Vereeniging, Treaty. 1902. Ended Boer War. Transvaal, Orange Free State become British Crown Colony.

Vergennes, Charles, Compte de. 1719-87. French foreign minister. Allied with American revolutionaries. Treaty of Paris 1783.

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

Victoria, Tomás Luis de. c1548-1611. Spanish composer. Pioneer of contrapuntal music. Requiem 1605.

Victory, HMS. Oldest commissioned British warship. Launched 1765. Nelson’s flagship 1797-1805. Trafalgar.

Viet Cong. 1954-75. Communist guerillas seeking to reunify Vietnam.

Viet Minh. 1941-51. Communist nationalist coalition vs French in Vietnam.

Vietnam. Annam. 209BC Nam Vet kingdom. 111BC China. 2C Funan, 939 Independent. Khmer, Cham, Mongol invasions repelled. 1407 Ming. 1867 France (S). 1883 Tonkin, Annam French protectorates(N). 1940 Japanese occupy. 1945 Independent. 1946-54 French Indochina War. 1954 Communist Democratic Republic (N). 1955 Republic (S). 1962 Vietnam War. 1976 Socialist Republic of Vietnam 1987 Economic liberalization. 1995 US recognition.

Vietnam War. 1946-54. =Indo China War. 1962-75. Democratic South Vietnam falls to Communists despite US aid to 1973.

Villa-Lobos, Heitor. 1887-1959. Brazilian composer. Blended classic, folk. Amazonas 1929.

Villiers, G. 1592-1628. First Duke of Buckingham. Incompetent favourite of Charles I who dissolved parliament to prevent his impeachment, 1626 causing Civil War.

Virginia Company. London. 1606-24. To colonize North America. Founded Jamestown 1607.

Vitry, Philippe de. 1291-1361. French composer, codified rules of composition. Ars Nova 1320.

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

Vo Nguyen Giap. 1912-. Viet Minh commander 1946-54, 1966-75. Minister of Defence 1954-. Tet Offensive. Defeated Japanese 1942-5, French 1946-54, US 66-76.

Wager of Battle. Trial by Combat. 8C-1817. Norse custom in England. Accused challenges accuser to combat-acquitted if he refuses.

Wagner, Richard. 1813-83. German Romantic opera composer/librettist. Leitmotif. Unified drama and music in long and complex operas. Tannhäuser 1845. Lohengrin 1850. Nibelung Ring 1853-76. Tristan and Isolde 1857-9. Parsifal 1882.

Walesa, Lech. 1943-. Polish Solidarity leader instrumental in forcing decline of Communist rule. President 1990-96.

Walter, Hubert. -1205. English Archbishop of Canterbury. Ransomed Richard I, 1193. First Income Tax. Governed during king’s absences.

Walton, Izaak. 1593-1683. English author. Compleat Angler 1653.

Walton, William. 1902-83. British composer influenced by Jazz, Elgar, Stravinsky.

Warlords. 1916-49. China generals seized local power on Yüan Shih-K’ai’s death. Last eliminated by communists.

Warsaw Pact. 1955-91. USSR, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, E Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania. Treaty for the combined defence of Eastern Europe under Soviet supreme command.

Washington, George. 1732-99. American Revolution commander, First US President.

Weber, Anton. 1883-1945. “Pointilist” composer. Early user of 12-note method.

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