- published: 13 Jun 2012
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- 12th meridian west
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Algeria
Coordinates: 28°N 2°E / 28°N 2°E / 28; 2
Algeria
i/ælˈdʒɪəriə/ (Arabic: الجزائر, al-Jazā'ir; Berber: ⴷⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية, al-Jumhūriyyah al-Jazāʾiriyyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah ash-Shaʿbiyyah), also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a large country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.
When referring to its land area, Algeria is the largest country in Africa, Maghreb and the Arab World. It is also the largest of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea; it is also the tenth-largest country in the world. The country is bordered in the northeast by Tunisia, in the east by Libya, in the west by Morocco, in the southwest by Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Mali, in the southeast by Niger, and in the north by the Mediterranean Sea. Its size is almost 2,400,000 square kilometres (926,645 sq mi) with an estimated population of 37.1 million as of 2012. Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC and the United Nations. The country is also a founding member of the Arab Maghreb Union.
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Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (Portuguese: República de Angola, pronounced: [ʁɨˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈɡɔla];Kikongo, Kimbundu, Umbundu: Repubilika ya Ngola), is a country in southern Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city. The exclave province of Cabinda has borders with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Portuguese were present in some—mostly coastal—points of the territory of what is now Angola, from the 16th to the 19th century, interacting in diverse ways with the peoples that lived there. In the 19th century they slowly and hesitantly began to establish themselves in the interior. Angola as a Portuguese colony encompassing the present territory was not established before the end of the 19th century, and "effective occupation", as required by the Berlin Conference (1884) was achieved only by the 1920s. Independence was achieved in 1975, after a protracted liberation war. After independence, Angola was the scene of an intense civil war from 1975 to 2002. The country has vast mineral and petroleum reserves, and its economy has on average grown at a two-digit pace since the 1990s, especially since the end of the civil war. In spite of this, standards of living remain low for the majority of the population, and life expectancy and infant mortality rates in Angola are among the worst-ranked in the world. At the same time, a minority has reached comfortable life standards, and the dominant stratum has succeeded in accumulating considerable wealth, so that social inequality in Angola is one of the highest in the world.
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Anguilla
Anguilla (
/æŋˈɡwɪlə/ ang-GWIL-ə) is a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territory consists of the main island of Anguilla itself, approximately 26 km (16 mi) long by 5 km (3.1 mi) wide at its widest point, together with a number of much smaller islands and cays with no permanent population. The island's capital is The Valley. The total land area of the territory is 91 km2 (35 sq mi), with a population of approximately 13,500 (2006 estimate).
Anguilla has become a popular tax haven, having no capital gains, estate, profit or other forms of direct taxation on either individuals or corporations.
Anguilla was first settled by Amerindian tribes who migrated from South America. The earliest Amerindian artifacts found on Anguilla have been dated to around 1300 BC, and remains of settlements date from 600 AD. The date of European discovery is uncertain: some sources claim that Columbus sighted the island in 1493, while others state that the island was first discovered by the French in 1564 or 1565. The name Anguilla derives from the word for "eel" in any of various Romance languages (modern Spanish: anguila; French: anguille; Italian: anguilla; Portuguese: enguia), probably chosen because of the island's eel-like shape.
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Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda (i/ænˈtiːɡə ænd bɑrˈbjuːdə/; Spanish for "ancient" and "bearded") is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands (including Great Bird, Green, Guinea, Long, Maiden and York Islands and further south, the island of Redonda). The permanent population number approximately 81,800 (at the 2011 Census) and the capital and largest port and city is St. John's, on Antigua.
Separated by a few nautical miles, Antigua and Barbuda are in the middle of the Leeward Islands, part of the Lesser Antilles, roughly at 17 degrees north of the Equator. The country is nicknamed "Land of 365 Beaches" due to the many beaches surrounding the islands. Its governance, language, and culture have all been strongly influenced by the British Empire, of which the country was formerly a part.
Antigua was first settled by Archaic Age hunter-gatherer Amerindians, erroneously referred to as Siboney or Ciboney.Carbon-dating has established that the earliest settlements started around 3100 BC. They were succeeded by the Ceramic Age pre-Columbian Arawak-speaking Saladoid people who migrated from the lower Orinoco River.
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Argentina
Argentinai/ˌɑrdʒənˈtiːnə/, officially the Argentine Republic (Spanish: República Argentina [reˈpuβlika aɾxenˈtina]), is a country in South America, the continent's second largest by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth-largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations.
Argentina's continental area is between the Andes mountain range in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the east. It borders Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, and Chile to the west and south. Argentine claims over Antarctica, as well as overlapping claims made by Chile and the United Kingdom, are suspended by the Antarctic Treaty of 1961. Argentina also claims the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which are administered by the United Kingdom as British Overseas Territories.
A recognised middle power, Argentina is Latin America's third-largest economy, with a "very high" rating on the Human development index. Within Latin America, Argentina has the fifth highest nominal GDP per capita and the highest in purchasing power terms. Analysts have argued that the country has a "foundation for future growth due to its market size, levels of foreign direct investment, and percentage of high-tech exports as share of total manufactured goods", and it is classed by investors as middle emerging economy. Argentina is a founding member of the United Nations, Mercosur, the Union of South American Nations, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the World Bank Group and the World Trade Organization, and is one of the G-15 and G-20 major economies.
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Australia
Australia ( /əˈstreɪljə/), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent as well as the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.
For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups. After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.
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Barbados
Coordinates: 13°10′N 59°33′W / 13.167°N 59.55°W / 13.167; -59.55
Barbados (i/bɑrˈbeɪdɒs/ or /bɑrˈbeɪdoʊs/) is a sovereign island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is 34 kilometres (21 mi) in length and up to 23 kilometres (14 mi) in width, covering an area of 431 square kilometres (166 sq mi). It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about 168 kilometres (104 mi) east of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and 400 kilometres (250 mi) north-east of Trinidad and Tobago. Barbados is outside of the principal Atlantic hurricane belt.
Barbados was initially visited by the Spanish around the late 1400s to early 1500s and first appears on a Spanish map from 1511. The Spanish explorers may have plundered the island of whatever native peoples resided therein to become slaves. The Portuguese visited in 1536, but they too left it unclaimed, with their only remnants being an introduction of wild hogs for a good supply of meat whenever the island was visited. The first English ship, the Olive Blossom, arrived in Barbados in 1624. They took possession of it in the name of the British king James I. Two years later in 1627 the first permanent settlers arrived from England and it became an English and later British colony.
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Barclayville
Barclayville, the capital and most populous settlement in Grand Kru County is located in southeastern Liberia about 10 miles inland from Picinicess. As of the 2008 national census, the population stood at 2,733. The Barclayville township straddles the banks of the Na River. Roads from Kanweaken to the northwest, Pleebo to the southeast, and to Picinicess and Grand Cess to the southeast, all intersect at Barclayville. In March 2006 the United Nations reported completion of the Na River bridge at Barclayville, connecting the Kanweaken and Pleebo roads for the first time.
The modern jurisdiction of Barclayville was created by President Barclay in response to the last Kru Wars in the 1930s. As part of the effort to exert central government authority and diminish inter-tribal conflicts that resulted in devastation, four separate villages were combined into one township. Until the creation of Barclayville, the constituent villages of Seetor and Kayken, which are from rival chiefdoms, were in periodic conflict. The villages of Seetor, Kayeken and Wakpeken and their "suburbs" are on the northwest side of the Na river while Topor is on the opposite bank across from Wakpekan. Despite the town's large size, most structures are traditional mud and stick homes and(as of mid 1980) few have running water or electricity. Kplio (a dialect of Grebo) is the primary language of all Barclayvillians but English is the official language of instruction.
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Belize
Belizei/bəˈliːz/ (formerly British Honduras) is a country located on the north eastern coast of Central America and it is the only country in the area where English is the official language, although Kriol and Spanish are more commonly spoken. Belize is bordered to the north by Mexico, south and west by Guatemala, and to the east by the Caribbean Sea. Its mainland is about 290 kilometres (180 mi) long and 110 kilometres (68 mi) wide.
With 22,960 square kilometres (8,860 sq mi) of land and a population of only 333,200 inhabitants (2010 est.), Belize possesses the lowest population density in Central America. The country's population growth rate of 2.21% (2008 est.), however, is the highest in the region and one of the highest in the western hemisphere. Belize's abundance of terrestrial and marine species, and its diversity of ecosystems give it a key place within the globally significant Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.
Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages and it is the only nation in the region with a British colonial heritage but as a part of the Western Caribbean Zone, it also shares a common heritage with the Caribbean portions of other Central American countries. In general, Belize is considered to be a Central American nation with strong ties to both the Caribbean and Latin America. Belize is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA).
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Benin
Benini/bɨˈniːn/ (formerly, Dahomey), officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, by Nigeria to the east and by Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. A majority of the population live on its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin. The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, the country's largest city. Benin covers an area of approximately 110,000 square kilometers (42,000 sq mi), with a population of approximately 9.05 million. Benin is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with substantial employment and income arising from subsistence farming.
The official language of Benin is French, however, indigenous languages such as Fon and Yoruba are commonly spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Roman Catholicism, followed closely by Islam, Vodun and Protestantism. Benin is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie, the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, the African Petroleum Producers Association and the Niger Basin Authority.
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Bensonville
Bensonville is the capital city of Montserrado County, Liberia. As of the 2008 national census, the population stood at 4,089. The capital of Liberia, Monrovia, is also located in Montserrado County. Bensonville is located 20 miles from Monrovia. It is a commercial center for the surrounding agricultural area.
It was the birthplace of William R. Tolbert, Jr., the 20th president of Liberia. Before he was killed in a coup in 1980, Tolbert had planned to make Bensonville the new capital city of Liberia.
Prior to the Liberian Civil War[disambiguation needed
], Bensonville's industrial activity included producing milled rice, sawn wood, soap, plastics, paints, furniture and fixtures, cement blocks, oils, processed fish, and confections.
Coordinates: 6°26′44″N 10°36′35″W / 6.44556°N 10.60972°W / 6.44556; -10.60972
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Bermuda
Bermuda ( /bɜrˈmjuːdə/), officially the Bermudas or Somers Islands, is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 1,030 kilometres (640 mi) to the west-northwest. It is about 1,373 kilometres (853 mi) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia and 1,770 kilometres (1,100 mi) northeast of Miami, Florida, USA. Its capital city is Hamilton.
Bermuda was discovered in 1505 by Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermúdez, after whom the islands are named. Apparently uninhabited, he claimed them for the Spanish Empire. Although he paid two visits to the archipelago, Bermúdez was persuaded never to set foot on any of the islands by the dangerous reef surrounding them. Subsequent Spanish or other visitors are believed to have released the feral pigs that were abundant on the island when settlement began. In 1609, the Virginia Company, which had established Virginia and Jamestown on the American continent two years earlier, established a settlement on behalf of the English colonial empire. Initially, it was administered as an extension of Virginia by the Company until 1614, before its successor, the Somers Isles Company, took over until 1684. Bermuda then became a British colony following the 1707 unification of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to create the unified Kingdom of Great Britain. After Newfoundland became part of Canada in 1949, Bermuda became the oldest (and, since the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the most populous) remaining British overseas territory. Its first capital, St George's, was established in 1612 and is the oldest continuously-inhabited English town in the Americas.
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Bomi County
Bomi is a county in the northwestern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has four districts. Tubmanburg serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 1,942 square kilometres (750 sq mi). As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 82,036, making it the twelfth most populous county in Liberia. Bomi is bordered by Grand Cape Mount County to the west, Gbarpolu County to the north, Montserrado County to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south.
Bomi is divided into four districts:
Bomi has an area of 755 square miles (2,000 km2) and a density of 36.6 persons per sq. mile.
Coordinates: 6°45′N 10°45′W / 6.75°N 10.75°W / 6.75; -10.75
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Bong County
Bong is a county in the north-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has twelve districts. Gbarnga serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 8,772 square kilometres (3,387 sq mi). As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 328,919, making it the third most populous county in Liberia.
Named after Mount Bong in the southern portion of the county, it is bordered by Lofa and Gbarpolu counties to the north, Margibi and Montserrado counties to the west, Grand Bassa County to the south, and Nimba County to the east. The northeast part of Bong borders the nation of Guinea. Created in 1964, the County Superintendent is Ranney Jackson. Bong County’s flag is purple, signifying the dawn, and orange, signifying the County’s newness.[citation needed] The two geological instruments in the white field portion of the flag symbolize Bong County’s mining industry.
Bong County is situated in the central part of Liberia, on the main paved road that runs from Monrovia to Sanniquellie in Nimba County.
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Bopulu
Bopolu is the capital city of Gbarpolu County, Liberia, and is located 100 kilometers north of Monrovia. As of the 2008 census, Bopolu has a population of 2908. Of this, 1547 were male and 1361 female.
Bopolu was once the center of the Kondo Confederation, which included the Dei, Gola, Lorma, and Vai tribes. The area surrounding Bopolu reached its height of prominence under King Bosan. Traders sent slaves, ivory, gold, and camwood were to the Vai and Dei tribes in exchange for salt, tobacco, guns, and European cloth.
Cultivation of rice and cassava is now Bopolu's main economic activity.
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Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana (Tswana: Lefatshe la Botswana), is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are properly referred to as "Batswana" (singular: Motswana), but many English-language sources use "Botswanan". Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966. It has held free and fair democratic elections since independence.
Botswana is flat, and up to 70% is covered by the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. Its border with Zambia to the north near Kazungula, Zambia is poorly defined but at most is a few hundred meters long.
A mid-sized country of just over two million people, Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. Botswana was one of the poorest countries in Africa when it gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1966, with a GDP per capita of about US$70. Botswana has since transformed itself, becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in the world to a GDP (purchasing power parity) per capita of about $14,000. The country also has a strong tradition as a representative democracy.
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Brazil
Brazili/brəˈzɪl/ (Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas and the largest lusophone country in the world.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 km (4,655 mi). It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos form part of Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until 1815, when it was elevated to the rank of kingdom and the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was formed. The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese colonial empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal.Independence was achieved in 1822 with the formation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The country became a presidential republic in 1889, when a military coup d'état proclaimed the Republic, although the bicameral legislature, now called Congress, dates back to the ratification of the first constitution in 1824. Its current Constitution, formulated in 1988, defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 States, and the 5,564 Municipalities.
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Buchanan, Liberia
Buchanan is the third largest city in Liberia, lying on Waterhouse Bay, part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is referred to as Gbezohn in the local Bassa language. As of the 2008 census, Buchanan has a population of 34,270. Of this, 16,984 were male and 17,286 female.
Named for Thomas Buchanan, cousin of U.S. president James Buchanan and first governor of Liberia, it is also the capital of Grand Bassa and lies 70 miles (110 km) southeast of Monrovia, near the mouth of the Saint John River. The town was popular with refugees during the Liberian Civil War[disambiguation needed] as it largely escaped the fighting. Fishing is an important industry in the town. The town also has isolated beaches and lagoons.
In December 1832, the Port Cresson colony was founded in what is now Buchanan, by black Quakers of the New York and Pennsylvania Colonization Societies.. It was established as a settlement for black emigrants from the United States. The emigrants named the settlement in honor of Elliott Cresson, a Philadelphia merchant and Pennsylvania Colonization Society founder who funded their voyage to Liberia.
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Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (
i/bərˌkiːnə ˈfɑːsoʊ/ bər-KEE-nə FAH-soh; French: [buʁkina faso]) – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest. The country's capital is Ouagadougou.
Its size is 274,200 square kilometres (105,900 sq mi) with an estimated population of more than 15,757,000. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta, it was renamed on 4 August 1984, by President Thomas Sankara, to mean "the land of upright people" in Mòoré and Dioula, the major native languages of the country. Figuratively, "Burkina" may be translated, "men of integrity", from the Mòoré language, and "Faso" means "fatherland" in Dioula. The inhabitants of Burkina Faso are known as Burkinabè (
/bərˈkiːnəbeɪ/ bər-KEE-nə-bay).
Burkina Faso was populated between 14,000 and 5000 BC by hunter-gatherers in the country's northwestern region. Farm settlements appeared between 3600 and 2600 BC. What is now central Burkina Faso was principally composed of Mossi kingdoms. These Mossi Kingdoms would become a French protectorate in 1896. After gaining independence from France in 1960, the country underwent many governmental changes until arriving at its current form, a semi-presidential republic. The president is Blaise Compaoré.
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Burma
Burmai/ˈbɜrmə/ BUR-mə, also known as Myanmar i/ˌmjɑːnˈmɑr/ MYAHN--MAR, is a country in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand. One-third of Burma's total perimeter of 1,930 kilometres (1,200 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. At 676,578 km2 (261,227 sq mi), it is the 40th largest country in the world and the second largest country in Southeast Asia. Burma is also the 24th most populous country in the world with over 60.28 million people.
Burma is home to some of the early civilizations of Southeast Asia including the Pyu and the Mon. In the 9th century, the Burmans of the Kingdom of Nanzhao, entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Empire in the 1050s, the Burmese language and culture slowly became dominant in the country. During this period, Theravada Buddhism gradually became the predominant religion of the country. The Pagan Empire fell due to the Mongol invasions (1277–1301), and several warring states emerged. In the second half of the 16th century, the country was reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty which for a brief period was the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia. The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Burma as well as Manipur and Assam. The country was colonized by Britain following three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885).
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Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon (French: République du Cameroun), is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country is called "Africa in miniature" for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point is Mount Cameroon in the southwest, and the largest cities are Douala, Yaoundé, and Garoua. Cameroon is home to over 200 different linguistic groups. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. French and English are the official languages.
Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the southeastern rainforest. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões ("River of Prawns"), the name from which Cameroon derives. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century, and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and fondoms. Cameroon became a German colony in 1884.
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Canada
Canada ( /ˈkænədə/) is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Spanning over 9,900,000 km2 (3,800,000 sq mi), Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the longest land border in the world.
The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions explored, and later settled, along the region's Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy; the Canada Act 1982 severed the vestiges of legal dependence on Britain.
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Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (English /kəˈnɛəri ˈaɪləndz/; Spanish: Islas Canarias [ˈizlas kaˈnaɾjas, ˈihlah kaˈnaɾjas]), also known as the Canaries (Spanish: Canarias), is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union. The islands include (from largest to smallest): Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro, La Graciosa, Alegranza, Isla de Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Este and Roque del Oeste. The Canary Islands are legally recognized as a nationality of Spain. Geographically it is a part of the African Continent.[citation needed]
The archipelago's beaches, climate and important natural attractions, especially Teide National Park and Mount Teide (the third tallest volcano in the world measured from its base on the ocean floor), make it a major tourist destination, with over 12 million visitors per year, especially Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. The islands have a subtropical climate, with long warm summers and moderately warm winters. Due to their location above the temperature inversion layer, these islands are ideal for astronomical observation. For this reason, two professional observatories, Teide Observatory on the island of Tenerife and Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma, have been built on the islands.
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Cap-Vert
Cap-Vert is a peninsula in Senegal, and the westernmost point of the continent of Africa and of the Old World mainland. Originally called Cabo Verde or "Cape Green" by Portuguese explorers, it is not to be confused with the Cape Verde islands, which are some 560 kilometres (350 mi) further west. Dakar, the capital of Senegal, is located near the southern tip.
Cap-Vert is a rocky promontory extending west from the main sandy areas of Senegal. Cap-Vert has an excellent harbor, facing Gorée Island.
Formed by a combination of volcanic offshore islands and a land bridge produced by coastal currents, it projects into the Atlantic Ocean, bending back to the southeast at its tip. Exposure to southwesterly winds contributes to Cape Verde's seasonal verdant appearance, in contrast to the undulating yellow dunes to the north.
The peninsula is shaped like a triangle (about 9 miles (14 km) per side), with the base of the triangle roughly along the north and its apex on the south, near Dakar. Near Pointe des Almadies, the north-western tip of the cape, lies Dakar's international airport, famous as a transatlantic ferrying point during World War II. Twin volcanic cones, the Deux Mamelles ("Two Teats"), dominate the landscape along the coast northwest of Dakar. The peninsula embraces a bay and a natural harbour in the southwest.
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Cape Verde
Cape Verdei/ˌkeɪp ˈvɜrd/ (Portuguese: Cabo Verde, pronounced: [ˈkabu ˈveɾdɨ]), officially the Republic of Cape Verde, is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa. The islands, covering a combined area of slightly over 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), are of volcanic origin and while three of them (Sal, Boa Vista and Maio) are fairly flat, sandy and dry, the remaining ones are generally rockier and have more vegetation. However, because of the infrequent occurrence of rainfall the overall landscape is not particularly green.
The name of the country stems from the nearby Cap Vert, on the Senegalese coast, which in its turn was originally named "Cabo Verde" when it was sighted by Portuguese explorers in 1444, a few years before the islands were discovered (verde is Portuguese for "green").
The previously uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th Century, and became important in the Atlantic slave trade for their location. The islands' prosperity often attracted privateers and pirates, including Sir Francis Drake, a corsair (privateer) under the authority of the British crown, who twice sacked the (then) capital Ribeira Grande, in the 1580s. The islands were also visited by Charles Darwin's expedition in 1832. The decline in the slave trade in the 19th century resulted in an economic crisis for the islands. With few natural resources, and without strong sustainable investment from the Portuguese, the citizens grew increasingly discontent with the colonial masters, who nevertheless refused to provide the local authorities with more autonomy. This discontent festered and culminated in 1975, when a movement originally led by Amílcar Cabral who was assassinated on 20 January 1973 then passed onto his half-brother Luís Cabral, achieved independence for the archipelago.
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Cavalla River
The Cavalla River (also known as Cavally, Youbou or Diougou river) is a river in West Africa running from north of Mount Nimba in Guinea, through Côte d'Ivoire, to Zwedru in Liberia, and back to the border with Côte d'Ivoire. It ends in the Gulf of Guinea 21 km east of Harper, Liberia. It forms the southern two-thirds of the international boundary between Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire.
It has a length of 515 kilometres (320 mi), and is the longest river in Liberia. The name is derived from the cavalla horse mackerel found at its mouth.
Coordinates: 4°22′N 7°32′W / 4.367°N 7.533°W / 4.367; -7.533
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Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands ( /ˈkeɪmən/ or /keɪˈmæn/) is a British Overseas Territory located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica. The Cayman Islands are considered to be part of the geographic Western Caribbean Zone as well as the Greater Antilles. The territory is a major world offshore financial centre.
The Cayman Islands were first logged as sighted by Christopher Columbus on 10 May 1503 during his fourth and final voyage to the New World. He named the islands Las Tortugas after the large number of sea turtles observed there. The first recorded English visitor to the islands was Sir Francis Drake in 1586. He subsequently named the islands "Cayman" after caiman, a Neo-Taino word for "alligator".
The Cayman Islands remained largely uninhabited until the 17th century. While there is no archaeological evidence for an indigenous people on the islands, a variety of settlers from various backgrounds made their home on the islands, including pirates, refugees from the Spanish Inquisition, shipwrecked sailors, and deserters from Oliver Cromwell's army in Jamaica.
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Cestos River
The Cestos River is a Liberian river that rises in the Nimba Range of Guinea and flows south along the Côte d'Ivoire border, then southwest through tracks of Liberian rain forest to empty into a bay on the Atlantic Ocean where the city River Cess is located. The Pygmy Hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) is known to inhabit lands along stretches of the river. It forms the northern third of the international boundary between Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire.
Coordinates: 5°27′N 9°34′W / 5.45°N 9.567°W / 5.45; -9.567
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Chad
Chadi/ˈtʃæd/ (French: Tchad, Arabic: تشاد Tšād), officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Due to its distance from the sea and its largely desert climate, the country is sometimes referred to as the "Dead Heart of Africa".
Chad is divided into multiple regions: a desert zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the centre and a more fertile Sudanese savanna zone in the south. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the largest wetland in Chad and the second largest in Africa. Chad's highest peak is the Emi Koussi in the Sahara, and N'Djamena, (formerly Fort-Lamy), the capital, is the largest city. Chad is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. Arabic and French are the official languages. Islam and Christianity are the most widely practiced religions.
Beginning in the 7th millennium BC, human populations moved into the Chadian basin in great numbers. By the end of the 1st millennium BC, a series of states and empires rose and fell in Chad's Sahelian strip, each focused on controlling the trans-Saharan trade routes that passed through the region. France conquered the territory by 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa.
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Christmas Island
Coordinates: 10°29′S 105°38′E / 10.483°S 105.633°E / -10.483; 105.633 The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, 360 km (220 mi) south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, 975 km (606 mi) ENE of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and 2,748 km (1,708 mi) west of the Territorian city of Darwin.
Christmas Island has a population of 1,403 residents who live in a number of "settlement areas" on the northern tip of the island: Flying Fish Cove (also known as Kampong), Silver City, Poon Saan, and Drumsite.
The island’s geographic isolation and history of minimal human disturbance has led to a high level of endemism among its flora and fauna, which is of significant interest to scientists and naturalists. 63% of its 135 square kilometres (52 sq mi) is an Australian national park. There exist large areas of primary monsoonal forest.
Phosphate, deposited originally as dead marine organisms (not guano as often thought), has been mined on the island for many years.
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Comoros
The Comorosi/ˈkɒməroʊz/ (Arabic: جزر القمر, Ǧuzur al-Qumur/Qamar), officially the Union of the Comoros (Comorian: Udzima wa Komori, French: Union des Comores, Arabic: الاتحاد القمري al-Ittiḥād al-Qumurī/Qamarī) is a sovereign, archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar. Other countries near to the Comoros are Tanzania to the northwest and the Seychelles to the northeast. The capital is Moroni on Grande Comore.
At 1,862 km2 (719 sq mi) (excluding Mayotte), the Comoros is the third-smallest African nation by area. The population (excluding Mayotte) is estimated at 798,000. Its name derives from the Arabic word قمر qamar ("moon"). The archipelago is notable for its diverse culture and history, as a nation formed at the crossroads of many civilizations. It is the southernmost member state of the Arab League. Though in the contested island of Mayotte the sole official language is French, the "Union of the Comoros" has three official languages: Comorian, Arabic, and French.
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Cook Islands
The Cook Islands (i/ˈkʊk ˈaɪləndz/; Cook Islands Māori: Kūki 'Āirani) is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand. The 15 small islands have a total land area of 240 square kilometres (92.7 sq mi), but the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers 1,800,000 square kilometres (690,000 sq mi) of ocean.
The main population centres are on the island of Rarotonga (14,153 in 2006), where there is an international airport. There is a much larger population of Cook Islanders in New Zealand, particularly the North Island. In the 2006 census, 58,008 self-identified as being of ethnic Cook Island Māori descent.
With about 100,000 visitors travelling to the islands in the 2010-11 financial year,tourism is the country's main industry, and the leading element of the economy, far ahead of offshore banking, pearls, and marine and fruit exports.
Defence and foreign affairs are the responsibility of New Zealand, in consultation with the Cook Islands. In recent times, the Cook Islands have adopted an increasingly independent foreign policy. Although Cook Islanders are citizens of New Zealand, they have the status of Cook Islands nationals, which is not given to other New Zealand citizens.
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Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoirei/ˌkoʊt dɨˈvwɑr/ (French: [kot d‿ivwaʁ]) or Ivory Coast i/ˌaɪvəri ˈkoʊst/ is a country in West Africa. It has an area of 322,462 square kilometres (124,503 sq mi), and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be 20,617,068 in 2009. Côte d'Ivoire's first national census in 1975 counted 6.7 million inhabitants.
Prior to its colonization by Europeans, Côte d'Ivoire was home to several states, including Gyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. There were two Anyi kingdoms, Indénié and Sanwi, which attempted to retain their separate identity through the French colonial period and after Côte d'Ivoire's independence. An 1843–1844 treaty made Côte d'Ivoire a protectorate of France and in 1893, it became a French colony as part of the European scramble for Africa.
Côte d'Ivoire became independent on 7 August 1960. From 1960 to 1993, the country was led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny. It maintained close political and economic association with its West African neighbours, while at the same time maintaining close ties to the West, especially to France. Since the end of Houphouët-Boigny's rule, Côte d'Ivoire has experienced one coup d’état, in 1999, and a civil war, which broke out in 2002. A political agreement between the government and the rebels brought a return to peace. Côte d'Ivoire is a republic with a strong executive power invested in the President. Its de jure capital is Yamoussoukro and the biggest city is the port city of Abidjan. The country is divided into 19 regions and 81 departments. It is a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, African Union, La Francophonie, Latin Union, Economic Community of West African States and South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone.
