Versailles, Palace. 1661-74. Built by Le Vau and Mansart on site of 1623 hunting lodge. Gardens by Le Nôtre.

Verwoerd, Hendrik. 1901-66. South African Prime Minister 1958-66. Apartheid. Left Commonwealth 1961. Assassinated.

Vestal Virgins. Chaste Roman guardians of Temple to Vesta, goddess of the hearth.

Vienna, Congress. 1814-15. Redrew map of Europe after Napoleon. Prussia gains Rhine, Westphalia. Swiss borders and neutrality confirmed. Netherlands created from Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg. Malta and Cape Colony ceded to Britain. Russia gets Poland. Austria trades Netherlands for north Italy. France reduced to 1792 borders. Metternich.

Vienna, Treaty. 1725. Spain, Austria pledge to aid Stuart restoration in England. 1738 Ends War of Polish Succession. 1809 =Schönbrunn Treaty. 1864 Denmark cedes Schleswig- Holstein to Prussia. 1866 Seven Weeks War. Austria cedes Venice to Italy.

Vivaldi, Antonio. 1678-1741. Venetian violinist, Baroque composer. Standard concerto pattern; more than 500 concertos. Four Seasons 1725.

Vivian. Wanton. Captured Merlin in Arthurian legend.

Volunteers, Departure of. 1792. Sang Marseillaise.

Vorticism. 1900-20. Art movement of mechanical forms and angles. Lewis. Gaudier-Brzeska.

Vuillard, Édouard. 1868-1940. French Nabis Intimist artist. Interiors. Woman Sweeping 1892.

Wafd. 1918-52. Egyptian nationalist party. Dissolved by Revolution.

Wagram, Battle. 1809. Napoleon defeats Austrian Archduke Charles. Znaim. Schönbrunn Treaty.

Warhol, Andy. 1925-87. US Pop artist. Campbell’s Soup Cans 200 1962. Marilyn 1967.

Warsaw. 1596 Polish capital. 1655 Sweden destroys. 1795 Prussia. 1807 Napoleon creates Duchy. 1813 Russia. 1815 Kingdom of Poland. 1939-45 Germany occupies.

Warsaw Uprising. 1830-1. Czartoryski attempt to oust Russians crushed. 1944. Polish underground army defeats Germans but Soviet delay allows German reinforcements to defeat Poles, destroying potential opposition to later Soviet control.

Watergate. 1972-4. US political scandal over burglary of Democratic headquarters. Cover up led to Nixon’s resignation.

Waterloo, Battle. 1815. Final defeat of Napoleon by Wellington and Blücher.

Watling Street. Roman road from London to NW England. Part still in use.

West, Nathanael. 1903-40. US novelist. Absurd, black humour. Miss Lonelyhearts 1933. Day of the Locusts 1939.

Wharton, Edith. 1862-1937. US novelist. Ethan Frome 1911. Age of Innocence 1920.

Whig. 1679-19C. British political party =Liberal. Originally to oppose James II. Came to represent wealthy middle class. Tory.

Whig. 1834-54. US political party. Divided over slavery, most became Republican.

White Terror. 1815. Against Jacobins and Bonapartists.

Whitlam, Gough. 1916-. Australian Labour Prime Minister 1972-5. Quit Vietnam War. Dismissed by Governor General. Reduced immigration restrictions. White Australia.

Whitney, Eli. 1765-1825. US inventor. Cotton gin, 1793. Mass production with interchangeable parts 1801.

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