The African Company was an English slaving company formed in 1588 at Exeter and chartered as a joint-stock company in 1618. The African Company continued to trade in slaves for the USA until 1821 when the company ceased to exist. Research African Company
A bastard is a child begotten and born out of wedlock; an illegitimate child. By the former civil and canon laws, and by the law of Scotland (as well as of some of the United States), a bastard became legitimate by the intermarriage of the parents at any future time. But by the former laws of England a child, to be legitimate, must at least be born after the lawful marriage; it did not require that the child should be begotten in wedlock, but it was indispensable that it should be born after marriage, no matter how short the time, the law presuming it to be the child of the husband. The only incapacity of a bastard in former law was that he cannot be heir or next of kin to any one save his own issue. In England the maintenance of a bastard in the first instance formerly devolved on the mother, while in Scotland it was a joint burden upon both parents. The mother was entitled to the custody of the child in preference to the father. By the 1980's the law had evolved and illegitimacy was irrelevant. Research Bastard
A bog spavin is a fluctuating swelling on the inner and front part of the hock of a horse, arising from a distension of the joint capsule with synovial fluid. Research Bog Spavin
A co-respondent is the person charged with adultery jointly with the defendant spouse on a divorce petition, or a joint defendant to an appeal. Research Co-respondent
The Council of Trent was a general Council of the Roman Catholic Church held at Trent between 1545 and 1563. Its origins have historical significance. A comprehensive definition of dogma and strong internal reforms were needed to enable the Roman Church to show an undivided front against the growing strength of the Reformed doctrines. The popes generally had resisted appeals for general councils, e.g. that made by the university of Paris in 1518. In 1530 the Protestant estates demanded a 'council of Christendom' and the emperor, Charles V, was strongly convinced of the necessity of reform. After various delays and postponements between 1537 and 1544, a council was summoned to Trent by pope Paul III, in 1545. Over 200 fathers attended, and the sittings continued, broken partly by political developments, under Popes Julius III and Pius IV, the last of the 25 sessions being held in December 1563.
Among the matters dealt with by the council (the Tridentine decrees), the most important were: the joint value of Scripture and the tradition of the Church as standards of Divine revelation; the interpretative authority of the Church Fathers; original sin; the authority of the Vulgate, 1546; the Divine origin and forms of the sacraments of baptism and confirmation, 1547; the Eucharist and penance, 1551; communion in both kinds and the sacrifice of the Mass, 1562; orders and the regulation of the hierarchy; the sacrament of matrimony; veneration of saints, indulgences, index of prohibited books, 1563. The decrees were confirmed by Pius IV in 1564.
The Council of Trent was of great importance as guiding the main lines of Roman Catholic development in Post-Reformation times. The catechism of the council, summarising its decrees and definitions, was edited by the Dominican scholars, and in 1564 the Roman Congregation of the Council was established to safeguard its decisions and facilitate their practice. Research Council Of Trent
The Federalist was a collection of papers first published in the Independent Journal of New York City, by Hamilton, Madison and Jay, from October, 1787, until March, 1788. They were eighty-five in number and appeared under a joint signature, A Citizen of New York at first, and afterwards Publius. The first of these essays appeared immediately after the adoption of the American Constitution. They were in explanation and defence of the new system of government. Gouverneur Morris was also invited to take part, but was prevented by private business. Jay wrote five, Hamilton fifty-one, Madison twenty-six and their joint effort contributed three, by the most probable conclusions. These papers did much toward securing the ratification of the American Constitution, and form one of the most important commentaries on the American Constitution. Research Federalist
The First International was an international workers' association founded in 1864 by Karl Marx to promote the joint political action of the working classes in all countries. It was dissolved in 1876. Research First International
Mazda are a Japanese motor car manufacturing company. Mazda The name Mazda comes from 'Ahura Mazda', the highest Zoroastrian God of reason who granted wisdom and united man, nature and the other gods. Mazda was founded by Jujiro Matsuda in 1920 as 'Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd' which started manufacturing machine tools in 1929, and in 1931 produced its first motor vehicle, a three-wheel truck called the Mazdago. The first car produced by Mazda was the 1960 Mazda R360 Coupe, a two-door passenger vehicle, while in 1962 appeared the four-door Mazda Carol. In 1989 Mazda produced the Mazda MX-5, which quickly became famous as the world's best selling roadster. In 1979 the American motor car company Ford acquired a ten percent stake in Mazda and the company proceeded as a joint Japanese-American venture. Research Mazda
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research African Company