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Djibouti
Djibouti (Arabic: جيبوتي Jībūtī, French: Djibouti, Somali: Jabuuti, Afar: Gabuuti), officially the Republic of Djibouti (Arabic: جمهورية جيبوتي Jumhūriyyat Jībūtī, French: République de Djibouti, Afar: Gabuutih Ummuuno, Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Jabuuti), is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east. Djibouti, which had a population of 818,159 at the 2009 census, is one of the least populous countries in Africa.Islam is the largest religion in the country, practiced by 94% of the population. The land was known as Obock and French Somaliland (Côte française des Somalis) in the 19th century; in 1967, it changed its name to Afars and Issas after new treaties with France. The territory was declared an independent nation in 1977 and changed its name to the "Republic of Djibouti" after its principal city. Djibouti joined the United Nations on September 20, 1977. While Djibouti is an independent sovereign state, it maintains deep French relations, and through various military and economic agreements with France, it receives continued security and economic assistance.
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Dominica
Dominica ( /ˌdɒmɪˈniːkə/ DOM-i-NEE-kə;French: Dominique; Kali‘na (Carib): Wai‘tu kubuli), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi) and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of 1,447 metres (4,747 ft). The Commonwealth of Dominica had a population of 71,293 at the 2011 Census. The capital is Roseau.
Dominica has been nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" for its unspoiled natural beauty. It is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, still being formed by geothermal-volcanic activity, as evidenced by the world's second-largest hot spring, Boiling Lake. The island features lush mountainous rainforests, home of many rare plant, animal, and bird species. There are xeric areas in some of the western coastal regions, but heavy rainfall can be expected inland. The Sisserou Parrot (also known as the Imperial Amazon), the island's national bird, is featured on the national flag. Dominica's economy is heavily dependent on tourism, agriculture and heavy taxation.
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Egypt
Egypti/ˈiːdʒɪpt/ (Arabic: مصر, Miṣr, Egyptian Arabic: [mɑsˤɾ] ; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, Kīmi ; Sahidic Coptic: ⲕⲏⲙⲉ, Kēme), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: جمهوريّة مصر العربيّة (help·info), is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its over 81 million people live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
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Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country located in Middle Africa. It has two parts: a Continental Region (Río Muni), including several small offshore islands including Corisco, Elobey Grande and Elobey Chico; and an insular region containing Annobón island and Bioko island (formerly Fernando Po) where the capital Malabo is situated.
Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the east is the mainland region. Equatorial Guinea is bordered by Cameroon on the north, Gabon on the south and east, and the Gulf of Guinea on the west, where the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is located between Bioko and Annobón. Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name is suggestive of its location near both the equator and the Gulf of Guinea. Besides the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla on the Mediterranean coast next to Morocco, it is the only territory in mainland Africa with Spanish as the official language.
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Eritrea
Eritrea ( /ˌɛrɨˈtreɪ.ə/ or /ˌɛrɨˈtriːə/;Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritrīyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea is the Italian form of the Greek name Ἐρυθραίᾱ (Erythraíā), meaning "red [land]". The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeast and east of the country has an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea. Eritrea's size is approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi) with an estimated population of 6 million.
Together with northern Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and the Red Sea coast of Sudan, Eritrea is considered the most likely location of the land known to the ancient Egyptians as Punt (or "Ta Netjeru", meaning "God's Land"), whose first mention dates to the 25th century BC. The ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with Pharaonic Egypt during the times of Pharaoh Sahure and Queen Hatshepsut.
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Ethiopia
Ethiopia ( /ˌiːθiˈoʊpiə/) (Ge'ez: ኢትዮጵያ ʾĪtyōṗṗyā), officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With its capital at Addis Ababa, it is also the most populous landlocked nation in the world.
Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history, and the Ethiopian dynasty traces its roots to the 2nd century BC. Ethiopia is also one of the oldest sites of human existence known to scientists today, having yielded some of humanity's oldest traces. It may be the region from which Homo sapiens first set out for the Middle East and points beyond. Alongside Rome, Persia, China and India, the Ethiopian Aksum Empire was considered one of the great world powers of the 3rd century. During the Scramble for Africa, Ethiopia was the only African country beside Liberia that retained its sovereignty as a recognized independent country, and was one of only four African members of the League of Nations. After a brief period of Italian occupation, Ethiopia became a charter member of the United Nations. When other African nations received their independence following World War II, many of them adopted the colors of Ethiopia's flag, and Addis Ababa became the location of several international organizations focused on Africa.
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Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (English pronunciation: /ˈfɒlklənd/ or English pronunciation: /ˈfɔːlklənd/; Spanish: Islas Malvinas) are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located more than 250 nautical miles (460 km; 290 mi) east of the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago comprises East Falkland, West Falkland, and 776 lesser islands. Stanley, the capital and only city, is on East Falkland. The islands are a self-governing British Overseas Territory, with the United Kingdom responsible for their defence and foreign affairs.
Controversy exists over the Falklands' original discovery and subsequent colonisation by Europeans. At various times there have been French, British, Spanish, and Argentine settlements. Britain re-established its rule in 1833, yet the islands continue to be claimed by Argentina. In 1982, following Argentina's invasion of the islands, the two-month-long undeclared Falklands War between both countries resulted in the withdrawal of all Argentine forces. Despite its defeat, Argentina still pursues its claim; however, UK policy supports the islanders' self-determination to remain British citizens.
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Fiji
Fijii/ˈfiːdʒiː/ (Fijian: Viti; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी), officially the Republic of Fiji (Fijian: Matanitu ko Viti; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी गणराज्यFijī Gaṇarājya), is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km; 1,300 mi) northeast of New Zealand's North Island. Its closest neighbours are Vanuatu to the west, France's New Caledonia to the southwest, New Zealand's Kermadec to the southeast, Tonga to the east, the Samoas, France's Wallis and Futuna to the northeast and Tuvalu to the north.
The majority of Fiji's islands were formed through volcanic activity started around 150 million years ago. Today, some geothermal activity still occurs on the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Fiji has been inhabited since the second millennium BC. The country comprises an archipelago of more than 332 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited, and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of circa 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the population of almost 850,000. The former contains Suva, the capital and largest city. Most of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres. Viti Levu's interior is sparsely inhabited due to its terrain.
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Fish Town
Fishtown is the capital city of River Gee County, Liberia.
River Gee County is one of the five Southeastern counties. As of the 2008 national census, the population stood at 3,328. It was created by the act of legislation in 2000. Its citizens are Grebo. In 1933, during the administration of president Edwin J. Barclay, the interior was graphed and founded the provinces, bringing about Eastern Province, Central province and Western province. Before, today River Gee and today Grand Gedeh were separate districts, while River Gee came out of Webbo District that was administered by Maryland County and Grand Gedeh came out of Tchien District administered by Sinoe County and the both districts made up the Eastern Province, which in 1964 became Grand Gedeh.
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France
France (Englishi/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] (
listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
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Gabon
Gabon ( /ɡəˈbɒn/; French pronunciation: [ɡabɔ̃]), officially the Gabonese Republic (French: République Gabonaise) is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west. It covers a land area of nearly 270,000 km² and has an estimated population of 1,500,000. Its capital and largest city is Libreville.
Since its independence from France on August 17, 1960, Gabon has been ruled by three presidents. In the early 1990s, Gabon introduced a multi-party system and a new democratic constitution that allowed for a more transparent electoral process and reformed many governmental institutions. Gabon is also a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2010-2011 term.
Low population density together with abundant natural resources and foreign private investment have helped make Gabon one of the most prosperous countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the highest HDI and the third highest GDP per capita (PPP) (after Equatorial Guinea and Botswana) in the region.
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Gambia
The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambiai/ˈɡæmbiə/, is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west.
The country is situated around the Gambia River, the nation's namesake, which flows through the country's centre and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Its area is 11,295 km² with an estimated population of 1.7 million.
On 18 February 1965, Gambia gained independence from the United Kingdom and joined the Commonwealth of Nations. Banjul is Gambia's capital, but the largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama.
Gambia shares historical roots with many other West African nations in the slave trade, which was the key factor in the placing and keeping of a colony on the Gambia River, first by the Portuguese and later by the British. Since gaining independence in 1965, Gambia has enjoyed relative political stability, with the exception of a brief period of military rule in 1994.
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Gbarnga
Gbarnga is the capital city of Bong County, Liberia, lying north east of Monrovia. Bong County is one of the over 13 political subdivisions of Liberia known as counties. During the First Liberian Civil War, it was the base for Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia. Cuttington College lies near the town and its campus was once home to the Africana Museum, now destroyed.
As of the 2008 census, Gbarnga has a population of 34,046. Of this: 16,080 were male and 17,966 female; it is the fourth most populous urban area in Liberia.
Gbarnga is the hometown of Tamba Hali of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League.
The town is twinned with Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States.
Coordinates: 7°00′N 9°30′W / 7°N 9.5°W / 7; -9.5
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Ghana
Ghanai/ˈɡɑːnə/ is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. The word Ghana means "Warrior King" and is derived from the ancient Ghana Empire.
Ghana was inhabited in pre-colonial times by a number of ancient predominantly Akan kingdoms, including the inland Ashanti Empire, the Akwamu, the Akyem, the Bonoman, the Denkyira, and the Fante among others. Non-Akan states created by the Ga also existed as did states by the Dagomba. Prior to contact with Europeans trade between the Akan and various African states flourished due to Akan's gold wealth. Trade with European states began after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century, and the British established the Gold Coast Crown colony in 1874 over parts but not all of the country.
The Gold Coast achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1957, becoming the First sub-Saharan African nation to do so from European Colonialism. The name Ghana was chosen for the new nation to reflect the ancient Empire of Ghana, which once extended throughout much of west Africa.
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Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( /dʒɨˈbrɒltər/) is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. It has an area of 6.8 square kilometres (2.6 sq mi) and a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region. At its foot is the densely populated city area, home to almost 30,000 Gibraltarians and other nationalities.
An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The territory was subsequently ceded to Britain "in perpetuity" under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. It was an important base for the Royal Navy; today its economy is based largely on tourism, financial services, and shipping.
The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum and again in 2002. Under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the UK Government.
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Grain Coast
Pepper Coast is the name of a coastal area in western Africa, between Cape Mesurado and Cape Palmas. It encloses the present republic of Liberia. It got its name from the melegueta pepper. The pepper is also known as the grain of paradise, which gave rise to an alternative name, the Grain Coast. The importance of the spice is shown by the designation of the area from the Saint John River (at present-day Buchanan) to Harper in Liberia as the "Grain Coast" in honor of the availability of grains of paradise. In some cases (as shown on the map) this term covers a wider area incorporating Sierra Leone and the Cote d'Ivoire.[citation needed]
Coordinates: 5°12′N 9°30′W / 5.2°N 9.5°W / 5.2; -9.5 (Pepper Coast)
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Grand Bassa County
Grand Bassa is a county in the west-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has eight districts. Buchanan serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 7,936 square kilometres (3,064 sq mi). As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 224,839, making it the fifth most populous county in Liberia.
Grand Bassa's County Superintendent is Julia Duncan Cassell. The county is bordered by Margibi County to the northwest, Bong County to the north, Nimba County to the east, and Rivercess County to the south and east. The western part of Grand Bassa borders the Atlantic Ocean.
Among the county's notable residents were Joseph James Cheeseman and Anthony Gardiner, presidents of Liberia during the 19th century. The port of Buchanan was constructed by LAMCO to serve the export of iron ore carried through the railway from Nimba. The civil war destroyed the port, railway and the township built by LAMCO. In 2005, LAMCO's facilities were taken over by Arcelor-Mittal (AM), which has begun a gradual reconstruction. The once bustling port is now a ghost town, the only ray of hope being the arrival of Arcelor-Mittal and the consequent prospects of employment. Under terms of a 2005 agreement with the national government, AM will give $1 million each year to the county for iron ore exploitation, though these terms were revised in 2007.
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Grand Gedeh County
Grand Gedeh is a county in the eastern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has three districts. Zwedru (formerly Tchien) serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 10,484 square kilometres (4,048 sq mi). As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 126,146, making it the ninth most populous county in Liberia.
Grand Gedeh's County Superintendent is Christopher Beh Bailey. The county is bordered by Nimba County to the west, Sinoe County to the southwest, and River Gee County to the southeast. The northern part of Grand Gedeh borders the nation of Côte d'Ivoire.
In the 1984 Census, the county had a population of 63,028 people. With a Provisional Census 2008 population of 126,146, the county has grown by 2.9% annually, the second highest among the counties of Liberia.
The county is home to a large Muslim population along with residents of the Ivory Coast.
Districts of Grand Gedeh County include (2008 population):
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Grand Kru County
Grand Kru is a county in the southeastern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has eighteen districts. Created in 1984, Barclayville serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 3,895 square kilometres (1,504 sq mi). As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 57,106, making it the least populous county in Liberia.
Grand Kru's County Superintendent is Rosalind Sneh. The county is bordered by River Gee County to the northeast, Sinoe County to the northwest, and Maryland County to the southeast. The southern part of Grand Kru borders the Atlantic Ocean.
Grand Kru was created in 1984/1985 by the merger of Sasstown Territory and Kru Coast Territory. Kru coast territory which had previously been part of Maryland County, and Sasstown territory which had previously been part of Sinoe county. As of the 1984 Census, the county had a population of 62,791. A UN Mission in Liberia report issued in April 2005 estimated that the population was 71,000.
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Greenville, Liberia
Greenville, also known as Sinoe, is the capital of Sinoe County in southeastern Liberia and lies on a lagoon near the Sinoe River and the Atlantic Ocean. It is located about 150 miles southeast of Monrovia. As of the 2008 national census, the population stood at 16,434.
The town was built in about 1838 by colonists of the Mississippi Colonization Society.Part of what was then the Mississippi-in-Africa colony, (now Sinoe County), Greenville was named after Judge James Green, one of the first Mississippi Delta planters to send a group of former slaves to Liberia.
The town was destroyed in the Liberian Civil War[disambiguation needed] but has since been rebuilt around a port for the local logging industry. Before the civil war, the town's main exports were lumber, rubber, and agricultural products.
The Sapo National Park lies near the town. Boats sail from Greenville to Monrovia and Harper.
Greenville experiences 185 rainy days per year. The mean temperature of the town's coolest month is 24 degrees Celsius and 27 degrees Celsius for its warmest month.
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Grenada
Grenada (i/ɡrɨˈneɪdə/) is an island country and Commonwealth realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" because of the production of nutmeg and mace crops of which Grenada is one of the world's largest exporters. Its size is 344 square kilometres (133 sq mi), with an estimated population of 110,000. Its capital is St. George's. The national bird of Grenada is the critically endangered Grenada Dove.
Grenada was first sighted by Europeans in 1498 during the third voyage of Christopher Columbus to the new world. At the time the indigenous Island Caribs (Kalinago) who lived there called it Camahogne. The Spaniards did not permanently settle on Camahogne. The English failed in their attempt at settlement in 1609.
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Guam
Guam (i/ˈɡwɑːm/; Chamorro: Guåhån) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of sixteen Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United Nations. The island's capital is Hagåtña (formerly Agaña). Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands.
The Chamorros, Guam's indigenous people, first populated the island approximately 4,000 years ago. The island has a long history of European colonialism. Discovered by Ferdinand Magellan during a Spanish expedition on March 6, 1521, the first colony was established in 1668 by Spain with the arrival of settlers including Padre San Vitores, a Catholic missionary. For more than two centuries Guam was an important stopover for the Spanish Manila Galleons that crossed the Pacific annually. The island was controlled by Spain until 1898, when it was surrendered to the United States during the Spanish-American War and later formally ceded as part of the Treaty of Paris.
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Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey ( /ˈɡɜrnzi/ GURN-zee; French: Bailliage de Guernesey, IPA: [bajaʒ də ɡɛʁnəzɛ]), is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, and Lihou. Furthermore, the Bailiwick includes Alderney and Sark, which each has its own parliament.
Although its defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom, the Bailiwick of Guernsey is not part of the UK; and while it participates in the Common Travel Area, it is not part of the European Union.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is included (along with the Bailiwick of Jersey) in the grouping known as the Channel Islands.
The name of Guernsey, as well as that of neighbouring Jersey, is of Old Norse origin. The second element of Guernsey (-ey) is the Old Norse for "island". Guern similar to Spanish "Cuerno", French "Coi(r)n", Dutch "Hoorn", Frisian "Hoarn", Swedish "Hörn", Swiss "Gorn" means "Corner". - Corner Island.
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Guinea
Guineai/ˈɡɪni/, officially the Republic of Guinea (French: République de Guinée), is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea (Guinée française), it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. Guinea has almost 246,000 square kilometres (94,981 sq mi) and a population of 10,057,975. It forms a crescent by curving from its western border on the Atlantic Ocean toward the east and the south. Its northern border is shared with Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Mali, the southern one with Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire. The Niger River's source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea.
Guinea is geographically divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures. Conakry is the capital, largest city and economic centre. The other major cities in the country include Kankan, Nzérékoré, Kindia, Labe, Guéckédou, Mamou and Boke.
Guinea's 10 million people belong to twenty-four ethnic groups. The largest and most prominent groups are the Fula 40%, Mandingo 30%, and Susu 20%.
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Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissaui/ˈɡɪni bɪˈsaʊ/ (Portuguese: República da Guiné-Bissau, pronounced: [ʁeˈpublikɐ dɐ ɡiˈnɛ biˈsaw]), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west. It covers 36,125 km² (nearly 14,000 sq mi) with an estimated population of 1,600,000.
Guinea-Bissau was once part of the kingdom of Gabu, as well as part of the Mali Empire. Parts of this kingdom persisted until the 18th century, while a few others were part of the Portuguese Empire since the 16th century. It then became the Portuguese colony of Portuguese Guinea in the 19th century. Upon independence, declared in 1973 and recognised in 1974, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country's name to prevent confusion with the bordering Republic of Guinea. Guinea-Bissau has a history of political instability since gaining independence and no elected president has successfully served a full five-year term. On the evening of 12 April 2012, members of the country's military staged a coup and arrested the interim president and a leading presidential candidate. The military has yet to declare a current leader for the country. However, former vice chief of staff, General Mamadu Ture Kuruma took the care of the country in the transitional period and started negotiations with opposition parties.
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Guyana
Coordinates: 5°00′N 58°45′W / 5°N 58.75°W / 5; -58.75
Guyana (i/ɡaɪˈænə/ gy-AN-ə), officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and (for over 200 years) the British. It is the only state of the Commonwealth of Nations on mainland South America, and the only one on that continent where English is an official language.It is one of the few Caribbean countries that is not an island. It is also a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which has its secretariat headquarters in Guyana's capital, Georgetown. Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966, and became a republic on 23 February 1970. In 2008 the country joined the Union of South American Nations as a founding member.
Historically, the region known as "Guiana" or "Guyana" comprised the large shield landmass north of the Amazon River and east of the Orinoco River known as the "Land of many waters". Historical Guyana is made up of three Dutch colonies: Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice. Modern Guyana is bordered to the east by Suriname, to the south and southwest by Brazil, to the west by Venezuela, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean.
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Harper, Liberia
Harper, situated on Cape Palmas, is the capital of Maryland County in Liberia. It is a coastal town situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Hoffman River. Harper is Liberia's 11th largest town, with a population of 17,837.
The town is named after Robert Goodloe Harper, a prominent U.S. politician and member of the American Colonization Society. It was he who proposed the name Liberia for the American Colonization Society's settlement in Africa, and the town of Harper was named in honor of him.
Before the First Liberian Civil War, Harper was an important administrative centre. Harper is slowly being rebuilt but without central electricity or water. No hotels and few low standard guesthouses and restaurants are functional. Tubman University, one of only two public universities in Liberia, is located in Harper.
Magnificent unexploited beaches stretch for miles on both sides of Harper and warm ocean temperature year round. Fish are found in abundance, as well as whales, dolphins and large oysters. Fanti Canoes sail from Harper to Monrovia via Greenville. This trip can take from 3 to 6 days depending on the wind and weather. A UNMIL ship, the MV Catarina, sails fortnightly between Harper and Monrovia. From the Ivory Coast, Harper is accessible from Tabou.
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Harvard University
Harvard University is an American private Ivy League research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation (officially The President and Fellows of Harvard College) chartered in the country. Harvard's history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
Harvard was named after its first benefactor, John Harvard. Although never formally affiliated with a church, the college primarily trained Congregationalist and Unitarian clergy. Harvard's curriculum and students became secular throughout the 18th century and by the 19th century had emerged as the central cultural establishment among Boston elites. Following the American Civil War, President Charles W. Eliot's forty year tenure (1869–1909) transformed the college and affiliated professional schools into a centralized research university, and Harvard became a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900.James Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II and began to reform the curriculum and liberalize admissions after the war. The undergraduate college became coeducational after its 1977 merger with Radcliffe College. Drew Gilpin Faust was elected the 28th president in 2007 and is the first woman to lead the university. Harvard has the largest financial endowment of any academic institution in the world, standing at $32 billion as of September 2011.
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Hong Kong
Coordinates: 22°16′42″N 114°09′32″E / 22.27833°N 114.15889°E / 22.27833; 114.15889
Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港) is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is known for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty. The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era. The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East meets West", and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England until reforms implemented in 2009.
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India
India (i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.
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Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( /ˈmæn/; Manx: Ellan Vannin, pronounced [ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn]), otherwise known simply as Mann (Manx: Mannin, IPA: [ˈmanɪn]), is a self-governing Crown Dependency of the United Kingdom, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. The island is not part of the United Kingdom, but its foreign relations and defence are the responsibility of the UK Government. Although the United Kingdom does not usually interfere in the island's domestic matters, its "good government" is ultimately the responsibility of the Crown (that is, in practice, the Government of the United Kingdom).
The island has been inhabited since before 6500 BC. Gaelic cultural influence began in the 5th century AD, and the Manx language, a branch of the Gaelic languages, gradually emerged. In the 9th century, the Norse began to settle there. A Norse-Gaelic culture arose and the island came under Norse control. In 1266, the island became part of Scotland as formalised by the Treaty of Perth. After a period of alternating rule by the kings of Scotland and England, the island came under the feudal overlordship of the English Crown in 1399. The lordship revested into the British Crown in 1764 but the island never became part of Great Britain or its successor the United Kingdom and retained its status as an internally self-governing Crown dependency.
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Italy
Italyi/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
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Ivory Coast
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoirei/ˌkoʊt dɨˈvwɑr/ (French: [kot d‿ivwaʁ]) or Ivory Coast i/ˌaɪvəri ˈkoʊst/ is a country in West Africa. It has an area of 322,462 square kilometres (124,503 sq mi), and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be 20,617,068 in 2009. Côte d'Ivoire's first national census in 1975 counted 6.7 million inhabitants.
Prior to its colonization by Europeans, Côte d'Ivoire was home to several states, including Gyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. There were two Anyi kingdoms, Indénié and Sanwi, which attempted to retain their separate identity through the French colonial period and after Côte d'Ivoire's independence. An 1843–1844 treaty made Côte d'Ivoire a protectorate of France and in 1893, it became a French colony as part of the European scramble for Africa.
Côte d'Ivoire became independent on 7 August 1960. From 1960 to 1993, the country was led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny. It maintained close political and economic association with its West African neighbours, while at the same time maintaining close ties to the West, especially to France. Since the end of Houphouët-Boigny's rule, Côte d'Ivoire has experienced one coup d’état, in 1999, and a civil war, which broke out in 2002. A political agreement between the government and the rebels brought a return to peace. Côte d'Ivoire is a republic with a strong executive power invested in the President. Its de jure capital is Yamoussoukro and the biggest city is the port city of Abidjan. The country is divided into 19 regions and 81 departments. It is a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, African Union, La Francophonie, Latin Union, Economic Community of West African States and South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone.
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Jamaica
Coordinates: 18°10′57″N 77°19′18″W / 18.1823878°N 77.3217773°W / 18.1823878; -77.3217773
Jamaica (i/dʒəˈmeɪkə/), officially the Commonwealth of Jamaica, is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length, up to 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width, and 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The indigenous Arawakan-speaking Taíno name for the island was Xaymaca, meaning the "Land of Wood and Water" or the "Land of Springs".
Once a Spanish possession known as Santiago, it became an English colony in 1655 under the name "Jamaica". It achieved full independence from Britain on August 6, 1962. With 2.8 million people, it is the third most populous anglophone country in the Americas, after the United States and Canada. It remains a Commonwealth realm in concert with the Monarchy of Jamaica holding ultimate executive power, where Queen Elizabeth II is the current head of state and Queen of Jamaica.Kingston is the country's largest city and the capital.
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Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, French: Bailliage de Jersey ( /ˈdʒɜrzi/, French: [ʒɛʁzɛ]; Jèrriais: Jèrri), is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and other rocks and reefs.
Jersey is a self-governing parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, with its own financial, legal and judicial systems.
The island of Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands. Although the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey are often referred to collectively as 'the Channel Islands', they are not a constitutional or political unit. Jersey has a separate relationship to the British Crown from the other Crown Dependencies of Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It is not part of the United Kingdom, and has an international identity separate from that of the UK but the United Kingdom is constitutionally responsible for the defence of Jersey. Jersey is not a part of the European Union but has a special relationship with it, being treated as part of the European Community for the purposes of free trade in goods.
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Kakata
Kakata is the capital city of Liberia's Margibi County and is located in Kakata District.
As of the 2008 census, Kakata has a population of 33945. Of this, 16501 were male and 17444 female; it is the fifth most populous urban area in Liberia.
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Kenya
Kenya ( /ˈkɛnjə/ or /ˈkiːnjə/), officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator. With the Indian Ocean to its south-east, it is bordered by Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-west, Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the north-east. Kenya has a land area of 580,000 km2 and a population of nearly 41 million, representing 42 different peoples and cultures. The country is named after Mount Kenya, a significant landmark and second among Africa's highest mountain peaks. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi.
Kenya has a warm and humid climate along its coastline on the Indian Ocean which changes to wildlife-rich savannah grasslands moving inland towards the capital Nairobi. Nairobi has a cool climate that gets colder approaching Mount Kenya, which has three permanently snow-capped peaks. The warm and humid tropical climate reappears further inland towards lake Victoria, before giving way to temperate forested and hilly areas in the western region. The North Eastern regions along the border with Somalia and Ethiopia are arid and semi-arid areas with near-desert landscapes. Lake Victoria, the world's second largest fresh-water lake (after Lake Superior in the US and Canada) and the world's largest tropical lake, is situated to the southwest and is shared with Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya is famous for its safaris and diverse world-famous wildlife reserves such as Tsavo National Park, the Maasai Mara, Nakuru National Park, and Aberdares National Park.
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Kiribati
Kiribati ([kɪribas] KIRR-i-bas or ˌkɪrəˈbɑdi;Gilbertese: [ˈkiɾibas]), officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population is just over 100,000 (2011), and the island nation is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, (1,351,000 square miles) straddling the equator, and bordering the International Date Line at its easternmost point.
The name Kiribati is the local pronunciation of "Gilberts", derived from the main island chain, the Gilbert Islands. The capital of South Tarawa consists of a number of islets connected through a series of causeways, located in the Tarawa archipelago. Kiribati became independent from the United Kingdom in 1979. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the IMF and the World Bank, and became a full member of the United Nations in 1999.
Kiribati was named in French by captains Krusenstern and Louis Isidore Duperrey "îles Gilbert", Gilbert Islands, after the British Captain Thomas Gilbert, who sighted the islands in 1788. The current name, Kiribati, is an adaptation of "Gilberts", from the former European name the "Gilbert Islands". Although the indigenous Gilbertese language name for the Gilbert Islands proper is Tungaru, the new state chose the name "Kiribati", the Gilbertese rendition of "Gilberts", as an equivalent of the former colony to acknowledge the inclusion of islands which were never considered part of the Gilberts chain.
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Lebanon
Lebanon (i/ˈlɛbənɒn/ or /ˈlɛbənən/; Arabic: لبنان Libnān or Lubnān, Lebanese Arabic: [lɪbˈneːn]), officially the Lebanese Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية اللبنانية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Libnānīyah, Lebanese Arabic: [elˈʒʊmhuːɾɪjje l.ˈlɪbneːnɪjje]), is a country in the East Mediterranean. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland has dictated its rich history, and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity.
