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F

factory

A central location where goods are manufactured on a large scale.

famine

Widespread hunger caused by the near complete lack of food.

fascism

A system of government that promotes extreme nationalism, repression, anticommunism, and is ruled by a dictator.

Ferdinand and Isabella

During the late 15th century, they became King and Queen of a united Spain after centuries of Islamic domination. Together, they made Spain a strong Christian nation and also provided funding to overseas exploration, notably Christopher Columbus.

Ferdinand, Franz

(1863-1914) Archduke of Austria, nephew to the Emperor. He was assainated by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia in 1914. This resulted in the start of World War I.

fertilizers

A substance spread onto soil to increase its ability to support crops. Fertilizers include organic materials, such as manure, but can also be man made chemicals such as nitrates.

Feudalism

A social, political, and economic system that dominated all aspects of medieval European life.

fief

An area of land given to a person to farm in exchange for certain obligations.

filial piety

Respect for ones elders especially the family.

Filippo Brunelleschi

Filippo Brunelleschi, (1377 - 1446), was the first great Florentine architect of the Italian Renaissance. His most famous works are all in Florence. His masterpiece is the high, octagonal-ribbed dome of the Duomo (cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore), completed in 1434, the first notable dome erected in Italy since antiquity. Brunelleschi was trained as a sculptor in a Florentine workshop and was a member of the goldsmiths' guild. In the competition for the second set of doors for the Florentine Baptistry, he virtually tied with Ghiberti, who executed the famous "Doors of Paradise." He may have worked in Rome with his friend Donatello. His interests extended to mathematics and engineering and the study of ancient monuments. He made early experiments with perspective in painting, and invented hydraulic machinery and elaborate clockwork, none of which survives. Above all Brunelleschi is remembered as an architect who established new classic canons of serene rhythms, clear geometry, and symmetry, often using the simplest materials: gray pietra serena and whitewashed plaster.


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