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

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.

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

Villars, duc de. 1653-1734. French Marshal. War of Spanish Succession. War of Polish Succession.

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

Vinland. ~1000. Region of northeast North America discovered by Leif Eriksson. L’Anse aux Meadows.

Violencia. 1948-62. Spain under Franco. 1946-64. Colombian repression. 200,000 dead.

Virginia. Algonkian, Sioux, Iroquoia. 1587 British settle Roanoke Colony. 1607 First successful colony. 1619 Slaves brought. 1776 Independent. USA.

Viriathus. -c139BC. Lusitanian herdsman. Led successful revolt vs Rome c147-139BC.

Vladimir I, St. 956-1015. First Christian Russian ruler. Ordered people to convert.

Volkssturm. 1944. German home defence force.

Volta, Alessandro. 1745-1827. Italian physicist: electric battery 1800.

V-1, V-2. 1944. WWII German missiles vs Britain, Belgium. V=Vergeltung(Revenge). 8,000 V-1s. 1300 V-2s. Basis for future space research.

Vyshinsky, Andrei. 1883-1954. Russian statesman, prosecutor for Purge trials.

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

Waksman, Selman. 1888-1973. Ukraine/US Streptomycin 1943.

Walachia. 1290 Vlachs settle. 1417 Ottoman suzerainty. 1774 Russia. 1859 +Moldavia =Romania.

Wales, Statute. 1284. England annexes Wales.

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

Walpole, Horace. 1717-97. English writer, connoisseur. First Gothic Romance. Castle of Otranto 1765.

Walter the Penniless. -1097. French knight. Led Peasants’ Crusade with Peter the Hermit.

Warren, Earl. 1891-1974. US Chief Justice 1953-69. Decisions on segregation, accused rights. Led inquiry into John F. Kennedy assassination. Concluded Oswald acted alone.

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

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

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