country and western music, American popular music form originating in the Southeast (country music) and the Southwest and West (western music). The two regional styles coalesced in the 1920s when recorded material became available in rural areas, and they were further consolidated after musicians from various sections met and mixed during service in World War II. The primary traditional difference between the two styles is that country music is simpler and uses fewer instruments, relying on guitar, fiddle, banjo, and harmonica, whereas the music of the Southwest tends toward steel guitars and big bands whose style verges on swing (e.g., The Light Crust Doughboys). Bluegrass, exemplified by Bill Monroe, is a style of country and western music distinguished by a driving, syncopated rhythm, high-pitched vocals, and an emphasis on the banjo, mandolin, and fiddle.

Country and western music is directly descended from the folk songs, ballads, and popular songs of the English, Scottish, and Irish settlers of the U.S. southeastern seaboard. Its modern lyrics depict the emotions and experience of rural and (currently) urban poor whites; they often tell frankly of illicit love, crime, and prison life. Over the last 50 years country and western music has gained a nationwide audience. Since 1925 the "Grand Ole Opry," a Saturday night performance featuring country and western singers, has been broadcast weekly from Nashville, Tenn.

Many of the musicians have been influenced by African-American blues (see jazz) and gospel music, but the performers and audience are almost all white. Leading performers include Jimmy Rodgers, the Carter Family, Hank Williams and his son, Tex Ritter, Chet Atkins, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, June Carter-Cash, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Charley Pride, Charlie Rich, Dolly Parton, and Willie Nelson. In the 1960s and 70s, country and western music significantly influenced the development of rock music. Since then, it has undergone a national revival with performers such as Ricky Scaggs, Garth Brooks, the Judds, Tanya Tucker, and Reba McEntire achieving great popularity.

North Country National Scenic Trail: see National Parks and Monuments (table).

Middle Country: see Middle Kingdom.

Cockpit Country, hilly region on the plateau of Jamaica, c.200 sq mi (520 sq km), W central Jamaica. Composed of limestone rock, the region has many sink holes, caverns, and subterranean streams.

Black Country, highly industrialized region, mostly in Staffordshire but partly in Worcestershire and Warwickshire, W central England. It includes the cities of Dudley, Rowley Regis (see Warley), Tipton, Walsall, Wednesbury, West Bromwich, and Wolverhampton. From the mid-18th to the mid-19th cent. the area's resources—coal, iron, clay, and limestone—made iron smelting and the manufacture of iron products the main industries. The black smoke from the factories gave the region its name. Since the iron and coal mines have been depleted, regional industries use iron, steel, brass, and copper from other localities to manufacture metal products. These include hardware, tubes, boilers, machinery and machine tools, home appliances, and road and rail vehicles. There are also chemical and constructional-engineering industries.

Basque Country, Basque Euzkadi, Span. País Vasco, comprising the provinces of Álava, Guipúzcoa, and Vizcaya (1990 pop. 2,159,701), N Spain, S of the Bay of Biscay and bordering on France in the northeast. The region includes the W Pyrenees and is bounded in the southwest by the Ebro River. It is crossed by the Cantabrian Mts. (In a wider sense the name also applies to other territories largely inhabited by Basques: Spanish Navarre and Basses-Pyrénées dept. in France.) Bilbao, capital of Vizcaya prov., is the largest Basque city and one of the chief industrial centers of Spain. Other cities include San Sebastián, capital of Guipúzcoa prov.; Vitoria, capital of Álava prov.; and historic Guernica. Although Basque was recognized as the official language of the region in 1978, most Basques speak French or Spanish. In the densely populated coastal provinces of Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa the chief occupations are mining of iron, lead, copper, and zinc and metalworking, shipbuilding, and fishing. Álava is primarily agricultural; corn and sugar beets are grown, and wine and apple cider are made. Tourism is also important. Traditional Basque farming culture has given way to industrial development and emigration to France and the Americas.