The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than 7,000 years—predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Phoenicians, a maritime culture that flourished for nearly 2,500 years (3000–539 BC). Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, the five provinces that comprise modern Lebanon were mandated to France. The French expanded the borders of Mount Lebanon, which was mostly populated by Maronite Catholics and Druze, to include more Muslims. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, and established a unique political system, known as confessionalism, a power-sharing mechanism based on religious communities – Bechara El Khoury who became independent Lebanon's first President and Riad El-Solh, who became Lebanon's first prime minister, are considered the founders of the modern Republic of Lebanon and are national heroes for having led the country's independence. French troops withdrew from Lebanon in 1946.
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Lesotho
Lesotho (i/lɨˈsuːtuː/ li-SOO-too), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, completely surrounded by its only neighboring country, the Republic of South Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name Lesotho translates roughly into the land of the people who speak Sesotho. About 40% of the population live below the international poverty line of US $1.25 a day.
The earliest known inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Wasja-speaking tribes during Bantu migrations. The Sotho-Tswana people colonized the general region of South Africa between the 3rd and 11th centuries.
The present Lesotho (then called Basutoland) emerged as a single polity under king Moshoeshoe I in 1822. Moshoeshoe, a son of Mokhachane, a minor chief of the Bakoteli lineage, formed his own clan and became a chief around 1804. Between 1821 and 1823, he and his followers settled at the Butha-Buthe Mountain, joining with former adversaries in resistance against the Lifaqane associated with the reign of Shaka Zulu from 1818 to 1828.[citation needed]
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Liberia
Liberiai/laɪˈbɪəriə/, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Ivory Coast on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open to a plateau of drier grasslands. The country possesses 40% of the remaining Upper Guinean rainforest. Liberia has a hot equatorial climate, with significant rainfall during the May to October rainy season and harsh harmattan winds the remainder of the year. Liberia covers an area of 111,369 km2 (43,000 sq mi) and is home to about 3.7 million people. English is the official language, while over 30 indigenous languages are spoken within the country.
Along with Ethiopia, Liberia is one of the two modern countries in Sub-Saharan Africa without roots in the European colonization of Africa. Beginning in 1820, the region was colonized by freed American slaves with the help of the American Colonization Society, a private organization that believed ex-slaves would have greater freedom and equality in Africa. Slaves freed from slave ships were also sent there instead of being repatriated to their countries of origin. In 1847, these colonists founded the Republic of Liberia, establishing a government modeled on that of the United States and naming the capital city Monrovia after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States and a prominent supporter of the colonization. The colonists, known as Americo-Liberians, led the political and economic sectors of the country.
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Liberia, Costa Rica
Liberia is the capital and largest city of Guanacaste province, Costa Rica, located 215 kilometres (134 mi) northwest of the national capital, San José. Liberia is often called "la ciudad blanca" (the white city) by its residents because of the white gravel once used to make the city’s roads and the whitewashed colonial houses that once made up a large part of the city.
Modern day Liberia was founded as a hermitage without any legal or formal act of foundation on September 4, 1769. It was located in a strategic location where the roads from the towns of Rivas, Bagaces, and Nicoya met. The hermitage was used primarily as place of rest by travelers. The area's giant Guanacaste trees provided shade for travelers and livestock and overtime the area became known as Guanacaste (El Poblado de Guanacaste).
The settlement itself shared a history with Nicaragua and Costa Rica. In 1812 the Cádiz Cortes created the providence of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Nicaragua and Costa Rica got independence from Spain on September 15, 1821 after the Spanish defeat in the Mexican War of Independence. After the short lived First Mexican Empire (1821–1823) Costa Rica (considered a minor provincial outpost at the time) became part of the newly formed Federal Republic of Central America in 1823. The Partido de Nicoya (Nicoya’s Party) served as an administrative unit for the Federal Republic of Central America. The Partido de Nicoya compromised of much of the territory that today is the province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Most of the area, such as the settlements of Nicoya and Santa Cruz, held economic ties to Costa Rican territory like the growing port of Puntarenas. The settlement of Guanacaste (modern day Liberia), on the other hand, held closer economic ties to Nicaraguan territory like the town of Rivas.
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Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States of America, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in four buildings in Washington, D.C., as well as the Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and number of books. The head of the Library is the Librarian of Congress, currently James H. Billington.
The Library of Congress was instituted for Congress in 1800, and was housed in the United States Capitol for most of the 19th century. After much of the original collection had been destroyed during the War of 1812, Thomas Jefferson sold 6,487 books, his entire personal collection, to the library in 1815. After a period of decline during the mid-19th century the Library of Congress began to grow rapidly in both size and importance after the American Civil War, culminating in the construction of a separate library building and the transference of all copyright deposit holdings to the Library. During the rapid expansion of the 20th century the Library of Congress assumed a preeminent public role, becoming a "library of last resort" and expanding its mission for the benefit of scholars and the American people.
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Libya
Libya (Arabic: ليبيا Lībyā), Berber: ⵍⵉⴱⵢⴰ) is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west.
With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres (700,000 sq mi), Libya is the third largest country in Africa by area, and the 17th largest in the world. The largest city, Tripoli, is home to 1.7 million of Libya's 6.4 million people. The three traditional parts of the country are Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica.
In 2009 Libya had the highest HDI in Africa and the fourth highest GDP (PPP) per capita in Africa, behind Seychelles, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world and the 17th-highest petroleum production.
As a result of the Libyan civil war, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, which had at that time been in existence for 34 years, collapsed and Libya entered a period of governance by a transitional administration called the National Transitional Council. The NTC has stated its intention to oversee the first phase of a transition to constitutional democracy, after which it claims it will dissolve in favor of a representative legislature.
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Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic, Malagasy: Repoblikan'i Madagasikara [republiˈkʲan madaɡasˈkʲarə̥], French: République de Madagascar) is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar (the fourth-largest island in the world), as well as numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from India around 88 million years ago, allowing plants and animals on the island to evolve in complete isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot in which over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island's diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by human settlement.
Initial human settlement of Madagascar occurred from 350 BCE and 550 CE by Austronesian peoples arriving on outrigger canoes from Borneo who were later joined around 1000 CE by Bantu migrants crossing the Mozambique Channel. Other groups continued to settle on Madagascar over time, each one making lasting contributions to Malagasy cultural life. The Malagasy ethnic group is often divided into eighteen or more sub-groups of which the largest are the Merina of the central highlands.
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Malawi
Malawi ( /məˈlɑːwi/; Chichewa [malaβi][need tone]), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Malawi is over 118,000 km2 (45,560 sq mi) with an estimated population of more than 13,900,000. Its capital is Lilongwe, which is also Malawi's largest city; the second largest is Blantyre and the third is Mzuzu. The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, an old name of the Nyanja people that inhabit the area. The country is also nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa".
The area of Africa now known as Malawi was colonized by migrating tribes of Bantu around the 10th century. In 1891 the area was colonized again, this time by the British. In 1953 Malawi, then known as Nyasaland, became part of the semi-independent Central African Federation (CAF). The Federation was dissolved in 1963 and in 1964, Nyasaland gained full independence and was renamed Malawi. Upon gaining independence it became a single-party state under the presidency of Hastings Banda, who remained president until 1994, when he was ousted from power. Joyce Banda (no relation) is the current president, raised to that position after president Bingu Mutharika died in 2012. She is the first female leader in Malawi. Malawi has a democratic, multi-party government. Malawi has a small military force that includes an army, a navy and an air wing. Malawi's foreign policy is pro-Western and includes positive diplomatic relations with most countries and participation in several international organizations.
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Malaysia
Malaysia (i/məˈleɪʒə/ mə-LAY-zhə or i/məˈleɪsiə/ mə-LAY-see-ə) is a federal constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia. It consists of thirteen states and three federal territories and has a total landmass of 329,847 square kilometres (127,350 sq mi) separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo. Land borders are shared with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei, and maritime borders exist with Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. In 2010 the population exceeded 27.5 million, with over 20 million living on the Peninsula.
Malaysia has its origins in the Malay Kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, became subject to the British Empire. The first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946. Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963, with si being added to give the new country the name Malaysia. However, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. Since independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with GDP growing an average 6.5% for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its natural resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce and medical tourism.
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Mali
Malii/ˈmɑːli/, officially the Republic of Mali (French: République du Mali, French pronunciation: [maˈli]), is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with a population of 14.5 million. Its capital is Bamako. Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara, while the country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, features the Niger and Sénégal rivers. The country's economic structure centers around agriculture and fishing. Some of Mali's natural resources are gold, uranium, livestock, and salt. About half the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.
Present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade: the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire (from which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali making it a part of French Sudan. French Sudan (then known as the Sudanese Republic) joined with Senegal in 1959, achieving independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. Shortly thereafter, following Senegal's withdrawal from the federation, the Sudanese Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali. After a long period of one-party rule, a 1991 coup led to the writing of a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state. On 22 March, 2012, a group of junior soldiers seized control of the country's presidential palace and declared the government dissolved and its constitution suspended. On 6 April, 2012, rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) declared the secession of a new state, Azawad, from Mali.
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Malta
Maltai/ˈmɒltə/, officially known as the Republic of Malta (Maltese: Repubblika ta' Malta), is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, 80 km (50 mi) south of Sicily, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya, with Gibraltar 1,755 km (1,091 mi) to the west and Alexandria 1,508 km (937 mi) to the east. Malta covers just over 316 km2 (122 sq mi) in land area, making it one of the world's smallest states. It is also one of the most densely populated countries worldwide. The de facto capital city of Malta is Valletta; the largest town, Birkirkara. The main island comprises many towns, which together form one Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) with a population of 368,250 according to Eurostat. The country has two official languages, Maltese (constitutionally the national language) and English.
Throughout history, Malta's location has given it great strategic importance, and a succession of powers including the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Habsburg Spain, Knights of St John, French and the British ruled the islands. Malta gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1964 and became a republic in 1974, whilst retaining membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Malta was admitted to the United Nations in 1964 and to the European Union in 2004. Malta is also party to the Schengen Agreement and in 2008 it became part of the eurozone.
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Margibi County
Margibi is a county on the north to central coast of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has four districts. Kakata serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 2,616 square kilometres (1,010 sq mi). As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 199,689, making it the sixth most populous county in Liberia.
Margibi's County Superintendent is Levi Piah. The county is bordered by Montserrado County to the west, Grand Bassa County to the east, and Bong County on the north. The southern part of Margibi lies on the Atlantic Ocean.
As of the 1984 Census, the county had a population of 151,792.
Districts of Margibi County include (2008 population):
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Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands (Marshallese: Aolepān Aorōkin M̧ajeļ), is an island country located in the northern Pacific Ocean. Geographically, the country is part of the larger island group of Micronesia, with the population of around 68,000 people spread out over 34 low-lying coral atolls, comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets. The islands share maritime boundaries with the Federated States of Micronesia to the west, Wake Island to the north,Kiribati to the south-east, and Nauru to the south. The most populous atoll is Majuro, which also acts as the capital.
Micronesian colonists gradually settled the Marshall Islands during the 2nd millennium BC, with inter-island navigation made possible using traditional stick charts. Islands in the archipelago were first explored by Europeans in the 1520s, with Spanish explorer Alonso de Salazar sighting an atoll in August 1526. Other expeditions by Spanish and English ships followed, with the islands' current name stemming from British explorer John Marshall. Recognised as part of the Spanish East Indies in 1874, the islands were sold to Germany in 1884, and became of German New Guinea in 1885. The Empire of Japan occupied the Marshall Islands in World War I, which were later joined with other former German territories in 1919 by the League of Nations to form the South Pacific Mandate. In World War II, the islands were conquered by the United States in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign. Along with other Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands were then consolidated into the United-States-governed Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Self-government was achieved in 1979, and full sovereignty in 1986, under a Compact of Free Association with the United States.
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Maryland County
Maryland County is a county in the southeastern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has two districts. Harper serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 2,297 square kilometres (887 sq mi). As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 136,404, making it the seventh most populous county in Liberia.
Named after the State of Maryland in the United States, it joined Liberia in 1857. The most populous city in the county is Pleebo with 22,963 residents, while Maryland's County Superintendent is Sie Teba Neufville. The county is bordered by Grand Kru County to the west and River Gee County to the north. The eastern part of Maryland borders the nation of Côte d'Ivoire, separated by the Cavalla River.
Maryland was first established as a colony of the Maryland State Colonization Society 1834 but was not granted independence until 1854. The Maryland colony declared its independence from the Colonization Society but did not become part of the Republic of Liberia. It held the land along the coast between the Grand Cess and San Pedro Rivers. In 1856, the independent state of Maryland (Africa) requested military aid from Liberia in a war with the Grebo and Kru peoples who were resisting the Maryland settlers' efforts to control their trade in slaves. President Roberts assisted the Marylanders, and a joint military campaign by both groups of Americo-Liberian colonists resulted in victory. On February 28, 1857, the Republic of Maryland joined Liberia as Maryland County. As of the 1984 Census, the county had a population of 69,267. As of May 2004, a DRC census estimated the county's population to be 107,100.
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Mauritania
Mauritaniai/mɔrɪˈteɪniə/ (Arabic: موريتانيا Mūrītānyā; Berber: Muritanya / Agawej; Wolof: Gànnaar; Soninke: Murutaane; Pulaar: Moritani; French: Mauritanie), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in West Africa and in the Maghreb. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara (controlled by Morocco) in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest. It is named after the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, which later became a province of the Roman Empire, even though the modern Mauritania covers a territory far to the south of the old Berber kingdom that had no relation with it. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast.
The government of Mauritania was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup d'état led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 16 April 2009, General Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections, which he won. In Mauritania about 20% of the population live on less than US$1.25 per day.
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Mauritius
Coordinates: 20°12′S 57°30′E / 20.2°S 57.5°E / -20.2; 57.5
Mauritiusi/məˈrɪʃəs/ (Mauritian Creole: Moris; French: Maurice, pronounced: [mɔˈʁis]), officially the Republic of Mauritius (Mauritian Creole: Republik Moris; French: République de Maurice) is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 870 kilometres (540 mi) east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islands of Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues, Tromelin and the Agalega Islands. Mauritius Island is part of the Mascarene Islands, with the French island of Réunion 170 km (110 mi) to the southwest and the island of Rodrigues 570 km (350 mi) to the east. The area of Mauritius is 2040 km2; its capital city is Port Louis.
The United Kingdom took control of the islands in 1810, from France during the Napoleonic Wars, and Mauritius became independent from the UK in 1968. It is a parliamentary republic and is a member of the Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the African Union, La Francophonie and the Commonwealth of Nations.
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Mayotte
Mayotte (French: Mayotte, pronounced: [majɔt]; Shimaore: Maore, IPA: [maˈore]; Malagasy: Mahori) is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre (or Mahoré), a smaller island, Petite-Terre (or Pamanzi), and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique. Mayotte's area is 374 square kilometres (144 sq mi), and with its estimated 194,000 people is very densely populated (520 /km2 or 1,300 /sq mi). Its biggest city and prefecture is Mamoudzou. The territory is geographically part of the Comoro Islands, but has been politically separate since a 1974 referendum in which it elected to remain under French rule. The territory is also known as Mahoré, the native name of its main island, especially by advocates of its inclusion in the Union of Comoros. In a 2009 referendum, the population overwhelmingly approved accession to status of department (95.2% voted in favour of departmental status). On March 31, 2011, Mayotte became an overseas department.
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Melilla
Melilla (Spanish pronunciation: [meˈliʎa]) is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave on the north coast of Morocco, with an area of 12.3 square kilometres (4.7 sq mi). Melilla, along with the Spanish exclave Ceuta, is one of the two Spanish territories located in mainland Africa. It was regarded as a part of Málaga province prior to 14 March 1995, when the city's Statute of Autonomy was passed.
Melilla (like Ceuta) was a free port before Spain joined the European Union. As of 2008 it has a population of 73,460. Its population consists of Christians, Muslims (chiefly Riffians), and small minorities of Jews. Both Spanish and Tarifit are widely spoken. Spanish is the only official language, while there have been calls to recognise Tamazight, a standardized version of all Berber languages official in Morocco, as well.
Morocco had previously called for negotiations on the future of Melilla, Ceuta and a number of Mediterranean islands which border it. The majority of the city's population are ethnic Spanish who are opposed to the idea of being a part of Morocco. A poll conducted by Instituto Opina found that 87.9% of people from mainland Spain consider the two cities to be Spanish.
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Monrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately. The city is governed as a metropolitan city called Greater Monrovia District, which had a population of 970,824 as of the 2008 census, containing 29% of the total population of Liberia and is the country's most populous city. Monrovia is the cultural, political and financial hub for the entire country. The body that administers the government of Greater Monrovia District is the Monrovia City Corporation.
Founded in 1822, Monrovia is named in honor of U.S. President James Monroe, a prominent supporter of the colonization of Liberia. Along with Washington, D.C., it is one of two national capitals to be named after a U.S. President. Monrovia was founded thirty years after Freetown, Sierra Leone, the first permanent Black American settlement in Africa. The city's economy is dominated by its harbor, and government offices. Monrovia's harbor was significantly expanded by U.S. forces during the Second World War and the main exports include latex and iron ore. Materials are also manufactured on-site, such as cement, refined petroleum, food products, bricks and tiles, furniture and chemicals. Located near the confluence of the Mesurado and Saint Paul rivers, the harbor also has facilities for storing and repairing vessels.
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Montserrat
Coordinates: 16°45′N 62°12′W / 16.75°N 62.2°W / 16.75; -62.2
Montserrat ( /mɒntsəˈræt/) is an island that is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately 16 km (9.9 mi) long and 11 km (6.8 mi) wide, giving 40 kilometres (25 mi) of coastline. Montserrat is nicknamed the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish ancestry of some of its inhabitants.
Montserrat's Georgian era historic capital city of Plymouth was destroyed and two-thirds of the island's population was forced to flee because of an eruption of the previously dormant Soufriere Hills volcano that began on July 18, 1995. The eruption continues today on a much reduced scale, the damage being confined to the area around Plymouth, including its docking facilities, and also the area around the former W. H. Bramble Airport on the eastern side of the island, the remnants of which were buried by flows from volcanic activity on February 11, 2010.
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Morocco
Morocco (Arabic: المغرب al-Maghrib ; Berber: ⵍⵎⴻⵖⵔⵉⴱ / ⴰⵎⴻⵔⵔⵓⴽElmeɣrib / Amerruk), officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of about 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², including the disputed region of the Western Sahara, seen by and mostly administered by Morocco as the Southern Provinces. Morocco is part of the Maghreb region, in addition to Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Libya, with which it shares cultural, historical and linguistic ties.
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive powers, including the power to dissolve the parliament. Executive power is exercised by the government but more importantly by the king himself. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors. The king can also issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. The latest Parliamentary elections were held in November 25, 2011, and were considered by some neutral observers to be mostly free and fair. Voter turnout in these elections was estimated to be 43% of registered voters, but only about 25% of Moroccan adult citizens actually voted. The rest either chose not to vote or they were not registered as voters. The political capital is Rabat, but the largest city is Casablanca; other main cities include Marrakesh, Tetouan, Tangier, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, and Nador.
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Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Portuguese: Moçambique or República de Moçambique, pronounced: [ʁɛˈpublikɐ di musɐ̃ˈbiki]), is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest. The capital city is Maputo, formerly known as Lourenço Marques.
Between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, Bantu-speaking peoples migrated from farther north and west. Swahili, and later also Arab, commercial ports existed along the coasts until the arrival of Europeans. The area was explored by Vasco da Gama in 1498 and colonized by Portugal in 1505. Mozambique became independent in 1975, and became the People's Republic of Mozambique shortly thereafter. It was the scene of an intense civil war lasting from 1977 to 1992.
Mozambique is endowed with rich and extensive natural resources. The country's economy is based largely on agriculture, but with industry, mainly food and beverages, chemical manufacturing, aluminium and petroleum production, is growing fast. The country's tourism sector is also growing. South Africa is Mozambique's main trading partner and source of foreign direct investment. Portugal, Spain, and Belgium are also among the country's most important partners. Since 2001 Mozambique is one of the world's top ten for annual average GDP growth. However, Mozambique still has one of the lowest GDP per capita, one of the worst human development index and one of the highest inequality in the world, as well as having the world's lowest life expectancy.
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Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia (Afrikaans: Republiek van Namibië, German: Republik Namibia (help·info)), is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations.
The dry lands of Namibia were inhabited since early times by Bushmen, Damara, and Namaqua, and since about the 14th century AD by immigrating Bantu who came with the Bantu expansion. It became a German Imperial protectorate in 1884 and remained a German colony until the end of World War I. In 1920, the League of Nations mandated the country to South Africa, which imposed its laws and, from 1948, its apartheid policy.
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Nauru
Coordinates: 0°31′38″S 166°56′12″E / 0.527288°S 166.936724°E / -0.527288; 166.936724
Nauru (Englishi/nɑːˈuːruː/ nah-OO-roo), officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, 300 kilometres (186 mi) to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just 21 square kilometres (8.1 sq mi). With just over 9,322 residents, it is the second least-populated country after Vatican City.
Settled by Micronesian and Polynesian people, Nauru was annexed and claimed as a colony by the German Empire in the late 19th century. After World War I, Nauru became a League of Nations mandate administered by Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. During World War II, Nauru was occupied by Japanese troops, who were bypassed by the Allied advance across the Pacific. After the war ended, it entered into trusteeship again. Nauru gained its independence in 1968.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Nauru was a "rentier state". Nauru is a phosphate rock island, with rich deposits close to the surface, which allow for simple strip mining operations; moreover, it has some phosphate reserves which are presently (as of 2011) not economically viable for extraction. Nevertheless, this island was a major exporter of phosphate starting in 1907, when the Pacific Phosphate Company began mining there, through the formation of the British Phosphate Commission in 1919, and continuing after independence. This returned to Nauru full control of its minerals under the Nauru Phosphate Corporation, until the deposits ran out during the 1980s. For this reason, Nauru briefly boasted the highest per-capita income enjoyed by any sovereign state in the world during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
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New Zealand
New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa) is an island country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses ‒ that of the North and South Islands ‒ as well as numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans.
During its long isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive biodiversity of both animal and plant life. Most notable are the large number of unique bird species, many of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and introduced mammals. With a mild maritime climate, the land was mostly covered in forest. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions caused by the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates clashing beneath the earth's surface.
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Niger
Niger (French pronunciation: [niʒɛʁ], but occasionally pronounced as /niːˈʒɛər/ ori/ˈnaɪdʒər/), officially the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east. Niger covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 km2, making it the largest nation in West Africa, with over 80 percent of its land area covered by the Sahara desert. The country's predominantly Islamic population of just above 15,000,000 is mostly clustered in the far south and west of the nation. The capital city is Niamey, located in the far southwest corner of Niger.
Niger is a developing country, and consistently ranks as one of the lowest ranks of the United Nations' Human Development Index (HDI), 186th of 187 countries in 2011. Much of the non-desert portions of the country are threatened by periodic drought and desertification. The economy is concentrated around subsistence and some export agriculture clustered in the more fertile south, and the export of raw materials, especially uranium ore. Niger remains handicapped by its landlocked position, desert terrain, poor education and poverty of its people, lack of infrastructure, poor health care, and environmental degradation.
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Nigeria
Nigeriai/naɪˈdʒɪəriə/, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean. The three largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.
In terms of religion Nigeria is roughly split half and half between Muslims in the North and Christians in the South; a very small minority practice traditional religion. Since 2002 there have been a spate of clashes, particularly in the North of the country, between government forces and the Islamists Boko Haram, militant jihadists who seek to establish sharia law.
The people of Nigeria have an extensive history. Archaeological evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BCE. The area around the Benue and Cross River is thought to be the original homeland of the Bantu migrants who spread across most of central and southern Africa in waves between the 1st millennium BC and the 2nd millennium.
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Nimba County
Nimba is a county in the north-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has six districts. Sanniquellie serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 11,551 square kilometres (4,460 sq mi), the largest in the nation. As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 462,026, making it the second most populous county in Liberia.
Named after Neinbaa Tohn Mountain, the tallest mountain in the county, Nimba is bordered by Bong and Grand Bassa counties to the west, Rivercess County to the southwest, and Grand Gedeh County to the southeast. The northern and northeastern parts of Nimba borders the nation of Guinea, while the northeast lies along the border of Côte d'Ivoire. Created in 1964, the current County Superintendent, who is the chief administrative officer, is Robert S. Kamei.
Nimba County is one of fifteen political subdivisions of Liberia. During William V.S. Tubman's administration (1944–1971), the region now called Nimba County was one of three of Liberia's Provinces - namely, Western Province, Eastern Province and Central Province. In the sixties, Tubman changed these provinces into counties. Central Province became what is known as Nimba County. Before the civil war of Liberia in (1989), it had a population of over 310,000 people. It is the second largest county in Liberia in terms of population.
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Niue
Niue ( /ˈnjuːeɪ/ NEW-ay; Niuean: Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and inhabitants of the island call it "the Rock" for short. Niue is 2,400 kilometres (1,500 mi) northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoas to the northwest, and the Cook Islands to the southeast. The land area is 260 square kilometres (100 sq mi) with about 1,400 people who are predominantly Polynesian.
Though self-governing, Niue is in free association with New Zealand, and lacks full sovereignty. All Niueans are New Zealand citizens and Queen Elizabeth II is Niue's head of state in her capacity as Queen of New Zealand. Most diplomatic relations are conducted by New Zealand on Niue's behalf. 90-95% of Niuean people live in New Zealand, along with about 70% of the speakers of the Niuean language.[citation needed]
In 2003, Niue became the world's first "WiFi nation", in which free wireless Internet access is provided throughout the country by The Internet Users Society-Niue.
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Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island (i/ˈnɔrfək ˈaɪlənd/; Norfuk: Norfuk Ailen) is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia, 1,412 kilometres (877 mi) directly east of mainland Evans Head, and about 600 kilometres (370 mi) from Lord Howe Island. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance. Together with two neighbouring islands, it forms one of Australia's external territories.
Originally colonised by East Polynesians, Norfolk Island was colonised by Britain as part of its settlement in Australia in 1788. It then served as a convict penal settlement until 1794, when it was abandoned until 1856, when permanent residence on the island for civilians began. In 1901, the island became a part of the Commonwealth of Australia which it has remained until this day.
The evergreen Norfolk Island pine is a symbol of the island and thus pictured on its flag (see illustration). Native to the island, the pine is a key export industry for Norfolk Island, being a popular ornamental tree on mainland Australia, where two related species grow, and also in Europe.
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Pakistan
Pakistan (i/ˈpækɨstæn/ or i/pɑːkiˈstɑːn/; Urdu: پاکستان) (Urdu pronunciation: [paːkɪˈst̪aːn] (
listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان), is a sovereign country in South Asia. It sits at the crossroads of the strategically important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west and north, Iran to the southwest and China in the far northeast. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and it shares a marine border with Oman.
The territory of modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures, including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation, and has undergone invasions or settlements by Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, Afghan and Sikh cultures. Thus the area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire and the British Empire. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and India's struggle for independence, Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of India where there was a Muslim majority. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a new constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. A civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh.
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Palau
Palau (i/pəˈlaʊ/, sometimes spelled Belau or Pelew), officially the Republic of Palau (Palauan: Beluu ęr a Belau), is an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean. Geographically part of the larger island group of Micronesia, with the country's population of around 21,000 people spread out over 250 islands forming the western chain of the Caroline Islands. The islands share maritime boundaries with Indonesia, the Philippines, and the Federated States of Micronesia. The most populous island in the group is Koror, with the capital city, Ngerulmud, located on nearby Babeldaob.
The country were originally settled around 3000 years ago by migrants from the Philippines, with a Negrito population sustained until around 900 years ago. The islands were first visited by Europeans in the 18th century, and were made part of the Spanish East Indies in 1885. Following Spain's defeat in the Spanish–American War in 1898, the islands were sold to Imperial Germany in 1899 under the terms of the German–Spanish Treaty, where they were administered as part of German New Guinea. The Imperial Japanese Navy conquered Palau during World War I, and the islands were later made a part of the Japanese-ruled South Pacific Mandate by the League of Nations. During World War II, skirmishes, including the major Battle of Peleliu, were fought between American and Japanese troops as part of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign. Along with other Pacific Islands, Palau was made a part of the United States-governed Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in 1947. Having voted against joining the newly-independent Federated States of Micronesia in 1979, the islands gained full sovereignty in 1994 under a Compact of Free Association with the United States.
