Osci, or Opici. One of the most ancient tribes of Italy; they inhabited the centre of the peninsula, from which they had driven out the Siculi. Their principal settlement was in Campania, but we also find them in parts of Latium and Samnium. They were subdued by the Sabines and Tyrrhenians, and disappeared from history at a comparatively early period. They were called in their own language Uskus.
Osnabruck, or Osnaburg. A town in Hanover, 71 miles from Hanover. Here was concluded the peace of Westphalia in 1648.
Ossun. A town of France, in the department of the Upper Pyrenees, 7 miles southwest from Tarbes. A great battle was fought with the Saracens, in the 8th century, in its neighborhood.
Ostend. A fortified seaport town of Belgium, province of West Flanders, situated on the coast of the North Sea, 67 miles northwest from Brussels. During the war of the Dutch against Spain, Ostend sustained a memorable siege for more than three years (1601-4). So tremendous was the bombardment that the noise of the Spanish artillery is said to have been occasionally heard at London. At last, after a loss of 50,000 men on the part of the garrison, and 80,000 on that of the Spaniards, the town surrendered on honorable terms, and the Spanish general Spinola was put in possession of Ostend, now reduced to heaps of ruin. On the death of Charles II. of Spain, the French seized Ostend; but in 1706, after the battle of Ramilies, it was retaken by the allies. It was again taken by the French in 1745, but restored in 1748. In 1756 the French garrisoned this town for the empress queen Maria Theresa. In 1792 the French once more took Ostend, which they evacuated in 1793, but regained in 1794. The English destroyed the works of the Bruges Canal; but the wind shifting before they could re-embark, they surrendered to the French, May 19, 1798.
Ostrolenka. A town of Poland, on the Narew. Near here the French repulsed the Russians under Essen, February 16, 1807, and an indecisive and bloody engagement took place between the Poles under Skrzynecki and the Russians under Diebitsch, May 26, 1831.
Ostrovno. A village of Russia, in the government of Mohilev, 90 miles northwest from Mohilev. The Russians were defeated here in 1812 by the French.
Oswego, Fort. See [Fort Ontario].
Oswestry. A town of England, in Shropshire, 15 miles northwest from Shrewsbury. Oswestry is said to derive its name (originally Oswaldstree) from Oswald, the king of Northumbria, who was slain here in the early part of the 7th century, in a battle fought with the ferocious Penda, king of Mercia.
Otaheite, or Tahiti. The largest of a cluster of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, that were frequently visited by Capt. Cook, and named by him the Society Islands. In 1799, King Pomare ceded the district of Matavai to some English missionaries. Queen Pomare was compelled to put herself under the protection of France, September 7, 1843. She retracted, and Otaheite and the neighboring islands were taken possession of by Admiral Dupetit-Thuars in the name of the French king, November, 1843. The French imprisoned Mr. Prichard, the English consul, March 5, 1844, but the act was censured in France.
Otchakow. A small town and seaport of South Russia, in the government of Kherson, 40 miles east-northeast from Odessa. During the Russian wars with Turkey in the 18th century, Otchakow was alternately the property of each, until it was taken by Potemkin in 1788, and definitively annexed to the Russian dominions.