For the history of the three provinces up to 1936, see Basques. Shortly after the outbreak of civil war in 1936 the Spanish government granted the three provinces autonomy. The Basque nationalist leader, José Antonio de Aguirre, was elected president of the autonomous government, but a large part of its territory was soon in insurgent hands. The fighting was over by Sept., 1937, and the new Franco regime abolished Basque autonomy. Basque nationalism remained strong, however, and the region achieved autonomy again in 1979, electing its first parliament the following year. In their campaign for Basque self-determination, the militant Basque Homeland and Freedom (Euzkadi Ta Azkatasuna; ETA) has been responsible for much terrorism; a 1998-99 cease-fire by the ETA ended without a negotiated settlement. Batasuna, the political party associated with the ETA, was suspended in 2002 and banned in 2003; previous parties associated with the ETA had been subjected to similar bannings. In recent years the regional government has sought even greater autonomy. A plan for "free association" with Spain was passed by the region's parliament in 2004, but the plan was not approved by the Spanish Cortes. In Mar., 2006, the ETA announced a "permanent" cease-fire, and called for negotiations; the Spanish government agreed to talks three months later. A bombing in Dec., 2006, however, ended the chance for talks, and in June, 2007, the ETA ended its cease-fire.

Skiing in open country over rolling, hilly terrain. It originated in Scandinavia as a means of travel as well as recreation. The skies used are longer, narrower, and lighter than those used in Alpine skiing, and bindings allow more heel movement. The standard lengths of international races range from 10 to 50 km (6.2–31 mi) for men and 5 to 30 km (3.1–18.6 mi) for women. It has been included on the Olympics program since the first Winter Olympics in 1924.

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Long-distance running over open country. It developed as a competitive event in the mid-19th century. Though originally included in the revived Olympics, it was dropped after 1924 as not suitable for summer competition (most cross-country races are held in the fall or early winter). The first international women's competition was held in 1967. Standard distances are 12,000 m (7.5 mi) for men, and 2,000–5,000 m (1.25–3 mi) for women. Though rules for championship competitions have been established, world records are not kept because of the varying difficulty of courses.

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or country and western

Musical style that originated among whites in rural areas of the southern and western U.S. The term country and western music was adopted by the music industry in 1949 to replace the derogatory hillbilly music. Its roots lie in the music of the European settlers of the Appalachians and other areas. In the early 1920s the genre began to be commercially recorded; Fiddlin' John Carson recorded its first hit. Radio programs such as Nashville's Grand Ole Opry and Chicago's National Barn Dance fueled its growth, and growing numbers of musicians, such as the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, began performing on radio and in recording studios. With the migration of Southern whites to industrial cities in the 1930s and '40s, country music was exposed to new influences, such as blues and gospel music. Its nostalgic bias, with its lyrics about poverty, heartbreak, and homesickness, held special appeal during a time of great population shifts. In the 1930s “singing cowboy” film stars, such as Gene Autry, altered country lyrics to produce a synthetic “western” music. Other variants include western swing (see Bob Wills) and honky-tonk (see Ernest Tubb and Hank Williams). In the 1940s there was an effort to return to country's root values (see bluegrass), but commercialization proved a stronger influence, and in the 1950s and '60s country music became a huge commercial enterprise. Popular singers often recorded songs in a Nashville style, while many country music recordings employed lush orchestral backgrounds. Country music has become increasingly acceptable to urban audiences, retaining its vitality with diverse performers such as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, Randy Travis, Garth Brooks, Emmylou Harris, and Lyle Lovett. Despite the influence of other styles, it has retained an unmistakable character as one of the few truly indigenous American musical styles.

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or contredanse

Type of social dance for couples, popular in the 17th century. Derived from English folk dance, the country dance is performed in one of three forms: circular or round; “longways,” with rows of couples facing each other; and geometric, in squares or triangles. The main source of country-dance steps and songs is John Playford's The English Dancing Master (1650). The dance was the basis for the 19th-century quadrille. It was taken by colonists to North America as the Virginia reel and, in modified form, as the square dance. There was a modest revival in the 20th century.

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Region, western central Jamaica. Covering some 500 sq mi (1,300 sq km), the area has typical karst topography, with conical hills rising above sinkholes with sharp, precipitous sides (called “cockpits”). This inhospitable terrain provided refuge for runaway slaves, who became guerrilla fighters when the English conquered Jamaica in 1665. Their descendants today number about 5,000 and still maintain some independence: all land belongs to the community, they pay no taxes, and the central government may interfere only in case of a capital crime.

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French Pays Basque

Cultural region, extreme southwestern France. It extends from the Anie Peak of the Pyrenees to the coast around Biarritz on the Bay of Biscay. The region has been largely spared the problems associated with Basque separatism in Spain's Basque Country. Fishing and tourism are economic mainstays.

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