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Panama
Panama (i/ˈpænəmɑː/ PAN-ə-mah; Spanish: Panamá), officially the Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá [reˈpuβlika ðe panaˈma]), is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital is Panama City. Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela, named the Republic of Gran Colombia.When Gran Colombia the dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained joined. Nueva Granada later became the Republic of Colombia.
With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the Panama Canal to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama by the end of the century.
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Pantelleria
Pantelleria (Sicilian: Pantiddirìa), the ancient Cossyra, is an Italian island in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, 100 km (62.1 mi) southwest of Sicily and just 60 km (37.3 mi) east of the Tunisian coast. Administratively Pantelleria is a comune belonging to the Sicilian province of Trapani. With an area of 83 km2 (32 sq mi), it is the largest volcanic satellite island of Sicily.
The island of Pantelleria is located above a drowned continental rift in the Strait of Sicily and has been the locus of intensive volcano-tectonic activity. The 15-km-long (9.3 mi) island is the emergent summit of a largely submarine edifice. Two large Pleistocene calderas dominate the island, the older of the two formed about 114,000 years ago and the younger, Cinque Denti caldera formed about 45,000 years ago. The eruption that formed the Cinque Denti caldera produced the distinctive Green Tuff deposit that covers much of the island, and is found across the Mediterranean, as far away as the island of Lesbos in the Aegean.Holocene eruptions have constructed pumice cones, lava domes, and short, blocky lava flows. Post Green Tuff activity constructed the cone of Monte Gibele, part of which was subsequently uplifted to form Montagna Grande. Several vents are located on three sides of the uplifted Montagna Grande block on the southeast side of the island. A submarine eruption in 1891 from a vent off the northwest coast is the only confirmed historical activity.
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Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (PNG; Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands (the western portion of the island is a part of the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua). It is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in a region defined since the early 19th century as Melanesia. The capital is Port Moresby.
Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries on Earth. According to recent data, 841 different languages are listed for the country, although 11 of these have no known living speakers. . (A detailed series of language maps of Papua New Guinea may be found at Ethnologue) There may be at least as many traditional societies,out of a population of about 6.2 million. It is also one of the most rural, as only 18% of its people live in urban centres. The country is one of the world's least explored, culturally and geographically, and many undiscovered species of plants and animals are thought to exist in the interior of Papua New Guinea.
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Pepper Coast
Pepper Coast is the name of a coastal area in western Africa, between Cape Mesurado and Cape Palmas. It encloses the present republic of Liberia. It got its name from the melegueta pepper. The pepper is also known as the grain of paradise, which gave rise to an alternative name, the Grain Coast. The importance of the spice is shown by the designation of the area from the Saint John River (at present-day Buchanan) to Harper in Liberia as the "Grain Coast" in honor of the availability of grains of paradise. In some cases (as shown on the map) this term covers a wider area incorporating Sierra Leone and the Cote d'Ivoire.[citation needed]
Coordinates: 5°12′N 9°30′W / 5.2°N 9.5°W / 5.2; -9.5 (Pepper Coast)
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Philippines
The Philippinesi/ˈfɪlɨpiːnz/ FI-lə-peenz (Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas) is a sovereign country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. An archipelago comprising 7,107 islands, the Philippines is categorized broadly into three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila.
With an estimated population of about 98 million people, the Philippines is the 7th most populated Asian country and the 12th most populated country in the world. An additional 12.5 million Filipinos live overseas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples who brought with them influences from Malay, Hindu, and Islamic societies. Trade introduced Chinese cultural influences which remain to this day.
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Pitcairn Islands
The Pitcairn Islands ( /ˈpɪtkɛərn/;Pitkern: Pitkern Ailen), officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, form a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. The islands are a British Overseas Territory. The four islands—named Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno—are spread over several hundred miles of ocean and have a total land area of about 18 square miles (47 km2). Only Pitcairn, the second largest and measuring about 2 miles (3.2 km) across, is inhabited.
The islands are best known as home of the descendants of the Bounty mutineers and the Tahitians (or Polynesians) who accompanied them, an event retold in numerous books and films. This history is still apparent in the surnames of many of the islanders. With only about 48 inhabitants (currently from four main families: Christian, Warren, Young, and Brown), Pitcairn is the least populous jurisdiction in the world. The United Nations Committee on Decolonisation includes the Pitcairn Islands on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
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Portugal
Portugali/ˈpɔrtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, IPA: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula . Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale.
The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times: occupied by Celts like the Gallaeci and the Lusitanians, integrated into the Roman Republic and later settled by Germanic peoples such as the Suebi, Swabians, Vandals and the Visigoths. In the 8th century most of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Moorish invaders professing Islam, which were later expelled by the Knights Templar under the Order of Christ. During the Christian Reconquista, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom from León in 1139, claiming to be the oldest European nation state.
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Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (/ˌpɔrtə ˈriːkoʊ/ or /ˌpwɛərtə ˈriːkoʊ/), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, [esˈtaðo ˈlibɾe asoˈsjaðo ðe ˈpweɾto ˈriko]—literally, "Associated Free State of Puerto Rico"), is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
Puerto Rico (Spanish for "rich port") comprises an archipelago that includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller islands, the largest of which are Vieques, Culebra, and Mona. The main island of Puerto Rico is the smallest by land area of the Greater Antilles. However, it ranks third in population amongst that group of four islands, which also include Cuba, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), and Jamaica. Due to its location, Puerto Rico enjoys a tropical climate and also experiences the Atlantic hurricane season.
Originally populated for centuries by indigenous aboriginal peoples known as Taínos, the island was claimed by Christopher Columbus for Spain during his second voyage to the Americas on November 19, 1493. Under Spanish rule, the island was colonized and the indigenous population was forced into slavery and nearly wiped out due to, among other things, European infectious diseases. The remaining population was emancipated by King Charles I in 1520. Spain possessed Puerto Rico for over 400 years, despite attempts at capture of the island by the French, Dutch, and British. The Spanish Crown, in an attempt to keep Puerto Rico from gaining its independence, revived the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815. The decree was printed in three languages — Spanish, English and French — and it fostered the immigration of hundreds of non-Spanish European families.
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Republic of Ireland
Ireland (/ˈaɪərlənd/ or /ˈɑrlənd/; Irish: Éire, pronounced [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen)) is a sovereign state in Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. Its capital is Dublin. The population of the state was 4.59 million in 2011. It is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy, with an elected president serving as head of state. In the 1937 constitution, the name of the state is given as simply "Ireland". The Constitution of Ireland (Article 4) and the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 provides that the "Republic of Ireland" (Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann) is "the description of the state".
Ireland is a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations. A developed country with the seventh highest Human Development Index, Ireland is also highly ranked for press freedom, economic freedom and democracy and political freedom.
The modern Irish state was established in 1922 as the Irish Free State, a dominion within the British Empire, following the Anglo-Irish Treaty which brought an end to the Irish War of Independence. The partition of Ireland had already been provided for in previous British legislation in 1921 in response to opposition to Irish Home Rule or independence by Unionists, who formed a majority in the north-eastern part of the country. Six of the nine counties in the northern province of Ulster were established under that legislation as Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, with which the Irish state shares its only land border. The state is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, St George's Channel to the south east, and the Irish Sea to the east.
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Republic of Maryland
The Republic of Maryland (also known as the Independent State of Maryland) was a small African American nation which existed from 1854 to 1857, when it was united into what is now Liberia.
The area was first settled in 1834 by freed African-American slaves and freeborn African-Americans primarily from the U.S. state of Maryland, under the auspices of the Maryland State Colonization Society. In 1838, other African-American settlements were united into the Commonwealth of Liberia, which declared its independence in 1847. The Maryland in Liberia colony remained apart, as the state colonization society wished to maintain its trade monopoly in the area. On 2 February 1841, Maryland-in-Africa became the State of Maryland. The state declared its independence on 29 May 1854 as Maryland in Liberia with its capital at Harper.
In December 1831, the Maryland state legislature appropriated US$10,000 for 26 years to transport free blacks and ex-slaves from the United States to Africa, and the Maryland State Colonization Society was established for this purpose.
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River Gee County
River Gee is a county in the southern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has six districts. Fish Town serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 5,113 square kilometres (1,974 sq mi). As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 66,789, making it the third least populous county in Liberia.
Tenth largest in size, it is bordered by Sinoe County to the west, Grand Gedeh County to the north, and Grand Kru and Maryland counties to the south. The eastern part of River Gee borders the nation of Ivory Coast along the Cavalla River. Created in 2000, the current County Superintendent is J. Karku Sampson.
River Gee split from Grand Gedeh County in May 2000 after receiving approval from Liberia's House of Representatives in May 1997 and Senate approval in March 2000. On the east of the county is the Cavalla River that forms Liberia's border with the Ivory Coast. River Gee's capital is Fishtown.
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Rivercess
River Cess is the capital city of Rivercess County, Liberia. As of the 2008 national census, the population stood at 2,578. It received its original name Cestos from Portuguese traders in the early 16th century from the baskets that were produced and sold in the town. Cestos in Portuguese and Spanish means basket.
Coordinates: 5°28′N 9°35′W / 5.467°N 9.583°W / 5.467; -9.583
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Rivercess County
Rivercess County is a county in the south-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has six districts. Cesstos City serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 5,594 square kilometres (2,160 sq mi). As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 71,509, making it the third least most populous county in Liberia.
Eighth largest in size, it is bordered by Grand Bassa County to the west, Nimba County on the northeast, and Sinoe County to the southeast. The southern part of Rivercess lies on the Atlantic Ocean. Created in 1984, the current County Superintendent is B. Rancy Ziankahn.
The districts of the county include (2008 population):
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Robertsport
Robertsport, also known as Roberts Port and Robert's Port, is a town in western Liberia, about 10 miles from the Sierra Leone border. It is named after Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the first president of Liberia.
The town lies on Cape Mount peninsula, and is separated from the mainland by Lake Piso. It serves as the capital of Grand Cape Mount County. Robertsport is located 50 km north of Monrovia, Liberia's capital city.
As of the 2008 census, Robertsport has a population of 3,933. Of this, 1,994 were male and 1,939 female.
The town gets very heavy rainfall, averaging 205 inches (5,200 mm) per year.
In the mid-15th century, the Portuguese navigator Pedro de Sintra reached the cape, a 1,000-foot high granite promontory, which he named Cabo do Monte (Cape Mount). In the early 19th century, a colony of African American freed slaves settled the site, which was then part of the Vai territory.
It was an Allied Forces Air Force base in World War II and later became a seaside resort known for surfing.
Robertsport's coast contains five points, including three main points known for surfing: Fisherman's Point, closest to town; Cotton Trees; and Cassava Point.
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Rwanda
Rwanda /ruːˈɑːndə/ or /ruːˈændə/, officially the Republic of Rwanda (Kinyarwanda: Repubulika y'u Rwanda; French: République du Rwanda), is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.7 million (2012). Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All of Rwanda is at high elevation, with a geography dominated by mountains in the west, savanna in the east, and numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons every year.
The population is young and predominantly rural, with a density among the highest in Africa. Rwandans form three groups: the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. The Twa are a pygmy people who descend from Rwanda's earliest inhabitants, but scholars disagree on the origins of and differences between the Hutu and Tutsi; some believe that they are derived from former social castes, while others view them as being races or tribes. Christianity is the largest religion in the country, and the principal language is Kinyarwanda, which is spoken by most Rwandans. Rwanda has a presidential system of government. The President is Paul Kagame of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Rwanda has low corruption compared with neighbouring countries, but human rights organisations allege suppression of opposition groups, intimidation, and restrictions on freedom of speech. The country has been governed by a strict administrative hierarchy since precolonial times; there are currently five provinces, which are delineated by borders drawn in 2006.
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Réunion
Réunion (French: La Réunion, IPA: [la 'ʁeynjɔ̃] ( listen); previously Île Bourbon) is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.
Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France. Like the other overseas departments, Réunion is also one of the 27 regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic with the same status as those situated on the European mainland.
Réunion is an outermost region of the European Union and, as an overseas department of France, is part of the Eurozone.
Before the arrival of the Portuguese in the early sixteenth century, there is little to Réunion's recorded history. Arab traders were familiar with it by the name Dina Morgabin,. The island possibly features on a map from 1153 AD by Al Sharif el-Edrisi. The island may also have been visited by Swahili or Malay sailors.
The first European discovery of the area was made around 1507 by Portuguese explorers, but the specifics are unclear. The uninhabited island may have been first sighted by the expedition led by Don Pedro Mascarenhas, who gave his name to the island group around Réunion, the Mascarenes. Réunion itself was dubbed Santa Apolonia after a favorite saint, which suggests that the date of the Portuguese discovery may have been February 9, her saint day. Diego Lopes de Sequeira is claimed to have landed on the island in 1509.
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Saba
Saba ( /ˈseɪbə/) is a Caribbean island and the smallest special municipality (officially public body) of the Netherlands. It consists largely of the potentially active volcano Mount Scenery (877 m), the highest point within both the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Netherlands proper.
Saba, including the islet of Green Island, became a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 October 2010.
The island has a land area of 13 km² (5 sq. miles). At the 2001 Netherlands Antilles census, the population was 1,824 inhabitants, which means a population density of 140 inhabitants per km². Its current major towns and settlements include The Bottom (the capital), Windwardside, Hell's Gate and St. Johns.
As the island is part of the Netherlands, Dutch is the official language. Despite the island's Dutch affiliation, English is the principal language spoken on the island and has been used in its school system since the 19th century. English can therefore be used in communications of and to the government although there is a local dialect. Since January 1, 2011, the U.S. dollar has been the official currency, replacing the Netherlands Antillian Guilder.
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Saint Helena
Saint Helena ( /ˌseɪnt həˈliːnə/ SAYNT-hə-LEE-nə), named after Saint Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha. Saint Helena measures about 16 by 8 kilometres (10 by 5 mi) and has a population of 4,255 (2008 census).
The island was uninhabited when discovered by the Portuguese in 1502. It is one of the most isolated islands in the world. For centuries, it was an important stopover for ships sailing to Europe from Asia and South Africa. The British also used the island as a place of exile, most notably for Napoleon I, Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo and more than 5,000 Boer prisoners. Saint Helena is Britain's second oldest remaining colony (now termed overseas territory), after Bermuda.
Most historical accounts state that the island was discovered on 21 May 1502 by the Galician navigator João da Nova sailing at the service of the Portuguese Crown, and that he named it "Santa Helena" after Helena of Constantinople. Another theory holds that the island found by De Nova was actually Tristan da Cunha 2,430 kilometres (1,510 mi) to its south, and that Saint Helena was discovered by some of the ships attached to the squadron of Estêvão da Gama expedition on 30 July 1503 (as reported in the account of clerk Thomé Lopes).
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Saint Lucia
Saint Luciai/seɪnt ˈluːʃə/ (French: Sainte-Lucie) is a sovereign island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 (238.23 sq mi) and has a population of 174,000 (2010). Its capital is Castries. Two Nobel laureates, Arthur Lewis, an economist, and Derek Walcott, a poet and playwright, have come from the island. It is the nation with the second most such honorees per capita after the Faroe Islands.
One of the Windward Islands, it was named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse by the French, the first European colonizers. They signed a treaty with the native Carib people in 1660. England took control of the island from 1663 to 1667; in ensuing years, it was at war with France 14 times and rule of the island changed frequently (it was seven times each ruled by the French and British). In 1814, the British took definitive control of the island. Because it switched so often between British and French control, Saint Lucia was also known as the "Helen of the West Indies".
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Saint Paul River
The Saint Paul River is a river of western Africa. Its headwaters are in southeastern Guinea. Its upper portion in Guinea is known as the Diani River or Niandi River, and forms part of the boundary between Guinea and Liberia. The river then enters Liberia about 50 km (31 mi) north of Gbarnga and crosses Liberia in a southwesterly direction. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Mesurado in Monrovia near Bushrod Island, separating Monrovia from its suburb Brewerville.
The river was named by Portuguese navigators in the 15th century, who first sighted the river on St. Paul's feast day.
Because the soil around Monrovia, Liberia was poor and the coastal areas were covered in dense jungle, many early African-American emigrants to Liberia in the 19th century moved up to the nearby St. Paul River, where they found land suitable for agriculture. There they established small settlements. Also, American Lutheran missionaries set up the Muhlenberg Mission Station along the river, were they taught children various academics, technical/agricultural skills (especially the cultivation of coffee), and catechism. David Day (missionary) introduced a steam ship to the river for the purposes of commerce and travel. The students at the school built it.
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Samoa
Samoa (i/səˈmoʊ.ə/; Samoan: Sāmoa, IPA: [ˌsaːˈmoa]), officially the Independent State of Samoa (Samoan: Malo Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi o Sāmoa), formerly known as Western Samoa, is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in Polynesia, Savai'i. The capital city, Apia, and Faleolo International Airport are situated on the island of Upolu.
Samoa was admitted to the United Nations on 15 December 1976. The entire island group, inclusive of American Samoa, was called Navigators Islands by European explorers before the 20th century because of the Samoans' seafaring skills.
The oldest date so far from pre-historic remains in Samoa has been calculated by New Zealand scientists to a likely true age of circa 3,000 years ago from a Lapita site at Mulifanua during the 1970s.
The origins of the Samoans is closely linked to modern research about Polynesia in various scientific disciplines such as genetics, linguistics and anthropology. Scientific research is ongoing although a number of different theories exist; including one proposing that the Samoans originated from Austronesian predecessors during the terminal eastward Lapita expansion period from Southeast Asia and Melanesia between 2,500 and 1,500 BCE. The Samoan origins are currently being reassessed due to new scientific evidence and carbon dating findings from 2003 and onwards.
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Sanniquellie
Sanniquellie is a city and the capital of Nimba County and Sanniquellie-Mah District, Liberia. It is located in the north-east of the country at coordinates 07°21'49" N 008°42'40" W. The average altitude of the city is 420 metres above the sea level. As of the 2008 national census, the population stood at 11,415. The most represented tribes are Mano, Gio and Mandingo.
Sanniquellie is situated on the unpaved road connecting Yekepa, Ganta, Gbarnga, Kakata, and Monrovia. The average rainy season lasts from May to October, dry season from mid-October to April/May. The coldest month is the second half of December and first half of January. The main religion is Christianity (Catholics, Adventists, Methodists) and Islam. You can also find Jehovah's Witnesses and some minor churches there.
The city is divided to quarters and communities (Main Street, Bonnah Suah Compound, Charlie Kpowin Community, Veinpa, Dokie Quarter, Dahnlopa, Animal Farm, Airfield Zone 1, Airfield Zone 2, Old Barracks, New Barracks, Gono Quarter, Floyd Island, Plumcor community, Underground Community). An important concern is the issue of ex-combatants, as some of them did not benefit from the reintegration programs (DDRR) and some of those are facing the troubles to find stable employment in the rural economy. Many have turned to commercial motorcycling and other forms of tertiary sector employment, but for a small number of them crime is how they earn their daily bread.
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Senegal
Senegali/ˌsɛnɨˈɡɔːl/ (French: le Sénégal), officially the Republic of Senegal (République du Sénégal, IPA: [ʁepyblik dy seneɡal]), is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north. Senegal is externally bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south; internally it almost completely surrounds The Gambia, namely on the north, east and south, exempting Gambia's short Atlantic Ocean coastline. Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres (76,000 sq mi), and has an estimated population of about 13 million. The climate is tropical with two seasons: the dry season and the rainy season.
Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, is located at the westernmost tip of the country on the Cap-Vert peninsula. About 500 kilometres (300 mi) off the coast, in the Atlantic Ocean, lie the Cape Verde Islands. During the 17th and 18th centuries, numerous trading posts, belonging to various colonial empires, were established along the coast. The town of St. Louis became the capital of French West Africa (Afrique occidentale française, or AOF) before it was moved to Dakar in 1902. Dakar later became its capital in 1960 at the time of independence from France.
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Seychelles
Seychelles (i/seɪˈʃɛlz/ say-SHELZ; French: [sɛʃɛl]), officially the Republic of Seychelles (French: République des Seychelles; Creole: Repiblik Sesel), is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some 1,500 kilometres (932 mi) east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar.
Other nearby island countries and territories include Zanzibar to the west, Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega and Réunion to the south, Comoros and Mayotte to the southwest. Seychelles, with an estimated population of 86,525, has the smallest population of any African state. It also has the highest Human Development Index in Africa.
Scholars assume that Austronesian seafarers, and later Maldivian and Arab traders were the first to visit the uninhabited Seychelles. Remains of Maldivian mariner presence from the 12th century were found in Silhouette Island. The earliest recorded sighting by Europeans took place in 1502 by the Portuguese Admiral Vasco da Gama, who passed through the Amirantes and named them after himself (islands of the Admiral).
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Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone (i/siːˌɛrə liːˈoʊn/), officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the northeast, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest. Sierra Leone is a constitutional representative democratic republic and covers a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi) Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests. As of 2011, Sierra Leone has an estimated population of 6 million[1] (2011 United Nations estimte). Freetown is the capital, largest city as well as its economic, commercial, educational, cultural and political centre. Bo is the country's second largest city and the second major economic and commercial centre.
Sierra Leone is divided into four geographical regions: the Northern Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area; which are subdivided into fourteen districts. The districts have their own directly elected local government known as district council, headed by a council chairman. The country's six municipalities of Freetown, Bo, Kenema, Makeni, Koidu Town and the coastal town of Bonthe have their own directly elected city councils headed by mayors.
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Singapore
Singapore (i/ˈsɪŋəpɔər/ SI-ngə-pohr), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. Singapore is highly urbanised but almost half of the country is covered by greenery. More land is being created for development through land reclamation.
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Sinoe County
Sinoe is one of Liberia's 15 counties and it has 17 districts. Greenville is the county's capital.
As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 104,932, making it one of the least populous counties in Liberia.
As it is also Liberia's third-largest county in terms of area, it is accordingly the second least dense in terms of population density after Gbarpolu County.
The districts of Sinoe County are:
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Sint Eustatius
Sint Eustatius, also known affectionately to the locals as Statia/ˈsteɪʃə/ or Statius, is a Caribbean island and a special municipality (officially public body) of the Netherlands.
It lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, southeast of the Virgin Islands and immediately to the northwest of Saint Kitts and Nevis and to the southeast of Saba, at 17°30′N 62°58′W / 17.5°N 62.967°W / 17.5; -62.967. The island is named after the legendary Christian martyr Saint Eustace. The regional capital is Oranjestad.
The island has an area of 21 km² (8.1 sq. miles). In the 2001 census, the population was recorded as 3,543 inhabitants, equating to a population density of 169 inhabitants per square kilometre. The official language is Dutch, however English is also recognised as an administrative language. A local English-based creole is also spoken informally. Travel to the island by air is through F.D. Roosevelt Airport.
Formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles, Sint Eustatius became a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands on 10 October 2010.
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Solomon Islands
Solomon Islandsi/ˈsɒləmən ˈaɪləndz/ is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of 28,400 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal. The nation of the Solomon Islands is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
The Solomon Islands are believed to have been inhabited by Melanesian people for many thousands of years. Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to arrive in Solomon Islands in 1568 and named them Islas Salomón. The United Kingdom established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in 1893. In the Second World War there was fierce fighting between the Americans and the Japanese in the Solomon Islands campaign of 1942–45, including the Battle of Guadalcanal.
Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. The Solomon Islands is a constitutional monarchy with the Queen of the Solomon Islands, at present Elizabeth II, as the head of state. Gordon Lilo Darcy is the eleventh and current Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands.
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Somalia
Somalia ( /soʊˈmɑːliə/ soh-MAH-lee-ə; Somali: Soomaaliya; Arabic: الصومال aṣ-Ṣūmāl), officially the Somali Republic (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, Arabic: جمهورية الصومال Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmāl) and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory. The internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government controls only a small part of the country. Somalia has been characterized as a failed state and is one of the poorest and most violent states in the world.
Somalia lies in the easternmost part of Africa. It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden with Yemen to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. It has the longest coastline on the continent, and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Hot conditions prevail year-round, along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall.
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Somaliland
Somaliland (Somali: Soomaaliland, Arabic: صوماللاند Ṣūmālilānd or أرض الصومال Arḍ aṣ-Ṣūmāl) is an unrecognised self-declared de facto sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent on June 26, 1960 as the State of Somaliland, before uniting with the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somaliland) on July 1, 1960 to form the Somali Republic.
Somaliland is bordered by Ethiopia in the south and west, Djibouti in the northwest, the Gulf of Aden in the north, and the autonomous Puntland region of Somalia to the east.
In 1988, the Siad Barre regime committed massacres against the people of Somaliland, which were among the events that led to the Somali Civil War. The war left the economic and military infrastructure severely damaged. After the collapse of the central government in 1991, the local government, led by the Somali National Movement (SNM), declared independence from the rest of Somalia on May 18 of the same year.
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South Africa
Coordinates: 30°S 25°E / 30°S 25°E / -30; 25
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It is divided into nine provinces and has 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline. To the north of the country lie the neighbouring territories of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an enclave surrounded by South African territory.
South Africa is multi-ethnic and has diverse cultures and languages. Eleven official languages are recognised in the constitution. Two of these languages are of European origin: South African English and Afrikaans, a language which originated mainly from Dutch that is spoken by the majority of white and Coloured South Africans. Though English is commonly used in public and commercial life, it is only the fifth most-spoken home language. All ethnic and language groups have political representation in the country's constitutional democracy comprising a parliamentary republic; unlike most parliamentary republics, the positions of head of state and head of government are merged in a parliament-dependent President.
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South Sudan
South Sudan (i/ˌsaʊθ suːˈdæn/ or /suːˈdɑːn/), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in the east-central African region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN subregion. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more centrally located Ramciel in the future. South Sudan is bordered by Ethiopia to the east, Kenya to the southeast, Uganda to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest, the Central African Republic to the west, and Sudan to the north. South Sudan includes the vast swamp region of the Sudd formed by the White Nile, locally called the Bahr al Jabal.
The modern states of South Sudan and Sudan were part of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, later being governed as an Anglo-Egyptian condominium until Sudanese independence was achieved in 1956. Following the First Sudanese Civil War, the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region was formed in 1972 and lasted until 1983. A second Sudanese civil war soon developed and ended with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005. Later that year, southern autonomy was restored when an Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan was formed.
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Spain
Spain (i/ˈspeɪn/ SPAYN; Spanish: España, pronounced: [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometres (194,610 sq mi), it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France, and the fourth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine and France.
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Sudan
Sudan (i/suːˈdæn/ or /suːˈdɑːn/;Arabic: السودان, as-Sūdān), officially the Republic of the Sudan (Arabic: جمهورية السودان, Jumhūrīyat as-Sūdān), sometimes called North Sudan, is an Arab state in North Africa (sometimes also considered to be part of the Middle East). It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, and Libya to the northwest. The population of Sudan is a combination of indigenous inhabitants of Nile Valley, and descendants of migrants from the Arabian Peninsula. Due to the process of Arabisation common throughout the rest of the Arab World, today Arab culture predominates in Sudan. The majority of the population of Sudan adheres to Islam. The Nile divides the country between east and west sides.
The people of Sudan have a long history extending from antiquity which is intertwined with the history of Egypt. Sudan suffered seventeen years of civil war during the First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972) followed by ethnic, religious and economic conflicts between the Muslim Arab northern Sudanese and the mostly animist and Christian Nilotes of Southern Sudan. This led to the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983. Because of continuing political and military struggles, Sudan was seized in a bloodless coup d'état by colonel Omar al-Bashir in 1989, who thereafter proclaimed himself President of Sudan. The civil war ended with the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement which granted autonomy to what was then the southern region of the country. Following a referendum held in January 2011, South Sudan seceded on 9 July 2011 with the consent of Sudan's President al-Bashir.
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Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland (Umbuso weSwatini), and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique. The nation, as well as its people, are named after the 19th century king Mswati II.
Swaziland is a small country, no more than 200 kilometres (120 mi) north to south and 130 kilometres (81 mi) east to west. The western half is mountainous, descending to a lowveld region to the east. The eastern border with Mozambique and South Africa is dominated by the escarpment of the Lebombo Mountains. The climate is temperate in the west, but may reach 40 °C (104 °F) in summer in the lowveld. Rainfall occurs mainly in the summer and may reach 2 metres (6.6 ft) in the west.
