- published: 24 May 2008
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- author: BestofAttenborough
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Ahu Akivi
Ahu Akivi is an ahu with seven moai on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in Chilean Polynesia. The ahu and its moai were restored in 1960 by the American archaeologist William Mulloy and his Chilean colleague, Gonzalo Figueroa García-Huidobro. Mulloy's work on the Akivi-Vaiteka Complex was supported by the Fulbright Foundation and by grants from the University of Wyoming, the University of Chile and the International Fund for Monuments. Ahu Akivi also gives its name to one of the seven regions of the Rapa Nui National Park.
The Moai face sunset during Spring and Autumn Equinox; and have their backs to the sunrise during Spring and Autumn Equinox.
Unlike other ahus, the Akivi-Vaiteka Complex is not located on the coast. In contrast to the monumental statuary at other sites on the island, the moai at Ahu Akivi face the ocean.
Coordinates: 27°6′54″S 109°23′42″W / 27.115°S 109.395°W / -27.115; -109.395
wn.com/Ahu_Akivi -
Ahu Tongariki
Ahu Tongariki is the largest ahu on Rapa Nui/Easter Island (a Chilean island in the Pacific). Its moai were toppled during the island's civil wars and in the twentieth century the ahu was swept inland by a tsunami. It has since been restored and has fifteen moai including an 86 tonne moai that was the heaviest ever erected on the island. Ahu Tongariki is kilometer from Rano Raraku and Poike in the Rapa Nui National Park. All the moai here face sunset during Summer Solstice.
Ahu Tongariki was the main centre and capital of the Hotu Iti, the eastern confederation of the Rapanui.
Its moai were toppled during the island's civil wars. In 1960, a tsunami caused by an earthquake off the coast of Chile swept Ahu Tongariki inland.
Ahu Tongariki was substantially restored in the 1990s by a multidisciplinary team headed by archaeologists Claudio Cristino (Director) and Patricia Vargas (Co-director executive team), in a five year project carried out under an official agreement of the Chilean Government with Tadano Limited and the University of Chile.
wn.com/Ahu_Tongariki -
Ahu Vinapu
Ahu Vinapu is an archaeological site on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in Chilean Polynesia.
The ceremonial center of Vinapu includes one of the larger ahu on Rapa Nui. The ahu exhibits extraordinary stonemasonry consisting of large, carefully fitted slabs of basalt. The American archaeologist, William Mulloy investigated the site in 1958.
The stone wall faces towards sunrise at Winter Solstice.
Vinapu is part of the Rapa Nui National Park, which UNESCO has declared a World Heritage Site.
According to the thesis of Jean Hervé Daude, ahu Vinapu have been built by the Inca Tupac Yupanqui during his expedition to the Pacific in 1465. A Chullpas Sillustani in the Andes has been built under the reign of the Inca Tupac Yupanqui in the same way that the ahu Vinapu.
Coordinates: 27°10′35″S 109°24′23″W / 27.176383°S 109.406356°W / -27.176383; -109.406356
wn.com/Ahu_Vinapu -
American Samoa
American Samoa (/əˈmɛrɨkən səˈmoʊ.ə/ (
listen); Samoan: Amerika Sāmoa, IPA: [aˈmɛɾika ˌsaːˈmoa]; also Amelika Sāmoa or Sāmoa Amelika) is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Independent State of Samoa (formerly known as Western Samoa). The main (largest and most populous) island is Tutuila, with the Manuʻa Islands, Rose Atoll, and Swains Island also included in the territory.
American Samoa is part of the Samoan Islands chain, located west of the Cook Islands, north of Tonga, and some 300 miles (500 km) south of Tokelau. To the west are the islands of the Wallis and Futuna group.
The 2010 census showed a total population of 55,519 people. The total land area is 76.1 square miles (197.1 km2), slightly more than Washington, D.C. American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the United States.
Contact with Europeans began in the early 18th century. Jacob Roggeveen (1659–1729), a Dutchman, was the first known European to sight the Samoan islands in 1722. This visit was followed by the French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville (1729–1811), who named them the Navigator Islands in 1768. Contact was limited before the 1830s which is when English missionaries and traders began arriving.
wn.com/American_Samoa -
Anakena
Anakena is a white coral sand beach in Rapa Nui National Park on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), a Chilean island in the Pacific Ocean. Anakena has two ahus, one with a single moai and the other with six. It also has a palm grove and a car park.
Anakena is unusual for Easter Island in that it is one of only two small sandy beaches in an otherwise rocky coastline.
According to island oral traditions, Anakena was the landing place of Hotu Matu'a, a Polynesian chief who led a two canoe settlement party here and founded the first settlement on Rapa Nui.
It was later a ceremonial centre where islanders read from Rongorongo boards.
Anakena featured in the Tangata manu or Birdman cult as in years when the new Birdman was from the western clans, he would end his celebrations at Anakena.
Modern archaeology has found signs of human settlement at Anakena as early as 1200 CE, though linguistic and other analysis indicates a range of dates for first settlement of Rapa Nui between 300 and 1200 CE.
Anakena has been the site of several archaeological digs including those of Katherine Routledge in 1914 and both William Mulloy and Thor Heyerdahl in the 1950s, and both of its ahus have been restored.
wn.com/Anakena -
Antofagasta Province
Antofagasta Province (Spanish: Provincia de Antofagasta) is one of three provinces in the northern Chilean region of Antofagasta (II). The capital is the port city of Antofagasta. Located within the Atacama Desert, it borders the El Loa and Tocopilla provinces to the north, Bolivia to the west and the Atacama Region to the south.
Before 1866, this region was disputed and claimed by Chile and Bolivia. Between 1866 to 1879 the province contractually belonged to Bolivia, and was known as the Atacama Department, or the Litoral. It fell into the possession of Chile in the War of the Pacific of 1879-84, and was forcefully ceded to that republic in 1904. This is disputed by Bolivia as the forced takeover of part of a country by a stronger nation.
The province spans an area of 67,813.5 km2 (26,183 sq mi) in the Atacama Desert. It is the second largest province in the country, second only to Antártica Chilena Province (1,265,853.7 km2), which is not internationally recognized.
Its area is rich in saline and other mineral deposits with the important Caracoles silver mines about 90 miles (140 km) north-east of the Antofagasta. Like the other provinces of this region, Antofagasta produces for export copper, silver, silver ores, lead, nitrate of soda, borax and salt. Iron and manganese ores are also found here.
wn.com/Antofagasta_Province -
Arauco Province
Arauco Province (Spanish: Provincia de Arauco) is one of four provinces of the Chilean region of Biobío (VIII). It spans a coastal area of 6,366 km2 (2,458 sq mi) just south of the mouth of the Biobío River, the traditional demarcation between the nation's major natural regions, Zona Central and Zona Sur. The province originally covered the once-independent indigenous territory of Araucanía, but this was afterward divided into four provinces. It is devoted largely to agricultural pursuits. The capital Lebu (population 25,000) is situated on the coast about 90 km (56 mi) south of Concepción with which it is connected by rail.
As a province, Arauco is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.
The province is composed of seven communes, each governed by a municipality consisting of an elected alcalde and municipal council.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 5,457.2 km2 (2,107 sq mi) and had a population of 157,255 inhabitants (79,263 men and 77,992 women), giving it a population density of 28.8 /km2 (75 /sq mi). Of these, 117,569 (74.8%) lived in urban areas and 39,686 (25.2%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 5% (7,554 persons).
wn.com/Arauco_Province -
Arica Province
Arica Province (Spanish: Provincia de Arica) is one of two provinces of Chile's northernmost and most recently created region, Arica and Parinacota (XV). The province is bordered on the north by the Tacna Province of Peru, on the south by the Tamarugal Province in the Tarapacá Region, on the east the Parinacota Province and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Its capital is the port city of Arica.
On October 8 of 2007, Law 20.175 entered into force, effective on March 23 of 2007. It was signed by President Michelle Bachelet in the city of Arica. At a ceremony held on that morning, the community received in new milestone in its history.
The law divided the former Tarapacá Region into two: the northern portion became the XV Arica and Parinacota Region, and the southern portion remained the I Tarapacá Region.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 8,726.4 km2 (3,369 sq mi) and had a population of 186,488 inhabitants (92,487 men and 94,001 women), giving it a population density of 21.4 /km2 (55 /sq mi). Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 9.5% (16,184 persons).
wn.com/Arica_Province -
Austral Islands
Coordinates: 23°0′S 150°0′W / 23°S 150°W / -23; -150
The Austral Islands (French: Îles Australes or Archipel des Australes) are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the South Pacific. Geographically, they consist of two separate archipelagos, namely in the northwest the Tubuai Islands (French: Îles Tubuaï) consisting of the Îles Maria, Rimatara, Rurutu, Tubuai Island proper and Raivavae or Raevavae, and in the southeast the Bass Islands (French: Îles basses) composed of the main island of Rapa Iti and the small Marotiri. The islands of Maria and Marotiri are not suitable for sustained habitation. Several of the islands have uninhabited islets or rocks off their coastlines. Austral Islands' population is about 6,300 on almost 150 km2. The capital of the Austral Islands administrative subdivision is Tubuai.
The Austral Islands (French: Îles Australes or Archipel des Australes) are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the South Pacific. Geographically, the Austral Islands consist of two separate archipelagos. From northwest to southeast they are:
wn.com/Austral_Islands -
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.
wn.com/Australia -
Bonin Islands
The Bonin Islands, known in Japan as the Ogasawara Group (小笠原群島, Ogasawara Guntō?) are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some 1,000 kilometres (540 nmi; 620 mi) directly south of Tokyo, Japan. Administratively, they are part of Ogasawara Municipality (mura) of Ogasawara Subprefecture, Tokyo. The total area of the islands is 73 square kilometres (28 sq mi), with a population of 2,440 (2000 on Chichi-jima, and 440 on Haha-jima).
The Ogasawara Islands were added to UNESCO's list of World Natural Heritage sites in July 2011 as animals and plants there have undergone unique evolutionary processes since these islands have never been connected with a continent, thus often dubbed as the "Galapagos of the Orient".
The only inhabited islands of the group are Chichi-jima (父島), the seat of the municipal government, and Haha-jima (母島) includes what is within Ogasawara Village.
In Japanese, the archipelago is called Ogasawara Group (小笠原群島, Ogasawara Guntō?). By contrast, the term Ogasawara Archipelago (小笠原諸島, Ogasawara shotō?), is a wider, collective term for all islands of Ogasawara Municipality, which also includes the Volcano Islands and a few isolated islands. The common English name for Ogasawara Guntō is Bonin Islands, from bunin, an archaic reading of 無人 (mujin), that means "no people" or "uninhabited." Rich of unique forms of life, the archipelago was nominated as a natural World Heritage Site on June 24, 2011.
wn.com/Bonin_Islands -
Bora Bora
Bora Bora is an island in the Leeward group of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean. The original name of the island in the Tahitian language might be better rendered as Pora Pora, meaning "First Born"; an early transcription found in 18th- and 19th-century accounts, is Bolabolla or Bollabolla. The island, located about 230 kilometres (140 mi) northwest of Papeete, is surrounded by a lagoon and a barrier reef. In the center of the island are the remnants of an extinct volcano rising to two peaks, Mount Pahia and Mount Otemanu, the highest point at 727 metres (2,385 ft).
Bora Bora is a major international tourist destination, famous for its aqua-centric luxury resorts. The island is served by Bora Bora Airport on Motu Mete in the north, with Air Tahiti providing daily flights to and from Papeete on Tahiti. The major settlement, Vaitape is on the western side of the main island, opposite the main channel into the lagoon. Produce of the island is mostly limited to what can be obtained from the sea and the plentiful coconut trees, which were historically of economic importance for copra. According to a census performed in 2008, the permanent population of Bora Bora is 8,880.
wn.com/Bora_Bora -
Brunei
Brunei
i/bruːˈnaɪ/, officially the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace (Malay: Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: نڬارا بروني دارالسلام), is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the state of Sarawak, Malaysia, and it is separated into two parts by the Sarawak district of Limbang. It is the only sovereign state completely on the island of Borneo, with the remainder of the island belonging to Malaysia and Indonesia. Brunei's population was 401,890 in July 2011.
The official national history claims that Brunei can trace its beginnings to the 7th century, when it was a subject state of the Srivijayan empire under the name P'o-li. It later became a vassal state of Majapahit empire before converting to Islam in the 15th century. At the peak of its empire, the sultanate had control that extended over the coastal regions of modern-day Sarawak and Sabah, the Sulu archipelago, and the islands off the northwest tip of Borneo. The thalassocracy was visited by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 and fought the Castille War in 1578 against Spain. Its empire began to decline with the forced ceding of Sarawak to James Brooke and the ceding of Sabah to the British North Borneo Chartered Company. After the loss of Limbang, Brunei finally became a British protectorate in 1888, receiving a resident in 1906. In the years after the Japanese wartime occupation during World War II, it formalised a constitution and fought an armed rebellion. Brunei regained its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984. Economic growth during the 1970s and 1990s, averaging 56% from 1999 to 2008, has transformed Brunei Darussalam into a newly industrialised country.
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Burma
Burma
i/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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Cachapoal Province
Cachapoal Province (Spanish: Provincia de Cachapoal) is one of three provinces of the central Chilean region of O'Higgins (VI). Its capital is the city of Rancagua (pop. 214,344).
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 7,384.2 km2 (2,851 sq mi) and had a population of 542,901 inhabitants (271,226 men and 271,675 women), giving it a population density of 73.5 /km2 (190 /sq mi). It is the fifth most populated province in the country. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 13.8% (65,871 persons).
As a province, Cachapoal is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.
The province comprises seventeen communes, each governed by a municipality consisting of an elected alcalde and municipal council.
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Calle Larga
Calle Larga ("long road" in Spanish) is city and one of four communes in the Los Andes Province of central Chile's Valparaíso Region.
As a commune, Calle Larga is a third-level administrative division of Chile, administered by a municipal council, headed by a directly elected alcalde, every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Nelson Esteban Venegas Salazar, and the council has the following councilors:
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, San Ignacio is represented in the Chamber of Deputies as a part of the 11th electoral district (together with Los Andes, San Esteban, Calle Larga, Rinconada, San Felipe, Putaendo, Santa María, Panquehue, Llaillay, Catemu). The commune is represented in the Senate as part of the 5th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Cordillera).
Calle Larga spans an area of 321.7 km2 (124 sq mi). The commune is bordered to the west by the commune of Rinconada, to the north and east by the commune of Los Andes and to the south by the Colina commune of the Santiago Metropolitan Region.
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Cambodia
Cambodia (i/kæmˈboʊdiə/;Khmer: ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា, Kampuchea, IPA: [kɑmˈpuˈciə]), officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total landmass of 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 sq mi), it is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.
With a population of over 14.8 million, Cambodia is the 68th most populous country in the world. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, which is practiced by around 95% of the Cambodian population. The country minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams and 30 various hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh; the political, economic, and cultural center of Cambodia. The kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years.
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Caroline Islands
Coordinates: 06°03′N 147°05′E / 6.05°N 147.083°E / 6.05; 147.083
The Caroline Islands (Islas Carolinas in Spanish) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end. Historically, this area was also called Nuevas Filipinas or New Philippines as they were part of the Spanish East Indies and governed from Manila in the Philippines.
The group consists of about 500 small coral islands, east of the Philippines, in the Pacific Ocean; the distance from Manila to Yap, one of the larger islands of the group, is 1,200 miles (1,900 km).
Most of the islands comprise low, flat coral atolls, but some rise high above sea level.
The native inhabitants speak a variety of Micronesian languages including Yapese, Pohnpeian, Chuukese, Carolinian and Kosraean, as well as the Western Malayo-Polynesian language Palauan. Other significant populations include Filipinos and Japanese.
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Catemu
Catemu is a city and commune in the San Felipe de Aconcagua Province of central Chile's Valparaíso Region.
Catemu spans an area of 361.6 km2 (140 sq mi).
According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and Housing, the Catemu commune had 12,112 inhabitants; of these, 6,706 (55.4%) lived in urban areas and 5,406 (44.6%) in rural areas. At that time, there were 6,172 men and 5,940 women. The population grew by 7.2% (817 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.
As a commune, Catemu is a third-level administrative division of Chile, administered by a communal council (consejo comunal), which is headed by a directly elected alcalde. The current alcalde is Boris Luksic Nieto. The communal council has the following members:
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Catemu is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mr. Marco Antonio Núñez (PDC) and Mr. Gaspar Rivas (RN) as part of the 11th electoral district, (together with Los Andes, San Esteban, Calle Larga, Rinconada, San Felipe, Putaendo, Santa María, Panquehue and Llaillay). The commune is represented in the Senate by Ignacio Walker Prieto (PDC) and Lily Pérez San Martín (RN) as part of the 5th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Cordillera).
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Cauquenes Province
Cauquenes Province (Spanish: Provincia de Cauquenes) is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule (VII). The provincial capital is the city of Cauquenes.
The provincial capital, Cauquenes, lies approximately 370 km (230 mi) southwest of Santiago. According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 3,027.2 km2 (1,169 sq mi) and had a population of 57,088 inhabitants (28,356 men and 28,732 women), giving it a population density of 18.9 /km2 (49 /sq mi). Of these, 38,660 (67.7%) lived in urban areas and 18,428 (32.3%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 3.3% (1,846 persons).
As a province, Cachapoal is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.
The province is composed of three communes, each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and municipal council: Cauquenes, Chanco and Pelluhue.
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Cautín Province
Cautín Province (Spanish: Provincia de Cautín) is one of two provinces in the southern Chilean region of Araucanía (IX), bounded on the north by Arauco and Malleco provinces, on the east by Argentina, on the south by Valdivia Province, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Its population at the 2002 census was of 667,920. The most important communes are Temuco, Villarrica, Padre Las Casas, and Nueva Imperial. Cattle, forestry, and agriculture make up most of Cautin's economy. Its climate is humid, rainy in winter, and generally warm in summer.
Cautín Province was the last area to be occupied by Chile during the occupation of the Araucanía. Cautin is known for the 1971 Agrarian revolt.
The province of Cautín is known for its lakes and beaches. Perhaps best known internationally is the town of Pucón with its many recreational amenities on Villarrica Lake under the backdrop of the Villarrica Volcano. South of Villarrica on Calafquén Lake lies Licán Ray, another lakeside resort town. Saavedra is a popular beach on the Pacific coast.
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Chacabuco Province
Chacabuco Province (Spanish: Provincia de Chacabuco) is one of six provinces of the Santiago Metropolitan Region in central Chile. It is located north of the Province of Santiago, which is entirely urbanized and part of the Santiago connurbation. The provincial capital, Colina, lies approximately 27 km (17 mi) north of Santiago.
As a province, Chacabuco is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president. On March 17, 2010, Angélica del Carmen Antimán Palma took office as provincial governor.
The province is composed of three communes (Spanish: comunas), each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and municipal council:
The province spans an area of 2,076.1 square kilometres (802 sq mi), the third largest in the Santiago Metropolitan Region. According to the 2002 census, Chacabuco was the least populous province in the region with a total population of 132,798. At that time, there were 99,201 people living in urban areas, 33,597 living in rural areas, 69,184 men, and 63,614 women.
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Chañaral Province
Chañaral Province (Spanish: Provincia de Chañaral) is one of three provinces in the northern Chilean region of Atacama (III). Its capital is the small coastal town of Chañaral.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 24,436.2 km2 (9,435 sq mi) and had a population of 32,132 inhabitants (16,999 men and 15,133 women), giving it a population density of 1.3 /km2 (3 /sq mi). Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population fell by 22.5% (9,319 persons).
As a province, Chañaral is a second-level administrative division of Chile, which is further divided into two communes (comunas): Chañaral and Diego de Almagro. The province is administered by a presidentially appointed governor. Tomás Villavicencio Pizarro was appointed by president Sebastián Piñera.
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Chile
Chile (i/ˈtʃɪliː/ or /ˈtʃɪleɪ/), officially the Republic of Chile (Spanish: República de Chile [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈtʃile] ( listen)), is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Along with Ecuador, it is one of two countries in South America that do not border Brazil. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas and Easter Island. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.
Chile's distinctive shape—4,300 kilometres (2,700 mi) long and on average 175 kilometres (109 mi) wide—makes it the longest country in the world, north to south, with the fifth lengthiest coastline at over 78 thousand kilometers. The diverse climate of Chile ranges from the world's driest desert in the north—the Atacama—through a Mediterranean climate in the centre, humid subtropical in Easter Island, to an Oceanic climate, including alpine tundra and glaciers in the east and south. The northern desert contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. The relatively small central area dominates in terms of population and agricultural resources, and is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century when it incorporated its northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.
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Chiloé Province
Chiloé Province (Spanish: Provincia de Chiloé) is one of the four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Los Lagos (X). It encompasses all of Chiloé Archipelago (including Chiloé Island) with the exception of the Desertores Islands. The province spans a surface area of 9,181 km2 (3,545 sq mi). Its capital is Castro, and the seat of the Roman Catholic bishopric is Ancud.
As a province, Chiloé is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.
The province is composed of ten communes, each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and municipal council.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 7,165.5 km2 (2,767 sq mi) and had a population of 142,194 inhabitants (71,386 men and 70,808 women), giving it a population density of 19.8 /km2 (51 /sq mi). Of these, 82,058 (57.7%) lived in urban areas and 60,136 (42.3%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 9.1% (11,805 persons).
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Choapa Province
Choapa Province is one of the provinces making up the Coquimbo Region of Chile. It has an area of 10,079.8 km² and a population of 81,681. The capital of the province is the town of Illapel. The current governor is Gisella Mateluna Gambo.
The province is divided into four communes (comunas) administered by four municipalities:
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 10,131.6 km2 (3,912 sq mi) and had a population of 81,681 inhabitants (41,578 men and 40,103 women), giving it a population density of 8.1 /km2 (21 /sq mi). Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 4.6% (3,603 persons).
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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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Colchagua Province
Colchagua Province (Spanish: Provincia de Colchagua) is one of three provinces of the central Chilean region of O'Higgins (VI). Its capital is San Fernando. It is bordered on the north by Cachapoal Province, on the east by the Argentine Republic, on the south by Curicó Province, and on the west by Cardenal Caro Province.
The area of Colchagua is officially estimated at 5,678 km2 (2,192 sq mi) with a the population (2002 census) at 196,566. Extending across the central valley of Chile, the province has a considerable area devoted to traditional agriculture and wine-growing. Its principal rivers are the Rapel River and its tributary, the Tinguiririca.
The principal towns are San Fernando, the provincial capital, Santa Cruz, Chimbarongo, Nancagua and Palmilla. San Fernando is one of the several towns founded in 1742 by the governor-general José Antonio Manso de Velasco, and it had a population of 64,000 in 2002.
As a province, Colchagua is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president. The province comprises eleven communes, each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and municipal council.
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Concón
Concón is a Chilean city and commune in Valparaíso Province, Valparaíso Region. It is known as the Gastronomical Capital of Chile[citation needed] and is a major tourist center known for its beaches, balnearios (beachside resorts) and night life.
The commune of Concón spans an area of 76.0 km2 (29 sq mi). It is located on the Pacific coast north of Reñaca, Viña del Mar and south of Quintero. The Aconcagua river ends at the north of the town.
Its three main beaches are Playa Negra, Amarilla and Boca. 50 hectares of dunes stretch along and above the coast, though only about 20 are protected, the rest being increasingly encroached by highrise apartment buildings.
According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and Housing, the commune of Concón had 32,273 inhabitants; of these, 31,558 (97.8%) lived in urban areas and 715 (2.2%) in rural areas. At that time, there were 15,713 men and 16,560 women. Since then, the city has been one of the fastest growing in the country, The population grew by 71% (13,401 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. The 2010 population was more than 50,000.[citation needed]
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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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Copiapó Province
Copiapó Province (Spanish: Provincia de Copiapó) is one of three provinces of the northern Chilean region of Atacama (III). Its capital is the city of Copiapó.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 32,538.5 km2 (12,563 sq mi) and had a population of 155,713 inhabitants (79,436 men and 76,277 women), giving it a population density of 4.8 /km2 (12 /sq mi). It is the tenth largest province in the country. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 24.9% (31,021 persons).
As a province, Copiapó is a second-level administrative division of Chile, which is further divided into three communes (comunas). The province is administered by a presidentially appointed governor. Nicolás Noman Garrido was appointed by president Sebastián Piñera.
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Coquimbo Region
The IV Coquimbo Region (Spanish: IV Región de Coquimbo) is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It is some 400 km north of the capital, Santiago.
The capital and largest city is La Serena, other important cities include the seaport Coquimbo and the agricultural centre. Ovalle.
The Coquimbo Region forms the narrowest part, or 'waist' of Chile, and is hence one of the country's more mountainous regions, as the Andes range runs closer to the sea than elsewhere. The region has notable marine species as well as taxa that are associated with the mountainous regions. With respect to marine organisms, the upwelling areas encourage bioproductivity off of this Pacific Coast area of Chile.
In the southern mountainous areas of the Coquimbo Region, the rare and endangered Chilean Wine Palm is found, whose habitat is threatened by human overpopulation in the region and associated deforestation for residential expansion and agriculture.
The Elqui Valley is home to a number of astronomical observatories, owing to the region's clear skies. It is also home to a 600-meter-long dam, the Puclaro, which confines the Elqui River and produces a reservoir of some seven km in length.
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Coral Sea Islands
The Coral Sea Islands Territory includes a group of small and mostly uninhabited tropical islands and reefs in the Coral Sea, northeast of Queensland, Australia. The only inhabited island is Willis Island. The territory covers 780,000 km2, extending east and south from the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef, and including Heralds Beacon Island, Osprey Reef, the Willis Group, and fifteen other reef/island groups.
The Coral Sea Islands were first charted in 1803; in the 1870 and 1880s the islands were mined for guano but the absence of a permanent supply of fresh water prevented long-term habitation. The territory was created in 1969 by the Coral Sea Islands Act (before, the area was considered part of Queensland) and extended in 1997 to include Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs nearly 800 km further South, already in the Tasman Sea.
The two latter reefs are much closer to Lord Howe Island, New South Wales (about 150 km) than to the southernmost island of the rest of the territory, Cato Island. The islands, cays and reefs of the Great Barrier Reef are not part of the territory, belonging to Queensland instead. The outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef is the boundary between Queensland and the Coral Sea Islands Territory.
