handling living tissue, and precise realignment of severed tissues. He originated the practice of hospital surgical residencies.
haltia Vhal-te-a\ Among the Balto-Finnic peoples, a guardian spirit of the household. In Finland it was the spirit of the first person to claim a site as property. Identical in appearance to this original owner, the haltia presided over the household and served as a moral force to discourage misbehavior. A haltia could only be transported to a new home by car¬ rying fire or ashes from the old one. On farms there were barn-spirits to watch over the animals, a mill-spirit to keep the miller awake, and a threshing-house spirit to supervise the drying of the grain.
Halys River See Kizil River
ham Cut of meat consisting of the thigh of a hog, usually preserved through a curing process that involves salting and smoking or drying. In addition to preserving the meat, curing gives it additional flavour. Sugar or honey and spices are sometimes added to further enhance flavour. Pro¬ duced throughout the Old World except where forbidden by religious edict (principally by observant Muslims and Jews), ham became a favoured food on farms of North America. The distinctive qualities of hams of various regions of the world result from unique combinations of hog¬ raising and meat-processing techniques. Virginia hams, for example, are cut from razorback hogs fed on peanuts and peaches and smoked over apple- and hickory-wood fires. Ham is a source of high-grade animal pro¬ tein, thiamine, and iron.
hamadryad See dryad
Hamas \ha-'mas\ acronym of Harakat al-Muqawamah al-lslamiyyah English Islamic Resistance Movement Arabic "Zeal" Militant Palestinian Islamic movement. The group is dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the creation of a Palestinian Islamic state. It was founded in 1987 by Sheikh Ahmad Yasln, and its leadership comes from the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas’s aims are more militant: it takes the position that Palestine cannot be surrendered to non-Muslims. It opposed the 1993 peace agreement between the Pal¬ estine Liberation Organization and Israel. Beginning in 2000, the group intensified its violent acts against Israelis, including numerous suicide bombings. In 2006 Hamas participated in the elections for the Palestin¬ ian Legislative Council and won a surprise victory over Fatah.
Hamburg Vham-,burk,\ English Vham-.borgV City (pop., 2002 est.: city, 1,726,363; metro, area, 2,515,468), constituting a state, northern Ger¬ many. Covering 292 sq mi (755 sq km), it is located on the Elbe River and is Germany’s largest port. It grew around the 9th-century castle of Ham- maburg. Treaties with Lubeck in the mid-13th century led to the formation of the Hanseatic League, of which it was a leader. Incorporated into the French Empire (1810-14), it became a member of the German Confedera¬ tion as a free city in 1815. In World War II Allied firebombing killed some 55,000 people and devastated the city. It was rapidly rebuilt after the war. The birthplace of Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms and home to the Hamburg Opera, it enjoys a distinguished musical history. It is Germany’s foremost industrial city and northern Germany’s chief economic centre.
Hamhung \'ham-,huq\ City (pop., 1993 est.: 709,000), east-central North Korea. It was the commercial and administrative centre of North Korea during the Choson dynasty (1392-1910) and developed as a mod¬ em industrial city in the 1920s. During the Korean War, most industrial plants in the area were destroyed by U.S. bombing raids, but they were rebuilt. In addition to its manufacturing importance, it is the site of sev¬ eral institutions of learning.
Hamilton City (pop., 1995 est.: 1,100), capital of Bermuda. It lies on Great Bermuda island in the western Atlantic, along the shore of a deep¬ water harbour. Founded in 1790, it succeeded St. George as capital in 1815. To encourage business and employment, it was made a free port in 1956. Tourism is the economic mainstay; cruise ships dock along the main street.
Hamilton City (pop., 2001: city, 490,268; metro, area, 662,401), south¬ eastern Ontario, Canada. Located on Hamilton Harbour at the western end of Lake Ontario, it was settled by British loyalists fleeing the American Revolution. The opening of the Burlington Canal (1830), linking the har¬ bour to Lake Ontario, led to the city’s development as an important port and rail centre. It is now one of Canada’s leading industrial centres and a financial hub and the site of McMaster University. The centre of an extensive fruit-growing district, it is the site of one of Canada’s largest open-air markets.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
832 I Hamilton ► Hammerfest
Hamilton, Alexander (b. Jan.
Indies—d. July 12, 1804, New York,
N.Y., U.S.) U.S. statesman. He first came to the U.S. in 1772, arriving in New Jersey. In the American Revolu¬ tion he joined the Continental Army and showed conspicuous bravery at the Battle of Trenton (see Battles of Trenton and Princeton). He served as aide-de-camp to Gen. George Wash¬ ington (1777-81); fluent in French, he became a liaison with French commanders. After the war he prac¬ ticed law in New York. At the Con¬ tinental Congress, he argued for a strong central government. As a del¬ egate to the Annapolis Convention in 1786, he drafted the address that led to the Constitutional Convention.
With James Madison and John Jay, he wrote an influential series of essays, later known as the Federalist papers, in defense of the new Constitution and republican government. Appointed the first secretary of the treasury (1789), Hamilton developed fiscal policies designed to strengthen the national government at the expense of the states. His proposal for a Bank of the United States was opposed by Thomas Jefferson but adopted by Con¬ gress in 1791. Differences between Hamilton and Jefferson over the pow¬ ers of the national government and the country’s foreign policy led to the rise of political parties; Hamilton became leader of the Federalist Party, and Madison and Jefferson created the Democratic-Republican Party. Hamilton favoured friendship with Britain and influenced Washington to take a neutral stand toward the French Revolution. In 1796 he caused a rift in the Federalist Party by opposing its nomination of John Adams for president. In 1800 he tried to prevent Adams’s reelection, circulating a private attack that Aaron Burr, long at odds with Hamilton, obtained and published. When Jefferson and Burr both defeated Adams but received an equal number of electoral votes, Hamilton helped persuade the Federal¬ ists in the House of Representatives to choose Jefferson. In 1804 he opposed Burr’s candidacy for governor of New York. This affront, coupled with alleged remarks questioning Burr’s character, led Burr to challenge Hamilton to a duel, in which Hamilton was mortally wounded.
11, 1755/57, Nevis, British West
f
Alexander Hamilton, detail of an oil painting by John Trumbull; in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Hamilton, Edith (b. Aug. 12, 1867, Dresden, Saxony—d. May 31, 1963, Washington, D.C., U.S.) U.S. scholar and educator. Born in Ger¬ many of American parents, Hamilton grew up in Fort Wayne, Ind., U.S. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College and at age 29 headed its prepa¬ ratory school. Ultimately preferring classical studies to school adminis¬ tration, she retired in 1922 to write such historical works as The Greek Way (1930) and The Roman Way (1932). Her Mythology (1943) was stud¬ ied by millions as a textbook.
Hamilton, Emma, Lady orig. Amy Lyon (b. c. 1761, Great Neston, Cheshire, Eng.—d. Jan. 15, 1815, Calais, France) English social figure, mistress of Horatio Nelson. In 1786 she became the mistress, and in 1791 the wife, of Sir William Hamilton (1730-1803), British envoy to Naples. A beautiful woman whose portrait was frequently painted by George Rom¬ ney, she was a favourite in Neapolitan society. She became Nelson’s mis¬ tress in 1798 and gave birth to their daughter, Horatia, in 1801, then lived with Nelson after her husband’s death (1803). She later squandered the money both men left her, was imprisoned for debt (1813-14), and died in poverty.