Global Exploration, PET-ROL
Follow the navigators, expeditions, and encounters that expanded maps, connected continents, and transformed how people understood the wider world.
Global Exploration Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Petherick, John
John Petherick was a British trader and explorer who investigated the western tributaries of the Nile River and......
Petrarch
Petrarch was an Italian scholar, poet, and humanist whose poems addressed to Laura, an idealized beloved, contributed......
Petri, Laurentius
Laurentius Petri was a Lutheran churchman, a leader of the Protestant Reformation in Sweden and the first Protestant......
Petri, Olaus
Olaus Petri was a Lutheran churchman who, with his brother Laurentius, played a decisive role in the reformation......
Phan Thanh Gian
Phan Thanh Gian was a Vietnamese government official and diplomat whose conservatism and strict adherence to the......
Phaulkon-Tachard conspiracy
Phaulkon-Tachard conspiracy, (1685â88), in Thai history, an unsuccessful attempt to establish French control over......
Phayre, Sir Arthur Purves
Sir Arthur Purves Phayre was a British commissioner in Burma (Myanmar), who made a novel attempt to spread European......
Philastre, Paul-Louis-FĂ©lix
Paul-Louis-FĂ©lix Philastre was a French administrator and diplomat who, in the formative years of colonialism in......
Philby, H. Saint John
H. Saint John Philby was a British explorer and Arabist, the first European to cross the RubÊż al-Khali, or Empty......
Phillip, Arthur
Arthur Phillip was a British admiral whose convict settlement established at Sydney in 1788 was the first permanent......
philosophy
philosophy, (from Greek, by way of Latin, philosophia, âlove of wisdomâ) the rational, abstract, and methodical......
photogrammetry
photogrammetry, technique that uses photographs for mapmaking and surveying. As early as 1851 the French inventor......
Piaggia, Carlo
Carlo Piaggia was an Italian explorer who discovered Lake Kyoga (in Uganda) and investigated the Upper (southern)......
Piero della Francesca
Piero della Francesca was a painter whose serene, disciplined exploration of perspective had little influence on......
Piero di Cosimo
Piero di Cosimo was an Italian Renaissance painter noted for his eccentric character and his fanciful mythological......
Pike, Zebulon
Zebulon Pike was a U.S. army officer and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado was named. In 1805 Pike, then......
Pilgrim Fathers
Pilgrim Fathers, in American colonial history, settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts, the first permanent colony......
Pilgrimage of Grace
Pilgrimage of Grace, (1536), a rising in the northern counties of England, the only overt immediate discontent......
Pinjarra Massacre
Pinjarra Massacre, attack on the Bindjareb Noongar, an Australian Aboriginal peoples, on October 28, 1834, near......
Pinturicchio
Pinturicchio was an early Italian Renaissance painter known for his highly decorative frescoes. By 1481 Pinturicchio......
PinzĂłn, MartĂn Alonso; and PinzĂłn, Vicente Yåñez
MartĂn Alonso PinzĂłn and Vicente Yåñez PinzĂłn were brothers from a family of Spanish shipowners and navigators......
Pitt, William, the Elder
William Pitt, the Elder was a British statesman, twice virtual prime minister (1756â61, 1766â68), who secured the......
Pitt, William, The Younger
William Pitt, the Younger was a British prime minister (1783â1801, 1804â06) during the French Revolutionary and......
Pizarro, Francisco
Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish conqueror of the Inca empire and founder of the city of Lima in Peru. Like other......
Pizarro, Gonzalo
Gonzalo Pizarro was a Spanish conqueror and explorer and leader of antiroyal forces in Peru. Pizarro is considered......
Plassey, Battle of
Battle of Plassey, battle fought between troops of the British East India Company, led by Robert Clive, and forces......
Plymouth Company
Plymouth Company, commercial trading company chartered by the English crown in 1606 to colonize the eastern coast......
Poliziano
Poliziano was an Italian poet and humanist, a friend and protĂ©gĂ© of Lorenzo deâ Medici, and one of the foremost......
Polo, Marco
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant and adventurer who traveled from Europe to Asia in 1271â95, remaining in China......
Ponce de LeĂłn, Juan
Juan Ponce de LeĂłn was a Spanish explorer who founded the first European settlement on Puerto Rico and who is credited......
Pordenone
Pordenone was a High Renaissance Italian painter chiefly known for his frescoes of religious subjects. Pordenone......
Port Phillip Association
Port Phillip Association, (1836â39), organization of settlers from Van Diemenâs Land (Tasmania) formed to purchase......
portolan chart
portolan chart, navigational chart of the European Middle Ages (1300â1500). The earliest dated navigational chart......