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Curicó Province
Curicó Province (Spanish: Provincia de Curicó) is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule (VII). Its capital is the city of Curicó. It lies between the provinces of Colchagua and Talca and extends from the Pacific to the Argentine frontier, spanning an area of 7,280.9 km2 (2,811 sq mi). According to the 2002 census, the population was 244,053.
As a province, Curicó is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.
The province is composed of nine communes, each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and municipal council.
The region is named for the Curis one of the tribes of Picunche or Promaucaes settled along the rivers of the central valley flowing into the Mataquito River, around the modern city of Curicó. Others tribes were the Tenu along the Teno River (the modern Rauco and Teno communes) to the north. To the south were the Gualemo along the Lontué River the modern Molina commune. Along the Mataquito were the tribes centered on the modern towns of Palquibudi in Sagrada Familia commune, La Huerta in Hualañé commune and Lora in Licantén commune. On the coast north of the river, the Vichuquén in the commune of the same name.
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East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (tiˈmɔr ˈlɛʃteɪ), commonly known as East Timori/ˌiːst ˈtiːmɔr/ (Tetum: Timór Lorosa'e, Portuguese: Timor-Leste), is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor. The small country of 15,410 km² (5,400 sq mi) is located about 640 km (400 mi) northwest of Darwin, Australia.
East Timor was colonized by Portugal in the 16th century, and was known as Portuguese Timor until Portugal's decolonization of the country. In late 1975, East Timor declared its independence, but later that year was invaded and occupied by Indonesia and was declared Indonesia's 27th province the following year. In 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory and East Timor became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002. East Timor is one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia, the other being the Philippines.
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Easter Island
Coordinates: 27°7′S 109°22′W / 27.117°S 109.367°W / -27.117; -109.367
Easter Island (Rapa Nui: Rapa Nui, Spanish: Isla de Pascua) is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people. It is a World Heritage Site (as determined by UNESCO) with much of the island protected within Rapa Nui National Park. In recent times the island has served as a warning of the cultural and environmental dangers of overexploitation. Ethnographers and archaeologists also blame diseases carried by European colonizers and slave raiding of the 1860s for devastating the local peoples.
Easter Island is claimed to be the most remote inhabited island in the world.
The name "Easter Island" was given by the island's first recorded European visitor, the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who encountered it on Easter Sunday 1722, while searching for Davis or David's island. Roggeveen named it Paasch-Eyland (18th century Dutch for "Easter Island"). The island's official Spanish name, Isla de Pascua, also means "Easter Island".
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El Loa Province
El Loa Province (Spanish: Provincia El Loa) is one of three provinces of the northern Chilean region of Antofagasta (II). It is named after the longest of rivers in Chile, the Loa River. The provincial capital is Calama.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 41,999.6 km2 (16,216 sq mi) and had a population of 143,689 inhabitants (73,970 men and 69,719 women), giving it a population density of 3.4 /km2 (9 /sq mi). It is the sixth largest province in the country. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 14.9% (18,610 persons).
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El Quisco
El Quisco is a Chilean city and commune in San Antonio Province, Valparaíso Region. Located in the country's central coast, it serves as a popular summer resort for the population of Santiago. Littoral of the Arts and the Poets, cultural space that is forged by three poets of world renown (Pablo Neruda, Vicente Huidobro and Nicanor Parra). A place of interest is La Casa de Isla Negra, the former house of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, now his burial place and a museum.
Its name comes from Echinopsis chiloensis cactus, that in turn comes from the from Quechua word khishka .
The Quisco has had a major development in the 20th century but few ones know his past.
A characteristic little known about this resort is that there have been important archaeological findings related to the Período agroalfarero temprano and Período agroalfarero tardío of the coastal zone, in the shape of conchales in the peninsulas , centre and north.
Inside the cultures that occupied El Quisco there were of El Bato and Llolleo cultural areas, which they characterized to the Early period, coinciding your ates with those of the Molle culture. In this Periodo agroalfarero temprano - or formative early-, coexistences of populations are distinguished yet of the Archaic Period, with other groups of entail ) northern - Bato tradition -, and others with geographic development more places - Llolleo cultural complex , but located more in the southern part.
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El Tabo
El Tabo is a Chilean commune located in the San Antonio Province, Valparaíso Region. The commune spans an area of 98.8 km2 (38 sq mi).
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, El Tabo has 7,028 inhabitants (3,537 men and 3,491 women). Of these, 6,604 (94%) lived in urban areas and 424 (6%) in rural areas. The population grew by 55.7% (2,515 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.
As a commune, El Tabo is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Emilio Jorquera Romero (PPD). The council has the following members:
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, El Tabo is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mrs. María José Hoffmann (UDI) and Mr. Víctor Torres (PDC) as part of the 15th electoral district, (together with San Antonio, Santo Domingo, Cartagena, El Quisco, Algarrobo and Casablanca). The commune is represented in the Senate by Francisco Chahuán Chahuán (RN) and Ricardo Lagos Weber (PPD) as part of the 6th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Coast).
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Elqui Province
Elqui Province (Spanish: Provincia de Elqui) is a province in the Chilean region of Coquimbo (IV). The provincial capital is the city of Coquimbo. The province has an area of 16,895.1 km2 (6,523 sq mi), and has 365,371 inhabitants.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 16,894.8 km2 (6,523 sq mi) and had a population of 365,371 inhabitants (178,492 men and 186,879 women), giving it a population density of 21.6 /km2 (56 /sq mi). It is the ninth most populated province in the country. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 28.3% (80,613 persons). persons).
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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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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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French Polynesia
French Polynesia (i/ˈfrɛntʃ pɒlɨˈniːʒə/; French: Polynésie française, pronounced: [pɔlinezi fʁɑ̃sɛz]; Tahitian: Pōrīnetia Farāni) is an overseas country of the French Republic (pays d'outre-mer). It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory (Papeetē). Although not an integral part of its territory, Clipperton Island was administered from French Polynesia until 2007.
The island groups that make up French Polynesia were not officially united until the establishment of the French protectorate in 1889. The first of these islands to be settled by indigenous Polynesians were the Marquesas Islands in AD 300 and the Society Islands in AD 800. The Polynesians were organized in loose chieftainships.
European communication began in 1521 when the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sighted Pukapuka in the Tuāmotu-Gambier Archipelago. Dutchman Jakob Roggeveen came across Bora Bora in the Society Islands in 1722, and the British explorer Samuel Wallis visited Tahiti in 1767. The French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville visited Tahiti in 1768, while the British explorer James Cook visited in 1769. Christian missions began with Spanish priests who stayed in Tahiti for a year from 1774; Protestants from the London Missionary Society settled permanently in Polynesia in 1797.
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Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands (official name: Archipiélago de Colón; other Spanish names: Islas de Colón or Islas Galápagos) are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, 972 km (525 nmi) west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.
The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a biological marine reserve. The principal language on the islands is Spanish. The islands have a population of slightly over 25,000.
The islands are geologically young and famed for their vast number of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle. His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.
The first crude navigation chart of the islands was made by the buccaneer Ambrose Cowley in 1684.[dubious – discuss] He named the individual islands after some of his fellow pirates or after the British noblemen who helped the privateer's cause. More recently, the Ecuadorian government gave most of the islands Spanish names. While the Spanish names are official, many users (especially ecological researchers) continue to use the older English names, principally because those were the names used when Charles Darwin visited.
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Gambier Islands
The Gambier Islands or Mangareva Islands (French: Îles Gambier or Archipel des Gambier) are a small group of islands in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They are generally considered a separate island group from Tuamotu both because their culture and language (Mangarevan) are much more closely related to those of the Marquesas Islands, and because, while the Tuamotus comprise several chains of coral atolls, the Gambiers are of volcanic origin. Because of their proximity, the Acteon Group, and the nearby atoll of Temoe (23°20′46″S 134°28′28″W / 23.34611°S 134.47444°W / -23.34611; -134.47444) are sometimes included among the Gambiers.
The commune of Gambier is made up of the Gambier Islands (with uninhabited Temoe Atoll 40 km east of the main Gambier group), the uninhabited Acteon Group to the west (Matureivavao, Tenararo, Tenarunga, Vahanga), and the atolls of Marutea Sud, Maria Est and Morane. This group of islands and atolls covers an area of 35 km².
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Gambier islands
The Gambier Islands or Mangareva Islands (French: Îles Gambier or Archipel des Gambier) are a small group of islands in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They are generally considered a separate island group from Tuamotu both because their culture and language (Mangarevan) are much more closely related to those of the Marquesas Islands, and because, while the Tuamotus comprise several chains of coral atolls, the Gambiers are of volcanic origin. Because of their proximity, the Acteon Group, and the nearby atoll of Temoe (23°20′46″S 134°28′28″W / 23.34611°S 134.47444°W / -23.34611; -134.47444) are sometimes included among the Gambiers.
The commune of Gambier is made up of the Gambier Islands (with uninhabited Temoe Atoll 40 km east of the main Gambier group), the uninhabited Acteon Group to the west (Matureivavao, Tenararo, Tenarunga, Vahanga), and the atolls of Marutea Sud, Maria Est and Morane. This group of islands and atolls covers an area of 35 km².
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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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Hainan
Coordinates: 19°12′N 109°42′E / 19.2°N 109.7°E / 19.2; 109.7
Hainan (Chinese: 海南; Mandarin Pinyin: Hǎinán (help·info); Jyutping: Hoi² Naam4; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Hái-lâm; literally "South of the Sea [Qiongzhou Strait]") is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The name "Hainan" also refers to Hainan Island (海南岛, Hǎinán Dǎo), the main island of the province. Hainan is located in the South China Sea, separated from Guangdong's Leizhou Peninsula to the north by the shallow and narrow Qiongzhou Strait.
For centuries Hainan Island was part of Guangdong Province, but in 1988 this resource-rich tropical island became part of the newly created Hainan Province (海南省, Hǎinán Shěng).
The province has an area of 33,920 square kilometres (13,100 sq mi) and is China's southernmost province. Although it comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, 32,900 square kilometres (12,700 sq mi) (97%) of its land mass is Hainan Island, from which the province takes its name. The PRC government claims territories of the province extend to the southern Spratly Islands, Paracel Islands, and other disputed marine territory.
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Hanga Roa
Hanga Roa is the main town, harbour and capital of the Chilean province of Easter Island. It is located in the southern part of the island's west coast, in the lowlands between the extinct volcanoes of Terevaka and Rano Kau.
The population of 3,304 (2002 census) comprises 87 percent of the total population of the island. For much of the twentieth century, the rest of the island was leased to the Williamson-Balfour Company and closed to the Rapanui; in 1914, the population of Hanga Roa was just 250 and the rest of the island was inhabited by large populations of sheep.
The island's main avenue, Avenida Atamu Tekena (formerly Avenida Policarpo Toro), is the heart of the town. Many stores, hotels, restaurants, and the island's only supermarket and pharmacy are found alongside this road. In 1998, the road was renamed after nineteenth century Rapanui hero Atamu Te Kena; it had previously been named after Captain Policarpo Toro, the Chilean Naval officer who annexed Easter Island to Chile in 1888. The island's museum and also the Roman Catholic church, are located in the center of town. With the advent of the internet and the expansion of communication services by the Chilean government, many internet cafes and even several automated teller machines (ATM) have appeared in recent years.
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Hawaii
Coordinates: 21°18′41″N 157°47′47″W / 21.31139°N 157.79639°W / 21.31139; -157.79639
Hawaii (i/həˈwaɪ.iː/ or /həˈwaɪʔiː/; Hawaiian: Hawaiʻi Hawaiian pronunciation: [hɐˈvɐiʔi]) is the most recent of the 50 U.S. states (August 21, 1959), and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean.
Hawaii’s diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundance of public beaches and oceanic surrounding, and active volcanoes make it a popular destination for tourists, surfers, biologists, and volcanologists alike. Due to its mid-Pacific location, Hawaii has many North American and Asian influences along with its own vibrant native culture. Hawaii has over a million permanent residents along with many visitors and U.S. military personnel. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu.
The state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian Island chain, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over 1,500 miles (2,400 km). At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight "main islands" are (from the northwest to southeast) Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and the island of Hawaiʻi. The last is by far the largest and is often called "The Big Island" to avoid confusion with the state as a whole. The archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania.
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Hijuelas
Hijuelas is a city and commune in the Quillota Province of central Chile's fifth region of Valparaíso.
Hijuelas spans an area of 267.2 km2 (103 sq mi) in Chile's Zona Central. It is known as The Capital of the Flowers (Spanish: La Capital de los Flores) as it is the largest producer of flowers in Chile, contributing more than 49% of the nation's total production.
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Hijuelas has 16,014 inhabitants (8,161 men and 7,853 women). Of these, 8,196 (51.2%) lived in urban areas and 7,818 (48.8%) in rural areas. The population grew by 14.9% (2,076 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. Hijuelas hosts 1.04% of the region's population.
The principal economic activities in Hijuleas are agronomy and agriculture, especially in the cultivation of flowers, plants, trees, and fruits such as avocados and citruses. Its cultivated land, irrigated by the Aconcagua River, provides a high quality microclimate for exporting agricultural products. Also in Hijuelas exists a world-leading company in the production of ornamental bulbs and seeds, whose products are exported to various countries such as Japan, Holland, and others.
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Huasco Province
Huasco Province (Spanish: Provincia de Huasco) is one of three provinces of the northern Chilean region of Atacama (III). Vallenar is the capital city.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute, the province spans an area of 18,201.5 km2 (7,028 sq mi) and had a population of 66491, giving it a population density of 3.7 /km2 (10 /sq mi). The province had a 2002 population of 66,491 Of these, 53,664 (80.7%) lived in urban areas and 12,827 (19.3%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 2.7% (1,761 persons).
As a province, Huasco is a second-level administrative division of Chile, which is further divided into four communes (comunas). The province is administered by a presidentially appointed governor. Fernando Flores Fredes was appointed by president Sebastián Piñera.
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Indonesia
Indonesia (i/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ IN-də-NEE-zhə or /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ IN-doh-NEE-zee-ə), officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia Indonesian pronunciation: [rɛpʊblɪk ɪndɔnɛsɪa]), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world's 17th largest economy by nominal GDP.
The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.
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Iquique Province
Iquique Province (Spanish: Provincia de Iquique) is one of two provinces in the northern Chilean region of Tarapacá (I). Its capital is the port city of Iquique.
Until October 2007, the Province of Iquique was composed of 7 communes: High Hospice, Camina, Colchane, Huara, Iquique, Pica and Pozo Almonte, but since then, with the creation of the Region of Arica and Parinacota, much of the province, specifically the municipalities of Huara, Camina, Colchane, Pozo SAlmonte and Pica, pass shape administratively Tamarugal Province, leaving Iquique Province consists of two communes. DUm
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 2,835.3 km2 (1,095 sq mi) and had a population of 216,419 inhabitants (108,897 men and 107,522 women), giving it a population density of 76.3 /km2 (198 /sq mi). Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 30.8% (50,959 persons).
As a province, Iquique is a second-level administrative division of Chile, which is further divided into two communes (comunas): the capital Iquique and its suburb Alto Hospicio. The province is administered by a presidentially appointed governor. Felipe Rojas Andrade was appointed by president Sebastián Piñera.
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Isla Salas y Gómez
Isla Salas y Gómez, also known as Isla Sala y Gómez, is a small uninhabited Chilean island in the Pacific Ocean. It is the easternmost point in the Polynesian Triangle. Administratively, it is part of the Easter Island Commune in the Easter Island Province of the Valparaíso Region.
Isla Salas y Gómez and its surrounding waters are a Marine Protected Area called Parque Marino Sala y Gómez, with a surface area of 150.000 km2.
Isla Salas y Gómez is located 3,210 km west of the Chilean mainland, 2,490 km west of Chile's Desventuradas Islands, and 390 km east-northeast of Easter Island, the closest landmass. Salas y Gómez consists of two rocks, a smaller one in the west measuring 4 hectare in area (270 meters north-south, 200 meters east-west), and a larger one in the east measuring 11 ha (500 meters north-south, 270 meters east-west), which are connected by a narrow isthmus in the north, averaging approximately 30 meters in width. The total area is approximately 15 hectares (0.15 km²), and the total length northwest-southeast is 770 meters. Its highest point, 30 meters above sea level, is in the south of the eastern rock, less than 30 meters from the shore, above a 10 meter high cliff. The highest elevation on the western rock is 26 meters.
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Japan
Japani/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国 
Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.
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Kapingamarangi
Coordinates: 1°4′N 154°47′E / 1.067°N 154.783°E / 1.067; 154.783
Kapingamarangi is an atoll and a municipality in the state of Pohnpei of the Federated States of Micronesia. It is by far the most southerly atoll or island of the country and of the Caroline Islands, 300 km south of the next southerly atoll, Nukuoro, and 740 km southwest of the main island of Pohnpei state.
The total area of the atoll, including the lagoon, is 74 km². Out of this, 1.1 km² is land area, spread over 33 wooded islets on the eastern side of the atoll. The western reef rim of the atoll is almost submerged at high water.
Kapingamarangi has a population of about 500 (as of 2007). Several hundred Kapingamarangi people also live in Porakied village in Pohnpei. Their language is Polynesian. The main industry is fishing. Touhou Island, which reaches a height 35 inches and is connected to Veilua Island (Ueru Island) in the north by a causeway, is the capital of the municipality, the center of population and the home of a native chief. Most of the population resides on these two islets, plus on Taringa (south of Touhou), although many of the remaining islets are used for growing fruit and vegetables.
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Kava
Kava or kava-kava (Piper methysticum) (Piper: Latin for 'pepper', methysticum: (Latinized) Greek for 'intoxicating') is a crop of the western Pacific.
The name kava(-kava) is from Tongan and Marquesan; other names for kava include ʻawa (Hawaiʻi), ava (Samoa), yaqona (Fiji), and sakau (Pohnpei).
The roots of the plant are used to produce a drink with sedative and anesthetic properties. Kava is consumed throughout the Pacific Ocean cultures of Polynesia, including Hawaii, Vanuatu, Melanesia and some parts of Micronesia. Kava is sedating and is primarily consumed to relax without disrupting mental clarity. Its active ingredients are called kavalactones. A Cochrane Collaboration systematic review of its evidence concluded it was likely to be more effective than placebo at treating short-term social anxiety. Safety concerns have been raised over liver toxicity, largely due to the use of stems and leaves by supplement makers, as opposed to solely the root of the plant as dictated by traditional uses. However, based on a retrospective study of retained P. methysticum drug materials in Germany, the alkaloid pipermethystine, occurring to about 0.2% in the leaves, is an unlikely cause for the observed hepatotoxicity. Whether kava hepatotoxicity may be due to contamination with aflatoxins or other mould hepatotoxins, requires further studies. Heavy use of kava with comorbid alcohol consumption or an existing liver condition appears to lead to malnutrition, weight loss, liver damage (causing elevated serum γ -glutamyl transferase and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels), renal dysfunction, rashes, pulmonary hypertension, macrocytosis of red cells, lymphocytopenia, and decreasing platelet volumes.
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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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La Ligua
La Ligua is a Chilean city and commune, capital of the Petorca Province in Valparaíso Region.
The city is known for its textile manufacturing and typical Chilean pastry production.
According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and Housing, La Ligua had 31,987 inhabitants; of these, 24,214 (75.7%) lived in urban areas and 7,773 (24.3%) in rural areas. At that time, there were 16,079 men and 15,908 women.
As a commune, La Ligua is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a communal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Rodrigo Sánchez Villalobos. The communal council has the following members:
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, La Ligua belongs to the 10th electoral district and 5th senatorial constituency.
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Lau Islands
The Lau Islands (also called the Lau Group, the Eastern Group, the Eastern Archipelago) of Fiji are situated in the southern Pacific Ocean, just east of the Koro Sea. Of this chain of about one hundred islands and islets, about thirty are inhabited. The Lau Group covers a land area of 188 square miles (487 square km), and had a population of 10,683 at the most recent census in 2007. While most of the northern Lau Group are high islands of volcanic origin, those of the south are mostly carbonate low islands.
Administratively the islands belong to Lau Province.
The British explorer James Cook reached Vatoa in 1774. By the time of the discovery of the Ono Group in 1820, the Lau archipelago was the most mapped area of Fiji.
Political unity came late to the Lau Islands. Historically, they comprised three territories: the Northern Lau Islands, the Southern Lau Islands, and the Moala Islands. Around 1855, the renegade Tongan prince Enele Ma'afu conquered the region and established a unified administration. Calling himself the Tui Lau, or King of Lau, he promulgated a constitution and encouraged the establishment of Christian missions. The first missionaries had arrived at Lakeba in 1830, but had been expelled. The Tui Nayau, who had been the nominal overlord of the Lau Islands, became subject to Ma'afu.
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Limache
Limache is a Chilean city and commune in the Marga Marga Province, Valparaíso Region. Limache is the only commune of Chile that has two cities. First San Francisco de Limache is to the north of the Matting of Limache, towards the south is Limache Viejo. Limache is famous by the exports of tomato and the celebration of "The Virgin of the 40 Hours" (Spanish: La Virgen de las 40 Horas).
Limache spans an inland area of 293.8 km2 (113 sq mi) in Chile's Zona Central, located 43 km (27 mi) west of the port city of Valparaíso and 103 km (64 mi) northwest of the national capital of Santiago.
The Feast of the Virgin of 40 Hours (La Fiesta de la Virgen de las 40 Horas) begins in Limache 40 hours before the last Sunday in February with masses every hour, culminating on Sunday with a procession through the city.
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute Limache has 39,219 inhabitants (19,269 men and 19,950 women). Of these, 34,948 (89.1%) lived in urban areas and 4,271 (10.9%) in rural areas. The population grew by 12.6% (4,380 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.
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Limarí Province
Limarí Province (Spanish: Provincia de Limarí) is one of three provinces of the Chilean region of Coquimbo Region (IV). Its capital is the city of Ovalle
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 13,553.2 km2 (5,233 sq mi) and had a population of 156,158 inhabitants (77,087 men and 79,071 women), giving it a population density of 11.5 /km2 (30 /sq mi). Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 10.3% (14,607 persons).
The province is composed by 5 comunas:
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Linares Province
Linares (Spanish: Provincia de Linares) is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule (VII). The provincial capital and most populous center is the city of Linares.
As a province, Cachapoal is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president. The provincial governor is Luis Suazo Roca.[when?]
The province comprises eight communes, each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and municipal council.
The province is located at the very center of mainland Chile, and its capital lies 303 km south of Santiago and 50 km south of Talca, the regional capital, in the middle of a rich agricultural and wine-growing area. According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 10,041.2 km2 (3,877 sq mi) and had a population of 253,990 inhabitants (127,063 men and 126,927 women), giving it a population density of 25.3 /km2 (66 /sq mi). Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 3.1% (7,699 persons). Forty five percent of the population of the province live in rural areas, as compared with 33% in the Maule Region and 13% in Chile as a whole. This characteristic gives Linares a special cultural and socioeconomic profile among the Chilean provinces.
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Llanquihue Province
Llanquihue Province (Spanish: Provincia de Llanquihue) is one of four provinces of the Chilean region of Los Lagos (X). Its capital is Puerto Montt. Chile's second largest lake, Lake Llanquihue, is located in the province as well as four volcanoes: Osorno, Calbuco, Puntiagudo and Cerro Tronador.
European settlement of Llanquihue began in 1852 when Germans were encouraged to immigrate to southern Chile. A century later in 1945 a new wave of Jewish refugees came from Germany.
The region is well known for the beauty of its natural environment as well as for the food and seafood from the ports of Puerto Montt and Calbuco.
As a province, Llanquihue is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a municipality for each constituent commune (Spanish: comuna). Puerto Montt is the provincial capital. The provincial governor is Francisco Le-Bretón as appointed by the President of Chile.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 14,876.4 km2 (5,744 sq mi) and had a population of 321,493 inhabitants (162,636 men and 158,857 women), giving it a population density of 21.6 /km2 (56 /sq mi). Of these, 232,962 (72.5%) lived in urban areas and 88,531 (27.5%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 22.4% (58,931 persons).
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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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Magallanes Province
Magallanes Province (Spanish: Provincia de Magallanes) is one of four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Magallanes and Antártica Chilena (XII). The provincial capital is the city of Punta Arenas.
Its eastern portion is located along the northern shore of the Strait of Magellan while the western portion straddles the strait on either side the strait's northwesterly stretch toward the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by the Última Esperanza Province to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south.
This is the main terrestrial and aerial entry point to the southernmost region in Chile. Either coming from Argentina, via Río Gallegos by car, or by plane, arriving at the Carlos Ibáñez Del Campo International Airport. On this province there are several touristic places, such as Port Famine, Fuerte Bulnes, two penguin colonies and the first marine park in the country.
According to National Statistics Institute's 2002 census, it has an area of 36,400.8 km2 (14,054 sq mi). It is the ninth largest province in the country. It then had a population of 121,675 inhabitants (62,360 men and 59,315 women), giving it a population density of 3.3 /km2 (9 /sq mi). Of these, 116,005 (95.3%) lived in urban areas and 5,670 (4.7%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 4.4% (5,164 persons).
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Maipo Province
Maipo Province (Spanish: Provincia de Maipo) is one of six provinces in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of central Chile. Its capital is San Bernardo.
As a province, Maipo is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.
The province is composed of four communes (Spanish: comunas), each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and municipal council:
The province spans an area of 1,120.5 km2 (433 sq mi), making it the second smallest province in the Santiago Metropolitan Region. According to the 2002 census, Maipo was the third most populous province in the region with a total population of 378,444. At that time, there were 336,198 people living in urban areas, 42,246 living in rural areas, 187,789 men, and 190,655 women.
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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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Malleco Province
Malleco Province (Spanish: Provincia de Malleco) is one of two provinces in the southern Chilean region of Araucanía (IX). Its estimated population is 223,184 (2005)[citation needed], and it covers an area of 13,433 km2 (5,187 sq mi). The provincial capital is the city of Angol.
Malleco Province is known for having the emblematic Malleco Viaduct and the Las Raíces Tunnel, Chile's longest tunnel that links the eastern part of Malleco province to the rest of the province.
