Blanquillos.
The supporters of Oribe in Uruguay, in 1835. Their opponents, who followed Rivera, were called Colorados.
Bloc, Le.
The name given to the general body of Republicans, of various shades of opinion, in the French Chamber, who supported the Ministry of M. Combes in 1902-3.
Bloemfontein Conference.
A conference of delegates from Cape Colony, Natal, and the Orange Free State, which met in 1895 to discuss the question of a Customs Union. Natal could not come to terms, and withdrew, but an arrangement was arrived at by the other two parties, and a convention tariff, with five per cent. ad valorem duties, was accepted by both Governments.
Bloemfontein Convention.
A convention signed in 1854, by which the British Government abolished the Orange River Sovereignty, and recognized the independence of the Orange Free State. Among the provisions of the treaty were clauses binding the British Government to make no treaties with native chiefs likely to be detrimental to the interests of the Republic, forbidding slavery, and providing for extradition.
Blood and Iron, The Man of.
A nickname of Prince Bismarck, taken from a phrase in a speech delivered by him in 1862.