producing wailing melodic lines as well as harshly percussive rhythms, it soon became the principal instrument of Western popular music.
Guitry \ge-*tre\, Sacha (b. Feb. 21, 1885, St. Petersburg, Russia—d. July 24, 1957, Paris, France) Russian-born French actor and dramatist. Son of the French actor Lucien Guitry (1860-1925), he appeared on the Russian stage with his father’s company. At age 21 he achieved his first success with his play Nono. He had over 90 plays produced, including Pasteur (1919) and Beranger (1920), written with acting parts for his father. He wrote, directed, and acted in many films, of which the best- known was perhaps The Cheat (1936).
Guiyang Ygwe-'yaq\ or Kuei-yang \'gwa-'yaq\ City (pop., 1999 est.: 1,320,566), capital of Guizhou province, southern China. It is situated south of Chongqing. The Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties estab¬ lished military outposts there, but the city developed only after the Mongol invasion of southwestern China in 1279. Chinese settlement followed, and under the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties Guiyang became the seat of a prefecture. The Sino-Japanese War (1937-45) spurred its growth into a major provincial city and industrial centre.
Guizhou or Kuei-chou \'gwa-'jo\ conventional Kweichow \'gwa-'chau\ Province (pop., 2000 est.: 35,250,000), southwestern China. It is bordered by Yunnan, Sichuan, and Hunan provinces, Chongqing municipality, and Guangxi autonomous region. It has an area of 67,200 sq mi (174,000 sq km). Its capital is Guiyang. Guizhou has rough topog¬ raphy, poor communications, and consequent isolation. About three- fourths of the people are Han Chinese; there are also aboriginal peoples, including the Miao. Guizhou came under Chinese influence during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), when it was made a province. During the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), struggles between the minorities, especially the Miao, were common. Serious revolts occurred in the 19th century and in 1941-44, as a result of exploitation by local warlords. The communists took the area in 1949. Its mineral resources are rich and support some mining.
Guizot \ge-'zo\, Francois (-Pierre-Guillaume) (b. Oct. 4, 1787, Nimes, France—d. Oct. 12, 1874,
Val-Richer) French political figure and historian. He studied law but became a professor of history at the University of Paris in 1812. He emerged as a leader of the conserva¬ tive constitutional monarchists and during the July monarchy (1830—48) was the dominant minister in France, holding such offices as minister of education, foreign minister, and pre¬ mier. Forced to resign by the Revo¬ lution of 1 848, he spent most of his remaining days in relative political isolation. His works include General History of Civilization in Europe (1828) and The History of France from the Earliest Times to the Year
1789 (1872-76).
Gujarat V.gii-jo-'raA State (pop.,
2001 prelim.: 50,596,992) and historic region, western India. Lying on the Arabian Sea and with a coastline of 992 mi (1,596 km) long that includes the union territory enclaves of Daman and Diu, it is bordered by Pakistan, the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli union territory. It has an area of 75,685 sq mi (196,024 sq km), and the capital is Gandhinagar. During the 4th and 5th centuries ad, it was ruled by the Gupta dynasty; it derived its name from the Gurjaras, who ruled the area in the 8th and 9th centuries. After a period of economic and cultural achievement, it fell successively under Arab Muslim, Mughal, and Maratha rule. In 1818 it came under British con¬ trol, and after 1857 it was a province of British India. Following Indian independence in 1947, most of Gujarat was included in the state of Bom¬ bay, which was divided into Gujarat and Maharashtra in 1960. Gujarat is a leading industrialized state of India and a major petroleum producer. It is also famous for its arts and crafts.
Gulag \'gu-,lag\ System of Soviet labour camps and prisons that from the 1920s to the mid-1950s housed millions of political prisoners and criminals. The term (an abbreviation of the Russian words for Chief
Guizot, 1855
ARCHIVES PHOTOGRAPHIQUES, PARIS
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Gulbenkian ► GUM I 817
Administration of Corrective Labour Camps) was largely unknown in the West until the 1973 publication of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archi¬ pelago. The Gulag consisted of hundreds of camps, under the control of the secret police, where prisoners felled timber, worked in the mines, or laboured on construction projects. At least 10% died each year from harsh working conditions, inadequate food, and summary executions. The Gulag reached its height in the years of collectivization of Soviet agri¬ culture (1929-32), during Joseph Stalin’s purges (1936-38), and immedi¬ ately after World War II, shrinking only after Stalin’s death in 1953. An estimated 15-30 million Russians died in the camps.
Gulbenkian, Calouste (Sarkis) (b. March 29, 1869, Istanbul, Turk.—d. July 20, 1955, Lisbon, Port.) Turkish-born British financier, industrialist, and philanthropist. In 1911 he helped found the Turkish Petroleum Co. (later Iraq Petroleum Co.) and became the first to exploit Iraqi oil; his 5% share made him one of the world’s richest men. From 1948 he negotiated Saudi Arabian oil concessions to U.S. firms. He amassed an outstanding art collection of some 6,000 works, now in Lis¬ bon’s Calouste Gulbenkian Museum. The Lisbon-based Calouste Gul¬ benkian Foundation supports activities worldwide in science, art, social welfare, cultural relations, health, and education.
gulf Any large coastal indentation, similar to a bay but larger. Most exist¬ ing gulfs were formed or greatly extended as a result of the rise in sea level that accompanied the ending of the last ice age. Some, such as the Gulf of California and the Gulf of Oman, resulted from warping, folding, or downfaulting of the Earth’s crust, which caused parts of the shoreline to drop below sea level. Most gulfs are connected with the sea by one or more straits. A gulf may have a group of islands at its mouth or may open into another gulf. Gulfs may differ from the adjoining sea in water prop¬ erties and sedimentation.
Gulf & Western Inc. Former U.S. corporation, founded in 1958 by Charles Bluhdorn. One of the most highly diversified conglomerates in the U.S., Gulf & Western took control of the Paramount Pictures Corp. in 1966 and changed its name to Paramount Communications in 1989. It was acquired by the media conglomerate Viacom Inc. in 1994.
Gulf Cooperation Council Persian Gulf international organization founded in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1981. Its members include Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Oman. Its purpose is to facilitate cooperation among members in the fields of international commerce, education, shipping, and travel. Headquarters are in Saudi Arabia, and it meets twice a year. Its administrative struc¬ ture includes a supreme council, a council of foreign ministers, an arbi¬ tration commission, and a general secretariat.
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway System of inland waterways, includ¬ ing rivers and canals, along the U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It extends from Apalachee Bay, Fla., west to the Mexican border at Brownsville, Texas, a distance of more than 1,100 mi (1,770 km). It includes Mobile Bay and Mississippi Sound, passes through New Orleans, and takes in the Sabine-Neches Waterway and the ship canal at Houston. Together with its counterpart, the Atiantic Intracoastal Waterway, it forms the Intra¬ coastal Waterway, a shipping route that extends for 3,000 mi (4,800 km) in the southern and eastern U.S.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (Aug. 5, 1964) Resolution by the U.S. Congress authorizing Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson to use “all necessary mea¬ sures” to repel armed attacks against U.S. forces in Vietnam. It was drafted in response to the alleged shelling of two U.S. navy ships by North Viet¬ nam in the Gulf of Tonkin. Later information disputed the severity of the attack. The resolution was cited as authorization for the subsequent expan¬ sion of the Vietnam War; many in Congress came to see it as a blank check for the president, and it was repealed in 1970.