New England. It is among the region’s
leaders in the production of machinery,
jewelry, and silverware. Government,
health care, banking, and other services
also bring money to the city. It is home
to Brown University and several
colleges.
The English settler RogerWilliams
founded Providence in 1636. He made
the town a center of religious freedom.
Providence played an important role in
the American Revolution. In 1775 the
city had a protest called a tea party.
People burned British tea to protest
against taxes on tea. During the war
many American troops lived in the city.
In 1854 both Providence and Newport
became state capitals of Rhode Island. In
1900 Providence became the state’s only
capital.
..More to explore
Rhode Island
Big houses stand on a hillside in Providence,
Rhode Island.
160 Providence BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Prussia
Prussia was a historical region in Europe
that bordered the southeast coast of the
Baltic Sea. It was known for its powerful
army. In 1871 Prussia united several
German states to create the empire of
Germany.
Beginnings
The first Prussians were tribes of hunters
and cattle raisers. They were related to
the Latvians and the Lithuanians. In the
1200s the Teutonic Order, a group of
German-speaking knights, conquered
the Prussians. The knights brought
Christianity to the Prussians.
During the 1400s Poland and Lithuania
defeated the Teutonic knights in a series
of wars. Prussia was then divided into
East Prussia andWest Prussia. The king
of Poland ruled the western part directly.
He ruled the east through the Teutonic
Order.
In 1526 the grand master of the Teutonic
Order dissolved the order. He
accepted Polish rule and changed East
Prussia into the territory of a duke. The
territory merged with another German
state, called Brandenburg, in 1618.
Kingdom
In 1660 FrederickWilliam of Brandenburg
ended all Polish control over East
Prussia. In 1701 FrederickWilliam’s son
crowned himself as the first Prussian
king, Frederick I.
Frederick I’s grandson was Frederick II,
who is known as Frederick the Great.
He tookWest Prussia back from Poland
in 1772. Under his rule, Prussia became
a major power.
In 1848 some Prussians tried to start a
revolution against King FrederickWilliam
IV. They wanted the people to have
a say in the government. The king
stayed in power, but he gave Prussia a
constitution in 1850. The constitution
created a parliament, or legislature. The
people elected some of its members.
Empire
In 1862 Otto von Bismarck, a member
of the Prussian parliament, gained a
leading role in the government. He created
a plan to bring Prussia and some
other German states together as one
German empire. In January 1871 the
king of Prussia became EmperorWilliam
I of Germany.
Frederick II
also improved
Prussia’s
educational
system and
supported the
arts.
Otto von Bismarck was the Prussian leader
who created the modern country of Germany.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Prussia 161
The End of Prussia
William II, also known as Kaiser
Wilhelm, became emperor in 1888. He
led Germany into World War I.
Germany lost the war, and in 1918 the
winners forced William II to give up
his position. Germany became a
republic—a country led by the people,
not by a king. Prussia lost territory. It
also lost power in Germany’s
government. By 1947, after World War
II, Prussia no longer existed.
#More to explore
Frederick the Great • Germany
Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of the
ways that people think, feel, and behave.
Like anthropology and sociology, psychology
is called a social science. Scientists
trained in psychology are called
psychologists. Psychologists study the
human mind and emotions to try to
understand the reasons behind people’s
actions.
There are several different branches of
psychology. Clinical psychology is the
largest branch. Clinical psychologists
treat people with mental illnesses and
emotional problems.
Psychologists who work in other
branches of psychology do experiments
and research. Some study what happens
in the brain when people think and feel.
Others study how people react to others.
Certain psychologists compare the
human mind to the minds of other animals,
especially apes and monkeys.
To do their work, psychologists often
observe, or watch, people. For example,
a psychologist may observe children at
play to see how they get along. Psychologists
also may ask people to answer
questions or to do different tasks. By
comparing the actions and responses of
many different people, psychologists
hope to find patterns. These patterns
Some kinds of psychologists talk with
people to help them deal with emotional
problems.
The Rorschach test is one tool that psychologists
use to learn about personality. The
psychologist shows a person inkblots, and
the person describes what they look like.
Different kinds of people see different things
in the inkblots.
162 Psychology BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
may help to explain why people think or
act as they do.
#More to explore
Anthropology • Mental Illness • Social
Science • Sociology
Pterodactyl
Pterodactyls were flying reptiles of prehistoric
times. They lived about 145 to
