Galveston City (pop., 2000: 57,247) and port of entry, southeastern Texas, U.S. Located at the northeastern end of Galveston Island in the Gulf of Mexico, it was the pirate Jean Laffite’s headquarters (1817-21). Settlement of the island then began, and the town of Galveston was laid out in 1834; during the Texas revolt against Mexico (1835-36), it briefly served as the capital. During the American Civil War it was an important Confederate supply port. Although the city suffered from several hurri¬ canes in the 20th century, it remains a major deepwater port, with ship¬ ping and oil-refining facilities.
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Galvez ► Gambier I 731
Galvez \'gal-,ves\, Jose, marquess de la Sonora (b. 1720, Velez-Malaga, Spain—d. 1787, Aranjuez) Spanish colonial administra¬ tor. He was noted for his work as inspector general in New Spain (Mexico), in 1765-71, where he reorganized the tax system, formed a government tobacco monopoly, and occupied Upper California. As min¬ ister of the Indies (America) from 1775, he worked to expand commerce. He devised the intendancy system that was introduced in 1786. Galvez is considered Spain’s greatest colonial administrator.
Galway \'g6l-,wa\ County (pop., 2002 prelim.: 208,826), Connacht province, western Ireland. It is bounded to the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Its seat, the town of Galway (pop., 2002 prelim.: 65,774), is at the head of Galway Bay. The descendants of the followers of the Norman Richard de Burgh, who assumed rule in the area in the 1230s, became known as the tribes of Galway. After 1652 the land settlement of Oliver Cromwell established a new class of landed proprietors. Galway is still largely an agricultural region, though it also has light industry, such as cotton spin¬ ning and sugar refining. It has the largest Irish-speaking population of any Irish county.
Galway, Sir James (b. Dec. 8, 1939, Belfast, N.Ire.) Irish flutist. He went to London as a teenager to study flute, completing his studies with Jean-Pierre Rampal and Marcel Moyse (1889-1984) in Paris. He was prin¬ cipal flutist of the Royal Philharmonic (1966-69) and later of the Berlin Philharmonic (1969-75). He subsequently enjoyed great success as a soloist in light classical and popular music.
Gama, Vasco da, 1st count da Vidigueira (b. c. 1460, Sines, Port.—d. Dec. 24, 1524, Cochin, India) Portuguese navigator. On his first voyage to India (1497-99), he traveled around the Cape of Good Hope with four ships, visiting trading cities in Mozambique and Kenya en route. Portugal’s King Manuel I acted quickly to open trade routes with India, but a massacre of Portuguese in India caused him to dispatch a fleet of 20 ships in 1502, led by da Gama, to establish Portuguese supremacy in the region. Da Gama, then an admiral, forced allegiance along the way from local rulers and attacked Arab shipping. After various battles, he secured obedience to Portuguese rule and returned home. In 1524 he was appointed Portuguese viceroy in India but died shortly after arriving in Goa. His voyages to India opened the sea route from western Europe to the East.
Gamaliel \g9-'ma-le-3l\ I or Rabban \ra-'ban\ Gamaliel (fl. 1st century) Early rabbinic figure and patriarch of the Jewish community of Israel. Grandson of the renowned Hillel, he became a respected scholar of the Torah and a member of the Sanhedrin. Known for his mastery of Jew¬ ish oral law, he was the first to be granted the title of rabban. He is men¬ tioned in the New Testament as a teacher of St. Paul and a friend of the early Christians.
Gamaliel II or Gamaliel of Jabneh \'jab-no\ (fl. 2nd century) Rabbi and president of the Sanhedrin. The grandson of Gamaliel I, he ral¬ lied the Jews who had taken refuge in the city of Jabneh after the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans in ad 70. He became patriarch of the Jewish community of Israel c. ad 80. One of the greatest legal scholars of his era, Gamaliel is frequently cited in the Mishna. He helped unify the Jews by regulating prayer ritual and the Jewish calendar.
Gambetta \,ga n -b3-'ta,\ English \gam-'be-t3\, Leon (b. April 2,
1838, Cahors, France—d. Dec. 31,
1882, Ville-d’Avray, near Paris)
French republican statesman who helped found the Third Republic. He became famous as a lawyer defend¬ ing republican critics of the Second Empire and was elected to the legisla¬ tive assembly in 1869. He helped direct the defense of France during the Franco-Prussian War and played a principal role in the provisional government formed after Napoleon Ill’s capture in 1870. He used his per¬ suasive skill to push for ratification of the Constitutional Laws of 1875, which became the basis of the new parliamentary republic. As president
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Gambetta, photograph by Etienne Car- jat; in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris
COURTESY OF THE BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE, PARIS
of the Chamber of Deputies (1879-81) and premier (1881-82), he con¬ tinued his advocacy of democratic ideals and national unity.
Gambia, The officially Republic of The Gambia Country, west¬ ern Africa. Constituting an enclave in Senegal, it lies along the Gambia River, stretching inland 295 mi (475 km) from the Atlantic Ocean. Area:
fifth), Wolof (about one-eighth), and other groups. Language: English (official). Religions: Islam; also Christianity. Currency: dalasi. The Gam¬ bia has a wet-and-dry tropical climate and is generally hilly, with savanna in the uplands and swamps in low-lying areas. It has a developing market economy based largely on the production and export of peanuts, though only about one-fourth of the land is arable. The river serves as a major transportation artery. Tourism is an important source of revenue. The Gambia is a republic with one legislative body; its head of state and gov¬ ernment is the president. Beginning about the 13th century ad, the Wolof, Malinke, and Fulani peoples settled in different parts of what is now The Gambia and established villages and then kingdoms in the region. Euro¬ pean exploration began when the Portuguese sighted the Gambia River in 1455. In the 17th century, when Britain and France both settled in the area, the British Fort James, on an island about 20 mi (32 km) from the river’s mouth, was an important collection point for the slave trade. In 1783 the Treaty of Versailles reserved the Gambia River for Britain. After the Brit¬ ish abolished slavery in 1807, they built a fort at the mouth of the river to block the continuing slave trade. In 1889 The Gambia’s boundaries were agreed upon by Britain and France; the British declared a protectorate over the area in 1894. Independence was proclaimed in 1965, and The Gambia became a republic within the Commonwealth in 1970. It formed a limited confederation with Senegal in 1982, which was dissolved in 1989. During the 1990s the country faced political problems, but its biggest concern has come to be its poor economy.
Gambia River River, western Africa. Rising in Guinea and flowing northwest through Senegal and west through The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean, it is 700 mi (1,120 km) long. It is the only western African river that is easily accessible to oceangoing shipping. From its source in the highlands of the Fouta Djallon, it follows a winding course to its mouth, which is a ria, or drowned estuary. The flats of the middle and upper river support rice and peanuts and are more heavily settled than the area around the river’s lower course.
Gambier \'gam-,bir\ Islands Island group (pop., 1996: 1,087), French Polynesia. It is the southeasternmost extension of the Tuamotu Archipelago.
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732 I gambling ► Gance
The largest island, Mangareva, is 5 mi (8 km) long and encircled by a barrier reef 40 mi (64 km) in circumference. Mangareva rises to about 1,444 ft (440 m) in the peaks Duff and Mokoto; the chief village, Rikitea, is on Mangareva’s eastern side. The Gambier Islands were annexed by the French in 1881. Their economy is based on subsistence agriculture; pearl harvesting is also of economic importance.