The area that Swaziland now covers has been continuously inhabited since prehistory. Today, the population is primarily ethnic Swazis whose language is siSwati, though English is spoken as a second language. The Swazi people descend from the southern Bantu who migrated from Central Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Anglo-Boer War saw the United Kingdom make Swaziland a protectorate under its direct control. Swaziland gained independence in 1968. Swaziland is a member of the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, and the Commonwealth of Nations. The head of state is the king, who appoints the prime minister and a small number of representatives for both chambers of parliament. Elections are held every five years to determine the majority of the representatives. A new constitution was adopted in 2005.
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Tanzania
Coordinates: 6°18′25″S 34°51′14″E / 6.307°S 34.854°E / -6.307; 34.854 Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( /ˌtænzəˈniːə/ Swahili: Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern border lies on the Indian Ocean.
Tanzania is a state composed of 26 regions (mikoa), including those of the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar. The head of state is President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, elected in 2005. Since 1996, the official capital of Tanzania has been Dodoma, where Parliament and some government offices are located. Between independence and 1996, the main coastal city of Dar es Salaam served as the country's political capital. Today, Dar es Salaam remains the principal commercial city of Tanzania and the de facto seat of most government institutions. It is the major seaport for the country and its landlocked neighbours.
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The Bahamas
The Bahamasi/bəˈhɑːməz/, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is a country consisting of more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States (nearest to the state of Florida). Its land area is 13,939 km2 (5,382 sq mi), with a population of 353,658. Its capital is Nassau. Geographically, the Bahamas lie in the same island chain as Cuba, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands; the designation of Bahamas refers normally to the Commonwealth and not the geographic chain.
Originally inhabited by the Lucayans, a branch of the Arawakan-speaking Taino people, the Bahamas were the site of Columbus' first landfall in the New World in 1492. Although the Spanish never colonized the Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans to slavery in Hispaniola. The islands were mostly deserted from 1513 to 1648, when English colonists from Bermuda settled on the island of Eleuthera.
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The Gambia
The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambiai/ˈɡæmbiə/, is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west.
The country is situated around the Gambia River, the nation's namesake, which flows through the country's centre and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Its area is 11,295 km² with an estimated population of 1.7 million.
On 18 February 1965, Gambia gained independence from the United Kingdom and joined the Commonwealth of Nations. Banjul is Gambia's capital, but the largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama.
Gambia shares historical roots with many other West African nations in the slave trade, which was the key factor in the placing and keeping of a colony on the Gambia River, first by the Portuguese and later by the British. Since gaining independence in 1965, Gambia has enjoyed relative political stability, with the exception of a brief period of military rule in 1994.
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The Hague
The Hague (Dutch: Den Haag pronounced [dɛnˈɦaˑχ] ( listen), officially 's-Gravenhage pronounced [ˈsχraˑvə(n)ˌɦaˑɣə] ( listen)) is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants (as of 1 September 2011), and more than one million inhabitants including the suburbs, it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Located in the west of the Netherlands, The Hague is in the centre of the Haaglanden conurbation and lies at the southwest corner of the larger Randstad conurbation.
The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government and parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State, but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands which constitutionally is Amsterdam. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands lives at Huis ten Bosch and works at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. Most foreign embassies in the Netherlands and 150 international organisations are located in the city, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, which makes The Hague one of the major cities hosting the United Nations, along with New York, Vienna and Geneva.
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Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republici/ˈtoʊɡoʊ/, is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east, and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately 57,000 square kilometres (22,000 sq mi) with a population of approximately 6.7 million.
Togo is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with a climate that provides good growing seasons. The official language is French, with many other languages spoken in Togo, particularly those of the Gbe family. The largest religious group in Togo are those with indigenous beliefs, and there are significant Christian and Muslim minorities. Togo is a member of the United Nations, African Union, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie and Economic Community of West African States.
From the 11th to the 16th century, various tribes entered the region from all directions. From the 16th century to the 18th century, the coastal region was a major trading centre for Europeans in search of slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast". In 1884, Germany declared Togoland a protectorate. After World War I, rule over Togo was transferred to France. Togo gained its independence from France in 1960.
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Tokelau
Tokelau ( /ˈtoʊkəlaʊ/) is a territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean that consists of three tropical coral atolls with a combined land area of 10 km2 and a population of approximately 1,400. The atolls lie north of the Samoan Islands, east of Tuvalu, south of the Phoenix Islands, southwest of the more distant Line Islands (both island groups belonging to Kiribati) and northwest of the Cook Islands.
The United Nations General Assembly designated Tokelau a Non-Self-Governing Territory. Until 1976 the official name was Tokelau Islands. Tokelau is sometimes referred to by the older, colonial name of The Union Islands.
The name Tokelau is a Polynesian word meaning "North Wind". The islands were named the Union Islands and Union Group by European explorers at an unknown time. Tokelau Islands was adopted as the name in 1946, and was contracted to Tokelau on 9 December 1976.
The change from Tokelau Islands to Tokelau marked a slight shift in emphasis, with consequences in regional diplomacy, in that the term Tokelau Islands clearly and substantially referred to a geographical expression, that is, a range of islands, whatever else it may connote. It is not necessarily controversial to refer by name to a range of islands, even though they may come under two or more political jurisdictions. Tokelau, on the other hand, can be taken to refer more immediately to some concept of nationhood, arguably infusing increased meaning to the draft 2006 independence constitution of Tokelau (which somewhat controversially claims Tokelauan inhabited Olohega (or Swains Island), currently part of American Samoa, as part of its national territory).[citation needed]
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Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (i/ˌtrɪnɨdæd/ & /tɵˈbeɪɡoʊ/) officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west.
The country covers an area 5,128 square kilometres (1,980 sq mi) and consists of two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous smaller landforms. Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the main islands, comprising about 94% of the total area and 96% of the total population of the country. The nation lies outside the hurricane belt.
The island of Trinidad was a Spanish colony from the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498 to the capitulation of the Spanish Governor, Don José Maria Chacón, on the arrival of a British fleet of 18 warships on 18 February 1797. During the same period, the island of Tobago changed hands between Spanish, British, French, Dutch and Courlander colonizers. Trinidad and Tobago was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. The country obtained independence in 1962, becoming a republic in 1976. Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago's economy is primarily industrial, with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals.
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Tubmanburg
Tubmanburg, also known as Bomi and formerly known as Vaitown, is the capital of Bomi County in Liberia. It lies in the Bomi Hills northwest of Monrovia and was an iron ore and diamond mining centre until is was largely destroyed in the Liberian Civil War[disambiguation needed]. During the Second Liberian Civil War, it was the headquarters of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy rebel group. Most residents are members of Vai tribe.
A key attraction is Blue Lake, also known as Bomi Lake. Blue Lake is about 300 feet deep. It is suspended midway between the peaks of the surrounding mountains which, with the sun’s reflection, give the lake its blue hue. The waters spring from a huge pit dug by the Liberia Mining Company, an American-owned company that ceased operations in the country because of the presumed depletion of iron ore in the area.
As of the 2008 census, Tubmanburg has an estimated population of 13,144. Of this, 6,555 were male and 6,559 female.
The town in populated predominantly by the Gola ethnic group, which hails from Bomi County. The town also has a significant Mandingo and Vai population.
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Tunisia
Tunisia (USi/tuːˈniːʒə/ two-NEE-zhə or UK /tjuːˈnɪziə/ tew-NIZ-iə; Arabic: تونس Tūnis pronounced [ˈtuːnɪs]), officially the Republic of Tunisia (Arabic: الجمهورية التونسية al-Jumhūriyyah at-Tūnisiyyah), is the northernmost country in Africa. It is an Arab Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area is almost 165,000 square kilometres (64,000 sq mi), with an estimated population of just under 10.7 million. Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the northeast.
Tunisia is the smallest country in North Africa. The south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline.
Tunisia has relations with both the European Union—with whom it has an association agreement—and the Arab world. Tunisia is also a member of the Arab Maghreb Union, the Arab League, and the African Union. Tunisia has established close relations with France in particular, through economic cooperation, industrial modernization, and privatisation programs.
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Tuvalu
Tuvalu (i/tuːˈvɑːluː/ too-VAH-loo or /ˈtuːvəluː/ TOO-və-loo), formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls spread out from 6° to 10° south. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. Its population of 10,544 makes it the third-least populous sovereign state in the world, with only Vatican City and Nauru having fewer inhabitants. In terms of physical land size, at just 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world, larger only than the Vatican City at 0.44 km2 (0.17 sq mi), Monaco at 1.98 km2 (0.76 sq mi) and Nauru at 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi).
The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesian people. In 1568 Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña sailed through the islands and is understood to have sighted Nui during his expedition in search of Terra Australis. In 1819 the island of Funafuti was named Ellice's Island; the name Ellice was applied to all nine islands after the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay (1812–1876). The islands came under Britain's sphere of influence in the late 19th century, when the Ellice Islands were declared a British protectorate by Captain Gibson, R. N. of HMS Curaçao between 9th and 16 October 1892. The Ellice Islands were administered as British protectorate by a Resident Commissioner from 1892 to 1916 as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT), and later as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony from 1916 to 1974.
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Uganda
Coordinates: 1°17′N 32°23′E / 1.28°N 32.39°E / 1.28; 32.39
Uganda ( /juːˈɡændə/ yew-GAN-də or /juːˈɡɑːndə/ yew-GAHN-də), officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, which is also shared by Kenya and Tanzania.
Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a large portion of the south of the country including the capital Kampala.
The people of Uganda were hunter-gatherers until 1,700 to 2,300 years ago, when Bantu-speaking populations migrated to the southern parts of the country. Uganda gained independence from Britain on 9 October 1962.
The official languages are English and Swahili, although multiple other languages are spoken in the country.
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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Uruguay
Uruguayi/ˈjʊərəɡwaɪ/, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; (Spanish: República Oriental del Uruguay pronounced: [re̞ˈpuβ̞lika o̞ɾje̞n̪ˈt̪al̪ d̪e̞l uɾuˈɰwai̯]) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to 3.3 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area. An estimated 88% of the population are of European ancestry.
Except for the recent union of Timoteo Domínguez Island and Argentina's Martín García Island, Uruguay's only land border is with Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, to the north. To the west lies the Uruguay River and the estuary of the Río de la Plata to the southwest. To the southeast lies the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean. With an area of approximately 176,000 square kilometres (68,000 sq mi), Uruguay is the second-smallest nation in South America by area, after Suriname.
Colonia del Sacramento, one of the oldest European settlements in the country, was founded by the Portuguese in 1680. Montevideo was founded by the Spanish in the early 18th century as a military stronghold. Uruguay won its independence in 1811–28 following a three-way struggle between the claims of Spain, Argentina and Brazil. It is a constitutional democracy, with a president who is both the head of state and the head of government.
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Vanuatu
Vanuatu (Englishi/ˌvɑːnuːˈɑːtuː/ vah-noo-AH-too or /vænˈwɑːtuː/ van-WAH-too; Bislama IPA: [vanuaˈtu]), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (French: République de Vanuatu, Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some 1,750 kilometres (1,090 mi) east of northern Australia, 500 kilometres (310 mi) northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.
Vanuatu was first inhabited by Melanesian people. The first Europeans to visit the islands were the members of a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Fernandes de Queirós who arrived in Espiritu Santo in 1605. In the 1880s France and the United Kingdom claimed parts of the country, and in 1906 they agreed on a framework for jointly managing the archipelago as the New Hebrides through a British–French Condominium. An independence movement arose in the 1970s, and the Republic of Vanuatu was created in 1980.
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Voinjama
Voinjama is a small city that serves as the capital of Lofa County, Liberia and is located in the hilly, far northern part of the country near the Guinean border. As of the 2008 national census, the population stood at 26,594.
Before the Liberian civil war it was a busy crossroads town, with a large weekly market. The population was principally from the Lorma and Mandingo tribes, with other ethnic groups from surrounding areas also present. It boasted a number of schools, including the public Voinjama Mulitlateral High School, as well as Saint Joseph's Catholic school under the direction of Sister Joan Margaret Kelly, and private schools run by Swedish missionaries and other groups. The Voinjama airport, outside of town on the road to Zorzor, featured a grass landing strip and flight service several times a week from Monrovia through the national carrier, Air Liberia.
The city had an electric generating station (with power in the evening) and a water treatment plant that supplied running water for most of the town. There were numerous general goods stores on the main road and a large parking station in the central plaza where one could catch a ride on a public car south to Zorzor, Gbarnga and Monrovia, west to Kolahun, Foya and Sierra Leone, or north to the Guinean border, four miles away.
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Western Sahara
Coordinates: 25°N 13°W / 25°N 13°W / 25; -13
Western Sahara (USi/ˌwɛstərn səˈhærə/, UK /ˌwɛstən səˈhɑrə/; Arabic: الصحراء الغربية Aṣ-Ṣaḥrā’ al-Gharbīyah; Spanish: Sahara Occidental), is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to 266,000 square kilometres (103,000 sq mi). It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at just over 500,000, many of whom live in El Aaiún (also called Laâyoune), the largest city in Western Sahara.
A colony of Spain since the late 19th century, the Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories since 1963. In 1965, the UN General Assembly adopted its first resolution on Western Sahara, asking Spain to decolonise the territory. One year later, a new resolution was passed by the General Assembly requesting that a referendum be held by Spain on self-determination. In 1975, Spain relinquished the administrative control of the territory to a joint administration by Morocco, which had formally claimed the territory since 1957, and Mauritania. A war erupted between those countries and the Sahrawi national liberation movement Polisario Front, which proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) (exiled government in Tindouf, Algeria). Mauritania withdrew in 1979 and Morocco eventually secured effective control of most of the territory, including all the major cities and natural resources.
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Yekepa
Yekepa is a town in northern Liberia, lying near the Guinean border. It was the base for Lamco's iron ore mining operation until it was destroyed in the First Liberian Civil War. Nearby Guesthouse Hill is one of the highest points in the nation. The community is home to the African Bible College University. Rehabilitation of the once prosperous mining town has now been taken up by Arcelor Mittal, the steel giant. The company received the green light in May 2007 after many a controversy. It has begun the reconstruction of hospital, schools and the township.
Coordinates: 07°34′46″N 08°32′16″W / 7.57944°N 8.53778°W / 7.57944; -8.53778
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Yemen
The Republic of Yemen (Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah), commonly known as Yemeni/ˈjɛmən/ (Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman), is a country located in Western Asia, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east. Yemen is considered one of the poorest countries in the Arab world. Its capital and largest city is Sana'a. Yemen's territory includes over 200 islands, the largest of which is Socotra, about 415 km (258 mi) to the south of mainland Yemen, off the coast of Somalia. It is the only state in the Arabian Peninsula to have a purely republican form of government. Approximately 53% of Yemenis are Sunnis, while 45% are Zaydi Shias.
One etymology derives Yemen from yamin, meaning "on the right side", as the south is on the right when facing the sunrise. Another derives Yemen from yumn, meaning "felicity", as the region is fertile. The Romans called it Arabia Felix (Happy Arabia) as opposed to Arabia Deserta (Deserted Arabia), which was their term for northern Arabia.
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Zambia
Zambia ( /ˈzæmbiə/), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. The capital city is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of the country. The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the northwest.
Originally inhabited by Khoisan peoples, the region which comprises modern Zambia was colonised during the Bantu expansion of the thirteenth century. After visits by European explorers in the eighteenth century, Zambia became the British colony of Northern Rhodesia towards the end of the nineteenth century. For most of the colonial period, the country was governed by an administration appointed from London with the advice of the British South Africa Company.
On 24 October 1964, the country declared independence from the United Kingdom and then-prime minister Kenneth Kaunda became the inaugural president. Kaunda's socialist United National Independence Party (UNIP) maintained power from the 1964 until 1991. From 1972 to 1991 Zambia was a single-party state with the UNIP as the sole-legal political party, with the goal of uniting the nation under the banner of 'One Zambia, One Nation'. Kaunda was succeeded by Frederick Chiluba of the social-democratic Movement for Multi-Party Democracy in 1991, during which the country saw a rise in social-economic growth and increased decentralisation of government.
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Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (/zɪmˈbɑːbweɪ/ zim-BAHB-way; officially the Republic of Zimbabwe) is a landlocked country of southern Africa. It shares a 125-mile (200-kilometre) border on the south with the Republic of South Africa and is bounded on the southwest and west by Botswana, on the north by Zambia, and on the northeast and east by Mozambique. The capital is Harare (formerly called Salisbury). Zimbabwe achieved majority rule and internationally recognised independence in April 1980 following a long period of colonial rule and a 15-year period of white-dominated minority rule, instituted after the minority regime’s so-called Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965.
Zimbabwe has three official languages: English, Shona and Ndebele. Zimbabwe began as the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia, created from land held by the British South Africa Company. President Robert Mugabe is the head of State and Commander in Chief of the armed forces. Morgan Tsvangirai is the Prime Minister. Mugabe has been in power since the country's internationally recognised independence in 1980.
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Zwedru
Zwedru is the capital of Grand Gedeh County, one of the 15 counties in the West African country of Liberia. Zwedru is located in Tchien District of Grand Gedeh County, near the Cavalla River in the country's southeastern region and near the border with Côte d'Ivoire. It is located 350 miles southeast from the capital city of Monrovia. The town is a stronghold of the Krahn tribe.
The town gets its name after the head of a local anteater creek. Zwedru is surrounded by a lot of forests, and lies in a tropical region. The northwestern section of Zwedru has an important forest region with rare bird species.
Before the Liberian Civil War, Zwedru was known for timber production and its wood products industry. As of the 2008 census, Zwedru has a population of 23,903. Of this, 11,828 were male and 12,075 female.
Coordinates: 6°04′N 8°08′W / 6.067°N 8.133°W / 6.067; -8.133
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British people
British people (also referred to as the British, Britons, or informally as Brits or Britishers) are citizens or natives of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, of any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants.British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, which can be acquired, for instance, by birth in the UK or by descent from British nationals. When used in a historical context, the term British people refers to the ancient Britons, the indigenous inhabitants of Great Britain south of the Forth.
Although early assertions of being British date from the Late Middle Ages, the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 triggered a sense of British national identity. The notion of Britishness was forged during the Napoleonic Wars between Britain and the First French Empire, and developed further during the Victorian era. The complex history of the formation of the United Kingdom created a "particular sense of nationhood and belonging" in Great Britain; Britishness became "superimposed on much older identities", of English, Scots and Welsh cultures, whose distinctiveness still resist notions of a homogenised British identity. Because of longstanding ethno-sectarian divisions, British identity in Northern Ireland is controversial, but it is held with strong conviction by unionists.
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Buddhist
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy indigenous to the Indian subcontinent and encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs, and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly known as the Buddha (meaning "the awakened one" in Sanskrit and Pāli). The Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end ignorance (avidyā), craving (taṇhā), and suffering (dukkha), by recognizing dependent origination and sunyata, and attain Nirvana.
Two major branches of Buddhism are recognized: Theravada ("The School of the Elders") and Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle"). Theravada has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana is found throughout East Asia and includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon, Tiantai (Tendai) and Shinnyo-en. In some classifications, Vajrayana—practiced mainly in Tibet and Mongolia, and adjacent parts of China and Russia—is recognized as a third branch, while others classify it as a part of Mahayana. There are other categorisations of these three Vehicles or Yanas.
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Caspar Weinberger
Caspar Willard "Cap" Weinberger (August 18, 1917 – March 28, 2006), was an American politician and businessman. He served in a variety of prominent state and federal positions for three decades, most prominently as Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1987.
Born in San Francisco, California, Weinberger served in the 41st Infantry Division in the Pacific theater of World War II. His entry into politics was as a California State Assemblyman from 1953 to 1959, and he would go on to serve as Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and Director of the Office of Management and Budget under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. An accomplished private sector businessman, he later became vice president and general counsel of Bechtel Corporation, and still later Chairman of Forbes.
His tenure as Secretary of Defense is the third longest in U.S. history, and spanned the final years of the Cold War. He is also known for his key role in the administration's Strategic Defense Initiative and later indictments in the Iran-Contra affair. He was awarded both the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1987 and an honorary British knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.
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Dutch people
The Dutch people (Dutch: Nederlanders (help·info)) are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada,Australia,South Africa,New Zealand, and the United States.
The traditional art and culture of the Dutch encompasses various forms of traditional music, dances, architectural styles and clothing, some of which are globally recognizable. Internationally, Dutch painters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer and Van Gogh are held in high regard. The dominant religion of the Dutch is Christianity (both Catholic and Protestant), although in modern times the majority is no longer (openly) religious. Significant percentages of the Dutch are adherents of humanism, agnosticism, atheism or individual spirituality.
In the Middle Ages the Low Countries were situated around the border of France and the Holy Roman Empire, forming a part of their respective peripheries, and the various territories of which they consisted had de facto become virtually autonomous by the 13th century. Under the Habsburgs, the Netherlands were organised into a single administrative unit, and in the 16th and 17th centuries the Northern Netherlands gained independence from Spain as the Dutch Republic. The high degree of urbanization characteristic of Dutch society was attained at a relatively early date. During the Republic the first series of large scale Dutch migrations outside of Europe took place.
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Edward Wilmot Blyden
Edward Wilmot Blyden (3 August 1832 – 7 February 1912) was an Americo-Liberian educator, writer, diplomat, and politician primarily in Liberia. He also taught for five years in Sierra Leone, and his writings were influential in both countries.
Blyden was born on 3 August 1832 in St Thomas, Danish West Indies (now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands) to Free Black parents who were from the [Igbo people |Igbo] from present-day Nigeria.
According to the historian Hollis R. Lynch, in 1845 Blyden met the Reverend John P. Knox, a white American, who became pastor of the St. Thomas Protestant Dutch Reformed Church. Blyden and his family lived near the church, and Knox was impressed with the studious, intelligent boy. Knox became his mentor, encouraging Blyden's considerable aptitude for oratory and literature. Mainly because of his close association with Knox, the young Blyden decided to become a minister, which his parents encouraged.
In May 1850, Blyden, accompanied by Reverend Knox's wife, went to the United States to enrol in Rutgers Theological College, Knox's alma mater. He was refused admission due to his race. Efforts to enrol him in two other theological colleges also failed. Knox encouraged Blyden to go to Liberia and the colony set up by the American Colonization Society (ACS), where he thought Blyden would be able to use his talents.
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Edwin Barclay
Edwin James Barclay (1882–1955) was a Liberian politician. A member of the True Whig political party, he served as the 18th President of the country from 1930 until 1944. Under his leadership, Liberia was an ally of the United States during World War II.
Edwin Barclay's paternal grandparents moved from Barbados to Liberia with their children in 1865. Edwin's father, Ernest Barclay, and uncle, Arthur Barclay, were also important Liberian politicians. In 1901, at the age of 19, Edwin wrote a Liberian patriotic song, "The Lone Star Forever." Barclay and his wife Euphemia's foster son, George Arthur Padmore, became the Liberian ambassador to the US.
Children Mrs Mary Barclay Dumbar Ms Siata Isabel Barclay Mr Earnest Barclay[citation needed]
Edwin Barclay, a member of the True Whig Party which ruled at that time, served as foreign minister and secretary of state of Liberia in the government of Charles D.B. King from 1920 until 1930. He became President of Liberia in 1930 when President King and Vice President Allen Yancey resigned because of a scandal. He was elected in his own right for the first time in 1931.
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Godfrey Mwakikagile
Godfrey Mwakikagile is a prominent Tanzanian scholar, writer and specialist in African studies.
He was born in the town of Kigoma in western Tanzania - what was then Tanganyika - on 4 October 1949 and was baptised Godfrey about two months later on Christmas day, 25 December 1949, as a member of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) among whose supporters was Scottish explorer and missionary-doctor, Dr. David Livingstone of the London Missionary Society. Dr. Livingstone campaigned against slavery and the slave trade but also helped pave the way for the colonisation of Africa.
As Godfrey Mwakikagile states in one of his books Africa and America in The Sixties which is partly autobiographical and - among other subjects - also covers members of the baby boomer generation including himself born after the end of World War II, he was, according to his birth certificate, baptised by Reverend Frank McGorlick (from Victoria, Australia), a Scottish minister of the CMS Church in Kigoma his parents belonged to. But he was brought up as a member of the Moravian Church in Rungwe District in what was then the Southern Highlands Province in colonial Tanganyika.
wn.com/Godfrey_Mwakikagile -
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore ambivalent modern world moral and political issues. Greene was notable for his ability to combine serious literary acclaim with widespread popularity.
Although Greene objected strongly to being described as a Roman Catholic novelist rather than as a novelist who happened to be Catholic, Catholic religious themes are at the root of much of his writing, especially the four major Catholic novels: Brighton Rock, The Power and the Glory, The Heart of the Matter and The End of the Affair. Several works such as The Confidential Agent, The Third Man, The Quiet American, Our Man in Havana and The Human Factor also show an avid interest in the workings of international politics and espionage.
Greene suffered from bipolar disorder, which had a profound effect on his writing and personal life. In a letter to his wife Vivien, he told her that he had "a character profoundly antagonistic to ordinary domestic life", and that "unfortunately, the disease is also one's material".William Golding described Greene as "the ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man's consciousness and anxiety." Greene never received the Nobel Prize in Literature, though he finished runner-up to Ivo Andrić in 1961.
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Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. (April 12, 1777 – June 29, 1852), was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives. He served three different terms as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and was also Secretary of State from 1825 to 1829.
Clay was a dominant figure in both the First and Second Party systems. As a leading war hawk, he favored war with Britain and played a significant role in leading the nation to war in 1812. Later he was involved in the "Corrupt Bargain" of 1824, after which he was appointed Secretary of State by newly elected President John Quincy Adams, earning the scorn of Andrew Jackson. He was the foremost proponent of the American System, fighting for an increase in tariffs to foster industry in the United States, the use of federal funding to build and maintain infrastructure, and a strong national bank. He opposed the annexation of Texas, fearing it would inject the slavery issue into politics. Clay also opposed the Mexican-American War and the "Manifest Destiny" policy of Democrats, which cost him votes in the close 1844 election.
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Hong Kong
Coordinates: 22°16′42″N 114°09′32″E / 22.27833°N 114.15889°E / 22.27833; 114.15889
Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港) is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is known for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty. The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era. The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East meets West", and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England until reforms implemented in 2009.
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James Monroe
James Monroe (April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) was the fifth President of the United States (1817–1825). Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation. His presidency was marked both by an "Era of Good Feelings" – a period of relatively little partisan strife – and later by the Panic of 1819 and a fierce national debate over the admission of the Missouri Territory. Monroe is most noted for his proclamation of the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, which stated that the United States would not tolerate further European intervention in the Americas.
Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, Monroe fought in the American Revolutionary War. He was injured in the Battle of Trenton with a musket ball to his shoulder. After studying law under Thomas Jefferson from 1780 to 1783, he served as a delegate in the Continental Congress. As an anti-federalist delegate to the Virginia convention that considered ratification of the United States Constitution, Monroe opposed ratification, claiming it gave too much power to the central government. Nonetheless, Monroe took an active part in the new government and in 1790 he was elected to the Senate of the first United States Congress, where he joined the Jeffersonians. He gained experience as an executive as the Governor of Virginia and rose to national prominence when as a diplomat in France he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Monroe was of French and Scottish descent.
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Johnnie Lewis
Johnnie N. Lewis (born April 16, 1946) is the 18th and current Chief Justice of Liberia. A native of Sinoe County, Lewis was educated at the University of Liberia in Monrovia and at Yale Law School in the United States. Before his appointment to the Supreme Court, he served as a judge in Liberia’s circuit court system.
Johnnie N. Lewis was born to Roderick N. Lewis and Mary Houston-Lewis in Greenville, Sinoe County, Liberia on April 16, 1946. His father was a lawyer while his mother was a school teacher in a family with four boys and two girls. He earned an education at St. Joseph's Catholic Elementary School followed by Sinoe High School.
For college he attended the University of Liberia in Monrovia where he earned a bachelor of arts degree, followed by a bachelor of laws degree from the university’s Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law. Graduating in 1969, he earned cum laude honors from the law school and was editor of the Liberian Law Journal. Lewis was admitted to the country’s bar association that year before moving to the United States to continue his legal education. He graduated from Yale Law School in 1971 with a masters in law degree.
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Joseph Boakai
Joseph Nyumah Boakai (born 30 November 1944) a Liberian politician who has been Vice President of Liberia since January 2006, serving under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Previously he was Minister of Agriculture from 1983 to 1985.