PortolĂĄ, Gaspar de
Gaspar de PortolĂĄ was a Spanish military officer, the first governor of Upper California, and founder of Monterey......
Portuguese conquest of Goa
Portuguese conquest of Goa, conflict in 1510 between Portuguese forces, under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque,......
Potagos, Panayotis
Panayotis Potagos was a physician and traveler attached to the Egyptian Service who explored the Uele River system......
Powell, John Wesley
John Wesley Powell was an American explorer, geologist, and ethnologist, best known for his exploration of the......
Powhatan War
Powhatan War, (1622â44), relentless struggle between the Powhatan Indian confederacy and early English settlers......
Poynings, Sir Edward
Sir Edward Poynings was the lord deputy of Ireland from September 1494 to December 1495, mainly remembered for......
presbyter
presbyter, (from Greek presbyteros, âelderâ), an officer or minister in the early Christian Church intermediate......
Prescott, William H
William H. Prescott was an American historian, best known for his History of the Conquest of Mexico, 3 vol. (1843),......
prime ministers of Australia, list of
Australia, established as a federated union in 1901, is a constitutional monarchy, and its government is led by......
Propaganda Movement
Propaganda Movement, reform and national consciousness movement that arose among young Filipino expatriates in......
proprietary colony
proprietary colony, in British American colonial history, a type of settlement dominating the period 1660â90, in......
protectorate
protectorate, in international relations, the relationship between two states one of which exercises some decisive......
Protestantism
Protestantism, Christian religious movement that began in northern Europe in the early 16th century as a reaction......
- Introduction
- Germany, Switzerland, France
- Reformation, Luther, 95 Theses
- Diet of Worms, Luther, Reformation
- Anabaptists, Pacifism, Reformation
- French Reformation, Calvinism, Huguenots
- Reformation, England, Scotland
- John Knox, Reformation, Scotland
- Charles I, Civil War, Reformation
- Restoration, 1660-85
- Expansion, Europe, Reformation
- Renewal, Denominations, Reformation
- Pietism, 17th Century, Revival
- Pietism, Central Europe, England
- Rationalism, Reformation, Doctrine
- Revival, Pietism, Reformation
- Missions, Expansion, Globalization
- Biblical Criticism
- Modernization, Ecumenism, Globalization
- Pentecostalism, Charismatic, Revivalism
- Ecumenism, Unity, Reformation
Przhevalsky, Nikolay
Nikolay Przhevalsky was a Russian traveler, who, by the extent of his explorations, route surveys, and plant and......
Publick Occurrences
Although it appeared only once, on September 25, 1690, Publick Occurrences, Both Forreign and Domestick is considered......
Pueblo Rebellion
Pueblo Rebellion, (1680), carefully organized revolt of Pueblo peoples (in league with theApache), who succeeded......
Pulzone, Scipione
Scipione Pulzone was an Italian Renaissance painter whose early work typified the 16th-century International style.......
Purandhar, Treaty of
Treaty of Purandhar, (March 1, 1776), pact between the peshwa (chief minister) of the MarÄthÄ people and the supreme......
Putnam, Israel
Israel Putnam was an American general in the American Revolution. After moving to Pomfret, Connecticut, about 1740,......
Putnam, Rufus
Rufus Putnam was an American soldier and pioneer settler in Ohio. Putnam fought in the French and Indian War from......
Putte, Isaac Dignus Fransen van de
Isaac Dignus Fransen van de Putte was a Liberal Dutch statesman who energetically attacked the exploitative colonial......
Pytheas
Pytheas was a navigator, geographer, astronomer, and the first Greek to visit and describe the British Isles and......
Quartering Act
Quartering Act, (1765), in American colonial history, the British parliamentary provision (actually an amendment......
Quattrocento
Quattrocento, the totality of cultural and artistic events and movements that occurred in Italy during the 15th......
Quebec Act
Quebec Act, act of the British Parliament in 1774 that vested the government of Quebec in a governor and council......
Queen Anneâs War
Queen Anneâs War, (1702â13), second in a series of wars fought between Great Britain and France in North America......
Ra
Ra, either of two papyrus boats with which the Norwegian scientist-explorer Thor Heyerdahl crossed the Atlantic......
radio direction finder
radio direction finder, radio receiver and directional antenna system used to determine the direction of the source......
Radisson, Pierre-Esprit
Pierre-Esprit Radisson was a French explorer and fur trader who served both France and England in Canada. Radisson......
Rae, John
John Rae was a physician and explorer of the Canadian Arctic. Rae studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh......
Raffles, Sir Stamford
Sir Stamford Raffles was a British East Indian administrator and founder of the port city of Singapore (1819),......
