censorship Act of changing or suppressing speech or writing that is considered subversive of the common good. In the past, most govern¬ ments believed it their duty to regulate the morals of their people; only with the rise in the status of the individual and individual rights did cen¬ sorship come to seem objectionable. Censorship may be preemptive (pre¬ venting the publication or broadcast of undesirable information) or punitive (punishing those who publish or broadcast offending material). In Europe, both the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches practiced censorship, as did the absolute monarchies of the 17th and 18th centuries. Authoritarian governments such as those in China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, and the former Soviet Union have employed pervasive censorship, which is generally opposed by underground movements engaged in the circula¬ tion of samizdat literature. In the U.S. in the 20th century, censorship focused largely on works of fiction deemed guilty of obscenity (e.g., James Joyce’s Ulysses and D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover), though periodic acts of political censorship also occurred (e.g., the effort to purge school textbooks of possible left-wing content in the 1950s). In the late 20th century, some called for censorship of so-called hate speech, lan¬ guage deemed threatening (or sometimes merely offensive) to various subsections of the population. Censorship in the U.S. is usually opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union. In Germany after World War II it became a crime to deny the Holocaust or to publish pro-Nazi publica¬ tions. See also Pentagon Papers.
census Enumeration of people, houses, firms, or other important items in a country or region at a particular time. The first U.S. population cen¬ sus was taken in 1790 to establish a basis for representation in Congress. Censuses were taken in England, France, and Canada in 1801, 1836, and 1871, respectively. China was the last major country to report a census, in 1953. Census information is obtained by using a fixed questionnaire covering such topics as place of residence, sex, age, marital status, occu¬ pation, citizenship, language, ethnicity, religious affiliation, and educa¬ tion. From the responses demographers derive data on population distribution, household and family composition, internal migration, labor- force participation, and other topics. See also demography.
centaur Vsen-,t6r\ In Greek mythology, one of a race of creatures, part horse and part man, living in the mountains of Thessaly and Arcadia. They were best known for their battle with the Lapiths, occasioned by their attempt to carry off the bride of a Lapith prince. Centaurs were often depicted drawing Dionysus' chariot or ridden by Eros, in reference to their drunken and amorous habits. Their king Chiron, however, was notable for being civilized, gentle, and the tutor of heroes.
Centaur object Icy body, similar to an asteroid in size but to a comet in composition, that orbits the Sun mainly between the orbits of Jupiter
and Neptune. The first known Centaur object, Chiron, was found in 1977, but its affinity with comets was not recognized until more than a decade later. Subsequently, dozens of Centaur objects have been reported. They are thought to have originated in the Kuiper belt, a vast reservoir of comet nuclei beyond Neptune’s orbit.
Center Party German political party formed to support Roman Catho¬ lic interests. It was active in the Second Reich from the 1870s, when it came into conflict with Otto von Bismarck in the Kulturkampf, to 1933, when it was dissolved by the Nazi-dominated government. It was the first party of imperial Germany to cut across class and state lines, but because it represented the Roman Catholics, who were concentrated in southern Germany, it never won a parliamentary majority.
centering See falsework
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, headquartered in Atlanta, whose mission is “to promote health and quality of life by pre¬ venting and controlling disease, injury, and disability.” Part of the Public Health Service, it was founded in 1946 as the Communicable Disease Center to fight malaria and other contagious diseases. As its scope wid¬ ened to polio, smallpox, and disease surveillance, the name was changed to the Center for Disease Control and later pluralized. It now subsumes health statistics, infectious diseases, and environmental health; a National Immunization Program; and an Office on Smoking and Health. It con¬ solidates disease-control data, health promotion, and public health pro¬ grams, and it provides grants for studies and programs, health information to health care professionals and the public, and publications on epidemi¬ ology. Today it is regarded as perhaps the world’s foremost epidemio¬ logical centre.
centipede Any of about 2,800 species (class Chilopoda) of long, flat¬ tened, many-segmented arthropods having one pair of legs on each seg¬ ment except the hindmost. Centi¬ pedes remain under stones, bark, and ground litter by day; at night they prey on other small invertebrates.