Joseph Boakai was born on 30 November 1944 in Worsonga, Foya District, Lofa County to illiterate parents, He is married to Kartumu Boakai and they have 4 children. Boakai is a religious Christian and a Deacon of the Effort Baptist Church.
Boakai attended is primary and high school in Sierra Leone and Liberia before graduating from the College of West Africa, the University of Liberia in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and then Kansas State University, which he attended on a USAID grant, graduating in 1976.
Boakai went on to jobs in both the public and private sector. He worked for the Liberia Produce Marketing Corporation in the 1970s. From 1983 to 1985, he served as Minister of Agriculture under President Samuel Doe. While Minister of Agriculture, Boakai chaired the 15 nation West African Rice Development Association. He later worked as a consultant to the World Bank in Washington and also founded a firm dealing in agricultural equipment and consultancy. He has served as board chairman of the Liberia Wood Management Corporation and of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company.
wn.com/Joseph_Boakai -
Liberian Civil War
The Liberian Civil War can refer to one of the following conflicts:
wn.com/Liberian_Civil_War -
Portuguese people
The Portuguese (Portuguese: os Portugueses) are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion.
Due to the large historical extent of the Portuguese Empire and the colonization of territories in Africa, Asia and the Americas, as well as historical and recent emigration, Portuguese communities can be found in many diverse regions around the globe, and a large Portuguese diaspora exists.
The Portuguese are a southwestern European population, with origins predominantly from Atlantic Europe, Western Europe and the Western Mediterranean.
The earliest modern humans inhabiting Portugal are believed to have been Paleolithic peoples that may have arrived in the Iberian Peninsula as early as 35,000 to 40,000 years ago. Current interpretation of Y-chromosome and mtDNA data suggests that modern-day Portuguese traces largely a significant amount of these lineages to the paleolithic peoples which began arriving to the European continent between the end of the last glaciation around 45,000 years ago.
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Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India.
Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III. Both the Duke of Kent and the King died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne at the age of 18, after her father's three elder brothers had all died without surviving legitimate issue. The United Kingdom was already an established constitutional monarchy, in which the Sovereign held relatively few direct political powers. Privately, she attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments. Publicly, she became a national icon, and was identified with strict standards of personal morality.
She married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children and 26 of their 34 grandchildren who survived childhood married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together and earning her the nickname "the grandmother of Europe". After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength, but in the latter half of her reign, her popularity recovered. Her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration.
wn.com/Queen_Victoria -
Roland T. Dempster
Roland Tombekai Dempster (1910 – 1965) was an African writer and literary figure. He was born in Tosoh (on the banks of Lake Piso), Grand Cape Mount County in the Republic of Liberia. He wrote The Mystic Reformation of Gondolia in 1953. On January 4, 1960, he wrote A Song Out of Midnight: Souvenir of the Tubman-Tolbert Inauguration. He also wrote the poem Africa's Plea.
wn.com/Roland_T._Dempster -
Samuel Doe
Samuel Kanyon Doe (May 6, 1951 – September 9, 1990) was the 21st President of Liberia, holding office from 1986 until his assassination in 1990. He had previously been Chairman of the People's Redemption Council from 1980 to 1986. He was the first indigenous head of state in Liberian history.
Doe was a part of a rural tribe in inland Liberia. The Krahn are a minority ethnic group but part of the large majority of the Liberian population that are of indigenous descent. These groups faced economic and political domination by the Americo-Liberian elites, who were descended from free-born and formerly enslaved blacks from America who founded Liberia in 1847.
Under Doe, Liberian ports were opened to Canadian, Chinese and European ships, which brought in considerable foreign investment from foreign shipping firms and earned Liberia a reputation as a tax haven.
Doe attempted to legitimize his regime with a new constitution in 1984 and elections in 1985. However, opposition to his rule only increased, especially after the 1985 elections which were declared to be fraudulent by the U.S. and other foreign observers. In the late 1980s, as fiscal austerity took hold in the United States and the threat of Communism declined with the waning of the Cold War, the U.S. became disenchanted with entrenched corruption in Doe's government and began cutting off critical foreign aid to Doe. This, combined with the popular anger generated by Doe's favoritism toward his native Krahn tribe, placed him in a very precarious position.
wn.com/Samuel_Doe -
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land. However, Canadian First Nations people often refer to all non-natives as "settler peoples", or "settler populations".[citation needed]
In almost every real historical case, settlers live on land which previously belonged to long-established peoples, known as indigenous people (often called "natives", "Aborigines" or, in the Americas, "Indians"). This land is usually settled against the wishes of the indigenes, and then controlled, defended and expanded by force, or it is bought or leased from indigenous people on terms highly favourable to the settlers, sometimes under a treaty (e.g. the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand). In some cases (such as Australia), the legal ownership of some lands is contested much later by indigenous people, who seek or claim traditional usage, land rights, native title and related forms of ownership or partial control.
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Thomas Quiwonkpa
Thomas Quiwonkpa, a Gio from Nimba County, was a Commanding General of the Armed Forces of Liberia and founder of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia.
Born at the town of Zurlay in 1955, Quiwonkpa was the son of subsistence farmers. At the age of sixteen, he joined the AFL in order to further his life; after finishing high school in 1978 through a programme at the Barclay Training Center, he received an assignment to the AFL's records department. He first came to prominence on 12 April 1980 when he assisted Samuel Doe in a military coup that overthrew the Americo-Liberian government of William R. Tolbert, Jr. About a month later, the revolutionaries arrested AFL boss Edwin Lloyd and other military leaders on charges of planning a countercoup; by mid-May, Quiwonkpa was proclaimed a major general and made the new AFL boss, although two months later he was using the title of brigadier general. Before long, he fell out with Doe: in 1983, Quiwonkpa was demoted and subsequently charged with an attempt to overthrow the Doe administration. The charges forced Quiwonkpa to flee the country.
wn.com/Thomas_Quiwonkpa -
William Tubman
William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman (November 29, 1895 – July 23, 1971) was a Liberian politician. He was the 19th President of Liberia from 1944 until his death in 1971.
He is regarded as the "father of modern Liberia"; his presidency was marked by the influx of foreign investment in his country and its modernization. During his tenure, Liberia experienced a period of prosperity. He also led a policy of national unity in order to reduce the social and political differences between his fellow Americo-Liberians and the indigenous Liberians. However, further into his years in power, his way of governing became increasingly authoritarian.
Tubman was born November 29, 1895, in Harper, Liberia. William Tubman's father, the Reverend Alexander Tubman, was a stonemason, general in the Liberian army and a former Speaker of the Liberian House of Representatives, as well as a Methodist preacher. Alexander Tubman's parents, Sylvia and William Shadrach Tubman, were part of a group of 69 slaves freed and sent to Liberia by Emily Tubman, a philanthropic widow living in Augusta, Georgia, in 1844. Emily Tubman had been instrumental in the manumission and repatriation of African slaves in the antebellum South. They took the name Tubman after arriving in the country, naming their community Tubman Hill. His mother, Elizabeth Rebecca Barnes Tubman, came from Atlanta, Georgia. His father required him and his other four children to attend daily family prayer services and sleep on the floor because, he thought, beds were too soft and therefore "degrading to character development."
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The Cannibal Warlords of Liberia (Full Length Documentary)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 53:31
- Updated: 01 Dec 2012
VICE travels to West Africa to rummage through the messy remains of a country ravaged by 14 years of civil war. Despite the United Nation's eventual intervention, most of Liberia's young people continue to live in abject poverty, surrounded by filth, drug addiction, and teenage prostitution. The former child soldiers who were forced into war have been left to fend for themselves, the murderous warlords who once led them in cannibalistic rampages have taken up as so-called community leaders, and new militias are lying in wait for the opportunity to reclaim their country from a government they rightly mistrust. Hosted by Shane Smith | Originally released in 2009 at vice.com Check out the VICE Guide to Karachi here bit.ly Subscribe for videos that are actually good: bit.ly Check out our full video catalog: www.youtube.com Videos, daily editorial and more: vice.com Like VICE on Facebook fb.com Follow VICE on Twitter: twitter.com Read our tumblr: vicemag.tumblr.com
http://wn.com/The_Cannibal_Warlords_of_Liberia_Full_Length_Documentary
VICE travels to West Africa to rummage through the messy remains of a country ravaged by 14 years of civil war. Despite the United Nation's eventual intervention, most of Liberia's young people continue to live in abject poverty, surrounded by filth, drug addiction, and teenage prostitution. The former child soldiers who were forced into war have been left to fend for themselves, the murderous warlords who once led them in cannibalistic rampages have taken up as so-called community leaders, and new militias are lying in wait for the opportunity to reclaim their country from a government they rightly mistrust. Hosted by Shane Smith | Originally released in 2009 at vice.com Check out the VICE Guide to Karachi here bit.ly Subscribe for videos that are actually good: bit.ly Check out our full video catalog: www.youtube.com Videos, daily editorial and more: vice.com Like VICE on Facebook fb.com Follow VICE on Twitter: twitter.com Read our tumblr: vicemag.tumblr.com
The Cannibal Generals of Liberia
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 19:14
- Updated: 30 Nov 2012
Full length now on YouTube: bit.ly Cannibalism, murder and rape are just a part of everyday life in certain regions of Liberia. Despite the United Nation's eventual intervention, most of this country's young people continue to live in abject poverty, surrounded by filth, drug addiction, and teenage prostitution. In 2009, we went to Liberia to rummage through the messy remains of a country ravaged by 14 years of civil war. UPDATE: Charles G. Taylor, former President of Liberia and warlord, has been convicted by an international tribunal of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including rape, murder, and the use of child soldiers. He is the first head of state to be found guilty by an international court since the Nuremberg trials. Hosted by Shane Smith | Originally released in 2009 at vice.com Subscribe for videos that are actually good bit.ly Check out our full video catalog: www.youtube.com Videos, daily editorial and more: vice.com Like VICE on Facebook fb.com Follow VICE on Twitter: twitter.com Read our tumblr: vicemag.tumblr.com
http://wn.com/The_Cannibal_Generals_of_Liberia
Full length now on YouTube: bit.ly Cannibalism, murder and rape are just a part of everyday life in certain regions of Liberia. Despite the United Nation's eventual intervention, most of this country's young people continue to live in abject poverty, surrounded by filth, drug addiction, and teenage prostitution. In 2009, we went to Liberia to rummage through the messy remains of a country ravaged by 14 years of civil war. UPDATE: Charles G. Taylor, former President of Liberia and warlord, has been convicted by an international tribunal of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including rape, murder, and the use of child soldiers. He is the first head of state to be found guilty by an international court since the Nuremberg trials. Hosted by Shane Smith | Originally released in 2009 at vice.com Subscribe for videos that are actually good bit.ly Check out our full video catalog: www.youtube.com Videos, daily editorial and more: vice.com Like VICE on Facebook fb.com Follow VICE on Twitter: twitter.com Read our tumblr: vicemag.tumblr.com
- published: 26 Apr 2012
- views: 313728
- author: vice
The Cannibals' War - Liberia
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:58
- Updated: 24 Nov 2012
Aug 1996 As the trial of former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor begins, we bring back an exclusive report exposing the atrocities committed by Taylor's men. Filmed in the middle of the civil war, it includes footage of Taylor's supporters preparing to eat a human heart and a rare interview with Taylor. Our film opens with gigantic US military helicopters hovering over Monrovia. The crackle of Kalashnikovs, 'Liberian music', echoes around the empty streets. This is a city with no laws of humanity as we know them. We discover a band of teenage NPFL fighters at a roadblock. Dead bodies lie at their feet, their chests sliced open from top to bottom, in the style of an African voodoo sacrifice. A boy brandishes a bucket, from which he proudly pulls a human heart. 'If I find my enemy I eat him', he boasts. 'But I only eat military men, not civilians. I am a human being after all.' Some fighters believe that by eating an enemy you get his power. Charles Taylor sums up: 'We have heard of outright cannibalism but this is an issue of war. There is no civilised war. Death is death.' For now the peace is holding. The UN are disarming troops on the streets. The market in Monrovia is full of people once again. But many think that Liberia's young cannibals have gone too far: a doctor prophesies disaster when they become the future leaders.
http://wn.com/The_Cannibals'_War_Liberia
Aug 1996 As the trial of former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor begins, we bring back an exclusive report exposing the atrocities committed by Taylor's men. Filmed in the middle of the civil war, it includes footage of Taylor's supporters preparing to eat a human heart and a rare interview with Taylor. Our film opens with gigantic US military helicopters hovering over Monrovia. The crackle of Kalashnikovs, 'Liberian music', echoes around the empty streets. This is a city with no laws of humanity as we know them. We discover a band of teenage NPFL fighters at a roadblock. Dead bodies lie at their feet, their chests sliced open from top to bottom, in the style of an African voodoo sacrifice. A boy brandishes a bucket, from which he proudly pulls a human heart. 'If I find my enemy I eat him', he boasts. 'But I only eat military men, not civilians. I am a human being after all.' Some fighters believe that by eating an enemy you get his power. Charles Taylor sums up: 'We have heard of outright cannibalism but this is an issue of war. There is no civilised war. Death is death.' For now the peace is holding. The UN are disarming troops on the streets. The market in Monrovia is full of people once again. But many think that Liberia's young cannibals have gone too far: a doctor prophesies disaster when they become the future leaders.
- published: 10 Sep 2007
- views: 345077
- author: journeymanpictures
ANTHONY BOURDAIN NO RESERVATIONS -LIBERIA
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 41:52
- Updated: 30 Nov 2012
ANTHONY BOURDAIN NO RESERVATIONS -LIBERIA 2010
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ANTHONY BOURDAIN NO RESERVATIONS -LIBERIA 2010
- published: 13 Nov 2012
- views: 1121
- author: Flylibone
Pastor Richard Sfameni Missions Trip to Liberia
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 15:00
- Updated: 25 Nov 2012
A view of our brothers and sisters in the country of Liberia.
http://wn.com/Pastor_Richard_Sfameni_Missions_Trip_to_Liberia
A view of our brothers and sisters in the country of Liberia.
- published: 25 Nov 2012
- views: 135
- author: jimgigawata
Liberia-Africa
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:06
- Updated: 14 Nov 2012
My videos are not meant to make it seem as if Liberia is some tourist country ... i just take pictures of things around my country that i think are beautiful. If you don't like the pictures or you think I'm making Liberia look bad by posting these pictures please post your own!
http://wn.com/Liberia-Africa
My videos are not meant to make it seem as if Liberia is some tourist country ... i just take pictures of things around my country that i think are beautiful. If you don't like the pictures or you think I'm making Liberia look bad by posting these pictures please post your own!
- published: 15 Sep 2012
- views: 3006
- author: blk24ga
Liberia - Ethnic Cleansing-American Blood
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:45
- Updated: 29 Nov 2012
Liberia - Ethnic Cleansing-American Blood
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Liberia - Ethnic Cleansing-American Blood
- published: 27 Nov 2012
- views: 68
- author: Elohothedon
Little Documentary of Moses In Liberia (RIP MOMMY)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 18:32
- Updated: 26 Nov 2012
Take a tour in Liberia...don't have that Monrovia mindset. Moses Tele Vision Present - Moses journey in Liberia RIP mommy...I WILL REALLY MISS YOU. Music By Sona Jobarteh - Jarabi Africa- Relax BAABA MAAL - BAAY (LAAWAN) Salif Keita - Moussolou enjoy ppl
http://wn.com/Little_Documentary_of_Moses_In_Liberia_RIP_MOMMY
Take a tour in Liberia...don't have that Monrovia mindset. Moses Tele Vision Present - Moses journey in Liberia RIP mommy...I WILL REALLY MISS YOU. Music By Sona Jobarteh - Jarabi Africa- Relax BAABA MAAL - BAAY (LAAWAN) Salif Keita - Moussolou enjoy ppl
- published: 09 Nov 2012
- views: 410
- author: Moses Karnga
Is Liberia land grab by foreign firms sowing seed of future conflict?-Africa Today-03-13-2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 25:16
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
Small farmers lose livelihoods as 'controversial' palm-oil producing multinational moves in. Much of rural Liberia's population lives on land that has been in the family for generations. Most people don't have the money to go through the costly and complicated process of acquiring deeds, so under Liberian law the government is the owner of all public land. Sando's land was not registered; therefore it belonged to the government. However, a report from the Centre for International Conflict Resolution (CICR), at Columbia University in the US, raises doubts about whether the future is quite so bright for the communities affected by the company's actions. The report studied the impact on communities of investments by four companies: Golden Veroleum, Sime Darby, ArcelorMittal and Putu Iron Ore Mining Corporation. The three-month study - based mainly on town hall meetings, focus group discussions and interviews with indigenous groups, public officials, UN staff, civil society activists, international organisations and corporate representatives - found that lack of consultation on the investment projects had resulted in "high tension" among communities. Investment has flooded into Liberia since President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf rid the country of its crippling foreign debt. She has brought peace and development to the nation after 14 years of devastating civil war. The country has signed natural resource deals with foreign investors, mainly in iron ore and palm oil, amounting to a ...
http://wn.com/Is_Liberia_land_grab_by_foreign_firms_sowing_seed_of_future_conflict?-Africa_Today-03-13-2012
Small farmers lose livelihoods as 'controversial' palm-oil producing multinational moves in. Much of rural Liberia's population lives on land that has been in the family for generations. Most people don't have the money to go through the costly and complicated process of acquiring deeds, so under Liberian law the government is the owner of all public land. Sando's land was not registered; therefore it belonged to the government. However, a report from the Centre for International Conflict Resolution (CICR), at Columbia University in the US, raises doubts about whether the future is quite so bright for the communities affected by the company's actions. The report studied the impact on communities of investments by four companies: Golden Veroleum, Sime Darby, ArcelorMittal and Putu Iron Ore Mining Corporation. The three-month study - based mainly on town hall meetings, focus group discussions and interviews with indigenous groups, public officials, UN staff, civil society activists, international organisations and corporate representatives - found that lack of consultation on the investment projects had resulted in "high tension" among communities. Investment has flooded into Liberia since President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf rid the country of its crippling foreign debt. She has brought peace and development to the nation after 14 years of devastating civil war. The country has signed natural resource deals with foreign investors, mainly in iron ore and palm oil, amounting to a ...
- published: 14 Mar 2012
- views: 5350
- author: PressTVGlobalNews
Liberia Lawmaker Gets Booted off Stage in Minnesota
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:43
- Updated: 24 Nov 2012
Hon. Larry Younquoi, representative District # 8 Nimba was booted off stage at a townhall hosted in honor of Hon. Augustine K. Nguafuan, foreign minister of Liberia.
http://wn.com/Liberia_Lawmaker_Gets_Booted_off_Stage_in_Minnesota
Hon. Larry Younquoi, representative District # 8 Nimba was booted off stage at a townhall hosted in honor of Hon. Augustine K. Nguafuan, foreign minister of Liberia.
- published: 14 Nov 2012
- views: 536
- author: Tmz Liberia
Liberia: Sanitation for rural areas
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:34
- Updated: 23 Nov 2012
Liberia's more than 20 years of conflict — the most tumultuous between 1990 and 2004 — have crippled the country's development. About 1.3 million Liberians still lack access to clean water. charity: water's local partner, EQUIP Liberia, has been working in the country for more than two decades, providing health, water and sanitation for people in rural areas. Here, EQUIP's founder and director Dave Waynes explains how charity: water projects have helped Liberian communities come together. music: Broken Social Scene shot and edited by: Mo Scarpelli
http://wn.com/Liberia_Sanitation_for_rural_areas
Liberia's more than 20 years of conflict — the most tumultuous between 1990 and 2004 — have crippled the country's development. About 1.3 million Liberians still lack access to clean water. charity: water's local partner, EQUIP Liberia, has been working in the country for more than two decades, providing health, water and sanitation for people in rural areas. Here, EQUIP's founder and director Dave Waynes explains how charity: water projects have helped Liberian communities come together. music: Broken Social Scene shot and edited by: Mo Scarpelli
- published: 30 Oct 2012
- views: 399
- author: africareview
Shit Liberian Parents Say
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:54
- Updated: 26 Nov 2012
Purchase "Stop Wastin' Current" T-Shirts at WzZup.BigCartel.com twitter - @GabDontSayMuch Facebook - facebook.com/gabdontsaymuch twitter - @audijunky Facebook - facebook.com/jkolleh Like us - facebook.com/WzzupVideos
http://wn.com/Shit_Liberian_Parents_Say
Purchase "Stop Wastin' Current" T-Shirts at WzZup.BigCartel.com twitter - @GabDontSayMuch Facebook - facebook.com/gabdontsaymuch twitter - @audijunky Facebook - facebook.com/jkolleh Like us - facebook.com/WzzupVideos
- published: 04 Feb 2012
- views: 42726
- author: WzZupVideos
Liberia, Africa
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:53
- Updated: 11 Nov 2012
Liberian scrapbook
http://wn.com/Liberia,_Africa
Liberian scrapbook
- published: 24 Oct 2012
- views: 676
- author: blk24ga
Liberia, Africa
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:14
- Updated: 15 Nov 2012
Views from Liberia
http://wn.com/Liberia,_Africa
Views from Liberia
- published: 20 Oct 2012
- views: 341
- author: blk24ga
liberia you never see on tv
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:46
- Updated: 29 Nov 2012
never seen pics of lib
http://wn.com/liberia_you_never_see_on_tv
never seen pics of lib
- published: 03 Nov 2012
- views: 415
- author: thegigadykid1
Liberia, Africa
- published: 25 Jul 2012
- views: 2373
- author: blk24ga
LifeTree Fellowship - Liberia 2012 - "The Liberian 4"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:55
- Updated: 30 Nov 2012
Samaritan's Purse- Bopolu Life Festival and Four Day Pastoral Leadership Training/Earth Source Minerals Medical Assessment and Evaluation
http://wn.com/LifeTree_Fellowship_Liberia_2012_The_Liberian_4
Samaritan's Purse- Bopolu Life Festival and Four Day Pastoral Leadership Training/Earth Source Minerals Medical Assessment and Evaluation
- published: 26 Nov 2012
- views: 50
- author: Garrett Wendt
United Nations Day celebrations in Liberia, 2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:34
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
The United Nations system in Liberia commemorated the 67th anniversary of the UN with events and celebrations occurring in Monrovia and in outlying areas. A parade through Monrovia preceded a formal event at the historic Centennial Pavilion, and staff from the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), UN agencies and United Nations Police, (UNPOL) visited several schools throughout the city to talk with students and other youths about the UN and its work in the country. As part of the UN Day festivities, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) donated a consignment of non-food items to inmates at the Monrovia Central Prison.
http://wn.com/United_Nations_Day_celebrations_in_Liberia,_2012
The United Nations system in Liberia commemorated the 67th anniversary of the UN with events and celebrations occurring in Monrovia and in outlying areas. A parade through Monrovia preceded a formal event at the historic Centennial Pavilion, and staff from the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), UN agencies and United Nations Police, (UNPOL) visited several schools throughout the city to talk with students and other youths about the UN and its work in the country. As part of the UN Day festivities, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) donated a consignment of non-food items to inmates at the Monrovia Central Prison.
- published: 19 Nov 2012
- views: 136
- author: UNMILTV
First Liberian Civil War - Wiki Article
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 24:46
- Updated: 09 Nov 2012
The First Liberian Civil War was an internal conflict in Liberia from 1989 until 1996. The conflict killed over 200000 people and eventually led to the involvement of the Economic Community of West ... First Liberian Civil War - Wiki Article - wikiplays.org Original @ http All Information Derived from Wikipedia using Creative Commons License: en.wikipedia.org Author: Liberia Image URL: en.wikipedia.org ( This work is in the Public Domain. ) Author: FRANK HALL Image URL: en.wikipedia.org ( This work is in the Public Domain. )
http://wn.com/First_Liberian_Civil_War_Wiki_Article
The First Liberian Civil War was an internal conflict in Liberia from 1989 until 1996. The conflict killed over 200000 people and eventually led to the involvement of the Economic Community of West ... First Liberian Civil War - Wiki Article - wikiplays.org Original @ http All Information Derived from Wikipedia using Creative Commons License: en.wikipedia.org Author: Liberia Image URL: en.wikipedia.org ( This work is in the Public Domain. ) Author: FRANK HALL Image URL: en.wikipedia.org ( This work is in the Public Domain. )
- published: 09 Nov 2012
- views: 228
- author: WikiPlays
Liberia, Africa
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:48
- Updated: 29 Nov 2012
Views from Liberia
http://wn.com/Liberia,_Africa
Views from Liberia
- published: 11 Nov 2012
- views: 244
- author: blk24ga
Liberia, Afreaka
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:23
- Updated: 20 Oct 2012
Views from Liberia
http://wn.com/Liberia,_Afreaka
Views from Liberia
- published: 02 Oct 2012
- views: 603
- author: blk24ga
Monrovia Liberia
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:44
- Updated: 27 Nov 2012
Here is the great African country Liberia Capital city Monrovia
http://wn.com/Monrovia_Liberia
Here is the great African country Liberia Capital city Monrovia
- published: 26 Oct 2012
- views: 548
- author: thegigadykid1
Project Fame Season 5 Liberia Audition part 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 12:33
- Updated: 04 Nov 2012
The people of Liberia has got talent, yes real talent. Watch how they fared at the auditions,
http://wn.com/Project_Fame_Season_5_Liberia_Audition_part_1
The people of Liberia has got talent, yes real talent. Watch how they fared at the auditions,
- published: 24 Jul 2012
- views: 1601
- author: projectfametv
photo: AP / Lefteris Pitarakis
30 Nov 2012
- For historians, it represents a treasure trove of boundless rewards and an opportunity to revisit some of the most enduring myths about Britain's colonial past. But for some of those still living with the physical and psychological scars, the release of thousands of previously secret government-held documents offers fresh hope of finally gaining a measure of justice for their suffering under British rule ... 1096 Source.. Al Jazeera ... ;">....(size: 22.4Kb)
photo: UN / Eric Kanalstein
29 Nov 2012
Just before she leapt from her roof into the streets of Kabul, Farima thought of the wedding that would never happen and the man she would never marry. Her fiance would be pleased to see her die, she later recalled thinking. It would offer relief to them both. Farima, 17, had resisted her engagement to Zabiullah since it was ordained by her grandfather when she was 9 ... He ran outside. His daughter's torso was contorted ... Her skin was pallid....(size: 12.8Kb)
photo: AP / Sepahnews
27 Nov 2012
WASHINGTON -- The drone wars are here. While President Obama ponders new legal and moral guidelines to govern America's growing use of armed robot aircraft, the world outside the White House is engaged in a revolutionary frenzy of building, arming and flying killer drones ... More than 50 countries operate surveillance drones and, increasingly, are fitting them with weapons. The U.S ... spy drone was shot down last December ... On Oct ... 988 miles ... ....(size: 8.4Kb)
photo: US NARA
30 Nov 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. Staring at the quote on the small granite monument which read. "They said to one another, behold here comes the dreamer...Let us slay him...And we shall see what will become of his dreams," I tried to understand that fateful moment when a shot shattered heaven and earth ... Martin Luther King, Jr. Straining my ears, I tried to hear Rev. Abernathy cry out, "Oh my God, Martin's been shot!" ... Dr....(size: 6.5Kb)
photo: UN
30 Nov 2012
UNITED NATIONS -- The UN voted overwhelmingly Thursday to recognize a Palestinian state, a long-sought victory for the Palestinians and an embarrassing diplomatic defeat for the United States. The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status to a nonmember observer state at the UN was approved in the 193-member world body by a vote of 138-9, with 41 abstentions ... The Palestinians still face enormous limitations ... U.S ... 0. Click to rate ... St ... ....(size: 9.3Kb)
noodls
01 Dec 2012
"When we all fight malaria together, we build stronger nations and save lives," said President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia ... "When we all fight malaria together, we build stronger nations and save lives," said President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia....(size: 15.9Kb)
noodls
01 Dec 2012
The report, presented by Ms. Bachelet to the Council today, underlines that while there has been progress, it has not been at the pace that was expected ... It is the difference between going through the motions and going the extra mile ... From Kyrgyzstan to Timor-Leste, Haiti, South Sudan, Liberia, Nepal and many other countries, women are leading innovative approaches to prevent conflict and violence and build peace in their communities....(size: 7.0Kb)
noodls
30 Nov 2012
Among the countries on the agenda of the Peacebuilding Commission, Sierra Leone has just completed its third peaceful election since the end of its civil war - accompanied every step of the way by the United Nations. From Afghanistan to Timor-Leste, from Haiti to Liberia, we are working with the g7+ movement of conflict-affected and fragile countries as part of the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States....(size: 7.6Kb)
The Business Review
30 Nov 2012
St. Louis Business Journal by Cynthia Vespereny, Cynthia Vespereny is a St. Louis freelance writer. Date. Friday, November 30, 2012, 5.00am CST. Photo by Brian Cassidy. Shirley Padmore Mensah. A military coup in 1980 in her native Liberia forced to flee with her family to the United States. Mensah, who was 10 at the time, and her family settled in Wilmington, Del ... from Washington University School of Law ... Mensah spent ... Sign Up Now ... ... ... ....(size: 9.5Kb)
Jakarta Post
30 Nov 2012
Paper Edition . Page. 22. Fifty is a funny number ... When it comes to age, though, it’s a sign that things are downhill, over and out. Maybe because pension ages range in mid to late 50s ... Why, Sam Mendes, why? ... Even in Africa, where 40 percent of population is under the tender age of 15, the first democratically-elected female leader was also 60 something Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who successfully got reelected as President of Liberia last year....(size: 5.6Kb)
noodls
30 Nov 2012
Women's role in advancing peace and security must be supported - UN officials. UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet. Photo. UN Women/Rick Bajornas ... In countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Timor-Leste, Haiti, South Sudan, Liberia, Nepal and many others, women are leading innovative approaches to prevent conflict and violence and build peace in their communities. Ms ... Also highlighting the case of Mali, Mr ... Mr ... News Tracker ... (noodl. 16803622) ....(size: 6.8Kb)
noodls
30 Nov 2012
Press Notice 2012/152. 29 November 2012. Energy and Climate Secretary Edward Davey today outlined new innovative plans to tackle deforestation as part of the UK's international climate change commitments ... Edward Davey made the announcement during a forestry summit at Clarence House, co-hosted by the Prince of Wales. He said. ... ICF Forestry programmes work in a broad range of countries, including Indonesia, Liberia and Ghana ... (noodl....(size: 7.1Kb)
Kansas City Star
30 Nov 2012
McCain and Rice. Recently, Sen. John McCain seems to be arguing against the possible appointment, by President Barack Obama, of Susan Rice to be secretary of state (11-28, A1, âSenators still critical after meeting with Riceâ) ... Sandy Salz. Overland Park. Light rail benefits in KC ... Light rail would make Kansas City a much safer place ... Chaz Trujillo. Kansas City. Tax and spend ... Leawood ... foreign aid payments to Egypt and Liberia immediately....(size: 8.5Kb)
Mining Weekly
30 Nov 2012
Mining Weekly has been made aware of the following flaws. ... are currently labelled ‘still under construction’ on the portal ... Since its launch in 2003, it has become the most widely used global mineral rights management system, with State users of the system including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Greenland, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia ... ....(size: 11.5Kb)
noodls
30 Nov 2012
Remarks by the Executive Director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet at the Second regular session of UN Women Executive Board. New York, 28 November 2012. [Check against delivery]. Good morning. Excellencies,. Distinguished delegates, ... Together we are making progress. From Haiti to Egypt, from Liberia to India to every country around the world, steps are being taken to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women ... Mr ... Mr ... Mr....(size: 31.6Kb)
noodls
29 Nov 2012
Monrovia, Liberia- The global burden of disasters and armed violence which affect over 200 million people and result in over 500,000 deaths each year will be the focus of a forum on conflict and fragility which opens in Liberia tomorrow ... President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia is a co-chair of the High-level Panel alongside Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia....(size: 5.3Kb)
Mining Weekly
29 Nov 2012
The proposed New Liberty mine is situated within the Bea Mountain Mineral Development Agreement (Bea-MDA) property in Grand Cape Mount county, 90 km north-west of the capital, Monrovia, in the north-west region of Liberia ... In August 1995, Kafco received government approval to sign its rights to the licence to Golden Limbo Rock Liberia, which consequently assigned the rights to Bea....(size: 5.8Kb)
More Than Me Foundation Competing For $1 Million In Chase American Giving Awards Prizes; Results ...