Raimondi, Marcantonio
Marcantonio Raimondi was an Italian Renaissance master of engraving whose production of more than 300 prints did......
Raleigh, Sir Walter
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English adventurer and writer, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, who knighted him in......
Randolph, Edward
Edward Randolph was a British royal agent, customs officer, and American colonial official. Randolph worked in......
Raphael
Raphael was a master painter and architect of the Italian High Renaissance. Raphael is best known for his Madonnas......
Rasmussen, Knud
Knud Rasmussen was a Danish-Inuit explorer and ethnologist who, in the course of completing the longest dog-sledge......
Ray, John
John Ray was a leading 17th-century English naturalist and botanist who contributed significantly to progress in......
Raynal, Guillaume-Thomas, abbé de
Guillaume-Thomas Raynal, abbé de Raynal was a French writer and propagandist who helped set the intellectual climate......
Reading, Rufus Daniel Isaacs, 1st marquess of
Rufus Daniel Isaacs, 1st marquess of Reading was a politician, lord chief justice of England, and diplomat. Called......
Reason
Reason, in philosophy, the faculty or process of drawing logical inferences. The term âreasonâ is also used in......
Rebmann, Johannes
Johannes Rebmann was a German missionary and explorer, the first European to penetrate Africa from its Indian Ocean......
Reformation
Reformation, the religious revolution that took place in the Western church in the 16th century. Its greatest leaders......
region
region, in the social sciences, a cohesive area that is homogeneous in selected defining criteria and is distinguished......
Renaissance
Renaissance, period in European civilization immediately following the Middle Ages and conventionally held to have......
Renaissance art
Renaissance art, painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and literature produced during the 14th, 15th, and 16th......
Renaissance man
Renaissance man, an ideal that developed in Renaissance Italy from the notion expressed by one of its most-accomplished......
Revere, Paul
Paul Revere was a folk hero of the American Revolution whose dramatic horseback ride on the night of April 18,......
Reyes, Rafael
Rafael Reyes was an explorer and statesman who was president and dictator of Colombia from 1904 to 1909. He attempted......
Rhode Island
Rhode Island, constituent state of the United States of America. It was one of the original 13 states and is one......
Rhodes, Cecil
Cecil Rhodes was a financier, statesman, and empire builder of British South Africa. He was prime minister of Cape......
Ribaut, Jean
Jean Ribaut was a French naval officer, explorer, and colonizer. Jean Ribaut began his naval career as a youth,......
Riccio, Andrea
Andrea Riccio was a Renaissance sculptor and goldsmith best known for his miniature sculptures in bronze. Riccio......
Richelieu, Cardinal
Cardinal Richelieu was the chief minister to King Louis XIII of France from 1624 to 1642. His major goals, which......
Ridley, Nicholas
Nicholas Ridley was a Protestant martyr, one of the finest academic minds in the early English Reformation. Ridley......
Riebeeck, Jan van
Jan van Riebeeck was a Dutch colonial administrator who founded (1652) Cape Town and thus opened Southern Africa......
Rif War
Rif War, (1921â26), conflict between Spanish colonial forces and Rif peoples led by Muhammad Abd el-Krim. It was......
Rigault de Genouilly, Charles
Charles Rigault de Genouilly was an admiral who initiated the French invasion of Vietnam in 1858 and the subsequent......
Robecchi-Bricchetti, Luigi
Luigi Robecchi-Bricchetti was an Italian explorer, the first European to cross the Somali peninsula (the Horn of......
Robert Mugabe on Zimbabwe
The following article was written for the 1982 Britannica Book of the Year (events of 1981) by Robert Mugabe, who......
Roberval, Jean-François de La Rocque, Sieur de
Jean-François de La Rocque, sieur de Roberval was a French colonizer chosen by Francis I to create a settlement......
Robinson, Sir Hercules
Sir Hercules Robinson was a British colonial governor who was high commissioner in South Africa in 1880â89 and......
Rockingham, Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd marquess of
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd marquess of Rockingham was the prime minister of Great Britain from July 1765 to......
Rogers, John
John Rogers was a religious Reformer and the first Protestant martyr of the English queen Mary Iâs reign. He was......
Rogers, Robert
Robert Rogers was an American frontier soldier who raised and commanded a militia force, known as Rogersâs Rangers,......
Rohilla War
Rohilla War, (1774), in the history of India, the conflict in which Warren Hastings, British governor-general of......
Rohlfs, Gerhard
Gerhard Rohlfs was a German explorer renowned for his dramatic journeys across the deserts of North Africa. More......
Rolfe, John
John Rolfe was a Virginia planter and colonial official who was the husband of Pocahontas, daughter of the Indian......