As one of Chile's second level administrative divisions, Malleco comprises eleven communes, each administered by its respective municipality.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 13,433.3 km2 (5,187 sq mi) and had a population of 201,615 inhabitants (100,227 men and 101,388 women), giving it a population density of 15 /km2 (39 /sq mi). Of these, 139,261 (69.1%) lived in urban areas and 43,801 (21.7%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population fell by 0.7% (1,422 persons).
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Marga Marga Province
Marga Marga Province (Spanish: Provincia de Marga Marga) is one of the eight provinces in the central Chilean region of Valparaíso (V). Its capital is the city of Quilpué.
The province was created by Law 20,368 on August 25, 2009 and it became operative on March 11, 2010. This law incorporated two communes (comunas) from Valparaíso Province to the south, Quilpué and Villa Alemana, together with two communes from Quillota Province to the north, Limache and Olmué, to form the new province.
As a province, Marga Marga is a second-level administrative division, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.
The province comprises four communes, each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and municipal council:
The province spans a landlocked area of 1,159.0 km2 (447 sq mi), making it the sixth largest of Valaparíso Region's eight provinces. According to the 2002 census, which was conducted before the province came into law, the sum of Marga Marga's communes was 277,525 persons, making it the second most populous province in the region after Valparaíso Province. At that time, there were 267,022 people living in urban areas, 10,503 people living in rural areas, 133,605 men and 143,920 women.
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Marquesas Islands
Coordinates: 9°27′16″S 139°23′20″W / 9.45444°S 139.38889°W / -9.45444; -139.38889
The Marquesas Islands (French: Îles Marquises or Archipel des Marquises or Marquises; Marquesan: Te Henua (K)enana (North Marquesan) and Te Fenua `Enata (South Marquesan), both meaning "The Land of Men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. The Marquesas are located at 9° 00S, 139° 30W. The highest point is the peak of Mount Oave (French: Mont Oave) on Ua Pu island at 1,230 m (4,035 ft) above sea level.
The Marquesas Islands form one of the five administrative divisions (subdivisions administratives) of French Polynesia. The capital of the Marquesas Islands administrative subdivision is the settlement of Taiohae on the island of Nuku Hiva. The population of the Marquesas Islands was 8,632 at the August 2007 census.
The first recorded settlers of the Marquessa were Polynesians, who, from archæological evidence, are believed to have arrived before 100 AD. Ethnological and linguistic evidence suggests that they likely arrived from the region of Tonga and Samoa.
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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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Melipilla Province
Melipilla Province (Spanish: Provincia de Melipilla) is one of six provinces in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of central Chile. The provincial capital is the city of Melipilla.
As a province, Melipilla is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president. On March 18, 2010, Paula Andrea Gárate Rojas was appointed by governor by president Sebastián Piñera.
The province comprises five communes (Spanish: comunas), each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and municipal council:
The province spans an area of 4,065.7 square kilometres (1,570 sq mi), the second largest in the Santiago Metropolitan Region. According to the 2002 census, Melipilla was the fifth most populous province in the region with a total population of 141,165. At that time, there were 80,790 people living in urban areas, 60,375 living in rural areas, 71,595 men, and 69,570 women.
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Motu Nui
Motu Nui is the largest of three islets just south of Easter Island and is the most westerly place in Chile. All three islets have sea birds but Motu Nui was also an essential location for the Tangata manu ("Bird Man") cult which was the island religion between the moai era and the Christian times (the island was converted to Roman Catholicism in the 1860s). Motu Nui is the summit of a large volcanic mountain which rises over 2,000 meters from the sea bed. It measures 3.0 hectares in land area and is the largest of the five satellite islets of Easter island.
The ritual was a competition to collect the first egg of the manutara. This took place starting from Motu Nui where the Hopu (representatives from each clan) waited for the Sooty Terns to lay their first eggs of the season. The Hopu who seized the first egg raced to swim back to Easter Island, climbed the cliffs to Orongo and presented the egg to their sponsor in front of the judges at Orongo. This gave their sponsor the title of Tangata manu and great power on the island for a year. Many Hopu were killed by sharks or by falling. The winning clan gained certain rights including the collecting of eggs and young birds from the islets.
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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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Nazca Plate
The Nazca Plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America. The ongoing subduction along the Peru-Chile Trench of the Nazca Plate under the South American Plate is largely responsible for the Andean orogeny. The Nazca Plate is bound to the west to the Pacific Plate and to the south with the Antarctic Plate through the East Pacific Rise and the Chile Rise respectively. The movement of the Nazca Plate over several hotspots has created some volcanic islands as well as east-west running seamount chains that subduct under South America. Nazca is a relatively young plate both in terms of age of rocks and existence as independent plate.
A triple junction, the Chile Triple Junction, occurs on the seafloor of the Pacific Ocean off Taitao and Tres Montes Peninsula at the southern coast of Chile. Here three tectonic plates meet: the Nazca Plate, the South American Plate, and the Antarctic Plate.
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Netherlands
The Netherlands (i/ˈnɛðərləndz/; Dutch: Nederland [ˈneːdə(r)lɑnt] or [ˈneɪ̯də(r)lɑnt] (
listen); West Frisian: Nederlân; Papiamento: Hulanda) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with some islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is a parliamentary democracy organised as a unitary state. The country capital is Amsterdam and the seat of government is The Hague. The Netherlands in its entirety is often referred to as Holland, although North and South Holland are actually only two of its twelve provinces (a case of pars pro toto; see terminology of "the Netherlands").
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New Caledonia
Coordinates: 21°15′S 165°18′E / 21.25°S 165.30°E / -21.25; 165.30
New Caledonia (French: Nouvelle-Calédonie) is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) east of Australia and about 20,000 kilometres (12,000 mi) from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of Pines and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield Islands in the Coral Sea are also part of New Caledonia. Locals refer to Grande Terre as "Le Caillou", the rock.
New Caledonia has a land area of 18,576 square kilometres (7,172 sq mi). The population (2011 estimate) is 256,275. The capital of the territory is Nouméa.
The earliest traces of human presence in New Caledonia date back to the Lapita period. The Lapita were highly skilled navigators and agriculturists with influence over a large area of the Pacific.
The British first sighted New Caledonia on September 4, 1774, during the second voyage of Captain James Cook. He named the territory New Caledonia, as the north-east of the island reminded him of Scotland. The west coast of Grande Terre was approached by Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse in 1788, shortly before his disappearance, and the Loyalty Islands were first visited in 1796. From then until 1840, only a few sporadic contacts with the archipelago were recorded. Contacts became more frequent after 1840, because of the interest in sandalwood from New Caledonia.
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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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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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Nuguria
Nuguria or the Nuguria Islands, also known as the Abgarris or Fead Islands, are a Polynesian outlier and islands of Papua New Guinea. They are located nearly 200 km northeast of New Ireland and consist of two closely spaced atoll formations.
Historical commentary from a frequent visitor to Nuguria: Momentum
Coordinates: 3°20′00″S 154°45′00″E / 3.33333°S 154.75°E / -3.33333; 154.75
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Nukumanu Islands
Nukumanu, formerly Tasman Islands, is a medium sized atoll located in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean, 4 degrees south of the equator.
Administratively Nukumanu is part of Papua New Guinea, but it lies quite far away from the closest territory of Papua New Guinea proper, which is the coast of New Ireland at 682 km to the west. The nearest land is Ontong Java Atoll, located only 38 km to the south of Nukumanu, but the border between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands runs between these neighboring atolls.
Comprising a ring of more than twenty islets on a reef surrounding a large lagoon, Nukumanu's sandy islands are located on a strip of coral rising no more than a meter above sea level. The main inhabited islands of Nukumanu are located on the eastern end of the atoll.
In Polynesian history, the main cultural and commercial exchanges took place with the inhabitants of neighboring Ontong Java Atoll, with whom Nukumanu people share many cultural affinities.
Towards the end of the 19th century Nukumanu became part of the German colonial empire. It was transferred to Australian administration in 1914, after Germany's defeat in World War I.
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Nukuoro
Nukuoro is an atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia.
It is a municipality of the state of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. Except for Kapingamarangi, it is the southermost atoll of the country. Nukuoro has a population of 372 (as of 2007), though several hundred Nukuorans live on Pohnpei. The total area, including the lagoon, is 40 km², with a land area of only 1.7 km², which is divided among more than 40 islets that lie on the northern, eastern and southern sides of the lagoon. By far the largest islet is Nukuoro islet, which is the center of population and the capital of the municipality.
The lagoon is 6 kilometers (about 3.7 miles) in diameter. Fishing, animal husbandry, and agriculture (taro and copra) are the main occupations. A recent project to farm black pearl oysters has been successful at generating additional income for the island's people. Nukuoro is remote. It has no airstrip, and a passenger boat calls irregularly only once every few months. The island has no tourism except for the occasional visit by passing sailing yachts. There is a 4 room schoolhouse but children over the age of 14 must travel to Pohnpei to attend high school.
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Olmué
Olmué is a Chilean commune located in the Marga Marga Province, Valparaíso Region. The commune spans an area of 231.8 km2 (89 sq mi).
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Olmué has 14,105 inhabitants (7,139 men and 6,966 women). Of these, 10,379 (73.6%) lived in urban areas and 3,726 (26.4%) in rural areas. The population grew by 11.9% (1,502 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. Olmué accounts for 1.10% of the regional population. The demonym for a man from Olmué is Olmueíno and Olmueína for a woman.
As a commune, Olmué is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a communal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Tomás Aranda Miranda (PDC). The communal council has the following members:
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Olmué is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mr. Marcelo Schilling (PS) and Mr. Arturo Squella (UDI) as part of the 12th electoral district, (together with Limache, Villa Alemana and Quilpué). The commune is represented in the Senate by Ignacio Walker Prieto (PDC) and Lily Pérez San Martín (RN) as part of the 5th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Cordillera).
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Orchid Island
Coordinates: 22°03′N 121°32′E / 22.05°N 121.533°E / 22.05; 121.533
Orchid Island (Yami language: Ponso no Tao or Pongso no Tao; Chinese: 蘭嶼; pinyin: Lán Yǔ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lân-sū) is a 45 km² volcanic island off the southeastern coast of Taiwan Island and separated from the Batanes of the Philippines by the Bashi Channel of the Luzon Strait. It is governed as Lanyu Township of Taitung County.
The island is home to the Tao, an ethnic minority group who migrated to the island from the Batan Archipelago 800 years ago. The island is known to them as Ponso no Tao or Pongso no Tawo (island of the people) or Irala. Out of a total current population of 4,000, approximately 2,400 belong to the aboriginal Tao community and the remaining 1,600 are mainly Han Chinese. In neighboring Philippines the island is referred to as Botel Tobago.
The Lanyu nuclear waste storage facility was built in 1982. The plant receives nuclear waste from Taiwan's three nuclear power plants operated by state utility Taiwan Power Company (Taipower). About 100,000 barrels of nuclear waste from the nation’s three operational nuclear power plants have been stored at the Lanyu complex. In 2002 and 2012, there were major protests from local residents, calling on Taipower to remove the nuclear waste from the island.
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Orongo
Orongo is a stone village and ceremonial centre at the southwestern tip of Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The first half of the ceremonial village's 53 stone masonry houses were investigated and restored in 1974 by American archaeologist William Mulloy. In 1976 Mulloy assisted by Chilean archaeologists Claudio Cristino and Patricia Vargas completed the restoration of the whole complex which was subsequently investigated by Cristino in 1985 and 1995. ‘Orongo enjoys a dramatic location on the crater lip of Rano Kau at the point where a 250 meter sea cliff converges with the inner wall of the crater of Rano Kau. ‘Orongo now has World Heritage status as part of the Rapa Nui National Park.
Until the mid-nineteenth century, ‘Orongo was the centre of the birdman cult, which hosted an annual race to bring the first manutara (Sooty Tern) egg from the islet of Motu Nui to ‘Orongo. The site has numerous petroglyphs, mainly of tangata manu (birdmen).
In the 1860s, most of the Rapa Nui islanders died of disease or were enslaved, and when the survivors were converted to Christianity, ‘Orongo fell into disuse. In 1868, the crew of HMS Topaze removed Hoa Hakananai'a from ‘Orongo. This unusual rare basalt moai is now in the British Museum.
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Osorno Province
Osorno Province (Spanish: Provincia de Osorno) is one of the four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Los Lagos (X). The province has an area of 9,223.7 km2 (3,561 sq mi) and a population of 221,509 distributed across seven communes (Spanish: comunas). The provincial capital is the city of Osorno.
Osorno is a city located in southern Chile a territory of northern Patagonia in the Los Lagos Region. The Chilean Patagonia starts at Latitude 39° South in Valdivia and then it continues through the Chiloe Island and the fiords that continue its course south through the Pacific Ocean and the Cordillera de los Andes until it reaches Latitude 56° South at Cape Horn.The province possesses one of the most frequented mountain passes of Chile, the Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass which links the province with Villa La Angostura and San Carlos de Bariloche in Argentina.
As a province, Osorno is a second-level administrative division, governed by a provincial governor who is apoointed by the president. The Osorno Province comprises seven communes; each commune is governed by its own municipality, headed by an alcalde.
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Ouvéa
Coordinates: 20°39′08″S 166°33′43″E / 20.6522°S 166.5619°E / -20.6522; 166.5619
Ouvéa (local pronunciation: [uˈve.a]) is a commune in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The settlement of Fayaoué [faˈjawe], on Ouvéa Island, is the administrative centre of the commune of Ouvéa.
Ouvéa is made up of Ouvéa Island, the smaller Mouli Island and Faiava Island, and several islets around these three islands. All these lie among the Loyalty Islands, to the northeast of New Caledonia's mainland.
In April 1988, a bloody hostage taking took place on Ouvéa. Four gendarmes were killed and twenty-seven were held hostage in a cave by supporters of FLNKS. Twelve of the captured gendarmes were released after a while, but six members of a French anti-terrorist squad were also taken hostage. When negotiations to release those taken hostage did not succeed, French security forces besieged the cave and freed the hostages. Eighteen Kanaks and two gendarmes were left dead, and in the aftermath, it was alleged that three Kanaks had been executed or left to die after being arrested.
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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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Palena Province
Palena Province (Spanish: Provincia de Palena) is one of the four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Los Lagos (X). Due to the eruption of Chaitén Volcano and the subsequent destruction of Chaitén, Futaleufú is since March 2009 the new capital of Palena Province. The private Pumalín Park is located in the province as is the town and territory of Huinay which divides the park into two parts. Due to its location in front of Chiloé Island it is sometimes called Continental Chiloé (Chiloé Continental). Palena Province is named after the Palena Lake, which in turn was named by the Italian Jesuit Nicolás Mascardi after the town of Palena in Abruzzo, Italy.
As a province, Palena is a second-level administrative division, governed by a provincial governor appointed by the president. The province comprises four communes, each governed by a municipality, headed by an alcalde.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 15,301.9 km2 (5,908 sq mi) and had a population of 18,971 inhabitants (10,255 men and 8,716 women), giving it a population density of 1.2 /km2 (3 /sq mi). It is the seventh least populated province in the country. Of these, 7,624 (40.2%) lived in urban areas and 11,347 (59.8%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 1.2% (223 persons).
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Panquehue
Panquehue is a Chilean town and commune in San Felipe de Aconcagua Province, Valparaíso Region.
Panquehue spans an area of 121.9 km2 (47 sq mi).
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Panquehue spans an area of 121.9 km2 (47 sq mi) and has 6,567 inhabitants (3,312 men and 3,255 women). Of these, 2,904 (44.2%) lived in urban areas and 3,663 (55.8%) in rural areas. The population grew by 11.3% (667 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.
As a commune, Panquehue is a third-level administrative division of Chile, administered by a communal council (consejo comunal), which is headed by a directly elected alcalde. The current alcalde is Luis Reinaldo Pradenas Moran (UDI). The communal council has the following members:
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Panquehue is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mr. Marco Antonio Núñez (PDC) and Mr. Gaspar Rivas (RN) as part of the 11th electoral district, (together with Los Andes, San Esteban, Calle Larga, Rinconada, San Felipe, Putaendo, Santa María, Llaillay and Catemu). The commune is represented in the Senate by Ignacio Walker Prieto (PDC) and Lily Pérez San Martín (RN) as part of the 5th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Cordillera).
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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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Papudo
Papudo is a Chilean commune located in the Petorca Province, Valparaíso Region. The commune spans an area of 165.6 km2 (64 sq mi).
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Papudo has 4,608 inhabitants (2,382 men and 2,226 women). Of these, 4,343 (94.2%) lived in urban areas and 265 (5.8%) in rural areas. The population grew by 18.3% (712 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.
As a commune, Papudo is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a communal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Rosa Prieto Valdes. The communal council has the following members:
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Papudo is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mr. Eduardo Cerda (PDC) and Mrs. Andrea Molina (UDI) as part of the 10th electoral district, (together with La Ligua, Petorca, Cabildo, Zapallar, Puchuncaví, Quintero, Nogales, Calera, La Cruz, Quillota and Hijuelas). The commune is represented in the Senate by Ignacio Walker Prieto (PDC) and Lily Pérez San Martín (RN) as part of the 5th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Cordillera).
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Parinacota Province
Parinacota Province (Spanish: Provincia de Parinacota) is one of two provinces of the Chilean region of Arica and Parinacota (XV). Its capital is Putre. It is named after the Parinacota Volcano.
The Arica and Parinacota Region was created on October 8, 2007 under Law 20.175, promulgated on March 23, 2007 by President Michelle Bachelet in the city of Arica. The law divided the former Tarapacá Region into two: the northern portion became the XV Arica and Parinacota Region, and the southern portion remained the I Tarapacá Region.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 8,146.9 km2 (3,146 sq mi) and had a population of 3,156 inhabitants (2,106 men and 1,050 women), giving it a population density of 0.4 /km2 (1 /sq mi). It is the second least populated province in the country after Antártica Chilena and fifth most sparsely populated province. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population fell by 17.3% (659 persons).
As a province, Parinacota is a second-level administrative division of Chile consisting of two communes: General Lagos in the northern portion and Putre in the south. The town of Putre serves as the provincial capital. The provincial government is led by governor Enrique Gaspar Ramos, who was appointed by president Sebastián Piñera.
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Peru
Perui/pəˈruː/ (Spanish: Perú; Quechua: Perú;Aymara: Piruw), officially the Republic of Peru (Spanish: República del Perú, pronounced: [reˈpuβlika ðel peˈɾu] ( listen)), is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.
Peruvian territory was home to ancient cultures, spanning from the Norte Chico civilization, one of the oldest in the world, to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century and established a Viceroyalty, which included most of its South American colonies. After achieving independence in 1821, Peru has undergone periods of political unrest and fiscal crisis as well as periods of stability and economic upswing.
Peru is a representative democratic republic divided into 25 regions. Its geography varies from the arid plains of the Pacific coast to the peaks of the Andes Mountains and the tropical forests of the Amazon Basin. It is a developing country with a high Human Development Index score and a poverty level around 31%. Its main economic activities include agriculture, fishing, mining, and manufacturing of products such as textiles.
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Petorca
Petorca is a Chilean town and commune located in the Petorca Province, Valparaíso Region. The commune spans an area of 1,516.6 km2 (586 sq mi).
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Petorca has 9,440 inhabitants (4,806 men and 4,634 women). Of these, 4,535 (48%) lived in urban areas and 4,905 (52%) in rural areas. The population grew by 1.8% (167 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.
As a commune, Petorca is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Gustavo Valdenegro Rubillo. The council has the following members:
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Petorca is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mr. Eduardo Cerda (PDC) and Mrs. Andrea Molina (UDI) as part of the 10th electoral district, (together with La Ligua Cabildo, Papudo, Zapallar, Puchuncaví, Quintero, Nogales, Calera, La Cruz, Quillota and Hijuelas). The commune is represented in the Senate by Ignacio Walker Prieto (PDC) and Lily Pérez San Martín (RN) as part of the 5th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Cordillera).
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Petorca Province
Petorca Province (Spanish: Provincia de Petorca) is one of eight provinces of the central Chilean region of Valparaíso (V). Its capital is the city of La Ligua.
As a province, Petorca is a second-level administrative division, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.
The province comprises five communes (Spanish: comunas), each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and municipal council:
The province spans an area of 4,588.9 km2 (1,772 sq mi), the largest in the Valparaíso Region. According to the 2002 census, Petorca is the second least populous province in the region under Isla de Pascua (Easter Island) with a population of 70,610. At that time, there were 50,289 people living in urban areas, 20,321 people living in rural areas, 35,647 men and 34,963 women.
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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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Pileni
Coordinates: 10°11′S 166°10′E / 10.183°S 166.167°E / -10.183; 166.167
Pileni is a culturally important island in the Reef Islands, in the northern part of the Solomon Islands province of Temotu. Despite its location in Melanesia, the population of the islands is Polynesian.
Pileni once gave its name to the Samoic-Outlier language spoken there. What used to be called Pileni is now more commonly referred to under its native name Vaeakau-Taumako.
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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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Poike
Poike is one of three main extinct volcanoes that form Rapa Nui (Easter Island) (a Chilean island in the Pacific Ocean). At 370 metres, it is the island's second highest peak after Terevaka.
Poike forms the eastern headland of Rapa Nui, and there is an abrupt cliff "the Poike ditch" across the island marking the boundary between flows from Terevaka and Poike. Poike last erupted between 230,000 to 705,000 years ago in the Pleistocene, and as the oldest of Easter Island's three volcanoes is the most weathered with relatively stoneless soil.
Coordinates: 27°05′31″S 109°15′00″W / 27.09194°S 109.25°W / -27.09194; -109.25
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Puchuncaví
Puchuncaví is a town and commune in the Valparaíso Province of central Chile's fifth region of Valparaíso. It spans a coastal area of 299.9 km2 (116 sq mi).
The history of Puchuncaví and its surroundings goes back over 500 years, being one of the oldest localities in Chile. The contemporary name comes from the Mapudungun "Punchuncahuin", meaning "where fiestas abound". Similarly, there have been other meanings to this word, such as "Remains of Fiestas" or "End of Fiestas".
There are no precise dates known relating to the origin of Puchuncaví, and it is presumed that at the arrival of the Spaniards a shantytown by this name existed. Puchuncaví was one of the terminals of the famous Inca road system, a stone footpath of medium width that united the Zona Central of Chile with Cuzco, Peru, the capital of the Inca Empire.
In this location resided a Curaca or direct representative of the Inca, in charge of collecting taxes, crops, and imposing imperial authority over the indigenous peoples of the region. Upon the arrival of the Spanish, conquistador Pedro de Valdivia gave the valley of Puchuncaví to one of his soldiers, the Italian native Milán Vicenzo del Monte, a nephew of Pope Julius II.
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Puna Pau
Puna Pau is a quarry in a small crater or cinder cone on the outskirts of Hanga Roa in the south west of Easter Island (a Chilean island in the Pacific Ocean). Puna Pau also gives its name to one of the seven regions of the Rapa Nui National Park.
Puna Pau was the sole source of the red scoria that the Rapanui used to carve the pukao (topknots) that they put on the heads of some of their iconic moai statues.
The stone from Puna Pau was also used for a few non-standard moai including Tukuturi and also for some petroglyphs.
Some examples of the use of red scoria from Puna Pau:
Tukuturi, a moai at Rano Raraku
Close up of red scoria pukao on the head of a moai at Ahu Tahai
Petroglyphs - Makemake with two birdmen
http://www.eisp.org/
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Putaendo
Putaendo is a city and commune in the San Felipe de Aconcagua Province of central Chile's Valparaíso Region.
Before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, Putaendo was a very old town of hunters and gatherers. The Spanish were attracted to gold mines discovered in the outskirts of town in the mid 18th century. Little by little, they formed a population center and constructed the Church of San Antonio. On 20 March 1831, the Assembly of Aconcagua granted the town a title. San Antonio de la Unión de Putaendo was the first town to become a patriotic force in 1817.
In 1485, during the conquest of the Inca Túpac Yupanqui, his son Huayna Cápac crossed the Andean mountains and descended through this valley, camping in Putaendo and incorporating the Aconcagua valley into the Incan civilization. The advancing expedition of Diego de Almagro was stopped here in 1536. The Inca road system (Camino del inca) passed through this valley. This was the fastest route between the tribes of the valleys of La Ligua, Aconcagua and Mapocho.
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Quillota
Quillota is a city and commune located in the Aconcagua River valley of central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It is the capital and largest city of the Quillota Province where many inhabitants live in the surrounding farm areas of San Isidro, La Palma, Pocochay, and San Pedro. It is an important agricultural center, mainly because the plantations of avocado and cherimoya (custard apple) trees.
Quillota is connected with the city of La Calera by the small town of La Cruz. The area's agriculture and landscape was described by Charles Darwin in his book The Voyage of the Beagle. Nearby La Campana National Park holds a plaque at a viewpoint Darwin once visited.
Quillota is 120 kilometres (75 mi) from the national capital Santiago and 60 km (37 mi) from the regional capital Valparaíso.
The Quillota valley has been densely populated for about 2,000 years. At the outset, the area was inhabited by Native Americans of the Bato and Lleo-Lleo cultures, who had migrated to the valley because of the fertile land south of the Aconcagua River. These natives where later influenced by Mapuches and Diaguitas. The Diaguitas are credited with the evolution of the local culture of the Aconcagua zone and were well known for their pottery.
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Quillota Province
Quillota Province (Spanish: Provincia de Quillota) is one of eight provinces of the central Chilean region of Valparaíso (V). Its capital is the city of Quillota (pop. 75,916).
As a province, Quillota is a second-level administrative division, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.
The province comprises five communes (Spanish: comunas), each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and municipal council:
On March 11, 2010, the communes of Limache and Olmué were transferred to Marga Marga Province under Law 20,368 (signed August 25, 2009).
The province spans a landlocked area of 1,113.1 km2 (430 sq mi), the smallest in the Valparaíso Region with the exception of Isla de Pascua (Easter Island). According to the 2002 census, Quillota is the third most populous province in the region with a population of 175,917. At that time, there were 151,366 people living in urban areas, 24,551 people living in rural areas, 86,620 men and 89,297 women.