Yahoo Daily News29 Nov 2012
29, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More Than Me, an organization committed to empowering young girls at risk of sexual exploitation through education in Liberia, West Africa, is thrilled to announce its selection as a finalist in the Chase American Giving Awards contest ... In Liberia that just doesn't exist and before I'm an American, I am human."....(size: 3.0Kb)
This article is about the country in Africa. For the city, see Liberia, Costa Rica.
| Republic of Liberia | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||
| Motto: The love of liberty brought us here | ||||||
Anthem:
 "All Hail, Liberia, Hail!" |
||||||
 Location of Liberia within the African Union
|
||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Monrovia 6°19′N 10°48′W / 6.317°N 10.8°W / 6.317; -10.8 |
|||||
| Official language(s) | English | |||||
| Ethnic groups (2008) | Kpelle 20.3% Bassa 13.4% Grebo 10% Gio 8% Mano 7.9% Kru 6% Lorma 5.1% Kissi 4.8% Gola 4.4% other 20.1% |
|||||
| Demonym | Liberian | |||||
| Government | Unitary presidential constitutional republic | |||||
| - | President | Ellen Johnson Sirleaf | ||||
| - | Vice President | Joseph Boakai | ||||
| - | Speaker of the House | Alex J. Tyler | ||||
| - | Chief Justice | Johnnie Lewis | ||||
| Legislature | Legislature of Liberia | |||||
| - | Upper house | Senate | ||||
| - | Lower house | House of Representatives | ||||
| Establishment | ||||||
| - | Established by the American Colonization Society | 1822 | ||||
| - | Independence | 26 July 1847 | ||||
| - | Current constitution | 6 January 1986 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 111,369 km2 (103rd) 43,000 sq mi |
||||
| - | Water (%) | 13.514 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2011 estimate | 3,786,764[1] | ||||
| - | 2008 census | 3,476,608 (130th) | ||||
| - | Density | 35.5/km2 (180th) 92.0/sq mi |
||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $1.769 billion[2] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $456[2] | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $1.154 billion[2] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $297[2] | ||||
| HDI (2011) |  0.329 (low) (182nd) |
|||||
| Currency | Liberian dollar1 (LRD) |
|||||
| Time zone | GMT | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | not observed (UTC) | ||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
| ISO 3166 code | LR | |||||
| Internet TLD | .lr | |||||
| Calling code | 231 | |||||
| 1 United States dollar also legal tender. | ||||||
Liberia i/laɪˈbɪəriə/, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Ivory Coast on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open to a plateau of drier grasslands. The country possesses 40% of the remaining Upper Guinean rainforest. Liberia has a hot equatorial climate, with significant rainfall during the May to October rainy season and harsh harmattan winds the remainder of the year. Liberia covers an area of 111,369 km2 (43,000 sq mi) and is home to about 3.7 million people. English is the official language, while over 30 indigenous languages are spoken within the country.
Along with Ethiopia, Liberia is one of the two modern countries in Sub-Saharan Africa without roots in the European colonization of Africa. Beginning in 1820, the region was colonized by freed American slaves with the help of the American Colonization Society, a private organization that believed ex-slaves would have greater freedom and equality in Africa. Slaves freed from slave ships were also sent there instead of being repatriated to their countries of origin. In 1847, these colonists founded the Republic of Liberia, establishing a government modeled on that of the United States and naming the capital city Monrovia after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States and a prominent supporter of the colonization. The colonists, known as Americo-Liberians, led the political and economic sectors of the country.
The country began to modernize in the 1940s following investment by the United States during World War II and economic liberalization under President William Tubman. Liberia was a founding member of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity. A military coup overthrew the Americo-Liberian leadership in 1980, marking the beginning of political and economic instability and two successive civil wars that left approximately 250,000 people dead and devastated the country's economy. A 2003 peace deal led to democratic elections in 2005. Today, Liberia is recovering from the lingering effects of the civil war and related economic dislocation, with about 85% of the population living below the international poverty line.
Contents |
History[link]
Main article: History of Liberia
The Pepper Coast has been inhabited at least as far back as the 12th century, perhaps earlier. Mende-speaking people expanded westward from Sudan, forcing many smaller ethnic groups southward towards the Atlantic ocean. The Dei, Bassa, Kru, Gola and Kissi were some of the earliest recorded arrivals.[3] This influx was compounded by the decline of the Western Sudanic Mali Empire in 1375 and later in 1591 with the Songhai Empire. Additionally, inland regions underwent desertification, and inhabitants were pressured to move to the wetter coast. These new inhabitants brought skills such as cotton spinning, cloth weaving, iron smelting, rice and sorghum cultivation, and social and political institutions from the Mali and Songhai Empires.[4] Shortly after the Manes conquered the region, the Vai people of the former Mali Empire immigrated into the Grand Cape Mount region. The ethnic Kru opposed the influx of Vai, forming an alliance with the Manes to stop further influx of Vai.
People along the coast built canoes and traded with other West Africans from Cap-Vert to the Gold Coast. Between 1461 and late 17th century, Portuguese, Dutch and British traders had contacts and trading posts in the region. The Portuguese named the area Costa da Pimenta, meaning Pepper Coast but later translated as Grain Coast, because of the abundance of grains of melegueta pepper. European traders would barter various commodities and goods with local people. When the Kru began trading with Europeans, they initially traded in commodities, but later they actively participated in the African slave trade.
In 1820, the American Colonization Society (ACS) began sending black volunteers to the Pepper Coast to establish a colony for freed American slaves.[5] The ACS, a private organization supported by prominent American politicians such as Henry Clay and James Monroe, believed repatriation was preferable to emancipation of slaves.[6] Similar organizations established colonies in Mississippi-in-Africa and the Republic of Maryland, which were later annexed by Liberia. On July 26, 1847, the settlers issued a Declaration of Independence and promulgated a constitution, which created the independent Republic of Liberia.[7][8]
The leadership of the new nation consisted largely of the Americo-Liberians. The 1865 Ports of Entry Act prohibited foreign commerce with the inland tribes.[7] In 1877, the Americo-Liberian True Whig Party was the most powerful political power in the country.[9] Competition for office was usually contained within the party, whose nomination virtually ensured election.[9] Pressure from the United Kingdom and France led to a loss of Liberia's claims to extensive territories, which were annexed by adjoining countries.[10] Economic development was hindered by the decline of markets for Liberian goods in the late 19th century and by indebtedness on a series of international loans.[11] In Liberia's early years, the Americo-Liberian settlers periodically encountered stiff and sometimes violent opposition from indigenous Africans who were excluded from citizenship until 1904.[12]
In the mid-20th century, Liberia gradually began to modernize with American assistance. Both the Freeport of Monrovia and Roberts International Airport were built by U.S. personnel through the Lend-Lease program during World War II.[13] President William Tubman encouraged foreign investment in the country, resulting in the second-highest rate of economic growth in the world during the 1950s.[13] Liberia also began to take a more active role in international affairs. It was a founding member of the United Nations in 1945 and became a vocal critic of the South African apartheid regime.[14] Liberia also served as a proponent both of African independence from the European colonial powers and of Pan-Africanism, helping to found the Organization of African Unity.[15]
On April 12, 1980, a military coup led by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe of the Krahn ethnic group overthrew and killed President William R. Tolbert, Jr.. Doe and the other plotters later executed a majority of Tolbert's cabinet and other Americo-Liberian government officials and True Whig Party members.[16] The coup leaders formed the People's Redemption Council (PRC) to govern the country.[16] A strategic Cold War ally, Doe received significant financial backing from the United States while critics condemned the PRC for corruption and political repression.[16] After the country adopted a new constitution in 1985, Doe was elected president in subsequent elections that were internationally condemned as fraudulent.[16] On November 12, 1985, a failed counter-coup was launched by Thomas Quiwonkpa, whose soldiers briefly occupied the national radio station.[17] Government repression intensified in response, as Doe's troops executed members of the Gio and Mano ethnic groups in Nimba County.[17]
The National Patriotic Front of Liberia, a rebel group led by Charles Taylor, launched an insurrection in December 1989 against Doe's government with the backing of neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire, triggering the First Liberian Civil War.[18] By September 1990, Doe's forces controlled only a small area just outside the capital, and Doe was captured and executed that month by rebel forces.[19] The rebels soon split into various factions fighting one another, and the Economic Community Monitoring Group under the Economic Community of West African States organized a military task force to intervene in the crisis.[19] From 1989 to 1996 one of Africa's bloodiest civil wars ensued, claiming the lives of more than 200,000 Liberians and displacing a million others into refugee camps in neighboring countries.[12] A peace deal between warring parties was reached in 1995 leading to Taylor's election as president in 1997.[19]
Under Taylor's leadership, Liberia became internationally known as a pariah state due to his use of blood diamonds and illegal timber exports to fund the Revolutionary United Front in the Sierra Leone Civil War.[20] The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, a rebel group based in the northwest of the country, launched an armed insurrection against Taylor.[21] In March 2003, a second rebel group, Movement for Democracy in Liberia, began launching attacks against Taylor from the southeast.[21] Peace talks between the factions began in Accra in June of that year, and Taylor was indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for crimes against humanity that same month.[20] By July 2003, the rebels had launched an assault on Monrovia.[22] Under heavy pressure from the international community and the domestic Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace movement,[23] Taylor resigned in August and went into exile in Nigeria,[24] and a peace deal was signed later that month.[25] The United Nations Mission in Liberia began arriving in September 2003 to provide security and monitor the peace accord,[26] and an interim government took power the following October.[27]
The subsequent 2005 elections were internationally regarded as the most free and fair in Liberian history.[28] Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained economist and former Minister of Finance, was elected as the first female president in Africa.[28] Upon her inauguration, Sirleaf requested the extradition of Taylor from Nigeria and immediately handed him over to the SCSL for trial in The Hague.[29][30] In 2006, the government established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the causes and crimes of the civil war.[31]
Politics[link]
Main article: Politics of Liberia
The government of Liberia, modeled on the government of the United States, is a unitary constitutional republic and representative democracy as established by the Constitution. The government has three co-equal branches of government: executive, headed by the president; legislative, consisting of the bicameral Legislature of Liberia; and judicial, made up of the Supreme Court and several lower courts.
The president serves as head of government, head of state and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia.[1] Among the other duties of the president are to sign or veto legislative bills, grant pardons, and appoint Cabinet members, judges and other public officials. Together with the vice president, the president is elected to a six-year term by majority vote in a two-round system and can serve up to two terms in office.[1]
The Legislature is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House, led by a speaker, has 73 members apportioned among the 15 counties on the basis of the national census, with each county receiving a minimum of two members.[1] Each House member represents an electoral district within a county as drawn by the National Elections Commission and is elected by a plurality of the popular vote of their district in to a six-year term. The Senate is made up of two senators from each county for a total of 30 senators.[1] Senators serve nine-year terms and are elected at-large by a plurality of the popular vote .[1] The vice president serves as the President of the Senate, with a President pro tempore serving in his absence.
Liberia's highest judicial authority is the Supreme Court, made up of five members and headed by the Chief Justice of Liberia. Members are nominated to the court by the president and are confirmed by the Senate, serving until the age of 70. The judiciary is further divided into circuit and speciality courts, magistrate courts and justices of the peace.[32] The judicial system follows the Anglo-American common law.[33] An informal system of traditional courts still exists within the rural areas of the country, with trial by ordeal remaining common despite being officially outlawed.[32]
Between 1877 and 1980, the government was dominated by the True Whig Party.[9] Today, over 20 political parties are registered in the country, based largely around personalities and ethnic groups.[28] Most parties suffer from poor organizational capacity.[28] The 2005 elections marked the first time that the president's party did not gain a majority of seats in the Legislature.[28]
Liberia scored a 3.3 on a scale from 10 (highly clean) to 0 (highly corrupt) on the 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 87th of 178 countries worldwide and 11th of 47 in Sub-Saharan Africa.[34] This score represented a significant improvement since 2007, when the country scored 2.1 and ranked 150th of 180 countries.[35] When seeking attention of a selection of service providers 89% of Liberians had to pay a bribe, the highest national percentage in the world according to the organization's 2010 Global Corruption Barometer.[36]
Counties and districts[link]
Liberia is divided into 15 counties, which are subdivided into districts, and further subdivided into clans. The oldest counties are Grand Bassa and Montserrado, both founded in 1839 prior to Liberian independence. Gbarpolu is the newest county, created in 2001. Nimba is the largest of the counties in size at 4,460 square miles (11,551 km2), while Montserrado is the smallest at 737 square miles (1,909 km2).[37] Montserrado is also the most populous county with 1,144,806 residents as of the 2008 census.[37]
The fifteen counties are administered by superintendents appointed by the president. The Constitution calls for the election of mayors and various chiefs at the county and local level, but these elections have not taken place since 1985 due to war and financial constraints.[38] In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing the president to appoint mayors until the country could afford to hold municipal elections.[38]
| map# | County | Capital | Population (2008)[37] | Area[37] | Created |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bomi | Tubmanburg | 82,036 | 750 sq mi (1,942 km2) | 1984 |
| 2 | Bong | Gbarnga | 328,919 | 3,387 sq mi (8,772 km2) | 1964 |
| 3 | Gbarpolu | Bopulu | 83,758 | 3,741 sq mi (9,689 km2) | 2001 |
| 4 | Grand Bassa | Buchanan | 224,839 | 3,064 sq mi (7,936 km2) | 1839 |
| 5 | Grand Cape Mount | Robertsport | 129,055 | 1,993 sq mi (5,162 km2) | 1844 |
| 6 | Grand Gedeh | Zwedru | 126,146 | 4,048 sq mi (10,484 km2) | 1964 |
| 7 | Grand Kru | Barclayville | 57,106 | 1,504 sq mi (3,895 km2) | 1984 |
| 8 | Lofa | Voinjama | 270,114 | 3,854 sq mi (9,982 km2) | 1964 |
| 9 | Margibi | Kakata | 199,689 | 1,010 sq mi (2,616 km2) | 1985 |
| 10 | Maryland | Harper | 136,404 | 887 sq mi (2,297 km2) | 1857 |
| 11 | Montserrado | Bensonville | 1,144,806 | 737 sq mi (1,909 km2) | 1839 |
| 12 | Nimba | Sanniquellie | 468,088 | 4,460 sq mi (11,551 km2) | 1964 |
| 13 | Rivercess | Rivercess | 65,862 | 2,160 sq mi (5,594 km2) | 1985 |
| 14 | River Gee | Fish Town | 67,318 | 1,974 sq mi (5,113 km2) | 2000 |
| 15 | Sinoe | Greenville | 104,932 | 3,914 sq mi (10,137 km2) | 1843 |
Geography[link]
Main article: Geography of Liberia
Liberia is situated in West Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean to the country's southwest. It lies between latitudes 4° and 9°N, and longitudes 7° and 12°W.
The landscape is characterized by mostly flat to rolling coastal plains that contain mangroves and swamps, which rise to a rolling plateau and low mountains in the northeast.[39] Tropical rainforests cover the hills, while elephant grass and semi-deciduous forests make up the dominant vegetation in the northern sections.[39] The equatorial climate is hot year-round with heavy rainfall from May to October with a short interlude in mid-July to August.[39] During the winter months of November to March, dry dust-laden harmattan winds blow inland, causing many problems for residents.[39]
Liberia's watershed tends to move in a southwestern pattern towards the sea as new rains move down the forested plateau off the inland mountain range of Guinée Forestière, in Guinea. Cape Mount near the border with Sierra Leone receives the most precipitation in the nation.[39] The country's main northwestern boundary is traversed by the Mano River while its southeast limits are bounded by the Cavalla River.[39] Liberia's three largest rivers are St. Paul exiting near Monrovia, the river St. John at Buchanan and the Cestos River, all of which flow into the Atlantic. The Cavalla is the longest river in the nation at 320 miles (515 km).[39]
The highest point wholly within Liberia is Mount Wuteve at 4,724 feet (1,440 m) above sea level in the northwestern Liberia range of the West Africa Mountains and the Guinea Highlands.[39] However, Mount Nimba near Yekepa, is higher at 5,748 feet (1,752 m) above sea level but is not wholly within Liberia as Nimba shares a border with Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and is their tallest mountain as well.[40]
Economy[link]
Main article: Economy of Liberia
Liberia is one of the world's poorest countries, with a formal employment rate of only 15%.[32] GDP per capita peaked in 1980 at US$496, when it was comparable to Egypt's.[41] In 2010, the country's nominal GDP was US$974 million, while nominal GDP per capita stood at US$226, the third-lowest in the world.[2] Historically, the Liberian economy has depended heavily on foreign aid, foreign direct investment and exports of natural resources such as iron ore, rubber and timber.[39]
Following a peak in growth in 1979, the Liberian economy began a steady decline due to economic mismanagement following the 1980 coup.[42] This decline was accelerated by the outbreak of civil war in 1989; GDP was reduced by an estimated 90% between 1989 and 1995, one of the fastest declines in history.[42] Upon the end of the war in 2003, GDP growth began to accelerate, reaching 9.4% in 2007.[43] The global financial crisis slowed GDP growth to 4.6% in 2009,[43] though a strengthening agricultural sector led by rubber and timber exports increased growth to 5.1% in 2010 and an expected 7.3% in 2011, making the economy one of the 20 fastest growing in the world.[44][45] Current impediments to growth include a small domestic market, lack of adequate infrastructure, high transportation costs, poor trade links with neighboring countries and the high dollarization of the economy.[44] Liberia used the United States dollar as its currency from 1943 until 1982 and continues to use the U.S. dollar alongside the Liberian dollar.[46] Following a decrease in inflation beginning in 2003, inflation spiked in 2008 as a result of worldwide food and energy crises,[47] reaching 17.5% before declining to 7.4% in 2009.[43] Liberia's external debt was estimated in 2006 at approximately $4.5 billion, 800% of GDP.[42] As a result of bilateral, multilateral and commercial debt relief from 2007–2010, the country's external debt fell to $222.9 million by 2011.[48]
While official commodity exports declined during the 1990s as many investors fled the civil war, Liberia's wartime economy featured the exploitation of the region's diamond wealth.[49] The country acted as a major trader in Sierra Leonian blood diamonds, exporting over US$300 million in diamonds in 1999.[50] This led to a United Nations ban on Liberian diamond exports in 2001, which was lifted in 2007 following Liberia's accession to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.[51] In 2003, additional UN sanctions were placed on Liberian timber exports, which had risen from US$5 million in 1997 to over US$100 million in 2002 and were believed to be funding rebels in Sierra Leone.[52][53] These sanctions were lifted in 2006.[54] Due in large part to foreign aid and investment inflow following the end of the war, Liberia maintains a large account deficit, which peaked at nearly 60% in 2008.[44] Liberia gained observer status with the World Trade Organization in 2010 and is in the process of acquiring full member status.[55]
Liberia has the highest ratio of foreign direct investment to GDP in the world, with US$16 billion in investment since 2006.[45] Following the inauguration of the Sirleaf administration in 2006, the country signed several multi-billion dollar concession agreements in the iron ore and palm oil industries with numerous multinational corporations, including BHP Billiton, ArcelorMittal, and Sime Darby.[56] The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company has operated the world's largest rubber plantation in Liberia since 1926.[57] Liberia has also begun exploration for offshore oil; unproven oil reserves may be in excess of one billion barrels.[58] The government divided its offshore waters into 17 blocks and began auctioning off exploration licenses for the blocks in 2004, with further auctions in 2007 and 2009.[59][60][61] An additional 13 ultra-deep offshore blocks were demarcated in 2011 and planned for auction.[62] Among the companies to have won licenses are Repsol, Chevron, Anadarko and Woodside Petroleum.[63]
Due to its status as a flag of convenience, the country has the second-largest maritime registry in the world behind Panama, with 3,500 vessels registered under its flag accounting for 11% of ships worldwide.[64][65]
Infrastructure[link]
Further information: Communications in Liberia and Transport in Liberia
![[icon]](http://web.archive.org./web/20121201020906/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} |
This section requires expansion. |
Demographics[link]
Main articles: Demographics of Liberia and Languages of Liberia
As of the 2008 national census, Liberia was home to 3,476,608 people.[66] Of those, 1,118,241 lived in Montserrado County, the most populous county in the country and home to the capital of Monrovia, with the Greater Monrovia district home to 970,824 people.[66] Nimba County is the next most populous county with 462,026 residents.[66] As revealed in the 2008 census, Monrovia is more than four times more populous than all the county headquarters combined.[37] Prior to the 2008 census, the last census had been held in 1984 and listed the country's population as 2,101,628.[66] The population of Liberia was 1,016,443 in 1962 and increased to 1,503,368 in 1974.[37] As of 2006, Liberia has the highest population growth rate in the world (4.50% per annum). Similar to its neighbors, it has a large youth population, with half of the population under the age of 18.
The population includes 16 indigenous ethnic groups and various foreign minorities. Indigenous peoples comprise about 95% of the population, the largest of which are the Kpelle in central and western Liberia. Americo-Liberians, who are descendants of African-American settlers, make up 2.5%, and Congo people, descendants of repatriated Congo and Afro-Caribbean slaves who arrived in 1825, make up an estimated 2.5%.[1][67] There is also a sizable number of Lebanese, Indians, and other West African nationals who make up a significant part of Liberia's business community. A small minority of Liberians of European descent reside in the country.[1] The Liberian constitution restricts citizenship to only people of black African descent.[68]
31 indigenous languages are spoken within Liberia, none of which are a first language to more than a small percentage of the population.[69] English is the official language and serves as the lingua franca of the country.[70] Liberians speak a variety of dialects collectively known as Liberian English.[70]
Largest cities[link]
|
Largest cities or towns of Liberia GeoNames |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | City name | County | Pop.
|
||||||
| 1 | Monrovia | Montserrado | 939 524 | ||||||
| 2 | Gbarnga | Bong | 45 835 | ||||||
| 3 | Kakata | Margibi | 33 945 | ||||||
| 4 | Bensonville | Montserrado | 33 188 | ||||||
| 5 | Harper | Maryland | 32 661 | ||||||
| 6 | Voinjama | Lofa | 26 594 | ||||||
| 7 | Buchanan | Grand Bassa | 25 731 | ||||||
| 8 | Zwedru | Grand Gedeh | 25 678 | ||||||
| 9 | New Yekepa | Nimba | 24 695 | ||||||
| 10 | Greenville | Sinoe | 16 434 | ||||||
Education[link]
Main article: Education in Liberia
In 2009, the literacy rate of Liberia was estimated at 59.1% (63.7% for males and 54.5% for females).[71] Primary and secondary education is free and compulsory from the ages of 6-16, though enforcement of attendance is lax.[72] On average, children attain 10 years of education (11 for boys and 8 for girls).[1] The country's education sector is hampered by inadequate schools and supplies, as well as a lack of qualified teachers.[73]
Higher education is provided by a number of public and private universities. The University of Liberia is the country's largest and oldest university. Located in Monrovia, the university opened in 1862 and today has six colleges, including a medical school and the nation's only law school, Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law.[74] In 2009, Tubman University in Harper, Maryland County became the second public university in Liberia.[75] Cuttington University, established by the Episcopal Church of the USA in 1889 in Suakoko, Bong County, is the nation's oldest private university. Since 2006, the government has also opened community colleges in Buchanan, Sanniquellie, and Voinjama.[76][77][78]
Religion[link]
Main article: Religion in Liberia
| Religion in Liberia[79] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Religion | percent | |||
| Christianity |
|
85.5% | ||
| Islam |
|
12.2% | ||
| Unaffiliated |
|
1.5% | ||
| Indigenous |
|
.5% | ||
| Other |
|
.1% | ||
According to the 2008 National Census, 85.5% of the population practices Christianity. Muslims comprise 12.2% of the population, largely coming from the Mandingo and Vai ethnic groups. Traditional indigenous religions are practiced by .5% of the population, while 1.5% subscribe to no religion. A small number of people are Bahá'í, Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist. Concurrent participation in indigenous religious secret societies such as Poro and Sande is common, with some Sande societies practicing female genital mutilation.[79]
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right.[79] While separation of church and state is also mandated by the Constitution, Liberia is considered a de facto Christian state.[28] Public schools offer biblical studies, though parents may opt out their children. Commerce is prohibited by law on Sundays and major Christian holidays. The government does not require businesses or schools to excuse Muslims for Friday prayers.[79]
Health[link]
Life expectancy in Liberia is estimated to be 57.4 years in 2012.[80] With a fertility rate of 5.9 births per woman, the maternal mortality rate stood at 990 per 100,000 births in 2010.[81] A number of highly communicable diseases are widespread, including tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases and malaria. In 2007, HIV infection rates stood at 2% of the population aged 15–49 [82] whereas the incidence of tuberculosis was 420 per 100,000 people in 2008.[83] Liberia imports 90% of its rice, a staple food, and is extremely vulnerable to food shortages.[84] In 2007, 20.4% of children under the age of 5 were malnourished.[85] In 2008, only 17% of the population had access to adequate sanitation facilities.[86]
Civil war strife ended in 2003 after destroying approximately 95% of the country's healthcare facilities.[87] In 2009, government expenditure on health care per capita was US$22,[88] accounting for 10.6% of total GDP.[89] In 2008, Liberia had only 1 doctor and 27 nurses per 100,000 people.[83]
Culture[link]
Main article: Culture of Liberia
The religious practices, social customs and cultural standards of the Americo-Liberians had their roots in the antebellum American South. The settlers wore top hat and tails and modeled their homes on those of Southern slaveowners.[90] Most Americo-Liberian men were members of the Masonic Order of Liberia, which became heavily involved in the nation's politics.[91]
Liberia has a long, rich history in textile arts and quilting, as the settlers brought with them their sewing and quilting skills. Liberia hosted National Fairs in 1857 and 1858 in which prizes were awarded for various needle arts. One of the most well-known Liberian quilters was Martha Ann Ricks,[92] who presented a quilt featuring the famed Liberian coffee tree to Queen Victoria in 1892. When President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf moved into the Executive Mansion, she reportedly had a Liberian-made quilt installed in her presidential office.[93]
A rich literary tradition has existed in Liberia for over a century. Edward Wilmot Blyden, Bai T. Moore, Roland T. Dempster and Wilton G. S. Sankawulo are among Liberia's more prominent authors.[94] Moore's novella Murder in the Cassava Patch is considered Liberia's most celebrated novel.[95]
Liberian cuisine heavily incorporates rice, the country's staple food. Other ingredients include cassava, fish, bananas, citrus fruit, plantains, coconut, okra and sweet potatoes.[96] Heavy stews spiced with habanero and scotch bonnet chillies are popular and eaten with fufu.[97] Liberia also has a tradition of baking imported from the United States that is unique in West Africa.[98]
Measurement system[link]
Liberia is one of only three countries, along with the United States and Burma, that does not officially use the International System of Units.[99] The Liberian government has begun transitioning away from use of imperial units to the metric system.[100] However, this change has been gradual, with government reports concurrently using both imperial and metric units.[101][102] A 2008 report from the University of Tennessee stated that the changeover from imperial to metric measures was confusing to coffee and cocoa farmers.[100]
See also[link]
References[link]
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- ^ Runn-Marcos, K. T. Kolleholon, B. Ngovo, p. 5
- ^ Runn-Marcos, K. T. Kolleholon, B. Ngovo, p. 6
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- ^ "Ellen Describes Tubman University's Opening As PRS Success". The New Dawn. March 3, 2010. http://www.thenewdawnliberia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=340:ellen-describes-tubman-universitys-opening-as-prs-success&catid=3:general&Itemid=68. Retrieved July 22, 2010.
