Vaucreuil, Cavagnal, Marquis de. 1698-1765. Governor of New France. Surrendered to Britain 1760. Seven Years War.

VE Day. May 7, 1945. Folowed German surrender signed May 7 in Reims.

Velázquez, Diego. 1599-1660. Spanish Naturalist court painter. Old Woman Frying Eggs 1618. Coronation of the Virgin 1641. Philip IV 1644. Surrender of Breda. Borrachos. Venus and Mirror 1655.

Velleda. German druidess, prophet under Vespasian.

Venezuela Boundary Dispute. 19C over border with British Guiana. 1899 Most territory to Britain. Monroe Doctrine.

Verne, Jules. 1828-1905. French Science Fiction fantasy writer. Voyage to the Centre of the Earth 864. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1870. Round the World in 80 Days 1873.

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.

Villehardouin, Geoffroi de. c1150-1213. French crusader/historian. Conquête de Constantinopole 1209.

Vincent of Beauvais. c1190-1264. French Dominican priest. Wrote encyclopedic Speculum majus 1259.

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

Vishnu. Hindu god. Preserver of world and moral order.

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

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.

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

Walker, George. 1618-90. Hero of siege of Londonderry, 1688.

Walther von der Vogelwelde. 1170-1230. German lyric poet.

Warbeck, Perkin. 1474-99. Flemish. Posed as Richard, Duke of York, pretender to the English throne. Executed.

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

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.

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

Webster-Ashburton, Treaty. 1842. Britain, US settle Eastern US-Canada border, suppress slave trade.

Wells, Henry. 1805-78. US founder of express company, 1848. American Express 1850. Wells Fargo 1852.

Wenceslaus, St. 907-29. Patron saint of Czechs. Murdered by brother Boleslav I.

Wesley, John. 1703-91. English founder of Methodism 1729. Direct preaching, often outdoors, to reach the uneducated working class. Sunday schools.

West Indies Associated States. 1967 Association of self-governing former Britishcolonies under British suzerainty.

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