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Quilpué
Quilpué is a city and capital of the Marga Marga Province in central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It is part of the Greater Valparaíso metropolitan area. It is widely known as "City of the Sun" (Ciudad del Sol) and the urban part of it also comprises the town of El Belloto, an area that showed rapid growth in the late 1990's.
There are various theories about the origin of the word Quilpué. According to some, Quilpué means place where there are pigeons, arguing that pigeons were found abundantly in the area and that the name derives from the aboriginal words cullpo (dove) and hue (place). Other authors suggest that it means place of the stone lancet, because the Pikunches (the indigenous people) were experts in the manufacture of these items that were used for medical procedures. Numbers of these stone lancets have been found in the area's archaeological sites, as well as the original formation which was quarried for them.
Quilpué is called Ciudad del Sol because compared to Valparaíso, it has many more sunny days a year. It has metropolitan train, highway and bus connections to Viña del Mar and Valparaíso to the coast, and also towards inland cities. Since housing is cheaper in Quilpué, thousands of people commute every day to the coastal cities.
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Quintero
Quintero is a Chilean city and commune in Valparaíso Province, Valparaíso Region. The commune spans an area of 147.5 km2 (57 sq mi).
The name of the city comes from Alonso Quintero, the Spanish navigator who discovered the bay in 1536 when he arrived on the ship Santiaguillo.
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Quintero had 21,174 inhabitants (10,390 men and 10,784 women). Of these, 18,719 (88.4%) lived in urban areas and 2,455 (11.6%) in rural areas. The population grew by 19% (3,378 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. The demonym for a man from Quintero is Quinterano and Quinterana for a woman.
As a commune, Quintero is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a communal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is José Varas Zuñiga.
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Quintero is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mr. Eduardo Cerda (PDC) and Mrs. Andrea Molina (UDI) as part of the 10th electoral district, (together with La Ligua, Petorca, Cabildo, Papudo, Zapallar, Puchuncaví, Nogales, Calera, La Cruz, Quillota and Hijuelas). The commune is represented in the Senate by Ignacio Walker Prieto (PDC) and Lily Pérez San Martín (RN) as part of the 5th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Cordillera).
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Ranco Province
Ranco Province (Spanish: Provincia de Ranco) is one of two provinces of the southern Chilean region of Los Ríos (XIV). It is named after Ranco Lake shared by the communes (comunas) of Futrono and Lago Ranco. The lake is drained by the Bueno River, on which basin lies most of the province. La Unión is the provincial capital.
As a second-level administrative division, the province comprises four communes, each with its own governing municipality. Eduardo Hölck Kusch is the provincial governor.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 8,232.3 km2 (3,179 sq mi) and had a population of 97,153 inhabitants (49,485 men and 47,668 women), giving it a population density of 11.8 /km2 (31 /sq mi). Of these, 51,273 (52.8%) lived in urban areas and 45,880 (47.2%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 1% (924 persons).
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Rano Raraku
Rano Raraku is a volcanic crater formed of consolidated volcanic ash, or tuff, and located on the lower slopes of Terevaka in the Rapa Nui National Park on Easter Island. It was a quarry for about 500 years until the early eighteenth century, and supplied the stone from which about 95% of the island's known monolithic sculptures (moai) were carved. Rano Raraku is a visual record of moai design vocabulary and technological innovation, where 397 moai remain. Rano Raraku is in the World Heritage Site of Rapa Nui National Park and gives its name to one of the seven sections of the park.
The sides of Rano Raraku crater are high and steep except on the north and northwest, where they are much lower and gently sloping. The interior contains one of the island's three freshwater crater lakes, which is bordered by nga'atu or totora reeds. These plants, once thought as evidence of contact with the South American mainland, are now known to have been growing on the island for at least 30,000 years and were used by the Rapanui for thatched shelter and swimming aids.
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Rapa Iti
Coordinates: 27°36′S 144°20′W / 27.60°S 144.33°W / -27.60; -144.33
Rapa or Rapa Iti (Little Rapa) as it is sometimes called in more recent years (to distinguish it from "Rapa Nui" (Big Rapa), a name for Easter Island), is the largest and only inhabited island of the Bass Islands in French Polynesia. An older name for the island is Oparo Its area is 40 km2 with a population of almost 500 and a max elevation of 650 m. Its main town is Ahuréi.
Rapa Iti is located at 27°35′00″S 144°20′00″W / 27.5833333°S 144.3333333°W / -27.5833333; -144.3333333. It is shaped roughly like a Greek final sigma (ς), with a well-protected central bay, surrounded by a ring of relatively high mountains. The whole island appears very much to be the peak of a sinking volcano, with the bay as the caldera. The area of the island is 40 km2 (15 sq mi).
Its main town, Ahuréi (sometimes called Ahurei, Ha'urei or Ha'uréi, latter two also show how it is pronounced), lies on both the northern and southern shores of that bay, which is called the Baie d'Ahuréi. The people are Polynesian. Former times' warfare is indicated by 28 extant ridgetop forts. Today Rapa is home to the Tahitian Choir, in which a third of the island's population sing traditional songs.
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Rinconada
Rinconada is a city and commune in the Los Andes Province of central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It was created on 18 January 1897 by Federico Errázuriz Echaurren.
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Rinconada spans an area of 122.5 km2 (47 sq mi) and has 6,692 inhabitants (3,429 men and 3,263 women). Of these, 5,727 (85.6%) lived in urban areas and 965 (14.4%) in rural areas. The population grew by 16.1% (927 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.
As a commune, Rinconada is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Juan Pablo Galdames Burgos (UDI). The council has the following members:
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Rinconada is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mr. Marco Antonio Núñez (PDC) and Mr. Gaspar Rivas (RN) as part of the 11th electoral district, (together with Los Andes, San Esteban, Calle Larga, San Felipe, Putaendo, Santa María, Panquehue, Llaillay and Catemu). The commune is represented in the Senate by Ignacio Walker Prieto (PDC) and Lily Pérez San Martín (RN) as part of the 5th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Cordillera).
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Rotuma
Rotuma is a Fijian dependency, consisting of Rotuma Island and nearby islets. The island group is home to a small but unique indigenous ethnic group which constitutes a recogniseable minority within the population of Fiji, known as "Rotumans". Its population at the 2007 census was 2,002, although many Rotumans live on mainland Fijian islands, totaling 10,000.
These volcanic islands are located 646 kilometres (Suva to Ahau) north of Fiji. Rotuma Island itself is 13 kilometres long and 4 kilometres wide, with a land area of approximately 43 square kilometres. The island is bisected into a larger eastern part, and a western peninsula, by a low narrow isthmus only 230 meters wide, the location of Motusa village (Itu'ti'u district). North of the isthmus is Maka Bay, and in the south Hopmafau Bay. The bays are full of coral reefs, through which there are boat passages.
Rotuma is a shield volcano made of alkali-olivine basalt and hawaiite, with many small cones, and reaches 256 metres (840 ft) above sea level at Mount Suelhof near the center of the island. Satarua Peak, 166 meters high, lies near the eastern end of the island. While very secluded from much of Fiji proper, the large reef and untouched beaches are renowned as some of the most beautiful in all of Fiji.
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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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Samoan Islands
The Samoan Islands or Samoa Islands is an archipelago covering 3,030 km2 (1,170 sq mi) in the central South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and the wider region of Oceania. The population of the Samoan Islands is approximately 250,000, sharing a common language, Samoan, a culture, known as fa'a Samoa and an indigenous form of governance called fa'amatai.
Due to colonialism, the Samoa Islands and people were divided by Western powers. Today, the islands have two jurisdictions, the independent country of Samoa in the western half of the islands, and the territory of American Samoa comprising the islands to the east. The two regions are separated by 64 km of ocean. Most Samoans are full-blooded and are one of the largest Polynesian populations in the world.
The oldest date so far from prehistoric remains in the Samoan Islands has been calculated from archaeology in Samoa to a likely true age of circa 1,050 BCE from a Lapita site at Mulifanua wharf on Upolu island.
In 1768, the eastern islands were visited by French explorer Bougainville, who named them the Navigator Islands, a name used by missionaries until about 1845 and in official European dispatches until about 1870.
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San Antonio Province
San Antonio Province (Spanish: Provincia de San Antonio) is one of eight provinces of the central Chilean region of Valparaíso (V). Its capital is the port city of San Antonio (pop. 87,205).
As a province, San Antonio is a second-level administrative division, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.
The province comprises six communes, each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and municipal council:
The province spans a coastal area of 1,511.6 km2 (584 sq mi), . According to the 2002 census, San Antonio Province had a population of 136,594, making it the fourth most populous province in the region. At that time, the population was 267,022 inhabitant with 125,637 people living in urban areas, 10,957 people living in rural areas, 67,771 men and 68,823 women.
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Sikaiana
Sikaiana formerly called Stewart Islands is a small atoll 212 km NE of Malaita. It is almost 14 km in length and its lagoon, known as Te Moana, is totally enclosed by the coral reef. Its total land surface is only 2 km2. There is no safe anchorage close to this atoll, which makes it often inaccessible.
Sikaiana is located Latitude: 8° 25' 0 South and Longitude: 162° 52' 0 East. The main island, located at the easternmost corner, is called Sikaiana. The three small islands in the west of the atoll are Tehaolei, Matuiloto and Matuavi. There are also two artificial islands on the reef, Te Palena and Hakatai'atata.
Administratively Sikaiana is an outlying region of Malaita Province in the Solomon Islands. Sikaiana's population is approximately 300 people of Polynesian descent. In 1856, when Hawai‘i was offered the sovereignty of Sikaiana, the Privy Council voted to accept the cession. King Kamehameha IV approved the action, making Hawai‘i an imperial power of sorts. But there were second thoughts. The great distance of the atoll from Honolulu would make administration impossible, and the cession was never formalized. Some residents have claimed to be native Hawaiians and citizens of the United States. According to these residents, the Stewart Islands were given to King Kamehameha IV in 1856, and therefore the islands were part of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i at the time of the United States' annexation in 1898. The United States disagrees, arguing that the 1898 law annexed only the "Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies", and that the law defined dependencies as the islands named by a report by the Hawaiian Commission that omitted the Stewart Islands. Some residents applied to register to vote in Hawai‘i in 1996, but their applications were turned down by the Hawaiian Sovereignty Election Council.
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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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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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Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (i/ʃriː ˈlɑːŋkə/, /sriːˈlɑːŋkə/, or /sriːˈlæŋkə/;Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකාව, Tamil: இலங்கை), is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon ( /sɨˈlɒn/, /seɪˈlɒn/, or /siːˈlɒn/), Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the Maldives.
As a result of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia. It was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. Sri Lanka has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times, being the nation where the Buddhist teachings were first written down as well as the oldest continually Buddhist country. Sri Lanka boasts a diverse range of cultures, languages and religions. The Sinhalese people form the majority of the population; Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, form the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs, Malays and the aboriginal Vedda people.
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Suriname
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname (Dutch: Republiek Suriname, Dutch pronunciation: [ˌrepyˈblik ˌsyriˈnaːmə]), is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north. Suriname was first colonized by the British, and captured by the Dutch in 1667, who governed it as the colony of Suriname until 1954. The country of Suriname achieved independence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in which Suriname, the Netherlands Antilles, and the Netherlands itself cooperated on a basis of equality since 1954, on 25 November 1975.
At just under 165,000 km2 (64,000 sq mi) Suriname is the smallest sovereign state in South America (French Guiana comprises less territory, but is French territory). It has an estimated population of approximately 560,000, most of whom live on the country's north coast, where the capital Paramaribo is located.
The name Suriname may derive from a Taino (Arawak-speaking) group called "Surinen" who first inhabited the region prior to European arrival.
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Taiwan
Taiwan (i/ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/ TY-WAHN; Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; pinyin: Táiwān; see below), officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is a state in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China now governs the island of Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa), which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands. Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taipei is the capital city and economic and cultural centre of the country, and New Taipei is the most populous city.
The earliest evidence of inhabitation of Taiwan dates back to the late Paleolithic era. The island of Taiwan was mainly inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before being colonized in the 17th century by the Dutch and the Spanish Empire. The first Han Chinese polity on Taiwan began when Koxinga's troops defeated Dutch forces and established the Kingdom of Tungning. The island was subsequently ruled by the Qing Dynasty after the kingdom's defeat in the Battle of Penghu in 1683, a period that lasted for over 200 years. Following Japan's victory over the Qing Dynasty in the first Sino-Japanese war, Taiwan was ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.
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Talagante Province
Talagante Province (Spanish: Provincia de Talagante) is one of six provinces of the Santiago Metropolitan Region in central Chile. The capital is the city of Talagante, located approximately 35 km (22 mi) southwest of the national capital of Santiago. The most northeastern part of the province is included in the Santiago conurbation.
As a province, Talagante is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.
The province comprises five communes (Spanish: comunas), each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and municipal council:
The province spans an area of 582.3 square kilometres (225 sq mi), the smallest in the Santiago Metropolitan Region. According to the 2002 census, Talagante was the fourth most populous province in the region with a total population of 188,572. At that time, there were 188,572 people living in urban areas, 28,877 living in rural areas, 107,935 men, and 109,514 women.
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Talca Province
Talca Province (Spanish: Provincia de Talca) is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule (VII). Its capital is the city of Talca.
As a province, Talca is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.
The province comprises ten communes, each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and municipal council.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 9,937.8 km2 (3,837 sq mi) and had a population of 352,966 inhabitants (174,734 men and 178,232 women), giving it a population density of 35.5 /km2 (92 /sq mi). Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 12.4% (39,015 persons).
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Thailand
Thailand ( /ˈtaɪlænd/ TY-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/;Thai: ประเทศไทย, RTGS: Prathet Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, RTGS: Ratcha Anachak Thai; IPA: [râːt.tɕʰā ʔāːnāːtɕàk tʰāj] ( listen)), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; RTGS: Sayam), is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
The country is a constitutional monarchy, headed by King Rama IX, the ninth king of the House of Chakri, who, having reigned since 1946, is the world's longest-serving head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. The king of Thailand is titled Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, the Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths.
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Tikopia
Tikopia is a small and high island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Covering an area of 5 km² (2 sq. mi.), the island is the remnant of an extinct volcano. Its highest point, Mt. Reani, reaches an elevation of 380 m (1,247 ft) above sea level. Lake Te Roto covers an old volcanic crater which is 80 m deep.
Tikopia's location is relatively remote. It is sometimes grouped with the Santa Cruz Islands. Administratively, Tikopia belongs to Temotu Province as the southernmost of the Solomon Islands.
The population of Tikopia is about 1,200, distributed among more than 20 villages mostly along the coast. The largest village is Matautu on the west coast, not to be confused with Mata-Utu, the capital of Wallis and Futuna. Historically, the tiny island has supported a high-density population of a thousand or so. Strict reproductive policy prevented further increase. Unlike most of the Solomon Islands, the inhabitants are Polynesians, their language, Tikopian, is a member of the Samoic branch of the Polynesian languages and is generally referred to as a Polynesian outlier.
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Tocopilla Province
Tocopilla Province (Spanish: Provincia de Tocopilla) is one of the three provinces in the northern Chilean region of Antofagasta (II). Its capital is the city of Tocopilla.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 16,236 km2 (6,269 sq mi) and had a population of 31,516 inhabitants (16,348 men and 15,168 women), giving it a population density of 1.9 /km2 (5 /sq mi). Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population fell by 18.4% (7,129 persons).
As a province, Tocopilla is a second-level administrative division of Chile, which is further divided into two communes (comunas). The province is administered by a presidentially appointed governor. Giovanna Rossi Bizjak was appointed by president Sebastián Piñera.
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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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Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga (Tongan: Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a sovereign state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over 700,000 square kilometres (270,000 sq mi) of ocean in the South Pacific. Fifty-two of the islands are inhabited.
The Kingdom stretches over a distance of about 800 kilometres (500 mi) in a north-south line located at about a third of the distance from New Zealand to Hawaii.
Tonga also became known as the Friendly Islands because of the friendly reception accorded to Captain James Cook on his first visit there in 1773. He happened to arrive at the time of the ʻinasi festival, the yearly donation of the first fruits to the Tuʻi Tonga, the islands' paramount chief, and received an invitation to the festivities. According to the writer William Mariner, in reality the chiefs had wanted to kill Cook during the gathering, but could not agree on a plan.
Tonga is also the only island nation in the region to have avoided formal colonisation. In 2010, Tonga took a decisive step towards becoming a fully functioning constitutional monarchy after legislative reforms paved the way for its first ever fully representative elections which resulted in the election of Noble Sialeʻataongo Tuʻivakanō as its first democratically elected Prime Minister.
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Tuamotus
The Tuamotus or the Tuamotu Archipelago (French: Îles Tuamotu, officially Archipel des Tuamotu) are a chain of islands and atolls in French Polynesia. They form the largest chain of atolls in the world, spanning an area of the Pacific Ocean roughly the size of Western Europe. The Tuamotu islands were originally settled by Polynesians who share a common culture and language.
French Polynesia is a semi-autonomous island group designated as an overseas country of France. The Tuamotus combine with the Gambier Islands to form the Îles Tuamotu-Gambier which is one of the five administrative divisions of French Polynesia.
The Tuamotus are grouped into sixteen communes: Anaa; Arutua; Fakarava; Fangatau; Hao; Hikueru; Makemo; Manihi; Napuka; Nukutavake; Puka Puka; Rangiroa; Reao; Takaroa; Tatakoto; and Tureia.
The communes on Tuamotu are part of two different electoral districts (circonscriptions électorales) represented in the Assembly of French Polynesia. The Îles Gambier et Tuamotu Est electoral district comprises the commune of Gambier and eleven communes in eastern Tuamotu: Anaa; Fangatau; Hao; Hikueru; Makemo; Napuka; Nukutavake; Pukapuka; Reao; Tatakoto; and Tureia. The other five communes in western Tuamotu – Arutua; Fakarava; Manihi; Rangiroa; and Takaroa – form the Îles Tuamotu Ouest electoral district .
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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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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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Valdivia Province
Valdivia Province (Spanish: Provincia de Valdivia) is one of two provinces of the southern Chilean region of Los Ríos (XIV). The provincial capital is Valdivia. Located in the province are two important rivers, the Calle-Calle / Valdivia River and the Cruces River.It is part of Northern Patagonia and its wild virgin forest embrace the Patagonian Cordillera following the river Calle Calle down to the Pacific Ocean. It is known in Patagonia the term " Bosque Valdiviano" referring to the primitive forest of Valdivia with its Native trees. These Forest are present in some parts of Northern Patagonia, both in Chile and Argentina.
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 10,197.2 km2 (3,937 sq mi) and had a population of 259,243 inhabitants (128,972 men and 130,271 women), giving it a population density of 25.4 /km2 (66 /sq mi). Of these, 192,066 (74.1%) lived in urban areas and 67,177 (25.9%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 10.9% (25,547 persons).
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Valparaíso
Valparaíso (/ˌvælpəˈraɪzoʊ/, Spanish: [balpaɾaˈiso]) is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation (Greater Valparaíso) and one of the country's most important seaports; it is an increasingly important cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region. Although Santiago is Chile's official capital, the National Congress of Chile was established in Valparaíso in 1990.
Valparaíso played an important geopolitical role in the second half of the 19th century, when the city served as a major stopover for ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by crossing the Straits of Magellan. Always a magnet for European immigrants, Valparaíso mushroomed during its golden age, when the city was known by international sailors as “Little San Francisco” and “The Jewel of the Pacific.”
Examples of Valparaíso’s former glory include Latin America’s oldest stock exchange, the continent’s first volunteer fire department, Chile’s first public library, and the oldest Spanish language newspaper in continuous publication in the world. The opening of the Panama Canal and reduction in ship traffic dealt a staggering blow to Valparaíso, though the city has staged an impressive renaissance in recent years.
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Valparaíso Province
Valparaíso Province (Spanish: Provincia de Valparaíso) is one of eight provinces of the central Chilean region of Valparaíso (V). Its capital is the coastal city of Valparaíso (pop. 275,982).
As a province, Valparaíso is a second-level administrative division, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.
The province comprises seven communes (Spanish: comunas), each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and municipal council:
On March 11, 2010, the communes of Quilpué and Villa Alemana were transferred to Marga Marga Province under Law 20,368 (signed August 25, 2009).
The province spans a coastal area of 2,146.6 km2 (829 sq mi), the fourth largest in the Valparaíso Region. According to the 2002 census, Valparaíso was the most populous province in the region with a population of 651,821. At that time, there were 639,255 people living in urban areas, 12,566 people living in rural areas, 315,785 men and 336,036 women.
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Valparaíso Region
The V Valparaíso Region (Spanish: V Región de Valparaíso) is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. With the country's third highest population of 1,539,852 million in 2002 and third smallest area of 16,396.1 km2 (6,331 sq mi), the region is Chile's second most densely populated after the Santiago Metropolitan Region to the southeast.
Its capital is the port city of Valparaíso, other important cities include Viña del Mar, Quillota, Quilpué and Villa Alemana.
The region is on the same latitude as the Santiago Metropolitan Region. Its capital is Valparaíso, which is the site for the National Congress of Chile and an important commercial port. Also in this region is the top resort city of Viña del Mar. Additionally, the Pacific islands of Easter Island (Isla de Pascua), Isla Salas y Gómez, the Juan Fernández Islands and the Desventuradas Islands fall under the Valparaíso Region's administration.
The Valparaíso Region is part of the very restricted range of the endangered Chilean Wine Palm, Jubaea chilensis; in prehistoric times this endemic Chilean tree had a significantly larger range.
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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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Vietnam
Vietnam ( listen), formally the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam; listen), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 91.5 million inhabitants as of 2012, it is the world's 13th-most-populous country, and the eighth-most-populous Asian country. The name Vietnam translates as "South Viet", and was officially adopted in 1945. The country is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east.
The Vietnamese became independent from Imperial China in 938 AD, following the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Successive Vietnamese royal dynasties flourished as the nation expanded geographically and politically into Southeast Asia, until the Indochina Peninsula was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. The First Indochina War eventually led to the expulsion of the French in 1954, leaving Vietnam divided politically into two states, North and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified, with heavy foreign intervention, during the Vietnam War, which ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975.
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Villa Alemana
Villa Alemana ("German town" in Spanish) is a city and commune in Chile's Zona Central. It was founded in 1896 by Italian and German immigrants. Villa Alemana is a part of the urban area known as Greater Valparaiso.
The city of Villa Alemana was founded due to the building of a railway, and was at the beginning of Chilean railway development. Its climate is so temperate that the slogan is "The City of Eternal Youth".
Villa Alemana before being named was nothing but fields. There was a small vineyard, many trees and flowers and what prevailed was the hawthorn. For housing today Theater Pompeya were offered at 20 cents per meter of ground. And that was where Don Buenaventura Joglar had the idea to buy land and build a population which appointed as Villa Alemana because the Germans were the first to buy these sites. However, many of them built or lived here, most sold and left.
On November 8, 1894, was founded under the name of Vine Miraflores. The property was owned by Don Buenaventura Joglar, who lot and set the name of Villa Alemana.
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Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbiɲa ðel maɾ] meaning "Vineyard by the Sea"), is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located in the Valparaíso Region. Viña del Mar has a population of 286,931 (according to the 2002 census), it is Chile's fourth largest city. Viña del Mar is part of the Greater Valparaíso area, the country's third largest metropolitan area (pop. 803,683, 2002 census), after the Metropolitan areas of Santiago and Concepción. The Greater Valparaíso Area is home to 5 municipalities: Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Concon, Quilpue, and Villa Alemana.
The valley where Viña del Mar was founded was known as the valley of Peuco by the Changos, native inhabitants of the area dedicated to fishing.[citation needed] With the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores the valley was divided into two large haciendas. North of the Marga Marga creek up to the current location of Reñaca, Viña del Mar, and to the south up to the current Cerro Barón (Baron Hill), the Hacienda Las Siete Hermanas (The Seven Sisters).
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Wallis and Futuna
Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (French: Wallis et Futuna or Territoire des îles Wallis et Futuna, Fakauvea and Fakafutuna: Uvea mo Futuna), is a Polynesian French island territory in the South Pacific between Tuvalu to the northwest, Rotuma of Fiji to the west, the main part of Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast, Samoa to the east, the New Zealand-associated state of Tokelau to the northeast and to a more distant north the Phoenix Islands (Kiribati). (However, Wallis and Futuna is not part of, nor even contiguous with, French Polynesia. Wallis and Futuna is located at the very opposite western end of Polynesia.)
Its land area is 264 km2 with a population of about 15,000. Mata-Utu is the capital and biggest city. The territory is made up of three main volcanic tropical islands along with a number of tiny islets, and is split into two island groups that lie about 260 km apart, namely Wallis Islands (Uvea) in the northeast, and Hoorn Islands (also called the Futuna Islands) in the southwest, including Futuna Island proper and the mostly uninhabited Alofi Island.
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Yap
Yap, also known as Wa'ab by locals, is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The island of Yap actually consists of four continental islands (hence the alternative name of the Yap Islands). The four are very close together and joined within a common coral reef and entirely formed from an uplift of the Philippine Sea Plate. The land is mostly rolling hills densely covered with vegetation. Mangrove swamps line much of the shore. An outer barrier reef surrounds the islands, enclosing a lagoon between the fringing barrier reef.
Colonia is the capital of the State of Yap. It administers both Yap proper and fourteen atolls reaching to the east and south for some 800 km (500 mi), namely Eauripik, Elato, Fais, Faraulep, Gaferut, Ifalik, Lamotrek, Ngulu, Olimarao, Piagailoe (West Fayu), Pikelot, Sorol, Ulithi, and Woleai Atolls, as well as the island of Satawal (municipalities in bold).
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Zapallar
Zapallar is a Chilean town and commune located in the Petorca Province, Valparaíso Region. The commune spans an area of 288.0 km2 (111 sq mi).
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Zapallar has 5,659 inhabitants (2,914 men and 2,745 women). Of these, 4,744 (83.8%) lived in urban areas and 915 (16.2%) in rural areas. The population grew by 24.3% (1,105 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.
As a commune, Zapallar is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a communal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Nicholas Cox Urrejola. The communal council has the following members:
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Zapallar is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mr. Eduardo Cerda (PDC) and Mrs. Andrea Molina (UDI) as part of the 10th electoral district, (together with La Ligua, Petorca, Cabildo, Papudo, Puchuncaví, Quintero, Nogales, Calera, La Cruz, Quillota and Hijuelas). The commune is represented in the Senate by Ignacio Walker Prieto (PDC) and Lily Pérez San Martín (RN) as part of the 5th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Cordillera).
