equal-field system Chinese land-distribution system, ad 485-8th century. Borrowed by Japan in 646, it lasted about a century there. Under the system, all adults were assigned a fixed amount of land; a portion of its produce was paid as taxes. On a person’s death, most of the land was returned to the government. Increases in population and a tendency for the land to come to be held permanently led to the system’s collapse in China; tax-free status and additional allotments for nobles and monaster¬ ies resulted in its demise in Japan.
equal protection In U.S. law, the constitutional guarantee that no per¬ son or group will be denied such protection under the law as is enjoyed by similar persons or groups—i.e., persons similarly situated must be treated similarly. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits states from denying any person “the equal protection of the laws.” Until the mid-20th century the requirement was applied minimally—except in some cases of racial discrimination, such as the use of literacy tests and grandfather clauses to restrict the voting rights of blacks. In Plessyv. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court of the United States upheld “separate but equal” facilities for the races, thus sanctioning racial segregation. Beginning in the 1960s, the court under Chief Justice Earl Warren dramatically expanded the concept, applying it to cases involv¬ ing welfare benefits, exclusionary zoning, municipal services, and school financing. During the tenure of Chief Justices Warren E. Burger and Wil¬ liam H. Rehnquist, the court continued to add to the types of cases that might be adjudicated under equal protection, including cases involving sexual discrimination, the status and rights of aliens, abortion rights, and access to the courts.
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Proposed but unratified amend¬ ment to the U.S. Constitution designed mainly to invalidate many state and federal laws that discriminated against women. Its central tenet was that sex should not be a determining factor in establishing the legal rights of individuals. It was first introduced in Congress in 1923, shortly after women obtained the right to vote. It was finally approved by the U.S. Senate 49 years later (1972) but was subsequently ratified by only 30 of the 50 state legislatures. Critics claimed it would cause women to lose
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
628 i equality ► equine
privileges and protections, such as exemption from compulsory military service and economic support by their husbands. Supporters, led by the National Organization for Women, argued that discriminatory state and federal laws left many women in a state of economic dependency.
equality Generally, an ideal of uniformity in treatment or status by those in a position to affect either. Acknowledgment of the right to equality often must be coerced from the advantaged by the disadvantaged. Equality of opportunity was the founding creed of U.S. society, but equality among all peoples and between the sexes has proved easier to legislate than to achieve in practice. Social or religious inequality is deeply ingrained in some cultures and thus difficult to overcome (see caste). Government efforts to achieve economic equality include enhancing opportunities through tax policy, subsidized training and education, redistributing wealth or resources, and preferential treatment of those historically treated unequally (see affirmative action). See also civil rights movement; feminism;
GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT; HUMAN RIGHTS; UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS.
equation Statement of equality between two expressions consisting of variables and/or numbers. In essence, equations are questions, and the development of mathematics has been driven by attempts to find answers to those questions in a systematic way. Equations vary in complexity from simple algebraic equations (involving only addition or multiplication) to differential equations, exponential equations (involving exponential expressions), and integral equations. They are used to express many of the laws of physics. See also system of equations.
equation, algebraic See algebraic equation equation, difference See difference equation equation, quadratic See quadratic equation equation of motion See equation of motion equation of state See equation of state equations, system of See system of equations
Equator Great circle around the Earth that is everywhere equidistant from the geographic poles and lies in a plane perpendicular to the Earth’s axis. This geographic, or terrestrial, Equator divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and forms the imaginary reference line on the Earth’s surface from which latitude is reckoned (i.e., 0° lati¬ tude). In astronomy, the celestial equator is the great circle in which the plane of the terrestrial Equator intersects the celestial sphere; it is thus equidistant from the celestial poles. When the Sun lies in its plane, day and night are everywhere of equal length; this happens at the EQUlNOXes.
Equatorial Africa See French Equatorial Africa equatorial coordinates See celestial coordinates
Equatorial Guinea officially Republic of Equatorial Guinea formerly Spanish Guinea Country, on the western coast of equatorial Africa and including Bioko Island. Area: 10,831 sq mi (28,051 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 504,000. Capitaclass="underline" Malabo. The majority of the mainland population are Bantu-speaking Fang people, with a minority of other Bantu-speaking ethnic groups (see Bantu languages). The majority on Bioko are Bubi, descendants of Bantu migrants from the mainland. Languages: Spanish, French (both official), Pidgin English (commonly spoken). Religions: Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic, also other Christians, Protestant); also Islam, traditional beliefs. Currency: CFA franc. Bordered by Cameroon and Gabon, Equatorial Guinea’s main¬ land region is separated by the Bight of Biafra from the island of Bioko to the northwest. The mainland has a coastal plain some 12 mi (20 km) wide, with a long stretch of beach, low cliffs to the south, and hills and plateaus to the east. The Benito River divides the region. Bioko consists of three extinct volcanic cones and has several crater lakes and rich lava soils. Dense tropical rainforest prevails throughout the mainland and includes valuable hardwoods. Animal life has been decimated by over¬ hunting. Cacao, timber, and coffee are exported from the country, but since the 1990s petroleum is the major export. Equatorial Guinea is a republic with one legislative house; its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. The first inhabitants of the mainland appear to have been Bantu-speaking people. The now-prominent Fang and Bubi reached the mainland in the Bantu migrations of the late 19th and the early 20th century. Equatorial Guinea was ceded by the Portuguese to the Spanish in the late 18th century; it was frequented by slave trad¬ ers, as well as by British and other merchants. Bioko was administered
declared in 1968, followed by a reign of terror and economic chaos under the dictatorial president Macias Nguema, who was overthrown by a military coup in 1979 and later executed. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo became leader of the country in 1979. A new constitution was adopted in 1982, but political unrest persisted into the 21st century despite the country’s oil wealth.
eques \'e-,kwes, 'e-,kwez\ (Latin: “horseman”) In ancient Rome, a knight. In early Rome, the equites (in full, equites equo publico, “horse¬ men with mounts provided at public expense”) were of the senatorial class. They were the most influential members of the Comitia Centuriata. By the early 4th century bc, non-senators could be equites, providing their own horses. Augustus reorganized them as a military class, removing them from politics; qualifications were free birth, good health and character, and wealth. In the 1st century ad, equites were permitted civil careers, and they became particularly involved in financial administration.