They move rapidly on 14-177 pairs of legs and have one pair of long, many-jointed antennae and a pair of jawlike, venomous claws just behind the head. The 1-in. (2.5-cm) house centipede of Europe and North America is the only species common in dwellings. The largest centipedes, found in the tropics, may grow as long as 11 in. (28 cm) and can inflict severe bites.
CENTO See Central Treaty Organization
Central African Republic formerly Ubangi-Shari \u-,bag-ge- ‘shar-e\ Republic, central Africa. Area: 240,324 sq mi (622,436 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 4,038,000. Capitaclass="underline" Bangui. The people form het¬ erogeneous ethnic groups, with the Banda, Baya (Gbaya), Mandjia, and Ngbaka constituting more than two-thirds of the inhabitants. Languages: French, Sango (both official), several others. Religions: Christianity (mostly other Christians [largely unaffiliated and independent]; also Roman Catholic, Protestant), Islam, traditional beliefs. Currency: CFA franc. A landlocked country, it consists of a large rolling plateau. The northern half is characterized by savanna and is drained by tributaries of the Chari River. The southern half is densely forested. The country has a developing free-enterprise economy of mixed state and private structure, with agriculture as the main component. It is a republic with one legis¬ lative body; its chief of state is the president, assisted by the prime min¬ ister. For several centuries before the arrival of Europeans, the territory was exploited by slave traders. The French explored and claimed central Africa and in 1889 established a post at Bangui. They subsequently par¬ titioned the territory into several colonies, one of which was Ubangi-Shari (Oubangui-Chari), the future Central African Republic; it later became part of French Equatorial Africa. Ubangi-Shari became a French overseas territory in 1946. It became an autonomous republic within the French Community in 1958 and achieved independence in 1960. In 1965 the mili¬ tary overthrew a civilian government and installed Jean-Bedel Bokassa, who in 1976 renamed the country the Central African Empire. He was overthrown in 1979 and the former name was restored, but the military
E.S. ROSS
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
362 I Central America ► Central Pacific Railroad
Central America Southern portion of North America (pop., 2005 est.: 39,806,000). It extends from the southern border of Mexico to the north¬ western border of Colombia and from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea. It includes Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Some geographers also include five states of Mexico: Quintana Roo, Yucatan, Campeche, Tabasco, and Chiapas. Area: 201,594 sq mi (522,129 sq km). Two-thirds of the population is of mixed American Indian and Spanish ancestry. Language: Spanish (official), except Belize (English, official); also American Indian languages. Reli¬ gion: chiefly Roman Catholicism. The region is largely hilly or moun¬ tainous, with humid swamps and lowlands extending along both coasts. Tajumulco Volcano, in western Guatemala, is the highest point, elevation 13,845 ft (4,220 m). The region has some 40 volcanoes, many of them active, and is prone to severe seismic activity. The volcanic zones have fertile soil and are productive agricultural areas. Central America was long inhabited by indigenous peoples, including the Maya, before the Spanish arrived and conquered the region in the early 16th century; they contin¬ ued to rule for about 300 years. Christopher Columbus skirted the Atlantic coast from Honduras to the Gulf of Darien in 1502; the first European settlement (1510) was on the gulf. Spain organized the region (except Panama) into the Captaincy General of Guatemala (c. 1543). The English arrived in the 17th century, settling what became British Honduras (Bel¬ ize). Independence from Spanish rule came in 1821, and in 1823 the United Provinces of Central America was formed (Guatemala, El Salva¬ dor, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica). British Honduras, still a colony, did not join the federation, and Panama remained part of Colom¬ bia. In 1824 the federation adopted a constitution, but in 1838 Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua seceded, thus effectively terminating the fed¬ eration. Treaties of amity were drawn up at a conference of Central Ameri¬ can states in Washington, D.C. (1923). The Central American Common Market was established in 1960 to create a customs union and promote economic cooperation.