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Ñuble Province
Ñuble Province (Spanish: Provincia de Ñuble) is one of four provinces of the Chilean region of Biobío (VIII). It spans an area of 13,178.5 km2 (5,088 sq mi) and is administratively constituted by 21 communes. It has a population of 441,604 inhabitants. Its capital is the city of Chillán.
The province was created in 1848 with the San Carlos Department of Maule Province and Chillán Department of Concepción Province. In 1884, the departments of Bulnes and Yungay, were created from the Chillán Department. In 1927, the provincial limits were modified and the Itata Department was added from Maule. Later, in 1976, the communes of Coelemu and Ránquil from Concepción Province, and the commune of Tucapel from Biobío Province, were added.
Following the 8.8 magnitude earthquake and tsunami, at least eight small communities and two towns were abandoned by residents, who took up makeshift camps in the hills, fearful of further tsunamis. Over 800 residences in the town of Quirihue were destroyed, leaving little for townspeople to return to.
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Alphonse Pinart
Alphonse Pinart (1852–1911) was a French explorer, philologist, and ethnographer. He was an early champion of the theory that the Americas were first populated by migration across the Bering Strait. To support his research, he made extensive travel in the Pacific, from Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to Easter Island. He also pilfered numerous historical documents from the Spanish archives in Santa Fe, New Mexico:
Large numbers of documents of this period [from 1743 to 1749] were . . . stolen and are now in the so-called “Pinart” collection. Pinart (Alphonse) was a Frenchman and visited New Mexico and Arizona in the early ‘seventies [1870's], at which time this “collection” was made.
He recorded vocabularies of the Mission Indians in California, and also documented early rock art in Aruba. In 1875, he purchased a crystal skull and other ethnographic artifacts from Eugène Boban, which was later donated to the Trocadéro Museum.
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Benny Peiser
Benny Josef Peiser, born 1957, is a social anthropologist specializing in the environmental and socio-economic impact of physical activity on health. He was a senior lecturer in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) until July 2010, and is a visiting fellow at the University of Buckingham.
As an outspoken climate change skeptic, Peiser became the director of the newly-established UK lobbying group Global Warming Policy Foundation in 2009, was the founder of the Cambridge Conference Network. He serves as co-editor of the journal, Energy & Environment, and is a regular contributor to Canada's National Post.
Born of German parents in Haifa, Israel, in 1957, Peiser's family soon returned to Germany. He grew up in Frankfurt and "spent the first 35 years of his life" in Germany.
Peiser studied political science, English, and sports science at Frankfurt University, receiving a doctorate in cultural studies (Kulturwissenschaften) from that institution in 1993, for an examination of the history, archaeology and natural history of Greek problems at the time of the ancient Olympic Games.
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Bo Rothstein
Bo Rothstein (born 12 June 1954) is an internationally acclaimed Swedish political scientist who holds the August Röhss Chair in Political Science at University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The August Röhss Chair was established in 1902 by a generous donation from August Röhss, a leading merchant in Gothenburg.
Rothstein received his Ph.D. in political science from Lund University in 1986. Between 1986 and 1995 he was assistant and in 1992 became associate professor at the Department of Government at Uppsala University. He took up his current position at University of Gothenburg in 1995. He has been a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation, Cornell University, Harvard University, Collegium Budapest Center for Advanced Study, the Swedish Center for Advanced Study in the Social Sciences, the Australian National University, Stanford University and at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 2006 he served as Visiting Professor at Harvard University. His books in English include: The Quality of Government: Corruption, Social Trust and Inequality in International Perspective; (University of Chicago Press 2011); "The Social Democratic State: the Swedish model and the bureaucratic problem of social reforms" (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1996), "Just Institutions Matter: The Moral and Political Logic of the Universal Welfare State" (Cambridge Univ. Press 1998); "Restructuring the welfare state: Political Institutions and Social Change" (Palgrave/Macmillan 2002, co-editor: Sven Steinmo), "Creating social trust in post-socialist transition" (Palgrave/Macmillan 2004, co-editors: János Kornai and Susan Rose-Ackerman), and "Social Traps and the Problem of Trust" (Cambridge University Press 2005). He has published more than twenty articles in international scholarly journals.
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Chamorro people
The Chamorro people, or Chamoru people, are the indigenous peoples of the Mariana Islands, which include the United States territory of Guam and the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia. Today, significant Chamoru populations also exist in several U.S. states including Hawaii, California, Washington, Texas and Nevada. According to the 2000 Census, approximately 65,000 people of Chamoru ancestry live on Guam and another 19,000 live in the Northern Marianas. Another 93,000 live outside the Marianas in Hawaii and the West/Pacific coast of the United States. The Chamoru are primarily of Austronesian stock.
Most Chamorros are Roman Catholic and few in the Marianas still maintain some customs and beliefs from the time before the first European conquests; some residents of the Marianas will still ask permission from ancestral spirits before entering parts of jungles. Traditional healers called suruhanas are still greatly respected for their knowledge of herbal treatments and spirits. Before Spanish colonization, Chamoru life centered on one's clan. Chamorro culture is strongly influenced by Spanish, Filipino, Japanese, and American customs; in addition, Chamorro food is also influenced by the various groups mentioned previously. Today, large extended families remain central to life in the Marianas.
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Crater lake
A crater lake is a lake that forms in a volcanic crater or caldera, such as a maar; less commonly and with lower association to the term a lake may form in an impact crater caused by a meteorite, or in an artificial explosion caused by humans. Sometimes lakes which form inside calderas are called caldera lakes, but often this distinction is not made. Crater lakes covering active (fumarolic) volcanic vents are sometimes known as volcanic lakes, and the water within them is often acidic, saturated with volcanic gases, and cloudy with a strong greenish color. Lakes located in dormant or extinct volcanoes tend to have fresh water, and the water clarity in such lakes can be exceptional due to the lack of inflowing streams and sediment.
Lava lakes, a rare phenomenon where a volcanic crater can sustainably contain a significant volume of molten lava, are discussed in a separate article.
Crater lakes form as precipitation within the rim fills the created depression. The water level rises until an equilibrium is reached between the rate of incoming and outgoing water. Sources of water loss singly or together, may include evaporation, subsurface seepage, and in places, surface leakage or overflow when the lake level reaches the lowest point on its rim. At such a saddle location, the upper portion of the lake is contained only by its adjacent natural volcanic dam; continued leakage through or surface outflow across the dam can erode its included material, thus lowering lake level until a new equilibrium of water flow, erosion and rock resistance is established. If the volcanic dam portion erodes rapidly or fails catastrophically, the occurrence produces a breakout or outburst flood. With changes in environmental conditions over time, the occurrence of such floods is common to all natural dam types.
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David Steadman
David William Steadman is the curator of ornithology at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida.
His research has concentrated on the evolution, biogeography, conservation, and extinction of tropical birds, particularly in the islands of the Pacific Ocean. He has also authored over 180 scientific publications. He has conducted a number of digs at prehistoric sites and uncovered widescale extinctions caused by humans in the early stages of colonisation. He has described a number of extinct species of birds and more recently was involved in discovering that the Solomon Islands Frogmouth is a species (instead of a subspecies of the Marbled Frogmouth, as formerly believed). He worked extensively on Easter Island, carrying out the first systemicatic exacavations of the island in order to identify the plants and animals that once lived there.
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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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Eugène Eyraud
Eugène Eyraud (1820 – 23 August 1868) was a lay friar of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and the first Westerner to live on Easter Island.
Eyraud was born in Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur, France, in 1820. He became a mechanic by profession. He went to Bolivia, and acquired mining interests there.
Eyraud entered the Holy Ghost Fathers as a novice. Influenced by his brother Jean, a missionary in China, he left Chile for Tahiti in 1862 and arrived at Hanga Roa on 2 January 1864. He was harassed by the islanders, and only stayed nine months before being repatriated to Chile on 11 October 1864. A year and a half later, on 27 March 1866, he settled on the island as a full priest, accompanied by Hippolyte Roussel and three Mangarevan converts.
Although fiercely opposed at first, Eyraud eventually came to be highly popular and influential among the islanders. In October 1866, Gaspar Zumbohm and Théodule Escolan joined Eyraud and Roussel in their mission, and set up schools at Hanga Roa and Vaihū.
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Fijian people
Fijian people are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called Melanesia. The Fijian people are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago, though the exact origins of the Fijian people are unknown. Later they would move onward to other surrounding islands including Rotuma,as well as blending with other (Polynesian) settlers on Tonga and Samoa. They are indigenous to all parts of Fiji except the island of Rotuma. The original settlers are now called "Lapita people" after a distinctive pottery produced locally. Lapita pottery was found in the area from 800 BC onward.
As of 2005, Fijians constituted slightly more than half of the Fijian population. Indigenous Fijians are predominantly of Melanesian extraction, with some Polynesian admixture. Other ethnic groups in Fiji include Indo-Fijians, the Rotuman people, and minority communities, which include Caucasians, Chinese, and other Pacific Islanders.
New Zealand has a large Fijian population, according to the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs. In 2001, Fijian people were the fifth largest Pacific ethnic group living in New Zealand. There was a decrease of 8 percent between 1996 and 2001. The estimated Pacific Islander population size is 231,800 in 2001 Fijians comprising about 7,000 of that.
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Hanau epe
The Hanau epe or Long-ears were a group of semi-legendary people who are said to have arrived at Easter Island. According to some theories (particularly the one popularised by Thor Heyerdahl), they were a South American indigenous people, but most evidence suggests that the original Easter Islanders were Polynesian in origin.
Sebastian Englert states that "Long-Ear" is a misinterpretation of Hanau ‘E‘epe "stout race".
There are two legends about how the Hanau epe reached Easter Island. The first is that they arrived some time after the local Polynesians and tried to enslave them. However, some earlier accounts place the Hanau epe as the original inhabitants and the Polynesians as later immigrants from Oparo / Rapa Iti. According to this story, after the arrival of both groups, mutual suspicions led to a violent clash and the Hanau epe were exterminated, except for one. In 1722, a description of the islands demographics by Jacob Roggeveen claimed that there were two distinctive ethnic groups: Polynesians and 'White' people, whose earlobes were lengthened a great amount.[citation needed] This suggests that the Hanau epe were not exterminated, but still lived peacefully alongside the Polynesians.[citation needed]
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Henri Lavachery
Henri Alfred Lavachery (May 6, 1885 - December 1, 1972 ) was a Belgian archeologist and ethnologist. In 1934, he became the first professional archaeologist to visit Easter Island, and was later known for his study of its art. He was curator at the Royal Museums of Art and History during the 1940s, and founded the Society of Americanists in Belgium in 1928.
Lavachery was born in Liège in 1885, and received his doctorate in classical philology from the University of Brussels in 1908. Thereafter, he traveled extensively through Europe, participating in various internships, including one at the Frobenius Institute in Frankfurt, and another in Paris under the direction of Paul Rivet at the Musée d'Ethnographie du Trocadéro.
In 1933, fascinated by the objects created by the Rapa Nui people, Lavachery decided to develop an expedition to Easter Island, with Rivet's support. The expedition took place between July 30, 1934 and January 3, 1935. It was headed by Charles Louis Watelin, a French archaeologist who died during the trip in Tierra del Fuego. Other expedition members included the Swiss anthropologist Alfred Métraux, and a Chilean doctor, Dr. Israel Drapkin, who provided leprosy care for affected indigenous people. The expedition discovered that the island's large stone statues had been made by the ancestors of the current occupants, who were of Polynesian descent, and not by members of a prior civilization who had disappeared. Lavachery noted that the island's petroglyphs were sometimes discovered simultaneously by the trip's explorers and the island dwellers. His later observations of the petroglyphs in 1939 suggested a degree of artistic diversity among the creators. According to Thor Heyerdahl, although Lavachery was the only professional archaeologist to have visited the island prior to Heyerdahl's 1950s voyage, Lavachery had not attempted excavations, as the soil appeared too shallow.
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Jacob Roggeveen
Jacob Roggeveen (1 February 1659, Middelburg - 31 January 1729, Middelburg) was a Dutch explorer who was sent to find Terra Australis, but he instead came across Easter Island. Jacob Roggeveen also encountered Bora Bora and Maupiti of the Society Islands, Samoa, along with his brother Jan Roggeveen.
His father, Arend Roggeveen, was a mathematician with much knowledge of astronomy, geography, rhetorics, philosophy and the theory of navigation as well. He occupied himself with study of the mythical Terra Australis, and even got a patent for an exploratory excursion; but it was to be his son who, at the age of 62, eventually equipped three ships and made the expedition.
Before he set out he had already lived a busy life. He became notary of Middelburg (the capital of the province of Zeeland, where he was born) on 30 March 1683. On 12 August 1690 he graduated as a doctor of the law at University of Harderwijk. He married Marija Margaerita Vincentius, but she died in October 1694. In 1706 he joined the Dutch East Indies Company, and between 1707 and 1714 as a Raadsheer van Justitie ("Council Lord of Justice") at Batavia, Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta). He married Anna Adriana Clement there, but she died soon afterward. In 1714, he returned to Middelburg by himself.
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James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. Cook made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, as well as the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.
Cook joined the British merchant navy as a teenager and joined the Royal Navy in 1755. He saw action in the Seven Years' War, and subsequently surveyed and mapped much of the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River during the siege of Quebec. This helped bring Cook to the attention of the Admiralty and Royal Society. This notice came at a crucial moment in both Cook's career and the direction of British overseas exploration, and led to his commission in 1766 as commander of HM Bark Endeavour for the first of three Pacific voyages.
In three voyages Cook sailed thousands of miles across largely uncharted areas of the globe. He mapped lands from New Zealand to Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean in greater detail and on a scale not previously achieved. As he progressed on his voyages of discovery he surveyed and named features, and recorded islands and coastlines on European maps for the first time. He displayed a combination of seamanship, superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical courage and an ability to lead men in adverse conditions.
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Jared Diamond
Jared Mason Diamond (born September 10, 1937) is an American scientist and author best known for his popular science books The Third Chimpanzee, Guns, Germs, and Steel, and Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Originally trained in physiology, Diamond's work is known for drawing from a variety of fields, and he is currently Professor of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Diamond was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a Bessarabian Jewish family. His father Louis K. Diamond was a physician and his mother Flora Kaplan a teacher, musician, and linguist. He attended the Roxbury Latin School and earned an A.B. from Harvard College in 1958 and a Ph.D. in physiology and membrane biophysics from the University of Cambridge in 1961.
After graduating from Cambridge, Diamond returned to Harvard as a Junior Fellow until 1965, and, in 1968, became Professor of Physiology at UCLA Medical School. While in his twenties, he developed a second, parallel, career in ornithology and ecology, specialising in New Guinea and nearby islands. Then in his fifties, Diamond developed a third career in environmental history and became Professor of Geography at UCLA, his current position. He was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1999 and an honorary doctorate by Westfield State University in 2009.
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Katherine Routledge
Katherine Maria Routledge, née Pease (1866-1935) was a British archaeologist who initiated (but did not complete) the first true survey of Easter Island.
She was the second child of Kate and Gurney Pease, and was born into a wealthy Quaker family in Darlington, northern England. She graduated from Somerville Hall (now Somerville College, Oxford), with Honours in Modern History in 1895, and for a while taught courses through the Extension Division and at Darlington Training College. After the Second Boer War, she traveled to South Africa with a committee to investigate the resettlement of single working women from England to South Africa. In 1906 she married William Scoresby Routledge. The couple went to live among the Kikuyu people of what was then British East Africa, and in 1910 jointly published a book of their research entitled With A Prehistoric People.
In 1910 the Routledges decided to organize their own expedition to Easter Island/Rapa Nui. They had a state-of-the-art 90-foot (27 m) long Schooner built and named it Mana. They affiliated with the British Association for the Advancement of Science, the British Museum and the Royal Geographical Society, recruited a crew and borrowed an officer from the Royal Navy. The Mana departed Falmouth on 25 March 1913.
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Māori people
The Māori (Māori pronunciation: [ˈmaːɔɾi], English: /ˈmaʊəri/) are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. The Māori originated with settlers from eastern Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages at some time before 1300 CE. Over several centuries in isolation, the Polynesian settlers developed a unique culture that became known as the "Māori", with their own language, a rich mythology, distinctive crafts and performing arts. Early Māori formed tribal groups, based on eastern Polynesian social customs and organisation. Horticulture flourished using plants they introduced, and later a prominent warrior culture emerged.
The arrival of Europeans to New Zealand starting from the 17th century brought enormous change to the Māori way of life. Māori people gradually adopted many aspects of Western society and culture. Initial relations between Māori and Europeans were largely amicable, and with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 the two cultures coexisted as part of a new British colony. Rising tensions over disputed land sales led to conflict in the 1860s. Social upheaval, decades of conflict and epidemics of introduced disease took a devastating toll on the Māori population, which went into a dramatic decline. But by the start of the 20th century the Māori population had begun to recover, and efforts were made to increase their standing in wider New Zealand society. Traditional Māori culture has enjoyed a revival, and a protest movement emerged in the 1960s advocating Māori issues.
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Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians (in Hawaiian, kānaka ʻōiwi, kānaka maoli or Hawaiʻi maoli) refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau report for 2000, there are 401,162 people who identified themselves as being "native Hawaiian" alone or in any combination. 140,652 people identified themselves as being "native Hawaiian" alone. The majority of native Hawaiians reside in State of Hawaiʻi, California, Nevada and Washington. Two-thirds live in the State of Hawaiʻi while the other one-third is scattered among other states with a high concentration in California.
The history of native Hawaiians, and of Hawaiʻi in general, is classified into four major periods: antiquity (Ancient Hawaiʻi), monarchy (Kingdom of Hawaiʻi), territorial (Territory of Hawaiʻi), and statehood (State of Hawaiʻi).
The early settlement history of Hawaiʻi is still not completely resolved. Some believe that the first Polynesians arrived in Hawaiʻi in the 3rd century from the Marquesas and were followed by Tahitian settlers in AD 1300 who conquered the original inhabitants. Others believe that there was only a single, extended period of settlement. Patrick Kirch, in his 2001 Hawaiki, argues for an extended period of contact but not necessarily for a Tahitian invasion:
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Negrito
The Negrito are a class of several ethnic groups who inhabit isolated parts of Southeast Asia.
Their current populations include 12 Andamanese peoples of the Andaman Islands, six Semang peoples of Malaysia, the Mani of Thailand, and the Aeta, Agta, Ati, and 30 other peoples of the Philippines. Reports from British traders also speak of negrito people on Borneo (Sarawak). (Journal of the Malayan Branch Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. XXIX, part 1, 1956)
Negritos share some common physical features with African pygmy populations, including short stature, natural afro-hair texture, and dark skin; however, their origin and the route of their migration to Asia is still a matter of great speculation. They are the most genetically distant human population from Africans at most loci studied thus far (except for MC1R, which codes for dark skin).
They have also been shown to have separated early from Asians, suggesting that they are either surviving descendants of settlers from an early migration out of Africa, commonly referred to as the Proto-Australoids, or that they are descendants of one of the founder populations of modern humans.
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Policarpo Toro
Policarpo Toro Hurtado (born in Melipilla, Chile on February 6, 1851 - died 1921 in Santiago, Chile ) was a Chilean naval officer, . He enrolled in the Chilean Navy in 1871 and visited Easter Island in 1875. From 1877 to 1879 he participated in the English Navy as second lieutenant. In 1879, as the War of the Pacific started, he asked to return to Chile and participated in several actions. In 1883 visited Easter Island a second time and elaborated a document where he highlighted economic advantages for Chile in acquiring the island.
With government approval, he visited the island in 1887. After a year of negotiations with the islanders, in September 9 1888 he took possession of the island on behalf of Chile. In 1891 he refused to participate in the naval actions against José Manuel Balmaceda government (in the so-called 1891 Revolution) and was separated from the Army. In 1893, in the general amnesty enacted by the new government, he was pensioned. He died in Santiago in 1921.
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Ricardo Lagos Weber
Ricardo Andrés Lagos Weber (born February 21, 1962), son of former Chilean president Ricardo Lagos, is a politician who served as the Ministry General Secretariat of Government of Chile in the administration of former President Michelle Bachelet after having worked for Bachelet's 2005-2006 campaign. He is trained in law and economics, and has served the majority of his government career in economic positions. He was also an organizer and the senior representative for Chile at the Annual Meeting of APEC held in Chile in 2004, in addition to being one of the architects of the free trade agreements that Chile signed with the United States (United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement) and the European Union (European Union Association Agreement) as the head of the Foreign Ministry's Department of Trade Policy. He is a member of the Party for Democracy (PPD).
Lagos Weber was born in the United States, the son of then-University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor and now former president Ricardo Lagos Escobar and ex-wife Carmen Weber Aliaga. Due to the constant traveling caused by the exile of his father during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, Lagos Weber was forced to complete his studies in eight different schools, finishing his secondary education at Colegio San Agustin. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Universidad de Chile School of Law, receiving his Bachelor of Law and Social Sciences degree in 1985.
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Rotuman people
The Rotuman people are the indigenous inhabitants of Rotuma, a small island group forming part of the Republic of Fiji. The island itself is a cultural melting pot at the crossroads of the Micronesian, Melanesian and Polynesian divisions of the Pacific Ocean, and due to the seafaring nature of traditional Pacific cultures, the indigenous Rotuman have adopted or share many aspects of its multifaceted culture with its Melanesian, Micronesian and Polynesian neighbours.
It is believed by many academics that the first inhabitants of the island were probably the ancient (Melanesian) seafaring people the Lapita, followed by waves of Micronesians and finally by Polynesians, giving Rotumans a similar but thoroughly distinct language, cultural heritage and metaphysical understanding to that of their preceding parent cultures.
Rotuman mythology typically points to Samoans as the first people to inhabit the island of Rotuma. The most prominent creation myth speaks of Raho, a Samoan prince who, shamed by his family, sought a new home with his daughters. He travelled across the Pacific in his canoe, and when he came to a spot with two protruding rocks, poured baskets of sand from Samoa over the rocks, forming the islands of Rotuma.
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Samoans
The Samoan people are a Polynesian ethnic group of the Samoan Islands, sharing genetics, language, history and culture. Due to colonialism, the home islands are politically and geographically divided between the country of Samoa, official name Independent State of Samoa (formerly Western Samoa until country name change in 1997); and American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States.
Samoans living in Samoa in 2006 were estimated at 188,000 The majority of ethnic Samoans now reside in other countries, primarily in New Zealand (115,000 in 2001) and Australia (39,992 in 2006)
Although the Samoan Natives (Tagata Mao'i) have long claimed to be the indigenous people of their islands, holding firm to the belief that Samoans were birthed by special creation in Samoa, it has been theorized by many linguists and anthropologists, based on linguistic commonalities as well as archaeological findings, that migrants from Southeast Asia arrived in the Samoan Islands approximately 3500 years ago, settling in what has come to be known as "Polynesia" further to the east. This approximation is based on the so-called "Lapita" pottery that has been dated to that time; it is possible, as the natives suggest, however, that the Samoan Islands were in fact settled some time prior to 1000 BC and that the original settlement actually predates the arrival of those to whom the pottery was culturally relevant. Furthermore, the Samoans have developed a language, culture, and social practice most divergent from the other ethnic groups associated with the Lapita pottery and the term "Austronesia".
wn.com/Samoans -
Sebastian Englert
Father Sebastian Englert OFM Cap., (born November 17, 1888 in Dillingen an der Donau, Bavaria, died January 8, 1969 in New Orleans, Louisiana) was a Capuchin Franciscan friar, Roman Catholic priest, missionary, linguist and ethnologist from Germany.
Born Anton Franz Englert, Father Sebastian spent his school days in Eichstätt and Burghausen. In 1907, he entered the novitiate of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and received the religious name Sebastian. He undertook his canonical studies in philosophy and theology in the Capuchin studium of Dillingen, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1912.
During the First World War, Father Sebastian served as a chaplain in the German Army in France and Belgium, and after the war he worked for five years as a parish priest in the Schwabing district of Munich. In 1922, he went at his own request as a missionary to the Mapuche in Southern Chile.
Father Sebastian served in the Apostolic Vicariate of the Araucanía in Villarica and Pucón, which at the time was administered almost entirely by Capuchins. There, in addition to his pastoral duties, he conducted original ethnological and linguistic research into Mapuche culture and the Mapudungun language. From 1934 to 1938, he published studies in Araucanian literature, ethnology and folklore. During this period, his linguistic studies included an investigation of the relationship of the Quechua and Aymara languages to the Mapuche language.
wn.com/Sebastian_Englert -
Tahitians
The Tahitians, or Maohis, are indigenous peoples of Tahiti and thirteen other Society Islands, as well as the modern population of these lands of mixed ancestry (French: demis). The Tahitians are one of the most significant indigenous Polynesian peoples of Oceania.
The original Tahitian society was unaware of metal as it was based on Stone Age technology. However, it enabled Tahitians to clear land for cultivation on the fertile volcanic soils and build fishing canoes, their two basic subsistence activities. The tools of the Tahitians when first discovered were made of stone, bone, shell or wood.
The Tahitians were divided into three major classes (or castes): ari'i,ra'atira and manahune.Ari'i were relatively few in number while manahune constituted the bulk of population and included some members who played essential roles in the society. It is estimated that by the first contact with Europeans in 1767 the population of Tahiti was no more than 40,000 while other Society Islands held probably 15,000-20,000 natives.
wn.com/Tahitians -
Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl (October 6, 1914, Larvik, Norway – April 18, 2002, Colla Micheri, Italy) was a Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer with a background in zoology and geography. He became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he sailed 8,000 km (5,000 mi) across the Pacific Ocean in a self-built raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands in 1947.
In May 2011, the Thor Heyerdahl Archives were added to UNESCO's "Memory of the World" Register. Currently, this list includes 238 collections from all over the world. The Heyerdahl Archives span the years 1937 to 2002 and include his photographic collection, diaries, private letters, expedition plans, articles, newspaper clippings, original book and article manuscripts. The Heyerdahl Archives are administered by the Kon-Tiki Museum and the National Library of Norway in Oslo.
