kind. Launched in 1982 by Allen Neuharth, head of the Gannett news¬ paper chain, it reached a circulation of one million within a year and sur¬ passed two million in the 1990s. Initially considered gimmicky and insubstantial, it gradually developed a reputation for higher quality while increasing its circulation and advertising revenues at a time when few papers were experiencing growth. The features that originally set it apart—abundant colourful graphics, very brief stories, and a concentra¬ tion on sports and celebrity—have influenced other newspapers.
USB in full Universal Serial Bus Type of serial bus that allows peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, digitizers, data gloves, etc.) to be easily connected to a computer. A “plug-and-play” interface, it allows a device to be added without an adapter card and without reboo¬ ting the computer (the latter is known as hot-plugging). The USB stan¬ dard, developed by several major computer and telecommunications companies, supports data-transfer speeds up to 12 megabits per second, multiple data streams, and up to 127 peripherals.
Usman dan Fodio Xii-'sman-'dan-fo-'de-oX (b. December 1754, Maratta, Gobir, Hausaland—d. 1817, Sokoto, Fulani empire) Fulani mys¬ tic, philosopher, and revolutionary reformer. In a jihad (holy war) between 1804 and 1808, he created a new Muslim state, the Fulani empire, in what is now northern Nigeria. He stimulated the growth of Islam throughout the region and founded the important Sokoto caliphate. He also produced a large body of writings in Arabic and Fula that continue to enjoy wide circulation and influence.