western Genre of novels and short stories, motion pictures, and televi¬ sion and radio shows set in the American West, usually during 1850-1900, when the area was opened to white settlement. Though basically an Ameri¬ can creation, it has counterparts in the gaucho literature of Argentina and in tales of the settlement of the Australian Outback. Conflicts between white pioneers and Native Americans and between cattle ranchers and fence¬ building farmers form two basic themes. Cowboys, the town sheriff, and the U.S. marshal are staple figures, and lawlessness and gun violence are standard. Owen Wister’s The Virginian (1902) is regarded as the seminal western novel; the popularity of the genre peaked in the early and middle decades of the 20th century and declined somewhat thereafter.
Western Australia State (pop., 2001: 1,906,114), western Australia. Covering 976,790 sq mi (2,529,880 sq km), it constitutes one-third of the continent’s area but has less than one-tenth of Australia’s population; its capital is Perth. The extensive interior region has three deserts: Great Sandy, Gibson, and Great Victoria. The coast along the Timor Sea and Indian Ocean has only a few good harbours; notable inlets are Joseph Bonaparte and Exmouth gulfs. Australian Aboriginal peoples have occu¬ pied Western Australia for about 40,000 years. The western coast was first visited in 1616 by the Dutch; it was later explored by Englishman Wil¬ liam Dampier in 1688 and 1699. In 1829 Capt. James Stirling led the first group of settlers there to establish Australia’s first nonconvict colony. The discovery of gold in 1886 prompted a movement for constitutional autonomy, which was granted in 1890. In 1900 it was the last state to ratify the newly constituted Commonwealth of Australia. Initially it suf¬ fered from slow growth, but since 1960 its economy, fueled by agricul¬ ture and mining (notably of hydrocarbons), has been expanding.
Western Dvina River Russian Zapadnaya Vza-pod-no-yoV Dvina Latvian Daugava Vdau-g3-v3\ River, north-central Europe. It rises in Russia’s Valdai Hills and flows 632 mi (1,020 km) in a great arc south through Russia and into Belarus and then northwest across Latvia. It discharges into the Gulf of Riga on the Baltic Sea. An important water route since early times, connected in its upper reaches by easy portages to the Dnieper, Volga, and Lovat-Volkhov river systems, it constituted part of the great trade route from the Baltic region to Byzantium and to the Arabic east. Rapids and the presence of dams have restricted navigation on it.
Western Electric Co. Inc. Former U.S. telecommunications company. Founded in 1869 by Elisha Gray and Enos N. Barton, the firm was incor¬ porated in Chicago, Ill., in 1872 as the Western Electric Manufacturing Co. It manufactured a series of new products, including the world’s first commercial typewriters and incandescent lamps. Bell Telephone bought a controlling interest in the company in 1881; the next year it was rein¬ corporated as Western Electric Co., becoming part of the Bell System (see AT&T Inc.). It became a major manufacturer of telephone equipment and communications satellites, in addition to producing radar and missile sys¬ tems. In 1983, with the breakup of AT&T, the company was dissolved as a separate subsidiary and became part of AT&T Technologies (renamed Lucent Technologies).
Western European Union (WEU) Association of 10 European countries to coordinate matters of European security and defense. The WEU was formed in 1955 as an outgrowth of the Brussels Treaty of 1948. Composed of Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Britain, it works in cooperation with NATO and the European Union and is administered by a council of the foreign affairs and defense ministers of the member countries. There are also several associate members, observers, and associate partners. It is headquartered in Brussels.
Western Hemisphere Part of Earth comprising North and South America and the surrounding waters. Longitudes 20° W and 160° E are often considered its boundaries.
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Western Indian bronze ► Westminster Abbey I 2049
Western Indian bronze Style of metal sculpture that flourished in India from the 6th to the 12th cen¬ tury and later, mainly in the area of modern Gujarat and Rajasthan states.
Most of the bronzes are associated with Jainism; they include represen¬ tations of saviour figures and ritual objects such as incense burners and lamp bearers. Most are small, as they were intended for private worship.
They were made by lost-wax casting, and the eyes and ornaments are fre¬ quently inlaid with silver and gold.
Western Isles See Hebrides Islands
Western Ontario, University
of Public university in London,
Ontario, Canada, founded in 1878. It has faculties of applied health sci¬ ences, arts, business administration, dentistry, education, engineering, graduate studies, journalism, law, library science, medicine, music, nursing, science, and social science as well as a graduate school of jour¬ nalism.
Western Reserve Tract of land, northeastern Ohio, U.S. Located on the southern shore of Lake Erie, it formed part of the western lands of Connecticut not surrendered to Congress in 1786. It covered about 3,500,000 ac (1,417,500 ha) and was sold in part to immigrants from Connecticut (1786-1800). Ceded in 1800 to Ohio, it was later divided into several counties.
Western Sahara formerly Spanish Sahara Territory, North Africa. Area: 97,344 sq mi (252,120 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 256,000. Capitaclass="underline" Laayoune. Little is known of the area’s prehistory, though rock engravings in southern locations suggest a succession of nomadic groups. In the 4th century bc there was trade across the Medi¬ terranean Sea between the region and Europe; this did not last, and there was little European contact until the 19th century. In 1884 Spain claimed a protectorate over the Rio de Oro region. Boundary agreements with France were concluded in 1900 and 1912. Spain formally united the area’s northern and southern parts into the overseas province of the Spanish Sahara in 1958. In 1976 Spain relinquished its claim. The region then was divided between Mauritania, which relinquished its claim in 1979, and Morocco, which later occupied the whole territory. Separatists of the Polisario movement, based in Algeria, declared a government-in-exile called the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic in 1976; the issue of West¬ ern Sahara’s status remained unresolved, remained unresolved.Western Sahara has vast phosphate deposits and some potash and iron ore.
Western Samoa See Samoa
Western Scheldt or Westerschelde Vves-tor-.skel-doN Estuary, southwestern Netherlands. An inlet of the North Sea at the mouth of the Schelde River, it flows west for about 30 mi (50 km) through the Delta Islands to the North Sea. It has been an important transportation route since the 16th century, when Holy Roman Emperor Charles V designated Vussingen as his port of embarkation from the Netherlands. It continues to operate as an important shipping route to many destinations, including Antwerp.
Western Schism See Western Schism
Western Union Former U.S. telegraph company and contemporary provider of electronic financial transactions. From its foundation in 1851 as a company formed to build a telegraph line from Buffalo, N.Y., to St. Louis, Mo., in 1856 the expanding business was reorganized as the West¬ ern Union Telegraph Co. By the end of 1861 Western Union had built the first transcontinental telegraph line. The company introduced singing tele¬ grams in 1933. Western Union continued to grow, absorbing competitors such as Postal Telegraph Inc. in 1943. As telegraphy was superseded by other methods of telecommunication, Western Union diversified into tele¬ typewriter services, money orders, and mailgrams. It launched the tele¬