Heyerdahl was born in Larvik, the son of master brewer Thor Heyerdahl and his wife Alison Lyng. As a young child, Heyerdahl showed a strong interest in zoology. He created a small museum in his childhood home, with a Vipera berus as the main attraction. He studied zoology and geography at the University of Oslo. At the same time, he privately studied Polynesian culture and history, consulting what was then the world's largest private collection of books and papers on Polynesia, owned by Bjarne Kropelien, a wealthy wine merchant in Oslo. This collection was later purchased by the University of Oslo Library from Kropelien's heirs and was attached to the Kon-Tiki Museum research department. After seven terms and consultations with experts in Berlin, a project was developed and sponsored by Heyerdahl's zoology professors, Kristine Bonnevie and Hjalmar Broch. He was to visit some isolated Pacific island groups and study how the local animals had found their way there.
wn.com/Thor_Heyerdahl -
William Hodges
William Hodges RA (28 October 1744 – 6 March 1797) was an English painter. He was a member of James Cook's second voyage to the Pacific Ocean, and is best known for the sketches and paintings of locations he visited on that voyage, including Table Bay, Tahiti, Easter Island, and the Antarctic.
Hodges was born on 28 October 1744 in London. He studied under William Shipley, and afterwards in the studio of Richard Wilson, where he met Thomas Jones.
During his early career, he made a living by painting theatrical scenery.
Between 1772 and 1775 Hodges accompanied James Cook to the Pacific as the expedition's artist. Many of his sketches and wash paintings were adapted as engravings in the original published edition of Cook's journals from the voyage.
Most of the large-scale landscape oil paintings from his Pacific travels for which Hodges is best known were finished after his return to London; he received a salary from the Admiralty for the purposes of completing them. These paintings depicted a stronger light and shadow than had been usual in European landscape tradition. Contemporary art critics complained that his use of light and colour contrasts gave his paintings a rough and unfinished appearance.
wn.com/William_Hodges -
William Mulloy
William Thomas Mulloy, Jr. (1917–1978) was an American anthropologist. While his early research established him as a formidable scholar and skillful fieldwork supervisor in the province of North American Plains archaeology, he is best known for his studies of Polynesian prehistory, especially his investigations into the production, transportation and erection of the monumental statuary on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) known as moai.
Mulloy was born May 3, 1917 in Salt Lake City, the only son of William Thomas Mulloy, Sr., a conductor on the Union Pacific Railroad, and Barbara Seinsoth Mulloy. His older sister, Mary Grace Mulloy Strauch, recognized and encouraged his early interest in archaeology. On the occasions of his childhood visits to her home in Mesa, Arizona, she would drive him to the town dump where he spent days at a time conducting his own stratification studies and enthusiastically reporting his results to her family at suppertime.
Mulloy earned a BA in anthropology from the University of Utah, where he had distinguished himself both in the classroom and on the wrestling team. From 1938 to 1939, he worked for the Louisiana State Archaeological Survey as a field archaeologist. In the Louisiana bayou, he contracted malaria. From Louisiana, Mulloy went to Illinois where he began graduate studies at the University of Chicago, then one of the world's foremost graduate schools of Anthropology and Archaeology. In the summer of 1940, Mulloy supervised archaeological fieldwork at Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. There, among the field crew, he met his future wife, Emily Ross, an archaeology major at the University of New Mexico.
wn.com/William_Mulloy
karaoke
Guarding the carcass, we stripped and devided
To carve up and covet they wait there alone
Keeping the secret the rest have forgotten
And staring in silence from sockets of stone
Built and obeyed with the best of intentions
Stranger than truth and as lost and alone
Stranded like dogs in a star-spangled manger
No good to nothing not even their own
Chorus:
Holy-O-my God-I
can't see the stars in the sky
for the sun in my eye
She's like a dream that a world quit believin'
Caught in the action back to the sea
How many more might have come from that mountain?
Barely the creatures they struggled to be
Surely the death of so grand an illusion
Left us with legends too great to ignore
Stone-cut survivors of ancient dimensions
Lost in the wonder they came to explore.
Chorus:
Holy star light far brighter
than the sun in your eye
Singing thy will be done
Repeat chorus:
Holy star light far brighter
than the sun in your eye
Those were shards of glass that cut your foot
From the dishes you smashed, I knew you would.
Standing there helpless, like a child.
The fight's over and, you won
But against two there's no one there now.
Me and you
I put you to bed
And close the door, but there's still war
Ooh, on Easter Island.
The demons they hover, your father & mother
The things they did to you, like no other
Over the years have been forgotten.
But not in your heart and it's still fighting.
Ooh, on Easter Island.
(Haitu noises/voices in background)
I'll search that stretch, come back home.
Come back home.
Come back home.
On Easter Island.
Come back home.
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Attenborough Explains Easter Island
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:13
- Updated: 08 Jan 2013
From the Attenborough Special "The Lost Gods of Easter Island"
http://wn.com/Attenborough_Explains_Easter_Island
From the Attenborough Special "The Lost Gods of Easter Island"
The Lost Gods of Easter Island
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 48:58
- Updated: 09 Jan 2013
worldmysteries.tv BBC documentary written and presented by David Attenborough. It explores the history of the civilization of the remote Easter islands. It was first transmitted in 2000 and is part of the Attenborough in Paradise and Other Personal Voyages collection of seven documentaries.
http://wn.com/The_Lost_Gods_of_Easter_Island
worldmysteries.tv BBC documentary written and presented by David Attenborough. It explores the history of the civilization of the remote Easter islands. It was first transmitted in 2000 and is part of the Attenborough in Paradise and Other Personal Voyages collection of seven documentaries.
- published: 22 Sep 2011
- views: 166835
- author: worldmysteriestv
The Mystery Of Easter Island - Part 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:20
- Updated: 30 Dec 2012
One of the most incredible island stories in Human history. Purely shocking and heart felt at the same time. Creative planet, Creative thinking
http://wn.com/The_Mystery_Of_Easter_Island_Part_1
One of the most incredible island stories in Human history. Purely shocking and heart felt at the same time. Creative planet, Creative thinking
- published: 09 Mar 2008
- views: 155217
- author: TalkCreativePlanet
Easter Island
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 54:38
- Updated: 08 Jan 2013
Watch a new full-length NOVA episode on Easter Island at video.pbs.org www.pbs.org - Travel to Easter Island to discover the secrets of this vanished civilization through the "moai," the massive headstones that these ancient islanders created to achieve peace and harmony, yet resulted in geological disaster.
http://wn.com/Easter_Island
Watch a new full-length NOVA episode on Easter Island at video.pbs.org www.pbs.org - Travel to Easter Island to discover the secrets of this vanished civilization through the "moai," the massive headstones that these ancient islanders created to achieve peace and harmony, yet resulted in geological disaster.
- published: 27 Mar 2009
- views: 75015
- author: PBS
Mysteries... - Easter Island
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 46:29
- Updated: 23 Jul 2012
Discover where the inhabitants of Easter Island really came from. Listen to the oral histories and myths passed down through word of mouth through the centuries explaining the marvels of the island. Learn how distance and religious beliefs cut off the islanders from their contemporaries. Fathom how a primitive people managed to carve and transport these heavy behemoths. Sift through the facts to determine what happened to the islanders when their population became too large for the island to support. Through examining archeological evidence, the world's top scholars debate why the monuments on Easter Island were built. "Easter Island" asks the question, "Who were the Easter Islanders, and why did they build the statues that dot their remote corner of the world?" Find out on "Easter Island." A documentary series separating truth from fiction, solving intricate mysteries -- places, objects, events and/or people -- that have captivated people around the globe for centuries. "Mysteries" seeks out the latest evidence, not simply repeating existing myths, legends and "facts", but by securing the testimony of top experts -- charismatic and entertaining scientists, historians, crime investigators.
http://wn.com/Mysteries_Easter_Island
Discover where the inhabitants of Easter Island really came from. Listen to the oral histories and myths passed down through word of mouth through the centuries explaining the marvels of the island. Learn how distance and religious beliefs cut off the islanders from their contemporaries. Fathom how a primitive people managed to carve and transport these heavy behemoths. Sift through the facts to determine what happened to the islanders when their population became too large for the island to support. Through examining archeological evidence, the world's top scholars debate why the monuments on Easter Island were built. "Easter Island" asks the question, "Who were the Easter Islanders, and why did they build the statues that dot their remote corner of the world?" Find out on "Easter Island." A documentary series separating truth from fiction, solving intricate mysteries -- places, objects, events and/or people -- that have captivated people around the globe for centuries. "Mysteries" seeks out the latest evidence, not simply repeating existing myths, legends and "facts", but by securing the testimony of top experts -- charismatic and entertaining scientists, historians, crime investigators.
- published: 13 Oct 2010
- views: 10049
- author: TravelVideoStore
End of Easter Island
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:42
- Updated: 30 Dec 2012
Easter Island's inhabitants used up all their resources and eventually died out -- a lesson for us all. Explorer: Easter Island Underworld : channel.nationalgeographic.com
http://wn.com/End_of_Easter_Island
Easter Island's inhabitants used up all their resources and eventually died out -- a lesson for us all. Explorer: Easter Island Underworld : channel.nationalgeographic.com
- published: 01 Jun 2009
- views: 105551
- author: NationalGeographic
The Eclectic Moniker - Easter Island official video
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:16
- Updated: 08 Jan 2013
Buy our music: itunes.apple.com Spotify: open.spotify.com Facebook: www.facebook.com Listen to Eclectic Moniker on spotify here: open.spotify.com Directed/Edited by Luc Rioche Produced/Edited by Andreas Munksgaard DoP: Ian Coad 1st AD: Hannah Goodwin-Hayward Jack: Jack Royle Contact management: Ole.Norup (@) wedomanagement.dk or Lea.Apollo (@) wedomanagement.dk All rights reserved 2012 The Eclectic Moniker
http://wn.com/The_Eclectic_Moniker_Easter_Island_official_video
Buy our music: itunes.apple.com Spotify: open.spotify.com Facebook: www.facebook.com Listen to Eclectic Moniker on spotify here: open.spotify.com Directed/Edited by Luc Rioche Produced/Edited by Andreas Munksgaard DoP: Ian Coad 1st AD: Hannah Goodwin-Hayward Jack: Jack Royle Contact management: Ole.Norup (@) wedomanagement.dk or Lea.Apollo (@) wedomanagement.dk All rights reserved 2012 The Eclectic Moniker
- published: 05 Apr 2012
- views: 94833
- author: TheEclecticMoniker
Easter Island moai 'walked'
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:47
- Updated: 09 Jan 2013
Researchers have used a replica moai to show how the giant statues may have been "walked" to where they are displayed. Read more: www.nature.com Video courtesy of Carl Lipo.
http://wn.com/Easter_Island_moai_'walked'
Researchers have used a replica moai to show how the giant statues may have been "walked" to where they are displayed. Read more: www.nature.com Video courtesy of Carl Lipo.
- published: 23 Oct 2012
- views: 286625
- author: Nature Newsteam
Scientists Make Easter Island Statue Walk
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:43
- Updated: 08 Jan 2013
ngm.nationalgeographic.com Researchers Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo test a new theory that suggests how ancient Easter Islanders may have used ropes to "walk" the moai to their platforms. More on the mystery of Easter Island's statues in the July issue of National Geographic magazine for iPad: ngm.nationalgeographic.com
http://wn.com/Scientists_Make_Easter_Island_Statue_Walk
ngm.nationalgeographic.com Researchers Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo test a new theory that suggests how ancient Easter Islanders may have used ropes to "walk" the moai to their platforms. More on the mystery of Easter Island's statues in the July issue of National Geographic magazine for iPad: ngm.nationalgeographic.com
- published: 21 Jun 2012
- views: 2026103
- author: NationalGeographic
Easter Island Mysteries
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 13:37
- Updated: 09 Jan 2013
This short film was created by The Disinformation Company www.disinfo.com for presentation at the International Conference on Ancient Studies, held in Dubai in February 2010. It is narrated by Disinformation's Gary Baddeley and features geologist Dr. Robert Schoch of Boston University. They present their preliminary findings from a research trip to Easter Island (Rapa Nui). The film is part of a proposal to fund a full investigation into the various anomalies and mysteries they found. For more information visit http
http://wn.com/Easter_Island_Mysteries
This short film was created by The Disinformation Company www.disinfo.com for presentation at the International Conference on Ancient Studies, held in Dubai in February 2010. It is narrated by Disinformation's Gary Baddeley and features geologist Dr. Robert Schoch of Boston University. They present their preliminary findings from a research trip to Easter Island (Rapa Nui). The film is part of a proposal to fund a full investigation into the various anomalies and mysteries they found. For more information visit http
- published: 31 Mar 2010
- views: 48408
- author: disinfodave
Mysterious Easter Island Heads Have Bodies Too
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:14
- Updated: 07 Jan 2013
06/13/2012 Recent excavations are revealing new discoveries about the towering statues of Easter Island. MSNBC's Dara Brown speaks with Dr. Jo Anne Van Tillburg, archaeologist and director of the Easter Island Statue Project, about the finding from recent excavations. LeakSource.wordpress.com http
http://wn.com/Mysterious_Easter_Island_Heads_Have_Bodies_Too
06/13/2012 Recent excavations are revealing new discoveries about the towering statues of Easter Island. MSNBC's Dara Brown speaks with Dr. Jo Anne Van Tillburg, archaeologist and director of the Easter Island Statue Project, about the finding from recent excavations. LeakSource.wordpress.com http
- published: 14 Jun 2012
- views: 32177
- author: TheLeakSource
National Geographic Live! - Walking with Giants: How the Easter Island Moai Moved
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:16
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
For centuries, the mystery of how the colossal stone statues of Easter Island moved captivated scientists. See their theories come to life. Upcoming Events at National Geographic Live! events.nationalgeographic.com Read the Book www.thestatuesthatwalked.com
http://wn.com/National_Geographic_Live!_Walking_with_Giants_How_the_Easter_Island_Moai_Moved
For centuries, the mystery of how the colossal stone statues of Easter Island moved captivated scientists. See their theories come to life. Upcoming Events at National Geographic Live! events.nationalgeographic.com Read the Book www.thestatuesthatwalked.com
- published: 13 Aug 2012
- views: 26212
- author: NationalGeographic
Chilean Rapa Nui Dancers from Easter Island in New York City
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:05
- Updated: 06 Jan 2013
From Easter Island in Chile, a group of Rapa Nui dancers perform in different places around NYC
http://wn.com/Chilean_Rapa_Nui_Dancers_from_Easter_Island_in_New_York_City
From Easter Island in Chile, a group of Rapa Nui dancers perform in different places around NYC
- published: 29 Sep 2012
- views: 12232
- author: CompulsiveTravelerTV
Easter Island: Saving the Rapanui - Chile
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 23:25
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
November 2004 The Rapanui of Easter Island are facing extinction. They claim their colonial masters in Chile aren't doing enough to ensure their survival. Produced by SBS/Dateline Distributed by Journeyman Pictures
http://wn.com/Easter_Island_Saving_the_Rapanui_Chile
November 2004 The Rapanui of Easter Island are facing extinction. They claim their colonial masters in Chile aren't doing enough to ensure their survival. Produced by SBS/Dateline Distributed by Journeyman Pictures
- published: 24 Jan 2008
- views: 9576
- author: journeymanpictures
Drunvalo Melchizedek and Birth of a New Humanity
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:47
- Updated: 07 Jan 2013
DrunvaloFlowerofLife The Birth of a New Humanity DVD is now shipping!! PAL & NTSC www.onelotus.net Additionally the Q&A; information from the broadcast is available to read now at: drunvalo.net The information is presented in English, Spanish, Hungarian, French, German and Russian. Thank you everyone for the great comments. From my heart Drunvalo Please support our sponsors www.humicin.com Original broadcast description In this next broadcast we are going to enter into ancient Atlantis because it is where our story begins. And is something that must be done simply because this is exactly where our present-day troubles were created. Long ago, over 13000 years ago, the human grids of consciousness began to collapse and humanity began to lose their higher consciousness. It is what the Bible called the Fall. Something had to be done or humanity would end up no higher than the animals. But as the Earths axis shifted to a new location and Atlantis sank below the ocean levels, and the Maya, Kogi and Arjarcos headed in their boats to new lands, humanity also began to sink below the levels of awareness that were once achieved. Men and women more advanced than we are now quickly became hairy barbarians with not even the knowledge to light a fire. Their Mer-Ka-Ba fields, their light bodies, had been shut down leaving them exposed to the effects of the Earths magnetic field having been shut off. The memories of humanity were erased. In a far distance place a decision was made, and a ...
http://wn.com/Drunvalo_Melchizedek_and_Birth_of_a_New_Humanity
DrunvaloFlowerofLife The Birth of a New Humanity DVD is now shipping!! PAL & NTSC www.onelotus.net Additionally the Q&A; information from the broadcast is available to read now at: drunvalo.net The information is presented in English, Spanish, Hungarian, French, German and Russian. Thank you everyone for the great comments. From my heart Drunvalo Please support our sponsors www.humicin.com Original broadcast description In this next broadcast we are going to enter into ancient Atlantis because it is where our story begins. And is something that must be done simply because this is exactly where our present-day troubles were created. Long ago, over 13000 years ago, the human grids of consciousness began to collapse and humanity began to lose their higher consciousness. It is what the Bible called the Fall. Something had to be done or humanity would end up no higher than the animals. But as the Earths axis shifted to a new location and Atlantis sank below the ocean levels, and the Maya, Kogi and Arjarcos headed in their boats to new lands, humanity also began to sink below the levels of awareness that were once achieved. Men and women more advanced than we are now quickly became hairy barbarians with not even the knowledge to light a fire. Their Mer-Ka-Ba fields, their light bodies, had been shut down leaving them exposed to the effects of the Earths magnetic field having been shut off. The memories of humanity were erased. In a far distance place a decision was made, and a ...
- published: 02 Mar 2010
- views: 140707
- author: Drunvalo Melchizedek
Easter Island Solar Eclipse July 11 2010
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:01
- Updated: 08 Jul 2012
Easter Island Total Solar Eclipse July 11 2010! In Easter Island this is the first total solar eclipse in the last 1400 years!
http://wn.com/Easter_Island_Solar_Eclipse_July_11_2010
Easter Island Total Solar Eclipse July 11 2010! In Easter Island this is the first total solar eclipse in the last 1400 years!
- published: 11 Jul 2010
- views: 80062
- author: Carlybee1
Easter Island Mysteries Revealed
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:56
- Updated: 05 Jan 2013
This November 2012, join Ancient Alien's own Hugh Newman, Robert Schoch and Brien Foerster on a once in a lifetime tour! Click HERE: www.megalithomania.co.uk to Get up close and personal with mysterious temples and ancient sites such as Machu Picchu, Nazca Lines Puma Punku, the Pyramids of Cahuachi, and of course, the Moai Heads of Easter Island! Click on the link to view the tour page. www.hiddenincatours.com
http://wn.com/Easter_Island_Mysteries_Revealed
This November 2012, join Ancient Alien's own Hugh Newman, Robert Schoch and Brien Foerster on a once in a lifetime tour! Click HERE: www.megalithomania.co.uk to Get up close and personal with mysterious temples and ancient sites such as Machu Picchu, Nazca Lines Puma Punku, the Pyramids of Cahuachi, and of course, the Moai Heads of Easter Island! Click on the link to view the tour page. www.hiddenincatours.com
- published: 29 Jul 2012
- views: 4769
- author: Brien Foerster
Beef Plays Minecraft - Mindcrack Server - S2 EP92 - Easter Island
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 23:31
- Updated: 08 Jan 2013
I made this episode a bit shorter. Some people don't have time to watch 40+ min episodes every other day so throwing in a 20 min episode here and there is a good thing. In this episode, I try and bring the jungle some mystery. I attempt to replicate a "moai" found on Easter Island. I am quite pleased with the results. Jungle music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com Actual Moai: 1.bp.blogspot.com This is my Minecraft Multiplayer Let's Play from the Mindcrack Server. I'm sorry but we are currently not accepting applications. Shirts: vintagebeef.spreadshirt.com Twitter www.twitter.com Facebook: www.facebook.com TwitchTV: www.twitch.tv Intro By: www.youtube.com Don't forget to "Like" and Subscribe! Intro music: "El Magicia" and "New Friendly" by Kevin MacLeod - www.Incompetech.com
http://wn.com/Beef_Plays_Minecraft_Mindcrack_Server_S2_EP92_Easter_Island
I made this episode a bit shorter. Some people don't have time to watch 40+ min episodes every other day so throwing in a 20 min episode here and there is a good thing. In this episode, I try and bring the jungle some mystery. I attempt to replicate a "moai" found on Easter Island. I am quite pleased with the results. Jungle music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com Actual Moai: 1.bp.blogspot.com This is my Minecraft Multiplayer Let's Play from the Mindcrack Server. I'm sorry but we are currently not accepting applications. Shirts: vintagebeef.spreadshirt.com Twitter www.twitter.com Facebook: www.facebook.com TwitchTV: www.twitch.tv Intro By: www.youtube.com Don't forget to "Like" and Subscribe! Intro music: "El Magicia" and "New Friendly" by Kevin MacLeod - www.Incompetech.com
- published: 07 Jul 2012
- views: 67686
- author: VintageBeef
Pitch - Easter Island
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:21
- Updated: 10 Dec 2012
Music video by Pitch performing Easter Island www.pitch-band.com Music Bruno Pitch, Syloë, Guix Huré Lyrics : Bruno Pitch Movie by Charly Picciocchi - Mertz-TV
http://wn.com/Pitch_Easter_Island
Music video by Pitch performing Easter Island www.pitch-band.com Music Bruno Pitch, Syloë, Guix Huré Lyrics : Bruno Pitch Movie by Charly Picciocchi - Mertz-TV
- published: 14 Oct 2012
- views: 27957
- author: Bruno PITCH
Easter Island: The Sleeping Stone Giants Of Rapa Nui
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:59
- Updated: 09 Jan 2013
This November 2012, join Ancient Alien's own Hugh Newman, Robert Schoch and Brien Foerster on a once in a lifetime tour! Click HERE: www.megalithomania.co.uk to Get up close and personal with mysterious temples and ancient sites such as Machu Picchu, Nazca Lines Puma Punku, the Pyramids of Cahuachi, and of course, the Moai Heads of Easter Island! Click on the link to view the tour page. www.brienfoerster.com
http://wn.com/Easter_Island_The_Sleeping_Stone_Giants_Of_Rapa_Nui
This November 2012, join Ancient Alien's own Hugh Newman, Robert Schoch and Brien Foerster on a once in a lifetime tour! Click HERE: www.megalithomania.co.uk to Get up close and personal with mysterious temples and ancient sites such as Machu Picchu, Nazca Lines Puma Punku, the Pyramids of Cahuachi, and of course, the Moai Heads of Easter Island! Click on the link to view the tour page. www.brienfoerster.com
- published: 24 Mar 2012
- views: 5150
- author: Brien Foerster
EASTER ISLAND Rapa Nui, Chili
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:58
- Updated: 19 May 2012
Around 3500 kilometres west of the mainland of Chile is the Pacific island of Rapa Nui, otherwise known as Easter Island. Three million years ago, volcanic activity created this small island of lava that covers an area of 160 square kilometres. Rapa Nui is one of the most remote places on Earth, and its closest neighbor is Pitcairn Island more than 2000 kilometres west. Since its discovery by Dutch sailor Jakob Roggeveen on Easter Sunday 1722, there has been a great deal of interest in the island. In spite of its growing tourist trade, the island has retained an air of tranquility and is ideal for nature lovers and those interested in its history. Theories abound as to who were the first settlers to arrive on this tiny island, but scientists believe that its first inhabitants originated from Eastern Polynesia. But the island's main focal points are its gigantic and mysterious stone monuments that date back to late pre-historic times. These mighty statues have always stimulated a certain amount of fantasy, as the island was thought to be part of a lost continent. Nearly all the mighty figures, known as Moai, originated from the slopes of the Rano Raraku Volcano. Its Tuff stone was an ideal sculpting material and its soft texture made it possible for the islanders to create tall, massive statues out of the rock within only a few weeks. There are still almost 400 individually crafted Moai figures on the island. During the 19th century, slave traders arrived and took with ...
http://wn.com/EASTER_ISLAND_Rapa_Nui,_Chili
Around 3500 kilometres west of the mainland of Chile is the Pacific island of Rapa Nui, otherwise known as Easter Island. Three million years ago, volcanic activity created this small island of lava that covers an area of 160 square kilometres. Rapa Nui is one of the most remote places on Earth, and its closest neighbor is Pitcairn Island more than 2000 kilometres west. Since its discovery by Dutch sailor Jakob Roggeveen on Easter Sunday 1722, there has been a great deal of interest in the island. In spite of its growing tourist trade, the island has retained an air of tranquility and is ideal for nature lovers and those interested in its history. Theories abound as to who were the first settlers to arrive on this tiny island, but scientists believe that its first inhabitants originated from Eastern Polynesia. But the island's main focal points are its gigantic and mysterious stone monuments that date back to late pre-historic times. These mighty statues have always stimulated a certain amount of fantasy, as the island was thought to be part of a lost continent. Nearly all the mighty figures, known as Moai, originated from the slopes of the Rano Raraku Volcano. Its Tuff stone was an ideal sculpting material and its soft texture made it possible for the islanders to create tall, massive statues out of the rock within only a few weeks. There are still almost 400 individually crafted Moai figures on the island. During the 19th century, slave traders arrived and took with ...
- published: 07 Mar 2012
- views: 148
- author: TravelVideoStore
The Mystery Of Easter Island - Part 2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:05
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
One of the most incredible island stories in Human history. Purely shocking and heart felt at the same time. Creative planet, Creative thinking
http://wn.com/The_Mystery_Of_Easter_Island_Part_2
One of the most incredible island stories in Human history. Purely shocking and heart felt at the same time. Creative planet, Creative thinking
- published: 09 Mar 2008
- views: 71937
- author: TalkCreativePlanet
Gokujyo Parodius Arcade - Boss Run
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:27
- Updated: 09 Jan 2013
This is the arcade version. All of the original bosses are here.
http://wn.com/Gokujyo_Parodius_Arcade_Boss_Run
This is the arcade version. All of the original bosses are here.