- ^ "Remarks by H.E. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf At Official Launch and Fundraising Program Of the Grand Bassa Community College". The Executive Mansion. October 21, 2010. http://www.emansion.gov.lr/doc/20101023President_Remarks_GBCC_Launch_Ground_Breaking.pdf. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
- ^ Fahn, Peter A. (July 7, 2011). "Government Moves Ahead With Education Decentralization Plans". Government Moves Ahead with Education Decentralization Plans. http://www.micat.gov.lr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=156:government-moves-ahead-with-education-decentralization-plans&catid=47:new-liberia&Itemid=91. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ^ "July 26 Celebrations Kick Off in Lofa As President Sirleaf Arrives". The Executive Mansion. July 25, 2011. http://www.emansion.gov.lr/press.php?news_id=1951. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
- ^ a b c d "International Religious Freedom Report 2010: Liberia". United States Department of State. November 17, 2010. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148698.htm. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
- ^ CIA World Factbook: Life Expectancy ranks | work=CIA | date= | accessdate=April 26, 2012}}
- ^ "The State of the World's Midwifery 2011: Liberia". United Nations Population Fund. http://www.unfpa.org/sowmy/resources/docs/country_info/profile/en_Liberia_SoWMy_Profile.pdf. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
- ^ "Data: Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15-49).". The World Bank. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DYN.AIDS.ZS/countries. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
- ^ a b "Liberia: Health profile". World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/gho/countries/lbr.pdf. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
- ^ "Liberia: Nurtitional "crisis" in Monrovia". Integrated Regional Information Networks. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. http://www.irinnews.org/IndepthMain.aspx?InDepthID=72&ReportID=77811. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
- ^ "Data: Malnutrition prevalence, weight for age (% of children under 5). The". World Bank. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.MALN.ZS/countries. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
- ^ "Data: Improved sanitation facilities (% of population with access)". The World Bank. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.ACSN/countries. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
- ^ "Liberia: Breathing Life into ailing healthcare system". Integrated Regional Information Networks. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=60788. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
- ^ "Data: Health expenditure per capita (current US$)". World Bank. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.PCAP/countries. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
- ^ "Data: Health expenditure, total (% of GDP)". World Bank. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.TOTL.ZS/countries. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
- ^ Wiltz, Teresa (December 2, 2010). "Liberia: War-Weary, With Echoes of Old Dixie". The Root. http://www.theroot.com/views/liberia-war-weary-echoes-old-dixie. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ "Monrovia - Masonic Grand Lodge". Global Security. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/liberia/monrovia-mason.htm. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ "Martha Ricks". National Portrait Gallery. http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?LinkID=mp63618&rNo=0&role=sit. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ^ "Liberia: It's the Little Things - A Reflection on Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's Journey to the Presidency". allAfrica.com. http://allafrica.com/stories/200603240593.html?page=2. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
- ^ Kamara, Varney (July 20, 2010). "Liberia: "Literature Must Be Given Priority"". The Analyst (allAfrica.com). http://allafrica.com/stories/201007200709.html. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ Doe, J. Kpanneh (October 31, 2000). "Baa Salaka: Sacrificial Lamb - A Book Review & Commentary". The Perspective. http://www.theperspective.org/bookreview.html. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ "Celtnet Liberian Recipes and Cookery". Celtnet Recipes. http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/liberia.php. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ "Liberia". http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-to-South-Africa/Liberia.html. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ "The Baking Recipes of Liberia". Africa Aid. http://gwydion.weebly.com/liberian-baking.html. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ "CIA The World Factbook". Appendix G: Weights and Measures. US Central Intelligence Agency. 2010. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/appendix/appendix-g.html. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
- ^ a b Dr. Michael D. Wilcox, Jr. Department of Agricultural Economics University of Tennessee (2008). "Reforming Cocoa and Coffee Marketing in Liberia". Presentation and Policy Brief. University of Tennessee. http://trend.ag.utk.edu/international/ReformingCocoaCoffeeMarketingLiberia.pdf. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
- ^ Government of Liberia (2008). "County Development Agendas". Government of the Republic of Liberia. http://www.emansion.gov.lr/content.php?sub=County%20Development%20Agendas&related=CDAs. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ Eugene H. Shannon (31 December 2009). "Annual report". Annual report. Liberian Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy. http://www.molme.gov.lr/doc/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Annual%20Report%20Jan%201%20-%20Dec%2031%202009.pdf. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- Bibliography
- Gilbert, Erik & Reynolds, Jonathan T (October 2003). Africa in World History, From Prehistory to the Present (Paperback ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-092907-5.
- Merriam Webster's Geographical Dictionary: 3rd Edition (Paperback ed.). Merriam Webster Inc., Springfield. 1997. ISBN 0-87779-546-0.
- Dunn-Marcos, Robin; Kollehlon, Konia T.; Ngovo, Bernard; Russ, Emily (April 2005). Ranar, Donald A.. ed. "Liberians: An Introduction to their History and Culture" (pdf). Culture Profile (Center for Applied Linguistics) (19). http://www.cal.org/co/liberians/liberian_050406_1.pdf. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- Tim Hetherington (2009). Long Story Bit By Bit: Liberia Retold. New York: Umbrage. ISBN 978-1-884167-73-7.
- Graham Greene (1936). Journey Without Maps. Vintage. ISBN 978-0-09-928223-5.
- Gabriel I. H. Williams (July 6, 2006). Liberia: The Heart of Darkness. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 1-55369-294-2.
- Alan Huffman (2004). Mississippi in Africa: The Saga of the Slaves of Prospect Hill Plantation and Their Legacy in Liberia Today. Gotham Books. ISBN 978-1-59240-044-7.
- John-Peter Pham (April 4, 2001). Liberia: Portrait of a Failed State. Reed Press. ISBN 1-59429-012-1.
- Barbara Greene (March 5, 1991). Too Late to Turn Back. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-009594-2.
- Further reading
- Great Tales of Liberia by Wilton Sankawulo. Dr. Sankawulo is the compiler of these tales from Liberia and about Liberian culture. Published by Editura Universitatii "Lucian Blaga";; din Sibiu, Romania, 2004. - ISBN 973-651-838-8
- Sundown at Dawn: A Liberian Odyssey by Wilton Sankawulo. Recommended by the Cultural Resource Center, Center for Applied Linguistics for its content concerning Liberian culture. ISBN 0-9763565-0-3
- To Liberia: Destiny's Timing, by Victoria Lang (Publish America, Baltimore, 2004, ISBN 1-4137-1829-9). A fast-paced gripping novel of the journey of a young Black couple fleeing America to settle in the African motherland of Liberia.
- Godfrey Mwakikagile, Military Coups in West Africa Since The Sixties, Chapter Eight: Liberia: 'The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here,' pp. 85 – 110, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., Huntington, New York, 2001; Godfrey Mwakikagile, The Modern African State: Quest for Transformation, Chapter One: The Collapse of A Modern African State: Death and Rebirth of Liberia, pp. 1 – 18, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2001.
- Redemption Road: The Quest for Peace and Justice in Liberia (A Novel) by Elma Shaw, with a Foreword by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. (Cotton Tree Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-9800774-0-7)
- House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood by Helene Cooper (Simon & Schuster, 2008, ISBN 0-7432-6624-2)
External links[link]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Liberia |
- Executive Mansion Official site of the President of the Republic of Liberia
- Legislature Official site of the Legislature of Liberia
- Judiciary Official site of the Supreme Court of Liberia
- Chief of State and Cabinet Members
- Ministry of Public Works
- Liberia entry at The World Factbook
- 2008 census
- Liberia from UCB Libraries GovPubs
- Liberia at the Open Directory Project
- "Liberia Maps", Perry-Castañeda Library, The University of Texas at Austin
- Wikimedia Atlas of Liberia
- Liberia travel guide from Wikitravel
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| First Liberian Civil War | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Liberian Civil War | ||||||||
|
||||||||
| Belligerents | ||||||||
 Armed Forces of Liberia ULIMOECOWAS |
National Patriotic Front of Liberia | Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
| Samuel Doe† |
Charles Taylor | Prince Yormie Johnson | ||||||
| Total killed: 100,000–220,000[1][2] | ||||||||
The First Liberian Civil War was an internal conflict in Liberia running from 1989 until 1996. The conflict killed over 200,000 people and eventually led to the involvement of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and of the United Nations. The peace did not last long, and in 1999 the Second Liberian Civil War broke out.
Samuel Doe had led a coup d'état that overthrew the elected government in 1980, and in 1985 held elections that were widely considered fraudulent. There had been one unsuccessful coup by a former military leader. In December 1989, former government minister Charles Taylor moved into the country from neighboring Ivory Coast to start an uprising meant to topple the Doe government. During the civil war, factions formed around Taylor and those who supported his former soldier with the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, Prince Johnson. Johnson took the capital Monrovia in 1990 and executed Doe, while Taylor's forces, the Armed Forces of Liberia, and Johnson's forces battled for control of Monrovia.
Peace negotiations and foreign involvement led to a ceasefire in 1995 that was broken the next year before a final peace agreement and new national elections were held in 1997. Taylor was elected President of Liberia in July 1997.
Contents |
Background[link]
Samuel Doe had taken power in a popular coup in 1980 against William R. Tolbert, becoming the first Liberian President of non Americo-Liberian descent. Doe established a military regime called the People's Redemption Council and enjoyed early support from a large number of indigenous Liberian tribes who had been excluded from power since the founding of the country in 1847 by freed American slaves. Any hope that Doe would improve the way Liberia was run was put aside as he quickly clamped down on opposition, fueled by his paranoia of a counter-coup attempt against him. Doe promised a return to civilian rule, but the 1985 election that saw a narrow victory for Doe was widely condemned as fraudulent by international monitors. Thomas Quiwonkpa, the former Commanding General of the Armed Forces of Liberia who Doe had demoted and forced to flee the country, attempted to overthrow Doe's regime from neighboring Sierra Leone. The coup-attempt failed though and Quiwonkpa was killed. Large scale crackdowns followed in Nimba County in the north of the country against the Gio and Mano tribes where the majority of the coup plotters came from. The mistreatment of the Gio and Mano tribes fueled ethnic tensions in Liberia, which had already been rising due to Doe's preferential treatment of his own group, the Krahn.
Charles Taylor, who had left Doe's government after being accused of embezzlement, assembled a group of rebels in Côte d'Ivoire (mostly ethnic Gios and Manos who felt persecuted by Doe) who later became known as the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). They invaded Nimba County on 24 December 1989. The Liberian Army retaliated against the whole population of the region, attacking unarmed civilians and burning villages. Many left as refugees for Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire, but opposition to Doe was inflamed. Prince Johnson, an NPFL fighter, split to form his own guerrilla force soon after crossing the border, based on the Gio tribe and named Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL).
Overview[link]
By the middle of 1990, a civil war was raging. Taylor's NPFL soon controlled much of the country, while Johnson began advancing into the capital, Monrovia. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) attempted to persuade Doe to resign and go into exile, but despite his weak position – besieged in his mansion – he refused. While making a brief trip out of the Executive Mansion to ECOMOG Headquarters, Doe was captured by Johnson on September 9, 1990, and tortured before being killed. The spectacle was videotaped and seen on news reports around the world.[3]
Peace was still far off as both Taylor and Johnson claimed power. ECOMOG declared an Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU) with Amos Sawyer as their president, with the broad support of Johnson. Taylor attacked Monrovia in 1992, but ECOMOG reinforced the city and negotiated the Cotonou Agreement, a treaty between the NPFL, IGNU and Doe’s remaining supporters (known as the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy or ULIMO). A coalition government was formed in August 1993.
In September 1994, the Akosombo Agreement attempted to replace the coalition with moves towards a democratic government, but IGNU rejected this. The Abuja Accord of August 1995 finally achieved this, but in April 1996 the NPFL and ULIMO again began fighting in Monrovia, leading to the evacuation of most international Non-governmental organizations and the destruction of much of the city.
Peace agreements signed included the:[4]
- Banjul III Agreement (1990-10-24)
- Bamako Ceasefire Agreement (1990-11-28)
- Banjul IV Agreement (1990-12-21)
- Lomé Agreement (1991-02-13)
- Yamoussoukro IV Peace Agreement (1991-10-30)
- Geneva Agreement 1992 (1992-04-07)
- Cotonou Peace Agreement (1993-07-25)
- Akosombo Peace Agreement (1994-09-12)
- Accra Agreements/Akosombo clarification agreement (1994-12-21)
- Abuja Peace Agreement (1995-08-19)
Chronology[link]
Rebels trained in the Ivory Coast[link]
Charles Taylor organized and trained some indigenous northerners in Cote d'Ivoire. During Doe's regime Taylor had served in the Liberian Government's General Services Agency, acting 'as its de facto director'.[5] However, he fled to the United States in 1983 amid what Stephan Ellis describes as the 'increasingly menacing atmosphere in Monrovia' shortly before Thomas Quiwonkpa, Doe's chief lieutenant, fled into exile himself. Doe requested Taylor's extradition for embezzling $900,000 of Liberian government funds. Taylor was thus arrested in the United States and after sixteen months broke out of a Massachusetts jail in circumstances that are still unclear.
Initial invasion[link]
On December 24, 1989, Charles Taylor and a small group of Libyan-trained rebels calling themselves the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) entered Nimba County from neighboring Côte d'Ivoire, attacking the village of Butuo. The raid, mounted by a small group of men, managed to capture some weapons, and then the raiders withdrew to the jungle.[6]
The NPFL initially encountered plenty of support within Nimba County, which had endured the majority of Samuel Doe’s wrath after the 1985 attempted coup. When Taylor and his force of 100 rebels reentered Liberia in 1989, on Christmas Eve, thousands of Gio and Mano joined them. While these formed the core of his rebel army, there were many Liberians of other ethnic backgrounds who joined as well.
Doe responded by sending two AFL battalions, including the 1st Infantry Battalion,[7] to Nimba in December 1989-January 1990,[8] apparently under then-Colonel Hezekiah Bowen.[9] The AFL acted in a very brutal and scorched-earth fashion which quickly alienated the local people.
Tribal affiliations played a key role in the split between the Krahn, to which Doe and most of his adherents belonged, and the Gio and Mano people, who formed the bulk of the rebel forces. The rebel invasion soon pitted ethnic Krahn sympathetic to the Doe regime against those victimized by it, the Gio and the Mano. Thousands of civilians were massacred on both sides. Hundreds of thousands fled their homes.
By May 1990 the AFL had been forced back to Gbarnga, still under the control of Bowen's troops, but they lost the town to a NPFL assault on 28 May.[10] By June 1990, Taylor's forces were laying siege to Monrovia. In July 1990, Prince Yormie Johnson split from Taylor and formed the Independent National Patriotic Front (INPFL). The INPFL and NPFL continued their siege on Monrovia, which the AFL defended. Johnson quickly took control of parts of Monrovia prompting evacuation of foreign nationals and diplomats by the US Navy in August.
ECOMOG[link]
In August 1990, the 16-member ECOWAS agreed to deploy a joint military intervention force, the Economic Community Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), and place it under Nigerian leadership. The mission later included troops from non-ECOWAS countries, including Uganda and Tanzania. ECOMOG’s objectives were to impose a cease-fire; help Liberians establish an interim government until elections could be held; stop the killing of innocent civilians; and ensure the safe evacuation of foreign nationals. ECOMOG also sought to prevent the conflict from spreading into neighboring states, which share a complex history of state, economic, and ethno-linguistic social relations with Liberia.
Capture, torture and execution of Doe[link]
On 9 September 1990, Doe visited the barely established, newly arrived ECOMOG headquarters in the Free Port of Monrovia. Stephen Ellis says,[11] his motive was to lay a complaint that the ECOMOG commander had not paid a courtesy call to Doe, the Head of State, however, the exact circumstances that led to Doe’s visit to the Free Port are still unclear. Doe had been under pressure to accept exile outside of Liberia. However, after Doe arrived, a large rebel force led by Prince Johnson’s INPFL arrived at the headquarters and then attacked Doe's party. Doe was captured and taken to the INPFL’s Caldwell base. He was tortured, and then killed, and his torture and execution was videotaped by his captors.
Struggle for control of Monrovia[link]
Johnson’s INPFL and Taylor’s NPFL continued to struggle for control of Monrovia in the months that followed. With military discipline absent and bloodshed throughout the capital region, members of ECOWAS created the Economic Community Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) to restore order. The force comprised some 4,000 troops from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, the Gambia and Guinea. ECOMOG succeeded in bringing Taylor and Johnson to agree to its intervention, but Taylor's forces engaged it in the port area of Monrovia.
Interim Government of National Unity[link]
In November 1990, ECOWAS invited the principal Liberian players to meet in Banjul, Gambia to form a government of national unity. The negotiated settlement established the Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU), led by Dr. Amos Sawyer, leader of the LPP. Bishop Ronald Diggs of the Liberian Council of Churches became vice president. However, Taylor's NPFL refused to attend the conference.
Within days, hostilities resumed. ECOMOG was reinforced in order to protect the interim government. Sawyer was able to establish his authority over most of Monrovia, but the rest of Liberia was in the hands of various factions of the NPFL or of local gangs.
ULIMO[link]
The United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) was formed in June 1991 by supporters of the late President Samuel Doe and former Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) fighters who had taken refuge in Guinea and Sierra Leone. It was led by Raleigh Seekie, a deputy Minister of Finance in the Doe government.
After fighting alongside the Sierra Leonean army against the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), ULIMO forces entered western Liberia in September 1991. The group scored significant gains in areas held by another rebel group – the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), notably around the diamond mining areas of Lofa and Bomi counties.
From its outset, ULIMO was beset with internal divisions and the group effectively broke into two separate militias in 1994: ULIMO-J, an ethnic Krahn faction led by General Roosevelt Johnson and ULIMO-K, a Mandingo-based faction led by Alhaji G.V. Kromah.
The group was alleged to have committed serious violations of human rights, both before and after its breakup.
UNOMIL[link]
Main article: UNOMIL
In 1993, ECOWAS brokered a peace agreement in Cotonou, Benin. Following this, on September 22, 1993, the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council established the UN Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL), to support ECOMOG in implementing this Cotonou peace agreement. UNOMIL in early 1994 deployed 368 military observers and associated civilian personnel to monitor implementation of the abortive Cotonou Peace Agreement, prior to elections originally planned for February/March 1994. Renewed armed hostilities, however, broke out in May 1994 and continued, becoming especially intense in July and August. ECOMOG, and later UNOMIL, members were captured and held hostage by some factions. By mid-1994, the humanitarian situation had become disastrous, with 1.8 million Liberians in need of humanitarian assistance. Conditions continued to deteriorate, but humanitarian agencies were unable to reach many in need due to hostilities and general insecurity. Factional leaders agreed in September 1994 to the Akosombo Agreement, a supplement to the Cotonou agreement, named after the Ghanaian town where it was signed, but the security situation in Liberia remained poor. In October 1994, in the face of ECOMOG funding shortfalls and a lack of will by the Liberian combatants to honor agreements to end the war, the Security Council reduced to about 90 the number of UNOMIL observers. It extended UNOMIL’s mandate, however, and subsequently extended it several times until September 1997. In December 1994, the factions and other parties signed the Accra Agreement, a supplement to the Akosombo Agreement, but disagreements ensued and fighting continued.
Ceasefire[link]
In August 1995, the main factions signed an agreement largely brokered by Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings. At a conference sponsored by ECOWAS, the United Nations and the United States, the European Union, and the Organization of African Unity, Charles Taylor agreed to a cease-fire and a timetable to demobilize and disarm his troops. At the beginning of September 1995, Liberia’s three principal warlords – Taylor, George Boley and Alhaji Kromah – made theatrical entrances into Monrovia. A ruling council of six members under civilian Wilton G. S. Sankawulo and with the three factional heads Charles Taylor, Alhaji Kromah and George Boley, took control of the country preparatory to elections that were originally scheduled for 1996.
Heavy fighting broke out again in April 1996. In August 1996, these battles were ended by the Abuja Accord in Nigeria, agreeing to disarmament and demobilization by 1997 and elections in July of that year. 3 September 1996, Sankawulo is followed by Ruth Perry as chairwoman of the ruling council, who served until 2 August 1997.
Elections 1997[link]
Simultaneous elections for the presidency and national assembly were finally held in July 1997. In a climate hardly conducive to free movement and security of persons, Taylor and his National Patriotic Party won an overwhelming victory against 12 other candidates. Assisted by widespread intimidation, Taylor took 75 per cent of the presidential poll (no other candidate won more than 10 per cent) while the NPP won a similar proportion of seats in both parliamentary chambers. 2 August 1997, Ruth Perry handed power to elected president Charles Taylor.
Aftermath[link]
Liberians had voted for Taylor in the hope that he would end the bloodshed. The bloodshed did slow considerably, but it did not end. Violent events flared up regularly after the putative end of the war. Taylor, furthermore, was accused of backing guerrillas in neighboring countries and funneling diamond monies into arms purchases for the rebel armies he supported, and into luxuries for himself. After Taylor's victory, the country was peaceful enough so that refugees began to return. But other leaders were forced to leave the country, and some ULIMO forces reformed as the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). LURD began fighting in Lofa County with the aim of destabilizing the government and gaining control of the local diamond fields, leading to the Second Liberian Civil War.
In 1997, the Liberian people elected Charles Taylor as the President after he entered the capital city, Monrovia, by force. The implicit unrest manifested during the late 1990s is emblematic in the sharp national economic decline and the prevalent sale of diamonds and timber in exchange for small arms.
Impact[link]
The 1989-1996 Liberian civil war, which was one of Africa's bloodiest, claimed the lives of more than 200,000 Liberians and further displaced a million others into refugee camps in neighboring countries. Entire villages were emptied as people fled. Child soldiers committed atrocities, raping and murdering people of all ages.
Liberia's civil war claimed the lives of one out of every 17 people in the country, uprooted most of the rest, and destroyed a once-viable economic infrastructure. The strife also spread to Liberia's neighbors, contributing to a slowing of the democratization that was progressing steadily through West Africa at the beginning of the 1990s and destabilizing a region that already was one of the world's most marginal.
Second Liberian Civil War[link]
The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 and ended in October 2003, when UN and US military intervened to stop the rebel siege on Monrovia and exiled Charles Taylor to Nigeria until he was arrested in 2006 and taken to The Hague for his trial. By the conclusion of the final war, more than 250,000 people had been killed and nearly 1 million displaced. Half that number remain to be repatriated in 2005, at the election of Liberia's first democratic President since the initial 1980 coup d'état of Samuel Doe.
The incumbent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who initially was a strong supporter of Charles Taylor, was inaugurated in January 2006 and the National Transitional Government of Liberia terminated its power. After fourteen years of war, Liberians may be ready for development of basic services on peaceful terms, particularly electric current and primary infrastructure.
Armed groups that participated in the war[link]
- Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL)
- Liberia Peace Council (LPC)
- Lofa Defense Force (LDF)
- National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL)
- United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO)
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ http://necrometrics.com/20c100k.htm#Liberia
- ^ http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/massacre.html
- ^ Armon, Jeremy; Andy Carl (1996). "Liberia: Chronology". Conciliation Resources. http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/liberia/chronology.php#1990. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
- ^ http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=94&value=#
- ^ Stephen Ellis, The Mask of Anarchy, Hurst & Company, London, 2001, p.57, 67-68
- ^ Isabelle Duyvesteyn, 'Clausewitz and African War,' Frank Cass, London/New York, 2005, p.27
- ^ HRW, Flight from Terror, May 1990
- ^ Charles Hartung, 'Peacekeeping in Liberia: ECOMOG and the Struggle for Order,' Liberian Studies Journal, Volume XXX, No.2, 2005
- ^ Mark Huband, The Liberian Civil War, p.115, 118-119
- ^ Hubard, p.115
- ^ The Mask of Anarchy, by Stephen Ellis, 2001, p.1-9
Further reading[link]
- Huband, Mark. "The Liberian Civil War". Frank Cass (1998). ISBN 0-7146-4340-8
- Moran, Mary H. Liberia: The Violence of Democracy - University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008
- Hoffman, Danny. "The City as Barracks: Freetown, Monrovia, and the Organization of Violence in Postcolonial African Cities." Cultural Anthropology. Volume 22 #3 August 2007. pp. 400–428.
External links[link]
- The Liberian peace process Accord Magazine Online issue with articles, chronology and text of agreements
- http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/liberia/index.php - Peace process during Civil War
- Website includes photos from Liberian Civil War
http://wn.com/First_Liberian_Civil_War
Related pages:
http://ru.wn.com/Первая гражданская война в Либерии (1989-1996)
http://fr.wn.com/Première guerre civile libérienne
http://nl.wn.com/Eerste Liberiaanse Burgeroorlog
http://pt.wn.com/Primeira Guerra Civil da Libéria
http://de.wn.com/Liberianischer Bürgerkrieg
http://id.wn.com/Perang Saudara Liberia Pertama
http://es.wn.com/Primera guerra civil liberiana
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Liberian_Civil_War
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
The Liberian Civil War can refer to one of the following conflicts:
- First Liberian Civil War – 1989–1996
- Second Liberian Civil War – 1999–2003
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http://wn.com/Liberian_Civil_War
Related pages:
http://ru.wn.com/Гражданская война в Либерии
http://fr.wn.com/Guerre civile libérienne
http://pt.wn.com/Guerra Civil da Libéria
http://id.wn.com/Perang Saudara Liberia
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberian_Civil_War
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
