East Sussex Administrative and geographic county (pop., 2001: 492,324), southeastern England. It is located on the English Channel; the county’s administrative centre is in Lewes. A ridge of chalk hills, the South Downs, crosses the county along the coast; in the southeast the reclaimed marshes of Pevensey Levels have historically been an important entry point for invaders. Neolithic remains and an Iron Age hill fort have been
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
590 i East Timor ► Eastern Woodlands Indian
found, as well as evidence of Roman occupation. The South Saxons came to dominate the area, and they were in turn subjugated by Wessex. In 1066 William of Normandy (see William I) landed at Pevensey and fought the Battle of Hastings. Along the coast, Hove, Brighton, Peacehaven, Seaford, Eastbourne, Bexhill, and Hastings form an ever-lengthening line of resorts.
East Timor officially Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
Country occupying the eastern half of the island of Timor, Southeast Asia. Bounded by the Timor Sea and by the western half of Timor, it also
1260
ATAURO I.
EAST TIMOR
(TIMOR-LESTE)
Dili
Manatuto •
Baucai
.Ermera EAST TIMOR
Tatamailau \ ( \y ^ 2963 m ( V •Viqueque IAinaro) ‘Sames "A/
Suai
TIMOR ISLAND
TIMOR SEA
® 2002 Encyclopedia Britannic;
includes the enclave of Ambeno (surround¬ ing the town of Pante Makasar on the north¬ western coast of Timor) and the islands of Atauro (Kambing) and Jaco. Area: 5,639 square miles (14,604 square km). Population
(2005 est.): 975,000. Capitaclass="underline" Dili. Languages: Tetum and Portuguese (both official). Religions: Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic; also Protestant); also Islam, traditional beliefs. Currency: U.S. dollar. The Por¬ tuguese first settled on Timor in 1520 and were granted rule over Timor’s eastern half in 1860. The Timor political party Fretilin declared East Timor independent in 1975 after Portugal withdrew its troops. It was invaded by Indonesian forces and annexed to Indonesia in 1976. The takeover, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of East Timorese dur¬ ing the next two decades, was disputed by the United Nations. In 1999 an independence referendum won overwhelmingly; though Indonesia officially recognized the referendum, anti-independence militias killed hundreds of people and sent thousands fleeing to the western part of the island before and after the vote. A UN-administered interim authority imposed order and oversaw elections, the promulgation of a constitution, and the return of refugees; East Timor became a sovereign nation in 2002.
East-West Schism See Schism of 1054
East York Borough (pop., 2001: 115,185), southeastern Ontario, Canada. With the cities of North York, Toronto, Scarborough, York, and Etobicoke, it forms the municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. A planned industrial and residential urban complex, it was established in 1967 through the amalgamation of the former East York township (created in 1924) and the former town of Leaside (settled 1819).
Easter Major festival of the Christian church year, celebrating the res¬ urrection of Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion. In Western churches it falls on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25, depending on the date of the first full moon after the spring equinox. This time span was fixed after the Council of Nicaea (ad 325). In the Eastern Orthodox cal¬ endar, which uses a different calculation, it often falls later. A joyful fes¬ tival and a time of redemption, Easter brings an end to the long period of penance that constitutes Lent. The word is sometimes said to have been derived from Eostre, a Germanic goddess of spring, but other origins of the term more closely associated with Christian traditions have been pro¬ posed. Easter has acquired a number of religious and popular customs. The Easter worship service is one of the high points of the Christian cal¬ endar, and since the late 2nd century Easter has also been a time for bap¬ tism. The painting of eggs and tales of a rabbit who decorates and hides eggs are among the folk customs associated with the holiday.
Easter Island Spanish Isla de Pascua native Rapa Nui Vra-pa-'nu-e\ Island (pop., 2002: 3,791), eastern Pacific Ocean. Located 2,200 mi (3,600 km) west of Chile, it has an area of 63 sq mi (163 sq km). Initially inhabited c. ad 400 by Polynesians from the Marquesas,
Easter Island has long been famous for its monolithic stone statues in human form. They are some 10-40 ft (3-12 m) high, the heaviest weigh¬ ing about 82 tons. They were probably erected c. ad 1000-1600. War and disease decimated the island’s population over the succeeding centuries, and the statues’ origins were forgotten. Annexed by Chile in 1888, the island was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995.
Easter Rising or Easter Rebellion (1916) Republican insurrection in Ireland against the British, which began on Easter Monday, April 24. Led by Patrick Pearse and Tom Clarke, some 1,560 Irish Volunteers and 200 members of the Irish Citizen Army seized the Dublin General Post Office and other strategic points in Dublin. After five days of fighting, British troops put down the rebellion, and 15 of its leaders were tried and executed. Though the uprising itself had been unpopular with most of the Irish, the executions caused revulsion against the British authorities. The uprising heralded the end of British power in Ireland.
Eastern Air Lines, Inc. Former U.S. airline that served primarily the eastern U.S. Founded in 1928 as Pitcairn Aviation, Inc., it was incorpo¬ rated in 1938 with Eddie Rickenbacker as its president. It flourished for sev¬ eral decades, adding flights to the Caribbean and South America. Severe financial reverses in the mid-1980s led to its sale to Texas Air Corp. in 1986 and its liquidation in 1991.
Eastern Catholic Church See Eastern Rite Church
Eastern Hemisphere Part of the Earth east of the Atlantic Ocean. It includes Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. Longitudes 20° W and 160° E are often considered its boundaries.
Eastern Indian bronze or Pala bronze Metal sculptures produced from the 9th century in the area of modem Bihar and West Bengal in India, extending into Bangladesh. Made of an alloy of eight metals and produced by lost-wax casting, they represent various divinities (e.g., Shiva, Vishnu) and are small and portable. Produced in the great Buddhist monasteries and distributed throughout South Asia, they influenced the art of Burma (Myanmar), Siam (Thailand), and Java.
Eastern Orthodoxy officially Orthodox Catholic Church One
of the three major branches of Christianity. Its adherents live mostly in Greece, Russia, the Balkans, Ukraine, and the Middle East, with a large following in North America and Australia. The titular head of Eastern Orthodoxy is the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul), but its many territorial churches (including the huge Russian Orthodox church and the Greek Orthodox church) are governed autonomously by head bish¬ ops or patriarchs, who must be unmarried or widowed even though lower orders of the clergy may marry. Eastern Orthodoxy also boasts a strong monastic tradition. The separation of the Eastern churches from the West¬ ern, or Latin, branch began with the division of the Roman Empire into two parts under Constantine I. A formal break was made in 1054 (see Schism of 1054). Doctrinally, Eastern Orthodoxy differs from Roman Catholicism in that it does not accept the primacy of the pope or the clause in the Western creed that states that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father (God) and the Son (Jesus). The Orthodox church accepts the deci¬ sions of the seven ecumenical councils as well as several later ones. It maintains that there are seven sacraments and has a worship service that is theologically and spiritually rich. In the early 21st century, Eastern Orthodoxy had more than 200 million adherents worldwide.