- published: 29 Jul 2008
- views: 226612
- author: Lacktardo
photo: AP / Menahem Kahana
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JERUSALEM (Reuters) - It's Bibi against the world on a campaign trail that took the combative Israeli prime minister to a Jewish settlement on Tuesday. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem December 9, 2012. REUTERS/Ammar Awad ... Tweaking his message to match the locality, Netanyahu said ... The danger comes from Iran, which is building nuclear weapons." ... CHEMICAL WEAPONS ... ....(size: 3.8Kb)
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Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. When Congress granted President Lyndon B. Johnson absolute powers to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression," Congress could have also included "all necessary vanities." The 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which greatly escalated a foreign imperial war in Vietnam, added fuel to the bonfires of vanity....(size: 5.2Kb)
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North Jersey
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"Every day I think ... It belongs to the same language family that experts believe spread from Taiwan 4,000 years ago, giving birth to languages spoken today by 400 million people in an arc extending from Easter Island off South America to the African island of Madagascar. ... Many young people are leaving Dakanua, a picturesque village in the south that is home to the Kanakanavu language, to work in the island's cities. ... ....(size: 11.9Kb)
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Added At. 2013-01-09 10.18 PM ... It belongs to the same language family that experts believe spread from Taiwan 4,000 years ago, giving birth to languages spoken today by 400 million people in an arc extending from Easter Island off South America to the African island of Madagascar ... Many young people are leaving Dakanua, a picturesque village in the south that is home to the Kanakanavu language, to work in the island’s cities....(size: 5.2Kb)
The Washington Post
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Loading... Recommend. Personal Post ... It belongs to the same language family that experts believe spread from Taiwan 4,000 years ago, giving birth to languages spoken today by 400 million people in an arc extending from Easter Island off South America to the African island of Madagascar ... Many young people are leaving Dakanua, a picturesque village in the south that is home to the Kanakanavu language, to work in the island’s cities ... ....(size: 5.3Kb)
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Taipei Times
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For the album by Kris Kristofferson, see Easter Island (album).
"Rapa Nui" redirects here. For other uses, see Rapa Nui (disambiguation).
Coordinates: 27°7′S 109°22′W / 27.117°S 109.367°W / -27.117; -109.367
| Easter Island
Rapa Nui
Isla de Pascua |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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 |
||||||
| Capital | Hanga Roa 27°9′S 109°25.5′W / 27.15°S 109.425°W / -27.15; -109.425 |
|||||
| Official language(s) | None. Spanish and Rapa Nui widely used. | |||||
| Ethnic groups (2002) | Rapanui 60%, European or mestizo 39%, Amerindian 1% | |||||
| Demonym | Rapa Nui or Pascuense | |||||
| Government | Special territory of Chile[1] | |||||
| - | Provincial Governor | Carmen Cardinali | ||||
| - | Mayor | Luz Zasso Paoa | ||||
| Annexation | to Chile | |||||
| - | Treaty signed | September 9, 1888 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 163.6 km2 63.1 sq mi |
||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2011 estimate | 5,034[2] | ||||
| - | 2002 census | 3,791 | ||||
| - | Density | 30.77/km2 79.78/sq mi |
||||
| Currency | Peso (CLP) |
|||||
| Time zone | EAST (UTC−6) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | EASST (UTC−5) | ||||
| Internet TLD | .cl | |||||
| Calling code | +56 32 | |||||
Easter Island
Location of Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean
Easter Island (Rapa Nui: Rapa Nui, Spanish: Isla de Pascua) is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people. It is a World Heritage Site (as determined by UNESCO) with much of the island protected within Rapa Nui National Park. In recent times the island has served as a warning of the cultural and environmental dangers of overexploitation. Ethnographers and archaeologists also blame diseases carried by European colonizers and slave raiding of the 1860s for devastating the local peoples.[3]
Easter Island is claimed to be the most remote inhabited island in the world.[4]
Contents |
Name[link]
The name "Easter Island" was given by the island's first recorded European visitor, the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who encountered it on Easter Sunday 1722, while searching for Davis or David's island. Roggeveen named it Paasch-Eyland (18th century Dutch for "Easter Island").[5] The island's official Spanish name, Isla de Pascua, also means "Easter Island".
The current Polynesian name of the island, Rapa Nui, "Big Rapa", was coined after the slave raids of the early 1860s, and refers to the island's topographic resemblance to the island of Rapa in the Bass Islands of the Austral Islands group.[6] However Thor Heyerdahl argued that Rapa was the original name of Easter Island, and that Rapa Iti was named by refugees from there.[7]
The phrase Te pito o te henua has been said to be the original name of the island since Alphonse Pinart gave it the romantic translation "the Navel of the World" in his Voyage à l'Île de Pâques, published in 1877. However, there are two words pronounced pito in Rapa Nui, one meaning 'navel' and one 'end', and the phrase can thus also mean "land's end". This was apparently its actual meaning: William Churchill (1912) inquired about the phrase as was told that there were three te pito o te henua, these being the three capes (land's ends) of the island. He was unable to elicit a Polynesian name for the island itself, and concluded that there may not have been one.[8] According to Barthel (1974), oral tradition has it that the island was first named Te pito o te kainga a Hau Maka "The little piece of land of Hau Maka".[9] Another name, Mata ki te rangi, means "Eyes looking to the sky".[citation needed]
Location and physical geography[link]
Easter Island is one of the world's most isolated inhabited islands. Its closest inhabited neighbour is Pitcairn Island, 2,075 km (1,289 mi) to the west, with fewer than 100 inhabitants. Easter Island's latitude is similar to that of Caldera, Chile, and it lies 3,510 km (2,180 mi) west of continental Chile at its nearest point (between Lota and Lebu in the Biobío Region). Isla Salas y Gómez, 415 km (258 mi) to the east, is closer but is uninhabited.
The island is about 24.6 km (15.3 mi) long by 12.3 km (7.6 mi) at its widest point; its overall shape is triangular. It has an area of 163.6 square kilometres (63.2 sq mi), and a maximum altitude of 507 meters (1,663 ft). There are three Rano (freshwater crater lakes), at Rano Kau, Rano Raraku and Rano Aroi, near the summit of Terevaka, but no permanent streams or rivers.
-
Easter Island, Sala y Gómez, South America and the islands in between
-
Orthographic projection centered on Easter Island
Geology[link]
Easter Island is a volcanic high island, consisting mainly of three extinct coalesced volcanoes: Terevaka (altitude 507 metres) forms the bulk of the island, while two other volcanoes, Poike and Rano Kau, form the eastern and southern headlands and give the island its roughly triangular shape. Lesser cones and other volcanic features include the crater Rano Raraku, the cinder cone Puna Pau and many volcanic caves including lava tubes.[10] Poike used to be a separate island until volcanic material from Terevaka united it to the larger whole. The island is dominated by hawaiite and basalt flows which are rich in iron and show affinity with igneous rocks found in the Galápagos Islands.[11]
Easter Island and surrounding islets such as Motu Nui and Motu Iti form the summit of a large volcanic mountain rising over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) from the sea bed. The mountain is part of the Sala y Gómez Ridge, a (mostly submarine) mountain range with dozens of seamounts. The range begins with Pukao and next Moai, two seamounts to the west of Easter Island, and extends 2,700 km (1,700 mi) east to the Nazca Ridge.[12] The ridge was formed by the Nazca Plate floating over the Easter hotspot.[13] The movement of Nazca and formerly the Farallon Plate over the hotspot has created a long underwater ridge, the Nazca Ridge, whose eastern end is being subducted under Peru. Only at Easter Island, its surrounding islets and Sala y Gómez does the Sala y Gómez Ridge form dry land.
Pukao, Moai and Easter Island were formed in the last 750,000 years and are the ridge's youngest islands. The most recent eruption was a little over 100,000 years ago.
In the first half of the 20th century, steam reportedly came out of the Rano Kau crater wall. This was photographed by the island's manager, Mr. Edmunds.[14] According to geologists the last volcanic activity on the island occurred 10,000 years ago.
An alternative explanation for the islands is the activity of the Easter Fracture Zone.
Climate and weather[link]
See also: Climate of Chile
The climate of Easter Island is subtropical maritime. The lowest temperatures are recorded in July and August (18 °C or 64 °F) and the highest in February (maximum temperature 28 °C or 82 °F[15]), the summer season in the southern hemisphere. Winters are relatively mild. The rainiest month is April, though the island experiences year-round rainfall.[16] Easter Island's isolated location exposes it to winds which help to keep the temperature fairly cool. Precipitation averages 1,118 millimetres or 44 inches per year. Occasionally, heavy rainfall and rainstorms strike the island. These occur mostly in the winter months (June–August). Since it is close to the South Pacific High and outside the range of the ITCZ, cyclones and hurricanes do not occur around Easter island.[17]
| Climate data for Easter Island | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 36 (97) |
37 (99) |
34 (93) |
31 (88) |
31 (88) |
27 (81) |
27 (81) |
29 (84) |
31 (88) |
33 (91) |
36 (97) |
37 (99) |
37 (99) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 25 (77) |
26 (79) |
25 (77) |
24 (75) |
22 (72) |
21 (70) |
20 (68) |
20 (68) |
21 (70) |
21 (70) |
22 (72) |
24 (75) |
22.6 (72.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 21 (70) |
21 (70) |
21 (70) |
20 (68) |
18 (64) |
17 (63) |
16 (61) |
16 (61) |
16 (61) |
16 (61) |
18 (64) |
19 (66) |
18.3 (64.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 15 (59) |
16 (61) |
7 (45) |
3 (37) |
10 (50) |
7 (45) |
9 (48) |
7 (45) |
10 (50) |
7 (45) |
12 (54) |
3 (37) |
3 (37) |
| Precipitation cm (inches) | 9 (3.5) |
8 (3.1) |
8 (3.1) |
11 (4.3) |
12 (4.7) |
10 (3.9) |
9 (3.5) |
8 (3.1) |
8 (3.1) |
7 (2.8) |
8 (3.1) |
9 (3.5) |
113 (44.5) |
| Source: Weatherbase [18] | |||||||||||||
History[link]
| Rapa Nui National Park * | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country | Chile |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, iii, v |
| Reference | 715 |
| Region ** | Latin America and the Caribbean |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1995 (19th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO |
|
Main article: History of Easter Island
The history of Easter Island is rich and controversial. Its inhabitants have endured famines, epidemics, civil war, slave raids, colonialism, and near deforestation; its population declined precipitously more than once.
Estimated dates of initial settlement of Easter Island have ranged from 300 to 1200 CE, approximately coinciding with the arrival of the first settlers in Hawaii. Rectifications in radiocarbon dating have changed almost all of the previously-posited early settlement dates in Polynesia. Rapa Nui has more recently been considered to have been settled in the narrower range of 700 to 1100 CE. An ongoing study by archaeologists Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo suggests a still-later date: "Radiocarbon dates for the earliest stratigraphic layers at Anakena, Easter Island, and analysis of previous radiocarbon dates imply that the island was colonized late, about 1200 CE. Significant ecological impacts and major cultural investments in monumental architecture and statuary thus began soon after initial settlement."[19][20]
According to oral tradition, the first settlement was at Anakena. Jared Diamond notes that the Caleta Anakena landing point provides the best shelter from prevailing swells, as well as a sandy beach for canoe landings and launchings, so it seems likely to have been an early place of settlement.[21] However, this hypothesis contradicts radiocarbon dating, according to which other sites preceded Anakena by many years, especially the Tahai, whose radiocarbon dates precede Anakena's by several centuries.
The island was most likely populated by Polynesians who navigated in canoes or catamarans from the Gambier Islands (Mangareva, 2,600 km (1,600 mi) away) or the Marquesas Islands, 3,200 km (2,000 mi) away. When James Cook visited the island, one of his crew members, a Polynesian from Bora Bora, was able to communicate with the Rapa Nui. The language most similar to Rapa Nui is Mangarevan with an 80% similarity in vocabulary. In 1999, a voyage with reconstructed Polynesian boats was able to reach Easter Island from Mangareva in 19 days.[22]
According to oral traditions recorded by missionaries in the 1860s, the island originally had a strong class system, with an ariki, high chief, wielding great power over nine other clans and their respective chiefs. The high chief was the eldest descendent through first-born lines of the island's legendary founder, Hotu Matu'a. The most visible element in the culture was the production of massive statues called moai that represented deified ancestors. It was believed that the living had a symbiotic relationship with the dead where the dead provided everything that the living needed (health, fertility of land and animals, fortune etc.) and the living through offerings provided the dead with a better place in the spirit world. Most settlements were located on the coast and moai were erected along the coastline, watching over their descendants in the settlements before them, with their backs toward the spirit world in the sea.
Diamond suggested that cannibalism took place on Easter Island after the construction of the Moai contributed to environmental degradation when extreme deforestation destabilized an already precarious ecosystem.[23] Archeological record shows that, by the time of the initial settlement, the island was home to many species of trees, including at least three species which grew up to 50 feet or more: Paschalococos - possibly the largest palm trees in the world at the time, Alphitonia zizyphoides, and Elaeocarpus rarotongensis, as well as at least six species of native land birds. Barbara A. West wrote, "Sometime before the arrival of Europeans on Easter Island, the Rapanui experienced a tremendous upheaval in their social system brought about by a change in their island's ecology... By the time of European arrival in 1722, the island's population had dropped to 2,000–3,000 from a high of approximately 15,000 just a century earlier."[24] By that time, 21 species of trees and all species of land birds went extinct through some combination of overharvesting/overhunting, rat predation, and climate change, the island was largely deforested, and it did not have any trees more than 10 feet tall. Loss of large trees meant that residents were no longer able to build seaworthy vessels, significantly diminishing their fishing abilities. This was further exacerbated by the loss of land birds and the collapse in seabird populations. By the 18th century, residents of the island were largely sustained by farming, with domestic chickens as the primary source of protein.[25]
As the island became overpopulated and resources diminished, warriors known as matatoa gained more power and the Ancestor Cult ended, making way for the Bird Man Cult. Beverly Haun wrote, "The concept of mana (power) invested in hereditary leaders was recast into the person of the birdman, apparently beginning circa 1540, and coinciding with the final vestiges of the moai period."[26] This cult maintained that, although the ancestors still provided for their descendants, the medium through which the living could contact the dead was no longer statues, but human beings chosen through a competition. The god responsible for creating humans, Makemake, played an important role in this process. Katherine Routledge, who systematically collected the island's traditions in her 1919 expedition,[27] showed that the competitions for Bird Man (Rapanui: tangata manu) started around 1760, after the arrival of the first Europeans, and ended in 1878, with the construction of the first church by Roman Catholic missionaries who formally arrived in 1864. Petroglyphs representing Bird Men on Easter Island are exactly the same as some in Hawaii, indicating that this concept was probably brought by the original settlers; only the competition itself was unique to Easter Island.
European accounts from 1722 and 1770 mention standing statues, but Cook's 1774 expedition noted that several moai were lying face down, having been toppled in war.
According to Diamond and Heyerdahl's version of the island's history, the huri mo'ai—"statue-toppling"—continued into the 1830s as a part of fierce internal wars. By 1838 the only standing moai were on the slopes of Rano Raraku, in Hoa Hakananai'a in Orongo, and Ariki Paro in Ahu Te Pito Kura. There is little archaeological evidence of pre-European societal collapse. Bone pathology and osteometric data from islanders of that period clearly suggest few fatalities can be attributed directly to violence.[28][citation needed]
The first-recorded European contact with the island was on April 5 (Easter Sunday), 1722, when Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen visited the island for a week and estimated a population of 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants. The number may have been greater, since some may have been frightened into hiding by a misunderstanding that led Roggeveen's men to fire on the natives, killing more than a dozen and wounding several more. The next foreign visitors (on November 15, 1770) were two Spanish ships, San Lorenzo and Santa Rosalia. The Spanish reported the island as largely uncultivated, whose seashore was lined with stone statues. Four years later, in 1774, British explorer James Cook visited Easter Island; he reported that some statues had fallen over. The British ship HMS Blossom arrived in 1825 and reported seeing no standing statues. Easter Island was approached many times during the 19th century, but by then the islanders had become openly hostile to any attempt to land, and very little new information was reported before the 1860s.
A series of devastating events killed or removed most of the population in the 1860s. In December 1862, Peruvian slave raiders struck. Violent abductions continued for several months, eventually capturing around 1,500 men and women, half of the island's population.[29] Among those captured were the island's paramount chief, his heir, and those who knew how to read and write the rongorongo script, the only Polynesian script to have been found to date. When the slave raiders were forced to repatriate the people they had kidnapped, they disembarked carriers of smallpox together with a few survivors on each of the islands. This created devastating epidemics from Easter Island to the Marquesas islands. Easter Island's population was reduced to the point where some of the dead were not even buried. Tuberculosis, introduced by whalers in the mid-19th century, had already killed several islanders when the first Christian missionary, Eugène Eyraud, died from this disease in 1867. About a quarter of the island's population succumbed along with him. In the following years, the managers of the sheep ranch and the missionaries started buying the newly available lands of the deceased, and this led to great confrontations between natives and settlers.
Jean-Baptiste Dutrou-Bornier bought up all of the island apart from the missionaries' area around Hanga Roa and moved a couple of hundred Rapanui to Tahiti to work for his backers. In 1871 the missionaries, having fallen out with Dutrou-Bornier, evacuated all but 171 Rapanui to the Gambier islands.[30] Those who remained were mostly older men. Six years later, only 111 people lived on Easter Island, and only 36 of them had any offspring.[31] From that point on the island's population slowly recovered. But with over 97% of the population dead or gone in less than a decade, much of the island's cultural knowledge had been lost.
Alexander Salmon, Jr., a son of an English Jewish merchant and Pōmare Dynasty princess, eventually worked to repatriate workers from his inherited copra plantation. He eventaully bought up all lands on the island with the exception of the mission, and was its sole employer. He worked to develop tourism on the island, and was the principal informant for the British and German archaeological expeditions for the island. He sent several pieces of genuine Rongorongo to his niece's husband, the German consul in Valparaíso, Chile. Salmon sold the Brander Easter Island holdings to the Chilean government in 1888 January 2 and signed as a witness to the cession of the island. He returned to Tahiti in December of that year. He effectively ruled the island from 1878 until his cession to Chile in 1888.
Easter Island was annexed by Chile on September 9, 1888, by Policarpo Toro, by means of the "Treaty of Annexation of the Island" (Tratado de Anexión de la isla). Toro, then representing the government of Chile signed with Atamu Tekena, designated "King" by the Chilean government after the paramount chief and his heir had died. The validity of this treaty is still contested by some Rapanui. Officially, Chile purchased the nearly all encompassing Mason-Brander sheep ranch, comprised from lands purchased from the descendants of Rapanui who died during the epidemics, and then claimed sovereignty over the island.
Until the 1960s the surviving Rapanui were confined to Hanga Roa. The rest of the island was rented to the Williamson-Balfour Company as a sheep farm until 1953.[32] The island was then managed by the Chilean Navy until 1966, at which point the island was reopened in its entirety. In 1966 the Rapanui were given Chilean citizenship.[33]
21st century[link]
On 30 July 2007, a constitutional reform gave Easter Island and the Juan Fernández Islands (also known as Robinson Crusoe Island) the status of "special territories" of Chile. Pending the enactment of a special charter, the island continued to be governed as a province of the V Region of Valparaíso.[34]
A total solar eclipse visible from Easter Island occurred for the first time in over 1300 years on July 11, 2010, at 18:15:15.[35]
Indigenous rights movement[link]
Starting in August 2010, members of the indigenous Hitorangi clan occupied the Hangaroa Eco Village and Spa.[36] The occupiers allege that the hotel was bought from the Pinochet government, in violation of a Chilean agreement with the indigenous Rapa Nui, in the 1990s.[37] The occupiers say their ancestors had been cheated into giving up the land.[38] According to a BBC report, on December 3, 2010, at least 25 people were injured when Chilean police using pellet guns attempted to evict from these buildings a group of Rapa Nui who had claimed that the land the buildings stood on had been illegally taken from their ancestors.[39]
In January 2011, the UN's Special Rapporteur on Indigenous People, James Anaya, expressed concern about the treatment of the indigenous Rapa Nui by the Chilean government, urging Chile to "make every effort to conduct a dialogue in good faith with representatives of the Rapa Nui people to solve, as soon as possible the real underlying problems that explain the current situation".[36]
The incident ended in February 2011, when up to 50 armed police broke into the hotel to remove the final five occupiers. They were arrested by the government and no injuries were reported.[36]
Ecology[link]
Easter Island, together with its closest neighbor, the tiny island of Isla Sala y Gómez 415 kilometers (258 mi) further east, is recognized by ecologists as a distinct ecoregion, the Rapa Nui subtropical broadleaf forests. The original subtropical moist broadleaf forests are now gone, but paleobotanical studies of fossil pollen and tree moulds left by lava flows indicate that the island was formerly forested, with a range of trees, shrubs, ferns, and grasses. A large extinct palm, Paschalococos disperta, related to the Chilean wine palm (Jubaea chilensis), was one of the dominant trees as attested by fossil evidence. Like its Chilean counterpart it probably took close to 100 years to reach adult height. The Polynesian rat, which the original settlers brought with them, played a very important role in the disappearance of the Rapanui palm. Rat teeth marks can be observed in 99% of the nuts found preserved in caves or excavated in different sites, indicating that the Polynesian rat impeded the palm's reproduction. That, and the clearance of the palms to make the settlements, led to their extinction almost 350 years ago.[40] The toromiro tree (Sophora toromiro) was prehistorically present on Easter Island, but is now extinct in the wild. However the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Göteborg Botanical Garden are jointly leading a scientific program to reintroduce the toromiro to Easter Island. With the palm and the toromiro virtually gone, there was considerably less rainfall as a result of less condensation. After the island was used to feed thousands of sheep for almost a century, by the mid 1900s the island was mostly covered in grassland with nga'atu or bulrush (Schoenoplectus californicus tatora) in the crater lakes of Rano Raraku and Rano Kau. The presence of these reeds, which are called totora in the Andes, was used to support the argument of a South American origin of the statue builders, but pollen analysis of lake sediments shows these reeds have grown on the island for over 30,000 years.[citation needed] Before the arrival of humans, Easter Island had vast seabird colonies containing probably over 30 resident species, perhaps the world's richest.[41] Such colonies are no longer found on the main island. Fossil evidence indicates five species of landbirds (two rails, two parrots and a heron), all of which have become extinct.[42]
The immunosuppressant drug sirolimus was first discovered in the bacterium Streptomyces hygroscopicus in a soil sample from Easter Island. The drug is also known as rapamycin, after Rapa Nui.[43] It is now being studied for extending longevity in mice.[44]
Trees are sparse, rarely forming natural groves, and it has been argued whether native Easter Islanders deforested the island in the process of erecting their statues,[45] and in providing sustenance for an overpopulated island.[citation needed] Experimental archaeology demonstrated that some statues certainly could have been placed on "Y" shaped wooden frames called miro manga erua and then pulled to their final destinations on ceremonial sites.[45] Other theories involve the use of "ladders" (parallel wooden rails) over which the statues could have been dragged.[46] Rapanui traditions metaphorically refer to spiritual power (mana) as the means by which the moai were "walked" from the quarry.
Given the island's southern latitude, the climatic effects of the Little Ice Age (about 1650 to 1850) may have exacerbated deforestation, although this remains speculative.[45] Many researchers[47] point to the climatic downtrend caused by the Little Ice Age as a contributing factor to resource stress and to the palm tree's disappearance. Experts, however, do not agree on when exactly the island's palms became extinct.
Jared Diamond dismisses past climate change as a dominant cause of the island's deforestation in his book Collapse which assesses the collapse of the ancient Easter Islanders. Influenced by Heyerdahl's romantic interpretation of Easter's history (as he acknowledges in chapter 2 of Collapse), Diamond insists that the disappearance of the island's trees seems to coincide with a decline of its civilization around the 17th and 18th centuries. He notes that they stopped making statues at that time and started destroying the ahu. But the link is weakened because the Bird Man cult continued to thrive and survived the great impact caused by the arrival of explorers, whalers, sandalwood traders, and slave raiders.
Lacking reefs, Easter Island suffers from a lack of fish found near the shore. Midden contents show that the main source of protein was Tuna and Dolphin. With the loss of the trees, there was a sudden drop in the quantities of fish bones found in middens as the islanders lost the means to construct fishing vessels, coinciding with a large increase in bird bones. This was followed by a decrease in the number of bird bones as birds lost their nesting sites or became extinct. A new style of art from this period shows people with exposed ribs and distended bellies, indicative of malnutrition, and it is around this time that many islanders moved to living in fortified caves and the first signs of warfare and cannibalism appear. Soil erosion because of lack of trees is apparent in some places. Sediment samples document that up to half of the native plants had become extinct and that the vegetation of the island drastically altered. Polynesians were primarily farmers, not fishermen, and their diet consisted mainly of cultivated staples such as taro root, sweet potato, yams, cassava, and bananas. With no trees to protect them, sea spray led to crop failures exacerbated by a sudden reduction in fresh water flows. There is evidence that the islanders took to planting crops in caves beneath collapsed ceilings and covered the soil with rocks to reduce evaporation. Cannibalism occurred on many Polynesian islands, sometimes in times of plenty as well as famine. Its presence on Easter Island (based on human remains associated with cooking sites, especially in caves) is supported by oral histories.[citation needed]
Benny Peiser[3] noted evidence of self-sufficiency when Europeans first arrived. The island still had smaller trees, mainly toromiro, which became extinct in the 20th century probably because of slow growth and changes in the island's ecosystem. Cornelis Bouman, Jakob Roggeveen's captain, stated in his logbook, "... of yams, bananas and small coconut palms we saw little and no other trees or crops." According to Carl Friedrich Behrens, Roggeveen's officer, "The natives presented palm branches as peace offerings." According to ethnographer Alfred Mètraux, the most common type of house was called "hare paenga" (and is known today as "boat house") because the roof resembled an overturned boat. The foundations of the houses were made of buried basalt slabs with holes for wooden beams to connect with each other throughout the width of the house. These were then covered with a layer of totora reed, followed by a layer of woven sugarcane leaves, and lastly a layer of woven grass. There were reports by European visitors who said they had seen "boles of large palm trees".[citation needed] Peiser claims that these reports indicate that large trees existed at that time, which is perhaps contradicted by the Bouman quote above. Plantations were often located further inland, next to foothills, inside open-ceiling lava tubes, and in other places protected from the strong salt winds and salt spray affecting areas closer to the coast. It is possible many of the Europeans did not venture inland. The statue quarry, only one kilometre from the coast with an impressive cliff 100 m (330 ft) high, was not explored by Europeans until well into the 19th century.
Easter Island has suffered from heavy soil erosion in recent centuries, perhaps aggravated by agriculture and massive deforestation. This process seems to have been gradual and may have been aggravated by sheep farming throughout most of the 20th century. Jakob Roggeveen reported that Easter Island was exceptionally fertile. "Fowls are the only animals they keep. They cultivate bananas, sugar cane, and above all sweet potatoes." In 1786 Jean-François de La Pérouse visited Easter Island and his gardener declared that "three days' work a year" would be enough to support the population.
Rollin, a major in the Pérouse expedition, wrote, "Instead of meeting with men exhausted by famine... I found, on the contrary, a considerable population, with more beauty and grace than I afterwards met in any other island; and a soil, which, with very little labor, furnished excellent provisions, and in an abundance more than sufficient for the consumption of the inhabitants."[48]
According to Diamond, the oral traditions (the veracity of which has been questioned by Routledge, Lavachery, Mètraux, Peiser and others) of the current islanders seem obsessed with cannibalism, which he offers as evidence supporting a rapid collapse. For example, he states, to severely insult an enemy one would say, "The flesh of your mother sticks between my teeth." This, Diamond asserts, means the food supply of the people ultimately ran out.[49] Cannibalism, however, was widespread across Polynesian cultures.[50] Human bones have not been found in earth ovens other than those behind the religious platforms, indicating that cannibalism in Easter Island was a ritualistic practice. Contemporary ethnographic research has proven there is scarcely any tangible evidence for widespread cannibalism anywhere and at any time on the Island.[51] The first scientific exploration of Easter Island (1914) recorded that the indigenous population strongly rejected allegations that they or their ancestors had been cannibals.[27]
Culture[link]
File:Easter Island cave.jpg
Birdmen (Tangata manu) paintings in the so-called "Cave of the Men Eatresses"
Mythology[link]
Main article: Rapa Nui mythology
The most important myths are:
- Tangata manu, the Birdman cult which was practiced until the 1860s.
- Makemake, an important god.
- Aku-aku, the guardians of the sacred family caves.
- Moai-kava-kava a ghost man of the Hanau epe (long-ears.)
- Hekai ite umu pare haonga takapu Hanau epe kai noruego, the sacred chant to appease the aku-aku before entering a family cave.
Stone work[link]
The Rapa Nui people had a Stone Age civilization and made extensive use of several different types of local stone:
- Basalt, a hard, dense stone used for toki and at least one of the moai.
- Obsidian, a volcanic glass with sharp edges used for sharp-edged implements such as Mataa and also for the black pupils of the eyes of the moai.
- Red scoria from Puna Pau, a very light red stone used for the pukao and a few moai.
- Tuff from Rano Raraku, a much more easily worked rock than basalt, and was used for most of the moai.
Moai (statues)[link]
Main article: Moai
The large stone statues, or moai, for which Easter Island is world-famous, were carved from 1100–1680 CE (rectified radio-carbon dates).[citation needed] A total of 887 monolithic stone statues have been inventoried on the island and in museum collections so far.[52] Although often identified as "Easter Island heads", the statues are actually torsos, with most of them ending at the top of the thighs, although a small number of them are complete, with the figures kneeling on bent knees with their hands over their stomachs.[53][54] Some upright moai have become buried up to their necks by shifting soils.
Almost all (95%) moai were carved out of distinctive, compressed, easily worked solidified volcanic ash or tuff found at a single site inside the extinct volcano Rano Raraku. The native islanders who carved them used only stone hand chisels, mainly basalt toki, which lie in place all over the quarry. The stone chisels were sharpened by chipping off a new edge when dulled. The volcanic stone was first wetted to soften it before sculpting began, then again periodically during the process. While many teams worked on different statues at the same time, a single moai took a team of five or six men approximately one year to complete. Each statue represented the deceased head of a lineage.
Only a quarter of the statues were installed, while nearly half remained in the quarry at Rano Raraku and the rest sat elsewhere, probably on their way to final locations. The largest moai ever raised on a platform is known as "Paro". It weighs 82 tons and 9.8 m (32.15 ft) long.[55] Several other statues of similar weight were transported to several ahu on the North and South coasts. It is not yet known how they transported the statues. Possibilities include employing a miro manga erua, a Y-shaped sledge with cross pieces, pulled with ropes made from the tough bark of the hau-hau tree,[56] and tied around the statue's neck. Anywhere from 180 to 250 men were required for pulling, depending on the size of the moai. Some 50 of the statues were re-erected in modern times. One of the first was on Ahu Ature Huke in Anakena beach in 1958. It was raised using traditional methods during a Heyerdahl expedition.
In 2011, a large moai statue was excavated from the ground, suggesting that the statues are much older and larger than previously thought.[57]
-
Tukuturi, an unusual bearded kneeling moai
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Two ahu at Hanga Roa. In foreground Ahu Ko Te Riku (with a pukao on its head). In the mid-ground is a side view of an ahu with five moai showing retaining wall, platform, ramp and pavement.
-
Ahu Akivi, one of the few inland ahu, with the only moai facing the ocean
Ahu[link]
Ahu are stone platforms. Varying greatly in layout, many were reworked during or after the huri mo'ai or statue-toppling era; many became ossuaries; one was dynamited open; and Ahu Tongariki was swept inland by a tsunami. Of the 313 known ahu, 125 carried moai—usually just one, probably because of the shortness of the moai period and transportation difficulties. Ahu Tongariki, one kilometer from Rano Raraku, had the most and tallest moai, 15 in total. Other notable ahu with moai are Ahu Akivi, restored in 1960 by William Mulloy, Nau Nau at Anakena and Tahai. Some moai may have been made from wood and were lost.
The classic elements of ahu design are:
- A retaining rear wall several feet high, usually facing the sea
- A front wall made of rectangular basalt slabs called paenga
- A facia made of red scoria that went over the front wall (platforms built after 1300)
- A sloping ramp in the inland part of the platform, extending outward like wings
- A pavement of even-sized, round water-worn stones called poro
- An alignment of stones before the ramp
- A paved plaza before the ahu. This was called marae
- Inside the ahu was a fill of rubble.
On top of many ahu would have been:
- Moai on squareish "pedestals" looking inland, the ramp with the poro before them.
- Pukao or Hau Hiti Rau on the moai heads (platforms built after 1300).
- When a ceremony took place, "eyes" were placed on the Statues. The whites of the eyes were made of coral, the iris was made of obsidian or red scoria.
Ahu evolved from the traditional Polynesian marae. In this context ahu referred to a small structure sometimes covered with a thatched roof where sacred objects, including statues, were stored. The ahu were usually adjacent to the marae or main central court where ceremonies took place, though on Easter Island ahu and moai evolved to much greater size. There the marae is the unpaved plaza before the ahu. The biggest ahu is 220 meters (720 ft) and holds 15 statues, some of which are 9 meters (30 ft) high. The filling of an ahu was sourced locally (apart from broken, old moai, fragments of which have also been used in the fill).[58] Individual stones are mostly far smaller than the moai, so less work was needed to transport the raw material, but artificially leveling the terrain for the plaza and filling the ahu was laborious.
Ahu are found mostly on the coast, where they are distributed fairly evenly except on the western slopes of Mount Terevaka and the Rano Kau and Poike[59] headlands. These are the three areas with the least low-lying coastal land, and apart from Poike the furthest areas from Rano Raraku. One ahu with several moai was recorded on the cliffs at Rano Kau in the 1880s, but had fallen to the beach before the Routledge expedition.[27]
Stone walls[link]
One of the highest-quality examples of Easter Island stone masonry is the rear wall of the ahu at Vinapu. Made without mortar by shaping hard basalt rocks of up to seven tons to match each other exactly, it has a superficial similarity to some Inca stone walls in South America.[60]
Stone houses[link]
Two types of houses are known from the past: hare paenga, a house with an elliptical foundation, made with basalt slabs and covered with a thatched roof that resembled an overturned boat, and hare oka, a round stone structure. Related stone structures called Tupa look very similar to the hare oka, except that the Tupa were inhabited by astronomer-priests and located near the coast, where the movements of the stars could be easily observed. Settlements also contain hare moa ("chicken house"), oblong stone structures that were used to house chickens. The houses at the ceremonial village of Orongo are unique in that they are shaped like hare paenga but are made entirely of flat basalt slabs found inside Rano Kao crater. The entrances to all the houses are very low, and entry requires crawling.
In early times the people of Rapa Nui reportedly set the dead out to sea in small funerary canoes, as did their Polynesian counterparts in other islands. They later started burying people in secret caves in order to save the bones from desecration by enemies. During the turmoil of the late 18th century, the islanders seem to have started to bury their dead in the space between the belly of a fallen moai and the front wall of the structure. During the time of the epidemics they made mass graves that were semi-pyramidal stone structures.
Petroglyphs[link]
Petroglyphs are pictures carved into rock, and Easter Island has one of the richest collections in all Polynesia. Around 1,000 sites with more than 4,000 petroglyphs are catalogued. Designs and images were carved out of rock for a variety of reasons: to create totems, to mark territory or to memorialize a person or event. There are distinct variations around the island in terms of the frequency of particular themes among petroglyphs, with a concentration of Birdmen at Orongo. Other subjects include sea turtles, Komari (vulvas) and Makemake, the chief god of the Tangata manu or Birdman cult.[61]
Petroglyphs are also common in the Marquesas islands.
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Fish petroglyph found near Ahu Tongariki
Caves[link]
The island and neighboring Motu Nui are riddled with caves, many of which show signs of past human use for planting and as fortifications, including narrowed entrances and crawl spaces with ambush points. Many caves feature in the myths and legends of the Rapa Nui.
Rongorongo[link]
Main article: Rongorongo
Easter Island once had an apparent script called rongorongo. Glyphs include pictographic and geometric shapes; the texts were incised in wood in reverse boustrophedon direction. It was first reported by a French missionary, Eugène Eyraud, in 1864. At that time, several islanders said they could understand the writing, but according to tradition, only ruling families and priests were ever literate, and none survived the slave raids and subsequent epidemics. Despite numerous attempts, the surviving texts have not been deciphered, and without decipherment it is not certain that they are actually writing. Part of the problem is the small amount that has survived: only two dozen texts, none of which remain on the island. There are also only a couple similarities with the petroglyphs on the island.[62]
Wood carving[link]
Skeletal statuette
Atypical tubby statuette
Wood was scarce on Easter Island during the 18th and 19th centuries, but a number of highly detailed and distinctive carvings have found their way to the world's museums. Particular forms include:[63]
- Reimiro, a gorget or breast ornament of crescent shape with a head at one or both tips.[64] The same design appears on the flag of Rapa Nui. Two Rei Miru at the British Museum are inscribed with Rongorongo.
- Moko Miro, a man with a lizard head
- Moai kavakava, grotesque and highly detailed human figures carved from Toromiro pine, representing ancestors. The earlier figures are rare and generally depict a male figure with an emaciated body and a goatee. The figures' ribs and vertebrae are exposed and many examples show carved glyphs on various parts of the body but more specifically, on the top of the head. The female figures, rarer than the males, depict the body as flat and often with the female's hand lying across the body. The figures, although some were quite large, were worn as ornamental pieces around a tribesman's neck. The more figures worn, the more important the man. The figures have a shiny patina developed from constant handling and contact with human skin.[citation needed]
- Ao, a large dancing paddle
21st-century culture[link]
The Rapanui sponsor an annual festival, the Tapati, held since 1975 around the beginning of February to celebrate Rapanui culture. The islanders also maintain a national football team and three discos in the town of Hanga Roa. Other cultural activities include a musical tradition that combines South American and Polynesian influences and woodcarving.
Demography[link]
Further information: Europeans in Oceania
2002 census[link]
Population at the 2002 census was 3,791;[65] 60% were Rapanui, Chileans of European or mixed European and Amerindian descent were 39% of the population, and the remaining 1% were Native Americans from mainland Chile.[66] Population density on Easter Island is only 23 inhabitants per square kilometre (60 /sq mi).
Demographic history[link]
The 1982 population was 1,936. The increase in population in the last census was partly caused by the arrival of people of European or mixed European and Native American descent from the Chilean mainland. However, most married a Rapanui partner. Around 70% of the population were natives. Estimates of the pre-European population range from 7–17,000. Easter Island's all-time low of 111 inhabitants was reported in 1877. Out of these 111 Rapanui, only 36 had descendants, but all of today's Rapanui claim descent from those 36.
Administration and legal status[link]
Easter Island shares with Juan Fernández Islands the sui generis constitutional status of "special territory" of Chile, granted in 2007. As of 2011 a special charter for the island was under discussion in the Chilean Congress.
Administratively, the island is a province of the Valparaíso Region and contains a single commune (comuna). Both the province and the commune are called Isla de Pascua and encompass the whole island and its surrounding islets and rocks, plus Isla Salas y Gómez, some 380 km (236 mi) to the east.[67]
Authorities and representatives[link]
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Easter Island belongs to the 13th electoral district and 6th senatorial constituency. The people are represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Joaquín Godoy (RN) and Aldo Cornejo (PDC). Constituents are also represented by two senators, Francisco Chahuán (RN) and Ricardo Lagos Weber (PPD).
- Provincial Governor: Pedro Pablo Edmunds Paoa (2010–). Appointed by the President of the Republic.[68]
- Mayor: Luz Zasso Paoa (PDC), directly-elected for four years (2008–2012). Municipality located in Hanga Roa.
- Municipal council, directly-elected for four years (2008–2012):
- Marta Raquel Hotus Tuki (PDC)
- Ximena Trengove Vallejos (PDC)
- Julio Araki Tepano (UDI)
- Eliana Amelia Olivares San Juan (UDI)
- Alberto Hotus Chávez (PPD)
- Marcelo Pont Hill (PPD)
Notable people[link]
- Hotu Matuʻa—island founder
- King Nga'ara—One of the last ‘ariki
- Kings of Easter Island
- Thor Heyerdahl—ethnographer
- Fr Sebastian Englert, OFM Cap.—missionary and ethnologist
- William Mulloy—archaeologist
- Pedro Pablo Edmunds Paoa—former Governor
- Melania Carolina Hotu Hey—former Governor (2006–2010)
- Juan Edmunds Rapahango—former Mayor
Transportation[link]
![[icon]](http://web.archive.org./web/20130109210729/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} |
This section requires expansion. |
Easter Island is served by Mataveri International Airport, with jet service (currently Boeing 767's) from Lan Airlines and, seasonally, subsidiaries such as Lan Peru.
See also[link]
Notes[link]
- ^ Pending the enactment of a special charter, the island will continue to be governed as a province of the Valparaíso Region.
- ^ National Statistics Office (INE).
- ^ a b B. Peiser (2005) From Genocide to Ecocide: The Rape of Rapa Nui Energy & Environment volume 16 No. 3&4 2005
- ^ "Welcome to Tapa Nui - Isla de Pascua - Easter Island" on Portal RapaNui, the island's official website
- ^ An English translation of the originally Dutch journal by Jacob Roggeveen, with additional significant information from the log by Cornelis Bouwman, was published in: Andrew Sharp (ed.), The Journal of Jacob Roggeveen (Oxford 1970).
- ^ William Thompson (1891) Invention of the name "Rapa Nui"
- ^ Heyerdahl 1961 Heyerdahl's view was that the two islands were about the same size, and that "big" and "small" were not physical but historical attributes, "big" indicating the original. In reality, however, Easter Island is more than four times bigger than Rapa Iti. Heyerdahl also stated that there is an island called "Rapa" in Lake Titicaca in South America, but so far there is no map available showing an island of that name in the lake.
- ^ William Churchill, 1912. The Rapanui Speech And The Peopling Of Southeast Polynesia
- ^ Thomas S. Barthel: The Eighth Land: The Polynesian Settlement of Easter Island (Honolulu: University of Hawaii 1978; originally published in German in 1974)
- ^ "Easter Island". Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution. http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1506-011. Retrieved 2010-03-18.
- ^ Baker, P. E.; Buckley, F.; Holland, J. G. (1974). "Petrology and geochemistry of Easter Island". Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 44 (2): 85–100. Bibcode 1974CoMP...44...85B. DOI:10.1007/BF00385783. http://www.springerlink.com/content/q752224584lr8qk1/fulltext.pdf.
- ^ Inst of Petrology Vol 38 Haase, Stoffers & Garbe-Schoneberg 1
- ^ Inst of Petrology Vol 38 The Petrogenetic Evolution of Lavas from Easter Island and Neighbouring Seamounts, Near-ridge Hotspot Volcanoes in the SE Pacific – Haase, Stoffers & Garbe-Schoneberg 15
- ^ Rapanui: Edmunds and Bryan Photograph Collection. Libweb.hawaii.edu. Retrieved on 2010-11-06.
- ^ Enjoy Chile – climate
- ^ Easter Island Article in Letsgochile.com
- ^ Weather Easter Island Foundation
- ^ "Weatherbase: Weather for Easter Island, Chile". Weatherbase. 2011. http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=096458&refer=&units=us. Retrieved on November 23, 2011.
- ^ Hunt, T. L.; Lipo, CP (2006). "Late Colonization of Easter Island". Science 311 (5767): 1603–6. DOI:10.1126/science.1121879. PMID 16527931.
- ^ Hunt, Terry; Lipo, Carl (2011). The Statues that Walked: Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island. Free Press. ISBN 1-4391-5031-1.
- ^ Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
- ^ "The Voyage to Rapa Nui 1999–2000". Polynesian Voyaging Society. http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/hawaiian/voyaging/pvs/rapanuiback.html.
- ^ Bo Rothstein (2005). Social traps and the problem of trust. Cambridge University Press. p. 20. ISBN 0-521-84829-6
- ^ Barbara A. West (2008) Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing. p. 684. ISBN 0-8160-7109-8
- ^ Diamond 2005, pp. 103–107
- ^ Beverley Haun (2008). Inventing 'Easter Island'. University of Toronto Press. p. 8. ISBN 0-8020-9888-6
- ^ a b c Routledge 1919
- ^ Owsley et al. 1994
- ^ Diamond 2005, p. 171
- ^ Routledge 1919, p. 208
- ^ Collapse of island's demographics in the 1860s and 1870s
- ^ "Annexation by Chile". http://www.netaxs.com/~trance/annex.html.
- ^ Diamond 2005, p. 112
- ^ Chilean Law 20,193, National Congress of Chile
- ^ "Eclipse fever focuses on remote Easter Island". www.msnbc.msn.com. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38166769/ns/technology_and_science-space/.
- ^ a b c "Police evict Rapa Nui clan from Easter Island hotel". BBC Online. Feb 6, 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12378736. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
- ^ "Indian Law.org". Congressman Faleomavaega to Visit Rapa Nui. http://www.indianlaw.org/rapa-nui/congressman-faleomavaega-visit-rapa-nui. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
- ^ Hinto, Santi. "Giving Care to the Motherland: conflicting narratives of Rapanui". Save Rapanui. http://saverapanui.org/?page_id=187. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
- ^ "Easter Island land dispute clashes leave dozens injured". www.bbc.co.uk. December 4, 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11917511.
- ^ C. Michael Hogan. 2008. Chilean Wine Palm: Jubaea chilensis, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
- ^ Steadman 2006, pp. 251, 395
- ^ Steadman 2006, pp. 248–252
- ^ "Rapamycin — Introduction". http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/local/projects/russell/index.html. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
- ^ "Rapamycin Extends Longevity in Mice". http://www.medpagetoday.com/Geriatrics/GeneralGeriatrics/15016.
- ^ a b c David T. Jones (2007). "Easter Island, What to learn from the puzzles?". American Diplomacy. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7052/is_2007_Nov_6/ai_n28472343/pg_1.
- ^ Diamond 2005, p. 107
- ^ Finney (1994), Hunter Anderson (1998); P.D. Nunn (1999, 2003); Orliac and Orliac (1998)
- ^ Heyerdahl 1961, p. 57
- ^ Diamond 2005, p. 109
- ^ Pacific islands archaeology
- ^ Flenley & Bahn 2003
- ^ "Easter Island Statue Project". http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/ioa/eisp/. Retrieved 2009-030-30.
- ^ Skjølsvold, Arne "Report 14: The Stone Statues and Quarries of Rano Raraku In Thor Heyerdahl and Edwin N. Ferdon Jr. (eds.) 'Reports of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the East Pacific'", Volume 1, Archaeology of Easter Island, Monographs of the School of American Research and The Museum of New Mexico, Number 24, Part 1, 1961, pp. 339–379. (esp. p. 346 for the description of the general statues and Fig. 91, p. 347, pp. 360-362 for the description of the kneeling statues)
- ^ Van Tilburg, Jo Anne. Easter Island. Archaeology, Ecology and Culture, British Museum Press 1994:134-135, fig. 106
- ^ NOVA Online|Secrets of Easter Island|Paro. Pbs.org. Retrieved on 2010-11-06.
- ^ Flenley, J. R.; King, Sarah M. (1984). "Late Quaternary pollen records from Easter Island". Nature 307 (5946): 47. DOI:10.1038/307047a0.
- ^ http://www.eisp.org/3879/
- ^ Heyerdahl 1961
- ^ Heavy erosion and landslides may have buried them in soil.
- ^ Heyerdahl 1961 However, Alfred Metraux pointed out that the rubble filled Rapanui walls were a fundamentally different design to those of the Inca, as these are trapezoidal in shape as opposed to the perfectly fitted rectangular stones of the inca. See also this FAQ
- ^ Lee 1992
- ^ Fischer, pp. 31, 63.
- ^ Routledge 1919, p. 268
- ^ Wooden gorget (rei miro). British Museum.
- ^ Primeros datos del Censo: Hay 37.626 mujeres más que hombres en la V Región. Estrellavalpo.cl (2002-06-11). Retrieved on 2010-11-06.
- ^ http://www.ine.cl/cd2002/index.php
- ^ (Spanish) "Territorial division of Chile" (PDF). National Statistics Institute. 2007. http://www.ine.cl/canales/chile_estadistico/territorio/division_politico_administrativa/pdf/DPA_COMPLETA.pdf. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
- ^ (Spanish) "Gobernadores". Government of Chile. http://www.subdere.gov.cl/1510/w3-article-67516.html. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
References[link]
- McLaughlin, Shawn (2007). The Complete Guide to Easter Island. Los Osos: Easter Island Foundation.
- Diamond, Jared (2005). Collapse. How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.. New York: Viking. ISBN 0-14-303655-6.
- Fischer, Steven Roger (1995). "Preliminary Evidence for Cosmogonic Texts in Rapanui's Rongorongo Inscriptions". Journal of the Polynesian Society (104): pp. 303–21.
- Fischer, Steven Roger (1997). Glyph-breaker: A Decipherer's Story. New York: Copernicus/Springer-Verlag.
- Fischer, Steven Roger (1997). RongoRongo, the Easter Island Script: History, Traditions, Texts. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-823710-3.
- Heyerdal, Thor (1961). Thor Heyerdahl & Edwin N. Ferdon Jr.. ed. The Concept of Rongorongo Among the Historic Population of Easter Island. Stockholm: Forum.
- Heyerdal, Thor Aku-Aku; The 1958 Expedition to Easter Island.
- Metraux, Alfred (1940). "Ethnology of Easter Island". Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin (Honolulu: Bernice P. Bishop Museum Press) (160).
- Routledge, Katherine (1919). The Mystery of Easter Island. The story of an expedition. London. ISBN 0-404-14231-1.
- Steadman, David (2006). Extinction and Biogeography in Tropical Pacific Birds. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-77142-7. http://books.google.com/?id=vBZXJQ3HDg0C.
Further reading[link]
- Altman, Ann M. (2004). Early Visitors to Easter Island 1864–1877 (translations of the accounts of Eugène Eyraud, Hippolyte Roussel, Pierre Loti and Alphonse Pinart; with an Introduction by Georgia Lee). Los Osos: Easter Island Foundation.
- Englert, Sebastian F. (1970). Island at the Center of the World. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
- Hunt, Terry L. (September–October 2006). "Rethinking the Fall of Easter Island". American Scientist (94): p. 412.
- Lee, Georgia (1992). The Rock Art of Easter Island. Symbols of Power, Prayers to the Gods. Los Angeles: The Institute of Archaeology Publications. ISBN 0-917956-74-5.
- Thomson, William J. (1891). "Te Pito te Henua, or Easter Island. Report of the United States National Museum for the Year Ending June 30, 1889". Annual Reports of the Smithsonian Institution for 1889 (Washington: Smithsonian Institution): pp. 447–552. in Google Books
- van Tilburg, Jo Anne (1994). Easter Island: Archaeology, Ecology and Culture. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 0-7141-2504-0.
- Vergano, Dan. "Were rats behind Easter Island mystery?" USA Today (November 15, 2009)
External links[link]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Easter Island |
- Easter Island travel guide from Wikitravel
- Chile Cultural Society - Easter Island
- Rapa Nui Digital Media Archive—Creative Commons–licensed photos, laser scans, panoramas, focused in the area around Rano Raraku and Ahu Te Pito Kura with data from a Autodesk/CyArk research partnership
- Easter Island
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Coordinates: 27°7′S 109°22′W / 27.117°S 109.367°W / -27.117; -109.367
Easter Island (Rapa Nui: Rapa Nui, Spanish: Isla de Pascua) is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people. It is a World Heritage Site (as determined by UNESCO) with much of the island protected within Rapa Nui National Park. In recent times the island has served as a warning of the cultural and environmental dangers of overexploitation. Ethnographers and archaeologists also blame diseases carried by European colonizers and slave raiding of the 1860s for devastating the local peoples.
Easter Island is claimed to be the most remote inhabited island in the world.
The name "Easter Island" was given by the island's first recorded European visitor, the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who encountered it on Easter Sunday 1722, while searching for Davis or David's island. Roggeveen named it Paasch-Eyland (18th century Dutch for "Easter Island"). The island's official Spanish name, Isla de Pascua, also means "Easter Island".
